Acolyte Rogelio Chavez decided to sit out the dust storm beside the crevasse where he killed the enemy sniper. After a cursory examination of the body he noticed that it was a teenaged girl. Chavez had never experienced remorse before but now it started to hit him like a proverbial pile of bricks. A flood of memories began to assault his spirit as he remembered the faces of everyone he killed. Choking back tears, Chavez gently stroked the corpse's hair as he felt something hard in the inner pocket of her black jumpsuit. He reached in and took it out.

It was a small plastic holder full of pictures. Portraits of a family dressed in traditional Draconis Combine kimonos as well as cheering cadets from a graduation ceremony stared back at him. Chavez felt an emptiness inside as he gently put back the small snapshots into the slim box and stuck it back into the corpse's pocket. He always felt that it was easy to kill someone before, now it was different, no longer where they faceless targets but people, who lived, laughed and loved just as he did.

As the LOM sniper sat there while the sand swept winds howled around him, a monstrous shadow fell over the top of the crevasse, nearly obscuring his outside vision. As he looked up in complete surprise, a giant black metallic foot descended right on top of his position. Chavez let out a cry of shock as the crevasse collapsed around him.

Adept Amon Goth brooded while sitting in the cockpit chair of his Shootist BattleMech. The final operation to retrieve the datadisk was underway and he should have been content but he wasn't. It was as if something was missing. Goth had always believed he had it all but now he felt a kind of emptiness inside. Was it because he failed to decisively beat the Black Widow and left open the possibility that she was still alive? For the first time in his life, Goth felt the first stirrings of unfulfilled desire.

A loud beep from his Mech's comm. system snapped him back into reality. "Mech-One here." Goth answered.

"Adept Goth," It was the pilot of Pinto Super Six-Two hovering above them. "The sandstorm seems to be dying down now but I still cannot raise HQ on my communications. All I'm getting is static."

"What about Super Six-Three, has she been able to contact Base Camp?"

"Negative, sir." The Pinto helicopter pilot said. "No one has been able to contact them for the past ten minutes."

"Okay," Goth said as he made a decision." I want you to return to base and do a visual flyby. How long will that take?"

"About twenty minutes flying time at full throttle, sir."

"Do it now," Goth said. "And check in with me every five minutes; if it is magnetic interference, we should be able to know its range"

"Yes, sir." Super Six-Two said as he began to tilt his control stick. "You sure you won't be needing me?"

"Other than casualty evacuation procedures, I think we have the situation under control." Goth said.

"Roger that, sir." Super Six-Two acknowledged as the Pinto helicopter flew off into the hazy distance.

The pilot of Super Six-Two banked left as he began to ease the Pinto towards the still dusty horizon. Just as he leveled the attack helicopter towards the rear lines, he immediately noticed something about the ground below. As his left hand slowed the Pinto's throttle he started to scan around.

His co-pilot then tapped his shoulder. "What's up?"

"I'm not sure," Super Six-Two's pilot said. "I thought I saw something down there."

"Must be the sandstorm," His co-pilot said. "May be playing tricks with yer eyes. What did you see anyway?"

"I really don't know, it looked like something dark and huge was moving on the ground but the visibility's crap so I'd like to come in low for a closer look."

"Up to you," Super Six-Two's co-pilot grinned, only his teeth stood out from the visored helmet. "You're gonna be gettin' flak from Adept Goth for delaying our orders, not me."

"Better safe than sorry." The Pinto pilot said as he deftly controlled the helicopter until it hovered just above the billowing wisps of sand. Normally the base of the mountains would have been nothing but bare bedrock but the Sherji threw up a two-story tall wall of swirling sand that obscured the 'Mechs and tanks of the assault team; everyone on the ground huddled close together because visibility was limited to point-blank range.

As both pilots continued to scan the khaki vortex below, the opaque mists underneath the hovering Pinto parted for a short second as a giant colossus rose up from the sandy ground; its massive black metallic form seemed to hover right beside the shocked crew of the helicopter, as if suspended there by the hand of God.

"Batter up!" Johnny Gundam shouted as he used the controls to heft the Axman's massive hatchet and swing it towards the Pinto's fuselage. Gundam knew he had only a few seconds to do it correctly: although his BattleMech's jump jets weren't designed to hover, he had timed it just right as he sneaked in the sandstorm underneath the hovering chopper in order to fly up for a few seconds.

It was all that was needed. The reinforced, solid weapon of the Axman was designed to tear into enemy 'Mechs as a melee attack and it smashed into the helicopter's side, destroying most of its armor and shredding the main rotor blade as well. As the Axman's jump jets ignited once again in order to bring the 'Mech back in for a soft landing into the swirling dust clouds, Gundam could see the Pinto careening out of control and into the ground as well.

