Month: May 2023

Legends and Myths Ninety Five- The Storm: Dragon Slaying

The Badlands of Ashton
1051hrs 11 December 3080

 Khalid sweltered within his cockpit, the heat exchanger overloaded from the waste heat of his weapons after their alpha discharge.  The target of his fire was a Shen Dragon Catapult, the large support machine looming large in his sights and now, headless even as his own Black Knight began to rock from weapons strikes…

**

 The leader of the Knights had led his warriors to this front looking to bring the Dragons to battle. It was both business and person- the personal being Sir Benjamin’s near death at their hands a pair of days ago.  One of the pieces of discussion that was had among the Knights was the targeting difficulty they had in the last engagement.  After techs from the Lancers had the opportunity to go over the wreck of a Dragons Cyclops brought down early on, the reason for the sensor issues became known.

 The battlemechs the enemy was using were all equipped with Stealth Armor. The expensive protective material was laced with extensive wiring that emitted a signal that messed with targeting systems at range.  Effective tool it was… though its use generated extensive excess heat. But if one had capacity, using it was smart to avoid long range fire.

 The Knights, after being given this information for certain, discussed the future engagement that everyone knew would happen- and the decision was made to charge.

 The stealth armor protected their users at range; it would NOT do the same at point blank or from a battlemech fist to the head. The Knights, almost to a man, decided to take it to them up close and risk getting shot up on the way in. It would be the only sure way to bring the advanced machines to battle… and well, fighting up close was a Knightly thing.

 As the battle joined, the Knights’s plan was initiated. Khalid gave the order to charge, and everyone save Sir Erec and Sir Brunor, in their Longbow and Trebuchet respectively, who attempted to give covering fire with their LRMs, did so.

 The level of shots sent their way was substantial, with Khalid’s Black Knight being struck several times on the way in. Lady Margo in her Thug went straight up the middle, shrugging off weapon strikes as if they were nothing. The assault mech just kept coming.

 Tristan in his Albatross didn’t fare nearly as well. The Exec of the Knights was hammered by an enemy Warhammer and staggered. Rising from the ground, the warrior was greeted with the sight of Lady Morganna standing over the smoking ruin of an enemy Vindicator, her Exterminator having done what it was designed to do- kill enemy battlemechs.

 Lucan, having played bait for the Vindicator with his Grasshopper, redirected his advance and headed for the Dragon Warhammer while it was attempting to kill Tristan. Joining that ‘Hammer in this effort was a Phoenix Hawk, the very maneuverable medium machine attempting to act as a lighter version of an Exterminator.

 The enemy mech was chased off by Sir Chase in his own Warhammer, the very modern -7A brawler unloading on the medium. But as noted, the wily machine managed to avoid being hit but it did leave where it was… and headed for Sir Erec’s Longbow.

 Meanwhile, Carlotta took her Enforcer and hunted down a Dragon Stinger, the lighter machine hunting Brunor in his Trebuchet. Didn’t work well for the light mech, as Carlotta cored the scout machine with two well placed hits. The two Knights then redirected their attention towards the center of the battle line. 

 Margo, her advance drawing the attention of an enemy Grasshopper who was playing fire brigade for their side, just kept coming. The chosen target of her advance, a Blackjack, did everything it could do to keep the assault mech from advancing any further. The Knight assault mech rarely missed when firing and in the end, the medium machine fell to the deadly accurate particle cannon fire of the Star League era battlemech.

 Khalid roamed the central area of the line, lending his Clan-spec particle cannon to the general chaos of the battle.  Spying the enemy Catapult attempting to shift to support a Crusader against Tristan and Chase, the Knight Captain decided to pursue. Weathering its fire and that of the roam-y Grasshopper which changed targets to seek him, Khalid laid into the enemy support machine with his short range weapons. Scoring major hits, it forced the now identified enemy commander to retreat back towards his fellow sixty-five-ton machine, firing ineffectually as he went.

Out in the flats, the enemy Phoenix Hawk saw the Tempest piloted by Lady Traci and elected to run from her attentions, giving up on harassing the Longbow before she could come after him. As he did so, the medium skirmisher came within view of both Tristan and Chase. This proved to be a major error as the two Knights fired as one and ripped apart the right leg of the retreating battlemech.

**

 Back in the present, Khalid cursed as his mech rocked with weapons strikes.  “Damnit!!” He snarled as he could feel his Black Knight start to fall, the warning tones of internal damage singing in concert with the alert bell of gyroscope failure due to damage.  As his machine crashed to the ground, he noted the enemy Raven to his rear, the little machine having slipped his notice in the chaos. Which had worked to its advantage as it snuck into his rear to shoot him in the back.

