D. R. T.

by James D. Long

  Then the ride got bumpier, and Rose abandoned his meditation. The DropShip rocked and wobbled as it descended into the gravity well of the planet. While cinching the safety straps of his command chair, he glanced at the chronometer inside his neurohelmet, surprised to find that they'd entered the atmosphere almost seventeen minutes ago. They were less than ten minutes away from the drop zone. The chop they were experiencing could be turbulence, but Rose suspected they were also nearing the engagement range of the Clan aerospace fighters. As if confirming his thoughts, the drop frequency went green. Rose thumbed the channel.

  "This is Black Thorn One." The speaker near his right ear popped with static, and Rose flinched in spite of himself. He heard a voice on the other end, but despite desperately working the gain of the frequency, he could not bring the voice in. The DropShip shuddered violently as Rose worked. With another pop of static, the line suddenly went active.

  "... problems."

  "Say again, Drop Command. I do not read you."

  "We've got some problems on this end, Black Thorn One. The fighters are as thick as fleas around us." Rose recognized the once-dispassionate voice of the drop controller on the line, but all trace of the previous calm was gone. The man was far from hysterical, but his voice was starting to edge upward.

  "Easy, Drop Command. I understand. Will we make the drop zone?" Rose asked. He slapped several keys on the communications unit and overrode the signal to Ria's BattleMech. She needed to hear this as well.

  "At this point, we don't know. We're on our approach run, but we've still got five of the bastards swooping around us." As Rose listened, the man regained some of his composure, his professionalism and training beginning to take over. "Make that four of the little bugs," he continued. The ship lurched heavily to port side, but continued on its course.

  "Any damage on our end?" asked Rose, more to keep the man talking than because the information would do him any good.

  "Yeah, I guess you could say we've got some damage." Rose didn't like the sound of that. Severe structural damage could prevent the drop altogether, or at the very least prevent some of the 'Mechs from dropping as planned. "Most of the damage is limited to the engineering sections, but we've taken a couple of hits near the bridge."

  "Is Danes available?"

  "Yes, he's still on the job." The ship rocked with an explosion, followed almost immediately by a secondary blast. By the way the secondary blast echoed from deep within the ship, Rose knew that the engines had been damaged severely. The ship began to vibrate slightly as it continued on its course. The communications line faded out, then came back in.

  "Rose, this is Captain Danes. Sorry to say, your time is up. I've got to kick you loose immediately." Rose glanced at the chronometer. They were several minutes from the drop zone and thousands of kilometers from their intended targets.

  "I understand," Rose swallowed and discovered his mouth was suddenly dry. "We can always walk."

  "Very good of you, old man," replied Danes. "I'll hold out as long as possible, but be ready for the doors to open. I'm afraid this could get a little messy for you and the lads."

  "We can handle it," said Rose, praying that the less experienced members of the Black Thorns could indeed handle all the additional variables that were being thrown into an already complicated process.

  "There are still three of the blighters left, ah, make that two, so you may have company on the way down. Wish I could do more." The ship continued to shudder and the vibration got worse. Rose guessed the frame of the ship had been damaged, possibly irreparably. He tried to sound optimistic.

  "We'll handle it from here, Captain. Good luck. We'll meet you at the Graveyard. Rose out."

  Rose switched to the company frequency. "All Black Thorns, prepare for emergency drop. Repeat, prepare for emergency drop." The vibrations on the ship grew worse.

  "Stick to the original plan," Rose continued, "and regroup on your lance commander when you hit the ground. Once the lances are formed, rally on the command lance. No stragglers, understand. We're going to have to drop a long way from our original zone, so look lively. There's no telling what we'll find when we hit the ground. Lance Commander, you ..."

  Rose never got to finish the sentence. Without warning, the ground beneath his 'Mech opened up and Rose fell from the DropShip. As he descended, the direct connect to the other members of the company was severed and the conim line went dead. He would have to wait until the cocoon fell away before he could use his 'Mech's standard communications gear.