"What in Blake's Hell was that?" The pilot of Pinto Super Six-Three shouted into her microphone as she saw the whole thing happen from a distance. It was as if some demonic black Jinn rose out of the desert sands and took the other Pinto with it back to the abyss from whence it came.

"It was a BattleMech!" Her co-pilot exclaimed. "We gotta warn the others!"

"This is Pinto Super Six-Three, all units- we have enemy contacts! BattleMechs!" The Pinto pilot shouted as she switched to all frequencies while pulling back on her stick to make the helicopter climb higher. Whatever happened now, she didn't want the same fate of the identical Pinto helicopter to befall her. "Repeat, we have enemy BattleMechs at our rear lines!"

Christopher MacLaren chuckled under his breath as he followed the Pinto's signal above him. All he had to do was to keep her within a short distance as his 45-ton Stealth Hawk's ECM systems kept jamming the helicopter's communications to the rest of her unit. The Pinto pilot didn't realize it but no one from her side would be able to heed her warnings until it was too late.

Adept Amon Goth cursed as he kept fiddling with his Shootist's communications array, it seemed that he was beginning to lose touch with the peripheral members of his unit as his 'Mech's sensors kept getting a lot of static. Goth figured that this particular dust storm was more powerful than any previous one for it seemed to interfere with his 'Mech's sensors more than ever before. Perhaps some sand particles might have seeped into the delicate radar systems, who knows?

"Sir, we may have a problem…" Goth's comm. link activated as he recognized the voice of the Starslayer pilot to his extreme left flank. The sound was patchy and carried a lot of static but at least it was clear.

"Can barely hear you," Goth answered. "Say again, Starslayer. Repeat your message, over."

The voice came back even more faintly this time. "Sir… lost contact… with Pintos… last message… enemy…"

"What?" Goth shouted back into his neurohelmet's built-in microphone, hoping his loud voice could slash through the static interference. "Say again, cannot hear you!"

"Last… message… enemy…"

"Say again, Starslayer. Say again!" Goth kept shouting.

"Enemy… contact…"

Goth's eyes began to widen as the garbled message's impact struck him with full force. Almost immediately, his training and experience began to take over as he powered up his Shootist's weapon systems. It wasn't the sandstorm that was interfering with his unit's communication links, there was something else and there was only one other conclusion. That was why they weren't able to contact Base Control; that was why he had trouble coordinating his troops. If only he hadn't been so over-confident, he might have spotted the signs sooner; now he hoped that it wasn't too late.

"ALL UNITS, TURN!" Goth screamed at the top of his lungs using the designated command frequency as he began to move his own 'Mech; he hoped that the others would have had enough sense to keep that line open. If he had tried the general frequencies, the enemy might realize that he knew about them, thereby ruining their chances for a surprise attack. Goth hoped to Blake's spirit that his unit would think like him. "ALL UNITS, ENEMY CONTACT AT THE REAR- TURN AND ENGAGE!"

Like their commander, the Blakist MechWarriors were an experienced bunch that had their trial by fire in many previous operations and so most of them had been tuning in to the scrambled command frequency and caught part of Goth's message. Their initial shock quickly turning into disciplined coordination, the remaining elite MechWarriors of the Light of Mankind quickly powered up their BattleMechs and began to turn towards the rear of their lines. The armored vehicles that flanked them however, were not so experienced and so therefore were still in the dark as explosions began to rattle around them.

As the stunned defenders turned around and began straightening their battle-line, eleven black metallic demons began to engage them.

"Widows, engage all enemy contacts," Lieutenant Lewis Sorenson said as he piloted his 75-ton Dark Knight forward. "Remember, good guys wear black."

The Blakist pilot of the 80-ton Spartan assault 'Mech spotted what looked like a modified, all-black Phoenix Hawk in the murky distance as the waves of dust whirled around them. Licking his lips for what looked like an easy kill, he punched in full-throttle on his 'Mech to try and catch the enemy Phoenix Hawk but his lighter adversary kept him at extreme visibility by dint of its speed, always backing up just when the Spartan got to within optimum range with its PPC. As the Blakist MechWarrior pushed his Spartan even faster, he realized that he had strayed too far from the defensive zones of his unit and so began to slowly retreat.

