The Deity Entertainment Network

Later That Evening

Blackstone City

True to their word, the Wolves let John leave the battlefield with his party unmolested, though they had a fighter escort all the way back to Blackstone. John kept the Pelican near the surface, not wanting to display its full abilities in case things went sour. They transmitted all the battle data back to the Wolves as well, acting in good faith to their new overlords.

Trix wasn't terribly happy about that plan, but one look at the sheer number of mechs they had on the surface changed her tune fairly quickly. They could either accept this new reality or die. Neither of them wanted to see these warriors descend on Blackstone in anger, so they chose the path of least resistance.

She was very curious about his new companion, chatting with the Elemental all the way back to the cave. She didn't seem hostile to the former enemy soldier, which he was thankful for. After explaining that John had defeated her in combat and taken her as a bondsman, she relaxed and even gave John an appraising glance, curious at how he managed to defeat such a powerful person.

"I'm a wizard, remember?" He joked, earning a smack from the old lady. She smiled at least, the first he had seen on her in some time.

John landed the Pelican outside of the Guard facility, then once he was sure his escorts had buggered off, he shrunk it and pocketed the ship. Bryn's jaw dropped again at seeing this magic that he used, her mind still not understanding just how special her new bondholder was in this world. She had slept on the deck the entire flight back and had yet to ask him questions about how he defeated her or healed her injuries. Instead, all she asked was when she could have a bondcord to announce her new status to others.

"Umm... I'm not sure what that is. Mia?" John replied, then pivoted to his other bondsman.

"A bracelet that a bondsmen wears to show what Clan and unit they belong to. I was considering the slave collar to be my bondcord before, but Captain James Kearney took it off. We have been too busy since then to bother you for one, though now that Clan Wolf is taking over, you should get us something to indicate that you own us now."

"Mia, Lucy, and I accepted you into our family. Why would I claim ownership over you?"

"I appreciate that, John Wayne, but that is not what Clan Wolf will see. They will see two females who should be mating as soon as possible, either naturally or with IVF treatments. As your bondsmen, we are protected from the breeding program without your consent, and if you release us, we will return to our status as warriors and remain exempt until we are at least thirty. Then we will either be sent to a Solahma unit, or to the labour caste and would need to procreate until we are unable to."

He shook his head. These Clans had a really bizarre culture, and it was getting even more alien the more he learned about it. "Can I just release you now?"

"No. Technically, we would need to earn our freedom, which would require being in battle or providing some other significant benefit to you or the Clan before that would be allowed. If you tried to argue that my actions in this last battle counted, that would not go well for any of us." She explained. "Give it a year or two, and you will be free to release us under something as simple as proper behavior. We may fight for you if needed in service to the Clan, but otherwise we will be sworn to your service until then."

It made sense; she did allow them to bend the rules to the point they killed many Wolf warriors in combat. If they found out that she was the one who helped orchestrate the two, two-hundred-foot-tall hand grenades, the contract he had with the saKahn might become null and void.

Still, now he had to find them something to mark them as his. Another thing to add to the growing to-do list.

Wait, no, I don't! In twenty hours, the timer runs out. Unless I accept whatever quest is in James' letter. I'll read it later and sleep on it. I can already feel my mind slipping again... this last week has been a rollercoaster of ups and downs. I am not making any decision tonight on what I am going to do.

The Guard facility was suspiciously empty, so they left and headed down to the Blackcat. Trix came with them; her apartment was nearby, and she didn't feel like cooking tonight. A quick read of her mind let John know she didn't want to be alone right now, which he understood all too well. It was starting to set in that most of their comrades were dead.

When he walked through the door of his apartment, he was immediately assaulted by a ball of energy as Rei tossed herself into his arms.

"Daddy!" She screamed excitedly.

"Daddy's home." He replied, hugging her back. Lucy was standing behind her, a look of relief on her face.

He just smiled.

Operations Room

Black Lion Class Battlecruiser Arctic Wolf

"In summary, I recommend caution whenever we engage these Freeborn in the future. Their equipment is subpar, but they are willing to use unconventional tactics to make up for any shortcomings. That, and at least some may be aware of the Clans and our way of fighting. While these warriors fought with honour, I can easily see other warriors leading us into death traps if we maintain our current disdain for Freeborns," saKahn Garth Radick said to the holograms in front of him. His Kahn and the ilKahn were on the other side, nodding along to his report.

He had returned to Beta Galaxy's Battlecruiser earlier, leaving a cluster of Mechs on the surface to guard the Brian Cache and recover any of their Omnitech from the battlefield. They would be sending down another pair of dropships to Blackstone City in the morning, to begin taking over the town and outlying mining facilities. He did not expect much opposition, as Captain John Wayne seemed like a reasonable man despite being a Freebirth.

They would also look at their options for securing that cache in the coming days. The occupants were stuck in there as far as they could tell, so instead of assaulting the base and losing mechs to any weapons fire, he already had another plan in mind.

He would starve them out.

Maybe I should talk to John Wayne about it again. He might be able to talk them into opening the doors. I would rather not delay rejoining the invasion any longer than I have to, but I will for a Brian Cache.

"Very good, saKahn Garth Radick. I will be sure to pass your advice on to the rest of the Clan." Kahn Ulric Kerensky replied.

"I cannot believe your forces were nearly defeated by these Freebirth scum. I expected more from you, Garth Radick, though maybe I was setting the bar too high for someone of your background," ilKahn Leo Showers said, then disappeared from the holo.

