"A few years ago I witnessed a battle that made me give up being a pilot. The field was as white as a sheet of paper and you couldn't see more than a few feet in front of you. I was piloting an oggun back then, and was guarding the rear of the supply convoy."
Michael sat there and stirred the fire, looking into the heart of the fire. The men around them felt a deep chill in the air.
"A blizzard was upon us. In the blinding snow, we could see shadows moving. At first we thought it was some of our own forces. But soon communications started to come of a ghost army attacking the front lines. We stood there shocked as we heard this."
The men felt the fire grow weaker despite it roaring in front of them.
"This ghost army would not stop. Mechs of all tonnage were slowly whittled away as wave after wave fell upon them. They couldn't see who they were fighting, and the sounds of men and mechs being slaughtered wholesale was terrible. But, we stood there as our friends fought valiantly, soon we could here the roar of cannons coming closer. The storm started taking its toll on the mechs, ice freezing some mechs in their place including my own. I was forced to listen to cannon fire hitting mechs all around me. Eventually the cannon fire died down and the storm eventually subsided we awoken to the carnage surrounding me. I was surrounded by krampuses painted white and grey."
The air turned such a bitter cold suddenly that the men could see their own breath. The fire appeared to have died completely.
"They eventually moved on." Michael said as the fire came back to life.
"So why did you tell us this story?" Asked one of the pilots.
Michael looked at the men, and then the sky. "Word came down from the bosses. Next years clan wars, we will be returning to that very planet. And from what I heard, there are still whispers that the Krampuses are still there and whenever a winter storm blows in you can see their shadows moving about."
Submitted by Brian D. Wise#17026