The Cairo Saga, Book 3: Legacies of War
Chapter 5: Like cats and dogs
Tukayyid City
Tukayyid
Free Rasalhague Republic
The Grand Dragon returned fire with its own ER-PPC and its LRM-10 rack, scoring hits across the Templar's front, but doing nothing more than chipping the Mech's heavy armor. Cairo watched the Mech stumble as 4-Guass Rifle slugs hit it, blasting one arm clear. The Smoke Jaguar Warrior decided that discretion was the better part of valour, and turned, running at full sped towards the newly landed DropShips.
Cairo bit his lip: the three Smoke Jaguar DropShip's, a Union-C, a Condor and a Carrier, could hold at lest a Trinary of Mech's, plus 20-light vehicles, a platoon of infantry and 10 Aerospace Fighters: with that sort of firepower, the Jaguar's would be able to roll over the Irregulars and smash what remained of Shadow Company before the two WarShips in orbit were in a position to offer assistance.
He opened up the company-wide channel, "Ok people, this is going to be hard, but if we can keep them bottled up long enough, Lancaster will be able to deal with them from orbit. Now the first thing we have to do is stop that Grand Dragon from making it to the DropShip and reporting in. I want everyone to fire what ever you have at it. Take it down, and do whatever necessary to make sure that the pilot doesn't report in." Cairo cut the Com-link, and lighting up his jump jets, lifted the Templar up an over a two story building, bring in it down in the middle of a crossroad that lead towards the DropShips.
The damaged Grand Dragon rounded the last corner and found itself right in the Assault Mech's crosshairs. Cairo pulled the trigger, and sent a stream of 12cm cluster rounds from his LB 20-X Autocannon towards the other Mech. The lighter Mech's armour seemed to ripple as the Depleted Uranium shards picked at its armour. Cairo added his 5 Medium Pulse Lasers to the attack, sending the heat level in his cockpit soaring. The computer started warning of automatic shutdown, so Cairo stopped.
The Grand Dragon staggered a few steppes, then started off along a side street that took it out of the Templar's line of sight. Cairo started his Mech forward, but a damaged ankle actuator caused by his bad landing slowed its pace. He reached the turn off, and was greeted by a spread of LRM's from the fleeing Jaguar. Cairo looked at his heads-up display, trying to find someway of cutting-off the Grand Dragon before it reached the protection of the DropShip's weaponry.
He was still trying to formulate a plan when his sensors showed a friendly Mech step out from an alleyway further down the road and started to fire at the Grand Dragon. Cairo took a small step forward so he could see who it was: it's was Sinead's Centurion.
The Mech's right arm was raised, and its Clan-built 80-mm Ultra-Autocannon was pumping round after round into the back of the other Mech. Cairo saw the Grand Dragon fall to its knees as its back snapped under the onslaught. The Mech seemed to glow for a second as its reactor lost containment, and then it exploded into a billion pieces, showering the area with debris.
Cairo's eyes went wide as he saw his wife's Mech lifted up and thrown into a building by the force of the explosion.
TBC…