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[b]Abandoned Neodymium Mine
Eunsan Mountain Range
250 Kilometers Southwest of Balya Gora
March 23rd, 3030[/b]


The cavernous expanse of the mine's main chamber had bustled with activity for the past seven days, the few dozen remaining members of Gawain's Green Knights in constant motion as they converted the place into their makeshift headquarters and hideout. The technicians and their teams of AsTechs had been hard at work making repairs, stripping down parts from one machine to make use of them on another, performing what maintenance they could with the tools they had on them to keep the 'Mechs and vehicles up and running. Now, for the first time in days, there was nothing to do but wait until the Knights returned from their mission.

In those hours of stillness, the men had come to realize just how thin their morale was stretched. Rations were running low, water was getting more scarce, and the techs were expected to work miracles with equipment that wasn't much better than what could be found in a civilian's garage. Many of them had worked out their frustrations in the Scrap Yard the previous night- and had the bruises and fat lips to prove it- but their weariness gave way to a general malaise that sunk over the crews as they lazed in the largely empty motor pool and 'Mech bays.

While things were still, it would be wrong to say it was quiet. Echoing off the cave walls, the sound of a crude guitar made from an ammunition box and a few used strands of myomer twanged out the strains of an [url=https://youtu.be/8LHYrYW9WcA]ancient Terran folk song[/url]. Picking away at the string-box was a wiry old man with a scraggly white beard, his skin chestnut brown from years under the suns of various worlds, his eyes obscured by a tarnished old pair of mirrored shades. The cigar tucked into the corner of his mouth was burned down to a bare stub, but despite never seeming to take a puff, he kept the cherry lit and glowing.

The old man, whom everyone just called "Pops," had only joined up with the Green Knights three years ago as Wrathchild's Mechtech, but it felt like he'd been there all along. Everybody knew Pops, and yet nobody seemed to know anything about him. According to some stories, he was a Taurian salvager on the run since the infamous [url=https://youtu.be/DRWUkq_R6Os]Tripitz Affair[/url]. Other accounts had him as one of the original Waco Rangers. Depending on who you asked, Pops had served in the court of the First Prince of House Davion, lost two fingers in a duel with a DEST ninja, and been a former lover of "Lady Death" Paula Trevaline. Of course, most suspected that a good many of these stories had been spread around by Pops himself. He was always good for a tall tale, a strong drink from his still, a few dirty jokes, and a song.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]"I'm so [i]boooooored[/i]!"[/color] the high, somewhat nasally voice of a young girl cut into the old man's playing. [color=DeepSkyBlue]"Play a happy song, Pops, this one's too slow!"[/color]

Pops raised an eyebrow and glanced at Sunshine "Sunny" von Kemp, the ten-year-old sister of Lena "Wrathchild" von Kemp, whose [i]Wolverine[/i] had gone up in smoke and flames on the day of the coup. Hundreds of klicks away, her younger brother Diego was being held with the other civilians in some prison camp by the NPDRE. And yet to Sunny, this whole disaster was like a long camping trip.

[color=Peru]"Happy songs are for happy times, young'un,"[/color] Pops said, not missing a note as his fingers worked the frets from muscle memory. [color=Peru]"Once the Colonel and the Knights are back with the food an' the water an' everything else, there'll be plenty to celebrate. If we celebrate before that, it'll jinx it."[/color]

[color=DeepSkyBlue]"Does it have to be all this [i]old[/i] stuff, though?"[/color] she complained. [color=DeepSkyBlue]"Can't you play some Ded Mek or something?"[/color]

Pops chuckled. Ded Mek was an electronic punk band out of the new St. Ives Compact, which had been mostly cranking out vitriolic anti-Capellan protest songs. Lena had bought Sunny one of their albums as a souvenir during their last deployment, and Sunny listened to it non-stop for nearly a month before Pops 'accidentally' lost the batteries to her stereo. The girl didn't get any of the political messages; she'd thought that their big hit "Dear Romano" was a happy love song to a nice girl they liked, rather than an ironic hatchet-job against the Liao Chancellor and her crimes against humanity. Sunny just liked the energetic beats.

