MECHWARRIOR: OPERATION HELLFIRE

Chapter 1

Savannah System
Marik-Stewart Commonwealth
15 April 3138

The 'Mech hangar aboard the Overlord C dropship Respite was a buzz of activity. Pilots were overlooking their 'Mechs for final preparations before landing.
I stood before my King Crab, observing the final completion of the installation of an streak twenty Artemis missile system into the right shoulder of the King Crab. The King Crab was generally an Inner Sphere 'Mech, but the assortment of various heavy weapons coupled with the King Crab's heavy armor made the 'Mech perfect for my style of fighting.
The technicians working on implementing the system told me it would be a couple more hours before the 'Mech would be complete so I turned and left the 'Mech hangar.
I didnt have a real destination in mind, but when I looked up a bit later I found myself standing in the bar onboard the Respite.
The bartender glanced up at me with a deadpan expression before going back to cleaning a glass that had already been clean for who knows how long.
The bar was mostly empty, with a few artillery guys at a table in the corner of the room. But what caught my eye was a dark haired woman sitting by herself at a table facing the doorway.
I made my way over to the table as the woman downed the last of her drink.
"Star Captain," the woman spoke in an Australian accent in way of greeting.
"Star Commander," I replied in turn as I sat down. The bartender came over and put a shot glass and a bottle of rare Terran whiskey down in front of me. I nodded politely to the bartender before I poured a shot and knocked it back. The liquid hit my stomach and a warm feeling began to spread through my body.
"Everything ready for the invasion?" Lara Callhall asked as she kocked back another shot of whatever she was drinking.
"Just about. My King Crab is getting its final upgrade installed and will be ready for the drop." I answered in kind.
"The landing zone is quite typical if I might say so Captain." Lara took another shot before continuing to speak.
"I doubt that the enemy will attack head on as soon as we land. That would be suicidal at best. They would take a few of us out but it would be an uphill battle for them."
I nodded in agreement. "That doesn't mean I'm not apprehensive about the battle."
Lara got a mocked look of shock on her face before she replied. "You? Apprehensive? Captain I've served under you for a long time. I've seen you kill our enemies with a unparalleled ruthlessness. You're the only person I know who has beaten Alaric Wolf in a duel. You're smart and intelligent and you haven't lost a single battle, no matter the odds of what you've faced." Lara put her elbows on the table and leaned forward, almost knocking the bottle of whiskey over.
"I mean God damn Captain, I know the story of when you faced off against Marik forces early in the invasion and single handedly took out ten 'Mechs alone before reinforcements arrived. Nobody else could have pulled that off. So I call bullshit when you say you're apprehensive."
I nodded as I breathed a sigh of relief. "Well I greatly appreciate your admiration in me," I paused, searching for the right words. "I've been a Mechwarrior pilot for as long as I can remember. I've fought both Inner Sphere and rival Clans. I've gotten where I am now by being absolute ruthless. Now is not the time to show weakness."
Lara nodded as she put down another shot of whiskey. "Well cmon. Its about time to prep for landing. We need to get the troops ready."

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The Mech hangar was a bustle of activity. MechWarrior pilots were getting their Mechs ready for deployment and infantry forces were doing last minute gear checks.
I stood over the hangar on the balcony, observing my Cluster.
I smoothed the invisible wrinkles in my pristine white uniform, then I turned to Lara, who stood beside me as always, and nodded.
Lara pressed a button on the railing of the balcony, and the PA system in the hangar came to life. Immediately Mech pilots, tech crews, infantry, everyone that was in the hangar stopped what they was doing and looked up at me.
"Wolves, as you all are well aware of, we are preparing to go into battle once more. Those Marik dogs won't know what hit them. Our fury and ferocity knows no bounds. We hunt together, and crush those that would dare stand in our way. You are the best soldiers I could ever ask for." I paused for effect, noticing I had everyone's divine attention, before I continued.
"The world of Savannah is guarded by roughly four Marik regiments, with little to none in way of orbital cannons or defenses. Our main objective is to first destroy their HPG station to knock out their communications so they can't call for help. Once that is achieved our next job will to be to secure their mech factory so they won't be able to field any additional forces against us. Finally once that is done our main task will be to secure the capital city, and the planet will fall into our hands."
Again I paused for effect, letting my words sink in. "Now when we pillage, you have free reign to whatever you like. Any survivors or civilians will be captured and enslaved, and we will turn their mech factories to suit our needs for our ongoing conquest of Marik space. We are wolves, and we hunt with no mercy or regret!" My voice began to build up as I continued speaking.
"The Inner Sphere will dare to challenge us, and we will crush them under heel! We are a tide that cannot be stopped! So when we land wolves, we hunt!"
The hangar burst out into cheers and applause, then a chant began to take up among my men, and I raised back up and held my head high.
"WOLVES! WOLVES! WOLVES!" The chant continued for some time until it eventually died down as everyone turned back to their tasks at hand.
My men were ready, and they were hungry for blood. And they would have it rightly so.

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