Текст книги "Bloodname"

Автор книги: Роберт Торстон

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Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 19 страниц)

16

In a bizarre concatenation of circumstances, Kael Pershaw, Lanja, and Joanna were all in life-threatening danger simultaneously. Were an attentive god watching over his human minions, he or she might have been busy coordinating the fortunes of all three at once. Fortunately, Clan warriors did not have much use for gods and were, in fact, aware of only a few of those that were a part of human mythology. Those who speculated about gods generally concluded that a Clan warrior must rely on him or herself and not bother any god about anything.

Kael Pershaw's 'Mech was being rocked by a series of direct missile hits, most of them centered on the torso. With his thumb, he frantically pressed the enabling switch for the anti-missile system, but it was not working. The Wolf warrior on the other side apparently realized that and was shooting off a whole rack of SRMs at him.

With enemy Elementals swarming about his limbs as they tried to disable the 'Mech, and the awesome firepower being directed against him, only one response was possible. He must wade forward, all his weapons blasting away at once, hoping for a lucky series of hits.

What made matters worse was that the battle was being lost all around him. Every single Jade Falcon 'Mech was in serious jeopardy. The Jade Falcon Elementals had been pushed backward, behind the line of their 'Mechs.

Pershaw could not help wondering if the Elementals would have been pushed back so easily if Lanja were here.

* * *

Lanja was in the battle of her life. Had she been a normally constructed human being, she would be dead by now. Holding her head just barely above the stagnant water, she had managed to toss the tree puma off her body once, then turned around onto her back so that she faced it. It attacked again, its face coming so close that its foul breath seemed like some more pronounced extension of the swamp's putrescent odors.

The animal was small, which gave her some advantage because of her own great height. Somehow gaining leverage with her feet, she managed to hold the puma away from her. But she could not stop it from struggling and swiping at her with its paw, sometimes tearing skin. The strength she felt surging through the beast told her that it could wear her down. She had her own advantage, of course, for the beast had not been trained in battle skills. If she could just get to her laser pistol, she would let technology decide the issue. The only problem was that if she gave up her hold on the animal to reach for the weapon, it would get to her throat first.

* * *

Tension caused a new aching in Joanna's arms as she continued to hold them high. She did not know how long she could keep them there, but she emphatically did not want to let them fall into the muck.

She did not really know that she was now standing on her 'Mech's buried foot. For all she could tell, she was standing on a hidden rock or perhaps a muck animal. When whatever it was moved, she felt an irrational urge to draw up her legs. The muck would not allow any of her lower body to budge.

The thing jerked again, the movement pushing her forward. Her left arm dropped inadvertently, and before she could pull it out, sank into the muck. Another sudden move and the right arm nearly dropped. She felt herself slipping sideways, and might have slipped beneath the surface if the foot had not moved again and propelled her upward.

Now, her main problem, as the foot cleared the top of the scummy mud and the vines broke free, was to maintain her balance and keep from falling off. Especially when several of the vines came swinging past her, some of them hitting and stinging her face on their way.

* * *

The gods who might have been neglecting Kael Pershaw, Lanja, and Joanna might have been directing their attention at others. Not everyone was in jeopardy, after all. But no Clan warrior wanted to hear that some god was meddling in his life, in his achievements. Let the gods stay where they belonged, and if they would not, Clan warriors would bid against them in a battle to claim spiritual rights.

* * *

Most times, Dwillt Radick would have thrown out of his cockpit any god who had the bad judgment to appear there. At this moment, however, he might have been genial instead because of the chance it would give him to boast of his impending and impressive conquest of Kael Pershaw's Jade Falcons.

"Do not let up!" he shouted to his warriors.

Listening to this and Radick's other urgings, Craig Ward began to worry. If Radick had asked him, he would have admitted that Clan Wolf had the edge in this battle, but he was amazed at the tenacity of the Jade Falcons. His analysis showed that casualties were about the same on both sides. There was no superior strategy, tactics, or even firepower from Clan Wolf. Only attrition would give Radick the victory. And that, to Craig Ward, who was among the most fierce of warriors, would be a tainted triumph.

