Black Knight Legion Dropship Black
Falcon
Corvatti Mining Colony HB-3
15th September 3063
Isabel heard Eric's scream over the radio. She
immediately activated her comm., asking for Eric's status.
"Eric?! Hello? We're approaching the cliff now, do
you read me?"
There was no response, and her sensors didn't report
any contacts on the cliff. Anxious for her lance leader, she decided to forge
ahead and back him up. Just then her comm. came alive with the convoy leader's
voice. He had anticipated her to make such a move.
"Striker Three, don't leave us alone here. We're
pretty much unarmed."
Isabel held back a curse. "I can't leave Eric out
there!"
"But we've got priority, remember? Your lance leader
can take care of himself well enough. Hold your position."
Isabel stared at her transmitter incredulously. The
man was being unreasonable. Then another voice came in, that of Mandrill's.
"Striker Three, I understand that Striker One is in
trouble. But we can't leave the convoy alone and unarmed. Maintain present
route and increase sensor range. I'm recalling Flanker lance to give aid. Just
hold on. Don't worry, Isabel ….. Eric will be all right."
Isabel couldn't believe it. Even Mandrill was telling
her to stand down. She clenched her control stick tighter, ready to bark back a
vitriolic curse and go help Eric anyway.
She didn't expect another problem to appear.
"Isabel! Need ….. help here …… attacked by ……"
That came in on Radcliffe's frequency! She switched
to his frequency and tried to radio him. He seemed to be a little too far out
of radio range, because she couldn't get a reply from him. But he was
definitely in danger. 'Damnation and hellfire, I'm coming for you boys!',
Isabel thought. She turned her Mech up to maximum speed and closed the distance
between her and Radcliffe's last position. The convoy was still rolling away in
another direction.
"Mandrill, this is Striker Three responding to
distress call from Striker Two. Repeat, I'm responding to Striker Two's
distress call."
This time Mandrill couldn't stop her. Isabel turned
off her radio to avoid hearing any responses. She gritted her teeth and just
hoped that she wouldn't be too late, otherwise it wouldn't be worth the court
martial she could face after this mission.
Radcliffe was sweating profusely. It wasn't just the
prolonged use of his lasers, but the loss of a heat sink to enemy fire was also
creating heat problems for him. So far he didn't have any major armour
breaches, but it wouldn't be long in coming, unless someone could come and take
some heat off him.
He had made a mistake. The Vedettes weren't really
running away, they were actually leading him into a small trap. A Shadowcat had been hiding behind a hill,
in low power mode. Just as Radcliffe ran past the hill, it powered up and
suddenly attacked his rear armour with an alpha strike. Radcliffe wasn't ready
at all for a sudden threat.
Fortunately, the strike didn't all strike home,
giving Radcliffe a new lease on life. But the SRMs had almost cored through his
rear armour, and the large laser burned away a heat sink. Then the Vedettes
turned around and started to harass his front armour. Radcliffe swiftly
activated his jump jets and managed to pull out of the precarious position he
was placed in. Currently he was running away from the enemy, but it would be
impossible to outrun a virtually identical Mech. He could not run towards the
base, as that path was blocked by the Vedettes. Already Radcliffe had done
several rear-guard actions. He finally managed to get a call through to Isabel,
but he didn't get a response. He wiped his brow. How did he ever get into such
situations?
The Vedettes were pretty far from his position now,
the only threat being the blasted Shadowcat
that continued to try and hit his rear armour. Radcliffe spied a tall hill
near his position, and ran towards it. At the least the temporary shelter would
give his heat a chance to recover. Another large laser shot burned the grey
ground in front of him, but Radcliffe was unfazed as he ran on towards the
hill. The enemy Mech activated its jump jets and tried to catch up with
Radcliffe.
Radcliffe made it behind the mound, slowing down to
keep him hidden temporarily. He checked his sensors. The Vedettes were off his
sensors now, probably picking their way to the convoy now. He hoped Isabel was
up to the challenge, but then those tracked vehicles weren't much of a trouble
to a Mech. For a moment he thought he saw another contact on his south, but it
disappeared before he could be sure. If there was another pirate out there, he
was severely outnumbered.
Suddenly a threat alarm sounded. The Shadowcat was running over the hill,
intent on ending the struggle there and then. Radcliffe, weary of running,
decided that enough was enough. He placed his feet firmly on the ground, and
aimed up the hill. When the Mech came over the top, he triggered almost
everything, except his medium lasers. The SRMs didn't lock on and flew
erratically into the sky. His large lasers melted armour on the left torso of
the Mech, but not scoring deep enough. He wished he had another bunch of
weapons to take out the damned pirate.
That came with the sudden barrage of lasers and
missiles that flew in from behind Radcliffe, smashing almost completely into
the Shadowcat.
Radcliffe checked his sensors. It was Flanker lance! Flanker
One was armed with MRMs which while not having any lock-on systems, packed
enough punch to shake even a medium Mech. As it was, the Shadowcat was not prepared for the sudden threats, and promptly
fell backwards and rolled off behind the hill, losing armour as it went.
