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[color=OrangeRed]"Blake's Blood,"[/color] Captain Yorgei Park swore under his breath at the chaos that surrounded him. At the first sound of enemy fire, the outpost had erupted into bedlam, with most of the laborers scrambling in every direction looking for some kind of cover. A few of his troops had manned the wall-mounted turrets after they saw that their automated sensors had been scrambled, and he had to shield his eyes from the blinding light of laser fire as two of the emplacements had been blasted away. [color=OrangeRed]"What a disaster."[/color]

[color=LightSalmon]"Captain! Captain Park!"[/color] Lieutenant Admir wailed at the top of his lungs as he ran towards him through the chaos, a terrified laborer nearly knocking the skinny man off his feet as he collided with him while fleeing in no particular direction. Captain Park scowled with contempt at his underling, disgusted by his loss of composure. [color=LightSalmon]"There are too many of them! They've cut off our retreat! We--"[/color]

[color=OrangeRed]"Quit your womanly shrieking, you sniveling coward!"[/color] he bellowed, cracking his whip for emphasis. Lieutenant Admir visibly flinched, only fueling Captain Park's disdain for the man. [color=OrangeRed]"Today you face your greatest destiny as a warrior, and you meet it by pissing your pants and crying?"[/color]

[color=LightSalmon]"B-but we can't fight them, sir!"[/color] The lieutenant continued.

[color=OrangeRed]"We have weapons in the armory, do we not? Assault Rifles? Shoulder-mounted SRMs? By my last count, no fewer than three Inferno launchers?"[/color]

Inferno rocket launchers were a nasty piece of weaponry, one of the only conceivable ways a lowly infantryman could stand the slightest chance against a Battlemech. A single-shot, shoulder-mounted launcher fired a projectile which, on contact, released a flammable jelly that burned horrifically hot and was near impossible to get off. Already the stuff of nightmares against infantry, against 'Mechs Inferno rockets caused their heat to spike to dangerous levels. A hit in the right spot could cause a 'Mech's actuators to seize up, or cause its ammunition stores to light off, or if it struck the cockpit, cook the pilot alive.

[color=LightSalmon]"Y-yes, sir, we have three Infernos, sir,"[/color] Admir stammered. [color=LightSalmon]"But we count [i]five[/i] Battlemechs and a Heavy tank! Even if we score a hit, the others will kill us all!"[/color]

[color=OrangeRed]"Then we'll take a few of them to hell with us!"[/color] the captain roared, once again bringing his whip around to slash across the air, the sharp crack an exclamation point to his sentence. A few soldiers cheered at Captain Park's words, his image the very picture of the proud Espian Guardsman the propaganda posters had envisioned.

Inside, Yorgei's blood was ice. While he was no master of military tactics, he knew how badly the odds were stacked against them.

On paper, a crack team of infantry with Inferno launchers [i]might[/i] be able to bring down a Battlemech, or at least soften it up for friendly forces to finish it off. With proper emplacements and months of rigorous training, a dedicated anti-'Mech squad could potentially bring down two Light 'Mechs, maybe a medium one.

But his men were not a crack team of rigorously-trained anti-'Mech infantry. These men were mostly conscripts, mostly barely competent at best, and mostly scared out of their minds. They were facing [i]five[/i] Battlemechs, most of which were in the medium to heavy weight classes. And friendly forces had no way of knowing they were even in distress.

If they continued to fight, they would be slaughtered to the last man.

If the Captain surrendered, he would be labeled a coward by his superiors, and spend the rest of his life in the bowels of Fort Tie Shan.

There was only one thing for it.

[color=OrangeRed]"Comrades, brothers in arms of the Glorious Espian Revolution!"[/color] Park shouted over the din. [color=OrangeRed]"The mercenary scum will show you no mercy, so we must be just as ruthless in kind! Fight to the last! Laborers, double pay-- no, [i]triple[/i] pay-- if you pick up a rifle and shoot! Guaranteed promotions to anyone who manages to kill an enemy Mechwarrior! Fight on, brave comrades! I will be with you every step of the way!"[/color]

Most of the laborers stayed in hiding, but a few began to timidly make their way to the armory. Some of the soldiers began to rally, taking up defensive positions and digging in.

[color=LightSalmon]"Captain! Surely you can't suggest we keep fighting!"[/color]

[color=OrangeRed]"We cannot allow ourselves to be seen as cowards,"[/color] he said, straightening his coat and turning away from the Lieutenant. [color=OrangeRed]"Congratulations on your promotion, Captain."[/color]

[color=LightSalmon]"...sir?"[/color]

Lieutenant Admir--no, [i]Captain[/i] Admir?-- looked on in confusion as Captain Park strode away from him, towards his office. Oddly, he dropped his bullwhip and left it behind, and Admir found himself staring at it idly as he heard the hatch to the Captain's office shut.

A few seconds later, from inside the office, Admir heard the muffled sound of a single gunshot.