Текст книги "Wolf Pack"

52

Even as a peacetime maneuver, the withdrawal from the mock factory would have been a tricky feat of coordination. With the 'Mechs of Beta Regiment and Elson's Elementals pressing us, I had not expected it to succeed. But the Wolf knew our capabilities better than we did; both phases had gone well.

Our 'Mechs fled the built-up area in apparent, and near real, disarray. Taking the bait, the BattleMechs of Beta Regiment pursued, catching us when we slowed among the gulches and low buttes to the south of the complex. It was prime in-fighting territory, something we couldn't afford to do for long against the fresher machines and more experienced pilots of Beta. They knew it, too; they came charging in after us. We lost three 'Mechs in the first ten minutes of the engagement.

I think the only thing that kept us from falling to them was the knowledge that we wouldn't have to face those odds for long. There were cheers on the tactical channels when Rand reported the first of our zoomers screaming in behind the Beta 'Mechs.

The Wolf had called this part of the battle "phase two," a prosaic name for the whirling snarl of laser beams and rocket exhausts that was our Elementals' assault on the surprised 'Mech pilots of Beta. Shadd's Elementals caught them from behind, completely unaware.

In the close confines of the gullies, the 'Mechs had a hard time getting away from the Elementals. The battle-armored infantry swarmed individual 'Mechs, clambering over light models and ripping through their armor. I watched one Hornetrise on billowing clouds of jet exhaust in an effort to shake off its tormentors. Some debris fell away and, after an instant, the trajectory shifted slightly. Smoke began to taint the exhaust, then there was a flash of light and the Hornetstarted to wobble. It tilted toward the ground, finally shaking off three armored infantrymen when it was less than twenty meters from the ground. The troopers used their jump packs to cushion their landing. For the Hornet,there was only fiery oblivion.

The Hornetwas a mere twenty-ton BattleMech, the lightest of our opponents. The Elementals didn't fare so well against the bigger machines, whose armor withstood their attacks long enough for a beleaguered 'Mech to free itself or have a comrade come to the rescue.

The surprise attack of the Elementals gave my battlegroup a chance to collect our wits. Seeing the Elementals throw the Betas into such confusion gave us enough hope that we rallied. When we saw that the armored troopers had exhausted their missiles, we charged. We pushed hard, but not hard enough to knock Beta out of the fight.

I saw Hans Vordel's Victortake a hit from a 200-millimeter autocannon in the midst of a punishing salvo of missiles. The eighty-ton 'Mech shivered under the impact, then froze. I thought the old beast had only shut down from overheat and shifted my Lokiin its direction, hoping to provide cover so the enemy wouldn't rip it apart before the pilot could restart the fusion reactor. I hadn't covered fifty meters before the Victorshuddered again. The oscillations increased with frightening speed, and then the 'Mech's right arm disintegrated in a shower of shrapnel. The machine toppled backward, twisting to fall on its left side. Even amid the roar of combat, I heard the thunder of its fall. Searing beams reached for the fallen 'Mech, ravening over its surface and boring into the gaps in its armor. It blew apart as one of those beams found its ammunition bay and the remaining missiles detonated in a storm of fire. I throttled back. There was nothing I could do for the fallen warrior. I sent one of his killers a beam from the seven-centimeter laser in the Loki'sright arm and retreated. Warriors in my battlegroup were still fighting and they needed me more than did the dead man.

I didn't take too much damage escaping from Vor-del's slayers. They pulled back when I ran through a position held by our Elementals, allowing me to rejoin one of my lances.

I moved the remnants of the battlegroup into an area of low gravel mounds near the remains of the processing machinery, a position that gave us a commanding view of the highway leading south into the heart of the Tetsuhara Proving Ground. Somewhere down that road lay the Colonel's command post and the last of our reserves. Further down and away to the east, Maeve was leading the resistance to Gamma Regiment's advance. The jamming we were using against the enemy was also preventing us from keeping in close communication with our scattered forces. I prayed she was doing better than I was.

