BOOK III

CHAPTER 1

Review Corner:

The Colonel: That's a good prediction

Ulquiorra9000: Assimilate is the better word but it sounds too Trekkish. All we need is somebody saying "Refusal to comply is totally useless", or something to that effect, and this story will go to a whole new direction


Jumpship Paiderastia,
Ashio System, Ashio Prefecture,
Dieron Military District, Draconis Combine,
January 11, 3074

Noloty's sleep was rudely interrupted by blaring klaxons. Abandon ship! All hands, abandon ship!

"What?! What the hell is …" Noloty was just stretching out when a massive quake threw her off the bed. She slid on the floor to a corner and landed on top of a man, draped only in a Marik-purple boxer. A few other passengers fell from their cots and piled up on top of her. Everybody tried to get up from the floor, throwing elbows and knees and punches in every direction, some of which ended up on Noloty's face.

The trip from Lyran Alliance back to Draconis Combine was uneventful at best. The dropship Amityville docked with Jumpship Paiderastia 2 hours after dustoff. All passengers of the Leopard-class dropship transferred to the merchant-class jumpship. After that, it was just a series of jumping and recharging. Everything happened in suspended animation. None of the passengers were interested in socializing and only minded their own business. It was so mind-numbing Noloty lost track of space. She knew the jumpship crossed the Lyran-Dracon border sometime around Christmas. But as for what system they were on exactly, she had no idea.

And then this happened.

As the jumpship began to turn over, Noloty pushed the pile of passengers with all her might. She rolled to her side just as a burly man crashed onto the space she occupied a moment ago. She pushed herself from the floor and jumped over a couple passengers. She climbed a bed to dodge some passengers who barreled out of the living quarter, then followed them outside.

The main corridor was jam-packed with people rushing to all direction. Noloty tried to grab somebody but the absolute terror in people's eyes told her something happened to the jumpship. Her basic training kicked in, and she ran to the only place she could think of: the hangar.

Arriving at the hangar, Noloty had to 'swim' upstream through a stampede toward lifeboats. She got an idea of what caused such panic, but she got the attention of a ship crew. "What is happening?" she asked.

"The ship's under attack! Go to the lifeboat!" the crew pushed her out of his way.

"Under attack? By whom?"

"Does it matter? Get in the lifeboat!" the man hollered at her face. "Move it move it move it!"

This attack did not make sense. The Paiderastia was a civilian jump ship. Either it was mistaken for a military jump ship, or somebody was playing a really nasty game. But it didn't matter. A big explosion rocked the ship, and Noloty knew she didn't have much time. She was already running toward a lifeboat when she realized that there was only one safe place for a mechwarrior.

The cockpit of a battlemech.

Reversing direction, Noloty slid two decks until she arrived at the Amityville. The bay door had begun to close. She sprinted as hard as she could, then skidded on the grated floor, ripping her elbow skin in the process, and slid into the Leopard-class dropship. She pulled herself up, grimacing in pain as blood trickled down her arms. But the pain soon subsided as she saw the Sagittaire was still there, locked up in one of the mech cubicles, as if waiting for her to take it.

Without thinking Noloty clambered up the platform and grabbed a neurohelmet. One of the dropship crew was setting up another mechwarrior on the Bombardier next to the Sagittaire when he saw what Noloty was trying to do.

"Hey, hey, hey, that's not your mech!" he rushed toward Noloty. "Get your ass off that thing!"

Noloty's mouth opened for a counterargument, but a jarring explosion rocked the ship. She instinctively grabbed hold of a plasteel bar for support, but the crewman was not so lucky. A loose structure came crashing down on the platform where they stood, taking him along with a big chunk of the platform down three stories to the ground. The light went out, replaced by blinking red light. Klaxon overwhelmed the bay, signaling all dropship crews and passengers that detachment from Paiderastia was imminent.

Noloty jumped into the cockpit as fast as she could and sealed the hatch. She was on her way to the command couch when a powerful quake threw her to a corner. She got on all four and tried to reach for the seat but another quake sent her sprawling to another corner. Another jerk sent her to the ceiling. She gave up all attempt to sit on the couch and just grabbed something as the cockpit continued to shake vigorously.

This continued for the next half hour, capped by a crash so shocking Noloty thought the Sagittaire would split into two, then everything went quiet. Noloty lied down on the cockpit floor, waiting for something to happen, but the only thing she could feel was soft, rhythmical pulse coming from the floor. It was time for her to move. She pulled up and claimed the command seat. She hooked up her neurohelmet to the console, pressed the start button, disabled the password sequence, and inspected her mech. The dropship crew had patched up the armor but didn't reload the UAC10. But with an ERPPC, 5 medium lasers, and sufficient armor, she was confident in her defense, should it come to that.

