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  A fragment of something he'd heard suddenly hurtled forward into Phelan's consciousness, and it was as though a blindfold had been torn from his eyes. "Vlad isn't in control. Natasha warned me about the power requirements for a Gauss rifle. Vlad hit the triggers for everything in his first shot. He's got the Gauss rifles set up as his primary weapons, so they get first crack at the power from his fusion engines!"

  Phelan popped the Lone Wolf up to its full height and spotted the Executioner at half a klick and moving quickly. As Vlad brought the Omni around, Phelan cut loose with twin missile flights. With golden explosions, five missiles cratered the armor on the Executioner's right leg. Over half the other flight ground into the 'Mech's left arm and blew out armor chaff.

  The impact knocked that Gauss rifle off target, its round shell sailing high and wide of the Lone Wolf. A second later, however, the Executioner's right-arm weapon launched its projectile in an electric flash. The Lone Wolf lurched to the left as the ball pounded the 'Mech's left hip. Armor shards flew through the air and the 'Mech slewed half about.

  Phelan twisted his body back onto the command couch and dropped the Lone Wolf into a crouch. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!" His primary monitor showed him that the upper portion of his left leg armor had been utterly destroyed. "One more shot like that, and I lose the leg!"

  He knew Vlad would be a tough nut to crack, but confirmation of his power problem gave Phelan some hope.

  Phelan backed the Lone Wolf from the mesa, then worked to the left. He picked a spot between two jutting stone formations and stood there. His computer marked the Executioner at 300 meters, and Phelan hung both crosshairs on him. The second the dot in the middle of them flashed, Phelan sent two missile flights and a Gauss rifle shot at Vlad, then immediately ducked down. Through the open canopy, he heard the missile explosions.

  Suddenly the earth shuddered beneath the Lone Wolf's feet. Dust and pebbles rattled into the cockpit as a silver ball gouged a divot from the embankment that hid Phelan. A scarlet energy beam sliced through the air right behind it, but neither attack did any damage to the Lone Wolf.

  "He's figuring out what I've learned about his 'Mech. He may be a son of a bitch, but he's not stupid." For a half second, Phelan wondered idly why he hadn't stayed a bondsman. Anger at himself chased the thought from his mind. You're a warrior, that's why. Now be smart, hit hard, and run.

  Twice more Phelan managed to use the terrain and his superior mobility to snipe at the Executioner. By circling, he managed to keep the right side of Vlad's 'Mech in his sights. The missiles scoured armor from the 'Mech's right leg, torso, and arm, leaving them covered with the tattered remnants of ferro-fibrous plating. But the Gauss rifle did the most critical damage. It punched through the weakened armor on the Executioner's right breast, destroying the laser. The larger laser dropped down to crush one of the pulse lasers.

  As dark smoke poured from the hole in the Executioner's chest, Phelan leaped his 'Mech up onto the ridge line he'd been using for cover to bring his autocannon into play. Vlad turned his 'Mech to meet Phelan head-on. Without a second's hesitation, all weapons oriented on their targets. At 200 meters, the two warriors let everything fly.

  Phelan's paired flights of missiles shot from the Lone Wolf's shoulders, drawing gray contrail lines in the air. Missiles chipped away at the armor over the Executioner's heart and blasted armor from its right leg. More missiles poured through the hole in its right side and yet others chopped into the armor at the 'Mech's left shoulder.

  Bracketed by the missile tracks, the trio of pulse lasers found their target easily. One drilled a hole through the Executioner's right arm, evaporating its last armor. The second sent a stream of molten ceramic coursing down the 'Mech's left leg. The last blasted a staggered line of holes down the 'Mech's face in a crude parody of Vlad's own scar.

  Phelan's autocannon tracked poorly and ripped away all but the last bit of armor on the Executioner's right leg. The Gauss rifle's argent sphere pulverized the armor on the 'Mech's left arm, sending jagged sheets of it to the sand. Though the fire laid much of the arm bare, it did not destroy the Executioner's own Gauss rifle.

  Vlad's return fire rattled and shook the Lone Wolf, leaving Phelan feeling like a rock being shaken in a tin can. The first Gauss rifle slug blasted into the Lone Wolf's left arm, snapping the limb off at the elbow and spinning the 'Mech to the left. Phelan's Gauss rifle careened off to explode down in the trench he'd previously used for cover.

