Flames of Hsien

September 30, 3062
2300 Hours
Five miles from Innova City
Innova
Chaos March

       The situation: The Dark Knights are one hour away from completing their garrison contract on Innova, but Word of Blake forces have landed to take the world. The defenders and attackers have spent hours playing hide and seek without a shot being fired. But now an enemy force has walked into a Dark Knight trap. Unfortunately, the militia of Innova doesn't like the fact that the Knights are getting ready to leave and wants to make sure they stay. One way or another.

       Autocannon shells pour out of the Blackjack’s arms as Viktor walks his fire across the enemy Sentinel’s body, followed by the ruby beams of his lasers. Jimmy’s Shadowhawk steps out of hiding and fires at the Sentinel as well. Only the autocannon hits, but the ‘Mech staggers under the onslaught of both ‘Mechs. Then Akira unleashes another hellfire particle blast into the Sentinel’s weakened armor and it drops like a puppet with its strings cut, the engine dead.
       The remaining four ‘Mechs open up on the Dark Knight’s Striker lance and Viktor’s ‘Mech staggers as over a tonne of armor melts off. He struggles to keep it from falling, barely succeeding, and distantly notices that Jimmy is not so lucky. The Shadow Hawk crashes through a grove of trees and lands on its back as Viktor looks back up.
       Three ‘Mechs are in the air, rising on plumes of jump jet fire. He looks at them closely and recognizes them as Recon lance as they open up on the Word of Blake ‘Mechs facing Viktor. The Phoenix Hawk fires the heavy red beam of its large laser and twin smaller beams into the Thorn and it explodes in a billowing cloud of ammunition cooking off. The Spider fires the stuttering-short beams of its pulse lasers into the back of the Mercury, while the Jenner fires missiles and lasers into the Cicada. It falls, the leg amputated at the knee, and skids into a hill, arm crushed against its side.

       Benjamin and Hiroshi fly high above the ground, arrowing in on the fighting below, as six Word of Blake fighters close. They slam their throttles to the firewall and angle down on the enemy ‘Mechs, PPCs and lasers slashing through the night sky. Their target, the Hermes II, falls to the ground with wounds sinking deep into its flanks all over and a smoking hole where its cockpit had been.
       "Oh yeah! Frag one lead foot," Benjamin yells over the comms.

       Machine gun rounds and laser beams explode around the infantry as the militia opens up on them. Kyle returns fire with a BattleMech-quality rotary machine gun, churning 10mm rounds through their ranks like a giant weed-whacker. A salvo of missiles from another platoon explodes all around him and he falls back behind cover, his armor breached in a dozen spots.

       The Mercury, smoke pouring through the deep wounds in its back, turns and runs into the forest. Akira follows it with a particle beam that blows a tree apart.
       "Damn," he mutters over the comms.
       Viktor turns his Blackjack to the downed Jenner and aims for the kill. The enemy pilot however shuts down the engine and pops the cockpit.
       "Oh wow," Jimmy comments softly.
       "Quiet," Viktor orders, as he takes in the softly rounded curves of their new prisoner, marred only by the scowl of hatred on her face. "Ah….Major. We’ve got a situation."

       Benjamin and Hiroshi turn back to face the squadron of fighters and pull back on their throttles, slowing down to conserve fuel. Two of the enemy fighters pull up and accelerate away.
       "What the………" Benjamin trails off as a second lance follows the first.

       Major Henderson sighs at Viktor’s explanation. Why do I bother, he asks himself, then opens up the transmitter. "Jimmy. Pick her up and get her back here in one piece. DO NOT injure her. Striker lance. Escort him back and protect our infantry."
       "Yes, sir," comes the excited response of the young tech and Henderson sighs again. Was I ever that young, he asks himself again and reluctantly comes to the conclusion that he was.
       "Muller. Here’s what I need you to do."

       The Blizzard screams towards the militia, missiles flying from its turret into the enemy as Ribecka sees several of her friends unmoving on the ground. She pulls the wheel to the side and her hovercraft tilts over into a tight turn. She releases the wheel with one hand and smacks a button. The hover effect disappears and the Blizzard drops to the ground like a brick, leaving a trail of sparks, and screeches to a stop in-between her former allies and her infantry. Machine guns and lasers meant to stop other infantry bounce off her vehicle’s armor and she smiles nastily as the turret rotates to fire another salvo.

