NationStates Jolt Archive

((http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=9336669#post9336669
OOC thread))
Gauss was very nervous. First day on the job. First time in an actual Battlemech with live rounds. First Battlemech.
Also Gauss's first job.
He moved his Uller onto the concrete outside. It was about ten o'clock in the morning and Gauss had already made an ass of himself before even getting into his Uller by nearly getting crushed by an armor shredder, used to remove damaged armor by peeling it off. Gauss thought it looked like a giant can opener.

"Hey, Sarge, how come we get the runt rookie instead of a good one?" Dan Yiff asked.

"Because he's my daughter-in-law's brother, and he's the best pilot to come out of the Academy since...Well...Me," the Sargeant replied."In that case I'm glad we didn't get someone that was worse than he is!" Wallace remarked.

"Don't worry about them, Jordan, they're just picking on the new guy on teh job. I saw how you handled yourself in the Sims. You're the best shot with a Gauss Rifle, I guess that's were you get your nickname," Lila assured him.

"I know, I know. What do I have to worry about? The likelyhood of a Battlemech or a group of tanks spawning and starting to level the city is very low," Jordan replied.

"Don't be so sure. I hear the Cappellans Commonwealth is on the move again in the Chaos March, and we're right on the border of their space, Gauss. They could land here by accident and start leveling everything they see," Sargeant Ken told him.

By this time they were strolling down the large roads between the buildings. They went on patrol and drifted away, but still in radio contact range. Gauss caught a man robbing a little old lady and informed him it wasn't a good idea to do that with a Police Battlemech right beside him. The thief agreed. And he was to do this for how many hours? How dull. But it was a start.

Suddenly there was a huge explosion on the other side of the city. Gauss heard on his radio,

"Taking fore from formidable foes, firing!" and then a bunch of missile and laser fire. He could hear the screams of PPCs and exploding Battlemechs.

"East Side Battlemech Lance is taking heavy damage. All forces, move to assist. Calling in for Military or Mercenary backup," Lila said calmly.

"Negative, Ma'am! West Side is being attacked, as well! We've lost Sargeant Shanks! Requesting backup on West Side, too!"

"This is Sargeant Burns. I'm closest to the West Side Lance. South Side, can you assist East Side?"

"Yes we can, Jeremy. Moving to assist. South Lance, move in to assist East Lance!" Sargeant Ken shouted over the radio. Gauss slowed and changed course from north to east. On his way he came across a group of Bulldog tanks.

"Sargeant, I've come across hostile ground-pounders, engage?"

"Yes, no knowing what damagae tanks could do to the populace."

There was only about four tanks. Gauss waited for two tanks to be close together and fired. The tank fizzled and exploded, doing enough damage to an adjacent tank to make that one explode, as well. The otehr two tanks stopped and turned towards him. He fired his ER Medium laser while his other laser recharged. The Bulldogs fired, but Gauss dodged behind a building. He came out and fired his Medium laser again, desttroying another tank. The fourth lost heart and started to run, but Gauss stopped him by firing the ER Large laser and finishing off the last tank.

"Armor destroyed, continuing course to rondeveou(SP) with East Lance."

Gauss joined up with Dan and then Sargeant Ken before Wallace was found jump-jetting over a Chimera, firing off his SRM6 and finishin it off.

"Sargeant Donald, you still alive?" Sargeant Ken asked. They spotted an Uziel emerge from behind a building, firing off its PPCs at a Flea.

"Aye, I'm still kicking ass."

"Let's finish off these little bastards and help West Side, shall we?"

"Roger that. Looks like these guys are Liao, I think I spotted a Men Shen a kilometer behind us. Then again, could be Mercenaries who want to start their own nation within the Commonwealth. This is a job more for military," Sgt. Donald said. Gauss got a lock on the flea and fired his LRM 10s, destroying it. He got hit on the side by his next target, the heavily damaged Chimera Wallace was beating on. He fired both lasers, amking the 'Mech flinch, which let the Sargeant finish him off.


The Federated Commonwealth has put out a contract to help out the Police Force on Wernke. The contact is offering $3 mil to the first to get there and deploy 'Mechs.

Miril Spector, Lance Commander of the Ghost Lance, sponsored by the Kell Hounds was searching the contract board.

"Wika, could you contact the transport, there's a mission on Wernke."
"Sure Miril."

Wika did the contract work to get them to the mission.

The Ghost Lance arrived at Wernke
"This is Wika, Comm Officer of the Ghost Lance. We are here for the support contract."

Snæbjörn Foemangler, a mercenary from nowhere, was getting into his custom painted Wolverine Omnimech. The sunlight bounced off its black armor. “Guys, we have a job to get to.” he said as he sat in his pilot’s chair. He started off towards the nearest city on Wernke; it was maybe ten miles away from their hidden base.

“Copy that.” said the Finnegan bothers in their Black Lanner Ominmech. Both mechs took off to catch their commander. Shawn was about 5’10” with red hair and had a goatee. His brother, Patrick, looked the same. The Finnegan bothers were 24 years old.

Behind them, a Nova Omnimech was coming up on them with a Cougar Omnimech behind it. “Sorry, Snæbjörn, these damn thing was acting up on me.” said the black haired man named Sebastian. Sebastian was 26 years old.

“Maybe after we get paid, we will get that thing overhauled.” said Snæbjörn. “Kallie, you know what to do, if we are in a battle.”

“Yes, Snæbjörn, stay out of the battle but engage anybody who attacks me.” said the blonde hair 21-year-old woman named Kallie Waggoner, the Comm officer of Snæbjörn’s unit.

“Correct.” said Snæbjörn.

Each of their mechs matched Snæbjörn’s Wolverine and had the silver medieval cross painted on it somewhere.

The five mechs took off to the city…

"Sargeant Ken, five unidentified Battlemechs have dropped just outside of the city. I've hailed them to see if they're military or Mercenaries," Lila informed him.

"Roger. We're just cleaning up now. One last Cougar to take care of..."

Sargeant Ken fired off his Medium Pulse lasers and destroyed the remaining Cougar.

"Alright, East and South Lance, repair and refit. West and North Lance, how are you holdingout?" Sargeant Donald asked.

"We've lost two more of West Lance, but North Lance is holding, but barely. We're getting bombarded by LRM carriers. At this rate we're going to have to retrea-"
Then there was only static.

"Sargeant Burns! Sargeant! Damn,we've lost him. I hope those mercenaries get here soon. Hold on, I'm calling in for an airstrike..."

"Sargeant Ken, five unidentified Battlemechs have dropped just outside of the city. I've hailed them to see if they're military or Mercenaries," Lila informed him.

“Police mechs hailing us, boss.” said Kallie “Asking if we were military or mercenaries.”

“Well, tell them.” said Snæbjörn.

“Police unit, we are mercenaries.” said Kallie “We are your back up. What area are we need at?”

"The West Side is taking heavy losses. We're bombing the LRM carriers pinning them down. Theyt haven't been able to tell us how many Battlemechs they're facing. Please, hurry," Lila told them, "South and East Lances are repairing from their own fight."

“Copy that.” said Kallie she then switched back to Snæbjörn’s unit’s radio “We are need on the West Side.”

“Okay, guys, move out.” order Snæbjörn. The five black mechs move towards the West Side. The Cougar stay at the rear of the other mechs.

Jiang Ao Li smiled as he watched the Mercenaries pass by. Tehy were on Passive radar to avoid detection. He gave a double-tap on the signal light to tell his lancemates to ambush the Mercs. Jiang opened fire on one of the Black Lanners, unleashing a flurry of LRM and laser fire. This was just a distraction to keep the Mercenaries away from the West Side. In a few minutes the Cappelans were going to land a Dropship and unleash a bunch of Assault 'Mechs on Wernke and ultimately take over the planet.

“Shit” yelled Patrick as his Black Lanner was getting hit. He acted fast and turn to get behind his brother, who was firing at area where the missiles and laser fire, was coming from. The Black Lanners were Delta versions; it had twenty heat sinking missiles, two SRM-6s (30 rounds), two medium pulser lasers, two ER small lasers, a flamer, and four machine guns (200 rounds). Shawn fired the four machine guns first then adding a shot from both SRM-6.

Snæbjörn turn his Wolverine towards the enemy fire, his Whirlwind autocannon roared to life at his enemy.

Sebastian turned his Nova towards the enemy it is a Beta version. The weapons on this version are 28 heat-sinking missiles; a large pulse laser in it's left arm, an ER small laser, an Ultra AC/5 (20 rounds) in its right arm and two machine guns (200 rounds). Sebastian fired his large pulse laser first then fired a shot with the Ultra AC/5.

Kallie was between the enemy and her teammates. She fired a couple of heat-sinking missiles at the enemy.

After Patrick checks his system, he came back around to add more firepower with his brother and teammates’ firepower. He fired two shot will his SRM-6s then fire four heat-sinking missiles. If his mech survived this battle, it would need some repairs done to it.

((Are you sure about those schematics?))
Jiang's lance was outnumbered and outgunned, but far from outmanuvered and outskilled. Mercenaries can prove useful and even talented, but in Jiang's eye they were lesser pilots. And by the way Jiang fought, he could back that prejuce up. He twisted his torso 90 degrees and fired on the Black Lanner even more, letting his LAMS take care of the incoming missiles. Jiang took a hit by an atuocannon by the side, tossing him about in his cocpit.
"This is Jiang. How long to we have to hold off the Mercs?"
"Just a couple more minutes, Jiang."
"Roger that."
Jiang fired off anotehr volley of missiles at the Lanner. He could see that his lance was doign well. The only one who seemed to be a trheat was teh Wolverine, who was giving his Lancemate some trouble. Jiang opened a Comm channel to that particular 'Mech.
"This is Colnel Jiang Ao li of House Liao. You're outclassed in this fight. I suggest that you return to your Dropship before we decide to give you more trouble!"
"Oh, you got trouble, Jiang!" Sargeant Ken announced. Ken fired his SRMs on Kong Kang Rui's Shadowcat.
"Dammit. Oh, well, taht should be enough of a delay. Shatter Lance, disengage!" Jiang ordered. The four Battlemechs went full speed backwards away from the two Lances and the Star.
"Looks like you handled yourselves pretty well against a lance of Liao Elite. I'll have to mark that as a bonus to your payment when this is all over," Ken told the five 'Mechs.
"You Clanner mercs? You've got five Battlemechs, which is the standard for Clanner warriors."

OOC: Look at the link on my bio.

Snæbjörn ignored the message from Jiang and continued fighting; he was somebody that would die before he retreated. Patrick’s Black Lanner took hit after hit then his brother moved his Black Lanner in front of his. “You okay, bro?” Shawn asked.

“Yeah, thanks for the save.” said Patrick “Those damn hits made my head hurt. Plus, my mech is damaged bad, it will need repaired later.”

Then the back up came to the rescue and they needed it because Snæbjörn knew that these pilots were Liao Elite. Then he got the message from Sergeant Ken, Snæbjörn said “Thanks, man. Plus, nothing makes Snæbjörn Foemangler run.”

“We are sponsored by Gray Death Legion.” he said “But three of my squad mates are from the clans.”

((I know, but for a Medium 'Mech, that's a lot...))
"Well, that's good news. Last Mercenary Clanner that came to Wernke saved Davion, too. There's another Mobile Field Base up ahead. It's actually South Side's 'Mech Hangar, but it should be able to repair your 'Mechs. We'll reinforce West Side ahead of you," Sargeant Donald told him.
"It's no use! An (static)lord Dropship has landed and they're pumping out Assault units! There's no hope! We're-"
The message from the West Side Police was silenced.
"Dammit, an Overlord Dropship? That thing alone can level the city!" Sargeant Ken exclaimed.
"This isn't good," Lila said, "I'm calling in the Military for this. All Police units, call back. All remaining Battlemech Police units, I repeat, fall back! The city's going to be too hot for you!
"You mercs better hurry with your repairs!" Sargeant Ken told him, "Or that building's going to fall on your heads! We can flee now and repair later or stand more of a chance fleeing the city if we come across Jiang again."

Behind the Merc mechs, a small Owens pranced quietly to a hidden position. Its ECM was on full active, protecting it from everything except the most tenacious watchers. Watching the fight, the Owens crouched, absorbing data.

This mech is more suited for hit-and-run. I will use the single LRM launcher and two ER-Lasers to damage a mech from the rear, then I shall run away. The Enemy is formidable, but my high speed should allow me to get away with minimal armor penetration. I shall attempt to damage their leg-mounts and the gyroscopes within. My systems are trim. I shall commence my manuver as soon as oppertunity arrives...LRM loaded... ER-Laser(M) charged... ER-Laser(S) charged....

The small mech pivoted, tracking the nearest target. It knew it could not destroy a mech with its limited firepower, but it could bite like a fly.

And even flys must someday be swatted.

OOC: I’m using the stuff off of the Website. So don’t look at me.

“We will fall back with you guys.” said Snæbjörn. “Patrick, how bad is it?”

“Armor is at 50% but I can repair later.” said Patrick, who had blood running down his face. It was from a cut under his left eye.

“Okay, guys, we go with the Police units.” ordered Snæbjörn. “And back them up, if needed.”

“Roger that.” said the other pilots. The five mercenary mechs took off running to follow the Police units.