  Rose watched as the drop pod's altimeter set itself based on the external data and its preprogrammed instructions. The first reading was 44,350 meters above the ground. That number surprised him. It was high enough to allow reaction to the changing conditions, but low enough to keep him from being a prolonged target. Danes had obviously pushed the Tracy K well into the atmosphere in order to give the Thorns the best possible chance.

  Rose felt the first parachute deploy, then the second. He rode the giant parachute for several minutes waiting for the explosions that would indicate he'd been targeted by a passing aerospace fighter. Time wore on, with Rose's hand hovering over the chute's release switch. He watched his instruments and waited. Agonizing seconds later, the light popped green and Rose hit the switch.

  The drop pod fell away cleanly and Rose scanned the skies. It was still dark, which surprised him, but the heavens and the scanners remained clear. He double-checked the scanner and realized there were no other 'Mechs on the screen. With sudden dread, he increased the sweep area until he saw the computer identify Riannon, Bell, Jamshid, and Hawg. He watched the altimeter and prepared for his descent. The rest of the battle lance was probably scattered to his right. He hoped the recon lance was off the screen to the left.

  "This is Command One, report Command Lance."

  "Command Four, green."

  "Command Three, green."

  "Command Two, green." At least the command lance is all right, thought Rose with a heartfelt sigh.

  "I've got Battle Three on my screen. Anybody have additional Black Thorns?"

  "I've got all of Battle Lance, Command One," said Jamshid. "They should put down sixty to eighty klicks to the east." Although that was horrendous scatter, Rose was glad to know the entire lance had made it out of the DropShip alive. The ship itself was long since out of range, assuming it had survived.

  "I've got Recon Lance, Command One. All present and accounted for," said Riannon. "They're going to end up about a hundred and fifty klicks to the northwest of us."

  Rose hit the thrusters and sorted the information. The entire company had cleared the DropShip. That was good news, but they were going to be widely scattered when they hit the ground. Rose fired the thrusters again and toggled to a wide-range sweep of the landing area. The analysis didn't look good.

  Rather than landing in a grassland plain, the command lance was going to drop into light forest, where a warrior being impaled on a tree was very real possibility. Rose adjusted the range, sacrificing area for added detail. One way or another he was going to have to land, so he needed to find a safe place. As he studied the screen and the altimeter, a red triangle popped into place, then another and another. When the triangles finally stopped appearing, Rose knew that five enemy BattleMechs were waiting on the ground directly below.

  20

  Courcheval

  Nova Cat Occupation Zone

  28 July 3057

  Rose watched the altimeter countdown and fired his thrusters. His descent slowed as he continued to apply thrust. Finally, with a gasp, the thruster fuel ran dry, and Rose dropped the final fifteen meters to the ground below. The legs of his massive 'Mech coiled to absorb the shock, but Rose landed much harder than he'd intended. The Masakari threatened to topple over, but Rose kept his balance by stepping forward. Shouldering a young cedar out of the way, he stopped and stood up in his 'Mech.

  He triggered the explosive bolts on the jump pack, then felt suddenly lighter as the heavy
unit fell away. Two more toggles and the additional thrusters on the legs joined the jump pack on the forest floor. Rose hit the scanner, toggling from short-range to long-range. By pure luck, the rest of the command lance had landed to the west. Rose, as the far eastern 'Mech, was closest to the approaching Clan BattleMechs. Knowing that the rest of the unit would not play a part in the upcoming battle, Rose switched to the lance channel.

  "Command Lance, get to the ridge line and form on me." He turned the Masakari toward the nearby ridge and increased the throttle. His 'Mech's giant feet tearing hunks of sod from the loosely packed soil, he began to race up the hill. Continually checking the scanners for enemy 'Mechs, Rose maintained the pace all the way to the top.

  The opposite side of the slope was not as heavily wooded, and Rose could just see the shapes of several 'Mechs as they moved through the trees. He released the safeties from his weapon systems and focused on the leading 'Mech. He caught glimpses of it as it ran between the trees, but he couldn't acquire a lock because of the foliage. With eroding patience, he waited and watched his lance move to support him.

