35 replies to this topic

[gavin darkskies]

so how many of use have created a rich back story for their mech pilot charicter? lets see them.
heres mine...

GAVIN DARKSKIES PERSONAL FILE.

Height: 6 feet

Weight: 210 lbs.

Eyes: green

Hair: brown with tinges of gray

Home planet: Arc-Royal

City of birth: Old Connaught

Education: Graduated August 4th 3037 at the early age of 17 with honors from Coventry Military Academy (CMA)




Gavin was told his father was General Adam Steiner but he has never been able to officially disclose this information as members of the royal family have "encouraged" him to be silent about this for his safety.
His mother, Melissa Allard daughter of Dan Allard was a Lieutenant colonel in the Old Connaught branch of the planetary guard Gavin knew very little of her past and in later years hired many private investagators to find out more but found little success.
(he still endevors to find out all he can but his search has lessend since his mothers death.)
Gavin's mother raised him till he moved into the barracks of the academy at 13 years old.
From that time on his focus turned to defending his royal family despite their desires to keep his linage a secret.
After graduating from the academy he went on to work for alliance army command as a communications officer and sniper specialist before being reassigned to pilot his first mech toward the end of the clan war.
When his mother was killed in a heated battle with the clans on April 17th 3052 out of grief he went AWOL and was arrested for desertion.
Finding mercy in the judge partly due to his blood ties he was given the option to retire with pay.
In addtion to his benifits Gavin still to this day is given a quarterly deposit of 200,000 cash in his account at the Old Connaught Alliance Reserve Bank from an anonymous donor.
He is heavily invested in commodities through a still unknown broker at The Alliance Stock Exchange.
He now works unofficially with house Steiner to shore up defenses where and whenever they need him.
In honor of his mother he has never ran from a battle again.

[Arturus]

Here's mine:

Arturus is the only child of Lisa Steiner, the sole daughter and one of three children of Nondi Steiner, sister of former Archon (c. 3007-3039) Katrina Steiner, and Darren Stennler, Lance Commander in the 4th Skye Rangers.

Arturus' father, Darren Stennler, and Rhio Carver, were heroes of the LCAF at the conclusion of Operation Thor (c. 3027). The Crimson Plague Lance saved the life of Melissa Steiner, the daughter of Katrina Steiner and betrothed to Hanse Davion of the Federated Suns, in 3028. Kurita intelligence operatives had kidnapped Melissa Steiner in an attempt to thwart her planned wedding to Hanse Davion. If their wedding could be averted, the unification of the Federated Suns and Lyran Commonwealth would never occur and the Draconis Combine would not launch its pre-emptive strike to neutralize this new threat. The rescue of Melissa Steiner and her subsequent full Mech honor-guard wedding to Hanse Davion immediately sparked the beginning of the Fourth Succession War.

After rescuing the Archon-Designate, Rhio Carver and Darren Stennler stayed on with the Skye Rangers. After five years, Rhio Carver went on to become the Senior Sergeant Major for the 4th Skye Rangers and ultimately, the Sergeant at Arms for the entire Skye Front. Darren Stennler settled on Summer to enjoy a quiet family life and raise his only child, Arturus.

Arturus had been given a privileged life on Summer. As a young boy, Arturus had taken to running WorkMechs and learned to pilot them with proficiency at a young age. At age 16 he enrolled in Sanglamore on Skye.

When his father died, and after several months of carousing after his father's death, Arturus threw himself into his studies and passed in the top 5% of his class at Sanglamore.

Following graduation and due to his noble family lineage, Arturus quickly rose through the ranks and was given command of the Skye Brigade.

[Spitalier]

Guess i will roll one character with my old PnP Rulebook from BattleTech

[Owl Vaughan]

Alright, here's my pilot profile:

name: Owl Vaughan

gender:male

age: exact age unknown, suspected early twenties.

appearance: 1.8m tall, standard build, bright green eyes, raven-black hair,pale skin, generally wears mech pilot gear or a labcoat.

personality: intelligent, determined, cheerful, paranoid, a little eccentric.

background: Owl Vaughan was originally a loyal warrior to Clan Jade Falcon and served at a minor staging base on the edge of Jade Falcon space. He was there most of his life until a Davion raiding force wiped out the base and only a handful of Falcons survived including Owl. Determined to seek revenge Owl joined a group of elite Scientists working at Defiance Industries and from there he climbed the Steiner ranks to become a well known mech pilot. Today Owl still continues to use his skills to create mech designs for Defiance Industries and battle Davion out in the field.

