"That's fair. They're in, but don't expect to see much of them. We've got Green Sector to ourselves, Khan's orders."

"Right."

"Right," she agreed sarcastically.

Dechan saluted and left the trailer. He found Carter where he had left him and told him the news. They had a staff conference, passed their readiness check on to headquarters, and saddled up. They had to wait an hour longer until Lee and the less professional hire-ons of Iota Battalion were ready.

Once moving, Dechan had his comm officer feed him constant updates from the scout reports. He noticed that one lance missed the 1500 report, but nothing from command indicated that they suspected trouble. The Hannovassian Highlands were notorious for causing erratic breaks in communications. Dechan remembered that the lance in question was on the right flank and thought the communications break entirely too convenient. He called up a map on his battle computer. Knowing that the Dragoon command had edited the tactical display, he hoped it didn't leave out anything vital. What he saw was worrisome enough. The missing lance might be dead and gone; their advance would have taken them into prime ambush terrain.

When Wolf's armored formations were reported just to the right of Iota's line of advance, Alpin ordered the recon elements to withdraw toward the column. The map already before him, Dechan spotted a route to a strong support position and gave the necessary orders to his command. He barely noticed Alpin ordering Iota into battle formations.

Dechan moved his 'Mech into a position from which he could watch the mercs of Iota deploy. Their formations were ragged and sloppy. Were he feeling charitable, he might have attributed the disorderliness to insufficient practice; the battalion was only recently assembled from a number of smaller, previously independent units and individual mercenary MechWarriors. Many of the pilots didn't understand tactics beyond those of a lance; many more had never experienced actions on a scale larger than a company or two.

One lance surged forward suddenly and Dechan had to increase his magnification before he could make out the target toward which they raced: Wolf's tanks. The mercs engaged at long range, their missiles falling among the tanks to send up gouts of dust and, once, a billowing column of oily smoke. Apparently lacking the armament to reply, the tanks bore in. The 'Mechs added PPC and laser fire to their barrage as they closed. When the tanks finally replied, it was to little effect. Their weapons chewed at the 'Mechs, but the faster, more agile battle machines were difficult targets. The tanks were forced to withdraw after heavy losses when Iota began a general advance.

Dechan brought his battalion forward into another over-watch position. Iota was well engaged with Wolf's armor. In closer, where their heavier tanks could catch the 'Mechs, the tankers were doing better. Dechan watched as a Demolishertank roiled out of a concealed position to blast a mere Warhammerin the side. The volley from the heavy tank's massive twin auto-cannons rocked the seventy-ton 'Mech onto one leg. Smoke and flames streaming from the gaping cavities on its torso, the 'Mech crashed to the ground, Iota's first loss. The Demolishercrew paid for their victory with their lives as the Warhammerslancemates concentrated their fire on the tank.

When black BattleMechs appeared on the right flank, Dechan knew that the recon lance would be making no more reports: they had walked into the web and the spiders had gobbled them. The black 'Mechs were moving at high speed when they opened on Iota Battalion.

"Frak!" somebody said over Kappa's command channel. "They've got Clan tech."

Dechan saw that it was true. The black 'Mechs danced at the fringes of the effective ranges of Iota's 'Mechs. While Iota's shots were falling short or striking with insufficient energy to penetrate a BattleMech's armor, the black 'Mechs were scoring hits. In short order Iota's right flank crumbled under the assault.

Dechan scanned the terrain between his battalion and the black attackers. It was rough, some of it even classified as impassable. It would take time for his battalion to get into an effective attack position. By the time they did, the Spider Web would just as likely have pushed Iota back, or even broken them. He was more worried by the fact that he could not confirm enough black 'Mechs to account for more than half a battalion. He was sure there had to be more ambushers.

Alpin was on the command channel screaming for information. Iota's commanders seemed to be too busy with their battle, so Dechan reported the situation. Describing the approach Kappa Battalion would have to take, he made it clear that adding Kappa to the battle would imperil the unit without any guarantee of success. He was surprised when Alpin agreed.

"Beta's Second Battalion is moving up to engage," the Khan told him. "You will hold while Third Battalion moves behind you to take their flank."

"Affirmative," Dechan replied. He had no desire to lead his battalion into the teeth of a Clan tech trap.

Alpin's strategy might have worked, given time, but Iota was the wrong unit for buying time. As Dechan watched, the battalion, broken into its constituent parts, streamed away from the battlefield. The Schismatic forces didn't pursue. Instead, fast hovercraft skimmed around the field, searching for surviving crewmen. Several black 'Mechs raced in and inspected the downed mercenary BattleMechs. They selected three of the least damaged ones and began to drag them away, including one that had apparently shut down from heat overload. The pilot ejected when a Spider's Web Grasshoppergrabbed his machine, but a hovercraft was waiting for him when his parachute drifted to earth. The retreating Wolf forces had claimed him. The Spider's Web was through fighting for the day, and that suited Dechan just fine.

* * *

I didn't want to be where I was. Outside of my Loki,I felt cut off, out of touch with everything. I knew Alpin's forces had landed in the Outback and were making their first probes. Maeve's battalion had been sent to reinforce the Home Guard forces in Green Sector.

I was worried. Green Sector would be a high-priority target for Alpin's forces. The fighting would get hot there. It was where I should have been, but the Wolf had other plans, as always. I prayed that my reunion with Maeve wouldn't be over before it had a chance to blossom.

I worried so much that I forgot where I was.

A cardinal sin for a warrior.

I nearly walked into the guard pacing his watch along the perimeter of the Blackwell facility. Black-well Corporation, despite the long association with Jaime Wolf and all the success they owed to him, had taken Chandra's path. They were officially neutral in this conflict, cutting both sides off from supplies and new equipment until the matter was settled. The Wolf was unhappy about their stance, but Blackwell's president was livid. Gerald Kearne was an ardent Elson supporter, who tried and failed to persuade Black-well's board of directors to back Alpin with full support.

The guard reacted by rote when he saw me. He called for me to stand still as he raised his rifle. I complied, but I wasn't sure he would hold his fire. He looked very nervous, and I looked like a black-suited saboteur carrying a bomb.

He didn't shoot.

His mistake. A massive, dark blur suddenly roared out of the culvert twenty meters behind me. It rocketed into the guard, spilling him into the electrified fence. The man's body convulsed when it hit, muscles jerking spasmodically as the current jolted through him. Brilliant red laser fire seared from the culvert and cut through one of the fence posts. The post collapsed and wires parted. As the power died, the guard slumped to the ground.