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Merc's First View to the Clans, A
The title sez it all
by That guy in the corner |
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Too many questions. The Clan technology was that far beyond what Jim's techs were used to. Clan Jade Falcon was complaining that the repairs were taking longer than they should be, even for freebirth spheroids. It was because his techs were asking too many questions. Three days had elapsed and Geezer was only now in the initial stages of replacing lost and damaged armor. That was still incredibly fast for a repair that extensive.
So the techs were taking longer than the Clanners wanted. That suited Jim and Tenret just fine. It gave them all the more time to find something they could use against the Clans. So far, just about everything they had read confirmed his initial suspicions: the Clan warriors were going to kick him and his mercs into the turf and do a jig over the wreckage before merrily going on to the next planet on their way to domination over the FedCom. No other useful revelations had been forthcoming, and Jim had taken to writing his own comments in the margins.
Jim and Tenret saw only three real weaknesses in the Clans. There were at least two or three of them attacking the Lyran end of the Federated Commonwealth, hopefully causing dozens of similar fights over border worlds. They were pompous, arrogant bastards, and they followed their rules of engagement almost to the letter in the vast majority of cases. Good thing they don't realize we're mercs yet, he thought. According to some of the stories the Clan techs were telling, mercs were considered pretty much dishonorable and unworthy of using their combat rules on. So of course, Jim made it an immediate order that whenever asked, they were to respond that they were reserves of the regular army. He would have told Kleisch and his staff the same thing, but it seemed that coward had locked himself in his offices and had the city surrounded by the rest of the AFFC forces. Kleisch considered the Clan threat Jim's little problem now. Little good the regulars would do him if the Rhinos couldn't hold off the Clan invasion. Jim's infantry might have defected by now as well- if he wasn't paying out those extra couple hundred C-Bills each, that is. Of course, dipping into the unit funds to keep the troops loyal during the Clan siege would have serious repercussions later if they couldn't get another contract right away.
Their only practical hope was that the message they had given to ComStar had gotten through to Tharkad quickly and reinforcements could arrive before they fell. The two fleets had broken up slightly; the heavier warships had jumped out to other systems, leaving behind only a skeleton fleet of transports, jumpships, and fighter cover. A Commonwealth fleet might get through to the planet- if they still held the planet, if ComStar had gotten the message through.
ComStar's representatives seemed to take it all rather oddly, though. Well, ComStar must know something about the Clans too on the occupied worlds if they had come this far. Maybe the planetary Precentor had info they could use against the Clans. It was worth a try, at least. He and Tenret headed off to the ComStar facility.
Precentor Ernest Fogel's office was rather sparsely furnished, in contrast to the knowledge of everyone in the city that his home was the only true mansion on the planet. The Fogel family had their hands in every business on the planet, and for over a century had managed to bribe enough ComStar officials to ensure that a Fogel would run the HyperPulse Generator station and reap the kickbacks thereof. It was Fogel who currently supplied Sheng's and every other bar with the local alcohol which, while technically illegal, was nevertheless consumed without much legal intervention. Maybe that was due to Fogel himself.
Fogel seemed to be in a good mood when Jim arrived. "Ah, Colonel Morrison. What can the humble servants of ComStar do for you?"
Bastard. "Yes, Precentor Fogel, I believe there is. You have, of course, noticed the unknown invasion forces camped out near the Banton Swamp?"
"Umm, yes, of course..."
"Well, it seems that they've landed on other planets."
"Oh, umm, have they? I didn't know that."
Lying creep. "They have. ComStar knows about them. You know about them too." Jim and Tenret gave him a hard glare. It was supposed to intimidate Fogel, but he was a tough nut.
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about. If that's all, I am very busy. Perhaps you can come back tomorrow." With that, he turned away and began to call for a couple of acolytes to escort them out of the facility. He never got to the radio.
Ten grabbed him from behind, put him in an arm lock, and slammed him against the wall. She used her free arm to rustle up the few remaining strands of hair on Fogel's balding head, and began beating his face against the wall.
Jim looked on in shock. "Ten! What're you doing? Don't kill him! We just need dirt on the Clans!"
"There's no way I'm letting Lisa the Hun get her hands on me! Tell us how to beat them, you malfin' bastard! Tell us!!" she screamed and began to smash Fogel into the wall again.
Jim managed to pry them apart and stood between her and the now badly beaten and dazed Precentor. He gave them both a moment to recover and then turned to Fogel. "You tell us as much as you know about the Clans and how to defeat them or I let the captain here get a second shot at you."
