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Graduation day
by RedHunter |
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Tukwila Valley, Tikonov
Capellan March, Federated Suns
14 February 3065
Leutnant April Steiner-Focht ran her Fafnir into the hole between two of her company-mates and brought her dual heavy gauss rifles to bear. Twin nickel ferrous slugs erupted from their launchers and traced parallel silver streaks across the two hundred meters to their target.
The ComStar Thug had been wreaking havoc among the light lance of April’s company, “The Lion’s Claws”, of the Eleventh Arcturan Guard. The Eleventh was labeled “The Golden Lion”, and April’s company was a mix of combined-weight ‘Mechs that specialized in finding, drawing out, and destroying enemy lances, hence the nickname. They hadn’t counted on drawing out three Level IIs of ComStar ‘Mechs though.
The heavy gauss rounds slammed home on the center torso of the eighty-ton Thug and ripped open a rent made by an earlier autocannon attack. The first slug decimated the gyro and the second burst through the engine shielding and almost came out of the back of the machine. April winced as the Thug’s engine went “supernova” - the shielding collapsing and the fusion powerplant letting loose in a nuclear inferno that consumed the ‘Mech and the pilot within.
April struggled with the controls, mentally willing the Fafnir to stay on its feet from the combined pummeling of the heavy gauss rifle recoils and the blast from the doomed Thug. She moved one massive foot back to brace herself and miraculously kept the one hundred ton assault ‘Mech from landing on its back. As she blinked the spots out of her eyes, she saw that the Thug was completely gone from the waist up. The two blackened legs stood upright, smoking on the war-ravaged field.
“Good shooting, Leutnant!” came the voice of Hauptmann Clancy over the all-hands frequency. “Striker Lance, move up and fill the gap Focht just opened for us!”
The three lances of her company surged forward against the dwindling ComStar defenders. Whereas most regular militaries, including her own LAAF, organized BattleMechs in four ‘Mech lances, ComStar had created the unique and frustrating Level organization with six ‘Mechs in a Level II. April’s twelve ‘Mech company had attempted to draw out one Level II, but instead faced three of them - eighteen ‘Mechs strong. Luckily, her Fafnir was not the only assault class machine in their forces and they had, barely, outclassed the ComStar unit. With the Thug gone, the field was turning in their favor.
April watched as a squad of four Guard Fenrir battle armor troops attacked an ape-like Kintaro. The four legged battlesuits let loose with a combined volley of medium pulse lasers. All four of the beams connected and melted armor on the ‘Mechs left arm and center torso. April shuddered slightly as the wolf-like Fenrir troops turned their attention to another ‘Mech and loped out of her view. Every time she saw one of the powered battlesuits they made her uncomfortable. She chalked it up to their strange animal-like gait. Although she’d seen every type of ‘Mech imaginable, the little battlesuits just seemed alien to her.
April turned her attention back to the line and stabbed her pair of extended range medium lasers at the retreating Kintaro, shaving more armor from its already scorched left arm with one beam. The other blast missed wide and shot off harmlessly across the Tukwila Valley.
The four-legged Barghest next to her let loose with its own heavy gauss spearing a retreating ComStar Hussar in the left torso and obliterating the PPC there. Effectively emasculated - the PPC was its only weapon - the Hussar turned tail after the Kintaro. April heard a “Whoop!” over the comm system and smiled.
“Nice shooting, Bourchers!” she said over a private channel. “How many is that now?”
“Five,” he called back, panting heavily, in a cockpit she assumed was running as hot as hers was. “Five less Davion scum.”
“You said it,” she called back. “Let’s hope the Midget keeps them coming!”
“The Midget” was the Lyran’s derogatory nickname for Victor Steiner-Davion, who stood only 1.6 meters tall. April, like everyone else in the Eleventh, relished the idea that she might have a chance to personally lock horns with the Midget in his Daishi OmniMech here on Tikonov. To be the warrior to bring down Davion! That was a dream worth going to sleep at night for.
