"War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it." -- William Tecumseh Sherman, in a letter to the mayor of Atlanta, 12 July 1864 "The killer's breed or the demon's seed/The glamour, the fortune, the pain/ Go to war again, blood is Freedom's stain/But don't you pray for my soul anymore..." -- Iron Maiden, "2 Minutes to Midnight" Operation: Phoenix, It's Always Darkest... by J-Rock, jjr5020@rigel.tamu.edu Kazumi was sitting in one of the booths of the SCABTF Armored McDonald's, casually sipping Darjeeling tea while waiting for the techs outside to finish refitting her 'Mech Star. It had been a long week, she thought to herself. First that battle in Atlanta, and now this one. Even after years of driving various mecha, putting her life on the line for the hopes, dreams, and ideals of mankind, there were times when she wondered why she had ever chosen the path of the MechWarrior. And her answer was still the same: If I don't, who will? Her doubts quieted, she was just about to return to her tea when one of the techs rushed in. "Colonel!" he shouted. "You better come out here and take a look at this!" Kazumi sprang up, pulling on her winter jacket as she and Noriko ran out the door. The sight that greeted them was impressive, to say the least. # Basil Poledouris "Anvil of Crom (Opening Theme)" _"Conan the Barbarian" soundtrack_ It was Mongoose's Tetsujin, basically the same and yet much different. For starters, it was carrying a Destablizer gun-pod (you know, the kind found on Shadow Alphas and Vindicators?), giving it some punch at range. But what amazed the two women (as well as all the techs present) was what was in the super-Mech's right hand: a fhuge, powerful-looking broadsword. Noriko indicated the sword with a finger and said, "That's Triveritas, isn't it?" "Right you are," came Mongoose's voice from the external speaker. "Given enough metal, I can make this sword much bigger. Perfect for mecha combat, ne?" "But why didn't you--" Noriko began, before remembering that Mongoose's old 'Mech didn't have hands. "I see," she said, smiling. "It should kill things rather nicely," Kazumi stated before the tech tapped her on the shoulder. "Colonel, your 'Mechs are ready," he said. "Arigato," she said before remembering that most of the techs didn't speak Nihongo (Japanese to the English-speaking world). "Thanks. Well, Noriko, we have an appointment to keep in the mountains. Let's not keep them waiting." "Hai," Noriko replied. "But can we keep up with Mongoose? He looks fired up as it is." "I'm sure Mongoose has enough restraint to keep from getting too far ahead of us," Kazumi said. I hope... **************************************************************************** BACK AT TRES HQ... "You WHAT?" J-Rock said over the comm-line to Atlanta. "You better have a good explanation for this, Major." "I do, but at this time I'm not at liberty to say," Major K'ghan of the 187th FTL Cavalry said. The B'Horn unit sent to Earth had suddenly pulled its troops from all military action, and J-Rock was determined to get to the bottom of this. "I just got a communique from the Homeworld a few minutes ago. My government and the X'hirjq just signed a nonaggression pact." Of all the--, J-Rock thought. This is getting worse by the second. He paused, trying not to let his anger and outrage claim his judgement. "I trust this means you will not be attacking us?" "Correct. We B'Horn do not betray our allies once trust is given." "Thank heaven for small favors," J-Rock said, though he couldn't help wondering if the 187th was proving its commander's statement to be false. "I'm sorry, Admiral J-Rock. Perhaps one day, all will be made clear." With that, K'ghan ended the transmission. J let out a long sigh while he palmed his eyes. It was turning out to be one of _those_ lives for him, it seemed. Turning in his seat, he asked, "How far are the Lizards now?" "The latest report from the spotters puts them at about five miles from the base proper," Admiral Mysterium replied. "ETA to entrance road, four minutes." **************************************************************************** WHILE THAT WAS GOING ON... # Megadeth "Blood of Heroes" _Youthanasia_ Gypsy Joker stood inside the courtyard with the rest of Kappa Squad, ready to push any Lizard attack back behind the wall with the rest of the assembled troops. It had been a long and grueling campaign, he thought. But now there was literally nowhere