Prologue
MarkWarrior
Well-known member
Prologue(Part 1)
Date: December 27, 2766
Location: Unity City, Terra Terran Hegemony
She blinked at the screen in front of her, a heavy breath leaving her lungs as she fought for the letters to stop blurring together.
Rolling her chair back a bit, she laid her head down on the handbuilt hardwood, closing her eyes as the cold surface soothed her weary spirit.
"Damned fool," Hanni muttered as she lifted her head and stood up from the chair, stretching and groaning in relief she walked to the window, rubbing her eyes with one hand as the other unlatched the window. Everything inside of her was weary. Richard had fought her on everything regarding his safety for the last year, and she was so tired of arguing with that spoilt brat!
But, a smile spread across her face as she gazed at the lights that shined from Unity City and looked out the open window, the crisp Pacific Northwest air refreshed her and she looked at what the different families, corporations, and buildings had put up for the various Christmas lights competitions. With images ranging from 'Mech-sized Christmas trees and nativity scenes to Santa Claus riding on a massive sleigh.
But then the sun began to shine less as it dipped below the horizon, breaking up the view and Hanni exhaled as the slight bit of energy that she had felt left her again, and with a heavy sigh moved to sit down again, attempting to refocus on the letters on the screen before a device on her hip began vibrating in a rhythm she'd hoped to never encounter in her lifetime. The silent alarm for the palace had been sounded, and for a second, everything in her stopped. Terror gripped her as she jolted out of the chair and her body began moving before her mind had caught up. Her tan uniform was halfway on before her heart caught up to her body.
Hanni clenched her fist and slammed it down on her desk, the pain centering her again before she pressed a button on the terminal, the silent alarm turning into a mind-numbing claxon as she finished dressing, pulling on the cooling suit and grabbing her neurohelmet before sprinting out of her office.
The forces on standby were already leaving Fort Cameron, a full lance and a company of marines moving down the streets as fast as they could, in the APC and hovercraft they used a short lance of 'mechs running after them as a part of the QRF.
"'Mech first", Hanni nodded to herself as she ran to the 'mech bay, the blood pumping through her body and the adrenaline spiking through her as she forced her body to scale the gantries in record time to reach the top of her Atlas. Slamming her fist into the hatch's panel she dove in as soon as the doors slid open and began hooking up the suit to the coolant lines that ran through the seat, flipping a few switches she plugged her neurohelmet in and began rushing through the startup procedures, bypassing a few safety checks in the process.
"The techs can chew me out later," the gunslinger muttered as she finished the authorization and armed her weapons, shifting the gantry with her 'Mech's giant hand and stomping out of the bay.
"Colonel Schmitt! I've got large troop numbers moving in from the north. Warbook confirms them as the 4th Amaris Dragoons! What are your orders?!"
Hanni held her breath for a second as she closed her eyes and centered herself, a slow exhale expelling what was left of the fear and panic that had been there as she opened her eyes and eyed the tactical map.
"Everyone who's mounted up link up with your lance leaders and head to your designated areas. Alpha Company, we're going to have to hold off the 4th Amaris Dragoons while the rest of us get ready!"
Gripping the triggers, Schmitt slammed her feet down on her pedals, sending the Atlas moving as fast as it was able two lances joining her and falling into a loose formation, with the lighter units screening for the heavier ones.
"Major MacIntosh, I want a status report as soon as you've breached the palace, we've got a dropship on standby," Hanni glanced at the tacmap. "Godspeed Major, we'll do our best to give 'em hell."
"Yes, ma'am," the Major's heavily accented voice replied. "We'll get them out or die trying."
"Damn straight!" Schmitt grinned at the violence in the man's Scottish voice. "This is Colonel Schmitt to all Star League Defense Forces in the area, requesting whatever support you can provide," but there was nothing, and she felt a pit grow in her stomach as the radio chatter stayed on the local communications channels. "Alright, Black Watch!" She steeled her voice. "It looks like we get to earn our big paychecks today. We're outnumbered, possibly outgunned, but we're the best that there is, and we're damn well going to prove that today."
She looked at the map of the area and picked out a spot, nodding to herself as she made her decision.
