Uninvited Guests - 3050
The year is 3050. The Clan invasion is
underway, and the Wolves are on the prowl. They have rolled over the outer
worlds of the FRR to the minor system called Helseggen, "the cloudy",
so named both for the clouds of dust and small asteroids that make this system
a navigational nightmare, and for the scudding storms of its cold, mountainous
world. Helseggen's challenging terrain was originally the staging ground for a
joint wargame between the Kungsarme and the AFFC; now the game is over, and
there is only war.
----
"I am Khan Ulric of
Clan Wolf, the bloodnamed kin of Kerensky! Name your forces, that we may bid
for your destruction!"
Khan Ulric Kerensky
spoke with satisfaction from the command ship of his fleet. The invasion was
going well; the Wolves had claimed a half-dozen worlds already, and another now
stood ready to fall. An angry-sounding voice answered the challenge...the man
was surprisingly curt, as if the Wolves' challenge was an interruption unworthy
of his attention.
"I am Colonel David
Grey, commanding the Shadows. We field a heavy Mech battalion and an armored
battalion, in the service of the Federated Commonwealth. We stand beside the Free Rasalhague Republic in defense of their world."
Shadows? For some
reason, Ulric didn't like the sound of that name. No doubt another impudent
bunch of surats. But the game had to be played nonetheless. He spoke again,
almost condescendingly.
"Colonel Grey. The
Clans do not believe in wasting men, or damaging life and property needlessly.
Would you be willing to meet an equivalent force with your Mechs? On ground
away from civilian populations, quiaff?"
The voice answered
immediately, with a tone that raised the hair on Ulric's neck.
"We have been
informed of your methods, and have already chosen our ground. My Mechwarriors
and I will await you at your convenience. You may land at the following
coordinates..."
What manner of men were
they facing? Ulric had to wonder...this was not like the fearful or
pseudo-confident tones that other foes had taken.
-----
The dropships' ramps
opened on a rocky, windswept plain, and two Wolf binaries deployed. It was a
fast force, consisting mostly of Kit Foxes and Adders, supported
by three Timber Wolves. Leading the force was a fearsome Dire Wolf;
Star Colonel Mikhail Kerensky was a ristar in the Khan's own bloodline, and he
could feel Ulric watching him from orbit as he positioned his troops against a
possible dezgra ambush.
A warning came from one
of his light scouts. The surats were to the west. He ordered the force shifted
to face...and stopped still as darkness fell over him.
Atop the foothills to
the west, silhouetted against the sunset, stood a row of dark Mechs. The
darkness was their shadows, cast long by the dimming light over the field
below. In the center was the squat, powerful shape of a Zeus; Mikhail
felt a chill as its broad shoulders blocked the light, and knew that this was
the enemy leader.
Shadows, indeed.
-----
This may not be what
Hell is like, Mikhail thought to himself, but it had to be pretty close.
The battle had opened
fairly enough, with the Wolves sweeping forward quickly, their dark foes moving
down to meet them. The swift Kit Foxes and Adders had quickly
sought to pick their foes and flank, drawing their opponents out into duels and
dividing their position.
It hadn't worked. The
Shadows had refused to be drawn out, backing together in cover, keeping the
faster Wolves out of their formation by staying tight and fighting at range.
That quickly cost the Wolves; their enemy was more primitive, but the
long-range fire had taken a toll on the lighter Clan Omnis. But, Mikhail noted,
the enemy WAS fighting above board; no trickery here, they were calling their
foes and sticking with them. The problem simply was, Mikhail thought, that Kit
Foxes and Adders were no match for patient foes in partial cover.
And so he had sent in
the Timber Wolves, leading their attack himself with his Dire Wolf.
The awesome firepower of the huge Omni had immediately made an impact, blasting
a Griffin to scrap with a single volley. Slowly but surely, the Shadows were driven
from cover, one by one. They simply could not match up with the bigger Clan
Omnis. Slowly but surely, the tide had shifted to the Wolves' side.
Then something had
happened. Mikhail wasn't sure what; confusion over the radio net, a missed
challenge, something had gone wrong. And now zellbrigen was broken, and the
battered Shadows were fighting back with concentrated firepower. One Timber
Wolf had instantly become the focal point for a half-dozen Shadows, and it
swiftly fell in pieces. The lighter Omnis had tried to close again, only to be
driven into cover. The Shadows had retightened their formations, and now it was
a matter simply of who would be left standing at the end. His Dire Wolf
continued to plow forward, blasting hard at any foe who crossed his sights,
trying to keep them from consolidating their position, but now he was taking
fire from all directions.
Then suddenly,
everything stopped. A long, awkward pause, as he found himself standing face to
face with the Zeus.
The enemy leader,
Colonel David Grey, made no move but to simply point his left arm gun at
Mikhail.
Well bargained, and
done!
Mikhail lumbered forward
eagerly, swinging the Dire Wolf's guns to bear. But the Zeus had been
crafty, taking off at a full speed angle, hammering the bigger, slower Omni
with everything it had. The Dire Wolf's shots were tardy, and mostly
missed behind. Mikhail noticed that around the two dueling leaders, the battle
had come to an unspoken halt. The two sides spread out almost automatically, to
give the two monster assault Mechs plenty of room. He smiled to himself...a
Circle of Equals!
Mikhail's Dire Wolf
jolted again, and he cursed himself for being distracted. The Zeus was
using its slightly greater speed to keep ahead of the Dire Wolf's turns,
staying near the edge of his firing arc, not allowing Mikhail to bring his full
firepower to bear. Missiles and beams slashed across Mikhail's armor, and he
could only really respond with one arm. Mikhail quickly backed up, hoping to
widen the distance and get a better field of fire.
That move elicited an
unexpected response, as the Zeus charged in and delivered a thunderous
kick. It ducked as Mikhail fired late, the hail of beams and shells passing
high, and then came up with a powerful uppercut, the blunt punching core of its
missile arm slamming the Dire Wolf squarely on the chin. Cracks spiderwebbed
across the cockpit glass, and the Dire Wolf staggered back as the Zeus'
ERPPC came around and took the missile launcher off the Dire Wolf's
shoulder with a point-blank shot. An ammo flashback sparked, and suddenly
Mikhail's panel was alive with alarms; the CASE system had done its job, but
his engine was damaged and his left arm was gone. He gritted his teeth against
the shrilling feedback, and brought up his good arm point blank into the Zeus'
chest.
But before he could
fire, there was a sudden CLANK, and Mikhail found himself looking straight into
the Zeus' ERPPC. Its muzzle was flush against his cockpit, the polished
inside of the barrel glowing faintly with crackles of static.
And there they stood,
for a minute that seemed like eternity, the two leaders, each at the other's
gunpoint.
It was Colonel Grey who
spoke first, as he lowered his weapon's muzzle and delivered a salute with his
missile arm.
"Well fought,"
he said with a satisfied smile. "Well fought, indeed."
He gave a signal, and
the Shadows began withdrawing, gathering their fallen as they went, leaving the
stunned Wolves standing in the field. Colonel Grey remained facing the Wolves
as his men fell back, heading for their drop zone to lift offworld. He zoomed
in his cameras, and looked Mikhail right in the face before turning to walk
away.
"We will meet
again, I'm sure."
And then, the Shadows
were gone.
-----
From the personal
Remembrance of Ulric Kerensky, April 3050:
Today, on Helseggen,
for the first time since the start of our invasion, we have met true warriors.