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Chapter 40 (YEAR 2052)
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Games of Invictus Chapter 41 (YEAR 2052)
"To answer your first inevitable question, I lost it about seven years ago flying a dropship prototype," Martin stated. His voice took on a bored tone as he wiggled the fingers of his prosthetic. He had clearly shared this information many times before. Martin's left arm gestured toward his temple. His head turned, just slightly, to the left, and I could see something I hadn't noticed before. A small patch of Martin's blonde crew cut had been shaved bald, clearing space for an IRON chip. The chip itself was clearly modified-spliced apart to serve a new purpose-and was mounted far from its usual location on the back of the neck. "You control your arm with an IRON chip?" I inquired. "That's amazing! I thought they could only tap into the cerebellum." At this Martin's smile returned. He pulled down his sleeve with a steady motion and nodded at me. "With a little work," he corrected, "the IRON chip can be so much more than a weapon. It just needs the right owner." A loud electronic c
Games of Invictus Chapter 42 (YEAR 2052)
Report: Quinn The irradiated remains of Moscow. Russia. A radioactive "exclusion zone". Neutral territory, until now. My teeth rattled and ash floated up around my mech as I touched down in what was left of Moscow. The exclusion zone was a battlefield, with Chinese-Canadian mechs dropping in every possible location. We had the enemy surrounded and outnumbered, but not outgunned. As Martin had revealed to us hours ago, our squadron had been tasked with capturing the city center. This wouldn't be easy, as the center of the exclusion zone was dominated by a massive crater. The impact zone was vast, easily four-hundred meters deep by two-thousand in diameter. Despite its size, the crater's jagged rim would provide only sparse cover against incoming fire. Worst of all? We didn't know where the enemy was hiding. Intelligence had determined that there were at least thirty of Axion's massive Legion mechs scattered throughout the smoke. We didn't know where in the city they were, but th
Games of Invictus Chapter 43 (YEAR 2052)
Everything fell silent for a moment, presumably as our unseen assailant reloaded. If our assailant was using a howitzer cannon, we would have six seconds before they were ready to fire again. Fourteen tense seconds passed but no shots rang out. Audible signs of relief echoed through the comms. We were safe behind cover, at least for the moment. Suddenly, loud, blanketing explosions buffeted the ground around us. My cockpit shook as I took a hit to the top of my armour. This time our attackers weren't hidden-long, smoky missile trails burned through the fog, with more on the way. "Those are long-range missiles!" Taewi shouted. "From the southeast, where squadron one was fighting!" My feeling of dread intensified. How could the Americans be attacking us if they were busy fighting other Alliance teams? Our squad was divided, pinned behind two seperate buildings. Commander Telbus, Taewi and Alyx had all taken refuge safely out of range behind an upended skyscraper, but Kitt and I we
Games of Invictus Chapter 44 (YEAR 2052)
Report: Park The irradiated remains of Moscow. Russia. A radioactive "exclusion zone". Neutral territory, until now. "Taewi, move!" I watched, slack-jawed, as Jackson's Valkyrie charged me, seconds before a tendril of white lightning reached out through the fog and connected with his mech. Jackson's distorted scream echoed over the comms as his mech was overwhelmed with the searing energy. A thunderclap nearly deafened me as the stricken Valkyrie spasmed about before beginning a slow fall backwards. In the seconds following this, two thoughts raced through my mind. If the blast had short-circuited Jackson's command capsule, he was dead. Radiation would kill him if the fall didn't. Though I could've possibly survived the shock, my Predator was heavily damaged. Jackson Quinn had likely just saved my life. "My God," Martin began, "what the hell was that?" Much to my relief, Jackson's command capsule burst from his fried mech, trailing smoke but otherwise unharmed. His Valkyrie
Games of Invictus Chapter 45 (YEAR 2052)
Report: Stonewood, L The airspace above Moscow. Russia. A radioactive "exclusion zone". Neutral territory, until now. I sat in the pilot's seat of Dropship 13, head bobbing, as the sweet melody of Elton John was hammered out over the speaker system. It was intended to be a shipwide system for announcing things to the mech pilots onboard, but it had seen more use as a stereo system. The song's beat was mangled by static and age but the melody rang loud and clear. Loud was what counted. Loud meant that I couldn't hear the battle going on below. I couldn't hear the pilots I'd transported to their deaths. Elton John's snappy melody spoke to me. After all, we'd been through the alliance was still standing, but I certainly wasn't feeling like a survivor. I'd never fought in a battle. I just maintained the mechs, flew the dropship, and did patchwork to both mechs and pilots. Fix them up and ship them back out. The cycle was endless. I sent pilots out until they either came back victo
Games of Invictus Chapter 46 (YEAR 2052)
Report: Park The irradiated remains of Moscow. Russia. A radioactive "exclusion zone". Neutral territory, until now. I swivelled the body of my Predator impatiently. Jackson was still nowhere to be seen and Martin had fallen oddly silent. Instead, I marched dutifully behind the jerk in a silver mech. Who painted a mech silver anyway? What kind of advantage did that get you? Certainly not camouflage. "The highest concentration of enemies remaining in the city will be in this direction," I stated, more to continue to sound in charge than to be helpful. "They'll have Legions with close-combat weapons guarding the long-range mechs. I believe there are still Russian forces scattered around as well, so be ready for anything." The Xiezhi's body swivelled toward me again. I could sense the pilot inside was growing impatient. "You assume I haven't fought in a battle before?" the pilot responded, voice crackling over the comm channel. "Am I the only one wondering what the heck is happen
Games of Invictus Chapter 47 (YEAR 2052)
Report: Quinn The irradiated remains of Moscow. Russia. A radioactive "exclusion zone". Neutral territory, until now. God, did my hands ever hurt. The duct tape pulled at the burns on my palms as I swerved like a madman to avoid enemy fire. I closed the distance fast, long-range missiles pockmarking the ground behind me. If the pilots of the artillery mechs had been truly good at their jobs they would've led their shots, but the violent beginnings of the Iron War had chewed up most of the veterans. Now it was inexperienced pilots like us left to end it. The long-range missiles kept missing and I kept swerving, closing the distance until I blew past Taewi Park's Predator and-was that a Xiezhi? "Hey, Taewi!" I called. "How goes the battle?" "That's as good a distraction as any!" Martin shouted. "Push now!" I continued forward, my one remaining plasma launcher and brand new railgun firing continuously. I heard a loud hum above my head. I snuck a glance upward as I ran and the s
Games of Invictus Chapter 48 (YEAR 2052)
Report: Fisk The Nevada Desert. Arizona. Axion manufacturing base. Designation: "The Forge" The door to my office slid open with a quiet hiss, flooding the room with dim light from the hallway outside. The shadow made a perfect rectangular shape on my floor. This pleased me. The interruption did not. "Director Fisk, sir?" I sat up, taking my eyes off the console I had been watching. I cleared my throat. "Yes, soldier?" A young man stood before me, tan military uniform infuriatingly dishevelled. He was clearly one of the newer folks here in Nevada, shipped in only a month before. The man's brown military crew-cut was slowly growing back, neglected due to stress, and a five' o'clock shadow darkened his tanned skin. His green eyes darted around the room in a nervous motion, scanning for my reaction. Even his stubble was lopsided. I tried to push the annoyance from my mind. The soldier seemed nervous. Scared, even. A pity, considering the man had nothing to fear. He was worth
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