[NobleTetatae]

Given Name : John-Bob Smith

Age: 32

Home Planet: New Avalon

Father : Cleetus Cleetus Smith

Mother : Jane-July Smith-Smith

Military Academy: The Warrior's Hall

Personal Mech: Commando ( Worked slightly better before being salvaged and repaired) ( long story)

Current Posting: Humansville Militia

Personal Motto: "With da lites out just make sure it's nat yer rummate. Unless yer rummate is werman."

Height: 5'3"

Weight: 213 kg

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Brown

Features: Takes after his mother-aunt and has the correct number of fingers and toes. Both eyes usually point in the same direction.

Bio: Was kicked out of his home by his mamma-aunt the day after his 30th birthday, she was shrieked 'Git ah Jerb!!1!'. He wandered around town for several days surviving on his generous body stores and cheeto dust shaken out of his laptop's keyboard.

He eventually ended up at a an office where beguiled by the female recruitment officer. Dazed by hunger and facinated by a werman who'd talk at him who wasn't kin, it took him days to realize he'd joined the army. He eventually graduated(several terms late) at the bottom of his class and was assigned to the Periphery to free up better men.
He won several eating competitions against the other training academies.

His shining moment was getting his original run Mackie(2439 AD) shot out from under him by a pirate Commando. Fortunately it fell on the Commando and prevented the Pirates from scouting for the rest of the engagment.
That night he would have scored with a woman, if her friends didn't sent her home to sleep it off.
He still dreams of her unibrow.

Special Note: He spends his time on da int'ernat tellin' them merchwarriors to not hert da Erglash Lungauge.

Edited by NobleTetatae, 15 October 2012 - 08:50 PM.

[Vegeta Kerensky]

Bio | MechWarrior: Vegeta Kerensky

I was born on November 9th, 3022 on Hanover as the 4th and youngest child to my parents. Since my father served with the 2nd Sword of Light, we moved to Buckminster in 3025 where the 2nd was stationed to become the planetary garrison.
Growing up on Buckminster wasn’t that bad, even though it was a border world.
The darkest day in my young life was when my father fell during the 4th Succession War in 3030, only a few days prior to my 8th Birthday.
It was then, when I swore on the grave of my father, that I would try to follow in his footsteps to uphold the family tradition in serving and fighting for the dragon.
Despite the situation that my father was dead and my mother was left alone with her 4 children to care for, my mother managed to save up every last dime to pay for me going to the Dieron District Gymnasium on Shionoha.
I graduated from DDG in 3044 at the age of 21 and went on to serve with the 2nd Dieron Regulars that were stationed on Shionoha.
Still pursuing the goal to follow into the footsteps of my father, it is now in 3049 that, after serving with the 2nd Dieron Regulars for 5 years, I am hoping to be able to transfer to the same unit that my father already served in, the 2nd Sword of Light.
Since my current application is still pending, I am hoping to receive a positive answer any day soon.

Regards
Vegeta Kerensky
Shujin
2nd Dieron Regulars

Edited by Vegeta Kerensky, 16 October 2012 - 02:09 AM.

[Choccy Starfish]

Given Name : Indianu 'Skywalker' Baggins (yes i(sp?) did make the character's last name Vader. deal with it. it's a long story...)

Age: 52

Home Planet: Hoth-Isengard

Father : Qui-Gon Baggins

Mother : None-it was an immaculate conception, facilitated by medical-onions.

Military Academy: Hogwarts School of Mechanery ( never finished - long story...)

Personal Mech: Purple Headed Warrior Prime ( Previously belonged to the former headmaster of Hogwarts School of Mechanery) ( Someone called Malfoy helped me steal it, with the aid of a pepperoni pizza and my character defining whip - long story... )

Current Posting: 3rd Skye Rangers "Brown Winking Star"

Personal Motto: Just because you see the solution with your own two ears, does not always make it the 3rd floor or sushi

Height: 3'6"

Weight: 001 kg (elemental spirit master)

Hair: BLack, but sometimes it goes blonde and glows kinda - long story...

