"Ranma 1/2: Mechwarrior Team Jusenkyo"
By: James "Phoenix" Jones
[Planet: Moraine -- Lyran Alliance: April 24, 3057]
< > indicates thoughts
{ } indicates conversations over comm systems.
For most of the team, the three days lapse between the issuing of the clan's batchall and the actual combat passed too quickly. However, for Ranma, it didn't pass quickly enough.
Akane was the first to notice how irritable he'd been since the challenge and his energy had finally gotten the better of him.
<Why _now_ of all times?> Akane asked herself as watched Ranma and Ryouga fight.
"Come on, Lost Boy, you can do better than that!" taunted Ranma as he slugged Ryouga in the arm.
"Damn it, Ranma! I thought we called a truce!" yelled Ryouga as he kicked at Ranma.
Ranma saw the kick and triangle-jumped off the wall to avoid it. As he landed he said, "We did call a truce. But this isn't fighting!"
Ryouga stopped and said, "Than what is it!?"
In answer, Ranma again jumped against the wall and sprang off of it toward Ryouga, his arm outstretched. The punch landed solidly on Ryouga's shoulder. "This is warm ups! It just looks like a fight!" said Ranma, as he landed a few feet away.
Ryouga stood up, rubbing his shoulder and said, "Well, if this is just 'looks like a fight,' then a guess you don't mind me using this!" As he concluded the sentence, he threw out one of his bandanna's.
The attack caught Ranma completely be surprise and he had no time to dodge as the heavy cloth impacted against his forehead.
"Why you!" Ranma screamed as he rushed Ryouga.
Yuta watched the "battle" from the window of the mess hall and sighed with contempt. <We don't need this right now.> he said to himself as he sipped his tea.
Of course, in the back of his mind he was forced to admit that the team _did_ need the distraction. For the past three days, they had done nothing but eat, drink, and breathe simulated scenarios to prepare for the upcoming duel with the Falcons and they all had more than enough adrenaline to go around. Still, he couldn't condone them using up so much of their pent up energy before the actual fight.
"Yuta?"
Looking away from the window, he turned toward the door. Nabiki had her head poked through it and was looking around the room. "In here, Nabiki." he said.
"Oh, there you are." she said as she moved into the room.
"Have a seat."
"Thanks."
As Nabiki sat down, she smoothed out her jumpsuit and Yuta laughed. Of all the members of the team, Nabiki was the only one who ever complained about the jumpsuits, but she still kept it immaculately clean.
"And what is so funny?" she queried.
"Nothing." Yuta answered. "So what did you need?"
In answer, she handed him a slip of paper. "You said for me to let you know when that Clansman, contacted us."
"So?" asked Yuta as he unfolded the paper.
Nabiki gave him a dark look and said, "He contacted us."
"About?"
She rolled her eyes and "humphed." "You can be a real ass sometimes, you know that?"
"Yeah."
"Anyway, that clansman. . . what's his name. . . Herb, just contacted us with the dual location." she said.
Yuta didn't answer as he read over the paper.
Nabiki, taking it that she was no longer needed, excused herself and got ready to leave.
"Nabiki?" said Yuta, not taking his eyes off the paper.
"What?" she answered.
Looking up, Yuta asked, "What do you think Jusenkyo's chances are?"
<Huh?> She thought. "Well . . . um. . . I'm not sure I know what you mean."
"I mean do you think they can win or not?"
That certainly wasn't what Nabiki had been expecting. "Of. . . of course they can. I mean, the _have_ eliminated over nine clan patrols!"
"Those were unorganized, under-powered patrols." said Yuta. "This is a real battle, and I know that they'll lose."
"WHAT!?" Nabiki shouted. "What did you say!?"
Yuta stood and looked her squarely in the eye, Nabiki shrunk back somewhat but didn't blink. "I said that they're going to lose."
"Why!?"
"Look out there," said Yuta, motioning to the window, "and tell me what you see."
Nabiki usually didn't take orders very well, but decided to comply and moved to the window. "I see Ranma and Ryouga fighting." she said, "But that's nothing unusual."
"I know." Yuta replied. "That's why they'll lose."
"I still don't understand." said Nabiki, genuinely confused.
"They're supposed to be a team, Nabiki, and they are anything but!"
"So!? Lots of good 'mech contingents are like that!"
"I know, and 'mech contingents that can't work as a team end up dead before their time!"
"I don't have to listen to this, Yuta!" Nabiki said. "My sister is one of the best, and what she can't do, they others can! There's no way they can lose."
"There's always a chance of failure, Nabiki."
<Oh, that's it!> Nabiki thought. "Now you listen to me, _Colonel_ Mariner, just because you lost your nerve and decided that every battle is a lost cause doesn't mean every battle is! Those people out there are some of the best. I tell you they are going to eat those clan bastards for breakfast and spit out what's left of their bones. And if you don't like it, then the hell with you!" said Nabiki, almost screaming.
Yuta was about to retort, but Nabiki stormed out of the room before he had a chance. Sighing, he finished his tea and left to tell the others about Herb's selection of battle location. <You're wrong Nabiki,> Yuta thought <they aren't "some of" the best. They _are_ the best.>
Yuta entered the mech bay just in time to see Ranma pin Ryouga to the ground. He laughed at the sight of Ryouga flailing his arms and legs in a vain attempt to get Ranma off of him. Quickly calming down he said, "Attention!"
At his call, each of the team members jumped to attention (Ryouga casting a dark look at Ranma) and stood waiting.
"Okay." he began. "As you all know, today's the first match of the honor duel with the Falcons."
A murmer ran through those present.
"I don't have to tell you that this isn't going to be like taking out small, under-powered patrols." Yuta continued. "This is going to be a major battle. I don't expect you to win, but I don't expect you to lose either."
As he paused, he noticed that the others where casting nervous, silent glances at each other. "However," he continued, "I do expect one thing out of you, and that's teamwork. Understand?"
"Yes, sir!!!!" they called in unison.
"Alright." Yuta said, removing the slip of paper form his pocket. "The battle is to take place at o-ten hundred in sector 44, near Nav Theta. You've. . ."
"That is the Glass Desert, correct?" asked Mousse.
