Wherever the Universe Takes Me
by Ulquiorra9000
Chapter 31
The Jungle, Solaris City, Solaris VII
Lyran Commonwealth
July 18th, 3052
Even after a few weeks of learning the ways of Solaris 'Mech jock life, Chen was facing surprises at every turn, whether in the arena or outside. And right now, he needed to concentrate, dammit.
Yet again, the opposing Grasshopper was slipping in and out of cover, tempting Chen to take risky shots and try for a quick kill. Not so fast: Chen knew that the Black Knight, while having no ammo issues, sure as hell had heat sink issues. He wasn't going to get carried away with his energy boat platform, as many novice pilots did.
So, Chen merely watched how the battle-worn Grasshopper moved, trying to figure out this son of a gun's pattern. Chen was getting a pretty good idea, but he didn't feel ready to make his move yet. He was still running the calculations in his head, his heat gauge sitting cozily at 0.
BL-BL-BLAAAM!
Chen cursed and jogged to safety as a series of LRMs arced through the air and pulverized the soft earth where he had been standing. He knew who was behind it: that cunning Archer pilot, the one with a funny centurion crest built onto its head and SPQR markings on its arms. Guy thought he was a proper Roman, but he'd never messed with a Death Commando candidate!
Eight heavy 'Mechs had stepped into this jungle melee, and now, it was down to four. Chen had made it this far twice already, but this time, he was actually in shape to go for first place. He had all four limbs attached, and his armor, while worn thin, wasn't totally gone yet. And his sensors were running fine.
The fourth 'Mech decided to play its hand.
Whoever thought to put an LB-20X on a Marauder was either a psycho or a visionary, because that blue and silver 'Mech had personally taken out two fighters in this match, and now, it was about to add that slippery Grasshopper to the list. Chen saw the brutal Marauder appear on his radar just a split second before that LB-20X roared like a steel dragon, and the cluster rounds sheared a thick tree right in half. Though the Grasshopper had avoided taking a serious hit, the tree fell right over, and the Grasshopper was left out in the open, without cover.
The Marauder pilot was probably low on LB-20X ammo by now, so she (who loved to taunt on the comm) switched to the large pulse laser in her machine's left arm. The stuttering red bolt punished the Grasshopper's left shoulder, and the last of its armor boiled away.
Those were the Marauder's only two weapons, and at this rate, that was all it needed. The weary Grasshopper strafed to the side and fired all four medium lasers, and the beams scored hits all over the Marauder, but none of them scored a critical hit.
Chen's Black Knight, meanwhile, was in a position to either A) try and fight the Archer on his own terms, B) gang up on the Grasshopper and pray that the Marauder's LB-20X ammo was gone, or C) take out the Marauder and try to grind the other two 'Mechs down.
The Grasshopper pilot chose option D when it pointed over the Marauder's shoulder at Chen's waiting Black Knight.
"Dammit!" Chen broke out into a sprint, his humanoid 'Mech's arms pumping as the Marauder and Grasshopper both opened fire. He should have known: 'Mech jocks didn't like pilots who hung back to let the competition destroy itself. Opportunists were often punished, and Chen's cautious thinking made him an opportunist of sorts.
It's not like this on the real battlefield, Chen thought as he evaded laser fire in the steamy jungle. His machine kicked up warm water as it jogged through a meandering stream. I'm supposed to put on a good show, not hang around like the paparazzi! It's do or die in here.
As far as he could tell, Kathy wasn't having this problem. Time to catch up.
Chen made up his mind: he'd take out that Grasshopper first, and he knew exactly how. He slipped behind a tree and let the tree's thick trunk absorb a large pulse laser shot, then he popped out and aimed his arm-mounted PPC. He opened fire on a small but vital target.
Score! The cruel PPC beam devoured the Grasshopper's right knee, which was already thin on armor, and the PPC burned away the 'Mech's myomers and busted its titanium joint. The 70-tonner threw out its arms in a panic, struggling to stay upright somehow. In clear desperation, the Grasshopper pilot fired its large laser, but the beam went wide, and hissed through empty air.
