The Invasion of Junc City

by Zmuh11

This is my second battletech story, and the second story that I've ever written. I like battletech a lot because the universe of battletech is large and it makes it easy to write in. Please tell me what you think? And if anyone finds a typo I apologize.

Becoming a Soldier: The Invasion of Junc City

The siege has been ravaging the city for three weeks. Piles of rubble are a common sight as you walk around the streets. Walk being a relative term of course, as anytime you go outside bullets come at you from at least three different directions. So you don't walk outside, you run as fast as you can. Pieces of mechs and tanks litter every street, alleyway, and open area you can find. Bodies are a rare sight. Usually they are disintegrated by lasers or burned to ashes by missiles. The sky is no longer visible. It is constantly being blocked by a gray haze that sweeps the entire city. I have been stationed in this god-forsaken place for six weeks. My duty before the invasion was guarding the entrance to a stuipd ammo locker. Now I am constantly running, shooting, running, shooting, shooting anything that has the symbol of the enemy. Praying every night that I won't be crushed by the roof I sleep under. However, I would not have it be any other way. My name is Captain Lance Peters, and this is the story of Junc city.

Fort Calypso military base

Bent III

Coreward Combat Theater (Robinson Operation's area)

August 1, 3065

When I first arrived at Junc city there were no burning buildings, no debris, no bodies, and no enemy. There were only tall skyscrapers, busy intersections, and a bustling army base. I was part of a newly deployed company that had just graduated from army training. I had been designated as commander of my company, which was named Lance's Hellboys. We had been dispatched to Junc city to meet up with the rest of our regiment, the 2nd Raman infantry. I remember the first time I came to that place.

The wind was blowing in our faces as we pulled through the base's main gate. I looked west and in the distance I saw the mech fields. Several of the giant beasts were outside kneeling in front of a giant concrete runway. Each one towering over the men that ran around them. I saw a Griffin mech stand up and start walking east towards the outer gate of the mech field. It looked as if though a giant human was moving away. The mech's feet slammed to the ground as fifty-five tons of metal power impacted the hard concrete. I wondered what it would be like to be a mechwarrior, walking high above the world below, and feeling a sense of invincibility. We got out of the trucks and started walking to our barracks on the left side of base. I looked around at my new home. I saw our mess hall and could smell the beautiful scent of beef and potatoes. In the distance I could see the main hospital. An ambulance was driving away with its lights brightly flashing red and blue. Over the top of the hospital I could see the command center. The tall building towered over the rest of the base, but I could barely make out any detail.

We continued walking, and after a short stop at the check in building we found our barracks. The building was long, skinny, and in desperate need of repairs. All 84 of us had to sleep in that run down place, but no one cared. We had all been together for the year of army training, and we had become very close. As we walked into the rundown building a soldier came up to me.

"Captain Peters?"

"Yes soldier?"

"Sir, the Colonel wishes to speak with you. If you will please come with me," said the soldier.

"Hey Arman, throw this on my bed for me," and I chucked my bag to him.

"I am just your personal slave all the time eh," Arman said to me.

I just smiled at my best friend and turned back to the soldier.

"Alright let's move out."

We got into a jeep and drove off to the command center. We went back in the direction of the main gate and took a left down a long road. On my left was a large grassy field. I looked up at a tall flagpole poised in the middle of the field. Atop the flags of both the Federated Suns and the mech regiment flew proudly in the wind. The mechs here were part the 1st New Ivaarsen Chasseurs. The blue triangle and sword flag of the proud regiment waved back and forth. I saluted the flags as we drove past. This base, named Ft. Calypso, was one of the finest bases in all of Davion. It had a reinforced battalion of mechs that was 40 strong, as well as a number of tanks and other vehicles. The only drawback was that the base carried no aerospace fighters. They were all on the other side of Benet III.

Reaching the center a minute later we pulled into a parking spot. I looked up in wonder at the tower before me. The center was the tallest building on the base. It made a mech even look short in comparison. On top I could see another flag of Davion waving in the breeze. We walked up the front steps and went in. Inside were many people in army uniforms scurrying about like worker bees delivering honey in a hive. Both the soldier and I made our way through the crowd to an elevator and stepped in. The trip up the elevator was a long one. Several times I looked at the soldier and attempted to talk, but he paid no attention to me. So I decided to just enjoy the ride.

Once on the top floor we walked out of the elevator and down the hallway to the Colonel's office. We stopped at the secretary's desk, a cute young lady who had short dark hair and pretty green eyes.

"This is Captain Peters here to see Colonel Davis," said the soldier.

"He is expecting you sir," said the secretary.

"Thank you very much," I said with my best voice.

The soldier gave a quick, "humph," and I stopped staring at the secretary and walked into the Colonel's office.

Once inside I was surprised to find that three of the walls were all huge glass windows. I could see for miles outside of them. I saw the same Griffin mech that I had seen that morning standing outside the outer gate. Large blue balls of energy were flying out of the mech's PPC gun. Each shot impacting wooden targets built about 300 yards in front of the mech. The targets being completely disintegrated every time the mechpilot hit one, and he was hitting every time.