* * *

Aidan had turned his 'Mech to check on the status of the other warriors and their machines. If not for that he would never have seen the activity behind them.

"Horse, something is going on back there. It looks like a fight."

"Probably just two swamp animals having fun," Horse replied.

"No, it does not look like that. I would swear that one of the fighters is human. I have to go back there, check it out. It could be Joanna, separated from her 'Mech and coming after us."

"If it is her, there is no need to go back."

"Horse, we are Clan. We cannot let one of us die."

"I hear the words, Commander. I'm just not sure about them."

Aidan ordered the others to stay where they were. He descended from his Summonerand came down onto relatively firm soil. It squished a bit with moisture when he walked on it, but he couldwalk on it. There was a clear path of firm ground, nearly up to where the fight was taking place.

As he neared, he saw that the battle involved a tree puma. Knowing that, he took his laser pistol out and made sure it was on full charge.

* * *

Whatever the god's participation, often things just worked out. Lovers came together, families were reunited, good governments ousted bad governments. People in jeopardy found themselves, astonishingly, rescued. And occasionally one or two of them were grateful.

* * *

Kael Pershaw was only half-lucky. His automatic ejection mechanism got him out of his BattleMech before it fell. It did not explode, nor did it go down in pieces, but it was now clearly inoperative. As his ejection seat reached ground, five of his Elementals immediately surrounded him, fending off personal attacks from Clan Wolf Elementals. In a battle for a bloodline, capturing or killing the holder of the gene heritage would end the conflict, and so it was essential that Pershaw be kept alive and out of enemy hands.

When he walked back through his lines, he saw fallen BattleMechs all around him. His had not been the only one. Stepping over the dead warriors, he recognized among them the freebirth MechWarrior named Nis.

* * *

Joanna did slide off the foot, but only after Nomad had laboriously succeeded in making it take a step onto normal terrain, or at least what passed for normal terrain in this repulsive swamp. She fell to the ground. As she got up and brushed herself off, she looked up at Nomad, who was rather frantically gesturing for her to climb back up to the cockpit.

He could wait. She had to retrieve the gloves. When she found them, after skirting the pool of muck, she also found another of the reptilian creatures inspecting them, its mouth tentatively nibbling at a finger. Cursing silently, she picked up the laser pistol, which was still lying nearby, and blew the reptile's head off.

* * *

Aidan's well-aimed shot could have gone awry as Lanja managed to push the animal sideways, but it did not. The fire from his laser pistol entered the tree puma's brain, first going through its ear, transforming it into tiny fur and hide missiles. The animal went slack, its weight falling on Lanja, pushing her back into the water. Her head vanished beneath the water's surface, then her body, then the puma on top of it.

Aidan rushed to her. Reaching into the water, he found the puma's neck and yanked hard. The animal was heavy, damn heavy. But the water gave Aidan enough leverage to lift the animal off Lanja. It was too heavy to lift out of the water, but with a gigantic heave, he managed to fling it aside. Lanja did not reappear above the surface of the water. Wading in further, he reached down and paddled his hand around for her. At first he thought he had lost her. In the darkness he could not go underwater to look for her. He would not see anything.

Suddenly something bobbed up a few meters away. It was Lanja, on her stomach, her head still in the water. He swam to her, brought her head up, then dragged her back to the water's edge. He lay her down on the firm soil and started breathing into her mouth.

With a violent thrust upward, she started breathing again. Mustering all of his strength, Aidan grasped the massive woman's shoulder and then pulled and pushed and shoved until he had Lanja on her belly. Then he pounded on her muscular back to get the water out of her lungs. With 2.3 meters of her to handle, none of this was an easy task.

