Chapter XIII
City of Kangka,
Carver V, Chaos March,
January 5, 3060
The night was cold and quiet, but it felt steamy in the Trebuchet's cockpit. Evee leaned back on her chair, taking deep breaths once in a while. It was 14 hours after she was shot by Mayor Systain, and although the Shooting Stars did a very good job patching up her wound, she lost a lot of blood. Her head spun and her eyes were swollen. Sweat beaded on her forehead, although she had not fired her guns yet. She wished she were in bed.
But she could not rest yet. Zhanzheng deGuang knew their position, and they would launch an attack. She guessed this attack would wipe out the Shooting Stars and the Cavaliers. But Captain Garret had another plan. He used the two Union dropships as turrets. The dropships were equipped with awesome firepower. He wanted to disrupt the formation of the Zhanzheng deGuang, then launch an all-out attack. Should this plan work, it would deliver a crushing blow to the Zhanzheng deGuang, and Kyle estimated the terrorists would leave the Davions alone.
"How are you feeling, Evee?" Kyle asked while lined up his Mad Cat beside the Trebuchet.
"I'm fine," Evee replied weakly. "I can stay awake for another hour or two."
"I wish there's another way," Kyle sighed. "But we need every good men."
"I understand, Captain. In case I don't make it, then it's a privilege fighting with you."
"The honor is mine, Evee. We'll finish this, or die trying."
Suddenly the comlink crackled with an arrogant voice. "Attention Davion defenders. This is Sang-Wei Wu Kan, leader of Zhanzheng deGuang 1st Armor Company. You are surrounded, there is no way to escape. I give you 5 minutes to lay down your weapon and surrender. If I don't hear anything in 5 minutes, I'll rain down my power and kill you all!"
"An armor company wants to fight us," Kyle replied in mockery. "You underestimate us, Sang Wei. Give us your best shot! We aren't going anywhere."
"Brave words, Davions, but prove little. This is your final warning. Lay down your weapon and surrender, or suffer the consequences."
"Don't waste your time, terrorist! Just show yourself so I can kick your ass!"
"Very well, Davions! Prepare to die!"
As soon as the connection cut off, artillery started raining down on the city of Kangka. Explosions rattled the ground as the Liao terrorists pummeled the city without mercy, disregarding the fact that there were more than 500 civilians. Fire raged on the city as buildings collapsed. Fortunately, the pro-Marik civilians had several bunkers underneath the city. The artillery, though destroyed most of the city, failed to destroy the bunkers.
"Allison, find those Long Toms!" Evee commanded. "You should spot their muzzle flash easily at night."
"Roger that," Allison replied quickly and paced her Fire Hawk into the darkness.
Meanwhile, the Zhanzheng deGuang moved their forces closer and closer to the city. Two platoons of LRM missiles, two platoons of Bulldogs, and one platoon of Demolishers rolled in tight formation. They spotted the two Union dropships and started hitting them using their missiles, while the Long Toms continued hitting the city.
"Captain, we're taking fire from the missile launchers," the dropship captain reported. "Five lances of armor are heading our way. Weapons are online. We have them on our crosshair. Permission to open fire, Sir."
"Kill them all, dropships!" Kyle ordered. "Shooting Stars, fire at will!"
Missiles leapt from the Mad Cat's boxy launchers, followed by the Bushwackers, accompanying the Gauss slugs and PPC bolts from the dropships. Several LRM carriers and Bulldogs erupted in colorful flashes, illuminating the dark night. Evee locked on a Bulldog and fired her missile launchers in unison. The missiles arced in the air before slamming into the tank, and with a blinding explosion the Bulldog came to a crashing halt. The dropships concentrated fire on the Demolishers and let loose their PPCs. Three consecutive strikes made the 100-ton tank glow in red before exploded in a brilliant fireball.
Suddenly several red dots appeared on Evee's rear flank. A squadron of Yellow Jacket helicopters came from behind. They fired their Gauss rifle at the dropships. Smoke started to rise from the dropships.
