AUTHOR'S NOTE: A really long chapter this time, but this brings the Fort Pilum story arc to an end. Some 'Mech and some dismounted action in this chapter.

Those who have read my "On RWBY Wings" story might notice that some of the fighting inside the fort resembles the scene where Yang and Delta Force clear Salem's headquarters. Is it plagiarizing if you still from your own story? I honestly didn't think I would be rewriting the Snowbird Saga when I wrote that scene in ORW, so yes, it's very similar.

Near Fort Pilum

Planting, Jade Falcon Occupation Zone

28 September 3050

Maysa Bari opened the hatch to her Rifleman. Cool air flowed in to the cockpit and she smiled in relief. "I've got to get double heat sinks in this thing," she said aloud. She was covered in sweat, but it dried in the air. Seeing that other MechWarriors were getting out of their machines—the newly arrived lances were taking up security around the perimeter, and what was left of the Jade Falcons were in full retreat—she unstrapped, took off her neurohelmet, and got out of her 'Mech, climbing down to the ground. Maysa checked her hands: they were steady. I'm supposed to be scared. I'm supposed to be kissing the ground because I'm glad to have just survived. Instead, this was easier than a sim. What's wrong with me? Then she gave a shrug. Oh well.

Maysa, rebraiding her short hair, went over to where the Clan MechWarrior prisoners were being gathered up by the Sentinels Light Infantry troopers. None of them resisted. As she drew closer, she saw one of the Jade Falcons, who looked to be about the same age as her adopted mother, shouting at one of the SLI infantrymen, who looked mildly annoyed. "You do not understand!" the Clansman exclaimed. "I want to meet the woman who destroyed my 'Mech with such expert shots! Her name is Maysa Bari!"

"Your name is shit if you don't shut up," the SLI trooper growled.

"Wait!" Maysa ran over. She stopped next to the SLI trooper. "I'm Maysa. You must be MechWarrior Sech."

Sech looked at her and his eyes went wide as saucers. He stared at her, taking in the childlike face, her short stature, and the obviously new cooling vest, shorts, and boots—unlike those of Marion Rhialla or even Sheila Arla-Vlata, the vest showed no wear, the boots still had a bit of shine. "This is a joke, quiaff?"

"Um, no," Maysa corrected gently. "I'm the one you're looking for. I was in the Rifleman."

"But…you…you are a girl! A child! How old are you?" Sech asked in amazement.

"Er, I'm sixteen." Now even the SLI trooper was staring at her in disbelief.

"A child!" Sech repeated. "A mere…I have twenty-five solo 'Mech kills. Twenty-five! How many do you have?"

Maysa held up a single finger. "One, sir."

Sech's mouth dropped open. The SLI trooper started laughing, and the absurdity swept into the prisoners, who started laughing as well. One of them slapped an astounded Sech on the back. The Jade Falcon simply shook his head and sat down. Maysa wanted to apologize or something, but then Rhialla started yelling at her to quit fraternizing with the enemy, so she gave kind of an embarrassed curtsey and walked off.

Sheila ran the Shruiken at full speed to Max's last position, leaving Elfa to tidy up the perimeter. She reached what she thought it was, a copse of smashed trees and scattered 'Mech parts—including the arm of a Battlemaster. "Canis Six, Snowbird Six, come in!" Sheila pleaded. Not seeing the wreck of Max's 'Mech was good news—unless it was buried beneath the fallen trees. She spotted the burning remains of the other Bombardier, a victim of direct fire from the DropShip. She radioed again and got only static.

Finally, her radio popped. "Snowbird Six, Canis Six. On your right." Sheila whirled her 'Mech around and saw the Battlemaster, coming out of the trees. It was missing an arm and the PPC looked destroyed, and if there was a spot that Max had not been hit, she couldn't see it. But the canopy was intact, and she saw him waving to her.

Sheila switched over to tightbeam, not wanting to broadcast her relief and fear to the whole battalion. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry I didn't respond. My comm gear got hit, and I've only got line of sight."

"Oh, thank God," Sheila breathed. "I'm sorry—I couldn't help—the DropShip was coming down, and I had to find a new DZ, and I'm so sorry—"

"Sheila," Max interrupted her. "It's all right."

"Snowbird Six, Brownoak Six." Elfa broke into the battalion net. "Come in."

Sheila tried to convey an apology with her eyes, and keyed the radio. "Snowbird Six, go."

"Snowbird, we're 15 minutes behind schedule. The 50th Heavy lands in 43 minutes."

"Brownoak Six, Snowbird—understood." Sheila knew she had to become the commander again, not the woman who was terrified she'd lost the man she loved. "Talisman Six, sitrep."

"Snowbird Six, report two 'Mechs crippled—Canis Three and Snowbird Three." That meant Maria Thyatis and her Wolverine, and Marcus Drax and his Phoenix Hawk. "No casualties reported. Confirm seven enemy 'Mechs destroyed, three probables. All other enemy 'Mechs retreating to the north."

"Talisman, roger." Sheila looked at Max's Battlemaster, and made a decision—one that she made on tactical grounds, not personal ones. "Make that three 'Mechs—Canis Six has lost comms and is badly damaged. Canis Two, you're with Box Lance. Canis Four, you're with me." Both Charles Badaxe and Brefudd Dari acknowledged. "Brownoak, I want you and Talisman to take point. Nut Six, I want your bunch to stay here with the cripples and keep the DZ open, just in case the Clanners double back. Everyone else moves out behind Brownoak and Talisman. Advance in five minutes. Snowbird out."

