D. R. T.

by James D. Long

  And that," said Langley, finally coming to the point, "is also the reason why the Bristol will have an Internal Security Force crew."

  7

  Nadir Jump Point

  Luthien System, Draconis Combine

  16 February 3057

  "The hell, you say!"

  Rose grabbed McCloud by the arm as she jumped to her feet. She didn't even bother to look at him as she pulled her arm free.

  "My ship, my crew. That's it. End of discussion." McCloud pointed an accusing finger at the two Combine officers, who seemed to take the outburst in stride. They sat calmly in their places, waiting for McCloud to calm down or at least stop shouting long enough to get a word in. Their refusal to react only fueled McCloud's anger, however, and it was several moments before she wound down enough to let anyone else in the room speak.

  "I'm sorry you feel that way, Captain," said Langley. The way he stressed the word Captain left Rose with no room for doubt; they'd lost this battle before it had even begun. "You're right," he continued. "This is the end of the discussion, but you're wrong to assert that the Bristol will not carry a full complement of ISF agents to man the DropShip guns and to make sure the run to Wolcott goes as planned."

  "You've got no right," she countered flatiy, thumping the table for emphasis.

  "We have every right," said Langley with a smile. "The Black Thorns signed a contract with the Draconis Combine government. That contract clearly states the terms of command. We were quite clear, up front, that there would be a military liaison. The entire Wolcott system is a military zone, and, therefore, under the control of the military presence there. When you jump into Wolcott, you are officially under military control. That means we have the right and responsibility to put your ship under our control with the people we see fit as crew members."

  While Langley was speaking, Rose was trying to think of a way to salvage the situation. Unlike McCloud, he was not emotionally attached to the Bristol, nor was he offended at taking orders from a duly appointed military representative.

  "Chu-sa," he said with as much of a smile as he could muster, "surely you're not taking command away from Captain McCloud." Rose was offering Langley a way out of the conflict and prayed the man would be good enough to take it. Langley never got the chance.

  "Captain McCloud," said Vaynes, speaking for the first time since the meeting started, "please try to understand our position. Wolcott represents a significant military asset for the Draconis Combine. It is, perhaps, our only asset at the moment. We cannot allow Wolcott to fall, and that is why we are forced to take strong action."

  Vaynes was right, thought Rose. Wolcott was deep in Clan-occupied space, and the Combine wasn't about to lose the planet through negligence. Although the Smoke Jaguars were honor-bound not to attack the planet, everything else in the system was fair game. If they could starve the defenders out, they would still end up capturing the planet and keeping their honor intact. McCloud started to counter Vaynes' argument, but the chu-sa forestalled her comment with a wave of his hand.

  "Of course, Captain Rose, we would never take away a captain's ship or her right to fly it. We are only insisting upon the addition of several crew members, mostly gunners, for the trip inbound. Captain McCloud will have command, and all Internal Security Agents will report to her."

  Rose knew that the Internal Security Force, or ISF, were an elite special forces arm of the Draconis Combine's intelligence operations. ISF agents were trained in a wide variety of roles, and this was certainly a task right up their alley. There was no doubt in Rose's mind that the ISF gunners would be good at their jobs.

  "Who else will be coming aboard the Bristol, besides the gunners?" asked McCloud. It didn't take more than a glance at her for Rose to see how dearly the polite question was costing her. She still wasn't totally in control of her emotions, but was fighting to stay calm. Rose could see the vein in the side of her neck beginning to rise and hoped for a swift end to the meeting.

  "In addition to the gunners, there will be one communications agent and one pilot. The ISF pilot will act as a second to the Bristol's current pilot."

  "Why is he needed? I don't have room for two pilots."

  "The pilot we have in mind has made the Wolcott run fourteen times. He is something of a legend here on Luthien," said Langley. "His only job is to get you to the planet in case of trouble. If all goes according to schedule, he'll never need to lift a finger. Of course, he'll be there to provide assistance if it's needed."

  "Don't bet on it," mumbled McCloud under breath. Rose decided it was time to step in again.

  "Thank you, gentlemen, for your time and trouble." Rose stood and reached across the table, shaking each man's hand. "I'm sure there will be no problems from here on out."

  "I understand that you'd like to get this over with as soon as possible, Captain," said Langley as he looked squarely between Rose and McCloud. "To that end, we've assigned priority status to the Bristol and her cargo." That caught Rose and McCloud off guard. Langley smiled.

  "The rest of the Black Thorns will arrive on schedule and be transferred to the Bristol as soon as possible. Once the remainder of your BattleMechs are aboard, we'll transfer the ISF team and move you back into position aboard the next JumpShip bound for Wolcott."

  "Flight stations and schedules?" asked McCloud.

  "Those can all be handled through the station control room," said Langley.

  "We make runs to Wolcott on a frequent basis," Vaynes told her, "but actually bringing a new 'Mech unit onto the surface isn't that common. When a new unit is bound for Wolcott, we try to make the trip as easy and swift as possible. Your run has been scheduled to take about five days, based on the arrival of the rest of the unit, the JumpShip, and the pirate point."

