Dark Shadow's Fall
Chapter 1
Dropship Cerberus
Ward System
Jan 3, 3035
Staff Sergeant Ren Warson tried to sit comfortably in the the conference room's plastic backed seat. Traveling at over 1.5 standard G's everyone inside the Leopard Class ship was uncomfortable. It was a necessity, as was the pirate jump point the Jumpship captain had used to deliver them to the Capellan Ward system. The lack of natural gravity made the trip even worse, though again, it couldn't be helped. 20th Century science fiction, had made man dream of artificial gravity, and the long gone Star League had gotten close, but it was still a dream even to this day.
Despite the discomfort, Warson focused in on the Intelligence Officer and the latest information from the main planet, Ward. Warson's stocky frame and fit body could take the discomfort. His life depended on this information. Within 15 hours, he would be fighting for his life along with the rest of the Dark Shadows detachment he was part of. Like most of SAFE, the Dark Shadows Battalion would never be mentioned in the same breath as some of the other Successor States' more famous covert ops teams. Even so, the Mechwarriors and Commando's of the Dark Shadows were still some of the best warriors around. Hand picked from the FWLM, each soldier was expertly trained and committed to completing the most difficult of mission.
"Most of the defending units around the target are conducting raids into the FWL; However, we have been able to confirm that a lance of veteran mercenary Mechs are guarding the facility and warehouse." The Intelligence Officer, Major Kratic was a tall, bald man in his late 30's. Everyone in Warson's lance knew and respected the man. Though he had been away from battle in some time, Major Kratic and his analyst team always gave the best they could in providing the Mechwarriors the most accurate information possible. Warson's dark brown arm adjusted the seat belt of his chair as the Major continued.
"We suspect that this is a lance of Mechs belonging to a mercenary outfit called the Storm Guards. From what out collectors been able to identify about the unit, it used to be a lot large. The core leadership is all 4th Succession War veterans and they fought for the Capellans against the Andurian invasion for the last 5 years. The Lance you're likely going to square up against is the one unit left behind while the rest of the command off planet trying to rebuild their company. Expect them to be tenacious fighters and unlikely to surrender the facility.
"The most important factor is that the nearest population center is only 10 klicks away from the target. Remember, even a medium class laser can reach out to 20 kilometers, though we cant aim that far nowadays. And our goal is not to create mass civilian casualties. We want to punish the Liao, not give Romanano the excuse to retaliate future for the Andurian's invasion".
Everything the Major said was true. For the last 5 years, the Duchy of Andurian had been separated from the rest of the Free World League following the disastrous ending of the Fourth Succession War. Almost immediately, the Andurian separatists had struck out against their ancient foes in the Capellan Confederation. Through long battles and bloody days, the Andurians had been fought off by the defenders, and now the Free World League was getting ready to take the hard luck duchy back into its fold, willing or not. First though there was the Capellan problem to solve.
Though they repelled their Andurian attackers, the Capellans wanted revenge. Romano Liao, the almost certainly mad ruler of the Capellan government was already making noise and conducting light raids into the Duchy's territory, and that was something the Captain General of the Free World League could not allow. Of course, Romano Liao was a little too crazy to note the obvious fact that her battered realm was in no shape to fight off the entire League. Of course, no one wanted the FWLM to have to fight the Capellans when more than enough troops were going to die fighting for the Andurian Duchy.
To make matters worse, the current Captain General, Janos Marik was in a tenuous position himself. He was actually having his office filled by his son Thomas, a former acolyte of the quasi-religious Comstar communications agency due to illness. Thomas was filling in well enough for his father, however the Free World Parliament was being as difficult as always in allotting manpower to the war everyone knew was coming. Hence why the Dark Shadows were now dropping in on the Liao held world of Ward. The Shadows answered to the Captain General himself, never mind what Parliament wanted. Three other lances like Warson's were striking targets within the Capellan borders hoping to convince Romano Liao that the price of waging war was too high.