Cursing silently to himself, the Spartan pilot had hoped to finally get a kill after being beaten twice by the Black Widow; he was a veteran MechWarrior and to have this humiliation done to him felt like a painful tear in his heart. As the faint form ahead of him seemed to materialize once again, he punched up the throttle and reversed his heading, moving forward once again and hoping to catch that elusive Phoenix Hawk once and for all. A rush of dust obscured his front view ports for a few short seconds while as he confidently strode his Spartan to within short range. Just as he began to target the enemy in front of him, his eyes opened wide in horror as he realized he was no longer facing a 45-ton Phoenix Hawk but a massive cyclopean monster that seemed to have barreled claws instead of hands as it closed into him. Quickly switching from his PPC to his array of pulse lasers and streak short-range missiles, he realized that he wasted precious time. And it was about to cost him dearly.

"Suck on this." The Monk said as he triggered the dual ULTRA 200mm autocannons on the arms of his modified 100-ton Royal King Crab.

The ULTRA autocannons were improved versions of the standard autocannons and enabled the user to double his firing rate. At point-blank range, four 200mm armor-piercing shells slammed onto the Spartan's torsos, literally shattering its front armor. The WOB pilot couldn't compensate as his war machine staggered and then fell onto the desert floor form the massive pounding it took. The Monk calmly waited until his autocannons cycled back to their "ready-fire" mode and fired another massive volley into the lightly armored back of the stricken enemy 'Mech for good measure, then fired a medium-range laser for the coup de grace. This time, there was no chance the Spartan could be repaired after the battle, as it was now nothing more than a pile of smoldering metal.

"By Blake's Will, destroy them!" Amon Goth shouted to his unit as his Shootist fired its extended-range large laser at what looked like a Black Knight that just appeared at his extreme left flank. His targeting sensors could not get a proper lock and his laser went wide, it looked like his opponent was using some sort of stealth system that threw off his accuracy. Goth drove his Shootist forward to get closer, correctly surmising that he would get a better shot at shorter ranges plus he could bring his 'Mech's massive 200mm ULTRA autocannon to bear as well.

As his adrenaline pumped at full force, making tingling sensations all over his hyper-intensive body, Chris MacLaren felt that he had to get into the action. Forgoing his orders, he quickly punched up the throttle of his Stealth Hawk to maximum and started driving for the enemy lines. As an enemy Starslayer came into view, MacLaren fired his extended-ranged large laser at it, melting some armor off the enemy 'Mech's left arm. But instead of moving closer to engage him, the opposing 50-ton Starslayer fell back, as if seemingly retreating while it fired its two large lasers in return, scoring a glancing blow to MacLaren's 'Mech, damaging it slightly.

"I'll get you for that!" MacLaren cursed as he kept after the Starslayer. Just as it looked like the Starslayer was finally cornered, the enemy 'Mech instantly pivoted and moved sideways, revealing a 60-ton Po Heavy Tank where its previous position was. MacLaren gasped as the tank's main gun fired a 120mm shell that smashed into his BattleMech's right leg, nearly punching a hole in it. The WOB Starslayer added to his dilemma as it fired a volley of lasers at him from medium range, smashing through the remaining armor on his Stealth Hawk's leg as he desperately kept his 'Mech from toppling over.

Turning off the screeching alarms in his 'Mech's cockpit, MacLaren tried desperately to move his 'Mech backwards for a retreat but its right leg actuators were malfunctioning as the sand seeped in to its exposed myomer bundles as well as the damage from the concentrated enemy attack. "Guys, I need help!" MacLaren screamed as he noticed both the Po tank and the Starslayer closing in for the kill.

Just as the Po traversed its gun turret to place a shot at MacLaren's 'Mech, Johnny Gundam's Axman suddenly landed right beside it after a jump. The Axman immediately swung its hatchet, cleaving the Po's tank gun barrel in half. The Starslayer instantly reacted by firing a few laser shots and a small barrage of short-ranged missiles at Gundam's 'Mech but the damage was superficial. MacLaren did what he could, firing his extended-range large laser and hitting the Starslayer but inflicting only light damage. Realizing that the skirmish was lost the enemy WOB 'Mech retreated sideways, hoping to catch Gundam's Axman with its lasers until a massive Thunderbolt missile fired from the Axman's shoulder-launcher and decapitated the Starslayer, sending the once-tenacious enemy 'Mech crashing down onto the swirling sands.

"Thanks." Chris MacLaren said breathlessly. He had dodged a bullet and he knew it.

"Even if you don't wanna keep to the plan, kid," Gundam's voice joked over the comm. link as his Axman started dismantling the now hapless Po tank. "Just stay behind me."

"Roger, wilco." MacLaren smiled as he was finally able to get his stricken 'Mech underway.