And shooting him a lot…

 “Going down!” He called over the command network. “Someone get that little want-to-be assassin!”

 Above him, the Dragon Crusader jumped back and was looming over his downed mech when a number of laser blasts and missiles crashed into it. Bleeding from his forehead where he hit his head on a monitor, Khalid scanned his systems to see who shot the enemy heavy that was above him.

[Cavalry is coming] Lucan calmly stated over the comms. Fresh from having sent packing the opposing Grasshopper who tried to slow him down, the Knight Captain’s foil plowed through the stand of trees next to Khalid’s down mech as he went by. [He’s about to learn you have friends, Knight Captain…]

 He noticed Pellenore stood over the smoking wreckage of the Raven, her Spider’s guns cooling and a piece of the enemy mech in her machine’s fist. [The Assassin Candidate has been dealt with…] She said over the network as he noted Traci had Traci in her Tempest advanced into the cluster of small hills with her guns turned towards the staggering Crusader, who was now retreating. [I think someone else needs a time out… Traci, would you please?] Pellinore snarked.

 [With pleasure…] Was the Tempest pilot’s reply as her path set her herding the enemy machine away from his position. Carlotta was not far behind her, her Enforcer’s large laser speaking with authority in dealing damage to the Crusader’s armor.

 Despite himself, Khalid laughed at that as he attempted to right his Black Knight. “I am certain your gauss rifle will see to that…” he replied. “And many thanks, Lucan. It was looking a bit grim.”

 [The Raven mechs are slippery foes, Knight Captain…] Lucan replied dryly. [I am shocked you forgot that- or did you forget Gibson?]

 Khalid grimaced as he carefully stood his mech upright, the heat sinks having cooled him enough to move at a normal pace once more. “Blast…. I suppose I had; its been a good while. And of course, the gods of war have decided on a proper way of reminding me of a forgotten fact.” He paused in his thoughts as he scanned his screens and noticed far fewer enemy icons. “What happened to their Grasshopper?”

 [I made sure he will jump no more…] Chase answered for Lucan. [It would seem my particle cannons were quite sufficient in making that happen.]

 Morganna added. [It helped I chased him into your sights…]

 [Noted and thank you.] Chase replied as he observed, [Knight Captain, it would appear they have been defeated to a man.]

 Khalid noted the last icon, that of the enemy Crusader, winked out as inoperable, Lucan’s machine showing next to it. “Lucan?”

 [He decided surrender was better than dying. How very un-zealous of him.] came the dry reply. [How fares the Reign?]

 The Knight Captain quickly checked the master status plotter.  Prior to the battle, he had loaded the IFF of all the Reign’s machines into his management suite; he they had to go help them, it would pay to know where they were exactly or how bad off they were.  Noting that they seemed to be in some sort of pause and support troops were arriving, he answered Lucan. “The Reign appears to hold their area; Lancer air cavalry is currently arriving on location. It appears they suffered some losses- at least two cripple and one down.”

 Tristan spoke up. [It would seem they didn’t need help.]

 “It would… but then, if we didn’t make plans for it, they might have,” Khalid replied as he shifted the secondary CommNet to the support forces and noted there was some already inbound. Apparently, Area Amalisar command had been watching. “Time to get some infantry assets here to round up prisoners along recovery. I have doubts this is not over just yet.”

Legends and Myths Ninety Four- The Storm: Messenger of the Morrigan

Four Kilometers East of the mines

1026 hours local 11 December 3080

 Ravyn maneuvered her Wolfhound around a wooded hill and sought its concealment from the enemy Awesome nearby. The Swords of Loki had surged their forces and as far as she could tell, it was everything mech related they had left.  Besides the Awesome, they also deployed an Atlas and a Battlemaster in the form of the really heavy hitters. The Griffin that had escaped the Billeting Area battle was present as well as several of their modified Stingers, with their extra machine guns. Other machines among their forces was a Quickdraw and a Firehawk, its twin plasma rifles a dangerous thing for her primarily older machines.  Overall, the level of firepower they faced was massive.

  Off to the right of their battle line, one of their Stingers and a Jenner feinted and darted, occupying Sam Nicolas’ attention as he covered the side of his lady Selina Cato in her Cestus.  While they were far lighter than his Wolverine, they were still dangerous to face as they were faster than him.  And a Jenner, even with no upgrades, was dangerous in competent hands.

