Month: June 2025

Northern FEBA, outskirts of WoB Base Aziz

0730hrs

 Star Captain Bucko Hall, commanding the Fifth Binary, Fifth Cluster Silver Kreshik steadied his Gladiator as his two stars moved into position.  Once they were ready, he would be leading the Alliance’s assault into the sprawling Word of Blake base in a bid to shut them down. Glancing at his status screen, he noted everyone was ready.

 With a grim smile, he keyed his mic. “All Points of the Fifth Binary, Advance…” he said. “And let these surat scum find out they have errored.  The Ghost Bear does not tolerate the murder of innocents… and a lesson must be taught, retribution delivered. Engage!!”

 At his command, the two stars advanced. Each of the stars was comprised of nearly identical organization, ranging from the always reliable Storm Crow, deadly Timberwolves and Gladiators plus a point of Elementals. Where they differed was in the fourth machine; one a large pulse laser- armed Adder and the other star had a Shadowcat omni.

  All of the machines were efficient platforms and their pilots among the most experienced. Anything that stood in their way today was going to get a pounding not seen since Invasion.

[Badger Golf, Badger Actual] The voice of the Wolverine commanding the northern front, Major Nagumo, came across the comms.  [switch to Xray One Two]

 Triggering his mic after adjusting channels. “Golf one one,” he answered.

 [Star Captain, enemy forces update…] she began. [It would appear you are faced agains a reinforced company; intelligence suggests it is the remnants of yesterday’s engagements on this front… be wary, Quiaff?]

 Bucko smiled slightly. “Aff, Major. We were prepared for being outnumbered.”

[Good. I will be detaching a lance from the Battle Company to back-stop you if the engagement gets out of hand] she replied. [I appreciate your desire to do this with what you have… but unlike what some among the Clans believe, I do not believe calling for assistance is the mark of a coward… Poor odds is poor odds; the objective is to make the enemy fight on your terms, not theirs.]

 Bucko caught himself nodding. “Aff, Major. I understand…” He said. “If I feel we cannot handle them, I will request assistance. Destroying my binary in order to destroy the enemy when there is no need… is wasteful and there is plenty of enemy to face. Taking myself out of the fight serves them, not us.” For some reason, he found himself answering her as if he were still a cadet to an instructor…

 [Star Captain, that is a very ristar thing to say and I will make a note of it.] Nagumo replied. [Give them a stern lesson, Bucko… Nagumo clear.]

**

 Bucko’s forces engaged the waiting enemy at range, using the longer ranged clan lasers to pick at the Blakist forces. Scoring some early hits, the Ghost Bear troops closed as they expected to have to advance into the teeth of the defenders.

 What caught him by surprise was the enemy chose to charge out…

 A Wraith backed by the pair of Nightsky used the limited terrain wisely to mask their approach and it wasn’t long before they were in among his star. The three of them came after his Gladiator with deadly vengeance, pulse-lasers scoring hits to his armored frame and tearing away his protective shell.

 They didn’t come in unscathed, with one of the Nightsky having a torso shredded but remaining standing.  The Wraith had flanked him and after it melted a ton of his armor off, attempted to plant a foot into his side.

 It failed and the pilot, unable to maintain his balance from the missed physical attack, toppled over near the guns of his companion Gladiator. “Mikail… remove him.” He called over the internal coms. As he made to reposition himself, he noted a loud PING through his headset.

 A fast glance at the status monitors confirmed what the noise was. “Jansen… what happened?’ he demanded.

 [Dezgra Archer managed to get past my armor with a shot, Star Captain,] Jansen replied. [My gyro is scrap… but the surat got a pounding for his luck.]

 Bucko closed his eye momentarily. This is NOT happening… he raged at first then calmed down. Of course it is… because we are not expecting them to close with us. Considering they outnumber us…, that does not help us and will let them pick us apart. Time to see about fixing this.

 “All points… shift positions and attempt to improve the odds. I want at least three of them gone before the Wolverines get here.”