  His patience was finally rewarded when a light gray 'Mech stepped between two trees at the base of the ridge. For an instant Rose took in the sight and identified the enemy 'Mech. It was a Griffin—or more accurately, a Griffin HC, a deadlier version of its Inner Sphere counterpart.

  Although the Clan version resembled the venerable Inner Sphere machine, the two 'Mechs were completely different beneath the skin. The Clan model was faster on the ground and in the air; it also carried more armor and its weapons had greater rage. It was easily a match for any Inner Sphere 'Mech of twenty tons heavier. Rose eyed it coolly, and let the Masakari's Clan-constructed targeting computer center its targeting cross hairs on the Griffin's chest. With a tight-lipped grin, Rose triggered the primary target interlock circuit and felt the sudden spike of heat he always associated with 'Mech combat.

  The target interlock circuit, or TIC, was a reconfigurable weapons trigger that allowed the Mech Warrior to fire a set of weapons with a single pull of the trigger. The Masakari had three separate circuits that could be fired simply by pressing a different trigger on the weapons control stick. In addition, Rose could fire each weapon individually by toggling through the weapons control panel on the left side of his cockpit. The primary TIC fired all four of the extended-range particle projection cannons. Firing from a stable position and guided by the targeting computer, there was little chance Rose could miss. The four azure beams intersected on the Griffin's chest, the combined energy vaporizing the medium 'Mech's torso armor and blasting through the engine shielding. The fusion engine died instantly. The blue beams continued their path, cutting through the Griffin's gyro and large laser. With unabated fury, two beams passed entirely through the Griffin, blowing out the rear armor in a hail of debris.

  The death blow came so quickly the Clan pilot had no time to register the damage. The legs of the Griffin simply quit responding. The arms of his 'Mech flailing, the pilot fought to control the falling machine with no success. The Griffin ground to a halt at the foot of the ridge amid massive internal failures.

  Rose backtracked partially down the ridge, using the hill as protection for the Masakari's legs. The other 'Mechs of the Clan star sought cover amid the trees of the ridge and paused in an effort to regroup.

  Rose had no doubt these were the 'Mechs of the Fourteenth Garrison Cluster. Although the Griffin IIC was an excellent 'Mech by Inner Sphere standards, it was strictly second class when compared to the OmniMechs of frontline Clan units. The cluster's pilots would also be second-line, warriors who had failed to win a place in a frontline unit, pilots a notch below their frondine counterparts. Rose's grin grew more feral. Had they been frontline pilots, they would have redoubled their charge up the hill. Even a momentary pause gave the advantage to the Black Thorns, and acquisition of the high ground only compounded that advantage.

  Rose scanned the terrain and moved to his right. The rest of the command lance was making their way up the ridge behind him. He had no doubt the Nova Cats knew the other Thorns were on the way, but it didn't matter.

  "Command Four, break left and sweep wide. Two and Three, hold the center. I'm moving to the right." Without waiting for confirmation, Rose began moving along the ridge line. The Clan 'Mechs had also begun to move, but they were not taking any chances with an OmniMech on the ridge. Even though Rose had not identified the other 'Mechs of the star, he guessed them to be mediums, heavies at best.

  Rose kept his targeting cross hairs toward the enemy and shuffled toward the right. One of the Clan 'Mechs started to move, but never quite cleared the cover of the trees. Rose could feel the temperature drop in the cockpit as the Masakari's heat sinks worked to cool the BattleMech. The ER PPCs had long since recharged and were ready for firing. He glanced at the scanner. Bell and Riannon were just below the ridge line, and Jamshid was roughly opposite his own position at the other end of the ridge.

  "Prepare to engage," said Rose as he moved slightly forward. The Clan 'Mechs began moving toward him, hesitantly at first, but then with vigor. Although the trees still blocked them from view, Rose knew they were coming after him instead of the unidentified 'Mechs of the lance, probably in retaliation for the destruction of their comrade.

  The external speakers picked up the sound of a large tree splitting, and Rose knew his next opponent would be much larger than the Griffin. He stopped his lateral movement and targeted the projected path of the nearest enemy 'Mech. Keeping the cross hairs steady, Rose stepped over the ridge line and began walking down the far slope. As he moved, the second Clan 'Mech stepped into view.

