Highlander Gambit

by Blaine Lee Pardoe

  Its fellow defenders waded across the line of mines, training their weapons on the seemingly stranded Hussar. The defenders were carefully lined up like a firing squad, several of them taking positions behind rock outcroppings flanking the shore. The Major's infantry kept a pressing attack on the left flank, striking at the Griffin and a Phoenix Hawk in the ranks. The row of 'Mechs did not return fire immediately, but looked almost as if they were savoring Jaffray's defeat as his Hussar poked up through the hole in the ice.

  Without warning the frozen surface of the lake bed exploded to life as Jaffray's three other lancemates broke upward through the surface and opened fire at the Hercules standing in the center of the pursuers' firing line. To Colonel Hertzog and his distinguished guest the attack was just as surprising, for the holographic images of the miniature 'Mechs did not appear on the display until they broke through the surface of the lake.

  Jaffray joined in the assault, firing his large laser into the legs of the Hercules while his lancemates pummeled the same target with lasers and short-range missiles. The air on the surface of the holotable was ablaze with simulated laser and PPC light. Missiles and autocannon explosions splattered the winter snow on the hill. Overwhelmed by the barrage against its legs and chest, the Hercules staggered backward for a moment, looking like a wounded knight in heavy armor, then spun slightly as its pilot lost balance and thus control of the massive machine. The 'Mech tumbled backward against the hillside, burying itself in a deep snow bank.

  Lined up so neatly against the snow-covered embankment, the pursuit force realized they were perfect targets for Jaffray's rescue team. With the rock outcroppings blocking their shots, the flanking 'Mechs could not bring their weapons to bear on some of the 'Mechs. Instead of pressing their positions, the pursuit force began to pull back to a small ridge halfway up the steep hill, back toward the main trail between the cottage and the shore.

  As if on cue a series of explosions erupted oil the ridge line as the 'Mechs reached their high-ground positions. The blasts sent two of the 'Mechs falling and sprawling down to the shore of Lake Fairfax at the feet of Jaffray's attack force.

  Colonel Hertzog and his guest were not surprised by the blasts, for they could see the mines on the surface of the holographic hillside. The explosions pushed the pursuers back across the hillside again. They fired wildly at the 'Mechs in the freezing water but most of their shots seemed to miss or do only light damage. The pilots of the fallen 'Mechs were trying desperately to get their 'Mechs standing or out of reach of Jaffray's 'Mechs. One of them, the Griffin, floundered on the slippery surface of the lake like a fish suddenly cast onto dry land. With almost perfect timing, Jaffray's lance turned about face and plunged into the icy waters, disappearing beneath the surface once more. The battle was over as quickly as it had begun, and suddenly the rolling thunder of battle from across the lake stopped altogether.

  Colonel Hertzog chuckled slightly. "Major Jaffray knew how his enemy would respond and set up a perfect trap. Keeping his 'Mechs underwater for three days was risky, but it let them creep into a perfect position along the shoreline.

  Our planetary survey showed an underwater ledge with a steep drop-off there, but I've never seen anyone make use of it quite that way in the rescue scenario."

  Slowly the robed man raised his eyes from the holotable image and gazed at the commanding officer of the First Death Commandos. The Chancellor's eyes narrowed as he leaned over the table and fixed Hertzog with his gaze. "You will have this Major Jaffray of yours report to me within the hour, Colonel. He and I have much to discuss."

  3

  Lake Fairfax

  Krin, Capellan Confederation

  1 September 3057

  Major Loren Jaffray was still bathed in cold sweat as he stepped into the antechamber of the observation bunker. Clad in field shorts, and light boots, he looked wan and tired. Bags puffed under his eyes and several days of black stubble covered his face. He was still wearing his cooling vest, which crackled slightly as he came into the room.

