Black Widow II: The Beast Of Ishiyama

by Triptych

The new Black Widow returns! A deadly and mysterious creature haunts Ishiyama Arena in the Game World of Solaris-7, can Natasha Kerensky end it's reign of terror?

Black Widow: The Beast of Ishiyama

By Triptych

Yet not so much but what I shook with dread

at sight of a great Lion that broke upon me

raging with hunger, its enormous head

held high as if to strike a mortal terror

into the very air. And down his track,

a She-Wolf drove upon me, a starved horror

ravening and wasted beyond all belief.

She seemed a rack for avarice, gaunt and craving.

Oh many souls she has brought to endless grief!

-Dante

  Some people called it the Iron Mountain. Its very reputation would illicit horror stories from the ones who had been inside it. Deep inside its twisting, cave-like tunnels would lurk monsters, some people would say. It was a modern day labyrinth, like the lair of the Minotaur, it would swallow up mechwarriors into its black depths, sometimes never letting them out again. The lucky ones that would survive the ordeal would say that they would never again return to it. Mothers would tell misbehaving children that the monster of Ishiyama would take them from their beds and would never return them to their families again. But most of these were but rumors and superstition. People really didn't believe that there could be monsters in a man-made construct, could they? But even in the 31st century, there were still superstitions that abounded.

  Yet, with each year that Ishiyama Arena opened its doors to mechwarriors and fans alike, it was always a glorious day. Trivid broadcast ratings would always go through the roof every time a match inside the iron mountain was presented. It was the showcase arena of the Draconis Combine in the world of Solaris VII. Ishiyama was the most efficient example of "slaughter as entertainment". With cramped, dark tunnels, hidden pits and a sense of never knowing where one is and where one's opponent could be demands the complete and utter concentration if one is to survive a mech combat match there.  It is said that the only man ever to know the complete layout of the Iron Mountain was the chief architect, who took the secrets to his grave. It is not surprising to know that many rumors abound that his ghost haunts the Ishiyama Arena itself.

  Megan McGavin had heard these ghost stories about the Iron Mountain since she was a child. But at this hour, at this moment, there were other, more pressing issues on her mind. Megan was in the middle of a match between her cooperative and the Blackstar Stables. Although it wasn't a championship match, big money was at stake. Megan needed to win this match badly, she needed the prestige of winning as well as being able to fulfill the promise she had made to her younger brother Kieran, she had promised him that with their savings, she could at last purchase him that mech which would also allow him to become a mechwarrior.

  Beads of sweat trickled down Megan's forehead, past her neck and began to soak her cooling vest. She eased her War Dog mech along the dimly illuminated tunnel that seemed to stretch out into an eternal void. Megan hated playing a match in Ishiyama arena but with a multi-million C-Bill purse on the line, she could not afford to decline this tournament.

  The tight, cramped tunnels were the hallmark of Ishiyama as the restricted terrain meant that most battlemechs would have to continue on the path that they had first chosen because turning around as well as mech torso twists would be near impossible. Sneak attacks from behind meant devastating damage to the victim and the only recourse would be to charge up the engines and sprint down the tunnel you were already heading down, hoping that there would be intersecting tunnels up ahead and the mech behind you wouldn't be fast enough to keep up.

  Another major annoyance was that as a prerequisite in fighting in Ishayama, one had also to disable their battlemech's navigation systems and most sensors. This meant that weapons fire would be mostly handled by the mechwarior himself. As a consequence, most mech weapon load-outs for a match in Ishiyama meant having to forgo long-range missiles and bulk up on heavy, close-range weapons such as autocannons, pulse lasers and short-range missiles. More bloodthirsty mechwarriors would carry swords and hatchets with which to cut loose should opposing mechs ever encounter themselves in point-blank range, which seemed to happen quite occasionally.

  Megan smiled despite the stress and heat in her cockpit. Weeks before her brother Kieran had replaced the gauss cannon on her mech's arm with the massive 200mm Ultra autocannon. All she needed was a few clean shots and her opponent would be a smoldering pile of metal.

  As Megan's War Dog rounded a corner she emerged into a dimly lit cavern. Although Ishiyama was mostly honeycombed tunnels, there were rumors that large caverns had been built for the sole purpose of having teams of mechs blundering into a large enough room to either turn around and head back from whence they came or to possibly fight with more maneuverability as opposed to the restrictive tunnels.

  As her War Dog fully emerged from the adjoining tunnel and into the large cavern Megan let out a cry of shock.

  It was her opponent. Or rather, what was left of him.

  From her cockpit visor, Megan could see what was left of the remains of a Marauder. It seemed that her opponent's legs had been torn off. One leg was actually still standing beside one of the adjoining tunnels, it had been sheared off from the base of it's torso, bits of myomer muscles, red with lubricant that seemed like blood, could be seen oozing out of the leg itself. Great chunks of machinery and armor seemed to have been torn out of the torsos of the Marauder, as if some giant beast bit and clawed its way into the delicate internal machinery.

  But what shocked Megan the most; despite her years of experience as a mechwarrior was the fate of the pilot itself. The pilot of the Marauder seemed to have been torn out of his own cockpit as if by a giant bite that left parts of his body along the sides of the stricken Marauder.

  Megan tried to calm herself as she punched on her microphone button. "Mechwarrior to Ishiyama control, come in over!"

  "This is Ishiyama control." A voice acknowledged.

  "Something terrible has happened to my opponent. The match is forfeit. Get me outta here." Megan could barely control herself.

  "I'm sorry mechwarrior. Our tri-video and locator systems are temporarily offline. We need you to stay put for now."

  "I can't do that! Get me out now!" Megan screamed into the microphone.

  There was no reply as her communication systems went static.

  Megan had had enough. She immediately powered up and began to turn back into the tunnel that she had just come out of. Despite the fact that she didn't have any navigational sensors operational, she knew that her onboard computers had recorded the paths that she took and that should lead her to the hangar bay where she started.

  But it was not to be. A strange monstrous shape emerged from the tunnel Megan had just exited and into the cavern to join her.

  Megan screamed as she backed up into an opposite tunnel, her massive autocannon spraying depleted uranium slugs at the unholy thing facing her. Megan kept trying to peer back as she raced through a cramped tunnel as fast as her reverse throttle would take her and at the same time trying to sight her weapons in order to at least slow the thing down.

  As the tunnel began to angle at a sharp incline, Megan revved up her reverse throttle as fast as she could go. She wasn't sure whether her weapons had hit the creature as it disappeared when she reversed into the tunnel. Megan thought she might have seen a glimpse of the thing that was chasing her as she fired once more into the tunnel.

  But Megan had misjudged the tunnel because its steep incline rapidly ended and became a massive decline as the tunnel forked downwards. Her War Dog's gyros tried to keep it upright but finally failed when she inadvertently picked up speed and finally fell to the bottom when one of her mech's legs got tripped from a piece of debris lying on the tunnel floor.

  Then followed a few seconds that seemed like an eternity to Megan's panicked state as she tried frantically to get up but her fall had apparently damaged the War Dog's gyros. It was then that the creature that had been stalking her leapt up and smashed into her mech.

  Megan cried out. Her last thoughts were to her younger siblings and not to the horrid thing that was tearing open her mech's cockpit with its massive fangs.

*****

  "Second incident this month, if I recall." Even though he was speaking from a tri-vid COM Screen, the Minister of the Interior for the Draconis Combine could not hide his anger.

  "Yes, your Excellency." That was all Craig Nishimura, the acting manager of Ishiyama Arena, was permitted to say.

  "Nishimura-san, do you realize that within three weeks the Coordinator will be celebrating his birthday?" Lord Shinjo Karawasa, the Interior Minister, continued.

  "Yes it is your Excellency. May you send our honored Coordinator my warmest greetings?" Nishimura tried to change the subject.

  "And do you also realize that the Coordinator's birthday coincides with the annual Black Mountain Cup championship?" Karawasa would not be swayed.

  "Yes, your Excellency. I am aware of that." Nishimura could barely hide his concern.

  Lord Karasawa's voice finally lost his calm. "And do you see what is being shown in tri-vid broadcasts all across the Sphere? That there is a monster inhabiting Ishiyama Arena!"

  Nishimura kept silent.

  "And now you have just announced yesterday that all remaining matches for the year will be cancelled! Have you gone mad? Ishiyama Arena is the pride of the Dragon, Nishimura-san! It will be a great dishonor to the Combine and especially to the Coordinator if the Black Mountain Cup does not proceed as scheduled." Lord Karasawa continued.

  "Yes, your Excellency." Nishimura answered meekly.

