Wherever the Universe Takes Me
by Ulquiorra9000
Chapter 28
Site Alpha outskirts, Vorarlberg
Free Rasahague Republic
November 10th, 3051
More than once, Chen had found himself in a situation like this even before signing up with Jackson's Werewolves, and now, he knew that some hard choices lay ahead in the next few minutes. And if he made the wrong choices now, he wouldn't live beyond those next few minutes. And neither would Kathy, Gregoro, Tsuya, or anyone else here.
"Sergeants!" Gregoro cried. "We're trapped! What's our next move?"
"We can't go in there," Lukas Abbantuj grated. "Those super-soldiers... they'll swarm us. The trees give them a huge advantage."
"Are any reinforcements available, Sergeants?" Darren Brennoff asked.
Chen shook his head. "We are the reinforcements, cadet. Our job is to keep the Wolves away from Site Alpha until the evacuation is complete."
"Which means," Kathy put in, "we don't have to fight them to the last man. The longer this battle goes, the better for us."
By now, the Wolf 'Mechs got close enough to start firing again, and stray PPCs, large lasers, and LRM clusters hissed through the air. The eighteen standing 'Mechs scattered to avoid the worst of it, but things were indeed getting ugly fast.
"Head count!" Kathy barked. "Armor unit, what's your status?"
"Just two Bulldogs left, including mine," said the tank commander. "Clan bastards didn't even think we were worth finishing. Ready to provide flanking fire."
"Good," Chen put in. "Hover transport lances, on us. You're providing support fire, too. The Maxim is a decent platform. Use it."
"Sir?" the hover tank commander said tentatively. "Our troops... they -"
"Forget us!" the infantry commander snapped. "You can't do shit from there. Fight the 'Mechs in the open and take those bastards down for us. We'll beat these armored bastards on our own."
Chen doubted that the infantry would last much longer, and he knew that even though the Maxim really was a decent fire support tank, it was no real match for heavy 'Mechs, let alone Clan ones. But these eight Maxims were the best he could do, with only two Bulldogs remaining of the armor unit.
"We're leaving them to die," Tsuya said in numb shock. "Sergeants, the infantry were supposed to -"
"We know!" Kathy barked as she and the others kept up their evasive maneuvers. "No more time to talk this over, cadet! We're talking the 'Mechs down! If they're out, the Elementals are outgunned. They won't dare attack us alone."
It was divide and conquer, in a fashion... at the expense of every foot soldier here. Several hundred lives were about to be spent to win this.
If that's what it took.
Chen ignored the countless Elemental radar pings on his HUD and maneuvered his Black Knight to form up with Kathy. "Each enemy 'Mech gets two 'Mechs and a tank assigned to take it out," Chen ordered. "I'm assigning the fire teams now, counting the Bulldogs."
These cadets didn't have the training to handle a chaotic melee, so this orderly form of combat should do better. In theory. Sure enough, Gregoro and Mikael moved to engage a Wolf 'Mech along with a Maxim, while Tsuya and Lukas moved to intercept a second, even bigger Wolf 'Mech with their Maxim companion loyally tagging along.
"Heads up, Scrappy! This one likes us," Kathy cried as a particular Wolf 'Mech zeroed in on them. It was one of those bizarre Marauder/Catapult hybrids, and it didn't have a scratch on it.
The comm came to life with a sneering voice. "So you can fight honorably, barbarians," the odd 'Mech's pilot taunted. "Such orderly fighting methods. Earlier in our conquest, you freeborns fought like animals. This is something more familiar to me. I applaud you."
Chen scowled. Had he accidentally played into Clan Wolf's hands, by creating a cohesive 3-vs-1 battle scheme? Well, too late to change the plan now.
The odd 'Mech twisted on its torso to face Chen, and forty LRMs raced from its shoulder-mounted pods and arced through the air. Chen crouched his Black Knight slightly and sprang to the side, breaking into a spring to force the LRMs to turn sharply. Then Chen jammed his Black Knight's right heel into the ground and shoved off the ground, changing his direction at a harsh angle at the last second. As hoped, the LRMs got disoriented, and most of them flew through empty air. Only a small handful of them peppered Chen's Black Knight, mostly along the left arm and leg.
