You've heard people talking about where they were when the Clans first hit. You've heard the wild stories about single pilots in Stingers taking down Clan heavies. You've heard the stories of single Clan 'Mechs devastating Inner Sphere companies. Well, some of it's true, and I saw a lot of it. You would have too, if you were with the Headhunters. Mallory's Headhunters are the house regiment of House Mallory, a small holding in the Federated Suns. Officially, we're stationed on Antietam, but I haven't seen Antietam in over a year. We specialize in anti-piracy tactics, counterinsurgency, and dirty jobs nobody else wants. Not many people have heard of us, and that's just the way we want it. When the Clans hit, Second Battalion was assigned to Toland, a cold, dry world on the edge of Rasalhague space. The locals had been complaining of pirate raids, and we were detailed to handle the situation. What we got, though, Was not a normal pirate raid in any way. A regiment of the Twelfth Star Guards had been assigned to cover the capital city. Our assignment was at the planet's biggest mining complex, about 40 klicks to the north. We figured the mines would be the primary target, but the Guards commander thought the city needed more protection. In any case, we figured we were more than a match for any raiding party. The first sign that something was wrong was when the Aerojocks went up to repel the enemy DropShips and came back with their tails between their legs. The second sign was when the raiders called from orbit to ask who was on the planet. The Guards commander thought this was funny, and transmitted his entire force roster just to show the pirates what kind of trouble they'd jumped into. When Major Ryan, our battalion commander, got the same message, he told the raiders where they could put their request. We figured the raiders would get all the information they would ever need when we pounded them into scrap. About 0900, word came that raider 'Mechs had been spotted ten klicks south of the capital. Major Ryan sent Charlie Company to observe and report. We clustered around the communications tent to hear the news as the Guards closed on their targets. The raiders had put down about a battalion and a half against an entire regiment. With that kind of mismatch, we figured the Guards would get a light workout and be back in town celebrating in an hour. Boy, were we ever wrong. By 0830, the Guards had been pushed back into the city. By 0945, everybody in the city was either dead or running for his life, including the Guards. Our Charlie Company had gotten caught up in the battle covering a retreating Guards unit, and had lost four 'Mechs and two pilots for its trouble. About 1015, Charlie Company and the remains of a Guard battalion straggled into camp. After they were sorted out, Captain 'Happy' Hart, our company CO, walked over to our lance's parking area, her usual scowl on her face. "Lieutenant Wozniak!" she barked. "What's up, Happy?" I queried. Happy's scowl got even deeper. She's a good commander, but her sense of humor is like Takashi Kurita with a toothache. "Charlie Company's recon lance lost its lieutenant and lance sergeant. The Major's borrowing Sergeant Johnson from your lance to take over Charlie Recon." I was silent for a moment. I'd known Hansen and Flynn pretty well, and I'd grieve for them later. For now, though, their loss had left a hole in the command structure, and Johnson was the best man to fill it. I wasn't happy to lose him from my lance, but I could see the need. "Johnson's doing maintenance on his 'Mech. I'll go get him," I said. "No, I will," replies Hart sharply. "You've got a mission briefing in five minutes." She strode off toward the maintenance area, and I rounded up Mikki and Tony, the other members of my lance. The mission briefing was given by Major Ryan himself. "According to the Guard survivors, some of their units withdrew into the Remagen Canyon to regroup. The Guard DropShips are relocating to our position to pick up survivors, but they aren't sure they can contact all of their remaining units. Your mission is to search the canyon for survivors and lead them here." "Are we bugging out?" I asked with a surprised tone in my voice. "Yes, we are. Our opponents obviously are not a normal raiding party. They appear to have superior weaponry and are well organized. The fact that they inflicted enormous losses on an entire regiment of the Star Guards means that we would have little or no chance against them." I could see in the Major's face how much he hated the idea of running from a fight. "We will do more good by retreating and warning the Commonwealth of this threat that we will by dying in a useless defense. We will leave the planet at 1500. You have roughly four hours to complete