Chapter 23.2 Operation Shiroyama Part 3.
3029
Lockdale
Green Base
—-
A different perspective
Theodore Kurita
So this was it. All the tricks that could be attempted with what they had on hand. Now to see if it was enough.
“All hands. Brace for evasive maneuvers. We have confirmed enemy emplacements switching targets.”
That was what Theodore dreaded. The nuclear weapons. The debris. It hadn’t been enough to destroy all of the defenses. And since it didn’t. Men, proud Samurai, the elite of the Combine would die ingloriously.
He could only hope he would not die amongst them.
The retro burn was the most dangerous moment for any dropship captain. A single strike taking out an engine, could mean their burn was too low.
If that happened they would all die as they smashed into the asteroid unable to slow.
It was the danger of burning so hotly towards the station. It was a risk that had been deemed just shy of suicide.
Theo had okayed the plan anyways.
“The Ayanami was hit. Her engines have failed, she is on half thrust…”
“Captain Bashir-Gawa’s words. ‘We will shield the way. Long may the Dragon live.’”
“The Ayanami is interceding in our flight path.” The chatter of the bridge officers washed over him.
Theodore nodded. A brave Captain. He mentally reminded himself, for that alone, he would ensure the captain's family were treated well.
The reports came in, more and more losses as the guns continued firing. Finally as they drew close enough the very few ASF that had stayed with the dropships went out. Attempting to destroy those same guns.
The reports were grim.
Yet, it was silent otherwise. The roar of the engine was the only noise that reached the mech. Not the explosions of the nearby dropships, nor the waves of heavy weapons shooting at him and his men.
It was almost zen.
Until it was interrupted on the full channel. “All mechwarriors! We have reached safe distance, full retro-burn commencing in 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.”
The sudden jerk as the dropship once more did everything in its power to slow them hit Theo with a grunt. But it only lasted a few moments before the engines dialed down.
“Mechwarriors! All green! Drop drop drop!”
The roar of his drop pod engaging was the last Theo heard.
This was the final attempt to ensure his warriors landed. While the dropships would attempt to land many were too slow, or damaged to make it. Instead the Mechwarriors would be released into drop pods.
The DEST teams shuttles would be taking off moments later.
This was it. Spread his men out, reduce the chance of a single lucky strike taking out too many on their final approach.
But Theo was too busy focusing on his drop to think any more of his men.
He needed to slow enough not to crash into the asteroid all the while finding a safe landing site, and avoiding being shot out of the sky.
He grinned. This was what he was meant for. To battle.
—--
Well they landed. I grunted as I activated The Phantom. It was time to relieve some of this stress with some good old fashioned Giant Robot battle.
The mech gantry I was in pulled apart, and I led it out onto the path towards the surface. The freight elevator at the end of the hall was a brilliant little piece of equipment. It was a two piece elevator. Designed to shoot us out to the surface even with the gravity room having us spinning.
It might have maybe sorta resembled something from an anime I saw once.
Maybe a little if you squint.
“Get in the Giant Robot Vicky.” I whisper to myself as I press my mechs feet into the section that locked down, keeping my mech stable through the launch.
But I wasn’t alone.
Homeguard had mechs too.
Not all of them of course. Most focused on installations and big guns. But I had specifically put a lot of work into making sure my Homeguard had the best weapon system I could think of for a defensive engagement.
It was why when I locked in. The battalion of mechs followed me, either onto my elevator, or the others sprinkled through the mech bay.
A comm channel connected. “Hey Commander. Ready for the scrap?”
“Tanya, just because you named yourself after Natasha Kerensky, does that mean you have to be a battle maniac?”
“... Yep?” She offered with a laugh as she locked in beside me.
Tanya Kerensky had never really gotten a chance to earn her name. She was Homeguard. And rarely did Homeguard mechs get a chance to fight.
But she had gone through all the same training as my gunslinger program, just like all of the Homeguard mech Battalion.
They just were quieter about it.
Semper Paratus. Always Ready. Homeguards words had been their guiding light for almost a decade now.
“You had enough time with your new toy?” I couldn’t help but ask. Unfortunately they had only gotten the official mech of the Homeguard in the last year.
“It’s actually not so different. The low G battle is going to take more getting used to than anything. You ready for that Commander? You haven’t gone soft sitting on that armchair have you?”
I squawked in outrage. “Demotions! All the demotions!”
The laughter that broke over the channel came from many voices, showing that this little chat hadn’t just been to Captain Kerensky.
“That’s everyone Commander. Ready for liftoff.”
“Then everyone brace.”
I grunted as the lift began surging towards the surface.
—-
A different perspective
Theodore Kurita
Theo grunted. The force of his jump pack slowing his descent was one more force upon his bruised body.
But as he landed with a crash into the stone. He took a moment to regain his feet, his jump pack falling away with a clatter, and Theo realized it was all worth it.
They had done it. They had landed on this monstrous War Station. And with acceptable losses all the way.
“Status.” He demanded over his comm, for a moment only static reached him, before the voices began responding. Yorinaga was first. “I have landed. I am five clicks away from you. On my way.”
And then it began, more and more mechwarriors responding. Only the light of a massive explosion happening above him caused him to turn, to see one of the dropships shatter apart. Some massive weapon had blown a hole straight through the ship.
Thankfully its whale fall was far from his position.
The crater shifted, as he took his first step onto the harsh rock. The Nightstar that had been his claim lifted itself from the dust. A titan made for war, and perhaps, an intentional slight in its own way. Hopefully Eisen-Blume would react badly at him piloting one of ‘her’ mechs.
He continued on. The low gravity on the exterior of the asteroid would of course make things difficult. He stomped on making sure his feet kept a firm grip on the rock below. Even as his hands gripped his controls tightly. There could be no mistakes.
Of course it was only a few steps out of the crater that a piece of the rock before him burst out, and a turret unfurled. He grunted, unleashing his ERPPC and then his medium pulse lasers to cut into the hole he had created in the turret, a moment later it exploded.
“Warning. Watch out for hidden turrets.” He demanded as he continued on. He would have to travel some way before he reached the entrance that had been selected.
So he stomped on, slowly more and more of his men reached him. Yorinaga in his new Warahmmer attaching to him soon, becoming his right hand.
And so Theo marched at the head of a growing army. Ready to win this war.
—--
The elevators took us to a hangar on the ground level. Or in simple terms it led out onto the surface of the asteroid with a large enough space to do anything I needed. I had used this entrance many times to run around on the surface when I needed to blow off some steam.
Honestly the low gravity had taken a long time to get used to. But this is where it would happen.
I had watched the enemy mechs since they landed. They were gathering, obviously they had an idea of where to go. And that was here.
With the outer door shut, I had free reign. Considering we were outnumbered by enemy mechs, I was going to cheat.
