Chapter Text
Galan stared at the screen in front of him and rubbed his eyes again. The sleeplessness hadn’t gotten any better, despite multiple trips to MedBay. Every sleep aid turned to a nightmare, every trick he’d found to sleep peacefully after seeing a MechWarrior blown apart in battle failed him. The monster in his dreams would not relent, would not give him even a moment’s peace. His head felt like a constant fog, and the past few weeks he’d asked Behemoth to take charge of training and skirmishes with the Directorate. Elster was coming along well from her estimation, but Galan could scarcely remember the details of the missions. Everything was blurry, and he had to shake himself to avoid falling asleep in his chair as Doctor Murad discussed the repairs to the Argo, and more importantly, something she’d found.
“We all know the Argo was a Star League vessel, one of only two ever produced before the Civil War. It was a long distance colonization ship, attempting to find lost pockets of humanity to re-integrate into the League, and went missing during its initial shakedown voyage. What we didn’t know, was that it also had a secondary mission.” Farah Murad’s voice was excited, but Galan’s ears weren’t translating the information correctly to his brain.
“And you think you found what that secondary mission was?” Darius asked, his interest peaked. Doctor Murad nodded, and she carefully typed at the command center’s keyboard. The projection changed to show a password entry screen, with the Cameron Star hovering above it.
“The Argo has a hidden data cache within its archives from the Star League. And some of its transit logs show it being near the SLDF’s positions during the Periphery Uprising. The logs cut out sometime after Kerensky began to redeploy towards the Rim Worlds…” She said, and paused to let her words sink in. Galan roused from his stupor for a moment. If the ship had been in contact with the SLDF during the pull out.
“... This cache… Could it…” He started, his mind moved to action by the mere thought. Doctor Murad smiled and nodded.
“This data cache could have the location of a Star League base in the Periphery. And if it’s one that hasn’t been found yet…” Doctor Murad turned her eyes to Elster, who was almost ready to jump across the console and hug the engineer. Galan looked to the Replika as well, and their eyes met. The smiles they had vanished when Darius spoke up.
“Not to get anyone’s hopes up, but those old Star League bases were booby trapped when the SLDF pulled out. If there is a base that hasn’t been found in the Argo’s archives, we might not be able to recover anything from it.” The Executive Officer said calmly.
“Not to mention all the stories of people going missing searching for LosTech like that.” Sumire chimed in. “It’s too risky to go for.”
“But think of the metal just sitting there! Actual Star League vintage BattleMechs, with proper Star League Neurohelmets. We’d be fools not to try.” Yang burst out from his seat, as if pleading with the others to see it his way. Shouts started around the room, as MechTech, MedTech, and MechWarrior all tried to plead their cases for or against the idea, before Galan finally whistled loud enough to silence the room. With a grunt of exertion Galan stood up.
“None of this matters right now. If Doctor Murad could open the cache she would have done so already. We don’t know the passcode, we can’t even see what’s inside it, so speculating on what may or may not be in there is only going to drive us all mad.” Galan addressed the assembled Marauders as calmly as he could manage with the splitting headache he had. “Until we know what’s in there, we can’t make any plans for what we’ll do with it.”
“Galan’s right. We can’t break into the cache, we can’t go after whatever’s in it. We’d need resources well beyond what we’re capable of for that.” Darius said. He spotted the light leaving Eslter’s eye, and stood up to join Galan at the command table.
“House Karosas might have the know how to get in. And Kamea’s already sent us a request for assistance at Smithon, their home turf.” Darius handed the contract to Galan, who read it over quickly. “It just came in this morning. I was going to talk about it when Doctor Murad finished.” Galan scanned the page, his mind awake for the first time in ages. The fog receded from his mind as the exhaustion started to fall away. There was a chance, slim as it was, and he was going to seize it.
“Sumire. Set course for the Jump Point, tell them to take us to Smithon as quickly as possible.” He said. The tone of authority and command came back to him as naturally as breathing. “Anyone has anything else to say in this meeting, save it. I want MechWarriors to the VR room, now. MechTechs I want all repairs, refits, and re-armaments done yesterday. MedTechs, on standby. Let’s move Marauders!” The whole room was on their feet in moments, men and women scrambled to their stations.
“Give you one thing, you sure know how to motivate.” Darius said with a smile.
“You should see me when I’ve had some proper sleep.” Galan wryly chuckled.
Sumire set the Leopard down on the surface of Smithon, exactly at the coordinates Kamea requested. As soon as Galan walked off the Leopard with his Centurion, she was already on the comms.