But the Marauder didn't accept the wordless offer.
The venerable 'Mech turned and aimed its left gun pod, and fired that large pulse laser again. This time, Chen was too late to avoid it, and the beam scoured armor from his left torso. He narrowed his eyes at the damage tracker, which showed red and warmed him that the next hit there would compromise the equipment inside.
So, the Marauder would rather take on the big game (Chen) rather than go for the easy kill after all! Interesting choice. And Chen wondered if the Marauder really was out of LB-20X ammo, or if the pilot was trying to fool him, then fire a surprise LB-20X shot. It was 50/50 in Chen's mind.
One thing at a time, okay?
Chen didn't fire back at the Marauder. Instead, he aimed at the unsteady Grasshopper and fired his large laser and two mediums at its left ankle. He scored again: the Grasshopper's inner bones were melted into slag, and the whole machine creaked loudly as it fell over backward. It struggled to get up, but with a bad knee and ankle, it was like a tortoise on its back. It was good as out of the game.
But now Chen was running hot, and the Marauder wanted him dead. Its large pulse laser fired again, and Chen tried to dodge. The pulse beams grazed his left arm, boiling away a third ton of armor, and Chen tried to weigh the odds. Should he play the long game and use his ammo-free payload to his advantage? Or would the Marauder pilot ask the Archer to help take Chen out as punishment? No one liked a player who dragged things out too much; the Grasshopper tried, and look at it now, stuck on its back. It raised its hand in surrender, and now it was down to three warriors.
Chen compromised for his next move. He slipped back into cover and weaved between the trees, but he made himself easy to see, so the Marauder would move in to hunt him down. It worked, and the Marauder pilot came after him with full speed. Its large pulse laser fired yet again, and the beams cut through empty air. Now, if the pilot was out of LB-20X ammo, Chen had a serious edge, but if it had even one or two shots left, Chen had to try and bait out some reckless shots, and then have the advantage. But if he got sloppy, and took an LB-20X hit...
The Marauder pilot, meanwhile, was even more impatient than Chen thought, because the Archer was providing LRM support already! Just how many favors had the Marauder pilot built up? Or did everyone hate the Capellan in the Black Knight?
Chen fought his joysticks for control as a handful of LRMs pounded him from above, and he felt his 'Mech wobble on its feet, its gyro straining to keep up. Chen threw out his Black Knight's right leg and secured a good foothold, and he was back in the game. He whirled around and, with just a bit of heat built up, fired back.
Twin large lasers cored the Marauder's right torso, and Chen hoped that he'd knock the LB-20X out, just in case it had ammo left. But while he scoured away plenty of armor, the imposing LB-20X was still intact (by the looks of it), and Chen got his answer at last. The monster gun spat fire.
A metal hurricane washed over Chen as the cluster pellets blasted his Black Knight's left arm right off. Alarms went off in his cockpit and red lights flashed, and the armor tracker screen turned the left arm black. Chen's 'Mech swayed, and he couldn't orient himself in time. The Marauder's large pulse laser chewed away armor from his left leg, and all this lost mass was too much for the gyro. Chen's Black Knight fell flat onto its face, and Chen grunted as he strained against his command couch's restraining straps.
I've faced worse! And I lived! Chen bared his teeth and shoved his 'Mech upright with his right arm, climbing to his knees. Just in time: the Marauder was advancing on him, its gun pod trained on him. Shit. Did it have another LB-20X shot left? If it did, Chen's 'Mech wouldn't even be fit for scrap after this.
The LB-20X gun was silent.
She's probably out! Chen saw things from the Marauder pilot's perspective. She saw a badly damaged Black Knight that would perish from a few more large pulse laser hits, and she could take on the Archer with her last one or two LB-20X shots. If she had any. Chen found it unlikely that he'd face another LB-20X shot, whether that gun had ammo left or not. But that large pulse laser was deadly, too...
It fired.
Chen squirmed, and he let his right torso and arm take the shot. His right side had fared better in the match so far, and he sighed with relief as the right arm and torso took a beating without getting breached. That bought him time, and the Marauder was probably getting warm by now. With the bulk of its LB-20X and ammo, it almost certainly didn't have double heat sinks in there. No room.
