STEEL WOLF
Chapter 11: One of the Pack
Desert, Alvarez County, Korla,
Lyran Alliance,
August 24, 3075
"Boss, I still don't get why you accepted the Alvarez brothers' offer," Samantha Smith complained as the twelve Arctic Wolves marched through the mid-morning desert. A light wind kicked up clouds of sand and dust in the near distance, but the desert wasn't yet hot enough for shimmers of hot air.
"I expected everyone to follow my decision," Nikolai responded, "but if you want me to explain, I can. Look, I effectively didn't really have a choice at all. The Alvarez forces captured us and we had no means of escape. They offered to give us work instead of just keeping us imprisoned in the Palais du Soleil, and even gave us payment and tech in exchange for work. This is probably the most generous capture scenario we'll ever get."
"Money was all we needed?" Kyle asked.
"More than that," Nikolai added. "You're forgetting, Kyle, that us Arctic Wolves have a strict honor system. Alfonso Vargas has gone too far in his bullying of the Bhujorba Protectorate, and the Vargas Estate is making enemies with its foul actions. True, when we were captured I was feeling strained and confused, and I hastily accepted the generous offer made to me. But over the next few days, I got further proof that Leonardo and Miguel weren't trying to trick us. It's confirmed: the Bhujorba Protectorate has become a victim of a madman, and us Wolves are going to help put an end to it."
Kyle focused on the desert terrain up ahead, but he realized that indeed, Alfonso Vargas seemed to be getting out of control in his conquest of Korla, and if both the Vargas family and Alvarez family offered money, then Nikolai would take the side who had more honor. Interestingly, the Screaming Skulls had been given the same offer and had accepted it.
"Arctic One, this is Hawk One," reported the company commander of an Alvarez County strike force nearby. "Report in."
"This is Arctic One," Nikolai tapped into the comm. "My company is prepared for the mission."
"Good. The Screaming Skulls are also prepared," Hawk One stated. "Approach the ambush point at the bearings I'm sending to you. Hold fire until I give the word."
Following Nikolai's lead, Kyle recalled the briefing of this mission. Based on the communications that the Alvarez brothers had intercepted, it was determined that the Arctic Wolves' dropship, the Hunter's Insight, was being loaned to the Vargas Estate's military for a fee. Right now, the Hunter's Insight, along with one or more other dropships,was being used to secretly deploy an Estate strike force here in the Alvarez County to make a surprise attack on a large supply depot to the north. The Alvarez brothers planned to destroy the strike force, then capture the Hunter's Insight and return it to the Arctic Wolves as a token of cooperation... but on the condition that Alvarez aerospace fighters would be on hand to prevent a sudden getaway on the Wolves' part.
"This kind of feels weird," tuned in Thomas Jones. "Being sent to capture our own dropship!"
"Don't worry, we won't put a scratch on it," Nikolai assured him. "Though if the Alvarez forces accidentally damage it, I just might get mad."
Once the Arctic Wolves made their way around a wide, rocky mesa and over a dune, they gained a clear, wide view of the sprawling desert around them and came to a halt. To the east, Kyle could just barely pick up the twelve Alvarez 'mechs in position on top of a dune, mostly light and medium 'mechs such as the Bushwacker and Razorback. Far to the west stood the eight Screaming Skulls 'mechs. Kyle recalled the next part of the mission: once the Estate strike force was intercepted and destroyed, the Wolves, Skulls, and Alvarez group would proceed to the nearby spaceport and capture the dropships that had deployed the strike force. Most likely, the ships would be powered down for resupply, and that would be the perfect moment to capture them all.
The fiery sun slowly crept up across its arc in the sky as the Wolves waited for the strike force to arrive, and Kyle felt himself growing sweaty in the hot, stifling air of his Shadow Cat's cockpit. He idly tapped into Samantha's private comm. "Did you happen to notice all those open bars back at the Palais du Soleil?"
"The what?"
"Yeah. You didn't see them?" Kyle grinned. "I took a little tour as soon as I proved that I wasn't carrying weapons. There's all kinds of cold drinks over there, and more than a few with fruit flavors..."
Samantha laughed. "Damn it, Kyle, stop teasing me with thoughts of cold drinks all the time. Now I feel twice as thirsty."
"You're welcome."
"Jeez, you're such a naughty man."
