VØX

Over the previous winter and spring I set out to write a story featuring the WR clan [VØX] and some of its most notable pilots. What I have chosen to share here is only an introduction to their story and an attempt to pay homage to their origin as a long standing clan within the game. Although I have written a great deal more than these approximate nine pages I hesitate to share more for two reasons. Most importantly the story beyond this event described needs fleshing out and polishing. Additionally, the direction it has gone, I've realized in hindsight, has a lot less to do with robots and a lot more to do with the "reality" I  imagine the game to exist in. Although I am happy to create a larger War Robots' universe as a fan, I question whether that is something others are interested in exploring as well. Is WR just giant robot fights to most of its players, or does it hint at a greater story for you as it does me?

VOICE OF DEATH

Douglas Vox watched the incoming barge cautiously circle his brother’s smoking drop ship as it lay exposed and unmoving in a crater near the heart of the ghost like city. He thought there must have been a park  there once, before the ash and debris of this wasteland. The bulky angular barge overhead was looking for a place to set down. It moved slowly, circling like a vulture. The barge looked cumbersome. It wasn’t intended for quick or even precise maneuvers like the drop ship below it.  After a few passes and Doug’s twin brother Daniel, waiving his arms from atop the drop ship’s hull, the barge’s pilot steered for a large open square not far from the crater, only a few collapsed buildings away. It was right where Doug had told Dan they would land.

The barge was responding to the drop ship’s distress beacon. Piles of  burning  trash stuffed  around the drop ship’s hull and Dan’s wave for, apparently asking for help did the job of convincing  whoever was on board the barge that the downed drop ship  in the crater would be an easy mark. Doug watched as the rusted landing gear of the barge slowly extended from the corners of its blocky rectangular hull. He heard the roar of the barge’s pulsating thrusters wind down to an idle  and the clang of its landing gear locking into place as his vision was obscured by the sudden wall of dust kicked up by the barge’s landing thrusters.

The dust settled, half covering the view screen of his powered down Cossack. Good, Doug thought  to  himself, let me look like just another piece of trash.  Hidden in the dark  recess of  the cavernous and decrepit garage Doug Vox  and his platoon, the Destroyers, watched the triangular prow of the barge drop  slowly, transforming into a large cargo ramp as wide as the barge itself.  The barge’s mouth groaned mournfully in protest and the vibrations of  its  agony set loose little pieces of debris that skipped down the decaying walls of the buildings around the square.

The platoon’s cossacks all had their reactors powered down so that they would not show up on whatever sensors the barges crew were using. It felt cold in the pilot’s compartment without the heat from the ‘bots reactor seeping through the compartments rear wall. The air tasted stale, musty and metallic. The Destroyers would wait to power up until the barges crew had committed to investigating the drop ship. Their task was to disable and secure the barge before helping Death’s Head platoon, hidden across the crater, finish off any other resistance.

In the meantime they could run their radios and sensors off of battery power. It was enough to give Daniel a description of what was coming his way. On his view screen Doug watched as red arrows popped up next to the one that he had already labeled as “ barge”. The heads up display, or HUD indicated that six other reactors had come online in the hold of the barge. Doug would label them with a description for Dan as they emerged from the barge’s ramp. The Cossacks that the Destroyers now used were once part of a Union mechanized light recon company so collecting target information and sharing it with Deaths Head platoon was a simple task for them.

Since the Union Navy had disintegrated Doug and Dan had tried to get by making salvage runs to Earth, but that had proved dangerous and it was difficult to find cargo worth the fuel that it took to land and take off. It had proven much easier to let others do the work of recovering material and then taking it from them. However, most anyone who had something worth taking was prone to put up a fight. Doug and Dan Vox had perfected the trick of luring in a stronger opponent by making them believe that the brothers were vulnerable and worth robbing.

The barge had received the Vox brothers distress signal, but wasn’t showing up to help. Some one in distress meant an opportunity to take cargo, or more, maybe a ship, or at least slaves. Of course some one with the means to take them would have something of value as well. Judging from the size of the barge that had just landed the Vox brothers and their crew would have a lot of loot to sort through in a few minutes.

A lone Cossack strutted down the barge’s ramp. It was battered and oil stained so badly that its green coat of paint looked black.  That was reasonable, Doug thought to himself, the barges crew were proving cautious by sending out a quick ‘bot to scout out the drop ship. He tagged the Cossack’s red arrow on his hud as “black cossack” and updated the network that both platoons shared for targeting data.

Doug was momentarily concerned that none of the other targets in the barge’s hull would leave until the Cossack had thoroughly looked around, giving their victims an opportunity to spot the trap. His fear was short lived. Three G.I. Patton medium war’bots sauntered down the ramp and turned directly toward what remained of an open roadway leading to the crater. The black Cossack sprinted ahead and leapt up on to the remains of a crumbling building. It stopped, turret scanning the area.

Meanwhile on the far side of the crater Daniel Vox sprinted away from the drop ship. He would have swore if he wasn’t so out of breath. He knew he had been in space to long. Running with gravity was harder than he remembered it being. He was sweating and the dust that blew across the waisted city stuck to his skin and the inside of his mouth, choking him as he panted, heart  pounding as he scrambled over the rubble at the edge of the crater. He threw himself over a shattered piece of concrete, exposed rebar tearing a gouge in his arm. He slid, ass and elbows, down the debris outside the craters edge. Dan felt relief at being beyond the crater, but didn’t let himself rest. His pilots were only about seventy five meters away.

Dan ran as hard as he could to the corner of the building that concealed his platoon. He made a weak attempt of brushing himself off as he stepped into the shadowy space between two large buildings, one partially collapsed and leaning on the other. The space between the buildings was just high enough for the Cossacks of Death’s Head platoon to walk underneath. Dan briefly caught his breath, hands on hips, before pulling himself up the the leg of his Cossack. His arm throbbed and he decided not to look and see how bad he was hurt. A few more moments and he was on his turret then through the hatch.

Dan grabbed his headset and through it on. “Death’s Head One, …in position,” he tried not to sound out of breath. “Destroyer One, what is your status?”

Dan reached up to pull his hatch shut and winced with pain. His arm was hurt bad. The hatch slammed shut.

“Death’s Head, this is Destroyer One, the last target is leaving now. I will advise when I have lost visual.”

