Chapter VII

City of Hastina,
Carver V, Chaos March,
December 28, 3059

The night passed without any incident, and the Shooting Stars and the Cavaliers had sufficient rest. AFFC forces set up a pick-up zone 15 kilometers north of Hastina, so the Shooting Stars and the Knell's Cavaliers had to escort the civilians to rendezvous with Davion dropships. The civilians at Hastina were ready to go, when the Shooting Stars picked up large enemy force going toward Hastina.

"What does CIC say?" Sebastian asked Natalie.

"Four platoons of heavy armor are moving toward Hastina," she responded. "They're cutting off our path to the pick-up zone. How do they know our pick-up zone?"

"Do you forget something?" Sandra Findley huffed. "That damn Psycho's telling the Liao everything! I'll kill him with my bare hands!"

"No, he doesn't know about the pick-up zone," Kyle mused. "That means we still have a leak."

"When I'm going out of here, I'm gonna kill Hanson Roughrider's operatives!" Sebastian growled, his veins bulging out on his neck. "He's putting me with vipers! Captain, do we have reinforcement?"

"It's unlikely, but I'll try," Kyle grabbed the microphone. "Dropship command, this is Captain Kyle Garret, Shooting Stars. Zhanzheng deGuang had blocked our exit and is moving to Hastina. We have about 200 civilians on our backs, so we can't fight the Capellan terrorists. Request air cover and alternate pick-up zone."

"Stand by," the dropship replied, and after three minutes of static, it came back. "That's a negative, Captain. Our air support is spreading thin on the front line. Defend the civilians at all cost, Captain Garret. We'll pick you up at Hastina in 20 minutes."

"Alright, people, dropships will get us out in 20 minutes!" Kyle yelled. "Line up at the city outskirt and kill any terrorist that fall within your weapon range! Mayor Systain, round up your people and wait close to the gantry! I want them on the dropships as soon as they land!"

"Consider it done, Captain!" Systain replied. "Thank you for your help!"

As the civilians ran to the center of town, Evee brought her Trebuchet to the outskirt of Hastina, slowly as not to crush the running civilians. She lined up with Kangpae's Outbound and Daniel's Hunchback as the first line of defense against the incoming Liao force. The Command Lance lined up behind them, sandwiched between Kyle's Mad Cat and the twin Bushwackers. She armed her LRM-15's, ready to fire at any enemy that appeared on her radar.

Suddenly an explosion ripped the ground, tossing dirt and rocks into the air. A second later two more explosions rattled the ground, very close to the mech formation.

"They're using Long Tom again!" Sebastian yelled. "Pull back to the city!"

Evee put her mech in reverse, zigzagging under the artillery rain. The superior range of the Long Toms forced the Shooting Stars and Knell Cavaliers to hide behind the buildings. But even after the Davions and mercenaries went deep into the city, the artillery fire did not cease. The Liao kept on their pressure, raining down their Long Tom shells on Hastina. Buildings were blasted one by one, and smoke billowed from the destroyed structures. Evee pushed the radar to maximum, but it only frustrated her because the Long Tom was far beyond the range of her radar.

Suddenly her radar picked up several red dots. Dozens of tanks crept toward Hastina, led by a platoon of Bulldogs, then a mixed platoon of LRM carriers, and a lance of Demolisher tanks with a lance of SRM carriers as their escorts.

"Demolishers!" Evee screamed on the comlink. "They're bringing in the big guns!"

"They're pinning us in the city with their artillery, and sending the Demolishers to pulverize us at point-blank range," Sebastian analyzed. "We have to find the Long Toms before it's too late!"

"It is too late, Commander!" Kyle rebuked. "The Demolishers can't do anything until 350 meters. Take'em up at range before they can reach us! Everybody, concentrate fire on the Demolishers!"

Evee quickly went to work. She lined up her missile to a Demolisher and ran her locking sequence. The slow moving enemy tank thundered the ground. Her radar rang, and she let loose thirty missiles. They arced beautifully over the plain before slamming at and around the Demolisher. A brilliant flash blossomed, along with shredded armor and chipped soil. But the hundred-ton monster kept rolling. Evee followed up with her second wave of missiles, twenty of which blasted the tank from every direction, but it would not break down.

"Commander, they won't go down!" Evee exclaimed in panic. "What do I do?"

"Keep shooting!" Sebastian replied. "Wear it down with your missiles! You can't let them close in!"

