RITZA ACADEMY
LIEGEDEN, EMPORIA
FEDERATED SUNS
5 APRIL 3150
Patrol missions were hours of boredom punctuated by moments of adrenaline and terror. So far, lance commander Jasper Roux had only experienced the former as he moved his Awesome through rolling plains while keeping a wary eye on the forest in front of his unit. Every so often he paused to scan for targets—both expecting and not expecting them. There’d been reports of renewed Draconis Combine intrusions into Federated Suns territory, and he was not going to be caught off guard.
On his left stood a Shadow Hawk, piloted by Delany Menard. She was as steady as they came. On her left was Elias Lang in the Hollander. Elias had a temper and a just-as-itchy trigger finger, but he was good on the battlefield. Jasper glanced to his right, where the fourth ’Mech of his lance should’ve been but, of course, wasn’t.
BattleMechs. A titanic marvel of technology and warfare that fill the heaviest, most crucial roles on the battlefield. Like the warhorses and armored knights of old, the BattleMech was both vehicle and protector for the modern knight, the MechWarrior. Most ’Mechs were bipedal, standing 10 to 20 meters high, and far more mobile than tanks or soldiers on foot. They tackled terrain that would be impossible for conventional warfare—even in the most hostile of environments, and were shielded with enough armor to shrug off damage from the heaviest of weapons.
“Incoming,” Delany said over the comm. “Tree line. Two bogies. Heat signatures coming in hot.”
Jasper frowned as the first ’Mech came into view. It was a Quasimodo. The fifty-five-ton ’Mech was fast, nasty, and carried a particle-field dampener, which could severely limit the effectiveness of his extended-range particle projection cannons. A good choice to lure others into a trap. There had to be more than just the two out here. “Where are the others?”
Lang’s answer was to throttle up and activate his ’Mech’s supercharger, sprinting ahead to get into position on the high ground and provide sniper cover. He fired a single shot at the Quasimodo, missing the enemy ’Mech before it disappeared back into the forest.
Jasper grimaced, irritated, but let it go. Elias knew the thirty-five-ton light ’Mech well enough to know what he was doing. He should’ve been a better shot. At least this time they’d already engaged the enemy before he leapt into the fray. Jasper shifted over to back up his lancemate.
The enemy met Elias’s answer with a Hitotsume Kozo that stepped out of the forest to the left of the patrol route, heading to the small hill Elias was still sprinting toward.
All the better to see you, my dear, Jasper thought as he focused on the medium ’Mech. The Quasimodo’s heat signature disappeared from his screen. That was something he was going to have to keep an eye on. “Lang, the Quasimodo has gone dark. Be careful. Could be a pincer trap.”
“Roger.”
Keeping his speed down but steady, Jasper moved to take out the Hitotsume on the hill. He fired two of his three ER PPCs at range, knowing the extended-range weapons gave him an edge over the Hitotsume’s heavy PPC. He pumped a fist as one of the blasts hit the enemy ’Mech dead center.
If he could take out the Hitotsume, he’d break whatever maneuver the Draconis Combine forces had in mind. Inspiration struck. If he separated the medium ’Mech from the rest, it would result in the classic Earl maneuver. He shifted his forward momentum to a lateral move away from his lance, trying to sandwich the Combine ’Mech between him and his MechWarriors.
The Hitotsume ignored his Awesome. It had a closer, softer target: the Hollander. It fired its own PPC and scored a devastating hit on the light ’Mech. The Hollander’s center torso armor was eradicated, leaving most of its internal structure exposed.
It was a miracle the engine shielding held, or that the ’Mech was even still standing, but its very heart was vulnerable now.
Elias struggled to keep his ’Mech upright, and backpedaled to disengage from the Hitotsume. He moved to the cover of a low hill, snapping off a round from his light Gauss rifle, but missed again. The earliest Hollander models were lightly armored at best, relying on their long-range Gauss rifle to keep them out of direct engagement and safe from the enemy’s heaviest brawlers. Elias’s Hollander had a lighter Gauss rifle and a supercharger for added speed and maneuverability, but this close to the enemy ’Mech, the chassis upgrades were negated to terrible effect, and its armor was no heavier than that of its predecessors.
