AndyC

Godzilla: YATAGARASU

Thinking of either a member of some "kaiju clean-up" infantry squad, or a Maser tank commander because Maser tanks are great.

Monsterverse The United Series RP?

There's another interest check for a Godzilla/Monsterverse game here; it might be good to team up with this one.

Godzilla: YATAGARASU, a kaiju fighting RP interest check and signups!

I'm interested. I'm a big G-fan, so getting a good Godzilla RP going would be pretty great.

When playing as human characters, in addition to the really big kaiju, having some small fries to fight on human scale. Stuff like the Meganula, the Kamacuras, the smaller Destoroyah larvae, etc. An anti-monster team can cut their teeth on those kind of monsters before working their way up to fighting Godzilla, Ghidorah, etc.

Mechwarrior: Disposable Heroes

I N T E R L U D E

Wolozcyn Memorial Square
Yuzhny Portveyn
March 25th, 3030
0931 Hours

"Keep formation, damn you!" Captain Chung-Hee Choi shouted into his comms over the deafening thunder of the battle. "They're trying to get us to scatter! Stay in formation, and we'll-- Hammer Six, GET BACK IN LINE!!!"

The assault on Yuzhny Portveyn had been a comedy of errors. Since the raid by Gawain's Green Knights on their supply convoy to the north, the Third Armored Division had been running dangerously short on fuel and ammo, not to mention food and water. Espian Guards had resorted to looting civilian grocery stores and restaurants for their next meal, even breaking into residential areas and forcing civilians to surrender their food. But Grand General Malenkov demanded his 'big push' to root out the last of Governor Xiu's holdouts, so Captain Choi and the other tank commanders of the Third had organized into a massive column for the next big offensive rush.

"Sir, there's too many of them!" came the panicked cry of Hammer Six. "They have us surrounded!"

"They have pop-guns and hand grenades, you idiot!" Choi snarled. "You're in a damned tank!"

The Xiu loyalists were former Espian Guards themselves, the ones who had chosen not to back Federov and Malenkov in the coup. To their credit, they fought well enough, but were massively outnumbered, and most of them had fallen back to the Putski Sports Complex for what appeared to be their last stand. Choi's column should have pushed ahead to the Sports Complex and rolled the last of the loyalists up neatly, were it not for the fact that they had found new allies.

"Tangos spotted!" interrupted Hammer Four. "10 o'clock high, in the office block! Looks like one has a shoulder-mounted SRM lau--"

Hammer Four's call was cut off by a loud burst as the Scorpion Light Tank was struck in the turret by a missile. The warhead itself shouldn't have been enough to penetrate the tank's armor, but when struck from above, the angle was enough to cause horrific armor spalling. The inner layers of the Scorpion's cheaply-made armor could splinter off and become deadly shrapnel, potentially shredding the very crewmen it was supposed to protect.

"Hammer Four, respond!" Choi shouted from the command chair of his much larger Manticore. "Hammer Four, this is Hammer One, respond! Dammit!"

The 'Free People's Army,' as they called themselves, had infiltrated Yuzhny Portveyn before the NPDRE could effectively cordon off the city, and their partisan fighters had been making life far more difficult. While they had no loyalty to Governor Xiu, they had apparently decided that the enemy of their enemy was their friend, and had been harassing the Guards at every turn.

"Target the source of that SRM!" Choi ordered to the Manticore's gunner. "Rotate to 112.3....elevate by 26.6-- no, 26.7....fire!"

With an ear-splitting thundercrack, the Manticore's Particle Projector Cannon spit forth a cerulean arc of man-made lightning, smashing into the office block and obliterating most of the building's sixth and seventh floors. Choi scowled, knowing that the PPC would have likely vaporized any guerillas in its path, but also knowing there was a good chance they'd already fled. While the PPC was a devastating anti-'Mech weapon, focusing its energy on a single point made it less effective against infantry.

"Hammer Two, Hammer Three," he barked into his comms to the pair of Scorpions behind his tank, "Concentrate fire on that building. Bring it down!"

"Yes sir!" came the response, and the two smaller tanks began to pelt the building with fire from their autocannons and machine guns. While far less powerful than the Manticore's PPC, the blasts and shrapnel from the cannons, and the streams of lead from the machine guns, were better suited for anti-personnel work.

As the Scorpions blasted large chunks of the building away, a swarm of six or seven smaller vehicles swerved from around a corner, skidding wildly across the shattered pavement.

These were technicals, civilian pickup trucks with plates of armor and machine guns bolted onto them. A staple of militia and partisan forces since before the days of space travel, technicals were typically fairly useless against armored vehicles, but fantastic for causing disruption and sowing chaos.

"More enemies inbound!" cried a panicked Hammer Three, turning the Scorpion's turret to fire at the trucks, as their bullets pinged ineffectually off of the tank's armor.

"Focus, damn it!" Choi roared. "Those technicals can't even hurt us! They're just trying to distract us from--"

As the half-dozen trucks swerved in and around the column tanks, another, much larger truck roared around the corner. This one looked like it had been converted from a dump truck, its bed crammed with barrels and crates, and warheads visibly mounted to its front and sides.

"What the hell...?" Choi muttered. "Hammer Lance, we have a suicide bomber on the field! Redirect your fire, target the big truck! Ignore the small ones!"

"ENEMY 'MECHS, SIR! 'MECHS INBOUND!"

