[Fan Fiction] In the Mist

[Stuckenschmidt]

Poulsbo (Lyran Commonwealth)
August 3026



The end is nigh. He had finally left the wood and a bit visibility. In the not too far distance he was able to see the lights of the city. He looked up to the sky. It was the perfect time of day. The sun had disappeared a minute ago, but there was still a little bit of light, while it already became dark in the east and one could see the first stars.

He put down his backpack and made a short break. He took a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off his face. It had been another incredibly hot day and although he had started his hike in the afternoon, he was wet and tired. But he had to do something to stay in shape and besides sport there had been nothing to do.

He grabbed his water bottle and took a pull. Then he looked around. This had been a mistake. When he and the Grenadiers returned to the Commonwealth late last year, he had high hopes for future employments. But he had to learn soon, that a well-known Mercenary Company in the Rimward Periphery is still a nobody in the Inner Sphere.

At first people were grateful for a break, but soon it became obvious, that the lack of engagement was not good for the performance and discipline of the Company. Eventually he got a request. The Free Worlds League had tried to raid Poulsbo in January and more Mercenaries were sent there in case they would try again. For half a year the Grenadiers had been under contract, but so far they had done nothing except drills, exercises and picking their noses.

But that would come to an end. Their contract would expire this week and so it was time to fold up their tents and leave the Inner Sphere again. There was no demand for a tiny Company like theirs, so it was decided to return where they belong. The Periphery. Maybe that was less glorious than being part of the great game, but at least they would have something to do.

He put the backpack on his shoulders again. It had become completely dark in the meantime, but fortunately it was a clear night with enough moonlight to walk the last few miles without flashlight. Another hour and he would be at home. And as of tomorrow the Grenadiers would prepare to become a Combat Unit again.

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

Bangor Heights (Poulsbo)


"I understand you, but I don`t have to like it. I think it is unfortunate, that you are going to leave."

"Thank you. But there is nothing here to make us stay."

"Have you got some plan already?"

"Nothing concrete, to be frank. But I am going to assume, that we still have a name in the south and that there will be enough contracts to chose from."

It was early in the morning and still pleasant outside. Martin and Emily sat on the terrace for breakfast together with a friend, Minh Bu Nguyen.

"I guess so. ", Minh said, "But it won`t be the same here anymore."

"Well, the Colonel does not share your sentiment.", Koch replied.

"Don`t worry, he does not like us either.", Minh answered and laughed.

When the Grenadiers arrived on Poulsbo in February, Halsten`s Brigade had already repelled the attacking Marik Militia, although with significant losses. Colonel Halsten had not been very welcoming to the other Mercenaries around, since he thought that they wanted to earn the credit for a job already done. Hence the relationship between the companies was professional, but not hearty.

It was different with Halsten`s Cavalry Battalion, consisting of small Savannah Masters. During a mock battle, Bravo Company under the command of Captain Nguyen had been a pain to fight against and although they were not a serious threat themselves, they managed to disturb movement of the Grenadiers and give the remaining opposing force time to reorganize. Since then Koch and Nguyen were friends and visited each other a lot.

"When are you going to leave?", Minh asked.

"Today is our last day. Our equipment is already at the spaceport or in Orbit. Tomorrow afternoon is liftoff."

"I see. Well, it was a pleasure to work with you, my friend.". The two men stood up and gave each other a hug. "Good luck to all of you."

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

Bangor Heights Spaceport (Poulsbo)


Although the preparations had begun a few days ago, the area in and around the `Fortune` was bustling with activity. Besides the Mechs of the Company, that had been brought down to the surface early this year, everything else needed for the Troops had to be transported back again. Spare parts, weapons, ammunition, clothing, medical supplies, food, personal belongings. Although the large parts were already in orbit aboard the `Roncales`, there were still last delieveries by local merchants to be stowed away.

"Kate! KATE!", Koch shouted and a woman with red hair came walking toward him.

"Sir?"

"I just got a message from Yang. They checked the ammunition storage and they are still three SRM crates short, which were supposed to be delivered yesterday. Please check that."

"Yes, Sir."

"Fine. I`ll stay aboard now and we will get this load up in 15 minutes. I`ll send the Fortune back as soon as possible. You`ll stay here and organize the last haul."

"Aye!"

The woman saluted and went back to a hangar nearby. Koch smiled. The recent months had seen some changes in the crew composition. Darius and Doctor Murad had returned to the Aurigan Coalition in spring, since they thought that they were more useful there. The Doctor`s position did not get replaced, but he needed a new Darius.

Along came Kate O`Shea, a woman that could not possibly be more Irish, even if she wanted to. She had left one of the conventional Regiments of the Donegal Guards as Sergeant and became the second in command in this Company. Koch did not regret this decision once since she was here, for she provided combat and command experience plus the ability to organize and motivate the crew.

He walked up the ramp into the ship`s bay, went to a console and activated the ship`s communication system.

