Connecting Route Four
Johannesburg, Carlisle
Lyran Alliance
25 March 3067
The waiting was really starting to get to Liam. Checking and rechecking his system status could only keep him distracted for the first thirty times that he did it, and there were too many doubts gnawing at his brain. What if he had been wrong? What if their commander had suddenly come under attack from common sense? What if they couldn't stop the Fists in time? What if the Dragoons didn't come soon enough?
Once again, Liam reviewed his 'Mech's status displays in an attempt to calm the butterflies in his stomach. He had lost some armor over his left torso and arm sections, and one of his legs had lost a significant amount of armor from a double PPC attack. The Ultra Autocannon had enough ammunition for five more volleys at double rate, which should be plenty unless his luck ran sour. Every internal system looked good.
"Contacts," Captain Landover broke into Liam's reverie, his voice hushed out of habit even though it would make no difference if the enemy had broken their encryption. "Six BattleMechs and assorted armor assets. Wait – what the heck?"
"What is it?" Liam hissed. His heart froze. Surprises were not a good thing at this point.
"Those 'Mechs are handling like they're a unit of six, not a lance and two stragglers." Landover seemed geniuninely puzzled. "The only forces that handle like that are the Com Guards and—"
"Speculate later, Captain," Liam snapped. "Cut the chatter and prepare to ambush them. We can't afford to screw this up."
A full minute crept by as the 'Mechs and their armor escorts made their way along the connecting route. Liam visually picked out two assault-class 'Mechs at the rear of the formation, with four mediums and lights leading the way. One of the leading heavies had the distinctive profile of a captured Clan Thor, and Liam's gut chilled. An equally powerful Clan OmniMech with a pilot who was probably far more experienced could ruin his day quickly – very quickly. He brought it up as the target.
Instantly, the targeting computer painted red brackets around the Thor's center torso and provided a lead indicator for where to shoot with the Ultra Autocannon. Liam's face split into a grin. This thing has an advanced targeting computer? He patted the command console. 'Mech, you just made my day.
Flares lit the landscape as the Catapult pilot fired an LRM salvo at one of the other 'Mechs. "Go go go!" Liam transmitted, mashing his finger down on the Ultra AC/20's firing stud.
Although it would have been a tricky shot under normal battle conditions, the regular course of the Thor and stationary firing position made it child's play. The storm of metal slugs ripped great sheets of armor from the Thor's center torso, slewing it back and to the left – and exposing a wonderful shot for his laser weapons. Liam jammed his thumb down on the secondary firing buttons, sending the remainder of his arsenal towards the opposing 'Mech. The heavy large laser missed just high, but both medium heavy lasers stabbed deep into the center torso and set off a string of secondary explosions. The medium pulse laser provided the coup de grace, sending a stream of laser pulses that melted through the engine shielding. Blue light burst from seams in the Thor's torso a moment before a roiling storm of plasma consumed the 'Mech. Liam whooped, not even noticing the oven heat. One volley, one kill! We're halway to evening the odds!
A moment later, two PPC bolts struck dead center on his 'Mech's center torso, slagging armor and sending a flurry of static through his displays. The concussion slammed Liam's head against the side of the cockpit. Liam swore, searching for the target as he backed behind a hill. His fingers danced over the controls, attempting to override the shutdown procedure – shutting down on top of a hill with five other enemy 'Mechs in a ticked-off mood was not a good idea.
With the immediate danger out of the way, Liam evaluated the damage to his 'Mech. That single volley had reduced his center torso armor by over half. Had this been one of David's simulator missions, Liam would not have heistated to charge back over the hill – after all, he had succeeded in missions with his virtual 'Mech a walking scrap heap with a single remaining functional weapon.
This time was different. He was facing real BattleMechs with real enemy pilots, each machine a genuine threat to his – and if he pushed things a little too far, he could die for real.
The thought was chilling.
As Liam debated whether or not to go over the hill, the opposing pilot made his choice. A broad-shouldered 'Mech with two oblong arm pods leaped over the hill on streams of reactor exhaust, both PPCs discharging into the Cauldron-Born's left torso. A computer alert warned of possible internal damage as Liam reeled with the attack. Stravag! This guy's good! Too distracted to notice his unconscious use of a Clanner word, Liam backed his 'Mech up and brought up his enemy's sillouhette.
The computer reported the other machine as an Uziel. Liam felt some of his confidence returning – there was no way that the lighter 50-tonner could confront the full firepower of his Cauldron-Born. Liam twisted to face the Uziel as it landed, almost contemptuously pressing down on the primary trigger as his reticule drifted over its torso.