 "Come, come Nishimura-san. You are not a stupid man. The people of the Combine are looking at the future. We need to make them forget about Alshain. I'm sure you know what the full consequences will be for you if there is a shut down. At the very least it will be your job, but you also must remember that your position carries the highest degree of honor in the Combine. Do you wish to see your family in disgrace?" Lord Karawasa said.

  "The Black Mountain Cup will be going ahead as scheduled, your Excellency. I will not fail the Dragon." Nishimura answered.

  "Let us hope not, Nishimura-san, for your sake." With that, the tri-vid screen went blank.

  Craig Nishimura was quite new at his job, only a month ago the manager of Ishiyama Arena, Mr. Nobuto, had committed hara-kiri in order to at least salvage his family's honor. The Coordinator himself quickly handed over the reigns to Nishimura. And that made the situation all the direr. That Craig Nishimura had no choice but take the job, in not taking the job he would have been deemed not loyal enough. Such was civilian life among the people of the Combine.

  Now, sitting on his desk, in an office that was formerly occupied by his predecessor only a month ago, Nishimura needed to redeem his honor. The only alternative was hara-kiri as well.

  "Do you see what my situation is now?" Nishimura said aloud as he turned his chair towards a figure sitting at the far end of the office. The woman was positioned in such a way that the tri-vid screen was focused away from her and she was therefore able to listen in with complete anonymity.

  Loucynda Byrd straightened her still lean figure on the guest chair. "Yes, I do."

  Nishimura observed Loucynda Byrd. Even though she was now almost past middle age, she could still carry an air of authority. After all, she had finally attained the Chairperson's position in the Solaris Council. Her mandate made it that despite the turmoil of the FedCom Civil War; the games would go on as usual. He also knew of her reputation, not only as a problem solver but also that of a very canny and dangerous woman who should not be trifled with. But if there was anyone in the whole of the Inner-Sphere who could help him with this predicament, it was she.

  "Will you help me?" Nishimura asked.

  Loucynda's trademark waist-length black hair had strands of gray in it. "Nishimura-san, Solaris is a profit center and my function is to make sure that nothing interferes with that profitability."

  "What will you do then?"

  Loucynda was adamant. "For now, there will be no matches in Ishiyama until the Black Mountain Cup. In the meantime, I will send teams of infantry and engineers as well as forensic experts to locate the downed battlemechs. I also want to interview those maintenance crews that partially recovered some of the wreckage there. For now, not a word of this gets out of your office, understand?"

  "Of course." Nishimura replied.

  Loucynda looked closely into Nishimura's eyes. "What do you think is down there?"

  "I, I'm not sure. The maintenance crews say it is a monster from the depths of hell." Nishimura looked away from her probing eyes.

  "Have they seen it?"

  "Not really. No. They have told me that they saw glimpses of it. Just saw   shadows and such. They didn't dare linger in those tunnels for more than a few minutes at a time." Nishimura said.

  "And?"

  "They say it walks on all fours and is gigantic. As large as a mech." Nishimura replied.

  "Or could even be a battlemech itself." Loucynda mused.

  "What are you trying to say? That this could be the work of an individual or group? For what purpose?"

  "I will soon find out." With that, Loucynda Byrd got up and left the room.

*****

  Solaris VII was, in many ways, a microcosm of the Inner-Sphere itself. Despite being located in Lyran space, Solaris VII maintained an independence that only planets like Terra or Outreach could surpass. Major cities within Solaris City itself were actually mini-states that where governed by the Great Houses themselves. From the quiet and orderly streets of Kobe (jurisdiction of the Draconis Combine) to the grand spires in downtown Cathay (under the "benevolent" rule of House Liao), the image of Solaris City was a reflection of the Inner-Sphere itself. It was almost as if there was a Solaris City in everywhere and at every time.

  Even at the present time, the events of the Inner-Sphere would permeate into Solaris City. Hundreds of Clan exiles had settled down on both the outskirts of Kobe and Silesia, adding their unique way of life into the Solaris melting pot as well as becoming fierce warriors in the arenas. Even though Solaris was relatively peaceful despite the events of the FedCom Civil War, gangs from the Davion Black Hills area would at times venture into the Lyran controlled sub-city of Silesia, to do battle against loyalist counterparts in an eerie parallel of the war.

  For Natasha Kerensky, clone of the original Black Widow herself, it was the first place where she wanted to go to after her "rebirth". And in many ways, it was the perfect place for her to be anonymous. On the first few weeks of her stay, Natasha had come to realize that in her previous incarnation she had grown into a near mythical figure among the people of the Inner-Sphere. Countless books and scholarly works of her unit's exploits became the stuff of popular folklore. Even a movie was made about her doomed romance with Joshua Wolf, brother of the legendary leader of the Dragoons, Jaime Wolf; it was a box-office hit across the Inner-Sphere.

  But what was most amusing of all to Natasha was the cult of her personality. Thousands of teenage girls (and some boys) in Solaris City alone had dyed their hair red and dressed like mechwarriors. Contests were held every year in which the person who most closely resembled her would win prizes such as live colonies of black widow spiders.  Therefore, in this city, she could totally disappear into anonymity. It was a welcome break to Natasha, for the forces of her creator, the Bounty Hunter, were hunting her. Natasha dreaded the day they would meet again, for she knew it would be the last for both of them.

  But for now, Natasha was having a great time. She had a place of her own, a nameless flat in a quiet section of the International Zone north of the Solaris river. Although she was receiving a pension from her few allies such as the mysterious Gentleman, she would sometimes supplement her income by taking her modified, all-black Warhammer mech to the outskirts of Solaris City, dueling against other unknowns in small-scale mech pit matches. She had been playing matches for six months now and had yet to lose a game. Stable representatives approached her with requests for interviews but she spurned them all, not wiling to give up her armor of anonymity.

  And it seemed like a night like any other for Natasha Kerensky, having just finished a pit match, she wanted to go out for a night on the town and get herself drunk. She knew that a few more weeks of this would become monotonous and she would be bored as hell, but for now, it was just grand. Natasha purposely rode her motorbike along back streets in this part of Kobe, for she knew that cops from the Combine were rather harsh in their treatment of even just petty offenders. As Natasha drove her screaming motorcycle along one of the back lots of the Industrial section, she noticed a commotion.

  From the looks of it, it looked like a gang of street toughs was beating up another pedestrian. Natasha sighed. She knew that she was going to intervene, it wasn't because she felt like being a hero, but rather her adrenaline rush wasn't spent at all when she had her pit fight earlier in the day when her opponent was felled by a cockpit shot from one of her Warhammer's gauss cannons in less than a minute. She also needed the practice, Natasha felt she was getting soft in hand to hand fighting.

  Natasha brought the bike to a screeching halt in front of the four toughs. It looked like they had brought the victim down with baseball bats and were just kicking the poor sod on the ground now.

  Natasha took off her helmet and strode towards them. "What's going on here boys?"

  The closest toughie turned around to face her. Natasha could feel the contempt on his face, as she resembled just another Black Widow wannabe. "None of your business 'Black Widow', now get lost before we make your boyfriend a widower."

  "Fair enough." Answered Natasha as she flung her crash helmet at the toughie.

  Most people already have a preset reaction when something is thrown in their face, in the toughie's case; he automatically dropped his baseball bat and caught her helmet. With lightning speed, Natasha quickly dropkicked him in the chest that sent him flying across the alleyway and made him land in a heap. As the first toughie went down, Natasha picked up his baseball bat.

  The other thugs quickly saw what was happening and surrounded her. Natasha knew what was coming, the others in front of her would act as distractions as the one behind her took a swing at her seemingly unprotected neck. As the thug in front of her took a step forward, Natasha sidestepped and dodged the blow from the other thug behind her while she pivoted and cracked the back of his skull as he inadvertently lunged forward too much after his miss. Thug number two hit the ground with a loud thud. Now there were two left.

  Both the remaining two thugs swung their bats at her at the same time but they misjudged her agility as she ducked underneath their swings and in one fluid movement, cart wheeled and brought her boot to connect with one of the thug's chin. Trained in the art of fighting by Meridian himself, she gave it just enough force to break his jaw but not too much as if to drive the bone splinters into his brain. The third unconscious thug dropped to the pavement. The fourth had apparently had enough; he dropped his bat and ran towards the main street.

  Natasha helped the victim to his feet. He didn't seem that much hurt; it was more bruises than anything. He looked like a teenage boy; she wasn't that much older.

  "Are you okay?" Natasha asked.

  "Yeah, thanks." The young man answered.

  Natasha needed to know what was going on. "What are you doing here? Did those thugs know you or was this just a mugging?"

