Iron Empire

Sixty-Two: The Gauntlet

Jump!

I leapt straight upward just as a massive wall of debris impacted me. Proximity alerts flashed. I was rattled in my seat, jostled around. I couldn't see, but I felt motion. My stomach was pushed into my throat.

Martin's voice crackled over the comms. "Oh my God."

"Please land it. Land the jump."

That was Alyx.

My Spartan's feet struck metal, shaking the debris from my cameras. All at once, I could see again. The battlefield was now filled with craters, pockmarks from Pantheon impacts. My Spartan stood a few meters from the edge of a crater, one that had been blasted by Fisk's attack. Large skid marks began a few meters farther, made by the Spartan's impact.

I had been tossed over one-hundred yards by Fisk's shockwave.

"Armour integrity at fifty percent," Phalanx informed me. "Administer repairs when possible. Confrontation not recommended."

Did I detect a panicked edge to its monotonous voice?

"Check in," I called. "Who's alive?"

"I'm okay, but a lot of our Barricades were decimated," Martin announced. "Most pilots ejected in time. I've heard nothing from Kitt and his Barricade is nowhere to be seen."

"My team is okay," Sojwa assured me.

"I'm fine," Alyx remarked. "I managed to take a few Titans down after they landed. They're sitting ducks after they impact, so they should be less of a problem for you now."

One-hundred yards away, Fisk's Pantheon stood at the bottom of a crater. The mech rotated toward me, slowly.

"Nice try," I grinned.

Fisk snarled aloud, sounding less human than ever before.

"You—"

A brilliant explosion shook Fisk's Pantheon, its armoured body listing sideways like it had been punched.

"Eat lead, Fisk!" Alyx shouted.

Her Valkyrie stood atop a nearby hunk of wreckage, howitzer smoking. The nearby Legions focused their artillery on her, shredding her metal podium to bits, but Alyx skirted the edge of the wreckage, avoiding the shots.

One-hundred yards away, smoke and dust emanated from Fisk's crater, too thick to see through. All around it, Axion forces clashed with Alliance mechs, too distracted by their own battles to be of any aid.

When the smoke cleared I could see that a brilliant blue aura now surrounded Fisk's Pantheon, emanating from the azure ring near its core.

"An energy shield?" Alyx seethed. "How is that possible?"

"I take it your friend doesn't understand the meaning of the word Pantheon," Fisk replied.

Once again, Fisk's mech slowly swung back around to face me, only to be greeted by yet another blast from Alyx's howitzer. The shell reflected uselessly into the sand, but in that instant I saw hope. Fisk's shield flickered as the shell impacted it, fading for a brief instant.

His shield generator wasn't exposed like that of the Aegis, but it was far weaker as a result.

This was my chance.

I tapped my earpiece.

"All pilots," I shouted, "focus your fire on anyone except Draco!"

"What are you talking about?" Alyx exclaimed. "I've got another perfect shot!"