The four joined the other Combine machines already gathered on the runway. The 'Mechs sorted themselves out into a loose wedge, the Pantherat the head. The 'Mechs on the left flank swiveled their torsos to the left while those on the right twisted right. Gathering speed, the hulking machines began to pound along the runway.

Energy lanced out from laser crystals and PPCs while deep-throated autocannon vied noisily with the shrill whine of machine guns as the 'Mechs raced along. Their targets, Lyran AeroSpace Fighters grounded by the weather and tarped-over for protection from the sand, erupted in flames. The oily black smoke that rose from their blasted remains was shredded and dispersed by the winds still raging high above the base. The Combine BattleMechs continued on when they reached the end of the runway, weapons silent now. The 'Mechs were shadows in the sand, becoming progressively more obscure until they disappeared into the storm's embrace.

Kincaid was standing alone on the runway amid the burning wrecks when the Lyran reaction force arrived.

"Where are they, Colonel?"

"Gone. Again."

It would be no use to pursue them. Even during the first week of the Kuritan offensive, the damned Snakes had somehow been able to strike and vanish almost with impunity. Now, under cover of the storm, they would, be more elusive than ever.

* * *

The "Katana Kat's" myomer-powered fingers clung to the rockface, anchoring it in the hundred-kilometer-per-hour winds. Fuhito watched the funnel cloud whip down the wadi, sucking sand from its hard-packed bed. The dark whirlwind slid over McCoy's Cicada,knocking the long-legged 'Mech to the ground and pulling it to pieces.

"Frak!" Fuhito swore. McCoy and his 'Mech were the third they had lost to the wild tornadoes in the two weeks since the seasonal weather front had closed in on South Nantuo. The Legion had taken fewer battle casualties while hamstringing Lyran invaders during the same period.

The killer funnel passed on, and Fuhito and his detachment continued on their way in the diminished storm. An hour of hard travel brought them to the cliff face that sheltered the Second Legion of Vega's base camp. In the caves honeycombing the cliff, away from the sand and wind, the Legion had set up their little-used rest-and-recovery facilities. Looking forward to the quiet, Fuhito led his men through the makeshift windscreens into the relative quiet of the caverns.

He dumped his record of the sortie over the microwave link to the unit's battle computer and eased off the heavy neurohelmet. The four-day patrol had stiffened his body, making the climb down the "Kat's" exit ladder an exercise in agony. He found Michael Heise waiting for him.

"Good hunting, Tetsuhara-fean?"

"Good enough, Tai-sho.The full report's in the comp," Fuhito said wearily. He ran his tongue over his gritty teeth; somehow sand had leaked into his purification system. "The weather is deadly. We lost McCoy to a funnel."

"Unfortunate. But not unexpected for this time of year. Vega is not known for its gentle summer weather." Heise shrugged. "It's been a boon to us this year, though. The damned Lyran AeroSpace force has been grounded for two weeks. Tai-saKurita's strategy of mounting attacks under cover of the storms has paid off incredible dividends. Between the storms and our attacks, more than half the Lyran fighters are ruined. Which means that when the skies clear in a week or two, our air forces will be evenly matched. Then we shall have a glorious fight."

"With all respect, Tai-sho,you sound like one of Tai-saKurita's inspirational speeches."

Heise chuckled. "And why not, Tetsuhara -kun? I am inspired by him. He has turned the situation entirely around. When the weather breaks, we will destroy the Elsies."

"We shall certainly fight them, Tai-sho,"Fuhito agreed, unsettled by the unfounded optimism replacing Heise's previous unfounded gloom. "But, again with respect, destroying them is another matter."

Undaunted, Heise waved his arm to indicate the Kurita forces gathered in the caverns. "These are inspired troops. They cannot but achieve victory. When the weather clears, we will take to the wadis again, running along our secret highways to attack the Elsies where they least expect it."

The Steiner forces had been fooled so far, but despite their reputation, they were not totally dim. They would not remain oblivious to the Combine ploy. Once the Lyrans figured out the Tai-sa'sstrategy, the Legion would have to face the elite Third Guards 'Mech to 'Mech. The Second and Fourteenth Legion Regiments had not had the benefit of Tai-saKurita's attention as had the Eleventh Vegan. Even though they probably outnumbered the Elsies, these Legionnaires were not yet ready for open battle with the Lyran veterans.

"Soon the Lyrans will realize that we are traveling on the wadis, and our element of surprise will be lost," Fuhito said. "We will have to face them directly."

"With Tai-saKurita to lead us, we shall triumph!"

Fuhito hoped he was right.

32

Kerschengian Factory Complex, Cochus, Vega

Dieron Military District, Draconis Combine

13 December 3028

 

The Victorshuddered under the impact of armor-piercing shells from the Lyran Marauder'sautocannon. Theodore stomped down on the throttle, running for cover behind the gutted factory building. Blue lightning from one of the Lyran's PPCs ripped the ground at the accelerating Victor'sfeet.

That Lyran strike team had pierced the Legion's lines and cornered him and his command lance in the Kerschengian Factory Complex on the outskirts of Cochus. Tourneville had transmitted a warning of the Lyrans' arrival before cutting behind a row of storage tanks, leaving Theodore and Tomoe to face a quartet of Lyran heavy 'Mechs. Tomoe's outclassed Pantherhad been gutted in the first rush, but she had punched out as the 'Mech collapsed. He had seen her chair's parachute and assumed she had landed safely. He dared not consider any other result.

Without warning, azure fire burned across his path. Theodore twisted the Victorto the left, and as he did so, the origin of the bolt was revealed: Trouneville's Vindicator.Theodore checked his wide scan and refocused the visual scanner on his rear quadrant. Tourneville's target, a Lyran Crusader,was visible there, still reeling from the damage it had taken from the Vindicator'sPPC. Sputtering fires burned in the wounded 'Mech's left belly.

Theodore ripped off a burst from his Pontiac 100 autocannon. The high-velocity shells clawed through the Crusader'storso, shredding ceramet armor. Secondary explosions sent shards of titanium-alloy internal braces rocketing from the wound. The Crusaderdoubled over and sat down heavily. A massive explosion stretched it out as the fusion reactor blew, spewing a fountain of liquid metal and hot gases into the air.

The Marauderrounded the corner behind Theodore, who fired the Victor'sjump jets, hoping to escape the enemy warrior's sights before he could get a weapons lock-on. The eighty-ton machine rose rapidly, as twin PPCs ionized the air beneath it.

Looking for a safe landing place, Theodore watched Tourneville dodge away as a Lyran Warhammercratered the tank behind which the Vindicatorhad sheltered. The Kurita medium 'Mech fled for cover, unable and unwilling to stand against the seventy-ton monster.

Theodore searched for the fourth Steiner 'Mech, an Ostroc.He found it, the smooth shape of its egg-shaped body standing out plainly from the angular tangle of I-beams jutting from the rubble of a workshed. Angling his flight, he tried for a landing to the Ostroc'sright, well out of the field of its shoulder-mounted missile launcher.