Minobu had placed all of his hopes on that slim chance.

There had been no brushes with Dragoon reconnaissance for two days. He was sure that his forces had reached their positions undetected by enemy scouts. Surely the plan would succeed. Why then, he wondered, did he feel this tremendous sense of impending disaster?

Brooding would do no good, he decided. With the Dragoons on the move, his place was in the commcenter, where he could coordinate the Draconis forces. His step was firm as he walked the corridor to the center.

The first unit he checked was his own former command, the Ryuken- ni”. It took some time, but he got Chu-saEarnst on the hard line that kept the Dragoons from intercepting Ryuken communications. The Chu-sa'svoice was confident.

“The morning snow has arrived as scheduled, Tai-sho.Visibility is less than fifty meters most of the time. No sign of ... wait.” The empty line hissed slightly. Earnst was back in a few seconds. “I see ... yes, they are ... BattleMechs, Tai-sho.The Dragoons are walking into ourtrap this time.”

“Commence the attack at your discretion, Chu-sa.Make it count,” Minobu urged.

“Understood, Tai-sho.We'll ...”

Earnst's words dissolved into static.

Minobu knew that the hard line they were using would not turn to static unless it had been cut.

Something had gone wrong.

“Break radio silence,” he ordered the commtechs. Communication with his officers was now vital. “I want all commanders in the net.”

The commtechs looked up, surprised by the vehemence in his voice.

“Move, sluggards! Open the net right now!”

The commtechs reported heavy traffic on the net. It took them several minutes to override and break in. “Ryuken- ni,” one announced as a voice came up on the speaker.

“Negative! Negative! Fire forward!”

“Where is Chu-saEarnst?” Minobu demanded.

“His 'Mech is down. We've lost contact with him.” The voice had taken on an hysterical edge.

“Calm down! This is Tai-shoTetsuhara. To whom am I speaking?”

The authority in Minobu's voice seemed to reach the man on the other end. He gobbled a couple of times before responding in a slightly steadier voice, “Chu-iBenedict Kerasu, sir.”

“Report, Chu-i.”

“It's the Dragoons, sir. They aren't fleeing. They're heading straight in on us, attacking. I don't know how, but they know our position. We haven't fooled them.” The hysteria returned to his voice. “We're being slaughtered! We're being overrun! There are Dragoon 'Mechs everywhere!”

The transmission broke up.

“Get him back,” Minobu ordered brusquely.

After several tries, the commtech reported, “Enemy jamming is blanketing Ryuken- ni's position. We can't punch through.”

“Keep trying.”

While Minobu was trying to get sense out of the distraught Chu-i,his staff had been laboring feverishly to sort through the garbled reports from the front and to update the situation map in the holotank. The link to Kerasu lost, Minobu turned to inspect their labors.

“It is very bad, Tai-sho,”Saraguchi announced. “We have break-throughs throughout the center. All Ryuken Regiments are reporting heavy Dragoon assaults. Twenty-First Galedon is completely out of touch.”

“What about Seventeenth Galedon?”

“They report their sector quiet.”

“Well, we can't afford to let them sit idle. Have them move to back up Ryuken- go. If we can stabilize that flank, it may give Sword of Light time to come to our relief again.”

Minobu didn't really think that was likely. Things had gone too far.

He spent the next two hours ordering shifts in the Kurita dispositions. Each time he thought he had gotten a unit across the enemy line of advance, a Dragoon unit would show up on the flank or in the rear, rendering the new position untenable. It was as though Wolf were reading his mind. The Dragoon assault began to seem unstoppable.

Suddenly, the command post shook with the violence of a nearby explosion. Around him, men pitched to the floor. Beating a constant tattoo under the sound of missile detonations came the familiar vibrations of high-speed 'Mech movement. Explosive thunder echoed hollowly within the walls of the center.

A nearby salvo ripped a hole in the commcenter's back wall, and the blast floored everyone in the room. When he had regained his feet, Minobu rushed to the hole, hurtling over the shattered remains of the holotank. Heedless of the frigid wind, he stared out at the BattleMechs assaulting the compound. At their head was a blue and gold Archer.

A Kurita Pantherappeared from nowhere to contest the passage of the Dragoon 'Mech. The Archerbore down on the defender, crashing its full seventy-ton mass into the lighter 'Mech. The Panther'sPPC flared, a puny beacon against the gathering storm clouds. The Archersmashed the Pantherwith its right arm, toppling the Kurita 'Mech, which crashed into a workshed and out of sight.

The Archerstrode into the main compound as though it were master of the place. Following behind, its lancemates continued to pour destruction on the compound. The Archerloomed over Minobu and halted. Its next step would have taken it into the flimsy prefabricated structure that was Minobu's headquarters.

Time seemed to stop.

Man faced machine; neither moved.

Minobu, tiny against the 'Mech's mass, looked up, searching for a glimpse of the pilot behind the cockpit screen of the silent BattleMech.

The 'Mech suddenly rocked under triple explosions on its left shoulder. White-hot fragments of ceramet showered down, forcing Minobu to take cover within the hut.

The Archerpivoted and ripped off a volley from its undamaged right-shoulder launcher. The rockets screamed wide of their intended victim, which was too close for the Dragoon ‘MechWarrior to target effectively in the little time he had. Laserfire scorched the air around the Dragoon 'Mech, and several pulses caught it cleanly.

Damaged, but still far from imperiled, the Archerbacked up. The Dragoons were outnumbered by the sudden appearance of two Kurita lances of heavy and medium BattleMechs. They moved into a mutually supporting formation and withdrew from the compound.

Minobu risked a glance outside the hut to learn who were these new arrivals. The red Ostrocin the lead was very familiar.

54

Trolfjel Highlands , Misery

Galedon Military District, Draconis Combine

20 May 3028

 

The effect of Michi's rescue was short-lived. In minutes, Dragoon 'Mechs renewed the attack on the command center. The blue and gold Archerwas not among them.

A quick look at the shambles in the hut's interior and the smoking wreck of the holotank told Minobu that there was little point in remaining. He scrambled across the field to his Dragon.Michi's ‘MechWarriors provided cover while he climbed aboard and powered up. Secured and ready, he opened the taccomm.

“Form on me. We will try to punch through to join the bulk of Ryuken- go.”

“What good'll that do?” asked an unfamiliar voice.

“Little. But we should then have enough force to fight our way to the bunker line. Once there, we should be able to hold till the Dragoons tire.”

The Dragonbegan to move as Minobu spoke. It lumbered past Michi's Ostroc,picking up speed. Half a dozen Kurita 'Mechs fell in behind it as Michi ordered them into a loose wedge formation.

Fire from the attacking Dragoons was light at first, for only one or two of the pilots had seen the Kurita machines start out. As soon as the Dragoon commander got word of the Kuritans' movements, however, he ordered a shift in his line of attack. BattleMechs that had been pounding the facilities of the command center moved to intercept the Kurita machines. In the sharp firelight that followed, the Kuritans lost half their number. Five of the Dragoons' own 'Mechs were smoking when their commander pulled back and let his opponent go. Only desultory long-range fire followed the Kuritans as they headed away from the command center. The morning storm finally closed in, and swirling snow hid them from view of the marauding Dragoons.