There was a wrenching scream of overstressed metal and overworked computer circuits – the autocannon spat a single shot and no more.
What the hell? Liam fired his large heavy laser as he backed away, but the shot was poorly aimed and did nothing but vaporize a nearby sapling. Data scrolled onto his screen – the Ultra Autocannon had suffered a catastrophic malfunction in its loading system and would be offline for the rest of the battle.
To make things even worse, the cheep-cheep of a missile warning lock sounded as six short-range missiles slammed into his 'Mech, blasting away even more armor fragments. Liam fired his heavy medium lasers in panic more than anything else, scoring a good hit on the Uziel's missile rack. However, his heat was once again beginning to creep up into the yellow.
Before Liam could take a deep breath and concentrate on fragging the infuriating 'Mech, it fired its jump jets and soared into the air. Liam gasped as he realized the 'Mech was headed on an arc straight for his. Death from above… It was a risky maneuver, but whoever this pilot was, Liam knew that he could pull it off. He slammed his 'Mech into reverse, nearly tripping over a downed tree in his hurry to get out of the Uziel's way.
Too late, Liam realized that the pilot's intention had never been to land on his 'Mech. Both PPCs discharged their ion bolts, one carving into the right torso and another blasting what little armor remained off his nose. "Damn you!" Liam snarled. He was angry now – angry and frightened. Two more PPC shots would probably send his 'Mech sky-high. Nervousness ate at the edges of his mind and made his hands start to tremble.
Snarling, Liam brought up the targeting brackets and centered them squarely on the Uziel's center torso. He triggered each of his weapons in turn, backing away as he did. One heavy medium laser and the medium pulse laser stripped armor and began eating into the Uziel's endo-steel bones. The heavy large laser, of course, missed. "Stupid weapon!" Liam snarled aloud in vexation. "What good is it to have a stravaging heavy large laser if it never hits anything?!"
Liam slammed his stick to the right, just in time to miss another PPC salvo. Both bolts missed and Liam grinned as he saw wisps of vaporized coolant rising from the Uziel's ravaged center torso. You have to be running hot, he thought smugly. Then, a glance at his own heat gauge revealed that he was in similar shape – he had stopped noticing the scalding heat in the Cauldron-Born's cockpit.
The Uziel's pilot must have sensed that the end was coming, for the 50-tonner suddenly accelerated into a lumbering run, the best it could manage at such high heat levels. Liam reflexively triggered a heavy medium laser, which finished the job of his earlier volleys and cut deep into the 'Mech's reactor. However, the Uziel's momentum carried it forward even as the reactor's contaiment failed. Liam cried out as blue light seemed to consume everything, instinctively raising a hand to his helmet faceplate as though to ward it off. Blisters raised on his exposed forearms and heat alarms sounded as the light faded, leaving afterimages dancing in Liam's eyes.
He didn't punch out, Liam realized with a jolt. He died to have the chance to take down my 'Mech. A sudden wave of trembling hit Liam's limbs. It hadn't come home to him in quite the same way when the tank crews had died. However, the opposing warrior in the opposing 'Mech had been a MechWarrior just like him. It could have been him, strapped into the Uziel as it died its firey death.
The damage display did nothing to improve Liam's mood. Red lights blinked all over, indicating crippled systems and systems with critical damage. The advanced targeting computer was offline, as was his medium pulse laser and one of his heavy medium lasers. His armor had been reduced to paper-thinness or nonexistence over his 'Mech's entire body, except for the rear torso and the right arm. His two remaining weapons still gave him as much firepower as some Inner Sphere heavy 'Mechs, but that was still not a reassuring thought.
"…Liam, this is Captain Landover… Liam, are you there? Answer me, dammit!"
Liam realized that he had been neglecting the status of the garrison 'Mechs. With a pang of guilt he flipped the switch. "Here, Captain. What's your status?"
"Thank God. I thought I was the only one left." Landover's voice, even reduced in clarity by the comm, made it clear that he was in pain. "We—we fragged the other 'Mechs and armor except for two assault 'Mechs that are on me right now. An Atlas and something else big. I… gaagh!" There was the characteristic snap of gauss fire in the background. "I'm the only other one left. Lujayne managed to punch out of her Quickdraw, but Casey died in his Catapult when his LRMs exploded."
Liam swore quietly, then jammed his throttle forward. "Hang on a bit longer, Captain. I don't have much armor left, but my heavy lasers can still mess something up. Just a bit longer."