"Alpha, Beta, you're with me, everyone else, you're to stay in Unity City, spread out, and make sure that you cover any VIPs that might attempt to escape. I'm cutting off the Dragoons."
But as the nine 'Mechs moved to the Gorst Flats, a group of ASF screeched overhead, the IFF confirming them as part of the Rim Worlds Republic forces that were present in the area.
As Hanni took a step forward, she nearly lost her footing as the ground rolled underneath her, her gyro screeching as it compensated for the loss of balance, and a short EMP messed with her sensors before she twisted the sticks to look back at Fort Cameron.
Where her men and women had been was nothing but a cloud of smoke, a pillar that climbed into the firmament and mushroomed up into the sky.
"No," the entire column stopped in their tracks and stared at the flame and smoke that continued to rise, the dust cloud shifting and beginning to flow with the wind and blanket the area as the nine Black Watch Mechwarriors fought their internal battles and continued into the Gorst Flats.
"Major, we're breaching now. Keep the exit clear for us," Sergeant McLeod grit his teeth in anger at having to break into his own damned security checkpoint, his stomach twisting as he held back the rage that seeped into his gut. "Move it, people!"
A pair of aerospace fighters streaked overhead, a sonic boom shaking the ground as the colors of the 4th Amaris Dragoons flew overhead, a cluster of bombs dropping from their anchor points as anti-aircraft fire from a handful of stations plucked the fighters from the sky.
But it was too late, the ground shook with an earthquake not felt in over a hundred years as everyone present stopped what they were working on for a brief second as a second sun appeared, blotting out everything else before a mushroom cloud erupted on the outskirts of Unity City, a massive crater appearing where Fort Cameron once stood.
The shockwave reverberated through the city, some buildings falling entirely as they absorbed the beginning of the concussive blast as dust clouds began to rise and choke out what little light remained.
One Marine collapsed to his knees as he watched the mushroom-shaped cloud continue, tears dripping down his face and blood down his hands as his nails dug into his hands.
"Fort Cameron…" He cried. "It's gone."
"Pull yourself together!" another noncom grabbed the downed marine by his collar and shook him. "We're still here, and unless we move right fucking now, neither us nor the Camerons will still be alive!"
"Go!" McLeod triggered the explosives, blowing the roof hatch open as the first marines dove into the building.
Then the nuke was forgotten as the Black Watch Marines entered their element, with each squad heading for their designated areas, one shifting to the throne room as McLeod and his group methodically headed for the living quarters of the Cameron Royal Family.
Hearing sporadic gunfire as they walked over the dead bodies of guards decorated in Cameron livery, the Marines moved faster and finally reached their destination.
Driving into the room, they left their dead behind, bodies littering the hallways as a squad terminated two men standing over the babies in the royal chambers, their mother lying in a puddle of blood on the floor.
"Check Lady Elise," the Sergeant ordered the medic as he wrapped the babies in a reflective blanket. His squad surrounded him as he tucked the two little ones into an armored baby carrier. "Little ones are secured!"
"Sarge," the medic shook her head. "Lady Elise, she's gone."
"We can't afford to get bogged down here," McLeod tucked carrier away behind him; they would survive, no matter what he had to do to ensure it.
"We're mobile," a different marine took point as they began to head back through the hallway, as a third brought two shaken young women along with them. They headed for the nearby entrance and a group of soldiers in RWR uniforms opened fire when they came into sight, sending the squads into cover as they shoved the Camerons into corners and behind cover before standing in front of the bullets and lasers, men and women placing themselves between danger and their charges.
"We've got to push forward!" McLeod fired a burst into a Rim Worlds Soldier, the young man falling back with a shocked expression on his face. "They're not going to be able to wait on us forever!"
With a grunt, a critically wounded marine tugged some grenades off of one of the medic's kit before shoving the medic back into cover and pulling the pins, ran into the guns blocking the hall, the panicked firing of the RWR punctuated by the explosives that vaporized him and cleared the path for the rest of them to escape.