"Beautiful isn't it?" said the Colonel

"Sorry Sir!" I stiffly came to attention. How could I have been so dumb as to stare out a window memorized right in front of my commander?

"Its ok Captain, stand at ease."

I brought my hands behind my back and stood at ease. The Colonel sat down behind his large rectangular wooden desk and leaned back in his chair.

"So do you like it here so far soldier," asked the Colonel

"This is a great base sir," I replied.

"I am glad to have you here soldier. It's always nice to see a brand new batch of recruits come to Junc City," stated the Colonel.

"Thank you sir," I replied.

"I want you to know soldier. I expect nothing then the best from my soldiers. We have a great reputation for being skilled warriors here. Our mech pilots are some of the best in all of House Davion. I expect the men of your company to uphold this standard." said the Colonel.

"Yes Sir!" I said.

"Glad to hear it son. Don't forget son that you and your men are new here. You must prove yourselves worthy before you earn any respect," said the Colonel.

"Yes sir!" I said again.

"Good Captain that is all I needed to hear. You will receive orders for you and your men first thing in the morning, dismissed!"

I saluted and walked out the door. I waved to the cute secretary and gave her a smile and was about to lean over and talk to her more but the soldier I came with signaled for me to follow him. Feeling dejected I rode with him back down the elevator and into the jeep.

As we passed the parade field on our way back to the barracks I saw the two flags still fluttering in the breeze. I thought about what the Colonel had said about expecting my men to be perfect. Was he serious? Did he expect us to be perfect? What if I failed him as a leader? I began to doubt whether I was ready or not to fulfill the duty that was given to me. I wondered what would happen if we were attacked, and what I would do if I came face to face with the enemy.

Fort Calypso

August 15, 3065

Two weeks went by and we were still adjusting to our new home. Every week was the same. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays consisted of drilling with the other soldiers from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Drilling consisted of marching, combat drills, weapons training, and physical upkeep. Upkeep meaning that we trashed our bodies for three hours doing anything and everything our commanders told us. My main job at the base was organizing the guarding structure of my company. Being the newest company in the base we had the fortunate pleasure of guarding the entrances to practically everything. This included the command center, the mech hangers, the front gate, everything. I assigned myself to guard an ammo locker. This allowed me the pleasure of being able to sit down on duty. I had to sit in a metal booth however, and on a hot day wearing my required uniform was hell. We were performing well as a company, but every unit has its beginning foul up.

One of my men had an unfortunate incident with a woman who was trying to enter the base but did not have proper identification. My soldier arrested the woman only to have the Colonel scream at him for arresting his mother. Besides that small occurrence, things at the base were going better than I had expected. I still had doubts about whether I could lead my company in battle, but at least I was doing a good job for the time being.

As part of my weekly routine, I had to attend a meeting with the officers of the base every Friday. At the meeting the Colonel would tell us how events in the war were going. The first two meetings were both really boring, and I had trouble staying awake through all of the reports, but the meeting that Friday would stay in my memories forever.

That week I got to the meeting a little late. I had cut myself pretty bad during upkeep that day and I had to wait till the doctor said it was ok for me to move around. I walked into the command room on the top floor of the command center. Inside the Colonel was standing in the front of the room pointing at a map, the other officers gave me looks that could of pierced titanium.

"Nice of you to join us Captain, please take a seat," said the Colonel

Ultimately embarrassed I sat down next to the Captain of one of the other companies. He was a man much older than me. He no longer had hair, and he was starting to get a little of a gut. Yet you could tell that he was a fighter. He was the only officer who had combat experience in the entire infantry regiment. His eyes had a sense of coldness that no one could hope to duplicate. I had tried several times to talk to him, but he just cast me aside.

I looked up to the front of the room where the Colonel was talking about the status of the base. It was usual stuff, scout mech reports, armament updates, and casualty reports. He then slowly moved to behind his podium and slowly breathed in and out. Right then I knew that something was happening, as did everyone else in the room. The Colonel stood up rigidly and started speaking.

"Gentlemen, I'm not good at speeches. So I will just come out and say it. The Draconis Combine moves against us."

Everyone in the room seemed to drop from that comment. The war always seemed so far away to us. Now it might be coming for us at any moment. The colonel continued.

"Multiple jump-ships from Harrow's Sun have been mobilized. Their destination is still unknown. Although intelligence suggests that they are going to be attacking Davion controlled planets, including Benet III."

"Stupid dracs," said of the infantry officers.

"How do we know that they are going to attack?" asked the Captain sitting next to me.

"We don't, all we know is that the jump-ships have been mobilized, that's it. We do know that at least two regiments of mechs, tanks, and infantry are probably aboard those ships," said the Colonel.

Everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably again. Two regiments of mechs meant over 200 of the mechanical behemoths. So the combine was really coming, and they were coming in force.

I broke the silence that fell over the room and said,

"What are your orders sir?"