  "They knew me, they were friends of my landlord, looking for me to pay my back rent." He had brownish hair and had bruises on his cheeks.

  Natasha looked him over for any major injuries. There was none. "Hmmm… Lets get you home."

  The young man's blue eyes sparkled. "Thanks."

  It was a short hop on the motorbike till they got to the young man's apartment. The place was strewn with technical supplies for battlemechs, the ones that were small enough to fit into an apartment anyway.

  A small blond boy at the door greeted them. "Kieran! What happened to you?"

  Kieran picked up the little boy in his arms. "I slipped on the sidewalk, Duncan. You need to go to bed. It's late."

  The boy whose name was Duncan looked quizzically at Natasha before heading to the bedroom. "Okay, goodnight."

  Kieran looked back at Natasha. "That's my kid brother, Duncan. You, ah, never told me your name yet."

  "It's Natasha." She answered.

  "Right. So the 'Black Widow' herself saves me from a bunch of thugs. Wow. C'mon, tell me your real name." Kieran was skeptical.

  "That is my real name." Natasha smiled.

  "Okay, okay, whatever you say. I suppose you had it changed, right? Lemme guess, your last name is Kerensky too I suppose?"

  Natasha kept smiling. "That's right."

  "Ookay. Whatever you say." Kieran gave up as he walked over to the sink to put some ice on his bruises.

  Natasha sat down on the stool by the kitchen table. "So now that I know your first name, what's your surname?"

  "It's McGavin."

  "Are you related to Megan McGavin of the Black Lions?" Natasha looked up.

  Kieran's answer came almost as a whisper. "Yes."

  "I'm sorry." Natasha was mad at herself for being so brash.

  "It's okay. I guess you were gonna find out sooner or later. Listen, thanks for the help. I don't know how I can repay you cuz I don't have any cash right now. In fact, my brother and me are gonna have to leave this place soon anyway, no rent money." Kieran had tears in his eyes.

  "I knew your sister, Kieran, I met her in the mech pits awhile back." Natasha lied, but since her curiosity was aroused, she wanted to learn more about the circumstances surrounding her death.

  "Funny, she never talked about you." Kieran replied.

  Natasha winked. "That's because she met a lot of 'Black Widows' and didn't want to bore you, I'm sure."

  Kieran laughed and sat down. "Ok, Let me tell you something. I'm going to get a mech and go back to Ishiyama and kill that thing that murdered her. That's my only goal in life other than taking care of Duncan."

  "Revenge can be a dangerous thing." Natasha mused.

  The night passed quickly and the two became friends. Natasha found out that Kieran was the grandson of the legendary Lloyd McGavin, the founder of the Draconis Combine's Nightstalker regiments. After Colonel McGavin's death, Kieran's father blamed the DCMS high command for the unnecessary death and destruction of the 1st Nightstalkers and consequently was exiled along with his family from the Combine. Kieran's father died soon after they settled down in Solaris City and his mother died during Duncan's birth for they could not afford a doctor. It was during this time that Megan, being the oldest, dropped out of school and won a mechwarrior scholarship from a training school outside Solaris City. Although she never finished her term, Megan was able to do well in pit fighting that got her catapulted to the Arenas and she became a consistent winner in Class-4 matches.

  By the early hours of the morning, Natasha was able to convince Kieran to move into her flat in the International Zone. Duncan, being just a boy, loved Natasha's more spacious accommodations and was particularly impressed with the all-black Warhammer sitting in Natasha's custom hangar adjoining the side of her flat.

  "The kid is a born techie." Natasha mentioned to Kieran the next morning after breakfast as Duncan went to the hangar to fiddle around with Natasha's toolkits.

  "He's an even better mechwarrior. I can feel it. He beats me at the simulators in the arcades all the time." Kieran smiled. It had only been a few days but the two brothers had grown attached to Natasha already. Both were inseparable and gave a lot of help in maintaining Natasha's Warhammer.

  "I think I've grown fond of the little tyke." Natasha said.

  "I'd better help him out, we gotta lay in that new myomer bundle into your Warhammer's right leg by noon." Kieran walked towards the hangar.

  "By noon? Good luck!" Natasha quipped as the doorbell rang. She went to the anteroom to open it.

  It was Loucynda Byrd. "Natasha, right? Do you remember me?"

  "Ms. Byrd. How could I not remember you? Come in." Natasha answered sarcastically.

  Loucynda sat herself on the living room couch. "It's been what? Six months since that Jade Falcon raid?"

  "Something like that. If you don't mind Ms. Byrd, I'm a bit busy so please tell me why are you here?" Natasha was impatient and showed it.

  Loucynda Byrd had been the leader of the defense force when the Jade Falcons raided Solaris City. Natasha had disobeyed direct orders in order to defend the Battlemech Museum but it proved to be the decisive factor in handing the raiders a stinging defeat. "Just like the Natasha I know. Straight and to the point, with no regard for authority. Okay, to the nitty-gritty then. You heard about these killings in Ishiyama Arena I'm sure."

  Natasha sat opposite to the dark-haired woman. "Yes, who hasn't? What about them?"

  "I need someone to investigate them." Loucynda's eyes stared straight at her.

  "Why me? I'm sure you have a lot of agents in your pockets."

  Loucynda kept her composure even though she knew that Natasha was testing her. "That would be too obvious. Then the media will know that we are taking this 'monster' bit seriously despite our denials. I need someone who could do this discreetly."

  "I see. For reasons of plausible deniability and not to mention that I'm expendable." Natasha added.

  "Look, I've seen you in action against the Jade Falcons. You whipped them. You have leadership abilities and can wipe out anyone when it comes to one on one combat. Your pit record is impressive. And you have a relative to the most recent victim living with you." Loucynda went on.

  It was Natasha's turn to be angry. "My, my. You have a very good intelligence network, Ms. Byrd."

  "That's why I'm still heading the Solaris Council my dear. Knowing Megan's kid brother, he will go in there the first chance he gets and he will die. If there is anyone who could put a stop to this thing it's you. I'm convinced of that now." Loucynda answered.

  "Okay, fine." Natasha knew she was going to do it anyway. At least now she had official sanction. "I will need access to mechs and Clan tech. You will also need to get me a pass to go with your forensics teams to Ishiyama."

  "You will have everything you need. I'll have my tech reps here later today for your mech specifications. The forensics team goes in tonight." Loucynda said.

  "I will want to come along with them. In the meantime, I will need all of the personnel files on every one involved with running the games in Ishiyama Arena."

  "Done. Here's my card, feel free to contact me if you have any further requests." After giving Natasha her business card, Loucynda left.

  Kieran came up to the loft; his hands were dirty from working on Natasha's Warhammer. "Who was that?"

  "An old acquaintance. Kieran, sit down. I would like to talk to you about your sister." Natasha began.

  This was going to be a long day. And the night would possibly be even longer.

*****

  Natasha Kerensky adjusted the Velcro straps on her Kevlar vest until it had a snug fit. She usually preferred to go without armor when on foot but on this night, she wasn't taking any chances. Underneath her vest she wore a plain white t-shirt. Strapped onto her vest were tools such as a halogen flashlight, signal flares and two high-explosive grenades. A mini-compass was in her vest pocket along with night-vision goggles slung around her neck. Natasha also carried an autopistol, holstered on her hip. As a weapon of last resort, a combat knife was fastened on her right boot. Black combat trousers rounded out her outerwear.

  As she finished her personal adjustments, Natasha looked around her. The parking lot of Ishiyama Arena was serving as a makeshift assembly point for the convoy that would be taking the perilous expedition into its murky depths. Two Chevalier light tanks flanked a Tokugawa heavy tank, with its turret glinting under the parking lot lights. The convoy would also include armored personnel carriers and heavy trucks. Soldiers were seen milling around the vehicles, their laser rifles slung over their backs, looking around nervously.

  Loucynda Byrd walked towards Natasha. The Solaris Councilor was dressed impeccably in a navy blue suit. She looked more like a banker than a trouble-shooter, though her intense movements and keen eyes portrayed her as something more.  "We are almost set to go. Are you ready?"

  "Almost. Who is in charge of the expedition?" Natasha queried.

  "Captain Dennison, 506th company, from the 32nd Lyran Guards detachment."

  "My, my. Pretty heavy firepower we got here. Though it might be better to replace those Chevaliers with Pattons or even Demolishers if you have any." Natasha explained.

  Loucynda was apologetic. "Can't do it. We are to use only wheeled vehicles in there. Tank tracks would ruin the tunnel flooring."

  "You can tell that to the wives of the slain soldiers when they ask you." Natasha answered sarcastically.

