The Kurita Panther'sright arm came up and triggered a blast with its PPC. The blue jolt jerked and writhed as it scourged Jenner'schest. Gobs of molten armor flew away from the Jenneron vapor jets. As the debris cloud evaporated, it left the Jenner'schest naked and vulnerable.

Bethany Connor's Pantherswung about and targeted the Kurita Pantherattacking Baker's Jenner.Her PPC spat blue fire in a direct line at the enemy Panther's,wounded chest, bursting through the remaining armor as though it were paper. The beam melted all it touched, then ignited the SRMs stored in the Panther'schest.

The SRMs exploded in a staccato string of bright flashes. Like a fountain of fire, bursts of light lanced from the 'Mech's torso. A pair of brilliant detonations sent the 'Mech's naked left arm spinning past Connor's Panther.Fire roiled and swirled within the Kurita 'Mech's heart, then grew in a series of explosions that the Panthercould no longer contain. In a flash of platinum fire hot enough to momentarily overwhelm Dan's scanner, the 'Mech disintegrated.

Diane McWilliams and Mary Lasker bracketed the remaining Pantherand concentrated their fire upon it. As their PPC beams both savaged the 'Mech's right leg, its armor melted away like wax. Muscles snapped apart and titanium bones glowed white-hot before they dissolved into tiny droplets.

As the Kurita Pantherwavered and began to fall, the paired SRM volleys from the Kell Hound's captured Panthersbattered the crippled 'Mech. Explosions blossomed across its chest like a necklace of fiery flowers, twisting the big machine and knocking it to the ground.

The Kurita Panthersmoved to withdraw. "We have to stop them, Kell Hounds." Dan hated the sound of his voice as he issued the order, but he knew that there was no other choice. If they get to where they can radio for help, we're finished.

Fitzhugh's Catapultlaunched two more flights of LRMs at the Pantherit had first attacked. Over a score of missiles hammered that 'Mech, shrouding it in a cloak of fire. The broken right arm snapped clean off after a series of hideous detonations. Several missiles shredded what little armor remained on the Panther'shead. Even more LRM missiles blasted away the fragments of armor shielding the 'Mech's chest, then crushed the Panther'sgyro system and SRM launcher. The broken machine spun to the planet's surface.

The Kurita Pantherthat Salome had first attacked turned in midflight to face her Wolverine.The two 'Mechs exchanged flights of SRMs like duelists settling a vendetta. Three missiles launched from the Pantherexploded against the Wolverine'sleft

Hank. Though they blasted away armor, the wounds appeared to be trivial.

Four of the SRMs arcing from the Wolverine'sshoulder launcher struck their flying target. One exploded within the confines of the enemy Pantherschest, while the other three blasted armor from the left side of the chest, left leg, and right arm. The last missile, though it did little more than superficial damage, exploded against the PPC on the Panther'sright arm. The blast forced the fearsome weapon wide of its intended target so that the blue beam it had released burned harmlessly over the Wolverine'shead.

Salome's return fire struck home savagely. The autocannon's burst hit the Pantherin the face, snapping its head back like a fighter hit by a punch. As the Kurita 'Mech began to roll over slowly, the Wolverine'shead-mounted medium laser stabbed deep into its front torso. Oily smoke burst from the Pantheras the laser melted yet more shielding from its fusion engine.

The energy beam also destroyed the Panther'sgyrostabilizer. The gyro's destruction accentuated the roll begun earlier, and the 'Mech went spinning helplessly out of control. It spiraled around on ion jets as the pilot fought to control it, then slammed against a mountainside in a brilliant explosion.

Cat and Brand caught the third Pantherin a withering PPC crossfire, the turquoise energy beams slashing through the stricken 'Mech like scalpels. Cat's beam sliced all the armor from the Panther'sright arm. Steaming vaporized metal, the smoking carapace dropped to the planet's ochre surface.

Ignoring the damage done by Cat's attack, Brand impaled the enemy Pantherwith his PPCs artificial lightning. It spitted the fusion engine and split open the remaining shielding like the shell of a nut. Fire blossomed in the Panther'sstomach, then exploded outward. It bisected the 'Mech, then greedily gobbled the upper half before the plasma ball imploded and vanished in a golden flash.

"Dan, what the hell are they doing?" The urgency in Meg Lang's voice filled Dan with dread. "The other two pilots have activated their eject mechanisms. Their canopies are blown!"

Dan punched magnification and Starlight onto his forward scanner. He focused on the face of the Pantherwith one leg missing. He shivered and nearly vomited. Why do they do that? Damned Kurita sense of honor! What a waste.

The Kurita pilot had opened his cockpit to the outside vacuum without the benefit of a sealed suit. Dan could barely make out the blood dribbling from the warrior's nose through the viewplate

on the neurohelmet. He glanced at his own scanners and they told him that the warrior's body was rapidly cooling.

Dan swallowed hard. "They're dead. Let's move on. We don't want to get caught in the open if their DropShip cruises back to find out what happened to them."

54

Styx

Dieron Military District, Draconis Combine

26 May 3027

Three kilometers further on, through craters blasted into the planetoid's surface by meteors, the Kell Hounds reached the small docking bay. Set flush into the red-rock surface, the 100-meter wide square glowed yellow in the backglare of blinking directional lights. Dan's magscanner confirmed that the interlocking metal doors were structurally sound, and that energy flowed to the circuits needed to open them. "Dan."

Dan turned his Valkyrietoward where Brand's Pantherknelt beside the smaller airlock meant for personnel. Though the titanium doorway appeared plainly on Dan's magscan, he could see some sort of plastic cover shrouding it on the visual scanner. "What have you got, Austin?"

The Pantherraised its head. "It looks as though jump troops came through here," Brand said. "The instructions on the seal are in Japanese. With two Kurita ships in-system, that must mean that the foot soldiers were Draconian."

Dan could almost see the frown on Cat's face that would match the rumble in the MechWarrior's voice. "Jump troops sent in before 'Mechs? That means one thing."

Dan nodded. "ISF." I hope like hell the folks inside knew that they were coming. If not, we probably won't find anything alive in there.

Salome broke into the conversation. "Dan, did you notice the crest on those 'Mechs?"

Dan tried to visualize it, but could not. He punched up a replay of his combat footage, and froze the display when a crest popped into view. He magnified it and studied the simple design in the standard Kurita red circle. "I make it a black wave with stars in it. If that little boat carried up almost under the crest of the wave is to scale, that is a massive tidalwave."

"Right, that's what I have too." A nervous edge crept into Salome's voice. "I've crosschecked it against all unit designations in the Successor States. It's a blank."