MechWarrior: Shadow Company
Return of the Clans
Hello! If you have never heard of me I am G fox. This is my second story blah, blah, blah. If you have heard of me and were one of those to review my original story… Yay! I have fans! Well, not exactly fans but you get the point. And now prepare for another stupid intro by that random guy who shows up for no reason in my stories.
Chapter 1
You know the story concerning the start of Shadow Company. Now you shall hear one about their long term campaign against the Clan's return. Almost ten years since the armistice was signed between the Inner Sphere factions, houses, and the Clans, Shadow Company has turned its strict training regiment into a way to make money. Fox McCloud founded the Joint Republic-Vulparian Combat Training Academy as the prince of the Vulparian Empire and Knight of the Sphere, not as commander of Shadow Company.
Shadow Company has created a legacy amongst all war torn parties, as has the JRVC Training Academy. Those seeking powerful mercenaries come to Outreach seeking Shadow Company at their new home; the complex surrounding the JRVC Training Academy. To explain this Fox merely says they have a long term defense contract with the academy.
It is now only a few days until the armistice comes down, and new missions will be thrown at Shadow Company from all sides. Let us begin…
Fox observed the simulated battle between Megan McCauley and another trainee by the name of Jeffery Schrader. They were being watched by the entire academy on drop-down screens that broadcasted scheduled simulations across the complex. Thanks to his upbringing, Fox attempted to simulate the camaraderie seen in Clan sibko life in this training facility. Each trainee was taught to be honorable, both in the Clan sense and the Vulparian sense, and blows to honor called for a battle in the simulators. Each combatant was given a randomized force with similar strength ratings and told to decimate the opponent.
This, was one of those battles. Jeffery was a sexist as well as a racist, believing only human males should go into battle because they were superior to all others in life and combat. He made a point of displaying these thoughts every chance he got, and this time they had stung someone who was willing to fight back.
Fox looked on as Megan, in nothing heavier than a Raven, ran circles around Jeffery in his Catapult. She darted around in her customized light Mech, using its only weapon, a Heavy laser, to burn deep scars into the much heavier Mech's hide. She had stripped everything from the Raven and had its chest modified to hold the Heavy laser. She used the remaining weight to fortify and speed up her already fast Mech, making it fast enough to outrun missiles and chase down any Mech in existence, and giving it enough armor to last longer than most light Mechs, and several medium Mechs.
She darted behind the Catapult to punch one final laser into the compromised rear armor that protected the reactor. The Vulparian made simulation made it look exactly like something that would happen in the real world; flames burst out of the holes in the Mech's armor, slowly burning and eating away at the insides and armor of the Mech. With one final heave the Mech lifted off the ground as the jump jet fuel lit, then the heavy Mech fell to the ground in nothing more than a smoking heap of twisted metal.
Fox gripped his microphone he used for announcements across the complex to announce the results. "Game, set, match, to Megan McCauley." He set down the microphone and watched as the two trainees emerged from the simulators. Megan looked happy, and Jeffrey looked like he wanted another match. In fact, that was exactly what he wanted.
"You cheated! I don't know how but you hacked the system to make my weapons move slower!" He accused, stalking over and towering above her. He was easily eight inches taller than her, being six foot two inches and her only five foot six inches.
"How could I? I don't even have access to the simulator when I'm in it." She stated calmly and began to walk away.
"I want a rematch! Now!" He grabbed her by the arm, apparently forgetting that there were Elementals constantly on guard to prevent the trainees getting hurt. The closest one picked him up by the shoulders, putting just enough pressure to paralyze the young man without breaking anything.
"Student Schrader. Unless you want to be expelled from this school I suggest you leave student McCauley alone. And if you bother her again, well, I just told you what will happen." Fox said over the loud speaker.
The young man sighed, allowing the Elemental to put him down, then leaving with anger written across his face. Fox sighed. "Why did I let that House Steiner family talk me into training him? All he does is complain and say I'm incompetent. Oh well… it can't be helped now."
He left the simulation room to head down to the briefing room. He had scheduled a meeting with his command staff and now, thanks to this little argument, he was late. He didn't think the others would mind; now that he ran this training complex he was always late to meetings. The door opened automatically after scanning his retina.
"Glad you could make it to your own meeting Fox." Eric joked lightly. "Saw the fight… pretty nice. If you ask me I'd say Megan will make a fine warrior."