  "Was that a joke? There are political considerations here you know." Loucynda was clearly uncomfortable in being the target of a verbal attack rather than the instigator of one.

  "I'm sure that politics is certainly your specialty, Ms. Byrd."

  "You know what, Natasha? Every time you address me as Ms. Byrd, you make it sound like an insult."

  Natasha smirked. "I know, Ms. Byrd."

  Ignoring Loucynda's menacing scowl, Natasha walked over to Kieran McGavin, who was also dressed similarly to her and was loading boxes into an open-faced jeep with a turret at the back.

  "Looks like this is the last of it." Kieran grunted as he lifted the last box into the back of the jeep.

  "Good work Kieran. You can rest a bit. We will get the go signal very soon."

  "Natasha, what are these boxes for anyway? And why is there a harpoon launcher installed on the turret of this jeep?" Kieran asked.

  "Those boxes contain Navigational beacons, because the tunnel walls of Ishiyama are coated with lead to prevent mech navigational sensors, it would be near impossible for a mech to navigate in there by itself. Once we are in, I will plant those beacons in strategic areas so when I do bring my mech in there, I can get an immediate bearing on my location." Natasha explained.

  "Just like Thesus unrolling his ball of string when he entered the labyrinth to fight the Minotaur eh? I like it. What about that harpoon?" Kieran asked again.

  Natasha checked the settings of the turret. "The harpoon gun is just in case we do encounter that thing in there. The warhead has a modified narc-beacon on it. If I can hit it at the right spot, we can track it from Ishiyama's control room."

  "You know, before I met you, I was scared about that thing that's in there. Since I've met you, I'm beginning to feel sorry for it. You have the makings of a genuine kick-ass warrior, Natasha." Kieran grinned.

  Natasha smirked for half a second and then went back into her business-like attitude. "Thank you. You know Kieran, its not too late to back out. I can go in there alone with the convoy and get it done."

  "Thanks but I have to get back in there. You see, when they recovered what was left of my sister, they didn't get all the pieces. I owe her this much." Kieran said softly.

  "I'm sorry Kieran. If it means that much to you, then it's okay. But remember to follow my orders and stick close to me at all times."

  "Sure Nasty. No problem." Kieran had already thought of a nickname for Natasha.

  "Alright people! Saddle up, lock and load!" a loudspeaker from the Tokugawa blared.

  "That must be Captain Dennison. Okay, hop on in Kieran." Natasha said as she started the jeep's ignition.

  Soldiers began to pile into the four armored personnel carriers while Natasha noticed that men with lab smocks piled on top of the heavy trucks. She could notice searchlights and other pieces of equipment sitting on the back of the trucks as well. She hoped it would be enough. As Natasha drove her jeep to fit in with the convoy, she noticed that Loucynda Byrd had given her a thumbs-up sign from the outside window of the Ishiyama Control room. Natasha nodded her head in acknowledgement.

  All was quiet in the depths of Ishiyama's tunnels that night. It was almost as if peace had indeed fallen in its lightless depths. Small colonies of rats as well as the occasional bat would swoop down and pick up a few insects that had colonized themselves in the tunnels over the years. Normally, work crews would disinfect whole sections of the arena for vermin, but with the current state of events, a small ecosystem had begun to develop due to lack of supervision. Within a span of a few minutes however, the few tunnel lights were activated as well as hidden tri-vid cameras in strategic locations. In optimum conditions all of the video cameras would be operating, but ever since the beast's reign of terror began several months back, most surveillance and communication systems in the tunnels themselves fell into disrepair. There were now whole levels that had neither lights nor video access.

  On one branch of tunnels, a small pack of rats were feeding on the remains of a colony of cockroaches that they had hunted for hours earlier. Within a span of a few minutes, the rats lifted their keen noses up into the darkness and sniffed. Instinctively they gathered up their young and scurried away as vibrations began to hum across the tunnel. Within minutes the vibrations gave way to a low rumbling noise that rapidly escalated as the lead vehicle of the convoy came into view. The remaining rats scurried away into the drainage pipes.

  The convoy was lead by the Tokugawa heavy tank; its turret was fitted with an external searchlight that blazed a path of light across the eerie darkness of the tunnels. A Chevalier light tank quickly followed the Tokugawa in single file with its turret facing the side.  Right behind the armored fighting machines were the transports; APCs carrying soldiers as well as heavy trucks that transported technicians and forensic specialists and another Chevalier tank brought up the rear.

  Natasha Kerensky and Kieran McGavin were riding in a military jeep equipped with a harpoon gun. They ignored the curious looks of the soldiers riding alongside in trucks and would sometimes veer off into a side tunnel where Kieran would rapidly disembark and plant a nav beacon underneath a sewer grill. Although the tunnels would be cramped when it came to battlemechs, vehicles had a much lower and leaner profile and so Natasha was able to drive alongside the rest of the convoy a few times.

  After an hour of traveling inside the massive tunnels that honeycombed this man-made mountain the jeep's radio crackled. "Approaching last known sight of the War Dog."

  As Natasha shifted gears she stole a glance at Kieran. There seemed to be no emotions on his face.

  The convoy had at last entered a massive cavern. Man-made stalactites could be seen on its high ceilings. Debris were all over the floor, evidence that they had entered a realm where no maintenance crews had dared to venture into these last few months. Pieces of the War Dog could plainly be seen as the vehicles began to form a circle around the torso wreckage that seemed to have jutted out from an adjoining tunnel. Once the convoy had deployed into a laager, with the tanks facing outward to cover the numerous tunnels with their turrets, men began to disembark from the trucks and APCs. Soldiers began to set up machine-gun posts and a few technicians began to erect mobile searchlights that would bathe the entire chamber in light. Natasha appreciated the leadership of Captain Dennison: the short, bald-headed officer was the first competent Lyran commander she had seen so far.

  After a few minutes, as Natasha placed another nav beacon along the side of the cavern, the searchlights were activated. The entire cavern itself was now bathed in an eerie white light that gave the cavern a stark contrast. The cave walls were of a brown-ruddy color that distinguished itself from the mech wreckage strewn across the floor. Natasha walked over to Captain Dennison's command post, which was set up beside the Tokugawa.

  "Captain, I'm going to take my jeep and investigate the adjoining tunnels." Natasha said after the Captain acknowledged her presence.

  Captain Dennison took off his cap and ran his hand along his shaved head. He was brisk and businesslike. "Ms. Byrd said to give you a wide discretion, Ms. Kerensky. What ever you wish to do is your own responsibility. My only mandate was to provide escort for the forensics team at the wreck site. Anything else you do will be at your own risk."

  "No problem Captain. How long do you expect to be here?" Natasha asked.

  "As long as it takes. But let me tell you, my men are nervous as hell. My squad leaders are having a tough time trying to keep things calm. I say, no more then four hours. If you're not back here then, I'll have no choice but to leave you behind." Dennison replied.

  "Fair enough. Be back in four hours then." Natasha walked back to her jeep and started it up.

  "This place gives me the creeps." Kieran said as he waited in the front seat.

  "I gave you a choice whether you wanted to come or not. Too late to back out now." Natasha warned.

  Kieran bit his lip. "Yeah, I know. Where we headed to?"

  "I want to check out a few of these tunnels. See where they lead to." The Black Widow answered.

  For the next few hours, Natasha would drive the jeep into a few adjoining tunnels as she used up the last of her nav beacons. As they were heading back to the cavern Kieran tapped her shoulder.

  "Nasty. Look, there's another tunnel that seems to have been blocked off." Kieran said.

  Natasha peered in that direction. It seemed that there was an inordinate amount of debris stacked up against the entrance of this particular tunnel. Although a battlemech would have had a bit of trouble getting through it, Natasha's jeep easily traversed the debris using a bit of careful maneuvering on the four-wheel drive.

  They both had entered into another set of tunnels that seemed to be smaller than usual. Debris of unknown origin as well as a foul stench permeated through these tunnels.

  "A mech would have a hard time in trying to maneuver in here with these low ceilings." Kieran commented.

 "Yeah, a standard mech maybe, but a quad could." Natasha thought aloud.

  "Are you saying-" Kieran started to speak but Natasha cut him off.

  Natasha stopped the jeep and got out. Right in front of them was a massive pool of stagnant water. Bits of debris and trash could be seen floating on its murky surface. Kieran estimated it to have a radius of at least a hundred feet. It looked like an underground lake.

  "Of all the maps I studied this afternoon, they had made no mention of an underground water source. My map says that this was supposed to be another access tunnel which led to an uncompleted lower level of the arena." Natasha explained.

  "It must have flooded in. Perhaps a ruptured water pipe." Suggested Kieran.