your mission and return. We can't wait any longer than that." "Can the Aerospace guys help us search?" asked Tony. "Negative. We have to conserve our remaining fighters to cover our retreat." The Major made 'retreat' sound like a four-letter word. "What are our rules of engagement?" "We believe there may be raider forces in the canyon attempting to hunt down the remaining Guard units. Avoid combat if possible. Remember that your primary mission is search-and-rescue." As we returned to our 'Mechs, Happy had one final comment. "Remember, the Major defined this as a search-and rescue mission. Avoid combat if possible. If not possible, avoid it anyway. IS THAT CLEAR?" I have an undeserved reputation forgetting into trouble. "Roger, Captain, will do. Save us a seat on the DropShip, huh?" Hart decided my comment wasn't worth a reply, and she stalked away. I strapped into my 'Mech and switched the taccom to the lance channel. "Tony, Mikki, are you ready for this fishing expedition?" "Roger, Woz." was Mikki's reply. "Lead on, Boss," said Tony. We moved out to the southeast. Although we were a 'Mech short, we were still the best unit for this kind of mission, a search-and-rescue in hostile territory. Our Rattlesnake 'Mechs look like normal Jenners. Inside, though, they're stuffed full of high-tech upgrades. They have almost twice the armor and firepower of a Jenner, and they're even more maneuverable. We could cover a lot of ground fast, and deal with almost anything that might try to stop us. We weren't looking for trouble, but no matter what Captain Sandra 'Happy' Hart, we were ready to make trouble for anyone who wanted it. Twenty minutes later, we entered the Remagen Canyon. The Canyon is a dry riverbed, and one of the great tourist spots on the planet. It's not quite as big as the Grand Canyon on Terra, but searching it one valley at a time is still a long and painful process. We'd been winding our way between the sheer granite walls for nearly an hour when Mikki's voice came over the taccom. "I've got a moving MAD contact at ten o'clock, range 2500, and it's a big one!" "IFF reading?" "Negatory, Woz. If it's one of ours, he's not advertising the fact." "Might be one of the locals, but it could be a hostile. Let's check it our. Mikki, behind me; Tony, you take the rear." "Roger." "Rog." We closed cautiously with the contact. At about 1000 meters, we came to the mouth of yet another box canyon, much like the dozens of others we'd already checked. The floor of the canyon was uneven, with small clumps of tiredlooking trees growing between rock-strewn patches. The canyon was about 1000 meters long, with jagged 200- meter cliffs on either side, and an even taller cliff at the far end. We'd seen the same features over and over again. The thing that made this canyon different was the 'Mech at the far end. A chill ran down my spine as my battle computer confirmed what I'd already guessed -- this 'Mech wasn't anything I or anyone else had ever seen before. It was scanning the walls, as if it were looking for something. It had a podlike body, like a Stalker, with an armored shield over the top and a missile rack on the left shoulder. The heavy forearms had multiple gunbarrels instead of hands, and the legs bent backward like a Marauder's. Tony said it all: "What in blazes is that?" "I don't know," Mikki said, "but I wouldn't want to meet it in a dark alley." "I've got news for for you," I replied, as I activated my targeting system and gun cameras. "That's what we're doing right now." "Boss, you always did look at the bright side of things," came Tony's response. "Can the chatter for now. Spread out, pattern Delta." Mikki stared edging her 'Mech toward the left wall of the canyon. "We're not going to have a lot of room to maneuver in here, Woz." "It's the best way to go up against heavy armor," I replied. 'We'll have to substitute cover for distance." As Mikki continued her move on my left and Tony mirrored it on my right, I switched my taccom to the company channel. "Bravo Leader, this is Rattler Leader requesting immediate assistance. One enemy assault 'Mech of unknown design trapped in a box canyon. I'm transmitting video over the data channel. Please acknowledge, over!" Happy's voice came over the speakers. Even through the heavy static I could hear the resignation in her tone. "Rattle Leader, this is Bravo Leader. Roger on receiving video. We are not in position to support you. Reinforcements cannot arrive in under two-zero minutes. You're on your own." "Understood, Bravo Leader," I replied. I didn't really expect any help, but it doesn't hurt to ask. I switched my tacomm back to the lance channel. Just then, the 'Mech at the end of the canyon turned to face us, its arms bringing their weapons to bear on us. We stared