"Red Leader acknowledges, Blue Leader. Red out." The Red Corsair half-turned back toward him. "Ready for battle, Nelson?"

Outside, through the bubble canopy that covered the enlarged cockpit, Nelson saw smoke and fire from Blue Star's initial engagement with the enemy. He saw several flights of missiles head out away from him, but the alpha point of the salvos moved inexorably closer to the Red Corsair's Star of 'Mechs.

Nelson clenched his teeth. "I assume you want me to keep score for you?"

"Quaint, Nelson." She moved her hands, and the crosshairs centered themselves on the display. "What do you know about Zimmer's Zouaves? They are mercenaries, quiaff?"

"Don't know. Never heard of them."

"They are supposed to be sponsored by the Kell Hounds. You have heard of them?"

Nelson allowed himself a smile. "Yeah, they kicked the Jade Falcons around on Twycross, then busted up the Nova Cats and Smoke Jaguars on Luthien. I've heard of them. They're so tough that the son of their leader became a Khan of the Wolf Clan."

"So, you would expect these Zouaves to be better or worse than you, as Inner Sphere MechWarriors go?" Her radio clicked open. "Red Star, hold your fire until I shoot."

"Not as good."

The running battle kept getting closer. If not for the thick jungle between Red Star and the Zouaves, Nelson knew the raiders could have used their superior Clan technology to pick them apart. He could feel the Red Corsair holding back until the mercenaries were at point-blank range. It was not that she was afraid of missing them, but that she wanted to see the devastation up close.

"Then you would be able to defeat them?"

"With a lance or even-up in firepower, yes."

The Red Corsair hit a switch down below and Nelson's auxiliary and secondary screens started scrolling weapon-readiness data for him to inspect. His hand brushed one of the joysticks and the crosshairs responded to it. "What are you doing?"

"You are my gunner, Nelson."

"No!" Nelson shoved both joysticks forward, making all the 'Mech's weapons point at the ground. "No, I won't do your killing for you."

"If you do not, we will die."

"Then we die."

The Red Corsair's sigh told him he was doomed. "If we die, so do your friends. Spider, Jordan, the lot of them. If we die, I have given orders that they are to be ejected into space."

"You can't. ..."

"I can and have, Nelson." Down below she raised her hands and folded them behind her head. "The weapons are live. The targets are yours. Fire at will."

Nelson looked from the consoles to the holographic display. The Zouaves were falling back in good order, but they were stumbling back into a trap. Attacking them would be a slaughter. Not attacking them would kill his friends. But even fighting against the Zouaves wouldn't guarantee the Red Corsair's survival.

"Think about this, Nelson. For each kill you get, I will release one of your friends."

"And if I kill them all? What is my reward then?"

"A chance to kill more, and if the Wolf Clan arrives in time, a chance to kill some of them."

Nelson sent the BattleMastercrashing forward through the brush. Both arms came up, and the sights tracked with his hand movements. The crosshairs settled on a retreating Griffin .Nelson hit the right trigger and sent a sizzling bolt of azure lightning out from the pistol-like PPC in the 'Mech's right hand.

The particle beam boiled all the armor off the Griffin 'sright arm and started to work on its ferro-titanium bones. When Nelson hit the left trigger, another PPC bolt ripped away great chunks of armor on the Griffin 'schest. Armor vapor wreathed the afflicted 'Mech as the war machine staggered back. The pilot managed to keep it upright, but only just barely, winning both admiration and pity from Nelson.

Two things surprised him in his first attack, and he hated himself for reveling in both discoveries. The first was that the Clan weapons did more damage than even the best weapons manufactured in the Inner Sphere. The devastation wrought on the Griffin was easily half again as much as he would have expected from a comparable Inner Sphere weapon.

The second thing was that the Red Corsair's Battle-Mastercycled heat better than its Inner Sphere counterpart. A normal BattleMasterboasted only one PPC, a weapon prone to running hot. After two PPC blasts he still felt no heat building up. Glancing at the heat monitor, he saw it had not risen past the cautionary yellow zone.

"You are in a real'Mech now, Nelson. You can do more."

Nelson tracked the Griffin again and fired. Both PPCs hit the 'Mech square in the chest. The armor over its heart melted away to nothing, exposing the ribs and internal structures to the particle beam's incendiary caress. A gout of black smoke shot out, followed by a spike of silvery fire. Nelson unconsciously cataloged those as an engine hit and the death of a jump jet, respectively.

The large pulse laser in the BattleMaster'scenter torso spat out a storm of green energy darts, which peppered the Griffin 'snaked right arm. Chipping away at the ferro-titanium shoulder joint, they filled it with fire and it evaporated. The arm dropped off, flames trailing from the glowing end, and started a brushfire.

The Griffin ,reeling from the hammering it had taken, tottered and spun. It landed flat on its back, its head tipped back and staring skyward. The canopy shattered as a string of small explosions around its perimeter blew it away. Up out of that dark hole the pilot blasted free, riding his command couch on a jet of argent flame. Nelson couldn't see the man as he shot up through the dark treetops, but he hoped he had gotten clear.

There, now Spider's free.

All around him Red Star had joined in the fray. Trapped between two opposing forces, Zimmer's Zouaves fought gamely, but the raiders ground them down. With an almost careless pair of shots, Nelson melted a Hermesfrom breastbone to spine, then turned and dueled with a Hunchback.The other 'Mech did some damage, but went down after two exchanges, leaving Nelson with un-breached armor and a hunger for more targets.

As the radio reported all resistance ended, Nelson stared out at the war-battered, early morning landscape.

What had been jungle now resembled a garden plot in which a robotiller had gone mad. Trees that had once stood tall were snapped like so many little twigs. Fires burned everywhere and BattleMech corpses littered the ground like armored knights fallen in some ancient battle.

The Red Corsair shifted control of the 'Mech back to her section of the cockpit, then stood and looked up at him. "Perhaps you were a warrior after all, Nelson. I am impressed. You have done well."

Her tone was patronizing, yet tinged with respect. Nelson at first took pride in her praise, then remembered what he had done to earn it. Those were people onmy side. Not only did I destroy them, but I enjoyed it! This is what it is to lose your compassion.

The Red Corsair resumed her seat in the command couch and refastened the restraining belts. "However, there are more mercenaries to kill. I will show you what a true warrior can do, Nelson, and you will understand why the Inner Sphere can never stop us."

Her arrogance irritated him. "But you said there are Wolves coming after us. The Inner Sphere won't have to stop you, will they?"

"We will see, Nelson. The Wolves are not here yet, nor are they invincible."