1
A small note: i love roleplaying and i am trying to fit my real life story within MWO into my RP story. 2013 is 3048, and any reference to real persons, units and events is totally intentional
Well, enough talks. Enjoy!
Book One: The Eagle and the Wolf
Spoiler
1
1
Outside the Allison MechWarrior Institute, New Olympia, Marik Commonwealth, Free Worlds League
16 August 3048
The sky was clean. The sunset light was coloring the buildings of the campus of sweet shades of yellow and orange. In the wide park, the scent of fresh cut grass was creating an illusion of peace that Matt really enjoyed. However, life in the Allison MechWarrior Institute was not as easy and relaxed as he hoped..
Competition was fierce, because only the best would achieve the few prized command positions. Matt did not want a command position, but even so his path was a hard one. He had chosen one of the most famous MechWarrior academies in the League. More than a few times each day, he regretted it. Quite a few other times he rejoiced for his choice instead. The idea of living in a community was really cool, and sometimes cool parties would pay for a exhausting week. However, Matt was tired of trying to get better scores than others in every single test, or run more quickly or longer than the others in a field exercise. Unless the competition was with the cadets of the Lloyd Marik-Stanley Aerospace School. He actually liked fighters and their pilots, but the competion was felt so much that he could not resist and not fight for the honor of MechWarriors!
However, in that very moment, his mind was far from school competitions. The scent of fresh cut grass had left its place to the smell of burned grass, and the sunset light was not sweet, but it blended with the yellow-orange fires raging in the city. He saw pirate 'Mechs, a raimbow of paintjobs and colors on their old 'Mechs, people screaming and running away from the battle, his 'Mech's fusion engin running under his legs. He could feel its shielded power. His Orion's autocannon was spitting out shells furiously, like a righteous thunder bringing justice, and his lasers were burning armor on the pirate 'Mechs.. Well, maybe it was not an Orion. A cadet fresh of academy would never get a 75 tons Heavy Battlemech. Maybe it was a fast Cicada, with its tiny arms bristling with lasers.. Or even just a Spider. And maybe its KaliYama AC/10 was not a righteous thunder, but just a weapon of destruction, destroying a house for every shot that missed its target.. And the lasers were just pulses of coherent light melting ceramic armor.. No, war was not a game. He knew it, but sometimes he could not avoid wondering about epic battles against pirates or Capellans , riding the greatest weapon mankind ever built: the BattleMech.
Well, they actually have some defects, compared to tanks and other vehicles, but when you sit in a park dominated by a pair of training Chameleon 'Mechs, what else could you think about?
Matt was finally about to start the simulator sessions..And who knows, he might get good scores and get to pilot one of those real 'Mechs!
However, he had no illusions: his scores on theoric tests were usually good enough, but he was not quite one of the best cadets in athletic disciplines and survival training. He was not very phisically strong, not as many other cadets anyway. But he wanted it. He was enduring everything his istructors were throwing at him, because he wanted to make his family proud, he wanted to show his friends that he could become one.
He could become a MechWarrior.
1
Outside the Allison MechWarrior Institute, New Olympia, Marik Commonwealth, Free Worlds League
16 August 3048
The sky was clean. The sunset light was coloring the buildings of the campus of sweet shades of yellow and orange. In the wide park, the scent of fresh cut grass was creating an illusion of peace that Matt really enjoyed. However, life in the Allison MechWarrior Institute was not as easy and relaxed as he hoped..
Competition was fierce, because only the best would achieve the few prized command positions. Matt did not want a command position, but even so his path was a hard one. He had chosen one of the most famous MechWarrior academies in the League. More than a few times each day, he regretted it. Quite a few other times he rejoiced for his choice instead. The idea of living in a community was really cool, and sometimes cool parties would pay for a exhausting week. However, Matt was tired of trying to get better scores than others in every single test, or run more quickly or longer than the others in a field exercise. Unless the competition was with the cadets of the Lloyd Marik-Stanley Aerospace School. He actually liked fighters and their pilots, but the competion was felt so much that he could not resist and not fight for the honor of MechWarriors!
However, in that very moment, his mind was far from school competitions. The scent of fresh cut grass had left its place to the smell of burned grass, and the sunset light was not sweet, but it blended with the yellow-orange fires raging in the city. He saw pirate 'Mechs, a raimbow of paintjobs and colors on their old 'Mechs, people screaming and running away from the battle, his 'Mech's fusion engin running under his legs. He could feel its shielded power. His Orion's autocannon was spitting out shells furiously, like a righteous thunder bringing justice, and his lasers were burning armor on the pirate 'Mechs.. Well, maybe it was not an Orion. A cadet fresh of academy would never get a 75 tons Heavy Battlemech. Maybe it was a fast Cicada, with its tiny arms bristling with lasers.. Or even just a Spider. And maybe its KaliYama AC/10 was not a righteous thunder, but just a weapon of destruction, destroying a house for every shot that missed its target.. And the lasers were just pulses of coherent light melting ceramic armor.. No, war was not a game. He knew it, but sometimes he could not avoid wondering about epic battles against pirates or Capellans , riding the greatest weapon mankind ever built: the BattleMech.
Well, they actually have some defects, compared to tanks and other vehicles, but when you sit in a park dominated by a pair of training Chameleon 'Mechs, what else could you think about?
Matt was finally about to start the simulator sessions..And who knows, he might get good scores and get to pilot one of those real 'Mechs!
However, he had no illusions: his scores on theoric tests were usually good enough, but he was not quite one of the best cadets in athletic disciplines and survival training. He was not very phisically strong, not as many other cadets anyway. But he wanted it. He was enduring everything his istructors were throwing at him, because he wanted to make his family proud, he wanted to show his friends that he could become one.
He could become a MechWarrior.
2
Spoiler
2
Athena dorm room, Allison MechWarrior Institute, New Olympia, Marik Commonwealth, Free Worlds League
18 August 3048
His quick and short steps betrayed his excitement. Just two days before, Matt got a text message on its phone. A light had flicked on its device, telling him that someone had sent him a message with a very popular chatting app. He had touched lightly with his finger the green icon on the screen, sure that the message would be nothing interesting..
And now he was walking quickly into his dormitory. He entered in the common bathroom. Nervously, he checked again that chat..
"Luke: hey guys did you hear of the Wolf's Dragoons?!!
Matt: Eh? What?
KN: no
Luke: sendin the link. They are organizing a kind of trip, those who have an avg of minimum 8 can apply. You know the Dragoons are right now on Andurien, dont you? We can go there, see and train with them!!
Matt: really?!
KN: amazing!!
Matt: checkin the official communication!!
"
He still had the official document saved on its phone. 20 students with average scores of 8 or more, after passing an interview and a physical test, would get a chance to visit one Andurien, capital of the Duchy of Andurien, garrisoned by the Epsilon regiment and Zeta battalion of the élite Wolf's Dragoons merc unit, ending the year there. Sure, losing a month for the travel would have been a waste, but it would have been compensated by the chance of becoming a better MechWarrior that he could have been staying at the Allison. “Special training sessions” were planned, as well as a full theory and practice course of Battlemech combat, tactics and strategy. It sounded hard work, but Matt was really excited. Some FWLM units were good, but those mercs were really good. Their name was known everywhere in the Inner Sphere, and the mistery around their origins could only add to the fascination Matt had for them. But only the best would get this chance. Now, this was a good way of pushing him to study and train harder!
Now, he was in the bathroom , staring at the mirror. His brown hair was not cut very short, but short enough for a Neurohelmet's sensors to fit well on his head. After all, that practical requirement had become a standard in the Institute's MechWarrior fashion. He was not very tall, but not short either. He looked quite fit compared to the past, thanks to the Institute's hard physical exercises. But Matt thought that it was still not enough.
That morning the teachers's speech about giving it all to become the best had not helped, but he really wanted this chance. He would never have missed it.
Making sure he looked presentable, he walked out of the bathroom and headed to the mess hall. There, he met his friends already sitting at their usual table. Of course, everone was still excited for the news. Everyone, except Leonard. Younger than Matt, but as tall as him, he looked almost angry. "Of course i'm not happy about that. I'm too young to even partecipate, and even if i could i would never get the needed scores to be chosen" he said. "Anyway, i think the Dragoons have something that i don't like. I don't know, they just feel.. Evil. No one knows where they are from, and sometimes they just disappear in the Periphery and return with fresh 'Mechs and equipment. I even heard someone say .. Somene say that they might be Kerensky's followers who have returned in the Inner Sphere." He said the last words quickly, as if he wanted to get his words out of his mouth as quickly as possible. "Ha! Or maybe they are just aliens with human skins!" Matt replied, sarcastic.
Leonard had not said anything else.
Matt checked his watch: it was time to get back to the class. He had spent so much time talking that some of the cold pasta in his plat was still left untouched. Regretfully, he decided to leave it there. He did not want to get reprimanded for arriving late to a lesson, not that day.
He and his friends walked away from the table. In one of the corridors, Luke brought Matt aside while the rest of the group kept walking. "Do you know about Leo's family?" he started whispering. "What ? No. " "His father was killed by the Dragoons during Anton Marik's revolution. He was just on the wrong side. This is why he hates them. He doesn't trust them". "And if he doesn't trust the most honorable and professional merc unit, who would he trust?" Matt thought. "Ok, ok. I got it. Thank you for telling me" he replied instead.
