Dechan throttled up the Black Knight,heading it down the slope toward the Thunderbolt.
"Give the order, Major Carter," he said into the microphone. One hand tapped last-second corrections into his battle computer while the other adjusted commo frequencies. The jolting run of the Knightmade him miss several codes on the first try, but he kept punching until he got it right.
Behind him, the 'Mechs of Kappa Battalion started to move.
The Thunderbolt'storso rotated until it faced Kappa, then stood motionless for a moment. Had the 'Mech been a human soldier, Dechan would have said it stood still in shock at the sight of a new threat approaching. Its pilot was no novice, though. More likely, she was assessing her position, noting how far she was from the other 'Mechs of her battlegroup. The T-bolt'supper structure tilted as the arm holding Alpin's body reached down. The limp form rolled from the battle fist and onto the ground next to the wrecked Thor.Then the Thunderboltcrouched down.
Dechan lost sight of Gamma's Command Lance as he hit the lower reaches of the slope; he no longer had the height to see over the buildings. He estimated no more than a minute before they cleared the outer fringes of structures and got an open field of fire on the Thunderbolt.Parella wouldn't be accepting any challenges; he would finish Maeve off with the massed firepower he and his companies would apply.
But Dechan would be there first.
The fluttering tone of the frequency searcher merged into a clear, single note.
"Company coming," he transmitted. "Run, if you can.
The Thunderboltshifted to the left, moving slightly behind the downed Thor.Poor cover at best. Dechan shook his head, or would have had there been room for it inside the neurohelmet.
Parella's Mad Catappeared, a Thorby its side.
Dechan opened fire. The Knight'stwin torso-mounted McCorkel lasers lanced their beams in deadly coordination with the manmade lightning from the
Magna HellStar PPC on the pylon mount along the 'Mech's right arm. Heat suffused the cockpit, instantly evaporating the sweat from Dechan's exposed arms and legs. The pumps circulating cooling fluid through his vest whined in protest as they kicked into high gear. It was dangerous, unloading with all the Knight'sheavy armament at once, but this was no time for subtlety.
All three weapons scored on the Mad Cat.
The solid shot from the Gauss cannon on Carter's Caesarboomed past the Mad Catand slammed into the Thor'sright arm. Armor cracked and the arm swung down, broken and useless. Carter's PPC blast crackled harmlessly past.
Dechan cut right, away from the Thunderbolt,to avoid the Mad Cat'sreturn fire. He mostly succeeded. Two particle beams caught him, devouring armor from the Knight'sleft side. There was no breach, but Dechan couldn't afford to take another hit there.
The lead 'Mechs of Kappa opened fire on the rest of the Command Star as it came into view. The damaged Thor,exposed the longest, took crippling damage. The Mad Cattook a pounding as well, but Parella was a superb pilot. He kept the 'Mech on its feet despite the vicious barrage assailing it. Parella was no fool, either; he knew a hopeless fight when he was in one. The Mad Catbackpedaled into cover while he screamed for his Star to retreat.
"Keep on them," Carter urged Kappa.
Dechan fired a few more shots at the retreating Beta 'Mechs, but he didn't join the pursuit. There were more than enough 'Mechs to handle Parella and any impromptu defense he could throw up. The Beta frequencies were in chaos; there would be no organizing them for a while. Kappa's shift in sides was fatal to the battle plan. Dechan turned his attention to the Thunderbolt.It was standing upright and facing in his direction.
"Are you all right?" he asked over the battlegroup's tactical frequency.
"Well enough," she replied. "You sure know how to make a flashy entrance, stranger."
"Dechan Fraser."
"Fraser?"
"That's right." Dechan didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the total mystification in her voice. "Don't you have a battlegroup to run or something?"
"I thought you didn't want to get involved."
"I didn't."
"Then why?"
That's what he'd been asking himself. "If I figure it out, maybe I'll let you know."
The sounds of the BattleMech combat grew fainter as the combatants moved further away.
"You saved my life."
"In the Combine that would make me responsible for you."
"Don't know about that, but you just became responsible for quite a bit. I hope you get a fair reward."
Whatever that meant. The only thing Dechan was sure he wanted was to see Jenette again. But that wouldn't happen until the battle was over. Mustering his composure, he said, "You just get your people together. We've got work to do."
"Turncoats don't make very trustworthy allies."
"Neither do spies. Sometimes you've got to take what you get, if you want to win. You want my help or not?"
"Like you said, sometimes you just take what you can get."
52
Even as a peacetime maneuver, the withdrawal from the mock factory would have been a tricky feat of coordination. With the 'Mechs of Beta Regiment and Elson's Elementals pressing us, I had not expected it to succeed. But the Wolf knew our capabilities better than we did; both phases had gone well.
Our 'Mechs fled the built-up area in apparent, and near real, disarray. Taking the bait, the BattleMechs of Beta Regiment pursued, catching us when we slowed among the gulches and low buttes to the south of the complex. It was prime in-fighting territory, something we couldn't afford to do for long against the fresher machines and more experienced pilots of Beta. They knew it, too; they came charging in after us. We lost three 'Mechs in the first ten minutes of the engagement.
I think the only thing that kept us from falling to them was the knowledge that we wouldn't have to face those odds for long. There were cheers on the tactical channels when Rand reported the first of our zoomers screaming in behind the Beta 'Mechs.
The Wolf had called this part of the battle "phase two," a prosaic name for the whirling snarl of laser beams and rocket exhausts that was our Elementals' assault on the surprised 'Mech pilots of Beta. Shadd's Elementals caught them from behind, completely unaware.
In the close confines of the gullies, the 'Mechs had a hard time getting away from the Elementals. The battle-armored infantry swarmed individual 'Mechs, clambering over light models and ripping through their armor. I watched one Hornetrise on billowing clouds of jet exhaust in an effort to shake off its tormentors. Some debris fell away and, after an instant, the trajectory shifted slightly. Smoke began to taint the exhaust, then there was a flash of light and the Hornetstarted to wobble. It tilted toward the ground, finally shaking off three armored infantrymen when it was less than twenty meters from the ground. The troopers used their jump packs to cushion their landing. For the Hornet,there was only fiery oblivion.