"Attention. This is the Commander. Departure in 15 minutes. I repeat. Departure in 15 minutes. All stations ready for takeoff."

*****​

Vall de Roncales (Poulsbo Orbit)


The Mechanics made last checks on the Battlemechs to make sure that they were ready for the Transit Phase. Yang walked back and forth to see, whether there were any problems. Eventually he came to Arthur, who had just switched the power off in the cockpit of the Highlander.

"Arthur? Everything okay?", Yang shouted to the young man above him.

"Aye! This one is ready for transport. About time that we leave this place."

There was a short pause, before Yang replied. "Chin up, chest out, Art."

Arthur nodded silently. It was the Chief`s way to say, that everything will turn out fine at the end. But for him, Poulsbo would remain a bad memory for quite some time. When they arrived, many were happy to finally spend a lot of time on the surface of a planet instead of in the ship. And Poulsbo, with its in large parts tropical climate, seemed to be like permanent holiday.

The Crew enjoyed the stay as much as it could and made new friends with the locals or the other Mercenaries around. Unfortunately Sarah was among them. He had a bad feeling before already, but eventually she came to him and said that she needed to talk. On the same day she took her things out of his room and shortly later she left the Company to join Halsten`s Brigade. Her new partner was Lance Commander there. Maybe he saw him once, maybe not. It did not matter. He felt empty and had no energy anymore. He had believed, that he would be together with her for years to come. To see his dreams getting smashed like this was harsh and uncomforting. The recent weeks had been unpleasant and he was happy that he could get away from this place.

He left the Cockpit, locked it and left the Mechbay.

*****​

Contrary to Arthur, Emily did not necessarily look forward to their return to the Periphery. She had her own dreams that turned out to be unrealistic wishful thinking. Returning to the Commonwealth had also meant to hold the wedding with the Commander. It had been a beautiful day. Then they moved to Poulsbo and she had the hope, that this meant to stay in the service of the Commonwealth, maybe even to settle down.

But maybe she should have known him better than that. He did not talk about it a lot, but the lack of activities combined with being a tiny cog in the wheel instead of a considerably important part in a civil war was not to his liking. She wondered, whether he had seriously thought about dissolving the Company and join the regular army again. Maybe. Maybe not. This was his creation, and he would not leave this behind unless for an extraordinary reason.

They had some talks about what to do. But over the months it became more obvious, that his decision was made. Whatever the Company could hope for to achieve in the Inner Sphere was less than he had in mind. So the logical solution was to move away again.

She looked around her. The kitchen was as clean as humanly possible. And for the time being this would be her workplace again. She liked her job, but she wondered whether this would be the place, where they would found a family, because she hoped for something better. The biological clock had not really started ticking for her, but there would have to be some progress in the next years.

She closed the kitchen door behind her and walked through the canteen to lock the room.

*****​

"Docking clamps?"

"Check."

"Air lock?"

"Check."

"Good."

Sumire Meyer put away the checklist and smiled. The recent two days had been busy for the crew but now everything was prepared. The `Fortune` had returned with the last cargo, the crew was aboard and all stations reported status green.

"Commander?", she spoke into her headset.

"Koch here."

"Ship ready to leave Orbit."

"Execute."

"Aye."

She and the other pilots had calculated the course and with a few moves on the console she started the engines. They would burn for a few minutes, until speed and trajectory would direct the ship toward the jump point.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome aboard Grenadier Airline to the Rimward Paradise. We hope you enjoy your flight.", she said and the other two pilots laughed. The Company was travelling again.

 

[Lighthorseman]

Happy to see this come back to life with a new story

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

Yeah, I wanted to do this for some time already and the BT Universe has room for tons of stories.

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

MacLeod`s Land (Taurian Concordat)
September 3026


At first he thought, that this woud be yet another day filled with routine. Unfortunately he had been wrong. And so he had to enter a shuttle and travel to a more remote area of the planet. The last bit of the journey was made in a small civilian hovercraft. Eventually he reached the destination and left the vehicle.

When he looked around, everything seemed to be quite tranquil at first sight. It was a sunny day and although the harvest season was coming to a close, the fields and pastures around looked very scenic. But then he smelled the scent of fire in his nose and some huge `footprints` in the landscape told him, what must have happened. Then a member of the local police force approached him and saluted.

"Sir.", the man said.

"What have we got?"

"According to some witnesses a Dropship landed right over there.", the cop said while pointing westward. "Considering the description, it must have been a Union. Then a dozen Battlemechs left the vessel, split up in three groups and began to attack the nearby villages. They burnt down a few of them, before they left as fast as they arrived. They destroyed everything in their path and we have numerous civilian casualties."

Subaltern Malcolm Campbell made a strict face when looking through his binoculars. In the distance he saw the burning or smoldering remains of two villages. This was a flat and open country with no place to hide. In the streets and on the fields he saw dead people. As it seems, the attackers had intentionally killed them.

