Iron Empire

Four: Operation Meatshield

Eleven. Eleven mechs. That was the exact number of enemies I had just made. Eleven pilots from different factions, all determined to cut my escape short. They were bigger, angrier and more powerful than I was, but I had one saving grace.

I was faster than all of them.

Bullets peppered the air around me and plasma nipped at my heels. The Prototype careened through the industrial park, narrowly avoiding buildings as it did so.

"Lucas!" I shouted.

A missile barrage impacted the building next to me, vaporizing three floors in a single blast and pelting my mech with a hail of stone. I tapped my comm headset with one hand, making sure it was working.

A blast from a howitzer cannon disintegrated an abandoned car near me, sending glass and metal soaring.

"Lucas, for crying out loud," I tried again, "answer the comm before I get turned into slag!"

My comms hissed, and a moment later I was nearly deafened by a shout.

"I have half a mind to let them waste you, Quinn!" Lucas roared, his anger only slightly quieter than the battle around me. "If you weren't in a prototype mech I would turn this dropship around and fly off right now!"

"It's going that bad?" I smirked. "I hadn't noticed."

"Stop talking and focus on running for your life!" Lucas snapped.

A nearby explosion only slightly alleviated the awkward pause that followed.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Lucas reprimanded. "The moment the Exodus showed up you should've abandoned the mission! We can't afford to lose a single mech, let alone a prototype that could change the entire war!"

There was another brief pause, accented by the staccato beat of gunfire against my mech's armour.

"You do realize you can't eject from this mech, right?" Lucas snapped. "We can't leave the Prototype behind for the enemy to find. I've got to fly down and grab you manually, mech and all!"

I frowned, trying to keep the panic out of my voice as I narrowly avoided an incoming Goliath.

"You said nothing against using the Prototype while I was preparing for this mission earlier today," I asserted.

"I was okay with it because you had permission to test it," Lucas shot back, "this goes far beyond testing!"

I blinked. "Lucas, about the whole 'permission' thing..."

I heard something over the comms that sounded vaguely like a hiccup.

"Jackson," Lucas chuckled, mirthlessly, "please tell me that you had permission to—"

"Like you said, I can't talk," I interrupted. "Running for my life, gotta focus!"

I caught a glimpse of something large and red out of the corner of my eye, and I had to force down the rising tide of panic inside me. The indomitable Exodus was heading my way. If it caught up to me, Axion Industries would be the least of my concerns.

"Luke," I hissed, knowing full well he hated that nickname, "we can talk later! Can you bring the dropship down to pick me up or can't you? I'm getting shot to scrap down here!"

There was a long, drawn-out silence. Finally, an exasperated sigh.

"Yeah, on my way," Lucas conceded. "But this conversation is far from over."

"Thank you," I grinned. "I swear any moment now that Exodus is going to—"

Shotgun spray grazed my left side and the Prototype stumbled. The Exodus bore down upon me, weapons loaded.