Mech Warrior Log - Brody.J - School's out forever

Rebollar's riot

Lady Trussel could barely contain her excitement as we made our way back to the LZ at Ellinikon and I had to try hard to block out the chatter as it came over the comms. This world might well be one step away from freezing to death but I couldn't help but wonder if she realised what she had truly let herself in for.

We avoided any more run-ins with Clayborne's Commandos before passing through the perimeter that the Blackshields had set around Ellinikon. We were directed by Shirinov to help load the loot onto the dropship. it didn't take too long and the locals kept their distance knowing that they were outgunned.

With all the gear loaded Shirinov ordered us all back on board and we took off again, I was surprised to See Shirinov and Rebollar still in their 'Mechs as i'd assumed we were headed back to the jump point. I patched into their comms and soon discovered that we had another mission planned. Most of what I am going to set down here now Thornton and I were able to recover from the data recorders on board Shirinov's Warhammer and Rebollar's Enforcer.

We landed just outside of New Iona and Shirinov and Rebollar powered up and headed off towards the city. Jakari, Thornton and I kept a perimeter watch and I monitored the comms of both Shirinov and Rebollar though they both maintained a strict silence and the local stuff, or at least as much of it as I could get. The two of them soon split up once they had entered the city and Rebollar had stopped his 'Mech at a local school. Shirinov headed deeper into the city broadcasting via his PA system that the authoities needed to release a prisoner named Conrad.

Rebollar meanwhile was holding the kids in the school and the instructors hostage to Shirinov's demands. It wasnt long before the local militia turned up and surrounded the school and his 'Mech. From the looks of things the locals were not keen to capitulate to Shirinov's demands and didn't take kindly to having their kids threatened so started shooting at Rebollar's enforcer in an attempt to drive him off. For whatever reason that fuck Rebollar reacted in an extreme manner and kicked and blasted his way through half the school.

From the LZ we could see a large cloud of black smoke and heard a dull whump as something went up in the city. At that time we didn't know the arsehole was killing kids to aid his partner in crime. Needless to say the Thraxan forces backed the fuck down in an attempt to try and preserve the lives of those who remained in the school.

Mech Warrior Log - Brody.J - Me thinks the Lady doth protest too little

Lady Trussel's Estate

OK, So the idea was that this was supposed to be a trouble free pick up of a willing passenger...  LIKE FUCK it was! I knew, just bloody well knew, that it was going to be a fucking disaster as soon as the words came out of that greasy little shit's mouth! She's expecting you he said... How the fuck did she know we were coming was my first thought... Still, I don't know if Shirinov has been sneaking off to Shervanis City to use the HPG station there or if he has had Hull or Melville get in touch with her to let her know we were inbound once we were on our way... Either way things did not go exactly according to plan.

I am in danger here of getting ahead of myself... let me get back to the start. We made our LZ roughly ten clicks from our target on a flat portion of Thraxa's conserved tundra, powered up and headed out in the direction of her apartments. Fortunately my 'Mech was able to integrate with the orbital satelite stations so we weren't headed off in a random tangent, so much easier than navigating on Astrokaszy. Within a few minutes a building came into view, nestled in a picturesque valley, it was a large mansion of steel and glass and it was as we approached that things started to turn to shit.

From behind the building a blast of man made lightning hit Thornton's Battlemaster, boiling off the armour on its left torso as a Warhammer hove into view, fortunately it's second shot went wide. I moved to engage letting loose with a PPC and a couple of large lasers all three of which hit, the PPC and one of the lasers in the left leg and the other in it's left torso. I got lucky! the second hit to the left leg boiled off more armour but must have hit a weak spot as a great plume of green smoked billowed from its upper leg as the laser damaged the 'Mech's hip.

While I was engaging the Warhammer a Crusader rounded the other side of the mansion and opened up on Jakari and Thornton with it's LRM's. The fighting was quick and brutal as was the language over the comms, my Knight's Beagle probe detected that the Warhammer was pretty seriously damaged so I moved in close and let rip with one Large, four Medium and my Small laserscoring two more hits on the Warhammer's left leg and knocking it over, it's hip actuator exploding as the medium laser punched through into it's internal structure. Thoroughly beaten the pilot powered down the 'Mech in surrender.