She thought she had caught site of Victor while fighting on York several months before, but she couldn’t be sure. York had been her first action out of the Nagelring - her four years at the elite military academy cut short by a few months in order to bring fresh MechWarriors to the front. General, then Colonel, McDonald had traded shots with the Midget right before he tucked tail and retreated to Halfway. Finally, they had caught up with him here on Tikonov and it was hoped the entire Civil War could be decided right here and now. April was lucky to be in the right place at the right time.
“Okay Claws, let’s pack it in,” came Hauptmann Clancy over the all-hands frequency. His orders were met with gripes and groans, but April understood there was nothing more to be accomplished here. The enemy was in retreat. They had blooded ComStar good and there was no sense in following them into a possible ambush. Better to maintain unit cohesion and choose the future battlefield.
She looped her Fafnir around into formation and followed Clancy’s Zeus back toward Tukwila, passing defensive emplacements as they went. Tukwila was fairly impenetrable at this point and April found it hard to believe that Victor could mount the force necessary to take it. Hopefully, Linda McDonald had a plan up her sleeve that would bring the two forces to a decisive contest. Otherwise, April could see the Eleventh and the other Loyalist forces on planet getting bogged down in skirmishes like the one she had just exited.
She walked her Fafnir into her company’s command compound and “parked” it in the designated area. Sliding through the small cockpit hatch, she dropped a metal rope ladder out the back of her ‘Mech and made her way carefully down the ten meters to the ferrocrete ground. Her tech, Fritz Marsh, was waiting for her.
“Doesn’t look too bad,” the old man said, his eyes not leaving the ‘Mech. Our “baby” as he referred to it. “Not bad, Leutnant. You didn’t bust her up too much this time.”
“I try to keep “her” nice for you,” she said sarcastically. “Wouldn’t want to make you over-exert yourself, Fritz.”
Finally, he took his eyes off the ‘Mech and gave her a look. “It ain’t about me, miss. It’s about keeping the Duke’s property in tip-top condition.”
April had been “assigned” Fritz Marsh by her father, Duke William, when the Fafnir had arrived on Tharkad as her graduation present. “Graduation” day had come much earlier than she or any of the other senior cadets had thought, but the Fafnir was there in advance. A special favor granted to William by Duchess Jacqueline Brewer of Defiance Industries on Hesperus II. Jacqueline and the Brewer family had been long time friends of her parents and most of Duran’s ‘Mechs were Defiance models.
April sometimes wondered whether Fritz had been sent to keep an eye on her more than the ‘Mech. He was an old timer tech who had worked for her family on Duran for over thirty years. She understood that he had served with her grandmother during the Fourth Succession War in the late ‘20s and the Tenth Lyran Guards tattoo on his right forearm seemed to bear that out, but he wasn’t the sort that you could ask personal questions. Someday she’d look through her father’s records and see what made Fritz tick. For now, his main occupation seemed to be ridiculing her abilities as a ‘Mechjock.
“Fritz, are you harassing my daughter again,” came a familiar voice behind her.
“Mom!” April turned to see the smiling face of Minnie Steiner-Focht. Her mother was decked out in a Duran Miliz coverall with her long blond hair tucked up into a unit baseball cap. She opened her arms to give her daughter a hug.
April stood back from the embrace and laughed. “You don’t have to hug me like you haven’t seen me in four years every time you see me!” she said.
“Well, it still seems like that, honey,” her mother replied. “Even though we’ve been here on Tikonov with you for over a month, it’s still like you’re back at the Nagelring. It’s so good to have you to myself almost every day!”
April tsked, wanting to agree with her mother but embarrassed to be doing so under Fritz’s watchful eyes. “I’m not going anywhere, Mom.”
“I know, honey, I know. It’s still nice though and we need to take advantage of it - even with the War. Your Dad and I wanted to know if you’d join us for dinner tonight -- if Hauptmann Clancy doesn’t have you scheduled for anything.”