Captain Choi's blood ran cold as the rhythmic thumping of gigantic mechanized footfalls rose among the din of battle.

Sure enough, following behind the technicals were three massive humanoid shapes. It was hard to determine their models among the huge clouds of smoke and dust the battle had kicked up, but as they approached, he saw what appeared to be fearsome weaponry on their arms.

One of them had hands that ended in what appeared to be huge snapping jaws.

Another had the unmistakable shape of a chainsaw at the end of its arm.

The third had a long jutting appendage sticking out from its left shoulder, probably the barrel of a huge cannon.

"RETREAT!" Hammer Six's commander shouted over open comms. "THEY'RE GOING TO TEAR US APART! RETREEEEEAT!!!!"

"NO, YOU FOOLS!" Choi screamed. "Keep fighting! In formation, we can defeat them! Do not retreat, I repeat, DO NOT RETREAT!"

By then, however, the panic had spread like wildfire throughout the column, and the Scorpion tanks began to scatter, fleeing in all directions. Hammer Two plowed blindly into the very same building they had just been shooting at, getting stuck in the rubble. Hammer Three backed up into the smoking hull of Hammer Four, its treads climbing halfway up the other tank's side before losing traction. Hammer Five and Six were nowhere to be found by the time the three Mechs cleared through the smoke.

His Manticore now the only remaining tank in the formation, Choi saw the forces that had scattered his column, and he screamed with frustration and rage.

Construction Mechs.

The huge snapping jaws were shovels on the arms of a Carbine Excavator Mech. The terrifying chainsaw was a logging saw of a Lumberjack. And what looked like the barrel of a cannon on the third was actually the crane of a Loader King. Yes, they had been retrofitted with rocket launchers, a few lasers, maybe a small cannon or two, but they were ramshackle contraptions, not full-on Battlemechs.

Choi's blood boiled. This was a farce, an embarrassment. The Third Armored Division was "People's Hammer," according to Grand General Malenkov. They were the righteous vengeance of the New Democratic People's Republic of Espia. And they were fleeing in terror from construction equipment.

The three converted IndustrialMechs lumbered into the square turning away from Choi's lone Manticore, and began pursuing the technicals down the street. The Loader King actually began to open fire, a flight of rockets sailing over the top of the large truck in the middle of the technical swarm.

As Choi fumed, he idly found himself wondering why the partisans were shooting at each other.

Weren't they all supposed to be on the same side?

---

Frances J. Hwang High School
Makeshift Headquarters of the Free People's Army
Yuzhny Portveyn
March 25th, 3030
0933 Hours

Even several kilometers from the fighting, the rumbles and thumps of explosions could still be heard and felt in the dark and crowded hallways of the repurposed school. The Free People's Army had spent several days converting the building as best they could, reinforcing walls, boarding up windows, creating chokepoints in the halls and outside in the surrounding streets, so that taking the school by force would be a daunting task. Even so, a well-placed air strike could obliterate them all, if the Espian Guards knew where to look.

In the administrative offices, three figures looked over a map of the city, while listening in to the comms chatter.

"Just received word from our advance squad," reported Captain Ryan Taggert. "The Guards are falling back from Memorial Square, and the loyalists are rallying around the Sports Complex. At the moment, the situation looks good."

A young man still in his mid twenties, Taggert was a former Espian Guard, but a patriot more to the people than to the regime. He had despised Governor Xiu, but mistrusted Federov and Malenkov as well, and went AWOL in the weeks leading up to the coup. Since then, the Captain had been instrumental in helping identify the weaknesses in the Espian Guards' methods.

"Indeed it does," remarked Commander Suraj Patel, "but we must be not celebrate our victory before it is won. The Guards gave up the Square because they were surprised and panicked. When they regain their nerves, they may well remember they have us outgunned."

Patel was a gifted military strategist, owing from his time in the Free Worlds League Military. He seldom ever talked about his past, but those who knew him knew that he had come to Espia some fifteen years ago, after having fought in the Marik Civil War. The fact that he had fought on the losing side had given him a pessimistic outlook, but he still believed in the cause.

"Then we won't let them regain their nerves!" replied Councilor Maria Kang. "We have to keep them disoriented, so they don't see how stretched out we are! Make them panic, make them see us everywhere they turn! If we keep them off balance, eventually we can topple them!"

A high-ranking member of the Council before the coup, Kang was an outspoken critic of Governor Xiu even during the Capellan occupation, having rallied for Espia's independence for years. She was one of the first people Premier Federov attempted to have rounded up and shipped off to Fort Tie Shan, but by the time he had established his power base, she had already gone underground.

"Easier said than done," Patel scoffed. "That last round of air strikes came dangerously close to us! The next time Kwan's bombers make a pass, we may not be so lucky."

"Two squads from the South Nui Awa cell have managed to acquire a few field guns from the Guards," Taggert said. "We can smuggle them piecemeal into the city within the next two days, assemble them on-site, and load them with flak rounds. That should buy us some protection from the sky."

"It's a start," Patel mused. "Assuming they don't get stopped at an NPDRE checkpoint."

"Shouldn't be an issue," Taggert dismissed the concern. "Enough of the Guards are willing to look the other way for the right amount of C-Bills."

"Nice to have stupid enemies and rich friends," Kang grinned. "Speaking of friends, have we gotten anywhere with our guest in the teacher's lounge?"

