From the personal journal of Irisz Magyari

We’ve formed an alliance of sorts with the Red Rock people (They hate the use of the word ‘tribe” to describe them) aimed at expanding out campaign of harassment against the Wolves; I must admit that I’m in two minds about this; on one side, I appreciate all that they can give us. They serve as extra eyes on the ground, they know the planet and its terrain much better then we do, they can provide far more intel then we could gather on our own and they give us a useful weapon.

What I don’t like is some of what they’re asking for in reply. There’s nothing that’s immediately “wrong” about it, more of a general feeling of unease and wondering about the long-term consequences of our actions and what they are going to do.

A case in point would be the first thing they asked us to do. One of the few changes the Wolves have made on Shasta (and other worlds in the empire) is to confiscate privately owned forearms and take them out of the hands of civilians. This is mostly about clan law; after all, only warriors (and their auxiliaries, like police forces) are allowed to carry guns. However, on planets like Shasta who were independent before being conquered, there’s a definite need to prevent those weapons form falling into the hands of rebels. The fact that Mu Galaxy is such a mess only adds to that urgency.

Wolf Empire Armoury, Shasta

The Red Rock wanted us to hit one of those armouries so they could take the weapons and arm themselves. It makes a lot of sense; spears and bows are all well and good when hunting animals, but aren’t that much use against people with modern firearms and body armour. It also would help fulfil our objectives; we would be arming the locals, disrupting the Wolves’ control over the planet and doing some damage in the process.

They provided us with the location of an armour on the outskirts of Redding, a nearby large coastal city. There was a mixed star of BattleMechs, tanks and Battle Armour on-site, which meant we would also be taking a bite out of the Wolves’ forces. (According to the intel package I got from SAFE such mixed stars are common in Mu Galaxy, a result of their shortages in manpower and equipment, high turnover rates and more then a few desertions). Given that Assault Lance had done so well with forming an alliance with the Red Rock, they were tasked with hitting the site and securing the weapons.

As before, the 19th Wolf Cavalry were using salvaged equipment; technologically, they were actually behind our lance. The opening of the battle did not go well for them, with Oda raining down LRMs from his new Stalker beofre they had a chance to retaliate (He seems to have taken well to the ‘Mech. Of course, he still manages to lose most of the armour). A lucky LRMs crippled a Shadow Hawk, forcing it to withdraw while still only lightly damaged and costing them early on.

The Wolves pulled back to regroup around the armoury, with indirect fire form a pair each of Phalanx and Brutus tanks guided by Battle Armour dug in to the nearby buildings. Haki helped fox this problem through some “aggressive gentrification” (as he put it), flushing them out by blasting the building with his Autocannon. At the same time, the rest of Assault Lance closed in and engaged the Wolves at close range, giving them a distinct advantage.

The results were pretty brutal. In short order, both Brutus tanks were destroyed, the two Phalanxes were immobilised and the remaining two Wolf ‘Mechs, a Shockwave and a Marauder were down, the latter of which had been struggling with engine damage for most of the battle. Only the Shadow Hawk and a point-and-a-half of Battle Armour escaped. And for that, Assault Lance suffered mostly only armour damage. So for “disrupting the Wolves” we did rather well.

With the site secured, we bought in both Stanley’s crew as well as a team of supply trucks that the Red Rocks had procured. She was able to pick up both the Marauder and Shockwave, and can have both of them back in action relatively quickly; it means we have them in reserve for if we need them, or can sell them down the road. We also captured two MechWarriors for questioning, which might yet lead us to some useful intel. In the meantime, the Red Rock pillaged the armouries and took whatever they could.

Which leads me to my unease. Sure, they claim they’re going to use those weapons to fight the Wolves, but is that all? The Red Rock have never had the best relationship with the Shasta government, but traditionally have not had the means to fight back against them. Likewise, they have in past been in conflict with other neo-primitive groups; who’s to say that they won’t turn these guns on them now that they have the means?

I might be reading too much into this. It may never happen, after all, and the Red Rock might have entirely honourable intentions and focus their newfound firepower entirely on the Wolves. But at the same time, I know that this sort of thing rarely ends well. And while we are fulfilling our contract, there’s that part of me that doesn’t like quite how we’re doing it.