I was trying to get the meeting over with so I could tell my men what was going on.

"All of you will be given information as this develops. I want all mechs ready to go at a moment's notice. I want all infantry commanders to let their men know what is happening, and that we could be at war any day. I am ordering round the clock surveillance and guards at all sensitive areas," said the Colonel.

Everyone nodded and the colonel continued.

"Gentlemen, these next few days may determine the future of this base. Make sure all of your men know this, and know that if we are attacked we will fight those Kurita bastards down to the last man. Is that understood?"

The whole room yelled, "YES SIR!"

"Then you are dismissed," said the Colonel.

Instantly everyone went to issue orders to their men. The infantry officers gathered for a moment and made sure we knew what to tell our men. I was shaken by the words of the colonel. Did he really expect us to fight down to the last man? I finally realized that the war was coming after me, and that it was coming angrily. After stopping by the doctor's office one final time I walked back to the barracks. I met Arman outside the door.

"Hey Lance, how was the regular boring office meeting."

I looked at Lance with a set of eyes that only a best friend could understand.

"What's wrong Lance?" Arman asked.

"I have something to tell you and the men," I replied to him.

We walked into the barracks and I told the men and women of Lance's Hellboys, my company, the same thing that the Colonel said. I told them what he said down to the last word.

Fort Calypso

August 22, 3065

2:00 a.m.

We continued our duties for another week. I still reported to the ammo locker for duty. The mech pilots continued to test out weapons. Every night I could hear the assigned scout mech stomping around the mech field. The base was still fully running, but everyone was on edge. The jump-ships had disappeared. There had been no reports of any attacks anywhere, and some were beginning to think that the mobilization was just a joke designed to put Davion bases on alert.

I never quite felt right though. Every time I walked into the barracks and saw my soldiers I felt uneasy. What if I failed them as a commander? What if mechs came crashing through the gate? Would I freeze up? These questions ran through my head all week.

Junc city continued to function however. Before I went to bed I would always look at the bright city lit up in the darkness. It gave me some kind of comfort in knowing that it was there. Early Friday morning I walked back to my barracks late from guard duty. My shift lasted till 2 a.m. now because of the alert. I opened the door and found most of my men sleeping. A few were awake in the far corner softly chatting. I didn't bother to carry out my daily ritual of going to bed. I just simply took of my uniform coat, hung it up, looked at the city lights, laid down, and fell asleep.

Fort Calypso

August 22, 3065

3:15 a.m.

I woke up to a furious roar that could rattle bones loose.

I rolled out of my bed and looked out the window above me and saw fire roaring through the building behind is.

I thought to myself, "holy crap!"

Everyone in my unit was already awake. They looked around nervously, not knowing what to do.

"What do I do?" I thought to myself.

Another massive explosion filled our ears. It seemed to be right over our building, but if it was then we should have been dead. I looked around. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. The roars of the explosions were my everywhere. The panicked voices of my men were all around me. I felt sick, and like I was going to faint. Just as I was about to the door to our barracks burst open. It was the older captain.

He yelled to us, "Well don't just sit there you damn idiots! We have a war to fight here!"

A war, we were at war? I didn't quite understand what was happening. My terror seemed to subside a little however with the presence of the other captain. I yelled to my men.

"Saddle up, get your shit together!"

Everyone sprinted into action, acting on impulse and pure instinct rather than our training. I grabbed my helmet and flak vest and put them on. I grabbed my canteen, my radio, and a picture of my home back on New Avalon.

"Let's go!" I yelled.

The other captain was already gone. I walked outside and looked around. I did not see where the explosions were coming from. There were no enemy mechs, no tanks, no soldiers, and no enemy. There were hardly any of our soldiers around. Where the hell was everybody? The rest of my company gathered outside of the barracks with me. I looked around at my soldiers. They were scared, but they all had the look of courage as well. They looked ready to fight, and to die if necessary. These were the faces of my soldiers, and I was not going to let them down. I looked up at our unit's flag flapping in the breeze. The blue shield with the picture of the devil and his pitchfork seemed to tell me that it was time. I gave it a quick salute, and I yelled to my men.

"Let's get ready to kick some drac butt!"

My men returned my call with a loud, "hoorah!"

We headed north to the end of our block of twelve barracks. As we ran I saw that several of the buildings had already been destroyed. So we had already taken casualties before the dracs even set foot on the ground. None of our soldiers were waiting for us at the ammo locker at the end of the street. I opened the locker with my key and yelled to my men.

"Grab your weapons and double check they are working right! Take as much as you can carry! My guess is this fight will be a long one!"

My men started grabbing weapons from the locker. I let Arman supervise while I looked up into the sky. I ducked as a Kurita fighter passed right over my head and fired a PPC. A blue ball of light slammed into a barrack a hundred feet to my right. The building exploded in bright red, orange, and yellow flames.

I finally understood what was happening. Kurita were using fighters to bombard the base as their dropships landed. I looked as best I could to outside the base wall. I thought that I saw 2 Union Class drop ships already landed and unloading. I looked back to the sky and saw at least 10 more coming to the ground.

