CHAPTER 13
Review Corner
Ulquiorra9000: Regarding Kayoko, I think Darth Vader said it best: "The libido is strong with this one."
The Colonel: We'll come to that point but the road is long and hazardous, so be patient.
Pequod Place,
Mesartim, Valexa PDZ,
Capellan March, Federated Suns,
April 5, 3074
The order arrived as quickly as Davion technicians repairing and reloading the Kuritan battlemechs. Major Fernandes sent them to the city of Pequod Place to assassinate a top commander of the Redfield Renegades, along with a few executives of a local weapon manufacturer that had been supplying war materials to the Renegades.
"This is Rabid Fox Zero," a Davion special agent briefed the Kuritan lance through comlink as they sped toward the city. "Commander Rahxephon of Redfield Renegades is having a meeting with managers of Novastar Industries at a local restaurant. The 1st FedSun Armored Cavalry wants them dead. I want you to get into the city, blow up the restaurant, and punch out. I'm sending the coordinate to you."
"Opposition?" Kayoko asked.
"Medium to heavy. This is a surgical strike behind enemy line. You need your stealth, not your combat prowess. Avoid contact at all cost. Fight only as the last resort to get out of their way."
"Backup?"
"A few Davion units are stationed at the northeast part of the city. They can cover your retreat but do not, and I repeat, DO NOT bring them into the fight unless absolutely necessary."
"Collateral damage?"
"Acceptable. The citizens of Pequod Place are assisting the Renegades. That makes them 'combatants'."
"Understood, Sir." Kayoko switched off the comlink with Major Fernandes. "Alright, Strike Lance, you heard the man. We are not here to fight. Get in, get the job done, and get out. Passive radar and maintain radio silence. Visual contact only."
Noloty had her fill of surgical strike. The last surgical strike ended up in a disaster. The horror of the torture chamber still haunted her to this day. Being stripped naked, shackled on a slab at the mercy of sadistic men who took pleasure in her writhing and screaming in agony made her shift uncomfortably in her command couch. She wouldn't go through that again, and she didn't want the team to take that risk. But Kayoko already issued radio silence, so she just kept everything for herself and made sure her weapons were ready when she needed it.
Before long the mech quartet arrived at Pequod Place, an urban jungle with a few skyscrapers at the center. Kayoko accessed the HPG overhead map and picked up a path to the designated restaurant. The Uziel and Phoenix Hawk took a parallel highway to block a possible exit route. Noloty stayed behind Kayoko, lining up her Quasit directly behind Kayoko's Argus.
They barely passed the outskirt when the Davion agent hailed them. "Hold position. Target is on the move."
"Shit," Kayoko winced. They were exposed in the open, and sooner or later somebody would spot them and reported them to the Redfield Renegades. Fortunately the bypass the Uziel and Phoenix Hawk were taking had an overpass a few hundred meters ahead. "Everybody under the bridge! Move! Move! Move!"
Kayoko's Argus kicked up its MASC and Noloty followed it to slip under the overpass. Half a minute later the Uziel and Phoenix Hawk joined them. There was not a lot of space under the bridge, but the four mechs squeezed together in the cramped space.
"Rabid Fox Zero, what is going on there? This place is crawling with Liao partisans and you put us in a vulnerable position!" Kayoko growled over the comlink.
"Target has left the premise," the Davion agent replied coldly. "He's in a Mobile HQ escorted by Skulker and Stalker light tanks. Stand by. We're calculating possible routes to intercept." A long burst of static filled the comlink, then the overhead map blinked with a highlighted route. "It is possible the target is returning to Novastar tower. I need you to intercept the convoy before they reach the building, because if it is the case, you have to take out the entire building."
"Collateral damage would be catastrophic," Noloty chimed in.
"Rabid Fox Zero, give me the fastest route to Novastar tower," Kayoko said. "We'll cut them off before they reach their destination."
"Acknowledged," the Davion agent replied, and another route lit up on the overhead map. "You have 3 minutes."
