Chapter 3
Underwater, Blue Hole Hot Springs Command, former Lyran Commonwealth territory Clan Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
February 27, 3052
Hauptmann Nolan Sundheim cursed out loud as his King Crab's left foot became entangled in a thick patch of the aggressive seaweed that populated Blue Hole's numerous ponds. Working with an ease that came from repeated actions, Nolan quickly signalled a halt as he gently unlatched his 'Mech's foot. He and his command had learned long ago not to just use the raw power of a BattleMech when they got caught in the undersea fauna.
It wasn't like on the surface where a MechWarrior had complete control. Underwater, the slightest exaggeration could unbalance a multiton warmachine as its footing depended solely on the soft seabed. More than a company's worth of BattleMechs had been lost because of that ingrained reflex every MechWarrior had, perhaps Lyran pilots more so. A 'Mech would get caught, force itself free and usually float slowly on its back. If it was lucky, it would just crunch some armour. More often than not, it lead to flooded compartments, rending parts of the BattleMech completely useless.
His battered command waited patiently, their 'Mech's arms akimbo to offset the force for any sudden movement they would need to take. Despite two years of constant warfare, not all of which was on Blue Hole, Nolan was proud of these MechWarriors he assumed command of.
Free from the purplish seaweed, he continued their underwater march and entered an often-used channel. Blue Hole was aptly named, Nolan surmised, the world was dotted with deep ponds all networked by underground tunnels. From the surface, it was as if a very large lake or an ocean was dried out, leaving scattered puddles behind.
The march continued without any more delays. Slow paced as it was, none of the MechWarriors had the luxury of free time. Each worked even harder to maintain a consistent gait, avoiding pitfalls, low ceilings, even schools of fish as they made their way to another pond. As a result, the pilots felt wonderfully free and powerful once they were surrounded by air again, or at least not water.
Light shone dimly on the 'Mechs as they entered a particularly large pond. The Hauptmann waited until the silt drifted down again before signalling an advance. He primed his weapons, cycled fresh ammunition into his KGC-0000's claw-like arms and lead the advance. From the echoes he heard as each 'Mech entered their own designated tunnels to other ponds, Nolan knew his comrades were doing the same.
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Geizhu Plains, Blue Hole Hot Springs Command, former Lyran Commonwealth territory Clan Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
February 27, 3052
Star Captain Ian slowed his Summoner to a crawl as he redirected his BattleMech's sophisticated sensors to another group of empty ponds. This is a waste of time! Ian raged. Let the solahmas handle this! They are nothing but cowards to hide in water...
As he predicted, the Summoner's sensor array revealed nothing of significance. His starmates reported the same, with nearly the same hint of annoyance as he had. Ian let it slide this once. Falcons may have the reputation of being 'hotwinded' as one freebirth put it, but to complain to a superior was unbecoming of a Clan warrior.
To his right, a sudden tremor disturbed the silken surface of a pond he had just scanned. Ian paid it no heed, his Clan's scientists had said there was plenty of volanic activity underneath the planet's surface. He registered another tremor, interrupting his orders to his star to form up. This time, his starmates caught the muted termors as well on their instruments.
The radar lock warning tone came too late for the Star Captain to react, his massive Summoner was instantly covered with blossoming fire as a white and blue Javelin rose up from the depths of the pond he had dismissed. Armour shards flew away from the Summoner's turret-like torso as Ian struggled to bring his weapons to bear.
Another missile salvo, this time to his rear arc, threw off his aim as he gouged sandrock with his PPC and exploded water with his own missiles. Laser fire followed in quickly, flash boiling more than a ton of protection from his Summoner's legs, nearly bringing his mighty warmachine to its knees.
By the high pitched whine that filled his ears, Ian realized his starmates had already started returning fire. It was of little concern to the Star Captain, they were too far away to draw off pressure from him and he wanted the chance to punish these dezgra pilots. A Hunchback rose in front of him, still knee-deep in the water, letting loose with its arm lasers before bringing its rightly-feared large bore autocannon to bear.
Dull bleating filled his ears as Ian pushed his Summoner to its top speed. A few shells slammed into his 'Mech's right arm but the rest trailed behind him, tracers skewering air. His return fire wasn't as ineffective, the Summoner's own autocannon spat out flechettes that worried the Hunchback's thick hide as his PPC drilled a hole into its centre torso. Ian grinned as the 50-ton 'Mech crumpled before him.
Ian dashed quickly to his left, guessing correctly that the Javelin and Commando that assaulted him would team up. The missiles corkscrewed past his 70-ton OmniMech, obscuring his vision slightly as he let loose his own missile barrage. The Javelin staggered back as it caught the missile attack straight to its chest, its humanoid form struggling to remain standing. Contemptuously, he flung a charged bolt from his PPC and didn't bother to watch as the azure streak dissolved armour and fed on the JVN- 10N's missile reserves.