"This is going to be a long fight," I thought to myself. Arman ran up to me.

"Here Lance. We are all loaded up. Look what we found"

Lance handed me my weapon. I looked down at my shiny black laser gun and for the first time of the night I smiled. Arman then held up one of seven beautiful rocket launchers. He continued talking.

"We have 30 shells. That ought to be enough to have some fun with."

I smiled again and told my men to follow me. We ran from the ammo locker and headed straight west towards the command building. As we ran Ironsides fighter jets flew all over the base. I was glad that it was night, and that they couldn't see us. One shot from a PPC and my unit would be demolished. We continued to run across the field. I looked up and saw four helicopters flying in from the north. If they fired on us we were finished.

"Arman! Take out those choppers!" I screamed.

Arman and his team of rocket men stopped running. They formed two man teams. One man would kneel down and hold the launcher while the other man loaded the shell. One by one each team loaded a round and the loader would tap the launcher on the head.

"Firing!" screamed Arman.

Seven rockets streamed out of the tubes toward the helicopters. They never knew what hit them. The rockets impacted and exploded in a hellish orange and red fireball. The choppers dropped to the ground like dead birds and exploded, sending shards in all directions.

"That's right you mothers!" screamed Arman as the rocket teams got up and continued running.

We ran across a grassy field and approached the towering command center. I looked around. People were running everywhere. I did not see any other infantry. I wondered if they had all been killed. We ran up and I ordered my men to form a defensive circle around the front entrance to the center while I went inside. I ran inside the front door and found the colonel trying to run back out.

"What the heck are you doing here soldier!" yelled the colonel.

"Sir, me and my men are trying to figure out what's going on," I replied back.

"What the hell do you think is going on? Don't you see that we are being attacked? You and your men need to get your asses into the city. There's a convoy of trucks waiting for you over by the main gate," said the Colonel.

"Sir, we are retreating?" I asked.

"Son, there are multiple dropships inbound for this planet. We are trying to save what is left of this place by evacuating into the city. We've lost all communications and half the mechs. The other half are launching now and going to do what they can to give us time, but that's all we can do," said the Colonel.

"Yes sir," I solemnly replied.

I couldn't believe it, the famous House Davion retreating? We had never been so easily defeated, and now we were running with our tails between our legs. The Colonel and I ran back outside. I told my men about the plan and we ran to the main gate. Once we were loaded we headed for the city.

As we drove I looked back towards the base. Most of it was burning, and all of it looked dead. I looked to where the dropships were landing. I could barely make out what was going on. Giant figures were moving about. Streams of light, missiles, and flashes zoomed all over the scene. I knew that it was the remainder of our mechs trying to destroy as many enemies as possible, but I knew it was in vain. I looked up to the sky and saw still more dropships coming in. As we drove off I saw a giant explosion as an enemy dropship tipped over on its side and blew up. I cheered in the back of the truck as we headed south towards Junc city.

Benet III

Junc City

August 22, 3065

4:00 a.m.

We pulled into the city half an hour later. The colonel ordered us to assist in the evacuation of the civilians. For the next few hours we helped the civilians get into any vehicle that we could find, and in convoys they slowly left Junc city. I was helping a mother load up her three children into a school bus when the Colonel ran up to me.

"Captain, Kurita forces have finished with the base. They could be here any minute. We are going into the buildings to hide until reinforcements arrive"

"Why don't we leave sir?" I asked

"Are you dumb son? We may be beaten right now, but that doesn't mean we are going to give them this city so easily. They will have to earn it in blood," he replied.

"Sir what can we do against that size of force?" I asked.

"Did I forget to mention son. The rest of the 1st New Ivaarsen Chasseurs have landed. We have a full regiment of infantry and mechs in the city," he said to me.

"Where do we go sir?" I asked him. I was scared as hell, but I was also excited because we were going to get payback for what Kurita had done.

"Take your company to that building," he pointed to an abandoned apartment building a block down. He continued talking.

"Good luck captain, I know that you are your men will not let me down."

He ran over to a jeep and drove off, and that was the last time that I ever saw him.

I ordered the rest of my men to follow me. We ran into the ten story apartment building. The rooms inside had been like the citizens had never left. TV's were still on, stoves were still running, and uneaten food was on the tables. We took control of the top two floors. We broke the windows to get a better field of fire. We then sat down and waited for our enemy to come. After hours of waiting it was decided that there would be no attack that night. Arman and I sat down in a set of very comfortable chairs and slumped into them. We were exhausted. It had been a long night, and I did not know what would happen next. I looked at my best friend, and I was glad he was here with me.

"Boy the crap has really hit the fan this time huh," I said.

Arman just leaned his head back and laughed. Out of all that had happened that night we were still able to laugh, but it would be the last time.

Globetech Office Building

Junc City

September 1, 3065

8:00 a.m.

