"Roger, Carew."

The Clan pilot switched his HUD to ground mode and kicked his Visigothover into a steep, wide bank. His computer showed him the location of Phelan's Star and the reported position of the ComStar armor. He set a course that connected the two lines, then dove the Visigothuntil he screamed in at 650 knots only 500 meters above the ground.

For a millisecond, the ComStar armor flashed as viable targets on his HUD, but his finger hit the trigger buttons while they still remained on holograph. The PPC and twin medium lasers mounted in his nose backlit his canopy with a reddish-purple glow. Two flights of LRMs streaked out from the wing-mounted launchers and actually dropped his speed by 40 knots.

As the heat spiked in his cockpit, he hauled back on his stick and pointed the Visigothinto the sky. With a flip to the left, he spun the aerospace fighter into a barrel roll that took him out along a course at right angles to his strafing run. As he righted himself again, he switched his HUD over to air-to-air mode and saw Virgil begin his run.

Warning klaxons started going off in Carew's cockpit. Instantly he spotted the fast-approaching pair of ComStar fighters. His computer immediately identified them as Rapiers,which meant he and Virgil were in for a nasty dogfight. "Break off, Virgil, we have company."

* * *

Explosions still ringing in his ears, Acolyte R. G. Flute tightened the restraining strap holding him in the turret gunner's seat of the Rhino. "Dammit, that run melted armor and it's congealed in my turret, drive. Anderson, get us ready to move because we're only going to be able to shoot at what you point us at."

"No can do, Acolyte. I've got a damaged track. We're not going anywhere."

"Agree, Fury One is untouched, but Fury Two has a turret lock. Burke One is in the same shape we are, Burke Two lost armor, and Burke Three lost its missiles and one of the PPCs." The radioman craned his neck back and peered up into the turret past Flute's feet. "They want to know what to do."

"Fight! What else is there to do here? Peace of Blake be with you, boys," the Acolyte intoned solemnly. "Here they come."

* * *

Phelan had his Wolfhoundup and cruising in toward the gap as Virgil swooped in toward the pass. The second Visigothlet go with his PPC and lasers, but broke off in mid-run. The MechWarrior knew of only one thing that could possibly make a fighter stop a strafing run. That was the arrival of enemy fighters, and with memories of his bloodfight against Glynis flashing at the back of his mind, he did not want ComStar to return the favor of a strafing run on his 'Mechs.

Sprinting into the pass, Phelan saw how much damage Quarrel Flight had done to the tanks, and whispered a prayer to help Carew and Virgil in their battle with the ComStar fighters. Everything save one of the Furies looked as if it had been attacked with a blowtorch. Fire-blackened armor crisscrossed with laser and PPC scars covered the turrets and front ends of the vehicles. None had been destroyed by the run, but five of six had been softened up.

I hope that's enough.

Up over him soared the Summonerand Viper.Thea's Summonersent two flights of LRMs streaking down at the Rhino. Over half of them impacted the ground in front of the hulking vehicle, but the remaining missiles further savaged the armor on the tank's nose.

The Rhino's gunner tracked the missile pods up and sent a full forty missiles back at the Summoner.His hurried aim and difficulty following the flight meant only a quarter of them hit their target. Explosions fragmented armor on the Summoner'sleft arm and left leg. Nothing got through the armor, but any damage on 'Mechs so lightly armored hurt significantly, especially with the Furies and Burkes still operational.

Ace piloted his Viperwith such skill that Phelan thought it could as easily have been a giant alien lifeform rather than a BattleMech. The squat juggernaut stabbed its left-arm PPC at the Rhino and sent a sizzling beam into the vehicle's front armor. The beam of a medium pulse laser, mounted on the underside of the 'Mech's right forearm joined the larger light shaft and punched through.

A single flash spit fire back out through the front of the craft, then a fireball ripped it apart from inside. Like an escape pod, the turret jetted straight up into the air. Before it reached the apex of its arc, the missiles in the starboard launcher cooked off and imparted a backward spin to the turret. It slammed into the mountainside, then tumbled back out of sight.

Somewhere beyond that something else exploded, but Phelan had no time to figure out what it was. He dodged to the left as one of the Burkes tried to impale him with a pair of azure PPC beams. They shot wide, but his evasive maneuver spoiled his aim against the damaged Fury. His large laser beam and two of the medium pulse laser beams chewed up the dirt in front of the Fury. Only one of the beams hit and it just blistered off more front armor.

* * *

Initiate Elza Speer hauled back on both drive controls for the damaged Fury. On the holographic display surrounding her, she saw the golden crosshairs hanging in the center. Letting the left control slip forward for a second, she brought the cross to bear on the Wolfhoundleading the charge.

"I lined him up for you, Perry. Bring him down."

* * *

The Fury's Gauss rifle pulsed out a silvery ball that caught the Wolfhoundjust below its right knee. Grinnerhalf-stumbled in that direction, but Phelan fought gravity and kept the machine upright. Stravag! One more hit like that and. I lose this leg."Let's shut these Furies down."

The Clan Novalooked to Phelan like nothing so much as a large, aerodynamic toad bred for combat. The cylindrical autocannon that made up its right arm sent a stream of slugs tracing a straight line through the dirt up to the undamaged Fury, but never actually hit it. The Nova's LRM swarm overshot the autocannon shells and wreathed the Fury's turret with fire.

Apparently that attack did not impress the Fury's crew. The turret swung around with ease and sent a Gauss rifle ball out to shatter the armor on the Nova'sleft leg. Though the 'Mech had more armor than Phelan's Wolfhound,the pilot realized that another shot in that leg from any of the weapons left operational would strip the leg down to bare bones and practically doom the Nova.

Dimitria's Ice Ferrethad drifted to the far left side of the formation. Its autocannon missed the targeted Burke, and the flight of LRMs she launched went dead-in, but exploded in the dirt. Only the medium laser from the Ice Ferret'schest actually struck the target, doing no more than cause some armor to ooze away.

The Burke returned better than it got. Though one of its three PPCs missed high, the other two bracketed the Ice Ferretwith electric fire. The beams stripped armor off each arm in equal proportions, leaving the Ice Ferret'shead and shoulders shrouded with armor vapor. Another Burke tried to add to the Ice Ferret'smisery, but its attacks missed.

Phelan shivered. This is harder going than I imagined. Please, God, let Carew keep the buzzards off us.

* * *

Carew pulled his fighter up and over through a split-S that brought him in above and behind where the Rapierswere setting up on Virgil. He rejoiced in the advantage that gave him, but the fact that they had position on Virgil filled him with dread. "Virg, you have two. Break right!"

Virgil's Visigothstarted its sharp right turn, but the lead Rapierhung with him and actually turned tighter than he did. With its twin, forward-jutting fangs and paired tails, the slender-winged fighter looked not nearly as menacing as Virgil's compact craft. But it sailed in with the grace of a raptor, then opened up with the autocannon mounted in its nose.