  With his altered priorities in place, the Executioner's battle computer cycled through his lasers before it got to his remaining Gauss rifle. The pulse laser in the shattered right breast stitched a half-dozen steaming holes in the Lone Wolf's right leg. The other two pulse lasers both melted a deep hole in Phelan's right flank. The Executioner's large laser lanced its red beam through the left side of the Lone Wolf's chest as Phelan brought his machine back under control and turned it to face Vlad.

  The Executioner's right-arm Gauss rifle spat out a hunk of metal about thirty centimeters in diameter. Nothing more than a silver blur, it shot straight into the middle of the Lone Wolf's chest. Phelan's teeth smashed together as the whole torso pitched up, jamming him down into the command couch. Vlad disappeared from view as the empty canopy filled with a vision of the cloudless blue sky. Phelan clawed at the arms of his command couch and tried to step back to steady the 'Mech, but the ridge offered him no footing.

  For a time that felt like forever, he knew the horror of freefall in a BattleMech.

  The Lone Wolf hit the ground with all the grace and gentleness of a huge rock. The abrupt landing smashed Phelan down into the command couch and whipped his head back against a cockpit reinforcement. His neurohelmet prevented his brains from being spattered all over, but he still saw stars. His left arm jammed its elbow against the edge of a console, numbing it to the wrist. He bit his tongue, tasting blood from that and from where the neurohelmet mashed his lips against his teeth.

  Sparks flew through the cockpit as monitors and control panels shorted out. Warning klaxons blared, then were choked off by a pop and a puff of smoke. Pouring in through the skeletal remains of the cockpit canopy structure, dirt and stones ricocheted off broken equipment and Phelan's battered body. One large piece cracked the viewport on his helmet as it bounced off to the back of the cockpit.

  Then he heard nothing except the rattle of debris and the steady whispered rumble of the fusion engine. His left arm felt on fire as feeling returned to it, but a visual inspection showed only a small cut on the forearm. He brushed away the dirt that had pooled at his throat and started to unbuckle himself from the ruined 'Mech.

  What stopped him was a bizarre and terrifying sound from outside. Thud, scrape, thud, scrape, it reverberated powerfully through the ground and into his 'Mech. To Phelan, it was the noise made by the deranged, one-legged maniac that haunted scary stories he'd heard as a child. As quickly as he clubbed that childhood fear down, another more insistent horror rose in his heart. That's Vlad. He's coming for me.

  Phelan moved instantly to action. Working the right joystick around and pushing the 'Mech's foot pedals, he found power still going to his 'Mech's limbs. The total absence of monitors meant he had no idea whether any of his weapons were still operational. Without his battle array, he could only guess if a weapon was on target, but he knew that a 'Mech at point-blank range would be very hard to miss.

  That's a point Vlad won't overlook.

  Using his 'Mech's right arm, he pushed off against the ground. The Lone Wolf started to move toward the right, but caught only after a shift of a few degrees. Phelen pushed harder, but heard armor panels buckling, so he stopped. As he relieved the pressure on his right arm, the Lone Wolf sank back to its original position.

  Despair clutched at his heart. I'm wedged in tight. I've got no weapons. There's nothing I can do. I'm going to die!

  From somewhere deep inside, he heard a voice that could only be his own. If you're going to die, Phelan Kell, you'll die a man.
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  He clenched his jaw and swallowed hard. Working his left arm around to ease its numbness, he waited.

  Thud, scrape, thud, scrape. His pulse matched itself to the thunderous cadence of Vlad's approach. A thousand different plans for escape flashed through Phelan's mind and were rejected. He knew he couldn't run because Vlad would gladly hunt him down and kill him whether he were in a 'Mech or not. Calling out to Natasha would do no good. As nearly as he could tell, his radio was out, and during the test, it would be jammed anyway.

  Vlad did not keep him waiting long. The Executioner pulled itself up onto the ridge and stared down at the Lone Wolf. From shoulder to foot, the entire right side of the 'Mech's body had been stripped of armor. Impact craters and laser burns dotted the rest of the 'Mech's hide like disease sores. Smoke drifted from the ruined half of its chest and hung over the body like a wispy cloak.

  Vlad's laughter echoed from the Executioner's external speakers. "So this is how it ends? I would have expected more of a fight from a warrior as great as you."

