The Shadow Hawkwas there, standing upright on the repair platform.
The 55-ton 'Mech dominated the cavernous Bay, a vast, humanoid shape of gray and rust-streaked metal and faded paint surrounded by the metal scaffolding that had been raised around it.
Grayson appraised the 'Mech with expert eyes. From the look of things, they'd been remounting its backpack and autocannon, both of which had been removed to facilitate the trap that had nearly killed him and wiped out his entire assault force in this very room. The backpack housed the 'Mech's primary heat exchangers and the cockpit's life support systems, as well as mountings, ammunition, and the control circuitry for the 90 mm autocannon that was now set in the rest position, aiming straight up. The back unit could be removed for maintenance and repair operations, but the 'Mech would not be fully combat ready without it. The BattleMech certainly looked combat ready now.
The Shadow Hawkwas a 'Mech of older design, and had a transparent canopy much like that of an atmospheric aircraft. Console screens gave the pilot a full range of IR through UV vision. In practice, however, the pilot generally relied on his eyes rather than the 'Mech's optical sensors, with a holographic heads-up display to project targeting information and combat intelligence above the console. The canopy was open now, and Grayson could see someone — possibly the pilot or a Tech running a final check — moving about in the cockpit
Though the alarm was silent, troops were forming up on the Repair Bay deck, with officers pointing and yelling orders. They had gathered a milling herd of green-coated Trells at gunpoint into a far corner of the room. The round-up had begun.
Grayson thought fast. The Bay doors were open, but with all those soldiers lined up near the opening, he'd be stopped or shot down before he got very far. His eyes travelled back to the Shadow Hawk.He had piloted that 'Mech several times during his training. It had been Lieutenant Hauptman's machine, and Grayson could still make out the name "Hauptman" in faded script across the leading edge of the 'Mech's left foot He had spent a good many hours piloting Hawksin the simulator, too. If he could get into the 'Mech's cockpit, he would have a good chance of escaping.
There were several potential problems, however. The 'Mech might not be as combat ready as it looked. Worse, the neural impulse helmet could have been set for the parameters of another pilot, and would have to be quickly reset if he was to have complete control. The only way to find out was by sitting in the cockpit lumself.
Perhaps the biggest dilemma was one of tactics. Once Grayson started climbing the ladder up the side of the scaffolding, some NCO or Combine officer was certain to see him. Without some kind of diversion, he would never make it higher than the Shadow Hawk'sknee joint.
* * * *
Lori set her jaw and shifted frequencies. "All units, I have the signal. Let's move!"
The Locustlurched forward, its flat-clawed feet grappling for purchase on the sandy bank as it scrambled to the top. On either side of her, the Waspand the Stingercrawled out of the wadi and stood upright. On both flanks, the hovercraft weapons carriers hummed into life on the rim of the arroyo where the Wasphad carefully set them moments before. Then they began drifting toward the spaceport on eddying clouds of dust
"Just a fast raid," Lori reminded her command. "In and out No duels! Let's see if we caught them napping!"
They had maneuvered through the wadi to within three kilometers of the spaceport, which left a long, open firelane through which the various machines had to move. The 'Mechs thundered forward at their top speeds, which quickly put the Locustwell into the lead. Dust raised by their charge and by the fans of the hovercraft swirled and billowed to create a screening cloud.
Lori brought her laser to bear on the nearest of the Combine DropShips, targetting on a laser turret in the vessel's bulging flank. The sky was just light enough for her to pick out her target optically, and the flash when the turret exploded was dazzling against the twilight
White smoke trails arced and twisted through the sky from the pair of missile-firing hovercraft. Flashes of light erupted among the grounded ships, across the curved roof of a barracks, across the side of a storage shed. The cracks and booms of exploding rockets rattled across the field.
"PBIs at 270!" Lori recognized Enzelman's voice in the Wasp.Garik tended to get shrill in battle as the adrenalin started flowing, and his emotions came through even the electronic filtering.
She shifted her imaging sensors, and saw a twinkle of movement. PBIs — MechWarrior slang for "Poor Bloody Infantry" — were boiling out of the stricken barracks. Many wore only bits and pieces of uniforms in the still-cold chill of early morning, but they all appeared to be armed.
"O.K.," she transmitted. "Don't worry about them. Go for the storage tanks at 180. Hit "em!"
The target was a tank farm, four rows of squat, massively armored storage tanks at the far side of the port. The Stinger'slaser probed the base of one of the tanks, searching for weakness. The blue flash of a particle beam lanced out from a DropShip and caught the Stingerin its glare. Lori noted with approval that the Stingtr'spilot, Yarin, one of Grayson's Trell recruits, held his fire steady on the stubborn armor of the tank. She targeted her Locust'slaser on the same spot, adding her own weapon's white fury to where the armor was softening, to where the network of pipes and conduits for fuel transfer were melting.
Those tanks held liquid hydrogen, reaction mass for the fusion impulse drives of the DropShips that called at the port. In two seconds, the valves at the tank's base slagged down, vaporizing hydrogen gushed out into the cold air, and the explosion sent a fireball mushrooming into the sky. The shock knocked Yarin's Stingerto its knees, and Lori fought the Locust'scontrols to keep her machine on its feet. The impact of the blast was a palpable blow, savage and deafening. The fireball climbed higher, devouring the sky. Its light illuminated the whole area, while flaming chunks of white hot metal rained onto the field and clinked across the Locust'shull.
"That's it," Lori said. "They'll have the cavalry out any moment now! Fall back! Fall back!"
* * * *
The diversion Grayson prayed for came as a shout from a soldier by the doors. "Hey! They're attacking the port!"
Discipline broke as soldiers turned in their ranks, craning their necks at the laser fire starkly visible against the darkened expanse of the spaceport below Mount Gayal. Several astechs ran out onto the parade ground to get a better look.
Grayson knew it was now or never.
Starting up the ladder of the gantry, he kept his eyes fixed on the Shadow Hawk'shead. His greatest fear was what would happen if the Hawkwas fully powered up and ready and the pilot should spot him halfway up. When Grayson had reached the 'Mech's waist, the pilot removed his helmet and stood in the cockpit, stretching up to see past the bulk of the 'Mech's chest to the battle outside. Grayson climbed faster then to the Hawk'schest. He was level with it when a vibration in the gantry attracted the pilot's attention. He looked down, eyes widening. At the same instant, there was a shout from the deck eight meters below. "Hey! You up there! What the hell do you think you're doing?"