InaG Chpt 23-2

==It's not a Gundam - Chapter 23 - Part 2: Battle of The Bulge- Book 2 -==
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===Rip Van Winkle wakes Up===
Exarch's RoomAtreus City Metro Hospital
Atreus, Free Worlds League
June 3027Point of view of Exarch
My eyes shot open. The first thing I saw was the roof of a hospital.
 
The second thing was Secelia sitting at my bedside, hand holding my mine.
 
I was surrounded by doctors as well as three of the most dangerous men in the Inner Sphere. The only company I had from Junker was Mashymre whose bags under his eyes told me how little sleep he had.
 
"....How long?" my voice creaked out.
 
"It's June now." Secelia answered.
 
Almost half a year...
 
"What happened?"
 
"The First Circuit." Thomas Marik shook his head, "They attempted to have you killed."
 
"And almost succeeded." Cello scowled, "The Drones on Circinus were their doing. Your suspicions were correct, sir."
 
"Not enough to pass public scrutiny." Janos Marik scowled as well, "They're attacking everyone, even their own and the drones are self-sufficient."
 
"You mean they're deniable." I frowned, "OVERT deniable assets."
 
"They are, Lord Cameron." Jaime Wolf spoke.
 
"I don't want to be First Lord." I shook my head, "I am and always will be my own man."
 
Wolf shook his head, "The Inner Sphere will disagree ... so will the Clans."
 
The fact that neither the doctors present or Thomas looked unphased said everything.
 
"Have you two disclosed to the others yet?" I pointedly asked him and Janos.
 
"I've been busy hammering out a deal with the Archon." The Captain-General explained, "And the Anduriens."
 
"They want to rebel? At this time?" I asked incredulous.
 
"We took your suggestion." Secelia gave a malicious smirk, "That Hag Humphreys tried to tamper with the referendum. She lost. Badly."
 
"Truthfully." Wolf spoke up again, "I have been moving my outfit's non-essential equipment and dependents to Junker. Your Rose Knight has been helpful ensuring our timely departure from Combine space."
 
"For 'Samurai' devoted to dueling they have a poor showing." Cello puffed his chest, "The Guild has not been accosted outside the occasional Draconis soldier trying to gain glory form challenging us."
 
"Cello, half of them were men trying to kill you for wooing their wives, sisters, and daughters."
 
"I will have you know that I never did anything untoward a lady!" Mashymre protested, "I have only been polite and courteous to any lord and lady I have met!"
 
"When every one of those Samurai have a bamboo stick up their ass you'll need to learn to live with it." Janos snorted, "Unless you test-tube meatheads solve that problem for us."
 
"Trueborn." Jamie corrected, "And technically I'm only half."
 
Janos ignored him, "We'll deal with the SLDF when they decided to come here. Problem is that right now the Circuit is trying to reset the clock."
 
"Agreed." Mashymre answered, "Thought it seems they will settle for ruling over the ashes."
 
I sighed, "No. That's their original plan. This time they are just proactive about making sure it happens."
 
My legs were shaky as Secelia grabbed my arm and the doctors rushed to my side.
 
I didn't brush them off but I managed to stand on my own two feet.
 
"Captain-General, I'd like to sit down with you and the ambassadors of the Houses. Even if I want to be First Lord, there is no Hegemony left. Our war is with the First Circuit."
 
I then turn to Jaime, "Colonel Wolf, as heir to House Cameron I invoke the oath the SLDF swore to protect the people of the Inner Sphere. The same oath that The Great Father and you Wardens in spirit swore to."
 
"Mr. Marik," I looked pointedly to Thomas, "Give me a list of Adepts and Precentors I can trust."
 
"What about me, Exarch?" Cello asked.
 
I didn't hesitate to answer him, "Get the men. We're going to war."
----
===Hedging Bets===
Aboard the Ptolemaios''
Atreus, Free Worlds League
June 3027
I had assurances from Davion and Steiner that they would work with us and honor the ceasefire the Guild had been working with the Mariks over. I also had assurances that they would help me deal with the Mobile Dolls. At the moment it was local cooperation. Nothing coordinated outside of planetary things between the local garrisons, the militia, and the Guild.
 