"What did they loot?"

"Sir?"

"I mean, they must have stolen something."

"As far as we can assess it now, nothing is missing. And, to be frank, there is not a lot worth stealing here. Sure, the farmers here are well off, but the valuable assets here are silos, livestock and machinery. And everything got burned down."

"Hmm.", Campbell said, more to himself. "Thank you, Officer."

While the other man went away, Campbell looked at the surrounding villages again. Pillars of smoke told the observer, that the reports were true. That Pirates destroyed buildings was nothing new. But that they did so and escaped without booty was something else.

Yet the important thing here was, that nobody noticed their approach until it was too late to react in time. It would have been the job of him and his unit to do so. But in this case, the Hyades Light Infantry had nothing to do than assess the damage. Surely not a glorious chapter in the unit`s history. He turned around and entered the vehicle again. Time to write a report.

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

Space Transit


In the recent months, some refurbishments had been made aboard the `Roncales`. Some walls had been removed or newly build in Alpha and Beta Pod and since then, the Company had a proper room for briefings or other team meetings. And it got heavily utilized, for despite the crew would not see the surface of a planet during the Transit to the south, the pilots needed constant training in the simulators.

"So, let`s see what we have got here.", Koch said while pointing at the screen, where a video of the last simulation was played. "What did go wrong?"

"We expose our flanks too much.", Tengu said with a disgruntled tone.

"Exactly. Here we see, how the opposing force begins to retreat and you begin to push forward too hard, until the enemy reinforcement arrives in the right flank and the Orion experiences crossfire. If the initial force in front of you had not been almost destroyed already, there would have been casualties. The following redirection of the front and successful retreat of the damaged Orion to the second line would not have been possible then. Nevertheless it was a fast and efficient maneuver. So. Today`s lesson is to not follow the enemy too willingly. That`s it for now. Tomorrow we will simulate an attack on a fortified position at night. Dismissed."

The Mechpilots stood up and slowly left the room, while discussing the simulation results. The last one to leave was Sebastian Hong, also known as Dragonfire. He scratched his dense black beard. He had been the Orion pilot and nearly got killed during the simulation. But nobody talked about that. In this Company one always wins or loses as a Team. That`s what he liked about this place, for he had worked in way worse situations during the short-lived Aurigan Directorate.

He witnessed the Civil War on Smithon, where he had been a Mechanic in a workshop of the Directorate. He had been happy, when the Restoration had liberated the planet, but then the Taurian Concordat had sent its forces to support the Directorate. He had been among those to flee toward Acton Spaceport, where this Company had protected the civilians and the Dropships evacuating them.

Directly after the war he followed the Company to Bromhead, where he got hired as Mechanic, since other crew members had decided to stay in the Periphery. And, since one of the Mechpilots had left too, he got promoted to Mechwarrior due to his technical skills and promising tactical abilities during some simulations.

Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, he had not seen any actual combat since then, besides some exercise at Poulsbo versus friendly Mercenaries. But this time would end soon, for they were returning to the Periphery again. Soon a mistake like that in today`s simulation would mean injury or maybe even death. He wondered, whether he was prepared for that. Soon he would find out.

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

Jansens Hold - Space Transit (Taurian Concordat)
October 3026


Maria Menendez stretched on the sofa in her cabin. This is the life. Her first vacation for a whole year. No work, no deadlines, no meetings for a full month. Amazing. She tilted her head and saw out of the small window. Nothing but space out there. She would stay aboard the ship until they reached Ishtar, famous for its holiday resorts. There was a small house at the beach waiting for her. She smiled. She liked her job, but she really needed a break. For a moment she contemplated, what she was going to do after dinner. Maybe she would make a short visit at the casino. She stood up and walked toward the bathroom. Time for a shower and getting dressed.

*****​

"Sir. There is a contact approaching from astern.", an Officer reported.

Captain Nicolas Jericho went to the Officer`s console and looked at the display.

"Identification?"

"Not yet, Captain. It just appeared on the screen."

Jericho went to the communication console and opened a channel.

"Unknown vessel. This is Captain Jericho of TCS White Star. We are an unarmed civilian passenger ship. Please identify yourself."

He repeated the message two times, but there was no response.

"Sir. I can identify the vessel as Leopard Class. Wait...there are two new contacts..."

In the next moment, the ship was hit by a series of Laser hits, when the two Hellcat fighters opened fire.

"Unidentified vessels. Cease fire. This is an unarmed civilian transport. I repeat, cease fire.", the Communication Officer shouted into his micro, shortly before the vessel was shook by the impact of a salvo of LRM, since the Leopard had now activated its weapons either. Captain Jericho reacted quick. He went to another console and activated the ship`s internal communication channel.

"This is the Captain speaking. Evacuate the ship. I repeat. Evacuate the ship. All passengers and crew board the life boats immediately."

