Warship " Leviathan "
Aegis-class cruiser
Ownership: Armageddon Steel Legion, Private Military Company
When it came to daily operational discipline, the Steel Legion wasn't as...rigid about it as the Draconis Combine, nor as overall lacking in it as the Lyran Commonwealth.
Having worked alongside the armed forces of both of those Great Houses, Darius Olivera had long ago worked out that the Legion was somewhere in between that two-a sort of comfortable medium of being relaxed in how they did things, while not letting attention to detail, vigilance, and respect for the chain of command slip completely by the wayside..
..mostly. Nobody saluted or snapped to attention in a flawless, parade ground style way ( or, in any way of it at all ), but as Darius watched his commander, Jared Narkov, and the company's Chief Navigation Officer, Sumire Meyer, stride into the Leviathan's bridge, everybody on deck who saw them enter didn't hesitate in making sure they weren't slouching- if they were sitting, that was.
Word spread quickly, though- shoulders were tapped and jabbed to get attention, or someone who wasn't aware was simply told " Hey, the boss is here ! " in a voice just above a whisper. Heads and upper torsos swiveled and pivoted, and all within the span of several seconds, everybody knew that the man in charge had arrived.
It was the usual response, one that'd played out over and over again across the past few years. Watching it unfold, Darius was proud of them.
As he always was, and always had been.
After all, not every PMC was a machine that operated with a degree of smoothness that would have even a Great House Military member ( with the possible exception of House Steiner ) begrudgingly admitting they were more than a " bunch of C-Bill grubbing mercs " ( which was an insulting phrase he'd had fed to him by more than one pompous liaison ). No, the Steel Legion was a few steps above the rest of the Freelancer outfits roaming the Inner Sphere not just because they had some undeniably top-shelf Mech hardware to work with ( top tier as in, it was pure SLDF ), but because they weren't some common thugs who decided they wanted to " get rich, so let's tear things up in BattleMechs ".
No, they were organized, they weren't lazy, and last but not least...God had gifted them with a able leader.
The one who had just come up to the central holotable where Darius stood, stopping short with Navigator Meyer by his side.
" Jared. , the Nassau Heights Native greeted, nodding casually. He was high enough on the rank ladder, and knew the boss well enough, to have the right to be so informal. It was one of the ways that a PMC had a leg up over the stuffy regimen of any of those of a military of the Great Houses: things in the Steel Legion, on the other hand, were more down to Earth, and less so tightly regimented.
The head honcho mirrored Darius' head bob, as did the navigator, who still grasped her constantly-present datapad firmly in the crook of her right arm.
Wow.
Still not used to how in sync they are.
Kind of wish I had a girl like her..
His inner ruminations on his lack of a relationship couldn't be allowed to last long, though, needless to say, as Jared leaned on the edge of the holotable, pressing his palms into its smoothed edge, and proceeded to both open the meeting, and return Darius' greeting, all in a fell swoop:
" Mr Olivera ! ", the PMC boss genially exclaimed, looking right at him with a grin. " Right on schedule, brother. I'd ask what the first item on the list of the day is...but..."
He tipped his head toward Sumire, who effortlessly took the hint.
After a second or so of tapping at the pad, the Navigator adjusted the display of the holotable. Immediately, fresh imagery blazed into existence over the table's surface-a depiction of a Lance of Assault Class mechs.
"...if you would- ah, perfect. ".
Jared waved a hand toward the virtual machines." There we go...all set. Well, data-wise, at least."
" In other words: ' Where is Yang ? ' ", Darius deftly filled in the blank space.
Yep- there were always supposed to be the 4 of them on hand for high level meetings like this...and especially so now, what with the forces of the Black Widow Company bearing down on them. The so called " Most Lethal Mechwarrior of the Inner Sphere ", and with opponents like them coming in hot for the Legion's necks , planning on every step of their plans to outlast them was going to be an all hands on deck kind of operation.
But, if past track records were anything to go by...
Someone's late
." I did speak to Mr Virtanen on the way up here, though ", Jared remarked, eyeing the holographic Lance that the display had now become. " Good progress on getting the Lances prepped- isn't that right, Miss Meyer ? "
" That's what I was told, yes. ", the Navigator confirmed.
" About 5 minutes ago...he should be walking through that hatch, momentarily. "
" I hope you're listening, Darius ", Jared tapped one of the controls on the table's edge, magnifying the orange Atlas mech, and pivoting it around.
The meeting was barely underway, and not all of them were even here yet who were supposed to be, but already, Darius was quick to notice how much more at ease she seemed to be-but he didn't need to wonder why. They weren't talking about...well, her.
Yeah, the Black Widow. The one Sumire was so fearful of, and the one she couldn't seem to stop herself from getting all full bore paranoid about...and based on nothing but that particular Mechwarrior's reputation. Granted, it was the kind of rep that wasn't exactly minor, or dismissive as " just another hood with a Mech ", but no matter how dangerous the BW was, she was not invincible.
No Mechwarrior was, and that included all of them. But, it definitely meant that the BW could be killed in a head on fight...or in any kind of fight.
Sumire just needed to be reminded of that. She had to remember, especially and even now, as they stood here around the simmering holotable, that the BW wasn't someone you should or needed to hide under your bed from. Rather, no matter how much of a total demon she was ( purported to ) be, the Steel Legion had its own rep that was worth upholding...
She knows. She just has to grapple with two directions at the same time...
He glanced up at her now, as she launched into a more detailed description of the status of the Lance's preparations.
" All ammo has been loaded, and all combat diagnostics have been run on their systems..."
Jared put a hand up. " Hey, hey-Before you go any further, don't forget to mention whether the cockpit augmentations have been fitted as well. They were, weren't they . "
Raising a trimmed brow, Sumire glanced at him while barely turning her raven-haired head. It was pretty much as much of an answer as Jared would've needed.
" You already know the answer, but for Darius's sake: yes, they are. "
Surprising nobody. Yang's teams are always on point..
Efficient.
The boss tapped the edge of the holotable, smirking with obvious satisfaction that things had gone as well as they had. There was a certain sense of anticipation in his gaze, as he studied the row of holographic Battlemechs, glimmering orange and standing barely a fraction of their metallic counterparts.
"He raises a good point, though. What about my Atlas ? ". It was clear this was something he and Sumire had already covered, though it was being played back now to bring Darius up to speed. " It took some Particle cannon fire during the fight to claim the Dobrev..."
" That been taken care of as well ", Sumire assured. " All damaged plating has been fully restored...they also double checked the cockpit's structural reinforcement, but found no faults that needed to be addressed. "
" Hm. So, the command Lance is combat ready at a moment's notice ? "
Darius finally chipped into the discussion, having judged he'd been silent long enough. Contrary to what Sumire occasionally accused, he wasn't simply there to stand in a suitably " alpha " pose , with arms crossed and looking in charge.
" Because if that's the case, then we're nearly all set. ", the XO continued. " I mean, I've had our long range sensors aimed out to space like you said, boss..."
" And about that- they haven't picked up anything ?", asked Jared. " We know the Spider Chick is in a major rush to get here to claim my prize- "
It was a opening Sumire couldn't resist. " And, to kill the lot of us. That's she's coming here to do, Jared. There's no two ways about it. "
Oh, joy. This again...
Yeah, yeah it is. She just can't let that go, can she..
Nope
The Taurian quickly drove the point home by going off on a spiel that sounded rather...practiced. " I can't let anybody forget that. Least of all you, Jared; you actually want to go up against her ! "
She paused then, and it became blatantly clear to everyone that her previously calm attitude had slipped...a bit. Not by much- she was too overall reserved for that- but it was easily readable to both Jared and Darius in equal measure. It was mostly in her eyes, and not so much in her expression, but the end result was the same, and the meaning wasn't lost on them:
She was afraid of the Black Widow...and had always been. No matter how much she'd attempted to keep it under wraps, it couldn't help but come to the surface.
Like right about now.
Sumire shook her head, jaw clenched, before capping off the mini-rant with a more pragmatic tack. " Besides, we were due for a resupply run out-our stock of SRMs is getting close to the low side of the scale, after filling the magazines of the reserve Lances..."
" That sounds like an excuse to dodge a good fight. "
Darius wasn't about to let a good chance to object like this one go by, so he didn't. Besides, he knew Jared had his back, no matter what.
" Darius, are you serious-?! "
Pointing at the now-shocked, open mouthed Taurian, the XO quickly went on, before she could even begin interrupting. " Hey, hey now- you're as familiar with how we operate as anyone- probably even more so. There's no turning back from what we've planned to do, and that's taking on the Black Widow's Mechwarriors on the battlefield outside the Dobrev. "
" All we're waiting on, is for Yang to get the heck up here, so we can finally get this show on the road. "
I couldn't have said it better myself, XO.
Jared allowed himself a brief, shallow nod, subtly signaling his approval.
Sumire must've caught it, because her response a few milliseconds later was unsurprisingly annoyed. " Darius, how many times, must I remind you of her reputation ?! "
Oh, boy. Here we go...
" Yeah. Actually, you have. Probably more often than you should've..."
Jared resisted rolling his eyes, but he still knew what was coming: It was going to be another back and forth, with the Taurian navigator pressing her staunchly dug-in opinion that they should duck and run, while Darius would maintain that they needed to stand their ground. It was, unsurprisingly, going the same way it'd gone in the past, with neither of them budging from the stance they held...
Sumire wanted them to run from the Black Widow. Darius, wanted them to go 9 rounds with her instead
. Needless to say, Jared was on the latter side of that argument, but if he didn't step in now, it would drag on longer than it needed to. Already, both of them were raising their voices ( or, at least Sumire was ), and getting into the spirit of a full on spat.
Time to lay down the law
Leaning back from the holotable, Jared stood up straight, inhaled briefly, and then issued his latest order: " Both of you. That's enough. "
It did the trick. Immediately, the XO and the Navigator, recognizing the tone in their boss's voice, automatically scaled back their disagreement.
"..Sorry, sir. I got worked up there. ", Sumire admitted.
" Only a bit ?". Jared pointedly raised a brow.
" Sumi- we need to put this to bed. Once and for all, ok ?
Now, Jared breathed out, before shaking his head slightly, then going on, before the Navigator could. He had to cut this train of discussion short.
" We're going, to fight the Black Widow for the Dobrev. That's what we're going to do, and why ? "
He didn't give her a chance to finish. " Not for the SLDF. Not because its right, but because that's who we are. If we begin something, we finish it. Especially when there's so much salvageable LosTech gear at stake. "
" Oh, and don't forget..", Darius spoke up, raising a hand, again. " Everybody on the MRB, and pretty much everyone else in the Inner Sphere, will be singing our praises. They've all heard of the Black Widow, and they're all steering as clear of her as Sumire wants us to. If we take her out...well, we'll be genuine celebrities !"
He put his arms out. " Famous. I can already hear doors opening."
" Well said, Darius. ", Jared grinned. " Well said, indeed. "
It was a prime opportunity for Sumire to complain, or protest, or say something against it. Anything, at all. Fully prepared for that to happen, though, Jared promptly glanced over at her, conveying through his expression that " If you got something to say...go ahead and say it. You got that right. "
But, she did not take it.
Not a word...
Instead, she exhaled, and stared down at the holotable, rubbing a hand across that pretty, oval face.
" Ok, Jared ", she softly said at last, still not removing that hand from where it was laid. " Ok..."
" You're the boss here, ..if you say we're fighting the Black Widow, not pulling back from her, then so be it. "
Sumire finally dropped the hand, and looked over at him. " I just...I had to be sure I'd gotten my point across. She's dangerous, Jared. More so than anybody we've ever gone up against. But, I know that goes for us as well...so."
" God, I hope we can do this, then. I hope you can. "
In that moment, Jared hadn't loved her more. Whether she'd accepted what the Legion's plan was or not, she'd accepted, a tad late, though at least completely, that he was going to lead it into this ( presumably ) all-but-doomed course of action, albeit one with immensely high rewards.
Whether or not her doubts were utterly quashed, even Jared couldn't tell, but to be honest, that didn't matter. She knew what was going down soon, and was ( outwardly, at least ) ok with it...so until after they'd finished taking care of the BW's forces, that would have to be enough.
He could see it all on her face. He'd learned to read her that well, at least. As complicated as women are, he knew that much about her.
Atta girl. Stick with me; I'll lead us into this firestorm, and out the other side.
" I get why you might be spooked, but we don't have much choice now, other than to do it, don't we ? ", the commander of the Steel legion remarked.
He met the gaze of everyone who stood at the holotable with him, making sure they got the gist of what he was saying, regardless of how much they'd believed it before. In the case of Darius, he knew there was no doubt, but with Sumire...it'd been up in the air.
Not anymore, though. At least, it wouldn't be while the most dangerous battle of their combined careers was racing toward them, and nearly there. There could be no more of this kind of doubt- certainly now now.
" No ", he finished decisively. " This is our path forward now. As soon as Yang gets here with a final update on the Mech status- or lets Miss Meyer here know over Pad-Com, we'll have all the pieces in place to begin our defense. "
Darius shrugged amicably. " Sounds good enough for me. Then again, I wasn't the one angsting about running into the " Deadliest Mechwarrior alive ", so- "
" Nobody likes a smartass, Darius. ", Sumire bluntly warned.
