Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my BattleTech/Mass Effect crossover.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am back. While I haven't finished the first book in the Warrior Trilogy, I can say that I've learned a lot about how things were going in the lead-up to the Fourth Succession War. I've also brushed up a little bit on the story-line that we're proceeding along, so everything's looking good. Thank you for your patience and support.

I've also got a poll going on my profile for my next crossover. It's not so much as which crossover it will be, but if you want something that I typically do in that crossover. Feel free to vote on the question when you've got some time.

As always, leave a review and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the BattleTech or Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Electronic Arts, BioWare, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs, Piranha Games Inc., etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their original developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.

MDS Cavalier II

Approaching Tikonov IV

September 24th, 3028

The memory of that day quickly passed through Shepard's mind, even as he made sure his Marauder was ready for combat. I never thought in a million years that we would end up becoming members of one of the most biggest battles fought during the Fourth Succession War. Then again, I never knew I'd end up in another Universe entirely.

Looking up, he spotted Fahad, who was coming over to him. "Your 'Mech's ready to go, Shepard," Fahad informed him. "Fully loaded up and armored up. It's been an interesting few days, but we're now approaching our current destination."

"Agreed," Shepard nodded. Looking around, he asked, "So, are the others ready too?"

"Yep. Wrex's 'Mech is ready to rock. I have to admit, I'm rather jealous now, ever since we replaced that Western Heavy with one of the new LB 10-X Autocannons that have come onto the market. Now, he can reach out and touch someone with that thing. Wish we could do the same for yours, but it's too big of a weapon. Plus, the ammo weighs far more than your standard AC/5 shells"

"I agree. Perhaps they'll come out with a smaller version of the LB 10-X in the future."

"Perhaps. I'd best get to making sure the others are ready as well." With that, Fahad walked off, while Shepard sat in the cockpit of his Marauder.

As he sat there, he looked at his 'Mech, before looking at the others that Mason had. Vega said that there was an assault variant of my 'Mech, the Marauder II, he mused. If we get any Assault 'Mechs in the future, then it would be a treat if it was one such Marauder II. It can mount larger ballistic weapons, and ER PPC's.

He would've continued his musing when he heard someone walking towards him. Looking up, he spotted Vega coming along. "Hey Shepard," Vega beamed. "You getting ready?"

"I might as well," Shepard nodded. Looking at Wrex's 'Mech, he said, "I wish I had a 'Mech with an LB-X Autocannon. Unfortunately, the 10-X's are too large for my Marauder."

"I know what you mean," Vega nodded. "If we find a Marauder II by any chance, or if we're gifted one, as unlikely as that is, then we can upgrade. If not, then we'll have to wait for the LB 5-X's to come out. Given that we've altered the timeline, I wonder if they'll come out sooner, rather than later."

"Probably sooner. It's not that much of a leap to make a smaller version of the LB 10-X. From what I recall, though, it took the Federated Commonwealth a decade in order to design one, even with Clan variants at their disposal."

"True. Then again, since we got the Memory Core a decade earlier, I think it stands to reason it might come out within the next two decades or so." As he walked away, Vega asked, "Hey, you talk with Liara at some point?"

"I haven't really been able to," Shepard frowned. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I heard from a little bird that you've got the hots for her."

"Let me guess, that 'little bird' was Garrus.

"How'd you know?"

"I know Garrus quite well, Vega. Still, he's right; I do love Liara. It's been like that since I first met her. I wonder if she's got little blue kids running around at New Avalon. I wonder what they might think of me."

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Just as Shepard was about to continue, the intercom pinged. "Commander Shepard, Urdnot Wrex, Garrus Vakarian, James Vega, report to CIC immediately. Garrus, Shepard, Wrex and Vega, report to CIC immediately."

"Well," he shrugged. "Looks like we've been called. Time to see what Mason needs."

"Agreed." With that, they began moving towards the Tactical Operations Room, their current acceleration providing them a comfortable means of getting there without floating. Entering the TOR, Vega said, "What's up, Mason?"

"We just got a transmission from Marshal Davion," Mason replied. "Take a listen."