Although the `White Star` had not been booked solid, there were roughly 200 people aboard, most of them in complete panic in the face of a mortal threat. The crew tried to direct the passengers to the life boats, while the bridge crew sent SOS messages toward the planet, knowing that their lifes were lost.

The attackers continued to hit the ship, eventually destroying the engine room, leading to a large explosion and a complete blackout. Now the Leopard came alongside and, just like the two fighters, focused its fire midship. After a few more LRM salvos and focused Laser Fire, the passenger ship did break apart. The last thing Captain Jericho asked himself before he died, was, why all this happened.

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

Samantha (Taurus / Taurian Concordat)


Elena Morisol-Chaplin had a free minute, so she skimmed through her notes and papers to check, whether she had forgotten something. It had been time for the daily briefing and, as always, there had been a lot of topics. The most important one, though, had not been adressed yet. She looked up from her documents and toward one of the windows. Protector Thomas Calderon was standing there with his back toward her. His hands were folded behind his back and she could see how he opened and closed one of the palms for a while. A clear sign, that he was deep in thoughts and also mildly worried.

"What is the situation in the north?", he said eventually.

"There are more reports about pirate activity."

"PFFFF.", he said loudly while turning around. "Pirates?"

"What else?"

"Federation Terrorists I call them."

"There is no eviden..."

"No evidence?", he interrupted his attaché. "These reports speak a plain language. I`d be fine with common pirates. They are predictable, since they are interested in money. But these people just want to cause as much havoc as possible. And murder everyone crossing their path. Like this.", he grabbed a piece of paper. "The `White Star`, a cruising ship on the way from Jansens Hold to Ishtar. Attacked and destroyed. Do you know, how many passengers survived this?"

"Zero.", Morisol-Chaplin said.

"ZERO.", Calderon repeated. "They did not only destroy the ship, but also all lifeboats around. 216 dead citizens. This is not piracy. This is terrorism. A challenge toward our sovereignty. They want to spread fear among the people and erode the trust of the citizens toward the state`s ability to protect them. I have no doubt in my mind, that Davion is behind all this. These gangsters have Mechs, Fighters, Dropships and at least one Jumpship. How on earth do they pay for all of it, if they never plunder anything? There must be someone else paying their bills!"

"Maybe you are right. But so far we have no proof concerning their identity."

"Then FIND proof.", he said while pounding his fist on the table. "Bring more forces toward the Davion border."

"Shall we hire additional Mercenaries?"

"Yes. But not for frontline duty. It must be our forces to hunt that scum down. The Mercenaries shall protect the back country, so we have spare units to send to the border.

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

Appian Surface (Periphery)


"Third and Fourth contact.", reported Dragonfire.

"Confirmed.", Koch said. "Stay in position. We will close up left of the gorge."

"Aye."

Koch was in his element. When they had returned to the Periphery, they learned that their fame had somewhat faded during their absence, but as soon as they had finished their first contract, it was just like one year ago, with Planetary Governments asking for their service. The one of Appian had problems with an illegal presence of Mercenaries, probably paid by a rival system to harass local authorities and settlers. Hence the Grenadiers were asked to move to the mountainous areas to search and destroy the enemy force.

They did not have to search for long until they had a first contact. As it seemed, the enemy had decent Mechs, but nevertheless little experience, for they had spread out too much in this rugged terrain, so now they had no common line of sight. If Koch and his Lance would act fast, they would be able to eliminate the enemy force one by one. And so it happened. An enemy Thunderbolt had advanced too fast and without the support of his comrades, he had been easy prey and got destroyed in the moment Dragonfire eventually had contact with the remaining enemy Lance.

While moving slightly to the left, they got in contact with a second Thunderbolt and the three AC/20 of Koch and Glitch made short work of that Mech either. In the meantime Dragonfire and Tengu engaged a Quickdraw on the other side of the gorge. A combined Alpha Strike destroyed the center torso and the reactor exploded.

There was a short break, but eventually the fourth enemy Mech appeared at the edge of a low hill. The Autocannon of the Jagermech found and damaged the armor of Tengu`s Highlander, but the Grenadiers had waited for him and the firepower of four Mechs did shred the enemy Mech to pieces. After the Jagermech fell to the ground, it became quiet again.

"Base?", Koch said.

"Yes?", O`Shea responded.

"Mission accomplished."

*****​

Vall de Roncales - Command Center


"Did the mission proceed as expected?", Kate asked when Koch returned to the ship.

"Worked out fine. Nothing to write home about.", Koch said.

"Well, here is something new. Just came through the MRB channel."

Koch read the paper she gave to him. When finished, he raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

"I think we will have to set a new course, Kate."

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

Samantha (Taurus / Taurian Concordate)
November 3026


Koch looked out of the window. Samantha was an interesting city, maybe even beautilful. But it was late in the year, the sky was grey and every now and then there was a short shower. Autumn was here, making everything less pleasant.

