Author Topic: Kiiro no tori  (Read 150423 times)

Davout73

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #540 on: 03 May 2016, 17:50:13 »
I don't think I have one that contains all the pre 4th stuff. I'd have to check the big compilationone I put together and earlierposted  it might have some but not all.

Dav
Kiiro no Torii, a Battletech AU, found here:
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,7316.0.html
Interview with a Mercenary, found here: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,319.0.html
Every Man Must Be Tempted, a KNT Universe series: https://bg.battletech.com/forums/fan-fiction/every-man-must-be-tempted
"Violence is the last resort of the incompetent, because the competent use it when it could do some good."

Davout73

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #541 on: 19 June 2016, 11:35:32 »
"Still no word from Colonel Ames-Marik?" Duncan asked.
"No Sir.  Communications have been marked as received, but the 6th Militia has not moved from Augustine."  General Garibraldi's voice was quiet in the TOC.  Around the pair soldiers and civilians worked at their stations, attempting to keep track of and coordinate the movements of the units on planet.
"Damn it," muttered Duncan, making his way over to a table.  A map had been printed and rolled out, grease pencils marking the locations and movements of the units on planet.  The 18th Militia had landed anticipating bunkers full of supplies, and had they been filled Kristen Marik would have been able to sustain her forces in the field much longer.  But the bunkers were empty, a a honey trap to attack the unsuspecting, and the unit loyal to Kristen had fallen for it.   The 10th Marik had taken  its former companion unit by surprise, appearing at a pirate point and landing in less than four days.  The 18th had been spread out, searching for other supply depots and sites, and had already lost two companies to well laid ambushes by the 10th.  Communications intercepts had shown that Colonel Alvarez, the commander of the 18th, was losing control of the situation, the orders she was issuing were often contradictory and confusing.  However, they 18th was withdrawing in decent order, and if it managed to get to the Schoeller ridges, it could hold out for a long time.  Which is why Duncan had ordered the 6th Marik Militia to the planet as well, that units assault mechs would be the wall the 18th would either break itself on, or surrender too.
"What's this here?" asked Duncan, pointing to a small group of units on the extreme left flank of his lines. 
"That's Captain Herrick's company, with a battalion of armor and mechanized Infantry.  The 18th sent out a flanking unit about the same time those dropships landed, Herrick is out there to scout and keep track.
"Still no word on the dropships?"  A week ago, three Unions had landed on the left flank of his lines.  Duncan wanted to assume they were reinforcements, maybe from the 6th. 
"No Sir," replied Garibraldi.  There was a minor commotion behind them, both men looking up from the map.
"Sir, 319th Armor CP just went off the air, mid sentence."
Garibraldi looked at the map, put a finger down on a series of armor symbols close to where Captain Herrick was.
"I think it's safe to assume that whatever Herrick is screening, it's not friendly.  Do we have a QRF?" asked Duncan, looking up at Garibraldi.
"There's two lances here," said Garibraldi, pointing to another area southeast of the Armor units CP.  Dumarest's Company, resting and refitting.  Heavy mechs mostly, they can't get there quickly, but they are the closest."
"Do it.  Contact Captain Herrick, till him to disengage and withdraw towards-" Duncan looked at the map, and read off a series of coordinates. Tell Force Commanders Berwick and Shaw to kick it up a notch, keep the 18th running.  I want Force commander Jasco to form a line from here to here.  Tell Force Commander Benoit as soon as the weather clears I want recon flights ASAP." Duncan sketched a line on the map.  "And let's get the Guard mounted up and ready, if this goes pear shaped there's not a lot between there and here."  Garibraldi nodded, and the TOC became a whirlwind of activity.

An hour later Duncan and his oversized lance of mechs were moving at 54 kph towards the sound of the guns.  Captain Herrick had been engaged by a heavy armor unit at long range and had broken off to the east, trailed by a battalion of hover tanks.  His communications had been jammed early in the fight, a scout lance of tanks had seen him retreating in good order.  Dumarest had acknowledge the order to move out, and then hadn't been heard from again, communications were being jammed.  Duncan cleared a small hill, and saw a line of armor in defilade positions behind the ridge in front of him.  An Ontos and Partisan were on each flank, Scorpions and a few Hetzers holding the center.  A couple of kilometers ahead the twilight sky lit up with a series of flashes and explosions.
"Contact Front!" the call came out of the radio.  A kilometer or so away, a Hermes and a Locust sped over a hill, followed by a Griffin.  All were damaged to varying degrees.  A Crusader appeared, back to Duncan.  It was retreating up the hill backwards.  Arms raised, it was briefly enveloped in smoke as it fired it's LRM's.  A few seconds later the Crusader stumbled and then shivered, and then series of lasers and explosions appeared around it.  Those were the misses, as the Crusader had obviously been hit by more than a few.  It's fell backwards in a graceless heap, crashing to the ground, it's pilot not ejecting.  Duncan switched over to the General command circuit, getting an earful of screaming static in return.  Jamming, he thought, switching to the secondary.  It was also full of static, but broken words were getting through.  Thirty seconds later the Hermes and Locust were close enough the jamming didn't matter.
"She's here!" a panicked voice nearly screamed.  "She's here!"  The channel was filled with a series of questions from various people, with a curse Duncan hit his over ride and spoke.
"Who is here, mechwarrior.  Kristen Marik?"
She can't be, he thought.  She's with her "Legion" on Marik, fighting the 20th and the Atrean Hussars.
"No, it the-"
There was a scream of static, then nothing.  The quick change and silence almost hurt his ears.
"Well, Hello there Duncan," drawled a decidedly feminine voice.
"No!" though Duncan, shaking as he heard it. 
"We wondered if we were ever going to get an invite to this...party....your family is throwing over here in this part of the Sphere, and then finally my employer said 'To hell with it, they don't want to invite us properly, we'll just crash it.'  And if there's one thing I do like it's crashing a Marik party."
He saw the shape as it crested the ridge two kilometers away, stepping over the smoking ruins of the Crusader that had fallen not less than a minute before.  The torso mounted Holly SRM launcher had it's missile doors opened, and Duncan's computer showed him that the mech was slightly damaged.  The black paint scheme made it darker than the twilight sky, silhouetting it for all to see, and the Donal PPC's swung back and forth easily, searching for any nearby targets. 
Duncan saw the shape and outline of the mech, but his eyes, and he suspected every set of Marik eyes on the battlefield, was drawn to the bright red, almost luminescent, spider on the mechs center torso.
"You don't mind if I break into this dance, do you Captain-General?"  Natasha Kerensky asked, a hint of humor in her voice. 