  In the 600 years that the BattleMech had dominated the battlefields of the Inner Sphere, the problem of heat buildup was still its biggest dilemma. Though the ten-meter-tall goliaths wielded enough firepower to destroy a platoon of more conventional armored combat vehicles, they also generated tremendous amounts of heat just moving about. The cooling vest, dripping wet with condensation, was not just a common sight among Mech Warriors, it was often the difference between life and death in battle.

  Loren pulled off his plaid headband and tucked it into his belt, then pressed his hands into the small of his back to stretch out some of the tension from the recent simulation. His eyes stung from his own perspiration, and the cool air of the bunker made him shiver. When the door to the area opened and Colonel Hertzog stepped the room, Loren snapped to instant attention. Hertzog nodded back informally.

  "You wanted to see me, sir?"

  "Yes, Major. Outstanding performance. I received word that our simulated hostage would have suffered three broken ribs and a fractured arm from your rescue."

  "Fortunately we use dummies for these drills. In a hostage situation, the alternative to such injuries is death. I would say the hostage got off rather well."

  Hertzog smiled slightly. "True enough. No doubt Major Quaid's defending team is more than slightly humbled by your success in this test." Jaffray knew that his commanding officer encouraged competition among his troops and that Quaid would have trouble trying to live down his defeat "But that's not why I wanted to see you, Major."

  "What can I do for you, sir?" Loren asked, taking a towel from the wall peg and using it to rub down his dripping black hair. There was usually only one reason for a CO to make such a visit—a new assignment. Then he saw that the Colonel was not alone. Now coming through the door was the tall, slim figure of a man dressed in the formal red and gold silk robes of his office. Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao, ruler of the Capellan Confederation, was Loren's liege lord, and he would have recognized him anywhere. To a Death Commando like Loren, the Chancellor was much more than a mere head of state. The Death Commandos reported directly to him, were sworn by a blood oath to serve and even die at his command. The Chancellor represented more than leadership, he was their very reason for existence.

  Within a beat of his heart Loren Jaffray dropped to his bare knees on the cold bunker floor and bowed his head. "Your Excellency." He had always hoped to one day meet the Chancellor, but had not expected to be covered in sweat and dressed only in the skimpy shorts favored by Mech Warriors in the cockpit. For a fleeting moment he wondered just where he had stashed his dress uniform.

  "Rise, Major Jaffray," the young Chancellor said. Loren quickly rose to his feet and to attention, but lowered his eyes slightly in respect. "I witnessed the training exercise and was deeply impressed. You took extreme risks in that little scenario."

  "I knew my foe well and took advantage of that." Loren spoke with confidence despite his nervousness at this unexpected audience.

  "So it was not luck but cunning that led to victory." The Chancellor's expression was impossible to read.

  Loren smiled, hoping to break some of the tension he felt. "Luck played some role, sire. In battle it is always a factor. But I believe it's how one manages luck, turning and twisting it to meet one's needs, that is the key to any victory."

  Hertzog stepped forward quickly. "Mind your words, Major Jaffray. This is the Chancellor you are addressing and he has not come here for a lecture on how to fight wars."

  Sun-Tzu turned toward the Colonel, but did not take his eyes off Loren until the last possible moment. "You may leave us now, Colonel. I have important matters to discuss with Major Jaffray." He returned his gaze to Loren and for a moment, however brief, gave him a smile.

  Hertzog was obviously shocked at being excluded from a discussion between his superior and a junior officer. "Sire?"

  "That will be all," Sun-Tzu said curtly, waving his hand impatiently toward the door. Hertzog bowed his head s
lightly and backed out of the chamber, only turning around at the door, which he reluctantly shut behind him. The thud it made upon closing echoed in the room for a long moment:

  The Chancellor moved to the now inactive holotable in the center of the room and carefully lifted the hem of his silk robe off the floor as he lowered himself into the chair. He gestured to the seat at the opposite end of the table. Jaffray draped the towel around his neck and also sat down. Another chill ran through his body, and he wondered if it was from contact with the cooler air of the bunker or the cool stare the young leader of the Capellan Confederation was giving him.

