CHAPTER 6

Pummelo, Outworlds Alliance,
August 28, 3074

Earlier that day the Lexington Legends recon lance spotted a large movement, supposedly Redfield Renegades, roughly 10 kilometers north of the base. They couldn't make out the composition of the unit, but trained eyes could pick up a company of heavy mechs, supported by hard-hitting tanks and helicopters.

The intel report sent the base into frenzy. Commander Korra knew the Renegades would disable their comlink, so she developed hand signals to communicate with her company. Neptune's lance would take first line of defense, blending in between turrets, hoping to fool the Renegades into believing that there were more turrets than there actually were. Korra's lance stationed not far behind. Should Neptune's lance fell, the command lance would take its place. The recon mechs dispersed themselves in between buildings, so if Korra's lance failed to stop the Renegades, the light mechs would jump on them and hopefully killed one or two. Wiping out the entire Renegades force was too much of a wishful thinking, but if the Legends could turn the Renegades around and forget about their campaign in this region, they would declare victory.

"The Redfield Renegades has a powerful jamming system," Neptune set up perimeter defense. "Soon they will disable our comlink. Watch for my signal," he flashed a makeshift blinker which he attached on the top antennae of his Jagermech. "One blip form up on me, two blips back up. Continuous blips, break formation and run for your life."

"Got it, Boss!" Joezen chimed in quickly.

"Yes Sir!" Alec followed suit.

"Roger!" Ian replied.

"Acknowledged," Mogami sounded cold and indifferent.

Neptune turned his mech around to face Mogami's Ostroc. "Listen, Sarge, I know you want to charge these guys for the sake of your lance mates, but I need you. I need you by my side. I need you to stay alive for this plan to work. We have to combine every available asset if we want to survive these maniacs."

"Don't worry, I'll stay where I am," Mogami replied halfheartedly. "I'll stay and fight until you and your lance get out of here safe and sound."

Neptune understood Mogami's animosity, and if he were in her situation, he would probably throw the same tantrum. Survivor's guilt was one of the worst things could happen to a soldier, especially in a tight-knit unit like Mogami's lance. However it was not the time to bury the dead. The Renegades were coming full speed, and only by combining their firepower they would survive. Mogami's fighting prowess was best used to fortify the Legends' stronghold, not chasing ghosts.

"All weapons hot! Fire on my target!" Neptune took position. Sweat beaded on his forehead long before his guns barked. Joezen and Ian found spaces between turrets, while Alec crouched behind one, looking to jump on any enemy who was foolish enough to get close. His peripheral vision fell on the Ostroc, motionless in its vigil, as if the anticipation didn't bother it in the slightest.

Ten minutes passed and Neptune's proximity alert screamed. Missiles rained down from the sky, blanketing the perimeter with turrets and mechs scattered in between. It came down sparse at first, then with increasing force. The turrets didn't even return fire. They just stood silent under the punishment of the invisible army. One by one they burst into flames like matches wasted on a child's whim.

Neptune zoomed in his scope, trying to spot who was responsible for the destruction of half of the Legends' perimeter defense. Soon enough shadows began to form on the horizon. His radar failed to identify the attacker, as he suspected, so he reverted back to manual ID cards. Catapults and Archers strode side by side, escorted by LRM carriers and Warrior gunships. Their intention was clear: to soften up the Legends defense before the front line mechs arrived and laid waste to the base.

Biting his lips, Neptune raised her long-range guns and centered his crosshair on an incoming Warrior. Missiles erupted every which way, chipping armor like those arboreal rodents shredding the bark of a tree. But Neptune held his joystick steady, and at the first sign turn of color of his crosshair, he fired his extended-range lasers. The superior reach of the lasers conquered the distance between the two war machines, and punched holes on the Warrior's fuselage. The helicopter staggered midair, coughing smoke from the crater underside. Neptune waited until his weapon indicator turned green, then launched the same salvo. Only one connected, but it was all he needed to cook the Warrior's ammo bins and turned the helicopter into a firework.

Neptune didn't expect his lance mates to follow his stunt, but they did. Alec and Joezen plinked the choppers with their autocannons. Yellow tracers filled the sky, and one by one the Warriors plummeted, spinning and tumbling in the sky before crashing in 3-story-tall bonfires. Ian chose to `reserve his precious Gauss slug, but when a Warrior triggered his proximity alert, he couldn't pass up the opportunity. His Gauss rifle made a loud 'thump' sound, and a mere second later the Warrior split into 2, disintegrated by the sheer power of the Gauss gun.