The members of the Binary echoed [acknowledged] across the network as they received the order and immediately set upon enacting the directive.

 The two Nightsky changed positions to keep on the pressure to the clan troops, with one backing off and the other stepping up to attack a Stormcrow. This played into the plans of the Ghost Bears, the command to lay into the Blakist forces giving impetus to pause their own push forward… and it paid off.

 As the trio of fast medium machines maneuvered to keep at the clan troops, they fell into fire-sacks of multiple machines. Normally, Clan troops didn’t gang up on opponents, the rules of Zelbringen still being prevalent at times, even thirty years since the initial invasion. In most cases, one would see at most two warriors tackle a tough opponent or the occasional massed fire at a particularly rude enemy…. But never much more than two.

 However, it had been discussed prior to this assault the Rules were suspended… that the Blakist forces they faced were Without Honor and did not deserve any respect from the Ghost Bears… and they were to be brought down by Any Means Necessary. It had been decided any glory to be gained in fighting them would be gained as a group by beating them quickly and soundly.

 With the reinforcements coming from Wolverines (they might be allies but old habits… animosities… sometimes were still a thing), it was added incentive to drop as many as they could before they got there.

 As the Assault Lance from the Wolverine Dragoon company entered the field, the number of Blakist units fell from fifteen to thirteen… then ten as the newly arrived lance of their allies began letting their weapons speak.

 A Wolverine Highlander fired its gauss rifle at a dead run and speared the enemy Vixen, the light machine’s already wounded torso (courtesy of a point of Ghost Bear elementals) vaporizing from the slug. As it dropped, the LRM’s from a Wolverine Shogun tap-danced on the armored torso of a Blakist Archer, shredding armor from the support machine.

 Two Blakist Valkyries, which had been lobbing their munitions down range, were set upon by a Ghost Bear Stormcrow. The Clan machine, which had been dogged by the Vixen, used its newfound freedom to go after the two light battlemechs… and the weapon fire showed some results, with a Valkyrie seeing nearly half of its armor disappear in a flare of laser energy.

 On the far side of the battlefield, Star Captain Bucko and the rest of the star around him advanced once more into the Blakist lines and the power of their weapons were taking a toll as more defenders were put out of action… As far as he was concerned, it was now only a matter of time…

 The last of the outer ring defenses would be breached and the assault into the base would begin in the north.

**

Southern FEBA

0730hrs

 Graf advanced his Thunderbolt forward, noting the rest of the machines of Delta Company had formed up and advanced as he did. He’d taken Pops and Turret with him as suggested and added Jethro in his Orion; Pops would be leading Ingridsdottir’s lance and Jetho would assisting him with maintaining the line.

 Turret would be with him and serving as both a voice of reason (all good leaders needed one) and something of a distraction. The man would be running his White Flame as a harassment machine, the former Blakist battlemech being a very potent for a quad… and perhaps a psychological advantage. Having the fast 70-ton battlemech able to quickly respond to holes in the line or even get in among the enemy would prove a boon, he was sure.  Only battle would test that idea… and it was about to happen.

 Noting icons for defenders beginning to pop up on the small company screen installed on his cockpit, he took a deep breath before speaking. “All Papa Delta elements… the edge of their facility is up ahead,” he called into the net. “The word is given… Weapons Free and prepare to engage…”

 The powerful Dragoon company of the 3^rd Battalion, 1^st Battlemech Regiment of the Phoenix Lancers advanced line abreast, their discipline rivalling their forebears of the Star League Defense Force Dragoon Regiments. They presented a wall of armor and weapons to face their enemies… and one wondered what the enemy was thinking when they saw it.

 Whatever they were thinking… would have to be discovered later as the defending Blakists were not in the mood to talk with anything except their battlemech weapons.

Southern Front FEBA

0617hrs 13 April

 Major Joe Johnson kicked his mech into a sprint as he gave chase after a Javelin that had tried to kill him.  The enemy light machine had tried to end-run around the flank and encountered him as he had been trying to do the same to the Blakist forces.  An exchange of fire saw the lighter machine lose almost all its leg protection and start to run.

