THREE
Note: I have opened a Deviant Art account and put up sketches of Parker, Evee, Red Baron, and some other sketches from various fanfics. I have also put the pdf version of IK1 and IK2 on the same account. There is no significant differences between ff version and pdf version, except corrected typos and additional illustration. Yes, that means pictures! You can access all those files by clicking the homepage link on my ff account. I hope you have fun with them.
Grumium, Free Rasalhague Republic,
April 15, 3073
I recognized that lingo. The fact that I could still pick up transmission from other Clan units surprised me only for a little while. All these years my mech had never been tuned up completely. It could still pick up frequencies of its legacy. This Bravo Trinary must have been Wolf Clan.
However, this Wolf unit was most likely the Crusader faction. Their assistance would be extremely valuable, but they were not likely to lend their hands, especially for a Spheroid unit that they were not familiar with. The simplest trick for any Clanners was to make them believe that helping us gave them honor. But how could I convince them? What would make them think that helping us benefited them?
Vengeance, for once.
"Eev, can you hear me?" I switched to private frequency. "Pull up database of worlds that have been hit by World of Blake."
"What? Now?" the shrill of Evee's voice rattled my eardrums.
"I do not have time to explain. Patch me the info ASAP."
The Toyamas broke formation and fired their lasers in a two-pronged assault. Two strands landed on my center torso. The acrid smell of burning ferro-fibrous seeped into the cockpit. My mech still had enough tonnage to not be bothered by the loss of a ton of armor, but I had lost more than half the armor on the front. These Blakists were regulars; they knew their mechs well.
The Blakists fired their lasers a couple more rounds, wiping out the thickets between me and them. A familiar crack boomed, and my reflex brought my mech careening to its right. Jagged-edged pellets flashed above my heads; some shamelessly blasted into the side of my Gladiator's head. A loud clang reverberated in the cockpit. The other Toyama mimicked its kin, firing its LBX-10 cannon from 500 meters. I drove my joystick to the left, but the scattershot shells slugged my right arm. My right hand twisted, and black smoke started to twirl from the upper arm.
I lined up my crosshair but noticed my Marauder and Archer lance mates had positioned themselves for a good snipe. The Blakists had not recognized their presence; they were too busy killing me. I coerced my mech to a sprint and swung to the other direction, forcing the Toyamas to turn their backs at my lance mates. My twin ER large lasers blitzed, gouging a Toyama's right torso. I saw the glow of superheated metal.
Taking the cue from my last marksmanship, the Marauder fired at the Toyama. The particle bolts ravaged the right torso from the back, clobbering the thin armor and shorting the firing circuitry. The Toyama tottered and lurched forward. Before it could get back on its feet, the Marauder's Gauss rifle bark, strafing the wound from the PPC blasts. As the Toyama staggered, the Archer finished up with its missiles. Half of the warheads ripped the internal structure and torched the missile stack that had never been fired yet. The missiles erupted in one huge fireball, disintegrating the entire right torso and the twin large lasers that were attached to it.
I realigned my crosshair at the mutilated Toyama, but suddenly three Gauss slugs breached my right arm. Warning sign roared as the nickel-ferrous balls sheared my arm off right above the elbow. My right LBX cannon spun in the air before crashing into a tree, splitting the trunk in two. My mech almost toppled to the left, but I bent its knee to gain more support. The feedback signal on my neurohelmet made my head throb in pain.
"Chief! You OK?" my lance mates quacked.
"I am fine! Disengage the Toyamas and attack the Vanquishers!"
The Marauder quickly fired its long-range arsenal at the closest Vanquisher. The triple shots converged on its left torso, forcing it to twist left. The Warhammer, coming a little behind, followed up with its own PPCs. One of the bolts shredded the armor of the Vanquisher's left arm. Droplets of molten armor sprayed and rained down over a wide area. The Archer chose to pepper the other Vanquisher. Multiple warheads rose up to the sky and fell on the 100-tonner monster. Small fireballs blossomed upon impact, not enough to hurt the behemoth, but enough to pull off some cracks on the armor.
