North American News Report:

Talon forces have been mobilized to escort one of their ambassadors into Gazere territory. The Talon hope to negotiate the use of an oil rig within Gazere territory. This would give the Talon the oil reserves they need to begin preparations to launch supplies into orbit which will be used to build the Talon's first orbital station.

Reports of Kuth scouting parties have come from the southern boarder, leading to the deployment of extra Talon patrols. Fear of the Kuth's intentions leads many to believe that there will soon be a confrontation.

In other news, Talon ambassadors made their long overdue journey into Catalyst territory escorted by armed guards renewing the treaties and assuring peace would continue between the two nations. Catalyst goods are expected to be arriving by weeks end after not having been shipped for nearly a month.

The EDF has had its own trouble with the Kuth, having had a few direct confrontations in which the Kuth was found in EDF territory. No battles have occurred this far, but it is expected to happen soon.

The EDF has also begun moving into Gazere territory, taking a more forceful approach to the oil demand. It is rumored that they will be deploying a heavy assault force to take the north western oil rigs. The Gazere have yet to respond to the invasion.

Thaddeus Gaunt was a man of action, faith, and honor. What he wasn't was a a man of patience. Patrol duty wasn't his ideal duty, but it was a duty nonetheless and he accepted it as a soldier just as a priest accepts their ordination. They were to play the role of both guardians to ambassadors talking to the backwards Gazere and the role of hunters. The prey today were the barbarians of the south, also known as the Kruth. To describe them as heathens would be far too much of an understatement to Thaddeus. Of course any nation that did not follow god as fanatically as Talon were considered heathens to Thaddeus, but the Kruth and the Caralyst were especially the most heretical. Afterall, both factions incorporated alien technology. God made man in his own image, and thus ANY incorporation of alien technology was heresy to the perfect world god had created for man. The aliens to him were demons sent to test the faith of man. Humanity passed, but now most of man was now corrupted, the Talon being the last stronghold of true purity.

Thaddeus continued on with the patrol along with his squad of soldiers. He hoped, nay PRAYED that there would be an engagement to prove their strength bestowed upon them by god. Meanwhile he relegated himself to pilot his machine while reciting one of the countless passages of faith he memorized on his own time.

"...for there is no true concept of right or wrong to the lord almighty. God is not a man, woman, child, elder nor being. God simply is, and it is hubris to believe that man, being weak of both mind and body to think we can understand the mechanisms of the universe it created. There is no real emotional states such as happy, sad or angry, it is only what man as imperfect beings perceive when the lord wills to communicate with them. Free will exist only because the God wills it. And if it chooses, God can will it away"

Finally Thaddeus Gaunt's patience drew thinner and thinner until eventually he stopped his mech from walking and turned on the microphone function that could be heard from miles around. Normally the function would only be used at lower volumes to communicate battle plans if commonly used radio jammers were in effect or if radio silence was needed. He cranked up the volume at full blast and shouted into the mike:

"I tire of this game of cat and mouse! If there are any heathen dogs who would wish to be shown the shortest path to the glory of god, then appear and we shall be your guiding light! Come to your baptism of fire!"

He waited for any response that would or would not come.

There was soon a response, though first from the Talon forces who followed Thaddeus. One of the grunts piloting a simple sword and shield unit spoke over the comm system directly to the entire squad. "Colonel! There across the river."

The river in this area marked the boarder between the two nations, and on the other side stood a massive machine built of dark metal with red runes glowing all over. All Kuth machines were bulky, but this one was excessively so. This marked it as some form of heavy unit, possibly artillery by the single massive cannon in the machine's back. It stood on two legs and had two arms, a humanoid type.

The Kuth pilot remained silent, well in his right to be where he was. He did not attempt to cross the river, only watching the Talon scouting party. One thing the grunt pointed out, was that cannon was aimed directly at Thaddeus, ready to fire at any moment. But it didn't fire, only prepared to defend the boarder if it needed to.

