Col Andrews' office quieted as the briefing and strategy session began. The colonel introduced a man named McKlostey, who was to give us the background. "Up until six months ago our valley was the best place in the world to live and raise a family. Quiet, peaceful, with ground so fertile you kin grow just about anything. Then them hoodlums with their infernal machines showed up. Said they came to liberate us from our oppressors. Wanted money, support for the movement. We were ta donate 100 C-bills to the cause. I told 'em we didn't have that kind of money. They said if we didn't come up with the money they'd take a dim view of it. Might even think we were with the oppressors. Said we better come up with the cash if we knowed what was good for us. They'd be back. After they left my son Zack and my son-in-law Ed though we should fight' em. We moved the women and valuables to Rawlins, to be safe with friends. The boys 'n me went back. Zack got some of them missile launchen' tubes and a couple machine guns from some people he knowed and we mounted them on our old Agricultural 'Mech. We made up some charges like we used to clear the stumps outa the new fields, only bigger, and buried them along the road. Figured we'd give 'em a taste and hold out long enough fer help to get there. Well things settled back down to normal, and we went on about our business. 'Bout a month passed 'n I was beginen ta think those boys forgot 'bout us or they got themselves shot up some place and we didn't hear 'bout it yet. The mountains block com signals from outside. Then one morn' Ed an' me was out worked on a irrigation pump, 'bout 2km south of the house, and Zack was across the road cultivaten the corn when we see'd 'em comin'. Well Zack dropped the cultivators and let loose with his missile rack. Ed ran fer the house to call fer help. I went fer the detonator switches. It was somethen ta see. Couple a Zack's missiles hit the little machine in front of the pack - I think you call 'em Locusts - an' staggered it. They started shootn at Zack but he was ducken and blazen away at 'em. He was drawen 'em in ta where we had the charges set. Well when they got ta in the middle of 'em, I hit the switches. Man! I tell ya that was some explosion! So much dustn smoke in the air ya couldn't see nothen. When the smoke started to clear one of 'em was down. I think it was a Wasp. It started to get up. It wasn't hardly even hurt, it did limp some, but that was all. 'Bout all we did was make em real mad. They spread out them. Zack saw what happened and lit out fer the woods. Half of em went after him an the rest headed fer the house. " His voice started to break on him now, but he continued with his tale. One of the big ones, I know it was a Marauder, the government men showed me some pictures of these machines so I could pick em out. Some was hard to tell from others, but thisn I'll remember forever. This Marauder caught Zack with his PPCs. Our old 'Mech exploded in fire an's moke, but he weren't satisfied and started blasten away with his cannon. Then he went over an' stomped through the wreckage to make sure there wern't nothen left. My heart felt like it was gonta stop right then and there. I headed fer the woods even though I didn't feel like it. I looked toward the house ta see if I could see Ed anywhere. Bout this time Ed came outa the field below the house and made a run fer it ta get ta the transmitter we had set up there. The 'Mechs was about half a kilometer away and musta seen him too. They started launchen missiles. The first batch hit the house. The next bunch hit the generator shed. Then they started shooten up everything. Thought I seen Ed make it to the woods but I couldn't be sure. I hada go help Ed. With Zack gone, he's all I have left. I circled round thru the woods keepen low. I found Ed in a brush pile just inside the woods. He was cut up some, but it was the run that was hardest on him. I helped him up an we made our way to the dugout. That's where my great grandpappy lived when he first come to this valley. We don't use it much now, except for a root cellar an' storage. I patched Ed up as best I could an we crawled back out ta see what was goen on. Made my heart sick just ta look at it. They'd smashed the house an other buildins flat an set' em on fire. They was out in the fields now, trampen the crops and busten everything up. Maybe they was looken fer Ed'n me. I don't know. We waited till after they was gone and it was starten to get dark before we made our way out of the valley and got picked up by a patrol on the road to Rawlins. I only been back once since then, ta bury what was left of Zack, an ta salvage what we could. We cant do nuthen till that vermin is gone, an' I want ta help you 'bout any way I can. The room was very quiet as he sat down. The Colonel cleared his throat. He spread out a map and said, "This valley was a lake a long time ago. That's why both ends pinch down to less than a kilometer like this. I figure we hit 'em at the north end before they