The subject spit again, and Dr. RedCoat casually wiped the blood away from his very frightening interrogation smock. For months, these prisoners had stoically withstood the best of the "nonlethal" techniques Blackhand allowed him to use on them. The commander had made it clear - none of the prisoners will die due to exuberant torture. If they wind up dead, it will probably be via execution.
However, these men were special. They had been captured during a routine sweep of a fringe planet, along with their damaged battlemechs. It was this reason they had been spared - the technology on those 'mechs was nothing short of amazing. Gearstripper had said that he hadn't ever seen anything like it, much less heard of tech like that outside of the Com-Guard.
Blackhand and Torturous watched the subject writhe under Dr. RedCoat's tender ministrations. Mostly, it was just a savage beating punctuated by questions are regular intervals. However, Blackhand could sense something about to break. Maybe not this particular subject, but he'd been listening to their chatter at night.
The prisoners were a tight knit group, to be sure. Loyal to each other, as well. The Gatekeepers had a hard time trying to break them without killing them. In the end, they quit trying. All of the prisoners had been subject to a beating - Blackhand had ordered random beat-downs to further subjugate their fierce spirit. So far, none had perished...and Blackhand was genuinely surprised.
RedCoat shrugged, and the subject slumped. "Wanna get me another?" the good Doctor said, "I'm just getting warmed up."
The guards exchanged the prisoner with the next one in line. When they brought the next subject back, he was hooded, but not struggling. They tied him to the chair and left silently.
Dr. RedCoat swiftly jerked the black hood from the prisoners' head. The subject looked up defiantly at RedCoat's masked face, but said nothing. He was about to strike, when the intercom buzzed to life.
"Sean Pryde."
Blackhand's voice was mechanically flat, phased through the intercom as it was. It was a statement, not a question. The prisoner looked up when he heard his name. RedCoat stood by, his beatstick heavy with potential kinetic energy.
"This isn't necessary." Pryde said, "I have already agreed to help you. Leave my sibko be," he paused, and looked at the glass, "I'll tell you what you want to know."
"This should be good." Blackhand said absently, almost to himself. He gestured to Torturous, who leaned forward to the microphone.
"Sean Pryde, this is Torturous Liao." Torturous intoned, his voice heavy with doom.
"Yes, sir?"
"You have stated that you pledge your life to me, as I have spared it in righteous combat."
"Of course." Pryde's voice was a little deflated - he had repeated his intent to fight for the Gatekeepers many times in the last few months.
"Good then. Listen to our commanding officer."
Blackhand keyed up the intercom. "Pryde. I don't know where you came from or who you are, but your 'mechs show me you're more than just a pirate captain." He leaned in, intent on the subject who couldn't see him, and continued with dire seriousness. "We're going to give you an option here. You want to help your men, right?"
Pryde nodded.
"Good. We've got some questions for you to answer. You will answer them." Torturous intoned into the mic. Blackhand looked at him warily.
"Of course." Pryde said.
Over the course of the next week, Sean Pryde worked outside the gulag with the Gatekeepers technicians and 'mech pilots to go over all the specs of his groups' non-standard machines. He was let out of the gulag in the day, but watched closely by two armsmen and Torturous at all times. Yet, he only did what he was told and never attempted escape.
Against their better judgement, Torturous and Blackhand began to genuinely like him. Torturous had spent the most time with him, and had begun to appreciate him as a person. He believed that what Pryde said was true, and that he could be trusted. Blackhand just enjoyed his military demeanor, and respected his ability to pilot a 'mech.
Cooperating with the Gatekeepers began to afford Sean and his men amenities, when Blackhand was in a good mood...usually on the heels of a major breakthrough in the restoration of the omnimechs. However, the hardest and longest part of the whole ordeal was when the Gatekeepers questioned his past. How could they believe what he was about to tell them? About the clans, and the doom that awaited the Inner Sphere?
He told the entire story.