"Colonel, call for you from Admiral Jameson." The Admiral contacted the mech which held the communication equipment, and as a result was able to be linked to Thaddeus. "Thaddeus my child, as a man of good faith I have an opportunity for you to prove yourself before the eyes of God. The negotiations with the Gazere have finished, and in return for use of their oil rigs they request that we help to defend their lands from the EDF incursions on their northern boarder. I leave the decision to you Colonel. Stay there obj adding the pack of dogs from jumping the fence, or test your metal in the scorching deserts alongside the Gazere and show them the might of God's men."

While the message went through, the Kuth machine backed away into the darkness, the runic symbols giving it away for a time before they too faded away.

Thaddeus relished any opportunity to show the Kruth heretics what the judgment of god held for them, but there were more pressing matters. He addressed the Admiral with stern conviction.

"Sir, if it be with the blessing of god and your permission I will assist the Gazere in defending against the EDF apostates! We will ensure that the weak Gazere are not exterminated in their own homes as well as beat back the Sodom of old. I will make haste to headquarters to grasp quick transport to my new duty. May the eyes of the lord and the inquisition fall upon us! Colonel Gaunt out" Thaddeus then abruptly cut communications and started to rush to headquarters. If he was a wise man he would of waited for the admiral to finish addressing him, but he wasn't a wise man. He was an impulsive one and that impulsiveness would never allow him to advance further in his military career.

He felt a mix of anger and joy. Anger at EDF for being the representation of the corruption of man before the arrival of the demons, as well as joy for being given another chance to strike at this unholy abomination once again. He saw EDF as the perfect symbolism of the folly of man and the attempts of man to revive them as simply heretical. EDF was doomed to fall both from the will of god and the mistakes of the people within the EDF, for none may suceed without the blessings of the creator. The world was changed from the baptism the Lord gave upon the Earth, washing away much of the filth that plagued humanity. Now it was the duty of the Talon to continue God's work and scrub away the last of the remnants of Sodom.

After arriving at HQ, Thaddeus of course chanted gratitude to God for allowing him safe travel and then requested transportation to where he would be needed.

Transports were coming and going from the base sending troops and their machines to the soon to be battlefield. They brought Thaddeus aboard the ship that would take him to his post, his machine being loaded on a separate transport. Aboard the transport some of the rookies talked amongst themselves about what was to come.

"You hear why we're being sent in? Last I heard invading Gazere territory was a suicide mission. They may seem like savages but I've heard stories about their machines... They'd be deadly no matter where they were, but out in the desert they are undefeated! But if that were true, why do they need our help?"

"I heard the EDF has deployed a few moving fortresses. The Gazere don't have the firepower to take them down. I've heard the stories about their machines too, but one thing we know for certain is that there aren't very many of them. And they are based around speed and agility anyways, they don't use artillery. Doubt they'd even get close to the EDF without us. Of course, they'd have to stop their fortresses before the mountains, but they'd have taken a good chunk of land by then."

"What of the Catalyst get involved? I mean, they're our allies too aren't they? And they're on good terms with the Gazere. Seems like they'd be helping too."

"The Catalyst don't like to fight. I say it's a good thing. They may be lost in their ways but at least they aren't killing us over it. I'd say if anyone's worthy of salvation it would be them. They'd have to change their ways, but they aren't really bad, just lost I think."

"I guess. They're a long shot better than the damned Kuth that's for sure. Those barbarians wouldn't know God's will if it smacked them in the nose."

"Hey that's not true. We have shown them God's wrath many times before! They sure as hell knew what hit them!"

This caused a few of the grunts to laugh in agreement at their past victories against the Kuth.

25th Mechanized Battalion "Stray Dogs"

"This is Gunrat section, we're on deck."
"Topshelf section, on deck."
"Wolf section, standing by command."
"Lion section, standing by command."
"This is Sky Eye flight, holding in orbit position."

