Chapter 30
Ground Control Stable, Montenegro,
Solaris City, Solaris VII,
Freedom Theater, Lyran Alliance,
July 14, 3070
The VEST delivery trucks were still far around the corner but Stan's heart was already pumping blood twice the normal rate. He had been dispossesed for about a year but it felt like forever. He seemed to forget the rush of adrenaline during battlemech power up, as if his system synced itself to those of the mech's. He vaguely remembered the rush of heat that washed into the cockpit as he pumped his lasers. And he couldn't remember the acrid smell of burning ferro fibrous when the enemy lasers evaporated a ton of armor. It wasn't actually a good thing but it was part of the excitement. There was nowhere else a mechwarrior would spend the better part of his day but inside the cockpit of a battlemech.
That anxiety would end soon as VEST convoy rolled into Ground Control complex.
"Can't wait to get your butt wet in its seat, huh, Stan?" Kilroy shot a jest as he caught Stan's nervousness.
"Shut up!" Stan gruffed, trying to be cool but failed miserably. "Just do your job."
"I think our friend here knows that he still owes Jeremy a 'thank you note', but his pride got the best of him," Jenny chimed in, wrapping her arms around Stan's shoulder in a playful manner. "He's still undecided whether to give him a box of chocolate or a gift card."
The mentioning of Jeremy turned Stan sour. "I don't have to give him anything!" he snorted, pushing Jenny away. "Gifts will only inflate his ego, just like Mac!"
"I don't understand what your problem with Jeremy is," Kilroy mumbled. "We got a new mech from VEST because of him. If not because of his battleROM, VEST wouldn't be able to wrap up the new mech on schedule, and you would have to wait another year, if not longer."
"I've seen young punks like him hunting money and fame too many times," Stan grumbled almost unintelligibly. "As soon as he gets what he wants, he'll just forget about us and haul ass."
"I don't think he's looking for anything anymore," Jenny mused. "Maybe he was at first but now anybody can attest that he's found home. Just like you and Major Tom."
Stan was about to rebuke Jenny's comment but the VEST convoy arrived. The middle flatbed carried a massive load, undoubtedly a battlemech, covered by a tarp. VEST crews cut the tarp to reveal the battlemech underneath. It was a green behemoth, standing not much higher than Jeremy's Apocalypse but had a much wider profile. The upper body looked like a jet fighter fuselage, with short pylons as its shoulders and weapon pods at the corner. A familiar large-bored cannon lied on its back, and Stan immediately felt home.
"Behold," one of the VEST engineers handed in a clipboard to Kilroy. "This is the Ogre, VEST newest assault-class prototype. It utilizes the same systems used in the Apocalypse X01 but with 85 tons of weight, expect it to be more of a 'slugger', less of a 'boxer' like the Apocalypse. I'll brief you of its specs…."
"It can wait," Stan sneered with a devious grin. "Find me a match. I'll learn the specs on the go."
Mickey was checking the HUD of his Jenner when Hyolee arrived.
"Hey, I don't expect to see you this early," Mickey climbed down his mech and quickly gave Hyolee pecks on her cheeks. "I mean, I'm happy to see you, but why aren't you at work?"
"Another server won't be able to make it next Saturday so we switch places," Hyolee explained. "She'll do double shift today, and I'll do double shift next Saturday."
"Double shift on Saturday? That's inconceivable!" Mickey sneered. "What am I gonna do on Saturday without you?"
"Well I'm free today, so you can… uhm, double-shift me today," Hyolee smiled and winked playfully. "Unless you have a match next Saturday."
"No, I won't be on any match anytime soon," Mickey sighed.
"What?" now it was time for Hyolee to get nervous. "What's happening? Is it because of your mech? Is it because Major Tom is not satisfied with your performance? Oh My God! Are you sick?"
"No, no, nothing happens," Mickey grinned seeing Hyolee's face turned red. "The Jenner is fine. Kilroy did a fine job fixing it after getting damaged by Mac on the last fight. Nobody is not happy with my performance; in fact Jeremy gave me some good review about my piloting. And I am not sick."
"Then what is it?" Hyolee asked impatiently.
"Major Tom said something will happen in a couple of months, something really big that may change our future. He didn't tell me anything else, but he just wants me to keep practicing and getting the mech in ready condition."
"Why did Major Tom keep you in the dark?"
"I don't know. I asked Stan and he didn't know either, although I think he is more interested in his new mech than our future." Mickey looked through the hangar door, watching the new Ogre battlemech walking around the training field with child-like hops. "I feel like I'm the step son in this stable. Everybody has a new battlemech but me."
