Mercenary's Star

by William H. Keith

  Almost since the day he had arrived at Fox Island, he had been pursuing a campaign of raising alternate possibilities but without notable success. His principal suggestion was that a campaign be begun among the citizens of Verthandi, urging them to rise en masse against their Kurita overlords. Thorvald and Ericksson assured him that the people would never move on their own without a demonstration of the rebel army's power and ability. And that 'army' was the band of youngsters the Gray Death was now attempting to train.

  "Three days! General, some of those people are just kids!"

  "They've got to be ready," Thorvald replied. He arched an eyebrow. 'They are ready! I watched you putting the apprentices through their paces in the ‘Mechs yesterday. They looked good."

  "And so far they haven't fired a single shot, except in the simulators. God in heaven, General, you send those kids in against Kurita ‘Mechs and you're not going to have an army!"

  Thorvald's eyes met Grayson's disapprovingly. "Just what is it they lack?"

  "Lack? Experience! Experience, and maybe five or six more years of training to learn the difference between a PPC and a hunting rifle."

  "Some of the older ones have had plenty of experience, Captain."

  "Sure, sniping at militia sentries and stealing cans of food! But most of them, the kids especially, have never been under fire. General, do you know what that means?"

  "Many of these... these kids have been fighting the Brownjackets for ten years now. Your people have been invaluable in organizing them, and now it is time to let them prove what they can do—on the field."

  "Shouldn't I be the one to judge when they're ready?”

  “No, sir, you should not! I've seen what they can do. For this operation, they won't need fancy tactics like taking out enemy ‘Mechs with satchel charges. What they need to know is combat organization, discipline, and confidence—ail of which you've given them. Captain! I've seen it!"

  Grayson shook his head violently. "Confidence isn't enough in the face of PPC and laser fire! They need experience!"

  "What do you suggest as a means of giving them...experience?"

  "When they're ready, I suppose we could try raiding a Government Militia depot, something lightly guarded."

  Thorvald leaned back, picked up a stylus, and turned it between his fingers. After a moment, he seemed to reach a decision. "Captain, I can promise you they'll have their experience. In three days, we're opening our offensive against Nagumo. If it's successful, there will be no further need of raids or BattleMech training at all. One battle, and the campaign will be won!"

  Grayson looked skeptical. "One campaign, General? And suppose the offensive isn't successful?"

  "Captain, I wasn't going to give you details on the operation. There was no need for you to know, and always the danger that one of you might be captured and interrogated. Or even that the information could be...purchased, to put it bluntly."

  Grayson silently clenched teeth and hands, but let the remark pass.

  "I need your cooperation," Thorvald was saying. "Your forces will not be participating in the operation, of course, but we will need your help in preparing the assault, steadying the troops ahead of time, and readying the ‘Mechs. I'm telling you so that I can elicit your active cooperation. Fair enough?"

  "I'm listening, sir."

  "Needless to say, this is classified High Secret.”

  “You have my word as well as my bond. General. What else can I give you?"

  Thorvald sighed, opened a desk drawer, and removed a map, which he spread out before Grayson. "You've seen the topology of the area. The jungle basin, Fox Island, the Basin Rim, with the Bluesward Plateau south, and the planet's capital. Regis, here...about a hundred kilometers from here."

  The general pulled out a second, larger map, this one a maze of streets and buildings. "This is Regis. The city sprawls out to the south from the University of Regis. You have to understand, Captain, that the University has always been the center of culture, government, even trade, here on Verthandi. A sizable population of students and teachers live in and around the Campus. These thick walls are relics of a civil war on our world four centuries ago, but they make the University a fortress in its own right.

  "The Kurita invaders saw this immediately. The place is easily defended. What you must also know is that the tradition of free thought and free speech on Verthandi centers on the University. It's difficult to explain to someone from outside our culture, but suffice to say that every notable Verthandian in the arts or sciences, all our civic and religious leaders and speakers, every leading citizen of the planet was trained here. Our ruling body is called the Council of Academicians. Each has taken special graduate courses in government at the University.

