Foreword
Welcome to the "sequel" to A Friend In Need. First I'd just like to point out its only a sequel in the loosest terms, i.e. it features the same factions, but the majority of the characters are different. The theme is the same however (allied states aiding each other in time of need). This was also a collaborative effort, with several of the early chapters being written by a certain J. M. Pendergrass - including the first one. J. A. Baker and the Outer Colonies show up again towards the end. If you thought the first story was a bit long at 30 chapters, this one's a monster! I've written 60 chapters so far, with another 2 or 3 to go. It may end up being more, if I split the main battle sequences up to make them more reader-friendly. Finally, if you think there is anything that could be improved, let me know. I'm always open to criticism, as long as its constructive.
Location: Undisclosed
Subject: Attack on PenderCorp facility, Black Isle, Royalist Alliance
Date of Incident: 13th September, 3068
Date of Inquiry: 20th September, 3068
The collection of men and women filed into the boardroom and took their seats. They were legal representatives and military analysts from the Britannic Coalition, the Royalist Alliance and PenderCorp, with delegates from the Outer Colonies acting as impartial adjudicators.
The chairman called the meeting to order. "This investigative committee now returns to session. Yesterday we heard the report from one Philip Evans, a test pilot in the employ of PenderCorp. Today we have the recovered battlerom from one of the mechs involved in the incident, which I believe will back up Mr. Evans' report.
The chairman gestured to the board of inquiry clerk. "Mr. Ericsson, please play the recording".
*click*
*static*
Sentry Three: "All systems green…ready to move out. Any idea what's going on, sir?"
Sentry Lead: "Not a clue, Phil. Control reported a large number of unidentified contacts coming in from the south, headed for the factory. We're supposed to find out who they are and what they want".
Sentry Two: "Sounds like a crap job to me. If they're bandits, how are we supposed to fight 'em off? We're test pilots, not friggin' House mech jocks".
Sentry Lead: "Blow it out your exhaust port, Melissa. Boss signs the checks, so we do what he says - end of subject. Now move out. I'd have thought you play-warriors would be itching to see what these beauties can really do".
The chairman spoke again. "Mr. Ericsson, please fast forward. Let the record show that the next three minutes on this recording are unrelated to the incident and merely involve idle chatter while the PenderCorp mechs move out to meet the approaching force."
*whirring*
*click*
Sentry Three: "Contact! Sensors showing a large number of mechs, bearing Three Three Five, range nine hundred metres. Also reading a number of armour units and aircraft. Looks like they're headed straight for us".
Hawkeye: "This is Hawkeye. Confirm large formation of battlemechs, vehicles and choppers...not getting any IFF signals yet and its too dark for a visual ID…taking up position on your six to observe".
Sentry Lead: "Thanks, Tucker. Just keep an eye on 'em…don't get too close. Your whirlybirds won't be any use if things get ugly".
Hawkeye: "Rub it in, why don'tcha?"
Sentry Lead: "This is Senior Corporate Officer Joe Rogers of the PenderCorp Security Force. Identify yourselves and state your intentions".
*prolonged burst of static*
Sentry Two: "Hey Joe, my displays just turned to static! Somebody's laying down some heavy ECM. I dunno if those guys will be able to hear us…unless they're the ones doing the jamming. Either way, I can't get a read on their units any more".
Sentry Lead: "Repeat, this is SCO Rogers of the PenderCorp Security Force. You are trespassing on land leased to the Pender…"
*explosion in background and weapons fire*
Sentry Four: "What the…did someone just open fire?"
Sentry Three: "I dunno…I thought I saw a flash just now".
Sentry Lead: "I didn't order anyone to fire…all units, hold your fire!"
Sentry Two: "It wasn't any of us…it was them!"
Sentry Lead: "But we don't even know who they are yet…why the hell would they fire at us?"
*CRACK*
Sentry Two: "Christ - that was close!"
Sentry Lead: "All units hold your fire…I repeat, hold your fire!"