Chen's Black Knight lived up to its name as it staggered to its feet, and he fired his PPC once he got a lock on the target. His electric blue beam punched into the Marauder's wounded right torso, and he fired a medium laser in there for good effect.
He did not expect what came next.
"Oh, shit!" Chen shielded his cockpit with his right hand as the Marauder's internal LB-20X ammo exploded, and the explosive force vented out the 'Mech's rear like a rocket taking off. So, it had CASE, but that wasn't going to keep the Marauder in the fight. Sure enough, the machine slumped to the side and collapsed like an exhausted dog, and it didn't even try to get up. Instead, it motioned with its left arm's pod in surrender.
Chen couldn't help a satisfied grin. She had ammo left after all! And in the same location as her LB-20X... lucky me.
His victory didn't last long. More LRMs showed up, and they were not happy.
Once again, Chen got his Black Knight moving, but a handful of LRMs hit home on Chen's left torso, and he cursed as his weapons and heat sinks vanished in the ensuing explosions. He was racking up critical hits fast, and he didn't have enough armor left to protect a Galleon tank... and how much armor and ammo did the Archer had left? He didn't even know.
The Archer was positioned in a firing next 630 meters to Chen's northwest, and he started sprinting in that direction, taking cover along the way. He didn't like his odds, but if he took out that Archer, he would win this thing, and Ms. Jingzen would be ecstatic. So far, she approved of his performance, but he hadn't truly wowed her with his arena skills yet. If he could bag this one... if that Archer was low on ammo...
Nope!
The Archer fired again, and this time, Chen had no way out. Nearly all the warheads rained down on him, and his Black Knight collapsed in a twisted, smoking heap, alarms ringing all over the cockpit. Chen sighed and raised his 'Mech's right arm in surrender, and with that, he nabbed 2nd place in this arena battle.
*o*o*o*o*
"Hey! You, over there! You're the Black Knight pilot, right?"
Chen, who had barely stepped out of his Black Knight's cockpit in the 'Mech repair bay, turned when he heard a man's voice call out for him. Chen wiped his brow and shrugged off his cooling jacket, then grabbed a towel and dried himself off. He didn't answer back, so the other man came closer to talk.
"I was the Archer pilot," the man told him. "And you piloted that Black Knight. Didn't you?"
Chen finished toweling off, took off his cooling vest, and slipped on a plain white tank top. "Yes. This one." He pointed up at his badly damaged Black Knight as repair techs crawled all over it.
"Right, right." The man, a tall, brawny fellow with short blond hair, grinned warmly and offered a hand. "Let me introduce myself. I'm Henry Laxus, with the Thunder Blast Stable, Damn, you're one tough pilot, you know that? I was lucky I had enough ammo to win that. And I've never seen anyone take down a Marauder with shots like those."
Chen wasn't sure if this guy really was so upbeat, or if he was buttering Chen up for a business deal or bribe. He merely said, "Thank you. I did what I could. But I have more to learn."
"Well, sure. We all do. Complacent warriors don't last long. That's what my boss reminds me all the time." Henry made a booming chuckle.
"You didn't come here to gloat, did you?" Chen asked with a testy grin.
"Huh? Oh, no." Henry motioned with both hands. "Look, I don't want to dump too much on your lap at once. But let me say this: my boss is Donovan Storm. I'm sure you know the name."
"Yes, but not much more than that. I'm new to Solaris. Moved here in June."
Henry gawked. "You fight like that with just a month of experience? How?"
"Let's say I've got a list of credentials longer than the Maskirovka's list of human rights violations."
Henry burst out laughing, and he actually slapped his knee. "Oh, I like you, Chen! That was a good one."
Chen was on guard at once. This Henry Laxus fellow already knew his name? Clearly, this was a scouting attempt. And sure enough -
"My boss is looking for talent, and boy does he need it. I think you fit the bill, Chen. Why don't you and the boss talk it over, see if you can arrange a mutually beneficial agreement?"