Ten days passed, and I had seen all that a soldier is supposed to see in a life time. I was no longer holed up in that stupid apartment building. The day after Kurita mauled Ft. Calypso they attacked the city in force. We were able to keep them back for perhaps an hour, but then we became overwhelmed. My company had to run more than 20 city blocks before Kurita was finally halted. We were now penned up in an office building near the center of the city.

I woke up under a large desk in a corner office. The bright white light of the city temporally blinded me. I was exhausted and I felt even worse. I got up and walked around the offices we were in. All of my men looked like the same way I did. We had been fighting the Kurita forces building to building every day now, and it was starting to take its toll. A city wide stalemate was slowly being fought out. Both Davion and Kurita mechs roamed the streets looking for enemies to kill. At first the giant machines would slug it out big time, but that caused a lot of debris and falling buildings, which would end up killing friendly soldiers. So the mechs now walked around only in pairs.

Slowly the fight turned into a block fighting situation. Junc city was no longer considered a city, but now a grid eighty blocks in size. Each block would represent about five city blocks. The grid was about ten blocks long and eight blocks wide. Orange and red markers were used to show what force controlled each block. I counted the blocks on a map that hung outside the corner office I slept in. I saw that Davion controlled 35 of the blocks, clumped around the southern regions of the city. Kurita controlled the 45 blocks in the northern region. They also controlled what remained of Ft. Calypso, which was a blown out piece of trash.

My stomach gurgled violently, reminding me of my intense hunger. I hadn't eaten anything for three days. We were told that more rations would be brought up from the south, but the supply trucks kept getting destroyed. It was too easy for any soldier to just lean over the edge of a roof and fire a rocket and destroy our supplies. Luckily our building had a running water fountain that still tasted good. I pulled my canteen up to my face and took a long gulp. The cool water rushed down and soothed the flaming tissue of my throat. I found Arman leaning up against a window and I stood next to him. Both of us had been nearly killed a number of times but had miraculously escaped, but how long did we have before our luck run out. Luck hadn't been the gift for thirty-nine of my men at that point. I lost fifteen the morning that Kurita attacked the city. The other four had been killed while running to this place, and twenty were killed while we were in the office building.

I was about to say something to Arman when one of my men walked up to me. The soldier handed me the dog tags of Pvt. Joshua Reynolds. The soldier informed me that Josh had been killed by a sniper bullet that morning when he stuck his head out the window to breathe some fresh air.

"What a stupid waste," I thought to myself. I had lost another man, and the total was at forty. I thought about Josh's smiling face the first time we rolled into Ft. Calypso. I sent the soldier away and slipped down to the floor.

Death had become a part of our lives. Davion and Kurita soldiers were killing each other every day now. I hadn't managed to kill anyone yet. They kept giving me the slip. I had shot at plenty of them, but I had not hit anyone yet. I was almost glad that I had not hit anyone. I saw the faces of my men who had killed someone. A part of them seemed to die along with the person they killed, and they were never quite the same. Arman had shot someone the third day we were here, and now he had no life left in him. His eyes always seemed to be leaking tears, and his face no longer had the youthful expression I was used to.

"Shooting down a helicopter is a lot different than shooting someone in the head," Arman told me once when I asked him what was wrong.

I was about to say something to him again when someone yelled from upstairs.

"Tanks Inbound! Get the launchers ready!"

I looked out the window and there they were, five Tokugawa tanks casually rolling down the street, their auto cannons looking particularly deadly that morning. I looked around the tanks and saw no infantry supporting them. Usually tanks rolled around with infantry so that when we fired their soldiers would come storming into our buildings. I watched as the tanks slowly crept along the street. Arman and his rocket teams had already started aiming.

I carefully listened to the streets outside. I closed my eyes and just listened. The world around me started playing in slow motion, like the night we were first attacked. I could hear the treads of the tanks as they crept up the street. I could hear my men in quiet panic as they got the launchers ready. I could hear my doubt screaming out to me.

Then I heard it, it was quiet, barely audible, but it was there. It was a very low humming, almost like that of a bumble bee picking up pollen. I had heard this sound before. I heard it every night in the base as I went to bed.

I heard it every night as the scout mech first started up.

"DON'T FIRE, IT'S A TRAP!" I screamed as quickly as I could, but it was too late.

Arman and his teams opened fire with a volley of rockets that whizzed down to the tanks. The rockets impacted on the tanks and exploded with a ferocious roar. The tanks were annihilated and my men let out a cheer. Then we all heard it, the thunderous stomps that are heard whenever war gets too hot. Then someone on the roof let everyone know what was happening.

"BIG ONE COMING THIS WAY!"

Big one was our code word for Kurita mechs. I looked outside, not caring who saw me, and I saw the mech over the rooftops of the other street. Its head was all that I could see at the moment. I tried to tell what type it was. I quickly ran out the door to that floor and up to the next one to get a better view. I looked out another window and saw the full body of the mech. Fear grabbed me as I realized that this mech was out of our hands. I yelled to my men.

"Soldiers, that mech is too much for us to handle without reinforcements. We're pulling back to then next block. Someone get on the radio and call the nearest friendly mech, and tell it to come take this big one out!"

