Chapter 6
LaserClasm Arena,
Solaris City, Solaris VII,
Freedom Theater, Lyran Alliance,
October 30, 3067
LaserClasm arena was a large circular dome with 6 hangars. Several cables suspended a multi-lens laser pointer high at the top of the arena. It was the only source of light; the 6 combatants fought in total darkness. When the match started, the laser pointer sprayed colorful beams that turned the concrete circular wall into a gravitti canvas. That was where the name LaserClasm came.
This arena was larger than the one Jeremy fought in, with 6 combatants each match. The quality of the combatants also increased. The highest ranked mechwarrior was a guy named Freeze, ranked 5 in heavy circuit. He would enter the match in an Exterminator. Next down was some Harold, ranked 14 in a Champion. The rest were lower-ranked mechwarriors, a guy named Abdul in a Dragon, a girl named Ludmilla in an Orion, and an unranked girl named Priss in a Paladin.
Jeremy couldn't wait to start. He had studied the background of each combatant, and barring unusual event he should roll through this match. The gambling odd backed up his conclusion. While he was still unranked, his odd was 8-to-1, the third among the six. People had started noticing him, and some already expected him to win.
As Jeremy brought his mech out of the hangar, his comlink flashed. He knew that somebody was trying to make an alliance, most likely the lower ranked mechwarrior. This happened a lot in Solaris arena, especially if the mechwarrior thought he wouldn't have a chance winning the fight. Jeremy thought making coalition would benefit him against the higher-ranked mechwarrior so he clicked the communication button.
"Kid, I saw you fight in 4-Cross," a female voice echoed in the speaker. "You're not gonna last in this battle. I'm in the Orion on your right. If you don't shoot me, I don't shoot you. We'll talk about who's gonna leave this arena when we finished everybody else."
Jeremy smiled as he listened to the mechwarrior's arrogant call. He knew he could win this match even without the help of the Orion. But alliance would help him reduce damage. At least one mechwarrior wouldn't try to snipe him from the back. "Alright," he sent his reply. "I will watch your back if you watch mine."
Soon the fight started with the sound of the horn, and the Dragon right in front of him quickly made a dash at him. The Paladin on his left turned and attacked him but the Orion launched its missiles, stopping the morbid-looking mech on its track. The Champion took some time to pick its opponent, but in the end it trained all weapons on the Exterminator, which was the most dangerous combatant on the dome.
So Jeremy had to worry about the Dragon only. He quickly scanned the ancient mech, and his computer revealed that the Dragon was an old 1G design. Smiling with confidence, Jeremy pushed his mech forward to get into range. At 600 meters he fired his large laser, which bored the Dragon's midst. As the Dragon staggered groggily, he throttled up until his cannon tracker lit up in green, then mashed the trigger.
Much to his chagrin, the mammoth gun wouldn't fire. Jeremy punched the trigger furiously but all he could get was a weird whirring sound. The giant gatling gun wouldn't even rotate. He tried to recalibrate the gun, but it only made things worse. Now the UAC-10 went completely offline.
"Dammit! Kilroy, my autocannon is jammed!" Jeremy tried to reach his tech, but all he heard was static.
The Dragon got enough time to take a solid lock on Jeremy, who stood like a fool in the middle of the arena. Missiles hammered the Apocalypse left side, followed by ricocheting cannon rounds. Jeremy's mech trembled as it sustained the impact. The stocky legs kept everything under control but he lost a good half-ton of armor on the left side.
"Stupid weapon! Work, dammit! Work!" Jeremy relentlessly trying to get his cannon online, but he got nothing in response. Desperate, he turned his mech to the right, exposing the unscathed armor toward the Dragon, then fired his large laser. Once again the bright red beam stabbed the Dragon in the center, which now glowed in orange hue.
But the Dragon had better advantage in long range. Its missiles pummeled Jeremy's right torso. Its autocannon belched and ripped Jeremy's armor on the leg. The calculated shot slammed into the Apocalypse's reverse joint. The impact was so loud Jeremy thought the leg snapped.
