#And June literally broke apart after the lock on the vault set back and he was alone

[maegalkarven]

I'm thinking of June spending 100+ years in his magical box. June, who was alienated from everything and everyone from the very beginning.

Who felt the touch of another living being as he tore through Gabriel's flesh - and then came the century of absence.

The fleeting touches of the servants clothing him only lasted till he learned to dress and take care for himself.

And then? A vacuum in the space where contact should be.

A magically-enchanted room with a flush bed and a carpet. With a cabinet full of magical wonders, with a shelf full of the rarest of books, most of which existed only in one tome. Rich food suited for the prince, best magically-enchanted view out of the 'window' (he didn't actually have a window.)

And no one. For years between Mephistopheles' visits, no one to talk to, no one to keep him company. He learns to summon quazits, but they're a bad substitute for a companion. And after several days he wakes up to them being torn to pieces. Because he can't be allowed near a living being, that much he knows.

That much grandfather taught him of.

June, who craves a single pat on the head for years, tho only knows the touch of his grandfather's hand on his shoulder, who only knows intimacy by the books and tales.

Who is once allowed into his grandfather's study and glimpses something though the watching ball on his table.

A pale man with pointy ears and red eyes carving infernal letters into the body of some whimpering being.

June asks his grandfather and learns his Mephisto offered a deal to some vampire: a ritual of ascension. What these runes bind the suffering man to the ritual.

Mephisto, being rather bored with that deal and seeing June showing interest in that, allows the boy take the orb back to his room. He explains the orb lets June to watch anyone who's bound to the ritual.

June, lonely and alone, lying on the flush carpet in his room, watching these strangers with infernal carved into their flesh. The ones kept in the cages are boring, they don't do anything (and remind June too much of himself)

But there are the others, people with infernal language on their bodies who are allowed outside. Who move and act, and suffer, and fight, and are afraid, and are angry, and-

There are four of them at first. June watches as their numbers grow to seven. He watches as the numbers add to the list, as the rotation of the faces he is capable of watching grows, but his gaze always returns to the one he thinks was the first. With the wide circle of the piece of the contract on his back, with quick, anxious eyes and hair as white as his skin.

He watches this vampire spawn fighting back even if he doesn't know he is fighting back. He watches this boy made monster stalk the streets of Baldur's Gate and explores the city with him. Learns to love Baldur's Gate through the eyes of the dead elf.

He lives vigorously though every low and even lower of this person, he relates to his hunger and his captivity (At least Astarion is allowed outside, June thinks as he looks around. The room is perfect. Time is as good as frozen in there. June can't help but feel like he's nothing but another of his grandfather's curiosities, locked in a vault till the end of times.)

Astarion has never had a guardian angel. He, however, had a keenly watching over him devil. The most vicious hybrid of godhood and infernal mixed in a cage of flesh, locked in a cage of magic.

June doesn't remember what watching Astarion was the reason why he got the courage to break free of his grandfather's hold. But it was. He wanted out. Now he knew how the world outside the Hells looked like, and he wanted to experience it himself. He wanted to live.

[battletech-mercenaries]

Contract Post LA-DC-04-06 #06

This post was made by Ingersoll’s Armored Cavalry Mercenary Unit on MRBC Contract LA-DC-04-06 for the Corporate Sector, from February 1st 3097 to June 1st 3097

