On the Origin of the Barghest Battlemech
04/14/3058 04:57 LIC One-Eyed Raven, Pandora Zenith Point, Lyran Alliance
Archon Katherine Steiner (-Davion) was wearing sweatpants, socks, and a tank top securely strapped into her bed even her ankles and wrists were immobilized. Two Loki officers hung onto the rail while floating in free-fall, “Archon, how do you feel?”
She was a bad mood, “I feel wretched! You know how much I hate jumping.”
“Yes we do. Don't we Roderic?”
Roderic the Loki Officer in Charge was floating in the doorway far away from his mistress, “Katherine we don't know how you are going to react to the three hundred and seventy light year trip we're about to travel on. So Hans will sedate you and monitor your vitals throughout the trip. If everything goes according to plan you will wake up in your bed safe and sound tomorrow on Tharkad with the worst headache you have ever felt.”
“How very comforting Roderic.”
“You don't pay me to be a nice guy Katherine.”
“Will this sedation have a bad side effect with my medication?”
Hans looked warily at the other man hanging to the bed rail, “I'm not certain, your condition is not something I'm used to dealing with.”
“So you don't know. Dammit Roderic! I hate everything about this plan, but Hans you better ****** stick me with that needle right now before I change my mind! I have a Lyran Alliance to run and Jade Falcons to kill.”
The medic inserted the hypodermic needle into her vein and she grimaced slightly, “Sweet dreams Archon.”
“****** you Hannss” Katherine drifted off as the sedative took immediate effect, her vitals looked good and everyone relaxed, “She's just such a delightful patient”
Roderic looked over at the other Loki officers, “Yeah but I don't want to be in her room when she wakes up. I'll have to tell the staff to clear it of throwables and breakables in case she wakes up in one of her moods. God how I wish I could smoke on this drop-ship. Hans we're leaving this up to you, Gunther let’s get moving.”
The ship's public address broke up the monotony, “All hands prepare for the first jump of thirteen.”
The Kearny-Fuchida drive of the Merchant Jumpship powered up and instantly transported the One-Eyed Raven thirty light years toward the Lyran Alliance's capital. The drop-ship detached and continued to the next link in the command circuit, and then the next, and the next.
Meanwhile Katherine drifted fitfully between dreams and nightmares which felt so real and probed deep into her unconscious mind. She saw herself as a white wolf roaming the tundra of Tharkad. Except it wasn't Tharkad the stars were all wrong; was it Terra? Something she read about long ago as a girl at Sister Jocelyn's, she wasn't sure, but felt warm fur keeping out the chill of an arctic wind that blew snow in great drifts across the harsh and barren landscape. The she-wolf roamed the tundra until she came to another, a male with a golden coat, the pair fought fiercely but it soon became playful and they traveled together. The two walked up to a promontory and watched a blood red moon rise over the horizon.
With their howl Katherine woke up and threw herself out of her bed on Tharkad, the silver wool blanket she had been placed under tangling her up as she fell off the mattress. Her head ached from the after effects of TDS (Transit Disorientation Syndrome) and the present impact onto the area rug that her bed rested upon, at least it wasn't the stone floor underneath. She struggled up to her hands and knees before putting a hand on her head, “You are a crazy bitch Katherine. A white wolf, I kind of like that actually.”
She untangled herself and stood up supported by the oaken bed frame, “Well this is very familiar.” She looked around and saw that all of the small nick-knacks and two mirror that normally adorned the room had been removed. The only things remaining were large heavy pieces of furniture most of which were bolted to the floor, the clock over her desk read 20:47 4/15/3058. “I was out a lot longer than I thought I would be. I hope Lorelei sent Yvonne a nice birthday present since I doubt Victor could be bothered. Pity that he and I are no longer on speaking terms I just missed his birthday. I’m sure Omi let him do something real special though. I hate her so much!”
The thought of Omi and Victor stoked a passionate rage inside of her but there was nothing to throw or break at hand so it subsided with only angry words and gestures. As she normalized she looked out over the City of Tharkad its many brightly lit towers twinkling in the night sky. “It’s good to be home but I have so much work to do.”
