Barrett's Privateers

by Capt'n Martius

This is a slightly revised (very slightly) version of a story I wrote and posted on BT universe a couple years back. As I'm in the process of mapping out a new original story, I thought I'd pitch this one up here and solicit some feedback/criticism. The story is now complete, anyone kind enough to provide a review I thank you in advance :)

4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

East of the Oasis Forest, Astrokaszy

Vondrasek protectorate
Periphery
6 June 3059

15:53:30 localtime

"ALL UNITS BREAK FOR THE TREE LINE!"

With explosions raging all around, Allen could no longer make out Yanskoff's Warhammer just a few meters away. Taking his own advice, he rammed the throttle all the way forward, while twisting the control stick to spin the Battlemaster to the right as fast as the war machine would allow. Missiles struck every available surface of the 'Mech, bouncing Allen around violently in his command seat. Barely able to maintain a grip on the 'Mech's controls, Allen charged toward the cover of the trees, but the going was slow. It was like being caught in a nightmare, between the constant explosions on all sides and the swirling, shifting sand, visibility was zero and his HUD was becoming intermittent.

The Battlemaster stumbled, as the dune Allen was climbing got churned up in the maelstrom. Alarms sounding loudly in his ear, all systems were now competing to report damage. Allen was thrown hard against the restraints of his command chair, which bit hard into his shoulders as his 'Mech lurched forward. Out of instinct or by accident, he couldn't tell which, Allen triggered his 'Mech's rear mounted extended range medium lasers. Most 'Mechs don't mount rear-firing weapons, and even in those that do warriors often have them removed to increase their forward arsenal or armor. Allen decided to keep the weapons and upgrade them, as he felt the added coverage in the rear was a tactical advantage, at times.

This was one of those times, with so many missiles filling the air, the medium lasers had no alternative but to strike the warheads of some of them. The result was spectacular. The concussion from one missile detonated those around it, and so on, up through the barrage. The lasers penetrated the upper level of the missile cloud, surprising several of the fighters who swerved to escape the expanding ball of fire that the exploding missiles made in the sky.

Allen's 'Mech was smashed flat by the blast, but Allen recovered himself in an instant and struggled to coax his 'Mech to find footing in the shifting sand. Once he found some semblance of traction he began charging for cover again. In the momentary reprieve, while the attackers recovered their formation and came at the ground again, Allen made it to the edge of the forest. He ran 15 meters in before turning to provide cover for the rest of his unit. Arching in a wide curve to the left he rounded a nearby tree just as Yanskoff's Warhammer came charging by on the other side.

"Nice trick pup," called Yanskoff over the open comm.

Allen was almost around the tree, preparing to face the storm again, when a large black object wiped past his right shoulder. Only the sight of the burn trails registered that this was a fighter.

"Yanskoff, LOOK OUT!" Allen yelled into his helmet's comm. pickups.

There was little point in attempting to warn Yanskoff with the fighter in such close quarters, the fighter pilot unleashed his entire weapons compliment into the retreating Warhammer. The explosion temporarily blinded the rear cameras of the Battlemaster. A moment later, through the clearing view window, Allen witnessed the Warhammer falling in slow motion and the fighter arching upward attempting to break free of the confining canopy. Whatever the outcome, Allen had no more time to spend on Yanskoff. He turned his attention back to the battle in front of him.

Raising his PPC to the sky, he fired blindly into the storm of sand and fire. He continued to discharge all his energy weapons upward, as the seconds past he hoped against hope that the others would make it out. A loud crack of static burst in his ear, then the voice of Johnsten Holst tried to carry over the static.

"I'M GOING DOWN, PUNCHING OUT NOW!"

"NO!" Screamed Allen, "JOHNSTEN, STAY WHERE YOU ARE!"

The static died as fast as it had started, Johnsten hadn't gotten Allen's message in time. No unprotected human could hope to survive unprotected in that mayhem. Allen swore, something about the legitimacy of each attackers birth, and squeezed all his firing studs at once. The wave of heat nearly made him pass out, if not for the life-preserving cooling vest he would have baked alive in the soaring heat of the cockpit. His vision swam before his eyes, as the 'Mech's cooling system struggled to bring the heat level down to bearable levels. As soon as the heat indicators returned to the safe zone, Allen resumed his cover fire occasionally striking missiles and starting a fire chain to the heavens again.

Finally, after what now seemed like an eternity, he saw another shadow breaking out of the swirling sand. The distinctive crab like shape of a Marauder gradually came limping into focus, until Jessica's 'Mech finally staggered up to where Allen was standing.

