The Wrath of Blake
Chapter 1
November 6th
3070
66-12-4B
Adept David Ross of the
Com Guard Sixth Army, swept his gaze across the horizon. This world had no name, it's only designation was 66-12-4B, but if David had to name it, he would call it Ugly. 66-12-4B was a barren rock, the atmosphere was just barely thick enough to support human life, but it lacked the oxygen required to sustain an entire rich and diverse ecosystem. While some particularity stubborn forms of life clung to the brown, barren surface of the world, the planet was, for all intents and purposes, dead. Its meagre oceans were lifeless, and only a handful of microscopic insectoid creatures dwelt on the scorching, dusty plains that seemed to stretch out infinitely before him. 66-12-4B didn't even have any resources of note. It was merely a dead lump of rock orbiting a dying sun in an unnamed system. Worthless. Undeserving of attention.
Which is why it had been the perfect hiding place for all manner of SLDF secrets. During the dying days of the Star League, Aleksandr Kerensky had ordered that large amounts of SLDF equipment be hidden across the Inner Sphere, these caches were to act as hidden supply depots that soldiers could use to rearm during long campaigns without the enemy becoming aware of where they kept their supplies. Most of these had been picked clean in the centuries since the Star League's fall but ComStar had always maintained a record of the remaining caches and had, during the darkest of times, made use of them to strengthen the Com Guards. And these were dark days indeed, the darkest ComStar, and perhaps the entirety of mankind, had ever faced in fact.
The Jihad raged, the galaxy burned and countless billions died in the trenches of the Word of Blake's mad ambition. Entire worlds had been destroyed, populations slaughtered and civilisations wiped from the face of the universe. Terra was lost to them, ComStar was dying. The Com Guard needed an advantage. And so, David and his Level II had been dispatched to this arid rock to "recover" anything of value the SLDF had left behind. David snorted to himself, "recover" basically meant "loot." But it's not like they had a choice, the Word of Blake had bled the Com Guard heavily and they didn't have time to wait for new machines to be produced, they needed weapons. And they needed them now. His wasn't the only force, however, that had been assigned this task. Numerous ComStar expeditions had been launched to scavenge across human space, some of them returned empty handed, others never returned at all but a few managed to find something of worth every now and then.
David looked behind him, swinging the torso of his
Black Knight around to regard the group of soldiers working a few meters away. They stood in the shadow of his towering 'Mech, speaking among themselves while preparing a number of explosives from crates they had shipped down from orbit. The Adept looked past them, to the vast mountain that loomed over them, rising from the dry earth like a spear thrust skyward. If the records were correct, and he deeply hoped they were, within that mountain lay the cache they had been sent to find. They had located a large, ancient metal gate that was built into the side of the mountain, the worn Cameron Star embossed on the surface of the gate at least confirmed that this was indeed a Star League facility, now all they had to do was pray that the weapons they sought lay within.
Well, not pray, ComStar didn't do that anymore. But he could at least hope.
"Report." He said into the comms, "How long until that door's open?"
"An hour, perhaps more." The voice of an Acolyte echoed around his cockpit as the man looked up at his 'Mech.
"That's not fast enough." Another voice cut in, Jennifer, the Acolyte who piloted the
BlackJack standing on guard to David's left, "I don't like this, we're too exposed out here. If something happens-"
"We've detected nothing on this planet besides us, Jen." Marcus, the pilot of unit's
Commando, crackled over the radio, "And besides, I'd rather not rush them, explosives and haste rarely work well together."
David could just about see Marcus'
Commando in the distance, it was a mere speck against the brown, flat plain that carried on as far as the eye could see. The 'Mech roamed back and forth, keeping a watch on the edge of the Level II's perimeter with its enhanced sensors, "Marcus is right." David said, "We hold, and give them all the time they need. I want this done right."
There was a pause, then Jen muttered, "Aye, Adept."
David turned his 'Mech to the right, regarding the hulking form of the
King Crab that stood like a silent sentinel. Vars hadn't said a word since they landed hours ago, but then again Vars didn't ever really speak these days. The Adept didn't know all the details, but Vars had been captured in the days prior to the Jihad by the Blakists and had suffered all manner of tortures at their hands in the hopes of gaining knowledge of the Com Guard's current operations from him. He'd been subjected to rape, waterboarding, starvation and worse, but he had never broken. When the Jihad began, the Com Guard had destroyed the facility he was being held in and freed him, along with a number of other prisoners. He hadn't spoken to anyone since then.
