The Littlest Elemental: Prologue by D G Palmer/1

Dedicated to Megumi Yokota.

Provost Militia Training Base, Demeter

Across the border from the Free Rasalhague Republic, Draconis Combine

29 September 3050

Rain fell in a cool drizzle upon the assembled Draconis Combine troops. The group stood in ranks before a field of parked armored vehicles. Each trooper wore a uniform with camouflage in green, brown, and black patterns. Despite their identical attire, they were a motley collection. A mixture of men and women, many younger and some older than twenty years. Among them were recuperating soldiers, some showing bandages and other wrappings. Facing them was Tai-i Tsubaki, a captain in the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery. A convalescent like the other professional soldiers, he steadied himself on a cane with some difficulty in the mud.

Rain water dripped from his helmet, falling onto his uniform. Though water resistant, the uniform permitted the water down his collar and along the stitched seams. He eyed his garrison proudly, with ambivalent feelings of pride and anguish. Two months ago he had been assigned to the company in a temporary capacity. Back then, he was still on crutches, his leg fresh from a cast. He walked with some difficulty now, the cane only necessary to maintain balance. Once he was fully recovered, he would be released from convalescent status and reassigned to a regular line unit.

These people had trained together for the past six months. He had personally evaluated each troop, making assignments according to demonstrated skill. His original idea was to combine the experienced, the skilled and talented, and not so proficient in balanced crews. Had there been more time, he would have done that. The arrangement would have brought all of the troops up to an acceptable standard. Unfortunately, filling all of the vehicles in this manner would have debilitated the combat effectiveness of the entire unit. In addition, there were not enough troopers to supplement the vehicle crews. Instead, he placed his best personnel in the tanks. Though these vehicles were undermanned, the crews could handle it. The remaining troops were assigned to the lesser effective transports and scout cars. Supplementing these personnel were soldiers who had managed to leave the hospital and report to the garrison. They would serve as mounted infantry. Against anything but the weakest opposition forces, these units were cannon fodder.

Provost Militia Training Base was one of a few garrisons on the planet Demeter, a guard post one jump away from Free Rasalhague space. Originally the garrisons were composed of DCMS companies, with complete lances of BattleMechs and aerospace assets. Then came the invasion of the Draconis Combine by powerfully armed forces calling themselves the Clans. Troops were drawn away from the outpost, taking their 'Mechs and aerospace fighters with them. They were replaced in too few numbers by wounded evacuated from invaded planets. From the local population were drawn the militia forces that fleshed out the garrison before him. The token force of BattleMechs that were left behind were stationed at the space port. The only remaining machines left to the garrison here in the agricultural zone were these old tanks, hover transports, and scout cars.

No one really expected an attack this far from the clan front. That changed when the JumpShip Trailblaze arrived in system. Issuing challenge in the name of the Wolf Clan, the defenders of Demeter were asked to provide a register of forces they would be fighting with. There was some initial confusion, since it was the Smoke Jaguar Clan that was battling the Draconis Combine. The Wolf Clan was rumored to be attacking the Free Rasalhague Republic. No mission objective was disclosed. It was guessed that this was a deep probe through the FRR by the Wolf Clan to sample the Draconis Combine. After receiving a reply from the tai-sa, colonel, in command of the DCMS forces on Demeter, the Trailblaze launched DropShips. That was three days ago. It was estimated that they would arrive in three more days time.

Little was known of the Clans, except that they were equipped with superior equipment and knew how to use it. In his only battle with the Clans, Tsubaki's infantry unit had been caught in a crossfire between BattleMechs of Smoke Jaguar and the DCMS. His battalion commander's armored personnel carrier had been hit by autocannon fire and crashed. Under fire, Tsubaki led his platoon to rescue survivors. While transferring the injured from the disabled APC to his own, many of his men had been killed and he had broken his leg from a near miss. The chu-sa, lieutenant colonel, he had been helping ended up carrying him instead. Until his evacuation from the combat zone, he had been chu-i, a lieutenant. He always wondered if his promotion to tai-i was meritorious or for the needs of his new company.

The formation facing him was composed with the vehicle commanders lined in the front row. Most of them were experienced combat veterans. However, a few were talented individuals who rose from the ranks of the militia. In recognition of this, they were promoted to reflect their added responsibility. Tsubaki did not place veterans under the command of the militia, thinking that it would be a disrespectful affront to the wounded, a dishonor. At one end of the formation he noticed one such tank commander.

Gunso Minh Tran, a sergeant in the militia, stood at attention. She was clearly the shortest member of the garrison. When he first saw her two months ago, he did not believe that she would pass muster. He was sure that she weighed less than the combat loads the infantry packed on their backs. Her hand-eye coordination and coolness under stress proved her worth as a turret gunner. He decided to put her in command of a tank, pairing her with a militia driver.

