Tan's Titans – Batavian Redoubt

Chapter 1

0420 Hours, 3 Jan 3067

Cold Lake Military Reserve

Batavia

The Cold Lake Military Reserve, simply put, was huge. Its total area encompassed one-third of Batavia's smallest continent, Java, and ranged from tropical forest to desert. It's basing facilities were immense, having enough space to house several divisions, though the accommodations would be cramped.

With the absence of the Batavia CMM, which was being rebuilt after their involvement in the civil war, Cold Lake seemed very empty. The Titans were only a light battalion in strength, and all this space was incredible to them. As Major Tan scanned the horizon from the cockpit of his Turkina, he silently agreed with one of the off-world recruits' assessment of the entire area: "Bloody hell."

He had split the 'Mech company into two, and set them up against each other. Bryce was leading the other section, facing off against his own, and he was a devious commander. Diondi studied the area map once again before breaking into a grin. He understood what Bryce was going to do now. Triggering his mike, he began to issue orders. "Blue Team, follow my lead. We're heading into that series of ridges to intercept Red Team, so keep your eyes open for anything moving."

Clicks acknowledged their receipt of his instructions, and the force moved as one towards the series of ridges running the length of the firing range. The high density of expended ordnance in the ground made radar and magscan useless, and the hot desert reduced the effectiveness of IR sensors to slightly above nil. That was what Bryce was counting on to get his 'Mechs close to Blue Team's.

Blue Team shut off their sensors as they entered the first ridge. No point in keeping them on as beacons to Red Team while they were useless. Blue Team strained their Mark I eyeballs as they searched for opposing 'Mech silhouettes. Their first sign was an ER PPC shot landing next to the Major's Turkina, turning the ridge wall into molten slag.

"Red 'Mechs two o' clock!" said Major Tan, snapping off a pair of large lasers in reply. One scored the sand on the ridge wall, and the other scored a large line on the Loki that shot the PPC at him.

The air was alive with gauss, lasers, cannons and missiles in the next few seconds as both sides opened up. The Major's Turkina sought cover behind a sizeable rock pillar before rising above it on its jumpjets to fire on the Loki again. A pair of silvery gauss rounds accompanied the paired large lasers this time around, and the Loki staggered as the Gauss rounds delivered a one-two blow to its center torso and the follow-up laser shots completely vaporized the thin armor the Loki was famous for before devouring it's internals. The Loki shuddered as its reactor vented out its anger at being hit, and exploded in a ball of expanding brilliance.

"Loki's down," announced Major Tan over the team radio frequency. "Status check."

"Sinatra here. Gargoyle's down, but my gyro is in pieces," reported a voice over the radio.

"Charles is down. Monty and his Men Shen got me, sir," added another.

"Hackensack here. I got the Men Shen, but sustained heavy engine damage. My rad counter is off the chart," said someone else.

"Ames is alive. Boble got my leg, but I got his leg too, we're both out," said a fourth person.

"Lim reporting in. Outhwaite's Victor is down, but Robertson and that monster of his took off both my arms," said a fifth in a disgusted tone.

"Good job, team. Stay back while it's between me and Robertson," said Diondi, "It might get a bit messy."

He stepped out into the middle of the mini-canyon, daring Bryce to come out after him, and he wasn't disappointed. The menacing hulk of the Gladiator came over a stone pillar on its flaming jets, and thumped down on the other side of the ridge. Diondi triggered his Gauss rifles and his lasers, and started his 'Mech in a walk. The Gladiator shifted over to one side, sidestepping one laser and one Gauss round, but both of the other caught it solidly on the center and left torso. Taking a moment to steady itself, the Gladiator replied with its pair of large lasers in reply, along with it's own Gauss rifle.

Diondi gritted his teeth as all the shots hit and rattled the Turkina, but the 95-ton Clan Assault 'Mech was barely fazed, and continued in its amble towards the opponent. Trading laser and Gauss shots, both 'Mechs closed the distance quickly. At a range of three hundred meters, Diondi triggered an alpha strike, and gasped as the heat spiked. This time, a Streak six-rack followed the lasers and the Gauss rounds to slam into the Gladiator. As if tired of the playing, the Gladiator suddenly sprinted to it's top speed of 86 kilometers an hour, and charged towards the Turkina, which was still loping easily forward.

Taking the initiative, Diondi stomped on both foot pedals and rode the Turkina upwards on its jumpjets. Heat bloomed in the cockpit, but he ignored it as he alpha-striked once again, and grinned when the Gladiator rose on its own jets. The two titans met in the air with a sickening crunch, and battered each other with their arms as they fell down. Hitting the ground with a massive 'whump', the two massive war machines scrambled for a better position. The Gladiator won, managing to come out on top, and Diondi tried to bring his arm up to block the Gladiator's punch. It was a moot point, as the Gladiator batted the offending arm away and fired its lasers at the Turkina's cockpit.

The screen flared white before turning into a picture of the Pearly Gates with the words "You're dead. Welcome to heaven," underneath it. Chuckling, Diondi disconnected his neurohelmet and medical patches before unbuckling the restraints. Cracking the sim pod open, he noticed the gaggle of 'MechWarriors by the main display and got out before speaking.

