A couple of ones from my Grandmother's journals that I found interesting, especially given all the edits to one of them - Irisz
3rd
February, 3068
I
really shouldn't be surprised at what we found. The identity of dad's killers revealed,
and it was exactly who we should have expected from day one. If you ever wanted
a good example of just how toxic the world of big egos and log memories that is
Mercenary culture could be, this is the best proof you'll ever get.
The
feud between the Irregulars and Raymond's Roughnecks never really ended. It just
went away from time to time, flaring up on those occasions when our units were
coincidentally in the same place at the same time. Be it on Galatea or
Outreach, it would keep happening. Name calling, deliberate provocation, bar
brawls... You name it. All so very petty and banal, but also very much key to
the culture. Dad would try to discourage them, of course, but one way or
another, these things kept on happening.
Ego
and long memories are a big part of the mercenary trade. Just ask the Eridani
Light Horse and Bronson's Horde. Or look at Wolf's Dragoons and the Waco
Rangers, and see how that turned out for everyone involved. Yes, compared to
those units this is a lot smaller, but that doesn't make it any less dangerous
to us.
It's
not even the first time that something like this has happened. On Sheratan in
'63, dad's command lance were attacked by a group of 'rouge mercenaries' while
they were escorting the president's Hoverlimo. Those rogues nearly killed both
him and the president before they were forced to retreat. We later found out
that they were members of the Roughnecks, but dad tried to keep a lid on it in
order to stop things from spiraling out of control.
I
can only wonder what's going through Nina Raymond's mind. Yes, Grandma Sel
killed her father, but that was on the battlefield. Her 'Mech hit his in the
cockpit; this is the sort of thing that happens all the time. She didn’t
deliberately shoot to kill him, but rather was fighting an enemy who was doing
his utmost to defeat her. That shot could have just as easily crippled his
'Mech and left him alive.
A
deliberate, targeted terrorist attack that killed a number of people is not the
same thing, however. It's purposeful, aimed and with unquestionable intent.
I
want to see this end. I have no desire to keep alive a fifty year feud that
started well before me or dad were even born. I don't care who started it or
why. I just want it done with. Sadly, given that Raymond's attack filed and we
captured her son Colin for the deal, I very much doubt that's going to happen.
-----
[REDACTED],
3076
Nina
Raymond is dead.
I'm
still a little shocked at about how exactly it happened and the strange events
afterwards. The Roughnecks attacked us at [REDACTED], hitting us hard with
everything they had left. They had heavy artillery cover that was keeping us
pinned in place; all we could do was melt into the buildings and try to take it
to close range while breaking up our own formations.
And
yet, despite this, she still was able to find me. I'd been separated from the
rest of my lance, caught by a collapsing overpass and with ECM fouling comms.
Her Gallowglas came after me, hunting me
down. I don't know if she had separated herself from the rest of her lance, or
if this was a deliberate act on her part so she'd ensure this would end by her
own hands. It doesn't really matter now.
We
fought. She was the better pilot; there's no doubt about that. She had far more
experience than me, after all, having been a MechWarrior longer then I'd been
alive. More than that, though, was that she was so driven, fueled by hatred
fury and a blind desire for revenge that was all-consuming. And there was
something else that I couldn't explain at the time, something about her 'Mech
that made it seem... alive.
 |
| Annika Magyari's Thunderbolt |
Regardless,
she had me dead to rights. My Thunderbolt's
Gauss Rifle went up, shocking me and leaving me flat on my back. Her Gallowglas was a mess as well,
especially with a laser scar across its face, but it didn't matter. I was dead,
and she had me.
And
then she just... stopped. Her 'Mech slumped, still on its feet but at the same
time, no longer moving. I was able to get my Thud back on its feet, but even
then, it didn't react. It wasn't until afterwards that we found out why.
Kardos
and Chaver later told me that the Roughnecks had suddenly wilted, as if all the
fight had gone out of them at about the same time. We found out form the
prisoners that Bruce Raymond, Nina's son and second in command, he’d panicked
and lost control of his men, which pushed them over the edge. They broke, which
gave us the chance to push back. Less than half their force left the
battlefield, with their command in tatters.
It
wasn't until afterwards that we found out what had happened. Doctor Hendrix did
a full autopsy on Nina, and found two things. The first was that she'd been in
the late stages of a very rare, incurable degenerative disease. She was dosed
up on medications and painkillers and whatever else, but it seems like it had
killed her, not my weapons. It almost makes me wonder if she'd climbed into her
BattleMech knowing full well that she would never leave it, and had planned on
making killing me her final act,
It's
a chilling thought, especially when combined with what else she found. Nina had
[REDACTED], like she was some sort of [REDACTED]. Which might explain the odd
feeling I was getting. It also tells me just how desperate and/or insane she had
become.
 |
| Nina Raymond's Gallowglas |
Oddly
enough, as soon as Hendrix was done, our rep from IE showed up and confiscated
both Nina's body and her 'Mech. He never said why, and discouraged us from
asking questions. His providing us with a brand new Avatar as compensation did go some
way to easing our concerns.
The
Roughnecks are shattered, fleeing [REDACTED] under the Word's protection. But
they're a spent force, having lost their commander and more than half their
strength. Even then, they still have nowhere to go; they're working for the
Word, and the MRBC have bounties on their heads. All they can do now is hole up
somewhere in the Protectorate and wait for whatever comes next.
Either
way, this is over.
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