Alexis stood on top of one of the concrete habitations, her gaze angled down to watch a group of lupar infantry whom had surrendered to the Republic forces rather than be cut down. Disarmed, they now sat on the ground between the house Alexis stood on and the main building, while to the left and right of the gatón stood Carmike's Wyvern IIC and several troopers from Sierra squad, respectively.

The sounds of massive footfalls coming from the south made Alexis turn her head briefly, and she saw the first, battered 'mechs of Whiskey Lance making their way up towards the ruins. To each clung a full seven battle-armored troopers, all of them hitching a ride with the omnimechs to conserve energy, both electrical and physical.

The 'mechs began to spread out as they approached, and Alexis turned her head away and back to her duty, as she already had a fair idea of how they were going to deploy. They will fan out and deploy in an arc around the southern approach, just like Earl asked them to do.

She suppressed a shudder as she looked over the lupar below her again. It's only been an hour, and already things feel like they've changed irrevocably. Alexis had been with van Horn when Tanaka had managed a to get a radio transmission through the jamming and distance, and she knew that the battle in the valley below had gone badly for the Republic.

It seems that whatever we do, no matter how many problems we solve, Alexis thought, there always seems to be something worse waiting in the wings. She sighed as she glanced over the prisoners below. The jamming is too heavy for us to call for help, the enemy is too numerous to beat back, and we're trapped in a mountain valley. Part of her wanted to just curl up and sob, but her strong sense of duty and right pushed Alexis to continue on. I owe it to my friends to do nothing less.

The sudden noise of jump jets startled the gatón then, but Alexis soon calmed herself as she saw that it was only Lopez alighting to the roof of the house she stood upon. The Mobile Infantry trooper took a moment to look around before he ambled over to where Alexis stood and nodded towards her. "Miss Hurano."

"Private Lopez," Alexis said, nodding back. "Something I can do for you?"

"Not me, but doc wants you down on the ground," Lopez replied, and then shrugged. "Didn't say why, but in any case, I'll take over from here."

Alexis frowned slightly, but she nodded. "Very well," she said as she moved off towards a specific side of the building. "I'll see you later, then, Tony."

"Be seein' ya," Lopez replied as he took up Alexis' old position. The gatón, however, simply went to where some climbing plants had crawled their way up the side of the house. There she paused to sling her rifle over her back before she turned around and began the process of climbing back down to the ground.

Alexis hopped the last foot to the ground, easily landing with her cat grace. She took a moment to regain her bearings before she started off for the entrance to the central building, where she knew van Horn would be.

It only took a few moments before Alexis reached her goal. Rounding the corner of the main building, she paused to see van Horn conferring with two of the newly arrived troopers. Deciding that discretion was best, she walked up slowly and quietly to about a meter's distance from the trio of troopers, who were eerily silent as they used their radios.

Finally, however, van Horn turned to look past the two men in Marauder suits and at the gatón. "Alexis, how long have you been standing there?" He asked aloud, prompting the two other troopers to turn and look at her as well.

Alexis blushed slightly. "A few minutes," she said neutrally. "Lopez said you wanted me?"

"Yes, I did," van Horn replied with a nod. "Just wait a moment, okay?"

"Okay," Alexis said with a nod, and the three humans apparently went back to talking to each other. This didn't last more than a few seconds, however, and soon the two newcomers turned and walked off at a brisk pace.

"Those were Sergeants Renard and Farnholt," van Horn said to Alexis, naming the senior enlisted men of the Red Dogs and Vanquishers, respectively. "They wanted to know the situation, so I was explaining it to them." He paused to sigh then. "And they told me a bit more about the battle below."

Alexis felt her ears slide down a bit at the tone in his voice. "Is it as bad as Tanaka made it sound?"

Van Horn hesitated for several seconds, which in and of itself told Alexis a thing or two. "It is," he said finally. "They lost a tank and some troopers… Seven are dead, another two troopers hurt from small-scale armor breeches." Earl shook his head then. "And everyone's armor is worn away. All the Wobbies need now are a few solid hits, and they can take out our entire force."

Although she had tried to mentally prepare, Alexis still felt a wave of despair flow over her as she heard the recounting. She closed her eyes tight and began to whisper a prayer, until she remembered the previous night, and her mind came to a crashing halt. How can I pray to false gods for a comrade's life? She thought acidly.

Van Horn seemed to notice the shift in her thoughts. "Alexis, what's wrong?" He asked in a concerned tone. "You look pained."

"I'm… I'm fine," Alexis managed to say quietly. She then rubbed her eyes clear and managed to look at van Horn steadily "I was just… Thinking about those who've gone…"

"Okay…" Van Horn said dubiously, apparently knowing that there was something else, but clearly not willing to push his friend. "In any case, the reason I called you down here is that I want you to head over to Shubasu and alert them if they haven't already been alerted from the noise."

Alexis frowned a bit. "Pardon me if I sound uncaring, but… Why?"

"Because the Wobbies aren't known for their generosity in avoiding civilian casualties," van Horn replied dryly. "I want to make sure that they're okay, and hopefully warn them to head for the hills if they see a Wobbie comin' their way."

A moment passed before Alexis nodded. "Of course," she said calmly. "I don't suppose I'll have someone to come with me?"

Van Horn nodded back. "Yes, you will. I'm sending Dubrovskiy with you, and he'll carry you there and back to speed y'all up," he said quickly. "So, any questions?"

Alexis paused for a moment before she spoke again. "Where should the Shubasuii go if the Wobbies do attack?"

Van Horn paused to think about this. "Well, like I said, into the hills… Over the valley wall if they can, to another valley or elsewhere. Just… Just tell them to get the hell away from here."

Alexis heard the slight choke in Earl's voice, and for the first time, she realized just how bad it must be for the human to know that he should offer protection to the defenseless, and yet is unable to provide it.

As it is with me, she thought. Then she nodded sagely. "All right, then, I had better go."

Tanaka sat in her Guillotine IIC, her mind racing to try and think of some way out of the mess her soldiers were in. A mess I led them into, she thought guiltily. I couldn't just find a spot for a forward base and then set out to raid the Wobbies. No, I had to be a goddamned white knight like some kid's fantasy! The anger that now rose in her gut was different from the anger that she had felt during the battle, for this time she directed it at herself.

No, stop, Tanaka thought and shook herself mentally and physically. This is no time for self-pity! Screwups happen, and you're just as human as everyone else. So soldier, shut up and soldier! The old saying from her earliest training helped to calm Tanaka, and she began to order her thoughts.

First off, I need to stop bein' so introspective when I'm at the helm, she thought, self-chastising, noticing that Vickers and the last of his platoon were already past her position along the trail up to the ruins. Glancing at her HUD, Tanaka quickly ascertained that she and her two remaining lance members were the last ones just inside the edge of the forest. She also saw faint sensor echoes of the Blakest 'mechs as they reformed just on the near side of the valley's blocking wall.

This was more than enough for Tanaka to be jostled from her mental slump, and she quickly opened a radio channel to her lancemates. "Okay, Stein, Myers, let's start up to trail. George, you got the best armor getup of us, so you take caboose. Amanda takes point, and I ride rocking chair."

"Always gotta pick the easy job, eh?" Stein teased half-heartedly, though he knew very well that Tanaka was placing herself in the middle so she could move and help out whoever would come under attack. "Anyway, ready to move out, captain."

"Same here, boss," Myers added in. "Just give the word."

Tanaka nodded to herself. "The word is given, then," she said, letting a note of amusement creep into her voice. "Move out."

Alexis tensed instinctively as the ground rushed toward her, seemingly reaching up to greedily grab the gatón. However, the trooper holding her – Private Dubrovskiy – hit his jets on time, and the pair came to a gentle landing about fifty meters from the walled town of Shubasu.

Actually, Dubrovskiy made the landing, Alexis thought as the trooper set her down on the ground. I was just along for the ride.

Straightening out, Alexis stretched a bit before she looked up at the closed gates of the town while Dubrovskiy glanced about. Scanning the area no doubt, Alexis thought wryly as she did the same with her own senses.

The day was growing old, and already the sun was fast approaching the western horizon. Though from the looks of it, we have a few more hours of light left, Alexis thought as she swept the terrain with her eyes, while her ears swiveled a bit on their own to listen to the various, small noises that come from any forest. Nothing sounds out of place… But then, I don't know how this place is supposed to sound, exactly. The idea that Blakest infantry could be watching her at that very moment made Alexis' tail twist up a bit in disgust. Even their eyes upon me would make me feel dirty.

Turning back towards the town, Alexis saw that the three small towers were manned visibly, and gatón stood on their tops with bows raised, while at various points at the tops of the walls were more archers, though these apparently recognized Alexis and one of her human friends, for they started to lower their own weapons.

"They seem pretty alerted to me," Dubrovskiy muttered lightly to Alexis. She nodded back before replying. "Yes, but we should make sure that they know what to do if trouble should come."

Dubrovskiy shrugged. "You're the boss," he said matter-of-factly. "I'm just along to be handy."

Alexis smiled a bit at him before she nodded and then set off for the nearest gate to Shubasu. Behind her, she heard Dubrovskiy walk after her, and the pair quickly approached the gates. Unlike before, however, there were no guards to meet them outside, and Alexis wondered just how she was going to handle the request to talk?

An idea soon grew in her head, and Alexis brought herself and Dubrovskiy to a halt about three meters beyond the gate doors. Looking up at the gatón watching her curiously from the ramparts, she cleared her throat and spoke loudly. "I am Alexis Hurano, and I seek to converse with Shaman Garkayo. May my friend and I be granted entrance?"

The gatón atop the gate looked at each other for a moment before a voice sounded from behind the walls. Although indistinct to Alexis, the guards replied to it by repeated what she had spoken just moments before.

The voice sounded again, and a plainsman guard turned back to Alexis and spoke up. "He will be coming to speak to you, please wait."

Alexis frowned a bit, worried that the shaman would actually need to come out and speak with her, given his advanced age. Still, I suppose the sounds of battle have them nervous… More so that the battle is of a type that they don't understand.

She explained the situation to Dubrovskiy, and then settled herself to wait. Dubrovskiy, meanwhile, simply walked around lazily. Alexis knew it was just a trick, however, as she had been told about it by her friends in the Vanquishers. What better way to make you enemy underestimate you than to appear bored and relaxed, when you are neither?

Finally, after about ten minutes, the gates opened, drawing both of the soldiers' attentions to the parting doors. The ornately carved wood soon revealed the small courtyard just beyond the gate, and standing there were several guards arrayed around Garkayo.

