From their chassis to their jade green paint jobs, the OmniMechs were identical: two headless humanoids, their gangly arms pointed directly toward the mercenaries. Long legs began pumping faster and the 'Mechs' considerable speed increased.

"Dashersat nine o'clock!" The duo started their charge at a distance of three hundred meters. They'd covered half the distance to the mercenaries when Rianna triggered one large laser. The ruby shaft of light missed, flying past the Falcons to strike a slow-moving car four blocks away. The driver survived, but the car didn't.

In return the Dasherfired five lasers back at Rianna's Phoenix Hawk.Although none had the power of Rianna's Sunbeam laser, the combined effect was devastating to the medium 'Mech, especially since the Dasherhit its target, and Rianna did not. Armor boiled and fell away under the cutting beam of the Clan lasers. Gouges marked her 'Mech's chest, arms, and left leg. Rianna triggered the other Sunbeam at her attacker, but with the same results.

Rose moved slightly forward for a better shot around the Phoenix Hawk.He carefully aligned the cross hairs of the targeting computer, then fired. By the time the lasers reached the OmniMech's position, however, the Dasherwas no longer there.

With a high-pitched whine, the 'Mech seemed to leap forward. The Dasherfired at Rose, sending four of the five shots into his center torso. The chest-mounted spotlight exploded and armor seared away. A small part of Rose's mind realized that the Dasherhad activated the myomer acceleration signal circuitry, which poured additional power to the OmniMech's legs, but the thought hadn't made it to Rose's conscious mind when he reacted.

As the Dasherstreaked past the Charger,Rose swung out with the Mech's huge right hand. The Dasheralmost avoided the blow, but Rose struck the right shoulder a glancing blow. At the Dasher'sspeed the effects were devastating. The OmniMech's right arm sheared away, taking most of the right torso with it. The pilot, suddenly off balance, slipped on the concrete and staggered off to the left. Completely out of control, he slammed the twenty-ton 'Mech into the brick wall of a corner factory, punching several holes into the structure, but failing to bring down the wall.

The second 'Mech waited to engage the MASC system until he was past Rose. Both Rose and Rianna tried to swing around for a shot, but neither could bracket the retreating 'Mech. Rose was about to give up when he saw a flight of long-range missiles crash down on the fleeing 'Mech. Rose counted eight initial explosions, then the components of the Dasherbegan to fail and explode. The MASC whined as it went out of control, but the 'Mech's legs had already stopped receiving signals from the pilot. The Dasherslid down the street, slamming into cars until it finally came to rest against the side of a bus.

Rose looked skyward and saw Angus and his Valkyriedescend on three columns of flame, then land in the middle of the street. "Nice shooting, Pursuit One. Tell me, how did you know where to shoot?"

"I just figured they'd keep running. If they went the other way, nobody could catch them. If they tried a strafing run, they had to come out on the other end of the street. I hit the jets when you shouted the warning."

Rose was impressed with the young man. The reflexes he'd demonstrated could not be taught. A warrior was either born with them or he wasn't.

"Keep up the good work, Pursuit One. Now confirm the kill and let's get out of here. Pursuit Two, Guardian off."

Rose switched back to long-range scan as the mercenaries went deeper into the city. Gradually, offices replaced factories and the lighting improved. Rose knew that the Clans were fully aware of his approach. Panicked civilians were reacting to media reports of the first encounter, sending most away from the battle zone, but others toward it. Traffic became increasingly congested, forcing the mercenaries to divert from their original path three separate times.

"This is Pursuit Two," said Ajax. "I have three in-bounds. I'm not sure what they are, but they're putting out sizable shock waves with each step. They've got to be assault class."

The approaching Omnis were beyond the range of Rose's conventional scanner so he was forced to take Ajax's word for their size. If the invaders had committed two Trinaries to the conquest of Borghese, these three accounted for all but one of the Stars.

"Pursuit One, we need a visual on the inbounds. Get to the top of that parking structure across the street: the height should give you the range to see them. Battle Lance, clear out the civilians. We might be fighting here."

While Rose considered the fire lanes for deploying his unit, Angus jumped to the roof of the parking garage. Meanwhile the three members of the battle lance began to broadcast warnings to the civilians over their external speakers.

"This is Pursuit One. I have a visual on three MasakariClass Omnis at approximately six hundred meters. They're just crossing over—" As Rose listened and watched the Valkyrieon top of the parking garage, two azure beams suddenly cut across the sky. One PPC beam passed by the Valkyrie'sright, shoulder, but the other struck the 'Mech squarely in the face. The force of the blast cut neatly through the armor, the skeleton, the electronics, and the flesh underneath. With energy to spare, the beam blasted its way out the back of the Valkyrie'shead and into the night sky. The 'Mech paused for a moment as if stunned by its own sudden death, then it fell forward, draping itself over the edge of the roof.

Nobody moved for long moments, then Ajax broke the silence. "Three MasakariOmniMechs approaching at flank speed."

Rose was shocked to awareness as the three eighty-five-ton 'Mechs suddenly appeared. "This is Command One to all Thorns. Mobile advance, right flank. Stick together, people. We've got to get to the HPG station."

"This is Pursuit Two. I have one inbound. Weight is most heavy. Enemy left flank is secure."

Rose slammed his fist in frustration. "Most heavy" meant the 'Mech topped the weight scale. That translated into ninety-five or a hundred tons of Clan technology underneath a genetically engineered pilot. It was probably the invasion commander. Even though the Clans were outnumbered, Rose doubted he had the strength to fight them successfully. Rose scanned the terrain and made a quick decision.

"This is Command One. Fall back at best speed. I say again, best speed.".The lead Masakarifired three PPCs at extreme range. Fortunately for Antioch Bell, the target, the Falcons had evidently used up all their luck with the shot that killed Angus.

"Where to, Command One?"

"I don't have a clue. Maybe we can outflank them. McCloud, I hope you're listening, 'cause we're about to require your services."

32

Houston, Borghese

19 July 3055

 

As Rose broke away from the OmniMechs, he outlined his plan to the rest of the unit. If they were going to make it to the ComStar compound, they'd have to use their firepower to better advantage. Rose knew the Black Thorns couldn't withstand another toe-to-toe battle like the one against Morgain. He'd hoped not to have to bring McCloud into the fight, but he was going to need her to turn the tide in his favor.

"McCloud, you'd better get airborne. We're going to need your help after all."

As the main column of the militia began making its way toward Houston, McCloud and a squad from the Green Team took off for the coastal town of Le Jeune. The town itself wasn't much, but it boasted an airport with the second-longest landing strip on Borghese. It was also the home of the Green's fighter flight, the 312th Planetary Defense Wing.