Moments later, Marshal Davion's voice came over the speakers. "The invasion of Tikonov has begun. Over three hundred DropShips carrying all eight regiments of the Crucis Lancers are continuing a high G burn for the planet. Our flotilla's AeroSpace escort has just fought back the Night Rider's Deep Space Interdiction Force, leaving only one more obstacle that we must clear before we make landfall.

"The Kestrel Lancers have been tasked with destroying a series of Anti-DropShip batteries located on Tikonov's first moon, Doriya. These batteries, combined with the remaining Night Rider AeroSpace Fighters could do some serious damage to the Lancer's invasion force as they try to breach the planet's atmosphere. As such, it is imperative that we clear the way for our fellow Lancers.

"This war is just beginning, so remember your training, watch each other's backs, and do not overcommit your forces in this opening engagement. We will still need 'Mechs at the ready when we make planetfall. Let's show the rest of the Crucis Lancers what the new Kestrel Lancers can do!" With that, the transmission ended.

"I take it Doriya is our first destination," Shepard presumed.

"Correct," Mason nodded. "According to Ryana, the moment we got this transmission, we got our orders. We're to land on Doriya and assist in destroying the Anti-DropShip batteries. If all goes well, we'll take them out in short order, and we can help with the main invasion of the planet."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

"Then let's get to work. Get to your 'Mechs and prepare for deployment. We've got a war to help win."

. . .

A few hours later, Shepard was back inside of his Marauder, quickly powering up the 'Mech in accordance with the checklist he had pinned to part of the cockpit's interior. Looking outside, he could see Garrus, Wrex and Vega getting inside of their 'Mechs. Looks like Vega's taking the Thunderbolt, he noted. Not bad. It's a good Heavy 'Mech, as long as you play to it's strengths and weaknesses.

A moment later, he felt the G forces increase momentarily, with the increase accompanied by a muted THUMP that echoed inside of the DropShip. Looks like we've landed, he thought. Right on cue, a nav light towards one of the disemarking doors came up. Time to roll out.

Using the built-in governor, he accelerated his 'Mech and slowly made his way towards the door in question. By now, the crew had moved to the pressurized areas of the DropShip, as he watched the air pressure inside of the 'Mech Bay drop steadily down to zero. At the same time, any noise that was audible quickly died down, until it was as silent as a graveyard inside the 'Mech Bay.

With that, he quickly came to the 'Mech Bay Door that was assigned to his Lance. Keying his comm, he said, "If anyone wants to back out now, this is a good time to do so." He said the words in jest, as he knew that, once they'd accepted the contract, there was no turning back.

"Nope," Garrus nodded, chuckling slightly.

"Same here," Wrex replied from his Orion.

"No," Vega added.

"Then let's do it. Everyone, time to wage war." With that, the 'Mech Bay Door opened, and everyone proceeded outside of the DropShip, along with the Lance that Mason was leading. There was a third lance, but that lance was assigned to guarding the DropShip from any hostile 'Mechs that got too close. While unlikely, Mason had decided that it was better to be safe, than to be sorry.

That brought into concern the repairs that needed to be done between missions. Fortunately, Fahad, and the others, had planned for this, as they had modified their 'Mech Bays for short-term repairs, and a couple for long-term repairs. While it would be cutting the margin quite closely, given the timetable they were operating on, it was decided that some repairs were better than no repairs at all.

The moment they stepped outside, Shepard got a good look at the moon of Doiya for the first time. Looking around, he noticed that it had a striking resemblance, at least up close and personal, to Earth's moon, Luna. No atmosphere was present, with what appeared to be an aurora in the sky, while behind him, Tikonov's star shone bright and clear. The ground was a charcoal gray color, with pitting and craters made by meteors and micrometeorites.

A truly barren and hostile moon, he thought. If this was the only stellar body you had seen, you'd probably think the Universe was just as barren of life. He knew otherwise, though there was no denying that Doiya's landscape was quite bleak and dreary.

His musings were interrupted by Mason. "You OK, Shepard?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Shepard replied. "Just got distracted is all. It won't affect my performance in the mission."

"Good."

A moment later, Marshal Davion came over the comm, with the man addressing them directly. "Commander Shepard, Mason, for generations, Tikonov has stood as one of the Confederation's economic and manufacturing centers. Because of this, House Liao has spent generations and considerable amounts of resources turning Tikonov into one of the most heavily fortified systems in the Inner sphere. This includes a network of Anti-DropShip orbital arrays here on Tikonov's first moon, Doriya.