*Over a minute of sounds of sporadic weapons fire with no dialogue*
Unidentified: "Surrender and we will allow you to leave with your lives. The factory is ours whether you fight or not".
Sentry Lead: "This is Senior Corporate Officer Rogers of PenderCorp. Identify yourselves!"
Unidentified: "Resistance will not be tolerated. This is your final warning".
Sentry Lead: "I repeat, who is this? Identify yourself!"
Unidentified: "You are interfering in a Royalist Alliance military operation. Stand down immediately or you will be destroyed".
Sentry Lead: "Wait a second. The Alliance government has entrusted the care of the Black Isle facility to us. Why the hell would they be sending one of their units to take it from us? For all we know you could be pirates!"
Unidentified: "Go ahead and call in if you like. We have our orders".
*weapons fire in background*
Sentry Lead: "Don't worry, I'm going to!"
Sentry Two: "Joe, I've got a visual ID! It's the 4th Lancers…I recognise the colours and insignia! Their base is just thirty minutes south of here!"
Sentry Three: "No way! You've gotta be seeing things. Why would they just show up and start shooting at us?"
Sentry Lead: "We deployed to intercept them, remember? And we shot first! It's just a big mistake!"
Sentry Two: "Bull! They shot first!"
Sentry Lead: "Shut up Melissa! I'm gonna try and get through to Control and see if they can sort this out! Damn, its no good – I can't get though. Long range coms are jammed too!"
Unidentified2: "This is the RAAF liaison for Black Isle. What in the blue blazes is going on over there?"
*explosion, cockpit warning alarms and drowned out dialogue*
Sentry Lead: "This is SCO Joe Rogers of the PenderCorp Security Force. We are under attack from the 4th Lancers. For Pete's sake, call your troops off! People are about to die out here!"
Unidentified2: "What are you talking about? You're interfering with a sanctioned Alliance military operation! Stand down immediately and return to your base! Who authorised your deployment?"
*weapons fire*
Sentry Two: "Do you think these people could be for real, Joe!"
Unidentified3: "This is the commanding officer of the 4th Lancers. What do you idiots think you're doing? While you're playing at being heroes, you're endangering the lives of Alliance military personnel!"
Sentry Three: "Oh, Jesus, this is seriously messed up!"
Unidentified3: "I repeat, you are ordered to stand down at once!"
Sentry Two: "What the hell's going on, Joe?"
Sentry Lead: "I don't know! Jesus…I just don't know!"
*weapons fire*
*static*
Unidentified3: "If you do not stand down immediately, you WILL be considered enemies of the Royalist Alliance and fired upon!"
Sentry Lead: "We're already being fired on!"
Unidentified3: "I don't believe I'm making myself clear. Continue your aggressive actions and I will have no option but to order the complete destruction of your unit!"
Sentry Lead: "How do we know you are who you say you are? How do we know you speak for the Alliance…and on whose authority?"
Unidentified2: "This incident will reflect VERY poorly on your employer".
*cockpit warning alarms and drowned out dialogue*
Sentry Lead: "For all we know you could be impostors!"
Unidentified3: "What? What are you blathering about, you incompetent trigger-happy idiot?"
*weapons fire*
Sentry Two: "Joe! I got one! Scratch one Phoenix Hawk!"
Sentry Three: "Hey! My screens have cleared up…I'm getting sensor readings again! I think the jamming's stopped…oh, Jesus…"
Sentry Two: "Oh my god! ID confirmed. Transponder codes match the 4th Lancers…I just took down one of their mechs!"
RAAF Liaison: "Major, if this continues you are within your rights to defend yourselves by any means necessary. I'm putting a call in to PenderCorp to see if someone can talk some sense into these lunatics".
Lancer Command: "Understood, Captain".
Sentry Lead: "Don't call ME a trigger happy idiot, you impostor! The Royalist Alliance has…"
Pendercorp CEO: "That's enough, Rogers! I'll take it from here. This is Chief Executive Joseph Pendergrass. What is your business here?"
