I slowly released the bone-crushing grip I had on my father's arm as he did likewise.
"Angels and ministers of grace defend us," Charles Maxwell whispered, a look of shock and disbelief crossing his face as he slowly backed away from me
"So....is 'Phoenix' a callsign? Or something more?"
The question was asinine - and beyond irritating. I gritted my teeth. Small talk was the last thing I wanted to make. Norrington's question was obviously well-intentioned, however, and so I let it slide.
"'Phoen
"Hobson refuses us access to...Ben," I replied. My mind was still reeling with the identity crisis that I was faced with - I was Benjamin Maxwell, and yet, I wasn't. "I understand that I...we...he is in critical condition in medical right now. Might I ask what happened?"
Captain Garland gave a brief
"That's it? Garrison duty? You've got to be kidding me!" my fath - Charles moaned, burying his head in his hands.
"Shut up, dad," I snarled, glaring with steely eyes at the dethroned General. Charl
I rolled my eyes in frustration. A parade, of all things! It was bad enough that we were being asked to garrison a checkpoint whose tactical value we could only guess at - Schuster had been completely within his right to inquire about such a detail - but to top it all off, we were now going to be required to participate in a military parade before assuming our posts. As far as I was concerned, that was a grevious tactical e
"...maybe you want to prove yourself somehow, see some combat to show that you are just as good as Ben - maybe even better given that you seem to be younger. . .everyone is watching you right now, to see if you measure up."
Several days had passed, and the words still rang in my head asI leaned against a padded wall of t
I pushed my joke of a BattleMech up over a rise of hills and down into a rocky bowl of earth, beyond which spastic bursts of weapons fire could be seen. My sensor grid lit up with targeting and tracking
data from the engagement, plastering my Wasp's HUD with cross-sections of a hostile Bushwacker and a friendly Locust, the latter of which registered to Nick Schuster. The smaller war machine danced frenetically
"This sucks," I muttered, pushing my WSP-3L Wasp into an evasive zigzag. I couldn't believe that the engagement had turned so sour so quickly. The last thing I'd envisioned was fleeing from our adversaries mere moments after dropping into combat. Retreat wasn't in my nature, and the fact that Charles was the only thing standing between our battered recon lance and total obliteration at the moment only adde
The oversized mobile headquarters, a large, two-level modular APC outfit with all manner of battlefield-level command and control interfaces, as well as a battery of communication equipment and support systems, bounced and trundled across Tycho's Expanse, a barren, blistered wasteland which stretched in every direction for as far as the eye could see, utterly devoid of life, and which was totally featureless save for a few unremarkable h
With near-overhwelming boredom, I maneuvered my Wasp down the opulent streets of Zephyranth, its Corinthian columns and Romanesque architecture unfolding before me in a display of breathtaking beauty. A warm, inviting breeze wafted across the heads of the sea of gathered onlookers who packed the sidewalks on either side of the street, hoping for a glimpse of our convoy as it rumbled, stomped, and hovered past.
It was all re
The feeling of the courtesan's fingers tracing across my arm as I eased back into my seat sent a chill down my spine, and I fought the urge to pull away in protest. It wasn't that the woman was unattractive...or that I didn't find her desirous...it was simply that I wasn't in the mood for that at the present time. I was feeling far too aloof - a sensation I'd been feeling since my...awakening...in the Crayven compo
I strode through the center of a massive firefight which had erupted in the corridors outside the banquet hall - I had little idea or little interest in knowing who the combatants were - they all looked the same to me, and frankly, it likely was the same old story - one faction rising against another in a balls-to-the-wall grab for power, and of course, as had been the fortune of countless other units across countless other worlds throughout
The sound of shattering tile, accompanied by the resounding crunch of crushing plaster, filled the cramped confines of the storage closet as I forcibly drove a large steel urn down onto the weakening depression in the floor. Slowly, the tiled surface began to give way, revealing a tattered, slapshod repair beneath; a morass of shoddy repair work which, in some places, consisted of little more than wadded newsprint and plaster of paris. Clear
A blood-curdling scream cut through the atmosphere, as the sound of a large object falling through the night air drew nearer and nearer. I skidded to a stop, throwing my arms out to either side to stop Charles and Nick from advancing any further. Seconds later, a body slammed into the tarmac, hitting the ground with a sickening crunch and a low, baritone thump not unlike that of a sack of potatoes hitting the ground. I instinct
In-fucking-credible...