"Impressive," the Wolf MechWarrior commented. "Can you dodge laser fire as well?"
Chen couldn't, and the Wolf 'Mech's left arm pod spat out a harsh large laser that gouged a superheated scar across Chen's torso. Fortunately, the Black Knight was a thickly armored chassis, but that large laser hit like a PPC. And how could the Wolf 'Mech fire that laser so soon after two LRM 20 shots? How many heat sinks that that monster have under the hood?
Let the salvage team figure that one out. For now, it was time to hit back.
Chen's PPC spat fire, and the sizzling blue beam smashed into the strange 'Mech's right torso. The 'Mech stumbled for just a second, and Kathy took this chance to score a PPC hit on the same spot. Molten armor shared off in layers, and Chen was sure that some internal damage had been done.
Not yet.
"Oh, shit!" Kathy squawked when the Wolf 'Mech fired yet again. This time, two large lasers converged on her Black Knight, and the beams boiled nearly all the armor off her right arm, especially near the shoulder. Smoke poured from the wound and Chen heard the creaking of distressed metal.
"Right shoulder's busted," Kathy grunted. "Aiming this PPC's gonna be a son of a bitch."
What the devil was going on? That Wolf 'Mech was firing like a maniac and it still wasn't overheating. But it clearly hadn't sacrificed much, if any, armor for all those sinks, and its brisk trot on the battlefield suggested a large engine. The math didn't add up. Something was very wrong here.
This time, Chen's backup decided to have a shot. One of the Bulldogs had joined Chen's team, and the tank's turret carefully tracked the Wolf 'Mech's movements as it danced all over the battlefield. Its large laser hummed through the air, and it grazed the 'Mech's right leg. A bit of superheated armor oozed off, but it was superficial damage. Undeterred, the Bulldog's crew fired the SRM 4 from extreme range, and the four warheads arced through the air like a pack of sharks. Three went wide, though, and a single missile exploded against the odd 'Mech's right gun pod, where its hand should have been.
"Pitiful," the 'Mech's pilot said in that same sneering tone. "Keep your pet out of this, barbarians. This is a battle for MechWarriors!"
"You mean like this?" Chen jogged to match the odd 'Mech's speed and angle, lined up his crosshairs, and squeezed his triggers. He returned the favor, coring the Wolf 'Mech with a pair of large lasers. His lasers weren't of the same caliber as the Wolf 'Mech's, but then again, the lasers went right into the enemy 'Mech's wounded right torso. And this time, internal damage was certainly done.
The enemy 'Mech stumbled as smoke and sparks blasted from the armor's open wound, and it wobbled on its feet. Good! This was Chen's chance -
The Wolf 'Mech's left missile pod fired another volley, and just as Chen began to do evasive maneuvers, the enemy 'Mech fired its two large lasers. Both of them caught the Black Knight's left knee in mid-stride, and the beams vaporized all the armor there and warped the metal bones underneath.
"Dammit!" Chen fought his controls for all it was worth, but there was no denying gravity at this point. His Black Knight's left knee locked into place during a mad sprint, and his heavy 'Mech pitched forward like a drunk, its arms spread wide. But that wasn't the worst of it; the Wolf 'Mech's LRMs caught up, and pounded the Black Knight's entire left side. More warning lights went off in Chen's cockpit, red lights flashing in his eyes.
WHAM! Chen felt like a freight train hit him as his Black Knight fell flat on its face, and his helmeted head smashed back against his command couch -
*o*o*o*o*
Chen blinked awake. Wait, when did he pass out? How long was he out?! A ringing in his ears and a pounding pain in his head reminded him that he was very much alive, but that fall did a number on him. Grunting and muttering darkly in his own language, Chen tried to get his bearings.
Not good; his armor was running thin all over, and his left knee's bones were fused in place. He would be limping at best like this, and the Black Knight's bones would snap if Chen put too much pressure on them. But Kathy -
"Kathy! Come in!" Chen cried as he slowly, carefully, made his Black Knight stagger to its feet. "Status?"