Eyes: Gray with flecks of long story

Features: Northern Japanese with a splash of Hobbit


Born on the planet of Hoth-Isengard, with his brothers (Goku, Pickachu, Ryu and Fondu), it wasn't long before he joined the rebel forces of Conan and overthrew the evil Ewoks led by Skeletor, who were holding all the sushi in bowsers castle (pretty bad men).

Having been born into war, our hero found it difficult to adjust to 'civvy street', until a man by the name of Jean-Luc Pickard found him wandering the streets of Bollywood. Jean-Luc took him in, and taught him all that he knew. Alas it wasn't enough to tame Indianu, and he was cast out of his new home. Angered he turned crazy, and started glowing. His hair went blonde, and he found he had super strength. Acticng in rage, he slew poor Jean-Luc with a mighty blow from his warhammer 'Mjǫlnir'.

This didn't go unnoticed, and neither did his 'unnatural powers'. A man by the name of colonel William Stryker, dogged his every step, finding him, and eventually capturing him with a funny glowing green crystal called Kryptonite.

Luckily, our hero, became friends with a man named Andy Dufresne in prison. Together, after many years, they managed to escape prison by diiging a huge tunnel through the wall of their prison, which they concealed with a life size poster of Fluttershy. This whole escape happened, with a really catchy ww2 theme tune playing in the background, and an awesome motorbike chase scene at the end.

Having escaped, Indianu soon found himself penniless and in need of some hot food. Luckily, after sharing a 'nice' meal with Meg Ryan at a topically irrelevant Italian restaurant (completely ruined thanks to her constant moaning - whiner!) things started to look up. He saw a job advertised for a corporation called Nostromo, who specialised in off world mining expeditions.

He got the job, and soon found himself on a spaceship, with a lovely lady known only as 'Ripley', on the way to a non-chartered planet, to dig for 'stuff'. Having got there, Ripley decided to rescue some gorillas from the evil aliens, and all hell broke loose. Blue men on the backs of flying dragons started flinging brown parcels at them, then these other black alien dudes, started impregnating all the humans, and child birth didn't come easy.

Not ready for child bearing just yet, Indianu soon left the planet. We now take up his story, having just joined up with a mercenary unit of Mechs called the 'Autobots', who have been employed by the Rebellion, to fight their evil nemesis the 'Cylons'.

And the rest, as they say, is a long story...

Edited by Choccy Starfish, 16 October 2012 - 05:12 PM.

[Gattling Fenn]

I wrote this up some time ago, A little bit embarrassed to share it, ah well whatever, here it is.

---------------------------------------

Transmission Date: 8/5/49
Transmission Location: Summer
Transmission Destination: Thakrad
Agent: Fox Plague
Priority Level: Tier 1
Agent Status: Deceased
Transmission Status: Intercepted: Source of interception unknown.

At the request of a number of concerned military officials, I have been investigating the mech pilot "Gattling Fenn" and have made a number of "interesting" discoveries about our supposed Skye Ranger...

Height: 6'1
Weight: 210
Race: Caucasian
Hair color: Blond
Eye color: Blue
Age: 22

William Kerrigan was born the eldest of 5 children to the minor house of Kerrigan on the planet Summer in the Federation of Skye on the 3rd of August, 3030. Always a child concerned with academics and history, William could be found spending much of his time either reading, or leading his peers in mock battles. Though it was noted from an early age William had an affinity for psychological sadism, frequently tormenting rivals or people he did not particularly like, to the point of lunacy.

At age 14 William achieved his first kill after having challenged a local nobles boy to a duel over a matter of some missing electronics. These electronics would later be recovered leading to the discovery that the boy William had killed, had not in fact stolen them, but rather William himself had simply misplaced them. William apologized to the nobles father and paid him a small sum from his future inheritance to keep the matter quiet.

From the ages 16 to 18 he served as a junior officer in a Summer militia regiment. Where he did absolutely nothing to distinguish himself aside from accidentally pilot his Jenner into a lake a few times.

