Main Event

The wing was composed entirely of fixed-wing aircraft, which made them easy targets for both faster aerospace fighters and the more maneuverable VTOL craft. Under normal circumstances Rose would never have sent fixed-wing craft against the Clans, but one of the craft was a 'Mechbuster.

The 'Mechbuster was about as simple a design as aerospace engineers had ever created. Build an airplane around the biggest autoca

"This is Pursuit Two. I have two incoming blips. I don't think these are the Masakaris.The footprint is too soft."

"This is Battle Four. All four Omnis from downtown pulled up when we ran. They seemed to be afraid of a trap. When I lost track of them, we had a five-minute lead on them, which was widening."

"Command Two, Pursuit Two, get a fix on the Omnis that shot Angus. Battle Three, follow them and provide back-up. Everybody else follow me.

"McCloud, what's your ETA?"

"Fifteen minutes to the center of the city. Where are you?"

"We're in the municipal park on the edge of the business district. Use my cha

"I copy. I'll be there as soon as possible. McCloud out."

Although Rose had promised himself he would not split up the unit, there didn't seem to be any other way. The Phoenix Hawkand the Ravensprinted across the football field toward the buildings that surrounded the park, the BattleMasterin hot pursuit. Rose turned with the remaining force to prevent the Clan forces from boxing them into a trap.

The sca

"Open field engagement, Thorns. Nothing gets past us." Rose watched the sca

At six hundred and fifty meters, the two OmniMechs opened fire with their extended-range PPCs. Both shots directed at Antioch missed, but the single bolt at Rose hit, laying the Charger'sright arm bare. Warning lights flashed amber as the limb was breached in three places.

The Black Thorns waited until the Omnis were within six hundred meters before opening fire. Clan missiles passed I

Missiles left the launchers of both sides as the 'Mechs continued to close range. Esmeralda and Antioch moved forward and fired their PPCs. Esmeralda's bolts were both cut short, a sure sign that they'd hit, but Rose couldn't track Antioch's shots because the Thorwas swinging his way. Rose triggered another flight of missiles and ran toward the Thor.

Missiles rained down on the Chargerand a PPC blast tore off most of the armor on its right leg before Rose managed to close to within a hundred and fifty meters. Triggering all his pulse lasers, he saw the heat scale spike, then begin to decline as the heat sinks worked to dissipate the waste heat generated by the lasers.

To his left Rose was dimly aware that Antioch was engaging the Mad Catat close range, trading Gauss rifle and PPC fire for PPCs and short-range missiles. Esmeralda seemed to be shifting targets in the center of the Thorn line. Both Clan 'Mechs were damaged, but neither seemed ready to fall, which looked bad for the mercenaries. Rose's armor had been destroyed in several locations and it had been worn paper-thin in others. Knowing he wouldn't be able to take much more punishment, he realized that the fight had to end soon, one way or another.

Taking his feet off the control pedals, Rose slammed his boots down on the large studs to either side. Deep in the heart of the Charger,something roared. The sound was amplified as three columns of flame appeared from the legs and back of the 'Mech. With a slight wobble, the three flaming jets carried the Chargertoward the startled Thorpilot. Before angling the 'Mech down, Rose was briefly treated to a spectacular view of the area around the city park.

Although jump jets were common among lighter 'Mechs, few heavy 'Mechs bothered to mount them because of weight. The jets needed to lift sixty or more tons into space were just too heavy to be practical. The few 'Mechs that did mount the massive jets were normally limited to jumps of less than a hundred meters. Not the Charger,though. It had a jump range of 'Mechs half its size, and covered the hundred and forty meters to the Thorwithout effort.

Clenching his jaw and tightening his grip on the controls, Rose prepared for the jarring impact of landing. Landing on level ground during practice jumps had rattled him around in the chair, but landing on the Thorturned the world upside-down. The Chargeractually hit the Thorin the pelvis with both feet on the way down. When the Charger'sknees hit the Thorin the chest, the momentum folded the flying 'Mech over the top of the OmniMech. Both machines crashed to the ground as the Chargerdrove the Thordown.

The Thorfell backward and the Chargerfell over the top of the OmniMech. Rose threw both hands out to slow the fall and managed to partially brace the 'Mech for the final impact with the ground. Just when he thought he was about to hit, the world exploded in a flash of white light.

The next thing Rose knew, he was hanging from the restraining straps of the command chair. The Chargerwas still on its stomach and the Thorwas still flat on its back, its chest belching thick gray smoke. As Rose disentangled himself, the Thorremained still. Looking down at the fallen 'Mech, Rose realized it would never rise again. If somebody had dropped a house on the Thor,it couldn't have been smashed more completely.

Rose looked around for the rest of his command and discovered them approaching from two sides. Of the Clan 'Mechs, however, there was no sign. As he began to try to move the Charger,he found that its legs were still intertangled with the Thor.After a few minutes of careful maneuvering, he was back up.

"This is Command One, how long have I been out?"

"Only ten minutes, Captain."

Rose's head was still foggy. He thought the speaker was Ajax, but it could have been Bell. "What's the situation? "

"The Thorat your feet is down. We chased the Mad Catoff, but the rest of the company got jumped on the way back from the recon. Battle Three chased off a pair of medium Omnis with support from the rest of the unit."

Rose finally decided it was Ajax. "Is McCloud still inbound?" Rose tried to keep the fear out of his voice, but ten minutes was a long time to be out of a fight this close.

"Still inbound and on time, sir."

"Hey, why isn't Battle One on the line?" As the gray cloud fogging his brain turned into a sharp pain in his left temple, Rose realized that Esmeralda should be giving the battle report.