In the immediate aftermath of the coup, the FPA cell in Balya Gora had picked up a civilian, a teenager who claimed to be connected to the mercenaries that had worked for Governor Xiu. Gawain's Green Knights had been driven into hiding by the arrival of the Crimson Fists, but the boy said he knew how to get into contact with them. None of the FPA were particularly thrilled about working with the same mercs who had been Xiu's enforcers, but they were potentially a huge force multiplier, and had plenty of reasons to hate the NPDRE.

They had brought the boy along to Yuzhny Portveyn, keeping him under observation. Rather than keep him in a holding cell, they had hoped the teacher's lounge would be a bit more comfortable, thus making the boy a bit more amenable to cooperate.

"We're still working on it," Commander Patel answered. "Right now he's a lot of big promises, but no actionable information. If he really can get us the Green Knights, so much the better. If not..."

"Have some faith, friend," Councilor Kang reassured him. "We just need to--"

"Attention, attention, all units!" the voice of a young woman came over open comms. "This is Firebrand One, Firebrand Lance is in pursuit of technicals from the Heavenly Sword! Repeat, Heavenly Sword units are in the city! They're heading for the Sports Complex! They have a bomb truck inbound!"

The conversation between the three FPA leaders was stopped dead. They looked at each other, and knew that their plans had all just been dashed.

”We’ve got to stop that truck,” Captain Ryan stated the obvious.

”Or we can kiss Xiu and our loyalist allies goodbye,” muttered Patel.

"Firebrand One, this is Liberty Actual," said Kang into the radio’s microphone. ”Destroy that truck before it can reach the target! Don’t let it get away!”

"Liberty Actual, it’s out of our range!” came the response. "Our Mechs are too slow—it’s breaking away!”

“Is there anything we’ve got in the area that can intercept?”

“Doesn’t look like it.”

“Maybe the loyalists around the Complex can stop it.”

“…and if they don’t?”

Councilor Kang’s face turned grim.

”Then these fanatical bastards will have cost us the city.”

---

Putski Sports Complex
Headquarters of Governor Xiu’s Administration
Yuzhny Portveyn
March 25th, 3030
0935 Hours

“Citizens of Espia,” began Governor Xiu Ruishan, speaking into the tripod-held camera in a conference room of the Sports Complex’s admin building, “The so-called ‘Grand General’ Malenkov and his political puppet Federov are once again spreading harmful misinformation and vicious lies.”

A loud roar from outside shook the room, one of the enemy jets flying overhead. This was accompanied by an angry buzzing from the autocannons of a defending Partisan anti-aircraft tank, filling the sky with deadly flak. Seconds later, the building shook from an explosion a few blocks away.

The pair of Partisans around the Sports Complex had effectively kept aircraft from the Espian Guard from getting close enough to land a precision air strike, so the enemy planes had to rely on releasing their bombs from altitude and hoping for the best. Still, with each pass, the Guard fighters got a bit braver, their bombs came a bit closer, and the Partisans ammunition stores were a bit emptier.

Governor Xiu visibly flinched before regaining his composure. “As I was saying, Malenkov has told you his thugs would march into Yuzhny Portveyn and crush us under their heel, but the rightful government of Espia remains resolute! As their discipline collapses, I stand strong, ready as ever to serve the people whom I dearly love.”

Even Xiu knew this was a farcical statement. Long before the coup, before the Capellans had abandoned Espia, Xiu Ruishan was immensely unpopular with the people of his world. They had seen him as little more than a puppet of House Liao, which wasn’t exactly untrue. He had no love for this planet or its people. He wasn’t even born on Espia, having been installed by the Capellan Confederation years before as a transfer from Sian. But he was a born politician, having been taught the ways of administration and statecraft since childhood. He understood the importance of strong leadership, and that the people needed a stalwart figure to guide them through dark times.

Xiu Ruishan was that leader, an impervious rock that would never buckle. In his own mind, at least.

“Even as we speak,” Xiu continued, “The Espian Guard is falling back, half-starved and in disarray, thanks to the incompetence of their leaders, the corruption of their staff, and the cowardice of their soldiery. The only power they wield is intimidation, and when put to the test, they wither like dried leaves and scatter on the wind. Malenkov can bluster all he wants, but in the end, the true leaders of Espia will restore order, justice, and peace!”

As if on cue, a second blast shook the building, flickering the lights and causing Xiu to dive under a nearby table. As the rumble subsided, a balding Caucasian man in a sharp suit stepped up to the camera and switched it off.

“I think we’ve done quite enough damage to our own image, sir,” said Ben Kahale, one of the senior board members of the Aqua Vitae Corporation.

While the NPDRE technically held political power on Espia now, the planet’s extremely salty waters required massive desalination plants along the coastlines to pump drinking water to the public. Those desalination plants were all owned by Aqua Vitae, giving them an incredible amount of clout. Federov had pressured many board members to swear their loyalty to his regime, but Kahale was no fan of the brave new world the NPDRE had promised. He’d thrown in with Xiu and the old guard, and he had come to regret it since nearly the very beginning.

“You had no reason to cut off my broadcast,” Xiu huffed. “I was telling no lie, was I? The Espian Guards are running like fools; we can still hold out and achieve victory here! The people must know that!”