Lyran Alliance Donegal Province Protectorate of Donegal Donegel – ‘The Trader’s World’ Seattle Continent Queen Anne Hills McQuiston Diamond Mining Northern Seattle Extraction Facility Number Six May 22nd 3097 07:15 local The chosen battlefield turned out to be a network of chasms deep enough to hide an Atlas with an occasional copse of evergreen and fir. The gulleys were sixty meters high in some spots and jagged, running north to south intersected by some running east and west. The mine complex’s unquenchable thirst for running water had quickened erosion that left water worn areas on the chasm floor, and a network of ridges and ditches between the cliff walls. Attention was needed: they were deep enough to trip a ‘Mech. It was an hour after dawn. Slate clouds blanketed the sky. All four ‘Mechs and accompany armor and infantry advanced methodically, converging on McQuiston extraction facility. Captain Gunther ‘Python’ Price advanced his Thunderbolt north from facility four; Lieutenant junior grade Catherine 'Cat' MacWhirter’s Shadow Hawk, the IAC Infiltrator Squad and the Donegal Jump Militia, were moving west upon facility five towards facility six; Sergeant Kimberly 'Lobo' Rhoe’s Vindicator, a lance of Donegal Militia Mountain Lion Armored Cars, and three platoons of Donegal Militia Field Gunners, were on the far side of facility two headed south towards the target; and Sergeant Major Rihana 'Ri-Ri's Phoenix Hawk and a lance of Main Gauche IFV, were encroaching on facility six headed east from the other side of facility number three. The lance of ‘Mechs had their radars all set to passive mode as not to reveal their positions and Kim had her Vindicator’s ECM Suite on and set to full gain. All units had reported to Gunther that they were halfway up their designated approach radials and Rihana was there point ‘Mech. Gunther could see the P Hawk skitter ahead from the center of the Main Gauche line via his radar, then slow down and turn. It’s right arm mounted ER PPC swung from side to side as Rihana swept the rock hewn chasm floor ahead, looking for a possible ambush. “Contact!” Rihana alerted everyone. The P Hawk’s radar contact warning was going crazy and over his headset Gunther could hear the alert in Rihana’s cockpit. “Four ‘Mechs heading due south. Coming right at you, ‘Python’. Speed, twenty kilometers per hour. All mediums. A Griffin, a Starslayer, an Eisenfaust, and a Cicada.” “But wait! We’re not in position yet!” It was Kim broadcasting over the comms from her Vindicator. “Well waddya want me to do about it? Call up the Covenant and ask them to hold up a sec while we get into position to kick their asses?” retorted Rihana. Gunther cut in before it got out of hand, “We’re gonna have to Improvise ‘Lobo’. All units, flank speed and converge on target. ‘Viper’, ‘Python’ here. They’ve taken the bait and are on a north to south vector.” “ ‘Viper’ reads you loud and clear ‘Python’,” answered his Angel Flight lead pilot, 1st Lieutenant Mesha 'Viper' Seville. “We’re twenty clicks out and will be on station in ten seconds. Tell all friendlies to keep their heads down cuz were comin in HOT!” Then switching channels to address only her wing mate, Ensign Erryne 'Sidewinder' Nashiro, she said, “ ‘Sidewinder’, it’s time to turn and burn. We got an invite to a party and they’re ready for us to light the candles.” As Gunther accelerated his Thunderbolt he heard two sonic booms from far off in the distance so close together they almost sounded like a single long one. The IAC two Jagdvogels AeroSpace Fighters had just broken the sound barrier. The four enemy ‘Mechs were all moving south along the chasm towards him. Either their radars had not yet detected all the targets converging on them from numerous directions or they had planned to take out the biggest threat first, his Thunderbolt; but either way the Covenant was in for a huge surprise. Gunther fired the Thunderbolt’s jump jets, lifting the 65 ton ‘Mech up into the air and steered it down among a copse of thickly wooded Evergreens. It would be several long seconds before Gunther’s other units were within range to provide some support so facing off against four ‘Mechs; he would definitely need some cover. While aloft soaring through the air, the enemy Griffin and Starslayer fired a snub-nosed PPC and an HPPC at Gunther’s Thunderbolt. They both missed but one of those beams had been near enough that it still caused electronic interference with his instrument panels. Landing among the trees, he broke off several Evergreen limbs and even split one tree half in two. He crouched his ‘Mechs legs to absorb the impact from landing and was shroud in smoke from a missed flight of LRMs, farther eroding his cover, by the Griffin which added a desultory medium laser to his oh for three connection rate. Just then Gunther saw twin silver blurs speeding overhead. His Air support was right on time. “I’m painting four enemy ground ponders against one little ole itty bitty ‘Mech. What say we try to even those odds a little ‘Sidewinder’?” “Roger that ‘Viper’. How we gonna play this, Front Door, Back Door?” “Sounds like a