       Benjamin and Hiroshi bank away from the enemy lance and turn back to fly over the Dark Knight’s Recon and Striker lances, watching the two fighters close with them from above. The odds were looking better now with the other two lances nearly back up into orbit so they contented themselves with concentrating on the closer enemy. Suddenly that lance pulled up and away from them as well and followed its compatriots into the upper atmosphere.
       "Ah…..Major," Ben begins slowly. "Do you care to explain this?"
       "No," the Major responds tersely. "Now return to the base and support our boys back there. Strafe those bastard grunts if you have to, just help our boys. We will hold here in case they attack us before we can get out."

       Devin jumps into the air on his Battlesuit’s jets, followed by his squad of infantry and they pour machine gun rounds down into their new enemies. In the distance, he sees a lance of tanks start moving their way. "Oh no," he mutters.

       Henderson’s Black Knight turns to watch Jimmy’s Shadowhawk and its escorts run past, holding their new prisoner safely in his ‘Mech’s right hand on her way back to the dropship. He breaks out a cigerallo, puts it in his mouth and lights it up, trying to keep relaxed. He couldn’t do anything else. He couldn’t afford to have his heavy firepower that far from the front if things went south.

       Benjamin and Hiroshi burn down out of the night, lasers and particle cannons burning into the pavement all around the vehicles. A Goblin slips to a stop, a tread blown off, as a smoldering J. Edgar falls to the ground, it’s ground effect shredded. They pull up and away to come around for another pass, still worrying about the fighters up above, but more then willing to shoot anyone killing their comrades.

       Kyle edges around the rear end of the Blizzard and fires a stream of shells into the edge of the militia troops as more of his troops fire around the front of the Blizzard. "Kell, this is Mathis. The rest of those vehicles are moving. We don’t stand a chance out here."
       Kyle sighs and pulls back behind the protection of the hovercraft as another swarm of missiles explodes into it. "Get back here. You can’t do any more good out there."
       "Yes, sir."

       Viktor pushes his Blackjack up to over 80 kph, putting all his concentration into keeping her moving over the fields and dearly hoping he didn’t hit a dip. At this speed, that could be disastrous. His feet stamp onto pavement and he brings his arms up to point at the militia vehicles nearly in range. A hand pulls back the throttle and the red warning lights of speed stress disappear as he concentrates on his targets. The pull of a trigger sends twin salvoes of 30mm shells into the vehicles. Jimmy’s Shadowhawk finds the range and another salvo of shells slam into the militia and Viktor winces.

       "Cease fire!" Kyle takes a deep breath before continuing. "They are falling back! Don’t kill anyone you don’t have!" He hears the gunfire reluctantly come to a stop as the militia retreats. They leave behind over five dozen dead and wounded and Kyle let out a breath. Useless, he thought. Why did they do this? He looks back to see nearly a dozen of his men down and his sympathy for the militia fades. They deserved what they got , he thinks slowly.

October 1, 3062
0004 Hours
Innova City
Innova
Chaos March

       "We are loaded up and ready to go," Simon Hayes, captain of the Squire says, his voice scratchy from the narrow comm. beam.
       "Excellent," the Major responds. "You may launch." He ends the conversation and flips over to another channel. "Hiroshi, Ben. Launch now. Cover the Squire as she burns for space. We’ll be right behind you." He cuts out that channel before they could respond as well and turns to Captain Henderson. "Would tie me in with the planetary comm. relay please?"
       The Lancer’s captain smiles back at the Major and laughs softly. "Gladly, sir," he answers and enters in the commands. "Ready anytime," he says as the dull roar of the two refueled fighters launching reverberates through the hull.
       Henderson nods his thanks and turns to the camera. "This is Major Henderson of the Dark Knights. Our contract is now over. Despite your own militia’s murder of fifteen of my soldiers, despite your murder of my mechwarriors, and despite the general HELL that you have put us through, we have honored our commitment to you. We have destroyed the only invading unit we could find, and now it is time for us to go. I do hope you will welcome your new rulers as well as you have welcomed us over the past few months." A loud roar shakes the dropship as her sister claws for air and the space beyond.
       "Have a nice day." The Major looks to the captain and he cuts the circuit with a smile. "You may launch, captain." The two brothers sit down and strap themselves in as the Lancer shakes with the pre-launch thrust. She rises, not exploding off the runway like the fighters and her sister, but slowly and majestically. Her giant bulk carefully detaches from the ground, flames and smoke obscuring everything around her, as the last of the Dark Knights leave the thrice-cursed world.

