BATTLECORPS

ECHOES OF
DISGRACE
By Steven Mohan, Jr.

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Echoes of Disgrace Page 2

The House of the Absent Sun

Matar, Draconis Combine
29 June 2825
Some dark creature of the night slashed at Junshi Ukawa with
sharp claws, sending molten white streamers of agony shooting up through his body. Ukawa bent away from the pain, tried
to scrabble clear, but the thing was on him in a second, all black
scales and gaping jaws and needle-sharp talons.
Please, Ukawa whispered.
The thing cocked its elongated head, regarding him with a single
unblinking eye.
Then, quick as lightning, it bent, tearing through Ukawas tender belly with those razor talons, snatching at the bloody mess of
Ukawas guts, and squeezing.
Ex-Tai-i Junshi Ukawa of the Unproductive Regiment woke with
a gasp, his heart fluttering in his chest like a wounded quail, his
body slick with sweat, unable to quite remember the night terror.
Maybe he just didnt want to.
Another nightmare? asked the little girl sitting on his cot.
Shut up, snapped Ukawa.
He managed to force himself into a sitting position against the
brutal protests of his muscles. He had taken to sleeping on the
cold stone floor ever since theyd put the girl in with him, leaving
her the cot.
(It didnt make much sense, because the girl never seemed to
sleep, but then it was just one of many things in Ukawas tenuous
existence that didnt make much sense. In the end, he let her have
the cot anyway because it seemed like the decent thing to do.)
Sleeping on the cold, hard stone left him aching and bent. It was
like taking a beating every single night, which was why, Ukawa
supposed, the guards had put the little girl in his cell. It mustve
greatly amused them to torment him without even lifting a hand.
The nightmares wont go away until you talk to someone, said
the little girl.

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I said shut up! Ukawa screamed.

The girl shrugged and said nothing further. She wasnt really a little girl, she was somewhere between twelve and fourteen, though
shed never volunteered her age and hed never asked. She was
pretty in the way that only youth can be, shoulder-length blond
hair, hazel eyes, just a girl, but starting to show the shape of the
woman shed become. Ukawa could never remember what she
called herself: Turner or Tucker or Tanner or some other gaijin
name.
The scrape of stone against stone jerked Ukawas attention toward the cell door. A woman stepped inside, a woman Ukawa had
never seen before. She was lovely, skin the color of cream set off
by green eyes and flaming red hair. She was dressed entirely in
black, with no insignia to offer a clue as to who she might be or
what she might want.
And she was young.
Ukawa wasnt sure exactly how long hed spent in The House of
the Absent Sun, twenty years or maybe thirty. At first, hed tried
to keep track of each day by lightly scratching marks in his cell
wall, but the guards beat him for it. Counting days provided a sour
kind of hope and Ukawa had come to realize that hope was the
one thing that would never be permitted here. So he didnt know
precisely how long hed been imprisoned, but he did know it had
been many, many years.
So many that this improbably beautiful woman mustve been a
child when Ukawa had committed the terrible act that had led to
his disgrace.
The woman raised an eyebrow. Rough morning?
Ukawa blinked and then remembered hed just been screaming.
Iie, he said and then stopped abruptly because he wasnt sure
how to address her.
The girl looked up, but said nothing.
I trust your accommodations are comfortable, said the woman,
no complaints?
Ukawa blinked again, wondering if this woman was real.
Wondering if his endless captivity had finally driven him mad.
What do you want? Ukawa asked evenly.

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Ive come to offer you a glorious thing Tai-i Ukawa. The chance
to serve the Combine again.
The little girl frowned.
I am disgraced, said Ukawa, skepticism shading his voice.
Even disgrace may be washed away if you have the will to serve
your Coordinator.
Ukawas throat tightened with emotion. To be made whole again.
In all the years hed been in The House of the Absent Sun hed
never for one second stopped dreaming of this moment, even
though hed never for one second believed it would ever really
come. What do you want me to do? he croaked.
The DCMS is planning an attack on the Federated Suns world of
Scheat. We want you to lead it.
Ukawa suddenly found his mouth was dry. You want me to
fight?
The woman smiled, a bright, beautiful smile. Of course. What
do you imagine can wash away disgrace other than blood?
Why me?
It will be dangerous, admitted the woman. We cannot afford
to spare a frontline DCMS unit. Your Mechs will be older and there
wont be much support. Frankly, many of you will not survive. But
it is another chance to serve the Combine. And for those who do
make it back, your honor will be restored.
This is a bad idea, murmured the little girl.
But neither Ukawa nor the woman looked at her.