Mogami still held her position. Her large lasers were still out of range. But the Ostroc stood tall undaunted, waiting for the enemies to come into range in torrential missile rain. A couple missiles fell on its chest, forcing the lanky mech to buckle, but it straightened itself back up as if the loss of armor didn't bother it.

The LRM carriers pushed forward and showcased its awesome firepower. No less than 60 missiles raced from one carriers, combining with the missiles from Catapults and Archer into half a thousand warheads that blanketed the Legends perimeter defense. The Legends turret grid became nonexistent. Only a few remain, and even then they were far removed from what they were intended to do. A thick cloud of smoke and debris rose from the earth-shattering explosions, hampering visibility in addition to the defunct electronic systems.

But the saturated bombing actually did Neptune's lance a favor. Missile fire spread so wide only 5 of them hurt his Jagermech. His other lance mates fared the same fate, hit by only a fraction of the seemingly fearsome carpet bombing. As the asymmetrical hull of a LRM carrier protruded from the black cloud, Neptune let loose a vicious ballistic and energy volley straight at it. Half of the LRM carrier turret turned into mist, but the tank still rolled. Mogami picked up where Neptune left off, burning the remaining bulk with razor-sharp laser shots. The LRM carrier roared into a fireball, leaving only charred debris where the 60-ton battery once stood.

Alec, Joezen, and Ian followed Neptune's direction. Alec and Joezen rained down their uranium-depleted rounds at any LRM carrier within visual contact. Ian made the most of his powerful Gauss rifles to wipe out any LRM carriers that came to this direction. Four LRM carriers perished in quick succession, leaving pillars of fire like an obstacle course the Redfield Renegade mechs had to get through.

The Redfield Renegades quickly made adjustment. They pinpointed the leader of the defense and poured their missiles on it. But the adjustment came a little too late. The smoke and debris in the air debilitated their radars. Neptune sidestepped what looked like 2 dozen missiles coming at his throat. Half a dozen more blasted the Jagermech's legs, turning armor platings into jagged-edged scrap metals, but the myomer and the internal structures were still safe and sound.

"Come on, assholes! Come and get me!" Neptune growled as he punched the trigger to his blinker twice. His lips curled into a smile watching shadows of three Jagermechs and an Ostroc backpedaled in concert of his own mech. An Archer became too overconfident, walking into Neptune's firing range with all guns blazing. Neptune dodged the poorly-aimed missile salvo then decked the Archer on its midsection, stopping it on its track. Ian, Joezen, and Alec took Neptune's cue and let loose a hail of ballistics, laser bolts, and Gauss slugs. The Archer staggered back and forth, flaying its arm in comical fashion. Burning pieces of metals sprayed into the air. Mogami fired a calculated salvo at the gash on the Archer's torso, and the 70-ton mech erupted as its engines exploded.

Acknowledging the Legends' solid defense, the Renegades renewed their strategy. Missiles leapt from the tubes in cascaded waves, showering the Jagermechs with constant barrages. Neptune and Alec were caught in the steady streams of missiles. Neptune's Jagermech twisted and turned under the assault, but Neptune's footwork took it out of trouble. Alec wasn't so lucky. Three missiles slipped beneath the armor plating and gored the right leg main shaft. The Jagermech buckled as its leg lost cohesiveness. Its left leg had to drag the whole mech, because its right counterpart failed to respond to the mechwarrior's command.

Neptune saw Alec in trouble and he moved his mech to cut off the Renegades' line of fire. His teeth rattled as monster explosions turned the interior of the cockpit into a rat nest. But none of this matter, and Neptune wondered why he did that. Wasn't it the same as how Mogami felt about her lance mates? It was funny what a leader would do to keep his subordinates alive. But that's just how chains of command work. Live by examples, and your men would follow you to the grave.

Mogami, Ian and Joezen came to Neptune's aid, even without a single word. In this situation, words were not needed. Crossfires from the two Jagermechs stopped a Catapult from advancing, where Mogami's lasers clobbered the box-like arm of the Catapult. Ian's Gauss slugs punched a deep hole on the Catapult's shoulder, and Joezen strafed it with his high-explosive rounds. The right arm ruptured at the joint, and the right torso blew globs of black smoke. The Catapult fired a wide salvo, hitting all three mechs, but dealt only minimal damage. Mogami fired another twin-laser volley, followed by Ian's Gauss attack and Joezen's autocannon shots, and the Catapult disintegrated behind a big plume of smoke.

