Текст книги "Main Event"
Автор книги: Джеймс Лонг
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"We've been challenged by how many? Eight different Dragoon units?"
"Nine," said Badicus, "if you count the armored platoons."
"Twelve." All heads turned to Rianna, who shrugged. "There were three challenges waiting at my room this afternoon."
"In short, you've offended the Dragoons and they want to make me pay for it." Rose looked at Rachel and realized it was the first time he'd heard her speak all day. She still had a beautiful voice.
"I take it," he began cautiously, "that this treatment hasn't been confined to us?"
"The Bristol and her entire crew have been painted with the same broad brush." McCloud threw up her hands. "It isn't that they're doing anything you can put your finger on. Yes, some of the techs are rude, but plenty of techs are like that. Parts that were previously available can no longer be found, but that happens too. Service crews are unavailable . . . inspections take longer to complete, forms take longer to process. ..."
"... costs are slightly higher than estimated, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. All right," finished Rose, "we can see that we've worn out our welcome in Harlech. We've got to turn the situation around while we still have the chance—if we wait much longer, we'll be completely out of options. Now what do we do about it?
"Rianna, what about contracts?"
"Slim and none. The only offer we've had is from the Borghese delegation. I talk with them on a daily basis, but I've managed to put them off for now. For some unknown reason, they seem to like us and have stopped looking for another unit until we make a decision. If we want it, the contract is ours."
"Anything else, even remote?"
Rianna furrowed her brow and rubbed her eyes. "Nothing. We've got an outside shot at a couple of longer-term garrison jobs, but the odds are not in our favor. There are too many beat-up units returning from the front lines and willing to accept a cushy garrison billet for us to compete with."
"Anything we can subcontract from another unit?" asked Hawg. Rose looked at the man in wonder. He hadn't thought of it himself and was surprised that the big man did.
"Nothing on the table. Some of the bigger units are offering slots to qualified units, but most of them aren't true subcontracts. Twelve months from now we'd be locked into a long-term contract with little chance of getting out." For a moment, no one spoke.
"Disband?" It was Angus who said it, but nobody looked up. Although the man had posed the single word as a question, Rose feared it was the death cry of his new unit. He decided to remain silent. Despite his contracts with the people in this room, he could not lead if they were unwilling to follow. It was better to get it out in the open now. Hawg again surprised Rose by being the first to respond.
"I said I was in and I meant it. Besides, things are just getting interesting." Standing slowly, he came to attention and threw Rose a salute. Without waiting for a response, he sat back down, grabbing one of the many paper cartons of food on the way.
"I'm not leaving unless somebody kicks me out," said Esmeralda after a brief silence. She too stood up and saluted Rose. As she was sitting down, Badicus stood up. "I've come this far and see no reason to stop now."
Ajax stood next and gave a formal Liao salute. "Though I am unbloodied as a member of the unit, it is my hope to serve as admirably as the rest." He bowed slightly from the waist and sat down.
Rianna stood up and Angus followed, each performing a classic Highlander salute. "We're family. You don't even need to ask."
Rose regained control of his breathing and tried to keep his face and manner calm. Vowing silently to be worthy of such loyalty, he stood slowly and saluted each one in turn. Finally, he looked at Rachel McCloud.
"Captain, I know that you're worried about your ship and her crew. I understand that concern, but I cannot undo what has been done, however unfair the outcome has been for you. I can promise to make the situation as bearable as possible. We need the use of a quality DropShip manned by a skilled crew. You know us, and you know me. I'll do everything in my power to make sure your ship and your crew are provided for."
While McCloud studied Rose for a moment, the rest of the Thorns watched her making up her mind, Long minutes later she rolled her head against the back of the chair and looked at Rose with shining eyes.
"God will take me for being a fool, but I accept. Every hour I spend on this planet now just brings me closer to lifting off with no cargo at all, so you're my best business. However, I must guarantee my crew's safety. You will provide the crew's protection when we reach the Clan border."
Rose smiled and his team smiled with him.
"It looks like Borghese is the only place that will have us—and as it happens, it's the very place I want to go," he said heartily.
"Beats hanging around here," McCloud said, finally returning his smile.
"Ria, get the Borghesians on the line. Tell them the Black Thorns are on the way."
