Her force, code-designated as Arrow, consisted of her own Phoenix Hawkand the six light 'Mechs—two Locusts,two Stingers,and two Wasps—of the Legion's training cadre.
Colonel Carlyle had explained that he wanted to give the training group some experience in an independent operation. Tracy suspected that he also wanted to get them clear of A Company and out of the line of fire. Thus far, except for the ambush in the mountain pass, the Second Dieron Regulars had been conspicuous by their absence, and Carlyle was plainly worried that the Kurita defenders had some nasty plans up their sleeves for the Gray Death mercenaries.
Carlyle's orders were succinct and to the point. ‘Intel says that Mitune is not protected, that the Dierons have all pulled south to protect Kaigun. I want you to destroy that factory complex. Avoid tangling with Kurita Mechs.’ His sharp glance at her had stung. ‘Keep those kids out of a real fight But destroy that factory.’
Tracy could only assume that Carlyle had detailed her for the mission because he thought she was a bit too eager to kill Kurita MechWarriors. The thought that he might not trust her gnawed at Tracy as she led her column of Mech trainees through the rugged hills toward Mifune.
Am I really part of the Legion's team,she wondered. Or is he just getting me out of the way. And how will I ever know for sure?
As their column crested a ridge, theysaw the industrial plant for the first time. It was nestled in a flat-bottomed valley astride an oily, chemical-stained stream. The village of Mifune lay beyond, on the road to Kaigun.
The way looked wide open.
‘Deploy forward!’ Tracy ordered. ‘Casey and Babbage, pull back and watch the rear!’
By doing that, she could watch the column's rear and keep their two weakest 'Mechs, the two Locusts,out of the way. They started down the ridge, alert for any sign that they were expected.
The sign came, but from an unexpected direction.
‘Arrow Leader! Arrow Leader! Bandits! Bandits on the ridge!’
The voice was that of Greg Babbage, one of the Locustpilots.
‘This is Arrow Leader.’ she replied, forcing calm to her voice as she swung her Hawkto face the ridge behind her. There was no sign of enemy 'Mechs on this side. ‘What is your sit, Arrow Six?’
‘Kurita 'Mechs, lots of 'em!’ The boy was on the edge of panic.
‘Slow down, Greg. Where? How many!’
She could hear the youngster gulping down fear. ‘On this side of the ridge... uh... the west side. Uh... don't know how many, but we've spotted a Hunchback...and an Assassin...and there're others moving up through the rocks. They're moving up the trail.’
‘Arrow Leader!’ It was Dolby, one of the Stinger pilots. and his voice sounded just as scared. ‘This is Arrow Two! Kurita 'Mechs. moving from the east. I see Dragons...’
Oh, drek!
‘Arrow Leader to all Arrows! Fall back on the ridge crest. Now!’ Tracy's decision had been immediate and obvious. The Kurita force had somehow moved unseen across the mountain path that Tracy and her men had taken, and the enemy now lay across their lines of communications with the rest of the Gray Death Legion to the west. Worse, there were heavy 'Mechs, 60-ton Dragons.closing from the east. So many Kurita 'Mechs could only mean that Tracy's force had stumbled across an important concentration of the Second Dieron Regulars.
It also meant that Tracy and her tiny command were surrounded.
From the crest of the ridge, she could see the Combine forces in both directions. As tense minutes dragged on, the composition of both forces became apparent. There was one lance of heavies, two Dragons,a Rifleman,and an Orionto the east, and at least six, possibly eight, Mechs among the tangle of rocks to the west. From the look of things, a Kurita company had been stationed here. Arrow's sudden appearance had surprised the defenders, but they were now mobilizing to surround and crush the intruders. The first long-range missiles were already arrowing into the rocky crest of the ridge.
‘Hey! There're too many of them.’
‘What'll we do?’
‘Arrow Leader! I'm hit! I'm hit!’
‘Silence on the line!’ Tracy's command cut across the babble on the tac channel. ‘Spread out and circle! Take a position and go prone!’
She was sacrificing her light 'Mechs' mobility by having them lie down, but mobility was not so much an advantage here, with no place to go. The two Waspswould be unable to fire the SRM 2s mounted in their left legs while they were lying down, but that disadvantage would be more than compensated by the enemy's inability to get a clear shot at them.
Laser fire lanced down the slope toward the lance of heavies advancing across the plain from the industrial plant. The 'Mechs to the west were closer and more numerous, but it was harder to see them. The heavies, on the other hand, made a perfect target. Light from multiple hits washed across the Orionand one of the Dragons.The Riflemanpulled to a stop and swung its double-barreled arms up and around, raking the ridge line with high-powered laser and autocannon fire, but from the bottom of the slope the angle of fire was impossible. Rock shards and gravel rattled off the defenders' armor, but no damage was done. Tracy gave another command, and synchronized bursts of coherent light struck among the attackers again, staggering the already-damaged Dragonand blasting great chunks of armor off the Orion'sleft leg and torso.
‘Arrow to Skull! Arrow to Skull! Come in, Skull!’ Though the Tek Battlecom communications system built into her Phoenix Hawkwas high-powered, long-ranged, and heavily shielded against enemy jamming, the mountains would make communication with the Gray Death difficult. She boosted her output to full and prayed as she called again. ‘Arrow to Skull! Reply!’
‘This is Skull Leader.’ Carlyle's voice was scratchy with distance and interference, but she could hear him clearly. She felt a surge of relief. ‘Go ahead, Arrow.’
‘We walked into it, Skull Leader!’ In quick, terse phrases, she outlined the situation as enemy fire burned through the afternoon sky, probing their positions. ‘We're surrounded, outnumbered, and outweighed,’ she concluded. ‘Can you assist?’
‘We're on our way,’ Carlyle replied. ‘But we're a good distance away. Can you hold for...’ The pause was interminable. ‘Can you hold for 20 minutes?’
Twenty minutes! She'd not stopped to think about the intervening distance between the two units. In BattleMech combat, even two minutes seemed to drag on forever. But 20 minutes...!
‘Skull Leader...we'll try. Come as fast as you can!’
A rush by the western force demanded her attention then. She had posted the two Locustspart way down the slope amid a sprawl of house-sized boulders. There they were hunkered down with their spidery legs folded behind them, their chin turret lasers almost resting on the ground. On either side were the two Stingers.
She arrived as a lance of Kurita 'Mechs started up the slope, spread out on either side of the rocky trail they'd followed earlier. A 50-ton Hunchbackhad the lead, its body looking misshapen under the massively armored and cooled hulk of its shoulder-mounted autocannon. The Locustshad already fired, their medium lasers heating patches on the Hunchbacksarmor to a bright cherry red. She turned her heavy laser on the same target and triggered three quick bursts. The heavy autocannon bucked and smoked with a measured thud-thud-thud,sending streams of high-explosive shells smashing into the hillside behind her.