Chen knew from mercenary experience that the best, safest offers didn't always look that way. And great offers were often traps. He looked Henry up and down: big, tough, wearing a dark red shirt and a long black coat with fur trim, and black pants and shiny leather shoes. And... nothing in his body language to suggest deceit. Hmmmm... Henry wasn't trying to bullshit him. He was just unusually bold and outspoken.
But still...
"You're a bit late, Mr. Laxus," Chen said. "I'm still getting used to the Bronze Dao stable. Ms. Jingzen, the owner, urgently needed a warrior like me, and she's showering me with bonuses." He didn't mention Kathy's role in this; he didn't want to compromise her somehow. This was between him and Henry.
"Oh, that stable?" Henry scoffed. "Bronze Dao is a wannabe top-tier stable. Yeah, it's in the top 20, but it lucked its way there. But Thunder Blast... now that's a stable where talent can grow. Talent like yours." He grinned and pointed right at Chen.
"Ms. Jingzen's terms are fair," Chen argued. "And what does it say about me if I betray the first stable I joined? And within a month, at that?"
Henry scoffed. "I can tell that both inside and outside the cockpit, you're more used to regular army fighting. Well, there are no generals or rulebooks or service medals here, Chen. There's only the game. We're sharks around here, not toy soldiers."
"Are you insulting me?"
"N-no, no!" Henry motioned with his hands again. "What I'm saying is: Mr. Storm wants to meet you, and he and I are sure that Thunder Blast is a much better fit for you than Bronze Dao or any other stable." He held up a finger. "Meet the boss at the Storm family mansion, and you'll see what kind of offer we're making. You won't want to miss this."
Chen folded his arms, his mind whirring. He didn't expect to get scouted like this, and damn, Henry was a pushy one. But the offer was intriguing, and better yet, he had Peter for backup. He relented and said, "I'll talk it over with my... crew. I'll have an answer within 48 hours. How can I contact you again?"
Henry produced a business card and handed it over. "If you choose to visit Mr. Storm - and I suggest that you do - email him at this address. Then we'll respond and arrange all the details."
Chen accepted the card. "I have a lot to think about, don't I..."
*o*o*o*o*
Ivory Tower Apartments, Solaris City, Solaris VII
Lyran Commonwealth
"I can tell from your face," Kathy commented lightly when Chen stepped into their rented apartment (Ms. Jingzen covered the cost). "You didn't do so hot today, right, Scrappy?"
Chen scowled at her. "Good evening to you, too. And I scored second place. I've got something else on my mind."
Kathy, who was lounging at the kitchen table with a beer, finished her drink and stood up. "Something good, I hope."
"Something sudden." Chen gestured. "I got scouted by the top MechWarrior of the Thunder Blast stable after my match today. Henry Laxus."
"Those guys? For real?" Kathy frowned. "I dunno, I've heard some iffy things about Thunder Blast. The guy who owns it, that Donovan Storm? He's got a real temper, based on what Peter says."
"So now I need to discuss it with you and Peter," Chen added. "I don't want to leap to conclusions or reject the offer out of hand. Let's go over this carefully."
"Good call. Let's see if Peter's got a spare minute." Kathy took Chen's hand and led him to a certain closed bedroom door. She knocked softly.
A minute later, the door swung open and there stood Peter, who stared at a spot on Chen's shoulder. "H-hi."
"I got an offer today," Chen told him. "Can we come in?"
"Okay." Peter shuffled back, and Chen and Kathy joined him in the cluttered bedroom/work station. Peter's neatly made bed sat in one corner with a foot locker nearby, while every other piece of furniture had computer stuff or three-ring binders of papers and maps on them. The lights were dimmed, just the way Peter liked it. There was even a framed poster of a popular musical group that Chen recognized.
"You like those guys?" Chen asked, pointing. "That's new."
"Staring at it helps me think," Peter mumbled as he sank heavily at the largest desk's chair. He bathed in the glow of four large monitors. "What is the news?"
Chen cleared his throat. "I got scouted by Henry Laxus, who made me an offer on behalf of Donovan Storm."