He began his speech, speaking loud enough to be heard in the back ranks. As he exhorted them, he saw their backs stiffen, faces reflecting the pride he felt. It was a speech he remembered well. When his previous regimental commander addressed the troops, his comments were very similar. The tai-sa, his colonel, had touched on various subjects. The excellent training of the unit, the honor to be a part of the action, the duty to defend the combine against the aggressor, his personal pleasure to be leading his men. He recalled the pride that welled up within him from those words. Tsubaki wished the colonel were here now, but that was not to be. He had fallen leading his men against the clan onslaught. His valor prevented an orderly retreat from becoming a rout in the face of overwhelming odds. There would be no retreat here.

The training of these troops was far from complete. Two months was not enough for civilian volunteers to grasp the fine points of tactics, even if they were as motivated as these militia were. However, it would do no good to tell them that now. Instead, he repeated the gist of his tai-sa's speech. He concluded by telling them to do their duty, not only for the Combine, but for each other.

"Front rank, hand salute!" snapped Sho-ko Williams, the sergeant major of the garrison. The vehicle commanders tried to raise their arms at the same time, but there was a ripple effect. Tsubaki noticed that Gunso Tran's salute was very sharp. It was easy to forget that she was not regular DCMS. Seeing her stand stiffly, her hand at the rim of her helmet, he remembered that she had shown great promise. Within days, she would most likely be dead, her body broken within her wrecked tank. Solemnly, he returned the salute.

"Two!" The front rank lowered their salute with Williams' command. "Dismissed! All units, mount up! Prepare to move out!"

The soldiers fell out of ranks and quickly headed for their vehicles, slogging mud beneath their boots. As Tsubaki limped to the scout car he would be using in the upcoming battle, he looked up at the overcast sky. Even though the wet weather would make progress on the ground miserable and difficult, the low clouds would prevent enemy aerospace fighters from attacking. Two or four fighters could destroy his garrison with little risk of accurate counter fire.

The garrison had been informed of the mission last evening. They would go into the hills to defend themselves, drawing the attackers away from the local population center. What a joke, he thought. It was really a wild goose chase. The clan invaders would be coming for one reason only. This was where the action is. Because the vehicles would be easy prey for BattleMechs here in the open, even the heavy armored tanks, he planned to fight in the hills. The uneven ground would provide some cover for them. Hopefully, they would down several of the giant mechanical monsters before being destroyed themselves.

Tsubaki didn't like the idea of leading troops to their deaths. It was worse knowing they were willing to fight for no real purpose. They had to know this was only a battle of attrition, that they were only cannon fodder to bleed the clan enemy. He wished they would not have to fight at all, but duty and honor would not permit them to abandon their weapons and escape.

As for Tsubaki, he would be in a scout car, trying to coordinate the defense. Maintaining a real command post, without the resources to actually defend it, would be foolish and suicidal. The mobility of the scout car would keep his command alive for a little bit longer, but he was under no illusions. The enemy would find him quickly.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh Tran, newly promoted to the rank of gunso, arrived at her steed. The 80-ton Demolisher was armed with a gauss rifle and plated over with armor. Brenner arrived a moment before Minh. The Go-cho, corporal, had been promoted upon his assignment as driver. Standing more than a head taller than Minh, he seemed more lanky than he was.

"I hate being wet!" Brenner declared as he boarded the Demolisher. Minh understood what prompted his outburst when she reached up to climb onto her tank. Her sleeves were rolled up above her elbows, just like every other soldier. The cold water ran down from her forearms and into her shirt. A visitor new to Demeter might assume that the rest of the planet was as rainy as Provost. In reality, the rainy season of Provost lasted only one-third of Demeter's year. In the farm belt near the equator of the planet, the weather was much more balanced. That was where the Tran family lived.

As she pulled herself up, she kicked her boots against the tank to get rid of the clinging mud. She did not want to slip back off the tank or track in any more of the mud than she had to.

The rain increased its precipitation. Water coursed along the welds in the armor. Minh carefully clambered up to the turret and opened the commander's hatch. She slipped into the turret and closed the hatch over her. Brenner was already in the driver position, cursing bitterly.

"Lousy backstabbing thieves!"

Minh knew the source of this new complaint. When the regular garrison soldiers left to fight the clan invaders, they took their equipment with them. They would be issued fighting vehicles when they got to the front, but apparently felt they needed the helmets more than a garrison trooper in the rear echelon. Unlike the helmets they now wore, tanker helmets were close-fitting with integral head phones and throat microphones. The field helmets they had been issued had a broad rim which made it more likely to hit one's head on the interior of the tank. She removed the helmet and shook her head to circulate the air through her neat and straight black hair. She then placed headphones over her head, slipping the earphones through her hair to position them over her ears. Like many of the female troops, she kept her hair short, at chin level.

With her almond-shaped eyes, straw-colored skin, and slight build, no one could help but notice her Asian heritage. Hundreds of years before, her ancesters journeyed to Demeter from Vietnam on the Terran home world. The immigrants had wanted to return to a healthier life-style far away from heavy industry. They found it here on this world.