 A series of cheers sounded over the company net and the young Canopian commander quickly scanned the sensors. Noting the icon for the enemy Battlemaster had winked out, she called over to Anna Lopez, one of the Osiris pilots. “Twin A, status?”

 Anna, one of Donnatello Twins, responded with laughter. [Ravyn, Bella blew up that Battlemaster like it was a giant wad of Tannerite!] She crowed. [Probably hit an ammo bin!]

 Bella, her sister, chimed in. [Well, he gave me his back…]

 Ravyn shook her head. “Don’t get cocky; that Awesome is still out there…”

 Selina, who was maneuvering to flank the aforementioned assault machine, chimed in. [Not for much longer if I can help it…] She said. [It’s a big ass target; how can i-] Her transmission cut off as a particle cannon impacted her head assembly as she was firing on the Awesome.

 A scream of anguish was then heard across the net as Sam began to curse as he raced in towards the Griffin. The reason for his anger and actions…. Was due to the enemy machine using its primary weapon to remove the cockpit of Selina’s Cestus.

**

  The Master of the Swords, in his Atlas, stood his ground against the mercenary Wardog. There was a 25-ton difference between the two machines in his favor but you could not tell if the mercenary understood this fact.  The lighter mech stayed its course and slowly advanced upon him as if there was no fear.  Perhaps there wasn’t… but there should have been.

 “All Swords… concentrate fire; bring these vermin down and removed their presence from my view!” He ordered across his network.  And it seemed that his exhortation worked- for a time.

  The other members of the Swords of Loki renewed their efforts against The Reign and it showed. The Reign’s heavier machines- the Cestus, a Zeus, an Ostroc and this Wardog suffered a wave of energy and other damage.  The furious assault launched brought down the Zeus though it did not die… and laid into the other three. The Wardog fell too, a leg taken and the Ostroc was perforated severely. When the Cestus dropped, the Master smiled. They had this battle well in hand, despite the massive damage both he and the Awesome piloted by one of his more skilled warriors sustained.

 But it would be the last strong effort his forces would make….

 Almost as if killing the Cestus threw a switch, his opponents launched into a frenzy of fire and melee.  The Awesome dropped in a light show of energy weapons, the assault machine collapsing in on itself as torsos were removed under the volume of energy connecting with them. His own machine rocked with explosions from missile fire received as well as energy weapons melting armor like ice cream on a summer day.

 The hated Wardog, its pilot still in the fight, propped his machine up and fired a gauss slug at him, which impacted a leg and upset his balance. Fighting his controls, the Master attempted to avoid his machine falling to the ground and failed, the damage suffered being far too great for the gyro of his machine to counter.

 As the ground rushed to meet him, he too late realized he forgot to fasten his harness of his seat. As his machine crashed to the ground, so did he within the cockpit. Striking his head against the backup monitors of the command systems, the Master fought to maintain consciousness.  And failed.

 The last thing he remembered hearing was the cries of his own men as several met defeat from the frenzied enemies.

**

  Ravyn climbed out of her Wolfhound, her family’s ancestral Colt Dragoon strapped to her leg alongside her stiletto as she made her way down the rope ladder.  Getting to the ground, her features set in a mask of quiet fury, the leader of the Reign made her way to where some of her pilots had prisoners. Among them was the leader of the Swords, having been pried out of his downed Atlas.

 Her company had held the field when the last of the heavy machines the Swords had dropped and triggered a route of the remainder of the renegade mercs.  But the cost had been the death of Selina Cato, the former Cat-Girl slave who had found happiness in being a free sword, the ability to be herself and love who she wanted. Vengeance for her would come- those responsible had ran for the badlands and would eventually be chased down.

Right now, there was a reckoning to be performed as her faith demanded… and a ghost to be rendered able to rest if he chose.

 Collected in a group in the shade of Old Man Clarke’s Phoenix Hawk, the four captured mechwarriors of the Swords sat semi-defiant.  All of them knew enough of the rules about treating prisoners and all of them knew the Phoenix Lancer reputation on such things.  They didn’t play games and were super scrupulous about fair treatment of those captured. What would become apparent shortly is that those they hired had some of their own feelings about those rules.

 Especially when it comes to the death of loved ones at the hands of enemies.

