Rose wracked his brain for a place to land. The spaceport was the obvious answer, but the runways were too far away for the stricken ship. "Rachel, can you make it to Assembly Avenue?"
There was no answer. Just when Rose was sure their link had gone dead, he heard McCloud's ragged voice.
"No chance, Rose. I've got a fire in the electronics bay. I can barely see my hands, let alone the ground."
Rose wanted to scream, but he tried to think instead. There had to be something he could do.
"Rachel, I know you can do something, even though I don't know what. You can't die now, Rachel. I need you here. I love you."
Rose waited for a reply, but none came. He wasn't even sure she'd heard his last message. As he watched in horror and frustration, the aircraft disappeared behind the rise of the intervening buildings. Rose switched to his scanner, but the aircraft still did not register. He was tempted to run to the crash site, but he saw that the Clan 'Mechs had not been idle during his brief transmission with McCloud. Not content with the downing of a 'Mechbuster, they were advancing on the Black Thorns at full speed.
33
Houston, Borghese
19 July 3055
Rose turned to face the Clan pilots. The remaining three 'Mechs were approaching in a straight line, each traveling down a separate street. The Clan pilots either didn't know what they were facing or else they had a poor opinion of the mercenaries. Rose knew he could fight past one of the 'Mechs and make a run for the compound, but that would still leave the other two on their trail. Taking them on one by one was his only chance.
"Thorns, move toward the left-hand street. Maybe we can take one out before the others arrive." Rose heard the other two members of his unit confirm, but his mind was still very far way. The sky where the 'Mechbuster had gone down was glowing red.
"Any sign of Battle One?" Rose checked his scanners, but the Marauderwas not on his screen.
"Negative, Battle Two. She's probably cloaked by the Guardian."
Rose hoped it was true. Between the Guardian and the intervening buildings, the main body of mercenaries were unlikely to reconnect with him and Ajax until they reached the compound, if they made it that far.
"This is Command Two. I have a target behind us." Rose turned his attention to the path they'd just traveled. Behind them was a single 'Mech, just out of sight. If Rianna hadn't been sweeping the rear quarter, the 'Mech would have taken the lance by surprise. Without the Beagle active probe it was impossible to tell what type of 'Mech was following them. On the other hand, Rose knew what was up ahead.
"Command Two, follow Battle Lance up the side street. I'm turning to engage the rear 'Mech. Remember, keep moving toward the ComStar compound."
Rose swung the Chargeraround and headed back down the street. Hawg and Bell would be able to take a couple of shots each before the other Clan 'Mechs arrived to assist their besieged comrade. If Rose could stop the trailer, they stood a good chance of breaking free.
Walking back down the street Rose saw that the civilians were coming out to stare at the war machines now that they had passed. Rose's surprise turnaround had caught several out in the open. As the civilians fled for cover, an OmniMech appeared at the other end of the street. Seeing it bathed in the glow of the street lights, Rose could easily see that it was the Mad Cathis unit had engaged earlier at the city park.
The 'Mech was at least as damaged as the Charger,but Rose knew that the Omni had begun the engagement with more protection and better weaponry. Like ancient gunfighters, the two 'Mechs squared off briefly. The civilians thought the move was perfectly normal, but Rose knew it was a quirk of the meeting. Nobody stood in the middle of the street and traded shots with an OmniMech.
It took Rose only an instant to center his targeting cross hairs and trigger his missiles. The Clan pilot was a second slower as he triggered his 'Mech's right-arm PPC. Rose braced for the impact, which caught the Chargerin the right torso, then ran toward the Mad Catas the blast died away. The missile flight scattered explosions across the MadCar's shoulders and chest. One boxy missile launcher exploded as a cluster of missiles tore through the housing and detonated the missiles still in the rack.
The missile launcher was still reloading when Rose triggered the medium lasers in the Charger'schest and arms. All four beams found their mark, one striking the damaged Mad Catsquarely in the face, which housed the 'Mech's cockpit and life-support system.
Either the shot or the charging 'Mech scared the Clan pilot, because he triggered all his remaining weapons. Six short-range missiles flew from the rack to explode five seconds later against the hull of the Charger.The right-arm PPC also fired again, but the beam sliced past Rose. Rose felt the Charger'sright arm go limp, the red lights of the weapon-status board confirming the destruction of the arm-mounted laser.
Rose continued to close ground as the missile system completed its reload cycle. Despite the close range, he fired another flight of missiles. Twenty more warheads flew toward the Mad Catas Rose approached. Although all twenty hit, only three did any harm. Three small explosions chipped away more armor, but the rest were simply crushed against the Mad Cat'sferro-fibrous plates.
The impact of the missiles had distracted the Falcon pilot enough, however, to let Rose get close. Under the street lights Rose could see that the Omni was in bad shape. The left arm was still attached, but the PPC and actuators had been destroyed. The remaining armor was as pitted and gouged as the Charger's.The Clan pilot tried to back away from the Charger,but Rose wouldn't let him get far enough away to fire the PPC. As the Clan pilot swung his right arm around like a metal club, Rose looked for, and found, a weak spot.
He shifted the Chargerslightly, taking the damage on his reinforced shoulder plating. Shifting again he kicked the Mad Catin the right leg. Metal popped free on the foot of the Charger,but the plates of the Mad Cat'sshin crumpled like foil under the blow. Rose fired his chest-mounted pulse lasers, then braced the Chargerto receive another punch.
The shoulder plate buckled under the blow and smashed into the shoulder actuator. The arm still had some mobility, but Rose could no longer use it for balance as he aimed another kick at the Mad Cat'sshin.
Trusting his own balance and piloting ability, Rose kicked out again. The blow met with very little resistance as the metal bone of the OmniMech broke in two. The Mad Catfell to the right and Rose staggered in the same direction. Pounding metal feet tore through the pavement as Rose struggled for control. While the Mad Catwas hitting the concrete, Rose regained control of the Charger,but smashed the front end of a car in the process.
The Omni pilot struggled to stand on one leg, but Rose didn't give him the chance. Careful to keep his 'Mech out of sight of the PPC barrel, Rose crossed over to the fallen 'Mech. He took careful aim at the cockpit and waited until the struggling ceased. The pilot crawled out of the cockpit hatch and Rose turned back toward the ComStar compound.
Three struggling steps was all he needed to realize that the Charger'sright leg was again badly damaged. At his current pace he'd never catch the rest of the Black Thorns. Thinking only of the people in his command, he triggered the jump jets. The Chargerleaped over the street and landed in the middle of the road a hundred and fifty meters away, breaking through the concrete with both feet. The right leg groaned, but held, and Rose triggered the jets again. He jumped five times before the computer announced that he had only enough reaction mass for two more jumps. Rose hesitated, then decided to limp after his unit.