As the enemy jeep left them in front of the Urash Gate and started back towards the staging area, Dominic Durant, Carlos Sanz and Natasha Kerensky walked back into the city of Babylon. The glazed blue bricks of the inner city had a purplish tinge as the blood-red sky added its own hues to the palette of reality around it. Natasha wondered if this would be the last time she would see such a sight.
"Did you have to provoke him like that?" Carlos Sanz said as the three started walking towards the Royal Palace.
"He is more evil than I thought." Dominic seethed. "He is a sick, sadistic bastard."
"What about his offer of a bargain with us?" Sanz said.
"Crap. Even if we cooperate with him, he will kill us all."
Sanz's lower lip trembled. He had now lost all hope. "How do you know that?"
"I could see it in his eyes and his tone of voice." Dominic said softly. "He wants us. Either way."
Natasha kept quiet as she tagged along.
"But there must be some way we can avert this." Sanz protested.
Dominic exploded. "You want to give up, then walk out that gate then!"
"No," Sanz said meekly, "if that was what he did to Captain De Llandes, I'll take my chances here."
"I'm sorry I shouted at you." Dominic sighed as his temper slowly drained out from him. "But you are right. He did that to Janice and he is just itching to do it to us. The man is a psychopath and his troops are fanatics."
Sanz looked up towards the Palace. "You know, one of my ancestors was with Santa Ana's army when they stormed the Alamo. Now, my ancestor's descendant will experience it from the other side of the fence."
"That's remarkable." Natasha said.
"Yes, I guess this means we won't even put his offer to a vote then?" Sanz asked.
"If you want to tell them, go ahead." Dominic said as he just stood there. "I will fight no matter what."
"I just don't have the heart to say anything to anyone anymore." Sanz let out a deep breath as he began to go up the stone steps to the Palace entrance. "I'll be with my team if you need me."
Dominic turned to Natasha, his eyes had that tired look; it was as if he had seen a thousand years go by in just a few days. "I will see Precentor St. Jamais dead. I want you to promise me that if I don't kill him, you will."
"So he tortured and killed Captain De Llandes?" Natasha asked as she tied the back of her fiery red hair into a ponytail.
"Probably, just like his movies."
"When I get the chance, he is as good as dead."
"Thanks."
"Major, I need to change into my battledress." Natasha said. "We don't have too much time now."
"I know." Dominic said softly as he stared at her tanned, beautiful face. "Just stay in one piece and come back to us, okay?"
He was instantly surprised as Natasha put her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek. She had never shown any emotions to him before but in regards to their current circumstances, it seemed like a fond farewell.
"C-captain, I," Dominic could not find the words as he was overcome with emotion.
"I'll be back, Major." Natasha said as she began to walk to where she was quartered. "Just be here when I return."
Dominic gave her a nod as he started up the stone steps of the Royal Palace. Great stone statues of winged lions with the heads of bearded kings looked down at him as he entered the cavernous vestibule of the palace. All of a sudden, a slight panic seized him and he nearly fell to the ground, trembling. It was all too much; he had never been at this situation before. The faces of all the dead would drag his soul to the fiery hells. He never asked for this, it shouldn't have had to happen to him. Tears of hopelessness and frustration began to well in his tired, bloodshot eyes. His head spun, it seemed that reality was in a blur.
A voice instantly made him return to his senses. "Major Durant, are you alright?"
Dominic turned as he gathered himself together. It was Dr. Mordecai Dayan. "I'm okay, just feeling a bit fatigued." He said as he recovered quickly.
"How did the negotiations go?" Dayan asked.
"Bad." Dominic said. "We need to get all the teams assembled and deployed as soon as possible."
"Major," Dayan walked over until he was uncomfortably close that he could see the pupils of Dominic's eyes, "did you do your best for the sake of peace?"
Dominic did not blink as he stared back at the archaeologist. "Yes."
Dayan looked down for a minute and then went back to eye level. There was a trace of sadness in his eyes. "Very well. All of our lives are now in your hands, Major Durant."
"I know." Dominic said as he walked towards his quarters to get his laser rifle.
