Satori carefully took the time to make sure the wires were all cut and ready to be soldered together before stepping back. It seemed odd to be fixing the very machine she had helped destroy, but the concept of irony wasn't completely foreign to her. Her checks complete, she nodded to the man who seemed to be running the mech bay. ?This section is done.?
Koishi stepped back from her section of the wing as well. ?This section is done as well.?
The man in tech garb, Rinnousuke he had said, checked the cuts and then nodded his approval. ?Good. We'll set the wing in place then and then hook up the wiring tomorrow.? He blew a whistle then yelled out, ?All clear!?
Satori and the others quickly cleared the area as a massive mechanical arm came down and lifted the aerofighter into the air. The replacement wing was swung into place, and a new crew began attaching it.
Satori turned from the sight as Rinnousuke approached. ?Good work today. I'm surprised you two know so much about repair. I thought you left that to the techs.?
Satori raised an eyebrow. ?Perhaps the other clans do things differently, but no warrior worth the title in the Snow Raven clan would be unable to perform basic maintenance. A pilot without a machine is hardly a warrior at all.
Orin laughed. ?And where we were stationed there was not enough techs to go around.? Satori frowned at her while Koishi laughed as well.
Utsuho took a pull from a water bottle then sighed. ?That facility was understaffed at all levels. Were it not for Satori Komeiji and Koishi here I would have done most of the testing on the Timber Wolf Aero version myself.?
Which, Satori reflected, probably explained why she was taking the sheer madness of the Inner Sphere so well. She?d been forced to spend so much time with the lesser caste members to avoid waste, she?d become fond of them. Possibly more fond of them then she was of many of her fellow warriors. After a few days adjusting she was almost glad the incident had happened. It was becoming more and more obvious to her that she no longer fully believed in the clan ways.
Satori shook her head slightly to clear it and turned to her attention back to the conversation. ?It?s nice to have a full crew to work with. In fact you seem overstaffed,? said Kisume.
Rinnousuke nodded. ?We are. Most of the techs are currently off duty just like you are. Until Chairman Kanako gets the ferrofibrous armor we need in we can't really do anything. All the mech plants are changing their assembly lines too, so there's no work for our astechs either.?
The clan pilots thoughts on that matter were interrupted by the arrival of a large group of mercenary warriors. Satori recognized the white haired girl that talked like a clan warrior, as well as the green haired Eiki, who was apparently the training commander for the mech group. One of the shorter warriors, barely taller then her or Koishi, walked straight up to her. ?So you and your sister are the ones who knocked Patchy out of the sky eh??
Satori couldn't repress a shudder at the word 'sisters.' She was slightly more open minded about freebirths then many Clan warriors, but it was still a curse in her mind. She settled for very clearly stating, ?That term is incorrect. We are sibkin, not family. Our relationship does not fit inner sphere mores because it is not the same as anything you would choose to link it to.?
Satori made a mental note to start looking into what the assumptions the Inner Sphere would make about her and Koishi, as well as the rest of her former lesser caste assistants. As a former bloodnamed warrior she knew how dangerous politics could be, and assumptions were one of the biggest pitfalls of politics. It would not do to have a misunderstanding lead to one the groups deaths.
The woman blinked while Youmu smiled slightly, then regained her haughty air. ?Whatever! That doesn't matter. I'm Remilia Scarlet, of the scarlet devil wing.? She pulled a taller red haired woman to stand next to her. ?Koakuma and I want to see how well you fly in person.?
It was odd, Koishi mused, how easily these inner sphere warriors swapped mentally between her status as bondsman and warrior. In any case, she could tell that Remilia there was looking for a challenge, even if Koakuma looked more cautious about the whole affair. She wondered how aggressive the inner sphere warrior was in the cockpit. ?I would be glad to accept your training challenge pilot, but I fear my aerofighter did not survive the battle. And I doubt you would give me a fighter, quineg??
?You are correct,? Eiki said, ?which is why you'll be using simulators.?