Part 2
20
Houston, Borghese
13 December 3054
The trip to Borghese was every bit as uneventful as Rose had feared it would be. Life on a DropShip was always boring for the soldiers being transported. The spacers in charge had all the work, and the mercenaries were expected to keep out of the way. Several times during the trip from Outreach to the jump point, an angry Captain McCloud had called Rose to the bridge, telling him to keep his people out of the way. Ground-pounders were particularly useless in the confines of the DropShip.
Eventually the spacers and the mercenaries worked out a kind of truce that gave Rose and his people more freedom aboard the ship and the spacers less to worry about. Once they'd made the first jump from Outreach the trip settled into a steady routine. Every six to eight days the Iron Hand,the JumpShip carrying the Bristol ,had to stop to recharge its jump drive via its gigantic solar sails. In those periods Rose and his mercenaries would work on their 'Mechs in the cargo bay where they were stored. Space would usually have been a problem, but because the Bristol had been forced to leave Outreach earlier than scheduled much of her cargo hold was empty.
When the engines were fully recharged, the JumpShip captain passed the word to the DropShips it was carrying that it was time to jump to the next star. Gear would be secured and the occupants of the Bristol ,spacer and mercenary alike, would strap themselves in for the instantaneous jump through hyperspace that would take them some thirty light years further toward their destination. Having made the jump, the spacers would go back to whatever they'd been doing and the mercenaries would return to the cargo bays.
Just as plenty of space was available in the cargo holds, it was also available in the guest cabins. Each member of the Black Thorns actually got his or her own cabin for the trip, an unheard-of luxury aboard civilian and military DropShips. The mercenaries were as giddy as cadets at this unexpected luxury.
Because there were no regular hours for day and night aboard ship, Rose allowed the mercenaries to work when and as they pleased. They held their weekly status meetings in the galley, usually just prior to a jump. At these meetings everyone was updated on the current status of the ongoing maintenance.
Rose had never met a MechWarrior who didn't work on his own 'Mech, at least to some degree. Even House troops, whose 'Mechs were owned by the House ruler who employed them, worked to make their 'Mechs as reliable and comfortable as possible. Independent units and pilots who actually owned their own machines were even more renowned for their tinkering. For pilots like Hawg, whose 'Mech had been in the family for three generations, the amount of tinkering bordered on the insane.
Because the Black Thorns were a small unit, they could not afford the luxury of hiring a full-time technician. Rose hoped eventually to field a large unit with a complete staff of support specialists, but at the moment every warrior had to oversee the care of his own 'Mech. If the task was bigger than usual or beyond the pilot's expertise, Rose assigned other members of the team to assist. Fortunately, he'd been lucky enough to hire several warriors with excellent technical experience.
Rianna undoubtedly had the most formal training, but much of it did not apply to the kind of repairs necessary to keep a sixty-year-old 'Mech running after countless battles. Hawg, on the other hand, was a fount of information on how to by-pass damaged circuits and repair battle-damaged components. Working together, with the assistance of Esmeralda, the three kept the other four mercenaries busy for their full work cycle.
Rose insisted on working on his own 'Mech, as much to lead by example as to make sure he would know everything there was to know about the Chargerbefore having to ride it into a real battle. His example seemed to have the desired effect, for when the Iron Handmade the final jump to Borghese, all seven 'Mechs were in excellent condition. They'd been freshly painted and renumbered according to the system devised by Rianna, and Rose had to admit the demi-company looked very sharp. Sharp enough, he hoped, to impress the local leaders of Borghese. When the mercenaries were not working on their 'Mechs, they were studying what they laughingly referred to as their play books.
Rose had devised a series of commands based on his years with the Com Guards that would allow the unit to deploy and maneuver with a minimum of confusion and conversation. Although he had originally designed the system for a full company, it had not taken long to trim down the manual for use by the smaller unit. Rose had divided the unit into three demi-lances. The pursuit lance consisted of Angus' Valkyrieand Ajax's Raven.Rianna and Rose formed the command lance, while Esmeralda's Warhammer,O'Shea's Shadow Hawk,and Hawg's Zeusmade up the unit's battle lance.