The Crusader meanwhile was running hot from trying to deal with Jakari and Thornton's combined attacks and once I'd turned my attention to it as well the pilot wisely decided that bugging out was the right course of action even though both Jakari and Thornton's 'Mechs had taken some damage. I checked in with them both to make sure they were ok and as a unit we moved in closer to the mansion.

A single figure emerged from the building as we arrived, carrying a large case of clothing. Thornton extended a hand and the young lady climbed up onto it and was raised to the cockpit level of his 'Mech, the Battlemaster having the most room available. I contacted Hull to let him know we had our passenger aboard and that we were returning at speed after engaging hostiles. I guess Shirinov was honest about one thing Lady Rosalina Trussel had been expecting us.

Mech Warrior Log - Brody.J - Curiouser and curiouser

Thraxan Orbit

The transit to the Jump point took eight days... Eight days of listening to Hausa and Shirinov talking up how easy it was going to be, how valid Shirinov's intel was and how much we, as a unit, could make from this... What a crock of shit! two pompous windbags filling the air with meaningless chatter. People were going to die on Thraxa, maybe not our people but people just the same. People who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I struggle, I freely admit, with the whole idea of piracy... Mind you I guess banditry is not a great deal better... I cant crow too much about it though as I have now added both to my C.V. They sit real nicely next to gambler and thief.

I spent as much of those eight days away from the briefing room as I could manage, not that Hausa or Shirinov seemed to notice, a fact that suited me fine. Once we were securely docked with the Vanishing Point  Captain Melville jumped and we were truly under way. Eight jumps later and we arrived at our destination jump point and the King Goblin detached from Melville's jumpship and  we were departing for Thraxa and our objective raid.

Less than three days is all it takes to get from the Thraxan jump point to the planet itself and for most of those three days I spent my time preparing  my Black Knight, ensuring that all the systems were in good working order and ready for the inevitable action to come. Six hours from planetfall we were all summoned to an emergency briefing in the ready room. Hausa sat at the head of the table, wrapped in a thermal blanket and looking like he'd been eaten by a Thraxan Ice Bear and shat back out again. He struggled to get out that he had fallen ill a little over an hour before and rather than calling off the raid had decided to leave Shirinov in charge as he had that expert knowledge about the layout and disposition of forces planetside. There were grumbles from those not in his camp, a camp that seems to be growing I hasten to add, and one or two smiles from those within it. I watched as Hausa struggled to rise and had to in the end be helped back to the Med-Bay.

Shirinov called Thornton, Jakari and I over at the end of the briefing and told us that he had another mission for us while the raid was being dealt with at the distribution centre. He had ordered the King Goblin to drop us off at a private estate some sixty clicks southwest of the designated target. Our mission was to aid in the extraction of Lady Rosalina Trussel, daughter of Duchess Molly Trussel. He said that Lady Trussel would be ready and waiting for us and it should be a simple matter of just picking her up.

That prick! He'd had all of this planned from the start. I suspect that Hausa was poisoned with some fast acting but short term agent which had rendered him unable to command. Shirinov is a clever bastard, I'll give him that! I registered my disapproval of the plan but as Shirinov had been placed in direct command what more could I do but obey the little Prick's orders.

With the rest of the Blackshields dropped off at the distribution centre we made for our own LZ... What a cluster fuck!

Mech Warrior Log - Brody.J - A Pirate's life for me

Return to the Briefing Room

With the Vandals now a part of the Blackshields it was time for us to earn our pay and our good friend Arturo had offered Col. Ferguson a tasty little target, The Ellinikon Distribution Centre on Thraxa. Ferguson called us all into the briefing room and called the room to order once the usual hubbub had died down, again she and Hausa both wait far too long in my opinion but it is their unit to command and not mine... in fact I find the entireity of the command structure a little lax, especially as Hauser and Ferguson were regular troops at one stage. The Colonel started the briefing and began to outline what lay ahead of us. She soon handed over to Capt. Hausa so that he could fill us in on the specifics of the mission.