OOC: I’m using the stuff off of the Website. So don’t look at me.

“We will fall back with you guys.” said Snæbjörn. “Patrick, how bad is it?”

“Armor is at 50% but I can repair later.” said Patrick, who had blood running down his face. It was from a cut under his left eye.

“Okay, guys, we go with the Police units.” ordered Snæbjörn. “And back them up, if need.”

“Roger that.” said the other pilots. The five mercenary mechs took off running to follow the Police units.

The Enemy suddenly broke and ran. I must evade...they must not find me. I will evade. Loading ECM software...activating hardware and firmware...

The Owens' ECM came online, and it stayed put, slowly stepping away as the small mech attempted to creep away. Near one of the many buildings, the Owens crouched and monitored the retreating Mercenaries with its advanced sensors. The recon mech began to feed data back to Lian's military forces, and Jian in perticular.

A new voice erupted from the Comm link.

"This is Battalion Commander Spectre of the Kell Hounds. Looks like Wernke could use a bit of help again, wouldn't you say, Castle?"

"Indeed, Spectre."

"Would you Grey Death mercs mind if we crashed in on your job? Seems like you're underequiped to fight an Overlord and two lances of Assault 'Mechs."

"Oh my god! Spectre? You helped Prince Victor defeat Katrina Steiner!" Gauss exclaimed, "You've been my idol since your victory on New Exford!"

"Well, it's good to know that I have fans out there still. Lila, we can handle the Overlord. Get the Police and Grey Death mercenaries out of there," Spectre told her.

"We're already doing that, sir," Sargeant Ken told him. They continued out of the city. Gauss looked in awe as he watched Spectre's dropship land just a few kilometers away. Spectre was a Mercenary who helped end the FedCom civil war. To be rescued by him was almost as honorable as fighting alongside him.

As they were headed even further south, Ken piped up and said,
"You know, err...Sir, I'm just going to call you Foemangler since I can't pronounce your first name. Spectre's best pilot is a Jade Falcon. He beat her on New Exford and she became his Bondswoman."

"I heard he proposed!" Wallace said.

"Even if he did, she probably would have killed him right there and then. She hates being his Bondswoman. She nearly killed him with a well-placed Gauss rifle shot on Terra. When she realized his 'Mech was still running, she told him it was a firing malfunction," Dan told him.

"Yeah, Clanners reproduce more from cloning than they do naturally. Isn't that right, mercs?" Gauss asked.

The Owens observed the dropship before it landed. Although it could not see it land, the Mech was capable of confirming its existance. The Owens continued to employ its ECM as it turned back towards Jiang's lance, prancing in its characteristic long-legged stride.

"The legendary Spectre lance has dropped, huh? No doubt they have at least twelve Assault 'Mechs with them."
"Jiang, this little 'Mech is pretty handy. He went him, got everything he could, and came out. I wonder if it's any good in combat?"
"Of course it is. Teng, inform the General that Spectre Lance has dropped. The Cappelans will have to send more 'Mechs to fight back against that kind of firepower and skill."
"Roger that, Jiang. How'd the machine do?"
"Admirably. I'm thinking of getting it a bigger 'Mech."

Unit 1126 PLL, often called Paul, was elated. He had recieved roumers of upgrades. Hopefully, he could get a heavily-armed, long-ranged, and fast mech for mobile actions. Heavy mechs were not his style. Unit 1126 was impressed by the effectiveness of recorded guerilla warfare in his databanks, and he intended to do the same. A Vulture, with its massive LRM banks, combined with a faster speed would make an excellent hit-and-run mech. However, Unit 1126 was most likely dreaming. Any massive-firepower mech would be extremely helpful, even if it was not so fast.

To Spectre‘s message, “This is Snæbjörn Foemangler, Spectre. You and your men take the Overlord out. Me and my unit will escort the Police units out of here. Copy that.”

To Gauss’s message, “Right.” said Snæbjörn as they moved deep to the south. “So, Ken, what is the plan?”

"Get the hell out of the city and contact the other Police forces in nearby cities. Seventh City has the smallest 'Mech force and has little military or tactical value. It doesn't make much sense that they would attack here, it isn't even that defendable, it doesn't have a turret system. So even using it as a surprise attack or to get us off-gaurd, it wouldn't be very useful. It would be better to find a city taht would be tougher to get ahold of, but have an exsisting turret system and capture the turrets from an orbital drop into the midle of the city. There's either something in Seventh City we don't know about or Liao is just trying to piss us off," Ken told him.

"Sir, if Seventh City is worth so little to an invading force, why would they attack it?" Gauss asked.

"Perhaps they want to attract attention to Seventh City to attack elsewhere," Sargeant Donald suggested.

"But I already said that wouldn't be a good move since they couldn't defend it if they took it!" Ken reminded him. Gauss had an idea.

"It was Spectre. They knew he was here and they knew that the Police Force would put out a contract to defend the city and that Spectre would see it. And Spectre, being a Mercenary, would take the contract. They've got some sort of trap for him. Lila, you still alive?"

"Yes, I am Gauss. I'm in a Swiftwind monitoring everything. It seems that you're right. Liao has more forces than we knew about. I'm warning Spectre."

"What about Military forces? Have you gotten ahold of anybody to send in an Assault Lance?"

"Kevin Dresari is in Heaven's Helm and I contacted his Comm officer, but he's busy fighting his own battles, as well. It seems Liao has a lot of dropships on the planet."

"Then that's our objective," Sargeant Kevin announced. "Find and destroy as many dropships as we can. How much would you say would be fair to give the Mercs per Dropship they prove to be helpful in destroying would be worth?"

"Half salvage and two million a dropship perhaps? More if we encounter heavier resistance," Lila suggested.

"That sounds fair enough. We'll head east from the south gate of the city, there we'll be able to meet up with the 57th Medium Company and help them secure Chuckon City if they need it. Are they encountering resistance there?"

"A lot less than Seventh City is. It looks as if we can handle these Liao. I'm surprised they didn't attack Chuckon instead of Seventh to draw Spectre away and used those forces in our Hometown."

"Well? What about it, Mercs? Up for it?"
------
"Yes. Very pleased indeed. Spectre is taking the bait, just like I said he would, General. What about Kevin Dresari?"

"He's busy defending his Dropship right now. Last I heard he was alone, his lance is scattered throughout the city."

"Good. Give Paul a selection of good Medium Battlemechs to choose from, good scout 'Mechs like a Hellspawn or a custom Shadowcat. That Owens won't do for Liao's best scout," Jiang told his Comm officer.

"What about that company of Police and Mercs, sir?"

"Too many right now. We'll wait until they're split up and then we'll target Sargeant Donald's lance. His is more powerful than Ken's and without them, they'll only have the Mercs to hold onto for support. We'll give them a great offer and then we can get the Sargeant and his men to surrender. That Gauss fellow looks like he could be quite a challenge, maybe even for me."

"Well? What about it, Mercs? Up for it?"

“Hang on, got to talk to my men.” said Snæbjörn. “Patrick, think you can handle yourself in another fight. Do you?”

“Well, Boss, I need to repair.” said Patrick. “I need to drop ship to take me to the base.”

“Okay, Kallie, called in the drop ship.” order Snæbjörn.

“Copy that.” she said, who could pilot the drop ship by remote. The drop ship land near the Police and Mercs, Patrick load his Black Lanner in the back. “Patrick, get repaired and get back top us as fast as you can.”

“Copy that, Boss.” said Patrick as the drop ship entered the sky and headed toward their base.

“Okay, Police, lead the way.” said Snæbjörn to the Police members. Snæbjörn’s unit went from five mechs to four mechs; this is not good. If the other Black Lanner falling in battle, they are screwed.

"All right. Don't worry, one Battlemechs won't mean much of a difference, we'll have him back in a little while. Now, everyone keep their speeds at eighty-five KPH so we can keep our speed steady and matched. Drifting apart will reduce our chances of surviving if we're ambushed, but three lances of Medium and Light 'Mechs isn't something you want to ambush unless you're equipped well," Sargeant Kenordered.

“Copy that, Ken.” said the pilots of Snæbjörn’s unit. The mech moved up to eighty-five KPH and stayed there.

((BTW, when I mentioned Kevin Dresari, um, he's dead. Yeah. The guy I was thinking of was Ian Dresari, so remember that.))
Gauss was starting to droop his eyes. It was ten o'clock at night now, he was up all day piloting his 'Mech. There was very little talk during the long travel, so Gauss set his 'Mech on autopilot and leaned back and started to doze off.

"Lila, have you had any word from Spectre Lance?" Sargeant Ken asked. The sudden question jerked Gauss awake.

"Good question. I'll contact Castle."

Gauss waited a little while for a responce and then when it didn't com, he dozed off again.

"Spectre has lost one lance and his Dropship is damaged. He's getting it repaired right now. He destroyed the Overlord and the attacking Lances. He's got the Battlemechs that are combat-capable scouting the city."

The reply startled Gauss again so he jerked the joystick hard to the right, turning his 'Mech around at 85 KPH, right at Snæbjörn's Wolverine. Gauss caught himself right at the least second and turned back into the line.

"Dammit, Gauss, what the hell are you doing?" Wallace questioned.

"I got startled. I put my 'Mech on Autopilot and dozed off. When Lila replied after I was almost asleep, I knocked my controls so I turned. Sorry, Foemangler."

"What about casualties, Lila? Has Spectre lost any of his pilots?" Sargeant Donald asked.

"No casualties. Falcon was the last one to eject; she gathered the other two pilots, Mags and Claymore, I believe, and brought them to safety. Spectre's Company is fine, guys. We did good calling them in."

"Ahhh, clanners. Hey, Foemangler, you said taht two of your Lancemates were Clanners. How'd you meet them? Did you kick their asses and they became your bondsmen?" Dan asked. Gauss rolled his eyes. Sounds like something someone like him would say.

“Thanks for making me almost kick your ass, Gauss.” said Snæbjörn over the radio. Patrick was back with the group, he had got some extra ammo in the drop ship. So, everybody was rearmed; mercs and police.

“Three of them are from the clans.” said Snæbjörn. “The Finnegan brothers are from Clan Wolf and Sebastian is from Clan Hell‘s Horse.”

“We meet Snæbjörn about three years ago at a bar on one of the Clans planets.” said Shawn. “He did not have to fight us, he got into a fight with one of the clan’s best pilots.”

“He kicked his ass and killed him.” said Patrick “We join with Snæbjörn after that. And Sebastian was one of our allies, so he join him too.”

“And they are not the only ones from the clans.” said Snæbjörn. “My last name can be tracked back to Clan Widowmaker.”

"My grandfather was a member of Task Force Serpent. He had over fourteen major battles under his belt," Gauss said. He heard Dan cough, indicating he was being rude.

"But he was killed in a fight with a Khan's bodygaurds. He had four children at home."

“Oh…” said Snæbjörn “Plus, when are we going to make it to where every we are going?”

Rigth after Foemangler finished his sentence, a large explosion could be seen over the hill.
"About now," Sargeant Ken told him. When they came to the hill, they could see Battlemechs duking it out. The only way Ken and Donald could notice which 'Mechs were police units were the blue paint on the 'Mechs. They spotted two heavies, a Vulture and an Argus, two Mediums, a Hellspawn and a Bushwacker, and four lights, which included a Cougar, two Osiris, and two Wolfhounds facing a lance of mediums (Bushwacker, Uziel, Men Shen, and a Chimera), and three Lights (Raven, Owens, and one Firefly).

But teh large explosion hadn't come from any of these 'Mechs. There was one Cyclops pounding on the Hellspawn. This worried Ken.

"All units, fire LRMs on the Cyclops! Take it out first! We can't have an Assault roaming around like that!" Ken ordered.

The Owens' ECM was offline, now that the engagement had been opened. It jockeyed around, firing its single LRM pod and dual ER-lasers at the blue Bushwaker, as a two machine guns opened up to range the Enemy mechs. The Owens danced and weaved, turning its ECM on and off to frustrate any Enemy targeting computer. It ripple-fired four of the twenty-five LRMs available to it onto the bushwacker, then stopped. It detected, with its advanced sensors, a new Enemy force moving in from behind a hill. Ripple-firing six more LRMs into the new Enemy force, the Owens began to attempt disengagement and activated its fluttering ECM. Three more seconds and it would be off the Enemy's sensors, unless they specifically searched for it...

"Taking fire from ground forces. Let's charge! Weapons hot! Unload your missiles!" Ken shouted as he went full throttle, firing lasers and his missiles at the Cyclops. The Assault Battlemechs now knew it was outnumbered and outgunned and began to retreat into the city. When the other 'Mechs saw that their leader was retreating, they lost heart and fell back, as well.

"More Police units? Shouldn't you be defending your own city?" a voice asked, obviously one of the Sargeants in one of the Heavies.

"Seventh city is being defended by Spectre Company. We have more a use here. Is there a Dropships somewhere here?" Sargeant Ken asked.

"Yes, they landed in the Spaceport. They said they were mercs on a mission to Tharkad to help gaurd the city, but then they opened their doors and the 'Mechs captured the turret system. It's in the center of the city and it's heavily gaurded. There are even more 'Mechs there than the ones you drove away."

"What about repair bays? We ned to restock and repair."

"Oh, yeah, those are still intact."

"Sargeant Donald, how are your men holding up?" Sargeant ken asked.