The green light of my nanoforges built through the entire hangar lit up, coming up through vents on the ground at regular intervals. The vents let me send the Nanomachines through the entire room. It made it a lot easier to build things.
So the green fog of my nanomachines rose up, and began creating armored shells. Enough for each of my Homeguard Battalion to take cover behind heavy armor.
Plus I looked on with a grin as they adjusted themselves.
The Marauder II was a monster of a mech. And if I didn’t have so much experience in my Nightstar I would have switched over.
This was the Marauder II 5A Variant. It was technically something that had been more on the drawing board of Blackwell industries. This version was basically the original concept before the Dragoons had realized all their fancy Lostech was… Lostech.
So they had downgraded it to the 4A. Of course Blackwell still had the specs for the original concept.
The deal for a full regiment of mechs to Jaime Wolf had earned me a direct contact within Blackwell.
I had to argue for a while, before they had sent me the blueprints for this variant.
That and a deal to supply them with the equipment at some point so they could finally make the damn thing themselves.
Although I knew most would just go to the dogs.
Heh.
But it had been a long pain in the ass to get them to actually agree to giving me the blueprints for this variant. But eventually with Jaime Wolf backing me up, they had agreed. Their blueprints handn’t been quite enough to produce one outright, but with the Nanoforge, and a small Repair team, we had gotten one put together enough that I had a complete design.
I had turned them into the flagship mech for the Homeguard. A monstrous heavily defended behemoth of a mech. They weren’t very ammo reliant, unlike my Nightstar. And they were more heavily armored than my mech.
Plus Jumpjets for mobility. They were surprisingly hard to hit, and were the sort of mech you simply didn’t want to run into.
A comm channel beeped pulling me out of my squeeing at seeing the Marauder II’s settling inside the hangar.
“Eris talk to me.”
“I know you are up there now Commander. Homeguard isn’t giving us any orders. The Highlanders are eager to join you, and so am I. I’m not comfortable with you up there considering how many mechs managed to land.”
“It’s not that many! We still got a lot of them.”
“Marcus told me the numbers Commander.” She broke in tonelessly.
Shit. She knew about the sensors! I couldn’t lie to her anymore!
“Fine. You win… But we are already pretty well spaced here. If you come up right now, you would just get in the way. Tell William and his Highlanders that they are the surprise reinforcements. I will signal when to come up. Move to freight elevator C-3.”
“Will do.”
I sighed. Thankfully I wasn’t feeling anxious yet. Hopefully Theo would actually do something nice for me and get here before I had too much time to think about how dangerous this was.
You know what… I think a little fuck you was in order as well.
—-
A different perspective
Marcus Shield.
Marcus finished buckling in. His job guiding the defenses from the control room was done. Sure there were still some dropships that had survived and even managed to land. One, the captured Colossus had even landed close to the Hangar the enemy mechs were gathering at.
That was being taken care of. Vicky had a ‘plan’ He had chosen to simply agree. Her plans were usually crazy. That’s it.
But he was more worried about another troublesome element.
DEST. The Draconis Elite Strike Teams.
The men and women that the Combine were using to try and break into his home. The monsters that would kill everyone they came across, it was what they did.
So he was suiting up, with a contingent of Homeguard that had the training.
He stood. The Nighthawk activating, empowering him to rise as easily as if he was carrying nothing at all. He really wished Lenden was here. Or Carl. But they were off on the Battlefield. This wasn’t their job.
This was a job for Homeguard. “Alright. Everyone on me.” He demanded as he broke into a jog. They followed. Death troopers ready to defend their homes.
The sensor attached to his back gave him up to date information on his enemy. And he used it. The DEST had already broken into the base. Of course it was only the outer sections. Which had already been cleared. But they didn’t know that.
The DEST had broken into squads searching, trying to hunt down the ISDF inside. Or steal information
Marcus wasn’t sure which. He didn’t much care. The only thing he could think of is that this reminded him so vividly of his games with Benny when they were teenagers. They had always planned on being infantry after all.
He could hear Benny when he used to act like a captain leading his men to glory. Earning the orphans a chance to become something great.
He smiled. Opening fire before he even finished turning the corner. His vision enhanced with real time updates on where the invaders were.
His Mauser 960 spitting Lasers down the hallway caught the DEST off guard.
Four of them fell in moments, and while a few of them managed to turn and fire, it was too late. The squad pf soldiers fell, cut into pieces by the Nighhawks following right behind him.
“Injuries?” Carl called out once they confirmed the enemy were dead.
“Just a graze. That wasn’t their standard issue Marcus, it punched through the armor.” A pained voice called out. Carl turned. One of his people were bleeding, a drip of red plopping onto the metal floors. Another moved up, offering medical support. Marcus grunted. Annoyed. How dare these Snakes injure his people?
“You need Medical?” He asked. Earning a swift shake of a helmet.
“Hell no! Just bandage it up, and I’ll be good. Just a scratch.” The fierce voice was finally placed. Maggy always had a bit of a ferocious streak.
“Alright Homeguard! We move out.”
And they did.
—-
A different perspective
Theodore Kurita
Theo was ready. His men had burned through every defense the ISDF was sending. Turrets! Tsk, as if that was even capable of slowing him down. Under the shadows of the massive guns that had been hammering his people, he approached his goal.
The hangar entrance was the best location to break in. Already some of his men had begun shooting at the massive door. Cutting through the metal slowly with energy weapons.
Soon, they would be through.
“They will be waiting. When we create a breach, they will attempt to hold the door. If you are the first through, do not hesitate once you enter. Push through. If you falter, you will kill the men behind you.” He demanded. This was a kill box, and likely the defenders would be ready. But this is where he was confident. More than a regiment of mechs had landed. Enough to crush whatever defenses the ISDF believed they had.
“Tai-Sho!” A voice over comm called out, and he jerked when he realized the massive doors were opening. He grit his teeth. They thought they were capable of handling his numbers?
“Spread out! Do not allow the enemy to overwhelm you!” He called out, once more pushing the men to action.
It had been difficult. They were exhausted. The heavy G’s had crushed much of their ardor for this battle.
But Theo knew this was it. Defeat the ISDF here, and they could take the entire station and perhaps find out how they had so much equipment. Surely somewhere within the station there would be a computer that held the knowledge of who was supplying the ISDF.
Finally as the massive door slowly dropped, Theo heard it. A comm request. An enemy Comm request.
Feeling confident, he flipped the switch.
“Commander Eisen-Blume.”
“Theodore Kurita… sorry I don’t know what your current title is.” the voice was mocking as it echoed out over the channel.
“Tai-Sho. I am the Tai-Sho of the Legions of Vega, Genyosha Combined Regiment.”
