TWENTY ONE
The Labyrinth Arena,
Mitchell, Solaris VII,
Freedom Theater, Lyran Alliance,
May 15, 3065
This duel reminded me of Clan trials. Well, 'reminded' was an overstatement because I never remembered any trials I went through, except the one at Arc Royal. But I knew how Clan society solved their discrepancies. The difference was there was no real prize in Solaris duel. No rise in rank, no money, nothing. It was just a simple test of masculinity.
However, I had been here for so long that I sensed something treacherous behind this duel. I remembered that Steiners and La Cosa Nostra tried to expel me from the elite competition. Omar resurrected me, and now I was the backbone behind Omar's newly instated stable. It was a hard slap in Steiner's face, especially when they were trying to rally supporters to win the civil war. I felt that there was more of this duel than just a simple contest.
"You're right," Kyle told me the other day, when I came to him. "This is much more than individual rivalry. 'Killer' Knauer is second-in-command in La Cosa Nostra. He will not jeopardize Steiner's reputation by instigating a duel. La Cosa Nostra is not Grey Wolves. I think the Steiners are plotting a scheme to bring down Omar."
"What I do not understand is," I brainstormed with the Davion fighter, "that Knauer holds a prestigious position at the mob gang. Sending a lower-ranked warrior to duel me makes more sense. Why Knauer? If he loses, it will be hard for the Steiners to rebound. There is too much at stake."
"I don't know," Kyle mused. "Human mind is as deep as the ocean. You'll never see the bottom. But this much I'm sure: I want the Steiners, you want Omar. Play them both, and you'll kill two birds with one stone. And who knows by beating Knauer, you'll unveil more of their true scheme."
I had no doubt about that.
The Labyrinth was a unique arena built by Thome DeLon, the owner of DeLon stable. It consisted of a maze-like arena, filled with thick concrete walls that separated sections of the field. Nobody would get lost inside the maze, but the walls provided enough refuges for warriors to play a long, exhausting game. It was a death trap for short-fused mechwarriors, just like me. But on the other hand, the arena was urban warfare revisited. It was a perfect playground for my Gladiator.
"So, Parker," Knauer called me from his Colossus. "You are either honorable or foolishly overconfident."
"By answering your challenge?" I replied.
"By setting up nothing as your duel condition. You're convinced that you can beat me, aren't you?"
"I work for the Wildcats," I gave him the impression that I was controlled by Omar. "If my superior wants me to duel without prerequisite, I duel without prerequisite."
"A man's dog, you are," Knauer snickered. "Such a pity, considering your reputation. Very well, I meet you at the arena. Only one can come out alive. This fight does not stop until one of us dies."
There were several portals into the arena. I took one closest to me, which brought me into a long corridor, then to the maze. My radar picked up Knauer's signature: a nasty 95-ton mech with an AC-20, twin large lasers and twin medium pulse lasers. Four packs of coolant injectors made the mech unique. It was not designed for prolonged engagements, instead quick and decisive victories.
Which contradicted his choice of arena.
As I followed the maze, I pondered the bizarre situation. Knauer should know that the Colossus was at its best at open field, where his coolant injectors would grant him unlimited laser bombardment without overheating. True, its AC-20 was a nightmare at close range, but it was his lasers that would deal the severest damages, setting up the AC-20 for its deathblow.
Why? Why would he negate his own advantage by picking The Labyrinth? The Coliseum would be a better choice. Factory Arena was the most logical choice, since it was blazing hot inside. He would flourish in a hot environment. Unless… unless he was another man's dog. Everything had nothing to do with his choice. He was just carrying orders, and he was supposed to lose – or get killed – in my hand, today, at The Labyrinth.
So complicated the scheme of the Steiners was.
Suddenly I picked up his signal moving directly at me. He was using his jets to fly above the maze and performed aerial attack. Soon he would be right above me, and the narrow corridor would only let him take one strike at me. But so it would for me. I exposed my right side to him, shrinking my posture, then hoisted my right arm, anticipating his emergence from behind the wall.
As soon as he appeared, I mashed the knob. The bellow of my LBX-20 made my ears ringing, and the fragmented munitions scrapped the left armor of the Colossus. But Knauer fired its lasers, two of which dug holes on my upper right arm. I twisted right to bring in my left LBX-20, but he was already gone, covered by the meter-thick concrete wall. I rushed to the end of the corridor, but it turned away from him.
"Why me, Knauer?" I asked while trying to find a way to get to him. "Why did you choose me?"
"Do you mean why not Odessa? Or Coleman? Or that damn Davion?" his reply came in a mirth. "Rumor has it said that you're a Clan, or of a Clan descendant, or was trained in the way of the Clan. Whichever is true, Parker, you're the prize that everybody's seeks. You're Nemea, and it is every man's dream to be Hercules."