"Mostly full and undamaged."

"Go on patrol. Don't split up, stay as a lance and call in if you find Liao 'Mechs."

"Good thinking. When will we strike back at the Spaceport?"

"When Merc Star gets repaired. One of their Black Lanners needs repairs, badly. After that, we strike together. How does that sound, Chuckon City Police Force?"

"Call me Colnel Gyanges."

"Colnel Gyanges?"

"Sounds reasonable. It'll be good to have some backup in these fights. We think there may be a whole Battalion here, so there'll be plenty of 'Mechs to fight."
-------
So Sargeant Donald and his men went on patrol, just as Jiang hoped. Teh Cyclops and his men did their job by starting a fight near the side of the city.

"Mace Lance, move out. We are to engage Sargeant Donad's lance. Strike at the Uziel first so their Sargeant won't call in. Then call in to the Mercenary's Comm officer and offer them a job," Jiang instructed his men. They powered up and moved into position.

My subassignment is complete. I engaged the Enemy, and survived. Although I only have 15 LRMs left, my systems are fully functional. Slight damage has been done to the ECM circuits, though. I can work around it, but I cannot overload them again. I also must re-align the magnetic circuits on my ER-Laser(M) mount, for it is fluctuating outside normal protocol. A malfunctioning gyroscope also is inhibiting my movement, although, again, I am capable of compensating. I must return to combat. I cannot wait my return to service. If only the gyros were more replaceable...if the LRMs were infinite...alas.

"In that case, Paul, pick a good Battlemechs and head to the Spaceport for a 'Mech transfer. Join us when we're ready to ambush them," Jiang told Paul after it reported back. "This war will only get more intense and I can't afford to risk valuable technology like yourself falling into enemy hands or being destroyed."

"In that case, Paul, pick a good Battlemechs and head to the Spaceport for a 'Mech transfer. Join us when we're ready to ambush them," Jiang told Paul after it reported back. "This war will only get more intense and I can't afford to risk valuable technology like yourself falling into enemy hands or being destroyed."

Unit 1126 recognised his praenomen.

"I understand. I'll pick a better-suited mech for my needs. I hope that these are doable requests, although the ECM will be less effective on such a large mech. I will still be useful in AssaultRecce, although my value as a purely Recon unit is degraded."

A somewhat speedy, yet armored and long-ranged, mech would be better suited for hit and run.

The Owens pranced to the spaceport and bumped the nose of a nearby Madcat mech. He began to make maitenence requests...the installation of a Generation Five ECM and long-range weaponry, as well as armor plate over the cockpit and the installation of sensors in the empty space thus provided. On top of the Owens, a small hatch opened and a spiderlike 12-legged walker tapped out, the pointed feet jabbing into the armor of the mech as it climbed into the cockpit of the Madcat, withdrew its legs, and began to extend connections to the surrounding circuit busses.

Sargeant Duncan and his Squad strolled down the street, not moving 500 meters apart from one another. After a kilometer of patrolling, they headed left, towards the center of the city. Eventually they were far enough from the other that Joand and his squad made their strike, first my startling them by showing them Kong's Shadowcat on passive. The lance stopped and started scanning the area. This is just what Jiang wanted them to do. He observd that the Sargeant drove an Uziel. The second Battlemech was an Osiris, the third a Wolfhound, and finally an Owens. He signaled to his lance to attack. Missiles flew in from all sides, overwhelming the Uziel. Before Sargeant Donald had a chance to react, he was destroyed in a bombardment of laser fire. The other three Battlechs split. It was evident that they were panicing. Shi Gao Rong took on the Owens, Kong and Tan Ai Long beat on the Wolfhound, leaving the strongest light for Jiang. The Osiris was obviously the most talented pilot of the three Lights. He calmed quickly and fired first. Good. Jiang focused his laser fire on the arms first, destroying his missiles to minimize damage to his own 'Mech. The Osiris fired it laser while starting to go in a circle around the Men Shen. A good strategy, but a good pilot would know not to fall for it. Jiang backed up his Battlemech into the Osiris's path and continued firing. Teh pilot needed a new strategy and he picked the best one: Run. The Osiris turned and hightailed it away from teh Men Shen, but Jiang took him out. He turned and fired on the Wolfhound, stealing his lancemates' pleasure of destroying it themselves. Jiang turned to the Owens to see that Shi Gao Rong was kicking its metal parts around like a soccer ball.

Unit 1126 PLL was still pouting. He had missed the excellently-exceuted ambush, although he was enjoying the fact that his comrades had won such a victory. He, himself, was capable now of action, but had not recieved orders. He sat idle, sensors on active, searching for a target. On the defensive, his ECM was off. He sat at the spaceport and scanned, and he would do that until he recieved orders from his Commander, Jiang.

Jiang and his lance returned with pride in their hearts. The other lances would realize Donald Lance was destroyed and they would be short four men; After they bought out Foemangler, three lances would be nothing for the powered-up dropships and its 'Mech defenders.

"Teng, what was the contract we were going to offer the Mercenaries again?"

"Defend the Dropships here until we can control the whole city for six million. Additional contracts with Liao would then open for them after that. A half-million bonus if they help destroy the Police units in the city."

"That sounds fair. Mace Lance, return to the Spaceport for repairs. Paul, I want you to scout teh city and find the location of the Mercenaries. Once you find them, hail them on a private channel and tell them to contact us at this frequency for a job offer."

"Defend the Dropships here until we can control the whole city for six million. Additional contracts with Liao would then open for them after that. A half-million bonus if they help destroy the Police units in the city."

"That sounds fair. Mace Lance, return to the Spaceport for repairs. Paul, I want you to scout teh city and find the location of the Mercenaries. Once you find them, hail them on a private channel and tell them to contact us at this frequency for a job offer."

Unit 1126 had recieved orders. The Madcat uncrouched, shutting off active sensors and using the advanced sensors instead. The ECM snapped on, a soft hum in the air accompanied the Mech's electronic dissapearance. The Battlemech strode off into the city, Advanced Sensors sweeping before it.

Nearly at once, it located a Mech, the electronics of which matched the profile of a Merc mech. It was not moving. The Madcat extened a COM array, and flashed a message. It repeated the transmission, then shut the COM down and slunk away. The frequency was broadcast, as well as the reason, and the Madcat crouched near a building to monitor the Enemy movements.

"Is that-Is that a Mad Cat? Damn! I didn't know Chuckon City had Mad Cats!" Gauss said. Then he realized it wasn't blue.

"Sargeant Ken! We have a hostile here! It's a Heavy! Should I engage?"

"Negative. Colnel, can you handle this Mad Cat?" Sargeant Ken asked.

"Yeah, I'm repaired, as is Fergus, the Argus. We can handle the Mad Cat."

An Argus and a Vulture moved in on Gaus's position to take out the robotic Mad Cat.

"Is that-Is that a Mad Cat? Damn! I didn't know Chuckon City had Mad Cats!" Gauss said. Then he realized it wasn't blue.

"Sargeant Ken! We have a hostile here! It's a Heavy! Should I engage?"

"Negative. Colnel, can you handle this Mad Cat?" Sargeant Ken asked.

"Yeah, I'm repaired, as is Fergus, the Argus. We can handle the Mad Cat."

An Argus and a Vulture moved in on Gaus's position to take out the robotic Mad Cat.

Unit 1126 would have sworn, had it been programmed into him. His ECM had proven incapable of hiding the large Madcat anyways. However, he had a slight advantage. A Vulture was a long-ranged mech, and the firepower a Madcat possessed, especially HIS long-ranged Madcat, outclassed that of a Vulture. The Madcat stood, running all systems now, and downed its ECM. LRM missiles rippled from their racks, and ER-Lasers sleeted through buildings and rubble to make contact with the Vulture. A single Ultra Autocannon burst was sent the way of the Argus, to fend it off. The Madcat began to run, firing LRMs and ER-lasers at the far Vulture as its torso swiveled.

((He saw the Madcat, he didn't see it on his sensors, my bad.))
The Argus complimented its lancemate by firing its LRM 10 and a shot form it Ultra AC 5, but by the time both got there, the Madcat was gone.
"Dammit, we lost him. Mercs, are you guys up and running?"
((I'll leave this to you and Trans now, I'm hittin' the hay now.))

Snæbjörn’s unit was looking for the drop ships on the edge of the city. “Boss.” said Kallie “Somebody is calling you. Private comms,”

“Link it in then.” said Snæbjörn after it was done he said “Hello?”

"How much are they paying you?" a slightly familiar voice asked Killfoe ((I can't remember it, I'm sorry. Why'd you ahve to pick such a hard name?))

OOC: It is Foemangler and I can.

“Colonel Jiang Ao. Nice to here your voice again.” said Snæbjörn “Three millions to come to this planet and kill your men. Half salvage and two million for a drop ship”

“Plus, I loved your last message to me. Say that me and my men were outclassed in our last battle.” he said “Think before you said that again. Okay?”

“If you want me and my men, you will have to pay a lot.” he said “New heavy mechs for a couple of men of my unit and 10 million up front because the Police punks have not paid a damn thing.”

“So…” he said.

"Up front is out of the question, but we can promise you three Heavies and an Assault. Help us take complete control of this city and you can get your ten million then. If you insist on an up-front payment, destroy Ken's lance and we can promise you two million from the Ten. You're an expensive merc. Most mercenaries would do this job for half of what I'm offering you. You better be worth the money.
"Oh, and you were outclassed in our last fight. You still are. You can still prove me wrong."
------
"Foemangler, report in. We've got a Star of Liao Battlemechs near the Town Hall, one of them a Heavy. We'll hold them off a little while, but we don't stand a chance against them in a long fight."

“Deal.” he said to Jing “Plus, I’m not like just any mercenary. The only reason you outclassed my men and me was because you jumped out of the shadows like cowards. Snæbjörn out.” He turned that comm off.

Then he hear Ken called in, “Okay, Ken, we are on the way.” As Snæbjörn’s unit headed towards the Town Hall, Snæbjörn turn his comm to his teammates. “We work for the Liao, now. They gave me a better deal. Three Heavy mechs and an Assault mech. Plus, we will be making 10 million, if we can help them take over this city.”

“So, why are we running to Ken’s location?” said Shawn.

“To destroy him and his lance and get two million of the ten up front.” said their leader.

“Copy that, Boss.” said his teammates.

The Mercs arrived at the Town Hall, Snæbjörn moved up behind Ken’s mech. “Ken, back up had arrived.” he said before opening fire with his Whirlwind autocannon at close range. The other mechs opened fire at the other members of Ken’s lance. Most of the attacks were at close range, too.

OOC: Make the three Heavy mechs; two Cauldron-Borns and a Lao Hu. And the Assault mech; a Dire Wolf.

Unit 1126 PLL processed a sense of satisfaction, watching the mercenaries open fire upon the Police units. Suprise was total, and Unit 1126 was itching to enter combat. However, it would be adding firepower to an overflowing cauldron. There are enough friendly mechs as it is. It stood back and observed, processing the data into a report to retun to Jiang, providing the latter with a play-by-play update of the action. No doubt the Mercs would report later, however.

Jiang's lance saw that the mercenary had arrived and told his lance to break off to see how they fared. This would be interesting.
------
"Foemangler! What the hell are you doing?" Sargeant Ken asked loudly. When he got no response, he knew. He targeted Foemangler's Wolverine and unleased a flurry of missiles at the Battlemech. Gauss found himself fighting one of the Black Lanners. his puny little Uller was meant for police work, not taking on a Medium 'Mech.

"Lila, get away from the Mercenary Comm officer. They swapped sides. Liao must have made them a better offer."

"Roger that. Moving away from the Cougar."

Gauss felt his 'Mech's arm explode from a direct hit from the Lanner's lasers. He couldn't take any more abuse.

"Sarge, I can't take it any more! I've got to eject!"

"That's okay, son. Don't give these mercenaries a prize if you know what I mean."

"Roger that, sir."

Gauss set his Ulleer to self-destruct in T minus Fifteen seconds. He pressed the Eject button and hoped he wasn't shot up in the process.

"Sarge! I'm punching out!" Wallace shouted. Gauss had hit teh grtound and watched his Uller explode, doing heavy damage to the nearby building. The Osiris fell over on its side and exploded. Suddenly, one of the Mercs took an autocannon hit from the backside.

"The calavry has arrived!" a new voice shouted. Guass looked and saw an UrbanMech firing its lasers and its autocannon.

"An UrbanMech?" Gauss replied.

"This IS a city and this thing is suited for, well, urban fighting! Besides, the Military knows how to treat its people well!" the pilot replied. Suddenly a Mauler, two Uziels, an Argus, and a Thanatos appeared to reinforce the Police units.

"Sarge, I'm breaking off. I'm still intact, but not for long at this rate," Dan reported. Gauss gave a series of hoots in support of the Military units.
------
Jiang watched as at least a Battalion of Battlemechs, lances of Powered Armor, and countless tanks poured into the city.

"Dammit! The military's gotten here sooner tahn we expected! All Liao forces, retreat! We're lifting off! Return to the Spaceport!" Jiang ordered. He turned his Men Shen into the Dropship and powered down.

"When can we lift off?"

"We're ready now."

"What about Battlemechs?"

"Almost done loading. What about the Mercenaries, sir?"