At noon he had an appointment at the Ministry of Defense, so he had decided to have breakfast in the city. The cafe he was sitting in was in the government district and when he looked outside, he saw a street and a large square on the opposite side. On the other three sides of the square were large buildings with government agencies. Although it looked impressive from the outside, he imagined it to be incredibly dull to actually work there.

He turned his attention back to the newspaper on his table. The major news had been basically the same throughout the recent weeks. The large military exercise within the Federated Suns. More than one hundred Regiments had participated in something commonly known as Operation Galahad. Koch, just like everyone else, had seen footage of the exercises and was fascinated. He had read and heard a lot about Davion`s Regimental Combat Teams. Back in the Commonwealth he had thought, that this was the future for the Lyran Army either, but even if change would come, it would probably take many years.

The rest of the world had watched too, although maybe with less fascination and more fear. The Capellan Confederation and the Draconis Combine had lodged protests against such a large concentration of forces close to their borders. The last war had just ended and the Federation seemed to prepare the next already. And with the FedCom Alliance in effect, the other realms had reasonable grounds to be worried.

It was the same in the Concordat. Since the first contact, the relations between the Concordat and the Federation in particular as well as the Inner Sphere in general had been hostile. The powerful neighbor to the north has always been deemed a threat and now, that House Davion made such a demonstration of power, the population was alarmed.

Even more so due to the recent events along the Davion border. A mysterious organisation attacked planets and ships of the Concordat. Not a lot was known about them or their intentions. But they had caused damage worth hundreds of millions of Bills. Plus the death of hundreds of people. Due to the unknown nature of the group, many speculated about a terrorist organization sponsored by the Federation and anti-Federal sentiments had become more common recently. Two of his crew members hailed from the Federation, but during their stay here they pretended to be from the Aurigan Coalition to not cause any trouble.

He looked on his watch. He still had an hour, nevertheless it was almost time to leave. He had no doubt, that he and his Company would work for the Concordat as of today and that his task would have to do with these mysterious incidents to the north. He looked around and made a hand gesture toward the waitress that he wanted to pay.

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

Vall de Roncales (Taurus Orbit)


"Garrison duty?", Kate said and one could hear the disappointment in her voice. "With all due respect, Commander, but we would not have had to leave the Commonwealth for that."

"I know.", Koch replied. "But the Government wants to deal with the situation along their border. It is a matter of prestige. They think, that these attacks are not normal pirate activity. At least, that`s my impression."

"So?"

"As I said. Just my impression. They did not even mention the attacks. They spoke about temporary relocation of regular units northward to counter the Federal exercises with an own stronger presence along the border."

"Oh my.", Sumire said. "Typical Calderon. As soon as something bad happens, the Federation is to blame. But, to be frank, the rest of the population is not innocent in that regard either. Where are we supposed to be on duty?"

"Brinton."

"Wow.", she said, leaning back in her chair. "You will have to change your opinion, Kate. This is not your usual garrison duty."

"What is so special about it?", Yang wanted to know.

"The planet is basically a no-go area for foreigners due to its importance. It is one of the Concordat`s production hubs, especially for electronic components. According to rumors, the Protector`s oldest son Edward has become Governor of the system recently. See, I don`t know how serious the situation in the north actually is. But they would not reduce the regular garrison on Brinton, if they were not worried."

"Hm.", Koch meant. "Good to know. But it also means, that they think that Brinton is beyond the threatened area. It may be interesting, it may be boring. Anyway. Let`s get this Company moving. Sumire, departure in two hours."

"Aye, Sir."

*****​

Richard (Brinton / Taurian Concordate)


Edward Calderon looked out of the window of the Governor`s residence, which was located on a narrow hill, so one had a good view over the planet`s capital. Winter was coming. Although this was not too much of a problem here, close to the equator. But further to the north, where many of the deposits of raw materials were located, the harsh times with permanent frost until April had begun.

He heard how the door to his office opened and closed again. From the footstep he could tell that it had to be an Officer.

"Sir.", he heard a voice. He turned around and saw Colonel Jeb Lombardi, the Commanding Officer of the local Armed Forces.

"Colonel.", Edward answered. "How can I help you?"

"Sir, we have a got a priority message from the Protector.", the Officer reported and gave a document to Edward. The Governor read the short text and looked sceptical toward Lombardi.

"That`s half our garrison.", he said eventually. He read the message again. But it was clear that he was ordered to immediately send one Company of Mechs and Infantry each plus two Warships toward the north in order to strengthen the border and help suppressing the recent incursions.

"Your thoughts?", he asked the Colonel.

"The same as yours, Sir.", the Officer said with an ironic smile. Edward grinned too. He had read some reports from the border, but this message told him, that things were obviously worse than he thought. He understood the sentiments of his father. The Federation can`t be trusted. But was it really justified to strip the western border off its units in order to make a point? Brinton was too important for the Concordat. This order was a mistake. Nevertheless he had to obey.