  Rose nodded in appreciation. McCloud just stared at Vaynes as if trying to decide what purpose this additional information could have. While she was deciding, the door through which Rose and McCloud had entered slid open. Uroshi stepped just inside the door frame and bowed deeply to the four in the room.

  "If it helps, Captain McCloud," offered Vaynes, "you're not the first ship captain to bridle at the demands of the Wolcott run." McCloud didn't bother to respond to the remark. She simply left the room in silence, leaving Rose to follow.

  "I'll bet she holds a grudge longer than the rest of them," said Rose quietly as he left the room. Langley chuckled and Vaynes just shook his head. Any comment they had was lost in the sound of the closing door as Rose hurried to catch up with Uroshi and McCloud.

  Rose decided not to say anything during the trip back to the Bristol, a choice apparently seconded by McCloud. Once past the airlock, Rose thought the tension would break, but he was wrong. It was obvious McCloud wasn't going to forget the meeting or the consequences of her decision to stay with the Black Thorns. As the interior door opened, she headed for the crew decks toward the top of the ship. Rose decided not to follow her and returned to the passenger levels near the ship's engines.

  Despite the hurried launch time, there was surprisingly little for the Black Thorns to do. McCloud could handle all the DropShip maneuvering and the incoming commands from the station's traffic controllers. Rose was sure that all the flight information needed to get from the pirate point to the planet's surface had been downloaded to the Bristol's computer for use on the run to the planet, but the equipment handled all those details.

  In the end he decided to catch up on his sleep and advised the rest of the Black Thorns to do the same. After several hours of much-needed rest, Rose went down to the mess room for some coffee. He was still working on his first cup when Riannon and the new unit members arrived, creating a hubbub almost to the point of an uproar. Every one of the Black Thorns was trying to talk to her at once, each pressing for answers to his or her questions. Rose interrupted to insist on introductions being made all around.

  Soon all the Black Thorns, both old and new, were clustered in the mess room, listening to Riannon tell stories of her time on
Outreach. Rose quickly lost track of time and was startled to hear McCloud's voice over the address system. The Bristol would be leaving the station in ten minutes, and they still hadn't seen to the storage of the new BattleMechs. Rose quickly dispatched Hawg, Esmeralda, and Badicus to take care of it while Antioch and Ria showed the recruits their new quarters and caught up on last-minute tasks prior to leaving the station.

  Rose made it to the airlock just as the inner doors were opening to admit the ISF crew. McCloud was obviously furious, but was managing to maintain a professional tone while talking to the ISF gunners and bridge crew. Rose accompanied the small group on their tour through the DropShip, but he didn't say much.

  Since the ISF agents would only be aboard ship for a short time, McCloud wasn't inclined to make special arrangements for their comfort. Each gunner was assigned a berth near the weapon he would be manning. The bridge crew, which consisted of the communications technician and the backup pilot, was billeted in one of the storage cabins. Both McCloud and Rose would have preferred to have them stay in an actual cabin, but the two insisted that the storage room was as far from the bridge as they'd likely get. McCloud just shrugged and gave them their way.

  During the tour, the Bristol began moving toward the JumpShip that would carry it to Wolcott. Rose considered staying on the bridge, but decided it would be better to join his own team. Leaving McCloud and the ISF agents to work out a truce as best they could, he returned to the lower decks to find that Ria and Esmeralda had everything under control. When all was finally in readiness for the jump, Rose called the entire unit to a meeting in the mess room.

  The Black Thorns drifted into the mess in ones and twos, except for the recruits, who came as a group. Rose waited until everyone was seated and quiet before addressing the group.

  "This will be short and sweet, so pay close attention." He looked out at the assembled faces and felt a sudden surge of excitement, a feeling he hadn't expected.

  "We're heading for the JumpShip even as we speak. That's not news. What is news is the fact that we'll be jumping as soon as we're able." Several heads snapped up in surprise. "Wolcott is something of an armed camp, so we'll make the jump strapped into our 'Mechs. If the Bristol takes a hit, the BattleMechs will provide you with oxygen until you're either rescued or captured." Several of the veterans frowned. "I know that isn't a pleasant idea," Rose continued, "but it beats dying by a long shot, so when we break, saddle up.

  "We're heading for a pirate point. The spacers know where, and we'll have to rely on them to get us to the planet. If the jump point goes well, I'll give the all-clear and we can stand down, but consider yourselves on alert. I want each of the new people paired with a veteran." Rose stopped and smiled at the new members. Several actually seemed offended by his remarks.

  "Look, I know you're all veterans of some kind, but until we've had the chance to work together a little more, indulge me." Rose gave the thumbs-up to Riannon, and she nodded. He knew the pairing would be handled without problems. It was great to have her back with the unit.

  "Once we're on the other side, we'll probably have more time to talk, so everything else can wait until then. Questions? No? I'll leave you to it then. Once I have more info, I'll pass it on."

  As if on cue, McCloud's voice came over the room's speakers. "Attention all crew and passengers, this is the captain." Rose considered it a nice touch. With so many new people aboard the Bristol, McCloud needed to introduce herself. "The Bristol has just finished final docking maneuvers with the JumpShip Ellyohippus, and we're scheduled to jump in thirty-nine minutes." Rose checked his chronometer, as did most of the Black Thorns. It was straight out of basic training for all soldiers to know their time schedule, and Rose was glad to see that everybody was remembering the basics.

