As the blood red sun began to dawn over the barren rock outcroppings near the ruined city, four men walked slowly and deliberately as they stalked their prey. The morning illumination cast a crimson palette over the shards of volcanic rock, giving the entire scene an eerie sense of foreboding. Just a few hours before, the Pinto attack helicopter had inserted them into the area where the enemy pilot of an all-black Warhammer was suspected to have landed after she ejected. Their mission was to make sure that she was either dead or to capture her alive. Each one of them had been thoroughly briefed and they knew that if she were still breathing, it would be a very tough job to bring her back. As they were being ferried to the area a few hours before, they each made a vow to one another that if they would find the woman still living, they would kill her. Because of her fearsome reputation, they wouldn't take any chances.

All four men were dressed somewhat alike; their white combat fatigues had khaki stripes painted on them so as to make them blend in with the desert. Each man also wore a Kevlar vest that protected their chest, back and upper abdomen from gunfire and laser beams. Unlike the standard WOB infantrymen, these four wore no combat helmets, preferring hockey helmets or kheffiyahs with which to cover their heads. Two were equipped with shortened assault rifles, one had a Shredder heavy needler while the fourth man carried a laser rifle; all wore tinted goggles to shield their eyes from the morning sun as well as knee and elbow pads when the time for fighting and killing came.

The four were moving as two teams, one pair covering the other as each man kept watch over his partner. In military terms it was called an overwatch. They walked slowly, trying to make the least amount of noise and going through every detail in the terrain carefully. She was in the area somewhere; they knew it.

Overhead, a Ferret light attack helicopter was buzzing by, trying to see if there were any indicators of her location from the air. Although the chopper crew was exhausted from their night mission over Babylon, they still had one more job to do before they could return to base. Both Ferret pilots swallowed stimulant pills to try to keep their tired bodies going for a few hours longer, if they could spot her right away, so much the better. Hot chow and a bunk bed were waiting for them as soon as they found her.

The Ferret pilot stifled a yawn as he inadvertently reached into his suit pocket for another stim pill. He had been flying all night and the exhaustion was slowly getting to him; his skull was spinning and he felt very sluggish. With a rapid shake of his head, the pilot tried to ward the fatigue away as he kept his eyes peeled on the terrain below as the Ferret flew in low for a closer look. His co-pilot was sitting beside him and had his macro-binoculars out as he also scanned the area, looking for telltale signs of their quarry.

Within a few minutes, his co-pilot gestured with his thumb. "Down there, I see something."

"Okay," The Ferret pilot said, "relay it to the ground unit."

An observer with binoculars would have noticed that the lead commando had a scar across the bridge of his weather-beaten nose as he kept moving along the dried lava bed. He had acquired it during the battle for Sandhurst Military Academy during the Blakist invasion of Terra almost a decade ago. "Scar" was the most senior among them and the other three always listened to his suggestions. Like the others, he wore a hockey helmet with a built-in communicator equipped with a throat mike with which to communicate with the helicopter overhead and his colleagues.

"Lommies," The voice in his receiver squawked as it referred to them by their nickname, "up ahead- fifty meters to your right. I see an object on the ground."

Scar immediately signaled his companions as he sprinted low towards the area where the Ferret pilots directed him. His colleagues immediately crouched low as well as they proceeded with both speed and caution, scoped weapons at the ready.

After traversing a ring of elephant-sized boulders, the four-man team immediately split up into twos; one pair moving sideways, hoping to flank what ever was in the small clearing up ahead while the other pair moved forward at a snail's pace, keeping their eyes and other senses wide open. A few minutes later, after hearing a low whisper from his comm. unit that the other pair was in position at the opposite side, Scar immediately sprinted while keeping low as his partner covered him while they ventured into the clearing.

It was an ejection seat. What was once part of the Black Widow's Warhammer stood upright on the ground like a forsaken black throne. As the other pair of Blakist commandos did a perimeter search around the clearing, Scar slowly walked over to the abandoned cockpit chair, making a cursory examination while his partner covered his back. The straps were clearly unbuckled as the occupant consciously and deliberately got out as fast as she could the moment it landed. So she was alive then, he thought. Part of him cursed at the notion that their task would be more dangerous while another aspect of his personality reveled at it because it meant an exciting hunt.

