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First Mission
Chapter 11 - Aurigan Dreams (BattleTech CYOA)[]
Callsigns[]
“We need callsigns.” declares Kamea Arano as both she and Vanessa enter my office the day before we reach Axlyus.
“Callsigns?” I repeat, looking up from my latest reading on how to operate a mercenary unit.
“Like how Major Montgomery is called Mastiff or Major Nero is called Ironside,” says Lady Arano, “We need to get callsigns.”
“How does that work?” I ask, trying to recall if this has come up anywhere before.
“There is no standard to it,” answers Vanessa as she throws herself into one of my chairs, “Sometimes you earn one, other times you get from a joke or funny story and the rest of the time, you just give yourself one and hope it sticks.”
“In this case, you’re in charge of the Rimward Sentinels so you basically get final say on what our callsigns will be,” says Lady Arano, “We’re about to go into battle for the first time so now is a good a time as any to get our callsigns.”
“Right,” I say and I give Lady Arano a thoughtful look, “Okay, your callsign is Princess.”
“I beg your pardon?” says Lady Arano, sounding startled.
“You’re the heir to the Aurigan Coalition,” I tell her, “That basically makes you a princess so your callsign is Princess.”
“What about me?” asks Vanessa curiously, “Have a callsign for me?”
“You’re a noble and a woman so your callsign is Lady.” I answer, “While I’m not a noble, but I am MechWarrior and that is basically a knight in this day and age so my callsign is Knight.”
“Princess, Lady, and Knight,” says Vanessa, testing out our new callsigns, “I like them. They fit us.”
“Calling myself Princess feels a bit egotistical,” grumbles Lady Arano and-is she pouting?
“It fits and makes more sense than just calling yourself something cool sounding,” says Vanessa, “Is that what Major Nero did?”
“Nah, he just once single handedly held off a Capellan lance back when he was in the AFFS,” I answer, remembering the story that Tom gave me when I asked about why he was called Ironside, “It wasn’t a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but it was a pretty impressive showing on his part so he got a medal out of it and his half-wrecked Valkyrie was given to him as a family ‘Mech as a material reward.”
“He pilots a Valkyrie?” says Vanessa, sounding surprised at that.
“He used to and he still has one.” I tell her, “These days I am letting Tom pilot one of my Atlases so his Valkyrie is in storage back on Coromodir and basically an emergency backup ‘Mech for him.”
“I’m going to need you to explain to my father why my callsign is ‘Princess’,” says Lady Arano.
“If he wants to know, I’ll be happy to explain it to him,” I say before pausing, “You don’t have to keep that callsign if you don’t want it. If you want something other than Princess for your callsign, we can change it.”
“I’m not exactly against it, but you have to agree that it is a bit pretentious.” replies Lady Arano.
“From my perspective, not really,” I answer, “You’re the heir to ruling over more than a dozen worlds. Even if we are a sixth-rate power out in the Periphery, that is still enough to call you Princess in my books. What about you, Vanessa?”
“You both have a point.” replies Vanessa, “It does sound a little over the top, but I do agree that it fits Kamea and a befitting callsign for her.”
“Princess, Lady, and Knight,” I say as I pull out my noteputer, “I’ll update our rosters.”
“What about Vance?” asks Vanessa, “He’ll be the only member of our lance who won’t have a callsign.”
“Lord because you’re ‘Lady’ and he’s your brother.” replies Lady Arano, “And it fits into the same theme as our callsigns.”
“Lord works for Vance,” I agree and I make that change as well in the company records, “If he doesn’t like it, he can let me know and I’ll give him a new one.”
“Now that our callsigns are sorted, we can talk about how we are about to see some real action for the first time.” says Lady Arano, the teenager sounding far too excited about the upcoming battle.
“Or some of us are busy with our jobs since I have to run this gig.” I grumble, not really enthused about the prospect as unlikely my future head of state, I am not eager to taste real combat for the first time.
“You okay, Liz,” asks Vanessa as she apparently picks up on my mood, “You seem less than happy.”
“I am not looking forward to the battle.” I tell her bluntly.