Major Kratic continued with his update, "The Dark Shadow's mission, along with detachments of more conventional Mech units is to strike at several key Capellan facilities. While none of the blows are supposed to be crippling to the Confederation, they should stress the point that the Duchy of Andurian is hands off." As the intelligence officer spoke Warson looked around the room at the rest of his lance and the infantry officer that was going to drop in support. Warson was glad to see Lt. Jefferson focused but not overwhelmed by the information. The tall black man copied down pertinent information and calmly waited for the slide the Major was briefing on to change. Many new lieutenants could overload their own brains trying to process their responsibilities and Warson was starting to appreciate the Lieutenant's poise. Like Warson himself, Jefferson was new to the Dark Shadows, but even the old hands were acknowledged his potential. As the Lance second, Warson had the additional responsibility of mentoring and guiding the Lt, and he was already feeling confident that the young man would develop well.
As Major Kratic finished his portion, the Lieutenant stood up and floated over to replace him. "Okay ladies and gents, it is t-14 hours until landfall. Remember, our 'Mechs will be be doing a combat drop to be fallowed by the infantry later from a HALO jump. We gotta get it right in one, cause nothing hurts more than landing on the hard, angry, angry rocks. Lt Marsden, I'll let you focus on your Infantry platoon's preparation. 'Mechwarriors, I'll expect to see you in the loading bays in 9 hrs.
"Once we've completed our preparations, we should have two hours to wait inside the drop pods for the Gorgon to entire its target zone. During that time, we will be dropping from orbit onto the southern continent of Ward. From there, we will proceed to the the warehouse the CCAF has used to prepare replacement parts for a sizable portion of their available Mech forces. Once we've secured the facility, the infantry will follow on, load up appropriate salvage and blow the remains of the facility. "
Lt Jefferson looked around the the expectant warriors. Everyone knew their jobs, Mechwarrior and Infantry both, but it was important to rehash the facts before everyone broke to their separate duties. Jefferson nodded to himself internally and concluded his litany. "Alright ladies, gents, lets get ready to pick a fight". The rest of the troops unbuckled themselves and floated off to inspect their Mechs, weapons or in Lt Marsden's case, to take a shuttle back to the infantry dropship and prepare his troops. Perhaps some would even get to catch some sleep in the next 14 hours.
Dropship Cerberus
Ward System
Jan 3, 3035
3 hrs to drop
Technicians and Mechwarriors were running around the Battlemechs inside the bowels of the dropship. Everyone was making final preparations for the drop and just about ready to wrap the 'Mechs inside their ablative shells for the orbital drop. Lt Jefferson looked over his Mechwarriors to see how their preparations were going. Everyone had their own rituals before battle, and Lt Jefferson had gotten to know them all in the few short months he had been leading his troops. SSgt Warson was inside the open cockpit of his Grasshopper, a 70 ton jumping beast and the heaviest Mech in the Lance. Heavy Metal screamed from inside the cockpit, what Warson called "mood music". The former scout was most likely going over the maps of the target in excruciating detail, wanting to know every inch of the battlefield.
In the next two bays, almost matching Hermes II reconnaissance Mechs were lined up. The mech nearest the Grasshopper was the traditional layout of the venerable 40 ton mech, armed with a medium auto-cannon, flamer and medium laser. It was a trusted scout among the Free World League, though somewhat under-gunned for a medium Mech. The Hermes next to it was something else all together. It was called a 'Mercury" model Hermes II and was specifically made for the Dark Shadows. Dropping the auto cannon, the Mercury had a increased engine letting it run over 100 KPH. It had dual stacked medium lasers and machine guns for a weapon load out and was absolutely wicked in close quarters.
The pilots for these two Mechs were almost as different as their respective mounts. The Hermes pilot was rapier thin and obsessively going over the inside of the Mech's auto cannon with a towel. Sergeant Demitri Polls was one of the few Andurians that had remained part of the Free World League when his Duchy had begun its succession. As was, the man was quarrelsome and liked to drink, but a loyal and damn fine pilot. He would probably never get past Sergeant, but he was content to fight for the League. The man had a fearsome scowl on his dark handsome features as he found some minute speck of dust inside the barrel of his Mech's main weapon.
In the bay next to him was the diminutive Sergeant Maria Cerllios. The small blond woman working next to her tech, making final adjustments to her targeting computer. Like SSgt Warson, Cerillios was scout trained, though Lt Jefferson had to admit that she was likely better at actual reconnaissance his second in command. Warson tended to like "recon by fire", while Cerillios was more than content to flutter between enemy formations to deliver the most up to date information. As they neared the objective, she would be piloting the Mercury class Hermes II and feeding information to her lance mates.