Then, they both walked into their classroom. Many others were already sitting at their posts, mumbling among themselves. The huge screen at the far end of the room showed the topic of today's lesson. "Applied physics. Projectile motion applied to ballistic weapons..Great. Another very interesting day!" Matt thought with sadness. He fell heavily on his chair and braced himself for one of the most boring lessons the whole galaxy had ever seen.
*****
It was even more boring than expected. Everyone, even the teacher, were quick to leave the room after the end of the lesson.
Matt's thoughts now were all for the bed, where he could relax for about twenty minutes..Just twenty minutes..
"Hey Matt". He saw Kuro Furukou approaching him. His parents were from the Draconis Combine, somewhere along the border. They loved the japanese culture of the Draconis Combine and had given him a japanese name. However, he was born in the Lyran half of the Federated Commonwealth, and the centuries-old bitter enmity between the two nations would not help him. His parents both worked in a big shipping company and they had moved there they got transferred to the Lyran section of the society. Of course, many of the lyran people saw them with suspect. A few years older than Matt, Kuro was a bit taller, thin, fit, with longer black hair. His grey eyes were usualy joyful, but they often hid the pain of hateful eyes of people looking at with icy eyes, just because of his name, even if he was born in the FedCom.
"Hey Kuro" Matt's voice was low and tired. Kuro, instead, was smiling. "I heard that you're going to apply for the trip, too. Good luck mate. I really want to see the famous Dragoons, i've heard about them since my childhood!" "Me too. Hope we both make it." Slowly turning toward the door, Matt added: "Forgive me, but i'd like to have a quick shower. See you later!"
That was the last time he saw Kuro before the accident happened.
2
Athena dorm room, Allison MechWarrior Institute, New Olympia, Marik Commonwealth, Free Worlds League
18 August 3048
His quick and short steps betrayed his excitement. Just two days before, Matt got a text message on its phone. A light had flicked on its device, telling him that someone had sent him a message with a very popular chatting app. He had touched lightly with his finger the green icon on the screen, sure that the message would be nothing interesting..
And now he was walking quickly into his dormitory. He entered in the common bathroom. Nervously, he checked again that chat..
"Luke: hey guys did you hear of the Wolf's Dragoons?!!
Matt: Eh? What?
KN: no
Luke: sendin the link. They are organizing a kind of trip, those who have an avg of minimum 8 can apply. You know the Dragoons are right now on Andurien, dont you? We can go there, see and train with them!!
Matt: really?!
KN: amazing!!
Matt: checkin the official communication!!
"He still had the official document saved on its phone. 20 students with average scores of 8 or more, after passing an interview and a physical test, would get a chance to visit one Andurien, capital of the Duchy of Andurien, garrisoned by the Epsilon regiment and Zeta battalion of the élite Wolf's Dragoons merc unit, ending the year there. Sure, losing a month for the travel would have been a waste, but it would have been compensated by the chance of becoming a better MechWarrior that he could have been staying at the Allison. “Special training sessions” were planned, as well as a full theory and practice course of Battlemech combat, tactics and strategy. It sounded hard work, but Matt was really excited. Some FWLM units were good, but those mercs were really good. Their name was known everywhere in the Inner Sphere, and the mistery around their origins could only add to the fascination Matt had for them. But only the best would get this chance. Now, this was a good way of pushing him to study and train harder!
Now, he was in the bathroom , staring at the mirror. His brown hair was not cut very short, but short enough for a Neurohelmet's sensors to fit well on his head. After all, that practical requirement had become a standard in the Institute's MechWarrior fashion. He was not very tall, but not short either. He looked quite fit compared to the past, thanks to the Institute's hard physical exercises. But Matt thought that it was still not enough.
That morning the teachers's speech about giving it all to become the best had not helped, but he really wanted this chance. He would never have missed it.
Making sure he looked presentable, he walked out of the bathroom and headed to the mess hall. There, he met his friends already sitting at their usual table. Of course, everone was still excited for the news. Everyone, except Leonard. Younger than Matt, but as tall as him, he looked almost angry. "Of course i'm not happy about that. I'm too young to even partecipate, and even if i could i would never get the needed scores to be chosen" he said. "Anyway, i think the Dragoons have something that i don't like. I don't know, they just feel.. Evil. No one knows where they are from, and sometimes they just disappear in the Periphery and return with fresh 'Mechs and equipment. I even heard someone say .. Somene say that they might be Kerensky's followers who have returned in the Inner Sphere." He said the last words quickly, as if he wanted to get his words out of his mouth as quickly as possible. "Ha! Or maybe they are just aliens with human skins!" Matt replied, sarcastic.
Leonard had not said anything else.
Matt checked his watch: it was time to get back to the class. He had spent so much time talking that some of the cold pasta in his plat was still left untouched. Regretfully, he decided to leave it there. He did not want to get reprimanded for arriving late to a lesson, not that day.
He and his friends walked away from the table. In one of the corridors, Luke brought Matt aside while the rest of the group kept walking. "Do you know about Leo's family?" he started whispering. "What ? No. " "His father was killed by the Dragoons during Anton Marik's revolution. He was just on the wrong side. This is why he hates them. He doesn't trust them". "And if he doesn't trust the most honorable and professional merc unit, who would he trust?" Matt thought. "Ok, ok. I got it. Thank you for telling me" he replied instead.
Then, they both walked into their classroom. Many others were already sitting at their posts, mumbling among themselves. The huge screen at the far end of the room showed the topic of today's lesson. "Applied physics. Projectile motion applied to ballistic weapons..Great. Another very interesting day!" Matt thought with sadness. He fell heavily on his chair and braced himself for one of the most boring lessons the whole galaxy had ever seen.
*****
It was even more boring than expected. Everyone, even the teacher, were quick to leave the room after the end of the lesson.
Matt's thoughts now were all for the bed, where he could relax for about twenty minutes..Just twenty minutes..
"Hey Matt". He saw Kuro Furukou approaching him. His parents were from the Draconis Combine, somewhere along the border. They loved the japanese culture of the Draconis Combine and had given him a japanese name. However, he was born in the Lyran half of the Federated Commonwealth, and the centuries-old bitter enmity between the two nations would not help him. His parents both worked in a big shipping company and they had moved there they got transferred to the Lyran section of the society. Of course, many of the lyran people saw them with suspect. A few years older than Matt, Kuro was a bit taller, thin, fit, with longer black hair. His grey eyes were usualy joyful, but they often hid the pain of hateful eyes of people looking at with icy eyes, just because of his name, even if he was born in the FedCom.
"Hey Kuro" Matt's voice was low and tired. Kuro, instead, was smiling. "I heard that you're going to apply for the trip, too. Good luck mate. I really want to see the famous Dragoons, i've heard about them since my childhood!" "Me too. Hope we both make it." Slowly turning toward the door, Matt added: "Forgive me, but i'd like to have a quick shower. See you later!"
That was the last time he saw Kuro before the accident happened.
3
Spoiler
3
Sin Street, Darienbad , New Olympia, Marik Commonwealth, Free Worlds League
23 August 3048
The air felt warmer every day. New Olympia's seasons were slightly off from Terra's ones.
In August spring was reviving the colors and the sounds of nature. Even the least optimistic cadet of the Allison MechWarrior Institute felt that, for once, something good was coming. However, if Matt and his friends had such hopes for the immediate future, well, they would have been quite frustrated soon enough..
Sunday. Free day for the cadets: groups of boys and girls of different age started to invade the city, each group looking for their favorite kind of fun. Matt, Luke, Leo and the others were walking in the crowded streets of the capital of Olympica, one of the two nations of New Olympia.
The city of Darienbad had an unique architectonic style: columns and decorations inspired to those of ancient Greece meshed with much more modern structures, creating a truly unique landscape. Of course, they were office buildings, big shops or rich people's houses. Further from the centre of the city, the main sight became the classic, anonym apartment buildings common everywhere in the Inner Sphere.
He had lived on New Olympia for seven years, but the sight of the capital was always a pleasure. He could remember little, instead, of the small town on Oriente where he had lived in his childhood. His father was in the air wing of the Military; he was not a pilot though. He was part of a support regiment, working with date exchange and communications system, not the throttle and the joystick of a centuries-old fighter; with computers and networks, instead of lasers, autocannons and missiles. His job forced him to travel often enough and to move to different cities and even planets once in a while, and the whole family had always followed him. Now, Matt was alone, on his way to become -hopefully- a MechWarrior. Matt's mother was not happy at all with his decision, but eventually she had to let him go.
"Hey, you there?" Matt was suddenly brought back to reality. Leo asked: "Isn't he your friend, Kuro?" It took to Matt two whole seconds to see him. "Ah, yes. Let's go". Matt walked toward Kuro and the others followed him, busy in an exchange that he had totally missed.
"Hey Kuro." "Hey Matt! How're you doing?" Kuro replied, a smile growing instantly on his face. "Not too bad". "Good. I'm going to that bar over there, Jake's Corner. Do you want to come too?"
Matt turned to the others. They had nothing against it, so he said "Sure, why not."
