For once, Katarina’s Large Pulse Laser hit. It struck the Stooping Hawk in the left leg, then was followed by a Medium Pulse Laser to the same location. With the armor stripped, Wanda’s next shot blasted through to shatter the hip actuator, crippling the Mech.
“Yeehaw!” came Wanda’s voice across the comm, obviously excited about the early crit.
“Just remember not to do that to the Crimson Langur: our employer wants that bird intact,” cautioned Katarina.
“No problemo, boss! We’ll just whittle down the other birds, and they won’t have an option but to come quietly.”
“We hope. Let’s go for it!”
Katarina and Wanda soared through the air towards the unfortunate Stooping Hawk, blasting it with lasers and missiles. Hoping to assist in causing the Hawk maximum damage, Jessica opened fire with her LRMs as well. Soon the Stooping Hawk became the Stumbling Hawk, backpedaling and falling on its back.
“Shall we leave him, boss? He can barely stand up with that busted hip, you know?”
Katarina shook her head at Wanda’s question. “He can still fire at us and spot for others. We need to finish him.”
As they soared across the battlefield, closing the distance to the Stooping Hawk, a Nova managed to fly in behind Katarina, making it into her rear arc. Katarina wasn’t too concerned: she had flown, they had flown, she knew the Nova didn’t have pulse lasers or a targeting computer, so odds were low of them getting a hit.
Jessica observed the Nova from her more distant vantage point, and fired her LRMs at it. Those came down in two volleys, striking the Nova and doing lots of damage to the Mech’s armor. But not before the Nova opened fire.
Someone was desperate to make an impact, it seemed. The Nova fired eight lasers at one time at the Dementor, two of them striking in the rear left torso. The shots penetrated through the armor, striking the engine housing and blasting a gap in the coolant lines for the reactor. Almost immediately the engine heat spiked way over the danger zone, and automatic shutoff took effect.
Almost in mid-step, the Dementor stopped and crashed to the ground. The automatic eject system threw Katarina out the rear of the head towards safety, and the crash seat landed some thirty meters away from the Mech. It all happened so fast that Katarina barely had time to register that the controls were no longer there in front of her when she hit the ground. But her instincts kicked in, and she quickly unstrapped from the chair and grabbed the huge Sternsnacht heavy pistol strapped to the side of the chair for just these occasions, and began running away from the battlefield.
“Hang on, Kat!” Wendy called over the comm, hoping the helmet would pick up the call. She jumped back, carefully spotting Katarina before she landed, intent on not frying her with the backwash of her jump jets.
Jessica continued her assault on the Nova, blasting it again with LRMs. This time one volley went wide, and though the other hit, it did not appear to do much damage. The Nova attacked the Viper, but fortunately with not the same level of firepower it had used on the Dementor. It only fired three lasers this time, and only one hit. That was no surprise: its heat readings were dangerously high, and it obviously needed to cool down.
The Viper took the shot head on, but failed to take notice of the Crimson Langur sneaking up from behind. Wanda carefully scooped Katarina up from the ground just before taking two shots in the rear. One pierced the center rear torso, doing nearly as much damage as the other shot had done to the Dementor. Heat alarms shrilled through the cockpit as smoke bellowed out of the rough gap in her back.
It was over. Wanda raised her free hand in surrender, and broadcast on the open channel: “We sue for peace. Let us go now, and we will retreat peacefully.”
The answer came crackling back over the comm. “Go, and take this lesson to heart, never to attack the Blood Spirit Clan again. We claim your fallen mech as isorla. Perhaps we will allow you to ransom it.”
“Perhaps we will. When you are ready, state your price and we will consider it.” Wanda closed the open channel and switched to the Company channel. “Let’s go, Jessica. I’ve got Katarina safely in hand.”
Katarina waved from Wanda’s hand, and Wanda raised the hand to her shoulder, allowing Katarina to step up and enter the cockpit, taking a cramped seat behind Wanda.
“Thank you for that rescue, my sibkin in spirit. I will not forget.”
Wanda smiled. “Think nothing of it. I know had the situation been reversed, you would have done the same for me.”
And so they returned home, experiencing the bitter taste of defeat.
* * * * * * * *
“Five Million C-bills!?!? And you paid it!?!?”