“Yeah I figured Yorinaga is there to carry you along. Last chance Theo. Turn around. Get on that dropship, and go home. This is not a battle you can win.”
Theo actually felt shocked. The audacity of the request. “You expect me to leave? Now? When you are on the verge of defeat?”
“No. But I wanted to offer it anyway. One last chance to end this here… But Theo… Now you can’t leave.”
The roar was like nothing he had experienced before. It wasn’t a noise, the lack of atmosphere kept that from being a threat, but the feeling of the entire earth shaking beneath his feet shocked him. The hangar door was still half way open, but it didn’t matter. A flash of brilliant light. Bright angry ripped through the air above his head. Forcing the automatic tinting of his mech cockpit to darken.
He blinked. What had happened? A moment later a second burst of light, causing the shadow of his mech to flicker wildly against the wall made him check behind him.
To see the dropship. The Colossus that Captain Takamori had gone to such lengths to protect was… Gone. A hole through the super structure so wide that Theo could see the stars behind it, as the dropships life ended.
The hangar door finished opening. And he could see what had done this. A naval Gauss installation fixed into the back of the Hangar was pointing outward.
“Theodore!” Yorinaga called out, forcing the ringing of Theos ears to finally hear.
“All men Enagage! Banzai!” He called out. The entire hangar was a kill zone. There were armored… Bunkers? Fit for mechs. Inside, he could see the glow of the mechs as they began firing, PPC shots arcing out of the darkness.
He quickly counted the bunkers…
A battalion?
They only had a battalion of mechs.
His men charged. The heavy and assault mechs his forces now rode opened fire. Before he could order it, some of his men were shooting at the Naval Gauss weapon, to disable it. He watched as they managed something, it seemed to explode, and yet the explosion only showed as a burst of fire escaping from the barrel. He waited, but the massive weapon seemed to die.
“This will be a long fight. Control your breathing. Give orders.” Then Yorinaga took to his own words. Guiding the Genyosha into combat.
Theo didn’t hesitate, his guns opened fire.
His Gauss rifles sparking as they tore chunks into the armored walls the enemy mechs were hiding behind.
Even still his system beeped identifying the mechs he was facing. Mad-4A. He grimaced. That designation was one he recognized. The Assault mechs of the Wolves Dragoons. They were tough foes. Heavily armored. But they were not lostech, not like his own men.
But after a blast of a PPC arced past him, only barely dodged, Theo realized they were not the 4A. These were some Lostech variant no doubt.
“The enemy wield Lostech. Do not be fooled!” He called out over the channel, as the battle continued. His men would push in, dealing as much damage as they could against the defenses, and enemy mechs. Before retreating to cool off, and allowing another to take their place.
Yorinaga may be an amazing Mechwarrior. But Theo often considered his command skill to be even greater. To so quickly come up with an effective plan. He Switched to only using the ERPPC of his mech, to conserve ammo.
There would be many enemies to face, best to save his weapons for when their throat was bared.
—-
I grimaced as another barrage of LRMs stripped more of my armor, and the armor of my dugout as they landed.
The Combine were tougher than I expected. I mean, sure the heavy defenses I had created for my people meant they basically had the equivalent of five or six mechs in front of them that the Combine were smashing their weapons against, but there were only thirty-seven of us.
And there were a lot more of them.
I couldn’t help but admit that focusing on the nuclear weapons had been a mistake. I probably could have just repaired whatever defenses they broke and held off the far less numerous mechs.
Oops.
I grunted as I sent another gauss round downrange smirking as it smashed into the arm of a King Crab the entire crab claw falling away in a burst of sparks.
We were damaging them just fine, but they were switching out mechs, Every time one of theirs grew too hot, or took too much damage it fell back, allowing another fresh mech to take its place. The rotation was difficult to deal with, because a few of their pilots were working together, literally, sending out a full alpha strike, only to back off and allow another to do the same.
Sure our Marauder II’s were doing amazing at holding them back, but even so heat was building up in my mechs. ERPPC fire was shooting out less and less consistently.
I fired my ERPPC at a sneaky enemy highlander that was trying to jump into the air outside, to try and get a different firing angle. It missed but it did cause the pilot to jerk. His Gauss round smashing into the hangar floor.
The little red light on my dash blinking made me grimace. Before I mentally ordered the connection.
“Commander! Finally, why aren’t you sending us up?” Eris asked. The Highlanders in their Highlanders… heh. Were waiting below for my signal. But I hadn’t sent it yet.
“Not just yet Eris. While they are giving us trouble. Our defenses are still holding. So they aren’t doing real damage against our mechs, just the metal dugouts.”
“That won’t last forever Commander. Let us up. We will fight!”
I sighed. Turning sending a full alpha against a sneaky Black Knight that was trying to sneak along the edge of the hangar and get a good angle on us.
I wasn’t the only one to do so. And the pilot didn’t have more than a few moments to try and jerk back as multiple Marauders gave it their full attention.
The Black Knight fell.
We turned back to the entrance.
This battle of attrition had already told me where it would end.
We would lose. The Combine had even started focusing on a single dugout, melting down the heavy armor to try and kill the mech within.
The focus suddenly ramped up. Instead of a single lance or two focusing on the one Marauder. Suddenly it was a Company, and then a battalion.
The dugout disintegrated under the assault.
“Fuck!” I cursed, as I moved. The Marauder had started to retreat seeing what was happening, but the pilot hadn’t been lucky, and a few PPC shots had sheared through its leg.
Which wouldn’t be its end, but the mech landed awkwardly, its cockpit was outside the defenses in full view.
“Commander!?”
“Eris. Not now!” I demanded as I raced forward. The shots focusing on my downed pilot turned this into a matter of time. The Phantoms foot just barely made it in time. Stomped down in front of the cockpit. I grunted as a barrage of fire all slammed into my leg. I could feel the leg giving out.
“I’m on my feet!” The marauder below me called out as the pilot finally jerked himself back into cover, so I forced my Gyro down, and fell sideways into cover.
“Fuck!” I cursed as my head smashed into one of the displays in my cockpit as I was rocked heavily.
I couldn’t even allow myself a moment to breathe instead forcing my mechs still usable leg to scramble forward trying to get fully into cover. I don’t think I had ever felt more like a turtle in my life.
I could hear the screaming of my mechs systems as the damage continued, before I did finally manage to get out of the Combines line of sight.
“Commander?”
“I’m fine. Fuck.” I grunt, flicking my head to get the blood out of my eyes although all that did is make everything spin.
Concussion? Probably. That sucks.
“Thank you.” The voice was quiet, disheartened. The pilot beside me I realized. The Marauder II was trashed, it would probably only be able to minorly assist in the defense any further.
“Anytime.” I answered instantly. As if I would just let one of my kids get killed? They were alive. That was all that mattered.
