CHAPTER 5

Review Corner

The Colonel: Alright! Alright! :)

Ulquiorra9000: We tend to remember what other people did better than what we did. I'm sure you remember my old stories better than me.


Buckminster, Buckminster Prefecture,
Benjamin Military District,
D
raconis Combine,
November 4, 3072

Noloty went through a few more maneuver trainings with disarmed battlemechs, until she finally caught up with the rest of the cadets. Then she came to the point everybody was waiting for: blowing stuffs up.

"You have made yourself familiar with how battlemechs move," the instructor briefed the cadets before he let them take the battlemechs. "Today you are going to make yourself familiar with what battlemechs are designed for: killing people. You are going to commandeer combat-ready battlemechs. This is a live-round exercise. What you shoot is what your enemies have to bear in a real combat situation.

"Your will run through 3 nav points. Each nav point has an objective you have to destroy. Nav point X-Ray has unarmored targets. Nav point Yankee has armored targets. Nav point Zulu has buildings. Use every skill you have learnt to destroy the objectives as quickly as you can. Your hitting accuracy and your selection of weapons determine your combat effectiveness, and bear in mind that your combat effectiveness determines your position in the fighting force: front line, garrison, or sapper team."

The instructor ran through a few more mission parameters, then sent the cadets to the battlemechs. There were 4 battlemechs for 12 cadets; the only ones remained in the program after 3 months of boot camp and stomach-churning battlemech piloting. Interestingly enough, the 4 bullies were still in the program, and naturally they elbowed and kicked their way up to the first 4 spots. Noloty didn't want to get delayed again so she wisely took the last place in line.

The first 4 cadets took off in a flash, and it took less than a minute for the fireworks to commence. The rattle of .50 caliber machine guns, followed by thundering explosions and plumes of smoke, echoed through the training ground. The other cadets started chattering, with 'ooh' and 'aah' with every blast in the distance. Nobody could wait to get their own experience, and understandably so.

Ten minutes passed and the four battlemechs returned. The cadets jumped down and gave each other spirited high-fives, as if they were ready to take on the Word of Blake. Four more cadets went out and made the ground shook.

And then, it was Noloty's turn. She climbed into a Stinger, put on the safety harness, then thumbed the start button. This time, the weapon screen went online, showing green icons for one medium laser and two machine guns. She connected the weapons to her neurohelmet and a crosshair appeared on her visor. She moved her head and the Stinger tracked her movement, although with only limited accuracy.

"Alright Cadets, you know what to do," the instructor's voice crackled. "Head to X-Ray."

Noloty pushed the throttle, and the Stinger broke into a sprint. The training ground already looked like a war zone, for the cadets couldn't help shooting their weapons at anything within reach. Trees, rocks, grass, trash, piles of dirt, everything. Noloty was tempted to 'test' her weapons on some trees and boulders but she remembered her first battlemech piloting. The instructor might prepare another 'surprise' for her, so she opted to hold her trigger and keep her head on the mission at hand.

Nav point X-Ray approached fast and there were vehicles – civilian vehicles – scattered about. Noloty wasn't sure if those were her objectives, so she called her instructor through general frequency, "Visual contact with civilian vehicles. Permission to engage."

"Permission granted. Waste them."

The cadets slowed down to a stop then unleashed a barrage in reckless abandon, like wolves feasting on hapless muttons. The comlink suddenly burst into hoots, and it was not hard to see why. The soft pulse of the machine guns brought about the primal beast in any mechwarrior with hearbeats, and the explosion at the end of the bullet traces acted as a firework, commending their savagery. Noloty felt it too. Her first kill, an empty truck, awoke the mass murderer in her. She made a sweeping motion with her crosshair, and the Stinger reacted by spraying its bullets to a wide area, wrecking several vehicles in fiery explosions. A sadistic smile escaped her lips.

However she was quickly reminded of 'qualities' of her work. She didn't want to be in a sapper team, and although doing garrison duty was not that bad, she wanted to be on the front line, piloting the best battlemech with the deadliest weapons. So she put her Stinger on cruise, twisted left, and shot the vehicles at an angle. By the time there were no more vehicles to shoot, she was 200 meters ahead of everybody. She throttled up to full speed and used the head start to be the first one to arrive at Nav point Yankee.

This time there was no confusion. Half a dozen Hetzer tanks greeted her in staggered formation. Noloty fired her machine gun but the bullets just bounced off the armor of the closest Hetzer. She needed to bring her bigger gun to bear. She fired her medium laser, and the front armor of the Hetzer glowed in glorious red. She waited until the laser recycled, then fired again. Globs of superheated armor drooped, exposing part of the structure. Noloty switched to machine guns and pumped her bullets, carving a deep crater where the melted armor was a few minutes ago, but still failed to score critical damage.

By this time the cockpit had become a sauna, but Noloty didn't notice. She was too engrossed in bringing down the Hetzer. A couple more laser shots finally cleared the armor, then a long burst of machine guns penetrated the structure and torched the engine. Fire engulfed the 40-ton tank, and Noloty reckoned the crews would've been dead by then.

As Noloty backed up to let the mech regulate the temperature, she observed the training ground. None of the other cadets had scored a kill. They just circled the Hetzer and fired their weapons whenever they are ready. And there were two Hetzers still untouched. She could easily take another one and score two Hetzer kills, but the other cadets clearly had no concept of concentrated fire, so she decided to lend her hands.