"Let Davion scrap them. Lift off as soon as we get all of our forces on board."

"Roger, Sir."

Unit 1126 PLL had seen the military forces enter the city almost at the same time Jiang had. However, as its mech stood at a position further along towards the spaceport, it had time before breaking off.

Missiles rippled from the LRM racks, streaking into the air and onto the Military tanks and powered armor as well as the UrbanMech, the missiles falling like explosive arrows, hitting their targets directly with machine-formed accuracy. The missiles streaked down, their seeker warhead finding targets within the firing envelope.

The UrbanMech's pilot had to eject, since UrbanMechs are slow and are easy to destroy. The UrbanMech was designed for Urban Police units, but Police often found it very slow and wasn't powerful enough to aprehend rogue Mercenaries or criminals fleeing or fighting in heavier or faster and better-equipped Battlemechs. Bandits, gangsters, and mercenaries used it for its cheap price and easy controls. The military used the 'Mech to confuse their enemies into thinking that they could only afford such a useless 'Mech, so the other 'Mechs must suck, too. That, and UrbanMechs looked cool when gaurding the front gates of a base, despite their round and stumpy appearance.

After taking down two mechs of Ken’s lance, Kalli called to her teammates “The Military is here. Plus, Jiang is trying to escape.”

“Then less move too.” ordered Snæbjörn. The five mechs retreated to the spaceport, firing at the Police and military mech as they ran. “Jiang, the Uller and the Osiris have been destroyed. Then they got back up by the military. So, we are coming in.” said Snæbjörn.

"Dammit! Fire the turrets on them! Drive them away!" Jiang ordered.
"You morons, you actually think I was going to give you that kind of money and equipment? And thanks for leading the military here for us! Dropships! We're fully loaded! Lift off!"
The full dropships lifted up. The Military 'Mechs fired on them, but they didn't do enough to bring them down. Sargeant Ken, the police units, and teh military lance appeared behind the Mercenaries.
"Foemangler, this is your one and only warning. Shut down or we will open fire. You've proven to be an unreliable mercenary. Your 'Mechs will be salvaged into the Police Force and your pilots will be taken into military custody. Or if you promise for the damages you have done to my lance and continue to do the job we gave you without taking any more Liao jobs until we've driven them away, you'll still be paid what we promised. It's your choice, and we can always use more guns."

“Guys, open fire on Jiang‘s drop ships.” order Snæbjörn. The five mechs opened fire at the drop ships, sending everything they had at them.

Then he heard Ken’s message, “Shut up, we on your side again.” he said “Now, start firing at drop ships.”

"They're out of our range. They're too far up, we can't hit them. By the time we see them again, they'll have upgraded. The military has offered us some larger Battlemechs. You can get some at discount if you really want some on the local Free Market. The city is ours."

The mechs guns stopped firing, “The next time I see Jiang, he is a dead man.” said Foemangler.

The Mercenaries’ mechs turned around to look at the Police units and military units, each one powered down. “So, Ken, I have deal for the military. If I can get three heavy mechs and an assault one for payment, my men and I will be loyal to you and your forces. That is what Jiang offered to Me.” said Foemangler.

“What we want is two Cauldron-Borns for Patrick and Shawn. A Lao Hu for Sebastian. And a Dire Wolf for me.” he said

“So…”

"We can get you the 'Mechs. But you stay with the Federated Commonwealth until Liao is driven off of Wernke. You are now under the Military's contract. Screw with us and we won't be as forgiving as the Police were," the pilot of the Mauler replied. The lasers, realizing that the Liao weren't controlling the Spaceport anymore, stopped firing. The Mauler truned to Sargeant Ken.
"I understand one of your pilots had wanted to join the military?" the pilot asked.
"Yes, that was Gauss."
"Sargeant Ken, you and your men are hereby members of the Davion military under my command, Colnel Timothy Hanger. All of the Police units, gatehr your men and follow us to the nearest Military base where you 'Mechs will be repair, refitted, or replaced with heavier Chassis. Mercenaries, there is a Battlemech research and building facility about fifteen clicks west of here. Gaurd it, one million dollars a day you stay there with full access to 'Mech repair and turret system for your use. We can bet Liao is going to attack it and soon. Spectre will join you on the fifth day to replace his destroyed 'Mechs, sooner if it's attacked. As soon as he gets there, the turret systems will be given to him. You will operate from that base."

The Talon Battlemech facility was heavily defnded. It pumped out dozens of Battlemechs for Davion and Steiner after it was captured by Spectre in the FedCom civil war. Afterwards, Talon Industries bought the facility and since then it tripled in size. It had over a dozen 'Mech defenders and had a huge turret system. The tanks it produced alone was enough to take on a Overlord Dropship. The facility is famous for one of the most powerful Battlemechs known: The Fafnir. Spectre and Prince Victor Steiner-Davion are two of the most famous warriors to own one. It is the most desirable 'Mech on the market, mainly because they are hard to find since Talon Industries makes them only for the Military.

“Roger that, Colonel Hanger” said Foemangler. His unit’s mechs powered back up and waited to move out.

“Guys, move out.” he ordered to his teammates. The five mechs took off towards the Talon Battlemech facility. Foemangler turned the comms to private so only his teammates would hear him,

“A million per day for five days and the mechs, damn where could we got a better deal.” he said

“Right, Boss.” said Patrick. “Maybe the mechs will be at building when we get there.”

“Maybe.” said Foemangler. Then he turned his comm back to open, “Hey, Ken, see you around.” he said.

Ken didn't reply. He just followed Colnel Hangar toward the base, flanked by tanks and a Swiftwind carrying his defeated Lancemates. When they arrived at the small military base, Gauss was instructed to pick a new Battlmech. Gauss was a better shot tahn he was at controlling his Battlemech, so he wanted something heavier, he didn't care much about speed. And something with a Gauss Rifle or something he could put a Gauss Rifle on...
The Argus OmniMech was perfect for modification. Thankfully, they had a large stash of Clan technology available, so Gauss modified his Argus like so:
He scrapped all of the current weapons, since he wouldn't be using them.
For the ballistics he ordered a Clan Gauss Rifle mounted on and added 2 tons worth of ammo
He replaced all of the lasers with two Clan ER Lasers
And for missiles he had one Clan LRM 20 mounted onto the Missile Rack on teh Left Arm and added one ton worth of ammo for the LRM 20.
And last, but not least, he had two Heat Sinks strapped on to avoid rapid overheating, but Gauss was careful with his heat.
He called it the Argon.
He looked at his ahndiwork and smiled. This Battlemech would prove useful. It left heat to be desired, but that was made up for in firepower.
He wandered over to see how Wallace, Ken, and Dan were doing. Since Ken was a commanding officer, he got dibs on an Assaul. What better than the fearsome Mad Cat mark 2?
Wallace prefered speed and manuverability over firepower, so he picked the Cauldron Born. It was the fastest 'Mech available and it packed a hard punch.
Dan liked to stay behind and fire from a distance, so a Catapult was ideal for him. But he wanted it upgraded, so he had its LRMs repalced with their Clan equivelent, mounted two ER Large Lasers, scrapped the Jump Jets, and placed LAMS on his 'Mech. Then he decided he had room for 2 ER Medium lasers. To counter all taht heat he mounted 8 heat sinks and used teh rest for armor.
He called it the Trebuche.

Foemangler and his men arrived at the Talon Battlemech facility, "Talon Battlemech facility, we are the mercaneries hire to guard your buildings. We need to be repaired and reamred before we can do anything." said Foemangler.

"Don't worry about them. We have your new Mechs ready. That's a good arsenal you've ordered. Should prove useful. By the way, I'm Brigadeer General Garfield Holmes. I rule this place. I'm the only working Fafnir here, so you can spot me easily. You follow my orders and we'll get along fine. Do your own thing around here, cause damage to the vehicles, the 'Mechs, or buildings, and we've got a poblem. Just watch where you step and follow my orders. To me you're just another lance of soldiers and that's how I'll treat you. As for your comm officer, we lost one our best in the last assault, so she would prove less useful in the field and better in the Comm building. Don't worry, we have two Colliape turrets gaurding it, and those things can kick some serious ass. They're loaded like a 'Mech. There are three other lances here. Mine, which has all Assault 'Mechs, another that is mixed of two Assaults and two Heavies, and a Recon Lance, which has two mediums and two lights. They tend to shift once in a while. You will gaurd Alpha facility, which is up on that hill. I'll be in Beta facility, and Second Lance is on Gamma facility. Recon Lance is on patrol. Alpha has been taking a lot of attacks and Third Lance lost a good pilot in the last attack, so they're getting fixed up. Don't expect them to come calling, though, they're still recovering from their injuries and damages. Should Liao steal a few 'Mechs, we need to identify which 'Mech it is and register it as hostile and take it out. But I think my lances can take care of that. You gaurd the Tank-Producing facility, so you gaurd a lot of armor, so watch where you step. You pay for every tank you accidently destroy. You got that, Mercenary?"

“Got it and the name is Snæbjörn Foemangler.” said Foemangler. They moved out to pick up their new mechs; each of the new mechs was painted like a mech in Snæbjörn’s unit. The group divides as they walked to the building housing their new mechs.

Kallie headed to the Comm building and stopped her mech next to the building. She got out of her mech and walked inside the building, she was wearing light gray military uniform with a sidearm at her side. “Kallie Waggoner, your new comm officer.” she said as he enter the main room.

After get to the building housing their new mechs, the men powered down their mechs and got out of them. Foemangler got into his Dire Wolf. The Finnegan brothers got into their Cauldron-Borns as Sebastian got into his Lao Hu. “Guys, how do you like your new mechs.” asked Foemangler

“Nice, Boss.” said his men at the same time.

“Okay, Brigadier General Holmes, we moving to the Tank-Producing facility.” said Foemangler “Plus, can we leave our old mechs in this building because they are still good mechs?” Foemangler and his men moved to the Tank-Producing facility.

"I figured you would strip them of their weapons and sell them, but, hey, whatever. Whatever floats your Harraser."

“Maybe I will gain some more pilots in my little group later on.” said Foemangler “So…if I still have them, I would have to buy new ones.” His unit was at the Tank-Producing facility.

“We are at the Tank-Producing facility.” said Foemangler.

"New pilots are always useful. Spectre started with eight lancemates," teh General replied.
------
Jiang was angry. Very angry. His assault failed. It would have been successful had the Military kept away jsuta few more minutes. His job was to destroy as many Police units as possible. Destroying the Police would crush Civilian moral and would require the Military to spread itself thin. But with teh failure at Seventh City and Chukon City, Jiang had to focus elsehwere. The Talon facility? No. Too heavily gaurded. They would attack it later after they have some success. Then it came to him.

The Comm facility on the moon. The Black Cobras took it over during Spectre's campaign, and taking control of it would prove to be incredibly useful to his campaign.

"All dropships, land on the moon. Our next target is the Comm facility on the moon. Flail Lance, you are to be my Secondary lance."

"Sir, we only have three units left!"

"Paul will be your Lance Leader."

"The robot?" Ching, one of the pilots, asked.

"Yes, the robot. Don't question my decisions. The only other who has a say in it is Paul."

"Roger, sir."

“Yes, new pilots are always good to have with you.” said Foemangler as he and Sebastian patrolled the east side of the building. The Finnegan brothers were patrolled the west side of the building.

The capturing of the Satellite facility wasn't very hard. It was only about three days into the invasion, and the Military would be hard at work defending the palnet itself and failed to realize the necessity of gaurding the Satellite facilities on teh moon. Since there was already a Landing Pad for dropships there, it was easy to alnd the ship on it. After a short battle with the gaurds that were there and destroying the Turret Control facility, they were able to capture the Comm buildings and all the other necessary facilities. It was a quick and decisive battle for Liao. And something was about to rock the worlds of both sides of the conflict.

"Colnel?"

"Yes? What is it?"

"I'm getting new signals coming in towards Wernke."

"Liao? Or do we have more Military to worry about?"

"Neither. It's Clanners."

Clanners. Unit 1126 PLL began to run simulations against clan mechs, and it was not looking good. Liao forces would win, but at a heavy cost. However, there was the uncalculated variable of the Clan attack...would they attack Liao or the planetary forces?

"Hail the Clanners and ask the which side they're on. If they give a hostile reply or don't reply at all, open fire. I'll be in my new 'Mech."

"Roger, Sir."

Teng hailed the dropships.
"Clan Dropship, this is Satellite Operation 01, please identify yourselves."

"This is the Hero's Welcome Dropship of the Steel Vipers. We are here to aid Liao in their conquering of the Inner Sphere. Identify YOURselves or WE will open fire."

"I am Comm Officer Teng. This facility is operated by Colnel Jiang Ao Li of House Liao. It's good to see some highly-trained help come to our aid. The military presence on teh palnet is stronger than we had expected. We had to make a bit of a pit-stop here on the moon to soften them up."

"Roger that, Teng. We'll find the heaviest-garded area on teh planet and we'll take it for you, how does that sound?"

"Roger that. That would be the Talon Facility on the planet, it's been getting more and more reinforcements within the last four days. It's going to be heavy."

"That's how we like it," the pilot of the Dropship hissed, "Steel Vipers out."
---------
"Roger that, Spectre Company. The more, the merrier! Alright, Foemangler Lance, you're free to take a break for the next few days, but you're still on call. Feel free to wander about teh facility, just don't go anywhere that has higher than a Yellow Pass or is top-secret, alright?"

