Chapter 109

　　A Seraph flew over the ruined streets of the nameless resort town, its winged figure disappearing and reappearing through the pillars of black smoke left by the burning remnants of the city below. Millions of people had gathered here for the celebrations, but now its streets were deserted, the people dead or hiding.

　　Wary of an attack by Imperial Mechs, its Pilot`s sensors were at their limits, but with the heat of the fires and the ongoing fighting in the surrounding areas, it would frequently receive false alarms.

　　A countdown timer steadily decreased in the bottom corner of its Pilot`s vision. Once it reached zero, this mission would be over, the transport vessels would arrive for pickup, and the Seraph`s hunting for survivors would shift to escorting the ships back into orbit for escape.

　　"Warning, thermal signature detected." The mechanical voice of the Mech`s mindless computer sounded out for at least the tenth time, drawing its Pilot`s attention to another fiery area below. It looked to have been a caf�. The wooden patio was now smouldering coals, giving a false positive.

　　"Another false alarm." She whispered in disgust. The Pilot had been a prisoner only a few short days ago, one of Jack`s corsairs conscripted against her will to serve in Augustus` coup, the collar around her neck a reminder of the cost of any disloyalty.

　　She had seen a collar explode shortly after their release, a demonstration to keep the others in line. Nothing was left of the person`s upper body, just a bloody smear on the wall and two legs, still twitching.

　　Shuddering at the image, she was about to open fire on another building when the thermal warning sounded again. About to silence the notification, a streak of Bluish-White Lasgun fire streaked across her vision, followed by two more impacting on her Mech`s shields.

　　Checking for damage and seeing the shields still held, she spun the Seraph around, looking for her attacker, when she saw a small figure wearing the Exosuit of an Imperial Guard standing on the street below. The barrel of the lasrifle in its hands glowed with heat as it fired again before turning around and running away.

　　Its agile, small frame cleared the rubble and ducked into a tiny gap in a collapsed alleyway.

　　The Seraph gave chase, firing a round from its Heavy Lasgun to obliterate the alley. Its Pilot followed the Exosuit`s path, her Mech`s thruster pushing it to high speeds as it weaved through the burning remains of the few still-standing buildings.

　　The Guard must be desperate if they are relying on Exosuits to fight Medium Class Mechs. The power difference between them was staggering. Even the weapons of a Light Class would take multiple shots to penetrate her Seraph`s shields, even if they could land them with her excellent mobility.

　　It`s a trap. They`re baiting me.` She thought to herself as she moved around another building, only to be met with multiple shots of Lasgun energy ricocheting off her shields. Returning fire, she knew she hadn`t hit them as they scurried away, their miniature frames easily evading her.

　　Careful, her sensors on alert for Mechs or hidden PPCs buried amongst the wreckage, she was about to fly higher when her Seraph warned her of danger.

　　An explosion rocked the nearby building, a detonation that destroyed the bottom floor and sent debris and flames across her Mobile Suit. The construction slowly began to topple toward her, but thanks to her watchfulness, she was already powering up her thrusters, moving forward just as it crashed to the ground.

　　Useless.` She thought, knowing that the Guard thought that trap would have gotten her.

　　But she was too experienced and skilled for that to happen. Looking around the small street for the Exosuits, she realized she was in a cul-de-sac, a dead end with nothing but burning rubble and ruins around her.

　　She was about to increase her thrust, pulling back up into the sky when something small leapt out from on top of another building. An Exosuit landed on her Seraph`s back, the shields unable to stop it. They were designed to repel energy weapons, not Exosuits.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

　　Gripping onto her Mobile Suit`s wings, the Exosuit refused to let go even when she spun, adjusting her thruster in an aggressive spin. Off-balance and losing thrust, the Seraph careened toward the ground, the Exosuit leaping off just as it landed in a cloud of dust.

　　The grey ash momentarily blocked her vision, leaving her unable to find the Exosuit as her Mobile Suit sent another notification.

　　"Warning, foreign object attached to frame." The mechanical voice spoke, and the Pilot scrambled to reach a small, round disk that had been magnetically attached to the underside of her wing.

　　The detonation rocked her, sending up another cloud of dust and flames. Metal fragments of the Seraph`s wing flew into the debris, and the Pilot was sent crashing into her gel-cushioned cockpit seat.