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Matar Planetary Militia Headquarters

City of Rain, Matar, Draconis Combine
15 July 2825
Elation flooded Ukawas soul, like the bright afternoon sunlight
that gleamed off the alpine meadow, turning the field of gentlyswaying grass a brilliant laser-fire green. The blue-gray mass of
Eisenberg rose up behind the field, the mountains flanks clothed
in the dark green of evergreen forests, its summit capped by fresh
white snow. Ukawa almost imagined he could taste the sharp bite
of the cold mountain air.
It was only a simulation, of course, but for the very first time
Ukawa believed the chance hed been given for redemption was
real.
It had been hard to believe before. Even when they pulled him
out of the prison and quartered him with a collection of other prisoners and misfits, Ukawa still didnt quite believe it. This would
be just like his tormentors: offer him a banquet of hope and then
whisk it away just before he took his first bite.
Thats what the little girl had told him before theyd pulled Ukawa
out of The House of the Absent Sun. And Ukawa had listened to
her. He didnt know what dark crime had landed her in his cell,
but he had discovered that she spoke with an insight beyond her
years.
But now!
Surely the DCMS wouldnt train them for an attack on the
Federated Suns unless they really intended Ukawas company to
strike at the enemy planet.
No, this was real and Ukawa was not going to let this opportunity pass him by.
The mission objective was to take down the major economic
centers of Scheat one by one, starting with the mine just outside
the city of Valorie. If resistance was light, the Chain Gang would
serve as the vanguard for a more concerted attack by a DCMS
regular unit. If resistance was heavy, Ukawas company would do
as much damage as possible against the day a full scale assault
could be brought against the world.
Ukawa didnt know what kind of resistance theyd find.

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But he did know how to find out.

He pushed his Thug forward in a fast walk, leading his command
lance through the high mountain field, the passage of the Mechs
setting the ground atremble. Ukawa knew the footfalls of the great
machines wouldnt carry far in the thin mountain air.
But theyd carry far enough.
Especially when you factored in the heat signature of the lances
fusion reactors against the frigid environment and the fact that
they were following the main road, which itself paralleled a dark
forest. They were bound to attract attention.
Which was just what Ukawa was counting on.
Ukawas fire lance was creeping up an isolated mining road
that cut through the forest and intersected the main road less
than four klicks from their current position. If the enemy attacked
now, Ukawas fire lance would set the forest ablaze and force the
Davions to choose between inferno and a toe-to-toe slugfest with
the medium and heavy Mechs of his command lance.
And to top it all off, his scout lance was hidden in the foothills to
the north, ready to race in and hit the enemys flank.
Ukawa had offered his enemy four vulnerable Mechs. Now all
they had to do was take the bait.
The Hunchback on Ukawas left suddenly stopped, gazing out
over the field that stretched away from the forest.
Chain Three, this is Chain One. Why have you stopped, over?
Im not sure, said the idiot piloting the Hunchback. Ukawa knew
his people by the names of their crimes. To him the Hunchback s
pilot was War Profiteer, but with an effort of will he dredged the
mans name out of the sludge of his memory: Roger Something. It
wasCulkin. Hai. Culkin.
Culkin! What do you think
I think someones moving. The man raised the Hunchback s
arm, pointing. There, to the left.
Profiteers words sent a chill wriggling down Ukawas spine.
Movement. Ukawa triggered his command channel, the order to
fall back a tickle on his lips, when the shrill warble of an alarm
filled his cockpit.

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Fire control radar.