I sat in a quasi-shocked state, a brimming glass of vodka in one hand, a Ghost Bear pelt wrapped around me and held in place by the other, and a roaring fire, inset into a massive stone fireplace, crackling and popping before me. This assignment was becoming...surreal...something out of an ancient James Bond movie, almost - replete with long stretches of wanton violence, interspersed with bizarre mome
"Captain Garland. May I speak with you - privately?
Garland looked up at me from his chair inquisitively. I raised an eyebrow to add emphasis to my statement, and the Captain took the cue. Setting his drink aside, Garrett rose from his seat, and motioned for me to join him near the fireplace. The large, roaring fire harbored within crackled loudly...a plus, as it would cover our words from eavesdroppers.
"I admire your willingness to volunteer."
I pivoted on my heel, snapping shut the antique copy of A True and Brief Report of the New-Found Land of Virginia which had held place of prominence on a bookshelf above our eccentric host's fireplace. Charles stood behind me, savoring an ancient cigar that looked as though i
I started to raise my hand.
"Captain, I'd like to - "
"If no one else wants it as badly as me, I think I should. Its going to take a lot of quick thinking and improvisation, but I'm up to it."
I stopp
The smoldering remnants of the dying fire painted the darkened living area of the pressure dome a dim, flickering orange, casting long shadows across the sleeping - or otherwise incapacitated - Legionnaires. I lay on my back, arms folded across my torso, eyes narrowed into thin slits, feigning sleep. Charles had been the last one to bed down for the night - and only after finishing off the bottle of bourbon, which had taken him well over an
“Phoenix, didn’t we talk about making rash decisions?”There was an urgency behind the calmness in Garland's words - almost a desparation. I could only imagine what the Captain was thinking. I considered terminating the transmission - there was really no point in discussing the subject - but something compelled me to reply.Blood poured from a nasty gash on my temple, running down the composite brahmin-hide chin
straps securing the LCT-5M Locust's neurohelmet to my head, forming large, bulbous droplets which dripped with thick, wet splashes onto my khaki flightsuit. The crimson spatters left behind were emphasized by the red pall being broadcast
The remnants of the Cavalier assault lance stumbled over and through the falling wreckage of its former hangar, the Atlas, Marauder, and Jupiter barely escaping the blast of the exploding AS7-D Atlas as they waded out into the fray unfolding across the valley. The few Legionnaires who had managed to get behind the controls of their BattleMechs now found themselves contending with three full lances descending on th
Though Desparado made a valiant effort to downplay the reason he'd come to speak to the Major, the fact of the matter was, the Captain was a terrible liar. My - Ben's - years of personnel management had made him a bit of an adept at studying human behavior, and Desparado's sudden change in demeanor upon his realization of my presence made it quite clear that he had originally come to the Major with one subject in mind - me. And i
I've fought them. Overrated.
Arty and IDF systems will waste a Collossus - as will any Mech faster than them (in this case, an Atlas can usually outrun one).
QUOTE(Captain Garrett Garland @ Dec 15 2006, 04:46 PM) [snapback]2433[/snapback]
Well, my five hour intro post creation marathon came to a close at aproximately 4:30 am this morning. I hope you guys enjoy. Vivarais exists just for our purposes so you won't find it on a map. I didn't want to mess up the Battletech time-line at al
Likewise! And a Happy Christmahannukwanzikaa to you also!
I imagine we might see one or both re-materialize on the next influx of old timers returning to the flock. We do tend to have that happen in cycles, don't we?
It's situations like this that serve to remind us all how important it is to keep your 'DropShip' covered during 're-entry.'
Oh, that's easy. After imploding the zombie's hideous face with a well-placed round from my microgauss rifle, I'd spend a brief moment marvelling at the fact that the creature was actually able to crash through my Mad Cat's ferroglass cockpit canopy and survive. Then, I'd throttle up, and stomp my way to the local Sam's Club, where I'd load up on a couple of cases of economy-sized food products. Then, I'd head for the closest civil militia outpost and join
Some demented part of me still wants to open this post with 'Where I live, in Newport News...'
Thank god I don't have that luxury anymore.
Eastern.
A gentleman never kisses and tells.
The oblong Longbow, replete with missile launchers where its arms should have been, was ugly. Ass-backwards ugly. It was utterly ungainly-looking, entirely too wide, and appeared for all the world like some kind of alien spacecraft outfit with man-walker legs. To put it bluntly, as flashiness went, it rated a zero. But I really didn't care. The LGB-CS-C Longbow was Crayven Securities, Incorporated's second attempt at a
