Highlander Gambit

by Blaine Lee Pardoe

  "Good work, Colonel Mulvaney," Catelli called as he and several other officers walked toward her.

  "Sir," she said softly, as embarrassed as before to be so addressed. Seeing a flash of stars on the lapel of one of the officers with Catelli, she immediately snapped to attention. The Marshal returned the salute. "At ease."

  "Yes, sir," she replied as Catelli and another officer, a young ebony-skinned Major, stepped forward.

  "Marshal Bradford, may I present Colonel Chastity Mulvaney of the Northwind Highlanders. Colonel Mulvaney, this is Marshal Harrison Bradford of the Third Royal Guards Regimental Combat Team."

  "The pleasure is mine," Bradford said, then turned to one of the officers with him. "And this is Major Daphine Winchester of the First NAIS Cadre." A quick glance down showed Mulvaney that Bradford wore the spurs of a Mech Warrior, but that Major Winchester did not. Winchester was either a nonconformist or she was an infantry or armored commander. The New Avalon Institute of Science, the famed NAIS, was the Federated Commonwealth's leading academy. Only the best of the best went there, and they trained in the leading edge of technology. Even if she's infantry, she's not just another soldier.

  "I wish we could have met under better circumstances, Marshal." She turned to the slender Winchester and said crisply, "Major," The NAIS officer nodded her head once slowly, in full understanding.

  Bradford looked over Mulvaney's shoulder at the riverbed where a Locust was splashing up the shore. "I had your appointment transmitted to the other Highlander regiments, but they refused to acknowledge it, Colonel Mulvaney."

  "I expected that, sir."

  Bradford pulled out a long dark cigar and carefully cut off the tip. Then he lit it with an expensive battery-powered laser lighter and took a deep drag, blowing the smoke out through his nose. "You Highlanders are a stubborn bunch, aren't you?"

  "Yes sir," Chastity replied. You don't know the half of it.

  "Well, Colonel Mulvaney, you'll find that I'm pretty stubborn too," he returned, looking into her eyes. "There's a war going on out there and the last thing I want to be doing at this moment is mopping up a rebellious unit, even a unit as famed as the Northwind Highlanders."

  "Understood, sir."

  "I want to ask you a question face-to-face and I want a straight answer. Will this Colonel MacLeod fight it out with us to the end? If this goes beyond a push-and-shove match, will he be willing to go the distance against us in the field? And before you answer, I want you to know that I'm more than willing to take it that far, especially with Stirling's Fusiliers so near at hand." He drew another long inhale of smoke.

  The answer did not require much thought. "Marshal Harrison, I've known Colonel MacLeod for years. His argument is not with you but with how the Federated Commonwealth is treating the Highlanders. I don't think he'll draw our blood intentionally, but both your troops and the Consul Guards will both be fair game in his eyes. And in an even fight, sir, you won't stand a chance." She realized it was a risk being so blunt with the Davion Marshal, but a part of her no longer cared what happened to her personally.

  "I see. Well, let me assure you, Colonel Mulvaney, the Federated Commonwealth is able and willing to defend its realm, even from your Highlanders. As we speak, the whole of the Third Royal Guards RCT is staging in orbit over Epsilon Indi, augmented by the rest of the First NAIS Cadre's Battalion. Colonel MacLeod and his troops don't stand a chance."

  "Sir," Catelli put in, "you should know that Colonel Mulvaney's knowledge of the Highlander bases has given us an edge in our efforts to lure MacLeod away from Tara. Together we've come up with some nasty little surprises for his troops as they get closer to us. As a matter of fact the Major has put together a plan that will tie up the rebellious Highlanders under MacLeod for some time." The characterization of Colonel MacLeod's Regiment as "rebellious" bothered Chastity. Who could say, in this situation, which side was the rebel and which the loyalist? The lines had become hopelessly blurred.

  Bradford nodded, gesturing with the long cigar as he spoke. "I gathered that from the messages you sent me. You and Mulvaney deserve my deepest thanks. I only wish that this matter was resolved, but we have a lot of work still to do."

  "Have you a plan, Marshal?" asked Catelli.