[color=Peru]"Afraid I only know the old stuff,"[/color] Pops grinned.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]"That's because you [i]are[/i] old stuff,"[/color] Sunny joked, and the two shared a laugh.

Pops played another verse while Sunny listened, and after a while, she piped up again.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]"Hey, Pops?"[/color]

[color=Peru]"What is it, hon?"[/color]

[color=DeepSkyBlue]"...I'm hungry."[/color]

While his hands continued to play, the expression on Pops' face struggled to keep its composure.

[color=Peru]"We're all hungry, hun',"[/color] he said. [color=Peru]"Just gotta hold out a little longer, 'til the Colonel gets back."[/color]

[color=DeepSkyBlue]"...okay,"[/color] the young girl said, pouting a bit.

To lighten the mood a bit, Pops asked, [color=Peru]"So what's the first thing you wanna eat when the food gets here?"[/color]

[color=DeepSkyBlue]"Oooooh,"[/color] Sunny's eyes grew wide. [color=DeepSkyBlue]"I want some lo mein noodles! Or some strawberry ice cream! Or--ooh! A Triple-F Burger, with [i]all[/i] the toppings! But no pickles. I don't like pickles. And then some of Lena's hot chili and--"[/color]

At the mention of her sister, Pops' fingers slipped on the frets and he hit a sour note. The old man looked away.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]"Whatever, she's coming back,"[/color] Sunny said, arms crossed. [color=DeepSkyBlue]"Anyway, what are [i]you[/i] gonna eat when the food is here?"[/color]

Pops sighed. [color=Peru]"I'd fight my way through the entire DCMS right now for a good juicy steak. [i]Real[/i] beef, I mean, not one o' them "Meat Tree" fruits they ship outta Marlowe's Rift. A big thick ribeye, cooked [i]juuust[/i] right, not a shade over medium-rare, with a side of Corridani tubers and greens...that'd do just fine. Right now, though, I'd be happy with just a can of hash and some coffee."[/color]

Sunny rolled her eyes. Grown-ups always wanted the most boring things to eat.

From farther up the mines came the rumbling of engines and the thundering steps of titanic feet, and the techs in the cavern began to spring to life.

[color=YellowGreen]"Look alive, folks!"[/color] Deck Chief Solomon Aadil called out. [color=YellowGreen]"Green Knights inbound!"[/color]

[color=Peru]"Well, looks like the break is over,"[/color] Pops said, putting the guitar away and reaching into his pockets for a pair of earplugs. [color=Peru]"Get your earmuffs on, kiddo."[/color]

Sunny nodded and pulled the too-big pair of noise-canceling earmuffs from around her neck to over her ears. The noise from a Lance of Battlemechs and a fleet of trucks in an enclosed area was going to be a hell of a racket, and Pops wanted to make sure the girl wasn't going to go deaf from it.

Sure enough, over the next few minutes, the cavern echoed with a riotous din. The convoy of trucks were the first to enter the chamber, and they had barely rolled to a stop before Sol's crew had begun to unload their precious cargo. Pops couldn't help but notice that there were two fewer than there should have been.

The Mobile HQ was next, parking itself in a corner out of the way.

Finally, the five Battlemechs, the three APCs, and the heavy Von Luckner tank thundered into the mine, each bearing the scars of combat across their armor. Pops took a look at the [i]Raven[/i] and [i]Ostroc[/i], and let out a low whistle.

[color=Peru]"Looks like the boys an' me are gonna have a [i]loooong[/i] couple o' nights gettin' those fixed back up,"[/color] he muttered, more to himself than to Sunny, who followed him about for want of anything to do.

Several minutes passed as the trucks were unloaded and the Mechwarriors climbed out of their machines. After a quick word with the Colonel, Doc Yuri and one of her assistant MedTechs hurried to the [i]Raven[/i], climbing up the gantry to tend to the pilot inside.