"Wait, a minute, General, I've got a Dropship landing a few cliks north, but it doesn't seem to be Liao...I can't seem to identify who it is..."

"Alright, Spectre and Foemangler, cancel the pleasantries, we have possible hostiles nearby. Recon Lance, go check it out."

Recalculating, Unit 1126 PLL processed a sense of pleasure. Victory was within their grasp, as the Clanners allied with them. It's sentience had tapped into the Lunar facility, and it wandered at random, looking for nothing in perticular. The systems were normal architecture, although many of the subsystems had elaborate firewalls, which, however, were easily cracked. It wandered at random, a ghost in the computer network.

Anotehr Clan dropship passed by teh moon, but since the last Dropship had appeared, Teng made no note of it. One of the Battlemechs that had enhanced optics looked at the Ship and noticed it was a Jade Falcon ship.

"Teng, the other Dropship, I think you ought to hail it."

"Why?"

"It's Jade Falcon, not Steel Viper."

"Jade Falcon Dropship, come in. Jade Falcon Dropship, please reply. No response, but tehy're too far to attack. Advising all Cappelean and Liao ships to be on alert and hail the ship if it passes."

"Alright, Spectre and Foemangler, cancel the pleasantries, we have possible hostiles nearby. Recon Lance, go check it out."

“Okay, Spectre, I will move my unit to possible hostiles.“ said Foemangler “Your Lance circle around and catch them in the cross fire.”

“Copy that, Spectre.” he said. The four mechs took to meet the new mech.

“Okay, Spectre, I will move my unit to possible hostiles.“ said Foemangler “Your Lance circle around and catch them in the cross fire.”

“Copy that, Spectre.” he said. The four mechs took to meet the new mech.

"Negative, Foemangler, we're three times your size, and we've got more powerful 'Mechs. Wait until my company engages them before moving in."

"This is Recon Lance...Or what's left of it. It's the Steel Vipers, sir. Clanners, and they don't look happy. I barely got out of there ali-"
There was the sound of a Gauss Rifle and then the 'Mech exploding.

"Spectre Lance, we've got Steel Vipers to deal with. We've all fought Clanners before, that's how we got Falcon on our side. There's not a doubt in my mind they'll fight just like her, too."

"It will be good to face Clanners again, even if they are Steel Vipers."

Four more friendlies showed up on the radar...eight...one dozen 'Mechs started up, all of them, assaults, each lance led by a Fafnir or one of its variants. Tewlve 85-100 ton war machines stomped through the base, over the hill to Alpha Base, and over that hill to engage the Dropship.

"The dropship is in viewing range. Confirmed, it's the Vipers. Enaging Heavy Star. Foemangler, stay there, we can handle these Heavies, but I tag a binary of Assaults getting ready. General, can you spare a Lance?"

"Yes, indeed, Spectre. I'm bringing my Lance up tehre now. Foemangler, Second Lance, you guys have to cover Beta Base while I'm fighting."

"Roger, sir."

“Always wanting to be the hero, Spectre.” said Foemangler. “Copy that, General Holmes.” Foemangler’s unit and the Second Lance got ready to guard Beta Base.

The fighting was intense and very long. Spectre and his lance did massive damage to the Dropship's engines, making the Dropship have to shut down its weapons so they could focus on the 'Mechs. The fight with teh heavies was short and victorious for Spectre, but when the Assaults came, it wasn't until the General and his Lance came to reinforce them did the battle turn.

But while they were busy fighting the Vipers at teh Dropship, an Assault lance split off and went down to the Gamma facility and started causing hell. Second Lance had to remove its pilot from Beta to help Gamma.

"Foemangler, this is getting hot! We need you herre at Gamma, ASAP!"

“Copy that.” said Foemangler. His Dire Wolf roared to life and headed to Gamma building. His squad mates followed after him. As they neared Gamma building, Foemangler targeted the lead Assault mech with the Dire Wolf’s Gauss rifle. The Finnegan brothers opened fire with their Gauss rifles at the other mechs of the enemy Assault unit.

Sebastian come up behind the other and fired his Gauss rifle ((I think it is one. It is that big gun on the mech’s right arm)) at another mech of the Steel Viper’s assault unit.

((Mind you all of you Clanner Lancemates would be insulted at being called a Freebirth.))
"I am Star Colnel Dimitri Romonov of the Steel Vipers. You Freebirths will be leveled and taken as my Bondsmen, if your survive!"
"Ah, another Star Colnel, Romonov? I was one of the Jade Falcons," Falcon, one of Spectre's lancemates asked.
"Yes. You are a disgrace to the Clans, but you, too, will be taken as my Bondswoman and you will rejoin us soon."
"Not a chance in hell, Star Colnel. I'm not submitting to the Steel Vipers!"
"So be it, then."
There was some heavy 'Mechs that Foemangler was facing. One Daishi, a Mad Cat mark 2, a Gladiator, and a Kodiak. The Daishi turned on Foemangler's 'Mech.
"I've seen you before, haven't I, you Freebirth Mercenary?"

“Don’t know your dumb ***.“ said Foemangler, the Gauss rifle of the Dire Wolf fired at the legs of the Daishi. Then he started moving to the right to get behind the Daishi.

The Finnegan brothers were firing their Gauss rifles at the Kodiak mech. “Two is better then one.” said Shawn.

“Right, bro.” said Patrick.

Sebastian fired at the Mad Cat II, the huge Gauss rifle roared to life.

The Daishi fored all of its lasers, which did far more than a simple Gauss Rifle shot.
"You're not only Outclassed, but also Outgunned."
The Daishi fired it Medium Lasers and its Autocannons, followed by a volley of its LRM 10 rack.
-----
The Kodiak used its LBX AC 20 on Patrick as the pilot shouted "Freebirth cowards!"
The Mad Cat Mark 2 responded by firing both of its Gauss Rifles and its lasers. The Gladiator, which is by far one of the most powerful 'Mechs, third only to the Daishi and the Fanir, went to aid the Kodiak. But Second Lance came to aid the Mercenaries. A Thanatos, an Atlas, a Dragon, and a Catapult opened fire on the Clan 'Mechs. The Atlas and the Dire Wolf combo began to overwhealm the Daishi. The Thanatos and the Dragon ganged up on the Gladiator and the Catapult unleashed a fury of ER laser and Clan LRM 20s. Obviously a custom 'Mech.

“No, you are about to be my bondman.” said Foemangler. The Dire Wolf's anti missile system fired up and took down the enemy missiles. Both Streak SRM-6d, on the left torso, opened fire at Daishi. The three larger pulse lasers on the right arm fired, too.

The Finnegan brothers return fire with their LB 5-X AC, on the left arm of their mechs, at the Kodiak. The Gauss rifles on both mechs continued firing.

The ER Large Laser, on Sebastian’s mech, started to fire at Mad Cat II.

The Atlas fired it PPCs and Gauss Rifle, turning the 'Mech's status to Critical Damage. The Colnel repositioned his 'Mech and tried to aim again, but anotehr shot from Foemangler finished him off. The Star Colnel tried to avoid ejecting to avoid capture, but it was automatic. He survived the explosion.
"Dammit. I am your Bondsman, Mercenary, but I am disgraced."
"WOOO-HOOOO! LOOK AT THAT BABY BUUUURN!"
"Yeah! We did it!"
"Take that, Clanners! Err, I mean, Vipers! Woo!"
"The Viper Dropship is down and the Clanners are Snakemeat."
"Now who's whose Bondsman now, Dimitri?" Falcon sneered.
"I am Foemangler's. I am defeated, but only because I was outgunned by those Freebirth Inner Sphere pilots! In a fair fight you would have been crushed!" Dimitri sneered.
"Last time I checked, you outnumbered us," Spectre reminded him. Dimitri spat.
"Only to keep you occupied."
"Doesn't matter. Hey, General, we still have three 'Mechs left."
"Spectre, the general was destroyed. I tried to rescure him, but...But one of the Vipers stepped on him...He's gone..."
"Oh, no..."
"What a shame."
"He was a good pilot."
At the last comment, the Kodiak had taken enough abuse and exploded. Teh pilot didn't survive. The Gladiator and the Mad Cat 2 were unsure. The Gladiator started to flee. The Mad Cat 2 fired a few more rounds before he, too, lost heart and Jump-Jetted over his foes and followed his ally. Dimitri Romonov started to cuss them out.

“Another bites the dust.” said Foemangler. “Damn, we lost the General.” He looked down at his first bondsman, a Dimitri Romonov. “Dimitri, I’m not just a mercenary. I’m from the clans. My last name can be tracked back to Clan Widowmaker.”

“Did any of the pilots of the General’s lance survive?” asked Foemangler. “And get Dimitri a ride to where our other mechs are housed.”

The Madcat engaged its ECM, moving around behind the Diashi. Awaiting the proper moment and range, the Madcat sprinted out of cover, ripple-firing LRMs and ER-Lasers as fast as it could. It ran as quick as it could, fluttering the ECM to confuse but distract the targeting computers on most mechs. Seven ER Lasers (S), three (M) and two Large swung through the air, as most of the LRMs that the 'cat could muster.

Sprinting, Unit 1126 PLL began to process the battle-data, engaging his Battle-Reflex circuitry and enhancing his awareness.

“Another bites the dust.” said Foemangler. “Damn, we lost the General.” He looked down at his first bondsman, a Dimitri Romonov. “Dimitri, I’m not just a mercenary. I’m from the clans. My last name can be tracked back top Clan Widowmaker.”

“Did any of the General’s lance survived?” asked Foemangler. “And get Dimitri a ride to where our other mechs are housed.”
"The General was the only one hit, Foemangler. I'm scared, sir. It will take weeks to get a new commander here..."
"Foemangler, I don't think Davion would mind too much if we recruited three of their pilots, would they? Those men would stay loyal to us as long as we keep contracts with Davion. Spectre can gaurd the facility for a while."
------
"You can be traced back to the Clans, but you're still an Inner Sphere Freebirth," Dimitri said as three Davion officers cuffed him.
"Yeah? Well, now you'll adress him as MISTER Freebirth!" one of the Davion soldiers laughed.

"The General was the only one hit, Foemangler. I'm scared, sir. It will take weeks to get a new commander here..."
"Foemangler, I don't think Davion would mind too much if we recruited three of their pilots, would they? Those men would stay loyal to us as long as we keep contracts with Davion. Spectre can gaurd the facility for a while."

“Okay, those three pilots can join us.” said Foemangler “And maybe, they will stay in my unit. Who are these pilots?”

"P-Private James T. Teer. I'm called Private Teer, it's kind of a joke. My father was a privateer..."

"I'm Lieutanant Jak Daxter."

"Sargeant Richard Reynold, sir. I never liked standing here gaurding this palce anyway."

"Those 'Mechs, though, are Davion property. You can use them until you leave the facility, then Foemangler has to supply you with 'Mechs."

“Well, men, welcome to my unit. Plus, call me Boss.” said Foemangler. “And I own four other mechs so after we left here, you can get them.”

“Okay, guys, I’m heading to ‘our’ building.” he said “I need to have a talk with Dimitri. You can come, if you want. To check out the other mechs.”

“Or do we have more hostile mechs near here.” he added.

Suddenly, one of Spectre's Mad Cat Mark 2s jumped up and spotted the other two Vipers.
"No, they're gone. There must be another Viper force or, if our suspiciouns(SP) are correct, a Liao base or force of some kind."

“Call me, if you see anymore enemy mechs. I could get more Bondsmen that way." asked Foemangler, who was heading to ‘their’ building. The Finnegan brothers and Sebastian followed behind him. The new members of Foemangler’s unit followed him, too.

((Only Jiang and his Battalion know about the Falcons. That's secret IC info nobody knows about just yet except myself and ONI.))

After his apparently unsucessful firing run, Unit 1126 PLL sprinted back to the dropship, awaiting orders. It began to process the data it had recorded, and began drawing tactical plans...

After his apparently unsucessful firing run, Unit 1126 PLL sprinted back to the dropship, awaiting orders. It began to process the data it had recorded, and began drawing tactical plans...
"So the Steel Vipers failed? They must have more 'Mechs there than we thought. It's not safe to attack the Talon facility again. We'll strike here next," Jiang said, pointing to a anotehr base on the map.
"Ironically that's a palce that Spectre defended, as well. But most likely they'll send Foemangler to retake it, and I want to face him, alone."

Inside the building that housed Foemangler’s unit mechs. It was big enough to house all of them. Dimitri was in a small room near where Foemangler and his men were sleeping. He was handcuffed to a chair facing another chair. Then the door opened and in walked Foemangler. He sat down in the other chair.

“So, Dimitri, you got any info about your former buddies?”

----

Patrick and Shawn showed Teer, Daxter and Reynold the other mechs that Foemangler was talking about.

"I may be your new fellow Mechwarrior, but that's it. I'm not your spy. All I'll tell you is that the Clans are going to be very involved whne they find out about my defeat."
((The other 3 are yours.))

Unit 1126 PLL was committed to watching Jiang's fight. He would not interfere, but he would watch, form afar. This ought to provide useful battle-data, something to analyze and process.