Thanks for Reading!

Dav
Kiiro no Torii, a Battletech AU, found here:
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,7316.0.html
Interview with a Mercenary, found here: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,319.0.html
Every Man Must Be Tempted, a KNT Universe series: https://bg.battletech.com/forums/fan-fiction/every-man-must-be-tempted
"Violence is the last resort of the incompetent, because the competent use it when it could do some good."

Sir Chaos

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #542 on: 19 June 2016, 12:33:47 »
Oooh... plot twist.  ;D


By the way, did you ever explain what the words "Kiiro no tori" mean?
"Artillery adds dignity to what would otherwise be a vulgar brawl."
-Frederick the Great

"Ultima Ratio Regis" ("The Last Resort of the King")
- Inscription on cannon barrel, 18th century

Davout73

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #543 on: 19 June 2016, 12:37:07 »
It's Japanese for "The Yellow Bird"

 :)

Thanks for reading!

Dav
Kiiro no Torii, a Battletech AU, found here:
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,7316.0.html
Interview with a Mercenary, found here: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,319.0.html
Every Man Must Be Tempted, a KNT Universe series: https://bg.battletech.com/forums/fan-fiction/every-man-must-be-tempted
"Violence is the last resort of the incompetent, because the competent use it when it could do some good."

Sir Chaos

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #544 on: 19 June 2016, 13:25:53 »
It's Japanese for "The Yellow Bird"

 :)

Thanks for reading!

Dav

Ah. *That* yellow bird. How fitting.
"Artillery adds dignity to what would otherwise be a vulgar brawl."
-Frederick the Great

"Ultima Ratio Regis" ("The Last Resort of the King")
- Inscription on cannon barrel, 18th century

snakespinner

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #545 on: 20 June 2016, 01:24:35 »
Natasha is so good at gatecrashing parties. O0
I wish I could get a good grip on reality, then I would choke it.
Growing old is inevitable,
Growing up is optional.
Watching TrueToaster create evil genius, priceless...everything else is just sub-par.

Doc Wolf

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #546 on: 20 June 2016, 07:04:28 »
Dunc, Dunc, Dunc... You really should learn how to pray, or beg for mercy. Then again, Natasha probably won't feel to merciful towards a Marik. Bad day to be part of that family.
Just remember that all of your equipment was made by the lowest bidder...
Two greatest flaws of a battlemech:
1. The designer, who thinks he has created the ultimate machine.
2. The pilot, who believes the designer.

Doc Wolf

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #547 on: 24 June 2016, 11:51:25 »
More! More! I wish to see the handiwork of the Yellow Bird!  :D O0 8) [drool] [drool] [drool]
Just remember that all of your equipment was made by the lowest bidder...
Two greatest flaws of a battlemech:
1. The designer, who thinks he has created the ultimate machine.
2. The pilot, who believes the designer.

Davout73

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #548 on: 24 June 2016, 11:56:25 »
This weekend.  Wrapping up the Marik Schism, and then onto the the Ronin War, and then 3039 after that.

Dav
Kiiro no Torii, a Battletech AU, found here:
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,7316.0.html
Interview with a Mercenary, found here: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,319.0.html
Every Man Must Be Tempted, a KNT Universe series: https://bg.battletech.com/forums/fan-fiction/every-man-must-be-tempted
"Violence is the last resort of the incompetent, because the competent use it when it could do some good."

Doc Wolf

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #549 on: 24 June 2016, 14:13:55 »
Awesome! Thank you sir! Glad to hear it!
Just remember that all of your equipment was made by the lowest bidder...
Two greatest flaws of a battlemech:
1. The designer, who thinks he has created the ultimate machine.
2. The pilot, who believes the designer.

Davout73

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #550 on: 02 July 2016, 12:57:21 »
On BAINSVILLE, the Cataphracts avoided any pitched battles, disengaging from several skirmishes, and refusing to attack even when the odds were on the mercenaries side.  This tactic served two purposes, it prevented the 2nd Militia from leaving Bainsville to reinforce Duncan, and it drive Colonel Ortega to the brink of madness.  After three months of skirmishing, Ortega thought he had out maneuvered a company of Cataphracts, forcing the to retreat into a box canyon with only a few ways out.  However, the 2nd Militia was surprised when the Cataphracts carefully husbanded ASF  forces drove here own from the skies, and in a series of strafing runs savaged the two companies that had pursued the mercenaries into ground with very little cover.  At least one lance of mechs was destroyed when a strafing run collapsed part of the canyon wall onto them.  Colonel Ortega was preparing an full on assault against the mercenaries, when orders from Duncan Marik arrived, ordering the 2nd to retreat to Lancaster.