“Wait, really?” replies Lady Arano, “What kind of a MechWarrior are you?”
“The kind that hasn’t finished their training barely knows what they are doing,” I snap, “I’ve had, what, three months of training. You two might have proper training in how to pilot a ‘Mech, but I barely shoot or move and I’m not good enough to do both at the same time. Not to mention that I can’t move faster than a walk without risking falling over.”
“That bad?” asks Vanessa soothingly.
“Yes,” I huff, “if it wasn’t for the fact that I would look like a coward. I would consider hanging back from this battle?”
“Seriously?” says Kamea, sounding startled, “Are you truly that bad?”
“As much as I hate to admit it, I am,” I answer, “My years of training have been in fixing up ‘Mechs not piloting them. Fortunately, our Atlases will be the slowest ‘Mechs on the battlefield barring any Urbies so it is unlikely we will get close enough to do anything before providing long-ranged fire support with our LRMs.”
“I’m hoping we’ll see more action than that,” says Kamea, “It would be pretty boring to just fire the missiles.”
“I’m more concerned with people trying to kill us and having to kill people in turn.” I retort, trying not to get annoyed with her eager attitude, “Pirates or not, I’m not looking forward to taking the life of another human.”
God, could she be less of a reckless, eager fool? This is real life that we are talking about, not a game-ah, don’t think about that game. No, nope, nada, neg.
“Which is understandable.” says Vanessa, “I take it that you learnt that war isn’t all about glory and fame?”
“I learnt that war is hell and it has a very human cost,” I answer, “I’m also afraid of death and getting killed in battle. I know that I will be in an Atlas and that is one of the most well-protected ‘Mechs around, but it just takes one lucky hit and I already mentioned how much I suck at piloting a ‘Mech.”
“Dying isn’t something I had considered.” admits Lady Arano, “Seems to be a bit silly to think about that when I am only sixteen.”
“As we are going to go into battle in less than a day, it is all that I can think about.” I say.
If I think about it, death has haunted me since the start of the year, when I received insanity and otherworldly knowledge with the new year. Knowledge that tells me that within the next decade, my home would suffer a coup and then civil war, things that it would likely never recover from and almost certainly end with its collapse. And that I had been handed a chance to avoid that along with supernatural knowledge regarding a whole ton of LosTech goodies and future threats to the Inner Sphere.
I’m not sure what to do about the Clans or the Blakists or Trinity Alliance or even the Federated Commonwealth. I even feel a misplaced sense of fondness for that one, because that other guy believed it to be one of the setting’s best shots for a good future. But me? For me, it is something to dread because it might be good for humanity, I’m not just a human, I’m Aurigan. And for the Aurigan Coalition, the Federated Commonwealth might be a good thing or we might find ourselves on the receiving end of a new Reunification War someday in the future.
“A bit grim, but-” starts Vanessa before hesitating as she is clearly unsure of what to say next, but jolting me out of my thoughts nonetheless.
“I know what the reality of being a mercenary and MechWarrior will be, but that doesn’t mean I am eager to face or embrace it,” I say, “I’ve trained as much as I can and I’ll do what I have to in battle.”
“Sir. Raju has always told me that only a fool is fearless.” says Lady Arano, “That courage is the art of acting despite our fears, not having those fears at all.”
“Mastiff is wise,” I agree, “He is right, you are right. That is why I’ll go into battle, but I am afraid.”
“I’m afraid that I can’t help you there.” says Vanessa, “Fear is fear, but perhaps this fear will go away once you’ve faced it for the first time. I know that I was terrified when I was first learning to drive, that I would crash it or I would lose control. But once I began to drive on my own, I quickly got the hang of it and it became normal to me.”
“Hopefully,” I reply, “I had a similar experience when I was first working with fusion engines. I was so worried that I would damage one of the borderline irreplaceable fusion engines or do something that would get me killed or crippled, but now? Now, I could easily handle one except under unfavourable conditions and even then, I would fancy my chances even if I didn’t consider it a sure thing.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll have your back in the battle.” says Lady Arano, “We’re lancemates and you’re both my employer and one of my subjects.”
