The LRMs hammered the bandit 'Mech. Virgin armor cracked and splintered amid the fireballs, the explosions running across the torso and left leg. Armor plates dropped smoking to the ground, but the pilot rode out the assault as if it were little more than a hailstorm.

Nelson nodded to himself in acknowledgment of the skill that let the enemy pilot shoot at two targets while keeping his 'Mech upright after being attacked. Meanwhile a blinking light on his command console told him he had just used the last of the LRM ammo against his red counterpart. All I've got left is shorter-range stuff.

"Spider, take command. Pull out all you can. Run for it." He glanced at his left hand and tightened his grip on the joystick. "I'll buy you some time."

"Don't do anything stupid, Skipper."

"That's an order, Spider." Nelson started his BattleMasterdown the hill toward the red 'Mech. "Besides, if these bandits were really any threat, do you think anyone would send a one-handed Kommandant after them?"

Without waiting for Spider's reply, Nelson opened his radio and sent a widebeam broadcast out to the bandits. "I am Kommandant Nelson Geist of the First Kooken Reserve Militia."

The red BattleMasterstopped and raised both of its PPCs in salute. "And I am the Red Corsair. Your troops were pitiful."

"Then pity them." Nelson kept his crosshairs on the Corsair's BattleMasteras he stepped his 'Mech around the blackened carcass of the Dervish. "They have a half-handed commander and cast-off equipment. They're not prey worthy of the likes of you."

"What would you know of what I am?"

"It's obvious you are a warrior." Things began to click together in Nelson's brain. After the battle of Tukayyid, in which the Clans had been defeated and forced to accept a truce of fifteen years with ComStar, there had been rumors that some Clan warriors had angrily renounced their Clan ties. It was also said that others had revolted and repudiated the truce agreement, setting off minor internal battles within the Clans. Still others had gone renegade, taking their equipment and heading out on the bandit trail. With Kooken's Pleasure Pit so close to the border of the Clan Jade Falcon occupation zone, it had been a convenient target for raids by some of these bandits, but the Rangers had been more than able to handle them. Even when two of the groups had actually made landfall, the Reserves had not been called up.

Nelson kept his 'Mech heading in toward the bandits,with each step closing the distance between him and the Red Corsair. Her troops had stopped their chase, waiting for some sign or signal from her. But Nelson knew that each step he took deeper into danger was one more his troops could take to escape. "I would surmise, from your voice, that you were once Clan."

"I do not recognize your name, Kommandant. Should I?" She spoke the question almost as though it were an order, yet her tone also carried a hint of curiosity.

"I doubt it. The Jade Falcons took half my hand at Wotan." Assuming her equipment wasClan standard, Nelson knew that it would take a series of solid hits to breach her armor. And that would only be possible at pointblank range. "My son, Jon Geist, died on Teniente, in service with the Revenants."

"The Revenants." A harsh burst of brittle laughter echoed through the speakers built into Nelson's neuro-helmet. "The Revenants seriously shamed the Nova Cats when they liberated Hohiro Kurita. Your son died in a glorious battle."

At that moment Nelson saw the rangefinder at the top of his display telling him he was in close enough. Here goes."Yes, it was. Almost as glorious as your defeat at Tukayyid."

Nelson started his BattleMasteroff on a tangent, then twisted the upper body so that the weapons continued to track the Red Corsair's 'Mech. He hit the thumb button on his joystick, launching an SRM flight at her BattleMaster.The missiles shot out from the left side of his 'Mech's chest, spiraling down at the Red Corsair's 'Mech. Fireballs blossomed all over her machine, shredding armor across the chest and arms, then hitting the left leg.

A wave of heat washed up over Nelson as his medium pulse lasers next drilled energy darts into the red 'Mech. One beam sliced huge chunks of armor from the BattleMaster'sleft leg, enlarging the hole made by the missile hits. Melting armor oozed from a hole in the 'Mech's chest, and more ran from the gashes made by hits to either arm.

Glancing at his secondary monitor, Nelson saw that he'd failed to pierce the BattleMaster'sthick hide. His heat registers had spiked up into the yellow range, but his 'Mech's heat sinks had just as quickly brought it back under control. He headed straight at her, swiveling his weapons around even as she also brought her weapons to bear against his machine.

Twin PPC beams leaped from the pistol-like weapons on each of the red BattleMaster'sarms. One missed, but the other wreaked havoc. Crackling static into his earphones, the artificial lightning peeled armor off the left side of his 'Mech's chest. With his auxiliary monitor reporting a 55 percent reduction in protection on that side, Nelson instinctively knew that her one shot had hurt his 'Mech more than all his assaults combined had hurt hers.

It was then he noticed the squat muzzle of a weapon just about where the BattleMaster'snavel would have been if it had one. The muzzle let loose with a blast of green energy darts that stitched their way up the left leg of his 'Mech. The large pulse laser left the armor with steaming pits in it, but the armor held and prevented more serious damage to the 'Mech's internal workings.

As the left leg wobbled, Nelson had to fight both the pull of gravity and the 'Mech's shifting weight to keep the machine upright. Favoring the damaged leg slightly, he pivoted to the right and triggered his weapons. Six more SRMs shot out, but only four hit the target. Armor crumbled on the other 'Mech's left arm, left chest, and right leg, but still showed no breach.

Those four lasers plus the missile damage further burned away the armor protecting the bandit 'Mech. Two sets of ruby needles slashed armor from the chest while the other two sliced half-melted shards of armor from the BattleMaster'slegs. Heat pulsed into his cockpit and the hot air dried his throat. Sweat dripped into his eyes, stinging them, but his gaze never left the image on the projection before him.

"Not bad, Kommandant, but I tire of this game." The Red Corsair's PPCs swung out of line with his 'Mech, but the weapons built into the shoulders and torso all oriented on him like sharks scenting blood. As the Corsair triggered every one of her lasers, Nelson knew in an instant that these bandits were very, very unusual. Her BattleMasterwas configured with nothing but energy weapons, which made it ideal for long campaigns where resupply could be a problem.

The pulse laser in her 'Mech's torso boiled more armor off the left torso of Nelson's, which still boasted a thin layer of armor there, but now had a huge hole in the mid-chest. With her next shot one PPC withered the armor on his machine's left arm, while the other plowed a furrow through his right-leg armor.

Again Nelson struggled to keep his 'Mech standing, but it was no use. As the BattleMasterbegan to fall, the most he could manage was to twist it around so that it would land on its back. He winced as his helmeted head smashed into the back of his command couch, the hot sting of sparks shooting across his bare legs.

Lying there he looked up and saw clear air above his cockpit canopy. With a sudden jolt the truth about these bandits hit him like some kind of divine insight. The next instant came the urgent necessity to escape so he could warn his superiors. They've got to know!"Eject, now!" he commanded the computer.