Bloodname

Looking into the distance, Radick saw some hills to the left and Glory Station to the right, but neither landscape was any more interesting than the one before him. Behind the Clan Wolf forces, at the foot of a long slope, began the infamous Blood Swamp. Pershaw's strategy of setting the Clan Wolf forces in front of the swamp had an insidiousness to it that Radick admired. He was not especially eager to fight with a swamp at his back, but it was a drawback he could easily turn to his advantage. He had already given his Cluster a stirring speech about their having so little room behind them because Clan Jade Falcon obviously knew that Clan Wolf would never retreat. The enemy, on the other hand, had plenty of room for retreat, proof of their cowardice. But all that was mere rhetoric. Radick knew that Pershaw and the warriors of the Jade Falcon Clan were brave and famed for tenacity. Pershaw had chosen this troop deployment for some strategic purpose, perhaps related to his already-diminished manpower. Radick had already sent a couple of 'Mechs into the swamp to see what might be gained if he were forced into it. He hoped those scouts could find their way back.

"Star Commander Ward!"

"Yes, sir?"

"What do you make of the Jade Falcon deployment?"

"It is strange. It reminds me of what I have heard of ancient Terran warriors battling in front of city walls."

"Freebirth! You are improvising. City walls, indeed. Kael Pershaw would not know anything of pre-Clan military history."

"As you say, sir. It was merely an observation."

"Instead of observing, calculate. What will be the Jade Falcon's first move?"

"To wait for ours, I expect."

"No, we will wait for him. He is underma

"Three minutes."

Radick returned his attention to the terrain, trying to find in it a clue to what Kael Pershaw might be up to.

* * *

"Lanja!"

"Yes, sir."

"Time?"

"Two minutes, sir."

"Are your Elementals ready?"

"As always."

"Yes. I need not have asked."

Kael Pershaw was performing his last prebattle checklist. He had stared at charts and screens for hours, it seemed, and no matter how he analyzed and reanalyzed, he did not have good numbers for going up against Clan Wolf. Star Captain Dwillt Radick had the extra Trinary on the field, while Pershaw's was off somewhere beyond Blood Swamp, perhaps twisted in wreckage, or disabled, or lost. And then there was Jorge's Star. Pershaw hated to admit it, but with the impressive enemy array in front of him, he would not mind having that contingent of stinking freebirths in the field right now. Lanja had told him often enough that they were good fighters—a bit unorthodox, but good. Still, he would be happier to be on a planet where there were no freebirth warriors.

"It is almost time, Colonel," Lanja said. "One of my Point says he knows of Dwillt Radick, and that the man will wait for you to make the first move."

"How civilized of him. Our first move, as you call it, must be a majestic one, quiaff?"

"Aff. We await your order. The time is up."

At the same moment Pershaw gave the order, the LRM-equipped 'Mechs in his command sent off a barrage that might have been compared to a similar massive flight of warrior arrows in some ancient battle. Unlike arrows, of course, these missiles were riding invisible beams to their targets. He had ordered half his 'Mechs to fire the long-range missiles at a flat trajectory, while the other half lobbed theirs in a high arc. If nothing else, this forced the Wolves to allocate their anti-missile systems to one group or the other, with the chance that some of the other missiles would hit without being engaged.

Even before any of the missiles had come close to their targets, Lanja—with the bloodcurdling scream that was her trademark—started her three Points of Elementals forward. Fifteen of the armored giants shot up on tongues of flame that would send them toward the Wolf Clan line.

Pershaw watched both tactics on separate screens, his head twisting back and forth to trace the dual actions. As he had expected, many of his LRMs were blown out of the air, sending up a curtain of smoke and debris that partially obscured their direct visuals of the Clan Wolf forces. The low-flying missiles were something else. Countered by the anti-missile systems, their explosions occurred closer to their targets, kicking up dust and boulders, many of which made contact with 'Mech legs, and sometimes higher. Pershaw was satisfied to see some leg armor flying, and he had hopes that these hits were the begi

Seeing one of the salvos make a direct hit without being engaged, Pershaw responded with a satisfied grunt. The Clan Wolf 'Mech had either used all its anti-missile ammunition or been the victim of a malfunction. The hit was not fatal, but large chunks of armor sailed outward, strong walls undergoing the first cracks of the assault.

Under cover of the explosions and smoke, Lanja's Elementals had already gone halfway across the intervening field before any Clan Wolf Elemental had even moved. Radick had bid away so many of his Points that the Jade Falcon infantry was the one battle factor where Pershaw had a slight edge. The Points of Elementals from each side were an awesome sight as they headed toward one another. In their battle suits of super-thick armor plate, they looked like alien beings from some distant corner of the universe. For a face, they had a dark, V-shaped viewport. Their feet were cloven and shod with steel. With no real neck to the suit, their heads looked like mere lumps rising from their shoulders. The right arm ended in the muzzle of a laser; a machine gun was slung under the left forearm. Mounted on the back of the suit was a boxy double-barrelled missile launcher. Bred for height and strength, these Clan infantry were supermen on the field. Clan Wolf's Elementals opened fire first, but the Jade Falcon Points were quick to retaliate. Soon crossfire seemed to weave both sides together, but not a single 'Mech from either side had yet moved.

Time, Kael Pershaw thought, to take the next step in the initiative.

"Charlie Assault Nova," he ordered, "take the right flank."

He had decided to send this detachment from his Trinary Striker Force because it had more than one reason to fight well. It had been Star Commander Bast's unit. Traditionally, units that had lost leaders (Bast had been replaced by Mech Warrior Ersik, whom Pershaw had given a field promotion to Star Commander) fought more fiercely. No one knew whether it was to impress their new commanding officer or to honor the memory of the dead one.

As Pershaw gave further moving orders and started his own unit, Alpha Striker Nova, on the attack, he saw many holes in his line of battle. These openings might be just what the Clan Wolf warriors needed to rush through and trap the Jade Falcons in a pincer movement.

* * *

Dwillt Radick was thinking trap. He knew that Pershaw was committing virtually his entire Cluster to this engagement, while Radick was able to maintain a Nova in reserve. Perhaps he should have brought in all his troops, too. Overwhelmed Pershaw, taken the contract for the genetic package, and lifted off this hellhole. But even with the troops he now commanded, he should be able to defeat Pershaw and his backwater warriors. The secret was to do so without losing too much of his own force.

Craig Ward, already in the thick of battle, firing off laser pulses as he guided his Ice Ferret'smagnificent strides forward, found himself coming under the fire of Pershaw's Charlie Nova. The Ice Ferretrocked as two Jade Falcon 'Mechs, a Summonerand a Mist Lynx,fired simultaneously trying to disable his left-arm laser ca