“You’re both my aunt and lancemate, Liz.” says Vanessa, “I’ll have your back as well.”
“Thanks,” I tell them, meaning it.
Preparation for Battle[]
“We have a lot more activity than expected,” reports Captain Roberta Duarte of the Joyeuse to myself, Vance and Lord Espinosa, “At least a company of ‘Mechs and another company of vehicles.”
“Blackmane does not have that many machines at his disposal,” says Lord Espinosa frowning before he gets thoughtful, “Not directly at his disposal. He has a few other gangs on Axlyus that owe him loyalty or whatever passes for such amongst pirates. If he knew we were coming, he could have called them in to help him.”
“That does raise the question of how he knew we were coming,” I point out.
“He could have guessed when he saw us heading for Axlyus, but yes, it does have unpleasant implications,” replies Lord Espinosa, “Still, it shouldn’t cause too much trouble and nothing beyond your ability to handle. These are Periphery pirates, they won’t have anything beyond badly maintained Light and Medium ‘Mechs. Your fully armoured and functional Heavy and Assault ‘Mechs will be more than enough even if they can match you with numerical parity.”
“I hope so,” I mutter, pushing back my misgivings about going into battle with my severe lack of training.
“We just need to remember the mission,” says Vance, “We are here to secure the Argo, not defeat all of the pirates. If we kill a few and the rest flee, that’s our job sorted.”
“Major Herman is correct, Colonel Nora,” agrees Lord Espinosa, “It will be different in the future, but your goal for today is the Argo, not the destruction of these pirates.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I say, hoping that things will go as well as both Vance and Lord Espinosa expect them to.
Engagement with Pirates[]
My lance brings up the rear of Paladin Company, the Atlases lagging behind the half a dozen Marauders, an Archer and a Phoenix Hawk, those last two being family ‘Mechs that their pilots brought with them. The dozen vehicles of Hospitaller Company follow somewhat behind us with its two Sleipnir APCs containing two of the three infantry platoons that make up Wolf Company.
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Phoenix Hawk 'Medium 'Mech
I can’t help, but feel awkward that we could be moving faster, but thanks to my inability to consistently run without falling over. We are holding back. Moving merely at 32.4 km/h instead of the 54 km/h we could be going at.
An impressive force that is primarily made up of Heavy and Assault weight machines yet I can’t help, but feel uneasy that the enemy can at least match it in numbers. Possibly even exceed it, but I can at least take solace in that our pirate counterparts will be more rundown and most likely of lower morale. More likely than not we’ll just have to bring down a few of the pirates before the rest flee, especially if the majority of foes are allies of Blackmane he called in for this fight.
“I have a sensor contact,” reports Mariano, pilot of the Phoenix Hawk that acts as a scout for Paladin Company, “Can’t make out what it is.”
The sensor contact that Isaac Mariano is talking about quickly appears on my own systems as his ‘Mech shares its data with the rest of the company.
“I’ll sensor lock-it,” says Brandy “Buster” Barnes, one of our experienced hires and the pilot of the Archer, “It should be within LRM range.”
“Do that,” agrees Vance hastily, “Paladin One though Four, ready to fire LRMs as soon as Buster gets a target.”
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Atlas Assault 'Mech in action.
And I do just that as the unidentified sensor contact materializes into a Locust, a LCT-1V variant. I feel a blast of temporary heat, like when you aren’t careful opening an oven, as my Atlas fires a volley of LRMs. Eighty missiles in total bear down and the Locust doesn’t last long. The first several missiles miss, but the latter ones are increasingly accurate as they refine their flight paths using the target data fed to them by the predecessors.
The Locust loses its right arm first, swiftly followed by the right torso exploding and crippling its left leg. It falls over and doesn’t get up.
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Locust Light 'Mech
“Target is down,” reports Vanessa.
“I’ve got more of them,” reports Mariano, “A lot of them. Seven, no, eight, wait, make that ten.”
“It has to be Light ‘Mechs at those speeds.” comments one of the company’s veterans, “I bet you it’s more Bug ‘Mechs.”
