Chapter One: The Enemy of my Enemy

"Here. See what happened here?"

Each of the three members of the 212th Battle Cluster, Epsilon Galaxy of Clan Star Adder stood and listened for what would inevitably be the answer to that rhetorical question. Star Colonel Gretchen Talasko, commander of the 300th Adder Sentinels, Kappa Galaxy, was going over the day's exercises with the 212th. The Adder's Kappa Galaxy was known as the premier Clan training unit because for the last forty years its primary mission was to learn and imitate the tactics used by their enemies, specifically Inner Sphere forces. This is something extremely useful for training young Clan warriors to fight an Inner Sphere opponent who does not follow Zellbrigen, the Clan honor dueling system. For years now Kappa has trained green Star Adder units to respond to the versatility and nature of fighting Inner Sphere opponents. When duty calls however, the members of Kappa fight along their Star Adder brethren as true Clan warriors. A duel role is not a new concept to the Clans, but this particular one carries a slightly larger burden than most.

Star Colonel Talasko scheduled several combat scenarios with the 212th a month ago to keep both units on their toes. The day's exercises did not please her. At the moment, she is pointing out a maneuvering error by the 212th that put the entire unit in a crossfire pattern. She continued, "At this point you moved your men into grid nine and encountered fire from two directions. You broke formation and split your forces before taking cover and assessing the enemy's force strength."

The three members of the 212th, including Star Colonel Kira, their commander, simply watched as she played out the proper solution on the holo-display. This was war education at its finest, second only to actual combat, which Clan Star Adder hasn't seen since the absorption of Clan Burrock only a year prior. And even that was not full scale in itself. A large portion of Star Colonel Kira's cluster is former Burrock themselves. Some units had a hard time assimilating with their new clan at first, but most have made a home and many career opportunities within Clan Star Adder. Star Colonel Kira, like Star Colonel Talasko is one of the Adder commanders tasked with taking in the new warriors and making them a cohesive fighting unit, no easy task for some people.

Star Captain Miles Van Houten stood behind his commander as she lectured the 212th on their mistakes. He himself was a recent member of Clan Burrock, though he has not taken his absorption so lightly. Gretchen has done nothing but prove herself to him as an able and capable commander, but he has seen the way she treats the Burrock converts differently. Except of course the 212th. She cannot afford to have them speak to Galaxy Commander Jenica Turgidson about her favoritism. Sure, she will only take it to a circle of equals or perhaps a Trial of Grievance, but her subordinates will never respond to her the same again if her reputation is that of what he thought. For the time being though, he is keeping his mouth shut, concentrating on the next exercise planned for the evening against another of Kira's stars, a recon/ambush scenario.

Star Colonel Talasko finished her review. "Colonel, I am confident you will be reviewing these vids later with the rest of your unit, quiaff?"

"Aff. They will know the maneuvers in and out by the time we leave Huntress."

"Good. Command will like to hear how much progress is being made at their expense. Miles, could you—"

"Star Colonel Talasko! We have unauthorized personnel approaching our tech facility," interrupted one of the techs surrounding the holo-vid at one of the monitoring facilities. "One man so far, on foot. He appears to be wearing a Jade Falcon field uniform…"

Gretchen perked up at once, examining the monitor. A sole person in a raggedy Jade Falcon field uniform was indeed approaching one of her storehouses. This individual was peculiar for a Falcon warrior: his hair was a mess, at least week old stubble was on his face, his uniform was filthy and he moved with the grace of a tired man after a mountain hike. His height and build was slightly smaller than a typical Falcon warrior, with no threat or hubris in his eyes, both customary of the staunch crusaders. He did, however, appear seasoned, which was something to keep in mind for later. All this evaluation must have taken not but a second to filter through, as her response seemed almost instantaneous to her turning her head. Assuming her command voice, Gretchen spouted, "Sentinels! Gear up and make way to intercept! Waste no time!"

Miles stood up from leaning on the console behind Gretchen Talasko. Despite the paced movement around them, he seemed rather calm and deliberate in his actions. "The Falcons should know better than to wander into our territory. What should we do with him?"

"Detain and question Van Houten. You know the drill." Gretchen had a hint of irritation in her voice. Now was not the time for his power games. She was already deep in thought to the reason a Jade Falcon warrior would be walking around her training grounds.


Michael made his way to the garage-like structure to view the large Star Adder insignia on the door. It looked like a coiled snake mid-strike in front of a five-point star. He had read about this clan from his initial intel briefing, but had not paid much attention to it. It was not like Michael to stray off during a briefing as even the minor details can mean life or death, but then again, he never planned on migrating to other planets after botching his mission either. He figured if that happened, he would be as good as dead. In some ways, he is not sure he isn't yet.

The hissing noise of small jump jets alarmed but did not panic Michael. But what he saw did. Right as his neck pointed his face upward to view the source of the noise, he noticed three Star Adder elementals dropping from the roof of the complex down to his location. Two more joined the group from the large garage door that just started opening. Trained or not, every human in existence should know by now that they don't stand a chance against clan elementals unarmed. In fact, it was the focus of the shortest training session he had in covert-ops school. Surrender or run. And if you run, pray.