Sheila sent a quick tightbeam to Max to let him know he was staying behind. He told her he understood, but he heard the concern and reluctance in his voice. Feeling terrible, Sheila left him and formed up her lance.

"Huh. Thought it would be bigger," Tooriu quipped on the open net.

"Sounds like what my last date said," Philip Scott commented.

"Can the chatter," Sheila ordered, though she had to smile. She also had to agree. She'd seen the reconnaissance holos and even helped build a crude sand table of Fort Pilum, but the word fort had evoked an image of a massive fortress, with stone battlements and mysterious, high towers—like the Triad on Tharkad or the Imperial Palace on Luthien. Of course, Fort Pilum had none of that: in the age of mechanized warfare, artillery, to say nothing of 'Mechs, would reduce such a castle to rubble in minutes. Fort Pilum did have high walls, three stories high, but they were covered in earth with a concrete center, sloped to reduce the effects of artillery. There were two gates, both heavily reinforced steel. The Long Toms were in deep, fortified casemates that she could not see from here, impervious to airstrikes. However, the walls were not particularly wide, and she could simply jump over them in her 'Mech. Fort Pilum's biggest defense would have been its 'Mech garrison, which the Snowbirds had eliminated—she hoped.

There were also the Toads that were inside. A quick interrogation of the Clan prisoners revealed that there were about twenty of the battlearmored infantry still present—the Jade Falcons had called them Elementals, and they seemed insulted to hear the Inner Sphere nickname. Twenty did not seem like much, but that was assuming the prisoners had told the truth, or that there was not another 'Mech unit inside that she didn't know about. She had already been surprised once this day. Sheila twisted around in the seat and looked out of the armored windshield. High in the sky were the vapor trails of DropShips—the 50th Heavy Cavalry. They were still thirty minutes out, but the seconds were ticking off.

"Brownoak Six, Snowbird. Take your lance and Talisman around to the left. Keep up your fire on the walls if you see targets, but stay out of the range of the Toads."

"Snowbird, Talisman," Tessya replied. "Half my 'Mechs won't be able to shoot either."

"The Clanners don't know that, Talisman. You're my stalking horse. Move out."

Elfa and Tessya acknowledged, and the two lances loped off to the south, towards the narrow beach that separated Fort Pilum from Blackett Strait. All eight 'Mechs opened fire on the walls, trying to draw return fire. There was none. Then, as Fernplanter's Panther moved closer, a flight of SRMs came spiraling from the top of the wall, smashing into the light 'Mech's leg. Fernplanter quickly jumped out of range and Elfa fired back with her large laser, but that answered Sheila's question if the fort still had its defenders. As if to underscore that, her 'Mech shook as all eight Long Toms opened fire. The batteries could not train on her, but after a minute, Sheila saw earth erupt distantly on the plain beyond her dropzones—where the Eridani battalion would land. The artillery crews were finding the range.

"Tiger One, stay in overwatch," Sheila ordered. "Box, follow me."

"Right with you, Snowbird," Tooriu answered.

They moved forward, with Kaatha splitting to Sheila's left and Dari to her right, without being ordered to do so; Felisanna held back to cover the rear. They ran towards the eastern entrance, a massive door that reminded her of the ones at Jestin Ridge on Persistence. Two SRMs suddenly lofted up from the wall to the left of the door; both fell short. "Enemy contact!" Felisanna sang out. "Toads, eleven o'clock, range 120!" She skidded her Panther to a stop and fired her PPC, tearing a divot out of the wall.

"Box, paste the wall!" Sheila shouted. Tooriu stopped his lance, and all three Archers opened up with their LRM-20s. 120 missiles snaked over Sheila's head to erupt on the walls, and kept coming. Smart move, putting all those in the Fire Lance, Sheila thought to herself, and kept moving towards the door.

The sun was suddenly blotted out. Sheila twisted the Shruiken around, only to have her canopy filled with the sight of the huge Atlas. Badaxe was running forward as fast as the 100-ton 'Mech could carry him—which was not very fast, but the sheer mass made it seem like it was moving faster. She watched in amazement as he charged the door, without orders. Okay, Chuck, she thought, recovering from the fright he had given her, you want to show the world the size of your balls, go for it. "Snowbird Two, go to Canis Two's left! I'll take the right with Snowbirds Three and Four—when we hit the gate, jump the walls!"

"Snowbird Two, wilco." Kaatha sounded bored. Sheila shifted to one side, behind the Atlas. A few brave Elementals stuck their heads above the parapet, braving the LRM salvos, and fired at Badaxe. The lasers and SRMs did exactly nothing to stop him, who opened fire with the AC/20, tearing into the door. The Elementals paid with their bravery with their life, as Tooriu killed them with his PPCs.

Then she was at the gate, and Sheila stomped both pedals down. The Shruiken instantly rose on silvery jets of plasma, blasting all 75 tons into the air. She cleared the crest with ten meters to spare, and saw a glimpse of the Clan battlearmor watching her as she went; in her peripheral vision, she saw Kaatha making the same jump. Then she was jarred roughly as the Shruiken landed in the fort's central square—two square kilometers of ferrocrete. She turned around to see two Elementals actually following her into the jump. She began to raise her PPC arm when ruby beams swatted both out of the air. They crumpled to the ground and began to get up, only to be knocked down again as Dari's Axeman landed next to them.

