Текст книги "Wolf Pack"

45

By the time Dechan Fraser arrived on the other side of the mountain, the perimeter of the landing zone had been secured by Fancher's Beta Regiment. Beta had met no resistance, but that was expected. Jaime Wolf's forces were too small to cover more than a fraction of the continent's area.

The first of Wolf's forces arrived as Dechan was supervising the unloading of his new unit's tech-support equipment. Norm Carter had the routine down, so Dechan was really just looking on to see that nothing was disrupted when he went haring off to the command trailer. He almost missed all the action.

A lance of light hovertanks had come into the valley, apparently without knowing what they were heading into. Moving at cruising speed, they were easy targets for the 'Mechs of Beta's Second Battalion, who were on guard in that sector. Half the hovercraft brewed up in the first volley. The other two reacted quickly and turned to run at flank speed. A third vehicle was crippled before it had covered a hundred meters. Ten seconds later, the lance commander reported a kill on the last hovercraft. The schismatics never got off a shot.

What they did get off was a screech transmission from the crippled scout craft.

"Kill it!" Alpin's face was red. "They'll know where we are!"

Fancher gave the orders to smoke the crippled craft.

Alpin watched the holotank display avidly until the blinking light that represented the craft went dark.

"We'll have to move up the schedule," he said. "Fancher, put out your scouts. I want Lee's Iota Battalion in the slot behind the recon screen and Fraser's Kappa Battalion in line behind them. I want one company from each of Beta's battalions to remain at the base as guards, the rest will be reserve for the advance. We move out as soon as tactical can feed the maps to the 'Mechs."

Dechan thought the move hasty, but he knew better than to say anything. Corley Lee, commander of Iota, grinned at him and said, "Going huntin'." He whistled as he walked out of the trailer.

Stepping over to Fancher, Dechan asked. "Are there estimates of the local forces?"

"Not really." She shrugged. "Should be just Home Guard. Armor and infantry. He'll be keeping the good stuff back until he knows where we're coming from."

"Are the other regiments in?"

She eyed him suspiciously. "It's not like you need to know."

"My butt's on the line, too," he said calmly. "I don't want to find it hanging in the breeze."

"That's fair. They're in, but don't expect to see much of them. We've got Green Sector to ourselves, Khan's orders."

"Right."

"Right," she agreed sarcastically.

Dechan saluted and left the trailer. He found Carter where he had left him and told him the news. They had a staff conference, passed their readiness check on to headquarters, and saddled up. They had to wait an hour longer until Lee and the less professional hire-ons of Iota Battalion were ready.

Once moving, Dechan had his comm officer feed him constant updates from the scout reports. He noticed that one lance missed the 1500 report, but nothing from command indicated that they suspected trouble. The Hannovassian Highlands were notorious for causing erratic breaks in communications. Dechan remembered that the lance in question was on the right flank and thought the communications break entirely too convenient. He called up a map on his battle computer. Knowing that the Dragoon command had edited the tactical display, he hoped it didn't leave out anything vital. What he saw was worrisome enough. The missing lance might be dead and gone; their advance would have taken them into prime ambush terrain.

When Wolf's armored formations were reported just to the right of Iota's line of advance, Alpin ordered the recon elements to withdraw toward the column. The map already before him, Dechan spotted a route to a strong support position and gave the necessary orders to his command. He barely noticed Alpin ordering Iota into battle formations.

Dechan moved his 'Mech into a position from which he could watch the mercs of Iota deploy. Their formations were ragged and sloppy. Were he feeling charitable, he might have attributed the disorderliness to insufficient practice; the battalion was only recently assembled from a number of smaller, previously independent units and individual mercenary MechWarriors. Many of the pilots didn't understand tactics beyond those of a lance; many more had never experienced actions on a scale larger than a company or two.

One lance surged forward suddenly and Dechan had to increase his magnification before he could make out the target toward which they raced: Wolf's tanks. The mercs engaged at long range, their missiles falling among the tanks to send up gouts of dust and, once, a billowing column of oily smoke. Apparently lacking the armament to reply, the tanks bore in. The 'Mechs added PPC and laser fire to their barrage as they closed. When the tanks finally replied, it was to little effect. Their weapons chewed at the 'Mechs, but the faster, more agile battle machines were difficult targets. The tanks were forced to withdraw after heavy losses when Iota began a general advance.

Dechan brought his battalion forward into another over-watch position. Iota was well engaged with Wolf's armor. In closer, where their heavier tanks could catch the 'Mechs, the tankers were doing better. Dechan watched as a Demolishertank roiled out of a concealed position to blast a mere Warhammerin the side. The volley from the heavy tank's massive twin auto-cannons rocked the seventy-ton 'Mech onto one leg. Smoke and flames streaming from the gaping cavities on its torso, the 'Mech crashed to the ground, Iota's first loss. The Demolishercrew paid for their victory with their lives as the Warhammerslancemates concentrated their fire on the tank.

When black BattleMechs appeared on the right flank, Dechan knew that the recon lance would be making no more reports: they had walked into the web and the spiders had gobbled them. The black 'Mechs were moving at high speed when they opened on Iota Battalion.

"Frak!" somebody said over Kappa's command channel. "They've got Clan tech."

Dechan saw that it was true. The black 'Mechs danced at the fringes of the effective ranges of Iota's 'Mechs. While Iota's shots were falling short or striking with insufficient energy to penetrate a BattleMech's armor, the black 'Mechs were scoring hits. In short order Iota's right flank crumbled under the assault.

