《Luther's Axiom》


 Prologue

    The bustling sounds of machinery and chattering of mech techs were muted, pushed into the background as Vega cleared her mind of any distractions. She had held her eyes shut for a few minutes, but it was only now that she was able to truly focus her mind enough to retreat into the sanctuary within, her senses completely attuned to the blissful silence and darkness of her own little world.


    She could feel her heartbeat slow and relax as well, her body now joining her mind in this state of zen. Every breath she took was measured and deliberate, her lungs swelling and emptying at a steady pace; it was a ritual she had done countless times before, but had only mastered recently.


    "Captain."


    A voice shook her from her trance, and the tranquil darkness melted away as she opened her eyes. She was back in the real world, back in the bay of the dropship, sitting in her mech with the cockpit hatch open. A pair of mech techs were dutifully performing their checks on her mech, but they weren''t the ones that had called for her.


    "Captain, sorry." Before her stood Specialist Lance, a gangly young pilot with messy blond hair and dressed in an even grubbier jumpsuit. His tall, thin frame made it seem as if his jumpsuit was wearing him instead, rather than vice versa. "I-I didn''t know you were-"


    "It''s alright, Lance." Vega leaned forward, feeling her other senses slowly come back. "What is it?"


    "The LT wanted me to let you know, everyone''s kitted up and ready." Lance stumbled a bit as the entire dropship shuddered, grabbing onto Vega''s mech. The two techs didn''t even react to the turbulence, nor did Vega. "He says we''ll be over the drop zone in five minutes."


    "Perfect. Thank you." Vega sat back in her chair, closing her eyes to try to return to her world; still, she could feel Lance continue to stand in front of her. "Is there something else I can do for you, Specialist?"


    "N-no, captain," Lance stammered. "It''s-it''s just..." He eyed the mech she sat in, the bipedal titan towering over him. "I... I just still can''t believe I was assigned to your unit."


    Vega opened her eyes and cracked a faint smile. "Yeah, well, it''s the real deal, private. You weren''t assigned; you werechosen.I selected you because your file was impressive."


    It was a lie, of course; Lance was assigned to her unit, another hasty replacement for the heavy losses incurred by the war. Still, it was a story she chose to perpetuate, if not to ease the newbies'' worries, then for her own conscience; it was a story she had told too many times before.


    Some either saw through her lie, or chose to remain in disbelief; others, like Lance thankfully, gobbled it up whole and were awestruck by their newfound elite status. They were now a part of company 417, Captain Vega''s Drop Shockers, one of the most famous outfits within the United Earth Nation''s forces.


    Vega wished she had the luxury of choosing replacements; the war''s direction had other ideas.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    She could still remember the war''s outbreak eight years prior, when the Frontier Alliance had formed on the colony worlds and declared their secession from UEN control. Every media broadcast and social networking nexus had been flooded with this news, with reactions varying wildly from world to world.


    The response from UEN officials had been swift:unacceptable.The colony worlds held too much economic and cultural value to simply let go; a United Earth Nations'' expeditionary force was immediately mustered to quell this uprising and bring these worlds back into the fold.


    She was still a corporal then, a young and doe-eyed reservist watching from the sidelines as most of her friends and comrades were selected for the expeditionary force. Her mentor, Captain Luther, was among them.


    "It''s not fair," she had said, pouting as Luther packed what little he had into his satchel. "I should be going with you. You''re still training me, after all!"


    "Orders are orders, kid," he laughed, patting her head. "Besides, I''ve taught almost everything I know, anyway."


    "Almosteverything?" Vega raised her brow. "So that means I''m coming with, then?"


    "Nope." Luther tied up his satchel and tossed it over his shoulder."Youare going to stay here and watch after my goldfish while I''m gone. Captain Summers is still trying to nab them, so keep sharp."


    "Oh, come on!" Vega followed him out of his room and down the hall, dodging a few NCOs saluting the captain. "Surely you can talk to the major about letting me tag along? I''ve got my things ready to go, anyway, and-"


    "Drop it, Elena." Luther''s voice was sharp now, without any hint of the playfulness earlier. He had turned around, his eyes narrowed.


