Loren couldn't respond fast enough, but Greg Hector could. The Lieutenant fired two of his PPCs in unison, both hitting the legs of the Ice Ferret. One shot merely mauled armor, but the other exploded the leg at the hip, sending the Nova Cat 'Mech flying forward.
Out the corner of his eye, Loren saw Kerndon's Black Hawk suddenly appear and begin a punching match with a Thor. The stout Black Hawk's punches were low, by nature of its design, and between each hit, Kerndon's lasers blazed away at the holes they were ripping. The two Clan forces mixed it up at point-blank range, the air alive with fire. Loren had always wondered what a Clan Grand Melee looked like, and now he knew.
* * *
From her 'Mech's position at the edge of New Sherwood, Cat Stirling intently studied the battle that was occurring just at the edge of her weapons range. Events shifted suddenly and swiftly as the Jaguars seemed to rally. Moving her Grand Titan in closer, she opened fire with her large pulse lasers as Jake Fuller informed her that the tide was turning. She knew that if one side achieved a sure and total victory too soon, they might end up coming to her people instead.
"Cat One to the Fusiliers, turn your attack on the Jaguars now," Stirling said over the commline, then added quickly, "Major Mulvaney, stand by." Stirling had moved forward, but Mulvaney was still slightly behind.
A Jaguar Vulture stopped its bird-like gait and fired at her with a pair of long-range missile salvos that wracked her Grand Titan, punching several deep and deadly holes in her armor. She heard a thudding sound as her right arm decompressed, spewing forth a cloud of air from the inside. The weapons lights on her armaments there flickered to yellow, then to red, indicating that they had been lost in the assault.
"Hellfire . . ." she muttered, savagely returning fire at the Jaguar that had ravaged her.
* * *
A low cloud of smoke roiled across his cockpit viewscreen as Loren gave his secondary display two quick glances and saw what Colonel Stirling was doing. Playing both sides off each other, she was injuring both. With Mulvaney in reserve, she could make sure that neither side had the upper hand when they were done with each other.
He watched as a swarm of Elementals came in toward his flank, hitting four of the Jaguar 'Mechs with their deadly missiles. The armored infantry scaled the Jaguar machine! and immediately went to work attempting to breach the cockpits. Two of the Jags managed to shake them free, killing several in a hail of laser fire at point-blank range as they tried to regroup and counterattack. Loren saw the explosive escape of air from one of the other cockpits and then the lights inside went out. The warrior never stood a chance.
A jet Black Elemental, its armor glossy and almost evil-looking, rose into the air nearby. Santin West, Loren told himself. It had to be. West was the only black-armored Elemental he'd ever seen since encountering the Nova Cats. He watched as the Elemental jetted to a perch on top of a fallen Mad Cat, standing on its missile rack as he searched for a target.
Loren was pivoting his torso to face the Nova Cat, when suddenly another 'Mech moved between them. It was one of the largest OmniMechs ever built—the 100-ton Dire Wolf, its incredible bulk pitted and scarred from the fighting. Three nearby Elementals opened fire on the Dire Wolf, but only seemed to anger it as their missiles tore hopelessly at its thick armor hide. While continuing to face Santin West's position, it moved its arm to the side and fired a blast at the Nova Cat Elementals—driving them to their death or cover.
A voice came over the speakers. "Santin West, I am Devon Osis," the Dire Wolf signaled. "Prepare to meet the Kerenskys."
48
Outskirts of New Sherwood Forest
New Scotland, Wayside V (Wildcat)
Deep Periphery
8 August 3058
Loren wasted no time giving orders as he saw Santin West's ebony battle armor about to be blasted in the midst of the close-quarters fighting between the two Clans. "Jaffray to Guards, open up on the Jaguars. Get behind the biggest ones you can find and send them to hell!"
He brought his Masakari's PPCs on line as Santin West opened up with a volley of short-range missiles and hit the gargantuan Dire Wolf. Loren then saw him leap down from his perch on the fallen Mad Cat and attempt to maneuver away. At the same time Devon Osis moved his huge machine forward, aiming its deadly array of firepower at the tiny Elemental. Seeing West helpless against the 'Mech, Loren targeted the thin rear armor of the Dire Wolf, opening up with everything his PPCs could do. Devon Osis's 'Mech, easily identified by its "T" symbol topped with three red stars, stepped forward, bringing his fearsome firepower to bear on Santin West.