"I hoped you all enjoyed the show, but that's all for today," he announced loudly, causing a few of the newer recruits to jump and turn around in surprise. "Debriefing is in an hour, grab a shower and show up in combats. We've got some more drills to do."

With a few muttered "Yes, Sirs," the crowd dispersed, heading towards the hangar exit and the bright sunlight outside, eager to catch a refreshing shower. Diondi joined his 2IC, who had remained behind to look at the printouts, before they started walking for the exit themselves.

"So, we're even at thirty-five apiece?" inquired Bryce with a raised eyebrow.

"Give or take a couple, yeah," replied Diondi, "Though I'm surprised you let me win the last few before this one. I wonder why you're doing that; normally, you'd use that beast of yours to outmaneuver the fillings out of me."

"Maybe I'm trying to build your confidence up for something," joked Bryce with a grin. "Chicken-wuss."

"Am not!" declared Diondi.

"Then ask her out," challenged Bryce, "and prove that you aren't. I mean, come on, you're looking at her right now."

"I'm not ready yet," countered Diondi, looking away from the enticing sight that was about to disappear around the corner. Curse those MechWarrior shorts!

"Hah! I rest my case!" exclaimed a smug Bryce. "Chicken-wuss."

"You know, I outrank you, and my 'Mech could use a little degreasing…"

-----

He looked at the people in the room with an appraising look. His new command had only been together for a few months, but he liked the way they were coming together. It was interesting how so many people from so many varied beginnings came together to make this unit the most interesting he'd observed so far.

He looked over at the card table and stifled a grin as he saw the four men playing poker there. The 'Quartet', as they had become known as, were very-good looking men, and they could sing incredibly well. Coincidentally enough, they had names that sounded like famous singers from long ago! Lieutenant Francis Sinatra was the lance leader of Look-See Lance, and he was rakishly good-looking, with dark hair and blue eyes. Raymond Charles was next up, his African-American heritage clearly visible. Michael Boble was a tall blond, with grey eyes, and a voice that 'sounded like warm chocolate for your ears', according to some of the females. And then, there was the joker of the company: Montgomery Python, better known as Monty to the whole battalion. Mad as a hatter, but one of the best scouts he'd ever seen, Monty loved his drinking songs and pranks.

The women were clustered around the pool table, playing in teams of three. Four of them were members of Persuader Lance, the do-everything part of the company. Their lance leader was Julie Hackensack, an older woman in her forties, who was aging gracefully; her full head of brown hair was peppered with strands of white, but she was still as ferocious as ever. Tori Ames was concentrating on her shot, and glared at the offending ball. Ames was a willowy blonde, but had none of the typical blonde qualities; she was smart, cunning, and as tetchy as a hungry lioness. Linda Pepper was the most musical of the group; she had managed to create a band out of the musically-inclined personnel of the battalion, and her own flaming red head of hair could be seen at the front of the stage, leading them during concerts. Lastly, but not least, was Eleanor Rigby. The rookie of the lance, she was a new recruit from Outreach and could often be seen at the simulators long after training was over. The petite brunette wanted badly to prove herself to the rest of the company, and she worked hard at it.

The last two were Rachel Lim and Lucy Outhwaite, both of whom made the up the rest of Titan Lance, the command portion of the battalion. Rachel… was a touchy subject for him. He'd known her ever since his teenage years, and they both stuck together during NAIS, Operation Serpent and the Civil War after that. The black-haired girl was as much a source of frustration as she was a joy to him. Lucy, on the other hand, was the racial opposite of Rachel. An English rose, with the pale complexion, and blonde-streakedauburn hair to go with it, she was another new recruit from the OMTC. It seemed that the two of them had hit it off together wonderfully, and were making fast friends.

His reverie was broken by Bryce's entrance, and he looked over at the massive Scot.

"Look who I found!" Bryce exclaimed. He dragged someone in and plunked her in front of Diondi.

"Little sister!" he said. "When did you come in?"

"Oh, not too long ago," she replied impishly. "I wanted to see the hot hunks of men your command had. They're so much more rugged than the city boys."

"Well, it's good to see you again," he said, "It's been too long."

"Of course it has," she said imperiously. "You impulsively dragged Bryce off to help you form your own mercenary command!"

"It was not impulsive!" protested Diondi.

"Don't mind his manners," chuckled Bryce. "I still haven't got him to behave yet. Come on, let me introduce you to everyone." They ignored a sputtering Diondi and went around the room, meeting all the different people.

-----

"So, interesting people you have here, big brother," commented Jocelyn, staring at her glass critically. "Care to share how you came upon them?"

"Rachel, Bryce and I stuck together from when we were on Operation Serpent, right?" asked Diondi. "After we requested discharge, we figured, why not make our own unit out of all the vets that were on Serpent? That's how we found Linda, Francis, and most of the rest of the people. The rookies we found when we were on Outreach, and Rachel suggested going straight to the OMTC to find the best talent possible. We offered them positions, and they accepted. Easy as that."

