Текст книги " Lethal Heritage "
Автор книги: Michael A. Stackpole
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Deirdre stared at him incredulously. "They'll kill us. I thought you wanted to surrender."
Kai's voice came hard and even. "I will do whatever it takes to survive, but I also have obligations and duties to perform. Sergeant Detloff and his people died because I ordered them into dangerous territory to blow the gap. If I surrender, if I do nothing, these super-'Mechs will sweep through, destroy the refugees fleeing from the hospital area, and then will fall on our lines from the rear."
His voice softened slightly, but its intensity did not diminish. "I regret getting you into this. I don't expect you to understand why all this is happening, but I want you to know it's the only way. Before this is over, my hands will be stained with more blood, but better their blood on my hands, then the blood of my friends on theirs."
The radio crackled with a reply to his message. "I am Star Colonel Adler Malthus in command of the Falcon Guards." A 'Mech of the style the computer labeled as a Thorstepped forward from the Guards' line. It raised both of its handless arms above its blocky head and crossed the muzzles of its autocannon and PPC. A second or two later, all the other 'Mechs in the company mimicked the gesture, then again aped their leader as he brought the Thor'sarms back down. "We salute you, Kai Allard-Liao, and assure you that your bravery will live long in the hearts and minds of your conquerors."
Kai laughed lightly as he reopened his comlink. "And I assure you, the memory of your valor will become a story known far and wide through the Successor States." Shutting down the line, he turned to Deirdre. "When he gets within arm's-reach, start pulling—now, Doctor, do it now!"
The Thormarched forward like a butcher at a slaughterhouse. It raised the PPC that made up its right forearm for a blow that would crush the Hatchetman,but Kai sidestepped the attack. He brought the hatchet up into the Thor'sright armpit. For. a half-second, Kai thought the resulting shower of sparks merely the reflection of those filling the rear of the cockpit, but armor raining down showed how much damage he had truly done. Son of a bitch, this thing really works.
Instantly, a hollow voice reminded him of how inappropriate self-confidence had doomed him in the Academy's La Manchia scenario. Behind him, Deirdre shouted "Clear!" and a wave of heat turned the closed cockpit into a blast furnace. His right hand slammed down on the blue button, then he crossed his fingers and prayed.
The Thorhad raised both its arms and clapped them together to crush the Hatchetman'shead between them like some bloated mosquito. Argent fire encircled the 'Mech's neck before the Thor'sheavy limbs could converge, then the whole cockpit assembly popped upward like a springloaded piece from a child's toy. Secondary rockets ignited, their golden spear of flame impaling the Thor'ssquat head, and shot the Hatchetman'shead halfway to the shoulders of the Great Gash.
Down below, no longer contained by the magnetic fields that had been destroyed when Deirdre lobotomized the control computer, the Hatchetman'sfusion engine exploded. Searing white plasma shot from every joint, then melted through the 'Mech's tattered armor flesh. It engulfed and swallowed the Thor'sarms, then the roiling energy storm convulsed and tore itself apart in a hideous elemental explosion.
The tremendous Shockwave touched off the pentaglycerine buried deep in the Gash's walls. Every twenty meters up and out from the detonation's epicenter, smaller bursts sprayed rock and fire across the canyon. Each wave of explosions triggered the next in a staccato succession that pelted the Falcon Guards with stone shards. Even as the Hatchetman'shead rose through the Gash itself, the racing thunderstrikes buffeted the armored shell. One huge chunk of rock smashed into the cockpit viewport, cracking the glass and peppering Kai's bare thighs with crystalline needles.
Suddenly the explosions stopped and their echoes faded. Kai, seeing the Gash's crack-riddled walls still standing tall, feared the pentaglycerine had failed its task. Yet, as he tried to think of a way to redirect the escape pod at the walls to crash into them and start a chain reaction, a deep, terrible roar rose up to fill the debris-littered mountain pass. A few pieces of rock at the tallest point leaned forward and slowly fell, tumbling end over end toward the ground. More followed, then the canyon walls buckled in the middle and rock flowed like water to fill and obliterate the Great Gash.
Jump-capable BattleMechs leaped toward the sky, but huge plates of black rock smashed them back down to the earth. Boulders careened through the canyon, scattering 'Mechs like toys before a child's tantrum. Jagged-edged dolmen sliced through 'Mechs like knives, then themselves were blown into fragments and dust by the resulting fusion-engine explosions. Thick black clouds choked what had once been the only pass through the mountains and settled like a black shroud over the Falcon Guards' mass grave.