"Snowbird Four! I need help!" Sheila twisted around in the opposite direction to see five Elementals headed for Felisanna's Panther; the inexperienced MechWarrior had landed on the parapet rather than in the square. She fired her SRM-4 at them, but it seemed to have little effect. At close range, her PPC would be ineffective as well. Already one Elemental was climbing onto the right foot of the Panther.

"Four, Six, on my way." Sheila made a brief sprint in that direction, engaging the Elementals with her medium lasers, then raised her left arm and fired the one-shot SRM-2. Two missiles hit the Elementals to Felisanna's left and exploded short of them. A wave of flame covered two of the Clan infantry as the Inferno fluid ignited when it contacted the air. Sheila was surprised to see the two Elementals come rolling out of the flames, on fire but not dead, but it certainly took them out of the fight. The Elemental who had been crawling onto the Panther was knocked off by Sheila's laserfire, but it was only a stay of execution: as the battlearmor started to rise, Felisanna lifted one foot and stomped the Clan warrior to a gruesome death.

Sheila jumped in her seat as suddenly the huge metal door sagged inward and collapsed inside with a bang audible through the canopy and over the battle noise. Badaxe had weakened them with the AC/20, then hit it at a full run. Now the Atlas strode forward through the gate, the skull grin of the 'Mech's head making the sight even more frightening. Badaxe contemptously kicked what was left of the gate and entered the fort like a conqueror.

The fight with the remaining Elementals was brutal, and short. Sheila kept the Snowbirds in a tighter formation than usual, knowing the vicious battleamor could pick off 'Mechs that got separated, as they almost had to Felisanna. Once the rest of the unit was inside Fort Pilum, the Elementals never had a chance. A few escaped, following the rest of their comrades to the north; the ones that resisted died, crumpling under concentrated PPC or laserfire—or Gauss rounds, as Marion Rhialla arrived with the two Palladiums. Sheila only fired twice more during the rest of the fight, directing her battalion. After five minutes of fighting, it was over. Only three Elementals raised their hands in surrender.

As she did a quick patrol of the fort's perimeter to ensure there were no holdouts, Sheila saw two Lynx hovertanks glide through the open doorway. The Lynx was an armored personnel carrier, with a squat turret on top and three medium lasers; it could carry twelve infantry in relative comfort, but its thin armor meant that it was essentially a battle taxi, designed to run in, drop off its cargo, and dash back out again. The Lynxes did not have to do that this time, and both glided to a halt in the middle of the rough semicircle of Snowbird 'Mechs.

Sheila stopped her 'Mech next to the Lynxes, and seeing one of armored infantry waving to her, opened the canopy and climbed down, praying there wasn't a hidden, enterprising Clan sniper around waiting for stupid battalion commanders to show themselves. Probably for that reason, the lanky woman who waited for her did not salute her. Sheila had to read the woman's nametape on her battle gear; she had only met her once, and then only briefly. "Captain Jackson?"

Mikkansia Jackson nodded, but did not smile; Sheila had the feeling that she was the type of soldier who rarely did. Except for her face, which was pleasant enough, and the black hair caught at the nape of her neck in the same ponytail Sheila wore, Jackson's femininity was lost in the uniform she wore. The Sentinel Light Infantry wore Davion-pattern camouflage smocks, heavy body armor, and the older AFFS helmet, rather than the Steiner-pattern AFFC fishbowl. She was also heavily armed, with a Ryonex submachinegun over one shoulder, a Sternsnacht heavy pistol on her left hip, several grenades on her belt, and the SLI's trademark: a collapsible naginata on the opposite shoulder from the Ryonex. The SLI was considered elite, the naginata as much their trademark as the kukri knife had been for the ancient Gurkha battalions.

Sheila did a quick head count, and came up short. There were only sixteen of them. "Captain, where's the rest of your platoon?"

"Bloody cock-up back at Fairfields," Jackson scowled. "When the boss heard that you were in trouble, we got rushed into the DropShip. The other half of the platoon and our heavy weapons unit is still back at Fairfields. God only knows when they'll get here. Of course, with your 'Mechs here, we don't need the heavy weapons, but still."

"Can you take the fort with what you have?"

"It depends on what they have in there." Jackson shrugged. "If they're mostly gun bunnies and light infantry, then I should be able to." She motioned at one of the dead Elementals, lying in the square about twenty feet away, half of the armor gone from a large laser hit. Dark blood and a black oil-like substance pooled beneath it. "The corridors in there are probably too tight for any of that lot, I would guess."

Sheila noticed that Jackson was staring at the MechWarriors, half of which were getting out of their 'Mechs to get some fresh air, joking and slapping each other on the back. The Snowbirds had suffered no casualties yet. "Captain?"

"Do you think I could borrow eight of your people, Lieutenant Commander?" Jackson said, with barely the tone of voice to make it a request.

Sheila blinked. "Uh, Captain, my people are MechWarriors."

"I'm quite aware of that, Lieutenant Commander." Sheila bit back a retort; the Sentinels habitually referred to their Lieutenant Commanders as simply Commander. Adding the lieutenant was an insult. "I need them to backstop my people, that's all."

"But—"

"Lieutenant Commander, I assume they have gone through basic training?" Sheila nodded. "Then they know how to use a firearm. That's all I need." Jackson paused. "I will assault with what I have in any case, but having eight more people will make victory rather more certain, Lieutenant Commander."

Okay, bitch, Sheila thought darkly, let's see how you react to this. "Very well, Captain," Sheila replied. "I'll meet you at the entrance to the control center in five minutes with eight volunteers. I'll be one of them."

