Main Event

"Either a freak hit from the Mad Catsheared away an ante

"All right, Battle Three, that makes you the temporary commander. Battle Four, stick with Three and get us to the ComStar compound. Pursuit Two and Command Two, stay in the center. Battle One and I will take the rear guard.

"Battle One, if you read, raise your right arm." Rose waited until Esmeralda raised the Marauder'sright arm.

"All right, Thorns, this will be our only chance to punch through to the compound, so we've got to make it count. Don't stop for anything. If somebody goes down, we'll have to trust that they'll be all right. Right now, securing the facility is more important than any one of us.

"Command Two, coordinate with McCloud on targeting and support fire. I know I don't have to tell her to watch for civilians, but I'll do it anyway. That goes for everybody. Make the shots count.

"Let's move out."

As Hawg and Bell started out of the park, Rose ran another check of the Charger'ssystems. He still had plenty of missile reloads, but that would change soon. Although the armor had been breached in several places, there was no significant damage to the internal structure, except for the right leg. The red banks of indicator lights confirmed what Rose suspected as he tried to stand. The previous repair to the lower leg had failed. Despite the limp, he was still as fast as the Marauder II,but the Charger'shallmark was speed and now he was deprived of that advantage.

Ajax and Ria

Marching toward the Clan 'Mechs, Rose realized that the chances were good that he wouldn't survive this encounter. There were so many things he'd wanted to tell Ria

"This is Battle Three. We're approaching the Clan line. Multiple heavy targets are close."

"Command Two, vector the 'Mechbuster. We're going to need some supporting fire." Rose considered transferring coordination of the aircraft to his 'Mech, but despite the desire, he knew his attention was needed on the ground.

"Pursuit Two, how many Cla

Ajax's calm voice answered immediately. "Four heavy signatures to the front. Two medium swinging around from the left."

"Battle One, secure the left flank. Don't let those two mediums on our backs. Pursuit Two, provide support." Rose didn't like the idea of sending their eyes and ears to the side, but the Ravenwouldn't last long in a firefight with heavy and assault OmniMechs. At least with the mediums, he'd have a chance of survival.

"Command Two, fall back. I'm taking your place." Rose picked up speed and passed Ria

As Rose took his position next to Bell, he toggled through his sca

"Command One, urgent, this is Command Two. McCloud is ahead of schedule; either she hits the Clans now or she has to wait for the next pass. She is requesting permission to engage."

Now that was a first. Rose had never known McCloud to ask permission for anything. "Affirmative, Command Two. Hit the Clans now." Rose knew that by the time the aircraft circled around for another pass, the Thorns would be too close for her to risk any shots.

"Pick up the pace, Thorns. Don't give them the chance to recover from the air attack." Rose fed the Chargermore power and the distance between the two sides fell away. Over his head something loud rumbled across the sky and headed toward the Clans.

In the ambient light of the city Rose could see the underbelly of the aircraft in a shallow dive as it approached the Clan position. McCloud had slowed the 'Mechbuster as much as possible to line up her shot. He could see the flaps of the two wings fully extended to provide more lift at the slow speed. The weapon port was already open and ready. He urged more speed out of his 'Mech as the 'Mechbuster continued ahead.

The Falcons had always been good fighters and the arrival of a single aircraft did little to shake them. Confident that the Black Thorns were still too far away for concern, they cranked up their guns and waited for the 'Mechbuster to come into range. It was traveling at more than two hundred kilometers per hour, which normally would have made it a difficult target. But with all the guns pointed upward, something was bound to hit.

Rose could see the exhaust trails of long-range missiles as they leapt from their launchers and streaked toward McCloud. An instant later, the Clan pilots had triggered their lasers and PPCs. Although triggered second, the -beam weapons struck the 'Mechbuster first. Many of the shots missed, flying past the aircraft as it approached. Several shots hit the craft, however, raining armor down on the city.

In the darkness Rose could see the beams cut short as they struck the armored belly of the aircraft. He couldn't see the damage, but he knew the composite armor was separating from the frame and falling to earth. The subsequent missiles tore through the damaged armor, ripping away larger pieces under the impact of powerful explosives.

As the Clan weapons recycled, the 'Mechbuster triggered the weapon that gave its name to the craft. The front of the aircraft was briefly illuminated as McCloud kept the trigger fully depressed. The aircraft's forward momentum was virtually halted as the recoil from the autoca

The 'Mechbuster's exhaust ports were clogged with thick black smoke. Rose lost sight of the craft for a moment as it disappeared behind its exhaust, but re-sighted it as the ship turned slowly to the right. As he watched, the right side engine failed completely and more smoke began to trail from the ship.

"Ria

"Rachel, are things as bad as they look?"

Rose heard her reply as though it were light years away. She was using both hands to control the bucking ship and speaking into a wide-area microphone. "Is that you, Jeremiah?"

"It's me."

"This thing is headed down, Jeremiah. I can't give it any more power or the remaining engine will blow. Without more thrust, I can't get the nose up."

"Can you land it?" Rose had stopped his advance as the aircraft circled above his head. Following their leader the other 'Mechs had also temporarily halted the charge.

"If I had a flat spot, I could try, but I don't see anything that qualifies. None of the streets I can see are wide enough. If—" Her words were cut off by another explosion.