My men offered no resistance, but just did as they were told. They packed up everything as quick as they could. I ran back downstairs and into the corner office. There I grabbed my stuff and I looked back outside the window, and I saw my death flying at me.

Arman grabbed me and pulled me back just as a flurry of SRM missiles blew out the corner of the building. I regained control of myself lying on the floor outside my corner office. I got up and cleaned the debris from my eyes to see the full form of the giant Mauler mech. It was painted in pale gray and white. Its small but devilish looking head seemed to smile as it blew up our street. Painted on it was a giant chain that began on its right wrist and wound up to the top of the right shoulder and then went through the middle of the chest, stopped at the House Kurita symbol, and then cascaded down the left leg. I then saw that the mech had six gold links in its chain.

This mech was a part of the Seventh Ghost regiment, a veteran regiment that was known to be unsympathetic in killing and merciless in destroying. So the dracs were really pulling out all the stops on this one. I gazed at the mech, wondering what the pilot saw, and then Arman yelled to me.

"Let's go Lance!"

I stopped staring at the mech and ran with Arman. We bolted out into the hallway as another massive explosion rocked our building. It felt as if the building would collapse any second. We ran to the bottom floor and out into the street. Immediately we started getting shot at from rooftops to our right. I saw a soldier fall in front of me. I stopped to see if he was still alive, but I turned him over to find his face half blown out.

Cursing, I got up and followed Arman. We crossed the street and ran into an alley that led to the next street. We stopped for a second to look back at the office building. The Mauler mech was following us, walking down a main street that ran perpendicular to the rest of the streets we crossed. It was if we were a bunch of ants running from a mean child with a magnifying glass.

We dashed out into the next street, bullets still flying everywhere, just missing us each time. We ran into a building that had an archway carved out of it. We went into this archway and I found them, a group of soldiers just sitting at the base of a stairwell. They had strange uniforms on, and by the look on their faces I could tell that they were scared out of their minds. I could not just leave them here, that Mauler mech would kill them if they stayed, but I had no time to convince them to come.

"Come with me if you want to live," was all I said to them.

That's all the time I had as the Mauler mech was still following us. We ran out the back of the archway started running across another street. I turned around to see the group of soldiers I found following me. Then I realized in horror as I saw the symbol of the Draconis Combine on their uniforms that these men were enemies. I reached for my weapon and one of them yelled out to me.

"NOOO!"

I didn't listen. I pulled the trigger on my weapon and sent a deadly volley of fire into the group of men. The hits raked across their bodies and they all slumped over dead in the street. I looked at what I had done, too paralyzed to move, and in the middle of a war. Arman ran up to me.

"Lance, what are you doing?" He then looked down at the bodies, realizing why I was stunned.

"It's all right Lance, just follow me," he said.

He slung my arm over his shoulder and ran towards the next building. As he carried me I thought about the men I had just killed in cold blood, and how I could call myself a human being for doing that.

Another explosion knocked Arman and me to the ground. I looked up and saw the Mauler mech bearing down on us. I closed my eyes and waited for death, but instead of death getting me, a flurry of lasers hit the Mauler mech. Red sparks and hot metal being blown in several directions. It turned to face this new threat and I couldn't believe what I saw.

One of our Marauder mechs came walking down from the other main street on the east side of the block. Its blue, red, and gold paint looked more beautiful than the stars.

Arman and I got up, but were grabbed by a group of soldiers that came out of the building in front of us. The soldiers helped us into the building. We were taken downstairs to a storm cellar. Inside there were more than fifty soldiers hunkered down like mice, hiding from an angry cat. Arman and I were set down in a corner.

I was exhausted, and I needed to find my men. I looked at Arman about to ask him something, but he looked back at me in terror. I then realized for the first time that I had blood smeared all over my face. I began to try and scrub it off, but my hands were bone dry. I didn't care. I had to get it off. Arman grabbed my hands and held them so I wouldn't hurt myself. I struggled to break his grasp, but I was too weak. I then leaned into the shoulder of my best friend and cried. I cried and cried, even as the ground shook from a giant explosion.

Mckay's Auto Place

Junc City

September 11, 3065

I had been in that place for twenty days. My body ached, my mind ached, oh heck, my soul ached. At this point I was stuck in a large car shop two blocks south of the office building. When the Mauler mech came we lost another two whole blocks to Kurita, and my men and I once again found ourselves on the front lines. Yesterday we tried to take back the blocks we had lost, but we were stopped when twenty Tokugawa tanks rolled in and slaughtered us. We destroyed all of them as well, and were even able to capture two of them. We were forced back to that garage and were stuck. Our commander had been killed, and that meant command fell to the next highest officer. Guess who that was? I had lost contact will all but twelve of the men from my company. I still had Arman with me, but now I was in command of forty other men who I didn't know anything about.