“The Espian Guard might be bumbling idiots,” Kahale said, “But Federov’s propaganda department still knows how to spin the story to their advantage. By the end of the day, half the continent will have seen you diving for cover, and everyone will have forgotten us pushing their troops out of the Memorial Square.”

Even that wasn’t entirely true—the Free People’s Army had done the heavy lifting on that. And as soon as Malenkov’s men were out of the city, there was a decent chance the FPA would turn their guns on them if Ben didn’t manage the situation carefully. Still, Xiu’s insecurities meant that the corporate mogul had to humor him here, placate him there, and attribute any successes they’d had exclusively to the Governor.

”Nonsense,” Xiu scoffed. “By the end of the day today, we will be celebrating our victory over-“

Kahale felt a buzz in his pocket, and he shushed the planetary governor with a raised finger as he pulled out his phone. "Hold that thought.”

Xiu fumed. “You dare to—“

"What do you mean it’s breached the perimeter?!” Kahale spouted to the military captain on the other end of the line. “You can still shoot it before it reaches us, right?”

Outside, the two men heard the pops and booms of gunfire, and the rumble of an approaching truck. As Xiu looked around in blank confusion, Kahale’s eyes widened.

“I said you can shoot it before it—“

There was a loud crash from a few rooms away as the outer wall of the admin building crumbled, and Xiu and Kahale heard the loud, throaty roar of a massive diesel engine.

A moment later, there was a deafening boom, and the two men were thrown end over end into oblivion.

---

PEOPLE OF ESPIA.

YOU HAVE SINNED AGAINST THE TRUE AND RIGHTFUL RULERS OF THIS WORLD.

YOU HAVE TURNED AWAY FROM THE WISDOM OF THE CELESTIAL THRONE.

FOR THAT…

…YOU ARE TO BE PUNISHED.

THIS IS WHAT REMAINS OF THE HEADQUARTERS OF GOVERNOR XIU.

OUR AGENTS HAVE STRUCK A RIGHTEOUS BLOW.

XIU WAS WEAK. HE WAS INCOMPETENT. HE BETRAYED THE CELESTIAL THRONE.

FOR THAT, GOVERNOR XIU IS DEAD.

BENJAMIN KAHALE WAS A BOARD MEMBER OF THE AQUA VITAE CORPORATION.

HE WAS A GREEDY, CORRUPT CAPITALIST WHO PROFITED FROM YOUR LABOR.

FOR THAT, BENJAMIN KAHALE IS DEAD.

CONSIDER THIS YOUR FIRST AND ONLY WARNING, PEOPLE OF ESPIA.

YOU MUST REPENT YOUR SINFUL WAYS.

THE NEW PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ESPIA IS A SHAM.

THE CRIMSON FISTS ARE AGENTS OF A FALSE REGIME.

THE FREE PEOPLE’S ARMY IS A CONGREGATION OF HERETICS.

GAWAIN’S GREEN KNIGHTS ARE CAPITALIST SELL-SWORDS.

UNTIL YOU REJECT THESE FALSE POWERS,

AND RETURN TO THE LOVING EMBRACE OF THE CELESTIAL THRONE—

—THE ETERNAL WISDOM OF HOUSE LIAO—

NONE OF YOU ARE SAFE.

FROM THIS MOMENT ON,

THE HEAVENLY SWORD WILL CUT YOU ALL DOWN.

Mechwarrior: Disposable Heroes

I N T E R L U D E

"People of Espia, our final victory is at hand!"

Raising his hand, Grand General Nikolai Malenkov cut a striking figure as he took center stage before the capital building of Balya Gora. The city square was choked with throngs of people, cheering rabidly at the General's pronouncement. Many of those cheers were indeed genuine, the people caught up in a wave of patriotic mania, a fervor and pride in their new fearless leaders that they never had for the feckless Governor Xiu or the forever-absent Capellans. Many others cheered because the heavily armed soldiers wearing Espian Guard uniforms would have them dragged away to Fort Tie Shan if they were suspected of being dissidents.

Espia had changed quickly in the week since Governor Xiu was overthrown. After the shocking hammer-blow of the initial coup, Grand General Malenkov became the face of the New People's Democratic Republic of Espia, a charismatic leader and powerful figure who commanded the attention of millions just as well as he commanded his legions of troops. Premier Hyeung-Woo Federov was technically the actual head of state, but most considered him a mere functionary, a paper-pusher who took care of the less exciting parts of establishing a new nation. Malenkov, though, was a conqueror and liberator, an inspiring hero and a terrifying warlord. He had led the charge in toppling Governor Xiu and the old guard, and had spent every day since holding show trials, struggle sessions, and public executions of anyone deemed an enemy of the people.

The people of Espia either loved him or saw him in their nightmares, and those two lines of thought were not mutually exclusive.

"As you have no doubt heard," the Grand General stated, "The proud men and women of the Espian Guard have broken through the lines of the last miserable holdouts of Governor Xiu's regime. As we speak, the 3rd Armored Division-- the People's Hammer!-- is ready to strike at the heart of the enemy. Xiu and his few remaining cronies hide behind human shields in the city of Yuzhny Portveyn, poisoning the minds of the honest citizens so that they may become radicals and insurgents. I say this now to our brothers and sisters in the south: fear not! The People's Hammer will strike the decisive blow that brings an end to this fighting once and for all!"