The Gatekeepers commanders didn't really know what to make of this tale. Humans from beyond the Inner Sphere? Yet, right here was proof - Star League level technology right in the battalions' grasp. If it wasn't for that last bit, Blackhand would have probably executed them all right when they were first captured.
Weeks passed, and the Gatekeepers were called to action to defend a border world from St. Ives aggression. They allowed Pryde to accompany them in one of the Hunchbacks, and he acquitted himself well. The weeks turned to months, and Pryde proved under great duress that he meant every word that he said.
Sean Pryde fought for the Gatekeepers. He gave them all the intelligence they would need in the coming conflict. He warned them about the Clans. When the first horror stories started trickling in from Free Rasalhague, they knew he had never lied to them.
Gatekeepers command deliberated for weeks, throwing Pryde into one hopeless situation after another just to test his mettle, resolve and loyalty. Sean Pryde did not flinch, and survived every encounter with the enemy. After nearly a year of grueling indoctrination and mistrust, his newly adopted family rewarded him with a place in the battalion, and a name to use as a Gatekeeper - Syndrome Stoned.
Soon, the Omnimechs in the Gatekeeper's bays will be fully operational. Advance knowledge of the Clan invasion has been all but verified, but the Gatekeepers have elected not to share this intelligence with the C.C.A.F. in order to keep it secret. Armed with clan technology, the Gatekeepers stand a much greater chance at accomplishing their goal of striking into the heart of St. Ives.
Forewarned is forearmed.
Sean Pryde is no more. Syndrome Stoned has bonded with the Gatekeepers, and no one but himself knows that it's a real bond that cannot be broken. These fierce and independent warriors had shown him mercy at the same time they had shown their brutality. However unlike his birth-clan, these warriors were motivated by a political philosophy that did not lend itself towards the petty bickering and in-fighting of the clan leaders. They were not paralyzed by any of the things that threatened Jade Falcon. The Gatekeepers had a unity of purpose, and a clear way they did things and presented themselves.
The fact that the entire battalion operated on it's own, without formal recognition from their state, showed Pryde what he needed to make his choice. The Gatekeepers are his family now, a kinship born in the blood and fire of battle and sealed with determination and personal honor.
Syndrome Stoned now begins to rehabilitate his Jade Falcon comrades still in the gulag. Many were receptive to the idea of fighting for the Gatekeepers after spending nearly a year in Blackhand's work camp. Others could not be persuaded, or attempted escape or sabotage at earliest opportunity. Those men were summarily executed, and it didn't seem to impact the men who had chosen to fight for the Gatekeepers.
Accusations leveled at Pryde of being a traitor to Jade Falcon was a major issue. Many times, the strange culture of these "clanners" astounded Command, even as they ordered the death of those who would not submit to House Liao. However, nearly a full star of pilots were retained, and we will tell their stories when the time comes.
Blackhand would often sit and listen to the clanners speak, unaware that the Sao-Shao could hear them speaking. In the end, it was decided that this particular group could be trusted with military duties, especially if they were separated throughout the battalion. Each made powerful oaths of fealty to the sang-wei they were assigned to. The change of loyalty had an effect on them, and each of these affairs were quite solemn.
Now, Gatekeepers Battalion prepares to move forward. If it had not been for the confusion created by capturing these men; if it had not been for the lies the Gatekeepers told high command about it; if it had not been for the sheer serendipity of the timing of this capture versus the impending Clan Invasion, then it's quite possible that Gatekeepers Company would have faded into obscurity and defeat as it's members fell.
Instead, the ranks have swollen. Secret weapons are stashed in hidden bases, awaiting the time their use will not raise the suspicions of the C.C.A.F. Omnimechs are being researched and reproduced for those pilots who are interested in the technology as the Gatekeepers expand their arsenal.
All is ready. The next stage of the battle on the fringe begins. When the Clans come, the Gatekeepers will be ready.
It will not be a missed opportunity.
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