Dammit, Elias. Calm. Stay calm and aim. Ammo is finite. Jasper knew he would have to deal with his friend’s tendency to charge into a fight and then retreat just as quickly. Now was not the time. At least Elias was going for cover.
A streak of movement from Jasper’s left revealed a second Hitotsume Kozo, a 1P variant, running down the forest line.
Delany’s Shadow Hawk ran to meet it, autocannon blazing. The two ’Mechs strafed each other as they met and passed in the open. While the Hitotsume took the worst of the clash, it only staggered and didn’t fall. The damage inflicted on it was too widespread.
“I’m hit,” Delany said, her voice ever calm. “Leg actuator damaged. Mobility impaired. Armor down to thirty-three percent.”
“Acknowledged. Lang?”
“Fine here.” Elias’s clipped tone said that he was very much not fine.
It was still an even battle. Both Hitotsume ’Mechs were injured. Both his lancemates were also injured. Neither Jasper nor the Quasimodo were hit. It was anyone’s battle, and Jasper meant to make it his.
He focused on the first Hitotsume, aiming as he continued to move. The Quasimodo reappeared, almost exactly where Delany’s sensors had last detected it. It was a trap. The enemy ’Mech had powered down in the heavy foliage, feigning a flanking maneuver. Now it sprinted out of the forest, unleashing a devastating strike on the Shadow Hawk’s left side. All of its lasers hit.
Delany cried out as her ’Mech’s arm was blown off and she stumbled, then hit the dirt. “I’m down. I’m down!”
Jasper watched the Shadow Hawk fall hard, then struggle to regain its feet. Delany used her ’Mech’s arm to lift itself up enough to fire her weapons while prone. She shot at the Quasimodo, striking it with all she had left, but was unable to regain her footing right away. Minus an arm and with one good leg, she struggled to get the Shadow Hawk upright and back into the fight.
Everything seemed to happen at once.
Missiles and lasers struck the Quasimodo’s leg, but the enemy ’Mech shrugged off the damage, turned its array of lasers toward the Awesome, and activated its Blue Shield Particle Field Damper. The shield’s mild haze of dust and rocks haloed out around the ’Mech, a ludicrous counterpoint to the intense energy signature lighting up Jasper’s sensors.
The sprinting Hitotsume Kozo left the Shadow Hawk in the dirt and passed the Hollander on its way to link up with its twin, firing its Ultra-class autocannon at the damaged light ’Mech while pounding directly toward Jasper. Both fusillades struck true, blowing off one of the Hollander’s arms and stripping armor from its back.
The Hitotsume Kozo fired on the Hollander as well, thankfully missing. Elias would not have survived another hit from the heavy PPC.
Off-balance and heavily damaged, Elias somehow managed to keep his ’Mech upright. He fired wild shots at the Quasimodo as it stomped by, but missed as it swerved to avoid the weapons fire. This close, he couldn’t line up an accurate shot with the long-range weapon.
Jasper retreated, realizing he’d succeeded in doing everything he’d been trying to do, though not in the way he’d expected. While he had sandwiched the enemy between him and his lance, he didn’t have the close support he needed. Despite its size, the Awesome was a hammer, not an anvil. He had to take out at least one of them.
The Hitotsume on the hill was that target. He fired all his PPCs and short-range missiles at it. Every shot hit, blowing tons of armor off, but not doing enough damage to take the enemy ’Mech off the field.
Heat alarms shrilled after the massive strike. Wiping sweat from his brow, Jasper knew his ’Mech was running too hot. The Awesome would shut down if he didn’t do something quick. He backpedaled as all three enemy ’Mechs closed in on him with deliberate strides, allowing their heat sinks to do their job like his couldn’t.
Jasper switched to his close-range weapons to avoid critically overheating his ’Mech. Short-range missiles and a pulse laser struck the targeted Hitotsume. Still, its armor held.
Delany got back into the fight, finally getting her Shadow Hawk on its feet and firing at the Quasimodo. She almost hit Elias’s Hollander as he charged behind the enemy ’Mech, widening the distance between them to line up a perfect shot. He fired squarely at the Quasimodo’s torso, and the Gauss slug obliterated armor, shoving the ’Mech hard.
