STEEL WOLF
Chapter 18: Liberation Day
Nexus outskirts, Vargas Estate, Korla,
Lyran Alliance,
September 28, 3075
Kyle knew that he was an important and well-valued backup sniper for the Arctic Wolves company, but when he stood among the hundreds of 'mechs and tanks assembled for the final assault on the Vargas Estate, he felt tiny. Countless 'mechs marched in formation across the dunes toward the city, and some of them bore the symbol of the Alvarez County, while others had the seals of the Laurent Commonwealth or Klein Federation on them. Elsewhere, several wings of Aerospace fighters from the Klein Federation were prepared to strife the enemy. Over a dozen Laurent Commonwealth Mobile Long Toms were there too, escorted by tank formations.
"This is Desert Eagle to all units," came a man's voice. Kyle recognized him as General Santiago of the Alvarez County. "This is our final push to take down Alfonso Vargas and General Abby, so I want 100% effort from each and every one of you. If we stick to the plan, the Vargas Estate's tyranny will come to an end. This is liberation day for all of Korla."
"Are you all ready, Arctic Wolves?" Nikolai asked his fellows cheerily, his Marauder marching at the head of his company's formation. Ten of the Arctic Wolves had survived to this point in the war.
"Yes, sir!" barked nine Mechwarriors on the comm.
"Good," Nikolai responded. "Miguel and Leonardo Alvarez gave us this chance to end Alfonso Vargas' reign of terror, so let's not waste it. We're on the winning side."
The Arctic Wolves fell silent as they marched with the rest of the army towards the waiting city. In his head, Kyle remembered the tactical briefing's highlights. Nearly twenty Long Toms sat in a wide semi-circle around Nexus, all of them pointing at the invading army's direction. Two full regiments of the Vargas Estate's Battlemechs stood at the ready, as well as battalions from the nations allied with the Estate. Finally, a trio of small airfields nearby promised to send Estate Hellcat fighters into the battle. The Estate's primary airbase was still in ruins, but Kyle knew that the invading Aerospace fighters would still have to be careful.
"Spotter teams, get into position," Desert Eagle commanded. "Scout lances, hunt and destroy any Estate spotter teams you find. If we get the advantage with artillery, this battle will be much quicker to win."
Kyle admired Desert Eagle's confidence, but as he marched over a dune and beheld the full scope of Nexus' defenders, his heart sank. The vast array of enemy defenders outstripped even the impressive united invasion force, and Kyle wondered if the pre-emtive strikes against the Estate's facilities would make any difference. Well, at least the airbase raid would.
A rapid string of deep booms signaled the Vargas Estate's opening artillery barrage, and Desert Eagle quickly gave the order for all units to disperse. For a few seconds, Kyle heard the whistle of incoming explosive shells. Then, one earth-shuddering explosion after another erupted all across the dunes and rocky plains, blasting a few of the invader 'mechs sky high. One explosion rocked the ground just a few dozen meters from the Arctic Wolves, rattling the 'mechs where they stood. Kyle fought against his Shadow Cat's controls to keep his medium 'mech on its feet, and the other Wolves managed to stay on their feet as well.
As Kyle and the other Wolves raced across the dunes with the rest of the army toward Nexus' defenders, the Mobile Long Toms answered the Estate's attack with their own barrage. Huge detonations peppered the sandy, dry earth around the city's defenders, throwing huge pillars of dark smoke and flames into the air. Kyle saw handfuls of Estate 'mechs and tanks vanish in the fireballs while the rest scattered to avoid a similar fate.
"Air assets, flank them from the east!" Desert Eagle demanded. "Don't let the enemy artillery get another chance!"
While the friendly Aerospace fighters started their approach, Kyle checked the outer edges of the battlefield. Already, Battlemechs from both sides exchanged fire, eager to destroy the other side's spotter 'mechs. Kyle couldn't spare much time to watch the skirmishes, however. The invasion army was nearly within range of the main enemy army, and long-range units like Kyle's Shadow Cat would be obliged to fire first.