The team held review sessions on a regular basis, during which Rose drilled individual members of the unit on which maneuvers would be called for during a particular action. After one or two times of being embarrassed before their comrades, the unit members began to carry the manuals with them and to quiz themselves. By the end of the trip the Black Thorns were challenging Rose with situations and commands.
Although Rose spent a considerable amount of time with his 'Mech, he also spent many of his off-duty hours with either the delegation from Borghese or Rachel McCloud. Leo Wilkins proved to be good company, despite being a civilian, but Rose considered Hoffbrowse terminally boring. The two men were well-informed about various situations on Borghese and considered it their patriotic duty to make sure Rose knew as much about the planet as they did. Despite Hoffbrowse's best efforts, Rose focused only on the major topics and ignored much of the detail.
"I don't have to know every fact about the planet," Rose told the man on several occasions. "I just have to know who does." Rose did nevertheless end up finding out much more about Borghese than he'd initially intended.
He learned that salt-water oceans covered more than 80 percent of Borghese. The world had one major continent, but it was smaller than Australia where the Com Guards used to practice on Terra. With so little usable land available, the planet's initial settlers had looked to the sea to provide them with sustenance, but the sea turned them away with sudden electrical storms and crashing waves. Eventually the settlers had given up, the population leveling off at its current level. Borghese's ten million inhabitants were mainly involved in the world's only industry, mermaid harvesting.
The creatures were not actually mermaids, but the early settlers' name for the fish had stuck and become official. Because of the storms, the fishing industry was limited to the waters nearest the land, but mermaid fish were considered a delicacy on many worlds and brought a good price. Only the wealthiest could afford to buy it, though, and so the market was limited. Any fisherman who could survive ten or more years supplying the food merchants could retire quite well-off.
The major city on Borghese was Houston. Located on the southern coast, the sprawling metro area was home to more than 60 percent of the planet's population. The remaining cities were mostly small towns or, more often, simply a collection of families who happened to build near one another. The land was able to support several hybrid Terran crops, mostly strains of beans, corn, and wheat, which allowed limited livestock production.
After studying the information supplied by Hoffbrowse, Rose deduced that Borghese was still dominated by pioneers who refused to believe that there was something better than what they had. The planet was completely self-sufficient, but that was about all that could be said for it. Then again, Rose reconsidered, maybe that was saying quite a bit in the current era.
When he would finally satisfy himself that he'd worked enough for one day, Rose usually wandered into the spacers' quarters to look for McCloud. Though he would never forget the support she'd given him during their stay on Northwind, something had changed when they reconnected on Outreach. Rachel seemed like a different person. Despite their previous intimacy, she'd insisted on keeping her distance. He was sure that pulling her, and her DropShip, into the Dragoon fiasco had strained their personal relationship, possibly to the point of no return.
The long trip to Borghese, however, seemed to have smoothed away any anger she'd been harboring toward Rose, and by the end of the trip she was her old self again. At least the old self he'd first met when she'd transported him from Terra to Outreach.
As the Bristol cleared the JumpShip and began the nine-day trip insystem to Borghese, Rose began to scan incoming information about the planet. When the nine days were up, he believed he had a good grasp of the planet's political climate, but he didn't like what he'd learned. If the public newscasts were correct, the mercenaries were not being welcomed with open arms. Rose approached Wilkins several times on the final leg of the trip, but the civilian steadfastly refused to give him any more information about the situation.
"Now that we're back in Borghese space, I'll have to ask you to wait for an official answer from the Ruling Council," he said. Until the Bristol had jumped into the Borghese system, Wilkins had been bending over backward to provide Rose everything he needed. Two hours after McCloud made the required announcement to the Borghese port officials, Wilkins was suddenly struck mute. Rose didn't even need to check with McCloud to know that the man had received a message from his bosses and been told to keep quiet. Even while the Bristol was descending toward the Houston spaceport, he knew something was definitely wrong.
As the Bristol touched the ground, Rose could see pickets outside the landing area. Most of the signs were crude banners demanding that Rose and his "mercenary killers" go home. Although the spaceport crowd was not very large, Rose knew from the broadcasts he'd monitored that others shared their viewpoint. His team hadn't even cleared the DropShip yet, and he was being called upon to make his first command decision. One that would undoubtedly set the tone for the rest of the mission.
