CHAPTER 8
Review Corner
mobmal: Thank you for your continuing support! I'm glad to be back in this game. It's been too long :)
Hartford Garden Arena,
Xolara, Solaris VII,
Freedom Theater, Lyran Alliance
January 20, 3075
Sirens blared in the hangar bay. Red lights blinked furiously. Several different messages interspersed with each other, telling mechwarriors to take their seats, technicians to finish their works, and everybody else to clear the hangar. The game announcer struggled to broadcast the tale of the tapes for each combatant, but with so much noise rolling on top of each other, the announcements drifted through the hangar unnoticed.
Isamu stood dumbrounded by the feet of the Ryuken-go Marauder -5S, standing at the ready by the hangar door. With an ERPPC and a Medium Pulse laser on each arm, augmented by Poland Gauss Rifle on the top, the 75-ton metal beast carried equal firepower to its 100-ton cousin, with 10-plus kph speed advantageto make up for the armor shortcomings. Even in his best days, he wouldn't dream to command such a fine war machine.
Better yet, the mech came with a hot, busty sex kitten with lips and breasts to die for.
"I'm glad you agree to our terms," Kayoko gave him a profound wink. "One year contract with the Ryuken-go is a great deal for a second chance at this tournament. You get a much better mech and greater shot at the championship, with no ammunition and repair cost. And you know what, maybe you like it here."
Isamu grabbed Kayoko by the waist and pulled her closer to him. "You're lucky you're hot," he chuckled. "I'm not built for the military. Too little fun, too little money. Idealistic squad leaders don't appeal to me, least of all your boss," he stole a glance at Noloty, standing a good pace from them, spitting venom through her eyes. "I don't think she likes me, and to tell you the truth, the feeling's mutual."
"She's my best friend," Kayoko giggled. "Be nice to her; she authorized the Marauder for you."
"For you, I'll do it all," Isamu gave Kayoko a long, wet kiss. "But I'm going to need a lot of lovin' from you for enduring all this hardship and prejudice from your boss."
"If you do good on the fied, I'll do you good in the bed," Kayoko slapped Isamu's underwear-cladded butt. "Now go get them, tiger!"
As Isamu climbed the ladder to the cockpit, Kayoko regrouped with Noloty, who watched the entire sequence with disdain. She knew Noloty didn't like to gamble, and this stunt irritated the crap out of her best friend. But she kept her upbeat composure, knowing that no matter how snappy Noloty would get, she was on her side.
"I still can't believe I'm doing this," Noloty huffed.
"He's a good mechwarrior," Kayoko flashed a confident smile. "I know this guy. He's an arena veteran. He's got skill and poise unlike so many mayflies that has nothing but reckless ambition. Give him a chance. You may like what you see."
"For the sake of both our necks, I hope you're right," Noloty sneered. "Because if this goes down the drain, Scarlet will put our heads on stakes."
"I know, I won't let you down," Kayoko wrapped her arm around Noloty's shoulder. "Thank you. Thank you for doing this. I know I can always count on you."
Noloty replied with a sour smile.
The military-grade battlemech handled differently than Solaris-bound mechs Isamu had the fortune (or misfortune) to take to the arena. To win duels as quickly as possible, most Solaris battlemechs were modified to mount the biggest weapons available without regards of the structural integrity. As such, they felt clunky and unstable. The Marauder was light on its feet, despite pushing the weight limit of the heavy class. The torso twist was seamless. The suspension gave ample support for the cockpit, giving a feeling of 'hovering' above the ground, even though the feet pounded the ground hard.
A Morpheus, a Solaris-unique battlemech, decided to give the Marauder a run for the money. It charged the Marauder head on to quickly bringing its melee arsenal to bear. Isamu turned the Marauder sideways and hammered the trigger. A wash of waste heat surged into the cockpit as the left ERPPC flashed. The Morpheus ducked, and the blue particle charged zipped above its head. Isamu fired the other PPC, aiming it a little lower this time. The particle bolt cored the Morpheus on the side. The 65-ton melee extraordinaire buckled, veering off course toward the retention wall.
Isamu lined up the Gauss Rifle with the Morpheus' midsection, but switched to his Medium Pulse lasers instead. He realized he had only 8 shots of the mighty gun, and there were 16 combatants in the arena, so he needed to conserve ammo. His Medium Pulse cannons flashed like a couple of strobe lights, showering the staggering Morpheus with murderous bolts. Red blotches swelled all over the Morpheus upper body.
Yet the energy weapons quickly put the Marauder in heat trouble, and the menacing beast suddenly looked old and slow. The gait became sluggish. The torso twist looked like someone with severe arthritis. The Morpheus took advantage of it. It fired its own lasers, weakening the front armor of the Marauder, then used its blistering speed to get into close-quarter range. Isamu yanked his joystick hard, pushing the Marauder out of the Morpheus' blades, but its meter-long claws ripped the armor on the Marauder's right torso. Sparks and steam spewed from the deep gash as the blades cut through some myomer bundles.
