The flotilla was nearing the headland of the bay when a lance of Scorpionsarrived on the beach. As the light tanks halted and fired a few rounds at the rapidly vanishing hovercraft, Fuhito found the strength to raise the exoskeleton claw and wave goodbye.
31
Edge of the Sea of Tears, South Nantuo, Vega
Dieron Military District, Draconis Combine
30 October 3028
The Dervishloomed out of the blowing sand. Ruby death pulsed from its blocky forearms and 60mm demons screamed from its bloated chest. The thunder of its steps was lost in the howling wind that seemed to carry half of the Sea of Tears through the sky.
Half-blinded and choking on the dust, Leutnant-Colonel Brian Kincaid stumbled out of the path of the behemoth just barely before one of the 'Mech's massive feet demolished the work shack he had just left.
Trying to shield his face with one hand, he wrestled his sand goggles into place with the other. Eyes still stinging and watering from the abuse, Kincaid was able to discern a wall of the hut still standing, its door slamming violently in the wind. He fought his way to the lee side and grabbed one of the filter masks still hanging undisturbed on the remains of the wall.
He was trying to remember the layout of the base, but without much success. The airfield was already socked in when his battalion command lance had pulled in for repairs. There had been little to see in the rising storm. He knew that the shack was somewhere south of the terminal building near where he'd parked his Zeus,but the confusion of the sudden Kurita attack and the raging sandstorm had disoriented him.
Flashing fire split the darkness that ruled the storm's depths. Tracer rounds from a heavy-caliber autocannon sought out a target, finding the terminal buildings. Vitryl and masonry exploded free to be taken up by the roaring gale.
The originator of the barrage, a Combine JagerMech,appeared briefly through the swirling sand. Kincaid watched helplessly as a pair of Steiner ground troopers struggled to bring their missile launcher to bear on the 'Mech, only to be vaporized under a pair of coherent light pulses from the machine's lasers.
The storm's whimsy shielded the Kuritan, cloaking the JagerMechmore effectively than it did the four or five other shadowy shapes that clumped past the ruins of the shack where Kincaid crouched, hugging the still-standing wall, knowing the crumbling masonry was no protection against the enemy BattleMechs. Kincaid cursed his helplessness. He was in command of two-thirds of the Third Lyran Guards BattleMech regiment, as well as half a dozen conventional regiments, but he was separated from his Zeusand out of communication with his command. Carrying only his M & G service automatic, there was nothing he could do to stop the rampaging Kuritans.
The wind began to drop suddenly, heralding the passage of the storm's eye over the base. Visibility improved, but in every direction, the horizon remained invisible behind walls of airborne sand. Thick clouds still boiled overhead. In the gray twilight, Kincaid could see the appalling destruction the Snakes had already wreaked in their sudden raid.
Caught by surprise, the Lyran vehicles and 'Mechs had been destroyed where they stood. Barracks and service buildings were a shambles, many completely flattened. His back to the sheltering wall, Kincaid looked across the field at the Combine attackers.
Two lances of Kurita 'Mechs stood scattered about the tarmac. Sand-crusted lubricant fluid oozed from their joints and dripped sizzling to the paved surface. Their weapons were mostly silent, pilots venting heat to bring the machines' temperatures down to safer levels, but machine guns and the occasional autocannon cut down any Steiner troops gutsy enough to face the marauders.
A shrill hooting emanated from a sand-colored
Pantherwhose chest was emblazoned with a
kabuto-helmeted
The four joined the other Combine machines already gathered on the runway. The 'Mechs sorted themselves out into a loose wedge, the Pantherat the head. The 'Mechs on the left flank swiveled their torsos to the left while those on the right twisted right. Gathering speed, the hulking machines began to pound along the runway.
Energy lanced out from laser crystals and PPCs while deep-throated autocannon vied noisily with the shrill whine of machine guns as the 'Mechs raced along. Their targets, Lyran AeroSpace Fighters grounded by the weather and tarped-over for protection from the sand, erupted in flames. The oily black smoke that rose from their blasted remains was shredded and dispersed by the winds still raging high above the base. The Combine BattleMechs continued on when they reached the end of the runway, weapons silent now. The 'Mechs were shadows in the sand, becoming progressively more obscure until they disappeared into the storm's embrace.
Kincaid was standing alone on the runway amid the burning wrecks when the Lyran reaction force arrived.
"Where are they, Colonel?"
"Gone. Again."
It would be no use to pursue them. Even during the first week of the Kuritan offensive, the damned Snakes had somehow been able to strike and vanish almost with impunity. Now, under cover of the storm, they would, be more elusive than ever.
* * *
The "Katana Kat's" myomer-powered fingers clung to the rockface, anchoring it in the hundred-kilometer-per-hour winds. Fuhito watched the funnel cloud whip down the wadi, sucking sand from its hard-packed bed. The dark whirlwind slid over McCoy's Cicada,knocking the long-legged 'Mech to the ground and pulling it to pieces.
"Frak!" Fuhito swore. McCoy and his 'Mech were the third they had lost to the wild tornadoes in the two weeks since the seasonal weather front had closed in on South Nantuo. The Legion had taken fewer battle casualties while hamstringing Lyran invaders during the same period.
The killer funnel passed on, and Fuhito and his detachment continued on their way in the diminished storm. An hour of hard travel brought them to the cliff face that sheltered the Second Legion of Vega's base camp. In the caves honeycombing the cliff, away from the sand and wind, the Legion had set up their little-used rest-and-recovery facilities. Looking forward to the quiet, Fuhito led his men through the makeshift windscreens into the relative quiet of the caverns.
He dumped his record of the sortie over the microwave link to the unit's battle computer and eased off the heavy neurohelmet. The four-day patrol had stiffened his body, making the climb down the "Kat's" exit ladder an exercise in agony. He found Michael Heise waiting for him.
"Good hunting, Tetsuhara-fean?"
"Good enough, Tai-sho.The full report's in the comp," Fuhito said wearily. He ran his tongue over his gritty teeth; somehow sand had leaked into his purification system. "The weather is deadly. We lost McCoy to a funnel."
"Unfortunate. But not unexpected for this time of year. Vega is not known for its gentle summer weather." Heise shrugged. "It's been a boon to us this year, though. The damned Lyran AeroSpace force has been grounded for two weeks. Tai-saKurita's strategy of mounting attacks under cover of the storms has paid off incredible dividends. Between the storms and our attacks, more than half the Lyran fighters are ruined. Which means that when the skies clear in a week or two, our air forces will be evenly matched. Then we shall have a glorious fight."