Everything fell silent as the echo from the grenades finished traveling, the Black Watch gathered the few walking wounded and left those who were too critical behind. McLeod choked back a sob as they left the palace complex with only two squads left out of their company. "Major," the Sergeant's voice broke before he cleared his throat and gathered himself again. "We are exiting the Palace with VIPs!" McLeod finally broke through the silence. " Requesting immediate escort and coverage! I repeat, we have VIPs!"
"Copy that Sergeant!" Major MacIntosh alternated PPC fire as an RWR Rampage tried to close in. "I've got APCs on standby! Get them in and head for the spaceport! We'll make sure you get there in one piece!"
McLeod and his men stuffed the Camerons into the armored vehicles and sped off, the rest of the Black Watch lance following behind and providing cover fire and an escort while the empty APCs spread out to act as a diversion.
"Colonel," MacIntosh reported. "Moving to spaceport, objectives secured!"
"Major, we'll play distraction as long as we can, get to the spaceport and get out of here."
"I can divert once they're at the spaceport to support," the major shifted and allowed a spatter of RWR autocannon fire to land on a section of his arm. "You'll need all the help you can get."
"That's a negative, Major," Colonel Schmitt's voice was firm. "They need security. That's on you right now."
The APCs and 'Mechs reached the spaceport where a lone Colossus was surrounded by the husks of dead 'Mechs and vehicles.
"Get them on board!" the captain of the dropship ordered. "We don't have much time!"
The 'Mechs and vehicles sped onto the loading bay, the massive doors shutting behind them as the Marines moved the Camerons off of the vehicles and further into the armored core of the massive dropship.
"Reagan SDS, this is the SLS Abyss, we have VIPs onboard, we are requesting covering fire while we evac!"
"This is Reagan, we'll hold out as long as we can!"
"See you in hell Reagan," the captain smiled.
"Godspeed, Abyss, we'll regroup when we can."
The massive fusion torches of the Colossus class dropship ignited and a few squadrons of aerospace fighters bearing the green drab of the SLDF regulars moved into an escort formation as the ship made a break for orbit.
"And now, it's left to us," Hanni looked at the forces arrayed against her on the tacmap. "Let's give 'em hell."
Date: December 27, 2766
Location: Unity City, Terra Terran Hegemony
She blinked at the screen in front of her, a heavy breath leaving her lungs as she fought for the letters to stop blurring together.
Rolling her chair back a bit, she laid her head down on the handbuilt hardwood, closing her eyes as the cold surface soothed her weary spirit.
"Damned fool," Hanni muttered as she lifted her head and stood up from the chair, stretching and groaning in relief she walked to the window, rubbing her eyes with one hand as the other unlatched the window. Everything inside of her was weary. Richard had fought her on everything regarding his safety for the last year, and she was so tired of arguing with that spoilt brat!
But, a smile spread across her face as she gazed at the lights that shined from Unity City and looked out the open window, the crisp Pacific Northwest air refreshed her and she looked at what the different families, corporations, and buildings had put up for the various Christmas lights competitions. With images ranging from 'Mech-sized Christmas trees and nativity scenes to Santa Claus riding on a massive sleigh.
But then the sun began to shine less as it dipped below the horizon, breaking up the view and Hanni exhaled as the slight bit of energy that she had felt left her again, and with a heavy sigh moved to sit down again, attempting to refocus on the letters on the screen before a device on her hip began vibrating in a rhythm she'd hoped to never encounter in her lifetime. The silent alarm for the palace had been sounded, and for a second, everything in her stopped. Terror gripped her as she jolted out of the chair and her body began moving before her mind had caught up. Her tan uniform was halfway on before her heart caught up to her body.
Hanni clenched her fist and slammed it down on her desk, the pain centering her again before she pressed a button on the terminal, the silent alarm turning into a mind-numbing claxon as she finished dressing, pulling on the cooling suit and grabbing her neurohelmet before sprinting out of her office.
The forces on standby were already leaving Fort Cameron, a full lance and a company of marines moving down the streets as fast as they could, in the APC and hovercraft they used a short lance of 'mechs running after them as a part of the QRF.