Alexis took in a breath and then slowly began to approach, careful to keep her weapon secured behind her back. Most especially since I didn't have it the last time I was here, she remembered. They didn't like me when I was just acting independent; imagine their reaction when they know I'm a soldier as well.

She soon put these thoughts out of her mind, however, and bowed to the shaman as she reached an appropriate distance. "Shaman, I apologize for bringing you out here. I would have gladly come to your house, but I was not granted admission."

Garkayo nodded a bit to Alexis. "It is alright, child. I am not inconvenienced much, and my guards are more relaxed when the town does not have visitors. Especially visitors that come after such terrible sounds have been coming from below."

Alexis nodded at that. "Yes, and that is why I came to speak with you," she said carefully. "The enemies we were fleeing, the ones we told you about, they caught up." She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. "There was a battle, and unfortunately, our soldiers could not prevail. Thus, we have had to fall back to the ruins."

Garkayo and the others around him blinked in surprise. "You… You will fight them there?" He asked, surprised.

Alexis felt guilt rise in her as she nodded again, slowly. "I am afraid so. The enemy is too great in numbers, and our soldiers are not invincible." She paused to sigh then. "So we cannot keep the enemy from this valley. Which is why I have come here to warn you."

"Warn us?" Garkayo asked, puzzled. "About what?"

Alexis took in another breath before going on. "Our enemy is, as we've told you, dishonorable. They may decide to attack you out of spite, or even for sadistic amusement. Our warning is that, if you see them heading purposefully for Shubasu, then you should all run. Fighting them with your weapons is futile, and it will only get your people killed." She paused as the other gatón gave her disbelieving looks.

"How can such things be?" One of the large armed guards asked from his position near Garkayo. "We've defeated barbarians and raiders in the past, and our history tells that Shubasu defeated armies before!"

Alexis turned and just stared quietly at the guard for a few moments. This continued until he began to fidget, at which Alexis spoke again. "You have no concept of what horror lies beyond your town, do you?" She asked doubtfully. "You've not seen men sliced open, torn apart, or burned alive by the weapons that the two fighting armies possess." As she spoke, Alexis slowly moved towards the guard who had spoken. "I know this because, if you had, you would be willing to run away this minute," she said as she stopped right in front of the slightly taller gatón and stared up at him. "However, I have seen these things, and I can tell you right now, that unless your ancestors have been hiding the ancient weapons of the Gods somewhere, then you will not stand a chance against the invaders."

Silence reigned for a bit before Garkayo cleared his throat, thus bringing Alexis' attention back to him. "You certainly speak with much passion on the subject. Almost as if you had first-hand knowledge…" His voice trailed off then.

Alexis blushed and frowned at Garkayo before she turned away from the group. She took a few steps away and then halted before she spoke again. "Look, you can listen to me or not. I came here to give you knowledge that could save your lives, not to-"

The sudden 'wheet' of a rifle's bullet passing by Alexis' head interrupted her and made her blood run cold. Instantly, she threw herself to the ground, beating the sound of the bullet impacting a tree in the distance by a millisecond. "Dubrovskiy! Sniper!" She yelled out as loud as she could. Her yell was rewarded with the glimpse of the M.I. trooper dropping to the ground in a blur of black metal.

"What in the world are you doing?" The big guard that Alexis had confronted only a few moments ago asked confusedly. This prompted Alexis to snap her head around to look at the natives of Shubasu who, to her sudden panic, were still standing, apparently confused with the sound. Before Alexis could open her mouth and explain, however, the guard who had spoken suddenly had the right side of his head shorn off as another sniper rifle shot hit its mark.

"Get down!" Alexis screamed at the others even as the now-dead guard's bloody corpse fell to the ground. However, the sudden and quite inexplicable – to the natives – death simply stunned the others, and Alexis realized that she had to act. Before she even knew what she was going to do, she had twisted around on the ground and gathered her limbs underneath her body. Then, with a sudden burst of movement, she pounced like her predator ancestors towards the other gatón.

Alexis' move was shocking to the others, as evidenced on the natives' faces. However, she moved too fast and, with arms spread wide to knock down as many as she could, Alexis plowed into the others. Grunting at the impact, she managed to knock over Garkayo, Joru, and two others, and the five gatón fell to the ground in a heap.

Propping herself up on her elbows, Alexis slid off of the others and then glared at the gatón who were still standing. "What the Hell are you waiting for! Get inside the damn gate!" She yelled at them, snarling her upper lip as she did so. Surprised by the sudden feral nature of the stranger, the others quickly ran back inside the gate, just in time to avoid being hit by another rifle round, which instead impacted the wood of one of the gate doors. The heavy hardwood managed to stop the shot, though splinters flew everywhere, further startling the natives into stampeding into the safety of the walls.

"What is wrong with you?" Joru asked as he sat up, glaring at Alexis. "Are you trying to hurt the shaman?"

Alexis didn't answer right away, but instead crawled over and yanked Joru back down to the ground by grabbing one of his ears. "Listen to me now, because thing will get very bad soon and I will not have a chance to repeat myself," she growled into his captive ear. "We are under attack by a weapon that can reach out and kill you if you stick your head up. Just look at your friend there." She let go of Joru's ear then and pointed across his face towards the now-dead guard. "Now, if you and your friends don't crawl into Shubasu and take the shaman with you, I will personally beat you senseless so that I can do it myself. Am I understood?"

Joru stared at her in shock, his sensibilities apparently shattered by Alexis' actions. But after a moment, he finally nodded. "Yes… Alright…" He managed to reply.

Alexis nodded back. "Good, now get moving," she said and then crawled to the edge of the gate. Judging by the angle of that last shot in the door, the sniper is at an acute angle to the gate entrance, she thought as she pulled herself up to sit against the gate's arch. There she unlimbered her laser rifle, checked its charge, and then turned on her radio, all within the span of a few seconds. "Dubrovskiy, can you hear me?"

"You're commin' in clear, Hurano," The M.I. trooper replied via the radio. "Everyone okay up there?"

"One is dead, but others are unharmed and moving under cover," Alexis said. She then realized her English was becoming skewed with her increased adrenalin, and she spent a moment to take a couple of deep breaths. "I can't see the sniper, though from the angle of attack, he cannot see into the gate area at all."

"So I noticed from the heat trails," Dubrovskiy replied. "I think I got a bead on him, but I need him to pop up for one more shot. I don't want to put you on the spot, but can you be a distraction?"

Alexis took another deep breath, which gained a glance from where Joru and the other gatón were now crouching inside the walls. "Yes… Yes I can," she finally said into the radio. "What kind of distraction?"

"Lean out, pop off a few shots with that laser of yours, and then get back in," Dubrovskiy responded quickly. "Don't go bein' a hero and tryin' to counter-snipe the bastard. Just get him to take a shot, and that's all."

"Got it," Alexis replied. "Let me know when you're ready."

"One minute," Dubrovskiy said, sounding distracted. "I'm gonna call in some help, just in case this fucker's got friends."

"Okay, standing by," Alexis replied as the radio made the little clicking noise that happens when someone switches off of a channel. Then she looked back to the native gatón, and blushed when she saw them staring at her. "What?" She asked.

"Whom are you talking to?" Joru asked, his face showing clear suspicion that Alexis had lost her mind. She blushed deeper and shook her head briefly. "My friend out in the field, he has a device that lets him communicate with others over distances." She then reached up and tapped her helmet. "There is also one built into my headgear, so I was speaking with him about how to eliminate this threat."

"Are you sure you're not just insane?" Another gatón, a forester, asked sneeringly. "Perhaps the stress has gotten to you, little girl?"

Alexis just turned and glared at him for a moment before looking back at Joru. "In any case, you might want to get the guards on the ramparts to get behind cover. If the attacker gets bored, he may just start shooting people to get our attention."

Joru and the others looked at Alexis incredulously. "You're kidding?" He asked. "Who would kill so off-handedly?"

"People who are seldom people at all," Alexis replied hotly. "They are fiendish, hateful people who only wish to control everyone and everything within their sight." As she spoke, a growl entered her voice and the fur on her shoulders bristled under her uniform. "They are the epitome of everything that is evil in the world."

Stunned at her vehemence, the other gatón just stared at Alexis some more. She was about to say something else to them when her radio clicked on. "Okay, Alexis, I called Tanaka and she's comin' with one of her lancemates," Dubrovskiy said over the channel." So whenever you're ready, well see 'bout takin' out this guy and then catchin' a ride back to the rest of the force."

Alexis took in another breath before responding. "I'm ready whenever you are."

"Okay, just let me know when you're about to pop out, and I'll take it from there," the M.I. trooper replied.

Alexis nodded to herself and then looked over at Joru. "Promise me one thing," she said while covering her helmet microphone.

"What would it be?" Joru asked suspiciously.

"If I die, make sure that my body gets to the town of Hercor," Alexis replied, her voice choking up briefly. "My family would want it that way." No matter how bad our argument, I know this about father.

Joru blinked, surprised and stunned at the request. Finally, he just nodded his head. "Y-yes, I promise."

Alexis nodded back and gave him a small smile. Then her face dropped into an impassive mask and she triggered her radio again. "One the count of three, okay?"

"Gotcha," Dubrovskiy replied.

Alexis took one final breath, then. "One… Two… Three!" With that, she spun on her hands, leveraging herself into a kneeling position that pointed her towards the general area of the enemy sniper. It also exposed her, but Alexis didn't think about that as she brought up her rifle and fired first one, then a second shot into the underbrush.

An answering salvo came from the forest beyond Shubasu's fields, and a bullet fly up and smacked through Alexis' right ear. "Augh!" She screamed and pushed herself backwards and into the cover of the gateway.

The sound of rifle fire came from the fields, and it was soon followed by more shots, but Alexis was too busy scrunching her face in pain and reaching down for her first-aid kit. "Ow ow ow ow OW," she muttered as her right hand reached up and felt along where the bullet had torn a small chunk out of the cartilage. She felt blood pouring from the wound and down the side of her head, but Alexis forced herself to ignore it and the pain while she felt out the wound. Smallish, about the size of a quarter, I think, she thought, referring to the Republic coin due to the first-aid training she had received on New Honshu.

By now, she had gotten the first-aid kit out and had managed to pull out a gauze bandage. Putting it to her mouth, Alexis gripped the edge of the package in her teeth and quickly pulled it open and soon after had it pressed against the painful gash in her ear.