"Unauthorized personnel, surrender now and contact your reinforcements," the lead elemental demanded.

"I am alone, and I demand to see your commander," was his only response.

"In due time. Put these on and we will escort you to a secure compound," the lead elemental said as he threw a pair of restraints at Michael's feet.

He slipped in the restraints as several light and medium omnimechs stampeded past him into the tree line he emerged from several minutes ago, their footsteps violently vibrating the world around them. Looking for reinforcements. Good response time if I've ever seen one. Heh, wonder how long they will go at it back there, he thought with a smile.


"The codex checks out ma'am, but his prosthetic arm is not military grade. He claims to be on the run for crimes against another warrior, but refuses to elaborate. We could get better information out of him if we were allowed to apply force--"

"Force will not be necessary at the moment, but I do foresee a problem if he does not start speaking," Gretchen responded while approaching her new prisoner. The security detail detachment assigned to this Falcon warrior was not very successful at pulling useful information out of him, which is unusual. Gretchen chose these particular men because they are some of the best she has seen when dealing with this.

Michael Steiner figured by now that this was the commanding officer approaching him. Not but moments ago a tall female in what appeared to be her early thirties entered the room and received nothing but courtesies and updates. She listened to them casually and leaned in to look Michael in the face. Her blue eyes were of a seasoned warrior: extremely analytical and all business. They would have scared most people if they had not been through the covert ops training Michael had at the age of only 15. No one person in this world could scare him now.

"I will give you one chance to explain what you are doing in my training grounds and why you look like you just crawled out of a war. If I have to ask a question twice, I will make certain you regret it. Jade Falcon or not, you are intruding on our territory now." Gretchen Talasko pulled out a pair of cable cutters from one of her cargo pockets and studied them like a painter would inspect his brush.

"To present finer detail to the previous rendition of my story—" Michael started.

"Enough crap. If you cannot say what you mean through simple and concise terms, then you have something to hide, quiaff?"

"Aff…" Michael sighed as a sign he was giving up dealing with the people around him. "I was challenged to a circle of equals with my commanding officer several months ago—"

"Define several." Gretchen interrupted.

"Four." He paused. Then, "As I was saying, I challenged my superior to a circle of equals, and he won. I would have called out a trial of grievance, but… I just lost it."

He finished after another pause, "I attacked and… killed him in front of everyone. Since the circle was over and he claimed victory already, I was detained and going to be tried for murder. You know how the Falcons deal with murderers, quiaff?"

"I do. But a true warrior faces death down and challenges it. You are not a warrior." Gretchen crouched next to the prisoner, who remained calm. "I have called Jade Falcon command with a request for cooperation. They told me they never heard of you. This is interesting, quiaff?"

Now a bead of sweat began to form on Michael's forehead. Luckily for him, the arid climate helped it evaporate before it was noticed by his captors. "Very. You see, my pursuers are not from Huntress, as I fled from Strana Mechty. Apparently my clan did not coordinate with the units here."

He let that sit for a moment and waited for a response. "Four months is a long time… I am sorry. I must have missed your name earlier."

"Kerry. Mechwarrior Kerry. 3rd Battle cluster, Sigma Galaxy, Strana Mechty."

"And your arm? If it is not military, then where did you get it?"

"I have connections."

A long pause followed that, which told Gretchen that he had something to hide after all. Now she was in the precarious position of possibly physically interrogating an intruder to get proper information out of him and getting in trouble with another clan's command section for torturing their prisoner, or backing down from her previous promise. A decision had to be made, and Star Colonel Talasko was not one to sit on things for long.

She reached down and cut the lobe of Michael's left ear from the side of his head. The ear was still attached, but the fleshy under-lobe was now hanging like a wet shirt on a clothesline. The amount of blood produced was astounding, yet Michael made no screams, just muddled grunts. The expressions of the men around Gretchen were mixed to say the least. Several of the guards looked excited, while Miles Van Houten simply looked satisfied that Gretchen is doing things the way he would.

"I am going to ask you again, Mechwarrior Kerry. Where did you get your arm?"

Just then Gretchen's radio spiked up filled the room with static, and then a transmission. "Star Colonel Gretchen Talasko."

"Go ahead."

"A Jade Falcon cluster has just announced its proximity. It claims it is searching for a prisoner and is requesting permission to enter."

She shot a glance at Michael that told him of her dislike for him. She was not finished, and he knew it. "Permission granted. I want the Sentinels on high alert and the names of the cluster commander and home unit written down and documented."

"Roger that Star Colonel." And the radio clicked off.

"It appears you have a reprieve, Mechwarrior." Gretchen turned away from her prisoner and left the building. Miles Van Houten followed and the security detail resumed their guard posts after she left. The thoughts now swimming through Michael's mind now shifted from hiding the fact that he worked with a bandit caste while on the run from the Falcons, and exactly who has come for him. The next half hour should prove rather interesting indeed.


