Heany was pleased by the pilots' precision and adherence to the tactical plan. They were showing better discipline than that crew who had lifted their DropShip at first light, flying too close to Sitika on their way to orbit. As soon as she had time, the entire crew of that DropShip was going on report.

Booming explosions returned Heany's attention to the field. She grinned in savage anticipation. The Drac center was breaking. The Twenty-third had created a corridor through the Kuritan defenses. The Lord provides for she who prepares,Heany thought.

She pushed her Atlasto a run, signaling the rest of her command lance to follow. The Snakes would have to bring in their BattleMechs now. She and the Fourth Skye Rangers would be there to meet them. The battle's climax was to hand.

Half an hour later, her hopes were confirmed. The Fourth Skye engaged what she estimated as half the remaining Kurita 'Mechs. The fighting was sharp, exhilarating. The Kuritans retreated, falling back on a position defended by the rest of the Legion. She watched the Orionthat intel had identified as Theodore Kurita's own machine leading the fight.

Under fire from the entrenched BattleMechs, the Skye Rangers advanced. Heany was pleased with their elan. They reached the Kurita battle line with minimal damage. Hunicutt's Quickdrawwas first to reach the line. That was no surprise. The Sergeant's preference for close-in combat was legendary in the Fourth Skye.

The Quickdrawcame in on a Dragonfrom the left. The Ranger must have surprised the Snake, for the Kurita 'Mech made no effort to turn and face the Quickdraw.Hunicutt ripped off a flight of short-range missiles as he closed. Without waiting to see the results of his attack, he charged in.

Smoke from the detonations of the rockets screened Heany's vision momentarily. As soon as it cleared, the Hauptmann-Kommandant was shocked to see the Quickdrawstanding in a pile of scrap metal. Impossible! The Dragonwas a sixty-ton BattleMech. Even Hunicutt's close-combat ability could not destroy a 'Mech that fast.

The Dragonwas a fake, a decoy! All across the Kurita position, Heany could see Ranger 'Mechs discovering the same thing. Some had punched through sheet metal, shattering light metal structures built to resemble BattleMechs. Within those Trojan horses, infantry gunners and rocket teams had sheltered, simulating the firepower of BattleMechs. Only a few of the shapes in the position were real 'Mechs, and those were crippled, unable to escape the Ranger machines and incapable of utilizing more than a fraction of their weaponry.

She had been fooled again.

Heany ran a full scan of the area. Radar picked out a flock of targets moving southeast between the hills, headed toward the cursed forest. She focused the visual scanners on them: ten Kurita BattleMechs led by a drab green Orion.

"Oh, no, you Satan-driven Snake!" Heany shouted. "Not this time."

She was ready for that trick, at least. She opened the channel to the Ranger fire base. "Achtung! Achtung!Fire mission six-three-three. Execute now!"

Leading the Ranger 'Mechs in pursuit of the fleeing Kuritans, she awaited the results of her order. They would not get away this time.

The first artillery shell streaked in two minutes later, splintering into bomblets as it fell. The ground erupted in front of the Kurita 'Mechs. More shells followed, throwing the landscape skyward to join the atmosphere.

Heany watched the Oriongo down within the hell of the artillery barrage. Got you! "Achtung!Cancel fire mission six-three-three. Repeat, cancel fire mission."

Two minutes later, the ground ceased its shaking. In the morass of torn dirt, Kurita BattleMechs lay battered and dismembered. Alloy bones showing through torn armor skin, the Orionwas sprawled on its back.

Heany was surprised when her comm panel indicated a microwave transmission emanating from the fallen 'Mech. As she tuned in the channel, her video screen brightened with a picture.

The MechWarrior in the cockpit of the Orionhad removed his neurohelmet, a sign of submission because he would not be able to control his 'Mech without it. His grime-smeared face was scarred and he wore a red scharacki feather in his right ear. White teeth shone amid a halo of black stubble as he grinned at her.

"Ohayo,Hauptmann-Kommandant Heany. Tai-saKurita regrets he could not attend your party. But don't be upset. He ain't got enough hair on his chest to keep you Elsie gals happy, so I stayed to be sure ya got taken care of. Come and get me!"

Heany smashed her fist into the screen, her Sanglamore class ring scarring the plastic surface. Where in the cursed galaxy was Theodore Kurita? How could he have escaped her again?

28

Nadir Jump Point, Marfik System

Dieron Military District, Draconis Combine

1 October 3028

"Captain."

Walter Garrett felt Hans Alders' hand on his shoulder and wished he did not.

"Captain, you told me to wake you before docking."

"You did, Hans. You did," Garrett mumbled. "What's the status?"

"We're two hours from zero point on this leg. Hauptmann-Kommandant Heany's DropShip will intercept that position in 128 minutes. I've delayed the restart on gravity maneuvering until after docking."

"We're going to have trouble if their comm is still screwed."

The DropShip's comm laser had been destroyed in the fighting, and the radio was only working fitfully. Even the IFF transponder was putting out a garbled message, but it was enough to recognize the DropShip as one of their own. Not that there was much chance that it was a ruse; system command had not reported any Kurita DropShips in space since the week after the invasion and all of the Legion's DropShips had been captured at Massingham.

"It's still malfunctioning, Captain. Their Techs can't seem to trace the problem. But I had an idea about that. Sure surprised me when they agreed; I never thought those

MechJocks would agree to let a Navy man touch their controls."

Garrett shook his head in confusion, the motion sending him into the bunk's restraining straps. He was still muddled from sleep, exhausted from the long duty shifts necessitated by the Kit Carson'sshort-handed crew. He understood the importance of the Pony Express system of which his JumpShip was a part. The system was named after an ancient Terran mail-carrying network that once served the vast western frontier of North America. Instead of horsemen relaying across the plains, there were JumpShips playing tag across the stars, transferring data pulses and DropShips to keep information flowing from the front to the high commander and back again.

The method was expensive, but more secure and dependable than the ComStar-controlled Hyperpulse Generators that carried normal interstellar communications. Though the HPG was quick, a message might sit at a ComStar station for weeks until a batch accumulated. Cutting ComStar out of the loop had also enabled the Steiner-Davion Alliance to achieve the surprise that had so shocked the Draconis Combine. But the system meant short crews. Secrecy had demanded that military crews be shifted to the civilian ships requisitioned for the war. Garrett knew it was necessary, but his body objected. He was getting too old for constant duty watch.

"Just what are you talking about, Hans?"

"I've sent Leutnant Morrison out in the Lucifer.He's got Alaric Gerhardt with him. Morrison can put into their Aerospace Fighter bay easier than they can dock with us. Once Alaric is aboard, he can eyeball the ship in. I thought the Carson would be safer that way; we don't have to worry about damage from an incompetent docking."