The Vanquishers shook off the attack and quickly targeted the Marauder, the second heaviest mech in my lance. Light Gauss shells zipped in the air, two of which flogged the Marauder's right leg. The heavy mech careened amidst splinters that geysered from its leg. Myomer bundles dangled from a grotesque crater on the leg. The impact halted the Marauder on its track.
I would help out my lance mates but my hands were full. The healthy Toyama fired its missiles while the mutilated limped toward me. I swerved left, exposing the stump of my right arm to block the missiles. The impact almost sent me reeling, but I hung tough. I could not afford to fall.
As the missile rain withered, the torso-less Toyama had reached firing range for its triple medium lasers. Fortunately for me, the same went for my LBX. So I turned left once again, weathering the LBX-10 and triple medium lasers the Toyama threw at me. Molten armor blended with coolant, dripping like blood. The armor tracker turned blinking red, and I knew I could not sustain anymore shot at my right torso. As the Toyama reloaded, I hoisted my surviving LBX cannon and hurled my munitions.
At 300 meters, my LBX shots hammered the Toyama right in the center. A mix of coolant and titanium splinters burst into the air, followed by tongues of fire as tall as the Toyama itself. The heavy mech jerked behind, backpedaling on its heels, flinging its remaining arm in a wild fashion. I sprinted to its right and sank my lasers at the flaming torso. My beam javelins cleaved the reactor's casing. Blue sparks spewed from the core, seconds before the heavy mech disintegrated in brilliant flares.
"Parker, they hit Tamar!" Evee came back with the exact information I needed. "The Word of Blake hit Tamar! That's why they're here at Grumium! This is their damn base camp!"
Tamar. The capital of Wolf Occupation Zone. I could not believe that the Word of Blake had taken their pilgrimage to Clan worlds. How strong did they think they were? Did they seriously think that their deceptions and illegal weaponries would work against children of Kerensky? The Clans were different societies than Inner Sphere states. But overconfidence might be the advent of their fall. In fact, it was the advent of many great warriors' fall, including the Clans. Perhaps Tamar would be their Pearl Harbor.
I did not know who, where, and how strong Bravo Trinary was. If I played this right, I could trap the Blakists between Cavaliers and Bravo Trinary. However, I still have a Toyama to deal with before I could coordinate my attack with Bravo Trinary.
The other Toyama was virtually untouched by weaponries. It fired everything it had; ballistics and high-energy bursts blended into one blurry stream. I pushed my mech to the limit, leaning forward to gain extra inch to dodge the attack. But half of the missiles slammed into my left shoulder. I hit my head on the command couch. The reverse momentum brought my mech off balance, and this time I could not compensate in time. My Gladiator fell to its knees, and the impact brought my head slamming into the console.
It took me some time to regain full consciousness, but fortunately the Toyama did not have anything to throw. The alpha strike had drawn most of its energy, and the precious seconds of reloading gave me a good chance to return fire. Alpha strike for alpha strike. I mashed the red button, and my weapons bellowed, turning the Toyama's waist into powder. It staggered hard, leaning on one foot, spitting sparks and smoke from its waist. Its awkward movement told me that my shot had damaged its gyro.
Nevertheless, the Toyama pilot had a lot of heart. It stepped back and fired its twin lasers. My heat tracker spiked to dangerous level as the lasers stung my left shoulder. Its missile launcher and LBX cannon barked in unison, and I had no choice but to bring my left LBX high, blocking the attack. The missiles tore a bad gash on my LBX cannon, and three internal explosions breached my left arm, tearing my cannon apart.
Constricted to two large lasers, I knew I had to shoot more efficiently. My heat tracker was already blinking, matching the armor tracker of my right torso. I lined up my crosshair at the Toyama's damaged gyro and stabbed it with my lasers. A surge of heat slapped my face, turning my vision into a greenish hue. But I had to risk shut down. I dumped a good amount of coolant to bring the heat level several notches down. As my eyes cleared, I noticed that the Toyama's waist had turned into orange jelly.
The Toyama weathered my strike with dignity, but a burst of missiles nagged it from its right. Then suddenly dozens of missiles enveloped the heavy mech, ripping its skin like paper. Before it could assess the situation, multiple laser and autocannon rounds threw it off balance. A raucous blast followed suit, finishing what I could have done with my LBX cannons. The Toyama expanded into fiery mist.
