Air above Thor's Gap
Tharkad
Donegal Province
Lyran Alliance
The OmniFighters of Alpha-Trinary (air) approached the southern end of the canyon at Mach 2, less than 50-meters above the ground. The rock cliff face seemed to speed towards them, the narrow opening of the pass a thin vertical split. The fighters broke formation, and enter the canyon one Star at a time.
In the lead fighter, the newly promoted Major Scot was still having difficulty coming to terms with his position: he respected and admired Steven Cairo, and knew him to be a man of great personal honour, but he was still a freebirth, and the Clan Warrior side of Scot could not help be feel ashamed of having been taken as bondsman.
His Sulla OmniFighter founded the last bend at breakneck speed, and the battlefield sprawled out below. A TAG equipped scout Mech had highlighted a Word of Blake Atlas, and Scot fired-off his two Arrow-IV missiles, and watched as they hit home. The towering Atlas fell, it's arms out stretched like a man who had been shot, and it landed on it's back, shaking the ground. It lay still, smoke and flame pouring from its center torso. The other fighters also launched missiles, and followed up with volleys from their own weapons, scoring a few kills, but doing little damage in the grand scream of things.
Thor's Gap, Tharkad
Donegal Province
Lyran Alliance
Cairo's radio bleeped again, and he opened the channel, "We come to you now live from the war zone." He quipped as he re-entered the battle. "What the hell do you think you're playing at Colonel?" The Precenter Martail sounded more than a little agitated, "You where ordered to pull back, but instead you called down an air strike!" Cairo dodged to the side to avoid an attack from the Albatross he'd damaged earlier, "With all due respect sir, I do believe you've lost your nerve. Now if you don't mind, I'm kind of busy." Cairo cut the link before the other man could respond.
Cairo watched the OmniFighters climb away from the battle, a few shots chasing them, but no apparently connecting. They had delivered their payloads with the normally high level of skill and position he had come to expect from the highly trained Clan pilots. On the ground however, things where not going so well: almost two regiments of Word of Blake Mech's had pushed through to the Irregulars position.
Again Cairo fired at the Albatross, trading a long burst with his Large and Medium Pulse Lasers for a case of rounds from the other Mech's LB 10-X autocannon. The Mech shuddered, and the secondary monitor showed read over the left torso. Cairo lined up the crosshairs and fired his last Gauss round at the Blakist Mech, then charged forward. The Templar's long-legged stride ate up the ground between the two Mech's, and the Albatross soon filled Cairo's view port.
Cairo twisted his Mech's torso at the last moment, bringing the already damaged left arm round to face his opponent. The shield-shaped armour plate his the Albatross dead centre, the other Mech's armoured prow cutting through the battered plate, it's shear bulk shattering the over-sized shoulder pad. The shear tenacity of the attack stunned the Blakist, and the Albatross fell over backwards, the Templar's broken armour falling on top.
Unstable after the loss of armour and force of impact, Cairo let his Mech fall onto his prone enemy, riding his 85-tone steed to the ground. The bone-jawing impact bruised his ribs, and almost knocked him out. The affect on the Albatross was catastrophic: the relatively thick armour plating was capable of absorbing all but the most devastating weapons fire, but against 85-tons of Mech, it was useless. The Templar's shoulder joint smashed the reactor housing. The automated shutdown system tried to contain the fusion engine, but failed.
Cairo saw the flames beginning the spread out from the other Mech's ruined torso, and tried to bring his own ride back to its feet. Damaged, and suffering from excess heat build-up, the Templar struggled to a seated positing. Using the now useless right arm as a prop, Cairo was able to get the left leg under his Mech. He pushed down hard on the foot pedals, and the leg straightened. He quickly did the same with the right leg, and the Templar rose to its feet.
The flames from the ravaged Albatross had spread to cover its entire upper torso, and Cairo was forced to put his damaged Mech into a trot to get behind a low ridge before the reactor went critical. The explosion shook the ground, and a rain of flaming debris fell all around, littering the battlefield.
Cairo checked his HUD: the wire-frame display of his Mech showed only red and yellow, with no hint of green. His Gauss rifle was black, either destroyed or disabled. He shrugged: he had no ammo for it anyway. He was surprised to see that he only had one salvo of SRM's left. The only good news was that his energy weapons where still working, although some of his heat sinks where off-line. A flashing light in the corner indicated that Central was trying to contact him again. He ignored it and re-entered the battle.
Almost immediately he found himself up against a Blakist Centurion that wanted to try its luck ageist his much larger Mech. he fired of his last spread of SRM's, as well as a long barrage from his Large Pulse Laser, spiking his heat levels. He was already drenched in sweat, and it stung his eyes, despite the headband he ware round his forehead to try and stop it. The Centurion stumbled under his attack, and Cairo charged forward, wilding his useless right arm like a club, striking the other Mech in the side of the head. The barrel of the Gauss Rifle connected with a resounding crash, knocking the lighter Mech to the side. It fell to the ground, and Cairo stomped on it with his left foot. 85-tons of armour and weaponry crushed the other Centurion's armoured cockpit instantly. Cairo looked round, seeking a new target.
A deadly BRZ-A3 Berserker charged at him, it's hatchet held high as it covered his cockpit in a sheet of flame.
To Be Continued…