CHAPTER 14

Review Corner

The Colonel: I'll love plasma weaponry if there is no PPC. I just can't get over the fact that PPC does not need ammo.

Ulquiorra9000: Sometimes two wrongs do make it right :)


Pequod Place,
Mesartim, Valexa PDZ,
Capellan March, Federated Suns,

April 7, 3074

As predicted, the death of the Redfield Renegades commander turned the mercenary berserk. They sacked Pequod Place and assaulted Davion operatives any chances they got. The situation was made worse by the citizens who assisted the mercenary, either by reporting the location of Davion combatants, or just straight up attacking anything with Davion crest.

"We should bomb this place orbitally," Kayoko sneered as the Kuritan lance stood by some warehouses at the outskirt of Pequod Place, waiting for orders from Rabid Fox.

"And how would we be different from mercenaries? Armed thugs that would do anything for a piece of paper called money?" Noloty scoffed. The image of the Markham Marauders hitting civilians at Ashio put a bitter taste in her words.

"The citizens of Pequod Place are aiding the Redfield Renegades. In my dictionary, they are instruments of war, and to win a war, we have to choke our enemy from their resources, including informers."

"There are always two sides of war. You can't kill all citizens for a few militants."

"Do you really believe that, Noloty?" Kayoko said. "Do you really believe that there are some sorry bastards in this city that do not deserve getting burnt by orbital bombardment?"

"I don't know. Do you?" Noloty sighed. "Do you believe that every single citizen in Pequod Place is helping the Redfield Renegades?"

"I don't know, but I am not taking any chances. I am the ranking officer. It is my responsibility to make sure my lance mates live through this conflict. If I have to take their lives to save my lance mates, then so be it."

Noloty wished it was not this complicated. It was not like Ashio, where the Markham Marauders opened fire on civilians just for the hell of it. There were a lot more to it in Pequod Place, and the line had been blurred. She didn't know where to stand, but she made a mental note that if – and it was a big if – it came to that, she would stand behind Kayoko. Wherever Kayoko walked, she would follow.

"Strike Lance, Rabid Fox Zero," the Davion agent made contact. "Redfield Renegades have taken over the capitol. The mayor of Pequod Place is trying to escape, but the Renegades are in hot pursuit. Davion forces are overwhelmed. We need you to protect the mayor and make a safe passage so he can get out of the city."

"That's what we do best," Kayoko's Argus started charging forward. "Let's go, Ryuken! We're having mercenary skillets for dinner!"

The streets were littered with burning debris, an obvious attempt to thwart the mayor's escape route. The battlemechs had no problem with those; the Uziel and Phoenix Hawk jumped over the flaming barricades while Kayoko's Argus didn't even take a detour. It blasted through the blockades. Noloty followed Kayoko's trail, firing her machine guns at barricades and dugouts that took potshots on them.

Five kilometers into the city the general channel blinked. "All units, this is Major Fernandes, my command lance is taking heavy fire from the Redfield Renegades. We need immediate support!"

"Strike Lance, Rabid Fox Zero. You're the closest unit to Major Fernandes' position. Split your lance and assist Major Fernandes' unit."

"Negatory! I am not splitting my lance!" Kayoko barked.

"We cannot lose Major Fernandes! If we lose Major Fernandes, we'll lose Mesartim!"

"Then get your priority straight! Which one do you want more, Major Fernandes or the mayor? Make a pick and tell me which one to pick up! I am not splitting my lance!"

"Strike Lance, you will do as commanded! If any of them dies, you will be court-martialed, and we'll make sure you scrub dregs from battlemechs' feet for the rest of your lives!"

"Sonofabitch!" Kayoko slowed down. The comlink went silent for half a minute, then Kayoko came out thundering on the speaker, "Noloty, break formation and assist Major Fernandes!"

"What?! Me?" Noloty couldn't believe what she just heard.

"I need the Uziel and Phoenix Hawk in possible heavy firefight against the Renegades."

"Wha… you don't need me?" Noloty got offended. "Because I'm in this eunuch of a mech?"

"Noloty, you are my friend," Kayoko replied morosely. "I cannot let your career tank because of some stupid Davion jerk can't get his priority straight. I know this is a bad decision on my part, but if any of us can pull off a miracle, it is you. Break off and assist Major Fernandes."

Noloty almost regretted her oath to stand behind Kayoko and support her decision. This was not a good decision, a terrible decision, doubly so by Kayoko being forced to carry the Davion's unreasonable demand. So what if Major Fernandes died? Losing one commander wouldn't change the fact that the Davions were being beaten up anyway.

But Noloty was a soldier, and any good soldier must know – and follow – the chain of command.

"Ryokai!" Noloty spat bitterly. She broke formation and paced her mech, taking the route where she came from less than a minute ago, then merged into a wide highway. Burning cars and furnitures scattered on the road, but they didn't hinder her. She blasted through the highway like there was nothing on it.

"Major Fernandes, this is Heishi Noloty Malche, Ryuken-go," she called the Davion major. "I need your position."