Isamu cursed his trigger-happy-ness and fought to get out of the Morpheus' clutch. He slammed his foot on the pedal. The Marauder jerked forward. The Morpheus leapt to follow, but Isamu twisted as far as the torso allowed, rotated the arm, and decked the Morpheus with another particle bolt right on the midst. The Morpheus staggered on unsteady legs. It pulled itself up, but Isamu fired his other PPC. The azure bolt tore the left torso of the Morpheus, biting into the internal structure. The last particle shot fried the Morpheus radar, turning it into a blind colossus.
The temperature inside the Marauder's cockpit had reached feverish pitch, but Isamu couldn't afford another attack by the Morpheus. He put the Marauder in a steady backpedal then hit the Gauss trigger. Supersonic metal slug slammed onto the Morpheus' center torso, a mere inch above the PPC wound. The mech keeled over, then bowed forward when a massive fireball ripped the torso apart. Its bladed claws flew wheezing in the air before crashing onto the concrete wall in a loud thud.
"One more offering for Valhalla!" Isamu chuckled, shrugging off the heat. He checked the damage report on his HUD. Aside from chaffed armor here and there, the Marauder was still in top condition. However the deep gash on the right shoulder almost reached the internal structure. He had to pay extra attention from crit seekers like LBX sub munitions or Streak missiles.
A loud explosion rattled the ground on his left. A Cataphract emerged from a plume of smoke, crushing the remains of a Champion under its feet. Just like the Marauder, it had battle scars but nothing too serious. It set its eyes on the Marauder, then marched with both cannons blazing. Its LB-10X sub munitions scourged the Marauder's left side while a steady stream of armor-piercing shells shredded the armor like paper. The Marauder slanted right, leaning heavily on its right leg. Isamu tightened his grips on the joystick. He heaved it left, hard, putting the Marauder on equal footing.
The Cataphract turned right, trying to get into the Marauder's blind spot. Isamu turned hard right and fired his Medium Pulse lasers as soon as the firing reticules burnt gold. Brilliant laser bolts sliced through the Cataphract's front armor. The Cataphract returned fire with its own lasers. Globules of molten armor sprayed as one laser bolt stabbed the Marauder on the side of the leg. Isamu raised his right PPC, but the Cataphract took flight, jumping over the Marauder to get to the other side.
Isamu groaned as he turned the Marauder as hard as he could. The Cataphract landed some 50 meters behind the Marauder, facing the other direction. It fired its jump jets for a quick turnaround, but Isamu was half a step in front of it. His Gauss Rifle blasted, spitting nickel-ferrous slug in a muffled thump. The hypersonic ball smashed into the Cataphract's torso, a mere centimeter below the cockpit. The stubby torso of the Cataphract wobbled under the assault. Its arms flailed in a desperate attempt to stay on its feet.
Pressing the advantage, Isamu readied his twin PPC but the Cataphract recovered faster than he anticipated. The LB-10X cannon roared, taking the Marauder's left side like a swarm of killer drones. The Marauder quivered. The Cataphract fired all lasers, turning the Marauder's left torso into molten slag. Superheated armor platings bubbled and sagged.
Isamu pushed his joystick forward. The Marauder lurched, dodging a stream of UAC shells that would otherwise score critical hits. He turned hard left and blasted his PPCs. One bolt sailed past the Cataphract's head, but the other one hit the Cataphract on the chest. The Cataphract reeled, but quickly got back in the fight. Isamu's Gauss slug tore a meter-wide hole on the left torso. Black smoke billowed and coolant oozed from the gaping hole. The Cataphract shuddered heavily, a sure sign of internal damage.
Smiling, Isamu lined up his crosshair at the billowing gash on the Cataphract torso. He linked both Medium Pulse lasers and let loose a barrage of laser bolts. The Cataphract roared in an earth-shattering explosion. Burning debris rained down on the battlefield.
Isamu didn't have a chance to catch a breath. Laser bolts peppered him from the right, one of which stabbed the Marauder in the upper arm. Acrid smell of burning myomer seeped into the cockpit. Isamu fought the urge to vomit as he turned the Marauder around to make eye contact with an antique Flashman. The Flashman's front armor was shredded to bits, but the laser-laden arms were still in good condition.
Trying to take advantage of the Flashman's damage armor, Isamu fired his Gauss rifle at the antique mech, center mass. The Flashman sidestepped Isamu's assault but the slug still grazed the left shoulder, stripping the remaining armor plating. The Marauder's laser bolts lashed at the Flashman, turning the torso armor into grotesque carapace, but still failed to hit the structure and engines. Smoking and bleeding fire from every part of its torso, the Flashman was still combat effective.
The Flashman fired its lasers in a spectacular display. One large and two medium laser bolts struck the Marauder in the torso. Molten armor sagged, creating a bare spot just below the cockpit. The next salvo melted a ton of armor on the left torso. The Marauder swayed back and forth to cope with the loss of mass. His console screamed incoherently as the armor tracker started to blink in red.
Isamu spread the legs of the Marauder then launched his answer. His twin ERPPC flashed, illuminating the plain that started to get dark from the canopy of smoke that hung over the arena. One strand ripped the left forearm of the Flashman, the other singed the armor on the right thigh. The Flashman buckled. It pulled itself up, but the leg myomer bundles were overloaded. Sickening groan echoed as the 75-ton relic tottered unsteadily.