"I agree with that Eric. Now, on to the business at hand. As you well know the Clans are mobilizing their forces in preparation for an all-or-nothing assault against the Inner Sphere and The Republic. We have the support of Clan Wolf in Exile, as well as Clan Nova Cat, I believe. That makes two Clans we don't have to worry about. There have been rumors that the Smoke Jaguars have managed to come back to a respectable level of combat readiness; probably only a few Binaries to a Cluster at best. I have also received information that a new Clan has entered the field. I believe it's called Clan Coiled Viper."
"Great… that means two more Clans to deal with. That doesn't do anything to help us number-wise." Cory stated.
"Yes, I know. But it can't be helped. We've been called in by the Exarch to hold two worlds he believes are in danger of falling. We'll most likely end up fighting several battles with the Clans. That means we have to follow their rules or risk touching off a 'Grand Melee' as they call them. If that happens, we're evenly matched and there'll be no telling if we win or lose."
"Damn… I always did hate those things." Eric remarked quietly. Since his little bout of unconsciousness ten years ago he had become more open about his past life as a Wolf Clansman.
"So did I when I worked as a tech for Clan Wolf… so much damage and the warriors hollering at us to get their Mechs fixed faster. Ugh… let's try not to start one of those, alright?" Everyone nodded their approval of this plan quickly.
"When do we leave, Fox?" Alison asked, eager to fight again after five years as a noncom.
"As soon as the graduation ceremony is over tomorrow." He answered. The briefing was dismissed and Fox, Alison, Cory, and Eric met up in Fox's room to choose who would be graduating this year. Meaning 'who has met the company standard'?
Fox stocked the best selection of drinks in one location in his room. Eric poured himself some authentic Terran vodka from Russia and Cory got a glass of straight bourbon. Fox poured Alison and himself some Vulparian wine. Vulparians are hypersensitive to alcohol, and so are Nekonians, hence why Vulparian liquor is made with very little alcohol, only a few drops per bottle at most.
Fox handed his feline friend the glass of wine and sat down to review notes taken by the computer and on little pieces of paper the instructors kept just for that reason. Obviously not all the students on the complex would be graduating this year, only about ten percent of the personnel there.
As they finished the selection they split off and headed for their own rooms. Fox cleaned up the late dinner they had ordered and curled up in his bed. He slipped into a deep sleep soon after.
Over the years of contact with Clan Nova Cat warriors, several people in the company had begun having visions. No one understood why they were having these visions, but they were usually proved true. Fox had one of those visions that night, in it a black, shadowy fox battled against a knight with blue gauntlets and a hammer that sparked with lightning. By the end of the vision the fox had defeated the knight, but had taken an enormous wound that blood flowed from like a river.
"Ah!" As he awoke he jumped out of bed and grabbed his katana that hung next to it. He was panting, and his fur glistened with sweat. "Just a dream… just a dream." He sighed, breathing deeply to calm himself down. He sheathed the blade and pressed his palms together, breathing deeply as he slowed his heart rate.
As he calmed down he donned his armor, flipping the visor up so his eyes were visible. He walked calmly down to the Mech hanger, jogging most of the way there as it was a little way away. He scaled his Griffin in only ten seconds and opened the hatch. As he strapped into his command couch he realized the rest of the complex had woken up. MechWarriors straggled into the Mech hanger to mount up. He waited for them to power up before starting for the ceremonial landing zone.
As they got to the landing strip, where aerodyne dropships landed, most of the trainees had already lined up according to size. Infantry took the front, vehicles were behind them and Mechs were in the far back. Aerospace craft danced across the sky, trailing colored smoke according to how long they had been in the Academy and what superficial rank they held. Fox and his friends stopped at the end of the landing strip and turned to face all the trainees.
"Front face!" A sergeant called out and immediately all the units, except wheeled vehicles, spun in place to face their commanding officers. Fox pulled up the sheet he had made last night and loaded into his Mech's computer.
"Listen up! These people have been selected to move to the next level of training." He went through the list of names quickly. "Now, for those who are graduating this time round." Again he went through the list.
As the final names were called the rest of the trainees started hollering and shouting out congratulations to the others who had moved up. That was when things turned bad. "How dare you not even mention my name!? You worthless bastard! I told my parents foxes were only good for hunting, they should have listened, and not sent me to this, this… piece of shit! I am the best damn Mech pilot here, why don't you let me go and give me the damn diploma!?"
"Because you don't deserve it. If you have already forgotten I believe Megan defeated you yesterday." Fox stated calmly, though he activated his weapons even as he said it.