  Marshall Harrison put the cigar in his mouth and used the swagger stick he'd been carrying under one armpit to draw a map in the soft wet sand. He sketched out the river and the city of Tara. "I've already taken the precaution of luring away most of MacLeod's aerospace fighters in a chase of a decoy fleet at the system's nadir jump point. But MacLeod's not stupid. He probably knows it's a decoy by now, but he also knows he's got to go after it.

  "To begin with we will neutralize MacLeod's ability to communicate with Tara and hence with any other Highlander regiment now heading for Northwind. I need him blind, deaf, and dumb for just a little while, long enough for the next phase of the operation. Once he's cut off from the rest of the Inner Sphere, the attack fleet will enter the system at a pirate jump point and land outside the Tara spaceport. We only need him cut off for a short time, long enough for us to perform an undetected landing. I received word that you're treating Tara as neutral ground and I want you to know that I intend to honor that, Colonel Mulvaney.

  "You and your force will continue to lure MacLeod further away from Tara while the Third Royals come up on him from behind as well as prepare a defense against Stirling's Fusiliers, who are due to rotate back to Northwind in the next three or four weeks." The Marshal drew a line in the sand showing the current position of Catelli and Mulvaney's force and moved it along the Tilman River.

  "Once the Fusiliers have been contained, we link up with you and crush whatever is left of MacLeod." To stress his point he slowly ground the swagger stick into the sand where the Highlander force would be.

  "I appreciate the fact that you are honoring Tara's neutrality in this fight, sir. There are a lot of Highlander families there, not just those of our regiment but from the others abroad. And thousands of other civilians as well," Mulvaney said coolly.

  "Colonel Catelli informed me of your agreement while I was en route and I agree that there's no point in dragging the civilians into all this. But don't get me wrong. If MacLeod or his people violate that agreement Tara will be considered a battle zone. Many loyal Davion citizens live there and I will not stand by and let anyone place their lives at risk. The Third Royals will conduct their landings outside the city and spaceport and will deploy from there."

  "How will you contain the Fusiliers?" Mulvaney asked.

  "I'm confident that once they see the force we've mustered and hear how MacLeod has taken the law into his own hands, they'll capitulate without a shot, especially with your loyal troops to assist. However, if they don't, I'll have a fully reinforced Regimental Combat Team in place. Trust me, Colonel Mulvaney. I have no intention of fighting Cat Stirling unless absolutely necessary."

  "Thank you, sir." So far I trust him, Mulvaney thought, but just how far?

  "The key to this operation's success is to blind MacLeod. Cut off his ability to see us coming and that's half the battle."

  Catelli grinned broadly. "How do you plan to do that, sir?"

  Major Winchester spoke up for the first time. "That's where I come in, Colonel."

  Marshal Bradford looked over at Winchester and pointed his swagger stick at her to emphasize his point. "The NAIS folks have a few tricks up their sleeves for us. As a matter of fact, Major, why don't you take Colonel Mulvaney over and show her the new toys you brought with you?"

  Winchester gestured to Mulvaney, who followed her towards The Despiser, leaving Bradford and Catelli alone. The Marshal drew another deep inhale of cigar smoke, waiting until the two officers had moved out of hearing distance.

  "Colonel Catelli, I want you to understand one thing very clearly. I am in charge of this operation. Based on the orders that came from headquarters intelligence, you were under orders to hand me an incident, something to make it look like the Highlanders ha
d attacked the Prince's force on Northwind. That would have made this a quick little operation. Now I've got my troops tied down here with a war raging only a few jumps away. It was my hope that we'd only be here for a week or two. Now, thanks to your failure, it looks like it's going to be a lot longer."

  "I'm sorry, sir, but it's that Capellan troublemaker, Loren Jaffray. He guessed what was going on when we tried to sabotage their 'Mechs. His meddling is one of the things that got us into this mess in the first place. At least I was able to splinter the Highlanders."

  "And where is Consul Burns?" the Marshal asked.

  "Safely in the Consulate back in Tara."

  "I met Drake Burns several years ago when his family got him his appointment to Northwind. He's well connected in the FedCom government, but that's about it."

  "Yes, Marshal."

