Wherever the Universe Takes Me
by Ulquiorra9000
Chapter 21
Romulus City, Romulus
Lyran Commonwealth
May 9th, 3050
Time seemed to slow down as the massive Jade Falcon 'mech stepped closer. Its left foot crushed a pickup truck and flattened it to the pavement, and the right foot kicked over a pair of dumpsters, scattering trash everywhere. Metal creaked and groaned as the towering machine loomed over the helpless Werewolves.
Chen knew that his death would come on a battlefield, but at the hands of a foreign mech on some middle-of-nowhere planet while a city burned? This wasn't what he had pictured even during his darker moments. He would never even see the face of the warrior who killed him.
What was all this for, then?
The Falcon 'mech opened fire.
"Yow!" Jimmy blurted out when a sizzling medium laser leaped from the 'mech's chest and struck a parked car. Hellish heat rolled over the Werewolves platoon as the car melted into glowing slag.
"Weren't we gonna run?" Anthony Pubbles hollered over the din of combat. Overhead, two VTOLs raced by, desperate to hold off the Falcons.
"Dammit! Come on!" Jimmy snapped himself out of his terrified trance and sprinted down the street, zig zagging to and from cover. Parked cars, trash trucks, dumpsters, even the burnt-out shell of a Manticore tank, its PPC muzzle dangling by a few wires on its turret. Chen followed suit, his legs like numb putty as he went. He knew what was coming. Machine gun fire, or maybe small lasers or some form of anti-infantry fire. He saw those gun muzzle on that mutant Warhammer. It had some serious anti-infantry firepower.
"Shit!" One of the Werewolves scrambled out of the way as machine gun fire peppered the street, kicking up tiny chunks of asphalt. The stream of fire followed the warrior, who ducked behind a car. Chen heard a distinct ping-ping-ping as bullets riddled the car's trunk and roof.
But for some reason, the 'mech's shots were not connecting at all.
"We're almost there! Come on!" Jimmy waved an arm to rally his soldiers, sprinting for the corner of a city block. A massive office building loomed large, at least fifteen stories high. Perfect. It would cut off the mutant 'mech's sight, and the Werewolves could vanish in the back streets. Mechs were big... and that was sometimes liability.
"Shit!" Another Werewolf cursed as another medium laser flashed through the air, barely a few meters ahead of Chen's group. The beam sliced into a street light pole, severing it at once. The pole creaked and fell over at once.
Chen dared to look back over his shoulder. As expected, the mutant Warhammer was taking slow, deliberate steps to keep up with the fleeing soldiers, and it was now blocking the sun, its shadow long. But why couldn't the pilot get a clear shot at anyone?
More machine gun burst traced angry lines across the pavement, and a cluster of bullets shattered the front windows of a parked semi truck. More bullets peppered the side of the office building at the street corner, and glass rained onto the sidewalk.
Sentaro Tsuchakov barked with laughter. "Bastard can't even shoot straight!"
Chen felt a chill. "No... that 'mech is toying with us. This is a game."
Jimmy nearly tripped. "What the... that asshole!"
MechWarriors were kings of the modern battlefield, ever since the Terran Hegemony's days. And it often got to their heads.
Bastard indeed.
At last, Chen and the others cut off the 'mech's line of sight as they rounded the corner and retreated to the safety of the back streets behind the office building. Chen's heart was racing and his breaths came in ragged gasps through his dry throat, but he wasn't about to let down his guard yet. He slowed to a trot with the others, his JL-54 rifle heavy in his hands.
Jimmy wiped his brow and looked back at the city street. From here, he and Chen could see the Jade Falcon 'mech slowly step forward, then aim its PPC muzzle at the empty asphalt and fire, as though bored. The brilliant blue beam was blinding even from here, and Chen could smell the boiling asphalt.
"I bet that MechWarrior's pissed we got away," a woman from Sentaro's platoon commented. "That's city fighting for you."
"It certainly is," a deep voice agreed.
"What the...!" The woman whirled around and trained her rifle on another one of those oversized soldiers, the ones in ultra-tough armored suits.
