Breaking News:
The 1st Megarez Marauders drove off another band of priates in the plains of the fourth continent again today, this time claiming three 'mechs as salvage and sustaining no casualties. Earlier I had a chance to speak with the commander of the company, Commander Lucinda McCready, and she has been very pleased with her company, thus far. I'll have a full interview with her later this evening, once all the field information has finalized.
For now, however, I was able to secure an interview with Ensign Susanna Strong, the field commander from today's engagement, while she was recovering from a fractured wrist sustained when her Centurion took a massive hit from a pirate Archer. Lance Corporal Alexi Farmer was also present, recuperating from burns he received when an enemy Crusader punched his Locust and managed to damage his engine.
[Transcript of interview from earlier in the day; Interviewer Farrelly Neu]
Neu: First, I'd like to congratulate you on your success today. It's not often that a unit manages to not only bring back all of it's units, but also three mostly in-tact enemy units as well.
ESN Strong: Thank you very much. All in all, it was a good fight we had out on the plains today. We functioned as a well oiled machine, each pilot doing their jobs and working together nicely. We did have to change things up a bit, so there was a little bit of grinding at each other early on. But I couldn't have been more pleased with my people.
LCPL Farmer: Yeah. Good fight. Stupid pirates. It took 'em long enough to realize the inevitable.
Neu: You sound like you were confident in the end result from the start. Looking at the results from the first engagement across the planet, however, wasn't this skirmish more risky? The other mercenaries on planet haven't seen the same kid of success as yourselves and the Obann Ceithern.
Strong: I wouldn't say so, no. An earlier fly-over by one of our Leopards showed their unit strength was lower than ours, and, of course, we did manage to kill their commander in the first skirmish against their forces. That was definitely a major mental victory.. No one beats the Strike company. Th trick is in the training. We train in four rootating groups of three, so that we can toss together lances on the fly. With [Command Sergeant] Amir [Ratliff] out there as a second in command, we ensured that both lances had solid commanders who knew what their people were capable of.
Neu: You also offered the enemy several chances to retire the field in exchange for hardware. Any reason for that? It can't be popular with planetary leaders.
Strong: Look, shots fired is equipment damaged and ammo spent. No one wins. And fighting to the death only spurs the enemy into making rash decisions. Treat with them fairly and you're less likely to have a mess when you finally chase them off, and there's more profit in it for you in the long run. The commander supports my decision, and it's turned out to be profitable for us this engagement. If the planetary authorities object to our methods, they can break our contract and we'll head off. We don't have to be here.
Farmer: Yup. If you've never hit the field in a light, you don't really have any true understanding of the terror 'mech pilots face. It's great to see our names paraded as heroes all over the vids, but man. Some days it isn't worth it. I mean, look. I have second and thir degree burns on about ten percent of my body today from one punch. Avoiding combat? That's something we should all aim for. Also, hearts and minds and all of that.
Neu: What's the operation status of your mechs? I saw the Blue Moon when they brought her in, and by all accounts Derpy is in pretty bad shape, too.
Strong: Both are getting repaired at the moment. Blue Moon is hanging on by a thread, but definitely repairable. Derpy? Well, Derpy is Derpy. He's been cored, legged, had his wings clipped, drowned, and buried before. We always rebuild him.
Neu: You brought up your injuries. How are you doing? Will you be able to continue fighting, or will you be joining the injury roster with Ensign Mason and First Ranker Noriega?
Strong: We're both cleared for duty after a nights' rest. The med team wants me to take it easy on the wrist, but it's nothing game changing for me. Alexi here just has flesh wounds. Some antibiotic salve and check-ups to make sure the bad areas are healing. Otherwise, we're good to go.
Neu: That's good to hear. When I spoke to Commander McCready earlier, she said that the other two pilots' conditions were improving. Have you been to visit them?
Farmer: Yeah. Roxie's mad as Hell, but they rebuilt her pelvis this morning. She won't be very mobile for a coupla months, though. They're patching Amy up, too. They've imaged her back, and it sounds like they're going to make her some new bones outta metal or something. They're telling us six months or so, with another six months of therapy. She says two and two. We'll see.
Neu: That's good to hear. I find it interesting that your company tends to only really use ranks externally. Is that a choice, an order, or just insubordination?
Strong: It's no secret that we're all ex-military. In fact, it's actually required to join the unit. Many of us are also from Canopus. Again, no secret. So we tend to be more laid back to begin with, and since higher ranks are often bought, we never took the officers that seriously. Am I proud to be an Ensign? Yes. Am I really that different from our Sergeants? Nah. We fight and die together. That's the only bar we need to overcome.
[Star Corporal Fran Baker comes on-screen and whispers in ESN Strong's ear]
Strong: Well, it was a pleasure talking to you, but the commander wants our reports filed ASAP. Time and tide stop for no man (or woman), particularly when they involve millions of dollars worth of equipment.
Neu: Thank you for your time, Ensign. Lance Corporal. Hopefully you continue to push the pirates off-planet. It seems that the mercenaries around the planet have been following your example, too.
We were able to get some follow up information from the Marauders, and it would appear that the company has decided to leave the two pilot spots open for now, but otherwise plans to be fully operational again within the next week. For the MBR, this is Adept VII-Sigma, Farrelly Neu on Timbiqui. Signing out.