*explosion and wordless screaming, followed by static*
RAAF Liaison: "Your people are interfering in a sanctioned military operation and worse, have fired on a Royalist Alliance military force. This will not be tolerated!"
Pendercorp CEO: "What is the purpose of this operation?"
Lancer Command: "If you don't call them off immediately, we WILL destroy them and send you the salvage bill!"
Pendercorp CEO: "What is the purpose of this operation? I was never told of an operation by the RAAF!"
RAAF Liaison: "The Fourth Lancers are under orders to place a guard force around your facility. We have a number of unidentified dropships approaching your location and anticipate a pirate raid".
*indecipherable screaming*
Lancer Command: "…and a force from your facility intercepted us and opened fire! Order them to stand down immediately, or suffer the consequences!"
*weapons fire in background*
Pendercorp CEO: "Once again, I was never told of this operation".
Sentry Three: "Sir, lead enemy units are closing fast!"
Sentry Two: "Joe, what are we supposed to do?"
Sentry Three: "We have to push forward or they'll flank us!"
Sentry Lead: "No! Pull back…it's all a huge screw up!"
Lancer Command: "Of course you weren't told. It's a classified operation! In any case, it doesn't give your trigger-happy yahoos an excuse to fire on us without provocation!"
*weapons fire*
*indecipherable screaming, possibly obscene*
Pendercorp CEO: "All PSF pilots; clear the comms and let me deal with this!"
Lancer Command: "Be advised, your line of retreat is being blocked. Do you really think we're stupid enough to allow you to pull back and regroup? You are hereby ordered to stand down or you will be considered a threat to the operation and destroyed".
"Mr. Ericsson; pause the playback for a moment, please. Let the record show that, at this point, the PenderCorp force had its retreat cut off by missile-deployed minefields from one or more of the units approaching the facility. Please continue".
Pendercorp CEO: "How can this be a classified operation? If the RAAF were to send a force to protect the facility, I would have to be notified in advance!"
RAAF Liaison: "Your employees are already in violation of a number of the Alliance's military and civil laws, Mister Pendergrass, for which they will be brought to trial. Are you sure you want further charges brought against you?"
Pendercorp CEO: "I don't know what's going on any more than you do…and don't threaten me with legal action unless you've got the evidence to back it up!"
Sentry Four: "Oh, Christ! They've got battle armor! Get it off me…get it off me!"
RAAF Liaison: "If you continue this course of action, we are would be within our rights to seize your facility and any other assets you may have to pay for the damage caused by your security forces".
Pendercorp CEO: "I wasn't told about this operation! My people are just following procedure".
Lancer Command: "I don't care about your company's procedures. I've got my orders and I intend to follow through on them. Anything beyond that is Command's business".
Pendercorp CEO: "How do I know you really are an RAAF unit and not a band of marauding pirates?"
Lancer Command: "If your people haven't been able to visually ID us by now, I would seriously question the calibre of your employees! Do you seriously think a pirate unit would take the trouble to paint their mechs in our colours and use our unit insignias? You've even got a fricking liaison officer on the line for Pete's sake!"
Pendercorp CEO: "So you say…he could be anyone! I can't even contact the local command centre to verify his ID!"
*indecipherable shouting in background and weapons fire*
Lancer Alpha Six: "Sir, they're still firing at us. Shall we continue to move on the factory?"
RAAF Liaison: "I've had enough of this. You have your orders, Major Hoffmann. In the meantime I'm going to contact Command to find out how the hell this got so screwed up!"
Pendercorp CEO: "This is Chief Executive Pendergrass. All PenderCorp units are to stand down until further orders".
Lancer Command: "All units continue original mission to secure the facility".
Sentry Two: "OPEN FIRE!"
Sentry Lead: "Hey, I'm the senior officer! I give the orders around here!"
Sentry Two: "Then what do we do, Joe?"
