The Gladiator'shead came around just as the ball hit it in the right cheek. Fractured armor cascaded down from the 'Mech's face, reducing it to a skeletal death's-head. The cockpit viewports shattered and blew out, then the ball tore an exit wound out through the back of the head.

The Gladiatorwaved for a second, then toppled forward. It slowly rotated as it fell and landed on its head. The 'Mech's heavy bulk crushed the head and shoulders when it slammed into the ground. Even if the pilot had miraculously survived the Gauss rifle shot, the fall would have killed him.

Somehow the Precentor Martial knew the troops under his command understood the significance of that one 'Mech's death. With a soulless abandon he would have expected from Clan troops, the remnants of Alpha Battalion charged forward and hit the Clan flank. Their attack clearly shocked the Clans and began to throw them into disarray.

Yet as quickly as his emotions spiked to a high, they shot back down again as he saw the silhouettes of the Wolf Spiders coming through the valley. Just as he began to designate the Black Widow's 'Mech with a computer label, his video feed went to static and continued to fill his world with gray as the computer sought, in vain, to cure his blindness.

41

Mahler Homestead, Alyina

Trellshire, Jade Falcon Occupation Zone

17 May 3052 (Day 17 of Operation Scorpion)

Kai, clad only in MechWarrior shorts like the other Elementals wore, stood very still as Slane eyeballed him and made a minor adjustment to the armored suit. Taman and Locke grinned at him. Erik and Hilda watched the whole proceeding with keen interest, while Michaels appeared to be bored with the whole ritual. Deirdre stood behind the Mahlers and used them as a shield.

Part of Kai wanted to reassure her as he had done the night before. Somehow, though, vanquishing phantoms was not so simple in the harsh glare of reality as it was in the afterglow of intimacy. He gave her a smile, which she forced herself to mirror bravely.

Taman dragged the lower half of the Elemental armor over to him as Kai pulled himself up on the side of the hovertruck. He scraped the grass and dirt from his feet, then pointed his toes and lowered himself into the armored trousers. The lining, a shiny black fabric, felt warm against his legs. His feet pressed down into the split-toed boots and encountered a bit stiffer resistance there.

"All in?"

Kai nodded at Taman. "The leg adjustments are perfect. I don't have that binding feeling at my left knee like yesterday. Waist pressure collar, clear." While making this announcement, he pressed down on a latch that loosened a band of metal running around the rim of the suit. "Correct."

Locke and Slane next slotted the armor suit's arms through either half of the chest piece. Locke approached first and let Kai slip his left arm into its metal sleeve. At the end, Kai felt a glove with a thumb and two finger slots. Slipping two fingers each into their parts, he felt a tightness at the first joint around all three glove parts. By moving his fingers and thumb, he saw the triple claw on the end of that arm move.

That brought a grin to his face. "Claw operational."

"Check." Taman looked up from where he was inspecting the fit of the left chestpiece into the waist collar. "Kai, review firing procedure for the machine gun."

The MechWarrior nodded. "When the weapon has been armed, I point at the target with my index and middle fingers. Once I have a target lock or when I want to fire, I make a fist with my thumb hooked under my last two fingers. Same thing goes for the laser in my right arm."

Kai worked through the instructions as he spoke them. The obvious wisdom of the system made him smile. Simply pointing at the target automatically swung the weapons into line, and point-shooting was a technique that had been used for eons to teach infantrymen how to aim without thinking. The unnatural hand position made accidental discharges extremely rare.

Slane let Kai put his arm down into the right sleeve, then worked to hook the two halves of the torso armor together at the overlapping seam in the back. The metal halves of the torso armor rose up to cover his shoulders and even gave him a high collar that protected everything up to the tips of his ears. The same black fabric pressed in on his chest, and the suit reminded him of the various diving outfits he'd worn from time to time.

Kai looked up at Taman. "I'm glad to have you here to help me put this armor on. It must be difficult to get equipped during an emergency or if you are alone."

Malthus shook his head. "Normally the chest assembly is already together and just lowered onto the waist. If really pressed and very tired, an Elemental can lay the whole thing out on the ground and wriggle down into it. We are only helping to ensure a good fit. How does it feel?"

Kai thought for a second, then nodded. "Great. Best fit yet. It doesn't feel as bulky as earlier in the week."

Locke approached with the head and chest piece, but Deirdre split the Mahlers and laid her hand on Locke's forearm. "Give me just a minute?"

Malthus nodded and Kai stiff-legged a half-turn away from the others. "What do you think?"

Her blue eyes flicked down. "I think you have the flesh to match your heart of steel."

Her somber tone caught him by surprise. "Deirdre, I have no heart of steel when it comes to you. I love you."

She nodded, then reached out and ran her hand over the part of his chest the armor left exposed. "I know you do, and I love you. I also know ..." Her voice failed her.

"What?" He started to take her in his arms, but his metal limbs moved with a mechanical blockiness that frightened them both. "What?"

Deirdre forced a smile onto her lips and wiped away the lone tear from her cheek. "I know you are the finest warrior on this planet. I know you will not die." She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss, then turned and walked away.

Kai reached out after her, then shuddered as the metal claws on his left arm ripped through his image of her. Hilda Mahler put her arm around Deirdre's shoulders and led her away into the house. Meanwhile, Erik approached bearing the headpiece for Kai's armor.

"Women never like to see their men go off to war, ja!"

Kai nodded. "Any suggestions for me in that department?"

"Understand it. Expect anger mixed with joy and relief when you return." Erik lifted the head and chest assembly and Kai bowed forward. "She is a strong woman, Herr Allard, and you need each other. Be careful that your strengths do not destroy one another."

"Thank you."

As the last piece of armor fitted down into place, the waist collar snapped back into position, tightening down to seal the suit. Kai heard a low hum as the black fabric slowly pressed itself solidly against his body. While the interior of the suit molded into a warm, snug fit, the underside of the boots became more solid and resized themselves to accommodate his smaller feet.

Then a holographic display materialized between Kai's face and the V-shaped viewport. Besides the normal 360-degree view of the world truncated into 160 degrees, he saw twin lines of boxes running above and below the display. As he glanced at the one labeled IR, it flashed for a second, then the holographic display shifted to infrared mode. He looked at vislight to bring it back to normal, then glanced at the box labeled Taccom.

"Suit checks, all systems go," he reported. "This voice-operated radio is good, but don't you have trouble with folks chattering nervously?"