April looked over at Fritz. The old man smiled at Minnie. “Nothing scheduled, Duchess. The Hauptmann has ordered a general stand down until 0700 tomorrow. He’s attending a regiment-level meeting tonight and hearing what the Gods on high have to say for operations tomorrow.” Fritz winked at Minnie. “You know, the usual hurry up and wait from high command.”
Minnie laughed and patted his upper arm. “Oh, we know all about that, Fritz. All about it!” Turning to April she said, “Okay, Leutnant, meet us at 1900 hours at our operations compound and we’ll go from there.” She gave a wave as she walked off and left April with Fritz. April had never seen her mother interact with the old tech before, but now she realized from their familiar interplay that they shared a history. He was getting more mysterious by the minute.
“Okay, Leutnant,” he said. “I’ll get to work on replacing some of this leg armor plating and recalibrating the mediums and you can focus on getting cleaned up for your dinner with the Duke and Duchess. I’ll see you at 0630 to brief you on your ride…and that’ll give you a half-hour to wake up for your unit briefing tomorrow morning. How do you like that?” He gave her a gap-toothed grin and turned back to the ‘Mech without bothering to wait for a reply.
Typical, April thought as she stomped away to the barracks.
Duke William gave his daughter a bear hug as she entered his temporary command office, lifting her off her feet. “Jeez,” she stammered. “Between you and Mom I don’t know which of you is worse. It’s like I’m a lost puppy that’s been found or something.”
William laughed and set his daughter back on her feet. “Maybe you’ll understand when you have kids of your own,” he said. “Until then, you can be the big, tough MechWarrior.” He leaned in and winked. “But all that Immortal Warrior stuff fades fast you know.” His expression became more serious. “April, you’re going to see some things I wish you didn’t have to see. Maybe you have already on York and now here on Tikonov. Regardless, when you do, you’re going to realize that being the big, tough ‘Mechjock has a dark side to it. And unfortunately it’s not a lesson that can be learned at the Nagelring. You’ve got to experience it yourself. That’ll be your true Graduation day. One all of us who don a neurohelment and cooling vest have to face someday.”
April frowned at the lecture, which wasn’t typical of her father at all. And something else was different about him today as well… “Your hair!” she exclaimed. “What happened?”
William laughed and ran a hand over his shaved pate. Like April herself, he had always worn his hair in typical Lyran MechWarrior style - two long braids in front and shaved on the back and sides. Some Lyrans claimed it made for better contact with the neurohelment which allowed them to control their ‘Mechs, but it was more a tradition now than anything else. A Lyran tradition. And in the midst of a Civil War fighting to uphold that tradition her father had shaved his head.
“I forgot what a pain it was to keep care of long hair on campaign,” he said, looking quickly over at Minnie. “I was a much younger man back in my Tenth Lyran days, you know.”
April stepped back, frowning. “That’s not like you, Dad, “she said. “What happened to “This haircut represents our nation” and all that? I grew up on that lecture. Every time I thought I would change my style, I thought back to what you had said and left it alone. What happened?”
William looked at Minnie again and then dropped his head. “April,” he started. “April, there’s things I…we need to speak to you about. That’s part of the reason we wanted to take you out to dinner tonight.” He looked up. “It can wait…let’s get going and then we can talk all night long.”
Her parents took her to an Uzbek restaurant in downtown Tukwila. Tikonov had been colonized over nine hundred years before by Eurasian and Central Asian peoples - and the Uzbekis made up a small but visible minority in many of the major cities. The little restaurant featured bead-covered booths along the back wall, and her father escorted them to one.
Four of her father’s personal guard took up discreet positions outside the front and rear doors and Sergeant Biata Tang of the Duran Miliz was powered up in her Spider back at the command compound - just in case. It was a war zone after all.
April pretended nothing was amiss during the meal - although the frequent glances between her father and mother were hard to ignore. Finally, as coffee was being served, she could take it no longer. “Okay, what is it?!”