"The Kestrel Lancers have been tasked with destroying the arrays and clearing the way for the remaining Lancer regiments to make planetfall. Your task force's assigned targets have been marked on your Neurohelmet HUD's. The remaining Kestrel Lancers will be executing similar strikes against targets of their own. Show the Second what you're made of, Commanders!"

"That we will," Shepard nodded. With that, they proceeded on, their 'Mechs moving towards their destinations.

"OK, we've got two major targets, each one more than two kilometers away," Mason noted. "Shepard, you'll take the target on the right. My Lance will take the one on the left. Once we've destroyed each installation, we'll rendezvous at the LZ."

"Roger that," Shepard nodded. Keying his comm, he said, "Garrus, you ready for AeroSpace Defense duty?"

"Affirmative," Garrus nodded. "Those pesky VTOL's and AeroSpace Fighters won't know what hit them. I've also got good news for my 'Mech."

"And that would be?"

"Remember the gear we got after Operation GALAHAD? It turned out, Sortek sent along a conversion kit for Double Heat Sinks, and enough to refit a single 'Mech. Since the Rifleman's known to have heat management problems, Fahad retrofitted my 'Mech with those DHS'. I'll be nice and cool, even under fire."

"Good to hear. Now, please keep the comm clear from now on. No extraneous talk."

"You got it, Commander." With that, they proceeded in silence towards the installations. As they approached, Shepard spotted what he thought were massive satellite dishes, as well as fortifications. He also spotted brilliant streaks of light that zipped upwards from those areas, likely the ADS arrays firing off.

As they approached, Fahad came over the comm. "Shame we have to destroy these installations," he frowned. "Planetary defenses like these haven't been made in centuries."

"Taking and holding them would pull resources away from the invasion," Marshal Davion replied. "The main objective here is to take Tikonov itself. We can't risk giving the Confederation any more time to dig into their positions on planet."

"Thinking like that is the reason Humanity's seen three hundred years of tech regression. All because of these bloody Succession Wars."

"Watch your tone, tech! We have a job to do! We can talk about historical preservation later." In a softer tone, Marshal Davion added, "I understand your thinking, tech, but don't let your desire to see history preserved get in the way of the mission."

"I understand," Fahad nodded. "I still don't bloody like it, but I understand." With that, the line went silent.

"It is a damn shame we have to destroy these," Vega agreed. "All of this is LosTech, and here we are destroying it. Couldn't we spare one of these installations?"

"Maybe Hanse has a DMI and MIIO team on hand for just that," Garrus suggested. "I wouldn't be surprised if he did. After all, we did get him the Memory Cores, so it would make sense for him to do that."

"True."

"Gentlemen, now is not the time," Shepard interrupted. "I understand how you feel, but now's not the time to talk, it's the time to act. We clear?"

"Affirmative, Shepard." Again, silence filled the comms as they proceeded onward.

As they got closer, Shepard spotted hostile contacts on the sensor readouts. "Company," he told the others. "Get ready for a fight. Engage with long range weapons first, then hit them with the close range ones once we're close enough. Copy?"

"Copy."

A moment later, Marshal Davion came in over the comm. "Commander Shepard, you're coming up on one of the Anti-DropShip arrays. Only tangle with the defenders if you feel you need to. Once those guns are silenced, the militia will be stranded here anyways. We have a long war ahead of us, so be sure not to take on any unnecessary risks."

"Copy that," Shepard replied.

It was around this time that some of the sensor contacts revealed themselves. Some were ground vehicles, while most were AeroSpace Fighters that were performing flybys of the area. As soon as Shepard spotted one of the contacts, he switched over to the AC/5 at his disposal. Looking at a readout, he spotted a modification that he, along with Fahad and Garrus, had made.

While firing five round bursts was fine, Shepard had wanted to be able to use his Autocannon in the standard, semiautomatic mode, in order to preserve ammunition. Fahad, after consulting the schematics for the Imperator-A AC/5's, had found out that a technician could change the fire mode of the AC/5 by switching out one of the components. Fortunately, Kallon Weapon Industries had thought of this, and had provided detailed instructions on how to change the fire mode with any Imperator-A's that a buyer acquired without extensively modifying the weapon.