Nor was it easy to carry her back to the 'Mech. She had tried to walk on her own, but collapsed after a single step, passing out for a moment. By the time they reached the 'Mech, however, she was fully conscious again, insisting that Aidan put her down. Horse stood by Aidan's 'Mech, waiting for them. Aidan started to explain what had happened, but Lanja interrupted.

"The battle is not going well," she said. "Your units are badly needed, which is the message Kael Pershaw ordered me to relay to you."

Then she explained in precise detail what had occurred before she had started on her mission. Horse noted that the battle must still be raging, judging by the distant sounds of warfare and the way the night sky seemed light gray instead of deep blue.

Turning back to Lanja, he gestured to several cuts on her face and neck. "Those cuts are bad," he said.

"That does not matter," Lanja told him. Nevertheless, Horse quickly got out the medkit and started working on her.

"I am using bloodpetals," Horse said. "They will suck out any infections, then accelerate the healing of the cuts."

Lanja did not seem to be listening to Horse's comments. She turned to speak to Aidan, urgency in her voice: "If you continue on your present course, you are likely to come out just behind the Clan Wolf forces. That is, if my calculations are correct. We know how easily data can become distorted by the conditions of this place."

"Knowing we will emerge behind Clan Wolf could be a strategic advantage," Aidan commented. "But we are only eight. That would not be enough for an ambush, quineg?

"Neg," Lanja replied.

"Then we need a diversion."

"A diversion?"

"Yes. Can you get us close enough to Glory Station to establish a commlink?"

"Of course. There is a rise in a clearing about ten kilometers from here. From there, I should be able to establish both voice and digital secure link with Cluster headquarters."

She waved Horse away, even though he was still working on her wounds. Her gesture indicated that was all the medication she would accept right now.

"All right, then," Aidan said. "We will go on foot. Horse, bring the Star as close to the Wolf lines as you can without leaving the swamp. Have one of the extra pilots from Joanna's Trinary pilot my 'Mech there. I will join you there."

He turned to Lanja. "Let us go. And, Lanja, you will have to intervene for me. Because of this"—he pointed to his dark band—"Kael Pershaw does not have to talk to me. Even without this, he might not want to take advice from a freeborn."

Lanja thought that was true enough, but chose not to say it. She had a sense that Jorge might be the solution to what might otherwise be certain defeat.

17

Joanna wondered if Nomad's meddling with the neurohelmet had severely damaged it. Even though he had reconnected it, the helmet now felt exactly as when she had first been fitted for one so many years ago. There was a kind of throbbing dizziness in her head, a sense that, even though the 'Mech was apparently functioning normally, it was actually walking around in a daze.

She wondered if he had sabotaged the device. It would not be beyond his capabilities.

She took a deep breath. The air scrubbers were not working, and the smell of vomit hung in the air. Nomad's pain had become so intense that he had thrown up after completing the great effort of operating the 'Mech's foot. He had managed to clean up most of it, but the smell was taking its time. He had seen no point in trying to air out the cockpit. Not only were the air scrubbers down, but the air outside was even worse than this smell.

After sulking for a while, Nomad had fallen asleep again on the passenger seat. The sulking was because Joanna did not thank him properly for saving her life.

"It is your duty to rescue your commanding officer," she told him. "It is not some act of generosity that endows you with special qualities. You are still the same worthless sub-caster you always were. I will commend you properly in my report. That is all the gratitude that a Clansman deserves."

"Have it your way, Captain," he muttered.

"Look, Nomad, if it satisfies you to know, I am content that I will have more opportunity to serve the Clan. For that, I realize you are responsible. I respect those who perform their duty, so I respect you for doing it. Does that make you happier?"

"I'm not even sure I understood it."

She was glad that he slept now. His incessant footnoting of her every word was getting on her nerves. She had no idea where they were, could not use a single instrument of her control panel to find out, and had to—as the saying went—walk blind. They could use nothing in the swamp for a guiding mark. Every part of the place seemed to look almost exactly like every other part.