"Tell the Company Commanders, that they will have to embark tomorrow.", he ordered. Lombardi saluted and left the room.

 

[Warden]

Warships? In 3026?

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

Space Transit


Arthur entered the Lounge with a small plate in his hand. He just came from the canteen, where he got a decent sandwich and now he dropped into a comfy chair to enjoy his snack. He closed his eyes while chewing and listened to the music in his ear. He did not tell anyone, but being in the south again and far away from all his recent troubles was almost like coming home.

When he had finished his light meal, he looked around. There were almost no people. But at the other end of the room he saw Sumire. As far as he could see it from his position, she had unrolled a large type of document on a table and was using a tool, that looked unfamiliar. A minute later he had approached her.

"May I?"

"Sure, Art."

"What is this?", he asked. Sumire looked at him quizzical and followed his eyes. Then she showed him a small object. "This is a compass. It is designed to draw circles, respectively measure distances."

Arthur looked down at the document. It took some time, before he recognized it.

"Is this a map of the southern periphery?"

"Correct."

"Why are you drawing circles on it?"

"I have read all available reports about pirate activities along the border and these circles represent the action radius of Jumpships."

"I have heard that their radius is 30 Light Years."

"Give or take a bit."

"Pardon?"

"See, Arthur, this is not a board game, where every single piece of technology has a fixed capability. Actually it depends on a lot of factors. For example who exactly built your Jumpship? In which shipyard? And when? Has it experienced proper maintenance or not? The same goes for for the sun sail and other parts linked to the drive. If someone tells you, that Jumpships have a range of 30 Light Years, then he means between 27 and 33 depending on the condition of the ship."

"Okay, but why are you doing this?"

"To find something. Let`s draw a circle around each target of these ominous pirates. And if we look at the overlap of all circles, then only a few systems outside the Concordat remain. Aren`t you from Bromhead?"

Arthur nodded and looked at the map. Indeed Bromhead was inside all circles. But it was not the only one.

"What about this one?"

"That is Rollis in the Confederation."

"That may be the base either."

"Possibly. But although Confederation is in the Inner Sphere, its history with the Concordat is a bit less complicated than the one of the Federation. And Calderon will probably already have made up his mind. All evidence, no matter how circumstantial, will fit into his anti-Davion narrative."

"Is he right?"

"Look, this is a compass, not a magic crystal ball.", she said with a smile. "These circles here are useful up to a certain point. But let`s say, that the attackers origin from a point more than one jump away. What if they jump to a specific point, wait a few days in the middle of nowhwere to recharge their drive and then jump to their target system? Add a second Jump, and all bets are off."

"This is complicated."

"Indeed. But to be frank with you, I think they are just a very peculiar brand of pirates. The Concordat is flexing its muscles and it probably won`t take long, until they are dealt with. "

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

Richard (Brinton V)


„Koch`s Grenadiers reporting for duty.“, Koch said while standing at attention and saluting.

„Welcome, Commander.“, Colonel Lombardi answered while returning the salute. In the next moment Koch handed over a few documents to the Colonel, which he had received on Taurus at the ministry. Lombardi studied the documents and took a look at the Mercenary Commander every now and then.

He was not pleased. Not because of that man specifically. But more in general, since he had favored his own troops to stay here and the Mercenaries being sent to the Davion border. Well, at least this one seemed to have manners and from the documents he saw that his unit, although considerably young, had a remarkable history already.

„I see, that you were part of the Arano Restoration and had some encounters with our forces on Smithon and Artru.“

„Yes, versus Commodore Ostergaard, Sir. Did you know him?“

„Not personally. But I have read about him.“, Lombardi replied. The upper echelons had been reluctant at first to publish the reports concerning Ostergaard. But eventually the details came out into the open. Everyone knew about the Perdition Massacre. At first, the public opinion did blame the Federation. Then it was revealed, that the Aurigan Directorate was behind it. Eventually there was Ostergaard`s traitorous behavior. The investigation committee tasked to find out what exactly had happened aboard the `Iberia` ended inconclusively and it was ruled, that the Commodore was the only one to blame and the remaining Crew acted in good faith. Anyway, the whole episode had been inconvenient for the Concordat. He wondered, whether the man on the other side of the desk would be able to give answers to some questions.

„What did you think about him?“, he asked Koch.

„I never talked to him, Colonel. But I think it was unfortunate to give him the command over the Taurian vanguard in the conflict. Due to the death of his son he was not impartial. Eventually he decided to not only deem his vested interest more important than loyalty toward his superiors and the country he serves, he also misused Taurian resources for his personal vendetta. Maybe he was a good Officer in the past, but his display during his last weeks was not impressive.“

Lombardi looked at the Commander and asked himself, whether that was the whole truth. But it was good enough and pretty consistent with the final report of the committee. He returned the documents to Koch.

