Beta VII: Clan Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
It was the dawning of a New Year; January 1st 3067, a
fitting time for what was about to take place. Before the day was done this cold barren
landscape would see the death of one Clan and the rebirth of another.
Long before the day of the battle the batchalls had been
made and the bidding concluded and now twenty Jade Falcon
mechs stood poised to do battle with the sixteen Steel Viper mechs in the town below.
Surveying the calm scene before him Khan Kennetix Malthus spoke into the commlink from his
command mech to the assembled warriors of Clan Jade Falcon.
"Lets rip 'em a new asshole as their old one is
dead!" were the Khan's unclanlike words, long years spent in the Inner sphere during
the truce period having diluted many aspects of the terse language many I.S. warriors
liked to refer to as "clanspeak."
Almost as one the gathered mechs fired their jump jets
and fell upon their Steel Viper prey in a manner, which closely mimicked the Falcon from
which the Clan gained its name.
The ferocity of the attack was staggering, in a few
moments six Steel Viper mechs lay wrecked, their flaming parts scattered throughout the
city starting several buildings on fire. But this was no chaotic Clan vs. Inner Sphere
battle; this was Clan trueborn vs. Trueborn. Here the warriors would face an opponent and
issue a challenge to fight according to Zellbrigen, which was accepted without question by
all opponents, a far cry from the I.S. scum who would accept such challenges only to
perform some act of treachery which would nullify the challenge and bring dishonour on the
offending warrior.
"We have them cornered." came saKhan Dragonfly
Chistu on the commlink but he was to regret this boast as the Steel Vipers launched a
counter attack from positions deep within the city. Like their namesake the Steel Vipers
were at their most dangerous when cornered as the Jade Falcons found to their cost as
volley after volley of long range missiles arced through the narrow streets striking
several Jade Falcon mechs. Such was the ferocity of some Steel Viper attacks that it
brought about the destruction of both defender and attacker alike sending both mechs
crashing to the ground locked as one in their death throws only to be ripped apart by
internal explosions.
For several hours the ferocious battle continued
following the same inevitable pattern, with the Steel Viper mech numbers growing fewer and
fewer until finally only two remained. They stood in the Town Square as the Jade Falcons
formed a ring around the two Viper mechs.
Khan Kennetix Malthus' voice came over the commlink once
more.
"Wight Night you may have the honour of concluding
this trial, do not disappoint me"
The two warriors known within the clan as the Wight
Night were actually two warriors, who shared the same bloodname, they were Mechwarrior
First Class Wight Pryde and Galaxy Commander Nightmare Pryde. As one they stepped forward
and faced their Khan, then dropped the arms of their mechs and slowly bent the upper
torsos of their mechs forward in a simulated bowing motion before facing their opponents
and issuing the final challenge for combat by way of Zellbrigen. Then the 4 mechs slowly
moved apart as they prepared for battle, Wight facing the Steel Viper saKhan Tsoth and
Nightmare facing off against the Steel Viper warrior Jagdmech .
Gcom Nightmare was the first to engage, firing his
Executioners four jump jets, sending his mech arcing high over the Grizzly of his
opponent. As he did so he sent a withering volley of grouped small and medium pulse lasers
into his opponent. Sparks flew and molten armour dripped from the stricken mech as first
one arm then the other was sent spinning from the shoulder of the seventy ton war machine.
Nightmare turned in the air to bring his weapons to bear a second time on his enemy but
something went wrong, the jets misfired sending the huge machine crashing to the ground
close to the enemy.
"Damn this unfamiliar GLADCS III config!"
cursed Nightmare as his mech impacted the ground.
The landing stunned nightmare as it knocked the close
fitting neurohelmet almost completely from his head and losing control of his machine for
several valuable seconds.
Seeing his chance the Steel Viper warrior saw a way of
quickly evening the fight as he prepared a mass firing of his flamers at close range.
Targeting scanners locked then Jagdmech fired grouped flamers right at the cockpit of his
enemy, but what was happening? Instead of four large jets of flame spewing forth into his
enemy flames engulfed the firing mech, it's torso weapons clogged with debris and
resolidified armour from the recent attack. The flames licked around the legs and torso of
the mech, the result was immediate as it was spectacular as the heat of the fusion reactor
from which all mechs are powered instantly went super critical. The mech instantly became
as bright as the sun as the reactor exploded no chance for override, no chance for
ejection. As one the mech and it's pilot were consumed by the fireball and the nearby
Executioner of Gcom Nightmare Pryde was thrown back by the explosion for over one hundred
and fifty metres as it’s legs tore two deep furrows in the concrete of the road
before it eventually crashed into a building where it came to rest. Its already dazed
knocked completely unconscious by the force of the collision.
Meanwhile things faired better for the other Steel Viper
pilot as he continued his struggle with mechwarrior Wight. The two mechs circled each
other in a dance of death, green beams playing like emerald searchlights between the two,
occasionally striking the other mech tearing chunks of armour and laying bare the endo
skeleton of the mech, leaving it vulnerable to further damage. For many a minute
did the dance continue with each warrior giving as good as he got until Wight found
his moment. His opponent began a long jump towards his mech, obviously attempting the lethal
but precarious manoeuvre known as death from above. Recognising this Wight was prepared,
as the Steel Viper mech came straight at him he took careful aim at its head with
all weapons and opened fire. The result was horrifying as the thin armour and reinforced
glass of the mechs cockpit was melted and sheared away by the combined beams of the many
pulse lasers fired at it. They did not stop there though, they continued on to the pilot
who for a millisecond was outlined in emerald before melting away into nothingness before
Wight's eyes as the energy from the lasers did it’s job. The pilotless mech
continued on course but as itis jets failed crashed to the ground like a huge metallic
mannequin dropped by a playful giant child where it remained limp and unmoving.
The battle was over, the remaining warriors gathered,
while the remaining Steel Vipers who had survived their encounters were brought in to the
Jade Falcon enclosure to hear the words of the Jade Falcon Khan who began.
"Warriors of Steel Viper there will be no bondsmen
taken today, you fought as trueborn and shall be treated as such. Those who wish to remain
shall become a part of the clan, which has bested them; those that do not shall be given
Hegira and allowed to return to Clan Steel Viper space in the pentagon worlds. For here
there is no longer Steel Viper space as we are all now of the Falcon and shall continue on
to Terra and beyond as Clan Jade Falcon. To the warriors of Clan Jade Falcon I say there
was no enemy conquered here today, we have merely brought back those who were lost to us a
long time ago, their heart is now of the Falcon, treat them accordingly"
Again as one the cry from the gathered warriors and
lower casts went up "Seyla!"
- Galaxy Commander Nightmare Pryde