Jackson was the one to blink this time. "Ah, Lieut—Commander, that's inadvisable. You are the battalion commander, and your father—"

"Thanks for remembering that I'm the battalion commander," Sheila cut her off. "And my father's not here."

"But…your safety—"

"I'm not going to ask any of my people to do what I'm not willing to do," Sheila said. "Besides, my mother has trained me in close-quarter fighting since I was old enough to walk."

Jackson hesitated again, then the stone face returned. "Very well, Lieutenant Commander. Five minutes." She turned on one heel and started yelling at her half-platoon to follow her.

The SLI platoon had taken up position around a concrete blast door. The fort was ominously quiet, broken only by the wind and the distant crackle of flames where dead Elementals and Sheila's Inferno rounds still burned. Even the Long Toms had ceased fire: having sighted in the guns, they were waiting for the Eridani 'Mechs to land. There were no further attempts to leave the fort's casemates, even though the wall was dotted with doors like this: just in case there were, Maysa Bari had followed the SLI and Sheila's volunteer squad with her Rifleman.

The MechWarriors Sheila had chosen now wore fatigues they had pulled out of their 'Mech's storage lockers and borrowed flak jackets from the SLI. None wore helmets: the neurohelmets MechWarriors wore were armored to resist getting knocked around in the cockpit, not to absorb bullets. Besides herself, the volunteers were Tooriu, Kaatha, Tessya, Togan Nordkoping, and Alfred Dennison. Togan and Alfred had been infantry before transferring over to 'Mechs; Kaatha elected herself Sheila's bodyguard, and Tessya had learned hand-to-hand fighting from her tribespeople back home. Tooriu was just there because he wanted to be. They had been joined by Frederick Matria, who had been to Fort Pilum before, and, much to Sheila's chagrin, Max. The rest of the Snowbirds had moved up to the fort when she reported the courtyard taken, abandoning the dropzones; the Eve of Destruction had already returned to Fairfields. She was not happy about Max volunteering, but knew if she turned him down, it would look like exactly what it was: her love for her fiancee clouding her judgement. She wanted to know why Max had volunteered at all, and had a feeling she knew why.

The SLI distributed what extra weapons they had. Most of Sheila's ersatz squad, including herself, carried more Ryonexes, while Max and Tooriu carried pump shotguns. Matria had the only assault rifle—a Federated Long Rifle he had stashed in his Chameleon—and Dennison had a pair of Sternsnachts he carried in hip holsters like a cowboy. All of the MechWarriors carried gravity knives in their boots, but as Sheila watched, Tessya removed a wicked-looking slim blade from hers, testing the edge. It looked like a skinning knife, and then Sheila realized that was exactly what it was.

Jackson looked over the MechWarriors, shook her head in either disapproval or wonderment, then spread out a map on the ground. It was an interior layout of Fort Pilum. The batteries were set up in a triangular pattern, with two batteries to each side. The ones facing out to sea were no threat, but the six pointed landward were. The control center was at the apex of the triangle. "According to the information we have," Jackson said, "each battery is in a self-contained, armored casemate. They have plenty of food and water, so it's not a matter of simply locking the door on them. The good news is, it's very doubtful that they are front-line troops of any kind—they're artillerymen, gun bunnies, who point and shoot. The autoloaders for the Long Toms raise shells from the underground magazines. Once we take the control center, we can shut those off, and maybe the artillery crews just surrender, or kill themselves, or whatever Clanners do. Any questions so far?"

There were none, so Jackson continued. "We'll divide up into three squads: mine, Moose's, and Andy's. I'll attach two MechWarriors to each squad." She thumbed towards the blast door. "We're not going that way—if I was the Clanner defending this place, I'd put a machine gun facing the door to kill any clever arse to come through the door. However, we will make them think we're coming through the door." Jackson pointed to the Rifleman. "Commander, that's where that comes in. Who's the MechWarrior in there?"

"Maysa Bari," Sheila answered.

Jackson's eyebrows rose. She recognized the name. "Are you serious?" Sheila nodded. "Well, whatever. I want her to burn through the door. I know it'll take awhile, but I don't care. We just have to make them think that we're coming that way." She pointed to the wall above the door. "We'll go in through the escape hatch up there. My people are already taking out any cameras. We blow the hatch, drop through, and take the control room. Once we've secured that, Moose and Andy will go through the ladderwells here and here—" she indicated the map "—and secure the casemates. My squad will act as a reserve." Jackson looked up at Sheila. "Commander, I apologize for my poor manners earlier. However, I am in command once we enter the fort. All right?"

Sheila nodded again. Jackson was the most experienced; this was her specialty. "You're the boss, Captain."

There was just the ghost of a smile. "Very good, Commander. Let's go. We should have the fort secured the moment the first Eridani 'Mech touches down."

They scrambled up the walls, using ladders set into the interior for that purpose. The control room had an armored bunker that faced north, but whoever was in the room could not see into the fort itself—and what cameras they had the SLI had destroyed. Maysa fired her large lasers, switching between them to keep her 'Mech from overheating, and the door began to melt. It was designed to prevent what she was doing, so it would be nearly an hour before she got through, but as Jackson had said, it was also just a diversion.

The locks on the emergency hatch were badly rusted, showing it had not been used in some time. Moving as quietly as they could, three SLI troopers laid detonation cord around the hatch. Jackson motioned the rest down, then crawled forward with the trooper she called Moose; Sheila could see why. He was nearly as big as the Elementals. He held the detonator. Jackson took two grenades off her belt and pulled the pins, holding down the spoons. She nodded to Moose and ducked down as he detonated the explosive cord.