"Trying to duel this bastard! Buying time 'till you get up," Kathy panted. "He won't shoot a fallen opponent, it seems. But hurry and back me up! I can't take him one on one!"
Chen's entire 'Mech groaned and creaked horribly as it struggled to its feet, and Chen put most of the weight on his machine's right leg to avoid further damage to the left. With his machine fully upright, Chen got a view of the battle.
Five more friendly 'Mechs had gone down, and only two Wolf 'Mechs had done the same. Worse, most of the tanks were gone too, with only three Maxims remaining out of all armor assets in this task force. And it was certain that the infantry were a total loss by now, or soon would be.
What was a kinda-sorta Death Commando to do?
Hit back, of course.
"Hey! Over here, bastard!" Chen hollered on the comm. He got a solid lock on the Marauder/Catapult hybrid 'Mech, held his breath, and fired his PPC from 500 meters out. Success: the cruel blue beam tore into the strange 'Mech's right thigh, and it staggered for just a moment. This gave Kathy a chance to fire a large laser and two mediums, and the beams boiled off even more armor from the wounded leg.
"About time, Scrappy," Kathy panted on the comm. "I'm not doing so good. Finish this freak for me, will you?"
Chen limped as best his Black Knight's bad knee would allow, and he fought a cruel smile. "Pleasure's mine."
"Freeborn trash!" The Wolf 'Mech's pilot turned and launched another LRM volley from its left launcher, and this time, Chen had no means of evading the incoming fire. Instead, he ignored the incoming warheads and returned fire as best he could. His PPC lit up the air, narrowly missing the Wolf 'Mech's bad leg. Bracing himself for the heat, Chen triggered both chest-mounted large lasers just a second later, and his beams converged on the Wolf 'Mech's bad leg with a direct hit. The last of the 'Mech's armor melted away, and the machine's inner bones took the brunt of the damage.
Chen didn't see what happened next, since the Wolf 'Mech's twenty LRMs exploded all over his machine. He bared his teeth and twisted left and right at the waist, trying to spread the damage evenly. It worked, but damn, a Wasp had more armor than he did right now. And his cockpit felt like an industrial furnace, his Black Knight's heat sinks working overtime to try and cool the thing off.
But it was worth it. Chen stumbled out of the cloud of LRM smoke and saw that the strange 'Mech was flat on its face, and with a bad leg and a lack of hands, it had a hard time getting back up.
"I've faced worse than you and survived," Chen told the Wolf pilot on the comm. "I don't know what a 'freeborn' is supposed to be, but this'll teach you not to underestimate Kathy or me."
Chen's heat was still in the yellow, but he took aim anyway and blasted off the strange 'Mech's wounded right arm at the shoulder with his PPC. With two partially amputated limbs, the Marauder/Catapult hybrid fell flat on its face again, totally helpless this time. This gave Chen all the time in the world to tower over the strange 'Mech, roll it over with his 'Mech's hands, and slam his 'Mech's balled-up fist into its bulbous cockpit. Nothing was left of that cocky pilot bastard except human jelly.
Kathy whistled on the comm. "You don't just win, you win in style."
"It's a talent." Chen frowned as he surveyed the battlefield. His allies did their best to draw out the fight and wear down the Wolf 'Mechs, but even as he watched, another ally (piloting a Dragon) took heavy LRM and laser fire and went down in flames.
"You there, in the Black Knight," came a woman's voice. "I saw what you did to my Starmate. Impressive. Now face me."
"What the..." Chen turned and beheld the same humanoid 'Mech he faced earlier, the one with a rapid-fire autocannon in one arm and six laser muzzles in the other. His heart sank. Shit! Her 'Mech can tear me in half with that AC, and I can't dodge anything on this leg.
"Let me take this one, Scrap," Kathy said doggedly on the comm, as her Black Knight jogged over to help. Its armor was in tatters and its PPC arm was gone, but it had two good legs.
"Silence, surat," the Wolf pilot snapped. "You do not trust your companion in honorable combat against me?"
"Big talk, challenging me when I'm like this," Chen retorted. "Where's the honor in that? Get outta that 'Mech and fight me in person."
