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Then he was up and moving again as ca
Autoca
The Marauder'sPPCs fired again, and the Shadow Hawkstaggered as the armor plate on his left arm took the full brunt of the blast. Grayson fired his laser in reply, snapping off two quick shots that the Maraudermerely seemed to absorb without harm to its arm and torso.
The range was down to 50 meters now. Both 'Mechs fired, both missed as they circled searching for an opening. Grayson waited until the Marauderwas facing him full on, then triggered a salvo of SRMs, and loaded and fired again. The heavier 'Mech was snapped back by the blast, but its broad feet lashed out for purchase on the ferrocrete, stabilizers cut in, and somehow the giant remained standing. Twin laser beams boiled steel where earlier damage had reeled back the outer armor of the Shadow Hawk'storso. A red light signaled the loss of another heat sink, and Grayson realized that the 'Mech's interior temperature was already far higher than he could stand for very long.
Circle... fire... miss... fire... hit... circle... The bizarre dance between giants continued, neither machine able to find or win advantage.
Grayson knew he could not continue the dance much longer. Even though neither machine was yet seriously damaged, it was certain that the Maraudercould continue to move and fight longer than could Grayson's Hawk.And when the Shadow Hawkfailed, the end would follow very quickly.
He sca
The Maraudercharged. Grayson snapped off two shots, then swung around and away, beyond the monster's reach, ripping off an autoca
"It was stupid of you to come in here alone," Vallendel said, as though the conversation had not been interrupted by brutal bursts of fire. "We've got you right where we want you, now."
We? Grayson stepped back from the Marauder,frantically sca
Another huge and humanoid shape was moving alongside a storage warehouse. Zooming in for a telephoto enhancement, Grayson recognized the bulging forearms, the scored and pitted armor of the Crusader.Singh had not been put out of action after all. He had been hiding there all along, waiting for the Marauderto maneuver Grayson into position.
Short-range missiles arrowed in, fragmenting the ferrocrete around the Hawkwith the fury of hellfire. The Shadow Hawkwaded through boiling smoke, tracking this new threat and laying down a pattern of SRMs in reply.
The Maraudercaught him dead center in the lower torso with a blast from one of its PPCs. Grayson's 'Mech staggered forward toward the Crusader,as warning lights screamed of failing systems and dying circuits. He half-turned, struggling for balance, and a pair of missiles smashed into the already damaged backpack.
Grayson and his Shadow Hawktoppled helplessly to the pavement
* * * *
Lori felt a strange and almost peaceful sense of detachment as she watched the black water close over the Locust'scockpit. The air inside the cabin was still stifling, sour with the smells of sweat and fear, but the internal temperature of the 'Mech dropped rapidly in the cold water. She wished she could leave the cockpit to swim in the icy currents, wished she could rid herself of the layers of sweat and grime that caked her body. She didn't dare, though. The enemy would attack again very soon.
Her 'Mech cooled, she guided it sluggishly through the depths and brought it up onto the beach, water cascading from its flanks in imitation of the falls that boomed and roared farther back in the depths of the Rift.
On the beach, astechs swarmed over the carcass of the Wasp.She opened an external speaker. "Ramage? What's the verdict?"
The Trell sergeant looked up at her, touched his ear, and shook his head. The background noise from the waterfall was too loud to permit voice communication, even when amplified. The men on the ground outside had all stuffed clay into their ears, a trick Grayson had taught them during the pla
She didn't really need Ramage's report anyway. Even from the Locust'scockpit, the damage looked severe. Lori knew it would not fight again — at least not without a major overhaul. The Marauder'sblast had savaged delicate internal systems and control circuits.
Astechs had already stripped the hulk of its laser and missile packs, however, and of every SRM left in the Wasp'sreload packs. Meanwhile, a detail of soldiers was working at the mouth of the cavern, trying to set up a simple fire control system that would let them add the Wasp'ssalvaged weaponry to the firepower they still mustered. Troops and hovercraft had already dragged back the laser from the disabled Stingerat the front line.
"Sergeant! This is Yarin!"
Exhaustion dragged at Lori, made her slow in responding. None of them would be able to hold out much longer.
"What is it?"
"Heat readings... I think."
"The Locuststepped up alongside the Stinger.She shifted through the IR frequencies, the Locust'scomputers picking up fragmentary and inconsistent readings.
The air outside was still cool, though the day was rapidly getting warmer and was already well above freezing. Still, the heat of engines — or of living bodies — ought to be readable enough...
And then they were there. Troops, dozens of them, leaped down from the rocky crags and ridges on either side of the ravine, weapons at their shoulders, firing wildly. Bullets spanged and whined from Lori's armor as she wrenched at the machine gun controls and brought her antiperso
They had crept close behind the boulders, she realized, wearing special insulated black combat suits that trapped and masked body heat so that they could sneak close without detection. Almost before she could give the alarm, dozens of enemy soldiers were swarming through the Lancers' defensive perimeter, battling with the Lancer troops at the Locust'sfeet.
Her machine gun fire swept through a line of attacking infantry as they scrambled down a rock escarpment, pitching them into the troops struggling below..She kept firing, but clear targets were hard to find. The black-clad attackers were everywhere, mingled with her own troops too closely to risk a shot.
A missile caught the Locusthigh up on its hull. Reflexively, Lori brought the machine crouching back on its legs, absorbing the shock and keeping the 'Mech on its feet. She took several quick steps backward, getting clear of the fight There had to be a target... had to be...
One lone, black-clad soldier in a heavy, visored helmet stood ten meters away, a heavy, double-barreled weapon at his shoulder. Lori sat rigid in the grip of a paralyzing fear. That trooper was carrying a portable inferno launcher, the same weapon that Grayson had once threatened her with, so very long ago.