After adjusting the straps, Minh returned the helmet to her head. The helmet was uncomfortable with the headphones in place, but at least it fit. She positioned the boom microphone in front of her chin. Nobody liked the boom mikes. Unlike the throat mikes, these transmitted the surrounding noise, like gunfire and the engines. During vehicle operation, the crews had to yell to be heard. Reaching to the communication panel, she switched on the radio. She made sure it was preset to the frequency assigned to the tank lance. Brenner, having strapped himself into his seat, started the Demolisher's power plant, a robust diesel engine. It shook roughly to life, then steadied into a smooth rumble.

It was time for her to take her position in the turret hatch. Taking a folded piece of canvas from tank commander's status console, Minh unfolded it and draped it over her shoulders. She quickly fastened it closed in front, creating an impromtu rain poncho. She rose up and opened the hatch, water dripping into her upraised face. Standing on the footrest, she unfolded the saddle and seated herself. She raised the bottom of the canvas out of the hatch and draped it around the rim, effectively funneling the falling rain away from the interior of the tank.

"How are we?" she asked Brenner over the intercom circuit.

"Give the diesel a few more minutes to warm up, then we are good to go," he replied. The engine noise competed with his voice over the circuit.

"Go-Lead to Lance, comm check."

"Go-Two, five by five."

There was no response from Go-three. Minh looked over at the Demolisher next to her tank. The commander's hatch was just opening.

"Go-Lead to Three, comm check," the lance leader radioed, impatience in his voice.

"Three!" Minh shouted at the sergeant as he settled on his saddle. "Turn on your radio!" The trooper waved at her through his poncho in response.

"Go-Three to Lead, comm check," the voice sounded uncertain and embarrassed.

"Go-Lead, I read you five by five."

"Go-Four, five by five," Minh radioed.

"Very good, Go Lance. Confirm power, hydraulics, and weapon status."

Minh switched to intercom.

"Brenner, turn the turret on," she ordered. She mentally cursed herself. She did not expect to activate the weapon system or she would have already done so.

"I got you covered, Tran," Brenner unstrapped himself and worked his way to the gunner's station. "Okay, you got it."

Minh could feel the vibration of the electro-hydraulic motors as they hummed to life. Using the tank commander's override, she trained the turret from side to side, then elevated the gauss rifle up and down. The motors whined with the movement. She had to move the canvas out of her way so she could peek down at the status console.

"Go-Lead, standing by for readiness report."

"Go-Two, operational and fully armed."

"Go-Three, operational and fully armed."

"Go-Four, wait one," Minh switched to intercom. "Brenner, take us forward a couple lengths. By the book. Test steering and brakes."

The tank advanced for several meters, stopped, then turned in place by driving the treads in opposite directions. The tank spun to the left, then to the right, throwing mud in both directions.

"Go-Four, operational and fully armed."

"Stop showing off, Four. You throw a track, you put it back on yourself," Go-Lead admonished. "Go Lance, stand by to move out."

Minh shivered underneath the poncho. She reached blindly for the switch for the electric space heater at her feet. Switching it on, she trusted the heat to rise and fill the poncho.

Captain Tsubaki saw the Demolisher move out prematurely. He switched his radio console to Go Lance's frequency. He heard the fourth tanks readiness report. According to instructions, all of the vehicles should have performed their readiness checks. Few of these troops did so. The others who did were the recuperating veterans. This attention to detail justified his promotion of Minh Tran to Gunso.

He waited for every lance to report to him. The cacophony of diesel engines and hovercraft turbines in close proximity to each other was deafening.

He was relieved that to see all of the vehicles proceed onto the road. If any of them had failed, he would have taken them along anyway and positioned them as fixed artillery. He could not afford to leave behind a single unit.

His force consisted of two scout cars, seven hover transports, and eight tanks. On paper, it looked like a reinforced company. In reality, it was really a haphazard mix of vehicles. The scout cars were different in design from each other. His car was large enough to assume the command and control he needed to operate the company. The smaller car would serve as a decoy to split fire from his own car. The hover vehicles were a mix of unarmored delivery transports and armored personnel carriers. These would deploy troops armed with personal anti-'Mech weapons. The tanks were two complete lances, four Demolishers and four SRM carriers. The rounded gauss-carrying Demolishers and the boxy tanks armed with short-range missiles were his slowest combatants.

The small scout car, two transports, and one APC raced ahead of the main body of vehicles. He wanted to make sure nothing surprised his force, even if the invaders were not due for three days.

xxXxxxXxx

The wind blew the rain into Minh's face. In addition to having the wrong helmets, they also lacked goggles. There were only enough to equip half of the infantry embarked in the transports. It was decided that these soldiers needed every edge they could get in this weather. The tankers would be buttoned up inside their armored vehicles out of the rain and wind. Goggles were not necessary to use electronic gun sights. She squinted as the Demolisher crawled along the muddy road.

xxXxxxXxx

The clan DropShips landed two days early. There had literally been no time to prepare defensive positions. The best Tsubaki could do was send the tanks away from the road into the hilly terrain. He hoped the rain and cloud cover would continue to conceal his company from aerial view. Where his tanks hid behind ridges, aerospace units would be able to see them very easily. His hover assets were camouflaged in the lower hills where his infantry had disembarked and set up their ambush. One APC would lure the enemy BattleMechs up the road. When the enemy reached the kill zone, the troops would fire, then abandon their positions and escape in the hover transports. The armored APCs would provide fire support for the withdrawal. The hover transports would race further up the road where the tanks would fire the next ambush. With the enemy occupied with the tanks, the transports would unload the infantry and help finish off the enemy. An overly optomistic plan.