It was Jensu, the same enemy commander from before, and his visor was retracted enough to show his face. "Bondsman Bobby is in safe hands, I can assure you," he said in his deep, sneering voice. "But the rest of you fled! That Hellbringer pilot was wasting their ammunition, shooting trash like you. Perhaps I should kill each of you with my bare hands. Supplies are running a bit thin for this campaign, I will admit."
Sentaro growled in frustration. "Who the fuck are you bastards!" he shouted.
Jensu's lip curled. "We are Clan Jade Falcon, and this world is ours! Romulus has proven an easy conquest, like the other worlds in this Wave. This victory is hardly even worth reporting back to the Turkina Keshik."
Chen's mind was trying to grapple with all these strange terms. Bondsman? Keshik? Clans? What clans were these, pirate gangs with an ax to grind? But pirates and bandits usually ran around in shoddy old relics like the Clint or Cicada or the odd Dervish, not cutting-edge 'mechs like these. Chen had seen plenty of age-worn 'mechs during his time, but these Jade Falcon 'mechs seemed factory-fresh.
Chen grunted. "I suppose you want to duel us some more, Point Commander Jensu? Get that honor you want so badly?"
Jensu barked with laughter. "So you understand me, barbarian! Aff, I see few chances for real honor on this world. But bondsman Bobby made an appreciable effort. Will you do the same?"
Chen sighed down his JL-54. "I should warn you that this rifle has a grenade launcher built into it."
"Does it?" Jensu promptly lowered his suit's visor and motioned with one clawed hand. From the shadows emerged four more armored troopers, all painted mottled green and gold with black trim.
Jensu switched to his armor's comm again. "I could cut you all down where you stand, barbarians. This suit has a small pulse laser built into it. But my Point and I will accept challenges, and winners may walk free! Is that not a fair deal, quiaff?"
A small pulse laser? Is he for real? Chen checked out the gun muzzle on Jensu's right arm. Indeed, that sucker looked like it could spit out white-hot death. But pulse laser tech was a prized relic of the Star League. Where did these Jade Falcons get it? No, where did they get any of these things?
Chen heard trash cans being knocked over, and he turned to see another squad of five super-soldiers cut off Chen's gang from the other side. They assumed postures meant to block the alley, rather than open fire. A wall of armor.
"Throw down your arms," Jensu barked, stepping forward. "Those who refuse will be gunned down! Those who agree shall face me in honorable combat, or another member of my Point. You fancy yourselves warriors, now prove it."
Chen glanced at Jimmy, his JL-54 still trained on Jensu. "Boss...?"
Jimmy bared his teeth. "Don't bullshit us, Point Commander! Is this whole invasion just a game to you? That Warhammer was toying with us, and this battle is taking all day. You trying to draw this out?"
Jensu burst out laughing. "On the other conquest worlds, we fought the Clan way: a quick and decisive victory. But this planet feels... well, different. Why not test you freeborns and see what you are made of? And that 'mech is designated Hellbringer, not Warhammer."
"Fine. That sonofabitch Hellbringer was playing with its food. You gonna do the same now?"
"My offer was sincere," Jensu told him. "Any warrior who wins a duel may have free passage out of this city, as well as a few days' worth of rations."
Chen, despite himself, lowered his JL-54 and threw it onto the narrow street. "Then I'll take the offer."
Jimmy recoiled. "Chen...!"
"Shit," Sentaro muttered. "Jimmy, he's right. Just look at this place: we're gonna eat it anyway. Might as well bruise 'em up first. I ain't gonna be put down like a sick horse. I'm gonna fight." He, too, threw down his arms.
One by one, the other Werewolves cast aside their firearms, side arms, and even their knives, raising their hands to show that they had no more. Satisfied, Jensu stepped out of his armor suit again, looking just as Herculean as he did earlier. And this time, the other four of his squad did the same, and two men and two women, all of them towers of muscle and terror. While Jensu had a fairly typical crew cut, these other warriors shaved their hair even closer, save for braided ponytails that hung down their backs. A fair-toned woman with blonde hair cracked her knuckles, then tilted her head to crack her neck. "I am hoping this does not take too long, Point Commander," she said lightly.
