CHAPTER 26
IT ENDS TONIGHT
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City of Starpad,
Chara III, Freedom Theater,
Lyran Alliance, Inner Sphere,
March 14, 3065
Trystan knelt in front of an impromptu crucifix, made by scraps from Dee Dee's Crab, paying homage to the fallen mechwarrior under his command. Her name was engraved on the crucifix, along with then name of Pacifica's cadet that was also killed alongside her. For Humberto and his lance mates, he created another crucifix from scraps of Humberto's Phoenix Hawk, and carved Humberto's name on it. Since he didn't know the names of the other three, he just carved 3 stripes under Humberto's name.
"Loss of men weighs heavy on heart," Saskia stood close behind him. "I shall share burden, yet shoulder would fall short of the mark. She is, after all, your crew."
"We trained for this," Trystan rose to his feet. "We put ourselves in the heat of simulated battles, and Dee Dee was always the one who gave aid to those in need. I can't believe she went first." He paused to take a deep breath. "I feel like I left her behind."
"And more to follow," Saskia put his arms around Trystan's shoulder. "A curse for all who commands. You have to witness those you hold dear plucked from grasp by war. And know that it recurs. Your position demands blood. Men of skill and purpose shall fall by your command."
"I wish it doesn't have to be that way."
"Yet there is but one path to honor the fallen: to turn loss and grief into triumph and joy."
"Joy?" Trystan shot a bitter smile at Saskia. "What joy can be generated from this?"
"You know my meaning," Saskia scoffed. "Moans and tears would bear shriveled fruit. Pay tribute by seeing adversaries to grave, and victory that follows."
"I know," Trystan sighed. "We've come this far. We should go forward."
"Come, tend to wounds and turn heads toward more deserving future," Saskia grabbed Trystan's arm and tugged it toward Lei Fong who was overseeing the battlemechs. Osiris and Vicky assisted the cranky tech, following his direction even though none of them knew what they were doing. Vicky shot a spiteful stare as Trystan came with Saskia.
"Where are we standing, Lei Fong?" Trystan asked absent mindedly.
"You mechwarriors like to self destruct," Lei Fong started off his long grievance. "None of these mechs are battle worthy! None of them!"
"Mine is that bad?" Trystan didn't think that his Thunderbolt sustained a lot of damages.
"A Phoenix Hawk and three light mechs and you have to lose 4 tons of armor? You outnumbered them, you dumb Slavic! They had nothing on you! You had the power and you had the numbers, but you, the grandson of a hotshot mercenary, you have to macho up and dive head first into the thick of battle! What kind of strategy is that? Do you even have a strategy?"
"I don't understand," Trystan scratched his head. "Is my mech damaged?"
"No! But if you keep doing this, it will! Just like the Crab! It's a classic that you mechwarriors do not know how to treat! Now it lies in shambles and one more good mech is gone because of the impotence of the pilot!"
"Is there nothing to salvage?"
"The thing blew up! You think I'm the King's Men, can put anything together again?"
"Alright, alright, let's focus on the survivors then," Trystan massaged his temple. He had been working with Lei Fong long enough to know the bad temperament of the mechanic. "Are there any of them not operational?"
"If by operational you mean to walk and shoot, yeah, all of them operational," Lei Fong grimaced. "But to use all their potential, don't even think about it. The joker in that Hellspawn thinks he's driving an Awesome. The front armor is merely hanging there, like glue after a rain. The Commandos are no better. What's with you mechwarriors nowadays? Didn't they teach how to dodge, duck, dive, dip, and dodge at the academy anymore? Armor is for last defense, you imbecile! Position, movement, and shoot the crap of the other mech! I could've beaten your asses with a Locust if this is how you roll!"
"Point taken, Lei Fong," Trystan bemoaned. "What about the Assassin?"
"That's a total loss! Only the cockpit is worth mentioning!"
"So you're saying Ronan is dispossessed at the moment?"