The sun had at last began to set on the horizon as Natasha started walking towards the Adad Gate to the west. She adjusted the straps on her all-black cooling vest and combat boots, making minute adjustments so that she would be slightly more comfortable when she finally got into her 'Mech's cockpit. Her all-black Warhammer was hidden in the jagged rocks to the east of the city. As the Black Widow made her way towards the massive gates, she saw Dr. Constance Smythe in work coveralls walk towards her.
"I just wanted you to have this, for luck." Dr. Smythe said as she pressed something into Natasha's gloved palm.
The Black Widow looked at it. It was a medallion of some sort, with a star engraving at its center and strange, mythical glyphs written along its circumference. "What is it?" Natasha asked.
"That was the first artifact I found when we started excavating this city. To me it was a good omen and I have kept it by my side ever since, until now." Constance Smythe made a slight smile as she once more stared back towards the ever-darkening horizon. "It is the symbol of Ishtar."
"This is priceless, Dr. Smythe." Natasha said. "I can't have this."
"Nothing is priceless. The cost of that medallion will be our lives. I have no daughters with which to leave my possessions to." Dr. Smythe said wistfully. "I figure that if anyone deserves it, it is you. May it give you good luck, Captain."
"Dr. Smythe, you are a civilian. Stay with the non-combatants at the Royal Palace. I'm sure that the Blakists will spare you."
"Did you know that the great library of Alexandria, the storehouse of knowledge in the ancient world, was destroyed by religious fanatics?" The tears flowed down her old, wrinkled eyes like little pearls. "I often wondered had there been a way to save those priceless works from the Greek playwrights and philosophers, would our world had been a different place? My students, they are nothing more than children. But they will fight, knowing that they will probably die, they resist knowing that if they fall so would the Star League. And if the Star League dies, so will the unity that we have all worked so hard to achieve will die with it as well."
Natasha placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't lose hope, Doctor."
"Thank you, my dear." Dr. Smythe wiped the tears from her eyes. "May the gods smile upon you."
Natasha made a faint smile as she walked on. As the Black Widow tightened up her insulated gloves she nearly missed noticing another figure loitering near the gate. Chifune Kishikawa smiled as she walked over to her.
"Captain, I just wanted to wish you luck." The Otomo bodyguard said. Her Minolta 9000 sniper rifle was slung over her shoulder. "And to say that it was an honor to fight by your side."
Natasha tried to grin but she just barely made a smile. "We'll make it."
"I don't think so," Chifune giggled desperately, "but we shall go out in style."
"Take care."
"And you." Chifune acknowledged as she walked back towards the city center.
The Black Widow made a reflexive shrug as she walked out of the city gates and started to weave her way along the jagged rocks towards her hidden BattleMech.
Even as night had at last fallen, the men and women of the Star League delegation and the archaeological expedition continued to improvise and build defenses all over the ancient city. The liquid fuel from the trucks were mixed with liquid soap to make a crude form of napalm. Firing positions were dug and prepared in many buildings. Booby traps of all sorts, from sharpened metal spikes to makeshift tripwires were strewn all over the dusty streets and alleyways. Some of the more pacifistic members of the group were tasked to look after the wounded in the makeshift infirmary located in the heart of the Royal Palace. Dominic had given instructions that if anyone got separated from his or her team, he or she would make their way back towards the palace to regroup.
As the defenders kept preparing, so did the enemy. The Pintos and the lone surviving Ferret landed near the assembly area as special teams of LOM operators boarded the heavy-attack helicopters while the Ferret was refueled. LOM snipers took their customary places at the side doors so that they could provide covering fire on the troops below. The unmanned surveillance drones kept a constant flight over the ancient city, hopefully being able to spot and pinpoint any potential danger spots or even the locations of the enemy; when the fighting began, the Gnats would be able to provide a real-time tactical situation report for the WOB command staff. The tanks were checked and double-checked as they prepared to move into the city while infantrymen added extra ammunition and power packs for their weapons. Night-vision equipment was tested and retested to make sure that they were running smoothly. Some people ate while others slept near their vehicles; the veterans just tended to be nonchalant about it while the newly recruited ones paced around nervously as the butterflies in their stomach threatened to burst out and engulf them in a storm of anxiety. Everything was checked and double-checked as everyone waited nervously for the order to go out and kill someone.