Horrified by the sight, and shaken at having caused it, Kai shut off the screens where his scanners were toting up, 'Mech by broken 'Mech, the damage done. Oblivious to the pain in his bloodstreaked legs and conscious of only the sobbing sounds behind him, he waited for the pod's rocket motor to burn out, then popped the parachute and looked for a landing spot as far away as possible from the Great Gash.
37
Plain of Curtains, Twycross
Tamar March, Lyran Commonwealth
10 September 3050
The invaders own the Gash!That realization sent a jolt of adrenaline through Victor's system. Vowing silently that the weeks of planning on Sudeten would not be in vain, he banished defeat from his mind.
He put out a quick call to Colonel Allard. "Colonel, please don't pull me out." With his left hand, Victor typed a request for information into his tactical computer and watched the data scrolling up his primary monitor. "Commit the Excelsior,the Triumph,the Catamount,and the Lughto Sector 0227. Have them hold the Falcons as long as they can."
Shock and surprise filled Milstein's voice as he overrode the frequency. "Colonel, those are the DropShips committed to evacuating our troops. The Excelsioris meant solely to pull Victor out of here. I can't allow any other use of those ships!"
Victor refused to surrender. "If we don't commit them, they won't have anything to pick up."
"Colonel Allard, countermand this order," Milstein hissed. "You are his superior officer. I don't know who he thinks he is, but he is not his father!"
Victor snarled furiously. "You idiot! I'm not trying to be my father." I'm trying to be something more."This is our only chance to salvage this operation."
The static created by laserfire popped through Victor's neurohelmet as Daniel Allard spoke. "Can it, gentlemen. There's a fight going on here. Milstein, commit the ships."
"Colonel Allard, I must remind you that my duty is to ensure that the Prince's son be safe."
Dan's voice came back cold and hard. "Then I suggest you get your ass in a 'Mech and get the hell down here, because all your radio calls are doing is distracting my officer. Have the DropShips hold 0227."
Victor studied the tactical map of the area that Dan shot over to his 'Mech. In an instant, he confirmed the soundness of what the mercenary leader had already decided on for strategy. Dan had selected one of Kai's contingency plans for the assault. He punched a button that sent the map data to Galen and the rest of the Guards. This just might work.
Over the tactical frequency, Dan's voice was strong and confident. "Akira, pull your right flank back and push the left flank forward. We have to commit the Second Regiment to turn the whole Clan formation."
"Got it. We'll wheel the Clans back into the opening to the Gash so their reinforcements will have to fight their way past their own people to get at us. Did you copy that, Scott?"
"Roger. I drop down to cap the valley and roll up their edges. ETA, ten minutes and counting down, now!"
"Good, Victor, I'm committing the Tenth Lyran to shore up Akira's right flank."
Victor felt the sour fear of being left out drain away. "Roger. What about the Ninth F-C?"
"Three-quarters of an hour until they step free of the storm. We can't contact them until then. I don't like it, but we have to do this by ourselves."
Victor nodded grimly. "They can be our ace in the hole if the DropShips don't stop the Falcons at the Gash."
"Let's hope we don't need them," Dan said.
"Roger ... and Colonel, thanks for the chance."
A low chuckle echoed through Victor's neurohelmet. "Just don't get your butt shot off, Victor! The paperwork would kill me."
"Wilco, Colonel. Davion out." Victor switched to the
Lyran Guards' tactical frequency. "Alpha Battalion on me. Kommandants, bring Bravo and Charlie up to form our center and left flank respectively. Charlie, you'll be cheek to cheek with the Hounds' First Regiment. We hit, then give ground slowly to allow the Hounds to pull back to the west Give better than you get and we'll all survive this."
Standing fourteen meters tall and with an autocannon muzzle where its right forearm should have been, Davion's Victorstrode down from the hills and led the Tenth Lyran Guards into the mouth of hell. Sand curtains swirled like veils in some exotic dance, hiding some things and providing tantalizing glimpses of others. Wondering what dangers lurked within the boiling sandstorm, Victor barely heard the rasp of sand against his 'Mech's face.
