fanfic_name = Gotterdammerung
chapter = Chapter IX
author = Cicero_Phelps
dedicate = All whom I know and desire to protect
Rating = AP15
Type = Alternative Universe
fanfic = Chapter IX
Rick and Henry paid a short visit to the Chapel, then returned to their duties. Rick went back to his room to change for patrol duty, and Henry returned to the bridge.
"Admiral, sir, we received a communication from New Portland," Claudia reported.
"What did they have to say?"
"Well, sir, Lt. Colonel Slydell told me that he's on his way to reinforce our position. Out of the 10,000 infantry that he had at New Portland, he's bringing 8,000 with him, as well as fifty VT's and their repair crews. And Monument City radios in that they're sending their vehicle fleet, one hundred and fifty armored craft of all sorts."
Admiral Gloval smiled; this was the first bit of good news he'd had in the past few months. "Captain Sterling, what is the condition of your men," he radioed.
"We're still working, Admiral; twelve hours and still going strong. But the defensive structures are quite impressive, as static perimeters go. Claudia and I have been developing a new tactic, to go along with the irregularities in the ODB."
"Go ahead, Max."
"Well, Admiral," Max continued. "No matter how many mechs we have on our side, Maistroff can always bring up more, in an attempt to overwhelm us."
"Simple attrition. How do you plan to counter it?"
"Well, I remember that when our pilots stood down after the last fight, we had problems with the mode-changing abilities. Lisa and Claudia found some irregularities in the ODB, which prevented the changes. Claudia and I figure that we can lure their mecha into close quarter combat and engage the barrier, immobilizing their VT's and leaving only whatever Destroids they want to throw at us."
"Depriving them of air support is a good idea, Captain Sterling. But how could we deprive them of their armored assault capacity?"
"How did you defeat armored columns in the GCW?"
"We dug anti-tank ditches around our positions, laying high explosives at the bottom and remote-detonating them."
"Could it work with an even deeper hole and more explosives?"
"Possibly, but to simultaneously detonate as many mechs in the assault wave as they'll throw at us, it'll take more protoculture weaponry than we've got handy, Sterling."
"Actually, sir, I was thinking of a combination of mines and some?other tricks. I'll explain more fully indoors; we're finishing up for the night."
"Agreed, Max. Come home and get some rest."
As the pilots and their construction mecha returned to the base, klaxons blared and the ground shook. Max took a look at the incoming fighters and cursed. "Air raid, southwestern wall. Five bogies, typical armaments."
Max was driving a typical construction mech; a nail gun for a right forearm and a basic claw attachment serving as a left hand to manipulate items for use. Max took aim at the flight of fighters with his nail gun, knowing that it was a nearly impossible shot to make, but feeling, at the same time, that he had to take the chance. Each nail was the better part of two meters long, diamond-shafted, and tipped with some obscure Zentraedi metal that Miriya told them about and he'd never remembered the name of.
The other suits were armed with industrial-grade welders and/or chainsaws, although there were about a dozen other mechs with nail guns as well. None of the construction mechs were exactly suited for battle against VT fighters. Still, a hailstorm of nails flung forth from the defenders, like a hail of arrows at the ancient battle of Shrewsbury, Max thought.
Rick raced towards the Skull One, hoping to join the fight. The ground shook as he pulled his flight helmet on and climbed up the ladder to the cockpit. The flight checklist scrolled past as it always did, but it never came fast enough for Rick. Three seconds later, he was flying towards the ever-blackening sky and yet more combat. Max and his archers had taken out three of the incoming bogeys with their nail guns, but there were at least two more flights incoming and the work party wasn't going to have any more luck unless they changed machines. Rick targeted the nearest three fighters with a missile spread and let loose. Cluster munitions were fun things; they could hurt several targets at once. Thing was, it was like a mech-sized shotgun; good for dealing decent damage to many, but hard to target individually.
The cluster rockets threw out enough flak to send the three fighters into a tailspin, eliminating their threat. Another four flights started coming in, and Rick switched to Battloid mode to spin faster in midair and target the new intruders. Behind him, the flight deck disgorged it's belly and the VT's on duty sped toward the distant horizon. With more fire support, the odds didn't look so grim, especially when he saw the Blue Devil and the Crimson Comet streak by and add their missiles to the fracas. Max and Miriya had apparently switched their transportation and wanted to join the fun. On the edge of the battlefield, however, their squads were losing brownies left and right; the rookies hadn't had enough flight time to save their collective posteriors in a dogfight. The light assault tanks were moving in, and they had no infantry to counter the movements.
"Bridge, this is Skull Lead. Can you redirect all anti-aircraft batteries for ground fire?"
"Skull Lead, this is the Bridge," Claudia said. "Please wait a few moments, and we shall recalibrate the firing solutions."
A laser barely missed Rick's cockpit, and he gritted his teeth. "Could you hurry it up a touch? I'm feeling like a pincushion up here."
"We're trying, Leader, but we're having problems trying to gain enough elevation to clear the walls. They're always in the way."
"Bridge, this is Wraith One," Max's voice came, cool and collected. "We've got some construction mechs still trapped outside the city. They can defend themselves somewhat, but what I was thinking is patching the missile pods into their telemetry readings and using them as forward fire observers."
"That could work," Kim's voice said. Nails clicked against keys on her console, and her voice returned. "Everything should be set, Sirs. We may fire when ready."
Claudia pushed the firing button and started raining hell down upon the incoming enemy. Up in the skies, Max, Miriya and Rick swept the remnants of the miniscule air raid away like crumbs off a plate. Suddenly, after taking massive hits, the enemy turned tail and ran. Some of the rookies cheered.
"No chatter, boys," Miriya snapped.
Max agreed, "This is only round one. Keep alert; there may be more coming."
"Max, Miriya, let's post a token flight of sentries and go home. I hear sleep calling to me, and I'm sure it does to you, as well. Let's pack her up and go in for the night. Skull Three, Wraith Four, stand watch and ring the bell if the wolves come back."
State = Continuará/To Be Continue
feedback = Sí/Yes
email = Lightsaber01ATHotmail.com