Assumption of risk

by Michael A. Stackpole

  The Penetrator lighted on the ledge with the delicacy of a mosquito descending on unprotected flesh. The 'Mech's legs absorbed the shock of landing, then, as the 'Mech came back up to normal height, the trio of pulse lasers in its left breast sprayed ruby darts at the Goliath's hindquarters. Fully a third of them shot wide, but the rest ripped away steaming gobs of armor from the Goliath's back.

  The Goliath's turret swiveled around to cover its rear arc, and that contributed greatly to the confusion that seized the battlefield as the Stalker reentered it. In retrospect, it seemed to Galen that it was as foolish for Edenhoffer to trap himself in a cavern too narrow to permit him to turn around and retreat as it was for the Goliath to similarly position itself on the narrow ledge. The two stable mates, both egotistical and driven, fought as individuals and not a team, which hurt them seriously.

  The Stalker emerged from the mouth of the cavern just in time to interpose itself between the Crusader and one of the two LRM barrages Vandergriff had launched at Galen. The Goliath's LRMs blasted into the Stalker's chest and right leg, tearing armor from each. All but one of the missiles that remained on target went down to Galen's antimissile defense. That one nibbled at the armor on the Crusader's chest, but failed to do any real damage.

  The same move that brought the Stalker in between him and the Goliath spitted the cylindrical 'Mech on Galen's cross hairs. He hit the thumb buttons on his joysticks, launching two flights of missiles at the Stalker, then tightened up on his triggers and slashed at it with his medium lasers. The beams ripped up from the Stalker's left leg to left shoulder, whittling away the armor on both limbs.

  The missile flights had no antimissile system to overcome, so they flew in at the Stalker unmolested. They detonated against the 'Mech's cockpit, then arced over to impact on the right side of the Stalker's body. The resulting explosions stripped the last of the armor from the right flank and ate away at the internal structures holding the 'Mech together.

  Hardly dead, but gravely wounded! Galen watched as the Stalker's two port-side medium lasers angled toward him and sent scarlet beams of coherent light at him. They sliced armor plating from his right breast and right leg, yet failed to open a hole through to his 'Mech's interior. I get at least one more exchange.

  Beyond the Stalker, Vandergriff triggered his Gauss rifle. Its silver ball nailed the Penetrator's right leg, but the smaller 'Mech hardly seemed to notice even though more than half the armor on that limb fell away. The impact slewed the Penetrator around, but Kai swung his 'Mech's torso back around and opened up on both Skye Tiger 'Mechs.

  The right-side pulse lasers sent stuttering lines of laser fire into the Goliath's back. The datafeed coming from Kai's 'Mech showed up on a secondary monitor and revealed a gaping hole in the Goliath's back, as well as internal damage. The computer painted more damage on the quadruped 'Mech's right flank.

  Two of the three lasers directed at the Stalker hit their target. One clawed armor off the center of the 'Mech's chest, while the other one stitched a nice line of flaming holes in its right leg. Somehow, Edenhoffer kept his 'Mech upright despite the damage done by both Cenotaph fighters.

  The gaudy Stalker pivoted on its left leg and started along the ledge toward the Crusader. Edenhoffer's move firmly screened the Goliath from Galen's fire and vice versa. It also left Galen in a position to go one-on-one with a 'Mech that both outweighed his and out-gunned him at close range. I have no choice.

  Galen stabbed his feet down on the jump jet pedals. The jets in the rear of his 'Mech's torso ignited, hurling the humanoid war machine up and in toward the Stalker. Edenhoffer snapped off shots with his LRMs and large laser, but everything passed well below the flying 'Mech.

  Jammed deep into his command couch by inertia, Galen abandoned any thought of returning Edenhoffer's fire. Instead he concentrated on what he expected to be a very hot landing zone. I don't know if this will qualify as the sort of foolish thing Katrina warned me not to do, but unless Kai does something quick, it could be suicidal.

  Below him the Goliath again fired into its rear arc with the Gauss rifle. The argent projectile drilled into the right side of the Penetrator's chest, scattering armor like fragments of shattered crystal. The Penetrator faltered for a second, then came on trailing bits and pieces of broken armor plating. Stalking forward, the Penetrator's pulse lasers blazed away at the larger BattleMech.

