19 km outside of Porter
Alterrra, Novo Franklin
0902hrs, 22 January 3081
“What the fuck!” Cole Watson screamed out as wind turbine four of the six on his farm exploded in a hail of shrapnel. He had been standing on the porch of his homestead, here in the farmlands outside of Porter when it exploded. The turbine provided power for his property and the excess was channeled into the local grid. It had been a good set up for him and his family, earning him a small stipend over and above what he earned with the farm.
The turbines were not new, but all had passed an inspection a week ago and to have one blow up was not something that should have happened… As he started off his porch to go to his truck in order to run out there, Cole saw a blue ball of energy slam into turbine five. Turning to look in the direction of where the shot came from, he stopped dead in his tracks.
Coming out of the forest at the edge of his property stepped a full lance of battlemechs. Clad in the uniform green of some house unit, the oncoming war machines targeted the rest of his wind turbines and destroyed them all. The war machines then turned towards the storage barns and began to target those…
“Great balls of Jehovian Fire!” Cole cursed and ran for the defensive bunker around the back of his home. “Jenny!! Grab Junior and get to the shelter!” he screamed as he got to the outer door. His wife was inside the house and should already be grabbing his son before heading down into the shelter. The underground safehouse had been used a few times since he and his family had moved in here a few years back, mostly as a storm shelter as the windstorms here sometimes got way vicious.
Today though, it would be serving as what they had been designed for- shelter against bandits.
It had been a long time since he had to use it against bandits but at least he had one. The Kingsley’s didn’t and he hoped they had somewhere to run. It occurred to him as he entered his shelter that these machines didn’t look like pirates- too uniform in colors… which made him wonder what the hell was going on.
Rome, Alterra
Novo Franklin
1502hrs, 22 January 3081
Duchess Marcia Beadry dismissed the messenger and turned to her advisors. “Can the Militia handle these raiders?” she asked the collected individuals. “The report is some advanced battlemechs out there… and I am concerned we might not be able to stop them. Whoever them are…”
The military advisor, Lord General Montez, looked up from the documents before him at the table. “My lady, I don’t know…” he said. “Our machines are not exactly high end, but they have managed before. They will manage again, I’m sure…. Between them and our tanks, we will find these pirates and deal with them. The question is will our rivals allow us?”
The minister for intelligence and foreign affairs, Lady Anna Grace, looked at Montez then at Beadry. “M’lady, my department has no indicators that Arawyn or Barran will interfere. I’ve reports they have been attacked too by these raiders. That they haven’t blamed us is a minor miracle. Arawyn’s Ambassador has informed me that his kingdom is sending some of its battlemechs to the border, but he emphasized they were not crossing the border if they can avoid it. They don’t want a fight with us right now when their area is under threat.”
Beadry closed her eyes and sighed. “That’s a small favor… Nothing from Barran?”
“Nothing unexpected, m’lady. Barran’s ambassador has not stated any of their forces will be in the area, but he did say they reserve the right of pursuit if they come into their land and leave….” Grace replied.
“Hmph. Typical non-committal…” The duchess replied. “I should think they won’t be opportunist, considering everyone seems to be getting hit but I may be delusional in that.” She turned to her minister of defense. “Montez, how bad is the damage in Porter?”
Montez shook his head. “M’lady, reports indicate that Porter is destroyed; all buildings have been rendered un-inhabitable or are no longer standing. Unknown how many lives lost there are,” At the intake of breath from one of the other ministers at the table, he continued. “Militia recon units reported the attackers fell back in the direction of Arawyn village of Phelps in the tri-border area…”
“Then I hope Barran has something that can deal with them…” She said. “Montez, have some of our army follow the path of destruction. Make sure they don’t cross the border unless the Barran forces are engaged with them. Perhaps we can win a favor or two from them if our forces can help deal with these raiders…”
Another messenger arrived with a note for Lady Grace. She read it quickly and then looked at the Duchess. “M’lady… I have just received word on a possible identity for these attackers,” She said with a frown. “They sport the colors of that Federated Suns-aligned mercenary group partially responsible for their border, the Phoenix Lancers.”
“What?”
“Ma’am… I will try to get verification on this but my information comes from one of my better agents,” She said. “Once I know more, of course…”
Beadry nodded. “Fast as you can, Anna.” She said. “If it is sponsored by the Federated Suns, this is going to force me into alignment with the Alliance alongside the others. Arawyn is not so bad- King Kimbal is at least reasonable… but any deal with Barran and Emperor Gilwing makes me want to check my purse to see if it’s still there.”
Tri-border Area of Alterra, Arawyn and Barran
Near the border town of Phelps, Arawyn
0615 hours 23 January
The mech lance of the Travance Baronial Guard, Kingdom of Arawyn halted near the village. The lead machine, a converted Enforcer EMF-4R with a Light Barrel Class 10 in place of its old Federated autocannon, scanned the area before it and after a minute, was joined by an ancient Gladiator GLD-4R.
On the right flank, a newer but still old Wolverine WVR-6R moved forward and faced to the right of the advance. It too scanned the area before it, looking for movement indicating the presence of enemy forces. Behind it stood a fairly modern Griffin GRF-1NR, a refit of the Succession War platform but armed with a new Extended Range Particle Cannon and double heat sinks, acquired some ten years ago in a chance purchase by the Kingdom.