Eiki pointed to the assorted clan techs and scientists. ?I'd also like to see how well you mechwarriors do in a fight that isn't just a open field.?
Satori found herself reflexively stiffening again and forced herself to keep her mouth shut. Parsee however voiced some of her thoughts for her. ?Not nearly as well, as most of our training was done using simulated AI instead of against real targets. We were lucky to have that vid game contraband about. Otherwise we would have had to train against Clan AI.?
?Ayayayaya? Aya burried her face in her hands. ?You're telling me I got shot down by a bunch of amateurs trained by Immortal Warrior games??
?Yep!? Orin helpfully stated. ?But to be fair, we trained for a month straight.?
Eiki's smile matched Youmu's now. ?Now I'm really interested in seeing you in action. Follow me down to the locker room. I want to get this simulation started as soon as possible.?
Kisume looked questioningly at the trainer. ?Locker room? Why??
?We use full simulation for everything except serious cockpit impact,? Eiki said. ?You're going to need cooling jackets, because we're going to pump heat right into the simulators.? She smiled. ?Oh, and I'll be putting you on a ?desert planet? to boot.?
This time it was Youmu's turn to groan. ?That is not necessary for a simple practice run quineg??
?Heat management is an important part of mech combat,? Eiki replied with a stern look. ?And you pilots need to be ready for updrafts in atmosphere.?
?'Yamaxandu' strikes again,? muttered Remilia.
***
Eiki Shiki looked over the monitors. She believed you could learn a lot about a person from their reactions to combat, and the best way to see their reactions was to look at their body language. Watching the mech could show you the mistake, watching the cockpit might tell you why they made it.
The aerospace fighter duel had been pleasantly dull. Both sides had played everything by the book until the end, when desperate measures had been required. Remilia still snapped a few childish insults about, and the clan warrior Koishi seemed to stick too close to her lead, but Eiki was fairly certain she could iron those mistakes out later. Or at least get them to the point where they were quirks and not flaws. Still Remila and Koakuma were both double aces, and Satori had to be a hotshot even in the clans to get a bloodname. There wasn?t much to see, because they were good enough not to need to improvise.
Now the fun part began.
Eiki checked the monitors of each of the clan pilots. She nodded with approval when she saw most of them had brought appropriate desert clothing, but had stripped down to the standard vest and shorts for mech combat, except for Yuugi, who's unique mech generated so little heat even in combat as to make the issue moot. She wondered which pilot had thought of that. Youmu's squad of course had done so as well, because they knew Eiki was fanatical about treating simulators as close to the real thing as possible.
She switched her view to the holotable as the mechs deployed into the desert city. She also opened a channel to the clan mech pilots. ?I'll be acting as your support for this mission mechwarriors. We Youkai Busters operate in 6 mech configurations, or level 2 units. This allows us to fill out the squad with infantry or armor. However we're currently looking for people who can handle dual role aeromechs, so you won't be acting in concert with Rika, Hourai or Lily in this mission.? She checked the mech readouts before continuing. ?In addition Orin and Utsuho, your mechs have been toned down from their upgraded forms. You can't rely on technology alone.?
?Your goal is to eliminate all enemy mechs in the industrial complex in front of you. Intel states there are two scout mechs in addition to 4 heavy and assault class mechs. You have the advantage of clan technology, but they're defending.? Eiki checked the pilots faces again. Utsuho, Kisume and Orin seemed relaxed. Yamame and Parsee looked determined. Yuugi looked stern. Eiki nodded. ?Begin your assault.?
Eiki then flipped open the other channels so she could hear both sides radio chatter. Youmu of course was already giving orders. ?Firefly, Wolf, scout. Sparkles, move to support. Hunter and I will take the left and right flanks respectively while Butterfly uses grid fire.?
?Sir!? Replied Momiji as she moved her
Wolfhound up to scout. Wriggle followed for a bit in her
Firefly before sneaking into a parking garage to gain some height. Flandre's modified
Hunchback II followed the two at a safe distance, using the buildings for cover.