Thraxa, a semi-arctic world on the border between the Magistracy of Canopius and the Marian Hegemony. It has come to recent renown for trading furs and wool and for the meat from the native Tazqan (a herbivore that resembles a Terran Caribou). Our objective was to land at the Ellinikon Distribution Centre and load up as much of these high value items as possible without wasting too many of the locals (OK, I'm paraphrasing here)... it all seemed easy enough.


Kaja however was not impressed at the idea of attacking one of her home planets and made as much known at the briefing, refusing to take part in the raid and leaving before the briefing was done. I too said how I thought it was a bad move to be attacking a Canopian world, even one as rich and apparently weakly defended as Thraxa, when we had ripe targets available on Astrokaszy. Still Capt Hausa assured us that Shirinov's intel was legit. I checked out Shirinov's face as Hausa was talking him up and there was a moment or two when that prick's mask slipped... There is definitely something going on with him... more than he is letting on,  and rather than use their own wits Ferguson and Hausa are blindly being led into doing what Shirinov wants.


With no further questions from the floor Ferguson said that Captain Hausa would be leading the raid with Mech Warrior Shirinov acting as his second. We had 8 hours before we had to meet up at the King Goblin So Jakari, Thornton and I went our separate ways to prepare. I made for Kaja's quarters and found her there looking royally pissed off. We talked for a little while about the raid and I made a promise to her that I would do everything in my power to minimise casualties, After all this was only meant to be a smash and grab objective raid. With that done I left and headed back to my own quarters to prepare... Piracy! How could a Solaris VII champion fall so far!... Aint life an absolute motherfucker!

MechWarrior Log - Brody.J - I love it when a plan comes together!

Jakari in action

With the trap sprung I climbed my 'Mech out of the gorge I'd been using for cover and opened up on the Dervish with the twin large and four medium lasers. The heat level in the cockpit spiked a little but it was worthwhile as my opponent rocked backwards as the armour on it vaporised. Thornton let me know that he was on the move and Jakari for once was sticking to the plan. The Dervish spun round trying to bring its weapons to bear but I blasted off another salvo from my 'Mech's energy weapons. I'd punched through into the internal structure and damaged one of the LRM systems as my lasers boiled its armour away.

Thornton was now in the thick of it too, blasting at the Panther with his PPC while strafing at Musa's infantry as they tried to get out of their technical. Things got a little hazy after that... The dervish pilot had soon had enough and shut his 'Mech down so I switched to the Panther who was so busy trying to evade Thornton's Battlemaster that he didn't notice my kicking his leg off until it was too late. We concentrated on the infantry and the vehicles while Jakari came up to finish off the downed Panther blasting it's cockpit when the pilot refused to stand down... I do wish he wouldn't do that but I guess it is the pirate in him!

Over the comms I could hear the chatter coming from the Vandals, Cia was telling them to stand down while Collins was railing against it and even took a pot shot at Thornton before van Zant saw the writing on the wall and ordered him to cease and desist. Jakari was soon on the comm to the four of them telling them that they were now a part of Ferguson's Blackshields! I got the distinct impression that they were not too pleased about it. It's a hard thing to go from being top dog to one of the boys again and I didn't think that van Zant would handle it all that well.

The last of Musa's trucks was making a break for the hills and just as it crested a rise I blasted it with my 'Mech's PPC. Some of Musa's infantry decided that they couldn't compete with Thornton's machineguns and threw down their weapons... very smart of them.

With the fighting over van Zant was quickly on the comm asking what the fuck was going on. Jakari once again let him know that they were being taken in and made members of the Blackshields or they could die where they stood. With Cia obviously already on side and heavily outgunned by superior 'Mechs van Zant agreed.

Before we headed back to Ras Hafun I fulfilled my part of our bargain with van Zant. I took his star league computer and plugged it into the battle computer in my Black Knight. It took a few minutes but I was able to hack my way in and release the coordinates of the lost Star League base. I ran an algorithm that corrupted the coordinates before handing it back to van Zant... I just don't trust that arsehole!

