Fancher's 'Mechs accelerated when the rebel 'Mechs turned toward the facility. Small dark dots could be seen bouncing among the buildings. Elementals. There seemed little doubt that the Wolf force would make a stand among the buildings.
The attacking 'Mechs crossed the line of what Elson estimated was the outer range of the defensive weapons. No shots were fired. The lack of defensive fire could only mean that Wolf had been denied the opportunity to turn the simulators into real weapons. The rebels began jamming, forcing a crackling static into the commo channels. It could not drown out short-range transmissions, but Elson lost contact with the rest of his loyal forces. It mattered little; he and Fancher had brought the northern forces to bay here, and Gamma was cornering the rest of the enemy's mobile forces in a similar facility.
Elson was satisfied. They would do battle here. It would be BattleMechs and battle armor; a combat in the grand style. This was what a warrior trained for, lived for, died for.
As Fancher's 'Mechs began evasive maneuvers, they came within range of the rebels' weapons. The defensive barrage exacted a toll on the attackers. Only one 'Mech went down, but many took damage. Some Points reported casualties.
Elson gave the order to dismount at the first line of bunkers. They were so close now that the Elementals' own jump jets could carry them into the facility. Riding on the 'Mechs only made them targets, and no sane trooper would hold on and let himself be armor for some incompetent 'Mech jock.
Fancher sent a unit wide on the flank to cut off escape, but the enemy commander had anticipated her and blocked the move, ambushing the lance and sending it back with enough damage that Fancher ordered the survivors out of battle.
The fighting among the buildings was fierce, mixing 'Mech and infantrymen and costing all dearly. Elson's Point was back from the fighting, getting reloads for their launchers, when he noticed a pattern in the reports from the Points still in combat. They were losing contact with the rebel Elementals. Elson tried to get Fancher on line, but the static was too great among the buildings. He spotted a tower and raced for it. If the higher elevation did not let him communicate, it would at least permit him a view of what was happening.
He was halfway up when he saw the Wolf 'Mechs regrouping on the far side of the complex. Instead of returning to battle, they were heading out of the facility, racing away to the south. Fancher's orders broke through the static in bits, the jamming becoming erratic. Elson heard enough to tell him that she was aware of the enemy 'Mechs and was organizing a response.
Elson could not see any Elementals clinging to the fast-disappearing rebel 'Mechs. They had left their armored infantry behind, presumably to delay Beta's 'Mechs and allow their own to escape once more. But Fancher's quick reaction was spoiling that. Elson told her to take her 'Mechs out of the facility the way they had come in. He did not want her walking into Elemental ambushes. The abandoned Elementals would be his. He directed his troopers forward to sweep the facility.
Fancher's 'Mechs would deal with the rebel 'Mechs while his troopers took their Elementals. That it would be two separate battles rather than one would not matter in the end.
The first Points to hit likely ambush spots reported no hostiles, not even any harassing fire. Elson ordered the sweeps to pick up speed.
The two BattleMech forces were growing smaller as they raced into the distance.
The static stopped completely.
Grant's Point was the first to report on the suddenly clear comm channels.
"We are hearing engines, sir. Fusion."
Tanks would not be a problem in the built-up areas, that was an infantryman's domain. The command channel took his attention away from his immediate surroundings.
"Elson! Elson! Damn it! Where the hell are you?"
"Calm down, Parella. I am here. Report."
"Everything's coming apart."
"What do you mean?"
"Alpin's dead. The fool dueled the rebel commander and got himself killed. Half my troops are pulling—"
Parella's channel broke up into static again.
The sound of missile launchers from the edge of the facility announced what Elson assumed was the resumption of the battle. He was wrong.
Small hovercraft shot from behind the screen of buildings, then zoomed out across the open terrain. Missiles from Elson's troopers chased them but impacted well short of the fast-moving craft. Elson tapped his magnification up and stared at the things. Each vehicle—if such skeletal structures could be called vehicles—was little more than an open framework wrapped around a fusion engine and ground-effect ducting. Each carried a Point of Elementals. He remembered seeing plans for the things, but he had not known any had been completed. Blackwell Corporation was only in the prototype stage. Then he realized that these must be the prototypes and knew what Wolf had done.
Wolf had raided the Blackwell facility, taking the prototypes for his own use and creating a fast-strike force. There were not more than six Stars worth of Elementals, a far smaller force than Elson had estimated. The fast hovercraft explained how so few Elementals could seem like so many. Using these vehicles the Elementals had mobility far beyond the norm, allowing thetn to shift up and down the battlefront with ease.
Elson wished that he had thought to raid the Black-well facility. But wishes did not win battles. Even though there was no way his Elementals could pursue effectively, he gave the order as he clambered down to join his Point. He led them out across the arid terrain, bouncing in pursuit of the vehicle-borne troopers, themselves closing rapidly on Fancher's forces.
He would not be left out of this battle.
Static-chopped communications told him when the zooming hovercraft had reached the Beta 'Mechs and deposited their passengers among them. The fleeing 'Mechs had turned to fight as well. Wolf had effectively separated the Beta 'Mechs from their Elemental support. What might be the last battle of the campaign was underway, and Elson was too far away to affect it.
He raged and cursed. But neither made him feel better.
"We've got another 'Mech force approaching," Fancher reported. Her voice was faint, almost unintelligible through the jamming, but even so Elson shivered when he heard the next words. "Frak! It's Wolf!"
The Wolf had come out of hiding and committed his last forces.
Elson pushed his suit's jump jets to maximum thrust. This surely was the final battle.
51
Dechan watched as Maeve displayed her victory. Her own troops were cheering on the open frequency. Snatches of outrage, frustration, and confusion came through on the Gamma frequencies. One officer was insistently calling for his unit to back off, claiming that the battle was over.
Carter's Caesarstomped up beside Dechan's Black Knight.
"Well, is that decisive enough for you?"
"Not yet."
Beyond the Thunderbolt,Dechan could see the remainder of Alpin's command Star shifting. Parella's Mad Catstrutted forward toward the site of the duel. In a few minutes he would have the T-boltwithin range of his long-range missiles. Sparks danced around the muzzles of the fully charged PPCs in the Mad Cat'sbulky forearms.
The duel had ended with Maeve at such a distance from her troops that they wouldn't be able to aid her against the oncoming Omnis for at least ten minutes. Kappa Battalion was closer; they could be on her as fast as the Omnis. If she went down, the rebel resistance would collapse.