  Phelan flicked open his helmet's face plate. "If you were any sort of opponent, I might have really put my best effort into it."

  "A mistake, Phelan. I regret that I cannot offer you the luxury of learning from it. I would have let you live to wallow in your dismal failure, but I have not been given that choice." The Executioner's left arm swung its Gauss rifle muzzle in line with Phelan's cockpit. "You embarrassed Conal in the Grand Council and he has demanded your death."

  Phelan snorted contemptuously. "If you had the balls God gave a sand flea, you'd come down here and slit my throat."

  "Fortunately, Phelan, I have the brains God gave a man and I remember you wear a gun in the cockpit. Nice try."

  "A warrior's got to try."

  "A fitting epitaph. Too bad's it's too long to inscribe on the thimble they'll use for your remains. Farewell, Phelan."

  Phelan swept his 'Mech's right aim up and dropped the boxy weapon pod down to cover his open cockpit. At the same time, he stabbed both command couch foot pedals to the floor.

  The Lone Wolf's right arm slammed back into the cockpit like a hammer. The canopy skeleton shattered and raked jagged pieces of metal through the cockpit. One sliced through the surface of Phelan's cooling vent, instantly filling the air with the acrid scent of 'Mech coolant. Fist-sized hunks of armor rained down from the weapon, their jagged edges nicking and cutting Phelan's arms and legs.

  Once armor fragments stopped clattering around in the cockpit, the only sound in the eerie quiet was the bass undertone of the fusion engine. Vlad did not curse him or taunt him. He heard no sound of Vlad's 'Mech limping to another position. Could my kicking out with my feet have shaken the ground enough to knock him down?

  Phelan peeled the Lone Wolf's arm away from its face. Pressing the limb to the ground, he pushed off again and the OmniMech seemed to move much more freely. He rolled it over to the left, then gathered his feet under him. Slowly and cautiously, he raised the 'Mech to its full height and looked out over the edge of the trench.

  The Executioner lay on its face. Still-glowing stumps and the bubbling burning ends of myomer muscles were all that remained of its right arm and right leg. The hole in the right side of the 'Mech's torso had expanded all the way to the midline and beyond. From it, Phelan saw a thick cloud of gray smoke, and the scent told him the Executioner's, gyro had been reduced to scrap.

  Static crackled through the speakers in his neurohelmet, followed quickly by Natasha's nervously giddy laughter. "It's official, Phelan. The exam is over. Thanks for opening up Vlad for me and keeping him busy so I could line up that long shot."

  Phelan shuddered. "Yeah, well, entertaining Vlad seems to be a specialty of mine." He felt blood trickle down from a scratch on his right arm. "I'm just glad you came along when you did."

  "Why, Phelan Wolf, I think you're the first person outside the Dragoons ever to say that to me."

  "And no one ever meant it more, I can assure you." Phelan's Lone Wolf slowly scaled the side of the trench. "I'm happy you got your quartet of 'Mechs, but I hope you'll understand if I never want to do this again."

  20

  Tetsuhara Proving Grounds, Outreach

  Sarna March, Federated Commonwealth

  22 July 3051

  Kai Allard wiped his sweaty palms against his cooling vest. "I copy, Victor. I appreciate your advice. Heaven knows I can't hope to do as well out there as you did."

  Victor's voice made it through the speakers full of confidence. "Kai, Hohiro smoked my mark, so I know you can do better. I'm counting on it. The honor of the Federated Commonwealth rests on your shoulders."

  Kai shivered. "You had it easy. Shin was your wingman. I've got Sun-Tzu out here, which means I've got four people hunting me."

  "He'll have his hands full with the crew they've arrayed against him. As long as you don't shoot any of his targets, his folks will leave you alone and yours will leave him alone. Remember, you've got an Omni and they're just running normal 'Mechs. You'll dust them in no time."

  "Don't waste your money betting on me."

  "Can't," Victor laughed. "No one will give me good odds."

  Another voice, one Kai instandy recognized as that of Jaime Wolf, cut into the channel. "Sun-Tzu Liao and Kai Allard-Liao, this is your time of testing. Though all energy weapons are powered down and, projectiles are phantom rounds, damage will be assessed at full value by the computers monitoring the exercise. Still, caution is important because the 'Mechs are subject to damage. Fall off a mesa and land on your cockpit and you'll be as dead as you would be from a head shot in a battle. Do you understand?"