Just another minute then, Dan thought. They needed to give the last of the enemy war’bots enough time to get far enough away from the barge so that they could not protect it when the shooting started.

Dan looked around his cockpit for something to try and stop the bleeding from his arm. An old jacket and roll of electrical tape were all he could find.

“Death’s Head two, this is One, are we good?” He should have sounded more confident he thought, but he needed to be sure that his pilots were ready. Death’s Head Two was responsible for making sure the ‘bots and their pilots were prepared to attack while Dan provided the decoy with the drop ship. He could have had one of his men do that unpleasant task, but he wasn’t about to ask them to do something he hadn’t done himself.

“We’re good” was the only reply needed.

Dan gave the jacket a quick shake and then through it on, falling backwards into his pilot’s seat. He flipped the HUD on and grabbed the electrical tape. Peeling the end of the tape free he studied the HUD while wrapping the tape tightly around his injured arm, trapping the coat to it. Doug, had done well for his part. The HUD displayed seven red  triangles indicating seven reactors. Dan ignored the one titled “barge” the destroyers would handle that. The other target tags gave him a rough idea of what he was facing. In addition to the enemy Cossack there were three Pattons, with various weapons, a Vityaz labeled “long vit” and last but certainly not least was a reactor labeled “boa ork.”

Dan knew that a Boa medium ‘bot equiped with a R40M Orkan rocket launcher could give them hell. They were best off using their maneuverability to avoid it until they had eliminated some of the other targets. He knew they could handle it, but it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park this time.

Back across the crater Doug watched the enemy Boa and Vityaz move out of sight on their way to loot the helpless looking drop ship. Doug held his breath for a moment then keyed his radio’s mic, “All units this is Destroyer One, we are going hot, time now, I say again all you units, engage.” He released the mic’s key on his control yolk and flipped the engine kill switch to the open position then flipped the ignition cover up and pressed down forcefully with his palm. The cockpit rattled and shook momentarily while the reactor spun up before settling into its familiar vibration. The HUD blinked off and then back on as the light ‘bot’s systems switched from battery power to draw from the reactor.

“Surprise,” Doug said under his breath.  His HUD began displaying the known friendly identifiers of He and Dan’s platoons. He knew their victims would be about ready to panic as they saw the unknown reactors power up in front of and behind them.

“Destroyer Three and Five on me. Two, Four, Six, cover us.” Doug  pushed forward on the yolk, its worn plastic cover was smooth and torn in some places. He felt for the familiar exposed metal under his index fingers as the Cossack lurched forward into a sprint out from the dark garage.

The six Cossacks of Destroyer platoon emerged from the garage like a pack of hungry hyenas. Doug and his squad made a mad dash for the barge like it was an injured water buffalo. Its cargo ramp still sat open, but wouldn’t for long. By now the barge’s crew would be realizing they were in a trap and would be trying frantically to close it, getting their armored hull between themselves and danger.

Clear of the garage roof Doug pressed down with his left thumb engaging the jump system. Suddenly he accelerated up and forward seeing the top of the barge and glancing a view of weapons fire off to his left before descending rapidly and settling hard into his seat then jolting against his harness as the Cossack’s bird like legs absorbed most of the impact. His two wingman followed, landing about two hundred meters from the barges ramp. He could see crew running around the deck inside frantically. A press of his right thumb sent a torrent of weapons fire from his twin linked side mounted medium Punisher. The two six barreled auto-cannon’s spun angrily as rounds tore through crew and cargo. Doug gently eased his steering  yolk left and right, rotating the turret to cover the large cargo bay. Destroyer Five joined in hosing the helpless crew with rounds that would rip them to shreds just by the shockwave created from rounds passing by them.

Small fires broke out on the deck and it soon filled with smoke. Nothing moved, but the reactor labeled “barge” still showed on the HUD. “Destroyer Three, give it one rocket and asses.”

A single rocket launched from Destroyer Three’s Yellow rimmed Orkan rocket pod, disappearing into the smokey bay. Even though they had just torn up the barges cargo area with punisher fire Doug wanted to minimize the destruction they caused to the ship. The more it was intact the more loot it could yield. Orkan rockets stood to do a lot of damage, but were the simplest means to disabling the barge’s reactor and preventing its escape. Another rocket vaulted into the smoke cloud and flared orange. The barge’s identifier suddenly disappeared from the HUD.

Off to Doug’s left his other three Cossacks crested the top of the same crumbling building the enemy’s black Cossack had first pirched on to observe the crater. Without hesitation they opened fire. Rockets and auto-cannons  poured down on the rear element of the would be raiders. As quickly as they had begun the three Cossacks leapt backwards toward the barge, still firing, and narrowly avoiding  a counter barrage of weapons fire from the Vityaz and stouter Boa.

From across the smoke hazed crater Daniel Vox observed the three Destroyer Cossacks appear and harass the enemy Boa and Vityaz, before disappearing again. The green lanky Vityaz and squat dome topped Boa weren’t visible from Dan’s position but the HUD indicated their positions behind the drop ship that had baited them in. From the look of it the Destroyer platoon Cossacks had given the Vityaz, equipped with long range weapons according to its HUD tag, a hell of a beating. That was prudent on Destroyer Two’s part. The Vityas was considerably maneuverable for a medium ‘bot and this one’s long range capabilities made it more of an immediate threat to the Cossacks than the Boa. Once it was dealt with the destroyers could take their time playing cat and mouse with the less maneuverable but dangerous at close range Boa.

Dan’s concern was the three G.I. Patton medium War’bots that sat closest to his platoon in the base of the crater. They had moved far enough into the crater before the ambush that they were between Dan’s platoon and the drop ship. They had immediately recognized the threat when Death’s Head platoon had powered up their reactors and began moving towards the Cossacks up the slope of the crater to engage. The Black Cossack was with them and jumped to Dan’s left, away from the Pattons and out of range, as the six Death’s Head Cossacks crested the crater rim. Just as the Cossacks appeared the Pattons unleashed a hellish barrage.

The G.I. Patton was a simply designed medium ‘bot first manufactured about two hundred years ago during Earth’s third world war. Its designers had not made it especially fast or maneuverable, like the Vityaz, nor was it particularly durable like the predictably rugged German designed Boa. The Patton excelled at one thing and that was firepower. Four light weapon mounts, two on each side, allowed a Patton to be equipped for a specific task with maximum efficiency. The ability to mount common inexpensive weapons in high quantity made the Patton a common choice for getting the job done, especially when the job was hammering the the ever living daylight out of an enemy.