After a few moments the clan force began to move out as well. Parsee seemed to be their lead. ?They are going to try to ambush us. Kisume, Yamame, scout the area as a pair. When you find a target, fall back and tell us so we can move to assault the area in force.?
?Aff!? Replied Yamame, before jumping her Stalking Spider to the top of a roof. Kisume began dashing her Solitare into alleyways to keep up with the surprisingly stealthy mech, while the four others followed. Eiki nodded to herself. While the mech forces were closely matched, Utsuho's alternate
Turkina was built for assault. Meanwhile on the opposing side, Yuyuko's
Viking was built for fire support. The defenders could afford to split up, while the attackers could not.
The instructor continued to circle the map, as the two forces moved towards their inevitable conflict.
***
Utsuho felt terribly odd as she piloted her Turinka through the simulated streets.
The mech itself seemed fine. In fact she liked the mech a lot. It was a copy of the Turinka she reverse engineered from the Jade Falcon design, and it had the bird like legs that she preferred. The humanoid mechs didn?t maneuver right in her mind.
Still she?d piloted many mechs, and flown fighters as well, but actually going into combat seemed wrong somehow. She wasn?t a warrior, she was a scientist. And while she knew the stats of her beloved mechs inside and out, actually shooting people with them wasn?t really her department.
She?d asked Orin how her friend had managed to handle the disconnect. Orin had rather flippantly replied, ?Just think of it as training for a warrior position. The clan lets freebirths become warriors, so as long as it?s training for that it?s fine right??
?But didn?t you assault this world?? Utsuho had asked.
?Well it was very active training,? her friend had replied with a catlike grin.
Utsuho wasn?t as good at rationalization as Orin was. But she wasn?t going to question the matter that much either. If she was told to pilot the mech in combat she?d give it a shot.
Just so long as she was still able to do her research on the side.
Kisume's voice crackled through the radio. ?Augh! Someone just shot at me!?
Orin immediately started her Timber Wolf towards where Kisume was, with Yuugi and Utsuho not far behind her. ?Right! We're moving to support you.? Her blood started pumping. She knew should should have been terrified. She was supposed to be completely outclassed in mech combat. But right now all she felt was a drive to fight.
?I see it. There is a Firefly in the parking garage. I have him!? Yamame's mech took to the skies, then dropped down again, crashing through the garage's high ceiling.
?Dammit! There?s another mech blocking my escape route!? Kisume yelled over the com. ?It?s a Wolfhound. And there?s another one moving in to surround me!?
?Run past them and find somewhere you can take advantage of your range,? Parsee said. ?No Inner Sphere mech can match your speed. We?ll move up and clear them out if they do not pursue you, and flank them if they do.
Utsuho rounded the corner to see Kisume began her mad dash. The light mech began to tear up the concrete as it rapidly accelerated past 80 kilometers per hour. A flurry of laser shots tracked after her, but even a master marksman had problems leading a mech moving at that speed.
The mech that had shot at her friend stalked into the clearing ahead. Utsuho?s actually felt fear as she saw the Wolfhound?s movements. Utsuho considered herself a decent pilot, but her mech still moved like a machine. This mech with seemed like a giant metal werewolf turned infantryman. It fluidly dashed to cover, then set up it?s large laser so it could fire while minimizing return targeting solutions.
That brief moment of fear vanished quickly as Orin and Parsee kicked their mechs up to full speed and began a pincer maneuver. All three of the Clan mechs outweighed the Wolfhound by at least 30 tons. A incredibly skilled warrior could face down a single overweight mech, but defeating three mechs all at once was impossible even if they were being piloted by amateurs. With that thought Utsuho slowed her advance. She wanted a stable firing platform so she could catch the Wolfhound when it began retreating.
However the enemy did not retreat. Instead it gamely fired it?s large laser at Orin?s Timber Wolf, scouring the paint and melting about a ton of armor.