at each other for a few seconds, each side sizing up the other. Then, without warning, a gravelly, distorted voice came over our supposedly secure tacomm. "I am Corlin of the Jade Falcons. Who do I have the honor of meeting in combat?" Tony's muffled curse told me that I wasn't hearing things. How could this guy tap into our scrambled communications? I took a couple of seconds to recover my wits and decided to play by the book for a change. "This is Lieutenant Gordon Wozniak of Mallory's Headhunters. Deactivate your weapons and open your canopy, or we will be forced to open fire." Even with the distortion, I could hear the contempt in the raider's voice as he replied, "I do not yield so easily, Lieutenant. Prepare to defend yourselves!" "Switch to scramble India, guys," I called into the tacomm. India is our 'unauthorized' lance channel. We use it when we don't want our own side to know what we're doing. Hopefully, the raider only had our standard unit scrambles and wouldn't be able to break this one right away. I punched the new code into the tacomm. "This guy not only has our scramble codes, he's got a serious attitude problem. What do you think we should do about him?" "Happy told us to stay out of trouble," said Mikki. "But then again, when have we ever been able to stay out of trouble?" "I don't think we should just walk away from this," replied Tony. "After what they did to Hansen and Flynn, I'm not in the mood to let some self-important assault jockey intimidate us." "It's your call, Woz. Do we take him?" asked Mikki. I bit my lip and thought for a second. The MAD gave this guy's mass at 100 tons, and the invaders were ton-for-ton nastier than anything we'd ever run into before. Our Rattlesnakes were worlds better than standard Jenners, but I had almost decided that discretion was the better part of valor when the otherguy made our decision for us. A flight of LRMs ripped out of the launcher on the raider's shoulder. Although the missiles fell far short, they made his intentions clear. "Mikki, Tony, if anyone asks, remember he shot first. If this guy wants a fight, he chose the wrong people to have it with. Let's take him!" We tore down the canyon at full speed, Tony hugging the right wall, Mikki the left, and me charging right up the middle. Delta is our favorite tactic for taking on big 'Mechs. The idea is basically to avoid giving the enemy a shot at any single target for more than a few seconds. As one 'Mech draws the enemy's fire, the others go for the weak back armor. Done right, Delta means that at least one 'Mech will have a back shot at all time. It isn't the ideal way to fight in a canyon, but we didn't have time to develop new tactics. The raider wasn't much for fancy tactics either. He came at us head-on, as if he expected to crush one of us with a single volley. With a standard Jenner, that might work. This guy wouldn't be the first one, though, to be surprised by a Rattlesnake's armor. As I closed, I could make out the insignia on the 'Mech's chest: a green bird holding a sword in its talons. The ID computer came up with zip on the insignia. l had just enough time to register that fact before a barrage of laser fire erupted from the raider's 'Mech. This guy might have been arrogant, but he was good enough to back it up. At 600 meters, he didn't have much of a chance to hit a target moving at 80 klicks an hour. Still, the lasers flashing all around me were way too close for comfort. "Watch out!" I called, as I launched my 'Mech into a 200- meter jump that took me out of the line of fire. "This guy's almost as good as he thinks he is!" "I see it, Boss," replied Tony as he finished his end runs and began to approach the raider from behind. "Me too," said Mikki, as she mirrored Tony's move on the other side. The raider turned to keep his weapons aimed at me, but his move exposed his rear armor to Tony's fire. Armor vaporized from the left arm, but there was no obvious damage. Instinctively, the raider turned toward the immediate threats. By turning toward Tony, though, the raider had left his back exposed to Mikki. More armor puffed, this time from the right leg. Then it was my turn. Rattlesnakes are heavily armored for light 'Mechs, but they aren't designed for stand-up fights with assault 'Mechs, especially ones that have more firepower than any two Atlases. My job was to get in the enemy's face and distract him while my lance mates chewed on him from behind. With a bit of luck, I might survive. With a lot of luck, I might even do some damage. The raider swiveled toward me, took one step forward, and then the world lit up like a nova, his laser barrage backed up by autocannons. My canopy quickly polarized, but not fast enough to keep me from being dazzled by the glare. I slammed down on the jump