But unfortunately I could see more of the Combine fuckery afoot.
They realized how effective it was to utterly focus a single mech. Their numbers together doing what the few could not. Melting the slabs of armor protecting my mechs.
Fuck!
The sudden beep on my dash alerting me to an oncoming call. An enemy call. I sighed. Just what I didn’t need. Gloating. I flipped the switch.
“Commander Eisen-Blume. You are beaten. Your forces can not hold us off. Save your people. Surrender now. We will take you. And you alone, along with your equipment. I will allow your people to leave unharmed.”
“How reasonable. Only one problem there Kurita. I don’t trust you.” I peek out having gotten my good leg under me. Firing a Gauss weapon into the group of mechs trying to focus on another of my pilots.
“Do you have a choice any longer? Your forces are outnumbered. And outmatched.” Theodore taunted, I had a few more tricks still, a few turrets were activated, popping out of the roof of the Hangar, but they were quickly destroyed by return fire.
Enemies in Lostech was cheating… It was okay for me though.
If only my Naval Gauss had lasted a little longer. This asshole would’t be so confident if that big gun up there had managed a second shot. But I wasn’t about to let my trepidation show.
“Come in here and say that to my face.” I taunt back, sending another gauss round out the hangar.
The comm was silent for a while, so long I actually thought he might have hung up, my focus returning to the battle.
“Very well.”
And a moment later. A Nightstar suddenly led a charge.
Fucker was in my mech!
I fired, sending a Gauss round smashing into his mech, but it hardly mattered. Because the Combine had softened us up just fine.
The charge was just too much. My people were forced back, retreating as their defenses were overrun. I hadn’t thought to make multiple bunkers to fall back to.
Idiot Vicky! Fuck!
I pushed out. A full alpha against Theo letting him know I wasn’t happy. His return attack forced me back, recoiling as my one good leg nearly gave out.
Ow. Gauss rifles hurt. Fuck no wonder people got so pissed at us for using them so much.
“I have grown tired of this game.” Theo called out. Damn what an asshole.
“Hey Theo?” I couldn’t help but ask as I shot back, and we started slugging into each other. “Do you hear Bagpipes?” I couldn’t help but taunt.
I had sent the signal to Eris.
There was a quiet moment over the comm, yet not in his assault. “What?” I almost laughed at how utterly confused he sounded.
Then we all heard the bagpipes. Because of course these fuckers would pump the sound through their comms.
Of course they couldn’t just leave it at that. Of course not. My life wasn’t complicated enough of course. It just had to be more awkward. The Highlanders, had no intention on speaking.
“Protect the Cameron!”
“Nemo me impune lacessit!” Was roared into the comm. ‘No one provokes me with impunity?’ I couldn't help but translate. That’s a weird thing to yell.
The calls came moments before the floor of the Hangar burst open, revealing the launch elevator with the eight Highlanders, and one more Marauder II.
Huh. I didn’t know Eris had upgraded.
“Protect the, what!?” Theo actually spoke aloud, obviously surprised at what he was hearing, I watched his Nightstar literally jerk towards the new threat for a moment.
Because what stood before him were eight mechs in the colors of the Royal Blackwatch. The dark Tartan rather blatant. And suddenly the Combine rush was stopped as the Highlanders moved. Three instantly jumped into the air, firing as they flew towards their enemy intent on a burial, The others simply charged forward. Guns blazing. Lostech in the hands of mad bastards.
My kids started firing back as well, now that the Combine had a moment of shock. They took advantage.
Considering Theo was confused. I said fuck it as well.
So I started blasting. My Cockpit instantly spiking in temperature as blazing hot air suddenly rushed over me. As I fired everything into Theo and his copycat Nightstar.
A moment later though I wasn’t doing so well, because Yorinaga, Who I only recognized because every round sent towards him seemed to miss, as if everyone was firing at the wrong target, Turned and without a moment's hesitation fired both barrels, his PPC cutting into my good leg.
“Fuck!” I cursed as I fell on my face once more bashing my head.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck!
That was a lot of blood starting to float around my cockpit I thought.
—--
A different perspective
Theodore Kurita
Theo jerked as the damage to his mech spiked. That damn woman! He watched as Yorinaga casually knee capped her, sending her Nightstar into scrap. She was done. But Theo couldn’t help but feel like a boy as Yorinaga simply ignored him, moving towards the… Blackwatch?
What was it with this Asteroid? Was everyone on it insane!
He looked down at the smoking mech of the Commander… Was it true? The possibility of it alone was…
Far too dangerous.
He understood now why ComStar had helped so much. They must have known. He nodded. This explained just how dangerous the existence of Victoria Eisen-Blume truly was. He looked around. This entire base. These mechs even the one he currently used. All because of her.
He would have to kill her or capture her. There was no other choice.
He raised his Gauss rifle. Pointing towards her cockpit. Yet he hesitated. If it was true… Her life was valuable more valuable than he could have guessed. What would his father do, with the blood of house Cameron at his control? What would he do?
The decision was taken from him. He grunted, a PPC smashed into him. Shattering more armor. He jerked, looking towards his enemy.
The Marauder II was charging towards him. It’s hunched over body making seem all the more aggressive. Worse, it was ignoring any attention the rest of his men were giving it. No, that was a challenge.
He turned sending Dual Gauss into its charge.
It shifted, taking a single odd step to the side, enough only one oh his rounds hit, a blow against its shoulder opposite the AC.
Then it was on. He grinned as always he felt best in battle. He sidestepped using the broken defenses of their own making to dodge the return fire before retorting with more high velocity rounds. Grinning as armor panels shattered from the White mech.
Yes. They were skilled, and their mech was fresh, but Theo was better. He smiled as the duel began. Firing and return firing. He was confident he would win.
Theo even had moments in the battle to check on his men. His forces were overwhelming the defenders. The Blackwatch were fighting like… mad men. Against the normal elites of his command, they were monstrous, with no hesitation given to their assault, no fear. But Yorinaga was more than a match for any single one of them, and he had a lot more support. The Blackwatch were being pushed back.
Their attempts to attack Yorinaga simply slipped past his Warhammer, as he kept them at the perfect distance to unleash his mechs firepower.
Once more Yorinaga’s Phantom Mech ability proved to be something no Mechwarrior could simply overcome.
The battle continued. The Marauder defending Eisen-Blume. No The Cameron, was being ripped apart, not just by his own fire but by his men as well. He almost chuckled when the mech fell, one of his men, landing a perfect round into its left side causing an ammo rupture. Half of the mech fell to the ground. The other half crashing to the ground as the explosion knocked the pilot around possibly even unconscious.
Theodore walked over it. Gauss ready.
“You should have taken my offer Cameron. Now your people will die before you. With you unable to even lift a hand to stop it. They called you a Phantom of the SLDF? No, the ISDF doesn’t have the power to do what you desire. Today. I will crush its ‘Phantom’ and put down a threat.”