Parsee?s Hellbringer fired off a PPC that blackened and melted the low factory building the Wolfhound was using for cover. Meanwhile Orin twisted her torso back and fired off two of her Streak SRMs.
Utsuho wondered about the tactic for a second, but she realized the wisdom of that technique as the missiles curved down to rain on the hiding Inner Sphere mech. Streak missiles were guided and only fired when the computer had a solid lock. By angling them Orin had managed to curve some of the missiles past the Wolfhounds cover. The small mech shuddered at the impacts on it?s head and shoulders, then crouched even lower behind it?s barrier.
No true warrior would need to team up on a foe like that, but then again, Utsuho and her friends weren?t real warriors. Besides, the Inner Sphere mercenaries wouldn?t follow those rules either.
With that thought Utusho checked her radar. Most mechs were hard to see on sensors, but her Turkina had an active probe that was useful in hunting down ambushers. She saw Yamame and the Firefly dueling in the parking garage, as well as her allies and the pinned Wolfhound. She also saw another mech signature moving in fast. ?Incoming! Parsee! To your left!?
The three warriors turned just in time to see a Hunchback IIC enter the open area. Utsuho winced at the sight of the machine. The Hunchback was a medium mech, but the huge ultra autocannon it carried was the match for her own Turkina?s main gun. A full hit could breach the armor of any Mech on the battlefield, and was easily capable of instantly destroying Parsee?s Hellbringer.
With that very thought the massive autocannon opened up full bore. Somehow Parsee however saw the shot coming and used her jumpjets to slide slip the massive destruction. Once again the Hellbringers PPC opened up, smashing into the Hunchback dead center. The enemy mechs sudden stagger and the cloud of black smoke indicated the giant machine?s gyro had taken a hit. Another strike like that would leave the machine unable to stand. ?Nice move Parsee!? cried Yuugi over the com.
Then there was a shriek and a massive rumble. Parsee may have dodged the shot, but the cannon still hit something. The building behind Parsee had taken the full brunt of the Hunchback?s rage, and it could not hold. Utsuho could only stare in shock as the twelve story building collapsed, right onto Parsee?s Hellbringer.
As the shockwaves from the collapse hit, Utsuho instinctively jumped. In the back of her mind she could hear Yuugi swearing over the com and Orin calling her back, but she didn?t conciously think about those things. She found herself landing on the rubble facing the Hunchback. She casually flicked her crosshairs over the mech and pulled the triggers.
The twinned large and medium pulse lasers on her left arm sent a stream of blue shots into the Hunchbacks left side and arm, while the streak SRMs in her left missile pod smashed into the mechs midline and head. As the mech staggered back her own massive autocannon opened up.
The Hunchback had speed and power, but it paid for that in armor. Utsuho?s massive cannon capitolized on the PPC shot Parsee had gotten off earlier to rip the enemy mech apart. The mechs fusion reactor went Nova before the lack of containment caused it to flicker out, leaving only a circular burn on the concrete.
Utsuho cried out in shock as the heat from her attacks kicked in. It felt like she had just jumped into an oven. There was an automatic shutdown alarm and Utsuho rapidly slapped the override button. She?d made a mistake firing all her weapons like that. In a real battle that would cost her.
Fortunately right now the only opponents near her had other problems. The Wolfhound tried to break away but Yugi?s triple gauss rifles and Orin?s PPCs left the mech a shattered mess. This pilot managed to eject.
Utsuho looked at the steaming rubble that had buried Parsee?s mech. If this hadn?t been a sim she would have died here. Did Utusho really want to become a warrior? To join this violent world?
She shook her head. She was already part of this violent world. She had been from the moment the mechwarriors at her outpost had decided to issue a batchall to the unknown warship that had jumped in system. Now that she was a bondsman to Kanako Yasaka war would come to her and friends no matter what.
But she would meet war on her terms.
?Yamame report your status. Kisume, we have eliminated the enemies here. Please return.?
