D. R. T.

by James D. Long

  "McCloud square with that?" asked Esmeralda.

  Rose started to nod, then shrugged. "She agreed to the idea, but I don't know how long it will last. She's still not officially a member of this unit, and she doesn't like the idea of being so close. If we give her a reason, she'll pack up and move out with her crew. That's why I want to make sure the spacers are taken care of."

  "We could use the tech and dependents' quarters in the north half of the barracks," Ria suggested, which seemed like a good idea to Rose. Most mercenary units, even ones as small as the Thorns, traveled with a number of additional personnel who were noncombatants. If the unit was lucky, techs made up the largest portion of that number, but it could also include families, servants, and other miscellaneous support personnel. The Black Thorns only had themselves.

  At a nod from Hawg, Rose turned to see the staff officer approaching the cluster of Black Thorns. "Looks like it's time to report for duty," murmured Rose. The approaching figure looked old and overweight, and by the way he moved his legs, as though it hurt not only his legs but his whole body. Rose decided to relieve the man of some of his difficulty by walking forward to greet him. The staff car and driver were still parked by the main gate.

  "Captain Jeremiah Rose, reporting for duty, sir," said Rose when the two drew close. The portly man nodded and waved at Rose. There was no way the gesture could be called a salute.

  "Glad to have you here, Captain Rose," the man replied without feeling. He handed Rose a worn plastic satchel and waited for Rose to look inside before continuing. "Here are the keys to the compound and a standard operational briefing of the current situation here on Wolcott. Nothing especially new, except now it's all official. You're officially a part of the Mustered Soldiery."

  "Thank—," Rose began.

  "Save it. This is a formality and one I don't especially like. You're now in charge of the base and the property therein. In the unlikely event that Wolcott is attacked before you formally report, you'll find all the proper frequencies in the satchel. I hope you have the good sense to destroy all the printed material after you've read it." Rose nodded, but the man didn't even pause to note his answer.

  He continued to drone on for several minutes, but Rose had quit listening. The man was obviously from the old school of the Combine military, which considered mercenaries to be nothing more than cannon fodder. You didn't have to treat fodder with respect.

  "Questions?" the man said when he finally finished his speech.

  "Just one," said Rose. "We've got most of our equipment stored on the Bristol. We'll need transport to get the gear to the compound."

  The man waved the question away. "Of course. You'll find the proper frequencies to the motor pool in the satchel. Is that all?"

  Rose considered for a moment, then nodded. The man returned Rose's nod and turned away without speaking. Rose watched him go, then, with a slow shake of his head, returned to the Black Thorns.

  "Looks like we're in good with the locals," observed Hawg.

  "Ah, just like old times," laughed O'Shea.

  "Well, let's hope it's not that bad," said Rose. "Badicus, you and Ria arrange for transportation of our gear. Then see about getting some people out here to help with the compound. Cooks, a couple of sentries for the gate and compound when we're away, and a driver should cover it."

  "It would be a pleasure," said O'Shea with a deep bow. "Perhaps we could use a maid as well?"

  "And let you grow soft and lazy?" said Rose. "I don't think so." Hawg poked O'Shea in the ribs, and Rose thought he saw something pass between the two men. Hawg was grinning like a madman, but so was O'Shea. Rose knew they were up to something, but decided to let it drop.

  "Esmeralda, that leaves you and me to draw up the duty schedule and contact the locals," said Rose. Esmeralda nodded once. "Questions?"

  "What about the scuffle with the ISF boys aboard the Bristol?" asked Hawg. "Still no word?"

  Rose shook his head. The local command had had more than three days to respond to the ISF reports and his and McCloud's counter-reports. He'd tried to find out more prior to touch-down, but whoever was in charge of mercenary relations was keeping quiet on the whole affair. Although the incident had been logged, no one seemed to know what the outcome might be.

  "We'll have to wait that one out," said Rose. "Tomorrow we officially report for duty. Maybe we'll learn something then.