"Bravo oh-two-five, Delta-Niner," Major Fernandes replied. "I hope you're bringing the cavalry, Heishi."

"Negative, Sir. Just me."

"Well then, Heishi, get ready for hell. Multiple hostiles in the vicinity. I can hold but not for long."

"Coming, Sir!" Noloty set the course to the designated point until a few heat signatures popped up on her radar, 1 kilometer ahead. A lone Davion Ajax omnitank was stranded in front of a shopping mall. Half a dozen red spots scattered around the parking lot. Three Skulker tanks and one Vulcan battlemech circled around the immobilized Ajax like vultures, waiting for a dying beast to fall. The Ajax swiveled its turret furiously, but without any means of locomotion, there was only so much the turret could do.

Noloty recalled her close encounter with the Skulkers and the Vulcan two days ago. It made her choke up.

Coming into 500-meter range, Noloty had a better perception of the skirmish. The lone Ajax's tracks were broken, rendering the 90-ton omnitank helpless in a mall parking lot. The Ajax's lance mates lied charred hulks, as did various light tanks and armored fighthing vehicles. She found a direct line of fire to a Skulker harassing the Ajax. She dropped her Plasma Rifle and sent a white-hot plasma beam, 400 meters across the suburb, straight at the Skulker. The light vehicle caught fire. It turned around to escape, but the flame quickly spread to the engine and the gas tank. The crews jumped out to safety, seconds before the Skulker disappeared behind uncontrollable conflagration.

The Vulcan and remaining Skulkers split and launched a two-pronged barrage at the Quasit. Noloty pushed the joystick down hard, making her profile as low as possible. Laser beams and armor-piercing ballistics whizzed above the cockpit. She dove behind a building, and the top portion of the building shattered into a cloud of concrete dust. She nervously consulted her damage report, and she didn't know how to react upon seeing that the Quasit didn't even have a scratch.

The Vulcan was of the Steiner model, with a lethal UAC5 as its main weapon. There was no way the Quasit could stand against this bruiser. Conventional battlemech fight was out of the question. She could pull out something wild from her sleeves, but first she had to get away from the Skulkers.

"I will lure the Vulcan away," Noloty hailed Fernandes.

"Roger that. I'll keep the Skulkers within arm's length," Fernandes responded, as if he could read Noloty's mind.

Noloty moved her Quasit to an opening. She got a shot at the Vulcan and fired her Plasma Rifle hastily. The Vulcan sidestepped the white-hot plasma beam, then deluged the Quasit with HEAP rounds. Noloty slid behind another building just in time. The high-explosive ballistics tore into the front face, ripping up half of the building. Noloty crouched as low as she could. The Quasit's industrial armor was not that much stronger than concrete, and she witnessed first hand what the ultra-autocannon munitions would do to her mech.

The Skulkers swung by a towering structure in an attempt to flush the Quasit out, but leaving the Ajax unchecked was a blunder. And the Ajax made them pay for it. The rectangular turret, still fully operational, swiveled to train the Skulkers, then lobbed a nickel-ferrous slug through its longest barrel. The hull of one Skulker collapsed, like a giant rodent with a broken spine, lying haplessly next to a smashed bus stop.

The other Skulker charged the Quasit but Noloty anticipated this move. She held the Plasma Rifle with both hands, and blasted the Skulker as soon as it cleared the building. But the Skulker was way too fast for the Quasit. The plasma bolt grazed the back of the Skulker, stripping armor, but failed to do harm. The Skulker returned fire with its lone laser, but the rushed attack failed to reach the target. Noloty jammed her finger on her machine gun trigger, smothering the Skulker with 50-cal armor piercing bullets. For a 20-ton lightly-armored vehicle, machine gun rounds were deadly. The Skulker turned right hard, taking refuge behind a squat office building with two dozen bullet holes along its carapace.

The Vulcan bore down on the Quasit from its right flank, firing its UAC5 with reckless abandon. Noloty bobbed and weaved inbetween buildings, dodging the saturated fire, but three autocannon rounds smashed through the Quasit's right shoulder. Noloty groaned in agony as the impact twisted the mech, knocking her head on the cockpit side wall. The mech's shoulder guard split right down the middle, exposing gear train and myomer bundles. Half a dozen indicators flashed like carnival lights. The Quasit arm still worked, but might not for long.

Under pressure, Noloty weathered the hail storm until the Vulcan paused for reload. She burst out of her cover and fired her Plasma Rifle. The white-hot streak incised the Vulcan's left thigh. Armor turned to glowing molten. The Vulcan careened to a building, clinging onto the wall with its handless arms.

Noloty waited for her Plasma Rifle to recycle, certain that she could land another shot before the Vulcan staggered to its feet, but the Skulker returned and scored a debilitating hit on the Quasit leg. The laser bolt cut through bubbling armor like a scalpel, easily burning myomer bundles like paper. Noloty winced as the lanky Quasit wobbled.

