The explosion of five kilos of TNT sheared away the surrounding foliage like an invisible scythe, leaving finger-sized chunks of armor buried in tree trunks twenty meters off. Four other explosions went off along the road at almost the same moment, each five meters apart. With that, the road rose in a wall of dirt and smoke, of flame and mangling fury. Only that first charge had actually entangled the leg of one of the ‘Mechs, but the concussion of the other charges hurled both machines aside like dolls as most of that twenty-meter stretch of ground blew up. The roadbed itself crumbled out and spilled down the slope in an avalanche of debris. The Centurionlurched hard to its right, smashing into the wall of rock and vegetation that rose above the road. The Trebuchettottered wildly, smoke and green coolant fluid gushing from its savaged right leg, then plunged feet-first down the collapsing slope.

Grayson peered into the smoke, then spoke into his transceiver again. "All units, watch the leaders. ‘Mechs, move in! Ramage, see if you can keep those tail-end Charlies entertained!"

On the slope below him, but still above the road, a score of green-camouflaged commandos rose from their hiding places in brush-covered trenches to descend on the pair of temporarily helpless ‘Mechs. Along with their motley collection of regular weapons, each commando also carried a satchel charge. As they closed on the downed Draco ‘Mechs, they swung those satchels over their heads and let fly, then dropped flat to the ground to avoid the blast.

"We may be in luck down there," Grayson told Brasednewic. "Neither of those ‘Mechs is designed for close-in scraps with infantry. No machine guns or flamers."

"Those hovercraft had machine guns,"Tollen said, peering with his own binoculars through boiling smoke in the direction the hovercraft had travelled. "They'll be back any second, unless your trick decides to work."

Before Grayson could answer, a series of sharp, ringing cracks sounded from the misty north, followed by the drawn-out, popping creaks of falling trees. From their position, Grayson and Brasednewic could see one treetop shiver, then sweep across the sky to vanish in the smoke across the road.

Grayson's earcoms chirped a call signal, then came with Lori's voice. "The trees are down, and we have 'em boxed!"

"Go get them," Grayson replied. "Watch for the point ‘Mechs."

Grayson could not see through the smoke to the new battle site a hundred meters up the road, but he could hear the staccato snaps of autorifle fire and the harsh bark of grenades and improvised explosives. Hovercraft ride on a cushion of air trapped within their plenum chambers, but their flight is no more than a few centimeters above the ground. Highly effective on water, in swampland, or on flat ground, hovercraft were at a severe disadvantage whereever surrounding vegetation and steep slopes made maneuver impossible. When TNT charges dropped a half-dozen trees across the road ahead of and behind the troop carrier column, the hovercraft were forced to stop. Autorifle fire from the heights above the road seared down into the open cargo compartments, aiming first for the mounted weapons gunners, then chewing through packed soldiers scrambling desperately to get clear of the slaughter.

As expected, the two lead ‘Mechs turned at the first sounds of explosions and gunfire. The ambush was less than a minute old, but already the rest of the Kurita column was paralyzed, trapped and under attack from the surrounding jungle. The Stingerbegan using its hands to move fallen trees out of the road between it and the troop carriers. The handless Jennercould only stand by and blaze away at the trees with its lasers and SRMs. Shoulder-fired anti-armor missiles arced out of the forest, but the ‘Mechs had very few clear targets. By the time the Stingerwon through to the first hovercraft, the vehicle was a burning, grenade-shattered wreck, its passengers sprawled dead on the road or scattered into the jungle.

Lori’s voice came through on Grayson’s ear receiver again. "I think we made 'em mad, boss. The point ‘Mechs are climbing off the road and coming after us."

"O.K. You know what to do. Execute."

"On our way."

For Grayson, the maddening part of the battle was being forced to remain where he was, in a position to see very little of what was going on around him. The sounds of gunfire and grenade blasts had died away to the north, though he could hear shrill screams from wounded men and the deep, ponderous thrum and crash of ‘Mechs moving through the underbrush along the slope. Lori's command would be retreating ahead of the lead enemy ‘Mechs now, drawing them deeper into the trees. Whatever happened there was out of his hands now. It was up to Lori to handle things.

Meanwhile, Sergeant Ramage's commandos had finished hurling their satchel charges and were dispersing into the jungle down-slope from the road. Though both 50-ton ‘Mechs had taken damage, neither was out of the fight. The Trebuchetwas unable to move, its right leg nearly severed at the knee and the hull half-buried in the avalanche of the collapsing roadbed. The Centurion,however, was regaining its feet, but huge slabs of aligned-crystal steel armor had been peeled from the framework along its head and shoulder. The flip-top protective covers over the LRM tube array high on its right torso had also been smashed and crumpled.

The pilot must have been rattled by his rough handling. No sooner was the Centurionunsteadily on its feet when it began to blaze wildly into the jungle in all directions with its right arm autocannon. Spent casings clinked and glittered on the broken ground by its feet, and the snapping blasts of 30 mm autocannon projectiles splintered tree branches and stripped leaves in a wide circle around the wildly firing ‘Mech. Several chance shots landed close to Grayson's and Brasednewic's position, but they exploded harmlessly in fountains of dirt and shredded vegetation.

Grayson crouched low in his trench until the firing stopped. His TK assault rifle was useless against the enemy ‘Mech, and so all he could do was wait out the ‘MechWarrior's rage. That Centurion'spilot would have other things to think about very shortly.

There was a crashing in the brush to Grayson's right. He tapped Brasednewic's shoulder and pointed at the many brown-clad forms moving toward their position in a disordered rush. They were Kurita troops, survivors of the attack on the personnel carriers.

Grayson's TK was set for four-round burst fire, a measure that saved ammunition and avoided the muzzle climb associated with the weapon's 1200 rpm rate of fire. As his first target, he picked a Draco whose blue collar and shoulder tabs marked him as an officer. Because the man wore the sleeveless, armor-quilted jacket favored by House Kurita troops, Grayson drew careful aim on his head.

He stroked the trigger, and the TK sighed. Four caseless rounds made a barely discernible hiss as they cleaved the air to the Kurita officer thirty meters away. At least one round hit, snapping the man's head up and back and smashing him into the tree behind him. His blood was brutally red against the blue-green leaves it splattered.

Brasednewic's’ 5mm laser rifle hummed, and an invisible bolt of coherent light struck another Kurita soldier full in the chest. The armor vest absorbed the bolt, but the man yelped as he slapped at the smoke puffing from the damaged garment. The laser rifle hummed again, and the soldier vanished into the underbrush—whether dead, wounded, or suddenly cautious, there was no way to tell.

The other Kurita troops suddenly vanished, too, but sent a handful of shots clipping the leaves above Grayson's head. One round buried itself into the trunk of a nearby tree. The situation could have become an uneasy stalemate, with Grayson and Brasednewic pitted against a large and desperate band of Kurita soldiers, but the Centurionstepped in and tipped the balance.