Tsubaki was experienced enough to know that no battle plan survived once contact was made with the enemy.

xxXxxxXxx

As the senior enlisted soldier, Sho-ko Williams led the infantry. He maintained communications silence until the enemy BattleMechs appeared in the gloomy haze. The decoy APC wound up its turbines and lifted up on a cushion of muddy mist. Firing one salvo of long range missiles, it turned and began running up the road. This was the signal for the decoy scout car to begin transmitting orders on the dummy frequencies.

The lead BattleMech pointed one arm at the running hover APC and fired an autocannon. To William's amazement, it had a higher than normal cyclic rate of fire. Even more unbelievable was that every shot was on target. The hovercraft lost control and crashed, pieces of armor plating and control surfaces scattering for over fifty meters. It was too much to hope that there were any survivors.

Williams forced his attention away from the carnage up the road and back to the BattleMechs. There were five of them. They had stopped and he noticed that men seemed to drop from them and land on the ground around them. It was too far to make out any real detail in the rain. The 'Mechs were not familiar designs. Three had back-canted bird's legs and the other two were humanoid. Not one of them was identical.

The grounded troops surprised Williams again by leaping across the ground toward his concealed men, advancing in great bounds. Trying to count them, he estimated that there was at least twenty men.

xxXxxxXxx

Tai-i Tsubaki listened to Sho-ko William's report as both sides opened fire on each other. His display panel was fed information from the various vehicles of his company. It showed his units and the enemy BattleMechs in relation to them. The enemy was attacking with a platoon of jump infantry. Armored infantry. As soon as the report sank in, the battle was over. None of the hover transports was able to recover the troopers, much less defend themselves. The last report proclaimed that they were being overrun. Contact was lost at that point. The jump infantry had not registered on his monitor at all.

With the loss of half of his company, he felt useless. He tried to remember if there had been jump infantry when he had been wounded months before. He had broken his leg during a missile bombardment early on in the battle, so he did not see much of the fighting. Armored jump infantry was unheard of. Until now.

Minutes later, he heard the distant thunder of long range missile explosions. The radio signals from the decoy scout car ceased.

"This isn't a battle, it's a massacre," the driver muttered, steering their scout car around an brush-covered outcropping. Tsubaki silently agreed.

An SRM carrier reported that the BattleMechs were on the move again. The radio was silent for what seemed to be an exceedingly long time. In actuality, only a few minutes passed.

Go-Lead gave the command to open fire. There were reports of gauss rifle fire mixed with the launch of short range missiles. A moment later Go-Lead counseled the SRM gunners to steady their aim. Tsubaki noted that none of the SRM carriers had hit their targets.

"Yon and Go Lances, remember your orders. Target the lead 'Mech first," Tsubaki radioed his instructions.

"Go-Three and Four, fire at the leader," Go-Lead radioed. "Lead and Two will move to position Baker. We'll cover you next."

"Yon-Lead to Yon-Lance," the SRM lance leader radioed. "Fire at the lead-." Radio contact terminated and Tsubaki saw the icon for Yon-Lead disappear from his display. The remaining SRM carriers fired. He noticed that the two Demolishers of Go-Lance had reached their new positions and the remaining two began to move. Go-Four narrowly missed an LRM strike. The tanks scooted below the level of the ridge, out of sight of the advancing BattleMechs. A second SRM carrier blew up.

"Go-Lead is gone!"

Tsubaki saw the icon disappear. It wasn't coincidence that the lance commanders had both been taken out. The enemy had traced the radio commands and eliminated the commanders. He was about to assume tactical command of the remaining tanks when he heard Gunso Tran's voice.

"Go-Four to lance, move to Charlie," her sharp voice was clipped and steady. Tsubaki saw that the other two Demolishers maneuvered in obedience to her command. Those tank commanders were senior to her, but they complied to her steadfast tone. There was no panic. Either they were responding out of deference to her self-assuming leadership or they realized that her tank would be the logical next target.

Before he could complete that thought, a series of explosions advanced toward the scout car. The car was heading straight for them. He snapped an order to the driver to evade the bombardment. The BattleMechs must be firing at them, he thought, but they were out of his line of sight. He knew there must be a forward observer, perhaps a jump infantryman. The driver had already begun to twist the car around before Tsubaki's order, but it was still too late.

xxXxxxXxx

"Brenner, I cannot get a bead on them! Forward more!" Minh yelled over the diesel rumble. She had closed the commander's hatch on the turret and was manning the gunner's station. With her face in the sights, she peered out through the optical system. With the Demolisher's hull down on this ridge, she could only see over the target she needed to shoot. Brenner drove forward. Minh watched as the horizon seemed to rise in her sight picture. At the same time, she saw the 'Mech appear.

