Chapter 6:
Baiting the Jaguar
(cont...)

Except that Dominic’s gauss rifle had punched two deep holes into the enemy OmniMech already, and now the fragments worked further into the Shadow Cat’s leg and blocky torso than he would have thought. The ankle joint threw sparks and wispy blue-black smoke as the actuator tore apart, freezing the animation in that joint. The Cat’s thermal image also darkened into the dangerous red band as more shrapnel chipped away at the physical heat shield which surrounded its fusion reactor. It was a sluggish and crippled Shadow Cat which finally limped from the chamber, followed a few seconds later by Dominic’s own Cat and then Sinclair’s Orion.

The passage tightened up at once, barely enough room for a ’Mech to walk and crawling around sharp bends that hid the Clan ’Mech from sight. Connor noticed a single Elemental still clinging to Dominic’s shoulder, tearing away at the armor with the steel claw that replaced its left hand. He targeted it with a single medium laser, careful not to hit his lancemate. The emerald beam sliced into and through the Elemental’s leg, amputating it at the hip. He fell to the tunnel floor, but with the tough resilience Elementals were known and slightly feared for, the armored trooper quickly rose on hands and knee to fire its shoulder-mount missile two-pack. A last act of defiance, since Connor’s second laser shot ended his life a second later, but the Jaguar warrior had still cost the Orion in savaged armor when the missiles slammed into its chest and right leg.

Connor Sinclair made the next cavern only seconds behind Dominic. An extensive, three-story factory complex had been built to cover most of one wall, spreading vertically so as to leave the floor open. Next to it a broad ramp, large enough for BattleMech access, spiraled up toward a hint of daylight -- a secondary entrance to the facility and the commando’s escape route. If they lived to use it.

A pair of immense storage tanks dominated the wall across from the factory. The fleeing Shadow Cat was already targeting the large tanks. An Orion twin to Sinclair’s moved down the ramp to bring its own weapons into play. The lieutenant counted themselves fortunate that at least here the Jaguars had reinforced their construction, taking no chance with an accidental rupturing of the tanks. The Cat was the most dangerous, hammering away with its gauss rifle, the nickel-ferrous slug gouging large holes into the armor siding. The enemy Orion had yet to clear the ramp’s overhang.

"I said to blow those tanks! I want a report to that effect! Gamma Base?"

If the tanks had been blown, doubtful anyone would have time to report. Sinclair chalked it up to Ratache Osis’ attempt to command over a comm system rather than in person. If it wasn’t officially reported, then obviously it hadn’t happened yet. He framed his cross hairs with the outline of the enemy Shadow Cat.

Only to have Dominic ace him for that target. The left arm gauss rifle spat out a silvery blur that punched straight through the thin rear armor of the Jaguar Shadow Cat, smashing aside support structure and shielding for the fusion reactor. The scarlet beam from his two medium lasers followed, coring all the way through and releasing the blossom of golden fire at the ’Mech’s heart.

The Shadow Cat blew apart and Sinclair winced, waiting for the chemical storage tanks to go up in a sympathetic explosion. One of the Cat’s arms flew across the chamber to smash into the Orion just as it cleared the ramp. The impact spoiled the Jaguar warrior’s aim, his first set of missiles flying wide of the targeted storage tanks.

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