MechWarrior 5 Mercenaries: Endless War (An Origins Series Story, #3)

By Randall N. Bills

On December 10th you will take the helm of Nik's Cavaliers, a new mercenary command on a mission of vengeance that will stretch across the Inner Sphere.

The MechWarrior 5 Origins series of short stories immerses players in the backstories of the most important Cavaliers characters. Dive back into the universe you love and prepare for the coming action of MechWarrior 5!

Captain Ryana Campbell is a proud member of the Eridani Light Horse, who relishes leading her company from the front lines. But when Free Worlds League troops drop on Hesperus, kicking off the eleventh battle for this all important world, Ryana will face a truth she can no longer ignore.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Helfers
• Release date: Nov 24, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393191735

Book preview

Endless War

Endless War

MechWarrior 5 Origins, Installment 3

Randall N. Bills

Endless War

DEFIANCE INDUSTRIES BATTLEMECH FACTORY DROPPORT

MYOO MOUNTAINS

SOUTH WHITMAN, HESPERUS II

RAHNESHIRE, LYRAN COMMONWEALTH

5 APRIL 2997

The air came alive and tried to throttle Ryana Campbell as the building-sized DropShip slowed to a crawl on a quartet of hundreds-meter long fusion tongues of flame. Their exhaust blasted the air with a concussive force that almost made her rib cage quake, and she was glad for the ear protection she’d thrown on. The largest DropShip able to land on a world, the venerable, 52,000-ton Mammoth-class DropShip inched towards the ground, its four giant thruster nacelles on it sides expertly maneuvered by the pilot until it touched down in its cradle at the Defiance Industries BattleMech Factory DropPort. Despite the five kilometer distance, she squinted against the blast of detritus and dust washing past her position.

Almost before engine shut off, a massive, Gienah-Durapaq Elite Series 3 land train began trundling towards the DropShip and its three companions that had landed prior to this final grounding. This was a large-scale resupply. The Mammoth alone carried nearly 20,000 tons of cargo. Between the four DropShips, some 60,000 tons of materials to unload. And they would not leave empty-handed, as the precious cargo of new BattleMechs and combat vehicles spewed out by the titanic Defiance Industries factories would spread back to the stars and waiting clients, be they House Lords, nobles, mercenaries, or even a corporation that could afford the extra security. Such land trains as the G-D were usually reserved for long-distance travel across sparsely settled worlds. That they were employed for simply moving supplies across such a short distance showed the almost unimaginable wealth centered on Hesperus II, within the Lyran Commonwealth, wealthiest star empire of the Inner Sphere.

Ryana realized she was avoiding her duty and swung up into the passenger seat of the cab for the Iveco Burro truck, closing the door and stripping off the sound dampeners. The sergeant at the wheel gave her a thumbs-up to her nod and drove toward the waiting DropShip.

By the time she arrived, a veritable army of personnel had already descended on the four DropShips. Large port doors along the sides of the vessels began lowering to the ground for easy access, and cranes were moving into position to offload cargo.

She was grateful for the taciturn driver; he pulled up next to one of the smaller bay doors, where a handful of people milled