Star Colonel Vauks was a man of tall stature and had an aura of authority about him. He was currently piloting a Timber Wolf, so he was in standard issue Jade Falcon pilot gear, but even it was above standard in appearance when compared to his peers. A small mustache and close-cropped hair topped off the ultra-militaristic appearance, and added to his already 'hardened warrior' demeanor. As the commander of the Falcon cluster, which, consisting of only two binaries was rather small for the crusader clan, he approached with the members of his command star beside him to negotiate terms for transfer of the prisoner. Their uniforms still looked impractical to Gretchen, whose clan simply wears regional camouflage with her clan's insignia somewhere on it. The other clans hold their totems in such high regard that they still wear standard color (whatever that may be on their totem animal), somewhat impractical uniforms to show off their origins. The warriors in the jade green met with the warriors in the desert fatigues and addressed them formally.

At first, Star Colonel Talasko wanted to know what this man's crimes were and why the Falcon forces on Huntress were not notified, but after some discussion Colonel Vauks proved to be rather adept at getting what he wants, and gave her the minimum of what she asked for to make her feel comfortable. He also reminded her that she needs none of the information and if he wanted the prisoner outright with no concessions made, she would only waste her breath talking to command as he has the right people backing him up.

As per standard troop transfer procedure, the prisoner was bound at the hands and ankles and his face covered. The transfer went smoothly and without incident. What a day this turned out to be, she thought to herself. If this is how the military deals with things in that clan, then we have nothing to worry about if we decide to invade soon. So far, she was not impressed at how the Falcon situation got so out of hand. But all was done and over with. At least that is what she kept telling herself, despite that little prick in the back of her neck telling her otherwise.


"Everyone's up and running Colonel. Ready to get out of here?"

"Copy that Veronica. Standard forward echelon with you in the lead. Keep your troops tight until two clicks past the tree line, then we head for the dropship. We're only going to get one safe chance at this." Colonel Karl Garris pushed the throttle handle forward to start his 'mech's feet moving. The air conditioning in these clan 'mechs was incredible. Even for second line units these things outplay our regulars he thought. His Atlas back at home station was one of the best maintained 'mechs in the Lyran military, yet its air conditioner was always having problems. It's the little things you remember bothering you the most he continued with a smile. It helped that the Jade Falcon cooling vest he received was not damaged in battle, therefore didn't need to be re-furbished. Everything his troops were wearing and piloting now was taken from battlefields on Coventry some years ago. It is a wonder how far the Lyran Alliance has gone with restoring Clan technology.

He mentally went over the list of things needed before the unit disappeared from the Star Adder camp and out of the teeth of the enemy. This whole mission was nearly over, and he was happy to think it. "Jeremy, you copy?"

The static in his headset lit up instantly. "I copy Colonel."

"Did you give Michael a headset? I want him online."

"Copy that sir," Michael's voice replied over the comm. line. "That was one beautiful display of theatrics out there. I can't believe you pulled it off so smoothly."

"Kissing my ass will only get you so far. The dropship is 60 clicks from here. It's going to be a long trek, so get comfortable. We have MREs and drinks in there if you need them. Did the Star Adders mess you up while in custody?"

"Just a nasty cut on my ear, but nothing serious," Michael replied while applying gauss to it.

"I saw the arm. We have med techs and equipment set up for you on the dropship for you to write out your whole report. It needs to be done before we reach Tharkad."

"No problem. Just get me home and out of this Falcon uniform."

"I hear you on that one. Colonel Garris out."


Star Colonel Talasko released everyone for lunch after the prisoner transfer. Today's events have thrown things off center, and the break would be good for her to balance it all. She dedicated most of her time to planning the night exercises while Star Captain Van Houten looked on, adding feedback when necessary. He was a good commander, but he had a sour attitude toward Gretchen, and she could not understand why. But it made no matter. He was cooperating, and that was good enough for her at the moment. She got no further than assigning which troops would be part of the ambush exercise when the explosions went off. Once again she was contacted and throwing her units into the field. She was briefed while running toward her Warhawk and stripping the excess field gear off to keep only her 'mech pilot suit and essential equipment on. It appears that approximately twelve kilometers outside the post the Jade Falcon cluster was ambushed by an unknown force. No batchall was called, and no communication relayed back to the Adder base for reinforcements. The fighting was visible from her command post as smoke and bright explosions lit up the sky. Whatever the situation was over there, Star Colonel Vauks was in it deep, because there was no let up between explosions. It was just a continuous barrage.

Boarding her 'mech she wondered if she was going to get a piece of the action herself. The only reason she is responding is because it is still within her area of responsibility. If it is a bandit raid, she does not want it reaching her facility. But what bandit force had the firepower to accomplish this?

Either way, three of her stars were making their way over to the battle at the highest speed possible while maintaining formation while Kira's forces stayed back to defend the post if necessary. If she was going to get a piece of the action, she was going to do it right.