The XO, however, remained unruffled. He simply smirked at the Navigator, before crossing his arms into their signature pose.
" Did I hit a nerve, Sumire ? "
" ..If you did, then you wouldn't know. "
Jared could not resist a slight chuckle at the off-the-cuff exchange. Just watching them having a brief moment of levity, amid all the tension, was a welcome thing, for sure. Still, as enjoyable as it was, there was still plenty on the agenda that needed to get done, and none of it would wait...
" Allright, alright, everyone.. ". Jared put a hand up. " You're both hilarious, but we got- "
" Hey, boss ! "
The unmistakable sound of a certain ex-CCAF soldier turned Mechtech carried easily over the bridge. Once again, as they had when Jared had entered, heads turned toward the main bridge hatch.
Among them was everybody at the holotable, who's heads promptly swung around to find the rotund Capellan heading their way. He was still on the most distant side of the bridge from them, but he wasn't plodding along ( not that he did normally, that is ) at all- not even close.
Instead, he hurried to close the distance, and within seconds, had reached the packed holotable.
" Boss...", the Chief Mechtech wasn't exactly out of breath,but he was definitely worked up about...something. There was a certain sense of urgency in both his tone, and expression.
What ?! What's going on here...? Yang was one of the more composed members of the command staff, aside from Jared himself, and Darius, of course. To see him rushing in here like this was...irregular, and not in a good way, either.
Why didn't he comm Sumire ? He just ran up here...?
Jared's confusion seemed to be mirrored by the others, especially the aforementioned Navigator, who didn't have much choice but to hastily move aside as Yang reached them..
" Woah, now. Where's the fire, Yang ?! ", exclaimed a thoroughly surprised Jared. " You just came barrelling in here- "
" Look, ok:there's a reason I didn't get on comms...!. "
Well, Yang had come prepared for this impromptu way of showing up late to a scheduled meeting...it seemed he'd expected to be asked that. And, if someone as generally organized about his craft as he was ( not as formally as Sumire, but anyway ) showed up like this, clearly in a state about something...
A second later, he proved it.
Yang fished through one of his spacious pockets, and produced...something Jared didn't recognize. It was compact, clearly some sort of electronic device, that fit easily in the palm of a hand. A few wires and circuity remnants trailed out from its perfectly angular, geometrically shaped sides.
...Is that...a bug ? What is that ?
"...This, is why ! ", the Capellan informed them. " And before anybody asks what the heck this is-"
" What is it ? ".
Darius simply couldn't resist, evidently. It prompted an eye roll from Sumire, and an annoyed frown from the head Mechtech.
"...As I was saying ", he bluntly continued, ignoring the XO's verbal prodding, " This here is a GPS ( Galactic Positioning System ) transponder ! "
" Someone's been following us ! "
It didn't take long for the news to sink in...
Not long at all. Actually, after the first...3 or so seconds, they'd pretty much grasped it all.
A shot of frigid adrenaline raced up Jared's spine. It only lasted a millisecond, but the fresh thoughts chasing it lingered much longer than that...all to the tune of " We've been getting shadowed all this time, and we had no clue whatsoever ?! "
He stepped back an inch or so from the table, and raised a knifed hand toward Yang. " ...What are you on about, Chief ? ! "
" Exactly what it looks like. ", the Mechtech responded. He plonked the so-called transponder down onto the table, and slid it forward.
He stabbed a finger at the device. " That sucker ? It was bolted onto, or rather, into, that " mystery crate " we got from the Bounty Hunter. The one that contained all those LosTech pulse Lasers..."
Jared nodded slowly. " Yeah, I remember that.. Dr. Murad was as giddy as a teen girl on Valentine's day over it."
Sumire scoffed at the description, but knew there was no refuting it.
" Yeah. Sure, sure, great. It was a real toy box moment ". Yang barely even paused to breathe, flicking one hand offhandedly. " Anyway, that box wasn't just a trove of goodies; it was the Bounty Hunter's way of keeping tabs on us ! "
He smacked a palm down, and promptly looked at the others in the eye. There was hardly a need for that, though; Jared was all too aware, now, of exactly what might be in store for all of them.
That icy feeling up his spine, had trickled down to his legs, and to a lesser extend, down his arms.
The Bounty Hunter...on top of having the Black Widow on us.
This might be...problematic.