On MARIK, the Atrean Hussars landed and easily brushed aside the company of 25th Marik Militia that tried to block their advance.  However, a week into the pursuit, the Hussar slowed their advance, and then stopped, assuming defensive positions around and old abandoned military facility on planet.  Communications intercepts soon showed why, the 6th Marik Militia was also supposed to be part of the attacking force, but they had not arrived yet.  The Heavy and Assault mechs of the veteran unit would be almost unstoppable on the battlefield, there would be very few lances on Kristen Marik's side that could stand up to it.  However, the unit had not yet arrived, and until they did the Hussars would be outnumbered.  Several probing attacks were made against the Hussars defensive lines, but were easily repulsed.

On NATHAN, the 10th and 20th Marik had landed in good order, and in several short, sharp battles had destroyed a companies worth from the 18th Militia.  The 18th had been spread out across several hundred kilometers of land, searching for supply depots, and while the Marik units loyal to Duncan did outnumber the one loyal to Kristen, the 18th was retreating in just good enough order to frustrate Duncans pursuit.  Another battle at Kilamegaro Heights had destroyed another another company of 18th mechs, but the rest of the light and medium units were able to stay ahead of the pursuing forces of Duncan Marik.  After three weeks of pursuit, Duncan was so incensed by the lack of progress he ordered the 6th Marik to change its destination to Nathan, and ordered the 2nd to retreat to Lancaster, where several depots and refit facilities were in the process of being assembled.  However, another two weeks went by, and no word from the 6th was received.  A few days later, a Star Lord Jump ship arrived at a Pirate point close to the planet, disgorged a series of dropships, and jumped out soon after.
A few days later intercepts from the 18th showed they were under attack, and that Colonel Alvares was close to losing control of the situation.  Pushing his troops hard, Duncan Marik pursued, assuming they were part of the 6th Marik.  He could not have been more wrong, as a THUNDERBOLT from the east ruined his plans.

Thanks for reading!

Dav
Kiiro no Torii, a Battletech AU, found here:
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,7316.0.html
Interview with a Mercenary, found here: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,319.0.html
Every Man Must Be Tempted, a KNT Universe series: https://bg.battletech.com/forums/fan-fiction/every-man-must-be-tempted
"Violence is the last resort of the incompetent, because the competent use it when it could do some good."

Davout73

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #551 on: 02 July 2016, 15:31:05 »
THUNDERBOLT

Since assuming the throne of the Tikonov Free Republic, Kiril Ridzik had been a busy, busy leader.  Several assanation attempts, two of which came from other children Pavel Ridzik had sired, had been thwarted.  The Tikonov Intelligence Service, the Okhrana, was involved in a very bloody, sometimes public war against the Maskirovka, and the Marik Schism threatened to spill over his borders at any given moment. 
The Republic did have several successes early on.  A Non Aggression and Trade Pact with the Silver Hawks Coalition was proving to be an economic boon, and Lyran bank loans had allowed the Republic to rebuild several factories damaged in the Fourth.  Mech production on Tikonov was nearing pre 4th levels of production, and several long dormant production lines at the Tao Mekworks were also being brought back online.  Last but not least, in a bit of political maneuvering that had many people surprised he was able to pull it off, Ridzik convinced Hanse Davion to return Tikonov to the Republic, which was done in a very public ceremony in early 3033.  Much of Tikonov production was sold to the AFFS at a discount rate, but for many in the Republic, having Tikonov in the fold was a great accomplishment.

Another coup was the hiring of Wolf's Dragoons early after the 4th Succession War ended.  Decimated by the conflict against the DCMS, it would be years before all five regiments of mercenaries were back to full strength, but in the four years the mercenaries had been on Outreach, the planet had become a bustling center of commercial activity.  It's population also grew by leaps and bounds, as several hundred orphaned kids were brought to the planet and adopted by members f the Dragoons.  Blackwell Industries, once a small weapons contractor, had set up shop on planet, and Dragoon technicians were also spotted on Talitha, working with Gilmour MilTech to upgrade the refit facilities on planet there, and possibly expand them into production facilities.

If one thing did worry Kiril Ridzik and his advisors was the Schism.  The Free Worlds League was the one successor state least affected by the Fourth Succession War, and if united under a strong leader, it could become an economic and military powerhouse.
The Andurien and Regulan worlds were lost. While down the road the Andurien-Canopian Alliance could be a problem for the the Republic, from a military point of view there was little to worry about.  From a political view, having left the League it was highly doubtful it would ever return, unless somehow it managed to conquer the former league worlds on its own, a goal th Humphrey's had never esposed publicly or privately.
For all his claims of the Captain Generalcy, Prince Cameron-Jones had no political support outside his own realm.  It was certainly possible that in a couple of decades, the Regulan economy would be a regional powerhouse, something the Prince could use as a powerful tool in negotiations.
Because of its location, the Duchy of Tamarind was considered a non factor by Ridzik and his advisers, which left three the three Marik siblings to consider.
Politically, Thoas arik was a wild card.  Overtures made to him had been rebuffed, and to Ridzik and others while he may have been a capable leader, he had done himself little favor by staying in the Oriente worlds and issuing decrees from there.  The Orientes military had also done itself few favors in the Schism.
Duncan Marik ad the military skill to put the League back together, but politically speaking he was turning into a disaster.  Several officer of the Republican forces openly admired his battles and plans, and there were some grumblings in the halls of the Military Academy about how HAMMERDOWN was an opportunity thrown away, but it was becoming clear that if Duncan didn't win soon, he wasn't going to, which left Kristen Marik.
To some degree, Kiril felt a kinship with the young daughter of Janos Marik.  She hadn't wanted to be a leader, but instead fond the role thrust on her, and she was fighting a losing battle from a militaary point of view.  Whether or not she was able to reunite the League remained to be seen.
At a meeting of advisors in early 3035, Ridzik put forth the question of what the Republic should do.  He had already been approached by agents of the all three sides, wanting the Republics support in return for various considerations.  Alex von Hesse, son of the Duke of New Hessen and a minister in the Industrial Bureau, asked why they should suport any of them, at least openly.  They already had one large tiger at their back in the form of the Federated Suns, to be the the Federated Commonwealth.  It would be easier to play the pieces of the League off against each other, rather than advocate for a ruler who might be able to reunite the league, and in turn look to the Republic for possible future gains.
It was a political reality many had avoided looking at for a long time, but it was also the most realistic sense.   As a result, Ridzik ordered General Jasmine LeSalle, head of the STAVKA, to come up with a plan that would put all parties on notice.

