“That the zig-zag?” ZRod asked.
Mapple sang over the radio. “He zigged and he zagged so he couldn’t get bagged.”
“Yes,” Reggie confirmed.
A concussion and a spray of ice from the ground nearby signaled the first of the shells from Torbek artillery. Reggie kept an eye on the mini-map and the division juggernaut status screen. Having 19 juggernauts along, it was getting too crowded to take in all at once. Sooner or later, he was going to have to start delegating to his platoon commanders and only overseeing Alpha Platoon personally.
SwampFox cleared his throat over the radio. “I just took that Sniper 2 perk. How close I gotta be to hit someone now?”
“It’s only a 100m increase in max range,” Chase explained. “Don’t worry. You’re not close yet.”
“Just worry about evasion for now,” Reggie cautioned just as another shell exploded nearby. For a nice, civilized-looking city, it was armed with some brutish, primitive defenses. A place like that ought to have been armed with tower-mounted Anti-Matter Projectors—not that Reggie was complaining.
The next impact rocked Vortex. Reggie’s forward window went white as the spray of ice clouded his view. Even an indirect hit had cost him 12 hit points of damage to his right leg.
“Measured that one,” June said. “416mm shells. A direct hit could potentially take out any of us.”
“Except me,” Frank boasted. Over the radio, a fist thumped on a console. “Old Gremmie here can take it.”
“Fine,” June allowed. “Except for Frank.”
3,400m to firing range. That number would vary for longer range weapons, but 3,400 was the number Reggie was watching. On the mini-map he tried to keep himself centered in the pack of legion juggernauts to maintain his Command Radius 5 boosts for everyone but the scouts. It was a big enough difference that it made noobs like RichyRich into marksmen and allowed the dodging juggernauts to make cuts like an NBA point guard.
Without warning, Compton was gone. His Wyvern, Doombird, must have taken one of those direct hits, because he blinked off the tactical screen without so much as a choked-off scream.
“Wow,” ZRod said with a whistle. “You weren’t joking about that artillery. How the hell is that balanced?”
“No time for complaining,” Reggie said. “Double-time. Let’s get to that city before we take any more losses. Shells are coming in on about an eight-second delay. Just adjust your course before the next one comes. Otherwise, make time for that city wall.”
Walled cities had gone out of style with the rise of gunpowder, but the aesthetic made them irresistible to game designers. There was no logical reason for a city on an ice planet to have a defensive wall, same as there was no reason a space navy shouldn’t just pummel it into submission from orbit. It was all contrived to make the juggernaut the primary form of combat, and as far as that went, Reggie could accept it.
But that meant that the city wasn’t playing by the optimal rules.
Reggie knew his military history. This wasn’t going to be Agincourt. He was aiming more for an Alamo situation, where the outgunned defenders took their shots but ultimately couldn’t hold out against superior firepower massed against them.
“Look sharp,” Reggie ordered. “June, can you get over that wall?”
1,200m to range.
Delta Platoon still had juggernauts using missile builds, and for once, Reggie was glad to see wasted credits flying outbound to soften up their target. Missile impacts along the wall flared red fire before giving way to a cloud of gray-and-white smoke that drifted on the wind.
Artemis took advantage of the smoke screen to leap atop the wall.
TARGET DATA ACQUIRED
Reggie’s map lit with defensive emplacements. He quickly relayed the locations to everyone, but it was the Chi-Ris that SwampFox and Spike piloted that mattered. Their LRM-2s launched volleys aimed at the 416mm artillery emplacements.
The rate of shelling slowed, but they lost Chipz as his Pixie got obliterated by a shell that didn’t even catch him directly.
Shaken by the pounding shells, the ground gave way beneath Wounded Legion. Ice that had covered a yawning chasm cracked and plummeted, taking half the division’s juggernauts along with it.
The scouts were already on the far side. The heavies weren’t that far yet. Reggie, trying to remain within Command Radius of everyone, slammed on his brakes—which amounted to Vortex digging in its heels—just shy of falling in.
Plummeting over 100m, juggernauts winked off the screen rapid-fire as their impacts caused catastrophic damage.