Sentry Lead: "All units fall back!"
*weapons fire*
Sentry Lead: "Cease fire! Melissa, I said to fall…"
Pendercorp CEO: "THIS IS THE CEO...ALL PSF UNITS ARE TO CEASE FIRE IMMEDIATELY!"
Lancer Command: "About time somebody showed some sense…stupid backwater mech jocks. All units hold fire".
RAAF Liaison: "This is Dufrain. I can't get through to Command. Pendergrass, those dropships inbound on your position are what you should be worrying about right now – not us. Our men WILL follow orders whether or not yours interfere".
Lancer Command: "Have they landed yet, Captain?"
RAAF Liaison: "Checking…negative, sir…ETA fifteen minutes".
Lancer Command: "Copy that. All Lancer units are to stand down!"
Lancer Alpha Six: "Alpha Company standing down, sir".
Sentry Two: "Standing down? They shot at us first!"
Sentry Lead: "For the last time, Melissa, SHUT UP!"
RAAF Liaison: "Members of the Pendercorp Security Force, you are hereby ordered to abandon your mechs and vehicles and evacuate the area in your VTOLs. You may send salvage crews to recover your equipment at your convenience. I'm sure there will be some VERY interesting discussions when this is over, Mister Pendergrass".
Pendercorp CEO: "Negative, my units will withdraw and return to the facility on their own. I have already ordered them not to fire on your forces".
RAAF Liaison: "Mister Pendergrass, your people have already done more than enough damage for one day. Don't make things worse for them and yourself by attempting to countermand my orders. I would advise you to start complying before you put your entire company at risk".
Pendercorp CEO: "Look! I still have no way of verifying whether you are who you claim to be. Furthermore, I refuse to abandon nearly 200 million C-bills' worth of equipment, especially if we are facing an imminent pirate raid!"
Lancer Command: "You are in no position to argue, Mister Pendergrass. Send your crews to pick them up as soon as you wish, but I'm not letting those trigger-happy morons walk off with military property!"
Pendercorp CEO: "I'm sorry, but I will not do that. I'm ordering my pilots to bring their mechs back to the facility".
Lancer Command: "You are under a direct ORDER! Do you realise I could have your facility levelled with a single command?"
Pendercorp CEO: "Show some FAITH and I just might comply! I can still hear weapons fire, for god's sake…and I'm damned sure it's not my people firing! As for destroying this facility, if you really wanted to, you'd have done it by now…you want what's in here".
Lancer Command: "We had FAITH that we wouldn't be fired upon for merely approaching your facility. And the mines my units are deploying are defensive measures, in case your cowboys decide to disobey orders again".
Pendercorp CEO: "Let's at least try to be reasonable here. I'm sure we can come to an agreement. My SCO is a good officer and he will obey any orders I give him".
Lancer Command: "Then tell him that all your personnel are to leave their mechs and evacuate in the VTOLs or we WILL consider their continued presence to be a hostile act and resume action against them".
Pendercorp CEO: "Stop huffing. We both know our forces could inflict a great deal of damage on each other. Yours would undoubtedly win in the end, but I'm sure you could do without the repair bill and casualties. How about this: your forces will escort mine back to our facility and your troops can verify our stand down. I think I'm showing plenty of faith by ordering my units to hold fire".
Sentry Four: "Sir, one of our VTOLs has opened fire!"
Pendercorp CEO: "What the hell…? I explicitly ordered everyone to cease fire!"
Hawkeye: "I'M HIT! THEY'VE GOT INFERNOES! I CAN'T KEEP HER UP! I CAN'T SEE WHERE I'M…"
*indecipherable screaming and explosions*
"Mr. Ericsson, please pause the recording.
*click*
The investigative committee will note that this is the time in the report when one of the PenderCorp VTOL was shot down by machine gun fire, presumably from another aircraft. Please continue".
*click*
Pendercorp CEO: "What just happened? Somebody answer me!"
