Note: This author does not lay any claim to of ownership to Classic Battletech; All references to and/or names of MechWarrior, 'mech, Battelemech, Battletech, and all other references thereof are property of and copywrite of WizKids LLC. This is a work of fiction. Any names, places, and/or likenesses thereof to real people, places, etc are entirely coincidence.
Great Gash, Twycross
Federated Commonwealth
12, August, 3051
CHAPTER ONE
Mikhail Ward piloted his 85-ton Warhawk, known to the Inner Sphere now as a Masakari thanks to ComStar's ROM agents, over the massive hill on Twycross. Though his unit was Clan, ComStar was paying them very well for this particular operation against Clan Jade Falcon. He reflected back on the meeting to negotiate the contract with the Precentor several months ago. He had sat at Star Colonel Brett Schmitt's right arm, as the ComStar Precenter Martial, a man by the name of Anastasious Focht declared the terms for which this particular contract would be accepted. He had a stern expression for a man considered ancient by the Clans' standards. The two Acolytes had stepped outside to give the Precentor Martial and the three Spirit Legion members privacy. Along with Mikhail Ward, stood Star Commander Jamais Boques, commander of the Legion's principle Elemental force. Despite his drawbacks, the ComStar Precenter Martial drew an imposing visage, ancient by Clan standards his shadowed appearance and one visible eye gave him the look of a specter. ComStar still didn't trust them, for obvious reasons and the feeling was mutual for the Spirits. The Legion had recently, in the past few years, unveiled themselves as a unit and more importantly, their origins to the Inner Sphere as being Clan, mercenary aside, it was a lot to take in. "You want a chance to prove yourself to us...Here is your chance." Focht said darkly. "You will land on Twycross where the Falcon Guard have taken up residence...we have yet to defeat this unit in combat, and are evidently one of the most elite units in Clan Jade Falcon...though odds are you already know that." The Star Colonel nodded his head, but kept silent. "We can only transport a company of 'mechs...I believe you refer to it as a Binary." Focht explained, this time Schmitt spoke. Schmitt's deep voice emanated from his years of command experience. "That is only ten Battlemechs...the Falcon Guard is a full reinforced Cluster. Are you mad Precentor Martial?" "Schmitt glared sternly. The Martial met his gaze with his one good eye, "It is all we can spare logistically, one Union class ship. It is enough for you to send a small strike force, perhaps a stealth unit in behind their headquarters and command unit." Schmitt arched one of his eyebrows and crossed his arms, "this is a suicide mission..." "If you would prefer us to grant this contract to perhaps the Gray Death Legion, Kell Hounds." He paused for a moment before speaking again "Or the Kuroi Kaze unit...we would be glad to interview them." Focht countered. He slid the noteputer across the table to the Star Colonel and showed him the numbers for the contract. Schmitt looked at the bottom line, their pay. Star Captain Ward's eyes widened "Star Colonel...may I have a word sir?" Schmitt looked up at his Executive Officer and nodded. He waved Star Commander Boques over and three of them stood, walked to a corner of the dark room and conferred for a moment. "Sir...we should take this job...we can handle it...our clan has bested the Falcon's before. And with this amount of C-bills...we can start a major mercenary company...Quiaff?" Ward asked urgently. Boques had the look of a proper yes-man, albeit by Elemental standards. Schmitt looked down and thought deeply for a moment. He finally met his officers' gaze and looked deeply into their eyes. "Alright let us teach these birds a lesson. We shall accept the contract." All three of them walked back to the table, but did not sit. Star Colonel Schmitt extended his hand to the Precentor Martial. "Contract accepted...with one caveat. We keep all salvage." The Martial's shoulders slumped, but quickly regained his composure. "Very well, Spirit Legion, a pleasure doing business with you. Assemble your Binary. You leave at 0600 hours tomorrow for the jumpship Blake's Path." The Star Colonel hesitated for just a brief moment before stating "Well bargained and done Precentor Martial."
Star Captain Ward shook his head, bringing him back to the present and the fact that he was being shot at. He turned his attention to the aggressor, and switched his targeting computer which identified the target as a 30 ton Kit Fox in the primary configuration. He turned and returned fire with two of his four ER PPCs. The cerulean beams struck out at the little scout 'mech, the force of the impact knocking it flat on it's back. The Warhawk stabbed out again with it's two other Extended Range Particle Cannons, utterly annihilating the scout 'mech with raw firepower, not even giving the Kit Fox pilot time to eject.
