The computer spoke again. "Authorization confirmed. Welcome aboard, Captain. Full control is now yours."

Dan smiled as the computer shunted power to all the weapon systems. The 'Mech's primary monitor flickered to life, and the computer quickly filled it with a schematic of the Wolfhound.Then on the secondary monitor there came a computer-generated image of the surrounding landscape on the scale of two-and-a-half centimeters to a kilometer.

Whoa. This is some new stuff,Dan gloated to himself. "Hey Clovis! Do you want to explain how I got this map?"

"Well, Dan, right now, you're getting a feed from the Arc-Royal Meteorological Society satellites. The mapping program works from freely available data like that, or from any survey maps you want to download into the system."

Dan thought for a moment. "If I were to get a line from a military satellite, would it include enemy units on the images?"

"That would depend on what they were sending out to their units. I don't know if my interpreter program can handle all the different data a military unit might send out. If we can sample their signals and crack their scrambler, we can modify the program. Right now, it will receive military data from the Commonwealth and the Fed Suns."

Dan leaned forward. "According to this I have three—no— four medium lasers. I saw three ports on the chest." Dan squinted. "The fourth fires into my rear arc."

"Keep them off your back. The large laser in your 'Mech's right forearm will keep your enemies worried at long ranges."

"Roger that, Clovis."

Clovis hit some switches and started the hangar bay door opening. While Dan turned the Wolfhoundto face it, he brought up the 'Mech's full holographic combat display. It surrounded him with 360 degrees of vision. By manipulating the joysticks capping the arms of the command couch, Dan maneuvered twin golden crosshair sights over the display. The crosshairs dropped to half-intensity as he sighted something outside the fire arcs for his weapons.

Clovis's voice buzzed into his head. "The three thumb buttons on the left joystick trigger the chest-mounted lasers. Be careful, because they don't have a safety override. If you cross your 'Mech's arms over its chest and then shoot, you'll wound yourself."

Dan laughed. As though fighting the enemy isn't dangerous enough."Thanks for the warning. The buttons on the right stick fire the larger laser and the after laser, right?"

"Roger." Clovis held up a hand and Dan saw he'd crossed his fingers. "Luck, Captain."

"Thanks, Clovis." Dan stepped the Wolfhoundout into the night. Well, Rover, let's go out and see if either one of us has what it takes to destroy aPanther lance all by ourselves.

The computer painted the Panthers'heat silhouettes on the display in shades of glowing green. Easing the Wolfhound'sright arm up, Dan worked the targeting crosshairs onto the further of the paired humanoid 'Mechs. He brushed his thumb against the firing button, and the crosshair blinked on and off, confirming a sensor lock.

Dan punched the button. The large laser's bloody beam skewered the Panther'sspine, blasting chunks of ceramic armor from the back of the sleek 'Mech's back. First the Pantherbegan to spin, then stumbled and crashed to the ground.

Radio chatter filled the Wolfhound'scockpit as his computer locked onto his foes' frequency and cracked their scrambling routine. Dan recognized Meg Lang's voice instantly. "I'm hit. Gyros are out. This baby is down for the count."

A strong male voice broke in. "Dammit, Eddie! He's behind us. Swing around with Gwyn. Dan's probably got this frequency. Shift to pattern two."

"Roger, Lieutenant."

You're smart, Austin Brand. I'll give you that. Still, you won't catch me between two forces.As the radio hiss died, Dan glanced at terrain map. Pulling the Wolfhoundback and around to the right, he marched it between two low hills, then up a narrow ravine. This brought him out in front of where the two Panthershad stood when he ambushed them.

He raised the Wolfhoundabove the ravine rim just enough to give his chest-mounted lasers a clear shot. Through scrubby underbrush and between slender tree trunks, he saw the Pantherhe'd downed earlier. Meg had managed to gather the 'Mech arms under it and had raised the machine to a sitting position.

Dan shook his head in wonder. Without gyros, that's a major accomplishment. I really hate to do this to you, Meg.Smiling, he opened a tightbeam channel to the Panther.Just as he was about to speak, a chill ran down his spine.

First rule as a MechWarrior—trust your instincts more than your instruments.Dan flipped the scanner display from infrared to Magnetic Anomaly Detection. Two magscan images replaced the single heat silhouette on his holographic imaging system. It showed him Meg Lang's wounded Panther,lying in the brush beyond the seated Panther.She had crawled it there and shut down its generator.

Even as Dan dropped the crosshairs onto the seated 'Mech's profile, Brand pivoted the Pantheron its left hand. Its right fist, which was wrapped around the grip of a particle projection cannon, swept up. The PPC's glowing coils pulsed once, spitting out a jagged bolt of man-made electricity.

Dan twisted the Wolfhoundto the right, but the computer recorded a hit. As the primary monitor showed most of the armor on his left arm evaporating, Dan felt both anger and relief coursing through him. Dammit! This baby can take a lot of damage!

That shot would have crippled myValkyrie and might well have torn the arm clean off!

Dan keyed the radio as Brand valiantly tried to raise his Panther."Nice ambush, Austin . . . Almost." He aligned the crosshairs with the Pantherand then punched his firing buttons.

Two of the medium lasers ripped parallel scars through armor on the Panther's,left flank. Fragments of computer-projected armor spun away from the scanner image in a whirling explosion. The third medium laser sliced into the armor covering the PPC, but failed to cripple the weapon. The large laser slammed heavily into the Panther'schest, half-dissolving the armor over the short-range missile launch tubes located on the 'Mech's heart.

Heat levels in the Wolfhoundspiked into the yellow zone on the monitors. Because the battle was not being fought with live weapons, and all the damage occurred only in the computer's memory, the scorching waves of heat Dan would have experienced in combat did not wash up into the cockpit. Still, Dan saw the primary monitor's status downgrade his top speed as the 'Mech labored to rid itself of the simulated excess heat.

Dan ducked the Wolfhoundback down into the ravine. They know I've hit Brand.Studying the map, he decided that they must have found this ravine and were probably tracking him now. He smiled grimly. The Wolfhound'sdesigner had obviously built this monster to engage Panthersbecause there was enough armor on it to survive a couple of PPC shots. Better to be the hunter than the hunted.

Dan worked the Wolfhoundback through the ravine in the direction from which he'd come. Taking a sharp corner, he moved down into a spot where the ravine widened as a stream cut across. Haunting flashes of magscan images danced on his display. Dan dropped the Wolfhoundto one knee, raised the right arm, and targeted the golden crosshairs at the ravine mouth across from him.

When the lead Pantherwas impaled on Dan's sights, he triggered his large laser. As sheets of armor vanished from the 'Mech's right flank, the Panthertwisted to the left to protect its wounded side and then ducked back beneath cover.