She found the phone inside the desk drawer and rang the kitchen for dinner, taking a bath while they prepared her meal. Several of her advisors burst into the private dining room with her still in a bathrobe to update her on the Jade Falcon Incursion and other affairs of state that Tormano Liao or Nondi Steiner were reluctant to make the decision on. Lady Voight was still in the Triad and updated her on personal matters with her sister, brothers, and others so she could interact seamlessly with them again. She was quite thankful that no one tried to assassinate her during her brief deception but eager to return to normal life.
With the initial flurry of activity complete Katherine had a moment to herself and pulled out a piece of engineering paper and looked at the wolf’s head bracelet, her Warrior codex. “Hmm I wonder?” Then she began to draw a concept for a new mech design, a Battlemech sized Fenrir, something truly terrifying and born of her own mind.
04/28/3058 Location – TharHes Corporate HQ, Weibetel, Tharkad, Lyran Alliance
Archon Katherine Steiner and Landgrave Gabriel Wellby, CEO of TharHes Industries walked along the side corridors atop the brutalist building which had housed the local branch of the legendary Defiance Industries but which was now co-owned by the Steiner and Wellby families. “Have your engineering teams looked over my concept Gabriel?”
“They have Archon, it is rather ambitious.” He opened the frosted glass door to his office and let Katherine pass, she did so and sat down on one of the richly upholstered chairs that had a spectacular view of the sprawling assembly complex. Falconer and Bushwhacker Battlemechs were the primary products manufactured here, their hunched forms ambled strangely from the assembly bunkers. Crusaders and Wolfhounds joined them in the marshaling yards. She still couldn’t look at a Crusader Mech without thinking of Galen but wasn’t about to pay for a full rebuild of their assembly lines, yet.
Fenrir Battle Armor were assembled in a smaller complex on the other side of Weibetel but the factory was patrolled by the wolf like battle armor to protect from sabotage or infiltration by hostile actors. The site was small compared to some of the other contractors in the Inner Sphere but far more accessible for Katherine who disliked traveling, just a quick shuttle hop from the Triad. “Well can you make it?”
“I believe we can. It will require a little creative reconfiguration…and some expensive acquisitions from the Free Worlds League for a proper engine and some engineers from Brigadier for consultation but yes we can make it.”
“Good. I intend to be quite involved in the process, I have already begun the proper steps to add a truly impressive visage to the design. I want something that will inspire the kind of fear in a Mechwarrior that an Atlas or Banshee does while being new and exciting to show that the Lyran Alliance is still a power to be reckoned with.”
“Of course Archon, this is after-all your company as much as it is mine. At the very least we will get some new R&D technologies fleshed out for future use.”
08/14/3058 Location – Tharkad Media Associates Assembly Complex, Tropicana City, Tharkad
Archon Katherine Steiner now dressed in a fancy sundress had used her personal yacht to get some time to herself while steaming towards Tropicana, there was now a timetable that needed to be kept for her new Battlemech design, the First Whitting Conference would be on Tharkad in only three months and she wanted a functional prototype to show off.
She walked right off the boat and into the TMA prop designer’s warehouse on the city docks. Before her were eight different wolf’s head mockups resting on display racks under bright lights. Around her were props from various horror movies, some of which she had seen but most she hadn’t being more of a rom-com kind of girl, as she attempted to stay upbeat with her mindless viewing. A bid was put out for a new Death’s Head style cockpit design and the Lyran film industry just like every other was eager to please.
Katherine looked carefully at every angle of the monstrous visages imagining it to be far larger, some of these might even be used for future Fenrir units so she was looking closely. She pointed toward a model with an open asymmetrical snarl, long teeth, and fierce eyes. “This one. This one is the best, I’ll take it.” The young prop designer was overjoyed but tried not to throw it in the face of his compatriots everyone got paid and the model was sent to Weibetel to be added to the Barghest Project’s fabrication queue.
