Ichijoji Plains, Outskirts of Hirotomi
Okasaki Continent, Shitara
Prefecture II, The Republic Of The Sphere
22nd December 3134
Dust blew around the crater marked battlefield. But Jonathan didn't notice. He was watching a large heat signature coming towards him on his IR scope. When the enemy mech stopped just before the next rise, he took a chance to check on his men.
The rest of his Salamander battle armor team was crouched directly behind him. He felt sorry for his SRM teams that were working their way up towards the enemy line. It had to be 100º outside.
He was nice and comfortable in the cool black padding of his armor.
Just a one more minute.
His SRM teams had made their way up the bottom of the hill. Bringing up the rest of teams on his HUD, Jonathan made sure that the two Infiltrator MK II teams were ready on the flanks.
"Sergeant, all teams are in place," Corporal Levine's voice came over the com.
"What back up does that mech have?" Jonathan wanted to do this right.
"Only a few light tanks. They're moving up on the left flank."
"Good. I want the SRM teams to reinforce Squad B and take out those tanks. On my mark, Squad C, you rush in and jump on that mech. When you see us come over the hill, get out of there."
A chorus of "yes, sir" came over the com.
He switched over to MagRes and watched as the tanks started to come over the hill.
"ALL TEAMS GO!"
On his left, streams of missile trails streaked away from the craters and smashed into the two Regulator tanks coming over the hill. Shortly after, the stealthy Infiltrators jumped into the air and began to rip the hover tanks apart.
Up ahead the other squad of Infiltrators was trying to jump on the enemy mech.
For a second, time slowed down. His body tensed in anticipation of the jump. When he hit the jump jets, a tingle of electricity went down his spine. He rose higher and higher into the air.
The hill in front of him fell away, a brown and silver Wolverine mech coming into view. Only two of the Infiltrators had made it onto the mech. But when they saw the Salamanders, they scattered like a swarm of flies.
All of sudden, time sped back up again.
There was a massive explosion to his left. It knocked him off course and sent him tumbling head first towards the ground. He caught a glimpse of what used to be Corporal Levine, blowing over the battlefield.
Then the nice graceful fall ended in a jolt that had his balls practically up in his throat.
"… what was that… are the Regulators still… sir, sir, two more Joust tanks…" the battle chatter made his ears ring.
Then Jonathan remembered the mech. He got to his feet and jumped back just in time for a giant metal foot from crushing him.
"All teams move to take out those Jousts! That includes the Salamanders!"
"Sir?"
"Do it, I'll take care of this mech!"
His Salamanders were off before he landed. The Wolverine made a feeble attempt to shoot them down with its rotary auto-cannon.
Then it was just him and the mech.
He knew that he would have to be very lucky to come out of this. But he knew that his SRM teams would be wiped out if those tanks weren't taken out quick.
The Wolverine stood there for a second as if surprised to see only him standing there. Then it raised the RAC 2 on its right arm towards him. It started spinning and a solid stream of bullets started spraying out.
As the mech's arm raised higher, a trail of exploding dust got closer and closer to Jonathan.
He hit his jump jets again, narrowly escaping the barrage of depleted uranium. This time he jumped right at his enemy.
He brought up the targeting computer for his Inferno missiles. He knew there was only one chance; he had to hit the mech in the head and cook the pilot inside.
Just before he hit the peak in his jump, the computer started to beep. He let loose with both of his inferno missiles.
The Wolverine let loose with its RAC 2 and array of lasers but they but they passed harmlessly over Jonathan's head.
The infernos exploded all over the Wolverine's head and chest. The mech started to flail as the pilot started to panic.
Jonathan's Salamander landed on the left shoulder of the mech, its clawed hands and feet easily digging in.
Burning gelatin surrounded Jonathan like he was a witch burning at the stake. This didn't bother him in the least; his battle armor was fire proof.
He climbed around to the back of the struggling mech and found the access to the cockpit. He knew that the pilot would probably die in there but he wanted to make sure.
Reaching out with the clawed hands of the Salamander, he grabbed the cockpit door and pulled.
His battle armor was pulling so hard its feet started to dig deeper and deeper into the mech's armor.
The inferno continued to rage around the Salamander. It was so hot out there; Jonathan actually started to feel a bit to hot for comfort. Sweat poured down his face, stung his eyes, and dripped into his mouth.