Ward's Warhawk crested the hill and saw the rest of his Command Star already engaged with elements of the Falcon Guard, at least a Trinary's worth of light 'mechs. However upon closer inspection, he noticed several small armored figures swarming around MechWarrior Geoff's Mad Dog; Elementals. Ward keyed his Star's frequency. "Geoff. Stay still!" He commanded the young warrior, whose 'mech was starting to flail about in a vain attempt to shake the armored pests off as they continued to pick his Mad Dog apart piece by piece. "Star Captain...I cannot..." Geoff stammered worriedly as a gauss slug slammed into MechWarrior Jess's Horned Owl, who had moved in front of Geoff to provide some cover. "You will stand still or you will die Geoff." Ward stated calmly. "Now do as you are ordered." Geoff gulped but managed a shaky "Aff Star Captain." His spine stiffening in his cockpit as he brought the Mad Dog or what was left of it to a complete stop. Star Captain Ward inhaled calmly, switching his target interlock to only his lone ER medium laser, in place of the LRM-10 rack the Warhawk usually mounted in the primary configuration. One emerald beam at a time he blasted the point of Elementals from Geoff's Mad Dog. Thinking he had them all he gave Geoff permission to resume fighting, however a lone Elemental emerged on top of Geoff's cockpit and smashed through the ferro-glass shield with the three-pronged claw on the edge of it's left arm. The last anyone heard from MechWarrior Geoff was a blood curdling scream as the Elemental ripped him to pieces, and the Mad Dog fell unceremoniously to the dirt. Star Captain Ward gritted his teeth and surveyed the situation. He had held one Star in reserve, until he could ascertain what he was going up against. He cursed ComStar for not allowing him to issue a proper Batchall; the Clans ritual for the duel involving Zellbriggen, the code of conduct for every Clan warrior during battle. Ward spoke aloud into his cockpit, activating the transmitter, "Attention all Spirit units. Regroup at the dropship. Repeat, break off and regroup." A plan started to form in the deep recesses of his mind.
"Star Captain...We cannot use the dropship's weapons. It would bring us dishonor." Came the hurried voice pf his second in command, Star Commander Gregory of Beta Star. Ward switched to his private communications frequency while he looked over at Gregory's Timber Wolf, already missing one arm; it's boxy missile long range missile launcher on the left shoulder already in shambles. "Gregory, control yourself. Remember we were not able to issue a proper Batchall though I wish we could have. Our Union-C dropship has enough firepower to even the odds, at least against half of this Cluster." "Mikhail I hope you realize what you are doing." Before Ward could respond a loud roar began over the barren plains, emanating from the direction of the Great Gash, dust began swirling around the feet of the retreating Legion Battlemechs. An Overlord dropship soon appeared on the horizon, and settled behind the bulk of the Falcon Guard forces arrayed against the Spirit Legion. An ominous foreboding began sinking into every Spirit warrior, as Ward tried frantically to come up with a plan, sure that Jade Falcon reinforcements had just arrived. "Do we have IFF tags on that Overlord?" Ward's third in command, Star Commander Lisa asked, always the calm, collected professional; the epitome of the Clan warrior ideal, she turned her Battlemech, a Mad Dog in the Charlie configuration, towards Gregory and Mikhail Wards 'mechs. Gregory halted for a moment before replying "One moment sir…Working." Gregory replied, as Ward started to come out of his stupor. "I got it!" Gregory cried excitedly, "It's ours! It's the Star Colonel!" "Everyone calm down, and cut the chatter!" Ward said sternly, as he took a deep breath and exhaled a sigh of relief.
A blinking red button demanded his attention on his comm. display; he switched to the open frequency and replied. "Star Captain Ward. Go ahead." "Star Captain, so glad you left some party favors for us...I trust we are not too late?" Ward smiled under his neurohelmet and replied almost happily, though full of relief. "Star Colonel Schmitt, as much as I appreciate the assistance sir, is this not a breach of our contract commitment?" "Leave the politics and paperwork to me Star Captain. Let us finish this fight honorably, or as honorably as we can salvage at this point...Comstar stravags." He muttered the end of his sentence but his meaning could not have been clearer. "What do you have in mind sir?" Ward checked to make sure they were on the open frequency, so all his troops could hear the plan, though the ECM jammers installed in his Binary's mechs ensured the Falcons would have trouble deciphering the Spirit Legions communications.