Down among the gullies, Beta was gaining the upper hand. I watched as a pair of heavy 'Mechs ganged up on a Wolfhound.The pilot in the light 'Mech fought back valiantly for the two minutes it took his bigger opponents to burn, crater, and crack enough armor to expose the Wolfhound'sinner structure. I saw the pilot eject just before the smaller of the two heavies slammed into his 'Mech.

I intercepted a tight-beam communications laser between two of Beta Regiment's units flanking our position. The sender was reporting what I already knew: BattleMechs were approaching from the heart of the Tetsuhara Proving Ground, Wolf Pack 'Mechs. The Wolf himself was coming.

* * *

If Wolf was coming out of hiding, the decisive battle was underway. Elson only wished that the battle was unfolding as he had planned rather than as Wolf had. But there was no use in complaining, or cursing. The jamming made coordinating the attacking forces impossible; only direct action could shift the initiative back in his favor.

The 'Mech battle was several kilometers away, but there was no choice but to continue toward it. He urged his troopers to greater speed. Elementals launched on steamy clouds to go bounding away across the plain, following the trail of the Beta 'Mechs.

Elson hoped they would reach the battlefield in time to make a difference.

* * *

The arms of Alicia Fancher's Gladiatormoved in an awkward parody of a traffic cop. Without reliable radio communications, she was using hand signals from her 'Mech to direct her units. It was moderately effective, as long as her MechWarriors remembered to make visual checks on their commander. At least one company responded to her attempts; they headed out to block Colonel Wolf's advance.

But such a mechanism required her to expose her position, allowing us to see her, too. With most of the battlegroup well out of effective range, she was relatively safe until some of our 'Mechs could get closer.

Rand's Mongooseflashed from among the buttes, leading the remains of her company. There were only six of them, all lights and mediums and all damaged, but they raced brazenly toward Fancher's 100-ton monster. Firing on the run, they didn't score as many hits as they might have, but they distracted Fancher nevertheless. She retreated from her hilltop. Rand's crew closed in, spreading out to ring the Gladiator.It was a rash maneuver; once Fancher's support arrived, Rand would only prove that light BattleMechs could not stand against heavies and assaults. But Rand had been fighting the whole battle as if she had something to prove.

I had no time to worry about her. The Colonel's force was engaging the company sent to stop him and he needed help. I backed my Lokidown a few meters until I reached a point where I could turn it around. The other warriors followed me down the hillside.

We reached level ground in time to see the company from Beta recoiling from the Colonel's 'Mechs. The Beta machines were heavily damaged and the onrushing opponents were barely scratched. There were more Wolf Pack machines than I expected, and it took me a moment to realize that the Kuritans were accompanying the Colonel. No wonder the Beta company had taken it so hard.

This first skirmish for our reserves would not be the whole battle. Colonel Wolf had clearly staked his chance of winning this battle on success here on the northern flank. Pulling the Kuritans up here jeopardized the whole defense by stripping the southern flank of its mobile element. If Nichole's Epsilon Regiment stayed put, we might be all right. If not, we were lost.

Either way, we were committed.

* * *

An Elemental vaporized in the ravening hell of a PPC beam.

Elson sent his last two SRMs at the killer Clint.One punched into the 'Mech's left shoulder, and the other dug a bright metal scar into the Clint'supper right chest. A bad spread, but at least both missiles had scored.

In open terrain, Elementals were rarely a match for MechWarriors who knew what they were doing. These rebels were no fools. They kept their distance, forcing the Elementals to keep moving or die. Some choice. Even moving, Elementals went down, pounded by weapons with greater range.

The end of the jamming made coordinating his Stars easier. It also made it easier to hear their dying screams.

A laser blasted the ground at his feet. Elson shifted away, ready to fire his jump jets, but another beam caught the battle armor just above the knee. Pain screamed through his leg, but the suit was already pumping healing gel in to flood the area, soothing the pain. Heat flooded him, and he cursed. The suit's automatic damage control was taking over, its auto-injector had just filled his veins with the nerve dead-eners and synthetic adrenaline that Elementals called hero juice.