Vars was broken, David knew this. Everyone knew it, honestly. But with the galaxy burning, ComStar needed every competent MechWarrior it could find, and Vars had always been one of the best. So he still served, even though he should have been recovering, both physically and mentally, from his ordeal. David pitied him, deeply in fact, but the man had proven himself a MechWarrior worthy of the upmost respect in a dozen separate battles, so he was at least glad to have Vars at his side.
The hour passed slowly, David and his men had nothing to do but watch the horizon, listen to the ticking of their 'Mech's reactors and try not to fall asleep from the sheer soul crushing boredom of the operation.
Then Marcus' voice barked over the comms with such little warning that it had David leaping up in his cockpit, causing him to crack his head against the roof of his cramped
Black Knight, "We've got an unidentified contact on approach!"
"Shit..." David cursed, "Marcus get back here, now! Vars, Jen, look alive!" He snapped, rousing his reactor to full power and charging his weapons as he checked his sensors. Nothing, but when it came this sort of thing Marcus' 'Mech had better gear than his
Black Knight so he trusted the man's word.
In the distance, he could see the unit's
Commando racing back towards their position with as much speed as Marcus could muster. Then David saw it, a small shape moving across the sky, heading straight for their position. The shape grew in size and definition the closer it got, he didn't recognise it. Sleek and dart like, with a black and red hull trimmed in gold, it resembled a dagger hurled through the heavens by some wrathful god. It closed the distance quickly, overtaking Marcus with ease. As it passed over him, the sides of the ship opened, sliding aside to reveal a quartet of BattleMechs awaiting within the belly of the vessel.
To his left, the Adept saw Jen train her cannons on the ship, "That's a damn DropShip!"
"Hold your fire!" David snapped, "You'll never hit them at this range, save your ammo."
The 'Mechs stepped out of the DropShip as it began to bank away, dropping out of the ship and plummeting towards the ground as the DropShip broke off and raced back the way it had came. The enemy machines fell like meteors, before their jump jets fired, slowing their descent greatly. Even with their speed reduced, the 4 'Mechs still impacted the earth with great force, throwing dirt and mud into the air as they cratered the surface of 66-12-4B. They had come down directly atop Marcus' potions, landing in a circle around him, penning the man in. He was trapped. The
Commando's arms came up, but before his SRM launchers could fire, the closest 'Mech raised its arm with impossible speed. The barrel of its PPC glowed, then a blinding blast of light erupted from the tip. It struck the
Commando, incinerating the cockpit and Marcus along with it. He didn't even have time to scream.
"Marcus!" Jen screamed, pain cracking her voice.
The comms crackled, static screaming across all channels for a moment until a male voice, deep and wise resolved itself. It said with a tone of wisdom, "ComStar infidels." The 'Mech that had just murdered Marcus turned to look towards David and his men, "You have violated Blake's word countless times, defying his divine will and embracing the heretical teachings of Anastasius Focht, the fool." There was no anger in that voice, just...
disappointment. David couldn't help but feel that it was the voice of priest, "And now, you come here, to this most sacred site." The 'Mech's arms spread, as if to encompass the entire mountain that loomed above the Com Guard, "Your very presence defiles this holy place, but you seek to do more than merely defile it. You seek to destroy it, to pilfer its holy artefacts and use them to fuel your profane ambition."
"What the hell are you talking about?!" David snarled, "Sacred site? This is a weapons cache, you maniac!"
"Do you really know so little of our glorious past?" The voice sighed, almost sounding saddened by his ignorance, "When our divine master, Jerome Blake, founded our blessed Order, he roamed this galaxy for an age. He travelled far, visiting all manner of worlds, planting his secrets upon them. He came here and, in his infinite wisdom, stored items of great worth and importance here."
"And..." David frowned, deeply surprised to hear that Blake himself had come to this dead world, and even more surprised that ComStar didn't seem to know, "What exactly did he hide here?"
"None know, and none shall ever know." The 'Mech pointed at David across the dry, brown plains between them, "No one will disturb the artefacts that lie below our feet. You will depart. Now. And never return."