"Hearing that form you, I'm actually kind of turned on..."
"Eyes up!" Nikolai barked, ending Kyle and Samantha's flirting. "The Estate strike force is coming. Stand by for orders."
A familiar voice entered the comm channel. "This is Hawk One. All teams stand by. Open fire on my command."
Two enemy companies of 'mechs and eight combat vehicles all made their way down the widest road, that ran through the desert. Most importantly, the Estate forces were headed right toward the Arctic Wolves, with the Screaming Skulls on their right flank and the Alvarez company on the left. Kyle took a look at the enemy forces: mostly medium and heavy 'mechs such as Shadow Hawk, Uziel, Centurion, and Rifleman designs. The vehicles were Goblin tanks with four Glory combat vehicles as escorts.
"Arctic Wolves, open fire!" Hawk One barked. At once, the Marauders of the Arctic Wolves lurched forward, raising their blocky arm guns to fire. Vivid blue PPC beams pierced the air in a cris-cross pattern, catching the advancing Estate forces by surprise. Sparks and globs of molten armor flew off the Estate 'mechs everywhere, creating a spectacular light show as the Estate 'mechs lost their armor plating from the ranged attack. A second later, the top-mounted Autocannon 5 guns on the Marauders spat out ballistic shells, and the weakened Estate forces recoiled from the ranged fire.
Kyle moved his Shadow Cat a few steps to the side, swiveling his right arm's huge Gauss Rifle barrel to aim at his targets. Locking his crosshairs on a wounded enemy Rifleman, Kyle squeezed his trigger tightly. His silver Gauss slug flashed through the air and a split second later, the Rifleman jerked and stumbled back as though kicked in the stomach. Sheets of torn armor fell off the 'mech's injured torso and smoke poured from the Rifleman's damaged inner machinery. Meanwhile, Samantha's twin Light Gauss Rifle slugs gouged into a Goblin tank, blasting off its large laser turret in a torrent of fire and shredded metal.
"Fall back, past the dune!" Nikolai shouted as the Estate forces returned fire with a vengeance. Thick red laser beams from the Goblin tanks punished the Arctic Wolves, melting off tons of armor from the Marauders. Kyle reversed his throttle and his Shadow Cat rapidly backed up across the dune, but a large laser slashed into his right torso, sending chunks of molten armor spilling to the dune. The 45-ton 'mech swayed from the awkward loss of mass, but Kyle fought his joysticks and got his 'mech steady again. Along with the other Arctic Wolves, Kyle slipped back behind the dune's top, creating a barrier between the Wolves and Estate forces.
"Screaming Skulls, go!" ordered Hawk One. Kyle watched the eight green dots of the Screaming Skulls on his radar break into motion, intercepting the charging Estate forces. The Estate 'mechs slowed to a halt to exchange fire with the newcomers, and then the Alvarez company moved in as well. Although the Skulls and Alvarez teams took heavy damage, they punished the Estate forces greatly with superior range.
Then, Nikolai received his next order: "Arctic Wolves, charge straight at the enemy force! Catch them from behind!"
Kyle grinned to himself when he realized the true meaning of that order. Hawk One wanted the Wolves to move and strike the Estate forces on the northwest flank, but the Estate forces who may be listening in would hear a different order. Nikolai started moving his 'mech into position with his fellow Arctic Wolves in tow, and Kyle marveled at the strange code system that Leonardo and Miguel had invented. Instead of using algorithms, the brothers would invent key words or phrases before a mission and explain the key words to Battlemech officers. The exact words and meanings would change with every mission, but before this operation, Nikolai had been told that with the code phrase "enemy force", Hawk One meant "northwest flank" instead of "the enemy's rear flank." If the officer had changed his mind and meant "the enemy's rear flank" after all, he would say "enemy forces" instead of "enemy force."
What a peculiar but useful system, Kyle thought as he and the other Wolves moved to position for the northwest flank. Impossible to guess or find a pattern for, because there isn't one! Like at that battle for Heldav, when the enemy air force came from a different direction than expected. As soon as the Arctic Wolves reached their position on top of a dune, Kyle saw that the Estate forces had shifted in anticipation of the Wolves attacking from their original position toward the Estate forces' rear flank. Instead, the Arctic Wolves rained down PPC fire from their vantage point, catching the huge Estate force completely off-guard. Kyle watched as enemy 'mechs succumbed to PPC fire, and the Bushwackers and Whitworths of the Screaming Skulls squad inflicted further damage. LRMs, large lasers, and Autocannon 10's from the Skulls hammered the Estate forces' left flank while the heavy LRM and large laser fire from the Alvarez company tore up the right flank.
