Titans Ch. 08

"Vampire?" he asked, the mech's speech modulator removing the quiver from his voice.

"Oh, my mistake. Must be a coincidence that you began walking around with your armour closed up since we passed the town full of bloodless bodies. I assumed you'd done some recruiting. Never mind then."

"You're far too clever for a bartender you know," Alex muttered. Walter laughed in response.

"I am many things, but first and foremost I'm an engineer. I got my command by special recommendation. Speaking of engineering, the real reason I wanted to talk to you was because I was curious how tough that armour is. I want to know how hard my war engines need to avoid hitting you should you end up behind enemy lines and in our fire arcs."

"I'll... my first instinct is to tell you to fire away, but I'd like to see what these war engines are capable of before committing to an answer."

"I thought as much. Hence, we're already heading towards the workshop."

At the top end of the campsite, not too far from the crest of the pass, a large, open area had been set aside for construction. Wooden beams, gears, ropes and counterweights were all being lifted and hammered into position, building ballistae, trebuchets and catapults. Alex took it all in, setting the mech's computer to work calculating masses, tensions and maximum energies. Walter led him over to a completed ballista, a huge crossbow that would have been oversized even in the mech's hands.

"What do you think then, Captain Murray? What can we expect if you get hit with one of these bolts?" He gestured to a pile of ammo for the ballista. Wooden shafts as long as Alex was tall, with heavy metal points at their tips.

"A loud bang, and maybe knocking me off balance I think. Shouldn't cause any lasting damage," Alex said confidently. Walter nodded pensively, then made a hand gesture to one of the nearby engineers who quickly came running.

"Feeling brave enough to test that theory? For safety's sake of course." The junior engineer began hauling on a ratcheted wheel, applying tension to the springy wooden beams across the front. Walter heaved one of the bolts onto his shoulder and walked it over to the weapon. He raised an eyebrow at Alex, his eyes sparkling with excitement. Despite himself, the mech pilot was increasingly feeling like showing off to this man.

"Sounds sensible. Make sure you clear the range, that bolt is likely to deflect and splinter," Alex grinned, walking around to in front of the ballista with a cocky swagger. Walter grinned, slotting the bolt in and shouting a warning to everyone else who was hard at work. More wheels were turned to adjust the firing angle as the mech took up position about thirty meters away.

"Ready," Alex announced. Walter nodded, picking up a hammer and standing behind the taught rope.

"FIRE!" the engineer yelled, bringing the hammer down on the block attached to the ratchet. The bolt was loosed with a whooshing thump of released strain, crossing the intervening distance in a fraction of a second. The metal head hit the metal hull near the right hip with an almighty bang and bounced off with a short, sharp screech. The wooden shaft cracked and broke into splinters, shards of wood drumming a rapid beat against the outside of the cockpit. Alex took a half step back to maintain his balance, then made a show of brushing himself off as he walked back to the artillery. The only evidence of the siege weapon's attack was a small scratch in the nanite paint, which was already starting to close over.

"Impressive!" Walter shouted, laughing gleefully, "I'm happy enough with that display. You can expect artillery support during the battle."

"Excellent," Alex smiled. He was feeling better about their chances by the minute.

A bright pulse of energy lit up the mech's sensors, originating from somewhere close to the edge of the camp. Alex turned, quickly drawing a visual on a group of men and women in brightly coloured robes. They were inserting a plate-sized lens into a wire cradle at the tip of an ornately inscribed brass rod. More than a few of them were darting furtive glances in his direction.

"The mages guild," Walter muttered, seeing where Captain Murray was looking, "That lens doesn't look like the usual kind they put in those wands. At a guess, their repeated attempts at scrying on your armour over the last week haven't gained the results they wanted so now they're risking a more direct approach while they can pretend they're preparing weapons for tomorrow."

"What makes you think that?" Alex asked, turning away but keeping his various other scanners focused on the area.

"It's what I would do. Very little to lose and a lot to gain; if they can work out how to duplicate something that powerful it would give them a huge bargaining chip with the empress and with the leadership wherever you're from should they wish to keep its construction a secret."

