Icar System
March, 3050Storied mercenaries, the 12th Star Guard, capture a JumpShip fleeing the Oberon Confederation. The ship and her sole DropShip are damaged beyond repair and have obviously been attacked. Her captain raves about "aliens" with super powerful weapons who indiscriminately targeted his ship. The 12th discounts his stories as typical pirate lies or exaggerations, but what is not an exaggeration is the cargo the DropShip is hauling. Her holds are filled with art treasures and ancient maunscripts, some dating back to the Terran Hegemony or even before. Realizing the historical importance of the cargo, the 12th transfers the contents over to their own ship, the
Talisman, a Fortress Class vessel that was in the system providing security for merchant shipping. In order to keep the ship safe until they can hand over the treasure to FedCom authorities, the 12th decides to hide the
Talisman on one of Icar's unpopulated islands, landing her in the caldera of a dormant volcano. The hand off never happens, however, as Clan Wolf invades Icar and the 12th is effectively destroyed. The
Talisman and her precious cargo are lost to history.
Arc Royal
March, 3068 After fleeing the chaos on Outreach, Beta Company of Motley's Marauders has arrived on Arc Royal with the shattered remnants of Wolf's Dragoons. Cut off from their parent unit and nearly broke, they immediately start looking for a new contract. One employer, claiming to be the Inner Sphere Antiquities Preservation Society, has an interesting offer for them. They have been in contact with an individual who knows the location of the
Talisman, and is recruiting a crew to recover her. The employer wants the art treasures from her holds in order to preserve their valuable history, but they are less concerned about the ship. If the Marauders can recover the treasure, the
Talisman will be theirs.
What the Marauders don't realize, is that they are not the first Merc group that ISAPS approached for the mission. The Swarm may not have the reputation of some of the bigger outfits, but they do have the experience, and the gear to get the job done. "Professor" Reed Jones, the Swarm's resident Mechwarrior historian, has researched the so-called Preservation Society and cannot find a single example of anything they have actually preserved. More likely anything that is recovered ends up in some rich Lyran's private gallery. They decline the offer, but they keep a close eye on the unit that eventually accepts, Motley's Marauders. After "Mother" Malloy pulls some strings with the port authority and gets the Marauders' planned jump route to the Blackjack system, they can plot the rest of the route from there to Icar with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Jones convinces the Swarm leaders to follow the Marauders to the
Talisman's resting spot and try to steal the prize out from under them.
Icar, Wolf Clan Occupation Zone
June, 3068Captain Horatio Morgan, formerly of the 12th Star Guards, has lead Beta Company to the
Talisman. In doing so, however, they have also lead the Swarm to the same spot. The Talisman rests in the caldera, covered in jungle overgrowth. The only route in is a volcanic ridge that rises high above the jungle canopy. Once the Marauders crest the ridge, the Swarm know exactly where they are headed, and the chase is on.
Marauders are strung out along the ridge.
The Swarm vanguard attacks, moving fast. Their Owens goes down, but they claim a Marauder Longbow. The Marauders have many assault and heavy machines, including a salvaged Clan Mad Cat. The Swarm are all fast, lightweight machines, but they have a whole battalion...
Marauders reinforce the line. They are heavily outnumbered, but the narrow ridge limits the Swarm's mobility. The scrub area on either side of the ridge represents the jungle canopy far below, and is out of bounds.
What's all this, then? The
Talisman is not unguarded after all. Sergeant "Brushy" Bob Cullen of the 12th Star Guard was left behind to guard her, and he has carried out his duty faithfully, remaining in the jungle alone for eighteen years. He's not about to let any "pirates" steal her, and will fight to keep out the interlopers. He may be a little crazy, but he has kept his ride in top condition, and he hasn't forgotten how to shoot.
The battle rages. More and more Swarm Mechs top the ridge and rush in. Mechs go down on both side, and the Swarm loses 2 aerospace fighters to combined fire from the Marauders. Morgan desperately tries to convince "Brushy" Bob to allow them on board but Bob ain't buyin' it.
Casualties continue to mount, but the Marauders can't afford too many more losses. The Swarm presses forward, seeking to envelop and pick apart the slower moving mercs.
Captain Morgan finally convinces Bob that the old Star Guards are gone, never to return. Realizing the last 18 years has been spent waiting for rescue that will never come, Bob decides there is only one thing left for him to do. He moves out.
The Swarm is on top of the Marauders, whose Mechs are falling apart around them. Bob moves his Warhammer up onto the ridge. "Quit yer lollygaggin' and get yer butts on the ship!" he bellows. "I'll hold the door open".
Morgan's crew frantically works to bring the ancient ship's systems online. Finally, her nav computers boot up and her engines cough and sputter to life. The Marauders crash through the jungle, sprinting for the ramp, surrounded by Swarm. "Brushy" Bob holds the line, dishing out damage until he finally pushes his fusion reactor into overdrive. At the last second, Morgan's crew get the
Talisman's weapons online, and they begin to train on the Swarm machines. Not prepared to deal with that much firepower, and under strict orders not to fire on the ship, the Swarm backs off. The last of the Marauder Mechs limps into the bay, and the
Talisman lifts into the sky. As the Swarm watches their quarry soar skyward, they vow that they will meet the Marauders again.