"That's right and, as I was about to say, you have forty-five minutes. You've got your standard lance assignments, suit up and move out. Good luck!" said Yuta, throwing the paper to one side.
"Thank you, sir!" they called again as they rushed to their respective mechs.
Less than ten minutes later, they were ready.
Yuta watched from the control room as the mechs moved out of the hanger. As he watched, Yuta memorized each mech's movements as though it would be the last time he would see them. Each mech was like a second skin to the pilot, and (at least to Yuta) each seemed to reflect the personality of the pilot.
The Able Lance was comprised of a Phoenix Hawk LAM, piloted by Ranma, Ryouga's massive Battlemaster, Shampoo's Victor and and Mousse's Archer. Akane's Shadow Hawk, Ukyou's Crusader, Kuno's Hatcheman and Kodachi's reconfigured Centurion made up the Baker Lance.
Yuta smiled as he remembered how the team had scoured battlefields for months to find some semi-operational mechs to rebuild that they could add to the mechs they already had. The mechs, although not in prime condition, had carried the team through nearly one-hundred sorties. <I hope they carry them through this.> Yuta said to himself as he crossed his fingers.
<You live for today, fight for tommorow and pray for eternity.> he thought. He had no idea where he'd heard that expression but, for some reason, it sounded appropriate.
The Glass Desert, as it was known to the locals, earned its name from the pure white sand that reflected Moraine's harsh sunlight, giving the entire landscape a glass-like sheen.
As the scene opened itself before him, Ranma flicked down the visor on his neuro-helmet in an effort to drown out some of the light. It didn't help much. Checking his Nav-com, he saw that they had reached their destination.
{All Jusenkyo 'mechs. Cease movement.} he called.
{Are you sure this is the right place, Wild Horse?} asked Akane.
{If my Nav-Com's right it is} Ranma replied.
{If this is truly the sight of our battle, where for art our esteemed opponents} interrupted Kuno.
{Be silent brother dear} said Kodachi {My Ranma is trying to concentrate}
{Both of you shut up!} cried Ranma. {We need to keep an eye out for. . . }
Suddenly, a new voice filled the cockpits of the Jusenkyo team. {So, freebirths! You have decided to honor your superiors by appearing at our designated battleground}
Ranma was about to retort, but the insult caught in his throat as the Falcon mechs crested a sand dune. From the mixed reactions that he heard coming from the comm, he could tell his teammates shared his sentiments.
Eight omnimechs stood before them. Ranma wasn't sure of all the names, but he recognized a Mad Cat, two Vultures and a Masakari among them. The morning sun flashed off of the surface of each mech, giving the impression of a battle aura. Each of the Jusenkyo warriors knew that the mechs must have been veterans of countless battles, but the sight gave them the appearance of newborn titans.
{Whomever is in command of this "army" will address me now.} said Herb.
Swallowing hard, Ranma said, {I have that honor, Star Captain Herb.} Mousse had given Ranma a crash course in clan etiquette, but he still said the title sarcastically.
{May I have the pleasure of your name?}
{Ranma Saotome.}
{Very well Ranma Saotome, may I have the knowledge of which mech you pilot?}
{The Phoenix Hawk. May I have the knowledge of which mech you pilot?}
{The Mad Cat.} replied Herb, matter-of-factly.
{Very well.} answered Ranma.
{Do you remember the rules, Ranma Saotome?}
{Refresh my memory.}
{Any mech that has fallen may rise, providing that it has fallen on it's back. However, any mech that falls onto its "stomach" or any mech which shuts down, either voluntarily or from overheating, is considered to be eliminated. This, I believe, corresponds with your "tournament" rules, quiaff?}
{Yes.} said Ranma.
{Are you ready?} asked Herb. {Or do you simply wish to concede?}
Before Ranma could answer, Ryouga said {We don't admit defeat you clan bastard!}
A sound that may have been a laugh came over the comm, followed by Herb's voice {Very well then, freebirth. Begin!}
As Herb concluded, the twin LRM-20's that formed his mech's shoulders fired.
{All mechs break formation!} screamed Ranma. {Move out and attack the closest . . . } The command was halted as a volley of missiles from one of the smaller clan mechs hit his chest. Cursing, Ranma slammed down his jump pedals and soared toward the enemy line. As he reached the zenith of his jump, he saw the others move to attack.
The volley of missiles from Herb's mech slammed squarely into Ryouga's Battlemaster, carving huge chunks of metal from the massive war machine.
Cursing, Ryouga pushed down hard on his throttle and forced his mech into a run. Scanning the battlescape for a target, he spotted a clan Blackhawk. Acquiring a lock, he triggered his PPC, grinning as the stream of polarized ions arched toward the target.
As he watched, the stream slammed into the mech's left leg, causing chunks of metal to fly away. {Take that you bastard!} screamed Ryouga as he triggered the rest of his mechs weaponry.
However, Ryouga quickly regretted the act. The LRM's that hit his torso had done more damage than he had expected, and his heat scale rose much higher than anticipated. Also, to his dismay, the Blackhawk jumped clear of everything but his SRM's and quickly sped toward him.
<Come on! Come on!> Ryouga thought, attempting to will his heat scale lower. As the clan mech closed the distance, Ryouga fired another salvo of SRM's but, to his dismay, the Blackhawk dodged every one.
Once it was in Range, the smaller mech opened up with everything it had. Twelve ruby darts pummeled the Battlemaster's already damaged torso, and the computerized voice called out: "Critical Hit: Engine! Warning! Heat level: critical ! Shutdown sequence, commencing."
Knowing he only had a few seconds, Ryouga fired off two blasts from his lasers. The second blast left its barrel just as the mech shutdown, but all either did was leave blackened strips in the otherwise white sand.
Akane maneuvered her mech to one side and eased it into a run toward a Dasher. Gaining a partial lock, she fired her autocannon. The shot went wide and her only reward was a couple of metal shards flying from its right arm.
In retaliation, the Dasher pilot fired both of the mech's SRM packs at her. Jamming hard on her jump pedals, Akane caused her Shadow Hawk to rise above the incoming projectiles. However, she forgot about the smaller mech's other weaponry. Suddenly, a laser blast slammed against her canopy, temporarily blinding her.
