They had been successful at the onset, but soon bogged down after they had left the city proper and penetrated the rolling countryside. After the first hours, it became obvious that the Lyran forces were winning the air war. First, the Marik fighters became scarce, then completely unavailable. Without air support, the thrust had ground to a halt. While St. George was talking to the Sergeant, Regimental had come on his command frequency with word that there was no available air support in the 33rd's theater of operations.
‘Swords One. Swords One. This is Swords Leader. What's your status? Over.’
‘Swords Leader, Sergeant Harris here. We are holding on to this front for now, sir. Where's our fighter support? We're being cut to ribbons.’
Sergeant Harris?‘Where's Lieutenant Tragg?’ St. George could not keep the worry from his voice, for his command structure was unraveling fast.
‘The Lieutenant had to punch out, sir, That last fighter wave hit us with inferno cluster bombs. His Maraudercouldn't take the heat. Reactor overload.’ The Sergeant sounded wretched. ‘He didn't make it. sir.’
Take charge, Sergeant. You're in command over there. Now report. What opposition are you facing?’
‘We've got a lot of long-range stuff coming from our front, but nothing that's a real problem.’ The Sergeant paused. ‘Unless those fighters come back.'
Harris's unspoken question hung in the the static-filled air: What happened to our fighters?Captain St. George wished fervently that he knew.
‘Swords One, fall back behind that ridge to our rear. Sergeant McHaigh should be digging in there with Swords Three. I'll be providing cover for you both.’
‘Captain, does this mean we're pulling out? What about the...’
‘Sergeant, fall back to the ridge. That's an order.’
For the moment, the Captain's communication link was silent. The Steiner forces would soon begin to notice the fall-off in counterfire. Before his position lay a row of foothills stretching like a washboard up to a line of mountains in the distance. The enemy fire was coming primarily from the ridgeline just ahead of his position, and from a forested ridge to his right. Swords Three had reported a light lance probing his flank. If he took his Shadow Hawkand Upescue's Crusadersharp right into the light lance, he just might avoid most of the long-range fire. It might also convince the Lyrans that the company was trying to wheel right for a breakthrough in that direction. If nothing else, it might confuse them.
‘Lippy, move over here. You and I are going to look for a little trouble on our right. Bryant, take your Wasp,and fire at random from all along our perimeter. I want you to fire, then move, trying to act like you're a whole company. You got that?’
‘Yes sir. Captain. Fire then run. all along our front.’
‘That's it. Shoot at everything that moves on the Steiner front for about fifteen minutes, or until they get mad and come in after you. Then run like hell for that ridgeline behind us. One and Three will be there to back you up.’
‘Gotcha, sir.’
‘Give'em hell, kid.’ St. George knew it was no time for trite phrases, but Regimental had not left him much else.
‘Ready. Lippy?’ he said. ‘Follow my line ahead, and we'll give them the old bait and switch.’
The two large units moved off in the direction of the tree line to the right. The terrain consisted of fields covered with grain up to the 'Mechs' ankles. There were no houses to be seen, and any indigs must have fled hours ago.
He could still see the shocked faces of the populace as the Swords had raced through town. They had overrun the defenses at the power plant and then dug in. Then came the counterattack. Though the rest of the 33rd was taking heavy casualties, the 131st battalion did not lose a 'Mech. They had been ordered to drive into the countryside in an attempt to draw off the heaviest forces until reinforcements arrived. The 131st had struck out from the power plant in waves. One company would go out until it stalled. Then another would thrust through its predecessor's position until it, too, ground to a halt. The waves continued one after another, deeper and deeper into the enemy positions, until the Steiners gave up and fell back. Holding the power plant and the 131st's rear was a mercenary lance. Seguin's Strikers. The rest of the 131st was spread out on either side of a corridor about three kilometers wide and thirteen long, with The Swords of St. George at its point. Then the whole Marik drive stalled. Instead of drawing off the heavy forces hammering the rest of the regiment, they had drawn down the wrath of the Lyran air arm. Meanwhile, the 33rd's counterair continued to shrink.
Moving his Shadow Hawkinto the trees, St. George left the missile barrage behind.
Watching his readouts with eager eyes, he wondered if Swords Three could have been mistaken.
Suddenly, a Locustmoved out from behind a dense thicket, probably masked from his sensors by the foliage. When St. George let loose a volley of short-range missiles, the light 'Mech's pilot sprinted straight away from the advancing Shadow Hawklike a frightened rabbit. The missiles hit near the right leg assembly, -but the Locustjust kept on moving.
‘Lippy, I've got one dead ahead. Find some cover, and be ready for my return.’
‘Roger. Cap. That thicket might do if I scrunch down and think tiny thoughts.’
The Captain charged on, opening up with both his autocannon and his laser. The Locustrolled its machine guns back around to the rear firing position, but it was a move of sheer desperation against the thicker armor of the Shadow Hawk.
St George's laser fire began to tell. The right leg servomotor on the Locustflared in a cascade of sparks, and the fleeing Mech spun, off-balance, to a halt. Then the autocannon zeroed in and began to hammer the lighter 'Mech's body. Its pilot tried frantically to bring to bear its medium laser, the only weapon that might be effective against the Shadow Hawk.It was no use. though, for the beams stabbed ineffectually into the surrounding trees. With the damaged leg, all the Locustcould do was churn the ground where it stood.
St. George launched an SRM volley into the torso armor, and the explosion touched off the Locustsremaining machine gun ammo. The light Mech sagged down on the damaged leg, smoke pouring from every vent in its torso.
‘Got one, Lippy. Be ready. This should really set them off.’
All hell broke loose around his 'Mech as the missile fire resumed in force. With their own Mech gone, the Steiner forces weren't holding back. Captain St. George lunged forward, avoiding the worst of the barrage by moving in the one direction they would least expect.
He burst from the cover of the forest onto a plain, the unseen far side of the ridge in front of the Swords position. Moving up the plain were seven Mechs. To the rear was an Atlasfiring LRMs blindly into the forest. To the left was a Warhammerand a pair of Wasps.To the right and moving up quickly was a Rifleman.In front of his Shadow Hawkand screening him from the fire of the rest were two Cicadas.
Without hesitation, he let the closest Cicadahave it with his whole weapons array. His autocannon tore into it, while the medium laser drew a blazing red scratcth down one of the Steiner machine's legs. His SRMs meanwhile scored a direct hit on the enemy Mech's torso. The injured Cicadareeled back in shock and surprise. The Captain took his opportunity, and dove back into the cover of the now smoldering forest.