"Here is what I propose. At this moment the whole of Bravo Battle Trinary is deploying behind the Falcon Guard's lines. The Overlord is returning for the rest of Alpha Assault Trinary and will join us within a couple hours. Our lighter Battlemechs will lure the whole of the Falcon Guard into the Great Gash. The primary contingent of Bravo Trinary will harass the Guards towards the Gash and they will have no choice but to follow the lighter mechs in. There our 'hammer' will drive the Falcons against our 'anvil'. Though they outnumber us, the terrain will work to our advantage. We must time our 'anvil' to attack in time with one of the massive storms that blow through the Gash, quiaff?" Ward smiled, "Aff Star Colonel, May Kerensky's will be with us. I will pull my troops into position."
On the other side of the Great Gash, under the cover of a massive dust storm, the Spirit Legion's Bravo Battle Trinary deployed a mere twenty kilometers from the Falcon Guard firebase. Star Captain Marco Radick drove his 95-ton Executioner forward and had his Trinary form up on his flanks, with the exception of his Sweep Star which he sent forward, ten kilometers ahead in spread "V" formation. As soon as they came within range they noticed the Falcons still had not spotted them, though it was not really that surprising given that his Battlemechs had all been retrofitted with make-shift ECM suites. The ECMs would detach as soon as combat was engaged, freeing up the extra weapon mount. The Sweep Star engaged first and immediately began harassing tactics. The two Adders, Fire Moth, and the twin Mist Lynx worked in perfect tandem to take down a full Star of Jade Falcon medium 'mechs. The Legion lost two of its Sweep Star Battlemechs though both pilots ejected; an Adder was hit by a lucky Gauss round which shattered it's fusion coils protecting its engine and one of the Myst Lynx took a pummeling from both a Summoner and Hellbringer. As soon as the rest of Star Captain Radick's Trinary got to reinforce Sweep Star's position the tide began to swing heavily in the Spirit Legion's favor. A Jade Falcon Black Lanner, in its Charlie configuration started to open fire on a Legion Summoner, however before it could pick the heavier 'mech apart, a Timber Wolf belonging to the Legion Striker Trinary's XO unleashed a devastating swarm of forty LRMs, which for the most part impacted all over the Lanner's short squat torso. The lighter 'mech tottered but managed to stay on its feet to return fire with its six extended range medium lasers. A Jade Falcon Gargoyle began firing on the closest Legion Battlemech, a 45-ton Shadow Cat, spitting a gauss slug at the medium weight 'mech, though missing by several meters, the Gargoyle went on completely ignoring the dire situation of its comrade in the Black Lanner. The Shadow Cat, a design thought exclusive to the Smoke Jaguar Clan, and no doubt a trophy from the homeworlds, returned fire at the Gargoyle, spitting out its own nickel-ferrus projectile into the Gargoyle's left leg before turning its attention to the badly mauled Black Lanner, adding to the damage his superior's Timber Wolf had already inflicted.
As the battle continued to unfold, Star Captain Radick soon realized his Trinary was massively outnumbered. Nevertheless, he knew the plan must go forward. He ordered what was left of his Sweep Star to head into the Gash at full speed, then sent his Striker Star through the heart of the Falcon Guard position in order to bulldoze the way through and urge the Guards into the Gash. Radick flanked to the rear of the Falcons' position with his Assault Star, unleashing complete havoc upon the rear lines with five assault-class machines under his command. The Falcon Guard Commander believed these "stravag mercenaries" were trying to retreat; he had no idea his elite troops were being baited and slowly pushed into a trap where the rest of the Spirit Legion waited with eager anticipation; Star Colonel Brett Schmitt and Star Captain Mikhail Ward waited anxiously as they listened for word of Marco Radick's Trinary.