Captain Berry watches the Union burning into the upper atmosphere and despite how much he wants to hate the Dark Knights for leaving, wishes he was on that ship right now. "Ok, men," he yells. "We’re on our own now! Let’s get this together and prepare to fight these bastards!" He ignores the discontented mutters and his eyes stray back up to Union. Yeah, he really did wish he was on it right now.

October 1, 3062
0102 Hours
Innova High Orbit
Innova System
Chaos March

       Major Henderson stands beside the escape pod hatch, looking at the prisoner. "Unshackle her," he orders Kyle and he reluctantly complies, thinking this is stupid. The prisoner brings her hands in front of her and rubs her wrists, glaring at the Major.
       "So that’s your torture chamber," she asks bitterly, her rage twisting what would normally have been a beautiful voice. "Small, private, and easy to dispose of the evidence," she continues, waving her head at the hatch.
       "No," the Major responds, opening the hatch. "I’m sending you back to your people." She frowns in confusion and he continues. "We will be crossing your highest ship’s orbit in one minute. I want you in this escape pod so they can pick you up." What is going on, Kyle thought.
       She glares at him coldly in disbelief. "You mean you want me in there so I’m an easy target after you get out of range of our ships? I think not."
       "I could kill you any time I wanted," Henderson says, shaking his head. "I wouldn’t have to sacrifice a valuable escape pod for that." She glares into his eyes, then lowers her gaze to the floor and swallows.
       "Why?"
       "Because I have no wish for more blood on my hands." Silence reigns for a few moments as he lets that sink in. Then he stretches out his hand to her. "My name is Richard. Richard Henderson."
She looks at him, then down to his hand and back to his face. Her hand slowly moves to accept his and she swallows deeply. "Tamerra. Tamerra Ortega." The Major nods curtly as they share the short handshake. He sure knows how to thaw her out, Kyle thought.
       "I hope you don’t take it badly when I say I hope I don’t see you again," he comments.
       "No. No I won’t." Kyle looks from her to him, not quite believing the major could say that to anyone who looked like her. Especially after thawing her out.
       "We are running out of time," the Major says. "Please get into the pod so we can eject you." She nods and bends over to walk into the pod. Kyle watches her closely, reminding himself it was his mission to watch her after all. And this was one mission he was glad to fulfill to the letter.
       The hatch lowers and clangs shut. The second hatch locks shut as well, and the Major checks the air pressure to make sure everything is good. He looks over to Muller who nods slowly and then reaches up to the lever. A quick pull sends the pod away from the dropship as the Dark Knights continue their burn away from Innova.
       Kyle shakes his head quickly. Good riddance, he thinks. A wobbly would never work out here. He almost believes himself as he walks away.

October 2, 3062
2209 Hours
Nadir Jump Point
Innova System
Chaos March

Benjamin, Hiroshi, Ribecka, and Kyle sit in observation chairs, looking out a viewport of the jumpship, waiting for the jump. Viktor, Paul, Sato and all the other mechwarriors are there as well. Devin is at the other observation deck with the rest of the infantry, but Kyle and Ribecka are here because of the overflow in that room. Ben looks at Hiroshi as his friend latches himself and mirrors the movements. He exchanges a gaze with Kyle and receives a smile in response. Power begins to thrum throughout the ship and the lights dim as all available power is routed to the massive drive that makes interstellar travel possible. He thinks of Henderson and Muller on the bridge and wonders if they stayed out of the observation decks on purpose. He reaches over and grabs Ribecka’s hand as the thrumming rises to a crescendo. He wonders if they wanted to give their troops a chance to unwind in each other’s company without them to hamper the attitude as he and Ribecka exchange a smile. His other hand grabs Hiroshi’s and the two friends nod to each other, glad to be alive. Viktor and Sato laugh at a shared joke only to be hushed by Akira as the thrumming stops.
Over two dozen warriors on two decks are watching as the heavens open up to harald the man-made miracle of a jump.