"Oh. The owner of the Thunder Blast stable. He lives in the Storm family mansion in the Black Hills' wealthiest district," Peter said. He punched up a map on the largest monitor and pointed at it. "See? Lives with his wife Eva, aged 41, and their son Mac, aged 12. Eva handles the family's finances and investments, and Mac has access to private tutors and BattleMech simulator pods. He's being groomed as the next family head."
Kathy whistled. "A 12-year-old boy is getting 'Mech training? This is one cool family."
"However, the Thunder Blast stable has a high turnover rate," Peter added. On a different monitor, he brought up a roster of Thunder Blast 'Mech jockeys and support crew. "The top two warriors are Henry Laxus, whom you've met, and Xavier Chidori. However, Donovan Storm recently recruited a promising Kuritan medium 'Mech pilot... this one, Charles Sasakibe. Perhaps you were made that offer as insurance in case Mr. Sasakibe proved unsuitable. I believe Donovan Storm is hedging most of his bets right now where stable MechWarriors are concerned."
Chen motioned, and Peter scooted away so Chen could review the monitor (Peter didn't like other people being that close). Hmmmmm... Henry Laxus' grandfather ran a wealthy mining guild on a moon near the Tharkad system, but Henry paid his way to Solaris VII to find his own future, and he'd been a brilliant heavy 'Mech jock ever since... Xavier Chidori was an orphan who was near-unbeatable in one on one battles, and he tried to avoid confusing melees in the arena. And now Charles Sasakibe, who was a middle-aged gentleman with slicked-back hair and a fancy mustache, who had run with a few mercenary gangs in Marik space before coming here. Kind of like Chen and Kathy.
Chen backed away and let Peter reclaim his spot at the desk. "Is Donovan Storm making the right call, by approaching me?"
Kathy looked at him in surprise. "What, are you doubting your own credentials?"
"Well, it pays to see things from the other party's perspective," Chen said. "It could provide insight."
Peter typed something up. "I will look more deeply into the performance of Thunder Blast for the previous 50 years and look for patterns and trends of note. I'll do the same for the Storm family as a whole."
"To make sure they check out?" Kathy asked.
"To make sure Mr. Storm is reaching out to Chen for reasons I like," Peter told her simply. "Kathy, has anyone attempted to scout you like this yet?"
"Nuh-uh."
"Given your connection to Chen, and your similar experience and battlefield performance, Mr. Storm might continue to hedge his bets and scout you, too," Peter said. "Especially since either of you would experience a morale boost by having the other by their side."
"Like what Ms. Jingzen is doing?" Chen asked.
"Correct," Peter said vaguely as he kept typing in... well, computer jock stuff. "And on that topic, we must consider the fallout of quitting Bronze Dao in favor of Thunder Blast if we do take that route, and conversely, the consequences of rejecting an offer by a strong-willed and proud person like Donovan Storm. Someone is going to be upset by what we do next, no matter what."
"Eh, that's the mercenary life," Kathy said lightly. "If you bring a gun onto the battlefield, someone is going to suffer for it. Might as well make it the guy who can't pay you as well."
Chen didn't quite have Kathy's extensive mercenary experience, but he was used to the trade by now, and its ruthless pragmatism for money and ever-shifting loyalty. Solaris VII played by the same rulebook... condensed onto one city and its many arenas. And it still left a funny taste in his mouth. He'd spent almost as much time in the CCAF as he did in the mercenary business, after all.
Peter hunched his shoulders as he kept working. "Understood. Now, I need to work, please. I did find some interesting sports bars, movie theaters, and gardens nearby. Maybe you could visit them while I'm busy."
Kathy grinned. "Oh, believe me, Peter, this city has more to offer than beer on tap and a garden stroll. C'mon, Scrappy, let's go prove me right." She clapped Chen on the shoulder and steered him to the door.
Chen snorted with amusement. "Right behind you. Well, ahead of you."
"Now you're getting it."
*o*o*o*o*
By the next morning, Peter gave Chen and Peter his analysis, and in turn, Chen consulted Donovan Storm's business card and sent an email.
