It took me a bit, and I'm still not completely happy with the ending, but here's my submission. The word count is 1,534 including the title and background information you asked for. Thanks for taking a look!
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Getting Away With It
<<Anton’s Revolt, Brush Wars>>
Bernardo, Free Worlds League
December 25, 3014
Henry Vicelli couldn’t believe his luck. A year ago, he’d been a dispossessed MechWarrior blown out of his Rifleman by a stray shell that touched off his autocannon ammunition. By Easter, he was pledging allegiance to Duke Anton in return for the Marik Wolverine he was now piloting. Throughout the summer, it had been light fighting in the Zion province, offering an enterprising MechWarrior plenty of opportunity to loot. That easy summer was followed by two months of hard fighting on Sophie’s World that only ended once Wolf’s Dragoons threw a third regiment into the effort. After the briefest of refits and an engagement on Berenson cut short by the arrival of no less than four regiments of loyalist reinforcements, he’d found himself back on his home world fighting for his life on Christmas day. Of course, this had allowed him to bring his ill-gotten gains home, but now he had to figure out how to get him, his wife and son, AND his ‘mech off planet. But first, he had to deal with the pair of ‘mechs that were hunting him relentlessly though the neighborhood he’d grown up in.
The Hermes II itself wouldn’t have been so bad, but the Phoenix Hawk it was partnered with could jump, making it impossible to outrun. Like all the fighting since Sophie’s World, this had been brutal, with no quarter asked or given on either side. His loyalist enemies showed none of the care he did for the buildings in the neighborhood, and the Hermes’ flamer would be especially damaging to the landscape. For that reason alone, he decided it had to go first. It might have been easier if he was still with the rest of his lance, but they were busy with the balance of the two loyalist lances that had ambushed them.
The real trick was splitting the two ‘mechs up. They were obviously trained to work together, but Henry’s knowledge of the neighborhood enabled him to draw the Hermes into an alley while its partner was on a parallel street. Jumping over two buildings to land right behind the lighter ‘mech, Henry cut loose with a full alpha strike, triggering his three lasers slightly before the missile launcher. The Hermes rotated to its left and showered the Wolverine with flaming gel, spiking Henry’s heat gage but doing little else. The Wolverine’s fusillade, on the other hand, savaged the lighter machine, tearing open its back, and toppling the ‘mech on its face. Adding insult to injury, Henry stomped on the prone machine and found the autocannon ammunition stored in the Hermes’ left torso, turning the ‘mech into a blossoming secondary explosion. Henry winced as the pressure wave shattered every window in the alley and blew in the closest doors. Mrs. Brasi and her neighbors wouldn’t be happy when they came back from the shelter. As the smoke cleared, Henry shivered when he saw the Hermes’ ejection seat lodged in the front of the building facing the alley.
The explosion certainly drew the Phoenix Hawk’s attention, and Henry triggered his jump jets in an effort to get away. Unexpectedly, the lighter ‘mech chanced the roof of the local bank branch, which strained, but ultimately bore the weight. The ‘Hawk leveled all three of its lasers at Henry and bathed the Wolverine in coherent light. Sweat pouring down his face, Henry snapped off a shot with his own heavy laser, only to see it go wide as he jumped another two streets over. His heat gage hardly moved, but at least the Phoenix Hawk couldn’t get a line of sight immediately.
Breathing hard, Henry tried to take stock as the Wolverine vented heat in shimmering waves. The Phoenix Hawk had other ideas and followed the heavier machine, closing the range to 90 meters across a clear street. Its machine guns merely chattered at long range, sending sparks down the street, but the two medium lasers paired with them in each arm were right on target. Henry returned fire, also withholding his heavy laser, and the missile system’s lock tone was music to his ears. One of the missiles found the ‘Hawk’s head, starring the cockpit glass, but the rest scattered, either missing completely or scarring fresh armor elsewhere on the ‘mech. Punching his jump jets again, Henry muttered “Get off me!” He was heading for the public park and its shallow lake, but it would be at least 30 more seconds before he could get there.
