Chapter IV
Note: As promised, here's a full mech battle to please the readers.
MacGregor's Palace,
New St. Andrews, Periphery,
February 21, 3062
Kangpae zipped his cooling vest up as he observed half a dozen trucks lining up in front of the palace. Those were big trucks, fifteen meters long and almost as tall as his mech. Technicians climbed up and down the trucks, making sure the safety straps were latched on properly. Kangpae walked toward his mech where Evee waited.
"The MacGregors struck a deal with Coventry Metal Works," Evee handed in Kangpae's neurohelmet. "This crude titanium is the first of ten shipments they arranged. This is a big deal for the MacGregor, and ultimately, for us. The money wired from successful shipment will grant us better funding for equipments.
"I sent Alison to the border to spy on the Goliath. I can't leave the palace. So you have to deliver this shipment alone. Make sure that the trucks get into the dropship and leave. Watch out for marauders. I can give you two Scorpion tanks as your backup, but nothing more. I'm sorry for not being able to give you more backup."
"I understand," Kangpae strapped his helmet. "It'll be easier with additional mechs, though."
"I know, but I can't pull out MacGregor's mechs from their posts," Evee sighed. "I need them around MacGregor's property in case the Stewarts make a move. But we'll have a mercenary unit coming to help us."
"When is this going to happen?"
"In four or five months," Evee tapped Kangpae's shoulder. "Just hang on 'till then."
"I'll hang on alright," Kangpae nodded appreciatively. "See you in two days."
Kangpae mounted his mech, the 55-ton Outbound sporting 2 UAC-5 and one LRM-5 rack under the cockpit. The mech was designed for Solaris fights, so ammunition shortage was never a consideration for the designers. In a prolonged mission, ammo was the achilles heel of the otherwise powerful mech. Kangpae just hoped that this mission would go smoothly.
"Alright convoy, set the course to the starport," Kangpae stated. "Keep a tight formation and look out for bandits. Scorpions, cover their backs. I'll take point."
The trucks arranged themselves into a single-row convoy and the Scorpions guarded the rear end of the convoy. Kangpae led the convoy in an excruciating 30 kph. With nominal speed, the convoy could reach the starport at 2 hours. With this speed, it would be 3 to 4 hours before they reached starport. Then they had to wait in line to get into the dropship, and that could take an hour to a day.
The journey was dull and long, and it was 2 hours into the journey that Kangpae's comlink blinked. Kangpae picked it up, and Evee's voice crackled through the speaker, "Kangpae, Alison reports that the Goliath is not at the mine site. I repeat, Stewart's Goliath is not at the site. Be careful out there, it may after you. I'm sending Alison to regroup with you, but it'll take her 45 minutes to reach your position."
"Copy that Ev," Kangpae groaned in frustration. He knew the monster was slow, but he would not be able to outrun it since the convoy ran with only 30-kph. If it appeared, Kangpae had no choice but to slug it out, and he knew the Goliath would shred his Outbound in minutes. He sighed, and started to regret his decision to come to New St. Andrews.
As if luck was turning away from him, multiple heat sources appeared on his radar. With trembling hand Kangpae scanned the units, and let out a big sigh of relief when his computer showed two Javelins and two Drillsons bearing the insignia of Sterling family. His confidence up, Kangpae throttled up and charged the Sterlings inbound.
"Scorpions, line up behind me and concentrate fire on the Drillsons. I'll take the Javelins."
Kangpae could almost feel the thrum of the incoming mechs as red dots appeared on his radar. He put his crosshair at one of the Javelins, and when the crosshair turned bright yellow, he fired his LRM. Through his power scope Kangpae watched in glee as the salvo shredded the thin armor of the Javelin. The humanoid war machine careened, staggering hard to keep standing. Kangpae waited until the Javelin got into range and let his twin UAC-5 belch. No less than 10 shells erupted on the lower torso of the Javelin, twisting armor and internal structure like a pile of licorice. It swayed like a drunkard, but refused to go down.
"Yea!" Kangpae roared and trained all his guns at the reeling Javelin, but his advanced would have to wait. Missiles from the Drillsons soared and busted his right leg, throwing his mech around. It took him 3 seconds to get back to fighting stance, and the well-placed salvo gouged deep cracks on his Outbound's legs. Kangpae chortled bitterly. He knew the Sterlings were trying to disable his mech, so they could salvage it. Well, not in a million years, he grunted and lined up his crosshair with the limping Javelin.
The limping Javelin fired its jets, bringing the 30-ton mech soar 50 meters forward before firing everything it had at Kangpae. The medium mech jolted as ten missiles carved a good ton of armor off its back. It swung to the left, but Kangpae quickly compensated his balance and hit alpha strike button. Ballistics and missiles raced toward the light mech, and his volley shredded another ton of armor off its torso. A chain explosion shook the Javelin, taking apart its torso from the inside. The metallic beast tried vainly to train its launcer at Kangpae, but Kangpae sank a crippling shot at the power generator. Another explosion tore its torso apart. It crashed and burnt, spewing brilliant flashes as the hulk disintegrated into splinters.