When the mages finally had the lens slotted into place, a cone of low frequency radiation beamed out, washing out some of the mech's sensors for a second until they compensated for it. It would make for a crude but effective active scan, assuming they had the ability to detect and analyse the reflected streams. A mech wouldn't much good at the hit-and-run tactics they specialised in though if it was easy to locate them on scanners; without any input from Alex the machine absorbed the incoming radiation with a low-power energy field and began emitting an answering signal that mimicked the ground behind him.

"I'm not too worried. I'll be wary of them though, thanks Walter."

"No problem at all, Captain Murray. Best of luck for tomorrow."

They parted ways, Walter assembling his crews for a team meeting while Alex returned to the Irregulars, giving the somewhat distressed mages a wide berth. His squad had done exactly as he asked, Talia was reshaping Daine's axe to a perfect balance and a razor's edge. The dwarf himself was sat side by side with Thrak, massaging some oil into the leather sections of the group's armour. Gelb was scratching his protective blessings into another metal bracer.

The mech took a knee on the edge of their little camp as Thrak finished oiling the straps on a steel plate pauldron. The orc stood and gave a smart salute.

"Welcome back, captain. Maintenance is well underway and requiring very little in the way of repairs, I would expect us to be done within half an hour."

"Excellent," Alex nodded, frowning to himself, "Got some bad news though, according to the General's 'master plan' you'll be in the infantry on the right flank while I'm front and centre. I should be in range to support you when I can... but I've only got two weapons effective at that range and one of them barely hurts a giant."

Daine scowled, but Thrak and Talia didn't seem too perturbed. It was hard to tell if Gelb had even noticed, absorbed in his work as he was. The elf smiled sweetly, twirling the heavy axe around her delicate fingers in a gravity-defying display.

"Don't worry about us. This isn't the first pitched battle the army has been involved in and we're all front-line veterans. We'll be okay."

"If..." Vanessa started to say something, then stopped and huffed.

"What is it?" Alex asked within the cockpit, disabling the external speakers.

"If the sun isn't out tomorrow, I'll fight alongside them. As long as I'm not going to burst into flames I'll keep them safe." The offer almost seemed to physically pain the vampire. The pressure from her shadowy form lifted from his shoulders as she retreated into the deep recessed of the small space.

"Thank you," Alex said quietly and from the heart, then to the rest of them he spoke up, "Alright, with that being the case and me being unable to open the cockpit while the sun is out, I think our training today will be 'how to take down a giant' then. Gelb, I need to talk to you about ideas for emergency signals..."

*****

Alex felt content. Lying on his back, naked, on the mirrored glass roof of a skyscraper in the endless, grey expanse of the dream realm. He waited peacefully for his Lieutenant, now his third girlfriend it seemed, to appear again.

The silence of the dream was shattered with a thunderous crash. Startled, Captain Murray rolled onto his side to look out in the direction of the sound. He didn't have to search long, the titanic Atlas mech stood well above the height of the buildings. It strode in his direction, knocking over a second tower as it forged its way through the cityscape.

Alex's heart pounded in his chest, he remembered all too well having the life casually squeezed out of him between those massive fingers. He rolled away from it, dropping off the edge of the building and hanging from the lip by his fingers. If he had been quick enough, number one might not have seen him. If not... then he really didn't want to be on the top of these buildings that the mech was toppling with contemptuous ease. At the very least, if he was spotted climbing down he could try and draw Atlas away from this building where Anna would be appearing at some point soon.

The descent was much quicker and easier than the climb, but Alex still tried not to rush too much and risk losing his grip. The temptation to let go and risk the fall grew with each increasingly loud thudding footstep. Around the fourth floor, he decided to take his chances. He pushed off from the building, spreading his arms and orienting his feet towards the ground; exactly like a mech drop. Unlike a mech though, he deliberately crumpled when he landed, absorbing the impact with his legs, then his hips, then rolling onto his back with his head curled upwards.

Alex rolled over twice more, tumbling painfully on the smooth but hard ground. With a grunt, he stopped the movement and surged to his feet. Another resounding crash reoriented his sense of direction again, and he took off running perpendicular to the titan's path to draw it away from Anna.