A cheer erupted, many in the crowd professing their love and devotion for the Grand General with a zeal that bordered on religious. Somewhere in the sea of humanity, a young man raised a glass bottle and prepared to throw it, but before Malenkov's soldiers could move in to stop him, the man was struck in the back of the head by another man in the crowd, then dragged down by three more. These men began to kick and stomp at the young man, and others joined to keep him down. The young man did not get back up.

"I solemnly vow," Malenkov bellowed, his hand to his heart, "That before this week is out, Governor Xiu will be brought here, before you, the people, to answer for his crimes! The radical terrorists who call themselves the 'Free People's Army' will be dragged through these very streets, so that they may see the true will of the Espian people! And as for Xiu's murderous sell-sword mercenaries, Gawain's Green Knights? Their cowardly attack on our supply convoy will be answered a hundred fold! The righteous fury of the Espian Guard, and the unstoppable power of the Crimson Fists, together will--"

"That's enough. Off, please."

Premier Hyeung-Woo Federov frowned as the image of the bold and bombastic Grand General flickered out, the holo-vid projector in the center of the conference table cutting off Malenkov's latest performance.

"A ridiculous man," the Premier muttered, "But the people love him and fear him well enough. Now, then, I suggest we get down to business."

Federov was the exact opposite of his 'Grand General,' a mild-mannered middle-aged man who always looked disheveled. A few strands of stringy black hair tried in vain to cover his balding head, and despite his uniform being tailor-made, it never seemed to fit him. Just a few weeks ago, he was a nobody in the Espian Senate, a middle-ranking politico who worked mostly as a go-between with the Office of Central Planning and the military. When the Capellan Confederation abandoned Espia, he had used his connections in the army and his knowledge of the inner workings of government to install himself as the new head of state.

Malenkov could posture for the cameras and chase down dissidents. Federov was interested in actually getting things done.

"Minister Fonua," he began, opening a large binder stuffed with notes and charts, "The current economic downturn will be abated once the remaining board members of the Aqua Vita Corporation turn over their assets for public use. As of now, CEO Martin Khan and Chairperson Natalya Krenkov have declared their allegiance to our administration, but have yet to surrender their assets. At least five board members, including Executive Vice President Ben Kahale, are currently in Yuzhny Portveyn with Governor Xiu. The remaining board members --including Cassandra Jeong, whose family fortune totals nearly one billion C-bills-- have chosen to remain silent. Your team was supposed to have liquidated their assets this past week. I assume there is a reason for the delay?"

"Ah, well, sir," the Minister of Finance stammered, "The Aqua Vita Corporation has threatened to cut off water supplies to the Espian Guard if we attempt to use force against them. Until the fighting in the south is done and we are free to, ah, negotiate more aggressively, they have chosen to simply, ah, ignore our requests."

"A ridiculous thing, asking for what is rightfully ours," scoffed Grigori Ilyanovich, the Minister of Justice and commander of the NPDRE's secret police. "I will send my men to these board members. Once we speak to them, they will either turn their fortunes to the state, or they will find their new residence in Fort Tie Shan. We will have no more need for these 'negotiations.'"

"Can you do it without provoking a response from the corporation?" Federov asked. As much as they would like to believe their hold on the planet was absolute, as long as the Aqua Vita Corporation held control over the massive desalination platforms that provided the planet's only drinkable water, they had leverage over the NPDRE.

Ilyanovich's scowl became a condescending sneer. "I was trained in my field by the Maskirovka. I know how to get results, sir."

"Then get it done," the Premier ordered. Federov loathed Ilyanovich, but he had to admit the man had proven effective in removing potential political threats. "Now then, onto the matter of Yuzhny Portveyn. The Third Armored Division is facing a supply shortage right before the big push, thanks to the Green Knights. General Kwan, I want to increase the number of preliminary air strikes before the fighting on the ground begins. The Third is now going to be running low on ammo and fuel, so the more you can soften up the enemy before they enter the city, the better. Will the current squadrons be satisfactory to get the job done?"

"Yes, sir," answered General Frederick Kwan, commander of the Espian Guard's air wings. "Many of our Meteor Heavy Fighters were damaged in the coup, but repairs are nearly complete. We'll have twenty-two of them ready to bombard the enemy's defenses within seventy-two hours. Civilian casualties will be within acceptable levels, no more than ten to fifteen percent."

"Ten to fifteen percent of the entire city?" Federov raised an eyebrow.

"To avoid enemy flak, we must drop our bombs from high altitude, which leaves little room for accuracy," Kwan explained. "Therefore, we must adopt a policy of 'accuracy by volume.' At any rate, the city is currently an enemy stronghold, so anyone who has chosen not to evacuate by now must be considered an enemy combatant."

The Premier nodded. Kwan had the logic of a true zealot, believing quite simply that anyone not with them must surely be against them.

"If I may make a request," Kwan continued, "the FPA fighters in Yuzhny Portveyn have surface-to-air missiles that may threaten conventional atmospheric bombers, but should pose little threat to a hypersonic aerospace craft. If we were to use our latest 'care package' from our Benefactor, we could--"

"No," Federov interrupted. "Once the Shilone and the Mech Busters are assembled and armed, they remain in the north, patrolling on high alert until the Green Knights are found."

"But sir," Kwan protested, "if we devote our best weaponry to chasing down those mercenaries, we risk losing the real war!"