((You lead the Second Lance, Oni. You'll be fighting, too, and no garuntees it'll happen soon. I don't even remember leaving the Moon.

"I may be your new fellow Mechwarrior, but that's it. I'm not your spy. All I'll tell you is that the Clans are going to be very involved when they find out about my defeat."

“Oh…Do you think that I’m afraid of the other clans?” asked Foemangler. “Plus, I can bet that Clan Wolf and Clan Hell’s Horse will side with our side not on Jiang's side.”

“Because your old mech was destroyed.” he said “You get the Nova.” Foemangler unhand cuffed him and said “You are my Bondsman, betray me and you will be executed.”

----

“Man, I will take one of those Black Lanners.” said Reynolds

“I take one, too.” said Daxter

“That Wolverine catches my eyes.” said Teer.

----

The new members of Foemangler’s unit checked out the mechs and took them on a test run.

((You can be that? Might want to look over your sentences, I think you made a fragment by mistake.))
Dimitri looked down at the floor, rubbing his hands.
"I only know that the Jade falcons are helping Steiner. I'm pretty sure the Wolves are, too, but only because of Steiner's generousity to them. There are a half dozen other Clans that are allied with Liao, but I only know the Wolves are fighting Liao on Tharkaad and the Falcons are here, on Wernke. Just one Dropship, though, and I don't know what became of it. We fought in space before we landed, it may have crashed. Liao doesn't know if the Falcons are allies to them like the Vipers. We can use that to our advantage. I am your Bondsman. I shall do what you ask."

OOC: I didn’t finish the word. It was bet but all I wrote was be.

“Well, Dimitri, I will see if we can find the Clan Jade Falcons’ drop ship.” said Foemangler. “Go meet the other members.”

He left the room and head to his Dire Wolf, as he sat in the cockpit he dialed in Spectre‘s comm link. “Spectre, got some info for you. There is Clan Jade Falcons’ drop ship that landed or crashed on Wernke. Can you send out a search lance to find them because they could be are allies.”

"Negative, Foemangler, we've got to defend the Talon facility. Sounds like a good contract, though. It'll come out of my pocket if you find it, Foemangler. Castle, can you get me a csattelitte feed on it?"

"Working, Spectre...Negative. We can't contact the sattellites. I think Liao took it."

"Affirmative. We're sending Sargeant Ken and his men to retake the Satellite facility opn the moon. Same place where you killed the Cobras, Spectre," a new voice said. A Dropship flew overhead. It landed and let out two Lanes of 'Mechs.

"Good to see you again, Foemangler! It seems our old friendg, Jiang, has taken a facility west of here. I'll send you the coordinates now. We think the Dropship is somehwere near there, but Davion will pay you to recapture the facility first before contacting the Falcons," Sargeant Ken told Foemangler, "Recapture it and we'll have your Dropship transfered there for your own use. In the meantime, hop on and we'll drop you near the facility."

“Copy that, Sergeant Ken.” said Foemangler. “Squad, loaded onto Ken’s drop ship. Dimitri, get into the Nova.”

“Copy that. Boss” said the Finnegan brothers, Sebastian, Teer, Daxter, and Reynolds. Each man walked onto the drop ship. Kallie loaded up, too. The Dire Wolf and the Nova were the last ones in the drop ship.

"Spectre, have fun guarding Talon facility." said Foemangler.

"It won't be as fun as blowing it up, but we make our own fun."
There was a loud cheer from his Lancemates as the two Assault 'Mechs collided and fell over.
------
With the 'Mechs loaded, the Dropship took off. Gauss's Argon was off, but he was ready to use it. He couldn't wait to test it out. It would be hot in there, but on the moon, the heat wouldn't be as bad. He walked umongst Foemangler's Lancemates and their Battlemechs. He pressed the Comm button and said to Foemangler,
"Foemangler, I know you betrayed us back in Chuckon City, but you're a merc and I understand. I'd just like to thank you for everythign you've done for Davion. I'm very loyal to my nation and you've done some good getting this information and driving away the Vipers. I hope I can fight alongside you again sometime."

“Well, Gauss, I would like to fight by your side again. You’re a hell of good pilots and I will have a spot open on my unit, if you want to join us.” said Foemangler.

He switched to link to Ken’s mech, “Sergeant Ken, do you have any info on this base? So, I don’t go in blind and get my ass handled to me.” He started to laugh at that last comment to himself.

His teammates were making sure their mechs were ready for battle.

"It's not very big. It has a small Turret system and a bunch of fuel tanks, it's used to make weapons and transport fuel to 'Mech stations. It's pretty remote, bit it's useful to whoever controls it. The base itself isn't much, but I think Jiang and his unit are there."

“Thanks for info, Ken’ said Foemangler. “Plus, Jiang will not know what going on when he see that my unit has gain four new pilots.”

He then switch to his teammates’ comms, “Okay, this is the plan. Reynolds and Daxter your job will be to take out the small Turret system. I have seen those Black Lanners take one of those babies out.”

“Copy that, Boss.” said Reynolds and Daxter at the same time.

“The others will be with me. Your mission with take out Jiang’s lance mates.” said Foemangler. “And to help Reynolds and Daxter out, if need.”

“Copy that, Boss.” said everybody but Reynolds and Daxter.

“I will take Jaing by myself.” said Foemangler.

"Alright, we're dropping you a kilometer out, which is Nav Alpha. Nav Beta is the base. After Jiang and his men are taken out, the Dropship will land and we can find you another job. Ready? Drop!"
The eight Battlemechs jumped out and their Jump Packs stopped them from taking damage and they headed to Nav Beta.
-----
"Jiang, I have eight Battlemechs inbound to our position."

"Roger that, it's got to be Foemangler. Mace Company, leave tehir leader to me. The rest, fight whoeveer you'd like. Turret system, this is going to be a fair fight, so only fire if I'm taken out. Copy?"

"Roger that, Jiang. Holding fire."

OOC: It's nine mechs not eight.

"Okay, squad, you know what do to." said Foemangler.

Reynolds and Daxter head off toward the small Turret system; the Black Lanners was changed to Beta from Delta version. It was done back at Talon facility. Each LRM-20s on each mech were ready to fire.

The Dire Wolf was in the middle of the Cauldron-Borns; each one was 50 yards at each side of the Dire Wolf. The Lao Hu, the Nova, and the Wolverine were about 50 yards behind them. The Cougar was at the rear of the unit.

“Boss, I got four mechs in front of us.” said Kallie.

“It is Jiang and his lance.” said Foemangler. “Squad, rock and roll. “ The mechs divide and took off towards the enemy.

The Finnegan brothers would engage the Lao Hu of Jiang’s lance and take the pilot out of the battle. Sebastian and Teer would engage the Hellbringer of Jiang’s lance. Dimitri would engage the Nova Cat of Jiang’s lance with Kallie adding back up support.

The Black Lanners would fire only, if the turret fired at Foemangler or the others.

"It seems your company has grown. So has mine."
The other four Battlemechs went from Passive to Active radar as they attacked to support the other Lance.
"So now our Lancemates have a fair one-on-one fight with each other. No turrets, no ganging up, just pure skill."
Jiang fired his Cyclops' lasers at Foemangler's 'Mech.

“You think that Cyclops scares Me.” taunted Foemangler “I need one of the Black Lanners to get back here to take out two of these new mechs.” he added as the lasers hit his Dire Wolf. He pushed the button to fire off his 20 heat-sinking missiles at Jiang’s Cyclops. Followed by two shot with the Gauss rifle.

Daxter’s took off moving over to Foemangler’s location.

Shawn’s Cauldron-Born moved in to attack the Nova Cat; he fired two shot with his Gauss rifle at the waist of the Nova Cat before firing with his SRM-2. A total of ten missiles were fired.

Patrick’s Cauldron-Born moved in to attack the Grizzly; he opened fire with his LB 5-x Ac at the knee joints of the Grizzly.

Sebastian moved in to take on the other Lao Hu; he fired with the Ultra Heavy AC at the torso of the enemy Lao Hu..

Dimitri moved the Nova in to attack the Hellbringer; he fired both of the Nova’s ER PPCs at the shoulder joints of the Hellbringer.

Teer moved in to attack the Vulture, the autocannon roared to life. He had no target but he was going to take that mech down.

Kallie fired at the Catapult with both larger pulse laser and both LRM-10s at the leg joints of the Catapult.

As Daxter made it to the battlefield, he opened fire at the Mad Cat. He fired two LR missiles out of each launcher at the Mad Cat.

“You think that Cyclops scares Me.” taunted Foemangler “I need one of the Black Lanners to get back here to take out two of these new mechs.” he added as the lasers hit his Dire Wolf. He pushed the button to fire off his 20 heat-sinking missiles at Jiang’s Cyclops. Followed by two shot with the Gauss rifle.

Daxter’s took off moving over to Foemangler’s location.

Shawn’s Cauldron-Born moved in to attack the Nova Cat; he fired two shot with his Gauss rifle at the waist of the Nova Cat before firing with his SRM-2. A total of ten missiles were fired.

Patrick’s Cauldron-Born moved in to attack the Grizzly; he opened fire with his LB 5-x Ac at the knee joints of the Grizzly.

Sebastian moved in to take on the other Lao Hu; he fired with the Ultra Heavy AC at the torso of the enemy Lao Hu..

Dimitri moved the Nova in to attack the Hellbringer; he fired both of the Nova’s ER PPCs at the shoulder joints of the Hellbringer.

Teer moved in to attack the Vulture, the autocannon roared to life. He had no target but he was going to take that mech down.

Kallie fired at the Catapult with both larger pulse laser and both LRM-10s at the leg joints of the Catapult.

As Daxter made it to the battlefield, he opened fire at the Mad Cat. He fired two LR missiles out of each launcher at the Mad Cat.

The Cyclops' AMS fired on the incoming missiles, but there was nothing he could do about the Gauss Rifle shells. Jiang fired his Autocannon at Foemangler's head, causing serious damage, followed by a flurry of missiles.

The Nova Cat followed Shawn's moves and fired its PPCs at his Center Torso, messing up Shawn's HUD and messing with hsi controls, followed by laser fire.

The Grizzly fired its Lasers at its foe and unleashed a well-aimed Alpha Strike.

The Lao Hu fired its own Autocannon at his enemy, followed by missiles and Lasers.

Knowing that PPCs had a travel time, the Hellbringer moved away from the tragectory of its enemy's PPCs, just barely missing him. The Hellbringer fired its Lasers at its enemy.

The Vulture took the hit and fired its Pulse Lasers at Pvt. Teer and then added missiles.

The Catapult fired it LRM 20s and its Pulse Lasers after taking a few hits from the LRM 10s. Its AMS systems took care of most of the missiles, but a few avoided being hit.

The Cyclops' AMS fired on the incoming missiles, but there was nothing he could do about the Gauss Rifle shells. Jiang fired his Autocannon at Foemangler's head, causing serious damage, followed by a flurry of missiles.

OOC: Where did you get the auto cannon? http://thundernetworks.tripod.com/cyclops.htm That is a link to a House Liao’s Cyclops. Plus, it does not have an AMS.

The Nova Cat followed Shawn's moves and fired its PPCs at his Center Torso, messing up Shawn's HUD and messing with his controls, followed by laser fire.

OOC: Did I hit it once?

The Grizzly fired its Lasers at its foe and unleashed a well-aimed Alpha Strike.

OOC: What the Hell is an Alpha Strike? Plus, did the LB 5-X fire hit the knee joints?

The Lao Hu fired its own Autocannon at his enemy, followed by missiles and Lasers.

OOC: Did I hit it?

Knowing that PPCs had a travel time, the Hellbringer moved away from the trajectory of its enemy's PPCs, just barely missing him. The Hellbringer fired its Lasers at its enemy.

See that his attack did not work, he ran forwards firing PPC round after PPC round. A couple of lasers hit the Nova as it was running fowards.

The Vulture took the hit and fired its Pulse Lasers at Pvt. Teer and then added missiles.

Teer rushed forwards to get out of the range of the LR missiles, the auto cannon continued to fire. He fired two missiles from the Harpoon-6 SRM 6 before firing another four missiles.

The Catapult fired it LRM 20s and its Pulse Lasers after taking a few hits from the LRM 10s. Its AMS systems took care of most of the missiles, but a few avoided being hit.

OOC: The Catapult does not have an AMS either. http://thundernetworks.tripod.com/catapult.htm

((Almost every single Battlemech can be mounted with AMS, including Cyclops and Catapult. An Alpha Strike is every weapon fired at the same time. And yes, you hit. And LRMs can do damage at medium and short range.
And Gauss Rifle then, I couldn't find a page with stats for a Cyclops.))
After several minutes of intense fighting, it seemed that Jiang had the upper hand. The Mercenaries were good, being mostly Clanners, but they were facing Liao Elite and Jiang's men were heavier. When it seemed that they were going to start taking casualties, a Gauss Rifel struck Panther's 'Mech from the side. Every 'Mech turned and saw fifteen 'Mechs charging towards the base, all of them Emerald Green. They heard a Jade Falcon war cry.
"Oh, shit, the Falcons! Next time, Foemangler, it'll just be me and you. No lancemates at all, we'll leave them behind."
Jiang's company began to retreat, with teh Turrets activated and firing on Foemangler's men.
"So how are you faring, Mercenary? Did Star Colnel Romonov give you any trouble?" one of the Falcons asked.

