Even through the soundproofing of my Toyama's cockpit I could hear the crump of the Fed Rat artillery, feel the rumble of the shell impacts beneath my feet, falling with deadly accuracy. The rain of steel was the one thing that kept us from smashing the Davion Assault Guards.

Somehow we had to move past it.

I felt tree branches catching at my legs as I pushed through the forest, felt the coolness on my skin through the VDNI connection.

And somewhere beneath the bass explosions of artillery I heard the whisper of something else.

My head jerked left.

And I saw a flicker of motion.

It was the barest hint of velocity, the accidental twitch of a rabbit trying to outwait a hawk. I turned and dropped my left arm, triggering my Blankenburg heavy PPC. Azure lightning sizzled, shading the air with the electric taste of ozone, followed by an impossibly loud boom.

The spotter bolted then, revealing himself, despite his Infiltrator armor.

I heard the whistle of falling shells and knew then that the spotter, in a final moment of heroism, had called in fire down upon his own position.

Well, two could play at that game.

I stood there and took it, feeling the shells biting into my armor, like an angry dog tearing into my flesh. I gritted my teeth and bore the pain. Leveled the PPC and incinerated the Fed Rat soldier in mid-stride.

Now our forces would be free to maneuver around the Feds' artillery.

I fell back, running from the fall of shells. In my mind I toggled the command frequency to report the spotter's death when Precentor Geoffrey Zucker's voice cut in: "All Word of Blake forces, this is Zucker. Precentor Avitue has been killed. I say again, Precentor Avitue has been killed. I am assuming overall command."

For a moment I froze.

Avitue. Dead? That turncoat Zucker in command?

I couldn't believe it.

We'd just heard that Davion was dead, that the Feds were breaking. How could Avitue be dead now?

And then my mind conjured up a black thought. Had Zucker double-crossed Avitue?

Had he murdered her?

Zucker who was a son of New Avalon, Zucker who, until recently, had been under arrest, Zucker who had fought Avitue's authority.

And then I heard another voice saying: "Tactical insertion of shuttle, this posit. Gold authority."

Gold authority. Avitue's personal call-sign. She couldn't very well be dead if someone was using her call-sign to call down a shuttle.

What was Zucker playing at?

As if on cue, the radio crackled and Zucker said, "44th Shadow, wheel left and prepare for a fast march."

I frowned, studying the map relayed to me by VDNI. "We're going to attack Avalon City?"

"No," answered Zucker's voice. "A target just a little to the north."