Velkon Dumeitscu: I would like to know how you knew about my men and I. We really did not expect to be rescued at all, or that anyone would even know about what was happening. I know that (Star Colonel) Tutola wanted to keep all that quiet as to not shatter the unit’s already fragile morale.
Kardos: We intercepted Wolf communications during a recon raid on a Wolf supply depot. It took us a bit to fish through the files, but once we found the message about you and your men, I figured that it would be worth out while to extract you.
Dumeitscu: And for that, I thank you. While i did not want to be locked up, the more I look at it, the more likely my being locked up was.
Kardos: So I’d like to know the string of events that led to you and your men being locked up.
Dumeitscu: Certainly. It began with your well-staged ambush at the resort. I was forced to pull back, leaving behind two heavy BattleMechs and a light tank for no gain at all. Bot myself and Jarl (EDITOR’S NOTE: Jarl Wolf, aka Jarl Selvik) had been injured, him far more than me. And you had killed nine of our Elementals. It was a crushing defeat.
Kardos: Not the outcome she wanted.
Dumeitscu: But what made it worse was why it happened. Tutuola had us chasing stories of Star League era ruins and caches ever since she was given command of the 19th, even though the locals - people like me - knew there was nothing there to find. When one of our informants reported what your unit was doing, we were sent to investigate. Never mind that so far your unit had been picking off our men piecemeal and we were already understrength. She insisted that you had found her mythical cache and ordered us to recover it.
Kardos: And when you came back empty-handed and without half your force, I can imagine she was not happy.
Dumeitscu: Nor was I. My report to her was frank and unflattering, putting the blame for this debacle entirely on her shoulders. In return, she had me and my men arrested for insubordination.
Kardos: Couldn’t you have challenged her to a trial of grievance?
Dumeitscu: It would not have helped. The situation in Mu galaxy got so bad that the Galaxy Commander had to suspend trials, simply because of how many officers were being killed or injured in the process. Even then, I would not have been granted the honour. She is a Bloodnamed Trueborn Star Colonel, and I was an adopted Freebrith Star Commander. Even if her career was clearly in decline, it would have never carried.
Kardos: Which does bring me to my next question. You said you were done with being a Wolf. Can you elaborate on that?
Dumeitscu: Ah, where to begin?
Kardos: Wherever you feel like.
Dumeitscu: You have to understand some of the background here. Shasta, like the worlds around it, had been abandoned and isolated when the League fell apart. The other states were too busy with their petty squabbles to care about us, and we were left alone. We had no protection against Pirates or the Lyrans, save for whatever mercenaries we could hire, or the futile efforts of the Marik Protectors.
Karods: And that changed with the Wolf Empire.
Dumeitscu: Yes. The Wolves barely faced a fight when they landed on Shasta. The planetary guard all but rolled over after a few quick, one sided battles. However, despite our worst fears, they didn’t do much to change the planetary government or impose their way of life on us. Instead, they played to our past, trying to sell us on the opportunity to be a part of something greater, offering protection against the Lyrans or pirates or whoever else.
Kardos: And that’s why you chose to become a warrior.
Dumeitscu: I will not lie to you. At first, my head was filled with idealistic dreams. And when I qualified to become a MechWarrior, I was overjoyed. These were the early days of the Empire, you must understand, when it was still new and fresh. It was a time of change, and a chance for many of us who felt that we had been otherwise ignored.
Kardos: But it didn’t last.
Dumeitscu: No. We had grown so used to our freedoms that we didn’t realise just how harsh the Clan life would be. It was only after you were in that you realised how much you had given up, including your name and your right to family... All of that. Discipline was harsh and unforgiving, with their officers coming down hard on the slightest infringements. They also limited our advancement as well; it was nearly impossible for anyone to even get to Star Captain, instead coming up against a wall of born Wolves who blocked us off. Yet at the same time, those same officers were ones like Kendra who were seen as failures by Clan standards, but yet were still our superiors.
Kardos: Not a healthy environment at all.
Dumeitscu: Not one bit. Instead of unifying us, the Wolves tried to push us down. We rebelled, and they pushed down harder. We didn’t want to be like them, we wanted to be ourselves instead. You heard about what happened with the Galaxy’s attempt at exercise, I assume?
Kardos: Your clusters turned on each other, and it became a massive brawl.
Dumeitscu: More than that, even. In the 66th (EDITOR’S NOTE: 66th Wolf Garrison Cluster) the individual trinities began shooting at each other. And during those brawls, a lot of the Trueborn officers had... accidents.
Kardos: That would not have helped at all.
Dumeitscu: It did not, no. But yet, I remained with the Wolves, but not because I owed them any loyalty. Instead, it was because I had nowhere else to go. They took my name from me. What was I meant to do after that? Desert? Live my life as a fugitive? But no, it was what your men did that finally pushed me over the edge.
Kardos: Well, you’re safe here now. And if you want. We will take you with us when we leave Shasta.
Dumeitscu: If you are willing to do a bit more, then I can do a lot more for you in return.
Kardos: How so?
Dumeitscu: Give me a BattleMech. I know you salvaged several of ours already, so you will have the spares. In return, I will give you something that I know you want. I will tell you where to find Star Colonel Tutuola.
Kardos: Interesting. Give me a moment, will you?
Dumeitscu: Of course.
[Pause]
Irisz Magyari: So, your thoughts?
Kardos: He’s angry and he’s blaming everyone except himself for his own bad decisions. But I think that could be useful.
Magyari: Definitely. If we took out Tutola, then I could call this one a wrap. The FWLM would definitely see killing Mu’s only Bloodnamed trueborn Star Colonel as a victory, which would play well.
Kardos: Agreed there. I feel that we can trust him, though. While I haven’t interviewed the others we bought in as yet, they’re showing a similar level of dislike for the Wolves already. I want to interview them still, but I am inclined to go with it.
Magyari: Well, we won’t be able to give him his Orion as yet, though. Its right side is gone, and we don’t have the time to do a complete re-build. There is a largely intact Marauder we could offer him though. It still needs some work, but nothing too major.
Kardos: Sounds good. I’ll give him a tentative agreement to keep him on-side and see where we go from there. But I do agree, he could prove to be very useful to us.
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