 Natasha had been the one to figure out the identity of the Atlas pilot when she and Liz had popped the machine’s cockpit hatch, the Hatchetman pilot being a wizard at popping battlemech encryption protocols (“Everyone needs a hobby” was her defense for that skill…). When identified, Natasha had told Ravyn and the curse that flowed from her leader had even impressed the former spy-turned-mech-warrior.

 And it was her who stepped up to face Ravyn when she arrived, the leader of the Reign’s dark facial makeup smeared from sweat of her cockpit’s heat. “Ravyn…”

 Ravyn looked at her friend and intoned. “The Morrigan has spoken unto me…Agus tá sé ráite aici Tá sé an t-Aon”

(Translation: And she said he’s the One)

 Natasha translated the ancient Gaelic words spoken in her mind and her eyes went wide. “Are you sure?”

 Ravyn stopped as she passed her friend. “As sure as my Goddess can be, ‘Tasha.” She replied and continued forward, leaving Natasha to watch her move onward. “Keep Sam away… the Responsibility is mine.”

 Ahead, Liz and Moose stood guard over the prisoners, the Wardog pilot hefting a large bore shotgun and the lithe Hatchetman warrior a machine pistol. Both observed Ravyn as she approached and awaited commands.

  Grabbing a pistol from Moose’s belt though she had her own, she looked at the collection of prisoners. “Which is he?” Was asked of Liz. When the Atlas pilot was pointed out, Ravyn stepped forward muttering under her breath.  As she reached the man, the woman’s muscles appeared to flex and when she grabbed the enemy leader’s arm to stand him up, he was lifted with an ease that belied her size.

 When he yelped in pain, her only words to him were snarled in an almost otherworldly voice. “Silence…”

 Dragging him effortlessly a good ten feet from the rest, she released him from her grasp and he fell to a knee in his off-balance stagger. Staring at her, he spoke with a sneer. “Just who do you think you are? You cannot mistreat prisoners in this fashion and you know it…”

  Ravyn stepped around him and drew her stiletto.  After cutting his wrists free, she stepped back around him and backed up a few feet. She then replied to him, her tone clear in her fury and her voice strong, carrying across the ground for all to hear even as in the distance, VTOLS could be heard approaching.

  “Were I merely a Solder… perhaps your assertions would carry weight. Lucius Murdoch… Were I not the daughter of John Daniels… the man you murdered to carry out the desires of Madmen… of Bigots…. Of Those who would subjugate All in the misbegotten belief of their Divine Right of Mastery of Mankind… perhaps you would be right and Honorable Treatment would be yours…

  But I am more than Just A Soldier…..”

  She loosened the strap holding her father’s pistol in the holster, the ancient revolver on her hip that had been handed down generation to generation since the family fought in the American Civil war on Terra. It had gone with the family when they emigrated to the stars and eventually to the Magistracy of Canopus. Long cared for, the thousand-year-old pistol had seen combat use in every century since it was made, killing many a man over that time.  And it would do so again this day.

  “I am Ravyn Daniels… Daughter of the Late John Daniels,” she spoke the words at him, the cold fury in her tone clear for any to hear as they listened.  “I am a Priestess of the Goddess Morrigan, Warrior Queen of the Ancient Irish of Terra She who is the Foreteller of Fates. I am Morrigan’s Messenger…. Bringing News of Victory and a Harbinger of Doom to those who deserve such tellings by She…. And I am here to give her Message of Woe unto you.”

 She paused a moment then continued. “Because I am my father’s daughter, I am giving you a chance to live… To avoid A Fate.   A chance that you never gave my Father….” For the first time, emotion other than anger crept into her voice and was then gone, as her faith asserted itself once more, steeling her resolve.

 “And The Morrigan approves of my doing so… for it Amuses her.” She tossed the liberated pistol on the ground two feet from Murdoch. “Kill me and perhaps be free of Her Fate for you, leaving others to determine what comes next or welcome her Findings… and its embrace. Either way, there is a fate awaiting you…. Make Your choice.” She shifted her stance into that of an oblique gunfighter draw position. It was a subtle shift but to the trained, it was noticeable.

 However Murdoch missed it as he initially eyed the pistol on the ground then looked at Ravyn, who returned his look with a face of a predator regarding prey.  After a long few seconds of massaging his wrists, he dove for the pistol, his confidence in his own ability to get it and shoot her overriding any sense that this might be a mistake. One should never argue with a Goddess and her messengers…

 Ravyn’s hand moved faster than almost anyone could see as her father’s pistol literally appeared in her hand and she fired once. Which is all it took.

“The Morrigan expected you would choose poorly…”