"What about Derek's command? How'd they end up joining your unit?" she asked, curious.

"We were having trouble finding jobs as a company-sized force, and so were they. I brought up the idea of joining our units together, and he agreed, and so we did. We offered the same to Dhillon's Dinkums and the Fighting Females, and they agreed too. The DropShips," explained Diondi, "weren't too hard either. I called up David, and he was looking for work along with his partner, so we offered them a long-term merger contract and he accepted it. An Overlord and an Intruder makes for excellent transport."

"Wow, so creating a combined-arms battalion is that easy, huh?" said Jocelyn wryly.

"I guess. It's keeping them under control that's hard," admitted Diondi. The dinner bell rang, and he let it die down before continuing. "Although, having a good chef makes everything easier. Come on, Mistress Thorne is serving her famous fish a la Cajun, and they're to die for."

-----

"Major, wake up."

"Mmm, not now Mum, it's too early," mumbled said Major.

"Major Tan! Wake up!" commanded the person again. Groggily, Diondi woke up to find Rachel bent over his prone form.

"Um, good morning?" he greeted her with a yawn. "It's four in the morning, what is going on?"

"Tracking wants you in the CIC. Something about the arrival of an unscheduled JumpShip at a pirate point," stated Rachel grimly. She was fully in her Leftenant persona now, brisk and business-like; no hint of her usual carefree self was left.

"Right," replied Diondi, willing himself fully awake and slipping into his command mindset. "Tell them I'll be there in two minutes. Meanwhile, wake Bryce up and get him up to speed on what is happening." Leftenant Lim nodded and as she left the room she was bringing her wristcom up to speak into. Diondi took a minute to check his appearance after putting on a jumpsuit. A good CO never let his crew see him in disarray, or demoralized, and he never appears in front of his troops in anything less than top form.

He got to CIC just as he saw Bryce rounding the corner. Waiting for him at the door, the two of them entered into the cool, silent room.

"Leftenant Grigovakis," he said, greeting the CIC on-duty officer. "What is going on?"

"Sir. An unidentified and unscheduled transit signature was detected on arrays Delta and Echo at a pirate point. This happened ten minutes ago, and they have not responded to any of our hails," reported Grigovakis. "The arrays have identified it as a Merchant-class JumpShip, with a Fortress-class and a Union-class DropShip attached. We've informed Major Wilson and Colonel McMurray, but both of them are off-base right now, and will take a good while to arrive."

"Status change!" announced one of the CIC specialists. "DropShips have separated and are beginning one-gee burn towards the planet! Vector looks like atmospherical re-entry."

"Hail them again and warn them off!" snapped Grigovakis, before turning back to the two mercenary officers. "As you can see, they're quite probably hostile; either bandits or pirates, though it's quite rare to see any of them operating this far in the Federated Suns."

"Leftenant! We've got a tentative endpoint for their trajectory, sir!" stated another specialist. "ETA is thirty hours, and their projected landing point is near… Denpasar, sir."

Grigovakis paled at hearing the location, and the two mercenaries shared a look. Being born on the planet, the two knew full well that Denpasar was one of Batavia's biggest tourist destinations, with dozens of resorts scattered on the coastline. If the pirates captured one of the resorts, and held the inhabitants hostage, it would become a very messy situation indeed.

Just then, the CIC doors slid open to admit Rachel Lim. As Diondi began to open his mouth, she cut him off. "I've got Bowen and Armstrong prepping both DropShips for departure, and the Fighting Females are warming up their fighters. Our people are being woken up as we speak, and I've got the loading 'Mechs, vehicles and munitions up into the DropShips. Anything else, sir?"

"No, Leftenant. Excellent job," he replied softly, with a hint of pride. Nodding, he turned to Grigovakis. "What have you got to lend us?"

"Nothing much," replied the Leftenant grimly. "A battalion of infantry, a lance of Vedettes crewed by reservists, two flights of obsolete atmospheric jets – this was why we hired you guys in the first place."

"Alright then," replied Major Tan. "Start evacuating the resorts nearest the projected landing area. Get the Denpasar police to start it, and get your infantry to garrison the town. You're welcome to use my Karnovs, just get them there quickly. Meanwhile, I'm going to see how we can beat these bandits. Oh, make sure Major Wilson and Colonel McMurray get informed as soon as they arrive."

Grigovakis saluted and began to bark out orders, trying to control the rampant fear inside him.

-----

"So, a Union and a Fortress? In the worst-case scenario, that would put a lot of hurt on us," remarked Bryce from the seat beside Diondi. "Thirty-six 'Mechs or so, and we've only got twenty-four 'Mechs and vehicles total. The fighters won't be much help when we close in, either."

"We'll just have to rely on our own troops to pull us through then, won't we?" replied Diondi with a grin. "Besides, nothing could be worse than Achernar or Huntress. I think these pirates will learn to appreciate Clantech by the time we're finished with them."

"Yeah, there is that," allowed Bryce. "Say, what if we draw them in and…"

/End/