"On the contrary," boomed a deep, electronically-altered voice as three figures entered the room as if on cue. "The real war is with the Green Knights. And that is a war we fully intend to win."

Striding into the room like royalty at a grand gala, three figures drew the attention of the Premier and his inner circle. Their faces concealed by masks, each looked like the villain in some grand opera.

These were the three lance leaders of the Crimson Fists, the enigmatic Mechwarriors who had helped Federov and the Espian Guards pull off their coup.

"Your fighters will do well to help us find the Green Knights, Kwan," said the figure on the left, a woman with a scarred face and a burning hatred in her eyes. "But I will have their blood myself."

The woman was known only as the "Fire Witch," the pilot of a massive Longbow. She had earned her name several times over in the coup, directing hellish missile fire over the battlefield against Xiu's loyalists and in the surprise attack against the Green Knights. While she had led a lance of light 'Mechs on her last patrol, in proper battle the Fire Witch had other long-range missile 'Mechs to turn any landscape into a raging firestorm.

"Oh-ho-hooo," teased the masked man on the right, "Methinks the Fire Witch is still smoldering. And what would be burning at you so, hmmm? Perhaps we should ask your Raven pilot what he- whoops, I forgot, he went up in smoke, hee-hee!"

The giggling man in the skull mask went by the name "Yellow Jester," and most of the Espian Guard avoided his lance like the plague whenever possible. His 'pranks' tended to be fatal to enemies and supposed allies alike, to say nothing of the civilians that got caught in the line of fire.

"Quiet, Jester!" the Fire Witch snarled, "I'll have them all in flames before this fight is done."

"Or will they have you in ashes, hmm?"

"Enough, the both of you," ordered the man in the center. Wearing a crisp military uniform draped with a deep red cape, the figure's head was encased inside a golden gladiator mask, complete with a red crest. This, then, was the commander of the Fists themselves, the man they called 'The Crimson King.' "Apologies for the crudeness of my companions, Premier. The Fire Witch still has her blood up from her encounter with the Green Knights, and the Yellow Jester can never resist an opportunity to pick fun."

The Premier regarded the three with equal parts fascination, incredulousness, and horror. The Crimson Fists played the parts of theatrical arch-villains, the type of bad-guy-of-the-week that wouldn't be out of place in an episode of Immortal Warrior. It would be laughable, if their actions on the battlefield weren't so terrifying.

"Yes, well," Federov stated, trying to keep his composure in the face of these over-the-top characters, "the supply raid the Green Knights carried out has cost us significantly. Loss of men and materiel, of course, and our timetables have been pushed back several days in a crucial moment! Your 'Fire Witch' was meant to intercept them, and instead of destroying the Knights, you lost one 'Mech and have two more in the repair bay. I...I must ask what you plan to do in the wake of this failure to--"

"Failure?" The Crimson King interrupted. "My dear Hyeung-Woo, this was a setback, but we have gained just as much as we may have lost, if not more. A week ago, our forces were stretched across the entire continent in search of Gawain's Green Knights. Now, they have made their presence known, and our search narrows to a small area. My whole company can now focus on the relative few places where they may have gone to ground. By coming out into the open, they have only tightened the noose around their own necks. I would suggest that information is quite an equitable trade for a single 'Mech and a handful of tanks."

The Crimson King reached into the pocket of his coat, and pulled out a small digital sound recorder.

"There is also the wonderful gift one of the Green Knights gave us," he said. "In the heat of battle, a message was broadcast over open comms. A message that we recorded on our BattleROM data."

He clicked the play button on the recorder, and the voice of one of the Green Knights' Mechwarriors played.

"Hahahahaha! If you guys want to be psychopaths and sociopaths, I will oblige! I will kill you all! All!"

A tinny, eerie giggle rose in the room as the Yellow Jester began to laugh.

"I trust then," said the Crimson King as he handed the Jester the recorder, "That you have been inspired to craft some new jape, my friend?"

"Ohhhh, heee-hee, I have a merry jest in mind, my king," the Yellow Jester responded, "a very merry jest indeed. But I will need a few things, if I may ask."

"And what would those be?"

"A few mere trifles, really," said the Jester. "Just my Lance of Battlemechs, the directions to the nearest undefended civilian population center, and a few tons of Inferno warheads. Oh! And of course, a few fresh coats of green paint..."

Mechwarrior: Disposable Heroes

"That's quite enough, Mechwarrior, rein it in," Colonel Wayne stated with a hard edge in his voice. "Once we're done here, we're going to need to spend some time reviewing the finer points of operational security. Furthermore, if our new friend here is telling the truth, then he was a grunt who probably wasn't informed of any sort of high-level intel regarding the FPA. If he's not telling the truth, then it stands to reason that anything else he tells us will be false."

The Colonel was already concerned about Rivers' stability after seeing the playback of his outburst in combat. By comparison, this breach of etiquette might be considered minor....if 'Hugh' here was in fact on the level. If the intruder was a spy, however, he had just handed him information that, in the wrong hands, could be used as leverage against the Green Knights.

"Now then...." Gaius said, appraising the newcomer, "You walk alone, with no weapons, no wires, no bugs, no communications equipment with the outside world, into a cave full of heavily armed and desperate mercenaries. And you tell us a story that sounds like you're trying to convince us you once caught a fish 'this big.' Which leads me to believe one of two possibilities. Either you're the worst spy I've ever seen....or you're telling the truth."