He wanted to think clearly.

He had to.

The Locustthat had wounded him fired again, but he was faster this time, juiced up. He shifted away; leaving the beam behind. The laser gouged only the ground. Dodging and weaving, Elson closed on the light 'Mech.

He had to take it down before it got him.

Then, then he would have time to think. He would have time to plan, and find a way of this disaster.

The Locustfired again.

Pain seared his chest, spreading faster than the gel.

He tried to keep moving, tried to raise the suit's laser to show the jock what an Elemental could do to a 'Mech.

The suit didn't respond. Sparks flashed before his eyes as the heads-up display winked out. Systems lights went dark and blackness filled his helmet.

* * *

The Wolf was slow but elegant. He was old, no longer possessed of lightning reflexes despite what some would tell you of Clan-bred vitality. But his cunning and experience compensated for much. He handled his 'Mech as if it were a part of him, almost like the fabled blend of man and machine so popular in holo-vids.

Missiles flew from the Archer'sbulky shoulders, trailing smoky clouds after them as they sought out targets. Each volley impacted with an accuracy that surpassed mere computer-aided targeting. The Wolf guided his munitions with an instinct that could not be quantified.

My ragged lance joined the Colonel's column in time to receive another thrust from Beta. The Kuritans responded faster than we did. Then we learned that we were not the only ones capable of ruses.

A company of medium 'Mechs swarmed out of a dry streambed screened from us by an iron-rich mesa. Another lance rocketed over the top. They were on us in seconds.

A Waspcaught a full barrage from the Colonel and disintegrated before it could land. It was the only one of the attackers to be silenced before they opened fire. The Colonel's Archerwas screened from the attackers by two of our reserve 'Mechs, which took a lot of fire meant for him. The lance that had come over the top had clear lines of fire, and they used them. They rained missiles down on us and stabbed at us with energy beams.

I sidestepped the Loki,soaking up some of the enemy's fire. My Lokishook like a rag doll in the hands of an angry child. System-status lights went from green to amber to red almost faster than I could see. Smoke filled my cockpit with an acrid smell and I knew I was losing electrical lines somewhere.

Through the armor of my cockpit I heard the roaring thunder of a ripple launch from the Archer.Missiles tore holes in the torso and limbs of a Javelinjust as its own launchers were recycling for another volley. The Javelincrashed over backward, a leg gone.

The rebel lance pulled back, lifting up and jetting away as fast as they had come. As if they were a signal rocket, a lance of Kuritans came pounding back. Outnumbered, the Beta 'Mechs disengaged.

It was another skirmish in our favor, but the battle was not over yet.

Hours went by. The fighting was hard, but the Kuritans made a difference, a vital difference. Where we would have had only one 'Mech, now we sometimes had two. Over the course of the small encounters that make up a 'Mech battle, we slowly gained the upper hand. In a fusillade here, a physical attack there, we shifted the odds. The battle began to turn once more in our favor.

The cat-and-mouse game between Rand's company and Fancher's Command Lance changed mode suddenly when a Kuritan Pantherappeared on a ridge and sent a crackling blue beam of charged particles into the shoulder of Fancher's Gladiator.Fancher turned the 'Mech to face the new threat, and Rand and her crew swarmed in. Short-range missiles burned in on sooty tails. Beam weapons lit the hazy field, turning it into a hellish scene where BattleMechs stalked and fought like mythical demons. Fancher's Gladiatorfell, a lion pulled down by wolves.

The loss of Beta's commander might have been enough to decide the battle, but at almost the same moment, the static filling the channels of Elson's people peaked and vanished. Our jammer linkage had been destroyed somewhere, the network broken and rendered useless. I didn't need to hear the sudden activity on Beta's channels to know we were in trouble; they were reorganizing very quickly. No less could be expected from those who wore the Dragoon wolf's head.

Our own scouts used the absence of jamming to report more bad news. Zeta Battalion was moving up.

The news soon spread through Beta. Reed, who had taken command, ordered his battered BattleMechs to fall back. After the mauling Beta had given us, he knew we'd have a hard time handling Zeta. A renewed assault by Reed's 'Mechs, coming while we were engaged with Zeta, might be just enough to break us.

The Colonel was on the line as soon as the scouts finished reporting. He told them to route all further reports through me, then he addressed our surviving units. There weren't a lot of them, and all were operating well below strength. As I scanned the status data, I wondered how much longer we could last.

The Wolf called out orders, making the most of our depleted forces. He sent the Elementals' zoomers scurrying around the battlefield to collect armored infantry into effective Points and Stars. With an uncanny eye for the strength of positions, he positioned BattleMechs across Zeta's probable line of advance.

Then we waited.

As always on an arid battlefield, we saw the dust before we saw the approaching 'Mechs. Zeta was spread wide. Besides providing a broad sensor scan range, the formation let them hide their main force behind a screen of dust. If we'd had access to aerial recon or satellite telemetry, we would have known their disposition, as they might have known ours.

Zeta's Jamison and the Colonel were old friends, well familiar with each other's style. I had no doubt that each was trying to outguess the other, trying to pit his force's strength against the other's weakness. In such a contest, I had no doubt the Wolf would come out on top, but even so, the battle would not be a sure thing. We were tired, our machines damaged and low on expendables.

Do you remember what I said about fear? My cockpit was very crowded on that late summer afternoon.

The leading 'Mechs of Zeta resolved out of the dust clouds. They advanced at a steady pace, well below their maximum. I didn't see a single machine below seventy tons. They advanced slowly, as if reluctant to begin the battle. Maybe they'd heard about the breakup of Gamma Regiment. Maybe they were having second thoughts.

I hoped so.

The only thing in our favor was that Zeta was as understrength as we were. But machine for machine, they outmassed and outgunned us. Maeve's success against Gamma Regiment would go for naught if we were defeated here and Jaime Wolf was killed. Our whole cause would be lost.

"Hold your positions," the Wolf ordered as he moved his Archerforward.

I objected, as did other Dragoon officers, but Jaime Wolf ordered us to silence. We watched as his BattleMech moved through our forward positions and into the open space between us and Zeta Battalion.

I had heard it said that a wolf will win every fight but one, and in that fight, it dies. I suddenly wondered if this was what the Wolf intended. Did he hope to stake it all on a single combat, a duel in the style of the Clans? Was this going to be the Wolf's last fight? I hoped, I prayed, that it wasn't.

Across that open area a single BattleMech of Zeta Battalion began to move. A Stalker.Though the machine was more battered than the Colonel's 'Mech, it outmassed Wolf's 'Mech by fifteen tons, a formidable opponent. An open channel broadcast from the advancing Stalkertold me who the pilot was. J. Elliot Jamison, commander of Zeta Battalion.

"Is it really you this time, Jaime?" he asked

"It's me," the Wolf replied

"Single combat won't settle it, Jaime. This is a Trial of Refusal."

Jamison's referring to the conflict as a Trial of Refusal told us where he stood. As the Wolf had predicted from the time he learned that Zeta had gone to Alpin's side, Jamison saw this as a battle of honor.

"If you didn't think we could settle it, J. Elliot, why'd you come out alone? Did you think I was coming to surrender?"

"I had considered the possibility." Jamison said nothing for a moment, then, "But I thought it unlikely. You never really give up, Jaime."

"I'm not giving up now. Alpin is dead. Elson's down, as is Fancher. Parella's missing. Their leadership is gone. You're senior commander now, J. Elliot. This doesn't have to go on."

"Forces remain on the field," Jamison responded promptly. "The Trial of Refusal is not yet complete."

"The point's been made. More bloodshed won't prove anything."

"The Trial must be completed," Jamison repeated stubbornly.

"Damn it, J. Elliot! This isn't an extermination war. Enough people have already died."

"That is not the issue." Jamison's voice was cold. "Zeta came back to Outreach to fight to uphold our laws and traditions. And we will continue to fight until there is no more hope."

"You always were too confident, J. Elliot." Jaime Wolf sounded almost regretful. "I'd never deny the quality of Zeta, but you're not fresh and neither are your troops. Your force may be heavier, but we outnumber you."

"The odds are not so uneven," Jamison replied calmly. "Beta remains nearby"

"But Reed's in charge of Beta now. His Elementals have been scattered and his BattleMechs have been whipped hard. He's scared. Half of Zeta will be gone before he commits. Combined, you might destroy my force, but you know the cost will be high. And what will be left? If we fight today we will do what no foe, not even Kurita, has been able to do to us. We will destroy the Dragoons beyond redemption."

Jamison's tone was deadly calm as he replied, "We have recovered from worse devastation. A true warrior has no fear of death in honorable battle."

"A good commander worries about his forces, J. Elliot, not just honor."

"The time for worries is after battle."

"But who will lead, J. Elliot? Not you."

"Threats are inappropriate, Jaime."

"I'm not threatening you, J. Elliot. I'm just telling you what I know about you. You'd hate the job. It's not like running a battalion, or even a regiment. You remember when you took over Alpha? That was a Cakewalk."

"I'm not doing this for myself."

"I know you're not, J. Elliot, and I understand why you sided with Alpin. That's why I came out here to talk with you. Honor can be served without battle. The issue can be decided by agreement. Even if the battle isn't lost, the cause is. Give it up, J. Elliot. We don't need to fight."

"The Trial is not yet concluded."

The Stalkerbacked away from the Archer.

"Will my death satisfy your honor, J. Elliot?"

Jamison made no reply. His Stalkerturned and moved to rejoin his unit.

"There's been too much death," the Wolf called after him.

The Archerstood unmoving on the field. If the Wolf did not soon start back, his 'Mech would be caught in the open, unsupported. Zeta's charge would destroy him.

I started my Lokiforward. "Colonel Wolf!"

"Hold your position, Brian. No one is to move."

Throttling back, I wondered if the Colonel was going to sacrifice himself to stop the battle? If I had correctly understood Jamison's slavish devotion to tradition, the Wolf's death might indeed buy the lives of our surviving forces. As the principal in this challenge, Jaime Wolf was pivotal in its prosecution; he could end it instantly by admitting defeat. Yet, that was the one thing he would not do. He was a Dragoon and would fight on as long as there was any hope.

The Stalkermoved through the forward positions of Zeta Battalion and mounted the small rise from which it had previously surveyed the field. The lead elements of Zeta Battalion began to move again.

I looked at the Archerstanding alone on the field. Jaime Wolf's death would automatically negate a Trial of Refusal in his name. Even if we fought on, the end would be the same. Jaime Wolf would no longer lead the Dragoons. Our victory, should we achieve it, would be hollow.

The air around us suddenly filled with the sound of thunder, the noise washing over us in waves as the badlands erupted in columns of smoke and fire. The ground shook beneath the feet of our 'Mechs. At first I thought that Fire Support Group had backed Zeta's attack with an awesome artillery barrage, then I saw that the approaching assault 'Mechs were in as much disarray as we were. More, several of the assaults in the front rank were down and smoking.

The thunder rolled across us again and the moon came down from the sky. But it was no moon; it was a gigantic DropShip. The vessel hovered between the contending forces on pillars of flame while aerospace fighters buzzed around it like angry protective angels. More fighters swept between us and Zeta, furrowing the ground with their energy weapons. All comm channels were blanketed by the same message from Fleet Captain Chandra.

"There has been enough dying. I take upon myself the role of Loremaster and arbiter. The challenge is over, the decision made." She paused. I think no one on the battlefield breathed while we awaited her next words.

"Welcome back, Colonel Wolf."