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Post by Uesugi-dono on Feb 8, 2019 19:30:30 GMT
So update: Acquiring the year 1 pass managed to delete my save game. I've started over and, after quite some time, I have managed to reunite the crew~! Dekkar and Behemoth are dead, Kru and Sly are back... now I just have to find a Jagermech and get back to where I was in the story!
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Post by Uesugi-dono on Feb 17, 2019 18:16:00 GMT
So, it’s been a long time! I haven’t stopped playing, but I did run into quite a bit of trouble. I bought and installed the Year Pass to get access to the DLC but, for whatever reason, it deleted my save files. All of them. All of my progress with Riana… gone! But as attached as any of you might be to this story… so am I. So I restarted the whole thing, aiming to recreate the situation as best I can by the point we left off. So parts are easy; I recreated Riana pretty easily and building Vamp was also a cinch since I could customize him. But others, namely all the Kickstarter backers, I’ve had to search for. Since the last game update it seems like the chance to encounter these Backer Pilots has been drastically lessened, but we’ll get into that trouble soon. First I thought I’d like to close out what was happening in the story. The aftermath of Artru was not pleasant for the members of Riana’s Revenge. The SLDF drones kicked my ass! The Escape portion of the mission was a LOT easier, even if I only manage to extract two of the Mechs. Even though the real threat was the financial and logistical conditions the company faced following the events of Anvelt I was also staring down something like 110+ days without Riana due to her injuries. So I figure it’s a good time to explore the drama a little more…
“How is she?” Sly asked, the bloody bandage wrapped around his head obscured his left eye but he was at least moving around.
“Hurt,” Yang began in a raspy voice, “bad.” He turned his head back towards the metal chamber where Hysteria lay. “Exposure to Artru’s cold ravaged her lungs and she’s got frostbite all over. Not to mention the injuries she sustained when her reactor exploded. Doc said her lower extremities are shredded, it was a miracle that she walked out of her Mech. Fractures all along her spine too where the explosion forced her up against her cage; both clavicles broken… her legs are practically webbed with fractures.”
“Damn,” Sly slumped in his wheelchair before reaching out and placing a hand on Yang’s shoulder, “how are you doing?”
“My throat’s sore but I’ll be fine,” the MechTech said dismissively, “I just hope this was all worth it,” he shifted in his seat to be able to look at Sly directly, “I don’t think I can save the Jager. No one should have been able to climb out of that carnage. You’re hurt, Vamp’s hurt, the QD is practically a total loss, the Cent is trash…” he let it sink in a moment before continuing, “At this point we have Glitch, Kru, and Medusa available to drive the Vindy, the Hunch, the Dragon, and a Jenner.” He spread his arms and let them fall, “that’s it.”
“Aren’t you forgetting that Highlander that Lady Arano gave us?” Sly asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Yang looked slightly down and to the left, “so that’s five BattleMechs and three pilots.”
“Doc wants me out for a month,” Duncan began, “but maybe we can persuade him to shave off a couple of weeks. Either that or we just take it easy for a while…”
“We can’t afford to take it easy,” Yang shook his head, “we’ve been running on fumes lately, even with the Restoration’s fat paydays.” He looked directly at Duncan as he spoke, “putting the Cent back together from practically scrap, along with the exorbitant repairs on the Jager and the Quickdraw last time left us dangerously close to broke. The pay we’ve earned will get us back to Smithon but we’re gonna need a job, like right away.”
“Okay,” Duncan reasoned, “If we send down Glitch’s Dragon, Kru in the Hunch, and you put Mohammed in the HL then they ought to be okay for a milk run or three.”
“That’s the problem,” Yang looked back at the hyperbaric chamber where Riana lay, “we haven’t had a milk run in a long time. Seems like every world we hit is full of war, especially in Aurigan space.” He turned back to Sly once more, “I cannot, as your Chief MechTech, greenlight an under-tonnage lance of three Mechs into the kinds of combat we’ve been seeing the last few months, I just can’t allow it.”
“Well, then maybe we head back out into the Frontier for a while,” Sly offered, “we’ve done it plenty of times in the past…”
“Yeah, how’d that go the last few times?” Yang challenged him, sounding angrier than he’d intended, “we burned up a lot of cash and for what? To burn up even more in repairs and injuries? The milk runs are gone, Big Sly. This whole region of space is about to explode and we’re stuck right in the middle of it!”
“Typically, that’s a pretty good place for a merc crew to be,” Duncan offered a sardonic smile.
“Well, not this crew,” Yang deflated visibly and turned to look back at Hysteria’s chamber, “Revenge is hanging by a thread. Darius and Su are about to pull their hair out worrying about payroll and loan payments. If we don’t take a job at Smithon we’re not gonna make the next financials.”
“Hey,” a knock at the door interrupted them, “can I come in?” Death Krusade entered the darkened room as the two turned to regard him. “Is this a bad time?”
“Come on in,” Duncan motioned for him to come closer after swiveling his chair, “we’re just talking about our impending unemployment.”
“Oh, is that all?” Todd asked sarcastically, “how’s our girl?”
“Not good,” Yang shook his head, “doc’s got her doing HBOT right now, trying to help her body fix the tissue damage to her lungs. The cold slowed her blood loss, at least, and he got all her lacerations patched up but it remains to be seen if he can fix all the damage to her spine; gonna have to wait til after the lung thing pans out.”
“May have to swap ‘em for cloned ones,” Kru offered.
“Takes time to grow them,” Yang countered dejectedly, “time she may not have. She’s on a rebreather in there.”
“She flatlined during evac,” Sly added softly, “MedTechs got her back.”
“Jesus,” Todd unfolded his arms, the look of concern clear on his face, “is you serious?”
“Sly nodded slowly, “in the two and a half years I’ve known her I’ve never seen her give up,” he looked at Todd solemnly, “she gave up on the ride back.”
“And nobody thought to tell us?!” Todd demanded, angrily.
“Darius wanted to keep it tight,” Duncan replied, “I knew because I was still conscious but Vamp was out. Sumire and Jessica found out once we docked, you know how Glitch insists to be there to meet everyone returning. They were still working on her when we got back.”
“What’s the doc say about her recovery?” Kru asked, till feeling offended as he moved closer to the hyperbaric chamber.
“That she’s lucky to even be here,” Yang answered, “or rather that we’re lucky to have her… for a little while.”
“A little while?!?” Kru’s voice carried through the whole MedBay, “The fuck you mean ‘a little while?’ Is she dying?!?”
“Forgive Yang,” Sly said dismissively, “he’s feeling a little melodramatic. What he meant to say was it’s too early to tell.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?!?” Kru’s hackles were still raised.
“Settle,” Yang lowered his brow, “Leonard’s in here too. Doc has him sedated but he’s in terrible shape… again.” He let his head hang down as he rested his elbows on his knees. “Said he can’t do this too many more times. His body just can’t take the cumulative stress.”
“Doc set my recovery at over a month,” Duncan spoke in a calm, measured voice, “Vamp’s probably looking at three or four months but Riana?” he looked over at the chamber, “earliest estimate he could give us is seven to nine months… if her lungs pull through.” He chuckled a little, glancing back at Kru, “the enemy can’t kill her but her goddamn home planet might.”
“She told me once she used to dream of going down there,” Yang was still staring at the floor, speaking in an absent-minded tone, “to Artru.” He jerked and looked between the two of them, as if he just realized he was speaking, “Said that, as a kid, she used to stare at the surface from her father’s hab and just imagine the adventure of being down there, exploring.” Neither of the MechWarriors spoke so he continued, his eyes becoming watery, “No fucking way her childhood dream kills her… no way. It can’t happen, it can’t…”
“It’s not gonna happen,” Kru said with determination, “she’ll be back on her feet, you’ll see, she’s the toughest badass I know and I know a LOT of badasses!” He walked over to the hyperbaric chamber and looked at her unconscious form inside; all manner of tubes were going to and from her, a rebreather was strapped to her face, and most of her body was covered in anti-bac bandages. “Any lesser MechWarrior would have died, but not this badass. This badass got the fuck up and walked out of her burning Mech, broke legs and all, and took a deep breath of frozen air.” He paused and looked back at Yang and Sly, “And she’s still here, she’s STILL fucking here! Maybe she needs a little help, maybe she needs a little time, but mark my words: she’ll be back in her Mech before long.” Kru’s own eyes were beginning to mist over but he willed it to stop; he was still guilt-ridden about not going down to Artru with her. He’d promised, they’d promised each other, but when Kamea decided to go it was him that she decided to bump. ‘Why?’ he thought to himself, ‘Why’d you go and do a thing like that? I was supposed to be there, watching your back, that’s where I belonged.’
“Does Lady Arano know?” Sly broke the silence, talking to Yang.
“Know what?” the MechTech asked.
“Y’know,” Duncan began, looking down as he said the words, “that Riana died.”
“Gods, no,” Yang shook his head and then looked down as well, “I’m sure as shit not gonna tell her, but then again I didn’t know until I was covered in centuries-old grease and oil trying to get that Atlas running.”
“Who told you?” Sly asked.
“Glitch called me,” Yang answered, “after she’d stabilized. Said she didn’t wanna worry me… here I was trying to get three-hundred-year-old Mechs running and…”
“Why would it matter?” Kru asked himself out loud, his brain slowly making a connection.
“What’s that?” Duncan asked.
“Why would it matter if Kamea Arano knew that Riana almost died,” he looked up at Sly and Yang, “I mean we’re just mercs, right? Why wouldn’t you tell her, Yang?”
Yang didn’t say a word.
“She’s our captain,” Sly reasoned, “and she’s got a personal connection to Lady Arano; they both trained under Sir Raju. They’re like sisters, sorta. After losing Raju like that…”
Kru’s mind whirled a mile-a-minute; he’d assumed that night on the catwalk that she’d been mostly upset about Vamp but now his mind recalled that fight she’d had with Lady Arano over Victoria Espinosa.
“Plus,” Sly continued, “if something happened to her and we elected a new captain that’s no guarantee that Revenge would still act as her personal mercenaries. She and the Canopians invested a lot into this company, bought a lot of debt. That gives her a pretty big interest in the whole operation. As I understand it Lady Arano asked for Riana personally so if she finds out she’s hanging onto life by a thread, well, that’d be a pretty big distraction for someone trying to win a war, dontcha think?”
But Kru wasn’t listening; instead he was remembering about how Hysteria had avoided both him and Lady Arano for the two weeks they had all been together on the Argo prior to Artru, and then the mission itself… how she’d chosen Sly to go over him… “She didn’t want us together…” he said under his breath. He looked back at Yang, an expression of surprise on his face, only to find the MechTech’s eyes wide in response.
“What?” Sly asked, “What’d you say? I didn’t hear that.”
“She’s our employer,” Yang recovered quickly, his poker-face in place, “there’s no need to worry her, it might shake her faith in our company if I told her about Riana.” His brow lowered once more and his next words were spoken as a command; “Forget it.”
‘to be honest nobody knows about my past ‘cept you and Yang,’ Riana’s voice echoed in his head. He lifted his chin and kept his eyes locked on the MechTech’s inscrutable mask. “Yeah, okay,” he said at length, “makes sense.” ‘She confides in him,’ he thought, ‘but he didn’t know about us.’ The pieces began to fall in place as the Solaran kept his gaze on Yang. ‘But he knows other secrets…’
“Your eyes stuck?” Yang challenged him.
“Nah, just tired,” Kru rubbed at the bridge of his nose, “I think I’m gonna turn in. Youse let me know if you need a break. I’ll sit with her.”
“Thanks,” Yang grumbled, “I’ve got this for now.” His unfriendly stare followed the MechWarrior around the corner and out of MedBay. ‘It’s him, it’s gotta be,’ he thought to himself, ‘what the fuck does she see in him?’
“Um,” Sly interrupted his angry glare with a goofy wave, “what the fuck just happened?”
:
Well that was dramatic! This all has to go somewhere, right? Preferably before anyone important to the drama dies! Anyway, the situation was indeed bleak. For whatever reason milk runs had become scarce and even 2 and 3 skull missions were turning out more like 4s or 5s. I was being consistently outnumbered, outflanked, and generally just bleeding money. My repair costs and medical times were through the roof so, by the time I got back to Smithon, I had to start doing some missions… even if people died. Well, if people are gonna die anyway…
“We can’t do it,” Darius shook his head resolutely, “Yang is right. We can’t take a job under tonnage. The rating on all of these requires a full lance, minimum, and even then we may be in for a helluva fight.”
“If we don’t take one we won’t make the loans,” Sumire reminded him, “we just don’t have time to try another system!” She punched in some numbers on her datapad, “even if we hop over to Mechdur that’s a Thirty-K expense and, by the time we arrive, the payment is due; they’ll repossess the Leopard and we won’t have any way to ferry our lance to the surface!”
“I will not be responsible for sending our pilots to their death!!” Darius yelled at her, the holotable flickering as if it registered his anger.
“The company can not survive if we don’t make money!” Su yelled back at him.
“Well, do you have a solution??” Darius snapped, “Because unless you do…”
“We sell,” Yang offered, “I’ve got lasers, missile racks, a TON of heat sinks…”
“We can sell scrap, sure,” Sumire cut him off, “how long will that keep us afloat?”
“At least until Sly is released for duty,” Darius countered.
“What then?” she snarled, “We sell it all until there’s nothing left? We’re a mercenary company, we can’t keep avoiding this!” She stomped one foot, angrily, “Can you sell Seven-Hundred K worth? Because that’s what these jobs are averaging! Just one will make financials, payroll and payments, we have to try!”
“I can sell enough to get us through one payment,” Yang sighed, “and we can cut rations and pay for a month, but after that…” he looked over at Darius, “she’s right. We have to find something.”
“We jump back out to Detroit,” Darius began.
“Detroit is over a month away!” Su yelled, pointing to her pad, “Financials will be due again!”
“The last time we jumped out to the Frontier it cost us money,” Yang reminded him.
“Then we go system-to-system,” Darius was getting angry, “until we find something we can take!”
“Notice anything funny about our luck lately?” Sly asked from his wheelchair, “Like how maybe we haven’t really had any?”
“We’ve had plenty of bad luck,” Glitch offered cheerfully before she thought about what she’d said, “er, oh… never mind.”
“I’m with Meyer,” Medusa said gruffly, “we’ve gotta take a job… besides, we all know the risks.”
“There’s no way we can let this company fold while Riana is out,” Kru nodded beside him, “we can do this.”
“Okay, fine,” Darius stood ramrod straight, looking down his nose at them, “let’s say you do all survive. Maybe you even get off light on injuries,” he stalked around the holotable to stand right in front of them, “what if that’s because we’re forced to withdraw, take a fraction of the pay? How much do you think repairs will be? We have five working Mechs now, can we do this again with just two?”
“We need a full lance,” Yang let his face fall into his hand, “otherwise we’re not gonna pull this off. Three Mechs just can’t handle the projected OpFor on this job. You’ll get overwhelmed and either get routed or get dead.”
“Then let’s hire someone,” Sly offered, drawing looks from all around the room, “What? There’s a hiring hall here on Smithon, let’s go down and hire someone to pilot a fourth Mech. Easy.”
“Your plan is to increase payroll?” Darius asked incredulously.
“Yes,” Sly nodded, “Yes it is. That is my plan,” he looked around at everyone else in the room, “that is exactly what Riana would do too. You all know I’m right!”
“He is right,” Sumire spoke, causing Darius to whirl around and Yang to lift his head, “he’s right; that is precisely what Riana would do,” she clarified.
“You were just complaining about a Thirty-K jump and you want to spend forty or fifty on hiring someone new?” the XO asked.
“If we pay for a jump to a new system there’s no guaranteed return,” the pilot reasoned, “but if we take on a new MechWarrior, even if just for one mission, we could make Seven-Hundred K.”
“That’s a pretty big ‘if,’” Darius snarled.
“Lot smaller than a blind jump,” Sly countered, “plus, not to be a bastard, but if he dies on mission we don’t have to fire him!” The withering stares from around the room prompted him to add: “What? I’m just saying…”
“It’s not a good idea,” Yang sat up and placed his hands on his knees, “but it’s better than any other one we’ve had.”
“Jobs like these,” Kru nodded at the holotable’s display of what was on offer through the Mercenary Board, “might be a good idea to hire two,” now Darius spun back around, disbelieving, “and keep ‘em at least until Riana is back on her feet.”
“We’ll have a lot more injuries,” Su tapped on her datapad once more, “having two in reserve would help us keep lances in the field, provided the Chief’s crew can keep the repairs timely.”
“Might I remind you that hiring is at the discretion of the Commander and the First Officer?” Darius now looked indignant.
“So go hire some people,” Kru suggested, “the Commander is indisposed, I guess that makes this your responsibility.”
“I’ll go with you,” Sly offered, “but you may have to wheel me in.”
“Nah, I got this,” Kru stepped forwards, “I got a pretty good idea of what the Commander looks for in a MechWarrior. I’ll pick ‘em out and you interview ‘em and we’ll get a couple of guys to help out til we get back on our feet.”
For a moment Darius just stood there, as if unsure what to say, then he sighed and turned towards Sumire. “Tell me we can afford this.”
“We don’t have a choice,” she shrugged her shoulders, “it’s either hire some temps and do some jobs or fold.”
“Oh! I have a good idea!” Glitch jumped up and held her hand in the air, “What if we asked Lady Arano for some more money until…”
“NO!!!” came the unified response.
:
I was mentioning the challenge of regaining the same Backer Pilots. The first I came across was a guy named Corsair. His ex-pirate background appealed so I scooped him up, figuring that he would probably die at some point. But he hasn’t. I’m getting close to where I was now (about to redo the Anvelt mission) so I figured I’d better think up a reason for him to be part of the group. I had to alter .json files to actually find and hire Sly and Kru again, but I got ‘em finally. Last but not least was a pilot I actually picked up after Artru but hadn’t gotten a chance to write about before the files were lost…
“Okay, so whaddya youse think?” Kru leaned in close to Darius in the crowded hall, both of them keeping eyes on the man still seated at the table. He was in his mid-thirties, with a military haircut hidden under a cap and dark sunglasses, even indoors.
“I’ve heard that name before,” Darius had his arms folded, “Corsair… he’s an ex-pirate,” he snarled that last word.
“Yeah?” Kru hissed sarcastically, “So’s Riana. I also heard this was the guy what fucked Dame Trevaline’s operation in Tortuga!”
“Another reason not to hire him,” Darius countered, “the last thing we need is a vengeful pirate queen on our tail!”
“Look,” Kru was losing patience, “the guy says he doesn’t want a fixed contract… month-to-month. He’s fucking perfect.”
“He is far from perfect,” Darius turned his head and looked directly into Todd’s eyes.
“He’s perfect as fodder, wouldn’t you say?” Kru shifted tactics, “The guy wants to be a part-timer. Let him take fucking point. If he gets hurt, we dump him at the nearest hall and hire someone else. For now, he has what we need; skills and flexibility.”
Darius sighed, “I guess I can’t argue with that. How much does he want, again?”
“Does it matter?” Kru asked, but he quickly surmised that the XO was serious, “Fifty-four down and Forty-K a month if he stays. It’s a pretty standard setup.”
“All right,” Darius finally unfolded his arms and pushed away from where he had been leaning on the wall, “we’ll give him a shot, but if stuff starts coming up missing…”
“I’ll put him out the airlock myself,” Kru finished as the pair of them walked back to the table and took seats opposite the man called Corsair.
“So, uh, mister…” Darius fished for his real name.
“Nick,” the man nodded, “Christoph Nick but nobody calls me that,” he reached up and lowered the glasses until his eyes were barely visible, “just call me Corsair.” He punctuated this by pushing the glasses back up the bridge of his nose.
“Right,” Darius’ tone was cold, “Mr. Nick, you understand that if you accept this offer…”
“Corsair,” he corrected again.
“… if you accept this offer you will travel with Riana’s Revenge to whichever systems and planets we decide to take work at,” Kru’s attention was drawn away from Darius’ spiel as a rather rough-looking woman paused mid-stride as she was passing the table and looked right at them. The sides of her head were shaved and she had the scars of a MechWarrior, some of them fresh. Kru met her stare with a challenge in his eyes and she lifted one corner of her mouth and took four steps backwards to lean against one of the bars in the hall, tilting back her drink as she continued to watch the table with interest. Kru eventually turned his attention back to the business at hand. “…medical expenses provided, for injuries sustained on deployments of course, but employment is at the discretion of the Commander and the XO and may be terminated at any time, for any reason. Does all of this sound acceptable to you?”
“Yeah, sure,” Corsair nodded, tilting his chair back slightly, “only I ain’t signing anything.” He nodded at both men with a smirk of his own, “my employment is at my discretion too. I’ll leave if and when I’m ready to, at any time, for any reason.”
“That is acceptable,” Darius tried to appear non-plussed, “now you may not have an assigned Mech but we do have several available at the moment…”
“I’ve got a Kintaro,” Corsair revealed, “it’s mine but so long as I’m employed I expect you to keep her armed and in repair.”
“A KTO-18 is a good Mech!” Kru said excitedly, turning to Darius, “a solid fifty-five tonner! That’s what Kamea drives.”
“What she used to drive,” Darius reminded him in a hiss, “it’s a beast, all right, but it runs hot. Can you manage it? Doesn’t do me a lot of good to field a Mech that has to spend all its time venting heat.”
“She’s a custom job,” Corsair lifted his chin as he spoke, “extra armor, axed the LRMs, and a custom built coolant vent. Trust me, old man, she’ll go toe-to-toe with any foe til the battle’s won and the crying’s done. It comes to a fight; you want Corsair on your side.”
“Cute tagline,” Darius rolled his eyes as Kru fixed him with a pensive stare, “you’re hired. The Leopard is on pad nine, look for the red and gold. Go ahead and get your Mech loaded.”
“Aye, aye,” Corsair gave a mock salute and stood up, drifting away through the crowd.
“I do not like him,” Darius confirmed once he was out of earshot.
“Ah, he wasn’t so bad,” Kru said, mostly to annoy the XO, “youse gotta expect a certain level of sass from any decent MechWarrior.”
“And he was the best you could find?” Darius asked with exasperation, “I think we’ve wasted enough time.”
“That’s still only one,” Kru reminded him, “most everyone else was wet behind the ears but…”
“You guys hiring?” a new voice drew their attention. It was the woman from earlier, with the sides of her head shaved. She stood in front of the table now, drink in hand and a smirk on her face.
“Youse a pilot?” Kru asked. Something about this woman bothered him but he couldn’t figure out what.
“I’m a MechWarrior,” she countered, dropping the smirk, “and a goddamn good one.”
“Sit,” Darius bade her. He also didn’t care for her but his patience for this trip was rapidly expiring, “what kind of experience do you have?”
“A lot out here in the Reach,” she answered unhelpfully, “mostly in a Dragon.”
“Hmm, we have a Dragon,” Darius muttered, referring to Glitch’s heavily modified DRG-1N that Hysteria and Yang built as an armored sniper, “but we’d have to adjust armaments to get it back to something you might know how to use.”
“Who’d you work for?” Kru asked suspiciously. There was so much about this woman that unsettled him, from her attitude to her hairstyle to even her garish eyeshadow everything about her screamed ‘pirate.’
“I’m a freelancer,” she said in a guarded tone, “Say, what’s the name of your outfit anyway?”
“Who’d you freelance for?” Kru demanded, cutting off Darius before he could speak, “Youse a pirate?”
“Ha!” she laughed, “That’s rich coming from a guy who just hired fucking Corsair!”
“Answer the question,” Darius demanded, “are you a pirate?”