"Stop!" she ordered. As the tank braked, she turned the turret and depressed the barrel of the gauss rifle. She didn't know what the BattleMech was. She had studied the recognition manuals and thought that her target looked like a Warhammer. There was a missile launcher over one shoulder and a spot light over the other. However, the legs seemed bulkier and the arms were shaped differently. She depressed the trigger. A large silvery ball was launched to sonic speed by the electro-magnetic gauss weapon. It struck the advancing machine in the leg, completely shattering the armor. It came to a stop, but did not fall down, much to the disappointment of Minh. She could see that she had damaged the myomer 'muscle' of the war machine. The 'Mech aimed one arm back at her, discharging a beam of blinding sapphire. The devastating energy of the PPC gouged the rain drenched soil. The violent conversion of power sent charred mud exploding upward. The tank had barely escaped being severely damaged.

"Let's move!" Minh commanded Brenner. She turned away from the sighting system, she left the seat and went toward the loader's station. She tripped over the cord to her headphones and banged her forearm on the casing for the hydraulic rammer motor. Wincing with pain, she whipped the cord out of her way. She hurt all over from bumps and scrapes from moving around the tank's interior. Creeping through the tight confines of the turret, she reached the loader's station. She connected the cassette loader to the breach of the gauss rifle. The skin on her back seemed to crawl as she waited for the enemy to fire again. How she wished that her weapon system had an automatic loading apparatus. Just how many centuries ago had this thing been built anyway? The tank began to shake as it reversed. The tank turret made a small target as it disappeared behind the ridge. In front of her, the cassette shifted the nickel-ferrous projectile to the loading position.

There was a double hammer of explosions on the turret. Her ears rang with the concussion. The tank rocked backward on it's shock absorbers. She could smell burnt high explosive. She became aware that Brenner was yelling at her.

"What?" she demanded as she activated the rammer. It functioned perfectly.

"What is our damage?" Brenner repeated himself.

Minh looked over at the commander's console. The turret was outlined in red.

"One more hit on the turret will knock us out!" she yelled back. The rammer retracted and she closed the breech block, then disconnected the cassette loader. She turned around and was about to slip into the gunner's station when there was a bright flash from the front of the tank. Overpressure pounded Minh back into the gunner's seat. She lost her lucidity, the time slipping away. When she regained her wits, she noticed that the driver's station was gone. Damp air circulated freely through the hole in the tank's hull. Her body ached, but she was sure no bones were broken. She could feel the shudder of the diesel engine. She picked herself up and crawled past the breech to the commander's station. There was a periscope that extended through the top of the turret. She looked into the monocular eyepiece. Slowly turning around, she viewed the battlefield. She could see only one Demolisher. Dark oily smoke rose from the burning engine compartment. It's turret seemed to be caved in. She couldn't see any other signs of smoke in the overcast sky, but the static on the radio was evidence that the battle was lost. Minh looked at the status console. Apart from the damaged turret armor and missing driver's station, the tank was still operational. She looked around the area again through the periscope. The 'Mech she had hit in the leg was limping toward her tank. One last shot, she decided.

Slipping back to the gunner's station, Minh put her face to the gunsight and turned the turret toward the hobbling 'Mech. Lining the sight along the centerline of the BattleMech, she raised the sight picture until it was centered on the biggest part of the machine. The chest. She could not miss a target like that at this range. She placed her finger on the trigger when there was a sudden screech of tortured steel. Light filled the tank's interior and rain blew in. Startled, she looked away from the sight, thinking the tank had been hit again.

With eyes widened in surprise, she saw something totally new to her. A large metal man had pulled the battle damaged armor away from the turret face next to the gauss rifle. The arm gripping the armor had a three-fingered grip. The other arm ended in what appeared to be a laser. The head of the suit was connected to the chest. There was no neck. For a face, this thing had a reflective V-shaped visor. She had never seen anything like it, nor imagined an attack on armor like that. The shock of the moment passed and she dismissed the armored man with a frown. She turned back to her sight, confirmed her sight picture, and pulled the trigger.

Minh did not see the gauss projectile hit. A shadow passed over her head and a hard blow to her helmet hammered her away from the gunsight. She fell back into her seat. Stunned, she lay listlessly as her attacker pulled her from the tank. She was aware of being carried and a long jump through the air. Upon landing, her captor dropped her into the mud.

xxXxxxXxx

Tai-i Tsubaki had survived the destruction of the scout car, but his driver had not. With cane in hand, he limped through the wet brush until he reached a summit where he could see the battle. The sounds of gauss rifles and SRM launchers was gradually replaced with autocannon and laser fire. Throwing himself down onto the ground, he observed the blasted remains of his company. The curious jump infantry was moving around the field while the four remaining BattleMechs approached the lifeless hulks. He could see the fifth BattleMech down the hill with a collapsed leg. One of the bird-legged 'Mechs, he could see it's pilot had survived the battle and was inspecting the damage to his machine. He bitterly regretted that this was all the damage his company had managed to inflict. Every troop under his command had died for virtually no gain.