" Oh, God...". Sumire exhaled audibly through her teeth, then bit her lower lip. " God, tell me you're not serious , Yang..."
" If there's anything I take seriously, its the tech in my Mechbays ! And that's where I found our digital stowaway- but I didn't act on my suspicions about that box quick enough to stop it from squawking our position to the other deadliest Mechwarrior in the Inner Sphere ! "
Finally, after going full blast all along, the Capellan paused, and breathed in.
"...Aside from you, boss ", he hastened to acknowledge.
Smart man, Yang. Jared permitted himself a brief smirk. He was, after all, not one to bleep his own horn, not when others could do it for him. And the Chief Mechtech was certainly right; with over 100 kills to his name, Jared could comfortably rank himself among the very best Mechwarriors that still lived.
Including,the ones coming for them...
Speaking of which..
" So...The Bounty Hunter and the Black Widow are both closing in on our 20, as we speak.. "
It was half statement, half question...
" Sumire: Any word from the Sensor net on fresh contacts inbound ? "
He glanced up and over at the Taurian, but was momentarily stopped by the look in her eyes. She was staring fixedly at the holotable's display, which had remained a Lance of Assault Mechs all along.
That look...was some kind of, as best as Jared could discern, some kind of mix between deep seated fear, and a sense of resignation. As if she was so certain that something horrendously deadly was about to catch up with them, and their chance to escape from it had already gone.
It was specific kind of kind of fatalism- the worst kind. The all-but-given up kind. And, on top of Jared just having persuaded her, that they could actually handle the BW's forces, this was not doing Sumire's personal state of morale any favors.
The CO of the Legion hated to see her that way, and for more than one reason. If she was going to do her job to its fullest in the upcoming battle, then Jared would have to address it, yet again, and for good.
But, just as much if not more...she was special to him. He couldn't let his girl suffer like that...
" Sumire...you still with us over there ? "
" You ok ? "
Like coming up from a long underwater swim, the Taurian inhaled sharply, and blinked, before finally answering.
" ...Honestly ? I don't know...I really don't. "
She exhaled again, before going on-
"...I mean, things looked grim enough already. Now ? The Bounty Hunter is after us as well ? Him ? What if...what if he gets here exactly when the Black Widow does ? "
Jared soothingly responded to that with, " Which is why we need to know if our sensors have got him yet. Or the BW. We can't afford to get jumped by either of them, let alone both, now can we ? "
" They won't catch us by surprise...you know that."
Somehow, all of that managed to do the trick. The Taurian recognized that her boss ( and significant other ) was in full on " Get things done, one way or the other " mode, and was keen on everyone to do what they were supposed to.
Especially her.
" Right...right, ok. "
So, she did. Mostly, at least. Breathing in, the Taurian stood taller, squared her shoulders, and then turned to call out to the Sensor team across from them;
" ..SenCom ( Sensor Command ) !? I need a pulse scan, out to maximum range. Repeat as needed. "
" Full spectrum ", she added.
The head of SenCom- a middle aged man with a prominent scar beside one ear- had turned around the second Sumire had begun speaking, but didn't take any longer to process the order. After swiftly and crisply acknowledging it, he went back to the others working the array of illuminated screen, displaying all the real time data streaming in from the Leviathan's scanners.
It wouldn't take long- Jared knew that much. No more than about 30 seconds or so...
" Son of a- ", Yang reached out, and grabbed the wrecked GPS.
He clenched it tightly in his metal hand. " I can't believe I didn't check for this earlier...! "
" Calm down, Yang ", Darius urged. " It was supposed to be under the radar for as long as it could..and at least you did find it. "
The Capellan dropped it then, the fingers of his metal arms curling in annoyance. " Doesn't mean I should've sooner, though..."
Sumire, meanwhile, did not contribute to the ongoing verbal toss. Instead, she quietly adjusted the holotable's controls, bringing up a second Lance along the first. One of Medium-class Mechs, though...including a Blackjack.
The symbolism wasn't lost on Jared whatsoever; at the dawn of his career as a Mechwarrior, he'd piloted a Blackjack. That machine had been his very first Mech, and even today, with an SLDF- Atlas at his disposal, he still had that Blackjack, tucked away in the depths of the Leviathan's storage bays.
Why had Sumire pulled up an holo of one ? Well, that was easy...
Jared had been with the company, either within its ranks, or at its head, for so long. Years and years now on end. Through one battle after another, he'd been with them- and more specifically, with her.
And Sumire didn't want that to end.
Certainly, not like this.