“Welcome to Smithon Commander. The bulk of the army is currently engaging the Directorate’s main forces at the capital, but we’re running low on ammunition. In this area there is an old ammunition depot House Karosas maintained for the last three years. Unfortunately it’s come under Directorate control.” Kamea was explaining the situation calmly, while Galan took in the harsh desert terrain around him.
“And you want us to secure it so you can use it for yourself?” He asked. “Is that the gist of the mission?”
“Correct. There are multiple lances guarding the base, as well as several turrets. Additionally, Espinosa’s forces are already trying to empty the storage for their own efforts here. There’s a bonus for you if you can stop their transports from leaving the depot, and another for preserving some of the already packaged ammunition. They’ve stored several stockpiles above ground and in the open.” Kamea said. “If you can shoot them before they can be moved, you could use the detonations to thin the enemy’s numbers.”
“We’ll preserve what we can.” Galan said. “Less ammo we shoot, more you have to hit the Directorate.”
“Correct. Good hunting Commander, and take out those BattleMechs.” She said. Galan looked up at the ridge that separated their landing zone from the depot, and started trying to form a plan.
“We’ll circle around to the left. I’m only getting three signatures in that direction, and if we go that way we can lure them away from the depot.” He said, wincing as his brain started to throb in his head. There was a small valley the ‘Mechs could fit through to avoid the bulk of the enemy, but it would be a tight squeeze.
“Elster, you’re on point. Behemoth, follow her. I’ll hang back with Glitch.” Galan moved the Centurion forward, keeping his pace slower so that Elster’s Vindicator and Behemoth’s new Hunchback could take the lead. As soon as the two hit the canyon, however, alarms in the base sounded.
“Shit, they had sensors in the valley. Double time Marauders move move move!” Missiles exploded in the air around the lance as they surged forward. Elster fired her jumpjets to reposition on a nearby hill, spotting one of the base turrets and a Spider on the opposing ridge. Green light stabbed the air as she unleashed a quartet of medium lasers on the turret, three scoring hits while the forth went wild.
“Damnit.” Elster muttered. The Vindicator’s ten LRM tubes had been reduced to five just to fit those extra lasers on, but so far the added heat wasn’t producing the lethality that the Marauders had hoped for. Behemoth’s autocannon roared, the AC 20 round slamming into the Spider and tearing away its right torso, before one of her medium lasers swept the turret and detonated its ammo storage.
“It’s okay Legs, we got your back.” Behemoth said. Galan locked his weapons on the Spider as his vision blurred. Wincing he thumbed the firing studs for the missiles as his fingers squeezed the controls for the lasers and autocannon. Missiles exploded around him just as he left the small crevice they had tried to cover their advance with, and the pounding in his head only grew more intense. From behind him Glitch’s Archer unleashed a salvo of missiles at the Spider as it tried to retreat, blasting the scout ‘Mech to kingdom come.
“No surprise but no direct line of fire. Watch for missiles and keep moving!” Galan ordered, the Marauders circling the hill the turret had stood on, only to spot a supply truck quickly racing down the road. Galan quickly locked his sensors on it, and watched as Elster and Glitch launched a barrage of missiles. The vehicle was slowed, but still rolling, and as he tried to line up an autocannon shot, something impacted the side of his ‘Mech. A Locust had snuck out of the depot and rammed him in melee, and now was firing machine guns towards the cockpit. Instinctively he raised the autocannon to block, growling as his opportunity to shoot was spoiled. He quickly swung his focus, swinging his shield arm into the Locust before it could escape and smashing a massive chunk of armor from its torso. Without a second’s hesitation he fired his small laser into the breach, and the lights on the Locust vanished.
At the top of the ridge, Behemoth fired her medium lasers into the fleeing cargo truck, tearing into the fuel tank and lighting up the ammo. With a crack of thunder the truck detonated, only for a second truck to start rolling up the road. Elster twisted and fired, the medium lasers finding their mark in the truck’s engine block and slagging the vehicle instantly. The sensors on all four ‘Mechs then registered two new targets entering the area.
“Visual on hostile Griffin and Panther!” Elster shouted. Glitch repositioned to unleash another LRM salvo, catching the Griffin in a hail of explosions as two more enemy ‘Mechs came into view. The Panther was joined by a Jenner, both firing into Elster’s Vindicator as two of the base turrets unleashed a storm of missiles in her direction, the third turret firing several autocannon rounds at Behemoth. Galan was preparing for another run up the hill when a blinding pain hit him like a wave. The fourth enemy ‘Mech, a Firestarter, used the opportunity to fire its medium lasers into his right torso, and Galan had to force his eyes open to continue the fight. His ears rang.