get out. If we jump'em at the south end when they come in, they just fall back and disappear in the badlands. We'll form ourselves in a U at the north end of the valley. Bravo and Charlie Lances will mix and form the legs: Recon Lance will split on either side of the road and form the base of the U. Alpha Lance, you're the plug in the bottle. "We don't know when to expect them; it could be two days or two weeks, but it will happen sometime soon. When they do come I think we can expect them thru here shortly after dark, to avoid being spotted by our air cover, such as it is. I want everybody to stay sharp, keep your men awake and NO NOISE. During the day stay under cover and be ready to move on short notice just in case this doesn't go down like I figure. We'll have a ground squad set up an OP in the south pass. Lt Jordan, make sure your men understand they stay invisible and bug out at the first sign of trouble. Also they check in every hour." "Yes, sir" "Right, any questions or comments?" "How about we put some Pack Rats with LRMs mounted on them along the north end of the valley to five us some added fire power and make our forces look bigger than we are?" I asked. "Sounds good; I'll see what I can do." MSG Williams, our head tech, spoke up next. "The boys and I have been working on a new jamming technique. By programing the com computers in the 'Mechs to switch to different frequencies at preset times and programing the jammer to keep the channels clear at those times for short periods, we can at least pass along orders." "Well, it sounds like it's worth a try. If we can keep it up for twenty minutes or so, maybe we can keep them from organizing a defense while we can still work our units together. OK, anybody eIse? No? All right, let's get out people together and move out. I want to be set up in positions for tonight." The air transport set us down about 5 km north of the valley so we could move in without being observed. We hoped. We formed up with the Recon Lance on the point, the Medium Lance split out on both sides as flankers, the heavies in the middle, and the infantry and support troops bringing up the rear. The mountains in front of us looked like a tall rugged wall with no break showing. As we got closer a crack seemed to open in front of us. The road we were following ran along the left side of the opening into the valley along the base of a sheer cliff. To the right a small stream and a wooded slope rose to the wall of mountains on the other side. The Colonel's voice came over the com. "OK, people, stay sharp. This looks like a good place for an ambush." We'd traveled about 500 meters to where the road made a sharp left around an outcrop of rock and got our first look at the valley. A cultivated strip about 2 km wide ran down the level floor of the valley with heavy wooded slopes on either side. At the left, against the woods, the ruins of farm building and machine shops were located. The wreckage of farm equipment lay scattered all about. At one time this was probably a good place to live. If you liked that kind of life. "Recon Lance, split up and check the woods. Charlie Lance, spread out an sweep the fields. Alpha Lance, go with them in case they need support. The rest of you form around me. Sgt Chapman, bring Mr McKlostey up here. OK people, let's move it; we have a lot to do." It was a quiet but nerve racking trip thru the valley. The ruined crops, the broken and rusting pipes and silt-filled ditches of the irrigation system really made a desperate looking picture. As we passed the burned out hulk of an Agri Mech, I couldn't help thinking that McKlostey had guts. Thinking about what was to come and walking thru the too- quiet valley waiting for something to happen was giving me a real case of pre battle nerves. It was going to be one of those afternoons that took all day to get through. I kept the Colonel posted on our progress as we moved to the south end of the valley. All stayed quiet and as we reached the pass to the bad lands we had the place to ourselves. I called the Colonel on the command channel and told him so. "All right, wait until the OP team gets there, then head on back and we'll get you set up in your positions. I've got the infantry digging in the LRM positions as best they can before dark. If they don't come tonight, we'll be in good shape for tomorrow night. Wish we had just a little more time." "Ain't it always like that? Here come the ground pounders, so we're starting back," I said. "Rodger. Charlie Lance can drop off on the way back." The trip back was a lot quicker than the one out. I led Alpha Lance into the pass. "Dave, take Hollinger and Fox and find a spot just inside the tree line so you can cover here, where the road turns and back into the valley," I said. "OK, I make that about a 300 m run to get back?" "Yo, sounds about right." While they made their way to the woods, Pappy and I went around the outcrop. "I guess I can work Max in at the base of the cliff here. Can you get your Thunderbolt in behind