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Post by Captain Benjamin Maxwell on Jul 30, 2005 11:29:20 GMT -5
"Captain. I know that when we parted, we we're not exactly fully able to discuss what had transpired. However, I consider you a trothkin and you know as well as I do that isn't something that comes easily to a freebirth.
But you know that Clan Ghost Bear holds different ideals in regards to the Inner Sphere, a more friendly one than our Jade Falcon counterparts.
I swore to you that I am your friend and therefore, I could not have allowed myself to permit the Jade Facons to simply kill you like a pest."
The wirds carried a great deal of weight - even more so when one considered their source - 'friend' and trothkin were words hardly ever used in reference to anyone, let alone the freebirth of the Inner Sphere. For Bekker to stand before me and use both, particularly in our current situation, where his forces clearly had the upper hand, belied any suspicion that his intentions were anything other than honorable.
"Captain...during our last encounter...there were quite a few who questioned your intentions - and I will admit, even I was a bit unsettled by the events which took place. There was quite a bit of misperception amongst my crew about what your goals were - and what role we played in all of it - but - though I don't pretend to understand the politics of the Clans, I have no doubt in my mind that, as you tried to tell us then - your unit is working toward the greater good. I don't believe that you would bring dezgra upon yourself by trying to claim otherwise.
"And I'm indebted to you for your actions here today. Whether they were done simply to prove your honor, or because a higher plan is being carried out, doesn't change the fact that you saved all of us from what was rapidly turning into a losing battle. Thank you."
I held out my hand, and Bekker took it in a firm shake. A bolt of lightning arced across the sky, and a light rain began to fall.
"My comm unit was knocked out in the last of the fighting - tell me - what's the status of this Op?"
"You won, Captain."
I nodded, and glanced over my shoulder at my smashed 'Mech.
"No, Ovkhan Bekker. We won."
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Yeoman Hobson
Yeoman
Senior DropShip Pilot
DropShips...the only way to fly!
Posts: 18
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Post by Yeoman Hobson on Jul 30, 2005 12:23:57 GMT -5
As the Liberty touched down on the sweeping expanse of spaceport that was Puerto Valacia Interplanetary, I breathed a sigh of relief that this Op had finally concluded. Though Theater I had gone relatively smoothly, the action in Theater II had rapidly spiraled out of control, leaving our unit with extensive losses and several casualties. I couldn't say I'd be unhappy to leave Valasha behind for the familiar landscape of Sheratan.
The MIT23 arrived, along with a mixed convoy of Legionnaire and Reach vehicles. As we dropped the gantries, salvage and recovery assets deployed to scour the battlefield for any potential diamonds in the rough of smashed 'Mechs, obliterated vehicles, and destroyed emplacements. Given the sheer amount of BattleTech that saw action in this campaign, I was confident that we would find quite a bit - likely more than we'd be able to take back with us.
The bridge comm unit chirped, and Yeoman Machia flipped the channel open. A strange expression crossed her face, and she looked at me intently.
"What is it?"
Machia paused, as if to verify whatever she was about to relate to me.
"Well...I have Captain Maxwell on the line...but he's transmitting via a Clan frequency. Shall I patch it through?"
I nodded.
"Do it."
There was a brief burst of static as Machia piped the Liberty's communication array into the bridge speakers. The voice of Captain Maxwell echoed across the channel, the roar of a vehicle engine evident in the background.
"Castle - this is Alpha-1. Reporting status as...'intact'...if a little banged up. Some old friends were kind enough to give me a lift to the spaceport in their recovery vehicle - unfortunately, my 'Mech didn't fare as well as I did. I estimate my arrival at your location in approximately fifteen minutes. Once all mission objectives have been cleared, rally the troops, and let's salvage what we can."
I smiled. At least one of our own was okay.
"Roger that, Alpha-1. It's good to hear your voice. We'll recall the lances to the Liberty on the double."
I switched over to the general comm.
"Castle to all units - Operation V: Endgame is a success. Report back to home plate for recovery and extraction."
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Post by Lieutenant Kei-teh Kintaru on Jul 30, 2005 15:21:13 GMT -5
We split off into our own groups. Admittedly I was disappointed that I would not get another shot at Ren, however, I planned to finish this cloaked goon as soon as possible to assist Xiuying. Though she was a master in her own right… I wasn’t sure if she would be able to defeat Ren on her own. I doubted she could even lay a finger on him. The cloaked gentleman that stood before me did not appear to have any form of special field around him. As he moved sideways, keeping me our of Ren’s way, his movements seemed… familiar.
“You match will be with me…” said a cold voice with no emotion behind the tone.
“OK you circus freak. Lets get this out of the way quickly. I don’t intend playing around at all.” I replied, removing my “Ryu” blade from it’s protective sheath. The mysterious man mimicked my motions and retracted a blade of his own. It’s appearance was nearly identical to that of my long lost brother’s, who died ten awful years ago when Ren and his men savaged my village in search of the Jade Map Stone. The appearance of the sword instantly enraged me as old memories suddenly became fresh in my mind.
“Kei-teh… Kintaru…” he said, nearly hissing the words. “I swore to kill ALL Kintaru…”
“Well you seem to know my name very well, but I don’t seem to recall hearing yours…” I replied taking my stance. The cloaked man simply stood still, his weapon by his side.
“heh…” he laughed dryly. “You’ll find out soon…”
The cloaked man pushed his long over coat clothing up and over his shoulders, as if to don a cape so to speak. His face remained covered, as the hood and cloth masked covered all but his beady blood shot eyes. His eyes seemed conflicted with many emotions… yet they seemed so cold and emotionless at the same time. Soon they began to twitch erratically as his hand clutched his sword tighter.