—-
My head was spinning. I was probably half unconscious. Trying to fight myself back to coherence.
But Theo’s voice came in nice and clear.
My people were going to die? My kids?
No.
Over my dead body. Over the ashes of everything I have built, and only after I have sacrificed everything first.
Nothing. There is nothing I wouldn’t sacrifice to save my people. Nothing. Not my own hopes and dreams, or stepping off my path if I must. Not even great secrets.
I reached over, hand shaky, and with only half my vision, and hit the button on my noteputer. The damned thing had been with me for almost a decade, a constant companion of course I had a little brace for it inside my cockpit. Better to keep it safe, and to keep it close.
A decade. That’s a pretty good length of time to keep something secret I thought. The Nanoforges in the Hangar came online by my will. My Neurohelm giving me direct access to lay down my orders.
“No Theodore Kurita.” I mutter, my comm channel already online and sending. My voice may be wonky, I couldn’t hear out of my left ear, and the fact I was in a void outside my mech meant everything felt doubly distant. But I would not allow this. “You will not touch my kids!” I felt it starting.
“The mech is the Phantom.” I grunted out as I blinked my one eye seeing everything tinted red. Looking through the cracked screen to see that stupid idiot in my Nightstar!
“It spent a long time waiting for its people, only to end up forgotten. Now? It will fall as many times as it needs. But me? No Theo, I’m not a Phantom. I’m the Spirit of the ISDF.”
The glow was picking up, slowly seeping into my cockpit, almost like limbs wrapping over me. “And until my task is done? Until my duty is finished Theodore Kurita! The ISDF will not rest! The ISDF will not falter!”
“THE!”
“ISDF!”
“WILL!”
“NOT!”
“FALL!”
—--
A different perspective
Theodore Kurita
“-ush its ‘Phantom’ and put down a threat.” He muttered. Staring down in disgust. So much loss because this girl wanted to what? Play Cameron? He still didn’t even understand her motivation for all of this! Only that she was a threat to his family.
With her gone, with this station under Combine control, the war will turn.
His barrel was practically touching the Marauders cockpit ready to fire to kill just one more enemy soldier, when the womans comm message was sent.
He almost scoffed. The itch to pull the trigger just to shut her up. Just so she could see understand she could do nothing to stop this any longer, but something grabbed his attention.
“The Mech is the Phantom.” He looked over and he felt shocked, as the mech… It rose.
The destroyed hunk of scrap metal stood up. But how? On its shattered legs? A… Fog? An energy rose up from its feet. Theo felt it. Was this… Was this Ki? He stared at the impossible sight.
“It spent a long time waiting for its people, only to end up forgotten. Now? It will fall as many times as it needs. But me? No Theo, I’m not a Phantom. I’m the Spirit of the ISDF.” He heard her speak, as the bright green fog, the energy spread, crawling up the mech like vines. A flowing gravityless wave. Everything it touched simply regrew, like the mech was more meat than metal.
Impossible. He stared unable to contextualize what he was seeing.
The green fog rose higher, reaching the cockpit, wrapping the entire monstrous mech in green flowing light. A single heavy step was all it needed to face him.
“And until my task is done? Until my duty is finished Theodore Kurita! The ISDF will not rest! The ISDF will not falter!”
“THE!”
And Theo jerked as the mech attacked. A monster! He grunted in pain as his mech shifted, he fired himself, but his attacks burned away a little of the green Ki. Smashing into armor, that simply… Remade itself.
He gaped.
“ISDF!”
And he stepped back horrified as the green spread. Slithering across the floor exploding from the mech, as it reached out, wrapping itself around the fallen ISDF mechs The broken battered machines.
“WILL!”
And he watched as the defeated enemy. The mechs they had crushed and left broken on the floor. Were wrapped in the green Ki.”
They too rose.
“NOT!”
It was over. He realized. His men, elites, some of the greatest mechwarriors in the entire Inner Sphere. Were backing away. As their enemy, the dead husks of metal they had fought, and destroyed!
They ROSE!
“FALL!”
The green reached out even farther, across the entire Hangar, it made the Nightstar look like some horrible creature reaching out with grasping tentacles to raise the dead.
The Black Watch. The few Highlanders that had fallen, too… Rose.
The sound of her words went dead silent.
Not a single further word was spoken not a sound made through the still open channel. As the monster stepped forward. The Green Fog surging around it, as it turned seemingly dismissing Theo as a threat.
Half way across the room Yorinaga was dealing with the resurging Blackwatch, the usual overwhelming confidence he displayed nowhere in sight.
Then the left leg of his Warhammer disappeared. Two Gauss rounds reached across the room to perfectly kneecap him. A return on what he had done to her.
If the impossible sight before him wasn’t enough. She had just crushed Yorinaga.
Theo looked on, his hands shaking.
So this was his death. A man. A Samurai, with a damaged blade.
Against a monster.
—--
Blood was in my one working eye. My head was spinning. I was sending orders through the Neurohelm to repair all my kids mechs, and Theodore Kurita was standing before me. His attacks ineffectual. But Yorinaga was the bigger threat. I turned the normal sensors on the Nightstar assuring me nothing was there, but my lostech sensor gave me what I needed.
Knee-cap this you motherfucker! I couldn’t help but think.
His Warhammer fell as its leg disintegrated.
I could see it. My kids realizing what had happened. Most of them had long known about the Nanoforge. So they picked themselves up. And started firing the shock barely there.
To Theodore Kurita, and his Combine soldiers. This was an impossible thing. A battle that threw out all the rules.
To my kids? This was tuesday.
I fired again. Theodores Nightstar twisted, letting the blow smash against his side torso to try and minimize damage. Then it was on. I moved. Pushing forward. Theodore obviously wasn’t expecting a ranged mech like the Nightstar to get up close and personal.
The right fist of my mech My fist. Felt perfect as I smashed it into his stupid stolen mech.
His retaliatory ERPPC shattering armor against my core, was ignored and then repaired.
Mine wasn’t. My shot shattering armor, and then I shoulder checked him. Sending him crashing into a roll. The low gravity making it difficult to regain his feet.
I charged. Both arms raised to the sky, as I brought them down on the top of his mech. Smashing it back into the ground as he managed to get one foot under him.
I would be screaming. I would be shouting insults, or anything else.
But I was so dizzy I was practically smashing my teeth together to keep from puking into my neurohelm.
Again and again I simply pummeled his mech, long after I had ripped out something important enough for it to shut down. Wires and twisted metal held in my fist.
Gagging, I finally stepped away, in my seat, both hands were desperately trying to keep myself from puking as the room spun again.
Concussions suuuuuuck.