Ellie’s Phoenix, Gothic, used the same equipment loadout as Artemis except with a Mass Driver in place of an enhanced sensor package. That meant she was equipped with Jump Boost. While the other fallen juggernauts were destroyed, she shot out of the icy chasm to land on the far side.
The only other survivor of the fall was ZRod’s Wolverine, Adamant, who was wedged halfway down, holding itself up at a narrow section of the chasm. “A little help, guys?” he pleaded.
“Hold position, ZRod,” Reggie ordered. “Once we secure the area, we’ll lower a winch.”
No one had time for that shit right now. Reggie took stock of his remaining forces.
June, Ellie, Monty, Harper, and Thatchet were across the chasm. Reggie was cut off from the city, along with Frank, Lin, Chase, and Reese. The rest of them were out of commission.
That was a lot of missing firepower.
“Harper, find us an alternate route to the city,” Reggie radioed out to the remaining juggernauts. “Ellie, Monty, get inside the walls and head for the banking sector. Secure the planet’s surrender.” It would be a mission on foot, and those two were his only Commando -build troops.
Yulong fired Jump Boosters and cleared the chasm, not even worrying about overheating with the extended duration burn. The frigid temperatures of Torbek made for an ideal battleground in many ways, but Reggie would have traded the temperatures for sweltering heat and a bridge across.
“Lin, work on opening a hole in that wall,” Reggie ordered, feeling helpless as he was cut off from his main force. “June, take field command of the city operation. Eliminate all the guns.”
“Um, Reg,” June said. “I hate to rain on an already-soggy parade, but we’ve got company.”
Despite the air heaters in Vortex’s cockpit, Reggie’s blood ran cold. “What kind of company.”
“Five drop ships,” June reported. “Looks like a rapid-response team from Liberty Clan.”
Dammit! They’d taken too long. They should have risked the drop ship and landed in range of the artillery. Time for a change of plans. “Abort primary mission,” Reggie radioed to everyone. “Ellie and Monty, try to find and destroy any anti-air and anti-orbital emplacements you can. I’m calling the drop ship. We’ll rendezvous with it at Kilo-November-six-zero-five.”
“That’s inside the city,” June pointed out. “Even if we get it here safely, there’s not enough time to get you around the chasm and inside to—”
“I know that,” Reggie snapped. “Frank, Chase, Reese… we’ve got a new mission.” Even as he spoke, Reggie was tapping in a new player-generated mission for them.
[Bonus Objective: Evacuate Wounded Legion Juggernauts from Torbek 0/6]
“Hey, there are seven of us!” ZRod shouted over the radio. “Don’t forget me down here!”
But Reggie hadn’t forgotten. “Frank, lower ZRod a cable. Adamant’s making this last stand with us.”
A hook and winch was built into most juggernauts medium and up. It was part of the basic equipment package, same as windshield wipers and heated seats. They only rarely came into use during a battle, but today was going to be one of those days.
Reggie watched the horizon and the mini-map at once, splitting his attention. The Wounded Legion drop ship sped by overhead, bound for the city under heavy anti-air fire.
[Secondary Objective FAILED: Zero Civilian Casualties]
“My bad,” Monty
radioed out. “Errant missile.”
Reggie didn’t have time to worry about keeping their hands clean. Torbek had turned into a rat trap, and Wounded Legion was caught.
The Liberty Clan drop ships touched down outside artillery range of the city. Apparently they had a higher opinion of Wounded Legion’s chances than Reggie did if they were worried about their own defenses firing on them. If only they knew that half the legion’s juggernauts had fallen down a hole and the rest were split up by the chasm, they’d have landed those drop ships right in the city.
Chase gave Frank a hand, and the two of them managed to drag ZRod up to the surface. Adamant’s legs and back had taken heavy armor damage, but all his weapons were operational.
“All right, boys,” Reggie radioed, creating a temporary Omega Platoon from the five of them left out in the cold. “We don’t go home today. Our only job is to buy the six of our brothers and sisters in the city the time they need to evac.”
“How long’s that gonna take?” Reese asked. For a Demon pilot, he sounded scared.