that pile of rocks?" "Think so. We don't need much cover anyway." "No, but I'd like at least to take out their point before they know what's up." We had just enough time to stretch our legs and get a bite to eat before sundown. I put Tac 1 on low power tight beam. "Listen up, guys, it's been a long day. We'll rotate watches on a two hour schedule. When you sleep, be sure your controls are locked. I don't want anybody rolling over and shooting themselves in the foot. When you're on watch, stay AWAKE. Keep your com on low power and tight beam, and keep whoever's on watch with you AWAKE too. I'll take the first watch with Dave. Jim, I'll wake you in one hour, then Pappy, then Pat." "Rodger," chorused over the com. By the time Dave's watch was over, it was full dark. The sky was overcast, and being out in the country without city lights around makes for a dark night. I told Dave to turn in and woke Jim. Jim and I make small talk to keep awake. It's funny, you can stay awake all night to party, but go on watch and you can't hardly keep your eyes open. My watch ended and I woke Pappy, locked my controls, and turned in. Dave woke me for my mid watch and told me all was quiet. I had my night scanner on and kept looking around even though there was nothing to see. Staying awake was the hardest part. When Jim's watch ended I woke Pappy and so it went. My watch was over, but now I was wide awake wondering if the guys on watch were going to go to sleep. A 'Mech couch isn't the most comfortable place I can think of to spend the night. When I woke up it was morning. I ached all over. The Colonel's voice came over the Command Channel telling us to stand down. I put Max on stand-by and dismounted. They finished digging in the Pack Rats. In the afternoon the Techs topped off the fuel in the 'Mechs and made last service checks. I'd just get all settled back down and here came a militia company clanking through in their APC's to add support to our infantry. Then Sam came around to make some changes in the computer's jamming program. The Colonel sent Lundgren out to map the valley in his Ostscout and feed the new data into our battle maps. Night operations really mess up your schedule. All you seem to get are cat naps, and you're always tired. I hoped they'd come soon just so we could get this over with. So the day passed. The sun went down and we got ready to spend another bad night. It was just after dark when the Colonel's voice came over the come. "Everybody UP!! We got company coming. They'll be here in about half an hour. Stay quiet and don't move around. Fire one or two salvos of the appropriate weapons for the range on Lt James' command. When you hear the jamming start, move out. We hope to keep the Command Channel open, so no unnecessary chatter. Remember we have people counting on us. We have to stop these guys here and now. Good luck and good hunting." We were ready for them, had been for weeks, it seemed like, but as the battle approached a list of things I should have checked and things I should have done ran through my mind. Pre battle nerves, I guess. No matter how many times I go through this I think I'll have them. When I don't get a case, I'll know it's time to quit. A single short tone chimed soft over the com. The enemy units had just passed the Colonel's position. I checked my outside audio pickup to make sure it was on and the volume was all the way up. A Thousand and One. Where did the time go? I thought my ears might be playing tricks on me as I first heard the sound of metal feet moving north along the road. The sounds of the night I'd been listening to and not noticed before suddenly stopped. Now all that was out there was the sound of armored feet tramping along the road and getting steadily louder. I cut the gain on the pickup back. I felt the vibrations from the 'Mechs. As they came closer the mechanical sounds and vibrations increased. Calm swept through my body like a winter wind. Now I was ready for whatever came. I knew by some sense I couldn't explain that something was on the other side of the outcrop of stone. A Phoenix Hawk rounded the turn. Just a couple more steps, I thought to myself as I cut the audio pickup. He looked straight at me and I braced myself for attack. then it kept moving north along the road. How could he not see me? Twelve meters tall, weighing in at one hundred tons? As he moved on past my position I stepped out behind him and brought Max's massive right fist down on top of the cockpit with all the force I could. Max was still kind of new to me and I didn't realize the power he could generate. There was a tremendous crash. I could feel the shock of the blow with my entire body. The cockpit crumpled into the torso like a nail seated in a board with a hammer. The knee joints bowed out in a shower of Mechdrek before collapsing. As I turned to the next 'Mech coming around the bend, I saw Pappy moving out of his cover and to my right. I stepped to the bend and started to make the turn -- and came face to face with a