  "Yes it's a possibility. That would mean that there is a whole set of submerged tunnels under the water." Natasha said.

  "I don't like this." Whispered Kieran.

  Natasha's boot got stuck on a piece of debris, she pointed her flashlight at it and froze. It was a skeleton of a human hand. Kieran gasped when he saw her surprised face and activated his flashlight as well.

  Natasha quickly recovered and began to scan the debris lying on the pool of water more closely. The debris seemed to be bits and pieces of clothing as well as numerous bones, mostly human.

  "Nasty! Look!" Kieran said as he pointed his flashlight against the far side of the tunnel wall.

  The particular side that Kieran was pointing at apparently had a ragged tent propped up along its wall. Steel shafts were placed like totem poles and on the top of them were decorated with human skulls. Natasha quickly drew her pistol and peered into the tent. There was nobody inside but it had a very musty odor in it. Natasha examined the inside of the tent while Kieran kept a lookout. Inside were bits of ragged and smelly clothing, an unused kerosene lamp as well as a small battery for a stove burner. Numerous other items were there in which Natasha pocketed a few and got out, the stench was beginning to sicken her.

  "Did we stumble onto a hobo's home?" Kieran asked.

  "No, not a hobo, but rather we might have found the residence of one who might be the pilot of the beast." Natasha answered as she holstered her pistol.

  Just as Natasha finished her sentence, loud noises and explosions began to reverberate across the tunnel. It came from the cavern where the forensics team had been set up.

  "Let's go!" Natasha said as she leapt back into the jeep. Kieran followed and sat down on the front seat as the Black Widow reversed the jeep and got back into the main tunnel.

  It took less than five minutes at full speed to get the jeep back to the cavern.

  They were too late.

  The searchlights had been torn down and smashed. However, the great cavern was still illuminated from the fires of the burning vehicles that were once set up to defend the now dead forensics team. Both Natasha and Kieran could hear a few moans and cries for help from the gravely wounded. The Chevalier tanks were smashed like toys and large gouges along its body had gutted the Tokugawa. Natasha could see bodies lying all across the cavern floor. Once the creature had destroyed the tanks, the rest were easy pickings.

  As soon as Natasha drove the jeep closer for a look a wounded soldier began running towards them, his left arm dangling like a rotten branch from a tree. The soldier was gibbering hysterically as Natasha was about to leap out of the jeep to help him but Kieran quickly grabbed her by the arm as if to warn her that something wasn't right.

  The next few seconds happened as if in a blur. Natasha quickly began to notice a rumbling and began to reverse the jeep as the wounded man began screaming and begged her to come back. Out of the northern tunnel came a huge shape like that of a giant cat which leaped from the mouth of the tunnel and landed with a bone jarring thud beside the wounded soldier. The victim screamed helplessly as the beast grabbed it with its massive, metallic jaws and tore the hapless man in two. Blood and guts spilled onto the cavern floor.

  Natasha could clearly see that it was a quad battlemech. It had a leonine torso and had stood on four legs that ended in razor sharp claws. The body of the beast was covered in overlapping armor plating; it seemed to have external armor plates for extra protection and sharp metal spikes ran along its body. But what was most terrifying of all was its head: shaped like a skull of a sabre-toothed tiger, Natasha could see it had massive jaws equipped with razor sharp metallic teeth.

  "Seatbelts." Natasha whispered as she locked in hers.

  The Black Widow did not have to repeat her order as Kieran fumbled to put his on quickly. A split-second later, the beast sprang into action, its massive bulk seemed to cover the distance quickly as it closed in to smash the flimsy jeep with its claws. There was not enough space to get in between the beast and an adjoining cavern they both knew.

  However, the beast wasn't prepared for the reaction of the Black Widow. Instead of trying to veer away to the side as the beast was expecting, Natasha floored the gas and headed straight on as the beast pounced and ended up overreaching with its massive body as it sailed directly over the speeding jeep, too fast and too heavy to control its descent. The beast landed behind them as Natasha floored the accelerator to get into the tunnel opening that lay directly in front of her.

  With a roar of anger the beast rapidly turned around and activated its supercharger to catch up with the fleeing vehicle. Natasha nearly flipped the jeep over as it rapidly rounded a corner in the tunnel, tires screeching in a frictional defiance. The cold wind whipped at Kieran as the speeding jeep ran headlong into the dark tunnel, hoping that they would not hit a dead end. Kieran glanced back to check if the beast was following behind and shouted a warning to Natasha, as the pursuing beast's jaws were only meters away from the bumper.

  Natasha cursed and hit the breaks. It was just in time for out of the beast's mouth came a roaring jet of flame that engulfed everything in front of them. The turret got torn off as the jeep skidded underneath the massive underbelly of the hundred-ton monster but miraculously the harpoon gun landed onto the back of the vehicle as the jeep came up behind the skidding monstrosity. With deliberate speed, Natasha revved up the jeep's engine and put it into reverse as the beast smashed into the tunnel walls in attempting to turn around. Within a span of a few minutes they were back out into the cavern with the burning vehicles.

  "Oh my God there is no way out of this!" Kieran screamed as they could hear the rumbling of the beast coming from the tunnel they had just exited.

  For a split-second Natasha's thoughts flooded back into the chamber they had just visited. "Which tunnel had that subterranean lake?"

  Kieran pointed to the far tunnel to the east of them. "That one!"

  Natasha floored the accelerator and ran headlong into the east tunnel just as the beast came leaping out into the cavern. With no time to lose they made it back into the debris-ridden tunnel that housed the body of water. Both Natasha and Kieran leaped out of the jeep as the Black Widow aimed the still functioning harpoon gun at the mouth of the tunnel.

  "We're trapped here!" Shouted Kieran.

  "Get into the water." Snapped Natasha.

  Kieran was dumbfounded. "What?"

  "Get in there!" Just as Natasha said those words the debris pile in front of them exploded in a shower of dust and trash as the beast's head smashed it's way inside.

  Natasha didn't have time to aim as she fired the i-narc missile into the head of the beast and quickly dived into the murky water just as the flames from the beast's mouth engulfed the entire chamber.

  The dirty water was freezing her to the bones as Natasha quickly removed her Kevlar vest due to its weight but kept the flashlight as she activated it to try to get her bearings. She quickly noticed Kieran lying unconscious at the bottom of the pool. She quickly swam over to him and removed his Kevlar vest, she could tell he was still alive and she pushed some air into him by blowing into his mouth and began to pull him along. She quickly saw a submerged tunnel and swam into it, dragging Kieran along.

  Precious minutes passed as Natasha's dwindling oxygen from her lungs began to be replaced by carbon dioxide. As she swam deeper into the subterranean depths she hoped that she could find a tunnel leading upwards into an air pocket in which she could hopefully catch her breath. If not they would both die in this watery tomb.

  Almost to the point of giving up hope, Natasha quickly noticed a current. Although she was no longer sure whether Kieran was still alive, she held onto him as she positioned her body to get into the current's jet stream. It was much more powerful than she realized. The current gripped her and they both shot into an underwater pipe. The water current became so strong that Natasha could feel herself spinning as she held on to Kieran because if she lost him now she had a worrying feeling that he might never be seen again. By this time the current had ripped away her flashlight and she was tumbling in a tumultuous, suffocating darkness.

  Her pained lungs became almost unbearable and Natasha began to black out when all of a sudden the current stopped and foam and bubbles surrounded her.

  Wait! Bubbles. She could see! Natasha willed herself to swim upwards to the light as she held onto Kieran hoping that she could break the surface and take a life-resuscitating breath before she could black out. That was the last thing she remembered.

*****

  With a gasp, Natasha sat up from a stretcher.  Disorientated she looked around and saw that she was in a maintenance room of some kind. Another stretcher was laid out beside her and contained the body of Kieran. Was he dead?

  "Ah, you are awake now." A voice came from beside a crackling fireplace.

  Natasha's voice was raspy. "Kieran?"

  "The boy is alive. His collarbone is broken but the rest of his injuries are minor." The figure stepped into the light.

  Natasha could see that he was an old man; his small, gnome-like stature was accentuated with his shaved scalp and weather-beaten face. Dressed in tattered work coveralls, the man shuffled his little legs around the corner, bought up a tray and offered Natasha a steaming cup of tea.

  The tea felt warm and good as it snaked down Natasha's parched throat. "Who are you?" She asked.

  The old man smiled and spoke through his buckteeth. "My name is Musaki. I have been one of the maintenance workers in Ishiyama for over forty years now. I saw you and the boy floating in one of our sewage outlets and was able to fish you out."