MechWarrior Log - Brody.J - The Ambush!

The Ambush Site

So with our plan laid out to van Zant (and my promise that once I had my 'Mech back I should be able to hook the field computer into my own computer system to crack it) we waited on Musa's go ahead stating that an early morning strike sooner rather than later would give us the best opportunity for success.

We didn't have to wait for too long! Musa's greed and lust for power and revenge over his neighbour far outweighed any sense of caution he may have once possessed. The mission was given the green light for early the very next day. These crazy fucks! they really have no comprehension of planning and preparation... still it all works in our favour!

Thornton spoke to Jakari and I and said that Cia was aware that we would be pulling a stroke of some kind or another and that she should tell her colleagues to stand down when it all kicked off. I personally hoped that the Vandals stuck to the plan and could see when they would be better off. Time to get a little R&R before we set of in the early pre-dawn hours.

The hour was upon us before we knew it and I have to say I was a little worried. Musa was throwing almost everything he had into the pot in an effort to make good on the raid... could we rely on the Vandals to stand down when we sprung our trap? I figured only time would tell.

The desert was still chilly in the pre-dawn half light as we sped across its wastes in our technical. We had a short period of time to get back to our 'Mechs and head to the ambush site before the Vandals and Zanjibari combined forces appeared so our reunion with Muhktar's men was brief and we were lucky that Jakari had bought his young slave girl with him or we'd have been fucked with Hadji as nothing more than a smear on a 'Mech's footplate.

As our 'Mech's powered up the sky was growing lighter  and with every moment that passed our opportunity to ambush Musa's force was fading. We had found an excellent spot on our way in and had taken note of the coordinates just in case. Withing half an hour our ambush was set and we sat waiting like a coiled snake ready to strike when our prey came into range.

Jakari and Thornton were powered down to all but the bare essentials while i scanned from my position using my Knight's Beagle active probe. Soon enough Musa's force came within range. I picked up a number of trucks and technicals as well as the Vandals four 'Mechs and Musa's two.  I passed on the info over a secure channel from my advanced coordination point with Jakari and Thornton waiting on my command... 'Stay on target... Stay on target... Now!'

MechWarrior Log - Brody.J - A cracking job

van Zant's Prize

The morning after the night before and Hadji's corpse and the remains of the party had both been thankfully cleared away before we were called to another meeting with Musa, his Vizier and Ronnie van Zant. I cannot stress how pleased I was to see him standing there as we were escorted in... his chest all puffed out like a pigeon and strutting like a peacock with it's tail in full fan.

The Vizier started proceedings by offering us light refreshments, sweetmeats, coffee (or what passes for it in this shithole) and mint tea (see my former elaborated point). All of these I politely declined but Jakarai tucked in with relish. He then went on to say how his illustrious master, the wise and beneficent Caliph Musa had decided to take us up on our offer to betray our former master and return to his Caliphate with our recaptured 'Mechs... Increasing his military might while punishing Muhktar for his deceitful behaviour.

He suggested we spend some more time in the company of his esteemed 'Mech commander Ronnie van Zant and his crew but that we should stay away from his 'Mech bays after the unfortunate incident where his very loyal 'Mech Pilot had been killed after attacking Jakari. We of course thanked him for his wisdom and beneficence... he was obviously a very enlightened individual, I find it extremely amusing how they think of us 'ajaniib' as pawns to be used in their petty power struggles... they have no idea of the power of an inner sphere planet, even one like Solaris VII let alone a bloody House!

With that we were dismissed and returned to a common area where we were able to talk, relatively privately, you never truly know if the guards who hovered at the edge of our vision spoke English at all. We talked through how we would get back to Muhktar's compound in Ras Hafun and came up with a plan between the three of us to ambush Musa's forces in the desert.