Jasper’s triumphant whoop morphed into a groan as the Quasimodo danced off-balance, then held its ground. Most of his weapons fire dissipated against the enemy ’Mech’s shield, not doing enough damage to matter. The attack just made the Awesome’s heat alarms scream even louder.
In retaliation, the Quasimodo whirled and unleashed its lasers on the Hollander to devastating effect, stripping away the ’Mech’s engine shielding. It wasn’t as impressive an explosion as Jasper had expected, more light than sound, despite its ruinous nature. The collapse of the engine and discharge as its fusion core was breached lit up the battlefield as bright as Emporia’s sun. Elias’s comms went dark.
As the Hollander imploded behind them, both Hitotsume Kozos hit their jump jets and accelerated toward the Awesome with their hatchets at the ready. The whole maneuver, from the synchronized launch to the graceful midair pirouette, was executed with the smoothness of a coordinated, practiced attack that Jasper had no chance to counter.
Each of the smaller ’Mechs landed just behind his flanks, the momentum of their twisting in flight slamming into the rear of his assault ’Mech. The first hatchet strike drove the heavier ’Mech forward, and the immediate second strike overbalanced it. The Awesome toppled forward, hitting the ground hard.
As his ’Mech fell, everything inside Jasper’s head screamed and protested. It felt like he tumbled a thousand meters through shattered glass. Jasper was thrown hard against the cockpit restraints, and the feedback from his neurohelmet was the bone-scraping shriek of metal on metal. As alarms wailed all around him, he struggled to get up, to fire his weapons, to do something.
In the end, there was nothing he could do except watch the enemy close in on Delany’s hobbled Shadow Hawk, pummeling her with a quick laser burst from the Quasimodo and the Hitotsume Kozo that had traded fire with her only moments ago.
Even surrounded and outgunned, Delany still fired on the enemy as she tried to disengage, limping on one good leg. One of the Hitotsumes attacked the Shadow Hawk with its hatchet, ending her resistance with a decisive blow.
With the rest of Jasper’s lance dispatched, the damaged Hitotsume turned its attention to its final prize. Raising its hatchet well above its cockpit, and with a brief thrust of its jump jets, the Draconis BattleMech brought its blade down on the Awesome’s torso, driving the weapon cleanly through the core of Jasper’s fusion engine.
Jasper yanked the neurohelmet off and slumped in the ’Mech simulator. He could already feel the bruises forming. Sweaty and sick to his stomach, he glanced at the screen to the outside world. Dame Emma Meier waited in the training bay, her mouth twisted in a frown. Short, round, and normally smiling, the tactics professor looked like she was ready to chew nails.
It should’ve worked. He unbuckled his harness and pulled himself from the chair. Putting everything back in its place was more a matter of muscle memory and training than procrastination. Jasper was the last one out of the cockpit.
Elias and Delany waited off to one side, not looking at him. Ethan, Claire, and Mia stood to the other side. It was clear which side had won. The trio grinned at Jasper as he took his place next to his truncated lance. Elias side-eyed Jasper with a scowl, then turned his full attention to Dame Emma. Delany stood with her hands behind her back in a loose interpretation of parade rest.
“Cadets…” At the tactics professor’s first word, all six of them snapped to attention. “This was not one of your better missions. Goodryke, wipe that smile off your face. Roux all but handed you the win on a silver platter.”
Ethan wilted a little, his eyes narrowing.
Dame Emma crossed her arms. “Analysis: the combined tactics and layered fire support from the Draconis Combine ’Mechs promoted a strong, unified firing line. The Federated Suns units were in too tight of a formation at first. Then they allowed themselves to become divided, enabling the enemy to consolidate their fire and eliminate the numerically equal but much heavier Federation force using a divide-and-conquer approach. Stealth and misdirection were employed in an admirable fashion.”
She pointed a finger at Jasper. “Congratulations, Cadet. You just cost your company three ’Mechs and three MechWarriors.” She shook her head at his team. “A lance is a lance for a reason. You work together as a team. There is no place for heroics.” Her steely gaze fell on Elias. “You don’t run out ahead unless you have an actual plan.” Her gunmetal-gray eyes bored into Jasper next. “You don’t let your people run ahead without a plan of attack. MechWarrior heroes are usually dead MechWarriors.”