plan. I’ll take the front and you’ve got the back. Tally Ho!” ordered ‘Viper’ before she broke out into song, “You keepa knockin’ but you can’t come in . . .” But the Griffin’s pilot recognized what was about to happen and darted for the trees. He must have order his lightly armored rear guard unit, the Cicada to do the same because it abruptly pivoted on its backward canted legs and went rushing into a nearby tree line. Both ‘Mechs made it into cover within the proverbial nick of time. ‘Viper’ choose a dive bomb attack hoping to inflict damage on the Griffin and the Starslayersimultaneously that were in close proximity to one another. Her bombing run was dead on target. She release her full payload of six High Explosive Cluster Bombs targeted at the Griffin. The roiling fire ball in the wake off Mesha’s attack rose so high into the air, she thought of how fortunate they had been for her and her wing mate to choose separate targets because ‘Sidewinder’ would have definitely got caught in the blast. Unable to see the ‘Mech any longer due to her velocity and the smoke surrounding the target, her damage readout indicate a breach to the Griffin’s right torso armor but showed it was still standing upright. Normally six cluster bombs was enough to knock an 80 ton ‘Mech on its metal ass. Damn that broad footed Griffin. The Starslayer suffered a hell of a lot of sympathetic blast damage but the biggest loser was the forest. Her cluster bombs literally excavated the patch of forest that the Starslayer had been standing in and left very few for protecting its buddy, the Griffin. ‘Sidewinder’s strike wasn't any better and her target was only 40 tons, fifteen tons lighter than the Griffin. She performed a strafing run with all energy weapons, and wasn’t even rewarded with a breach. Her attack just burned up mostly foliage and forest flotsam. “Sorry ‘Python’. No joy. They’re your problem now. We’ll swing by and make another pass, ‘Viper’ out.” Gunther couldn’t see the Griffin either due to the copious amount of smoke and debris, but he trusted his thermal imaging display. He lined up his left arm ER PPC for a head shot and let it fly. At first he thought he had missed the target entirely so he followed it up with his ERLL and the pilot turned and caught the 8cm blast on its shoulder. Well I’ll be damned!. “All units, check fire! The Griffin is toting around reflective armor!” Gunther just hoped the entire enemy lance wasn’t equipped with reflective armor. It halved all the damage from energy weapons and that’s what his lance was primarily armed with, Energy Weapons. Their role was Sniping for Christ’s Sake! Up on the northern approach Kim vaulted her Vindicator up on the cliff to land amidst a friendly militia platoon darn near causing a blue on blue incident. The platoon heard the ‘Mechs roaring jump jets and scrambled out of its way like roaches when the lights come on. One trooper had to dive, outstretched parallel to the ground, to grab a fellow troopers hand just as he went over the edge of the cliff. “Oops,” Kim said sheepishly over her external speakers. “Sorry guys. My bad.” Rihana and the lance of IFV had made it to firing range and opened up on facility six. “They weren’t bullshittin’ about them having a reinforced building,” she blurted as her team hit the building with four plasma rifles and her P Hawk’s ER PPC. The combined firepower merely slagged armor but failed to breach. “Standard Armor on the Eisenfaust!” reported ‘Cat’ has she reached out with the man made lightning from her Shadow Hawk’s HPPC boring a gaping hole in the enemy ‘Mech’s chest plate, staggering the Eisenfaust and upsetting its aim for its return fire. However, the Eisenfaust’s ballistic weapon, an 103mm auto cannon, had a lot faster reload time than the Shadow Hawk’s HPPC could recharge. The Shadow Hawk was barreling down on the Eisenfaust at maximum speed. The enemy pilot moved slowly and spread its feet wide apart to brace itself against the recoil from the auto cannon and it fired. The slug tore into the Shadow Hawk’s left leg, shredding armor plates but Catherine hardly even acknowledge it. She was going for the Kill shot. She peppered the Eisenfaust’s right leg with her ER medium laser until she got tone and lock with her main gun, the ER PPC. She was aiming for the hole she had just created in the ‘Mech’s chest armor. She caressed the trigger and her aim was true. The HPPC wreaked havoc on the unprotected, delicate innards of the Eisenfaust’s central torso. She saw the ejection couch streak skyward but did not have to deal with as they still had three BattleMechs bearing down on Gunther. “The Eisenfaust has been dispatch and will be suitable for salvage. Hang on ‘Python’, I’m about to be in their rear.” “Acknowledged ‘Cat’!” replied Gunther as he leapt his ‘Mech back farther away from the three advancing enemy ‘Mechs. He was trying to prevent the Cicada from getting into his own rear arc. Even though it was only equipped with two medium laser, they could play havoc with a ‘Mech’s rear armor where it was the thinnest. At the apex of his jump he launched a salvo from his LRM