A little while later we were summoned to a rather more luxurious area of the Caliph's palace where Ronnie sat holding court with his followers clustered around him. Pyle looked, a little fearfully I thought, at Jakari and then decided that he needed to spend some time cleaning his boots and disappeared double quick... I really need to speak to Jakari about what went down there. Cia moved off to talk to Thornton and I was left in the company of the king himself.

I outlined our plan to van Zant saying that we would sneak back to Muhktar's compound in one of Musa's technical, closely followed by van Zant leading Musa's forces to surprise attack Muhktar's compound. as he lead Musa's forces against one side of the compound we would overpower the guards on our 'Mechs, reclaim them and join the fray.

Van Zant liked the play... I guess it appealed to his nature, flashy, treacherous, devious and cowardly all at once. I asked him what he was doing there at Musa's compound and he replied that he was doing what everybody needed to do... Survive. Laughing I replied that each battle he fought brought him one step closer to having his own Caliphate at which his eyes lit up like flashlights and a wry grin crossed his features very briefly.

In a sudden flash of inspiration he asked how we would break back into the 'Mech bays as the keycode had most likely been changed. I replied to him ain a conspiratorial tone that I had some reasonable skill in hacking and I figured I could manage any security level this dungball had to offer. again his eyes lit up and he said in a conspiratorial tone of his own 'I have something you might want to take a look at... the real reason we are here' and from behind his seat he produced a battered metal case, opened it and revealed what can only have been a functional star league field computer!

MechWarrior Log - Brody.J - Bring on the dancing girls

The Caliph's dancing girls

So while Thornton and I were busy weighing up the Vandals Jakari had been off using his special talents to make some new friends of his own. It seems that he had commandeered the services of a young slave girl who spoke English and had taken her with him to Musa's 'Mech bays.


Not being there myself I can't say for sure what transpired between Jakari and Musa's 'MechWarrior but having seen him in action more than once I can see that it probably went down something like this...


Jakari heads into the hangar and locating the 'Mechwarriors does something to antagonise them. This soon leads to a brawl which the local has little chance of winning. Musa's guy went for his gun and Jakari gutted him with his vibro-blade leaving him lying amongst his own entrails, shit and blood...


The first clue we had was when a bunch of Musa's guards headed down that way loaded to the gunwales with assault rifles, scimitars and other various instruments of death. Thornton and I looked at each other and the exact same thought crossed our minds I am sure... Bloody Jakari!!


We arrived just in time to find Jakari explaining to the guards, and then again to Musa's Vizier once he'd arrived, that he'd been looking over the Panther and its pilot had taken exception to him and, for some unknown reason, had attacked him by drawing his pistol and attempting to blow him away and that Jakari had only been defending himself. The young slave girl backed Jakari thankfully and the Vizier informed the three of us that we would be moved to more secure quarters 'for our own safety'... a small, windowless cubicle, cells I call them, complete with four armed guards each on the other side of the compound.


A few hours later we were summoned by the Vizier to attend the feast in our honour and of course Caliph Musa's. I was sure that Musa was out to show us a display of wealth and power that matched his palace in its splendour. The Caliph did not disappoint, his dancing girls were some of the finest I have ever seen and the food... Impressive given the nature of this shithole planet!


Jakari spent a great deal of time with his young slave, god only knows what he was talking about and Thornton gravitated toward Cia and it wasn't long before the two of them moved off out of sight... well you know what they say... birds of a feather and all that. I hung back watching the room and the people in it.


After about an hour the Vizier clapped his hands and stopped the room and the revelries within. He started to spout platitudes about Musa's magnificence and generosity to his guests (if you have to brag about it then it aint all that in my opinion) before saying that he would make an example of the treacherous dog that we had brought to him earlier that day. With that all the guests were directed to the balcony overlooking the gardens.


Spotlights blazed into life and pinpointed Hadji, staked out naked and spread eagled on the grass. Then the tell-tale sound of a 'Mech reached us before that too was lit up with spotlights. The Vizier droned on about Hadji's crimes and the evil that Muhktar had heaped on the Caliph's people... the same old shit we'd heard before heading here in the first place... and the 'Mech lumbered forward. Hadji's screams pierced the night as the 'Mech stood with it's foot raised over him and as the Vizier's voice rose to a crescendo the caliph waved an imperious hand and Hadji was crushed... slowly... beneath the 'Mech's heel. Life and death on Astrokaszy can be a real bitch!