  "Forty years, that's quite a long time. I guess you will be retiring soon. What were you doing in the sewage outlets? I thought all of the maintenance crews were evacuated after the most recent attack by this beast?" Natasha queried.

  "Yes, almost all the maintenance crews left willingly. They were terrified at the rampage of the beast."

  "But you stayed?"

  Musaki sat down on a wooden stool. "Yes, I stayed. I am an old man, nearing death. The beast would not bother with one that is so insignificant."

  "You're not scared of this beast, old man?" Natasha sipped the last of her tea.

  Musaki took the empty cup from her hand. Natasha noticed a tattoo on his right hand as she gave the teacup to him. The old man noticed her stare.

  "When you have lived as long as I have child, one no longer fears death. In fact, one such as I eventually welcomes it. I have been living and working in the bowels of this arena for decades and I have no wish of relocating anywhere else now." Musaki smiled.

  "That tattoo looks familiar." Natasha asked.

  "Yes, it was a reminder of my service with the DCMS. I served as a technician during the Clan Invasion. They had pulled me out of maintenance at Ishiyama and made me repair battlemechs during the Luthien Campaign. The Dragon needed every qualified person to serve it in its hour of need and I could not refuse." The old man explained.

  "It must have been a stressful experience." Natasha tried to be polite.

  Musaki's eyes had a glazed, faraway look. "Yes, it was a most harrowing time. Never in my life had I seen so much atrocities being committed. By both sides."

  Natasha decided to change the subject. "I would like to thank you for rescuing me and my friend. We both owe you a debt that can never be repaid. Is there a way for us to get to the control room from here?"

  "Of course." The old man helped her up. "Behind my private chambers is a maintenance causeway. Go through it and head for the stairs. From there go up three flights and that will bring you to an auxiliary communications room. You should be able to contact main control from there."

  "Thank you once again Musaki. I'll send some people here to retrieve my friend. By the way, my name is Natasha." The Black Widow said.

  "Oh, I already knew who you were, my child. I met you decades before." The old man winked.

  Solaris was a blood red sun setting down on the horizon as the massive container was finally brought into the nearly deserted hangar bay of Ishiyama Arena. On a typical day of a battlemech match, the hangars would be teeming with dozens of mechs, technicians, stable managers and mechwarriors as well as the media; each one had a part to play in a spectacle of death and destruction. Now the hangar looked almost silent as the container was hoisted upright by less than a dozen technicians and pre-positioned into a bay. Other than the technicians present, there were only five other people there: Natasha, Kieran, Loucynda Byrd, Craig Nishimura and a very irate commander of the Lyran Guards detachment, Major Winters.

  "Someone is gonna pay for this Ms. Byrd! I lost an entire company of men and machines down there!" Major Winters was fuming.

  Loucynda tried to reason with Major Winters in an attempt to calm him down. "I can understand your emotions Major. But for now we need to think rationally."

  Natasha paid the two no mind as she kept watching the container being placed into position. Kieran had his right arm in a sling to keep his broken collarbone set and was typing frantically with one hand on his noteputer which he had set down on some crates. Craig Nishimura was trying to listen in at Loucynda's conversation with the Major without trying to be impolite.

  "I want that snake's permission that I deploy a battalion of battlemechs into those damned tunnels to flush that thing out and destroy it!" Major Winters demanded.

  "Major, if we place the Guards on full alert then the media will come down on us like a thunderclap. If they get one whiff of this the Black Mountain Cup will be surely cancelled." Loucynda explained.

  Major Winter's face was beet red. "Damn the Cup! I want that thing killed!"

  "Major, think about it. The Combine needs this tournament now more than ever. If we send your mechs into the official territory of the Draconis Combine, do you know what kind of effect this would have on the relations between the Lyran Alliance and the Dragon?" Loucynda explained.

  "Don't tell me you're gonna send that 'Kerensky' wannabe in there?" Winters said incredulously.

  Loucynda stayed as cool as ice. "Why not? She was the only one to come out of there alive after facing that creature. I have the utmost confidence in her."

  "You've got till tomorrow Ms. Byrd. If nothing happens by then I will place the Guards on alert and bring my battalion in no matter what." Major Winters stalked away.

  Craig Nishimura silently came up beside Loucynda Byrd. "Oh dear. I fear that these events are slipping out of our hands."

  "Don't worry Nishimura-san. Everything is under control. If we destroy this monster by tonight, Major Winters will have no choice but to cover-up the deaths of his men. There are too much political considerations to prove otherwise." Loucynda said.

  "But are you certain that this 'Black Widow' fan can destroy the beast?" Nishimura asked sheepishly.

  "I know what I'm doing." Loucynda glared at him and Nishimura slunk back into the background.

  The technicians had finally removed the outer casing of the container to reveal an all-black 100-ton Berserker battlemech. After the mech was positioned into its hangar, the technicians began to prep it up for immediate combat. Loucynda Byrd walked over to Natasha and Kieran.

  "Is everything prepared to your specifications?" Loucynda asked.

  "Yes, the 200mm Ultra autocannon was a bit tricky to install but your technicians did their job right." Natasha replied.

  "Don't let me down Natasha. I'm counting on you."

  "For you to even say that is quite insulting, Ms. Byrd." Natasha replied sarcastically.

  Loucynda shrugged. "Just reminding you. So what did you see in there?"

  "It's a quad mech all right. I estimate assault-class, probably a hundred-toner. Its main weapons are melee: claws and massive fangs. If I can keep it at a distance, I should be able to take it down."

  "Pretty simple plan then." Loucynda observed.

  "It's not as simple as it sounds Ms. Byrd. First of all, that creature is fast; it must have a massive, supercharged fusion engine and possibly Myomer-accelerated signal circuitry as well. I will be hard pressed to keep it at bay. That's why I chose the Berserker, its assault-class as well and it's got a hatchet in case we end up at point-blank range." Natasha explained.

  "Damn beast has got heavy flamers too." Kieran added.

  "Yeah. I guess I'll have to watch my heat scale more carefully in this fight." Natasha answered.

  "Well, I'll leave you to it then. I'll be in the Control room if you need me." Loucynda walked away to join Mr. Nishimura.

  "Yeah, you do that." Natasha commented once Loucynda was out of earshot.

  "You don't like her very much do you?" Kieran asked.

   "She's a politician. They are all the same." Natasha answered.

  Kieran shrugged. "Nasty, I've been meaning to ask you."

  "Go ahead."

  "Well, Duncan visited me while I was being patched up in the hospital and I can say he told me he likes you." Kieran said.

  "That's nice. I like him too. He's a charming kid."

  Kieran was having a hard time forming words in his mouth. "Yeah. But what I'm really meaning to say is that we both like you and I feel that you don't have to do this. I mean, I have this feeling that you won't be coming back you know."

  "Kieran, I understand. But I can tell you there is no one else who could do this." Natasha reasoned.

  "You're one tough lady Nasty. It's just that. Well." Kieran sputtered.

  Natasha turned to face him. "Come on, spit it out. Don't be shy."

  "Well, ever since you saved me from those thugs, I kinda fallen head over heels for you. You know." Kieran said sheepishly.

  Natasha grinned. "Thanks. I'll make you a promise."

  "Yeah, what?" Kieran asked.

  "I will come back out of those tunnels in one piece and avenge your sister." Natasha answered.

  Kieran looked down, it seemed he couldn't face Natasha straight in the eye. "Nasty, you don't have to do this on account of my sister. Maybe I felt that way before but my heart will be broken if anything happened to you now."

  Natasha smiled as she placed her arms around Kieran and hugged him. "I'll be back soon. I promise."

  Kieran had tears in his eyes as Natasha walked away from him and into the ready room to suit up.

*****

  Kieran McGavin put on his headset slowly, deliberately; as if not to let anyone notice that his hands were shaking with concern. For the first time in as many months, the control room of Ishiyama arena was crowded with the level managers and technicians who were trying desperately to activate those tri-vid cameras and navigation beacons that were still functioning.

  A soft, manicured hand rested in Kieran's shoulder. Kieran turned and looked straight into the eyes of Loucynda Byrd, who then gave him a wink and a reassuring smile.

  "Let's get started." Loucynda said as she took the seat beside Kieran in the control room.

  Kieran stubbed the microphone button. "Nasty, this is Ishiyama control, come in over."