  "I will announce the ten-minute countdown as normal. In the meantime, prepare for jump. Flight crew, man your jump stations."

  Rose waited until the speaker popped off before facing his troops. 'That means us too. Head for your 'Mechs and get ready for a hot jump, Black Thorns. We're heading into action."

  8

  DropShip Bristol, Pirate Point 3A/Lu2334Zulu

  Wolcott System, Draconis Combine

  17 February 3057

  The JumpShip Ellyohippus appeared in the Wolcott system with a slight shimmer. Emerging from the nothingness of hyperspace, the giant ship suddenly burst into existence. Most of the passengers and crew members had still not even fully registered the jump from Luthien to Wolcott before the captain of the Ellyohippus had set the Bristol free.

  Rose felt a trickle of sweat run down his forehead and kept his full attention on his BattleMech's communication link. Deep in the hold of the Bristol, there was no chance of his scanners picking up an intruder in time to do anything, so there was only the waiting. He'd allowed the Thorns to open private comm channels among themselves, but they were not to talk on the company-wide band unless they had something of importance to report. Unlike the other BattleMechs, Rose's Masakari was connected directly to the bridge. He kept all his channels open, but did not broadcast. Instead he concentrated on listening.

  Rose was no spacer, even though, as a Mech Warrior, he'd spent considerable time being carried from place to place in starships. He had long ago learned that it took a special breed of individual to handle the loneliness of space. Rose liked, even cherished, his privacy, but space was simply too big and empty for him.

  Despite all this, his previous experience and his special relationship with McCloud had given him the opportunity to learn a great deal about a DropShip's operations. It was that which made it possible for him to understand much of what was happening on the bridge even though he wasn't directly involved in the conversations. When one of the ISF agents inquired about the possibility of hostile forces in the area, McCloud made it very clear that she had detected absolutely none. Rose didn't have to be on the bridge to know exactly how McCloud looked as she informed the ISF gunner to mind his duty and leave her to her own.

  Ten minutes passed as the Bristol slowly pulled away from the JumpShip. Already the captain of the Ellyohippus would be furiously computing the navigational path back to Luthien based on the ship's current location and time. Rose suspected that the Jumpship crew was working every bit as hard as their computers, but he could only guess at what must be going on on the deck of an interstellar ship.

  At jump time plus twenty minutes the screens were still clear. Rose decided to give the all-clear a little early, as it was now obvious the Clans hadn't become aware of the JumpShip's presence in the system. His MechWarriors climbed out of their cockpits and drifted back to the mess room, which had now become the company's de facto headquarters. Rose lingered slightly longer to inform McCloud of what he was doing. He was surprised when she asked him to come to the bridge as soon as possible.

  Sliding down the ladder of his OmniMech, Rose thought about going to his cabin to change into some coveralls before continuing to the bridge, then changed his mind. His Mech Warrior garb would help put him at ease in the unfamiliar environment of the bridge, and he was sure that the spacers would understand.

  The fact that he was ill at ease on the bridge of the Bristol always struck Rose as odd. In other trips aboard other such ships, he'd been known to give various captains a severe dressing-down for one reason or another. With McCloud it was just the opposite. He was always ready to assume he was wrong when aboard the Bristol, at least on the bridge.

  At first he thought it was because of his relationship with Rachel, the ship's captain. Eventually he decided that was only partially the reason.

  Until meeting McCloud, Rose had not really trusted any of the DropShip captains with whom he'd traveled. Intellectually, he'd known they were competent, even exceptional, at their craft, but he wouldn't have trusted his life to one. At least none except McCloud. As a soldier, he realized that sentiment was the highest compliment he could pay another person, but Rachel had passed it off as one of his clumsier attempts to be romant
ic. He would never understand civilians.

  Pausing at the door to the bridge, Rose ran a hand through his hair before stepping through. The large area seemed somehow smaller, then he realized it was because of the two ISF agents manning auxiliary consoles. With all the crew members, McCloud included, giving the two men an even wider berth, the ISF agents took up a good portion of the free space on the bridge. Rose crossed to McCloud and looked over her shoulder at the long-range scanner. Although she hadn't glanced up, it never occurred to him that she wouldn't know he was there.

  "We just picked up two inbound objects on the edge of our scanning range," she said almost too casually.

  "Clans?"

  McCloud shook her head. "I don't think so, but I've got the gunners on stand-by. Chances are they're the two DropShips hitching a ride back to Luthien." Rose hadn't known there would be returning DropShips, but it made sense. Why waste the time and effort of a JumpShip returning empty?

  "Glad to see you came with company," she added. Rose was confused until he followed McCloud's line of sight to the laser pistol on his left hip. The pistol was as much a part of his standard gear as his neurohelmet and cooling suit.

  Rose frowned. "Expecting trouble?" He followed McCloud's glance toward the two ISF agents. By luck or planning, they were working side by side.