Something in the neurohelmet was giving her a headache. She shut her eyes and for a moment seemed to see a fully operational cockpit. She was knocked back to reality when the 'Mech stepped into a small pond, and she had to switch her concentration to navigating through water. The pain in her head grew even stronger when the 'Mech tripped over something and careened against a thick tree. She thought she sensed something rattling around in the compartment beneath the cockpit, but then decided it must be just her imagination or the malfunction in the neurohelmet.

Joanna was sure they were traveling in a circle, as so often happened to 'Mechs without sensors in unknown areas. There was no sense of what was behind or in front of her, to the right or the left. She might as well stand still as continue this blundering search.

She stopped the 'Mech and ate some rations she had stored away. She could not get much down, the cockpit odors not being conducive to a heavy appetite. Looking out the viewport, she saw she was facing a clump of tall trees, trees that seemed to stretch above the canopy. Their branches and leaves were in sporadic motion, as if animals were jumping from branch to branch, perhaps excited by the intruder in their midst. She had heard that some animals lived their entire lives in the upper areas of swamps, jungles, forests, never coming down to ground level. The ground must be a wondrous land, something few of their kind ever saw. For Clan warriors the Inner Sphere was such a wondrous place of mythology. Generations ago, the ancestors of the Clan had left there to seek a new home among the distant stars. They were not even Clans then. Since that time, warriors of every generation hoped to be part of the invasion of the Inner Sphere when the Khans decided that the Clans possessed sufficient military strength to accomplish their goals.

She stopped thinking of Clan things when a head suddenly appeared, peering through leaves in one of the trees. Though she realized it was some kind of animal, it was like nothing she had seen before. The thing was monstrous, horny-headed, with a thick snout and sharp teeth that overhung its lower lips.

She hated looking at it so much that she aimed her left-arm PPC and shot it out of the tree. Watching it fall, Joanna felt a sense of satisfaction. It had been like defeating a monster in a nightmare.

She traveled on.

As she walked over a particularly malevolent-looking bunch of shrubs and creepers, her commlink suddenly, with a warning crackle, came back on. Though she immediately began to send out a vocal signal, she was surprised when a response came back within a minute. "I hear you, Star Captain Joanna," the voice said. She recognized it as belonging to one of the freebirth filth in Aidan's unit.

"Where is Star Commander Jorge?" she demanded.

"He is ... he is not with his BattleMech and has left me in charge."

"You in charge!"

"Yes. Do you object?"

"You know I do. Four of your . . . your warriors are from my Trinary. You cannot command them. One of them must be chosen to lead. They cannot be led by freebirth scum!"

The commlink was silent.

"Star Captain Joanna, I thought you would have joined us earlier."

"My inertial guidance and scanner units are out of commission. So was this commlink until a moment ago. I have been guiding my BattleMech through this infernal place. Why did your unit not search for me?"

"It was deemed of lower priority than to rejoin the Glory Station forces."

The words irritated her, especially when spit out from the mouth of a freebirth, but she refused to engage such a lowlife in rational argument. He would not understand reason.

"And why have you not rejoined the garrison forces?"

"Our commander ordered us to go to the rim of the swamp, then await his orders."

"I am your commander again. You will do what I order."

"You are not here."

"When I am there then."

"How will you get here? You said yourself that your guidance system is inoperable."

"You will send one of the warriors to guide me to you. And one from myTrinary, none of your filthy freebirths whom I cannot trust to lead me to a drinking trough of swamp water."

A strange sound came over the commlink, but Joanna could not interpret it.

"Begging your pardon, Captain, but I recommend that you allow one of us ... us freeborns to come for you, filthy though we might be. We know the terrain and can get there faster."

For once Joanna found a freeborn's argument compelling. She told Horse to dispatch a warrior in a 'Mech immediately. He said he would do it before then.

