"That's it," he called on the company comm line. "Head for cover."
Throughout the area, the Combine 'Mechs turned, dodging behind trees as they ran. The supporting infantry ignited smoke bombs to screen the passage of the 'Mechs before running themselves, hoping that the Steiner pilots would not bother with such paltry targets. As he ran the "Katana Kat" through the forest, Fuhito could hear the Elsies blasting away, shattering the woods in their fury and frustration.
26
Sitika County, North Galfree, Marfik
Dieron Military District, Draconis Combine
26 September 3028
The Atlastook a last thundering step onto the airstrip at Jilenka. The slam of the cockpit hatch against the upper surface of the head was lost amid the rumblings and creakings of the BattleMech as it settled to rest. Hauptmann-Kommandant Heany stood in the hatch and let the September breeze ruffle her ash-blonde hair. She sketched a salute to the Senior Warrant Officer in charge of the resupply team that had begun to swarm over her 'Mech.
A pair of SYD-21 AeroSpace Fighters roared overhead. Heany looked up at them and smiled to see the blue stetson-in-the-ring symbol of Hauptmann Kreuger's AeroLance. Kreuger's fighters had reported the remnants of the Eleventh Legion of Vega gathering near Sitika. Jump troopers on scout patrol had confirmed the report. The annoying weeks of hit-and-hide were over. The Legion had been brought to bay.
The last months had been too much of a trial, adding to the embarrassment Heany had suffered when the Legion fled her 'Mechs at Massingham and eluded them in the woods. While the Fourth Skye Rangers were stumbling about in the unfamiliar terrain, the godless Snakes had crossed a narrow neck of the forest and bushwhacked the Thirteenth Assault Regiment, causing enough damage to have Colonel Thompson's unit pulled back for refitting. There would be hell to pay when General Nondi Steiner could spare enough attention from the rest of the Gotterdammerung Offensive against Kurita space to inquire into the doings on Marfik. But Heany intended to have accomplished her mission by then. Surely the actual capture of the Heir-Designate of the Draconis Combine would overshadow anything else that happened on Marfik. Thompson's complaints about Heany's alleged incompetence would go unheard.
The weeks of constant harrying by her air command and ground forces had taken their toll on the Kuritans. More than two battalions of BattleMechs had been captured or destroyed. The Legion of Vega was as good as defeated. The previous week's ambush, which had crippled Benoit's Zeus,was a last gasp. If any real fight had remained in the Snakes, they would have gone after her Atlasinstead of the Zeus.The contacts with Combine forces in the last few days had been fleeting. They had initiated no strikes, laid no ambushes. Her biggest headache had been the clashes between off-duty troops and the civilians in the occupied cities. The fool Dracos not only didn't know when they were beaten, they didn't know when they were free from the tyranny of Kurita.
Now that didn't matter. Her prayers had been answered; the Legion was gathering in the hills east of Sitika, forgoing their sniping games for a last stand. Heany laughed aloud at the thought. If those samurai wanted a last, glorious battle, she would give it to them. Already the tanks and 'Mechs were moving into position. Tomorrow the Fourth Skye Rangers would descend on the Legion of Vega, and Theodore Kurita, dead or alive, would be hers. This time he would not escape. There was nowhere left to run.
* * *
The explosion threw clots of dirt against the leg of the "Katana Kat," but Fuhito ignored it. The Steiner infantry were using antipersonnel charges in their mortar shells; even a direct hit would have little effect on the BattleMechs armor. The Kurita infantry, digging in along the south perimeter of Leftior township, were not so well-protected. Most had scrambled for cover as soon as the barrage began. The rest lay sprawled and dying in the tall grass.
"Gutherie," Fuhito snapped. "Take that lance of 'craft from the Light Horse and run off those groundpounders. Give our people some room."
"Hai!"was the reply as the battered Locuststrutted out over the tarmac. Four J. Edgar hovercraft whined along in its wake like strange, squat ducklings.
Fuhito didn't bother to watch as the hovercraft and the Locustfanned out to drive away the lead elements of the Steiner forces descending on Sitika. If their scouts had arrived, could the main body be far behind?
Half an hour later, the "Kat" was pacing down the highway that ran through the Leftior hills. Ahead on his right, Fuhito could see the remaining 'Mechs of the Legion preparing positions. Silhouetted against the setting sun, they looked like exaggerated cartoon figures, crazed ditch-diggers more concerned about the placement of the dirt they shoveled than about the ditch they dug.
Among the fifteen 'Mechs working there, Fuhito saw the blocky shape of Tai-saKurita's Orion.Just as he had throughout the five weeks of bitter raiding among the shadows of DonnerBrau Forest, the Tai-sawas among his men, urging them on. The handless arms of the Tai-sa's'Mech were of no help in the digging, but the Orionseemed always to be there when brute strength was needed to flatten a tree, to open a fire lane, or to bull out a boulder for setting into a defilade position for one of the last few tanks.
The Legion had been battered down, and Tai-saKurita had decided to make a stand. He had chosen Sitika as the spot for his honorable end, saying that the hills matched a description he had read in Koyo Gunkanof the battlefield at Kawanakajima. That had been an epic battle in the annals of old Terra's samurai. "If we cannot win," the Tai-sahad declared, "let us die in the epic tradition." Soldiers who had mocked the Tai-sawhen he first arrived had roared their approval.
Fuhito was proud to be serving under such an officer. The Tai-satreated his men evenhandedly; anyone who broke his regulations was punished, regardless of rank. The Tai-sashared the same trials and dangers as the troops. He held no exaggerated opinions of an officer's sanctity, such as Fuhito had seen among the commanders in Warlord Samsonov's forces on Galtor. If the Tai-sawere to die here on Marfik, it would be a great loss to the whole Draconis Combine.
The "Kat" ran on. In minutes, Fuhito had reached the Sitika airport, last stop on his tour of the facilities for the final defense. He jetted the "Kat" to the roof of the terminal building to survey the area. To the east, amid the rolling green hills outside the city, the Legionnaires toiled away, preparing their defensive line. All recon reports indicated that the Lyrans were accepting the inherent challenge of the Legion's stand and were advancing to meet the Kuritans head-on.
To the west lay the placid waters of Sitika Bay. That at least was a secure flank. The Elsies had no naval forces in their invasion force, and an amphibious attack by 'Mechs was also impossible. The floor of the bay was soft silt, a mire trap for any bottom-walking BattleMech.
To the north and south, the flanks were virtually open, screened only by a few mobile units. There seemed to be little threat, for Lyran probes had been light or nonexistent. Even were it a ruse, the Kurita flankers were far enough out that they would give Tai-saKurita sufficient warning to revise his battleplan.
The city itself was a pitifully small collection of buildings, not really large enough for a 'Mech battle. Its most prominent feature, the spaceport, was also, of little use now. The Legion's AeroSpace Fighters were all destroyed or in hiding elsewhere in the system, and their atmospheric craft were reduced to a mere handful, operating from clearings in the forest.