 Joe wasn’t about to let it get away but as he chased, he called over the net to the main body. “Sierra Command, Papa Bravo One…” he said. “Priority traffic…”

 [Papa Bravo, Sierra Command,] came the immediate reply.

“Sierra, Bravo requesting reinforcement; these guys are proving a far harder nut to crack…” He said as he plunged through a stand of trees. “Currently two platforms down to none of theirs.” Dodging a flight of SRMs, he continued. “Air to Mud also being requested.”

 [Bravo, Sierra; releasing your backup now. Be advised Ghost Bear Tac-Air is currently delayed due to Blakist sortie.] they replied. [Will send soonest]

Well fuck he thought. “Bravo Copies… Who knew they had more fighters?”

 [Not us…] Sierra commented. [Assets will be enroute soon as able.]

Another voice entered the channel. [Bravo One, Golf Alpha Point Three] The point commander of a Ghost Bear ASF flight butted in. [Apologies Sierra, we are routing to Bravo’s location; Wolverine and Kurita CAP are currently engaging anything in the way.  The surat dezgra Blakists will regret making us mad.]

 Sierra was choking back a chuckle. [Golf Alpha Three, Sierra copies; Sierra just informed by CAG of routing.]

 Joe could only shake his head. Trust an Angry Clansman to focus on the job and nothing else, Joe he thought to himself. “Bravo copies… Priority is anything bigger than us or anything running…”

A genuine laugh from the Ghost Bear Pilot. [Alpha Point Three receives. Should be easy to pick out- all of you are kind of small.]

 “Glad you are smiling when you say that, Point Commander,” Joe retorted. “Otherwise, I might be offended. Bravo One clear…”

  *

 The battle had developed almost to plan for the Lancer Company before it was apparent there was several battlemechs bigger than anything Johnson had in his striker company. The heaviest he had in his force was the five fifty-ton machines- Enforcer III’s, clan second line Hellhounds and a lone Starslayer. The rest of his force was a pair of Phoenix Hawk 1c’s, a pair of Warchiefs, a lone Jenner configured to act like a Clan-style machine with its two Streak Six launchers, an Osiris and a lone Hachetman HCT-6F. The axe-toting machine was a faster variant armed with a snub PPC and medium lasers. A deadly machine but like most close assault battlemechs, it had to get there to use its weapon.

 In a normal fight, there was enough distraction for it to do its deadly business but here that could be problematic. The enemy with its horde of Blackjacks supported by an Awesome, Longbow and the recently dropped Orion made the prospect of the Hatchetman getting in hard to do. Especially since the other side also had a Schrek in an overwatch position. The damn support tank’s three PPCs were playing hell with his company’s advance.

 His light lance of the Warchiefs and the Jenner-Osiris pair had managed to flank the enemy line and give the enemy Awesome a big headache. Assault machines were deadly in a one v one fight, but they tended to go down when mobbed. Given it had a Blackjack DB model as a bodyguard, mobbing it was going to hard.

 The Hatchetman broke off from the center and headed that way. Holly (Hatchet) McGee was a good pilot and she had always managed to make her machine dance through anything fired at her. Her luck held and she managed to join the lights in fighting their way through the enemy shooting.

 Slim Malloy in his Osiris had been the first to fall when he got into the enemy Longbow rear. The enemy Clint had chased him down and blasted the lighter machine’s torso, destroying its XL class engine.

 Slim had managed to avoid getting hurt and got free of his wreck, finding a place to avoid the battlemechs stomping around.

 Next to fall had been Cal Bronson in his Enforcer III, having taken three PPCs from the Schrek to a torso which slagged his engine too. He couldn’t blame him; that enemy tank was a deadly machine if left unmolested… but getting someone in to molest it was proving difficult.