Allen rarely got angry, but this was an exception. “Do you realize that it will take almost seven million C-bills to restore that Mech? And wouldn’t cost much more to rebuild it from scratch? Hell! That’s more than we earned for the damage to the Stooping Hawk!”
For once, Katarina was the one in position of trying to reconcile. She leaned back, sitting on the edge of his desk. “The Dementor is unique. We did not wish it to stay in enemy hands.”
Allen fumed. “Surely you could have bargained them down to two million? They have no use for the Mech: they would probably have accepted anything at all!”
Katarina’s voice was gentle. “It did not occur to me, my love. I was so in love with the Mech you gave me, I did not think clearly. Please forgive me.”
Her disarming manner was so unusual, Allen did in fact begin to calm down. “Should something like this ever happen again, with any of our Mechs, offer no more than two million for ransom, or one million to assure that they will scrap it.
“Fortunately, I have a contract with Ajax Engines, Inc., to keep in stock at least one of each engine we might need to replace in any of our mechs. I included the Dementor in that order, though I never thought we would see that day. Do you know what a 385 rated XL engine costs? It is more than 90% of the repair cost for your Mech: more than many of our Mechs brand new.”
Katarina nodded. “I understand. I am sorry. You know I will do whatever I can to keep the Dementor safe once I have it again.”
He sighed. “I know you will. And I am sure you know that part of this anger is just relief that you are alright. As bad as losing the Dementor was, it could have been so much worse. I cannot imagine my life without you in it. Please, please be sure to be careful with your own life above all.”
She rose from the desk and hugged him to herself. “I will, my love. I promise. I will not desert you, I swear.”
“You’d better not.” Allen hugged her back, then turned to the next subject of business.
“We have a new assignment. It’s only a couple of months away, and a couple back: a system called Elluria. O’donnell shouldn’t possibly be able to field a new rebel force before we make it back to Madeline III. As long as we don’t have any more catastrophes, we should be fine.”
Katarina considered for a bit, then nodded. “Will we be able to get the Dementor back in shape in time for this?”
Allen nodded. “Ajax will start the replacements as soon as they receive the Viper and what is left of your Mech. They will then ship it and the Viper straight to Elluria, and meet us at the jump point. Then we’ll head planetside.”
Katarina smiled in relief. “Okay. I would hate to be out of commission for a while. Thank you for taking such good care of us all.”
Allen blushed. “You know, it’s kinda my job. I just like to believe I’m good at it.”
Katarina laughed. “You are, my love. You truly are.”
* * * * * * * *
Elluria V had all the signs associated with a recently terraformed planet: swatches of green broken up by rocky mountain ranges and occasional small lakes cropping up without visible inflows.
But someone had been very ambitious here. They had established a University for the OutWorlds communities: a miniature version of the NAIS. The intent was a place for the free exchange of information, science, industry and culture.
So far, it looked like it was going well. But that did not appear to satisfy the self-appointed Chancellor, Edmund Dillon. His face was solemn, grim even, as he greeted Allen and the Company. A tall, elegant man who appeared to be in his fifties, silver-gray hair at his temples, dressed in a fine suit of variegated medium gray and spotless black shoes, he shook hands firmly with Allen and Katarina before leading the way down a hallway to his office.
The office was decorated with memorabilia from a dozen different OutWorld cultures, creating its own unique flavor. He beckoned Allen and Katarina to chairs directly in front of his desk, and the rest of the Company to comfortable couches arranged in an arc around the room, all focused towards the same desk. A young man and woman in white shirts and jackets appeared with a cart carrying a couple of dozen glasses and seven pitchers, three of water and two each of tea and lemonade. They discretely served drinks for everyone as the Chancellor made small talk.
“I trust your journey was satisfactory? I have an excellent staff for the Dropship I personally use, but of course you keep your own ships and crews, so there was nothing I could do to make your voyage more comfortable, or I certainly would have done so.”
Allen nodded and thanked him, falling into the role of Company diplomat. “We keep our own company on such trips, and keep each other entertained. We are accustomed to such trips, even if quarters are tight.”
“Naturally,” replied the Chancellor, watching carefully as the servers finished their business and exited the room. Once they were gone he leaned forward and addressed the room seriously.