„Be it as it may, Commander. Your unit is needed here, since we have already redeployed parts of our garrison northward. The remaining regular units are shielding Richard and Fago, the main settlements. I want you to take up position on Gladstone.“

„Yes, Sir.“

The two men saluted again and Koch left the room, heading toward the space port, where the `Fortune` was waiting.

 

[Deaghaidh]

If you want a comic relief sideplot, Kate
O'Shea could be annoyed by the persistent yet respectful attentions of Ardagan ("Please, call me Art") O'Dea, commander of the Great Imram Company.

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

Deccan Spaceport (Brinton V)


The `Fortune` had arrived yesterday at her new position and the crew of the Leopard Class Dropship was busy to perform some maintenance work, that had been due for some time, but had to be postponed, since the Grenadiers had spent a lot of time in space recently. The Engineer Team of Chief Hansen examined some power circuits, when suddenly the light in the room turned yellow and a siren signal echoed through the ship.

"NBC ALERT", shouted the Chief. He and the other Engineers, just like the rest of the crew, ran to their battle station and began to put on their protection gear.

In the meantime Koch stood in the Command Center and waited for the status reports of each station. The bridge was, as expected, first. The engine room and the canteen were next, but the Mechbay took some extra time, since it had the most to do. Eventually all signals on the console were green.

"Time?", he asked?

"Seven minutes.", Kate answered.

"Too slow. Kate, I want a NBC drill each day as of now. Two if you deem it necessary, but don`t push it too hard."

"Aye, Sir."

*****​

Canteen


At noon, the crew came together for lunch. The favorite topic to discuss was the drill, which had interrupted the normal, but necessary workload. Arthur was not pleased when discussing the event with other people.

"I mean, I get the point of drills. But NBC? Are we going to war?", he said.

"Believe me, maybe you will count yourself lucky someday that the Commander prepared you for the worst.", Sumire Meyer said when approaching the table and sat down.

"How so?"

"Brinton is special. Guess you all know by now, that it is an important manufacturing site. And exactly that made it the target for raiders more often than never. Not a long time ago, a biological weapon got dropped on Harvey. The population there got seriously decimated. Today that continent is uninhabited and to set foot on it is strictly forbidden."

"Are you trying to tell us, that this place here is endangered of that biohazard?"

"I am trying to tell you..."

Sumire was interrupted by another siren and an announcement via the comm system.

"This is the Commander. All hands to battle stations. I repeat. All hands to battle stations. This is not a drill."

A second later everyone was running out of the room toward their station, while the humming of the ship`s engine became louder.

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

Gladstone (Brinton V)


The Leopard Dropship is popular for various reasons. It still gets produced, spare parts are easy to obtain, maintenance cost is low and it is agile even during atmospheric flight. Even more so with a proper Pilot. Sumire was such a pilot, and so the `Fortune` was heading eastward at considerably low altitude.

“Sumire. Status?“, Koch asked while sittting in the cockpit of his Atlas.

„One minute to Landing Zone, Sir.“

„We will not land there. Hover as low as possible, we will jump off the ship.“

„Aye.“

In the next moment one was already able to notice, that the ship got slower. Eventually the bay doors opened and they saw, that they were a few meters above ground. One after another the four Mechs left the vessel, which immediately closed the doors and flew away to monitor the situation from a larger distance. Koch looked around. It was easy to spot some smoke in the east, where a small settlement was supposed to be.

„Everyone heading direction 105.“, he ordered and the Lance advanced. Eventually they came over the top of a hill and then they saw it. A village with maybe two or three thousand inhabitants was already partially destroyed, while a Lance of enemy Mechs continued to devastate buildings.

„Advance on target. Fire at will.“, the Commander said. Immediately the air was filled with missiles and laser beams. This was not really effective, since they were still rather far away from the enemy units and the fire was not focused. But the intent was to rouse the enemy and make them stop their work of destruction.

It worked. When the enemy Mechs were hit, they made a short break and then began to move to the northeast at full speed. Koch saw from the distance, that they were light and medium Mechs, hence faster than his own Lance. Nevertheless he kept his unit firing at the retreating Mechs.

Tengu, piloting a Zeus, was faster than the rest of the Lance and could keep up with the slowest enemy Mech, while his Lasers kept firing at it. But at this speed, it was a matter of luck to hit something even for an experienced Pilot like him.

„Tengu. Beware of the Union.“, Koch said.

„Aye, Sir. Still out of range.“

At the horizon the enemy Dropship came in sight. Tengu knew, that its firepower was too large to risk getting too close to it. He maybe had another minute or two, before he had to stop. Eventually he decided to halt his Mech for a last salvo. The green and blue laser beams appeared for the last time. Then he noticed a detonation in the distance.

„Silence, we got a hit on the target.“, he reported to the Commander.

„Is it a kill?“

„No.“, Tengu said after a moment. „Mech still operational and reaches the Dropship. From the looks of it, he lost an arm."