“Doesn’t matter,” Reggie said. “We’re giving them all we’ve got until we’ve got nothing left.”
“Maybe we could negotiate a surrender,” Reese suggested.
Frank answered before Reggie could think of words to shoot down that ridiculous notion. “Can it, kid. They make movies about fights like this. Win or lose, you go down fighting. Besides, it’s just a game.”
Reggie said it so often, trying to convince himself it was true. But Armored Souls was more than a game to some of them.
“Anyone have decent scanners?” Chase asked. “I can see the fuckers out the window but not on my tactical monitor.”
Reggie waited. The first of the Liberty Clan juggernauts stepped into the outermost band of Vortex’s scanner range.
TARGET DATA SHARED
“Also,” Chase asked, “anyone got any missiles?”
This was the time for long-range weaponry, not for pinching credits. Reggie’s load out in particular was designed for short- to mid-range engagements. This wasn’t going to be his fight to carry.
“Yeah,” Frank growled. “Them.”
The icy night sky streaked with propellant trails illuminated by moonlight. Chase, Reese, and Frank opened fire with Beam Cannons, carving swaths out of the missile swarm. ZRod had begun mirroring Reggie’s Wolverine build, and they both had limited Point-Defense Laser systems that shot down several more each.
But a massive number of missiles made it through despite their efforts.
Vortex rocked. Reggie was thrown around in his seat, only the safety harness preventing him from being dislodged and shaken like a rattle. Alarms blared. Despite his Hardened Systems perk, Reggie had lost scanners and two heat sinks in the barrage.
The Omega Platoon tactical view wasn’t promising.
“I’m on fire!” Reese shouted.
Stop. Drop. Roll. The words flashed in Reggie’s mind from grade-school fire safety drills. On an ice planet, it seemed like sound enough advice. But Reggie was preoccupied. Light juggernauts were flanking on both eastern and western approaches.
Then, Reggie received a holographic broadcast. A familiar, smug face lit with a smile as the call connected.
“Hidey-ho, invaderino,” Freedom Coach Napoleon greeted him merrily. “Looks like you and your friends got separated. But don’t worry. I’ve got this. You’ll all be in the same place soon enough.”
“Fire at will!” Reggie ordered. “Take out the flankers. Don’t let them get to the city.”
It was easier said than done. Frank wasn’t specced out for picking off fast targets. Reggie and ZRod weren’t great at long range. As Plasma Launchers and Beam Cannons spat deadly energy in colorful bursts of red, purple, and blue, the shooting gallery of light juggernauts sped past.
One or two of the Liberty Clan interceptor force tumbled to the ground afire or exploded under direct hits, but more sped right past unscathed.
Reggie watched helplessly as the mini-map flooded with red blips, cresting over his holdout force like rocks in a whitewater river.
“June,” Reggie radioed over to the evacuee force. “ETA to takeoff.”
“Under two minutes,” June said. “We’re waiting on stragglers, then it’s wheels up.” He realized she meant that figuratively. Nothing in this universe seemed to roll on wheels except recreationally.
Finally, Reggie had a medium juggernaut close to a range he could deal with. It was a futile gesture, but the light juggernauts circling the long way around the chasm and Jump Boosting over it were beyond his ability to influence.
[Crow[7] - 70% To Hit]
Reggie squeezed off two shots before trying to improve that aiming number, scoring one hit.
Crow[7] Torso: 43/50
Reggie swallowed, realizing the faint effect he was going to have on the entire Liberty Clan horde before being swept under.
“You might win today,” Reggie replied to Napoleon’s holograph. “But this isn’t over.”
“Oh, I know,” Napoleon replied in all seriousness. “This isn’t over until I say it’s over. And I won’t end this until I’m bored to tears of kicking your pathetic, loser asses. Freedom for everyone!”
Reggie cut off the broadcast before Napoleon got all William Wallace on him.
On the tactical view, Omega Platoon was being torn apart. Yellow and red hues predominated the armor wire frames of his allied juggernauts. On the mini-map, Liberty Clan forces were approaching the city with June and her charges still on the ground.
Then one of the light juggernauts behind Reggie disappeared.