The first Jade Falcon appeared on his right as if by magic. The Shadow Hawkhad already marched halfway past when its pilot noticed Victor and began to bring his 'Mech about. Victor raised the assault 'Mech's right arm and stabbed the autocannon muzzle toward the Shadow Hawk'ssquare faceplate. The muzzle flash erased the image of the 'Mech's head from Victor's sight, and the depleted-uranium shells blowing through it matched form to image. The decapitated Shadow Hawkdropped backward and vanished within the black folds of a sand curtain.
All around him, Victor witnessed brutal slices of the battle. A Lyran Quickdraw,its right arm dangling by the twisted cord of a myomer muscle, stumbled past him. Like a wild animal on a blood trail, the pursuing Falcon Riflemanclomped through the battlefield, its sensor wing whirling madly to collect whatever data it could. It stopped and turned its weapons on Victor, twin autocannon pumping shells into his 'Mech's chest.
The Victor'sbattlecomputer redrew its own outline on the auxiliary monitor, adding glowing yellow spots to represent the damage. Davion ignored it and dropped his targeting crosshairs onto the Rifleman'sblocky body. The autocannon's high-speed whine filled the cockpit as a stream of projectiles shredded the Falcon's right-shoulder armor. Sparks and flames shot out of the joint in blues and greens, and the arm ceased to move, frozen as it pointed straight ahead.
Victor stepped his war machine closer, putting it well inside the Rifleman'sability to bring guns to bear. He chopped the victor'sleft hand down on the Rifleman'sright shoulder. The blow crushed ferro-ceramic armor to dust. More sparks shot out as the shoulder ground downward, then the whole limb twisted away and fell to the ground.
The Riflemanpilot backed up bis machine half a step, then twisted to bring the left arm's guns to bear on Victor. As he did so, Galen Cox's Crusaderstepped through a wall of blowing sand, grabbed the guns in both of his 'Mech's hands, and cranked them up into the air. The Rifleman'sshots from both the large laser and autocannon passed well over Victor's head.
The Crusader'shands pushed and pulled in different directions. With a metallic scream audible even through the howling storm, the gun barrels twisted out of alignment. The Victorpointed its autocannon at the Rifleman'sright leg, and the Prince thumbed the trigger button. The autocannon shells peeled the armor off the Falcon 'Mech's knee, then blew through the titano-magnesium bones. The Riflemanlurched to the right, then fell on its side and rolled over onto its face.
Victor made his 'Mech throw Galen a salute, then turned and moved on in search of more prey. As the afternoon became evening, he continued to hunt successfully. As evening became night, his autocannon exhausted its ammunition and the battle left gaping rents in his armor until there was no one left to fight.
Galen glanced down at his noteputer. "As nearly as we can figure out, the Falcon commander knew something was up when their reinforcements did not come through the Gash. She issued the order to pull her people back so they could slip out of the Plain as evening came on. They did not expect to run into the Ninth F-C and so lost a few 'Mechs there. The Ninth is still pursuing the rest of them, but those damned 'Mechs run very cool, so they're stretching out the range on our people."
Victor nodded. "Yeah, there's no denying they run cool. I've already had a preliminary report on a heat sink taken from one of their machines. They have some sort of doublechambered heat exchanger and a fluid with a thermal retention factor that's seven-tenths of air itself! The Techs think those units, which are about the size of our own heat sinks, probably are 150 to 200 percent more efficient than ours."
"Hard to believe we beat them after seeing what they had going for them," Galen agreed. "The prisoners seem rather shocked at the defeat, too, but they've adapted. Mostly they want to know the name of our Clan so they know to whom they owe their allegiance." Cox laughed lightly. "The guards couldn't decide if we were the Clan Davion or Steiner, so they settled on Victor."
Victor sighed heavily. "Just remind everyone to treat them kindly. We don't know when the tables will be turned. Hey, do you think that's them?"
The walls of Victor's tent began vibrating back and forth as the sound of a helicopter whooped through them. Davion shot to his feet, dumping his wood and canvas campaign chair over on its back. Galen's own grin mirrored the smile spreading over Victor's face. Outside, a general cheer and applause rose up, then the tent flap opened.
Kai Allard, his face beet-red, stepped stiffly in, then held open the flap for Deirdre Lear. After she entered the tent, he let it fall shut again and pivoted awkwardly on bandage-swathed legs. He snapped to attention and saluted Victor. Davion returned the salute, then embraced his friend in a back-slapping hug. "You don't know how happy I was when the search and rescue team reported finding you." I really thought I'd sent you out to die, my friend.
