Dan jerked a thumb at the area behind his command couch. "Get yourself a cooling vest from in there and a headset. You can jack into the comm-network." Clovis, pale and sweating, nodded wordlessly. He seemed so unlike himself. Does he know about the others already?Dan wondered.

Clovis pulled the oversized cooling vest on as tightly as he could and snapped the power cord into a jack on the right side of the Wolfhound'scommand couch. He settled the communications headset into place and plugged the jack into a socket beneath the command console. Adjusting the microphone, he smiled weakly. "Thanks for saving my worthless hide."

The traces of self-pity in Clovis's voice made Dan uneasy. Hiding for two days in an overrun base must have done something to him.Dan forced some levity into his own voice. "Hey, what are friends for? I'm just glad you lured him out of the tree." Dan's gaze flicked toward an area back to the right of the command couch. "We have company. Strap into that jumpseat, Clovis. The ride will get bumpy from here on."

A Kurita Clintstalked out from behind the 'Mech bay. It raised the pistol-like autocannon in its right hand, but before the pilot could pull the trigger, Dan hit two switches on the Wolfhoundcommand console. Two spotlights mounted slightly below the Wolfhound'shead flashed to life, giving the Kurita pilot a good look at the 'Mech he faced.

Humanoid in body configuration, the Wolfhoundscanned just like all other light 'Mechs on magscan or IR. Visually, however, the Wolfhoundwas a fearsome sight. The head had been designed to look like a wolf's, from jutting muzzle to high, pointed ears. Standing tall and lean, the fierce 'Mech might have been the avatar of some ancient war god.

Dan swung the Wolfhound'slarge laser around and triggered it at the same moment the Clintpilot fired his autocannon. Shocked by the Wolfhound'sappearance, or by the fact that he'd never seen a 'Mech of that design before, the Kurita pilot's shot blasted wide to Dan's left, tearing great divots from the hillside behind him. The Wolfhound'slarge laser burned through the armor over the Clint'sleft breast. In a flash of incandescent fire, the laser's beam consumed one of the Clint'smedium lasers.

The Clintpilot corrected his aim and fired the autocannon a second time. Depleted uranium projectiles blasted armor from the Wolfhound'sleft breast. The Wolfhoundrocked back slightly as the slugs slammed into its chest, but none of them breached its armored skin. The Clint'sremaining medium laser, mounted in the center of its chest, slashed its ruby beam across the Wolfhound'sleft thigh. Armor dropped away in molten ropes, but only revealed more armor plating beneath what the beam had destroyed.

Dan laughed aloud. "That's right, you bastard. This 'Mech is more than you can handle." Dropping the targeting crosshairs for all his weapons onto the Clint'soutline, he glanced at Clovis. "It's gonna get hot!" He hit the triggers for everything.

One of the three medium lasers mounted on the Wolfhound'storso carved a jagged scar along the armor on the Clint'sright flank, but that damage went virtually unnoticed by either shooter or target. The Wolfhound'slarge laser vaporized the armor on the Clint'sright arm and melted the autocannon's muzzle. The medium laser in the center of the Wolfhound'schest sliced like a scalpel up through the myomer muscles controlling the arm, leaving their flayed ends dangling from the 'Mech's useless limb. The Wolfhound'sthird torso-mounted medium laser cored in through the Clint'sarmpit and melted more of the 'Mech's internal structure. Warped by the right arm's dead weight, the 'Mech's skeleton twisted toward the ground, pulling the Clintoff balance.

Torrents of heat swirled through the Wolfhound'scockpit as if it were a blast furnace. The heat monitors spiked into the red zone, and the computer dropped 10 kph from the 'Mech's operational speed because of the heat buildup. Dan, afraid the cabin's heat might have overwhelmed Clovis, looked toward the dwarf just in time to see the small man mop his brow with his sleeve.

The Clint'spilot hit his 'Mech's jump jets to flee from his enemy, but the lifeless right arm whipped around as the 'Mech left the ground. The Clintpilot tried to compensate by boosting power to the jets on the right torso and leg, but the back-mounted ion jet ripped free of the 'Mech's damaged skeleton. As it skyrocketed upward, the Clinttipped back to the right, and driven by its jets, slammed into the ground. The 'Mech's head snapped off at the neck and bounced into a shallow gully.

Before the echoes of the Clint'scrash-landing could die, another 'Mech stepped from the shelter of the hangar. Dan felt his mouth go dry as the humanoid war machine raised one of its double-barreled arms and pointed it toward him. "Allard here. I've got a Riflemanthat wants my scalp!" he shouted into the radio.

Pivoting on his right foot, Dan jerked the Wolfhoundaround to protect the damage he'd already taken. He swung the large laser out toward the Rifleman,then cursed as the targeting crosshairs for his medium lasers lost their intensity. Damn! Evading him puts the 'Mech outside my firing arc for the mediums.Instead, Dan settled the large laser's crosshairs on the Riflemanand pulled the trigger.

The Wolfhound'sheat monitors again spiked into the red as the heavy laser spat out its scarlet beam. The laser pared armor plates from the Rifleman'sleft flank but failed to fully penetrate the 'Mech's thick skin. Smoking armor plates littered the ground at its feet, but the damage did nothing to actually hurt the heavy 'Mech.

The Rifleman'sautocannon vomited out a salvo of shells amid a gout of flame, but the projectiles flew over the Wolfhound'shead. The large laser slung beneath the autocannon on that same arm drilled its infernal beam into the Wolfhound'sright leg. Armor boiled and evaporated beneath its hellish touch, but held and permitted no internal damage.

Despite the danger, Dan found himself smiling. They sure built this baby for survival. But I'm done for if thatRifleman brings the other heavy laser to bear.

Dan backed the Wolfhoundfurther to the Rifleman'sleft, but the 'Mech bay itself prevented him from moving far enough. The Riflemanpivoted on its left leg to face the Wolfhound.Both of its arms locked forward, then swung toward the Wolfhound.

"Hang on, Clovis!" Dan pushed off against the ground with the Wolfhound'spowerful legs. His move drove the Wolfhoundback into the 'Mech bay, crushing bricks and shattering windows on the three-story building. Sparks flew as the 'Mech's flailing arms split electrical conduits on three levels, then fire geysered into the night sky as the transformer mounted on the roof exploded.

Dan rocked unsteadily in his command couch. His helmet ground down painfully onto his shoulders and he tasted blood from where he had bitten his lip. He glanced over at Clovis and saw his friend hanging half in and half out of the jump seat's safety harness. Blood ran from his nose, but his eyes still shone brightly.

Clovis righted himself and waved off Dan's concerned look. "Better than frying!"

Dan whipped Jeana's sash from where it was knotted on his upper right arm and tossed it to Clovis. "Tie yourself in tighter. Don't want you bouncing around in here." It's kept me safe. Hope it does the same for you . . .

Surprised by Dan's unorthodox maneuver, the Rifleman'spilot could not shift his aim to pin the Wolfhoundto the building. The heavy lasers burned their way into the structure a bit beyond the Wolfhound'sleft shoulder, drilling through the place where the lighter 'Mech had just been. Dan expected to see the slashing beams of the medium lasers mounted in the Rifleman'schest, but he heard the heavy thunder of the Rifleman'sautocannons instead.