The Federation Aerospace fighters roared onto the scene, flying fast and low. Most of them were Lucifer designs, and the planes peppered the Estate Long Toms with bright red large laser beams. A second later, clouds of LRMs raced from the Lucifers, then the missiles tore into the Long Toms with clusters of explosions. A few Long Toms melted or blew apart under the vicious strafing run's firepower, then anti-air 'mechs guarding the Long Toms returned fire. Countless lasers and Autocannon bursts sizzled through the air, most of them too slow to hit the Lucifers. One Lucifer did take heavy fire, however, and the plane shattered into flaming pieces that crashed to the dunes. The rest of the Lucifers soared away, preparing to come back for another strafing run later.
"Long-range units, open up!" Desert Eagle barked. Kyle tensed his muscles at the cue, sliding his crosshairs onto formations of enemy 'mechs. Meanwhile, friendly LRM 'mech lances filled the air with thousands of missiles, leaving long streaks of gray smoke in the hot afternoon air. Brilliant clusters of flaming explosions engulfed the Vargas Estate 'mechs and tanks, the smoke clouds obscuring most of the survivors. Squinting past the inference, Kyle found an area unclouded by smoke and opened fire. His Gauss Rifle slug punched into an enemy Rifleman, cracking the heavy 'mech's left shoulder armor like an eggshell. The Rifleman flinched from the heavy attack, fighting to stay on its wide, flat feet.
As soon as his Gauss Rifle recycled, Kyle punished the Rifleman with another slug, this time breaching its chest. A blast of armor flakes, smoke, and sparks brought a wolfish grin to Kyle's lips, then a few LRM clusters finished off the injured Rifleman. The Vargas Estate 'mechs returned fire with equal ferocity, ravaging the invasion army's 'mechs and tanks with heavy LRM and Gauss Rifle barrages. Handfuls of invasion 'mechs and tanks went down, but the rest pressed onwards without fear.
Again and again the Long Toms from both sides fed their murderous shells into the battlefield, but at this point only a fraction of each side's Long Toms were operational or had functioning spotter teams. What was more, both sides' 'mechs and tanks had reached close range and the large formations of both armies broke up into smaller, fast-moving cells. Kyle gawked at the fast, fluid nature of the battle, then mentally shook himself and prepared to provide fire support wherever it was needed. I can't get distracted. This is the battle of my life!
Once again the Lucifers arrived to provide support fire, this time from the north-west. However, another group of Aerospace fighters rocketed onto the scene from the east, and the new planes' large lasers slashed mercilessly into the Lucifers' flank. Two Lucifers plummeted to the ground in flames while the rest aborted their strafing run to engage the enemy planes, all of which were Hellcats.
"Hostiles up ahead! Lock and load!" Nikolai warned. A group of enemy 'mechs spotted the nine Arctic Wolves and closed in for the kill, unloading fierce fire upon the Wolves. A quartet of Shadow Hawks peppered the Wolves with their Autocannon 5 shells and medium laser, chipping off armor from the hulking Marauders. A pair of Trebuchets stood at the back of their group, throwing LRM 15 volleys every which way. Kyle snarled as the explosions battered his fellow Arctic Wolves, and the smoke clouds blocked his vision of what was going on.
Kyle hung on tightly to his joysticks as stray Autocannon fire pelted his Shadow Cat, damaging the armor on its right torso and right arm. Seconds later, the smoke clouds lifted and Kyle saw a perfect shot on an enemy Shadow Hawk. While the other Arctic Wolves opened fire with their PPCs and Autocannon 5's, Kyle placed his crosshairs onto a Shadow Hawk and opened fire. His metallic slug smashed right into the Shadow Hawk's left arm, breaching the entire limb with a screech of warped metal and a shower of sparks. The entire 'mech swayed as its arm broke off, leaving it vulnerable. A trio of PPC beams from the Marauders slashed open its chest, and flames erupted from the 'mech's ravaged torso. The Shadow Hawk collapsed and sprawled face-first onto the sand, leaking gear fluid and coolant.