"You alright, Hamlet?" she talked to herself. "So glad to be here again! Looks like you're in better shape than I am. But it doesn't matter. Let's see what we got ourselves into."

Noloty twisted the Sagittaire as far as the moorings let it. The door bays were split open, and she could see through the crack that the dropship had crash-landed on a rocky soil. The mech bay was a total mess. One battlemech, an Exterminator, had been dislodged from its moorings and lying on the ground. The other two, a Bombardier on her left and a Crab on her right, were still intact.

Noloty jiggled the joystick with her bloody hands and the Sagittaire wrested itself free from the platform. She set out com link through general frequency, "Is anybody alive? Hello? Can anybody hear me?"

"The name is Beck, Hexare Grenadiers. I'm on the Bombardier."

"Private Mauhur, Fighting Urukhai. I'm on the Crab. I'm supposed to be at New Aragorn, dammit!"

"Noloty Malche, 2nd Sword of Light, I'm on the Sagittaire. Does anybody know where we are?"

"Somewhere in Ashio Prefecture, I think," the guy named Beck replied.

"Kuritan space," the guy named Mauhur added. "Of all the places we could crash-land, it has to be Kuritan space!"

"Guys, I'm a Draconis Combine mechwarrior. If we are in Draconis territory, there may be some DCMS units that can help us. Follow my lead, and I promise I'll get you out."

"Roger that, I'm following you," Beck replied.

"Got no love for the Dracons, but alright," Mauhur followed. "Just get me outta here!"

Slowly Noloty pushed the throttle forward to guide the Sagittaire through the debris. She led her mech to crouch under the low clearance, and barely managed to pass through the opening. The sound of the rhythmical pounding became more pronounced once she was outside. Clearing the dropship, she climbed up a hill as she waited for the other two mechs to get out of the wreck.

A scene of unrivaled savagery greeted her. A sizeable city, with various towers and domes and dormitories, was subject to intense shelling from an unknown force. Multiple pillars of smoke billowed from various buildings, and fire engulfed half of the city. It was the thundering explosions in the city that Noloty heard as drums playing in the distance.

"What in the name of Hachiman is happening here?" she murmured.

Her com set blink. Somebody was trying to establish communication line with her. She picked it up, and the feeble sound of a woman sorted through roaring blasts. "Mayday! Mayday! This is Chu-sa Oblivia Sandokan, 13th Legion of Vega! We are under heavy fire! Need immediate assistance!"

Legion of Vega. That was an honorable Kuritan regiment. After the debacle on Strantor, Noloty found a way to redeem herself. "This is Heishi Noloty Malche. What's your sitrep?"

"Word of Blake's mercenaries have been shelling the city of Shigata for the last few days. I am leading a Disaster Action Team to Shigata. My Sun Zhang Cadre escorts were wiped out by the mercenaries. I am trapped in the city with thousands of civilians. Evacuation force is half an hour away but we need these mercenary bastards off our back or there will be nothing to evacuate!"

"Hang on, Ma'am! I'm coming!" Noloty gunned her engine toward the city. She hailed the other two mercenaries coming out of the dropship wreck. "We have an escape route! A Kuritan unit is pinned in the city waiting for evacuation. Some Word of Blake forces are grinding them to the ground. If we can help them hold off the Blakist force, we can evacuate with them!"

"Roger that, I'm right behind you," Beck replied as he caught up with Noloty in his Bombardier.

"I'm not helping goddamn Kuritans!" Mauhur snorted through the comlink.

"This is your only chance! They're the only one with dropships! You don't help them, you're stuck here with the Blakes!"

"Sonofabitch! Alright, I'm coming!" Mauhur replied. "But I'm doing this for my own sake! I'm not joining you people!"

"Have it your way!" Noloty set the course to the city in front of her and pushed the throttle to maximum. The Sagittaire broke into a steady run, and although she had quite a big lead, the Bombardier and the Crab caught up with her. As she got closer, the drumming sound of explosions started to rattle the cockpit. The streets were jammed with vehicles trying to leave the city, and a company of Cavalry Attack helicopters rained down their missiles on the stampede. Fireballs ravaged the vehicles trapped in the traffic.

"Chu-sa Oblivia, I have visual contact with a company of VTOLs firing on civilian refugees. Do they belong to your unit?"

"Negative, Heishi. Smoke those bastards!"