“Fifteen years ago I established this University as a haven of higher learning for the Outworld Wastes. I have brought students here from every system I have documented here, offering both educational and cultural exchange in hopes of bridging the vast gaps in understanding of our fellow human beings throughout the Periphery. Interstellar diplomacy breakthroughs and royal romances are now du jour, and there is talk of a new interstellar alliance that may come about from our influence in this sector. I cannot stress enough the value of this facility for the entire region, and the need to keep it secure.
“But as often happens, rumors have begun to fly about, especially among the more unsavory members of the sector. Word has spread of mind control technology, LosTech discoveries hidden from the bulk of the systems in order to create a new military superpower from what we have here. I hardly need say that these fantasies could not be further from the truth. But there are those who believe, regardless.
“We have received reliable word from a friend of an expedition formed to attack this facility and seeking to carry off any LosTech or original technology we may have located or developed. Of course they will confiscate any mainframe computers they find without regards for the actual contents of such, and carry out such extensive damage that this Institution will likely not survive.
“The expedition is expected to arrive within the next two weeks: ten days from their arrival at our jump point. So far they have not reached our system, but we have every cause to believe they will be here very soon.
“I beg your assistance to protect this facility and save the hopes of the new alliance and a new future for the Outworlds. To do so, we need your Mechs and perhaps more. I will explain the “more” only to your commanding officers, for reasons of security. But I ask you to assist us in whatever way you can against this expedition. Do I have your support?”
Allen set down his drink and nodded. “Of course. We could not be more in support of your intentions, and are prepared to help in whatever way we can.
“Please, show us now your campus and what parts of it will need the most protection.”
The Chancellor nodded, and thumbed a button on his desk. A very large holovid appeared above Allen and Katarina’s heads, such that they had to stand up and step back to see properly what the rest of the room could see clearly.
The holovid showed three ranges of mountains with two valleys between them, and yellow markers for each of the University’s main buildings. They were scattered somewhat haphazardly about the mountains with no clear paths between them. The Chancellor began to speak again.
“We have hopes that the mountains themselves will couch and protect most of our buildings from outside attacks. For instance, the terrain would not be conducive to attacks by tracked, wheeled or hover vehicles. There are no connecting roads, and the mountainsides are much too steep and jagged for conventional vehicles to scale. Even standard Mechs should have difficulty with the terrain. I hope you brought Mechs equipped with jump jets?”
Allen almost grinned. “I assure you that we did. We are used to using jumping Mechs almost exclusively in many scenarios.”
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Relief was evident in the Chancellor’s face. “I am delighted to hear it. You sound well prepared for this encounter.”
“Trust me, Chancellor,” said Katarina, “We are. But allow me to ask: with no roads, how do your students travel from building to building?”
“We use Whirlygigs,” replied the Chancellor: “Fully automated VTOLs in two styles: a two-seater, and an eight seater. Dual overhead rotors mounted in a protective chassis prevent counterspin, and protect from wind and virtually any obstacle the machine might face in the air. These craft carry students quickly from class to class, as well as any errands they might face. We rely on them implicitly on a daily basis.”
Allen raised an eyebrow. “You have a great many of these VTOLs on campus, just about everywhere?”
“Indeed we do,” the Chancellor replied: “They are our pride and joy, one of the earliest accomplishments to come out of our Engineering Department.”
Allen nodded, the gears spinning in his head so obviously he might have been wearing a shining light bulb over his head. “We will have to have a discussion shortly about other aspects of your campus security, Chancellor. But you have already indicated you had a private matter to bring up. Perhaps this is time for us to release the rest of our Company to go to their accommodations while we talk.”
“Certainly!” The Chancellor clapped his hands together twice, a soft bell sounded, and at once six young men and women in the same crisp white uniforms as the servers from before appeared and offered to escort the men and women of the Avengers to their quarters. Soon Allen and Katarina were left alone with the Chancellor.
“And now,” said the Chancellor: “Time for the more serious discussion on how to save this University!”
“Indeed,” replied Allen. “I have a couple of novel ideas about that, but I am open to whatever ideas you propose first.”
“Very well: here is what I propose…”
* * * * * * * *
The day dawned bright, chilly and crisp. Sunrise over the mountains was a beautiful thing: beautiful except for knowing the enemy Dropship had landed to the East, and would be coming in with the sun behind them.