Veronica was hit first. Her Summoner suffered three PPC hits before a volley of no less than 60 LRMs zeroed in on her from behind some brush. She ejected right as the missiles hit, flying out of the inferno below her in her ejection seat like a bullet from a gun. Her side units never had a chance to return fire by the time they were engaged. They ran forward into the brush to verify targets and relay them to Colonel Garris. Problem was, the enemy was using an ECM unit, and they had to see their targets with their naked eyes. They came in firing and nearly decimated the front tree line to clear it of enemies before approaching the end of the narrow clearing.

"Colonel Garris! We have at least two medium clan units exiting the cordon to our right. They may be able to flank you on your five 'o clock if you don't watch it."

Colonel Garris just analyzed the situation like he normally does, with the utmost calm and delicacy. "Fall back into formation and hold a front line. We will take cover at that bend to your right and establish a defensive. Do not turn your backs on that forest."

"Copy that sir!" They started backing up as instructed.

"Sir! I have multiple units—!" Garris turned his Timber Wolf around immediately at the sound of the explosion. Staff Sergeant Tarros' Mad Dog just blew apart as two Fire Falcons painted in a black paint scheme that he has never seen before rushed out from the rear hills and fired their medium lasers into his 'mech's missile racks. His rig suffered multiple ammunition explosions, ripping gaping holes into the back of his machine. Luckily for him, the CASE systems installed in his 'mech contained the damage. But the new units kept coming, concentrating their fire on the new holes in the face of his 'mech, melting moyomers and internal structure into a thick mess of pluming smoke. His Mad Dog was useless in a matter of seconds as the heat built up to the point of his auto-ejection kicking in.

A Hellbringer and a Summoner crested the hill behind the Fire Falcons firing what they had at the rear of Garris' lines. The zoom function in his cockpit revealed subdued Jade Falcon insignias on the sides of the dark attackers. This changed things considerably. Jade Falcons concentrating fire on single 'mechs without offering a batchall? This could only mean one thing… They came to destroy his unit in its entirety and are going to do what is necessary to accomplish just that.

If two of his units have not been taken down seconds apart from each other, Colonel Garris may have been able to disperse his troops and take cover in several areas of the shallow valley, but while his formations held, his troops were shaken up and already firing in multiple directions out of confusion. This was going to be tough. But that is what the premier intelligence unit of the Lyran Alliance was trained to handle.

"LOKI, split off into your section lances! Commanders, take your troops to alternating cover points and move them toward the hole Jenkins and Harris cleared. Bravo Lance, you're covering our rear; alpha, our front. Pound away at the forward units as much as you can, but conserve your ammo and watch your heat. This may take a while to finish. Colonel Garris out." With the orders out it was a matter of time before he crawled his way out of yet another sticky situation. Now it was up to the skill of his troops, who were getting nailed from all sides this very moment.


Gretchen Talasko's command star was booking it hard with the other two stars in her trinary close behind. Her Warhawk was negotiating the terrain as gracefully as it could since the farther from base she got, the more uneven the land became.

Suddenly her radar showed multiple friendly contacts to her eleven o' clock. They seemed to be heading to the same location as her, traveling at their top speed, which will put them on target sooner than her unit. She keyed her mic, "Incoming Adder units, identify yourselves."

Her headset spoke back, "This is Star Captain Dermall leading reinforcements from the 212th Sheet Lightning. We just suffered a depot raid by enemy units who retreated before we could return fire. We have been in pursuit since. Who is this?"

"This is Star Colonel Gretchen Talasko of the 300th Adder Sentinels. We are responding to a Jade Falcon unit that was attacked another six clicks from here, due northwest."

"Jade Falcon? What are they doing within our boarders?"

"Retrieving a prisoner who supposedly escaped from Strana Mechty. I say something is up, but I will not know for sure until I get over there."

Silence followed. Gretchen waited for a response, but it seemed like none was going to make one to her. Then suddenly… "Agreed. My orders are to eliminate the raiders and I plan to do just that. Do as you see fit. My orders come directly from Galaxy Commander Carlos Hutchinson."

Gretchen cursed inside her head. Why does everyone have to be difficult today? She checked one of her side monitors to view the progress of her support communications vehicle. The Star Adders had the second largest Navy of all the Clans now, and she planned on using it. Since ECMs were so abundant here today, some orbital surveillance would only keep her odds from going too far into the red. But she needed that vehicle in range to decode the signal and transmit it to her 'mech. It was moving rather quickly and would be in range soon.


"Steady with your fire Delta. Keep funneling them into that hole. Alpha, hold your positions until they hit the mark. You need to keep hidden. Beta, have you gotten to the forward path yet?"

"Neg commander. ETA is another minute and a half."

"Work it as best you can. When Alpha is done saturating the area, I need you to ram your guns down their throats while Delta pushes them forward. How is progress, Gamma?"