  "The Combine forces allowed the University to continue. To do otherwise would have been an open declaration of war. What they wanted was to absorb us quietly. With Verthandi's long-standing tradition of free thought, it wasn't that easy.

  "Nagumo himself has his headquarters inside the University, somewhere in the Central Tower, and many of his troops are quartered there. Nagumo thinks to keep control of the population by maintaining his personal headquarters there.

  "This is our plan. Nagumo's forces are supplemented, of course, by collaborators—calling themselves Loyalists—among the Verthandian population. They make up the militia forces. Then there're our own rebel armies, living out in the bush. The vast majority of people on Verthandi aren't Loyalists and they aren't rebels. They're just people who may not particularly like the Kurita presence on our planet but are too scared or disorganized to do anything about it"

  "That's the way it is in most wars, General."

  "True enough. We believe the University is the key to controlling the situation, Captain. If our army, including the Free Verthandi Rangers, can take and hold the University, even for just a few hours, we believe that the entire population will finally rise up against the Dracos. We'll have the entire city...and soon, an entire planetary population to back us. The Dracos can never manage to keep more than a handful of units on Verthandi. With the entire countryside hostile to them and supplies difficult to bring in on a long and roundabout logistical line, we believe they'll soon decide that it's just too much trouble trying to hold onto Verthandi."

  "So, you want the Rangers to take the University ? Just like that?" Grayson was picturing the walls depicted on the map as they must be in real life, meters thick, meters high, set with hardpoints armed with ‘Mech-killing weapons. 'They walk up and kick down the front gates?"

  Thorvald smiled. "For that aspect of the operation, we will have the invaluable assistance of Citizen Ericksson. His family owns the large AgroMech industrial facility, here, next to the University. There are underground passageways between the plant and the University, some of them large enough for ‘Mechs. The Ericksson family has always worked closely with University officials and provided the ‘Mech electronics for various technical courses. The tunnels were built to facilitate the transfer of machines and equipment to and from the plant.

  "The plan is this. At night, the entire rebel army will move by various Basin rim roads to the Blues ward and then make their way south to the city. Other rebel groups already in Regis will prepare to join us. The Verthandi Rangers will follow this route, here, masked from observers in the city by the walls of this gully. They'll move quickly across the savannah under the cover of darkness, and enter the AgroMech plant here. Ericksson and local rebels will meet them and guide them into the University.

  "We have timed our approach so that we will be just about at this point—here—at 0100. At that time, a team of rebel soldiers will create a diversion within the city by setting fire to a warehouse on the south end of town. The fire should draw Draco attention away from the northern perimeter, and will also serve to dazzle the LR scanners of reconnaissance satellites if the weather happens to be clear. Code signals have been arranged so that we can alert the rebels in the city to any delay and so that they can transmit a
code phrase when the fire has been set

  "The attack will strike simultaneously at militia and Combine targets throughout Regis at precisely 0145. The University garrison will be neutralized by our ‘Mechs appearing suddenly behind their walls. After that, the University will become a rebel fortress, and

  Kurita units retreating to take cover there will be trapped and destroyed.

  "The appearance of our forces will be the signal for a general rising among all Verthandians who have been afraid to join us so far. Carlotta Helgameyer has contacted each of the rebel leaders within the city and arranged it all. Nagumo, if he lives, will find himself facing an army, not of a thousand, but of a hundred thousand, even hundreds of thousands. No ‘Mech regiment can hope to maintain control of an entire world against such numbers."

  "That's the plan?" Grayson asked when the recitation finally ended. Thorvald nodded.

  "Are you asking my opinion?"

  The General nodded again.

  "First off, how do you expect your Verthandi Rangers to find their way across the savannah in the dark?"

  "Eh? What do you mean? You've been training them in night ops."

  "Training them, yes, but training and experience are two entirely different things. And none of the mercenaries has been over that ground by day, much less at night! The Rangers'll take casualties just getting to Regis.