He'd of course only ever seen one actual spy, a mole who had been leaking information to the DCMS during action in the Draconis March. Her story had been airtight, her alibis flawless. Ultimately, that was what had exposed her: her stories were too perfect, too close to what the Davion officers had wanted to hear. All it took was the right amount of cynicism and paranoia to blow her cover, but by then, she had lured three 'Mech companies to their deaths.

Hugh's story, by comparison, was ridiculous, but still carried the scent of telling the Colonel what he wanted to hear. A former FPA officer willing to lend his services, someone who had the lay of the land in a way that the Espian Guards and the Crimson Fists could never hope to match, and even had his own 'Mech...even if was only a converted IndustrialMech. If this man really was who he said he was, he could prove a valuable asset to the Green Knights. If not, he could bring down disaster on them.

"You've given me a tough call to make, Hugh," the Colonel admitted. "I'm responsible for the lives of every man, woman, and child who came to Espia on my ships, both those here in the cave, and the ones we intend to get back. If I take a gamble on you and you turn out to be a mole, then I've signed their death warrants. Probably the most practical solution to this problem would be to have Sergeant Dalton lead you further down into the mine and put two rounds in the back of your head. If I do that, though, and you really are telling the truth, then all I've done is murder an honest man looking to help. The smart call, maybe, but not necessarily the right one."

He paced back and forth for a moment, considering all of his options, before he spoke again.

"Here's my decision," he declared. "I'm going to consider myself cautiously optimistic in your case, with an emphasis on cautious. We can't risk you revealing our location to the outside world, so you're staying with us. Sergeant Dalton? Until I say otherwise, I want no fewer than two sets of eyes on him at all times."

"Sir, consider it done, sir," the large imposing soldier said, his voice and his glare intoning that he would suffer no nonsense.

"And that goes both ways, Sergeant," the Colonel added. "Your boys make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, but also make sure nobody tries to do anything stupid to him."

The Sergeant nodded, no change in his icy demeanor.

"Now, the good news? We're not pirates, and you're not being Shanghaied," he continued. "When operations are concluded, you'll be free to go, or to sign on for the long haul. You do your fair share of the work? You'll get your fair share of the pay. The more valuable you make yourself, the more value you'll get once the job is done. I'm not just taking a leap of faith here, Hugh- I'm making an investment. And if I get a return on my investment, we'll all get along just fine."

Taking a step closer, Gaius looked him squarely in the eye.

"But make no mistake: if I get so much as a funny feeling that you intend to betray or harm the people under my command, I will not hesitate to kill you myself. Is that clear?"

Not waiting for a response, he turned to the rest of the Green Knights.

"As for the rest of you," he addressed his Mechwarriors, "you've all had a long day, and we've got good reason to celebrate tonight. And I'm happy to report that one of the supply crates included recreational materials for the Espian Guards. Music, holovids, even a few cases of beer. Tomorrow, we repair our 'Mechs, we refill our ammo bins, and we get ready for the next sortie. But tonight? I think you've earned a few hours of fun. Green Knights, dismissed!"

Mechwarrior: Disposable Heroes

Everyone's been putting in some great work on this game, and @Pilatus and I both wanna say thanks for sticking with us for over 100 posts. Given that most niche games fizzle out before reaching page 2, I'm really impressed and grateful that we've gotten to page 6 and are still going strong. This is legit the most fun group of players I've gotten to work with in a good long while, and again, thank you guys for dedicating your time and energy towards this hobby.

Anyway, sentimental shmaltz aside, let's get back to it!

Mechwarrior: Disposable Heroes

Arriving at the entrance, Hugh placed the Mason jar visibly at his feet then put his hands up in the air. “Hello? Anyone home?” the Espian called out. “I'm looking to buy some of this fine moonshine right here, heard you people happen to be making some.”

@Waylon

The response from the Green Knights wasn't long in coming.

Nearly as soon as the echo of Hugh's voice began to fade, a pair of flashlights shined from a hundred meters are so into the mine. Approaching the Espian man at a cautious but deliberate pace, two sentries emerged from the shadows, each with a TK Assault Rifle pointed at Hugh's center mass.

"Keep your hands where we can see 'em," one of the two soldiers ordered, then glanced over to his comrade. "Search him."

While the first soldier kept his weapon trained on Hugh, the second patted him down. The search was quick but thorough, with little regard for privacy.

"No weapons, no explosives, no wire, no tracking devices," the second sentry reported back to the first. "Looks clean to me."

"Better safe than sorry," the first one said, lowering his rifle, and producing a pair of zip-ties from the pockets on his flak jacket. "Let's keep him here for now, til the Sarge gets here."

The sentries tied Hugh's hands behind his back, and radioed the situation in.

A few tense minutes passed as the two soldiers waited, not entirely sure what to do with the intruder. While he didn't seem to pose an immediate threat, a stranger walking up to their front door was hardly something the Green Knights could afford. If one apparently random civilian knew the location of their hideout, how many more had found out? And what might they have to do to keep this newcomer from spreading the knowledge around?

The guards felt a wave of relief when they saw a second team of soldiers advancing up the mine, armed with shotguns rather than rifles. The Buckshot Boys arriving on the scene meant the Sarge wasn't far behind, and whatever hard decision had to be made here, was no longer their responsibility. Indeed, the solid, swaggering frame of Sergeant Dalton was distinct even in silhouette as the muscular old man approached.

