Iron Empire

Nineteen: Ends of the Earth

Ahead of us, the two other dropships faded into oblivion, camouflaged. We were an invisible convoy on a much-needed errand.

Lucas pushed my feet aside and thumbed a button on the console. The hum from the nuclear reactor deadened slightly.

"Adaptive camouflage activated and nuclear signal masked," he grinned. "We are off the radar both physically and electronically." He leaned back in his seat. "Now we wait."

Behind me, Kitt sighed dramatically. "Are we there yet?"

"I'll toss you from the hangar and you can swim home," Lucas glowered.

In reality, the trip from Canada to Italy would take no time at all. The dropship, when pushed to its absolute limit, could fly several times faster than sound. At minimum, it could comfortably fly faster than even the most powerful pre-war airplane.

The dropship's stealth, combined with its speed, made the transport easily deadlier than the fighter jets of old, though less maneuverable.

Had someone decided to strap weapons to one of these, the Iron War would've been a lot different. But that was why we had our rules. Dropships were to remain unarmed.

I wondered how long it would be before Axion broke that rule to earn a quick buck.

***

About an hour away from the coast of Italy, Lucas reached up and placed a hand on the right earpiece of his comm headset. From my seat in the copilot's chair, I could hear a crackling voice. It sounded distressed.

"Understood, sir," Lucas announced. His voice was firm. Something was wrong. "I'm patching you into shipwide comms now."

With calculated precision, Lucas tapped a button on his headset, mirroring the motion on his console. Instead of music, a voice, warped by the electronic signal, played aloud.

"We have trouble, folks," Commander Telbus drawled. "I need to speak with Taewi."

Taewi, stepped to the front of the cockpit and took a comm headset from Lucas's outstretched hand. He tapped the mic.

"This is Commander Park, over," he breathed.

"Taewi," Telbus began, "I need you to do me a favour."

Taewi glanced at me, gaze filled with uncertainty. I shrugged. What was this about?

"I'm sending you off course," Martin continued. "My squad will complete the transaction, but something has come up. You're needed elsewhere."

Taewi's eyes widened.

"You're sending us out solo? Why?"

The comm was silent for a moment.

"Your mechs are the most versatile out of what we have with us," Martin explained. "Despite their size, they are the heaviest armed. Besides that, we are the only ones close enough to deal with this issue."

The cockpit was heavy with tension.

"What issue?" Taewi asked, nervously.

"You're needed in Russia again," Martin replied. I detected strong hints of outrage in his voice, barely restrained.

"Axion Industries just bombed the district of Stalnoy."

My eyes widened in shock.

The Battle of Stalnoy had been the catalyst for the Iron War, the first battle between the superpowers of the United States and Russia. Axion's mechs had been deployed for the first time during that battle.

My father had died there.

The outcome of the Battle of Stalnoy was infamous. The Americans had blockaded the riverside mining district by capturing its entrance bridges, then shelled the buildings.

In the end, a Russian strike team sealed off the nearby dam's sluice gates, draining the river and allowing Russian forces to traverse the riverbed.

Despite heavy losses on both sides, the Russians had repelled the Americans that day. Although the Iron War continued elsewhere in the country, Stalnoy and its dried riverbed had been left alone by both countries, treated with an air of sacredness and mutual respect.

Until now.

Taewi shook himself out of his shock and tapped a button on his comm headset.

"Acknowledged, Martin," he replied, "We'll be on our way in a moment."

"Go get 'em, Taewi," Martin replied, ''we'll reinforce you the moment we complete the supply run. Commander Telbus out."

The dropship was silent once more.

"Blast," Alyx sighed. She sat up from where she had been sleeping, draped across several unoccupied seats. "I'm not gonna get any rest now."

"So," Kitt queried, "you gonna give us a rallying pep-talk, commander?"

Taewi looked cowed.

"Alright folks," he began, voice quiet, "it looks like we're going to get some action after all. We have to secure Stalnoy, or at least hold off Axion until reinforcements arrive."

Taewi leaned forward, hunching over a nearby seat. He was shaking. I couldn't blame him, this wasn't the type of fight we were prepared for.

"We don't know what we're heading into," Taewi continued. "We could be facing mechs from Russia, Germany or even Korea, but we will most definitely encounter American mechs. We want this battle to end with Russian control over Stalnoy, so that means we need to capture as much of the territory as we can and hold Axion off until our reinforcements arrive."

Taewi took a shaky breath. I flashed him a thumbs-up.

"Like Moscow, the local Russian military may or may not be our allies in this fight," Taewi emphasized, "but Fisk's announcement, we can't rely on anyone. To many nations, we probably sound like terrorists."

"Now bring it home," I informed him.

Taewi nodded.

"Lock and load, ladies and gents. Let's show these Axion grunts that we'll chase them to the ends of the Earth!"