Blood legacy

by Michael A. Stackpole

  As the lower half of his 'Mech's left leg dropped away, Victor fought a losing battle to retain his balance. The 'Mech twisted as it fell, smashing its back against the far canyon wall. The command couch's special panels punched into Victor's own back, crunching him between them and the restraining belts. The blow stunned him for a moment, leaving him unable to do anything but watch as Hohiro and Shin entered the canyon.

  From his vantage point, Victor saw the other two members of Kai's lance, an Orion and a Catapult, both 'Mechs with LRMs in their arms. The Catapult directed both its fifteen-missile flights at the Phoenix Hawk, while the Orion concentrated on the Grand Dragon. The Cataphract brought its weapons to bear on Hohiro, while Kai swung his autocannon around to take the Phoenix Hawk.

  The missiles covered the mouth of the canyon in a sheet of flame. The explosions stripped all the armor off the Phoenix Hawk's arms, and a subsidiary blast took out the medium laser mounted on the underside of the right forearm. Even more damaging, the missiles hitting the left arm shredded the myomer muscles in the upper arm, leaving it dangling and useless. More explosions sent sheets of armor flying from the 'Mech's left flank and leg, with two scoring hits on the Phoenix Hawk's head.

  The Grand Dragon fared better, as most of the missiles undershot the target. Even so, they managed to whittle away armor on the 'Mech's chest and left leg, providing the Cataphract with viable targets for its attack. Yet even as the fire condensed into black smoke, the Grand Dragon had sighted in on the Cataphract and the two 'Mechs exchanged volleys.

  The azure bolt from the Grand Dragon's PPCs lashed hunks of armor from the Cataphract's left arm, but failed to penetrate it fully. The medium laser mounted in its left breast stabbed.out and melted more armor over the left flank that Victor had previously hit, but again failed to do more than damage armor. In return, the Cataphract's autocannon peeled a strip of armor from the Grand Dragon's left flank. The Liao 'Mech's medium lasers missed their target, but the PPC made up for the misses with a vengeance.

  The cerulean energy whip flayed the last of the armor from the Grand Dragon's left leg. As it dropped away, the particle beam sliced like a scalpel into the myomer fibers in the thigh, melting them like candles. The Grand Dragon, having lost control of its left leg, started to tip, but Hohiro shifted the 'Mech's weight back over onto its right leg and kept the machine upright.

  Kai's Centurion fired at the Phoenix Hawk from point-blank range. The autocannon's salvo hit the Phoenix Hawk in the right shoulder, spinning the 'Mech around like a toy. Sparks flew as the large laser shorted, and a string of firecracker pops sounded as the machine gun's ammo cooked off. The Phoenix Hawk slammed into the canyon wall face-first, then rebounded and dropped to its back on the rocky floor.

  Another concentrated volley of rockets brought Hohiro crashing down. He struggled to rise up again, but Kai blew the Grand Dragon's right arm off at the elbow with a shot that could just as easily have destroyed the cockpit. The computer controlling the exercise asked if Victor wanted to surrender, and he reluctantly replied in the affirmative.

  As the screens died and the hatch at the back of the simulator opened, Victor unbuckled himself from the command couch. He set the neurohelmet back on the shelf over his head, then rubbed his eyes with both hands. "What a disaster. I'm never going to hear the end of this." He gave himself a few seconds to dream up some excuse that could explain how he'd managed to lose his whole command of battle-hardened veterans to Kai and some rookies, but nothing even remotely viable occurred to him.

  Victor was the last one to reach the lounge area outside the simulator pod room. Kai was already there, flanked by his sister Cassandra on one side and Ragnar Magnusson on the other. Hohiro and Shin stood nearby while Sun-Tzu scowled at the assembly. Galen straightened up from the drinking fountain near the door and just shook his head.

  Victor sighed heavily as he crossed to where Kai was standing. He offered him his hand. "Damn, you did good work out there. I haven't ever been nailed that badly."

  Hohiro agreed. "Taking down four heavy BattleMechs, with only one of your command taking any damage at all is remarkable."

  Ragnar beamed. "Sun-Tzu wouldn't have taken any damage if he'd done what Kai told him to."