"'Mech first", Hanni nodded to herself as she ran to the 'mech bay, the blood pumping through her body and the adrenaline spiking through her as she forced her body to scale the gantries in record time to reach the top of her Atlas. Slamming her fist into the hatch's panel she dove in as soon as the doors slid open and began hooking up the suit to the coolant lines that ran through the seat, flipping a few switches she plugged her neurohelmet in and began rushing through the startup procedures, bypassing a few safety checks in the process.
"The techs can chew me out later," the gunslinger muttered as she finished the authorization and armed her weapons, shifting the gantry with her 'Mech's giant hand and stomping out of the bay.
"Colonel Schmitt! I've got large troop numbers moving in from the north. Warbook confirms them as the 4th Amaris Dragoons! What are your orders?!"
Hanni held her breath for a second as she closed her eyes and centered herself, a slow exhale expelling what was left of the fear and panic that had been there as she opened her eyes and eyed the tactical map.
"Everyone who's mounted up link up with your lance leaders and head to your designated areas. Alpha Company, we're going to have to hold off the 4th Amaris Dragoons while the rest of us get ready!"
Gripping the triggers, Schmitt slammed her feet down on her pedals, sending the Atlas moving as fast as it was able two lances joining her and falling into a loose formation, with the lighter units screening for the heavier ones.
"Major MacIntosh, I want a status report as soon as you've breached the palace, we've got a dropship on standby," Hanni glanced at the tacmap. "Godspeed Major, we'll do our best to give 'em hell."
"Yes, ma'am," the Major's heavily accented voice replied. "We'll get them out or die trying."
"Damn straight!" Schmitt grinned at the violence in the man's Scottish voice. "This is Colonel Schmitt to all Star League Defense Forces in the area, requesting whatever support you can provide," but there was nothing, and she felt a pit grow in her stomach as the radio chatter stayed on the local communications channels. "Alright, Black Watch!" She steeled her voice. "It looks like we get to earn our big paychecks today. We're outnumbered, possibly outgunned, but we're the best that there is, and we're damn well going to prove that today."
She looked at the map of the area and picked out a spot, nodding to herself as she made her decision.
"Alpha, Beta, you're with me, everyone else, you're to stay in Unity City, spread out, and make sure that you cover any VIPs that might attempt to escape. I'm cutting off the Dragoons."
But as the nine 'Mechs moved to the Gorst Flats, a group of ASF screeched overhead, the IFF confirming them as part of the Rim Worlds Republic forces that were present in the area.
As Hanni took a step forward, she nearly lost her footing as the ground rolled underneath her, her gyro screeching as it compensated for the loss of balance, and a short EMP messed with her sensors before she twisted the sticks to look back at Fort Cameron.
Where her men and women had been was nothing but a cloud of smoke, a pillar that climbed into the firmament and mushroomed up into the sky.
"No," the entire column stopped in their tracks and stared at the flame and smoke that continued to rise, the dust cloud shifting and beginning to flow with the wind and blanket the area as the nine Black Watch Mechwarriors fought their internal battles and continued into the Gorst Flats.
"Major, we're breaching now. Keep the exit clear for us," Sergeant McLeod grit his teeth in anger at having to break into his own damned security checkpoint, his stomach twisting as he held back the rage that seeped into his gut. "Move it, people!"
A pair of aerospace fighters streaked overhead, a sonic boom shaking the ground as the colors of the 4th Amaris Dragoons flew overhead, a cluster of bombs dropping from their anchor points as anti-aircraft fire from a handful of stations plucked the fighters from the sky.
But it was too late, the ground shook with an earthquake not felt in over a hundred years as everyone present stopped what they were working on for a brief second as a second sun appeared, blotting out everything else before a mushroom cloud erupted on the outskirts of Unity City, a massive crater appearing where Fort Cameron once stood.
The shockwave reverberated through the city, some buildings falling entirely as they absorbed the beginning of the concussive blast as dust clouds began to rise and choke out what little light remained.
One Marine collapsed to his knees as he watched the mushroom-shaped cloud continue, tears dripping down his face and blood down his hands as his nails dug into his hands.
"Fort Cameron…" He cried. "It's gone."