Duke William took a breath and leaned back into the red upholstered cloth of the booth, resting his hand over her mother’s. “April, your Mom and I have been very uncomfortable with the progress of this War. The reports we hear are disturbing - the sabotage on Dalkeith, the meat grinder on Kathil, the assassination of Duchess Aten of Skye.” He held up a hand to stop her from interrupting. “April, in every instance we’re seeing Lyran forces stooping to barbaric methods to prosecute this War. And all of it points back to the Archon.”
“Father!” April nearly ripped the booth from the wall as she stood up in shock. “That’s treason! The Archon…”
“Enough!” Minnie grabbed her daughter’s hand and pulled her down to sit in the booth. Giving her a warning look, she nodded to William to continue.
“I’m no Davion sympathizer, April, and you know it,” he said. “I have devoted my life…my entire life to uphold the Commonwealth. The Focht family has stood by House Steiner from the time your grandmother was XO of the Tenth Lyran Guards under Frederick. She even added his name to our own in honor of his sacrifice on Dromini.
“The only thing I know now is that the Archon is waging a brutal war - no matter what she says in public, I’ve seen her orders - and on the other end, Victor is doing everything in his power to avoid collateral damage. Until I arrived here on Tikonov and became privy to the way this War was being waged, I had no doubt that Katrina was our rightful liege lord. Now, though…” he trailed off.
April looked back and forth between her parents, trying, but failing to breathe normally. She wanted to say something…anything…to put her father back to normal. If General McDonald or any of the senior staff heard him, what he was saying was grounds for a court martial. “I…I can’t believe it,” she stammered and slid from the booth.
“April, wait!” She pushed through the bead curtain and staggered away from the table. With one last look at them, she rushed out of the front door, nearly pushing over one of the guards stationed there, and fled toward the barracks. Pedestrians looked up in alarm as she rushed past. Her father and mother’s voices called after her.
As she turned the corner, April checked as she saw a lone Fenrir battle armor suit loping toward her from the other side of the street. The Fenrir stalked around the corner toward the restaurant and the roar of rotary machine guns blasted through the night. April turned to see a cascade of spent shell casings stream out of the back of the beast, scattering across the ferrocrete sidewalk. A long burst of submachine gun fire answered from down the street and then the Fenrir silenced it with another devastating burst.
April ran after the battlesuit, turning the corner in time to see it smash through the front plate glass window of the Uzbeki restaurant. “Mom! Dad!” she screamed as another long burst hammered into the night. In front of the restaurant lay the broken forms of the front guard detail; their bodies ripped to shreds by the heavy caliber rounds. Screaming civilians scattered in every direction and one elderly woman lay writhing in the street where a stray round had shattered her ankle.
April sprinted for the restaurant; nearly losing her footing on the broken glass shards scattered in front of the damaged façade. The Fenrir blasted at targets in the back of the building, its bulk blocking her view of its prey. Suddenly, as if catching her scent, the wolf-like machine swung toward her. The three machine guns swiveled to target her, but they remained silent.
“For the Prince!” a triumphant voice sounded from the Fenrir’s external speakers and the four-legged beast leapt past her into the street. She turned to see it loping off into the night to disappear between two warehouses half way down the now quiet block.
April’s breath came in quick gasps as she moved cautiously toward the back of the restaurant. The waitstaff and host were nowhere to be seen. Two bodies lay sprawled in the doorway and she recognized standard Lyran issue boots. Fearing the worst, she crept forward, noticing the submachine guns clutched in their hands - her father’s guards!
“Mom! Dad!” she cried as she stepped over the guards’ bodies and rushed out the rear doorway and into the back alley. Her head swung back and forth down the length of the alley before focusing on a huddled form in the shadows directly across from the door.
Her parents lay together against the opposite wall of the alley. They seemed almost as if they were sleeping, but the spreading pool of red told the truth. Her mother stirred for a moment as she saw April and then collapsed against her father’s chest. April rushed to their side but both were silent.
As the tears began to well, April felt the rhythmic pounding of a BattleMech’s feet against pavement - coming closer. Biata Tang’s Spider rounded the corner, but she was too late. Much too late. |
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