"Are you all right?" A voice asked from her side, and Alexis snapped her head around to see Joru kneeling next to her.

Alexis frowned at him. "It's a flesh wound, I'll be fine," she said and then winced in pain as the movement of her mouth set a new round of pain blazing through her head. "But I'll be damned if it doesn't hurt like hot iron pressed to my skin."

"I'll bet," Joru breathed as he stared at the wound. "Do you need a doctor?"

"I don't know yet," Alexis replied quietly, hoping that a lower tone of voice would reduce the pain when she spoke. However, it didn't, and she continued on in a louder voice. "But you can help. See that package?" She pointed with her free hand to another gauze package. "Tear it open like I just did, and give me the white cloth inside."

Joru looked confused, but he quickly reached down and pulled out the bandage, and like Alexis, he put it in his mouth to tear it open. That almost made Alexis smirk, until she felt the pain that came from using any muscles to smile, and she resigned herself to just accepting the new gauze wrapping, which she used to replace the now-blood-soaked one over her wound.

A sudden movement in the corner of her eye caused Alexis a moment of panic as she snapper her head around and looked for where she had dropped her rifle. Then she saw that the movement was from Dubrovskiy, who was jogging over from his position in the field.

"Jeez-us!" The human blurted as he came to a stop and kneeled next to Alexis. "Looks like he got ya good, Alexis."

"Yeah, no shit," Alexis muttered, her manners forgotten in the pain. "Can you bandage it up? It's not exactly a convenient place for me."

"No problem," Dubrovskiy replied, and he went to work.

Tanaka smashed through the last trees between her 'mech and the town of Shubasu only minutes after Alexis had been wounded, and the captain stopped her battered Guillotine IIC on the outskirts of the forest to scan the area. Behind her, Myers brought up her Corvis and stopped it thirty meters away from Tanaka.

"Sierra Five calling Oni One, do you read me captain?" The voice of Dubrovskiy came in over Tanaka's headphones, and she quickly flipped on her own set to reply. "This is Oni One, I read you Dubrovskiy. Where are you and Hurano at?"

"We're at a gate on the town's western wall," Dubrovskiy replied quickly. "Hurano got hit in the ear, but she'll be fine. It's just a flesh wound, but I'm gonna need a few minutes to finish bandaging her up so it won't keep bleeding all over the place."

Tanaka grimaced at the succinct report. Head wounds are always bleeders, she remembered from training and one experience seeing a tech get sliced across the face by accident. "Well, glad to hear she's okay. Did you find anything else but the sniper out here?"

"Negative, captain. From the looks of his body, I'd say he was a scout." Dubrovskiy replied a bit stiltedly as he tried to do two things at once. "He had a radio, dunno if he managed a call out, but he certainly had time."

"Greeeaaat," Tanaka muttered under her breath. Then she spoke again, loud enough this time to trigger her microphone. "You take the techno goodies?" She asked, referring to the weapons and radio that the enemy soldier undoubtedly carried.

"Yeah, sittin' next to me," Dubrovskiy replied. "Also with one hurt lady, so if you'll pardon my uppitiness, captain, I'd like to focus here."

Tanaka smirked a bit. "Understandable, private. Call in when you're ready to move."

"Yes sir," the M.I. trooper responded quickly, and then his carrier clicked off of the channel. Despite that, however, Tanaka heard chuckling. "A bit tense, isn't he?" Myers asked via the radio.

"He was just being shot at by a sniper and he's trying to patch up a friend," Tanaka replied neutrally. "I think that entitles him to a bit of snippiness."

"Yeah, I guess so," Myers replied dejectedly. "I'm just a little worried myself, and you know I can't help but joke to lighten up."

"Yeah, I know Mandy," Tanaka replied as she turned her 'mech to face the south. "But worry comes with the job, and sometimes it ain't right to joke."

Myers sighed. "I know. Sorry."

"It's okay," Tanaka replied. "Just don't let anyone else hear you joke badly, and you'll be fine."

A sudden blip then appeared on Tanaka's HUD, and she let out a most profane curse in Japanese. "Heads up, looks like we got company."

"I see 'em," Myers responded. "Damn jamming won't let me get a good reading."

"Join the club," Tanaka muttered just loud enough for her radio to broadcast. "Stay here, I'll go to the town and see if we can't get him in a crossfire."

"Him or them?" Myers asked quickly. "I'm getting' an amorphous blob here, cap'n. If there's more than one, you'll be up shit's creek without a paddle and the boat'll be leaking."

Tanaka had already begun her move towards the town when she responded. "Just stay here, Myers, and guard our exit path," she spoke with her command voice as she marched her 70-ton 'mech towards Shubasu.

"Roger, wilco," Myers replied brusquely. Tanaka ignored the tone of her voice, and instead just concentrated on piloting her 'mech delicately enough to avoid squishing anything more than small patches of farmland. She also took a moment to send a new hail. "Dubrovskiy! We got baddies to the south, movin' up quick. Time for you to get your ass in gear."

"Copy that, captain," the M.I. trooper replied, businesslike. "I'm done with Hurano, so we'll be movin' out after she warns the natives."

Tanaka frowned as she replied. "Well, tell her to get moving then," she said hotly as she primed her weapons. "Things are 'bout ta get ugly."

"Already?" Alexis asked in surprise, despite the aching pain that still cut through the light painkiller she had taken. "But I thought we had some time?"

"We also thought that there wasn't a sniper sittin' in the trees," Dubrovskiy replied curtly as he quickly packed the first aid kit. "But that's the way the armor crumbled, so you need to tell your friends to be ready to skee-daddle."

Blinking a bit in surprise, Alexis nodded after a moment. "Yes, of course," she said and then turned on her feet to wave towards Joru, who had stood by with the other gatón from Shubasu a good four meters away beckoned, however, he quickly jogged over. "Yes?" He asked Alexis as he arrived.

"Joru, our enemies are approaching," Alexis said quickly and quietly. "They may be just after us and our friends in the fields, so do not immediately panic and run, but you should get everyone ready to leave if the enemy does not follow us when we move out."

Joru's eyes went wide at her words. "But… How? How can we possibly get everyone ready in time?"

Alexis turned away at that, and she looked down at the ground as she spoke. "You won't," she said with flat finality.

Joru gasped lightly, and Alexis tensed for a scathing rebuttal. However, when the other gatón was silent for a moment, she looked back up to see that he had a sad look in his eyes. "You are right, of course," he said with a small sigh. "I will tell the shaman."

Alexis nodded slightly. "Good. Now we must go," she said, taking a step back. "Farewell." At that, she turned and jogged over to where Dubrovskiy was waiting outside the gates.

"May the gods protect you," Joru called after her. The words made Alexis break stride for a moment, but she soon was moving quickly again. Now is not the time, Alexis, to be worrying about Gods, she thought as she headed for her comrade.

"Here he comes," Tanaka muttered to herself as the enemy 'mech stepped into view from behind the southern line of trees. The interference died enough for her sensors to lock on a bit, and her battlecomputer quickly picked through its warbook program before it found a match.

"Shit, it's a goddamned Thunder!" Myers yelled over the radio, naming the fast, 70-ton heavy 'mech. "Captain, we should get the fuck outta here."

"That has my vote," Tanaka allowed. That fucker carries an autocannon that weighs as much as a small tank! She thought as she began to back her 'mech away from Shubasu. "Dubrovskiy! MOVE!" The good captain called even as she fired her ER PPC at the enemy 'mech.

The menacing particle beam reached out and slashed a deep gouge over the Thunder's right torso, capitalizing on damage apparently done by one of the Republic's many aerospace attacks. For it slashed through the last of the armor on that side and then proceeded to work on the enemy's internal structure, though it hurt nothing of importance inside.

Still at range, the Blakest returned fire with the only weapon available to him; an LRM-5. The small missile rack, normally not of much use, was far more deadly now given Tanaka and Myers' 'mechs' battered condition. The five missiles reached out and slammed into the left torso of Tanaka's Guillotine IIC, eating the last of the armor and working on her 'mechs own skeleton.

Tanaka heard the warning alarms of an armor breech, and she was not pleased "Goddamnit!" She uttered as she saw her 'mechs armor diagram redrawn on its small MFD-based display. What a fucking situation, the captain thought as she turned her mech and started running off towards where she had left Myers after seeing Dubrovskiy leave the town via jump jets.

What a damn situation, almost like the training scenarios the academies like to stick you in, Tanaka continued to muse darkly as her PPC recharged. Here we are at range, each only having one weapon to strike each other with. I can do more damage, but he can take it, while he does less damage, which is enough to smack through my weakened armor. Her anger at the situation rose as she pivoted her 'mech's torso and brought up the PPC. Fuck you irony!

The Mark XVII ignited and fired within milliseconds of Tanaka's trigger pull, and its coruscating beam flashed through the distance between her 'mech and the enemy Thunder, where it ripped armor off of a pristine left leg. Tanaka cursed at this, even as she braced for the return fire.

Again, the enemy MechWarrior only had his small LRM rack to respond with, and his sudden shift into a forward run threw off his aim well enough that the five small missiles flew past Tanaka and plowed into a field of crops, where they exploded and sent fountains of dirt flying into the air.

"Captain, another contact comin' through the south tree line!" Myers called out, bringing Tanaka's attention to her own tactical display, and then back up to her HUD, where she saw the second enemy 'mech.

It was a Maelstrom, another fast heavy 'mech with excellent firepower. However, unlike the Thunder it followed, this design boasted en ER PPC and ER Large Laser, both of which will tear me apart if I stick around, Tanaka thought. "Myers, let's get the Hell outta here," she said and then hit her jump jets, sending her 'mech soaring into the air.

"Damn straight cap'n," Myers replied quickly, and Tanaka saw her 'mech already backpedaling into the western forest. "Dubrovskiy and Hurano are already gone to nav Zulu, just you an' me left."

"Then it'd be a damn shame to miss the tea party," Tanaka managed to quip. Then she focused entirely on her landing, again taking extra care with her 'mech's amputated limb. Even as she touched down, however, the enemy 'mechs fired then. The LRM rack on the Thunder managed to land three missiles on her left leg, while the Maelstrom's ER Large Laser slammed several megajoules of light energy into her ravaged left torso.

Tanaka gasped in surprise as the sudden impacts, combined with the loss of a heat sink that exploded violently, threw her 'mech off balance. She tried to compensate by sticking out the right arm, but her conscious mind only managed to register the mistaken move just as the Guillotine IIC began to fall.