"Ryokai!" Noloty tilted her mech up and fired her PPC at the closest Cavalry. Azure charged bolt jetted from the Sagittaire's left torso and stung a Cavalry. Its well-armored hull blunted Noloty's attack, but the chopper stalled, nose-diving toward the packed street, only to hover inches above the ground.

The rest of the VTOLs turned and launched their missiles at the incoming threats, mostly at Noloty.

"Fire at will! Take down those choppers!" Noloty yelled. Missiles smashed into various part of the Sagittaire, rendering aiming difficult. She blasted her jets and soared, dodging at least 5 shoals of warheads thrown at her at the same time, then fired her PPC at the Cavalry she hit a few seconds ago, still shrugging off the effect of her first PPC. Her long blue energy dart set off a fireball as the Cavalry erupted midair, ejecting metal shards and charred flesh.

"Eat this, suckers!" Beck barked through the comlink as the Bombardier launched a 40-missile salvo at the choppers. Some broke formations for evasive maneuvers, but two were caught in the missile storm. One lost its rotor and quickly plummeted to its scorching death, another one spun out of control when a lucky warhead smashed into the cockpit. It dove straight to the ground and disintegrated into fragments, leaving nothing bigger than a football.

The remaining Cavalry Attack made a wide loop to regroup, but the Crab used its long range energy weapons to disrupt the process. A single large laser singed the tail rotor of a chopper, causing the VTOL to spin wildly before coming to a fiery blast next to the road. Its second laser volley wrecked the main rotor, and the Cavalry went to a nose dive that ended up in a brilliant explosion.

"Hit that big honkin' round of a rotor," Mauhur's self-satisfactory voice crackled. "Big target, easier to hit, with certain death to follow!"

Noloty took the cue and aimed high, firing her PPC at the fuzzy round thing atop a Cavalry Attack helicopter. Spark burst and the chopper immediately stalled, crashing onto the ground in a wild bonfire. The Bombardier pulled similar stunt, aiming at the rotor, bringing down two more Cavalry Attack helicopters. Not to be outdone, the Crab sacked another chopper, turning it into a fireball before it hit the ground.

The remaining helicopters conceded and turned away from the battle.

"Chu-sa Oblivia, air threat is neutralized," Noloty said. "Area is secured."

"Good job, mechwarrior," the other woman replied. "Another mercenary group is firing incendiary shells at civilians from the north east. Possibly ground units. Search and destroy those units!"

"Yes Ma'am!" Noloty plot another route to the northern part of the city. She hailed the Bombardier and the Crab, "Let's take it up a notch, guys! More Blakist mercenaries to destroy!"

The Sagittaire jumped over the burning street while the Bombardier and Crab took a long detour until they found an opening on the traffic. They quickly regrouped with the Sagittaire at the outskirt. The city was torn apart, an obvious sign of pitched battle with parts from various war machines littered the ground. The northern part of the city was blanketed in black smoke, with occasional flashes from explosions peeking from the thick greasy cloud.

As they got closer, Noloty could see traces of artillery shells arching in the air before hammering the city. She turned her mech toward the source of the trace. Far outside the city, about 5 miles north of the burning district, a company of Thor SPA rained down their artillery rounds, reinforced with Inferno warheads, upon the city. A lance of Rommel MBT guarded the SPA's in line formation.

"Take them one vehicle at a time," Noloty said as she prepared her ERPPC. "Target Thor forward corner. Fire on my mark." She waited until they fell within 500 meters from the formation. "Now!" Her PPC flashed, sending a stream of particle charges at the closest Thor. The Bombardier's missiles arched like a rainbow, splashing on the SPA in a torrential hail. The Crab's twin lasers stabbed the Thor, finishing what Noloty started. The stored magazine went off in mad succession, and the Thor roared into a fireball.

The Rommels came alive and charged Noloty's ragtag band, spraying its 5-pack missiles while rushing to bring their lethal AC20 to bear.

"Watch out for those AC20!" Noloty cried out while steering her Sagittaire clear of the Rommel's firing range. "Keep hammering those Thors! I'll handle the Rommels!"

Noloty knew she must only rely on her PPC for the AC20 matched the range of her medium lasers. She bobbed and weaved, striking the Rommels from the distance, sniping any Rommel that tried to take pot shots at the Bombardier and Crab. Soon the Sagittaire turned scorching hot, and the Rommels' long range missiles tore her armor up layer by layer, digging deep into the myomer bundles. She fired her jets to change direction, then hit the Rommel closest to the other two mechs. The excessive heat hindered her movement, but the Rommel mediocre top speed couldn't take advantage of that.