"Like hell!" David growled, "You just murdered one of my men, you think I'll just leave?!"
The voice was silent for a moment, "So be it. It would seem that diplomacy has failed. Know this, heretic, you will go no further this day. You will not sully this heavenly place." As one, the 'Mechs started to move, firing their jump jets as they sprinted towards David's position, closing the distance with frightening speed, "I am Apollo, of the Manei Domini, Adept of the 52nd Shadow Division and I will see your taint scoured from this world. Face the wrath of Blake, apostate. I shall pray for your souls."
Chapter 2
November 6th
3070
66-12-4B
David opened fire the moment the Blakist 'Mechs came within the maximum range of his weapons, Vars and Jen joining in a heartbeat later. They moved like no machine the Adept had ever seen before. They charged straight into the guns of their enemy, but just before the attacks hit home, the Manei Domini fired their jump jets, launching themselves out of the line of fire, other times they merely leapt over the shot or swerved aside with a grace that should've been impossible for a BattleMech. Despite coming at the ComStar soldiers over flat, open ground, they took only a handful of hits and those attacks that did land resulted in only the most superficial form of damage. They returned fire, PPC's blazing, eye-wateringly bright lasers slicing through the air, these struck home and unlike the war machines of the 52nd Shadow Division, David's 'Mech took quite a bit of damage.
"Spread out, don't give them easy targets!" The Adept snapped, tossing his
Black Knight into a run, strafing left while laying down as much fire as he could.
Vars sprinted in the opposite direction, firing every step of the way. His
King Crab was quite a bit slower than David's
Black Knight but as they parted, it forced the Manei Domini to split their forces. Two came after David, one went after Vars and the main 'Mech, piloted by Apollo, made straight for Jen as she backed away towards the mountain. As they got close enough to properly make out, David began to recognise the machines. He'd never seen them in person, but reports of the Word of Blake's newest
Celestial series of BattleMechs had been disseminated among the Com Guard in order to ensure ComStar's guardians knew what to expect when facing their former brothers.
Based on the armament of his foes, David managed to work out a rough idea of what exactly he was facing. The two 'Mechs pursuing him were the light 'Mechs known as
Pretas. Vars was currently engaged with a
Malak and Apollo seemed to be operating an
Archangel, at least David assumed those were the classifications, he regretted not reading those reports more thoroughly. There was no time to change that now, however.
The ground behind David's
Black Knight exploded as he ran, torso rotated to face the nearest oncoming
Preta so he could engage it even while doing his best to avoid their attacks. PPC shots whizzed past him as he moved, he opened fire with his arm mounted PPC and the two Large Lasers in either side torso. The PPC stuck the
Preta in the left arm, one of the lasers missed but the other burned a glowing slash through its torso. The Blakist fired its jump jets, darting sideways while opening fire with both its PPCs. Warnings screamed across the displays and screens around David in his cockpit, that had been a bad hit.
Cursing, he yanked on the controls, forcing his 'Mech out of the way of a follow up attack, stumbling away from the
Preta's attack with ungainly steps that threw off his aim. All of his shots went wide, but they had come close enough to worry the enemy pilot who executed another jink to the side with his jump jets. That gave David time to line up a shot with his lasers, he dared not use his PPC yet due to the worrying amount of heat building up in his 'Mech's reactor. The lasers struck home along the
Preta's left leg, the Blakist tanked the hits, remaining still and weathering the hits in order to line up his next shot.
"Oh shit..." David whispered, noticing his mistake.
He'd already seen that his Large Lasers did only superficial damage to the
Celestials, by attacking with those he'd given the enemy time to lock onto him and did little more than chip the paint of his foe. He was already moving, even though he knew it would do little good, and was fully braced for the inevitable storm of fire. But before the
Celestial could fire, a withering hail of autocannon shells slammed into it. The
Preta stumbled to the side, turning to face this new threat. Vars advanced, his
King Crab unleashing volley after volley of destruction from its Deathgiver Autocannons. David saw the smoking, broken remains of the
Malak that had went after Vars laying in a shattered heap and laughed. That proved it.
These bastards could die.