"Command section registering all callsigns, grid is up. Listen up all callsigns, this is a hostile zone. Weapons hot, keep your eyes peeled for any hostiles. Especially artillery. Command wants Fortress Patton in one piece when we hit the target zone." Helena Greywind ordered within the confines of her mech, letting Ivanhoe run on auto-walk as she assessed her troop of mechs and attached mechanized infantry and tanks.They were an advance element screening the way ahead of the moving fortress Patton, a heavy mobile battleship that would greatly dissuade any local raiders from attacking. At least, that was what Command hoped for.

Shifting back into direct pilot control mode, Helena looked down to see her mechanized feet were properly locked into the foot pedals before sending Ivanhoe into a low jog, her escorts falling in with her as she looked across the line of armored vehicles entering the Gazare oil fields. So far no contacts, but no telling how long that would be.

"Would someone care to remind me why the hell we are out here in our poorly air-conditioned mechs?" Helena frowned as she tapped on the secondary com-line to find out who was talking. Barker, one of the new transferres from the 107th. That man was a good pilot, but a load of trouble. Such as now.

"We need oil Barker. We got fusion, fission, and alien tech, but most of our internal economy and industry still run on oil. I don't even want to think about how much of these mechs are made of oil products. Get the oil, we get more mechs. Simple as that." And there was Kevin, a greenhorn rookie eager to prove himself, and evidently read the entire briefing memo Command had distributed. Smart kid, Helena had to admit.

"I was talking more about the air conditioning kid. We can make mechs but can't fit a decent A/C inside one of these? Fuck, I'm burning up in here."

"I'm just fine Barker, maybe you ought to get it checked back at depot."

"Maybe you need to get laid kid, if that rod up your ass doesn't get in the way. Hah ha."

"Screw you Barker."

"Maybe our commander could show you how its done? Bet that the moment you saw her recruitment poster you wanted to-"

"BARKER! Move up in your lane, could be hostiles in your sector, check it out!" Ordered Captain Riggs, saving Helena the effort of clamping down on the disobedient pilot as Barker lazily acknowledged the order and lumbered ahead.

This was going to be a long deployment, Helena grumbled as she switched channels to the air force above the row of mechs to listen into their observations of the area ahead. There ought to be some kind of response from the locals by now, so where were they?

The pilots above the EDF forces called out what they could see, which wasn't much. "Clear for miles... Nothing but sand and rock out there." A gunship floated overhead before moving to one of he distant oil rigs. "Looks like they saw us coming and got the hell out of dodge. I swear it's like hearing cattle."

"Hey watch yourself man, don't jinx us. These Gazere guys are supposed to use animal mechs. Could be buried under the sand. Could even have some kind of sand shark mech ready to jump out at any moment." The pilot spoke with the obvious joking tone to his voice, trying to sound as if he were really warning them.

"I heard they come from nowhere. One second it's all clear as far as the eye can see, the next your machine's being torn apart. You know they fight with claws made of vibro-blades. They can slice through the thickest armor like paper." This pilot sounded more serious, and the rumors were well known to the EDF. This was Gazere land, they couldn't forget that.

"Hear that armor squads? Shoot the bastards before they get near you. You'll be fine then."

Suddenly one of the mechs stopped cold, rifle raising and aiming to the side. "See that? Could have sworn..." He was aiming at the air and the emptiness beyond.

"Hear rising causes ripples in the air. Calm down rookie. This heat'll make you see things. Make damn sure you know what you're looking at. That's how they'll get the jump on you. This heat distorts the light and can make them practically invisible. Here's hoping they don't have stealth mechs on top of that huh?" The pilot laughed as he continued to scan the area.

To hear casual conversation was alien to Thaddeus. Most of his time was spent either speaking in verse or silently praying, but that wasn't to say he couldn't relate to his fellow soldiers. Instead he chose not to. Too many times he tried to create fire forged bonds within the eyes of god, but too many times did those bonds shatter when the pull towards heaven was great. Of course he was happy when his allies died, they joined the grace of god!