Fortunately, the Phoenix Hawk’s own heat gage and the rattling its pilot had just taken seemed to give Henry the break he needed, as it didn’t follow up immediately. Henry’s heat dropped low enough his targeting system stopped complaining, but a yellow telltale still cautioned him not to try running at full speed. With a moment finally to himself, Henry started to formulate a plan. His father-in-law’s salvage yard wasn’t too far beyond the park, and had been quite a playground for him and his brothers-in-law when they were younger. It had also been where he first met his wife.
Another shot from the Phoenix Hawk's heavy laser put paid to that happy thought. Backing up, Henry snapped off a shot with his own heavy laser just before rounding a corner. At least his heat gage was green again. He spent the next minute or so maneuvering around the park, pulling the Phoenix Hawk further from its friends, exchanging the occasional shot. The 'Hawk pilot was good, and rarely missed. Less often than Henry at any rate. By the time Henry had the lighter machine one block from the salvage yard, both 'mechs were in rough shape.
The Phoenix Hawk tried to pull another surprise roof top shot, but Henry was ready for it this time. The Wolverine’s right arm tracked the arc of the 'Hawk's jump perfectly, and even as the muzzle of the lighter machine's heavy laser grew larger in Henry's sight, he triggered the firing circuit. Instantly, the Wolverine’s cockpit glass went dark in an attempt to save its occupant from the coherent fury bathing the 'mech's head. Red telltales showed all over his screens as the other damage from the Phoenix Hawk's medium lasers and machine guns registered. The momentary darkness and barrage of hits overbalanced Henry, and he felt himself falling backward. Bracing for impact, he tried to curl the Wolverine into a ball, and managed take the brunt of the impact on its left arm, leaving it without armor.
Scrambling the machine to its feet, Henry cast about for the Phoenix Hawk. A trickle of blood dripped over his left eye, and he hurriedly brushed it away, focusing on the disturbing lack of an enemy. After a few seconds, a thin column of smoke drew his attention to the roof of the building where the Phoenix Hawk had fired from. Triggering his jump jets, Henry leapt to the street on the other side of garage and saw the headless Phoenix Hawk sprawled on the roof. He sighed in relief, but then frowned. Getting that thing off the roof was going to be a bear.
An hour later, Henry was talking to his oldest brother-in-law while a swarm of workers busily disassembled both his Wolverine and the headless Phoenix Hawk. He had a bandage over the cut on his scalp, and the pain killers took the edge off the sting, if not the dizziness. At least he hadn't broken anything. The fight for the rest of the planet wasn't going well, but it seemed there would be enough outbound traffic to cover his cousin's shuttle with his wife and son aboard. Quiet jump passage out of the system would be expensive, but not impossible. If he hurried, he just might be able to join them. But that would leave the Wolverine to follow, later. He liked his wife's family, but he wasn't quite to the point of trusting them with his 'mech. His brother-in-law's argument was that the 'mech was much more likely to escape notice if he wasn't with it. It was a good point. In the end, Henry shook hands and went to change into civilian clothes.
Compared to the 'mech duel, getting off planet, and even out of the Free World's League was comparatively anti-climactic for Henry. The same couldn't be said for his wife and son. Lucia had never been off-planet before, and was understandably nervous. Little Guy thought it was a huge adventure, and took every opportunity to float around in zero-G. Henry and his cousin had a bit of fast talking to do after nearly every jump and the bribes added up quickly, but the money held out all the way to Galatea. Then began the waiting.
The Wolverine’s right hand arrived first, in a crate marked “machine parts”. It took almost a year for the rest to arrive, but the money Henry had looted was more than enough to get it put back together. Fortunately, the chaos in the aftermath of the revolt delayed Marik investigators until Henry had signed on with a 'mech company and left the Mercenary's Star well behind.