  "Roger, Colonel." Kai heard the echoes of Sun-Tzu's reply a moment later.

  "Your mission is to defeat the foes arrayed against you. You may cooperate, but radio communication will be jammed for both sides of the battle. You may shoot at enemies not assigned to you, but that frees your foes to pursue your ally and vice versa. These exercises are usually complicated enough that such additional confusion is not necessary. You will be ranked according to the number of foes you destroy and the amount of damage you do. Good luck. The exercise will commence in thirty seconds."

  Kai took one last glance at his primary monitor. It reported all weapon systems operational, and Kai smiled at the array he had been given. The LRMs, the extended range large laser, and the Gauss rifle would all hit at longer ranges, letting him pick apart enemies working in closer. At closer range, his heavy autocannon and battery of pulse lasers would do some serious damage. This Daishi, whose name meant Great Death, looked like it would live up to its name.

  Across the battlefield, he saw a frightening group of enemy 'Mechs. Allotted to him were an Archer, a Blackjack, and a BattleMaster. He evaluated the 'Mechs in terms of threat and formulated his plan of action. The Blackjack, he knew, had the lightest armor. A concentrated assault in the form of missiles, large laser, and Gauss rifle could take it out of battle almost instantly. The Archer, with two batteries of LRMs, was built for long-range combat, which meant he'd have to close with it or duke it out at a distance.

  The BattleMaster, Kai decided, should be his second target. An assault 'Mech, it was heavily armored yet somewhat under-gunned, especially for a long-range duel. Hitting it early would mean that Kai had a better chance of having all his weapons available to attack it. If he ended up closing with the Archer last, he could use his close-in weapons to deal with it.

  He glanced over at the other Daishi standing 250 meters to his left. Like his 'Mech, the blocky war machine stood on back-canted legs. Its stubby, cylindrical arms ended in weapon muzzles, a Gauss rifle left and large laser right. The autocannon rode high on the left shoulder, and opposite it, the hulking LRM launch mechanism rose like a hump on its right shoulder. The trio of pulse lasers were mounted just below the Daishi's chin on the right side of its chest.

  Kai snorted grimly as he noted Sun-Tzu had his weapons pointed at the enemies they faced. The second he learned of his pairing in the ex
ercise, Kai vowed to stay away from Sun-Tzu. Even if one of Sun's foes presented Kai a clean backshot, he had decided not to take it. I don't care what it could do for my score. If I do anything to interfere with his performance, I'll never hear the end of it.

  The digital display flashed down to 00:00, and Kai's combat display came up. Instantly, he dropped the crosshairs for his weapons onto the outline of the Blackjack. His right thumb punched the button on top of the right joystick, launching a full flight of twenty missiles at the 'Mech. His left hand hit the thumb button and firing button under his index finger, bringing the Gauss rifle and larger laser into play.

  Missiles dotted the Blackjack's head, chest, and left flank with computer-animated fireballs. The large laser swept across the top of the 'Mech's left thigh like a surgeon's scalpel, leaving a deep, nasty scar in the computer's image. The Gauss rifle's phantom projectile streaked across the landscape and smashed the Blackjack squarely in the knee. The impact shivered most of the armor from that leg and dumped the Blackjack to the ground.

  Kai darted his Daishi forward twenty meters and off to the right, anticipating his foes' plan for him to retreat. The twin flights of missiles from the Archer overshot him by that margin. The particle beam from the BattleMaster's pistol-like particle projection cannon burned wide, bringing a smile to Kai's face. If I can keep you guys guessing ...

  Suddenly, missile detonations wreathed the BattleMaster's arms in fire. "You idiot, Sun-Tzu, you hit the wrong target!" Kai glanced at the secondary monitor updating the BattleMaster's damage, but took no satisfaction at the report. "Stupid accident and now whatever gets past him comes after me. Why did I have to be paired with him?"

  Though the battle had been going on for only a few seconds, everything suddenly stopped as a ring of fire blossomed around Sun-Tzu's canopy. The duraplast viewport blew out and away as the explosive bolts detonated. An intense light flashed to life from within the dark cockpit, then Sun-Tzu's command couch rode a rocket into the sky. Without even slowing, the couch shot over the line of hills beyond the enemy 'Mechs and disappeared from view.