Chapter One: Ruby's Rangers
15-May-3030
Free Worlds League
Leopard Red Knight
Ruby's Rangers
06:18 Zulu Time
Ruby Rose was never much of a fan of space travel. Especially in a Leopard. Even if that Leopard was, at least for now, considered home.
However, seeing as her chosen career, was that of a mercenary. That she was plying her trade both in the Inner Sphere and The Periphery; she made the services of her lance and their heavy metal available to all customers; that made space travel via Leopard, an unwelcome necessity.
It was a combination of things really that got to her. The disorientation of time, the cramped confines of the hull and sleeping quarters shared between the lance and crew. The lack of amenities like showers or even running water, the severe restrictions on fresh foodstuffs as one flew from combat zone to combat zone, was taxing to say the least.
But the one thing that got to her was the sheer, unrelenting boredom of being trapped in a flying metal box, as it flew from JumpShip and point, to planet and back again, as her mercenary company, Ruby's Rangers, travelled from the Free World League to the Draconis Combine. From the Lyran Commonwealth to the Taurian Concordat.
There were ways to deal with it. Sure.
Weiss Schnee, the former CO and now XO, for example, studied history, philosophy and could often be found hiding away in the CO's cabin. Where she would write articles and essays on various events. At least not when she was going over combat footage of the Rangers last drop, and coming up with detailed training regimes to correct what she saw as 'deficiencies'.
Blake Belladonna, likewise could often be found with her nose buried in a book or dataslate, squirrelled away in a dark and private corner of the Leopard out of sight and out of mind. Though unlike Weiss whose literature was of the more academic variety, Blake's tended to veer off into the fantastical and more often than not, explicit in nature. In short, her vast book collection was mostly smut from the Magistry of Canopus.
While her half-sister, Yang Xaio-Long, could be found either working out, often giving the heavy bag a work over with her fists, lifting weights in their small gym at the aft of the ship; or she could be found lounging in her bunk, annoying Blake or playing some game on the holo.
Ruby herself had her own way of dealing with the never ending slog of boredom and routine; as she hummed along with the overly cheerful, upbeat cheesy pop song that crackled from an old worn out speaker. In truth the music was less for her and more for her beloved Shadowhawk BattleMech, Crescent Rose as she touched up a seam in the 'Mech's foot actuator.
Normally this would have been a job left for Port and his team, but Ruby always felt like she had a special, almost intuitive bond with her 'Mech. She had piloted Crescent Rose from almost the very start of her days in the Taurian École Militaire and through her tour on the border of the Concordat, dealing with the FedRats of House Davion and the odd pirate raid, to her life now as a mercenary.
"Excellent work Commander Rose!" Port bellowed happily, his grey and bushy moustache twitching with delight as he looked over her work. "Superb! It is always a pleasure to see MechWarriors capable of looking after their machines so diligently. You could teach my boys something or three about proper maintenance."
"Thanks Port." Ruby chirped back as she lifted the welding mask up to look over her work.
"You know you remind me of a young MechWarrior I knew back when I was serving as a mercenary in the Eridani Light Horse. Ah those were the days." Port chuckled, as belatedly, Ruby recognised the beginning of a long and winding story that was the hallmark of Staff Sergeant Peter Port, chief mechanic of Ruby's Rangers.
Peter Port was for a lack of a better term, a blowhard. He was a man of a thousand stories. A thousand stories that he would tell you, at length, if you gave him even the inkling that you were interested in anything the man had to say. Sometimes that inkling of an interest wasn't even needed and just being near the portly, grey haired man in his… well port coloured overalls, was enough to get him rambling about the time he and his lance mates hijacked a Steiner dropship with three pistols, a knife and a cheese sandwich.
But despite this failing of a lack of awareness of his audience, Port was… well probably one of the best damn 'MechTechs this side of the Inner Sphere. The man knew more about and had probably forgotten more about, BattleMechs than Ruby would or could, ever hope to know. It was for those, admittingly, rare pearls of wisdom, that Ruby did try to at least pay a monochrome of attention.