    Vega stopped, standing to attention by reflex; Luther wasn''t speaking as her mentor anymore, but as her superior officer.


    "At ease." Luther''s expression and tone softened. "I know you want to go, but you are neededhere.Like I said before, I''ve taught you almost everything I know, but not everything. You''re not ready, not yet."


    "Then when will I?" Vega felt tears of frustration stinging at her eyes; she felt like a child being admonished. "Who''s going to watch your back out there?"


    "Plenty of other guys who are much more trained and experienced than you, kiddo." Luther tousled her head again, messing up the neatly wound uniform-regulation bun beneath her cap. "And you''ll be more ready once you''re back in uniform code." He winked, turning to go.


    Vega couldn''t help but smile; still, the tears were flowing freely now, not of frustration, but of watching her mentor and guardian leave. It was only when she began to fix her hair again that she felt it: a heavy challenge coin, Luther''s lucky piece sneakily stuffed into her cap.


    "You hold on to that for me, kiddo," Luther said, his back to her, "My luck is in your hands. I expect it back when I return."


    An alarm klaxon jerked Vega back into the present. The bay was lit red now, indicating they were sixty seconds out from the drop zone; techs and pilots were scrambling to their mechs and standby stations. Lance was frozen, his eyes as wide as dinner plates.


    "Get to your mech, specialist." Vega strapped herself into her chair, pulling her pilot''s helmet over her head.


    Lance continued to stand rooted to the spot; it was obvious this was his first drop, and his nerves were winning the battle within him.


    Vega popped open her visor, revealing her face to him one last time. She needed to give him one last push, to give him the last lie that everyone else before him had readily accepted without question.


    "It''s gonna be alright! Stick by me, and you''ll make it!"


    Lance seemed visibly relieved by this, and dutifully trotted away to his own mech.


    Vega closed her visor and pulled the hatch shut, the mech''s display systems coming online.


    She wished it had come online a second later, to spare her the final glance Lance gave her before he buttoned up in his own mech.

 Chapter I

    "Falcon-4, how copy?" Luther''s voice was calm and steady, but Vega could detect a hint of worry behind it.


    Vega inhaled sharply, glancing at the damage report and diagnostics flashing on her display. Her mech''s legs were heavily damaged, but were still in working order; she could feel the machine buckling slightly, the mech teetering unsteadily as it shuffled unsteadily to its feet.


    "This is Falcon-4," she responded, wincing as a flurry of sparks shot out from her left inside the cockpit. "My legs are shot, but I''m good otherwise. Don''t think I can run, though."


    A slew of laughter erupted over the comm line as the other members of Falcon team gathered around her damaged mech.


    "Now that''s one way to clear the ramp," Smithers, Falcon team''s second-in-command, snickered.


    His mech, a hulking Mark II Cyclops, marched up behind Vega''s comparatively small Centaur and braced it, adding support to Vega''s beleaguered mech.


    "You''re lucky this was training," Luther chided. He walked his mech in front of Vega''s and popped the front hatch open, allowing him to look at Vega directly. "What you did was reckless, stupid, and downright the dumbest thing I''ve seen yet."


    "Aw, lay off her, Luth." Eva, the team''s marksman, sidled up beside Luther''s mech and popped open her hatch as well. Her flowing locks of brilliant red hair were visible even in the dim light of dusk, as were her gleaming white teeth as she grinned. "You have to admit, she did look pretty cool jumping out so high."


    "She was lucky the dropship was less than a hundred meters from the ground," Luther grunted. "Any higher and she would have been corned mash in that tin can."


    Vega felt her face burn hotly, embarrassment coursing through her veins where adrenaline had rushed through only moments before. "I-"


    "Save it, Falcon-4." Luther snapped his hatch shut again and waved everyone off, before turning his mech to leave. "We''re doing this exercise as planned, but you''ll bring up the rear with Falcon-5."


    Jackson, Falcon-5, guffawed over his comms. "Uh-oh, busted!"


