Rose swung to the left and moved toward the center of the battle line on Morgain's side of the ridge. He kept one eye on the Banshee,which had yet to fire as it moved through the trees, and the other eye on the Stalker,which was still trying to stand. As he broke through the trees, the Stalkerhad managed to make it to one knee.
Rose had always considered the Stalkera poorly designed 'Mech. Although the 'Mech mounted considerable firepower, it was slow and clumsy. Compounding the problem were two "wings" that served as arms. Though the 'Mech was regarded as a good firing platform, the lack of arms severely hampered its ability in certain situations. And this was one of them.
Without arms, it was extremely difficult to get the 'Mech back upright once it fell to the ground. If this Stalkerhadn't fallen on a slope, Rose doubted that it would have ever gotten up again without some kind of assistance. The pilot had almost succeeded, but Rose thwarted the attempt by charging across the intervening ground.
Rose fired all four of his pulse lasers as he closed, every one of them hitting the Stalker'sright side as the pilot tried to get the 'Mech's other leg underneath it. He managed to keep the 'Mech upright as Rose's lasers cut away vital armor, but he couldn't keep his footing when the Chargerslammed into his side.
Beginning to run, Rose charged the Stalker.Normally he'd have tried a shoulder slam, but with the Stalkerpartially bent over and on slightly lower ground, Rose had decided to try another tactic. As he closed the distance, he adjusted the Charger'sstride so that his left foot was planted next to the side of the Stalker.Continuing the motion, he brought the right foot forward and threw his weight backward. Like a football player blasting the ball past a defending goalie, Rose powered the right foot forward.
If the Stalker'sshape had been more human, Rose could have hit it in the ribs, but the Stalkerhad only the right wing. The Charger'sgiant foot caved in the other 'Mech's previously damaged armor and crushed the short-range missile launcher underneath. Then came a bright flash that made Rose fear he'd caused an explosion in his eagerness, but there was no chain reaction from the missiles stored in the torso. As the Stalkerrolled away from the blow, the Charger'sfoot caught on the ruptured endo-skeleton and pulled Rose off balance. The Stalkerfell again, this time taking the Chargerwith it.
Rose tried to roll with the fall, but the trapped foot made that impossible. The Chargerfell across the Stalker,further damaging the 'Mech underneath. Though Rose was able to use the Charger'soutstretched hands to absorb some of the impact, he still hit the ground hard. Armor buckled and seams popped free as Rose immediately attempted to rise. With the Chargerbeing facedown, its lightly armored back was exposed and vulnerable to Morgain's 'Mechs. Rose searched the scanner for the Banshee,his mind filled with images of when his 'Mech had been knocked over on Solaris.
The Banshee,however, wasn't close enough to take a shot through the densely packed cedars. To Rose's surprise, the 'Mech had paralleled his course, but had made no attempt to get closer. Rose continued to stare at the scanner as he tried to rise because all he could see through the main viewer was dirt and crushed cedar needles.
Esmeralda had moved closer to Hawg and was slugging it out with the Awesomewhile Hawg was still struggling to stand on the slope. The thermal readings on the two standing 'Mechs were well in the danger level, but the Awesomeseemed to be running hotter. It had obviously been firing all three of its PPCs as soon as they came back on-line. Chances were good that the waste heat generated by the weapons' fire would eventually shut down the 'Mech; in the meantime those same weapons would take a heavy toll on the mercenaries. Rose finally found Badicus still engaged with the fifth enemy 'Mech well to the left of the main line. Rianna was moving to support him, but it would be several seconds before she was clear of the trees.
The pursuit lance had moved to cover the fallen BattleMasterand were wisely staying in position. Neither of the lighter 'Mechs could stand the punishment being dished out by the heavy and assault 'Mechs of Morgain's force and they knew it. If they kept the BattleMasterout of the fight, Rose would consider it a better than even exchange and a good use of the lance. It also kept McCloud out of harm's way, no matter what happened to him.
"Battle Two, this is Command One. What is your status?"
O'Shea opened the link and a burst of static filled Rose's cockpit. "I've got him right where I want him, Command One." An explosion filled the line and Rose heard O'Shea's involuntary cry of alarm. In the background the Shadow Hawk'sheat warning bell went off.
"Cancel that last transmission, Command One. That last shot nicked the engine shielding."
"How bad?" Rose struggled harder to free his 'Mech's entangled leg. He could feel the Stalkerresisting, however, and the leg remained trapped.
"I can shut it down now, or I can blow up in three minutes."
"Shut the damn thing down, O'Shea. That's an order. " Rose heard the heat warning bell go off again.
"Command One, automated shutdown sequence has been initiated, but I don't think I'm going to be able to stick around for the finish. This guy's coming back for the kill. Sorry about the 'Mech, Rose, but I'm ejecting."
"Battle Two, what is your opponent?"
Rose heard the restraining pins explode and a split second later the cockpit rose into the sky above the battlefield. "Marauder Twooo ..." and then the connection went dead.
Rose began thrashing in a vain effort to free the Charger'strapped leg. He was about to call for Angus to help when the leg began to come free. With his other leg he kicked at the Stalkerwhile repeatedly trying to pull the trapped leg out of the Stalker'storso, but it would not come away. On the scanner the Marauder IImoved closer to the embattled Warhammerand Awesome.Its hundred-ton weight would easily swing the battle against the Thorns unless Rose could free himself. Finally Rose could wait no longer.
Throwing caution to the wind, he pushed off with his outstretched left arm. Though he could not hope to stand, the sloping ground gave him enough leverage to roll over onto his back. He was reasonably sure the maneuver would succeed, but he feared that if the foot were wedged too tightly in the Stalker'storso, the sudden movement would snap it off.
As the Chargerflopped over onto its back, Rose heard the grind of metal as armor tore free and the skeleton underneath bent, then popped free. The foot was still trapped in the Stalker,but Rosccould tell that the "toes" were pointed up. Kicking with his left leg, Rose sighted down the trapped right leg and fired the arm-mounted pulse laser. Armor boiled away, and with a heave the foot came free.
Rose rolled over to his right side and struggled to stand on the uneven ground. In doing so, he noticed the damage to the Stalker,whose torso had been reduced to bits of crushed steel by his charge and subsequent thrashing. The pilot had shut down the engine at some point in the struggle and emerged from the cockpit as the Chargerstood up.