jet controls and the laser triggers in the same convulsive motion and vectored to the right, landing heavily. A quick scan of the monitors showed heavy damage to my 'Mech's left arm and torso, but no malfunctions. Tony's voice cut through the static. "You all right, Boss?" "Nothing hurt but my pride. You take decoy. I'll work on him from here." "Roger. I'll ... Mikki, break left!" The raider had turned his attention toward Mikki. As she dodged to the left, he triggered another massive laser volley throwing in the LRMs for good measure. Mikki avoided the worst of it. Even so, enough connected to strip the armoroff her right leg and torso. "I'm still ticking," called Mikki, before either of us could react. To prove her point, she triggered a retaliatory salvo. Four of her lasers scored, cutting deep into the damaged armor on the raider's right leg. I moved forward and triggered all my lasers as the raider reacted to Mikki's fire. Five of my shots chewed deep into the raider's torso, but not in time to prevent him from firing a second volley at Mikki. This time she was ready and jumped clear. "Tony! Keep him busy!" I yelled as I pushed my 'Mech to full speed. "Try to cover me; I'm going to do something really stupid." From the front, this bogey could ace any of us in three volleys. So far, though, he hadn't fired anything to the rear. Maybe he didn't have anything back there to fire I was about to find out the hard way. I ran the Rattlesnake right up behind the guy; I couldn't have been more than ten meters away. At this range, he was even uglier from the back that from the front, but nothing shot at me. As Tony dodged yet another volley, I triggered every weapon I had. If I had a slingshot, I would have fired it, too. Eight eye- searing beams lanced from my 'Mech into the bogey's rear, cutting jagged holes through layers of torso armor and into its vitals. There are few mobile objects that can ignore that kind of damage, and this 'Mech wasn't one of them. He tried to spin around and shoot at me, but one of my shots must have creased his gyro. He managed to turn about halfway, then staggered forward half a step, trying desperately to turn him back away frorn me, but one of my shots must have creased his gyro. He managed to turn about halfway, then staggered forward half a step, trying desperately to turn his back away from me and stay standing at the same time. Tony's Rattler came flashing in, adding his lasers to the barrage, and Mikki added some more. The raider scored a couple of hits on Tony, but then the raider must have lost it. He started firing wildly, sending shots in every direction, but not hitting anything but the canyon walls. I screamed into the tacomm, "We've got him! Go for the damaged leg!" as I slammed another volley onto his ' back. Mikki and Tony fired almost simultaneously, carving deep furrows through the damage armor on the raider's legs. This time, he couldn't keep control, and the enemy 'Mech collapsed onto its face, sending a cloud of dust into the air. As we closed in for the kill, a hatch popped open on the head of the raider 'Mech, and the pilot jumped out, landing hard in a pile of rocks. He slowly climbed to his feet, his hands raised in surrender. As we moved into cover him, just as the tension of battle was starting to ease, our MAD detectors lit up with multiple targets, no more than three hundred meters away, directly behind us. The three of us spun as one to face the new threat. It took us several seconds to realize that the 'Mechs at the canyon mouth weren't an avenging group of raiders. These 'Mechs we recognized, and underneath the maze of scorch marks and battle damage on their armor we could make out the Star Guards insignia. A heavily-scarred Thunderbolt stepped forward, and a clipped voice came over the general frequency. "I say, we seemed to have missed all the fun. Might I inquire which of you chaps is Leftenant Wozniak?" "That would be me," I replied as I tripped my IFF beacon. "And who are you, if you don't mind me asking?" "Ah. I'm Major Lethbridge, in command of what remains of the Yorkshire Battalion, Twelfth Star Guards. Your Captain Hart, delightful lady, I must say informed us that you might be in a spot of trouble. I'm frightfully sorry we're late; the echoes from the cliffs confused the signal from your transponders and we were misled into the wrong canyon. I'm delighted to see that our help was not required, but rather disappointed that you've finished without us." "Sorry," I responded. "Our friend here doesn't seem to want to play any more." "Oh, that's unfortunate. The lads and I were quite looking forward to a second go-round with these blighters. He's your prisoner, of course. You'd best accept his surrender before he changes his mind." Something about