"These surats are trembling," a dark-skinned man said with a sneer. He flashed a set of dazzling white teeth. "Not even worth the effort of leaving our suits."
"I am not so sure. That one intrigues me," Jensu said, pointing directly at Chen. "His commander is a coward. But not him."
Jimmy swallowed that insult and instead looked to Chen with mingled admiration and dismay. "I think he likes you, Chen."
Chen felt his gut clench as he stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. "I will challenge whoever will have me."
He wasn't alone, either. Four more Werewolves stepped forward, too, issuing similar challenges.
"Very good!" Jensu cried. He pointed. "You... what is your name?"
"Chen Yeung."
"Ah. Warrior Chen, I shall save you for last. I want to savor this, and warm up before doing battle with you. Instead... you!" Now he pointed at a woman in Chen's squad named Ribecca, who sometimes sparred with Chen during off hours.
"Actually, I shall take that one, if it is permissible, Point Commander," the blonde woman said, stepping forward. She grinned nastily. "I do not like the looks of her. She needs a lesson beaten into her."
Jensu made a sour face. "Very well. But the next is certainly mine."
Ribecca cracked her neck just the way the blonde giant had. "I don't s'pose you have a name? Or should I call you Amazon?"
The towering blonde woman scoffed. "I am no such thing. I am an Elemental! My name is Zera. Now, face me."
Ribecca and Zera squared off as the other soldiers and Elementals formed a circle out of respect. Both women, despite their difference in size and height, started circling each other carefully, like wolves sizing up a rival.
Elemental... so that's what they call themselves, Chen thought. Not that the name explained the true nature of these bizarre giants. Never in all his life did he imagine fighting "Jade Falcons" whos used Hellbringer 'mechs and pulse lasers... and now Bobby was a "bondsman" of theirs. He once thought... no, he had conviction that the Davion imperialists were the biggest threat in known space, and has prepared to give his life to help destroy the Federated Commonwealth. Back in the 3020s, that was what his hot-blooded, adolescent self had wanted so badly.
He faintly wondered what sort of lives his mother, sister, and brother were living back on Capella. They were safely at the only home they knew, far away from Elementals and Hellbringers and -
Chen barely noticed when a sickening crunch echoed across the cramped back street. A series of excited "ooooooh"s erupted from the crowd.
Ribecca stumbled back, clutching a hand to her bleeding face. She made a stifled laugh. "That all you got, bitch? Not as tough as you look!"
Zera smiled and rubbed her knuckles. "You bruise nicely, barbarian. Let me give you another bruise to match!"
Both women leaped right at each other, and Zera moved fast despite her speed, and with surprising grace, too. Ribecca only narrowly avoided a vicious right hook, and she sank her fist into Zera's steely abs with all her strength. Many times, Ribecca had made some serious noise, hitting a punchin bag with that fist. But not this time.
"You hit like a freeborn reject," Zera taunted her.
Ribecca shrank back a few steps. "Freeborn? You calling me a bastard?"
"You are a barbarian. Just like the rest."
Once again, both women circled each other a few times before going at it again. Zera used her endurance and agility to gain the upper hand, though her attacks were a bit too obvious. Ribecca dodged and ducked the worst of it, taking only a glancing blow on her shoulder as the duel progressed. Chen hoped against hope that Ribecca would wear the much larger woman down and take her by surprise with a knockout punch.
Ooooooh! Chen suddenly thought.
Indeed, Ribecca evaded a kick on Zera's part, then got up close and delivered a hard punch to the Elemental's jaw, snapping her head back. Before the Elemental could recover, Ribecca dealt a rapid series of punches into Zera's gut, back and forth, shouting "Yaaaaaaaah!" the entire time with reckless abandon.
Zera stumbled back, wheezing. "A fine... attempt, barbarian!" She spat.
"Had enough, freak?" Ribecca bounced lightly on her toes, fists raised for more. "Come on!"
She can do it, Chen thought as Ribecca and Zera closed in once again. With another blow to Zera's chin, she might -
"AAAAAARGH!"