"Fuck!" Tanaka yelled as she rode her 70-ton war machine on its short trip to the ground. The impact shook her immensely, and Tanaka found her head swimming for a moment. Fucking H. Christ, Not again! She raged while her senses returned. Then with a flash of fear, she realized that her 'mech was still laying on its side and open to attack.

Just then, the sound of jump jets roared over the area again, and Tanaka checked her HUD long enough to see Myers' Corvis leaping in a flat arc that took it from out of the woods and towards the enemy. Myers then displayed a bit of fanciful shooting, as she managed to aim, fire, and hit with both of her pulse lasers. Her shots landed onto the Thunder, one slagging armor over the left arm, while the other managed to bore deeper into the hole in the enemy 'mech's right torso. A flash of light and a dramatic increase in the 70-ton 'mech's heat signature told of an engine hit, and Tanaka would have cheered, had she not already been pushing her 'mech upright for the second time today.

However, the two Republic MechWarriors' good fortune was not to last, as the Maelstrom changed targets and fired on Myers with its PPC and large laser. Again, the pilot's aim was half effective as the large laser missed. The PPC, however, made up for that fact by slashing into the Corvis' left leg, where it tore off the remaining armor protection there, but just barely failed to damage anything critical.

It was enough, however, to affect Myers' movement, causing her to stagger her 'mech to the side. This proved semi-fortuitous, as it brought her Corvis out of the Maelstrom's sights, and that enemy's next set of shots missed.

However, her movement also brought Myers straight in front of the Thunder, which wasted no time in aiming its massive autocannon at the hapless Republic 'mech. Tanaka opened her mouth to radio a warning, but it was too late, and the class twenty autocannon roared out a blistering salvo of depleted-uranium shells that reached out and tore into the Corvis' left side.

The 40-ton Republic 'mech was not designed to take so much damage in one location, and the damage it had sustained earlier in the day now compounded the assault, as the shells streaming from the Blakest 'mech ripped past the thinned armor to detonate deep within the Republic 'mech's torso. In only two seconds, the voluminous cannon fire had blasted the entire left torso from Myers' 'mech and the left arm fell to the ground in a heap. The Corvis shuddered heavily, and Tanaka was amazed that it didn't go down.

Then the pulse lasers on the Thunder erupted with their emerald fire. Two missed, but the other managed to slam into the Corvis' head, compounding damage done there earlier by a short-ranged missile.

A tortured woman's scream rang out over the radio, and Tanaka felt her blood freeze, then boil as she turned her 'mech around and dashed forward to bring her weapons to bear. Edging just into the range of her medium lasers, Tanaka tied them in with her primary trigger and then fired at the Thunder.

The ER PPC in the Guillotine IIC's left arm reached out first, and its scathing shaft lanced into the Thunder's center torso, lashing off half the protection there and sending rivulets of molten metal streaming down the white paint job of the Blakest 'mech. Then the two ER Medium Lasers spat out their deadly light, one beam managing to gain revenge on the hit to the Corvis' head by ravaging the armor over the Wobbie's cockpit.

The other laser, however, was far more effective, as it reached deep into the Thunder's already damaged right torso. A flare of emerald light was reflected by the interior, and it was soon joined by a brilliant white light as the last structural members in the Thunder's right torso were eaten away, leaving their stubs to collapse on the extra-light fusion reactor's expanded shielding. Beams that once supported the massive weight of armor and engine now speared through the over-sized shielding to release the hot plasma within, and the multi-thousand degree matter blasted out of the 70-ton enemy's torso with impressive force, ripping away the right arm as it did so.

Even as the blasted remains of the Thunder collapsed to the ground, Tanaka triggered her radio. "Myers, report!"

A light cough sounded on the other end. "Fuck, that really hurts…" Myers said weakly. Then she coughed again, and Tanaka could hear the wetness of it. "Captain, that last shot… Glass shattered… Not gonna…"

"Damn it Amanda!" Tanaka yelled. "Don't you fucking give up on me! You get your ass back here now and we'll get ya patched up!"

"Ain't gonna happen… Cassy…" Myers managed to sputter out, her voice growing weaker. "I don't… Have a… Left side…" She coughed again and, despite her obvious pain, managed to turn her Corvis around to face the Maelstrom, which was moving around to get a better angle on both Republic 'mechs. "Just go, I'll keep this fucker… From chasin' ya…"

"Get back here, that's an order!" Tanaka yelled again, even as she pressed her 'mech's throttle to the stops and angled for the two 'mechs on the far side of the native farmland. "I'm not loosing anyone else!"

"Sorry cap," Myers managed to speak through her pain. "Death ain't in… The chain of command…" She managed a wet half-laugh/half-cough at that. "Just go…"

Tanaka wasn't exactly sure what happened next, but she would later swear that she saw Myers' Corvis raise it's right arm and then charge towards the Maelstrom, firing its last weapon on full auto.

The Maelstrom was bathed in hail of fire and death, its armor shedding like a snake's skin under the constant punishment. The Blakest tried to return fire, but his shots inexplicable went wide, and Myers continued rushing her mortally wounded 'mech forward, her cannon beginning to glow red from a rate of fire it was never intended to support for long.

Then the two 'mechs collided, and as they did, the autocannon in the Corvis' right arm exploded s the heat set off its shells before they could be fired. The explosions set off a chain reaction that spread along the ammo feed and into the storage bins, and they detonated with such force that they tore past the Cellular Ammunition Storage Equipment to rip into the Corvis' reactor.

Tanaka screwed her eyes shut as the light from the conflagration threatened to blind her, and her ears were assailed by the horrendous noise, despite the layers of armor that stood between her and the blast. Then the light and noise stopped, and the good captain opened her eyes.

Where once two of the most deadly war machines ever created once stood was now a smoldering pile of wreckage. Tanaka brought her Guillotine IIC to a slow stop as she tried to scan the area with her eyes and sensors for any trace of an ejection seat, hoping against hope that Myers had bailed out at the last second.

Nothing, Tanaka thought after a few moments. Her eyes filled with tears, and she screwed them shut to keep from sobbing. Damnit… Damnit… "GODDAMNIT!" She screamed and slammed her fists against her command console. It's happening again! Her mind raged, thinking of her lost friend from years ago. "First Paul, then the tankers, now Mandy…" How do I keep failing my friends?

You're not, a small voice sounded in Cassandra's head. You know that this is war, and in war, people die. Such is the way of things.

But I'm the one in charge! Her grief argued back. I'm supposed to keep that from happening!

And what are you supposed to do? The other part of Tanaka's mind argued back. You're not prescient, omniscient, or omnipotent. You're not God, nobody expects you to be 100 perfect all of the time.

But when I make mistakes, it's my friends and comrades who suffer!

You think they don't know that? Tanaka felt the heat of the words in her own internal dialog. You think that they're stupid kids or conscripts, rushing out to die? They knew what they were getting into, they knew that death can come at any time for them, that officers are fallible and plans go to hell. The voice began to take on a male timbre, and Tanaka started to recognize the familiar words as belonging to one of her instructors in Officer Candidate School. The memory soon came back fully of his last speech to the graduating class.

"You have, by now, been told all about the duty that you owe to the soldiers under your command," the man, one Major Sinclair, said as he slowly paced back and forth across the front of the amphitheater-like classroom. "It cannot be stressed enough, the responsibility you have to the men and women that the Republic trusts to you, their families, and indeed, society itself. Their lives are precious, their skill needed, and their loss almost irreplaceable.

"However, while that responsibility weighs heavily upon your shoulders – As it should! – You must learn to balance that responsibility with the knowledge that war is a most unpleasant, horrendous activity. You must always remember, that no matter how good you are, no matter how confident of your plans and abilities, that you are still human." He had stopped then and snapped to face the class of twenty-six men and women. "You are not infallible, you are not perfect, and you are most certainly not going to go through a battle without someone under your command dying.

"'War is Hell.' Remember that adage? There's a reason that it has survived more than seven thousand years of organized warfare, and you can be assured that the soldiers of Gilgamesh probably weren't the first to coin the phrase. We use that adage for a reason, and that reason is because War, is, Hell." He emphasized, with his hands, each of the last three words. "We can talk about how training prepares you, how all this learning you've received will let you triumph, but when the time comes, and you start to see people dying, then you will truly know the full depth and meaning of that old phrase.

"It's because of this that I speak to you now," Sinclair had said as he walked to the very center of the stage like teacher's area. "In any prolonged battle, or campaign, almost everyone who isn't busy trying to keep themselves alive is going to question their choices, their roles, and their actions. This goes double for any officer, and the feeling only increases in power the further up the ladder you go. You will see good people die, and you will wonder, 'what did I do wrong? How could I fail them?'

"These thoughts are the natural extension of the responsibility we place on you when you leave this academy, and they will shake you to your very core." Sinclair paused then for breath, as well as for effect. "Such thoughts can also be disabling. You may very well question your abilities and choices.

"I can't say that you will never make a mistake, that all the bad things that happen won't be your fault. Nor am I saying that every life that is lost is due only to you and your choices. What I am saying is that you cannot let the feelings of failure overwhelm you, for three reasons.

"Firstly, it's not fair to you, because it destroys your confidence and will. Secondly, it's not fair to your soldiers, because they're probably still getting shot up while you're wallowing in self-pity.

"And the final reason is because your troops aren't the ignorant rabble that empires of the past have had to rely on," Sinclair said more stridently. "They know the risks, they know that some of them won't be coming back, and most importantly, they know that you're not some infallible creature. They know this and yet they will still follow you, trust you, and perhaps, even die for you. Not because of who you are, though that may play a part in it. No, by far, they will fight and die because of what you represent. And what you represent is the Republic," the professor said with iron in his voice. "When you're in command, you are more than just an officer, you are the living embodiment of the heart, soul, and brains of the state and the society it represents. What you are is a representative of the entire Republic, doing the job that others would do if they could be there.

"But not everyone can be there. Just as we elect congressmen, judges, and presidents to represent us in the halls of government and law, we appoint you to be our representatives on the battlefield. Just as a congressman will work to protect his constituents, you work to defend the lives of your men, and indeed, the lives of every man, woman, and child on every world in our society. As the judge must inflict harm on a man to punish him for wrongdoing, so you bring punishment to our enemies for their transgressions against the innocent.

"And, like our duly elected commander-in-chief, you must sometimes take actions that may or may not turn out to be the best choice," Sinclair said, and then paused to look over the class for a moment. "But such decisions must be made, and unless they're so obviously stupid, such decisions are followed.