Victor took a step back and offered Deirdre his hand. "I'm glad you were with him, Doctor, to take care of his wounds."
"I was pleased to be of service, but if I can avoid accompanying a 'Mech into battle again, I will."
Though puzzled by her vehemence, Victor knew this was not the time or place to probe it further. "Please, be seated." He waved his two guests to chairs. "Kai, when I sent you over to the Gash, I only expected you to report, not win the war all by yourself."
Deirdre slipped into a chair, but Kai remained standing. "Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir."
Something in Kai's voice and eyes hit Victor as all wrong. He's sounding like he did back at NAMA. What the hell is going on here?"Kai, we've been friends for too long for you to be calling me sir, and I recognize that tone in your voice. What is it?"
Kai swallowed hard. "I've given this a lot of thought, Victor. I'm resigning my commission, effective immediately."
Victor looked over at Galen and then at Deirdre, whose faces reflected his own look of shock. "What are you talking about? You just single-handedly saved our expeditionary force. You're going to have to hire someone to follow you around wearing an extra jacket to display all the medals you'll get out of this. Hell, there aren't enough honors in the Inner Sphere to reward what you've done."
The wounded Mech Warrior held up his hand to stop Victor. "Highness, I appreciate more than you know those kind words, but all that is meaningless. You'll be able to read it in my report, but I'll give it to you in the short form now. Not only did I recklessly endanger Dr. Lear, but I issued unsatisfactory orders to one of the demolition teams. I foolishly imagined that the half-dozen armored infantry in the hospital area were the only ones in the hills. I sent some of our men back up to blow the gap, then I engaged another twenty or thirty of the armored Falcons in my Hatchetman.I knew there had to be even more of them somewhere, but I didn't try to warn Detloff or his people. The Falcons slaughtered them."
He turned to Deirdre. "Ask her. She was there. She'll tell you." Kai lowered his eyes, his face flushed with shame. "I as good as murdered those men, Victor. I should have known better. I didknow better, and I did nothing to save them. I deserve a court martial, not a medal."
Victor looked at Deirdre. "Well, Doctor, is it as he said? Did he murder those men?"
Conflicting emotions washed over Lear's face as she seemed to struggle for an answer. She glanced at Kai, then looked down at her own hands and interlaced fingers. When her head came up, though, she gazed at Victor without flinching. "No, he did not," she said. 'Those men were already dead. If he had not organized them and organized the evacuation of the hospital, everyone would have died. At least, in the mountains, they were able to die as men."
Victor glanced over at Kai. "You need time to think this over. Galen, take Leftenant Allard to the hospital."
Deirdre got up and started to follow them, but Victor placed a hand on her forearm and held her back. "Please, Doctor, wait a moment."
"As you wish, Highness." She lowered herself into her chair again. "Is there something I can do for you?"
Victor nodded slightly. "Kai is a good friend of mine, and I want to see things go well for him. He has never been a bastion of self-confidence, and as you just witnessed, he is overly harsh in judging himself. Even if he does not resign from the AFFC, he will never again order men into that sort of dangerous situation without more intelligence and more help for them."
Her eyes went cold and her voice was arctic. "What has this to do with me?"
"All right, Doctor," Victor said, putting an edge to his own voice. "You could tell me that this is none of my business, but I won't accept that. Consider it the meddling of a privileged noble or the arrogance of a Mech Warrior—I don't care. What I do care about is my friend. The friction between you two is so obvious, but he's never done anything to you. Why do you hate him?"
She opened her mouth, then stopped abruptly and looked at the ground. "I am a doctor. It's my job, my vocation, to succor the injured. I hate war and warriors because of the destruction they cause ..."
"Yet you've become part of the Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth." Davion shook his head. "Why?"
Deirdre exhaled sharply, set her shoulders, and stood up. "I joined the AFFC to show my family and my friends that I can be loyal to your father and the state you will inherit. I joined because my family owed a debt to the Federated Suns and I was and still am determined to pay off that debt." She matched Victor's hard stare. "I joined because I will do anything I can to reverse the horrors for which you hand out medals."
Victor ground his teeth, but he kept his temper in check. "All right, I'll give you that, but we should save the discussion of why war is necessary for another time. Just answer me this, then you can go. Why do you hate Kai?"
"That's easy to explain." A cruel smile twisted up the corners of her mouth. "Let me ask you this, Highness. How might you expect me to feel about the son of the man who murdered my father?"
38
Invasion Command, Wolcott
Pesht Military District, Draconis Combine
2 October 3050
Shin Yodama gave Hohiro Kurita a confident smile and a wink as the Kanrei's son opened a widebeam broadcast to the DropShips sliding into orbit around Wolcott. "Konnichi wa,Smoke Jaguars! I am Hohiro Kurita, supreme commander of the forces defending Wolcott. I learned something of your customs while enjoying your hospitality on Turtle Bay, as did my aide, who assisted my escape from that world. To show that we are not total barbarians, I ask you how much force you intend to use in this attack so I may decide which of my resources I shall devote to repulsing your attack."
Standing behind Hohiro near the windows of the command post, Kanrei Theodore Kurita watched his son with obvious pride. He caught Shin's gaze, shared his smile, then turned to look out the large windows. Just barely visible above the horizon to the east, a red-orange ball was rising into the night sky. Two small black dots moved slowly across its shining face. Following them, its silhouette like an arrow, one of the Clan JumpShips came into view.
Shin frowned. It was too much to hope that after Turtle Bay they would not bring one of their warships into a battle. All his people's careful planning and hard work would be worthless if the invaders decided to scour the planet's surface with the weaponry bristling on that battlewagon.
The crackle of a response over the radio turned Shin to face the speaker mounted high on the wall. "I am Galaxy Commander Dietr Osis. I fear you have drawn incorrect conclusions from your observations of us, Hohiro Kurita. We have come to take the planet and make it our own, and so we do not require you to bargain away your strength ..."
"Come now, Galaxy Commander," Hohiro responded quickly. "You know that things could get nasty down here. I must, of course, defend this world against you, but I don't wish to lose more men than is absolutely necessary. As a fellow warrior, you can understand that. I desire to know how much force you will use in your attack so I can allocate my forces accordingly."
Utter disbelief underscored Osis's reply. "Are you saying you will not commit everything you have in defense of Wolcott? You are willing to use only part of your forces in a battle to decide who will own this world?"
A smile spread across Hohiro's face, but he kept his voice neutral. "I see that you understand my proposition precisely. I will, as has been our custom, forward to you the service records and history of my units. It will not take you long to see that I have cobbled them together from the dregs of our society. Mind you, they have all volunteered to serve, but bold heart alone does not a Mech Warrior make. Yes, I am prepared to use only part of my forces to defend Wolcott, provided the details can be worked out."
"Details? Please elaborate."
Hohiro glanced out the window at the JumpShip's silhouette. "You will attempt to conquer this world, a great prize should you win. I, on the other hand, battle for no special prize."
Osis's reply came back warily. "I could offer a promise of no further attempts at conquering your world if you defeat me." The tone of his voice left no doubt in Shin's mind that the Clansman believed Wolcott's sun would go nova before that ever happened.
"I appreciate the gesture," Hohiro sighed, "but such a promise would bind only you. Upon your death or demotion, another attack would follow almost immediately, and certainly without the civility you now show. I had hoped for something more concrete if we defeat you."
"Such as?"
Hohiro crossed his fingers. "Four of your frontline BattleMechs and two dozen of your power-armored suits."
The Galaxy Commander barked a sharp laugh. "Out of the question!"
"Why is that?" Hohiro asked in an offended tone. "You yourself believe the chances of my victory are non-existent. After the battle, when I again escape your custody and make my way back to my own people, I will need an explanation of my actions to save my reputation. Capturing some of your war material is an important enough goal that my superiors will understand my gamble. The least you can do is honor me with the illusion that I am a threat worthy of such an exchange."
The radio fell silent for fifteen to twenty seconds, then Osis's voice returned. His answer came slowly as though he knew he would later regret his words. "Very well. If you defeat me, I will see that you receive four of our BattleMechs and two dozen suits of battle armor. I also promise that Wolcott will retain its independence if we are defeated. As for the force I will use, I tell you that it will total no more than roughly half of whatever force you offer."
Shin narrowed his eyes. With their increased firepower, that should make them about even with us in sheer destructive capabilities. By controlling the battlefield and using terrain to our advantage, we have a shot at defeating them.
Hohiro, his smile becoming a wide grin, nodded slowly. "It is a pleasure to deal with such a reasonable and honorable man. I will meet you at the head of the Yuutsu—the Blue Devils—in the numachi no tanimadistrict fifteen myriameters north of my current position. In four hours? My technicians will transmit the files on the Blue Devils immediately. I will be using both regiments."