Radcliffe could imagine the headache the enemy pilot must be having, rolling
around in his Mech. Flanker One activated his laser comm. unit to talk to
Radcliffe.
"Heard you needed some help, Striker Two. Where's the
rest of your lance?"
Radcliffe wiped his sweaty brow. "I'm not sure. I
think I was being jammed by some of the pirates, I couldn't get through to
them."
"Well, then it's time we joined the battle. Think we
could mop up this pirate for ya?"
Radcliffe cringed at the thought of losing his kill
again, but then it could have easily been HIM being the kill just now, so he
wasn't going to be stingy with his rescuers.
"He's all yours, Flanker lance!"
A salvo of 5 medium lasers seared through the
remaining armour on the Vedette, setting off ammunition stores and cart
wheeling the vehicle into the light atmosphere. Another Vedette, the last one,
tried to run, but Isabel just jumped her Mech right into its path, forcing the
vehicle to stop. It discharged a few rounds of autocannon but Isabel was too
fast for it. A swift kick to its tread ended its mobility, and a few lasers
burned its turret to a molten, twisted piece of metal. Unarmed and alone, the
Vedette called out its surrender to her.
"Pirate Vedette, where is the location of my other
lancemates?" Isabel asked threateningly. Her lasers and machine gun pointed at
the pitted and scarred armour on the tank.
The pirate tank crew weren't willing to experience
the fate of the other 3 crews. "We …. we don't know! Our Shadowcat took off after another Shadowcat, and we lost contact with both just moments ago."
Isabel sighed. The convoy was nearing her position,
and her lancemates were nowhere in sight. And she had no clue to their
whereabouts. She felt like executing the tank crew for her frustration. She
took careful aim at the tank. Suddenly the pirates continued.
"But we can tell you that …. that …. that we've got a
lance of Mechs and armour coming in to give us fire support on our attack on
the base! They were supposed to be here now, but they're too late now ….."
Isabel raised her eyebrows. Another lance of enemy
Mechs could seriously tip the scales. Her short tussle with the Vedettes had
pitted her armour in several places, not enough to warrant worry but enough to
tell her that she wouldn't be able to stand up to two Mechs, let alone a whole
lance. And armour. She would need help, soon. She turned on her radio, hoping
Mandrill wasn't so pissed with her that she'd disregard Isabel's call.
"Mandrill, Striker Three. Prisoners report another
lance of enemy Mechs and armour moving in on the depot. Request fire support,
over."
Mandrill didn't take long in answering. "Striker
Three, you should have been on the comm. I have recalled Flanker lance and they
are now on their way to the depot, with Striker Two. Hold position and complete
escort mission. Please don't disregard orders again, Isabel."
Isabel felt a slight flush on her cheeks at the
rebuke, and radioed her compliance. Eric was still out there, but she couldn't
find him without breaking more orders. She hoped grimly he'd hang on.
"Bloody hell! Take this you bastard!"
Eric tried to plunge his the muzzle of his wrecked ER
PPC into the cockpit of the Cougar
but missed by a metre, instead crushing armour on its centre torso. Still, it
was enough to smash the light Mech to the ground. The pilot had been severely
shaken by the impact and the Cougar did
not try to get up immediately after the physical assault. Eric carefully
brought his leg up to stomp the other Mech's foot into the ground, crushing the
already savaged limb and immobilising the Mech. Eric smiled harshly and pointed
his remaining PPC at the cockpit.
He had lost his ER PPC when he used that arm to
bolster his fall earlier. Fortunately he had fallen on his side, therefore
costing him only the right arm. It was even more fortunate that the Cougar didn't fall on him, instead
impacting almost directly face-down into the ground nearby and thoroughly
damaging the Mech. Not to mention giving the pilot a severe concussion. It was
amazing the pilot wasn't killed on impact. The fall had cost them both dearly
in terms of armour, but still Eric had more armour. A few moments passed before
he managed to lever himself up with his remaining one arm, while the other
pilot was slowly struggling to his feet. Eric didn't give him a chance, quickly
closing the distance between the two and then knocking the Mech down.
He might have failed to vaporise the enemy pilot the
first time, but now he would have his second chance. He was so close that he
could vaguely see the pirate attempting to use his hands to shield himself. It
would be a futile attempt, since the charged particles would burn through his
hands as easily as a knife would cut through butter.
"I surrender! I surrender! Cease fire! CEASE FIRE!
Please!" the enemy pilot pleaded over the general frequency.
Eric was stunned. The voice of the pilot sounded so
young. He toggled his comm. line to talk to the pirate.
"How old are you, son?"
"I …. I'm seventeen. Oh please don't kill me. Please
don't!"
The pilot broke down in tears over the comm. line.
Eric sighed. The kid was too young to die. He felt his hatred wane away,
tempered by compassion.
Another moment passed. Eric heaved another sigh and
then lowered his PPC.
"Power down and wait for the salvage crews," Eric
said gruffly.