"Hey! What the hell are you thinking! This is my target!" the cadet in a Locust roared as Noloty shot a few rounds at the Hetzer he was trying to destroy.

"It'll be quicker if we work together," Noloty replied. "Pick a spot and work on it until you get to the internal structure."

The Locust ignored Noloty and kept doing what it had been doing, but joined Noloty when her work showed better result. They cored the tank together, and within 2 minutes, the tank went up in flames.

As the Locust moved to an untouched Hetzer to apply the new technique, Noloty switched to a Wasp and did the same. The cadet in the Wasp was more appreciative, and they singed the Hetzer in no time. They switched to the other Hetzer as the other cadet, also in a Stinger, was almost finished with the Hetzer. They busted the remaining Hetzer almost at the same time, then moved together to Nav point Zulu.

Three factory warehouses waited for them at Nav point Zulu.

"Same thing, guys. Concentrate fire on one building at a time. We'll bring them down quicker," Noloty said. She picked the building closest to her and started shooting. The other mechs followed suit. They launched barrages after barrages of lasers and bullets, until the warehouse crumbled in a thick cloud of dust. Then they moved to the next, then the next, until all buildings were destroyed.

"Good work, Cadets," the instructor spoke on the comlink. "Team work is the key to survive on the battlefield. Mission accomplished. Return to base."


Noloty didn't realize how hot the cockpit had become during the mission until she got out of the mech. She was practically drenched in sweat. A nice long cold shower was definitely in order, and that was where she was going.

Entering the barrack, Noloty stripped her clothes and walked to the shower. It was a long hall with a dozen shower heads. It was empty, since most female cadets had left the program, either transferred to another division, or quit entirely. Noloty undid her ponytail and let the cold water run through her body. It felt refreshing, after sweating her ass off in a tight space on top of a nuclear reactor.

Noloty lathered up and was losing herself in her own thought when another cadet took the place next to her. Noloty didn't want to stare at the girl but it was hard not to. She was full figured, with delicate peach complexion and perfectly-rounded ass that only matched her double-D cups. Her orange hair went past her shoulder, which immediately turned dark as the water ran through it.

"Great day for shooting up crap, isn't it?" the nubile girl said, smiling wide.

"It is," Noloty replied. She felt her cheek burn. "Were you on the battlemech gunnery training just now?"

"I was the one on the Wasp," the girl offered her hand. "Thanks for helping me out. I'm Kayoko."

"Noloty," she grabbed her hand. "Nice to meet you, Kayoko."

"Aren't you the one who stood up against those bastards? You go, Girl! Somebody has to teach them some manners!"

"Do you know who they are?" Noloty turned off the water and dried off.

"Some of them are related to high-ranking operatives in the Black Dragon Society," Kayoko stroked her hair. "Those bullies have no intention to be mechwarriors. As soon as they finish here, the will do some other trainings. Insurgence, covert ops, politics..."

"Why train to be mechwarriors if they are not going to be ones in the first place?"

"Who knows. Maybe it's a prerequisite if you want to pursue a career with the Black Dragon."

"Figures," Noloty dried her hair with her towel. "They are not going to be mechwarriors yet they stay in the program. Those who aspired to be ones, left."

"Black Dragon Society controls a lot of aspects in the 2nd Sword of Light."

"My father used to work for Black Dragon Society. It has been looking out for me. I mean, the Black Dragon took care of me when Word of Blake wiped out my family. But they do not control me. I decide where I go. I am here because I want to be here."

"Meh, whatever," Kayoko started lathering her body. "But looks like you're getting comfortable with Gunjin Enrique. Good stuff. Show those Black Dragon brats they are not the only ones who have friends in high places."

Noloty felt her face burning. "I am not dating Enrique! And even if I am, I do not use him for my own advantage! I would never do such thing! I do not need him to protect me."

"You were mugged by 4 bullies. If he didn't interfere, they would've beaten you to pulp."

"A mere act of chivalry, that's all."

"You can call it anyway you like, but it doesn't make it less true," Kayoko let the water splatter on her face. "If I were you, I'd seriously consider an 'alliance' with Gunjin Enrique. He has the hots for you. He can discourage the Black Dragon brats from making another attempt at you. Plus, he's a good lay. His abs is like bricks. And if that's not an indication of what he's packing underneath…"

"You… slept with him?" Noloty winced.

Kayoko shrugged. "This is the military. Mechwarrior's life is rough. We need something to relieve stress." She gauged Noloty's reaction, looking for a hint of jealousy. "I'm not crossing a line, am I?"

"Oh, hell, no," Noloty blew a raspberry. "Do what you want with him. I'm not interested."

"Hey, I'm not the one on the brats' crosshair. You need him more than I do. And by reading his signals, he's more interested in you than me."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I can take care of myself."

"Then let me return your favor," Kayoko turned the water off. "You looked out for me during the gunnery training. I don't have friends in high places to keep you out of trouble, I can't commandeer a battlemech or brawl as good as you, but I can offer you my shoulders whenever you have a hard day."

Noloty nodded and smiled. "That, I can do."

"Then let's consummate our 'coalition' with a good meal," Kayoko put her arms on Noloty's shoulder. "All these shooting and talking about the bullies and the Black Dragon Society make me hungry."