In the trees, above one of the few paths wide and level enough for vehicles to pass through was a point of elementals. They were clinging to trunks high above the ground, hidden from view and ready to pounce on their prey, provided it came directly underneath them. "We have almost lost the vehicle twice, but the planted explosives have kept it on track. We will have it in another twenty seconds."

"Good, keep on it. Let me know the second you have him. He is not getting out of this one." Star Captain Thao Prentice managed the attack like a masterful game of chess. Unlike Karl Garris, Thao was energetic, involved, and sometimes impulsive. But he was above all ingenuitive. His radical thinking has made his unit, the 32nd Special Operations Unit (A.K.A. the Nighthawks), the most efficient of its kind within the clan. It was, in fact, the only of its kind within the clan. A unit of spies, agents, insurgents, and crack 'mech pilots mixed to give the 32nd its flavor. There was yet to be a mission they couldn't fulfill, though this was proving to be quite the challenge. Thao has been trailing Michael Steiner since he dropped out of sight on Strana Mechty under orders from Kael Pershaw. Word is, the Khan herself wanted Steiner brought to her. His unit has set up numerous assaults and traps for him, narrowly failing every time. They did get his arm however, and in time, Thao will make sure they get the rest of him. Not only his career, but the security of his entire clan depends on it.

The ambush here on Huntress was aimed at LOKI, the premier behind-enemy-lines intelligence unit in the Lyran Alliance. The 32nd learned that LOKI had been dispatched to retrieve Michael and that they may have already been in clan space. It was just a matter of time before the two units crossed each other if Thao had his way. To his surprise, LOKI appeared in re-furbished Falcon 'mechs lost during the Coventry campaign and posed as their own Falcon unit for the purpose of getting behind enemy lines and extracting Steiner under the cover of official business. They were good, albeit, the best their special forces had to offer, and they were instantly making a mess of Thao's plans. Luckily, he had planned for that as well, and is currently trying to make lemonade out of oranges. This Karl Garris he is going up against seems to always have a magic doorway to jump though to save him from defeat, and Thao was determined to seal that shut. It was only a matter of time to find out if that determination was enough.

LOKI pulled its 'mechs into the hole made earlier and was heading right into Thao's awaiting ambush. He did need Beta unit to reach the bottleneck though to not only seal the thing shut, but also stop any forward units from detecting the ambush and turning Alpha unit into sitting ducks. Beta had only moderate firepower, but was maneuverable enough to outrun any recon unit it has encountered yet. Several Incubi filled the ranks, which was unusual for the Falcons. Thao found use in their design and used them extensively compared to the rest of the clan. It was one of the things that made him so unique. He specially prepped and customized each 'mech before planet drops to ensure maximum efficiency. Even though omnimechs were designed for that purpose, he ran his techs into the ground with constant modifications, and his pilots through the ringer, forcing them to be proficient in every weapon system their 'mech was capable of carrying. The Incubi today were sporting PPCs, and they would find a very good use for them soon.


Garris was having trouble keeping his men together. As highly trained as they were, they were constantly separated by enemy fire. These Falcons all seemed to either be extremely accurate, or all had targeting computers installed on their machines, because they have yet to miss a shot at Garris' troops and he was starting to feel the pain inflicted so heavily in such a short time. The last two 'mechs to enter the brush were destroyed as they did so, which left a hole in the rear of his defenses to be filled. He gave the orders and two troops moved from the middle to cover the rear. He was loosing men faster than he expected to, and he had to find a way to even the score. So far, only one Falcon 'mech was disabled with the return fire his men were pouring out.

He was somewhat relieved to see the extent of the damage caused by his men earlier to the terrain. His Timber Wolf had a wide profile and it would have been rather difficult to move through this area if it hadn't been blown down. He looked around and saw the Falcon fire subduing. He didn't know if it was from his own men's counter fire or if they didn't have the numbers to keep pursuing. His forward unit's signature suddenly blipped up on his radar screen ahead of him. They were returning form their recon. He keyed his mic, "Alpha, what have you got for me?"

"We couldn't find anything, radar or otherwise. Aleks got cocky though and got out of his 'mech for a quick hike," was the reply.

"Don't tell me we lost a man outside of his 'mech…"

"No sir, he's fine. In fact, he caught sight of some missile boats aiming their guns right into the forward valley. They'll cook us alive if we move through there."

Garris sighed. These Falcons were definitely full of surprises. "Do they have support? Can you get behind them?"

"Negative Colonel. Their backs are to the walls, but we've located another route for us to squeeze through. The larger 'mechs will have a rough time, and it takes us further from Michael's transport…"

"That's acceptable Sergeant. The more we divert attention from the vehicle, the better off it is. We'll follow you out of here, just watch your sides."

"Copy that sir." And with that they were off. Garris' troops funneled through some trees into an even more narrow clearing, but they received no fire.