“My “Byakko” (trans: White Tiger) Sword will cut your worthless Kintaru life in half!” he roared, charging me head on. I stood my ground and clashed swords with the masked man.
Byakko Sword? I thought to myself as I blocked and parried his intense melee attacks. The masked man furiously swung he sword horizontally. I ducked out of harms way and performed a sweeping kick in an attempt to trip him up. Instead, he jumped out of the way and brought his sword down vertically. I blocked his blade and pushed forward, coming face to face with him as our swords met. His eyes were filled with… utter insanity. The pupils had become tiny dots lost in a say of bloodshot redness that bore into his crazy demeanour. He let out a crazed giggle, something that sent a chill down my spine. It was unlike that of Ren’s hysterical laugh, which only enraged me. No, this person’s laughter… utterly frightened me. However, I soon shuck those feelings of fear out of my body. I Just had to defeat him quickly. I broke away from the clashing weapons, dodged to the left and twisted my body around to avoid the falling sword. As his considerably longer blade fell into the ground, I brought a hardened fist to the back of his neck, sending him crashing down to earth. As I brought my sword up to finish him… the man laughed insanely, as if he enjoyed the pain. I hesitated, leaving me wide open for a punch to the gut, which I lovingly received from the masked warrior. “Such joy! Such ecstasy! You bring such pleasure to my body…” the man said queerly. “I do hope you enjoy the pain I deal out to you!” he replied in an utterly insane voice. After stumbling back and regaining my breath, the crazed man retracted his blade from the damp soil and turned to face me. We stared at each other as another blot of lightening sounded and black clouds formed above us. The masked man constantly chuckled and, from time to time, violently began to tremble all over his body. His mask became damp with what appeared to be his saliva. If he wasn’t so occupied with me, I’m sure he would even get off on this.
“OK you freak, I’m taking you out!” I shouted holding my sword above my head.
“Oh I very much doubt that…” he replied with that oddly insane tone to his voice. He had completely lost that calm and cold tinge to his voice he was using earlier. It was as if he could control his insanity and use it in battle.
“Just who the hell are you?!” I shouted as his voice began to irritate me like a sore rash.
“Oh please Kei-teh… it’s not as if we haven’t met before!”
“I have no idea what your talking about, BUT I intend to shut you up permanently!” I replied, this time I took the initiative and charged towards the mad man. His eyes squinted in delight as he parried and dodged all of my attacks. Infuriated, I continued my vicious onslaught of attacks, with Saturina and Victor watching from the sidelines. The forests became a blur as I increased the speed and strength of my lightening fast attacks. I needed to take care of this guy so I could assist the Great Elder in her battle with Ren. However, I was soon becoming infuriated with the situation. No matter how hard or how fast my attacks were, he simply dodged and parried them. It was as if he KNEW my moves. What worried me more was, his attacks were nearly identical to my own. He must have studied the Kintaru form of martial arts. Suddenly he broke up my onslaught of attacks with an open palm punch that sent me flying into a tree behind me. With lightening speed, the unknown warrior placed the sword back into it’s sheath and rushed towards me. I was too busy collecting myself to dodge out of the way of his attacks. As soon as I turned my head to face his, I was greeted with a force of unbelievable destructive power as the masked man unleashed a variety of lightening fast punches and kicks all around my body. My body was thrown around a very small circle the crazed man had entrapped me in. And through all of his vicious attacks his unnervingly crazy laughter filled me ears. Just as he was about to introduce his fist with my face for the 5th time, the masked warrior stopped. His eyes squinted into tiny slats as he stepped back chuckling all the way. Such a crazy laughter. I fell to one knee as I coughed up a small amount of blood. As I looked up at the tree behind me… I could see a fresh imprint of my body where the wood had been obliterated by the insane man that stood a few meters away from me.
“Are you wondering WHY I know all of your techniques Kei-teh? Are you wondering WHY I know how to counter them? Are you wondering WHY I know how to surpass your pathetic style?” said the man as his insane laughter became hysterical.
“Oh its very simple…” as he slowly removed his cloak and cape. They fell towards the ground before being picked up and taken by the harsh winds that began to pick up. He then removed his head wrap. My mind reeled as I stared in utter disbelief at the man that stood before me.
“But… But your supposed to be dead?!” I stuttered.
“Oh no Kei-teh, as you can see I’m far from it!” he replied laughing hysterically again.
The man that stood before me was… Saburo Kintaru… my brother…
“And I can assure you Kei-teh…” he said, unsheathing his sword again. “It gets MUCH worse!”
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Post by Assassin Saburo Kintaru on Jul 30, 2005 16:23:31 GMT -5
Fantastic! Now that I had revealed myself to my pathetic brother, it was time to reveal a few more secrets to him.
“And I can assure you…” I said unsheathing my faithful Byakko sword. “… It gets MUCH worse.” I screeched as I soon giggled with delight. I couldn’t wait to tell him. He sat on his ass staring with a stupid expression on his face. However, if I was in his position, I would be shocked… but then again, I was something far greater than him. Such pathetic scum the Kintaru were.
“Oh Kei-teh… such wondrous things I have to share with you…” I said coolly, taking a seat next to him, a smug look creeping across my face. I had waited for this moment my entire life. He attempted to speak to me, but his stuttering became incomparable.
“Now now Kei-teh, don’t interrupt me…” I replied, retracting a small blade and ramming it into shoulder, causing him to scream in pain. The tall man, who I believed was called Victor, came towards me. He pointed his rifle at me, preparing to take my life. I waved a finger at him as I held a small dagger to my brother’s neck.