Even the mighty
Celestial series BattleMechs couldn't stand up to the concentrated fire of a
King Crab, and the
Preta's armour began to give. The Manei Domini attempted to dodge the attacks, firing his jump jets and launching himself into the air, but David had the measure of his foe now. As the 'Mech took off, he fired his PPC and caught the
Celestial dead centre. The hit knocked it off balance, and as the Blakist attempted to right his 'Mech, Vars trained his autocannons upon the 'Mech and unleashed hell. The
Preta shuddered as it was struck, then something important was hit. A handful of jump jets detonated, robbing the war machine of the weight it required to stay in the air. The
Preta tumbled downward, striking the dry earth with enough force to crack it.
David and Vars didn't give it the chance to recover, they advanced on the
Preta, PPCs, autocannons and lasers firing until their reactor's ran dangerously hot and the Blakist 'Mech was reduced to little more than glowing slag. With a cheer of victory, David swung around to face Vars, not even caring about how unbearably hot it was inside his cockpit. A feral grin split his face, eyes alight with joy.
"Hell yeah! That's for taking Terra from us you-" Then, realisation and horror arrived together and David immediately spun his 'Mech on the spot, searching, "There were two
Pretas, where's the other one?!"
The Blakist struck without warning, his attack as devastating as it was shocking. The other
Preta had remained out of the fight, hovering on his jump jets high in the air above as he observed the battle below. He had watched his kinsmen die, and now he took his chance to strike. Like a bolt of vengeful lighting, the
Celestial 'Mech shot from heavens, the war machine's retractable blade extended and poised for a killing blow. The
Preta crashed into Vars'
King Crab, sending the mighty machine stumbling forward. The Blakist 'Mech, feet perched atop the huge armoured body of the
King Crab, swerved from side to side in order to maintain its balance. David raised his PPC, but he was too slow. The retractable blade rose, catching the weak light of the planet's dying sun, before it speared down with unstoppable force. The blade pierced the
King Crab's armour with contemptible ease, ripping through the tough shell without slowing. The blade erupted from the underside of Vars' 'Mech, punching straight through the cockpit as it travelled through the war machine's body. Oil and blood splattered the earth.
Screaming out his anger and sorrow at the loss of another soldier under his command, David opened fire with everything he had. The
Preta took off, launching itself off the
King Crab's destroyed form and dodging his shots with such ease the pilot seemed to be mocking him. Warnings sounded all around him, but he didn't care. He kept firing, even as the heat within the cockpit began to burn his flesh. Then, with a deep and ominous tone, the
Black Knight came to a halt, shutting down to avoid a reactor meltdown.
"No! Move you piece of shit!" David yelled, hammering at the controls.
"You are beaten." Apollo's voice purred over the comms, so wise and smooth, so hateable, "Surrender."
The Manei Domini Adept's
Archangel came into view then. It was dragging the cockpit section of Jen's
BlackJack. David's heart stopped as he watched the 'Mech lift the cockpit high, making sure the Com Guard got a good view as Apollo closed his BattleMech's mechanical fist over it. The cockpit held for a moment, then shattered in the
Archangel's grip. Gore exploded between the machine's fingers. With causal disregard, Apollo tossed the crumbled cockpit away and advanced on David's
Black Knight.
"I'll kill you!" David screamed into the radio.
Apollo didn't answer, he merely aimed his Heavy PPC at the
Black Knight's chest, and fired.
*********
Apollo knelt before the mountain, his mighty
Archangel standing silent guard over him. The
Preta, the only surviving member of his unit, stood over the broken form of the
Black Knight, waiting for the Adept's orders. Apollo spoke quietly, delivering a muted prayer to Blake, his head bowed. He prayed for the souls of his fallen warriors, asking Blake to care for the men and women who had sold their lives for him, he asked Blake to forgive the souls of the fallen Com Guard, for they were lied to and manipulated by Focht and thus their heresy was not their fault. A normal human would've struggled to breathe in such a thin atmosphere, but the Manei Domini were not average humans, and his cybernetically enhanced body easily dealt with any problems 66-12-4B's environment might cause. His prayer finally concluded, and he lifted his gaze to stare at the worn, battered door that led into the vault hidden in the mountain.