"Aw, Baby, don't feel bad," Hyolee wrapped her arms around Mickey's neck. "You're still young. There will be time for you to shine. But now, just be grateful with what you have, and be grateful that you're still alive. And no matter what happens, I love you."
Mickey turned around and kissed his girlfriend passionately. "I love you too. Let's grab something to eat, then we have the entire afternoon for ourselves!"
Jeremy thought he could have a few more hours to sleep but his comset rang like a siren from an ambulance. He painfully reached for his comset to see who had been calling him, thinking he would beat him up later, but cursed when he learnt that it was Major Tom.
"Who's that?" Amber purred from under the blanket.
"Your boss," Jeremy sighed aggravatedly.
"What does he want?" Amber said languidly.
"He's your boss. How the hell am I supposed to know?" Jeremy grumbled.
"He's calling you, you yang ren! Answer the call so I can get back to sleep!"
Jeremy let out a frustrated grunt, then flicked his comset open. "Do you know what time it is?"
"Time to talk about our future," Major Tom replied. "You're burning daylight, Jeremy. Stan is already on the field with his new mech. Mickey has been working on his mech all morning. Meet me at my office. I have something to discuss with you. Bring Amber too."
"I'm not the boss of Amber," Jeremy fibbed.
"You're not with her?" Major Tom didn't expect to hear that from Jeremy. "Do you know where she is?"
"Why don't you call her?"
"Huh," Major Tom cut off the comlink. Five seconds later Amber's comset blared.
"Oh, for God sake, Jeremy!" Amber shot up from the bed, grabbed her comset, and shoved her heel at Jeremy's butt, prompting him to roll off the bed. She angrily turned her comset on, "This is Amber… yes, yes, understood. I'm on my way." She got up the bed and started putting on her clothes.
"What does he want?" Jeremy rolled back to the bed, smiling like a little child.
"Wo hen ni, yige bendan!" Amber blurted in annoyance, then calmed down and took his boyfriend's shenanigan with less malice. "You Scottish asshole, get dressed. He's waiting for us."
Jeremy chuckled and put on his clothes. Amber left the room first, leaving Jeremy struggling to put on his shoes. Jeremy quickly dressed up and jogged on the corridor to keep up with Amber, but she beat him to Major Tom's office.
"I thought you said you were not with her?" Major Tom said as he observed that Jeremy and Amber came within seconds from each other. But the smirk in Jeremy's face told him that he, as well as Amber, had been fallen victim to Jeremy's juvenile prank.
"Sometimes I question myself what I got myself into, Sir," Amber said unenthusiastically.
"That's enough, kids, we have something big to discuss," Major Tom said. "Home Defense League and Solaris Game Commission will hold War Invitational two months from now. It's a team tournament, lance against lance, as opposed to individual mechs like you fight regularly. All stables that are not associated with Word of Blake are invited. Home Defense League will supply weapons and ammunitions and big money for winners."
"Winners?" Amber scowled.
"This is a lucrative tournament," Major Tom explained. "All first through third winners will get awards, as well as best individual performers like best fighter, best defense, best…"
"So finally the SGC found the guts to defy the Word of Blake," Jeremy interjected. "This is what we've been waiting for. SGC has been fixing matches for centuries. They can just let the Word of Blake install a new ranking and gaming system. This preposterousness has to stop! Show the Blake that they can't take everything!"
"No, no, wait," Amber said, realizing that there was more to it than just a battle for game dominance. "Why is Solaris Home Defense League involved? They never partook in any gaming system before, ever. Why now? Why are they suddenly interested in games?" She looked at Major Tom in the earnest. "This is not about games, is it, Major? Either they are planning something radical, or this is actually a trap."
Major Tom flashed a respectful smile at Amber. "You have keen eyes for strategy, Amber. I'm glad you decided to stay with us." He rolled toward the window and observed Stan trying to familiarize himself with the new Ogre battlemech. "I agree with you that this tournament is not just about games. I think this tournament is actually a selection."
"A selection of what?" Jeremy mused.
"Of mechwarriors… to oust Word of Blake from Solaris VII."
"That's why they want it as a team tournament," Amber tuned in. "They are selecting mechjocks that can work together as a team, instead of individual, good but egotistical warriors like most of the Solaris mechjocks in the arena."
"Wolfpacks, like us, instead of lone wolves, like Mac Storm," Jeremy added. "But how can they conceal their true intention from the Word of Blake? If we can see this, so can Precentor Adhem!"