Locust. I blocked the arm he was trying to fire on me with and my momentum carried us both around the turn. I punched him just below the cockpit, and the 'Mech sheared cleanly in half! A Marauder followed close behind. There I was tangled in a Locust with a Marauder coming at me! In desperation I took another step to build momentum, picked up the nearest half- Locust and threw it at the Marauder in a two-handed throw. Imagine my surprise when it hit! Max's power was unbelievable. "FIRE! FIRE!" I screamed over the com as the Locust hit the Marauder's left PPC, forcing it back into the torso. There was a blinding flash and my filter cut in. The Marauder listed heavily to the right. With a loud shriek of shearing metal the right leg bent backwards and it fell over on its side, spewing smoke and electrical sparks. The pilot punched out as it hit the ground. Pappy's thunderbolt opened fire on a Rifleman about 75 meters away with lasers and his SRM 2. His laser fire racked the Rifleman's chest, tearing off chunks of armor, and one of the SRM's hit him in the left shoulder, scrubbing off more armor. As the Rifleman raised his arms to open return fire, I opened fire on him with my lasers and SRM 6. My lasers tore more armor off the chest and two of my SRMS impacted the chest, exposing internal structure. Another hit the right arm, and one hit the cockpit. My fire distracted his aim and his right arm's laser and AC / 5 ripped the space between us. His left laser just missed Pappy's left arm but his autocannon hit, splashing bits of armor into the night. While I waited for my weapons to recycle I fired my AC / 20. More armor was blown away and the hole in his chest was enlarged. Pappy fired his lasers and SRM 2 again. Lasers and both SRM's hit the hole. With a bright flash, and the roar of exploding autocannon ammunition, the top half of the 'Mech just disintegrated. The night skywas alivewith trails of fire from the incoming missiles. They began exploding in the enemy formation, outlining it with flashes of fire as far as I could see. I called the Colonel to get his estimate of the size of the force we were facing. The pop and snap of static was all I could hear. "Pappy, can you read me?" "Yo, but there's a lot of static and you aren't coming through real good." "I see what you mean." I looked at my rear scanners to see where the rest of my lance was. They were about 150 meters back and closing. "Dave, can you hear me?" "Yes, but not too clear." "OK, guys, form a line with me in the center. Dave, you and Hollinger on my left. Fox, you fall in with Pappy on my right. We'll advance in a line. Keep 50 meters between us. Don't bunch up. I want lance fire on all targets until further notice. If anyone sees something I missed, call out. If we have problems with communications, I'll give the dispersal signal with my arms to release you to find your own targets." I moved Max out at a walk, which was a slow pace for the others. He's powerful, not fast. It would give Pappy's Thunderbolt a chance to cool more. Those Thunderbolts don't dissipate their heat well. We hadn't gone very far when I picked up a group dead ahead. I also noticed Recon Lance moving in across the fields. I locked in with the lead 'Mech. He was a Marauder. I opened fire with my LRM 20 and AC / 20. The rest of the lance followed my lead and five lines of fire converged, meeting at the Marauder. The missiles impacted on him and the surrounding terrain. I tracked my sights across to a Dragon as the weapons reloaded and fired again. The scene repeated.. By this time, Recon Lance was in range and they began making their high speed attack runs, moving out before weapons could be brought to bear on them. This was all too much forthe remaining attackers; they turned and went back in the direction they'd come from. Recon kept dogging them to discourage them from standing to fight. As we moved to join the battle, I was fascinated by the pyrotechnic display of the night action. The blue-white lines drawn by the PPC, weaving with the brilliant red lines of lasers and reddish-orange of missiles. The glowing dots of tracers from the machine guns moving through were like swarms of deadly fireflies. Exploding inferno rounds created a brilliant orange ocean wave crashing on a beach. All combined to make a deadly but strangely beautiful scene, and I was rushing to join it. Flares started to pop high in the sky; night was turned to day. The strange spell I was under broke when I saw for the first time what we were up against. This was no hit and run raid. There were at least two 'Mech companies involved, with a resupply column and support troops. It must be an all-out attack to take the city complex. The city could hold out against anything but an all-out assault like this. If the attack succeeded, it would destroy 75% of the industrial capacity of an entire continent. A lot was riding on us, and I hoped we were up to the task. As we came into range of the battle, it was a scene of mass confusion. Our company was trying