Still at this occasion it showed a marked shift from the perspective of what god was. When he was growing up he was taught that god was vengeful and would bring his righteous fury to all sinners. Now in this modern age there was signs of change. Instead of vengeance, this god brought forgiveness. Instead of fury, he brought redemption. Thaddeus of course disagreed with this. How could a being that could perceive all times all at the same time ever have any sympathy for lesser beings? Still he wrestled with the idea that perhaps maybe, just maybe to assume that a supreme being couldn't have the ability to relate to her creation was in itself hubris. Thaddeus struggled more and more about reconciling his ideas of god to the modern view of god with each passing day. He didn't wish to, but he knew one day he'd have to balance fire and brimstone with flowers and love. But for now he'd have to ready these grunts for combat. He doubted many of them had been in a full engagement and he doubted even more that most of them would survive.

"Hear me and listen! What we are to embark on is a mission from god. The EDF are a blight upon this Earth, the remnants of the Sodom of old! They are beyond redemption, each and every single one of their soldiers is worthy of only one gift from god, and that is to be purged. When we meet them upon the battlefield remember that we are given only one sacrament, that thou shalt kill. Your children pray to you only one thing, to kill the EDF! Your mothers and fathers pray for only one thing, to kill the EDF! Forgiveness can only be given to those who seek salvation, and that salvation is not ours to give. Let us show them the path to god! Let us purify their sin through fire and fury! Let us teach them not to kneel in the presence of god, but instead to lie face down in the sand and bleed in the presence of god! Now who will join me in this great crusade of purification?!"

Many of the soldiers cheered, likely out of their own pride in their own abilities rather than their faith in God. Not many of these men knew what they were walking into. A scorching desert where savage tribesmen ruled, sure everyone knew that. But the EDF were a powerful foe. They didn't match the strength they once had, but they were still a threat, and a full invasion force meant they had most of their forces moving in, while the Talon were only deploying support squads. After all, they were asked for artillery and heavy weapons support, not a full scale defensive operation.

A buzzing sound suddenly echoed through the transport and lights flashed all over. "Got a fighter on our tail, doesn't match EDF or Gazere. Looks like a south fighter."

A black fighter with red glowing symbols trailed the transport, but didn't attack. It was well into Gazere territory, where it had no right to be. But the transport was defenseless and couldn't really do anything about that. "Support is on the way, let's hope they stick to their passive aggressive tendencies we have seen these last few months."

Sure enough, the fighter just followed the transport for a while before breaking off. It had the ability to shoot down the transport, and even circle back and kill any survivors, but for some reason the Kuth had been avoiding conflict the last few months. Of course, they still got close to their enemy, such as the scout Thaddeus met on the boarder. It was as if they were watching closely, but not truly interacting with the Talon.

It wasn't long before two Talon fighters flew in to escort the transport, another three breaking off to search the area. The Kuth fighter however was long gone.

Thaddeus suspected that the Kruth were preparing for something. It was unlikely the Godless Kruth would turn their swords into plowshares, an invasion was more likely. But it was not his place to predict the future. God was what laid out the path, and his commanders were the ones who were to read the parchments of things to unfold. His duty was to kill those who stood up to God's light.

A few hours later the transport finally got to the rendezvous point. The blistering sunlight made a few of the rookies recoil from the sudden brightness, but Thaddeus was unaffected as were a few other veterans that were on the transport. All of God's creations were beautiful, it was man that corrupted and besmirched it. Oceans were polluted, verdant forests were chopped down, plains were littered with the corpses of the dead because of man. The sun was perhaps the one thing that man did not defile yet, and for that Thaddeus was thankful.

He looked around the camp they landed on and saw Gazere and Talon alike intermingling, some discussing battle plans, some helping each other unload mechs that were coming in, and others simply chatting and showing interest in the other's culture. Colonel Gaunt hated seeing the humanity in other nations. It was simply much easier to see every other nation as Godless heathens instead of actual people with their own struggles and lives. It made killing them much easier when they were faceless pilots in machines of war. Thaddeus made no effort in knowing his Gazere comrades, for he was confident in a few years time they would be making war with each other to continue the purification of the unclean. Thaddeus saw a Gazere soldier, perhaps a lieutenant pass by and she asked him a question.