Up close, Allen could see that most of her armor was gone. The 'Mech's right arm was hanging limply at her side, and the dorsal mounted autocannon was gone. Only when she was along side did a weak signal buzz in Allen's ear.

"… anyon… e… make it?…" Jessica's voice broke in and out.

"Not yet Jess, get your 'Mech behind me and use that tree as cover" Allen responded as he continued to fire, now more conservatively, since his 'Mech's heat level had again reached the point where it was threatening an auto shutdown.

"…NO, … ill got one PPC …. an help." Jessica responded.

"Negative, Yanskoff bought it just behind us when one of those fighters flew right into the trees to get at us. You get behind me and watch my back."

Movement on his view screen suddenly caught Allen's attention, but before he could react the familiar form of the Privateers' Shadow Hawk, now missing both arms, flashed past to the left of the tree attempting to get deeper into the forest.

"Dingo, get as far back into the tree line as you can," Allen called into helmet pickups, praying that Dingo still had a working comm. "and weave between the trees as much as you can."

An instant later, a bolt of man made lighting flashed through the storm in front of him, slashing across his right leg and scorching the ground as if marking a spot for Allen's 'Mech to be laid to rest. Another alarm sounded and a quick look at his 'Mech's status told him he had better get out of here before the whole unit was wiped out.

For the past few seconds, which seemed like a life time, Allen the nagging sensation that he had forgotten something. Watching the deadly wall of fire and sand a sudden dawning realization caused a knot to form in the pit of his stomach. The Privateers' ground support were still buried and trapped out there, with no means to escape. His mind raced as he sought a way to get them out, but the truth written on his view screen mocked his futile thoughts. He, in his mighty war machine, could do nothing but stand by and watch. The only thing he could try is withdraw and hope that once the fighters could no longer detect 'Mechs to attack they would cease their mind numbing assault.

Allen keyed his comm. again and spoke somberly praying that someone was left to hear his message. "All units, surviving 'Mechs are withdrawing into the forest. May the gods keep you safe. I will return for you."

With his last words ringing hollowly in his ears, he backed around the tree until he was concealed by it's protective cover, and then he and Jessica set out moving as fast as they could heading deeper into the forest. Thirty meters in Allen spotted a command chair dangling from a lower tree branch by it's parachute. He couldn't make out who it was, but he could tell the pilot was, at least, unconscious. Reaching up with his 'Mech's free left hand, he carefully pulled the chair free from the branch and carried it with him as he proceeded to catch up with the Marauder which was limping further into the trees.

Deep in the Oasis Forest, Astrokaszy

Vondrasek protectorate
Periphery
7 June 3059

30:33:30 localtime (just after mid-night)

Dear God, what have I done?

The thought echoed in Allen's mind. He winced as the medic adjusted the bandage around his chest. Sitting on a stretcher illuminated by only one of Astrokaszy's two moons in the make-shift medical tent, Allen looked out over the small groups of people huddling around the few small campfires. Deserts are notoriously cold at night, and the planet of Astrokaszy is no exception. Yet, necessity dictated that there could only be a few fires, and those must be under the cover of IR camo netting strung between a couple of the massive trees.

One bed over, Jessica was giving a young medic hell as he attempted to set her arm. Apparently her 'Mech wasn't the only thing with a broken right arm after coming through today's fiasco. Of eight 'Mechs, only five managed to get away.

If you could describe the shape our 'Mechs are in as "getting away," Allen reflected grimly.

Wendy's Atlas had taken the least amount of damage, having tackled and hoisted one of Yanskoff's light 'Mechs onto her shoulder rather than trying to go around during her charge toward the cover of the forest. The lighter 'Mech had proved to be an adequate shield and the added weight helped steady the massive 'Mech on the shifting sand.

Yanskoff's forces had faired much worse. Out of twenty-four 'Mechs that had taken to the battlefield this morning, only nine had managed to survive and two of those had simply shut down on route to this location deep in the Oasis forest. They had done their best to camouflage the ones that broke down before moving on, but even the most optimistic appraiser could tell they were only fit for scrap.

Yanskoff, himself was lying motionless on the stretcher behind Allen. After they had made it further into the safety of the woods, Allen had stopped long enough to examine the warrior whom he had plucked out of the tree. It turned out to be Yanskoff, but he was not in good shape. Best guess was that he had punched out as the fighter annihilated his 'Mech, but the thrusters on his ejector seat had bounced him rather roughly off several massive tree branches on the way up, and he fared no better once the parachute had deployed. The parachute was sliced to ribbons during the decent and the only thing that saved him was getting caught in the branch where Allen found him instead of making the last ten meter free fall.