Fogel's eyes bulged and he cringed where he lay. He tried to look up at Jim and spat out, "You'll never get away with this! My brother will hear about this and he'll hunt you down! ComStar will send the best troops in the Commonwealth after you!"
"Guess I was wrong about you, Fogel. Have fun, Ten."
The short Cappellan advanced once more on the Precentor. Fogel's courage broke. "No more! I'll tell you what I know! Please keep her away from me!!"
It was soon apparent that Fogel didn't know much. ComStar was going to try and fight the Clans somewhere in Combine space (these Clans _must_ be tough if they're taking on the Dracs too!), and they knew some of the Clan names and customs. But since secrecy had prevented them from keeping the info they had on the Clans on file, and Fogel had such a feeble memory, little more could be gotten from him. They did, however, learn why no news was coming in from what should have been the front lines. ComStar had some kind of deal going with the Clans. They were going to manage communications and planetary holdings while the Clans went and conquered the rest of the Inner Sphere. That must be why Fogel wasn't panicking like everyone else when the Clan forces showed up. With him in control of the planet's holdings, he could amass a huge personal fortune and even strip his brother, the only other surviving Fogel, of his lands and basically own the planet.
Well, Jim thought, can't let him tip off the Clans. "Ten, put in the jeep. We're heading back."
"What?! But I told you what I know!!" Came Fogel's feeble plea.
"We can't let you clue in the Clan leaders about what we know. So you're coming with us until we can get them to leave."
Ten quickly grabbed Fogel and put him in the jeep. Jim forged a message (every good- or at least successful- merc learned how to do some of it with early on) and hurried to the jeep.
When they got back, the techs had a surprise for them. They had managed to fix Geezer, even the engine shielding that was damaged during the first fight. Geezer's armor still looked dinged up, bits of unpainted new plates clashing with the older desert camo, but his techs explained that the Clan techs hadn't splurged on the fancy Clan armor and they had had to resort to their own stockpile. They had another surprise waiting for Jim when he showed up.
"It wasn't easy, but we got a cockpit together from that old Vindicator we couldn't find spares for and so far it's working like a charm." Senior Master Tech Haan beamed at his handiwork; that was unusual for him. His near-permanent hangover normally prevented such amenities as smiling, talking, and standing upright. Haan must have been clean for, oh, at least a day or so to be in such a good mood. That worried Jim.
"You sure it works?" Jim was dubious about Haan's predictions.
"Ah, yeah, boss. We got it runnin' sweet! Mikey! Show Uncle Jimbo what this puppy can do!" Uh oh, Jim thought, the 'mech must have gotten the best of Haan's curiosity. His current astech, Mike, gave the thumbs up signal from the cockpit before moving the Blackhawk forward and making what he must have supposed were combat-like reflexive movements.
"Brian, we should put it in mothballs. There's no way we can maintain that thing if any part of it gets wasted in combat. Maybe we can smuggle it off-planet and sell it to the highest bidder."
"But boss, we spent all this time to get it runnin'! We even got parts for it!" Haan pointed at a several pallets covered by large tarps.
Jim tentatively peeked under one and saw bits and pieces of 'mech parts. He turned to Brian. "How did you get these parts? You guys didn't steal them from the Clanners- you gotta give these back-"
"No prob, boss, we got 'em fair and square." He walked to one of the other tarps and pulled a small round cylinder out from under it.
"I thought you didn't drink anything without alcohol in it, Brian?" He looked at the cola bottle, uncomprehending.
"No boss, but the big Clan guys-"
"The elementals?"
"-Yeah, they can't get enough of it. We give them a few cases, they give us a few small parts- it's all good. We ran it through their techs, boss." Brian smiled lazily, taking in his own personal victory against Clan might.
"Why didn't they just buy it like everyone else? R-thing Cola isn't exactly a rare item, you know. Why didn't they just walk into Sheng's and get it?"
"Because, boss," and Brian lowered his voice to a sly, conspiratorial whisper, "they don't use money!"
"What?! How do they buy their 'mechs? How do-"
"The soldiers got some deal with the manufacturers or something. They don't pay money for stuff- they just take it or trade for it, or fight for it."
Jim was terribly confused now. "I still don't like it. How do we know this won't get us in trouble? What if their commander finds out and wants the parts back or something? Or-"
Tenret cut him off. "No time for that, Jim. The Falcons know Geezer's repaired and they want their trial to start. Now." She was still rubbing her ear from the tongue-lashing the Falcon commander gave her.
Ack, better get to it, then. "Right. Get everyone else moving and I'll meet you there."
"We're the only ones they're waiting for, Colonel."