"I met her on the Marik front in 2998, good year that was. Especially for Mercs like myself. I was on a sabbatical, you see, after a rather nasty dust up with House Liao…"
As difficult as he made it on occasion.
Inwardly Ruby was screaming, even as she put on a well practised smile and nodded along with Port's rambling story. With the odd 'wow' or 'that's amazing' at what she hoped were appropriate intervals.
"Excuses me, Staff Sergeant. But I must request Commander Rose's attention at this time." A firm, no-nonsense voice cut in smoothly, as Port stopped to take a breath.
"Oh! Of course Ma'am! Pardon me then, I'll have to go and kick my lazy, no good lads and get them back to work." He shook his head as he wandered off muttering about goldbrickers and layabouts without a hint of irony or self-awareness.
Ruby looked up to see her saviour, Captain Glynda Goodwitch watching him leave with just the tiniest hint of a ghost of a smile. The corners of her lips ticked up, for just the briefest of seconds.
Captain Goodwitch was a remarkably stern, sometimes cold woman. Tall, blonde with her hair done in a tight bun and green eyed, Goodwitch was a striking woman. A former DropShip pilot for the Northwind Highlander Mercenary group; the Captain was an incredibly capable administrator and pilot who had joined the Rangers as a favour to Ruby's father.
One that Ruby was eternally thankful for. It was not an understatement that before Goodwitch had signed on, that Ruby's Rangers had been in some very dire financial straits and was suffering from a lack of a capable clerk and admin staff. If it hadn't been for Goodwitch, Ruby was sure that their company would have gone broke well before this.
Still Ruby, despite being in command, when speaking to Goodwitch, could never shake the feeling of being a cadet in front of the Taurian École Militaire Commandant, as she was being made to answer for a prank, which had turned her teachers dress whites an ungodly, hideous shade of vomit green.
"Commander. I received a job offer from House forces loyal to the Free Worlds League." Goodwitch said crisply, turning to her with a datafile in hand.
"What's the job?" Ruby took the file and rapidly skimmed through the details.
"Nothing overly strenuous. It appears a local band of pirates operating out of the Periphery have recently become much more problematic." She leaned over and tapped the datafile, bringing up the details. "The Free Worlds militia are spread too thin with the recent Succussion War and can't respond to the increasingly frequent raids and attacks."
Ruby nodded thoughtfully. "Call the rest of the lance and let's take a look."
"What is this I hear about a job?" The petite, white haired and shockingly pale skinned XO Weiss Schnee asked. Her accent tinged with Lyran German. Punctual as always, she was the first to meet them by the Starmap, just outside the bridge.
"Ruby! Heard mighta found us a job?" Yang shouted as she leapt up the stairs two by two, her long mane of blonde hair that reached down to the small of her back, lilac coloured eyes beamed with mischief and excitement at the possibility of some heavy metal ass kicking in their near and shared futures.
Blake was, as always, the last to arrive. Stealthy skulking next to her lance mates with cat-like grace and nary a sound. The cat-like metaphor was well earned as Blake did sport a pair of cat ears as well as a tail that swished irritably, as she rubbed at her amber coloured eyes and yawned.
"Morning… or evening… or whatever it is." Blake mumbled as she took a seat by Weiss, her midnight black hair contrasting with the stark white of the Schnee genetic line.
"Right! Ruby's Rangers have assembled!" Ruby proclaimed, as she leapt onto the "commander's throne" as she affectionately named it, pointing dramatically at the Starmap. "Capt. Goodwitch, the floor is yours!"
With a curt nod and a quick tap on the console, Goodwitch brought the area in question onto the holographic display.
"According to our contact on the MRB, the pirate band, identified as Rodrick's Ravagers, has been attacking frontier worlds for years." With another tap, Gylnda highlighted several Periphery and Free World League frontier worlds in red. "Mostly nuisance raids that could ideally be handled by the local militia or ignored."
"However recently the Ravagers have become bolder, moving deeper into Marik territory, attacking more populated and fortified worlds. With frightening success as well."