But as the battle continued I couldn’t help but look down onto the crushed metal beneath me. My breath coming out hot and heavy. Chest heaving.
“Puny Dragon.”
—--
A different perspective
Eris Stingler
This day would stay in her brain for the rest of her life. She knew that. When the green fog had reached her, she hadn’t believed what her mech was telling her.
When her damaged leg had simply shown as in perfect condition. She had tried it.
And she had risen.
She understood then. As she raised her mechs restored arm, and fired. Smashing an enemy mech with her PPC. She didn’t hesitate. Her Commanders words in her ear. Eris screamed out her own fury, the cool mask she had been trained in since a child falling away as she fell into battle.
As the Highlanders around her joined her.
Eris lost track of herself. Ignoring the enemy attacks she simply moved. Firing it felt endlessly, uncaring for any danger to herself, as she smashed into her enemy.
She felt Invincible.
The sound of bagpipes in her ears, only seemed to urge her on. She had failed. She had almost watched her family die.
Again.
Never again. She smashed into a King Crab that had been firing in to the fray, with a burst of her jumpjets and locking her arms under it, she roared as her mech whined at the strain.
Strain that disappeared a moment later, repaired as if it had never happened.
The force on the Crab did not. She flipped the mech on its head stepping down into the massive mech pinning it, and getting the pleasure of scooping out the soft bits below with blasts of her ERPPCs.
She noticed a Highlander, one of the Blackwatch launch itself into the sky ram both legs into the top of an Atlas before leaping again from that mech to shoulder tackle a second Atlas.
Uncaring of damage.
She fired, The Atlas that had just been crushed beneath a Highlander was blasted to the ground by her attack.
The return fire from an entire Company of mechs striking her was ignored.
She felt invincible.
She glanced to the Commander. Her Phantom was looking over the entire battle, standing atop the broken husk of the Nightstar it had crushed beneath it. The green… Fog? It was seemingly unleashing still reaching across the entire Hangar holding her people safe. It made sense in that moment, only Vicky, that difficult impossible girl, would do something impossible, that defied reality itself to keep her family safe.
It wasn’t long after that, the Samurai began surrendering.
—-
A different perspective
Marcus Shield
Marcus ducked back as the gun fire rocked the corner he had just fired from.
Damn DEST. These fuckers were tenacious.
“Grenades?”
“Yeah.”
Caitlyn peaked the barrel of her Mauser around the corner. The loud *Thunk* of the launcher firing was all the warning the DEST received before the explosion ripped through the infiltrators.
He sighed. That took out another group. His defenders were starting to flag. The weapons the DEST teams had brought weren’t the usual sneak weapons they would bring along, they had brought weapons made to punch through the Nighthawks.
Injuries on his side were growing, for every team taken out he could count on it.
He could only hope those that had been hit would recover…
He shook it away. Marcus knew he had to focus. Kill the Ninjas. Protect his people. Worry about the losses after.
He rose.
Homeguard followed. The last of the DEST teams had fallen prey to the Commanders nonsense.
They had ended up going down a dead end. Unless they were looking for a small room at the end with just a couch.
Fuckin’ Vicky.
So he prepared his people and went down the hall after them.
The DEST had tried to lay a trap. Realizing they were being followed. Claymores hidden along the wall. They were shot at from a distance, but that only alerted the DEST.
The fight this time was tough. The ninjas kept throwing grenades forcing his team to fall back.
Finally after minutes of this, of shooting around walls, and trying to keep from getting hit, the battle was really joined. Marcus led the way, using his jump jets to jump to the ceiling giving him a higher angle of fire as his men came up behind the normal way.
The corridor was filled with gunfire.
Marcus grunted as he landed, a few rounds pinging off the ground and walls around him, as his people gunned down the DEST agents.
Then in a move that actually worked because Marcus was too shocked for it. A DEST agent pulled out a vibroblade and charged him.
His Mauser missed as he blasted the walls behind her. The agent charging up and to his horror slashed through the mauser. A moment later he was in a Sword fight without a sword. His armor just barely deflecting the slashes that cut chunks out of his armored arms as he deflected the strikes.
Shocked he gasped as she stabbed forward. Cutting through him, the Vibroblade sinking into the wall behind him.
The masked face of his killer stared down at him. Well… She stared into the barrel of his handgun.
He fired.
Fuck. There was a sword in him.
“Hey Colonel! No time for sleep. C’mon now, let’s get that bleeding stopped. No fair you know? You told us no souvenirs. Look at you just having to take a sword huh? Well you bled on it, so I guess it belongs to you now.”
“S-shut up Torres.” Marcus grunted as she began doing everything she could to stem the bleeding and keep him alive.
—--
“So that’s why I’m wearing an eyepatch now.” I informed Marcus who had just woken up.
“So you didn’t lose the eye?”
“No I just fucked up my eye socket. It’ll take a bit to heal.” I shrug. We were sharing a med bay, Marcus had been stabbed. With a sword. How weird was that?
It had even been saved for him. The DEST Vibro-Katana was resting on the desk at the foot of his bed. Mocking him.
He had been trying to kick it away from him since he woke up.
“This sucks.” He admitted with a sigh giving up, as his jerking kicks made him wince and clutch his stomach.
“Well don’t get stabbed next time. With a sword.” I pointed out. Focusing on the important bit. Seriously, a sword!
“Yes Vicky. Being stabbed by a sword is weird. You told me already. A lot.”
I shrug again. This did suck though. Forced bed rest was the worst. It had been a few days since the battle.
I had passed out not long after the remaining Combine had surrendered.
I had ALL the concussions apparently.
I had also broken my eye bone… Or whatever it was called. So I was wearing an eye patch. I got rid of the crappy medical one they had given me. Now it was in ISDF colors and had an Eisen-Blume on the front. Way cooler.
But I had been out for a while. Waking up only to talk nonsense and then pass out again in the past few days.
Until now anyways. I was awake. Coherent, if drugged up to the gills. I got checked out. Fixed my eye patch, and gave Marcus a rundown as he had startled awake. A half hour ago.
“At least we survived.” He muttered tiredly.
Not all of the Nighthawk clad Homeguard had made it. Some had taken too many bullets.
And we had lost some mechwarriors as well.
I sighed. I should have just fucking went full out as soon as Theodore landed. A million LRMs would have removed any chance for his regiment to survive.
But I had wanted to keep my trick up my sleeve. No it was worse than that. I had wanted to fight… To be the hero in the story.
In the end I had blown it all anyways. What a waste.
The door to our hospital room opened, and Eris stalked in.
She took a look at me a quirked eyebrow at my eyepatch was all I got.
Fuck she knew about the Nanoforge. I would never be able to troll her by pulling random shit out of nowhere again.
“Commander. How are you?”
