"Alpin's dead. The fool dueled the rebel commander and got himself killed. Half my troops are pulling—"

Parella's channel broke up into static again.

The sound of missile launchers from the edge of the facility announced what Elson assumed was the resumption of the battle. He was wrong.

Small hovercraft shot from behind the screen of buildings, then zoomed out across the open terrain. Missiles from Elson's troopers chased them but impacted well short of the fast-moving craft. Elson tapped his magnification up and stared at the things. Each vehicle—if such skeletal structures could be called vehicles—was little more than an open framework wrapped around a fusion engine and ground-effect ducting. Each carried a Point of Elementals. He remembered seeing plans for the things, but he had not known any had been completed. Blackwell Corporation was only in the prototype stage. Then he realized that these must be the prototypes and knew what Wolf had done.

Wolf had raided the Blackwell facility, taking the prototypes for his own use and creating a fast-strike force. There were not more than six Stars worth of Elementals, a far smaller force than Elson had estimated. The fast hovercraft explained how so few Elementals could seem like so many. Using these vehicles the Elementals had mobility far beyond the norm, allowing thetn to shift up and down the battlefront with ease.

Elson wished that he had thought to raid the Black-well facility. But wishes did not win battles. Even though there was no way his Elementals could pursue effectively, he gave the order as he clambered down to join his Point. He led them out across the arid terrain, bouncing in pursuit of the vehicle-borne troopers, themselves closing rapidly on Fancher's forces.

He would not be left out of this battle.

Static-chopped communications told him when the zooming hovercraft had reached the Beta 'Mechs and deposited their passengers among them. The fleeing 'Mechs had turned to fight as well. Wolf had effectively separated the Beta 'Mechs from their Elemental support. What might be the last battle of the campaign was underway, and Elson was too far away to affect it.

He raged and cursed. But neither made him feel better.

"We've got another 'Mech force approaching," Fancher reported. Her voice was faint, almost unintelligible through the jamming, but even so Elson shivered when he heard the next words. "Frak! It's Wolf!"

The Wolf had come out of hiding and committed his last forces.

Elson pushed his suit's jump jets to maximum thrust. This surely was the final battle.

51

Dechan watched as Maeve displayed her victory. Her own troops were cheering on the open frequency. Snatches of outrage, frustration, and confusion came through on the Gamma frequencies. One officer was insistently calling for his unit to back off, claiming that the battle was over.

Carter's Caesarstomped up beside Dechan's Black Knight.

"Well, is that decisive enough for you?"

"Not yet."

Beyond the Thunderbolt,Dechan could see the remainder of Alpin's command Star shifting. Parella's Mad Catstrutted forward toward the site of the duel. In a few minutes he would have the T-boltwithin range of his long-range missiles. Sparks danced around the muzzles of the fully charged PPCs in the Mad Cat'sbulky forearms.

The duel had ended with Maeve at such a distance from her troops that they wouldn't be able to aid her against the oncoming Omnis for at least ten minutes. Kappa Battalion was closer; they could be on her as fast as the Omnis. If she went down, the rebel resistance would collapse.

Dechan throttled up the Black Knight,heading it down the slope toward the Thunderbolt.

"Give the order, Major Carter," he said into the microphone. One hand tapped last-second corrections into his battle computer while the other adjusted commo frequencies. The jolting run of the Knightmade him miss several codes on the first try, but he kept punching until he got it right.

Behind him, the 'Mechs of Kappa Battalion started to move.

The Thunderbolt'storso rotated until it faced Kappa, then stood motionless for a moment. Had the 'Mech been a human soldier, Dechan would have said it stood still in shock at the sight of a new threat approaching. Its pilot was no novice, though. More likely, she was assessing her position, noting how far she was from the other 'Mechs of her battlegroup. The T-bolt'supper structure tilted as the arm holding Alpin's body reached down. The limp form rolled from the battle fist and onto the ground next to the wrecked Thor.Then the Thunderboltcrouched down.

Dechan lost sight of Gamma's Command Lance as he hit the lower reaches of the slope; he no longer had the height to see over the buildings. He estimated no more than a minute before they cleared the outer fringes of structures and got an open field of fire on the Thunderbolt.Parella wouldn't be accepting any challenges; he would finish Maeve off with the massed firepower he and his companies would apply.

But Dechan would be there first.

The fluttering tone of the frequency searcher merged into a clear, single note.

"Company coming," he transmitted. "Run, if you can.

The Thunderboltshifted to the left, moving slightly behind the downed Thor.Poor cover at best. Dechan shook his head, or would have had there been room for it inside the neurohelmet.

Parella's Mad Catappeared, a Thorby its side.

Dechan opened fire. The Knight'stwin torso-mounted McCorkel lasers lanced their beams in deadly coordination with the manmade lightning from the

Magna HellStar PPC on the pylon mount along the 'Mech's right arm. Heat suffused the cockpit, instantly evaporating the sweat from Dechan's exposed arms and legs. The pumps circulating cooling fluid through his vest whined in protest as they kicked into high gear. It was dangerous, unloading with all the Knight'sheavy armament at once, but this was no time for subtlety.

All three weapons scored on the Mad Cat.

The solid shot from the Gauss cannon on Carter's Caesarboomed past the Mad Catand slammed into the Thor'sright arm. Armor cracked and the arm swung down, broken and useless. Carter's PPC blast crackled harmlessly past.

Dechan cut right, away from the Thunderbolt,to avoid the Mad Cat'sreturn fire. He mostly succeeded. Two particle beams caught him, devouring armor from the Knight'sleft side. There was no breach, but Dechan couldn't afford to take another hit there.

The lead 'Mechs of Kappa opened fire on the rest of the Command Star as it came into view. The damaged Thor,exposed the longest, took crippling damage. The Mad Cattook a pounding as well, but Parella was a superb pilot. He kept the 'Mech on its feet despite the vicious barrage assailing it. Parella was no fool, either; he knew a hopeless fight when he was in one. The Mad Catbackpedaled into cover while he screamed for his Star to retreat.

"Keep on them," Carter urged Kappa.

Dechan fired a few more shots at the retreating Beta 'Mechs, but he didn't join the pursuit. There were more than enough 'Mechs to handle Parella and any impromptu defense he could throw up. The Beta frequencies were in chaos; there would be no organizing them for a while. Kappa's shift in sides was fatal to the battle plan. Dechan turned his attention to the Thunderbolt.It was standing upright and facing in his direction.

"Are you all right?" he asked over the battlegroup's tactical frequency.

"Well enough," she replied. "You sure know how to make a flashy entrance, stranger."