Three Pattons were more than a match for six Cossacks and so as soon as they had come into range the Pilots of Deaths Head Platoon pulled back on their yolks and fired their jump drives, leaping clear of the wall of rockets and Punisher rounds that had been launched at them. The rockets shook the air, filling it with smoke and flying pieces of shrapnel, but missed the nimble Cossacks entirely. Only a few rounds from one of the Pattons, equipped with four six barreled punishers had struck any of the cossacks, and the damage was negligible. Two of the Pattons were equipped entirely with rockets and were now helpless while they reloaded. They were entirely dependent on the Punisher Patton and the Black Cossack for protection between rocket salvos. The Cossacks slammed into the ground outside the crater and immediately started manuevering back up its berm.

“Death’s Head Two, this is One, we will keep these busy. Take care of that Cossack,” Like his brother Dan wanted to exploit their maneuverability and the first step in doing that was making sure the enemy had none of his own. Death’s Head Two broke off leading his squad to pursue the Black Cossack among the hollow gutted and crumbling buildings. Dan and Death’s Head Three and Five would harass the three Pattons without fully committing to a fight, until the Black Cossack was destroyed and unable to limit their maneuvers.

The Rocket Pattons were still reloading as Dan pushed his Cossack just over the craters ridge and pressed his right thumb on the Punishers trigger, giving one of them a long burst of rounds before letting up and darting down out of sight. The Patton with Punishers fired as he slipped away, sending up a spray of dirt and debris. Along the crater’s edge, Death’s Head Three and Five, seeing that the only threat was preoccupied with their leader, leapt up and fired down into the crater then landed safely behind cover before the patton could change targets.

It was a hopeless fight for the barges pilots. Despite having more fire power and tougher chassis, they were outnumbered and paralyzed. The three Pattons seemed determined to defend the crater which they had occupied and the damaged Vityaz attempted to flee back to the barge, perhaps not realizing it had already been disabled. The Vityaz’s pilot broke out from the cover of a narrow alley heading straight back the way it had first approached. Traversing to face the three Cossacks that had ambushed them the pilot and his gunner appeared  unaware of three more between them and the barge. Doug almost felt sorry for them as they walked into range and he depressed the trigger. He sustained the burst even after the crew ejected, dumping a few more rounds to force his punisher to reload. He lead his wingmen, jumping over the pathetic looking green carcass, to help Destroyer two corner the Boa.

The squat Boa’s crew had better instincts than the Vityaz. The grey clunky looking ‘bot had backed into an alley  corner like an angry badger defending it’s den. It defiantly guarded the entrance, daring the destroyers to peek in. There was no way for them to engage the Boa without being well within its range and the narrow alley it had occupied made it impossible to distract by flanking. The Boa only had one direction to guard and its heavy top mounted cannon, an ECC Thunder, twitched back and forth slightly as the ‘bots gunner cycled targets, looking for a change in range, indicating who would come first.

Destroyer Three took the dare and eased up to the edge of the ally. He stopped short of exposing the Cossack and fired his Orkan rockets, but the angle was to tight and the explosive rounds detonated against the building’s corner. Three cut the burst short and stepped away from the entrance, before quickly reversing and jumping high across the ally’s entrance unleashing the rest of his rockets in a wild arc that sprayed the cramped space and Boa from one side to the other. The Cossack’s ruse had failed and the Boa returned fire, its own Orkan rockets missed Destroyer Three completely, but two quick bursts from the Thunder mangled the Cossack’s legs so badly that it was a wonder the ‘bot was able to land without collapsing.

The crippled Cossack landed out of sight of the ally and continued to limp farther away from the Boa’s lair. The ‘bot’s legs were leaking fluid and the right foot was half missing. It dragged part of its hydraulics behind it. Destroyer Two’s squad was positioning along the roof of one of the buildings adjacent to the ally, but a barrage of rockets from one of the pattons in the crater forced them to abandon their approach and rejoin Doug and the rest of the platoon out of sight from the craters bowl.

“Hold fast,” Doug thought quickly. He couldn’t risk one of his Cossacks making another pass like that.

“Destroyer Three, status,” Doug demanded.

“Legs at ten percent, jump is down, weapons green,” Destroyer Three’s condition was no surprise.

“Three, get to cover, the rest of you on me,” Doug turned his Cossack away from the ally and leapt farther to the right, down the rim of the crater. Ahead of him he saw the red HUD label, “Black Cossack” launch into the air and disappear from the midst of three Death’s Head blue arrows.

The Destroyers followed Doug along the crater’s rim except for Three who limped his Cossack toward the nearest building corner in the opposite direction. Doug hoped he would make it to cover before the Boa’s crew got bold. They completed their second jump and then turned toward the crater and climbed half way up the berm. He stopped and checked the HUD. His brother’s platoon was reorganizing on the other side.

“Death’s Head One, Destroyer One, we’re ready for an in and out, if you can keep there attention.” The Boa still had’nt moved.

“Four,” Doug had switched back to his platoon’s frequency. “move with us but hold your fire, I want you back out and on that Boa if it makes a move on three.” Both Doug’s and Dan’s platoons had two Orkan equipped Cossacks, each was numbered Three and Four, making one for each squad. With Destroyer Three out of the fight, that gave the Destroyers one good chance at that Boa. It would have been simple to throw everything they had at one of the Pattons and destroy it but if the Boa moved they would have nothing to counter quickly.

“Roger,” Destroyer Four replied, “Saving it for stumpy.”

Doug ignored the light hearted comment. He was glad that his pilots felt confident.

“Moving now,” Dan announced across the operation frequency. His Cossacks crested the berm and unleashed a barrage on the beleaguered Pattons, who obliged the provocation with their own counter fire.

Doug leapt immediately, almost floating above the craters ridge. In front of him the Death’s Head Cossacks leapt and swarmed about like locusts harassing three enraged  titans. All three Pattons had their backs to the Destroyers and Doug picked what looked like the weakest target. A patton, missing two of its four punishers and spraying rounds wildly at Dan’s platoon. The Patton crew was aggravated and unable to focus on one target at a time. Dan put a long burst into the smoking Patton while he waited the few seconds for his Jump drive to reset. With his Cossack’s legs already reversed he hit his jump button as the Patton’s reactor was pierced and its crew compartment ejected at an odd angle that sent it careening into the side of a building not far away.