THUNDERBOLT was a very straightforward plan.

CONNAUGHT was a world that had tried playing all sides against each other.  Home to what remained of Kong Interstellar, the planets ruler had reneged on a deal to join the Silver Hawks Coalition, and had been playing the agents of Duncan and Kristen Marik off against each other.  When the 5th Republican landed, brushed aside the militia in a weeks worth of fighting and raised the Republican Flag, few believed what was going on at first.  When those politicians who had vacillated and reneged on previous deals were lined up against a wall and shot, the rest of the population soon came to heel.

On BERNARDO, the 3rd Free Worlds Guard was slowly rebuilding, and was more than a little shocked when the Dropships of the 1st Republican detached and made their way to the planet.  The already weak ASF forces of the Oriente unit were brushed aside, and the Guards were forced to withdraw from several battles after numerically superior Tikonov forces outflanked them.  One company of Guards mechs was destroyed in a holding action at Flores, but the 3rd could do very little to stop the Tikonov troops from advancing on the Kallon Factory.  However, just when it appeared the TFR troops would take possession of the sprawling Industrial complex, they veered away, and three days later met their dropships and boosted off.  The message was clear:  "You couldn't stop us, we left because we wanted too."

The 1st Free Worlds Guards met the 1st Regiment of the Crater Cobras on the Plains of Schakondra, and initially drove the mercenaries back in a series of counterattacks.  However, things soon turned againstthe Oriente troops when the mercenaries own conventional units routed the Orients conventional units on the right flank, and several lances of Crater light mechs began to wreak havoc in the rear areas of the Oriente unit.  During the battle at Schnelling Heights, the commander of the Guards 2nd Battalion and two of the senior company commanders were either killed or knocked out of action, and the resulting retreat opened a huge hole in the Guards lines.  The Tikonov mercenaries poured through, bottling up the Guards while moving on the Kallon plant.  However, when their path was unobstructed, they also retreated away from the facilities, and the units holding the Guards at bay also moved off.  An attack by the Guards 3rd Battalion was met with a fierce counterattack that almost overwhelmed it, but again the Cobras allowed the Oriente troops to break off.  Unmolested after that, the Tikonov mercenaries left planet a week later.

The Okhrana had placed both Duncan and Kristen Marik on NATHAN, but a faulty jump drive had prevented the 1st Marik Legion from leaving Marik.  Instead, Duncan Marik and the 10th and 20th Militia found themselves chasing after the 18th Militia, waiting for the arrival of reinforcements to finish the disloyal marik unit off.  Instead, they ran headlong into Natasha Kerensky and the Black Widow Battalion of Wolf's Dragoon's.  Savaged in their battles against the DCMS, the once proud 5 plus regiments of the Dragoons had been reduced to just under a combined regiment of troops.  The one unit that had suffered the least personel losses was Kerensky's famed Black Widow company, and it soon swelled to a Battalion in size.  On Outreach, it was used as the OPFOR against those Dragoon units slowly being brought to full strength, and as a result was home to best mechwarriors in the mercenary unit.
Kerensky hit the flank of the 10th and 18th Marik at the same time, breaking the battalion of green troops in the 18th, and savaging a heavy company of the 10th.  The Black Widow engaged Duncan Marik in a long range battle until a furious counterattack by the a company of the 10th drover her and her company back, however she was able to defeat that company in a few hours of battle, and then began a head long pursuit after Duncan with two of her three companies. Her 3rd company maintained a pursuit of the 18th (which admittedly was not as aggressive as that of the 10th).  The Widows brushed aside one blocking force of mechs from the 20th, but were slowed long enough for Duncan to join both his units and establish a fairly strong defensive position.  After a few probing attacks, Keresnky seemed content to conduct several hit and run raids.  A week later though, another fleet of Dragoon dropships arrived, and a regiments worth of Dropships were soon headed towards the planet.  Intercepted communications showed that Alpha Regiment of the Dragoons was getting ready to join the battle.  Rather than stay and fight, Duncan ordered his troops to retreat.
In the end, the arriving dropships were a ruse, empty of troops  Duncan did not know this until well after he had left though, and Kerensky added another piece of lore to her already growing legend.

