Ep27

**This page contains major spoilers for the story. You have been warned!**

## Summary

The battle for Zathras and Project Boomerang begins with the Marauders taking on The Benefactor’s forces with the help from some old friends and new allies.

## Play by Play

The Yojimbo enters orbit around the planet of Zathras.  The Marauders prepare for their greatest battle ever, going up against the full force of the Benefactor, and make plans to take Project Boomerang for themselves.  They are assisted by some old friends and new allies, Lazarus, Baroness Lazaroth, and Lord Mulligan all join in the fight.  The Lord Commander gives an inspiring speech to rally the troops and Talon steps up to give the assignments.  Coryphee and the Lord Commander are going in with Hamid and Barrister, as well as other infantry, with the aim of breaking into the base which is housing the dropship that The Benefactor is seeking.  Berg also volunteers to join them as he is one of the only people in the sector qualified to pilot a fortress dropship.  Jackal, The Baroness, Lazarus, and Valravn will take the field in their mechs in order to provide cover and distraction for the team breaching the base.  High above them, Talon will command the battlefield and provide air support with Lord Mulligan and the other dropships.  The Marauders take their final moments of peace to prepare for the coming bloodshed, each very aware that this may be their last mission.

Talon and Valravn take to the field in the Orion and Griffin respectively, while the Baroness pilots an Awesome and Lazarus is piloting the experimental Raven.  They face off against Count Morgenstern who comes armed with a large assortment of mechs of his own.  Both sides need to contend with hidden mines and automatic turrets on the battlefield as well.  As the Raven has limited armor, Jackal uses the Orion to draw most of the fire away from his lance mates even going so far as to jam his hip into one of the turrets.  Onboard the Yojimbo, Talon coordinates the attacks and provides air support.  He even orders LaVale to ram an enemy vessel, taking them out of the fight.  The Marauders fight well and manage to destroy several of the Count’s mechs but not without cost.  Both Jackal and Valravn are forced to eject their mechs, the Orion being utterly destroyed and the Griffin having it’s cockpit smashed in.  They make their way on foot, attempting to meet up with Laurent who is bringing in Talon’s Dragon, and are able to intercept the Count after he ejects from his own destroyed mech.  With the Count as their prisoner, Jackal and Valravn regroup with the Baroness and Lazarus.  Meanwhile, the Yojimbo has taken heavy damage and begins to descend towards the planet in order to land on the battlefield to provide support for the mech warriors.

Below the battlefield, the Lord Commander and Coryphee pelt down the hallway into the enemy base.  Hamid and Barrister, along with a large amount of infantry, as well as Berg and Kenneth join in the fight.  The team meets heavy resistance and the Lord Commander and Coyrphee take several hits along the way.  Barnett helps with the off site hacking while Coryphee handles the on site work.  As they progress, Barrister is killed in action when a power conduit strikes him in the head.  The first casualty of the battle weighs heavily as the teams progress especially when Hamid is severely burned by nafalene when setting off an explosive charge.  Leaving a wounded Hamid to hole up with several members of the infantry, the Lord Commander, Coryphee, Kenneth, Berg, and the rest of the infantry charge forward and reach the war room.  Here they encounter a member of the Praetorian Guard who challenges Coryphee to single armed combat.  She fights him admirably before ordering the Lord Commander to shoot him in the head…which he does.  By this time Barnett has gained control of the automatic weapons and turrets and Coryphee begins working on the controls for the door that will allow them access into the part of the base that should hold the dropship.  And not a moment too soon, as Talon receives word that repairs will have to be done quickly.  The Benefactor and her forces are approaching and they have a secret weapon…a King Crab.

## Media

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFuVj1aur7o&list=PLHKocVDXoWBvk0-skvvtUaMiFoo1MYPd9&index=4