As such, when he depressed the firing stud for the ballistic weapon installed, it didn't fire in the standard, five round burst. Instead, a single shell flew out of the muzzle, before smashing into the vehicle in question: a Harrasser. While the Harraser's armor plating spared it destruction, it didn't survive a second hit from the AC/5, with the vehicle being blown apart. Any fire quickly disappeared, courtesy of the vacuum of space.

That was Garrus' signal to get to work. Spotting an incoming AeroSpace Fighter, he fired off one of the AC/5's on his 'Mech. All five shell managed to land on target, with the enemy ASF fire balling before smashing into the ground, exploding as it did so. "Here we go!" He shouted.

"Oh, hell yes!" Wrex shouted as he began closing the distance, while firing the LRM-15 in his 'Mech at an enemy Scorpion. As he got closer, the DIC reported, "New Target: Jenner."

"Got a Jenner over here!" Wrex shouted. "He's mine!"

"Coming in to support you!" Vega shouted. "Watch your back! I wouldn't be surprised if they have heavier 'Mechs over here!"

"Solid copy!" With that, Wrex closed in the distance on the Jenner in question. Time to see if this LB 10-X is the real deal. Lining up the reticule, he took aim, made sure a slug round was loaded, then fired.

He felt the 'Mech vibrate as the LB 10-X HEAP-FS (High Explosive/Armor Piercing/Fin Stabilized) shell roared down the barrel, before flying out the muzzle at quite a few multiples of the speed of sound. Within milliseconds, it smashed into the Jenner.

The result was devastating. The shell, which landed precisely on the cockpit, tore through the ferro-glass cockpit, splattering the enemy pilot all over the inside. The enemy 'Mech, deprived of it's brain, slumped over, falling to the ground a moment later.

"Nice shot!" Vega shouted. "Were you aiming for that?"

"Not really, no," Wrex replied. "Luck of the draw, I suppose." As he turned, he spotted a shape behind Vega's 'Mech. "LOOK OUT!" he shouted as he fired the LB 10-X Autocannon again.

Vega, hearing the shout, threw his 'Mech into a hard left turn, while the HEAP-FS shell zipped past his 'Mech and smashed into the target. The target in question, an enemy Centurion, staggered back as the shell smashed into the armor, tearing off copious amounts of steel and cubic boron nitride. While Vega was still turning, Wrex fired the SRM-4 launcher, as well as both Medium Lasers, tearing and boiling more armor off the enemy 'Mech.

The enemy MechWarrior, realizing his ambush had failed, quickly pulled back in order to avoid being completely annihilated. While he succeeded in avoiding being killed, he'd paid a heavy price, as Wrex's SRM-4's tore off the shield arm, the ruined component crashing silently into the moon's volcanic soil. "That'll teach you to mess with my friends, you little pyjack!" Wrex snarled.

By now, Vega's 'Mech had fully turned around, and he was more than ready to lay waste to the enemy 'Mech himself. Rounding the corner, he fired his single SRM-2 launcher, before letting loose with the pair of Machine Guns built into his 'Mech. Where the armor had been ripped off by Wrex's earlier attack, bullets tore into the chassis, before said chassis was damaged further by the SRM's that were fired again. The final nail in the coffin were the Medium Lasers, which cored through the Fusion Engine.

"Back up!" Vega shouted. "Enemy 'Mech's going supercritical!" Wrex, hearing this while he dealt with more of the base defenders, simply moved forwards, giving Vega enough room to back out of the blast radius. Instead of exploding, Vega watched as the 'Mech's Fusion Engine glowed brightly, before fading out all together.

"That's funny," he heard Wrex remark as the Krogan fired on more enemy combatants. "It didn't explode."

"I don't think they explode in vacuum," Vega surmised. "It would make sense. The explosion's caused by superheated air that rushes out of the 'Mech." Looking around, he asked, "Where's Shepard?"

"I'm right here," Shepard replied over the comm, with Garrus following behind him. "Just eliminated some enemy ASF's. I was giving Garrus cover in case he needed it."

"Good thing you did too," Garrus nodded. "An enemy Charger came to try and gut my 'Mech. You know how to keep a teammate in the clear."