Jake's corner was literally that, a corner. Four metallic tables were cramped in there, and all of them were already occupied, minus one. The group sat down at the remaining table. They ordered beers and energy drinks. While Luke was telling the others a joke about one of their instructors, Matt noticed that one of the other tables was occupied by a group of cadets of the Allison, two young men and a girl, resplendent in their purple uniform. One of the two men was tall and thin, while the others was shorter but more muscolar. Matt couldn't see very well the girl from his position, but he had the uncomfortable feeling that the other two were looking at them and laugh quietly..
"Ah, that's a good one man!" Kuro found the joke very funny, it seemed. Matt noticed Kuro once looked in the other cadets' table direction and wondered if he had noticed as well.
"So, if you pass the selection, when are you going to Andurien?" Asked Leo.
"We would go there to do with the Dragoons the regular basic 'Mech training, so i would stay there for the rest of this year."
"So we wouldn't see you anymore until January?"
"I have to get a spot first, eh."
"Your scores are good, but there is a lot of people trying, so it'll be harder."
"Yeah. Don't tell me.. " Matt sighed.
"Hey Nyra, are you going with the Dragoons?" The mocking question was coming from one of the cadets sitting at the other table, the shorter one.
"Maybe he can spy them, as he is spying us. The Feddies are smart ones. Maybe they have sent you here to tell the nice Hanse where where we sleep, so he can send his people to cut our throats:" Replied the tall one. The girl didn't say anything, but she was looking at them with a neutral, maybe a bit offended glance.
Matt was, at first, was surprised by their open mocking, if not insulting, of Kuro. Then the anger came. His face must have showed it, as Kuro said, quietly: "Don't bother. It's not worth the trouble, seriously."
"Or maybe the Fox will pay the Dragoons to turn on us. It wouldn't be the first time. Now he is going telling them what he saw. " The tall cadet continued.
"Hear this, Baxter. Maybe he is actually a Drac. With a name like his, who knows? I don't trust 'em anyway. Yeah, it must be this way. He's a drac, his katana ready to kill us in our beds!"
Matt couldn't stand anymore of this idiocy. "Sure, and maybe he is a shapeshifter alien sent to probe you. It's actually more realistic than..". Before he could finish, the short cadet rose from the chair, looking at Matt with eyes full of hate. His eyes said "I want to kill you".
The tall one tried to make him sit back on the chair, but the other shrugged his arm off him. He walked toward Matt with fury. "Now, i'll probe your mother and this traitor's mother.." Kuro almost jumped to grab his left arm before the hostile cadet could do anything. The tall one, however, had rose from his chair as well and, with determination more than rage, grabbed Kuro's arm. He was stronger than it seemed looking at him. Matt saw Kuro teeth grinding for the pain of that steel grip. "Don't touch him, Nyra, or i'll break your arm."
The bartender shouted, enraged: "Go out settling it! I want no trouble here. Go out or i'll kick you out of the door!". Kuro just ignored him. Instead, he whispered, almost like a snake: "You don't touch my friends." "Oh, i'm pissing in fear!" Replied the short one. And it all happened. His right arm reached a bottle on the table nearby, but before he could hit anyone, Matt blocked his arm and sent the bottle flying , smashing into the ground. A few meters behind, the young girl screamed, a bit scared: "Hey, what are you doing?!". At the same time, Kuro let go the short cadet's arm, quickly grabbing him with his left arm, freeing his right arm, pulling him brutally closer and using the now free right hand to punch him hard in the face. If the hint of a smile was about to appear on Kuro's face, it died too soon to be showed, transformed into a grimace of pain when the tall cadet smashed into his left shoulder , sending him to the ground. They fell togheter, the tall man over Kuro, who hit the ground heavily with his right arm and shoulder. They all heard the sudden crack and the low moans of pain.
The bartender 's voice intimated them to leave , the young girl was scared , his friends were shocked. Matt saw the cadets leaving quickly, almost running away, the short one with a bleeding nose. They wanted no trouble. But they left them to deal with it. ********. If i see them again, i'll put my hands around their necks!
3
Sin Street, Darienbad , New Olympia, Marik Commonwealth, Free Worlds League
23 August 3048
The air felt warmer every day. New Olympia's seasons were slightly off from Terra's ones.
In August spring was reviving the colors and the sounds of nature. Even the least optimistic cadet of the Allison MechWarrior Institute felt that, for once, something good was coming. However, if Matt and his friends had such hopes for the immediate future, well, they would have been quite frustrated soon enough..
Sunday. Free day for the cadets: groups of boys and girls of different age started to invade the city, each group looking for their favorite kind of fun. Matt, Luke, Leo and the others were walking in the crowded streets of the capital of Olympica, one of the two nations of New Olympia.
The city of Darienbad had an unique architectonic style: columns and decorations inspired to those of ancient Greece meshed with much more modern structures, creating a truly unique landscape. Of course, they were office buildings, big shops or rich people's houses. Further from the centre of the city, the main sight became the classic, anonym apartment buildings common everywhere in the Inner Sphere.
He had lived on New Olympia for seven years, but the sight of the capital was always a pleasure. He could remember little, instead, of the small town on Oriente where he had lived in his childhood. His father was in the air wing of the Military; he was not a pilot though. He was part of a support regiment, working with date exchange and communications system, not the throttle and the joystick of a centuries-old fighter; with computers and networks, instead of lasers, autocannons and missiles. His job forced him to travel often enough and to move to different cities and even planets once in a while, and the whole family had always followed him. Now, Matt was alone, on his way to become -hopefully- a MechWarrior. Matt's mother was not happy at all with his decision, but eventually she had to let him go.
"Hey, you there?" Matt was suddenly brought back to reality. Leo asked: "Isn't he your friend, Kuro?" It took to Matt two whole seconds to see him. "Ah, yes. Let's go". Matt walked toward Kuro and the others followed him, busy in an exchange that he had totally missed.
"Hey Kuro." "Hey Matt! How're you doing?" Kuro replied, a smile growing instantly on his face. "Not too bad". "Good. I'm going to that bar over there, Jake's Corner. Do you want to come too?"
Matt turned to the others. They had nothing against it, so he said "Sure, why not."
Jake's corner was literally that, a corner. Four metallic tables were cramped in there, and all of them were already occupied, minus one. The group sat down at the remaining table. They ordered beers and energy drinks. While Luke was telling the others a joke about one of their instructors, Matt noticed that one of the other tables was occupied by a group of cadets of the Allison, two young men and a girl, resplendent in their purple uniform. One of the two men was tall and thin, while the others was shorter but more muscolar. Matt couldn't see very well the girl from his position, but he had the uncomfortable feeling that the other two were looking at them and laugh quietly..
"Ah, that's a good one man!" Kuro found the joke very funny, it seemed. Matt noticed Kuro once looked in the other cadets' table direction and wondered if he had noticed as well.
"So, if you pass the selection, when are you going to Andurien?" Asked Leo.
"We would go there to do with the Dragoons the regular basic 'Mech training, so i would stay there for the rest of this year."
"So we wouldn't see you anymore until January?"
"I have to get a spot first, eh."
"Your scores are good, but there is a lot of people trying, so it'll be harder."
"Yeah. Don't tell me.. " Matt sighed.
"Hey Nyra, are you going with the Dragoons?" The mocking question was coming from one of the cadets sitting at the other table, the shorter one.
"Maybe he can spy them, as he is spying us. The Feddies are smart ones. Maybe they have sent you here to tell the nice Hanse where where we sleep, so he can send his people to cut our throats:" Replied the tall one. The girl didn't say anything, but she was looking at them with a neutral, maybe a bit offended glance.
Matt was, at first, was surprised by their open mocking, if not insulting, of Kuro. Then the anger came. His face must have showed it, as Kuro said, quietly: "Don't bother. It's not worth the trouble, seriously."
"Or maybe the Fox will pay the Dragoons to turn on us. It wouldn't be the first time. Now he is going telling them what he saw. " The tall cadet continued.
"Hear this, Baxter. Maybe he is actually a Drac. With a name like his, who knows? I don't trust 'em anyway. Yeah, it must be this way. He's a drac, his katana ready to kill us in our beds!"
Matt couldn't stand anymore of this idiocy. "Sure, and maybe he is a shapeshifter alien sent to probe you. It's actually more realistic than..". Before he could finish, the short cadet rose from the chair, looking at Matt with eyes full of hate. His eyes said "I want to kill you".
The tall one tried to make him sit back on the chair, but the other shrugged his arm off him. He walked toward Matt with fury. "Now, i'll probe your mother and this traitor's mother.." Kuro almost jumped to grab his left arm before the hostile cadet could do anything. The tall one, however, had rose from his chair as well and, with determination more than rage, grabbed Kuro's arm. He was stronger than it seemed looking at him. Matt saw Kuro teeth grinding for the pain of that steel grip. "Don't touch him, Nyra, or i'll break your arm."