The Infantry supporting the Mech lance had already returned to their own dropship, the Intruder Class Gorgon. They would be making their own preparations and jump to support Jefferson's lance once the objective was secured. Already, the assault forces supporting Aerospace fighters were flying in advance of the two dropships, ready to battle against any Capellan force sent to intercept. It was almost time.
Climbing up to the cockpit of his 65 ton Thunderbolt, Lt Jefferson started his own last minute preparations. It was going to be a long, hard drop, but the Capellans were in for a rude surprise. Of course, before that, he had a long, dull two hour wait inside his mech. Sighing, he closed his Mech's hatch and began his wait.
Jan 4th, 3035
SSgt Warson looked out from the cockpit of his Grasshopper he had named Warbeast. The venerable Mech was his pride and joy, and all his. He had fought a long hard two years alongside a Liberation unit inside the Lyran Commonwealth for the Mech, but ultimately prevailed. During the course of the Succession Wars, a form of neo-feudalism had arose, and Mech ownership had become close to knighthood. Entire communities, like some of the villas back on Warson's home of Sierra existed by maintaining, fixing and serving the Mechwarrior and his multi-tonned mount. Not bad for a man who had started out as a dirty, grungy scout.
The last few hours had been exciting to say the least. Warson and the rest of the lance had completed their orbital drop in good order and quickly reformed. Since then, they had maneuvered across Ward's semi-arid landscape as covertly as possible. To add to the confusion, the infantry dropship, the Gorgon, had done a series of false drops across hundreds of miles. It was an old tactic, armies have done it for millennium, but it still worked. Eventually, the dropship would disgorge its cargo of special ops warriors and help the Mech lance secure the warehouse that was the objective of today's raid.
Hopefully, SSgt Warson mused, the subterfuge would work and most of the defenders in the area would be spread out looking for the attackers. One of the problems of interstellar warfare was that there were simply too many possible locations an attacking force could hit. That was why a single lance could wreck a disproportionate amount of damage that would have been unheard of back on old Terra. There were several high priority targets that the Capellans wanted to defend, and no way of knowing that it was the parts warehouse that was the objective of the raid. The small raiding force would need that element of confusion if they were going to pull it off.
"All clear in this sector," Cerllios's slightly accented voice called out. "5 Klicks left until the target". She had been moving a kilometer ahead of the rest of the lance, providing intelligence to the force. Sergeant Polls was moving around the center of the formation providing flank security. Thus far,they had avoided the Capellan infantry patrols, but Cerillios had detected what was likely a Mech unit or two several times. They had been able to avoid confrontation, but everyone was nervous.
Lt Jefferson responded to the scout using the unit's callsign, "Roger Reaper 4. Once we're two kicks out, hold your position until we're with you. Everyone hits it together."
The Mech lance maneuvered through what passed for a heavy forest on Ward. The local ecology was a strange mix of desert hills and scrubby forest that provided some concealment, but not much cover for the armored behemoths. Here and there there were patches of dense pine-like trees in the area, which the lance was gathering around now. If the pilots peered through their Mech's magnified sensors, they could just make out the roof tops of the the warehouse complex they were about to strike.
"Alright lady and gents, here we are", spoke to his assembled team. "last checks before we hit it. We're going in hard, target the base defenses and call in the grunts". We need to be in and-" Sergent Cerillios broke into the Lt's brief.
"Contact! Two signals approximately 3 Klicks to the South east. Im picking up a probable Rifleman and Shadow Hawk." The advanced sensors of Cerllios's Mercury were more than capable of identifying the Mechs opposing them. It was probable that the enemy knew the Marik lance was there, but the far inferior sensor suites of those Mechs had most likely been unable to identify what they were facing. Either way, time was up for Reaper Lance.
"Alright team, that's it! Everyone advance! We'll take the facility before the other Mechs can get there and than use the buildings for cover. Lets go!" Lt JEfferson lead the way, kicking his Thunderbolt forward to its max speed of 60 KPH. Everyone else followed suite, with the two Hermes bringing up the rear. Now that the assault was on, it was time for the big boys to come out and play, leaving the lighter scout Mechs in support.
