The Warhawk'spilot kept coming and brought its weapon pods up to fire. One PPC beam shot over the Lone Wolf'shead, but the other whipped across it like a blue scourge, vaporizing armor and the canopy on Phelan's 'Mech. A stinging mist scorched his exposed arms and legs, but the cabin's depressurization blew most of the molten glass back out. Sparks shot from two or three panels and a secondary monitor died in a puff of smoke.

The computer calmly informed him that his life support systems had been destroyed, but Phelan knew that was of little concern on a hospitable world like Strana Mechty. The pulse laser fire to the Lone Wolf'sleft arm had done nothing but melt armor. I have to end this now, or I'm in a serious world of hurt.He forced the pain of his arms and legs away, then let the Warhawkhave everything at point-blank range.

One flight of missiles missed its target, but the second blasted armor from both arms, baring the myomer fibers and workings of the PPC and pulse laser of the Warhawk'sleft arm. One of the trio of pulse lasers mounted in the Lone Wolf'sright shot wide of the Warhawk'sbody. The other two ruby beams carved armor from the center of the 'Mech's body and its right flank, leaving parallel smoking scars.

Muzzle flashes from the autocannon strobed into the Lone Wolf'scockpit, and the pungent odor of high explosives filled it. The cloud of metal chewed into the Warhawkon its right side and blasted a huge chunk of armor from the Omni's right arm. The Gauss rifle's ball whistled from the muzzle, catching the Warhawkin the right arm. The limb shivered under the impact and the armor shattered like glass.

Phelan's left ring finger tightened on the SRM launcher button. The six missiles shot from their box and raced at the crippled Warhawklike sharks heading for bloody water. Three missed the Omni, but the trio that hit did serious damage. One augured into the left arm and exploded, scattering bits and pieces of 'Mech skeleton. Subsidiary detonations sent chunks of PPC and pulse laser whirling away. The missile striking the right arm hit higher up. Though it nibbled away at the 'Mech's ferro-titanium bones, it did no damage to its weaponry.

The last missile aimed for the Warhawkdead-center, but it detonated prematurely. A boiling cloud of liquid fire washed over the 'Mech and clung to it like a fiery blanket. The pilot tried to pull away from the flames, but the Warhawkhad been hammered so badly in a such a short time that it was grossly off-balance. The 'Mech clawed at the earth to remain upright, but succeeded only in raising a cloud of dust. With the screech of stressed metal and the staccato popping of armor plates breaking, the Warhawkcrashed to the ground and broke off its own left arm.

Phelan now looked for the 'Mech his computer had named "Executioner." He couldn't find it on his screen nor could he see it through his viewport. He immediately knew Vlad was its pilot. Dammit! I'm naked here and I don't know where he is.

The young MechWarrior started his Lone Wolfforward. He stepped down hard on the Warhawk'sright knee, snapping the joint. He pumped one round from the Gauss rifle through the 'Mech's right shoulder, sending the Warhawk'sarm pinwheeling off in a shower of sparks. "That means you're going nowhere."

Realizing he had yet to face his deadliest enemy, Phelan's guts started to flipflop. As Natasha had predicted, Vlad had let the others batter the Lone Wolfbefore he chose to engage it. Convinced that mobility and a continued, long-range duel gave him an edge, Phelan headed down the hill and back toward the Mad Dog'swreckage.

Adrenaline jolted through his system as he saw movement on his battle display. The Executionerappeared in his aft arc. Phelan cursed the loss of his secondary monitor and shunted a data feed to his auxiliary monitor. Immediately, the computer filled it with an information scan of the OmniMech. He saw that each arm mounted a Gauss rifle and each side of the torso was arrayed with one large laser and two medium lasers.

Unable to fire any weapons. Phelan cut hard to the right, making the Lone Wolfdo a hop-jump that bounced him forward against the command couch's restraining straps. A silver ball skittered through the space he had just vacated. It skipped across the rocky landscape, bouncing off outcroppings of sedimentary rock, striking sparks wherever it actually hit. A second or two later, another Gauss rifle projectile whizzed over the Lone Wolfshead.

"Shit!" Phelan shot forward, pushing his 'Mech for all the speed it could muster. He broke to the left, then back to the right. He knew that would make him a difficult target to hit, but did not find much comfort in that. I used this same tactic when I fought Vlad for the very first time. It infuriated him because I refused to stand and battle it out like a "civilized" warrior.

Knowing how much Vlad hated him, Phelan had to admire the man's control. When Vlad fired his first shot, the Lone Wolfhad been well within the optimum range for all his weapons. Instead of letting loose with everything, the Clansman had carefully triggered one Gauss rifle and then the other. He's taken the name of his 'Mech to heart. This is not to be a slaughter. He intends it to be an execution.

Phelan hunkered the Lone Wolfdown behind a small mesa and readied all his weapons systems. With all his missiles and the ammo for the autocannon, he could be in big trouble if Vlad managed to get damage through his armor. Touching off a rack of missiles or starting the autocannon ammo exploding would destroy the Lone Wolffrom the inside out. Packing only energy weapons and Gauss rifles, Vlad didn't have to worry about explosive ammo getting hit.

A fragment of something he'd heard suddenly hurtled forward into Phelan's consciousness, and it was as though a blindfold had been torn from his eyes. "Vlad isn't in control. Natasha warned me about the power requirements for a Gauss rifle. Vlad hit the triggers for everything in his first shot. He's got the Gauss rifles set up as his primary weapons, so they get first crack at the power from his fusion engines!"

Phelan popped the Lone Wolfup to its full height and spotted the Executionerat half a klick and moving quickly. As Vlad brought the Omni around, Phelan cut loose with twin missile flights. With golden explosions, five missiles cratered the armor on the Executioner'sright leg. Over half the other flight ground into the 'Mech's left arm and blew out armor chaff.

The impact knocked that Gauss rifle off target, its round shell sailing high and wide of the Lone Wolf.A second later, however, the Executioner'sright-arm weapon launched its projectile in an electric flash. The Lone Wolflurched to the left as the ball pounded the 'Mech's left hip. Armor shards flew through the air and the 'Mech slewed half about.

Phelan twisted his body back onto the command couch and dropped the Lone Wolfinto a crouch. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!" His primary monitor showed him that the upper portion of his left leg armor had been utterly destroyed. "One more shot like that, and I lose the leg!"

He knew Vlad would be a tough nut to crack, but confirmation of his power problem gave Phelan some hope.

Phelan backed the Lone Wolffrom the mesa, then worked to the left. He picked a spot between two jutting stone formations and stood there. His computer marked the Executionerat 300 meters, and Phelan hung both crosshairs on him. The second the dot in the middle of them flashed, Phelan sent two missile flights and a Gauss rifle shot at Vlad, then immediately ducked down. Through the open canopy, he heard the missile explosions.