"The medics don't think he's going to make it." Jess said as though reading his thoughts. Allen looked over again to see that Jess was watching him thoughtfully.

"Hmmm, hard to tell. Life on Astrokaszy is hard, Yanskoff is a survivor to make it to where he has. Only time will tell."

"good call pup," a voice croaked from behind them. Both Allen and Jess spun around to see Yanskoff with his eyes half open watching them. His head and his body still hadn't moved from the position they'd been in since his arrival, but his eyes were moving to track their movements.

"Welcome back Colonel," Allen spoke causally, "we've got a bit of a situation here."

"Heh, I'll bet." Yanskoff replied. From the look of strain around his eyes, Allen could tell it was taking great effort for the Colonel to talk at all.

"We're deep in the forest Colonel, both our forces were badly beaten, we've got twelve operational 'Mechs combined. Problem is even those 'Mechs that made it are in no condition to fight, let alone fight a major invasion force."

"Who are they?" The Colonel's face was starting to show some of the strain that he had displayed during their negotiations.

"We're still not sure," Jess answered, "our battle ROMs did show a unit symbol of some kind, but it's nothing we've ever encountered and the computers have no record of it either."

"Clans, or some other new group?" Yanskoff looked as if he might jump off the stretcher, even if the effort killed him.

"I doubt it," Allen replied as he moved to hold the Colonel down, "it's possible I suppose, given what happened when the Clans arrived, but these invaders are using Inner Sphere equipment, some of them recent designs."

"Best guess at this point is some new unit from the Inner sphere, made up of disgruntled or wanted warriors," Jess added matter of factly.

"Great, just what the periphery needed," Yanskoff responded in a sarcastic tone.

"Something about that theory doesn't sit well with me," Allen voiced, as much to himself as to the others. He looked around thoughtfully and noticed several medics lingering nearby, apparently keen to hear the discussion.

"What're ya thinkin' pup?"

"The way they attacked, and the firepower they used, just doesn't add up. No call for surrender, or clan ultimatum… a fighter assault that would have made the inner houses jealous… the speed at which they located our position, including the scouts, and something else…" Allen trailed off in thought.

"Go on, pup, I think I'm getting the picture"

"I don't know. I do know that they expended an awful amount of ammunition on that strike, more than a rogue group could afford to waste. Unless…"

No one responded, the truth seemed just out of reach and the implications seemed too much to consider. The three sat in silence considering the day's events, Allen listening to the sounds of the camp mixed with the eerie noises of the alien forest.

"AND be not down trodden! For the Almighty will delivery his people, and uphold us, in this, our hour of need …"

Ahh, the good Reverend is at least attempting to spread some hope. Of course knowing this lot the Andurien Red Label in the Antalope's hold would probably produce better results. Back to the problem at hand. What is it? I'm missing something. …

An hour later Allen was brought out of his revere by the sounds of deep breathing. Without looking he could tell that Yanskoff had drifted back to sleep. Looking over at Jess, he saw that although she was leaning with her eyes open propped against a tent support, she was quickly being overcome by fatigue.

"Let's get some rest Jess, we'll get a better picture of what's happening tomorrow." Jessica nodded, and nearly fell over, fast asleep before her head hit the stretcher.

Allen stretched out on his own medical stretcher and stared at the roof of the tent.

Tomorrow I find out what happened to Ryan and his people, one way or another Allen promised himself as sleep overtook him.

Deep in the Oasis Forest, Astrokaszy

Vondrasek protectorate
Periphery
7 June 3059

03:43:00 localtime

"CAPTAIN, CAPTAIN!" Allen's tired mind slowly clawed it's way back to the waking world, egged on by the small voice penetrating the sleep induced void.

"SSHhhhhh!" Commanded another voice, "The Captain and other INJURED people need rest!"

"But…," the first voice stammered before apparently regaining his composure.

It is a male voice Allen thought groggily.

"{Naughty} Jenny! Get out of the way!"

"WHAT is going on over here!" Demanded a harsh woman's voice in a very severe tone.

"We need a Demon Slayer Allen!" – it was Jess' voice

"Where in HELL should I look for one of those?" How am I going to get one of those now? Allen thought in a panic, we'll all die here in this desolate hell if I can't get one.

"Quick, down this passage!"

"Allen where are we going?"

"You said we needed a Demon Slayer?!"

"Yes, but now it's too late." Jess' voice change mid sentence from her normal female pitch to a deep throaty grumble that echoed all around and seemed filled with mirth by the last two words.

Allen spun around and watched in horror as Jess morphed into a hideous demon. In the endless dark depths of the demon's eyes Allen watched the scene replay itself. An ethereal radio broadcast seemed to be everywhere now, "I'M GOING DOWN, PUNCHING OUT NOW!"