But the old mech wasn't about done. With its last breath it fired everything in its arsenal, and Isamu found himself in the wrong end of the Flashman's fury. The large laser exploited the deep chasm carved by the Morpheus. Electrical sparks filled the cockpit. Cables and conduits dangled on the wall. Warning signs stabbed his ears. The right ERPPC and Medium Pulse laser disappeared from his weapon display, although the arm was still there, dangling freely on the shoulder like a broken mast of a sinking ship.
Desperate, Isamu fired his remaining pulse laser, forcing the Flashman to flank right. He swiveled and blasted his Gauss rifle. The slug buried itself in the left leg, not enough to breach it, but powerful enough to slow it down. Isamu hoisted the remaining ERPPC and pulled the trigger, sending gigajoules of energy to the Flashman's unprotected torso. The haples mech exploded, tossing body parts to a wide area.
Gasping for air, Isamu quickly checked his HUD, praying he was the last man standing, but groaned in agony as there was yet one more mech in the arena, a 65-ton Cauldron Born. Aptly named after the unstoppable army of the dead, the Clan mech sported a slew of ballistic weapons, backed up by one ER medium lasers. It carried battle damages, as expected, but nowhere near the severity of Isamu's Marauder.
The Cauldron Born struck first. Its Gauss rifle barked, spitting hypersonic slug encompassing 600-meter range, and bludgeoning the Marauder's right torso. The casing caved in and the right arm flew in the air. The Marauder reeled and fell on its left side. Isamu grunted as his neurohelmet smashed into the interior wall. The structures on its left arm creaked in protest as the bullet-shaped body of the Marauder nearly crushed it.
Straining hard, Isamu pulled his joystick to get the Marauder up, just enough to support its Gauss rifle. He made quick adjustment to the crosshair and returned fire. His slug slammed into the Cauldron Born's right arm, and the entire arm erupted. The shockwave threw the Cauldron Born to the left. It lurched, but quickly used its left arm as leverage, keeping it from tumbling over.
"An arm for an arm, Bitch!" Isamu pulled his mech up and fired his PPC. The blue bolt hammered the Cauldron Born's stump of arm. A cloud of charge enveloped the Clan mech as the remaining arm disintegrated into millions of burning parts. The sudden loss of mass staggered the Cauldron Born, but it was quick to regain composure and sent its missiles down the range. However, Isamu's last shot messed the Cauldron Born's radar. The missiles flew aimlessly over the Marauder's head.
Isamu turned sideways and engaged the death dance, firing a series of laser bolts at the Cauldron Born's midst. The Cauldron Born retaliated with its shotgun, but without accurate pointers from the radar the submunitions went wide. Only a small number of armor-piercing pellets struck the Marauder's rear end, where the armor stopped them dead on their track.
Smelling victory, Isamu waited until all weapons were green, then launched everything he had left. His last Gauss slug crushed the Cauldron Born's left torso. His PPC opened up a gaping hole in the torso. And his Medium Pulse strands exploited every opening they could find. A few singed the ammunition bins, and the stored explosive blasted in colors. The CASE prevented the mech from catastrophic explosions, but the engines were damaged beyond repair. The fearsome mech lost power and slumped, never to rise arms again.
Isamu didn't know whether he should laugh or cry or scream. It was one of the toughest battles in his life, and the only one he actually pulled off. As the announcer proclaimed his name, he led his mech back to the hangar. It was an impressive but flawed victory, and if he wanted to continue to advance to the highest level, he had no time to celebrate this victory.
Keiichi whimpered upon seeing the Marauder in a state of near disintegration, and Noloty watched unamusedly. Kayoko, on the other hand, was jumping around like a little girl. She waited impatiently near the Marauder's feet and threw herself at Isamu as soon as the mechjock touched the ground. She showered him with kisses, then turned to Noloty, grinning from ear to ear. "See? See? I told you! You will not be disappointed! Now how about your deal? Are you going to inaugurate Isamu into a full member of the Ryuken-go?"
"You're crazy if you give this guy a break!" Keiichi leaned toward Noloty. "Look at what he did to the Marauder! That's just 10-minute fighting! He's gonna get himself killed, and take the Marauder with him!"
"My Chief Technician has a point, Oyama-san," Noloty said unimpressedly. "All Kuritan units are in tight resources because of Jihad. We cannot give you the luxury of keeping your mech up and running if you keep breaking it the way you did."
"I am not Kai Allard Liao but I can prove it to you that I can fight responsibly," Isamu said boldly. "Give me one more shot and I will return the mech almost as good as when I receive it."
"Please, Noloty?" Kayoko made puppy eyes and pursed her lips.
Noloty groaned as she couldn't make her decision. "Fine. One more game."
"Scarlet is going to fry your ass!" Keiichi hissed.
"Leave Scarlet to me," Noloty replied. "Just get the Marauder ready for his next game."
"Aye aye, Ma'am!" Keiichi blurted sarcastically, watching Kayoko's and Isamu's passionate kissing with absolute disdain.
