"Damn," Grayson replied. "Do we hold here, or go help?"

"He says the gates have been blown clear off their hinges. He says that there are at least eight ‘Mechs coming through the gap, and that he sure could use our firepower."

"I guess that's the answer. Flatten down again, Lori." The Marauderstepped fully into the opening again, ignoring the wildly aimed bolts and missiles that whirled down the tunnel at them. Both PPCs triggered together. Blue light engulfed the struggling Archer,which still had not disentangled itself from the Stinger.In the dying light of the burning Centurion,Grayson fired his lasers into the tangle, watched the Archerstagger and topple in flailing metal limbs, dragging the Stingerdown with it. The tunnel was blocked, at least for the moment. It would take a concentrated effort to get the passageway clear enough for BattleMechs to squeeze through.

With the surviving ‘Mechs in full retreat down the sheltering darkness of the tunnel behind them, Grayson didn't think they were going to make that concentrated effort very soon. He had Lori suggest that Ramage post an anti-Mech team to watch this route into the courtyard, and then took the Marauderthundering up the ramp to the upper level.

An explosion rocked the tunnel behind them as a damaged ‘Mech exploded, bringing chunks of rock and ferrocrete down in dust-spewing ruin.

That was our way out,Grayson thought, grimly. With the tunnel closed, the Gray Death was trapped within the University Courtyard.

38

Smoke wreathed the Courtyard, providing some slight cover for the black-clad men crouching behind their barricades. The Courtyard grounds were still shadowed by the surrounding walls and buildings, but slanting, red-gold rays of Norn sliced through the rising smoke and dust clouds. The Courtyard gate had been blasted open, the cast steel warped and blackened by satchel charges packed with high explosives.

The smoke was heavier in the street beyond, where several vague shapes moved against a background of gray fog. Blue-white bolts of lightning flickered and probed out of the murk, shattering craters in the masonry above and behind the defenders, showering them with a powdery avalanche of crumbled stone. McCall had planted his beloved Bannockburn just behind themain barricade, and the Rifleman'squad weapons swung back and forth in tiny arcs across the opening. A shadow moved, and the ‘Mech's autocannons barked, spent casings trailing streamers of smoke as they spun away from the furiously cycling guns.

As the Wolverinewas crouched in an enfilading position across the Courtyard on the east side, in a position where it could catch the enemy in a crossfire as he came through the gate. Khaled had Grayson's Shadow Hawkhigh up on the roof of a two-story building along the western side of the court.

The Marauderemerged from the deep shadows of the ramp to the lower level, Grayson had Lori call Ramage on her combat transceiver.

"He says they rushed the gate about a minute ago, but pulled back when McCall opened up. He thinks they're still testing us."

Grayson raised the visor on his neurohelmet and wiped at the sweat pooling above his eyebrows. "That won't last long. They'll be along any..."

His words were chopped off by the shrieking hiss of incoming rockets, arcing on white contrails over the Courtyard walls and erupting in volcanic fury amid rubble piles, buildings, and crouching men. The barrage ended as suddenly as it began, enfolding the courtyard in an unnatural silence.

Grayson guided the Marauderinto the light and close alongside a three-story building. "End of the ride, Lori," he said.

Seeing argument in her eyes, a protest forming on her lips, he shook his head. "Quickly! I can't close the canopy on this thing, which is going to make this open cockpit a target! Now get off, if you don't want me to throw you off!"

Conflicting emotions struggled in Lori's face. "You need someone on the radio."

"Not anymore."

"What's the point, then?" Her face was flushed, her eyes bright. "We're trapped in here! Do you think I'm going to leave you now?"

Grayson hesitated, surprised. Then he smiled. "Look at it this way, Lori. Here I am, all set to eject if I get in trouble. But I can't very well punch out with you squeezed in next to the chair thrusters now, can I?"

Again, Lori's face revealed her inner struggle at this strange piece of logic. At last, she only nodded, then bent forward to kiss him, a deep, hungry but brief joining. "I love you," she said.

He held her for a moment, searching her eyes. He saw the love there, and his own spirit soared. Grayson nodded, squeezing her shoulders tightly. "I love you, too, Lori. Now git. And mind the hot metal."

She climbed out of the cockpit onto the open hatch panel that extended from the hull like a stubby wing. From there, it was a short leap across and down to the roof of the building. Their eyes met as she looked back at him from the rooftop, and then she was on her feet and sprinting toward the safety of an open doorway.

The next flight of missiles volleyed into the Courtyard an instant later, their detonation filling the enclosed space with light, thunder, and hurtling clots of debris. Close behind the missiles, a pair of vast and threatening shapes pressed up against the open Courtyard gate. Grayson recognized the squat, massive silhouettes against the battle fog. They were Archersrushing forward in a close assault role.

The Kurita command must be anxious to finish this,he thought. They could stand off and shell us into submission if they had the patience. What's their hurry?

He checked his weapons. Both PPCs were at full charge. His hands closed over the firing controls, and computer-generated characters on his console screens spoke of power levels, target locks, and combat-ready status. The PPCs fired together, twin beams arrowing into the first Archeras it strode through the swirling dust. The impact staggered the heavy ‘Mech, caught it off balance, and sent it lurching into one of the warped Courtyard gates.

Grayson hit the recharge and triggered his lasers. White-hot, minor suns flared into radiance close together, high up on the stricken Archer'storso, close by the cockpit. The Riflemanfired lasers and autocannons together at the same instant, and gouts of flame marked the detonation of autocannon shells in partly molten slabs of armor.

The second Archercrowded past the first, LRMs rocketing on flat trajectories into the black wall of the central University tower behind the Rifleman.Chunks of shattered ferrocrete and stone rained onto the barricades in a steaming, smoking avalanche that sent the commandos there scattering for deeper cover. The Courtyard had become a blazing hell where unprotected humans could not hope to survive for more than a few seconds.

The Wolverineopened up from its corner alongside the gateway wall, autocannon fire hosing across the second Archer.The Shadow Hawkjoined in from its position on the rooftop opposite. Three streams of high-explosive mayhem converged on the 70-ton BattleMech, transfixing it in fire and the stuttering flash of explosions.

The Marauder's autocannon was empty, but Grayson could still join in the litany of destruction with his lasers. A green light winked readiness on the charge for his PPCs. He fired them again, the searing bolts closely spaced. Fragments of white hot metal erupted from the Archer'sflat snout as the ‘Mech's cockpit took a direct hit. In an agonizing parody of slow motion, the stricken Archertwisted slowly, then toppled. It slammed into the ground with the shattering impact of a crashing aircraft, trailing an arc of black smoke from its smashed-in cockpit screen. Flames licked from the wreckage.