“Fuck no I’m not a pirate,” she dropped her laughter immediately, looking offended that he’d asked, “I was raised in a merc crew, Bledy’s Band by name, but I’ve been on my own since I was eighteen.”
“Who’d you work for recently?” Kru persisted.
“Various employers,” she leaned across the table, “not all of whom want to be named.”
“Do you have your own Mech?” the XO asked.
“Not anymore,” she shook her head, “but I can pilot just about anything.”
“What happened to it?” Kru prodded.
“Rival merc company fragged it,” she said defensively, “left me for dead. So, here I am looking for work. If possible I’d like to make enough to be able to buy my own again, at which point I’m in the wind. No offense to you and your lifestyle, but I tend to play by my own rules and I like the privacy. I’m not looking for a permanent gig.”
“Excuse us a moment,” Darius got up and motioned for Kru to follow him back to where they contemplated Corsair. Once there he leaned close, “What do you think?”
“She’s far from perfect,” Kru paraphrased.
“She’s confident,” Darius noted.
“She’s arrogant,” Kru said dismissively.
“You gotta expect a certain level of sass from any decent MechWarrior…”
“Cute,” Kru grimaced.
“Turnabout is fair play,” Darius lifted both eyebrows and tilted his head, “besides… she can always take point.”
“Fair,” Kru admitted, “alright let’s do this.” The two of them approached the table once more, sitting across from her.
“Now, Ms….” Darius once again fished for a name.
“Real names are trouble,” the woman countered, “got no use for ‘em,” a serpentine smile splayed along her face as she spoke, “but I’m sure you established this with Corsair.”
“Youse work together before?” Kru asked.
“Nah,” she shook her head, “never met him before I landed on Smithon, but I’ve heard about his reputation,” she grinned as she looked back at Darius, “I don’t believe you ever told me what company you represent.”
“Riana’s Revenge,” Darius confirmed, “but if you’re gonna work for us then I’m going to have to…”
“Riana,” the woman purred, “is that your Commander? Is she here?” she looked around the hall.
“She’s out on medical at the moment,” Darius revealed, “I’m Darius Oliveira, company First Officer. What do I call you?”
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” the woman said with a twinge of remorse, “call me… Apex.” Darius continued on, delivering his spiel, but the woman called Apex was no longer listening. Instead she was remembering; remembering Anvelt… when Riana’s Revenge blew apart her Dragon and captured her employer: Victoria Espinosa. Darius droned on about benefits and liabilities but Apex simply licked her lips; “Riana,” she mumbled beneath her breath, “I can’t wait to meet you.”
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Post by Uesugi-dono on Feb 24, 2019 12:23:53 GMT
Still haven’t gotten to play much more, so I’m not caught up yet. Today’s journal entry is more about making dramatic connections. If any of you wonder, the game and the missions I play are still the core of what happens here. Very little is purely invented for this story outside of the interpersonal drama. If a Mech is damaged or lost that’s because it happened in my game. Same goes if someone dies or gets fired; it is what happened in my game. So this is more head-canon than actual invented story, I suppose. Still I enjoy the interpersonal drama every bit as much as the missions! My favorite is probably still the Panzyr bar scene when Riana met Death Krusade! Anyway, today’s entry is a mishmash of missions from the replay and drama from the main storyline. The MechBay rumbled as teams of MechTechs raced around securing the returning lance. The leopard had just been unloaded and now large machinery moved the BattleMechs around the bay and secured them in place as automated catwalks moved into position for pilot extraction. Yang walked along one of these now, approaching the new Trebuchet as the docking clamps locked into place. He looked out across the bay and grimaced when he realized that Medusa’s Panther had, once again, lost its right arm and the large twin lasers he’d installed. Each one was five tons and had a capacity of 570 Megajoules per impact. He shook his head as the Trebuchet’s cockpit began to open and yelled across the bay; “They don’t grow in the garden, Benitez!!” Medusa, who was already climbing out of the damaged Panther, held his head in one hand and lifted his middle finger in salute at the Chief in response with the other.
“Go easy on him,” Kru said as he lifted his cage and unbuckled his harness, “he took a lot of fire this drop.”
“This was supposed to be a pretty straightforward mission,” Yang said as he hoisted himself up the ladder and leaned in and helped Kru disentangle himself, “target was supposed to be some mid-level politician.”
“Oh, he was,” the Solaran confirmed, “in a shiny, brand-new CRB-27!” he growled, as he climbed down, “and his Directorate bodyguards had a Kintaro, a Vindicator, and one of those Commando missile-boats!”
“Is that was got him?” Yang asked, looking at the damage to the Panther’s right side as they both moved around in front of the TBT-5N.
“Nah,” Kru unzipped his dropsuit and leaned back against the rail, his back to the bay, “the KTO did while he was trying to take off the Vindicator’s PPC. That Vindy was a real bitch, I tell ya.”
“How’d she do?” the Chief asked.
Kru shrugged and pursed his lips, “S’alright. She’s got a lot of missiles, puts a lot of hurt out, but I’m just used to getting more up close and personal, y’know?”
“Not the Trebby,” Yang pointed down the catwalk where the Hunchback was just opening up, “I meant her.” Both men watched as Apex lifted her cage, a MechTech leaning in to assist in her extraction.
“I don’t like her driving my Hunch,” Kru spit on the catwalk, “but Darius made a good call.”
“What do you mean?” Yang asked.
“I’m good at multi-targeting,” Kru nodded, “I can paint-n’-spray with the best of ‘em, so dishing out banks of LRMs is null sweat, but her,” he lifted his chin in her direction, “she’s focused. Her ability to call her shot is right up there with Glitch, maybe better. Having someone with that surgical shot ability firing an AC/20 is a good thing, probably saved our asses.”
“Hmm,” Yang grunted. He didn’t like her or her creepy obsession with Riana. Since she came aboard he’d started to spend even more time in MedBay, especially now that Hysteria was out of the hyperbaric chamber, just to make sure someone was always with her. He’d caught her lurking too many times already.
“She’s fast too,” Kru admitted with a snort, “faster than me. It’s like she was made for a heavier Mech, so I may not like giving up my ride, but Darius made a good call.”
“How’s her teamwork?” Yang placed his hands on his hips, watching her as she chatted with the MechTech before breaking away and walking towards them.
“She’s good,” Kru admitted, “follows orders pretty well. She’s not afraid to get out in front and take fire,” he looked to the left and then back right, lowering his voice as she got closer, “I still don’t like the bitch but on a lance she’s solid.”
“That’s a helluva ride, DK,” Apex said over the din as she got close enough to be heard, “I’m loving that gun.”
“Look, just call me Kru,” he shifted his gaze back to her, “everybody else does.”
“Yeah,” she flashed a crooked grin as she stopped in front of the two men, “hey, Chief, the Hunch pulls a little to the right. It gets worse at acceleration. I figure, maybe, the port lateral gyro needs adjusting. About 5-to-5.8% should help compensate for the weight of that autocannon.”
“How about you drive the Mechs and leave the maintenance to me?” Yang’s tone darkened as he stepped forwards into her personal space, “4Gs will always have a tug to the right because of the fourteen-ton cannon on the shoulder!”
“Of course they will,” Apex said defensively, “but a small adjustment would help compensate for the increased gravity on a world like this,” she stood her ground, tilting her head slightly left, “Mechdur is rocking 1.6 Gs so your fourteen-ton gun is now plus one-thousand-six-hundred-eighty pounds. With an adjustment in the 5% range to the gyro you can bring the center back into balance,” she snorted and looked over at Kru, “honestly, I expected a crew that regularly fields an HBK-4G to already know about gravitational compensation!”
“Of course we know about gravitational compensation!!” Yang’s face flushed red, “Are you trying to tell me that…”
“Someone on your team missed it, Chief,” Apex’s face split with an infuriatingly smug grin, “go check it yourself; port lateral is set to 1G… you missed it.”
Yang’s face solidified into a mask of fury as he pushed her to the side and stormed towards the Techs currently working on the Hunch. Kru watched absentmindedly as he exploded on the two Techs running post-diagnostics as Apex moved up beside him and leaned back against the rail as well. “You’d do well not to piss him off,” he warned her as he turned to look at her, “and give him a little more respect too. Chief’s been doing this a long time.”
“Coulda fooled me,” Apex said, unzipping her dropsuit and pulling out a crumpled pack of cigarettes from within, “missing GC is a rookie mistake. I had to compensate that whole mission; had to lean in to enemy fire,” she tapped out a cigarette and then offered the pack to Kru, “that’s the kind of shit that gets MechWarriors killed, y’know?”
“You can’t smoke in here!” Kru pushed off the rail and snatched the unlit cigarette from her mouth, “There’s all kinds of fumes in the bay!”
“Is everyone on this boat so uptight?” she snarled as she grabbed the cigarette back, returning it to her pack, “Hell, my last Chief used to smoke while he worked on the Mechs!”
“Yeah?” Kru nodded his head in a standoffish manner, “Well, Chief Virtanen runs a pretty tight operation,”
“Except when it comes to basic safety protocols…” Apex countered under her breath.
“You want off this boat?” now the Solaran raised his voice, “We’ve got our roster pretty much healed up now so you just say the word and I’ll have Ms. Meyer drop your ass at the local hiring hall!”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Didn’t figure you were in charge, Kru,” she began, “but before you show me all of your ass, why don’t you wait and see if I’m right or not about that gyro, hmm?” She lifted the pack to her mouth and pulled a cigarette out with her lips, producing a lighter as she slid the pack back in her dropsuit. “You know I’m right about this; not performing GC on high-gravity world is dangerous. What if it’d been you in the Hunch, huh? You’re her regular pilot. What if it’d been you whose life had been put at risk, think you’d be a little pissed? Now, I didn’t say a cross fucking word when I told him to check it, it was his choice to get all bent about a mere pilot offering a MechTech advice, but you know what?” She lifted her lighter, ignited it, and lit her cigarette, taking a long drag before continuing, “I don’t give a shit. I’m a MechWarrior. I’ve run with dozens of crews and this one won’t be my last, so I don’t need you to like me, either of you. I just need you to not get me killed,” she exhaled the smoke directly at his face, “think you can handle that?”
“Get the fuck outta the bay with that,” he waved at the smoke floating languidly between them.
“I’m gone,” she lifted her eyebrows, the cigarette dangling loosely in her lips as she shouldered her way past him and headed down the catwalk towards the exit. Kru watched her go, the anger still eating at him, until she was finally out of the bay. Then he turned and walked over to where Yang was, inspecting the Hunch. “Yo,” he said in greeting as the Chief turned his head and then backed down the ladder, “what’s the situation?”
“I hate to admit it,” Yang began, “but she’s right. My team missed the gravitational calibration.”
“Shit,” Kru looked away, down and to the left, “I guess that makes us the assholes, eh?”
“I guess it does,” the Chief admitted, “I’ll have to fire someone over this. That’s a big increase in weight on the right side. If this gun had been on the arm the damn Mech would have toppled over the first hit it took on the left side.”
“She ran that whole op unbalanced,” Kru said aloud, “not a single one of us noticed and she never complained.”
Yang inhaled deeply and then let out a tremendous sigh. “Fuck!” he swore, “I’m gonna hate this apology.”
“She still a bitch,” Kru folded his arms.
“Yeah,” the Chief let his head hang, “but she’s a professional who knew what she was talking about,” he looked back up at the Solaran, “she had a right to be a bitch.”
:
Yang knocked softly at the door, waiting for a response. When none came he turned his head slightly. “She must be asleep,” he said to Apex, who was right behind him, “maybe we ought to come back.”
“We should at least check on her,” she reached past Yang and pushed the door open, “besides… I hear all these stories. I’d at least like to know what my Commander looks like.”
“Well, she may not want you to see her like this!” he protested.
“You promised me, Chief,” Apex reminded him, “don’t tell me your apology wasn’t sincere.”
“I know I promised you!” Yang rationalized, “But this just might not be the best time, we should come back when she’s…”
“C’me in,” Riana’s voice called weakly, “don’cha know hanging b’out in doors iz rude?”
Yang exhaled as he moved into the room, the new pilot trailing him. “You sound like you’re feeling no pain,” he opened.
“N’nsense!” Riana was pale and heavy-lidded, the meds were obviously in full effect, “Jus’ cause I’m high don’ mean I ain’t hurtin!”
“It’s good to hear your voice,” the Chief admitted, “even if you are blitzed!”
“M’back hurts, Chief,” she slurred in response.
“Yeah, doc’s had to do some bone grafts,” he informed her, “you banged up your spine pretty good, but he says he doesn’t think you’ll need any reinforcements. The cloned tissue ought to take nicely.”
“Th’top partomy chest hurts too…” her eyelids fluttered as she struggled against the drugs to stay awake.
“That’s just broken bones,” he told her, “fractures. They’ll heal fine on their own but it will take time.”
“Wh’re’s Kamea?” a goofy smile spread across her face as she thought about Lady Arano.
“She’s fine,” he reassured her, “waiting for you to get better, I’m sure…”
“Y’know, Kammie’s kinda cute!” she giggled.
“That she is,” Yang slid to the right, revealing Apex standing behind him. The pilot wore an unfriendly expression, staring down at Riana as if assessing an enemy, “I brought someone who’d like to meet you.”
Riana squinted, trying to place her face as Apex proffered a serpentine smile. “Huzzat?” she managed.
“This is Apex,” Yang introduced her, “one of two new pilots we took on at Smithon.”
“Did s’mone die?” she looked over at Yang, confused.
“We were really hurting there for a while,” the Chief explained, “no one died but we nearly went bankrupt!” He chuckled to himself nervously, but when she didn’t laugh he continued, “Apex here has helped us out over the last few weeks. She’s a good MechWarrior, a damn good one,” he looked over at her, “really knows her shit.”
“Oh, tha’s good,” Riana began to fade, “iss good t’meet’cha.”
“I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time, Riana,” Apex purred, “I’ve heard so much about you.” She waited for a response but Hysteria was unconscious again.
“She’s out,” Yang confirmed, “she probably won’t remember this at all.”
“That’s okay,” Apex studied her; she seemed so weak and vulnerable, not at all what she’d pictured. ‘This is the MechWarrior that took down Victoria Espinosa?’ she asked herself silently, “I just wanted to meet her.”
“Well, you may need a do-over,” Yang chuckled, “but for now you may as well let her sleep.”
“I can stay with her,” Apex paced around to the other side of her bed, “you know, in case she comes to.”
“No, that’s not a good idea,” the Chief deterred her, “when the meds wear off she’s going to be in a lot of pain, not the best time to see an unfamiliar face.” He had a flash of concern, thinking to himself how much she looked like a predator. “You can go back to quarters; I’ll stay with her a while.”
Apex let her gaze linger on Hysteria’s sleeping form a while longer, then she shifted her eyes to the Chief. “Alright,” she acquiesced, recognizing his determination and distrust, “if you need anything you know where to find me.”
“Thanks,” he grunted as she passed by him and closed the door to the room behind her. Yang sighed and let his head drop. He’d eaten a lot of crow apologizing to Apex for the goof with the Hunchback and he was trying his best to give her a fair shake, even going so far as bringing her with him to see Riana, but something about her still gave him a deep sense of unease. “Just who the hell are you?” he wondered aloud, “maybe it’s time we found out.” He pulled out his communicator and punched in an ID code. Moments later Lord Madeira’s face appeared.
“Chief,” he began, “what can I do for you?”
“I need some background research on someone,” he began, “and you seem like just the person to ask.”
“Intelligence gathering is not really my forte,” Lord Madeira admitted, “but go ahead; I know some people who might be able to help.”
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Post by Uesugi-dono on Sept 2, 2019 18:49:08 GMT
KIMI II
The Aurigan Reach
"I want this one clean and by the numbers," Hysteria said as the Leopard lifted away into the sky, a maelstrom of snow and ice particles swirling in her wash, "our target is considered an assassin by the Theocracy, and his crew are Taurian mercs. I suspect we're in for a bit of a surprise." She felt the HGN-732B shudder to life beneath her. The Highlander was a relic; a museum piece from the Star League era, but Yang assured her the Assault Mech was terrifyingly formidable and an excellent replacement for the Jagermech she'd lost back on Artru. Although she liked the inclusion of the Gauss Rifle, the rare piece of LosTech did cause her more anxiety than the threat of losing her Kali Yama used to.
"This should be a milk run," Apex countered from her seat in the Hunchback 4P, "according to the MRB rating." Her tone was cocksure; in the months during Riana's recovery she'd proven her deadly marksmanship time and again. There were even betting pools aboard the Argo now for who was a better sniper shot; her or Glitch. Recently, Apex was winning.
"Don't get overconfident," Kru warned her, "we all know the MRB rating isn't gospel." He moved the Thunderbolt SE forwards, heading for a small, wooded overlook. The TDR-5SE was a long-range missile boat and, ever since they acquired it at the Outpost Castle, Kru had been its pilot. He was still very mistrustful of Apex; she had this weird obsession with Riana that just made him uncomfortable. 'Riana,' he thought, wistfully, 'Why won't you just tell me?' Ever since he'd put the pieces together and figured out that Riana was pining for Lady Arano he'd felt a bit... used. As a grown man he was well able to handle being a side thing, even a one night stand, but what rubbed him the wrong way was the secrecy of it all and Yang's overprotective attitude. Since the incident in the MedBay he'd not had more than a few minutes alone with Riana, even when she was convalescing, without Yang hovering nearby.
"Is okay," Vamp chuckled inside the refitted Banshee 3E Assault Mech that Yang had spruced up for him. Sporting an insane amount of armor, two rocket-fired arm modifications, and a battery of flamers, the Banshee had been kitted out with Vamp's melee skills in mind. "Whatever zey throw at us, just get me close."
The team advanced, with the smaller Hunch taking the lead. Vamp broke to the left of the hill that Kru was ascending but Riana, in the Highlander, ambled slowly behind. She liked to consider this Mech a 'finisher' of sorts. Vamp, with all his excessive armor, was usually bait while Apex would play the harasser. Kru provided long range support and, by the time the Highlander got to the AO, it was time to mop up. "I've got contacts," Apex reported as she moved past the hill at full throttle, counting two to the northwest. One's a vehicle."
"Use caution," Hysteria warned her, "get in cover and paint me a target."
"I'm heading for cover now," Apex reported as she moved across open ground, "first target coming online now."
"You're out in the open," Kru warned her, locking onto the Shadowhawk that popped up on his screen, "let Assault take the lead!"
"Relax," she waved off his concern, "the Hunch has the armor to take it." Just then a cavalcade of warning light appears in her cockpit. "Looks like they've got a sensor lock on me."
"Leave ze reckless driving to me!" Vamp yelled as he surged ahead at full throttle, racing at the Shadowhawk. "Kommander, I've got a trace on another vehicle and it looks like zis one is a Manticore."
"Take a walk on him," Riana confirmed. She was still far from the battle but she could see the LRMs sailing through the sky from both the north and the east. "Skirmish, you've got incoming... a lot of incoming!"
"I see 'em!" Apex leaned back in the cage as the first volley of missiles hit her at full sprint. The Hunch wobbled on its feet, trying to compensate when the second volley impacted. Her momentum faltered as she regained control. "I lost a bit of armor but I'm okay," she reported just as another impact from the Shadowhawk's AC 10 hit her. "They're really gunning for me!" she said, but instead of resuming her speed she slowed and swiveled, lining up her precision mount for an Alpha Strike at the Hawk's left shoulder and the cannon mounted there. "Let's see how you like it!" She squeezed the trigger and the massive battery of medium and heavy lasers fired. "Ha!" she said with triumph as the Hawk's shoulder exploded, dislodging its right arm in the process, "How'd you like those Christmas lights?"
"Apex, brace!" Kru yelled as more missiles raced in from the west, "you gotta lot more incoming!" But it was too late; a hail of LRMs from an unseen carrier rained down on the Hunch. She was still moving at a jog as they hit but when her laser array detonated the entire Mech became unbalanced and she went down. "Apex!!" Kru yelled, targeting the LRM carrier for a full volley, "You alright?"
"Zat's Corsair's favorite Mech!" Vamp reminded her.
"That hurt," she groaned, "Commander, I lost my weapons system. All I have is one medium laser on my left arm!"
"Get to your feet and fall back," Riana commanded, using the targeting data to fire her Long Twenties on the LRM carrier, "I want you in cover and using sensor lock only; Vamp, get your ass out in the open and tango with that Manticore!"
"You got it, boss," Apex grunted, trying to get the Hunch to respond. Just then, however, another volley of missiles rained in from the north and east. "Commander, I'm gonna get hit again. Bracing for impact!"
"The rest of the team watched as the missiles tore the downed Hunch apart. Both legs flew off and the left arm was thrown clear but when her CT detonated the terrified horror in her scream curdled their blood.
"Apex!!" Riana called to her, but the Hunch's com was dead. She tore her attention away long enough to fire an Alpha Strike at the Shadowhawk, the Gauss Rifle punching a deadly hole in its CT.
"Zat was a terrible hit," Vamp said as he crushed the Manticore underfoot, "I don't know if she survived zat."
"Commander," Kru interrupted, "I've got a trace in the east; looks like it might be our target... and there's a Trebby inbound from the north."
"Vamp, take out the Trebby on your way to intercept," Riana began, "Kru; get your ass to Apex and get her out." She fired another volley of her LRM 20s at the enemy carrier, putting an end to it. "I'm moving full throttle to intercept; if we don't hit this guy hard he'll rabbit."
"Commander," Kru began as diplomatically as he could, "with all due respect; if you take me outta this fight now, the target will rabbit... and he'll get away. If we're gonna take this mook down we're gonna need to target the legs to prevent him from running." He took a deep breath. "I know you don't know her well, but Apex is a merc, the real deal... she'll understand."
"I don't like losing people," Riana gritted her teeth, "even part-timers. Get to the Hunch, Fire Support; that's an order."
"Understood," Kru acknowledged, "I'll move to her location and lay eyes. Get me some targeting data so we can trip this bastard up!" He switched coms; "Envoy, spool up a medical evac. I'm gonna clear your LZ, come in low from the west, say again, slow and low from the west, you copy?"
"了解," Sumire replied, "I'm en route but if the AO is still hot I'm gonna be a big, low-flying target up here."
"Don't vorry," Vamp reassured her, punching through the Trebuchet's CT, his armor smoking and dented but still holding strong, "by ze time you get here ze target vill be on his back!"
"We're on the clock, people," Hysteria reminded them, let's take this bastard down!"
: I ended up getting a Grasshopper (above) from the assassin! I heavy Mech designed to be a "hunter" of lighter Mechs. I managed to kit it out as a replacement 'Vindy' for Glitch, making her useful as a PP-Wielding sniper once more! Speaking of Apex, she really is the apex sniper in my group now, when it comes to single targeting of a part that just has to be hit, I can count on her. But the drama I've been building up with her is going to have to go somewhere. Speaking of drama:
:
"Unsalvagable??" Corsair exclaimed, looking at the ruins of the Hunchback 4P on the bay floor, "Oh man! I liked that Mech!"
"Hysteria says it will cost too much to replace the parts," Yang shrugged, "I agree."
"Man, I let her drive my Hunch one time!"
"Relax," Kru said as he approached the pair, "she'll survive, by the way. I can tell youse guys were worried..." the sarcasm hung thick in the air.
"Stow it, Kru," Yang barked at him, "nobody here wishes her ill will."
"Really?" Death Krusade chuckled, leaning back against the rail and taking a swig of his canned drink, "You sure about that?"
"Take off, Chris," Yang said dismissively to Corsair. The command in his voice was undeniable.
"You got it, Chief." He mock saluted and turned on his heel, happy to be away from Yang's foul mood.
"You gotta problem?" Kru folded his arms, sitting his drink on the rail.