  The energy needles stabbed through deep into the Goliath's heart. Galen saw the large 'Mech shudder, then stagger to the left. Its left shoulder hit the north side of the crevasse wall, then the 'Mech rebounded to the right and its legs collapsed beneath it, giving Galen all the classical indications of total gyroscope failure. The 'Mech crashed down on the ledge, bouncing once, then teetered on the edge before the stony ledge lip crumbled beneath it.

  Galen landed with his back to the wall as the Goliath disappeared from view. Off to his left, Edenhoffer's Stalker reared up and started a quick pivot to the right to come around and face the 'Mechs in his rear. His effort, born of desperation, was the only thing a non-jumping 'Mech could do in that situation, yet it exposed his damaged right flank to both Galen and Kai.

  Galen gladly sent a flight of LRMs at him and followed it up with the medium laser built into his 'Mech's left arm. Had he decided to turn and face the Stalker he could have brought all his weapons to bear, but that would have put him in Kai's line of fire, and he had no desire to do that. Here you go, Edenhoffer, art this!

  Galen's missiles all landed dead on target. Five dove through the hole others had previously opened in the right flank, and detonated within the Stalker's breast. A secondary explosion and black smoke marked the death of a short-range missile launching rack and the destruction of the 'Mech's large laser. The other missiles powdered armor on the right arm and leg. The single laser boiled armor from the left leg by undershooting the rising torso.

  Kai could only use the right-side weaponry on his Penetrator without chancing a hit on Galen's Crusader. Galen smiled as he saw the Penetrator thrust his right arm forward and the large laser beam shoot out. The coruscating light spear vaporized the last of the armor over the Stalker's boxy right shoulder and melted away internal support structures. One of the smaller pulse lasers pumped its energy into the same hole, letting a hail of half-melted bits of metal fall through the opening.

  Only one of the other two pulse lasers hit, but it burrowed in through the 'Mech's ruined right flank. The wound blossomed white on the IR scan, telling Galen the fusion engine's shielding had taken damage. He'll run hot for as long as he runs. The MechWarrior shook his head. That won't be long.

  The tremendous pressure generated by Edenhoffer's maneuver stressed beyond all tolerance the few remaining structural supports in his Stalker's right side. Screaming like an animal in pain, the metal gave way as the 'Mech tried to complete its turn and plant its right leg on the ledge. The impact drove the Stalker's hip straight up through its shoulder, then ripped it free. The left foot lost all traction on the ledge and slipped out into the air above the crevasse. The Stalker's body hit the ground hard enough for Galen to feel the tremors in his cockpit, then slowly began to slide toward the abyss.

  It would have gone over, too, but the 'Mech's right leg flopped over and on top of the barrel-shaped torso. The added weight pinned the broken 'Mech in place. The Stalker lay there, motionless, smoke billowing out of the gaping hole in its right side, like an animal too exhausted and too wounded to even think of escape.

  Galen kept his cross hairs on the downed 'Mech as he keyed his microphone. "What do you think, Ace?"

  "I think we won, Deuce." Galen heard Kai laugh heartily. "And I don't think anyone else is going to bother you for the rest of your time here."

  22

  Solaris City, Solaris VII

  Tamarind March, Federated Commonwealth

  19 April 3056

  Even though he feared it made him look like a besotted fool, Galen couldn't help but have a huge grin on his face. Sitting in Kai's alcov
e in Valhalla, with Katrina seated beside him, he felt like the king of the world as they watched a holovid replay of Ishiyama workers prying an irate Victor Vandergriff from his battered Goliath. I'm alive, we won, and the Duchess seems to be happy with both of those facts.

  "I don't think I've ever really seen myself in combat before, well, not like that, anyway." Galen poured more Timbiqui Dark into his mug, letting the beer form a thick head. "I've seen shots of me in battle ROMs, but never like this."

  Kai nodded and slowly rotated his wine glass by manipulating the stem. "Not many battlefields have the number of camera angles as these arenas. Ishiyama is very good, and their directors are great at cutting to the next angle at precisely the right time. The fight actually starts about ten minutes before any 'live' images are available. It allows the directors and editors to put together a cohesive package without having the combatants stop for advertisement timeouts."