  Sun-Tzu spun Ragnar around with a hand on his right shoulder. "I am not a little weakling to be ordered about by an inferior."

  Galen moved between Sun-Tzu and Ragnar, while Hohiro laughed. "You can hardly consider a MechWarrior with three kills to his credit today an inferior, Sun-Tzu. Your 'Mech, as well as the Catapult Ragnar piloted and Zandra's Orion, are well-suited to long-range combat, while Yen-lo-wang is built for infighting."

  "Kai ordered all of us to stay back," Romano's son snarled, "so he could steal the glory of the kills for himself."

  Victor shook his head. "No, Sun-Tzu. Kai placed himself in extreme jeopardy to act as bait for a very well-sprung trap. I should have known better than to lead my lance straight into it. Kai used his personnel in the best possible way, taking the most dangerous jobs for himself. Had Kai not been there, you would have died at my hands."

  Shin bowed his head toward Kai. "I would also note that Kai moves with Yen-lo-wang as though the 'Mech were part of him. I knew, from seeing the Victor tumble, that the Centurion had to be lurking off to the right side of the canyon. Even knowing that, however, I could not follow his movement well enough with my weapons to be able to target him." Grinning at Kai, Shin added, "I am very glad I only have to face you in simulator battles."

  Sun-Tzu snorted derisively, turned on his heel, and stalked off. Kai blushed, then shrugged. 'Thanks for the kind words, guys, but don't forget, this was a unit exercise. My lance beat you, not me. If Zandra, Ragnar, and Sun-Tzu hadn't softened you up ..."

  "Or put us down," Galen interjected hastily.

  "... I'd have been squashed like a bug." Kai looked at each one of the opposition lance members. "All of you are really good. We just got lucky."

  Victor rested his fists on his hips. "Give it up, Kai. Just admit you're damned good, will you?" He looked over at Hohiro, who responded with a begrudging nod. "You smoked us, period. End of sentence."

  "No." Kai held his up hands and waved off the praise. "I'm not that good. I've never been that good. In simulator battles at home on Kestrel or St. Ives, I regularly get my head handed to me."

  Cassandra laughed aloud. "At home, the only person he can beat is me, and he doesn't think that sufficient for bragging." She gave Kai a playful punch in the ribs and Kai blushed.

  Victor shook his head. In his day, Justin Allard proved himself the best MechWarrior in the Successor States by becoming the champion of the Solaris games. And Candace Liao had a brilliant career as a MechWarrior before she left the army and entered government service. It's not that you aren't good, Kai, it's just that the league you played in at home was so superior that you don't dream of how special you really are.

  Victor threw his arm around Kai's shoulders. "If I may be so bold as to speak for the rest of the Inner Sphere, welcome to the world outside the Allard house league. We're sure glad to have you on our side."

  10

  Strana Mechty

  Beyond the Periphery

  2 April 3051

  Having cinched the cooling vest snugly to his chest, Phelan Wolf pulled on his gunbelt and strapped it into place. He let the holster ride down on his right hip and left the ties dangling down toward his boot-top. Unable to suppress a smile, he walked from the locker room and met Natasha Kerensky a short way down the hall.

  She raised an eyebrow. "You look like a Nagelring cadet who's smuggled beer into his dorm room."

  Phelan shrugged. "That is about how I feel. I have been down on Strana Mechty for just about two months and been training like a dog the whole time." He stretched out his arms. "I am in better condition now than ever before, but it is almost two years since I last piloted a 'Mech. It feels like a part of me has been missing."

  Natasha shoved her hands into the small pockets of her c
ooling vest. "I can understand that." She flicked a glance at the gunbelt. "So you're one of those rocket rangers who wears a gun in the cockpit?"

  The younger Mech Warrior blushed. "Yeah. Knowing that Romano Liao would do anything to take a shot at the Kell Hounds, I always felt better when armed. It may be silly to wear it for a workout in a simulator, but if I wear it in the cockpit, I will wear it in the simpod."

  Natasha shook her head. "No simulators."

  "Damn." Phelan frowned and irritation seeped into his voice. "I was looking forward to some 'Mech exercise. I thought that was what we were finally going to do."