"Come on! Move! Move! Move!" Kayoko practically screamed on the comlink. She put her Argus into high gear and blasted her way into the open. The Uziel and Phoenix Hawk followed the Argus' move, using their jump jets to make up grounds. Noloty rerouted all power outlets to the myomer, but giving up 15 kph to the other mechs, the Quasit fell behind. As minutes passed, it was clear that she would not be part of the assassination party, and she hated it.
Kayoko and two other mechs blazed past Novastar tower and went straight toward the convoy, but suddenly the convoy took an unexpected detour and engaged a high-speed trek on a highway. The Argus, Uziel, and Phoenix Hawk, waiting to intercept the convoy near Novastar tower, suddenly found themselves out of position. Noloty, half a kilometer lagging behind Kayoko, was the only one in position to strike the convoy.
"Dammit! Noloty, the convoy's not going to Novastar tower! You have to take the shot!" Kayoko yelled. "Kill the command van! Now!"
Noloty knew the load she had to shoulder, and even though she realized the consequence, she just took one for the team. She turned hard left, taking a dark alley between 2 tall buildings, and emerged on the highway where the convoy was rolling on. The front-most Skulker was a few meters away from the Quasit. Missiles and laser strands whizzed at her but she kept her profile low, dodging most of the rushed attack. She twisted and lined up her Plasma Rifle at the command van at the center of the convoy, then let it rip as soon as the crosshair burnt gold.
The superheated plasma torched the command van. Tongues of fire burst from the windows, and the armored vehicle immediately reeled out of formation. The Striker behind the command van slammed the brake, and the Skulker behind it smashed right into it. Both armored vehicles skidded and crashed onto the adjacent buildings. Noloty didn't take a chance. She blasted her machine guns at the burning command van, even though nobody came out of the vehicle. Her Plasma Rifle soon recycled and she fired another round. A white fireball devoured the command van, seconds before internal explosions tore the armored vehicle apart from inside.
"Target destroyed!" Noloty exclaimed. She turned on her radar for the first time since they infiltrated Pequod Place. Multiple heat signatures started to zero in on her position. "The mercs are hot on my tail!"
"Bring them to Nav Point Sierra, grid D3, five click south! We'll smoke them like they ain't no thing!" Kayoko voice was lush with hostility.
"Ryokai. Making best speed to Nav Point Sierra," Noloty kicked her mech to maximum speed. Lasers and missiles from the escorts peppered her from 3 different directions. Half a dozen medium laser bolts punched holes all along her mech. She ducked while running, keeping her cockpit low as missiles zipped past her head with murderous intention. The Skulkers and Stalkers broke formation to box her, but she returned to the dark alley where she came out from, taking cover between buildings.
Coming out on the other side of the alley, a lance of Nightwind helicopters were waiting for her, with another lance of Skulkers and two Vulcan battlemechs not too far behind. Missiles leapt from their tubes, coming straight at the Quasit's head. Noloty did the only thing she could: cowering as low as she could and made a hard right turn. Only two missiles hit the Quasit's torso, but those two were enough to flay the industrial armor open.
"Renegades coming in hot!" Noloty hollered as lasers and missiles poured down on her. "Four Nightwinds, four Skulkers, and two Vulcans are latching on my six! I'll take them with me as far as I can!"
The Nightwinds broke formation and pulled out a pincer movement, trapping the Quasit in crossfire. Noloty swerved left and fired her Plasma Rifle at a Nightwind. The chopper burst into flames and spun downward, ending in a thick plume of smoke.
One of the Vulcans got a clear shot at the Quasit and took it. Its UAC5 belched fire, sending armor piercing rounds 500 meters across concrete slab and blasted the Quasit's right shoulder. Noloty yelped as the Quasit lurched forward, stunned by the sheer force of the autocannon. Its shoulder guard disintegrated into shards, some hit the canopy glass. The armor gage blinked in red, hinting serious trouble if she got hit at the same place again.