  "Second, I've never yet known an operation that involved untrained troops to start out on time. Suppose your people are delayed and can't take advantage of the diversion in Regis? O.K., you've arranged for coded messages, but what if your people in the city get confused with their codes, or the enemy captures them and beats the codes out of them?

  "Finally, General, it seems to me that you're counting too much on this supposed rising of the citizens of Regis."

  Thorvald's palms came down on his desk, making a report like the crack of a gun. "That's enough, sir. This is our world and our people. I think we know our situation and capabilities better than any hireling outsider! I'll have you know that Gunnar Ericksson was a popular Academician before the Combine took over. The people love him, and his appearance at the head of a rebel army within the University walls will trigger an uprising unlike any seen in history!"

  Grayson was unconvinced. "You need more than a popular leader, sir."

  "And you, Carlyle, are becoming an obstructionist!"

  "I beg your pardon. General. I'm trying to be a realist."

  "Then be realistic by fulfilling your contractual obligations, Captain. The assault on Regis begins after sundown three days from today. The Free Verthandi Rangers have a crucial role to play in this operation. On their shoulders will ride the success of our revolution! See to it that they are informed and prepared. I might suggest, Captain," Thorvald added with a wry smile, "that you put them through some additional night maneuvers between now and then."

  "And during the attack itself? Where do you want my people?"

  "The Gray Death will remain in quarters here at Fox Island. I see no reason to risk your men or equipment in this operation. You know already, Captain Carlyle, that we cannot afford to have you participate as combatants. The Regis assault will be strictly a Verthandian affair.

  "Dismissed."

  16

  "Move it, people, move it!" General Thorvald ground his teeth in frustration, and his fist came down on the arm of the control seat in his Warhammer's cockpit.

  A plaintive voice sounded in his earspeaker. "We can't move him, General!"

  "Clear a way! I'm coming up there!"

  The Warhammer shouldered past a Stinger and a Phoenix Hawk, moving rapidly up the gravel-paved road. They were still surrounded by jungle, but stars showed through gaps in the trees further up the hill. They had almost reached the crest of the rim basin when this had happened.

  One of the cumbersome LoggerMechs was down on its front knees, the hindquarters of the four-legged machine protruding into the air in an ungainly and somewhat vulnerable position. The shoulder of the road had given way under a careless misstep. The ‘Mech's right foreleg had gone off the road in a rattle of stones and dirt, leaving the ‘Mech on its knees with no way to achieve the purchase necessary to right itself once more. The pilot's attempts to raise the machine on just its left leg had only sent a fresh avalanche of loose rock down the slope. The ‘Mech now leaned heavily on its shoulder against the embankment to its left, unable to move and completely blocking the road.

  Thorvald read the numeral on the stalled machine's flank."Adams!"

  "Yessir!" Adam's voice was tinny and quick with fear. "Should I punch out, sir?"

  "No, no! Don't eject! Everything's going to be all right! Just sit tight"

  "Yessir! You... you’re not going to push me off the edge, are you, sir?"

  "No, Adams, we're going to get you off of there. Stay calm. Don't touch anything."

  "Yessir!"

  Thorvald considered the problem for a moment. There was still plenty of time to reach Regis before their confederates in the city created the planned diversion, and he wanted to arrive with every ‘Mech intact. To lose one here and now would be to admit that the merc commander was right, and Thorvald still harbored a simmering resentment against the man. The General had been opposed to seeking professional foreign help from the start, believing that a large enough rebel force could slip into the University and bring about the rising called for in the plan. It had been that fool Ericksson who had volunteered his AgroMechs and suggested the underground tunnels from the Ericksson-Agro plant.

  He locked the Warhammer's legs and disconnected from his helmet. After pulling on his tunic against the relatively cool night air, he opened the hatch and dropped down the chain ladder to the road. The LoggerMech loomed just ahead. He picked his way up the hill and walked under the Mech's belly, examining the ground where the leg had broken through the shoulder. Three other ‘Mechs, another LoggerMech, the Dervish, and the Locust, had been ahead of Adams' machine in line and were waiting just ahead.