  "Anything else?" Rose looked around the cluster of warriors. They were like a pack of hounds eager for the hunt. Even the boring assignments he'd given them would be tackled with relish.

  "Fine," he said. "Then it's time to hit the deck. Ese, grab your gear and follow me."

  10

  Mercenary Garrison District

  Wolcott, Draconis Combine

  20 February 3057

  As it turned out, Rose did not leave the compound on the next day, or the next, or even the next. Once Ajax had swept the perimeter, the entire company was needed to set up the barracks, which had suffered woefully at the hands of previous occupants. O'Shea hired several laborers to help with the grunt work, but the technical skills of the Black Thorns were necessary to get all the compound facilities on-line.

  Rose took an equally active role in the preparations. Once Ria had rigged up the communications center to operate on supplemental power from Ajax's Raven, Rose reported to the mercenary liaison office that the unit would be delayed several days before formal reporting. Rose had expected resistance, but instead received a polite extension of three days to complete any preparations necessary. Totally bewildered, Rose handed the receiver back to Riannon. When he'd been stationed on Luthien, the Kuritas had treated mercenaries as if they were socially and intellectually inferior to convicted felons. By comparison, this seemed like the red-carpet treatment.

  Thanking god for small favors, Rose fell to work with gusto. He was alternately furious and amused by the unit's findings, or situations, as Ria liked to call them. The electricity to the barracks was restored by Yuri and Leeza, who came back from their work covered with silt and dripping swamp water. The power remained dependable, however, so Rose decided not to ask. Just after dark, a small convoy dispatched by McCloud arrived from the spaceport with the bulk of the Thorns' heavy gear. Shortly after two in the morning Rose ordered everyone to bed.

  Hawg obeyed, but sneaked out as soon as he heard Rose closing the door to his quarters. With the help of Esmeralda, he spent most of the first night on base repairing the compound's plumbing system. Although they weren't able to clear the sewage system, the base did have clean water when the rest of the unit stumbled out of their racks the next morning. Rose was happy to have the fresh water, but decided to keep the two late-night workers on full duty all the next day. Disobeying orders still merited punishment.

  Rose spent the entire day working on the perimeter of the compound with Ajax. With the help of Jamshid and Riannon in the comm center, the four managed to install the unit's new security system. After the attack on their base on Borghese, Rose had invested considerable unit money on a defensive system for the base. The system went with the Black Thorns when they left Borghese. As night fell, Ria was able to monitor the entire compound with audio and visual sensors. The passive system was concealed among the rubble, but the active defenses were in plain view. Ajax figured the obvious mines would deter casual crime.

  When Rose and Ajax returned for the evening meal, they found the whole barracks back in shape. O'Shea had either conned or bribed a city utility worker into repairing the sewage system. The barracks were completely habitable, if not pristine, and Yuri had managed to restore power to the 'Mech warehouse. Over dinner, Ria, who had stayed at the communications center all day, filled everyone in on the latest happenings on Wolcott. After dinner the company began to unpack the remaining Black Thorn equipment. Several of the recruits seemed surprised to discover how much material it took to keep the Black Thorns in the field. It was a feeling shared by most civilians and many regular army veterans.

&
nbsp; Most army units would rely on their parent command to supply them with the basics needed to fight and live. Company commanders went to the battalion, and battalion commanders went to the regiment, on up the line until the proper forms were secured and the equipment was delivered. The Black Thorns did not have that luxury. They had to rely on themselves for all essentials.

  Even the greenest pilots knew that meant food, clothing, and supplies for the 'Mechs, but most did not count all the incidentals. Just operating the compound was a drain on resources. In addition to the basics, the Black Thorns had to look to themselves for security, first aid, 'Mech repair and maintenance equipment, ammunition, spare parts and backup equipment, internal security, training, and a whole host of other things that Rose always counted on Riannon to remind him about.