"Yang, you're our pirate expert, what do you think changed?" Ruby asked, a bit sharply as she studied the map. She kicked herself mentally, when she noticed her sister wincing out of the corner of her eye.
"Well… Several things could've." Yang hesitated slightly before continuing. "They either got lucky with recruiting, made some sort of alliance with another gang, or found some weapon caches."
"The last one is, according to the Free World League intelligence services, is the most likely at the moment." Goodwitch interrupted, highlighting a single world two jumps away from the border of Marik space. "According to them, they have reason to believe that Rodrick found a small industrial outpost on the planet Blackgate. Nothing large enough to produce 'Mechs or vehicles, but enough to allow them to resupply, rearm and most importantly, fix whatever they manage to scavenge or salvage in their raids."
Yang nodded thoughtfully. "That would allow them to become more successful… which in turn would draw in new recruits… So I'm guessin' they want us to go down and capture it?"
Goodwitch shook her head. "The Free Worlds League want it torched to the ground."
"Yes because burning away our industrial capability has worked so well over the past three hundred or years," Blake's voice dripped sarcasm. "Why should we stop now? It's not like we've forgotten so much already."
"Most likely because House Marik simply doesn't have the forces available to protect such a small installation." Weiss replied, steepling her fingers together as she watched the screen. "The Capellens were almost destroyed and the Federated Suns are pushing at the borders. Not to mention this new Federated Commonwealth…"
"Because far be it from our own oh so Noble House to…" Blake interrupted but stopped when Yang placed a hand on her shoulder.
Taking a breath, Blake looked over at Weiss and lowered her head, her ears flat against her hair. "Sorry for interrupting."
Weiss waved it off giving, Blake a warm smile, as Ruby relaxed, letting out a breath.
She never liked it when her friends argued. Especially over such minor things like the Noble Houses. More productive to argue over 'Mech parts and weapon systems than the silly bickering of the Nobility fighting over a chair, in Ruby's humble opinion.
"Whatever the reason for it," Goodwitch continued, brushing past the ideological disagreement, "the employer wants this installation destroyed and is offering a bonus if we can cripple their vehicle depot as well."
Weiss raised her hand like a young school girl in front of her instructor. "Opposition?"
"Nothing believed to be overly substantial." Goodwitch flipped through her notes, "Rodrick was using mostly tracked and wheeled vehicles with the odd light 'Mech in his raids, so that is most likely what we will face."
"What's the offer?" Ruby asked, getting to the actual meat of the issue.
"Seventy-five percent of our travel budget and a further two hundred thousand C-bills plus salvage rights. An extra one hundred if we destroy the depot."
"Well what do you think Rangers?" Ruby stood up and turned to face her lance.
"If we can make it three hundred thousand for the installation I'd say it's a good go." Yang grinned, cracking her knuckles eagerly.
"I'll have to agree with the brute on this one." Weiss nodded slowly, "we need the money and two hundred just isn't enough to justify going that far out of our way."
Blake sighed, "I'm not for it. We would be better off capturing it and giving it to the locals of that world."
"I think we could get them to up their offer." Ruby said slowly, with an apologetic smile to Blake. "Capt. Goodwitch, tell them they will have Ruby's Rangers if they can match three hundred."
"Understood Commander." Goodwitch turned off the Starmap, "I'll message the contact and prepare for the jump."
"Rangers, dismissed." Ruby said, bouncing up in her chair and throwing a lazy salute.
If everything went well, they would soon have a job and would be hitting dirt in less than a month.
Finally, an end to space travel and something exciting!
Glossary:
Leopard: Small drop ship that can insert a lance of 'Mechs into a combat zone. Very reliable and ubiquitous. In use throughout the Inner Sphere.
Inner Sphere: Region of Space controlled by the five great houses and Terra.
The Periphery: Areas of space outside the control of the Inner Sphere powers.
JumpShip: Ship capable of FTL travel. Other ships will dock with it, as it jumps from point A to B. Generally can jump to about 30 light years in a single jump.