The four Mechwarriors had been prepped and ready for hours, ever since the landing was detected. There had been no way of knowing if the enemy would strike in the dark before dawn, or wait as it now appeared they had for daylight.
“Stay sharp, everyone,” Katarina cautioned, “I am picking up movement on long distance scanners. Looks like they have something pretty heavy coming our way.”
Wanda, Jessica and Kenny variously sat up, stretched, wiped their eyes and otherwise prepared for combat.
Wanda checked her sensors as well. “Looks like they’re coming in slow. The mountain ranges are probably giving them trouble, and I’m guessing that’s a slow assault they’re trying to keep pace with. Would it make more sense to go out and meet them head-on, away from the University?”
“Afraid not,” Katarina shook her head. “The University did a good job of selecting its building locations. They’re very defensible, and the regions beyond are less so. It makes more sense to stay here.”
Jessica fretted. “It seems like this area will make it hard for us to get good lines of sight on them at any distance. That would make my LRMs kind of useless.”
“Sauce for the goose, Jessica. That assault Mech won’t be able to focus its long range weapons on us, either. And once we close, we’ll be able to hop all around them and throw them off.”
“I guess you’re right,” Jessica admitted. “Besides, they have to pop their heads over the hills at some point. They use their jump jets, I can see them and fry ‘em.”
Kenny had remained silent, standing off to the side in his Spider. Now he spoke up. “Dunno how much a little Spider can do against a big old assault like that. But I’ll try to get behind him, give him a little sting.”
Katarina paused. “Yes, I think we need to consider getting you something a bit heavier, even if a bit slower. Even if you are directly behind them, they can turn and blast you with arm mounted weapons. Not a good situation for a Mech as light as that.”
“Amen! Preach it, sister!” Wanda was enthusiastic in her support.
Suddenly a Mech popped up over the horizon. It was jumping and came down over a mountain ridge still far away, but not out of reach of Jessica’s LRMs. Her sensors tagged it as a Wolverine. She lined up her sights and fired.
The missiles arced up and over the nearer mountains, but came down without striking the Wolverine. Then came the sight that chilled her to the bone. The assault Mech came over the ridge. She recognized the silhouette immediately.
“Sheesh! They brought a Devastator!”
Katarina did not express her consternation, but she, too, was alarmed. “Wow. Whoever wants this data really wants it badly.
“We won’t be able to make any kind of impact on that from the front. Focus your fire on the smaller Mechs, where it will do some good, until we can get behind it.”
“Right, boss!” Wanda sounded chipper. “Just give me the chance to backside him, and we’ll watch the giant fall!”
Just then four shots rang out from the Devastator: two thunderous booms, and the crackle of electricity as two beams of brilliant, statically charged light flashed out in the direction of the Crusader. Fortunately nothing hit, but it startled Jessica.
“Bastard!” she yelled. With no other targets visible she fired both of her missile salvos back at the Devastator, but saw them go wide.
“Damn!”
“Keep cool, Queen of Spades. Let’s close distance and make a difference!”
Katarina launched herself into the air, followed by Wanda and Kenny. They came down much closer, relying on their airspeed and aerial maneuvers to make them difficult to hit.
As they were jumping Katarina was able to get a good look at the opposition. She saw an APC that had swerved when going through a turn, and was now extricating itself from a copse of woods, a Hunchback plodding through the terrain and a sprightly Incubus bounding along towards one of the University buildings, in addition to the Devastator and Wolverine they had already spotted.
Part of her wanted to stop the APC and Incubus first in order to protect the University, but another part wanted to take out the Wolverine and the Hunchback first to protect the Avengers’ Mechs better. As usual, the circumstances of the battle forced her hand without regards for strategy.
The Incubus was approaching a building near her, while the Hunchback and Wolverine were concealed by woods and mountains. She fired her Large Pulse and one Medium Pulse Laser, both hitting the Incubus and knocking it over. She whooped in excitement at for once getting a solid shot with the Large Pulse Laser.
Kenny approached, but his Mech was severely damaged from a couple of shots by the Incubus.
He had lost his left arm and most of his left torso, disabling some of his jump jets in the process. He fired down on the Incubus, smashing its leg, then kicking it.