  "I hope the fight we put on was a good one."

  Katrina smiled at both of them. "It was, very good. I don't like these fights, especially when good friends are involved, but others in the DeLon box seemed very pleased." She wrinkled her nose up in a sign of, distaste. "Well, not Ryan, of course, but that's his problem. But I was thrilled, too." Her voice trailed off into a husky purr that made Galen blush.

  Kai nodded and sipped his wine. "Fuh Teng said it went very well, Galen. You've gotten a lot of praise for that daring jump over Edenhoffer's Stalker. Not many pilots would have had the guts to do that."

  "Guts?" Galen shook his head. "It was that or die. Not much of a choice."

  "Really?" Kai arched an eyebrow at him. "Most pilots I know would have balked at jumping onto a seven-meter-wide ledge in front of a speeding Goliath."

  "But ..." Galen closed his mouth and thought for a second. "Well, when you put it like that, I guess the LZ was a bit narrow and a tad warm, but I expected you'd finish Vandergriff off, as you did."

  Kai looked over at Katrina. "Do me a favor and take him away from here. I don't need the competition for the Championship. Anyone who would describe that landing zone as 'a bit narrow and a tad warm' is a contender."

  "We'll leave after you successfully defend your title," Katrina said, winking at Galen. "If you lose he'll want to avenge you."

  Kai laughed sincerely. "He could do it now. That Apprentice ticket became a Class Six license with his win. I'd be happy to have him in my stable, but I doubt I could pay him enough to stay here."

  Galen was about to thank Kai for the compliment when a hand shoved the alcove's curtain roughly aside. The violence of the action prompted the thought that Vandergriff or Edenhoffer had come to continue with fists what they failed to do in their 'Mechs. That idea died as a man in the red robes of a ComStar demi-Precentor filled the opening.

  Kai looked up at the man. "Can I help you, Precentor?"

  The ComStar agent shook his head then looked directly at Katrina. "Duchess Katrina Steiner-Davion?"

  "Y-yes," she replied, the tremor in her voice no doubt prompted by the stern expression on the man's face.

  "I have a holodisk for you, one you will likely wish to view in private." He pulled the disk from inside his robe. "It is confidential and concerns your brother."

  Tharkad

  District of Donegal, Federated Commonwealth

  The sensation of déja vu hit Victor like a hammer as the ComStar official entered his office. He expected it to be a holodisk of the fight on Solaris, but even Galen and Kai going down to defeat couldn't have brought such a serious expression to the woman's face. The last time he had anticipated the message of a ComStar official, it was when someone brought him news of his mother's death. That was one night he had no desire to relive again. Something must be very wrong.

  Victor's guess was confirmed when he realized the Precentor wore the robes accorded an off-duty member of the ComGuards. They looked similar enough to the garb worn by normal ComStar couriers that no one would have noticed the difference as she passed by. She wore her black hair longer than most MechWarriors, and her petite figure wouldn't normally have marked her as a warrior, but Victor's own small size had taught him to look beyond initial impressions.

  "Precentor III Andra McGwire, Highness." She stood at attention in front of his desk and snapped a salute. "The Precentor Martial sends his regards."

  Victor returned the salute and waved her to a chair, giving himself time to think. The Precentor Martial and I have never met, but my mother always spoke highly of him, as if there were some bond between them. "Please convey my best wishes back to him."

  "As you wish, sir." She remained standing. "You are expecting the holodisk from the Kai Allard-Liao/Galen Cox fight, were you not?"

  "Yes I was." Victor brought his chin up. "I wouldn't have expected a member of the ComGuards to bring it to me, however. Is there a problem with it?"

  "With the battle, no. I shall not spoil it for you ..."

  "Go ahead. I'll watch it when I have time."

  "Your friends demolished the opposition." Her expression eased ever so slightly. "Duke Ryan Steiner's fighters were humiliated and both the opposition 'Mechs were heavily damaged. The fight cost Ryan dearly in both prestige and money."