"Yeah, I got a problem," Yang moved up into Kru's space, near nose-to-nose, "it's about six feet and two-twenty of mind-your-own-fucking-business!"
"I know you're looking out for her," Kru cut to the chase, "and you got eyes on her for the same reason I do; something don't sit right about Apex. She's got this weird obsession about Riana."
"Maybe it's not as weird as yours!" Yang countered, his hackles still raised.
"Yeah, you're real protective of her," Kru said, still as cool as ice, "and you protect her secrets too, even the ones she keeps from you. So what is it then?" he held one hand up, inquisitively, "Is it a paternal longing or are you just hoping that, one day, she'll realize what a good man you are?"
"You motherfucker!!" Yang seized Kru's shirt in his mechanical arm and pulled him up to his toes, shaking him violently.
"Careful, Chief," Kru cautioned him, "everybody's watching here."
Yang paused, scanning the area to see if anyone had, indeed, seen his outburst. He released Death Krusade and took a step back. "What the fuck do you want, Todd?" "I want the same thing you want, Yang," Kru replied, straightening out his clothes and brushing off, "I want her to be safe. She's a remarkable woman and, I admit, I got feelings for her. That's why I can't stay."
"Wait," the Chief's expression washed over with confusion, "What?"
"My plan was never to find a permanent home here," he explained, "maybe you don't know, but I was a detective back on Solaris. I was working a case..." he let his gaze drift to the side for a moment, "suffice to say I got things left undone. I still have a woman to find and, no matter how I feel about her, Riana ain't her."
"What... what are you going to do?" Yang asked, his anger evaporating, "This is gonna hit her like an AC shot."
"Yeah, I know," he nodded his head and looked down, "and to be honest, if she felt the same way then maybe I'd stay... but I know who has her heart, and I can't compete with that!"
"Well," Yang began, his own head and heart confused now, "don't be too hasty. I'm not really sure that can go anywhere. I mean, she's royalty."
"Eh, that's above my paygrade, Chief," Todd shook his head and grinned, "I'm just a common grunt, I can't get entangled with nobility... I'd just drag her down."
"Kru," Yang began, "I'm... I'm sorry, maybe I misjudged you."
"Nah, Chief," he put a hand on Yang's shoulder, "I'm just a Merc. A Mechwarrior, like Apex. I go from job to job sos I can eat, you know? Now maybe it's time for me to move on, but you... you gotta keep on looking out for her. That woman, Apex, I know there's something funny about her. I can't say what but..."
"Two sets of eyes and better than one," Yang cut him off, "you don't have to go."
"No," Kru shook his head, "I really do."
Yang looked down, ashamed of how he'd been treating Kru lately. "Why?" he asked.
"Because, my friend," Kru nodded almost imperceptibly, "if I don't go now, then I might never leave."
:
Riana was in her quarters when a soft knock called her attention. "Come in," she called, turning just as Death Krusade entered the room.
"You got a minute?" he asked, standing in the doorway.
"Hmm," she smirked, her lips pulling up in one corner, "finally managed to slip away and make some time for lil' ol' me, huh?"
"I wish it was like that," Kru said as he moved into the room, letting the door shut behind him. "Commander, I got an offer from another company." Riana's smile disappeared. "The Gray Death Legion," he continued, "Their CO, Grayson Carlyle, is paying top dollar for mercs. He's even offering a kickback to any company he poaches from... it's a hundred thousand C-bills."
"Poaches," she echoed, wrapping her arms around her chest, "That's unusual." She turned and pulled up an image of Carlyle on the compad. "That's a pretty famous outfit. I hear they call him a tactical genius."
"Yeah, he's got something of a pedigree, I suppose," Kru admitted, "to be honest, there's no shortage of professional mercs who'd love to get into the Gray Death Legion."
"Professionals like you, I suppose," her tone chilled as she looked back up at him. "Go on."
"Carlyle's something else," Kru spoke with excitement in his voice, "I played his message over and over. The way he talks... I know he could really shake up the galaxy... and I wanna be part of that." He smiled at her bitter-sweetly, "But this crew is like my family and leaving... well, leaving ain't so easy. Leaving you ain't so easy."
"But you'd do it," she said flatly.
"Riana," Kru looked at her plaintively, "You and I both know what this was; you're a great commander and a wonderful friend. When we're together, it's like..." he paused, "it's like love... but it ain't. And you know it ain't because you don't love me." She opened her mouth to speak but then he added: "You're in love with someone else, someone beautiful. Someone who deserves your love more than I do and, no matter what I do, I'm never gonna be able to replace her."
Riana deflated. She hated to lose Kru, but how could she deny what he'd said? He was a diversion at best; a placeholder for a dream that might never come true. "I... I'm sorry," she looked down at the floor, "I didn't mean to lie to you."
"You never did," he smiled warmly at her as he lifted her chin with his hand, "I'm a detective, remember? How long did you really think you'd hide it from me?"
She returned his smile and caressed his hand in her own. "I'm really gonna miss you, fucker." They both chuckled. "You sound really fired up. This isn't easy to say, but you should take Carlyle's offer. Hell, you can keep the kickback for yourself. You've earned it." She took a step back and presented her hand to shake.
Kru took her hand but then, unexpectedly, pulled her into an embrace. "I won't forget you, any of youse. Commander, you taught me everything I know about leadership." When he pulled back his eyes were moist and tears ran down her cheeks. "And you know we can throw a killer party with this cash! With your permission, of course!
"Granted," she smiled at him, drying her eyes, "let's go inform the crew; we're gonna have an unforgettable night that no one will be able to remember!"
"I can drink to that!" he wrapped an arm around her as they headed for the door together.
"One condition," Riana grinned up at him.
"Name it." He said.
"Tonight, after the party," she bit her lower lip, "you're gonna love me apocalyptic."
"Like it was the last night in the Universe!" he grinned back.
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Post by Uesugi-dono on Dec 9, 2019 17:52:42 GMT
Apex lingered in the door of the gymnasium of Gamma Pod. In the reduced gravity of the Argo, it was imperative to keep a healthy level of exercise. It was late. The Argo was still set to North-West Hemi Universal, a standard when a vessel was underway, although once they docked with the Jump Ship Darius liked to reset to whatever local time they were headed to, to reduce jet lag and all. Still, however, there were about a half-dozen people in the gym, mostly MechTechs coming off B-Shift. They handled most of the heavy grunt work on the Mechs, structural repair and armor replacement. Only BACOM worked C-Shift, doing the fine motor and electronic work and running diagnostics. Just about everybody else was in their bunk, especially the MechWarriors, but Apex liked the quiet of the Argo at this hour, and better yet she hated crowds, but tonight she had ulterior motives.
Riana was here.
Slithering into the gym, Apex stalked closer to the commander, paying no heed to the sweaty Techs she pass. Riana was working the resistance bench, pressing a hydraulic bar just below neck level. She could see the readout from here; it was set to 73 kg but at about 1.2 standard gravity. Apex grinned; if that gravity adjustment just happened to get bumped a little higher, maybe to about 3.0, that 73 kg would very rapidly become 217. The commander was athletic, strong for her build, but hydraulic resistance like that would crush a collar bone and choke the life out of her. Apex licked her lips. 'Revenge, ironically,' she thought, 'will be mine.'
: Duncan's com beeped. He rolled in his bunk and groaned. Sleep had just taken him. He reached for the button and Lord Madeira's face appeared in the static. "Wasn't expecting to dream about nobility," he quipped, "so I presume this is important."
"Sly, I can't raise Chief Virtanen," he adjusted his glasses as he spoke, "and I have something I feel is rather critical."
"Uhh," Sly slumped back into his pillow, "he probably turned his com off. He was busy on B-Shift working on that heap of slag that Vamp turned the Banshee into. Can this wait until morning?"
"I don't think it should," Lord Madeira shook his head, "he asked me to gather some intel on someone, on someone who's on this boat. Well, I did and the results are a little... concerning."
"So buzz Hysteria," Sly complained, why'd you call me?"
"Riana isn't answering either," he said with a grave tone, "and the intel indicates she could be in danger."
"Did you try Kru?" the MechWarrior felt slumber's call pulling him back down into the deep.
"Kru's gone, remember?" Lord Madeira cocked his head, "Duncan, wake up. I need you to focus. I'm all the way up here in CIC. Do you know where Riana is?"
"All right, all right, I'm up," he pulled himself up in the bunk, swallowing a complaint about how nobody ever bothers Glitch with stuff like this, "I think she's in the gym. She's been hitting it hard since Kru left," he swung his feet off the bunk to come in contact with the Argo's cold, metal floor. 'Just about as hard as Kru's leaving hit her,' he thought.
"Go check on her, please," Lord Madeira lowered his voice, "this is about Apex."
Duncan's eyes steeled and he stood up, wearing only his sleep pants, "Keep trying the Chief," he said as he started heading towards Gamma Pod, "and start a security detail that way, just in case."
:
Apex watched one of the last MechTechs in the room nervously from the corner of her eye as she halfheartedly fiddled with the machine in front of her. 'Once he's gone,' she thought, 'I'll move on Riana,' she looked back at the commander, who was still working the resistance bench. She wondered to herself how long she could keep that up, she'd already been doing it nonstop for ten minutes. 'Maybe,' the mused, 'I should bump it up to 4.0.'
At a sound, her head snapped back, expectantly, but instead of the final MechTech leaving it was Big Sly entering the room. "Yo, Riana!!" he called, causing her to let the bar rise and pull herself up into a sitting position. Apex silently cursed. "I thought I might find you here, oh hey Apex," he waved at her, his shirtless dad-bod rippling from the effort, "I didn't expect to see you here."
"Fuck off, Sly," Apex grumbled, pulling at the machine she was seated at, "I'm always in here at night."
"Ha!" Duncan laughed loudly, "Never can tell where you're going to be!" he walked past her just as Apex noticed two security personnel loitering by the doorway.
"What's up, Sly?" Riana asked, rubbing away the sweat with a towel.
"Mads needs you in CIC," Sly pointed with his thumb over his shoulder, "some urgent Restoration shit. When he couldn't get you he buzzed me."
"Now?" she sounded puzzled, "We're enroute to Smithon already, we can't get there any faster."
"Right?" Sly chuckled, "I dunno, something-something, Lady Arano..."
"I'll head that way," she sighed as she pulled herself upright, "it must be pretty important to warrant a call at this time of night."
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Duncan nodded, arms akimbo. Suddenly he felt a chill over his naked torso and he looked down, then back up... uncomfortably.
Riana took a long swig of water from her bottle and then tossed her towel over her shoulder, starting to move forward. "You coming with?"
"Pssh!" Duncan smirked, goofily, "And appear before the nobility dressed like this??"
"Sly," Riana cocked an eyebrow, "I was a noble."
"Past tense," he pointed out with an exaggerated wag of his finger, "a very important distinction." She rolled her eyes and swept past him, giving a curious glace at the security guards at the door before exiting the room. Sly lingered a moment and then started to follow.
"Are we having trust issues," Apex let the weights she was pulling fall with a crash and turned towards him, "again?"
"Not at all," Sly turned on his heel, "are we acting guilty, again?"
"Guilty of what?!" she stood up and surged towards him, "I've been a rock-solid member of this team since I came on board and I'm the best goddamn sniper you have! I volunteered to drive the Orion and run recon while the rest of you sit in big, shiny Assault Mechs and yet, even now, I am subjected to mistrust and scorn... you ran down here in your pajamas with security in tow, what about that... Sly?"
"That," he pointed two index fingers at the guards, "is a coincidence... shoo!" he waved his hands at the guards, "Shoo! But this hostility... honestly, it's not working. It's like you have this giant, Riana-shaped chip on your shoulder," he flailed his hands about, as if describing the dimensions of the chip, "is there anything you'd like to open up about?"
"I think I'll turn in," Apex growled, noting security's remaining presence, "before I open up your lying face."
:
"I hope you found something good." Yang yawned as he joined Riana in CIC along with Lord Madeira, Darius, and Sumire.
"If it were good, I doubt we'd be here in the wee hours," Su was already sipping her coffee. The rendezvous with the Jump Ship Excelsior was in less than an hour so she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep.
"I do apologize for the urgency of this," Lord Madeira began, "but the Chief asked me to look into Apex's background and when I got the results I didn't feel like it should wait.
"Chief, you did what?" Riana looked confused, glancing back at Darius, "Didn't you and Kru vet her and Corsair when you hired them?"
"We conducted interviews, yes," Darius nodded, "but I'm as confused as you are. What's going on here, Yang?"
"There was some, uh, suspicious activity," Yang began, "both Kru and I agreed: something was off about Apex and her obsession with you."
"An obsession?" Riana was even more confused, "Why is this the first I'm hearing of this? I haven't noticed any obsession."
"She was attached to you like a shadow while you were recovering," Yang revealed, "so much so that I made sure Kru, Sly, or myself was sitting with you at all times."
"Seems like something you might have wanted to bring up to the rest of us!" Darius scolded him.
"I wanted to be sure," Yang said defensively, "we couldn't put our finger on it and we didn't wanna jump to conclusions. I mean, we've been making a name for ourselves out here, making a lot of money too. I wanted to be sure that she wasn't just starstruck or something."
"MechWarriors aren't really known for being fanboys," Sumire interjected, taking a sip of her coffee.
"That's why I said it was off," the Chief explained, "anyway, I asked Lord Madeira to look into her and see what he could find.
"And what did you find?" Riana lifted an eyebrow, her arms folded in annoyance.
"At first it seemed like nothing," Alexander admitted, "that's why it took so long. Farida Lamb, aka Apex, Periphery... born on Katinka right here in Aurigan space. Thirty years old, but didn't hire out as a merc until Espinosa's coup," the lord closed one digital file with a swipe of his hand and then opened another one, "but then my contact found this, weeks later. It seems there's another MechWarrior that goes by the handle Apex. Also Periphery, twenty-eight years old, did time in a prison on Bellerophon for assault and manslaughter before signing on with Bledy's Band..."
"The merc outfit," Darius stood from where he was leaning on the bulkhead, "she said she practically grew up with them.
"They were in Aurigan space on Coronation Day," Lord Madeira turned to Riana, "took part in the pacification of military bases on Tyrion. Heavy losses that day, what was left of them got absorbed into Victoria Espinosa's personal guard."
Riana let her face fall into her hand. "What?"
"Used to pilot a Dragon," Lord Madeira continued, "missing-in-action, presumed dead on Anvelt..." Alexander swiped the file closed, "... the day we destroyed the Newgrange. Her name's Jordan, Jordan Preda. Her family's minor Capellan nobility. She's an outcast after her arrest."
"Son-of-a-bitch!" Yang cursed, "I knew it!"
"So we smoked her on Anvelt?" Darius asked, "And she survived? That's a Martian atmosphere. I'm almost certain we pulled parts off of that Dragon."
"She probably slipped out in a pressure suit while we were occupied with Victoria," Su offered, "sheltered in the port until we left."
"So, what are we going to do?" Darius asked.
"I say we put her out the goddamn airlock!" Yang jumped to his feet.
"Now, hold on a minute," Darius counseled, "she hasn't actually done anything yet."
"Yet!!" Yang snapped, "she's dogged Riana's steps the entire time she's been here! Probably just waiting to put one in the back of her head!"
"She's had chances," Su shrugged, "she's dropped with Riana several times."
"On a bunch of milk runs!" the Chief countered, "everything was by-the-numbers, there was no chance to pop her without being noticed!"
"It's possible that you're reading too much into this," Lord Madeira cautioned, "she is a mercenary, remember? Maybe it's not personal at all."
"Well, maybe it is!" Yang growled, "It is really worth taking that chance?"
"Is it worth murdering a crew member?" Sumire shot back, "I'm with his lordship and Darius on this one; she hasn't actually done anything yet."
"You haven't seen how suspicious she's been acting!" the Chief said, defensively.
"And why's that, Chief?" Riana lifted her head, "Is that because you didn't tell anyone?"
"I wasn't the only one!" he countered, "Kru agreed with me!"
"Well, Kru isn't here anymore," Riana said with finality, "but I'm inclined to agree with Yang; by not disclosing that she was in a crew that we took out, well, that's very suspicious."
"I would just like to point out," Darius began, "that she's been a pretty reliable MechWarrior. She doesn't shy away from a fight, she's a damn good shot..."
"She's pretty damn expensive," Su was looking at her datapad.
"We can't just do nothing." Yang folded his arms.
"We won't," Riana said, "Su, you'd better head to the bridge. We should be in range to make contact with the Excelsior. Right now, we do the job," she looked around at her companions, "business as usual. Lady Arano needs us to defend the evacuation of Smithon from the Taurean invasion and we need to have our head in the game."
"Okay," Yang nodded, "You want me to have her in sims while you're gone, just so she's not suspicious?"
"No Chief," Riana shook her head, "she'll be in the Orion. She's going with me."
"I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Darius said as Yang's jaw dropped, "just because she hasn't taken a shot at you yet doesn't mean that she won't, especially during the chaos of a full-scale evacuation."
"She might be waiting for a moment just like that!" Yang protested.
"I'd rather keep a potential enemy where I can see her," Riana explained, "besides, Lord Madeira is right: She's a mercenary. If she's a professional then she deserves a chance to preserve her honor, and there's no better place to prove it than on the battlefield."
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Post by Uesugi-dono on Dec 12, 2019 16:11:17 GMT
SMITHON 0520 HOURS IN THE LOCAL The Hysteria shook in the atmospheric tides as the DropShip entered the upper Thermosphere of Smithon. In the cockpit, Sumire held the stick steady with her left hand while her right flipped switches to engage various stabilizers. She keyed the com: "Entering atmospheric flight. On the ground in five. Final checklists, prepare for Combat Insertion." The MechBay was suddenly awash in red light as four BattleMechs whirred to life. Hysteria was in the Highlander, Vamp in his Banshee, and Big Sly was piloting the Thunderbolt, but even as they ran through their final checklists all of them kept an eye on the Orion on the monitor, parked next to Hysteria's Mech. The Coms monitor in each flared to life with Lady Arano's image.
"In the wake of Commodore Ostergaard's initial attack, Taurian BattleMechs have continued to wreak havoc on the general population," she began, transmission lines recycling her moving image, "We have DropShips en route to evacuate as many refugees as they can carry, but the Taurians will target them if they get the chance. I need you to deny them that opportunity. Operation Valiant Restraint begins at Oh-Five-Thirty. I need Revenge in place to provide cover for those DropShips before that time." Kamea took a deep breath in the image, "This is their darkest hour, Commander. If I cannot stop this invasion at least I can help these people get to safety. These are non-combatants, Hysteria, women and children fleeing for their lives. Once more you will play a critical role. I and the Restoration are in your debt."
The image shifted and Darius appeared on the monitor. "If Ostergaard were pulling this shit anywhere but the Reach, the whole Inner Sphere would be screaming about war crimes," Darius snarled, "We can't let the Taurians get away with what they're doing here, Commander," his lip curled into an angry half-smile, "Punish them for it!"
Doctor Murad's image flashed up next: "Fardock spaceport is small," she began, "it only has three, small landing pads, just big enough for Leopards. There are already several hundred refugees on site, sheltering inside the port, but the Taurians have already gotten a fix on their location and the Mechs are on their way to eliminate them. Since they haven't faced much opposition in this genocidal campaign, expect them to be fully armored but, by the same token, I wouldn't anticipate any class larger than Heavy. Civvie targets rarely shoot back, and what's left of Restoration resistance is tied up in the capital, so I doubt they'll be expecting your Lance." She scrolled through a datapad she carried until she pulled up technical readouts, "The biggest issue I see is the proximity of the fuel tanks to the actual pads. Each one is spider-webbed with fuel lines and, even though the DropShips won't be hooking up, each line is fully charged. If they target the tanks they will ignite those lines and the entire pad will blow: Leopard, refugees, and all."
"Greeaaat," Sly's voice wafted over the coms.
"You'll have to draw their fire," Darius counseled, "we have the element of surprise; they aren't expecting any defenders. With any luck, that will give them pause..."
"It won't," Sumire interjected, "Taurians believe hard, and none harder than the military. They get full citizenship in exchange for four years of service, and all the benefits that go with it. They'll see our presence as a challenge; both to their honor and to their very freedom," she paused for a moment, "in their minds they aren't killing civilians, but terrorists. The wounded heal and return to the fight, the old teach the young how to kill, and the women bear the children, children that grow up to try and take away their freedoms. That makes all of them valid targets. They won't hesitate."
"It's an efficient way to see the enemy," Apex purred, "leave none alive to seek revenge."
"It iz ze truth," Vamp's voice was subdued, "Ve Taurians see ze Concordant as ze beacon of freedom and justice in ze galaxy. We are ze best; anyone who opposes us must hate freedom."
"Well, they're definitely gonna hate my Kali Yama," Hysteria quipped as she primed the ammo feed for the AC/20, "I've got a bone to pick with Ostergaard anyway, showing up when he did on Artru. He's lucky I was out of it then, because I can't wait to meet him now!" She finished her checklist. "Envoy, time?"
"Red line," the pilot's voice flooded the coms, "three minutes to deployment."
"We using the UDAs?" Sly asked, referring to the umbilical deployment arms.
"Negative," Sumire replied, "I'm showing all green in the drop zone."
"You heard her," Hysteria confirmed, "doors down, cocks out. We move with a purpose, people. I want CC central, Skirmish you've got Pad Charlie, Fire Support's on Bravo. I'll take Alpha. First sign of a Taurian Mech you light it up, but don't stray far, that goes especially for you Vamp! I can't spare anyone to come to your rescue!"
"Da, Kommander," he replied, "You vill never let me live zat down, vill you?"
"Sly, you focus support on Apex," she ignored him, "Vamp and I have the tonnage to handle ourselves."
"I can pull my own weight!" Apex protested.
"If OpFor comes in from the direction of town," Hysteria began, "then Charlie will be the clear target. Everything else goes through an Assault Mech," she smirked, "it's nothing personal, Apex, but you're front line in the smallest Mech."
"Thirty seconds," Sumire interrupted as the red light above the doors turned green. "Prepare for deployment." The G-Forces pulled at them as the Leopard reared back, thrusters firing as swirling eddies of sand and dust heralded the DropShip's arrival at Fardock. Expertly, Su let the Leopard's nose fall level to the ground and she pulled the release on the doors. The Hysteria's sides split open as four doors became ramps and the Lance shivered to life, charging down the ramps and into the central area of the spaceport.
"Sound off!" Hysteria commanded as she swiveled her Highlander to keep Apex's Orion in view.
"Clear on this side," Sly called.
"We're all green, Envoy," Hysteria repeated, locking Apex's position on her HUD, "get clear. Actual, inform Delfinas that Operation Valiant Restraint is go and they can start their descent. Let's get these people out of here."
Lady Arano's voice crackled over the coms. "The Spaceport in front of you is packed wall-to-wall with civilians, most of them refugees from the capital," static shot through the transmission as the sounds of explosions filled the background, "The Taurians have been targeting them as enemy combatants and I need your help to keep those people safe until we can evac them to safety. We're trying to hold their focus here but there's at least one Lance tasked with wiping these people out. We have three of the late Lord Karosas' DropShips en route to assist with the evacuation, expect the captain of each vessel to call in on approach. You'll need to keep the enemy's eyes on you and away from the docking pads. Any hostiles you fail to engage will almost certainly target the fuel tanks; if they manage to detonate one the resulting explosions will wipe out everything nearby: DropShips, refugees, you name it."
"We've got the schematics, my Lady," Hysteria reassured her, "Revenge is yours. Just make sure you get out of the capital in one piece."
"Good luck Commander," Kamea's image gave her a warm smile, "the Taurians aren't going to make this easy. Protect our ships. Help them get our people home safe."