The four Mechs bursted though the tree cover towards the 5 buildings that made up the warehouse compound. Combined, the facilities held enough parts to provide a battalion worth of Mechs supplies to last over a year. In the grand scheme of things, it was minor, but it was one of 4 separate facilities being hit at the same time. Losing a regiment's worth of supplies in the matter of days would be a nasty reminded to the Capellans that the price of war with the Free World League was too high to pay.
SSgt Warson could see the other Mechs closing in on the compound but there were over a klick and a half away. They wouldn't be in range in time to stop Reaper Lance from reaching the compound. More importantly was the platoon of infantry in thinned skinned trucks guarding the site. 8 gun trucks were scattered around the buildings, armed with heavy machine guns. Most likely, several infantry squads were inside the building as well.
"We got the PBI", Sgt Cerillios's voice broke out over the radio.
"Careful Sergeant", Warson replied," watch out for any surprises."
Don't worry Mi Amore, I'm faster than them any day". Cerillios was from an old hacienda in the Protectorate of Oriete. Like Warson, her world had a strong Hispanic background, though Warson couldn't actually speak Spanish to save his soul. Cerillios often teased him of it, and mildly flirted. Both were too professional to let any fraternization happen, but everyone knew there was an attraction.
True to her word, she pushed her Mercury forward, followed by Sergeat Polls's Hermes. Warson and Jefferson added their Large Lasers and LRMs to the mix, but it was the smaller Mechs that were going to really put the hurt on the infantry. Sgt Polls opened up with his AC 5 and laser against the front of the nearest compound. Infantry inside were firing medium and heavy machine guns at the Mechs. The weapons opened up the walls of the building and the Hermes brought out every infantryman's fear...fire. His flamer poured burning fuel into the walls of the building, suffocating anyone who wasnt burned to death.
Cerillios was just as deadly to the gun trucks assembled outside. While they poured their weapons into the modified Hermes, none of them had the time to focus their weapons, which was the only real hope a conventional grunt had of downing the multi-tonned beast. She opened up with her Mech's Sperry Browning machine guns, the full metal jacketed slugs ripping into the vehicles. the crews inside two of the trucks, ten men in total were simply shredded by the the .50 Cal rounds. She followed up with her lasers and flamer against the other trucks. In a matter of moments, the two 40-tonners had snuffed out the lives of over thirty men.
She barely had time to revel in her victory when warning tones sounded from her Mech's computer. She first thought it was the two Medium Mechs closing in, but that wasnt the case. " This is Reaper 4, I got one, maybe two fusion engines warming up. No confirmation of -wait, got it, were looking at-"
"Pull back Reaper 3 &4, get some distance" The concern in Lt Jefferson's voice was clear. It was also too late. Just as he finished speaking, two large steel doors ripped open. A 80 ton monster strode from one, a Victor. It was followed by a clearly modified Trebuchet, armed with a PPC in its right arm. The Victor however was by far the clearer threat. Armed with a 20 Class Autocannon, it could strip the armor of almost any Mech in a single burst. And it was point blank with the two Hermes IIs.
Sgt Cerillios and Sgt Polls barely had time to respond before the beast was on them. Sgt Cerillios opened up with her medium lasers, melting two small pools in the Mechs armor. Sgt Polls kicked his Mech forward instead, moving around the Trebuchet as it came out. The Victor faced the much smaller Cerillios was in, and opened fire with its massive weapon. The AC 20 sounded like a deep throated roar as the shells cratered the center of the Hermes IIs.
Cerillios tried to keep her Mech standing, but it was a futile effort.
Warson could see from his position the sharp heat spike in the Mech, the clear sign of an engine being damaged. Just as quickly as it spiked, the engine shut down, preventing itself from erupting and annihilating the Mech. Without its engine providing power, the machine simply fell in on itself. Warson and Jefferson both turned their weapons on the 80 ton monster that snuffed the life out of Sgt Cerillios's Mech. Chances were, she had survived the death of her ride, adn the rest of the lance was going to ensure she had the best chance possible.