"Yellow Jackets inbound from the north!" Evee proclaimed. "I'll get them. Kangpae, form up on me!"
Crisscrossing their path to dodge the artillery fire, Evee and Kangpae sprinted on the ravaged pavement, cutting off the helicopter's path before they got into range and hitting the Shooting Stars from behind. The choppers assumed attack formation when Evee's locking mechanism rang. She hit the trigger that sent 15 missiles to the nearest Yellow Jacket. The chopper used its speed to elude the missiles, but Evee lit up her other missile launcher on her left arm. Fire belched as the missiles ripped its internal structures. The Yellow Jacket gunboat bled fire from its back, then burst into flames.
"Yeah!" Evee chimed. "Kangpae, send them all to hell!"
"With pleasure!" Kangpae aligned his crosshair to one of the chopper when two of them broke formation and fired their Gauss rifle. Kangpae ducked, but one slug hit him on the left torso. The Outbound staggered hard as armor flew in every direction, setting up major fire on its hull. Kangpae cursed on the comlink, then realigned his crosshair. He mashed the trigger, and his UAC5's roared, sending streams of munitions at one of the chopper. The Yellow Jacket jerked and rolled before slamming into a building.
Evee raised her right arm and let loose a barrage of lasers at another chopper. Her quick attack took out the chopper, gutting its hull and sending it limping to the ground. But another Yellow Jacket took a good aim at her, and before she could react, the chopper scored a perfect hit on her center torso. Warning sign blared in her cockpit as her mech jerked behind, crashing into an empty apartment building. Evee felt a mighty sting on her chest as the Trebuchet tumbled on top of debris. The pain overtook her senses, and for a moment, she laid down motionless.
"Capellan scumbags! Eat my lead!" Kangpae yelled and pumped his UAC's. The shells cut off the tail of a Yellow Jacket. The chopper instantly whirled into the ground, expanding in a fireball as it crashed into the hard paved road. The remaining two fired their guns in unison. Kangpae gritted his teeth as the nickel-ferrous slugs smashed into his right torso, ripping it apart. The UAC ammunition feeder exploded, destroying the entire right torso and the short-barreled cannon. Kangpae was tossed from side to side as his Outbound rocked.
"Is that your best shot, scumbags?" he grimaced in pain, but refused to give up. "My turn!" He fired his missiles straight into a Yellow Jacket's midst. The 5-pack missiles failed to bring down the chopper, but they managed to punch through the armor and incinerate the engine. Thick cloud of smoke burst from the engine, and the chopper was forced to leave the battlefield.
However, the other one sacked a murderous hit at his torso. Sparks burst from the console, and the Outbound careened to the ground. Steam and coolant seeped from several cracks along the body, and Kangpae knew his mech could not withstand another shot. He targeted the Yellow Jacket, but a horde of missiles rose up from the ground, shredding the chopper in a fiery explosion.
"Thanks, Evee," he sighed in relief, then realized that Evee was still lying on the ground. "Are you OK?"
"I'm hurt," Evee moaned, gasping for air as her pain gnawed on her chest. "Get me out of here."
"Coming up!" Kangpae exited her battered mech and rushed toward the Trebuchet. He opened the hatch and gently freed Evee from her command couch. She whimpered as he heaved her out of her mech.
"Shh… It's over," Kangpae soothed her. "We got them choppers. You'll be alright."
Next on Escape from Carver V:
"You should've taken my advice when you got a chance, Allison. You're a great kid with a bright future. Too bad you made the wrong choice."
"I made the right choice. Better die with these warriors than live with a filth like you, Psycho!"
"Stupid fool! You just don't know how to survive in a war."
"You will not get away with this, traitor! The Shooting Stars will get you!"
"If you think the Davions care about you, you're sadly mistaken! You, me, we are all expendables in their eyes. Now die!"
"Go to hell, you treacherous scum!"