Evee pumped up more missiles, and two-dozen of them gutted the Demolisher at the rear hull. Smoke billowed from the damaged hull, but still it refused to go down. Three volleys of missiles and the big tank still came toward her. Evee realigned her crosshair when her console screamed in protest. Two LRM launchers sent their entire gamut of missiles at her. She turned hard to the left, but some 40 unfortunate missiles hit her on her torso. The Trebuchet shook up as fire engulfed on the right side of her mech. Evee grasped her joystick as hard as she could, but another shot from a Bulldog ripped her missile launcher on the right torso. Smoke started seeping into the cockpit, and Evee's mech lost half of its firepower.

"I'm hit! I'm hit!" Evee screamed while trying to regain balance.

"Stay still, Evee, I'm coming!" Sandra's voice gave a glint of hope. Evee tried her best to get out of the enemy's line of fire. Sandra Findley came from behind her and fired her PPC trio. The azure bolts sank into the Demolisher's hull. Sparks and burning armor were tossed everywhere, and the tank trembled to sustain the attack. But the thick armor finally gave in, and finally, the stubborn Demolisher exploded into smithereens.

"Thanks Sandra," Evee breathed in relieve, but suddenly gasped when she saw three LRM carriers rained down their missiles at Sandra's Awesome. "Sandra! Look out..."

Sandra flinched to the right, but she was a second too late. Dozens of missiles peppered the 80-ton mech, and several unfortunate missiles crushed the plexiglass canopy. Tongues of fire burst from the Awesome's head, spewing bits of metal and flesh. One second later the assault mech reeled to the ground, sending sparks and scorching metal to the air.

"Sandra!!" Sebastian cried out in despair, but nothing he could do to prevent Sandra's death. With newfound wrath Sebastian fired her long-range missiles at the LRM launchers that killed his second-in-command. Sparks and armor splinters flew to every direction as Sebastian's attack skinned one of the LRM carriers for 10 full seconds, before raking the reactor, ending its life in a blinding explosion.

Meanwhile, Evee froze in her mech, watching the last flicker of Sandra's Awesome died. Sandra Findley died saving her. She felt completely useless. It gave her the bitter grasp that unlike her stereotypical opinion about mercenary, her lance mates did have some nobility. Tears gathered on her eyelids. She was stunned, and she could've just stayed there forever if Kangpae didn't awakened her, "Evee! Move! Get out of there!"

"Damn it!" Evee snapped out of her dream and tugged her joystick. Her Trebuchet flinched, missing half a dozen laser strands from the Bulldogs. She tottered in her mech to find a refuge under missile and laser rain. She slipped under a rubble pile, followed closely by Kangpae. His Outbound was riddled with scars; some cracks even sprouting sparks.

Suddenly PPCs, Gauss slugs, and missiles whipped across the battlefield from behind the Cavaliers, destroying five Liao tanks in quick succession. Evee looked back and saw two Union-Class dropships descended on the city, FedCom crest bold and contrast on their drab hulls. They fired their guns at the tanks, and for a moment, the Zhanzheng deGuang's formation broke.

"Pull back to the dropship!" Kyle Garret commanded, firing missiles after missiles from his Mad Cat. "Get the civilians into one of the dropship and mount up the other! Go!"

Evee followed Kyle's command, pumping her reactor and dashed toward the dropships. Artillery fire flying above her heads, she arrived just as the last civilian trucks rolled into a dropship. The bay door rumbled close, and the engines roared, puffing white smoke and sparks. Wasting no time, Evee led her mech into the dropship, followed by Kangpae and Dan Wilks. Allison was already inside, and the remaining Command Lance followed her into the dropship.

"This is dropship command, we start taking fire from the Liao. Captain Garret, get your men inside. We're taking off in 3 minutes."

"Copy that dropship command. Shooting Stars, make your best speed to the dropship!"

Within 3 minutes, the Shooting Stars had all climbed the ramp into the dropship. Liao tanks and LRM carriers pounded the dropship, but it took off, leaving the empty city of Hastina behind.

Next on Escape from Carver V

"We still leave them on Carver V. We haven't even salvaged their mechs. This mission is too costly for us. Our loss is more than our gain, even with Davion's money."
"You talk like kids. We're living off a contract, and less lance mates mean more money for you!"
"So you're just getting happier and happier if more lance mates getting killed in the battlefield. You're just one cold sonofabitch!"
"That's the life of a mercenary. There's no place for camaraderie, only money."