The SLI demolitions had been set well. The force was projected downwards, dropping the hatch down the egress shaft. The dust had not even cleared from the explosion before Jackson pulled her fingers away from the spoons and dropped both grenades down the shaft. There were two more explosions, muffled by the distance, and Sheila thought she heard a scream. Then another SLI trooper, a woman smaller than even Maysa, leapt up, grabbed the ladder, and slid straight down, out of sight. Jackson followed. Sheila heard gunfire, and more screams. "Moose!" Jackson's voice drifted up from the shaft. The big man was up and sliding out of sight. Sheila crouched, waiting, even as another three SLI troopers took up position around the hatch. Then Jackson's voice came again. "Control room secure! Charlie Mike!"

They all went down the hatch as quickly as they could, though Sheila settled for actually climbing down the ladder, rather than holding onto the sides and sliding down. She dropped into the control room and coughed; the smoke from the grenades was still drifting around the room. It was a large room, easily able to fit all of them, lit only by emergency red lighting and the two remaining radar screens; the others had been blown out by the grenade explosions. The mangled remains of one man, wearing a green jumpsuit, lay crumpled in a corner. Two others lay unmoving on the floor, their bodies peppered with bullets. Two SLI troopers were holding a survivor against the wall, and Sheila was sure this was an Elemental, out of his armor; he was twice the size of the two people guarding him. He looked dazed, blood oozing from shrapnel wounds in his legs.

Sheila jumped as gunfire came from the spiral staircases in the control room's corners. The SLI were already heading down that way, and Sheila moved towards the one on the right. Jackson grabbed her and shoved her back. There was a pause in the shooting, and Andy came running up the stairs; Sheila wondered what his last name was, as she had yet to hear it, and he didn't wear a nametape. Jackson was the only one who did. "What's going on?" she asked.

"They've got a fire team down there. Reacted a lot faster than we thought," Andy admitted. "Sounds like they might be bringing up that heavy MG from the entrance, too."

"Damn. We'll need everyone, then. All right, let's move!" Jackson shouted, pumping a fist in the air. She pointed at Sheila. "You stay here." Sheila opened her mouth to protest, but Jackson raised a hand. "You said I was in command. I need you here to radio when we've secured the fort." She pointed to Matria next, then to the short SLI woman who had been first down the shaft. "Find the autoloader controls and shut them off, MechWarrior. Lisa, you stay here and keep an eye on that big bastard. If he twitches wrong, shoot him." The Elemental didn't hear her; he had slumped down the wall, unconscious, shock finally setting in.

Sheila wanted to argue, but knew Jackson was right. Besides, she was the battalion commander, and battalion commanders didn't go running around playing infantry. Use your brain, Sheila, she told herself. "Good luck, Captain."

"Thank you, Commander." Jackson went down the rightmost stairs; Andy led his squad down the other. Max squeezed Sheila's hand as he went past. Sheila watched him go, said a quick prayer, and then helped Matria look for the autoloader controls.

Max followed Moose's team down the corridor, which was wide enough for two men—or one Moose. The tunnels branched off into living quarters, generator rooms, and a kitchen. Moose counted off people to check the rooms, leaving Max with him. He pointed towards a bunkroom, and Max readied the shotgun, his heart pounding. He knew he had no business being here with these professionals, but he had something to prove—not to Sheila, but himself. He had tasted real, almost paralyzing fear back at the DZ, and now he wanted to know if it was a fluke.

He jumped, startled by the metallic sound of the Ryonexes firing from down the corridor. There was no answering fire and Moose looked unconcerned, so Max figured that the SLI were simply doing reconnaissance by fire.

The bunks in the living quarters were triple-tiered, reaching nearly to the ceiling. A cup of coffee was on the reading table in the middle, and Moose reached out and touched it. Still warm, he mouthed to Max, and motioned forward for Max to check the bunk tier on the right, while he took the left. Max gave him a nod, swallowed, and moved forward. He noticed that one middle bunk had the covers bunched up, like someone had thrown them aside. Or someone's hiding under them, he thought. He reached out with the shotgun's barrel, keeping his finger on the trigger, and slowly pushed up the blankets.

Max got just a glimpse of a pistol being shoved towards him. It, along with MechWarrior reflexes, saved his life. The shot sounded like an artillery piece going off in his ear, but Max was already diving onto the bed beneath the shooter. The Jade Falcon got off a second shot at Moose and missed, blowing apart the coffee mug on the table. Max pointed the shotgun straight upwards and fired. There was a bloodcurdling scream of pain, then a body tumbled out onto the floor. Moose shot the Jade Falcon again—though Max, shaking, noticed that his shot had been a fatal one all the same. He also noticed that the person he had just shot was female.

Moose blew out his breath. "You okay?" he asked Max.

"Yeah. Just scared…just scared the piss out of me, that's all." Max was fervently glad his words weren't literal.

"Can't blame you." Moose smiled wanly, using the blanket to cover the body. There was blood splattered on the ceiling above the tier. "I'm supposed to be the groundpounder, and you're the MechWarrior…and you reacted quicker." Max shakily got to his feet and chambered another round in the shotgun. "First time you ever killed someone outside a 'Mech?" the infantryman asked quietly.

"No," Max replied.

Moose studied Max's face for a moment, then nodded. "All right. Room clear. Let's move."