Thunderbolt was over in less than four months.  For their efforts, and in the grand scheme of things minimal losses, the Republic gained another world, and put Kristen, Duncan and Thomas Marik on notice, take the Republic seriously, or else suffer the consequences.
Several consequences of Thunderbolt were felt immediately. 
First, many former League worlds in the region of Silver Hawk-Marik-Oriente space that had not formally aligned with one of the political entities were soon clamoring for membership.
Secondly, the Dragoon's returning to the field of battle showed the Inner Sphere that the 4th Succession War had knocked them down, but not out.  That an oversized Battalion of mechs (The Widows used a curious arrangement of 5 mechs in three lances in each of their companies, in addition to the two lances that made up Kerensky's HQ element) could drive off not two but three Marik regiments with minimal losses spoke to their battlefield prowess.  The Dragoon's were back, and they were out to prove their doubters wrong.
Thirdly, more cracks began to appear in the rule of Duncan Marik.  The inability to put down his sisters forces, bring the other rebellious elements of the league to heel, and the fact more units that had declared their loyalty to him were now ignoring his commands did not ode well for him.  His political allies were also starting to abandon him as well.  If he was not able to take the reins of an increasingly desperate situation, Duncan would find himself in more trouble than he could handle.

Thanks for reading!

Dav
« Last Edit: 03 July 2016, 17:44:42 by Davout73 »
Kiiro no Torii, a Battletech AU, found here:
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,7316.0.html
Interview with a Mercenary, found here: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,319.0.html
Every Man Must Be Tempted, a KNT Universe series: https://bg.battletech.com/forums/fan-fiction/every-man-must-be-tempted
"Violence is the last resort of the incompetent, because the competent use it when it could do some good."

Doc Wolf

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #552 on: 05 July 2016, 07:21:32 »
DAV, thanks buddy! I am really enjoying your tale. I had wondered what would happen with Free Tikinov in this storyline. Now i know and i like it. Great job! Keep up the awesome work!
Just remember that all of your equipment was made by the lowest bidder...
Two greatest flaws of a battlemech:
1. The designer, who thinks he has created the ultimate machine.
2. The pilot, who believes the designer.

PeacMaker03

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #553 on: 14 August 2016, 21:26:26 »
Was looking at the map.....It would make so much sense for the Lyrans to put a little effort in taking Tamarine and pushing into Marik area and creating a salient  up to Loyalty.They could own 3/5 of FWL jumnpship production. Just saying..... The Davidian's  might want to come out and play

Davout73

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #554 on: 27 August 2016, 11:13:50 »
They are going to have their own problems to deal with, mostly periphery related.  Plus they are still recovering from the 4th SSW.

Thanks for reading!

Dav

Was looking at the map.....It would make so much sense for the Lyrans to put a little effort in taking Tamarine and pushing into Marik area and creating a salient  up to Loyalty.They could own 3/5 of FWL jumnpship production. Just saying..... The Davidian's  might want to come out and play
Kiiro no Torii, a Battletech AU, found here:
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,7316.0.html
Interview with a Mercenary, found here: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,319.0.html
Every Man Must Be Tempted, a KNT Universe series: https://bg.battletech.com/forums/fan-fiction/every-man-must-be-tempted
"Violence is the last resort of the incompetent, because the competent use it when it could do some good."

Davout73

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #555 on: 27 August 2016, 12:03:48 »
Sykes Mountains
Cambelton
Marik-Stewart Commonwealth
15th April, 3036

