famous for their adaptability to the region’s weather.
Pushing the reset button on his inner helmet, Drake checked the radio for any friendly
transmissions. The general frequency was busy with a conversation from Carrier C and
Treadmark Five. It seemed that Five was facing a full lance of light `Mechs. Considering that
Treadmark Five consisted of a single light `Mech piloted by rookie Larry Williams, Drake felt
inclined to provide the young man with some kind of support. However he had no idea who was
the closest unit that might be able to do so.
“Treadmark Five, this is Cully. I want you moving towards the primary group of friendlies
nearest you. You got that Larry, over?” Drake winced as he waited for the pilot’s reply. His
face twisted into a scowl as the wind blew hard for a few seconds, blocking out most of the
radio static with a howl of ever-changing pitches. As he looked around the battlefield to the
south, he could see that Carrier C was now being hit by the Firestarter’s flamers. Huge, white
clouds of steam poured from the snow that was kissed by the flames, as liters of water were
vaporized each second. The light enemy `Mech had apparently lost some of its primary laser
weapons by now, or was at least refraining from using them. Though any nearby pirate infantry
had probably been killed by the flames, the pirate’s Hunter light support tank was holding its
own against the ‘Mech. Unfortunately the tank’s missiles were plagued with a minimum range
disadvantage. With the Firestarter almost on top of the tank’s position, it was only a matter of
time before the `Mech’s intact lasers started doing serious damage to Carrier C.
Still standing next to the rock that had destroyed his face, Drake could feel new waves of
nausea as he mustered control of his voice. “Carrier C, get out of there. You’ve got fresh armor
on your backside. Retreat in the direction of Treadmark Four. Four I want you running that
Guillotine at high heat. We need that Firestarter down and now,” Drake demanded. He had to
muster up the energy to give his voice its determination. The dropping temperature was slowly
robbing him of strength. Though the injury in his back had ached at first, it was now painless and
numb. The nausea he had battled just seconds ago had already dissolved into a new aura of
calm.
“Carrier A, this is Treadmark Five. I’m pretty beat up. These guys have me surrounded and
the bulk of their force is cutting me off from the ..rest ...iendlies... What...re...you sug...stin...ier...
A?”
With the end of Five’s broken transmission, Drake saw a fireball jumping into the sky over the
second ridge to the south. He feared Larry dead. “Five are you there, over? Five...Larry?”
For several seconds, there was no reply from any of Drake’s men.
“Five is down Carrier A.” This time it was Martin Vohlwinkel, the Guillotine’s pilot. “I just
watched him go offline. He punched out though...With these heavy winds, he should be able to
clear the trees and then he’ll be relatively safe on foot. Request to send a rescue team to
coordinates H26 to pick him up, over.”
With any luck, the new pilot would be found and picked up by a remaining group of infantry.
Drake decided he couldn’t leave Larry out in the snow alone, sentencing the young individual to
a situation not unlike his own. “Request granted, Treadmark Four. Four, what’s my current
coordinate by your estimate, over?”
Drake paused. He was hoping to make a general request for any nearby friendlies to come and
pick him up. Despite what seemed to be serious injuries, he didn’t feel he could pass his heavy
responsibility on to his second-in-command. Jonathan was facing a terrible situation already,
entrenched with the pirate platoon whose few survivors faced the deadly loyalist Firestarter.
Jonathan was a great follower, but he wouldn’t likely do well with his first command in addition
to his platoon’s current dilemma. Besides, Drake had to see this retreat plan come full circle or
his team might not survive to fight another day. Unlike traditional military units, surrender wasn’t
an option for pirates like the Kurakoa. They would be publicly executed or jailed for life if they
were lucky.
“A, I’ve got you guessed at Y10, over.” Drake noticed the pilot sounded relatively confident
of the figure.
“Very well, Four. General request to all those in the W and Y regions. Drake Cully needs a
ride.” Drake smiled for a moment. It was amazing to him how stupid the request sounded in the
heat of the current battle. “Treadmark Two, Treadmark Two, how are you holding up, over?”
There was no reply. For several seconds, Drake watched his own breath vanishing away into
the early evening air. Waiting for an answer, he realized that with each exhale his own body heat
was also dropping.
“Tread Three to Carrier A.” The pilot spoke slowly, fear or hesitation gripping his tone. After
several seconds, he continued. “Treadmark Two is out of action, over.” With Jonathan
Heinstrik no longer alive and Drake fearing his own demise, the remaining men would lack the
background information necessary for additonal retreat options. Jonathan, you too old buddy.
Let’s see if I can prevent any more of this needless death.
“The bloody mercs have got a Hunchback tearing down both G and I sectors,” the Treadmark
Three pilot continued with the report. “The guy seems to have a love for lasers. I’d guess it’s a
HBK-4P. They are ripping us up. I estimate casualties at sixty percent for our ground infantry.
Request cover fire so we might hope to make some kind of retreat, over.” Treadmark Three, a
30-ton Spider `Mech piloted by Kraywen Solveig, had successfully warded off two enemy
`Mechs in the last half hour. Finally the Breakers had sent in heavier reinforcements to destroy
the pesky Spider. Though Drake would have bet money that Kraywen could handle the 50-ton
foe, the Spider had already seen a lot of action and likely lost most of its armor. Before he could
decide on a course of action, another report came in.
“Four to A,” called Martin again. “The Firestarter and Carrier C are both down. The bastard
punched a whole in Gabe’s missile launcher and set off an ammo explosion in the Hunter. It
took ‘em both out, over.”
Drake’s spirits waned with his body temperature. Gabe too. Now it seemed that Kraywen
might be in deep trouble. Guessing from where the man had been fighting earlier, Drake
assumed no one was close enough to the old veteran’s location to provide much help. “Carrier
A to Treadmark Three, over.” Drake rubbed his left hand over his face again, feeling the crusty
ice that was forming onto his clotting blood. “Three, I want you making a run for coordinate
sections H and J. There you will provide cover fire for Williams and his rescuers.
