Operation Seven – Part Seven
18/01/3050. Day 56, 08:00

In light of the events of the previous day, an Orange Council meeting was convened. Hauptmann Samara Hellstrom laid some groundwork before the meeting with Rene DuVal of the Worker’s Resistance Militia.

She also organised passage to the Chain Gang territory, to root out the only remaining uncontrolled zone of the Old Quarter of Argyre. Her information gathering turned up the disturbing information that multiple Worker’s Resistance Militia sorties into the zone had failed catastrophically, indicating some serious threat within. Hauptmann Samara Hellstrom decided it prudent to move in in force.

18/01/3050. Day 56, 09:00

The council session began. Rene DuVal spoke first and advocated the Worker’s Resistance Militia who were united behind him and Jacques Dubois to participate in Wolkehoffen Einrichtung. This resulted in a high number of candidates for military recruitment, many being industrialmech pilots perfect for the Legion project.

18/01/3050. Day 56, 09:20

Secretary Robyn Hedley called Hauptmann Samara Hellstrom to the stand and she detailed the Wolkehoffen Einrichtung plans. The New Orange Union were on-side but the Worker’s Liberation Movement were opposed, though marginalised.

It was clear during the meeting which way the political winds were blowing. The separatist agenda had failed and the revolutionary factions followed the unionists lead behind Wolkehoffen Einrichtung.

With the council session descending into details and logistics, the Hellions withdrew to pursue their plan to root out the Chain Gang.

18/01/3050. Day 56, 12:00

The Hellions launched their operation, a pincer movement moving into the Chain Gang zone.

North Force

• Samara Hellstrom
• Ruin Dmitar
• Layne-Lars Kinnesson
• Ingrid ‘Mouse’ Marsh piloting Jacques Dubois’s Battlemech
• Two squads of Hellstorm Battle Armour

South Force

• Cadet Kevin Carter
• Cadet Chris Jacob
• Cadet Samantha
• Cadet Judith Keller
• Two squads of Hellstorm Battle Armour led by Jacques Dubois

The pincer movement converged on the Chain Gang base which was defended by eight militarised industrialmechs. The confined terrain limited the Hellions speed advantage. Superior training, tactics, and equipment gave the Hellions the edge, and after quickly dispatching five of the enemy units Samara Hellstrom ordered the survivors to surrender.

Crosscut S3 Mod-A, Industrialmech destroyed, pilot survived, damage exceeds salvage value.
Crosscut S3 Mod-A, Industrialmech damaged, pilot survived.
Dig-Lord-S6 (Sprayers loaded with Inferno fuel), cockpit destroyed by battle armour boarding action, pilot killed, salvageable.
Dig Lord S6 Mod-A, cockpit destroyed by combined Battlemech fire, pilot killed, salvageable.
Dig Lord S6 Mod-A, destroyed by ammunition explosion, pilot killed, unit unsalvageable.
Dig Lord S6 Mod-A, destroyed by ammunition explosion, pilot killed, unit unsalvageable.
Dig Lord S6 Mod-A, Industrialmech damaged, pilot survived.
Dig Lord S6 Mod-A, Industrialmech damaged, pilot survived.

The battle armour forces were able to storm the makeshift base and use non lethal weaponry to capture the infantry forces.

Upon interrogation it was revealed this group was linked to the bandit forces that had been preying upon landtrain traffic to Perdix which the Hellions had previously dealt with.

19/01/3050. Day 57

Now that peace had been restored in the Old Quarter of Argyre, Hauptmann Samara Hellstrom commenced the next stages of Wolkehoffen Einrichtung. Industrial partners Behemoth Vehicles and Larsson-Baxter Mining began putting plans into motion of constructing manufacturing facilities in the Old Quarter.

Ruin Dmitar was watching over the Orange Council chamber which had changed from political center to more of an administration hub for Wolkehoffen Einrichtung and the rebuilding efforts. While there he overheard Robyn Hedley giving her resignation from the Orange Council. When he asked, she explained that now the uprising was over she was no longer needed by the Orange Council and was moving on to a posting in Perdix as an executive in the Strata branch of Terra-CAT, the current form of the old Earth / Terra company CAT or Caterpillar.

28/01/3050. Day 66.

The Hellions and cadets were recalled to Fort Enyo on Ares continent.

29/01/3050. Day 67.

Work began on a series of planned Battlemech design modifications.

• Samara Hellstrom’s Super Locust LCT-S1E (aka Weta) was modified to a Weta WTA-IIB, using newly available Hardened Armour.
• Ruin Dmitar’s Jaguar-4R was replaced on a heavier Barghest Gauss Cannon sniper ’mech prototype. The Barghest was developed while the Hellions were deployed using performance data gathered by the Jaguar-4R.
• Jacques Dubois’s Super Locust LCT-S1E (aka Weta) was replaced by a significantly modified Hatchetman variant known as the Cambion CMB-H2.
• Layne-Lars Kinnesson’s Raven RVN-3XML was studied to aid the design process for the leg structure, balance, and load bearing of the Peromyscus Light Electronic Warfare Battlemech.