Inbound, he shouted.
He turned in time to see the orange glow of missile launch
against the green horizon.
Then the first flight hit home, rippling across his chest, cratering
his armor, and rocking him back on his feet.
Out of the corner of his eye, Ukawa watched the Hunchback topple to the ground.
The Kintaro and the Champion just stood there, motionless as
contrails of white smoke corkscrewed toward them.
Move, Shimatta, Ukawa shouted over his command circuit.
Then he stalked his Thug forward, toward the threat.
He didnt see the silhouette of a Mech against the horizon, so
he was most likely dealing with LRM carriers and judging by the
waves of inbound missiles, more than one.
Ukawa raised his right arm and let loose with a blast from one
of his particle projection cannons. He didnt expect to hit the LRM
carriers at this distance, but he could give them something to think
about.
Chain Four, engage with your Holly-5s now.
The Kintaros pilot woke up at last, launching a flight of LRMs
from his left arm.
Ukawa glanced to his right and saw the Champion racing away
from the area at max speed.
Chain Two, engage with your autocannon.
I cant hit at this range, answered Drug Mule, the Champions
panicked pilot.
Then move forward to bring your SRMs and laser into range. Do
it now.
The Thug was the heaviest Mech in Ukawas company, but in
order to do maximum damage it would have to move closer to
bring its own SRMs to bear. Until he closed to max missile range,
the Mechs that did have long range hitting power had to go after
the carriers, a fact that Ukawa shouldnt have had to explain.

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He raised his arms, targeted a missile box, and fired with both
his PPCs. The echoing report of multiple explosions and the incandescent orange fireball rising high above the horizon told him hed
scored a hit.
Ukawa wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm.
It had been nearly thirty years since hed been in the cockpit of a
Mech and his repeated PPC fire had pushed his Thugs temperature well up into the yellow.
Scout One, Chain One. Move in and harass these long range
hitters.
The scout lance was made up of light Mechs, but close-in even
light Mechs would make short work of LRM carriers, and led by
MechWarrior Antalovas nimble Jenner, they had the speed to
make a difference.
Chain One, this is Scout One. Understood, sir.
Unlike the rest of these kisama, MechWarrior Antalova kept a
cool head under fire. With Ukawas lance hitting the carriers head
on and Antalova flanking them theyd soon
Ukawas Thug stumbled as heavy autocannon fire tore into his right
knee. Ukawa staggered forward, fighting to keep his feet on sheer instinct as the staccato bark of the autocannon rattled his machine.
Where was it coming from?
His eyes flickered down to his rear monitor.
What he saw there drew a gasp from him.
Mechs boiled out of the forest like ants out of a kicked anthill,
company strength at least, all of them targeting his Mechs vulnerable rear armor.
Ukawa just had time to realize that the LRM attack had been a diversion when he saw a massive humanoid Mech rising up behind
him. His warbook said it was a Highlander, a ninety-ton behemoth
with a Gauss rifle for a right arm.
Ukawa was just turning to face this new threat, when the assault
Mech raised its deadly arm.
Ukawa saw a flash of light as the guns heavy magnetic fields accelerated the nickel-iron shell towards him at supersonic speeds.
Then his screen and all his panels suddenly went dark.

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Telling him exactly what had just happened.

Ukawa shivered, but it wasnt the sweat cooling on his body that
gave him the shakes, nor the rattle of his labored breathing in the
suddenly too-quiet cockpit that unnerved him.
It was the paint scheme of the Highlander: Davion green with red
over blue highlights.
The markings of the Seventh Crucis Lancers.

Im just saying it was an unfair test, said War Profiteer loudly.

No way the enemy wouldve set us up like that. Profiteer was a
short, pugnacious man, the kind who was in love with the sound of
his own voice. He was also thin, almost stringy. (As were they all.
No one gained weight in the loving care of Jinjiro Kuritas ISF.)
Who are you trying to convince, asked Ukawa, us or you?
The man turned to face Ukawa, fury twisting his face into a hateful scowl, his ice blue eyes narrowed. If it was so obvious, why
didnt you see it?
I didnt say the ambush was obvious, said Ukawa calmly, I just
think it was plausible.
War Profiteer snorted, responding to Ukawa without actually
having to deal with the logic of his comment.
Ukawa snared a cube of beef with his chopsticks, deftly caught
up some rice, and put it in his mouth. The food wasnt good here,
but the heavy tang of teriyaki covered up a multitude of sins. And
they had real meat. Unlike The House of the Absent Sun where
the only protein you were likely to get was whatever was crawling
through your rice bowl.
Drug Mule leaned forward. Thats not really how its going to
be on Scheat, is it? She was a mousy little woman with short
blond hair and a pinched face that made her look perpetually
worried. Maybe she had got that face because she was perpetually worried.
No, sneered War Profiteer, shoving fish cubes into his mouth.