"Pull yourself together!" another noncom grabbed the downed marine by his collar and shook him. "We're still here, and unless we move right fucking now, neither us nor the Camerons will still be alive!"
"Go!" McLeod triggered the explosives, blowing the roof hatch open as the first marines dove into the building.
Then the nuke was forgotten as the Black Watch Marines entered their element, with each squad heading for their designated areas, one shifting to the throne room as McLeod and his group methodically headed for the living quarters of the Cameron Royal Family.
Hearing sporadic gunfire as they walked over the dead bodies of guards decorated in Cameron livery, the Marines moved faster and finally reached their destination.
Driving into the room, they left their dead behind, bodies littering the hallways as a squad terminated two men standing over the babies in the royal chambers, their mother lying in a puddle of blood on the floor.
"Check Lady Elise," the Sergeant ordered the medic as he wrapped the babies in a reflective blanket. His squad surrounded him as he tucked the two little ones into an armored baby carrier. "Little ones are secured!"
"Sarge," the medic shook her head. "Lady Elise, she's gone."
"We can't afford to get bogged down here," McLeod tucked carrier away behind him; they would survive, no matter what he had to do to ensure it.
"We're mobile," a different marine took point as they began to head back through the hallway, as a third brought two shaken young women along with them. They headed for the nearby entrance and a group of soldiers in RWR uniforms opened fire when they came into sight, sending the squads into cover as they shoved the Camerons into corners and behind cover before standing in front of the bullets and lasers, men and women placing themselves between danger and their charges.
"We've got to push forward!" McLeod fired a burst into a Rim Worlds Soldier, the young man falling back with a shocked expression on his face. "They're not going to be able to wait on us forever!"
With a grunt, a critically wounded marine tugged some grenades off of one of the medic's kit before shoving the medic back into cover and pulling the pins, ran into the guns blocking the hall, the panicked firing of the RWR punctuated by the explosives that vaporized him and cleared the path for the rest of them to escape.
Everything fell silent as the echo from the grenades finished traveling, the Black Watch gathered the few walking wounded and left those who were too critical behind. McLeod choked back a sob as they left the palace complex with only two squads left out of their company. "Major," the Sergeant's voice broke before he cleared his throat and gathered himself again. "We are exiting the Palace with VIPs!" McLeod finally broke through the silence. " Requesting immediate escort and coverage! I repeat, we have VIPs!"
"Copy that Sergeant!" Major MacIntosh alternated PPC fire as an RWR Rampage tried to close in. "I've got APCs on standby! Get them in and head for the spaceport! We'll make sure you get there in one piece!"
McLeod and his men stuffed the Camerons into the armored vehicles and sped off, the rest of the Black Watch lance following behind and providing cover fire and an escort while the empty APCs spread out to act as a diversion.
"Colonel," MacIntosh reported. "Moving to spaceport, objectives secured!"
"Major, we'll play distraction as long as we can, get to the spaceport and get out of here."
"I can divert once they're at the spaceport to support," the major shifted and allowed a spatter of RWR autocannon fire to land on a section of his arm. "You'll need all the help you can get."
"That's a negative, Major," Colonel Schmitt's voice was firm. "They need security. That's on you right now."
The APCs and 'Mechs reached the spaceport where a lone Colossus was surrounded by the husks of dead 'Mechs and vehicles.
"Get them on board!" the captain of the dropship ordered. "We don't have much time!"
The 'Mechs and vehicles sped onto the loading bay, the massive doors shutting behind them as the Marines moved the Camerons off of the vehicles and further into the armored core of the massive dropship.
"Reagan SDS, this is the SLS Abyss, we have VIPs onboard, we are requesting covering fire while we evac!"
"This is Reagan, we'll hold out as long as we can!"
"See you in hell Reagan," the captain smiled.
"Godspeed, Abyss, we'll regroup when we can."
The massive fusion torches of the Colossus class dropship ignited and a few squadrons of aerospace fighters bearing the green drab of the SLDF regulars moved into an escort formation as the ship made a break for orbit.
"And now, it's left to us," Hanni looked at the forces arrayed against her on the tacmap. "Let's give 'em hell."
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