rack aimed at the Griffin’s head. He connected a second time as he saw small armor patches go flying off in all kinds of directions but still no breach and the ‘Mech still didn’t go down. Gunther reached out and popped the smaller Cicada with his ERLL, evaporating all the armor covering its stubby left ‘wing’, just to keep the enemy pilot honest. The enemy lances return fire failed to do any significant damage but Gunther didn’t know how much longer this would last. The Cicada missed with both its medium laser at the edge of its extreme weapons range and the Starslayer missed because Gunther was hopping from evergreen grove to fir groove like a mad kangaroo. The enemy Griffin caught his Thunderbolt in its massively Ryerson 150 armored chest after it had touched back down to the Donegal surface. He was most definitely the Commanding Officer of these ragtag Mechwarriors. The IFVs along with Rihana P Hawk continued to pour fire into facility six. A couple of the Mountian lion Armored cars had gotten into range and had added their PPC fire and SRM six packs to the onslaught. Finally the combine fire power brought down the facility’s western wall. “Alright, all IAC personnel converge on my location. I’m still outnumbered three to one down here. The militia forces can flush the covenant out of the building,” ordered Gunther. The covenant infantry forces began spilling from facility six clad in Nighthawk PA(L) armor. They traded shots with the two lances of armor from the Donegal Militia causing some minor damage to their movement systems and armor. All in all, the militia gave better than it got. Just as Kimberly had expounded on, the IAC wasn’t yet in position to launch a proper ambush so she was still more than two clicks away from engaging enemy ‘Mechs. Likewise so was the IAC Infiltrator battle armor squad, the three Militia field Gunners and the Militia jump infantry. But they kept their jump jets lit and kept on bounding towards the target. Kim’s Vindicator was at the far limit of its ER PPC and took a shot at the PA(L) spilling from the mining facility. She missed but succeeded in scattering two enemy squads with her heavy weapon. Both ’Hawks fired into the target rich environment full of Nighthawk PA(L)s as well as the ran past the now crumbling building. Rihana’s Phoenix Hawk’s two lasers caught two of the lightly armored suits, bowling them over, leaving their suits in smoking tatters that would stop a BB gun. ‘Cat’s Shadow Hawk left one on the roof a singed pile of glowing embers, man, suit, all of it burnt to a crisp. The P Hawk had gotten close enough to draw the fire of the Starslayer. That was good, Now Gunther had two antagonist to worry about. The Starslayer fired its HPPC at Rihana’s ‘Mech and missed but in doing so exposed its inviting rear armor to Gunther. The Captain could not resist. The Thunderbolt’s ER PPC skewered the armor covering its back and punched through and began melting internal circuitry. The ER LL did the same thing to its left torso rear armor, burned through frying delicate components. Gunther switch to his ‘Follow the Leader’ LRM ammo and launched it as well. All 15 missiles impact the left arm leaving it bereft of armor and any working mechanisms in that location has the arm swung down heavily, crashing against the ‘Mechs left side. The shot of opportunity caused him to delay a little on his next vault. He paid for his transgression. The Cidada melted armor from the Thunderbolt’s left leg and the Griffin caught him with missiles in its right on. He fired the jump jets causing the Griffin to miss with its follow up Snub nosed PPC and its ER medium laser. On his way up into the air, Gunther keyed his mic to his AeroSpace pilot. “ ‘Viper’, how long before your able to make your second pass? We could use your firepower down here right about now.” “Eight seconds. Count’em. Sorting through possible firing solutions on my targeting computer as we speak. You want I should drop ordinance on the facility proper? Over.” “That’s a negative Angel Flight Actual. Friendlies are in the area. Target enemy ‘Mechs only.” “Roger that ‘Big Daddy’. That’s a negative on bombing run. Seven seconds to the light show. ‘Viper’ out.” Gunther saw the enemy ‘Mechs starting to respond to the IAC ‘Mechs coming up in their rear so he allowed his ‘Mech to drift sideways and out of the cover of the evergreens. The Cicada still trying to work its way around into his rear arc popped Gunther in his ‘Mech’s left side as soon as he lit on the precipes. Probably aiming for his gun arm, hoping to disable it. “I’m here ‘Python’,” it was ‘Cat’. “No LOS to the Griffin nor the Starslayer. Have tone on the Cicada but no lock. Twelve percent targeting solution. Bait and Switch?” “Bait and Switch. On my mark.” Bait and Switch was a tactic ‘Mechwarriors used to Bait an enemy into Switching targets. In that fraction of a moment while the enemy pilot switched targets he would move his hands from his throttle to switch targets, and that made him vulnerable to friendly fire. “Three, two, MARK!” Catherine launched an MML five salvo and fired her HPPC not expecting a hit