It was a moment before he realized that she was in the act of saving him. The bitch Joanna was rescuing him! Stealing the kill. The Dire Wolfpilot ejected high out of his 'Mech just as the entire machine seemed to dissolve in a series of small explosions. Aidan raged with anger and frustration, but he fought to regain control. By her action, Joanna was making it possible for him to continue with his mission and to come out of it with even greater glory.

Quickly checking his damage on his secondary screen, he saw that one of the Dire Wolfblasts had disabled his right arm with its PPC. That weapon had been a major part of his plan because of its accuracy, so now he would have to rely on missiles, plus whatever damage his left-arm autocannon could do.

No matter. If his plan was good, he would win even with all his weapons disabled. If it was not, he deserved to become ashes that would scatter over the battlefield or be lifted by the breeze into the murky atmosphere of Blood Swamp.

* * *

Lanja took note of the trio of BattleMechs that had broken from the Clan Wolf line to take care of the intruders from the swamp. Taking advantage of the confusion, she timed her jump-jet leap with the kind of precision for which Elementals were so famous. She rose swiftly to the back of a passing Wolf Executioner,and sank the claw of her battle suit's left arm into a joint between the armor plates. Jamming her laser into the crack, she pumped megajoules of energy into the interior of her victim. Then some sixth sense inborn to Elementals made her suddenly whirl and jet off the 'Mech, jumping as far away as possible. Hitting the ground, she went into a long roll that took her behind a knoll.

From there she watched the Executioner'sback explode outward in a gout of flame as its ammunition erupted. For a moment, the 'Mech continued forward, then its left leg shuddered and collapsed, throwing the 'Mech sideways. She had expected it to fall immediately, but the expert pilot inside stubbornly refused to eject and kept his machine going in a stumbling, sideways stagger. It was moving in Lanja's general direction.

Lanja realized immediately that she had miscalculated. As the 'Mech teetered and began to fall, it was coming right down at her. She tried to leap again, but her jump jets had lost too much charge.

As the huge machine bore down to crush her, she stared up at it in horror, but made no sound. Elementals did not scream.

* * *

Pershaw, knowing Lanja's plan, kept track of her on one screen while watching Jorge on another. At the same time, he was able to fire off a cluster round at an advancing Ice Ferret.The Clan Wolf 'Mech had stopped firing, however, its PPC hanging uselessly from its left arm and its right-arm missile box open and empty. It was a child's target. Pershaw would gain no honor from finishing it off, but neither did he want to lose his blood heritage.

The Ice Ferretretreated, but not fast enough to evade Pershaw's incessant autocannon assault. He also saw Jorge, who had nearly been knocked out of the action, now advancing toward the command dome while another warrior finished off the 'Mech that had nearly taken Jorge. At the same time, two more BattleMechs from the opposite flank were closing in on him.

He saw which of these 'Mechs Lanja had targeted. Pleased, he watched her ascend the 'Mech's leg, while he simultaneously fired the shots that sent the Ice Ferretcrashing to the ground. He watched the explosions form a garter of smoke around the 'Mech leg, then saw the machine begin to descend to the ground. Before it crashed, Pershaw realized that the Elemental beneath it was Lanja. It looked as though she was trying to get out of its way, but some debris falling from the 'Mech obscured his view just before it hit the ground.

Pershaw's mouth felt dry as he realized that Lanja, his aide and lover, was most likely dead. Then he focused his attention back on the battle, watching Jorge's advance with single-minded concentration.

* * *

Aidan's concentration was just as fierce. He was aware of other things happening on the field, but he chose not to interpret them. He fired a stream of missiles at the command dome. Apparently someone there was tracking them and had engaged a static anti-missile system located just on the other side of the dome. It took care of the missiles easily, but a few pieces of shrapnel did some damage falling on the dome. He had not figured on the ground anti-missile setup, but neither could he have foreseen the damage the falling shrapnel would do. He fired off another cluster, which the anti-missile system countered a bit more quickly, so that less shrapnel fell on the dome. But enough did hit the dome, making the cracks wider. Through his viewport, Aidan glimpsed movement in the dome, cool technicians busy getting control of their side of the battle. There was no time to lose.

"Aidan!" It was Joanna, and the damned woman had used the wrong name. Had anyone heard her? When she used the name a second time, he had to answer. All he needed was for the shrewd Kael Pershaw to overhear and start asking questions.

"What is it, Joanna?" He deliberately did not use her rank in retaliation for her lapse of judgment. If she noticed the insult, her voice gave no indication.

"You are under attack. To your right, an Ice Ferret! "

She was right. And it was close.

He estimated that he had just enough time to get to the command dome before the Clan Wolf 'Mech could do any real damage. Simultaneously with the thought, he engaged his own anti-missile system to destroy a rather weakly launched cluster of missiles.

There was no time to counterattack the Ice Ferret.He had to complete his mission. The Clan Wolf pilot could do what he wanted. Aidan must take the chance that it would not be enough damage to block him from his objective.

* * *

Piloting the Ice Ferret,Craig Ward was both angry and puzzled. The guerrilla-like tactics of the Jade Falcon Clan seemed unfair, though he knew that Clan warfare did not acknowledge any tactic as unfair.

He was beginning to think that these Jade Falcons were lucky, damned lucky. But buzzards might have been a better name, for falcons had too much nobility. The enemy should never have been able to survive the Wolf Clan onslaught for this long, yet they had. They should not have had enough firepower left to destroy the other two members from his Star who had been detached to handle this attack, but they had. Now this damned pilot in his damned Summonerwas firing off rounds at the communications dome. So far he had not made a major hit, but with luck going the way it was for the buzzards, Craig Ward began to fear that this enemy 'Mech, this monster that had risen from the murk of the swamp, was about to get even luckier.

Furiously, and without the tactical wisdom that he usually displayed, Craig Ward raised his Ice Ferret'sright arm and launched a pair of missiles at the Summoner.

* * *

Aidan, his attention too divided, did not activate his anti-missile system in time. Both missiles struck the side of his 'Mech, with some severe damage to its already gouged torso. Another strike might explode the whole 'Mech with a direct hit on the fusion engine. He had to get the dome now.

Advancing, he managed to shoot down another flight of missiles from the Ice Ferret.The next one, he realized suddenly, he could use to his own advantage.

Ripping at the dome with his autocannon, he visited more wreckage to its roof. From the other side, some Wolf Elementals desperately fired off their arm-mounted lasers. Short-range missiles leaped from their backs toward the Summoner.Their shots were low, he noticed, but they were chipping pieces off his leg armor.