He felt the dishonor of surviving combat when every last one of his people lay dead. He was ashamed that he had not been killed with his driver. His soldiers had trusted him to be there with them, to share their fate.

Movement caught his eye and he saw a Demolisher turn it's turret toward one of the humanoid 'Mechs, one that had been damaged. He could see the steel bone structure underneath it's destroyed leg armor. At the same time, one of the armored jump infantry leaped onto the tank and seized hold of the damaged turret front. The armor was peeled open like tissue paper.

He could see the gunner look away in startlement from the gunsight. There was no mistaking that dark hair showing under the wide-brimmed helmet. Gunso Tran. After a second, he saw her return to her sight and fire the gauss rifle. The silver ball struck the arm, splintering armor. The autocannon sagged uselessly toward the ground. He watched as the infantryman struck Tran down.

Tsubaki was touched by the selfless act of courage. His eyes watered with emotion. With no regard to her own peril, calmly and deliberately, she had continued to resist the enemy. He stood up and saluted his dead company, holding the salute while the rain washed the tears from his face. Dropping his hand, he realized he was not alone. He turned, finding himself face to face with another armored infantryman. So far away, he never realized how big these guys were. He mentally rebuked himself. This must have been the forward observer who had called in the long range fire on his scout car. It had not occurred to him that he would have been spotted leaving the car. Seeming impassive behind the V-shaped visor, the infantryman stood motionless as he watched him. Tsubaki wore a pistol at his hip, but realized the futility of drawing against the armored giant. Not willing to surrender, he saw an end to his shame. As if he was going to bayonet the giant with his cane, he charged.

It had been a long day for Minh Tran. With mud cohering to the side of her face and body, she had picked herself up from the ground. Surrounded by armored troops, she waited. She could smell burning missile propellant and diesel fuel. Somewhere came the sound of sporadic firing. Most likely it was machinegun ammunition cooking off. Periodically, a missile warhead would detonate. Taking stock of herself, she noticed that she still wore her headphones, the cord broken and hanging down her chest. She removed her helmet and pulled the phones off, then replaced the helmet and dropped the phones at her feet. This was not how she had visualized the end of battle.

A hand gripped her shoulder from behind and forced her around. She found herself face to face with a dark-haired woman. She was tall, her slender figure clad in a MechWarrior's cooling vest and shorts. Her hair was in braids, her face framed in loose wisps of rain-matted hair.

Minh could not help but see the obvious anger as the taller woman took the smaller woman's helmet from her head and tossed it away.

"A girl!" she spit out in disgust. "A little girl! This is what they send against us? Children?" She turned away and trudged back to her badly damaged BattleMech. It's damaged leg would not be able to stand up to the long trek back down from the hills without repair.

Minh looked at the BattleMech she had damaged. She wondered if an experienced gunner would have done a better job. She observed the broken arm of the giant war machine. She hadn't seen the gauss hit, but she was sure she had aimed at the center of the chest. Perhaps the rifle had been knocked out of alignment by the autocannon hit against the turret or when the armor had been peeled away like an orange. The rain was getting in her eyes, now that she had lost the cover of her helmet. She looked back where it lay on the ground, canted like a lopsided bowl.

The armored soldiers had not prevented the MechWarrior from accosting her. Since the angry woman had thrown the helmet away, perhaps it was a sign that Minh was not allowed to have it anymore. She gazed at the soldiers around her. One in particular seemed to be watching her. She looked back, unable to see through the visor. Each soldier had an individual unit marking painted on it's shoulder armor. Mounted behind the shoulders was a missile launcher, a firing port on either side of the head. The right hand ended in a laser muzzle. The left hand had a three-pronged claw. Attached to the forearm of the clawed limb was what appeared to be a machine gun. Except for the MechWarrior, no one said a word to her. She toyed with the thought that perhaps these things were robot soldiers. That seemed more logical to her than a platoon of super-sized men. The android did not move. It just appeared to regard her in return. The four others appeared to be on guard, watching the surrounding area. She was not sure if the android could hear her. The MechWarrior did not address them, not exactly. The androids did not respond to the MechWarrior, neither. Having thought it out, Minh elected not to ask for her helmet back. After several moments, she looked from the android and turned her head to her tank.

The diesel engine of the Demolisher was still rumbling. From where she stood, she could see the void of the driver's station. There was no sign that a living breathing man had been in that spot half an hour before. The turret gaped open next to the glacis of the barrel. A section of track extended from the front of the tank. The end seemed to have been burned through by a laser. She did not remember the BattleMech firing a laser, much less realizing that the tank had been immobilized. She looked back at the android and suspected that the laser it was equipped with had probably dealt the damage.

Minh understood it was over for her now. All she could do was resign herself to being a prisoner. She looked straight ahead, resolved to remain silent. She was uncertain of her status. Was she a prisoner of war? It was dishonorable for Combine soldiers to surrender. That had been what she was taught, but she had not surrendered. She had been captured while defending her home. There had been no compromise of principle.

While she stood there, she could feel the rain run down her back from her collar. It was cooler up in the hills and she was becoming chilled. She shivered. She tried to conceal her discomfort, thinking it a sign of weakness. She resolved not to look back at the android.