  The flame-haired MechWarrior laughed lightly. "No. You misunderstood me. Simulators are for children, so we don't use them. You'll be mounting up in a real 'Mech, an Omni-Mech. This will be like no other ride you've ever had." She planted her hand in the small of his back and gave him a slight push. "Move it. Let's get you saddled up."

  Natasha ushered Phelan into the 'Mech bay, but all the pushing at his back could not budge him once he had stepped into the cavernous room. Towering above him, alien and fearsome, BattleMechs filled the room. Standing ten meters high and massing as much as one hundred tons, the awesome war machines were lined up, rank upon rank, as far as Phelan could see. The gray color scheme favored by the Wolf Clan predominated, but Phelan also saw 'Mechs painted in various camouflage patterns suitable for jungle, arctic, and urban combat.

  Phelan smiled at Natasha. "I'd forgotten how impressive a sight this can be."

  The older MechWarrior gave him a slap on the back. "It's the guys whose breath isn't taken away by this sight who worry me."

  Phelan studied the 'Mechs more closely. "I don't think I've ever seen any like these before. I don't recognize the designs."

  "That's because these are OmniMechs. The designs change according to the mission." She pointed toward one of the smaller, non-humanoid 'Mechs with a cylindrical body and legs canted back like a bird's. Its skinny arms ended in twin muzzles. "That Kit Fox is yours for this first run. Get set up inside and set the radio to channel seventeen. I'll brief you as we head out to the range."

  Phelan ran up the steps to the gantry two at a time and dropped through the hatch topside of the Kit Fox. Standing in the cockpit, he secured the hatch, then looked around for the reactor switch. Wrapping both hands around the red bar, he flipped it down into the "On" position and locked it in place. Beneath him, in the heart of the 'Mech, he felt the thrum of the engine. The lights came on in the cockpit and the computers began their check routines just as they always did, but Phelan sensed something beyond the ordinary in this 'Mech.

  He dropped into the command couch and flipped a button on the console to his right, opening a radio channel to Natasha. "Something's screwy here, Natasha. This 'Mech looks like it masses maybe thirty tons, but the vibrations are those of some monster engine."

  He heard a light laugh crackle back through the speakers. "You're sitting on top of a Starfire XL engine. It's about half the weight of a conventional, but puts out the same amount of power. You've also got an endo-steel skeleton and ferro-fibrous armor, both stronger than normal, if a bit bulkier."

  "In other words, this box I am in is tougher, tighter, and lighter than anything I have ever piloted."

  "In a nutshell. Wait until you bring the weapons on line."

  Before he could do that, though, Phelan knew he must confirm his identity with the computer. That would be the last in a sequence of steps he took to prepare himself to take the BattleMech onto the field. He settled back into the command couch, telling himself to take the procedure one step at a time, lest he forget something because of the long layoff. Drawing in a deep breath, he recalled the litany of things he must do, then started at the top of the list and worked his way down.

  Pheland found the medical monitor patches and cables in a compartment built into the right arm of the command couch. He peeled the backing off each and stuck the patches onto his thighs and shoulders. Taking the cables, he clipped the rounded end to the bead on top of the monitor patch, then snaked the cable through the loops on his cooling vest. He let the connector jacks dangle at his throat.

  Next he removed the cooling vest's cable from the small pouch on the vest's right side. Snapping it into the jack to the side of the command couch, he felt the icy caress of coolant fluid begin to circulate through the vest. Trapped between a layer of goretex on the inside and ballistic cloth on the outside, the coolant would pull heat away from his body during the exercise. That was important because the fusion engine and the various weapons produced enough heat to overwhelm pilots who did not have help in dissipating it.

  Phelan again keyed the radio. "Natasha, I think this cooling vest may be defective. The circulation seems to work fine, but it does not feel as cold as it should. It is probably just old coolant."

  "Negative, Phelan. Your vest is fine. The Clans perfected heat exchangers for their 'Mechs that have roughly double the capability of those you're used to. As a result, the heat output is less. What's more, the coolant in your vest works better and is not poisonous if some of it gets splashed into a wound."

