Chapter V, by RogueBaron

IBMU complex,
Irian, Free Worlds League,
April 11, 3068

"Regroup on me! Regroup on me!" Mario screamed on his comlink as laser, missile, and cannon rounds wheezed on his left and right. "Command, abort mission! Target is hot… repeat, target is hot!"

"Get to the pass… Now!" Chip hollered.

"Negative! They blocked the pass! Heavy mechs, mixed techs… Aargh! Chingao… Reneas is down, Blitzie and Garcia are still fighting but won't hold long!"

"Hang on, Mario! We'll plot another nav point!"

Two Chimeras launched their missiles at the Centurion trapped in the middle. One set came from behind, eating up the armor and tore open the internal structure. One set came from the right, exploding right on the Centurion's prized autocannon. Chunks of armor and structures flew all over the place. Garcia went panic, firing his guns in all direction, then a massive blow knocked the Centurion from the left, ripping its body apart from the shoulder to the waist. Its left hand was torn down to pieces. Garcia swung to the left to face the enemy, but the Rifleman blasted its double cannons, chewing the stripped armor on the left torso. Explosions blossomed from the engine, tearing the torso apart.

"Mierda! I lost Garcia!" Mario screamed, panic surged through his veins. "Blitzie, disengage and retreat! Blitzie! Do you read?"

"I'm gonna kill this Marauder!" Blitzie yelled back, raising both hands and traded fire with the Marauder. He knew the Marauder was covering for its lance mate, and his bloodlust took control of his action. "How do you like this, huh? Eat my lead!" He fired off his AC10, lasers and missiles. The cannon missed, the laser connected to the torso, five missiles connected to limb. The Marauder returned fire, PPC and laser bursts dug deep holes in Blitzie's left torso. The Bushwacker twisted, almost getting knocked down. The armor on the left side was completely gone. Blitzie screamed and fired his autocannon and this time it hit the arm of the Marauder.

"Blitzie, pinche cabron!" Mario fired his pulse laser to distract the heavy mech. "The Marauder is not your match! Disengage and retreat – Now!"

Blitzie launched his missiles at the Marauder, then turned around but it was all too late. Multiple blasts from a Loki threw him to the side, pushing him into a building with full force. A Chimera joined the fray, scoring a hit with its MRM. Each missile exploded, taking off a piece of armor, severely weakened by the Hunchback's explosion and the Marauder's volleys. Blitzie fired off all weapons, making his heat gauge spike up. The laser hit the Loki's torso, eating up a good chunk of armor. The Loki returned fire with medium lasers to the arm. The arm was blown off, destroying Blitzie's beloved autocannon. Blitzie risked shutdown sequence by firing his large laser one more time, but his targeting had been destroyed. His laser went wide. The Chimera raised both arms and launched alpha strike. Armor pieces flew in every direction as the Bushwacker exploded in one huge fireball.

"Major, my lance has been wiped out!" Mario reported. "Where's my exit?"

"Alternate pick-up zone, two clicks from your position bearing – "

Before Chip finished his sentence, the Marauder hit Mario with a well-placed PPC salvo to the shoulder. Warning sign blinked on the screen. Mario groaned while his lanky mech teetered backward, coping with the impact force of the particle cannon. He reconnected his comlink, but he heard only static.

"Major, come in… Major, do you read me?" he tried desperately to reestablish contact with Chip, but the last PPC blast had fried his communication system. Mario realized that he was completely cut off from the main group. Sweating, Mario kicked the MASC and maxed out the throttle. The Phoenix Hawk sprinted to full speed, then Mario hit his jump jets. His stomach turned upside down as the 45-ton mech went airborne, showered by missiles and lasers from the defenders. Two shells ravaged his rear armor, limb, thrusting deep into the gyros. The Phoenix Hawk shuddered hard while descending from the sky. It bled oil and fuel; steam hissed from several cracks on the back.

Mario's view was obscured by sweat and smoke, but he knew he had to keep running. As soon as he touched down, he brought his mech into full speed across the grassy plain, running blindly, until the defenders ceased to fire at him. Mario kept on running for some time, until he was far away from the factory complex. He arrived at a dry river, then dropped his mech on the river bed. He checked his radar, but he didn't see anything within 1-kilometer radius.

"Santa Maria, where the hell I am?" he thought while trying to establish connection to nearby satellite. But the Marauder had destroyed his circuits. Alone and low on armor, Mario put his mech into a crouch, thinking what he should do next.