He swallowed hard, the sweat only making his dry mouth feel worse. Quickly getting a better grip on the door, he gave the door one last tug.
Finally the door ripped open and the flames that surrounded Jonathan rushed into the cockpit. John could just make out the pilot try to reach for the ejection handle. But his hand never made it that far.
The fire engulfed the cockpit, burning or melting anything that wasn't metal.
The pilot didn't even have time to scream.
The mech stopped flailing around. It stood there for a second, and then pitched forward onto its face. Jonathan leapt off just before the mech hit the ground.
His jump jets pushed him up into the air so that he could see the rest of the battlefield.
The six tanks that had attacked the left flank were all in smolders now. A few of the battle armor units were down and half a dozen of his foot infantry.
Not bad for nothing but infantry going up against tanks and a mech. Bannson would be happy to hear that they had helped push the last of the Steel Wolves off of Shitara.
The Salamander landed softly on its feet and Jonathan walked it slowly towards the rest of his troops. Realizing he still had the door in his hand, he threw it into what was left of a Joust.
Slowly the coolant systems caught up and once again he felt like he was back in his father's cabin, rapped up under a mound of blankets to keep him warm during the cold winter.
A shiver ran down his spine as the sweat on his body quickly dried up.
The warm breeze and fresh air was a relief after being in the stagnant air of his armor for so long. His technician (and drinking buddy), Virgil, carefully helped Jonathan out of his armor.
"Holy shit man, all the paint is burnt off of your armor. What the hell did you get into?"
"Oh, I just waded through in an inferno. After you're done fixing her up we can go out to Lefty's to celebrate."
Jonathan started to walk away but then remembered something.
"I didn't see Core's Blade outside. Did he make it back yet?"
"Yep, but with his mech missing an arm and took massive internal damage. It's going to take his techs a lot longer to fix that one up."
"Well, tell him to meet us at the pub. Tell him I caught us a new toy."
Virgil almost asked what he had caught but then he saw the relatively brand new Wolverine being dragged in by the salvage teams. His eyes widened in surprise.
"Wow, nice catch."
Jonathan walked into Lefty's, his favorite Irish pub in a shady part of Hirotomi. As always it took a few minutes for his eyes to adjust to the dim light. The long bar was his right and farther down was a large sitting area.
After grabbing a pitcher of dark ale, Jonathan walked to the back to try and find his friends. He saw them sitting at a table in the back corner.
Virgil and Core had already gone through a pitcher. Jonathan set his down and pulled up a chair. As he lit a cigarette he surveyed his friends.
Virgil Schneider was his friend from back before they both joined up with Bannson. Tall and gangly, he carried himself like a circus clown.
And sometimes he dressed as bad as one.
Jonathan had never met a better battle armor tech, or a worse gambler. Virgil had once lost hundreds of C-Bills on whether or not dropships would arrive on time.
Core was a stout and very secretive man. This was part of the reason why so few knew that his name was really Cornelius. Aside from this, Core was a straight shooting drunk.
Like his friend Jonathan, he drank every chance he had. He just wasn't as inclined to get into bar fights.
Jonathan blew out a plume of smoke and watched as it caught what little illumination flickered across the room. Virgil and Core had just finished arguing over whether or not Core would get the new Wolverine.
"That's right, mech jock, they're giving the Wolverine to the new Legate's daughter," Virgil finished off his point by slamming the table with his fist.
"Wait, what? Where did you hear that?" Jonathan had missed most of the conversation.
"From my boss. Apparently since Jacob was in-system while his jumpship recharged, he figured it would help him win favor with the Governor."
"So let me get this straight," Core starts counting off points with his fingers. "We are a part of the Scourge, who always get what we find. We were sent to this world for some much needed RR and end up saving it from a surprise attack. And he gives away the best salvage we've found in a year?"
"That's not the worst of it. I also heard that Jacob really wants this world. So we are going to stay here, and help out any way we can."
Jonathan didn't like the sound of that. All of this with the loss of his best Salamander pilot, Levin. It was too much. "What does 'any way we can mean'?"
"I guess that's up to Governor and the Legate."
"Son of bitch."
Jonathan quickly downed his pitcher and looked for someone to take his frustration out on.