“Please… allow me to finish…” I asked, smiling to myself. My brother tried to pull the dagger out of his shoulder, however… my persuasion stop that straight away. Victor backed down, but that pathetic look of concern was still present on his face. How ridicules.
“Now where do I begin?” I said, getting myself comfortable.
“Yes… it was two days before the great celebration of the Kintaru family. I was out collecting wood for the village when I came across a group of mysterious men. At first they wanted to kill me… OH-HO, how things changed! I took care of them straight away… in self defence of coarse… Then something amazing happened. I met a man that would change my life forever!” I said as my eyes wondered into the clouded skies of the night. Or rather… early morning.
“… Ren?…” replied my brother.
“Ah! Your pretty intelligent! Yes I met the General on that fateful day. He offered me something the Kintaru family could NEVER of supplied me with! He offered me power! Unimaginable strength! Of coarse that didn’t come free… nothing ever does…” I said… trailing off as I remembered the needles… the intense pain… the madness… the videos… the drugs.
No…They helped me. They made me who I am today! I muttered, reassuring myself. I shook my head and returned to my speech. Before I spoke, the sky turned red and blood trickled out through the many pours of the trees. I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. Such delight I was feeling tonight…
“… I had to under go… certain things. Within two days of… education, I was ready to fill in my bargain… my part of the deal! I just had to lead Ren to the village to retrieve the stone… of coarse it meant the death of ever single one of you vermin… but what did I care?” The blood trickled down off every tree and began to form words as they blotched into the thick oak like ink onto sponge. The words read macabre statements of loyalty and duty to all that was right… all that NEEDED to be done. I couldn’t help but laugh as the world around me violently rumbled as the voices scratched the surface of my brain. I was transcending…
I looked to my left as my brother’s eyes began to fill with tears of sorrow and anger.
“But… why?!” he hissed between grinding teeth. I doubted it was the pain of my dagger that was causing this. Excellent. Just what I wanted. The world faded back into reality as I leapt upon my brother, thrusting my face within millimetres of his.
“Because YOU was born in the great “prophesised” year! YOU was born in the “Flight of the Red Dragon”! I was destined to become the strongest, but it was YOU who stole that away from me! I was looked down upon ALL of those bastards you call your “FAMILY!” I was constantly being shown up by my younger brother!” I soon began to throttle him just after a look of utter confusion filled his eyes. I watched his face turn bright red as I began to cut his air supply off. Soon the words began to appear. The blood formed into words painted on an invisible canvas. The words instructed me to kill him. To squeeze the very life out of him. I pressed my thumbs into his Adam’s apple, as I watched his eyes bulge in their sockets. Such glorious ecstasy… If I ever were to be killed in battle… I would want it done this way. To slowly watch my life fade away from my body.
An intense high pitch whine filled my ears.
YES, such pleasure I was getting from this. Slowly he was dieing!
The high pitch noise increased its volume.
YES! I could feel his throat desperately flex in a vain attempt to grant air into his body.
The high pitch noise became deafening.
MY GOD! SUCH ECSTASY!
The high pitch noise became an insanely loud explosion. I fell back hysterically laughing. This was hilarious! Such fun!
My brother violently began gulping in air as he scurried away from my body. For a few moments I laid on my back laughing as if someone had told me an insanely hilarious joke. I laughed like a hyena for several moments before rolling over and collecting myself. I had a job to do… fun and games could come later.
“Your… not my brother…” Kei-teh said as he to collected himself. “The Saburo I knew was never envious… never a monster like you!”
His comments struck a nerve. I actually couldn’t remember my past. I could but… it was as if I was TOLD my past. No! Nonsense! The Kintaru tribe treated me like a worthless piece of shit. Yes, that’s right… the taunts. I could remember then freshly now!
Or was I told?
“NO!!!” I accidentally screamed out, causing the others to raise an eyebrow. I drove my head into my hands and began screaming.
SHIT! What’s wrong with me?! There was no pain, but something hurt. I couldn’t explain it. I picked my bladed weapon up and stared directly at my brother.
“YOU’LL pay for everything you did to me! ALL of you!”
Without hesitation I rushed at my brother with murderous intent filling my body.
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Nicholas Schuster
Regular
DECEASED
"Blakists are like a virus. And WE are the cure."
Posts: 139
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Post by Nicholas Schuster on Jul 30, 2005 22:50:57 GMT -5
The planetary broadcast concluded, the remnants of Bravo Lance stomped through the war-torn, but now peaceful, streets of Puerto Valacia, headed for Valasha's massive spaceport. All around us, crowds mobbed the streets, staging impromptu celebrations as the news spread that the regime, which for so long had held the world in its iron fist, had, at last, been defeated. I couldn't even imagine the joy that the citizens of the tiny world must have been feeling - and the trepidation at the idea that the installation of a new government would now take place. For the first time since the planet was colonized, it would know independence in a way hence unknown to any settled world of the Outworlds Alliance.
No longer bound to the uncaring, uninvolved galactic consortium of House Avellar, the new governors of the sovereign world now have to become self-reliant; for finances, for resources, and for protection. They had, in a sense, returned the planet to the ideals first envisioned by the followers of the Omniss cult who settled on the world during the days of the Star League.
I hoped that they would learn from the mistakes of their predecessors.
As we cleared the outer gates of the spaceport, I opened my comm unit to Bravo Lance."Bravo-4 to all units...job well done, guys. Thanks for watching each others' backs out there. You did well."My 'Mech stomped up the gantry into the welcoming surroundings of the Liberty's main bay. I was home at last.