December 5, 3062
1000 Hours
Mercenary Review and Bonding Commission
Harlech City
Outreach
Chaos March

       "Aye."
       "Nay."
       "Aye."
       "Aye."
       "Nay."
       "Nay."
       "Nay."
       Major Henderson's shoulders droop in relief as he hears the last pronouncement. The man beside him stands up quickly and huffs, "This is outrageous! His people murdered our planet's defenders and left us in the middle of an invasion! We demand retribution!"
       "No," the Comstar representative intones. "We have seen the evidence. It speaks a different story. Now leave here before you are placed in contempt mister Carlan." The Innova native huffs again and turns to walk away.
       "I don't know how you got the commission to rubberstamp your actions, but I'll make sure you never get another contract," he whispers to Henderson on the way out.

December 26, 3062
0805 Hours
Harlech City
Outreach
Chaos March

       "It looks like our good friend mister Carlan has made good his threats," Major Henderson says to Muller. "Loans are being called in and contract offers are drying up. The only one left is Hsien."
       "Hsien is bad news," Muller interjects, shaking his head. "We don't want any part of it."
       "I know. But we don't have a choice anymore."
       "Any news on the Ridzik brothers?"
       "Just that Elgin has finally been added to Hall as firmly in their control on the maps," Henderson responds. "'Tikonov Free Republic' my left nut. It'll never survive once the Houses decide to step in."
       "But it doesn't look like that will happen any time soon."
       "The idea is to make the Ridziks think they have though. If Baron Montong can reunite the planet and place it under FedCom rule again, even the brothers won't dare attack it."
       "I don't like it," Muller grumps.
       "Neither do I. But we don't have much choice anymore."

February 15, 3063
1532 Hours
Fort Manchu, ten clicks from Capital City.
Hsien
Chaos March

       "They are landing outside Capital City," the sensor operator intones.
       "Damn." Baron Montong turns to Captain Draper, commander of the Montong Musketeers and Major Henderson. "I didn't think they would come this soon. Can we hold them," he asks Draper.
       "With the Knights," the captain responds, nodding to Henderson, "we have a full two battalions of armor and 'Mechs. It looks like the Republic forces are a regiment strong which isn't good. But we know the terrain and that will give us an advantage." Draper shakes his head, looking at the sensor plot. "I don't know. From in here we can hold them off indefinitely. The government was stupid beyond belief in trying to stop us outside the gates. The problem is that the Republicans could starve us out. We have to ambush them, play a guerilla campaign, kill enough of their ‘Mechs, that we can force them off planet. But it will be costly and I don’t think we’ll have enough left to take the government out afterwards. Even after how badly we trashed them yesterday."
       "Very well," the baron returns. "Use your judgement on how and where we fight them." He nods to Draper, then turns to Henderson. "By the way, major. I hope you realize this isn't Innova and you don't have an hour left on your contract. You have a month left, and you accepted contingency defensive duty as well. I don't think the MRBC would support you if something like that happened again."
       Henderson nods stiffly and turns to leave.

Richard Monroe wiggles in his seat, working the kinks out, and keeps looking around. Surrounding him is the rest of the assault lance, while the Striker and Recon lances are further out, watching the Republican 'Mechs wandering into the Musketeer's trap. Nearly a company of them were about to die and they had no clue what was going to happen. Ambushes were so much fun. He flexes his fingers and prepares for the short battle to come. Three hours was a long time to wait for less then a minute of excitement.

       Barry Jenson, piloting a Knight Shadowhawk, looks at his sensor display still comfortable even after hours of waiting. The Shadowhawk's life support was much better then most 'Mechs. He nearly misses a sensor blip but catches it with the corner of his eye before it disappears. That's not right, he thinks. No one should be out there. He flips a switch and begins talking to Lieutenant Suvorov.
"I just picked up something to our left at under a click, sir."
       "I've got nothing on my sensors but the ones that are supposed to be there. Are you sure?"
       "No. The contact flicker--" He stops as the blip returns and disappears again. "There it is again. Did you catch it that time?"
       "Yeah I did. Let me run this by the Major."