“Cognizant. High as fuck on the good drugs. How bad is it?”
“Not as terrible as you are probably thinking. The Combine surrender, put us in a difficult position. We had to come up with a good place to put them. One of the large conference rooms has been converted. We searched them to make sure they have no weapons, and we have some guards in Nighthawks outside the hall at all times to ensure there won’t be any trouble. Your sensor made sure they didn’t sneak anything dangerous inside.”
“That’s better than I expected. Good idea.”
“Theodore Kurita, is asking to speak to you.”
I frowned.
Deeply.
“How the hell is he alive? I might have been concussed, but I’m pretty sure I smashed the shit out of him.” I had vaguely recalled ripping my Nightstars hands into the remains of his mech.
“You smashed his mech, but you didn’t focus on his cockpit. He survived with a broken arm, and some other injuries.”
“Huh. Yorinaga?”
“Is with Theodore. We captured them both.” She admitted “It was a surprise they were both alive.” Well yeah. The fact Yorinaga didn’t commit Seppuku is fucking ridiculous.
“Fuck.” I sighed. Should have just shot them. That would have been easier. Now I had the Heir to the Combine in a conference room. What the fuck was I going to do about this? Especially with the other issue I was purposefully not thinking about.
“Vicky?” Eris asked softly after a few moments. “You… You know we are friends right? You might be a pain in my ass to work with, but I do respect you Commander. I’m happy to be a member of the ISDF.”
I blinked looking at Eris who looked uncomfortable. “So… If you… If you need this all to be kept quiet. I will. I will ensure my report to the A-archon is… lacking in detail.” She admitted looking uncomfortable.
I blinked.
Then I blinked again because oh my god. She just offered to lie the Aunt Katrina for me! I had totally converted Eris into the cult of the ISDF. I felt my grin growing as she looked less and less enthused about all of this when she noticed.
“Congratulations on joining the ISDF for real. We have lots of cookies. And movie nights are almost always Immortal Warrior re-runs, which I refuse to watch again.” I teased her for a moment, earning a look, which convinced me to put the jokes aside. After I giggled for a while. Like I said. Druuuugs.
“No. Eris. That won’t be necessary. Secrecy be damned.” I exhaled. “Before we say anything else about this… Help me up? I need to see the stupid idiot… I mean Theodore.” I informed her earning a roll of her eyes, but she did help me into the wheelchair that was brought in.
I could walk. But honestly? I was still dizzy as fuck, and making Eris push me around was too tempting to resist. She refused to ‘race’ the crew members we passed though. So she was totally getting demoted back to Private again. I think this is like the fifth time now?
—--
A different perspective
Theodore Kurita
Time. He had plenty of it now. Sitting on a comfortable enough cot, given medical attention just as thoroughly as his men, now it was just… A wait to find out what would happen to them.
What the Cameron would do to them. His men that had surrendered, surrounded him. Doing their best to ‘keep him safe’ although he knew most had simply surrendered in the face of…
That.
If not for Yorinaga confirming that it had actually happened Theo would likely have proclaimed it all a hallucination.
There was a noise. A signal that someone was coming from the men watching the hallway. And a moment later, Two Nighthawk clad guards stepped into the room and claimed the door. Their weapons ready.
And the sound of wheels on metal.
She was wheeled into the room.
The Eisen-Blume. The Cameron.
The Monster.
The eyepatch across her eye that covered the gauze showed that she was simply human. Still capable of injury. Still able to bleed.
He relaxed a small amount.
If she could bleed, she could die. She was not a spirit. Surely.
She rose from the wheelchair casually once it was stopped. Earning a surprised look from the woman pushing it. What it meant, he was not sure.
“Well, isn’t this interesting.” She spoke her grin sharp and full of teeth. A smile promising pain. “I still remember giving you a promise the last time we met.”
“Commander… Cameron.” My words intended to admit my own failure an acknowledgment of her status.
The wince and ashen look she had for a moment though was curious.
Was this place truly insane? Did nothing make sense?
“It’s Eisen-Blume! It’s the name I claimed for myself!” She hissed before pulling herself back a moment, turning. “So Yorinaga. You are still alive too I see.”
Yorinaga who was resting on a couch nearby gave a deep nod. His broken arms were both in casts. “Commander… It appears I was wrong. I faced what I believed to be the Yellow Bird twice now. And twice have I failed to slay it.”
“Sure. Very edgy.” She offered casually, and it took a moment for Theo to realize she had no idea how serious the statement Yorinaga had just spoken was.
This woman!
“What is to be done with us? If you wish for our lives, I will ask permission for my men to commit Seppuku.” Theo spoke interrupting.
“I thought about just shooting you to be honest. I mean. I have people that are dead because of what you did.” She offered as she stepped forward, earning motions from her guards their raised weapons a clear threat.
Her people were protective of her.
Not that it was necessary. Even the men that had sworn they had saved their lives only to ensure his health had backed away from the woman. There wasn’t a Combine man in this room that wasn’t watching her, like they were trapped in a cage with a Lion.
“But in the end, I’m the good guy. So I’m not going to kill you, or your people Theodore. No. They are my prisoners, and they will be treated as such. But the ISDF doesn’t imprison people. So I figure I will put you on a dropship. Then a Jumpship. And send you half way across the Inner Sphere… I wonder how comfortable you will be with Katrina Steiner? The woman whose daughter, you Yorinaga, tried to kidnap just a few years ago.” She offered speaking to Yorinaga as well although her eye never left his own.
The womans single eye was blazing in anger as she leaned into Theodores space. But it wasn’t her blazing mad eye that grabbed his attention, it was the leaking green neon fog that was slipping out from around her eyepatch. Theo felt his stomach clench in horror. As it seemed to almost be reaching for him.
“It has a nice symmetry doesn’t it? The Daughter of the Archon. And the Son of the Coordinator?”
Theodore felt his mouth dry. The threat of his fate barely even understood. This woman, her very presence caused his skin to crawl. It was not every day you came face to face with a human skinned monster. And whatever was hidden behind that eyepatch was reaching for him.
“Th-then, that is my fate. But I must ask, not just for myself, but my men as well… What did we face? Even now… What are you?”
“Oh?” She asked, sounding amused. Her face only inches from his own, before she stood upright, tall and proud. “I made a deal with an eldritch abomination beyond time and space for unlimited power! See, this eyepatch isn’t because I was injured, but the power is sealed in my eye! I have to seal it away with this eyepatch until I recover my strength!” She crowed out her hands resting on her hips as she thrust her chest forward.
“Otherwise Theodore Kurita, you would face my Unlimited power.”
Theo blinked. Was she serious?
Ah of course. He nodded. This asteroid made everyone insane. He was insane now. It all became clear.