"No can do, kid." Cresting the hill, Liam saw Landover's Victor exchanging fire with a massive skull-faced Atlas. The smoke and sparks pouring out of each 'Mech made it abundantly clear that the battle was drawing to a close, one way or another. "There's no way you can kill both the Atlas and the other thing, and if even one makes it to the city, a whole lot of good people are going to die. See you on the other side."
"No!" Liam exclaimed, but the Victor already started forward just like the Uziel had done to him. However, the Victor made it all the way to the Atlas and crashed into it before the reactor detonated. The flare of blue light surrounded both 'Mechs in a halo of radiance for a moment before the Atlas' long-range missiles went off like fireworks, bursting through its torso in all directions. When the explosions finally cleared, only twisted skeletons of the two 'Mechs remained, ringed in burning grass and shrubs.
Liam felt like retching, but his stomach had been empty for hours. A good man – a comrade in battle – had given his life to give Liam a chance to win it all. Liam felt his reserve harded. His eyes narrowed and his hands tightened on the controls until his knuckles went white. I must not fail.
Lumbering out from behind a hill came the unidentified assault 'Mech – and Liam's resolve wavered like a candle flame in a gale. The fifteen-meter-high monster turned to face him, looking for all the world like a double-barreled shotgun ready to blow his 'Mech into tiny shards of nothing much. The only damage to its exterior was a little superficial laser scarring that only added to the BattleMech's terrifying presence.
It was a Fafnir, an experimental Steiner assault chassis that massed as much as an Atlas or a Daishi.
And its two heavy gauss rifles were pointed right. At. Him.
Strange. Now that his time had come to die, Liam wasn't afraid at all. An odd sense of peace enveloped him as the Fafnir lined up its shot. This wouldn't be a bad way to go at all – he'd barely have time to feel anything.
Landover's last words jolted home, breaking the cocoon of peace. "…if even one makes it to the city, a whole lot of good people are going to die." Without even realizing it, he pressed his thumb down on the secondary firing buttons. The heavy large laser speared through the night, missing the Fafnir by inches and blistering paint. However, the medium heavy laser was a perfect shot, blowing chunks of armor off the center torso. Not, of course, like the Fafnir had any shortage of armor.
The shot skewed the Fafnir's aim just enough. Silvery blurs streaked past to the top and right, the thunderclap from the passing of the hypersonic shells penetrating the Cauldron-Born's cockpit and rattling Liam's teeth together. He refused to be intimidated. Throttling up, he ran forward and fired again, shearing off a medium pulse laser with his heavy medium laser. At the last moment, he slammed the stick back to the left and both Heavy Gauss rounds missed again. Liam knew that he was living on borrowed time and honestly didn't care.
By now, the Fafnir pilot was surely getting quite unhappy with the damaged Cauldron-Born that was proving such a headache. Liam grinned as the heavier 'Mech tried to match his turn rate and failed. If I can get behind him, then maybe… just maybe…
A hammer of sonic agony struck Liam as his neurohelmet began feeding back just like before in the warehouse. This time, however, it was ten times worse. Frantically, Liam scrabbled for the adjustment knob. Before he could find it, the Cauldron-Born lost input and collapsed on its face. The cockpit glass shattered and Liam was flug forward against the control panel. As he screamed uncontrollably, his trembling fingers finally found the jack and ripped it free. The relief was so great that Liam felt like fainting then and there. Slowly, dull aches began to creep into Liam's awareness where his 'Mech's fall had bashed body parts into sharp edges or hard objects.
He looked out the small part of his window that showed something other than packed dirt and saw a giant metal foot land right next to his cockpit. The Fafnir towered over the disabled Cauldron-Born, a Goliath preparing to contemptously dispatch its smaller adversary. Liam closed his hand around the joystick – and suddenly realized that the impact with the ground had slewed the right arm with its heavy large laser so that it was pointing right at the Fafnir's center torso. There was no way that a single shot would disable the other 'Mech, but… something in Liam snarled in defiance, refusing to give up now that he was so close.
He tugged the joystick one last time to try and get a better angle as the Fafnir lined up its Heavy Gausses for the kill. This is it. Goodbye, mother… goodbye, father… I hope I made you proud. As the thought flashed through his mind, Liam pulled the trigger.
The heavy large laser's amber beam sliced deep into a furrow made by his earlier shot, eating into a seam in the armor and continuing to stab deeper and deeper into the Fafnir's center torso. For a moment, Liam dared hope that his departing shot would core the engine and bring down the behemoth, then the beam died and the Fafnir remained standing tall, an impregnable fortress of a BattleMech.
