Chapter XIII, by RogueBaron


Irian, Free World League,
April 15, 3068

Mario's raging breath raced with his feet as he dragged Ilsa out of the dry riverbed, ducking under raining pebbles and debris that occasionally hammered his head. The explosions became scarcer, and the rhythmical thumps of battlemech's feet told him that the Scimitars were looking out for survivors. Mario was not particularly fit, but the fear gave him a near supersoldier strength. He carried Illsa on his back for almost fifteen minutes, then ducked behind a lump of dirt, gasping for air.

"Goran!" Ilsa moaned, fighting the headache and the constant ringing in her ears. "We can't leave Goran..."

"He's dead," Mario held her, "the Scimitars took him out. I'm sorry."

"Oh my God," she cried, sinking her head between her knees. "Is there any other survivors?"

"I don't know," Mario panted. "The Scimitars used the Locust to set up an ambush, and we walked right into it. I should've known it was a trap. I should've seen it coming."

Ilsa didn't responded. The loss of Goran was devastating enough that her mind shut down. Goran had been her confidant and her source of energy for the last few years, and the thought of continuing the life without him was almost unbearable. She cried silently, biting her lips to muffle her sobs, and let the time passed by until Mario put his hand over her shoulder, shaking her gently, "We have to move."

"There's no point anymore," she huffed apathetically. "If you want to go, then go. Just leave me alone."

"We have to move, or Goran's death will have no meaning," Mario said. "We have to find that convoy, infiltrate the mech factory, and finish the mission. It'll hurt the Mariks and Scimitars the way the could have never imagined."

"You mercenary dog!" suddenly Ilsa fumed. "How could you talk about money after everything? If you think I will take part in your quest for glory, you are sadly mistaken! Get out of my face!"

"Do you think this is about money?" Mario yelled back. "The Scimitars minced my unit and butchered my lance mates! You're nuts if you think I still do this for money! I don't care about money anymore! I will finish this mission, because whatever inside that complex is critical for the Mariks, or the Word of Blake that they're hosting. Leaking that information to the AFFC will hurt them more than what I can possibly do with battlemechs. And I think that's what Goran wants you to do too."

"Don't you dare saying his name!" Ilsa snarled. "You have no right saying his name with your filthy mouth!"

"Look, if you want to stay here and mourn, be my guest. But mourning will not bring him back. Nothing will bring him back. All we can do is to maintain his legacy. I can't do it alone. I need you to finish this mission."

As much as Ilsa thought that Mario was a heartless pig, she knew his words held the truth. There was nothing she could accomplish by crying over Goran's loss. She had to move on, and the only way to make Goran's death memorable was to turn her grief into vengeance. She shot a fiery stare at Mario, letting her wrath evaporated through her eyes, then sunk in and sighed, "What's your plan?"

"First, we need more men," Mario got up and scanned the vicinity. Let's scurry the area to find more survivors. Then let's wait for the convoy. If it's already get in the complex, then we'll wait for the next one. We'll wait for as long as it takes, because it's the only way we can get into the complex. As soon as we get in, we'll download the damn information and get out. Hopefully we can find something that can get us out of this planet."

"What if there is nothing to get us out?" Ilsa scoffed.

"You have a better idea?" Mario retorted.

Ilsa shook her head in defeat.

"Fine, then. Let's try to round up survivors."

Together they waited until dusk, then walked cautiously toward their last encounter with the Scimitars. Remnants of smitten Harassers littered the place, and the stench of burning flesh floated in the area. Ilsa recognized the Harasser she spent her last moment with Goran, and she walked by to pay her last homage, but Mario caught her hand and dragged her away from the site. "You don't want to remember him that way," he whispered. Ilsa knew what he meant, so she just blew a kiss from the distance, then followed Mario to find more survivors.

But it was clear that the Scimitars had swept the place clean. There were no signs of survivors, so after a while Mario and Ilsa abandoned the idea of survivors and walked to find a refuge. Ilsa's knowledge of the vicinity helped them to find the main road, so they found a place to hide overseeing the road. They were t hungry, and they had not slept for almost two days, but they could not make themselves to rest. The anxiety to find the convoy kept them restless for most of the night.

"What makes them late, do you think?" Ilsa asked while sitting next to Mario.

"I don't know," Mario closed his eyes. "Maybe it's security reason. IBMU might intentionally delay the convoy to make sure the complex is safe from us. Or maybe it's just an unfortunate delay."

"I'm sorry I yelled at you," Ilsa whispered. "I should've thanked you for saving my life. I was just… shocked."

"I know," Mario replied. "Let's forget about it and focus on what we'll do next."

And lucky for them, when the night was almost over, a distinct rumbling reverberated in the solemn dawn. The strands of light from the truck's spotlights illuminated the dark road in the distance. A lance of Pegassus hovertanks led the convoy and a lance of LRM carriers guarded the rear end of the convoy, consisted of 8 trucks in a single column.

"There it is, the damn convoy," Ilsa hissed. "The Pegassus and the LRM Carriers are spread wide enough for us to hitchhike the trucks in the middle without being noticed. But we have to run fast. Are you ready?"

"Ready," Mario nodded. "For Goran."

"For Goran," Ilsa took several deep breaths and started running. "Let's go!"

They broke into a sprint, keeping their heads low and zigzagging their way to avoid being noticed. The convoy rolled with moderate speed, slow enough for Mario and Ilsa to catch up. Ilsa got to the truck first, and quick as a cat she hauled herself up to the top of the truck. Mario arrived later, running as fast as he could but having a hard time catching up with the truck. He grabbed a lever on the truck, his breath stuck in his throat as he strained to heave himself up, but in the end managed to climb to the top.

"I almost think you won't make it," Ilsa commented upon Mario's arrival.

"Your prejudice is most annoying," Mario panted, his face reddened with embarrassment. "We can rest for a while until we arrive at the complex."