By age 19 William had been sent to the Royal New Captetown Military Academy, more in the hopes of keeping him out of trouble than allowing him to hone is skills in piloting a mech. Most of his time was spent either sleeping in the dorms, or taking his jenner out on unauthorized excursions off campus. Despite all this however, he had no particular desire to fail out of the Academy which was what liable to happen given his absolute lack of interest in grades.

Instead, he hatched a scheme to "accelerate" his position. Spending a good deal of his inheritance, he orchestrated the untimely demise of an upperclassmen by the name of Gattling Fenn. Gattling Fenn was scheduled to join the Skye Rangers 4th Regiment. However during a standard field exercise, his Centurions SRM reserve mysteriously exploded, instantly killing him.

William used the remainder of his money to have records shifted to the point that he could impersonate Gattling Fenn. Even going so far as to orchestrate a false death of his own to prevent any inquires as to his disappearance from friends or family. The new "Gattling Fenn" has been assigned to the 4th Skye Rangers as scheduled and now pilots a Jenner for their second Recon lance.

This man is an impostor, clearly responsible for the deaths of numerous associates and competitors. I suggest he be immediately sent to Thakrad for trial and summary execution. I am currently the only agent with full access to this information and it is critical it be shared with high command lest I b-

<Shouts and brief struggle>

<Two machine pistol bursts>

<Audio log suddenly stops>

Edited by Gattling Fenn, 16 October 2012 - 06:01 PM.

[Choccy Starfish]

Gattling Fenn, on 16 October 2012 - 05:13 PM, said:

I wrote something up but I'm kinda embarrassed to share it, ah well whatever, here it is.

Height: 6'1
Weight: 210
]Race: Caucasian
Hair color: Blond
Eye color: Blue
Age: 22

William Kerrigan was born the eldest of 5 children to the minor house of Kerrigan...

Not bad, but I think you could work on the realism a little more. Good start though!

[Magic Murder Bag]

watch Venture Brothers to find out mine

[Killing Strangers]

Just a space **** looking for a few more space ho's to employ......simple

[Gattling Fenn]

Choccy Starfish, on 16 October 2012 - 05:18 PM, said:

Not bad, but I think you could work on the realism a little more. Good start though!

Realism? I just described myself, that's about as "real" as it gets, minus the name change and age difference of two years, although only the last name has been changed.

Edited by Gattling Fenn, 18 October 2012 - 12:29 AM.

[Dakodo Karensky]

I was a young Tetatae.

So young in fact, I was still an egg.

In 3031, Clan Jade Falcon made an excursion to the outer depths of known space seeking mineral holdings and more land to construct gladiator stadiums upon. Both my birth parents were killed in the burning of my village, many eggs taken aboard the Clan dropships for their delectable taste and rare delicacy. Dozens of my fellow Tetatae brethren (feathren?) were eaten and consumed in the following days.

A ship's cook by the name of Drozt Rostoy was preparing my egg for an omelet to be served to the squad's Captain, however he slipped on a space-sponge and I was tossed haphazardly into the air. As my vessel of birth tumbled end over end in the air, Drozt had enough time to reflect as to whether his death would be quick and painless for failing to serve his Captain a nutritious and wholesome breakfast, or if he would be forced to face a deadly space lion in a low gravity pain chamber.

I smashed to the ground with a mighty "CRACK" that was heard across the universe.

There, in a puddle of embryonic fluid and gleaming green shell fragments, sat a hairless chick (me), gaping at this burly Not Bird-Man Man, goggling at the bright fluorescence of the humid kitchen, and making small peeping noises, as I required sustenance. Unsure of what to do, my ad-hoc father Drozt found some space worms in the entomology lab, and spirited them back to the kitchen. With great care, he chewed them carefully for a minute or two, and with some hesitation, regurgitated them into my gaping maw.

That day, Drozt found a son, and I found a father. He also avoided execution by frying a rubber mat found in the gymnasium with chicken stock, and serving it filled with exotic cheeses.