The bartender shouted, enraged: "Go out settling it! I want no trouble here. Go out or i'll kick you out of the door!". Kuro just ignored him. Instead, he whispered, almost like a snake: "You don't touch my friends." "Oh, i'm pissing in fear!" Replied the short one. And it all happened. His right arm reached a bottle on the table nearby, but before he could hit anyone, Matt blocked his arm and sent the bottle flying , smashing into the ground. A few meters behind, the young girl screamed, a bit scared: "Hey, what are you doing?!". At the same time, Kuro let go the short cadet's arm, quickly grabbing him with his left arm, freeing his right arm, pulling him brutally closer and using the now free right hand to punch him hard in the face. If the hint of a smile was about to appear on Kuro's face, it died too soon to be showed, transformed into a grimace of pain when the tall cadet smashed into his left shoulder , sending him to the ground. They fell togheter, the tall man over Kuro, who hit the ground heavily with his right arm and shoulder. They all heard the sudden crack and the low moans of pain.
The bartender 's voice intimated them to leave , the young girl was scared , his friends were shocked. Matt saw the cadets leaving quickly, almost running away, the short one with a bleeding nose. They wanted no trouble. But they left them to deal with it. ********. If i see them again, i'll put my hands around their necks!
4:
Spoiler
September 12, 3048
Dariembad spaceport, New Olympia, Free Worlds League
That morning, the hot air smelled of burned fuel. "Of course" -Matt said to himself- "There is a DropShip getting ready to take off..".
Two weeks before, he was sure he would have been kicked from the Institute as soon as possible for the incident happened in the capital.
However, as the days passed no mail was sent, no call came, nothing indicated that he should have packed his stuff and left for his home planet, with the shame of having been expelled from the prestigious academy. One day, he met Kuro in the hall. The cadet from the Commonwealth had a bandage at his broken arm. Matt gestured to follow him and when they reached an empty corridor, checking nervously if someone was coming, he started: "Are you sure they didn't say anything? I'd have expected that they'd have cried saying that you attacked them. They'd be so happy if they could have you kicked from the Institute.." Kuro interrupted him. "It seems that they are smarter than they appear. They know that they would be probably punished as well. A less than exemplary behaviour is not accepted from a cadet of the Allison. We're lucky that no one has reported us, so keep calm mate."
After he finished speaking, a hint of sadness crossed his eyes. "Did you see the results of the last test?" "Uh, yes. And your score was better, i remember. My average reaches the minimum for the trip on Andurien, but my friend Leo read the list of admitted cadets, and i wasn't there, so.." "Matt, didn't you read it? My name was the 20th on that list, but not even Natasha Kerensky could pilot a 'Mech with a broken arm. I can't go there. Someone must have updated the list, because when i checked the list again this morning, my name wasn't on the list anymore. There was yours."
Surprise. Matt couldn't think at all for a few seconds. "I'm sorry for you.. But are you sure?!" "Read it for yourself". Kuro handed him over his tablet, the list already on the screen. It was true!
Matt could not contain anymore his joy: "Boom baby!". " I mean, i'd have liked to go there with you, you know.." he added, a bit embarassed for his show of joy when his new friend could not share it.
"Nah, it's fine." Kuro added with an emotionless voice, just before turning around and starting walking in the opposite direction. "See you later."
Recovering from his excitement, a question hit Matt with the force of a PPC shot: "Wait, Kuro. What did you say about your broken arm? They must have asked you.."
Still walking, looking ahead, Kuro replied, with a smile finding its way back to his lips: "A motorcycle accident."
Two weeks later, Matt was on the field of the capital's spaceport. 19 other cadets were around him, chatting in groups, laughing, all excited. Some were looking at the unarmed Leopard DropShip waiting for them fifty meters away, while others were gambling about the number of fake targets they would have taken down with their training BattleMechs. Matt shared their excitement, but he also felt some kind of guilt , as if he had taken what he did not deserve. What Kuro Nyra deserved instead. These thoughts were wiped out instantly when one of their intructors ,a short man with short black hair and a hint of caucasian features called Stan Komisky, yelled at the chaotic cadets: "Kids! Stop wasting my and your time and put yourself in single file! Then get on the DropShip, now! Let's show some punctuality to the Dragoons!"
"Punctuality? A stupid thought when it comes to interstellar travel." Matt thought. "But hey, he always has to play the role of the angry seargent.." Now he was smiling, and his dark thoughts had been dispersed like the smoke of a fire is dispersed by a gust of wind.
Still smiling, the hot air filled with the smell of burned fuel, he walked toward the DropShip.
September 12, 3048
Dariembad spaceport, New Olympia, Free Worlds League
That morning, the hot air smelled of burned fuel. "Of course" -Matt said to himself- "There is a DropShip getting ready to take off..".
Two weeks before, he was sure he would have been kicked from the Institute as soon as possible for the incident happened in the capital.
However, as the days passed no mail was sent, no call came, nothing indicated that he should have packed his stuff and left for his home planet, with the shame of having been expelled from the prestigious academy. One day, he met Kuro in the hall. The cadet from the Commonwealth had a bandage at his broken arm. Matt gestured to follow him and when they reached an empty corridor, checking nervously if someone was coming, he started: "Are you sure they didn't say anything? I'd have expected that they'd have cried saying that you attacked them. They'd be so happy if they could have you kicked from the Institute.." Kuro interrupted him. "It seems that they are smarter than they appear. They know that they would be probably punished as well. A less than exemplary behaviour is not accepted from a cadet of the Allison. We're lucky that no one has reported us, so keep calm mate."
After he finished speaking, a hint of sadness crossed his eyes. "Did you see the results of the last test?" "Uh, yes. And your score was better, i remember. My average reaches the minimum for the trip on Andurien, but my friend Leo read the list of admitted cadets, and i wasn't there, so.." "Matt, didn't you read it? My name was the 20th on that list, but not even Natasha Kerensky could pilot a 'Mech with a broken arm. I can't go there. Someone must have updated the list, because when i checked the list again this morning, my name wasn't on the list anymore. There was yours."
Surprise. Matt couldn't think at all for a few seconds. "I'm sorry for you.. But are you sure?!" "Read it for yourself". Kuro handed him over his tablet, the list already on the screen. It was true!
Matt could not contain anymore his joy: "Boom baby!". " I mean, i'd have liked to go there with you, you know.." he added, a bit embarassed for his show of joy when his new friend could not share it.
"Nah, it's fine." Kuro added with an emotionless voice, just before turning around and starting walking in the opposite direction. "See you later."
Recovering from his excitement, a question hit Matt with the force of a PPC shot: "Wait, Kuro. What did you say about your broken arm? They must have asked you.."
Still walking, looking ahead, Kuro replied, with a smile finding its way back to his lips: "A motorcycle accident."
Two weeks later, Matt was on the field of the capital's spaceport. 19 other cadets were around him, chatting in groups, laughing, all excited. Some were looking at the unarmed Leopard DropShip waiting for them fifty meters away, while others were gambling about the number of fake targets they would have taken down with their training BattleMechs. Matt shared their excitement, but he also felt some kind of guilt , as if he had taken what he did not deserve. What Kuro Nyra deserved instead. These thoughts were wiped out instantly when one of their intructors ,a short man with short black hair and a hint of caucasian features called Stan Komisky, yelled at the chaotic cadets: "Kids! Stop wasting my and your time and put yourself in single file! Then get on the DropShip, now! Let's show some punctuality to the Dragoons!"
"Punctuality? A stupid thought when it comes to interstellar travel." Matt thought. "But hey, he always has to play the role of the angry seargent.." Now he was smiling, and his dark thoughts had been dispersed like the smoke of a fire is dispersed by a gust of wind.
Still smiling, the hot air filled with the smell of burned fuel, he walked toward the DropShip.
5:
Spoiler
5
November 18, 3048
Outside the Legion Training Academy , Andurien, Free Worlds League
Two loud voices were fighting inside Matt’s head as he started running at a slightly slowed pace.
“Stop! Who cares, take a breath.”
“No, not now, not yet!”
Matt’s lungs were screaming for air.
“Come on, you’re not an athlete and you have never been!”
“That’s why I must get there.. Just one more lap!”
He knew that he would have inspired more much-needed air with deeper and slower breaths… But he couldn’t slow them down.
“They .. The Dragoons. They are watching me. Half a lap now..”
As Matt crossed the arrival line, the tall man wearing a Dragoon shirt clicked on his stopwatch.
“4:46” he told Matt.
Wow. Such a bad time.
Not even trying to articulate a reply, he just let himself fall on the nearby bench , his pride drown in a sea of sweat. He was sitting with 18 of the 20 cadets who came with him from New Olympia. Still breathing heavily, Matt saw the last one crossing the line. At least I am not the worst cadet here..
However, the last one was an habitual smoker. Not a very encouraging thought.
Sure, he was far from being in ideal conditions. He had arrived on Andurien just five days before after a more than a month-long trip on a Invader Jumpship , jumping from system to system and staying in each for at least a week to recharge the jump drive. Sure, there was a gym in the ship’s gravdeck, but the long time in zero-G had taken its toll on his body.
And there was something worse.
Matt was used to New Olympia’s relatively standard gravity – 0.95 G-. Andurien’s gravity was significantly higher, 1.2 G, and he felt them all. It took all the five days he had passed on Andurien so far to just get slightly used to it. And running for 1 km with that high gravity, after a long interstellar travel, was almost an impossible effort. And he had never been the best in physical activies in the first place.
It would have been quite an interesting “school trip” …
***
Two days later, Matt was walking toward the conference hall. It was colder than on New Olympia, and every day felt slightly colder than the one before. “Winter is coming”, he thought, quoting a famous motto from an ancient book saga he was reading in the past months. Almost opposite seasons were another thing that challenged Matt’s ability to adapt.
