"Aff."
"Very well. Natasha, your targets are designated by red triangles on your tactical scanner. Phelan, your targets are blue squares. Your foes already know that defeat here will not reflect negatively on them in any official way. Natasha, Burke Carson is one of your opponents, and Vladimir of the Wolves is set against Phelan. As both of you know, this is very important. Neatness does not count. You have won as long as you are operational and your enemy is not. Even if you have to drag yourself off the battlefield with your arms, you will be victorious."
Ulric's voice lost power as he opened lines to all the 'Mechs on the battlefield. "Let the testing begin!"
Phelan dropped the crosshairs on his battle array down to cover the torso of the 'Mech sandwiched between his and Natasha's group. He hit both buttons on top of the targeting joysticks and tightened down on the trigger under his left index finger. He felt a rush of heat as the 'Mech rocked back with the recoil.
Natasha's flight of LRMs reached the Mad Dogfirst, so Phelan's missiles screamed into the roiling fireball already consuming the 'Mech. LRMs sprayed the whole torso and peppered its head, blasting armor into ferro-ceramic splinters. Phelan saw the 'Mech stagger slightly, then the Gauss rifle's silvery ball projectile slammed into its left shoulder. The impact crushed armor and spun the massive war engine to the ground. It rolled back toward one of its teammates, but that pilot deftly danced his machine out of danger.
Phelan pulled his BattleMech back, taking cover behind a low hill. A glance at his secondary monitor gave him a status report on the downed 'Mech, making him shudder. "Computer shows his cockpit was hit. He's dead or wounded, just for a test."
Phelan worked around to the left, splitting off from Natasha to engage his own testers. Clearing the low hill, he saw one of his targets standing over the damaged 'Mech while the other headed straight toward Phelan's low hill. The computer identified that OmniMech as a Warhawk.
Stepping up onto the hilltop, Phelan spitted the 'Mech on his crosshairs and fired a second barrage. The twin missile flights bracketed the incoming Clan 'Mech. Missiles exploded armor on the Warhawk'sarms and legs, with minor damage to its right flank resulting from two errant warheads. The Gauss rifle's sphere hit the barrel of the PPC mounted in the left arm and skipped along it to slam into the Warhawk'selbow, but it failed to damage the gun before it discharged its particle beam.
Both of the Warhawk'stwo arms ended in weapon pods that housed particle projection cannons mated with pulse lasers. The PPC's azure beams sizzled out and stabbed into Phelan's Lone Wolf.One lashed the 'Mech's right arm, flaying armor from shoulder to elbow. The other beam burned a jagged scar down the Omni's right leg, dropping steaming sheets of armor onto the hilltop.
Phelan's body jerked hard to the right as he fought the controls to keep his 'Mech upright. He moved the crosshairs back on target as the Lone Wolfrecoiled from the damage the Warhawkhad done. He let it move in forty meters and dipped his 'Mech's right arm as though it had taken more than just damage to the armor. Just how contemptuous of me are you?
The Warhawk'spilot kept coming and brought its weapon pods up to fire. One PPC beam shot over the Lone Wolf'shead, but the other whipped across it like a blue scourge, vaporizing armor and the canopy on Phelan's 'Mech. A stinging mist scorched his exposed arms and legs, but the cabin's depressurization blew most of the molten glass back out. Sparks shot from two or three panels and a secondary monitor died in a puff of smoke.
The computer calmly informed him that his life support systems had been destroyed, but Phelan knew that was of little concern on a hospitable world like Strana Mechty. The pulse laser fire to the Lone Wolf'sleft arm had done nothing but melt armor. I have to end this now, or I'm in a serious world of hurt.He forced the pain of his arms and legs away, then let the Warhawkhave everything at point-blank range.
One flight of missiles missed its target, but the second blasted armor from both arms, baring the myomer fibers and workings of the PPC and pulse laser of the Warhawk'sleft arm. One of the trio of pulse lasers mounted in the Lone Wolf'sright shot wide of the Warhawk'sbody. The other two ruby beams carved armor from the center of the 'Mech's body and its right flank, leaving parallel smoking scars.
Muzzle flashes from the autocannon strobed into the Lone Wolf'scockpit, and the pungent odor of high explosives filled it. The cloud of metal chewed into the Warhawkon its right side and blasted a huge chunk of armor from the Omni's right arm. The Gauss rifle's ball whistled from the muzzle, catching the Warhawkin the right arm. The limb shivered under the impact and the armor shattered like glass.
Phelan's left ring finger tightened on the SRM launcher button. The six missiles shot from their box and raced at the crippled Warhawklike sharks heading for bloody water. Three missed the Omni, but the trio that hit did serious damage. One augured into the left arm and exploded, scattering bits and pieces of 'Mech skeleton. Subsidiary detonations sent chunks of PPC and pulse laser whirling away. The missile striking the right arm hit higher up. Though it nibbled away at the 'Mech's ferro-titanium bones, it did no damage to its weaponry.
The last missile aimed for the Warhawkdead-center, but it detonated prematurely. A boiling cloud of liquid fire washed over the 'Mech and clung to it like a fiery blanket. The pilot tried to pull away from the flames, but the Warhawkhad been hammered so badly in a such a short time that it was grossly off-balance. The 'Mech clawed at the earth to remain upright, but succeeded only in raising a cloud of dust. With the screech of stressed metal and the staccato popping of armor plates breaking, the Warhawkcrashed to the ground and broke off its own left arm.
Phelan now looked for the 'Mech his computer had named "Executioner." He couldn't find it on his screen nor could he see it through his viewport. He immediately knew Vlad was its pilot. Dammit! I'm naked here and I don't know where he is.
The young MechWarrior started his Lone Wolfforward. He stepped down hard on the Warhawk'sright knee, snapping the joint. He pumped one round from the Gauss rifle through the 'Mech's right shoulder, sending the Warhawk'sarm pinwheeling off in a shower of sparks. "That means you're going nowhere."
Realizing he had yet to face his deadliest enemy, Phelan's guts started to flipflop. As Natasha had predicted, Vlad had let the others batter the Lone Wolfbefore he chose to engage it. Convinced that mobility and a continued, long-range duel gave him an edge, Phelan headed down the hill and back toward the Mad Dog'swreckage.
Adrenaline jolted through his system as he saw movement on his battle display. The Executionerappeared in his aft arc. Phelan cursed the loss of his secondary monitor and shunted a data feed to his auxiliary monitor. Immediately, the computer filled it with an information scan of the OmniMech. He saw that each arm mounted a Gauss rifle and each side of the torso was arrayed with one large laser and two medium lasers.