"That is not our concern," Major Tom turned around and faced Jeremy. "Your concern is to enter this tournament and fight as well as you can as a team. We have four mechwarriors in four battlemechs, a mech in each class. We have a complete lance with Mickey as the scout, Amber as the fire support, and you and Stan as the front liners. I want us to enter this tournament, and I want Jeremy to lead this lance."
"Well, that's not going to sit well with Stan," Jeremy said. "He is the most senior mechwarrior, has the biggest mech, and the most badass attitude. And in case you haven't noticed, Stan hates me."
"Stan knows that you are the only one qualified to command a lance," Major Tom rebuked. "He will throw biles at you at every corner, but he – as well as everybody – knows that you are the one to follow in the battlefield. I have known Stan for many years. He is a stubborn old man but he knows his place. He will carry your order. Be a part of the team that wins Solaris VII back from Word of Blake. Be a part of history. Isn't that worth more than winning a Solaris Grand Championship? Isn't that what you always wanted?"
"Is it?" Jeremy looked at Amber, wondering if Major Tom's words held the truth. "Perhaps it was, but I'm not chasing that kind of glory anymore. However, I'll do it to kick Word of Blake out of Solaris. They are not the future of mankind, and let Solaris be the first one to return to its root. One world at a time, until Terra itself is free."
"Whatever it is, I'm with you," Amber grabbed and squeezed Jeremy's hand. "I'm with you all the way."
"Alright, Major, we're in!" Jeremy flashed a smile. "Let's win back Solaris!"
THE END
Author's Note:
After 5 years of uncertainty, I never thought I would finish this. But somehow I found a poise to drive this to the end, and now it's finally over. Jeremy's adventure is finished. Of course, there still a period from the end of this story until the liberation of Solaris VII in 3071 that I can exploit, but we all know how it goes. So I'll just end it here.
The biggest credit goes to The Colonel who follows the story, gives input, RnR, and doesn't lose faith for the entire 5 years, even though at times I lost interest to finish this story and didn't seem to have the energy to finish it.
Credit also goes to Ulquiorra9000 whoat one point tried to turn this story into a multi-arced multi-authored storyline, which was fun to do, just didn't work out.
And for all other readers and reviewers who at one point read and review this story, thank you so much.
I am building the director's cut, pdf version of this story. It will be illustrated and not censored, meaning all the "good" stuffs that are cut off from this version will be there. So if you know my deviantArt account, stay tuned!
TRIVIA
- The name Jeremy is inspired by one of the characters of an old Battletech game "The Crescent Hawk's Inception" (Jeremiah Youngblood). Jeremy's physical appearance is based off actor Adrien Brody.
- The name Amber and (Mac) Storm are inspired by the characters of an old Dutch comic (Storm). Amber's physical appearance is based off actress Kelly Hu.
- The name Mac is inspired by the boss of old boxing game (Mac The Champ). Mac's physical appearance is based off character Marcus Fenix from the game "Gears of Wars".
- The name (Amber) Wang Chung is inspired by an old disco group Wang Chung (Everybody Wang Chung tonight!...)
- The kanji tattoo in Amber's arm reads 'Wu Xian' in Chinese Mandarin, means without limit. In Japanese it reads 'Mugen', inspired by a racing company Mugen Motorsports associated with Honda Motor Co.
- The name Major Tom and Ground Control are inspired by David Bowie's song Space Oddity (Ground Control to Major Tom…..)
- The name Jenny is inspired by the song 8675309 by Tommy Tutone (Jenny Jenny, who can I turn to…)
- The name Mickey is inspired by the song Mickey by Tony Basil (Oh Mickey you're so fine you're so fine you blow my mind…)
- The name Kilroy is inspired by an album by Styx (Kilroy Was Here). Kilroy's pet robot assistant Mr. Roboto is a song by Styx in the album Kilroy Was Here (Domo arigato Meester Roboto…..)
- The name Stan and Hyolee are inspired by characters from an obscure indie robot game Gear Head
- Omar's Wildcats, the stable Mac was temporarily on, is based off the Kentucky Wildcats, one of the greatest college basketball teams in the world (yeah, yeah, I know, it's my almamater, so what?). Omar's Wildcats is also featured in the original story I, Ke2ensky (the story of which Rubber Match is a spinoff).
- The Apocalypse and Ogre battlemechs are inspired by HERC designs from the game EarthSiege2. So if you want to know what they look like, Google or search them on deviantArt.