His gaze focused upon the Cameron Star, and he found himself wondering just what exactly lay within. What hidden wonders had the divine Blake placed within, what artefacts could he recover if he simply dared to open this door? But then his heart focused and hardened, his fists clenched as anger swelled up inside him. Anger directed at himself, for he was thinking like the heretic, Anastasius Focht, who thought that he knew Blake's will better than the holy one himself. Blake had hidden things on this planet, something he wanted to keep secret. Apollo knew that he wouldn't have done so without good reason. There was something hidden on 66-12-4B. Blake had wanted it kept secret. And so hidden it would remain.
"We will honour your will onto death, my lord." Apollo whispered, "We shall obey your word, no matter the cost." He stood, looking at the destroyed ComStar 'Mechs laying around the mountain, "We will preserve your secrets. We will obey your word." He looked back at the door, "The entire human race shall obey your word, great one. Or else they will burn. This I swear."
Chapter 3
November 10th
3070
Gibson
David awoke with a start, a scream tearing its way free from his mouth as he attempted to stand. He had to find Apollo, he had to kill that smug bastard, he needed to avenge his men, he couldn't let them die for nothing! His body refused to move, and he tried again. Still, he remained where he was. Snarling, David finally summoned to will to force his anger down and swept his gaze around, trying to figure out where he was. He was no longer in his 'Mech, but then where was he?
This wasn't 66-12-4B.
He looked around. He was in a dark room, but that was all he could say with confidence. A single, blindingly bright light shone above him, creating a cone of illumination that lit the area around him but hid the rest of the room in pitch black darkness. He was naked and laying on some form of table, restrained by straps across his torso, arms and legs. Tubes, pipes and wires snaked out from the darkness beyond the cone of light, they were stuck into his flesh, pumping unknowable things into his veins.
"Ah, you wake. Excellent." A voice said from the dark, it was deep, sinister, filled with threat.
He heard footsteps, metal ringing against the stone floor, then a figure came into view. He was dressed in a long, flowing robe the colour of freshly spilled blood, the robe trailed along the floor as he moved. The hood was raised, and the man's face was lost in the impossibly deep shadows within. David tried to rise, fighting the restraints holding him down but he didn't have the strength to break free. Instead he merely snarled at the man. Somehow, he simply knew on an instinctual level that this stranger was a threat of some sort.
"Who are you?" He demanded.
The robed figure laughed, a laugh that made David's heart pound with fear, "Oh, now that is a hard thing to answer indeed. I have more names than I care to count, if I am honest with you. Some call me the Prince of Scars, the Chosen of the Master, the Breaker of Wills and so on, but you may know me as Precentor Apollyon, ruler of the Manei Domini, favoured of the Master."
"A Blakist!" David snapped, "Let me go!"
Precentor Apollyon ignored him. He reached out, running a metal hand over David's bare, rock hard muscles. He hummed, nodding to himself. "You may be strong enough to survive the procedure, we will have to wait and see."
David didn't know what the Precentor was talking about, but the fear gripping his heart turned to pure dread. He didn't want to be a part of any Word of Blake procedure, "Whatever you're going to do to me, it won't work."
Apollyon nodded, "It might not, we're still working out the science, but we're getting better at it." He placed a hand on David's shoulder, "But you need not worry. Adept Apollo sees potential in you, he believes you have what it takes."
"Have what it takes...to do what?" David's anger was gone, replaced only with terror. He knew his fate now. He was to be an experiment for the Blakists. That was truly a fate worse than death.
"You and your men murdered two of my Manei Domini." Apollyon explained, speaking slowly and carefully, like David was a drooling moron, "the 52nd Shadow Division needs to replace those losses somehow. Apollo recommended you be used to do just that. He admires your bravery, and claims you are a MechWarrior of no small skill."
David's eyes widened, "You're insane! I'll never serve the Manei Domini, I'll never worship your ridiculous god!"
Apollyon laughed again, "Well, that's the point of the procedure, isn't it?" He reached behind him into the dark, David heard tools rattling on a metal tray and then Apollyon's hand returned into the light, now clutching a scalpel in his robotic fist, "To get rid of all that stupid resistance to Blake's wisdom, to show you the true glory of the Word of Blake." He stroked David's hair, "Trust me, brother, when I'm done with you, you will know nothing but love for our master."
He raised the scalpel and got to work.
The screaming lasted for hours.