01/02/3050. Day 70.

An award ceremony was convened. The Silver Sunburst was awarded to Hauptmann Samara Hellstrom, Leftenant Jacques Dubois, Leftenant Ruin Dmitar and Ensign Layne-Lars Kinnesson.

Hauptmann Samara Hellstrom was then inducted into the Order of the Silver Chalice, and awarded a knighthood.

02/02/3050. Day 71.

Layne-Lars Kinnesson was transferred to the Strata Institute of Science where she would be using her technical skills and her field experience to assist electronic warfare related projects, such as design of mobile electronic warfare platforms. The Raven RVN-3XML was transferred with her to be used in those projects, and training exercises for electronic warfare specialists studying in the Strata Military Academy.

03/02/3050. Day 72.

Hauptmann Samara Hellstrom pulled Ingrid ‘Mouse’ Marsh aside and informed her she was to be Layne-Lars Kinnesson’s replacement in the lance. Later that day Mouse along with the four cadets were promoted in a public ceremony to the rank of Mechwarrior.

06/02/3050. Day 75.

Frantic work on the Peromyscus PRY-S1 was completed, resulting in one working prototype of the new battlemech which could be taken to the weapons testing exercises on Atlantia.

Since the Atlantia Military Base was run as a dry base, Adept VI-Iota Michelle Abnett tried and abjectly failed to offer assistance to Ruin Dmitar to smuggle alcohol (for his alcoholism which she had often observed) leading to a tense and extremely awkward silence between them. There was no polite way for her to explain “while spying on you I discovered you’re an alcoholic”. Ruin chose to smuggle six bottles of aged single malt whiskey to Atlantia, just incase.

Operation Eight – Part One
07/02/3050. Day 76.

The launch window for the dropship trip to Atlantia opened and the Hellstrom’s Hellions Company (including the Zmey) were transported from Strata to the neighbouring world.

The trip took a fortnight, during which the technical staff were frantically touching up and modifying the new battlemechs. The Weta WTA-IIB was considered the least problematic, the un-tested motive systems of the Barghest and Peromyscus PRY-S1 and the TSM technology of the Cambion CMB-H2 were the greater concerns.

21/02/3050. Day 90, 8:30

The dropship touched down at the Atlantia Military Base, and the Hellions officers met with the commander of the base, Captain Julius Edward Augustine. The Zmey Land Train would remain at the base for the time being.

From the moment of planetfall, Ruin Dmitar began feeling an impulse/instinct/sensation of being watched from the south, then as he became more attuned to the feeling it seemed to be a beckoning of some sort.

During their time on the ice world of Atlantia the hellions would be involved in weapons testing (focusing upon battle armour) with visiting delegations from the Gray Death Legion and Wolf’s Dragoons. They would also be assisting the archaeological efforts and exploration efforts on the planet, when time permitted.

While her officers and enlisted were settling in to their new posting, Samara Hellstrom took Adept VI-Iota Michelle Abnett aside and gave her some woman to woman advice about the Adept’s obvious interest in Ruin Dmitar and their obviously strained relationship. Michelle then convinced Samara that she needed Ruin for a spy mission to try to get more information on the Wolf’s Dragoons battle armour for Special Project 17 before the war games began.

21/02/3050. Day 90, 20:00

Michelle and Ruin set out in the Buffalo Hovertruck. Michelle had loaded it with cargo for a plausible excuse (if captured) of attempting to ferry supplies to New Miami. The thick cloud cover of the nuclear winter world rendered night pitch dark.

The pair made landfall at the small island being used by the Wolf’s Dragoons as a base and landing point for their dropship. Michelle sent Ruin to sneak forward in his stealth suit and surveil the Wolf’s Dragoons forces. This, however, was a ploy.

Unbeknownst to Ruin, Michelle was a double agent and was bringing her Purifier Adaptive MkIII, and a ComStar Nighthawk and Tornado which she had smuggled from Strata. These were hidden under the cargo in the truck. Her plan was to hand these over to the Wolf’s Dragoons while Ruin snuck forward, got surveillance shots, then returned after the hand-off. Ruin would then be a perfect alibi for Michelle to maintain her masquerade.

Unfortunately a particularly alert battle armoured sentry detected Ruin (aided by the much greater than normal heat differential between Sneak suit wearer and the ambient -20oC night temperature, as opposed to more hospitable temperatures the suits were designed for) and gave pursuit. After communicating this discovery to Michelle, she concluded her scheme would not end neatly and so she and the team that rendezvoused with her to unload the truck moved it to the dropship instead.

Ruin Dmitar meanwhile feared the search parties would find Michelle and the hover truck, so revealed himself. He was led back to the dropship by five battle armoured troopers who seemed more concerned with his wellbeing in the harsh conditions than the security breach.

He was greeted at the dropship by Erica Leroux, a woman who could have been Michelle’s twin sister. As she answered his questions he was firmly but politely taken to the medical area for blood testing. What followed was a stunning avalance of revelations.