The cockpit was his second home, and this one was one fire. Multiple warning lights and alarms were going off, an acrid smoke was coming out of one of the panels. A shadow appeared out of the snowstorm, with the targeting computer offline he couldn't be sure of a lock, but fired anyways. The sound of the autocannon firing was a small comfort, but if there was something out there, he had missed. He tried his coms again.
“Eagle One to all Chicks, how copy?”
Static.
Damn that bitch, he thought, I should have had her on Colfax. And on Galatea. And last week.
He looked at a flickering monitor. Nothing. He was supposed to have reinforcements, but where were they? He had fought them all to a standstill. Thomas, Cameron-Jones, all were now licking their wounds. He had outlasted them all, had brought them to the brink, was getting ready to launch his final assault when she made her announcement. Half his troops, the politicians he had bullied and cowed, the newscorps he had bought off...all for nothing. His allies, known and unknown, deserting him. He would have to rebuild from the start, all over again.
The Orion swung to the side, lasers hammering it. The gyro whined madly, another alarm screamed, and he turned to see a Warhammer, it's own armor battered and holed, moving towards him. He turned and fired a snapshot with his last autocannon round, wincing internally as it missed. The gale force winds tore his SRM and LRM's off course, they exploded against the rocks and crags. The Warhammer turned and raised one of its arms, firing. Duncan let loose with everything he had left at the same time.
The PPC bolt stabbed deep into his mechs chest. He did not notice it at first, until the heat bloomed in his cockpit,taking his breath away. He took one look at his panel, then at the enemy Warhammer, which was staggering under his own fire. He looked at his gauges, then kicked his engine to full throttle. The Warhammer saw him coming, fired of a snap shot, but missed. He did not fire, but instead ran his Orion as fast as he could towards the other mech. Forty meter's, twenty. At ten meters, he pulled his ejection handle.
It felt as if his hips were fighting with his ears for space on his head. He felt the rockets firing, the howling snowstorm drowned out the noise. There was a brief moment of weightlessness as the seat rockets cut out, then another brief pop. One second he was falling back to earth, the next minute he was whipsawing from side to side as the fierce winds dragged his canopy back and forth. He could not see the ground, the howling wind and snow created a whiteout condition. He braced for impact, swaying in his chair, but the expected impact did not happen. Just when he thought he might be landing in a nearby lake, the ground smacked him, hard.
He was only out for a few seconds. It was the explosion that woke him up. He looked through the blowing snow, a hundred meters away his Orion had hit the Warhammer, both had fallen to the ground. The Orion had fallen on top of the other mech, pinning it. Then the reactor had exploded, taking both mechs in a flare of yellow and blue plasma. Bits and pieces of armor pinged to the ground around him. One had bounced off his helmet, bringing him back to the present.
The heat was brief, quickly replaced by the biting cold. He realized he was shivering, the skimpy shorts and shirt he wore in the cockpit were completely inadequate for the weather. His fingers were shaking so much it took him three tries to rip the seals on the emergency kit open. The lightweight jumpsuit was better protection then he was wearing, and after fumbling it on, he felt a little warmer. Of course it could have been the shivering as well. He looked around, trying to get his bearing, then looked at the compass that came in the kit. Magnetic North was...that way.
So Gilverry Base was that way. He thumbed the powerswitch on his kits transponder, then stuck his hands under his armpits and struggled forward.
He didn't know how long he walked. He checked his bearing as best he could every few minutes, but the swirling snow prevented him from using any landmarks. Once, he dropped it into the snow, and spent a frantic few minutes trying digging through it before finding it. He couldn't feel his fingers when he found it.
As he walked, his mind went in several directions. He cursed Dame Catherine, who started it all. It was she who started this mess. He cursed Duke Halas and Thomas. What did that Comstar whelp know of power and rule? Thomas may have wanted to soft talk the Silver Hawks, Regulans and others back into the fold, but Selim Halas had undone all of that on Atreus. And I showed him what happens when you confront a Marik who knows how to wield power. Keep your enemies off balance, show them your left hand and smack them with your right. It had cost him, good men and women, loyal men and women, but
the best of Oriente had died on the Atrean Plains. He had almost died that day, almost. His thoughts turned to other things for a brief moment.
Carlos.
Part of him rationalized that he was doing
this for Carlos. He wanted to leave him a League that could stand up to Alexander Steiner-Davion when the time came. Now, the League was just pieces, waiting to be picked off one by one.
He heard it first. The metal on metal sounds of a mech moving, and fast, being carried on the wind, which was blowing towards him.  It was getting louder. There was little cover, but between two rocks, if he huddled down just so, he was hidden, and thankfully out of the wind. He turned his transponder off, it was possible to track those things if you had the right equipment. Yes, it was a mech, maybe more than one. Light mechs. He risked a glance towards the sound of the noise, and saw the birdlike form of a Locust making it's way across the snow. It stopped, it's torso sweeping back and forth, before moving on again, this time in a line that was going to take it near him. As it got closer he could see the 10th Marik crest on its torso.
His breath, which he did not realize he was holding, came out of him a huff. Behind the Locust he could see another shadow,which became a Hermes. Both mechs tried staying within visual range of each other. He stood up, waving his arms, jumping up and down, yelling at the top of his lungs. Just when he thought the Locust was going to disappear into the swirling white, it turned, paused, and then came back at him in an easy, loping stride. Once it stood over him, the hatch opened. A rope ladder was thrown down, and a helmeted mechwarriors face appeared.
“Compliments of General Garibaldi sir. Hurry up please, there's enemy mechs about.”
The first time he tried climb the ladder, he found his fingers wouldn't grip the rope properly, and he slipped off before he was three rungs up. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to grip the rope, ignoring the needles of pain shooting up his arms.
He was about halfway up, when he heard thunder, then a wall of heat and flame threw him off the ladder and back into the snow below. Duncan didn't realize he had blacked out until he woke up with a start. He could not hear anything, and when he touched his head the hand came back bloody. He realized he was shivering again, and looked down. The jumpsuit was mostly charred fabric, there were real burns on his arms and legs. Groaning with effort, gasping with pain, he sat up.
He was maybe ten meters away from what remained of the Locust. The mechs torso had been devastated by something big and powerful, there was not much of it left. The hip mechanism that held the mechs left leg to the torso gave way with a crack he felt more than heard, and the remains of light mech toppled backwards. Through the swirling white he could see the Hermes retreating, lasers stabbing out at the Victor that had appeared out of the swirl. Right arm thrust forward, the huge Pontiac Autocannon roared, and the Hermes folded in on itself, then fell backwards into a huge snow drift. Duncan shook his head, the ringing in his ears had not gone away. As he watched, the Victor disappeared into the snow. He stood up, turned around, and froze. Thirty meters away a Thunderbolt stood, left arm pointed at him.
He knew it was over. It's not supposed to end like this!
He though, as he painfully raised his arms. Victory should be his,could be his.
“My name is Captain-General Duncan Marik.” he yelled.
His voice was hoarse, but the wind carried it. “I surrender myself to the forces of Kristen Marik!” His body swayed in the wind, and he waited for a response.
After a few seconds, the Thunderbolts arm moved, just a little bit. Duncans eyes grew wide as he realized what was about to happen.
Carlos he thought.
The machine guns fired.