Scar's training and experience had taught him to pay attention to the little things as he carefully examined the ejection seat. The veteran LOM commando made sure he didn't touch anything as he ran his eyes along its sides, it could have been rigged with booby traps and so it was best to stay at a distance. He didn't see any bloodstains on the chair so it seemed that the former occupant was not wounded. But then again, the forceful separation from the stricken BattleMech when she ejected might have bruised or fractured some bones in her body, he really couldn't tell. The homing beacon wasn't activated either for she knew there wasn't any help coming, he noticed. As he looked at the ground near the ejection seat he did notice some tracks in the dust. Based on the way the sand was splayed, he could immediately tell that the chair's occupant didn't have a limp nor was she dragging one of her feet; it meant that she was in full health.

The other pair of commandos quickly made their way to the clearing but stayed at the opposite side while they kept watching the other directions. As he checked to see where the boot tracks were headed to, Scar quickly made a number of silent hand signals to indicate her apparent direction. The other three nodded in assent as the second pair started to make their way in the direction he pointed to.

"Looks like the ground team is heading northwest," The Ferret's co-pilot said as he lowered his macro-binoculars to rest his tired eyes. "We should try the other side."

"Roger that." The Ferret pilot acknowledged as he shifted his foot pedals to enable the helicopter to veer off towards the south. If they got lucky, they might spot her before the ground team did.

As Natasha Kerensky crept around in the dark, a number of thoughts manifested in her head. She remembered the words of her instructor, a mysterious and deadly assassin called Meridian. If outnumbered, do not go to them- let them come to you. Choose your ground and strike when they least expect it.

As Scar bounded over a shoulder-high boulder, he immediately noticed what looked like the opening of a cave. Whispering into his voice-activated throat mike, he immediately informed the other pair in his right flank and all four commandos converged into the area. Scar frowned as he peered into the dark, cavernous maw using the night-vision scope of his carbine. It looked like a natural cave formation that formed as the howling winds tunneled through the solid rock over countless eons. This was not good for it meant that if the BattleMech pilot had managed to get in there, it would not only make an effective hiding place, but also a great spot for an ambush.

"Spade-Two: come in, over." Scar spoke through his throat-mike to address the helicopter flying nearby.

"This is Spade-Two," The Ferret pilot answered, "reading you loud and clear."

"We have spotted the entrance of what looks like a series of caves that were hewn into the bedrock." Scar said. "We are going in to investigate. Request that you do a fly by and locate any other exit points, I have a feeling that our target is in here."

"Spade-Two acknowledges. Beginning flyby." With that, the Ferret banked rapidly and began to descend towards them, flying slowly over the top of the cave complex to see if there were other openings and to try and spot the Black Widow.

Scar then made a thumbs-up gesture as all four men attached their night-vision goggles onto the front of their hockey helmets. Although the goggles tended to restrict their field of view, it was absolutely essential for spotting their quarry in the dark recesses of the cave. With a wave of his hand, Scar led the four of them into the opening.

The absolute blackness of vision was replaced by a tinge of green as each man walked in single file, Scar's carbine was pointed ahead while the other weapons pointed to the sides and rear of their column. As they continued on, going deeper into the underworld, the eerie sense of confinement became more acute as each felt like he was amongst the land of the dead.

Precious minutes passed as the group slowly kept going, keeping a tight formation as they continued onwards. As Scar slowly made his way along the cave tunnel that made a slight downward incline, his boot touched something that felt like it wasn't part of the sand and rock. Quickly signaling the team to crouch down and hold, Scar peered his goggles towards the floor, seeing something metallic in the dusty gravel.

Picking it up, he noticed that it was some sort of metallic figurine with a body and face of a demon. Part of his soul shuddered in dread as he used his experience to maintain control over both his senses and morale. He was not a religious man, but the effect of going into the dark and encountering this gave him somewhat of a jolt. Realizing that it was best not to let the others in on it lest they become demoralized, he quickly put the figurine into the side leg pocket of his combat fatigues. His colleague behind him tapped his shoulder and gestured what was happening but Scar signaled back that it was nothing and indicated for them to move on.

As the downward incline of the passageway ended, they noticed that the tunnel had branched off into two separate openings. Scar made another silent curse to himself as he realized that they would have to split up in order to cover both passageways if they were to finish this. On silent cue, Scar and his colleague behind him took to the opening on the right while the other two continued on towards the original way.