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Ukawa shook his head. Youre wrong. If his people thought the
morning exercise had been a fluke they were badly mistaken.
Antalova studied him curiously from across the table. The others
in their little band knew her as Dereliction, but surprisingly Ukawa
found it easy to remember her name. Maybe it was because, like
him, she had once been regular DCMS.
She was a small woman, dark hair, dark, intelligent eyes, build
like a sparrow. Ukawa suspected that not much got by her.
Scheat is a backwater world, said War Profiteer confidently.
Barely defended. It wont be that hard.
Something in Ukawa snapped. Those were the Seventh Crucis
Lancers, he said, jabbing his chopsticks at Profiteer. They are a
tough, dangerous unit.
And how would you know? said a voice from down the table.
Because Ive faced them in battle before, Ukawa exploded.
In the sudden silence that followed, Ukawa sat back in his chair.
He hadnt meant that to slip out.
War Profiteer shook his head. There are no more Seventh Crucis
Lancers. They were shattered during the last war.
Blood pulsed in Ukawas throat, his wrists.
Then why would the DCMS put them in the simulation? asked
Mule.
Ukawa desperately wanted to turn the conversation to something else, anything else, but he didnt know how.
Antalova looked at him curiously. Youve been in prison a long
time, havent you, Tai-i?
An uncomfortable question, Ukawa thought. Way too close to
the mark. There is no such thing as a short time in a Kurita prison, he said gruffly.
How many years? asked Profiteer sharply. A whipcord tendon
stood out on his neck.
Ukawa looked at the man. He might not know what he was asking, but he was a merchant, and Ukawa could see that he smelled
blood.

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Ukawa glanced again at Antalova. He might get away lying to

the others, but not to her. He swallowed. Twenty-seven years.
He watched the young MechWarrior put two and two together. Twenty-seven years. Unproductive Regiment. Seventh Crucis
Lancers. Her eyes widened. You were at Kentares, she whispered.
Unable to bear her probing stare, Ukawa stood and picked up his
tray. He turned and left the mess hall, but not before he heard War
Profiteers voice call after him. Whyd you end up here, Ukawa?
Because you didnt pull the trigger? Or because you did?

Later that night, when Ukawa settled into the warmth of his bunk
(a real bunk, not the bare cot the ISF had given him in prison) he
rolled over and gasped.
The little girl sat across from him in the darkness, watching him
closely with her pretty hazel eyes.
Ukawa blinked and suddenly she was gone, nothing more than a
trick of light and shadow.
He let out a long, shuddery breath and settled back into his bed,
relieved that the apparition was gone. Still, deep down in some
hidden part of himself, Ukawa was a little sorry the girl had left
him. He mightve learned something important if shed stayed to
talk.
That night his sleep was especially troubled with nightmares.

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DropShip Dragons Flame

En Route to Scheat, Federated Suns
28 July 2825
The Union-class DropShip was still a few hours out from turnaround, the midpoint of the journey from jump point to world,
where zero gee would give way to deceleration. Ukawa cared
little for the intricacies of spaceship operations, except that the
transition heralded the return of gravity after a short interlude of
weightlessness.
Ukawa hated zero gee.
He had been a prisoner most of his life, but before that he had
been a soldier, used to the firm weight of earth beneath the feet of
his Mech. Space travel always made him nervous.
Unsettled his dreams.
Which was how he found himself in one of the hanger bays,
staring at the massive form of his Thug. The great machine was
painted in a mountain camouflage pattern: irregular splotches of
dark green, slate gray, white, brown.
The only color on the whole machine was a splash of red high up
on the left shoulder, the same red usually reserved for the Kurita
dragon, but this time shaped into a trio of links formed into a chain.
Showing that his command was a member of Operation Chain
Gang.
The Thug was a proud machine, but this one had seen better
days. In addition to the holosimulations, his people had done
some basic movement exercises, just enough for them to get the
feel of a real machine. Not nearly enough time to have any hope
of being effective, Ukawa thought.
But it had been enough to reveal the Thugs numerous problems. The canopy was starred, which obscured his vision and
weakened the protection it offered. The Tiegart PPC in the left arm
was tagged out. Ukawa had talked to a tech. Apparently the DCMS
just couldnt afford the spare parts to repair it.
There was more. The right arm PPC had a distressing tendency to
stutter. And there was something wrong with the Mechs shielding. Temperature shot up whenever he used his energy weapons.