Dechan scanned the terrain between his battalion and the black attackers. It was rough, some of it even classified as impassable. It would take time for his battalion to get into an effective attack position. By the time they did, the Spider Web would just as likely have pushed Iota back, or even broken them. He was more worried by the fact that he could not confirm enough black 'Mechs to account for more than half a battalion. He was sure there had to be more ambushers.

Alpin was on the command channel screaming for information. Iota's commanders seemed to be too busy with their battle, so Dechan reported the situation. Describing the approach Kappa Battalion would have to take, he made it clear that adding Kappa to the battle would imperil the unit without any guarantee of success. He was surprised when Alpin agreed.

"Beta's Second Battalion is moving up to engage," the Khan told him. "You will hold while Third Battalion moves behind you to take their flank."

"Affirmative," Dechan replied. He had no desire to lead his battalion into the teeth of a Clan tech trap.

Alpin's strategy might have worked, given time, but Iota was the wrong unit for buying time. As Dechan watched, the battalion, broken into its constituent parts, streamed away from the battlefield. The Schismatic forces didn't pursue. Instead, fast hovercraft skimmed around the field, searching for surviving crewmen. Several black 'Mechs raced in and inspected the downed mercenary BattleMechs. They selected three of the least damaged ones and began to drag them away, including one that had apparently shut down from heat overload. The pilot ejected when a Spider's Web Grasshoppergrabbed his machine, but a hovercraft was waiting for him when his parachute drifted to earth. The retreating Wolf forces had claimed him. The Spider's Web was through fighting for the day, and that suited Dechan just fine.

* * *

I didn't want to be where I was. Outside of my Loki,I felt cut off, out of touch with everything. I knew Alpin's forces had landed in the Outback and were making their first probes. Maeve's battalion had been sent to reinforce the Home Guard forces in Green Sector.

I was worried. Green Sector would be a high-priority target for Alpin's forces. The fighting would get hot there. It was where I should have been, but the Wolf had other plans, as always. I prayed that my reunion with Maeve wouldn't be over before it had a chance to blossom.

I worried so much that I forgot where I was.

A cardinal sin for a warrior.

I nearly walked into the guard pacing his watch along the perimeter of the Blackwell facility. Black-well Corporation, despite the long association with Jaime Wolf and all the success they owed to him, had taken Chandra's path. They were officially neutral in this conflict, cutting both sides off from supplies and new equipment until the matter was settled. The Wolf was unhappy about their stance, but Blackwell's president was livid. Gerald Kearne was an ardent Elson supporter, who tried and failed to persuade Black-well's board of directors to back Alpin with full support.

The guard reacted by rote when he saw me. He called for me to stand still as he raised his rifle. I complied, but I wasn't sure he would hold his fire. He looked very nervous, and I looked like a black-suited saboteur carrying a bomb.

He didn't shoot.

His mistake. A massive, dark blur suddenly roared out of the culvert twenty meters behind me. It rocketed into the guard, spilling him into the electrified fence. The man's body convulsed when it hit, muscles jerking spasmodically as the current jolted through him. Brilliant red laser fire seared from the culvert and cut through one of the fence posts. The post collapsed and wires parted. As the power died, the guard slumped to the ground.

The dark shape was Pietr Shadd in his battle armor. I imagined his disapproving face behind the viewplate of the armor's headpiece, but he said nothing. He fired his jump jets again and was gone.

I dropped the black box I was supposed to have attached to the fence. It was useless now. The element of surprise had been lost when the fence's power went out. No longer afraid of setting off an alarm, Shadd's Star roared over the fence and began bounding toward Assembly Buildings 4 and 5. Each Elemental's battle armor had been repainted especially for this raid. Snarling Nova Cats leapt across each pauldron.

In the distance I could see Blackwell guards boiling out of their barracks to the accompaniment of the bleating alarm. The duty guards were wearing vests, but half of the suddenly activated reserves had only their uniforms. They all carried light weapons, nothing that would be a significant danger to the Elementals' battle armor. Had the guards guessed they'd be facing Elementals, they might have spent a little time in the armory first.

My electronics expertise no longer needed, I left the infantry to their battle and headed back to my Loki.At a full run, it took me ten minutes. I was panting as I climbed the ladder into the cockpit, and more winded by the time I hit the button that retracted the ladder while I shrugged into my cooling vest. But I was happier; as dangerous as battle is for a man in a 'Mech, it is worse for everyone else.

My commo board was lit with incoming calls and the open channel to my lance was full of Grant's voice.

"What happened?"

"I fell asleep. Now shut up and let me find out how bad it is."

Amazingly, it wasn't bad at all.

The Blackwell bosses were just beginning to react to the jamming. I cut in Program Two, randomly punching in variations to keep the waves locked. Shadd reported reaching the buildings, and I released Grant to launch long-range volleys against targets that the

Elemental ground team designated. When the first whooshing roar was accompanied by the acrid scent of rocket propellant, I realized I hadn't sealed the Loki.There was so much else to do that I was coughing steadily by the time I could spare a moment to button up.

I was wondering if we'd have to take the 'Mechs in. The Wolf hadn't wanted that. He wanted a fast, clean strike with minimal damage and all the hallmarks of a pure Elemental raid. Once BattleMechs got into it, we'd blow our cover—and blow up a lot of property.

Shadd's channel beeped with the Go code. His team had reached and secured the objective. Soon they'd be roaring back to join us and we'd be out of there.

Other channels carried even better news. Maeve had met the enemy and their forces were on the run.