As she blinked hard to clear her vision, Akane failed to notice the rapidly approaching ground. The mech hit ground hard, giving her a powerful jolt. Even through the padding of her helmet, she could hear her leg actuators strain. For a moment, she fought to regain her balance, but the stress from the jump caught up too quickly.
With a groan, the leg gave out, pitching her mech foreward into the glistening sand.
Shampoo was no stranger to fighting clan mechs, but she had never had to fight a fresh omnimech in an inner sphere mech before. Without waiting for a lock, she leveled her autocannon and fired a salvo at the Masakari. The ultradense shotgun pellets slammed full force into the mech's left arm, tearing an obsence amount of armor from it.
{How you like that?} she screamed into the comm.
In answer, the mech turned laboriously toward her and fired all four of its ER PPCs. Shampoo, momentarily mesmerized by the arcs of blue light, barely activated her jump jets in time to move out of the way. As she heard the click indicating her weapon was ready, she fired another salvo at her opponent.
As she watched, she was again rewarded, this time by the sight of the mech's arm flying free of its body.
A scream issued forth from the comm as the clan mech fired its remaining PPCs. Shampoo activated her jets and jumped clear, right into the path of her opponent's LRM salvo.
The missiles slammed hard against her arm and the computer called out: "Critical hit: Weapon damaged!"
Shampoo swore under her breath and moved to fire a salvo of SRM's at the Masakari, but she never got the chance. Two glistening blue streams hit her squarely in the torso. Armor flew past her viewport as she fought to keep her balance. Cursing under her breath, she launched a salvo of her own into her opponent. The missiles plowed into the mech's leg, but the massive titan didn't even seem to notice.
Again, the PPCs flashed and again they slammed against the already damaged Victor. "Warning! Critical Hit: Engine! Shutdown sequence, commencing."
Cursing, Shampoo pushed the override, but the shutdown timer continued. <This is not over!> Shampoo told herself as the life drained out of her mech.
Ukyou cursed as she saw Akane fall. Turning, she urged her mech forward at the Blackhawk that had been fighting Ryouga. As her crosshair flashed red, she fired all four salvos of missiles at her choosen target.
The aim was true, but only about half the missiles it the mech. As she watched, the mech's arm, along with most of its shoulder fell away. Ukyou allowed her self a small sigh of relief, and moved her Crusader foreward to close the distance.
Suddenly, the mech rocked back and forth from a sudden impact. Rotating her torso, Ukyou saw a Vulture moving toward her at break neck speed, its laser arms spewing blue and red darts straight at her. Ukyou jerked the throttle into reverse, but a second salvo of missiles slowed her down.
"Warning! Ammo explossion imminent!"
As she heard the warning, Ukyou frantically flipped the jettison ammo switch. As soon as the missiles cleared the port, they exploded, rocking the mech even more.
{Somebody, Help!} she called, but no help came. As the Vulture continued to pelt her with its lasers, she felt the Crusader lurch. A moment later, it fell to the ground as another salvo slammed against her torso.
<What I wouldn't give to have my old Summoner back> thought Mousse as he waded into the fight. Spotting Herb's Mad Cat, he fired off both of his Archer's missile racks at the omnimech.
He had seen the others fall, and he mentally cursed himself for not attacking sooner. <No time to dwell on what is passed.> he told himself as he watched the missiles arch toward the Mad Cat. However, less than half of the missiles actually made contact.
Forcing his mech into a run, he strove to close the distance and take on the mech at close range. But, just like the others, he never got the chance. Mousse realized, too late, that Herb had replaced the standard small and large laser's in the Mad Cat's arms with ER PPCs. Two beams of blue light caught Mousse's Archer squarely in the hip, immediately slowing the mech to half its normal running speed.
In desperation, Mousse fired another salvo of LRMs but, as before, less then half of them actually made contact. Again, the Mad Cat's arms flashed blue, and again the stream of ion particles cut into the hip of the Archer.
Mousse stopped his mech dead in its tracks as he heard the hip unit begin to groan. Locking onto the Mad Cat, he fired every weapon he had in one continuous stream. The missiles, combined with the Archer's compliment of lasers quickly ate away at the Mad Cat's armor. As the automatic shutdown kicked in, Mousse was rewarded with the sight of Herb's left arm flying clear and his left LRM rack exploding in a dazzling array of flame.
Kuno had no time to see his commrades fall. Pushing hard on his mech's arm controls, he buried his hatchet in a Blackhawk's shoulder. Wasting no time, he immediately withdrew the weapon and fired his lasers, chipping away even more armor.
{Hah! All clansman cower before the visage of Tatawaki Kuno!} he called.
{Not all clansman, freebirth!} came the reply.
Angrily, Kuno swung his hatchet, again burying it in the Blackhawk's shoulder. {Then cower now!} he called.
{As you wish!} called his opponent. Suddenly, the clan pilot fired all six of the lasers in the mech's right arm directly into the Hatchetman's left knee. Kuno pulled the hatchet free, but couldn't stop his opponent from slicing his mech's leg in two.
As Kuno fought to maintain his balance, the Blackhawk fired its jump jets. As it soared into the air, its claw-like toe contacted with Kuno's jaw, sending the mech falling into the sand.
{I am not eliminated yet, clansman.} yelled Kuno, but even as he did so, he saw the Blackhawk level its arm at his cockpit.
{Concede, freebirth!}
Reluctantly, Kuno agreed.
As the Vulture launched another stream of LRMs at her, Kodachi thanked whatever god had inspired her to reconfigure her Centurion with jump jets. The bowlegged mech landed a few meters away and fired both of its autocannons at the Vulture.
The shotgun pellets hit the bird-like mech squarely on the left shoulder. A moment later, she saw fire burst out of the missile rack. Immediately, the Vulture turned toward her and fired its lasers.
Two of the ruby darts hit Kodachi's arm, damaging one of her weapons and causing it to jam. As she fired with the other, she called out for help. Her comm stayed silent.
Looking away from her opponent, she scanned the field. She gasped as she saw that only she remained. <Oh, my Ranma! You could not have been beaten this easily!> she thought. Turning back, she saw the Vulture postion itself to fire its remaining missiles at her.