"So it will be with your men," he said with a sigh. "Just as we follow the people we elect, so the soldiers will follow you. Not because you're an omniscient avatar of Good, but because you are the representative of their hopes, dreams, and desires. Just as you trust your men to do their duty to the Republic and represent its ideals, so they will trust you in doing the same. Trust is what holds armies together, and it is what will keep your men following you into the very depths of Hell itself."

Tanaka opened her eyes then, and she checked the time display built directly into her command console. Only twenty seconds? It felt like an hour… Then she shook her head. But the lesson remains the same, Cassandra. Myers trusted you enough to die for you. And like the Major said, it isn't because you're infallible, it's because they trust you… Trust that you will continue to represent them even when they're gone.

With a sharp intake of breath, Tanaka spun her 'mech about and started it off in a loping gait towards the path that would lead back to the ruins. I promise you, Amanda, that I will do what you no longer can do; protect the innocent, and punish the wicked.

Alexis felt the jarring impact of landing, and as Dubrovskiy set her down, she hoped that it would be the last time today that she would have to be carried. Not exactly the most dignified way of travel, certainly, she mused as she looked around the outskirts of the ruins. Then she winced at the throbbing in her ear as it grew in intensity from the quick movements of her head. Of course, having part of an ear shot off would make any form of travel unpleasant.

"You okay?" Dubrovskiy asked, clearly seeing her wince of pain. Alexis looked up at his faceplate and nodded slowly. "I'm fine, just moved my head a bit too fast."

"Okay then," the human trooper said with a nod of his own. "Why don't you go and see Dan 'bout that wound of yours? I'll be stayin' out here for a while yet."

Alexis frowned slightly, thinking she was being dismissed. Then again, you're hurt and he just wants to make sure you're taken care of, she realized then. "All right, I will go see him," she said with a faint smile. "Thank you for your concern."

"You can thank me by not getting' shot again," Dubrovskiy replied with a light chuckle. Then he turned and jogged off at a power-armored trot that took him towards the south end of the ruins.

Taking a moment to gain her bearings, Alexis turned and headed for the central building, where she knew Castellano was watching over Corporal Connors. Along the way, she passed troopers in armor prowling about the abandoned buildings, and though she drew looks from them, none spoke to her.

That changed, however, when she got to the main entrance. There stood a pair of troopers clad in Marauder armor, and from the way they watched the gatón approach, Alexis figured that they were guards.

One of them waved her left hand and then spoke. "Alexis," said the woman, whom Alexis recognized as Marks. "Looks like someone didn't like you very much." Despite the situation, Marks' words held a jocular tone.

Despite herself, Alexis smiled faintly. "Believe me, the feeling was mutual," she said in a tone similar to Marks' own.

Marks chuckled lightly. "Well, I guess you're goin' to see Dan 'bout that?"

"Yes," Alexis replied with a slight nod.

"Well, he should be upstairs in this thing," the human said with a quick wave of her hand towards the building she guarded. "At least, that's the chatter."

"Thank you," Alexis said and then walked past the two humans.

"See you later," Marks called after her, which prompted Alexis to pause and nod back towards her friend. Then she turned and continued on.

Back at the entrance, the other trooper turned and looked over at Marks. "She doesn't seem too friendly today," he mused aloud.

Marks shook her head. "You try getting shot and see how it settles your disposition," she said.

Alexis had made her way past the various peoples in the dropship's belly, garnering stares from the lupar, and nods from two more human guards she had passed before she finally managed to pull herself up the ladders that led to the infirmary. She had, of course, called ahead for directions, and so Dan was waiting outside the room when she arrived, his helmet already taken off.

"Man alive," Castellano said as Alexis drew near. "That looks like it hurts," he said, obviously referring to the bloody bandage in Alexis' right ear.

"It does. Lots," Alexis managed to grit out. "And the painkiller I took is not working as well anymore."

"Well, let's get you patched up then," Dan said good-naturedly, stepping back to open the way up for Alexis to move past. She did so, and then paused when she entered the ship's sickbay.

The room had been illuminated a bit more since van Horn's earlier visit, thanks to some of the last chemlights that had been broken out. However, the eerie green light only showed the form of Connors laying on one of the sturdy tables in the small, rectangular room, his armor apparently not enough to crush it. Around this were several other tables, each looking as sturdily built as the one Connors lay on, while beyond these were cabinets built into the bulkheads.

"I know it's not much," Castellano said, bringing Alexis out from her reverie. "But it's all that they could fit into this old bird," he said as he laid an armored, yet gentle hand on Alexis' shoulder and began to steer her towards the table where he had set up all the medical kits that had been pooled together in the past half hour. "Even so, you gotta wonder at the forethought of the Star League scientists in putting in some tables that could take a few hundred kilograms of weight."

"I suppose," Alexis said noncommittally as she stopped by the table Castellano had guided her to. Dan, meanwhile, fiddled with his gloves and after a moment, he had them off. He gently set the armored gloves down and then turned to Alexis. "Well, lemme see your ear then."

Alexis just nodded a bit, and she stood patiently as Dan picked up some gauze and then kneeled down to bring his eyes to the level of her own head. Despite the gentle way he reached out for the wound, Alexis still jerked in pain when he touched it.

"How bad does it hurt?" Dan asked as he slowly peeled the bandages off of the cut in her ear. Alexis winced, but she was more prepared, and thus didn't move. "Very. Hurts to talk," she managed to grit out.

Castellano nodded. "Yeah, that's 'cuz the vibrations of your voice are settin' off the nerves," he said as he swabbed the wound clean of the scabs that had grown there. "Looks nasty, but after I clean this out and bandage it up better than you had it, the pain should subside a bit."

"That would be good," Alexis managed to say. Then she was quiet for the next ten minutes as Castellano went through the actions of cleaning her wound, spraying it with various medical mixes, and then bandaging it up again. After he was done, Dan picked up a small mirror he had found in the room and showed Alexis the wound.

The white of the bandage, she saw, followed the contour of the hole in her triangular ear. Confused, Alexis asked the human how he did that.

Castellano waved over to one of the tiny, almost insignificant spray bottles he had used. "That's a biological bonding agent. It acts like a glue to hold the bandages over the raw parts of a wound for a time. Unfortunately, it doesn't last forever, so you'll probably have to have that bandage changed a few more times."

Alexis nodded slightly. "Amazing that something so small could cause so much pain," she said with a sigh.

"Well, head wounds are naturally painful," Castellano said as he turned to packing up some of the supplies he had used, as well as gathering the waste into a small plastic bag that had come with one of the medikits. "And bloody as hell. You'll probably want to wash your face as soon as you get a chance."

"What? Alexis asked, confused a bit. "But I was hit in the ear."

Castellano looked over at his friend. "You didn't notice yourself in the mirror?" He asked. Alexis shook her head in reply. "I was paying attention to my ear," she said, blushing a bit, though the action halted halfway due to the pain of moving her ear.

"Well, look again," Castellano said cautiously.

Alexis frowned, but she picked up the mirror from where the human had placed it, and she made sure to tilt it so that she could see her entire face. Then she started a bit as she saw that the entire right third of the fur on her head was stained red with her own blood. "My Gods, I look like I was bathing in it," she muttered in her slight shock.

Castellano's dark chuckle brought Alexis out of it, and she looked over to see them shaking his head as he went about cleaning his work area up. "Don't worry about it, Alexis. No one's going to complain," he said gently. Then his voice began to grow more distant. "At least, not when there's much worse than a messy face on the casualty list."

Alexis blinked at the sudden change in topic. Then she nodded soberly. "Of course," she said quietly. "I hope I've not distracted you from more important work, then?" She asked, fearing that she had done so.

Castellano, however, just shook his head again. "No, you didn't," he said friendlily. "The nature of modern combat is that soldiers seldom get wounded anymore…" He said, his voice trailing off.

Alexis followed Castellano's gaze to see Connors lying on the table to her right. It's all too true, the gatón thought, reflecting on how easily people had died in her sight. So potent the weaponry is in modern war, that people are usually killed than wounded.

After a moment, Castellano sighed, bringing Alexis' attention back to the active trooper. "Well, no offense, Alexis, but unless you aren't feeling up to it, I'd suggest you should go talk to Earl, see about what sort of job needs to be done."

Alexis nodded at that. "Yes, I shall," she said and then began to walk out.

"Wait a sec, though," Castellano said, and Alexis halted and turned around to face the human. Dan was fiddling with a container, and after a moment, he turned and handed a pill to Alexis, who took it gingerly from his hand. "That should help with the pain, though it'll also make you drowsy and slow your reflexes. So I'd see what kind of work that Earl wants you to do before you take it."

"That sounds wise," Alexis replied with a nod as she took the large capsule and placed it into the breast pocket on her flak vest. "Thank you, Dan."

"You're welcome," Castellano said with a small smile. "Just do me a favor and try not to see me again in a professional manner."

Despite herself, Alexis smiled. "I'll try not to," she said and then waved goodbye as she left the sickbay.

"I'm sorry, but things are still too hectic now," Mikula found himself saying to yet another group of lupar men. "There are very large, very cumbersome machines out there that can crush you simply because the one controlling it is too busy trying not to be blown apart by the enemy."

"But the air in here is stifling!" One of the men said. "The smell and the heat will not go away! My children cannot breathe without coughing half the time."

Mikula winced a bit, but he shook his head. "Would you rather them turned into a red paste?" He forced himself to ask acidly. "Because that is what could happen, either from the enemy or simply because they didn't know when not to walk near something the size of a small temple."

The man was taken aback long enough for Mikula to gather his thoughts up. "Of course, none of us want that to happen, which is why we can't let you out just yet," he said in a consoling tone. "That, and our enemies grow near. The more walls between you and the enemy, the less our warrior friends have to worry about stray attacks hitting you."

The men in front of him mumbled, but they looked around more at the others in the main bay of the dropship. Mikula decided that this was a good time to push them just a bit. "So please, go back to your families and sit down, rest, conserve your energy. It was a long march up here, and you should be ready to have another one back if we cannot get help to carry you back."

Although a bit confused over his wording, the other lupar grumbled a bit and started to walk off. After a moment, the area around the exit to the passageways that led to the outside was clear of natives, and Mikula sighed with relief, though he made sure to keep it from being too loud, given the proximity of some Kaytorians. However, none of them paid any attention to him, and so the lupar simply closed his eyes and leaned against the bulkhead that separated the passageway into the main bay into a pair of doorways. So tired, he thought. I'm so tired…

Just then, he heard mutters, and he opened his eyes to see Alexis walking towards him, the right side of her head stained in blood and her ear bandaged, but a smile on her face nonetheless. The contrast was so striking that he simply stood in shock until Alexis came up and hugged him, which finally encouraged him to move, and he returned the embrace. "Are you okay?" He asked of the top of her head.