[color=Olive]"Keep the [i]Raven[/i] online until I say so!"[/color] Colonel Wayne shouted over the noise. [color=Olive]"I want the ECM field up while Sol's crew checks every square centimeter of these trucks to make sure they're not bugged!"[/color]

Pops raised an eyebrow at that. That sort of thing was usually reserved for either the most elite of special forces, or the bad guys in a cheap holo-vid. If the Colonel was being [i]this[/i] cautious, something must've really gotten under his skin.

[color=YellowGreen]"You heard the man!"[/color] Chief Aadil backed the Colonel up. [color=YellowGreen]"Check for anything, I mean [i]any-damn-thing[/i]- out of the ordinary. You find so much as a screw out of place, I wanna know about it! Now [i]get it done,[/i] people!"[/color]

There were a few groans mixed in with the yes-sirs, which were quickly met with a harsh glare and an unspoken promise that the Chief was going to call out a few names in the Scrap Yard that night.

After a while, the initial chaos settled into routine, and the Colonel gave out another general address.

[color=Olive]"Mechwarriors, transmit your BattleROM footage to the HQ. I want to go over the data and determine how things went down. Debriefing in sixty minutes.

"Chief Aadil, I want a full inventory of what we've got from this mission on my desk before debrief. I know we're all hungry, and we're all thirsty, and we're all ready to enjoy the spoils of victory. But first, we need to know how much we have and how long we can make it last. Now that the Espian Guard and the Crimson Fists have been hit once, they're not going to make it easy for us to hit them again.

"Lastly, if anyone has or knows where to find the personal effects of the following people, bring them to me. AsTech Kyla Moore. MedTech Jimmy Okada. MechTech Eduardo Garcia. Engineer Mustafa Rasheed."[/color]

There were a few sad mutterings at the mention of the four volunteers who were killed in the fight.

[color=Olive]"We'll mourn the ones we lost when we have the luxury of time to do so,"[/color] the Colonel stated. [color=Olive]"Until then, the mission remains. [i]Vivere est mori."[/i][/color]

[color=SandyBrown]"[i]Vivere est mori![/i]"[/color] Sergeant Dalton roared, the rest of the Buckshot Boys joining in unison.

[color=YellowGreen]"[i]Vivere est mori[/i],"[/color] Chief Aadil said solemnly, a handful of techs echoing his voice.

[color=Peru]"Shit,"[/color] Pops cursed as he worked. [color=Peru]"I liked those kids. Garcia was probably the worst hand I've ever seen with an arc-welder, but damned if he didn't know how to work with myomer. And Rasheed still owed me fifty C-Bills from the last card night."[/color]

[color=DeepSkyBlue]"What was that thing everyone just said?"[/color] Sunny asked, carrying a clipboard and making a tally-mark for every drum of water Pops helped unload from the truck. This simple bit of inventory was the most useful thing the ten-year-old could do, and she was happy to finally be helping.

[color=Peru]"It's some old Terran saying,"[/color] Pops answered. [color=Peru]"Means 'to live is to die.'"[/color]

[color=DeepSkyBlue]"That doesn't make any sense,"[/color] the girl said with a frown.

[color=Peru]"It'll make sense when you're older,"[/color] the old man said.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]"And why does the Colonel want their personal effects?"[/color] Sunny asked.

[color=Peru]"For the Memorial Hall,"[/color] Pops explained. [color=Peru]"Back on the [i]Clover[/i], on deck twelve. Not everybody comes back from a job, hon'. So we keep their memories alive by keeping something that was special to them. A lucky watch, a favorite wrench, a picture from back home. In Garcia's case, I'm gonna turn in that Hachiman camcorder he kept making vids on."[/color]

[color=DeepSkyBlue]"I've got Lena's bear,"[/color] Sunny mentioned, [color=DeepSkyBlue]"But we're going to hold onto that for when she gets back."[/color]

[color=Peru]"....yeah,"[/color] Pops said, not looking the girl in the eye as he agreed. [color=Peru]"For when she gets back."[/color]