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Its a walking death trap, said a strong, clear voice behind him.
Its the jewel of the company, said Ukawa without a hint of irony.
I know, said Antalova slipping up beside him.
He looked at her. We couldnt expect them to give us front-line
Mechs.
The young woman frowned. Her dark hair was tied up in a ponytail, a practical style for space travel. Or combat. We are faced
with an impossible task.
Ukawa shrugged. Does not the honor of a task arise from its
difficulty?
I did not say difficult, said Antalova softly. I said impossible.
Ukawa did not dispute her. He merely turned back to look at his
Thug.
Theyll dump us on Scheat, she said bitterly. Then this fine
vessel will depart, leaving us to die. Our beloved Coordinator sows
doubt and confusion in the border worlds of the Federated Suns
and gets rid of a gaggle of criminals and all at once.
Ukawa admired the elegance of the plan and wondered if
Antalova had the ability to see it.
What did you do to earn a place here? he asked.
Antalova pursed her pretty lips. I fell asleep on watch. And
failed to observe a Federated Suns advance. She turned her face
away and her voice choked with emotion. Nothing is harder to
live with than a mistake.
Thats where youre wrong, MechWarrior, said Ukawa softly.
Everyone makes mistakes. Iie, the true horror of war is that there
are times when there are no honorable choices.

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Valorie Metals Refinery, Eisenberg

Outside Valorie, Rhodes, Scheat
3 August 2825
The refinery that served the Eisenberg mine was a crazy thicket
of pipes and valves and bulk tanks. In German, Eisenberg meant
Iron Mountain and no doubt there was iron in that massive peak,
but the material the refinery had been built to purify wasnt iron.
It was pitchblende.
The uranium oxide was transformed into a gas and flushed
through hundreds of meters of piping, separating the U-238 from
its deadlier cousin: U-235. The refinery looked complicated and
fragile. Easy to break.
Which was precisely why he wasnt going to attack it.
A broad gravel road starting at the mouth of the mine arced
around the mountain and dead-ended in the refinery. Half way
between mine and refinery the road branched off, leading to the
city of Valorie. An attacker marching toward the mountain on that
road would turn right to attack the refinery.
Or left to attack the mine itself.
Ukawa expected the refinery to be heavily defended. And indeed Antalovas Jenner had transmitted pictures of an Awesome
sporting a forest green paint job trimmed with the red and light
blue trim of the Second Ceti Hussars patrolling the kilometer-wide
no-mans land that ringed the refinery.
Ukawa could attack the refinery (and in fact thats exactly what
his orders were) but he had a company of half-functional Mechs
with no aerospace support, no armor, and no infantry. Theyd be
butchered.
Iie, Ukawa had another idea.
Scout One, this is Chain One. Initiate Phase One.
Antalovas clear, strong voice answered him. Chain One, this is
Scout One. Executing. Out.
From his own concealed position Ukawa watched as Antalovas
lance of light Mechs spilled out of the forest that bordered the
no-mans land and scattered, darting in four different directions.

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It was a gutsy move, especially since their poor material condition obviated a big chunk of their speed advantage. Ukawa picked
out the hitch in the Jenners gait that betrayed the problem with
Antalovas left knee actuator.
He waited just long enough to watch hidden laser batteries
open up on his scout lance and then he was on the command circuit: Fire lance, command lance. This is Chain One. Phase Two.
Execute.
Ukawa pounded his Thug forward, breaking from his forest
cover and charging down the road, his heavy feet sinking in the
gravel. At the place where the road branched, the fire lance took
up defensive positions shielding the access road from the Mech
counterattack that would undoubtedly come when the Davions
realized the main assault wasnt against the refinery.
His command lance headed left.
Orbital photos taken by Dragons Flame showed a gaping maw in
the mountains side, big enough to accommodate the giant dump
trucks that hauled out the mines ore. The photos showed that the
mine was defended by a pair of small Mechs.
But there was one geographic factor working very much in the
defenders favor. The mining road ran past a crystal blue mountain lake, limiting an attackers ability to concentrate fire from all
directions.
Ukawas troops would have to hit hard and fast.
He turned a corner, following the road to the right, and stepped
into a hail of autocannon fire. A Sentinel stitched a line of shells
across his chest armor with the AR/5 Ultra Autocannon in its left
arm.
Ukawa didnt slow down for a second. He charged forward,
raised his right arm, and poured an azure whip of energy into the
Sentinels left knee. Temperature spiked in Ukawas cockpit, but
he kept up his fire.
The medium Mech staggered backwards under his assault, obviously fighting to keep its balance.
Ukawa cut his fire just as he reached the Sentinel. Then he
reached out and aimed a vicious kick at the damaged Mechs knee.
He stalked past as the Davion machine toppled to the ground.