When Koch saw, that the enemy Mechs had reached the Union, the ship started its engines and began the liftoff. It fired a salvo of LRM in the direction of the Grenadiers, but due to the distance only half a dozen missiles found a target, causing basically no damage. When the ship was out of sight, the four Mechs advanced toward the landing site.

„Commander?“, Glitch said. „Please take a look at this.“

Koch moved the Atlas to the position, where Glitch was standing. On the ground was the right arm of the enemy Mech. He looked down at it. For the first time today he raised an eyebrow.

„Now this is interesting.“

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

Deccan Spaceport (Brinton V)


"What do you think?"

Koch looked to the right. Kate leaned against the Holovid projector and stared at the picture displayed on one of the monitors.

"There can be no doubt, Martin.", she said eventually. The fact, that she used his first name was enough to know, that there was something wrong. He saw in her eyes, that she was deep in thoughts and that she did not like the conclusions she was drawing.

"No, there is no other possibility. This thing belongs to a Hatchetman.", she explained while pointing at the monitor. "See, I guess it happened after you had left the LCAF already, but the Commonwealth developed this Mech just recently. Two years ago the Combine raided Sevren, where a first unit of these Mechs defended the capital. And cut the attackers to pieces. Literally, as far as the reports go."

"So this is a brandnew design of the Commonwealth."

"I am not the Archon, but rumor has it, that it is a joint venture of Commonwealth and Federation. And, yes, all of this begs the question, what one of these Mechs is doing out here in the first place."

Koch looked at the monitor. This was a really good question. Sure, maybe the pirates had obtained one of them during a raid. But what if not? He still pondered about the possible scenarios, when Sumire entered the Command Center.

"Sir, do you have a minute?"

"Of course. What is on your mind?"

"It is about the attack on this planet."

"Kate and I were just talking about it."

"There is something I`d like to show you.", Sumire said and started the holographic projector, depicting a picture of the southern periphery. She pointed toward some systems further to the north. "These are the locations the pirates did hit first. Jumpships would have been able to reach them from these systems in the Federation respectively Confederation. If we add Brinton to the equation, then the Federation is out of range, but this Confederate system and these in the Coalition are possible origins."

Koch`s facial expression immediately became more serious. He looked at the map and the highlighted systems. This Company had visited and fought over some of them last year. That they might be involved in this was a nasty thought. But why would Kamea do anything like that?

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

Samantha (Taurus)


In the Taurian capital people had come to the same conclusions. Protector Calderon sat in his office in front of a holo projector, looking at the projection of his son Edward`s face.

"We did not notice them until they entered the atmosphere and could get identified as unknown Dropship. Hence we had a short reaction time."

"Casualties?"

"They had already begun to demolish nearby settlements and we have a still unknown number of civilian dead. Fortunately a Mercenary Unit was stationed nearby and disrupted them in their work. They retreated immediately to their Dropship again and were gone, before other forces were on site. A full report will be transmitted as soon as the damage assessment is finished."

"Very good. Keep us updated about the situation. And express my appreciation to the Mercenary Commander."

The picture faded away and Calderon turned his chair toward Morisol-Chaplin.

"We were lucky this time.", she said.

"I think there are some citizens who would disagree with you."

"Sure, we were not able to completely avoid their attack. But they act according to a pattern. Hit-and-run tactic in the remote parts of the targeted planets. So they have enough time to cause damage before anyone is able to arrive and oppose them. It was fortunate, that Edward stationed that unit far away from the important settlements. Maybe this is a part of the answer to this problem."

"Or exactly what they want us to do. Overstretching our forces, splitting them in small units. So we can`t react properly, if a larger force should attack us. This whole thing here boils down to the point, what the Federation is up to."

The woman made a short sigh, but loud enough to not get missed by Calderon.

"I know your point of view, Elena. But just look at this.", he said, while starting a projection of the Mech part captured on Brinton. Half an arm and in the hand something that looked like a large axe. "The Defense Ministry identified it as part of a whole new Battlemech design. Allegedly it is called Hatchetman and designed for urban warfare. It seems to be the first result of the FedCom Alliance. You will tell me, that this part does not tell us the whole story. But it tells me, that the Davions are not alone in this provocation."

Morisol-Chaplin looked to the side for a moment. She had looked at the maps either and knew, that Calderon was referring to the Aurigan Coalition.

"I am indeed of the opinion, that we don`t know enough. The attack on Brinton raises new questions. It is possible, that Lady Arano knows something. But so far the same might be true for the Confederation. I advise you, that we keep a low profile diplomatically and try to gather further information."

Calderon looked at his attaché. He thought that she was too cautious. On the other hand it was her job to tell him her opinion, even if she disagreed with him. Especially then. Eventually he nodded with his head.

"You are right. But we have to do more. We must secure our northern and western border. Mobilize our Militias in the west."