"I'm fine," Alexis said quietly, in English rather than Lupari. This of course prompted him to switch over as well. "What happened?" He asked.

"I was shot," she said so matter-of-factly that he froze for a second. "What?" He asked and drew back to look at her again, to make sure she was all right. "How?"

Alexis smirked slightly. "Didn't duck fast enough," she said with an attempt at mirth. Then her smile faded and she shook her head. "But I shouldn't be joking, a poor gatón lost his life due to the sniper that shot me."

"Sniper?" Mikula asked hotly. "Where?"

"He's dead now," Alexis said, and she rubbed a hand along Mikula's muzzle to calm him. "Dubrovskiy shot him after he had snuck up on us at Shubasu when we were warning the villagers there."

Mikula grunted. "Shooting is too good for him…" He muttered. Then he shook his head. "Anyway, are you in pain?"

Alexis sighed a bit at that. "Yes, but it's not too bad," she said and then looked around the cavernous bay. "Given our situation, I cannot complain."

"Perhaps," Mikula allowed. "In any case, shouldn't you see Dan?"

"I already did," Alexis replied with another faint smile. "I suppose you were too busy to notice me coming in earlier."

"Yes, I suppose so," he replied with a faint smile of his own. Then they both turned serious as Mikula spoke again. "So, where are you off to now?"

"I'm going to see about getting some water to wash my face," Alexis replied. "Then I'm going to ask Earl if there is anything I can do to help."

Mikula's face darkened then. "You've been hurt, can't you take it easy for a little bit?" He asked, concerned.

Alexis shook her head. "No, not now, Mikula," she said, her voice sad. "I know you just want to look out for me, but this isn't the time. We're trapped in a valley, outnumbered, and about to be attacked at any time." She paused and then sighed. "I can't, I just can't 'take it easy,' not when lives are at stake."

Mikula was silent for a moment, and then he blushed and nodded. "Of course. I am sorry, Alexis, if I sounded as if I thought less of you," He said. "I am-"

"Just concerned, like I said," Alexis interrupted. She smiled a bit then. "I understand, Mikula, and I appreciate it," she said and then drew him into another, quick hug. "You're a caring individual.

"But now we need to be ready for anything," she said as she drew away from Mikula yet again. "And so none of us can truly rest yet."

"Of course," Mikula replied with another nod.

Just then, sounds of 'mechs shifting and running around outside vibrated into the dropship, and the radios in both of their helmets came on as a new, priority transmission that activated their monitoring chips. "This is Oni One to all soldiers, the Wobbies have been sighted approaching the ruins. Take up positions and prepare for combat."

Van Horn stood in a half-crouch by the entrance into the main building as Marks and her compatriot had left to take up positions with the rest of the Vanquishers on the outskirts of the ruins. Thus, he and Stuger had been assigned to hold the entrance, while inside Lopez, Ito and Dubrovskiy had again taken up the same positions that Earl had assigned them earlier in the day.

And a long day it has been, van horn mused darkly as he looked towards the west and saw the sun approach the horizon. Only an hour or so 'til sundown… Won't night combat be fun? He asked himself sarcastically, knowing full well that nighttime only made combat even more dangerous and chaotic. Like tryin' to shave in the dark… With a machete.

"Hey, doc," his radio suddenly sputtered, and van Horn recognized the voice of Lopez. "Alexis and Mikula are both at my position, askin' what they should be doin' at the moment?"

Earl frowned, and then took a breath. I suppose that there's no place truly safe here, he thought before opening a return transmission. "Send 'em here, and we'll see 'bout havin' them watch the prisoners and free up the guys from Delta squad who're doin' that."

"Okay, if you say so," Lopez said, his tone communicating his dubiousness. However, he said nothing else, and van Horn was grateful for the brief silence. It'll be in short enough supply once the shooting starts.

After a moment, he saw two figures emerge from the building on his HUD, and he turned and nodded towards his two friends. "Alexis, Mikula," van Horn said. "I take it you two wish to add in your help as well?"

"Of course," Mikula said resolutely. "Did you think that we would shirk our duties?" He asked, hurt.

Van Horn winced and shook his head. "No, of course not," he said and then sighed. Then he looked over at Stuger. "Dianna, I'm gonna take these two to where we moved the prisoners. Think you can hold the fort 'til I get back?"

Stuger shrugged. "No problem, doc. Just you git your ass back here soon, okay?"

Van Horn chuckled slightly. "Sure. I'll be back in three shakes," he said and then turned to face his native friends. "Okay you two, follow me." With that, he walked off, heading north, away from the expected attack and towards where the prisoners had been herded. Alexis and Mikula followed him after only a moment's hesitation, and soon the trio was moving past houses that were even more dilapidated than their cousins to the south.

Only a few moments passed before the small group reached the area where the lupar prisoners were being held. Although the Republic force didn't have anything to create a corral, the prisoners were kept in an area formed by two abandoned houses that sat at a right angle to each other. The small, square-like area opened up to a thin patch of forest beyond where no underbrush grew, so none of the lupar would have the ability to hide should they run. Not like there's anywhere to go from here, van Horn mused as the trio walked up to where one of the troopers was watching the prisoners from the ground. Only higher up the mountain and into the frozen cold of the snowcap.

"What's up doc?" A bemused question came from the ground-bound trooper as he turned around in his Elemental suit. Van Horn just flipped him the bird briefly and began to speak. "Funny. In any case, I got two replacements here for you and your bud to watch these folk."

The trooper looked over at Alexis and Mikula then. "Ah, the celebrities," he said with a soft chuckle, causing both of the friendly natives to blush. "I hope you're gonna be here with 'em?"

Van Horn shook his head. "Can't, I've gotta guard the main buildin' and the civvies inside."

This seemed to give the other trooper pause. "Dunno if'n that's a good idea, doc," he said and then turned back to the mass of fifteen or so lupar. "These guys are cowed a bit by our armor, but I dunno if that's going to work with just two folks who don't have the same."

Van Horn shrugged. "It's this, or you can sit out the fight."

"That's not exactly a tempting offer," the other trooper replied wryly. "Still- Wait a second," he said suddenly and jerked his left arm up, manipulating the battle claw to form a simple gesture of holding up a finger in a manner that said 'give me a minute.'

Confused, van Horn looked over his HUD for a moment to check his sensors. Then the other trooper gestured quickly. "Doc, channel thirteen."

Van Horn realized that the other trooper must have received a radio call, and he soon switched over to the mentioned frequency. As soon as he did, he heard the baritone of Lieutenant Vickers. "-And get up here on the double. You got that?"

"Yes sir," the Elemental armored trooper replied. "However, there's somethin' you should know, sir."

"Well, make it snappy son, 'cuz we're all gonna be busy soon." Vickers replied, his voice gruff.

"Aye sir. See, doc van Horn is here, and he brought along our two native friends to take over guard duty," the trooper said. "He's on the channel now, sir."

"Ah, I see," Vickers said, a bit of surprise coloring his words. "Well, doc, the gist is this: We can't watch them prisoners. Even if you're havin' your friends there, it's a division of resources. So we're cuttin' them loose so we can have all fight-capable troops on the front-line."

"Sir?" Van Horn asked, confused. "But they were enemy combatants. Isn't it a bad idea, in general, to have them runnin' around in our rear?"

"Only if they're in the rear," Vickers replied quickly. "Y'all're gonna escort them to the front, whereupon we'll send them on their merry way down the valley."

Earl frowned then. "But that's akin to giving reinforcements to the enemy, isn't it?"

"Not when we'll be keepin' their weapons," Vickers said quickly. "And the fact that the Wobbies seem to be movin' faster than their supportin' native infantry. I'm guessin' they won't care too much 'bout these guys, one way or the other given their history.

"In any case, time is short, so get your asses movin' on the double. Understood?"

"Yes sir!"

Tanaka watched the blips on her terrain display march closer, and she sighed sadly. Twelve left, at least, she guessed. Almost all of them heavy or assaults, with a sprinkling of mediums for flank protection.

Her own forces, she knew, were at the limit of their capabilities, Physical, martial, and emotional. She sighed again and closed her eyes to help control her own feelings. Damnit, I can't let myself loose it, not now, she thought, letting her anger at the Wobbies burn down the wall of sadness that had started to build again.

Tanaka opened her eyes then, and she checked her HUD for any new contacts. She was about to give a prayer of thanks that no more had shown up when another three blips appeared on her screen. "Goddamnit," she cursed in an annoyed tone.

Then movement to the side caused her to spare a glance to her right, and Tanaka saw the first of the prisoner lupar being herded beyond the last of the abandoned buildings by several troopers in power armor. Her curiosity was piqued, and she focused a magnification box over the area to see the details more fully.

The lupar walked carefully, their arms held up in a manner they clearly understood to be the best way of not getting shot. After a moment, their numbers topped coming from between the buildings of Basun, and behind them came five soldiers, three of which Tanaka recognized instantly. Working her console by hand, Tanaka quickly opened up a narrow-beam transmission to the one in the scout armor. "Ain't it a bit dangerous for non-armored folk to be here, doc?"

She saw van Horn turn from his position several meters distant, and he nodded. "Yes, sir. But try tellin' them that," he said with a faint note of amusement in his voice as he gestured with his head towards Mikula and Alexis.

Tanaka smiled slightly, despite herself. "Indeed," she said, letting a light note enter her voice for a moment. Then she sighed again, and her tenor became morose. "Well, I suppose it doesn't matter if you meet your death inside a building or not."

"Getting defeatist, captain?" Van Horn replied with a teasing tone. "Don't you know that the M.I. are special in their ability to kick ass?"

"You're 'special' all right," Tanaka responded, her voice lightening a bit at the wordplay. "Takes a genuinely ignorant person to jump out of a perfectly good spaceship and fly through the air at several hundred kilometers an hour straight down."

Van Horn chuckled. "Well, it takes all kinds," he said and then turned to look over the lupar who were still standing, waiting tensely at whatever would come their way next.

"It certainly does," Tanaka replied. "And doc?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks," Tanaka said quietly as she turned her 'mech to face the nearest of the blips approaching the ruins.

"My pleasure."