Great Gash, Twycross
Federated Commonwealth
13, August, 3051
Star Captain Ward gritted his teeth as he waited for his comrade's Trinary to check in. As he waited his mind drifted back to how their whole situation started; how their whole Cluster had come to the Inner Sphere in the first place, in a way following in the steps of the great Wolf's Dragoons. In the year 3037, Clan Blood Spirit was already in decline, socially and politically. Sensing their slow demise, the Blood Spirit Khans, notably Karianna Schmitt who had just recently ascended the Blood Spirit Khanship, enacted a covert operation to ensure the Clan's survival outside the Kerensky Cluster. Gathering together a small collection of troops, materials, supplies, and lower caste members, though enough so as not to be noticed by the other Clans, the Khans selected an up and coming warrior from a newer Sibko; Star Captain Brett Schmitt, to lead the adhoc unit. Brett Schmitt, who was given a near-immediate and instantaneous promotion to Star Colonel in a hastily prepared Trial of Position, rushed through a ceremony and review of his troops and personnel. The most important aspect was by far the secret meeting between the Khans, the Clan Council and Star Colonel Schmitt, detailing his exact mission objectives in the Inner Sphere as well as the finer details and various "contact scenarios" for meeting with not only the Great Houses of the Successor States, but the mysterious ComStar organization and other mercenary commands, including their fellow mercenary-Clansmen, Wolf's Dragoons led by none other than Jaime Wolf himself. Ward had little regard for the Dragoons, and meeting with Jaime Wolf after the 3039 debacle did not change his mind in any way. He conceded that the Dragoons were able warriors, but they were still Freebirths, and judging from the internecine fighting between the various House lords they had fought for, Ward saw very little to be impressed by; all the battles the Spirit Legion had fought up to their brothers invasion in 3051 had seemed like training matches from their Sibko days back in Clan space. However, Ward had held his tongue, as Brett Schmitt had made a deal with Jaime Wolf to share between the two commands all Clan technologies and refits which the Dragoons had received on a periodic basis.
A month later, the newly formed 138th Striker Cluster boarded their dropships and departed Clan space. The unit consisted of a small jumpship fleet, only three of which carried the Cluster; the remainder contained technicians, scientists, and laborers as well as materials and parts for constructing factories, bases and colonies. All in all, roughly one eighth of the Clan's population departed that dark June night and set out for the Inner Sphere, along with unconfirmed reports of two York class light warships, escorting the numerous jumpships and Carrack carriers, the latter being jury-rigged with makeshift K-F drives. The Blood Spirits contracted Clan Snow Raven to lend a portion of their warships to assist in the operation, which the Snow Ravens gladly did and kept silent to the other Clans for a pre-negotiated price. The Ravens, however, only escorted the Blood Spirit convoy as far as the Rim territories. At that point, the Spirit ships spread out and agreed to meet at pre-arranged coordinates. The convoy eventually decided not to even enter Inner Sphere space, deciding to meet back at a habitable moon just two jumps outside of the Free Worlds League. The Snow Ravens returned to Clan space, and always kept their word to the Blood Spirits, never revealing the Spirit's "second exodus" to the spinward side of the Inner Sphere. In late August of 3039, nearly an eighth of the Spirit Touman finally set up camp in their renamed and new home world of Drakon I. On this planet, the Spirits spent numerous years up through their brothers' invasion of the Inner Sphere, building up their resources and military. At their height, the Spirits had three factories at full production scale of their new, exclusive Battlemechs and several "traditional" 'mech designs such as the Timber Wolf. The Spirits deployed a Trinary to work as mercenaries for each of the Great Houses and eagerly collected information which they did not relay to the Clans, but instead kept to themselves in their newly constructed "Master Archives" on Drakon I. Their remaining Trinaries grew and advanced and kept watch over their growing "unofficial territory" as a garrison force. This territory soon and the subsequent technological growth soon caught the eye of the Free Worlds League, whose investigations indicated as a "new pirate kingdom", never suspecting it was actually a Clan in hiding as a mercenary group. Not long after settling down on Drakon I, the Spirits chose a new name which they would go by in the Inner Sphere. Star Colonel Schmitt held a "Name and design" contest among the entire Cluster, civilian and military alike. The winning name was chosen by Star Colonel Schmitt personally, and thus the Spirit Legion was born. The winning design was selected by the Legion's second in command, Star Captain Mikhail Ward, and featured the traditional Blood Spirit logo, albeit slightly yet noticeably modified. Instead of the round disk, the Legion crest featured the crimson blood drop in the center of a golden shield, styled in a medieval theme with the Cameron star of the Star League emblazoned in the center of the blood drop. The winner was one Point Commander Jocelyn of Gamma Trinary's Elemental Star.