Loren and Devon Osis fired at the same time. Two of Loren's PPCs penetrated the weaker rear armor of the Dire Wolf, punching through to the fusion-reactor heart of the OmniMech. The powerful static discharge from the impacts danced into the gyro housing, a heat sink, and then the engine itself.
The remaining PPC hit the Dire Wolf in the head from behind while the impact of Loren's shots must have thrown the 'Mech's targeting system off. Just then Devon Osis's death shot discharged. The hurricane of firepower intended for Santin West tore into the ground ten meters away, ripping a huge crater in the parched soil of Wayside.
"Star Colonel Loren," West transmitted, his voice revealing shock at what he had just seen, a Smoke Jaguar firing on another of his Clan.
"No," Loren replied, turning and firing his last rack of long-range missiles at a Jaguar Ice Ferret just running past. "Actually, it's Major Loren Jaffray of Stirling's Fusiliers." Suddenly a pair of Jaguar 'Mechs emerged between him and West, one firing at each of them. The time for talk had ended. Both warriors broke contact and moved to defend themselves.
Killing the Galaxy Commander of the Jaguars had exposed Loren's ruse, as did the actions of his fellow mock-Jaguars as they leaped into battle against the Jaguars they'd been impersonating. Suddenly both sides of the melee saw Loren and his men as targets of opportunity.
"This is Jaffray to everyone," he called. "Move to the east as fast as you can. Pull your transponders out! Fusiliers, let's get out of here!"
* * *
"Major Mulvaney, get a company up here and fast," Cat Stirling called over the commline as she moved her Grand Titan out from the protective edge of the forest, moving south toward the melee where the Clans fought. From what she saw, the two Clans had gone wild, their warriors literally beginning to pile into a small area of the battle zone. Punches and kicks reigned as did fire from shorter-range weapons. It was a melee of BattleMechs unlike anything she had ever seen. She closed her assault 'Mech to fifty meters more, only to be slammed hard with a Gauss rifle slug to the left shin, caving in the armor there and almost making her lose her footing. The battle was a malignant blemish on the face of the world, an orgy of death and carnage.
And Loren Jaffray was somewhere in the middle of it.
As Mulvaney's company of BattleMechs charged out of New Sherwood Forest, they were met with a combined hail of fire from both the Smoke Jaguars and the Nova Cats. Within seconds a lance of light Highlander 'Mechs was either destroyed or stopped dead in their tracks, unable to advance for fear of instant destruction. The rest of the company Mulvaney had sent out found some sort of defensible terrain and added to the conflagration by showering the area with missiles and PPC fire.
"No good, sir," Mulvaney said over the commline. "We can't get close enough to make a dent. The Jaguars are throwing out enough suppression fire to hold us back here." Frustration and anger edged her voice as her Marauder II laid down a barrage of PPC fire into the melee. Two of her reinforcement 'Mechs, a Catapult and a Cyclops, twisted and crumpled under a rain of Gauss rifle and extended-range PPC fire.
"We've got to find a way to get Jaffray and his people out of there," Stirling said.
* * *
Loren Jaffray brought his Masakari over on top of Mitch Fraser's Dasher, which had fallen, and fired his PPCs on the Jaguar Uller that had knocked Mitch down. Loren and his team had been slowly making their way toward the new Nova
Cat assault on the far eastern edge of the battle zone, fighting for each meter of ground. Two of the Nova Cats had been felled, but in the process, Mitch's 'Mech had been knocked to the ground, spewing forth coolant as it stirred dust and. dirt in the thin air.
At point-blank range, the shot overloaded his weapon, fusing it into a solid piece of worthless metal. However, his aim had been true, striking the Uller under its stubby armpit as Greg Hector's Masakari passed. The Nova Cat 'Mech ripped open, then collapsed like a lifeless doll as Mitch struggled his mangled OmniMech back to a standing position.