"You there! Where can I find the commander of this encampment?"

The Gazere man looked at Thaddeus for a moment as if questioning who he was, but finally simply answered. "Gazere General Ashob and Talon General Bishop are with the commanders in the large tent just over there." He pointed in the direction of a larger tent towering over the rest, inside which the two Generals were mixing their strategies together with the commanders, just making sure their tactics would intertwine well with each other.

"Sir, we don't need the help of the Catalyst! We can handle this fight ourselves!" One of the commanders yelled out to be heard by all.

"I understand that which is why, until further notice the Catalyst are only on back up. We won't be calling on their forces unless it's absolutely necessary. The main concern is the Kuth sightings here in Gazere territory. If the Kuth interfere with operations here, the Catalyst are on standby to move in and deal with them. They are not being used to fend off the EDF assault directly."

Another commander called out rather jokingly. "Just like the Kuth to try and get some kills from the sidelines. They've been running from direct confrontation for months now!"

"That just means they haven't lost any machines in months. We don't know what kind of forces they have ready to deploy and we aren't taking any chances of letting them take us out here. Watch your backs and your fronts. God be with you."

The Gazere commander said something in their native language before crossing both arms over his chest and bowing. The Gazere commanders returned the bow. "Get all machines ready to move, we head out once the Catalyst representative arrives." The commanders stood, saluted and went about their business in the tent, communicating with their squads as well as the Captains on overwatch patrol.

In truth there really was no reason for Thaddeus to ascertain where the commanders where meeting up. After all he wasn't at a proper rank to really create battle plans. Anytime he was of higher rank his major weakness of no tactical thinking would inevitably leak through. One man can only do so much. Engagements can be won by one man, but wars require the full unison of a military. A true leader can both smash skulls in the name of the lord as well as lead their legions to victory. Thaddeus had might, but not the mind to really value the life of the individual. And thus a vicious cycle of being promoted due to his combat prowess and being demoted because of his high casualty rates started. They couldn't have him in a high position and they couldn't let him be discharged. Colonel suited Thaddeus just fine. But it did create a rather large problem. Thaddeus Gaunt had no squad to actually lead.

Squads around him had the nasty habit of dying, both the enemy's and his on. It was both a blessing and a curse for Thaddeus. It was a blessing because it forced him to propel himself to new heights of achievements for his God, and it was a curse because he never really created lasting bonds with his squad mates. Generals grew wise to this and would often assign him to squads filled with greenhorns to save valuable veterans. Of course this increased his squad casualty rates even more due to the inexperience of his comrades. He could go into battle with no squad, but a matyr without any sense is no really matyr at all. He stepped up to General Bishop and waited to speak with him after those of higher rank were done with him. After asking permission to speak he started his plead.

"Sir, I am Colonel Thaddeus Gaunt. I was asked by Admiral Jameson to assist our Gazere allies to secure the area and prevent the EDF incursion. Unfortunately I have no troops to call squad mates. If it be by your blessing General BIshop, I request to join and perhaps lead one of the squads that will see combat"

General Bishop had every right to say no. If he did say no, then he'd have to ask what his duties would be during his stay during this defensive campaign.

The General looked Thaddeus over for a minute as if sizing him up."you're Gaunt hm? They say you get soldiers killed under your command." He raises his hand to the entrance to the tent. "Walk with me will you?"

The General crossed his arms behind his back as he lead on. "I hear whispers about you gaunt. People are afraid to be put in your squad. They say your leadership gets people killed. I was the one who contacted the Admiral and requested you be brought out here. See, I have a different theory. I believe that you haven't had the chance to work with the right squad. The people you have lead weren't cut out for your brute force tactics. They all wanted to hide in cover and were afraid of getting shot at. That's my theory at least."