Two of the androids began walking away. The android watching her made a motion with it's clawed hand to follow them. Without acknowledgment, she trailed after them. The remaining three spread out behind her.

Encompassed by androids in this manner, Minh knew that she could not escape. She thought seriously of escape for a brief moment. They were headed for the ridge and, presumably, the road down below. If she could run into a ravine and hide in the brush, she might be able to sneak away. However, the slippery mud bogged her down. It was all she could do to maintain her balance on the uneven ground. If she tried to run, the androids would catch her all too easily. Their cloven feet found purchase where she found none. Looking down at the back of their legs, she noticed what looked like jump jet nozzles.

She wasn't walking long when she felt her legs start to burn. Lifting her boots from the mud sapped her strength. She remembered stories from her father about her ancestors on Terra. Working hunched over in rice paddies, they planted rice stalks in mud. It was backbreaking work in a tropical, highly humid environment. If they could toil in the mud under those conditions, she was determined she could endure a forced march in more temperate weather. The effort to move through the mud drove the chill from her wet body.

xxXxxxXxx

Salen observed the point of Elementals escort the tank survivor past her Hellbringer. Her outraged outburst upon facing her former adversary had blunted her wrath. Calmly, she examined the girl's dignified poise. It was obvious it was taking serious effort to raise her feet to make each step. Slim pale arms gleamed with reflecting rivulets. Her short hair was plastered to her scalp, adding to her bedraggled appearance. She recalled the moment when she faced the young woman, her neat hair just beginning to get wet. She recalled the glitter of her dark eyes. There was intelligence in those depths, as well as a startled regard. Not fear, not exactly. Patient acceptance of her circumstance. If she were to choose one word, she would describe her as mature.

The girl marched by without turning her head to the almost crippled OmniMech. She did not seem arrogant as much as detached from her surroundings. As if she had dismissed the MechWarrior as inconsequential. A fire seemed to burn in Salen's belly, a deep-seated anger. Yes, she was calm, but she wanted to break through that girl's composure.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh was tired. They had been walking for over an hour. She was soaked to the skin. Apart from these circumstances, she had been curious to see the BattleMech her lance had shot down, but that machine could not be seen from the road. The hills and overgrown plants concealed most of the view to the side. They had reached the road and followed it down to the first ambush site. The decoy hover APC still smoldered, the smell of burnt fuel and flesh heavy in the air. Many minutes later, they came upon a salvage team. They were surveying the destroyed hover transports. Still parked in their places of concealment, she realized they had not stood a chance. Along the side of the road, the fallen Combine soldiers had been laid out. Two men were going through their pockets and rucksacks. One of the men was recording the contents on a small note computer while the other did the actual searching.

Minh stopped at the line of bodies. She half expected the androids to force her forward. The three behind her stopped with her. The two in front paused after several steps and turned to watch her. Each corpse lay face up, countenance peaceful as in sleep or exhibiting a variety of expressions. The looks ranged from shock and surprise to fear, pain and rage. She knew or recognized each corpse. Sho-ko Williams was there. So was that stout Go-cho she remembered from the sentry tower. She never knew her name before, but the name tag on her shirt read Trane. She was startled by the similarity to her own family name. She walked down the line, looking for those she knew on a day to day basis. Some she found, others were missing. The missing ones had been in hover crews, so they were most likely entombed in the burned wreckage. There was no sign that her company had killed any of the attackers. If any attackers had been killed, their bodies had probably been taken away.

The two surveyors stopped in their task. Minh ignored them. They remained silent, watching her. She felt distant from her own emotions, numb and unfeeling. She did not understand her lack of expression. Could she be in shock? Perhaps the concussion from the last autocannon strike that killed Brenner had affected her brain. The time immediately after the explosion was a blank to her. Maybe she had yet to regain her senses.

Some of the bodies showed bandages from their previous wounds. They should have remained in the hospital to completely recuperate, not risk their lives again so soon. These soldiers had been the more recent arrivals to Demeter. They had not trained with the company as long as the other recovering veterans. They had rushed to the training company to share their knowledge and experience, only to share in the death as well.

Reaching the last of the remains, she turned and looked up at android leader. At least, she assumed it was the leader. She could feel her thighs and calves ache during this brief respite from the march. She did not wish to continue, but she was determined not to ask for mercy from these soldiers.

This was not how she expected the enemy to act toward a defeated enemy. Except for the MechWarrior in the hills, there had been no animosity. Instead of brutality, these troops exhibited casual indifference.

The leader gestured with the claw and Minh obediently began the next leg of her trek down the road. As she moved away, here thoughts remained behind with the dead. It was obvious that the bodies had been laid aside to make searching them more organized. But, once they were finished, what would happen then? Would the remains be returned to their base? Would they be buried up here? Or would they be left on the side of the road for the inhabitants of Provost to deal with? Would their families be told of their fate?