"I don't know who you are, son," the Sarge growled, "But you've either got a hollow brain-case, or a pair of Union-Classes swingin' between your legs, to walk up and call out the--"

His eye caught the empty mason jar, and slowly, a grin crept across Dalton's face.

"Then again, maybe you've got the right idea," he said. He turned away and began to saunter back down the mine, motioning for Hugh and the Buckshot Boys to follow him. "I was told you'd like to do some business. Well, let's have us a word with the manager..."

---

"Green Knights, fall in!" The Colonel bellowed, his voice carrying throughout the cavern to announce the beginning of debriefing. Most of the Knights were already present, but the final few trickled in before he began.

"First and foremost," he began, "I'd like to say congratulations on completing the mission. Chief Aadil has informed me that the haul you secured will provide us with enough potable water to sustain us for the next four months, and enough rations to last another two. We've also secured enough ammunition and armor plating to run at least three more sorties, more if you practice good trigger discipline. And the Chief tells me that he's sending out a salvage team tonight to recover parts from the enemy Raven you downed. We're still on a ticking clock, but today's raid has set that clock back a good way."

As he paced, he saw the looks on the Knights' faces. Some of them were harrowed from the experience, others had a look of guilt about them. The mission was indeed a success, but a costly one, as four of the volunteers had been killed by the Crimson Fists' lance leader, the one who called themselves 'Fire Witch.'

"I know it wasn't a clean victory," he began, addressing the unspoken concern. "That's something we'll rarely get to see, if ever. The four we lost were volunteers; they knew the risk of the mission when they stepped forward, and they were willing to risk their lives to make sure the Knights survive. It's on us now to make sure that sacrifice meant something. We'll mourn the dead when we have the luxury of time to do so."

"We had no way of knowing the Crimson Fists had a Longbow in their ranks. That changed the situation drastically, and you had to make do with the new circumstances. Generally, you comported yourselves well....generally."

There was an accusatory silence in the air before the Colonel began again.

"Now, onto the breakdown of what I saw on your BattleROM footage," he continued. "Use of the ECM field proved to be a double-edged sword. While it kept us hidden from the enemy, it also meant we couldn't see them coming until they were right on us. It's also a good bet that the Fists and the Espian Guards will tighten their security and focus on this general area, so it's unlikely that the same trick will work twice. Speaking of not working twice, judging from their tactics, the Crimson Fists seemed to fall for the common blind spot Mechwarriors often have towards conventional combat vehicles, allowing Merry-Go-Round to deal some impressive damage. It's very unlikely that they'll ignore the Von Luckner a second time."

"Ramrod," the Colonel addressed the Lance Leader, "You made the right call in ordering focus-fire on the enemy Raven, and in ordering the general withdrawal after it went down. Had you chosen to fight it out, it's likely you would have dropped the other two light 'Mechs and possibly even brought down the Longbow, but only after it had killed Alley Cat, more trucks from the convoy, and likely yourself. I'm pleased with what I saw out there."

"Giggles, Desperado," he turned, his attention now on the pilots of the Archer and Phoenix Hawk, "drawing the Longbow's fire away from the convoy was a good move, but it's not something I want to see you making a habit out of. The Archer isn't armored for front-line work, and the Phoenix Hawk's survivability relies on not getting hit. We were lucky the Longbow was splitting its fire rather than giving either of you the full volley. Supporting your lancemates is good, just make sure you stay alive to keep supporting them."

"Family Man...." he said, not looking at Rivers as a long silence again filled the chamber, "....we'll talk after debriefing is done."

"Alley Cat," Colonel Wayne moved on, turning to the wounded Raven pilot, "You had the right idea in staying close to the convoy, and in hitting your opposite number with the Narc Beacon. However, next time I--"

"Sir, Colonel Wayne, sir!" the sharp, explosive bark of Sergeant Dalton cut in with the tone he only ever used to speak to his one superior officer, and even then only in urgent situations. "We have an intruder, sir!"

There were murmurs as the Buckshot Boys led the newcomer at gunpoint toward the Mobile HQ. Some began following the soldiers, others drawing weapons themselves. Colonel Wayne held up a hand to call the chaos within the cavern to order.

"Where'd you find him, Sergeant?" he asked Dalton, giving the intruder an appraising look.

"Sir, at the front entrance, sir," the Sergeant answered. "He made his presence known, and put up no resistance, sir."

"Armed?"

"Sir, only with this, sir," Dalton responded, holding up the empty mason jar.

Colonel Wayne inspected the jar of moonshine, saw the Green Knights label on it, and gave a dry chuckle. "Well, at the very least, he's got good taste in drinks. Cut him loose."

The Sarge nodded, and the two soldiers flanking the newcomer quickly cut the zip-ties from behind his back.

"Now then," the Colonel said, the other Green Knights also turning to face the man, "I believe some introductions are in order. Maybe you'd like to start with exactly who you are and how you found us..."

Mechwarrior: Disposable Heroes

@Waylon Hugh is APPROVED

Mechwarrior: Disposable Heroes

I think the concept works. There's going to be a few "interlude" posts in between missions to introduce some of the outside factions and what they're up to, so that would be a good time to introduce new characters. We'll have to see the final CS before giving the go-ahead, of course.