"That's what happened if you drive your battlemech like a truck!"
"Dispossessed?" Saskia turned to Trystan, demanding explanation.
"It's our term for mechwarrior who cannot pilot a battlemech anymore." Trystan turned to Lei Fong. "Is there anything we can salvage from the enemy side?"
"The Phoenix Hawk maybe, but it's in a terrible condition. Blown arm, burnt myomer, stripped armor, destroyed cockpit. The guns, however, are operational."
"So we have an operational Phoenix Hawk with no cockpit, and a non-operational Assassin with working cockpit," Trystan mused. "Can we transfer the Assassin's cockpit to the Phoenix Hawk?"
"That kid is gonna blow himself up in a Phoenix Hawk with no armor!" Lei Fong grimaced. "Didn't you listen to me about today's mechwarriors with no dodging skill?"
"I think you underestimate Ronan," Trystan replied. "Let's put everything we can salvage onto the Phoenix Hawk. I want it operational for our next engagement. Ronan can handle it."
"Me get a Phoenix Hawk, hah, Sir?" Ronan sniggered. "Me like Phoenix Hawk! Phoenix Hawk good!"
"Not just a Phoenix Hawk, this is the -3S Phoenix Hawk. You get a MASC in addition to jump jets. You can run this mech up to 120 kph, as fast as a Locust, with triple the firepower."
"Yeah, I bet you need that," Lei Fong scoffed curtly. "Run for your life, you fool."
"We'll get you set up Ronan," Trystan said. "It's a big improvement from your Assassin. You'll love it."
"We're still down one mechwarrior, Boss," Vicky stated. "That's five mechwarriors, with battlemechs without proper armor. And if my assumption is correct, there are 8 of them on the other side that haven't seen combat yet. What now?"
"Now we wait," Trystan let out a long, laborious breath. "The ball is in their court. Let's see how they play it."
City of Starpad,
Chara III, Freedom Theater,
Lyran Alliance, Inner Sphere,
March 15, 3065
The disappearance of Blazing Aces recon lance sent tremor to the rest of the unit. For almost a month they had been chasing shadows in the plains of Chara III, and when they started to lose hope, a lance disappeared without a trace. Talks about elite commandos, covert-op units, even ghosts and aliens, dominated the conversation among Blazing Aces operatives. Tension ran high and morale started to slump by the hour.
Caelia, on the other hand, knew what was taking place. She was almost certain that his brother was responsible in the disappearance of the Blazing Aces recon lance. She did not know how strong Trystan's unit was, and how much advantage he had over the Blazing Aces. But she knew he was very meticulous and by-the-book. If he had the guts to take his unit this far, she had no doubt that he had taken everything into consideration, and that he was more than ready to deal with the Blazing Aces at every turn.
Which put her on a proverbial crossroad. She was a member of the Blazing Aces, Humberto was her comrade in arms, and Trystan was technically her adversary. She was honor-bound to defend the Blazing Aces against whatever enemies on the battlefield. But Trystan was her flesh and blood. Did she have the heart to pull the trigger, should she was the only one standing between him and the Blazing Aces? Caelia didn't know the answer.
But in the end, she was a member of the Blazing Aces. She swore to uphold the name of the Blazing Aces for as long as she lived. Trystan might be her brother, but he stood against the Blazing Aces. She wished it wasn't that simple, but in time of war she had to make a decision where to stand. She chose the Blazing Aces.
Slowly Caelia dragged her feet to the command center, hoping everything didn't have to come down to this. She heard Blitzie and Linc, the co-commanding officers of the Blazing Aces, arguing in heated debate over the disappearance of Humberto. Trystan was absolutely sure that they murdered her mother, and even though she didn't believe her brother, she started to second-guess her position. What if Trystan was right?
Her hand was already moved toward the door, but Blitzie's and Linc's arguments took an unexpected turn, so she decided to wait and listened to what they had to say about the new development.
