DC Heroes: MechWarrior I
By: Christopher W. Blaine
e-mail: darth_yoshi@yahoo.com
DISCLAIMER: All characters and situations contained in this story are ©2002 by either DC Comics Inc. or WhizKids and are used without permission for fan-related entertainment purposes only. No profit is made from this story. This original story is ©2002 by Christopher W. Blaine and may not be reproduced either in part or as a whole without the express permission of the author.
Chapter 7 Romanus (Free Atlantean Area) Solaris Gotham Commonwealth January 23, 3032"Colonel Bloodspirit?" an aide called out from the door to the private dining room.
Monel Bloodspirit, commanding officer of the Legion, turned from his meal and looked to the man. "Yes?"
"Colonel Jaime Wolf to see you, sir."
Monel chuckled. "Please, lead the wolf into my den."
The man nodded and exited from the doorway. Monel turned back to his meal and continued eating, enjoying the barely cooked beef. Though seafood dishes were the specialty found in Free Atlantean League restaurants, they were also known for their exquisite herd animal meals as well. His companion hadn't even bothered to look up from his food. "What the hell does he want?"
"Easy, Val," Monel said between bites. "We are all friends here."
"I'd like to think so," Jaime Wolf said from next to them. The smaller man with the dark beard had entered without a sound. Val blanched at the use of contractions and muttered a curse.
"Freebirth."
A tall redheaded woman in a black jumpsuit folded her arms over her chest. Her belt buckle displayed a black widow spider on a red background. "You sure as hell better not have directed that at me, surat!"
Jaime smiled and Monel stood up. "No, Natasha, not you, just this bastard born of a woman." He extended his hand to Jaime who took it. The handshake was honest enough. Both men were warriors on a mission for their masters and that made them allies despite the circumstances of their births. "Good to see you again. What brings you here?" Monel asked, indicating they should sit.
A steward brought in coffee and pastries and then exited as the mercenaries began to talk. "Just curious is all."
"Curious? Or is it something in your inferior genes that draws you to the spectacle of these games?" Val asked with a sneer.
Jaime merely shook his head. In 3004, the descendants of Jonathan Kent's exodus from the Inner Sphere some 300 years before, now called the Clans, decided to send a group of warriors to the Inner Sphere. Disguised as mercenaries, they were to infiltrate the militaries of the Great Houses to determine what the threat potential would be if the Clans invaded.
The separate Clans battled between themselves for the honor of sending their warriors to pose as the mercenaries. Clan Wolf won the battle, but in the end lost the war. The Wolf Clan put together a group made up of freebirth warriors, those born naturally and considered second-class citizens. Clan Blood Spirit was the most vocal in their disapproval of this move. They had claimed that the word of a freebirth warrior would not be enough to trust, that the entire Clan thrust into the Inner Sphere was too important to rely on the word of those who genes had not been selected by the Clan scientists.
Clan Wolf agreed and stated that any Trueborn warrior, one who was created through advanced genetics and artificial wombs, could go with the faux mercenaries under the command of Jaime and Joshua Wolf. A few did, even one young hellfire named Natasha Kerensky. She was a direct ancestor of General Alexandr Kerensky, Jonathan Kent's executive officer. It was Alexandr's son, Nicholas, who had developed the idea of the Clans.
Even with Natasha as part of Wolf's Dragoons, the more reactionary elements of the Clans were not satisfied. Afraid that the infighting would get out of control, a decision had been made to also send a group of Trueborn warriors as well, thus the Legion was born. Composed of cadets that had failed their Trials of Position and warriors considered too old for combat, the Legion represented some Trueborn's only hope of dying with honor.
"Don't talk to me of spectacles, Val; I qualified as a Clan warrior, you qualified as a washout. Freeborn or not, I am your superior," Jaime said with a smile.
"And I am yours," Monel said as he offered cream to Natasha. "I believe you have gotten prettier."
She shook a finger at him. "Just because you were born a wolf does not mean you can lay in the den, Monel Bloodspirit," she replied. Monel had been captured by Clan Blood Spirit early in his career and taken as a Bondsman. After a year of menial service to his new Clan, he was awarded the title of warrior and accepted into the Clan formally. His dark hair and eyes hinted at the genes of Clark Kent, the son of Jonathan Kent, and a founder of Clan Wolf. "Let us dispense with the usual curses and speak freely."
Val made a sour face but kept his comments to himself. After putting sugar in his coffee, Jaime started the talks. "Some of my officers and I are here to take a look at some of the more unique 'mechs in action. I assume that's why you're here?"
Monel nodded. "I am most interested in the Keystone Confederation's Flashman II. I understand it is quite fast."
Jaime raised his eyebrows and looked to Natasha who shrugged. "I wasn't aware that any had made it here. I thought that was a new model."
Sipping his coffee, Monel replied nonchalantly. "Aff, it is, but we have learned that Eobarde Thawne's Cobalt Blue stable stole one right from under Prince of the Sun Allen's nose."
"I hadn't heard that," Jaime said, making a mental note to ride his intelligence people a little harder. "I hear that the Lazarus Pit has a Batman."
Val blanched. "Garbage, complete and utter garbage and you know it. Inner Sphere junk! At least the Flashman II is based upon an older Justice League design."