    Vega''s shoulders sagged as she nodded dejectedly. "...Yes, sir."


    She limped to the rear of the team as everyone else fell back into formation, her mech audibly grinding and whirring.


    As the team marched along, a private comm channel link opened up on her display: Luther.


    "You alright, kid?" Luther asked.


    "Y-yes, sir."


    "Cut the sir shit, Elena." He sounded genuinely concerned. "You sure you''re not hurt? No headaches, dizziness, none of that?"


    Vega paused. "...No, I''m fine. Honest."


    "Good." She heard him sigh in relief. "Don''t do that again, you hear? Damn near gave me a heart attack seeing you jump out the bay like that before we got the go-ahead."


    "Sorry, sir." Vega hung her head. "I got too excited. Won''t happen again."


    "What''d I say?"Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    "Oh. Sorry."


    She could hear him chuckling slightly. "How high was it, though? Eighty, maybe ninety meters?"


    "Ninety-five. I jumped right after the chief called a hundred."


    Luther whistled. "Ninety-five? You''ve got balls, kid."


    Vega smiled. "Thanks, I guess?"


    "You''re still in the penalty box, don''t think you''re off the hook when we get back."


    The line fell silent, but remained open; they marched in silence for a minute or so before Luther spoke again.


    "You did look really badass though, not gonna lie."


    Vega laughed as Luther ended the call.


    <hr>


    "Say again, captain?!" The line crackled with static, but Vega could clearly hear the disbelief in the lieutenant''s voice. "You want us to jump at seven-zero-zero meters?!"


    "Affirmative, lieutenant!" Vega signaled to the other mechs behind her to prep for the jump. Twenty mechs in total were stacked up, magnetically locked to the dropship''s bay floor to counteract the turbulence from the relentless flak and anti-air fire rocking the craft. The crew chief had opened the bay door, from which the fierce wind whipped through the bay as bright flashes of bursting munitions lit up the compartment.


    "We''ve already lost boat-three, and I''ll be damned if we get chewed up before we hit the ground!" Vega shouted into her mic. She switched to company-wide comms, broadcasting to all the mechs in her unit. "Time your thrusters as you fall, fire them in short bursts! Once you hit oh-five-zero meters, shoot your boosters in full, your shocks can absorb the freefall!"


    A bloom of flak blossomed right outside the bay door, taking a chunk of the dropship''s rear tail fin with it; it was now or never.


    "Go, go, go!" Vega charged ahead out of the bay, leaping out into the open air. "All mechs, jump!"


    Her gut somersaulted as she free-fell, streaking through the sky as countless bursts of fire erupted around her; the audio dampeners took care of the otherwise deafening explosions, but she could feel the shockwaves and vibrations of each round that detonated near her.


    White clouds were mixed with black smoke from exploded rounds, as the setting sun washed everything in a warm orange glow; Vega did her best to avoid looking directly into the sun and be blinded by its alluring luminance, maneuvering her mech so that she faced away from it.


    Her display showed the other mechs obeying her order, following suit as they jumped out behind her; the lieutenant''s section, flying in on another dropship, had also commenced the jump.


    Forty mechs were hurtling down like steel rain, dodging flak and airburst rounds. Sporadic bursts of blue light twinkled in Vega''s optics, as mechs fired their boosters to either dodge the incoming fire or slow their descent; one round burst right in front of her, hitting the unlucky mech before her head on. The mech, a small Archer, was engulfed in flames and rocketed uncontrollably towards the earth; Vega could see a few other mechs of varying classes and sizes fall victim to the incoming fire.


    "Five-zero-zero meters! Keep it together, people!" Vega fired her own boosters, dodging a shell that raced past her.


    The display showed six mechs lost so far, more than an entire team; Vega prayed silently, willing for everyone left to make it to the ground intact.


    "Two-five-zero meters! Almost there!" She could hear the frantic comm chatter amongst the others, as pilots called out their statuses or requested assistance; one pilot was relaying some especially worrying news that the lieutenant''s mech was just lost as well.