  He pulled out the hand comlink clipped to his tunic. "Adams? This is the General. Unlock your lead chain and let it drag, will you?"

  "Yes, sir."

  There was a sharp rattle from above, then a clank and a thud as the carballoy chain composed of fifty-kilo links trailed onto the road between the LoggerMech's forelegs. Thorvald signaled the lead LoggerMech. "Gunderson, back your machine down here. We'll use you to tow Adams out. Montido, we'll have to use your Dervish to lift the chain to Gunderson's tow ring."

  There was a moment's blind shuffling in the darkness. "Uh, General? This is Montido. How do I get hold of that chain?"

  "Good God, man, pick it up!"

  "Uh, sir? My Dervish doesn't have hands."

  Thorvald closed his eyes and sagged back against a tree. Around him, ground troops who had gathered to watch looked at one another with carefully masked expressions. Of the three lead ‘Mechs, only the Dervish was remotely humanoid. Somehow, Thorvald had assumed that it was equipped with hands, forgetting that its forearms ended in paired laser projectors and SRM launchers. Why hadn't he put one of the Phoenix Hawks in the lead?

  "O.K., Montido. Stand down." He thought furiously, rubbing his eyes with both hands. He needed a ‘Mech with hands to lift the massive chain from the ground between the knees of Adam's LoggerMech and to connect it to the tow ring on the belly of Gunderson's LoggerMech. All of his hand-equipped ‘Mechs were further down the road and couldn't get past because of Adams' stalled machine.

  The obvious alternative was for one of the Phoenix Hawks, Wasps, or the Stinger to fire its jump jets and vault over the blocking ‘Mech to the far side. All were jump-capable, and all had hands. The problem was that jumping was a tricky maneuver, one that could get even experienced pilots into trouble on occasion. An inexperienced pilot could come down wrong and wreck his BattleMech, perhaps killing himself in the process.

  A second alternative was to have one of those ‘Mechs go around the LoggerMech True, the hill was steep and the j
ungle growth was fairly thick here, but Wasps and Stingers were designed to be maneuverable. One of them should be able to slip around downslope from Adams, climb the hill farther up, and get into position to connect the chain. Nadine Cheka was the Stinger pilot, a young woman who seemed to have a real knack for handling her ‘Mech.

  General Thorvald raised the comlink to his lips and began giving the necessary orders.

  * * * *

  Grayson, Ramage, McCall, and Lori stepped out onto the lighted floor of the cave. Around them, the ‘Mechs of the Gray Death loomed huge and shadowy. As they started toward the maintenance area, a wide-eyed young rebel stepped out to block them. "Halt!" he said, cradling his hunting rifle awkwardly at port arms.

  "Hello, son," Ramage said. "Stand easy."

  "Oh...uh, good evening, Sergeant. Oh, Captain Carlyle!" The boy snapped to an impression of attention. "Good evening, sir!"

  Grayson smiled at him, and nodded. "It's Willoch, isn't it?”

  “Yessir!"

  "We're going through to inspect our BattleMechs, Willoch." Grayson started forward, but Willoch shifted the rifle uncertainly in his hands. "Uh...Captain, I'm afraid I can't let you.”

  “Eh?"

  "Colonel Brasednewic gave me orders, sir. Said he'd have my hide if anyone went to those ‘Mechs!"

  "The Colonel couldn't have meant us..."

  "Uh...he said especially you...uh...sir!"

  Grayson frowned. Though he'd expected to encounter sentries in the ‘Mech maintenance area, he still wasn't sure of the best way to deal with them. He still didn't know.

  "We've got to go through, Willoch. Your friends may be in trouble. We're going to go help them."

  "But my orders, sir..." Almost he stepped aside, doubt vivid behind his eyes.

  As Grayson was speaking with the boy, Ramage moved to where he was almost alongside the sentry. The blade-stiff edge of his hand descended, and McCall stepped forward in time to help catch the sentry and lower him to the ground.