Noloty knew that the Vulcans could gobble up the gap between them in no time so she fought the urge to return fire and kept running. The Nightwinds danced around her while the Skulkers closing in on her, bringing their laser cannons to bear. Warheads blasted left and right, each time getting closer to strip another layer of the Quasit's weak industrial armor, but Noloty crisscrossed her path, swerving left and right, using buildings as cover while gunning her engine toward the designated Nav Point. The temptation to turn around and fight was unbearable, but she knew her armor wouldn't hold against two lances of armed vehicles, let alone two Vulcans.
The designated Nav Point soon appeared on the radar and Noloty called for her lance mates, "Approaching Nav Point Sierra, towing in three Nightwinds, four Skulkers, and two Vulcans. Where do you want them?"
"Run past the Nav Point. We'll have them on a defilade," Kayoko hissed.
"Ryokai," Noloty replied and set a straight course toward the Nav Point. Two missiles from a Nightwind exploded inches away from the Quasit's legs. The lanky industrialmech wobbled but quickly found purchase and continued its course. Two laser bolts burnt a ton of armor on the legs, cutting several myomer bundles. Noloty jettisoned her Plasma Rifle to lighten the load, but it didn't matter much. The Quasit quickly lost speed, but still limping forward.
"Come on come on come on!" Noloty groaned. She slammed her joystick left and right, but with the Quasit losing myomers at an alarming rate, it became harder and harder to maneuver. The Vulcans finally caught up with her and raised their ultra autocannons, waiting for a hard lock. "Anytime now, Kayoko," she prayerfully whispered as she grabbed hold of her joystick, waiting for the muzzle flash.
Fortunately it didn't come. Kayoko's Argus jumped out of a building and slammed home its Heavy PPC on the closest Vulcan's right torso. The Vulcan twisted and staggered, crackling with static charge. Kayoko followed up with her twin Streak SRM6, and the targeting computer guided the homing missiles to exploit the bad gash on the Vulcan's right torso. The ammunition feeder erupted, and the torso split open, gushing sparks and splinters. The right arm dangled on the severed structure with only a few strands of myomers.
"How do you like that, mercenary scum?" Kayoko chimed. "Strike Lance! Murder these bitches!"
The Nightwinds split to trap the Argus in crossfire but the Uziel came bursting out of a building. Two Nightwinds immediately plummeted, falling victim to the twin particle blades. The remaining chopper turned and lashed out its missiles, but the Uziel shrugged them off and fired off its PPCs as soon as they were ready. The fuselage broke into 3 parts as internal explosion tore the Nightwind apart.
The Skulker regrouped in echelon right but the Phoenix Hawk jetted out from a building and landed at their unguarded left flank. Its pulse laser flashed, peeling off the thin armor of the Skulkers like a 5-year-old impatiently unwrapping his Christmas present. One Skulker quickly burst into flames, the other three decided it was not worth it to contest the superiority of the Phoenix Hawk. They turned around and kicked up their engine in high gear.
Even though Noloty didn't score a kill, she entertained herself with the massacre. The Vulcan fidgeted under the intense firepower of the Argus -5D, which launched its second Heavy PPC salvo. The front armor blunted the attack, but the Argus' lethal Streak missiles gored the unprotected torso. The engine erupted like a volcano, and the Vulcan disappeared in a column of black oily smoke.
The other Vulcan disappeared behind a building before the Argus set its weapons on it.
"Nice shooting," Noloty chimed through personal channel. "You've come a long way since boot camp."
"Praise Kerensky for Targetting Computer and Laser Guidance System," Kayoko chortled in response. "They're the best inventions known to men. You should try it sometimes."
"I sure will." Noloty could almost see Kayoko grinning from ear to ear.
"Alright, Rabid Fox Zero, one scattered mercenary pursuit squad in addition to one slain merc commander. Is there anything else you want disappeared?"
"Negative. We just kicked over the beehive. They're gonna come back big time. Return to base."
"As you wish." Kayoko throttled up to full speed. "RTB and RNR. It's their move, and by Hachiman we'll be ready for them."