Standing tall and wavering slightly… wavering a little more…
Liam realized that his parting shot had not taken out the engine but had instead destroyed the Fafnir's gyroscope. One hundred tons of BattleMech swayed one last time before beginning to fall directly towards him.
What would you know, Liam thought idly. I finally hit something with that blasted heavy laser…
Outside, there was a roaring sound and the scream of metal tearing, but Liam did not care. A smile found its way onto his features as he slumped backwards, consciousness slipping away and gentle darkness taking its place.
Lieutenant Vladimir Yukov of the Wolf's Dragoons lowered his Ryoken's Ultra Autocannon as he watched the Fafnir, nudged by his shot, collapse to the ground nearby. A sense of disbelief tinged his vision as he looked around and saw the devestation, parts of BattleMechs and tanks littering the cratered ground. Three broken-down garrison 'Mechs and this one Cauldron-Born had singlehandedly annihilated the northern pincer of the Crimson Fist attack.
"Silver Arrow," he radioed the DropShip hovering overhead, "it looks like all remaining elements have been cleaned up by the garrison 'Mechs and…" he frowned, "…an unknown pilot in a Cauldron-Born with Steiner markings."
"Understood, Lieutenant," the comm operator chuckled. "I know how you hate it when your job gets done by someone else before you get to it."
Vlad looked at the fallen Fafnir and shuddered. "In this case, I didn't mind a bit, Control. Do you have any information on the pilot of that 'Mech? I think he's still alive in there."
There was a momentary pause, then the comm operator's voice came back. "Blood of Kerensky," she breathed. "You are not going to believe this one, Lieutenant…"
DropShip Silver Arrow
Frederick Steiner Memorial Spaceport
Carlisle
Lyran Alliance
27 March 3067
Liam glanced up from his repair work on the Cauldron-Born's right knee actuator to see Lieutenant Yukov striding across the space, a broad grin on his features. Ahhh, that would be good news, then. He greeted the Lietuenant with a cheerful wave, which Vlad returned.
"Good news," Vlad called up over the crackle of arc-welders. "Got an HPG transmission directly from Outreach. The Old Wolf has examined your casse and believes you'd be a perfect fit for the Dragoons. We'll be burning for orbit tonight and back on Outreach in about two weeks. We can make it official there, but for the time being, congratulations."
Liam dropped from the Cauldron-Born's leg, wincing as he landed on a bruise but quickly getting to his feet nonetheless. "Thanks, Lieutenant. I appreciate it." He glanced up at his 'Mech and chuckled. "Thanks also for letting me use your repair facilities and Techs in the time in-between. I must admit, she was in pretty sad shape at the end of the battle."
Vlad waved away the thanks. "Not a problem. Heck, it's the least we owe you for completing half our contract for us."
"Me and Captain Landover and the others," Liam corrected him, sobering somewhat.
"Don't worry about it, kid," Vlad replied, stepping up next to him and also looking over the half-repaired BattleMech. "The Dragoons and the planetary government will both see to it that their families are well taken care of. Most garrison units would kill to get a chance to see action like that… and when it was their time to act, they did their duty well."
"I suppose you're right." Liam sighed and shifted his weight. Mom, Dad, Captain, all of you… I'll never forget you. I'll remember you and keep the Smoke Jaguar in me exactly where it belongs – on a very short leash.
I'll make you all proud.
Liam turned to Vlad with a grin. "By the way, do you know of anything I could swap in for a traitorous UAC-20 and three tons of ammo? Something a little less demon-possessed?"
"Oh, I imagine we can think of something… Let me take you to our engineer, Karl. He loves to do modifications. Half the 'Mechs in the company aren't stock… including mine…"
Liam turned and followed Vlad towards the engineer's office, a content smile on his face as he contemplated future contracts and future friends in the Dragoons.
From his point of view, the future had never been brighter.
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Thanks to all readers and reviewers. This is it for this story... but watch for more tales of triumph, tragedy and explosions with your very favorite Liam Jenkins/Osis coming before too long!
Yeth: Glad you liked it! Hopefully, Liam wasn't TOO SuperBoy in this little passage. After all, one kill came because he had a full shot with a huge number of powerful weapons and a Clan Targeting Computer, and another came with an unbelievably lucky heavy laser hit. Then again, I suppose the luck was balancing out with the UAC and the stupid neurohelmet.