Two of his troops dropped back to defend a wounded Rifleman IIC to the funnel. They told Colonel Garris that they were going to secure the rear, and Garris knew exactly what fate had in store for them. The logical part of his brain told him that he needed the extra time to get the rest of the unit through the next clearing though, so he did not deny them. They charged back up to the fire discharging all of their ballistics weapons at once at the lead Falcon 'mech, sending its shots off course. But fate was not in their favor, as the Fire Falcons had moved around most of the burning damage the previous fire had made and slammed into the side of the Lyrans with their lasers burning hot. With the Hellbringer maneuvering around the fire into a new line of sight, no matter of movement or cover saved those troops. But they did their job. They held the Falcons off for two and a half minutes, taking one of them down in the process. The Rifleman IIC pilot thanked them for their heroism as their 'mechs hit the ground, but he never made it to the valley in time before he was sniped from behind.

Garris moved through the valley just in time to see a black Jade Falcon Kit Fox in the distance retreating from his line of sight. He suddenly kicked into order and ran calculations through his head, wondering how long it would take the Falcons to respond to his new route when he heard them. Swarm LRMs, coming down fast. Someone was painting his units!

"All units take cover! We have incoming!" He screamed over the comm. lines just before his world erupted into fire. The swarms came down from his right, but nothing could hide from them. It was a nightmare. Instantly the heat levels in his 'mech rose and the foliage around him started to crackle and fall over on un-supported trunks. The impact of the barrage of missiles was enough to knock a few of his units over, and they had a hard time getting up with all the destruction around them.

He turned his 'mech to the right and saw just the smallest hint of movement. With that, he fired his PPC (much to his disdain considering his current heat levels) into the sweet spot of trees that he though contained his enemy. The result was impossible to tell, but he did notice more trees move, suggesting he hit something that disturbed everything around it. That amount of satisfaction would have to do for now, because the second barrage was incoming. He pushed the throttle lever forward and was pulled into the back of his seat as his 'mech lurched forward under his command. He made his way out of the valley behind five of his units before the missiles hit. Every one of them missed his men. Well, all of his men except Senior Corporal Valerie. His 'mech was damaged previously in the attack and the first barrage crippled one of his legs. The worst part is, he didn't die instantly.

"Gaaahhhhhhhh! Oh my God!" The shouts were echoed over the commline with no reply. Everyone just listened in horror as his life-support unit was keeping his burning body alive as long as possible. He writhed for a minute and a half before succumbing to silence. It seemed like an eternity.

Silence followed for several seconds afterwards. Colonel Garris took the moment to gather his bearing and get his troops straight. When he was ready, he spat the orders out like he was on autopilot. "Sit rep, now."


"Unknown aggressors, you are trespassing on Clan Star Adder territory. State your name and rank and cease all hostile actions against your targets." Gretchen Talasko's voice resonated suddenly over Thao's commline. He heard her words and realized that the Star Adder camp a few kilometers from here were right on time. The problem was, he planned on being packed up and moving north by now. He was not in the mood to explain himself. The ambush he planned had to be called off and a Kit Fox re-routed to spot for the now useless missile boats so they could blind fire a few volleys and try to slow LOKI down. He has still not received status of its success or failure yet. Beside that, the comm. went out on Gamma, meaning they were moving to get Steiner right now. He simply did not have the space to deal with some Star Adder commander trying to mark her territory.

"Pack up and move to intercept LOKI. Move to the northeast from here and follow these nav points to this overlook. I will update you en-route." He punched in the nav points to his computer and transmitted them to his entire trinary. They fed out and his troops instantly started moving north. He was not out of this yet…


By the time Gretchen arrived to the scene both the Night Hawks and LOKI were already gone. She told her troops, who were beginning to get restless to standby while she checked the orbital surveillance footage that her comm. vehicle just began decoding for her. It appears that the 212th reinforcements did not cover the east end of the valley like they had said they were going to. They left altogether and were heading on an interception course with the vehicle the Falcons were transporting Mechwarrior Kerry in. How interesting…she wondered, and gave the only order that was on her mind. "Follow me. I intend to find out what Mechwarrior Kerry has to do with these raiders."

Jeremy lost contact with Colonel Garris several minutes ago. Last he heard, the whole unit was under a missile barrage, and the screams followed. Mason Valerie's death was still heavy on the minds of everyone in his armored vehicle. The show was so shocking that he did not notice the elemental point drop right on his vehicle until the sound of their claws digging into the armor pierced his skull. CLAMP!

Michael Steiner had made himself somewhat comfortable in the back of the vehicle, enjoying the first cushioned chair he has been in in several months. He had his ear bandaged up and was sipping some water when the sounds of the late Mason Valerie broke his relaxation. He was still silent when the things landed on the roof above him. Unlike Jeremy, he knew exactly what these were and was not all that surprised when lasers cut the side door off and an elemental claw reached in grabbed him by the throat.

The seizing elemental threw Michael fifteen feet away straight into a tree trunk. The impact knocked him unconscious. The Falcon armored infantry then threw the demolition charge he was carrying into the vehicle and used his jump jets to vacate the area. The explosion was largely contained within the ride due to its construction. The rest of the elemental point picked Michael's body up and prepared for their trek to their rendezvous point.