The Major watches a satellite feed of the known enemy positions and scowls. There should be more of them out there, he thinks. Where are they? The comm. system squawks and Striker Leader's voice comes over it. "Sir, we're getting some phantom readings off to the southeast. Not sure what they--" His voice cuts out as alarms fill the interior of his 'Mech. "Holy sh--" Henderson brings his power plant up to full power and begins actively scanning for enemy ‘Mechs.

Barry watches the massive volley of missiles swarm down all over the Blackjack, battering his leader. He averts his eyes as the forest shatters under the assault of the missiles and a single missile finds the ammo bays. He can't see if an escape pod launches as the medium 'Mech cooks off, but contacts are coming up all over the place, some rushing into short range, others holding off. He sees an old Stinger run out of the forest into the clearing and he fires a full salvo into it. It staggers under the assault but continues running. Then it disappears behind a wall of missiles and a single particle beam fired by his lancemate's Griffin.
Akira's Panther nails another Republican 'Mech, an old Wasp, with his PPC and the right arm flies off, destroyed. A Musketeer Warhammer steps into the clearing and fires at an enemy Vindicator as more Republicans swarm out of the forest.

       Major Henderson flips a switch to move from Viktor's dead frequency to the Knight's frequency. "All Knights. Support Striker Lance now. Let's move!" He slams the throttle forward and his 'Mech lurches into a run, followed by the rest of his lance. A flip and he is on the command frequency. "Henderson to Draper. We have been flanked. We require your support."
       He finds a target and fires the particle cannon at it, missing as another salvo of missiles fall out of the sky onto the 'Mechs in the clearing. "This is Draper. We're getting hit from all sides. Somehow they knew what we were going to do! I'm ordering a fighting retreat to the fort. If we can get there, we can repair and refit."
       "Wonderful," the major said under his breath. "Acknowledged," he says over the comms. and switches the frequency again. "All Knights prepare to retreat to the south with the Musketeers." He fires both large lasers into his target again, a Valkyrie, and is rewarded by a solid hit as the heat inside his 'Mech goes up.

       Paul Zyles sees the major firing at a Valkyrie and follows suit, firing a gauss round into its torso. A salvo of autocannon shells from Monroe's Orion slams into the 'Mech as well and it collapses inward, out of the fight. He sees a Marauder step into the clearing and nails it with a particle beam in the nose. It steps back and reorients on him, sending a stream of autocannon shells and two particle beams back at him. His 'Mechs staggers under the impact but he stays standing to see a flight of LRMs impact on the enemy. Then Muller's Archer steps into view and a swarm of missiles launches high into the air and arcs down on the enemy 'Mech, nearly sending it to the ground.
       Another 'Mech, an Awesome steps out of the trees and fires a triple salvo of particle beams into Monroe's Orion and it falls back against a cliff, a smoking hole in the cockpit. His Gauss rifle clunks as another round slams into place and Zyles grins as he sends the slug downrange at the enemy assault 'Mech. The Marauder falls to the ground, gutted by another salvo from the Major, as the Awesome is wreathed in flame. Recon lance's lasers and missiles slash it all over as another double salvo from Muller sends it tumbling to the ground, gyro overstrained.
       Then he sees Striker Lance moving south and they all turn to follow the Musketeer 'Mechs already on the move.

Devin and Kyle, hiding in the trees with the infantry, watch as 'Mech after 'Mech strides by, attempting to catch up with the fleeing defenders. Most come in two and threes, suicide for the infantry. Then a lone Wasp comes, and they nod to each other. They motion to the infantry and everyone snickers. Missile launchers come up on over two dozen shoulders, while the jump infantry aim laser rifles at the approaching 'Mech. The two battlearmored troopers raise their battlemech class lasers and fire as it enters range. Everyone else follows their example and the 'Mech drops like a puppet with its strings cut, the engine cored.

"Knight One to Musketeer Flight," Hiroshi intones over the comm. system. "Get in formation. We need to fight together."
"Roger," came the response of Musketeer Flight's leader. The two Musketeer aerospace fighters and six jet fighters slowly jockey into formation around the two Knights and the defenders pull up to engage the attacking fighters.