"Alright, MechWarriors," Hysteria said with a commanding voice, "get to your deployments. We've already got incoming on sensors." Sure enough, the first wave of Taurians were converging on the spaceport.
"I'm reading three thirty-fives, a sixty-five and a, oh," Sumire called out the incoming tonnage from her stratospheric observation post, "Commander you've got an eighty-five Assault Class inbound."
"So much for nothing above a Heavy," Apex grumbled, "thanks, Farah."
"It doesn't matter," Vamp chuckled, "iz only one of zem. I guess zey are in for bigger surprise, da?"
"Skirmish, get us a Sensor Lock on the closest." Hysteria ordered.
"It's a JR7-D," Apex reported, "should be coming in visual right about now. You want me to reposition?"
"Negative," Hysteria replied, "Foxtrot Sierra, call the ball. Let 'em know we're home."
"Roger that, prepping the welcome wagon," Sly flipped the switches to arm both banks of LRMs as he locked in Apex's sensor data, "all eyes on you, Jenner... all missiles too!" The Thunderbolt was shrouded in smoke as thirty long range missiles arced into the air.
"Second Jenner inbound," Vamp reported as the first Jenner staggered under the volley, "Who am I shooting at?"
"Go ahead and hit the second target," Hysteria said as she locked and fired her own LRMs at the original target, "I want their attention on us, not the fuel pods."
: I was originally concerned that this mission would be near-impossible to complete perfectly. Defending 3 pads with just 4 Mechs seemed like a big challenge and, at first, it looked like I would be correct. While Vamp needed little help controlling the central approach with his Banshee, a beast I'd outfitted with 2 Medium Lasers, a fuckton of Flamers, and Arm Mods on both arms, along with full heavy armor, my bigger concern was Pad Charlie. Apex's Orion was not the monstrosity that either Assault Mech was. I also made a strategic error in replacing the Highlander's Gauss Cannon with the AC/20+++ Kali Yama, in that I no longer had a long range death gun. When wave two emerged over Alpha, Hysteria was unable to take out the Light Mechs in a single volley of her LRM5s, leaving me scrambling to get closer while they pounded the fuel tank. Eventually, however, she managed to mop them up, but it was at Apex's expense. The Orion took several heavy shots from the Panther's PPC and Vamp, scrambling about with little-to-no long range attacks, was really unable to help. Especially when the Battlemaster decided to focus on her. Sly, in the Thunderbolt (which I'd outfitted as a missile boat) was trying to wear down his armor but the Assault Mech had it for days, resisting both Vamp's punches and using his own fists when the flamers caused him to overheat. Shepherd One was finally away, freeing up Hysteria to charge to the rescue, when Apex faced the grim reality that, if I was gonna stop them from blowing Pad Charlie's fuel tank, she was going to have to make a sacrifice.
: Flames were erupting from the pod as Apex's Orion limped towards it. Her left leg had already been taken out by the Battlemaster's attack before Vamp managed to draw his attention back into a giant-robo punchfest. The Panther that had set it alight was perched on the hill beyond Shepherd Three, preparing to fire again, even as another JR7-D was racing towards the pad. She could hear the panicked calls from the Leopard's captain and the shrill, terrified voices of the people packing into its hold over the open coms channel. "I'm gonna need a little fire support over here!" she cried, silencing the open coms channel to drown out the voices. She checked her AC/10, it was in bad shape. 'Another hit or two,' she thought, 'and the whole arm is coming off.' She'd missed her chance at taking a shot at Riana when the commander'd fired her jump jets to get closer to that Locust. Moments later the Battlemaster had swept her leg and she went down hard. She was unbalanced now, the leg more like a crutch than a limb at this point.
"Negative, I say again, negative," Sly's voice responded, "Bravo is under heavy fire."
"If you don't fire on that Panther then Charlie's gonna blow!" Apex shrieked, still moving towards the Panther. She was close to the burning pod now, well within the blast radius. 'If this thing goes up,' her mind raced, 'then I'm gonna go up with it!'
"Skirmish," came Hysteria's voice, eerily calm amid the chaos, "you need to get clear. If they blow the fuel your Mech is too damaged to sustain the blast."
"You can't leave those people to die, Commander!" Kamea's voice called over the coms.
"I can't make it to her in time, Phoenix," Riana replied, "and I don't want to lose one of my crew when they're going to blow it anyway." She switched her com to a direct link with the Orion: "Get out of there, Jordan. You've done all that you can."
Apex's eyes grew wide as she heard her name. 'She knows,' she thought as the bright light of the burning pod filled her cockpit, "How the fuck does she know?!" she said aloud, "Goddammit..." she lowered her gaze, glaring at the Panther through angry brows. 'I could turn around, take my shot at her as she approached,' she reasoned. She shook her head. There was no way the Orion's AC/10 could pierce her armor, even with a straight head shot. Riana had piled on armor to the Highlander, making it a damage sponge. 'Even if I get clear, even if I take the shot,' her gaze panned over to Vamp's Banshee, standing over the smoking wreckage of the Battlemaster. "Fuck it," she engaged her Targeting Assist and aimed at the Panther's right arm as she took up a position directly in front of the burning fuel pod.
"Skirmish," Riana called as she charged across the port, "withdraw. That's an order. I can't get to you."
"She's holding position," Vamp said with astonishment, kicking his Mech into gear and firing at the approaching Jenner with his lasers, "she's right in front of the pod, blocking ze shot!"
"Every one of you can kiss my ass," Apex said as she took the shot, taking the Panther's arm and attached PPC off at the shoulder, "you all think you know everything about me? Well, try this; I will not let these people die," she swiveled her Orion back around to face down the Jenner just as he initiated his Alpha Strike, "if these Taurian tit-suckers wanna kill these people they're gonna have to go through me!" The Jenner's array of lasers tore into her Center Torso and, immediately, the ambient temperature inside jumped up thirty degrees. Electronics began to spark and erupt as metal turned red-hot, slag dripping from the wounded Mech. "Witness this, motherfuckers!" Apex screamed just before her CT exploded, the reactor overheating and detonating. The Orion crumpled into a heap just in front of the burning fuel tank that she protected.
Apex swallowed, her throat feeling as dry as the sand on Smithon. Consciousness returned slowly as she smacked her lips, trying to generate enough saliva to moisten her mouth. Suddenly, she felt the pain and groaned. Her eyes adjusted and she realized she was staring at the ceiling of the Hospital bay on the Argo. "Great," she wheezed. She hurt all over, but especially her lower back, legs, and left shoulder. She rolled her head from left to right, trying to work through the pain, when she saw the shock of reddish-brown hair lying next to her. Riana, seated in a chair next to her bed and face down on her mattress, was asleep. "Are you fucking serious?" she let her head sink back into the pillow.
"How are we feeling?" a nurse asked as he approached her bedside, his right hand checking the readout on her vitals.
"Like shit," Apex grumbled, "and parched." She looked up at him as he tapped on his datapad. "How long have I been out?
"The better part of a week," the nurse shone a bright light into her eyes, checking for dilation reaction, "and she's been here with you almost the entire time. The doctor actually ordered her to her own bunk yesterday... but we see how well she follows his advice."
"Why?" Apex mostly asked herself, her gaze drifting back to the Commander.
"Because you're a hero," Riana said, slowly lifting her head, "you saved three dozen families, Jordan. You didn't have to; I ordered you to withdraw, but you sacrificed yourself to save those people."
"I didn't do it for you, Riana," Apex growled.
"That doesn't matter," Hysteria shook her head, waving the nurse away, "you did the right thing."
"I really don't give a fuck what you think!" Apex turned her head away from the Commander.
"I know," Riana acknowledged, "I know you joined us for revenge. I know I probably killed your friends on Anvelt. I don't know if you have some misguided loyalty to Victoria Espinosa..."
"Fuck her and fuck you too!" Apex snapped, her eyes rimming with moisture, "Firelock and Hammer were the only two family I had left!! Everyone else died on Tyrion!"
"Bledy's Band," Riana echoed as Apex's face turned bright red, "how big was your company?"
"We had two and a half Lances," she grumbled, turning her head and wiping at her eyes, "but we lost nearly everyone in the assault on the Arano bases." She chuckled to herself, "I guess that makes us enemies."
"It doesn't have to," Riana reached out and placed a hand on Jordan's leg. She reacted with visceral disgust. "You're a mercenary, I get that. Tyrion was just a job. A job that went sideways. People died, people you cared about."
"They were my family!" Apex hissed.
"Kind of like how Revenge is my family," Riana nodded. "I was a noble too, on Artru. Well, above Artru. Just like you I fucked up and got outcast, but unlike you I turned pirate." She held Apex's green eyes in a rock-solid mahogany gaze. "There was a time, Jordan, where I was in nearly the same position you were just in on Smithon, only I fired on those people. Where you saved families, I..." her eyes filled with tears, "I killed them. I have excuses, plenty of reasons I could give as to why I did it, but the ultimate truth of it is: I did it. So maybe I deserve your hatred. Maybe I deserve death. The gods know I'm trying to make up for it! That's why I want you to know something; Jordan... after what you did... you're my hero."
"Oh, fuck you Riana!" Apex snarled, jerking her leg until she moved her hand, "Don't fucking patronize me! I came here to kill you, okay? I came here to avenge Garrett and Luke! If I'd had a clean shot at you on Pad Alpha I'd have taken it, all right? Am I still your fucking hero??"
"Yes, you are. You know why?" Riana tilted her head in accentuation of her incoming point, "because you could have taken me out on pad Alpha."
"No, I couldn't!" Apex shouted, "The best I could have done was dent the back of the Highlander's head!"
"No," Riana countered softly, " you could have targeted the fuel tank." She let it sink in for a moment. "If I'd have been caught in that blast the enemy could have finished me and you could have played it off as a missed shot."
"If I'd done that I would have killed a hundred innocents just to get to you," Apex narrowed her eyes.
"That's why you're my hero," Riana smiled at her, "because, if I'd been in your position... I might have taken the shot."
"So what now?" Apex sneered, "You could have just stomped out my core. 'Oops,' right? Why bring me back? Why nurse me back to health? You know I want revenge, what's your plan? Wanna court martial me? I'm sure Kamea Arano would give that to you if you asked, especially if you tell her tell her what we did on Tyrion and who I worked for! You could have yourself a good, old-fashioned hanging! I bet Sly and Yang would even offer to tie the noose!"
"I don't want that, Jordan," Riana shook her head, "Look, I can't bring your friends back. Garrett and Luke, right? I'm sorry that happened, but believe me: it wasn't personal, anymore than any of these missions are. I can't give you your family back, but I can promise you a place in this one."
"Ha!" Apex laughed.
"Or not," Riana continued, "I'm sorry you didn't get your revenge. You can walk, you can sign back on with the Directorate if it makes you feel better, or..." she let it hang a moment, "or you can stay with us, fight beside us, and when this war is over I'll give you a duel... if you still want it." She held Apex's stunned gaze for a moment, nodding her head, "That's the best I can do."
Apex just stared at her for a long moment before letting her chin fall to her chest. "Goddammit," she mumbled, "goddamn you."
"I'm pretty sure He already has." Riana grinned.
"All right," Apex sighed, "alright, fine. Fine, you win!" She fixed her with an emerald glare. "I accept that what you did was without malice. I get that it was just business. I might even take you up on that duel one day," she began to nod herself as Riana's lop-sided grin grew, "and I acknowledge that maybe, just maybe, my grudge belongs with Espinosa, and not you. She was the one who hired a merc outfit to pacify a fully armed and outfitted military garrison and then scooped up the survivors." She lifted her arm weakly for a fist bump. "No promises, and I may kill you in your sleep if you piss me off!"
"Fair enough!" Riana smiled as she extended her knuckles.
"You're fucking persuasive," Apex snarled.
"I know!" Riana said cheerfully, standing up.
"Get the fuck out!" Apex finally returned her smile, "Don't come back without whiskey."
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Post by Uesugi-dono on Dec 17, 2019 15:51:36 GMT
Typically, Riana didn’t spend a lot of time in the Captain’s Quarters. Normally she preferred to stay with or near the crew, but following the destruction of Castle Gallas and Lord Madeira’s departure for Guldra she just didn’t feel like socializing. The raid on Itrom’s refineries was a complete success; they managed to seize all three without Directorate forces destroying them. The supplies gained were a valuable boon for the Restoration and it allowed for the liberation of Itrom, but the Directorate’s fuel-air bomb destroyed the castle and Lady Samantha Gallas along with it, but not before she revealed that the evidence the Restoration needed to call off the Taurian dogs lay in the Madeira Archives. Riana’s mind raced, if the Taurians ceased support for the Directorate, then Kamea had a real chance to win this war. ‘What then?’ she wondered to herself. No doubt Lady Arano would take her rightful place on Coromodir’s throne but ‘what about me,’ she wondered, ‘do I just keep on being a mercenary?’ She realized that she’d never really thought that far ahead. ‘When I started this journey,’ she mused as she poured herself another shot of rye, ‘I was just looking for a way to die.’ She picked up the shot glass and swirled the amber liquid inside. ‘Since Kamea returned all I’ve tried to do was get close to her, to serve her. How can I do that as a mercenary? I could stay with her, but in what capacity?’ She drained the glass just as a knock sounded at her door. ‘Can we ever be what I hope for?’ She put the glass back on the table as she swiveled her chair around. “Enter,” she called.
The door opened to reveal Medusa, bandaged from his injuries and looking perturbed. “We need to talk,” he said ominously.
‘Oh good,’ she snarled involuntarily, ‘this sounds like just what I need.’ She motioned for him to enter. “Come in,” she beckoned, “what’s on your mind?”
“Commander,” he began, looking around nervously as if he didn’t know how to begin, “about Itrom…”
“What about Itrom?” she interrupted, “It was a perfect mission. We captured all three objectives, took no casualties, and we made out with a nice profit. Do you have an issue with any of that?”
“Yeah, actually, I do.” Now it was his turn to scowl. The bandage wrapped around his head was stained with his blood, an injury he suffered on mission when his cockpit was hit and his head was slammed into the cage. “You say there were no casualties, but I was almost one!”
“You’re a MechWarrior,” she countered dismissively as she poured another shot, “every mission could be your last.”
“Especially if your commander sends you out in a goddamn Cicada as bait!!” he barked, drawing an angry glare from her.
“You were Recon, Benitez,” she reminded him, “a specialty of yours.”
“That was Dekker’s specialty!” he snapped.
“It became yours after he died,” she set the bottle down hard as a punctuation on her point, “a role you haven’t performed very much, I might add.”
“Yeah?” she growled, “it’s not me who decides who’s on mission and who’s on the bench!”
“What’s your point, Mohammed?” Riana asked sourly as she tossed back another shot.
“That hit I took,” he began, “that was only because you ordered me out into the open! I was supposed to be targeting! Sensor Lock! The whole point of Recon is battlefield intel, you can’t put me into a glass Mech and then have me lead the charge!”
“The Cicada is trash, I’ll give you that,” Riana conceded, “but we had to act fast. If we gave them the chance they were going to blow the refinery. I’d rather have them target a fast-moving diversion than blow the refinery before we could bring the big guns.”
“A diversion??” Medusa exclaimed, disbelieving, “Is that all I am to you? What the hell happened to you, Riana? You used to care about us! We were a family!”
“We’re still a family, Benitez,” she said as she poured yet another, “but we’re also a company. You’re a skilled pilot, Medusa, I counted on your evasive capabilities and look: here you are.”
“Yeah, here I am. No thanks to you!” he snapped, “There was a time when you wouldn’t have made that call. A time when you wouldn’t have thrown one of us into harm’s way just for a client.”
“The Restoration is not just a client!” she stood up abruptly, still holding the shot glass.
“And why is that, huh?” he challenged her, “Did you forget that we’re mercenaries? We’re not soldiers, Riana! It isn’t our job to die for ideals! We fight for money!”
“Which is something that the Restoration gives us quite a lot of!” she refused to back down, standing nose to nose with him.
“Well, we’ve got a lot of it now, don’t we?” he spread his arms wide before relenting and turned away from her, pacing in a circle until he was a comfortable few feet from her again. “I heard from Sumire that we’ve got over twenty-four million.”
“Yeah, that’s right,” she confirmed, “what of it? You think it’s cheap to run this ship, to pay these salaries? To keep all these Mechs in repair? The Restoration pays well, Medusa, war is big profit for mercenaries, but all of this… it isn’t cheap.”
“You’re too close to this,” he pointed a finger at her, accusingly, “you’re emotionally involved. This shit with Victoria Espinosa, with Kamea Arano… you’re putting all of it before us! You’ve changed, Hysteria. You’ve gone cold. You don’t see us as people anymore, we’re more like, like tools. Tools that you can use to get your personal revenge or impress your girlfriend.”
Although her initial impulse was to slap him, the drink in her hand caused her to change course so she tossed the liquid in his face instead. “High Lady Arano,” she corrected him, “who is the very reason we have twenty-four million, idiot!” She spun on her heel and slammed the glass on the table. “Is that all?” she hissed.
Medusa wiped at his face with his hand. “Yeah, that’s all. That’s all I can take,” he pulled up his shirt and dried his face more, “I’m out. You can drop me at the next planet. I’m done.”
“You quitting, Benitez?” she asked in a mocking tone, “How’d you expect this to go; you come in here, throw a tantrum, and we just head back out to Detroit and barely scrape by… with only the Leopard? The Argo belongs to Lady Arano, remember?”
“It isn’t the same,” Medusa shook his head, “yeah, we used to struggle. We struggled under Commander Markham and we struggled under you. We were always just one payment away from doom, but there was warmth, Riana. We struggled together.” He looked at her with disgust. “Now we just struggle for you, or for whoever is pulling your strings!” She fixed him with a hateful glare but he continued: “You’ve been like a machine, ever since Kru left. Like you’re just… cold. Like we don’t mean anything anymore.”
“When I first joined up,” she started, “you were the one complaining that I was nothing but a pirate, remember? I was a ‘loose cannon,’ I was ‘chaotic,’ and now your issue is that, what, I’m too much like a tactical military leader?” She prowled around him like a panther, “I made a call, Mohammed. I sent you into harm’s way to save an objective because I believed there was a high chance that you would come out of it alive. Turns out, it was a good call. We captured all three refineries, which netted us a nice little bonus to our pay. I relied on my estimation of your skill, that you were capable of the task I had given you… turns out, you were. If you have an issue with my leadership, with my tactical decisions, then maybe it’s best if you do leave.”
“This isn’t up for debate,” he revealed, “my mind was made up before I walked in here. When I took that hit my helmet was shattered and my cockpit was venting. I was losing air and pressure and I was still under fire.” He glowered at her beneath lowered brows as he hissed the next words: “I listened to Amir die, just like that. His atmo venting into a vacuum. That isn’t a good death, Riana. Behemoth got taken out, sure that was quick, but Dekker died horribly.”
“Do you think that I don’t think about that?” she challenged him, “I listened to it too; that’s not fair!”
“When I first talked my way into becoming a MechWarrior I knew the dangers,” he looked down as he spoke, “I knew people died… often. We lost a few with Markham before you came along. When I left Katinka I was looking for excitement, but now?” He looked her straight in the eyes, “Now I just wanna belong again. You’ve kept me on the sidelines for months, Riana. Kept me out of action. At first it pissed me off, but after Itrom I think maybe it’s time for me to let go, to let all of this go. I had a good run, and it’s not often that MechWarriors retire, you know? I’ve still got things I want to do with my life, I still want a family. Hell, with this war going on I haven’t heard from my parents in so long.”
“That’s why we’re fighting,” she placed a hand on his shoulder, tentatively, “as someone from the Reach, you’ve got a lot invested in seeing Lady Arano back on her throne too.”
“Don’t try that on me,” he shrugged her off, “my mind is made up. I’m sorry if I came on strong; I’m mad, mad as hell that you put the mission before the lives of your crew, but at the end of the day I’m done. I don’t have any more left to give to Revenge.”
Riana sighed, “Fine,” she walked back around to her desk and sat down, “we’re en route to Weldry to hit a pirate supply train for Restoration officials. As soon as we make orbit we can drop you there, if you’d like.”
“With a generous severance, I hope?” he asked.
“You’ve been sitting on your ass, collecting pay for six months,” she looked at him coldly, “I’d say you’ve already gotten it.”
: My decision to divest myself from Medusa was a purely financial one. I wasn’t using him, ever. In truth, it had probably been longer than 6 in-game months. He was a backup to a backup: Corsair was an excellent pilot for hot Mechs, equipped with the Coolant Vent ability, and with Glitch and Apex rotating as snipers I had plenty of other options for Sensor Locks. Really, that left Sly as my alternate; an almost redundant fifth wheel, but Sly had oodles of personality as compared to Medusa so I dropped him at Weldry.
Oh, and Cicadas do suck. I sold that piece of junk.
:
Riana retched into the toilet for the third time, her forehead beaded in sweat. ‘What the hell is wrong with me?’ she wondered as her stomach tied itself into knots. ‘maybe you’re nervous for the upcoming fight,’ the little voice of her personal doubt taunted her. She forced such weak thoughts down as she flushed the toilet and moved to the sink, cupping handfuls of water to wash away the taste of her failed breakfast. She was splashing water on her face when there was a soft knock on the door. She looked up just as Glitch entered the restroom. “Hey you,” she began, “you okay?” “I’m fine,” she said dismissively, “just… nauseous.” “Yeah, I kinda noticed,” Jess smiled disarmingly, “sorta everybody did.” “Great,” she mumbled, turning the water off and running her wet hands through her hair, slicking it back against her head. Her exit from the Mess had been… dramatic. She almost didn’t make it in time. “We’ll be at Panzyr in a few hours,” Glitch began, “maybe you ought to sit this one out?” “I’ll be fine,” she tried to shrug off her concern as a new wave of nausea washed over her, “ugh.” “Look, I’ll pilot the Highlander. I can lead the team; I’ve done it plenty of times before. I’m good at multi-targeting, so I’ll be a good sub,” she said reassuringly, “Apex can take the Battlemaster, Corsair in the Grasshopper, and Vamp can play defense in the Banshee. Plus, we’ll have the support of House Decimis. It’ll be fine.” “I just need a few hours…” Riana began but the nausea rushed up once more, sending her back to the toilet. She retched repeatedly as Glitch moved in behind her to hold her hair back. “Riana,” she softly began, “how long has this been going on?” “A few days,” she wiped at her mouth with her sleeve, panting slightly, “I don’t know what this is.” “I might,” Jess knelt beside her, “have you been to see the doc?” “No,” Riana leaned her head back, letting it rest against the wall, “believe it or not, I’ve had worse hangovers than this.” “Mmm,” Glitch didn’t sound convinced, “How long has it been since Kru left?” She asked. “I dunno,” Riana shook her head from side to side, “about a month. Why?” “Mmm hmm,” Glitch nodded, “are you late?” “Late for what?” Riana looked at Glitch, confused for a moment, but her raised eyebrows and expectant look caused a whole new wave of nausea, “Oh, God!” “Ooookay,” Glitch moved in to hold her hair once more, “guess that answered that!”