The group rendezvoused in the corridor; the Clansman Max had shot was the only one present. They reached the door to the casemate and found it locked. Immediately, one of Moose's troops began applying plastic explosive to the lock, but then the door opened. The Clan artillerist immediately put her hands up when confronted with that many guns, and the gun crew behind her surrendered just as fast.

Andy's group moved down their corridor as well, clearing the rooms. Most were empty here as well. Tessya, Tooriu and a SLI trooper named Haruka ducked into the kitchen, and found it wasn't empty at all: there were four Jade Falcons there, techs by their coveralls. The two groups froze at the sight of the other for a moment, then with a screech, the Jade Falcons charged. The problem was, the Jade Falcons only had whatever weapons they had found in the kitchen, and the Snowbirds were armed.

The charge died almost as soon as it began. One of the techs, unarmed, realized he was charging a man with a shotgun and instantly dropped to the ground, hands over his head. Another had also picked Tooriu, but he had a fire axe. Tooriu simply raised the shotgun and blasted the tech back into the stove. The third tech, a woman with a rolling pin, went after Tessya, who reversed the Ryonex and drove the butt of the submachinegun into the tech's face. She went down, dropping the pin, clutching a broken nose.

The fourth had armed himself with a meat cleaver, and rushed Haruka before she could shoot him. She dodged, let the Ryonex drop, and snapped the naginata into place. Tooriu whirled around with the shotgun, but held his fire: there was too much chance he would hit Haruka as well. The tech made a clumsy slice towards Haruka's throat that was easily dodged: she then grabbed the naginata with both hands and rammed it into the Jade Falcon's stomach. The man screamed horribly, dropping the cleaver and trying to lift himself off the hooked blade. Haruka pulled it free, and as the man collapsed, stabbed him in the throat with a short, professional thrust. Sure her target was dead, Haruka pulled the naginata free again, wiped the blade off on the corpse, then replaced it on her back. She turned to the two MechWarriors. "Are you all right?" Tessya and Tooriu nodded, in shock: the fight had taken less than ten seconds. "Good. Stay here and guard these two." Haruka smiled, picked up her Ryonex, and left.

"Holy shit," was all Tooriu could say.

The second battery tried to resist. The door lock was blown off and two grenades tossed in. The resulting explosions convinced the surviving gun crew to surrender.

"Damn."

Sheila looked up from watching the radar screen, which was showing the Eridani DropShips grounding on their dropzone. She hadn't been much help to Matria, mainly because he easily found the helpfully, clearly-labeled autoloader controls. "What's wrong, Fred?"

"I've got one of the loaders shut off, but the other's still functioning. It's not accepting the command to cease loading. I think one of the grenades damaged the controls on this one."

"The batteries haven't fired since we came down here, so what's the problem?"

Matria looked up at her. "That is the problem, ma'am. The second battery's computer still reports that shells are loaded in the guns right now. If the autoloader's logic stacks are fried, then it won't know not to upload a new round…and it'll slam another shell into a loaded breech."

"That's bad, right?" Matria nodded. "Should we tell the SLI to pull back?"

"Nah, I think I know how to fix it." Matria reached down from where he was standing and pulled open a hatch in the floor. "That's the computer access tunnel—leads to the mainframe downstairs. I'll just shut the whole thing off from the workstation down there."

Lisa had left the unconscious Elemental and walked over to Matria and Sheila. "How do you know so much about this place?" she wanted to know, her voice full of suspicion.

"I used to work here."

"You were one of the fort personnel?" Sheila asked.

Matria grinned. "Kind of. I was the fort's IT guy." He clambered down the ladder about two stories below them. Lisa and Sheila watched him go down, then a light switched on in the mainframe room. "He'd better hope there's no one down there," Lisa said.

Neither woman noticed the Elemental's eyes open, or him get to his feet silently, for such a large man. He was not as hurt as he had pretended, and now he saw a perfect opportunity to kill the two women, seal the man below, and switch the loaders back on. Lisa noticed the movement and whirled around, only for the Elemental to catch her in the face with a ham-sized fist. Her jaw audibly cracked and a tooth spiraled past Sheila, and Lisa dropped unmoving to the floor.

Sheila stepped back, looking for a weapon, and saw that both their Ryonexes were on the console—the Elemental would reach either her or them before Sheila did. He noticed where she was looking, jumped across the open hatch, and tried to grab her. Sheila tried to kick him in the crotch, but the Elemental turned just in time, catching her boot on his thigh with a grunt. He swung at her, but Sheila was able to dodge and aimed a chop at his neck, remembering her training. He took the strike without much of a reaction; the Elemental's neck was thicker than her leg. He reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders, bodily picked her up, then slammed her hard into one of the consoles.

Sheila gasped in pain, but her hands were still free. She rammed her right thumb into the Elemental's eye. He screamed in pain and instinctively pulled back, but before Sheila could wiggle free, he threw her to the floor. She was able to roll with that, but once more with surprising speed, he was on her, forcing her down, ending up on top in a grotesquely sexual position. He grabbed her by the throat and started squeezing. Sheila tried to break the hold, but the Elemental was simply too strong.

She gasped for air and he squeezed harder; Sheila knew she had only seconds before he crushed her trachea. She drew up her right leg and scrabbled for the knife, and pressed the button. The blade snapped into place, and with the last of her strength, Sheila rammed the knife into the Elemental's throat. Blood instantly sprayed her in the face as she sliced open an artery.

