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I, Kerensky
by Roguebaron |
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Mayor’s Office, City Hall
Hogye, Engadine,
Melissa Theater, Lyran Alliance,
March 31, 3058
“Like I mentioned before, we have to maintain our momentum. The nolans are confused, momentarily panicked, and retreating. This is the best time to strike them. Even if we do not kill many nolans, at least we give them a strong message: we are not afraid of them.”
By this time, I was confident that I had intense military training in my previous life. It was the only logic behind my aggressive yet methodical behavior. My barbaric stunts against the CAMR and the nolans spoke for themselves. Riding this wave of respect from the townspeople, I asked them to listen to my plan to solve the nolan threat without the mercenary’s aid. The nolans, though fearsome, were flesh and blood. I had proven that they could be killed by a human not piloting a battlemech. I wanted to prove to Hogye citizens that they did not need the CAMR to defend them against the predators.
But the problem was: the people of Hogye were not ready to think and act militaristically. The broad city hall, quiet as a graveyard when I put my thoughts forward, suddenly erupted into dissonance. It was hard to hear what they were saying, because they yelled and grumbled at the same time. But I caught their main idea. These simple people had been isolated from weapons and strategy for years. My simplest, rudimentary tactic felt so foreign to them that they considered it almost blasphemous. I had asked for only five minutes of their time. Now it seemed that I would need it a lot longer.
“Doesn’t it occur to you that we don’t have the necessary weapons to quench this bloodlust of yours?” a curt response rose up from the crowd.
“We can make weapons,” I replied confidently. “In fact, we may have battlemechs, but weapons and battlemechs do not kill nolans. We, humans, do.”
“Cojeda tu, vos guevon pendeja!” Trejo yelled, advancing toward me with blazing eyes. “The Hunt Lance left Hogye because of you, and now you want us to fight the nolans ourselves! Loco, mucho loco! You’re the one who are responsible for this mess, so you do the fighting, not us! I refuse to take part in this insanity, and I ask every other Hogye citizen to rally behind me!”
“Fercyn, escort this chickenshit out of my city hall!” Mayor Megi suddenly blurted.
“What?” Trejo’s head snapped, not expecting Megi to stand against him. “Senorita Megi…”
“You heard the lady, Senor,” Fercyn hissed. “You can walk out of here and save yourself from humiliation, or I’ll drag your ass so hard you won’t be able to sit for a week.”
Trejo looked at Megi, Fercyn, and me interchangeably, trying to comprehend the sudden change of situation. But he knew that he did not have a choice, so he walked briskly, muttering profanities too disgusting to mention. All eyes followed the manager of the mech garage until he disappeared behind the door.
“Now look at the reality, Parker,” Megi came to me. “No one in Hogye is like you. We are just ordinary citizens. Most of us haven’t shot a gun before. You can’t expect us to run your battle scheme, because we are not warriors. We just don’t have the weapons, the skill, and the heart.”
“I can not give you the heart, but I will give you the skill,” I stated sincerely. “And Mr. Cedro mentioned about the Cutlass battle armors. We can use them.”
“There are only 8 units of them, two are barely operational,” Cedro raised his voice. “What can we do with 8 battle armors?”
“We do not have to make them extinct. This is not a Rooting. We just have to strike them back to show them that we are not afraid of them. Fear is what fuels their rampage on Hogye. Strike them and fear will be theirs.”
“How do we know that this is not your ploy to get out of Hogye?” Fercyn joined in. “The Hunt Lance is coming tomorrow. How can we be sure that you are not trying to escape the Hunt Lance by planning this strategy?”
It was a hard question to answer. I did not blame them for thinking ill of me. I screwed them once, and it was hard to regain their trust. I had to choose my words carefully. “I can not give you more than my words, Sheriff Fercyn,” I said slowly. “But please consider that I had a chance to escape when you left me to die in the hands of the nolans. I did not take that opportunity. Instead, I made them leave Hogye, and I am still here devising this plan, so you will never depend on the CAMR again.”
The city hall was suddenly quiet. I had gained their attention.
“This is my plan: I will lead 7 of your ablest men in Cutlass battle armors to attack the nolan’s stronghold. We only hunt them down as long as we do not put ourselves in danger. So stay close to me, and do exactly what I say. I promise, I will bring everybody home. If this plan fails, then I will surrender myself to the Hunt Lance so they can resume the contract with you. If it succeeds, then…” I paused for a moment, giving them a chance to grasp the most important thing of this plan. “If this plan succeeds, then you get yourself an army.”
“An army of eight?” Fercyn skeptically scoffed. “What can you do with an army of eight?”
“To end the contract with the CAMR,” I could not help but smile. “Then you are forever independent. Is it not your wildest dream, Sheriff Fercyn, to take control of your own fate? Do you not want to go back to Hogye’s golden age? Building an army is the first step to reclaim everything that had been lost because of the Clan invasion. It is a small army, but it is yours to command.”