"When was the last time Humberto called in?" she heard Linc raised concern. She had been around Linc long enough to notice a slight anxiety in his voice.
"Yesterday," Blitzie replied. "Eight hundred hours. Barely the break of dawn. He called in to report the route. That was the last time anybody heard of him."
"More than 24 hours," Linc continued. "He never missed this long. Did nobody see nothing?"
"We don't have any report. Nobody saw him or his lance mates again."
"Four battlemechs cannot just disappear into thin air," Linc puffed. "We're talking about 100 tons of steel here! Somebody must have seen something! A battle, an explosion, a foot print… something!"
"He might betray us," Blitzie suggested. "You know, switched side to the separatists."
"How much can they pay him and his ego?" Linc dismissed the idea.
"Look, something else is on the planet and I don't like it," Blitzie finally said something that actually made sense. "I knew it from the start that we're not given the entire planetary intelligence. Those parameters were made to get us out of what's actually happening here. I think Pacifica is behind the separatist group, if there is even a separatist group. We could've been fighting Pacifica all this time."
"Is that fact?" Linc scoffed. "I think you're making shit up."
"Then how do you explain Humberto? Is he deserting the Blazing Aces? No, Humberto's too stupid to leave without notice. Something got him and his lance."
"All four of them? Without witnesses?"
"Then what's your explanation?"
"I don't have one," Linc gritted his teeth. "Let's send Caelia to investigate."
"What if they got her too? We'll lose 8 battlemechs for nothing!"
"Better than losing all battlemechs! And our lives!" Linc replied harshly.
Their fling was over years ago, but it still stung, knowing how little Linc thought of her. She was young and naïve back then, and she mistook lovemaking for affection. His lips, setting fire on every inch of her skin. His naughty fingers, flitting across the soles of her feet and in between her toes, coercing her to laugh and scream in ticklish delight. His tongue, teasing every valley and gorge on her body. And his words of passion as she staggered between realms. All of those made her believe that she meant something for him. It made her mad to realize how wrong she was.
"I don't want to sacrifice more assets," Blitzie sighed. "Find another way. Get that multi-million c-bills of electronics in your mech to work."
"What do you want me to do? Hack Pacifica's computer?" Linc raised his voice. "Didn't you pay attention to our mission parameter? Do not screw around with the Pacifica! If they catch us, they'll breach the contract, and we're here for nothing!"
"They void the contract when they mislead us and hold us from critical information to complete our mission."
"What are you saying?" Linc correctly caught the hidden intention behind Blitzie's reply. "You wanna breach contract? You know, we leave this world, nobody's gonna hire us anymore."
"Fine by me," Blitzie replied. "At least I still have my life and my mech. Save our ass and we can rebuild our reputation later. Stick with the contract and die like Humberto, and you're just gone. Dead. Forgotten."
"Easy for you to say. You're rich. Not all have Mommy and Daddy to help out like you."
"We'll get a bad rep for breaching contract but it's not the end of the world," Blitzie laid out his plan. "We can save our asses. There should be MRBC regulation that governs contract severance. We need to dig that and use it against the contractor. Say, our contractor misleads us or holds back information that put us in live and death situation. Leaving Chara III is the only viable option to save ourselves from total destruction."
"Sonofabitch, what are we getting ourselves into?" Linc lamented. "Alright, we'll dust off, but we have to make sure MRBC buys our case."
"We'll deal with it later. There's plenty of time between jumps. The most important thing is to get out of here before we share fate with Humberto and his lance."
"Right. I'll set up for dust off at 0600 tomorrow. Then we'll blame it on bad intelligence or our contractor's malicious intent."
Caelia wasn't confinced if her decision to stay with the Blazing Aces would actually help the Blazing Aces. The commanding officers of the mercenary unit just revealed their vision about the unit and the crews. Their plan to leave Chara III would probably save the lives of the crews, but it was a nail in Blazing Aces coffin. Nobody in the Inner Sphere would take the Blazing Aces seriously anymore. For the last remaining family member of the founder of the Blazing Aces, Caelia could not let it happen.