Alexis winced a bit as the pain in her ear again rose sharply, though briefly. It had done so at irregular intervals, and though they were decreasing in number, it still irritated her to no end. As if the constant throbbing wasn't enough, she thought.

"Are you all right?" Mikula asked of her in English, and Alexis turned and gave her love a wan smile. "I'm fine," she said. "Just a bit of pain that comes and goes."

The lupar frowned. "Maybe you shouldn't be here," he said and glanced over across the narrow stretch of relatively open land between the ruins and the southern forest. Then he turned back to her and blushed a bit. "I mean, because you're hurt."

"I know what you meant, Mikula," Alexis replied softly. "And perhaps, if the situation were different, I wouldn't be here." She paused to sigh then. "But now, given how things are… I don't think it really matters, does it?"

"Probably not," van Horn said from their side, startling them as they had thought him in conversation from his previous stance. Now, however, he had turned from Tanaka's Guillotine IIC and nodded towards the two natives. "Given, we're cut off from help, don't have anywhere to run to, and outnumbered and outgunned, I'd say it doesn't matter much where you are when the Blakests come for our hides."

Alexis frowned at her human friend. "I never thought I'd hear you sound so… Defeated," she said quietly.

"Defeatist, maybe," van Horn said with a shrug. "But we have business to attend to." With that, he turned to the prisoners, changing languages and raising his voice. "Attention!"

The lupar turned and looked at him, their faces showing a mix of fear, anger, and undercurrents of curiosity. Van Horn ignored their expressions, and he went on. "You are all being released," he said, which only prompted looks of surprise and confusion. "A battle is coming up, and we cannot hold you while we fight. Therefore, you are all free to go." He then turned and pointed towards the south. "Your allies – I hesitate to call them your friends, given what I know of them – are coming up the valley. You can go their way, or not, as you wish. Simply start moving now, and you probably will not be caught up in the fight that is about to take place."

A moment's silence came and went while the ex-prisoners slowly dropped their arms. When no one raised a single finger against them, one near the front spoke up. "What of the weapons we had?"

"You'll not be getting them back, if that's what you're asking," van Horn replied sternly. "We may not wish you any ill will, but nor do we wish to arm people who were our enemies until recently.

"Now, any more questions?" Van Horn asked. When no one else raised their hand, he nodded again. "All right, now all of you get going!" The words were like the triggering of a floodgate, and the lupar all turned and raced away, heading as they did for the relative safety of the forest.

Van Horn sighed then and turned to the two human troopers standing with him. "Thanks for the escort guys, but we're okay now."

"No prob, doc," one of them said. Then they both turned and dashed off to the west, probably heading for their squad, van Horn mused.

"Earl?" Mikula asked from his side, and he turned around to look at his two friends. "What is it?" The human asked.

"So, what are we to do now?" The lupar asked, his ears twitching with the query.

Van Horn thought silently for a moment before he replied. "Frankly, I don't know," he admitted. "I guess you two should get back under cover after all. There's a chance, however remote, that the Blakests will overlook the natives inside the main-"

He never got a chance to finish that sentence as thundering footfalls came from the south. The three spun about and saw the first Blakest mechs emerging from the cover of the valley forest, their white paint making them stand out against the canopy of green.

It was then that the hell of combat was unleashed again.

"All units, fire at will!" Tanaka yelled into the common channel, taking barely a split second to tag it as a priority transmission. Then she raised her 'mech's left arm and fired the ER PPC it contained, sending a bolt of pure destructive energy downrange and into the front of a Blakest Warhammer.

The other 'mechs in her command, all situated next to buildings in the ruins so as to take advantage of their cover, soon joined in. However, with the nature of their cover, they couldn't all target the same 'mech, which was the preferred tactic of the Republic. Instead, each MechWarrior picked out what seemed to them to be the most threatening enemy in their field of vision, and then let loose. Particle steams, laser bolts, and missiles reached out from the ruins, savaging three enemy 'mechs with their destructive power.

Then the trio of Abrams tanks in Checker Lance fired from their own concealed positions, and their heavy gauss slugs joined in the fray, each slamming into one of the three heavily damaged Blakest 'mechs. The Warhammer that Tanaka had targeted took one to the leg, and it began to fall. But not before it and its cohorts returned fire, and Tanaka felt her 'mech shake as both of the Warhammer's particle cannons managed a hit on her chest and left torso armor.

Jesus! Another blast like that and I'm scrap! She thought worriedly. Tanaka then pulled her throttle back, and she carefully guided her 'mech around the house she was standing next to cover her.

Gonna need a miracle to get outta this one, Tanaka thought as she took aim on the next wave of enemies as they emerged from the forest. Then she fired her ER PPC, sending its displeasure to register on the right arm of the Lightray she had seen earlier in the day.

"One's commin' in on the right!"

"Two more just past the treeline!"

"Johnson's down!"

The yells over the radio channel were beginning to merge together, or so it seemed to van Horn as he aimed his Heavy GyroJet rifle and unleashed one of its rockets towards the Warhammer Tanaka and two other Republic 'mechs had ravaged. He was hoping that with the damage to its armor, which even his little rocket had hope of finding an exposed flaw and tear into some vital internal equipment. It was not to be, however, as the small warhead simply made a tiny splash of flame against the left breast of the 70-ton war machine, creating no other visible effect than to carve out a new crater in its armor.

Cursing under his breath, van Horn tensed his muscles, half-expecting the enemy MechWarrior to turn his attention to the rooftop where Earl had jumped at the beginning of the battle. He worried not only for himself, but also for Mikula and Alexis, both of whom he had grabbed and lifted with him as he had jetted up. However, the fearsome Warhammer ignored the small shot, its pilot possibly not even noticing it as he turned his metal steed and began to cautiously approach the ruins, his weapons seeking out enemy contacts.

Then Alexis and Mikula fired their personal weapons, sending a laser beam and a salvo of bullets, respectively, to hit the Blakest. Van Horn glanced to either side of him, seeing his native friends on either side. "You two aren't going to do much damage with those," the human said matter-of-factly.

To his left, Mikula shrugged. "Better than doing nothing," he said as he aimed again. Before van Horn or Alexis could respond, however, the Republic 'mechs made a second appearance, and they fired another blistering salvo of 31st century weaponry to savage the enemy lines. The Warhammer took a pair of gauss slugs to the chest, caving in its armor and crushing the fusion reactor, releasing the plasma in a brilliant flash of light, while nearby, an enemy White Flame was hit by a flurry of lasers and missiles that sent the quad-legged 'mech toppling, despite its inherent stability. Van Horn finally started to have some hope, now that two and possibly more enemies were down.

However, that hope was short lived, as the Blakest return salvo was devastating. The dying Warhammer had fired both of its particle cannons just as the gauss slugs were hitting, and their devastating beams slammed into something that made a tortured sound. Snapping his head around, van Horn saw that it was Stein's Grizzly finally loosing the last of its chest armor underneath the jagged pseudo-lightning. Then a barrage of cluster munitions from a Toyama's LB-10X slammed wave after wave of submunitions in afterwards, and the hundreds of small munitions ripped armor off like sand blasted rock in a desert. Several made their way into the heart of the Republic 'mech, and the tortured sound van Horn was hearing was the Grizzly's gyro as it tore itself apart on the intruding metal.

The heavy 'mech began to fall forward, but before it did, the top of it's head blasted open, and Stein rocketed out in his command couch, which also served as an ejection chair. The rockets built into the bottom of the chair burned for only a few seconds before they died out, but during that time Stein had angled his chair towards the north, so that when the rockets finally died and the parachute fired out, he was well behind friendly lines.

Not that it'll matter in a moment, van Horn thought as he turned around and took aim at the Toyama, which was raising its arms up. What is it? Oh, shit! With a sudden surge of dread, Earl realized that it was aiming for the ejected MechWarrior. Anger boiled in his gut then, and van Horn aimed just a bit more carefully, and then fired.

His shot flew straight and true, and the miniature rocket slammed straight into the center of the ferroglass canopy over the Toyama's cockpit. The resulting explosion must have startled the pilot, van Horn thought, for the 'mech's arms jerked upward as they fired, sending its laser beams and LBX shells well away from Stein, who was now disappearing behind the central building of the ruins.

Then, the noise of battle suddenly dropped, and then diminished altogether as the Blakest 'mechs withdrew a few steps. The Republic forces didn't follow, nor did they open fire, as the sudden lull seemed to enthrall all of the soldiers of the area.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" A voice asked over the common frequency.

"Seems like they're waitin' for somethin'" a female voice replied.

"Cut the chatter," Tanaka's stern voice rolled into Earl's ears then. "Everyone, check your status and be ready to- Oh, what the Hell? Stand by everyone."

Van Horn frowned at that, and he glanced at Alexis and Mikula and saw that they, too, were confused. Listening to the radio? He thought, asking silently of them by taping the side of his head. The two natives simply nodded their understanding, and van Horn sighed to relieve some of the tension in his body.

That was when the radio came alive again, this time with another, almost arrogant voice. "-And we will spare your lives."

"I'm sorry," Tanaka responded to the strange new voice sarcastically. "But I didn't quite get that."

The male voice made a disgusted huff. "I say again. This is Precentor Felix Daronde of the Word of Blake Militia. Given your situation, I am willing to accept your surrender in exchange for your 'mechs. If you power down now and come out of the ruins with your arms up, we will spare your lives."

Van Horn blinked as he realized that the Blakests were asking them to surrender. Suddenly, he began to laugh, his radio transmitting over the open frequency. Then he heard it echoed by another voice, and then another. Soon, almost the entire Republic force was laughing in the proverbial face of the enemy commander.

"There's your answer, you bastard!" Tanaka yelled, nearly screaming to be heard over the din.

"So be it, infidel!" The Precentor, Daronde, snapped back. "It will be our pleasure to see you all exterminated in the name of Blake! His will be done!"

"You talk big, mother fucker, but you don't have the balls," Tanaka growled back as the radio became quiet.

"Insolent whore!" Daronde yelled. "You will all suffer, and so will those filthy animals you have been guarding the whole way up here!"

"Not while I'm here you fascist son of a bitch!" This was spoken by yet another new voice, and van Horn was startled at the vehemence in it. Before he or anyone else could ask the speaker's identity, however, fire rained from the sky.

Van Horn's eyes grew wide as he saw searing hot beams of lasers and particle cannons rip along the Blakest forces. The Wobbies, being so confident, had lined up along the tree line of the forest, which made them excellent targets for the aerospace fighter that now strafed them from off to van Horn's left.