The war I was expecting to fight would mean that the Great Houses had to join together. The Mobile Dolls were self-replicating and worst: they could adapt, they could think. And if my metaknowledge was correct the Tubarov Bilmon that currently led the Niops Association was THAT sociopath from Gundam Wing obsessed with making killbots; hell, he was happy to plunge the world into anarchy and despotism as long as it let his Mobile Dolls do plenty of killing.
 
But I had no proof. Nothing to tie Niops the Hilton Head. Just the words of Thomas Marik, a man inherently biased for being the Captain-General's Son and a known critic of Comstar's leadership.
 
I stood in front of the AGE Builder. It was as as much my savior as it was my personal devil.
 
"Alright. I did what you asked. I accepted Natasha's Batchall and I got shot in the face for it. Roll the die. What did you give me that makes it worth it?"
 
The machine opened with a hiss. To my surprise it was no Mobile Suit or Mobile Armor ... just a slip of paper.
 
"Coordinates." I read.
 
As I was deliberating the Guild and League were putting MDs to the sword in their region.
 
From what Tormano Liao told me Sian was letting Comstar tear itself apart and play kingmaker while Luthien was opaque as ever. What little I could glean from Guild merchant contacts with Chandrasekhar Kurita told me that there were THREE instead of two Comstar factions. Apparently Myndo Waterly was securing her powerbase ... and the ISF was all to happy to look the other way.
 
I was on my way to Tharkad to ensure that half of the Inner Sphere at least wasn't going to tear itself apart. Three of the Great Houses in my camp and the majority of the Periphery united was enough economic and military clout to make any force pause. Clan and ComStar included.
 
If Tormano was willing to throw his hat into the ring then I could count another Great House. Or at least. Remove one.
 
The jump coordinates weren't far from Tharkad but it was off the beaten path. It would delay things and at the moment every day could be the deciding factor.
 
The door slid open. I didn't need to look to know who had entered.
 
"Ex."
 
"Secelia."
 
"Are you alright?"
 
"Fine as I'll ever be." I admit, holding my cane absentmindedly, "Though I wished I didn't need this."
 
"It's only temporary, but what I'm asking about is that little spat you had with the press."
 
Meeting after meeting took it's toll. That reporter who was likely to be a First Circuit stooge was the last straw.
 
Political analysts were already screaming about me restarting the Star League.
 
"What does the Periphery say?"
 
"Wariness." She crossed her arms, "Fear. Respect. Hope. Much of it the latter two. The Taurians might be as bullish as their namesake but not all the Periphery remembers the SLDF ... some remember the TDF stepping on toes to 'protect the freedom of the Periphery from Inner Sphere aggression'. You know the Junkers will follow you no matter what. Plenty of people you have helped will also. Plenty who wanted a Cameron also have you to fill in the shoes."
 
"Reluctantly." I added.
 
"You still filled them in."
 
"And I will until I can stop." I declared, "I was fine with growing old with a quiet home on Junkers."
 
"...how about together?"
 
She held my hand.
 
I squeezed it back.
 
"...I would like that. Yeah."
 
We returned to our quarters, but not before I glared at the AGE Builder. This had better be worth it.
----
===Ambush at the Jump Point===
Near Tharkad, Lyran Commonwealth Space
July 3027Point of View of Jaime Wolf
A detour. A small detour. Cameron jumped the Ptolemaios away and left the rest of the ships to move toward Tharkad.
 
He had no right to judge. The Dragoons had slipped away to get supplies and orders from home.
 
Though it didn't calm his unease.
 
The war continued to rage as Mobile Dolls (MD) continued to hurl themselves at everyone and everything. Worlds thought untouched by the greater Succession Wars were now the victims of drone attacks both large and small.
 
It was a metal cancer that spread, even going so far as the Hanseatic League. Hansa, who saw the occasional Diamond Shark and Snow Raven merchants.
 
Word would reach the Khans and another war may just be on the horizon. The Crusaders were always looking for an excuse to invade and force their vision upon the Inner Sphere. The Wardens would recognize the threat but even they were not unified and their culture encouraged infighting.
 
Plans were being drawn. Some hoping to prevent bloodshed completely. Others to minimize it. The worse case scenario would be to see his people be buried under the sheer metal that the Junkers would throw under them until they bent the knee.
 
