Just got done reading some Battletech books (I'm new to the cannon, not new to the game) so I thought I'd include a fun short story as a bonus (5 minute read) surrounding the "origins" of my mech. Even got to poke some fun at the staff. In "honor" of book 3 of the Battletech sereis and of the Grey Death Legion I present to you.
"The price of indiscretion"
"Cadet Alexander reporting for duty sir." The young Mech Warrior Pilot saluted his XO Matt Newman.
"Yes, yes, I’ve been expecting you, Alexander. Welcome to Terra Therma Classic. You’re here because your trainers and Captain Russ think you have what it takes to finally put this old wives tale to rest."
“Wives tale sir?”
"Yes, see the local miners of Paramount Grafting Incorporated, we call them PGI for short. Have been trying to extract the T and H-3 from here but they keep spotting a lone mech up in the volcano and it’s spooking them. They said they can’t vote to keep Terra Therma Classic in the mining map rotation if they keep spotting this mech."
“Therma Classic I thought this moon was Terra Therma?”
“Terra Therma, Terra Therma Classic, Terra Therma Redux, heck some people just call it *hell* here” If you can get the members of PGI to figure out what to call this place we will all be the better for it. I’m not even sure if different parts of the planets have different names. “
"Strange, why don’t they just call it one name, why keep voting on possibly two options"?
"I don’t know, maybe ask EG7 they are the parent company. But I didn’t come here to discuss this God-forsaken moon. Remember that spooky mech I told you about? Well, it’s time to figure out what this thing is all about or if they are just seeing things. If I had jump jets on my Warhammer I’d already have put this thing to rest. I think this is something the Phoenix hawk they sent you with can handle right"?
"Ummm, suu, sure, sir I can handle this no problem. I’ll start right away."
While no stranger to disobeying rules, the Cadet was really at a loss here. He was on a new terrain whose climate he didn’t know, alone without backup, and possibly could be facing a lone mech up on top of a volcano. But not obeying his XO would get him in more trouble than secretly dating Leftenant’s Daeron Katz’s daughter back on home planet, a moment of indiscretion, well maybe months of it. He was resigned to doing this no matter what.
He passed by a plaque of a former XO that seemed to be explaining Terra Therma to an outside audience. The bottom summary of the plaque caught his attention “The only evidence of the constant battling over this hell-hole’s resources is in the paperwork as every fallen 'Mech and the sorry sob who piloted it, aka collateral loss, is quickly swallowed up by this fiery beast.” – Garth Erlam
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Garth” Alexander mumbled.
Already wanting to be gone from this moon, terrified but with no other options, Alexander was reserved to do what needed to be done. Soon after, the mech was saddled up and on way sweeping through the blackened terrain and adjusting the sensors to tackle the heat and the darkness of this new place. He thought it strange that he had heard Terra Therma was a lighter place. “ Must be this whole classic part is darker” he brushed the thought away. He passed by a few different makeshift bases and checked in with HQ with his comms. Hours later towards the volcano he wasn’t picking up anything on his sensors. Using his jump jets he carefully got close to the top. Nothing.
“Strange” Alexander thought surveying the top, “looks normal up here”
Then out of nowhere, his mechs sensors lit up and a blast of energy lit up the dark sky from the distance. Alexander had little time to react as a glancing blow rattled the 45 ton mech a bit. Then Alexander saw it, a mech that looked like it had just spawned right out of the volcano. Black on orange with a pumpkin head for a face?
“What the” Alexander barely had time to think. Quickly jamming the controls to pivot away from the enemy mech. Sadly, the green pilot over-corrected, forgetting he was on the side of the cliff that he had just crested to get a peak. The mech tangled up its legs and double over. In a flash, the enemy mech was right on top of him. He knew it was going to be over very soon he looked up at the mech, a Vulcan with chainsaws on its arms, seriously? Then over his comms, he could hear laughing, not the type of demented laughing he would expect from a hell mech but like a joke, he wasn’t in on.
“Well did you wet yourself yet boy”
“Sergeant Newman? Wait, what is going on here, I thought for sure I was dead”
“Would have been any other time, scared the crap out of you, didn’t I? I could tell this was going to be fun from the look on your face when I fed you that line about the tales from the miners. Now pick yourself up you’ve got work to do”
“Wait this wasn’t it?”
“Heck no, it wasn’t. This little thing was just a way for Daeron to get to you for going behind his back in dating his daughter. Now the punishment is for you to be on salvage duty the entire weekend instead of enjoying Halloween with your fellow cadets. Now go change your pants cadet, that’s an order”
My mech submission - "
Indiscretion"
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Edited by All Your Bases, 01 November 2022 - 08:54 AM.
5
Lockheed_, on 31 October 2022 - 10:40 AM, said:
