by R. E. Graham
Lord Ruby wasn't convinced with that answer. "Look, I'm not after makin' you look bad in front of your men. It's more that I would be impressed if you blasted him in spite and were more after revenge than the power he had."
Again, Mikhail wasn’t sure what to say. He had danced himself into a verbal trap. The servant girl returned with the drinks just in time to cause a distraction.
“Thank you!” Redbeard said enthusiastically as he swiped his big glass of ale from the girl’s tray.
Deimos gripped the handle as the servant handed it to him and he and Redbeard knocked their drinks together. In an instant both downed the entire stout and laughed together.
“I’ll get you both another round,” the girl said after she set the water for Mikhail down on the table in front of him.
“So, where do you come from?” Lord Ruby asked his fellow lord.
“From Destiny.”
“Gah, not much of a world from what I’ve heard.”
Mikhail smacked his lips trying to keep the surge of anger in him from spilling out. “No, it isn’t the best. Not like a Paradiso or something. But it has its own charm.”
“Ah, speaking of Paradiso. What happened on your raid that got that senator killed?”
“How did you know about that?” Mikhail asked as his eyes narrowed some.
"My man who was in my place last time told me you were here on Dusk. He mentioned that you were trying to get the other lords to join in on some crazy attack plan."
“Oh, right,” Lord Onyx said as he scourged himself internally for asking a question that sounded accusatory.
“What do you plan to do now that the Lawman is dead? Are you worried about the Republic coming after you?”
Deimos eyed his lord but looked away not wanting him to feel awkward.
At this point in the conversation, Mikhail was reaching his limit. He stood up from the table and wiped his jacket off.
“Where are you going? I was only tryin’ to be friendly?” Redbeard asked as he displayed a look of concern and shock.
“With the meeting concluded, we must be off. There is a lot of work to tend to,” Lord Onyx said as Deimos too stood up.
“Alright, well just remember, you don’t want to get caught out in the rain of fire.”
Wait, “the rain of fire”…
Mikhail spun back around at an alarming rate. “What did you say?”
Redbeard was kinda surprised by the question and chuckled. “It’s a phrase from Frost. Basically, it means if you see problems coming, it’s best to get inside where it’s safe.”
Is this just a coincidence?
With his mind racing as he thought about whether or not he was still dreaming, Mikhail noticed that Redbeard and Deimos were staring at him awkwardly.
“Ah, I see. Have a safe trip back to your realm, Lord,” Lord Onyx said as he turned back and made a beeline for the door.
Hern tapped Jole on the arm as he spotted his Lord leaving. The four bodyguards stood up and quickly caught up to him.
Many men and women of the various branches were laughing or stuffing their faces with food. The noise was unable to pierce Mikhail’s mind as he replayed the memory of the being in his room.
“Listen for the rain of fire.” What does that even mean? Do I have to watch out for Redbeard? This is so strange…am I goin’ crazy?
Chapter 9
Cycle: 434 Month: 3 Day: 25
Outer Rim Colonial Alliance Space
Planet: Ko’Bac
Location: Onyx Headquarters
Skarr Sarius worked as fast as he could down in the repair bay. He was working feverishly on a beat-up Goblin that had been recovered from Destiny. Originally it had been one of the mechs deployed by the Onyx forces, but the pilot was tragically killed in combat. Cleaning out the cockpit had not been one of Skarr’s fonder memories.
To his surprise, the machine had held up well in the battle. Some of the other techs commented that she must have been two decades old, but Skarr saw the potential in her.
Right now, though, all that mattered was Finishing up his list of tasks today so that he could wrap up his shift. He had heard from some of the other mechanics that today there was going to be an open opportunity for anyone and everyone on base to try out to become a mech pilot. Hands down there was nothing he wanted more in life.
His boss, despite being the master tech that oversaw the repair of the WarMechs, actually didn’t care very much for the jocks themselves. When Skarr had approached him to be permitted to leave early so that he could attend the tryout he had laughed in his face and just walked away.
It didn’t matter to Skarr, he was going one way or another.
I’m not going to get stuck working in this shop for the rest of my damned life!
He checked the timekeeper on his wrist and knew he was already one hour late to the tryout. With renewed energy, his hands danced as he reattached the internal parts for the hunchbacked mech's right plasma slinger.
“Yow!” he exclaimed as his finger got pinched in his frantic speed.
Skarr shook his hand to dull the pain. His heart was beating faster and faster as the sensation of anxiousness overtook him.
This is taking too long. I…I gotta go. This may be my only chance.
He carefully checked around him and noticed there was no sign of the master tech. Sparks shot out from a recently painted tan Sierra as one of his friends worked diligently.
Skarr nodded to himself and pulled together the courage to act. He closed up the mech’s weapon and threw the rest of his tools into the bag beside him. Still trying to cautiously check around he took the bag and descended the metal repair gantry and placed his tools in his locker.
Once he was clear of the hangar, he went into a full sprint toward the test location. As he got closer, he could hear an intense volume of cheering. A massive crowd had gathered to watch the tryouts on huge screens mounted on either side of the walls. The testing ground was set up in the warehouse that was attached to the main building of the base. Typically it was vacant, but not today.
Skarr hadn’t been to this place much, but he had once seen the training pods stored off in the corner. They had been moved out to the center of the room with barriers set up for those taking the test to wait within for their turn. A large hand-written sign that read “Sign Up Here” was secured to a stand in front of a long gray folding table.
The pirate assigned to the sign-up station was busy watching the ongoing fight. Skarr took a moment to watch as a simulated Enforcer and Hunter squared off. From what he could recall in his memory, that matchup wasn't exactly even. Depending on circumstances the Hunter would perform much better at close range while the Enforcer was more for medium range.
“Come on you big bastard!” someone yelled off to the right.
The Enforcer looked like it was in bad shape, and the Hunter was closing in for the kill. A massive claw locked into place over the Hunter’s right arm and it charged forward, preparing to gouge deep wounds from its enemy’s armor.
Moving to the left, the Enforcer triggered a shot from its massive scattergun. The attack smacked the Hunter in the right shoulder, destroying the limb and sending it flying. Before the arm even had landed on the simulated ground, the Enforcer fired another round from its scattergun blasting the smaller mech in the hip so hard that it twisted and fell over.
The crowd erupted into even louder cheering at the surprise in the battle. Skarr too also felt a rush as the Enforcer slowly stomped up to its opponent and stomped down on the Hunter’s back. Both of the screens went dark as the fight was ended.
Finally realizing Skarr was standing there, the pirate at the sign-up station cocked his head to the side. “You lookin’ to tryout boy?”
“Yessir I am,” the young mechanic said enthusiastically.
“Cuttin’ it a little close, eh?” the older man asked rhetorically as he knelt down to retrieve his tablet. “They were just about to do the last match.”
“Ha
d some work to take care of. Do I need to fill something out?”
"Woah now. Easy. Yes, you need to fill out this document, and then you can head in."
Skarr accepted the electronic device and quickly began entering in his information.
“Next up, we have Mariah Glade in a Sierra versus Lawrence Gatoe in an Arbalest!” a male voice said over the speaker system.
Some of the nearby pirates began to place bets on which of the pilots they thought would win. Many of which were leaning toward the Arbalest as it was a much heavier design compared to the Sierra. Skarr had to fight to keep his mind focused instead of getting caught up in the moment. The energy in the room was intoxicating to him, but he managed to complete the multi-paged document.
He handed the tablet back to the pirate who then nodded as he checked to make sure it was filled out.
“You can enter up over there,” the older man said gesturing to a chain that ran from two posts.
Skarr almost bolted over to the other waiting pirate but decided that he needed to remain calm and just walk over.
"You here to try out?" the man asked before he noticed the older pirate waving him through from back at the table.
The guard unhooked the chain and allowed the mechanic to enter.
“Wait over there,” he said pointing at an empty area.
Skarr strolled over to the waiting spot and crossed his arms. He watched as the guard made his way over to a stern looking woman. She glanced over to the waiting participant then nodded back at the guard who later returned to his station.
That must be the Major…
He didn’t know much about the commanding officer for the mechs on the Midnight. But he knew enough from the rumors. It was rumored that she once cut off a man’s ear because he touched her wrong. Regardless, Skarr figured it was best to stay on her good side.
A loud siren wailed as the next match counted down on the screens above the gathered observers. The mechanic spotted a group of people off to the side within the barriers. One man was walking away with his head low.
He must have been the one who just lost.
The posted rules for the event were simple. Anyone who wanted to try out could and everyone got one chance to advance. Only the winners got to move up in the process.
As a young boy, he had an opportunity to play some mech simulators in arcades on his homeworld, Eon. While he wasn't always the best at the games, he still got the biggest thrill from them. He tried to recall what he could about how to operate them from those old games and suddenly got very nervous.
What if I bomb this? What if I fail cause I don’t even know how to pilot one?
His mind began to race as the fight between the next match unfolded. The mechs were placed in a city landscape. Buildings towered over both of the deadly machines giving the Arbalest a much easier chance at victory. Almost as if she knew she was going to have a harder time, Mariah throttled up her Sierra and charged forward through the city toward her opponent.
The Arbalest remained in place as the pirate looked around his sim cockpit for the button to disengage the drones connected to his mech's back. One of the elements that made the Republic designed WarMech so vicious was that it came with two hover drones that would act as spotters for the parent machine. This allowed the Arbalest to fire its primary weapon, Zephyr Strike Missiles, up and over blocking terrain.
Even Skarr knew that this fight was anything but balanced, but if the Sierra could get close enough to make those drones useless, maybe Mariah would stand some glimmer of hope. Otherwise, if the Arbalest could remain at long range, it would only be a matter of time before she was hit and her mech destroyed.
The Sierra launched itself up and over a cluster of buildings with its jumper pack. It landed hard, but it was quite the move for an inexperienced operator to do.
Skarr noticed Major Wer off with the other winners and saw that she nodded then whispered something into another man’s ear. He thought he recognized the other man as being one of the other pilots that survived the recent fight on Destiny.
Some of the pirates in the crowd began to boo as the Arbalest just stood there.
“What in the void is he thinkin’?!”
“Come on man, I got two hundred on this!”
“What a loser!”
Finally, one of the drones broke off and began to hover in place. It headed off into the city on the right while the Arbalest started to move to the left. The Sierra corrected its course and continued to advance straight for the bigger WarMech.
Man, she must be crazy!
The Sierra again used its jumper pack to lift up over the city, bringing it ever closer to her opponent.
Skarr realized that there were multiple screens off to his left that showed more angles of the action, along with two that displayed the inside of the sim cockpits. The female pilot seemed to be entirely at ease while Lawrence looked sweaty and a little uneasy.
A loud rumble filled the warehouse as the Sierra landed on top of a five-story apartment complex. Many of the pirates out in the viewing area cheered as Mariah fired her mech’s cannon. The shot missed the Arbalest but blew a chunk out of a building beside it. Simulated glass shattered and fell to the ground as a big puff of smoke belched out of the structure.
Lawrence hid his mech behind a building as he fought with his controls. The drone moved into the open on the street behind the Sierra and used its TAC laser to lock onto the enemy mech.
The Arbalest pilot wasted no time in launching two anti-armor missiles into the air. They shot up above the buildings then instantly used microjets to re-angle themselves forward.
Mariah cursed as she boosted her mech off the building and crashed its right shoulder into a different building as she avoided both of the missiles. A tremendous explosion from the missed attack leveled a structure behind the Sierra.
“Come on boy. Finish her off!” one of the other pirates watching the fight shouted.
Skarr didn't honestly give a care who won. He just wanted his own chance to try out.
The drone moved up the streets trying to get a new lock onto the smaller mech. To the crowds’ surprise, the Sierra burst onto the street and fired two shots from its cannon arm. The first round gouged a deep hole in the road while the other blasted the small drone to bits.
Now with the spotter out of the way, Mariah twisted her mech back around. The Arbalest’s pilot was launching his last remaining drone when the Sierra began heading toward him.
Mariah sprinted her mech down the main street as fast as she could. In a straight race, the Sierra would always win against the lumbering heavier mech. Due to the city’s layout though, the obstacles created hinderances for the smaller machine to overcome.
The drone whizzed around some of the buildings as the Arbalest continued to try and put distance between its opponent. Mariah once more jumped up in the air and landed on a different building. Instead of firing though, she began to jump from structure to structure.
Skarr was surprised at how well Mariah piloted the WarMech, and he began to wonder if she already was trained to be a jock. Lawrence grinned as the drone confirmed a new lock on his enemy and he twisted his WarMech to the right and fired two more missiles.
Mariah fought with her controls to bring the Sierra to a stop as it landed on a ten-story building. The structure shook as the mech crunched down on top of it. As the missiles closed in the Sierra took two steps backward and fell from the roof. Mariah activated the jumper pack in time to safely land on the ground below when the missiles hit the top of the structure where she had just been standing. Chunks of material exploded in every direction as it rained down on the city.
Lawrence’s grin vanished the moment he saw that his opponent was still in the fight. As the Sierra rushed down a new street, she found the last drone trying to get into a different position. She triggered her mech’s machine gun that was mounted on its left arm. The bullets riddled the small machine into pieces.
Once more the crowd cheere
d at how the fight continued to change from a sure thing of the Arbalest winning to the Sierra having a real chance.
“Stand and fight me,” Mariah said over the open channel, her voice echoing throughout the warehouse.
Realizing that there was no point in running any further, Lawrence brought his mech to a halt and slowly spun it around. He moved onto a wide opened street as the Sierra did the same.
A hush fell onto those gathered as they watched the two mechs stare each other down. The Arbalest was the first to make a move as it fired its two beam cannons beneath its "nose." Both of the emerald colored lasers burned into the Sierra’s right elbow lancing off the gun from its arm.
Skarr thought the fight would be over right there since Mariah’s mech had now lost its primary weapon. The female contestant though was not ready to give up. She fired all five of her buster missiles as she began to charge.
Lawrence saw the incoming missiles and started to freak out. He fired several of his own strike missiles at his target as his machine was rocked by the deadly attack. The Arbalest’s left missile pod was destroyed while its chest and right leg were severely injured.
Before the smoke had even cleared, Lawrence was trying to back his mech up out to give him some space. He checked his radar to see if his enemy was still alive when the Sierra crashed down next to his own mech.
“No you don’t!” he shouted.
He twisted his mech to the left and fired his beam cannon prematurely, narrowly missing Mariah. With no ranged weapon that could really harm the Arbalest, the Sierra’s combat knife on its left arm flipped down and locked into place.
Mariah boosted forward and made a desperate go at the larger mech's right leg, creating a huge gouge in its already damaged knee. The Arbalest crashed on the road hard, crushing its remaining missile launcher arm.
You would have thought the crowd lost their mind as they cheered so loud that the sound of the Sierra stomping onto the downed mech was drowned out.