He stopped outside a mech transport ship, one unloading Thaddeus' machine. "We got some new machines, experimental. Quick, strong, agile, everything they need to be. We got some damn good pilots in them too, and I think that pair should be just what you need. Cutting edge hardware and top of the line pilots. You may be used to getting stuck with rookies, and I think that's the problem. We'll see how you do with a real squad."

He cleared his throat as Thaddeus's machine was set on the ground, and behind it a very strange machine was being pulled out. "Here's the catch... These pilots are expendable. The admirals wouldn't allow me to give you the best we have, so they gave you these guys. Don't get me wrong, they're damn good at what they do... They're just, well..."

He sighed as a group of three pilots walked out, their uniforms giving away their ranks of nothing more than grunts. "The higher ups absolutely will not allow them to move up in the ranks. They're too bold, and take too many risks." He grinned looking over to Gaunt. "They're afraid they have three more of you on their hands. They won't be trouble for you I don't think. It's the last one you have to watch out for."

He nodded to the transport as a woman walked out. She looked like a ghost with Snow White hair halfway down her back, pale white skin, and pale blue eyes. She couldn't be anything but a catalyst, obviously converted to the ways of God now calling herself Talon. "Maria Vestes. Freshly converted and still learning our ways but, a veteran pilot of the Catalyst."

"It's up to you Gaunt. Ride with them or ride alone, that's the only way the higher ups will have it. They are afraid of getting more men killed under you, but these four are expendable until they prove themselves.

Colonel Gaunt listened to the General with silent attention while following him. He didn't disagree with anything General Bishop stated expect that perhaps the General gave him too much credit. He did not lose men because of the fault of the men, but rather Thaddeus believed he lost men due to his own failings. In his vision, it was not the fault of his comrades at arms that they themselves did not have the same level of zeal for the Lord as he did. A servant is always willing to admit his own misdeeds, and the misdeeds of his own was that he was no leader. Thaddeus saw himself as a tool of god, and nothing more. A tool is to be used and discarded when the time came. A tool did not care if others cared for it. And a tool did not think for itself. Still he showed respect to Bishop with his silence. Then he saw the General's plan. Anger set in.

More specifically anger that he would be fighting alongside a Catalyst. Faith is not learned, it is given! This above all was what set Thaddeus away from the modern view of god as forgiving and loving. To him only those born and raised under the gaze of the Lord could truly be the redeemers of humanity, the purifiers of God's wayward creation. And naturally only the Talon had their citizens raised under these conditions. This Catalyst, this Maria Vestes was simply UNWORTHY of being a holy warrior.

"Sir if I may be frank, why are we allowing that Catalyst woman", Thaddeus said as he pointed towards the woman, "to even BE in the presence of those who hand down the Judgement of God?! She should be in one of the re-education camps praying away the Catalyst filth within herself under the watchful eyes of the inquisition! You know better than anyone else that the Catalyst are a hideous insult to God's image to man. A Gazere, a Steel Hawk, and maybe even an EDF would be more worthy of salvation than her!"

He waited for the General's reply. If he was to be expelled from the squad before even been given command of it, then so be it. It would be more preferable than fighting alongside a Catalyst. Still, if he wasn't expelled he would accept his post in the squad he decided. What he really wanted was the General's opinion on it, and in effect his view of god.

The General listened silently, fully aware of Gaunt's feelings about the Catalyst. When he finished, the Teneral thought for a moment.

"The Catalyst are not so bad. The worst they have done is take. The alien technology for their own purposes. If you think about it, we have done the very same in the past. From taking a man's rifle to hijacking a mech, it's a rather normal battle strategy. And it is not always used against the one who you took it from. The Catalyst are, above all else, pure. You may see them as tainted and corrupted, but I don't know a more pure people. I speak of course of a different purity than is held by men of god."