The only consolation was said plans were in the preliminary. He had plenty on his plate right now.
 
Natasha was back fulfilling the Dragoons contractual duties in the Combine. The skirmishes were now more between the Houses and Drones than between the Scavenger Lords but they had oaths to keep. Only thing now was waiting for the moment they could stop being Mercenaries ... and start being the SLDF again.
 
Disclosure was a slow process. But at the moment he had time in his quarters to read messages.
 
"I will be short my friend." Minobu spoke through a voice-mail, "If not for the honorless drones and the Junkers personally helping to move your people The Dragon would have tried to claim you and your own for itself. It is no secret. I am thankful it is averted ... my only regret is that I can say my farewells in person while we are still on the same side. I hope that remains the case."
 
Jaime pinched the ridge of his nose. The Combine. He had spent his resources to prepare them as the vanguard against a Clan Invasion. Now? His plans were all for naught. In exchange for training the Ryuken, House Kurita wanted to steal everything out from under them. And thanks to the Exarch, instead of worrying about the Clans setting the Inner Sphere ablaze he feared it would be the other way around.
 
Suddenly, the alarm rang and he shot up from his seat. He rushed over to the bridge as the crew fretted over consoles.
 
"STATUS!" he barked.
 
"Emergency Jump, Colonel!" An officer answered.
 
"Jump? On whose orders!?"
 
"Mine."
 
His head snapped tall, thin, freckle-faced man.
 
"It must be THAT bad, William." He spoke with no heat.
 
William Cameron, not A Cameron, but HIS Cameron. His Chief Communications Officer may not be in his Cyclops but he made sure that the Dragoons could keep in contact on and off the battlefield.
 
"It is. One of the Guild Jumper Hubs was hit by MDs. Donegal-4."
 
"That is a major artery." Wolfe cursed, "How bad?"
 
"Guild and LCAF forces were mauled in a rearguard action. We have Civilian and Military Jumpers scattered all over."
 
He gestured to the Bridge's primary display. Instead of the neat formations of their Mission the rest of the Jump Point was being filled by scattered and battered Jumpships in various states of damage.
 
"If that hub isn't cleared we'll be seeing Jumpships lined up to be slaughtered."
 
He would have argued about sending an open HPG message to warn others to stay clear.
 
But then it was already being done.
 
But then not every Jumper would hear it in time.
 
But then he had to remind himself who EXACTLY commanded the MDs.
 
"It could be a trap."
 
"You and I already know that, quiaff?"
 
"...Aff. I do."
 
If he was a Warden then would practice what he preached. With he himself firmly in command he ordered the disparate forces of the Dragoons to his side.
 
Before the response time for attacks were measured in hours. Now it was minutes. He climbed into his Archer the moment they were given the call.
 
The moment they jumped was the moment the Mobile Dolls would sic themselves on them. Preparations were key.
 
He had prepared.
 
He tested himself against ASF pilots.
 
He spent hours in simulators against digital ghosts of the Exarch and the Rose Knight.
He read through and understood the equipment that the Exarch had gifted him.
 
For the day that a Clan MechWarrior found himself fighting in the void.
Dozens of service arms tended to his Archer, checking to be sure he and his Mech were ready for the danger of space combat. The clang of one of the 'Expansions' being fitted on his mech reverberated across his cockpit.
 
His console readout a single sentence: <{Psycho-Pack installed.}>
 
He had only gotten used to the Shriker Packs, Leo Spacepacks, and Tragos Hoverunits. Apparently this thing would have required a cybernetic interface ... or someone with the right reflexes and neurohelmet.
The jump started and ended. The Dragoons flew right into a warzone, joined by scrambling Lyran and Guild troops.
 
Already guns were firing. Already the Dropships were breaking off and ASFs and space-capable Mechs launched to meet the dezgra drone swarms.
 
He felt the kick of his Dropship detaching and the jolt as it's engines ignited.
 
Klaxons blared and sirens wailed as the Dropship doors opened. Outside organized chaos reigned.
 
Ball and Oggos had spilled out of their hiding holes. Mechs grappled, ASFs jousted, in the middle of it a lone Jumpship and it's defenders desperately holding on.
 
One after another his allies launched. Desperate to save who they could. For a moment he froze, wondering if this was what General Aleksandr Kerensky felt battling the SDS over the ruins of their home. Perhaps.
 