The stalemate inside the city had ground to an even bigger halt. No one was longer gaining or losing any ground. When one side would gain ground, the other would just push them right back. I was sick of fighting, and so were my men. Ever since the day I killed the group of Kurita soldiers I no longer feared killing. No longer did I consider myself inhuman for killing. I just simply aimed and pulled the trigger. Arman had become the same way. The two of us were becoming great soldiers, and it scared us. Our youth and life were quickly being drained, and things would only get worse.

That morning I gathered my men and I told them we were going to fall back to the next block. The buildings and streets all around us were controlled by Kurita forces, and we had no way of fighting all of them without help. I was afraid that if we held our position that we would be attacked and overran by nightfall. So I devised a plan.

We stripped the autocannons off of the Tokugawa tanks and were going to use them to attack the building behind us. We would also use the remainder of our rockets to simultaneously attack every building around us. While the enemy was confused by the explosions, we would run across the street to the next building, and then from there run over to the next street, and then the next, until we reached friendly lines. We didn't know where those friendly lines were, we had tried to get radio contact all day, but the damn thing either didn't work or wasn't picking up messages. So we were just going to keep running until we were either all dead, or in safety. We made an agreement that if we were going to be captured, that we would rather shoot ourselves. We made the plans and began the work. As my men worked around me I saw Arman standing by a window. I walked over to my best friend.

"What's going on Arman?" I asked him.

"I don't like the fact that we have to run," he said to me.

"I know that Arman, but you and I both know that if we stay here we will die." I said back to him.

"Well then we die taking out as many of those stupid dracs as possible!" he snapped back at me.

All of the men in the room stopped what they were doing and looked at the both us. Arman looked furious, his face was red, and his fists were clenched tight. I looked at my best friend in the most understanding, but forceful way that I could.

"I know that you don't like it, but we have to think about the rest of the men. If we stay here, then we will all die a meaningless death. Let us get back to our comrades, and then all of us will kill dracs till the moment we die or the world ends," I said to him.

His gaze softened, and he put down his fists. He simply nodded his head and was about to say something back when a missile struck the garage roof, caving in the top level. The impact knocked us to the ground and when the roar stopped I screamed to my men.

"We're pulling out now! Grab the cannons and prepare to evac!"

Twelve men swarmed around the auto canons and heaved them off to the exit. The two men rocket teams began working their way to their positions. Arman and I grabbed our gear and our launcher. Our spot was behind the shop overlooking the street to our left. We ran out the back door and set up our launcher under a fire escape. I saw some of the other fire teams get into position. The garage door behind us opened and I saw the two auto cannon teams prepare the big guns. I looked at each gun team, once they had both guns loaded a man from each team nodded to me, and we prepared to start our escape. We were finally going to get out of this hell. Arman and I moved out into the open. He knelt down with the launcher, this was it. I was about to tap Arman on the head when I heard the giant steps. NO, not again. I looked up in horror as a giant mech came into view. It was painted pale gray and white, and it had a chain running along its body. I looked to see seven gold chain links, the last one looking freshly painted, and I yelled.

"That stupid piece of...!"

It was the same Mauler mech that had attacked my building ten days ago. I saw the symbol of House Kurita emblazoned on its chest. I could not believe it, we were finally going to get out of here when this idiot had to come stomping around again. All of my men were shocked in horror. None of us were able to move. The Mauler turned its ugly head and looked down at us. I felt like the devil himself was looking down at me. It started lifting its right arm. The giant laser began heating up, and I knew it was the end.

But then fate dealt us some ungodly twist of luck, a green jet of light came flying from somewhere down the street. It impacted on the Mauler's chest in a shower of sparks and hot metal. The Mauler stumbled back, but as it did it let loose with the laser that it was aiming at us. I remember seeing and hearing the giant explosion. I remember seeing the fire licking flames in every direction. I remember being hurtled through the air like a useless toy.

I hit the ground.

I slowly came to, and I saw the world in slow motion again. The garage was completely destroyed. Pieces of metal and wood were everywhere, but my men weren't. I could hear the sounds of the fire as it burned not twenty feet away from me. The intense heat was nauseating. I could hear the roar of the explosion, and the giant stomping of the mechs. Above me, the Mauler turned to face its new enemy. Barely able, I moved my head towards the direction of the laser shot.

It was if I saw redemption walking down the street. There, standing on the other end of the street, a Mad Cat MK II. The giant mech was a god before the buildings. Each stomp of the massive feet shook the very ground I was lying on. The two mechanical beasts began fighting. Each rocket, laser, and gauss rifle shot was deafening. I had to get up. I tried to move, but my leg was broken. All of a sudden, a barely audible voice filled my ears.

"Lance."

The quiet sound hit me with the force of a freight train.

"ARMAN! Arman where are you?" I screamed back.

