CHAPTER 13

Shigata, Ashio,
Ashio Prefecture, Dieron Military District,
Draconis Combine,

October 19, 3074

Everytime Risa pulled the thread through her skin, Noloty felt somebody lit a match on her forehead. The needle was not that bad; she rode her mech for 4 hours with her forehead skin pierced by a Kevlar fragment, splintered from her broken neurohelmet. A needle felt like an afterthought. But the thread, oh the thread, it made her teeth rattled each time the blonde medic pulled it to stitch her wound. She squeezed Kayoko's hand to alleviate the pain.

"I'm sorry, Heishi, we ran out of anesthesis," the medic pitied her. "What I gave you was the last of it."

"She's fine," Kayoko responded casually. "This is just a flesh wound. She's been worse."

"Flesh wound my ass!" Noloty hissed as she tightened her grip on Kayoko's finger, hoping to share the pain with her best friend, even only a little.

"The infantry took the brunt of the war," Risa continued while wiping a trickle of blood on Noloty's face. "Probably because they are not protected by thick armor like mechwarriors or tank crews. A lot of them are heavily injured and in dire need of anesthesis. I brought a lot with me but never thought that I would run out." She inspected the suture then stitched Noloty's wound some more. "I'm sorry, I need two more stitches. Hold still, it won't take long."

A sharp gasp escaped Noloty's mouth.

"Under normal circumstances I would've have thrown the two of you to jail," Scarlet entered the command center, followed by Kiyomi, Vash, Keiichi, and Mirabel. "But now, I need you more on the field than I want you rot in the brig."

"Sho-sa, somebody had to stop Dultom Markham from crashing into our flanks," Kayoko mulled. "If we turned our backs on him, he'd smoke us, and none of us will be standing here."

"You think you do us good if you're dead?" Kiyomi tuned in. "Wanna be a dead hero so your name is interred into some kind of historical narrative, like the Remembrance of Clan Fools?"

Kayoko scoffed. "Me? I did nothing. It was all Noloty. I merely pulled her ass from the ashes."

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, I did what I thought the best for the team," Noloty said.

"I fail to see what Tai-sa Sandokan and Major Fernandes see in you, Heishi," Scarlet grouched. "You're impulsive and hotheaded and very un-Kuritan. But for all its worth," she drew a long breath before continuing, "you did one hell of a job. And for that, I'm grateful that I have you in my team."

"If Sho-ko Kayoko is right, then I am indebted to you," Risa chimed in. She cut the excess thread from the stitches and wiped Noloty's face with gauzes. "If you fail, the mercenaries will raze down Shigata until nothing was left standing. We're still alive because of you." She put bandage on Noloty's head. "All of you."

"I'm just doing my job," Noloty replied. She tapped her bandaged wound, out of curiosity instead of necessity. "I feel much better, Risa. Thank you."

"We are all doing our job," Risa offered a smile. She looked at Vash, then at Keiichi, then at Vash again. "Even when there's no way out of this place, I am glad that I get to do what I always want to do."

"Don't worry, we'll find a way," Vash replied nonchalantly. "We always find a way. The war is not over. The Battle of Shigata is just beginning. The Marauders won yesterday, but Shigata is our city. They're not going to get Shigata from us. Right, Sho-sa?"

Scarlet didn't answer. She turned on a holoprojector and pulled up a 3D map of Shigata in the middle of the room so everybody could see. Some red triangles lit up around Shigata, marking possible enemy positions. "There is no doubt that the Markham Marauders are coming to Shigata," she said, observing everybody's expression. "We don't know where they are, but I am confident that they had every exit covered. Shigata is our last stop. There's no way around it."

Risa's face quickly turned white, and Noloty offered her comfort. She slung her arms around Risa shoulder, and the medic slouched against her, as if she lost control over her body. Keiichi shot a jealous stare from across the room, but made no effort to come over.

"We lost half of the battlemech company, including Tai-I Seether," Scarlet continued, "in addition to two main battle tanks and 70-percent of infantry company. There is no need to sugarcoat the fact that we are badly outnumbered, besieged, and low on ammo. But we are not out of the fight yet. We can still end this on a high note, if we can pull out a spectacular last stand that would make the Markham Marauders reconsider its existence in Ashio."

"L-Last stand?" Keiichi stammered.

"They will come and they will hammer us hard," Scarlet highlit a few key entries into Shigata on the map. "We'll hit them back with everything we have, then we'll pull back to the middle of the city. They'll follow because they won't resist the chance to trap us inside the city. But as soon as they are entrenced inside Shigata, we will engage Scorched Earth warfare. We will detonate the buildings to bury them. Shigata will become their grave."

An eerie silence hovered inside the command center for a few minutes, until Kiyomi broke the silence with the inevitable, "With us in it."

"With us in it," Scarlet confirmed. "I already sent an HPG message to Dieron. I am not going home. I can't finish the job to clear Ashio from the Word of Blake, but I will make sure we put the Blakes in a position where Duke Nicholas Jansma and his militia can finish them off."