"Very true," Shepard nodded. "Now, it's time to destroy these Anti-DropShip batteries. Any ideas?"

"Target the ammo supplies," Wrex suggested. "We do that, the explosion will tear apart the guns."

"I like the way your brain thinks."

That was when Marshal Davion came in. "Commander Shepard, you've got multiple enemy DropShips on the way to your location! Watch yourself!"

"Copy!" Shepard replied. Just as he said this, a pair of Leopard DropShips came in and dropped off their 'Mechs. While they were far away, they had landed on the plains, allowing Garrus to get a good idea as to what they were facing."

"Spirits!" he shouted. "We've got a pair of Assault 'Mechs in the field, and a lot of Heavy 'Mechs!"

"Shit!" Shepard snarled. "OK, new plan! We're going in now! Damn the base defenses! Attack the base now!"

With that, everyone made a beeline for the base's interior. While this got them inside of the base, it also meant they had to ignore most of the enemy defenses. Shepard found this out fairly quickly, as while he was dealing with a turret, he heard a loud CRACK!

Moments later, the DIC said, "WARNING: Cockpit Depressurization Detected! ALERT: Cockpit View-port Damage Detected!" Gasping, Shepard looked around to find the damage. It didn't take him long, as he spotted a thin crack in the port side of the ferro-glass viewport. In addition, he heard a loud hissing sound that meant air was escaping.

"Damnit, I'm hit!" he shouted. "Wrex, cover me! Gotta make a quick repair!" Getting up after stopping the 'Mech, he pulled out enough length for his Neurohelmet cable to allow him to get to a box that was to his right. Wrenching it open, he quickly found what he was looking for: a roll of clear tape that was designed to seal atmospheric breaches in the viewports. Pulling it out, he pulled out a long strip, before using his teeth to cut the tape. All the while, as he worked, his 'Mech was rocked occasionally by weapon impacts, though it was clear that Wrex was doing an excellent job of covering him.

Once he had enough length, he rushed over to the viewport and, leaning over the controls, pressed the tape against the crack, using the suction from the escaping air to secure the tape to the down hard, he smoothed out any bubbles. He applied another layer for good measure. Once the hissing sound stopped, he sighed as the DIC reported: "Cockpit Depressurization Halted. ALERT: Repair Cockpit View-port When Possible. Cockpit View-port Will Fail Inspection In Current Condition."

That was way too close, he thought as he sat down and buckled himself in again, before moving out one more. I rushed and I nearly got myself killed. Damnit, Shepard! You need to think this through better.

Once they were inside, Shepard got a good look at the Anti-DropShip batteries in question. They were large, standing around one and a half times as tall as his own 'Mech, and were mounted on a motorized mount that allowed them to turn a full 360° as needed. Two massive barrels, with bores twice the size of an AC/20's muzzle, jutted towards the sky at a 45° angle. Shells around the height of a man's waist were being loaded into the cannons by large autoloaders. Whenever the cannons fired, the ground shook, and any 'Mechs nearby staggered slightly.

Targeting the ammunition, Shepard fired a single AC/5 slug at one of the shells. The HEAP shell struck just as the massive cannon shell was loaded in, causing it to prematurely detonate. The explosion cascaded through the entire weapon, before tearing it apart in a spectacular explosion. Nearby, Wrex did something similar, blasting apart the cannon while cutting it up with his laser weapons.

It wasn't long before they had disabled all of the cannons that were present at the installation they were at. "All cannons have been disabled," Shepard beamed. "Good work everyone." Keying his comm, he said, "Commander Mason, all cannons over here have been disabled. What's your situation?"

"Doing swell so far," Mason replied, though he sounded a bit strained. "We got jumped by a few light 'mechs, but we've driven them back. We're also destroying the cannons here. Saw one shell from your area flying through vacuum like a corkscrew on a bottle opener. Quite funny, if you ask me."

"Sounds like it."

"What about you? You doing OK?"

"We're fine, but we've got Heavy 'Mechs bearing down on us. We got inside, but my cockpit viewport took damage. I fixed it, but Fahad'll need to fix it once we're done here. I was losing pressure."

"Damn. OK, that's a priority repair job. Fahad, you hear that?"