"Punching out!" reported one Arctic Wolf as his Marauder shuddered from heavy LRM and laser fire from the enemy group. His 'mech stumbled and swayed from the countless LRMs that pounded its torso, breaking off the armor and destroying the heat sinks within. The unmanned Marauder slumped to its side, crushing its right arm under its heavy torso as it crumpled to the sand.
Samantha's dual Light Gauss Rifles spat out their metal slugs, one of which stabbed into a Trebuchet's torso-mounted LRM launcher with a blast of fire and smoke. The other slug grazed the arm of an Estate Thunderbolt, and the sheer kinetic force spun the 'mech around and nearly threw to its back. Infuriated, the Thunderbolt's pilot stabilized his machine and returned fire, his large laser and twin medium lasers cutting into the left arm of Samantha's Marauder. Molten armor oozed from the point of contact, then the laser beams continued to the titanium bones and myomer muscles. The entire Marauder jolted as the arm was slashed off, falling to the sandy ground with a thump. The amputated 'mech wobbled from the loss of mass, but it stayed on its feet.
"I've got you covered, Sam," Kyle assured her. While the Thunderbolt was distracted, he placed his crosshairs on its chest and triggered his Gauss Rifle. Once again, the Thunderbolt was rocked by a Gauss slug, and most of its left torso armor was blasted into pieces from the impact. Nikolai's PPC beam slashed even deeper into the wound, sizzling the Thunderbolt's inner components. The 65-ton 'mech hung on tight and released an LRM 15 volley that pounded into Nikolai's Marauder. Chunks of flaming armor flew from Nikolai's 'mech as missiles peppered its armor, but the heavy 'mech didn't go down.
Fury's huge Atlas marched up right behind the Thunderbolt, cutting loose with its deadly short-range weapons. An arm-mounted LBX-10 scoured the armor from the Thunderbolt's right arm, and the impact force actually bent the titanium bones a little with a loud metallic groan. The Thunderbolt whirled around to to face the Atlas toe to toe, spitting out short-range laser fire in defiance. Its medium lasers burned two molten scars on the Atlas' center torso, but the 100-ton 'mech took the damage in stride and fired back. One Autocannon 20 salvo was all that the Thunderbolt could take. The 65-ton 'mech was thrown right onto its back, shattered internal components and sparks leaking from its ravaged torso. An LBX-10 volley from Fury's right arm silenced the Thunderbolt for good.
The remaining Estate 'mechs turned and fled the scene as fast as they could, but within a few seconds, Kyle realized that they weren't retreating out of fear. All around the battlefield, the remaining Estate forces made a break for Nexus' city limits, leaving the invasion force's 'mechs standing alone, confused. The Estate's Hellcats broke off and retreated, headed back for their airfield. The Estate's Long Toms fell silent as well.
"What's going on here?" Nikolai demanded on the comm.
"All hostiles are making a tactical retreat toward the city," Desert Eagle told everyone. "Looks like they want to finish this with a short-range urban brawl to negate our superior air power and ranged-fire capabilities. Smart move on their part. Our Long Toms are useless now. We're not going to fire on civilian structures."
"But what about the people of Nexus?" Samantha asked.
"My men have intercepted some enemy comms, and we have determined that all of Nexus' civilians have been evacuated to the city's center, far away from the fighting. We can afford to make an urban assault without killing civilians. All forces, advance on Nexus. Alfonso Vargas can run but he can't hide."
"Arctic Wolves, on me," Nikolai told his men, turning his Marauder to face Nexus' countless skyscrapers. "We'll lose our ranged advantage in there so we're going to get some escorts if possible. Fury, Thomas, the city should be a good place for you."
"Sounds like fun," Fury commented. Meanwhile, Thomas' numerous SRM launchers would prove deadly in urban combat. As Kyle marched toward Nexus with his fellow Wolves, he prayed that he would survive to see his sister and Lyla again, and he wondered how Cassandra was doing with Carlos and Alphonse. I bet they're all getting along great, he thought with forced optimism. I can't wait to see them all again.