  At that moment a hundred-ton titan was moving quickly inside the hollow tunnels of Ishiyama. Natasha's Berserker could barely fit in the tunnel much less maneuver but she felt that this assault-class battlemech stood the best chance of standing up to the beast. With a top speed of 64kph, the Berserker was one of the fastest assault-class mechs in existence. Added onto the mech was a system called MASC or the myomer accelerated signal circuitry; since a battlemech moves using myomers or artificial muscle fibers underneath its armor, the MASC would send boosted command signals to the myomer musculature that would cause it contract and relax at a quicker rate than is usually possible, enabling mechs to attain higher speeds when running. Prolonged use of this system however, could cause a catastrophic failure in the myomers, causing the mech's legs to freeze. But due to the capabilities of her opponent, it was a chance that Natasha was willing to take.

  Natasha had to keep the Berserker at a stooping position as she ran her mech along the tunnels due to the fact that the ceilings were quite low. She had other modifications installed on the Berserker and smiled slightly at the fact that her opponent would be in for several rude surprises.

  Kieran's voice cut through the silence by way of her communications gear. "Nasty, this is Ishiyama control, come in over."

  "Natasha here. I'm almost at the waypoint leading to the wreck chamber. Communications will be bad at that point. I think the beast was able to destroy most com pods in that area. I will therefore boost communications signals for a one shot radar ping that will hopefully be detected. When that happens, initiate operation Blowtorch."

  "Roger that, Nasty." Kieran replied.

  Natasha's Berserker finally entered the wreckage chamber. There was a deathly still as she eased the assault mech out onto the cavern floor and reared it into its full, upright position. As far as she could tell, the chamber seemed untouched since the last battle, burned out hulks of the vehicles that had once belonged to a company of Lyran Guards stood as a testament to the beast's handiwork.

  Natasha began to check her weapons status on her control panel. The readouts on her instrument panel glowed back with a positive, lethal green. Natasha's Berserker was equipped with a massive Ultra 200mm autocannon that could fire several thousand depleted uranium slugs per minute. But even with four tons of ammunition, she knew that it with continuous firing of this monster of a gun would only last just under a minute until her ammo bins would be empty. As backup weapons, the pulse lasers on her mech's shoulders would be sufficient, she hoped.

  "Let's begin." Natasha whispered to herself as she activated the tracker for the i-narc beacon that was hopefully embedded on the beast.

  A faint trace of the i-narc's signal activated on her transparent map that was displayed on her heads-up display. The preparations that she had made before this battle had proved to be sufficient so far. The nav-beacons that she had placed in and around the tunnels were now prominently displayed on her map and she knew exactly where to go.

  As Natasha began to trace a path on her virtual map to where the I-narc beacon was located, the Black Widow smiled. It seemed that the signal directly lay in a tunnel to the east of her, the smallish tunnel that had that underground body of water.

  With deliberate calmness, Natasha punched up her throttle and headed for the eastern tunnel. As the tunnel began to narrow as it edged deeper, Natasha was forced to put the Berserker into an almost crawling position as she carefully threaded her way into the smallish chamber. After a few minutes of testing her maneuvering skills, she finally was able to get the Berserker into the lake chamber.

  It was empty. Natasha looked around and saw blackened walls. It seemed that the beast incinerated the contents of the entire chamber to either prevent any evidence from being carried out as well as to try to burn her and Kieran alive from their last encounter. Only her quick thinking of the tactical situation had saved both her and Kieran from being burned alive.

  Natasha eased the assault-mech until it faced the lake. This was where her instruments had told her that the i-narc signal was coming from.

  In a split-second, the entire chamber seemed to have been engulfed in a massive tidal wave of water as a monstrous, cat-like gargantuan leaped out from underneath the murky lake.

  Natasha backed away from the edge of the underground lake as her instruments adjusted. It was just in time for her mech had just been brushed aside as the beast tried to take a bite, aiming directly for her mech's vulnerable cockpit. Bits of armor scrapped off Natasha's Berserker as the glancing blow from the beast's leap staggered her machine.

  With blinding speed, the beast ran along the steep sides of the chamber, forcing Natasha to rotate her mech's torso in an apparent attempt to get a bead on it. Solid slugs made from depleted uranium put massively sized holes on the cave walls as Natasha triggered her autocannons. Although a few slugs were able to catch the beast's long torso, the majority of the autocannon shells impacted harmlessly along the walls.

  Natasha cursed as she realized that the beast was going to run rings around her battlemech until her autocannon was empty and would then pounce for the kill. Quickly, she punched up the throttle and made her Berserker back up against the side of one wall as she fired her autocannon ahead of the leaping beast rather than trailing it. Several massive 200mm shells pounded armor off the beast as it ran headlong into the Berserker's anticipated crosshairs. Large chunks of armor blew off as the beast roared in anger and quickly backed out of the chamber. Natasha's Berserker quickly followed, firing its pulse lasers at the retreating beast, which melted some armor off the monster's flanks.

  The beast however, had a more streamlined body and was able to exit the smallish cavern and was nowhere to be seen by the time Natasha was able to maneuver the Berserker out into the adjoining tunnel.

  Not wishing to fight the beast in the cramped tunnels of Ishiyama, Natasha quickly punched up the throttle and came back to the wreckage cavern. If she were going to fight anywhere, it would be here, where her Berserker would be able to maneuver. Precious minutes passed and the beast did not enter the cavern for it knew it had a distinct advantage fighting in the tunnels and would wait her out until then.

  Natasha smiled as she fired off a single, massively charged ping from her Berserker's radar system.

  A faint but clear radar ping was heard by one of the technicians in the Ishiyama control room who then called out to Kieran. "Ping detected!"

  "Okay, initiate Blowtorch!" Kieran answered.

  "Oh my poor arena, this will cost millions in repairs." Craig Nishimura sighed.

  Kieran scowled at Mr. Nishimura as he activated the emergency fire button. "I hope this works. Come on Nasty." He whispered.

  At that moment, Ishiyama's fire sprinkler system came to life. Designed to put out massive underground fires, there were kilometers of pipes that ringed the tunnels of Ishiyama, which contained thousands of tons of water with which to flood the chambers in case an uncontrollable underground fire had ever happened.

  Only this time, the pipes were not carrying water.

  As the massive sprinkler systems began pouring throughout the entire level where she was, Natasha lowered her faceplate on her neurohelmet and activated the flamer located just underneath her cockpit. As the flames from her weapon touched the liquid it instantly ignited, filling the entire cavern with a hellish flame as it spread rapidly across the entire level of the arena, engulfing everything in its path with searing heat and fire.

  As her heat scale rose to massively dangerous levels, enough so that alarms began to sound on her cockpit foretelling an imminent engine shutdown, Natasha quickly activated one of her external cooling pods located in her rear torso. Designed as an emergency one-shot cooling system, the coolant pod flushed its contents on the Berserker's overtaxed heat sinks. Within less than a minute, she had her mech's heat scale under control even as the fires continued all around her. As some of the liquefied flames began to crawl up her Berserker's legs, Natasha activated a second external cooling pod on her rear that had been modified to spray the coolant directly outside of her mech, giving it the effect of a fire extinguisher.

  As Natasha surveyed her handiwork, a roar came from one of the caverns. Quickly, Natasha began scanning the tunnels for a possible fix on the beast's location but the fires in and around the tunnel entrances were proving to be a serious obstacle. It was also clear that the i-narc beacon embedded on the beast's body had ceased functioning. Now all the Black Widow could do was wait until the creature showed itself.

  The beast did not disappoint as it leaped out from one of the tunnels on the side of her Berserker mech, catching her off-guard as its flaming, cat-like body leaped out form the tunnels and its massive metal jaws clamped down on her Berserker's left arm, tearing away at the armor and into the delicate circuitry which housed her autocannon.

  Natasha grimaced as she swung her Berserker's hatchet that was located on her right arm and smashed it along the sides of the beast. Whole chunks of armor flew off the monster as the Berserker's massive hatchet connected but the beast was determined to chew through her mech's left arm. Natasha gave the beast a wicked kick from which it recovered slowly and then backed off as it tore off the Berserker's left arm.

  As both machines circled each other, the beast acted first, for despite the damage to its body and its heat problems, it leaped up and tore into the Berserker's shoulder before Natasha could react, tearing away large chunks of armor and disabling one of her pulse lasers before a glancing blow from another swing of the Berserker's hatchet got it to move back.

  Natasha could see that the beast was having problems managing its heat scale; great puffs of vapor blew out from the exposed heat sinks along its jagged side meant that it could not move as quickly as before.

  This was the final match and both sides knew it. Despite its problems, the beast leaped up, attempting to bite at the Berserker's vulnerable cockpit but the Black Widow rapidly sidestepped her mech away from the lethal bite and cleaved a massive wound onto the beast's head. It seemed to have been mortally wounded by Natasha's blows.