to form a defensive perimeter without much success. I had forgotten the jamming until the squealing started in my head set. I noticed the enemy 'Mechs grouping to close in their line off to my right. I moved towards them. A Shadow Hawk was standing about 25 meters to the right of an Archer, with a Griffin about the same distance to the left. I opened fire with my autocannon and LRMs. The lance was still with me and following orders they Opened fire also. He must have been in the process of firing because the armored cover of his right LRM 20 was open as our barrage hit. The force of the exploding LRMs slammed the Shadow Hawk to the ground as if hit by a giant fist. The cockpit was turned into a cloud of shrapnel, some of which smashed into the left LRM 20, but it didn't explode. Maybe it was empty. Most of the shrapnel smacked into the right side of the Griffin, staggering him. I gave our dispersal signal and moving toward the gap opened in the line, I opened fire on an Assassin to the right of the downed Shadow Hawk with lasers and SRMs. The lasers hit in the center of the chest; two SRMs hit in the right shoulder. There followed a shower of sparks and Mechdrek and his LRMs swung down to hang at his side. He fired his SRMs and laser at me and jumped out on his jets heading for the center of the formation. I didn't notice if he hit or not because off to my left I saw Ken Fleming coming over the line in his Grasshopper. No matter how many times I see it, I'm still impressed with the sight of a 70- ton 'Mech flying through the air on its jump jets. He landed and proceeded to raise hell in the center of the formation and on the back side of the perimeter. I saw an Orion swing its torso to bring its weapons to firing position for a shot at him. I opened up with my lasers and SRMs on the Orion. The lasers hit on the left shoulder and head. Three SRMs hit the chest and three hit the belt line. I hammered the head and shoulders with my AC / 20. His shot went wide of Fleming and added to the destruction and confusion in the center. I checked my scanners. Off to my right Pappy in his Thunderbolt was engaged with an Ostroc and holding his own. Fox in his Centurion was trying to finish off a badly mauled Enforcer. He was concentrating fire into it from his AC / 10 and laser. He didn't see the Shadow Hawk land behind him. I shouted a warning but the jamming prevented him from hearing me. As I brought my weapons to bear, the Shadow Hawk fired his SRMs, laser, and AC/5 into the back of the Centurion. There was a tremendous explosion as both the Enforcer and the Centurion disintegrated in a blinding flash. I fired everything but my LRMs at him - he was too close for that- and ran at him as fast as I could make Max go. My rage made the time it took to cover the distance seem longer than it was. All I wanted to do was to get my hands on him. I don't know if he was stunned, or if the 'Mech was damaged. I didn't care. I grabbed his shoulder and wrenched the cockpit off with my right. I tried to dig the pilot out of the cockpit like a nut out of its shell, but Max's hands weren't built for that kind of work. I frustration I stomped it into the ground until nothing was left. A blow from Max's massive left hand sent the headless 'Mech sprawling. I looked for more targets, but Alpha Lance and Recon Lance had rolled up the perimeter and there was nothing between us and the center. I looked around and saw that the rest of my lance were still up, but Hollinger wasn't moving too well. His left leg was severely damaged and this caused him to move very slowly. I couldn't get status reports until the jamming stopped. I made form-up arm signals and started launching inferno rounds with my LRM 20 and SRM 6 into the center of the enemy formation. Pappy took his position on my right. Dave and Hollinger trailing smoke and electrical sparks, fell in on my left and started launching too. Our fire joined the rest of the missiles raining down on them from the sky. Mech fire cut into them from the flanks. I only had four inferno loads for the LRM and six for the SRM. As my last infernos left the SRM tubes, I checked my ammo stores. I had two HE reloads left for the LRM, three HE reloads for the SRM, and two cassettes for the autocannon. The rest of the lance couldn't be in any better shape than I was, but I was determined to keep going even if all I could do was kick and scratch. We made our way through the flames. As I cleared the fire I saw that we'd done it. They were pulling back. Their rear guard was covering each other and retreating in good order. A Warhammer was giving hand signals and directing them. I locked on an fired an all-weapons salvo at him. Pappy and Dave followed my lead without being told to, and he was engulfed in a hail of fire. The Warhammer froze in position; it had to be thermal shutdown. I made the "disperse" signal and brought Max up to running speed. The Recon Lance came in on one of their attack runs with some of Charlie Lance's mediums joining in. It couldn't