Without the UAC-10, Jeremy knew he had to get close to bring the double SRM-4 to bear. So he pushed his throttle to maximum and fired his laser. The Dragon sidestepped his attack, but that maneuver put it in a bad position. Jeremy swung left and torso-twisted as far as he could, then launched his missiles. Half of them struck the Dragon dead center, pulling off cracks on the weakened armor. Traces of smoke twirled from the gap.
The Dragon took several back steps, then anwered the attack with its lasers. One bolt hit Jeremy's right arm, but the armor stopped it cold. The other flew harmlessly above his head. Undaunted, the 60-tonner followed up with its autoncannon, but the rushed attack went miserably wide.
Running full speed, Jeremy saw a window to deliver a crippling blow. He reversed direction, causing the Dragon to walk past its firing arc. As the Dragon tried to compensate, he lined up his crosshair with its center torso. Still backpedaled, he waited until the Dragon got its footing, then fired all lasers. His bolts burnt the last slab of armor, and as the Dragon coped with the loss of mass, he sank his missiles at the glowing chest of the Dragon. His warheads torched the gyro, and the Dragon tumbled backward.
For some reason the Dragon wasn't recognized as Jeremy's kill, but it was the least of Jeremy's concern. Standing on his right flank was the Exterminator, arguably the best mechwarrior in the arena. Obviously it survived the Champion, although the burn scars on its body showed that the victory was not an easy one. Nevertheless it was a very dangerous enemy for Jeremy.
Jeremy initiated the aggression by firing its large laser, but the Exterminator sidestepped it. Jeremy was careful enough not to fire too much. He turned to the left and circled the Exterminator waiting for the mech to return fire. The Exteminator fired its long-range missile. Jeremy took some hits, but he didn't get much damage. He made a hard right and fired his missiles. The Exterminator's AMS took down most of them. Undeterred, Jeremy fired his medium lasers. One hit the leg of the Exterminator, but the armor stopped it.
At less than 300 meters, the Exterminator fired its medium lasers, 2 bolts at a time. The refractory period of the medium lasers enabled it to hit Jeremy every 1.5 seconds. Jeremy's armor quickly diminished, and his HUD showed he would get critical hit if he kept getting hit like that.
Jeremy exasperatedly flicked his UAC trigger, but the gun was as good as dead. He knew it wouldn't do any good for him, so he put his mech in full speed and aimed it toward the Exterminator. The Exterminator tried to flinch, but Jeremy managed to catch it and rammed his right shoulder at the Exterminator's torso. The loud crunch and the vibration made him dizzy. His gun thrust into his engine and exploded. He lost half of his arsenal.
However, the Exterminator received equal damage. The whole front structure caved in damaging its gyro. The lanky mech staggered hard to stand, but the damaged gyro made it move slowly. It tried to shoot Jeremy, but missed because of the vibration.
Jeremy tried to shoot but the Orion came from behind him and fired at the staggering Exterminator. The damaged gyro prevented the Exterminator to dodge the attack. Missiles ripped the reactor casing. The Exterminator rocked back and forth before falling backward, then exploded in brilliant color.
"Good team work," the girl on the Orion called. "Now only the two of us left. Nice working with you kid, but business is business."
The Orion turned around and fired its autocannon at Jeremy's torso. The canopy glass broke and pieces of plexiglass flew everywhere. Jeremy covered his face as the alarm blared out of control. Smoke obscured his vision. The Apocalypse trembled and shook to sustain the attack.
Luckily the main generator was still functioning, so Jeremy pulled his mech up and fired his large laser. The bolt struck the Orion on the left arm where the missile launcher was stored. The arm breached and the Orion careened to the left. The pilot wasn't skillful enough to compensate the loss of mass, so the Orion fell in a loud crash.
Jeremy quickly fired his remaining guns at the fallen Orion. Most of them hit the ground, but a couple of missiles hit the right torso. The armor had been shredded on the previous engagement, and the two missiles cracked the shielding open. The engine exploded and took the cockpit with the pilot in it.
Jeremy leaned on his couch, taking several deep breaths. He won the match although his mech was shredded to pieces. If his UAC worked, he wouldn't have to sustain that many damages. He knew Kilroy did a good job maintaining his mech, so he was anxious to know why his primary weapon malfunctioned.