else to run. C'mon, Lizards! We'll show you what humanity does when it's cornered! Dan Wood's voice interrupted his reverie: "Where's the Admiral? I thought he was going to lead us into battle." Bane responded, "He's up in the Ellipsoid making some final preparations. He lost his Garland in the ski town, remember?" "Speaking of which, I haven't seen Ensign Shene or Aruba anywhere," DW said. "What happened to them?" "The Admiral's got them in the hangar," Joker replied. "Apparently, he thinks the Lizards are going to send a detachment down the fighter launch tunnel." "I guess we can't take anything for granted with them," Lt. JG Tobor said from his perch on top of the dug-in Challenger XI Main Battle Tank. Tobor had just recently been assigned to Kappa Squad in the wake of Morgenna's disappearance. Just then, off in the distance, the Dark Hymn could be faintly heard in the background. The Kappas hopped off the Challenger except for Bane, who slid inside and closed the turret hatch. The first wave had arrived. **************************************************************************** # The Ramones "Blitzkrieg Bop (Hey, Ho, Let's Go)" "Dang, there's a lot of Lizards here," Mongoose said, consulting the Tetsujin's long-range scanners. "They're not our problem right now," Kazumi interjected. "Our primary targets are the Bots. Pick them off at range before they swarm us with numbers." She emphasized her point by spitting a B'Hee J Bot on a PPC beam. As the Bot went up in the resulting fusion reaction, the other two Mechs opened up with their weapons, picking off almost a company's worth in the first salvo. However, that hardly made a dent in their numbers, as the Lizards had brought enough of these Bots to make a Inner Sphere Successor Lord or Clan Khan green with envy. Undaunted, the three kept firing their energy weapons at the portion of the horde that broke away to deal with them. Kazumi's Summoner was also firing LRMs, although a great deal of them had hit nothing but scenery. "Oneesama, you're usually a better shot than this," Noriko observed over the Star's tacnet. "Why are wasting your LRMs like this?" "Who said these were normal LRMs?" Kazumi had answered. As if to confirm her statement, a Threebie ran through a spot where she had fired some missiles a while back. Massive explosions on the ground tore through the Bot's legs, shattering them in a matter of moments. The Bot then landed on its face, and more explosions blew out its head and chest. "Ah, Thunder LRMs," Noriko said, comprehension dawning on her like the fireballs that had devoured the B'Harnate quasi-Mech. "You still have some regular missiles, ne?" "Hai," Kazumi replied, using a flight of fifteen to savage a B'Harne Bot. Explosions blossoming on the Bot flensed away the armor from its torso and right leg, and only an amazing feat of skill from the Wyrm-Minion crew kept it from falling. Their joy was short-lived, as Mongoose ran Triveritas through the Bot's heart before bashing in the cockpit with the butt of his Destablizer. "Don't think of it as being vastly outnumbered," he offered. "Think of it as having a very wide shot selection." Ignoring Mongoose's comment, Noriko took another look at her long-range scanners. "That's odd," she said. "Most of the B'Harne Bots aren't shooting at us." Kazumi replied, "I noticed that. They're shooting at the base's shields." Almost instantly, she thought back to a similar situation at the center of the galaxy in which many broods of Tyranid ramming ships threw themselves at the Black Hole Bomb's shields in an orgy of lemming-like destruction. She had been in that battle, along with Noriko, and humanity had triumphed only because of the two's efforts. The details of that battle, and how they got back, is another story which is far too long to tell here. Just hold them long enough for us to get there, she thought. **************************************************************************** A security Ensign at a sensor board noted the presence of flashing red lights around the hangar area. "Admiral! I have several hostiles in the launch tunnel!" J-Rock immediately replied, "Seal all the blast doors in the tunnel!" "Blast doors closing," said the redshirt. Mad Piper turned to J and said, "You were right. They _are_ using the tunnel. How'd you figure that out?" "Simple," J replied. "I would have done the same thing if I was in their place." To the redshirt, he said, "Activate