He watched Maria as she followed the unloading of her machine before starting tests on it. "They are loyal, peaceful, he'll if nothing else you have to give them credit for being so damned clean about everything. The greatest sin beyond heresy is murder. Killing in the name of God is righteous and just, but to kill outside of God's will is a heresy in its own right. Life is sacred, and the Catalyst view life as much the same. And this one has chosen to accept The Lord into her life. So tell me Gaunt, what wrong is left in her? You do not choose your parents. You only choose your actions in life, and this one has chosen a life in the eyes of God. She's new to it all, but she'll be one of us someday Gaunt. Give her a chance. If not her heritage at least respect her will to fight in the name of lord Lord.

What the general said was logical and sound to Thaddeus. True, the Catlyst were heathens but they were peaceful heathens who spent their days scheming instead of taking action. But the one point of contention Thaddeus had with Bishop's argument was that while children did not choose their parents, God chose the parents for children. And yet this contradicted his view that humans did have free will, that they could walk freely along the many pathways to god. Thaddeus created more logic to contradict his own earlier logic. He would have to take time to digest what the General said into his own worldview, but for now his anger subsided. While some hate still remained, most of it would be directed to his soon to be squad mates.

"I can not find fault in your words, General. While I must be honest and tell you that I will not enjoy fighting alongside her, I will tolerate her. Truly God's light penetrates even the darkest of veils upon the mind. May the eyes of the Lord and the inquisition fall upon us!"

With that Thaddeus left the side of the General without permission to be dismissed to meet his new squad mates, yet another rather rash action to a superior. Thaddeus was eager to see what his squad was really like. If what the general was saying was true, he expected bold soldiers with enough zeal and fury to match his own. Though there was always the chance he was wrong, for only God was truly infallible. Boldness could come from many things including strong faith, emotional arousal, or even overindulgence of a vice of an alcoholic nature. He went up to the three grunts while the Catalyst was performing test on her mech. Perhaps subconsciously it was to avoid contact with her for as long as possible. He crossed his arms and addressed the grunts of his new squad.

"I am Colonel Thaddeus Gaunt and my callsign is Chaplain 1. I am to be assigned to this squad. Under the watchful gaze of God, all I want to know is your callsigns. Or at least I assume all of you have already been given callsigns" he said with a stern tone without any hint of actually wanting to create a connection with them. If every single member of this squad was considered expandable, then their survival rate was already projected to be rather poor. It'd be best not to get too close.

The rookies stood up straight one next to the other and saluted. They spoke loudly, but refrained from yelling. The way in which they addressed Thaddeus showed potential experience, and their voices showed they were confidant in themselves. They sounded off one at a time from left to right.

"Sir! Wolf, Fourleg Squad!"

"Sir! Tiger, Fourleg Squad!"

"Sir! Panther, Fourleg Squad!"

They stomped their boots on the ground at the same time, holding their salutes. Custom call signs AND a custom squad name. These guys had been around for a while, and it showed in how thorough they were with protocol. For the Colonel's reputation, the grunts didn't all that concerned about possibly being sent to their deaths. Behind them, their machines were being unloaded and matched their squad name.

The first belonging to Panther matched his name, a black panther styled mech with a massive long range rifle on it's back.

The second belonging to wolf was a gray wolf mech with a double barreled medium range cannon on the back.

The third was a Tiger, clearly belonging to Tiger. This machine was gold and black and had missile batteries mounted in the back.

Each of these machines had vibro-claws for melee combat, and the joints and air filtration systems were clearly advanced. These machines weren't unloaded normally, rather they walked themselves off. Normally the Gazere were the ones who used beast mechs, but these seemed to be a joint effort.

Each and every machine had Talon symbols all over them, and they each has in big bold letters "With the might of God's creatures we bring his wrath." They surely didn't lack in Talon pride, or faith.

"I see the badges of Grunts, and yet what I see before me is men who have already shed blood in the name of the Lord Almighty. Good" Thaddeus stated. He was happy not to be saddled with new meat, but that also came with the fact that from what he heard these were hot blooded men ready to break off formation to prove their strength for God. But who was he to criticize?