Watching the deadly wall of fire and sand helplessly, a dawning realization caused a knot to form in the pit of his stomach. The Privateers' were still buried and trapped out there, with no means to escape.

"NO!" Screamed Allen, "JOHNSTEN, STAY WHERE YOU ARE!"

" I'LL BE BACK!"

The last sentence Allen screamed aloud as he sat bolt up right drenched in sweat. Looking around Allen noticed three things, one it was very dark, two the camp was very quite save for the faint sounds of a radio broadcast, and three everyone was staring in his direction.

"Captain! Are you ok?" The younger medic called, as she rushed over to his cot.

"I'm ok," Allen responded as he tried to shake off the after images of the dream, "What's going on?"

The young soldier stepped around the medics and came to attention at the end of Allen's cot. "Sir! We have been monitoring for communications, including civilian, per your orders, and we think we've got something you need to hear."

"Now see here!" the severe medic called, "I've had enough of this. The Captain needs rest to recover before …"

Allen stalled the nurse with an upheld hand. "That's ok Karen, I'll rest when we get out of this mess. See that the others get some rest, I'll go check this out."

"Like hell," the group collectively jumped as they became aware that Jess was awake and sitting on the edge of her own cot. "WE'LL go check this out!" She said while indicating Allen and herself. The finality in the XO's voice didn't leave any room for discussion.

As Allen and Jess approached the group that had gathered around the make shift communication station, Allen could tell by the looks on the assembled faces that the news wasn't good.

Highway 43, Astrokaszy

Outskirts of Vondrasek protectorate
Periphery
7 June 3059

03:00:00 localtime

Dammit! Rogers thought viciously as the news truck hit yet another sand dune that frequently drifted across the highways on Astrokaszy.

"Can't you drive?" He barked at the tri-vid tech sitting in the driver's seat.

The driver simply grunted and gave Rogers a side long glace before returning his attention to the road.

"Damn these roads out to the Barbarian villages! How is that I, graduate of the MacTavish Academy of Journalism, end up here on this desolate dirt ball?! And now these low-bred morons I work for are sending me. ME! Out to this Vondrasek's little piece of hell, because of some cock and bull story about a big raid! This is a savage pirate world. Why is a raid important enough to drag ME out of bed? They should have sent that new kid, what's his name?"

Rogers looked at the driver to supply the name. When the driver didn't even look at him he continued.

"Ahh, it doesn't matter. Oh well, If they've been particularly brutal this time maybe I'll get a story worth Inner Sphere attention and finally get off this {Naughty}…[Naughty} world!" Looking over he noticed that the driver (what is his name?)was grinning. Rogers took this to mean that the driver saw the wisdom of his little tirade and mentally raised his opinion of him a couple of notches. I must remember to find out his name.

The tri-vid tech didn't respond to any of this. Truth be told he secretly hoped that the raiders were still around; the thought of recording Rogers grisly death brought a small smile to his face. With that shot I might get some recognition and get out of dealing with wankers like Rogers.

03:25:21

"DAN! Yeah we're here settin' up." Rogers yelled into his phone over the static, "YEAH, Heh, Hell it looks like Vondrasek must have gone and pissed in Blake's holy cereal or something! The whole place is smashed flat. We're going to open here and maybe venture in to get some real action from there. What? Yeah, yeah, ok. Dan? We're ready. 20 seconds, ok."

…And now we take you to the scene with our award winning reporter Kevin Rogers. Kevin can you hear us?

YES Sara, I'm here at St. Ivan City which is, as you can see behind me, the site of a major attack. From what we've been able to determine, unknown raiders struck the city shortly after night fall. Planetary officials confirmed that a brief distress message was received by Central Authority communications people in Astrokaszy City at about 21:05 yesterday. Central Authority fighters were dispatched to investigate but no word has been heard from them since they radioed their initial proximity to St. Ivan. At this point there is no word of survivors. I am going to mount up and head into the city to show our viewers the full extent of the destruction and offer my assistance to any survivors.

Kevin? Do you think it's safe to enter the city? Can you see any signs of the attackers?

Well, Sara, it is most likely very dangerous in there right now, I urge our views to stay away from St. Ivan at all costs. I am a trained professional and understand the risks involved, but I believe that our viewers should be aware of the full extent of this despicable act. Perhaps we can offer some comfort or closure to viewers who have family in St. Ivan. Again, this is a VERY dangerous situation and I urge all our viewers to stay clear of St. Ivan, rest assured that I will assist anyone who I encounter.