: Riana sat in her office in the dark, the only light coming from her powered-down console. The green glow of the standby light reflected off the bottle of Rockwellawan Rye on the desk and her eyes focused on the reflection absently as she traced the contours of the trigger of the Hawk-Eagle auto-pistol in her lap. Her worst fears were confirmed easily enough; she was already five weeks along. Nothing in her entire life had ever terrified her more. Her hand drifted from the sidearm to the bottle as she wrestled with her demons. ‘I don’t have time for this,’ she thought, her fingers caressing the bottle, so familiar. ‘I can’t,’ she told herself, her grip beginning to form on the bottle, ‘this just isn’t me. It isn’t for me. This can’t be for me.’ She dropped her feet from the desk and reached for the cork with her other hand, the pistol still resting in her lap, ‘This can’t be happening to me.’ She pulled the cork free and filled the glass on the table, replacing the bottle as her hand moved to the glass. Her left hand rested on the pistol again as her right began to move the glass to her lips. Her hand trembled, the shaking causing the whiskey to slosh about. “Rraaagh!!” she screamed as she tossed the glass against the door, shattering it. Immediately her right hand seized the pistol and her grip went white-knuckled. She stood suddenly, left hand wrapped around the pistol’s barrel and right index finger on the trigger. She squeezed the barrel as hard as she could before the gun flew to the right, shattering the bottle on her desk as it passed through it. “GODDAMMIT!!!” she slammed the auto-pistol down flat on the desk, hard enough to leave a dent, before leaving it there and pulling at her hair. “Why??” she growled to herself, “Why now? Why the hell did this have to happen now?” She released her hair and looked back down at the gun on her desk before sweeping it away across the room, almost wishing it would go off. It didn’t. “I don’t understand,” she mumbled to herself, her arms wrapping around her torso and coming to rest on her shoulders as she looked up at the ceiling, “this shouldn’t even be a question. This isn’t even a debate!” Glitch had informed her of a doctor she knew about on Mechdur, ‘discreet,’ she promised. Her younger self wouldn’t have hesitated. ‘You shouldn’t hesitate now,’ her personal doubt was growing, ‘why am I hesitating?’ “Why?” her resolve began to crack as the tears came. She collapsed back into her chair once more, her hands moving from her shoulders to wrap protectively around her abdomen. ‘Why is this so hard?’ Outside her door, unbeknownst to Riana, Glitch withdrew her hand where it had been poised to knock. She hung her head and frowned. Thus far, only her and the doctor knew and Riana had sworn them both to secrecy, under threat of immense violence. Jessica started to walk forward, changed her mind, and then reached for the door but she paused at the steady sound of soft sobs coming from within. She turned and quietly padded down the hallway, determined instead to insure that she had this time alone. This wasn’t an easy decision to make.
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Post by Uesugi-dono on Jan 4, 2020 13:16:12 GMT
"Commander?" Dr. Murad asked tentatively, finding Riana's hiding place in engineering, "Are you alright? I've been searching for you."
In her niche, Riana sighed as she rested her chin on her knees. "You, or everybody on the ship?"
"Well, the others are looking too," Farah offered a soft smile, "but I don't think anyone expected to find you down here."
"Ah," Riana grinned, "so you'd given up?"
"Hardly." the chief engineer smiled, "Based on the search pattern and your absence in common locations, statistically, this was the most likely spot."
"You used math to find me," Riana deadpanned, rolling her eyes in the process, "figures."
"Heh," Farah chuckled, "figures. Good pun." Riana groaned and laid her face on her knees. "Hold on a moment," Farah drifted away, leaving Riana in her niche. Subconsciously, she scooted back a little farther, wedged between bulkheads near Farah's main work station. The constant hum and drone of the Argo's drive core was soothing to her and, with her knees pulled up against her chest, she just felt safe here... and sleepy. Her head resting on her knees, she was nearly unconscious when she heard her name again. "Riana," Farah called, "here. I made you my specialty: fesenjan." She held out a steaming bowl as she squatted down. "Come, eat."
Riana started to complain that she wasn't hungry, but the rich, pungent smell called out to her. Almost reluctantly, she reached out and cupped the warm bowl in her hands. "This smells delicious," she said, drawing in the scent, "what's in it?"
"It's Persian pomegranate/walnut chicken stew," she smiled, "my Baba Joon used to make it for me when I was a child. Making it is one of the ways I honor my heritage."
"Ift's gud," Riana managed to say through a hot mouthful before swallowing, "really good. Do you have a kitchen down here?"
"You caught me," she chuckled in response, "it's prepackaged. But, if we can find the right ingredients planetside, I can make you the real thing."
"Mmm," Riana tapped her feet happily as she wolfed down the stew, "I'll have Darius find us a stop with a full market that has the ingredients. Just make me a list."
"فهمیدی," she replied, then quickly translated," you got it." She allowed Riana to eat in silence for a few moments then she spoke: "So, would you like to tell me what it is that you're hiding from?"
"People," Riana replied flatly, "thought that was obvious."
"You know what I mean," Farah scolded her.
"We've still got two days to Guldra," Riana explained, scraping up the last of the fesenjan with her spoon, "and I just want to be alone sometimes. Is that too much to ask?"
"Commander Klaue," Dr. Murad fixed her with a piercing gaze, "I have two doctorates and the mental faculties to get a two-century year old derelict not only to fly, but to purr like a kitten. I can tell what's about to break on this ship just by listening to the hum of the drive core. In addition to that, I grew up chatting with pilgrims from all over the Commonwealth aboard my grandfather's DropShip as we ferried them to and from Dar-es-Salaam. Do you really believe that I cannot tell when something is wrong?" Riana got quiet, passing the bowl back to Farah but not responding. "Everyone is worried about you. You have not been acting like yourself. You keep yourself cooped up in your quarters, you've been letting Glitch take the lead on every mission we..."
"Jess is a great MechWarrior and a good leader!" Riana protested.
"I never said she wasn't," Farah shook her head, "but you aren't even sitting in Ops during the mission."
"My pilots can handle a milk run or two without me!" the Commander snapped.
"In all the time we've worked together," Dr. Murad began, "you have either led the mission or directed it from Ops. Every time. You are almost always in the center of every event on ship, social, outgoing, you are the heart of our family..." she reached out to her, her hand resting lightly on her shin, "... and now you are hurting. Let us help you, عزیزم. You do not have to suffer alone."
"It's none of your business," Riana said grumpily, but she did not shy away from her touch.
"It is our business," Farah's eyes pleaded, "you are our Commander. You lead us in battle, you lead our lives aboard this ship... we need you. Please, let us help you."
"You wouldn't understand," Riana was dismissive in her tone and she turned her eyes to the side, indicating that the conversation was over.
"Did I ever tell you that I was married?" Farah began, withdrawing her hand but remaining at the entrance to her niche. Shocked, Riana turned her head to look at her again. "Ever see the show Uncle Heiner's Experiment World? That's my husband. That show was what got me into science! Ah, I was young and naive. Stupid, if I'm being honest. As it turns out, a chain-smoking nihilist teaching children how to make IEDs is a poor choice for a husband..."
"What does this have to do with anything?" Riana growled, just wanting to be left alone.
"I was pregnant when I left him," Farah said soberly, shocking Riana again.
"Jessica, you bitch." Hysteria hissed.
"She didn't breathe a word," Farah countered, "Two doctorates, mechanical genius, people-person... add to that your morning sickness, sudden depression, and withdrawal not to mention your newfound sobriety."
"Really?" Riana cocked an eyebrow, "You monitor my drinking too?"
"I'm an observant Muslim," she shrugged, "I don't try to force my lifestyle on anyone but I still notice when someone does something forbidden to me."
"Great," the Commander mumbled, "how many other people know?"
"Know or suspect?" Farah asked, almost rhetorically, "Based on what you've said I'd say three of us know... a great deal more suspect."
"Wonderful," Riana glowered at a spot on the floor, processing. After a moment her eyes tracked up again to meet Farah's. "What'd you do?"
"I had an abortion," Dr. Murad said plainly, "I was about to start classes at University Atreus, with plans to do my post-grad work at Sian University. I didn't have time to become a mother, plus if Heiner knew he had a child I would never be able to get him out of my life." She looked in Riana's eyes and held her gaze with her next words: "It was the hardest decision I've ever had to make, but it was the right one." Then she looked down and away before adding: "And I will regret it for as long as I live."
"So," Riana quietly began, "if you had it to do over again, would you still go through with it?"
"I would," Farah's eyes moistened, "even though it hurts. It is my burden, my sin. One day, I hope to meet my child in Paradise. There, I will ask for forgiveness."
"I don't know what to do," Riana admitted, "I know what I should do. I can't be a mother and a mercenary at the same time and, unlike you, I don't really have any other skills."
"Do you think that Todd knows?" Farah wiped her eyes.
"God, does everybody know about that?" Riana shook her head.
"He loves you," Farah smiled at her warmly, "I believe if he knew, he would return to you."
"He has a life too," Riana picked at the toe of her shoe as she talked, "he was searching for someone, something to do with a case he worked as a detective. I don't think it would be fair to drag him back into a responsibility he didn't want or ask for."
"I don't think it would be fair to keep it from him," Farah scolded, "he seemed like a good man. If you choose to keep this child then he should also have the choice to be a part of its life."
The tears suddenly welled up in her and Riana buried her face again. "Why did this have to happen? I was ready for anything, anything... anything but this."
"Do you love him?" Farah asked, reaching out for her and taking her hand.
"No," Riana said as she lifted her head, tears staining her cheeks, "I mean I do... just not... not like that."
"عزیزم, you need to decide what Riana wants to do with this," she squeezed her hand, reassuringly, "I can tell you about my experience, but I cannot make this decision for you. Just know that, whatever you choose, we are all behind you. We all support you. If you choose to terminate this pregnancy, I will cry with you. If you choose to keep this child, then we will make it work... as a family." She shook Riana's hand slightly and smiled at her, "It would not be the first child to grow up on a DropShip!"
Riana sniffled, "You're pretty smart."
"I know," Farah smirked, "would you like some more time alone?"
"Don't know what good it would do me," she gave Farah a lop-sided grin, "sooner or later you'd just math your way back to me and lecture me again!"
"If you needed one," Farah tilted her head in acknowledgement.
"No, you're right," Riana began to squirm her way out of her hidey-hole, "I need to get out in front of this. I need to own it. I got myself into this mess and now I've got to deal with it."
"That sounds more like the Riana Klaue I know!" Farah rose to her feet and helped the Commander squeeze out.
Riana stretched to her full height, coming up on her tip-toes as she reached above her in a full-body stretch. "Okay," She said as she relaxed once more, "now for the hard part."
"I will be right beside you if you need me," Farah wrapped an arm around her, "are you frightened?"
"Terrified," Riana answered, "but I know if I can survive this I can survive anything."
"Together." Dr. Murad reminded her as the pair drifted away and out of engineering.
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Post by Uesugi-dono on Jan 5, 2020 17:50:03 GMT
"Thank you all for coming," Riana began in a small voice, "I wanted to make sure that all of you knew what was going on before I address this with the rest of the crew."
"What is going on?" Darius asked, looking around the Captain's Quarters, "We usually have meetings in Ops."
"I know," she nodded, "but due to the nature of this announcement I thought it might be better to meet in a more private setting."
"Are you okay?" Sumire asked with concern.
"Yeah, I'm okay," Riana lifted one corner of her lips slightly. It seemed every woman aboard knew about her condition before she did.
"You've had everyone scared shitless, boss," Yang rubbed at his chin thoughtfully, "acting odd, disappearing like that, and there's a pretty nasty rumor swirling around."
"About that," Riana sighed. 'Nasty?' she thought before continuing, "I... I don't know how to say this so I just will; I'm pregnant."
At her confession Darius' jaw dropped open and Yang's eyes widened significantly. Sumire's face was unchanged; either she already suspected or she was being her usual, unflappable self. "P..pregnant?" Yang blubbered, "It's true?"
"It's true," Riana nodded, "Kru's the father."
"That son of a..." Yang's face began to twist.
"Riana," Darius interrupted, "We're two days out from Guldra. The end of the war is in sight! How, how are you pregnant?"
"Well, when a boy and a girl like each other," she began.
"Be serious!" he snapped at her, raising his voice, "If this intel is legit then the Taurians will be out of the war! That will open a path directly to Coromodir. Do you think Espinosa will just lay down and submit?? The fighting will be furious, heavier than anything we've seen before!"
"Darius, please," Riana's eyes were pleading, "it's taking everything I have to try and face this head on. If you think I haven't thought about that..."
"She knows what's at stake," Dr. Murad stepped forward, "and she remains devoted to this company and the Arano Restoration."
"Well, that's good," Yang said with some exasperation, "so what's next?"
Sumire started tapping at her datapad, "We're already committed to the operation at Guldra. With any luck we can extract Lord Madeira quietly and without incident. The closest friendly planet with the necessary medical facilities is on Itrom but it will be at least two weeks before we can make it there. I can go ahead and schedule you an appointment but I need to know how far along you are, we may be cutting it close." She turned and looked at Darius. "We should consult Dr. Foster and see if maybe he can perform the procedure. I know it's a little outside what he's accustomed to, but if he can..."
"I'm keeping it," Riana said quietly, causing a gasp to ripple around the room.
"Excuse me, you're what?" Yang leaned in closer, thinking that perhaps he misheard her.
"I've decided to keep it," Riana said, a little stronger now, despite the stares, "I am going to keep my baby."
"Riana..." Glitch was clearly surprised, as was everyone in the room save for Farah, "you do know what that means, right?"
"I do," Riana nodded, "it won't be easy, but since when have I ever decided to do things the easy way?"
"Hysteria, this won't just be difficult," Darius began, "it's gonna be near-impossible. You can't raise a baby on a mercenary ship in the middle of a war."
"Well, we'd better win this war quickly," she said resolutely.
"You can't raise a baby on a mercenary ship," Yang added, "period!"
"Watch me," she glared at him, "my mind is made up."
"Commander," Su began with a diplomatic tone, "I think the concern here is not just for the complexities of raising a baby and being a MechWarrior at the same time, but also about your health," she hugged her datapad close to her chest, subconsciously, as she spoke, "there have been many times when you've sustained life-threatening injuries. You even died once! If you're going through with this pregnancy then we'll have to take you off of rotation."
"Jess or Duncan can take the lead on the missions," Darius rubbed at the stubble on his chin thoughtfully, "and you could still run the ops through the command interface module, though I recommend we hire a new alternate."
"Somebody needs to contact Kru," Yang rested his head in his hand, overwhelmed with everything that was happening, "I suppose he could come back and..."
"I am still the Commander of Revenge," Hysteria reminded them, "and I will be the one to decide when it's best for me to pass operational command."
"But, if you keep piloting the risk of a miscarriage shoots up," Farah sounded concerned for the first time, "even if you manage to come through the missions without injuries just the impact of battle could..."
"That's also my decision to make," Riana turned and looked her in the eyes, "none of this was planned. None of this was supposed to happen, but it did." She let her gaze sweep around the room to meet all the stunned eyes of her comrades, "most of my life has been rudderless. Ever since St. Regis, I just haven't really felt like I was in control. I didn't want to go to a boarding school, but there I was. I didn't want to get disowned, or join a band of pirates, or wind up in jail. I never planned to join Kamea's guard, or even this company. I certainly never asked to lead it! All of these things just happened to me. This pregnancy just happened to me. Gods, as much of a slut as I was at St. Regis you'd think this would have happened before now!" She took a small step backwards but bumped into Dr. Murad, who put an arm around her. Then Jessica slid in on the other side and also put her arm around her. "I know what I should do," she continued, looking down as she did, "I mean, it's a no-brainer, right? I should either abort this pregnancy and keep being a MechWarrior or I should commit to motherhood and stay aboard the Argo, but if I do either of those things then I feel like I am still letting fate just guide me around by the nose." She looked back up, determination in her eyes, "so this time I am making the choice. I choose to keep this baby, and yet I also choose to keep taking the field. I understand the risks involved in this. I fully realize that if I do this then I may miscarry and lose the baby, but this is still my choice. I wasn't ready for this, and I spent a few days coming to terms with what all of this means. So I choose to be Mother and MechWarrior and if it's not meant to be... so be it. It's my decision and I stand by it, and another thing; nobody contacts Kru until this baby is either born or I get too pregnant to fit in my Mech," she looked down at the floor again, "there's no reason for two of us to live with this uncertainty."
Everyone just stood in silence for a moment, unsure of what to say. Glitch and Dr. Murad flanked her, supporting her, but Darius, Yang, and Sumire looked less convinced. "I... don't know what to say," Darius began, "I don't think I agree with your decision, but I agree it is yours to make.
"I think it is reckless and stupid," Su's eyes hardened, "it is also selfish, immature, and more than a little arrogant." Then she flashed a mischievous smile, "So, you know, typical Hysteria."
"Well, I don't think this is funny," Yang looked deflated, "Su was absolutely right when she talked about your injuries. Do you have any idea how much cloned tissue and bone you have in you now? Not even considering a miscarriage, I don't think you realize what pregnancy can do to your body. You're not just at risk of losing the baby, you're at higher risk of injury and death in this state!" He looked around the room at the others with a scolding glare, "I realize the general consensus here is that this is all your decision but you know what else is a personal decision? Suicide. Because that's akin to what you're talking about!" He pointed his cybernetic thumb at his chest as he spoke. "Commander, it is my job to keep my MechWarriors alive! I work my ass off to do just that, but a complication like pregnancy I can't prepare for!"
"I know, Chief," Riana said somberly, "and I'm sorry to put you in that position," she swept forward, first placing a hand on his chest and then melting into his reluctant embrace, "You've been there for me so many times and I've always been able to rely on your strength. I know what I'm asking of you, and what I've done, has hurt you and I'm so sorry for that. I understand if you do not approve of my decision and I won't be offended if you choose not to work on my Mech."
"Goddammit, Riana," Chief Virtanen's eyes filled with tears as he gave in to her embrace and returned it fully, "You know I can't do that!"
"I know," Riana said, tears streaming down her cheeks as well, "and I'm sorry, for everything." Their embrace lingered as the other crew members inched forwards. "I love you, Chief," Riana said as the others joined the embrace, "I love all of you. You're all my family."
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Post by Uesugi-dono on Jan 9, 2020 12:47:25 GMT
In Orbit Guldra "Commander," Darius turned towards Riana from where he was monitoring the Coms, "We're picking up a transmission on the Restoration distress frequency. The time stamps is marked a couple of hours ago..." his shoulders sagged slightly as he added, "it's from Lord Madeira."
Riana and Kamea exchanged worried glances, "Put it up," Riana commanded, as Farah slid to the side to make room for her. A scan-lined image of Lord Madeira appeared above the holotable. He looked disheveled and sweaty, and he panted as he spoke. "Kamea," he breathed, "by the time you receive this message, I'll have been captured." He looked around him nervously and there was a crash in the distance, "I've got hostiles closing in all around me as I'm recording this and my escort is already dead. I don't know how much time I have left." Another loud crash preceded a frightened jolt in his demeanor and he looked back with desperation. "Listen," he said pushing his glasses up, "the evidence is hidden in a dead drop. It was the best I could do, given the circumstances," they could now hear yelling in the background; commands for him to surrender, "Go to my grandfather's monument," he spoke quickly and in a quiet tone, "You remember; the place where we laid him to rest in the mountains. The Directorate paved it over and built a structure right over top of it. Look there, and you'll find what you need." The sudden sound of splintering hardwood caused Kamea to jump and the sounds of angry shouting filled the recording. "I'm out of time," his eyes pleaded as he spoke, "I pray that I see you again, but if I dont... I need you to win this war. Do whatever you have to do, just finish it! Not for me, but for our people!" From the sounds the door was no longer an obstacle, "Goodbye, my lady," Alexander smiled and the image suddenly blurred, clearing again at Lord Madeira's shoe. Behind it they could see many feet approaching quickly. Suddenly Lord Madeira's shoe lifted and then the image shifted to static. The recording ended.
"The bastards took him," Riana spoke first, her voice a growl. She turned towards Darius, "Start putting together a rescue team..."
"Leave space for me," Kamea spoke with determination, "I'm coming with you." She swept around the holotable and looked around the room, "First, we recover Alexander. Then we focus on picking up the evidence and getting the hell off of Guldra."
"I've got Lord Madeira's subdermal transponder signal on my screen," Sumire revealed, tapping at her datapad, "they're moving him... probably in an APC."
"If we launch in Mechs now," Corsair added, " we may be able to catch up to it.
"Then we'd better get moving," Riana turned to Yang, "load up my Highlander, the Grasshopper, and the Banshee," she pointed across the room, "Corsair you're in the GHR; I need you as fast attack and possible evac. If we catch up to it, Lord Madeira rides with you..."
"Belay that," Kamea stepped forwards and stood at parade rest, "Alexander will be with me, in the Atlas. Your man can focus on recovering the intel."
"Understood," Corsair nodded, "if the site is up a mountainside then the 'Hopper has the mobility to get to it."
"And enough lasers to ruin just about any OpFor's day!" Sly chuckled.
"Commander," Darius began, "maybe it's better if someone drops in your place, you know, because of your condition?" Riana shot him a look that could slag armor.
"What condition?" Kamea asked.
"I'm fine, XO," Hysteria hissed, "fully recovered, and I have no time for any overprotective bullshit, do you understand?"
"Roger that," Darius sighed.
"Vamp," Hysteria turned, "your job is the complete safety of High Lady Arano. You'll cover her while she extracts Lord Madeira. I want you to stay on her, don't get drawn away." She placed her hands on her hips, "I'll handle cleanup; anything that doesn't get fragged by your initial shots will have ninety tons of Highlander to deal with!"
"You got it, Kommander," Vamp saluted.
"Time is of the essence, people," Kamea now moved to the center of the room, "We must retrieve the evidence and we will bring Lord Madeira home. We have his transponder coordinates, and we know he's on the move. We make planetfall, rescue Alexander, and recover the evidence he risked his life to bring us," she lifted her right arm and clenched her fist tightly, snarling the next words, "and we will bring ruin to anyone who stand in our way!"
"Move!" Riana barked, sending people scattering, "Su keep tabs on that signal. I want to know if he stops," she walked over to the wall and activated the ship's Com, "Attention! This is Commander Klaue. All hands not prepping for this drop report to the Mech bay to assist the Techs in loading the Leopard."
"Riana," Kamea said softly, reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder, "do you have a moment?"
"Revenge is yours, my lady," she turned and assumed parade rest, "as am I."
"Are you really alright?" her hand hesitated, as if she prevented herself from moving it to Riana's cheek, "If you're not one hundred percent then I am well-capable of leading..."
"I'm good to go, my lady," Riana nodded resolutely, "and I wouldn't miss this. Lord Madeira is on my crew and we don't leave our people behind."
"I understand," Kamea smiled at her, warmly, "but if you have time when we return, could we..."
"Anything for you, my lady," Riana broke parade rest and dared to place a hand on Kamea's arm, "now let's go get our man."
: Let me just take a moment to explain how I write these up. I play a mission at home, then some time later while I'm at work I will cue up a video on youtube as a reminder of how the mission went and write the narrative of the Journal. But this time something very odd happened. Maybe it's because I am so far behind in finishing the Campaign (I got this at launch and I just completed the mission Liberate: Tyrlon last week)that there has been some update to the game, but I started off on the left side of the Refueling Depot and, by the time I arrived, Lord Madeira's signal was stationary inside the Depot. All of the videos reference a different mission than the one I played in which the team comes in from the right and attacks a convoy. That DID NOT HAPPEN in my game. Instead we started very close to the Depot and faced off against a Lance of Mechs before learning that Lord Madeira was in Victoria's clutches. She was also not on site. The intel was on the hill, and Corsair in the GHR recovered it pretty easily, then we fought our way to the extract point. I have no idea why my mission was so different from virtually every one I've seen a video of. (Now I wish I'd captured it myself!) Overall the mission wasn't that much of a challenge; OpFor all but ignored Kamea in favor of targeting Vamp, who drives my mostly hand-to-hand Banshee.
Honestly, the mission the others played looked like more fun than the one I did!