“Serves that bastich right!” he growled. “Now, what do we do about the Hunchback? I don’t fancy getting hit by a 200 pound boulder!”
“He’ll have to wait on us,” Katarina replied: “That’s a slower Mech: we need to focus on the Wolverine, take him out of commission. I think Wanda’s headed that way, but she could use backup to bring him down.”
And so the trio ganged up on the Wolverine, with Jessica providing fire support from a distance. Yet somehow it didn’t seem to matter; in spite of the pounding their combined efforts turned out, the Wolverine remained standing and firing back, mostly at Katarina.
The Devastator also concentrated its fire on Katarina, punching holes in her torso and leg armor. Fortunately no major components within were struck, so her combat performance was not reduced. But it was a severe beating, and it was obvious she could not take another such pounding.
Wanda was doing well, and so was Jessica, but Katarina’s armor was blown through and Kenny was in bad shape. The Incubus had hit him hard, taking out most of his left torso including two of his jump jets. Fortunately his lasers were in his center torso, and therefore still active.
The Incubus stood up and attempted to approach the building again, but Kenny and Katarina tag teamed it, bringing it down once more. Jessica managed a couple more salvos of missiles at the Devastator, and some of the missiles actually hit, doing the first damage to the Devastator so far.
The Devastator in turn fired all its weapons once more at Katarina, once again striking her hard. Fortunately no hits struck in areas where her armor had already been compromised, and her armor held up.
“Svashri! Why is this assault mech going all out on a medium?” Katarina fumed.
It was Kenny who answered. “They recognize you, and are scared spitless by your rep. Everybody and their brother wants to claim your scalp for their trophy.”
“Then I say time for a little payback,” Katarina growled, jumping towards a wooded copse on the cliff facing the Devastator. She soared over 200 meters, landed in trees and took careful aim at the unmoving Devastator’s head.
Behind her the ignored Hunchback suddenly burst into a run, traveling over 90 kph to get directly behind her and have a shot at her rear armor. Given that the average Hunchback could only run a bit over 60 kph, this was unexpected for Katarina. But as she lined up for a critical shot on the Devastator, the Hunchback opened fire.
Over 200 pounds of cannonball smashed into her left rear torso, crushing the fusion engine shielding and forcing an immediate shutdown. For the second time in two months Katarina found herself ejected from the cockpit backwards to land perilously close to the edge of the cliff. Had the ejection pod rolled any further she might have faced an unprotected 60 foot drop.
As it was she twisted her ankle trying to get out of the pod. Once more she grabbed the Sternsnacht, turning to aim it at the oncoming Incubus. But there would be no use: the cockpit was too heavily protected for a mere pistol shot to penetrate, and the Incubus’ twin machine guns were spinning up. She couldn’t even run now even if it would have made a difference.
Wanda’s Viper landed just far enough behind her to keep from frying her, and all Wanda’s weapons locked on the Incubus.
“Leave her be, and we will go quietly. You win: the University is yours. Open fire and I guarantee that you, at least, will share her fate.”
After a moment’s consideration, the Incubus’ machine guns spun down and the Incubus lowered its arms.
“Then go,” the reply came over the comm: “But we claim the Mech. That’s our prize, for taking down the infamous Katarina Hazen.”
A nasty laugh like a taunt came over the comm as the Incubus turned and limped towards the nearest University building.
Wanda once again scooped Katarina up in her hand, and from there up to her shoulder. Katarina limped to the cockpit and took her place in the back seat.
“This seems familiar,” she said wryly: “You are making a habit out of saving me.”
Wanda didn’t speak for a moment, a lump in her throat. She pressed a button to send a signal to the Purple Onion indicating that medical assistance would be required upon their arrival. When she answered, it was with none of her usual boisterous flair.
“All in a day’s work, don’t you know. Nothing you wouldn’t have done for me.”
Katarina sat back in the cramped secondary seat, nursing her twisted ankle. “I guess we need to inform the Chancellor of our failure. What a shame for the Outworlds…”
“Not your fault,” replied Wanda: “I couldn’t believe it when that Hunchback took off and charged up behind you. I didn’t know there was a model out there that could do that. IFF? Please identify Hunchback model?”