"We could use some help here!" Harry Saxon of the Screaming Skulls demanded. A number of the Estate 'mechs shifted position to counter-flank the Skulls, and the eight Skulls 'mechs shrank back from the intense fire. The Alvarez company started taking more fire as well, retreating across a dune.
"We've got this," Nikolai told Saxon. A PPC streaked from his Marauder's left arm, slashing into an enemy Uziel that was hammering a Skulls Whitworth with its SRM 6. Nikolai's Autocannon 5 peppered an Estate Shadow Hawk on the shoulder, throwing the 55-ton 'mech off balance. Kyle's Gauss Rifle slug punched into an Estate Bushwacker's left arm, breaching the armor and tearing the myomer muscles within. The Bushwacker's arm went limp a minute later.
Damn it! Kyle felt his 'mech getting rocked by LRM fire as the Estate forces made a push toward the Arctic Wolves. The four Glory tanks led the way, their LRM 15's and Rotary Autocannon 5's tearing at the armor of the twelve Arctic Wolves 'mechs. Vengeful PPCs streaked from the Marauders, but the tough Glory tanks withstood the blows, losing their outer layers of armor but not taking any internal damage. One Marauder recoiled as swarms of LRMs from the Glory tanks pummeled it, and the 'mech collapsed to the sands, its right leg shearing off at the joint in a blast of flames and sparks. Sheets of metal crumpled and screeched loudly in protest from the strain, and the pilot ejected just in time to avoid a fiery death.
Half a dozen large lasers flew from the guns of the Alvarez 'mechs, stabbing a Glory from top to bottom. One hellish beam burned into the Glory's left LRM 15 launcher, setting off the ammo inside. The internal LRMs exploded like a box of firecrackers, vaporizing the tank's RAC 5. Shrapnel from the explosions tore into nearby Glory and Goblin tanks, gouging off armor.
Although a Screaming Skulls 'mech soon went down, and an Alvarez 'mech succumbed to lasers and missiles from the Estate forces, the Marauders of the Arctic Wolves unleashed a heavy volley to help even the odds. Autocannon 5's tore into the Goblin tanks, then PPC beams slashed into the damaged armor. A Goblin tank melted into a lump of molten armor and scorched treads from the heavy fire, and then Samantha's Light Gauss Rifles smashed apart the Goblin that she had damaged earlier.
The two other Goblin tanks returned fire with their large lasers, and the Glory tanks unleashed their Rotary Autocannon 5's and missiles, blasting off more armor and limbs from the Marauders. Kyle gripped his joysticks tightly as RAC shells rattled his damaged Shadow Cat, and his damage tracker reported that his right torso and right arm were running dangerously thin on armor. Kyle tapped into the comm. "Sam, you doing all right?"
"Doing okay, I guess," Samantha responded tightly as enemy lasers boiled away the armor on her Marauder's left leg and left torso. Her Light Gauss Rifles tore off the arm of an enemy Shadow Hawk, knocking over the 55-tonner.
"Look out! Another flanking move to the left!" Nikolai shouted on the comm. Kyle twisted on his torso and beheld a group of eight or so Estate 'mechs making a headlong charge toward the Arctic Wolves with all guns blazing.
This could be good, Kyle thought with amusement. He turned and lined up his crosshairs on an Estate Uziel and squeezed his trigger. The right arm of his Shadow Cat spat out a silver ball that punched right into the Uziel's center torso, causing the 'mech to stumble and sprawl onto its side, tumbling awkwardly down the dune with loud groans of strained armor. Meanwhile, Fury's hulking Atlas lumbered forward to meet the attackers, raising its huge guns.