"Neg. Unaugmented combat is not necessary here," the pilot said. "If you will not face me honorably, then -"
"Sergeants!" Gregoro cried on the comm. "Look! It's the air support wing! We're saved!"
He was right. At last, four lances of mixed Hellcat and Shilone fighters arrived, and they swooped right over the battlefield in a rain of fire and fury. Large lasers, countless medium lasers, and LRMs volleys showered the Wolf 'Mechs in fire, and two of them succumbed entirely to enemy fire. The rest staggered back, covered in new wounds.
"FREEBIRTH!" the pilot of that humanoid 'Mech snarled as LRMs and large lasers peppered her machine. "Dishonorable barbarians! I will butcher you all!"
Chen was too late to the Wolf pilot's rage. Despite losing its right arm, the 'Mech's left arm was intact, and it fired up that deadly autocannon once the 'Mech stepped clear of the LRM smoke cloud. Chen grunted and hung on tight as the explosive shells tore off his Black Knight's right arm, relieving him of his PPC in one go. The awkward loss of mass threw him off balance, and he struggled to stay upright, fighting his bad knee the entire time.
And like last time, the humanoid Wolf 'Mech fired its AC 20 with astonishing speed. Already, it was firing again, and the vicious shells blasted into Chen's right torso. Alarms went off as the Black Knight's right torso crumbled under the fire, and Chen's lasers in the RT section vanished from his HUD's list of weapons. He staggered back, amazed that he was still standing at all. I can't fight like this. I can't...!
Yes, I fucking can.
Chen threw out his Black Knight's remaining arm to stabilize, lined up his crosshairs, and fired his remaining large laser. The beam sliced into the Wolf 'Mech's wounded torso, but he didn't yet pierce its armored hide. Not even Kathy's backup lasers could take the 'Mech down.
"Sergeants!"
Out of nowhere, cadets Mikael Svennog and Gregoro Gustafso hurried to join the fight in their battle-worn Griffin and Centurion. Mikael's PPC struck the Wolf 'Mech squarely in the torso, and Gregoro's LRMs and LB-10X rounds blasted off even more armor.
Good, but not good enough, it seemed.
In a clear fit of rage, the Wolf 'Mech sprinted after Mikael and Gregoro's 'Mechs with astonishing speed, and it lined up that rapid-fire AC again. A vicious burst of ballistic shells tore right into Mikael's Griffin, and a follow-up burst finished the job. Mikael's Griffin crumbled in a flaming heap, falling apart at the joints. No way did Mikael survive that.
Gregoro stumbled back in shock, clearly panicking. Once again, the Wolf 'Mech fired, and its shells punished the Centurion's left thigh, knocking Gregoro off-balance.
He's about to die, too! Chen limped after the marauding Wolf 'Mech with Kathy, firing his large laser as he went. The beam went wide, though it did catch the 'Mech's attention. It whirled around just in time for Kathy's large laser to melt armor off its shoulder.
"RAAAAAAH!" Gregoro wailed on the comm. He got his Centurion back in fighting shape and swooped down on the Wolf 'Mech, and his medium lasers tagged its chest from close range. But Gregoro wasn't done yet; he took a flying leap, pulled back his Centurion's left fist, and swung.
POW! The clash of metal on metal echoed across the battlefield as Gregoro's steel fist crushed the Wolf 'Mech's injured head, and once again, a fatality was certain. Now headless, the Wolf 'Mech sank to its knees, then groaned as it slowly pitched over sideways and slumped onto the grass.
Gregoro hurried over to Mikael's Griffin, but it was too late; the other cadet was gone, and everyone knew it.
"I had a dream," Gregoro muttered on the comm. "To make a Free Rasalhague Republic where no one has to lost friends like this, or see their homeworld on fire. How could I... let this happen?"
"Get ahold of yourself, cadet!" Kathy snapped. "People die in combat. That's what happens! You and cadet Svennog both knew that when you volunteered to help us."
"And you had a dream?" Chen added. "The dream's still alive, Gregoro. Hold onto it. Use it to survive."
"... Yes, sergeants."