"She cheated! I would have won had she not hacked the simulator and slowed my weapons! I'll prove it!" Weapons fire opened up at this statement, honing in on Megan's cockpit.
An Atlas raised its arm to block the pulse lasers headed towards the cockpit. Jeffery moved in order to fire his missiles towards her but she was already gone. She raced in behind him and melted a hole in his armor. Fox had been generous in the simulator, giving Jeffery's Mech more armor on the rear than it had in the real world. The Heavy laser burned through the armor and punched into the reactor. Dampeners tried to activate but Jeffery slammed on the override button, thinking it was just trying to shut down due to a remote trigger.
Instead the reactor bulged and exploded. The rest of the trainees watched as fire erupted from the hole in Jeffery's armor, and as that fire blew out the cockpit shield. The Mech fell to the ground with a thud in a heap of metal almost exactly like the one in the simulator. It was then that he realized that his dream last night was actually a vision of what was to come.
"Fox… this could have severe repercussions in the future. He was from a…"
"Yes Eric… I know. He was from the Schrader family, one of the most powerful when it comes to influence in House Steiner. We will be made a target… soon I fear."
"You had the vision too Fox?" Alison asked on the way back to the Mech hanger, catching him completely off guard.
He composed himself before answering. "Yes… I saw… a fox battling a knight. You saw the same thing?"
"No… well, not exactly. My vision held a black cat trying to fend off a knight with a…" She started.
"Hammer with lightning coming from it?" Cory asked, catching them both off guard. "If that's what you're talking about then I think we all had a version of that vision, right Eric?"
"Aff…" He replied quietly, reverting to his Clan Wolf days for a moment and then returning to normal. "I mean yes. My vision showed a large wolf fighting that same knight."
"What about you Cory? What was fighting the knight in your vision?" Alison asked curiously.
"Me? Uh… another knight, one with black armor." He responded after few moments.
"I think I understand now…" Fox remarked.
"What? What do you understand?" Cory asked, suddenly curious as well.
"It's kind of obvious. In mine it was a fox, in Alison's it was a cat, in Cory's it was another knight, and in Eric's it was a wolf. Those are our token creatures, in some cases even our call signs. It means we're going to be going up against House Steiner at one point or another, probably with StormHammer support."
"Damn… that would mean we will be facing forces on two fronts, quiaff?" Eric stated, again reverting to his Clan life.
The others were confused for a moment on how to answer before Fox answered. "Aff. We could use your friends' support in this Eric."
"I shall try and get Khan Phelan Ward to side with us. We are a mercenary company though, and Clansmen feel we have no honor. He may not even agree to see me, even if I am a former wolf." He added after some thought.
"Do everything you can Eric. Any help you can get us will be well appreciated by The Republic, and the Vulparian Empire at that." Fox said as he powered down Kyouun's reactor. Eric was the first out of his Mech and out the hanger, he had a mission to complete as fast as possible.
"What was that all about?" Cory asked as they regrouped at the hanger's entrance.
"Eric seems to be reverting into his Clansman mind for some reason. Perhaps that vision startled him into reopening painful memories and thoughts. Cory, try and stick with him, help him if he needs it but don't make it look like you think something is wrong. I'll give all of you a crash course in Clan etiquette later."
They split up for the rest of the day to get things done that only they could do. Alison talked with the graduates and most of them agreed to join the company.
End Chapter 1
Hope you liked the first one! Expect more to come quickly also! Review responses!
Tremble Wolf: First, hot-cycling is where you quick charge energy weapons in order to fire them more rapidly than normal. Doing this heats up the Mech a lot faster than waiting for the reactor to slowly charge the weapon, and I'm not sure but using logic I'd guess that the hot-cycled energy is less powerful than that charged slowly. Next, I screwed up again… I didn't know the guidelines about ownership of characters and I thought that since the characters were based on my friends and they thought up the actual characters that they owned them and not me. My mom however has told me that ownership means they weren't in an original story and therefore they are mine. Sorry for confusing you buddy.
Next review; Good for you! I would have given you mine but I don't know where you live, and I'm not allowed to give out my address so that also screwed up my plan. Also, you don't know about hot-cycling because I don't think they put that feature in the games. I only found out about it because I read it in the novels.
Thank you for reading this first chapter of the new story. And now for the quote… yes I'm still gonna try and do this quote thing every chapter; so send me some new ones! I'm running out! Help!
"If you're ahead of your platoon, they know something you don't."
REVIEW ME! Sorry… meds wearing off again… damn.