Battlemech: Often abbreviated as 'Mech, a BattleMech is an armoured combat vehicle of roughly humanoid shape, standing 8 to 14 metres tall and typically massing from 20 to 100 tons.
MechWarrior: BattleMech Pilot.
MechTech: BattleMech Technician
Free Worlds League: One of the five great powers in the Inner Sphere. Boarders Lyran Commonwealth and the Capellan Confederation. A collection of independent worlds bound under a Parliamentary system bound by a belief in free enterprise and entrepreneurship. De facto a military dictatorship under the control of the Captain-General, the first among equals. This has generally been controlled by House Marik. The oldest of the successor states. Essentially Space Austrian-Hungarian Empire.
Draconis Combine: One of the five great powers in the Inner Sphere. Bordering the Lyran Commonwealth and the Federated Sun. Essentially Shogunate Japan in Space. A military dictatorship, the Head of State is the Coordinator under the control of House Kurita.
Lyran Commonwealth: One of the five great powers in the Inner Sphere. Bordering the Free Worlds League and the Draconis Combine. Massive industrial base that is known for favouring heavy and assault 'Mechs. Even for scouting and recon units. Is the richest of the Successor States but often has an issue with their armed forces being led by generals who purchased the rank, rather than through merit or service. Ruled by the Archon of House Stiener. Essentially Space Germans.
Taurian Concordat: A State in the Periphery, Taurian citizens enjoy extensive freedoms guaranteed by the Concordat Charter. Its extremely defensive of those freedoms and its citizens have been to protect them through compulsory service in the armed forces. Has a very antagonistic relationship with the Inner Sphere, especially the Capellan Confederation and the Federated Suns.
CO: Commanding Officer,
XO: Executive Officer. Second in command
Magistracy of Canopus: A Periphery State known for having an incredibly open society and the complete personal freedoms for all its citizens. Canopus has been referred to as the place where you can find pleasures that you cannot afford and should not rent.
Taurian École Militaire: An elite military school for MechWarriors in Concordat Space
FedRats: A derogatory name for the Federated Suns.
Eridani Light Horse: One of the oldest and most well established Mercenary Companies operating in the Inner Sphere. Is descendent from the 3rd Regimental Combat Team of the Star League Defense Force
Northwind Highlander: A very old Mercenary Company that can trace its roots back to Scotland. It formed before Star League and has been held in very high regard since.
Succession Wars: Four incredibly destructive wars waged by the Great Houses to claim the title of "First Lord" after the fall of Star League. Due to the liberal use of nuclear weapons, it was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of billions of people and the destruction and retrograde of the technological and industrial capabilities of the Inner Sphere.
Lance: Small combat unit equivalent to an infantry platoon. Contains four 'Mech commanded by a junior officer.
MRB: Mercenary Review Board, an independent supranational organisation that serves as the Sphere-wide official registrar for all legal mercenary companies.
Capellan Confederation: One of the five great powers in the Inner Sphere. Effectively a rump state where the citizens have extremely few liberties and the children are considered property of the state in care of the parents. Contains a strict caste system in which the lowest tiers called servators who are de facto legal property of the Capellan nobility. Head of State is the Chairman which has been usually controlled by House Laio. essentially Communist China and North Korea in space.
Federated Suns: The largest of the five great powers in the Inner Sphere, the Federated Suns sees itself as a beacon of progress, civil liberties and personal freedoms in the Inner Sphere. Ruled by First Prince of House Davion. Essential England and France in space.
Federated Commonwealth: Created in 3028 through the marriage of Melissa Steiner to First Prince Hanse Davion combining the Lyran Commonwealth with the Federated Suns. The wedding also kicked off the Fourth Succession War, when Hanse Davion made a fateful wedding toast: "Wife, in honour of our marriage, in addition to this morsel [of cake] I give you the Capellan Confederation!"
C-bills: Unit of currency issued by ComStar. The most common method of payment between governments and interstate traders. Fixed to the upload, transmission time, or delivery distance of data across space.