Instinctively, she fired her jump jets again. Unfortunately, the clan pilot anticipated this. As Kodachi's mech soared upwards, the Vulture's torso raised up and the missiles fired along Kodachi's jump arch.
All fifteen projectiles slammed full force into Kodachi's mech, sending it tumbling to the earth. Kodachi ejected less then a minute before the mech hit the sand head first.
Ranma had given up trying to issue commands and simply fired his laser rifle at anything that moved. He had successfully wounded at least three of the clans mechs, but he had taken more damage himself.
A Vulture presented itself before him and he fired at it. The blast missed the cockpit by less than a foot. Ranma cursed as he fired again.
The Vulture fired all its weapons at once. He managed to avoid most of the missiles, but the lasers chipped away a good portion of his armor.
<Why the hell didn't I convert and take'em from the air?!> Ranma thought as he fired at the Vulture again. The blast contacted the Vulture's knee, sending armor chunks flying. Spurred on by the hit, Ranma fired again; and again the mech's knee took the brunt of the damage.
Suddenly, Ranma felt the Phoenix Hawk lurch as something heavy slammed into his back. Then, almost before he realized what had happened, the mech hit the ground with a thundering "CRASH," and he found himself looking directly into the sand.
The battle had been lost.
{Thank you for the excerise, freebirths!}
Herb's voice blarred over the Mad Cat's external speakers as Jusenkyo team helped some techs load their mechs onto transports to be taken back to base. Ryouga and Kuno yelled back at him, but their voices were barely audible over the whine of the cranes being used to lift the mechs onto transports.
{We will return for _our_ new mechs in three days!} Herb's voice grated on everyone's nerves as the omnimechs stalked back to wherever the clansman called home.
Silently, the team went back to the task of loading the mechs.
Ranma, for his part, sat to one side fuming. <How could I have been so _stupid_!> he asked himself <I've fought against an omnimech before! It shouldn't have been _that_ easy for them to win!> Needing a release, he screamed at the top of his lungs. He had no idea what he said, but at the moment he really didn't care.
After a few moments, Ranma became aware of a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Akane looking at him, concern filling her eyes. Angrily, he jerked his shoulder out from under her hand. "It isn't your fault, Ranma." she said.
Ranma turned to her, his eyes flaming with anger. "And whose fault is it, huh!?" he asked. "If it isn't mine then whose is it!? I'm the one that's supposed to be in command and I panicked just as much as everyone else!"
"I know, but. . ."
"And you!" he screamed, not thinking. "You could have at least put up a little more of a fight! But no! Leave it to a tomboy to get taken out in her own jump!"
Akane's eyes snapped open at that and her face flushed bright red. "R. . . R. . . Ranma you Jerk!" she screamed. Pulling back her hand she slapped him, hard, across the face.
As Ranma raised his hand to his cheek, Akane stalked off, not looking back. Suddenly, Ranma's mind finally caught up with his mouth. <My god!> he thought <Why did I do that!?>
He moved toward her, but thought better of it and moved to help the others with loading the mechs.
Yuta watched as the mechs were unloaded and maneuvored into their repective places to be repaired. <This is not what I had in mind.> he thought. Of course, it _was_ what he had expected. Despite his teams prowess in combat, they never could fight very well together.
Sighing, Yuta walked over to Genma and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Okay, Genma." he said. "What's the prognosis?"
Genma wiped his forehead and repositioned his glasses, then answered, "_Not_ good."
"How bad?" asked Yuta.
"Well. . ." Genma began. "Ranma's Pheonix Hawk has the least amount of damage. Just some major denting on the rear and some heavily chipped armor."
"What about his conversion systems."
"They checked out okay."
Yuta nodded and asked him to continue.
"Ryouga's Battlemaster has some moderate engine damage and four wrecked heat sinks, but his torso armor is shot straight to hell; Mousse's Archer lost nearly all its heat sinks, plus it has some major hip damage; Shampoo's Victor has less than half of its original torso armor, plus the AC is basically wrecked; Akane's Shadow Hawk has some moderate armor damage, plus a wrecked left leg knee actuator; Ukyou's Crusader is in worse shape than it was three days ago. Almost every one of her heat sinks are fried and her left arm is a total loss; Kuno's Hatchetman has no left leg below the knee; and Kodachi's mech no longer has a cockpit."
As he finished, Genma looked up at his commander, waiting for a reply.
"Can you fix them?" Yuta asked.
"Probably," said Genma. "However, unless Soun and I get some help its going to take a hell of a lot longer than three days."
Yuta nodded. "Don't worry, Genma." he said. "I'll call in Tsubasa, he and his techno-junkies owe me a couple of favors. Anything else?"
"As a matter of fact, yes." said Genma.
"And that is?"
"Most of the damaged equipment we can repair or replace. However, we only have a few spare heat sinks and our stockpile of armor material is dwindling _fast_."
Again, Yuta nodded. "I'll see what I can do." he said. "But we may have to rely on some of Nabiki's resources for some of it."
Genma groaned and left to begin the long task of repairs.
Yuta wished he could help, but he barely knew heat sinks from AC ammo. Instead, he walked away and moved toward the mess hall.
As he walked in, he heard Ranma and Ryouga in another arguement. Looking toward the center of the room, he wasn't surprised at what he saw.
The two were standing a few paces apart, hurling insault at back and forth at the top of their voices. Yuta couldn't make out most of the words, but in effect it sounded as though one was blaming the other for the failed sortie.
Standing to one side, he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.
"Yuta!" Ukyou screamed.
He looked over as she moved up to him and asked, "What?"
"Stop them!" she said. "They'll listen to you!"
"I doubt it." he replied. "I've been trying to make that happen since they got here."
"But. . ." Ukyou began.
"I said I wasn't breaking up any more fights between the two of them and I meant it."
"But. . ."
Ukyou was cut short as Nabiki suddenly popped up in front of her.
"Yuta," said Nabiki. "Somebody on the comm for you."
"Who?" Yuta asked.
"Somebody named Gosonkugi." she said.
"Thanks, Nabiki." answered Yuta. "And don't worry, Ukyou, those two are too good of friends to kill each other." <I hope!>
Both girls turned back toward the fight and "humphed!" as Yuta retreated through the door
As he entered the comm room, Yuta sat down and flicked the voice switch.