This continued for about 5 years, as I was kept in a small cage secreted in back of his quarter's closet. The Tetatae, with our quick metabolisms and even quicker intellect, gain full maturity within this time. Over the years, Drozt taught me everything there was about being a human. I excelled at maths and ornithology. Drozt had a friend in Engineering that he granted sexual favors in exchange for a custom modified Neural Helmet created to respond to the thoughts of a Bird-Man. I trained during off-hours, throwing pencils at small insects in my cage prior to consuming them. At the fully grown age of 6, Drozt dressed me in combat fatigues, gave me a fake nose made of plaster and human hair, and introduced me to the Starship Commander (and ilKhan of Jade Falcon) Leo Showers. Leo favored my birdish good-looks and took me under his wing (no pun intended) as his ward.

The last 12 years I have grown older. I have grown stronger. I am now a warrior poised on the Outer Rim, ready to strike a blow for the Clan.

I have adopted the name of my birth-father Dakodo (as I felt Drozt`s name of Steve to be ill-fitting at best), and have taken on the name of the Clans creator and saviour.

Unfortunately, since we had left the IS, bookkeeping has become a lost art. Those featherless apes at the record office spelt it wrong.

NO LESS. Dakodo Karensky will have his moment in the sun. I will fly with my new brothers, and the Inner Sphere will tremble at my visage, and soil themselves at my cry.

Caw.

Caw.

Caw.

[Choccy Starfish]

Gattling Fenn, on 18 October 2012 - 12:27 AM, said:

Realism? I just described myself, that's about as "real" as it gets,..[snip]

Sorry, I think there has been a huge mistake, and it's all my fault.

I wasn't only addressing your character description, I meant your whole story. It's my fault, as I snipped out the boring parts without stating I had done so. I hope you accept my apologies.

If I were you, I'd delete out the boring parts, and take as a good example of a well thought out backstory, from the guy who has posted directly below you. He has (at least) managed to get inspiration from tried and attested battle tech canon, and applied that lore into a meaningful and entertaining character of real substance, rather than the wishy washy character stories I have come across.

Perhaps it might be better to delete the whole thing, and completely make a new character. Basing the character off a real life example, and a boring one at that, is never a good place to start. Ever. I mean, Jerry Springer wouldn't be half as entertaining if they used real life Americans on the show. They use fake ones (like Canadians) to make it more entertaining to watch.

Edited by Choccy Starfish, 18 October 2012 - 02:23 PM.

[Gattling Fenn]

Choccy Starfish, on 18 October 2012 - 02:21 PM, said:

Sorry, I think there has been a huge mistake, and it's all my fault.

I wasn't only addressing your character description, I meant your whole story. It's my fault, as I snipped out the boring parts without stating I had done so. I hope you accept my apologies.

If I were you, I'd delete out the boring parts, and take as a good example of a well thought out backstory, from the guy who has posted directly below you. He has (at least) managed to get inspiration from tried and attested battle tech canon, and applied that lore into a meaningful and entertaining character of real substance, rather than the wishy washy character stories I have come across.

Perhaps it might be better to delete the whole thing, and completely make a new character. Basing the character off a real life example, and a boring one at that, is never a good place to start. Ever. I mean, Jerry Springer wouldn't be half as entertaining if they used real life Americans on the show. They use fake ones (like Canadians) to make it more entertaining to watch.

Oh yeah, well that would require me to rewrite the whole bloody thing, and as it stands, don't particularly care for RP as it is. So I'll just let my lackluster story sit there.

[Choccy Starfish]

Gattling Fenn, on 18 October 2012 - 02:30 PM, said:

Oh yeah, well that would require me to rewrite the whole bloody thing, and as it stands, don't particularly care for RP as it is. So I'll just let my lackluster story sit there.

I don't understand. Why did you foray into the RP aspect of battle tech, if you don't "particularly care" for it? I assume that you thought your post would be mildly amusing to those who share your chagrin for role play?


I am a little concerned at your lacklustre approach, at not bothering to re-write your characters backstory. I can only assume that the posts I made have put you off such an undertaking, when I had hoped that they would be the catalyst for you improving your story. I really think there is a role player inside you, and that with a little constructive criticism, he would 'come out' and flourish in this community. So I implore you to reconsider your decision to not re-write it. Perhaps sleep on it, and come back tomorrow?