  "Very good." Victor wanted to leap from his chair and laugh aloud, but the expression on McGwire's face kept him firmly rooted to the spot. "There is more."

  "I am afraid so, Highness." She removed a holodisk from inside of her robe. 'This contains the fight and more."

  "More?"

  "Late last night your brother Peter was mobilized to pursue members of the Free Skye Militia. They had been reported taking refuge in a little hamlet called Bellerive."

  Victor frowned. "A religious community, I know it."

  "When your brother arrived, his lance immediately encountered hostile SRM fire coming from the steeple of the church in the middle of town." She motioned toward the holovision monitoring system in the corner of the room. "If I may."

  "Please."

  She walked over and slid the disk into the viewer. Victor used the remote control on his desk to power the device up. As McGwire backed away from the screen, Victor frowned. "That looks like a broadcast from Solaris VII. Is that the start of Galen's fight?"

  "It is, Highness." She glanced over at him. "If you please, hit the mute button, then the menu button, then ninety-nine."

  Victor did as he was told, but before he could tell her the menu had no option ninety-nine, the screen changed. It showed a nighttime scene of a small village in a wooded river valley. On the far side he saw a 'Mech silhouette itself on the crestline—a move that earned a frown from Victor because it placed the 'Mech in immediate danger from below—and raise one of its arms. JagerMech skylining itself. Just like Peter.

  The JagerMech fired one salvo from the larger of its two autocannons, and the church steeple crumpled and fell. As it hit the ground, the whole village exploded in a sea of golden flame.

  "My God, what happened?" Victor hit the pause button, freezing Bellerive's pyre as flames reached for the stars. "An autocannon couldn't have triggered that."

  "The Precentor Martial agrees with the assessment, which is why I have showed this to you." McGwire's voice dropped in volume, yet rose in intensity. "What I will tell you now will be denied if it is ever brought up in private, and openly denounced as Davion deception if mentioned publicly. You will see that to do either would be foolish and useless, so I trust whatever sanctions my superiors would wish to impose upon you will be left undiscovered."

  Victor sat back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. "I understand."

  "Good. It is readily apparent to anyone who understands BattleMechs that a single shot from a JagerMech could not have caused that conflagration. Obviously, the hamlet of Bellerive was rigged to explode and was probably detonated remotely. It may have been done by the camera crew who recorded this holovid of the incident. We do not know."

  The woman from ComStar clasped her hands behind her back. "ComStar has h
ad investigators on site and a preliminary report indicates that everyone in Bellerive was killed. We put the death toll at approximately 550 people. We cannot say if there were more or less there, and any remains will have been incinerated beyond recognition or classification."

  "As would any traces of explosives, detonation devices, or other things that might implicate the Free Skye Militia in this," Victor cut in. "And, because Bellerive was known to be hostile to me, the logical conclusion is that I had my brother employ some secret weapon to wipe out the whole settlement." He slammed his fist onto his desktop. "And there's no way to prove it's not true, which means this holovid will send Skye into full-scale rebellion!"

  "It would, Highness, if it were distributed."

  Victor's eyes narrowed. "What are you saying?'

  "Whoever produced this video decided to hoist you on your own petard, Highness." McGwire gave him a sly smile that he at once loved and mistrusted. "They digitized the holographic record of Bellerive's destruction into a computer system that attempted to marry it to the Allard-Liao/Cox fight. You have seen how that works here—only those who know how to program their viewers to pick up the sidecar information can get it, but they can copy it onto a regular holodisk and make it available to anyone else who wants it.

  "However, they attempted to send it through ComStar linked to the aforementioned fight. We picked it up when an acolyte noticed that the fight package had come in at one transmission length, but would be going out at something roughly 20 percent greater than that. He located the sidecar information and, because it was of a military nature, presented it to the Precentor Martial. Anastasius Focht correctly pointed out that because the sidecar was attached to a program you were paying to have distributed, it was up to you to decide whether you wished the original or the adulterated version to be distributed."

  Victor sat back, steepling his fingers. "You bring the information to me not as a report of ComStar's discovery of a spy network, but merely as evidence of tampering with a message of mine. You allow me to quash it without involving yourself in politics. Very good, Precentor.'