Iron Empire

Fifty-Nine: Ultimatum

For one moment I was flying.

Metal twisted around me and my head lurched dangerously close to hitting my own control panel.

I caught a bird's-eye view of the below for only an instant—a squadron of Aegis directly below me, their shields protecting Titans from harm. They pressed in on my allies, who were backed into the open space beneath Terminus' upraised port side.

An instant later my HUD flickered and several screens went dark, the Veles' cameras smashed, and my stomach lurched as we began our descent. My proximity alarm flashed uselessly, a staccato burst of light and sound. This was going to hurt.

I slammed the eject button and nearly struck my head again as my command capsule was ripped from the Veles, soaring upwards into the open air.

I heard a cheer from my allies and saw a plume of dust where both mechs impacted the ground. As far as I could tell, my shove had landed both our mechs atop an Aegis or two, opening a major hole in Axion defences and allowing my squad to escape.

"Barricade, coming through!" Kitt called. I couldn't see what was happening, but the sounds of bending metal I could hear over the comms told me all I needed to know.

The ride to the dropship was less nerve-wracking the second time. We were free of Axion's noose for the moment, but with half the crater under their control, their ranks would reassemble fast.

I could see the edges of the crater once more, and was surprised to find that Axion's forces were being slowly repelled. Axion still controlled the southern end of the crater, near the front of Terminus, but had since retreated from the western edge of the crater, conceding three-quarters of the territory.

We could do this. I knew we could.

"I'm glad you weren't in that Veles when it hit, Quinn," Alyx announced. "You should see the crumpled mess you left behind."

I grinned.

"I'll try to make less of a mess with my next mech."

Despite my narrow escape, a burning at the back of my neck alerted me to the precariousness of my situation. My current IRON chip had clearly not appreciated my stunt with the Titan. I hurriedly pulled the burned husk of the IRON chip free from my neck and tossed it aside.

As I rose into the sky, I could have sworn that my comms earpiece emitted a familiar static hum for an instant or two.

***

Report: Fisk
Airspace above the Mojave Desert.
United States of America.
The remains of a terrorist attack.
Designation: "Project Terminus"

Five minutes ago...

I could see everything from my dropship.

I could see the sand and fire below, the flames of conflict. Explosions from far below flared brightly against the shifting sand, followed closely by distant concussions.

I could see the edge of the crash site, a sandy cliff created by the impact of something so precious to me. Its jagged edges were filled with warring mechs, American, Canadian and Korean alike. Hundreds of people fought to keep me from reclaiming Axion's property, preventing my pilots from reaching the perimeter of the crash site. Most mechs I deployed into the pit below were instantly eliminated, shot down by enemy snipers on the ledge above.

I could see the remains of Project Terminus, half-buried in the desert. Its shattered frame was caked in a thin layer of sand, and a single Killswitch cannon dangled from the side of the ship, hanging only by its wires.