Two Renegades Crusaders ganged up on Alec while a lance of SRM Carriers kept Neptune busy. Neptune tried his damnedest to lift up the pressure on Alec, but the tracked missile launchers chewed his armor to the point he couldn't ignore them. His armor shredded like paper, he fired his twin Medium Pulse lasers flashed furiously, beating the missiles at every turn. Two SRM missiles quickly puffing off smoke from the hull. Neptune followed up with his UAC5 that drove deep past the internal structure. The engine casing of the SRM Carriers collapsed and the armored vehicle exploded in brilliant flash. The remaining 3 SRM Carriers launched a fearsome 180-missile salvo, but Neptune put every bit of his 10-kph advantage to dodge that attack. His damage tracker screamed bloody murder as the last plating on the Jagermech's right torso flew across the field. Neptune brought his weapons about and singed the SRM Carrier closest to him. His lasers weakened the already weak hull armor, and his armor-piercing shells capitalized on it. The SRM Carrier blasted like a volcano, spewing burning debris like brimstones.

Yet the Renegades Crusaders scored hits after hits at the beleaguered Alec. He turned his Jagermech around, firing his cannons until they ran out of ammo, but the Crusaders kept up the pressure. Soon the Jagermech's arms breached and its torso was all but jagged edged mess. Alec made one last defiance, a double dagger of Medium laser bolts at a Crusader's midst. The Crusader staggered, but quickly shrugged off the attack. Missiles whistled in the air and gored the Jagermech right on the center. Alec pulled the lever, and the ejection seat rocketed him high into the air, but tongues of fire from the explosion caught him.

"Argh shit goddammit! Alec!" Neptune toggled his radar to find Alec's emergency beacon, but he knew he was in denial. His radar had been disabled, and even if it worked, nothing – absolutely nothing – would survive that blast. He didn't want to accept it, but he was forced to, and the realization hit him like a log in the head. Now he understood why Mogami was so adamant to search for her lance mates even though she didn't know if they were still alive or not. It was a bitter thing to swallow. It felt like a big void in his chest, as if his heart was ripped out of his chest, leaving an unfillable hollow.

Neptune sat idle in his command couch, watching the burning carcass of Alec's Jagermech when Mogami's Ostroc bumped his Jagermech from behind. Neptune jerked violently, just as a few missiles stabbed his center torso. Three more missiles from the closest Crusader crushed Neptune's upper left arm and the entire arm blew up. The shockwave and the sudden loss of mass threw the Jagermech off its feet, but Neptune yanked the joystick aside, keeping the mech on its feet. Another missile salvo came his way, and just as Neptune braced for impact, Mogami's Ostroc made a sweeping pass and block the reeling Jagermech. The lanky 60-ton relic writhed under the onslaught. Smoke billowed from gashes on the front torso, and green coolant oozed from the fissures at the back, a sure sign of heat sink damage.

Grinding his teeth, Neptune fired his remaining UAC5 and Large laser, turning the Crusader's center torso into bubbling mass. Mogami followed suit with her Medium lasers. Ian and Joezen joined the fray from 2 different directions, locking the Crusader in a crossfire. The Crusader never had a chance. The armor caved in and blue plasma seeped from multiple fissures. The ammunition bins caught fire and the 65-ton mech burst into a towering inferno.

The other Crusader teamed up with the SRM Carriers and launched a hail of missiles at Joezen's Jagermech. Joezen slipped behind a turret still upright, but the missile quickly demolished the defunct turret and tore up the Jagermech's armor plating. As Joezen's Jagermech buckled under pressure, Neptune fired his pulse lasers at the Crusader, giving his lance mates a target. Mogami's twin large lasers and Ian's twin Gauss slugs mutilated the Crusader's arms, and Neptune's UAC5 weakened the Crusader's side torsos. Joezen straightened up his mech and launched everything he had left. His depleted-uranium rounds cored the Crusader's chest, crushing the engine. Fire engulfed the Crusader.

The remaining SRM Carriers retreated to join the bulk of the army, which started to appear in the horizon. The air was filled with smoke and ember it was hard for Neptune to identify the new mechs. But he didn't want to hang around to find out. Joezen was in a bad shape, and if he didn't retreat, Mogami would be in trouble too. The Davion sergeant had saved him once. Least he could do was to keep her alive.

Flashing his blinker twice, Neptune put his Jagermech in full reverse. It was time to bring in the cavalry.