Reynolds fired all his missiles at Turret; a total of 18 missiles. The turrets would be heavily damaged or destroyed before they could do anymore damage to Foemangler’s unit.

“Jade Falcons, that was Jiang Ao li.” said Kallie “And Dimitri Romonov…”

“Is my bondsman.” said Foemangler. “It is good to see some more allies.”

“Now that Jiang has ran with his tail between his leg for a second time.” said Foe angler “Where is the drop ship that Ken said would be here?”

"A few kilometers behind us, exact measurements unknown. We saw Jiang and his men attack teh facility from afar. I haven't seen anyone fight like that before. Both of you are really damn good."

"Thanks." said Foemangler. "Finnegans and Sebastian go to the drop ship and bring it here."

As those three mechs head towards the drop ship, “Team meeting.” said Foemangler. Kallie switch to a private comm, so nobody could hear. “Okay, this is the deal. We need stronger mechs to take on those Liao Elite idiots.”

“So… will check out what the Talon facility has in stock and trade in the Wolverine, the Black Lanners, the Nova, and the Cougar in for something better.” said Foemangler. “How does that sound?”

“Fine, boss.” said his teammates.

“Okay, Kallie open a channel to the Talon facility.” order Foemangler.

“Done.” said Kallie.

“Talon facility, this Foemangler. I have a deal for you guys.” said Foemangler. “I’m looking to trade in five of my mechs for better one.”

“I’m looking for a Stone Rhino, two Supernova, a Marauder IIC and a Kraken.” he added. “So..”

OOC: What is going to look like after the new mechs are added to the unit:

Snæbjörn Foemangler = Stone Rhino
Shawn Finnegan = Supernova
Patrick Finnegan = Supernova
Sebastian Blanchard = Dire Wolf
Kallie Waggoner = Marauder IIC
Dimitri Romonov =Lao Hu
James T. Teer = Kraken
Jak Daxter = Cauldron-Born
Richard Reynolds = Cauldron-Born

OOC: TM me what you are going to do. Plus, I’m talking to Talon facility. RP them answering Foemangler.

"You're just asking for employment by Talon industries?" a Comm officer said, "Swap in your current 'Mechs and you'll have your new ones if you pay what's left of what They're worth. We're a buisness, not Davion's lapdog who gives away free 'Mechs to every merc and Military unit working for them. You have the cash, you have the 'Mechs."

“We were paid five million for the five days that my unit and I guarded your buildings and grounds.” said Foemangler “See how much the Wolverine, the Black Lanners, the Nova, and the Cougar with their weapons on it are? And I will pay the other part of it”

Several numbers showed up on Foemangler's HUD. It was pretty expensive, but he could scrape off a bit.
"We'll have the 'Mechs ready in an hour."

“Okay, have them send at my location.” said Foemangler. “The other mechs will be handled over to your men.”

Meanwhile the Finnegans brother and Sebastian arrived at the drop ship. “Nice ship’ said Shawn. They loaded their mechs in the bay and headed to the cockpit, to fly to Foemangler’s location. The drop ship roses into the air and headed to the location.

The Dropship landed at the base with the 'Mechs in the holding area. Several Davion pilots were also on board to take the now Talon-owned 'Mechs.
"Nice doing buisness with you. We'll scrap these things and make some heavier 'Mechs out of them for Davion."

“Have fun.” said Foemangler. He and his men loaded their new mechs in the holding area of the drop ship that Ken gave them. Foemangler had a weird feeling about it because what he tried to do to Ken. He betrayed him and now they get a new drop ship. “Now, we wait for are new orders.” he said to his teammates.

While Foemangler and his men were relaxing in their quarters, a green smoke came in through the vent. They began to cough violently and eventually feel dreary and then they fell asleep.

Foemangler woke up a few hours later with two Liao gaurds staring at him and his hands tied behind his back.

“What the **** going on?” asked Foemangler, then he saw a Liao symbol on the guard’s uniforms. “Did Jaing do this? And where are my men at?”

"Your men are fine. And no, Jiang didn't do this. Jiang is a Mechwarrior, not a spy or an assasin," a man said, walking in. He was tall and thin and very defined Chinese-looking eyes. He wore flashy formal Liao military garb.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Major Wu Thao Ting. And I am your captor. Actually, Sargeant Ken is, but he's not available right now. He's checking out his new 'Mech-Your old 'Mech."

“What?” said Foemangler. That ****ing coward betrayed his own nation and me. he said to himself. “What the Hell do you want with me then?”

The mechs were wired with anti-theft like programs in their hardware. They had it done before they were knocked out. Only Foemangler or his men could pilot them.

“I bet he is having a hard time working it.” he added.

"Only slightly. Your firewalls are clever, so we're not going to bother getting past them. We're scrapping the cocpits althogether and putting in Liao cocpits. Simply disconnect the computer and all the other manual systems from the 'Mech and put in new ones. No biggie."
((BTW, I won't be available for the next few days. Maybe a bit later today, but I'm going to Disneyland.))

“That is still not going to work.” said Foemangler. “Each one of those mechs has two computers. One in the cockpit and the other…” he added with a big grin on his face.

“The other computer would take over the Liao cockpit.” he said.

OOC: I don’t want you to mess the mechs. Okay?
----

Somewhere deep in that building that house Foemangler, each of Foemangler’s men were locked in cells. Shawn sat on the other side of Patrick. Dimitri was next to Shawn and Teer was in front of him. Sebastian was next to Dimitri and Kallie was in front of him. Daxter was next to Sebastian and Reynolds was in front of him.

Each one was looking at their cells, trying to find a weakness to escape...

“That is still not going to work.” said Foemangler. “Each one of those mechs has two computers. One in the cockpit and the other…” he added with a big grin on his face.

“The other computer would take over the Liao cockpit.” he said.

OOC: I don’t want you to mess the mechs. Okay?
----

Somewhere deep in that building that house Foemangler, each of Foemangler’s men were locked in cells. Shawn sat on the other side of Patrick. Dimitri was next to Shawn and Teer was in front of him. Sebastian was next to Dimitri and Kallie was in front of him. Daxter was next to Sebastian and Reynolds was in front of him.

Each one was looking at their cells, trying to find a weakness to escape...
((Don't worry, they don't have the proper tools for that.))
"Do you think that matters? Four of your 'Mechs you just bought from Talon. Those 'Mechs are registered as Neutral property, you haven't had time to reprogram them. I've got your whole crew tied up. As for the ones that have the two computers, we'll just have to use their limbs as spare parts and, failing that, melt down them down completely and make more Battlemechs out of them. We're not stupid, we know what we're doing."
The Major turned and left teh room. It was going to be a looong trip.
---------
"They did what?"
"You heard me. FOemangler is being held captive, Jiang."
"Dammit! I told the Major Foemangler was MINE! Why didn't he kidnap Sargeant Ken and his men?"
"Because Sargeant Ken betrayed Davion. He's been passing secrets."
"Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT! He's a superior officer, too. DAMMIT!"
"Sir-?"
"We're going after him. I want Foemangler released. He is an independant contractor, non-alligned. To keep him as a POW would be a war crime, that's what we'll do."
"Sir, Foemangler is only taking Contracts from Davion-"
"But he's still an independant contractor! He's a mercenary! He would do jobs for Liao if he was paid-"
"If you didn't betray him back at Chuckon City."
"I couldn't risk the Dropships or the lives of my crew. He failed his mission then, anyways. We need them for the Wernke invasion. How fares the invasion, anyway?"
"We own eighty percent of Wernke. Spectre has lifted off of the Talon facility and the Falcons are off-planet now. Wernke is ours."
"Excellent. We make a slight diversion to wherever the Major is taking him and then we move to our next target."

OOC: Okay.

Foemangler continued to smile as the Major left the room. The new mechs had the second computer installed before they fired up the drop ship. There is no way those Laio pucks could use them. He smiles at the two Laio guards and said “I need to go the rest room.”

If that did not work, he would pop his right shoulder out and get out of the rope behind his back.

"Then piss yourself."
The Liao soldier swung his rifle at Foemangler, making him black out again.
----------
News of Ken's betrayal had spread fast. He disappeared later that day. The lance was confused, but Gauss held them together. Their priority would be to rescue Foemangler. He could get some aid from the other houses, even Liao's allies for violating war laws set shortly after the FedCom civil war. The assault would be short and sweet. Find where he's being detained, land, blow some stuff up to distract the Liao military, and then bust Foemangler and his lance out. They also had the aid of the Falcons and the Wolves.
"According to our sources," General Han, a Falcon General, told Gauss, "The Vipers and their allies will be attacking House Steiner while Liao and its allies fights Davion. My own clan decided to help Davion, despite the fact that we are far more grateful to Steiner. Many of the Falcons warriors wanted to fight along Steiner for their generousity, but we are needed here. But I believe an offensive on Liao will prove to be more effective than defending Davion space. Fighting a completely defensive war is a foolish thing to do. You will always lose."
"Well put, General. I need to know where they're headed, so if your cont-"
"I can help you there, Gauss," Jiang's voice rang out. Jiang walked in with his Mechwarrior helmet at his side. The General pulled out his weapon but Jiang held up his hand.
"A Liao Black Operative and his men used Sargeant Ken's informationto capture Foemangler. I have a personal grudge against Foemangler and I want to be the one who kills him. Or, failing that, be killed by him. I have yet to have a fair match against him. I can tell you where he is being taken. I will do every legal action I can to release him. If Liao finds out I've told you this, I will be hunted. I doub they will, however."
Jiang turned to the General.
"If the Falcons invade Liao space, I will use my company to fight you, General, but I want this resolved. I am not your enemy right now, but I look forward to fighting Falcons."
"I have heard of your skill and tactics. I look forward to fighting a fair battle with you, as well, Jiang. What do you propose we do?"
"The Falcons will hold back. Gauss and his men will be brought to the planet as representitives. If Liao fires on them before I can convince them to release Foemangler, attack. If I get Foemangler out legally, hold back indefinitely or I will warn Liao. If we have to bust Foemangler out, just cause a distraction. Understand?"
"I cannot garuntee that we will hold back, Jiang, under any of those circumstances."
"Then Foemangler is as good as dead."

“Oh…shit.” said Foemangler as he was hit in the head. But maybe his teammates could get themselves free. And they were, acting as a group they were looking for a way out of their cells.

Whether Foemangler's squad was going to escape or not didn't matter. They had landed on a Liao planet. They weren't informed which one. They were transported in a Troop transporter. They could hear the Liao tanks rolling behind, so escape wasn't such a good idea. When the transporter stopped, they were led out of the vehicle and brought into a prison that looked as if it were a concentration camp, only cleaner. They were placed in seperate cells, all of which had some sort of energy field unknown to any other house. This could be useful information.

"Well, howdy thar," a Southern-American voice said, "I'm Rooster. I heard somethin' was goin' on with Liao, so me an' mah company was hired by Steiner to retake Carver Five. Again. I swear, if I'm on that planet one mo time, I'm quittin' this merc buisness."

"Shut up, Rooster, we ain't going to get out of here alive. The took Flash a few days ago," a deep-voiced black man said, "And we haven't seen her since..."

"It's okay, Steel. At least we know your daughter is safe..." a woman said, "Oh, and I'm Longshot. We were sent here, as Rooster said, to dislodge Liao from Carver Five again. We had a campaign there during the FedCom civil war by Steiner to help Steiner with some bandits. It got messy quickly. After that, we rested for a while. Steel, who was a Steiner pilot before we recruited him, married Flash and they had a child. When we got another contract, they left his son with Flash's mother."

"Care to tell us yer titles?" Rooster asked.

“We are members of Snæbjörn Foemangler’s lance.” said Shawn. “I’m Shawn Finnegan.” The other said who they were and what happen to them.

“Boss!” said Shawn “Are you in here with us?”

"Nope," said a Liao officer, "He's in a high-security cell, seeing as he's the most dangerous of the lot of you. Now listen up, prisoners, here's your day until you're released or executed: At seven thirty we slip you breafast. At noon we slip you lunch. At six thirty you get dinner. Rooster is the only one to have an item, and that's his banjo. I hope your stay here is as miserable as possible."
The officer walked further in. He was followed by another officer pushing a cart. The officer that spoke to them pulled out a long stick with a collar at the end of it, shut off the forcefield to Longshot's cell, grabbed her with it at the neck. Teh other officer laid down the plate of gruel on the floor. She was given no spoon. Longshot didn't resist. With his finger on the button, he let go, lifted the collar, and turned on the field. He did this with the other two and turned to leave without giving Foemangler's men any food.

“***holes” yelled Sebastian as the Liao officer left the room.

“Shut up, Sebastian.” said Shawn. “This is bullshit, they can’t hold us. We are mercs not soldiers.”

-------

Foemangler starts waking up and looks around the room he was in…

The room itself was very nice. Suits of armor and oriental art decorated the walls. It was difficult to tell it was Japanese, Korean, or Chinese in origin, aside from the armor, which was most definitely Feudal-era Japanese. But Foemangler was in a cell with the energy fields, one bed, a sink, a toilet, and a table, all of which was very clean and pearly white.

"Ah, Foemangler, you're awake. Sleep well?" the Major said, coming in, "How do you like my room? I do my best to keep it as fancy as possible. I like to show off.