  "This is a very great honor, Chancellor," Loren said nervously as he took a seat. There was good reason to fear. In recent times members of the ruling family of House Liao had been known for their homicidal tendencies. Sun-Tzu's own mother Romano had purged thousands of her subjects— all in the name of national security. Not to mention that it was her own father's complicated schemes that had goaded Hanse Davion into attacking the Capellan Confederation in the Fourth Succession War. A war that had cost the Capellans half their realm and millions of lives.

  Then there was the other possibility. The Death Commandos were the Capellan Confederation's elite strike force. Loren's last assignment, a raid on a ComStar data depository, had been highly successful. He and his team had managed to frame the quasi-religious Word of Blake for the crime while netting much useful intelligence for their nation. Perhaps Sun-Tzu had come to commend Loren for the effort or perhaps to offer him another mission.

  "I have come," the Chancellor said, steepling his fingers, "to ask you to undertake a mission in the name of the Capellan Confederation." Loren noticed the intricate gold inlay on Sun-Tzu's talon-like fingernails, which glittered in the yellowish light.

  "Ask, sire? I am a Death Commando, sworn to obey you without question and to the death. Command and I obey."

  Sun-Tzu studied Loren, but his expression was as unreadable as ever. "The nature of this mission is in many ways personal, Major Jaffray. And, for all intents and purposes, it is a mission that our government is not 'officially' undertaking. I cannot afford the political implications and protocol breaches of sending you out under a diplomatic flag. You will undertake this mission as a private citizen, with all the risks such an action entails."

  Loren felt his back and shoulders tense slightly at the Chancellor's tone. For a Death Commando, special missions were not uncommon. What made this different was that the Chancellor himself was doing the asking, in person. "I live to serve, my lord. What would you have me do?"

  "I want you to right a wrong against the Capellan people. I want you to win us not only justice, but revenge.

  "In 3028 Hanse Davion lured the regiments of the Northwind Highlanders away from us, promising them rulership of their native Northwind if they would serve him. And then the Highlanders deserted us when we needed them most.

  "The withdrawal of the Highlanders from their garrisons left the Terran Corridor worlds of the Confederation virtually defenseless. The Federated Suns military devoured our worlds in a matter of months. The defeat of the Fourth Succession War still eats like a canker at my people, Major. But now, the time is ripe for revenge."

  Loren said nothing for a moment, taking in the words and turning them over carefully in his mind before responding.

  "The loss of the Highlanders did cost our people a great deal, my lord. How may I help right such a wrong?"

  The young Chancellor smiled slightly. "History has granted me a unique opportunity. Although Victor Davion managed to quell the rebellion in the Skye March last year, I don't think he will deal so easily with the discontent of the people in the Sarna March. Armed resistance to Davion rule has broken out on a number of planets. And with the greater part of the Northwind Highlanders away defending the Lyran border with the Clans, the time is right to strike at my enemies, a blow that will bring us the retribution we have waited for so long."

  Loren's mind raced with excitement. A direct attack, perhaps against Northwind itself? Somehow embarrass or humiliate the Highlanders? An assassination of the mercenary unit's leadership, perhaps? Then he realized that he was viewing the Highlanders as enemies when in reality Sun-Tzu was speaking of other, greater foes. Perhaps even Prince Victor Steiner-Davion himself. Jaffray's face flushed for a moment as he pondered the potential scope of what his lord might ask him to do.

  Sun-Tzu's crafty smile broadened. "I want you to travel to Northwind to offer the Highlanders full independence of their planet from Davion rule, Major Jaffray. The goal of your mission is a simple one, remove Northwind from the Federated Commonwealth and neutralize the Highlander regiments."

