Tranquil,
The "Caustic Valley", near the military testing area of W7 facility,
11th of January 3050
The pilots gathered outside the W7 military facility in an area known as the "Caustic Valley". The grand melee as well as the Trial of Bloodright took place in the middle of the invasion and some of the pilots arrived just in time to take their places in the big circle of equals. The winner would take the 32nd starter slot for the trial. So not everyone had a very intensive preparation, but as all wolves came right from the front, they were more than fit to stand the test and of course equally eager to win the honor.
"Circle is clear, Trial starts on your command, honorable Oathmaster!" came out of the radio inside his cockpit. He was the oathmaster of todays trial. All systems were showing operational status and only green indicators told him the trial could be started anytime now. The humming of the fusion engine below expressed the readiness of the machine to jump into battle in seconds. But today he would stay out of gunfire.
"Take your positions!", he said calmly and slowly into the microphone that was attached to his helmet. He was not feeling as calm as he appeared. To be inside his Mech just about outside the fighting area made him think of the invasion front.
"A lot of things to worry about these days...", he thought. But immediatly he straightened his back and forced himself to concentrate. His mind fell back to here and now. Cold concentration pushed away everything that was out of reach and thus of no importance in this very moment. He was in the middle of the holy tradition of the Trial of Bloodright and even if Terra would have been in strike distance, these rituals demanded full respect and all concentration as they formed the clans, their identity - the heritage of the founder himself. Loosing those traditions and the values would render even a victory on Terra useless, because then the circle of history would just start again. They did not only need to take Terra, they needed to stay who they were and they needed to stick to their traditions, to hold them up and be the bright light of civilization for all the people in the Inner Sphere they came to liberate.
The clock was counting down and control tower was informing everyone about the readiness of all systems. They were Clan Wolf, of course everything was ready! Still, all warriors were waiting for one last thing before entering the fight:
His command.
"Fight!" he simple said into his microphone. Not very spectacular. It was the complete opposite of the sound of dozens of lasers and autocannons breaking through the air like sudden thunder. The wolves began to fight for their goal. Nothing was holding them back now.
In the fight were:
- GCom LOTZ
- GCom Obione206
- SCol Charles Seneca
- SCol Mortis Thanatos
- SCol RedMaiden
- SCol xDisturbedx
- SCom Beltran
- SCom Erzengel
- SCom Gaius
- SCom PhantomJSHR
- SCom Strongwind
- SCom XFirestorm
- MW Ashreign31
- MW Praetor
- MW Rabatzbaer
- MW Serakek
- MW Steve
- MW Suebig
- MW Wittwolf
- MW XPhoenix
The first Mechs fell under the heavy fire of the other pilots. Some of them got focused and had no chance. Within seconds, the mighty fighting machines were turned into piles of metal and, in some cases, dead bodies.
Where the reactor was damaged, dangerous explosions added their destructive power to that of the different weapons. Soon the number of walking Mechs was reduced to only a few and there was some more space, although the ground was so full of debries that piloting became really difficult.
Finally MW Rabatzbaer and SCom Strongwind stood face to face, somehow surprised to be the last two standing warriors, but too busy to keep their Mechs upright to wonder for long. After all, one of them managed to handle the surprise more quickly and Strongwind's already heavily damaged Mech quickly fell to the concentrated fire of Rabatzbaer.
"Mech destruction detected and confirmed!"
"Status of pilot... waiting for incoming data... pilot is alive but wounded!"
"Get her out and open the area to the Techs!"
He found himself wondering what it would feel like if she would die. He had to admit that it would have an effect on him. She was part of his Star, but she became more than that as well. Of course, a warrior had to keep a distance. Anyone could die at literally any time and there was no time to mourn. Still, being close means that officers took their responsibility serious. It was a dangerous thing to have friends. It was equally dangerous to have none.
He was still human and in this moment it was a burden. Like his teachers always told him, this was another test to pass in the way Kerensky would have wanted him to. And because he did not really know how exactly Kerensky would have handled this, he shielded himself against the sad feeling and pushed it far away. The warrior took control and soon everything became very clear and easy.
"Affirmative! Control tower requests permission to logoff, honorable Oathmaster!", the female voice came to his cockpit and interrupted his thinking.
"Initiate cleaning protocoll! Check the fallen Mechs for surviving pilots and start search and rescue for the pilots that ejected. Other pilots who still can move their machines get moving to the hangars. Congratulations, MW Rabatzbaer! You have proven that you are worthy to fight in the tournament! We will follow your progress through the trial of bloodright with interest! Controltower, permission granted to logoff!"
"Seyla!"
Edited by Meldric, 15 January 2015 - 10:57 AM.