Iron Empire

Forty-Three: Dead Silence

The Xiezhi towered above me, smoke rising from its massive armoured shield. It had intercepted the static cannon's blast, saving everyone. I slowly grew to understand my situation. The Koreans had been keeping an eye on us for a while.

Axion had only sent five mechs for reinforcements. The sixth impact, the one that had landed beside me moments ago, had been the Xiezhi.

"What say you?" The Xiezhi demanded, voice resonating with power despite the poor audio connection.

"What say I?" I grinned. "Welcome aboard!"

"Good," the Xiezhi pilot replied, "then there is no need for secrecy anymore."

The pilot paused for a moment, and my comms feed crackled. A moment later the pilot sighed, and I could tell something had changed.

"There," the pilot remarked, "no need to disguise my voice among allies."

Instead of the gravelly, distorted tone I had come to expect from the Xiezhi's mysterious pilot, the comm was filled with a lighter voice that radiated with the same strength.

"My name is Sojwa Park," the pilot stated. "We have a lot to discuss."

My excitement shrivelled up and died.

"Taewi—" I began, but stopped myself.

"My younger brother," she replied. I could hear the weight in her voice. She'd lost a family member the same as we had. "I don't have enough time to explain it fully," Sojwa added, "but Taewi worked for Korea as a mole, one of many tasked with keeping tabs on other military powers."

The Xiezhi stood before me, unmoving, standing guard against the enemy mechs amassing at the other end of the crater. Axion was regrouping at the far end of the battlefield. A second wave was imminent.

"At first he was stationed in the U.S, there to be sure they weren't going to attempt to invade Korea," Sojwa explained. She paused. "Then we heard about your war effort and his assignment changed."

I'd like to say I was more upset by this revelation, but spy or not, Taewi had been a good friend and a strong ally. As far as I could tell, his goals had been altruistic.

"I'm sure you can look past any feelings of betrayal," Sojwa continued, "as we were never meant to harm any of you. Besides, Taewi hated his job. He only agreed to be a mole because he failed the test to become a Xiezhi pilot."

I couldn't help but smile. That explained Taewi's unchecked rage upon what I had assumed was his first meeting with the Xiezhi.

"The rest of the explanation can wait," Sojwa finished, "we have a job to do."

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Laura grinned. "Shall we?"

The silvery Xiezhi took off, Exodus in tow. I was left to toddle forward in my damaged Sentinel as they raced ahead, charging fearlessly at the enemy. I almost felt sorry for Axion pilots—they were in the fight of their lives against two legendary mechs.

They were, to put it simply, unprepared for the absolute massacre that was about to occur.

At first, Sojwa took the lead, flanking the group of Axion mechs with a quick burst of speed. The Xiezhi was armed with rocket launchers, weapons it used with enthusiasm and ferocity. The enemy mechs in question—two Goliaths, one Legion and the three remaining Titans—all reacted in separate ways. The Titans, knowing they had nothing more to lose, leapt forward toward the Xiezhi as the lithe silver mech spat out a staccato burst of missiles. Moments later Sojwa slid behind a building with another quick dash, a split-second before plasma, missiles and bullets pounded the ground where she had been a second before.