"I've heard that Thomas Wayne was something of genius when it came to 'mech design," Natasha commented. "It was the workmanship that was bad."
"It doesn't matter," Monel interjected. He changed the subject abruptly. "Have you heard the rumors about some of the fighters?"
"That they appear to be Clan trained? Yes," Jaime said, his face giving nothing away. "It means one of us may have turned traitor."
"You are the one who takes in the spheroids, Wolf," Val accused. "The Legion has only Clan. None of our members would ever betray our sacred oath." His Asian features were twisted in disgust. Jaime could only imagine the temper tantrum Val had thrown when he had failed his Trial of Position.
"How many warriors do you have?" Natasha asked Monel.
"Last count was sixty MechWarriors; that does not include our techs, infantry and armor personnel. You have many, many more…but then again, you take the bigger contracts." The insult was subtle, but Jaime picked up on it. Mercenaries, warriors who sold their skills for money and did not use them for honor, were considered beneath filth by the Clans. It made the Clan Council's choice of having their advance team pose as such dishonorable beings all the more ironic.
"Have you had any warriors quit?" Jaime asked.
"What do you suggest, Wolf?" Val demanded. His face was reddening and both of the Dragoons wondered why in the name of Kent that Monel had brought him along. Then Natasha remembered that Val was one of the best hand-to-hand combatants that the Smoke Jaguars ever produced, winning several cadet titles before washing out of warrior training. She admired Monel for not only tolerating Val's belligerent attitude, but the entire Legion. They were all wash outs from all of the other Clans, under the command of bondsman MechWarrior that belonged to a Clan that had taken him as a spoil of war.
Natasha decided not to teach Val a lesson but instead let her commander do the talking. "I suggest nothing; I only ask if any of your warriors had deserted. Someone is instructing the gladiator warriors in the ways of the Clans. That training, in turn, is turning out very proficient killers."
"It will do no good once the Clans invade," Monel said with a shrug. "A handful of children playing at being a warrior will not tip the sales in their favor."
"Yes, with that I agree, but when will the Clans come, Monel? You assume that the Crusaders will push the Wardens into the invasion." Jaime reached for the coffee pot that had been left and topped off his cup. "What effect has our presence had on the Inner Sphere?"
Monel considered it for a moment. What was the Wolf getting to? "We have become the standard by which the other mercenary units hold themselves up to."
"Rightly so since we are their superiors," Val added.
"Think of how it would be," Jaime said calmly, "if one single entity, say a minor noble, began employing a bodyguard of Clan trained warriors? It could tip the balance of power in any of the Great Houses. This would be unacceptable, quiaff?"
"Aff," Monel said, putting hands on the table. He closed his deep blue eyes and seemed to ponder the universe, so serious was his expression. When he opened his eyes, there was a clarity to them. "Shiva."
Val shook his head. "Neg, Colonel…"
Natasha finally interrupted. "Who is Shiva?"
Val answered, his voice uncharacteristically soft. "She was a warrior of the Smoke Jaguars. We share some of the same genes, though she is older than I. She was a commander in the Legion."
"Was?" Jaime asked.
"Shiva was considered past her prime when the offer came to join up with us. That was over ten years ago when I had requested fresh troops from the Clan Council," Monel said. Unlike the Dragoons, the Legion received steady supplies from the Clan homeworlds, including replacement warriors. Monel was the only original member of the Legion still active and despite the fact he was well into middle age, he did not look it. Such was the magic of the Clan's genetics program. "She was supposedly killed on her first mission against bandits. We were in the employ of House Luthor at the time. We never recovered her body."
"She must have been a great warrior," Natasha said, noticing that Val was almost an invalid as he contemplated the meaning.
When the Clans had sent the Dragoons and the Legion to the Inner Sphere, it was with the understanding that none of the Clans secrets would be passed on. It was a matter of honor. The Dragoons had skirted that issue, but had not completely crossed it, but that was not surprising to Monel. He was once a Wolf and he understood the Warden viewpoint that personified that Clan. They had no desire to invade the Inner Sphere, instead they felt they should be protectors of it, much as the Justice League Task Force had.
Monel was now a member of the Blood Spirits. That meant he was a Crusader, one who wished to conquer and rule the Inner Sphere. "She was, but she was not happy about being retired."
"That is true; she felt betrayed by her Clan," Val remarked.
"Then this is most likely a Legion problem," Jaime said as he stood up. Natasha joined him.
Monel looked up at him. "You knew?"
"I suspected. I can account for all members of the Dragoons, so I figured it was one of your people. This was exactly what I argued over when I was given command of the Dragoons. Two mercenary groups is too much; it leads to mistakes." He bowed slightly in respect. "I will leave this in your capable hands, Colonel Monel."
"I suspected you would, Colonel Wolf," Monel replied, watching the two Dragoons exit the dining room. He turned to Val. "If he is correct, this is an honor matter. If Shiva is training…"
"And if she was captured and made a bondsman? Then she is honor bound to train them to the best of her ability," Val said, smacking a fist on the table. The thought of someone from his genetic line betraying their oath to the Clans was bothering him greatly.
"If that is the case, I will allow you the honor of fighting a Trial of Possession for her and we will send her back to the Clans."