Garth could see his Kahn glaring off to the side for a moment, then returned to looking at him. "Anything else to report?"

"Neg. Though we may have uncovered something interesting. I will pass it on to you in person once we confirm the report's veracity. I would hate to have the ilKahn believe I am not thorough in my duties as a saKahn of the Wolves." He replied, leaving a hint that what he said wasn't for the ilKahn's ears but for Wolves alone. He wasn't going to bring up the cache until they had it firmly in their hands.

"I look forward to a positive report then. We will meet you in four months' time at the edge of the Oberon Confederation's space at Star's End. Dire Wolf out." The Kahn said, then ended the transmission.

Garth closed his eyes for a moment, taking a few deep breaths as he recentered himself. He had three months to get this planet set up as a resupply base before they would need to depart and rejoin the rest of Clan Wolf for the invasion. There was a lot of work involved, and meetings with the civilian and scientific caste over the next few days as they would decide where to begin their construction. He would have to see about leveraging the local population's resources as well, though other than raw materials and manpower, they didn't seem to have much else to work with.

"My saKahn, the fighters just reported in from the Zenith point. There is no sign of a Jumpship there, and they are requesting orders before returning to the Arctic wolf." The communications officer reported.

"What?" He said, confused. They had detected a Jumpship signature a few days ago, and it did not arrive at the Nadir point. If it wasn't there, then...

"Navigator. Calculate where all the pirate points are in the system; it must be hiding among them. Launch fresh fighters as soon as you have those coordinates. Send as many as you need to cover all of them. We must not let it escape!" He ordered.

There was a good chance that it would be caught by his fellow Wolves if it jumped out of this system, but he did not want to be further disgraced in the eyes of the ilKahn. If he knew the truth about actually losing to the Blackstone Guards by an unarmoured warrior, he would probably force his Kahn to make him step down from his position. That hateful Jade Falcon would go to any length to discredit a Wolf warrior just because he lost to Ulric in a battle years ago.

He stayed in the command room until after the remaining Wolf fleet jumped out of the system, and his aerospace fighters deployed. This was just the start of the invasion, and it was already giving him grey hair.

I wonder if I can convince one of the Elementals to give me a massage?

Blackstone City

John's Apartment

John was sitting outside on his little deck, enjoying the breeze coming off the water. Rei had fallen asleep in his lap, wanting to hang out with him while he was relaxing after their late supper. Well hers, anyway. He could hear Lucy doing something inside the apartment, though he wasn't sure exactly what.

Mia and Bryn were still downstairs at the bar, the pair of them explaining more Clan customs and rules to Trix, Maggie, and a few of the concerned townsfolk. They had all heard that they were about to be occupied tomorrow, and were afraid. Rightfully so.

When they went down to eat earlier, the place was packed, so he ended up having to give them the bad news about the loss. There were dissenters and people already trying to form a rebellion, but he squashed that. Hard. They were in no position to fight these Wolves, not as they were now. It made him feel like the bad guy, but he didn't have a better option for them. Yet. If he could come back here stronger, maybe with technology from Infinite Frontiers or one of his Gatcha pulls, he might be able to wrestle power back.

If I can even come back here.

When he brought up that if they were combative with the Wolves, they might just shell the planet from orbit and be done with it, they settled down a bit. He spoke at length about accepting their new reality for now and said their commander seemed like a reasonable person, though their ways of doing things were very different from what they were all used to.

He wasn't sure how effective his speech was, but it seemed to mollify the crowd somewhat. That's when Mia and Bryn started answering the crowd's questions, and John retired. He was tapped out again and still didn't get a chance to eat. So he went outside on his deck and placed the letter down on the table beside him. He still hadn't opened it yet, worried that the guilt of reading that man's last words to him would force him to do something rash.

Rei came outside shortly afterwards and climbed up on his lap, so he distracted himself by asking her what she did today. She happily told him about the cooking adventure they had in the Blackcats' kitchen, which thankfully didn't end up in another cloud of flour. It was just the sweet and innocent excitement of a child. It made him smile.

Once she passed out, the letter began to beckon to him again.

With a sigh, he opened it up and browsed through the contents. He shook his head ruefully, knowing his nice and easy end of this world was about to change.

John,

If you are reading this, I am gone. I hope it was fast and that I managed to get at least one of these bastards before I died. I was going to be dead soon anyway, so it doesn't really matter that much in the end. Have a drink in my honour when you get a chance, that is all the wake I need.

Now, I won't bother writing out some long 'Dear John' letter, that isn't my style.

On the back of this letter are all my accounts, access to the safe at the Guard facility, and contact information for a few senior commanders in both the Combine and the Federated Commonwealth. Take all the C-Bills and find a way to get off this rock and warn the Inner Sphere of this impending invasion. Millions of lives are at stake.

I don't know if that ship of yours can handle interstellar travel, but if not, you might have a single hope remaining of getting out of the system. Ryan's Rebels came in here from a pirate point, and they still might be in the system, waiting for their dropships to return. Pay them whatever you need to and get them to ferry you, or at least the information to the Inner Sphere.

If it is feasible, take any women and children you can carry with you. Giving them some rocks in the ground is one thing, but feeding their warmachine by indoctrinating our children and forcing our women to unwillingly have more is crossing a line. Do what you can to prevent this from happening.

Those are my final orders, John.

Warn the Inner Sphere and save the innocents.

I know you will do the right thing.

James

"Fuck me."