Even as they tried to keep silent, the sounds of their boots reverberated throughout the narrow confines of the cave tunnel as she sensed that they were coming. Gritting her teeth, Natasha quickly got into position. She only had one chance to do this right, and part of her plan depended a lot on luck- the Black Widow hoped that she still had an ounce of it left.

Scar and his colleague continued their relentless patrol until he saw what looked like a light at the end of the tunnel. As he crept forward, he noticed that the tunnel lead into a massive cavern. Stalactites seemed to have formed in the cathedral-like upper ceiling as shafts of sunlight poked through the wind formed holes at the top. Deactivating his night-vision goggles, Scar slowly ventured along the outer edges of the cavernous hall as his partner kept overwatch, using his infrared scope at the darkened niches along the rock walls.

Natasha tired to ignore the pain as her limbs nearly buckled from the strain of keeping her entire body aloft. The immediate cramping of her forearms subsided somewhat and was replaced by a surge of adrenaline as the first LOM operator appeared underneath her. The Black Widow had climbed up to the ceiling of the tunnel and splayed her arms and legs, keeping herself suspended above the floor like a spider waiting to pounce. As long as they didn't look up, she would have a chance. If they did decide to train their eyes upwards, that would be the end of her. Beads of sweat began to form on her face as she gritted her teeth and kept pushing the searing pain away from her thoughts.

After carefully making his way to the opposite side of the cavern, Scar instantly noticed something near a pile of rocks beside a darkened alcove. As he looked down using the night-vision scope on his carbine, he realized that it was a MechWarrior's neurohelmet. Rather than touching it, he carefully examined it with his eyes only. Painted black and with a red hourglass near the top of the visor, the helmet was not easily seen from his previous spot. So she was here, he thought.

As the second man walked beneath her, Natasha noticed that there was no one else trailing behind the pair as they traversed the underground cave tunnel. It was time.

The fall was a short one as the Black Widow let go of her perch and her heels smashed down onto the back of the commando's knees when she dropped down on top of him. Hearing his partner's scream, the lead commando turned as he saw that a woman dressed in black shorts and a skintight black T-shirt struggled behind his colleague as her left arm held his neck in a vise-like grip.

While he was being assaulted from behind the commando tried to bring his Shredder heavy needler to face his rear but Natasha was able to veer the weapon to point the other way as the soldier inadvertently pulled the rigger while they grappled with each other. The lead man in front could not get a clear shot at the swirling forms so he tried to crouch down to get a better aim just as the high-velocity flechettes from the Shredder removed the portion of his lower jaw and neck as the parts literally disintegrated into tiny bits of blood and bone. As he convulsed in his death spasm, the dying man inadvertently triggered his carbine, spraying a burst of 5.56mm slugs that bounced off the solid rock walls of the tunnel.

"Shots fired!" Scar's colleague yelled as he heard the gunfire behind him while crouching in the lip of the cavern entrance.

"Move!" Scar shouted as they both scrambled back towards the tunnel while activating their goggles again. The second team was in a fight and they needed to get over there as soon as possible.

The soldier fired his heavy needler rifle for the second time as he tried to get away from the Black Widow's grip, sending a cluster of needle-like flechettes bouncing off the tunnel walls. Natasha could tell that despite her surprise attack, the man was clearly stronger than her and she wasn't able to get a good grip in order to break his neck because the man's hockey helmet and Kevlar vest kept getting in the way. As the LOM commando kept trying to aim the rifle behind him, he kept jerking his body back and forth to try and shake off Natasha while reaching for his combat knife with his other arm.

As they struggled inconclusively for a few seconds, the man instantly changed his tactic as he dropped the rifle and pushed his body backwards, slamming into the tunnel wall and knocking the wind out of Natasha's lungs. While the Black Widow staggered and tried to catch her breath, the man twisted free as he whirled around to face her while drawing his combat knife.

A grimace of rage went through the man's eyes as he instantly lunged forward, trying to slash at her with the knife. But Natasha dodged the attack as she whirled sideways and drove the base of her palm upwards and struck the man's night-vision goggles, tearing the delicate instrument clean off as it flew across the tunnel. As the man struggled with his newfound loss of sight in the partial darkness, Natasha quickly followed it up with a roundhouse kick to the man's chest that sent him sprawling to the side wall. Knowing that his Kevlar vest protected him from most of that damage, the Black Widow rapidly closed in and drove her right elbow into the man's exposed nose, crushing the cartilage and driving the bone splinters into his brain. The man made a slight wheeze as he collapsed down into the ground.