The voice stopped. I struggled to crawl. Looking around, I could not see him. Only fire, concrete, and mech filled my eyes. The Mauler fired its auto cannons at the Mad Cat. They impacted on the Mad Cat's right shoulder, shredding through one of its missile launchers that fell to the ground and exploded, sending rockets zooming off in all directions. The Mad Cat answered back with a deadly shot from its gauss rifles. The impact destroyed the Mauler's right arm, the twisted mass of metal and machinery crumpled to the ground. The Mauler charged the Mad Cat and rammed it with all of its strength. The collision caused the Mad Cat to fall against a building, and it appeared that the hit only did minor damage. To my terror though, the Mad Cat did not move! The mech had somehow become jammed in the building. The Mauler backed up and stood still. It was preparing to fire all of its armaments at once, which would destroy our savior.

I had to do something. I looked around. But what could I do against a mech? Then I saw my answer twenty feet beyond me. Yelling in pain, I moved the agonizingly short distance over next to one of the autocannons we had stripped from the Tukagawa tanks.

Using every last ounce of strength I had in me, I positioned the canon to the exact needed angle. I checked to make sure the Mauler was standing still.

"Die you stupid piece of...!" I yelled.

The cannon kicked back with a ferocious roar, so loud that it deafened me.

I looked up, the shot was perfect. It impacted the Mauler in the back of the head. The shell ripped clean through the head, and it fell off. As it fell I swore I could hear the pilot inside screaming. It impacted to the ground in a sickening crunch and exploded in a small orange fireball. The rest of the Mauler fell over backwards and onto the city street, dead as the men of my company.

The Mad Cat was at last able to shake itself loose of the building. It walked over the Mauler to my position. I looked up at the massive mechanical beast, and I saw the pilot salute me. I returned the salute, signaling that I was ok. It then went down the street and out of my sight.

"That jerk better have called for help," I said to myself

As if answering my call a squad of men came from the street and grabbed me.

"No I have to find Arman," I pleaded with them.

Then I saw him. The squad of men had already picked him up. I saw Arman's dead and frozen body. All four of his limbs had been broken. One of his hands was gone, and more than two-thirds of his body was burned.

I couldn't take it, and I threw up onto one of the soldiers. They carried me and what was left of Arman into safe territory. Once far enough inside friendly blocks they loaded me onto a medical truck. They placed Arman's body next to me in a black body bag. My best friend was now dead. The doors to the truck slammed shut and we were off. As we drove out of the hell I looked up to the sky as they carried me. For the first time in twenty days I saw the sun shining down on Junc city. It was beautiful. As we drove outside the city we went past an army tent. I saw the bright orange flag of Davion fixed to a pole on the tent, flapping proudly in the wind. I slowly brought my hand to my forehead and said.

"God save you Davion."

Medical Unit Bravo

Benet III

Two kilometers south of Junc City

September, 12 3065

It has now been three weeks since the invasion of Junc city, twenty one days of fury. I have been lying in a hospital bed as I have told you this tale. My best friend is dead, my company is gone, and Junc city lies in ruins. I learned that over half the city is on fire, and the other half is collapsed in piles of debris. I am thinking about Arman, and my company. How could of this have happened to us? It was our first time being deployed, and we had fought one of the worst battles that Davion had ever seen.

Then, I thought, wasn't that the role of a soldier. To go wherever you were told to go. Do whatever it is you were told to do. Fight a fight that is not your own, and fight it well. I had killed so many men, and so many of my men had been killed. Yet, something new inside of me was alive, a burning desire to get back onto the field of battle. All I want to do is pick up my weapon and head back into the city. I want to sit at the window edge of an abandoned building and shoot anyone that dares cross my line of sight. I want to see giant machines of metal blast each other until they fall apart. I have become something, through all of the tears, death, metal, and blood I have become something. I have become a soldier, a soldier of the legendary House of Davion.

I looked out the tent flap and saw that the sun was still shining brightly over Junc city, my city. Yelling for the nurse, I slowly got out of my bed. A young girl not more than the age of 21 came into the tent.

"What is it soldier?" she asked me.

"Nurse, check my leg, bandage me up, and let me go back." I told her plainly.

I stared into her eyes, but not the way I stared at the secretary back at Fort Calypso. I stared at her with the cold eyes of the old captain back at the fort, the eyes that could scare any man into running for his life, the eyes that I now had. She just simply smiled, and she hit me on my leg.

I did not flinch.

"Alright Captain, looks like your ready to go, kill some Dracs for me," the nurse said.

Walking out the tent flap I saw the city. Flames as tall as skyscrapers burned across the sky. I heard shots coming from all directions. No doubt the stalemate was still as rampant as ever, but I would not have it any other way.

I am a soldier of House Davion, and I am not going to leave this city until every last enemy is gone. This is my calling, I finally realize.

Leaning back I took in a gulp of fresh air. It was the first gulp of air that did not taste like smoke I had in three weeks. Finishing, I walked over to the truck. My weapon was still lying in the back of it.

Picking up my weapon, I see how worn it is. Despite the dents, it looks as deadly as ever. I walk to the driver's seat, turn on the ignition, and begin the long journey back into the hell, back into the fire of Junc city, and back to where I belong. I am going back to the realm of a soldier, and back to the shining sun and sword that is, and always will be, House Davion.