The computer voice came on as a vid screen showed schematics. “The Hunchback HBK-6S is a relatively new addition to the Swayback line. First produced in 3063, it features a 300XL engine, an LB-X20 autocannon, SRM6 and two Extended Range Medium Lasers. Limitations: the 6S model features only two tons of autocannon ammunition, usually divided into five solid shots and five cluster shots. Suggested refit: remove SRM6 launcher and ammunition and replace with four more tons of autocannon ammunition.”
Katarina snorted, then winced again in pain at a twitch in her ankle. “Somebody has kept up on the latest developments. And that Devastator seemed to be firing something a bit more powerful than your standard Inner Sphere ER PPC. Maybe not as powerful as our Clan version, but something improved.”
Wanda sighed. “Well, at least he didn’t get a head shot. That could have been nasty.”
Soon they arrived at the Purple Onion. Wanda entered via the ramp, then backed up to the gantry. Two medtechs were waiting for them to assist Katarina onto a gurney, then take her to medbay.
Wanda, Jessica and Kenny dismounted and rode the elevator down to meet with Allen as soon as he had verified that Katarina was suffering nothing worse than a twisted ankle and a bruised ego. As the techs took her away, he turned and strode back to meet them on the floor of the Mech bay.
“So: they brought a customized Devastator and a late model Hunchback? These were some serious bandits.”
“Yessir,” replied Kenny: “They weren’t fooling around. They knew their business, and were crack shots to boot.”
Somehow, Allen was smiling. And then the Chancellor appeared. But instead of devastated, he seemed relieved, even somewhat gleeful. He spoke to Allen first.
“So: our little Resistance movement failed?”
“Indeed,” Allen replied: “Now they will be plundering freely, but without the urgency that would cause them to do too much damage. Oh, they’ll definitely take the memory cores they find, but they won’t rip the tops of buildings off to get to them.”
“And your little idea?” countered the Chancellor: “When do we try that?”
“Not too soon. We want it to look like the desperate, last ditch efforts of students and staff who were expecting to be saved by the Avengers. Just annoying enough that they leave when they have what they came for, and don’t try to take over the complex.”
“So: wait two or three days?” the Chancellor inquired. “Time for them to have congregated, concocted the plan, put it into motion?”
“Precisely,” said Allen. “In fact, we should have a meeting with the Engineering students and professors, and have them hash out the final details and engage in the construction themselves. Then it will appear all the more genuine, because it will be genuine.”
“Excuse me, gentlemen?” inquired Kenny: “What’s this? You’re planning some kind of counterattack? Mind letting us in on the details?”
Allen waved his hand casually in the air. “We wanted them to confront our forces, then beat us back so they feel safe. Now they will remove the memory cores by conventional means and not damage the buildings so much out of hurry.
“We give them time to extract the cores, then start sending remote controlled Whirlygigs their way, each loaded with a pack or more of C8. When they have what they came for, they will then leave and not stick around to be blown up.”
Kenny blinked. “What a victory for our side! They take the cores, and what are we left with?”
Allen waved at the walls of the ship around them. “Thanks to the Purple Onion, we are left with all the data that was on those cores. We recorded it into the ship’s many computing systems required for Navigation, Engineering, Life Support and other functions. Now all we need is the hardware to replace the cores that were taken, and we reload them with all the ‘lost’ data.
“So what if the bandits now have the information we had already intended to share with the whole Outworlds? We have the same, and as soon as minor repairs can be effected we just dump the data back into the University, reload our own software, and take off.”
Chancellor Dillon stepped forward. “I didn’t need your Lance of Mechs nearly as much as I needed your Dropship. Do you have any idea how much computing power it takes to keep you alive and traveling through space? And that would never have occurred to a bunch of bandits. Even if it had, what would they have done? Confiscated the Dropship? With all the software switched, they could never have gotten it off the ground.”
Kenny had been taking it all in, and now he finally busted a gut laughing and slapping his thigh.
“Dang! They might just as well have paid tuition and saved themselves all the trouble of invading!”
The Chancellor shrugged, grinning. “One way or another, knowledge goes forth. This was a little more expensive than giving classes, but yet our objective was achieved.”
Allen shook hands with Chancellor Dillon. “Glad we could be of service. Now: let’s see what needs to be ordered to replace your computing equipment, and get you set up again. And then we’ll get back on the road again…”