NEW EXETER SPACEPORT
EMPORIA
FEDERATED SUNS
8 APRIL 3150
0110 HOURS
Delany fired all of her energy weapons at the Quasimodo and followed it up with another volley of missiles. She glanced at her ammo count. Ten salvos left. Fewer than she wanted, but more than she expected to have at this point in the fight. As the Quasimodo went to one knee, she recognized the tiny, fast-moving heat signatures of more commandos in battle armor.
“Breaking cover fire. Dealing with more Kishi.”
“You got this?”
As much as Jasper’s question irritated her, it was appropriate. Claire’s sudden death at the commandos’ hands had been as terrifying as it’d been unexpected. When they’d swarmed her, she saw her death at their hands, too, and panicked. “I got this.” She resisted the urge to tell him to keep to his job—because he’d been doing just that.
The two Kishi moved in fast, leaping the spaceport wall then onto a couple of the outlying buildings. They must’ve been on patrol and seen the explosions. It didn’t matter. Delany had a bead on one and fired her ER PPC at it, striking true with great malice, then followed it with both medium lasers. Overkill, but it got the job done. That was all she cared about.
Sensors showed only one more trooper. This one tried to make a challenge of it by darting between buildings to maintain cover. Now that she had her battle calm, it didn’t matter that they’d frightened her. As she unloaded on the last Kishi, all weapons scoring solid hits, Delany knew she’d only see these guys again in her nightmares. There was literally nothing left of them but scraps.
With the commandos dealt with, she scanned the full battlefield. She focused on Jasper’s battle with the Draconis Combine ’Mechs, his Ostsol laying cover fire against the Wolverine, keeping it busy as it stood over the fallen Quasimodo.
Looking over her shoulder, Nadine made sure the Vogels were in the jeep before she punched the throttle, trying to escape the blinding searchlight. Behind her, one of the Vedettes skidded between them and the assault ’Mech. Please, she thought, please be taking it down.
Like an answer to a prayer, the Vedette fired its harpoon and grabbed hold of the ’Mech at the chest. Still blinking with light afterimages floating before her eyes, Nadine stopped the jeep to watch. She’d never seen the bola and harpoon weapons in action against a live ’Mech. She had to see what happened.
The experimental weapon worked exactly as expected. It was better than she thought it would be. The assault ’Mech hit the ground with a huge, satisfying crash.
“Roux, it’s Hayton here. Can you drive that jeep from the spaceport?”
Nadine looked around. She could barely see through the smoke, debris, and moving machines of war, but the jeep was small enough that she could probably make it out. “Yes. If I have to.”
“Better to get us all out of the line of fire before we transfer the Vogels. Enemies coming in hot all over the place.”
Nadine fought with her desire to get the Vogels under harder cover than a flimsy jeep against the words of the cadet she trusted. Lyric was right. “Acknowledged. Head—”
Her order was lost to the sound of the downed ’Mech firing on the Vedette. The tank bucked and broke at the first shot. It erupted in flame and shrapnel and death on the second.
Nadine screamed as debris from the tank tore into the back of the jeep, shoving it forward. Her head slammed against the wheel. Lights flickered as she grayed out.
She opened her eyes to Lord Zachary shaking her shoulder. “Nadine! Wake up! Nadine! Get us out of here.”
Nadine blinked a couple times, feeling stupid and confused. Blood ran down into her right eye. She tried to restart the jeep. Its engine wouldn’t turn over. Looking back, she saw part of the jeep’s rear was missing, and the back wheels were slagged. Even if she could get the engine started, they weren’t going anywhere.
The Quasimodo, already on the ground, crawled toward them.
She flipped channels on her comm. “Jasper, help! We’re stuck. The jeep, it’s broken.”
The Ostsol turned from its fight with the enemy ’Mechs. “On my way. I’ve got you. I’ll get you out of there.”
Nadine looked between Lady Shannon and Lord Zachary. “Are you okay?”
Both of them nodded. Neither looked good. Lady Shannon gritted her teeth, and was as gray as Lord Zachary was.
Flipping back to the infantry channel, Nadine said, “Hayton, report.”
“All Emporia ’Mechs converging. Fox and Vedette Two are en route. Vedette One is down.”
Down. Euphemism for dead. Harper Estbury and Pontus Wolke were dead. It was her fault. The Vedette had put itself in harm’s way to keep the assault ’Mech from capturing them.
“This jeep isn’t going anywhere. The Ostsol will evac us. As soon as he does, I’m calling the retreat.”
“Acknowledged.”
Watching the Fox fire the chain bola, Jasper punched the air with a “Yeah!” as it wrapped tight around the Hatamoto’s legs, bringing it to a halt moments before the Vedettes zoomed into place and fired their harpoons. Jasper couldn’t believe something so small could topple something as impressive as an eighty-ton assault ’Mech, but it did.
His pleasure turned into dread as only one of the Vedettes freed itself from the stuck harpoon lines. “C’mon,” he muttered. “C’mon!” The other Vedette yanked and pulled, its turret pointed at the downed Hatamoto. While Jasper watched, the Hatamoto’s left arm moved, pointing the Gauss rifle at the Vedette’s vulnerable side. The first shot ripped a hole in the tank. The second set the world on fire.
The Ostsol pinged with flying tank shrapnel. Heart sinking, bile flooded his mouth. Jasper searched the wreckage for the jeep. Had they been caught in the explosion? Had he just lost the last of his family? Just as he found the jeep, a good twenty meters from where it’d been, Nadine’s voice lit up his comms.
“Jasper, help! We’re stuck. The jeep, it’s broken.”
“On my way. I’ve got you. I’ll get you out of there.” He wanted to cry, to scream, something. His heart burst. She was still alive.
He saw the Quasimodo crawling toward the Hatamoto and stomped the Ostsol between the enemy ’Mechs and his sister. It wasn’t until after his ’Mech carefully picked up the jeep and cradled it to his chest that he realized the Quasimodo and Wolverine were covering the downed Hatamoto, protecting it. He wished he could fire everything he had at the assault ’Mech and take it out. Was Tai-sa Takeji Yoshizawa in that ’Mech? Who else would they protect like that?
Jasper couldn’t fire. He had more important things on his mind. “Are you all right?”
“We’re good enough. I’m calling the retreat. Get us out of here.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Over the different comm channels, Nadine called the retreat to the infantry and the ’Mechs. As soon as she was done, Jasper lit up the ’Mech comms. “Converge on the Ostsol until we’re at least three klicks from the spaceport. Stay within 180 meters. After that, if they have ground radar—and they shouldn’t—it won’t matter. Delany, you’re with the Goblin until the end. Target is the Ritza Academy.”
“Yes, sir.” Delany sounded tired but triumphant.
Dame Emma followed up his command with one of her own: “Cole, Goodryke, Vengalil, provide cover fire until we’re out of the spaceport.”
Jasper cradled the jeep and ran, expecting the rest of the Emporia forces to keep up. He paused long enough to count the ’Mechs and vehicles at the spaceport gates: ten ’Mechs, one tank, one troop transport, one armored car, and one disabled jeep.
He didn’t want to think about the dead and captured left behind. Not yet. Not until he was back in the safe haven of the academy. There’d be time enough to cry later. Right now he had a mission to complete.