He moved almost automatically, his Centurion marching to get behind Elster and Behemoth and away from the attacking Firestarter. The battle continued to rage as Elster and Behemoth fired on the approaching Light ‘Mechs, before the Cicada and Dragon started to emerge. The battle was shifting heavily against the team, and the enemy closed in on the group. The hostiles were swarming towards them, and Galan forced himself to concentrate through the fog. He heard music around him, his entire body screaming, before he spotted an ammunition pallet near the enemy position.
The music swelled around his ears, and he forced his Centurion forward. There were shouts, weapons fire surrounded him, and he tried to fire back at the enemy before a PPC round tore the right side of his mech away. Galan staggered for a moment, before quickly throwing his ‘Mech forward again, firing his twin medium lasers into the ammunition pallet. The screen before him went white, his ears rang, his brain screamed. Galan threw a hand to the ejection fuse and pulled…
“Commander!” Elster shouted, watching as a shape launched from the Centurion as the wash of the exploding pallet washed over the ‘Mech. The Panther and Jenner were caught by detonating rounds and destroyed, but Galan’s Centurion collapsed backward.
“Elster! GET DOWN!” Behemoth’s voice boomed over the comms, and Elster quickly twisted as the Cicada fired on her. The PPC round barely missed her, and she quickly jumped backward towards Behemoth and Glitch.
“The Commander’s down!” Elster shouted.
“I saw. Just stay calm, remember your training. We need to get out of sight and circle around.” Behemoth said. “And take out that autocannon turret!” Glitch turned to bring her Archer up to a sprint, Elster jumping away from the main action. Along one side of the ammunition depot was a very large plateau, providing them an excellent source of cover from incoming fire.
“Darius, tell me you have him.” Elster said. “Please tell me he’s alive.” She fired her lasers into the autocannon turret, while Glitch used targeting data from Behemoth’s Hunchback to drop more missiles down on the enemy. The Firestarter took the brunt of this, and an autocannon twenty shell exploded against its torso to blow out its engine. Behemoth paid for that shot, however, as the enemy Dragon then blew her autocannon off with a round of its own, forcing her back towards Glitch and Elster.
“I have a lock on his distress beacon.” Sumire said. “Transmitting it to Kamea in case she has people in the area.” Elster looked over at the remaining enemies and checked her sensors. Three ‘Mechs, two turrets. Two Mediums and a Heavy on each side. As even a fight as they could hope for, unless they took those turrets out.
“Glitch, can you and Behemoth keep them off me?” Elster asked. “I’m going after the turrets.”
“Give ‘em hell Legs.” Glitch said, launching another long range assault on the Cicada as it tried to approach. Elster surged around the plateau to the back side, before firing her jumpjets to soar to the top. As she landed, the Dragon and Griffin were getting into position to push on Behemoth and Glitch, but the turrets were swivelling to fire on her. Elster’s eye quickly readied to fire, before she spotted another ammunition pallet in between the two turrets. Without a second thought, she fired the large laser on her Vindicator.
The ammunition detonated, the turrets toppling to the ground as their support towers were destroyed. Elster was about to cheer, when two PPC shots crashed into the side of her ‘Mech. The right side of her ‘Mech was destroyed, blowing away her large laser and two of her mediums. She quickly jumped back down behind Glitch and Behemoth, wincing as her ‘Mech landed hard.
The Dragon surged forward now, rushing towards Behemoth, before Glitch smashed into it from the side, her Archer punching clean into its rear armor and ripping out half its engine. When the Griffin tried to jump in on Glitch, Elster and Behemoth opened fire, their medium lasers quickly tearing through its remaining armor to detonate its missile ammunition. The Griffin collapsed at Elster’s feet, and she looked up to the Cicada as it stood atop the ridge, as if weighing its options. Glitch didn’t give it a choice.
With a scream of rage, the Archer opened up every weapon it had, and the Cicada’s legs were cut from under it by a stream of missiles and laser fire. Elster watched as Glitch’s ‘Mech overheated and shut down, but the Cicada collapsed down the side of the ridge in a heap. Behemoth stepped over to her, the two medium ‘mechs looking torn and shattered.
“You okay Elster?” Behemoth asked, her breathing heavy. Elster looked to the remains of Galan’s Centurion, before turning back to Behemoth.
“I’m fine. Sumire, can you give me where Galan’s ejection seat landed? I’ll go get him.” She said, trying to steady her own breathing. A marker appeared on her sensors, and she quickly turned to pursue it as Sumire brought the Leopard down for a landing. Elster approached the signal carefully, her eye scanning the ground before she found the ejection seat’s parachute, and next to it, Galan. He’d unbuckled himself from the cockpit chair and thrown his neurohelmet aside, clutching at his head as he writhed on the ground.
“Darius… Darius tell the MedTechs we have a problem.” Elster said, quickly throwing off her own harness and helmet.