* * * * *

"The Marik Civil War didn't exactly end.  With the death of Duncan Marik on Cambelton, a few of his hard core supporters proposed his young son Carlos be names as Captain-General, with several vying to be Regent in his name.  Those proposals quickly dies though when Carlos and his mother went into hiding.  Most talk of the military continuing the fight against Kristen Marik ended when General Garibraldi surrendered the militia loyal to Duncan to her.  Yes, the following pardons for most of the soldiers in the militia, absolving them of the crimes of unlawful insurrection, mutiny and the like, may have been political theater, but it was effective political theater. 
"As one of the main proponents to the Rule of Law within the commonwealth, Kirsten Mariks call for a vote of the issue of Captain General fell on a mostly empty parliament.  Without a quroum, and the extreme unlikeliness of one occurring, the Schism looked to be permanent.  A proposal for a new version of the commonwealth, one where each state had its own rulers but contributed to a Federal government that would be responsible for most Interstellar trade, military and political agreements gained some traction early on, but soon fell apart when it became aware to its most ardent supporters that it wouldn't go anywhere without the support of the Regulans and Tomas Marik.  The Prince had made it clear he would rather be Prince of the Independent Principality of Regulus, and Thomas would not agree to anything until he was confirmed as Captain-General.
"In the end, as most things politcal do, it became a matter of numbers.  Kristen Marik had the support of the Marik-Stewart Commonwealth, and maybe Tamarind.  Thomas Marik had the support of the Oriente.  The Regulans were their own politcal entity.  The Kendall Compact was growing in size, but economically was still trying to grow.  The Periphery was ablaze in pirate attacks, and in the Andurien-Canopian Alliance, Dame Humphries seemed content to sit and watch the League fall apart.
"Janos Marik was certainly no Alexander the Great of Old Earth, but his death left a similar result, a series of small Successor States, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, each powerful in their own right but not strong enough to do much without the cooperation of a neighbor,cooperation that was not forthcoming.
For all his and his families faults, Janos had held the League together, and his family had proven incapable of the same thing.  It would be decades before anything similar to it would appear again."

Excerpted from "All the King's Horses - A Brief overview of the Marik Schism, 3030-3035" by Professor Gerald Perry, University of Marik Press, 3091.
Kiiro no Torii, a Battletech AU, found here:
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,7316.0.html
Interview with a Mercenary, found here: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,319.0.html
Every Man Must Be Tempted, a KNT Universe series: https://bg.battletech.com/forums/fan-fiction/every-man-must-be-tempted
"Violence is the last resort of the incompetent, because the competent use it when it could do some good."

snakespinner

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #556 on: 27 August 2016, 18:19:32 »
Ah the FWL, the entertainment never stops. O0
I wish I could get a good grip on reality, then I would choke it.
Growing old is inevitable,
Growing up is optional.
Watching TrueToaster create evil genius, priceless...everything else is just sub-par.

Davout73

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #557 on: 05 September 2016, 15:54:14 »
End of the Marik Schism Map.

Thanks for looking!

Dav
Kiiro no Torii, a Battletech AU, found here:
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,7316.0.html
Interview with a Mercenary, found here: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,319.0.html
Every Man Must Be Tempted, a KNT Universe series: https://bg.battletech.com/forums/fan-fiction/every-man-must-be-tempted
"Violence is the last resort of the incompetent, because the competent use it when it could do some good."

mikecj

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #558 on: 05 September 2016, 16:03:49 »
Nicely written, thanks.
There are no fish in my pond.
"First, one brief announcement. I just want to mention, for those who have asked, that absolutely nothing what so ever happened today in sector 83x9x12. I repeat, nothing happened. Please remain calm." Susan Ivanova
"Solve a man's problems with violence, help him for a day. Teach a man to solve his problems with violence, help him for a lifetime." - Belkar Bitterleaf
Romo Lampkin could have gotten Stefan Amaris off with a warning.

Davout73

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #559 on: 25 January 2017, 18:30:25 »
I find it hard to believe I started this almost six years ago.

What I need is a few more hours in the day...and I'm not going to get it.
There are a variety of reasons I am not continuing this as I want to. 

First and foremost I had to get a second job, which has taken away a lot of my free time.  It's not a hard job, just takes me away from the computer.
Second is my current job has also gotten a lot busier.  If you havent watched the news lately, US Oil and Gas is booming, and getting bigger, and as a result, my work is usier, and the last thing I really want to do after working on maps all day at work is to come home and do them for this.
Thirdly, I bought a new laptop.  A Very nice laptop.  A Gaming Laptop with a kickass chip, graphics card, SSD and the like.  I put my ArcGis on it, brought my database over, and everything is broken.

Now, when I say broken, I mean it in this way:

Your Arcgis map is an .mxd file.  In that mxd file are shapefiles and tables.  Those shapefiles and tables have a location.  Move that shapefiles location, change your folder structure, and that breaks the link to your mxd.  You can repair it, if you know where your file is.  And because i put everything on a new system, even though my base folder structure is the same, all the data links are broken.  I am not sure why, but I am sure I know who's at fault.

Me.

My problem is years of bad data management on this project have caught up with me.  Because when you repair one layer in your mxd, if there's a similar file in the same location that's also broken in your mxd, it will point to that similar file.
So, say I have the following layers in my mxd, and they are all broken:
X
Y
Z


If I try and repath X to folder/folder/DB1 and there is indeed an "X" shapefile, it will fix that link, and Layer X will now display.  If theres a Y and Z in that database, those links will also be repaired and display.

My problem, purely self inflicted, is that X pointed to a file in DB1, Y pointed to a file in DB2, and Z pointed to a file in DB3, and in a couple of cases I am not sure where it pointed.  And because I, in a fit of idiocy, did not look at my pathing on the old computer before I reformatted it for my kids, and did not fix my folder structure beforehand, I am not sure which files are the ones I need exactly.  I am not sure which OOB file I need.  I have 9 of them.  And I am not doing up to 154 label expressions, I'm just not. 

And frankly, after working with oracle tables and dealing with engineers all day, I have no desire, time, or enough alcohol, to sit down and pick this up from sqaure one.  Maybe I will in six months, but not anytime soon.

So, I am putting this on somewhat of a hiatus.   if you have a question about something in the future, about how a certain event will happen, or want the broad details on whats going to happen next, please feel free to ask and I will answer you as best I can.  I have all the big details worked out until 3067ish, and some small ideas I think would be cool to work out too, and am more than happy to answer them. 

But for the foreseeable future, no more maps, no more pdf's.