    Damn. No time to worry about that now; they were a hundred meters from the ground and closing fast.


    She could see the earth below, the landscape dotted with fortifications and pillboxes; dozens of guns were trained at the sky, spitting out both large and small-arms fire at the incoming mechs. Gun crews worked desperately as infantry scurried around them to prepare for the imminent assault.


    "Five-zero meters! Fire everything now!"


    The frame of her mech groaned slightly as her boosters roared in full force, her stomach lurching as the rapid fall slowed into a more gentle descent. The remaining mechs around her did the same, large plumes of blue plasma erupting beneath them as their boosters fired a sustained blast.


    She touched down, the mech keeling slightly as it absorbed the force of the drop; all systems were still green.


    She counted thirty-two mechs still active on her display; a fifth of her force had been lost in the drop.


    Dammit. Vega cursed to herself; almost two full teams lost on the way down.


    No time for that now, though. The enemy was reacting to their presence, but the tables were turned; no enemy mechs were present, and Vega''s mechs faced nothing but infantry in the zone.


    "Company, weapons free!" She drew the pulse rifle mounted to her mech''s back. "Fuck ''em up!"

 Chapter II

    By Vega''s estimates, eight mechs were lost in the drop, along with an entire dropship carrying the company''s infantry support element; still, thirty-two mechs against what seemed to be a battalion-sized infantry force, a support weapon element at that, was overkill as it is.


    For a second, nobody moved; men stared up at the mechs in horror and fear, their faces agape with terror. Facing them, the UEN mech pilots quickly assessed the situation.


    All the enemy manned weapons were anti-air; they were too slow and cumbersome to be used as anti-mech guns. As far as Vega can see, none of the enemy had anti-mech weapons, not even a portable launcher.


    "Company, weapons free!" Vega raised her pulse rifle. "Light ''em up!"


    In the dim light of the setting sun, the line of mechs opened fire on the bewildered infantry, torrents of aimed fire wreaking havoc on men and machinery.


    Vega''s own rifle produced a steady flash as she pumped round after round into the exposed gunners, her targeting sensors lighting up like a Christmas tree. The infantry who were frozen in shock were now scattering, diving into cover or making a mad dash for their rear lines.


    Her pulse rifle was loaded with explosive rounds; against enemy mechs, light armor would be shredded, but against people, the effects were nothing short of horrifying.


    Those hit directly exploded into mist, raining gore and giblets onto their comrades; others who were grazed or took a glancing shot lost a limb if they were lucky.


    Facing virtually no resistance, the mechs swept aside the infantry and silenced the guns, mopping up anyone else left. It was all over within moments; anyone not dead or wounded had run off, leaving the field unchallenged.


    Thirty-two mechs were still active on Vega''s display; she breathed a sigh of relief. It was confirmation that there weren''t any anti-mech weapons on site, not yet, at least. No doubt those that fled to the rear had raised the alarm; anti-mech weapons were likely inbound.


    "Captain!"


    She turned, facing a friendly mech; his ID tag marked him as Kilo Team, K-2, specifically.


    Hector. Vega lowered her weapon. "Good seeing you, sergeant. Where''s your team lead?"


    "Lost him in the drop, ma''am." Hector''s voice dripped with weariness. "Heard we lost the LT, too."


    "Unconfirmed. I need you to verify." Vega sighed, looking over the momentarily calm battlefield. The carnage wrought by the mechs was strewn about, soaking the muddy earth in sanguine ichor; a few bands of survivors, hands raised, were being corralled by many of her subordinates. "Take Kilo and sweep the downed transponders. See if you can find any survivors."


    "Roger." Hector turned to leave. "Any word on the second wave?"


    "Not yet. I''ll keep you posted." Vega could already see them in the distance; enemy mechs, charging towards their position. She estimated about two dozen of them, of various classes and sizes, and wielding large-caliber weapons. Some of them were even only armed with melee weapons. "We''ll hold here. Bring back any survivors if you find them, torch their mechs if they''re down."Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    As Hector and his team lumbered off, Vega and the rest of her mechs braced themselves. They weren''t facing defenseless infantry anymore: these were their fighting equals.