Looking around him, a lot of activity was going on – there, on the right, Dragoon technicians were repairing wiring under the direction of men in a white and green suit. On the other side, on the left, Dragoon men were employing a bulldozer to demolish an old warehouse; close to them, a pile of construction materials was ready to be used to build a new one in its place. Again, men in white and green were directing the operation.
Matt was explained that Legion Training Academy had been closed, almost abandoned, since the end of the Andurien Secession war in 3040. To ensure the absolute loyalty to the FWL of the new MechWarriors a reopened Academy would train, the Free Worlds Legionnaries were given the task of revitalizing this institute; once it would have been open again, the graduates from the Academy would have been assigned exclusively to the Legionnaires. It was deemed wise by the Captain-General Thomas Marik himself to station the Dragoons’ Epsilon Regiment, under contract of the League, in a military base that was being built near the Academy; their support staff would have helped in the process of renovating the Academy’s complex and building the nearby base.
With the arrival of the Dragoons, the Academy’s spaceport was busier than it had ever been, filled with huge ovoid Overlord and smaller Union dropships. Even smaller cargo planes handled the transportation of men and material.
Matt was lost in his thoughts as he was shifting his gaze casually around him. Realizing his feet had just taken him to his intended destination, he entered the big, square building realized with a ultra-modern architecture.
The other cadets were already sit on the chairs of the small conference room. Taking a chair for himself, he noticed the short, grey-haired Dragoon high-ranking officer on the podium; he was explaining that they would have their theory lessons there because the actual classrooms were to be rebuilt.
He probably had presented himself earlier, but he looked like the Regiment’s commander. “Well, I should have arrived sooner.. “ Matt thought. “He seems a bit unimpressive, though, for a Dragoon colonel”.
Then he noticed the two other men behind him. The first, almost as short as Epsilon’s commander, was their instructor, Stan Komisky. Oddly, he seemed to be excited at this chance to meet the Dragoons, almost as much as the cadets had felt. He usually showed little emotion.
However, the third man was the one who forcefully caught Matt’s attention. Quite tall, he stood up among the two other men. Many MechWarriors kept their hair short to ease the connection with their neurohelmets. He was bald. While even Komisky was showing interest in the words of Epsilon’s Commander, who was describing the activities and the goals of the course, the tall men was barely listening. His face had a tightness to it like cured leather, and hollow cheeks. He had thin, pale lips. His dark blue eyes were cold, slowly gazing on the assembled crowd of cadets with severity. When his eyes met with Matt’s, he felt a chill down his spine.
“That man has some kind of.. Mysterious aura around him.”
5
November 18, 3048
Outside the Legion Training Academy , Andurien, Free Worlds League
Two loud voices were fighting inside Matt’s head as he started running at a slightly slowed pace.
“Stop! Who cares, take a breath.”
“No, not now, not yet!”
Matt’s lungs were screaming for air.
“Come on, you’re not an athlete and you have never been!”
“That’s why I must get there.. Just one more lap!”
He knew that he would have inspired more much-needed air with deeper and slower breaths… But he couldn’t slow them down.
“They .. The Dragoons. They are watching me. Half a lap now..”
As Matt crossed the arrival line, the tall man wearing a Dragoon shirt clicked on his stopwatch.
“4:46” he told Matt.
Wow. Such a bad time.
Not even trying to articulate a reply, he just let himself fall on the nearby bench , his pride drown in a sea of sweat. He was sitting with 18 of the 20 cadets who came with him from New Olympia. Still breathing heavily, Matt saw the last one crossing the line. At least I am not the worst cadet here..
However, the last one was an habitual smoker. Not a very encouraging thought.
Sure, he was far from being in ideal conditions. He had arrived on Andurien just five days before after a more than a month-long trip on a Invader Jumpship , jumping from system to system and staying in each for at least a week to recharge the jump drive. Sure, there was a gym in the ship’s gravdeck, but the long time in zero-G had taken its toll on his body.
And there was something worse.
Matt was used to New Olympia’s relatively standard gravity – 0.95 G-. Andurien’s gravity was significantly higher, 1.2 G, and he felt them all. It took all the five days he had passed on Andurien so far to just get slightly used to it. And running for 1 km with that high gravity, after a long interstellar travel, was almost an impossible effort. And he had never been the best in physical activies in the first place.
It would have been quite an interesting “school trip” …
***
Two days later, Matt was walking toward the conference hall. It was colder than on New Olympia, and every day felt slightly colder than the one before. “Winter is coming”, he thought, quoting a famous motto from an ancient book saga he was reading in the past months. Almost opposite seasons were another thing that challenged Matt’s ability to adapt.
Looking around him, a lot of activity was going on – there, on the right, Dragoon technicians were repairing wiring under the direction of men in a white and green suit. On the other side, on the left, Dragoon men were employing a bulldozer to demolish an old warehouse; close to them, a pile of construction materials was ready to be used to build a new one in its place. Again, men in white and green were directing the operation.
Matt was explained that Legion Training Academy had been closed, almost abandoned, since the end of the Andurien Secession war in 3040. To ensure the absolute loyalty to the FWL of the new MechWarriors a reopened Academy would train, the Free Worlds Legionnaries were given the task of revitalizing this institute; once it would have been open again, the graduates from the Academy would have been assigned exclusively to the Legionnaires. It was deemed wise by the Captain-General Thomas Marik himself to station the Dragoons’ Epsilon Regiment, under contract of the League, in a military base that was being built near the Academy; their support staff would have helped in the process of renovating the Academy’s complex and building the nearby base.
With the arrival of the Dragoons, the Academy’s spaceport was busier than it had ever been, filled with huge ovoid Overlord and smaller Union dropships. Even smaller cargo planes handled the transportation of men and material.
Matt was lost in his thoughts as he was shifting his gaze casually around him. Realizing his feet had just taken him to his intended destination, he entered the big, square building realized with a ultra-modern architecture.
The other cadets were already sit on the chairs of the small conference room. Taking a chair for himself, he noticed the short, grey-haired Dragoon high-ranking officer on the podium; he was explaining that they would have their theory lessons there because the actual classrooms were to be rebuilt.
He probably had presented himself earlier, but he looked like the Regiment’s commander. “Well, I should have arrived sooner.. “ Matt thought. “He seems a bit unimpressive, though, for a Dragoon colonel”.
Then he noticed the two other men behind him. The first, almost as short as Epsilon’s commander, was their instructor, Stan Komisky. Oddly, he seemed to be excited at this chance to meet the Dragoons, almost as much as the cadets had felt. He usually showed little emotion.
However, the third man was the one who forcefully caught Matt’s attention. Quite tall, he stood up among the two other men. Many MechWarriors kept their hair short to ease the connection with their neurohelmets. He was bald. While even Komisky was showing interest in the words of Epsilon’s Commander, who was describing the activities and the goals of the course, the tall men was barely listening. His face had a tightness to it like cured leather, and hollow cheeks. He had thin, pale lips. His dark blue eyes were cold, slowly gazing on the assembled crowd of cadets with severity. When his eyes met with Matt’s, he felt a chill down his spine.
“That man has some kind of.. Mysterious aura around him.”
6:
Spoiler
6
December 20, 3048
Legion Training Academy, Training Area A1, Andurien, Free Worlds League
Despite being a pretty warm planet, the Academy was located in the northern part of the continent of Altay, where the capital city was located. Far enough from the equatorial line, the temperatures could reach 0 °C in the coldest nights, and the night before was just one of them.
No way Matt would go back to the warm bed of his room. Today it was the day – the first day of their BattleMech training. Andurien’s G0V star was burning high in the sky, flooding the shining Chameleon 50-tons medium ‘Mech with intense light, from the elegant humanoid legs to the orange reflective ferroglass of the big and roomy cockpit, to the impressive Large Laser that made its right arm.
It looked much better than in the simulator, of course.
“Well, it’s not the most beautiful or threatening BattleMech, but it’s still a ‘Mech!”
And all those hours in the simulator or, much worse, in the conference room, studying the physics of the ‘Mech’s handling and combat capabilities, the cockpit’s instruments, the weapons’ operations had finally led him to the last step.. Or rather, the first step of his dream coming true.
Piloting a true BattleMech, the machine of war that had become the pinnacle of warfare centuries ago.
The other 19 cadets were as excited as he was. Some were understandably nervous, while others disguised their true feelings behind arrogant words.
“Well, let’s go on with this, kids, shall we?” The Stan Komisky Matt knew was back.
Four Chameleons were lined up in the field. A Lance of BattleMechs.
The cockpit’s hatch of the first ‘Mech suddenly opened. A rope ladder came out of it, followed by a tall man in a typical MechWarrior’s dress: boots, shorts, and a Dragoon shirt under his cooling vest.
He climbed down quickly and jumped on the ground. His thin, pale lips, moved to form a slight smile as he nodded to Komisky, greeting him with a quick “It is fine and ready”. As soon as he turned towards the cadets, his face returned completely serious and his expression cold, almost as cold as his blue eyes.
The chatter had died down.