  For several heartbeats Loren sat in silence, his eyes fixed on the Chancellor as he took in the words. "Independence. Sire ... such a mission is—"

  "Outlandish, outrageous perhaps? Based on what I saw today, you of all people understand the power of audacity in both diplomacy and on the battlefield. I want you to go and convince the leaders of the Highlanders that the Davions have not fulfilled their contract with them. Rather than ruling Northwind free and clear, as my forefathers promised them, the Highlanders are no more than vassals of the Federated Commonwealth. Centuries ago we Liaos promised that the Highlanders would one day again rule Northwind as their own. The Davions have also made them the same promise, but it is they who are the lord and master of Northwind, not the Highlanders. You, Loren Jaffray, will open their eyes to this reality.

  "Tell them that both the Capellan Confederation and the Free Worlds League will officially recognize Northwind as an independent world. Furthermore you will tell them that I will dedicate my best troops to defend them. What they gain is ownership of a world that is rightfully theirs and the chance to determine their own fate. Davion has lied to them and they no longer need to accept that. You will promise the Highlanders that their troops and their families can live on Northwind as a free people—something denied them under the thumb of the Davions."

  "You said that my mission was to neutralize the Highlanders, my lord."

  Sun-Tzu smiled slightly before he spoke, savoring the silence like a chessmaster preparing to checkmate. "After making the Highlanders this offer, you will gain their confidence, become one of them. I strongly suspect that Victor Davion will respond with force to retain control of Northwind. You will manage that situation as you deem appropriate, given the scope of your mission."

  Sun-Tzu leaned forward on his elbows as he continued. "Two battalions of Death Commandos will arrive in the Northwind system soon after you present my offer to the Highlanders. When the time is right, you will call them in to destroy the Highlanders. The decades of injustice against the Confederation will finally come to an end, and the Federated Commonwealth will pay the cost."

  Destroy the Highlanders ... a mission more for an army than one man. Loren did not question the order. He was a Death Commando and the Chancellor was his commander. I swore an oath to fight to the death for him if necessary to fulfill his will. This is what I've been trained for all my life. "The mission is a bold one, Lord."

  "Indeed it is, Major."

  "I am honored that you entrust it to me, sire, but I am somewhat confused. Surely you have many diplomats or higher-ranking officers in the Capellan military more skilled in such matters. This mission seems to require the subtle skills of an ambassador.

  "I am a military man. Neither diplomacy nor deception come naturally to me. This mission seems made up of shades of gray, and I am a man who best understands simple black and white." In the back of his mind Loren could not help but wonder if in reality it was some kind of suicide mission.

  Sun-Tzu Liao leaned back slightly in the chair, placing both hands flat on the table. "I have little need or love for career diplomats. The issue of the sovereignty of Northwind is murky at best. My foes would interpret my sending a diplomat to Northwind as too direct a move. As a private citizen carrying a message to your ancestral homeworld, you will be the perfect instrument for ach
ieving my goals.

  "Besides, the Northwind Highlanders are a military people. A diplomat would be eaten alive by such warriors. They would not trust him."

  The Chancellor's eyes narrowed slightly as he leaned forward. "You are my choice for this mission because of your family history. Your great grandmother, Letha Davis Jaffray, is a hero in the annals of Highlander history, credited with saving an entire regiment. Your grandfather served with distinction as an officer with MacCormack's Fusiliers, did he not?"

  The question was obviously rhetorical. Sun-Tzu knew that Loren's family had ties to the Highlanders or he would never have chosen him for the mission. At the mention of his grandfather and the Fusiliers, Loren glanced down at the plaid headband tucked into his waistband. It was all that remained of his grandfather's ceremonial Highlander battle sash. A flood of memories came to life just for an instant. Images of his grandfather, father, and the sound of bagpipes playing in his grandfather's den.

  "Of course, sire. My grandfather Corwin Jaffray was a Major in the Fusiliers, but decided not to join the other Highlanders in their so-called Homecoming in 'twenty-eight. Instead he mustered out, choosing to remain loyal to the Capellan Confederation. A part of him was always bitter over the Highlanders' desertion to the Federated Suns. My father was also offered a slot in the Fusiliers, as is the Highlander tradition, but he turned it down to serve your mother as one of the Commandos. I am, for lack of a better word, intimate with the traditions of the Highlanders."