Rose started to climb up the hill and immediately saw how severely the trapped leg had been damaged. Both the foot and knee actuators had been destroyed, reducing the Charger'sprogress to a stiff-legged shuffle. Despite the shorter distance he had to travel, Rose reached the embattled Warhammerand Awesomeimmediately after the Marauder II.
As Rose was arriving, the Zeuswas just regaining its feet. Unlike Rose, Hawg had been able to fire some of his weapons even though down, and he had evidently decided to do so. The Awesomewas little more than charred steel, the pilot having apparently decided to punch out when he could no longer ignore the heat buildup. The driverless 'Mech still showed up as a beacon on the infrared sensor; but it was no longer a threat.
Rose shouted a warning as the Marauderfired at Hawg's Zeus.Although Hawg was in the process of turning, he didn't quite make it all the way round. The LB-X autocannon sent two shells into the Zeus'back. The second shell followed the first and tore into the gyro heart of the 'Mech. The rapidly spinning gyro ground itself to death on the shards of the cannon shell.
Standing on the uneven slope, the Zeussuddenly pitched forward. Hawg tried to bring the legs under the falling body, but there wasn't a pilot in the Inner Sphere who could have accomplished the feat. As the 'Mech began to stumble-fall down the hill, Hawg struggled to keep up with the fall. Bouncing off trees as it went, the Zeusran down the hill completely out of control. When it hit the bottom of the slope the change in angle ended Hawg's attempts at control. The 'Mech fell to the ground, disappearing behind the cover of the cedars.
Rose turned to the Marauder,which showed signs of recent damage, but none of it serious. He called up the schematics for hundred-ton 'Mechs and looked for a weakness as he triggered a flight of missiles.
"Command Two, try to get behind it, and make it fast. We won't be able to hold it for long."
Rose moved away from Esmeralda's Warhammer,forcing the Marauderto choose between the two targets. For a moment the huge arms hovered between the two Thorn 'Mechs, then they zeroed in on the heavily damaged Warhammer.Esmeralda fired her PPCs as the Marauderdid the same. The Warhammer'sfire struck undamaged armor, but the thick plating resisted both shots. The Marauder'sshots were luckier, punching through the damaged right leg of the Warhammer,its armor already destroyed by the Awesome'srepeated attacks, leaving only the 'Mech's skeleton to absorb the damage. The internal structure simply disappeared under the azure beam. The Warhammerhopped once, then crashed to the ground. Rose knew that Esmeralda, whose 'Mech had guns instead of arms, would never get the Warhammerto stand without assistance. That left Rose and Rianna against the Marauderand the Banshee.
As if sensing Rose's thoughts, the Marauderpilot triggered its powerful jump jets. Guided by the thrust of the jets and the fins protruding from its back, the massive 'Mech touched down almost a hundred meters away from its previous position. Now Rianna would have to travel even further to get behind it. Rose thumbed the Artemis as the Maraudergrounded and limped to a new position, his missiles exploding along the 'Mech's elongated legs.
The LB-10 tracked the slow-moving Chargerand sent two shells streaking across the clearing. The first streaked across the clearing, one shell blowing away the remaining armor on the Charger'sright leg, scarring the skeleton underneath. The rest hit the hill behind Rose, showering the 'Mech with dirt and rocks. Shifting position, Rose tried to protect the damaged leg. Another hit like the last one and he'd suffer the same fate as Esmeralda.
Rose bracketed the Marauderwith the Shigunga and fired again. He also triggered the medium pulse lasers, but at this extreme range, only two of the four scored hits. He knew it was too little, too late. Moving to the side, he saw the Bansheeemerge from the trees and approach the Marauder.Rose knew he was finished, but something screamed at him to keep moving. He checked the scanner and saw that Rianna was still too far away for a shot.
The Marauderwas bringing up both arms and the Bansheeraising its right. Rose kept moving, but knew there was little chance either of the pilots would miss. The Shigunga was still in the midst of reload. By the time his missiles and lasers were ready to fire again, Rose wouldn't be around to press the trigger. As he took one final look out the cockpit, the Bansheeshifted its arm and fired.
Rose stopped in his tracks as the Bansheeplaced the muzzle of its right arm missile launcher lightly against the cockpit of the Marauder IIand fired. Fired at point-blank range, all six missiles ripped through the cockpit armor and shredded the inside. The controls, the command chair, and the pilot simply ceased to exist. The Marauder'slimbs locked firmly in place as the feedback circuit to the cockpit was severed.
Rose continued to stare as the Bansheelowered its arm and began to power down. Rose's scanner confirmed that the Bansheepilot had disengaged the engine and taken all weapons systems off-line. He sent a warning to Rianna not to fire as she entered the clearing, and remained watching in amazement as the Bansheecompletely shut down.
Rianna's Phoenix Hawkwalked into the battle area with both large lasers up. She too stood facing the Bansheeand waited for the pilot to emerge. It took almost five minutes, but eventually he opened the hatch at the back of the Banshee'shead and climbed around to the right shoulder. Rose didn't need to zoom in on the pilot to see that the man emerging from the Bansheehad long blond hair.
29
The Cedars, Borghese
14 July 3055
The militia was still closing in on the Thorns, but their progress had slowed to a crawl. Despite the battered condition of Rose's 'Mech, there was no chance he would abandon it to talk face to face with Antioch Bell. The Chargerlimped over to the still form of the Bansheeand the man sitting on the shoulder.
"Pursuit Lance, this is Command One. What's going on with the BattleMaster?"
"Command, this is Pursuit One. Ajax has exited his 'Mech and is administering first aid to the BattleMasterpilot. I can see them both from here."
"Is he crazy? The militia is still closing. Get him back into the cockpit, and scan the incoming units. Get back to me when you're finished." Rose closed the channel and fumed while he stared at the primary screen. A trained professional like Ajax would never have left his 'Mech unless something unusual was going on. Rose concentrated on breathing deeply, trying to calm his adrenaline-heightened nerves. When his heartbeat had slowed to an acceptable level, he engaged the 'Mech's external speakers.