Iron Empire

Eleven: Unwanted Interference

"Aren't they all?" Alyx crowed.

Kedrick moved in and took the Legion down, fully-loaded railguns pouring lead into the crippled mech's hull.
I breathed a sigh of relief. It was nice to have teammates.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I hoped that Jackson was okay. Not that I would say it to his face.

"Great work," Martin commended, "but it's not over yet. Keep your eyes forward and weapons loaded."

"What the hell was that thing?" Kedrick breathed. "It took down Jackson's Valkyrie with one shot!"

"It looked a bit like a satellite dish," I remarked. "I didn't even know that you could weaponize lightning!"

"This is... new," Martin admitted. "Doctor Stonewood is going to have a field day with that information."

"I'm just glad they break easily," Alyx replied. "They're just giant targets."

We pushed forward, once again alone in the silent fog. Buildings loomed on either side of us, feeling threatening instead of peaceful. Our mood had soured, and paranoia had crept in.

Our solitude was only temporary.

My hair raised, like hackles, on the back of my neck. Something was still out there.

Out of nowhere, the streaking, screaming long-range missiles returned in force, peppering my overworked Predator with heavy artillery.

Alyx's Lynx took a blast to the legs. It stumbled but regained its balance.

"Just when I thought it was quiet," Martin sighed. "Move in!"

I began to weave my Predator erratically as I ran towards the incoming missiles. There was a sign of hope through the fog.

"I can see the Legion!" Alyx cheered. "I'll have a shot in a few moments!"

"We're almost there," Martin replied, "those long-range missiles are ineffective if we get any closer to them!"

I grinned. Up ahead, lumbering through the fog, I could see one singular Legion.

Unlike its electrifying companions, this Legion carried traditional Axion weaponry—a long-range missile launcher and a howitzer.

I took off toward the enemy. Above me, the hail of missile fire had stopped. We were too close for the Legion to hit us now.

A howitzer shell hurled itself against my stricken Predator, exploding into a wave of fire and bits of charred steel. My console flashed a warning. I couldn't take another hit.

I clenched my jaw. This would be close.

However, just like its allies before it, the Legion simply couldn't reload in time. The barrel of its empty howitzer steamed in the cool mist as I marched forward and opened fire.

The Legion slowly crept backwards, desperately trying to reload in time, but I pressed towards it, drilling away at its armour until it crumpled, useless, to the pavement.

That was when I felt a telltale tingling feeling in my fingers and toes.

A second Legion stood atop a parking garage a few hundred yards away, crackling electricity cannon growing brighter by the second.

A feeling of frustration settled over me. I'd been baited into a trap. Jackson Quinn had taken a hit for me just so I could walk into the next one.

"Blast!" Alyx snapped. She fired a quick shot from her howitzer. The shell demolished part of the building it stood on, but the Legion remained.

"Well," I sighed, "this is going to sting."

By now I could actually see glowing white tendrils of lightning leaping back and forth, tracing the circumference of the Legion's electrical weapon. All at once, the glow brightened and thunder rumbled, rattling my teeth.

It took a moment or two to register what had happened, but at the moment the cannon fired a blur sped by me, intercepting the lightning head-on.

The blur turned and fired three brilliant red lasers into the enemy Legion.

The shot was almost completely silent, punctured only by the metallic roar of a command capsule ejecting from the enemy Legion as it was obliterated by my second saviour of the day.

All was quiet for a moment as the dust cleared. I caught a glimpse of silver through the smog and my breath caught in my throat.

Long, angular legs, leading up to a stout, almost bird-like body. Three cylindrical weapons jutted out of the right side of the mech's silvery armour, and an angular shield flanked the right side of its body like the wing of a dove.

A mighty Korean mech, the Xiezhi, stood before us. It seemed that my past had caught up with me at last.

"You've got to be joking," Commander Telbus muttered.

I tapped a button on my headset, switching my comms to an open broadcast. It didn't matter that the Americans would hear me, as we'd long since lost the element of surprise.

"Korean mech designated Xiezhi," I began, but paused. "First of all, thanks for the save. Secondly—"

"Where is Marissa Mallet?"

The voice that responded was deep and resonant, modified by software.

I was taken aback. Desperate, I tried to play off the question, hoping my allies wouldn't understand that the Xiezhi was addressing me for a reason.

"How do you know—"

"I must see General Mallet," the voice repeated. "The fate of the Chinese-Canadian Alliance may depend on it."

The breath left my lungs.

The pilot of the Xiezhi had just announced the location of our insurgency over an open comm frequency.

"Don't worry, Taewi," the pilot announced, as if reading my mind. "We're on a closed frequency. Neither Axion nor your allies can hear us."

The Xiezhi turned its silvery body around, scanning for enemies. From what I could see, a large shield, presumably lined with lead, protected half of the mech's chassis. That was how it had survived the blast from the static cannon. The Korean mech's body was devoid of any features, so I couldn't even spot a cockpit window or camera. It was all incredibly high tech.

I was reasonably certain I knew the identity of the pilot within the mech. Now that the shock had worn off, I could feel anger rising within me.

"We are alone," the Xiezhi's pilot rumbled. "However, anything you say can and will be recorded for observation by the—"

"United Korean Intelligence Service, I know," I sighed. "Listen, what the hell are you doing here? Assistance was not necessary. I had this under control."

"You have a shocking concept of control," the Xiezhi's pilot replied.

"Marissa Mallet is in Canada, in the insurgency base," I responded, finally. "I'm not at liberty to disclose the location."

"Don't play coy. We both know you already have." The Xiezhi turned away, scanning the battlefield once more. "I'll have to visit her after our present business is concluded."

I could barely fathom a response. My first contact with anyone from home came in the form of unwanted interference from the life I had left behind.

"Visit her?" I growled. "Listen, I finished my service term and asked to stay. You got your information. I'm done. Don't expect me to willingly help you just because—"

The Xiezhi turned, farther this time. Its silver lasers were pointed at me, poised to wipe out what remained of my mech's damaged armour. It wouldn't kill me, but it would hurt. I couldn't win this one.

"Fine, "I growled, "but that means you help us win first."

I swore I heard the pilot of the Xiezhi chuckle over the comms.

"That," the pilot rasped, "is as good as done."