Ribecca wailed in pain as Zera caught her with an unexpected kick to the ribs, and Chen heard a few ribs break under the terrific pressure. Just a split second later, Zera delivered a fine punch to Ribecca's temple and cried "Useless!" to further mock her.
Ribecca stumbled back, stunned, and Zera wasn't done yet. The Elemental landed a terrific blow to Ribecca's gut with another "Useless!", and did the same to a kick to the knee and another blow to the head. Finally, Ribecca sprawled onto the street, trembling and bleeding. Both eye sockets were swollen and purple, blood dribbling from the corner of her mouth.
"Is that... all you got... bitch?" Ribecca wheezed as Zera towered over her.
Zera made a "hmph" sound, scooped up her fallen enemy, and draped her over the right shoulder like a bag of flour. "I shall have her as a bondswoman, Point Commander. Turns out I like this one." She stepped out of the ring, and the other nine Elementals waved their arms and cheered for their comrade's victory.
Chen and Jimmy shared dark looks. Ribecca was one of the best melee fighters among Jackson's Werewolves, aside from them two, Kathy Bliss, and Sentaro. If she couldn't handle this, then how...?
No. Courage in the face of all odds. That lesson had been drilled into Chen's head at the Capella War College, and he would never let it go.
Another one of Jackson's Werewolves stepped forward, and Jensu allowed one of his men to duel the newcomer just like Ribecca and Zera had done. And once again, the sheer size and brutality of the Elementals decided the match beyond any doubt.
"I reject this one," the Elemental, the dark-skinned fellow, said with contempt. He nudged his fallen opponent with his foot. "He lacks spirit and conviction. And his technique is sloppy."
Jensu merely dragged the rejected soldier out of the ring, and another Werewolf took his turn. And lost.
"Chen... you're not really going to do this, are you?" Kathy whispered urgently in Chen's ear when Jensu hauled away the most recent soldier (who was also rejected).
"What choice do I have?" Chen whispered back. "We haven't won a match yet."
Kathy made an impatient noise. "Are you trying to show off? I like you, Chen, but this isn't the time."
"Maybe it's the Death Commando in me."
"You Liaos cling to hope like a starving dog with a scrap of meat, you know that?"
"No more talking! Face me!" Jensu hollered, beckoning for Chen to enter the circle.
Chen squared his shoulders. "Kathy, if I'm killed, or if Jensu takes me as a bondsman... remember that I love you. All right?"
Kathy blinked a few times. "I mean... I pretty much knew it, but you never put it like that before."
Chen managed a weak smile. "Even after all those evenings we spent together in DropShip bunk rooms? You mean a lot to me, Kathy."
"You should have brought a box of chocolates, then." Kathy returned Chen's weak smile.
"Maybe on the next mission."
As he approached his towering opponent, Chen realized that he didn't feel strange about what he said, or what he really felt about Kathy. This really wasn't the time for it, but this could very well be Chen's last free day of his life. He got the feeling that no POWs ever escaped the Jade Falcons once captured.
But in a way, I'm free no matter where I am. Mei, his old lancemate, was only in the past, and so was his Capellan life. No more weight in his soul.
Jensu was waiting.
"I shall savor this," Jensu said with a cocky grin as he and Chen started circling each other. The massive Elemental flexed his impossibly huge muscles. "I see the warrior's spirit in you, Chen Yeung."
"You're about to feel it, too." Chen darted forth, quick as a cobra, and jabbed at Jensu's abs, just to test him. And sure enough, Chen could have sworn he just punched a tree trunk.
Jensu retaliated with a wide, arcing punch that Chen ducked to avoid. As Jensu's fist whooshed through empty air, Chen took a step to the right and delivered two more blows to the Elemental's chest, slightly higher up than before. Once again, he was striking a living wall.
"Not good enough!" Jensu taunted. He snapped out a kick that Chen barely saw coming, and he leaped back to avoid it. Now the warriors circled each other again, sizing each other up even more acutely than before.
He's big. But size means weight, and that'll slow him down the longer this goes, Chen thought. These Jade Falcons have some technique, but they mainly rely on toughness and hitting power.