"I did," Fahad nodded. "We've got some spare panels ready for installation, along with spare armor plating. It'll only take us a few hours to swap out armor plating, but we'll focus on mission critical repairs first."

"Thank you," Shepard nodded. "By the way, anything else happen?"

"No," Mason replied, "but Marshal Davion came through with a bit of news. One of the Anti-DropShip batteries was captured by an elite MIIO team. They're currently in the process of dismantling the guns for transport back to NAIS. They've got a very heavy armor escort, so they're serious about doing it."

"Good for them. Shepard out." Switching frequencies, he said, "Hey Garrus, sounds like your hunch was right. MIIO came and snagged one of the batteries."

"If only I'd bet some C-Bills on that."

"True."

A few minutes later, Mason said, "All ADS batteries here are down! Shepard, we're coming back towards you to provide support. Ryana, any word on the enemy lance that Garrus reported?"

"Affirmative, Commander," Ryana nodded. "They're heading for our DropShip and our lance is engaging them. Fortunately, we've got some support from a pair of Kestrel Lancer's 'Mech Lances to help us out. We'll hold them off until your teams get back here.

A moment later, Marshal Davion came in over the comm. "Crucis Lancers Command, Kestrel Lancers reporting all installations destroyed. You are clear for approach."

"We read you, Marshal Davion," came the reply. "Return to your DropShips and prepare for planetfall. We'll see you on the ground. Salvage teams are moving in to recover any usable equipment. We estimate 5 hours for complete salvaging operations."

"Ackowledged. All stations, move to designated evac points on the double! We have an invasion to get to!"

"You heard the man!" Mason shouted. "Everyone move! We're done with our mission here!"

. . .

Far away, on a world located within the deeper part of the Inner Sphere, a number of people wearing robes were talking with each other. Normally, this wasn't anything out of the ordinary for them, and for the most part it wasn't. What was really out of the ordinary was the topic that they were talking about. In addition, it was also the people that were talking to each other, that was odd.

"This is a very strange development indeed," a ComStar adept remarked as he looked at an information readout. "I knew that Hanse Davion was a crafty individual, but even this is a surprising maneuver, even for him."

"That it is," Myndo Waterly agreed. Like most that lived and worked inside of ComStar, she was a highly pious, and intelligent, individual. Unlike most, however, she had plans to work her way to becoming the Primus of ComStar, after which, she would shape the organization according to her own way of thinking.

Right now, however, that was a distant thought, as she was looking at a transmission that ComStar ROM Agents had flagged as being 'suspicious.' To the untrained eye, it looked like a normal requisition for vaccinations and medical supplies. A trained operative, however, could easily pick out words that might have a completely different meaning entirely.

It was very much the case with this transmission. The words 'vaccination trials' was a codeword that indicated an experimental medical procedure, while 'near the south' indicated a location in the Inner Sphere. When fully decoded, Waterly had found that the transmission was a request for a form of gene therapy that could be easily administered outside of a medical facility.

Looking at the transmission, she frowned as she looked at it. "I don't understand. Why would someone go through all the fuss to get genetic therapy while the fourth war of succession that the Federated Suns is waging with the Capellan Confederation is going on? It doesn't make sense."

"Maybe it's for a high ranking individual that's suffering a rare, genetic disease," a ComStar adept mentioned.

"Maybe they've encountered an alien species," another voice suggested.

"Really?" she asked. "You think that aliens would need this gene therapy for what? Trying to eat the foods we can?"

"It's the most reasonable assumption," the ComStar adept in question shrugged. "After all, who in the Capellan March of the Federated Suns would need this kind of thing? The rate of genetic illnesses there is quite low, even for the unwashed."

"Bah!" a ComStar adept frowned. "You, of all people, should know that possibility is unlikely. After over a thousand years of searching the stars, we have not found one scrap of evidence to suggest the existence of sapient life that is on the tech level that we are at. Aside from various animals, there isn't even a scrap of evidence for aliens at a PrimitiveTech level. Keep your wild theories to yourselves."

While the others continued to talk quietly, the ComStar adept in question whispered to his friends. They needed a plan to find out what was going on, and they had to act on it fast. It wouldn't do well for ComStar to be caught with it's pants down because they failed to follow up on their lead.