  At first Rose tagged it as a Rifleman, but a glance at the scanner told him he was wrong. The 'Mech before him registered five tons heavier on the scanner, making it about seventy-five tons in weight. The 'Mech shared a common ancestry with the Rifleman, but instead of twin weapon barrels on each arm, this machine sported a single reinforced barrel. It came toward Rose like Frankenstein's monster, its arms held straight out as its lumbering walk smashed aside trees.

  The 'Mech spotted Rose and hitched its stride slightly before pointing both arms at the Masakari. Rose adjusted his aim, but there was no time for the kind of shot he'd made on the Griffin. He simply aimed for the center of the 'Mech and hit the primary TIC. Heat rose through the floor of the Mansakari's cockpit as the four ER PPCs stabbed toward the Clan 'Mech. One beam passed between the outstretched left arm and torso, but the other three found their mark.

  The first beam traced a black line up the inside of the 'Mech's left arm. The ugly gash went deep, but Rose wasn't surprised to see that the shot had failed to penetrate the thick armor of the Clan heavy 'Mech. The other two shots savaged the left torso and burned their way inside. As the azure beams died, Rose waited for the secondary explosions that would indicate critical damage to the breached area, but there were none.

  He gritted his teeth as the enemy 'Mech returned fire with its Gauss rifle. Both arms bellowed smoke as the weapons fired, but the damage from Rose's shot had affected the pilot's aim. The range was less than a hundred meters, but only one of the shells hit the Masakari. With a resounding clang that Rose felt all the way up inside the cockpit, the rifle shell slammed against the flat armored plates high on the Masakari's right hip. The armor held, however, and Rose didn't even have to compensate for the damage. The Masakari remained rock steady.

  He glanced at the weapon control panel. All four PPCs were still recharging, so he thumbed the long-range missile launcher and moved down the hill. Though he was well under the missiles' minimum range, Rose would use them in a pinch until the PPCs were ready again. The enemy 'Mech fought to keep its balance in the wake of Rose's assault, eventually managing to do so. Pivoting to the left, the 'Mech followed Rose down the hill.

  The cannons came back on line as Rose hit the bottom of the hill, so he toggled off the missile system and readied the two secondary TICs. One was configured to fire the PPCs mounted
in the Masakari's right arm and the other to fire them from the left. The Clan 'Mech stepped down the hill, and Rose spotted its right leg for an instant. Without thinking, he fired the right-arm weapons and was rewarded with a strike on the Clan 'Mech's shin before the trees once again obscured the view.

  He glanced at the scanner. Bell and Riannon were moving over the crest of the ridge. If Rose could hold the position, they would fall upon the Clan defenders from above and behind. Jamshid was moving in from the left, but he was still too far away to shoot. Rose began slowly backing up to give his lance more time to engage, but the Clan pilots outguessed his ploy and came at him in a rush.

  From his right came the sound of jump jets, and Rose knew that one of the Clan 'Mechs was taking flight. If it got behind him, he would be in serious trouble. Rose tried to get a shot on the jumping 'Mech, but was unable to acquire a lock because of the branches overhead. He turned to the right with his right arm upraised, and one of the enemy 'Mechs took the bait.

  Breaking through the trees at a dead run came a 'Mech Rose had never seen before. The 'Mech was humanoid-shaped with heavy shoulder pads and thick lower legs; its two hands pumped the air as it ran. The construction lines of the 'Mech were graceful, with thousands of bends per metal plate. The entire effect gave the 'Mech a sleek, curved shape as close to human as anything Rose had ever seen. A single weapon port showed in the center of the 'Mech's torso.

  The Masakari's left arm barely moved as Rose fired the two PPCs in that arm. He'd used the trick before and doubtless would use it again. Most pilots assumed their opponent was right-handed. When the Clan warrior saw Rose's right hand so far out of position, he got bold. Then he got killed. A natural lefty, Rose impaled the onrushing 'Mech with both shots. The charged particles actually stopped the 'Mech in its tracks. It tottered and started to fall, but Rose was no longer watching.