Warson's Grasshopper dumped laser and missile fire into the Victor, followed by matching firepower by the Thunderbolt. The enemy Mech staggered under the damage,but remained standing. It turned the massive maw of its weapon towards them, but as it staggered, its shells flew over the shoulder of Jefferson's Mech's shoulder. Polls continued his fight against the Trebuchet, peeling armor from the Mechs rear and legs. The 50 Ton Mech ignored the relatively light damage of the scout mech and kicked into flanking speed, moving towards the heavy mechs of Reaper Lance. Even more troubling, the Rifleman and Shadow Hawk had moved into range, adding their own firepower to the mix.
Reaper Lance was getting into a tight situation. Already one Mech down, the enemy forces had a slight advantage on the other three warriors. Taking down the Victor was the top priority for the Reapers if they were going to have a chance to win. Jefferson's Large lasers and 15 stack LRMS poured fire into the left side of the Mech, followed by the medium and heavy lasers of Warson's Grasshopper. He ignored the Trebuchet for the time being, content to let it fire him up with the PPC and dual stacked SRM-2's. The Particle cannon bit deep into the left arm of his mech, but the heavy armor withstood the punishment.
The Victor was not as lucky. The combination of laser and missile fire was too much for the the armor of the enemy machine. Neither Jefferson or Warson would know which one of them did it, but its torso caved in on itself, followed by the sympathetic destruction of its' autocannon's shells. The 80 ton Mech staggered and quaked as it was torn apart from the inside. Warson couldnt tell if the pilot had a chance to eject or not.
"Warson, keep the 'bucket off of me, I need to support Polls against the other Mechs!" Jefferson moved forward, dumping fire into the 60 ton Riflemen. Now that he was close, he could see the Mech had removed its traditional large laser and AC/5 combination in each arm for AC 10's. It was a deadly one two punch the Mech had and it was dumping shells on the Thunderbolt. Polls had begun moving his Hermes II around the rear of the Mech, hoping to penetrate its thin rear armor.
The SSgt radio his confirmation and moved against the 50 ton Trebuchet, or 'bucket as some called it. It wasnt unusual for Mechs to house configurations that deviated from the manufacture standard. 300 years of almost continuous warfare had made innovation a necessity, and the Trebuchet's PPC was a deadly weapon. Warson could see jump jets added to the torso of the Mech, giving it the ability to maneuver quickly around the battlespace. At the moment, the mech staggered as over a ton of armor was peeled away by laser fire.
Jefferson was standing firm in the middle of the battlefield. Pouring fire into the enemy Mechs. He fired a quick squirt of machine gun fire from his Mech's left arm towards several infantry men moving towards the downed Hermes II. He would be dammed if some ground pounder would reach the possibly wounded Sgt inside. All of a sudden, his mech staggered forward as a horrific burst of fire tore into his rear.
Warson looked on as his commander's mech stumbled. The Trebuchet has chosen to ignore his Mech and fire at the Thunderbolt's fragile rear armor. The Particle Cannon tore into the Mech's armor, collapsing its LRM launcher. "keep 'em off of me Warson!" Jefferson regained control of his mech, returning fire against the Shadow Hawl.
The Trebuchet moved towards to grove of trees to the north of the compound. Warson followed the mech, blasting into it with his weapons. It was the Trebuchet's turn to stumble as its left hip actuator was fried by a large laser blast Warson moved in for the kill, following up with a kick from his 70 ton Mech. His armored foot caved in the side of the opposing Mechs knee, driving it to the ground.
As the Mech Fell, Wrson ripped into its rear armor with all five of his lasers, confident in his twenty-two heat sinks being able to manage the waste heat produced. The Trebuchet shuddered and died as its center torso was melted out. Warson turned, just in time for him to be horrified. Lt Jefferson was in serious trouble.
The Shadow Hawk and Rifleman continued to ignore the relatively minor firepower of Polls Hermes II, focusing their attacks on the Lieutenant's Mech instead. The AC 10 of the modified Rifleman cratered the armor of his Mech's left arm, followed by the medium laser of the Hawk. The beams deadly light ignited the machine gun ammuntion inside the 65 ton Mech's bays, causing a chain effect of destruction. As the Mech died around him, his automatic ejection system ignited, projecting the young Mechwarrior out. Warson looked on in horror as the Lt's seat carried him right into the to cripple LRM launcher that had twisted to rest directly in his filght path.