  But with superhuman strength the beast still kept on coming. It's front claws smashed into the Berserker's torso as it leaped up one more time. This time, Natasha had used another of her coolant pods in order to cool down and was in an awkward position. The combined weight of the beast plus her stance proved too much as the Berserker fell and smashed onto the ground, and the beast began to tear away with its massive jaws into her mech's torso.

  With her Berserker's hatchet unable to get any slack as it was pinned underneath the scarred belly of the beast, Natasha knew there was only one thing she could do. Rather than kicking her assailant she locked the Berserker's legs around the beast's torso and overloaded the MASC. Within a few seconds the myomers on the dying Berserker's legs had frozen, locking both mechs in a smoldering grip of death. As the beast continued to tear at her mech's engine housing, Natasha quickly disabled all the fail-safe controls on her mech's fusion reactor. Warning bells rattled her head as Natasha strapped herself tightly on the ejection seat and positioned the Berserker's head so that her ejection seat would fire into one of the adjoining tunnels that had the least fires burning in it. As her cockpit instruments blared about an impending fusion core meltdown, Natasha activated the ejection system.

  She was able to see both mechs consumed by explosions as her Berserker's engine core melted and the beast was destroyed along with it.

  The ejection was rougher than she had expected because the resulting explosive bolts that propelled her from her cockpit had slammed her against the tunnel wall. Natasha didn't know how long she had blacked out but apparently the fires in the tunnels were still smoldering. Possibly no more than a few minutes she estimated.

  As Natasha began to slowly unbuckle herself from her ejection seat she noticed an outline of a figure running towards her. She figured it must be a member of the rescue team.

  To her horror, as the figure came into view Natasha noticed that it was dressed in rags. It wasn't part of the rescue team; it was the pilot of the beast.

  And it had no face.

  Natasha recoiled in horror as the face of a man she was staring into had no nose, no lips and no ears. The ragged, long hair of the pilot hung in limp strands. The bones of the nostrils showed where the nose should have been and the exposed molars, which perpetually grinned, were present where lips should have been.

  Quickly drawing her pistol, she shot the man before it could close on her. It gave out a shrill shriek as the bullet slammed into its chest and then it ambled away into the tunnel darkness.

  Natasha quickly removed the last of her harness and activated her flashlight. As she pointed it to the direction as to where the pilot hobbled to and noticed that there was a small hidden door leading to an access tunnel. Leading with her flashlight and pistol, she peered in. Although there were drops of blood, it seemed that the pilot had already gone through. The Black Widow followed.

  The access tunnel was well lighted and so Natasha deactivated her flashlight and followed the blood trail to a door that led to a maintenance room. The door was ajar and Natasha sidestepped inside.

  The interior was more dimly lighted. Boxes and crates were stacked high which formed rows of plastic walls. Natasha could hear whimpering alternated by soothing noises around the last corner as she slowly threaded her way around, being careful not to get ambushed.

  "Please come forward. We mean no harm." A soft, gravely voice said.

  Natasha instantly knew who it was. She holstered her pistol and rounded the corner. That was where the blood trail ended.

  The old man, Musaki, dressed in a maintenance worker's garb, was cradling the dying pilot in his arms. The old man was stroking the pilot's long hair and said soothing words to the disfigured creature and he would get soft whimpers in return.

  Natasha pulled out a belt buckle that she had found in the tent. "I realized that you did have something to do with this. It matches the tattoo on your forearm."

  "Yes, the insignia is that of the Nova Cats. When I befriended him, he tattooed a copy on my forearm as a sign of our eternal friendship." Musaki placed his hand on the tragic figure's scarred forehead as it died.

  "Why?" Natasha asked.

  Musaki spoke with deliberate calm, as if he was trying to quell the rage inside him. "Why? Let me tell you. The Battle of Luthien was the most horrifying experience I had ever had. Despite all my years working as a maintenance worker for the games in Solaris, the senseless killings nearly drove me mad. It was the horror that men could be capable of such things. The Clans had invaded and the noble warriors of the Dragon met them on the field of battle. But we both know that nobility has no place in war, for when men start killing they lose what they are about. They become savage animals."

  Natasha did not reply.

  The old man continued. "I had found him in one of the interrogation rooms. I could never get the courage to venture into those rooms as I would hear the screams and the pleadings. But when the guards left to resume their honorable lives again, I was chosen to clean the blood from the walls. He was a noble warrior once, the pride of his Nova Cat heritage. But those butchers, they sliced off his lips, his ears, his nose. They disfigured him, all because he was fighting on another side. Was there any honor in that?"

  Natasha could now feel only pity at the turn of events.

  Musaki went on. "I secreted him away and nursed him back to health. He wanted to die; they had cut his vocal cords so that all he could do would be to roar like an animal. Like an animal! I told him to wait; he would get his vengeance. With my expertise, I built him a mech that would traverse these tunnels and hunt with ease. He has been eating human flesh for years now, it was the only way I could satisfy the rage in him and in myself." With that, the old man laid the corpse of the pilot gently on the ground and placed a jacket to cover the head.

  As the old man finished his task, Loucynda Byrd, flanked by half a dozen police officers, made her presence felt.

  "I think I'll take it from here, Natasha." Loucynda smiled as she offered her hand to shake.

  Natasha ignored her. The Black Widow quickly turned away and headed back out into the light.

  The morning sun of Solaris began to dawn across the parking lot as Natasha exited the maintenance doors along the side buildings which connected to the arena. A grateful Craig Nishimura quickly flanked her.

  "Ms. Kerensky, how happy I am that you have restored my family's honor." Nishimura said gleefully.

  Natasha didn't answer. She just kept walking.

  "If there is anything I can do for you? Anything at all?" Nishimura pleaded.

  Natasha stopped and turned to face him. "Maybe there is. Kieran McGavin, the one who assisted me; do you know him?"

  "Yes of course, he is the grandson of Colonel McGavin of the Nightstalkers."

  "As I have restored your family's honor, I want his family's honor restored as well."

  Nishimura-san smiled. "That has already been done. The Coordinator has said that his family can return to Combine space as befits the descendants of a fallen samurai."

  "Well done Nishimura-san. Now get lost." Natasha smiled.

  Not wanting to incur the wrath of the slayer of the beast, Nishimura did as he was told and slunk away. As Natasha resumed walking she came upon Loucynda Byrd, leaning against the parking lot wall entrance as the sun began to shine around them.

  Loucynda blew a puff of smoke in the air from her cigarette. "That was a good job you did Natasha. You know I expected the Black Dragons or even the Word of Blake to have been behind this, but instead what did I find? A bitter old man with vengeance in his heart."

  "What do you want now Ms. Byrd?" Natasha was tired and showed it.

  "You know something? I met a lot of people claiming to be the Black Widow, they have phony certificates or DNA samples and most of them are kooks in one way or another; but this is the first time I actually met someone who might just be the real thing." Loucynda explained.

  "Natasha Kerensky died on Twycross many years ago, Ms. Byrd." Natasha corrected her.

  "Yes, that has been confirmed. But what does that make you? A ghost? I'm not quite sure what to make of you, my dear." Loucynda smiled.

  Natasha turned to face her. "Don't dig too deeply Miss Byrd. You might not like what you find."

  "Well, we will just have to see, yes?"

  Natasha was bored. "Perhaps. Anything else?"

  "Yes, actually. I have need of people like you. Problems like this crop up every now and then. We make a good team you know."

  "No thanks." Natasha was adamant.

  "Well, think about it. That's all I ask for now."

  Natasha started walking away.

  "Are you really the one? I will find out sooner or later." Loucynda Byrd whispered to herself and smiled.

  Duncan came out of the car and ran up to Natasha and hugged her. Natasha smiled as she saw Kieran come up and kiss her on the cheeks.

  "Hey, I'm still quite dirty you know. I need a shower." The Black Widow chided.

  Kieran smiled. "I know Nasty. Thanks a lot for all your help. I got an HPG message from the Coordinator of the Combine himself thanking us."

  "I guess this means you can now pack your bags and return to the Combine then." Natasha said wistfully.

  Kieran scratched his head. "Well, if you don't mind, I would like to hang around with you for awhile. There's lots of things you could teach me."

  "It might be dangerous." Natasha cautioned.

  "With the Black Widow at my side? I'll take the chance." Kieran smiled.

  "Me too!" Duncan butted in.

  Natasha smiled and stared at the little boy's bright green eyes. "Thanks. Well I guess it's okay for now."

  "Yipee! Say Nasty, have you ever tried ice cream for breakfast? It's good you know!" Duncan giggled.

  "Ice-cream for breakfast it is then!" For the first time in her new life, Natasha laughed deeply.