After the excitement had died down Pyle managed to tear himself away from van Zant and Collins for a while and went over to talk to Jakari. I couldn't make out what was being said but Jakari's body language told me that he was not happy and Pyle looked like he needed to change his underwear in a hurry and backed off at speed heading back to the safety zone of van Zant's inner circle.


I watched as van Zant's minions got up and went over to help themselves to Musa's bounty and I walked over and struck up a conversation with the prick who was still wearing that ridiculous cowboy hat and sunglasses... indoors at night! He wasn't very forthcoming so I moved off again and watched the room before retiring early. I'd had more than enough of this bullshit!

MechWarrior Log - Brody.J - The Vandals

The Vandals

Van Zant’s vandals, as we came to know them to be called... First impressions... What can you say about Ronnie van Zant (the prick in the cowboy hat and leader of Musa’s ‘Mech forces)? Well you could list his qualities I guess but that wouldn’t take long at all... The man is a greedy, vain, narcissistic, ego-maniac who would think nothing of stabbing his own grandmother in the back if it meant he could get at her gold fillings!

 

The rest of his crew are not much better, Allen Collins is your typical bully boy... Keeps in with van Zant and acts as his muscle but severely lacks in the intellect and willpower department.

 

Pyle seems like a reasonable sort and certainly knows how to nod, smile, laugh and keep quiet in all the right places. There does seem to be an edge to him though... nothing I could put my finger on straight away... just the other Vandals body language around him.

 

Cia Berg is built like a bear, a huge grizzly of a woman but with a personality like a mouse! Her size has obviously been something that she has been made all too aware and it has turned her into an introvert who would rather spend time with machines than people... I can relate to that I guess having served with Thornton a while now.

 

So yeah, first impressions made me think that we wouldn’t have too much to worry about with these guys and that we could probably turn them from their course to ours or waste them... either option worked.

MechWarrior Log - Brody.J - Musa's Vizier

Grand Vizier to Caliph Musa

 

 

Hadji was becoming increasingly nervous as we climbed out of our technical and moved closer to the guards on the gate of Musa’s palace. They were making a good attempt at lounging around but were eyeballing everything, at least in a cursory manner.

 

As it turned out his fears were well founded. I was trying to think of a way to get us all inside when Jakari laid a huge haymaker on Hadji’s jaw and started shouting about having captured a spy. Hadji, who was sprawled in the dusty street looked up at him with blood running freely from his mouth and said ‘What are you doing?’ Jakari ignored him and kicked him in the face still shouting about bringing the spy to the Caliph.

 

The guard had of course noticed what was going on and become hyper alert to the situation. Not speaking English they were struggling to understand what was going on but seeing Jakari beat the shit out of Hadji  was enough, along with all the noise he was making, to get one of them to scurry off and find someone who did... especially once Jakari had thrown the now unconscious Hadji over his shoulder and was headed for the gate.

 

I have to say it was not the way I would have handled our entry but it was effective. I found myself wondering if perhaps Jakari had planned this all along? Hiding in plain sight can only be effective a small percentage of the time and this time our luck was like one of Ras Hafun’s whores... well and truly ridden. We were ushered at gunpoint into the palace and the differences between Muhktar’s and Musa’s compounds were immediately evident. Musa’s palace was an oasis of cleanliness compared with the filth and squalor outside the three metre deep mud brick walls.

 

Musa’s Vizier met us in a pleasant courtyard along with half a dozen heavily armed militiamen. His English was good and as this was Jakari’s play I waited in the background while he played his hand with the vizier. Jakari told him how we’d been separated from our ‘mechs and tasked with trying to earn them back by bringing the spy, indicating Hadji, here to spy on Musa’s Caliphate. The Vizier didn’t look like he was buying it to begin with so I chipped in with how we had been welcomed as guests, treated well and encouraged to eat and drink our fill at Muhktar’s table before falling into a chemically induced stupor.