“Anyway sit tight. If you need anything ask. But as my prisoners, don’t think I won’t gun you all down if you try to escape. I would rather a room of your corpses, than a single scratch on my people.” And then like a creature of legend, she disappeared as quickly as she had come.
Theodore sat staring at the door for a long time.
—-
“Unlimited power?”
“D-don’t you mock me! Private Stingler!” I hissed, as I rushed down the hall. My head spinning.
“P-Private!?” She sputtered as she hurried after me still pushing my wheelchair. Once I had turned the corner I allowed myself to fall into the wall. Breathing heavy.
“Commander?” Eris asked, shocked at my sudden shift.
“Sorry I’m still a little fucked right now. I’m gonna need that Wheelchair again.” I mutter, closing my eye to fight back the nausea. Eris quickly helped me back into the seat. My hands shaking a bit. “Let’s get me back to my bed.”
“Yes. And I’ll call Sasha.”
“Ugh. No, not her! She will never let me leave the bed again!” I whined, truly whined. Sasha’s big sister energy was impossible to resist.
“Probably for the best. You should have told me you were still not feeling well.” She hissed as she pushed me down the hall.
“Sorry, had to take care of that. I honestly wasn’t even sure what to do, but I needed to look in his eyes. I guess my threat is a good idea. We’ll hand him over to Aunt Katrina. Let her deal with it.”
“Very well… I have questions, Commander.” She stopped for a moment before scoffing. “I feel like we just had this conversation.”
“Yeah! I guess you get the full reveal today… Yeah. I guess you do… Let’s, Oh hold on, let me turn off this stupid thing, it’s hard to see through all the green…” I mutter pulling out the noteputer in my pocket and hitting the button to turn off the mini nanoforge I had put into the eye patch. I mean, when I see someone I want to mess with. I was totally going to put my hand against my eye and complain about the unlimited power I was barely restraining, like I had against Theo.
Anyway, “I got a ‘gift’ on my fourteenth birthday that started it all-”
—-
A few hours later I was laying in bed. Sasha had not been kind about me running off. But she had given me some more of the good drugs. So I wasn’t in pain, although I think she slipped in the sleepy stuff. I kept passing out into a haze.
Marcus reading by a lamp in the room didn’t bother me. In fact it was soothing. Knowing that one of my kids was nearby.
I slowly drifted in a haze of sleep. Words slipping into my head as I half dreamed.
“We lost two of the Homeguard Battalion, Commander. Michelle, and Carson. Their cockpits were… Damaged in the fight. Even the craziness couldn’t save them. Also we lost three infantry outright… Another ten have been injured. A few have missing limbs. I will need to reach out for additional support to get them upright.” Sashas words from earlier in the day raced through my head.
My eye instantly opened as I gasped. Breath coming out in a rush.
“Fuck.” I whispered as quietly as I could, realizing my eye was growing blurry. With a grunt I reached up and grabbed the privacy curtain and started tugging it across.
I couldn’t let Marcus see me crying like a fuckin baby.
“You know. It’s okay if you are bothered by what happened.” The words stopped my clumsy attempts as I looked over. Marcus was sitting up in his bed looking over at me with a calm look. His book closed in his lap.
His face was way to sympathetic for me right now. I needed an excuse to hide from his understanding eyes.
“I’m gonna… Do something weird so I’m closing this?” What? What the fuck mouth? What did I just say? I blinked stupidly for a minute realizing I must still be high as fuck.
“Vicky. It’s okay to be upset. I am too. This is my fuckup. I… I could have led the Homeguard differently. We have heavy weapons. We could have just gone really crazy. It’s not like we have to worry about damage to the base. But I didn’t. I wanted… I wanted to be the hero.” He admitted quietly, looking anywhere but at me.
I couldn’t even see his stupid face, because my stupid eye was watering.
My other eye stung as the tears got in my cuts too. So it hurt even more making me want to cry. Fuck.
“Maggy got shot. Twice… Maggy and I have been dating.” He said simply as I stared. “I have to live with the fact the girl… I have to live with the fact that Maggie almost died because of me.”
“Because of me. You aren’t… this isn’t your fault. It’s mine. You didn’t do anything wrong.” I answered hoarsely. Because this whole thing was on me.
“You may be our Commander Vicky, but you aren’t my God. I make my own choices in life. My own fuckups.”
“I could have ordered you to shoot at the dropships. We could have survived the Nukes.”
“Maybe. Or maybe the nukes would have ripped into our base and even more would have died. Maybe it cut off our ability to deploy any mechs. Meaning they have full ability to take us out slowly.”
“I could have repaired that.”
“Maybe.”
“I don’t know what to do.” I admit. Weakly. I’ve fucked up before, but it was… always when I was trying as hard as possible to protect my people. This time? This time I had wanted to fight. I had wanted to have a mech battle with Theodore Kurita, and Yorinaga. I had wanted to be the big damn hero. And in the end I had. But the lives of the people I had sacrificed for my glory made the whole thing… Bitter.
“I know. So you wanted to actually fight. Vicky. We all did. All of Homeguard didn’t want this to end in space. We all wanted the Combine to land, so we could fight them. Kill them. And you? I heard about what happened, you know? This whole Cameron thing.” He said and I winced.
“I’m not… I can’t be, it doesn’t make sense!”
“Well, I don’t care if you are, or aren’t.” He spoke a small shrug barely visible through the tears.
“The Highlanders… They are going to say something stupid… I don’t want to be a Cameron.” I added unable to stop my voice from choking. “That’s too much! I’m not! I’m not some Space Empress! I can’t even be placed in the same room with interstellar leaders without causing trouble!”
“Vicky. You walked up to a group of orphans, and told us to name ourselves. Something that was taken from us. You gave us that. We were all there when you named yourself… You offered to create a path for us.”
I shook my head, “We both know that isn’t the same thing.”
“Okay. I know this is bothering you. If it helps? Technically… You lost the name Cameron when you were put into the orphanage. They took all of our last names remember? Legally speaking.” He offered joking a little to ease the tension.
I guffawed, a croak of a laugh “I don’t think many people will care about Lyran orphanage policy!”
“Probably not. But since when did you ever walk at someone else's pace? At someone else's path… Your blood is still Iron isn’t it?”
“Always.” I admitted immediately.
“Then fuck them. If the whole Inner Sphere tells you to act one way…”
“Tell them no.” I took a deep breath letting it out. “Fuck House Cameron. Richard was an idiot. Star League made mistake after mistake. And… And I will just have to do better.” I wasn’t sure what Marcus saw at that moment, but his smile turned sharp.
“They will cut us, Vicky. Over and over. But they will only find Iron.”
I huffed out a laugh, as I wiped my eye. I did eventually manage to sleep, although it was definitely restless… I would have to meet with the Highlanders tomorrow. Plus I think I was forgetting something.
—--