Well, it didn’t vanish—except from the tactical display. Without a mission counting enemy casualties, he had to turn to see what had become of it. It was a smoking ruin 200m from the city wall.
Standing atop the city wall, green paint job ghostly in the moonlight, was Yulong. Lin fired again, taking out another of the light juggernauts at close range with her Anti-Matter Projector. If there was one weakness of that hellacious weapon, it was the brutal thermal load it put on a juggernaut’s systems. In the sub-Arctic temperatures of Torbek, Lin was able to fire at will.
“Lin, fall back and get to the drop ship,” Reggie ordered. “June’s holding up everyone waiting for you.”
“Not for me,” Lin replied. “I’ve already let her know I’m staying. She’s just grabbing Ellie and Monty, and they’ll be out of here. We can hold them.”
Reggie scanned the tactical map once more. Distances that a computer could have measured if Reggie had time to plot calculations instead became gut feels. He watched movements, got an overall impression of the battle, and made a similar assessment to Lin’s.
“Dig in, boys,” Reggie ordered the remainder of his fighting force. “We can do this.”
A Kintaro came at Reggie with a giant battle axe, intent on cleaving him down. Gremlin intercepted it, bowling the smallish heavy juggernaut over and pummeling it before taking enough lasers that it looked like the Death Star firing at Frank.
Gremlin winked out of the platoon view.
Then Adamant followed.
Reggie fired indiscriminately before even locking on with his targeting computer. As the Liberty Clan swarmed in, it was nearly impossible to miss.
Reese’s Demon, Heckfire, toppled over. “Help, I’m—”
But he was gone an instant later.
[Bonus Objective: Evacuate Wounded Legion Juggernauts from Torbek 5/6]
Lin, the would-be sixth evacuee, remained atop the city walls, picking off targets as fast as her Anti-Matter Projector could cycle.
Reggie wasn’t there to see her fall. The Kintaro that Frank had failed to finish off rose from beneath the Tiger’s wreck and planted its axe right through the cockpit window of Vortex.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
It was days after the Torbek debacle, and the Green Zone had turned into more of a clubhouse than a base of operations. Reggie and Frank played pool more than they went on missions. Cha
se popped in and out between stints in Silent Shuriken. Lin and June ran mercenary jobs using Wounded Legion drop ships.
The rest of the faction was much the same. There hadn’t been any full-legion activity since the failed raid. Reggie had stopped checking his in-game messages since he kept getting friendly updates from Freedom Coach Napoleon about the upgrades he was making to Torbek. Members of Bravo, Charlie, and Delta Platoons did their own thing, either as a group or solo.
Hime and Reese hadn’t logged in since they died out on the ice field. Reese had gone so far as to close his account. Reggie had made the effort to read his farewell email. “Too intense” had been the gist of it.
War wasn’t for everyone.
Well, real war wasn’t for anyone. But even fake wars could wear on a guy who wasn’t built to take stress recreationally.
Reggie was up two games to one playing nine-ball with Frank, when he received a push alert that cut through the ambivalence he’d shown his tablet and all the mundane news items there.
Chase was on the couch watching a real-world sitcom. He turned and glared at Reggie as the alert kept blaring while Reggie took his aim. “You gonna check that? If not, at least shut it up.”
With a sigh, Reggie pulled out his tablet.
[Turrim Auream Starport Under Attack by Liberty Clan]
“They’re taking our starport,” Reggie said.
“Aw, come on!” Chase whined. “I just went there last night for Chinese. They have a restaurant there that I swear is a rip-off of the Mandarin Dragon down the street from my apartment.”
Reggie looked around the rec room. “Who’ve we got logged in?”
Chase spread his hands. The kid had a point. Reggie was faction leader. He had all the tools he needed to track down his people.
[Faction > Roster > News (14) > Rewards > Info]
Reggie tapped on the roster link. He sorted by location.
[King - Green Zone - Rec Room]
[June - Sargon IV]
[Chase - Green Zone - Rec Room]
[Dogface - Green Zone - Rec Room]
[Dragonlady - Sargon IV]
Wounded Legion: a mech LitRPG novel (Armored Souls Book 2) Page 12