  Rose and the rest of the company spent the next day unpacking equipment in the warehouse. Esmeralda and Hawg selected the site for the repair center, and the rest of the Thorns put themselves at their disposal to set up a small maintenance facility. Although the Thorns would never be able to perform major repairs, this would at least give them a place to perform maintenance and minor field repairs by the end of the day. Dinner that night was a repeat of the first, except for Ria's announcement that she had secured a practice area just east of the compound where the unit could perform small-scale maneuvers. Rose assigned Esmeralda to lead the company on a shake-down exercise the next day while he and Jamshid reported to the mercenary liaison. He received several questioning looks from the Thorns at his choice of a second, but no one said anything.

  By the time most of the unit was up the next morning, Rose and Jamshid were gone, each traveling to the liaison office in his 'Mech. The rest of the Thorns entered the practice swamp with powered-down weapons and training programs running on all computer systems. Although the system wasn't as good as the one used by Wolf's Dragoons, the Black Thorns had used it successfully for training on Borghese. Esmeralda led the Thorns into the swamp and set them up for a perimeter sweep. Fifteen minutes into the drill, the first Black Thorn 'Mech was killed.

  It was Rose who fired the shot, his Masakari rising from a depression in the muck, hitting Greta's Charger with all four PPCs. All four shots struck the center torso, the computer slicing off sheets of armor as the combined attacks bored into the 'Mech's heart, carving through the engine and gyro in a single wave. Greta's computer told the rest of the Thorns she was dead even before most of the unit had time to register the attack.

  Although Esmeralda hadn't known about Rose's surprise attack, she had assumed one would take place when Rose selected Jamshid to accompany him. The two of them in their OmniMechs would make excellent sparring partners for the other Thorns. As Greta died, Esmeralda fired on Rose, scoring a hit with one large laser and a scattering of missiles. But when she saw Jamshid rise from the water to her right, she knew she'd been had.

  In turning to fire, Esmeralda had exposed her 'Mech's back to Jamshid, who was firing every weapon his Mad Cat had. The range wasn't ideal, but he managed to hit with almost everything. One large laser drilled a hole into the Mad Cat's back, ruining all the armor over the right torso while the other skewered the 'Mech's right leg. More laser fire stabbed at Esmeralda until both flights of missiles came roaring in. Her computer system showed five of the long-range missiles exploding around the laser hole in the right torso. One missile set off a secondary explosion, igniting her entire long-range missile load on the right side.

  With a flash, the right side of the 'Mech disappeared in a haze of computer-generated smoke. The cellular ammunition storage system held, however, confining the blast to the right torso. The Mad Cat's right arm and right-side weapons went dead with the destruction of the 'Mech's torso, the heat scale spiking as the extra-light engine components in the destroyed torso section failed. Although the Clan technology kept her from being an immediate casualty, Esmeralda knew she was out of the fight.

  The end took longer than it should have, but there was no doubt about the outcome. Rose and Jamshid fought without regard to their own safety. The remaining Black Thorns closed in on all sides, but the duo stood toe-to-toe with the rest of the company and traded shot for shot. When Rose finally called an end to the exercise, he and Jamshid were both dead, but so were Esmeralda, Greta, Kitten, Ajax, Badicus, Leeza, and Riannon.

  "Let's try it again, people," said Rose over the company-wide communication channel. "Ajax, lead them back to base and wait twenty minutes, then come back out. Esmeralda, you stay with Jamshid and me." The battles continued throughout the day with steadily improving results. Although the Black Thorns always lost 'Mechs in the encounters, they began to fight more and more like a team as the day went on. At dusk Rose led them back to the compound to find that the DropShip crew had arrived while they were gone.

  Dinner that night with McCloud and the DropShip crew was spirited, but Rose kept everyone focused on the events of the day. Even the DropShip crew remained after dinner to hear the retelling of the events in the field. Most MechWarriors weren't prone to talk about combat, but the simulation didn't seem to fall under the same aegis and the warriors were quick to share their successes and failures with the spacers. It was hours later that Rose finally rose to retire.