    Streaks of tracers and gunfire erupted from both sides as the enemy mechs closed in; some got within close-quarters and engaged in melee with Vega''s mechs. The sound of crashing steel mixed in with deafening fire very nearly overwhelmed her audio dampeners; her cockpit shuddered with each explosion and shot, the din of combat enveloping her entirely.


    A heavily armored mech, a pattern she recognized as a Rhino-class, charged straight towards her, tossing aside two smaller mechs without stopping.


    She poured fire on it to no avail, her rounds bouncing harmlessly off of its heavy armor plates.


    Shit. She held her fire, her rifle still trained on the incoming mech; right before it would collide with her, she fired her boosters, sidestepping the charging machine by a hair.


    Explosive rounds weren''t going to cut it; something heavier was needed. As the enemy mech slowed and turned to face her again, she switched her rounds to slug-cores.


    The Rhino charged again; this time, Vega''s fire was much more effective.


    Her rate of fire was much slower, but the heavier rounds practically peeled open the Rhino like a can opener. The mech''s arm, then leg were sheared off by the slug-cores, sending it toppling to the ground; Vega kept up the fire, dissecting the Rhino''s torso and pilot compartment until it exploded in a brilliant flash.


    Before she could react, another enemy mech was on her; this time, it was a lithe Archer-class, a nimble machine that was smaller, but much faster than hers.


    She could barely register its presence before it had already landed several blows on her mech, violently rocking her cockpit as she stumbled back.


    Her rifle had been knocked out of her hands, and the Archer was much more strategic than the Rhino. The blows were deliberate; they had knocked out her ancillary optics, leaving her with limited vision to fight with.


    A few sparks fizzled in her cockpit as she regained her footing. The Archer was right in front of her, continuing to land blows against her hull as she raised her arms in an attempt at defense.


    So it''s gonna be like that, huh. She maintained her defense, keeping her arms close and her mech hunched over. The Archer was fast, but its moves were growing predictable; its pilot must think Vega was on her last ropes.


    It was far from it; as the Archer threw another punch, Vega moved swiftly, grabbing the smaller mech''s arm and moving in close. In one smooth motion, she tossed the Archer to the ground in a textbook judo throw, before raising her foot and stomping right atop the mech''s cockpit, crumpling it like paper.


    By her display, six additional friendly mechs were knocked out in the fighting; the Rhino and Archer included, she counted seven enemy mechs lying smoldering on the ground.


    As a few friendly mechs surged past her to engage additional inbound enemies, she was allowed a brief moment of breathing space.


    It was then that it hit her.


    The fighting had been so hectic, she had neglected a core tenet: she needed to regroup with her command team.


    Opening up her comms, she pinged the other members of her team, breathless. "Falcon Team, this is Falcon-1. Sorry to check in late, everyone call in."


    "Falcon-2, here." Cam, her second-in-command, was the first to respond. "I''m with Falcon-5 and 3."


    A moment went by before the last member checked in. "Falcon-4, checking in. Glad to see you''re still with us, captain." Ariana, or Ari, was the team''s designated marksman. "I''m perched up about five-zero meters from your position. Was wondering when you''d call in."


    "Better late than never, I guess." Vega frowned. "Nobody else called in when I didn''t?"


    "We tried," Cam quipped. "You never responded."


    Vega cursed herself; she had gotten carried away again and only monitored company-wide comms, rather than her own lines. "Sorry, guys. All me."


    "No worries, cap." She could hear Ari smiling, the characteristic faint click of her teeth. "Always next time, eh?"


    By now, the UEN mechs had managed to push back the enemy mechs, who were in full retreat. Only twenty-two mechs were still showing as active; almost half her force had been lost. With the guns silenced, Vega could see the additional dozen or so dropships descending from the sky, the main force her company had acted as the vanguard for.


    "Cavalry''s here, folks. Let''s pack it up and let the ground-pounders handle it." Vega turned, walking towards the landing dropships. "Regroup on me. Day''s not over, yet."