Doug turned his turret to see the Boa emerge from its sanctuary. It’s crew knew that it was now or never and believing that the other Cossacks had abandoned Destroyer Three and committed to attacking the Pattons took the best opportunity it had to try and turn this fight into something winnable.

Destroyer Three was about twenty meters from the corner of a ruined concrete building when the Boa opened fire. Three had limped along with his turret reversed but it was no use. Before being ejected into the air like a rocket Destroyer Three had barely depressed the trigger and had only gotten off two rockets at the Boa. That was barely enough to dent a Boa, which was likely to withstand two full barrages from an Orkan rocket launcher, before suffering any critical damage.

Doug and the other Destroyers opened fire while still in the air. They were less accurate than if they had been stabilized by standing on the ground, but there was no time for accuracy when inside two hundred meters of an ECC Thunder. The Boa turned purposefully. Its gunner took but a moment to cycle targets and identify its biggest threat. Destroyer Four landed on a ledge near Doug as it exhausted its Salvo of Orkan rockets on the round topped squat Boa. That pounding was sure to have significantly damaged the Boa’s armor but it had also gotten the attention of its crew, who unloaded their Orkan at Destroyer Four as it landed.

The other Destroyers maintained their hose like spray of punisher rounds, but the Boa ignored them. The impact of the Orkan rockets and the shotgun like blast of the Thunder ripped Destroyer Four’s only weapon free, flinging the launcher through the air beyond the craters edge.

“Eject!” Doug bellowed in his mic, but he didn’t need to. Four punched out in the same moment that his Cossack’s  left leg was ripped out from underneath his cockpit.

The Boa crew was on a rampage and did not hesitate a moment, but continued firing at the next nearest Cossack. Doug, scrambled forward attempting to avoid the tidal wave of destruction being flung at him by jumping over the Boa. Still firing he arced forward, but the Boa’s gunner was good, really good.

Ignoring the sustained punisher fire from the other Destroyers the Boa’s gunner turned smoothly putting burst after burst of Thunder fire into Doug’s Cossack as it soared over head. He no longer fired rockets, knowing that they would miss. Instead he depleted the Thunder until Doug landed. A short barrage of Orkan fire followed.

Doug’s stomach tightened in a sudden agonizing knot. His legs were disabled, and his HUD disappeared, view screen cracking like a spiderweb. He let go of his control yolk and grabbed his harness grinding his teeth and closing his eyes involuntarily.

“Thunk,” went one more blast from the Thunder Heavy Cannon.

Doug heard the sound of screaming metal as his cossack was ripped to shreds and his body slammed into the seat that carried  him up and away from the fight. He couldn’t seem to see, hear, or even breath as the adrenaline coursed through his veins. He felt so heavy he was convinced he would fall through the bottom of the ejected pilot’s compartment. Fear gripped him, crushing him, then suddenly weightlessness, followed by the terror of plummeting back to earth. He vomited, choked on it and then vomited again. Finally after an eternity of seconds the pod’s parachute deployed and Doug felt like he was floating. Fear vanished and an utter disbelief that he was alive overtook him as he began to shake uncontrollably.

Before Doug’s ejection pod had deployed it’s chute Death’s Head platoon had dispatched the remaining rocket Pattons while they reloaded, helpless and vulnerable as newborn babes. The six Cossacks had joined the dwindling Destroyers on the crater’s edge and quickly executed the crippled yet defiant Boa.

Dan had forgotten the pain in his arm. He was missing half of a platoon including his brother. After giving quick guidance to Destroyer Two and Death’s Head Two to set up security. He contacted Raptor, Doug’s Drop ship, that was standing by, hidden outside the city for support.

“Raptor, this is Death’s Head One,” He was all business.

“Go for Raptor,” the Drop ship replied.

“Raptor, Death’s Head, I’ve got three MIA. Do you have a read?” If functioning properly each of the three Cossack’s ejection pods should have deployed a parachute and begun transmitting a location beacon upon commencing their decent. While it wasn’t too common, it was a very real possibility that one or both of these features would fail due to damage in combat or poor maintenance.

“Roger, Death’s Head, we are tracking three beacons and en route for recovery.” That was a relief. Dan allowed himself to breath a moment before transmitting again.

“Good copy, Raptor. Advise when complete and relocate to our location for follow up and recovery.” In addition to functioning as a recovery element for this operation the drop ship, Raptor also carried the crew for the Death’s head platoon’s drop ship Death Hawk, that had been staged in the crater to create a centerpiece for the Vox’s trap.

The crews of the two drop ships’ were joined by a large working party made up of crew members and residents of the Vox’s planet class cruiser, home and base of operations, Voice of Death. The antique, but heavily modified MK1 Transport Cruiser had formerly been named Union of Humanity Ship (UHS), Voice of Unity, when in service with the Union Navy. She had been assigned to a quick response force tasked to put down the riots that had plagued the now long abandoned and desolate, Union refugee and emigration districts on Earth. Her six modular bays had been configured as hangars each housing one drop-ship and a platoons worth of light War’bots. Twin brothers Dan, and Doug Vox, had been officers on Voice of Unity until they had assumed control of her during the aftermath of the Mars Rebel’s attack on Luna that effectively collapsed the Union Government. From then on survival of their crew became the Vox mission and over time they had become a legend, both feared and respected by ships and cities from Luna to Mercury.

Walking War Robots: Iron Wolves

This is a re-post of my first WWR story, that I shared in my other blog. I took a break from writing stories to create a back story to explain current events in the game as well as in "Iron Wolves" and future stories. I needed it to be able to develop a broader story than just this.  I intend to write my next story featuring one of WWR's top clans and in it, start developing one of the three factions referred to at the end of my pre-history, posted earlier. Until then, I hope you enjoy what I have already completed and as always feedback and suggestions are appreciated and enjoyed.

If you are unfamiliar with the game, a quick gander here will clue you in.
http://pixonic.com/games/45

Iron Wolves

Captain Viktor Ivanovich Kuznetsov, or “Cyclops” glanced around the cramped crew compartment of his Golem war ‘bot to make sure everything in it was strapped down. Earth's atmosphere was always turbulent during insertions. The last thing he needed was to lose his one remaining eye because his driver had left a wrench unsecured.