the remote turrets." "Uh, sir, there's two minor drawbacks. We don't have any turrets in the tunnel, and we don't have any turrets in the tunnel." J slapped his forehead as the Ensign continued. "Sir, I know that's only one drawback, but it was so important I felt it was worth mentioning twice." J thought, when does the hurting stop? "Tell Mysterium to expect company in DownBelow Command. I'm heading out." And on that note, J left the Ellipsoid and headed towards his quarters. **************************************************************************** "Keep firing!" Joker bellowed as the Lizards kept coming towards the gates, seeking to press their advantage. However, the TRES units were fighting with the ferocity of trapped rats, and lots of Lizards either dived for cover or fell where they stood. Also, the turrets were taking out their fair share of Lizards before the B'Harne Bots became too numerous to ignore. Joker also surmized that a great deal of the troops' newfound bravery came from the base's force field, which stopped most, if not all of the incoming. "They're running away!" Ensign Frey shouted from his position on the wall. Joker checked his Cyclone's radar and it affirmed what his eyes were telling him: the Lizards were indeed pulling back, not stopping until they were well beyond visual range. A great cheer echoed across the battlements as the TRES infantry voiced their approval. "Don't get too cheerful," CyberPyro said. "They may be just regrouping." Almost as if his comment was evocative, the Lizards came back firing, advancing cautiously while the B'Harne Bots opened up with their quad-linked ion cannons. Joker could also tell that their number had a little less than it did ten minutes back, but he chalked it up to attrition. Meanwhile, the Wyrm-Minions commanding the Bots got turned on to the idea of concentrating their fire on small portions of the force field, hoping to overload it. The sad part was, it seemed to be working. "The shield's failing!" he heard somebody say over the tacnet. "Shield control, degauss! Degauss!" CyberPyro barked. "It's too late, sir! They're coming in!" The shield gave one last flicker before admitting the next batch of Lizard plasma fire. Chunks of defensive wall flaked away as the Lizards began to charge once again. "I see Lizards on our left," Dan Wood shouted as he pointed out a number of Lizards working their way over from the mountain range. With the shield gone, they could march right into the courtyard. Also, the Bots started to chip away at a section of wall and the defense towers. Joker could see a couple of B'Harne Bots disintegrate under ion blasts as the Ellipsoid's mighty guns opened up. But this did not go unnoticed. A Wyrm-Minion locked his Bot's ion cannons on the bulging center of the Ellipsoid itself, yelling "For the glory of Barney!" as he pulled the bright lavender trigger... **************************************************************************** MEANWHILE... Don wondered aloud, "Why did you have us come here?" as he and the rest of the TAMUBGD contingent stood at various places in J-Rock's suite. "You're the ready-reaction force, remember?" J replied, stripping off the CVR-3 he was wearing. "Besides, I'd hate for you to leave without me." Don said, "Who'd've figured you for a control freak?" "Kindly rot in Hell, Don." "I'd have to believe in Hell first." "Very well, just kindly rot!" Finally, P-Chan said, "I'd hate to interrupt, but this base is under attack." The argument died down as J picked what appeared to be a T-shaped lug wrench. He then started loosening a few nuts recessed in the lid of a boxy object with the word "M.A.D.O.X." on a side near the top of the lid. As he was about to press a Big Red Button (tm) on the lid, he said, "There's going to be some compressed air escaping. I'd advise getting back." He then pressed the button... # Moby "Anthem" _Everything is Wrong_ True to his prediction, compressed air began escaping and fogging up the room while the box opened. When the smoke cleared, everyone could see an armored battlesuit standing in the middle of the collapsed box. The suit's lines were more like an amalgam of the Cyclones' sleekness and the Garland's boxiness. The boxy right forearm held an assault cannon and a three-fingered heavy manipulator. The left arm held a 45mm recoilless rifle in a normal gauntlet, with a GR-97 plasma rocket launcher on the forearm as well. A pair