{Talk to me.} he said.
{Yuta, this is Hikaru. What kept you?}
Yuta laughed and answered {Don't ask, Hikaru.}
{Okay.} came the reply, accompanied by a laugh.
Shaking his head, Yuta said {Hikaru, _please_ tell me you've got some good news for me.}
{Bet you could use it, my friend. That girl I talked to said your unit was more or less wiped out.}
Yuta groaned, but didn't answer.
{Anyway} said Hikaru {I _do_ have some good news for you.}
{What!?}
{Okay, it's like this: I've got four new weapon systems for you.}
{New?}
{That's right.} said Hikaru {They're prototypes. Worked great in the R&D, but never been field tested.}
Yuta started at the words. Hikaru Gosonkugi was a freelance research and design scientist specializing in weapons and armoring methods. Not only that, but he also had an incredible stockpile of standard weapons and mech equipment. However, he wasn't above swiping equipment that the Successor States discarded or above taking new weapons to "test."
{Prototypes!?} asked Yuta. {You didn't steal them did you?}
{_No_, Yuta! I didn't steel them. These are systems _I_ designed, but that I haven't sent to anyone yet.}
{Okay. So what's on the menu?}
{Three new balistic systems, all in missile form.}
{Let's hear it then.} said Yuta. His voice betraying an edge of curiosity.
Hikaru laid out a detailed account of the weapons as Yuta listened intently. The weapons were all old ideas that had been abandoned for one reason or another but, listening to his old friend, he wondered why they had ever been discontinued.
{So when will this stuff be here?}
The comm stayed silent for a moment. {Let me see. . . if my chronometer is the same as
yours . . . it should be there in about . . . uh . . . twenty minutes. Give or take.}
{TWENTY MINUTES!!!???}
{Yeah, I sent them out yesterday.}
{Impressive, Hikaru.} said Yuta. {As always.}
{Thanks} replied Hikaru. {But you know what would really be impressive?}
{No, what?}
{What would really be impressive is if I could find a way to channel some of that. . . um. . . "ki" stuff that Ranma and Ryouga use into a weapon.}
{You mean if they could control it?}
{Well. . . yeah, I know it only works with strong emotions and such. But, I mean, think of the power in one of those things!}
{I don't know, Hikaru. I mean, thats a lot of power.}
{I know, I know, but I still think it'd be an interesting challenge.}
{Maybe. Well, thanks Hikaru. I'll return the favor sometime.} As he finished, Yuta stood up and made ready to click the "off" switch, when Hikaru's voice came over the line again.
{Before I forget. I sent some extra stuff with the new equipment.}
Sitting back down, Yuta asked {What kind of stuff?}
{Um. . . heat sinks, armor materials, extra repair stuff and some conventional weapons I thought you might've had some use for. You know, just some surplus stuff I don't really need.}
{Hikaru, you're the best!}
{Thanks, I . . . } The rest was lost as Yuta cut off the comm and hurried to the mech bay.
"Okay, so that's the plan." said Yuta. "You think you can do it?"
Soun and Genma exchanged unsure glances. After a moment, Soun said, "Are you sure these new systems are a good idea? I mean, your friend _did_ say they weren't tested yet."
Yuta nodded. "I know, but. . . hey! That must be them."
Walking to the hanger doors, Yuta threw the auxiliary switch and waited as the doors swung open. A moment later, a hover train filled with an uncountable number of boxes moved in. A man stepped out for a moment and asked, "Any of you guys named 'Yuta'?"
Yuta stepped up and said, "I am."
"Then this stuff's for you." said the man as he handed Yuta a manifest of cargo.
"Thanks." said Yuta as he began to read the list.
The man made a small grunt in acknowledgement and uncoupled the cars from the engine. Without waiting to be dismissed, he turned the car around and sped out, the hanger doors closing automatically after him.
After a moment, Yuta turned and handed the manifest to Soun and Genma. The two techs eagerly grabbed the paper and quickly read over it.
"This. . . this is everything we need to do the repairs." said Genma.
"I know." Yuta replied. "Now look, I'll call up Tsubasa in a few minutes."
Both men groaned, but said nothing. It was well know that neither liked Tsubasa very much.
"Um. . . yeah. Anyway, he's got about three dozen techs on his payroll. With that help and the equipment Hikaru sent us, how long do you think it'll take to get the mechs in peak shape?"
Again, the techs exhanged dark glances. "I'd say, on regular schedule, it'll be done by morning on Wednesday." said Genma. "That is if you want the new weapons installed."
"You got it." said Yuta. "Now, here's what I want you to do."
[Planet: Moraine -- Lyran Alliance: Apr 27, 3057]
"When is Yuta gonna get here?" asked Ryouga.
"How should I know?!" retorted Ranma.
The team sat in the cramped briefing room of the hanger, each one figiting in his or her chair. Yuta hadn't used the briefing room in almost two years, and even then he had only used it on occassions of dire need.
Something was going to happen, probably something bad.
Everyone was on edge, even more so than usual. For the past three days, Yuta had not only ordered them to stay out of his way, but he'd also banned them from the mech bay. He had even blacked out the windows in the mess hall. Everyone moved and argued to the same unanswered question: "What was going on?"
Akane sat off to one side, brooding in silence. She still hadn't spoken to Ranma once since the previous fight with the clans. <I hope this isn't anything bad.> she said to herself.
A moment later, the door opened and Yuta walked in. Stepping up to the podium in front, he called everyone to attention.
"Alright." he said. "I just got Herb's choice of combat area."
"And were are we to duel this time?" asked Kuno.
"The same place, Kuno." Yuta answered. "The esteemed Star Captain wishes to 'provide defeat upon a familiar plan of battle.' Or some such nonsense."
At this the room became a bustle of noise, which quickly quieted as Yuta pounded his fist against the podium. "We have two hours till the duel. So listen up." he said.
Silence.
"That's better." Yuta said, breaking the silence. "I know you've all been wondering what's been going on in the mech bay the last three days. Am I right?"
A murmer of agreement ran through them.
"Okay, before I start, I'll tell you all; Your mechs have been refitted and modified in a couple of new ways."