As before, travelling on his own in the dreamscape warped Alex' sense of time and space. He didn't even notice when he ran between the cover of the buildings and directly into Atlas' line of sight. The mech howled, Alex's ears throbbed with the vibrations and he stumbled a few steps. His head whipped around to locate his hunter, just in time to see it point an open palm in his direction. In the centre of the hand, a tube opened, the angle of the hand adjusting slightly as it tracked his movements.

Alex's eyes went wide. He put his head down and made a mad sprint for the next building. There was a percussive boom as the weapon fired. He dived forwards as the huge shell hit the ground behind him, then detonated. Rubble and shrapnel pelted him in the back. He felt his skin tear and bones break. For a moment, he blacked out.

The creaking of metal under great strain woke Alex. He felt it through his aching bones more than he heard it, the only thing in his ears was an all-consuming ringing. The vibration intensified. He looked up. The skyscraper above him had a corner blown out on the first floor. Bits of the glass windows were still raining down around him.

The tower groaned again and began to tip. Alex tried to pull himself upright, but his hands slipped in the pool of blood gathering beneath him. With a pained gasp he couldn't hear, he scrambled forwards. Shaking off the disorientation, he focused on his pilot suit. As the black force-reactive armour appeared around him it applied much needed pressure to his open wounds. The gloves gave him some grip on the slick ground. He wheezed, crawled forwards a few steps then struggled upright. Ignoring the stabbing pain of his broken bones, he began to run again.

Alex contorted in pain as he awoke for real. He stifled a cry as he saw the rest of the squad still sleeping, but Talia was wrapped around him and he couldn't keep from disturbing her. She leaned over, looking down on him in worry and stroking his hair as he convulsed. Over long minutes, the pain began to die down as his brain adjusted to his unharmed body. Eventually the tension left him, and he took a couple of deep breaths.

"I'm okay," he whispered, sitting up, "I'm okay."

"What happened?" Talia murmured, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"The dream I keep having with Anna. I got attacked by an enemy mech. It nearly killed me."

"It was just a dream," she hugged him tightly. Alex nodded, staring at the wall of the tent. Rain was gently pattering against it; the grey light must have made it shortly before dawn and he could already hear people moving around.

"Come on then. We need to get ready for the battle."

Vanessa was waiting for them outside, tossing a dagger repeatedly into the air and catching it by the blade. Her black hair was already slicked down by the fine rain. She ignored Alex, turning instead towards Talia.

"Anything you can do to make this dagger I stole a bit more durable? Would be nice to be able to cut loose today without it shattering." She held it out to the artificer, who took it with a thoughtful frown. Alex's fingers danced over the handle of his combat knife, he hesitated for a second but unclipped the sheathe and threw it to the vampire who easily caught it. She looked at him questioningly.

"I want that back later," he said pointedly, "You might dull the edge if you keep cutting through armour with it, but it's tougher than you are strong. Use it well."

Vanessa drew the black, serrated blade, looking it over and checking the balance. She kept her face calm and cool as she slid it back into the sheathe and dropped it to her side, but her grip was firm as if afraid to let it go.

"Well it matches my aesthetic at least. Thanks."

"Pay me back by using it to keep everyone safe, okay?"

Vanessa nodded stiffly. The rest of the squad were finishing getting dressed, pulling on their armour and buckling their weapons in the dull, pre-dawn light. Shouts rang out as commanders began marshalling their troops. One of Elizabeth's captains soon showed up to collect the Irregulars, Alex bid them good luck and farewell then mounted up in his mech. He left the sword slung across his back as he trudged up the hill; for him it made more sense as a defensive tool than a weapon anyway.

The mood in the army was grim, and there was a palpable tension in the air. From the top end of the camp, Alex watched the formation assemble. The cavalry, including about half of Elizabeth's scouts, rode off down the hill; heading around the mountain to the next valley. Carts full of engineers and parts for Walter's siege engines rolled up next to him, waiting for their signal to go. To his right, the main force of archers arrived, escorting the mages and their collection of arcane brass structures. They kept their distance from the mech but watched him suspiciously. He ignored them.