10/12/3058 08:17 Location – TharHes Test Compound, 75km outside Weibetel, Tharkad
Archon Katherine Steiner managed to escape the initial negotiation rounds of the First Whiting Conference for a few hours to attend the second round of testing for the Barghest. She and Gabriel now sat inside a freezing truck watching the video feeds from the prototype as it ran through the snow covered plains. Both were dressed in the LAAF’s standard winter white uniform, balaclava and hat, fur lined parka, insulated coveralls, and a heated undershirt with heavy boots and gloves. “We have the movement profile down, but are still working on the weapon fire control.”
“I don’t expect it to fire the weapons yet. It just needs to look impressive when everyone gets here in a month so I can show it off.”
“I think we can have all the bugs figured out before then.”
“I hope so, may I take it for a ride?”
“What?”
“I want to take it for a ride?”
“Well it is technically yours so go ahead Archon.”
“Fantastic, call him back”
Katherine walked out over the freezing plains of Bremen toward the semi-portable hanger that had been set up on the test range for the Barghest prototype. The large Battlemech had gently dropped to slightly higher than ground level alleviating the need for a chain link ladder as typically used for a fielding boarding. The test pilot hopped out and took Katherine’s coat and heavy gloves as she nimbly climbed aboard. “Do you know what you are doing Archon?” He shouted from eight feet below.
“I helped design the layout of this cockpit Kommandant. I might even know it better than you.”
“Very well, enjoy”
The prototype's cockpit was unlike any other mech, even the most widely used quad mech in the Inner Sphere the Goliath had a standard coach style cockpit. However the Barghest’s interface was more like a high performance motorcycle with a large saddle that was straddled by the pilot, reducing the size of the actual cockpit dramatically and making it a more difficult target to hit. Katherine put on her clan tech Neurohelmet, a souvenir from Tamar, and reactivated the Battlemech.
The Barghest was designed to be remarkably steady and smooth walking but capable of great sprints across open ground. Katherine leaned in and kicked the throttle pedals behind her just like her own motorcycle and the seventy ton Battlemech accelerated with ease over the plains. She tilted and leaned just like the skilled equestrian and motorcyclist she was and the Barghest smoothly performed to her expectations. She was elated but it was all ruined when Gabriel told her time was up and she needed to go back to being the Archon and stop pretending to be a real wolf with a big terrible bite.
11/04/3058 11:17 Location – The Triad, Tharkad
“I want to show you two something really awesome.”
Yvonne, Arthur, and Katherine Steiner-Davion walked into the Mech Bay beneath the Triad, Arthur and Yvonne were still wearing their ship’s uniform and Katherine was dressed casually having a brief reprieve from serving as hostess while VIPs settled in. “What is this sis? We just landed and I’m beat.”
“You’ll live brother. What is it Katherine?”
“It’s too bad you missed Halloween Yvonne this was a big hit.”
“Oooh! It’s something scary hold my hand Arthur.” Yvonne wrapped one of her hands into her big brothers who reluctantly continued to a curtained off section of the Mech Bay. “Alright you two close your eyes and give me a minute to get it ready.” Yvonne made sure Arthur’s were closed before she did so and Katherine slipped behind the curtain, a load mechanical sound made Arthur open his eyes but there was still the curtain in place.
“Come on this isn’t funny Katherine. Where did you go?”
They heard Katherine’s synthesized voice on the other side, “Alright you can open your eyes now and pull the curtain.”
Arthur opened the curtain before yelling, Yvonne shrieked and almost fainted at the sight of a gigantic wolf shaped Battlemech within the Mech Bay. Its fearsome head pointed directly toward her and three barrels set into the Mech's flanks pointed far to the other side of the hanger. “I made this”
Yvonne almost bolted for safety and was hyperventilating in the presence of the terrifying creation but was held in check by Arthur who was transfixed. “This thing is a nightmare made real Katherine. Why did you make it?”
“To see if it could be done.”