Tetsuhara Proving Grounds, Outreach
Sarna March, Federated Commonwealth
22 July 3051
Kai Allard wiped his sweaty palms against his cooling vest. "I copy, Victor. I appreciate your advice. Heaven knows I can't hope to do as well out there as you did."
Victor's voice made it through the speakers full of confidence. "Kai, Hohiro smoked my mark, so I know you can do better. I'm counting on it. The honor of the Federated Commonwealth rests on your shoulders."
Kai shivered. "You had it easy. Shin was your wingman. I've got Sun-Tzu out here, which means I've got four people hunting me."
"He'll have his hands full with the crew they've arrayed against him. As long as you don't shoot any of his targets, his folks will leave you alone and yours will leave him alone. Remember, you've got an Omni and they're just running normal 'Mechs. You'll dust them in no time."
"Don't waste your money betting on me."
"Can't," Victor laughed. "No one will give me good odds."
Another voice, one Kai instandy recognized as that of Jaime Wolf, cut into the channel. "Sun-Tzu Liao and Kai Allard-Liao, this is your time of testing. Though all energy weapons are powered down and, projectiles are phantom rounds, damage will be assessed at full value by the computers monitoring the exercise. Still, caution is important because the 'Mechs are subject to damage. Fall off a mesa and land on your cockpit and you'll be as dead as you would be from a head shot in a battle. Do you understand?"
"Roger, Colonel." Kai heard the echoes of Sun-Tzu's reply a moment later.
"Your mission is to defeat the foes arrayed against you. You may cooperate, but radio communication will be jammed for both sides of the battle. You may shoot at enemies not assigned to you, but that frees your foes to pursue your ally and vice versa. These exercises are usually complicated enough that such additional confusion is not necessary. You will be ranked according to the number of foes you destroy and the amount of damage you do. Good luck. The exercise will commence in thirty seconds."
Kai took one last glance at his primary monitor. It reported all weapon systems operational, and Kai smiled at the array he had been given. The LRMs, the extended range large laser, and the Gauss rifle would all hit at longer ranges, letting him pick apart enemies working in closer. At closer range, his heavy autocannon and battery of pulse lasers would do some serious damage. This Daishi,whose name meant Great Death, looked like it would live up to its name.
Across the battlefield, he saw a frightening group of enemy 'Mechs. Allotted to him were an Archer,a Blackjack,and a BattleMaster.He evaluated the 'Mechs in terms of threat and formulated his plan of action. The Blackjack,he knew, had the lightest armor. A concentrated assault in the form of missiles, large laser, and Gauss rifle could take it out of battle almost instantly. The Archer,with two batteries of LRMs, was built for long-range combat, which meant he'd have to close with it or duke it out at a distance.
The BattleMaster,Kai decided, should be his second target. An assault 'Mech, it was heavily armored yet somewhat under-gunned, especially for a long-range duel. Hitting it early would mean that Kai had a better chance of having all his weapons available to attack it. If he ended up closing with the Archerlast, he could use his close-in weapons to deal with it.
He glanced over at the other Daishistanding 250 meters to his left. Like his 'Mech, the blocky war machine stood on back-canted legs. Its stubby, cylindrical arms ended in weapon muzzles, a Gauss rifle left and large laser right. The autocannon rode high on the left shoulder, and opposite it, the hulking LRM launch mechanism rose like a hump on its right shoulder. The trio of pulse lasers were mounted just below the Daishi'schin on the right side of its chest.
Kai snorted grimly as he noted Sun-Tzu had his weapons pointed at the enemies they faced. The second he learned of his pairing in the exercise, Kai vowed to stay away from Sun-Tzu. Even if one of Sun's foes presented Kai a clean backshot, he had decided not to take it. I don't care what it could do for my score. If I do anything to interfere with his performance, I'll never hear the end of it.
The digital display flashed down to 00:00, and Kai's combat display came up. Instantly, he dropped the crosshairs for his weapons onto the outline of the Blackjack.His right thumb punched the button on top of the right joystick, launching a full flight of twenty missiles at the 'Mech. His left hand hit the thumb button and firing button under his index finger, bringing the Gauss rifle and larger laser into play.
Missiles dotted the Blackjack'shead, chest, and left flank with computer-animated fireballs. The large laser swept across the top of the 'Mech's left thigh like a surgeon's scalpel, leaving a deep, nasty scar in the computer's image. The Gauss rifle's phantom projectile streaked across the landscape and smashed the Blackjacksquarely in the knee. The impact shivered most of the armor from that leg and dumped the Blackjackto the ground.
Kai darted his Daishiforward twenty meters and off to the right, anticipating his foes' plan for him to retreat. The twin flights of missiles from the Archerovershot him by that margin. The particle beam from the BattleMaster'spistol-like particle projection cannon burned wide, bringing a smile to Kai's face. If I can keep you guys guessing ...
Suddenly, missile detonations wreathed the BattleMaster'sarms in fire. "You idiot, Sun-Tzu, you hit the wrong target!" Kai glanced at the secondary monitor updating the BattleMaster'sdamage, but took no satisfaction at the report. "Stupid accident and now whatever gets past him comes after me. Why did I have to be paired with him?"
Though the battle had been going on for only a few seconds, everything suddenly stopped as a ring of fire blossomed around Sun-Tzu's canopy. The duraplast viewport blew out and away as the explosive bolts detonated. An intense light flashed to life from within the dark cockpit, then Sun-Tzu's command couch rode a rocket into the sky. Without even slowing, the couch shot over the line of hills beyond the enemy 'Mechs and disappeared from view.
It took several seconds before Kai counsciously registered what Sun-Tzu had done. The Capellan had not accidentally targeted the BattleMaster.He had selected it most carefully and deliberately. In shooting it, he had guaranteed that all the enemy 'Mechs—a full half-dozen of them—could attack either or both the young Mech Warriors. Having ensured that the battle would become a chaotic fray, he then punched out to leave his hated cousin alone.
Part of Kai wanted to cry out that the test was no longer fair, then thought how the men he had sent against Elementals on Twycross must have cursed him the same way he wanted to curse Sun-Tzu. They had no choice. Neither do you.
That cold truth settled around him like a burdensome cloak, but he took his hopelessness and hatred and wove them into fury. Instead of that hollow feeling at his core, he felt a furnace of emotions. With his mind clear, Kai took up the gauntlet Sun-Tzu had hurled at him.