The Roguelaunched two flights of LRMs that arrowed in on Clark's Panther.Thirty explosive rockets converged on the BattleMech and detonated. A bright ball of fire consumed him while shards of armor and missile casings spat out in every direction. With its edges curling up into itself, the fireball rose into the sky, then imploded into greasy black smoke, leaving a charred and battered Pantherin its wake.
Somehow Clark managed to keep the 'Mech upright, though the left arm hung useless at the 'Mech's side. The Pantherraised the PPC mounted on the right arm and fired back at its tormentors, but the blue lightning missed and sizzled impotently into the sky.
The Tridentspunished the Pantherfor its pilot's insolence. The medium lasers mounted beneath each wing and in the lead craft's nose created a wall of ruby energy that burned more armor from the Panther.As it swept on and savaged the other 'Mechs in the suicide squad, the second aerospace fighter pounced on the Panther.Its assault burned away the left arm and sent the 'Mech crashing to the ground.
Harry laughed as Clark went down. "Serves the stupid bastard right. Serves all those stupid bastards right."
Only when he began to bring the Valkyrieback to solid ground did Harry notice that the first Roguehad come back around for him. He glanced at his heat registers and saw that they were reading much higher than they should have. If he fired his jets again, he knew that the whole 'Mech might overheat and shut down. It dawned on him, as he landed the Valkyrie,that the Kell Hounds must have removed several of the cooling devices from his 'Mech, probably not wanting to waste heat sinks on the suicide squad.
Beyond the incoming fighter, Harry saw two OverlordDropShips preparing to land just outside Denton. Pointing his weapons at the nearest one, he got a weapons lock.
"Can't hurt, might help." Harry smiled and hit his triggers. "Better to die a man than live a rat in a cage."
* * *
Khan Phelan Ward saw the DropShip Lionesssettling' down on the outskirts of Denton and the fighters circling around for another run at the heavily damaged 'Mechs. The Tigresslooked to be headed for the north side of the plains, right at the edge of the foothills. Things were not going as well as he'd hoped, but they were not the worst case either.
He hit a key and Carew's face appeared on his auxiliary monitor. "Carew?"
"Yes, my Khan?"
"Launch your fighters now. Engage over Denton." Phelan hit another key combination and switched to a frequency Ragnar was monitoring. "Ragnar, stand by." The Khan watched the bandit 'Mechs begin to disembark in Denton. "It is time to reap the whirlwind."
36
Arc-Royal
Federated Commonwealth
11 September 3055
Harry Pollard's shining moment of glory ended when the returning Roguelaunched thirty long-range missiles at his Valkyrie.First he saw his own medium laser actually hit the landing OverlordDropShip and his LRMs scatter flames over its hull, then his world erupted into flame. His head slammed back into the command couch and stars danced before his eyes as titanic forces shook the Valkyrie.
Warning klaxons blared inside the cockpit and Harry tasted blood on his upper lip. He felt his 'Mech spinning and saw the Valkyrie'sright arm whirl away through the fire curtain around him. The left-arm armor had also been breached, but the chest armor still held. Loss of the right arm meant that his laser had gone the way of his compatriots.
I still have missiles!Harry clung to that hope as his Valkyrietottered and fell. Extending the 'Mech's left arm, he tried to post off the ground, but the machine had become too unstable for him to accomplish such a miraculous maneuver. He did manage to alter his fall so that he did not land face-down. I can still punch out!
The Valkyriehit the ground with the considerable force that might be expected of a thirty-ton object propelled by copious amounts of high explosives. Its most important yet fragile component rattled around in the command couch like a lone pea in a can. Before he could hit the ejection system, Harry's head slammed again into the command couch, hitting with enough force to crack the neurohelmet and the skull beneath it.
Harry Pollard died in a cage, but he died happy.
Nestled in a dark room, with the bowl of the sky simulated above him in glittering detail, Nelson Geist heard the Kell Hound aerofighters scream skyward from the Old Connaught base. His fingers curled into fists as a needto be part of the fight burned in his veins. They deny you the chance to fight, but they will need you yet.
A bright rectangle opened on the horizon and Nelson recognized Bates's silhouette. "Kommandant Geist, we've got direct gun-camera feed here. They've got Red right where they want her. Want to see the end to it?"
The gaunt man shook his head mechanically. "No, thank you. They'll need my work when she escapes."
"She's not escaping. We have three regiments to oppose her one. She can't get away."
Nelson waved the door shut. "When she escapes, they'll need my work."
Bates shrugged. "Suit yourself."
He closed the door, leaving Nelson in his perforated darkness. "I am." He hit a button on the keyboard of the computer display unit he was using and constellations shifted as he centered himself on another world. Just because they won't let me help them doesn't mean they don't need me. And it doesn't mean, when the time comes, that I won't be ready to help them.
* * *
The forty kilometers from Old Connaught to Denton passed in 3.25 minutes for the Kell Hound fighters. Caitlin would have preferred flying higher and faster, but remaining on the deck gave them a shot at surprise. The foothills, though not terribly high, provided enough of a radar-shadow that fighters with their radar in air-to-ground mode might not notice them until too late.
A minute and a half out Raven Flight shot over the Kilkenny. Caitlin used the bridges as a check against her computer-generated map, smiling to see that they were dead on course. As the land sloped back up toward the foothills, she nudged the throttle forward. Only thirty seconds from Denton she began to pick up passive radar tracks from the enemy fighters.
She flipped her weapons-control on and saw all four of her lasers and the PPC in the nose go green. All dressed up and someplace to go!The secondary monitor showed another flight coming in behind her and she knew from the designation that it was the Clanners. "Luck, Carew," she breathed cautiously. Opening her radio channel she brought her Stingrayup and over the foothills. "Go, Ravens, go!"
Caitlin dropped her crosshairs on the boxy shape of a Roguerising lazily out of a strafing run. Kicking her rudder right she slipped into his six and let him have it with everything her Stingrayhad to offer. From his lack of movement she knew she'd hit him before he knew he was hunted.