They straddled their 'mechs and eventually made their way to where the Falcons and Vipers were waiting for them. The Falcons wasted no time berating them for taking so long, and were surprised when Jim merely stood there, waiting for the challenge.
"I am Star Commander Horrace Malthus of the Clan Jade Falcon. I challenge you to a trial of-" blah, blah, blah. Jim waited for him to ask for Jim's bid and when he did, announced, "I bid my 'mech against your forces." He still didn't know what the proper way to make his bid was. They assented and a few moments later made their bid, again on his condition that if he won the Clans would wait for him to fix Geezer before trying again and provide parts for said repair. This time they agreed, but not out of amusement as the Vipers had the first time. Their bid was again a Nova, they said, but the thing looked nothing like the 'mech he had previously faced. It had a huge cannon where the laser-laden left arm was, and the torso seemed to sport missile or laser ports. Unity! They're no going to pull some kind of double-cross, are they? Jim's mind raced as he tried to come up with an answer. The Vipers had heard the bid but weren't complaining; maybe it was a Nova that was just really, _really_ heavily modified, he thought.
He once again faced off against the Clan warrior in the open space that lay before their dropships. He had to concentrate. These Clan 'mechs were as fast as he was and faster, it seemed. He couldn't do a charge again; it was suicide against a cautious Clanner. He stood his ground.
The other warrior began to taunt him over the Comm. "Stravag freebirth, surrender now and I may take you as a bondsman. Cowardly surat, you are no match for my fighting prowess." On and on. Jim kept his PPC up, waiting.
The Clanner made his first move almost without moving. From his standing position he raised his cannon arm slightly and a quick bright flash came from it. Jim unconsciously ducked, and Geezer went with him- the shot was wide, but only barely. He swiftly recovered and began to move forward, keeping his body between the Clanner and his new PPC. They closed, the Clanner with an odd limping gait favoring his left side for some reason, Jim with his precious main gun protected from the Clanner's firepower. Jim waited until the Nova raised his cannon again to strike. He faced the Nova straight on, firing his PPC and the new lasers at his opponent. The PPC hit, gouging a huge gash across the Nova's torso, with the lasers tearing large holes of their own in the wounded Falcon's chest. In return, the Nova's big gun blasted him square in the upper body, but Jim kept his balance. The heat in Jim's cockpit rose, but it didn't seem as bad as usual. These Clan lasers must not make as much heat as our own guns, he quickly observed as he once again tried to maneuver around the Nova's right side. The Nova didn't want to give him that chance and once again raised that gun of his, sending a laser and a preemptive missile salvo at Geezer. The missiles and laser struck Geezer's right arm, flaying small holes in the mismatched armor. Jim responded with another PPC to the Nova's body, opening up a nice hole and sending a thin plume of smoke rising from its chest. The cannon hit Jim again, this time in the leg, knocking him off-balance with its force and sending him to the ground. Rather than waste time getting up, he immediately propped himself up on one arm and sent another PPC blast into the quickly advancing Nova's shattered torso. Another hole opened up and the threatening Falcon actually seemed to hesitate. Jim got up again, suffering another cannon hit that lopped what remained of his right arm completely off, and turned to face the Nova. The Nova didn't hesitate now- it fired its weapons almost point-blank at Geezer, knocking him back again with hit after hit, but Jim managed to stay on his feet and responded in kind. He enlarged the holes he had started, and caused what he could have sworn were the makings of an ammo explosion, but the Injured 'mech took it and was still moving. The Nova's big gun went limp.
Jim once again tried to deal with the heavy heat buildup and began moving Geezer slowly to the right again, but after a moment noticed that the Falcon wasn't firing on him. Must've killed his laser too, Jim thought. He stopped and faced the Nova, keeping a bead on him with the PPC. "Clan pilot," his voice boomed out over his loudspeakers," I can see you are defenseless." Well, I can't see that, but I can make a guess. "Surrender and exit your 'mech."
The reply was somewhat confusing. "I am weaponless." A pause "Grant me hegira on the field this day."
Hegira? What was that? Well, couldn't hurt, I guess. "Umm, granted."
The other warrior seemed to breathe a silent sigh of relief; why, Jim didn't know. The Nova turned back and returned to the Falcon encampment. But wait, didn't he own the other 'mech now or something??
The other commander explained to him quickly after he began complaining. In effect it seemed, he had given the other warrior permission to leave the field without having lost the battle- he couldn't claim what he hadn't won. He still didn't understand it, though. And that was the good news. Ten came on the Comm just after the battle.
"Colonel, I got some bad news."
"Huh?" What could be worse than missing out on all of that sweet salvage?
"Colonel, Fogel's missing..."
...Aww frag... |
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