The 7-ton missile system barely budged as Lt Jefferson's seat crashed into it; however the Mechwarrior deflected off of the launcher. Warson cried out as he watched his friend, and his commander tumble off into the distance. He rushed forward, focusing his fire on the Hawk. "Polls, keep up the attack on their rear, but the Shad is mine!"
Polls was nothing if not a skilled pilot. He rushed his Mech forward, firing his laser and AC into the now destroyed rear armor of the Rifleman. The Mech's right arm sagged as the support structure in the torso sagged under the onslaught. Following up his weapon's damage, Polls kicked the already damaged leg of the Mech. The Rifleman stumbled and fell as its hipped seized up.
Quickly reversing his Mech, Polls tried to make it to the cover of a small hill behind him. It was the right move, and he almost made it when the enemy Shadow Hawk turned from Warson and dumped Auto Cannon and laser fire into the smaller Mech. Polls slid and stumbled under the onslaught but carried on. He almost made it behind the hill when the Rifleman got back into play. It had taken a knee and reversed its remaining AC. A long torrent of fire ripped into the Hermes, igniting its remaining ammo.
"Ejecting!" Polls cried into his radio as his seat fired beneath him. Warson looked on has his ally sailed into the sky. It looked like a clean break, but he had a more pressing problem. Now, he was alone. Moving forward, he fired his weapons into the right arm of the Hawk. The Rifleman turned its fire onto him, caving in the left torso of his mech. Warson was able to keep his balance as two of his four medium lasers failed.
This was getting dire. Two Mechs against one was never good odds, but Warson was confident he would win. Both of the enemy Mechs were limping from actuator hits to their legs. The last burst from the Rifleman did its damage, but Warson was sure that the cannon had belched out its last few rounds. While his own Mech was badly damaged, most of his torso was unscathed and the Grasshopper was well known as a 'zombie' Mech. It was time to show the Capellans just what the Dark Shadows could do when pressed.
Engaging his four jump jets, Warson sailed above the crippled Rifleman. The Mech tried to turn towards him, but hobbled as it was, it was going to take several critical, long seconds to bear its lasers against him. As he landed, the Shadow Hawk turned its medium laser towards him.
Sparks leapt from the right arm as the Hawk tried to fire point blank into the larger Mech. Warson gave a grim smile. His last attack had fired the controls for the weapon. "NOW YOU'RE MINE!" Warsons three remaining lasers cared deep into the enemy Mech. Before the Mech could respond, he raised his 70 ton Mech's leg, driving it into the remaining armor of the Shadow Hawk's right knee. The Mech fell, struggled to rise, but Warson followed up his previous attack with another cruel kick, caving in the side of the Mech.
Warson moved around the downed Mech. Turning his weapons to the Rifleman, he fired away. The enemy pilot had to know that he wouldn't win. But Major Kratic's assessment of the opposition was proving correct. The pilot was not going to surrender, no matter what the price. Both Mechs stood firm, dumping fire into one another. Inevitably, the Rifleman fell, its gyro scrapped to the laser fire of Warson's Grasshopper.
As Warson looked out of his Mech's viewport, he could see the faint contrails of a passing dropship in the afternoon light. He was sure that was the the infantry finally making their HALO jump. Sure enough, his radio crackled to life. "Reaper Lance this is Hell Jumper Actual, what is your status"?
Warson keyed into his comms unit. "Hell Jumper, this is Reaper Two, site is secured, repeat site is secured. There are three friendly Epsilons at this time, one likely Whiskey." Epsilon and Whiskey were the code words for an ejected or wounded Mechwarrior. By saying those words, it seemed like Warson was condemning Jefferson to his fate.
He continued to look out of his viewport as some of the grunts became visible. He sighed internally. Sometimes it was hard to know if it was worth it. This battle, these deaths, the enemy pilots, their infantry, likely Lt Jefferson were all supposed to stop a larger war. But the only reason Reaper Lance was here at all was because the League wanted to fight an entirely different war instead. Warson didnt know the answer, but he did know that his place, his role was to be part of it. For good or ill.