       Barry turns his Shadowhawk and fires a stream of autocannon shells and missiles into the nearest enemy 'Mech, a Phoenix Hawk in flight. It lands in front of him and he rushes forward to punch it landing heavy damage on the 'Mech’s damaged torso. The Phoenix Hawk staggers back, but responds with a full salvo of weapons into his 'Mech and Barry barely keeps his balance. Two particle beams and a swarm of missiles slash the Republican and it explodes in a cloud of machine gun ammunition.
       He sees an Atlas step into view and fire of swarm of missiles and autocannon shells into his lancemate's Griffin. It caves in under the firepower and falls to the ground, limp. Another Republican assault 'Mech, one he's never seen, fires twin gauss rounds into a damaged Musketeer Warhammer which promptly explodes. A Charger runs into view and fires a swarm of missiles up into the air to arc down on Akira's damage Panther. It falls to the ground, out of the fight for good, smoke pouring from the gaping cockpit.
       Barry slams the throttle forward and tries to get back in support range of the rest of the Knights, 600 meters south, but a hammer blow rips through his damaged armor, sending his engine critical. He reaches up and pulls the ejection tab and is rocketed out of the cockpit seconds before another salvo of autocannon shells and missiles rip the 'Mech wide open.

"Striker Lance is down," Muller informed the major.
"I see that. But we can't do anything about it." Another firestorm of missiles empty Muller's racks and ripple over a Republican Hunchback, sending it crashing to the ground, as Henderson nails an Atlas straight through the torso with a particle beam. Zyles' Caesar turns and fires another particle beam and a gauss slug into the Atlas and it falls back, crashing to the ground and setting off the autocannon ammunition.

A Republican fighter crashes into the ground, her delicate control surfaces shredded by missiles fired from Musketeer jets. The defending aerospace fighters bank around and blow another fighter out of the sky. The ten survivors fire and two jets explode. They drop in behind the defending aerospace fighters and Benjamin drops a flash-bang in their faces. The fighters split up as the enemy formation disintegrates and the four surviving jets fly in, firing missiles. "Yaaaaahooooooo," Ben cries over the comms. as he picks an enemy and begins following it, firing particle beams and lasers after it.

Two more 'Mechs limp by, one missing an arm, and Devin and Kyle exchange another nod. They've already marked two kills today on their lasers. Missiles and lasers slam into the enemies' shredded rear armor and both drop dead. They get out the chalk for two more kill markers as the infantry exchange high fives.

Sato’s Phoenix Hawk lands near a damaged Shadowhawk and blows it apart with a well placed barrage of smaller weapons to the ammo bins. A Republican Marauder II plays tit for tat by wiping him off the face of the planet with a double particle beam salvo. Four Musketeer ‘Mechs stride into range, firing autocannons and missiles at the assault ‘Mech from long range as the remaining members of Recon Lance swing around it at short range firing lasers and missiles all over it. It shudders under a wave of LRMs and an arm flies off to a guess shell. A final shot to the head brings it down like a rag doll, but its allies come in to avenge him.
Four heavy Republican ‘Mechs fire, blowing away one of the defenders. A lance of Yellowjackets find the range, blow one of the Republicans away with a salvo of gauss slugs, and the three Musketeers join their fire, ravaging another enemy. High speed Pegasus hovertanks fire missiles into the enemy as the Recon Lance harasses the Republicans from the rear, stabbing lasers and missiles in their backs.

       Major Henderson sees the opening ahead and for a moment thinks they are going to make it. Then he sees two more lances streaming in from the side to cut off the retreat and he slams the throttle forward. Muller turns to follow, firing his lasers at a damaged Locust nearby. It crashes to the ground, sliding to a stop. Zyles takes one more shot at the ensuing firefight behind and blows a Rifleman’s arm off, then turns and follows. A particle beam slams into an enemy Hunchback at long range and it collapses. Henderson fires his own particle cannon and another ‘Mech collapses.
       Both sides were nearing exhaustion of men and equipment. The two forces close and smaller weapons fire, stitching wounds all over. Muller’s right arm blows off and his ‘Mech staggers but stays upright. Another hit sinks deep into Henderson’s torso and a laser falls silent. He flips a switch as his ‘Mech staggers from the hit. "Henderson to Draper. We are engaging the only force that can cut you off from the fort. Don’t wait around for us. Just move."
       "Roger."