It was customary for any 'Mech force to debark their DropShip in parade fashion, at least if they were landing at a secure spaceport. Often the arrival of a new unit would be marked with music and ceremonies that officially transferred the protection of an area from one unit to another, or from the civilians to the new unit. Even as the Bristol was still high over the spaceport, Rose had noted the conspicuous lack of typical review stands. He reached for the adjacent handset and dialed Wilkins' room.
"Yes?" Wilkins sounded like he was in a hurry.
Rose didn't bother to identify himself. "You said the contract we signed will be accepted by the Ruling Council, right?"
"Yes. The agreement we signed is technically binding, per the agreement with the Mercenary Bonding and Review Board, but the Ruling Council has final say in all matters that concern the safety of the planet. They will have to ratify the agreement before you are officially accepted."
Rose had asked the question at least three times before, but Wilkins had always given a half answer. Now the line was, "wait for the Ruling Council."
"That's fine. Just tell me where the Ruling Council meets."
"The Assembly Pavilion. It lies at the opposite end of Assembly Avenue. If you'd been watching as the ship landed, you'd have seen the column-lined streets. Quite impressive actually."
"Thanks." Rose hit the disconnect. He hadseen the column-lined street and the gigantic white building at its end. The avenue led directly from the spaceport to the seat of government. God help Borghese if a surprise invasion ever hit them. They'd have a 'Mech parked on the floor of the assembly before the councilors even knew the enemy had arrived. Rose dialed Esmeralda's room.
"Saddle up the troops, Essy," he said when Esmeralda answered. "We're riding into town."
"You sure about this? Looks like we have friendly opposition. "
"I want all pilots in their 'Mechs in three minutes." Rose paused before disconnecting. "Make it a drill." He grinned and grabbed his holster as he disconnected Esmeralda.
Rose hit the doorway and sprinted down the hall, buckling his holster as he went. The spacers were all on decks well above him so he threw caution to the winds and increased his pace. As the commanding officer, Rose's quarters were one deck higher than the rest of the unit, but the same distance from the 'Mech bays. At the end of the hall he slapped the door controls and ducked under the rapidly rising door. Back-slapping the down button without looking, he emerged into the 'Mech bay. Ignoring the stairs directly ahead of him, Rose grabbed the twin railings and flung his feet over the metal rails. Pushing off with his hands, he used the rails as a crude slide, and flew down to the deck below. As he hit the deck floor, the far door opened and Ajax led the rest of the unit into the room. His eyes went wide for a moment as he realized Rose had beaten him into the room.
Rose flashed a grin and ran across the room to his 'Mech. He climbed the chain ladder to the torso handgrips, then hit the ladder's rewind button. As the ladder began disappearing into the Charger'slower torso, Rose continued the climb. Reaching the 'Mech's shoulder, he stopped to take a brief look around the bay. The others were also in the process of climbing up the length of their 'Mechs. Ajax would likely be the first one up, a testimony to his foot speed and the Raven'sshorter stature.
Rose slipped around the Chargerand entered through the back of its head. He closed and sealed the hatch, then dropped into the command chair. Reaching to the rack above the main viewscreen, he pulled out his neurohelmet. Using both hands, he settled the helmet on his shoulders and began the ignition sequence. Electrical power flooded the 'Mech and lights filled the cockpit.
"Authorization confirmation, please." Rose loved the voice of his new 'Mech, but he would never admit it. Speech synthesizers were still not widely used, despite the added benefit they provided. Most pilots had enough to worry about coordinating the movement, firing, communications, and heat levels by sight and feel to worry about listening, and reacting, to another presence. Rose had always used one in the Com Guards, figuring he could look one place and listen another. The Shootist'svoice had been firm and unemotional. The Chargeralmost purred. Though the system had been disabled when Rose purchased the 'Mech, he'd just managed to re-engage it prior to the jump to Borghese, and to program the verbal warnings, which were based on a variety of hostile or threatening actions. This was the first time he'd heard the voice except during testing.
"A rose by any other name," began Rose.
"Is still a rose," finished the computer as Rose smiled. "Be wary of the rose ..."
". . . and fear the thorns."
"Confirmation complete. Welcome aboard, Captain."