I cannot thank you all for the kind words and responses to this.  I like what I've created here, and your responses and feedback have made it an enjoyable place to live in and come back too, and I hope I can come back again.  It certainly became something much bigger than I ntended it to be, and I hope you all had as much fun reading it as I did doing it.

Thank you all ever so much,

Todd
Kiiro no Torii, a Battletech AU, found here:
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,7316.0.html
Interview with a Mercenary, found here: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,319.0.html
Every Man Must Be Tempted, a KNT Universe series: https://bg.battletech.com/forums/fan-fiction/every-man-must-be-tempted
"Violence is the last resort of the incompetent, because the competent use it when it could do some good."

SCC

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #560 on: 25 January 2017, 20:22:42 »
I'd suggest in the future putting the whole project on a USB key, don't know if it'll help but.

Shadow_Wraith

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #561 on: 25 January 2017, 21:14:13 »
Hey, stories are always good!  the maps can be forgotten, stories Please!

Davout73

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #562 on: 25 January 2017, 22:32:41 »
SCC,

It's not a storage issue per se, but a data arrangement issue.  I have the DB on a USB, and Mega, and DropBox, thats not the problem (well, it is, but not for reasons you think).

Say you have five text files in folder 1: A, B, C, D, E
And 5 text files in folder 2: A, B, C, D, E
and then 5 text files in Folder 3: A, B, C, D, E

Now, at one point in time A-E were all the same file in the same folder  (Files in 1 were the parent but 2 and 3 were created for reasons), but changes have been made to each one since their creation and copying, so 1A has different over data than 2A, which has different data than 3A

Now, Folder 1 is in Folder I, Folder 2 is in Folder II, and Folder 3 is in Folder III.

Before I copied everything to my new computer, I had an mxd whose file structure may have been I//1/A, II//2/B, II/2/C, III//1/D, III/3/E.

When I moved my mxd, all those locations pointed to null. 

If I try mapping I//1/A, it will also map I/1//B-E, and so one.  I'd have to load each file individually, or inspect it individually, to make sure it's the right one.  And at this point thats well over 70 different files and their variants.

I have noone to blame but myself.  On more than one occasion I would say "I need to get this taken care off." 

I can do it, its just not going to be a quick, easy fix. 

Thanks for reading,

Dav
Kiiro no Torii, a Battletech AU, found here:
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,7316.0.html
Interview with a Mercenary, found here: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,319.0.html
Every Man Must Be Tempted, a KNT Universe series: https://bg.battletech.com/forums/fan-fiction/every-man-must-be-tempted
"Violence is the last resort of the incompetent, because the competent use it when it could do some good."

snakespinner

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #563 on: 27 January 2017, 00:57:22 »
Enjoyed the storyline immensely so I am grateful for the time and effort you put in.
If you can ever consume enough alcohol to continue writing that would be great, but real life will win out every time. O0
« Last Edit: 28 January 2017, 17:40:36 by snakespinner »
I wish I could get a good grip on reality, then I would choke it.
Growing old is inevitable,
Growing up is optional.
Watching TrueToaster create evil genius, priceless...everything else is just sub-par.

beachhead1985

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  • 1st SOG; SLDF. "McKenna's Marauders"
    • Kilroy's Wall
Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #564 on: 28 January 2017, 12:04:46 »
You have done incredible work my friend and it has left an indelible mark on the community.
Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries

These, in the day when heaven was falling,      Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
The hour when earth's foundations fled,         They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
Followed their mercenary calling,               What God abandoned, these defended,
And took their wages, and are dead.             And saved the sum of things for pay.
     
A.E. Housman

Hellfire

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #565 on: 01 February 2017, 23:15:04 »
So, I am putting this on somewhat of a hiatus.
More story even without the maps would still be great. It sounds like you have so much on your plate now that even that would be hard. Thank you for the amazing story.

panzerfaust150

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #566 on: 21 June 2018, 13:55:14 »
Davout?

  Know this thing is in long term storage, but I was trying to download the "4th War Books" and a lot of the links are dead, can you post links to the "definative versions?"
Clover Spear author and cat wrangler!
FedCom Fan!

Davout73

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #567 on: 21 November 2018, 17:37:32 »
Hi All,

Sometime back dropbox changed how you can access anything in their "Public" folder, and I missed that update.

If you would like the ability to read any of the pdf's whose link are now broken, send me an email to Davout 73 @ geemale dot com with the Subject of "KNT File access" request, and I'll send a link to the folder they are all in back to you.

For a project I started 7 years ago, and shut down in early 2017, even I am surprised it has stood the test of time on rereading.  Formatting issues with some of the posts aside of course...

And I'm quite surprised it has 90K plus views, and is top 5 in popularity on this sub forum. 

Thanks to everyone who has read or will read it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Dav

Kiiro no Torii, a Battletech AU, found here:
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,7316.0.html
Interview with a Mercenary, found here: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,319.0.html
Every Man Must Be Tempted, a KNT Universe series: https://bg.battletech.com/forums/fan-fiction/every-man-must-be-tempted
"Violence is the last resort of the incompetent, because the competent use it when it could do some good."

Davout73

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Re: Kiiro no tori
« Reply #568 on: 24 November 2018, 18:27:33 »
Also, it looks like some of the files have been taken off of Dropbox.  I am going to copy all the files I have over, and then delete any duplicates, that way everything should be there.

Thanks Again,

Dav
Kiiro no Torii, a Battletech AU, found here:
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,7316.0.html
Interview with a Mercenary, found here: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,319.0.html
Every Man Must Be Tempted, a KNT Universe series: https://bg.battletech.com/forums/fan-fiction/every-man-must-be-tempted
"Violence is the last resort of the incompetent, because the competent use it when it could do some good."