Once again, Chen darted forth, and this time, he feinted a hard jab to Jensu's chest. He arced wide to Jensu's left side, and landed a few blows on the much larger man's ribs and arm, inviting Jensu to retaliate. Sure enough, the Point Commander whirled around, swinging a surprisingly fast roundhouse kick. Once again, Chen ducked the blow, and engaged his opponent just enough to invite a counter. The entire time, Chen held something back, unwilling to exhaust himself at this point. It was too soon. Wait for it...
"Fight me for real!" Jensu grated as Chen sidestepped a punch. "Even your miserable fellows put up more of a fight."
"Then make it worth my while," Chen taunted.
"Freebirth barbarian!" Jensu zig-zagged across the circle and launched a kick, even faster than before. This time, Chen was a little too slow, and Jensu's boot grazed his chest.
Dammit! Even with just a glancing blow, Jensu's sheer kinetic force blasted Chen off his feet, and he tumbled across the street as the Elementals in the circle cheered. Chen rolled and sprang back to his feet just as Jensu approached to deliver the final blow, and he evaded the Elemental's savage punch.
Stay steady. Don't rush or panic. Chen remembed the teachings of his martial arts instructors back at the Capella War College, one of whom had been Lin Zha-Bo, a retired member of Warrior House Hiritsu. Slender and sporting a short beard, he looked more like a traditional poet, but sure didn't punch like one.
If only he could see me now. Chen remembered one afternoon when, under the warm spring sun, Lin Zha-Bo had challenged the MechWarrior cadets to duels one after another, right there in the BattleMech hangar. With Cataphract and Grasshopper 'Mechs towering over them, the students had engaged Lin Zha-Bo in a stready stream... and before long, all of them were laying on the smooth concrete, groaning and clutching their bruised bodies.
"Ridiculous!" Lin Zha-Bo had said with clear scorn. "House Liao will surely fall to the Davion devils if you lot are the Chancellor's best hope. Rise, and try again! The battlefield will not wait while you lick your wounds!"
So, Chen and the others had bolted to their feet to challenge the skinny old man, and once again, he pummeled the lot of them. He wasn't even breathing hard.
"This is impossible," one of Chen's fellows, Vasily Jiiu, whined as he rubbed his bruised jaw.
"Ha!" the instructor had cried as Lin Zha-Bo folded his arms. "The same was said of many a battle during the Succession Wars, when the wisdom of House Liao saw us to victory against our enemies. Battles deemed hopless were reversed and our foes were routed. If not for that indomitable spirit, we would be living in the Liao province of the Federated Commonwealth by now, reciting Shakespeare and kissing Hanse Davion's boots! Or is that what you worms want?"
"NO, SIR!" Chen and the others had cried. So, for the third time, they engaged Lin Zha-Bo, and realized that they didn't have to fight him one at a time. Three opponents at once, he could endure, but not four. And Chen himself landed the first blow on the old man.
Chen shook his head. Focus, why don't you?
Trainee Chen never could have imagined an Elemental, and he had zero training for an opponent like this. But he had intuition, and it was working. Jensu was strong and tough, to be sure, but he was overextending himself many times trying to catch this elusive opponent, and Chen's attack patterns required Jensu to use many different muscle groups and attack and defend from awkward angles. In short, he was being worn out top to bottom, and he was slowing down.
"This... is not how... a warrior fights," Jensu wheezed as he threw another punch, only for Chen to slip away. "You honorless surat!"
Chen ducked through Jensu's defenses and landed another blow, putting more energy into this one. "Was that honorable enough?"
Jensu kicked back, and Chen avoided that, too. He scored a counter-kick on Jensu's knee from the side, and the huge man buckled for just a few precious seconds. Chen took this chance to kick with his other foot and smash his booted toes into Jensu's temple.
"OOOOOOOHHH!" the other Elementals cried as Jensu collapsed.
"He is a warrior!" one Elemental commented.
"Surely he will make a fine bondsman," another added.
Chen looked to his fellows who, for the first time, looked hopeful. He took heart in that.