Satisfied, he keyed his mic, "Valkyrie One this is Iron Wolf One, my units are ready and standing by." Kuznetsov gave an abrupt nod to his driver, Vladimir, who watched him, while silently biting his mouth guard.

A burst of static preceded the drop ship's acknowledgment. "Iron Wolf One, this is Valkyrie One, I copy Iron Wolf element standing by. Departing in five. Four…” Kuznetsov slipped his mouth guard in place as the count down reached one. The Golem's whole chassis vibrated and then lurched slamming him into his seat as the drop ship carrying his squad of three Golem war 'bots broke through the carrier bay's magnetic field.
As rough as departure was it was mild compared to landings.

"Iron Wolf and Reaper elements this is Valkyrie One, we are away and fifteen minutes to insertion,” the drop ship’s pilot informed the two squads that comprised his cargo of one way passengers. Kuznetsov waited for Reaper One to respond before acknowledging the transmission and then relayed their timeline to his other two 'bot's pilots. Of course they already knew how long of a flight this would be, but a few radio transmissions gave the crews something to do other than think about the spray of Molot fire that would be waiting for them.

Both of Kuznetsov ‘s other Golem crews were capable veterans and he was confident they would keep their cool and do what was needed when the shooting started. He couldn't say the same for the Reaper squad. Truthfully, they weren't even a squad, but a group of random individuals. Although each of them claimed to have participated in several previous missions for the government of New Kiev, Kuznetsov and his crew had never heard of them.

Reaper squad were freelancers, and professional 'bot pilots like Captain Kuznetsov never trusted freelancers. They were sloppy, undisciplined and unreliable. While Kuznetsov and his men fought for the future of their clan's colony and hopefully one day for a home back on earth, the freelancers, only fought battles that would make them a profit.

The government of New Kiev paid mercenaries in gold, silver and other precious metals that were sure to be tradable on the lunar market. That was better than most of the other lunar cities who promised only food or future citizenship in yet to be established colonies on earth.

Even though he would have greatly preferred to have loyal Kievans with him waiting in the belly of Valkyrie One, Kuznetsov was glad to have anyone help out in a fight. With Earth's radiation subsiding to a more manageable level over the last decade increasing numbers of Lunar and Martian colonial salvage teams and raiding parties had been competing for Earth's lost troves of stockpiled weapons and abandoned industrial equipment. Currently they were headed for a pre-radiation military compound where a large number of bot chassis and weapons had been located. The fact that they were found by some one else first didn't matter to New Kiev’s leadership. The colonial lunar government of New Kiev had hired every mercenary readily available and combined them with their own forces to try and seize control of the valuable hardware.

While Iron Wolf squad consisted of three Golems Reaper squad consisted of two Cossacks each with a single pilot and the two man crew of a Patton, piloted by Reaper One. Hopefully Reaper One's Patton would be useful with its four AC Molot auto rifles. Kuznetsov’s briefing to the platoon while still on the carrier had explained his intentions to both squads. Reaper One was to advance from the drop zone with the three Iron Wolf Golems.  Reaper Two and Three, with their much faster Cossacks, were to flank to the west and obtain positions that would allow them to fire on any enemy attempting to close with the Golems and reaper one. Hopefully being engaged by Reaper One's longer range molots would keep the adversary occupied long enough for the Cossacks to begin sewing confusion. By the time the enemy decided to deal with the Cossacks it would be to late to engage them without receiving withering weapons fire from the Golem's chain guns, commonly called "Punishers" and ECC Thunder heavy canons. Just in case the enemy ignored the Cossacks altogether, Kuznetsov had replaced his Thunder with an Ancile shield generator for this mission. It could absorb enough damage to protect his squad and Reaper One long enough to bring down one or two adversaries if they concentrated their weapons fire. After that they would likely be at a considerable numerical advantage and able to quickly overpower remaining adversaries.

The Intel officer had presented scans indicating at least six enemy bots at the target location but it was possible that there were about double that. Kuznetsov had wanted to initiate the assault with a larger force but the drop zone was only large enough for one drop ship at a time. Valkyrie Two and Three would have to wait for Iron Wolf and Reaper squads to clear the area before inserting the follow on squads they carried. Waiting for those squads to assault was out of the question. Waiting would only give the enemy more time to organize themselves. Besides, he reassured himself, the enemy were likely to only have a few ‘bots powered up by the time his Golem's feet slammed into the snow. If everything went well they could win this thing before the enemy was able to commit all of his ‘bots.

The sudden turbulence of earth's atmosphere broke Kuznetsov away from his mental rehearsal. It wouldn't be long now. His headset crackled as Valkyrie One transmitted it’s notice, "Inserting in five minutes." Kuznetsov acknowledged," insertion in five minutes." He switched to his platoon talk group. "Iron Wolf and Reaper units, five minutes to insertion."

The others each acknowledged his transmission as the turbulence worsened. His helmet bounced off of his head rest before his whole body was thrown forward against the seats harness. Kuznetsov gripped the edge of his seat and was slammed backwards as the drop ship smashed through varying atmospheric pressures like a sledgehammer. Insertions always made him pray for the fighting to start. Kuznetsov glanced over at Vladimir, but the big man had his eyes closed and was holding an amulet that he kept around his neck. He left Vladimir to his prayer, and forced himself to check his gauges again.

It seemed like an eternity before Valkyrie One gave the one minute warning. Kuznetsov was relieved that the insane descent was almost over. To his left Vladimir flipped a switch that activated their scanners, not that they were worth much with the radiations interference. Just the same, they helped give an idea of where the enemy was. "Scanners active, and shields stable," Vladimir reported. Kuznetsov placed his hand on the weapon's safety switch ready to flip it off as soon as Valkyrie One released them.

"Thirty seconds," Valkyrie One’s pilot came across their headsets again. Kuznetsov clenched his teeth down on the mouth guard, and waited for the gut wrenching deceleration. Before a drop ship could release its ‘bots it had to come to a near stop. In a matter of just ten seconds they would slow from about five hundred kilometers an hour to a hover at about one hundred meters above the drop zone. Kuznetsov felt the sensation of growing suddenly heavier. It was painful, his vision blurred and he wanted to throw up but the g-forces made it impossible. All around him the hull of Valkyrie One shook and rattled and groaned as it's reversing thrusters stressed its hull close to the breaking point.