have been more perfect if we'd planned and practiced it. The sight of Max in full charge was just too much. The rear guard broke and ran. I stepped over a Pack Rat that had been trampled in the confusion along with its crew. The place would be a gold mine of salvage if we could keep it. I saw our ground troops moving south along the flanks in their APCs and troop carriers. Out Pack Rats were still in the running, trying to get ahead to set up for more shooting. The infantry began to appear on the field gathering prisoners and tending the wounded. I continued to make my way slowly south. The jamming stopped suddenly, making the 'Mech almost quiet. Gone were the clanking and rattle of the reloading mechanisms. Just the steady powerful throb of the legs remained. I keyed the com. "All right, we'll keep after them. Davie, if you or Pappy can't keep up, sing out so we know what happened to you. Then sit tight, our guys will be through shortly to pick you up. Let's move out." We moved on toward the south end to the valley. When I think of the rest of that trip it all seems to run together in my mind. I remember seeing McCloskey with a rifle in hand helping an infantry squad round up prisoners. Rich Aterly's Wolverine was kneeling, its escape hatch blown. I hoped he made it all right. We got a distress call from a squad pinned down by an APC. Pappy went to help out. Got another one from one of the Pack Rat crews. They caught a badly shot up Crusader making a break for the woods and disabled him. All he seemed to have left was the laser he was keeping them pinned down with. I took this one. As I approached I turned on my outside speakers and told him, "I'm tired and I'm hungry and if you don't climb out of that thing right now, I'm going to pound it into scrap with you in it." He came out nice as you please and surrendered. We caught up with the Colonel about 2 km from the south pass. His Warhammer was in bad shape. It limped very badly. The right shoulder was ripped open, trailing wires and tubes, coolant and lube dripping down the said. "Anything we can do to help?" I asked. "No, just make sure they don't stop till they're out of this valley. I made it this far, and I intend to make it to the end." Well, he did make it. Most of us did. I learned later that we lost Jim Fox and his Centurion, George Yeager and his Firestarter, Frank Mallory and his Griffin, and Jim Potts, though we'd be able to salvage his Shadow Hawk. Casualties weren't too bad, I guess, considering what we'd faced, but you still hate to lose people you know. We got the 'Mechs reloaded with ammo and set up our defense positions in the south pass to guard against counterattack. Over the next few days everyone worked at a hectic pace to service and repair the 'Mechs and salvage what we could. The Colonel figured that a mop up campaign was in the works for the Southern Wastes and he wanted to be ready. Most of the captured 'Mechs would take more time to repair that we had, but if we ever got everything back on line, we'd be able to field six lances. There was some talk of forming another company, but nobody wanted to leave the Colonel; he was our luck. A week passed and everybody was starting to get a case of nerves. Finally word came through. It wasn't what we expected. At 0800 DropShips would pick us up. We would board JumpShips for parts unknown. Any equipment we couldn't take with us was to be destroyed. Scuttlebutt said something big was up, but nobody knew what. Rumors ran wild. Everything from a coup in House Steiner to a Fourth Succession War was considered. The Colonel said that he didn't know; the old contract was paid off, a large bonus was included, and the terms in the new contract were out of sight. Nobody knew anything yet. I was on the last flight to leave two days later. The last couple of days were a frenzy of loading and whatnot. As the ship loaded I tuned in the rear scanner. The sun was setting valley. It was too dark to see; the mountains surrounding it brought night to the valley earlier than to the wastes. I knew I wouldn't be happy with McKlostey's kind of life. But my way of living? I couldn't help thinking that aside from the money, it was all for nothing. I thought for a long time, while the planet dropped away , and the DropShip eased into space. When the acceleration stopped I unbeIted and went looking for a drink and some company. Why worry? Whatever was going to happen would happen. Thinking about it wouldn't change it. We know now that what was awaiting Lt James was Operation Thor, students of contemporary history may be amused to know that Lt James left the planet on September 2, 3028. Andrews Avengers have gone to garrison duty on classified replacing classified. In the second wave of Gotterdamerung, the Avengers took some casualties on the planet mentioned. Lt James is still healthy. So is Max. Back to BattleTechnology 8 Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1989 by Pacific Rim Publishing. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com