She turned back to Elias. “You don’t run out ahead in a Crazy Ivan position unless you’re scouting and haven’t been detected. You don’t split off from your support. Your ’Mech is a sniper, not a brawler. Also, your aim was abysmal. I expect you to add five hours a week of target practice under duress for the next four weeks.”
Dame Emma leveled her gaze at Jasper again. “When your lance breaks up like that, you don’t let it continue to break up and go running off on your own. You support them. You stay in formation. You back up your lancemates, just as they are supposed to back you up. I don’t care what your mission goal is. Lances are a team. If you don’t want to be a team player, you might as well become a desk jockey.”
Jasper kept his expression neutral. It should’ve worked. His face grew hot with embarrassment and anger. If we had actual four-on-four lances to work with, we could put what we’ve been studying into practice! It was the classic Earl maneuver. Should’ve had a partner at my side.
That was the crux of it; he’d tried to use a maneuver without the right formation. What good was going to the only military academy on the planet if that planet was at the ass end of nowhere and didn’t have the proper equipment to train its cadets?
Yeah? Where would you be if not for this academy at the ass end of nowhere? The voice that was ever-grateful he even had a chance to be a MechWarrior at all reasserted itself. You’d be nothing. A civilian. A junk trader. Dead maybe. Who knows? And what about Nadine? The voice sounded like what he imagined his father would sound like if he were still alive. It was no coincidence that it also sounded a lot like his sponsor, Baron Zachary Vogel.
The short woman nodded at Ethan’s lance. “Dencourt, you’re still focusing on your right. Your world has three dimensions. Vasseur, your aim is getting better, but you’re still firing high. Practice, practice, practice. I also expect to see you logging target practice time after hours.”
“Yes, Lady.” Claire Vasseur kept her eyes forward.
Dame Emma shook her head again, as if she couldn’t believe what she was about to say. “Winners, dismissed.” After the three of them left with as much decorum as they could muster, she turned to Jasper, Elias, and Delany. “You three…ten laps in twenty-five minutes, or you get another two.”
Five kilometers in under twenty-five minutes? Jasper grimaced as Elias stiffened. The heaviest and most muscular of the bunch, Elias tended to put on a ’Mech rather than get into it. Running was the bane of his existence. The fastest kilometer he’d ever run clocked in at just over four minutes, and that wasn’t after a grueling ’Mech simulator session. Jasper knew he was in trouble, so he waited for them to be dismissed. He wanted to apologize. To explain.
No such luck.
“And you, Cadet Roux. Since you seem unable to control your lance and don’t mind separating from them against all sound tactics…you get to return all of the equipment and clean up the gym. Maybe that will remind you that you and your lancemates need to support each other.” Dame Emma gave him a bland look that dared him to say anything in protest.
Jasper knew better. He answered with his face neutral, eyes forward, voice modulated. “Yes, Lady.”
She gave them one last look. “Ten laps. Twenty-five minutes. Dismissed.”
They waited until the professor walked away to move.
Delany glared at him “Thanks a lot, Roux. You killed us both.” She stalked outside, toward the half-kilometer track with Elias at her side. “It’s not like we don’t have anything else to do tonight. You have a family dinner, and I have my stuff.”
Jasper kept up with her and Elias. “Look, I had a plan—”
The other boy shook his head. “Yeah. We all did. You didn’t follow it. You never learn. You were supposed to back me up, remember?” Elias quickened his step until he pulled ahead.
Delany watched him go. “We all talked about this.” She gestured to Elias with her chin. “If he took off into battle, either you’d call him back as lance commander or you’d back his play. But you didn’t do either. No point in having a plan if you don’t follow what we agreed on. No point in having a lance commander who can’t—or won’t—command. You’re better than this.” She shook her head, then jogged after Elias.
Jasper sighed and watched them go, following at a slower pace. “Would’ve worked if we’d had proper lances in the first place.”
But his words rang hollow—even to himself.