He grit his teeth, feeling his boosters begin to ignite, "Jaime Wolf. Psycho-Archer. Launching!"
Jaime flew forward. All his genetics, all his equipment, all his training, barely prepared him for the G-forces that slammed into his body. The Psycho-Pack's primary booster shot him through the initial drone screen. It's weapons did the rest.
 
Half a dozen guns and missile hardpoints on gimballed arms unfolded and opened up.
A dozen targets were painted. A dozen were sent to whatever stood for the Mobile Dolls afterlife and then some. At every angle and blindspot the weapon arms cut a bloody swathe through the veritable swarm, it was so much so that his Targeting Computer strained to track of what the Psycho-Pack was aiming at. Only Jaime's instincts and reflexes, only his own WILL allowed him to manage the sheer sensory overload filling his HUD. Even so he still grimaced as his hands shook from the pain running up his arm. Every jolt, every juke, every roll, every feint to avoid the overwhelming firepower took it's physical toll as well.
 
Was this what you meant? he thought, That it needed the right kind of Mechwarrior?
 
He gripped the control sticks again and turned to the rest of his allies.
 
"Areas clear!" he shouted over the radio, "Get that Jumper to safety!"
 
He was met with a chorus of 'Sir Yes Sir!' and that did not just include his Dragoons. Serpents, Leos, and Space-Grade Commandos fought beside more conventional ASFs.
 
The fighting continued to rage around him. Sure the drones were just pods, but there dozens of them and if there was anything he knew their AI Commander was their single point of failure.
 
As his mech laid down fire support he both commanded his troops and searched for said Commander. It was only then that he saw it: a lone Virgo. The Mobile Doll dueled two Mechs, one a MS-grade Valkyrie, the other was as iconic as any machine by Cameron.
 
"...Gundam..." He whispered.
 
As if it could read his thoughts Gundam's head snapped to look at his direction. It's face glaring at whoever was foolish enough to face it.
 
It was a deadly dance of laser and PPC fire. The drifting shells and empty missile pods told them how long the fight lasted. The Valkyrie was worn down, Gundam seemed to snarl in defiance. Around them were the remains of dozens of pods, torn to shreds for intervening in the fight.
 
 He moved to intervene himself, telling William and the rest of his Command lance to guide the greater battlefield. It was time to cut off the head of the snake. Like what he should have done with Kurita a long time ago.
 
 His missiles streaked toward the Virgo who in turn raised it's electro-magnetic shield in defense. It was enough of a distraction that his Archer's lasers managed to cut into the Virgo, but only just.
 
 The AI Commander disengaged, flying back as Jaime joined The Witch of Jalastar and the Prince's Champion.
 
<("Way to mess with a girl's fun.")> Yvonne mused.
 
"Situation?"
She raised her arm. The Valkyrie was practically sparking and perforated.
 
<)"They have been attacking in waves. Trying to wear us out.")>
 
<<"Mrs. Yvonne!">> The Gundam's pilot shouted, <<"They're coming back!">>
 
Yvonne cursed, <("Any plans?")>
 
Jaime glared at the Virgo leading the attack, "Fight or Flight. But if we take it's head..."
 
<("Fight AND Flight.")> The Davion understood, <("We have no time to recharge and not enough numbers to fight them all off. But without their commander their coordination drops.")>
 
The gathered forces reoriented. Collectively they turned to face the onrushing swarm of drones descending upon them.
 
"I'm still fresh." Jaime spoke, "You need to stay back and protect the civilians."
 
<("Like a Prince's Champion would-")>
 
Nina interrupted her mentor, her mech resting it's hand on the Valkyrie's shoulder.
 
Yvonne sighed, <("Don't make me regret this.")>
 
He raised his arm in acknowledgement and aimed his mech at the Virgo. A wolf was on the hunt.
 
The boosters roared into the void and he shot forward, guns blazing all the while. He did not so much dodge the Virgo's beam cannon as he did it's aim. His Archer swept left and right barreling through the drone lines as he did. He even grabbed a Ball in one hand, tossing it into the path of the Virgo as they closed the distance.
 