“No deal, sucker’s bet.” replies someone else.
“Stay sharp, Paladin Company,” orders Vance, “We’re going to start getting some eyes on them shortly and bugs or not, they can hurt you if you aren’t careful.”
As the Marauders go over or pass the next set of hills on the barren moon of Axlyus, they begin to make line of sight just as Vance predicted. A demi-company of ‘Mechs along with a handful of tanks to support them. A couple of Stingers, a Wasp, a second Locust along with a Phoenix Hawk and a Javelin. I recognized Maxim as the identifications of the vehicles appear on my displays, but even then, I don’t remember anything about it beyond being a troop transport.
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Marauder running into action.
A dozen Light ‘Mechs against an equal number of Marauders with LRM support can only have one outcome. Spotting a Stinger, I lock onto it with my LRMs and open fire. I watch as the twenty missiles soar over the battlefield until they get over a hill and out of sight. I scowl as the shared sensor data indicates that only a single LRM hit the Stinger. Not that the pirate gets away as a Marauder blasts the left torso with its PPC as it tries to jump away. The Bug Mech’s armor and internal structure are blown away with an ease that speaks ill of its MechTech and the pilot ejects, leaving the remains of the ‘Mech to go tumbling to the ground.
The pirates are fleeing with the last vehicle falling to a PPC short while only the enemy Phoenix Hawk and the second Locust have gotten away mostly unscratched. The Javelin and the other Stinger are both cored while the pilot of the Wasp has ejected. More enemy ‘Mechs and vehicles are engaging us, the rest of the pirates close, but some of them seem to be fleeing?
“Keep advancing!” orders Vance over the comms, “Give your ‘Mechs the chance to cool off some heat, but keep moving towards the Argo. Paladin-Nine, pull back a bit. Your armor is getting uncomfortably low.”
“Princess, Lady,” I call over a private link as I focus on marching my ‘Mech forward, “Any idea why some of the pirates are moving away from us?”
“They must have seen how we tore up their vanguard and decided they didn’t want to tangle with us!” replies Lady Arano.
“Princess is right, the pirates are cowards at heart.” agrees Vanessa, “They aren’t going to fight if they don’t have to, Knight.”
“Thanks for-” I start before pausing as an [autocannon]] shell strikes my right arm, taking away a small, but noticeable amount of armor.
“Knight?” asks Vanessa.
“Just took an…AC/2 to the arm,” I answer, “I’m fine.”
As I stomp my Atlas over the rocky ground of Axlyus, my pre-battle fears melt away in favour of the power rush that comes with commanding a one hundred ton warmachine. If this is what MechWarriors feel all the time, then no wonder they can be so arrogant. It is hard not to feel invincible or like a demigod when you have such power at your disposal. Locking onto a Scorpion that made the mistake of getting spotted, I hum to myself as I fire my third LRM volley of the day.
“-you, Blackma…,” comes a static-filled voice of a woman over the comms, “...ain’t dying...stop me…arsehole!”
As the woman is belatedly tagged as ‘Grace Gravestone’, I realise that my lancemates are right. Some of the pirates are getting cold feet and aren’t willing to throw their lives away to protect Blackmane and his ilk.
“Detecting enemy-on-enemy fire!” reports someone, “They’re killing each other.”
“Don’t worry about that!” shouts Buster, “Just worry about killing them yourself.”
A Galleon Light Tank comes darting into view, apparently trying to flank us. With only a medium laser and a couple of small lasers, it won’t be able to do much damage, but it is a threat to be dealt with. While everyone else is dealing with the enemy ‘Mechs, I’m going to pick off this light tank as a suitable challenge for someone of my skill.
Author's Chapter Notes[]
- Word from the Author
- And we finally have the first bit of mech action along with callsigns and pre-battle nerves. I figured that having worries about her first battle would be appropriate for Elizabeth because I know I would be worried about getting into a life or death battle and she is a MechTech not a MechWarrior. She might be training to be the latter, but she has only just started that training and to be honest, she shouldn’t be on the battlefield right now.