[dcs_p]His mind flashed back to Dana, his partner with child. He thought of his
teammates, his friends.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]And with those thoughts, squeezed onto his trigger again. Twin pulses punished
the Albatross with all the power that the Direwolf could bear. The Albatross
shuddered violently as both hits scored deep into its own fusion shielding. While
the damage was critical, the shielding held to maintain the Blakist pilot’s source of
power. Its pilot answered Devon’s attack with a blast from its LBX autocannon.
Devon’s Direwolf shrieked out in its final protest. Autocannon fire burst clean
through the rents in its torso, shattering the last of the Mech’s precious shielding.
Devon felt heat rise up from all sides as his vision faded. The Albatross
disappeared with the battlefield before him. His nausea vanished. The sound
was incredible, growing louder and quieter even at the same time.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]It was this that every Clan warrior dreamed of. Today he would achieve it yet
again. He clutched his vineers, his proof of all he had already earned. Honor for
my Clan. Honor for my people.
It would be his last thought.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Arbiter Warship
Labrea System
Irece Prefecture
Fourth Quarter, 3068[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Dana Douglas put her hand to her stomach. It was all she had left. Even
Devon’s vineers had been destroyed with his Direwolf. But soon she’d be able to
hold his child in her arms. She cracked a small smile as she thought about him
holding their baby. If only he could have.[/dcs_p]
D[dcs_p]ana looked up to those around her. Jasmine Geutie, Mike Strider’s significant
other, was approaching the podium. Dana knew her turn at the microphone
would come soon enough. Tonight’s ceremony was the first official one of its kind
since the Blakists had resumed attacks against the team this year. The first of
those attacks had been the tactical strike on the command company. She and
the other survivors of the command lance had to do something to fill the vacuum
left by the deaths. Here they would share their feelings, their loss.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Of the entire command company, only herself, Ryan Allen, and Sasha Breen had
survived. Sasha and her had both been away when the attacks had happened.
Ryan had managed to find Samuel Stark and Ryan Harrison, the trio working
together to get to a safe area where other members of the unit had set up a
defensive perimeter.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]With Sasha Breen of the Steel Vipers off-planet for a meeting with the Watch, it
had been up to Mechwarriors Cecil and Savalas to organize Clan naval support.
Cecil, a close friend of Devon’s, had insisted on razing the planet’s surface with
orbital bombardment shortly after the Blakist’s base was uncovered. Sasha had
approved of Cecil’s handling of the situation, but many noticed the young ristar
was somehow changed. Gone were his occasional smiles, his advice, and his
extra hours in the simulators each week. Cecil had practiced his authority that
night, even against liaison Savalas’ recommendations. The pilot now visibly bore
the responsibility for the naval strike carnage.[/dcs_p]