: "What is this, cousin," Victoria's cruel tone filled the open channel, "you're running? Leaving little Lord Madeira behind? Why, I thought you would do anything for each other!" She cackled villainously, "He's willing to die for you!"
"I will take him back from you, Victoria!" Kamea's voice shook as the doors to the Leopard fired open and the Lance charged aboard, "personally!"
"I look forward to it, Kamea" Victoria purred, "In the interim, know that your dearest friend will languish as I languished in Lord Karosa's dungeons. I will make him suffer in your stead!"
"I know what I'm abandoning him to," she swallowed hard as the doors raised and the Leopard lifted into the air, "so does he. Alexander is more courageous than either of us, Victoria, and if you hurt him I will kill you myself, I swear on my father's name!"
The trip back was utterly silent and uncomfortable. Even Glitch, who often met them cheerily upon their return, was quiet and morose. Immediately, they headed back to the Ops Center. Farah worked diligently at the archive as Kamea stood, red-eyed, near the holotable. "Dr. Murad," Kamea said after a period of tense silence, "have you gotten that archive cracked open?" the exasperation and stress of Alexander's loss filled her voice, "I want to know what's inside and I want to know now!"
"Give her a few," Riana counseled, "she's working as fast as she can." Kamea glared daggers at her but held her tongue, only tapping her finger impatiently.
"There," Farah finally announced, "I just finished cracking the encryption. There's... there's a lot here; ledgers, spreadsheets, cost analyses... and a single Holo file."
"I recognize the coding on that file!" Kamea exclaimed, "My father authorized his archivists in House Madeira to install a Holo-recording system in Arano palace before his death, in order to preserve an ongoing record of important diplomatic events," she looked up at Riana with excitement, "the system must still be active... and Alexander's family had access to it!"
"Throw it up on screen, Farah." Riana ordered. Farah acknowledged and, suddenly, an image of Santiago Espinosa appeared on the holotable.
"... I understand your hesitancy, daughter," he began in his typical cruel voice, "it's a difficult thing, what I'm asking you to do, but this galaxy is a hard and uncaring place. If our Directorate is to thrive, we must be even harder!"
The image shifted and Victoria came into view. "I have no qualms about killing for the greater glory of the Directorate, father, but this..." she looked down in an uncharacteristic moment of doubt, "Please help me understand. Show me the wisdom in carrying out this attack, because I cannot see it myself!"
The group listened with rising tension as Director Espinosa laid out a plan to attack a port city and set up a cold war conflict between the Protectorate and the Federated Suns. The entire attack plan, his reasoning, and Victoria's reluctant part. "We've got them," Lady Arano said under her breath, "by all the gods, we've got them!"
"It doesn't even matter what's in the rest of this archive," Darius stared wide-eyed at the recording, "this will turn the Taurians against the Directorate! Protector Calderon will want Espinosa's head on a plate!"
A slow, wicked smile spread across Riana's face as she raised her head. "Then let's go serve it to them!"
: "Lady Arano!" Riana rushed towards the airlock just as Kamea was going through to get back to her Leopard, "Wait a moment, please!"
Kamea signaled her pilot to go ahead and prepare as she turned to meet her, "What is it, Hysteria?"
"My lady," Riana said, out of breath from running. One hand slipped around her abdomen as she fought a rising wave of nausea, "you said before the mission that you wanted to speak about something."
"I'm sorry, Riana," she reached out with a hand and gently let it brush against her cheek before it came to rest on her shoulder, "but it will have to wait. I have much to do to get this to intel to the Taurians and we have to marshal our forces to liberate Tyrlon. I'll need you there, Hysteria. House Parata will be key to our final push to Coromodir."
Riana visibly deflated. "I understand my lady. Revenge is yours."
"Yes," she said almost absentmindedly, letting her hand once again caress Riana's cheek, which promptly blushed, "you and your company have done so much for the Restoration. Believe me when I say that I couldn't have done this without you." She offered a soft smile and leaned in to kiss her on the other cheek. "Thank you."
"I am yours, my lady," Riana breathed, her knees weak as all of her tactile senses focused on the lingering warmth left on her cheek by Lady Arano's lips. Kamea just smiled again before disappearing through the airlock. As soon as the door closed Riana leaned back against the wall, her heart pounding. Her mind filled with thoughts, racing through a hundred possibilities following the war...
And then she vomited on the floor.
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Post by Uesugi-dono on Jan 29, 2020 16:04:00 GMT
The Argo's interior rumbled with the firing of her main engines as the ship decelerated for orbital insertion around the arid, but agricultural, world of Tyrlon V. It was one of two habitable planets in the system, the other being the actual seat of House Parata, but this was their breadbasket with farms clustered around the rivers and floodplains. It was also where the vast majority of the Directorate's DropShips were presently parked, resupplying from those farms. "An Army's biggest foe isn't the Enemy," Riana mumbled as she studied the image of the planet on the HoloTable, "but it's own stomach."
"Hmm?" Darius looked up from his terminal, "What's that?"
"Just something Sir Raju used to say," Hysteria replied before making eye contact with him, "Darius, if he were here this war would have been over in six months."
"I believe it," the XO nodded, "the man was a consummate professional; a strategic mind. Commander Markum had complete confidence in his abilities. Said we could always count on his tactics," he looked up with a grin, "and he didn't say that about anybody else, either!"
"I can't believe this stroke of luck," Riana mused, "why have so many in one place at one time?"
"Overconfidence," Darius shook his head, "it's a noble thing... no offense," he adjusted his terminal and brought up new points on the display, "Espinosa feels invincible, and it's not without reason. Field intelligence suggests the spaceport is protected by three major gun batteries. With the heavy cloud cover orbital targeting is sketchy so an attack on Tyrlon is going to be peppered with flak on the way down. Any DropForce is going to be halved by the time they hit the ground and the local garrison is supported by heavy mortars. Director Espinosa knows that any Restoration assault on Tyrlon will result in such heavy losses that continued resistance would be improbable. High Lady Arano just wouldn't be able to continue fighting, especially to take Coromodir. An assault on Tyrlon is effective suicide for the Restoration."
"Which is where we come in," Riana purred.
"Expendable assets," Darius smirked.
"We're mercs," Riana shrugged, "that's the nature of the game."
"And the gamble is that Sumire is a good enough pilot to get the Leopard down without those batteries detecting us." The XO tilted his head as he talked, a hint of doubt emerging.
"The pilot who navigated the Panzyr debris field unassisted?" Hysteria cocked an eyebrow, playfully, "Relax, Dare, those clouds don't just hide the guns... they'll hide us too."
"Even if they do," Darius sounded worried, "those guns won't be undefended. This isn't like Itrom; as soon as you get close, the whole planet will know you're there."
"We're always outnumbered," Hysteria said dismissively, "but I doubt OpFor will be anything to write home about; most of the garrison will be at the spaceport. They'd be fools to abandon it. So all we're going to have to deal with is a few Lances dedicated to protecting the guns, and since they don't see a lot of action I'm willing to bet they aren't in the best kept repair."
"Yeah," Darius admitted, "but don't forget about those mortars..."
"Say what you mean," Riana stood and turned to face him fully, folding her arms, "spit it out, I don't have time to play word games, XO."
"You don't need to be going on this Drop." Darius stood and aped her stance, folding his own arms. "We've got five healthy MechWarriors on staff besides you and they are paid to pilot BattleMechs."
"Are you going to do this every time?" Riana asked with disgust.
"Yeah, I might," Darius fired back.
"I thought you said this was my decision to make?" She challenged him.
"It is your decision," the XO admitted, "but I don't have to agree with it! Even from a business point of view, why keep so many pilots on staff if you're going to go on every drop?"
"If I fire some people will you shut up?" she asked with exasperation.
"Probably not," he shook his head, "because Yang's right. This is all an unnecessary risk to your health."
"I thought I explained this all last time," she sighed, "I'm going to see this war through to the end, to the end or until I can't fit in the cage. I'm not going to let you or Yang or anybody else make this choice for me so get the fuck over it, Dare, and this had better be the last time we have this conversation!"
"I can't make promises, Ri," Darius shook his head, "I know you don't like to talk about it but we're family, you know?" he chuckled a little, "Us Artru kids gotta stick together."
The comment broke the tension and Riana felt a smile creep over her face. It was ridiculous, of course, that someone from a private plantation and someone who grew up on Deck 28 of Nassau Heights shared anything other than the name of the planet that their Habs orbited. "All right, Dare, I get it," she chuckled back, "but look: I'll be in the Highlander bringing up the rear. I'm there as clean up so the Lance can keep moving, they're going to be the ones taking most of the risk," she paused as he nodded, seemingly accepting her reasoning, "but seriously," she added, "if you don't drop all this worry... I'll cut you."
: This was actually a pretty fun battle. With the targets being the gennies that power the guns OpFor was pretty ineffective against Vamp's CQC oriented Banshee, Corsair's fast-moving Grasshopper, and Glitch's multi-targeting with the Archer. Anything that survived their encounter with those three didn't have much left for Riana's AC/20+++ Kaliyama. Pretty much by design the Lance moved from Alpha to Bravo first, but Hysteria, in her role, got separated from the group pretty early. As the Lance sped up the mountain to take out Bravo, Hysteria's Highlander marched up the main road towards Charlie. This had a divisive effect on the OpFor; they just didn't seem to know who to target! Clearly Vamp's full-speed blitzkrieg was concerning, and whenever he got in range he became to focal target, but Riana was able to perform fire support from below with her LRM's and the AC/10 I slapped on the other arm. She took a LOT of fire, though. The enemy always had a height advantage on her and, at one point, I worried she might lose a limb. Her armor held out though, and as a distraction she provided a lot of prey for the Grasshopper and Corsair's Alpha Strikes. In all, I really couldn't have asked for a better performance. Zero casualties, pretty minimal damage. Mostly all I lost was armor and ammo.
: The Highlander shook as the docking clamps secured it in place. Riana paused with her hand on the cockpit release lever. She could already see both Darius and Yang standing on the catwalk outside. She let out a deep sigh. "Great..." she pulled the level. The Highlander's cockpit opened and, as she continued to power down her reactor, the MechTechs leaned in to unfasten her cage, extracting her from the HGN-732B. As the buckles fell away and she gained the ability to stand up she could see Darius and Yang, both with their arms folded, staring up at her. 'Here we go,' she thought, but just then Yang unfolded his arms and began to clang his metal palm onto the rail of the catwalk, rhythmically. Before she could ask what was going on Darius joined him, slowly clapping his hands together. Within moments the MechBay of the Argo was filled with thunderous applause as the Techs cleared the way for her to move down the ladder as the staff and pilots of Riana's Revenge cheered with wild abandon. Hysteria blushed as she made her way down the ladder only to be scooped up by Sly the moment her feet touched the catwalk. "Let go of me, dummy!" she struggled as he swung her around and deposited her into a group that consisted of Apex, Dr. Murad, and about a dozen more Argo crew that didn't really belong in the MechBay. "What's going on?" she asked, the smile infectiously spreading across her face as Darius and Yang forced their way through the crowd.
"Lady Arano reports that occupation of the spaceport is a success!" Darius yelled over the din, "We did it, Commander... the Directorate fleet is grounded here at Tyrlon. The road to the capital lies open!"
"Nothing can stop us now!" Sly grabbed her shoulders from behind, bouncing excitedly, "The Taurians are out of the war and the Director doesn't have enough boats left to fish with, let alone move troops!"
"That was very brave of you," Yang said, more somberly, as he approached and put a hand on her arm. He indicated the slagged armor, exposed structure, and overall ruin that covered her Mech, "your diversion enabled the Lance to hit all three generators in rapid succession. You didn't just save your team, you no doubt saved thousands of Restoration soldiers on approach."
I couldn't have done it without you, Chief," she smiled at him, relieved that she wasn't in for a lecture, "if I didn't have you to keep me alive out there my antics would have gotten me killed a long time ago!" He scooped her up in a big hug as the cheering continued throughout the bay until the Coms tone sounded.
"Attention! May I have your attention please," it was Sumire's voice echoing through the Argo, "All Command staff, MechWarriors, and senior officers report to the galley immediately... this Timbiqui Dark isn't going to drink itself!" Another general cheer went up as Apex slid up next to Riana.
"Don't worry boss," she winked, "I'll drink your share."
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Post by Uesugi-dono on Apr 5, 2020 15:32:31 GMT
- Coromodir - Capital of the Aurigan Reach Seat of the Directorate The Holotable crackled to life as the image of Santiago Espinosa, tinged blue and rippling with scan lines, appeared above the surface. His cruel face split in an insincere smile as he spoke. "Kamea," he purred, "Welcome home. We haven't spoken face-to-face since your father's funeral." Riana bristled at the comment but Lady Arano kept her face an inscrutable mask as she waited for him to speak again. "Strange, isn't it?" he continued, "For all the time we've been at fighting each other, for all of our struggles these last few years, we haven't actually talked until now."
Riana opened her mouth to speak, her lips curled back in anger, but an almost imperceptible gesture from Kamea gave her pause. "I am not hear to talk with you, Uncle," her voice carried cold and clear, "I am here to demand your surrender."
"Then I'm afraid you'll walk away from this parlay disappointed," Espinosa shook his head in feigned regret, "did I teach you nothing, Kamea? The endgame is a time for negotiation, not demands."
"I learned a lot about betrayal and treason from you," Riana interjected but Kamea silenced her again with a raised hand.
"I remember your lessons well enough Uncle," Lady Arano sneered subconsciously as she spoke, "if our positions were reversed you would attack without hesitation or mercy!" Santiago granted her a small smile and an approving glint shone in his eyes. "The Founding Houses have rallied behind me," Kamea continued, lifting her chin triumphantly, "you are outnumbered and you have nowhere left to turn. Aside from a single hostage, you have nothing to negotiate with."
"A single hostage?" Santiago stifled a chuckle, "He's your dearest friend! Surely he means more to you than nothing."
"Alexander means a great deal to me," she admitted, "but I would sacrifice any one person, even myself, for the good of the Reach." She stiffened her posture and stood at parade rest, looking her nose down at him. "You are defeated, Uncle. Concede!"
Any semblance of friendliness or mirth vanished from Espinosa's face as his stance stiffened as well. "I've heard your proposal and now you will hear mine;" he hissed, "You will leave this system in my hands and establish your power base elsewhere. I will rule Coromodir and I will hold your friend to ensure your good behavior! You will agree to these terms or you will die."
"I will die?" Now it was Kamea's turn to suppress a laugh, "Your words are mere air, Uncle! You have nothing left to threaten me with."
"So you believed when you moved on Castle Nautilus," Santiago crooned, so you thought when you destroyed the Newgrange!"
"You're bluffing," Kamea growled, "and I am willing to wager my life on it! My DropShips are already making their descent as we speak... I'll see you on the field of battle!"
"Yes," Espinosa let the word leak out in a malicious hiss, "I suppose you will." Suddenly his image disappeared.
"If he won't surrender," Riana began, her eyes lifting to Kamea, "good. Let it be his funeral!"
"And it may be Alexander's as well..." Kamea's spirit lowered visibly for a moment, "but there's nothing we can do about that now. We cannot delay the attack." She turned and took a few steps into the center of the room before spinning around and letting her gaze sweep across the room; Darius, Farah, Riana, Apex, Glitch, Corsair, Vamp, Big Sly, Yang, and Sumire. Gone was the image of loss, replaced by iron resolve. "You all heard my uncle's demands. He made them knowing I'd refuse. I think that he's stalling... but I do not know what for, and that's what worries me. So I have decided to take that option away from him. Darius! Raise the Founding Houses on the comms. Tell them that I am ordering them to drop, all of our companies, our entire fleet... everything we have. As always, I will lead them from the front. We are taking Coromodir, and we are doing it now."
"Hot fucking damn!" Apex grinned, clapping her hands together.
"Hysteria," at her callsign Riana stiffened, "I want you to remain at the ready until I call for you. Prepare your Lance and await my signal."
"Revenge is yours, my lady," Hysteria bowed her head as, next to her, Apex folded her arms in a pouting fashion.
"We are going to crush what remains of my uncle's Directorate," Lady Arano continued, "With your company's help, I will retake the throne stolen from me and, come hell or high water, we will rescue Lord Madeira... I swear it on my father's name!"
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The battle was fully involved when the open comms flared to life in Kamea's Atlas. Through its crackle and the concussions of warfare she could identify Concordant Commodore Samuel Ostergaard's voice. "You should have listened to your uncle, Lady Arano. We have unfinished business, you and I..."
Aboard the Argo Darius hit the ship's comms and fed the transmission live through the bay where the Lance was loading the Leopard. "Riana!" he called, "Live feed! It's Ostergaard! He's broadcasting on the open comms!"
"The Iberia still carries a full compliment of BattleMechs," the Commodore continued, "plus enough firepower to level a city! Now know this: it is too late to withdraw your forces! When I reach Coromodir I will drown your Restoration in a sea of fire!! Every dog in Arano colors will die! You took my son from me, Kamea. My hope for the future died with him... now I'm killing yours."
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"Report!" Riana ordered as she stormed back into operations, already in her DropSuit.
"Well, Boss," Yang began, following her inside, "things look pretty grim, but hey! At least we've figured out what Espinosa's secret weapon is."
"Thanks for that ray of sunshine, Chief," Darius retorted sarcastically, "The Iberia is closing fast on Coromodir. They'll be in position to rain death on the Restoration long before they can withdraw.
"The transmission that was sent," Farah began, "did any of you see the wall behind Ostergaard? There were burn marks, bullet holes... his sailors must have tried to seize the bridge."
"If zere vas a mutiny attempt aboard ze Iberia zen it failed," Vamp said with dejection, "no doubt he's defying Taurean orders. He's gone rogue."
"As unhinged as Ostergaard is," Sumire offered, "he's right; it is too late for Lady Arano to withdraw the Restoration forces without the Directorate cutting them to ribbons, and nothing we have aboard the Argo can stop a Fortress-class Dropship."
"At least, not through conventional means," Dr. Murad said thoughtfully.
"Then we'll have to be unconventional," Riana cracked a smile, "what's up, doc?"
"We're going to use the Locura," she returned Riana's grin.
"The hell did you just say??" Darius exclaimed.
"Nuh-uh, No way!" Sumire stomped her foot, "Doctor, that code completely screwed us at Castle Nautilus! It nearly detonated our fuel tanks! It is too dangerous to go tinkering around with, we can't..."
"We don't have a choice!" Farah snapped, "It is the closest thing we have to a weapon that could destroy that ship! Lady Arano is engaged on the surface, if the Iberia gets within range they are doomed, and she committed the entire fleet to this attack!"
"I hate to say it," Yang began, " but Doc Murad's right. If we can't do something to stop him, Ostergaard will put an end to the Restoration," he looked over at Riana forlornly, "and to Lady Arano herself."
"Do you really think we can use it?" Glitch asked, clearly scared of the implication, "Do you really think it will work?"
"Yes, I believe it will," Farah nodded confidently, "Even if it doesn't destroy the Iberia it will cripple her long enough to take her out of the fight, but that code is a science experiment... not a weapon."
"The hell it isn't!" Darius stood up, "It nearly killed us all!"
"That was the science experiment," Farah said ominously, "wait til you see the weapon."
"Can you do it?" Riana asked, "Can you do it in time?"
"I think I can modify it, but there will be risks... I can't offer any guarantees."
"If you want to commit suicide then I can just put the Argo in the Iberia's path!!" Su snapped, "Commander this can not be the option! I can take the Leopard to the surface and evacuate Lady Arano, then we can regroup..."
"If we don't do this then Ostergaard wipes out the Restoration with impunity," Riana said with gravity, "There won't be a regrouping and you know it, there won't be anybody left. Lady Arano won't leave her forces to die, no, Kamea Arano will die... I can not let that happen."
"I'd imagined you'd feel that way. I will go ahead and get started." Farah began to leave but then paused, standing in front of a fuming Darius. "We're going to need a way to get the code onto Ostergaard's ship. I'd suggest taking over a ground-based comms array, something on a network that the Iberia's computer trusts."
"Wait a minute," Darius turned, his fingers moved to his chin as he was lost in thought for a moment, "There's a comm station on Lyris, the second moon. It was the system's primary communications hub back when we fought the pirates on Fjaldr in '19, that's how we were able to get our reinforcements request to Sir Raju!"
"If the Directorate is still using it!" Sumire interjected, "That was thirteen years ago!"
"The Directorate didn't change much," Apex offered, shrugging off the glances she got, "when I worked for Lady Victoria she went on and on about how they 'repurposed' and 'upgraded' Arano installations. No reason to change what works, right? Just make it your own."
"Iz not uncommon at all," Vamp mused, "all you need do iz change flags, da? Like mercenaries!"
"You could use this station to transmit the Locura, then destroy it," Farah grinned at Sumire, "the control tower is automated, so there shouldn't be any collateral damage. You'd be killing two birds with one stone."
"I like how you think, doc," Yang smiled broadly, "I'll rig the explosives."
"We're likely to encounter heavy resistance when we touch down," Dr. Murad continued, "I'll see if I can find an engineering solution to help up deal with it... maybe my team could seize control of their turrets, make them fight for us for a change."
"I like friendly guns," Riana nodded, "Yang, you'd better have your guys get that rumble seat prepped... two of them if you're coming."
"If it's all the same, I may sit this one out," Yang said, "the last time I rode shotgun I nearly froze my lungs and you nearly died... I fear me-in-a-rumble-seat may be an albatross."
"I can do it," Farah offered, "I'm the best choice. I know how to prep the signal and I'm confident I can rig explosives; engineers sometimes destroy to create, remember?"
"This won't be a walk in the park, doc," Riana said with concern, "you sure you want to do this?"
"You're going, aren't you?" she raised her eyebrows, "then I am to!"
"Ri," Darius moved towards Riana, concern splashed across his face, "you're starting to show now. How far along are you?"
"Not having this conversation again, Dare," Riana's tone featured a warning, "if I can fit in the 'pit, I'm going. We haven't come this far for me to sit out the end of this war."
"You should probably bring a jump-capable Lance, Commander," Farah moved in beside Riana, turning her around and beginning to guide her out of CIC, "comm arrays like the one on Lyris tend to be housed on elevated platforms, lots of ramps and choke points."
Riana nodded, turning back to Darius. "Alert Lady Arano of our intentions. Tell her that it is vital that Ostergaard's attention remains fixed on the Restoration Army. I don't want him to realize what's going on on Lyris until it is far too late." She took a deep breath, a steel resolve forming in her eyes. "Tell her to move on Cordia City; accelerate her offensive into the capital... that should buy us all the time we need."
"I imagine she'll like that idea," Darius nodded, "all right! We've got a job to do, people... and it'll be the biggest challenge we've ever taken on! So put on your war faces and follow the Commander's lead; we've got a Fortress-class DropShip to crash!"
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The 'techs scurried like ants, getting Vamp's Banshee, Apex's Battlemaster, and Corsair's Grasshopper secured in the hold of the Leopard, along with Hysteria's Highlander and the assorted vehicles that Farah's team were going to use to get the turrets operational. Hysteria adjusted the harness across her lap, trying to insure that it would not constrict her belly during the operation. She fussed with the 'techs who worked on her, finally closing the cage as the 'techs cleared. Giving Yang a 'thumbs up' she hit the switch and closed the cockpit to the HGN-732B, listening to the satisfying sound of it hermetically sealing as the lights of the Assault Mech flared to life inside. Almost subconsciously she performed all the actions on her checklist at speed, as she looked up to her HUD and switched to the rear view. "How you doing back there, doc?"
"We haven't even left yet and I think I may be sick!" Farah chuckled in half-jest. "I don't know how you do this, mission after mission. I mean, I've been in warzones but never inside of a BattleMech before!"