The drone swatted the pod aside. From it's free arm a blade folded out, meeting an axe generously provided by the Psycho-Frame as standard. Blade met blade. Steel and carbon collided and sparks flew.
 
For the Clans Melee was dishonorable, but this was no ring of honor.
 
His Archer read his thoughts and every swing, every punch, every kick was one he personally delivered. Days of his youth, forced into unaugmented combat with Trueborn sibko, told him being predictable was setting himself up for failure. So he grappled when he should have swung and swung when he should have grappled. An AI could not predict the unpredictable.
 
His axe broke slamming against the Mech's internal E-Carbon frame. He did not pause. He threw the handle at the Virgo's face and grabbed the disoriented mech, slamming it face first into the hull of one of it's victims. Jaime gritted his teeth and ignited his boosters. If sound could permeate vacuum he would be covering his ears as metal ground against metal. It could kill anyone ... he hoped it could kill it.
 
All around him the deadliest of dances raged. The deadliest engines of war floated broken and lifeless as man and machine did their damndest to murder each other.
 
He looked down upon the Mobile Doll. It continued to resist. The drone continued to try to claw at his cockpit and for split second he could feel blind, raw, HATE in it's one eye. it did not last long. The Archer braked and the Virgo didn't. The AI commander slammed into a rock as Jaime broke away. Half a dozen LRMs smashed into the asteroid to remove what was left.
 
The leader of the Dragoons turned away to see to the rest of the battle ... but his hope began to fade as he watched his display come alive with dozens more hostile red blips.
 
>-"Colonel."-< Will spoke, >-"The Command Ship."-<
 
Of all the things they forgot ... they missed out on how did the Mobile Dolls even get here?
 
There in the blackness of space he saw the unmistakable shape of a Mammoth cargo dropship spilling out more Mobile Doll units. The fact that his targeting computer flickered looking at the Spheroid told him they had some form of ECM. Likely how they could surprise the original defenders in the first place.
Now it was burning toward them. Jaime braced. He did not speak words but his command-and-control console was sending out his directions. A Mammoth dwarfed other dropships; this one in particular bristled with weaponry and armor. He was no Snow Raven, but the Mechwarrior vowed to protect his people no mattered the odds.
 
Fortunately for him something else had joined the fight: reinforcements.
 
Lyran ships from across Donegal and local Guild ships jumped into the point.
 
And one station.
 
Jamie gaped as a fully-armed, fully-operational space station jumped right on top of him.
Now it was burning toward them. Jaime braced. He did not speak words but his command-and-control console was sending out his directions. A Mammoth dwarfed other dropships; this one in particular bristled with weaponry and armor. He was no Snow Raven, but the Mechwarrior vowed to protect his people no mattered the odds.
 
Fortunately for him something else had joined the fight: reinforcements.
 
Lyran ships from across Donegal and local Guild ships jumped into the point.
 
And one station.
 
Jamie gaped as a fully-armed, fully-operational space station jumped right on top of him.
Shaped like a large screw the massive space-bound fortress easily made monsters like the Potemkin look like child's toys. Proudly emblazoned on it's side was the Cameron Star, the Junker Wrench, and in bold words: BULGE.
 
The barrel of the Bulge glowed an ominous red as it charged up. It's escort of Taurus kept their distance, waiting to see the Exarch's newest weapon perform it's grisly duty.
The once advancing Mobile Dolls turned to flee, desperate to avoid what was coming. It mattered little. Two blades of golden light, one on each end, sliced through whatever drones were in it's path. The attendant Taurus aimed their ER lasers, picking off what remained. The main gun glowed brighter and brighter until it was near blinding. Until finally a crackling wave of seething blood red light spilled out from the Bulge like a gate of hell.
The Superheavy Capital PPC vaporized the Mammoth. It burst like a balloon while it's contents boiled away. When the blinding light subsided there was no burning wreck. Just vapor and scattered bits of molten slag.
 
...Jamie now understood why Cameron took a detour. He regretted knowing it.
----
==Chapter Notes==
*; Author's Chapter Notes : The Bulge is a mobile space colony with it's own food production and industry to make it's own mobile suits, spacecraft, and weapons. The giant death-beam is actually an upgrade.Jaime Wolf's Psycho Pack is using a modified Reuse P similar to the Psycho Zaku. 
----
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Chapter 23-2