RAAF Liaison: "Somebody call that idiot off!"
Sentry Three: "What the hell's going on, Joe?"
Sentry Two: "THEY'RE FIRING ON US AGAIN!"
Sentry Lead: "Wait..."
Pendercorp CEO: "What's going on there?"
Sentry Two: "RETURN FIRE!"
*weapons fire*
Sentry Lead: "Stand down! Stand down!"
Pendercorp CEO: "This is the CEO..."
Sentry Two: "DON'T LISTEN TO HIM…DEFEND YOURSELVES!"
Sentry Lead: "MELISSA! You idiot…"
*weapons fire and explosions*
Sentry Lead: "Cease fire, I repeat, cease fire!"
Pendercorp CEO: "THIS IS THE CHAIRMAN! ALL PENDERCORP UNITS WILL CEASE FIRE IMMEDIATELY!"
Sentry Two: "Woohoo…I just bagged a Centurion!"
*distant explosions*
*static*
RAAF Liaison: "Major, this is Dufrain. You are to assume that these idiots are in league with the pirates and act accordingly".
Lancer Command: "Understood".
Lancer Alpha Six: "Our orders, sir?"
Lancer Command: "We take down these corporate clowns…once and for all".
*distant weapons fire and explosions*
Sentry Two: "Joe, we're taking fire from all directions! What do we…"
*high-pitched squealing sound, nearly inaudible scream and explosion in background*
*static*
*click*
The chairman stood to address the rest of the enquiry board, shuffling his notes. "At this point, the Pendermech recording this was destroyed by heavy enemy fire and the battlerom recorder stopped operation. The pilot ejected and was recovered eight hours later by an Alliance police cruiser approximately six kilometers from the scene of the incident".
He paused to take a sip of water. "At this time, all records of subsequent events are based purely on what we can infer from the evidence we have seen thus far. The PenderCorp test pilots inflicted heavy casualties on their attackers before being forced back into the minefields and apparently carpet bombed by previously undetected aerospace elements. No other survivors or battlerom recorders were recovered. None of the attacking force remained after the battle, though pieces of wreckage that were salvaged, do appear to confirm that they were using the paint scheme currently in use by the 4th Royalist Lancer Regiment, stationed on Black Isle. The attackers also approached from the direction of the Lancers' base. After the PenderCorp Defence Force was destroyed, the attacking force apparently moved northward and occupied the factory itself".
He paused again to check his notes. "The incoming dropships identified by the spaceport authority, landed approximately halfway between the Lancer base and the PenderCorp factory. The size, composition and allegiance of the forces on board those dropships remain unknown. However, some wreckage bearing the colors and insignia of a Britannic Coalition unit, supposedly deployed in an operation against a pirate band on Pain and The Rack, were recovered at both the factory and the base. The Lancers' base was completely overrun and destroyed".
The chairman put down his notes and gazed around the room at the other members of the enquiry panel. "The PenderCorp factory was evacuated just prior to the attack, so there are no eyewitness accounts of anything that went on there. Surveillance records are inconclusive at best and although we will be reviewing the video footage later on, I doubt anything of use will be found. The factory itself is relatively intact, despite damage sustained from mech-scale weapons fire and a fuel tank explosion inside one of the hangar facilities".
There was another pause as he took his spectacles off and cleaned them. "Most interesting of all, perhaps, is that the factory's contents were not left intact. Approximately half the machinery is either destroyed or missing. The entire contents of the main office are missing, including the blueprints of every battlemech design PenderCorp were producing, as well as several new designs that have not yet been approved. All of the prototypes and test beds stored at the factory are also missing, along with a large stockpile of weapons and the entire supply of munitions stored at the factory. This raid had a purpose, gentlemen, although since we have no surviving witnesses from either the Lancers' Third Battalion and no prisoners from the unidentified dropship force, all we can do is speculate and infer, based on the few facts we do know".
"For now, let's adjourn for luncheon. We'll address the video evidence afterwards".