 His company kept on though; they needed to put these guys down otherwise they would have to face them again, next time in their base.  Not a good prospect as Blackjack DBs were solid close in fighters.

[Bravo One One, Two Three; Scratch the Awesome!!] Bravo Two Three was Cindy Giovani and she was an excellent Warchief pilot, able to make her thirty-ton mech do things machines ten tons heavier had issues with. Moments later, her call was joined by her companion, Marcus Gomert.

 [Bravo One One, Two Four; Longbow’s history with a Fireball!]] Gomert crowed, giving the slang for an ammunition explosion in a non-CASE battlemech.

 Johnson smiled. “Good!” he called out. “Keep on them- Air Support coming…”

[Bravo One One, Alpha Three One,] the voice of Shawn Thieme was heard. [Cavalry’s here; Where these bitches at?] The brash commander of Alpha’s third lance had arrived on the field with his command, split into pairs as they reinforced Johnson’s lines.

 “Alpha Three, Bravo… Shawn, I’m certain someone will show themselves.” He commented as he looked at a side monitor and saw an enemy Blackjack turn to face the newly arrived heavy machines. “Come introduce yourselves…”

 [Don’t mind if we do… Oh look, one just did…] Shawn opened fire with his Caesar and was joined by his wingman in the Helios.  Their fire succeeded in hammering the medium weight machine and driving it to retreat away.

 This placed it within the maneuver range of Hatchet, who chased it down and introduced her axe to the Blakist, with the expected results.

 [Dad, I got the tank…] His daughter in law, Kelly Johnson, called over the net as she plunged into the enemy backfield in her Phoenix Hawk and aimed her guns at the now retreating support tank. [He’s about to find out…]

 The woman’s weapons all struck true, the Schrek’s armor ripping off in chunks of melting slag which exposed its internals. She followed up with a kick which finished the job. [Scratch the tank!]

About then, the Ghost Bears arrived and seeing the Clint attempting to disengage, elected to give him their undivided attention. The direct strikes in succession from the clan fighters vaporized its midsection, the pilots getting insanely good grouping in their shooting… and the medium machine never stood a chance.

 With the arrival of the reinforcements and the fighters, the remaining four enemy machines were made short work of. But then, being outnumbered almost four to one, it was expected…

**

Far above, the previously mentioned fighter battle was happening and the Blakists had attempted too much for what they had.

 Of the nine fighters that had launched, three had gone for the ground attack craft and were set upon by Wolverine Lightnings and Eagles which had been waiting for something to enter their defense zone.

 The other six fighters, noting their three companions had drawn off the CAP, raced for space and in the direction of the Jump Ships in near orbit. In doing so, it had somewhat caught the Allies off guard but not for long.

 Other Wolverine fighters raced to intercept the oncoming Blakists and there was a concern on the State of Grace that intercept might barely catch them before they got into range of the fleet.  It was an honest concern and Lightnings managed to engage the oncoming Blakists short of their goal.

 What had been unexpected for the Allies was that a pair of them kept going as the other four tied up the interceptors.

 It was then that the Yuutsu’s fighters entered the fray.

 The former Kuritans had been waiting, their ASF commander having fought Blakist forces many times in other campaigns… and some of those battles had been fierce. He’d been expecting a try at the Allied jump ships as transportation was high value and a desperate enemy would try to kill them as a final fuck you; after all, if you couldn’t leave the system, abandonment was a possibility. The Allies were not going to abandon anyone… but the Blakist forces were desperate- and desperation sometimes invites gambles the sane would never do.

 The Tai-I in charge didn’t blame the Wolverine Air Commander for the oversight; they hadn’t faced this kind of fanatic before. Indeed, as far as he knew, the Lancers rarely had faced WoB fighter pilots being suicidal; the Tai-I had several times… and suspected it would happen again here.