"Bad idea, guys," Fury taunted the Estate forces as he opened fire. His two arm-mounted LBX-10 guns roared to life, showering an enemy Hunchback with heavy fire, shattering armor all over the medium 'mech. Thomas' customized Marauder fired next, its SRM 6 launchers pummeling the wounded Hunchback with explosions. Amazingly, the rugged 'mech stayed standing despite losing all its chest armor and its left arm. The 'mech's trademark Autocannon 20 unleashed its payload, and the ballistic shells ripped into the right torso of Fury's Atlas. The 100-ton 'mech stumbled back a step, but then the 'mech regained its composure and returned fire with its own Autocannon 20. This time, the Hunchback collapsed from the heavy fire and stayed down.
A damaged Estate Shadow Hawk pounced on Kyle's Shadow Cat, and the 55-tonner's SRM 2 and medium laser pelted the legs of Kyle's 'mech. Enduring the damage, Kyle realized that the enemy 'mech was too close for a Gauss Rifle shot, so instead, he squeezed a different trigger. His three torso-mounted ER medium lasers raked the Shadow Hawk, slashing off its torso armor with hellish heat. Samantha joined the fray, the medium lasers installed in her Marauder's torso stabbing into the Shadow Hawk's torso. The Shadow Hawk burst into flames, crumpling into scorched pieces.
With a sudden blast, another Arctic Wolves Marauder went down, taking a cluster of LRMs to the back. The 75-ton 'mech fell flat to its face, the pilot ejecting from his ruined mount. Kyle whirled around and beheld the surviving Glory tanks rolling toward the Arctic Wolves for an ambush from behind. However, the tank assault stopped cold when the Screaming Skulls 'mechs intercepted the tanks, showering them in LRMs and Autocannon fire. One Glory succumbed to the missile fire, then another and another. Harry Saxon's Bushwacker led the way, its large laser and Autocannon 10 tearing into the Estate tanks and 'mechs. The surviving Alvarez 'mechs joined the fray a minute later, then the battlefield at last fell silent. Dozens of scorched, shattered 'mechs and tanks lay across the dunes and lowlands, and Kyle did a quick head count: seven Arctic Wolves still stood, five Screaming Skulls remained operational, and seven Alvarez 'mechs survived.
"Surprisingly low casualties," Nikolai commented. "Considering the odds we were against."
"The Vargas Estate troops do not have the same motivation or high-quality training that the Alvarez County forces do," Hawk One said firmly. "And we pushed our range advantage to the maximum. Now follow me. We must reach the spaceport down the road and capture the dropships before they can power up and get their weapons online."
Not anxious to fight a fully-armed dropship in this condition, Kyle quickly followed everyone else down the road and toward the spaceport. He felt exhausted and sweaty in his cockpit, but he survived the battle, and that was good enough for him.
Two dropships came into view a few minutes later, both parked at a small spaceport further down the road. There stood the Fortress-class dropship, the Hunter's Insight, and next to it was a Union-class dropship. Supply trucks drove all around the spaceport and the bay doors of both dropships were open. As soon as the Arctic Wolves, Screaming Skulls, and Alvarez forces reached the spaceport's territory, Hawk One demanded on the open comm, "Surrender at once! You have no escape. Those dropships will be claimed for the Alvarez County's armed forces."
A voice responded, "This is spaceport control. Two companies of 'mechs and support vehicles are in the area. That is your only warning."
"They're already taken care of," Hawk One retorted as the Wolves, Skulls, and Alvarez 'mechs walked forward and surrounded the dropships. The supply trucks shrank away, but the dropships didn't make a single move. Luckily, they were indeed powered down and helpless.
Nikolai entered the comm next using his nickname. "This is Boss to Hunter's Insight command. Are those my fellow Arctic Wolves in there?"
The voice of an Arctic Wolves support staff responded, "Yes, Boss. What is happening? Why are you fighting with the Alvarez County?"
"Change of plans," Nikolai answered grimly. "Alfonso Vargas has gone too far, and the Alvarez County is paying me well to take down that tyrant. The Hunter's Insight is one of the pack. Wherever the Arctic Wolves go, it goes."
"Copy that, Boss," came the staff member's voice. "We're with you. We have no choice anyway: if we say no, you blast our engines. But you should know that that we were loaning this ship to the Vargas Estate for a fee. We need the money."
"There will be future contracts on other worlds," Nikolai said simply. "But the Alvarez County already captured us twelve Mechwarriors, and now we've got the Hunter's Insight. For the rest of this war, the Vargas Estate is a hostile faction."
"I copy that, Boss. Just lead the way."