Rose hit the command channel. "Thorns, identify."
"Pursuit Two, on-line." Rose was not surprised that Ajax was the first to report in.
"Pursuit One, on-line." That Angus reported second did surprise him. The kid wasn't even winded.
"Battle One, on-line." Esmeralda was flexing the Warhammer'sarms, swinging the huge PPCs across the bay.
"Command Two, on-line. Requesting immediate debarkation clearance from the DropShip." Rose didn't bother to respond. As the executive officer, Rianna took care of the details like opening the doors, while Jeremiah checked the troops.
"Battle Three, on-line." That left only Badicus. Rose waited expectantly as the bay doors began to open.
"Battle Two, on-line, almost. Primary visual panel is not responding."
Rose shook his head and looked over at the immobile Shadow Hawk.The visual unit had failed immediately after the battle on Solaris. Rose had replaced it twice on the way to Outreach, and then Hawg had rebuilt it completely when it failed during testing on the way to Borghese.
"Switch to secondary. Confirm visual."
"Secondary confirmed. Just don't go running off. I'll have a devil of a time finding you." Badicus wasn't far from the truth. At only 60 percent of the size of the main viewscreen, the smaller screen would make it easy to miss some things. It was good to have it in a battle, but nobody wanted to have to depend on it, especially during close maneuvering.
"Doors are open. We're clear to debark."
Rose noticed that his sister's voice revealed not even a trace of excitement. She sounded very professional. Rose hoped it would last.
"Column formation, Thorns, two abreast. Pursuit, you have the honors. Command Two will follow as a single. Battle One, you have the rear with Battle Two. Try to keep him out of trouble.
"Pursuit, we're heading down the main road. Don't stop until you're standing in front of the biggest white building you've ever seen."
The Ravenand the Valkyrieheaded down the ramp. Though their weights were different, they made a good pair. For the entry into the city Rose wanted his column to look good as well as provide a sound military defense. Rianna moved out alone and Hawg fell in along his right side. Esmeralda and Badicus moved behind him.
As the Chargermoved down the ramp, sunlight hit the new paint for the first time. Rianna, with Ajax's help, had settled on red and black as the unit's primary colors. Given the unit's name, Rose thought the choice appropriate as well as impressive. Each 'Mech was painted in the same colors, but each pattern was unique. When combined with the grays and silvers of the ports, the effect was memorable.
Rose followed his sister across the landing field and through the main gates. Conveyor trucks and cargo carriers moved aside as the procession moved past the terminals and toward Assembly Avenue. Ten minutes later the Black Thorns were causing a major traffic jam as cars veered to the curb to let the 'Mechs pass. The citizens of Houston had probably all seen BattleMechs before, but Rose allowed himself a moment of pride as the civilians stopped their daily routine and stood gaping. Rose stepped around and occasionally over cars as they continued on their way. At their slow pace it took thirty minutes to reach the Assembly Pavilion.
"Crescent formation. Standard defense of the building." Rose stepped forward and the Thorns took position around him. While Rose faced the building, the rest of the unit faced the other way. Rose flipped on the external speakers.
"This is Captain Jeremiah Rose of the Black Thorns mercenary unit. We have a binding contract, as certified by the Mercenary Review and Bonding Commission of Outreach, and we request immediate ratification."
Nothing happened for a few minutes, so Rose settled back into the chair after turning up the external speakers. After fifteen minutes a barrel-chested man appeared at the top of the stairs. Seeing that the man was dressed in formal coat and vest, Rose guessed him to be one of the Council members, perhaps the chairman. Zooming his cameras in on the man's face, it was easy to see he had an air of command and that he held himself with perfect bearing. With the Chargerat the bottom of the stone stairs and the man at the top, Rose was only slightly taller than him. When the man began to speak, he did not shout, despite the Charger'ssize and distance. He simply looked directly at the Charger'shead and began talking.
"I am Council Chairman Zenos Cooke. We've been expecting you, Captain Rose. If you will be so kind as to come with me, we can begin. The Council has been in an emergency session for the past two hours." The Chairman turned to go, then stopped.
"You will, of course, have to leave your 'Mech outside." Without waiting for a reply, Zenos Cooke disappeared into the building.