       Devin and Kyle look at each other nervously as another ‘Mech strides purposefully their way. Five dead ‘Mechs in an area with no enemies was too much of a mystery for this battered Warhammer to ignore. The machine guns spin restlessly, longing for bullets to send hurling out and they take a deep breath. "You guys fade deeper into the woods, I’ll get his attention," Ribecka said as she spooled up the Blizzard’s power plant and rose off the ground. The hovercraft shot forward, out of the hiding place, and fired a volley of five missiles at the ‘Mech. They impact on the launcher above the right arm and it explodes into fragments of flaming ammunition. She flies by it and the ‘Mech turns to follow her.
       Devin and Kyle nod to each other and motion for the infantry to get out. They would make it. They turn to watch the hovercraft bank to the side and turn. Another salvo of missiles explode out of its launcher, ripping out a section in the Warhammer’s torso, but it returns fire with both particle cannons and one of them catches the Blizzard. It jumps up, then noses down into the ground as its hover effect fails. It spins and rolls to a stop, flinging armor and structure all over the field. The infantry look at them and nod, packing the last of the inferno rounds into their missile launchers, and resume their firing positions.
       The Warhammer strides slowly towards the downed craft, ready to fire at any moment. Devin and Kyle raise their lasers, nearly depleted of energy, and fire into the ‘Mech. The infantry follow up with the inferno rounds and the ‘Mech erupts into flame. It twists and fires its machine guns in desperation and half the infantry die. Then it explodes as the heat touches off its ammunition.
       The surviving infantry and the battlearmored troopers jog forward to surround the hovercraft and Devin and Kyle use their battleclaws to pry the craft open. Kyle goes in and carries Ribecka out a minute later. He nods to the rest and they start running back for the cover of the woods as a Locust appears. It runs in at full speed and fires machine guns into the infantry. None of them survive. Its turret-mounted laser spins and slams Devin to the ground with a long burst, but he gets back up to his feet and they make it to the woods before the ‘Mech comes back for another pass. The next salvo nearly shatters Devin’s suit, but Kyle survives unscathed.
       He hands Ribecka over to Devin. "Get out of here. Your armor is useless now. I’ll slow him down." Devin accepts her unconscious body and walks away, the systems of his suit starting to crash. Kyle jumps into the air, flying out of the trees, and lands on top of the Locust’s cockpit. The surprised mechwarrior looks up and realizes he can’t do anything. None of his weapons can reach up there. Kyle digs his armored claw into the armor of the ‘Mech and fires one last blast from his laser into cockpit. The pilot’s eyes open wide as the canopy blackens and warps before his eyes, and he slams the throttle forward. The ‘Mech twists and turns, trying to dislodge Kyle, but he clings on, now simply beating on the canopy with his useless laser. It fractures a bit more with each hit and the Locust suddenly stops dead.
       Kyle looks into the canopy and sees the pilot focused on something in the distance. He turns and looks just in time to see the Hussar’s laser blast blow him off the Locust. He falls to the ground and loses consciousness.

       Richard Monroe awakens slowly, blinking his eyes. He tries to move and realizes he is lying on his back. He looks at the sensor display and sees no friendly ‘Mechs in the area. I’m it, he thinks. Another scan shows several enemy ‘Mechs nearby and he shuts down the ‘Mech. He notices the cracked and warped, blacked cockpit and breaths a sigh of relief as he realizes how close he’d come to death. He unbuckles himself and forces the hatch open, climbing out into the fresh air. He notices that the cliff he fell against has partially collapsed, covering up most of his ‘Mech and he scratches his chin thoughtfully.
       Suddenly he hears an approaching thunder and looks up to see Benjamin’s Stingray flying overhead, less then 20 meters off the ground. Hiroshi’s Slayer follows a split second later, firing its laser behind it at the three fighters who follow a second later. The wind whips around him, causing more dust and rocks to fall on his ‘Mech. But he’s oblivious to that as Hiroshi performs a quick split S and sends one fighter to the ground with a concentrated salvo of particle beams and lasers.
       A moment of jubilation is interrupted when Hiroshi’s wing explodes, hit by one of the last two enemies.