I can only speak for myself, but I am sure others are looking forward to what you can really come up with, given a little application.


"Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well." -Mahatma Gandhi

Edited by Choccy Starfish, 18 October 2012 - 02:49 PM.

[Gattling Fenn]

Choccy Starfish, on 18 October 2012 - 02:46 PM, said:

I don't understand. Why did you foray into the RP aspect of battle tech, if you don't "particularly care" for it? I assume that you thought your post would be mildly amusing to those who share your chagrin for role play?


I am a little concerned at your lacklustre approach, at not bothering to re-write your characters backstory. I can only assume that the posts I made have put you off such an undertaking, when I had hoped that they would be the catalyst for you improving your story. I really think there is a role player inside you, and that with a little constructive criticism, he would come out and flourish in this community. So I implore you to reconsider your decision to not re-write it. Perhaps sleep on it, and come back tomorrow?

I can only speak for myself, but I am sure others are looking forward to what you can really come up with, given a little application.


"Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well." -Mahatma Gandhi

Because I get bored easily. I tried it, met some people into RP, decided it's not for me. I understand it was constructive criticism, and I'm not offended, I just don't see a reason to put any particular effort into rewriting it.

Edited by Gattling Fenn, 18 October 2012 - 02:49 PM.

[Choccy Starfish]

Gattling Fenn, on 18 October 2012 - 02:48 PM, said:

Because I get bored easily. I tried it, met some people into RP, decided it's not for me. I understand it was constructive criticism, and I'm not offended, I just don't see a reason to put any particular effort into rewriting it.

It would make an old man very happy. I would love to see your unadulterated, fully fleshed out 'back story'. Like I said, sleep on it, and may be tomorrow you will feel a little more inspired.


"I want freedom for the full expression of my personality." -Mahatma Gandhi

[Lenin Kerensky]

Choccy Starfish, on 18 October 2012 - 02:53 PM, said:

It would make an old man very happy. I would love to see your unadulterated, fully fleshed out 'back story'. Like I said, sleep on it, and may be tomorrow you will feel a little more inspired.


"I want freedom for the full expression of my personality." -Mahatma Gandhi

I too would like to see him do a better story. I liked the first, but I think he could do better. Gooooo Gattling!

[Atlessa]

I wrote this up for a campaign a while ago...
A campaign that was never played

Enjoy.
Or not.
I don't care

Quote

[born 3040]

March, 12. 3051
Planet: Port Arthur


She knew something was not right. The way daddy had looked at her when he said goodbye. He looked so sad, as if he was never coming back.
„What's wrong, ka-san?“ she had asked her mother. „Why are you crying?“
The fact that her mother didn't give her a proper answer only increased her fear. Daddy wasn't coming back...
But why?
A few minutes later, after her mother had made sure she went back to bed, she decided to sneak out the back door to follow her dad and ask him.

It was dawning when she found him. He was at the militia Headquarters talking to one of the other men.
She had always liked the men who his dad called his „comrades“. They had always been so kind to her.
But today they all looked so grim, as if something terrible had happened. She did not dare speak to anyone, or stand in their way... She knew, somehow, that whatever they were doing was important.
An Agromech walked by between her and her dad, throwing up a lot of dust and sand. After that she couldn't see him anymore...

She walked around base looking for him. She still didn't want to ask anyone. The looks on their faces were scary. Also everyone seemed to be very busy. Noone even noticed her.
She was in one of the Mechhangars when she heard a loud, a very, very loud, bang outside.
She turned around to see what happened. Then she realized why everyone had been so busy.
Even an eleven year old girl knows a war when it's breaking out in front of her eyes.

She ran towards the open hangar doors, trying her best to stay out of the line of fire of who-, or whatever was attacking them.
And why.

She spotted her dad just outside the hangar. He was so close, and yet so far away. She didn't dare run over to him, nor to call out his name. She just stood there and watched him. He was sitting behind some makeshift cover. She felt stupid for not realising this sooner. She had seen so many war movies.
But this was not a movie.
Her father was preparing an inferno launcher. Although she did not know what that weapon was at that time. But the moment when he turned around his cover, aiming at the attacking 'Mech. The moment, when her father was killed by an enemies PPC.
That moment was burned into her memory.