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He heard the high-pitched whine of laser fire behind him and

glanced down at his rear monitor. The Hunchback was pouring
fire into the downed Sentinel, proving, at least, that Profiteer could
work something other than his mouth.
Ukawa stepped into a large clearing, the mine shaft on his right,
the lake on his left.
A flash of motion caught Ukawas eye and he fired on instinct,
PPC energy lashing out. The enemy Mech stepped behind the
curve of the mountain.
Heat roiled Ukawas cockpit, bathing him in sweat. He coughed,
choking on superheated air. His temperature eased up into the
red.
The Davion Mech stepped out from behind its hiding place. It
was a Mongoose, a lithe machine with a head that looked like its
namesake and backwards-bending knees. The light Mech opened
up with its trio of medium lasers.
The laser fire impacted Ukawas chest, melting armor and pushing his cockpit temp still higher.
A single PPC blast might bring the light Mech down, but it would
also roast Ukawa alive.
Instead, Ukawa centered his golden targeting reticle over the
Mongoose and loosed two flights of Bical-6 SRMs.
The nimble Mongoose stepped back behind the limb of the
mountain just as the missiles impacted, exploding harmlessly
against rock.
Shimatta! Ukawa cursed.
If he could catch the fast Mongoose, he could crush it with his
hands. He wiped sweat from his face. And if his cockpit temp ever
dropped he could take it out with a few well-placed shots from his
PPC.
If, if, if.
Neither option looked like a good possibility.
Ukawa glanced right at the mines gaping maw.
Maybe he didnt have to kill the Mongoose.

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He stalked his Thug forward, clearing the mine.

The light Mech ducked out from behind its cover and fired its lasers
for a second. Ukawa immediately answered with a flight of missiles.
The Mongoose ducked back.
Chain Two, head into that mine and do some damage. Concentrate
on hitting the bracing. Seal it up.
Affirmative, Chain One, said Mule, a waver in her voice. The
woman was obviously terrified, but to her credit, she guided her
Champion into the mines opening.
Now all he had to do was hold off the Mongoose for a few
minutes
Ukawa never knew what made him glace at his rear monitor.
Maybe it was that first exercise back on Matar where his lance had
been decimated by the surprise attack from the rear. Or maybe his
ancestors were looking out for him. Whatever it was, it was good
fortune. Ukawa looked down.
And saw the massive domed head of a Crockett pushing its way
up and out of the water.
Ambush.
The Crockett was a tough Mech, an Eighty-Five ton monster
bristling with large and small lasers, SRMs, and a Blankenburg
LB 10-X autocannon. On top of all that, its jump jets gave it unusual mobility for a heavy Mech. Just the kind of asset the Davions
needed to smash Ukawas fledgling attack.
He couldnt let the Crockett come ashore.
All units attack the Crockett, Ukawa shouted, turning and loosing a flight of SRMs at the heavy Mechs head.
The Hunchback turned and added its fire to Ukawas.
Not the Kintaro, though. It just staggered around in a drunken
semi-circle, its back to the threat.
Chain Four, behind you. Focus your fire on the cockpit.
The Mongoose ducked out from behind its hiding place and directed its fire at the Thug. Armor boiled off Ukawas left arm, but
he ignored it, focusing instead on the Crockett.

