[dcs_p]Undisclosed Location
Northern Hemisphere, Labrea
Labrea System, Irece Prefecture
Draconis Combine
Second Quarter, 3068[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]As sky-blue dust made its way across the desert plateau, a robotic, bird-legged
apparition appeared from behind a canyon wall in a fantastic burst of speed. The
metallic phantom could barely be seen in the surrounding bluish gust. The desert
wind continued its punishment of the native shale rock, scattering the smallest
broken bits of the brittle material ever more into its powerful gust. As it did,
visibility became even poorer.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Star Captain Sasha Breen brought her 40-ton Battle Cobra up the slope as quick
as she could. The maneuver she was attempting would prove impossible for
most pilots, but then again she was well-known for her finesse with smaller
Mechs. Much to her enemy’s surprise, she would already be waiting for them,
guns ready, when they made their last ditch effort to break off to escape like the
cowards they were.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]The only problem plaguing the Steel Vipers today was the weather. The awful
seasonal winds made it hard to make out much of anything besides a great wall
of blue. Sasha had realized that this exact quality was probably what led the
Blakists to find a home in this desolate place. They were always seeking
concealment from prying eyes. This area seemed almost made for that exact
purpose.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Before Sasha could slow her Mech or even find an appropriate spot for
protection, an enemy popped up on her HUD.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”Surat!” she yelled out in the confines of her own cockpit. She hadn’t wanted
something so small as a scout to be her first victim. If Star Commander Hamner
and his Nova Cats had done their job right the first time, there wouldn’t even be
any scouts left by now. I will take that up with Hamner later.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Sasha brought the short, wide-shouldered Battle Cobra to a complete stop. It
responded perfectly to her experienced touch. The Mech shifted its weight onto
the right foot, pivoting with a gentle spin just before accelerating rapidly down the
slope before it. Sasha kicked the machine into high gear, drawing sudden energy
out of the fusion engine to come to a full-out sprint. Remarkably, the Battle
Cobra continued down the slope gracefully until it was within adequate weapons
range.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Sasha knew she’d never be able to target the enemy scout at her current speed.
She eased up on the throttle and brought the Mech’s arms up into her standard
attack stance. Within seconds, laser blasts shot out at the small Word of Blake
machine, a 25-ton Nexus.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]The Nexus was a trademark scout of the Blakist unit. The well-armed little Mech
was capable of breath-taking bursts of speed itself, and its pulse laser
technology allowed it to correct any problems noticed while targeting. Despite all
these strengths, the Nexus was still only a light scout machine. Its armor
protection was painfully light, an unfortunate side effect to having a powerful
weapons setup.[/dcs_p]