She dropped to her knees, eyes wide with horror.
She couldn't scream.
She couldn't cry.
But she could see the 'Mech who killed her father.

She slowly turned around. There was still one Agromech standing in his bay. A single small laser strapped to his arm.
The men allowed her to pilot one of these once. One that was not armed, of course.
She stood up, cast another look towards the attacking 'Mech, then she went for the ladder leading up to the Agromechs Cockpit.

This one seemed older than the one she had piloted before. And it smelled.
She didn't care. She pushed the ignition button and the heavy ICE in the back of the 'Mech came to life. Some of the nearby militia soldiers turned their heads. They certainly didn't expect any more 'Mechs to be used by their side.

It took her what seemed like forever to find out what else she needed to do to get the machine walking. Then finally she remembered. She slowly pushed the throttle forward, and the 'Mech made one slow step. Her right hand grabbed the joystick that was normally used to control whatever machinery was mounted on the right arm, and moved it around a bit.
The arm followed her movement.
She somehow expected some kind of crosshair to appear before her, but nothing of the sort happened.

When she left the Hangar, she immediately focused her attention on the enemy 'Mech. It was moving towards her slowly, firing lasers and PPCs into the soldiers around her.
Either he didn't notice her yet, or he did not consider her a threat.

She aimed her Laser at him and pulled the trigger, and... Did she hit? She wasn't sure. Something happened to the enemy 'Mech. It stopped and now it seemed like he was looking at her. Meanwhile the ICE behind her was working hard to recharge the laser. It seemed to take forever. This wasn't a Battlemech after all. She worked the controls to make her 'Mech change directions. Moving sideways is important. When you move sideways the enemy can't hit you. Everyone knew that.
However, she didn't expect what happened next.

The Agromech had stepped on something. Something that was not solid ground. It stumbled and fell face first into the dirt.
She screamed as her body hit the console in front of her.
Lying on what was the front window of the Machine just a minute ago, she desperately tried to reach the controls. She knew the enemy would still be out there. He could shoot her any second now. She managed to grab the throttle. That is when she realized she had no idea how to make a fallen 'Mech stand up again.

She let go of the throttle.
And cried.

A few minutes later something heavy moved very close to her. It must have been the enemy 'Mech. Now it came over to kill her.
She looked out through the glass roof of the Agromechs Cockpit, and sure enough there it was.
He extended an arm towards her, clearly aiming at her cockpit, and then...





March, 24. 3059
Planet: Port Arthur

The sound of her Alarm Clock woke her up. Eight years later she still dreamt about that day. Her hatred for the Clan that invaded her home had only grown since then. She chuckled at the irony.
Today might be her chance to get revenge. Today the Davion forces would arrive... She didn't have much time to come up with a plan.
She knew that he was on planet. Her friend on site had told her. She had seen the pictures, and she immediately recognized his face.

The Plan was dangerous, though the fact that she would be piloting a Madcat, or Timberwolf as the Clans called it, certainly helped. She had also scorched the insignias on her 'Mech with a handheld Laser a few hours ago so noone on the battlefield could say which side she was fighting for.

She hoped that would buy her some time to get to her target without taking too much damage... from either side of the field. She hadn't told anyone of her plan. She didn't want to drag anyone into this mess that was her life.

A red light filled the room. „The first attacking dropship has touched down. All 'Mechwarriors to their 'Mechs. Estimated time to first combat actions: 2 hours.“

She left her bunk and headed for the MechBay. This time, she knew how to make a fallen 'Mech get back up. This time, she had more than a single small Laser.

This time, she would not fail.




[Three hours later]

She had failed.
Miserably.

Davion 'Mechs had opened fire on her as soon as they were in range. It had been stupid of her to think that they would NOT target a Clan 'Mech with no visible insignia and unidentified IFF...

Tears were blurring her vision. Or was it the blood loss? She reminded herself to stay conscious. She couldn't die now. Not as long as the man who killed her parents was still alive.
Her 'Mech had only taken light damage, but something had exploded immediately next to the Cockpit, penetrating the Canopy and sending shrapnell all around her. Her right leg was numb from the pain, and she couldn't lift her left arm anymore.

