Part 595: Political Vote 19 Results and Combat Theater Vote 17
Combat Theater VoteYou want a chance to prove yourself? Duncans hands didnt move from his pockets. He seemed to regard Azer with a wariness the large man found commendable. The outline of the pistol in Duncans pocket was clear, and the calm focus of the mans eyes told him hed be shot dead before he took two steps if he made a move on the leader of the Demon Hawks or Stefan Amaris.
Azer wouldve been lying if he said he wasnt tempted to do just that, the leader of the Rim World Republic was right here, within striking distance. Hed go down in history as the man who killed the last Amaris, even if he died in the attempt. It was almostalmostworth the risk, except his Clan wouldve never believed it. The Trueborns in charge wouldve taken any report of Amariss death as a deception and continued their attackand the merchant caste whispered that even Amariss death wouldnt be enough to turn the tide of the battle back to Clan Sea Foxs favor. Tempted as he may have been, he kept his cool, trusting the warriors at his back to do the same.
Duncan nodded perceptibly, as if sensing Azers resolve. Very well. You will be allowed to join the Demon Hawks, he began, pausing for a single dramatic heartbeat before continuing, but only after our battle on Andurien is over. Until that time, youand any future Clan defectorswill form the core of our second company: Demon Hawks, Company D. Youll fight with our logo and in our name, but we have no time to attempt to integrate you into our command structure. Instead, youll be under the direct command of one of the Republics liaison officers. I cant risk you ruining one of our battle plans if youre unwilling to follow orders you may not like. Understood and accepted?
Azer considered, and asked, We will be given an opportunity to actually fight?
Amaris interjected, Oh, absolutely. It will probably be limited engagements at firsthunting enemy scouts or raidersbut once Duncan is convinced youre trustworthy Ill be more than happy to put you right where you belong: on the front lines.
Azer shut his eyes for a moment, considering the words of the spawn of the Great Deceiver. Neither promised the worldbut both had shown respect in their own way. He nodded, I find those terms acceptable. Bargained well and done, Demon Kalma. We will form this Company D as you desire.
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Krel Ershmin coughed, and spat a glob of dusty phlegm to the sand. He lay in the shade beneath his DH-404 Desert Hawg, waiting out the noontime heat. The wind barely stirred, but a few grains of sand tumbled down the nearest dunes anyway. Enkra wasnt the hottest planet in the Inner Sphere, nor was it the least hospitable, but the equatorial deserts were vast and expansive. Fortunately, the planets vast aquifers were near enough to the surface to allow the former-Taurian settlers to live in relative comfort.
At least, it would have if Enkra had had the necessary minerals for drills. The Enkra system was so depleted of natural resources and, especially, metals that nearly everything the locals made was out of fired ceramic or glass. Even then, the sand was low in silica, so finding reliable deposits of construction materials was a full-time job in and of itself. It was honest, hard workprecisely the kind of job Krel had come to Enkra to avoid.
He yawned, scratched his wiry stubble, and chewed on a local root that had been creatively named Starvation Root. In the years after the Taurian Concordat had left Enkra, the local colonists had fallen into fits of barbarism and desperation, fleeing the equatorial deserts for cooler, somewhat wetter climates to the north. Starvation Root was one of the few plants that grew in the desert, the long taproots stretched down hundreds of meters to the aquifer below, wicking water upwards which they then oozed out onto the surface to attract their pollinators. A one-foot chunk of Starvation Root held enough food and nutrients to keep a man going for a day at least, but the effort it took to extract them was exhausting. The thick, woody material had to be chewed for hours until it turned gummy and soft enough to relinquish its moisture. The northern- and southerners maintained that you could always identify a man or woman hailing from the central deserts because they always had necks thicker than their heads.
Krel didnt mind the thickneck appellation, even if it was untrue. If people wanted to think him a fool for scouring the deserts for wrecks and usable metals, so be ithed be laughing all the way to one of Enkras metal-starved banks any time he stumbled over a wreck.