The Clansman did not scream. He actually looked surprised, as if he could not believe that someone he outweighed two to one could possibly kill him. Blood seeped out through his clenched teeth, and Sheila pressed the knife in further, feeling it grate on something hard, as the pressure lessened around her throat. His mouth opened, but not to scream; the Elemental seemed to be trying to say something through a throat filled with blood. She would never know if his last words were to curse her or forgive her. More blood dripped from his mouth onto her face, and finally, his eyes went glassy and he fell onto her.

Sheila let go of the knife—it remained embedded in the Elemental's neck—and tried to shove the dead weight off of her. It didn't budge, and Sheila found she was once more in danger of passing out: she couldn't breathe with the corpse on top of her. She tried to scream for help, but she didn't even have the air for that.

"Jesus!" Matria had come up the ladder at the noise of the fight. He grabbed the Elemental's shoulders and managed to roll the dead man off Sheila, who gasped and tried to gulp in air. He grabbed her and helped her sit up. "Sheila, are you hit? Are you bleeding?" Still unable to speak, she shook her head. Matria frantically looked around and saw emergency oxygen masks, hung on the wall in case the control room was ever filled with smoke. He grabbed one, switched on the little tank attached to it, and pressed the mask to Sheila's face. She nodded gratefully and sucked in oxygen. "Ch…check on…" Sheila tried to say through the mask, then just pointed at Lisa.

Matria was already moving towards her. He gently turned her over and checked her pulse, then her airway. "She's okay. Busted jaw and she's about to make a dentist happy, but she'll live."

Sheila gave him another nod and pulled the mask away from her mouth. "Good," she rasped out, then couldn't stop from throwing up all over the console.

Todd City

Planting, Jade Falcon Occupation Zone

28 September 3050

Todd City sounded more grand than it was: it was actually not much larger than a village. Still, it had a hotel, and like the people of Horatius, the locals had gratefully turned it over to the Snowbirds in return for being liberated. Max and Sheila had a room to themselves again.

Sheila stood naked in the bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror. Her throat was bruised, as was her back, but the medics had said there was no lasting damage; she would just be sore for a few days. Jackson had cleaned off the blood and vomit from her face with more gentleness than Sheila would have credited her for; the medics and the shower she had just taken did the rest.

Max walked into the bathroom, in his boxers. Her gear had been thrown away; his was stacked next to the door. "Hi, babe. How are you feeling?"

"Okay," she said woodenly. "Kind of numb."

"The battalion's squared away for the night. Elfa and Marion took care of it. The landings were successful. The Eridani linked up with us on the right and the Sentinels have a secure beachhead. Clans are pulling back from Tel Akbir."

Sheila gripped the sink and hung her head. "Dammit…I should've done that. Setting the battalion."

"You needed to get checked out by the medics."

"I'm the commander!"

"A commander who came within a second or two of being killed!" Max exclaimed. "Sheila, please. They understand," he said in a quieter voice. "Everyone does."

She closed her eyes, then sighed and nodded. Max was right. She dimly remembered being led down by Jackson—or was it Max, or Tooriu? Her uniform had still been covered in blood. No one had said anything, though she had seen the looks of shock on a few people. Still, the Snowbirds were all veterans—even Maysa, now—and they would understand. At least she hoped they would. She felt weak, physically and mentally. "I killed him," she finally said.

"Yes," Max nodded. "He would've killed you. He almost did. It was self-defense. Not a court in the Inner Sphere would convict you." He said it because he knew Sheila needed assurance. And what about you? Max asked himself. He remembered the split-second of the pistol barrel sliding out of the blanket, the body on the floor, torn nearly in half by his shotgun blast. Luckily, the Clanswoman had not suffered long, because Moose had shot her, but Max knew he would never forget that sight anymore than Sheila would forget the Elemental.

"I know. I've been telling myself that. But I still did it." Sheila splashed some water on her face, then sniffed a humorless laugh. "Y'know, it's funny. I've killed before, Max. I almost certainly killed that Mad Cat pilot on Twycross when I DFA'ed them. But it's different in a 'Mech…."

Max nodded. "I know. You want to believe you're not attacking another human being, just the 'Mech. Deep down we know that's bullshit, that there's a person in there, but we pretend. And then we thank God when we see the other MechWarrior punch out, because that means we can continue to play the mind game that we don't kill people."

"It's just so…different at close range." Sheila wiped her face—of the water, not tears. She had not cried. She expected to, just from the body's need for an emotional release. She hadn't, and Sheila wondered if that was a bad sign. "I watched…I watched him die, Max. Right in front of me. Felt that last breath. He was trying to say something. Was he trying to tell me to fuck off? Tell me he was sorry? Hell, he was Clan—maybe he was trying to congratulate me on my kill or something." She rubbed her eyes. "I mean, he was trying to kill me—he was breaking my neck…but still…it's just…" Sheila shrugged. "I don't understand."

There was silence in the room for a moment. "I killed someone today too," Max admitted. "Some Jade Falcon…a woman. Of course, if I'd been a second slower, she would've shot me in the face." He turned and walked back to the bed, and sat down. Sheila walked over and sat next to him, drawing her knees up to her chin. It wasn't to hide her nudity; Max seemed to have barely noticed it. One part of her wondered if they were at that stage of the relationship where casual nudity no longer had much of a sexual connotation; one was just used to being naked in front of the other. "Moose asked me if it was my first time killing someone. Of course it wasn't."

"You killed someone on Shensi when you were a kid." It was a statement, not a question. Sheila knew about the incident, but had never asked about the details.