And just like that it was over. Valkyrie One was in his ears again giving the final count down, while the pilot double checked her positioning. "Five, four, three, two, one, Away!" Kuznetsov opened his eyes. The bay doors were open, flooding the drop ship's narrow bay with light. He flipped the safety switch at the same time that Valkyrie One's load master released the magnetic tether. The drop ship's hull disappeared from his vision and he felt weightless again.

As he fell Kuznetsov scanned the terrain around the drop zone. Through his view screen he could see the remains of a military base half buried under decades worth of snow and ice. War ‘bot hangars were built close together across a partially damaged bridge that connected the two major sections of the base. There must have been a river when the base was built but it was evaporated or turned to solid ice since, and the space under the double laned bridge looked easily traversable. There was a platform between the bridge’s two lanes that could provide some cover while crossing the low ground.

Suddenly Kuznetsov’s view  of the bridge was obscured by other structures as his Golem slammed into the frozen drop zone. A spray of ice and dirt shot up around the ‘bots momentarily blinding them. He could see red arrows appearing on his heads up display (HUD) indicating that the reactors of enemy war 'bot's were being fired up somewhere across the bridge. Kuznetsov glanced left and right to check that his platoon had landed safely. Blue arrows lined the peripheral space of his view screen. The arrow labeled "Reaper 3" suddenly shot straight up in the air before disappearing from the HUD.

"Damn it," Kuznetsov thought spitting out his mouth guard and keying up his platoon channel. "Reaper One, this is Iron Wolf One, Reaper Three is down."

Vladimir already had their Golem moving forward before Reaper One responded.

There was a moment of hesitation and static before Reaper One's acknowledgement, "roger."

One of the problems with hiring freelancers or mercenaries is that most of them do all of their own maintenance. It wasn't uncommon, especially for Cossack models, to have electrical problems and the more patching together a bot had in place of an actual maintenance schedule the more chance there was of malfunctions. Something had caused Reaper Three's crew compartment to eject on impact and the chassis now lay limp and lifeless in the drop zone. If he was lucky the pilot hadn't slammed into the belly of the drop ship that may have still been overhead. If he hadn't then a recovery ship would be headed to pick up the disgraced pilot.

With Iron Wolf Two on his left and Three on his right, Vladimir steered Iron Wolf One forward toward a ramp that descended to the low ground. The squad of three Golems would advance under the limited cover available until their weapons were in range. The HUD showed the nearest enemy at just over a kilometer away. That meant that they needed to close over five hundred meters before they could put effective fire on the enemy. If the defending 'bots had long range weapons that could make it a long walk.

As they reached the low ground Iron Wolf Two and Three moved into a tight wedge with Kuznetsov’s 'bot. They were close enough that the shield generator on Iron Wolf One would envelop them as well and help them avoid damage while closing the distance.

The first enemies came into view. Three Cossacks, marked with red arrows by the HUD, jumped from a low wall that supported a giant inoperable gun battery. The turrets power had long ago been depleted and its mechanisms seized up with two centuries worth of ice. The Cossacks were moving toward the platform centered in the open ground, a move that could deny the cover it provided to Kuznetsov’s squad, as well as delay their advance while the enemy’s heavier, slower 'bots did their best to get into the fight.

Reaper One broke to the right, staying along the raised wall that comprised the edge of the drop zone. The Patton fired all four AC Molots on the first Cossack as it raced for the center. A barrage of the Molot 25mm rounds tore through the Cossack’s light armor and almost instantly disabled its jump system. It attempted to move behind a ramp to the central platform for protection but continued fire from Reaper One disabled it's legs and it limped helplessly for a moment before the auto ejection system launched the small crew compartment upwards and out of sight.

"Shift left," Kuznetsov ordered over his squad channel.



“Reaper One, continue your current course and provide cover fire from that bridge on the right,” Kuznetsov was glad to have the quad Molots suppressing the Cossacks, even if they belonged to a freelancer.

The other two Golem's stayed in formation as the squad moved left around the platform to engage the other Cossacks. Reaper One's swift destruction of the first Cossack had caused the remaining two to try and position the platform between themselves and Reaper One. They did not count on the three Golem's changing their course.

"Left one first," Captain Kuznetsov ordered his other two crews.

Cossacks weren't a serious threat but it was good practice to always take down one target at a time as a squad, rather than each crew firing at the first thing they saw. Two damaged adversaries were still more dangerous than one in perfect condition. Not that either of these two would be around long.

All three Iron Wolf Golems faced the Cossack farthest toward their left. Kuznetsov saw the targeting system lock the same moment that Vladimir engaged. The rapid spray of rounds from the Punishers looked like a flood of water bursting from a broken pipe. The torrent of rounds shredded the Cossack as it tried to jump away.

Thanks to the targeting system’s auto tracking only a minimal adjustment was needed to keep rounds on target. A second burst from the squads two Thunder cannons sent the Cossack's carcass crashing to the snow covered ground.

The remaining Cossack returned fire, but his rounds vaporized against Iron Wolf One’s energy shield. Kuznetsov’s view screen glowed blue as the shield weakened slightly, expending some of its energy to intercept the incoming fire. Kuznetsov checked the other hostiles on the HUD. They were close now, about five hundred meters but still out of sight.

The last enemy Cossack escaped the worst of the Golems’ return fire and ducked under the platform just out of the line of fire for either Reaper One or the Iron Wolf squad. It would only take a few moments until they could bring their weapons to bear on it. It was trapped.

Checking the HUD again Kuznetsov saw that Reaper Two had moved up a significant distance on the left flank. The mercenary was in a position to see the other hostiles. Suddenly, the Cossack made a sharp change of course and leapt beneath the bridge just as the bone jarring concussion of two heavy rounds split through the air and impacted against the structure he had been near. Even at this distance Kuznetsov could feel the unmistakable shock wave of the Kang Dae cannons.

"Two Natashas," Reaper Two blurted out across the net as he landed, unscathed, under the bridge. Kuznetsov checked their shield's status. It was at ninety two percent and recovering. If both Natashas were equipped with Kang Dae cannons that would allow them shield protection for one full volley from each of them before they started taking hull damage. Kuznetsov needed to take one down quick, but they were still behind cover and more red arrows on the HUD indicated more 'bots powering up.

