1002, 24 July A.D. 2072
Engagement Zone
Round Four
"Tch!" Richard gritted his teeth as he forced the Timberwolf's arms to cross into a guard position, the giant's feet plowing into the ground as it braced against the myriad of explosions rippling all around it. The multicolored, crescent moon-like explosions seemed almost cheerful - if they weren't also
trying to kill him. He could feel more and more of his chassis peeling off, as one of the damned bombs that Bandit had chucked at him exploded into several, which in turn exploded into even
more. Explosive heat and shrapnel rippled around him, all with enough force that would have likely torn the Beowulf core to shreds.
He paradoxically felt like a boxer. Especially considering how Bandit continued to wail on him, punch after punch slamming into his forearms the moment the cluster bombs had eased up on their payloads. Just most boxers never had to put up with literal high explosive grenades being thrown by the opposition. Bandit wasn't particularly
skilled at it - and he had the likes of Cavalier and Galbinus as an unfair baseline comparison - but his punches had
force behind it, and they weren't any less crushing than back at Fort Brenner years ago.
That, and Richard was fairly certain he could see literal steam pouring from his receptors. "Just
go down already!"
"No thanks?" This time, Bandit leaned into one of his punches too far, the underslung heat knife -
was that the same one from last time too? - barely grazing his forearm. With a rush, Richard willed the Timberwolf to force his guard forward, grabbing at one of Bandit's arms before
throwing him over his shoulder. He had the satisfaction of watching Bandit bounce once, twice, three times, in between one of the momentary pauses of the fight brewing between Cavalier and the Free Brother medic plus goons, before he Configured into vehicle mode and spun around. "Took you all long enough to figure this one out," he added.
"Only had to steal a few dozen of your frames to make it stick," Bandit shot back. He Configured back into mech form, only barely-but-not-quite stumbling once as he readied another of the cluster bombs. "And I'll sell the boss even
better ones when Scrapheap's had a chance to rip open your-!"
Whatever other boasts he had in mind were drowned out by the abrupt detonation of the devices still clutched in his hands. "Uh." The optics on the Timberwolf's head flickered slightly in a pantomime of a confused blink as he watched Bandit flail about, trying to put out the rapidly combusting and expanding explosions that he'd just thrown at Richard not moments ago. "You, uh, need help there?"
The words that shot back out from the explosions could have blistered paint as effectively as the explosives.
1015, 24 July A.D. 2072
Engagement Zone
"The Legion. Always the bloody
Legion."
Scrapheap scowled as he watched the Drones he'd ordered against the lone Legion scout utterly fail to do anything of significance to him. Certainly, from weight of numbers alone, the multicolored mess that were the
Belligerent's mass produced Drones were landing
some blows against Cavalier. Yet for all that, all their efforts seemed to do was to
spark a sense of raucous functionality.
For every Drone that managed to land even a glancing blow, a titanic punch slammed into them, sending them flying off a great distance from the swirling melee. Another saw its visor shatter, broken utterly by the concussive force of the uppercut to the jaw. Even as that one was sent a good distance upwards, barely missing the low pass of one of the human aeros as they launched their own strike against more of the Drones. Another group was sent sprawling by a low sweeping kick. Another kick and jab saw the scout jump onto one of the fallen Drones and body slam his way out of the mob attempting to weigh him down, just narrowly missing the heavy weapons blast that one of the lead Drones had fired to try and shortcircuit the annoying pest.
If this was all there was to it, it would seem almost
routine. But no. It wasn't
just the Legion anymore.
The medic grimaced as he saw the other group of human mechs approach in the wake of the airstrike. Like a slow, ponderous march of Mekaen Civil Guardsmechs, the blocky vehicles all configured into equally blocky and stout warrior forms, with expandable shields all protruding from their forearms. As the Drones attempted to attack them, some leveling handheld blasters while others simply charged with their fists and batons looted from the
Belligerent, the mechs all locked shields together and
pushed back. It was almost like watching the early days of the Free Brothers just as Tyrannous was taking over, mechs incited into anarchic mobs rushing the authorities.
But these had the human equivalent of heavy weapons. And outdated as they were, they were still scoring hits as the mechs just behind the shield wall locked cannons onto the shoulders of their forward fellows and fired. Projectiles fired by high explosive and chemical propellant slammed into the Drones, knocking more than a few of them down and forcing back the first wave. Yet as the next rallied and charged again, the shield wall of those mechs never stopped moving
forward, the ground crunching beneath the weight of the stolid mechs as they pushed back.
"Hey, Scrapheap!" And now there was no further time for processing, as Scrapheap brought the crane arm of his altform in a guarding position in front of him. He winced as he was sent sliding backwards, the crane now having a noticeable fist-shaped dent in it. "You didn't think you were gonna sit this one out, did you!?"
