AndrewCrisp
Sergeant
Reged: 11/22/02
Posts: 176
Loc: MilCom Centre, Outpost One, No...
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The Art of War: A tale of the Mycrosian Liberation
#86467 - 03/08/04 07:40 PM (156.34.218.158)
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The Art of War
1. Open Ground
“Ground on which each side has liberty of movement is open ground.” - Sun Tzu
The outskirts of Ironholm, October 28, 3235
The solitary watcher lay prone on the top of a hill, his combat gear the same white as the snow that had fallen just a few days earlier. He’d been here for hours, not moving except to eat, or to record his observations.
Not for the first time, the soldier’s mind went over the circumstances that led him to this hillside, spying on his own people. He was a loyal man, but he had to question the orders that Etienne Charest, the commanding officer of the Mycrosian military himself, had given him a few days before.
“Just keep an eye on the town, note anything out of the ordinary, and get out if you think you are about to be discovered. Don’t attempt to enter the town itself, and don’t communicate with any other unit, friendly or otherwise.”
“Begging your pardon sir, but why don’t you contact the troops already in the town?”
Charest had glanced aside at the soldier for several seconds. “What I’m about to tell you is not to leave this room, understood?”
“Sir!”
“The Chairman has pretty much clamped down on all communications between Ironholm and the rest of Mycros. The only troops allowed into the town are part of Ross’ own ‘Sovereign Guard’ and they answer to nobody but Chairman Ross himself.”
The soldier nodded. The Sovereign Guard was a small unit of troops that was technically part of the Mycrosian military, but which was in fact a separate force, operating from orders of the provisional government in Dyson. Life had seemed to darken in the small nation after the Guard was formed... but then, life had always had a dark streak since the Two Moons War.
“I’ve... had some concerns about the Chairman’s recent decisions,” Charest had continued. “He has plans for Ironholm, and I am not entirely sure those plans have Mycros’ best interests at heart. I need some answers.” He stood. “Unfortunately, I’ve been ordered - excuse me, ‘invited’ - to take part in a mech duel, so I’ll be gone for a few days. Have your report ready for me when I get back.”
“Sir? Assuming you don’t make it back, and I find something of importance, who do I submit my report?”
“Your mission folder has a contingency plan just in case that happens. Dismissed.”
***
Activity near some of the buildings brought the soldier from his reverie. He picked up his binoculars for a better look.
Some of the Sovereign Guard, in their black and cobalt uniforms, were present, directing some workers near a large circular asphalt platform. The soldier had noted the platform before, but had yet to devine its purpose. He focused his binoculars on two of the soldiers...
...and there, between them, was Chairman Theodore Ross himself.
The soldier lowered his binoculars. “So... what are you up to now, Mr. Chairman?” he muttered softly. He was still too far away to accurately read expressions, but he was certain the Chairman looked nervous about something, while trying to hide it from those around him. He was about to resume his surveillance when a loud noise startled him.
He looked up... to see a dropship swoop in from the west. In the distance, the workers scurried to safety while the dropship touched down on what the soldier now realized was a landing pad.
That in and of itself was strange: under Ross’ own edict, any dropships entering or leaving Mycrosian territory had to berth at a military base.
So Charest was right. There was something strange going on.
The soldier trained the binoculars on the dropship, using the built-in camera to record the ship. He was thorough, but he was unable to see any insignia to indicate where the dropship had come from.
Nor did he see any insignia on the lance of Striker tanks that rolled out of the dropship, nor on the Wasp battlemech that followed them.
The sight of the battlemech told the soldier that his time was up. Wasps possessed a respectable sensor suite, and he would not remain hidden here for long. He paused just long enough to record Ross approach and shake the hand of what the soldier presumed was the force commander, then scurried back to where his swiftwind scout car lay concealed under its camouflage.
(to be continued.)
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"Why is that we always break up our history by the .. the wars, not the years of peace?... Because it's exciting, and because on some level people like to see something big fall apart and explode from the inside out. And right now, John, we're that something."
- Micheal Garibaldi
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TheDeadlyShoe
Lieutenant Colonel
Reged: 06/22/02
Posts: 1621
Loc: Redmond, WA
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Re: The Art of War: A tale of the Mycrosian Liberation
[Re: AndrewCrisp]
#86484 - 03/08/04 11:14 PM (4.41.55.172)
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woot!