 

The Vizier asked how we had then been separated from our ‘Mechs and I replied it was difficult to form an argument with an assault rifle’s muzzle holding your tongue down. We offered him our services in exchange for his aid in getting back our ‘Mechs and in the meantime we would do what we could to bring Muhktar down.

 

While he may not have completely bought our story he offered us the hospitality of his Master’s home. We were taken to a new area of the palace where slave girls washed our feet and were offered a change of clothes... more than welcome after wearing the borrowed stuff we’d been wearing all day.

 

The slave girls soon disappeared and we were left with four guards and the vizier’s assurances that we had the freedom of the compound... a freedom that we soon took advantage of by indicating to the guards that we wanted to see the ‘Mechbays.

 

The three of us left our ante-room following the lead of our guides as they took us deeper into the complex. We walked through a picturesque garden and came across a group of four ‘MechWarriors lounging in lawn chairs in front of an improvised ‘Mech hangar. Jakari continued on towards the hangar and its contents while Thornton and I checked out the guys we had been sent to secure or destroy.

 

The four ‘MechWarriors looked to each other in an effort to try and gauge who we were and what it was we wanted. The silence stretched between us and I knew the longer we could hold it the more likely we would be to gain the upper hand. It wasn’t long before they cracked. A guy in a ridiculous cowboy hat and some sunglasses stood up from his chair and said “and who the fuck are you??”

MechWarrior Log - Brody.J - Arrival at Musa's palace

Caliph Musa's Palace

The commander of our troop of guides was Hadji, he seems to be one of the few of Muhktar’s men that can manage to speak more than a handful of words of English. We arranged to meet him and his crew outside the ‘Mech bays just after dawn.

 

As we ran through our start-up checks we could see Hadji’s technical with its rear mounted 50 cal and half a dozen guys hanging off the back of it. I checked with Hadji if they had a communicator and he smiled as he shook his head and said ‘CB!’... Christ on the bloody cross no wonder no-one has managed to bring this planet to heel.

 

We rolled out and followed the technical as it made it’s way through the streets of Ras Hafun and headed for the desert at a reasonable pace following Hadji's lead. We kept an open channel between the three of us though none of us really were up to much by way of conversation.


The day wore on and within six hours we had made it to within thirty minutes of the edge of the Caliph's land. To go any further by 'Mech would run the risk of discovery. I powered down and dismounted so that we could talk to Hadji about what we could expect in Musa's Caliphate. He spun us the usual crap about how the people here were worse than dogs, that their idea of recreation was to sleep with their mothers or fathers or possibly both.


Needless to say we didn't get a great deal of any use from him. We all agreed that running in on the back of a loaded for bear technical was a bad idea so Thornton set to work removing the 50 from its mounting. The driver went nuts! Anyone would think that Thornton had told him he'd slept with his favourite wife... an insane thought on so many levels!


Hadji placated the driver and when that didn't work so well beat him into submission and within ten minutes the gun and ammo were sat on the deck and the technical was ready to go. We took some of the Militia's desert gear and got back into the truck. Hadji wished us luck and wasn't too impressed when we told him he was coming. He told us his face was known there but Jakari told him that wouldn't matter.


The last thirty minutes later and we were inside the Caliphates perimeter. another ten and we were outside of the Caliph's palace staring up at the mud brick façade.

MechWarrior Log - Brody.J - Mission Briefing

Briefing Room

The room was filled with a hubbub of noise, Col. Ferguson and Capt. Hausa were both waiting for the noise levels to subside and for the last few stragglers to enter. They waited longer than I’d have been prepared to but then I am not the Colonel and I didn’t look like I’d gone ten rounds with a bottle of the rotgut shit they brew on this dung ball.

 

The Colonel launched into a briefing on the neighbouring Caliphate run by a guy called Musa. His forces stretched to conventional, run of the mill militia arms and armaments until a matter of weeks ago. A group of MechWarriors landed nearby and had sold their services to Musa. The Colonel’s sources were sketchy on what ‘Mechs they were riding but the mission was clear enough, secure them or destroy them.

