Debauchery Worlds 52 (Patreon)

Commissioned by Southmonk

Debauchery Worlds

Chapter 52

-VB-

Alan Marris

Al Na’ir, Draconis Combine

2982.10.09

The trio of systems that used to represent the galactic easternmost reaches of the Azami Brotherhood’s reaches all fell into my hands before August. Now, we rapidly reinforced those systems in every manner and method possible. 

And one of our reinforcement methods included building orbital defense platforms. From our orbital factory on Prosperina VI and the ground factories on David II, we pumped out the platforms and guns, respectively. Then they were brought over to the three systems via the portals (with converted Crawdads as tugs for the orbital platforms) and assembled on the site. 

This was how we managed to put six orbital platforms on each of the main colonized planets across Markab, Cylene, and Skat. 

Instead of one giant magnetically accelerated cannon, our ODPs were built with six small MACs for main firepower, each of which were barely bigger than the Stomata-class dropship. These MACs, Mini-Krakatoa-class MACs, fired their fifty ton steel slugs at 5,000 kilometers per second at four rounds per minute. With a 90% accuracy with computer-assisted targeting at over 200,000 kilometers and nearly 100% accuracy within 100,000 kilometers for dropship-sized or bigger targets, they were the best fit for the current technological state of the Inner Sphere. Combined with three dozen point-defense high intensity lasers and energy shielding we installed from the Star Citizen-verse on each platform, we’ve properly secured the defense of the three new “core” worlds of the Coreward Principality. 

Of course, our enemies did not loiter while we fortified our systems. The Draconis Combine, in particular, set up a rallying point deeper inside their territory. We weren’t sure where it was, but they were gathering their forces in what had to be the biggest counter-invasion force seen up to date in the Third Succession War. 

We, of course, did not make it easy for them.

Al Na’ir was a “Azami Brotherhood” world like Markab. Practically, this meant little to me aside from the fact that Azami worlds were essentially semi-autonomous worlds that provided war materials to the Combine and enjoyed relative independence from Luthien due to how early they ended up as part of the Combine. 

To me and my Coreward Principality, Al Na’ir was important because it was a factory world that had an integrated vertical production for all sorts of weapons from infantry gear to heavy battlemechs, particularly the Catapult. The two main companies, the Yori’Mech Works and Scarborough Manufacturer, made those war materials and I needed them gone; I could not allow a world producing war materials so close to my foothold in the Ashio Prefecture. 

And we were lucky. 

Because we entered the system at the zenith of the Al Na’ir Star to find a trio of Combine jumpships loading up dropships.

The lead Stomata’s sensors-fed computers quickly identified the jumpships and the dropships. 

[Joshua’s Revenge Monolith (Combine), Hoshimito Wastes Invader (Combine), Glorious Miko Invader (Combine), 3rd Al Na’ir Flight Achilles (Combine), Madman’s Armor Leopard (Mercenary), Kentucky Anti-Rangers Intruder (Mercenary) …] 

The computer kept listing, but by the third dropship listed, we didn’t care. It was clear to us that this was a military rallying point for mercenaries and Combine troops. While three jumpships and thirteen dropships weren’t a lot … it was a lot of enemies who were vulnerable to our attacks. 

The three lead Stomatas opened fire immediately. The MAC rounds punched through two jumpships while one shot missed. 

It took a second for the ships to realize what had happened. 

One, we entered the system without a jump signature. 

Two, there was a giant portal behind us. 

Three, the lead ships were all not attached to jumpships.

We wondered if this was the moment when one of our secrets would get exposed. 

But did it matter at this point? 

The Davions already knew. ComStar already knew. Combine would start suspecting it sooner or later. And we didn’t care about the rest of the Inner Sphere because most of the people working in our factories were those from another universe and dependent on us or one of the clone hivemind. 

We looked at the exploding jumpships and dropships as our ships continued to pummel them from a range they had no response to.

… Yes, we’ll keep it a secret a little while longer. 

And that meant no survivors today. 

While the Stomatas fired off a few more shots, the rest of the fleet headed toward Al Na’ir at conventional sunlight speeds. 

We would burn the factories on Al Na’ir before we left. That was a promise. 

Now, the question was if I wanted to depend on ordinary orbital bombardment or fling some asteroids. 

… Considering that many of those factories were in cities, asteroids would be an overkill. 

Regular orbital bombardment, it was, then!

---

Wande Kelani

Al Na’ir, Draconis Combine

2982.10.09

When he heard the sirens ring of an impending invasion and not a raid, he had felt anxious. 

Because he lived in the city of Yuranban, which was home to a Yori’Mech Works factory. He knew that it would be a target. 

But then the news of jumpships and dropships getting destroyed struck home. That anxiety almost turned into a panic. 

Destroying jumpships was a taboo. Everyone knew that unless they were some periphery subsistence farmer. If they were willing to destroy jumpships, then there was no taboo that they were not willing to partake in. A nuclear bomb might destroy a city but not a world. Destroying a jumpship will destroy multiple worlds. 

So there was no point going to the bunkers. Instead, being the loner that he was, he picked up a six pack of beer (because he wasn’t a Muslim like most of the people on the planet), a fistful of khat, and sat down on top of the four story building his mother had left for him before she died fighting as a mechwarrior somewhere along the Lyran border.

He sat down, opened a can of beer with a pop, and took a sip.

He couldn’t help the hiss that slipped out of his lips. 

“Yeah… if I’m gonna die, this is the way to go.”

No wife, no children, no parents. Some friends, but they all wanted to be with their family. Needed to be with their family. 

Wande leaned back into his seat and nearly froze when he saw the gleaming red hulls of aerodyne dropships above. 

“Right… guess the apocalypse is here,” he muttered and chewed on his khat. 

The plant tasted like ass but drugs wer drugs and he couldn’t stop himself from chewing on them like he did as a kid. 

It just reminded him of the good old times when he did have a wife and his parents were around. Family dinner. A few leaves of khat around the dinner table. Talks about kids. 

Fucking Davions ruined everything. 

So he chewed and closed his eyes, waiting for the death to come. 

It should sound like explosions, right? 

Right. 

Then he heard and felt it. 

Something crashed into the ground in the far distance. The air buffeted and his building shook under him.

His body trembled in fear despite the odd calm he felt paradoxically at the same time. 

It was going to be all over. He’s going home… he’s going home…

…

… 

He’s, uh, going home…?

Wande opened his eyes and frowned. 

Why were those dropships turning around? 

Why were they leaving? Weren’t they here to invade? 

He sat up and looked around. 

He narrowed his eyes at something that was burning in the distance. That’s roughly where … oh, that’s the Yori’Mech factory.

…

Wait, that’s it? 

They literally just shot the factory up and they were leaving?

“Fucking cowards!” he shouted up at the sky. “You’re not even going to even properly?! Just shoot us up and leave?! What the fuck do you think you’re doing, an interstellar hit and run?! Get the fuck back here and fight the Azami Brotherhood like a proper man!”

He’d continue on but he lost the strength after the last bit. He fell back into his cheap aluminum veranda chair. 

He felt empty. 

“Fuck.” 

He thought he was going to die but that’s … that’s not in the cards, apparently. 

He didn’t feel good about being left alone to live, though.

-VB-

A/N: Wande Kelani, an OC made for Azami perspective. May be used in future chapters.