Minh thought about her family. Would she see them again? Would she be permitted to contact them? Perhaps they would believe she had died in her tank. Her mother had been against her enlistment in the militia. She believed her duty was with the family, but she was unable to stop her. At eighteen years of age, she did not require parental approval. Minh had believed the recruiter's promises of a paid college education after serving six years in the militia. She saw the opportunity to become more than a corn farmer. Despite the automation in the corn fields, there was a lot of physical labor involved. Loading the planting machinery still required muscular effort. It was considered wasteful for the machines to gather the huskings from the fields. Having too much machinery was also wasteful. There was always a place for manual labor, and in the family business, the owner's oldest issue was not exempt. Her brother also worked at the farm. Though younger than she, he was the oldest male and would inherit ownership of the business. At one time she hoped to work in her uncle's distillery, but he had made it clear that only the son of his sister would be welcome to work for him. Her only contribution had been to help harvest the corn which was sent to the distillery. The derivative was a popular brand of sipping whiskey, some of which was exported off planet. Her only future would have been a life of unrewarding hard work with the prospect of being married off in a business arrangement.

Although Minh was small and wiry, she had a strength that belied her appearance. A hard worker, she had never given her family reason to be displeased with her. That was most likely the main reason her mother objected to her departure. Having grown up in this circumstance, she was accustomed to it. She held no ill will against her parents nor their choice of marriage mate. The son of another farming family, Minh had never met the man but knew he was a MechWarrior in the DCMS. It was the life that had been chosen for her that she was rebelling against.

Thinking of her family returned her mind to the present. Concerned for their welfare, she hoped her family would be spared the consequences of this assault.

So engrossed in her thoughts, she did not notice the androids stop in front of her. She had stepped between them without notice, only stopping when a metal arm brought her up short. She bumped into it before she heard the high pitched turbine of an approaching hover car.

The noise grew louder as she peered through the misty rain. She wondered if it would stop in time, because the group was standing in the middle of the road. She assumed that the androids were expecting the car. Standing at the forefront, she found herself waiting patiently once more.

She saw a pair of lights appear from the haze, followed by a shadowy form. It rapidly took shape and she recognized it as a public works vehicle from the Provost office. The turbine changed pitch as the car abruptly decelerated. The air cushion supporting the vehicle splashed mud and water on the waiting assembly. The car settled to the road and two gull wing doors swung up. Two men stepped out into the road and approached them.

One man was obviously a guard. He wore a flak vest and helmet, but his only weapon was a laser pistol holstered to his hip. The other man was short, like Minh. He wore a cloak. When he stopped in front of Minh, she would see that he was of Asian descent as well. It must have been the rain in her eyes, she decided. The man's head seemed a bit larger than normal and his eyes were set wider apart. Maybe it was the delayed trauma of the explosion she had been subjected to.

The man was speaking to her. In Japanese. She understood Japanese, being born and raised in the Draconis Combine, but she could not understand his words. It was obvious that he only had cursory study. He spoke too slow and the syllables did not make sense. Without thinking, she explained she could not understand him. The man turned to the guard.

"Did that sound like Japanese to you?" he asked, the hint of amusement in his voice.

"I would not know," the other man shrugged.

"I spoke Vietnamese," Minh explained, in English. When she was tired, she lapsed into her family tongue. "I understand Japanese, but not yours."

The guard laughed. The short man gave him a small smile, then turned to the androids.

"We will take her with us now," he said. "You are free to return to your mission."

Minh waited for a reply from the androids. Instead, they turned around and ran away in long loping strides. Minh was amazed by the grace and bounding leaps. Instead of following the road, they took to the field. The distance that had taken her an hour to walk down, the five armored robots covered in about a minute uphill. When they disappeared into the haze, she turned back to the two men. The shorter one in the cloak was studying her, no sign of his previous humor in evidence. She looked him in the eye, resolute in her will to show no weakness. Not walking, she was no longer generating body heat. She shivered, despite her effort to hide the tremoring.

"We have a boat to catch," he gestured to the hover car. "Sit in the back." He turned to the guard and told him to drive. Apparently, he must have looked askance at his superior, because there was a response.

"She is docile enough," he said. "I can watch her."

Minh moved into the back seat as she was instructed. She was surprised when he handed her his cloak.

"Put this over you," he said. She accepted the garment and draped it over herself, curling up silently.

xxXxxxXxx

Aerospace Pilot Stev Ch'in settled down into the seat and examined the girl as the hover car wound up it's motors. She lay in a tight ball, her head resting on pale forearms. The strain of exhaustion began to relax from her face as she promptly fell asleep.

Point Commander Keen had reported that he had captured a soldier from the tank company. Stev had imagined a large man who had survived the annihilation of the inner sphere force. Instead, the reality was totally different from his imagination. Arriving to pick up the survivor, he found a young woman with dark, glittering eyes who was soaked to the skin. Perhaps one of the MechWarriors wanted her as a prospective warrior. Keen had been assigned to bring her to the DropShip. Certainly the Elemental had no use for such a diminutive combatant.

However, Stev couldn't help but be a little impressed with the girl. In spite of her obvious discomfort, she had displayed complete composure over herself. Instead of giving in to panic or trying to foolishly escape, she was taking advantage of badly needed rest.