"Hiroshi!" Benjamin Pryde screams as his friend goes down. He doesn’t have time to watch him though and pulls up, flaring his wings. His fighter gains altitude but loses speed drastically and an enemy flies past him, unable to match the maneuver. He drops back level and slams the throttle forward, firing everything he has into the fighter. It explodes in mid air and he turns to face Hiroshi’s killer. "Time to die bastard," he transmits to his nemesis and the last two fighters over the mainland begin their last dogfight.

Monroe watches the two fighters corkscrew around each other as they gain and loose altitude. Then he sees one of the fighters explode. "Not Ben," he whispers. The other fighter turns on its side and he sees the distinctive wing pattern of a Stingray. Smoke is pouring out of it and the fighter begins losing altitude quickly. It recedes in the distance until it falls below the horizon at a steep angle.
He sighs quietly and looks down at his ‘Mech, then up at the remains of the cliff. "Now how do I bring down the rest of that cliff to hide my ‘Mech from the Republicans," he whispers to himself.

Barry Jenson walks south, towards the fort, through a battlefield littered with shattered ‘Mechs and vehicles. He looks up to see the sun nearing the horizon and grimaces at the thought of being outside at this time of year at night.

A fresh wave of ‘Mechs eradicate Recon Lance and the last of their Musketeer support and Zyles grimaces. He fires his last gauss shell into a nearby Phoenix Hawk and watches it stagger backwards, tripping over Muller’s dead Archer, and falling to the ground. He turns to run and is caught by a particle beam that blows through what was left of his armor. The power plant goes into safety override and shuts down, leaving Zyles in a dead ‘Mech. He reaches up and pulls the ejection seat.
Wind blows through his hair as he rockets high into the air and comes back down. He sees a series of autocannon shells rip the arm off his ‘Mech and then the whole thing comes crashing down to the ground.

Major Henderson fires his last heavy weapon, a large laser, at the Republican JaggerMech and sees an arm fall off. He snarls and slams the throttle forward, closing the range. The three surviving ‘Mechs back off, but not fast enough and he laughs at their stupidity. They pour fire into his ‘Mech and his last weapons are ripped away, but the ‘Mech still takes another step forward. "Eat fusion you sons of a bitches!" he yells into the comm. as he slams the self-destruct mechanism. His other hand reaches up, pulling the ejection handle, and he rockets out of his Black Knight as it explodes in a hellfire of nuclear energies.

Devin crawls up to a tree, lowers Ribecka to the ground, and then sits down painfully. He coughs up blood and closes his eyes. He was so tired. A hand comes up to wipe his mouth off and he feels the darkness of sleep coming. He surrenders to it.

       Barry continues walking across the deserted battlefield, looking for something he could salvage. His eyes catch on the outline of a Black Knight and he stops. He looks at the other eight ‘Mechs in the near vicinity and recognizes the Archer and Caesar as well. And six ‘Mechs in republican colors, including three just in front of the major’s ‘Mech. "Good job, Major," he whispers. "Good job." He walks on into the coming night.


       WELCOME CITIZENS OF HSIEN TO THE REBORN TIKONOV FREE REPUBLIC. DO NOT WORRY THAT WE WILL FORGET YOUR FELLOW CITIZENS IN DENEEZ AND ON CHONE. OUR OFFER OF MEMBERSHIP EXTENDS THERE AS WELL AND WE EXPECT THEM TO JOIN OUR GLORIOUS NATION SOON. HAVE YOU HAD ENOUGH OF THE TYRANNY OF THE "GREAT HOUSES?" WE HAVE. AND WE WILL NEVER AGAIN MAKE THE MISTAKE OF ALLYING OURSELVES WITH THOSE TREACHEROUS SCUM. WE ARE FREE AND WE WILL FIGHT FOR THE FREEDOM OF OUR HOMELAND!
       LONG LIVE THE TIKONOV FREE REPUBLIC!
- A message nailed to the gates of Capital Building.