Amon Goth couldn't believe it. His unit was taking losses as the all-black enemy 'Mechs kept popping in and out of the sandstorm like dust devils. As the veteran WOB MechWarrior kept pivoting his Shootist to face the ever-elusive Black Knight, his laser shots kept missing. "Stand and fight, damn you!" Goth screamed at his open communications channels, hoping to goad the enemy BattleMech into a close-in battle but the Knight kept evading by constantly keeping at long ranges and then disappearing back into the opaque sandy mists once again.

"You coward! By Blake's wrath I will destroy you all!" Goth kept shouting. Just as he pivoted his heavy 'Mech once more to his right, his Shootist staggered and nearly fell backwards as its left arm was instantly torn off when it was hit by no less than three man-made lightning bolts. Quickly deactivating the whining alarms in his cockpit, Goth shrugged off the pain from the neuro-feedback that was giving him a terrific headache as he tried desperately to face a new, unexpected threat to his left flank.

"I'm all over him." Pale Rider said calmly as he piloted his 70-ton modified Nova Cat forward to face the stricken enemy Shootist while waiting for his PPCs to cycle back their spent energy.

"He's all yours, Pale Rider." Sorenson chuckled as he changed direction with his Dark Knight 'Mech to go support the others. The enemy was in good hands.

Goth wouldn't give up though; the Blakist MechWarrior was still willing to fight as he fired his extended-range large laser at the advancing Nova Cat, melting off some of his opponent's frontal armor but he realized that he wouldn't last long against the longer-ranged, Clan made weapons of the Cat unless he could somehow get within range of his ULTRA autocannon, but the black enemy 'Mech simply used its jump jets as it disappeared from Goth's line of sight temporarily, only to reappear at an even longer range as it landed back on the ground.

"Calling the shots- PPC to left torso." Pale Rider continued his calm, methodical voice as another artificial lightning bolt erupted from the Nova Cat's barreled arms and hit the left side of the Shootist.

Goth grunted as the 70-ton Shootist absorbed the heavy blow but he knew that the 'Mech's armor would soon buckle if this kept on going. His autocannon was at extreme range and the odds weren't good but he had no choice; Goth toggled his trigger on the control stick as a double burst of 200mm shells fired from the Shootist towards the Nova Cat.

Pale Rider kept his cool as a massive autocannon shell impacted his 'Mech's center torso. His opponent was good and this would be a tough fight; but then again, he had been in this situation many times before. "PPC to center." He said calmly as he fired a double PPC blast at the Shootist that staggered it once again but failed to bring it down.

Goth knew he was in real trouble now as his 'Mech's frontal armor barely absorbed the dual blasts that impacted with pinpoint precision. The next attack would definitely breach his Shootist's paper-thin protection. He was a dead man unless he could think of something fast. With a plan borne from desperation, he quickly revved up his Mech's throttle as the Shootist began to sprint directly at the Nova Cat in an all or nothing charge, hoping to grapple with it before the enemy 'Mech could cycle back the spent energy of its weapons.

Pale Rider instantly reacted as he stomped his feet on both foot pedals, igniting his 'Mech's jump jets. The Nova Cat nearly cleared its previous position just as the Shootist barreled into it, the WOB 'Mech's shoulders just slamming into the Nova Cat's knees as Goth's Mech was able to tackle the leaping Nova Cat's legs, throwing the direction of its jump jets into disarray. Pale Rider muttered an uncharacteristic curse as his 'Mech's gyros overcompensated, trying to keep the jumping 'Mech vertical but to no avail; the Nova Cat slammed head first into the desert sands as the Shootist began to turn in its direction.

"You cannot defeat the servant of Blake!" Amon Goth exulted as he turned his 'Mech to face the prostrate Nova Cat lying on the ground and began to target the enemy BattleMech's exposed rear. "Now you will suffer the fate of every infidel that tries to defy us, in hell!" He shouted as he began to toggle his weapon triggers.

The enemy's words were enough to make Pale Rider recover from his semi-unconscious state as he groggily realized the dire predicament that he was in. As he saw on his rear view screen that the Shootist was closing in for the kill, he tried a last, desperate maneuver as he willed his 'Mech's legs to get on a kneeling position while activating his jump jets once again. The Nova Cat's jump rockets instantly ignited, sending a gigantic cloud of dun-colored sand at the Shootist just as his enemy triggered his autocannon. The Nova Cat slid forward several dozen meters just as the Shootist's autocannon shells impacted the area on where it should have been.

"No!" Goth cursed as he fired his remaining lasers at the rising Nova Cat, melting off some of the enemy's side armor as its torsos pivoted back to face him.

"Final shot- center." Pale Rider replied calmly as a trio of electromagnetic bolts that carried enough power to light up several large cities, impacted on the Shootist's center torso and cored it. The WOB 'Mech instantly fell on its knees and finally toppled backwards as its reactor core melted.