The left side of the machine's torso was armless and ripped open. Even a novice ‘MechWarrior could have told that an ammunition explosion had destroyed this 'Mech. The battle damage was light, fingering heat as the killer. Probably an internal buildup followed by detonation of the warheads on its missiles. A similar fate could await his Vindicator,for it carried one hundred-twenty 87mm free-flight rockets, in racks of five. Any one set exploding in its rack would gut the BattleMech more surely than a hit from an enemy PPC. To ignore the high ambient heat level would be suicide.

The Griffinbore Dragoon markings, and so Minobu scanned for the pilot. The IR was useless for finding a man's body heat among the furnace of rocks, however, and a visual check yielded no better results. The ‘Mech Warrior was gone or dead. Minobu entered the location on his map display for later salvage, and then moved on.

At one point, a geyser erupted nearby, spattering the Vindicatorwith drops of boiling water. Without conscious effort, Minobu sidestepped the 'Mech clear of most of the falling water. Once he and the 'Mech were safe, he realized that he had achieved muga.Action without thought. If only briefly, he had burst the barrier. Control of the 'Mech's movements became easier. Though the machine was sluggish because of the speed governor, he had carried out its movements as though they were his own. Suddenly, the way seemed shorter, and the landscape slid by.

An hour later, as he topped a rise, Minobu's receiver picked up a broadcast. He made a slight adjustment to the comm unit to bring the signal in clearer. Static still blurred many of the words, but he recognized the strained voice of Captain Cameron broadcasting a string of coordinates. Minobu waited until he finished, diverted power to his comm unit, then sent his own call. “Cameron, this is Chu-saTetsuhara. Do you copy?”

“Unity!” Static hiss distorted the words, but not beyond comprehension. “Colonel Tetsuhara, where are you? Wait. Keep transmitting so I can get a fix. We thought we'd lost you, too.”

Too? Minobu wondered who else was missing. The sudden thought that it might be Lord Kurita terrified him. “What do you mean? Is the Coordinator safe?”

“Huh?” The question caught the Captain off-guard. His usual tranquility was shattered, lost in turmoil. “I think so. I mean, his ship hasn't landed yet. It's the Colonel, sir. We've lost contact with him.”

“Calm yourself, Captain,” Minobu said, taking his own advice now that he was assured of the Coordinator's safety. “Can you vector me to your location?”

“Yes, sir.” The air went dead while Cameron consulted his computer. Minobu waited for him to transmit the heading. When the coordinates were broadcast, he changed his direction to match them. “Tell me what happened,” he ordered.

“Command Lance moved out after you left to get your 'Mech. By the time we reached Alpha HQ, Major Yukinov had a confirmed count of over twenty 'Mechs, all flying Stomper colors, sniping from the Rift. He had three 'Mechs out of action and another four M.I.A. Alpha was having trouble pinning the Stompers down, and he wasn't getting anywhere.

“The Colonel was worried we'd have to shift too much firepower to deal with these guys and that it would tip our hand to Davion. Scans were garbage and communications intermittent. The Colonel wanted to know just what was happening, and so he headed out to see for himself. He left me and Major Blake here, and took the rest of Command Lance.”

That meant Wolf had three other 'Mechs with him.

“About forty-five minutes ago, we got a burst transmission that they'd been caught in a Stomper ambush. Lieutenant Vordel's last report stated that the Colonel's antennae had been shot away just after he ordered the lance to scatter. Vordel lost sight of the Colonel in the badlands.

“We've called up Charleton's Company from reserve to keep those Stompers off our back while we look for the Colonel. Major Blake is up in his LAM.”

That was interesting. Minobu hadn't known that the Command Lance included on of those rare Land-Air 'Mechs. Most Successor Houses had trouble keeping those multiform 'Mechs in fighting trim. That a mercenary force could maintain one said much about the Dragoons' technical staff and supply capabilities.

“Conditions are terrible. The long-range scanners aren't worth a ComStar repair prayer out there. With the Colonel's radio out, we've got to find him by visual.”

“Then you will need all available pilots,” Minobu stated. “How close am I to where the Colonel was last reported?”

There was a pause before Cameron's voice came back hesitantly. “Five klicks. North and east.”

“Where are your other searchers?”

Cameron gave him the details of the assigned search sectors and the number of Dragoon 'Mechs in each. The number of hostiles was unknown.

“Very well. I will proceed into sector seven-delta-three-three because your coverage there is limited.”

Changing his 'Mech's heading, Minobu ignored Cameron's protests that he come to the field HQ for his own safety. Minobu was Chief Liaison Officer to Wolf's Dragoons for the PSL. Knowing Wolf's whereabouts was his duty. If no one else had that information, he would have to get it himself. A samurai could not sit idle when his duty was clear.

Minobu felt a curious relief when growing interference swallowed up Cameron's voice. Was it simply the welcome lack of distraction? Was he glad to be free of reminders that his actions were more becoming to a simple soldier than to an officer, that he was neglecting his real duty in order to prove that he was still a ‘MechWarrior? He concentrated on piloting, trying to ignore questions he did not want to answer.

The course changes forced upon him by the tortuous terrain brought him near the coordinates of the ambush. The comm frequencies were empty, save for the hiss and sputter of static. He decided to check the site. It was entirely possible that Wolf had returned to learn the fate of his lance. Lacking communications, the last place where they had all been together could be deemed a reasonable rally point.

The fight had been hard, and the land bore testimony to the fury unleashed there. Minobu studied the ground, envisioning what had happened. The Dragoons had been surprised by a sudden attack. Where it had come was marked by blackened craters and glazed patches of sand from near-misses. Not all the enemy's shots had been misses, however. Chips of armor and fused lumps of metal attested to that. A BattleMech arm lay half-buried in the dirt, severed raggedly by explosive force, but there were no other obvious casualties.

Minobu observed the ground where it was scarred by the rapid turns and accelerations the Dragoon machines had made to escape the fire zone. He could see that they had scattered in four different directions, probably hoping to lose their pursuers in the maze of the badlands.

He suddenly realized that he had no idea what type of BattleMech Wolf piloted. Three of the Dragoon 'Mechs involved in the fight had been heavy machines. He could tell their paths from the depth of their tracks. The fourth was considerably lighter, a Waspor Stinger.It was the owner of the arm left on the field. That one was not likely to be Wolf's. A commander of his stature was too valuable to fight in so fragile a BattleMech. Of the others, any could be Wolf's machine.

Overlaying the tracks of the Command Lance 'Mechs were those laid down by many other machines as the Snake Stompers followed in pursuit of their prey. The signs indicated that these 'Mechs were lighter but more numerous.

A call on Dragoon frequencies produced no results, which did not surprise Minobu. Because any of the heavy 'Mech trails could be Wolf's, his decision was easy for a samurai. He followed the one indicating the passage of more enemy BattleMechs.