He spoke to them for the first time: “I am Lieutenant Asher. Asher Radick. For you, I am just ‘sir’ , quiaff? “
The assembled cadets did not reply at first. The most well-versed in history knew that surname had not been heard in the Inner Sphere for centuries. Others were just unsure about what to say. Matt and some others just said “yes sir!”, but it came out from their throats less sure and loud than they wanted.
Without wasting further time, the tall man proceeded to explain the first exercise. Standard handling practice. At turns, the cadets sat in the ‘Mechs’ cockpits and, after taking some minutes to power them up and feel sure , they ran trough the course. Most had little trouble. A young cadet, more nervous than the others, made his ‘Mech almost fall face-forward, but he regained control just soon enough to keep walking forward.
Matt’s turn came at about 4:30 PM.
He took a breath, and started climbing the ladder of the second ‘Mech in the row. They could have parked them a bit better” he thought. As if he were Jaime Wolf.. Or Natasha Kerensky herself. He chuckled at that thought. When he finally reached the cockpit, he immediately felt a wave of heat that made him already sweat. Normally, he would found his cooling vest in a box behind the command chair, but the cadet who piloted the ‘Mech before him had left it on the console. Matt picked it up, forcing himself to remember all the instructions he had been given. After wearing it, he plugged the power cable into the command console. The cold coolant started circulating trought the tubes within the vest, giving him chills. You will like that cold when the fight starts, Kominsky told him earlier. After that, he took the big neurohelmet from the shelf above the console, observing it for a few seconds. It wasn’t the old model used thorough the Succession Wars, which was very heavy and rested on the MechWarriors’ shoulders, limiting his head movement. It was more compact and lighter.
A Star League helmet. I wonder where they took it from..
But it was no news to anyone that the Dragoons had Star League technology and long-forgotten ‘Mechs, thought extinct in the Inner Sphere.
Matt carefully put it on. Nothing changed.
Then, he initiated the procedure to power up the ‘Mech, toggling a red switch. Obviously, no codeword or scan was necessary. A rising hum and Bitching Betty’s voice telling him “Reactor online” announced the heavy fusion engine powering the machine was alive.
His clear view of the command console and the landscape he could see trough the viewport were substituted with a 360° field of view compressed in 160° , with firing arcs for all the Chameleon’s weapons clearly shown.
Ok, next step. Another switch. “Weapons online”.
A projected HUD gave him all the necessary info its weapons’ reload times and basic targeting info.
The third switch.
“Sensors online”.
The HUD now showed him the status of his ‘Mech, its speed and its heat and jumpjets fuel level.
“All systems nominal. Welcome aboard, cadet.”
He felt a bit overwhelmed at first, but all of his training kicked in and he started digesting all that info.
He could feel the balance of his ‘Mech trough the neurohelmet. He felt he and the Chameleon were a single entity.
He felt powerful.
He started smiling.
A sudden, deep and severe voice came trough the neurohelmet.
“Are you getting confortable, cadets? Now, listen to me. I will be Wolf 1, and you will be Pup 1, 2 and 3. You should not have a hard time figuring out who is who. Your weapons are powered up, but a safety lock is in place to prevent you from damaging something. Those lasers are not toys.
When you are all ready, follow me trough the course.”
Twisting his torso to track Wolf 1, Matt slowly pushed forward the throttle as soon as he saw him moving, up to a very slow walk.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Excitement was fighting with Matt’s resolution to keep a cool head.
The latter won.
Wolf 1 led the four Chameleons trough a circuit marked with red lights.
Matt managed to stay mostly within its boundaries, aside from a time when a sharp turn was almost making him leave it; a strong push on the left pedal made the agile ‘Mech turn and stay within the designed area.
The ‘Mech’s slow movement caused the myomer bundles that formed its artificial muscles to produce only a small heat build up; the sweat on Matt’s forehead was caused by the tension.
After walking past the circuit, they reached a second circuit, disseminated with obstacles of different shapes: destroyed tanks, buildings, and ‘Mechs. Wolf 1 opened comms: “Now, you will have to run trough the circuit without leaving its boundaries and without hitting any obstacle. You will do it one at a time and I will measure your times. If it does not satisfy me, you will do it again. Clear? Go now!”
Matt pushed the throttle forward, this time pushing it to a slow run. “Faster, or you will not be fast enough!”. Matt sighed, and pushed his ‘Mech to a faster speed. Executing sharp turns and playing with the throttle, he managed to run past the last markers. “Phew. That should be fast enough..”
“Not fast enough”.
Teeth grinding showed Matt’s frustration.
“Still, you did a good jobs. Most fail the first time. We will do it again so many times that you will be bored to death. And you will have more chances to redeem yourself.”
6
December 20, 3048
Legion Training Academy, Training Area A1, Andurien, Free Worlds League
Despite being a pretty warm planet, the Academy was located in the northern part of the continent of Altay, where the capital city was located. Far enough from the equatorial line, the temperatures could reach 0 °C in the coldest nights, and the night before was just one of them.
No way Matt would go back to the warm bed of his room. Today it was the day – the first day of their BattleMech training. Andurien’s G0V star was burning high in the sky, flooding the shining Chameleon 50-tons medium ‘Mech with intense light, from the elegant humanoid legs to the orange reflective ferroglass of the big and roomy cockpit, to the impressive Large Laser that made its right arm.
It looked much better than in the simulator, of course.
“Well, it’s not the most beautiful or threatening BattleMech, but it’s still a ‘Mech!”
And all those hours in the simulator or, much worse, in the conference room, studying the physics of the ‘Mech’s handling and combat capabilities, the cockpit’s instruments, the weapons’ operations had finally led him to the last step.. Or rather, the first step of his dream coming true.
Piloting a true BattleMech, the machine of war that had become the pinnacle of warfare centuries ago.
The other 19 cadets were as excited as he was. Some were understandably nervous, while others disguised their true feelings behind arrogant words.
“Well, let’s go on with this, kids, shall we?” The Stan Komisky Matt knew was back.
Four Chameleons were lined up in the field. A Lance of BattleMechs.
The cockpit’s hatch of the first ‘Mech suddenly opened. A rope ladder came out of it, followed by a tall man in a typical MechWarrior’s dress: boots, shorts, and a Dragoon shirt under his cooling vest.
He climbed down quickly and jumped on the ground. His thin, pale lips, moved to form a slight smile as he nodded to Komisky, greeting him with a quick “It is fine and ready”. As soon as he turned towards the cadets, his face returned completely serious and his expression cold, almost as cold as his blue eyes.
The chatter had died down.
He spoke to them for the first time: “I am Lieutenant Asher. Asher Radick. For you, I am just ‘sir’ , quiaff? “
The assembled cadets did not reply at first. The most well-versed in history knew that surname had not been heard in the Inner Sphere for centuries. Others were just unsure about what to say. Matt and some others just said “yes sir!”, but it came out from their throats less sure and loud than they wanted.
Without wasting further time, the tall man proceeded to explain the first exercise. Standard handling practice. At turns, the cadets sat in the ‘Mechs’ cockpits and, after taking some minutes to power them up and feel sure , they ran trough the course. Most had little trouble. A young cadet, more nervous than the others, made his ‘Mech almost fall face-forward, but he regained control just soon enough to keep walking forward.
Matt’s turn came at about 4:30 PM.
He took a breath, and started climbing the ladder of the second ‘Mech in the row. They could have parked them a bit better” he thought. As if he were Jaime Wolf.. Or Natasha Kerensky herself. He chuckled at that thought. When he finally reached the cockpit, he immediately felt a wave of heat that made him already sweat. Normally, he would found his cooling vest in a box behind the command chair, but the cadet who piloted the ‘Mech before him had left it on the console. Matt picked it up, forcing himself to remember all the instructions he had been given. After wearing it, he plugged the power cable into the command console. The cold coolant started circulating trought the tubes within the vest, giving him chills. You will like that cold when the fight starts, Kominsky told him earlier. After that, he took the big neurohelmet from the shelf above the console, observing it for a few seconds. It wasn’t the old model used thorough the Succession Wars, which was very heavy and rested on the MechWarriors’ shoulders, limiting his head movement. It was more compact and lighter.
A Star League helmet. I wonder where they took it from..
But it was no news to anyone that the Dragoons had Star League technology and long-forgotten ‘Mechs, thought extinct in the Inner Sphere.
Matt carefully put it on. Nothing changed.
Then, he initiated the procedure to power up the ‘Mech, toggling a red switch. Obviously, no codeword or scan was necessary. A rising hum and Bitching Betty’s voice telling him “Reactor online” announced the heavy fusion engine powering the machine was alive.
His clear view of the command console and the landscape he could see trough the viewport were substituted with a 360° field of view compressed in 160° , with firing arcs for all the Chameleon’s weapons clearly shown.
Ok, next step. Another switch. “Weapons online”.
A projected HUD gave him all the necessary info its weapons’ reload times and basic targeting info.
The third switch.
“Sensors online”.
The HUD now showed him the status of his ‘Mech, its speed and its heat and jumpjets fuel level.
“All systems nominal. Welcome aboard, cadet.”
He felt a bit overwhelmed at first, but all of his training kicked in and he started digesting all that info.
He could feel the balance of his ‘Mech trough the neurohelmet. He felt he and the Chameleon were a single entity.