"It had occurred to me, yes," Scrapheap growled. The hook on the end of the arm suddenly slackened, and the medic lashed out in a wide arc, forcing the scout to take a few steps back. "You and yours are becoming a
nuisance."
"Is that a step up from annoyance?"
Scrapheap's scowl only sparked more laughter from the pest.
1021, 24 July A.D. 2072
Pegasus Bridge
"Gun Batteries One, Three, Five, adjust starboard to following coordinates. Standby for fire mission."
Diana watched impassively, her holographic avatar floating above the Captain's console - well,
her console for this mission, and wasn't
that a heady feeling! - as the ship's crew and the systems busied themselves around her. She could
feel the thrum of the dropship, the gentle roar of the engines as it adjusted for a wide turn, the reassuring
slam of the energy blaster capsules being loaded into the gun batteries. As minimal as the
Pegasus's involvement in the actual combat were, even this little bit required so much action and coordination from the crew - and Diana was always there, little bits of her consciousness providing guidance and coordination like Katarina did back home in the campus.
This was what she was programmed for.
"Timberwolf, this is
Pegasus. Stand clear for fire support."
"Just a second-!"
And Diana watched as the Arc Blade sliced
through one of Bandit's shoulders, all but elminating a good chunk of his Configuration form in a clean slice. Sparks sputtered and fumed as the piece went flying off into the distance, even as that strange Dispersion Field flickered to life momentarily. She frowned - it would dent some of the impact of the
Pegasus's contribution to the fight, but such was life.
"Pegasus,
good to go!"
"Firing!" As one, Diana felt the scalding heat of the Energy Blasters screech through the air, feeling the consumption spike the turrets drew from the ship as a volley of Energy Blasts slammed into Bandit. Yet while the ground around him glassed and was rent asunder, the Dispersion Field fully engaged, a bright purple field deflecting the energies. More than a good forty percent of the blast seemed to arc into miniature streams, scattering around Bandit's location and scouring even more of the landscape around him. The Field was flickering more frantically now, even as the Kaus was singed and hurt, but still in one piece.
Round Five
But Diana had the satisfaction of knowing that the wretched Free Brother was having a
very bad day.
1024, 24 July A.D. 2072
Engagement Zone
Richard had seen many things in his association with Wilde and Henry. He'd seen a Coyote waddle around, he'd seen Shepherd trucks crush themselves as they tried to figure out Combinable Configuration, he even got to see them conduct surgery on the Kaus that was beating up so many Drones around them and having the time of his life.
But he'd never seen a Jackal-like vehicle forcefully re-Configure himself into an armored trike when a corner of the whole vehicle got lopped off. Much less see it try to
ram him in that form.
"Would you just
die already?" The Timberwolf braced against the high speed ram, and to Bandit's credit he felt himself slide backwards a dozen feet or so before momentum forced Bandit to slide off, careening off into an impromptu slide. Configuring back into mecha mode, Richard could see the arms dealer mech gritting his teeth, even as he pulled out the modified blaster again, lightning arcs from the Backlash field still sparking against his frame. Some of the damage he'd inflicted seemed to have a sealant applied to it, evidently already having been slapped on by the medic that had tagged along. "This whole planet was supposed to be an
easy job! Not running into copycat Kausen!"
"
You guys are the ones running around robbing us blind, and
you're complaining about us engaging in an arms race?" Richard was fairly certain anyone could have felt the incredulity dripping from his words. "No, I'm sorry, that's not how it works here."
"Yeah, well-!" The Blaster had evidently enough time to charge, and with a high pitched whine, an Energy Blast
almost the equivalent of the
Pegasus's recent fire mission screamed towards him.
"Oh." Had he
not combined into the Timberwolf - or heck, even if he was in the Foxhound - this would have
hurt. It was still going to, mind. But forcing the Arc Blade's into both hands, Richard did something that was becoming a worryingly common theme for himself every time he got into the Super Robot - he did something that felt utterly stupid. He sliced the Arc Blade
into the miniature sun that was screaming towards him.
And it
still worked.
Even as the edges peeled away more of his frame, the Arc Blade's electromagnetic field screeched back in defiance, forcefully parting alien energies in its path. Like a dam break, the blaster's energies flew off around and past the Beowulf, slamming into the distant terrain behind him in a terrifyingly loud set of explosions. The air on both sides of the Timberwolf were still shimmering in unnatural patterns, and there was even more exposed circuitry that were burned away both sides of the Super Robot. But Richard was
mostly unscathed.
"...okay, that was utter bullshit."
Richard blinked, more due to the fact that Bandit knew that turn of phrase. "Yeah, well...okay, I wasn't expecting that to work either." He glanced down at the Arc Blade, wondering just
what the hell Wilde and Henry did when they were making this thing. "Go me, I guess?"