Another burst of Molot fire from Reaper One on his right told Kuznetsov that the Patton's pilot had at least one of the Natashas in his sights. The trapped Cossack pilot must have thought that he was the target and panicked, because he sprinted out in front of the Golems who were still positioning to put fire on him. Iron Wolf Three picked it up immediately and the first burst from his Thunder cannon at close range ripped the enemy Cossack’s side mounted Punisher off. Vladimir swung their own turret to bear and pulled the master trigger that linked the fire of both their light and medium Punishers. The enemy's crew compartment ejected like a rocket into the air. From the beating he had just taken the pilot was probably torn to pieces inside of it though.

"Reaper One Reloading," came the Patton’s update. The Molot was a great weapon but could have used a larger magazine capacity.

"Reaper One, Iron Wolf One, relocate to this  platform to cover our advance. Break. Reaper Two, you’re with me." Kuznetsov didn't want either of the Reaper ‘bots exposed and on their own. They'd be pounded to pieces by those Natashas. At least on the platform Reaper One could take cover and still have a good firing position to support their advance.  Reaper Two could add his firepower to strike against the Natashas and use the Golems as cover.

Reaper Two's Cossack leapt from under the bridge towards Kuznetsov’s position. At the same moment a Vityaz type bot stepped out from cover onto the bridge, launching a barrage of rockets down at Iron Wolf Two. The rapid multiple impacts shook the ground and the HUD’s sensors momentarily faded in the bright explosions.

"High left!" Kuznetsov called out on the platoon net.

Three Golem's swung their turrets around to return fire. Kuznetsov noticed Reaper Two's skill when he reversed his turret, mid air and engaged the Vityaz with his R40M Orkan rockets. The first few impacted on its hull as it retreated back behind cover to reload. The rest of the rockets and a hail of punisher rounds dug into the concrete and steel structure that it dipped behind.

Iron Wolf One’s shield had absorbed the impact, preventing damage to Iron Wolf Two, but it’s strength was now down to twenty eight percent. The Golems needed to close the rest of the distance and put fire on those Natashas, but to do that it meant to move deeper into the kill zone of the Vityaz waiting just out of sight.

"Covering," Reaper One came across the radio indicating that he was reloaded and in position.

"If he pops out at all, light him up," Kuznetsov forgot his typical radio etiquette. He meant that for Reaper One but wouldn't complain if any of the others threw something at the Vityaz if it stuck its nose out again.

They were almost passed the platform’s far side when the first Natasha appeared on the hill straight ahead of them. It's pilot didn't rush and used the 'bots slow speed as an opportunity to check his targets out before engaging. It's first barrage ripped through the air and slammed into Reaper One's Patton. The impact crumpled one of its Molots as well as a portion of its outer hull. The Patton had come out from cover to better engage the Vityaz when it reappeared. The Natashas gunner had capitalized on a fully exposed target.

Reaper One scrambled back out of harms way just as the Vityaz appeared again. More rockets reigned down from the bridge, overpowering the shield's remaining strength and ripping off several layers of armor on Iron Wolf Two. Reaper One, had made an obvious mistake. After first overexposing himself he had then withdrawn after being hit, when he should have realized that despite having taken damage, both his exposed adversaries were now themselves vulnerable while they reloaded.


"Damn!" Kuznetsov yelled as Vladimir turned away from the still partially obscured Natasha back to the Vityaz. This time Vladimir, as well as Iron Wolf Two and Reaper Two were able to get full affect on target. The massive sustained barrage of weapons fire damaged the Vityaz’s legs and the normally quick 'bot was stranded in the open. It soaked up more and more damage, was smoking and small pieces of armor were continuously chipped off under the torrent of lead and depleted uranium rounds. It must have been about to trip its auto ejector, but both the Golems and Cossack were suddenly out of ammunition. The snow covered ruins were silent except for the lingering echo of weapons fire.

From behind them on the platform Reaper One had collected himself and let out a short burst of rounds from his three remaining Molots. That was all it took to send the Vityaz's crew compartment up in a trail of black smoke.

A barrage from the second Natasha ripped through Reaper One's reactor and sent him and his driver off in the same manner. Meanwhile Iron Wolf Three was putting fire on the first Natasha.

"All units engage as one!" Kuznetsov didn't know he was yelling over the radio.

Vladimir brought their turret back to the first Natasha just as the HUD displayed it's good news in red letters. "RELOAD COMPLETE," Vladimir didn't hesitate, but began to pour rounds into the behemoth on the hill. The others engaged as they marched en masse up the hill sending everything they had ahead of them.

The first Natasha had reloaded and new exactly where to send its rounds. The pair of heavy cannons belched fire and flung their projectiles into Kuznetsov’s Golem ripping off his shield generator before it could regenerate its protective field. The impact jerked Kuznetsov and Vladimir back in their seats. Vladimir recovered quickly and continued firing.

The roar of incoming Spiral missiles made Kuznetsov grab onto his chair. He was anticipating the sudden launch several kilometers into the air. The missile's impact came and battered him and Vladimir until they couldn't see, but they didn't eject. They had lost their light Punisher in addition to the Ancile unit. Vision returned and they could see the crumpled remains of a Natasha in front of them. Kuznetsov couldn't hear and time seemed to stand still. There was a Golem standing in front of his 'bot, absorbing secondary weapons fire. The rounds, from the second Natasha’s Molots were intended for the weakened Iron Wolf One. He checked his structural integrity sensors. His hull was only at eleven percent integrity, mobility was at sixty eight percent.

They weren't done yet. Kuznetsov checked the HUD. The second Natasha was still reloading and had reversed attempting to get  behind cover. Kuznetsov ‘s other Golems had shifted fire onto it while moving to protect him with their own hulls. From behind him Kuznetsov felt the boost of a jump drive as Reaper Two jumped over the Golems to get into range with his rockets. He launched his salvo before landing in front of them. One final shotgun like blast from a Thunder cannon finished it off and the Natasha seemed to stand briefly before slumping into an awkward looking sitting position while it’s crew arced heavenward. Kuznetsov laughed and his hands shook as he checked his sensors for the source of the missiles that had all but finished off his Golem. Three more red arrows on the HUD indicated more enemy ‘bots had come online just beyond a large structure that overlooked the bridge. He scanned his own forces with his one eye. The other Golems looked rough but in much better shape than he was.

"Shit," he thought to himself, "where was that second drop ship?" Valkyrie Two should have been here by now or at least communicated their approach. Of course long range radio transmissions were always uncertain due to the radiation.