the way this man could keep his sense of humor in the middle of disaster struck a chord in me. I decided that the best thing I could do would be to give Lethbridge a chance to meet the enemy as a victor instead of a victim. "Would you do me the honor of accompanying me, sir?" "Delighted, Leftenant." A tall figure climbed down from the Thunderbolt and walked to the feet of my 'Mech. As he approached, I saw an older, gray-haired man with a neatly-trimmed moustache and an air of command about him. I climbed down to the ground, nodded to Lethbridge, drew my pistol. Together we walked toward the prisoner. He had sat down to wait for us, holding his head in his hands. As we approached, he raised his head, but made no attempt to stand. Lethbridge and I stared at him for a second, glanced at each other, then looked back at our captive. The pilot of an assault 'Mech, the warrior who had so coldly challenged us, couldn't have been more than twenty years old! Apparently we weren't the only ones surprised. The prisoner's eyes locked with Lethbridge's, and his jaw dropped. "But..you are old!" he exclaimed. "I may not be the picture of youth, but I deserve more respect than that from a child like yourself," replied Lethbridge coldly, his joviality vanishing into a glare that could shatter armor. I moved forward to divert their attention from each other and onto me. "In the name of the Federated Commonwealth and of House Mallory, I require your surrender," I said, quoting directly (I swear!) from the Headhunter's Code of Military Conduct. It was my turn to be stared at. "You are Lieutenant Wozniak?" A few good lines ran through my head, but with the state Major Lethbridge was in I figured I'd better keep playing it straight. "I am." He bowed his head slightly to me. "Very well, I surrender to you. You and your comrades are superior warriors. I hereby submit myself to your Clan Mallory and their justice." Meanwhile, Lethbridge had wandered away to cool off and was looking in the hatch of the enemy 'Mech. "I say, Leftenant," he called out. "This machine is remarkable! I've not seen controls this sophisticated in my entire career!" At that moment, Tony broke in on my wrist comm. "Woz, Cap'n Happy is on the line, and she's mad enough to chew through a DropShip! You'd better let her know what's going on.,, "Patch me through, Tony," I replied, keeping my eyes on my prisoner. "...olation of direct orders..." came Happy's voice, in its usual sweet and soothing tones. "Rattler Leader here, Bravo Leader. Good news; it's headhunters one, raiders zip. We have a prisoner and a mostly-intact enemy 'Mech. Major Lethbridge from the Star Guards says the 'Mech is something special. Any chance we can keep it?" "Wait one, Rattler Leader." After about a minute, Happy came back on line. 'The Major is sending in a DropShip to your location, ETA 22 minutes, to pick up the enemy 'Mech and the Star Guards. There's enough room for your lance, but after this stunt, I really don't care if you're aboard when it takes off. Copy?" "I copy, bravo leader. By the way, Happy, Major Lethbridge sends his warmest regards" Tony didn't cut the link fast enough to avoid a few choice words from our fearless leader. For the next half hour, I had nothing to do but talk to the prisoner. It turned out his name was Corlin no last name (This fact seemed to upset him for some reason). He was from a unit called the Jade Falcons, but now, since we'd defeated him, he considered himself part of "Clan Mallory." This was his first combat mission, and he was upset at himself for losing to three "overgunned garbage cans," as he described light 'Mechs in general and our Rattlesnakes in particular. Well, the DropShip picked us up on schedule and we boosted out system at max thrust all the way. The Headhunters have a new "special Consultant" by the name of Corlin Mallory. Turns out the 'Mech we fought was a Daishi, and Corlin was part of the first wave of Clan invaders. We've been making ourselves a nuisance to the Clans ever since, and we're shipping out again as soon as we complete repair-and- resupply. Ever since that battle, one question has been running through my mind. Corlin was a first-time pilot, and the Clans gave him a brand-new assault 'Mech. If these guys are putting green pilots in assault 'Mechs, what are the veterans driving? About the Author Gordon Ethan Wozniak has been with Mallory's Headhunters for five years. He was promoted to Senior Lieutenant for his actions on Toland. The whereabouts of Wozniak, and the Headhunter's Second Battalion, are currently unknown. They are believed to be behind Clan lines. Back to BattleTechnology 21 Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1994 by Pacific Rim Publishing. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com