On the left Victor saw Shin's Griffin get hit by one of two long-range missile flights from Galen's Crusader.Most of the missiles flew right over their target as Shin ducked his 'Mech forward and cut to the left. Explosions peppered the center and right side of the chest, chipping away at armor. The Griffin 'sleft arm caught a number of missiles, but suffered no more than a few lost armor plates.

From the Griffin 'sright chest a flight of LRMs tracked back toward the Crusader,hammering into the center of the Crusader'schest, crushing armor. In return the Griffin 'spistollike particle projection cannon shot out a jagged line of azure fire, flaying half-melted armor from the Crusader'sright arm, but failing to breach the protection.

Victor brought his Daishiupright, turning to present his left side to the Masakari.He knew he was facing Ranna in the other Clan OmniMech, and his admiration for her skill outweighed his outrage and fear. Again her PPCs and a large laser tried to finish the job they had started on the Prometheus' right leg, but Victor's maneuver kept the limb hidden and her shots missed.

Victor swung the Omni around and smiled. This time it will be my turn.

Before he could bring his weapons to bear on her, the Centurionand the Wolfhoundwent at it again. The two 'Mechs closed and Victor's auxiliary screen reported that both were grossly overheating. In a normal battlefield situation the 'Mechs would have been so damaged that retreat would be the first thing on either pilot's mind, but not so here. A Khan of the Wolf Clan fighting against the Champion of Solaris. A bootleg battle ROM of this fight would be worth a fortune in broadcast rights.

The Centurionfired its two pulse lasers at the same time that the Wolfhoundused its remaining pulse laser and the large laser in its right arm. The Centurion'slasers bored in through the open right side of the Wolfhound'schest. Victor saw the computer project pieces of skeletal structure flying out through the greasy black smoke that marked another hit to the engine.

The Wolfhound'stwo lasers shot through where the Centurion'sright arm should have been, the beams surgically carving away at the Edasich 200 XL engine that powered the 'Mech. The ruby bolts from the medium laser in the Wolfhound'schest coaxed a puff of dense smoke as it cored into the controller maintaining the magnetic shielding around the Centurion'sfusion engine.

Like mirror images, both 'Mechs showed an unholy white light igniting in the hollow cavities of their chests. The computer faithfully displayed how the fusion reaction, freed of its shields, expanded and consumed any and all available fuel. The boiling plasma spheres swelled, then exploded up through the head and shoulders of the 'Mechs they had powered. With black roiling clouds marking the fireballs' subsequent explosions, the 'Mechs' legs fell into a mutual tangle at the base of the hill.

Victor saw the flash of weapons and knew that both Galen and Shin had inflicted more damage on each other, but neither of their 'Mechs went down. That helped ease the loss of Kai and his Centurion,but not much because the Masakarifired on him again. Victor knew he'd only have one chance coming back, so he let the Masakarihave it with everything in the Daishi'sarsenal.

The Gauss cannon sent a silvery slug sizzling into the Masakari'schest, gouging out a huge chunk of armor over the 'Mech's heart. One of the three large pulse lasers in the Daishi'sright arm missed its target, but the other two hit hard. One scored a glowing scar in the armor on the Masakari'sleft breast, while the second punched straight through the armor in the middle. Flame shot out of the flamer muzzle, and Victor's auxiliary screen reported heat rising in the enemy 'Mech.

One of Victor's two Streak SRM systems failed to lock onto the target, but the other succeeded and fired a full spread of missiles at the Masakari.They peppered it with fiery blossoms, battering the armor and dropping it in steaming chips onto the ground. Though the SRMs did not seem to do much damage, they helped further unbalance a 'Mech already hammered by the Gauss cannon and large pulse lasers. Victor smiled as the Masakaribegan to topple, but his joy died as he realized that soon he would be joining it.

Both of the Masakari'sPPCs and its large pulse lasers successfully hit the Daishi'sdamaged right leg, evaporating the last bit of armor like a water droplet on a hot griddle. The four energy beams combined to melt the leg clean away. Myomer muscles bubbled and exploded. The ferro-titanium femur glowed white-hot before it became transparent and insubstantial.

Their energy insufficiently spent, the beams tracked upward. Burning through the remnants of armor on the Daishi'sright side, they touched off an explosion of the anti-missile system's ammo. The concussion panels in his command couch smashed into Victor's back and neurohelmet, momentarily disorienting him. The cockpit whirled him around as if his 100-ton war machine were a rag doll caught in a cyclone, then unceremoniously bashed him again as the 'Mech pounded into the ground.

Victor shook his head to clear it and found himself hanging from the restraining straps of the command couch. Focusing beyond the holographic display that showed the Masakarigetting back to its taloned feet, he saw only blackness through the viewports. His eyes confirmed what gravity had already told him—that his 'Mech had landed face-down in the dirt. With only one leg and my right-side armor breached front and back, there's no way I can continue the fight.

Glancing at the approaching Masakariin the display, he mentally amended that idea. And there's no way Ranna is going tolet me continue the fight. I can't even punch out!

Leaving no doubt as to why the BattleMech had ruled warfare since its creation six centuries earlier, the Masakariconcentrated all four of its guns on the downed Daishi.Aiming in deliberate and well-practiced moves that showed Victor why the Clans had so easily swept through the Inner Sphere, the Masakariopened the Daishi'sback like a coroner doing an autopsy. The PPC bolts fried structural stabilizers while the lasers sliced through ferro-titanium ribs.

The lasers freed the Daishi'sfusion engine from its mountings. It dropped down, the safeguards in it snuffing the reaction before it could explode. As if the Masakarihad pulled the Daishi'sheart out, Victor's 'Mech shuddered once, then all the monitors died, leaving him hanging in a hot, dark cocoon.

The deathly stillness pressed in on him, then he shook his head. The only advantage we ever had in fighting the Clans was that they always played by a rigid set of rules that gave us a tactical edge. If they ever come to embrace the flexibility that Phelan and the others showed here, Ragnar won't be the only Prince of the Inner Sphere sporting a bondcord.

8

Arc-Royal

Federated Commonwealth

16 April 3055

Though he knew better, Phelan couldn't resist a cocky smile as he entered the reception room. He raised Ranna's left hand in his right and kissed it, then winked back at Ragnar. "The Wolves have done well this day. We have good reason to be proud."

Ranna nodded and tugged at the hem of her black jacket. "That is true, my Khan, but were our opponents Smoke Jaguars or Snow Ravens, we would not lord our victory over them, quiaff?"