A hail of autocannon shells swept the valley floor behind him, but only succeeded in blasting Firestarterdetritus into even smaller scraps of waste metal. Fragments of ferrocrete peppered the rear of Justin's Rifleman,but did no real damage. After a short pause, another long burst of fire rattled through the artificial valley.
That's theUrbanMech. He's got a ten-shot-burst autocannon, as opposed to the five-shot popguns ourRiflemen carry.Justin narrowed his eyes. They have to assume my back armor is in sad shape. Given Capet's rudimentary cunning, that means they'll try to trap me between them so that one of them can get a shot at me. TheUrbanMech has the jump jets to get it down here. How stupid is that pilot?
Justin opened a radio channel to Capet. "Find some spot with ample camera coverage, Capet, because I'm coming up to kill you." He closed the line before Capet could answer, then allowed himself a quiet laugh.
Justin limped his 'Mech deeper into the tunnel. While still in view of the crevasse, the tunnel opened onto a passage running parallel to the crevasse. He swung the Riflemanright, just barely around the corner, and turned it so that its back pressed against the corridor wall paralleling the crevasse. I'll give him ten minutes. If he's not down here by then, I'll just have to take my chances up above.
Justin heard the echoed report of jump jets as the UrbanMechlanded in the crevassse. A tiny laser beam—the UrbanMech'sother weapon system—splashed against the opposite wall of the corridor. He's cautious, but not cautious enough,Justin thought grimly.
He pivoted the Legend-killeron its frozen left leg. The huge 'Mech swung around and filled the tunnel mouth, its guns snapping into line with the smaller UrbanMech.Then Justin let loose with every weapon the Riflemanhad.
The large lasers cored through the UrbanMech'sheart like ruby drills. Shards of hot armor careened off the tunnel walls and whirled through the air. Fire and steam flared from the huge hole in the 'Mech's chest as one of the medium lasers stabbed through and destroyed everything it touched. White heat erased the 'Mech's midsection on Justin's infrared display as engine shielding evaporated.
Autocannon fire smashed armor on the 'Mech's dwarfed left arm, and shredded armor on the right side of the UrbanMech'storso. The other medium laser in the Legend-killer'schest slashed into the torn armor on the UrbanMech'sright side. It blasted away what little armor remained, then shot needles of fragmented ruby light into the 'Mech's chest, which ignited everything they touched.
One light spear hit the autocannon magazine, and detonated the first of the caseless explosive shells waiting to be fed into the
UrbanMech'sImperator-B autocannon. When that shell burst, it sowed white-hot slivers of metal throughout the magazine.
The uneven flashes of light popping from within the UrbanMech'schest spat metal and fire. One explosion tore the autocannon off and sent it skittering back into the crevasse on a jet of ochre flame. More explosions dented the UrbanMech'storso armor from the inside, then punched out to freedom. The whole top half of the 'Mech snapped open like the lid on a jack-in-the-box, and a column of flame shot up to engulf the tunnel roof.
The explosion's Shockwave rocked Justin's unsteady Rifleman.Pieces of debris sizzled through the air and hammered the Legend-killerwith a fury that suggested the UrbanMechwanted revenge for its death. Justin, shaken by the explosion and stifled by the volcanic heat-vortex swirling in his cockpit, struggled to keep the Riflemanstanding. He stumbled the 'Mech backward and came to rest with its back to the corridor wall.
The diagnostic program redrew the knee joint and beeped urgently at Justin. Well now,he thought. There is a silver lining in this whole sordid cloud.Something—the Shockwave or a piece of Urban-Mech—had dislodged whatever had previously jammed the Rifleman'sleft knee. Waiting for his heat levels to drop to acceptable levels, Justin chuckled silently to himself. Even when you cheat, Capet, you can't get it right.
Justin spun the Riflemanand sent it lumbering off to the left. Taking the first ramp leading up, he mounted it at a nearly reckless pace. He sped on through intersections after only the most cursory examination. He altered his course almost at random, but always continued upward.
Slow down, Justin,he told himself. Haste will get you killed. Capet will want to hit you from behind. You must take more care.Justin smiled slowly as an idea blossomed in his mind. Perhaps you can turn his desires against him.
Justin opened a radio channel to his foe. "Come out," Philip. Stop hiding."
"Hiding? I anxiously await your arrival."
Justin narrowed his eyes. "I found myself unavoidably detained a bit earlier. I felt compelled to watch the UrbanMechexplode. It is a pity you were not there."
Capet's laughter sounded hollow. "I'll catch it on the replay. I warned him that you Capellan bastards are sneaky."
Justin nodded. "That we are, Capet, but you'll never understand the true depth of our brilliance in that department."
Justin turned his 'Mech to the left and entered a narrow tunnel that gradually sloped upward through the shadows. As he started into it, the darkness shrouded his 'Mech. Inching along slowly and laboriously, Justin became uncomfortable, for the tunnel was too narrow. He had no room to turn.
As though Capet had read Justin's mind, he suddenly stepped his Riflemanup to block the Legend-killer'sline of retreat. "It's all over, Justin Xiang. Good riddance."
Even as Justin brought the Legend-killer'sguns up and over to cover Capet's 'Mech, the other man's Riflemanblazed away with everything he had. Before his weapons could blast into their target, however, Capet's inhuman scream of rage echoed throughout Ishiyama. In the laser's backlight, the ghost painted into the logo on the Legend-Killer'sbreast seemed to mock Capet's ambush with a fool's grin.
Capet's two large laser beams hammered into the Legend-killer'sright side. Chunks of armor shot away on vapor jets as the energy beams instantly converted ceramics and metal to gas. One of the Rifleman'smedium lasers pierced the gray, swirling cloud and destroyed a medium laser on the Legend-killer'schest. Capet's other medium laser boiled armor from the Legend-killer'sleft breast, while the autocannons puckered and chipped armor on the left arm and leg of Justin's 'Mech.
"That's right, Phillip," Justin said with a laugh, "I marched the Legend-killerinto this little trap backward.Just like a treacherous Capellan to pull a trick like that, eh? And so like a stupid Federat to fall for it."
Justin ignored the dozen warning lights flashing for his attention. He concentrated on his phantom left arm and watched the golden crosshairs that it controlled drop onto the box of glass and metal jutting out from between the Rifleman'sshoulders. The gold cross drifted down into place, then flashed in syncopation with Justin's racing heartbeat.