"With all respect, Tai-sho,you sound like one of Tai-saKurita's inspirational speeches."
Heise chuckled. "And why not, Tetsuhara -kun? I am inspired by him. He has turned the situation entirely around. When the weather breaks, we will destroy the Elsies."
"We shall certainly fight them, Tai-sho,"Fuhito agreed, unsettled by the unfounded optimism replacing Heise's previous unfounded gloom. "But, again with respect, destroying them is another matter."
Undaunted, Heise waved his arm to indicate the Kurita forces gathered in the caverns. "These are inspired troops. They cannot but achieve victory. When the weather clears, we will take to the wadis again, running along our secret highways to attack the Elsies where they least expect it."
The Steiner forces had been fooled so far, but despite their reputation, they were not totally dim. They would not remain oblivious to the Combine ploy. Once the Lyrans figured out the Tai-sa'sstrategy, the Legion would have to face the elite Third Guards 'Mech to 'Mech. The Second and Fourteenth Legion Regiments had not had the benefit of Tai-saKurita's attention as had the Eleventh Vegan. Even though they probably outnumbered the Elsies, these Legionnaires were not yet ready for open battle with the Lyran veterans.
"Soon the Lyrans will realize that we are traveling on the wadis, and our element of surprise will be lost," Fuhito said. "We will have to face them directly."
"With Tai-saKurita to lead us, we shall triumph!"
Fuhito hoped he was right.
32
Kerschengian Factory Complex, Cochus, Vega
Dieron Military District, Draconis Combine
13 December 3028
The Victorshuddered under the impact of armor-piercing shells from the Lyran Marauder'sautocannon. Theodore stomped down on the throttle, running for cover behind the gutted factory building. Blue lightning from one of the Lyran's PPCs ripped the ground at the accelerating Victor'sfeet.
That Lyran strike team had pierced the Legion's lines and cornered him and his command lance in the Kerschengian Factory Complex on the outskirts of Cochus. Tourneville had transmitted a warning of the Lyrans' arrival before cutting behind a row of storage tanks, leaving Theodore and Tomoe to face a quartet of Lyran heavy 'Mechs. Tomoe's outclassed Pantherhad been gutted in the first rush, but she had punched out as the 'Mech collapsed. He had seen her chair's parachute and assumed she had landed safely. He dared not consider any other result.
Without warning, azure fire burned across his path. Theodore twisted the Victorto the left, and as he did so, the origin of the bolt was revealed: Trouneville's Vindicator.Theodore checked his wide scan and refocused the visual scanner on his rear quadrant. Tourneville's target, a Lyran Crusader,was visible there, still reeling from the damage it had taken from the Vindicator'sPPC. Sputtering fires burned in the wounded 'Mech's left belly.
Theodore ripped off a burst from his Pontiac 100 autocannon. The high-velocity shells clawed through the Crusader'storso, shredding ceramet armor. Secondary explosions sent shards of titanium-alloy internal braces rocketing from the wound. The Crusaderdoubled over and sat down heavily. A massive explosion stretched it out as the fusion reactor blew, spewing a fountain of liquid metal and hot gases into the air.
The Marauderrounded the corner behind Theodore, who fired the Victor'sjump jets, hoping to escape the enemy warrior's sights before he could get a weapons lock-on. The eighty-ton machine rose rapidly, as twin PPCs ionized the air beneath it.
Looking for a safe landing place, Theodore watched Tourneville dodge away as a Lyran Warhammercratered the tank behind which the Vindicatorhad sheltered. The Kurita medium 'Mech fled for cover, unable and unwilling to stand against the seventy-ton monster.
Theodore searched for the fourth Steiner 'Mech, an Ostroc.He found it, the smooth shape of its egg-shaped body standing out plainly from the angular tangle of I-beams jutting from the rubble of a workshed. Angling his flight, he tried for a landing to the Ostroc'sright, well out of the field of its shoulder-mounted missile launcher.
The Lyran saw him coming, turning as Theodore recovered from the landing. The Ostrocunleashed a full fusillade of laser fire. One of the weapons missed the hulking Victorcompletely, but the other three savaged the 'Mech's duralex sheathing. Armor plates flowed, revealing further layers, shiny from partial melting.
Theodore fired his jump jets again, trying to overlap his enemy and catch him from behind. The Lyran reacted, the stubby snouts of all four lasers tracking the flight of the Victor.Ruby pulses sought the Kurita 'Mech's vitals, but the heat build-up in the Lyran machine must have affected its targeting computers. The pilot missed what should have been an easy shot.
The Victorgrounded a scant ten meters behind the Ostroc.Theodore fired the Pontiac, then closed without waiting to see the results. Fragments pattered against the Victoras 100mm shells shattered the weak back armor of the Lyran 'Mech. Armor vanished, exposing the machine's internal superstructure. It, too, cratered and disappeared under the explosive fury of the shells. The Ostroc'schestplate and right arm leaped into the air as the 'Mech's rocket storage ignited in a violent chain of explosions. The Steiner machine toppled, a disjointed puppet bereft of guidance.
Theodore aborted the kick he had intended to cripple the Ostroc'sleft leg.
Victory was short-lived. Theodore's 'Mech rocked under renewed assault by the persistent Marauder.The Lyran's PPCs gobbled the Victor's back armor, exposing its inner workings. The Victortoppled under the violence of the attack, crashing to the ground before Theodore could compensate.
The impact jarred him, costing him precious seconds as the alien shape of the Marauderstalked closer. The advancing 'Mech pulverized concrete blocks under its clawed feet as it scrambled over a wall of rubble. Its carapace swiveled to point in Theodore's direction, lining up under the dorsal autocannon, which spat explosive death at the downed Victor.
Lyran shells crawled destructively across the breast of the Victorand crashed into the 'Mech's head. The cockpit rang under the pounding, pitching under the release of kinetic energy. Theodore was tossed violently about. When his neuro-helmet connections ripped free, Theodore was slammed back against the command couch, stunned.
Lacking the neural feedback from Theodore's system, the Victorwent limp, lying defenseless before the Marauder.Wary of a trick, the Lyran advanced cautiously. At thirty-five meters, it halted. One massive, blocky forearm rose and extended toward the fallen 'Mech's leg. Cyan energy howled out to caress the limb, flaying armor plates under its hellish energy. The Lyran pilot fired again, dissolving the rest of the Victor's protective covering. Exposed actuators and myomer pseudomuscles melted and flowed under a third blast. Coolant fluid from ruptured lines flash-boiled in an explosive burst of steam.