  "I'm still going to need your help, Colonel Catelli. For me to simply grab Tara is going to cause some political fallout that neither of us needs in our careers at this point. Not to mention that if I march in there without reason every Highlander in the Inner Sphere will come after us. I need you to provide me another 'incident' that will let me take control of Tara."

  "Why is the city so important to you, sir?" Catelli asked, then caught himself quickly. "That is, if you don't mind my asking?"

  "What I'm telling you does not travel any further than the two of us. I didn't want Mulvaney to hear this, but the truth of the matter is that we anticipate that the other Highlanders will side with MacLeod in this dispute. When Stirling's Fusiliers land they're expected to be hostile and ready for a fight. If I control Tara, I have a plan that will spell their quick destruction. Once we've crushed two of the Highlander regiments, the First and Second Kearny will probably capitulate without a fight. Northwind will be ours."

  Catelli listened intensely and nodded. "I assure you, Marshal, that when I'm done, not a person in the Inner Sphere will question your moving in and taking over Tara." And if I do it right, I can pave the way for my own reign as governor, if not more.

  The Marshal continued to watch as Mulvaney and Winchester finally reached the DropShip. "Do you think she truly trusts us, Colonel?"

  "Yes, sir. I do."

  "Good. I don't want her to question that. It's vital to this operation that Tara be under my control and that we defeat both MacLeod's Regiment and the Fusiliers. It's your job as our intelligence operative on Northwind to hand me the justification to take control of Tara, no ifs, ands, or buts. Second, I want you to control Mulvaney. The last thing we need is for her to begin questioning us or her loyalties."

  Catelli crossed his arms, his smile getting even broader. "Don't worry, sir. I can handle 'Colonel' Mulvaney."

  21

  Tilman River Valley Northwind

  Draconis March, Federated Commonwealth

  25 September 3057

  Loren settled back in the command couch of the Gallowglas and shifted his lower body, trying to get comfortable. He was very tired, but hadn't been able to get back to sleep ever since a nightbird or some other nocturnal animal had awakened him by flying or dropping against the viewport of his cockpit. It was 0400 hours, but the frustration over losing sleep had him more awake than tired.

  Like many MechWarriors on campaign, Loren preferred to bed down in his 'Mech than in a field tent with the support crews. For him a 'Mech cockpit was a safe cocoon, much safer than a durlon tent on the ground. Most BattleMech cockpits were designed to support long-term operations and the Gallowglas was no exception, with an ample freshwater reserve and a command couch that could be semi-reclined. Even if the 'Mech was powered down Loren would be able to start up quickly should the need arise.

  But that wasn't likely. He'd already been held back after no less than three strategy sessions. Rather than attempt to reach his lance, Loren had accepted Major Huff's offer of a position near the regimental HQ. It was one of the safest spots in a field regiment, less than sixty meters from the mobile command post.

  After reaching the river they'd begun the march southwest with no activity from the downed DropShip, though the ship immediately repulsed several flyby attempts by the handful of Highlander fighters still on Northwind with barrages of long-range missile and PPC fire. A lone infantry DropShip usually wasn't a major threat, but Loren didn't dismiss it so easily. Considering that the fleet at the nadir point was a possible decoy, someone had gone to a great deal of trouble to get this ship smuggled through to Northwind unmolested. Anyone who took such pains was up to something.

  He stared through the tinted glass of his viewport into the early morning darkness, in the distance making out the rough shapes of the regimental field HQ's trucks and transports. Their lights had been dimmed and special thermal tarps stretched over the vehicles to help cloak them from infrared scanning. Even the microwave dish on top of the communications van was draped in camouflage webbing. Loren saw several other 'Mechs in the distance, most hidden under the thick cover of the trees.

  Thinking about Catelli and Mulvaney, who they'd yet to engage, Loren sat staring blankly through the viewport. Then he reached out to turn on the small secondary monitor that would give him a long-range map of the region. The regimental HQ downloaded information every few minutes to show the latest intelligence on both MacLeod's and the Davion task forces, including their estimated positions. The light from the display cast a greenish glow in the cockpit and only made him feel even more awake. Though MacLeod had sent a few light recon lances out into the night to probe the area ahead of them, they had still not encountered their targets.

