Iron Empire

Thirty-Three: Falling Star

Taewi's command capsule detonated in a concussion I could feel kilometres away. The shockwave to my chest felt like I'd been shot.

Not Taewi. Not energetic, fearless Taewi.

The remains of the capsule streaked upwards through the air as flames consumed its shattered shape. Its ascent slowed, gravity taking its toll. Finally, it reached its unintended apex and began to fall, fire trailing behind it like a falling star.

The pod fell beyond the edge of the plateau and was gone.

Taewi Park was dead.

As I stood in shock, Draco was silent for only an instant.

With a grunt, Draco removed his hand from his shoulder and held up his radio, seemingly unbothered by the dark blood that coated his hands.

"Killswitch is... a highly efficient deterrent to command capsules," he declared. "It seems the same frequency affects their functions. Reactor detonation was unexpected, but... effective."

I could barely understand what he was saying. My breath came shallowly and suddenly, like it refused to move from my lungs.

Taewi was dead.

As more Alliance pilots were forcibly ejected in the heat of battle, Killswitch turned its attention upwards. Every pilot unaffected by the weapon on the ground became a target in the air.

Explosions filled the stormy sky.

My comms earpiece crackled, and a shout temporarily snapped me back to reality.

"Jackson!"

It was Martin! I stared at the nearest monitor as it panned to reveal that a familiar red mech had dropped onto the far side of the plateau and was making a break for my location.

The Prowler.

Commander Telbus was in my Prowler.

Draco growled into his radio.

"Someone, anyone, please intercept our uninvited guest before he reaches my location."

A bright flash illuminated the snowy battlefield outside. Another capsule down.

An Erebus broke off from the battle on the ramp and charged at the Prowler as it flew past. The bulbous shapes of three plasma launchers adorned the mech's olive-green armour, making it more than a match for the twin shotguns the Prowler possessed.

The crystalline form of the Prowler's signal deadener lifted out of the mech's chassis as it swerved through the snow, blowing past the ramps and making its way towards the sunken part of the plateau.

Both the Erebus and my Prowler possessed a stealth ability, but the Erebus had more firepower. I could only hope Axion's pilots were less experienced than Martin was.

Another flash of light above. Another ally gone.

Telbus spun the Prowler's upper half around backwards and unleashed hell with his shotguns as he ran. At once the Erebus entered stealth mode, the change only made visible by the activation of an angular cooling vent on its side. Unlike the Prowler, the Erebus' signal deadener didn't even need to be exposed to work. Draco had done a respectable job with its design.

Another flash of light. Another life lost.

With both mechs untouchable it was only a matter of time before Martin dropped out of stealth and left himself exposed to fire from the faster Erebus, which grew closer with every step.

Both mechs were well beneath the Frostpoint facility now, and one of the massive concrete pillars that kept the base aloft provided just enough cover for Martin to duck behind before his stealth ran out.