Foemangler started getting up with his left hand on the bump on his head. “Not really.” he said. “You can’t hold me or my men. We are mercs.”

“We’re independent contractor, non-aligned to anybody. Working for the side that pays us the most.” he said. “Holding us as POWS is a war crime. You know that.”

"That's the point, my friend. You're bait. You will be released once you have proven your worth to us. Unless my men decide they haven't killed anyone in a good while. Don't worry-Should you survive, Liao shall pay you a large sum."

“I have heard that before. One of your own offer a large sum and betrayed us.” he started. “Nobody is going to come for us. So…your best bet is to let my men and me go. We will fight for Liao in your war.”

The major snikered and left. He turned a few minutes later with armed gaurds. He was carrying a large, bulky bag. He pressed the button to turn off the field and threw Foemangler the bag.
"Check it and count it. Twelve million. Another eighteen when you're released. The upfront is enough to buy two Battlemechs. You're part of a much larger plan than a mere ambush, Foemangler. You can take jobs with FedCom if you wish, I don't care. You're here for a reason. More than you can ever imagine."

“These is not going to work for me, Major.” he stated. “I want my mechs back too. I paid for all the new ones will my own cash. If I have to kill Ken to get them, I will do it.”

“Now, you get me my mechs and I will do anything for you.” he said. But he was not telling what was true. “Plus, where is my sword?”

"Your 'Mechs are intact, but they will be shipped to you AFTER your release. As for your sword, I'm keeping it on display over here in my room. Don't worry, you will be taken care of. As for the whereabouts and actions of Sargeant Ken, that is none of your buisness."

“I be taking my sword back, too.” he said. “Now, can I have see one of my men in person? Sebastian Blanchard.”

"I'm afraid an in-person conversation isn't possible, but you can still speak with him if you'd like."

"In-person is what I want." Foemangler said with a my way or the highway type of look on his face.

The Major gave Foemangler a look saying "You're in no position to give me that face."
"I'm sorry, but that's not possible. You'll just have to wait a while until you are released."

Foemangler turned his back to the Major. “Then leave me alone.” he said. “I’m tried of your face.”

"Seeing as this is my room, get used to it," the major said. He turned and left.

“Good.” he said under his breath. Now, he could destroy his little room. He walked over to the bed and started messing with it…

The only electronics in the room was the sink and the toilet. The lights were shined in from the other part of the room. The bed was only bolted in with the matress, blanket, and pillow. When Foemangler touched teh Force Field, it stung very harshly and he couldn' put anything through it.

Jiang's dropship landed in teh city and he transmitted his message to the base, asking for a hearing to release the mercenaries. The Flacons waited in a nearby asteroid belt to hide their signature. Gauss and his men were revealed. there was a short arguement, but to no avail. Liao refused to perform a hearing, but wouldn't fire on Gauss and his men. The Major left the prison to meet with Jiang, but he never met with Jiang. He spoke with his lance, convincing them that Jiang was a traitor. A few hours later when the Major returned and began to make some tea.
"Green Tea, Foemangler?"

“Yeah, let me out of this room.” he said.

The Major unvieled his weapon at his side and closed the Force field.
"It's not wise to try and attack me, Foemangler. I have many years of experience of hand-to-hand combat on you."

“Yeah, whatever. I don’t care how much experience you have.” he said as he walked out of the small holding cell. He took a seat a the table and watch the are where his sword was.

"If that was true," the Major said, handing him a cup of tea, "You wouldn't a successful mercenary."
The Major sipped his tea. A large explosion could be seen and heard outside.
"It seems Jiang's lance has done as I have instructed them to do."

“Well, it looks like they have.” he said as he went to slip the tea. Then he threw the cup into the Major’s eyes and moved to his sword. He swung around with his sword at the Major’s neck.

The Major dodged teh tea and pulled out a knife, blocking the sword. He drew his gun and pointed it Foemangler. He fired it at his knee.

OOC:The Major is old, right? So, a knife blocking a sword. Now, that's funny.

OOC: Not that old. And it wouldn't be very hard to block a sword with a knife, especially if you used the flat side and if he was strong enough.

OOC: Plus, you say he dodged the tea. It would hit if he move to the left or right. Plus, when Foemangler swung around, that is a lot of force behind the swing. So, the knife would not block it.

This reminding me of something, the assassins thread. Every post you make, it looked like something good was happening for you.

OOC: This is how he's reacting to your actions. Last time I checked that wasn't G-Modding. Would him just blocking make you happy and he not blow your kneecap off?

OOC: What I’m saying is the force behind the sword is strong. Meaning the Major would be hurt by the blow and would be going for his gun because Foemangler would be on him. Plus, if he did go for his gun, Foemangler could kill him because the Major was wide open.

See what I’m saying, now.

OOC: Just shut up and go with it.

IC:
At the moment the Major pulled his trigger, there was a click, but no bang. The bullet was a dud. The Major started to back away as Foemangler went to strike again when there was a loud bang. The Major was tossed against the wall, half of his torso blown off. Steel was standing in teh doorway with a shotgun with Rooster, Longshot and Foemangler's Lancemates behind him.
"I'm told you're the reason the Falcons have dropped on the planet?" he asked.

“HAHA” taunted Foemangler as he moved forwards with his sword. “Gun sucks some of the time.”

Then he heard the other bang, Oh…shit. he said to himself. Wait that was not a pistol gun fire. as the Major was thrown across the room. Then he saw Steel at the doorway. “Yeah, they are here for me.” he said.

“But we need to find my mechs.” said Foemangler. “So, we can help them out.”

“Got an idea where they are?” he asked.

"Yeah. They were kept intact because they were going to stick to their word. That's what I heard teh gaurds say, anyway. All of our 'Mechs are in the Hangar, even ours. Follow me," Steel said, leading them out of the room.

“Okay, I was betrayed by one of them early. So I did not believe him” said Foemangler. Him and his lance mates took off after Steel.

Whne they arrived at the Hangar, the battle raging outside was loud and hard. Liao Battlemechs were stomping out of the hangar one by one. Steel scurried past one and climbed a ladder which led to his Blood Asp. The yellow 'Mech started right up and followed the Liao 'Mechs out of the Hangar, firing its Gauss Rifles as it left. Longshot and Rooster did the same with their 'Mechs, an Atlas (Rooster) and a Longbow (Longshot). There didn't seem to be any problems.

See what there three new allies did, Foemangler and his men did the same. Foemangler got into his Stone Rhino Garrison as the Finnegan brothers got into their Supernova Garrisons. Foemangler still had the bag of money the Major paid him. He smiled to himself. They head out of the hanger following Steel. Foemangler fired out the Stone Rhino’s twin Gauss Rifles. The Finnegan brothers fired off a shot from the ER larger lasers.

Sebastian hopped into his Dire Wolf and started it up. The Marauder IIC was right behind him. Sebastian fired a couple of shot off with the Dire Wolf’s medium pulse lasers. Kallie fired off a shot or two with the Marauder’s medium pulse lasers. They followed behind the others.

Dimitri, Teer, Daxter and Reynolds all got into the mechs they piloted and followed the others. Adding fire as they moved.

There was a huge battle raging on; Jade Falcon Battlemechs were everywhere, pounding on their lival Liao counterparts. Gauss, his lance, and Jiang were pinned by their Dropship, which was unleashing hell's fury with its lasers adn Gauss Rifles, but it, too was taking a beating. Steel and his lance went to aid Gauss and his lance while the battle raged on.

As Foemangler and his men walked through teh city, it was evident that the Flacons had come loaded for bear. Buildings were collapsing, Tanks and Battlemechs were exploding and shooting everywhere it was total chaos. A Liao Nova Cat walked in front of Foemangler. He could see its PPCs charging to fire. It took a Gauss Rifle shot to the arm and it fumbled, firing its PPCs towards a building, which collapsed onn it and destroyed the Battlemech.

“Reports that Gauss and his men are pinned by their dropship.” said Kallie on the comms.

“Okay, men, Gauss and his men need our help.” said Foemangler. “Move out.”

Foemangler and his men moved toward their location. Each pilot was ready for anything and everything.

-----

Foemangler and his men arrived at Gauss’s dropship and started firing at anything that move with Liao symbols on them.

Then Foemangler saw a mech piloted by a men, he fought twice.

"Ah, Foemangler. It seems my rescuing attempts have not been completely in vain. How did you like the Thunderbolt missile strike?" Jiang commented. Jiang brought down an Atlas and started to beat on a Liao Hu.

“Loved it, Jiang.” said Foemangler with a smile on his face. He fired off a couple of shots with the twin Gauss Rifles at the closest Lioa mech.

“Try to cut that Major’s head off.” he continued. “Plus, I got a cool 12 million out of the deal.”

His lance mates continued firing at the Liao mechs.

A couple of Nightshades fired on the Dropship. Gauss took them down and then studied the field. The remaining Liao 'Mechs were starting to flee. The Falcons were cheering as teh Laser turrets were fireing on their own.
"Alright, we've won! Everyone get in the Dropship!" Guass ordered. Jiang, Gauss, Wallace, and Dan walked into the ship, followed by Steel, Longshot, and Rooster.
"You're welcome to come, too, Foemangler."

Foemangler and his men headed on to the dropship. After they got on, their mechs powered down. Foemangler jumped from his cockpit and his men did the same.

Foemangler and his men walked over to Gauss. “That was fun.” he said.

"Indeed. Liao's going to be pissed. The Clanners will certainly rejoice at...This..." Gauss's voice drifted away as he watched dozens apon dozens of Liao warships fire on the planet. They could see the explosions on the surface. Liao was destroying its own planet. Jiang walked up to Gauss and Foemangler.
"Liao is a lot larger than people think. They don't become involved with many wars because they have been too busy preparing for this war. Come with me. I have something to show you."

“Sure.” said Foemangler. He followed behind Jiang.

He showed them to the Mission COntrol room. There was a map of the Inner Sphere with the Cappelan Federation (Liao) highlighted in red.
"This is the map of the Inner Sphere that most of the Great Houses and the Clans use. Liao has a different one."
He pressed a button. Liao began to grow and grow until it was twice the size of the Lyrans (Steiner).
"We've been using the CHaos March war as a distraction. We've been colonizing other owrlds for several centuries."
He pressed the button again; it was a map of the Clans.
"Liao believes one of the Clans has also been growing at the same rate as us."
Clan Blood Spirit was highlighted in blue. It then began to grown outside of the known borders of the Clans to a gigantic size.
"One planet isn't enough to finance a military like Blood Spirit's. If we are to truely win this war, we need their help. Before Liao gets it."

“Well, get this dropship to their home world.” said Foemangler. “I got some allies on it.”

Jiang laughed.
"Their homeworld? If we go past a certain point past the known borders of the Clans, we'll be destroyed. Liao's tried to get through and 'discover' Blood Spirit's power, but it hasn't worked. Our best bet is to leave it to the diplomats and try to convince them that we know of their true power. If we can do that, we can truely open up discussions with them."

“Well, to the nearest planet then.” said Foemangler.

The captain of the dropship came up and said,
"The nearest planet is Wernke. Liao completely controls it, thanks to Jiang here. We can't move in any direction at this point. Transmitting will cause Liao to fire. Moving towards the next nearest allied star system will cause Liao to fire. Moving away will cause Liao to fire. Staying here has a smaller likelyhood that Liao will fire. Any way you put it, we're pretty much boned. I'm not moving my ship until I find a friendly signal."

“Well, get a comm open to the nearest Clan Blood Spirit planet.” said Foemangler.

The captain gave Foemangler a look saying, "Are you some sort of idiot, did you not hear me?"

"Please get that q-tip out of your ear, Foemangler. We can't transmit any messages or signals and we can't move or we're the latest asteroid headed for Terra."

“Then why the ****ed did I get on this dropship.” said Foemangler. He turned and headed out of the room. He was heading back to where his teammates were.

Jiang sighed.
"We can use the IFF transmitter from my Battlemech and replace it with the one in the ship. That might work."
"Yeah, it might!"
"Good idea!"

Damn, Jiang. You stole my idea. Foemangler said to himself. He was going to use Kallie to make the call but if Jiang going to do it. He would have his teammates run checks on their mechs.

((He wouldn't have heard that since he just left the room...))
The crew quickly began to do as they were instructed to do so. In the meantime, Gauss began to plan for the retaking of Wernke after they gave Blood Spirit a visit.

((Maybe he heard it before he left the room))

Each of Foemangler’s mechs was in running order. The mechs were being rearmed then Foemangler and his men would plan out new attacks. New attacks that would surprise the enemy.

It had been a long day, so Gauss and his men went to hit the hay. The Captain instructed a few of hisEngineers to start with the new IFF transmitter. Install it on the ship and shut the Davion one off. SImple enough. He just hoped they cwouldn't see the giant Davion symbol on their dropship.

Foemangler and his men have spent the last couple of hours sleeping. So, they head to the mess hall of the ship. They got their food and started eating.

After that, they would get a couple more hours of sleep.

The Dropship began to move towards friendly space with a Liao signal.If they were detected, they would give off a Liao signal. If Davion picked it up, they would see the emblem on the side; if Liao picked it up, they wouldn't think a thing of it.

Foemangler and his men continued to sleep. They did not know the dropship was moving.