[b]"Uncle Mack's" Industrial Scrapyard
Property of Maxwell Metals Incorporated
A subsidiary of the Aqua Vitae Corporation
100 km south of Geom Haebyon
150 km northwest of Fort Tie
26 March, 3030[/b]


[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/0aqw2qCl.jpg[/img][/center]


[color=Chartreuse]"Got dammit, Morozov,"[/color] a high, reedy voice called out from behind a mountain of disused car parts, [color=Chartreuse]"Didjyew run off with the hydrogen cell pump for th' Rotunda?"[/color]

"Honest" Ollie Maxwell was a wiry old man, his mottled olive skin barely visible under layers of engine grease and grime. Shocks of white hair sprang from the sides of his head, the rest of his otherwise bald scalp covered by a faded green trucker hat.

[color=Orangered]"Ees no heff your name on eet, Maxvell,"[/color] Yvgenie Morozov, an enormous barrel-chested man with eyes too far apart and a slightly gawking mouth, said with a shrug as he pulled a cart full of disused myomer fiber bundles out from under another heap. [color=Orangered]"Besyides, vas on my syide of property."[/color]

Ollie spat a wad of mashed quillar-- spiked with nicotine as a cheap substitute for tobacco--onto the ground, the dark brown lump of wet plant matter leaving a sour smell. [color=Chartreuse]"Like hell it was on yer side! If it was, 's only 'cuz wunna yer damn [i]Loader Kings[/i] moved it there!"[/color]

[color=Orangered]"Sounds lyike problem for man viss no [i]Loader Kings,[/i]"[/color] Morozov chuckled, before turning away to haul the cart off to his side of the yard.

The Maxwell and Morozov families had lived together in a bizarre symbiosis for generations, inheriting the enormous industrial wasteland some time after the fall of the Star League. While technically the land itself belonged to the Maxwells, the Morozovs controlled the fleet of IndustrialMechs that allowed them to move around countless tons of disused metal.

For dozens of square kilometers, the yard was a labyrinth of metal mounds. Most of it was old mining equipment, rusted out hulks of vehicles, and leftovers from the Star League's Department of Mega-Engineering, but every once in a while they found something truly unique among the ocean of junk. Sometimes they found almost completely intact prefabricated hab-units from Espia's original colonization. Sometimes they found sheets of military armor, actuators, or myomers for old Battlemechs. There was even a mostly-complete chassis of a Capellan [i]Charger[/i] that had been left here-- after it had been stripped of its weapons and controls, of course.

The Rotunda was a hobby project that Maxwell had been tinkering with for years, an SLDF scout car disguised as a civilian sedan. Powered by a fusion engine and packing an Amdecker 300 Large Laser, the Capellan military must have discarded it not knowing what it was after the League fell. It'd make a hell of a nasty surprise for anyone who came sneaking about the yard...if he could ever get the thing to work.

And if Morozov and his fourteen sons didn't stop running off with parts of it.


[color=Chartreuse]"Morozov! HEY!"[/color] Maxwell shouted futilely after him. [color=Chartreuse]"If you don't gitchyer ass back here an' gimme back my hydrogen cell pump, there's gonna be hell ta--"[/color]

Their bickering was interrupted by the growl of a powerful engine and the rumble of gravel being ground under wheels. Making its way up the winding dirt road to the main entrance of the scrapyard was an armored vehicle-- military, by the looks of it-- with a satellite dish and antennae sprouting out the top of it.

[color=Orangered]"Looks lyike our guests heff arrived,"[/color] Morozov remarked.

Out from under what appeared to be unused vehicle husks, shipping containers, and storage tanks, dozens of people in mismatched rag-tag clothing emerged, sporting everything from improvised handguns to shoulder-mounted SRMs. Ranging from young children to wiry old men like Ollie, the Maxwell family was a clan of paranoid survivalists who had turned what was at first glance an oversized junk heap into a veritable fortress. The Morozovs, each one a meaty mountain of a human being, also rose from their hiding spots with an equally impressive collection of weaponry.

[color=Chartreuse]"Now now,"[/color] Ollie called out to his kin, [color=Chartreuse]"Ain't no reason to git alarmed. Way Ol' Lady Jeong sez it, these folks is friendly. Jess play nice an' put the hardware away fer now....but don't get too far so's ye cain't git to it if we need it."[/color]

The Mobile Headquarters of Gawain's Green Knights slowly rolled into Uncle Mack's Scrapyard, coming to a halt in a large clearing. Flanking it were two APCs, out of which poured a dozen or so soldiers armed with rifles and shotguns. While they kept their weapons down, the Knights infantry made it clear that if a fight were to break out, they'd be more than game for it.

As soon as the infantrymen formed a perimeter, the doors to the Mobile HQ slid open, and out stepped a gray-haired man with one good arm.

[color=Olive]"Oliver Maxwell?"[/color] the man called out.

Ollie eyed the newcomer and, eventually deciding to be on the level with him, nodded.

[color=Chartreuse]"That'd be me,"[/color] he answered. [color=Chartreuse]"Reckon yer Colonel Wayne?"[/color]

[color=Olive]"That's right,"[/color] the Colonel responded. [color=Olive]"I'd like to thank you for taking us in, given the circumstances."[/color]

[color=Chartreuse]"Hell, ain't nuthin' to it, err, Colonel sir,"[/color] Maxwell said, not sure how to properly address the military man. [color=Chartreuse]"Lady who owns the place sez to do it, and I don't care much for that Premier Federov er any of his boys anyhow. Yer welcome here, long as you yer crew don't make a mess of the place."[/color]

The Colonel wasn't entirely certain if the man was joking, given that the surrounding area was literally several acres of garbage.

[color=Chartreuse]"Say, pardon if I'm speakin' outta turn,"[/color] the junkyard dweller continued, [color=Chartreuse]"But ain't there s'posed to be more of ya? Morozov cleaned out the 'Mech bays fer ya an' everythin'."[/color]

[color=Olive]"The rest of the Green Knights will be making their way here shortly,"[/color] the Colonel answered. [color=Olive]"Before they arrive, I'd like to find a place to set up a semi-permanent base of operations."[/color]

[color=Chartreuse]"Well, let's show ya around,"[/color] Maxwell said with a wide smile. [color=Chartreuse]"There's a couple of old pre-fab colony buildings we done set up fer yer livin' space-- ain't much, but it's a roof an' some beds an' even runnin' water! An' Yvgenie and his boys can help patch up anythin' done to yer Mechs. An' my Darlene is cookin' up a couple drums a' beefalo stew that'll stick to yer ribs with just a bite!"[/color]

Colonel Wayne surveyed the surroundings as the oddball civilian led him around, and allowed himself to relax a bit. It was far from ideal, but it was already a step up from the mine. Plenty of exits if they needed to evac, several defensible positions both on-foot and in 'Mechs, and an open sky overhead.

Better yet, this place was within striking distance of Fort Tie Shan, when the time came. And thanks to the actions of the team at the dam, they now had a tactical warhead-- unarmed and kept several kilometers from the yard, of course-- that could be an outstanding force multiplier when the time came.

Things were finally moving in the right direction. And for the first time since the coup, the Colonel was starting to see not just a way to survive a few more days, but a way to actually win.