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Shoe for the NSI
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Mazer
Colonel
Reged: 01/24/03
Posts: 1622
Loc: Margaritaville ;)
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Re: The Art of War: A tale of the Mycrosian Liberation
[Re: TheDeadlyShoe]
#86498 - 03/09/04 05:22 AM (66.20.28.21)
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Cool story, not bad 
But 'woot'? 'woot'?!?! Get it right Shoe, w00t!
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Struck, sir? I have not yet begun to fight! - John Paul Jones
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Kanil
Captain
Reged: 03/13/03
Posts: 1028
Loc: Head Chef, Archon's Kitchen
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Re: The Art of War: A tale of the Mycrosian Liberation
[Re: Mazer]
#86522 - 03/09/04 12:39 PM (24.48.174.141)
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Seriously Mazer, what the hell is "woot"? w00t w00t.
Awesome story too.
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"The better news is that we are outnumbered, four to one."
- Clanners, and their whacked view of the world.
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Mazer
Colonel
Reged: 01/24/03
Posts: 1622
Loc: Margaritaville ;)
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Re: The Art of War: A tale of the Mycrosian Liberation
[Re: Kanil]
#86539 - 03/09/04 04:30 PM (66.20.28.21)
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LOL, it's just sort of an expression, like "w00t, we won!" or something like that
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Struck, sir? I have not yet begun to fight! - John Paul Jones
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AndrewCrisp
Sergeant
Reged: 11/22/02
Posts: 176
Loc: MilCom Centre, Outpost One, No...
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Re: The Art of War: A tale of the Mycrosian Liberation
[Re: Mazer]
#86966 - 03/12/04 08:33 PM (156.34.213.51)
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Thanks for the votes of confidence!
Would have had this up sooner, but life got in the way. Presenting the latter half of Part 1:
***
“Colonel, it’s good to see you at last.”
Colonel Ormand stepped down from the lead Striker tank, smoothed his dress uniform and turned to face the speaker. A man in civilian clothing approached him, with one of the black-and-cobalt liveried soldiers right behind him. “Indeed. And you are?”
“Chairman Theodore Ross. Welcome to Mycros, Colonel.” The civilian smiled. Ormand shook the offered hand, outwardly passive, but inwardly scowling.
The leader of this small sliver of a nation was a civilian. The Colonel would have sooner cut off his good hand than deal than a civilian. Steady, he told himself, play the game out properly.
“I had a chance to view this town as we came down from orbit. I am surprised, given the recent trouble, that you were able to build it so quickly.”
“It was not without its problems,” Ross replied. “But we have, I trust, proven we can keep our end of the agreement.”
“That remains to be seen. I still need to inspect the mining facility and factories, and I would like a chance for a field test of the items you promised.” That’s it, make him squirm a little... but not too much. “However, if this town is any indication, I believe we will have a most profitable partnership.”
Ross grinned and started to talk, but Ormand listened only partially. Whatever discomforts he had to endure with this backward nation would be worth it, for soon his General would have an additional source of armour for his army... and, when the time was right, Ormand would personally execute this “Chairman” and establish his own fief on this planet in the General’s name.
***
The next day...
“Sir? Are you alright?”
Etienne Charest smiled at the soldier’s query, and glanced down at the sling in which his left arm hung. “Just a hairline fracture, I’ll be fine.” He sobered. “Sadly my opponent in the arena didn’t fare so well.” His opponent in the duel had been a mechwarrior from Clan Rabid Badger, a skilled man named Fred Kussel. The two had been evenly matched, and Kussel had fought brilliantly... until a chance laser strike tore into one of the LRM munitions bays and ripped the Thorn apart. Kussel had not survived. Charest was due to fly to Clan territory shortly to attend the warrior’s funeral and present the Mycrosian Star of Valour to Kussel’s family on behalf of the fallen.
But first, there was the matter of how his own Thorn had performed in the duel. Charest had piloted the Thorn in Swiftwynd’s Uprising, over four years ago, and then in the Two Moons war, and had gotten the feel of how the battlemech was supposed to operate. But this time... there had been problems with maneuvering and targetting that Charest couldn’t ignore. And the damage done by the repair techs in that accident at the bay...
He had the mech shipped, over Chairman Ross’ objections, to a repair bay in the allied nation of Taurian Lancers, with the discrete instructions to watch out for anything - with ‘anything’ being loosely defined - unusual.