"We have the package and are en route to nav point Epsilon. Raven Icaza out."

Star Captain Thao Prentice received the message and quickly contacted the rest of his trinary. "Night Hawks stand down. We have the package and are meeting up with Icaza and his men at nav point Epsilon. Alpha take lead, the rest follow."

Star Commander Bree spoke up over the private channel, "Star Captain, are you sure? We had LOKI on the run. If we give them a chance to regroup then we may never have another shot at taking them out. Think of what we could accomplish today."

"I am thinking Bree. I am sure Garris already HAS regrouped and may have a surprise waiting for us. Besides, our objective was Michael and if Garris plans on drawing us away from him, then he is in for a ride. We lost the initiative, let us not lose the mission, quiaff?"

"Aff commander. Just stating my opinion."

"Understood. Consider this discussion closed." Thao knows that Bree knows better than to second-guess him. But the thrill of battle can be much to her; much to all of them. He has it in his head to make sure he keeps perspective on everything. The Lyrans have made fools of us too many times in the past by baiting us into combat and abusing Zellbrigen. This time, we make the rules.


Raven's troops moved several kilometers at elemental cruising speed, which wasn't fast, but with no vehicle it was as good as it was going to get. They closed the distance to a cliff side and got ready to pop their flairs for aerial extraction when a voice came over the commline into Point Commander Raven Icaza's headset. "Jade Falcon elemental, drop the body of Michael Steiner now and you will be allowed to leave unharmed."

Raven's reply was instantaneous, "Who is this?"

"This is Kommandant Allen Rowinstein. I am here to retrieve Michael, and you are in my way."

"Not a chance. As long as I have Michael strapped across my chest, you will not fire." Raven Icaza's back was now to the open cliff-face. He turned around to see his challenger and saw several Clan Star Adder front line 'mechs appear. It would seem Jade Falcon 'mechs are not the only kind these spheroids know how to commandeer.

"True, but I will destroy your men and capture you. Then you will be subjected to interrogation for the entire trip to Tharkad." Rowinstein's voice was menacing, much like he delighted in the idea of torturing someone.

Raven again looked at the clearing below. His men could jump and land safely at the bottom, but they would be picked off like balloons afterward from above. This gave him only one choice, and he made it gladly. "Men," he said into his unit's commline. "You heard the man. Before us stand not Clan Star Adder warriors, but more Inner Sphere murderers." He let that sink in before he continued. "This is the end of the line. They will open fire on us any second. So I leave you with these words…"

"TAKE THEM WITH YOU!" Raven's men charged the 'mechs ahead of them like angry dogs after a desperate meal. Two were picked off by weapon's fire from Rowinstein's men, the other two managed to make it to one of Rowinstein's men in a Stormcrow and climb on board. Making their way to the cockpit the 'mech just stopped and let the one next to him take his time aiming at the aggressing elementals like this is a drill practiced many times before. The first elemental was shot off the Stormcrow while the other one reached the cockpit and began peeling the glass off of the view port.

Nothing in this world is as scary as a crusader elemental peeling his way into your cockpit with just your service pistol at your side. If you have ever fought them, you know war flows through their veins. Raymond Kim watched in suspense as the last of that portion of glass disappeared from view and the Falcon elemental aimed his support laser through the hole at his head. He actually saw the eyes of the elemental pilot as his friend fired one round of his Ultra AC/5 at the crusader's back. The elemental's eyes opened wide as his laser slowly veered off and back until he fell off the Stormcrow altogether and hit the ground thirty feet below. Nothing in this world… Raymond kept thinking as he regained the controls of his 'mech and turned it to the one survivor of the infantry unit.

Raven Icaza stood there defiantly, arm raised at Rowinstein's Night Gyr. Everyone knew that Raven couldn't inflict any damage to Allen's machine with that, but the showing was incredible: absolutely no fear of death. "I will take your prize with me, you stravag bastard!" With that he fired and actually hit the Night Gyr's cockpit as Michael, who was feigning unconsciousness suddenly jumped from Raven's other arm and cleared some distance between the two. Kommandant Rowinstein smiled at the easy prey presented before him now and simply squeezed the trigger of his control stick. Instantly several medium lasers fired and cooked Raven in a blaze of light and smoke. The melted slag remaining after the view was cleared resembled nothing of an elemental armor suit. It was a twisted, steaming mess of a resting place for a defiant warrior.

"Michael, how nice of you to join us again," Rowinstein said through the loudspeakers of his 'mech. He moved to close the distance to Michael when something caught the corner of his eye. Looking to the right he saw the Star Adder command star standing on the side of the closest hill, Gretchen Talasko's Warhawk front and center.

"What is the meaning of this Star Captain Dermall? Who is Michael?" Gretchen strained her voice as she tried so hard to pull the pieces of this puzzle together. She knew in the back of her head that this wasn't right, but Rowinstein gave her no time to come to any conclusions. His entire unit responded with massive weapon's fire and her unit was nearly knocked off its feet.