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He raised his right arm, sighted in on the Crockett s head and

poured PPC fire into the cockpit. The powerful weapon punched
through the weakened armor, instantly killing the pilot. The
Crockett shuddered and then slipped back into the lake.
Ukawa quickly pivoted his Thug and fired at the Mongoose. The
PPC blast sliced the light Mechs right leg clean off. The Mongoose
toppled to the ground.
At the same moment Ukawas temperature red-lined. Safety
interlocks froze his Mech as the machines heat sinks tried to dissipate the PPCs tremendous waste heat.
Ukawa knew it would only take a minute or two to clear the heat
load, but a minute or two could be an eternity in combat. Still,
his lance had taken down the three Mechs guarding the mine
entrance. Maybe
His hopeful thought was interrupted by the deep growl of a diesel engine.
His eyes flickered to the mines dark entrance.
The ground rumbled under Ukawas frozen feet. Something was
coming.
Something big.
It wasnt a Mech. The rhythm wasnt right. But
A flash of construction yellow exploded from the mine, racing
straight toward Ukawas helpless Thug.
He just had time to think that it was the biggest chikusho dump
truck hed ever seenseven, eight meters from wheelbase to the
top of the caband then it smashed into him at better than seventy kph.
The impact slammed Ukawa forward and his safety restraints bit
into his skin. The paralyzed Thug teetered on the brink of disaster
and then it was tipping away from him, falling into a darkness he
was helpless to stop.

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Unnamed Town
Kentares IV, Carmelite Mountains, Federated Suns
6 November 2797
It wasnt the soldiers that were the hard part. The law of war was
kill or be killed as any soldier understood. So what if some number of the enemy died kneeling in the dirt, hands clasped behind
their heads instead of at the controls of their Mechs? It was still a
soldiers death.
Ukawa could almost make himself believe it.
But Jinjiro Kurita had said, Kill them all.
And that order didnt end at soldiers.
Ukawa didnt know the name of the town, didnt want to know the
name of the town or anything about it. By the time he reached the
isolated mountain town the execution squad had already lined up
the towns population in three even rows, all of themmen, women,
and childrenkneeling. Ukawa didnt look too closely at them.
It was easier that way.
By the calendar it was local fall, but the Carmelite region was
experiencing an Indian summer and Ukawa could smell the heat
on the wind as he walked toward the clearing where the towns
people waited for him, a cruel heat that sucked the strength out of
you, that baked you where you stood. It was a bad business.
The people waited for him in a cool clearing in the forest that
surrounded the town, lent shade by a pair of oak trees. Ukawa
stepped into dappled sunlight that smelled of ferns and grass and
wildflowers. Dried leaves crackled under his feet.
Master Sergeant Kuzmin came to attention and presented Ukawa
with the needler.
Kuzmin was a sick Yourou, a twisted little man whod had the
great fortune to discover on Kentares his unique gift. Kuzmin had
a talent for extermination, a hunger for suffering and cruelty that
made him perfect for the job.
Ukawa hated him.
He knew the only reason Kuzmin offered him the needler was
because the man savored Ukawas great discomfort.

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Kuzmin enjoyed suffering of all kinds.

And since Ukawa was the senior officer there was no arguing
about it. The privilege was his. He took the needler.
Ukawa started on the left of the first row, listening to the cough
of the weapon, the dull thud of a falling bodies. You would think
that someone would realize what they were doing, that the townspeople who outnumbered Ukawas men four to one, would rush
them, something, rather than just meekly accept their fates like
sheep.
Surprisingly that almost never happened. It was like they denied
all the evidence of their senses, all the logic of the situation, didnt
want to believe it because there was nothing they could do. In
this, killer and killed were alike, conspiring together to pretend
that some other purpose had drawn them together.
All of that was ruined by the girl.
Ukawa moved methodically down the line, not really looking at
the people or thinking about what he was doing, just mechanically
following orders.
When he came to a child.
This was not a soldier.
This was not even an adult.
It was a little boy, maybe four or five.
Ukawa hesitated.
At that moment, the girl sitting next to the boy, holding his hand,
turned around. She was pretty in the way that only youth can be,
shoulder-length blond hair, hazel eyes, just a girl, but starting to
show the shape of the woman shed become.
Please, she whispered. Tears tracked down her face. Please
dont do this. And then she did something terrible. She told him
her name. Im Jennifer Tuppin. She glanced at the little boy.
This is my brother Samuel.
The little boy looked up at him and suddenly Ukawa couldnt do
it, couldnt do it anymore, never again. His hands shook.
Behind him, Kuzmin said, Sir.