Suddenly Loren felt his Masakari lurch hard under a horrific blast. He fell forward, colliding with the ground so hard that it felt as if the 'Mech was going to come apart around him. His ears rang with a low buzz and his vision began to tunnel as he tried to concentrate on the controls. Blood burst from his nose, splattering the inside of his neurohelmet. Warning lights, bursts of red, everything seemed to be coming apart on his 'Mech. There was an explosion in front of him in the cockpit, but he didn't move even as the arc of electricity stung at his arm and hand. He couldn't move. Instead he let the tunnel of his vision get tighter and tighter until he was unable to resist it any longer. Just as everything was going black, he heard Mitch's voice calling his name.
* * *
The light in the distance got closer as Major Cullen Craig broke his Victor into a trot across the powdered dust of the surface of New Scotland. He was heading north, following the tracks the Highlanders and their Jaguar pursuers had laid before him. He reached a small rise and came to a stop, staring at the battle raging in front of him. It was awesome, an almost diabolic sight.
He scanned the 'Mechs from a distance of nearly two kilometers away. A Cauldron-Born—the Smoke Jaguars. Then his sensors picked up a Supernova. His first reaction was that that was impossible—the Supernova was a Nova Cat 'Mech. Then the truth hit him like a hard slap.
Loren Jaffray had made it back. His plan had worked. In the cockpit of his Victor, Cullen Craig sat mute, immobile, unable to move his 'Mech. Part of him was glad he had survived the ordeal of his failed rear-guard action and that the Fusiliers might still be saved by evacuation from Wayside V. Another part of him was on fire, sick and twisted in the gut at the knowledge that he had been wrong about Loren Jaffray.
* * *
"Greg, you and Kerndon get over there to provide cover!" Mitch Fraser commanded in a tone he rarely used. What was left of Trisha McBride's Vulture emerged from the battle and stood near Jaffray's fallen Masakari. Fraser leveled his weapons and opened up a burst as Kerndon and Hector moved in on Loren's flanks to give his fallen 'Mech cover.
"Cat One," Mitchell barked over the emergency channel so that everyone could hear. "We need immediate extraction. Major Jaffray's down."
"Cat One, say again. We need help . . ."
Suddenly a shadow crossed the battlefield and fell over Mitch Fraser and his comrades. Lifting his eyes hesitantly, Mitch was terrified that what he would see was the destroyer looming over them.
Instead he saw the smooth, egg-like shape of the Bull Run. Its turrets strafed both the Nova Cats and the Smoke Jaguars as the ship touched down smoothly, its fusion engines scouring out a crater and spewing dirt and rocks as it did. Its ramps were already open and ready, and Mitch didn't need any prodding.
"Highlanders!" he bellowed into the neurohelmet microphone. "We're out of here!" Kerndon and Hector grappled with Loren's fallen Masakari and literally dragged it to the ship under a hail of fire.
* * *
Colonel Andrea Stirling watched in awe as the Bull Run descended into the battle zone. It towered over the raging fight between the Cats and the Jaguars, a wide-open target as both sides attacked it freely. Opening a channel to the ship, she was surprised to get Captain Spillman directly.
"Captain Spillman, what are you doing?"
"What you can't, rescuing these lads and lasses," he replied.
"Get out of there—that's an order," Stirling barked. She needed the ship. Too much had been lost already in this fight.
"An order?" Spillman said. "Tis been a while since I ignored one of those." Less than two minutes later, as elegantly as it had descended, the Bull Run fired it fusion drive and swung around free of the battle.
* * *
The battle lasted another twenty-five minutes, with both Clans putting up a horrific fight. Dug in at the edges of the petrified forest, Colonel Stirling held her forces back, awaiting the final outcome. Her earlier efforts to keep the fight balanced paid off. Only about fifteen OmniMechs and fewer Elementals remained. Those that did were horribly mauled and mangled, a tribute to the fight they'd put up. It was hard to make out much in the haze of battle, but her long-range sensors told her that the victors were the Nova Cats. There was no sign of survivors among the Smoke Jaguars. They had fought to the death.