of wings coming from the suit's shoulders were folded down for easy passage through doors. Also, the chest had the Kappa Squad insignia and a number "03" painted on it. P-Chan could only gape at the sight before her. She asked J-Rock, "What is this?" Popping open the back of the armor, J replied, "This is the MADOX-03 Combat Suit. Designed to do most of the things a Wrath of Arioch can do, and a few things it can't." He slipped his feet into the MADOX's ski boot-like foot restraints. The rest of his body soon followed, after which the back of the suit closed around him. "Ok, I'm ready to go," J said over the MADOX-03's external speaker. As the assorted mini-mecha walked out of the suite, Tim asked, "How are we gonna get over there in time?" "There's an amazing device called the elevator," Don said. "I'm gonna try using that." Without even waiting for a response, he turned and ran for the elevators. "Arrgh," J-Rock arrghed softly. "Those elevators only go down to the next level. P-Chan, go after him and see that he doesn't get lost." "Ok," she replied, heading off after him before turning her head back towards the others. "You coming?" "Nah," J responded. "That way'll take forever. Just keep Don company." As P-Chan resumed her rush to link up with Don, Tim turned to J and said, "I don't know if you realize this, but those elevators are the only way there is to get down." "No, there's one more way, and it's something I've always wanted to try. C'mon." And on that note, the two ran back towards the Ellipsoid. **************************************************************************** Just before Tim and J-Rock got to the Ellipsoid's door, a massive tremor shook the hallway, causing bits of plaster to flake down from the ceiling and throwing the Jihaddi to the floor. "Are the shields down already?" Tim asked as he picked himself up off the deck. "Probably," J-Rock said, slinging the recoilless rifle and pushing the "Door Open" button. What greeted the two was a scene from Hell. Many small fires dotted the control room panels, and all the screens were either drowning in static or blanked out to that TV-tuned-to-dead-air shade of gray. Bodies of TRES personnel lay slumped in their seats or sprawled out on the floor, some with many burns on their bodies. And dominating it all was a big gaping hole where a section of the overlooking windows had been. "Jesus," Tim said while J looked around the room for any survivors. "Tim," J said, "this is hardly the time for prayer." "Uhhnnn," Mad Piper said from where a rolling chair and a monitor screen were pinning him. "I guess I should've lowered the blast windows, huh?" "Don't worry, Piper," J said as he clamped his heavy claw onto the screen. "We'll get you out of here." With that, he pushed the monitor off the trapped Admiral with all of the MADOX's augmented strength. MP then pushed the chair off of him, and slowly worked his way to a standing position. "Tim," J said. "get the Admiral out of here!" "But what about you?" Tim asked. "I'll wait up for you. Now go!" "What's your plan, J?" MP asked. "Simple. I'm gonna jump through this hole, and get to the hangar via the Pyramid." "And I thought I was mad. J, you can't get to the hangar, DownBelow, or anywhere else in the mountain through the Pyramid." "Dammit," J said, looking out through the hole. "Told ya so," Tim said, but J held up his hand. He didn't want to hear this, not now, not from him. Besides, something else had caught his attention. Down on the ground, he could see the progress of the Lizards' advance, and it was looking bad for the home side. The Lizards were using a three-pronged attack on the front line: through the gate itself, a hole in the defensive wall, and now that the shields had collapsed, over the southeast mountains. Already the Lizards were milling around the courtyard, taking fire from the guard towers and causing a great deal of damage. # Iron Maiden "Where Eagles Dare" _Piece of Mind_ Just then, a hail of mini-missiles and laser fire rained down around the MADOX. Looking up, he saw the suit's Umbrella laser anti-missile system bat down the missiles, and a whole mess of Lizards dropping down on the courtyard and the Ellipsoid. Just when you think it can't get any worse, J thought acidly. Falling back, firing the assault cannon, he shouted, "Tim! We're gonna have company!" To be continued in "...Before The Dawn"... All material copyrighted by the original author.