"At ease everyone" with that statement the men stopped their salute and faced him directly. Some stood as they were while saluting while others started to lean on a box that was filled with supplies directly behind them. Thaddeus addressed Panther, the man who was at the far right.

"Tell me Panther, what is our duty as proud soldiers of Talon?" Thaddeus said in usual serious manner.

"To serve the will of God" Panther said in a calm tone. Panther stared directly into the Colonel's eyes, unafraid of anything this executioner of men would throw at him. Which was actually quite an impressive feat considering the sun was directly facing Panther's face.

"A fine answer, Panther" Thaddeus stated. The rest seemed to agree with him and that was enough of a test of faith for Thaddeus. Colonel Gaunt took his attention to the mechs that the pilots used in their duty that were directly in front of him. Thaddeus never really hated Gazere mechs, so as much as he simply found them to be a curiosity. If God made man in his own image, why choose to base your weapons on a weaker form? Gazere mechs at least weren't the unholy hybrid abomination of human and alien design, such as the Catalyst and the Kruth war machines. Thaddeus spoke to the men again.

"I will ask all of you two questions and I expect honesty for fear of God's retribution for dishonesty. What is your opinions on assisting the Gazere and what is your opinions on that Catalyst woman who is a part of this squad?"

"Man we talked about that the whole ride here sir." Panther spoke for the group as they seemed to have already worked out their feelings with one another I the Gazere. "We're helping them because they got what we need, oil. Without oil our work would come to an end and the faithless would run rampant. If it weren't for the oil, we'd be letting them die to the EDF. Everyone knows they don't need the amount of oil they have, so selling it off for our help is the same as ransom if you ask me. You can't put a price on what God created, it's not right. The Lord put it there for all mankind to have in a time when ll were faithful. For these Godless heathens to come along and tell us we have to do what they say to get it, just not right. But it's less trouble than an all out war with them and the Admirals say it's the best thing so we can't argue with that."

To the second question the three looked over their shoulders at the woman before Panther went on. "We fought with her a few times. The quick version? Cold and scary. I mean, out here there's people who don't care if you live or die just as long as you do your job. But her? He'll I don't know what she cares about. She'll follow order but she don't give a damn about you or me, and sure as he'll don't care what you think of her."

Wold finished the answer. "Tell you one thing though, either that machine is way more advanced than they let on or she's one hell of a pilot. Wouldn't want to go against that thing one on one. I mean a skilled pilot could take it down I'm sure, but she definitely has some kind of advantage."

The words that Panther had for the Gazere somewhat unsettled Thaddeus. While much of it was true, it was rather blunt to say that God meant for the resources of Earth to fall upon the needs of faithful That was simply pure hubris. The Lord help he who helped himself, to expect more without any of your own action was unreasonable. The Gazere were people also, a fact that Thaddeus hated to acknowledge, with their own needs. If they helped themselves, then the Lord helped them. Perhaps in the end Talon was the form of aid the Lord was sending to the Gazere.

"I expect you all to treat our allies with respe-" Thaddeus then paused. He was commanding his squad to treat their friends with respect, but at the same time he intended to simply ignore the Catalyst. That was simply hypocritical of him, and he knew it. After a few strange looks from the other members of the Fourleg Squad, he continued.

"As I was saying, I expect you all to acknowledge our allies' call for aid. The enemy of our enemy is also our friend. As for that Catalyst woman...if she cares not for us, then she may expect the same in kind. Now under the watchful gaze of our Lord, go about the needed checks and test of your weapons of God. Idle hands are the Devil's playthings" the three men then went about their business.

The heat was finally getting to Thaddeus. The sun was peering down upon them like the angels of old, and sweat started to drip down his face. But still he needed to meet with this Catalyst woman, and he couldn't very well show her any signs of weakness. And so he elected to stand around and wait for her to finish her own testing, so that he could perform testing of his own upon her.