High Desert,

Southern Continent,

The Rack,

The Periphery

"Heat level critical – shutdown imminent".

Bainbridge knew he was in trouble as soon as he heard the computer's latest warning. Firing both the Valiant's paired PPCs and using his jumpjets simultaneously had taxed the remaining heat sinks beyond their capacity. He'd used up all his coolant during the earlier fighting – all he could do was wait for his mech to bleed off the excess heat. Bringing the Valiant to a halt, he managed to avoid a shutdown, but it made him a sitting duck for several vital seconds, during which Macready doggedly brought his Pillager about.

Philip pushed his throttle to the stops as he saw it's massive arms rise to a firing position, but the Valiant was still running hot and responded sluggishly. He'd never be able to dodge this time.

Springer crowed triumphantly as he saw the other mech struggling to move. Taking careful aim he tied both gauss rifles to the primary firing trigger and squeezed. This time both slugs found their mark. One blasted though the thin armour protecting the Valiant's LRM launcher, wrecking the internal structure. Philip counted his blessings that he'd run out of ammo just moments earlier. The second slug shattered the armour plating on his right arm. The thunderbolt impacts sent the Valiant reeling backwards and Bainbridge had to fight both the controls and feedback from his neurohelmet to keep the giant war machine upright. Two more sections flashed red on his damage display, but on his weapons display, the gauss rifle suddenly lit up, indicating it was operational again.

Philip blinked in surprise. Maybe the impact jolted loose whatever was jamming it, he thought. Whatever the reason, it was time to let this pirate have a taste of his own medicine. He dropped his crosshairs over the Pillager's centre torso and loosed off a snapshot. His aim was off though and the slug found the pirate mech's right leg, shattering much of the armour plating. Macready, surprised by the quick riposte, felt his mech stagger, unbalanced by the loss of armour. Regaining control he tied all his laser weapons to the primary firing circuit and cut loose. With the range now under 300 metres it would have been difficult to miss. Four thin beams and one larger beam of ruby coherent light reached out like fiery talons to vapourise armour from the Valiant's centre torso.

Intent upon finishing his foe, Macready continued to close the range and fired his gauss rifles as soon as they were reloaded, paying little heed to the accuracy of his shots. Bainbridge's evasive manouevres caused one slug to miss, though the other impacted on the Valiant's centre torso, obliterating the remaining armour and breaching the internal structure.

"ECM disabled", warned the computer.

Wary of overheating his mech again, Philip restricted himself to firing a single PPC in reply. He was surprised but gratified to see a small explosion and an uncontrolled, pale blue energy discharge erupt from the Pillager's right torso as the shot breached the remaining armour and destroyed the gauss rifle mounted there.

Macready screamed in anger and pain, trying to block the wave of neural feedback that threatened to render him unconscious. Certain weapons, when destroyed, sent uncontrolled surges of energy though the mech's electrical systems, which in turn were sent via the neurohelmet, straight to the pilot's brain. Gauss rifles, which were powered by magnetic coils, were one such weapon. Shoving his throttle fully forward, he charged at his opponent, fully intending to ram him. Bainbridge realised the pirate's intent and dodged with just a few metres to spare. Macready countered by extending the Pillager's right arm and aiming a punch at the Valiant's damaged centre torso.

The barrel of the large laser mounted in the right arm drove deep into the Valiant's already-damaged internal structure, smashing the gyro housed there. Philip felt his sense of balance desert him as the massive assault mech unbalanced and began to fall on its back. Wedging himself in his command couch, with his back and neck braced for impact, he hoped the couch's stabilisers, which prevented excessive movement, would protect him from serious injury.

The Valiant crashed to the ground in a cloud of sand, dust and rock fragments. Alarms sounded and warning lights flashed across the command console, as the mech's rear armour and various internal systems were either damaged or destroyed. Shaken like a rag doll in the mouth of a Rottweiler, Philip pressed himself into the couch as hard as possible, eyes screwed shut. He let out a cry of agony as sharp pains lanced through his neck and spine. He was almost on the verge of passing out when suddenly the world stopped moving and all became relatively calm.

Eyes still shut, he was dimly aware of the computer's litany as it detailed all the damage that had been done to the mech. He tentatively tried moving his neck and back. Relief flooded through him when he discovered that, although in a great deal of pain, he seemed to be fully mobile. Slowly opening his eyes, he discovered the cockpit seemed to be mostly intact, aside from some overloaded and burnt-out controls and damaged monitors. His view of the outside world, however, was almost completely obscured by the layer of dirt, which covered the mech's relatively small cockpit windows. The master and battle computers still seemed to be functioning though, so he began running system checks to see if there was any chance of getting his mech back on it's feet.

Springer Macready let out a yell of triumph as he watched his opponent crash to the ground. He slowly advanced his mech forward, waiting for the dust cloud to clear. As the air cleared, he saw the dust-covered form of the battered Valiant lying prone on the ground. As he moved towards it, he activated his neurohelmet radio and checked he was still on the open channel they'd used before the fight. He wanted everyone to hear the moment of his victory.

"Well, you fought a good fight, son. Now I'm gonna give you the end that every good warrior deserves".

He brought the Black Rhino to a halt at the feet of Bainbridge's downed mech, like an assassin taking one last look at its victim. Macready angled the Pillager's arms so that his lasers were aimed at the Valiant's cockpit.

"If you've got any last words, I'd say 'em real quick if I was you", he went on in an almost conversational tone.

Philip's mind froze with horror at Macready's words. He couldn't believe the man intended to kill him in cold blood while he lay helpless in his cockpit. Squinting out of the dust-covered canopy, he could just make out the Pillager as a dark shadow against a lighter background. Suddenly he saw a bright flash and for a heart-stopping moment he thought Macready had delivered his coup de grace. Then he realised it was the sun glinting off the pirate mech's cockpit.

An idea struck him. A quick scan of his weapons display told him the twin PPCs in his left arm were still operational. He yanked on his control stick and the arm jerkily moved across to focus on the pirate's cockpit, its damaged actuators screeching in protest. As he did so he tied both weapons to the primary trigger.

In a moment of bravado that he would later cringe at the memory of, he checked his com system was still functioning and that he was also broadcasting on a open frequency.

"You want some last words, Macready? Enjoy your stay in Hell!" Even as he spoke, he was surprised how level and steady his voice was. Philip experienced a moment of complete calm and tranquility, as people sometimes do when they are beyond fear and past caring what happens to them. He closed his eyes and felt himself relax as, without conscious thought, his finger tightened on the trigger.

Nothing happened.

"Target inside minimum range", reported the computer.

"Crap!" Bainbridge swore as the fingers of his left hand danced over the keys of the battle computer, typing in the commands to disengage the PPCs' field inhibitors. These safety mechanisms prevented the particle cannon from being fired at close range, which could damage the weapons.

"Warning, field inhibitors disengaged, weapon damage probable".

Ignoring the computer's warning, he held his breath as his right forefinger squeezed the trigger again.

Macready blinked as he saw the Valiant's arm move, unable to believe what he was seeing. The moment's hesitation was all the time Bainbridge needed. The last thing Springer Macready saw was an actinic blue light that seemed to engulf the entire world.