1026, 24 July A.D. 2072
Engagement Zone
"C'mon!" Cavalier laughed as he took on all comers. "I'm the Rex of Red Ring-9! You all think you're tough!?" He ducked beneath a Drone's overeager charge, and unceremoniously hurled him onto his back, stomping his foot down onto its chest as he slammed his fist into another of his fellows. "Come one, come all! I've got more than enough for all of you!"
Now this.
This took him way back! The rush of sound, the crunch of metal, the rush of energy through his systems. Only now, as he kneed another of the Drones and roughly shoved him backwards and spoiling another Drone's charge, there was the added
purpose. From when he met Galbinus, now to Earth, fighting the same criminals from trying to rob a pre-spacefaring civilization blind - knowing that he could have the rush and thrill of the fight while also fighting for the right thing.
One of the Drones slammed a nearby boulder against his back. He felt it crack from the impact, and he felt a little bit of his frame give way. But he calmly turned around, smiled cheerfully at the Drone. Then he took the broken remnant of said boulder and socked the Drone across the visor with it.
He was about to slam into another of the Drones, but it seemed like the Phalanxes had beaten him to the punch. All marching in unison, and while no longer in locked shields they were firing their canon units in tight coordination with one another. For each Drone that tried to rush into the gun line, the fellow in front simply socked them with enough force to make Cavalier nod in approval while the gunners poured on the fire. They weren't the good stuff, but he knew that Jessica's boss was having his people work on it.
Cavalier decided he liked Earth. They were outdated, sure, but they learned
fast. And he was kind of curious to see what other crazy nonsense they came up with. But until then...
Cavalier spotted an opening, and grinned as he pulled out the Concussion Blaster. "Hey, Scrapheap! Comms call!"
"What-?" And the medic was sent
flying backwards, a blast of concentrated
noise partially rearranging the landscape in its wake. Sparks flew from the Kaus as parts of his bolted together frame simply shook themselves apart, even as some of the nearby rock formations simply shattered from the pressure.
"Heh. That never gets old." Cavalier was about to try firing again, and damn the safeties, but for a high chirped sound. "Huh?"
Ocular landed onto his shoulder, the pitches and whirrs from the bird-like Legionnaire coming frantically. "Oh. Scrap." He quickly placed a hand onto his receptors. "Richard, they're about to haul afts out of here!"
Round Six
1029, 24 July A.D. 2072
Engagement Zone
"Again!?" That was all Richard had time to utter before he felt the Arc Blade
wrenched from his hands. His hands stung from the sudden impact as the supercharged Blaster from Bandit slammed into his hands, and aside from seeing a gleaming speck lodging itself into part of the terrain somewhere, Richard had no time to go look for it, let alone try to recover it. The Drones were all beginning to Configure into their rover-like forms, and were already hightailing it out of there, even as Cavalier and the Phalanxes were still harrying them all the way out. And from the corner of his eye, he could see a familiar glider trying to make its way in.
"No. Not this time." If the Arc Blade was his only option, he wouldn't have been able to do much about this. But...
The Timberwolf had more holes in it than even against the Dragon (and that one was literally bleeding corrosive acid). His main weapon was out of commission. Yet for one experimental mode that the Engineers had installed almost on an experimental whim, he had one option left. Richard felt the core engines begin to churn, then
surge. Flickers of heat and flames began to sputter from the various gaping wounds the Timberwolf had sustained, and its fists began to shimmer and haze as the hands began to glow a bright, glowing orange. "You're not going anywhere."
At once, both fists
flared into life. "Inferno Mode!" Richard ignored the growing surge of heat that was starting to be felt even through the insulation of the K-Suit, and didn't even realize that sweat was starting to pour down his face. The HUD that superimposed on his face momentarily disabled the safeties on the engines, and he willed the Timberwolf to take a step forward. Then another. Then another.
Faster, faster, even faster than when he'd fought the Dragon. Momentum built, speed gathered. And by the time Bandit looked upwards from setting up the escape beacon, all he would see was a charging
comet in humanoid form barreling its way directly towards him. As if fate had just come up to say 'screw
you in particular.'
"BLAZING-!"
The Timberwolf
launched into the air, and in doing so, unwittingly interrupted the preprogrammed flight path of the glider and Bandit's escape plan-
"-FIST!"
The impact was like a meteorite slamming into the Earth. A pillar of flame, what felt like a momentary volcanic geyser, wracked the ground, and forced back even the Phalanxes as they braced against the shockwave. The glider, momentarily buffeted by the rush of hot air, locked onto its secondary target, and latched onto Scrapheap before anyone could do anything about it. As the fires finally died out, and the Inferno Mode ran its course, all anyone could see was a battered and bruised Timberwolf, standing atop a
very flattened, but still functional, Bandit.
Richard raised the Timberwolf's still fiery fist, the final flames of the explosive punch serving as a backdrop for the Earth Union's second on-record victory against the Free Brothers.
EUDF VICTORY