The kid was still sobbing over the comm. line. Eric
didn't wait for a reply, feeling slightly embarrassed now at scaring the kid. He
checked his chronometer and found that almost 20 minutes had passed since he
broke off from the convoy. They weren't even on his sensors anymore. He had
better catch up to them quickly.
"Mandrill, Striker Three reporting Nav Epsilon
reached."
"Roger Isabel. Hold position while the convoy
unloads. Striker Two and Flanker lance are coming into your area shortly."
"Roger that. Any news on Striker One?" Isabel watched
as the haulers rolled into the facility. At the least they were in a safer area
now. The depot had about 6 missile turrets covering its western edge, flanked
by a number of laser turrets.
"Negative, Striker Three. I'm sending out a patrol to
locate him."
'Or bring back his body', Isabel thought bleakly.
Just then her threat sensors wailed a warning at her,
but it wasn't the normal warning. "Air threat??" Isabel blurted out in
surprise. Her sensors painted two planes flying in close formation towards the
depot. Neither carried bombs or any ground attack weapons, which relaxed Isabel
a little. Before they came into missile range, the planes flew away, apparently
intimidated by the defences of the base.
"Looks like a recon wing. That's not a good sign
.... Striker Lance, get ready for
company," Mandrill radioed.
Isabel sighed. Looks like rest time was over. Before
she could even reply, there was another urgent message from Mandrill.
"Striker Lance, we detect six pirate Mechs
approaching depot from the West. Flanker lance and near support is just one
klick away. We're launching Stilletos to lend fire support. Phoenix Wing ETA 2
minutes. Hold depot and wait for reinforcements."
Isabel winced. 6 Mechs could really ruin her day. She
keyed her radio. "Roger Mandrill. Flanker Lance, Radcliffe, looks like we're in
for a real scrap." She could see the 4 friendly Mechs already approaching her
southern flank. At the least she wouldn't have to face those Mechs alone.
The battle was in full swing by the time Eric got to
the depot. He counted 5 pirate Mechs, 3 Chimeras
and 2 Hellspawns drawing fire from the
combined power of Flanker lance and his lance. Already one Hellspawn was lying in a smoking ruin on the ground, near one of
the destroyed missile turrets. Most of the turrets were still functional, but
unable to aim well without firing upon friendlies. However they could engage
targets on the southeast flank of the depot, where 5 Vedettes had appeared and
attempted to wreak havoc. The Stilletos had long ago left the area to refuel,
but had managed to kill 3 of the Vedettes. The remaining Vedettes had pulled
back under the intense fire of the missile turrets. So it was a pretty even
match, although he could see that Radcliffe and Isabel were quite beat up.
Well, time for him to change the odds.
He announced his arrival with a PPC blast into the
back of one of the Hellspawns,
striking the right torso. The charged particles ran blue streaks all over the
Mech's torso, probably scrambling some of its circuitry as well. The Mech
staggered forward under the shot, turning its torso to see the new aggressor.
Eric grinned. His comm. links came alive with his allies' excited hollers.
Isabel was the first to get through clearly.
"Eric! Sir! You're alive!"
"Damn it, sir, where have you been? We've been
needing that extra edge to nail these pirates!"
"Striker One! Good to see you still up and running!
Help us mop these guys up, will you?"
'I guess I got my work cut out for me now …' Eric
thought, as he watched weapons fire from his side increase. Even though his
Mech wasn't in good shape, a medium Mech could always turn the tide easily. The
pirates were attempting to pull back, but Eric knew they wouldn't have much of
a chance ….. not against the Legion.
Black Knight Legion Dropship Black
Falcon
Corvatti Mining Colony HB-3
16th September 3063
"Okay Legionnaires, we've got the pirates on the run.
Intel expects they're pulling back and getting ready to get off this rock with
as much crystal as they can haul. The Black Legion needs to ensure they don't
get away with enough crystal to finance any return trips. All forward lances
are being deployed on long range recon routes to locate and destroy any
dropships or other vehicles capable of hauling crystals into orbit. Forward
leaders, run your points and call them in. Report any dropships sightings as
priority traffic. Stay sharp. Dismissed."
As Eric was about to leave the mission briefing room
with his lancemates, Colonel Lawhorn's voice called over the PA system again.
"Eric, please come to the front."
Isabel and Radcliffe gave him questioning looks, but
carried on their way to the mess anyway.
Eric walked up to the stage at the front of the room,
and saluted Colonel Lawhorn. The Colonel returned Eric's salute.
"Eric, we've just got a bunch of recruits from
Harlech. All newbies, with only militia Battlemech training, but there's one
with a pretty solid piloting instinct. Corporal Robert Olsen. Not too good at
gunnery, though. Still, he can refine his skills being in a semi-light lance,
not on the frontlines in an assault Mech. As a reward for a job well done a few
days back, not only I'm assigning your lancemates new Mechs, I'm also giving
your lance top priority for selection."
A fourth lancemate! At the least he would have an
additional Mech as backup now. Not wanting to show too much enthusiasm, Eric
just shrugged his shoulders.
"I'd trust your opinion sir. I'll take him."
Inwardly, he was grinning.