He didn't take heart from Jensu rising to his feet and dusting himself off.
"No more games," Jensu spat. "I want you dead, Chen Yeung! I will have your corpse!"
He lunged.
An explosion rocked the entire street.
The Elementals and Werewolves alike scattered, crying out in shock. Dozens of soldiers poured into the street, most of them sporting either grenade launchers or shoulder-mounted rocket launchers. Three grenades bounced across the street and exploded among the armored Elementals, scattering them further.
"COME ON!" one of the soldiers cried, waving the Werewolves over. As she spoke, a wheeled APC rolled up to the street's mouth, followed by another, and another. Machine gun fire hissed through the air, peppering the armored Elementals and pushng them back with sheer kinetic force. Jensu roared in rage until a stray shot struck him in the chest, then another. With blood oozing into his skintight top, Jensu collapsed, clutching his wounds as two armored Elementals rushed over to shield him.
Another Elemental had it even worse: caught without his armor on, he took a whole volley of heavy-caliber bullets, his body jerking back and forth from the lethal force. He sprawled on his back, clearly dead.
"Let's go!" Jimmy roared. He and the other Werewolves scooped up their fallen weapons and made for the APCs, and Chen wasn't far behind. He collected his JL-54 and sprinted for his life, prepared for the Elementals to return fire.
Jensu wasn't kidding; the five armored Elementals stepped forward and opened fire with small pulse lasers, the weapons riddling the rescuers with deadly bolts. Several fell at once, and the rest rapidly fell back. Chen winced as two more Werewolves fell to the laser fire.
But the Jade Falcons were too late. Forced to stay defensive, they could do little more than fire pot shots as the Werewolves and rescuers alike piled into the APCs, and the three vehicles' troop bay doors slid shut. Their engines roared, and they rolled across the street at top speed.
Chen wiped his brow. "You saved our hides back there."
"No kidding." A rescuer smiled wearily. "We're with the Javelin Jaguars merc gang, but the way things are going, to hell with our contract."
Brigitte Anders nodded. "Right. So where are we headed?"
"We found a route out of Romulus City that'll go right under the Jade Falcons' noses," the mercenary soldier explained. "And it gets better: we're getting out of this city and heading for the rural spaceport about 500 kilometers south. As far as we know, the Jade Falcons never captured it."
Jimmy sighed and leaned back in his seat. "Isn't that the spaceport used to export grains and shit off-world?"
"Yeah. We're getting off Romulus in a glorified wheat train. Got a problem with that?"
Jimmy shook his head. "I'll farm that fucking wheat myself if it means I get far away from those Jade Falcon bastards."
The soldier chuckled. "I hear that."
Chen, for his part, wasn't 100% sure that the plan would work until it did. That is, he didn't expect to leave war-torn Romulus City alive until the APC driver confirmed that they had evaded all Jade Falcon units and reached the outskirts. The Falcons were too busy toying with the dug-in defenders to notice three measly APCs. That was one advantage of not using a BattleMech: the other side's MechWarriors generally didn't give a shit about you.
What a lifesaver.
*o*o*o*o*
"Point Commander!"
Warrior Zera knelt by Jensu, a concerned look on her face as he blonde ponytail draped itself over her shoulder. "Those wounds... we must address them, or they will scar."
"Chen... Yeung."
Zera hesitated. "Point Commander?"
Jensu grunted and sat up. "Radio Star Captain Roshak and tell him to relay my suggestion that we will slaughter Romulus City's defenders to the last. Cut down any civilians who happen to get in the way. The game is over."
"Aff, Point Commander. Right away."
Jensu was sure that Star Colonel Jennifer Hazen, the officer who won the right to assault this city, would appreciate Jensu's exhausted patience with these barbarians. Enough was enough! With the likes of Chen Yeung out there, these barbarians deserved no further mercy. The same would be true of the upcoming Third Wave and beyond.
Chen Yeung. Jensu curled his hands into fists. He would likely never see that barbarian again. But if he did... he would exercise every torture technique that his falconer trainers had taught him on Ironhold's frigid wastes. The thought helped dull the pain a great deal.