* * *

Horse wished Aidan would return. MechWarrior Prent, whom he had sent out for Joanna, would follow Horse's orders to move slowly, then pretend to have encountered obstacles along the way. It was a stalling maneuver, but he had not known what else to do. Because of the communication difficulties, he could not contact Aidan for orders, so he had to stall Joanna until the real officer came back to give real orders. He did not mind giving her a wild goose chase until then.

* * *

Lanja was as good as her word. After ten grueling kilometers through the muck and mire of Blood Swamp, half-carrying, half-dragging Aidan all the way, she set up her communications gear and carefully aimed the parabolic antenna toward Glory Station. Within minutes, Kael Pershaw's face appeared on the diminutive screen.

"You said you got your idea for the diversion from some book," Kael Pershaw said to Aidan. "A book?Where does the likes of you find a book?"

Aidan almost said that he had found it during his days in the sibko, but then he remembered that, as far as Kael Pershaw knew, he was freeborn and never was anywhere near a sibko. Not wanting to confess his secret cache of books in the freeborn barracks, he tried a lie: "I think, when I was a child, a woman used to come to my house and care for me when I was sick. I believe she brought the book with her. Took it away again later, for that matter."

"And this was what kind of book?"

"A great book, written in poetry and full of battle."

"So you are asking me to perform a diversion based on, as it were, battle intelligence from centuries ago. And written in poetry, at that."

"That about sums it up. We need the diversion so that the other part of the plan will work."

"What has made you think I would even consider a plan that comes from a stinking freebirth?"

"Because, Star Colonel Kael Pershaw, I know that you are a master strategist who can see the merit in anyone's plan, even a freebirth's."

"Even a freebirth wearing the dark band, whom I am encouraging to talk much beyond the small liberties permitted by the band."

"With all due respect, sir, I do believe the rites of the dark band should be suspended during a battle. They interfere with—"

"Yes, yes, Jorge. But, when I do allow you to talk, it is difficult to shut you up. How do you expect me to do what you want? It is quite a logistical monstrosity, your plan."

"But it can work."

"It worked in a story. Anyway, I will do as you say. Short of retreating all the way to Glory Station and allowing Clan Wolf to overrun us, I am out of schemes to use in this battle. Lanja!"

"Sir?"

"I think this plan will work better if we use your Elementals. Can they squeeze into such a small area?"

"It is large enough for two or three of them."

"Two will be sufficient. And can they find their way across the field without being detected?"

"I cannot guarantee it. But we will try."

"That is sufficient. Jorge, you are dismissed. Return to your unit and await my signal. If we cannot reach you on any communications line, we will send up a flare. When you see it, start your attack."

Aidan nodded and left Lanja alone on top of the knoll. Pershaw, disgusted at having to deal with a freebirth, rubbed sweat off his forehead.

"That cost you a lot, did it not, Colonel?" she said.

"You know that any contact with freebirth warriors irritates me. I suppose, though, that it is better to get help from freeborns than to let my gene legacy wind up as Clan Wolf property."

"You are not accepting something from just any freeborn. This one has distinguished himself."

"How can you say that? He has killed one of my officers and been insubordinate on many occasions."

"And he has rescued the survivors of the crash, enlarging your complement of warriors. For what it is worth, he also saved me from being mauled by a tree puma. Then he saved my life again when I almost drowned. Jorge has shown bravery and resourcefulness in spite of the accident of his birth."

Pershaw understood what Lanja said, but in his heart he deeply resented Jorge and all his deeds, however useful and miraculous.

"Rest," Lanja said. "I must meet my team on the battlefield. There will be another battle soon enough, and we will see how well Jorge's plan works."

"Your cuts are almost healed."

"I hate to tell you this, but the medicine was originally discovered by a freeborn warrior and administered to me by another freeborn warrior."

Pershaw shuddered. Thoughts of coupling with Lanja turned sour. He was afraid he would sense the freeborn touch on her skin.