Fortunately, the air support lances were ready to make another pass, and once again, sheer firepower rained down on the Wolf 'Mechs. This time, the Wolf 'Mechs opened fire, and a Shilone caught enough flak to explode in midair and scatter its pieces everywhere. But the Wolf 'Mechs couldn't handle another strafing run, and the last of them went down between that and continued fire from the ground forces.
Chen was still panting for breath, his heart racing as he surveyed the battlefield for more signs of enemy activity. All that remained were the strange armored troops in the forest, those Elementals.
"Come in, infantry commander," Chen said tentatively on the comm. "Anyone? Report in."
It was no good; the forest was eerily silent and still, and Chen was sure that every non-Elemental in there was dead. That was the price of victory here. But if the Elementals weren't willing to come out in the open...
"Mission successful," Chen said wearily to the surviving MechWarriors. "Do not engage the armored troops in the forest. Fall back to Site Alpha and assist with the evacuation."
There was a general affirmative and, watching his back the entire time, Chen joined the others as they withdrew. The group moved slowly, owing to 'Mechs like Chen's having bad legs, but they were alive, all nine survivors. That was what mattered most.
*o*o*o*o*
"Star Commander!"
An Elemental hopped over to his commander, still sheltered in the pine forest, and the commander turned to face him.
"I suppose you are eager to tear those barbarian 'Mechs apart, quiaff?" Star Commander Joshua asked on the comm.
"Aff, Star Commander! They used our tactics against us! In sacrificing their troops, the enemy 'Mechs -"
Star Commander Joshua delivered a bone-shuddering punch against the other Elemental's chest armor plating. "Silence, surat! It was a battle well fought. Nova Captain Erin knew what he was risking by sending this task force here. Now, we will radio for extraction, and join the real fight elsewhere. We have lost this skirmish, but Vorarlberg will be ours all the same. Is that understood?"
"...Aff, Star Commander."
"And besides..." Star Commander Joshua chuckled darkly. "We will survive to do battle on another world. And then, I assure you, I shall join you in tearing every barbarian 'Mech apart with these hands of mine."
*o*o*o*o*
The next few hours were the most chaotic and stressful Chen had in months. Every step to Site Alpha invited the possibility of another Clan Wolf assault, and while Chen heard updates about the main battle in the capital city, no further Wolf forces advanced on his position. Back at Site Alpha, the evacuations were finally complete, and the cadets and site security MechWarriors boarded the DropShip Freya's Wrath. Chen and Kathy, meanwhile, boarded a Leopard -class DropShip named North Fjord with two other mercenary instructors as company.
"I suppose this is goodbye," Chen told the cadets on the comm while he was still in range. "Cadets Gustafso, Olaffsdottir, Brennoff, Abbantuj, all of you... stay safe, stay smart, and fight like hell the next time you see those Bastard Wolves. Don't forget anything we taught you."
"We won't, sergeant," Gregoro said in a subdued tone. "I can't believe we're losing Vorarlberg... and leaving so many behind."
"That's war, cadet," Kathy reminded him. "This is what you signed up for. Fight hard, but remember that you'll suffer loss like this again, and then again, and again until your fighting days are over."
"We can do it, sergeants," Tsuya said earnestly. "There's no going back for us. Thank you so much for all you did."
"You got it. And it's not 'sergeant' anymore," Chen told her. "Kathy and I are freelancers, and our contract here is over. But we did get a pair of Black Knights out of the deal."
"Speaking of which," Kathy added, "Chen and I need to get outta these 'Mechs so they can get fixed up. This is Kathy Bliss, signing out." Her comm cut.
Chen shared a few more goodbyes with the cadets, then climbed out of his own Black Knight and onto the DropShip's bay floor. He looked up at his ragged, injured machine and resolved that he would sooner die in it than lose another 'Mech. He had made similar promised before, but this time, he had the iron will to back it up. He wasn't afraid of Clanners, death, pirates, or anything.
Chen folded his arms and decided on the name Buxiu de jingshen, or "Immortal spirit," and made a mental note to have that name stenciled in gold Chinese characters on the 'Mech's neck later on.
He wondered what Kathy would dub her own 'Mech. She had plenty of time to think about it.