The blocks of infantry formed up behind the mech and the two flanking groups. Towards the rear, some heavily armoured knights guarded a group of ornate carriages that seemed to contain the General and other high-ranking officers. A horn sounded from within that group, and the army began to march.

As they reached the highest part of the valley, Alex's sensors once more spilled out into the other side of the mountain range. As before, the Wildlings' camp sprawled over the wooded foothills but the scattered campfires that gave then away the first time weren't yet lit with the sun only just reaching the horizon. He watched carefully as some sentries on the edge of the forest spotted the advancing army and raised the alarm. Frantic motion spread through the enemy like a virus while the allied flanking groups split off and began climbing the sides of the valley.

The army advanced further. From between the trees, goblins and beastmen surged forwards to form a bristling wall of spears. The chaotic jumble of their battle lines was a sharp contrast to the regimented grid of empire soldiers. Hundreds of giants began to take up position in small groups spread across the field. Then, in the centre of the enemy army, something appeared that made Alex's heart skip a beat. His communicator rang.

"Hello again, captain," Anna sounded tired, matching the battered appearance of her mech. Getting a closer look at it than he had days ago, he saw that the torso was badly dented, and one of the two howitzer barrels of her shoulder-mounted artillery was crumpled and bent. Rain water dripped from a torn edge near the tip.

"Lieutenant Anna Carroll," Alex sighed, quelling his shock with a swallow, "Care to explain why you're marching into battle with an army of literal monsters?"

"Well captain, I was hoping you could help me with that actually," Anna said with false sweetness, "See, they've got some tricks up their sleeves that have been making it kind of difficult for me to fuck off and leave but they seem pretty distracted right about now. I'm thinking if we put on a bit of a show while you start painting targets, we can blow them to shit while the armies are fucking each other up and break us both free and clear."

Anna stepped out ahead of the Wildlings, Alex followed her example and picked up his pace to draw slightly ahead of the army's march.

"You know where they are?" he asked, all business now. The circumstances of Anna's reappearance bothered him, but he had more important matters to focus on for now.

"Vaguely, and I have sensor data. Just don't have the scanning range that your mech does. Requesting an active link now."

"Accepted, opening link. What sort of 'show' did you have in mind?"

"Fist fight maybe? Just enough to convince them we're occupied with each other while we line up shots. There's a group right behind me you can hit with the blast cannon, hit another group with the arc gun to scatter them and pick off stragglers with beams. I'll send an anti-personnel round into the most distant group in one direction and open up with the MGs at a couple of others. By the time they realise what's happened we should be able to do some serious damage. Finish the rest of the threats then just walk on out."

As she spoke, Anna was reviewing the data from Alex's advanced sensors. She highlighted targets, assessing weapon ranges and effectiveness and estimating kill times to give them a second-by second plan for how she expected the opening minutes of the battle to go. He was reminded how much he had missed fighting alongside her.

"Some small corrections Lieutenant," he interrupted her, "First, I probably only get one shot with the blast cannon so be sure to account for that. Took some damage in the drop and the repair is a patch job. Secondly, we're not walking away. There's a civilisation behind this army and I don't want us abandoning them to a hostile force."

"Good as we are, captain, we're not needed here. These bastards fucked up royally by camping here with their enemy so close. The humans have the terrain advantage and the element of surprise. The back of this army is still going to be getting their pants on 30 minutes into the fight. The humans got this shit."

"Are we in a rush though? Why not stay and help?"

"Because number one is hiding out somewhere to the north, and I want to go deal with that shitheel before the retreating remains of this bunch of chucklefucks get back home," Anna said as the two mechs met in the middle of the field. "Nice sword by the way. Compensating for something?"

"Number one?" Alex's eyes went wide, but before he could ask any more details the army caught up to him. With the sounding of a second horn, hell broke loose. The artillery up on the ridge line hurled rocks and bolts into the horde. Infantry charged. Up on the other ridge, a beam of light launched out from the mages to entangle a giant and begin dragging it forcefully into the middle of the army. Anna's mech put up its fists into a boxing stance.