Main Event

Five minutes later he reached the site of the first encounter. Looking quickly around the location, he saw only the carcass of the Masakariand several destroyed cars. Checking the sca

Cresting a hill, Rose briefly saw the battlefield, where Hawg and Bell were fighting a retreating action against two damaged Masakaris.Though Rose couldn't see the full extent of the damage to the four engaged 'Mechs, it was easy to tell that Antioch was in serious trouble because Hawg had the remains of the Banshee'sright arm in his BattleMaster'sleft hand. It would have made an excellent club, but the Clan pilots weren't coming close enough to let Hawg use his improvised weapon. There was no sign of the Phoenix Hawk.

Rose jumped again and tried to steer toward the fight. At the apogee of his flight he triggered a cluster of missiles at the back of the nearest OmniMech. He saw the missiles begin to explode across the back of the Masakari,then he was too low to see more. While the missiles reloaded, Rose ran a last check over his status board. He knew another jump was foolish, but he triggered the jets as the missile launcher came back on-line. Burning the last of his fuel, Rose angled toward the Omnis, vainly searching for Ria

To his surprise, neither Masakarihad turned to face him. He assumed that was because of Bell and Hawg, but he wasn't sure. Perhaps their backs were covered by another force? Knowing he didn't have time to worry about it, Rose triggered his missiles just before the Chargertouched down. Now the two OmniMechs stood between him and the battle lance. He'd just fired the three lasers at the nearest Omni when something thumped against his back. Secondary explosions rocked the Omni, but the Masakarikept firing at Hawg and Bell.

Although Rose had never encountered a Clan Elemental, he knew one had just jumped onto his back. Almost immediately the armor over his right rear torso was breached. He took a step forward and found that his right leg was dragging worse than before. Thumbing the external camera he saw another Elemental burning away the remaining support of his right leg.

His 'Mech was about to fall, and Rose knew it. With his left arm useless and his right arm damaged, he couldn't swat away the Elementals, nor would his damaged right leg let him outrun them. He checked the jump jets, but as expected, they lacked the fuel to get the eighty-ton 'Mech off the ground. The missile launcher came back on-line as Rose resigned himself to his fate. The Chargerwas about to die.

He took a deep breath and fired the long-range missiles at the Masakari.The Artemis fire-control system functioned perfectly, sending all twenty shots into the OmniMech's back. Rose heard metal ripping and then an Elemental claw appeared above the view screen. The secondary screen shorted out in a shower of sparks as the claw ripped through the electronics. The nearest Masakaricrashed into a row of parked cars just before the main viewer exploded. Rose looked up at the widening gap above his head as the Elemental struggled to shove his arm-mounted laser into the breach. He pushed the weapon into the gash as his Point mate finished his work on the right leg.

With a resounding snap, the Charger'sright leg gave way. Rose didn't even try to keep the 'Mech upright. Instead he concentrated on falling forward. The Elemental hesitated, torn between jumping to safety and finishing off the pilot inside. When he finally decided to jump clear, it was too late.

This time, Rose managed to remain conscious and felt every blow his body received on impact. The Chargerbounced slightly and slid a few meters before coming to rest. Rose fumbled with the safety restraints and finally managed to free himself from the harness. Gravity immediately pulled him into the shattered remains of the main viewscreen. He pulled off the neurohelmet and looked around the shattered cockpit. Seeing the protruding laser of the crushed Elemental within easy reach, Rose sat the helmet over the end.

Standing proved more difficult than he imagined, mostly because of the awkward angle, but also because of the pain of the crash and the stiffness that always accompanied too many hours sitting in the command chair. Rose checked that the laser pistol was still on his hip and the boot knife was still strapped to his heavy combat boot. He climbed onto the back of his command chair and reached up for the rear entry hatch. The locking bolts swung back easily, the hatch popping open on the second push.

Rose climbed onto the rear of the Charger'shead and watched Hawg finish off the last Masakariwith a barrage of laser fire. The Bansheewas still standing, but the 'Mech was obviously out of the fight. Even from a distance, Rose could tell that its chest had been pierced in three different locations.

The Elementals had begun ru

That the Marauder IIwas even moving was a surprise. The autoca

Ria

Rose turned and ran toward the BattleMaster,which seemed content to wait for the arrival of the other two 'Mechs. Rose arrived just after those two, and tried vainly to get their attention. He finally succeeded by firing a laser shot into the air in front of Hawg's cockpit. The mercenary looked down at him and finally bent over as he began waving his arms.

"Can you hear me?" Rose raised his voice, but did not quite shout. Hawg lowered his left hand and Rose stepped into the upturned palm.

"Yes, sir. We can all hear you." As the BattleMasterstood up again, Rose had the sinking feeling he always got when riding an express elevator. He let his stomach catch up before he risked speaking. He looked over at the Banshee,and saw Bell emerge from the cockpit to stand on the 'Mech's battered shoulder.

"Pick up Bell and head for ComStar." The Battle-Masterraised its hand toward the Bansheeand Antioch jumped onto the palm. Esmeralda and Ria

"Where's Ajax?" Rose shouted to the wind.

The reply came over the BattleMaster'sexternal speakers. "Ria

"Any word on the situation there?"

"Infantry defense. Looks like some of the more militant members of the Preservationists have taken up residence."

"What about Toads?"

"Looks like the defenders are all local."

Rose turned to Bell and lowered his voice slightly. "How are you doing?"