Noloty knew she could not afford to get blindsided by the Skulker anymore. She had to dispatch the armored vehicle before it fired another shot. She switched target, lining up the crosshair with the Skulker, then let it rip. The light vehicle glowed red hot as the armor grotesquely liquefied into bubbling sludge. The Skulker rolled mindlessly a few dozen meters until it crashed into a building, where it remained for the rest of the skirmish.

Left with only the Vulcan, Noloty slid behind another building before the Vulcan regained footing. Seconds later the building rattled, hammered by armor-piercing shells. The hail storm subsided; Noloty stepped out and fired her Plasma Rifle, but the Vulcan jumped to safety. The plasma struck the 3rd floor of a building. The flame quickly spread out to all corners of the floor.

Noloty shifted position, but the Vulcan rained down its hellish fire on the other side, closing her exit. It fired its UAC5 then jumped to safety before she could return fire. She waited a few seconds and sprung out, just as the Vulcan reloaded. Her Plasma Rifle blitzed, but again, the Vulcan dodged it.

With only 5 shots left, the urgency was mounting up to feverish pitch. The Vulcan's UAC5 might be low on ammunition as well but it still had a medium laser. Gambling, Noloty burst into the open, but immediately dove behind another building. The Vulcan ravaged the building, pumping every bit of its UAC5. Noloty weathered the storm, then came out with the rifle aimed at the Vulcan's midsection. The Vulcan jumped to safety, thinking it just outmaneuvered the Quasit again. But this time Noloty held her fire, and charged the Vulcan instead.

The Vulcan blasted its jets while flying backward, but Noloty took a quick aim and fired her rifle, raking the Vulcan's solar plexus midair. A geyser of molten metal sprayed from the Vulcan's torso. The combination of waste heat from the UAC5, jump jets, and the plasma bolt raised the heat level higher than the mechwarrior could compensate. The Vulcan crash-landed on the wrong leg, and its left knee snapped. The 40-ton mech fell flat onto its back.

Noloty slowed down to give her mech a chance to cool down. As the Vulcan struggled to get up, she took a hard lock on the 40-ton mech, then fired away. The superheated plasma gored the Vulcan's left shoulder, twisting it hard to the left. Its arms flailed and waved in frenetic fashion. Steam hissed from every crevasse, a sure sign the Vulcan was inches away from being shutdown.

The mechwarrior, however, made one last gambit and fired its laser. Noloty swerved right and used the Quasit's left arm as a shield. The laser scalpel bored deep into the structure, cutting several myomer ribbons. Molten armor sagged and dripped like blood, while smoke wafted from the bad gash. But the arm was still intact, and even if it wasn't, it was the price Noloty was willing to pay.

The Vulcan flushed its coolant to get the heat in check, but Noloty wasn't about to let it go. She steadied her mech and held the Plasma Rifle with both hands, making sure her shot would not go wild. Her crosshair burnt gold, and she squeezed the trigger. The plasma bolt hit the Vulcan center mass. Waste heat overwhelmed the Vulcan, and the ammunition bins exploded. Chain reaction tore ripped the Vulcan from inside, breaching arms and splitting torso. The mangled carcass crumbled in a heap of metal ember.

Noloty leaned back on her command couch, drenched in her own sweat. She checked her radar for combat unts within 1 kilometer radius, but aside from the Ajax, there was no other heat signature. She walked past the crackling remains of the Vulcan, making sure it would not go back up again.

"Targets destroyed," she hailed Major Fernandes. "Area is secured."

"Hold position, Heishi," Fernandes replied. "Foxtrot Actual, send in the Picket Pounders to fix my tank. Get MASH to tag them along. Command lance is total loss but they might find something." He switched to private channel. "Well done, Heishi. The 1st Federated Suns Armored Cavalry is short on personnel. We could use your combat skill in our ranks."

"Much appreciated, Major, but I wish to serve the Draconis Combine," Noloty said.

"Then I will send words to your commanding officer. If she still treats you like crap, I'll come to get you."

"I'll keep it in mind, Sir," Noloty turned off her comm link, grinning from ear to ear. Davion recovery vehicles and MASC units slowly rolled in, escorted by a lance of MBTs. Soon they would reach the parking lot and assist Major Fernandes. She flicked the toggle to tap into Kuritan frequency. "Strike Lance, Noloty Malche. Mission accomplished. Area is secured. Holding position until relieve task force arrives."

"I knew I could count on you," Kayoko chimed. "What's your sitrep?"

"SNAFU. Aside from regular beat-up, nothing to worry about."

"Looks like you're getting comfortable with the industrialmech."

"Plasma Rifle packs a lot of punch. I just need to adjust to use it properly. You should try it one day."

"Thanks, but no thanks. RTB when you're done, we'll rendesvouz at the fire base. Good job, Noloty. Kayoko out."

"Ryokai," Noloty turned off her comm link and watched the Davion recovery vehicles swarmed the Ajax omnitank to fix its broken track.