I could see in Fercyn’s eyes that he started to see the light in my idea. The city hall broke out in murmurs, and I sensed energy rise up from the crowd. I could feel their trust growing. Of course, if this plan ended up in catastrophe, they would certainly kill me. But it was a risk I could not avoid if I wanted to see them free from the nolans and the despotic Hunt Lance of the CAMR.
As they bathed in high spirit, I took a step back and wondered what I was doing here. These people were certainly not my kin. I did not act like any of them, and they certainly got me on my nerves with their slow, retarded way of thinking. But here I was, trying to help them get on their own feet. I wondered where this soft nature came from, considering how violent I was against the CAMR and the nolans.
Maybe I was just being appreciative.
“A good plan, Parker, but I can’t let you do it today,” Megi spoke after a long hiatus.
“We do not have time, Mayor,” I argued. “The Hunt Lance will come tomorrow…”
“I’ll deal with the Hunt Lance,” Megi interjected. “You can’t go with those wounds. If you want to do it, you’re doing it in three days.”
“Three days? We are losing the momentum in three days…”
“Three days, or there will be no hunting at all!” Megi fizzled. “We both know that you’re an avatar, Parker. But you’re only human. So stop being turgid and start acting like you’re supposed to be. I’ll let Doctor Kim take a good care of you. Cedro, you have three days to fix the battle armors to nominal condition. Fercyn, come with me. Let’s discuss our plan to deal with the Hunt Lance.”
“Si, Senorita,” the small mechanic rose to his feet. “Coming right up.”
I wanted to rebuke. I was hurt, but I could not afford to rest for three days. The nolans might have been regrouped in three days. We were wasting the momentum. But I realized that Megi had the last call on this matter. She was the mayor, the leader of Hogye, and I could not get around her authority, no matter how imperative it was to press on the attack. I just had to wait for three days.
While I was developing a new strategy, Dr. Kim and Nurse Lin came to check on my stitches. The doctor shook his head, muttering, “You are one doggone sonofabitch, you know that? You can’t go out hunting like this! You’d be jeopardizing yourself and your “army”, if that’s what you want to call them.”
“I am just trying to help,” I bickered.
“We know, we know,” Nurse Lin replied while gauzing my stitches. “And we appreciate what you’re doing for us. But if you’re taken down, the others will be lost. They don’t know what they’re doing, and they’ll look up to you. You have to be in pristine condition when you lead your men to battle. And by pristine I mean not only your body, but your mind as well.”
I conceded. I could not assume that these people were commando units who dared to wade through fire with minimal protection. They were just ordinary citizens. I might have worked with elite soldiers in my past, but it was not the case with Hogye citizens. I had to devise a plan feasible for these people, while maintaining the standard that I would set for myself. And fortunately, I had three days to do that.
“There, you’re all fixed up,” Nurse Lin stated. “I know you’re hot-blooded, but try to be timid for three days to heal completely. If there is any problem with the stitches, you can call me or Dr. Kim.”
“I will,” I said, forcing myself to smile. As I got up, Cedro came to me. I knew what he wanted to say, but I let him do it anyway.
“I am sorry about what happened last week,” Cedro said, his eyes were gloom with regrets. “It was very kind of you to defend me, but in return I speak ill of you. You didn’t deserve it.”
“I understand,” I replied truthfully. “You were scared. After today, you will not afraid of anything anymore. This much I promise you.”
Outskirts of Hogye, Engadine,
Melissa Theater, Lyran Alliance,
April 1, 3058
The discordant steps of battlemech feet vibrated through the ground. They were scant at first, more like heartbeats, but as time went by they became quakes that rattled the windows of Fercyn’s car. In the distance, the lumbering shadows of three battlemechs advanced toward Hogye. The CAMR Hunt Lance had come to avenge their leader, bringing with them the entire tank company to back them up.
I sat in the back seat of Fercyn’s car, with a chain on my wrists, watching these lethal machines wade through the light forest. The biggest one was a short mech, with long-barrelled arms and a missile tube on its left torso. The other two were humanoid, with multiple missile tubes on their torsos and barreled guns as their lower arms. The tanks prowled through the forest in line formations, giving them a wide firing arc. Their armors gleamed under the morning sun, and if they had came with any intention other than to collect me, I might have enjoyed the view.
About 100 meters from where we parked, the battlemechs stopped their advance, and regrouped in line formation. They perched shoulder to shoulder, with all guns trained toward Hogye. It was intimidating and scary. I did not know if these people were capable of doing something dishonorable, like killing unarmed civilians, or not. Personally, I would prefer them as far away from Hogye as possible, but Mayor Megi and Sheriff Fercyn had another thing in mind. I just hoped that whatever it was, it had been thoroughly considered.
“Alright guys, it’s showtime,” Megi said, and walked from the car.
Sheriff Fercyn cocked his sidearm, then assisted me out of the vehicle. Together we walked toward the battlemech line. The canopy of the largest battlemech popped open, and the pilot climbed down. It was the Hunt Lance second-in-command, Wade Avery. The pilots on her right and left side also exited their mechs and accompanied her to the ground. They met us right in the center between their mechs and Fercyn’s car.