He leaned forward in his seat and strained to search the sky. He could just make out the shadowy silhouette of a ship high above. "Was that coming or going? Was it friendly?”

"Status," he demanded over the platoon net.
Time seemed relevant again. He could hear now, but it was mostly just the ringing in his ears.

"Reaper Two, up."

"Two, hull at forty, weapons up." Iron Wolf two reported.

"Three, seventy, reloading."

At least their weapons were operational.

"Three, your on point, I'll support with what I've still got," that was Kuznetsov’s way of putting a positive spin on the fact that it was a miracle he was still in the fight. With his damaged drive system he would lag behind if they moved. "I've got limited legs, so we need to hammer the first thing we see."

Reaper Two jumped forward again, peeking around the structure's corner. He let loose with another salvo, at whatever he saw and then sprinted back toward the structure for cover as another volley of Spiral missiles launched from the other side. The deadly cluster of missiles swerved and then arced toward the Cossack. He came up against the side of the building as the missiles plummeted toward him. Most of them detonated against the roof's edge before the remaining few impacted on top of the Cossack.

The battered Iron Wolf squad limped closer to the structure between them and the enemy.

Reaper Two had survived the barrage and came across the platoon net with a distorted transmission. "Patton, with spirals and two Griffins. My jump system is down, reloading."

"Take the Patton first," Kuznetsov responded  as they crept toward the corner. They seemed to be moving impossibly slow. They needed to put fire on that Patton and take its weapons out of the equation before it reloaded. It's ability to launch missiles from behind cover made it their most immediate threat. It's medium rated hull also made it easier to take out than the stout heavy Griffins.

The Griffins were another story, but hopefully they could catch them before they were fully operational. If they were fully powered up Kuznetsov knew that the reality was, even one Griffin, with a decent crew should be able to eliminate his entire squad in the sorry condition they were currently in. "Where was their back up platoon?”

Iron Wolf Three approached the corner as Kuznetsov counted in his head. There were only a few seconds left before they would have Spirals launched at them again.

The hollow thud of Iron Wolf Three's Thunder cannon sounded in unison with Kuznetsov as he counted down to the inevitable barrage.

"Two, thunk. One, thunk," the cannon drummed.

"Zero," Kuznetsov said out loud as the third blast from Iron Wolf Three tore through the enemy Patton's fire suppression controls and triggered its auto ejector. A trail of exhaust from the systems propulsion traced through the sky and was visible from behind their scant shelter. Kuznetsov glanced up at the lingering smoke, just in time to see a Griffin jump through it. It immediately disappeared over head as its jump system completed its burst and cut off. It would land right behind them.

"Behind us!" Kuznetsov bellowed over the net. He hoped others had seen the Griffin jump and might already be preparing to engage.

Vladimir brought their turret around as quickly as it would move. The battered Golem only had its Twin Punisher still operational, but it was better than nothing. Kuznetsov had seen crews lose all of their weapons systems before and have to make the tough call to punch out while their platoon was still struggling. It was that or put yourself in harms way to soak up bullets protecting your platoon mates.

"Why weren't they receiving fire yet?" Kuznetsov wondered. Perhaps the Griffin’s crew was struggling to acquire a target. The hill they had ascended was behind them. Sometimes an elevation change would interfere with the targeting system’s ability to lock, especially against multiple targets close together like Iron Wolf squad was.

As Vladimir brought the turret about Molot Fire erupted across the icy ruins. Three blue triangles appeared at the edge of Iron Wolf One’s HUD. Archangel Squad had touched down.

Archangel Squad was one of the colony's heavy squads composed entirely of Griffin ‘bots. They were usually used as support or secondary assaulters in conjunction with assault squads using medium ‘bots, like Iron Wolf. The Archangels were efficient and deadly with their Molots and made short work of the enemy Griffin who had still not been able to track a target when its hull had been ripped apart by the Archangels’ massed fire.

The squad of Griffins had engaged their target mid jump and now shattered the icy low ground  as they landed behind the tattered assault platoon. Their massive hulls sent chunks of ice and powdery snow into the air. Kuznetsov let out a deep breath. He suddenly felt exhausted.

The remaining enemy Griffin crew powered down and surrendered, along with the crews of several other ‘bots who had been in various stages of powering up. Some of the older reactor models made starting in a hurry impossible. The captured crews would be reasonably well treated. Most colonies would pay a steep price to recover skilled war ‘bot pilots. They were hard to replace because it took many months of experience before someone became efficient at operating the unwieldy war machines. If they weren't ransomed they could always be conscripted and forced to man the clans Destriers. Kuznetsov was sure that he and his pilots would be well rewarded after he saw the spoils from their assault. In the frozen warehouses and assembly bays they discovered a huge stockpile of weapons and ammunition. Even more incredibly, one warehouse contained two platoons worth of Rogatka medium assault ‘bots.

The Rogatka was a very versatile and hard to come by machine. Put into production by the Russian Empire shortly before Earth's nuclear holocaust they were arguably the most affective war ‘bot ever built. Between all of the colonies combined there were less than two hundred Rogatkas in service, New Kiev only had three and maintenance technicians had worked hard to keep them operational. Most clans reserved their treasured Rogatkas for special operations, but now with two entire platoons worth New Kiev had the advantage that it needed to unite the lunar colonies.

There was one unforeseen loss. Enemy scientists had wiped the memory of several computer systems in the assembly bays. When interrogated they admitted that the computers had  contained several schematics for weapons and ‘bots that were under development at this base but that had not ever been produced. Worse, the scientists confessed to having transmitted the schematic files to their superiors before deleting the data. New Kiev technicians took the computers to search for files, but Kuznetsov doubted it was worth the effort. "Besides," he thought, "what good was someone's two hundred year old idea?"

In less than twenty hours all of the captured weapons, war ‘bots and other equipment were loaded on recovery ships and barges and headed back to New Kiev. The battered Iron Wolf Golems were sent home on the first ship, but Kuznetsov had his crews stay back and man three captured Vityaz to provide security with the Archangels.

The Iron Wolves and Archangels crowded into the last barge to leave. The vessel, named Shrieker looked and sounded like it would disintegrate at any moment. Not that the pilots cared, they were used to everything falling apart around them. Today had been a good day. Tonight they would get drunk.