He felt powerful.
He started smiling.
A sudden, deep and severe voice came trough the neurohelmet.
“Are you getting confortable, cadets? Now, listen to me. I will be Wolf 1, and you will be Pup 1, 2 and 3. You should not have a hard time figuring out who is who. Your weapons are powered up, but a safety lock is in place to prevent you from damaging something. Those lasers are not toys.
When you are all ready, follow me trough the course.”
Twisting his torso to track Wolf 1, Matt slowly pushed forward the throttle as soon as he saw him moving, up to a very slow walk.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Excitement was fighting with Matt’s resolution to keep a cool head.
The latter won.
Wolf 1 led the four Chameleons trough a circuit marked with red lights.
Matt managed to stay mostly within its boundaries, aside from a time when a sharp turn was almost making him leave it; a strong push on the left pedal made the agile ‘Mech turn and stay within the designed area.
The ‘Mech’s slow movement caused the myomer bundles that formed its artificial muscles to produce only a small heat build up; the sweat on Matt’s forehead was caused by the tension.
After walking past the circuit, they reached a second circuit, disseminated with obstacles of different shapes: destroyed tanks, buildings, and ‘Mechs. Wolf 1 opened comms: “Now, you will have to run trough the circuit without leaving its boundaries and without hitting any obstacle. You will do it one at a time and I will measure your times. If it does not satisfy me, you will do it again. Clear? Go now!”
Matt pushed the throttle forward, this time pushing it to a slow run. “Faster, or you will not be fast enough!”. Matt sighed, and pushed his ‘Mech to a faster speed. Executing sharp turns and playing with the throttle, he managed to run past the last markers. “Phew. That should be fast enough..”
“Not fast enough”.
Teeth grinding showed Matt’s frustration.
“Still, you did a good jobs. Most fail the first time. We will do it again so many times that you will be bored to death. And you will have more chances to redeem yourself.”
7:
Spoiler
7:
March 19, 3049
Legion Training Academy, near the Training Area C1, Andurien, Free Worlds League
The veteran Dragoon warrior was not lying.
The Allison MechWarrior institute was a renomated academy from which many members of the Marik family have graduated to join the ranks of the MechWarriors of the Free Worlds League military. Military tactics and history, maths and a number of other subjects were thought, and extensive BattleMech training shaped the best 'Mech pilots in the Free Worlds.
However, few of the Allison instructors could match the field experience of the veteran Dragoons who had fought for years for every Successor State since they had appeared in the Inner Sphere in 3005. A combination of battle-hardened veterans and younger warriors recruited from the ranks of the war orphans everywhere in the Inner Sphere formed a formidable and professional unit, almost as legendary as their founder himself, Colonel Jaime Wolf. There was a cohesion among the Dragoons that one might not expect from such a unit composed so variously.
Training with Wolf's mercenaries was.. Hardcore. Probably more than it would have been back on New Olympia. As Radick promised, the first months on Andurien were filled with long and intense Battlemech piloting training sessions, hand-to-hand combat and survival courses, as well as classes explaining some of the tactics the Dragoons had learned in their decades of fighting for the Great Houses, including their famous assault on on Anton Marik's HQ during the Marik Civil War (a relatively recent conflict that had directly touched more than a few cadets' families) to avenge Wolf's brother and tens of Dragoon staff members killed by the rebel Duke.
Now, Matt was walking toward the new training area he had been told to reach at 4 PM. Andurien's short winter was already over and the tropical planet was heading back into spring. While he appreciated the substantially hotter temperature (finally it was time to get back into his short-sleeved Allison uniform!) it also meant his allergy to some tipe of common Terran trees and grass was coming back to haunt him, even if by the time he was 16 its symptoms would last only about twenty days- a month. All this damned pollen dancing in the air.. Very poetic. Sneezing again, he kept walking in the crowded base.
Looking at the faces and hearing the words of the men and women in Dragoon shirts, he saw different attitudes and opinions. Some, apparently, were glad to deal with the Marik cadets, so they had something to do during this boring garrison contract, while another replied that they needed this initative and this time to get a pool of fresh recruits and get ready. He seemed sure that this peace could not last and that he heard that something big was in the air... "The Inner Sphere must be ready", he heard at some point.
On the other hands, other were just annoyed by all these "kids" playing with the mercs' big war toys.
They get a chance to discover promising MechWarriors who might join their ranks while the FWLM benefitted from the mercs' battle experience and training. And they get extra pay to do it, while they are on garrison duty. Apparently, it is not such a bad deal for them and that is enough for them to share their military knowdledge..
As Matt would have discovered, though, there were still secrets the Wolf's Dragoons were not quite ready to reveal..
***
A few minutes later, he was at the designed training area with all the other Marik cadets. All of them were excited, resplendent in their purple uniforms. Excited, and ready for their first 'Mech gunnery training session.
As usually, Lieutenant Radick was wearing his cooling vest over a Dragoon shirt, shorts and boots. A drop of sweat on his forehead showed that, as usual, he had just climbed off his BattleMech after testing its systems. He was really a meticulous pilot.
His briefing to the cadets started with his usual firm , slightly angry voice, but this time he did not tell the "kids" to repeat one of the exercises they had done for months. "Listen up, kids. Very carefully. You, look at me!" and he pointed a finger toward a female cadet who was staring in awe at the last Chameleon in the row, parked a bit apart from the other four: its right arm housed a powerful Gauss Rifle instead of the usual large laser. A Gauss rifle! Surprised, she quickly brought back her attention on their instructor.
"Today things are starting getting serious. And interesting. You kid learned how to walk, how to run, even how to jump with your BattleMech, possibly better than you would have back at your school. Not that you can become great MechWarriors in a few months.. But you are here to learn the basics, and i am paid to teach them to you. Today, you will start to learn to fire your weapons. After all, what kind of MechWarrior is one who cannot aim and shoot effectively?
Board your 'Mechs and, as usually, i will give you more detailed info trough the comm link. You just need to know that you will be firing at both static and moving targets , both from fixed positions and while moving. This will take time, of course, and you will need to improve your piloting skills too if you even dream of being a good warrior. You, the first three cadets, get on the first four 'Mechs here. No time to waste here!". When he said that, a realization hit Matt suddenly. Four plus one.. There are five 'Mechs here! Strange".
***
He was back in the cockpit, this time as Pup 2. He recognized the now-familiar slight smell of sweat and the stale air.. And he felt at home.
He weared the neurohelmet, activated the cooling vest and went trought the power-up procedure.
"Reactor online."
"Sensors, online."
"Weapons, online."
"All systems nominal".
Matt noticed that the weapons were not greyed out on the HUD: no safety lock this time. He grinned, ready to hear the sharp voice of Wolf 1 on the comm system.
"Wolf 1 here. You there, Pup 1,2,3? " Without waiting for a reply, he continued. "We had a fifth Chameleon stuck in a bay for repairs after a training accident, so i thought i would ask for some refitting to be made. It was not easy but finally, the Dragoon command accepted to refit it with the Gauss you kids noticed earlier. I think you will not find a LosTech weapon in any other training field in the Sphere. So how does it work? Every session, i will check your scores, and the best cadet will get to pilot it in the next session. So do your best today and you will pilot that beast tomorrow! All Pups, follow me now to the Nav Alpha. Wolf 1 out."
Matt checked to make sure that Nav Alpha was currently set as next waypoint on the HUD. Then, he played for a second with the joystick in his right arm, delighted to see the aiming reticule moving and pointing the machine's now active guns where he wanted (not at the other 'Mechs! "These weapons are not the toys your mother gave you, kids!" Radick used to say).
After he was satisfied, he pushed forward the throttle. He felt, once again, the powerful feeling of man being one with the machine, as his Chameleon accelerated to a slow walk with its thump, thump, thump. "How did he say in that movie.. "Let's get this show on the road!" ".
***
Standing in the firing ground, the four 'Mechs were an awesome display of war machines. The sky was full of small black drones, slowly flying around. The grassy plain was littered of the remains of destroyed drones.
Wolf 1's voice came loud and clear: "As you probably have guessed, those drones are your targets. Your weapons are low-powered training lasers and those drones are armored, so you should be able to do plenty of practice. Each of you, get to one of those designated areas and try to hit the drones. "
Matt WALKED his Chalemelon into the firing area 2, following the footsteps of countless training 'Mechs imprinted on the ground. Halting his 'Mech, he grinned with determination as he narrowed his eyes, focusing on the closest drone, lazily flying just a hundred meters from him. Holding firmly the joystick with his right hand, he moved his crosshairs over the drone and fired the large laser. The blue lance of coherent light hit the drone, melting some of its thin armor. Matt imagined that if it was fully powered, the beam would have almost disintegrated it. On the other hand, the heat produced by the weapon was fully realistic, thanks to specially programmed heaters in the cockpit. He felt the wave of heat produced by the weapon.
He waited one or two seconds, tracking the drone's movements, and fired his medium lasers in chain fire to reduce the heat buildup and aim every laser individually. Some of the beams partially missed, but most hit the target. The green beams finally melt the last layer of armor and pierced the drone.
