Pallonby brought the Phoenix Hawk'shead around sharply. A warning had gone off on his Magnetic Anomaly Detector. A MAD reading of that strength could mean a BattleMech, moving swiftly.

"Denik," he said into his command circuit. "Phillips, Hoch-stater! Did you guys get a flash on your MADs? Oh-seven-five degrees or so..."

The other three ‘Mechs in the column paused in their march, scanners searching. Pallonby nervously fingered his Hawk'scontrols. If there were rebel ‘Mechs out there, it could be a nasty fight His force consisted of two Phoenix Hawks, a Wasp,and a Stinger.That was plenty of firepower to manage a column of prisoners and to keep rebel ground troops from making a try at a rescue, but not much good if it came to a knock-down, drag-out brawl with rebel ‘Mechs.

His orders had suggested that he be alert for rebel ambushes, though they also expressed the official opinion that the rebels would not chance it. After all, if rebel ‘Mechs attacked the column, fifty helpless women—the object of the rescue—would be trapped square in the middle of the firefight. The ropes and halters would assure that the women would not be able to scatter and hide. No rebel ‘Mech commander would risk slaughtering them.

"I've got movement at one-oh-three," Phillips reported. A newcomer to the unit, Phillips was the brash, young Wasppilot at the point. He was turning now, his laser held high toward the trees to the right. Pallonby turned, too. The low, scraggly growth cloaked a hillside half a kilometer away.

"Denik," Pallonby snapped. "Check it out."

"Acknowledged." The other Phoenix Hawkmoved toward the slope, its Harmon heavy laser at the ready.

The Shadow Hawkseemed to rise out of nowhere, materializing from the trees a few meters to one side of Denik's machine. Pallonby shouted warning, but Denik was already pivoting his machine, his laser coming into line. The rebel ‘Mech bounded forward, stepping inside the Phoenix Hawk's reach. The armor shield mounted high on the Shadow Hawk'sleft shoulder smashed into the lighter machine, and its left arm snapped across and clamped onto the PhoenixHawk'sheavy laser.

Pallonby brought his own heavy laser up for a shot, but Denik's ‘Mech and the attacking rebel's machine were too closely intertwined now. He set his Phoenix Hawkin motion, sprinting forward, watching for an opening.

The laser bolt caught him unaware, striking his ‘Mech in the back, low on the right side of the torso. That single shot penetrated the relatively thin armor there, savaging power cable bundles and lighting his control panel with baleful red eyes. A second shot caught him an instant later in the right leg, scattering armor fragments in smoking arcs. He spun, seeking his attacker. A Stingerand a Locustwere there, fifty meters away. The Stingerfired and the bolt caught Pallonby's ‘Mech in the front torso, scorching metal and blistering paint. The Locustcrouched slightly and spat a bolt of coherent light from the medium laser slung underneath its flat cockpit. It took Pallonby a moment to realize that the bolt was not aimed at him but had been directed at Hochstater's Stinger.

For a few rapid heartbeats, he stood paralyzed, wondering at which target to direct his own fire, but the initiative was lost when another laser bolt struck his Phoenix Hawksquarely in the back, enlarging the hole already burned through its thin armor. More red lights flashed. His jump jet circuits were gone, or so the warning indicators claimed He elected not to test the matter, but threw his machine into a lurching roll across me ground, seeking cover.

"Regis Command!" he bawled into his radio transmitter. "This is Escort Two-Four! We are five kilometers north of Regis and under attack! Do you hear me, Regis? We are..."

The second rebel Stingerhad been hiding on the other side of the column, waiting for its chance. It advanced now. With it came half a dozen hovercraft, lightly armored affairs mounting lasers and autocannons. A score of shells slewed from one chattering gun into the back of Phillips' Wasp,and the light BattleMech staggered and went down, arms flailing.

Pallonby switched back to his combat frequency. Whether or not Regis had heard him, he couldn't know. He had more immediate concerns at the moment.

"Hochstater! Watch behind you! Phillips is down!"

Hochstater's Stingerspun, firing wildly, hitting nothing. Pallonby glanced back toward the prisoner column. Where it should have been he saw nothing but tall weeds. The women must have thrown themselves flat as soon as the firing started Pallonby realized now that the appearance of the Shadow Hawkhad drawn his own ‘Mechs far enough away from the column that the prisoners had not been in the line of fire.

When laser bolts seared the air close by his ‘Mech's head, he rolled to one side and then came up firing. The hovercraft were closer now, their weapons concentrating on his Phoenix Hawkand on Hochstater's Stinger.He could see rebel soldiers, too, advancing on foot to lead away small groups of his former prisoners. As he watched, several Kurita foot soldiers broke and ran from the line of advancing rebels. Machine gun fire from the rebel Stingerand the swift-moving hovercraft cut them down.

On the hillside, Denik's Phoenix Hawkhad been crushed by its heavier opponent. With one large laser and a pair of Harmon medium lasers, a Phoenix Hawkshould have outgunned the heavier Shadow Hawkat close-ranged because the Shadow Hawk'sautocannons and LRM launchers were only effective at relatively long range. As close-up weapons, it had only a single medium laser and a pair of SRM tubes. This particular Shadow Hawkhad managed to overcome its disadvantage by grappling with the Phoenix Hawkso closely that it couldn't use its arm-mounted lasers. After it had bashed in the ‘Mech's head with one steel fist, that same Shadow Hawknow turned its autocannon and LRM tubes on Pallonby's own Phoenix Hawk.

29

Grayson's Shadow Hawkstepped across the broken body of his opponent and strode down the slope toward where the second enemy Phoenix Hawkstood with its arms raised in ungainly surrender. Smoke wreathed its torso from the pair of jagged wounds Lori and Nadine Cheka had planted in its back. Khaled's Stingerclosed in from the far side of the shallow valley as hovercraft grounded to pick up the liberated prisoners.

"Looks like they're all safe," Ramage was saying through Grayson's command circuit. "No casualties among the women!"

"Great," Grayson said, relieved. They had planned the assault to draw the Kurita BattleMech escorts away from their prisoners, but stray rounds—or a vengeful Kurita soldier—could have had nightmarish consequences. The keys to making the attack a success were doing it with speed and decisiveness. "What about our people?"

"A couple wounded in the firefight with the foot soldiers. We were lucky."

"I won't argue that." Grayson turned his attention back to the enemy ‘Mechs. The Waspwas out of the fight for the moment, but didn't seem badly damaged. The Kurita Stingerhad halted and put up its own hands when the Phoenix Hawkhad called it quits. Ramage's anti-Mech commandos were now dropping from their hovercraft alongside the pair of Kurita 20-tonners. Grayson saw the Stinger'shead split apart and the Kurita pilot wiggle out of the tight cockpit under the threat of Ramage's guns and satchel charges.