Many of Mycros’ recent losses in the arenas had been fatal, and of those, two - David Kinsalye and Tamara Keyes - had voiced opposition to some of Ross’ policies...
And then there was the matter of the report that the soldier standing before him had delivered.
It had confirmed his fears, and fueled worse ones. Ross was selling out his nation to some unknown force.
He dismissed the soldier with a reminder of the secrecy of his mission and leafed through the report once more.
A door opened in the office and a man, walking with the aid of a crutch, entered the room. “It looks bad, doesn’t it?”
Charest got up and closed the door behind the man. “You shouldn’t be here! If you were spotted...”
“I wasn’t. Your guards are good men and got me in here quietly.”
Charest relaxed, but only for a moment. “I’m afraid it’s bad.” He handed the report to the man, who eased himself into a chair and started to read.
When he was done, he looked up at Charest. “I knew Ross was up to something, but this...” He paused. “Any idea who these people are?”
“Not a clue. I’m going to talk to someone in MIS, see if I can get some information that way.”
“What about the other members of the provisional government? There has to be someone we can talk to.”
“Nobody reliable. Ross has that council tied up. Those that are on it are either working with him or are too afraid of him to speak out.” Charest paused. “I know you’re against this, but we might have to consider using force.”
“A rebellion?”
“We might not have much choice. Now that these... invaders... are here, time is not on our side.”
The man paused. “You’re right. I am against it. I’m tired of seeing friends go off to die, but... We’ll keep it as an option, but I want to try one thing more before we cross that line.”
He stood, leaning heavily on the crutch. “There are some people we can contact. Who was that man from Darkfire at the funeral?”
“Lieutenant Gerdo.”
“See if you can get a message to him or to Searo Fichia. We’re going to need outside help one way or another. Contact Robert Gear of NSI Ventures as well.” He hobbled to the door. “And, Etienne...”
“I know. Be careful.”
End of Part 1
***
Flameseeker and Shoe, I hope you don't mind if I bring in some of your characters as supporting cast, though if you do mind, just say so and I'll make the appropriate changes.
Part 2: "Ground of Intersecting Highways" should be up in about a week.
Andrew
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"Why is that we always break up our history by the .. the wars, not the years of peace?... Because it's exciting, and because on some level people like to see something big fall apart and explode from the inside out. And right now, John, we're that something."
- Micheal Garibaldi
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Tenshi
Sergeant Major
Reged: 05/27/03
Posts: 259
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Re: The Art of War: A tale of the Mycrosian Liberation
[Re: AndrewCrisp]
#87014 - 03/13/04 01:04 PM (24.196.181.92)
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<watches the thread intently> As I've come to realize, you have a very potent talent for writing...and keeping me on the edge of my seat! Can't wait for the next installment.
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Flameseeker
Major
Reged: 07/18/02
Posts: 1304
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Re: The Art of War: A tale of the Mycrosian Liberation
[Re: Tenshi]
#87077 - 03/14/04 10:19 AM (12.221.132.120)
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No problem, glad that El got into someone else's story, he must be mildly important now.
Very nice, keep it up!
(BTW, it's \/\/00t@g3! not woot)
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Cpt. Searo "Ace" Ficha of the Darkfire Legionnaires
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Red_Death
Newbie
Reged: 04/06/04
Posts: 6
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Re: The Art of War: A tale of the Mycrosian Liberation
[Re: AndrewCrisp]
#88971 - 04/06/04 06:30 AM (217.137.172.20)
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nice story, one question is Ironholm your city or are you refering to my empire? Either way is a good tale
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AndrewCrisp
Sergeant
Reged: 11/22/02
Posts: 176
Loc: MilCom Centre, Outpost One, No...
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Re: The Art of War: A tale of the Mycrosian Liberation
[Re: Red_Death]
#89131 - 04/08/04 09:49 AM (156.34.230.150)
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"Ironholm" does refer to a city in my empire. It derives its name from the highly industrial nature of its economy. Sorry for the confusion.
And sorry for being so late with Part 2 - though I should have it ready within a few more days.
Andrew
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"Why is that we always break up our history by the .. the wars, not the years of peace?... Because it's exciting, and because on some level people like to see something big fall apart and explode from the inside out. And right now, John, we're that something."
- Micheal Garibaldi
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