Hunter Sammons

Solaris VII

Skye March, Lyran Commenwealth 

13 January, 3049

The announcer's last words boomed through my comms and the arena quickly lit up with laser fire. I pushed my raven's throttle to the max and coursed through The Factory's concrete and steel beams. My sensor pinged constantly as more that twenty light mechs ran circles around each other rarely hitting their targets.

Lights on my dashboard lit up as streak short range missiles followed me. They exploded into my right torso. I turned to face my attacker cursing myself for letting him get so close. The Javelin fired another wave of his ssrm's and the four missiles hit my center torso this time. He fired his jump jets and launched a pitiful attempt of using his srm6 from the air. I ran underneath him and turned around.

I pulled the trigger as my medium pulse lasers fired one after the other tearing through his rear armor. I switched my fingers to my secondary trigger and fired my two medium lasers into his center torso right as he turned to face me. His armor melted away and I could just start to see his inner components. However I liked to toy with my ammo based competitors. I alpha striked his right torso and watched his srm ammo explode. I flooded my mech with coolant. The jockey never spent the C-bills for a CASE and payed the price. His arm was blown off and he collapsed.

I moved closer as his mech attempted to get up lucky to still be alive. I lowered my torso and put the recticle over his head. He gets the idea and ejects.

Now angered by the fact I spent so much time on this foe. As if to answer me a pair of Jenners brandishing a Steiner insignia's race at me. It was a matter of time really. In my sixth battle I had killed a Steiner pilot these guys were obviously searching for revenge against this elderly man. If only they knew he had died. Replaced by his adopted son.

The Jenner on the left is already covered in scorches and the other showing delicate engine parts through his torso. The playing field has already dropped in half as I glance to the radar. To my surprise two pings relatively behind me are charging each other. An idea hits and I turn around. My raven will not last long against a more mobile enemy but I a risk may have great reward. Or terrible consequences. The two light mechs, a Panther and Hermes, in front of me fire at each other still out of range but quickly closing. If I time this right this could rid me a lot of trouble.

I passed in front of the charging mechs surprising both of them. They stopped their shooting glancing at me quickly then spotting the Steiner Jenners. The Hermes thankfully was Davion, people I have teamed up with in the past. He turned and faced the Jenners firing his medium lasers into the the right one, once, twice, three times a charm. His third shot met with a Steiner pilot ejecting and his mech going critical. The explosion caught his friend in the left arm and torso knocking the mech over. The Hermes started towards his new foe firing streams of super heated light into the downed mech.

A PPC blast rocked his mech as the Panther, eager to take out his original attacker, appeared again.

As this happened I arced in a wide turn and pushed the throttle to 127 kph. As my mech rocked back and forth I fired my medium lasers as they streaked across the Panther's leg showing his actuators. I fired my pulse's as I waited for the medium lasers to recharge. The Hermes turned as well, unsatisfied the Panther had taken one of his medium lasers. as we both volley'ed laser fire into the mech. He shot off another PPC wildly in a pathetic attempt to regain control. His srm ammo exploded and he fired his jump jets to escape. I pulled my torso up and went to pull the trigger.

Before I could finish my opponent my original Steiner friend was up and about firing his lasers into my side.

My computer blared one of it's many alarms yelling damage critical into my headset. I rotated my torso to take his volley of srm's into my other torso. The Hermes fired his remaining laser into the Panther as he started to descend. The Panther turned as well firing the PPC directly into the Hermes. My fellow pilot ejected and his mech crumpled to the ground.

Now locked in a battle each of us damaged, odds were still in my favor. I looked at the Jenner and fired my medium lasers then turned my torso and fired two bursts of pulse laser into the Panther. One hit and fried his leg disabling his reverse and slowing his speed. As the gentle hum of my medium lasers came back to life, I fired again and let another burst of pulse hit my foe. His mech collapsed lifeless without ejection yet no damage to the head. I did care for his safety but the srms gliding towards me distracted all concern. The Jenner was attempting to run circles around me firing his remaining lasers and srms. He clipped one of my medium lasers disabling them. I lead my target slowly turning my torso three hundred and sixty degrees.

The trigger was pulled instinctively and the Jenner dove into the ground and slid through dirt for a good thirty meters.

Victory in this skrimish made me feel good but the radar showed two targets still in my vicinity. One signal faded telling me only one foe remained. My mech is damaged critically no doubt another volley of missiles or lasers would finish me off. The Firefly rounded a concrete mass and fired a small laser and backed up, returning to cover. Then his signal disappeared. Surprise hit me causing me to wonder how he put an ECM onto his mech. I walked towards the mass my remaining three lasers and torso facing the giant building. I turned the corner and stopped. His firefly started up again. The bastard had only shut down. I fired all three lasers and continued shooting my pulse lasers. The Firefly shot off all three medium lasers. The blaring alarm of "EJECT, EJECT, EJECT!", screamed into my ears.

I broke the glass and pushed the red button. The glass cover of the Raven shot off and I gripped my straps as the force of the launch pods shoved me further into my seat. I looked down to see the Firefly shift his torso up to stare at me. My parachute opened and the camera's zoomed into the fifteen year old kid's face. Knowing my Solaris career was over I pondered what to do now as I drifted slowly to the ground. No doubt I would never hear the end of it and management would be furious that this slipped up by without notice. At that for even seven games. Seven games, six wins, fair enough for me I suppose.