We had succeeded.[ - This message was written and posted on the behalf of Nicholas Schuster by Captain Benjamin Maxwell - ][ - Soundtrack - ]
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Post by Lance Commander William Rhodes on Jul 31, 2005 2:49:52 GMT -5
Following the rest of the mechs of Bravo Lance, Mechwarrior William Rhodes piloted the Hellhound up the boarding ramp of the Union-class dropship Liberty. With careful maneuvering he backed the fifty-ton warhorse into its storage cocoon, engaged the restraining bolts, and shut down the 300XL fusion engine. The cockpit hatch came unsealed with a hiss and a welcome breeze of cool air that soothed his grimy skin.
Removing his neurohelmet, he descended the boarding ladder to the foot of the mech bay where he met the mech's crew chief.
Diefenbaker is in pretty good shape, chief. I missed most of the heavy fighting, so just a few armor patches and a new load of ammo should do the trick.
Dressed in cooling vest and shorts, William took the lift to the crew deck after exchanging high-fives and compliments with the rest of Bravo Lance on a job well done. After a quick shower to rinse off the sweat and grime of battle, he hit his mattress in the crowded communal bunk-room for a nap. As William drifted off to sleep, inhaling the dirty socks odor of the Union's old recirculator, he experienced a feeling he hadn't had for a long while.
I feel like I belong. I feel like I'm home.
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Post by General Archdale Ren on Jul 31, 2005 14:10:53 GMT -5
We split off into our two battle groups, Kei-teh Vs Saburo… and Myself Vs Ms Zimming. I was fully confident that Saburo would take care of his brother without much hassle… just as long as the drugs didn’t cause another… episode. And if he DID have an episode… then it could play to my advantage.
I had to push my concern for Saburo out of my head. The AZPES suit required a lot of my attention.
“So Ms Zimming? I presume your lips are sealed on matters regarding the Jade Stone Fortune?” I inquired. I already knew the answer to that. I wasn’t impressed.
“You can go to hell Ren. The Jade Stone Fortune secrets stay with my you worthless sack of shit.” she replied, raising her fists.
“Very well. Soon you will be begging for mercy!” I shouted increasing the power of the AZPES suit to 50%. Although I needed to keep her alive, time wasn’t on my side. Time was of the essence. The familiar blue aura licked around my body like steam rising from a kettle. Xiuying raised an eye brow as I began my assent in power. That wasn’t the result I wanted. I WANTED fear from that old bitch! I DEMANDED it! I charged towards her, hoping she would become erratic with unsettling emotions. However, she just stood her ground and blocked my intensely strong punch. I couldn’t believe it! Out of all the people I had tested the suit on no one could block my attacks… NOT even the Kintaru bastard! She smiled slightly to herself as her wrist held my trembling fist. She twisted her wrist around to push my hand away as she performed a reverse spinning kick. She had hoped to of planted her attack in the pit of my belly, however the suit blocked her attack. With a sudden short increase of power, I send the “Great” Elder flying backwards. She flipped mid air and managed to land on her feet. The look of utter confusion spread across her face as a smile crept over mine.
“Surprised are we Ms Zimming? Do you see how futile this fight is? As long as I wear this suit and as long as it remains powered up, you CANNOT plant ANY attacks on me!” I shouted bursting out in laughter. Although I did not get the fearful expression from her, the look of utter confusion still made me laugh. However… that same, annoying smile smeared her old wrinkly face.
“… Is that so? Well, we’ll soon see about that…” she calmly replied as she renewed her stance. I roared in anger as I once again charged towards the old bitch. Before I was within five meters of her attack radius, I used the suit to push me along the ground. The effect gave the appearance of a long sliding kick that torn up dirt as the suit’s aura disintegrated several layers of the ground below me. Xiuying flew over me to dodge the attack, infuriating me even more. For someone her age, she was very nimble. Her dexterity was amazing. However, I didn’t let this set me back. I WOULD have the information I wanted! Again, I charged at her, this time she made no attempt to run out of the way. I sent a tornado flurry of punches, to which she blocked all but one. My final punch was parried, send me back. She leapt up towards me, swinging her fist violently towards my face. To my shock and surprise, she had managed to enter a couple of millimetres of the AZPES’s power field, and nearly hitting my nose. As I fell backwards, I landed on my elbows and catapulted myself into the air, back flipping towards a free section of ground. I landed crouching low, my cape enveloping my shoulders as I began to inspect myself for any damage. Fortunately she didn’t managed to land a punch on my face… but somehow she managed to strike at me WITHIN the generated field!
“H-how?!” I stuttered. I couldn’t believe it. Even I, a GOD, felt sudden shock to which my body trembled to. The old woman began to laugh, causing my to lose my temper.
“You’ll tell me NOW you old WITCH!” I screeched at her, catching her attention. She stopped her laughing, but kept that disgusting smug look on her face.
“I THOUGHT I couldn’t even hit you Mr Ren? Well, this must all be shocking for you…” she replied, her hands on her hips. I remained quiet, hoping she would explain the serious flaw in the suit. “Mr Ren” huh? Oh, she was going to pay for disregarding my rank!
“Your suit is perfect at generating a field Mr Ren. However, what it isn’t perfect at is keeping it maintained permanently!” she said raising her index finger to the sky, trying to look intelligent, and thusly pissing me off even more.
“Like a light bulb, it does not remain “on” permanently. It flashes so fast that it appears to be on continuously. So fast it is hard to tell just by looking at it…” she continued. It was all making sense. The suit could not maintain a “perfect” field… Dr Faulkner was going to be in a lot of shit when I returned back to the ship…
“I noticed it straight away when you first made your idiotic appearance!”
What?! I nearly shouted. She had noticed back then?!
“Which is why I barely attacked to begin with. Now look at you! Your nearly exhausted and your thoughts are shrouded, filling you confusion and anxiety. Your suit may be good Mr Ren… but it isn’t PERFECT!” she replied bursting into a fit of mocking laughter. After several moments of laughing, she dropped her god awful expression from her face.