Perhaps aligning with the 'enemy' of the Blazing Aces was the better choice.
So she left the command center and slipped into the shadow of Starpad, making sure nobody was following her. She went behind a dark alley and drew the comset Trystan gave to her. She speed-dialed the first number on the screen, and sure enough, a comlink was established.
"Trystan?" Caelia called.
"Caelia? Is that you?" Trystan's voice crackled from the other side of the comlink. "Is this line secure?"
"I called from your comset."
"Did anybody see you? Watch out for Linc, he can trace this call."
"I am fine." Caelia couldn't help smiling at her brother's neurotic reaction. "You never change, Trystan. You think too much."
"I don't expect to hear from you. What do you need?"
"Humberto's lance disappeared from radar. Should I suspect your hand in this development?"
"Yes, I intercepted Humberto," Trystan's voice turned somber. "I trapped him in a crossfire and asked him to surrender. I told him there was no way out. It was not my intention to harm him. I just wanted to take him prisoner. But he opened fire at me, and ordered his lancemates to take me down. When his lance mates were destroyed, he made attempt to alert the rest of the Blazing Aces. I had to do it, Caelia. I had to stop him."
"I knew you did. I expect nothing less from you. You just keep killing until none of us are left."
"I'm sorry, Caelia, but I asked him to surrender. He took a shot at me. He gave me no choice."
"Looks like I'm not the only one who's running out of choice," Caelia exhaled laboriously. "Blitzie and Linc are going to breach contract. They call NaruHina to pick us up tomorrow, 0600 hours."
"You're dusting off? Where is the landing zone?"
"I don't know, but if I have to guess, it's a plain east of Starpad."
"I thought you said I was your enemy. What changed your mind?"
"Trystan, Mom may not have trained me in leadership, but that doesn't mean I'm ignorant," Caelia said. "If the Blazing Aces breached contract, MRBC would put it on black list. It would never get contract anymore. I cannot let Mom's hard work goes to the drain. I'm telling you this because I want to save the Blazing Aces."
"Are Blitzie and Linc not aware of the consequences?"
"You know them. They don't care. All they want is to get out of here alive." She paused to clear her throat. "Now understand this: I am not helping you. I do not condone your killing your ex team mates. I do this for the sake of the Blazing Aces. It is my family's honor. Blitzie and Linc will bury the Blazing Aces reputation with their action. I cannot let them do that. They do not fit to lead the Blazing Aces. We need fresh perspective to lead the Blazing Aces to where Mom wanted it to be."
"Acknowledged. I'll intercept NaruHina, then I'll offer everybody the same chance I gave Humberto. If they do not open fire at me, I will let them live. Nobody else has to die, except Blitzie and Linc. But know that I'm coming in full force. Things may get ugly. Please, I beg of you. Stay out of harm's way."
"I can take care of myself," Caelia huffed. "I'm not a child."
"You're still my sister," Trystan pleaded. "I would hate to see you get hurt, or die. Promise me, Caelia."
"I'm a mechwarrior, Trystan," Caelia's eyes welled up with tears. After all the horrific things she did to her brother, he still cared for her. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."
"I'll take it as a promise," Trystan replied. "Now return to your place before you draw their attention."
"Trystan?" Caelia called him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for selling you to the pirates. I'm sorry for not standing up for you when you needed me."
"That's alright. And you know what?" his voice rang in an unexpected chime. "It's probably the best thing you could have ever done to me."
"Huh?" Caelia was completely stupefied by his comment. "What are you talking about?"
"I'll tell you when this is all done. Thank you for everything. Trystan out."
Caelia turned the comset off and put it in her pocket. Her head buzzed with Trystan's last comment. But she knew she wouldn't possibly get more out of it. She just walked back to the base and focused on the imminent bloodbath, which she was certain would take place within the next 30 hours.