"Modified how?" asked Ukyou.
"We've switched a few weapons one way and added some new weapons."
"New weapons?"
"That's right." said Yuta. "An old friend of mine has generously provided us with some new weapons for this fight."
"What kind of weapons?" asked Ranma, trying hard to mask the excitment in his voice.
"Lights!"
As Yuta spoke the command, the room lights dimmed and a screen behind him lit up. On the screen was a cross section of a missile.
"This is the GOS-1A." said Yuta. "A duel system SRM-2 designed by Gosonkugi and dubbed the 'Blinder'."
Yuta pointed to the cross section and continued. "The head is filled with a system of magnesium flares. The flares fire ten seconds into flight. Each flare is the equivilant of 10000 watt Hologen light viewed at a distance of six inches. The flare will blind any opponent for up to one minute unless ultra-dark shielding on the Neural helmets is used. That's stage one of the weapon."
"Stage two," continued Yuta. "Is an upgraded form of inferno."
"Upgraded?" asked Mousse.
"That's right. I don't know the exact chemical composition." said Yuta. "However, according to Hikaru, the gel burns hotter and more intensely. Thus, it not only increases the heat, it also does a fair amount of damage. Unfortunately, the inferno also burns itself out more quickly."
"The second, the GOS-F90. Another SRM-2 system dubbed the 'Web'."
As Yuta continued, the screen changed. "This missile is designed to restrict a mech's movement. It does no damage other than that caused on impact."
"That stupid." said Shampoo.
"Jus. . . just let me finish." said Yuta. "On impact, a gel container stored behind the head ruptures. This gel adheres to the mech's body. It is basically a polymerized elastic material that constricts as it absorbs heat. If the gel works onto the legs, arms or torso joints, it can effectively cut a mech's maneuvorability in half. The effect, according to prelims, lasts for about five to ten minutes."
"So, basically it turns your opponent into a sitting duck. Right?" asked Ranma.
"No." Yuta answered. "The weapon systems aren't affected, that is unless you manage to hit one when you fire. Your opponent can still shoot."
Ranma was about to comment when Akane spoke up. "So what's the other weapon, Yuta?" she asked.
Again, the screen shifted. This time it showed a missile that resembled a hollow tube filled with nails.. "The last weapon is the GOS-SS1." said Yuta. "It's a multi-warhead SRM-4 delivery system dubbed the 'Hive'."
"Multi-warhead?" asked Ukyou.
"That's right, each missile is a carrier for twelve mini-missiles." Yuta answered. "The head snaps off at a distance of 120 meters, or about fifteen seconds into flight. At that point, the missiles inside fire automatically."
"So basically you get twelve shots out of one missile." said Ukyou.
"That's correct. However, you have to be closer than normal to use these effectively."
"How close?"
"Less than about 350 meters."
"Why?"
"Because there's no guidance system in the mini-missiles. There actual range is about 800 meters, but they're only effective at about 350 or less."
"Have these been tested." asked Akane.
"Yes, they have. However, these are _prototype_ systems. In other words, they are prone to malfunction."
"It figures." said Ryouga.
"So who's got these systems?" asked Ranma.
"Glad you asked." said Yuta.
Quickly, Yuta ran down the list of weapons that had been added and re-configured during the past three days. As he finished, he asked, "Any questions?"
The room stayed silent.
"Alright then." said Yuta. "I have something to tell you than."
"What?!" asked everyone in unison.
"We lost the last battle because you all panicked. Because of this, you all fought individually. And as we all know, that's how the clans fight best."
The room echoed with agreement.
"Good." said Yuta. "Now, I was up all last night talking with Mousse and Shampoo. All in all I think we've come up with a pretty good plan."
"What kind of plan?" asked Ryouga.
Everyone turned to face Yuta, who was now leaning over the podium with a smug grin on his face. "Here's what we're gonna do." he said.
About ninty minutes later, the Jusenkyo mechwarriors were once again standing on the same ridge they had been defeated on three days earlier. The sands had all but erased the traces of the previous engagement. As the waited, the clan mechs once again crested the rise.
{So, the freebirths have returned for a second taste of defeat} called Herb.
{Negative, Star Captain Herb.} said Ranma. {You're the one that'll taste defeat.!}
Herb laughed into the comm. {And who shall feed it to me? You, Ranma Soatome?}
{Maybe.} replied Ranma.
{Do you require a restatement of the rules, Ranma Saotome?}
{No I don't.}
{Well then. . . }
{FIRE!!!!!!!} Screamed Ranma, cutting of Herb.
As the scream echoed over the comm, Ranma, Shampoo and Akane fired two salvo's of their new Blinders. The missiles flew out true and as the neared the omnimechs, twelve _extremely_ bright flashes dotted the sky's. Even through the newly tinted helmet visor, the bursts left spots on the eyes of the Jusenkyo team. As they watched, fires sprung up from the skin of the clan's mechs.
Keeping with the plan, Ranma jumped into the air and converted into his mech's jet mode. Below him, his teamates ran toward their opponents as fast as their mechs would carry them. The lines clashed just as the fires on the omnimechs died.
Herb threw the visor on his neurohelmet back and rubbed his eyes vigorously. <What the hell did they shot with?> he asked himself. He continued to rub his eyes, but the spots persisted.
{Kill those freebirths!} he shouted into the comm. The cries that came back to him indicated that the others were in no better shape. After what seemed like an eternity, the brightness that clouded his vision was replaced, with the sight of advancing mechs.
As he reached for his controls, he saw the LAM moving toward him and saw two missiles fire from its left wing. He fired his PPCs, but the aeromech's superior maneuvoring allowed it to dodge easily. As the missiles impacted his legs, Herb felt the impact, but didn't see any armor fly off. <Duds.> he said to himself as he pushed the throttle.
To his surprise, his mech barely moved. <What the hell?> he thought.
Deprived of his mobility, Herb settled on rotating his torso and firing at anything that strayed into his fire arc.
Kodachi spotted the Vulture that had taken her down in the previous battle and charged. Without bother to wait for a lock, she simultaneously fired both of her AC\10's. Both volleys hit the Vulture in the center torso, tearing armor from it.