“I wish the Viper were man enough to come here and ask himself,” Megi said.
“Hauptmann Viveros is still undergoing medical treatment,” Wade replied tersely. “And don’t try to be cute with me, Mayor. With a flick of my finger, my war machines will advance toward Hogye and destroy everything. The only way you can prevent that is by giving me him.” He pointed at me.
“We are not done with our investigation,” Fercyn answered back. “I can’t confirm your story that this man bludgeoned your commander. It would appear that Hauptman Viveros drew the first blood. We need two more weeks.”
“Two more weeks? Do you think I’m stupid enough to withstand this joke?” Wade made a small advance, causing Fercyn to graze his pistol with his thumb. “What is he to you that you put everybody in my crosshairs just to save him?”
“It’s not even his words, Mr. Avery,” Megi spoke sternly. “Words on the street are very much different from your claim. Your drunken commander harassed the tech that has been faithfully obeying his command. Parker offered his service, and in return, the Viper attacked him. When he could not defeat him, he asked the others to swarm him… with knives! I don’t know what you name such an act, but I call it cowardice.”
“You lying bitch,” Wade harshly snapped, and he raised his right hand to cue his lancemates to attack Hogye. “There’s no way Hogye citizens have the balls to tell that!”
“Oh, but they do, Mr. Avery,” Megi continued with incredible self-control. “Do you know how big Cedro is? The man your commander insulted in front of his family? He’s 5’3”, 125-lb. Your commander needed the accompaniment of 4 men to come to Cedro’s home and disgrace him. And look at Parker. Do you think the Viper needs 4 men to subdue him? Don’t you think your commander alone is capable of beating him? I don’t know what you see in him, Mr. Avery, but if I were you, I would question my judgment.”
It was a very critical moment, as I could see in Wade’s eyes that he was very close to give the cue to his lancemates. But somehow Megi’s last comment about the Viper stirred something in his mind. A shadow of confusion clouded his eyes as he lowered his right hand slowly. He gave me a straight look, then came back to Megi, “You don’t know how close you are from being pulverized, Mayor! How dare you insult my judgment?”
“The moment you open fire on Hogye, my men will send the battleROM of our conflict to MRBC from Kinst,” Megi replied, as if Wade’s mechs and tanks did not intimidate her. “It will tell them how much you crossed the line by interfering with our internal system, and the fact that you opened fire on unarmed citizens. That’s against the Ares Convention, if you haven’t noticed. A serious war crime. If MRBC sees everything, you can spend the rest of your life cleaning filth from jumpjet nozzles.”
The power of Megi’s words finally won over Wade’s common sense. The young mechwarrior took a step back, hissing, “One more week, Mayor. I give you one more week. If I don’t have him by then, I will besiege Hogye until you all die of famine. Not even MRBC can be your saving grace anymore.”
Wade cued his lancemates to climb into their battlemechs, then took them out of Hogye’s outskirt.
“That’s a very dangerous game you played, Megi,” Sheriff Fercyn said, wiping his cold sweat. “Wade Avery knew you were lying, and even if he didn’t, he will sooner or later.”
“He’s young, he’s honorable, but he’s inexperienced,” Megi replied, smiling triumphantly. “I know I can manipulate him.”
“Still, what if it wasn’t him?” Fercyn blurted, irritated. “What if it was the Viper, and he skipped the negotiation? Hogye’s gone by now! I can’t believe you did this, Megi!”
“But it worked, for now.” Megi responded while setting my hands free. “The bottom part is we have another week. It’s half what we wanted, but it’s still plenty of time. Now let’s get back home. We have a lot of things to do.”
“Mayor, if I can have a moment of your time,” I halted her. “Why are you doing this? Why are you so adamant about keeping me from the mercenary? Do you know who I was?”
My last question seemed to give a shock to Megi. She froze, looking at me with a blank stare. It was the first time I saw her caught off guard. She stood still for several moments, until she came back to her senses. “Don’t be stupid, Parker. I will do the same for every Hogye citizen. Now let’s head back.”
I was about to ask more, but she quickly got into the car, as if she was avoiding me. Sheriff Fercyn lit a cigarette, heaved and puffed the smoke several times, then got into the car. So I followed them. The journey back to downtown Hogye was quiet as everyone was busy thinking of what just happened.
I remembered what Wade Avery said about Megi’s willingness to jeopardize her own town just to save me. I remembered Sheriff Fercyn expressed similar curiosity the day I beat the Viper and his goons. I did not pay attention at that time, but now that two people had said it, I began to wonder: did Megi hide something from me? Did she know who I was, what I was, or where I came from? So far I knew that I was a military man, that I had had strategic and tactical military training, and that I had had intense combat training before. Exactly how much these traits were related to Megi, I did not know for sure. I just have a strong feeling that she knew me more than I thought she did.
Some other time, maybe, when she was ready to tell the truth. |
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