"Yeah. Well, I was thirteen, anyway. Left the house because my folks were fighting, wandered into the wrong side of town, got jumped by some teenagers who didn't like some gweilo hanging around. I bloodied the first guy's nose pretty good and tried to run, but this other kid tackled me. I grabbed a rock and hit him in the head, but I either hit him a lot harder than I thought, or just hit him at the right angle. Put the kid into a coma, and he died a few days later." Max shook his head. "Some cops showed up and the others ran off, but that kid was dead…and I killed him.

"Since he was part of a gang, the cops didn't do much about it, and I think maybe they were afraid that my folks would flatten the place with their 'Mechs or something. I wasn't held responsible. They told me it was self-defense. Hell, it probably was." Max sighed. "I don't tell too many people about that, Sheila." He smiled wanly. "But here's the weird part—I actually told Kai Allard about it at NAMA. Don't know how it came up in conversation, but it did. He told me that, when he was a kid, he got into one of those my-dad-can-beat-up-your-dad arguments, and I guess Kai told this other kid that his dad could kill the other kid's dad. The other kid started crying. Kai's dad Justin told him never to say that, because killing a man isn't easy—nor should it be."

"Good advice," Sheila commented.

"I don't know where I was going with that," Max admitted. "Trying to make us both feel better, I guess." Another sigh. "Hell…it's war, Sheila. We didn't start the damn thing. And we damn sure are going to have to kill more Clanners before it's over, or they'll most assuredly kill us."

"I know." She kissed him. "Thank you." Then she got up, pulled back the covers, and gingerly got under them. Max nodded, took off his boxers, and got into bed next to her, switching off the light. They held each other against the night and the memories, and eventually they slept.

Sheila woke up to sunlight streaming across the room. She checked the chronometer on the wall. It was 0700. She was not a morning person, but she was the commander of the Snowbirds, so she needed to get up and at least check in with her battalion. Given that no one had called her and there hadn't been any explosions, Sheila assumed that the Snowbirds were fine—for now, anyway. She stretched, then winced at the pain in her back. At least she had gotten eight hours of sleep, which was more than usual. She glanced at Max, who still lay asleep, turned away from her on his pillow.

Suddenly, the Elemental's dying face popped back into her memory, as clear as if he was in bed with them. Sheila closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and put the dead man into a locked box in her mind, with the other memories she didn't want to remember. She knew they would break out eventually, to haunt her, to rob her of sleep, for the rest of her life.

Sheila sat back against the bed's headboard. She wondered if, had the situation been reversed, if the Elemental would have thought of her. Do they even think the same way we do? They're human. They bleed. They scream. They feel pain, they get scared. But would he just write it off as something that happens in war, would he be happy about it—maybe their culture rewards kills—or would he feel bad about it? She rested her head against the wall. Who the hell are they, anyway? What the hell are they even doing here? Why did that Clanner come all the way from…wherever the hell they're from…just to take Planting and then die here, to be rolled into a mass grave and forgotten? It's not fair, dammit! Bad enough I had to kill him, but not knowing why makes it worse!

Sheila commanded herself to stop thinking about it, and got out of bed. She needed to throw some water on her face, get dressed, and get back in the war. Then she noticed the envelope that had been slid under the door of the hotel room. She chuckled. Probably the bill. Sheila padded over to it and picked it up. It wasn't from the hotel. She opened it, and pulled out two pieces of paper, with writing in a small, precise hand.

Commander Arla-Vlata—

First, I'm passing on a message from Major Brownoak. She says not to worry about checking in before 0900—sleep in. Things are quiet right now.

As for myself, my respect for you has risen considerably. My people have told me your MechWarriors fought well dismounted at Fort Pilum yesterday—including you. One of the prisoners said that the man you killed was one of their battlearmor troops, an Elemental. They told me his name, but I do not want to tell you that unless you ask me personally. Take my advice. You don't want to know. All the same, killing an enemy is not to be taken lightly.

You have probably never been in close quarters combat before, and I have no words for what you are feeling right now. I know. I have been where you are. My father once said that if I ever stopped being affected by the people I kill, I should quit, because then I have become a murderer, not a killer. If it helps, know that the Elemental likely would have also finished off Lisa and then probably MechWarrior Matria, before doing who knows what else to the rest of us. Small comfort, perhaps, but know that his death meant that three people now get to live.

I doubt that will make you feel better. This is what makes war so horrible, and why we groundpounders tend to look down on you MechWarriors, because your job tends to be a little more antiseptic than ours, if that's the word. We see it in all its horrible, terrible forms. This may sound strange coming from an SLI trooper, but I wish we would stop having wars. I've seen too many people screaming for their mothers with their guts blown out, or kids wondering where Dad or Mom are. Nonetheless, I know we have to fight and kill, to prevent a greater fight and killing.

We infantry people tend to get carried away, so I will stop here. Know that you have the respect of the SLI and my troop in particular. That's not an honor we give lightly. I would be proud to serve with the Snowbirds again, anytime, anywhere.

Sincerely,

Captain Mikkansia Jackson

Commanding, 2/1 Sentinels Light Infantry

Sheila read the letter twice, then set it down on the nightstand. She crossed the room and opened the curtains, then the windows, letting the cool breeze and sun caress her naked body. The ocean crashed on the beach below.

"Hey, beautiful," Max sleepily called out. "I love the view, but I'm a selfish bastard, and I don't want to share it. Someone's going to see you."

"There's no one down there." Sheila stepped away from the window all the same. She got onto the bed. She would show Max the letter later; right now, she needed to feel alive. "Max, we don't have to be at the CP until 0900."

He reached up and cupped a breast. "What do you want to do until then?"