19 June 2787 (Swales)
Colonel Mitchell finally parked his Pillager in his mech bay for the techs to go over. Once he reached the Dropships deck he headed for the the MASH truck at a slow jog. As he jogged towards it only 150 meters away, he scanned the crowd for his son. Reaching the crowd, he saw some families being reunited and some members of his command softly sobbing as the realization that their families were gone hit them.
Not spotting his 14 year old son, he felt an awful sorrow filling him. Suddenly he heard a familiar voice shout "Dad!!!!" Spinning on his heals he almost lost his footing but he regained his balance just as his strapping young son slammed into him. Wrapping his arms around the young lad, he could not contain the tears of joy any longer as they washed away some of the sorrow. After a few minutes, another wave of sorrow and dread washed over him as he realized he might have to tell his son of the death of his mother and sister. Slowly, he released his son from his arms and prepared himself to deliver the worst news he had ever delivered.
Seeing his father's face, the young man spoke first, "I already know, mom and sis are gone dad. I had gone for a jog early in the morning and was almost home when the fire swept down the block. Then the enemy Mechs were all over the place."
Slowly, Colonel Mitchell composed himself, but you could still hear the sadness in his voice as he spoke "Son, I am very sorry for not being here to protect your mom and sister. I never should have taken that 3rd Contract. I am sorry."
Drawing himself up to his full 5'8" height his son spoke again with full confidence "Dad, it is okay. You had no way of knowing what would happen. But I want to be a Mechwarrior like you, be the best I can be to avenge mom, sis, and all the other people I cared about."
"Son, this is a hard life, I always wanted better for you than to follow in my footsteps. Are you really sure about this?"
"Yes sir I am sure"
Colonel Mitchell finally turned towards the MASH truck and caught the eye of the Doctor "We can load and leave whenever your ready Colonel. All the wounded are stable and ready to travel."
Turning to his XO, "Load them up XO, let's get out of here and link up with Deep Strike at the Rally Point."