  Before leaving the table, he addressed the whole group. "Tomorrow, Captain McCloud and I will be reporting to the liaison office. Jamshid, in view of your outstanding performance earlier today, I'd like for you to accompany us." The slight man smiled and nodded an enthusiastic yes. "Esmeralda, you have the command. Let's try another set of exercises, but better keep sharp, we might be waiting for you again." With a nod of his head, Rose left the mess and returned to his room. He was not entirely surprised when McCloud joined him several minutes later.

  "All settled?" he asked, glancing up from his small desk. McCloud shrugged, a familiar gesture when she was on the ground. In space she was unquestioned leader, but on land she often seemed unsure of herself. "Problems?"

  McCloud shook her head and crossed to the bed, where she threw herself down. Rose turned around at the desk and regarded her sprawled on the bed.

  "You know," she said, "the only thing I ever miss about being planetside is the room. You've got more wasted space in this room than I've got on the entire DropShip." Rose laughed. "It's true. All this room and you don't have to do anything with it."

  "The extra space is nice," Rose agreed, "but close can be fun too." He got up from the chair and slid onto the bed with McCloud. She surprised him by sitting up just as he was lying down. Rose rolled his eyes, a gesture he was sure McCloud would have found offensive if she'd seen it.

  "Something on your mind?" he asked, rolling over to sit next to her on the edge of the bed.

  "Yes," she said, patting the bed. "What are we going to do?"

  Rose rubbed his jaw, pondering how to answer the question. Stalling for time was all he could think of. "Do? What do you mean do?"

  "I mean, where am I going to quarter while we're stuck on this planet?"

  "Oh." Rose had already considered the options and knew what he wanted, but he wasn't sure how McCloud would react. Several quiet moments passed before he decided to follow his heart rather than his head. "You should stay here, with me."

  Several more moments passed before McCloud responded. "That's what I'd like." Rose relaxed internally. He could seldom second-guess McCloud, but it looked like this time he'd hit the nail on the head.

  "There would have to be some rules, however." Or maybe not, he thought. "First," she continued, "my crew is strictly under my control. They signed on with me, not the Black Thorns. I'm the one who has to be accountable to and responsible for them. Agreed?"

  It certainly made sense to Rose. His only direct knowledge of spacers came from McCloud. Hell, he thought, I don't even know half their names. To me they're just the crew. "Agreed," he said simply.

  "Next, the Bristol is not a part of the Black Thorns. I've pretty much admitted to myself that you've got me hooked, but that's on a strictly
personal level. There are places I'd follow you that I'd never take the Bristol."

  Rose was suddenly uncomfortable with the confession. He knew how he felt about McCloud, but he'd rarely heard her return the sentiment, at least not in a conversation such as this. He wanted to make a joke to relieve his own discomfort, but realized the discussion was too important to McCloud, and him, to make light of it that way.

  "What do you have in mind?" was all he could think to ask.

  "I'm a big girl now. Nobody has tried to play mommy to me in over ten years and I like it that way. I'm in serious financial trouble because of the accident on Borghese. Even with the trip here, I'm in real danger of losing the Bristol to my creditors. I could run, but that's hardly the type of life I want for myself or my crew.

  "The Black Thorns have been good to me, but I want something understood. I'm not military. I never was and I never will be. As hard as it is for some people to understand, I don't like getting shot at and I don't like having soldiers on the crew decks."

  "But you've hauled 'Mechs before," interrupted Rose.

  "Hauled, yes, but I've never been in anything close to a battle. Even my three pirate encounters were little more than hostile words exchanged at a distance. Those Clan fighters were the closest I've come to combat in all my years as a captain."

  "But you handled it perfectly," countered Rose.

  McCloud snorted, and Rose was surprised to see tears spring to her eyes. "After you left, I went back to my quarters and cried for almost an hour."

  Rose was shocked. He stared at McCloud in disbelief. It wasn't her reaction that took him aback. Hadn't he been reduced to the same state after the destruction of his command on Tukayyid? What infuriated him was the fact that she hadn't called on him to help her through it.

  "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you ask for help?" Rose jumped from the bed, suddenly restless.

  "No way, Jeremiah. No way. There is absolutely zero chance I'd let someone else see me like that aboard my own ship."