TOW67

Chapter 67 - The Other War
City of Lootera
Huntress Star System
Kerensky Cluster, Clan Space
April, 3063
Diary of a Gunslinger
Lootera in 3063 was a wild place, strangely more peaceful than my native FedSuns what with the Regent’s War going on at the same time. Less strenuous than the Ghost Bear-Nova Cat War too; those purps scored a big win and loads of patriotic #@*%& with that one. This was still pre-Katherine Steiner-Davion…Fox whatever she calls herself now, invading New Avalon and blowing up a town with her big ass warship. I won’t defend what Bishop Sortek did, he was in the wrong but not everyone thought it at the time. I’m just saying 3063 was a hell of a year.
Anyway, back to Lootera, the 2SLDF has occupied the main continent ever since the Great Refusal. The First Prince’s death was hard on all of us but good for recruitment into the SLDF, fancy uniform, tour the stars, merc level pay without having to fix your own mech, it was a nice deal. Well Huntress was a different animal see some of us wanted to take the fight up there and maybe had a bit of a death wish. Lots of BIRD DOG vets signed up, upset that they missed out on a battle for the history books. Man were they in for a surprise let me tell you, between the Sundering and Jihad, it’ll take a whole #@&*!? golden century to put the whole universe back together.
So, any way some of us wanted vengeance and a brand-new Clan mech right from the factory in our name to take home after our two years were up. All you needed to do was have a solid service record, sign on the dotted line, ship off the Tukayyid for the Gunslinger course, complete it, and you would head on up the Exodus Road aboard one of the Blessed Order’s jumpships. The whole process took about two years + three more but the pay, the pay was really nice, bonuses for beating Clanners at their own game, and tax free. Like in 3070 I brought a thousand-acres and three thousand head in cash good.
I had just dropped into Lootera’s Green Zone and signed for my Cauldron-Born two weeks before Valentines. They had dozens of those squat gunboats roll off the line every year from the smokies factories. My techs were former Jaguars it was a good gig for them, most of Lootera had fallen apart without the Warrior Caste. Drugs, gambling, alcohol, hookers, whatever you wanted was available if you looked a little. The constables spent more time dealing with vice than the insurrection and that insurrection burned hot every once in a while. It was on a lull when I started ‘cause the Eridani had just busted a few wanna be Warlords in the jungle, blew up some ammo dumps and made a big show of force. They kept talking about this lost Khan, but we never found him, I think he was just a ghost story, or a man on a radio.
Nothing ever dies as long as at least someone remembers and they Clans were so brainwashed that they wanted a return to the bad old days. I have served on more than a few Combine and Confederation worlds, but this was way worse than even Sunny’s best propaganda, it’s a Cult. These Lost Causers were numerous and with the census lost anyone could come in and claim the Jaguar’s mantle.
On Valentine’s I faced down a Mob of Mandrills led by some old Jaguar Ristar in a Loki. He blabbered on about his deeds. Fought in the REVIVAL trials, knew the original ilKhan that Miraborg spaced, etc… He wanted the old legacies so he could rebuild the Clan. So, I called him out, my unit was the first FedSuns one to reinforce the Clan Front during the War. Held firm against everything the Wolves and Jade Falcons threw at us and we won the most important thing, time, which was wasting when we could be wasting each other.
He took the bait, I knew he would, standard protocol from Gunslinger plus the Cats gave you some inside info on their mindset, and this guy was old school and angry. I think it was the mech, but I suppose it could have been me too, we had a nice chat going on, well I was chatting he was yelling something in that horrid pidgin they call language. 
Courtesy of my new targeting computer I found all the normal weak spots and filled them with ordnance. Unfortunately, the new Lokis in Clanspace had 25% more armor shockingly this did actually throw me for a loop. We had some choice words for that mech in the AFFC during REVIVAL. The loss of firepower didn’t really matter to this guy he was precise with those lasers despite his apparent rage. For the first time in a while I was genuinely impressed. I won in the end though, popped a slug right through the reactor core. 
He ejected running up to my mech with a piece of angle iron pulled from the ruin trying to smash it. My lancemates looked over to me and I dropped a tear gas SRM right next to my foot and the Jaguar to his credit resisted it long enough for some of the others to recover him. The techs had to wash my foot off before it got in the mech bay, but they were still getting teary over it for a week.
That’s just the life of a Gunslinger though everyone wants to put hands on iron in your presence. 
I got used to it, served my time, and got out before the real *!^# hit the fan in Clanspace. Just in time for the Jihad. What a life.
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