 No, there was no blame to go around on this; had he been here, the Allied air commander would have been advised this was a possible tactic… and this attack would not have caught them unaware. Fate had decreed the Yuutsu would be here at this time… and he would make sure the Blakists would fail. Having lost family to their machinations, the Tai-I was going to make sure vengeance for the dead was going to happen…

 Six Yuutsu Shilones squared off against the incoming Blakist fighters and met them short of the engagement envelope of the jump ships. Had this been a semi normal engagement, the Yuutsu fighters might have had a harder time of it as an attack on shipping usually had extra craft to support it.

 Given the two Blakist craft were F-700a Rievers, the powerful heavy fighters were able to initially power through the defenders in a horde of missiles. The two fighters were dead set on attacking the fragile interstellar craft and every defensive maneuver brought them closer.

  The squadron leader for the Shilones was highly experienced as were his men and picked up on the tactic immediately. The Kuritan pilots tore into the enemy fighters as if they were a dog chomping on a stew bone.

 Within a few minutes, their efforts paid off as they destroyed the F-700a’s just as they got within range of the jump ships. The Rievers did manage to damage a pair of Shilones as they were put down, one being badly mauled. Both damaged fighters were able to be recovered, and the remaining fighters stayed out as defense for the Jump Ships.

 If there was another attempt, no one was getting as close as these two…

**

 Down below, Johnson took stock of the battle just completed and shook his head. His company was designed for more skirmish than frontal, built more for hunting light and medium weight battlemechs. They could tangle with bigger, but it wasn’t what they were good at.

 He also knew if he hadn’t called for it, he’d have needed help that would have been late in coming. Trust your instincts, he reminded himself. If it looks easy, you missed something important.

 “Sierra Command, Bravo One One… Southern Door is open,” He called into the network. “Delta can begin passage of lines…”

[Bravo One One, Sierra Command; copy door is open. Delta is moving now.]

**

Aboard Hawk One One

0701hrs

 The agile Kestrels of Hawk Flight carried their Spectre commandos nap of earth as they headed for the Blakist base.  The small transport VTOLs raced low across the ground barely above the treetops as they sought to deliver their teams to the edge of the enemy compound.

 After the events of last night, the decision had been made to send the teams in ahead of the ground assault to try and get a feel for what was waiting for the allied units. It was also felt that if the two teams could get inside and cause some havoc, it would give them an advantage.

 McCoy and Belmont had done this work before, and each time had been a very hairy mission. This time, with a cornered enemy and the prospect of more crazy Domini commandos on site, both men had reservations.

 Whatever was on scene had to be expecting someone to come calling… After all, such actions were a Lancer Calling Card against a prepared position. Given this place was surrounded, the likelihood of getting in was small and especially in Daylight.

 The one thing going for them though was that Borton was ordering the initial ground attack to coincide with their attempt to slip in. In theory, it would work… but neither man was all that confident the odds were that good.

 “Salem…” McCoy called over the private channel. “Tell me again why we are doing this now?”

 [Borton thinks they might try to blow the place when he gets here…] Belmont replied in his usual dry tone. [I would… but then I’d also try to get as many as I could on the camp before I did it. It’s a standard Fortified Camp; numerous small power plants that can be controlled from a central system. It’s an advantage and disadvantage, really.]

 “Yeah… I’d wait too…” he said. “Duncan said those Dylan Turing devices can crack what they got for cyber right?”

 [It’s what he says,] Salem replied. [That Precentor’s pet ROM had a conference with him, Selby, Cass and Michael Anthony about what might be present cyber-wise before we left. Between the four of them, I don’t think the Blakist nerd troops can deal with what we got.]

 “You think that will be enough?”

[No… but does it matter?]

McCoy snorted. “No… but then, beating odds is what we do.”

 [No shit. Somehow, you and I always get these jobs…]

 A chuckle. “That’s because we are the best at pissing on odds…”

 [Only ones better are MacKenzie and the Big Boss…] Salem replied. [the old man isn’t here, and this job doesn’t involve battlemechs…]

 “True statements, Salem; True statements, all of it,” McCoy replied as he looked at a chrono. “LZ in three… get ready.”

[See you on the ground…]