"Four hours, then."
"And Commander, don't worry," Hohiro added in one final barb. "If you survive a defeat, I will treat you better than your people treated me."
Hohiro punched a button, immediately cutting off the microphone. He turned to his father. "Well, what do you think?"
Theodore crossed to his son and rested both his hands on Hohiro's shoulders. "You did very well, my son. Osis will be uneasy, wondering if he has been manipulated, and angry at your affront. That should provide him with some serious distractions."
The Kanrei looked at Shin. "Chu-sa,if you would be so kind ..."
Shin stood at attention. "Kanrei?"
"Please radio Tai-saNarimasa Asano and tell him we will join his newly christened Blue Devils in Swamp Valley shortly." Theodore smiled wolfishly. "In four hours, we will hand the invaders the first of many bloody defeats."
With mist rising from its brackish water and its thick, vine-laden mangrove forests, Swamp Valley reminded Shin of some demon-haunted domain from the terror tales he had listened to as avidly as a child. Gasses bubbled up in great roiling burps, bringing up viscous black sludge. Reptiles, propelled by the slow undulation of their armored tails, swam through the swamp as though resentful of this invasion but secretly waiting for men to leave their metal shells and become dinner.
With his new Phoenix Hawkstanding next to Hohiro's Trebuchetand Narimasa Asano's Crusader,Shin studied the modifications to the battlefield, which were certain to distract and confuse the invaders. Within the swamp's leafy green canopy, thousands of metallic streamers hung like tinsel on a Christian Christmas tree. Shimmering silver and gold, the streamers contained just enough metal to make the whole forest magscan as though it were made of steel, effectively hiding the army of 'Mechs waiting within its dark heart.
To further conceal the Genyosha 'Mechs, the warriors had been ordered to shut down the heat exchangers in the torsos and arms of their machines. The only heat sinks left operating were those in the legs. Submerged in the swamp water, they were more than able to dissipate the heat generated by an idling fusion engine. Aside from raising the infrared output for the swamp in general, that precaution made the 'Mechs virtually invisible to heat scans.
All the 'Mechs have been painted with a camouflage pattern that makes them difficult to see in the swamps, and the radar jammers will take that scanning mode away from them.Shin looked through the swamp to the vast delta downstream of his position. After they land down there, they'll have to get within spitting distance to see us. The swamp is too wet to burn down, so they'll have to play cat and mouse with us, but on a battlefield of our choosing.
Two eggshaped DropShips made a pass over the delta, then circled back around to hover over a sandbar. The DropShips didn't lower their landing gear, but remained at approximately ten meters above the ground. The 'Mech bay doors irised open and BattleMechs dropped to the ground in rapid succession. As they hit, they moved out and forward, establishing a perimeter and taking advantage of the little cover offered by sandbars or debris.
Shin marveled at their efficiency. Their pilots have to be masters to hold a ship that even and level while hundreds of tons of war machines move to the door and jump out. Either they have incredibly steady hands on the controls, or their level of computer control and command integration is beyond anything we can even imagine. And the MechWarriors, too. They jump clear and move to their positions without hesitation. They seem to work in sets of five and with a coordination that suggests they've undergone intensive training together.
A rain of smaller armored figures followed the 'Mechs out of the hatch, but they and four of the BattleMechs hung back as the other machines pushed their perimeter further out. Osis honors his bargain. There is our prize, just waiting for us to win it. I am certain he thinks to taunt us with it, but maybe it's we who will have the last laugh.
Hohiro's voice reverberated through his neurohelmet. "This is it, Shin. I'd wish you luck, but you already have more than enough of it."
With the flick of a finger, Shin brought his targeting computer on line. "Luck will play no part in this, Sho-saKurita. This is the end-game. You have already beaten the invaders, Highness. Now we just need to remind them of it."
"That, Chu-saYodama. That's what we will do right now." Shin heard a series of clicks over his headphones, then saw icons move on his holographic display. At the same moment, wickedly fast little hovercraft shot out into the delta from the swamp forest that bordered it on three sides. Little more than a cockpit sandwiched between a medium laser in front and a fan in back, the inappropriately named Savannah Masters closed on the invaders. In datastacks, the vehicles looked worthless because of their light armor and relatively weak weaponry, but their hellacious speed make them deucedly awkward to hit. As they streaked in, their lasers stabbed out at targets but did little more than boil some armor away.