• Adept VI-Iota Michelle Abnett was in reality Point Commander Michelle of the Wolf’s Dragoons, who had been deployed on a infiltration mission of nearly a decade to retrieve samples of ComStar technology (particularly battle armour).
• Michelle, Erica, and apparently large portions of the Wolf’s Dragoons were artificially created people referred to as ‘Trueborn’, as opposed to naturally born ‘Freeborn’ people.
• Michelle had told her Wolf’s Dragoons peers that Ruin Dmitar was a clone.
• Ruin Dmitar, as a clone, was considered a Trueborn. Though as a clone he was an oddity or freak to any Inner Sphere society, this was not only normal but valued in this odd culture.
• Ruin was a Trueborn, and his equivalent rank was Point Commander’, the same as Michelle’s.
• Michelle had brought a blood sample (taken earlier by Professor Anna Morozov) for testing, and hadn’t intended for Ruin to be tested directly.
• Michelle had also brought the remnants of Jacques Dubois’s hand as a sample for testing.
• Testing indicated Ruin could expect to live to a ‘genetic age’ of 120, and his ‘genetic age’ at the moment was merely six years old.
• Michelle and Erica were ‘elementals’, genetically modified to be giant soldiers and battle armour pilots. They were also not twenty five, but closer to twice that at 46.
• The Wolf’s Dragoons were involved with the rumoured ‘Clans’ who were invading and responsible for some worlds going-silent from the HPG network.
• The Wolf’s Dragoons claimed to be intent on protecting the Inner Sphere, even if this meant helping the Inner Sphere to resist the Clans.
• The Wolf’s Dragoons were linked to Clan Wolf, which was the only remaining Warden clan, while the remaining clans were Crusaders intending to conquer and rule the Inner Sphere.
• Clan Wolf had taken Samara Hellstrom’s home-world of New Dusseldorf.
• The Wolf’s Dragoons considered ComStar to be responsible for prolonging and perpetuating most of the wars of the Inner Sphere since the fall of the Star League, and that ComStar would need to be stopped from continuing its political manipulation of the Inner Sphere.
• Michelle had now been assigned to Ruin as his ‘elemental bodyguard’…and he didn’t really have any say in the matter.
• The Wolf’s Dragoons personnel had no idea who in the Inner Sphere could have created an ‘Inner Sphere Trueborn’ or made the brain chips Ruin described. They seemed extremely interested in such a technology, however.
• The Wolf’s Dragoons knew of the “Iron Womb” device Professor Anna Morozov had referred to, and one had been stolen in transit on the way to the Dragoons world of Outreach. And though they had others, they were keen to get it back.
• Erica had no idea why Ruin was sensing something to the south, but she expressed she trusted and believed him. She repeated that she wasn’t sure what capabilities the Inner Sphere Trueborn was designed with, but that she had no reason to doubt him.

Much of what Erica described about the Clan and Dragoons society struck Ruin as odd, particularly that they were in a merit based caste system with warriors as the highest caste.

During this, Ruin had become drinking heavily. Michelle had used her diplomatic immunity as a ambassador (of sorts) from ComStar to bring in a large supply of alcohol, including enough to hide the battle armour and PAL suits within ‘shipments’ of alcohol. As his sobriety faded, Ruin suggested getting word out to the base and setting up a bar. Seeing this as a opportunity to check out potential Freeborn recruits, particularly potential battle armour capable ones, this idea was enthusiastically received.

The failure of the spy mission was reported back to Samara Hellstrom, but with the clear subtext that this was considered part of the war games and not taken with any rancour or perception of hostile intent.

As the night proceeded several other members of the Wolf’s Dragoons were seen, including non-elemental Trueborn people identifying themselves as the ‘mechwarrior phenotype’.

22/02/3050. Day 91, 06:20

Ruin Dmitar awoke from alcohol induced unconsciousness, realising he was in his undergarments and in a bed. He deduced that Michelle had likely carried him, and undressed him and laundered his clothes.

When he emerged from the dropship cabin he found Michelle awake and waiting for him while reading from a leather bound tome she referred to as ‘The Rememberance’. After getting her mechwarrior coffee and breakfast, Michelle took Ruin back to the Zmey.

22/02/3050. Day 91, 08:00

Ruin Dmitar reported back to Samara Hellstrom, he ordered ‘his elemental’ out of the Hauptmann’s office then divulged most of the secrets he had learned but omitting some (particularly the situation on New Dusseldorf).

Michelle was asked back in, and among other questions Samara Hellstrom asked if the Wolf’s Dragoons were interested in protecting the Inner Sphere, could Michelle help the battlemech development project in Argyre. Michelle countered that she was helping Special Project 17 for just such a reason, but she’d see what she could organise to aid the establishment of a battlemech factory on Strata.

The meeting broke up with an odd and secret but seemingly trustworthy alliance between the Wolf’s Dragoons and Hellstrom’s Hellions. Thus far double agent Michelle was maintaining her alias as Adept VI-Iota Michelle Abnett, trusted covert operative of ComStar.