***
Kisume frowned at the request. ?I can?t comply Utsuho. I am engaged with a Viking. If I break it will destroy me with long range fire.? As if to emphasise the point the enemy mech fired a full salvo of it?s missiles. Kisume had to put on a bit more speed to keep ahead of the explosions.
Yamame?s voice came on after. ?I have this Firefly. Go on ahead.?
?Aff.? Utusho?s voice said. ?We will be there soon Kisume.?
Kisume felt great relief at that. She could circle the Viking all day really. In fact she?d already moved inside the mechs minimum range, forcing the pilot to hot load her missiles. Sadly she wasn?t able to hit those missiles to make the Viking pay for that choice. Her foe was a support mech, but it was still a 90 tonner. Her light salvos would take some time to break armor. And that gave the enemy the time it needed for it?s friends to show up.
Kisume fired off another large and medium laser salvo, and swore when the beams missed entirely. The Viking?s pilot was good.
That knowledge helped Kisume realize something was up when the Viking?s next shots hit the ground.
?Why would you...!? Kisume suddenly remembered missile mechs could fire mines as well. ?I?m not falling for that!?
The move she planned was crazy, but it was her only chance. She jumped her mech, purely using her leg strength.
Somehow it worked. Her massive speed allowed her to cross the minefield and somehow she managed to not fall straight on her face at the landing. Her heart rose as she started running again.
She could make it to the next alleyway and out of this deathtrap!
Then time seemed to freeze as a massive shadow came out of the alleyway.
The
Penetrator was a poor mech for this ?desert? environment. But it was still incredibly dangerous, especially to a light mech like the Solitare.
Kisume tried to change direction, but the six medium pulse lasers in the enemy mech lashed out before she had a chance to. The alley filled with a mass of green knifelike pulses that ripped her armor
to shreds then snapped off her left leg.
Fortunately Kisume had been reaching for the eject button as soon as she realized she couldn?t dodge. The simulator didn?t actually eject her, but it did a fair impression of the impact of ejecting followed by an overhead view of her now pilotless mech running headfirst into the Penetrator.
She sighed at her second loss. ?I hope it dents her armor.?
***
Wriggle snarled as she jetted out of the way of another PPC blast. The parking garage was rapidly turning out to be a bad idea. Normally any mech that could follow her in here was weaker or less agile then her firefly. But with it?s four legs the Stalking Spider actually put less mass on the ground then it?s two legged cousins allowing it to move around with no worry about falling through. In addition it?s low profile and odd armoring prevented Wriggle from just shooting through the weak rear armor.
The only good thing about the match up was that her mech could torso twist while the four legged mech couldn?t. That had allowed her to get in a few hits safely. But she was running out of tricks, and that ER PPC on the spider would eat her little mech alive.
?This is Hunter,? Sakuya said over the airwaves. ?We?ve lost Sparkles and Wolf. You need to pull back Firefly.?
Wriggle swore. Flandre and Momiji down already? That was a terrible showing. ?Roger. I?m going to jet out.?
Wriggle fired a salvo from her LRM launcher. The spider mech dodged but the missiles blew a nice hole in the wall. Wriggle continued her spiral around her foe, then kicked her mech into reverse and triggered her jets as well as two lasers to keep her foe occupied.
The attack seemed to work. The Spider?s PPC missed. A few missiles hit but wriggle managed to keep her mech under control.
Then Wriggle gasped in horror. The enemy mech jumped after her, it?s strange form seeming to run through the air, like a real spider lunging after it?s prey.
Wriggle held down the triggers to her lasers but she couldn?t see if they hit or did any damage. The spider fired as it leaped, and this time the PPC hit. The fireflies LRM supply touched off causing the simulator to shake wildly before going black and showing a ?You are Dead,? screen.
Wriggle sighed and pulled off her helmet. ?Damn. Those guys could make a fortune as spokesmen for those vid games they trained on. Seriously what the hell did they buy to make them that good??