Ok, Kevin, we'll stay with you as you enter the city. We apologize to our viewers for this interruption of our regular programming, but to reiterate, a massive attack has occurred in St. Ivan City. What we know at this point is that an unknown force attacked St. Ivan shortly after dark. All attempts at contacting people in St. Ivan, including representatives of Lord Vondrasek's staff, have failed. Our own sister station AAZM is off line and we have been unable to reach them at this time. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the people of St. Ivan and their families both on and off world. Our senior war correspondent Kevin Rogers is currently on the scene and risking his life to get into the city.

Sara? As you can see we are approaching the main gates of St. Ivan which have been blown apart! The gates and most of the walls are down and on fire! We are going to get out of our truck and proceed on foot from here.

Right Kevin, be very careful.

We are now scaling the debris and should be able to provide you and our viewers with a clear shot of St. Ivan for the first time since we lost contact yesterday. We're almost at the top of this pile, and… Dear God! ….

Genuine stunned silence followed for the next couple of seconds as Rogers and the station crew attempted to wrap their minds around the vision of destruction.

Ahhh, Sara? Are you receiving this?

Y-yes, Kevin.

St. Ivan is gone! All the buildings are smashed flat! Everything is on fire. I don't hear sirens or other sounds of rescue personnel. Sara, I believe it's safe to say that there were very few survivors, if any. My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims families.

Kevin, we are going to leave you for a few minutes. I've been informed we have a representative from the Central Authority's office live from the steps of the main administrative building. We'll keep monitoring you from the station and cut back instantly if you have any word of survivors. Now over to Karen at …

Delgar Wastelands, Astrokaszy

120 Kilometers NE of Astrokaszy City
Periphery
7 June 3059

03:30:00 localtime

The old man walked slowly in a deliberate pattern with the Y-shaped twig held delicately by his two pinky fingers, palms facing up toward the night sky. Waiting. Hoping. Centuries ago Star League engineers would have used sophisticated equipment to sweep the surface of Astrokaszy for the ever changing underground springs and rivers. But those days were short in the Periphery, and long gone now. Oh perhaps some in the Inner Sphere Houses, and certainly the Clans, possessed equipment that could perform similar functions, to varying degrees. But out here those that survive do so by using more ancient methods.

Water is life in the desert. On a desert planet water can make a man rich, or wipe out an army. Outsiders only see what is on the surface, barren oceans of ever shifting sand, deadly sand storms born on unbearably hot winds and the ever relentless sun. But those that know how to survive know that under that sand is as much water as any other world, all one needed was to know where to look.

Carl had the knack, as his father before him, and his father's father. They lived well, once. The patterns had shifted recently, and it had been quite a while since anyone had found a new source. A number of the old ones had dried up in the last ten years, now the Central Authority had offered even more bounty to those that could turn up new ones.

Enough money to get off this world. Maybe get us into the 'Sphere.

The worry lines deepened on his weather worn face. He groaned as he straightened up and stretched his back scanning the predawn horizon in the direction of his house.

Dillan is spendin' too much time fiddlin' with his gadgets. Doesn't want to follow in his families foot steps, keeps talking 'bout running off and becoming a, what does he call it? A Tech? Can't really blame him, but… Damn boy should be out here helpin' me if he wants to be goin' off to school. 'Stead of stayin' up nights foolin' with his toys and sleepin' half the work day away! Jenna and Heather, well… things are gettin' worse. I can't bear to think about what might happen to them! No, I've got to hit one more time! Then, then we'll get to somewhere where they've got a future. Mother and I will just have to adjust.

Damn! Winds changin'. Goin' to be a storm before dawn. Got to try to cover a little more ground before I head back. What's that?

Only keen eyes accustom to peering deep into desert nights would have caught the small dot in the sky so far off. Then more appeared. Carl's mind raced as he tried to figure out what he was looking at.

Wait! Dillan was on about some raid or somethin' last night! Said he heard chatter on his radio! Sounded like the Tri-Vid on the blink to me, he said it was somethin', what was it? Battle speech? This can't be it. I've seen a lot of raids on this world, but they've never had a swarm of planes like that! I hope Dillan turned h-his damned radio off!

Carl turned to run back to his dune buggy. The swarm started passing over head, too many to count! The air vibrated with the passing of so many fusion powered thrusters. Carl watched in slow motion as his buggy seemed to move further away from him with every pounding step. He watched as two of the dark shadows broke formation and headed for the ground in the distance. The sound he'd heard before, the night his father died. The sound of missiles clearing their launch tubes. A fire ball on the horizon, and smoke staining the flawless night skyline.

"NOOooo!" The scream pierced the night as an old man continued to run back to his vehicle. Hope dwindling.