Despite the exhausting battle they'd just undergone, the Cats now began to deploy quickly along a line in readiness to advance into New Sherwood, if the order were given. Stirling watched them, impressed with their sheer grit. She had come to respect the Clans for that. As far as she was concerned, the same tenacity was what made her and her people Highlanders.
The voice of the Nova Cat Cluster Commander came over her speakers loud and clear. "I am Star Colonel Santin West of the Circle of Power, of the Sigma Galaxy of the Nova Cats." He paused for a moment, as if to gather himself or regain his composure, the words obviously coming hard for him. "I wish to speak to the one called Loren Jaffray."
"This is Colonel Stirling of the Northwind Highlanders," Cat Stirling replied stiffly. "I cannot comply with your request. Major Jaffray has been injured."
Santin West paused again. "We have beaten the Jaguar at his own game. The Jaguar base has fallen to the Cluster I dropped there as part of my bid against them. Our WarShips have battled too, and despite losses, we have destroyed their vessel. On this day, on this world, the Nova Cat howls in victory over the dead."
Stirling wasn't sure what to make of this proclamation, but she feared it might be a prelude of things to come . . . another battle to be fought.
"Your Jaffray, he deliberately lured us here, quiaff?"
"Yes, I sent him to find you and draw you here to fight the Jaguars. It was the only way to save our regiment."
"Major Jaffray's actions violate our code of honor. Deceit is not one of the weapons a true warrior carries into battle."
"Would you say he fought courageously, Star Colonel?"
"Affirmative. I never suspected I was fighting anything but a true Smoke Jaguar."
"Then there is no loss of honor to you."
West did not reply at first, and Cat Stirling wondered if she'd provoked him. "And you, Colonel," he said finally,
"you fearlessly proclaim your actions—the mark of a true warrior. I did not expect this from you."
"So where does that leave us?" Stirling asked, staring off at the arrayed line of Nova Cat 'Mechs.
"The victory that I have won here is tainted by your actions, Colonel," West replied calmly. "And that places me in the position of being forced to consider your destruction, which would also probably be my own. Your sensors no doubt have shown what severe losses we have suffered here. I am backed into a corner, forced between allowing you passage or perishing in a last fight with you."
Stirling smiled. "They don't call me 'The Cat' for nothing, Star Colonel," she said.
This time the silence that followed was even longer than the previous one. Andrea Stirling wondered again if she'd angered the Nova Cat commander, or if this whole dialogue had been just a ruse to distract her attention. She checked her short-range sensors just to make sure the Nova Cats weren't redeploying their forces. Finally she broke the silence.
"So, Star Colonel. Have you arrived at a decision?"
"You are called 'the Cat,' quiaff?" he asked.
"Yes, I am," she returned.
"Your Major Jaffray saved my life, Colonel Stirling. As a Nova Cat warrior, I place a h
igh regard on such actions. It is said that when one warrior saves another, our souls become bound—even between a freebirth and trueborn. To defeat you, I would be forced to destroy him. In doing so, I would risk my own soul as well.
"As such, I have no desire to continue this fight now. No bid was ever made against your Fusiliers, and such a battle would only produce waste—something I find intolerable. This matter is closed."
"So that's it?"
"Aff. I will withdraw my forces—for now. Remember that the spirit of the Nova Cat knows of this place and its significance. At the moment I see no reason to hold on to this barren rock. Should that change, be assured that I will not hesitate to return to this world and take it from you, no matter what the cost."
"Of that, Star Colonel," returned Cat Stirling, "I feel assured."
"Well bargained and done," said Star Colonel Santin West, and then the speakers went dead.
Epilogue
DCMS Planetary Command
Wayside V
Deep Periphery
9 September 3058
Sho-sa Elden Parkensen watched with pride as the red banner was raised high in the air, catching the light breeze oven the Draconis Combine command post on Wayside. The banner fluttered open, displaying the coiled black dragon, emblem of the Draconis Combine. At his side, Colonel Andrea Stirling also saluted, though he was sure it was more for the smaller banner of Stirling's Fusiliers that flew under the Combine's colors.
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