As the shotgun pellets hit, the mech moved blindly toward her, firing its lasers. The darts of energy flew by her, some making contact, but most moving by harmlessly.
Firing again, she blew a larger hole in the torso of the mech. And she laughed in triumph.
It was then that a volley of the Vulture's missiles impacted her arm. Cursing, she fired again, but the shots went wide. The Vulture fired its lasers in one continuious stream, arcs of red and blue energy slamming into the Centurion at unimaginable speed.
Kodachi cursed as her right arm fell free from her mech, but the curse turned to a laugh of truimph as the Vulture left torso exploded, sending the mech toppling to one side.
Kuno charged into the line of omnimechs at his top running speed. Getting a lock on a Dasher. He fired his mech's new ER PPC. The weapons power, combined with the ultra-close range firing tore the smaller mech's arm from its body in one blast.
{How doth you like my new weapons, Clansman?} screamed Kuno.
{I do not!} countered Kuno's opponent. The Clan mech fired its remaining laser and SRM. The laser impacted squarely in the cockpit of the Hatcheman, melting some of the armored glass. Two of the missiles sailed harmlessly over the mech, but two contacted the right shoulder, sending shards of metal flying.
Cursing, Kuno shoved his arm control forword. As he did so, the hatchet chopped into the Dasher's center torso. Without pausing, Kuno raised the hatchet and struck again. The hatchet bit deeper, and as he again raised his arm he could see the smoke rising from the clan mech's fusion reactor.
Without thought, the hatchet sailed down again. As it broke into the already damaged torso, the Dasher exploded.
As the mech flew apart, Kuno's Hatchetman was blown backwards. As his mech hit the ground, Kuno's head slammed into the side of the compartment. Immediately, the world went black.
As her Crusader closed in on the Vulture, Ukyou kept a close eye on the radar. At the moment the distance read two-hundred meters, she threw the switch, launching a salvo of her new Hive SRMs. As expected, the missiles broke open soon after their launching, sending forty-eight smaller missiles hurtaling toward the omnimech.
To her surprise, nearly every missile slammed full force into the enemy. Huge chunks of armor flew off of the Vulture's torso and one of its arms fell limply to its side, but the mech stubbornly refused to die. Taking better aim, Ukyou fired a salvo of Webs into onto the Vulture's right leg.
The missiles hit and a blaze white goo began to crawl over the leg. The Vulture stopped moving, but continued to fire its remaining lasers. The bolts hit Ukyou's mech, but she barely payed attention as she returned the fire with lasers of her own.
Closeing the distance even more, she locked on to the Vulture's missile rack. Pulling the trigger, she fired another salvo of Hive's. The missiles broke open exactly two meters from the missile rack. The Vulture's torso flew apart as the missile made contact, blowing the mech's own ammo stockpile. Ukyou saw the pilot eject as the mech exploded.
Shampoo circled the Masakari, narrowly avoiding its PPC blasts. Rotating her torso, she waited for the crosshair to turn red. A salvo of the Masakair's LRMs flew at her, some made contact with her legs, most flew over her harmlessly.
As the crosshairs turned red, she fired her remaining Blinders. The missiles hit the mech's canopy, exploding in two sun-bright spheres. Over the comm, Shampoo heard the clan pilot scream as the inferno's flashed out from the canopy.
PPC bolts fired in a continuous stream, but Shampoo moved to one side, avoiding them. Locking onto the Masakari's leg with her autocannon, she fired. Unfortunately, the shot made contact, through armor in all directions. She was about to fire again, but stopped as she felt missiles plowe into her back. Making a one-eighty, she saw a Dasher moving toward her. She had no time to react as the smaller mech rammed her.
The Victor fell backwards and landed with a heavy crash. Looking up, she saw the Dasher looking down on her, slowly stripping her chest armor with laser fire. Cursing, Shampoo raised her left arm and fired the AC\20 at point blank range. The shotgun pellets hit the smaller mech squarely in the cockpit. Shampoo watched in satisfaction as the mech's head was removed from its body.
Mousse moved in close to the Blackhawk, his lasers flashing. The, the smaller mech fired out with its entire weapon compliment. The ruby daggers caught Mousse's Archer squarly in the left torso.
"Warning! Ammo explosion imminant!" Cursing, Mousse pushed his ammo eject switch and continued firing. The clan mech was taking on damage, but the Archer was getting it far worse.
Without waiting for a lock, Mousse fire his remaining LRMs at close range. The missiles, never ment to be used in close combat, sailed harmlessly over the Blackhawk.
Suddenly, Ranma's Phoenix Hawk appeared. The aeromech dove on the clan mech, both its large and medium lasers raining down on the smaller Blackhawk. The attack provided Mousse with just the distraction he required. Pulling back on his controls, he raised the Archer's arm. Pushing forward, the mech's armored fist slammed into the Blackhawk, sending it crashing into the sand.
{My thanks, Ranma Saotome!} said Mousse.
{No problem, Mousse!} replied Ranma. <Besides, that only leaves me with one more kill for the record.>
Akane closed in on the Masakari. She had seen Shampoo fall and, according to the plan, she moved in to take her place. Locking on the clan mech, she fired a salvo of Webs. The missiles hit hard, covering much of the mech' back in goo.
Locking on with her new Guass Rifle, she fired. The melon size sphere pounded the rear of the Masakari, tearing into the thin rear armor. It was then, Akane realized the goo on the mechs legs had broken off. Turning laborously, the clan mech faced her and fired all of its PPCs in a single continuous volley.
The blue ion streams criss-crossed the body of the Shadow Hawk. Armor flew from the mech's torso. Its arm fell free a moment later. Even the cockpit armor began to melt. Repressing the urge to scream, Akane fired the Guass Rifle again and again. The projectiles slammed into the Masakari's leg, one after another. The mech's leg broke in half.
It fell to the sand just as Akane's mech shutdown from engine damage.
Ryouga spotted the Blackhawk that had taken his Battlemaster apart in the previous battle.
Firing his new ER PPC, Ryouga tore at the mech's armor.
The Blackhawk fired with all of its lasers, but to little avail.
Grinning, Ryouga continued to pummel the smaller mech. Every shot rang true.