The pounding they took was devastating, yet Gretchen and two of her star mates survived. Van Houten's ejection seat kicked in as soon as his heat reached the red, and Mechwarrior Harris made it because his Cauldron-Born dropped as soon as its gyro was hit. The enemy ceased firing on him and concentrated on her. She only survived because her 'mech twisted when it fell and she hit the eject sequence with her seat pointed horizontally downrange. She fired across the ground past her aggressors and skidded into the dry ground to a halt just before the cliff drop-off. She was able to slip out of her restraints and jump over the side onto a ledge 12 feet below, out of view of her attackers. They left abruptly, satisfied of their work. She was sure of it.


Twenty minutes must have passed before dust was kicked over Gretchen's head by someone's foot above her on the cliff face. Looking up she found Miles Van Houten with his arm extended in a gesture of offering help. While this is the last thing she thought she would see, she accepted and was hoisted up onto the surface once again. It seems that the comm. vehicle and its two armored escorts made their way to her location. They called in another armored transport vehicle and a salvage crew to be air lifted in via VTOL craft.

The driver of the comm. vehicle briefed her on the current situation. She learned that the other two stars in her response force were routed and attacked. Many were destroyed. The wreckage was visible on the comm. vehicle's orbital surveillance monitors. Gretchen took her time studying the monitors, navigating the feed around to locate all the local units. Her base was not but 12 kilometers from her location, but she was looking in the other direction, at the retreating Jade Falcon unit from Strana Mechty that had Mechwarrior Kerry in a prisoner transport not but an hour ago, and the mysterious black unit with dark green piping and paint underlays. The green had a particular sheen to it that didn't reflect light enough to give away its position, but rather added an eerie element to the black of the 'mech itself. She could not identify much more about them other than it being a mixed force of high-end light, medium and heavy 'mechs. It did not appear to have any assault 'mech support. It was traveling in a zigzag pattern through some valleys and was doing an incredible job of minimizing the tracks it was making by using the terrain. These are professionals she thought to herself. The grace of every individual 'mech implies the skill of the total force.

"Ma'am, everyone has arrived."

She looked outside to see the salvage crew full of technicians deploying to the various fallen 'mechs. The new transport was dropped a few hundred meters from her location on some flat ground. The driver emerged sporting a long ponytail uncustomary for Star Adder troops, but allowable by standards. Even Gretchen allowed certain freedoms for those who went above and beyond in her unit. Though she kept them to a minimum because certain Star Captains shoot her angry looks when she does. The new transport vehicle was larger than the comm. unit, but still had the receiving capability. She ordered the decrypter to board the new vehicle and she jumped in along with Miles Van Houten, Mechwarrior Harris, the gunner and driver.

The decrypter immediately loaded the feed in the monitors and adjusted some signal boards. Everyone got comfortable while Miles started going through the ordinance packed into the rear compartment of the vehicle. He found explosives, chaffs, flairs, a rocket launcher with ammunition, rifles, restraints, rations and water recyclers. Enough to last them a week if needed. The rig traveled not but fifty feet before the feed cut out.

The vehicle immediately slammed to a halt and Gretchen removed herself while the decrypter checked the systems again. Minutes went by before a tech approached her and asked her if she needed any assistance. She asked him if he knew anything about orbital signals and the terrain here on Huntress.

"I might have just what you need. Please stand by ma'am." With that the tech ran to his vehicle and grabbed a portable battery, a tool belt, and an equipment case carrying God only knows what. If its one thing Gretchen had learned, never ask a tech what a piece in his personal collection is for unless you have some time to spare. At least in her experience…

The tech, named Nuyen entered the vehicle and began checking out the system while the comm. operator took a break. Nuyen left the vehicle and patched some wiring into the outside circuit panel and wired it into the battery he brought. The image instantly went online again.

"It has to do with the iron deposits on this continent and how the ECM jammer signals get bounced around some canyons and not others. You never know when you will be in a dead spot or not." He explained it with such enthusiasm it was surprising that it was not contagious.

Gretchen began studying the monitors when her eyes grew wide with surprise. "Stravag! The raiders are heading for us! What 'mech forces do we have outside?"

"None right now, just armored transport," Miles replied.

"Time for 300th reinforcements?"

"We are looking at twenty minutes minimum, maybe more. The 'mechs left there were part of the exercise and are not prepped yet."

Gretchen looked at the monitors again. Mere moments passed with nothing but silence before she made her decision. "Call the salvage crew back. Get them out of here. We are heading for Mechwarrior Kerry."

Nuyen started packing his stuff up when Gretchen put her hand on his shoulder. "You are coming with us; in case we need you again."

"Aff, commander," was his only reply. He then found a seat.

Gretchen looked up toward the front of the vehicle and spoke in a way that confirmed to everyone that she was in charge. "Driver! Follow your new nav points, and prepare for combat."