Iron Empire

Fifty-Eight: Divide and Conquer

That familiar square opening in the sky became visible and my command capsule entered through it, disappearing from the air. I hung inside the dropship's hangar, hidden from the battle below.

My HUD flashed. I had to select a new mech, fast.

I caught a glimpse of Dan watching me through my capsule's window as the mechanism placed me into my second mech. Moments later I was falling, strapped into the nimble green frame of a Veles, the mech that both Kedick and Taewi had used so effectively in our fight against Commander Harlow.

The mech's weak armour and lack of heavy weapons made it largely useless in a battle of this size, but I was confident that its small stature and leaping ability would allow me to reach and disable any Aegis' shields unharmed.

Or, at least that was my plan.

"I'm on my way!" I called.

Six... four... three... one.

The lightly-armoured Veles shuddered as it landed, and I took in my surroundings as my HUD flickered to life.

I had landed on the north side of the crater, about two kilometres away from the battle. From here I could see the shattered remains of Terminus' engines, as well as the both sides of the warship.

The starboard side of the ship was buried deep into the sand, having rolled to the west upon landing. This furrowed the ground and turned Terminus' flat hull into a metal ramp that led high into the air.

The port edge of the hull was pushed precariously into the air, held up by only a few pillars of bent metal beneath it. Hundreds of thousands of tons of metal hung suspended above the desert, just waiting to fall.

Axion's onslaught of Titans and Aegis had successfully confined my squad beneath the ship's upraised port flank, pinning them in the cavernous space beneath its hull. In the distance I could see Titans leaping back and forth, striking glancing blows against their targets. Not good.

A flash of white armour caught my eye, and I glanced upwards to see the distant shape of two Titans ascending the ramp-like shape of Terminus' hull.

The instant I saw the weapons they were carrying, the palms of my hands throbbed in recognition.

Project Zeus. Static cannons.

Panic flashed through my mind and I took off running towards the ship, my Veles's stocky legs bouncing over the uneven sand. If either Titan made it to the top of Terminus' hull they would have a clear shot at obliterating everyone in one fell swoop.

I sighed. I missed the days when my biggest worry was a collapsing nuclear silo.

Launching my Veles forward into a jump, I just barely cleared the ship's upraised side, landing unceremoniously on the armoured top of the warship. Up close, the Terminus' sloped exterior was nowhere near as smooth as it had appeared, making climbing it easy.

Sparks trailed behind my Veles as its feet made contact with the grey armour, and I began a desperate sprint up the side of the warship. I kept my mech as close to the engines of the ship as possible, skirting the aft edge of the vessel.

The Titans were already halfway up, so I had to make good time. Not one mech could reach the top of the ship, or our assault was as good as finished.

About a quarter of a kilometre from the apex, one of the Titans took notice of me, rotating its body toward the source of the disturbance. I opened fire without hesitation, peppering its armoured shell with high-calibre railgun bullets.

I felt a familiar tingle run through my body.

The static cannon charged fast, but I had an ace up my sleeve. Aside from the Prowler, the Veles was the perfect mech for this moment. Taking on two static cannons would have been suicidal, but my approach had been very specific. By keeping to the aft of the ship on my approach, I had assured that only one Titan would notice me—the range of its cameras allowed it to just barely glimpse me.

By the time the Titan had noticed my small mech's approach, I was already in firing range.

I shifted my aim higher, praying that I would be granted even a fraction of Alyx's deadly accuracy.

To my delight, my aim was true. Although my railgun couldn't cause the same impressive explosion of metal and wires that a howitzer or shotgun could, the round dish of the cannon was punctured a dozen times by my salvo, mangling it.

The uncomfortable build-up of static vanished, leaving the cannon useless and the Titan unarmed.

One down, but not out. It wasn't over until I stopped the second Titan from finishing its ascent.

"Martin!" I called. I had to warn them, just in case I failed my mission.

The first Titan, however, was not ready to give up just yet.

The white mech leapt at me, soaring high into the air. My HUD flashed a warning, predictive algorithms attempting to determine where it would land.

"A little busy, Quinn!" Martin growled.

"We're boxed in, Jackson!" Sojwa shouted. "The Aegis are coordinating to keep the Titans protected!"

"I'm trying to fix that!" I responded.

The Titan was directly above me, descending impossibly fast.

"When you see the signal, split up as fast as possible!" I called. "I'll break their lines!"

I leapt into the air just as the first Titan struck the ground, an impact that rocked my fragile mech to its core. I grinned. Its jump momentarily exhausted, the Titan was no longer able to match my Veles' speed.

The Titans had been divided. Now it was time to conquer.

"Break their lines?" Martin inquired.

"What's the signal?" Sojwa asked.

I soared toward the second Titan, who stood at the very edge of the warship's massive flank, overlooking my allies below.

Only now did it realize that something was amiss, and turned at the last second.

In an instant, I made my decision. I could feel a sharp nip at the edges of my fingers and toes. The mech's cannon was charged. I had no time to take a shot.

I wish I'd been able to see the pilot's face. I laughed aloud. This was going to hurt.

"The signal is a tumbling Titan."

I didn't stop when I reached the Titan. I just kept running.

The impact was swift and brutal. My body was wrenched forward and I could feel a muscle in my neck tighten sharply in protest. I saw sparks as my railguns bent against white armour.

The Titan, completely unprepared for my charge, didn't even react as we toppled off the side of Terminus and into the open air below.