 

She then went on to say that Jakari, Thornton and I had been selected to carry out this mission. Which drew some looks from other members of the company, most notably from Arturo who seems to think he should be running the show instead of the Colonel. He is certainly a more able tactician than Branka seems to be and doesn’t follow orders blindly like Jared seems to... the man shows no invention or intuition at all, Still the Colonel has placed her faith, however misguided, in the man... I wouldn’t trust him to intuitively empty the trash let alone run the company!



So that was it, just the three of us and a handful of the local militia that Muhktar was prepared to spare to get us to the Caliphate as planetary data seems to be a luxury that none of those jostling for power seemed prepared to stretch to. As the rest of the black shields departed Arturo lingered behind and once the last body had disappeared out of earshot he said in a quiet, conspiratorial tone 'Looks like a tough job, I'll be impressed if you can handle it'


He then tried to sow some more seeds of doubt about the Colonel's management of the unit. Not something we were keen to have anything of. I asked him if he was angling for the top job and he tried valiantly to evade the question... he thinks he is as slick as the hair oil the locals use but he just comes across as a greasy motherfucker. My gut tells me to neither like or trust him at all!


With our briefing complete we all retired to prepare for our early start. My room, barely more than a cell really, was cool and quiet and about as far removed from what the caliph jokingly calls his court as it is possible to get and still be inside the walls of the compound. I stripped down to my shorts and was just drifting off when a loud knock stopped me short.


Opening the door I was confronted by a guard who muttered in broken English that the Caliph wanted to see me. I dressed quickly and soon discovered that the Caliph wanted to see the three of us. While we have been in his presence before this was a first, especially for this late in the day. Coming into his audience hall he sat upon his throne while his vizier stood just to one side. He started spouting the usual platitudes and I could almost feel the smoke being blown up my arse!


After all of the tedious, overly dramatic bullshit was over and done with the vizier got down to business and said that the Caliph had decided to give us each a gift in honour of the service we were giving him. He presented each of us with a very attractive sex slave and then bid us a pleasant respite before we undertook our great adventure. I looked across at Jakari and Thornton seeing undisguised lust in the eyes of the first and a cold, near nothingness in the second's.


I took the girls hand and led her back to my quarters, sat her down on the chair and went and took a shower. Once that was done I brought her a glass of cool water, climbed into the sack and fell quickly asleep. When I awoke she was gone.

 

 

 

MechWarrior Log - Brody.J - Arrival

 

 

Ras Hafun, Astrokaszy... what a shit hole! Truly the flea-bitten armpit of the universe and filled with the vermin and parasites you would expect on a hot, backwater dust ball with the motto take by force and hold by luck! Petty warlords who style themselves as nobility with a tenuous grasp on law and order and far less a grasp on honour.

 

Our journey here on the tramp freighter Prince of Florin, a misnomer if ever I have heard one, proved largely uneventful and Captain Wesley, while grumbling initially at my changing the terms of our deal, proved a competent and above all discreet skipper... Always a handy thing to know who you can rely on once you’ve bought their services.

 

My fellow absconders seem keen to keep themselves to themselves. Thornton spends most of his time with the youngster he travels with tinkering with ‘mechs or some other bit of technology and Jakari... well, he likes to keep his vibro-blade clean which is reasonably commendable. Still both are interesting characters... an introvert and an anti-social narcissist. I’d still rather have both on my side than against me.

 

Our meeting with The Blackshields in Ras Hafun went as well as could initially be expected considering we walked three heavily armed ‘mechs off of the freighter. Col. Ferguson was initially very cautious of our motives as any good commander should be but Captain Wesley had been right, they were open to new recruits, especially those that brought heavy firepower and a no questions asked attitude with them.

 

It took a while for us to earn the trust of the Colonel and the rest of her ‘mechwarriors but once that had been established to a fine degree we were summoned to the briefing room and tasked with our first mission.