Iron Empire

Thirty-Two: Point of No Return

The Barricade fell forwards and began sliding down the ramp, its flat frontal armour smashed apart by the impact. The weight of the sliding Barricade buckled the legs of both Predators, hurling them off the bridge. The Barricade quickly followed suit, rolling over once before dropping off the ramp.

Only one command capsule leapt from the wreckage as the mechs tumbled off the ramp, falling almost five times their combined height before smashing into the terrain below.

In the horror of the moment, it all made sense. The sudden failure of Martin's prosthetic arm. The collapse of the Barricade that had charged Fisk.

Project Killswitch targeted IRON chips.

Draco grinned at me, pressing a hand over his right shoulder as he did so. "One shot from Killswitch severs the connection between the pilot and their IRON chip, leaving the mechs dead in the water. It took a lot of work, but our proprietary IRON chip is now back under Axion control, where it belongs!"

The static cannons. The Apollo's tracking system. All of it had been only pieces of the true puzzle, the unassembled parts of Killswitch.

Was Terminus just another name for Killswitch? I didn't understand.

Everything was going wrong. With our forces pinned on the ramps of Frostpoint, Draco was free to use Killswitch indiscriminately. Worse, I knew next to nothing of the weapon's range or capability—was Draco able to wipe our entire militia out in one shot?

Trapped or not, I had to warn them. I fumbled with my earpiece, activating the comms.

"Hello?" I shouted. "Taewi! Alyx! Kedrick! Can anyone hear me?"

An agonizing silence.

"Jax?" Taewi called. "Are you okay?"

"Fisk has me trapped in one of the satellite towers!" I shouted. "He has some kind of disruptor pointed at you, one that can fry your IRON chips!"

The comm was silent again for a moment. Draco simply watched all of this unfold with a grin.

"Where is it?" Alyx roared. "I'll try to get a shot!"

I could just barely make out the form of her tiny Grendel near the center of the remaining Alliance mechs—an ant among the giant Predators and Barricades.

"Near the top of the facility!" I replied. "It's mounted on a Legion!"

I heard Laura's commanding voice break through the din of battle.

"All long-range weapons, target Frostpoint! We'll keep the enemy mechs at bay!"

For a moment I felt hope. If the Barricades could keep Axion's forces at bay, I was sure that Alyx would be able to take out Project Killswitch. Without the weapon in play, our downed pilots had a chance to return in new mechs.

Then a sudden static whine shattered the illusion.

"Again," Fisk stated.

Project Killswitch fired a second time, wiping out a swathe of mechs without leaving a single bullet hole.

The invisible beam of energy swept over the battlefield, and an entire row of mechs collapsed, toppling like puppets with their strings cut.

I heard Alyx cry out in alarm as her Grendel staggered, stricken by a killing blow she couldn't see. Thankfully for her, her command capsule activated, sweeping her away from the battle.

Others weren't so lucky.

In one shot, seventeen mechs fell, their most essential component fried. Ten pilots escaped.

With our ranks shattered, Axion's mechs closed in, pushing closer on both sides of the ramp.

Without their IRON chips to keep them balanced, our mechs were useless.

Command capsules filled the sky.

"Can anyone get a bead on that weapon?" Laura called. Her Crusader fought valiantly at the centre of the ramp, blowing away mech after mech in a desperate attempt to keep the remaining pilots safe. "Squadron five is down!" Laura called. "I repeat, Squadron—gah!"

Far below I could see her Crusader stumble as it took a hit to the chest from a charging Goliath, its skeletal paint job buckling inward. Faux ribcage shattered and armour damaged, the mech was quickly overwhelmed by a swarm of Erebus.

As Laura's capsule soared away, Axion's forces pushed even closer, corralling the remaining Alliance mechs towards the edge of the ramp.

Project Killswitch fired indiscriminately, silent shots sweeping across entire squadrons.

I could hear the terrible sound of panic beginning to rise over the comms, fear choking the voices of my allies.

Down below there was an explosion.

"Blast it!" Taewi shouted.

"Kedrick, watch your back, you have incoming!"

I caught sight of his Predator at the outskirts of the remaining Alliance forces, just before a missile explosion tore the mech's frame apart.

A command capsule flew upward towards the heavens.

Draco watched the capsule with particular interest, his eyes tracing upwards as the capsule shot into the sky. Blood from his wounded shoulder had seeped through his clasped hand and now trailed down his knuckles.

"An intact IRON chip," he mused. "I wonder..." Fisk's radio returned to his hand, daintily pressed against his ear. "Target..."

Draco seemed to pause as if considering something. Then he turned to stare at me through the energy shield, and I saw his gaze harden.

"I'll end this," he stated, almost seemingly to himself.

In my heart, I knew that a terrible decision had just been made. A point of no return had been crossed.

"Target the command capsule," Draco concluded.

That terrible static hum filled my earpiece once more as the broad barrel of Killswitch swivelled upwards.

"No!" I cried. I rammed my shoulder into the iridescent shield. It didn't budge. The coin slipped from my hand and clattered to the floor. It probably wouldn't have done anything anyway.

With his IRON chip still unaffected by Killswitch, Taewi was still a valid target for the cannon's crippling beam. Though he had no mech to disable, I was terrified that his command capsule would be affected in the same way.

"Taewi!" I cried, panic racing up my spine. "Destroy your IRON chip! He can still target you!"

My warning came too late. The ringing in my ear vanished, and I knew it was done.

There was silence for a moment.

"Damn," Taewi signed, resignation tingeing his voice. Somewhere high above my head, his capsule rocketed towards a dropship I was afraid he'd never reach. "This is a pretty crappy way to go out."

"Just—just hold on," I insisted.

This was not how Taewi's life could end. Somehow, in some way, the weapon would fail, the shot would miss, the capsule would make it to the safety of a dropship and Taewi would be saved. Annoying or not, he was my friend. A hero. Heroes didn't die like this.

Through a break in the slate grey clouds, I saw the command capsule arc upward through the sky, feeling dreadfully slow despite its high velocity. Too slow. An invisible beam of energy pursued it, ready to intercept it at any moment.

It had to miss.

Draco leaned forward into the monitor. I held my breath.

This couldn't happen. It couldn't.

An instant later, Taewi's command capsule exploded.