Oy, bus. The sand crunched as Riber Michls crouched beside the Desert Hawg. Her long legs were lean and spare, and her gaunt, close-set eyes were lined in shade. Bus, she pressed again. Gut a radio from Ol Mackie, up in Derks foothills. Says hes found somethin big, bus. An actual BattleMech, prime for the salvagin.
Fuck me, Krel sat up, not even noticing when his skull bounced off the Desert Hawgs oversized muffler. He crawled out from under the massive salvage vehicle and popped his back. As he emerged from the vehicles shade he practically withered in the noontime sundamn, but it was hot. He found a BattleMech and were the first salvagers hes called?
Neh, bus, Riber drawled. General broadcast. Says hell give 60% to the first salvage crew what makes it on site.
Krel squeezed his eyes closed, doing a little mental arithmetic. Fuck me, he exclaimed again. Call up Ekran, Vohrs, Salis, and he stopped to think, then chose a forth, Mehrens. Offer them five percent each if theyll escort us and we beat the Devils Due and the rest to the site. Krel and Riber shared a sly smile. His gunner was no fooland while they were giving up twenty percent, she knew he was only offering twenty percent of his sixty percentwhich meant the crews he asked for would only be making three percent of the gross each. Perfectly respectable for escort work.
Riber laughed, and Krel grinned as she kissed him on the cheek.
Can do, bus. Meet at Arthels Oasis?
Hell yeah, Krel agreed. I aint makin the drive to the fucking Derks sober!
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12th Amaris Legionnaires
The battle for Andurien rages on. Incensed by their losses, the Clans have launched a series of methodical strikes against the Republics premier front-line regiments. The Amaris Legionnaires are bearing the brunt of these Clan assaults. The 12th Legion has just been rotated to the front to cover the retreat of the 7th and give the Clans a fresh stone to grind themselves against.
Clan Sea Fox, 21st Assault Cluster, Nagasawa's Foxes
The 21st Assault Cluster has identified a weak point in the New Rim World Republics lines. Through careful observation, theyve noted that gaps in the Republics defenses tend to form as one regiment is rotated out and another brought in to replace it. With the battered 7th Legionnaires being withdrawn to repair and rearm, the 21st Assault Cluster has made a daring advance in an attempt to slip through the Republics lines and flank the besieged 323rd Amaris Dragoons.
Demon Hawks, Company D
Company D, the new Demon Hawks subsidiary company made up of ex-Clan defectors, is eager to prove themselves worthy of the nameand take revenge on their previous masters for years of ill-use. Theyve been placed under direct Republic command to test their willingness to follow orders they may not like, but have nonetheless been placed near the front lines to seek the battle they seem to crave.
Clan Goliath Scorpion, 35th Scorpion Cuirassiers, Scorpions of the Veil
The cold war between the Goliath Scorpions and the Widowmakers is heating up. The Widowmakers have raided a Scorpion world for ammunition and supplies, and the ilKhan has ignored the Scorpions formal complaint. The 35th elite, fanatical Scorpion Cuirassiers have been tasked with a single duty: to punish and humiliate the offending Clan Widowmaker unit so thoroughly that the Widowmakers will be forced to disband it.
??????
Goons seem to love mystery options. This is one of those.
Dunerunners Salvage Crew
A prospector on the Periphery world of Enkra has struck it rich! A genuine BattleMech was found on his land. Lacking the equipment or the technical acumen to recover it, hes put out a call to all the prospector crews of the Zegara desert: the first crew to make it on site gets a 60% cut of the profit from the BattleMechs sale. The Dunewalkers are more than up to the challenge, but will they make it to the prospectors mountain in time?
Combat Theater Vote:
A) 12th Amaris Legionnaires
B) 21st Assault Cluster
C) Demon Hawks, Company D
D) 35th Scorpion Cuirassiers
E) ??????
F) Dunerunners Salvage Crew