[dcs_p]Sasha was breathing heavily, but her mech’s heat was falling rapidly, so she
started marching it up the hill. She checked her radar, there was nothing
showing. She looked around the rolling hills and how eerily quiet everything
seemed. How oddly beautiful the hills seemed-she had never noticed it before,
even though she grew up here on New Kent. “That is probably due to the fact
that I am leaving here soon, my home for so long,” she pondered. Dismissing
these foolish sentimental thoughts, she concentrated on finding her enemy – they
had not stopped the trial, so there had to be at least one opponent out on the
field. Sasha decided he must be in passive sensor mode to escape detection-or
have an ECM and she seriously doubted he would have an ECM when he could
pack weapons. She shut down her radar and started running passive sensor
only, although it was probably too late.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]“Stormcrow, you are now my target, prepare to be destroyed.” She recognized
that voice, it was the bald bastard Blachloke.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]“Blachloke, I am going to enjoy sending you to hell.”[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]“Sasha, a most pleasant surprise. But I think-” The communication cut off, Sasha
assumed it was because this kind of speech was not allowed in the trial. No
matter, she would do her best to send him to hell-and keep the scum out of the
Steel Viper Touman. Sasha still could not find him, but the Gauss rifle slug
crushing through her left side told her where he was. She quickly righted herself
and turned to face her enemy, she noticed some movement and fired her large
pulse laser at it. The rolling hills, earlier her friend, had suddenly become her
enemy. She stood still, waiting for her opponent to come over the hill he had hid
behind, for neither of them could use their radar effectively and they were both
running passive. A Cauldron-Born popped up over the hill-Sasha unloaded all her
weapons at it and scored hits with them all. Blachloke’s Mech rocked under the
fire, but he easily righted himself, he came within 300 meters, and answered
Sasha’s question with an answer-a big one. All his weapons fired, and even
though the Stormcrow had started moving, it didn’t matter. His aim was
flawless. Warning klaxons went off, lights flashed, the electrical system in the
cockpit went out and Sasha knew her mech’s computer had determined her
damage to great and had ejected her. She was effectively dead.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Her comm line crackled, “Stormcrow Gamma Prime, you have been eliminated.
This Trial of Position is over, power is being returned to your Mech, pilot it to
Mech bay five.”[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]“Aff Command.” The Mech shuddered as power surged through the OmniMech.
The screens flickered, and Sasha looked on at the undamaged Cauldron-Born.
She could just see him snickering in his cockpit. She trotted her Mech toward
Mech bay five.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Sasha hopped down from her Stormcrow. When she hit the ground she turned to
inspect her Mech, but besides being badly burnt in places, it looked pristine.
Powered down weapons and computer models had allowed the Mechs to engage
in combat that looked, felt, and for all intents and purposes was, real. She
peered up at the Mech, it’s form stood silent guard over the Mech bay. She then
took a moment to look around the bay. No one greeted her, no one was even
around-not even techs.[/dcs_p]