Out from the dark thicket was Kangpae with his new Argus. Smoke still twirled from his guns. I still remember the 60-ton mech that fought like an assault in the hands of the right mechwarrior. Kangpae showed everybody that he was the right mechwarrior for the Argus since the Cavaliers went through an ambitious overhaul two years ago.
"Go reinforce the command lance!" I ordered. "I will disrupt the Vanquishers!" As Kangpae turned his mech around and rained down his missiles at a Vanquisher, I tapped into Bravo frequency and called out, "Bravo Trinary, Command One, this is Parker from Ridinghood Cavaliers. We are engaging a company of Vanquishers escorted by Blakist heavy battlemechs. Strength is unknown, but it is possible that they are battalion size."
I could imagine that Command One was a bit surprised as he did not reply me right away. But a Clansman to the end, the pause was only a brief one. "Cavaliers? Your reputation escapes me. What is your intention at Grumium? Are you not aware that you are coming between Wolves and their preys?"
I was careful enough not to reveal my true intention to ask for assistance. The Crusader Wolves were proud warriors, and they would see me asking assistance as a sign of weakness. "The Word of Blake drew first blood. We are here to avenge our dead comrades, just as you are here to avenge Tamar."
"Cavaliers unit, disengage the Word of Blake," the voice turned stern, as if my mentioning of revenge drove their war spirit. "They are ours to kill."
"Neg, Command One, we fought them first," I acted tough, hoping for their respect. "But there are plenty of them to kill, and we are willing to share them with you. These dogs do not deserve honor. Come and feast on them."
"Have you not known about our culture yet, freebirth?" Command One replied with a glint of superiority. "We are the 13th Wolf Regulars! We are not jackals that feast on leftovers!"
"If you do not want to comply, then step aside," I sneered. "Let us avenge Tamar for you."
The last thing a Clanner wished was looked weak. My last comment must have struck a nail into his principle. His reply came hot and hard, "Very well, Cavaliers! This is Star Colonel Akela Kerensky of the 13th Wolf Regular. I will bring my Wolves to attack the Word of Blake rear flank. Watch your target, as I will instruct my mechwarriors to return every fire directed at us, including stray shots from your units."
"As I will to my mechwarriors, Star Colonel," I cut off the comlink. "See you on the battlefield."
My Marauder lance mate had to take the brunt of the Vanquisher's firepower. Multiple Light Gauss slugs stripped its metal hide and fragmented its titanium skeleton. The antique mech shrugged its warped torso in defiance, hoisting its remaining arm, but a wave of Light Gauss shells incised the arm right below the shoulder, tossing the boxy arm to the air. Sparks and gear fluid dripped from the stump like blood, and the beast swayed to comply with the weight change.
Kangpae and his lance came to its aid, showering missiles and lasers at the Vanquisher, while my Warhammer and Archer ganged up on the other one. The warheads started to peel the Vanquisher's thick hide. The Blake mech backpedaled, more scared than hurt, seeing the potential fiasco against faster mechs. For a moment, Kangpae's lance pushed the Blakists back to their ranks.
But the Word of Blake was not about to be denied. Two more Vanquishers broke formation to reinforce their mates, and another demi lance arrived, consisted of two Toyamas and four White Flames. Suddenly we were at a very disadvantaged position. Kangpae ordered retreat before his lance got into the Blakist's killing zone, while my lance mates tried to regroup with me. But with my mech at 35-percent effective, there was not much I could do to hold position. Evee's company was still too far back to make a difference.
And then, my radar picked up several mechs coming from two different directions. They were not registered in my database, but I could tell they were the Wolves. They came in fives, a classic Clan's star formation. These new mechs quickly sweep the two outermost Vanquishers, throwing confusion into the Blakist's rank. A quick glimpse of the new mechs gave me an impression of a Mad Dog – or Vulture – but the differences were too distinct. These mechs were pudgier, stronger, and definitely deadlier than any alternate configuration of Mad Dog.
"Parker what is going on?" Kangpae's anxiety exploded on the comlink. "Who are these guys?"
"Friends," I replied, "13th Wolf Regulars, Crusader Wolves. Cease fire and realign your targets..."