Just as it exploded, Matt swung the Chameleon's right arm to the right, tracking another drone. He waited some seconds to cool down, but before he could fire, the target exploded under the fire of another cadet. Barely aware of the titans standing at his 'Mech's sides, he fired his large laser at the next drone on the left. This time, the beam completely hit the drone, vaporizing all its armor. Blinded by his sweat, he waved it away with his left hand. Pew , pew. The sound of low-powered lasers arrived attenuated trough the cockpit's walls. Looking on the right , then on the left, trough the cockpit's ferro-glass, Matt could see many uninterrupted beams, meaning they were not hitting their intended target. Back to it now!
He brought again the crosshairs on the drone he was hitting. No other drones were still flying around it. Fearing that another cadet may have fired at it, Matt triggered all his medium lasers. The very hot air inside the cockpit made it uneasy for him to breathe, but he was rewarded by one "kill" as the drone under his reticule exploded.
"Pup 2, if you keep firing like that, you may well die, and that would mean a lot of paperwork for me..."
7:
March 19, 3049
Legion Training Academy, near the Training Area C1, Andurien, Free Worlds League
The veteran Dragoon warrior was not lying.
The Allison MechWarrior institute was a renomated academy from which many members of the Marik family have graduated to join the ranks of the MechWarriors of the Free Worlds League military. Military tactics and history, maths and a number of other subjects were thought, and extensive BattleMech training shaped the best 'Mech pilots in the Free Worlds.
However, few of the Allison instructors could match the field experience of the veteran Dragoons who had fought for years for every Successor State since they had appeared in the Inner Sphere in 3005. A combination of battle-hardened veterans and younger warriors recruited from the ranks of the war orphans everywhere in the Inner Sphere formed a formidable and professional unit, almost as legendary as their founder himself, Colonel Jaime Wolf. There was a cohesion among the Dragoons that one might not expect from such a unit composed so variously.
Training with Wolf's mercenaries was.. Hardcore. Probably more than it would have been back on New Olympia. As Radick promised, the first months on Andurien were filled with long and intense Battlemech piloting training sessions, hand-to-hand combat and survival courses, as well as classes explaining some of the tactics the Dragoons had learned in their decades of fighting for the Great Houses, including their famous assault on on Anton Marik's HQ during the Marik Civil War (a relatively recent conflict that had directly touched more than a few cadets' families) to avenge Wolf's brother and tens of Dragoon staff members killed by the rebel Duke.
Now, Matt was walking toward the new training area he had been told to reach at 4 PM. Andurien's short winter was already over and the tropical planet was heading back into spring. While he appreciated the substantially hotter temperature (finally it was time to get back into his short-sleeved Allison uniform!) it also meant his allergy to some tipe of common Terran trees and grass was coming back to haunt him, even if by the time he was 16 its symptoms would last only about twenty days- a month. All this damned pollen dancing in the air.. Very poetic. Sneezing again, he kept walking in the crowded base.
Looking at the faces and hearing the words of the men and women in Dragoon shirts, he saw different attitudes and opinions. Some, apparently, were glad to deal with the Marik cadets, so they had something to do during this boring garrison contract, while another replied that they needed this initative and this time to get a pool of fresh recruits and get ready. He seemed sure that this peace could not last and that he heard that something big was in the air... "The Inner Sphere must be ready", he heard at some point.
On the other hands, other were just annoyed by all these "kids" playing with the mercs' big war toys.
They get a chance to discover promising MechWarriors who might join their ranks while the FWLM benefitted from the mercs' battle experience and training. And they get extra pay to do it, while they are on garrison duty. Apparently, it is not such a bad deal for them and that is enough for them to share their military knowdledge..
As Matt would have discovered, though, there were still secrets the Wolf's Dragoons were not quite ready to reveal..
***
A few minutes later, he was at the designed training area with all the other Marik cadets. All of them were excited, resplendent in their purple uniforms. Excited, and ready for their first 'Mech gunnery training session.
As usually, Lieutenant Radick was wearing his cooling vest over a Dragoon shirt, shorts and boots. A drop of sweat on his forehead showed that, as usual, he had just climbed off his BattleMech after testing its systems. He was really a meticulous pilot.
His briefing to the cadets started with his usual firm , slightly angry voice, but this time he did not tell the "kids" to repeat one of the exercises they had done for months. "Listen up, kids. Very carefully. You, look at me!" and he pointed a finger toward a female cadet who was staring in awe at the last Chameleon in the row, parked a bit apart from the other four: its right arm housed a powerful Gauss Rifle instead of the usual large laser. A Gauss rifle! Surprised, she quickly brought back her attention on their instructor.
"Today things are starting getting serious. And interesting. You kid learned how to walk, how to run, even how to jump with your BattleMech, possibly better than you would have back at your school. Not that you can become great MechWarriors in a few months.. But you are here to learn the basics, and i am paid to teach them to you. Today, you will start to learn to fire your weapons. After all, what kind of MechWarrior is one who cannot aim and shoot effectively?
Board your 'Mechs and, as usually, i will give you more detailed info trough the comm link. You just need to know that you will be firing at both static and moving targets , both from fixed positions and while moving. This will take time, of course, and you will need to improve your piloting skills too if you even dream of being a good warrior. You, the first three cadets, get on the first four 'Mechs here. No time to waste here!". When he said that, a realization hit Matt suddenly. Four plus one.. There are five 'Mechs here! Strange".
***
He was back in the cockpit, this time as Pup 2. He recognized the now-familiar slight smell of sweat and the stale air.. And he felt at home.
He weared the neurohelmet, activated the cooling vest and went trought the power-up procedure.
"Reactor online."
"Sensors, online."
"Weapons, online."
"All systems nominal".
Matt noticed that the weapons were not greyed out on the HUD: no safety lock this time. He grinned, ready to hear the sharp voice of Wolf 1 on the comm system.
"Wolf 1 here. You there, Pup 1,2,3? " Without waiting for a reply, he continued. "We had a fifth Chameleon stuck in a bay for repairs after a training accident, so i thought i would ask for some refitting to be made. It was not easy but finally, the Dragoon command accepted to refit it with the Gauss you kids noticed earlier. I think you will not find a LosTech weapon in any other training field in the Sphere. So how does it work? Every session, i will check your scores, and the best cadet will get to pilot it in the next session. So do your best today and you will pilot that beast tomorrow! All Pups, follow me now to the Nav Alpha. Wolf 1 out."
Matt checked to make sure that Nav Alpha was currently set as next waypoint on the HUD. Then, he played for a second with the joystick in his right arm, delighted to see the aiming reticule moving and pointing the machine's now active guns where he wanted (not at the other 'Mechs! "These weapons are not the toys your mother gave you, kids!" Radick used to say).
After he was satisfied, he pushed forward the throttle. He felt, once again, the powerful feeling of man being one with the machine, as his Chameleon accelerated to a slow walk with its thump, thump, thump. "How did he say in that movie.. "Let's get this show on the road!" ".
***
Standing in the firing ground, the four 'Mechs were an awesome display of war machines. The sky was full of small black drones, slowly flying around. The grassy plain was littered of the remains of destroyed drones.
Wolf 1's voice came loud and clear: "As you probably have guessed, those drones are your targets. Your weapons are low-powered training lasers and those drones are armored, so you should be able to do plenty of practice. Each of you, get to one of those designated areas and try to hit the drones. "
Matt WALKED his Chalemelon into the firing area 2, following the footsteps of countless training 'Mechs imprinted on the ground. Halting his 'Mech, he grinned with determination as he narrowed his eyes, focusing on the closest drone, lazily flying just a hundred meters from him. Holding firmly the joystick with his right hand, he moved his crosshairs over the drone and fired the large laser. The blue lance of coherent light hit the drone, melting some of its thin armor. Matt imagined that if it was fully powered, the beam would have almost disintegrated it. On the other hand, the heat produced by the weapon was fully realistic, thanks to specially programmed heaters in the cockpit. He felt the wave of heat produced by the weapon.
He waited one or two seconds, tracking the drone's movements, and fired his medium lasers in chain fire to reduce the heat buildup and aim every laser individually. Some of the beams partially missed, but most hit the target. The green beams finally melt the last layer of armor and pierced the drone.
Just as it exploded, Matt swung the Chameleon's right arm to the right, tracking another drone. He waited some seconds to cool down, but before he could fire, the target exploded under the fire of another cadet. Barely aware of the titans standing at his 'Mech's sides, he fired his large laser at the next drone on the left. This time, the beam completely hit the drone, vaporizing all its armor. Blinded by his sweat, he waved it away with his left hand. Pew , pew. The sound of low-powered lasers arrived attenuated trough the cockpit's walls. Looking on the right , then on the left, trough the cockpit's ferro-glass, Matt could see many uninterrupted beams, meaning they were not hitting their intended target. Back to it now!
He brought again the crosshairs on the drone he was hitting. No other drones were still flying around it. Fearing that another cadet may have fired at it, Matt triggered all his medium lasers. The very hot air inside the cockpit made it uneasy for him to breathe, but he was rewarded by one "kill" as the drone under his reticule exploded.
"Pup 2, if you keep firing like that, you may well die, and that would mean a lot of paperwork for me..."
Notes: the storytelling is getting slow, i know, but i have many ideas and i want to make my story more detailed than it could be as a short story. It may become a novel lol.
Edited by CyclonerM, 14 June 2015 - 05:27 AM.