Meanwhile the Bombardier and Crab found better success with the SPA. Packed in tight 'testudo' formation, the Thors in the center were trapped and had to wait for the outer Thors to move out of the way before they could maneuver. The Bombardier just battered the center formation, one salvo after another, destroying two Thors in quick succession. The Crab swung in a wide circle and disabled the outer Thors, trapping some tanks in the center. The raging fire from busted artillery tanks demoralized the tank crews so bad half of them jumped off their tanks and fled on foot.

The Rommels turned to protect the Thors and Noloty pressed her attack. She slammed home a PPC bolt at the turret of a Rommel. An orange fireball catapulted the turret a few dozen meters in the air, then crashed in earth-shattering boom. The burning hull of the Rommel rolled aimlessly.

Seeing all was lost, the remaining tanks retreated.

"Artillery units neutralized," Noloty reported.

"You start to impress me, Heishi," Oblivia replied. "The northern districts of Shigata are lost but we can use them as a safe passage for evacuation. The western part is still under heavy fire. See to it that this part of the city is relieved. Be advised, battlemechs are reported in this area."

"Acknowledged," Noloty replied. She cranked the engine up and dove straight into the war-torn city. Buildings were set ablaze, and the streets were littered with concrete blocks, burning vehicles, and civilians. She jumped over a few highways to avoid fleeing civilians, then continued west where smoke pillars rose, exemplified by flashes of light and thundering explosions. The Bombardier and Crab followed her in a tight formation.

It was almost 20 minutes until they reached the west end of Shigata. The situation was worse, with burning carcasses of mechs and tanks blocking the streets. Whoever defended the city put up a good but disastrous fight. The assailants, led by a Longbow and a Catapult, rained down Inferno-laden missiles upon the smoldering districts, while a Highlander and a Rifleman protected their rear flank, occasionally firing their weapons at the nearby buildings.

"Heads up! Heavy and assault mechs!" Noloty said. "We can do this! Focus on one mech at a time! Target the Highlander! Fire at will! Give everything you got!"

Missiles, laser, and particle bolts leapt from their tubes and converged on the Highlander's upper body. The assault mech convulsed and wobbled under the onslaught. It backed up into a building, destroying the front extrerior of the skyscraper before slouching on its left side. Smoke twirled from a big gash on its center torso.

The rest of the lance turned to assess the new threat, and Noloty braced for impact, but instead the Longbow and Catapult fired their missiles at the Bombardier. The Rifleman followed suit, firing its ballistic/laser combo, shredding the armor of the 65-ton missile boat. Chunks of armor and internal structures flew into the open as the Bombardier trashed about.

"Mayday! Mayday! They're ganging up on me!" the panic voice of Beck bled from the comlink.

"Hard break right!" Noloty jumped and landed in front of the Bombardier, but the Highlander returned to the fight quicker than she anticipated. It fired its Gauss rifle, and the Bombardier's left torso erupted in a spectacular display of fireworks. The Rifleman swung right and buried a fatal shot into the unprotected engine. The Bombardier disintegrated in a furious explosion so hard it knocked half of Noloty sensor's off.

"Sonofabitch, we can't win this!" the Crab turned around to run away from the battle. "We should've waited at the dropship!"

"Stay in the fight! Stay in the fight!" Noloty warned Mauhur but she was too late. The Longbow and the Catapult unleashed a staggering 80-missile salvo at the Crab's thin rear armor. The warheads chewed up the Crab without relent, leaving it a mangled hulk. The Highlander took a good aim at the exposed rear side and slammed home a nickel-ferrous slug into the unprotected engine. The Crab burst into flames.

Now standing alone, Noloty knew her life was numbered in seconds. She fired her PPC at the Highlander's chest, wishing for a lucky shot, but it didn't happen. The Highlander staggered, bleeding fire from a bad gash on the front armor, but regained control and trained all weapons at the Sagittaire. The Rifleman lobbed a long trace of HEAP at her direction. She twisted left, blunting the attack with her right side, just when the Catapult fired its missiles. The shockwave felt like a tidal wave. The Sagittaire leaned on its left. Noloty slammed the joystick to her right thigh, compensating the impact, but the Longbow was waiting for her. She had nothing else to do but to brace for impact.

But before she drew more damage, the ground lit up with massive explosions. Bright energy bolts and hypersonic ballistics harassed the mercenary lance from its left flank. Noloty turned her mech toward the source of the fire, and watched in helpless wonder as a Blood Asp, two Banshee, and a Pillager joined the fray, going straight at the mercenary lance.