Rubber Match: Heisei Series

Note: I wasn't very satisfied with the first run of this series. My major problem was that I tried to control too many characters. It was fun at first, and for some time I enjoyed doing this 'Sin City' kind of story. But as the story progressed, I got confused and put myself on a corner. I guess multiple storyline is not my strong point.

So I went back and redid this series in a more traditional point of view: Jeremy Stewart as the main guy, with everybody else as supporting characters. I also discarded silly subplots that confused me, and only focused on one plot. Everything moved fine after that.

So here it is my second attempt for this storyline. It's still lighthearted although I put a lot of adult materials in it; hence the rating M. Hope you enjoy it, but don't push yourself if you're not comfortable with it.

BattleTech / MechWarrior and all its components are copyright of FASA, Wizkids, FanPro, InfoCom, ActiVision, MicroProse, Micro$oft Entertainment, Topps and now Smith and Tinker. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1

Sandway Building, Montenegro,
Solaris City, Solaris VII,
Freedom Theater, Lyran Alliance,
June 11, 3067

Jeremy Stewart looked through the small apartment room and muttered, "What the hell am I doing here?"

It was a mundane box, with a standard-sized bed and a simple cupboard. The only window – if it could be called a window instead of a hole on the wall – gave a view of the dirty streets of Montenegro. The glass was cracked and the blind was almost ripped off its attachments. He could clearly hear people talking and vehicle running from the street outside.

However, the bedroom was a luxury compared to the bathroom and kitchen. All taps leaked. The bathtub was dirty. The kitchen sink contained a lot of grease and food crumbs that had not been cleaned for some time. The stench of stale food filled the room. Jeremy expected to see some rats and roaches, but so far he hadn't spotted one.

The room was a far cry from his old room back at New St. Andrews. His bathroom alone was bigger than this entire apartment unit. His bed was spacious, smelled potpourri, and he had different girl almost every night – sometimes more than one. Back then, he was a prince. He was young, handsome, rich, and on top of his world. And then his heart was smitten by a woman from a rival family. He went as far as proposing to her, an engagement that was piggybacked by his father to take advantage of the other family. But Jeremy didn't care. He was in love.

But everything was not meant to be. His fiancee left him for some Solaris jerk. Everything he thought about loyalty and betrayal was turned upside down. The fallout of his engagement was war, and Jeremy quickly took his battalion to flatten the other family who only had a company of battlemechs. However, the lack of number was compensated by higher quality of troops. Jeremy was constantly outflanked and outsmarted. In the end, he was brought down to his knees by his ex fiancée.

[Author's note: for complete story, you can read Jeremy's background in We Are Cavaliers]

Broken, Jeremy left his home comforts and went to the game world with one thing in mind: to win the Solaris Grand Championship. Here in Solaris, he was nobody. He was just another rookie that came to Solaris for fame and wealth, only to find out that the game world was not as shimmering as shown in the television. Earlier that day he joined Ground Control stable, one of the small stables in Solaris City. The audition went well; he beat the stable's best pilot, a nasty mechwarrior named Mac Storm. Now he had to start as the stable's newbie, probably fighting from blood pit to blood pit before making his way up to the big arenas.

[Author's note: you can read the Prologue to this story in Knights In FerroFibrous Ch.17-19]

As he loathed the lack of living standard of the apartment and pondered what in the world he got himself into, a pair came into the room. The man was in his mid twenties, with a long dark mullet covered with a cap that he wore backward. Jeremy knew him as Kilroy, the stable's technician. The girl, a taut girl with bleached colorful hair, was Kilroy's best friend Jenny. She worked as the security officer of the stable. They were the first persons Jeremy met when he came to the stable.

"Well?" Jenny asked. "What do you think? Obviously this is not the same standard as you might have had in the past, but this is better than some other units in the building."

"This is not up to any standard," Jeremy scoffed, checking underneath the mattress for any sign of ticks.

"If you're not comfortable, you can bunk with me tonight," Jenny offered. "My apartment is just two floors above you. Tomorrow we'll clean everything up."

Jeremy gave Jenny a strange look. He just knew Jenny, but he already sensed flirtatious signals from her. It was flattering and depressing at the same time. Why was he appealing to any chick except the one he cared the most? It didn't make any sense to him.

"Thanks, Jenny, but that's not necessary," Jeremy replied. "Let me just borrow a few sheets from you. I can sleep anywhere as long as it's dry."

"Yeah, Jeremy needs a good-night rest," Kilroy tuned in. "Tomorrow we'll see the new mech Apocalypse."

"I've never heard of such a mech," Jeremy said. "Is it Solaris-based like the Colossus?"

"For now," Kilroy explained. "The chassis was based on old design discovered by Gray Death Legion on the memory cache. If I remember correctly, it was the mainstay of human resistance during the Earth Siege period. VEST bought the design and invested some money on it, then generously lent it to us as a test bed. Right now they design it as an arena mech, but in the future they could sell it as a front-line mech."

"So what am I looking forward to?" Jeremy mused.

"Killing machine," Kilroy's answer came with a smile. "That's the best I can come up with. The Apocalypse is a 70-ton beast with 12 tons of armor, 64-kph maximum speed, and UAC-10 as its primary weapon. Back up weapons include one large laser, two medium lasers, and two SRM-4s. You also have CASE to prevent instant death if the ammo bins go kaboom."

"I've been driving a 'quad mech for sometime. I think I might've forgotten how to drive a biped," Jeremy raised his concern. "How's the stability, especially when you fire the UAC-10 in a pitched battle?"

"VEST engineers tested the UAC-10 in full speed. The mech is as stable as a brick. They said the recoil felt only like a small vibration on the cockpit. But no pilot has brought it to real combat. That's your role in a few weeks to come: to push it beyond its limit in the arenas."

"Why me?" Jeremy asked. "You already have Mac in the heavy circuit. Why not him?"

"Yeah, about Mac," Jenny responded as she sat on the bed. "Our leader, Major Tom, doesn't really like Mac. Hell, nobody does. He's a pompous sonofabitch that thinks he's above everybody else in the stable. He's good, I'll give him that. He's bringing good money for the stable, but his attitude is toxic."

"So Major Tom is in a bad position," Kilroy added. "If he fires Mac, nobody will support the stable. But keeping Mac creates a bad atmosphere. I think by putting you as the new pilot, he's sorta looking for a replacement for Mac. If you can support this stable the way Mac does, he's gone. I'm sure of that."

"Alright," Jeremy sighed. "I'll try, but I can't promise anything."

"Well then, you'll prove it in combat," Jenny smiled while walking out of the door. "I'll bring the sheets down, although my offer still stands."

"I'll pass," Jeremy replied, nodding appreciatively. "This is my place now. Sooner or later I will have to get used to it, so I guess I'll start now."

"Good," Kilroy followed Jenny outside. "Sleep tight, man."

"Good night," Jeremy waved as the two walked out of the door. Once again he looked at the room, wondering if he did the right decision. He was just 21 and had a lot of things in front of him. Leaving behind his life as a prince in exchange for a life like this was a childish decision. Sometimes he felt he was wasting his time, chasing something he couldn't get.

But when he looked at the picture of the girl that left him, when he remembered all the good times he spent with her, even the abysmall apartment felt worthwhile. What could it hurt? Jeremy thought. If I work hard, I'll be Grand Champion in 5 years. Even if it takes 10 years, I'll still be 31. I'm still ripe for anything.

As he drifted to sleep, he heard somebody knocking on his door. It was probably Jenny bringing down some sheets for his mattress. He was too tired to answer the door, so he let her knock for some time. His consciousness faded away just as the knocks stopped.