Chapter 12[]
Random Events (Nebula California) - Take 2[]
North side of the river
Near Stalingrad
Toreel, Nebula California
June 6th, 3153
Jenna Carns perspective
The landing was a debacle. A sudden surge of strong wind dictated her forces land much farther to the north than she wanted. She would have to have a word with the scientist caste who did not foresee this possibility.
Now there was a risk that some of the stains might escape.
"Attention forces of Clan Wolf. You may surrender now and avoid bloodshed. Resist and you will be defeated. Quite handily." A female voice came over the comms.
"I am Star Captain Jenna Carns. We are warriors of the ilClan. We do not surrender to empty threats." Jenna snapped back over an open channel.
"Then by the command of the King of Everything, Kevin Wellman, first of his name. I Captain of the Royal Guards, Ainna Oakheart will be your doom." The voice answered.
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Timber Wolf Heavy OmniMech
Jenna then felt the ground underneath her Timber Wolf begin to shake. There seemed to be no explosions to indicate buried explosives or artillery but it was taking Jenna a great deal of effort to keep her mech upright.
The only explanation was a groundquake but there were not indications of fault lines or volcanoes in the area. It puzzled her almost as much as she still could not locate her foe.
She adjusted her sensors. She was getting readings that were consistent with four active 'mech reactors to the north, but she still could not see anything and radar was providing inconclusive returns.
"The enemy has some sort of stealth technology. We move north and negate it." Jenna pushed the throttle forward gradually.
None of her warriors fell with the shifting ground under them, but the going was slower than she liked and her forces were more bunched up than she would have liked as the ground seemed to grow more stable in certain areas.
"Watch your spacing." Jenna barked at her troops, but it was too late.
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Elemental Battle Armor in formation
Balls of fire erupted mostly among her Elementals. Most of them did not have suits able to withstand fire. She could feel that her 'mech had been caught in the blast effect enough that the heat spiked some in her mech.
In the darkening night there it was. An Atlas. She was a trueborn clan warrior and the simple tricks of the Atlas had no effect on her before. But somehow now this one did fill her with a sense of dread.
Jerome and his survivng warriors jumped at the 'mech lighting off their SRMs. Trying to get to the cockpit to deal with the warrior, but the missiles seemed to hit a shimmering field around the mech doing no damage.
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Atlas Assault 'Mech on the attack
Before she could trigger her lasers, the massive Mech moved with swiftness and grace that few warriors, even exceptional trueborns like herself, could coax out of a mech and grabbed two suits of Battle Armor out of the air and crushed them in it's giant hands.
Her lasers struck the mech, this time there was damage evident on the machine but as much as Jenna had expected.
The remainder of her Battle Armor was reporting enemy infantry moving in at impossible speeds and engaged with them now.
Flashes of weapons fire and explosions told her the rest of her mechs were engaging other enemies but she focused on the monster in front of her.
"Fate seems intent on making this a duel. So be it Oakheart. Just so you know the honor that is engaging in a circle of equals with a warrior of the ilClan I shall indulge fate." Jenna fired her LRMs at the massive machine.
Suddenly she heard the groaning of metal followed by a sudden rush of cold night air enter her cockpit. Before she could turn or draw her side arm she felt a pair of quick stabs into her arms before they became useless lumps of meat dangling at her sides.
"Normally yes, Heinrich does let me control him from time to time but tonight was a special occasion. I believe the fight is now over." The form now in her cockpit said.
"I'm the distraction!" A booming mechanical voice came from the Atlas as a lightning bolt streaked out from on of it's outstretched hands into a Battle Armor trooper still resisting.
Jenna was too focused on not letting her opponent have the satisfaction of knowing just how much pain she was now in as she was drug out from the cockpit of her mech.
Outside once on the ground she could hardly believe her eyes.
Rotting corpses, beings seemingly comprised of fire, skeletons, a giant white lizard like creature, and four nearly pristine Battlemechs all stood guard over her and the survivors of her forces.
"Welcome to Toreel. I suspect you are not going to enjoy your stay." Her captor said as she moved in into Jenna's view.
The black pools for eyes and the pronounced pointed ears immediately grabbed her attention.
Jenna wanted to throw up but without the proper use of her arms she had no choice but to force it down.
"Defeated so decisively... I was so close too... I could have been the next Khan or even possibly ilKhan someday..." Jenna was barely coherent.
"Those ambitions are at an end. Now King Wellman will decide your fate." The odd woman smiled in a way that Jenna did not like.