Although jump jets were common among lighter 'Mechs, few heavy 'Mechs bothered to mount them because of weight. The jets needed to lift sixty or more tons into space were just too heavy to be practical. The few 'Mechs that did mount the massive jets were normally limited to jumps of less than a hundred meters. Not the Charger,though. It had a jump range of 'Mechs half its size, and covered the hundred and forty meters to the Thorwithout effort.
Clenching his jaw and tightening his grip on the controls, Rose prepared for the jarring impact of landing. Landing on level ground during practice jumps had rattled him around in the chair, but landing on the Thorturned the world upside-down. The Chargeractually hit the Thorin the pelvis with both feet on the way down. When the Charger'sknees hit the Thorin the chest, the momentum folded the flying 'Mech over the top of the OmniMech. Both machines crashed to the ground as the Chargerdrove the Thordown.
The Thorfell backward and the Chargerfell over the top of the OmniMech. Rose threw both hands out to slow the fall and managed to partially brace the 'Mech for the final impact with the ground. Just when he thought he was about to hit, the world exploded in a flash of white light.
The next thing Rose knew, he was hanging from the restraining straps of the command chair. The Chargerwas still on its stomach and the Thorwas still flat on its back, its chest belching thick gray smoke. As Rose disentangled himself, the Thorremained still. Looking down at the fallen 'Mech, Rose realized it would never rise again. If somebody had dropped a house on the Thor,it couldn't have been smashed more completely.
Rose looked around for the rest of his command and discovered them approaching from two sides. Of the Clan 'Mechs, however, there was no sign. As he began to try to move the Charger,he found that its legs were still intertangled with the Thor.After a few minutes of careful maneuvering, he was back up.
"This is Command One, how long have I been out?"
"Only ten minutes, Captain."
Rose's head was still foggy. He thought the speaker was Ajax, but it could have been Bell. "What's the situation? "
"The Thorat your feet is down. We chased the Mad Catoff, but the rest of the company got jumped on the way back from the recon. Battle Three chased off a pair of medium Omnis with support from the rest of the unit."
Rose finally decided it was Ajax. "Is McCloud still inbound?" Rose tried to keep the fear out of his voice, but ten minutes was a long time to be out of a fight this close.
"Still inbound and on time, sir."
"Hey, why isn't Battle One on the line?" As the gray cloud fogging his brain turned into a sharp pain in his left temple, Rose realized that Esmeralda should be giving the battle report.
"Either a freak hit from the Mad Catsheared away an antenna or that patchwork cockpit is showing its heritage. Whatever the case, she can hear, but she can't transmit."
"All right, Battle Three, that makes you the temporary commander. Battle Four, stick with Three and get us to the ComStar compound. Pursuit Two and Command Two, stay in the center. Battle One and I will take the rear guard.
"Battle One, if you read, raise your right arm." Rose waited until Esmeralda raised the Marauder'sright arm.
"All right, Thorns, this will be our only chance to punch through to the compound, so we've got to make it count. Don't stop for anything. If somebody goes down, we'll have to trust that they'll be all right. Right now, securing the facility is more important than any one of us.
"Command Two, coordinate with McCloud on targeting and support fire. I know I don't have to tell her to watch for civilians, but I'll do it anyway. That goes for everybody. Make the shots count.
"Let's move out."
As Hawg and Bell started out of the park, Rose ran another check of the Charger'ssystems. He still had plenty of missile reloads, but that would change soon. Although the armor had been breached in several places, there was no significant damage to the internal structure, except for the right leg. The red banks of indicator lights confirmed what Rose suspected as he tried to stand. The previous repair to the lower leg had failed. Despite the limp, he was still as fast as the Marauder II,but the Charger'shallmark was speed and now he was deprived of that advantage.
Ajax and Rianna fell in behind the assault 'Mechs, with Rose and Esmeralda following. Rose's thoughts drifted up and toward the 'Mechbuster approaching the city. He didn't think McCloud would be in any danger, but that could change dramatically at any moment. Compared to the Charger,the 'Mechbuster was a difficult target, but Rose knew that a solid hit could take out the aircraft. He had destroyed similar aircraft before.
Marching toward the Clan 'Mechs, Rose realized that the chances were good that he wouldn't survive this encounter. There were so many things he'd wanted to tell Rianna and McCloud, but there'd never been the time. Something always came up and now it might be too late.
"This is Battle Three. We're approaching the Clan line. Multiple heavy targets are close."
"Command Two, vector the 'Mechbuster. We're going to need some supporting fire." Rose considered transferring coordination of the aircraft to his 'Mech, but despite the desire, he knew his attention was needed on the ground.
"Pursuit Two, how many Clanners ahead?"
Ajax's calm voice answered immediately. "Four heavy signatures to the front. Two medium swinging around from the left."
"Battle One, secure the left flank. Don't let those two mediums on our backs. Pursuit Two, provide support." Rose didn't like the idea of sending their eyes and ears to the side, but the Ravenwouldn't last long in a firefight with heavy and assault OmniMechs. At least with the mediums, he'd have a chance of survival.
"Command Two, fall back. I'm taking your place." Rose picked up speed and passed Rianna as Esmeralda and Ajax went down the next cross street. "Two, see if you can find some high ground to direct traffic."
As Rose took his position next to Bell, he toggled through his scanners. The ComStar compound was only five kilometers away, but the Clan 'Mechs had intercepted their path and were at just under four.
"Command One, urgent, this is Command Two. McCloud is ahead of schedule; either she hits the Clans now or she has to wait for the next pass. She is requesting permission to engage."
Now that was a first. Rose had never known McCloud to ask permission for anything. "Affirmative, Command Two. Hit the Clans now." Rose knew that by the time the aircraft circled around for another pass, the Thorns would be too close for her to risk any shots.
"Pick up the pace, Thorns. Don't give them the chance to recover from the air attack." Rose fed the Chargermore power and the distance between the two sides fell away. Over his head something loud rumbled across the sky and headed toward the Clans.
In the ambient light of the city Rose could see the underbelly of the aircraft in a shallow dive as it approached the Clan position. McCloud had slowed the 'Mechbuster as much as possible to line up her shot. He could see the flaps of the two wings fully extended to provide more lift at the slow speed. The weapon port was already open and ready. He urged more speed out of his 'Mech as the 'Mechbuster continued ahead.