"Eat that, marauders!" Kangpae yelled. He turned to face the other Javelin, but the Drillsons swept away half a ton of armor off his leg. The medium mech staggered, trying to compensate the loss of mass. The armor tracker on the legs turned orange, and Kangpae knew he would soon be in trouble if he didn't finish this fight soon.
The Scorpions broke formation and started attacking the Drillsons. Getting the break he desperately needed, Kangpae fired his UAC-5 in a deafening roar, and the Javelin's torso went alive with flame. The shells ate away the armor and dangerously attacked the delicate machinery. The impact sent the Javelin stepping back, arms flinging to regain balance. Kangpae pressed his attack, firing his 5-shot LRM at point blank range without a lock. Two missiles manage to land on the Javelin's left torso, keeping the light mech off balance.
The Javelin quickly regained balance and returned fire. Kangpae twisted left, exposing his still-decent right torso to block the Javelin's attack. His entire mech jarred heavily as the missiles cracked his right torso, threatening to rip his right arm apart. Smoke and coolant seeped from the gash. But lucky for Kangpae, his beloved autocannons was still operational.
"My move, jerk!" Kangpae hissed while centering his torso again, lining up his guns at the Javelin's busted torso. He heard a loud clank from his guns, proclaiming the readiness of his dual UAC-5. Grinning, he punched the alpha strike button, and a blinding flash swept away the last remaining armor on the Javelin's chest. A millisecond later his ballistics arrived, grinding the unprotected power generator right under the cockpit. Tongues of flame spilled out from the torso as the last Javelin tumbled back, followed by a geyser of metal shards as it erupted.
Free from the Javelins, Kangpae turned at the Scorpions to assist them, but unfortunately he was too late. The Drillsons were heavier, stronger, and faster than the tracked 25-ton tanks. One Scorpion had been left a charred bulk, and the other one rolled painfully, leaving traces of burning oil on the ground as it went. The Drillsons circled it like a pair of wolves, scoring hits after hits until the Scorpion gave up. One solid hit from a Drillson eviscerated the hull, and the tank blew up in brilliant flash.
"So this is how it's gonna be," Kangpae croaked and launched his missiles at a Drillson. The impact was merely a shock rather than a destructive punch, and the Drillson rolled left to fry Kangpae with its lasers. But Kangpae quickly banked hard to the left, missing the lasers by a mere centimeter. The other Drillson blasted its laser, which incised the myomer bundles on the Outbound's right arm, locking its autocannon in place. Kangpae brought his mech turn right, then unloaded his UAC-5 at the Drillson. Sparks blasted from the tank'shull, and chipped armor and flew into the air.
However, the other Drillson slipped behind Kangpae and scored a critical hit on the Outbound's right leg. Its lasers melted the bearings, and the missiles knocked it out of the socket. Kangpae bit his tongue as his mech rocked back and forth. He twisted and fired his UAC madly, hoping to catch the Drillsons. But the Drillsons were quick in their maneuver. Kangpae's shells grazed the ground, creating a cloud of dust.
With one UAC-5 disabled, another one almost running out of ammo, and a limping leg, Kangpae knew he was at a severe disadvantage against the two Drillsons. But he wouldn't give up. His mech could still withstand a lot of punishment, and if he could connect his fire, he had a chance to win the fight. He leaned back, studying the Drillsons fighting pattern as they circled him, then readied his guns. As one of them made a quick pass in front of him, Kangpae jolted forward and kicked the 50-ton hover tank. His leg ripped the air cushion, and the Drillson spun out of control. Wasting no time, Kangpae mashed the trigger, sending armor-piercing rounds and missiles at the spinning hover tank. The Drillson blasted in a fiery explosion.
Unfortunately, the UAC shells that killed the Drillson were Kangpae's last ammunition. Kangpae cursed in frustration. The other Drillson knew that Kangpae had nothing left to fight with, so it slowed down and fired its entire arsenal at the Outbound. Kangpae gripped his joystick hard, keeping his mech standing. But his armor tracker turned blinking red, and the Drillson kept up the pressure when, unexpectedly, three red beams and half a dozen missiles stopped the hover tank in its track. The Drillson turned to face the new threat, but a long trace of ballistics ripped its hull open, grilling everything inside in a massive explosion.
Confused, Kangpae turned to see his helper, and his relief turned to dread. He was so caught up with the Drillsons that he failed to notice a lance of mechs coming in his direction. It was the lance he saw at the border a month ago: the Goliath with a Quickdraw and two Crabs, bearing the insignia of Stewart family.
"Evee," Kangpae called home while backpedaling, "Evee, they're here, the Goliath and its goons. I don't have any guns left. What should I do?"
"Stay in there and don't startle them," Evee's voice was rugged. "Keep talking, tell me what they're doing. I'm on my way."
Kangpae felt his breath hot and heavy as he backpedaled slowly, watching the Stewart lance, waiting for their guns to flash. But strangely enough, the Stewarts didn't make any threat. Kangpae through they would steal the convoy, but they didn't try to change the course. They just turned back and left the scene. Kangpae didn't understand what was happening, so he did the only thing he could do: continue the trip to the starport.
"Evee? I think they… I think they just saved me. What is going on here?"