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And there it was. No choice. He had no choice. It did not matter

what he thought. He was a citizen of the Combine. He would serve
his people and his Coordinator.
Ukawa raised the weapon, using both hands to steady it.
His finger tightened on the trigger and then it coughed again.
Just as the girl dove in front of her brother.
She wore a pale blue cotton shirt that soaked up her blood, turning it black.
And suddenly Ukawa saw himself as the girl must: a dark creature of the night whod slashed apart her middle, sending molten
white streamers of agony shooting up through her body. Staring
up into the elongated barrel of his weapon with its single unblinking eye.
Please, she whispered.
Not the children, said Ukawa roughly, knowing it would probably mean his life and not caring.
Sir, you cant began Kuzmin.
I am ranking officer here. Not the children.
The Coordinators orders were very
Ukawa heard the soft sound of Kuzmin drawing his own weapon. Before he could think about it, Ukawa wheeled and shot him
dead.
Someone tackled him from behind.
And as he lay, pinned to the ground by the weight of one of his
soldiers, he looked into the hazel eyes of the girl, watched them
close.
He closed his own eyes, not wanting to see what was about to
happen next.
His murder of Kuzmin was his final act as an officer of the
Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery. And it proved to be a stupid
and pointless gesture, because in the next moment he heard the
cough of the needler.

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Valorie Metals Refinery, Eisenberg

Outside Valorie, Rhodes, Scheat
3 August 2825
Tai-i, the girl said softly. You have to wake up.
Ukawa swam back to consciousness. The world flickered as it
came back, like a bad video feed connection. He heard snatches
of distant sound: the shrill keen of lasers, the angry bark of an
autocannon, the rhythmic thud of a Mechs footfalls. He smelled
burning diesel and rock dust and
Smelled.
Ukawa focused on his canopy. The fall had smashed open the
already weakened ferroglass.
He shook his head, trying to clear it. Laying on his side. Crazy
angle. Mustve gotten an arm out to break the fall.
What happened?
Tai-i, said the little girl softly.
Ukawa blinked. She sat on the lip of the canopy, her legs dangling
in the hole where the impact had stripped the ferroglass away.
You made me remember, he croaked.
She shook her head. I have no power over you. And then with
a trace of bitterness. You always had all the power.
I did what a soldier has to do, said Ukawa.
She smiled sadly. You know thats wrong, Tai-i.
Iie.
Its your mind that brings me here.
I tried, he said. Look what I gave up for you.
She shook her head. Im still dead.
A near laser blast shook his Mech, then edged into the deeper
tones of blasted rock. She turned to glance out the cockpit.
Whats happening?

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Ukawa glanced at his rear monitor. The massive dump truck had
been blown apart, some terrible explosion had scattered the bright
yellow-orange pieces of its corpse across the mines entrance.
But Profiteers Hunchback was down and there was no sign of
Mules Champion or the Kintaro.
He glanced up and
She was gone.
What was
A flicker of motion on his rear monitor caught his attention.
Something passing. In front of. Mine entrance. Small head, high
shoulders, heavy Mech painted in Second Ceti Hussar colors.
Guillotine.
In that moment Ukawa knew the mission was dead. Somehow
the Davion forces had taken out his command lance, managed to
keep them from blowing the mines entrance. No point in fighting
any more.
The Guillotine passed out of his rear monitor pickup. He heard it
moving left to right in front of him, felt the earth tremble with its
massive footfalls.
In his minds eye he saw again the girls hazel eyes, pleading,
pleading forsomething.
Some way to make it, all of it, right.
Ukawa reached forward, levered his Thug up, onto hands and
knees.
The Guillotine turned, looked down at Ukawas battered Mech
as if curious. It was close enough that he could see the JumpShip/
DropShip-and-three-of-diamonds emblem on the machines left
shoulder.
Ukawa glanced at his boards. They were awash in scarlet status
lights. No weapons. Not much else either.
He struggled to his feet.
For an instant Thug stood facing Guillotine.

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Tai-i Junshi Ukawa was a traitor to the Draconis Combine and a

murderer of little girls.
He charged forward.
Maybe he could pay both debts with the same coin.
The Guillotine opened up with its Sunglow laser at point blank
range, boiling armor off the Thugs chest. Ukawa charged heedless through a crimson inferno.
He hit the enemy Mech at a dead run.
There was an instant of nothingness, where the sheer power of
momentum carried both machines
through the air, and then a massive splash as both Mechs went
into the lake. The Guillotine pilot
struggled to free his machine, but
Ukawa held on with a death grip.
And as both Mechs tumbled
down into darkness, the frigid
lake water rushed into the
Thugs cockpit, washing clean
Junshi Ukawas disgrace.