A/N: Standard "I do not own" stuff goes here. Also, I do realize that technically it's "'Mech" and not "mech", but the latter is much easier to write, so that's the spelling I'm going with.

Vlad's Spirits Pub

Eaton

October 12th, 3063

"I was there, during the Battle for Barlow's Gap," a middle-aged man with a prosthetic limb wheezed as he took a swig from his mug. "Things were looking grim, I'll tell you that. We were outgunned, outweighed, outnumbered, and on top of that, they had vehicles and air support all over the place. You couldn't take barely a step without getting tagged. I was in a Wolfhound myself, light little bugger, and was getting sandwiched between and pounded by a Thanatos and a Bushwacker, when a miracle happened.

"One of them new-fangled Clan mechs showed up, a Mad Cat, I think they call it. Blasted straight up in the air on its jump jets, guns blazing. The Bushwacker ate two PPC blasts straight to the center torso. Heh, it wouldn't be whacking any bushes, much less than mechs, any time soon," the veteran chuckled. "And the Thanatos…well, it's not often you see a god of death get pounced on by a cat, even a mad one.

"At first, I thought it was the Clanners come again, but nope, that mech had a peculiar insignia painted on, and old and addled as I might be, I know the Northwind Highlanders insignia when I see it. Anyways, my Wolfhound's center torso was almost gone, so I just hightail it out of there, heading for the nearest mobile field bay. Along the way, I pass by the rest of his lance, a Thanatos, a Catapult, and another Mad Cat, although this one looked a little smaller.

"Anyways, I never got his name, only his call sign," the veteran sighed. "Shame, really. I would have liked to meet the man who saved my ass that day."

"Pardon my curiosity," one of the patrons said, "but what was that call sign, exactly?"

"Spectre," the veteran replied. The patron nodded, then left some C-bills on the table and headed for the exit. Before he left, the man turned his head and offered one last word of parting.

"That was a Mad Cat Mk II. It's an assault version of the Mad Cat, which is why that other Mad Cat looked smaller. Also, that Death From Above was pure luck. The Thanatos pilot was probably just too shocked to see a Clan mech suddenly appear, much less one try that particular maneuver on him. And one last thing…the name's Hughes. Captain Richard Hughes, commanding officer of Hughes' Iron Eagles, up-and-coming mercenary company currently under the sponsorship of the Northwind Highlanders."