The weapons fire stopped then, and the blurry form of an aerospace fighter screeched loudly by the battlefield at a height usually reserved for those wishing to land. Before van Horn could even wonder at the precision of the combat run, another wave of energy weapons fire rained in from the right, the attack coming as a mirror-image of the previous run, right up to the newcomer aerospace fighter screaming past on its afterburners.

Then again, the image repeated itself, and then again, each one coming a split second after the previous attack. Van Horn and the other soldiers on the ground simply stared in mute astonishment as the back and forth assault occurred twelve times in all.

"My God!" Someone said over the radio channel as the assault finally lifted. "That was a diamond-patter firewall assault!"

"That's insane!" Lieutenant Williams voice resonated back. "Only five squadrons in the Republic have that precision!"

"And we're one of them." The response was in the same voice that had spoken just before the attack. "This is Eagle One to Oni One, stand by for reinforcements."

"Roger that, Eagle One," Tanaka breathed. "What's their ETA?"

"About five seconds," the pilot responded with a chuckle. "Look up."

Every soldier in the task force did so, van Horn, Mikula, and Alexis no exception, and all were astounded to see a Leopard-class DropShip soaring in from the south, angling right over the valley.

Their amazement grew even more as the 1,900-ton DropShip angled up, and then up as its thrust cut back. The pilot put the huge warcraft into a stall, even as the doors on the side opened and out leapt four massive Battlemechs. Barely had the new machines detached themselves form the side of the vessel when the Leopard's pilot slammed the craft's engines into overdrive, sending a massive thunderclap of sound that pummeled van Horn even through his armor and propelling the 'mech-carrier through its split-second stall and thus keeping it from crashing.

Blinking at the sudden confusion the shockwave had imparted on him, van Horn barely had time to notice the four newly-arrived 'mechs dropping down, balanced on jets of flame that came from drop packs affixed to their backs. The huge, 'mech-sized backpacks were nothing more than massive rocket motors that served to slow 'mechs during an orbital drop, and deployed now, they let the new arrivals make perfect soft landings in the no-man's-land between the Republic and Blakest forces.

"Holy shit!" "Did you see that?" The voices began to chatter over the radio, until one finally rose above them all. "It's the Four Horsemen!" came the strained voice of Lieutenant Williams.

Van Horn shivered at the name. The Four Horsemen, biblical representations of the forces that would herald the apocalypse, his educated mind spouted in an instant. Then his martial training kicked in with another answer. Also the four best MechWarriors in the entire Republic!

True to their names and reputation, the lance of assault 'mechs were not only painted a mix of dark black and sickly pale white, but intricate symbols of their adopted names were painted on all over their armor. Barely had van Horn time to disseminate the information than the four 'mechs fired.

The first was a Savage Coyote Prime, painted with the symbols of Pestilence, and it sent a wave of deadly fire from its dual ATM-12 racks towards the enemy Toyama, the direct and fast trajectory of their arcs telling all who knew that the pilot had selected the extra-devastating HE ammo. The 75-ton 'mech disappeared briefly under a cloud of explosions so thick that light seemed to have replaced the enemy 'mech. Then the Savage Coyote Unleashed the furious assault from its ER PPC and LB-10X autocannon, and the tremendous energy rippled into and through the Toyama with such force that it seemed to fold in upon itself as it collapsed.

Nearby, an Executioner Prime, painted with the symbols of Famine, unleashed a devastating blow from its trio of heavy weapons towards a Blakest Lightray. The massive Gauss Rifle slammed straight through the left arm, amputating it at the elbow, and dual ER Large Lasers ripped globs of armor from its legs.

Off to the right, a Warhawk G – a custom Republic variant – painted with the scheme of War lived up to both of its names as it dished out punishment from dual particle cannons and Large Pulse Lasers upon an enemy Grasshopper. The massive weapons scathed the 70-tonner with megajoules of raw, elemental energy, and the Blakest went down with its comrades.

Finally, in the center, the 'mech painted in the scheme of Death – a terrifying Atlas IIC – Ran full force towards a Blakest Atlas, which van Horn recognized as the Precentor's command 'mech, from the emblems painted upon it. The 'Death' Atlas forwent its arm-mounted PPCs, instead hurling scores of missiles towards its opposite number, washing it in fire. Meanwhile, its massive Ultra AC-20 sent out a fierce double-blast that ripped open the belly of its wayward cousin. This impressive display was somewhat countered by Daronde as he fired his own autocannon, SRMs and lasers back towards the oncoming Republic 'mech, but he was clearly shaken, and half his attacks missed.

Then it didn't matter, as the Republic Atlas came close, raised its right arm, and delivered a metal-crunching blow straight to the Precentor's 'mech's head. With a screech of tortured metal, the death's head of the enemy Atlas disappeared under the fist of its successor, and with it went a faint pink mist.

Van Horn just stared in mute wonder, stunned as he was by the sheer accuracy and savagery of the assault. Then things started to happen fast, as the Blakest 'mechs charged forward, rushing past the newly-arrive assault 'mechs to the relative safety of the ruins, where the enemy couldn't strafe or shoot them with impunity, lest they hit their own.

They never made it, as the Republic forces within the Ruins joined in with the Four Horsemen in their next salvo, sending massive tendrils of fire to wash over their enemies. 'Mech after 'mech fell, leaving only five out of the original fourteen 'mechs to approach the ruins.

Then these, too, felt the wash of fire, as shots came from behind the forces in the Ruins. Waves of missiles, autocannon barrages, and laser pulses signaled the arrival of even more reinforcements, and van Horn felt untold amounts of joy to see that it was a wave of four M.I. Assault Transports, each coming to a hover over the front lines of Task Group Echo, whereupon they each disgorged their load of a full platoon of battle armor. The newly arrived armor wasted no time, and soon they were swarming over the last Blakest 'mechs, ripping them asunder with unparalleled ferocity.

"Holy… Fucking… Shit!" Someone muttered over Echo Force's common frequency. It was soon replaced by Tanaka's astounded tones. "What the Hell just happened?"

"I can answer that," came a warmly familiar voice that van Horn rejoiced at hearing.

Evidently, Tanaka felt the same way. "Ladavic! You damn old crow, where the fuck have you been?"

Despite herself, Ladavic chuckled merrily at Tanaka's stunned response. "I've been a bit busy guiding in our reinforcements. Seems they came an awful long way, and didn't want to wait on a trip down from the jump points, so they took the L2 point instead."

"You must be alive and well," Tanaka muttered in reply. "Because you're talkin' that spacer gibberish again."

Ladavic chuckled again, though this time she heard another, male voice join the channel with the same vocalization. "Amusing deduction, Captain Tanaka," the man's rich baritone said. "Nice to see you can keep your wits about you."

"And who the hell are you?" Tanaka snapped, her nerves apparently frayed.

"Now now, captain," Ladavic admonished. "That's no way to talk to a Fleet Admiral."

"Fleet… What?" Tanaka sputtered, being confused for her entire force as they listened in. "Are you saying…?"

"Yes!" Ladavic replied jubilantly. "The incoming contacts weren't Blakests, or even pirates. They were the First Fleet!" Even as she spoke, the warship captain turned and looked again at the holographic display at the rear of the Rodger Young's bridge.

"They're all here, Tanaka," Ladavic continued. "The Montana, the Iowa, the Iwo Jima, the Warspite… Even the Enterprise," she said, naming the largest ships on the display, each one labled with thrust vectors as they burned to slow down from their fast orbital insertion. "And they're carrying the entire First Division to kick some Wobbie ass!"

Van Horn just stood on the rooftop, completely still as Ladavic rolled off the list of names. They, combined with the sight of the enemy vanquished before the ruins, and the revelation of an entire division inbound made him mute with awe.

"Earl?" A hopeful voice asked from his side, which caused van Horn to look down finally to see both Alexis and Mikula staring up at him with mixed looks of hope and confusion. "What does this mean?" Alexis said, probing further.

Van Horn didn't respond right away. Instead, he reached up and slowly undid his helmet, taking it off and dropping it to the ground so he could smile broadly at his friends. "It means, Alexis," he said, and then halted as something in the fading twilight caught his eyes. He looked up, and the two natives followed his sight up until they saw what he was seeing, and they gasped.

Above, new lights crawled across the sky. The intense, kilometers-long exhaust plumes from WarShips as they entered orbit were the most easily seen, but soon one could make out the dozens of moving yellow-orange lights that came from dozens and dozens DropShips entering the atmosphere.

"What it means, Alexis, Mikula," van Horn managed to speak at just above a whisper. "Is that this is the end."

"The end of what?" Alexis asked, reluctantly turning her head from the spectacle above to look at her human friend. Van Horn mirrored her move, as did Mikula, and the two natives saw tears in van Horn's eyes.

"It's the end. The end of the Invasion, the end of the suffering, the end of the war…" He said quietly, almost reverently, as if someone would notice and change reality. Then he took in a breath and spoke much louder. "It means it's the end to the Blakests, for once and for all!"

Alexis just stared at her friend, her mind just beginning to absorb the import of van Horn's words. She then looked back up, at the many trails of light crossing the darkening sky, and she felt a maelstrom of emotions race through her mind.

Finally, though, she felt tears welling up, and she cried. "It's over…" She whispered, her voice brimming with joy. Then she looked up at Mikula, and was not surprised to see similar tears in his own eyes. "Mikula… It's over!" She yelped out and jumped at him, wrapping her arms tight around the one she loved.

"Yes, it is," Mikula replied as he returned the embrace, matching Alexis' strength with his own. "But I was taught that with every ending, there is a new beginning."

Alexis blinked her eyes clear and looked up at her love. "What… What would you say is beginning?" She asked breathlessly.

Smiling, Mikula just leaned over and kissed her; a gesture she returned with passion as fighters roared overhead.

Van Horn had turned away from his two friends and walked quietly to the far end of the roof to give them some form of privacy. He dared not jump down, lest he disturb them from their moment, and he took the time to think.

Despite what I said, he thought, this isn't quite the end… Not yet. The Blakests still have forces, hiding places, even allies. The he smiled again. And none of that means shit when you have over a thousand 'mechs and tanks and platoons out for your blood.

Earl smiled even wider at that. It may not be the end… But it's the beginning of the end.

Meanwhile, the falling stars began to roar, announcing the arrival of the Republic's First Division, and the end of a chapter in the story of History and the beginning of a new, better reality on Bowman's Planet.

THE END.