The stench of lies reeked all over the place. "You could have fought me in the regular match."
"And share the excitement?" the Colossus soared again. "If you study history of man, then you'll know that Hercules killed Nemea alone."
Before I could assume good position, the Colossus zipped above my head, blasting its lasers. Steam hissed from overheated armor, and the acrid smell seeped into the cockpit. I traced the flying mech, but it already landed at the other part of the arena, blocked by layers of thick wall.
I began to think that Knauer chose this arena because of his tactic. He would wear me down with aerial attacks, and take cover before I could return fire. He would jump from place to place, making it impossible for me to get a duel him. It was the time when I regretted taking down the jump jets in exchange of more firepower. The Gladiator had unusual agility for an assault, but it was useless in a maze. And Knauer knew it.
"Hercules fought Nemea because he had to," I stressed the last words while turning back. "Is that what happens, Knauer? That you have to fight me?"
"Well, you surprise me, although your interpretation is wrong," Knauer turned to the other direction.
"Then enlighten me."
"There will be time for literacy, Parker. Today, it's time to fight."
I sensed avoidance. He was the one that brought it up, and now he refused to finish it. Perhaps I pushed the right button. I came to the end of the corridor, and I turned a hard left. Knauer was at the other end of the hall. I fired my lasers, nagging him on the left torso, shedding a ton of armor in fiery runnels. Knauer retaliated, missing left arm by a meter wide, then blasted his jump jets, taking refuge behind the walls. I paced my mech to attack him, but when I made a left turn where I thought I could find him, he was not there. I could see him on my radar, but I could not reach him.
He performed his aerial attack once again, this time straight ahead. I trained all weapons slightly above a wall, and at the first hint of his Colossus, I triggered all weapons. One laser and half of my munitions slammed into its hull. Knauer cringed, but quickly compensated the balance and rained down its laser at me. Three emerald beams speared my left torso. I felt a slight tremor as my armor gauge turned bright yellow.
I was getting frustrated of this game, but I know that was exactly what he wanted. So far he did the same maneuver three times, but it effectively worked against me. Albeit still functioned properly, my mech was in a worse condition than the Colossus. I had to find a way to break his pattern and beat him in his own game. But how? I could not fly. I was not fast enough to catch him while he was on the ground, and I was not quick enough to shoot him down when he was airborne.
"I do not believe you doing this as mere sport," I tried to tick him off. "I believe we are consanguineous, you and me. We are doing things we do not want to do, and after all day's work, somebody else will get the credit."
"You are nothing like me," Knauer sneered. "You're lost. I'm not."
"Because you are affiliated with the Steiner? Steiner is going down, and so will you."
"When the time comes for Katrina Steiner to solidify her throne, I will dance on your grave, Parker!" Knauer growled. "That, if you have a grave at all!"
That was it. That was his achilles tendon. Omar told me that Knauer was an avid Steiner supporter. All talks that discriminated House Steiner would push him to the edge. I could it that to lure him into the open, where my guns would overwhelm him. But first, I had to set up a formidable defense. The Colossus was a mech I could not underestimate.
The corridor soon came to the corner of the arena. It was the perfect place for my defense. By standing in a corner, I did not have to worry about my back. All attacks would come from my front. It was very effective against enemies with superior agility. But to make it work, I had to lure him to attack me. So far he shied away from making frontal attack. He needed a bit of pressure, and I knew just the right way to do it.
"Katrina's troops has been loosing grounds," I provoked him. "You are blind or utterly ignorant if you refuse to admit it."
"Loosing ground?" Knauer broke into a long guffaw. "Loosing ground, you said? Who's commanding Davion's army? Where is Victor? Coward! His troops are fighting their asses off and he's hiding somewhere, watching the war from the comfort of his bedroom. Victor is an abomination to Lyran Alliance!"
"You are a scholar, Knauer," I replied in a calm but sardonic fashion. "You know that nothing came out good from murder. Ever."
"The only murder you'll see is when I am murdering you!" he replied in a growl.
The Colossus jumped over the wall and scourged me with its lasers. Another ton of armor was gone, but I held my joystick firm, mashing my trigger when my crosshair burnt red. Only one connected to the upper left arm, but the splattering armor gave me a hint that I dealt significant damage to the armor.
Knauer did not shy away to charge me. Just the way I wanted it. I kept my position, my back against the wall, tracing the Colossus as it snaked through the maze. It peeked over a wall, blazing its laser, attacking me from the ground for the first time. I bobbed and weaved, but nothing much to dodge when my back was nailed against the wall. Three large and two medium streaks chewed my front armor, turning it into scorching smelters. He kept the laser storm for a while, ignoring my return fire, then slipped behind another wall, 500 meters from my position.