  Loren had no desire to fight Chastity Mulvaney. He could understand what she had done, now that he'd thought more about it. Rather than see the Highlanders fall prey to infighting, she'd given the pro-Davionists a way to channel their strong emotions. It was a daring move that he respected.

  Colonel MacLeod's rules of engagement, on the other hand, were much harder for him to swallow. The Colonel had ordered his people to avoid killing Highlanders who'd gone over to Mulvaney, saying their job was simply to contain and defeat them. That kind of sentimentality had been bred out of Loren by his Commando training. In the same circumstances he'd have crushed Mulvaney back there at the spaceport. Perhaps some things about the Highlanders he would never understand.

  Colonel Catelli, on the other hand, was another matter entirely. Loren had sensed that MacLeod's warriors were ready to vent their frustrations by destroying the Consul Guards and their commanding officer. Ever since the landing of the Davion DropShip, rumors had run rampant that a full-scale invasion of Northwind was underway. But from the talk he heard, Loren knew that the Highlanders would meet any Davion troops or 'Mech reinforcements with fierce resistance. It was very likely the Davions were not prepared for the kind of unprecedented opposition the Northwind Highlanders could muster.

  He studied the map readout on the screen and pulled up information on the Tilman River from his tactical system. In the darkness of the cockpit he projected the narrow fords and areas that had been classified as rapids. He studied the positioning of The Castle and then extended the view of the map to show the long, north-south spine of the Rockspire Mountains. While MacLeod and Huff continued to believe that Mulvaney would go to ground at The Castle, Loren continued to disagree. He'd read up on The Castle's tactical advantages and knew that the fortress offered incredible defensive capability to anyone who wanted to dig in for a long prolonged fight. But the move was too obvious, the choice of The Castle too logical. Loren was more than ever convinced that Mulvaney would not try to dig in there. She's a fighter, not a defender. That's her style and she's not about to change now.

  Jaffray shut off the map and rubbed his eyes. Sleep. Engagement with the Davions is only a dozen hours away at best, and here I sit fighting the one thing I'm going to need most. He glanced through the viewport again to check the area one more time. Outside his 'Mech the skies over Northwind offered their starry vista. How ironic that he was here, in a Highlander 'Mech, staring up at a Northwi
nd night. His grandfather would have given almost anything to spend just such a night on this soil. Now the grandson that he'd raised almost as his own child was fulfilling his dream. But with a dark twist.

  Loren knew that part of the reason he couldn't sleep was because of thoughts about his real reason for being on Northwind. He was to deprive Davion of one of his prize merc units and destroy the very people he was supposed to be helping fight for their independence. These dark thoughts gnawed at the back of his mind. Loren didn't waver from his duty, but it was not easy facing the shadows it cast on his soul.

  As he stared out into the forest, Loren saw a faint image, more a movement than a defined shape, shifting in the darkness on the ground near the communications van. At first he barely noticed it, then he sat straight up in the seat and tried to find the shape he'd seen. Probably nothing more than a sentry on patrol. Then he saw it again, a shadow in the early dawn gloom, moving near the feet of a nearby Phoenix Hawk. He trailed the shape as it moved quickly from bush to bush.

  Then his tension level suddenly rose. Why would a sentry be trying to hide in the midst of his own field headquarters? The answer was simple. He wouldn't. Damn! Not even taking the time to put on his cooling vest, Loren reached for his neurohelmet and pulled it on. Something was wrong and, thus far, no one had discovered the deadly threat.

  "HQ, this is Command Security Four. Security alert at the HQ," he reported tersely as he hit the preheat switch overrides to his fusion reactor. There was not enough time for a controlled startup. If he was going to act quickly he would have to bypass most of the safety formalities.

  "Com Sec Four, this is HQ Two. Say again. We aren't showing any problems here," the duty officer said coldly.

  "Compound security has been compromised. Enemy infantry in the base!" Loren reached over to his wide-band communications switch. If the headquarters duty officer wasn't going to act, he would sound an all-out alert himself. He tossed the switch, but got no further than that because a series of explosions suddenly lit up the early morning darkness. The shock of the blast shook the Gallowglas, and the burst of light, though suppressed by the cockpit glass, made it difficult for his eyes to adjust.