She disengaged from the combat Zone and was now stumbling towards one of the dropships. She couldn't tell what insignia were painted onto the sides, due to her vision failing...
An unknown voice called her on an uncoded frequency. „Attention unknown Madcat pilot; we do not recognise your IFF. Identify yourself or we will open fire.“
She did not want to use her own radio... her former Unit might be listening, and someone might recognise her voice... She put on her external speakers. „Please do not shoot... I am injured... you need to help me...“



[later]

They allowed her to walk her 'Mech into the dropships hangar. She knew that enough firepower was aimed at her to end her within a heartbeat.
She moved her 'Mech to somewhere she thought it would not be in the way. The techs would park it somewhere else later.

A Tech was moving a mobile lift platform near her cockpit. She hit the switch to open the glass canopy, then tried to get rid of her neuro helmet, though with her left arm injured , she just couldn't get it off her head.
"Damnit!".
There were two more Techs already on the platform. One of them swallowed hard when he saw her injuries.
She couldn't blame him.
They helped her get rid of the helmet and out of the cockpit. Once she was on the platform the other Tech pulled out a syringe and injected her with something. "This will ease the pain."
It certainly did.

When she opened her eyes again she was laying on what seemed like a hospital bed. Her left arm was bandaged and an IV had been placed on her right one.
She also noticed there was a patch over her left eye.
She could hear someone talking nearby.
"I think you don't understand, sir. If we don't take her to a better equipped medical facility, like the one on the Victores Usque, she will lose her leg. Probably the arm, too."
"You are wrong, doctor. I do understand, but that doesn't change anything. I will not abandon my post for a single 'Mech pilot. Especially not one we could not identify. Hell for all we know she might be one of those clanners!"
She cringed, causing a new wave of pain through her body. If they thought she was a clanner, they might kill her on the spot.
"I am not a clanner!" she exclaimed.
There was a moment of silence before the two men who had been arguing about her fate just seconds ago came over to her bed.

"So you overheard our little discussion? I'm Lieutenant Derek Anderson, and you are on board the Vengeful. And I got bad news for you, young lady. The doctor just told me that your injuries are pretty bad, and we do not have the facilities to treat them. Didn't you doctor?"
The other man, dressed in a white coat, with quite some blood on it, simply nodded.
"Therefore, you got very few choices: You stay here, and... well the doctor will tell you more about this later. Or you tell us what your unit is, and we will see if we can transfer you to them, so they can give you proper treatment. That is, assuming they have the required facilities. You know, the doctor just asked me to take off so we could bring you to our jumpship, which does have such facilities. However, and I'm sure you'll understand, since we are at war, that is currently not possible. I will not abandon my post and risk countless lives just to save a single soldiers arm. Especially not one who isn't one of ours. This is nothing personal. You're a soldier. You will understand."
She nodded silently.
"Great. Now what did you say was your unit?"

"My unit..." she could tell them.
"My unit is..." of course she knew the answer.
"I..." come on, just spit it out.
"I... don't remember."

The doctor was immediately all over her, holding a light in front of her eye.
"Amnesia? Doesn't surprise me, you'll most likely have a concussion..."

"The name of the Dropship that you came here with?"
The Lightning.
"Uhmm..."

"The name of your CO. Or XO?"
Paul.
"Ehh..."
"Or hell, of anyone in your Lance..."
"Star!", she interrupted him.
Silence.

"Err... I... I mean... the dropship. You asked for the dropships name. It was something with Star in it.
The Lieutenant cast her an odd look. "You sure about that?"


She did remember. But she could not tell them. They would bring her back to them.
Or kill her on the spot.
Or worse.

"So it's option one for you it seems. Sorry about your leg. The doc will tell you more."

With that, he left. The "doc" immediately began what seemed like a never ending rant about the severity of her injuries.
She didn't understand a word.
What she did understand was that, since she had no other choice than to stay on the Vengeful, they would have to amputate her right leg within the next 24 hours, and her left arm within a few days, or she would most likely die.
Unless, of course, a friendly dropship came by that had the required medical facilities.
"The good news is: you'll live. And your eye should heal all by itself if you give it a few days."