I arrived on Kamenez in pursuit of Lee Zhen based on known good information on his movements. Since he had been last known in the employ of Magyari’s Irregulars, it stood to reason that he would still be with the unit. My only concern was that he might have been already killed in action, which would have rendered this entire expedition somewhat pointless. Fortunately, such was not the case.
After making planetfall, it was relatively easy to make contact
with Connor Carson. As expected, he was open to negotiation and willing to make
a deal, especially in light of the reversals he and his unit had suffered in
the last few weeks of operations. Carson was looking for a victory, and saw me
as a way to achieve that. At the same time, he would give me the means to deal
with that target and his allies. We both win.
Analysis of Zhen gave some insight into his actions and what
to expect. The lance he is a part of is equipped with a quartet of powerful
BattleMechs (only an idiot would discount that Uziel) and his own Vulture Mk
IV is an advanced Clantech machine, which presented a pair of severe
obstacles to any hit. While the Akuma had
been absent for some time, the belief was that it was due to the pilot being
incapacitated, as there was no indication that the ‘Mech itself had been destroyed
or disabled. I just simply assumed that it would return to the field at some stage,
and planned for its presence.
The positive of it came through an analysis of their
tactics. Zhen often used himself as bait, relying on his ‘Mech’s armour and
speed to help protect it. That served my purpose well, as it was him alone that
I was after.
I agreed to travel with Carson’s command lance (actually an
amalgamation of fragments of two lances) to use them as a way to flush out
Zhen. I wasn’t disappointed, making contact within a few days. As expected, the
two forces engaged with Zhen taking a lead in the attack. Once they were committed,
I powered up and joined the fray, with Shocker closing in on Zhen. Figuring I
had a good shot at him, I hit him with my TSEMP cannon.
It was an outstanding success, given that the TSEMP is known
to be a touchy weapon. Zhen’s Vulture Mk
IV shut down, leaving it easy prey for myserlf and Carson’s modified Ostsol. Carson obligingly pummelled it with
his TSM-enhanced physical attacks, ensuring that the Vulture stayed down while the rest of his lance attempted to keep
Zhen’s allies at bay. In this regard, they were less successful. Not only did
Carson draw a lot of fire, crippling his BattleMech, but a Ghost under his command was quickly incapacitated and left combat ineffective.
Unfortunately, this put me in a disadvantageous situation. While
we still held numbers, the enemy had weight and firepower in their favour. We
had barely dented the Akuma or Carronade, and with Carson effectively out
of action, we had little way to do such. I threw a desperation gamble, offering
to take Zhen and then leave the rest of the unit be. As expected, Takahashi
Oda, the leader of the lance, refused my offer. Realising that I was not going
to be able to get any further, I chose to cut my losses and withdrew.
Without my support, Carson very quickly folded. He made his
own offer, providing the Irregulars with the location of their base of
operations in exchange for being allowed to withdraw and leave the world
unharmed. Oda agreed, and the remaining Carnivores were soon following my own ‘Mech.
It was, in my opinion, a good deal. Carson got to preserve his force (and
especially himself), while Oda won a major intelligence coup.
And it turns out that there’s also a bounty on Oda’s head. Interesting,
but not surprising. Should we meet again, I shall have to find a way to reel in
both of them.
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