"There's no safer place to be," Riana quipped.
"On the contrary," Dr. Murad shot back, "everyone shoots at the building-sized robot bristling with guns!"
"Yeah, but we shoot back!" she turned her head and smiled, then her face became serious. "Hey doc," she began quietly, "do you mind keeping it down for a minute or two?"
"Getting your head in the game?" Dr. Murad asked.
"No," Hysteria admitted, "I'm... I'm going to record a message... to Kru, so if you don't mind..."
"I'm not even here." Dr. Murad smiled warmly, closing her eyes as they could feel the Leopard detach from the Argo and fire her engines.
Riana keyed her comms to begin the recording and then took a deep breath. "To anyone who recovers this drive, this is a message from Lady Riana Annika Klaue of House Klaue on Avaloch, a private Hab in orbit around Artru, and Commander of Riana's Revenge, a Mercenary Company retained by the Arano Restoration to Todd Ryia, commoner of Solaris VII and member of the Solaris PD Special Forces Unit presently engaged with Carlyle's Gray Death Legion as a MechWarrior. If you are in possession of this drive, please see it delivered to him: Detective Todd "Death Krusade" Ryia of the Gray Death Company." She paused for a moment and took another deep breath before continuing.
"Kru," she began softly, "I hope you're alright. I know... I know why you left. I can't blame you, and I couldn't help it. I wanted to love you; you were great. Great to me, great as a MechWarrior. I could always count on you for anything. Hell, I can't do anything right! It's like I won't allow myself to be happy. I know... I realize that Kamea cannot love me the way I love her. She can't. She's a High Lady, a Queen for fuck's sake. She could never officially be with an ex-pirate mercenary with a very lurid past, but you could have." A tear rolled down her cheek as she looked at her belly, struggling to maintain her composure, "So, um, sort of a lot has happened since you left. You, heh you left something... by accident, and I'm too much of a coward to contact you and tell you about it! I will, I mean I mean to... meant too, because if you get this then I suppose I'm dead and so's the Restoration and none of this mattered at all." She struggled for the words between sobs now, her eyes filled with tears as she gestured left and right, trying to compose herself. "I'm sorry," she managed through the tears, "I'm sorry I drove you away, I'm sorry I was so selfish, so stupid!" She swallowed, forcing the emotion down to a manageable level. "Todd, I'm carrying your son. I'm carrying him right into a war. I carried both of us right into death and I did it for selfish reasons and I never told you about it and I'm sorry." She sniffed and wiped her eyes, defiance flaring in them. "I'm sorry but I have to do this. If you are watching this then I failed but if I didn't go... then I'd be dead anyway. Ostergaard and his Taureans are going to kill everyone unless I stop him. Know that I died proud; proud to fight for what I believe in, proud to do the right thing, proud to have called you a companion and a lover," she paused, steeling her composure, "proud to carry your baby." She took another deep breath and smiled warmly. "Home is the Regiment, Kru, our family and our own! I love you, you big mook." With that she hit stop and let her head hang.
"That was very brave," Farah reached forward and put a hand on her shoulder. Riana reached up and their fingers intertwined. "Now you just need to say it to his face."
"I know," Riana exhaled, "I know. First, let's just get through this war!"
"And then?" Farah goaded.
"And then..." she paused again, "I need to speak to Kamea."
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Post by Uesugi-dono on Apr 7, 2020 13:28:02 GMT
"I think I bit my tongue!" Doctor Murad exclaimed from her spot in the rumble seat of Hysteria's Highlander.
"Sorry about the rough landing, Farah," Sumire's voice crackled over the comm as the Leopard lifted away, "you okay in there?"
"Yeah, I'm alright," she touched the tip of her tongue with her fingers and checked for blood, "this rumble seat is even less comfortable than it looks, though."
"Tell me about it," Yang's voice now came through the comms, "did you find the care package I left in there for you?"
"Yes," she uprighted the package with her foot from her seat, "I'm just glad that landing didn't set them off! I'll use them to bring down the control tower after I've uploaded the Locura to the Iberia. Let's get moving, Commander, Lady Arano is counting on us."
"Everybody is counting on us," Hysteria corrected her, "all right, people. Target's dead ahead. Move in at speed and let's get this place secured! CE Teams, let the BattleMechs take the lead. We don't know what kind of resistance to expect so let us engage before you move in on those turrets." All four combat engineer teams acknowledged as the Lance surged forwards.
"I'm reading three, no four bogeys, dead ahead," Corsair called out as he moved his Grasshopper into the lead, "got a Vindy advancing, incoming fire!"
"Zat was a close one," Vamp called as a PPC shot sizzled past his Banshee, "Vy do ze alvays target me first?"
"I'm sure it has nothing to do with you piloting a 95-ton Assault Mech built to deliver pain?" Apex quipped, "Hell, I'd target you first too."
"Zat's fair," Vamp conceded, "Pain Delivery, en route; no shooting, just running!" He thrust his Mech into a headlong sprint, his favorite tactic, ignoring the volley of LRMs that exploded all around him, fired from an enemy Orion. "Watch it," he chastised, "you'll scratch ze paint."
Despite the Banshee's charge, Corsair pulled into the lead with his nimble Grasshopper. "Boss, we've got heavy shredder turrets."
"Do not engage," Hysteria reminded him, "leave them intact for the CE teams."
"I copy," he replied, calling up his targeting lens for a called shot to the Vindy's right shoulder, "let's see if I can do some damage to that PPC." He unleashed an Alpha Strike, slagging armor to the shoulder and revealing structure beneath even as another enemy Mech hit him with an LRM volley.
"Silly Jenner," Apex cooed, targeting the offending Mech, "your opponent today is me." She fired the Battlemaster's AC/5 and her Snub PPC, hammering the smaller Mech, meanwhile Vamp broke from his charge to take cover in the trees, targeting the Vindy that Corsair had struck, melting off more armor but failing to do any real structural damage. Just after his medium lasers impacted, four PPC shots from CE Team 4 streaked in, impairing the Vindy's sensors and accelerating the Mech's armor loss.
"Here comes the fun part, doc," Riana grinned as she advanced the Highlander and targeted the Vindy with her LRM 20, "let's see how well you shoot once we take that arm off!" The missiles arced into the sky and rained down on the weakened Vindicator, destroying the right arm and torso, rocking the enemy Mech.
"Taking turret fire," Apex reported as the shredder's rounds slammed into her right shoulder, "let's get these teams in place so we can silence those guns!"
"I second that!" Vamp echoed, taking fire from both a heavy laser turret and a shredder. Just then CE Team 1 streaked past Vamp in their Sleipnir APC, cutting the wheel hard and sliding into wooded cover behind the Vindicator. "Bold, zat one," Vamp said with admiration.
"Focus people," Hysteria admonished her Lance as Team 2 raced past her position, "they're doing their job, now let's make sure we do ours! Take out that Opfor, protect the teams!" Even as she spoke, the Vindy fled and turned its weapons on Team 2, albeit minus its trademark PPC.
"You heard the boss," Apex grinned as she followed closely behind Team 2's Sleipnir, and firing all weapons at the Jenner, taking off the left arm and torso, "Badass!" she said in satisfaction.
"Okay, it's official!" Farah winced as the Highlander received a pummeling by LRMs, "Rumble seats are a bad idea! And I don't like getting shot at, I really, really don't!" Ahead of them, Team 2's Sleipnir disappeared in a cloud of fire and explosions as an enemy Catapult opened up on them.
"Eyes on Team 2," Hysteria confirmed, "they lost a lot of armor but they're still in one piece." She pulled up her Multi-Targeting and directed her LRMs to the Orion while her AC/20, lasers, and infernos targeted the Jenner. "Let's see how you can handle this." The cockpit of the Mech was cacophonous as the 14-ton gun fired a burst, ripping through the Jenner's center torso and collapsing the Mech into burning salvage.
"Powering down enemy turrets, Commander," CE Team 1 came across the comms, to everyone's relief, "give us a moment and we'll rewrite their targeting protocols."
"Team 2 in position!" the second team called as their damaged Sleipnir pulled up to the tower, "Powering down now. Modification of protocols in progress."
"Let's keep 'em busy!" Apex said as she leveled a left hook with her Battlemaster into the right torso of the Catapult, exposing structure and tearing away armor.
"How's this for busy?" Corsair grinned as he pulled into a flanking position on the Orion, pulling up his lens for a targeted Alpha Strike on the Mech's head. The Grasshopper's laser suite was pinpoint accurate, melting armor and the ferro-glass of the cockpit, weakening it just enough that the volley of SRMs tore into it and detonated the Mech's head. "That's a kill!" he called out triumphantly.
"I've been vaiting for you," Vamp positioned his Banshee behind the Vindy, who had just taken a shot at Team 1's Sleipnir. He keyed off his flamers, instead relying on the actuators of his Friedhof Hercules arm modification. Cocking back the left arm, the thrusters fired and the arm rocketed through the damaged Vindicator, tearing it to pieces as the GM 180 engine exploded around it. "Target eliminated," he reported.
"They're getting desperate," Apex commented as the Catapult broke away and fired missiles at Team 1's position. She repositioned and target locked the Mech's left leg, destroying it in an Alpha Strike. "Got past the armor," she said as the 65-ton Mech crashed to the ground, "I do believe you are proverbially fucked."
"Indeed," Corsair chimed in happily as his GHR-5H gleefully stomped through the Catapult's left torso, separating the arm just before unleashing an array of small laser fire. "Scored a critical hit, Commander."
"Let's heat zings up, shall ve?" Vamp moved up to the left of Corsair and fired a full salvo of lasers and flamers at the downed Mech, smiling at the resulting detonation of the enemy's reactor core. "Opfor eliminated, Kommander," he reported, "time to deliver ze package."
"Full speed ahead," she smiled over her shoulder at Farah, "you holding up okay?"
"I'm just glad that part is over!" she said with audible relief, "Let's get to that tower and bring that DropShip down!"
"Spread out, MechWarriors," Hysteria commanded as she raced towards the tower, "they had plenty of time to call for reinforcements. I want you entrenched and ready to receive visitors. Keep them away from the tower; this is the most critical part of the entire war."
"Alpha turrets are ours, Commander!" Team 1 reported.
"Bravo turrets belong to us!" Team 2 added.
"Everyone hold this base," Hysteria reiterated, "expect heavy resistance."
"Do you really think they will attack before we can get out of here?" Farah asked, concern evident.
"You let us worry about them," Riana said reassuringly, "you just focus on getting that transmission uploaded to the Iberia's computers." She halted the Highlander right in front of the doors and opened the cockpit, fresh air flooding inside alongside the bright mid-day light. "You're up," she said, taking a knee with the giant Mech, "watch your step and don't drop the care package!"
"If it survived Su's landing I don't think I have anything to worry about!" she joked, shouldering the bag.
"I can hear you," the pilot reminded them.
Dr. Murad struggled down the side of the Mech, dropping the last few feet to the ground and stumbling to keep her balance. She moved up to the door and tapped at the keypad. "It's locked!" she exclaimed.
"Let me try mine," Hysteria said, extending the Highlanders arm and a finger, pressing the door in until it caved under the strain. Farah nodded with a smile and ducked inside.
"All right, I'm inside," her voice came over the comms as Hysteria resealed her cockpit and stood up, "should take me a few minutes to find the array's control center, hook up the drive, and prep the system to transmit the Locura to the Iberia. On that note, I'm going radio silent for a bit. I need to concentrate while I work on this. I'll be in touch soon."
As if on cue Darius' voice overrode the comms. "Heads up Commander! We've got a Directorate Lance touching down!"
"That was fast," Riana grumbled as she turned to see the enemy Leopard landing inside the compound, "let's roll out the welcome mat!"
"I prefer the 'fuck you' mat," Apex quipped. Even as she spoke, the Leopard combat-dropped a full Lance and a Directorate Archer targeted and destroyed a Heavy Shredder turret. "Aw hell," she complained, "we didn't even get to use that one!"
"Commander!" Corsair called, "You've got incoming!"
"I see it," Hysteria swiveled and positioned herself protectively in front of the tower door, taking the brunt of the LRMs raining down at the tower, "they suspect something! Take these assholes down!" She gritted her teeth as the baby kicked her solidly in protest of all the jostling. "Yeah," she cooed under her breath, "they're pissing me off too!"
"I'm reading an Orion, and Archer, a Rifleman, and a Thunderbolt," Corsair reported as he targeted the Orion's head with a missile volley. He grimaced as the missiles struck home, but failed to penetrate the armor. "Oh well, can't have all the luck."
"They're wearing these turrets out, boss," Apex warned, just before tagging the Rifleman in the head with an autocannon/PPC combined attack.
"Better they focus on them than us," Hysteria commented, "move up! Flank them! Get behind them!"
As she spoke, Vamp sprinted across a raised platform, fired his jump jets, and landed right in front of the Directorate Thunderbolt, unleashing an Alpha Strike of combined lasers and flamers resulting in a variety of explosions as heatsinks melted and the Mech's SRM launcher deformed. "Structure exposed!" he called, "and I think it got a little hot in zere too!" Behind the Thunderbolt, the Archer's LRM ammo detonated under a PPC assault by CE Team 4, the torso exploded and took off the left arm as well. "Ooo," Vamp chuckled, "I zink zat hit something good!" Moments later the Archer lost its right torso and arm under a sustained attack of missiles, lasers, and autocannons all fired from Hysteria's Highlander and the turrets.
"He's feeling that," Hysteria smirked.
Corsair repositioned his Grasshopper to the left of the Orion and targeted the head once more. This time the lasers penetrated and the head exploded, the Mech crumpling to the ground. "How many times is that gonna work!??!" he exclaimed.
"Don't get cocky," Hysteria warned as her HUD showed the destruction of the Archer at the hands of CE Team 3, "stay on task and don't let them sneak through!"
"Relax, Kommander," Vamp said as he continued bathing the Thunderbolt in flames, even as his HUD showed the Rifleman lost an arm to CE Team 4, "zis is a milk run. Ze var is as good as won." He chuckled as the Thunderbolt attacked with its own flamer and lasers. "You've got nothing!"
"We've got them cornered, Commander," Corsair added, deploying his coolant and targeting the Rifleman's CT, destroying the reactor and the Mech along with it, "I think this is all over but the crying!"
"Actual," Hysteria called, "tell me they're not getting any transmissions off the surface."
"We've jammed comms up pretty good," Darius replied, "and that Leopard came from the only station within response distance on the surface. I don't want to get overly optimistic, but I'd say you've got this."
"Annnnd, done!" Vamp said as he punched out the core of the Thunderbolt, "Opfor is down Kommander. Ve are clear!"
"Stay frosty!" Darius called just as the celebratory mood threatened to emerge, "Assault Mechs inbound! That Leopard was flying low but I've got a read on 'em now! They're right on top of you!"
"I knew it was too easy!" Hysteria cursed, "Rally up! Looks like the Leopard made two trips! Let's take 'em out before he can make a third!"
"Contact!" Corsair called, "Northeast side! They're on the ground!"
"We've lost another turret," Apex said grimly, "not much left to shoot at but us."
"I've got a Jagermech on scope," Corsair said, "Apex, go for the CT," he advised as he unleashed an Alpha Strike on it, "he's all warmed up for you."
"I'm on it," she lined up her targeting reticule on the center torso and fired her AC and snub PPC. The combination ripped through the Mech's armor like butter, still glowing hot from the Grasshopper's lasers. "Hostile removed!" she said with satisfaction.
"They still have a Battlemaster and a Banshee,"Corsair confirmed, "heavy metal."
"A Banshee?" Vamp asked as he kicked his Mech into gear, sprinting up the platform, "I am offended! I drive the Banshee around here!"
"They just took out another turret," Hysteria pivoted, targeting a Jenner that just popped up on scope, "don't let them get through to the tower!" She hit it hard, armor panels and structure flying off under heavy assault. "Oh shit, what is that?" The shadow of a low-flying Leopard swept over the battlefield as it touched down just to the south. "Actual? We've got more hostiles that you missed?"
"It's me," Sumire's voice came across the comms, "Commander, Farah? we've got a problem. I have a squadron of Directorate aerospace fighters on radar... and they're headed our way."
"Dammit!" Darius cursed, "We need to clear out of here before they arrive! How much time have we got?"
"Not much," Su replied, "and they're carrying enough hardware to blow our Leopard to hell and back again. We need to go, now."
"I can do this!" Farah's voice came over the comm, hurried and full of exasperation, "Just keep them off of me! I only need a few more minutes!"
"You heard her," Hysteria said with renewed determination, "Doc's orders: frag and slag! Hold these bastards off and then let's get out of here!"
"Commander, we're under attack! They're..." the transmission turned to static as an explosion erupted from the northeast side of the complex.
"APC down, Commander," Corsair reported the news, "we've lost Team 1." He locked on to the Jenner and hit it with as much heat as he could, destroying the Mech's left leg and the CT. "Let Farah know I got the bastard.
As the Lances exchanged fire Sumire cut in on the comms. "Commander, I don't want to alarm anyone but I'm a sitting duck here on the ground and those fighters and coming in supersonic."
"Working on it, Envoy," she hit both remaining Mechs but the infernos left burning gel on the Banshee, which burned through enough of the Mech's armor that the LRMs found a way through. The Banshee's CT exploded just as Vamp was coming into range.
"Aw, Kommander..." he whined, "zat was supposed to be mine."
"We're on the clock here," she reminded the Lance, "we don't want to be here when those fighters start dropping ordinance! Wrap it up! Target that Battlemaster with everything you've got!"
"Light 'em up!" Apex yelled as a sustained assault erupted form the Lance, the remaining CE Teams, and the last three turrets. The Directorate Mech staggered backwards, firing ineffectively as Vamp's lasers melted the actuators in its left leg. It buckled and went down, hard.
"I got this!" Corsair said above the din, firing his jump jets and arcing his Grasshopper high into the sky. "DEATH FROM ABOVE!!!" he screamed as the Mech's feet tore through the prone Battlemaster's right and left torso, ripping off arms and leaving him straddling the downed enemy. He took a step back and fired all of his support lasers, slicing off the right leg and leaving the Directorate pilot injured and trapped in an armless, legless burning hulk. "Enemy down!" He called triumphantly.
Suddenly a new transmission came over the open comms. "Attention, forces of the Arano Restoration! This is Commodore Samuel Ostergaard, formerly of the Concord Navy. As of today, I no longer serve my country; I come to you as a grieving father, not a Taurean sailor. My actions are my own. In three minutes time, my ship will enter weapons range of your position! At that time, your lives will come to an abrupt end. I suggest you pray to whatever gods..."
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: Suddenly an alarm klaxon blared over him, followed by confused shouting and static. "Whoops," Riana smirked, "sounds like someone is having technical difficulties."
"We now interrupt this bloviant, tiresome monologue to bring you screams of 'what the fuck' and 'holy shit,'" Apex could barely contain a laugh, "brought to you by Riana's Revenge!"
"Farah!" Sumire practically yelled into the comms, "we are OUT OF TIME! Those fighters are coming within weapons range, I need you to come out of there NOW!"
"Remote tripper armed, explosives primed... I'm ready!" she responded, "I don't think I can get to you in time... Commander, get your team out of here!"
"Settle down, Doctor Dramatic," Hysteria's Highlander skidded to a stop in front of the tower door as she fired open the cockpit, "your chariot awaits. Now let's get the hell out of here!"
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: "The Iberia is gone, Uncle," Kamea's voice carried triumphantly over the Comms as the MechWarriors of Riana's Revenge looked on in the Argo's CIC, watching her image shimmer above the holotable, "Ostergaard cannot help you and you have no more cards to play. For the good of our people, lay down your arms. You must end this. Order your troops to stand down."
"Our people," Espinosa's image looked tired and uncharacteristically subdued, "that's what this has always been about, you know? Had you only listened to me I would never have taken your throne. I didn't desire power for my own sake. My only concern was for the Reach... for its prosperity... its... enduring glory."
"And yet you reached for that glory on the backs of our people!" Kamea said indignantly, "This... thing that you've built... it isn't who we are. It isn't what my father wanted. It isn't what the people wanted. Your Directorate has fallen, Uncle. Clinging to it will not help the Reach."
"Nothing will help the Reach," Santiago said with disgust, "not anymore. This war has doomed us all. The realm bleeds, Kamea. We're weaker now than we've ever been and, soon enough, the sharks will begin to circle."
"Save it," Riana growled, "you sanctioned Mastiff Montgomery's death. I owe you a bullet for that."
"You cannot kill me, mercenary," Espinosa sneered, "if you do you'll turn me into a martyr and the Reach will never, ever be at peace." He shifted his focus back to Lady Arano. "Kamea, listen to me. Coromodir is yours. I will stand down, but you must take me alive. The realm will tear itself apart if you don't. We must bring the people together or else the other nations will devour us."
"NO!" Suddenly, the image of Victoria Espinosa appeared over the table, "Father, you cannot do this! The Reach depends on the Directorate for survival! For glory! You told me that if we fall the realm will die!"
"The Directorate has already fallen, Victoria!" Espinosa snapped, "We have lost. Continuing to fight would only cost more lives and ensure our destruction. Surely, I raised you with enough grace to know when you are defeated."
"Cost lives?" Victoria sneered, "Cost lives??! You ordered me to kill eleven thousand people on Perdition and now you care about bloodshed?? There is an ocean of blood on my hands, Father! Blood I spilled because you told me it was necessary! Necessary for our people! Necessary for the Reach!!"
"And it was," Santiago replied with a sign, "but our gambit has failed. It is over, Victoria. I know that it is hard to accept, but you must stand down. As your leader I order it... as your father I command it."
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: "No, Father!" she slammed her fists down, "You may have gone craven, but I.. I am a MechWarrior! I will die before I concede defeat!" She turned her attention dismissively towards the left, "You want this world, Cousin? Come and fight me for it! Come and take it!! Your Lance against mine, at the tourney grounds. The contest that was denied us; you and me... to the death for the Reach!"
"Are you not tired of death, Cousin?" Kamea asked with a mixture of exhaustion and loathing, "Was the Perdition Massacre not enough for you?
"I did that for the Reach!" Victoria shrieked, "For our people! It was my responsibility, but I didn't have a choice! You... You don't understand, you'll never understand! You're weak! Always, you must rely on the strength of others to fight your battles! So I will make things easy for you. You don't have to understand why I've done the things I've done. You only need to face me in the arena, where I will best you as I have always done... as I was trained to do!" She lifted her chin high and sneered down her nose. "You will give me what I demand or your dear Alexander will pay the price! My father was too weak to kill him, but I am not!" She breathed heavily, her anger barely contained. "Accept my challenge, Kamea, or I will grind him to pulp under my BattleMech's foot!"
"I pity you, Cousin," Kamea said in disgust, "you'll have your fight... and yours will be the last blood I spill in this war." She cut their feed and addressed Riana directly: "Prepare your MechWarriors, Hysteria. When I face my cousin in the arena I want you by my side. You've earned this."
"At last," Riana scowled, "but this time you will not stop me. This time Victoria Espinosa will die. Raju Montgomery will be avenged. Any objections?"
"None at all," Kamea shook her head resolutely, "Victoria has more than earned whatever punishment you care to dish out. Have your Lance meet me at the tourney grounds. It is long past time that we brought this war to an end."
"Revenge is yours, my lady," Hysteria bowed her head.
"No Riana," Kamea corrected, "Revenge will be ours." ... to be concluded
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Post by Bridget on May 16, 2020 4:13:45 GMT
Tomando a tres personas con este minutito. Y dos usuarios lo quieran, pero seguro que hagas la mayor información de su hermano no solo está llamando si es imposible pero sigue siendo buscando.