　　"Warning, Cockpit integrity compromised."

　　"Shut up! Bastards, I`ll kill you all!" She screamed, raising her lasgun and turning her Seraph in search of the enemy. Nothing appeared, and her frustration mounted. She was about to open fire on everything in sight when another small disk flew through the dust, magnetically sealing itself to the damaged rear of the Seraph.

　　The last image of its Pilot was of a wall of flame approaching her, then nothing at all.

　　 Page Break

　　"Well executed. I didn`t think it was possible, Baron Caledon." A guard member said as they cautiously approached the burning remains of the Seraph. They had used their stock of explosives, but they had cleared the way to the bunker with its fall.

　　"It shouldn`t have. The Guard would never have fallen for this ruse. I don`t know who these attackers are, but they aren`t Imperial Guard." Another Guard member said, shaking her head at the destroyed Mobile Suit, before returning to escort the survivors.

　　"She`s right. Let`s hope they`re all this uncoordinated. How far to the bunker?" Kal asked, slinging his Lasrifle over his shoulder. It had been him that acted as bait for the Seraph. He didn`t want to place that burden on anyone else.

　　"Just over that rubble. The way should be clear. They`ve been acting separately, dividing the city between them."

　　"Let`s go."

　　 Page Break

　　"You`re taking too long." Jack said over the comm link. He floated above the city in Justice, warily watching for more Guard Mechs. They had focused on him, throwing nearly a dozen Thrones against him since the start of this operation.

　　The Justice had performed like a dream, destroying everything in its path. Still, there were always more opponents to be found, and the resort town below was much larger than he had expected. The city spread dozens of miles back from the coast with millions of visiting guests. It would take time to clear it and ensure they dug out every living soul within and extinguished them.

　　Augustus wanted this to be a devastating blow to the Emperor, the blame placed on Argyle, and it was working. His opponents frequently cursed the Prince, thinking that Jack was him as he killed them. Any survivors would carry the story away from this place.

　　"We`re working as fast as we can. Has it arrived yet?" Gareth replied, his face appearing on Jack`s HUD. His son looked tired. The strain of over an hour of constant combat was starting to show. Luckily, it was soon to be over.

　　"Descending now. Put it in place, set the timer, and we`ll leave. Only a few minutes left before the shuttles arrive." Jack replied. He looked up to see a drop pod leaving a streak of fire in the sky.

　　As much as they aimed to cause as much damage as possible in the city, the true goal was to clear away its defenders, drawing them out and eliminating them to protect the approaching cargo.

　　A streak of Lasgun fire drew Jack`s attention away from the cargo. Another Throne was attacking his Seraphs. Closing the comm link to Gareth, he pushed Justice`s reactor to full, rushing toward the Throne.

　　 Page Break

　　Gareth escorted the drop pod to the last leg of its journey, watching as it gently landed in the middle of cleared city square that had once been a park before the fire had burned away anything green.

　　The sides of the pod split, revealing a troop of Exosuited soldiers. They lifted a large crate, setting it on the ground. Not trusting them to complete the job, Gareth descended from his Seraph, gripping the retractable ladder as it carried him to the soft, fire-blackened grass.

　　"Open it." He ordered, and one of the Exosuits grabbed the side, its suit whining as it powered its grip and ripped the side off the massive wooden crate.

　　Inside sat a Starship Engine, pulled from one of the many Argyle had gathered for his planned assassination of Kalen Caledon. Augustus had provided them with the means of safely removing and bringing it to the surface.

　　"Sir, I thought an Engine couldn`t work outside a Starship or on a planet. Doesn`t it interfere with the Jump?" One of his Corsair`s asked, standing next to the crate as Gareth carefully opened the panel and began programming it.

　　"Normally, you`d be correct. Gravity interferes with the Jump, and it takes a Starship`s careful precision and engineering to make it work. But we`re not looking for it to make a stable Jump Portal. In fact, the more unstable, the better." Gareth explained, typing in the commands Augustus had sent. Setting the timer to 5 minutes,` he carefully closed it.

　　"Shuttle is on its way, no dilly-dallying. This thing will take more out than the city when it goes. Guard it for the next four minutes, then leave. One minute is more than enough for you to make it to orbit. Good luck!" Gareth said, walking quickly to his Seraph.

　　It was time for them to leave Terra.