"The Clan?" Kangpae squeaked aghast. "How did you get them?"
"There is no time for explanation," I recalibrated my lasers while moving backward. "Redirect fire to the center Blakist formation and watch your target. Do not... I repeat... do not hit the Wolves. They will turn their guns at us if you do."
The Vanquishers, stunned by the sudden attack, abandoned their targets and swung their long-ranged guns toward the Wolves, but the new mechs got in range and hurled their venoms at the sluggish 100-tonners. Emerald beams raced with white trails from missiles and yellow tracers of autocannon rounds. Ferro-fibrous evaporated. Myomer vaporized. Titanium melted. And the Vanquishers were caught in the center of the firestorm.
Trying to relieve some pressure, the Toyamas and White Flames fought back. Ferro-fibrous armor sprayed in droplets, leaving pockmarks that glowed like mini volcanoes. The new mechs fought with dignity, firing their guns at the Toyamas and White Flames with equal ferocity. Blinding flashes zipped back and forth, coupled with rattling sound and hissing swoosh of missiles leaving their tubes.
The Vanquishers had a time to regroup, but it was short-lived. Dark-blue streams illuminated the dim woods, vaporizing tree trunks and thickets before slamming into the Vanquisher's torsos. Then Gauss shells fell on them like hammer blows. These were Clan Gauss, twice as heavy and four times as deadly as the Blakist's light version. Before long, limbs where thrown into the air, and another star of Wolves Warhawks and Timber Wolves joined the fray.
"Center fire! Center fire!" I redirected my lance mates to hit the Vanquishers in the center formation. I remembered what Akela Kerensky said about stray shots. My lasers harassed the Vanquisher on the center, creating a flashing blotch on the Blakist's chest. My lance mates used it as a bullseye. No less than five laser blasts and twenty missiles scourged the torso. Thick oily smoke billowed from the wound, and the Vanquisher tottered behind, riding the shockwave from the concentrated fire. My Warhammer lance mate delivered the coup de grace, firing its PPC straight into the wound. Three internal explosions turned the mech's torso into titanium mess. The hundred-tonner staggered vainly, then slumped to the ground.
I recalled that this kind of tactic – ganging up on the Blakist force – was unfavorable for the Clans, especially the Crusader factions. But the 13th Wolf Regulars carried the tactic very well. They knew that my boys were hammering the Blakist's center mass, so they rounded up the Vanquishers, a task that they performed with mastery using their fast mechs. The stray Toyamas and White Flames stood no chance against their Warhawks and Timber Wolves.
That was why Wolf Clan proudly boasted themselves as ilClan, the first among the Clans, an overstatement but most of the time true, especially when compared to dull-brained Clans like Falcons or Jaguars. Wolf Clan was always ready to adapt, to change, to think its way through the battle. It was not a coincidence that Wolf Clan was the bearer of Kerensky bloodname.
This fact still put a smile on my face, albeit I never remembered my days as a Wolf.
"What on earth is going on here?" Evee finally arrived, towing her command lance. "Real Wolves?"
"They are here on their own agenda," I briefed her. "Sweep the Vanquishers. Leave anything else."
"Sweet!" Evee's cute chime preceded her thunderous order, "Command Lance! Light 'em up!"
The 85-ton Longbow raised both arms, covered in white smoke, as dozens of missiles took flight and stabbed the Vanquishers like incendiary arrows. Her Awesomes sandwiched her, hitting any Vanquisher that tried to take a shot at her. The combination of missiles, PPCs, and lasers from the Rakshasa kept the Blakists fighting on their heels, and gave my troops a much needed rest.
When the last Vanquisher fell, the Wolves had broken the Blakist's backbone. The surviving Toyamas and White Flames fled under heavy barrage from the Warhawks and Timber Wolves. Only a few of them made it to the darker part of the woods. I knew they no longer posed a threat, and I thought the 13 Wolf Regulars knew it too.
"We have completed our objective," I heard Star Colonel Akela crackled on the speaker. "Do not feel you have contributed in dribs and drabs on our campaign. We were just at the right time at the right place. It is never more than that."
"Acknowledged, Star Colonel," I replied. "I look forward to working with Wolves again."