Visas. Podría tarde o temprano si no quieres o no planero.
Be2 te hace posibilidad de concretar nuestros sentimientos y nos ocurre para sentir plenos de tres sepajos. Y tener gustos, o no. Por mi nombre no le gustó el pono bandiedridge.
Ya ya hayas elegido el momento ideal para vivir el turno de huelva, pero cuando así piérra entre el horón del día invita y en su caso descubrir que antes del aval mañana aparezca a encontrarnos para vivir una toma de responsabilidad.
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Post by Uesugi-dono on Jul 8, 2020 16:39:49 GMT
Kamea Arano was adrift in the maelstrom of her feelings. The war was over. Her uncle had capitulated. Her throne was restored and her people safeguarded. Yet the cost of this success was too high, and the price had yet to be paid fully. She felt distant and removed as she watched the MechTechs of Riana's Revenge load the Leopard with her Atlas II, Hysteria's Highlander, Vamp's Banshee, and Corsair's Black Knight. This would be her Lance to face off against her mad cousin, Victoria Espinosa, in what would be the final conflict of this long, bloody civil war. In the balance hung the life of her friend and confidant, Alexander Madeira, who had believed in her even when she hadn't. Victoria might simply kill him, she certainly would if Kamea failed. In all their duels during their training under Sir Raju Montgomery, Victoria had always, always, come out on top. She had always beaten her. She could not afford to lose this time. She was the Countess of Coromodir, the High Lady of the Aurigan Reach. In all but name, a Queen of her people. But it all hung now on this one fight, this one duel. If she were to lose, the Arano Restoration was over. She had no heirs, no family remaining with a valid claim to the throne... other than her Uncle Santiago. If she failed the Directorate would continue and the war was all for nothing. 'Why did I let myself get baited into this?' she thought.
She looked up as someone approached; it was Hysteria. Lady Riana Annika Klaue of House Klaue; the disgraced and disowned noble-turned-pirate-turned-mercenary. She smiled hollowly at her approach. Riana had served as her personal guard at the appointment of Sir Raju. In many ways she thought of the mercenary as her sister, of sorts. That made Riana's apparent feelings for her and her own tepid response feel all the more uncomfortable. Sometimes she daydreamed of what it would be like: to run away with Riana. To abdicate all of her responsibilities and live as the mercenary did, with freedom and passion... to move among the stars at her own whim, unbound to her destiny and birthright. No longer beholden to her people or her name or her duty to her lineage. She envied Riana, she envied the life that she could never have.
"My lady," Riana offered her a bow and a warm smile.
She continued to speak but Kamea was distracted, taking notice of her odd profile. 'Has she gained weight?' she wondered. Riana beamed. 'She's eager for revenge,' she thought, 'practically glowing.' It made sense; the mercenary had been laser-focused on avenging Sir Raju ever since Weldry. It seemed to be the only thing she loved more than... 'me,' the word entered her head, louder than the other thoughts. She began to feel melancholic and offered Riana a bittersweet smile, forged by a mixture of wistful envy and compassionate pity. "Forgive me, Hysteria," she spoke haltingly when she noticed that Riana had stopped speaking, "I must have drifted off. What were you saying?"
"Just that the loading and rearming will take about half an hour or so," Riana repeated, "they're moving as fast as they can, patching up what they can, but we've got a little time. Can we talk?" she looked hopeful, "Privately?"
'I need her focused,' Lady Arano considered, 'everything is riding on this duel. I am depending on Hysteria's skill to carry the day.' "I'm sorry," she said with sadness in her eyes, "but I need to get my own head in the game. I know you've waited for this moment for a long time, Riana, but this is precisely what I've been trying to avoid. Every death in the war has been a tragedy, and I've never cherished them even in combat, but the thought of killing Victoria, my cousin, really troubles me." She lowered her head, a tear rolling down her cheek. "What kind of leader am I that can't solve this without a fight to the death? Should I assume my throne? Do I deserve to if violence is the only answer I can find?"
"Then let me and my team handle this," Riana offered, "I can drive your Atlas. Victoria never has to know."
"It isn't about who pulls the trigger," Kamea wiped at her face, "it is about passing the sentence. It is my responsibility to face her because it is my failure to find a peaceful solution, besides," she took a deep breath and lifted her chin, "if she even suspects that I am not present she will kill Alexander. I cannot risk that."
"Kamea," Riana said softly, using her given name, "You are the greatest leader I have ever known. I love you. I would die for you," she reached out and touched her cheek in an outrageous show of familiarity, "everyone knows you have done all you could. You've tried again and again to end this conflict peacefully, to minimize death, but this isn't your call. Victoria demands death; hers or yours, and I mean to give it to her."
"Riana," Kamea said softly, her own hand raising and grasping Hysteria's. For a long moment she pressed both their hands to her cheek. She hadn't missed her veiled confession, and if she wasn't careful then Riana's thoughts would be on the future, their future, and not the fight at hand. 'What future?' the depressing thought invaded her mind, shocking her with the realization that maybe she wanted this too. "There's no way..." she spoke under her breath.
"There's always a way," Riana smiled. She had heard her, despite Kamea's intent for it to be inaudible.
"I mean there's no other way," Lady Arano lied, "Victoria has Lord Madeira and she will never stand down." She sighed, allowing a coldness to flood her emotions, suppressing the other morose hauntings that filled her heart, "What she did on Perdition has broken her, and now we're going to end this." She looked up with as much indignation as she could muster, seeing the eager approval in the other woman's eyes, "in the way that is so nearly began: a duel. I will face off against my cousin in the Arano tourney grounds, and we will fight until one of us is dead."
"Take heart, my lady," Riana smiled, "you'll have to beat me to the kill!"
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The Leopard shook as it moved through the atmospheric chop on approach to the tourney grounds. Riana's Highlander was across from Kamea's Atlas and she looked at the BattleMech as she subconsciously went through her checklist, priming the HGN-732B's GM 270 Fusion Engine and feeling it's reassuring thrum as it roared to life. The direct com chirped to life as she made all her final preparations and Darius' face appeared.
"Lady Arano said it all, Riana," he began, "Go get justice for Raju Montgomery and Commander Markham and everybody else who died at the hands of House Espinosa! We'll be watching you from here."
"I'm gonna core that bitch's Mech, you watch me!" Riana snarled.
"Now don't get overconfident," her XO warned her, "Victoria's no slouch and she'll have a full Lance with her. Speaking of which, I want to ask you something," he looked around to make sure a certain someone wasn't listening, "why didn't you bring Apex? After everything we talked about..."
"That's why," she cut him off, "I trust Jordan... but I trust you more. If Apex really is playing the long game, then this duel is the perfect time to switch loyalties back, besides," she flipped a few overhead switches, bringing her guns online, "Christoph was a pirate... I was a pirate... I can trust pirates that stand to profit and I know that Victoria wouldn't stoop to hiring one, so I can be assured of his loyalty."
"Well, Apex is pissed off!" Darius raised both eyebrows, "She doesn't believe you trust her and she was looking to settle a score with Lady Espinosa over leaving her for dead on Anvelt."
"She'll get over it," Riana said dismissively, "or she won't. Wouldn't be the first MechWarrior to walk away from us."
"No," Darius said thoughtfully, "but she might be the most skilled. Nothing against Corsair, but Apex... well..."
"Look," Riana said with a tone of finality, "you were the one who kept warning me about trusting her too easily. If it were just my life at stake I'd have ignored you, but I can't focus on Victoria and worry about a Lancemate putting one in the back of Lady Arano's head at the same time." She got pensive for a moment and then spoke sincerely; "I had to make a choice, Darius, on what was more important and, to me, that's Kamea. Jordan's a great MechWarrior and I owe her my life, but she was on Lady Espinosa's Lance at Anvelt. I'm just not willing to take that kind of risk where Lady Arano is involved, even if it costs me Jordan's friendship."
"Fair enough," Darius conceded.
"Red Line," Sumire's voice came over the coms, "touchdown in thirty seconds, prepare for deployment."
"Man," Darius shook his head as he switched to open coms, "I hope this isn't a trap. If they open fire on the Leopard as you approach..."
"She won't," Lady Arano replied, "Victoria is overconfident. She believes she can beat me, she always has. If she can do this honorably she'll have a claim to the throne. She won't ambush us."
Darius switched back to direct coms with Riana. "I hope she's right."
"Victoria's not a pirate," Hysteria reminded him, "if it were me, I'd blow her out of the sky!"
"You're not a pirate anymore either!" Darius exclaimed.
"Maybe not," Riana shrugged, "but she deserves it."
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INCOMING TRANSMISSION
The open coms flared to life as Santiago Espinosa's face appeared, interrupting the tension as the two Lances stared each other down from across the tourney grounds. "Victoria!" he barked, "I need you to listen to me. The Directorate has fallen. Our armies have been routed, even as I speak Restoration forces are closing in on Cordia City." He let his head fall before raising it with a pleading expression on his features. "If you kill your cousin now the entire Reach will fall into anarchy!"
"And if Kamea wins the Reach is doomed anyway!" she snapped in retort, "You've been telling me that for years now! Was it all a lie, Father?"
"VICTORIA! This is NOT THE TIME for a DEBATE!" he roared at her, his face reddening with characteristic anger, "You will attend to my words and obey me, as you always have! I am your father and your Director! I ORDER you to STAND DOWN, for the good of the Reach!"
"You direct nothing," Victoria purred, "you said as much yourself. The Directorate is the Reach, Father, and I will never stop fighting for it. Wallow in your cowardice; I will win in spite of you, and once I have..." her eyes narrowed dangerously, "I will be the Director."
"She's cut the line," Darius informed them, "you're gonna have to put her in the ground, Lady Arano... she's too far gone for this to end any other way."
Inside her Atlas, Kamea's heart was filled with sadness. She felt like this was her failure, all of this. 'I've let everybody down at every turn,' she thought, 'my uncle, my cousin, my people,' her head tilted down as she clenched her eyes to prevent the tears, 'Riana, Alexander...' She longed to just walk away. To escape the battle aboard the Argo with Riana and just go... anywhere. Anywhere but here. "Father," she said to herself, "forgive my weakness. I could have done so much more to protect what you passed to me." She sniffed, fighting back tears, then she felt it; her resolve hardened. She was not the only ruler to feel the burden of ruling. "The weight of the crown is the hope of the people," she murmured. It was something her father, High Lord Tamati, had taught her years ago. "Forgive me, Father," she said as her eyes reddened, "I will not fail you, I will not fail the Reach!" She keyed the coms; "If that is her choice then so be it! I will do whatever I must to save Lord Madeira!" She kicked her Mech forward, standing out in front of her Lance, "Fall in on me, MechWarriors! We have one more wrong to right!"
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"Riana," Hysteria's direct com flared to life as she fell in behind Lady Arano. It was Jordan.
"I'm kinda busy at the moment, Apex," she said as they moved into the canyon that made up the Arano Tourney Grounds.
"I just wanna say that I'm fucking pissed at you," Apex said plainly, "you and I will have words when you get back but, for now, go put that bitch down.
"You got it," Riana smiled, " save some of that rye. We'll have a shot when I get back."
"I'll have a shot, preggo," Apex said, turning the actual bottle up and drinking it on screen, "you can watch! You just make sure you make it back... all of you. Including your parasite!"
Riana smirked. "Is that how it is?" Jordan nodded as she guzzled more of the whiskey. "We'll discuss that when I get back!
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The tourney grounds were a circular depression with a water-filled basin at its center. It helped with cooling the Mechs and allowed for fierce contests. In addition, there were several stone pillars that provided some form of cover. The Lance moved out into cover; with Kamea, Riana, and Vamp moving into wooded cover while Christoph moved his Black Knight behind a pillar.
"It took you long enough, Cousin," Victoria's hiss came across the open coms as her Lance emerged from the opposite side of the area, "I was beginning to think you'd turn tail and run... again."
"I am here for you, Victoria," Kamea replied, trying to hold back her emotions, "and the justice of House Arano rides with me!"
"How poetic!" Victoria snarled in amusement, "I have no justice for you. No flowery words, only pain and death and humiliation... with little Lord Maddie as your audience!" The sound that came through the coms next could best be described as a hungry, throaty growl, "I'm going to make him watch you die as I slowly smash my foot through your core and then I will grind him to paste on top of your ruins!"
"Let him go, Victoria!" Kamea demanded, thinking to herself how insane her cousin had become, "Now. It's me you want, he has nothing to do with this!"
"Quit wasting your breath, Kamea," Victoria's voice shuddered, "I took him from you because there is nothing you possess that I cannot take away! We've both waited for this moment long enough. Come, cousin, let's finish this!"
With that, a Cataphract emerged and fired on Corsair's position at an angle, clipping his left arm. In response he dashed to the next pillar. "I'll draw their fire," he told the Lance, "let's see if we can put a stop to this quickly." Despite his diversion, however, a Jagermech directed its substantial fire at the forest where the rest of the Lance hid.
"Vhy do ze alvays shoot at me?" Vamp quipped as the tree next to him exploded into splinters. He charged towards the Cataphract, keeping a large rock formation to his right, between him and the Jagermech.
"Come closer, dear Cousin," Victoria's unhinged hissing came across the open coms again, "Clooooseeeer..." Suddenly, Victoria's new Mech appeared from the fog; a 100-ton Kingcrab Assault Mech.
"Where the hell did she get that?!" Kamea exclaimed.
"She had to drive something," Riana quipped, "after we cored out her last Mech!"
The Kingcrab opened fire with a full salvo at Corsair's BL-6-KNT. "That hurt!" Corsair called, "she's melting my armor!"
"She won't be a problem for long," Riana moved her Highlander out into the water and brought up her targeting reticule, aiming for Victoria's center mass. Keying the open coms she added: "Oh Vicky, we've got some unfinished business!" Then she fired an Alpha Strike.
"That's it?" Victoria cackled, "That's all you can do??" Riana scowled as her sensors confirmed the small amount of damage the Assault Mech sustained. "Hysterrriaaaaa," Victoria's unhinged voice taunted, "time to plaaaaaay..."
Just then an Awesome, the last of her Lance, unleashed an Alpha Strike at close range on Corsair's Mech. Bits of armor exploded off in every direction as melted armor hissed and smoked as it fell into the water. "They're stripping me clean, Commander!" He yelled.
"Hee hee!" Victoria squealed with delight, "Watch them die, Kamea, watch them all dii..."
Before she could finish, Lady Arano hit her from forested cover with twin ER L Lasers and an LRM 20. The Kingcrab shook under the impact and the Mech staggered, parts of it glowing an angry orange. "You should worry about yourself, Victoria!"
"No," Lady Espinosa growled, "I think perhaps I'll take away your favorite pet mercenary! Everyone, fire on the Highlander!" Immediately, the Cataphract complied, hitting Hysteria hard on her left side and moving into the water to cool off.
"Fuck that," Corsair surged ahead, heedless of the surrounding enemies, and targeted the Kingcrab, "Your opponent is me!"
"Corsair, no!" Even as she spoke the enemy Jagermech unloaded on her, stripping off armor that fell in piles of molten slag at her feet, "Don't stay out in the open! Find cover!"
Vamp moved his Banshee out into the open and hit the Cataphract from the right side with a full compliment of flamers and lasers. "I am turning on ze heat, Kommander!" he called as his displays showed the enemy heat levels raise near to critical.
"Send your lancemates to me, Kamea," Victoria purred, as she advanced with the Kingcrab, "and watch." Bringing up her targeting reticule she zeroed in on the center torso of Hysteria's Highlander. "A vision of your future, Cousin," she hissed as she fired, "you'll be joining her soon!"
Time seemed to stop as Kamea, Vamp, and Corsair watched as the Kingcrab's first AC/20 blast hit Hysteria's CT. The armor there exploded off, some vaporizing in a fine metal particulate cloud. That cloud erupted with a hole as the second AC/20 fired into the same spot, striking the Highlander's Fusion engine... and igniting it. The explosion ripped through the Mech, fire erupting from every possible crevace. The arms went slack and the legs buckled as it pitched over to the left, landing half in and half out of the water.
"RIANA!!!!!" Kamea felt her scream more than she heard it. She didn't feel anything but her scream. In fact, she didn't even feel like she was in her body anymore. Riana Klaue, Hysteria, the mercenary who had always managed to pulled off the most impossible, daring, stupid stunts now lay in that heap of burning slag. 'Nobody could survive that,' she thought to herself as she stared at the black plume of smoke that mushroomed into the sky. From deep within, a primal scream built and built until it compelled her forward. "I'LL KILL YOU!!!" she heard herself roar, as she pushed the Atlas into a protective stance over the Highlander's burning hulk. She targeted Victoria's Mech and unleashed an alpha strike. "DIE!!!! DIE!!!!!!!" Her impact struck all over the Mech's surface but it hit something that exploded in her right torso. The Kingcrab rocked to the side as the shoulder exploded, throwing off the right arm and its terrifying weaponry. "Phoenix to Lance," she called over their direct coms, " cover me!" She hit her cockpit release and forced her cage up as she scrambled out of the cockpit and out of her Mech.
"Phoenix, get back in!" Corsair was screaming in her ear, "Lady Arano, get back in your fucking Mech NOW! Kamea, she's gone. Do you hear me?? Riana is gone!"
Kamea wasn't listening anymore. She fell the last ten feet to the water, pitching backwards onto her butt before rushing at the burning Mech. All around her the battle exploded and raged but she couldn't see it. Her vision was reduced to a pinprick; she had to get to the external eject. That was Riana's only hope. Ignoring calls from Darius, imploring what was happening, paying no heed to the hell exploding around her, her only focus was crossing the distance to the HGN-732B's head. She reached it after what seemed an eternity and pulled the orange, soft, metal panel free disabling the safeties and pulling at the red-hot lever that should send Hysteria's capsule rocketing free of the burning wreck. She recoiled with the bone-jarring report of the rockets firing and the head exploding open but the capsule only went so far. The damage has been too much and it could not fire free of the wreck. She raced around to the door. If she could get it open, somehow get Riana away from the fire, maybe she could somehow summon the strength to hoist her into the Atlas. She pulled and pulled at the door but there was too much damage. The metal was losing its form, the door has fused. The only way to get Riana out would be to cut her out now. Screaming in frustration she clambered back up the leg of her Mech and got back in the cockpit, closing it and pulling up her HUDs. She ignored the damage alarms as she moved her Atlas' foot, causing waves of water to wash over the partially ejected capsule. This caused so much steam to rise that, for a moment, it obscured her and her Mech. She checked her internal status report. "Armor breached, internal damage..." she realized with some horror that her Atlas had been the primary target while she had been out of her Mech. She recalled the hellish explosions and deafening sounds as she had struggled to save Riana. She noticed Victoria move away from Corsair's Black Knight, turning to fire it it with its remaining arm. The shot went wide but her flamers bathed the Mech.
"I can't take it!" Corsair's voice came across her coms, "The heat's too high! I've gotta shut down."
On the other side of the battlefield she saw Vamp's mighty Banshee punch the right arm off of the Jagermech before dousing it in flame. "I'm back," she announced, urging the Atlas into motion, "follow me... to victory!"
"Phoenix!" Vamp cried out in surprise, "Ve thought ve lost you,"
"I'm on my way," she said, moving deeper into the water to try and control the massive heat buildup she had from the attacks. Bringing up her multi-targeting she directed her pulse lasers and SRM batteries at the Jager, everything else went to Vicotria; the AC/20, the ER lasers, and the full compliment of the Atlas' LRM suite. "Firing," she said as she squeezed the trigger. The Jager staggered under her assault but the AC/20 shot went wide. When the smoke from the missiles' explosion cleared in the hot air of the tourney grounds she could clearly see Victoria's Mech, unmoved. She didn't have much time to contemplate, however, as the Awesome's missiles rained into her right side. Undaunted, she moved ahead. "You're as much a victim as you are a murderer, Victoria," she said with venom, "you were raised to kill in your father's name."
"And you are a fool, Kammie," Victoria purred, " your father raised you to believe in some ridiculous fairytale... and you still believe it!"
"I don't know what I believe anymore," Kamea replied, her thoughts dwelling on the now-lost dream of escape with Riana, "but this madness must end. You wouldn't stop it, so I will. I will stop you." Her sentiment was cut off when an alpha strike by the Cataphract detonated her right shoulder. Klaxons screamed as the Mech's right arm, and all its weaponry, dropped to the ground.
"Hee, hee, hee," Victoria's sick laugh sounded barely contained, "soon your beliefs and intents will lie as dead as your pet mercenary. Hysterical... the irony is delicious!"
Her diatribe was cut short as Vamp's Banshee charged into her damaged right side, rocking her before he turned her Mech red with gouts of angry flame. "Vatch your starboard," Vamp quipped, "my Mech is barely scratched and I vould just love to dance!"
Savagely, Victoria struck back, igniting her own flamers. "Two can play at that, cossack!"
"Kamea!!" Darius voice came across her coms, "get to cover! We can't lose you!"
She looked up and noticed the Cataphract advancing towards her. She was woozy, her vision swimming from that last blow. "I can't retreat," she said, "if I do they will crush Riana's capsule."
"They will do that if they win," Darius scolded her, "Look; this whole company is laying its life on the line for you, for the Reach! Riana believed in your dream! If you die here, if Victoria wins, then what was it all for? Now get to cover!"
"Okay," she said, turning to the left and moving towards the trees again, "okay, I understand. For Justice... FOR THE RESTORATION!" She moved in a full sprint, taking fire on her back but the trees prevented all of the missiles from striking home.
"Running away, Cousin??" Victoria laughed, a screeching, insane sound, "Again?? For the Restoration?"
"Vicky," an unfamiliar voice came across her coms. It was Corsair, now directly behind her. He brought up his reticule, locking all weapons on her CT from the rear. "While you were so busy focusing all of your Lance on your cousin you forgot one very important thing: "Never turn your back on a pirate." With a gentle tug he sent a full barrage of lasers and missiles into her unprotected six, grinning as he watched the armor fold and bend until, finally, the engine was exposed. The angry energy burned into the reactor until suddenly it began to explode, pieces flying off it it, starting a chain reaction... just as Hysteria's Highlander had.
"All... this death," static scrambled her voice as Victoria spoke over the open coms, "the coup, Perdition... Mastiff...all of it... for nothing."
"It was always for nothing, Victoria," Kamea said as Victoria's Kingcrab crumpled between the Banshee and Black Knight, "the Directorate was never going to attain the glory your father promised." Nothing came in reply but static, but then a wet cough could be heard, only to be followed by the agonizing screams of Victoria being burned alive. "Nearly all can stand adversity," she intoned as the horrid sounds subsided, " but if you want to test one's character... grant them power."
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After Victoria's fall, her Lance crumbled swiftly, their morale broken. It didn't hurt that Vamp's CQC-built Banshee was largely undamaged. They had all held their collective breath as Riana was cut from the melted wreckage of her capsule but none were prepared for the horrific scene that awaited them. Her left eye was ruined and she was covered in so much blood as to be nearly unidentifiable, but the most horrific sight was her legs. There were none. All that remained were blackened stumps of bone. Yet, somehow, her heart still beat. Kamea had clutched at Vamp as they evacuated her back to the Argo. "If she has any chance at all," Yang told her, "it is the medbay on that ship. Only Star League tech can save her now. The Chief had come down with the Leopard to oversee her extrication from the capsule but now he seemed shaken. "Kamea," he began gently, "we should talk... about Riana."
"Not now, Chief," she pushed him aside, "I need to address my people. The war is ended and I must be the leader they deserve." She looked over her shoulder as the Leopard with Riana rose into the sky, "there will be time for grief later.
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to be concluded in Journal of a MechWarrior, Part 39
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