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Army and a Samurai, An
by Harpy Hater |
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Bone: The bone that once belonged to a worthy foe. The bone that supported a beast. That bone held the foreclaw of a Ghost Bear. It was that very claw - still attached to the bone - that slashed a grievous wound into Star Captain Leeson Tseng's face. That claw was still stained brown with the blood from his left eyebrow.
As he sat there in the cockpit of his Timber Wolf Mk. II, thumbing that bone and feeling that scar throb after being healed over three years previously, he realized he was the only one remaining on the battlefield. He had lost all those under his command to the freebirth Comguards. The genes of his men were inferior, as were most of their 'mechs. Three Stars under his command, as a mixed unit. That unit was formed by concessions during bidding. Three Kit Foxes salvaged from a battle with the Wolves in Exile were the group's scouts. Two Stormcrows were there as a concession from the 72nd Assault Trinary. Three Catapult Battlemechs captured from a mercenary unit offered fire support. One Warhammer IIC and one Linebacker conceded by the 502nd Assault Trinary formed the core of the heavy assault group, and three Novas - also from the 502nd - supported them. His command and control Timberwolf Mk. II and one stock Timberwolf as support filled the outfit to bidding order.
Most reasonable warriors would have balked at such a low bit, and most did. Staring out from his cockpit at two hulks leaning on each other, he realized what they were. It was the battered shell of that stock Timberwolf, which had fallen on the mostly intact Hatamoto Chi. He had destroyed the cockpit of that Comstar Lance Corporal's 'mech with one round from his Light Gauss Rifle at 900 meters.
That was the first shot Zelbrigen allowed him to fire, but not the last. He watched as his Kit Foxes were torn apart by a lone Battlemaster, which he consequently incapacitated with one well-placed alpha strike to the legs. That stravag dog must have called for support, because three Marauders immediately stated blanketing the battlefield with PPC fire from a nearby ridge, whilst two Shadow Hawks engaged the Linebacker and Warhammer IIC. He destroyed the Marauders with barrages from his dual LRM10 launchers and gauss rifle, dodging the oncoming PPC blasts.
Both of the Comguard Shadow Hawks emerged battered but intact, as the one engaging the linebacker was victorious, and went to assist the second in destroying the Warhammer IIC. The Novas proceeded to advance to the front and take out the Shadow Hawks in one brilliant green and red flash from each, as they fired all of their ER Medium and Small Lasers at once. The fatal mistake had been made.
Three new contacts appeared on Leeson's radar screen, in a crater a kilometer in front. They lumbered forward towards the Novas, and after the first exploded by a barrage of LbxAC 20 fire, he knew what they were. The first of them appeared above the crater rim and he could see the chilling, white-painted skull on the cockpit. Two more appeared and opened fire upon the Novas. The die had been cast, and there was no turning back now. After two rounds of LRM fire at the Atlases, all support ceased. He knew what had happened, they were in an ambush.
The Novas battered to Atlases to the point of near detonation, for their pilots were freebirth toads that could not pilot cargo trucks. Thus, when they finished their annihilation of the Novas and turned on Leeson, he quickly eliminated them. Turning his active radar systems back online, he checked for any enemies in the area. When his scopes came up clean, he checked on his Catapults.
All that remained was burning wreckage, with no sign of a firefight. They had been eliminated by aerotech bombing.
"Star Captain Tseng, report. Star Captain Leeson Tseng, this is Bravo One, come in." the radio crackled. He awakened from his flashback and answered. |
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