“NOW!” she shouted taking a familiar stance. “Touch of the Lotus!”
OH GOD! I mimed. If she could NEARLY land a punch on me with just a stray attack… what would happen when she unleashed her ultimate technique on me?! My mind flashed with the image of the Kintaru brat on the floor. This attack was devastating! In a desperate attempted a brought the suit’s power up to 100%. It didn’t work. Though the power had instantly charged in the small generators located on my back, the field didn’t have time to stabilise. The suit remained at 50% capacity as Xiuying came within an inch of me. Her index and middle fingers began to violently prod me all over my body. She had managed to penetrate the field and had easily managed to hit me. Not just once, but several times over. This attack was far more vicious than the one she unleased on the Kintaru child. I concentrated my efforts on trying to block her attacks. Some blocks I had succeeded in, however I soon realised it was futile. I soon fell into the deadly trap, hoping it would soon end. However it didn’t stop! She carried on, pushing herself even further. Strike after strike came as she furiously concentrated her hits on my chest and shoulder areas. After the final prod, she twisted her body around to finish the attack. Using all of her strength she unleashed a destructive open palm punch, which literally sent me flying into a tree. I crashed into the tree, splitting it open and sending torrents of sap and splinters in all directions. My body ached with pain all over… and I knew it was about to get worse. I forced myself to stand to my feet as I locked eyes with an extremely tired Xiuying. She panted profusely catching her breath. It appeared her attack had taken it’s toll on her to. I slowly stood to my feet, hoping the aftermath of the attack would be kept to a minimum. My hoping was in vain as I felt my muscles cramp into unbelievable pain. I hollered in pain as I stood frozen.
“You bitch!!! I’ll kill you for what you’ve done to me! I’ll fucking KILL YOU!!” I screamed, attempting to move forward, causing my to spasm in pain. The Great Elder laughed softly as she drew more air into her body.
“Is… that… so?” she replied smirking, still sucking in air into her worthless so-to-be carcass. I was furious. She had managed to HURT me. She had managed to penetrate my “impenetrable” field! I roared in anger and frustration. I couldn’t move, and when I did pain shot all over my body.
“… Stop your whining… I’ll finish the attack as soon as I’ve caught my breath…” she chuckled.
“What do you mean? There is MORE?!” I shouted as my body spasms became more violent.
“The Touch Of The Lotus’s final strike causes your body to completely shut down. Every muscle, every nerve goes “offline” so to speak. You’ll still be conscious, however, you will be in a worse state than you are now…” she replied grinning to herself as I saw her body tense. My god… was this going to be the end of me?!
Xiuying’s arms became outstretched as she charged towards me. I struggled to move. I HAD to do something! Just as it appeared my end… Xiuying slowed down and eventually stopped. Confusion washed over my mind… then utter delight filled my body. The old hag HAD also suffered from the attack. She fell to one knee panting away. She didn’t have enough strength to finish the job.
“DAMN! … It appears I pushed my body too far…” she said quietly, spitting each word out.
“HOWEVER…” she replied smiling. “YOU are still incapacitated! I’ll just finish you with another attack!“
“Oh really? I don’t think you have the strength to muster anything!”
“Says you! You cant even move!” she replied, struggling to stand up. As those words passed through her lips, my right arm broke free of the invisible grip. My legs soon gained their feeling back as I began to sluggishly move. I forced myself to undo the damage her attack had created. However, my left arm still couldn’t budge no matter how hard I tried. Never mind, I could still fight. Xiuying looked slightly concerned, but still retained that idiotic smile.
“Well… it appears we are each at a disadvantage. I cannot fight to my full potential… and neither can you.” she replied optimistically.
“That may be true, but this battle is FAR from over you old bitch!”
I then wondered. Could I perform my energy sphere attack with just ONE hand? [ - Soundtrack - ]
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Post by Lieutenant Kei-teh Kintaru on Jul 31, 2005 15:13:29 GMT -5
Saburo charged towards me with an ungodly look of insanity plaguing his body. What the hell happened to him? He wasn’t the same Saburo I knew all those years ago. I refused to believe it.
Saburo’s katana came crashing down above me. I narrowly blocked and parried his blade just in time. I couldn’t believe that this WAS Saburo in front of me. I began to struggle to attack. He was my brother. As he swung he sword around, countering my parry, Saburo began to furiously slashed at me. The dagger that he had driven into my shoulder was slowing me down, but I still managed to stand my ground, acting defensively. After clashing blades with him one more time, Saburo leapt backwards and began to speak.
“WHY AREN’T YOU ATTACKING ME?! YOU COWARD!” he growled at me, demanding an answer.
“… Because… You’re my brother Saburo. I wont hurt my brother…” I replied calmly.
“YOU IDIOTIC BASTARD!!! You will get NO sympathy from me! Your weakness makes you even MORE pathetic!” he retaliated in anger. “Have you not forgotten that I helped MURDER everyone in the village?!”
He struck a nerve with that sentence. He helped MURDER my family… our family. That crime alone was punishable with death. But as I convinced myself of this, Saburo’s insane look disappeared. He looked confused and dazed temporally, as if he was trying to convince himself. What the hell was wrong with this man?
“Saburo!! I refuse to believe it!” I shouted, taking me stand again. Saburo’s desperate look disappeared, as if he had been slapped, as an evil smile licked across his face.
