"Sir? Are you there? I've got some funny readings from the seismic sensor on our eastern side. Have you checked that out yet? There was a sudden bleep from it, but it cut off before I could get a positive readout."
I felt a chill run through me, the same chill which started when the mercenaries first landed on Bar-2 Pharhat. I was still near the western sensor, drying my few drops of tears. Anger coursed through my veins all of the sudden. They were attacking again. Trying to get something which was useless to them anyway. But we won't make it any easier for them! Not while I still live!
"Trisha! I hope I'm wrong but I'm betting the mercs are back. They finally found the sensors. Get Jock to back you up now! I'm on the west side; I'll join you all in a while more."
I quickly changed frequencies and called up Harry, who was still in the fort.
"Harry! Get back to your Hatchetman NOW! We've got probable incoming bogies! Get the scientists to hole up in the bunker now!"
I dimly remember hearing Harry shouting his confirmation of my orders when probably 15 rounds of LRMs struck all over my Mech's back, stripping it of nearly all its armour. Taken completely by surprise, I stumbled and my Orion crashed headfirst into the ground. I must have failed to notice the arrival of the enemy, in my horrible state of mind. Radio chatter from the eastern side filtered through while I lay there for a while, groggy.
"Sir! I'm picking up only 3 Mechs here! Where the hell are the rest?"
"Lieutenant! Only the Jagermech, Assassin and Sentinel are here. That means the Dragon, Crab and Panther are probably converging on our location from elsewhere!!"
I struggled to stand up, trying to shake the cobwebs out of my head.
"Harry, they're all here on the western side. I need some backup soon or you'll need a new CO."
My damage schematics painted a bleak picture: one shot from a PPC, large laser or autocannon would tear my back open like a piece of aluminium foil and breach my fusion reactor. And the three Mechs converging on me had just those weapons.
"This is going to be my last battle," I muttered.
My Orion finally got up, and I quickly spun around to face my opponents, who were walking slowly towards me. The Dragon led the group, obviously the leader of this pack. The odds were definitely against me. The three Mechs didn't fire on me yet, figuring that I would prove to be a quick kill if I ever wanted to fight back. In fact, I even heard the mocking voice of the Dragon's pilot calling over the general frequency:
"Orion pilot. This is your last chance. Power down now and we'll spare you and that tin can of yours. Give it up. You know you haven't got a chance against us."
We've been fighting for no good reason, lost our team-mates over probably some useless find and now you're insulting me? Give up? Give up the fight and waste the efforts of David, Gunner, Chuck, Lorna?? I would never live it down. I clenched my teeth in anger.
And fired all my LRMs, lasers and autocannon at the Dragon.
"Jock! Harry! I've got problems with my autocannon! I think … it's stuck! I need help here! How do I clear it?"
"Trish, shut up and just shoot that Sentinel with your lasers. Hit the legs! The legs!"
"I'm running hot, Harry! Can't aim …. targeting computer's offline, I think …."
"Trish, cool down your Mech before you blow your fusion reactor!"
The unfolding battle proved my fears right; Trisha was panicking in the face of the enemy. Harry and Jock were still trying to finish off the Jagermech before it tore their Mechs apart with its autocannons. The Assassin was the first to be knocked out when Jock blasted that Mech with his 24 LRMs and Harry sliced into its fusion reactor apart with his autocannon, unleashing a full explosion. But Jock lost one of his LRM launcher racks after that, thanks to a well-aimed round from the Jagermech. Ammo-dependent to begin with, now Jock's offensive capability was drastically reduced. But at the least they were holding up. And somehow, so was I, alone against 3 Mechs.
My first barrage at the Dragon succeeded in knocking it off its feet, leaving me to deal with my surge of heat and the remaining Mechs. A PPC, courtesy of the Panther, narrowly missed my cockpit while I flushed some of my heat away. The Crab's lasers burned more than a ton of armour off my left arm and leg, but fortunately its other shots missed. My torso armour was still untouched! I still might be able to survive this!
I let loose my autocannon and lasers at the Panther, the autocannon shells blowing off armour on its centre torso while my medium lasers hit the Panther's cockpit. But the responding PPC shot struck my left torso with the force of a jackhammer, almost causing me to stumble again. I managed to work the Mech up and point my autocannon at the Panther's head while the Crab blasted armour from my legs again. I figured the Crab to be piloted by a rookie, judging from the inaccuracy of its shots.
"Harry! Jump in on the Jagermech's left while I distract his attention!"
"Boys, the Sentinel is running!! I managed to blow off its arms!"
"Now, Harry!"
"Gotcha! One axe blow coming up!"
My autocannon barked, and I saw the line of bullets fly straight to the Panther's cockpit. I grinned savagely as I saw the Panther crash after that devastating shot, never to rise again.
"Lieutenant! Are you there? Lieutenant?!"
Suddenly my Mech was pummeled again. I bit my lips from the sudden impact and realised that I had been hit by the Dragon's missiles again. My Mech reeled heavily from the assault, almost stumbling. The gyro whined loudly, compensating, and I managed to stay up.
Damn it, I let myself be distracted by the Panther.
"Lieutenant!!"