merely to get the targets attention. It worked like a charm. By the time the Cicada pilot realized he had fallen for their ploy it was too late. A five centimeter laser beam was already on its way to the speedy ‘Mech’s head. It rang her bell and caused her to see stars. His next shot left rents in her center torso so one could see the sparking wires inside. His third ER medium laser beam went through the rents and hit the engine shielding in a flare up of waste heat. Dividing his fire at another tempting rear armor shot, Gunther launched another salvo of ‘Follow the Leader’ long ranged warheads at the back of the Griffin. Twelve missiles connected in its rear armor, dead center, blowing clean through it. The ‘Mech was trailing dark, black smoke, but somehow it still remained upright and on its feet. Its Starslayer buddy pointed its arm skyward and fired at the incoming Jagdvogel. “ABORT! ABORT! Taking incoming surface to air fire!’’ shouted ‘Sidewinder’ over the battle wide comms as she veered off of her intended target and pulled the fighter skyward. Knowing she’d only have a few precious seconds before the weapon recharged, ‘Viper’ stayed the course. She unleashed a laser light show that would have rivaled the terran holiday fourth of July. Most of her beams hit the ‘Mech in its lower extremities but a few melted armor on the Starslayer’s arms and chest armor. She left it with only 20% protection on its left leg and right torso. “Softened him up some for you ‘Python’. You’ll have to do the rest on your own. ‘Viper’ over and out.” The Griffin firing at a target that Gunther could not see, signaled the arrival of Rihana's Phoenix Hawk. The enemy commander missed with both weapons, his Snub nosed PPC and his LRM 15 rack, which told Gunther that the enemy pilot was rattled. Check and Mate. ‘Ri-Ri’ continued to close with the enemy ‘Mech, firing an ER medium laser to the Griffin’s right, firing an ER medium laser to the Griffin’s left, to keep it in place until she was in optimal range for her ER PPC. When she got tone and lock, she fired. A kinetic blue electron rope reached out and blasted through its right side armor, through everything impeding its progress inside the ‘Mech’s right torso, and continued out through its back, destroying its rear armor as well. The right arm cartwheeled off across the terrain and still the pilot of that Griffin did not go down. The allied militia armor was having their way with the enemy Nighthawk platoon. The PA(L) armor was dropping like flies in a rainstorm. They were even backed up by the IAC Vindicator who was still to far off to lend any assistance to the ‘Mech battle farther south. They had now taken down the north wall and the building looked like a cracked walnut, opened for the slaughter. Robbed of its main weapon; and his attacker was too far inside of its minimum range to launch its long ranged missiles, all the Griffin had left in order to defend itself was a measly ER medium laser; which he fired at the unrelenting P Hawkto no avail. The Starslayer attempted to down the aggressive Phoenix Hawk Pilot with its weapons fire – two medium lasers and a HPPC. It connected solidly with the right torso and the left torso armor. And the HPPC blast even threaten to tear through the P Hawk’s left side reducing it to less than ten percent remaining armor in that location. Catherine had fired her jump jets and had landed directly to the rear of the Starslayer, firing point blank into its back. “I’ll cover you Girl!” The HPPC ate through whatever it touched after searing off the Starslayer rear armor. The intense heat burst two heat sinks and the electric feedback caused its HPPC to malfunction and go off line. “He won’t be using that weapon again any time soon!” Un-phased, with blood in her eyes, and the scent of a kill in the wind, Rihana drew into knife fighting range with the enemy Griffin. She unleashed her arsenal of four ER medium lasers and connected with all four, right arm, left arm, left torso, right leg and still couldn’t fell that ‘Mech. Now that the two ‘Mech’s had been defanged, robbed as they both were of their main weapons, Gunther could direct his main gun to the pesky little Cicada. One shot, center mass was all it took, to cave in its armor and cause the ejection seat to go flying skyward. “The Cicada has been neutralized.” Inside the Griffin Gunther glimpsed an orange explosion. Something had cooked off, perhaps its LRM ammo or one of the jump jets’ fuel tanks. The ‘Mech was staggering now, limping with its left leg and dragging the useless right one behind it. Thick smoke poured from several holes in its back. It had suffered a coolant failure. It stopped moving and crouched. Something flashed and Gunther saw ‘Cat’ flashing her spotlight at him. Catherine raise both the Shadow Hawk’s arms up in the air then pointed one north up the chasm. Gunther bobbed the T Bolt’s head up and down, pantomiming agreement, and ‘Cat’ took off. She was going to reinforce the assault on the facility. Gunther and Rihana could handle these two by themselves. All they had to do was to accept the enemy’s surrender. 3642 Words