A moment later, the Blackhawk crashed into the sand. Trails of smoke pouring out of its torso.
Ranma flew over the battlefield surveying the damage. The only casualties seemed to be Shampoo and Kuno. A radio message from Shampoo indicated she was okay, but Kuno hadn't radioed in. It was then that Ranma realized that there were only seven clan mechs littering the field.
{Attention all Jusenkyo mechs! There's only seven clansmen down! Where's Herb?}
The replies he got were all varied, but no one seemed to know exactly.
Ranma looked left to right frantically. Suddenly, he spotted the Mad Cat moving toward Akane's Shadow Hawk. Screaming into the comm, he dove.
Ryouga, heard Ranma's call and pushed his Battlemaster into a run. Despite the mech's size, he closed the distance rapidly. The crosshairs turned red, but he held off firing until he was closer.
All the time he prayed he'd be in time.
Ranma flew at the aeromech's top speed. Without bothering with a lock, he fired his remaining Webs, hoping to slow the Mad Cat down. It was then he realized he'd fired too soon and at the wrong angle. The missiles impacted just behind the heels of Ryouga's Battlemaster.
As Ryouga felt the impact, he pulled hard on the controls of the Battlemaster, fighting to keep the mech standing. As he did so, he accidentally pulled his missile trigger. The Hives flew away without any apparent target.
Cursing, he continued toward the Mad Cat.
Ranma watched the missiles fly away from Ryouga's mech, relieved that he had managed to keep the mech standing. Ingnoring the miss-fire, he dove in against Herb.
As he entered range, Ranma fired his own Hives. The missiles flew truly and as the broke, each one slammed one of the Mad Cat's legs. A moment later, the legs gave out and the mech pitched forword.
<Yes!> thought Ranma. <I got the kill record!> However, the thought was short lived. In a desperate move, Herb fired all of his missiles at Ranma.
Pulling hard on both his control stick and throttle, Ranma tried desperately to avoid the projectiles. He veried left, but several of the missiles slammed into his left flank, sending the aeromech into a tailspin. Over the groan of his engines, Ranma thought he heard a scream issue over the comm.
Ignoring the comm, Ranma fought hard against the spin, but to no avail. The mech hit the ground hard. As the ship hit the sand, its momentum carried it forword. Ranma, being thrown against the different sides of the cockpit, accidentily hit his conversion switch. The mech came to rest a few seconds later, its nose a foot deep in the sand.
As he crawled out, Ranma surveyed the damage to his mech. Both wings were bent at impossible angles and one leg had nearly broken in two.
<It'll never play the violin again.> Ranma thought with amusement. In the back of his mind, he remembered hearing the scream over the comm. At the time, he had thought it was Herb, but thinking back, he realized that the pitch had been too high to for the clansman's deep voice.
Suddenly, Ranma realized what had happened. Spinning on his heel, he looked over the field. What he saw confirmed his worst fears. Akane's Shadow Hawk was laying face down in the sand, huge amounts of smoke pouring form its back.
Without thinking he ran toword it as fast as he feet would carry him, all thoughts of victory forgotten.
The Shadow Hawk was in shambles. <Please let her be alright!> Ranma said to himself. As he climbed over the mech toward the cockpit, he was forced to slow down to avoid the shrapnel. When he reached the cockpit, he stopped.
The back of the cockpit had been torn completely open. Steeling himself, he moved inside, as he did so, he sucked in a sharp breath.
Akane was wedged into the seat, her eyes closed. Blood trickled out of a wound in her forehead.
As Ranma stared, all consious thought drained away. Reaching to his belt, he pulled out his radio and said, {Any Jusenkyo mechwarrior who can hear me! Call Yuta and tell him to get some meds out here _NOW_!!!}
As he concluded, Ranma moved into the canopy and began to pull the straps away from Akane's body, taking care not to cause any more damage. As he tried to get her out, he noticed more blood covering her chest, pieces of metal sticking out of the wounds. Over the comm he heard Mousse say {Ranma Saotome, Yuta Mariner says the mechs were dispacted twenty minutes ago. Their ETA is two minutes minus}.
Ranma didn't respond. As the final strap came away, Akane's limp form fell into his outstretched arms. <My god she's not breathing!>. He realized.
Cradling Akane in his arms, Ranma moved out of the cockpit and jumped to the ground. Tearing open her cooling vest, he pulled out three large pieces of metal. <I can't help her!> he thought.
"Ranma!"
Turning, Ranma saw several medics moving running to him.
"Dr. Tofu!" he called. "Over here!"
The Doctor ran to him and pushed him out of the way. Ranma could hear him muttering something, but couldn't make out the words. Ranma suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Kasumi.
"Ranma." she said. "I need to treat your side."
"My. . ." he began. Looking down, he saw blood gushing from a slash in his left flank. <Funny. I don't even remember being wounded.> he thought. As the adrenaline drained away, Ranma collapsed into Kasumi's arms. "Will. . . will Akane be alright?" he asked dumbly.
Kasumi looked at him. Her face was calm, but Ranma could tell it was a forced calm.
"Y. . . yes." she stammered.
Ranma said nothing as Kasumi proceeded to bind his wounds. The last thing he saw before he began to black out was Akane being carried off on a stretcher.
************************************End Chapter 2
Well, here it is (The Alpha of) Chapter 2 of Mechwarrior Team Jusenkyo. Hope you liked it.
NOTE!!!!!!!!!: The "Hive" "Blinder" and "Web" missiles used in the second battle are _NOT_ sanctioned by FASA. They are all weapons that some friends of mine and I came up with one day during school after we'd finished lunch. It was just a gag at the time and we have never used them in an actual game. I have no idea if these weapons would actually work, they were just some crazy ideas we thought were cool. I added them to give the Jusenkyo team a little bit of an advantage. If anything changes between this release and the next, it will more than likely be them. If I have offended anyone through their usage, I am sorry.
As per usual, all C&C will be gratefully accepted, but please limit it to story _content_. All flames will be read over, thought about, laughed at and promptly discarded.
Thanks for reading.
P.S. I've actually got game stats for the above new weapons. _IF_ anybody wants them, contact me at Phoenix@citynet.net and I'll send them to you.