“Your SO naïve BROTHER! I KILLED numerous amounts of Kintaru without even a second’s thought! Do you hear me?! I killed them in a heartbeat! BUT you survived! I SWORE I would kill ALL Kintaru… and I WILL kill you Kei-teh! DO YOU HEAR ME?!” my brother screamed, rushing towards me with a vicious onslaught. His attack was too fast. I blocked the first couple of hits before a stray stab sliced across the top of my shoulder. Warm blood trickled down my left arm as Saburo backed off again. I grabbed at my wound and briefly inspected it. It wasn’t deep, but it stung like hell. Saburo’s hysterical laughter began to kick in as he licked the traces of blood that coated his blade.
“How sweet your blood tastes brother!” he chuckled. “Isn’t this all fun?! I’ll skin you alive and use your own blood to cook what’s left of you!” he continued, his eyes widening with delight. My brother was beyond any form of sanity. He mind was completely consumed with macabre and obscene thoughts of death. Such a mad man needed to be stopped. But… he was my brother. I was conflicted with duel emotions. On one hand he was my brother, someone I once cared for before his assumed death. On the other… he was clearly a sick man with murderous intent for ALL Kintaru. I just didn’t know what to do.
“What’s the matter brother?! Still holding back?” he said, surprising me. He knew how to read people… and I was an open book of emotions. Each page was full of descriptive notes that reflected my emotions. However, I had learnt to bottle them… suppress them. Yet, he knew how to read them!
“Well that’s entirely fine! You just keep holding back and allow me to SLOWLY claim your life!” he said bitterly, spitting out each word as if he tasted something foul.
“…And what then?” I replied quietly.
“WHAT?! What do you mean “what then?”” he growled.
“…What will you do when all Kintaru are dead?”
“…” Saburo struggled to think of a reply. His eyes began to twitch as a disgusted look caked his face.
“..I..” Saburo soon looked desperate… he looked as if he wanted to cry. His expressions kept flickering between sorrow and anger. It was as if his mind kept contradicting with what had been programmed into his subconscious. What HAD Ren done to this poor man?
“Saburo… it’s ok… Let your emotions go… What did Ren do to you?” I said in a soothing tone, taking a few steps towards my brother. A tear rolled down his cheek as his eyes flickered mentally. Then his expression turned back into that insanely evil look.
“OH FUCK OFF KEI-TEH! YOU turned your back on me YEARS ago! I wont fall into your hateful trap again! I wont… I…I.. I WONT YOU PATHETIC MAGGOT!” he began to violently scream. He fell to his knees, half screaming and half laughing. He began to pound the floor with his fists as his katana dropped to his side. I kept my distance from him. I just didn’t know what to expect from this fit of insanity. He then thrust himself onto his back and began to roll around on the floor, as if in great pain. He ended his rolling, landing his back. He then desperately began clawing at his face and neck, his eyes darting around wildly like that of dieing wild stock. His nails dug into his face and throat, making small scratches that began to blood profusely. As he began to deeply dig his nail around his right eye, he suddenly stopped. His eyes relaxed and his facial expression changed into a small humorous smile. He buried his hands into his face as he began to burst out into hysterical laughing. He rose to his feet laughing, leaving his sword on the floor temporarily. His pleasant face then began to creep over to that familiar look of insanity as his laughing continued. I crept forward towards Saburo slowly, watching him as he hid the right side of his body out of my view. Without any warning, he produced a pistol and fired it. I was sent back reeling as everything faded to black. As I fell out of consciousness, I heard several more rounds being fired as Saburo’s insane laugh echoed through the membrane of my mind.
He was no longer the Saburo I once knew…
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Post by Dr. Jessica Saturina on Jul 31, 2005 16:18:53 GMT -5
Saburo and Kintaru continued to shout at each other angrily. Something Kintrau said to Saburo made him suddenly scream like a mad man and fall to his knees. He was rolling around on the ground acting like an animal that has gone mad. Once his animalistic screams came to a stop, he buried his head into his hands as if his head hurt. It was almost as if something was stabbing at his brain and he was trying to stop it. While his head was still buried in his hands he began to laugh. A laugh that would have sent chills down the spine of the devils worst demons. He stood up suddenly still laughing like a mad man. He faced Kintaru.
Suddenly without warning Saburo pulled out a gun from under his cloak. Still cackling like an insane clown, he aimed it in Kintarus direction and shot off a round. I couldn’t tell where Kei-teh had been hit. I watched him fall to the ground. I started to go to him; Victor’s strong hand gripped my arm keeping me from moving forward. Things seemed to move in slow motion. Saburo turned on Victor and me. Still laughing insanely, he started shooting. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the inevitable pain that would tear through my body. I heard the shots, but did not feel anything. Something wasn’t right. I slowly opened my eyes to see Victor standing in front of me, blood pouring from various parts of his body. I felt like I was paralyzed, the sight of this man that had only known me a brief moment in time, giving his life for mine was almost too much for me to comprehend. As he fell to the ground I heard him gasp out his last words. “Run Jessica”
I looked up at Saburo again just in time to see him pointing his pistol at me. He tried to fire it again, but the gun was empty. He stopped his insane laughter and looked at the gun like it was his enemy. I took this opportunity to dash off into the woods. I felt bad leaving Kintaru behind but I had no choice. Saburo was after me and I was running for my life.