Just as Natasha paused to catch her breath, a high-explosive grenade shell slammed close to her and exploded, throwing her forward into the dusty floor as Scar's colleague loaded another grenade into the mini-launcher mounted below his laser rifle. With her ears still ringing from the explosive near-miss, the Black Widow quickly got up and ran down deeper into the tunnel just in time as a second explosive grenade shell exploded near her previous spot. The shockwave of the explosion made her dive down once again as she felt something hot and painful at the back of her legs. As Natasha rolled over, she noticed that she had sustained some burns as she got up and continued to scramble backwards down the tunnel.

"You got her?" Scar asked as he followed behind his colleague who was moving forward and reloading his grenade launcher again.

"She's mine." His partner said as he slowly pressed on, weapon at the ready. The tunnel was getting narrower.

As Natasha kept backing up she tripped over some debris and fell down a small gully at the top of a sinkhole, bruising her shoulder and adding more cuts to her exposed skin. Grimacing in pain, the Black Widow crouched down and noticed that the tunnel was at a dead-end and she had reached that end. She was now trapped, with nowhere to go except through the enemy.

Small shafts of light that penetrated through the cracks in the cave enabled her to have some illumination since she had adjusted to the darkness hours before. Natasha looked around in desperation to see what she could do to forestall her fate. It was obvious that they were going to kill her; either for revenge or just plain orders from the top. As her despair became acute, she noticed a small bulge in the ceiling a few meters down the tunnel from whence she came. If it was what she thought it was, it might give her a chance. She did not want to think of the consequences if her instincts weren't right. As Natasha grabbed a fist-sized rock and waited for the inevitable, she once again remembered Meridian's instructions: if faced with a life or death situation, don't bother to think of the consequences of your decisions. The only thoughts to think about are your training and skills. Then just do it. If you die, so be it- you can worry about everything else in the afterlife.

Just as the LOM commando showed himself when he walked into her field of view, Natasha swung her right arm and threw the rock with all her might towards the silky lump above him at the exact moment he spotted her. As the soldier aimed his rifle for the deathblow, dozens of black widow spiders dropped down from the broken silk lump and landed on the top of his head, crawling down to his exposed neck and immediately began to bite him, injecting their formidable venom into his bloodstream.

The man immediately dropped his laser rifle as he clutched at his neck, trying to both crush the spiders and get them off. Natasha immediately went into action as she bolted towards the stricken soldier and threw all of her weight into a forward kick. The Black Widow's booted heel immediately connected with the man's armored chest as the soldier flew back and crashed into Scar. Both LOM commandos fell onto the dusty ground as Scar started rolling away from his stricken partner who was convulsing as the arachnid neurotoxins began to destroy nerve cells in his neck and head.

As Scar tried to grope for his carbine, he quickly looked up as he got into a crouching position and saw the barrel of his own weapon staring back straight at him.

"Looking for this?" Natasha said as she fired a short burst that cored the man's skull.

The Ferret pilot frowned as the helicopter hovered near the caves. Just a few minutes before, both him and his co-pilot heard weapons fire and screams as they monitored the ground team's communication frequency. After a short while everything went static. But the silence might have been caused by interference from the caves and so they hovered near the top of the caverns for a closer look.

"Spade-Two to Ground Team, come in, over." The pilot said for the umpteenth time. He was getting really drowsy now and the Ferret's fuel gauge indicated that they needed to return to base soon.

"Where in Blake's hell are they?" His co-pilot swore as he kept scanning the caves with his macro-binoculars.

"Hell if I know." The pilot said wearily as he used his right arm to keep the helicopter steady while his left arm began to rummage the meal pack near his seat. Perhaps he missed a thermos that still had some coffee, he really needed it now because his supply of stim pills was used up.

"For the love of Blake- LOOK OUT!" His co-pilot screamed.

"What?" The Ferret pilot said as he looked up and froze in complete shock as he saw who was standing on the top ledge near the caves.

It was the Black Widow. And she was cradling a large, scoped rifle with some protrusions underneath its barrel.

As the Ferret began to veer away, Natasha fired the laser rifle's mini-grenade launcher. The high-explosive shell impacted at the side of the Ferret's cockpit and exploded a split second later. As the chopper began to spin out of control, Natasha used aimed shots and emptied the laser rifle's powerpack, sending the light helicopter crashing down into the rocks below.