Damage assessment hinted me that I lost a good 5 tons of armor, all in 25 seconds of laser outburst. This could not go much longer. I pushed my throttle to maximum, jerking my mech forward to close the range. My thumb grazed the alpha-strike stub, anxiously waiting for an unobstructed path to the Colossus.
Knauer brought his mech airborne again, but this time I expected it. Coming from an oblique angle, he sprayed his lasers, singeing my right torso. But I took a good lock at the stout mech, then slammed home my alpha strike. Sizzling armor blanketed my mech as the Colossus tipped, losing its course as it soared over my head. Knauer tried to regain balance, but the twisted momentum brought him flying toward the edge of a wall. A loud crash echoed throughout the arena when the chubby mech smashed into the wall. Half of the concrete crumbled, blended with twisted splinters that were chipped armor.
Waste heat lingered in the cockpit, but I was not about to cease-fire. As Knauer struggled to get up, I stepped forward, closing our gap to 150 meters. Secure on its feet, the Colossus realigned its torso, but my LBX cannons signaled its readiness. Dozens of razor-edged metals from my right cannon drove it to twist left. My left followed suit, sending munitions to chastise its left torso. Another tap on the trigger and twin emerald beams torched the left torso, leaving a twirl of smoke.
Knauer weathered the hail, then came back with its own assault. His AC-20 roared for the first time, spitting its venom at my right arm. The momentum forced me to twist a little. His murderous lasers flashed, furthering the damage from the autocannon, digging deeper into the delicate structure. Warning sign flashed, hinting critical damage. Instinctively I twisted right, but Knauer found a small clearing on my defense, and exploited it well. His pulse lasers eviscerated my lower right arm, rendering my cannon useless.
Like I had foreseen, Knauer's lasers dealt the most damage to my mech. My right arm and both sides of torso were flashing in red, and soon I would loose both lasers in the same manner I lost my right LBX-20. Subduing his lasers would be a tough work. The Colossus was all mangled from the crash, but it still carried enough armor to withstand three or four assault before giving up. I could not afford to wait that long. I had to subdue the lasers or soon enough there was not much to fight with.
And my exit door presented itself in the form of the coolant injectors at the Colossus' shoulders.
As soon as my weapons recycled, I deliberately aimed my LBX-20 at the stubs atop the Colossus right torso. The fragmented shells ripped the containers open, spilling green ooze over its right side. I fired my laser at the crushed container, and torched the coolant. Fire engulfed the Colossus. I swung slightly to the right and hit the coolant container at its right side. The slop quickly caught the fire from the other side, and in a second the Colossus turned into a walking inferno.
But Knauer knew he would not last longer, and he was determined to make the most of it. His AC-20 barked, coring my mech dead center. His lasers followed suit, wiping the remaining armor on the center torso and dangerously threatened the engine casing. I felt the harness burning on my shoulder as my mech jerked backward, tottering on its heels. Two more pulse laser strikes from Knauer and my left laser went offline. Half of the gauge blinked furiously, telling me that my mech would not stand much longer under such a vicious assault.
But I did not have to worry about it anymore.
The combination of internal heat and the fire pushed the Colossus to shut down temperature. Without its coolant injectors, Knauer had to rely on internal coolant, and even then he had to give up a good half a minute to bring down his temperature to fighting condition. My mech was in no better condition, but at least I was far away from shutting down.
"Yield," I offered him an exit. "There is no point continuing this duel."
"Only one can survive," Knauer's reply came in intermittent burst. "It's the only way to finish it."
"It does not have to end with death."
"Then believe what you believe," he cackled. "Because I have won, no matter what."
I did not think I could squeeze more information from Knauer. He was adamant enough to stay in the duel, even though he knew he was beaten. For a moment I hesitated to finish it. But he did mention he won. He never said the winner was the last one standing. I guessed not killing him would not make any difference.
I linked all weapons I had left and buried my thumb on the trigger. Laser beam molded with ballistic tracers, almost like they entwined together into a large spear that thrust into Knauer's right torso. A fireball replaced the mangled torso, throwing off the laser-laden arm into the wall. The shock pushed the Colossus to the opposite side, crashing into another wall. It slid gracelessly to the ground, leaving a nasty scar on the wall. Three more explosions ripped the torso apart, spurting sparks and smoke and body parts.
I hoisted my left arm for the final blow, but I would not have to. The Colossus would not rise.
I always suspected there was a hidden agenda behind this duel. I inspected the arena for possible sneak attack, but as far as my radar could reach, I was the only mech around. Just like Knauer said. So I had to rest my worry for now, because whatever the Steiner was planning, it was not to harm me physically. Perhaps they were planning to bury Omar and me with one swift move, and this duel was the first step toward their ultimate plot.
I just had to wait and see what time would bring me.