Its explosion buffeted the lighter Commando with fire and debris, bringing it to its knees. Ian smirked at the pilot's audacity as the COM-2D propped itself up on one arm and fired all its weapons at his advancing OmniMech. The lasers found their mark, worrying the Summoner's thick leg plating but the Star Captain had no trouble sidestepping the SRM volley. He emerged in front of the contrails of smoke in front of the supplicant BattleMech.
The autocannon's shrill scream filled Ian's ears as hundeds of small needles shredded the Commando's head piece by piece. A faint gust of red moments later told him of the pilot's fate.
A warning klaxon drowned out the rest of the autocannon's roar. Instinctively, Ian slammed his feet on the foot pedals and jumped his Summoner to face his attacker. Behind, always from behind... cowardly surats! A few missiles managed to ping and worry his pristinely painted OmniMech and a pitiful laser blast dug into some fresh armour. But as he landed he worried less about the missile flight and more about the 100 tons of 'Mech charging his way.
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Geizhu Plains, Blue Hole Hot Springs Command, former Lyran Commonwealth territory Clan Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
February 27, 3052
Nolan bit his lip as the Thor soared into the air gracefully, avoiding most of his LRM flight. He triggered his only energy weapon next, the Magna Mk III Heavy Laser pulsed red as it scored against the Thor's untouched left torso, flash-exploding painted composites. Neither were the main weapons on his Assault-class King Crab though many lighter machines had to make do with that arsenal, even less.
The OmniMech coolly levelled its arms at him, spitting fire as they came to bear. Hauptmann Sundheim was already sidestepping the fire, never taking the Jade Falcon OmniMech from his sights as he ducked left then right to avoid the hellish Clan PPC and the flight of missiles. He smiled in admiration at the Clan warrior's self-control, not many would willingly stand toe-to-toe with a King Crab and its twin large-bore guns.
Not bothering to read the range, Nolan thumbed his primary trigger and let himself drown in the furious roars of his 'Mech's Imperator-Ds. The Falcon tried to soar again, but Nolan had aimed high, dragging fire and rending armour as the Thor flew overhead. Flaming metal showered around him as one of the Thor's ammunition bays became prey to his devastating volley. He throttled his 'Mech down and quickly backpedalled to face the enemy.
He wasn't surprised to see the Thor had landed on its feet, Clan warriors were supreme pilots no matter how many Mechwarriors deluded themselves into thinking they hid behind their technology. Nolan triggered another furious volley at the stunned Thor who replied meekly with its PPC. Armour blasted away from the Thor's legs and right arm, throwing off the Falcon's aim. A bright flash from the OmniMech's arm as the stream of shells blasted through the hexagonal pod arm into the weapon inside.
Hauptmann Sundheim was just about to order the Falcon pilot to eject when radar-lock warnings echoed in his neurohelmet. A Vulture stood, scarred and battered, in front of a smoking hulk of what was a BattleMech. The hunched shoulders that gave it its nickname belched fire and smoke as it sent missiles hungrily to the KGC-0000's back. One of its arms hung limply against its side, but the other arm belched the sickening green pulses of Clan pulse lasers.
Nolan couldn't accelerate in time, instead he twisted the King Crab's elongated torso and presented fresh armour to the attack. The feared large pulse laser found him first, boiling away a third of his right arm's protection in a blistering hiss. He felt a slight rumble as one or more shells being reloaded in the Imperator-D housed in his arm exploded, ruining the weapon entirely and shredding the arm from the inside out. A slight buzz forced itself on his consciousness as he felt the neural feedback seep in through his heavy neurohelmet.
The King Crab stuttered at the sudden loss of its arm and swayed slightly but not enough to put it out of the missiles' path. Fire wreathed the 100-ton 'Mech, blasting thick chuncks from the machine's hide, as its pilot was thrust into unconsciousness from the ferocity of the attack. That the Vulture fell moments later as a Hunchback poured fire into the gaping holes in its beak-like torso did not matter. Nor did the utter elimination of all the Clan OmniMechs save for one mistaken to to be destroyed.
When Hauptmann Nolan Sundheim awoke, a haughty severe face greeted him instead of the round and soft face of his wife he expected. The face smiled, its eyes a fierce gray and Nolan felt dismay as it spoke.
"Greetings, bondsman. You are the property of Clan Jade Falcon." The face stopped speaking for a moment. "Resist, struggle, or disobey, and you will die."
He raised his arms to his face and saw the bondcord on his wrist, a severe white to his pale skin. He clenched his fists then and screamed, "Kiss my as-!"
The deep throb of a laser pistol silenced the bondsman.
Sorry about the formatting folks, but seems determined to mess it up.