Behind the quartet of machines was a Crusader CRD-3L, a jump capable version of the venerable sixty-five-ton machine. It served as a covering fire machine if they became engaged against the pirates they were looking for. A veteran pilot, the warrior within had a bad feeling about this patrol and had mentioned his misgivings to the Wolverine pilot, the commander of the lance.
The misgivings were shared but the lance commander assured him and the rest of the lance that this would be a simple patrol. “I don’t expect anything super serious, Morgan. They’re likely just pirates looking for an easy mark…”
That statement did little to settle the veteran but he wasn’t in charge… and events would prove he was very correct in his misgivings…
From the left side of their formation, threat sensors lit up as the Gladiator was painted by a targeting laser. “CONTACT!!” the pilot roared over the lance communication network as a flight of long range missiles arced out of the far wood line towards him and slammed home into his mech.
From out of the wood line, a Jenner IIC in dark green raced forward, its arm launchers seeking a target while a Shadow Hawk and pair of Enforcers in the same colors showed themselves and began firing while a Commando raced for the Guard’s backfield. A lone Super Locust moved back from the edge of the village while firing its medium laser in their direction.
Behind them all, a Thunderbolt flattened a tree as it showed itself, its large laser tracking…
The battle was now joined….
Free City of Centerport
Located on the Arawyn-Barran border
1920hrs 24 January 3081
The Centerport City Guard was out in force this night as reports arrived from various places throughout Novo Franklin, reports containing nothing good in them. And with those reports, powerful people began to gather.
Over the last twenty-four hours, various towns in the three kingdoms that shared this continent had been destroyed by a raiding battlemech force. Other places also reported attacks by heavy battlemechs and in each report, it was reported the force possessed far more potent equipment than any of the nation-states on the world had.
As such, ambassadors and leaders of all the entities that called themselves nations had started to gather here in the Treaty City to discuss, accuse and or debate what was happening… and what was to be done about it.
Representatives from the eleven nations who were signatories to the Simon Accords ( a treaty worked out to try and promote discussion over bloodshed) were here to discuss things… and perhaps work on a solution….
Each of the factions brought forces with them, usually a squad or if a ruler a platoon of infantry. Each group’s troops tended to remain apart from each other but not this night. Indeed, the groups with each leader actually reported to the head of the Centerport Guard and offered to bolster it.
When asked, the squad leader of the Free Isle of Jaquay replied “if this was normal pirates, we would let the mainlanders hang. These are not acting as such… and the High Blade is scared.”
It was a sentiment of all the small places that came here… and for the first time in a long time, the big Three seemed to be talking to each other instead of at. The same went for their combat forces, at least the ones with their leadership here.
The head of the Centerpoint Guard didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth and immediately started bolstering city reaction teams and the wall guards. His force was infantry heavy but well armed… but they were equipped for local fighting and short range whereas the other nations troops were a mix. He was going to use that….
**
Inside the meeting area, the voices of the various leaders rose and fell with whomever was speaking and there was much finger-pointing. Most of it initially was at the Empire of Barran who was known to be expansionist… and brutal in their methods.
Accusations against Barran died off when they revealed the destruction of one of their villages with almost ninety percent casualties. In the process, they managed to severely damage what they say was a Zeus assault machine and they reported other assault class machines present.
They didn’t state how much of their army was damaged, but the inference was it wasn’t pretty.
Arawyn reported the battle by the Travance province’s Baronial Guard and the damage their force took, providing gun-cam footage to support the report. Overall, they had not suffered too much as their counterparts… but it was felt the Baronal force intercepting them had prevented catastrophe.
Alterra reported the destruction of Porter and numerous infrastructure sites that plunged a portion of their kingdom into loss of power. Several of the smaller nations that bordered Alterra offered to help them fix the damage to their power sites. Most of the smaller countries had not been affected by the raiders but they knew if the larger places got hammered, they might be next.
Duchess Beadry, who was the current head of Council stood after about an hour of discussions between the various heads of state here, stood up and waited. “Gentlemen and Ladies…” She said when their attention was focused on her, “It is clear we are faced against something that is bigger than any one of us. Individually, we cannot stand against such a force as reported… but if we band together, perhaps we can.”
“Collectively, I think we can hold them off… and long enough to send for help,” She paused. “I propose two things…. That we send for assistance from Micandros; they are unaligned as are we but possessing more appropriate assets for combating battlemechs. And the second is create joint reaction forces… that can face off against a raiding force of this type. Perhaps even bring these brigands to justice. We have all fought pirates…. These are different and require a different response.”
The leader of Barran, Hera Ogrefist, then stood up. “The Empire of Barran supports both notions. Our forces are still strong but will take time to re-organize. And I am not so proud to turn away help. Especially when it is clear its needed.”
Beadry looked around the table. “Voice Vote…. We can settle specific later….” She said. “But its enough to get started.”
Over the next ten minutes, votes were taken, and initial arrangements were made. With the threat to them all, a change was coming to the politically fractured world of Novo Franklin. Notes were traded and new contacts made.
It would take a week after the raiders departed for them to be identified. When they were, a message was to be sent to the nearest Federated Suns system about the attacks… and requesting reasons for the punitive raid.
Musings of a Gamer 