A loud sigh escaped Kayoko's mouth. Risa covered her mouth with her trembling hands. Keiichi stared blankly at the holographic map, while Kiyomi and Vash looked at each other knowingly.

Noloty never liked the idea of banzai charge, or whatever this last stand was called. Banzai was an old Japanese concept that wasted assets and experienced soldiers in the name of honor. The Draconis Combine paid a heavy price upholding this philosophy during the Succession Wars. Theodore Kurita had revolutionized this concept to avoid unnecessary loss of assets during his reign, and no matter how un-Kuritan it might sound, Noloty believed there was a better way to end this campaign than dragging the enemies to hell with them.

There was always another way.

"Ma'am, what about civilians?" Noloty asked.

"Tai-I Vash will lead them to safety," Scarlet replied. "When the Marauders are in the city, Vash is to lead the civilians out of the city, call the dropship, and bring them to Halstead Station."

"Wait a minute," Vash grimaced with disappointment. "I'm to leave you all dead? What incompetent fool do you think I am, sending me out to live in shame?"

"On the contrary, you are one hell of a field commander," Scarlet replied without blinking. "That's why I need you to lead the civilians. They have to reach Halstead Station, and nobody is better than you to do this job."

"I'm not leaving you!" Vash looked straight into Scarlet's eyes.

"I gave you an order, Tai-I!" Scarlet snarled.

"With all due respect, Sho-sa Scarlet, to hell with your order!" Vash bared his teeth. He towered over Scarlet, giving an allusion that he was the ranking officer. "I am not leaving you! You need me more on the field than on the dropship, and you know that!"

"I need the civilians at Halstead Station, Tai-I Vash!" Scarlet roared. Her intensity backed Vash up a few steps. "You have been instrumental in keeping us alive, and I want that for the civilians!"

"How about Noloty?" Vash blurted. "She's the newest member, she's the most un-Kuritan and un-Ryuken-go among us, and she works as hard as everybody else. Why can't you send her?"

"You're an ass, Duke," Kayoko's face contorted in disgust.

"No, Noloty is at the center of Dultom Markham's crosshair," Scarlet shot a morose stare at Noloty. "If he doesn't see her among us, he'll know something is going on. He won't take the bait. I want to kill Dultom Markham, and I need Noloty for it." She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Heishi. You have to stay with me for everything to work."

"I'll happily give up my life for Draconis Combine, Ma'am," Noloty gave an assuring nod. "But perhaps there is another way."

"What do you mean 'another way'?" Scarlet cocked her eyebrows.

"If we can make the Marauders believe that we are a much bigger force than we actually are, perhaps they will reconsider their operation at Ashio."

All eyes were on Noloty now. Kayoko folded her arms around her chest while throwing an incredulous smirk at her best friend. Scarlet's stare was of the annoyed and skeptical one. Vash and Kiyomi looked at her with mouth gaped, and Keiichi scratched the back of his head, wondering what Risa had given her as anasthesis. Risa looked at the other direction, trying to hide the expression of fear and confusion, while Mirabel played with her hair indifferently.

"And how do you suppose we do that, Heishi?" Scarlet huffed.

"We hurt them bad yesterday," Noloty circled the map. "They are mad, and they want to finish us quickly. They know we are at Shigata, so they will send every available warrior to end this conflict. Their logistic line should be lightly guarded, if at all." She added a few more red triangles off Shigata, then added blue circles in between the two groups of triangles. "If we can destroy their logistic camp before they can send news to the main unit, we can make them think that we have put them on a crossfire." With that, she deleted the triangles representing the Marauders supply camp, putting the Marauders main assault units between two groups of blue circles.

"Who's gonna take out their supply line?" Scarlet mused.

"Sho-ko Kayoko commands a fast battlemech lance," Noloty looked at Kayoko.

"Me? Are you crazy?!" Kayoko's eyes bugged out.

"Your lance is the only one fast enough for a blitzkrieg," Noloty argued. "You have 2 Phoenix Hawks and your mech can break 100 kph. None of us has that advantage, and neither do the Marauders. We have a chance to deal a significant damage, not only to their ranks, but also to their morale."

"Do you forget something, Heishi? We don't have that many mechs to trap the Marauders in a crossfire," Scarlet fumed. "What, you think Dultom Markham was born yesterday?"

"We don't have to have what we say we do. We just have to make them believe we do."

"There's a name for this debauchery in taverns and gambling parlors," Vash chuckled curtly. "It's called 'Bluffing'."

"It is not debauchery. It is what I learnt in the academy," Noloty pressed on. "If we stand and fight, we all die. But if we sneak behind their back, we may catch them off guard. If we survive, we can feed our battle ROM to Tsagoi-kun, or we can return to Shigata with better preparation."

The deathly silence that followed told Noloty that she either said something incredibly smart, or terribly stupid. She tried to figure out which one, until Scarlet broke the awkwardness, "What did you just call him?"

"Ah… uhm, Sandokan… Tai-sa Sandokan…" Noloty's cheeks turned red as plums. She was too carried away she forgot that - to these people - Tsagoi Sandokan was a high-ranking DCMS officer, not her lover. "Forgive me, I was not myself… but I'm fine. I just had uh… a little… brain freeze."