I ran as fast as I could, dodging in and out of the bushes and trees that were part of the thickly over grown forest. I could hear Saburo chasing after me, screaming wildly, slicing up the bushes and trees as he followed close behind. I came to a ditch that was over grown with brush, I figured I could hide there and he wouldn’t find me because of the thick cover. I dove in under all the over growth. I lay still, controlling my breathing so he couldn’t hear me. I closed my eyes and prayed he wouldn’t find me. It was quiet, too quiet. I wondered where he was, I couldn’t hear him anymore. Just as that thought passed through my mind, the deafening sound of a steal blade sliced past my face. I looked up, it was him, and he had found me. I was looking into the eyes of the devil himself. The only thing I could think of when he raised his sword another time, laughing that evil insane laugh of his, to bring it down over my neck, was about him, I would never see him again, and that made me very sad. This moment seemed frozen in time as I waited for the death blow. It didn’t come. I suddenly heard metal clanking against metal. I looked up to see Kintaru blocking Saburos blade. Kintaru was alive, and he was there to save me. Kintaru violently kicked Saburo so that it threw him away from me. He stood there bravely ready to continue his fight with Saburo.
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Post by Captain Benjamin Maxwell on Aug 1, 2005 9:19:39 GMT -5
The final remnants of Alpha and Bravo lances were piling aboard the Liberty as the Ghost Bear salvage convoy ground to a halt on the tarmac of the Puerto Valacia spaceport. A Legionnaire Longinus approached our rig, challenging our proximity to the DropShip, but with some explaining, coupled with a fair amount of credential-waving, we were permitted to pass, and we drove up the vessel's gantry into the secondary 'Mech bay, where technicians swarmed the crippled BattleMech strapped to the truck's bed.
I eased out of the cab to find Star Captain Bekker already overseeing the unloading of the vehicle.
"I don't know how you do that," I mused over the din of the bay's cranes, as I approached the Clanner, who arched an eyebrow inquisitively at the remark.
“Manage to be in the right place, at the right time. I didn’t even see you disembark your ‘Mech.”
Bekker chuckled.
“With all due respect, Captain – there are many things you cannot understand about the Clans unless you are trueborn. ‘Being in the right place at the right time’ is only one of many learned behaviors that become second nature during sibko conditioning. In the Inner Sphere, the technique is often disregarded as ‘luck’ or ‘fate.’ But this is hardly the case. Witness how many times you and I have crossed paths at exactly the right moment – and how often your seemingly-random contracts have placed you exactly where you needed to be – when you needed to be there. I believe you have a finer intuition than even you realize.”
He had a point. As always.
“Fate…intuition…luck…whatever the case – it has landed me in debt to you once again. And I intend to repay you in full. What’s your price?”
Bekker allowed himself a smile.
“You owe me nothing, Captain. I am honor-bound.”
I gave a dubious stare.
”However…if you insist…there is a BattleMech in your inventory which I believe would be a most potent device in the right hands…”
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Post by Wedge Lourde on Aug 1, 2005 9:33:36 GMT -5
I walked directly behind the Captain, began a conversation with a Loginus medical battle Armor.
"Wwww.... Where is... T... Taylor...? Did you fff find him?"
Just then, a beautiful figre walked a building, then approached?
"Commander... Wayne?" I called, cupping my hands.
She approached me, then began.
"Yes, Wedge. It is you."
"Remember... how I told you those stories about my mother dying...?"
"Yes, I do. What is it?"
"They were lies... she... she leaded the WoB pigs... in today's battle. She tried to get me to join her."
"It is sad, but look me in the eye. Don't ever trust those freebirth dogs. They lie, and never fufill promises. I must go now. Don't ever forget that, Mr. Wedge Lourde. Goodbye."
"But wait, how do I..."
She dissapeared down the ramp behind buildings. I siged, then approached Captain Maxwell, who was conversing with another... face that I knew.
"Captain Maxwell. Wedge reporting for duty. Do you have any tasks in mind untill Dust Off?"
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Post by Star Captain Killian Bekker on Aug 1, 2005 12:19:48 GMT -5
You owe me nothing, Captain. I am honor-bound.
Captain Maxwell stared dubiously. I could tell that he wasn't going to let this pass so easily and for that was one of the reasons he was an excellent commander. He had a lot of honor for a freebirth. Trothkin or not.
However…if you insist…there is a BattleMech in your inventory which I believe would be a most potent device in the right hands…
Well, many of our BattleMechs are back home on Sheratan. Do you intend to return with us to retrieve this BattleMech should I choose to part with it?
Yes, and it would appear you would not have the cargo space to transport some of the other salvage we wish to trade with you.
Indeed. I assume that we will be making the Jump back together as well?
Of course Captain, it would not make much sense to do otherwise. Don't you agree?
One never assumes anything Star Captain.
We were mildly interrupted when someone handed the Captain some sort of datapad. Captain Maxwell furrowed his brow and had a look of concern wash over his face.
Something the matter Captain?
Two members of my crew are not present or accounted for...
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Post by Captain Benjamin Maxwell on Aug 1, 2005 12:42:59 GMT -5
"Captain Maxwell. Wedge reporting for duty. Do you have any tasks in mind untill Dust Off?"
As Wedge spoke, he pressed a datapad displaying a manifest into my hand. I glanced at it, and concern washed over me as I noted two names, highlighted in red, that were marked 'M.I.A.'
"Something the matter, Captain?"
I glanced up from the roster.
“Two members of my crew are not present or accounted for...” I replied. “MechWarrior Kintaru, and Doctor Saturina. They haven’t checked in since they split off from Alpha lance. We can’t locate their transponders, either.”
As the last words left my mouth, a huge crash of thunder echoed through the DropShip, as rain began to pour down in torrents. The night sky was lit up with bolts of lightning heralding the arrival of a summer storm.
”We still have scout assets deployed throughout Puerto Valacia – if you would like, I can send out an all-points bulletin and request that a search effort be put into motion.”
I turned to Wedge.
“MechWarrior – I need you to get with Yeoman Hobson – you and he will need to use the ship’s sensors to perform every sweep you can think of – try to find Kintaru’s Hackman – and notify The Reach that we’re missing two crewmembers. See if they can advise anything.”