  Phelan let out a low whistle. With machines that ran cooler and could pump out more power, it was little wonder the Clans had fared so well in their invasion of the Inner Sphere. The decreased weight of body, engine, and armor meant these OmniMechs could support more weaponry. With all this special structure, I can't wait to see what I have online for weapons.

  From a shelf above and behind the head of the command couch, Phelan drew down his neurohelmet. It was as bulky and heavy as any he remembered, and he settled it down over the padded collar of his cooling vest. He fidgeted with it until the neuroreceptors were pressed to the right spots on his head, then used the velcro fasteners to secure the helmet to the vest. Finally, he snapped the medical monitor jacks into the plate at his throat and fastened the chinstrap into place.

  Phelan reached out and punched a button on the right side of the command console to start the identification sequence. A computer-generated voice sounded through the neuro-helmet's speakers. "Kit Fox 349287XL3341 online. Proceed with voice identification."

  "I am Phelan Wolf."

  "Voiceprint pattern match obtained. Working ..."

  Panic tightened Phelan's throat. The computer would ask him to complete the initiation sequence by reciting a password of some sort. Because a 'Mech was loaded with specific data about the pilot that owned and used it exclusively, the password was usually personal and nearly impossible to guess. In training cadres, the passwords were general so that anyone could use a training 'Mech. Because no one had given Phelan the codeword for the Kit Fox, he supposed it must be one of those all-purpose ones.

  Worse yet, he could not use the radio during the initiation sequence to ask Natasha for the correct code. If they handle things the way we did in the Kell Hounds, the 'Mech will freeze up and I'll be trapped in here until someone overrides the anti-intruder programming. With my luck, it'll be Vlad who shows up to let me out of this 'Mech. He rested his right hand on his pistol. Well, I can always use this to avoid the embarrassment, though shooting Vlad would be a bit drastic.

  The computer came back with its flat voice, but the cadence and wording of the statement was one hundred percent Natasha. "Complete the initiation sequence, kid, and you only get one shot at this: What was the nastiest 'Mech company in the whole Inner Sphere?"

  "The Black Widow Company."

  "Affirmative. Welcome aboard, Phelan Wolf. Time for you to earn your pay as a MechWarrior."

  Phelan laughed aloud and gave a clap of the hands. The computer shunted power to the weapon systems. The primary and auxiliary monitors filled with data as the computer checked and double-checked all systems. Phelan studied it for a moment, then opened a radio link to Natasha. "What does it mean when the weapons' initialization program says 'Verifying configuration'? That's hardwired into the system, Quiaff?"

  "Neg. These are Omnis, Phelan. The weapon pods on these creatures are
modular. The Kit Fox usually carries lasers, an autocannon, and a short-range missile launcher, but the one you're riding has been dolled up. For one thing, I had arms installed on your Kit Fox this morning because you were used to running around in a Wolfhound. I figured you'd be more at home with this array than any other."

  Phelan glanced over at the auxiliary monitor. Each arm ended in a large laser side by side with medium laser, or so it appeared to Phelan. "Large beamers with mediums riding sidecar, right?"

  "More or less."

  Phelan realized she'd not told him everything, and that Natasha was loving every minute of his wonderment at what the OmniMech had to offer. He grabbed the joysticks on the ends of the command couch arms and used the foot pedals to start the Kit Fox walking forward. "I am ready to go. After you." By concentrating, Phelan managed to move the left arm in a fluid wave toward the far end of the 'Mech bay.

  "Not bad. Are you one hundred percent operational?"

  "Almost." Phelan punched a button on the left side of the command console. Instantly, a targeting display materialized about halfway between him and the rectangular viewport to the outside. Totally computer-generated, it provided a 360-degree view of his surroundings in a 160-degree arc. Gold lines broke the display into a triptych whose center portion displayed his firing arc. Two gold crosshairs floated within the display, responding to Phelan's movement of the joysticks.

  Natasha's 'Mech led the way out of the BattleMech hangar and then south toward a targeting range. Her 'Mech looked akin to his Kit Fox, but the chassis was much larger and appeared to be heavier. Its arms ended in the weapon pods commonly found on a Marauder, lending the BattleMech that general look. In fact, Phelan would have classified it as a Marauder variant, except for the LRM launcher pods mounted on each shoulder. That made it look more like a Catapult..