"I will not hinge my life, the lives of my men, and the honor of Draconis Combine on speculation," Scarlet said firmly. "There are only 2 courses for the Ryuken-go: win, or die! We are not deceiving our enemy to get an easy exit! We stay true to our cause, and fight to the end!"

"Sho-sa Scarlet, Ma'am, it is not my place to argue with you, especially in time like this," Noloty dared herself to stand tall against Scarlet's wrath. "But pride will get us nowhere. If we die, we die in honor, but the Marauders win. We accomplish nothing. This pride is what hurt Draconis Combine in Succession Wars era. Theodore Kurita reformed DCMS to save assets from getting wasted in follies. Assets like the Ryuken-go, Ma'am."

"Folly, huh?!" Scarlet launched her rage in full fury. "You have forgotten your place, Noloty!" She pulled her wakizashi and forcefully shoved it at Noloty's chest. "If you scared of dying in combat, take your life now!"

"I hailed from the 2nd Sword of Light, Ma'am," Noloty kept her composure. "A unit with deep Black Dragon influence. I have seen them waste talents and materials for the sake of old traditions. Honor and pride that they didn't even understand. My training cadre was obliterated because of their single-minded beliefs. Good soldiers died, expensive mechs were lost. I would hate to see the Ryuken-go walk in the same path." She took a deep breath, then looked at Scarlet in the earnest. "Please, Sho-sa, don't take this road. We've lost too many men already. Let the survivors survive to fight another day."

The mentioning of Black Dragon Society staggered Scarlet's stance. She retracted her wakizashi, stared blankly at Noloty, and went into deep reckoning. The ember on her eyes flickered out from blazing hot to a twinkle of sparks. She retreated, pacing the floor, circling the holographic map in the center of the room, pondering if she wanted to go forward with her plan, or consider Noloty's alternative. The silence dragged on, making everybody anxious, but nobody dared to speak.

"Do you know where their supply line is located, Heishi?" Scarlet finally broke the silence.

"No Ma'am, but we have fast mechs that can cover a lot of ground."

"Thank you, Noloty, for putting me on the hot seat," Kayoko rubbed her temple. "Alright, so I guess I'll run S 'n D around the supply depot?"

"What if Dultom Markham doesn't buy it?" Scarlet ignored Kayoko's complain.

"Then we all die, the way you want us to die," Noloty replied. "But at least we give it a try."

"I can see her logic, Sho-sa," Kiyomi tuned in. "We can still do your plan, but instead of using Kayoko's team as a battery, we'll dispatch it to stab the Marauder's back. It's the better use of a fast lance. If they fail, so what. We're not supposed to get out of here alive anyway."

"Alright, then, we'll give it a go," Scarlet relented. "Kayoko, ready your lancemates. Scout the area around the supply depot. Find their goddamn supply chain and smoke it, HPG uplink or command vehicles first. Cut them off before they can send distress signal to the main unit."

"Ryokai! " Kayoko snapped a salute.

"Kiyomi, spread the Glory and Thumper around the city. Make the Marauders spread out to chase you. When they get too close, converge on the Reeducation Camp."

"Yes Ma'am," Kiyomi replied shortly.

"Vash, install missile battery along Shigata perimeter. Exhaust your ammunition, then retreat to the Reeducation Camp. Wire the buildings surrounding the Reeducation Camp but wait for my command to light it."

"With pleasure," Vash flashed a smirk. "This order, I can do."

"Mechwarriors, I want all mechs available at the Reeducation Camp. This is our last stand. We stay here, and we shoot until we can't shoot anyore. That includes you, Keiichi."

"Me?!" Keiichi squirmed in panic. "But-but-but, I am not a combatant!"

"Today there is no such thing!" Scarlet sneered. "We are a team. We survive as a team, we die as a team."

"I am a civilian, Ma'am, and I can't contribute anything for your strategy, but I wish to stay with you," Risa unexpectedly joined in. Her voice trembled with fear and nervousness, but her eyes were steel cold with determination. "It is not fair for you to give up your life so we can live."

"Very well," Scarlet nodded in appreciation. "Stay covered. I don't want you to get killed by stray shots."

"Sho-sa Scarlet, Ma'am, my Dragon can go 86 kph," Mirabel stated. "I want to join the Strike Lance."

"By all means, Gunjin, welcome aboard," Kayoko grinned. "We could use your Gauss Rifle for sniping."

"Then it is done," Scarlet surmised. "Dismiss. We'll commence in 4 hours." As the rest dispersed, Scarlet approached Noloty. "Nobody had changed my mind in combat. Nobody!" she growled; rage bled from her words. "If your plan fails, I'm going to kick your ass in the afterlife!"

"Yes, Ma'am," Noloty replied shortly. She shot a glance at Kayoko, whose sour smile and incredulous head-shaking made her heart sank. She felt like she just sent Kayoko to be slaughtered. But Kayoko was the Ryuken-go's best bet at the moment. If Kayoko had to die, she would rather have her friend die stabbing the Marauders on the back than vainly shooting at the main assault unit. At least she hurt the Marauders that way.