I frowned, and looked at my wrist chronometer. Our window for departure was fast approaching – violating the time limit set forth in our contract could be costly to both our payment and, potentially, our health. I locked eyes with Bekker.
“We’ve got forty-five minutes until we’re supposed to be off this rock. I’d appreciate any help you could give us.”
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Nicholas Schuster
Regular
DECEASED
"Blakists are like a virus. And WE are the cure."
Posts: 139
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Post by Nicholas Schuster on Aug 1, 2005 13:47:08 GMT -5
I stormed into the Liberty’s main bunkroom – eyes locked straight ahead, not acknowledging or even seeing anyone else. Throwing my footlocker open, I tossed my gear into it, and shrugged off my flightsuit and underclothes as I grabbed a towel, and headed for the showers. I made my way into the communal showering area, and twisted the spigot, sending hot water cascading from the high-mounted nozzle. As the hot water poured down around me, my mind kept churning scenes of the mission over and over in my head, and I began to obsess about the slightest details, trying to figure out what went wrong. I began to feel my mind slowly eroding away. I was scared that I was headed for a breakdown.
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Post by General Archdale Ren on Aug 1, 2005 15:03:13 GMT -5
Thunder sounded loudly above our heads as the final moments of our battle was about to be played out. Who would be the victor? Did I really need to answer that question? I laughed to myself gently. Although I was in great pain I still managed to find the humour in this situation. She had NO idea what it was like to be on the receiving end of my energy sphere. My limping left arm reminded me of the possible dangers in performing the manoeuvre. Dr Faulkner HAD instructed me to only perform the energy sphere attack with both hands. Two hands were needed to contain the power from “over spilling” out of the aura coating that entrapped the pure energy. However, desperate times called for desperate measures. I didn’t want to kill her, but her determination and her fighting skills were beyond anything I had anticipated. Perhaps if the suit was at 100% capacity… I shook the thought out of my head. I could have beaten her at 50%, 25%, 15%! It didn’t matter, I just completely misread the situation. Her skills were above what I had predicted, and credit was due towards that fact. However, I bet her skills wouldn’t stop my special attack!
“OK Ms Zimming. I’m through with playing games!” I shouted, shaking my right fist at her, causing my left arm to jiggle like jelly on a plate, irritating me further more.
“Do you THINK you can withstand EVERYTHING I throw at you?!” I shouted in an attempt to aggravate the old bitch.
“I don’t think Mr Ren… I KNOW… What ever made you think a member of The Reach knew differently?” she chuckled, winching slightly at the pain her body had taken from her outstanding attack. I smiled to myself.
“This isn’t over! I’m not through yet! Get ready…” I growled, opening my right hand and producing a flat palm that laid face up. Xiuying raised an eyebrow and took a steady stance. The silly bitch was just about to have her medicine force fed into that festering verbal hole. I began to stabilise the field that danced around me and forced power into my hand. The electrodes in the air began to spark into life and fly towards my palm. As I looked up for a brief second, I noticed Xiuying keeping that same calm stance. She’d soon be smiling on the other side of her face in a moment. I then began to concentrate on the task at hand. As soon as the field manipulated the air around me, causing heat waves to dance off my body, a small golf ball sized energy sphere slowly developed. Excellent! I knew the suit could do this without BOTH of my hands controlling it. I gathered more energy into the small ball and used the field to shaped it into a sphere. No problems so far.
“How pretty! I thought this was a fight, not a circus show?! You glowing freak!” Xiuying shouted. Her words were drowned out by my concentration as the ball grew larger and larger.
That’s right you bitch, keep on talking… Soon you’ll be eating your words I thought to myself, before concentrating my efforts into the growing ball. Before I knew it, I had reached critical levels and had formed a perfect energy sphere. The soccer sized energy sphere floated happily an inch above my palm, causing me to laugh in excitement. This was excellent! I then began to reduce the field around the sphere.
“ALRIGHT XIUYING! YOUR TIME IS UP! FEEL MY WRATH!!!” I screamed as I drew the ball backwards, preparing to launch the attack. This was it!
A crackle of lightening shot across the sky, signalling minuet droplets of water to fall from the sky. How fitting. The weather reflected the outcome of the battle. Like the thousands of droplets of rain that fell from the heavens, Xiuying was going to drop like a lead balloon after this! The rain landed inches above my suit and frazzled into steam. As the rain increased I realised something was wrong. The suit was beginning to short circuit! The aura around my body became unstable. The field that wrapped around the energy sphere split open, allowing pure energy to spill from the blue goblet. Like an unstable mass of sculpting clay on a spinning moulding plate, the spinning energy sphere began to spin out of control, changing shape as it did. I furiously tried to contain the power by counter spinning the ball. Soon the sphere grew to enormous sizes, it’s shape taking on something only thought to have been witnessed in a modern art museum. In a last ditch effort I threw the energy… thing at Xiuying. But my last ditch effort became my down fall. As soon as the mass of pure energy left my hand, it exploded sending me flying backwards. Luckily the AZPES suit managed to protect me from the explosion before disappearing. As I fell backwards I felt cold, horrible rain TOUCH ME… I felt grass and mud… TOUCH ME. My god, the rain had caused the field to die!!!
I slowly stood to my feet with Xiuying’s laughter filling my ears.
“I didn’t even have to raise a finger! You managed to defeat yourself! My GOD boy are you a spastic?!” she cackled with delight. I was infuriated. I was embarrassed. I was soaking wet and in great pain. I was… defeated.
“Saburo! This is Omega-1... I’m calling… a RETREAT…” I said, grinding my teeth as I the final words passed through my lips.
“Come to my position…”
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