Exodus road

by Blaine Lee Pardoe

"Be careful of your tone, bondsman," Trent said. "You cannot know what is in my heart on these matters. I was there, Judith. I watched innocents die, I witnessed the senselessness of their deaths. But this time will be different. This time we shall fight the Kat Killers themselves—warrior to warrior. And when we are done, they will be destroyed and these retaliations will cease."

  "I do not trust Star Captain Jez," Judith said.

  "Trust is irrelevant," Trent returned. "What matters now is my own honor. The fight I have planned for these bandits grants them more then they deserve—a chance to fight and die like warriors."

  "I hear your words, but I also know what I have heard from the other technicians. This Jez is reckless and seems to have an abiding hatred to you. I heard talk of your Trial of Grievance against her at Baker Canyon."

  "Necessary."

  "Yet it tells me that she will stop at nothing to get to you."

  "You are correct. But there are times, my bondsman, that you must trust my foresight and instincts as a warrior. And this is one of those times . .."

  13

  Braddock Pike

  Hyner

  Smoke Jaguar Occupation Zone

  1 February 3055

  The north-south roadway known as the Braddock Pike was perfect for the strategy Trent had in mind. It twisted, with many tight turns cut into the hills it crossed. The road was narrow, having been built for hovercar travel in and out of the Hyner countryside centuries earlier. Surrounded by trees and with a number of steep dropoffs, the terrain forced Trent to move his 'Mech force slowly, parallel to the roadway without being seen. They were some twelve kilometers from the methane facility. When the Kat Killers did appear, he would be ready.

  The fact that Jez had replaced Styx on the mission was not part of the original plan, but he had been so surprised at her endorsement of the mission that he accepted the change without comment. Trent did not care about her motivations. All he knew was that if this mission was successful, there would no longer be any need to destroy the villages and towns of Hyner.

  The convoy consisted of a caravan of J-27 ammunition carriers, vehicles that had been the mainstay of Inner Sphere supply for centuries. The ones that now traveled down the pike, weaving in and out of the curves among the trees, were empty. Their sole purpose was to serve as bait for the bandits.

  Trent had learned that the Jaguars had taken these very vehicles as isorla when the Arkab Legion had crumbled before the Smoke Jaguar assault on Hyner several years before. Now this same hardware would serve to entrap its former owners, whose remnants had become a resistance gang calling itself the Kat Killer Five.

  Trent and his people had been waiting patiently for at least an hour, but Trent was not impatient. He was sure their prey would come for the bait. And then he saw them. Four 'Mechs. At the head was the same Warhammer that had tried to kill both him and Russou. In its wake was a Crusader, a Grand Dragon, and a Grasshopper. Trent throttled his Timber Wolf to life, and moved from hiding onto the road.

  The Warhammer pilot suddenly realized what was happening, and swung to face the Timber Wolf as Trent brought it into the open, cutting across the convoy's path. The three other BattleMechs trailing the Warhammer slowed their advance, apparently realizing that they had stumbled into a well-laid trap.

  As Trent dropped his targeting reticule over the computer-enhanced outline of the Warhammer, a brilliant flash of light came at him. The bright beams of the enemy 'Mech's twin PPCs boiled away his torso armor in a thunder-like clap of arcing electrical energy, leaving billowing black smoke where the armor had torn away. The impact was vicious, and Trent's balance swayed slightly, throwing off his targeting sight. Despite the deadliness of the attack, Trent coolly realigned his targeting reticule on the Warhammer, waiting patiently the milliseconds it took for the battle computer to lock onto his target.

  He fired in two salvos. The first was his lasers, medium and large. The scarlet beams lanced out, one of the mediums missing, but the other, along with the large lasers, finding its mark. The lasers flayed off armor plating even as the Warhammer walked forward. The Kat Killer 'Mech reeled slightly under the impact just as Trent's second salvo hit, finishing the job.

  The second salvo was a wave of long-range missiles from the Timber Wolf's boxy missile pods. Forty in all, the missiles hit mostly in the upper torso of the Warhammer. Each warhead went off within an instant of the others, with spectacular results. The Warhammer's forward movement ground to a halt as more of its armor was ripped away.

  The BattleMech's internal structure, exposed by the earlier laser blasts, was left raw for several of the missile warheads. They were the last ones to go off, just milliseconds after the rest of the barrage. Erupting, they struck the innards of the 'Mech. The internal structure and myomer muscles were shredded by the hot shrapnel and quaking of the explosion. Trent watched as the bandit pilot lost control of his BattleMech. Its upper torso tipped back, as if trying to stop, but the legs continued to move forward. Suddenly off-center, the Warhammer fell backward, its stubby arm PPCs poking into the air as it lay staring upward.

  "Lior and Ansel, begin your sweep," Trent said as he saw the Warhammer trying to use its weapon arms to help it stand. Lior and Ansel broke and ran into the rear of the guerrilla force, cutting them off from retreat. The bulky Kat Killer Crusader unleashed a horrific wave of short-range missiles at Ansel's Mad Dog, hitting the gray Jaguar 'Mech hard in its right leg.

  The Warhammer, unable to move or stand, strained as Trent closed with it. Switching to a tight-beam laser transmission directly to his foe, he sent it over an open channel he knew his enemy could hear. "You and your force are trapped and defeated. Submit and I grant that our justice will be swift."

  The message that came back was not surprising. "By Allah, you will never have my soul, you demon-cat. Help me stand and I shall fight you, one on one, warrior against warrior, as it was meant to be."

  Trent surveyed the fallen 'Mech in front of him. "Impossible. You are bandits. To treat you as a warrior would be an insult to my Clan. Step out and I assure you that you will meet your fates."

  The Warhammer rolled just enough to fire its short-range missiles. Only one found its mark in the Timber Wolfs right shoulder, the others flying high and above him. Trent swung his targeting sight in on the Warhammer's already battered torso. He could see the simmering fusion reactor shielding and the gyro housing under a pool of slick, sizzling green-yellow coolant. It would be a simple matter to cripple his foe and then rejoin the battle raging among the other 'Mechs.

  Trent heard the tone of the weapons lock fill his compact neurohelmet when suddenly he saw the shadow of another BattleMech come alongside the mangled Warhammer. It was a Warhawk with the distinctive spotted Jaguar pattern that could only be Jez's OmniMech.

  Her actions shocked him even more than her sudden appearance. She lifted the Warhawk's massive leg upward, then brought it down onto the cockpit of the bandit Warhammer. The force of her 85-ton 'Mech smashing into the other 'Mech created an impact that shook even Trent's Timber Wolf. Not only did she crush the bandit's cockpit, but her 'Mech's giant foot went all the way through it with a deep grinding noise and a flash of sparks.

  Trent was stunned for an instant. He glared at the Warhawk as Jez extracted its foot from the crushed armor plating. "You have violated the rede of honor among warriors, Jez. This one was mine to finish."

  Her voice was emotionless. "Neg. These are bandits and to be dealt as we would the lowest of castes. You cannot lose honor against one of these."

  Trent felt a rush of anger spread through his body. The synthskin on his face seemed to tingle with a prickly heat as he watched. Jez was right, but that did not make it any better. She acknowledges the letter of the rede of honor, not the intent.

  Trent turned his Timber Wolf and began to rush toward the remaining battle. The Crusader was in its death dance, half-falling, half-twisting under a scything by the lasers of Ansel's Mad Dog. Smoke billowed from its chest and torso as i
ts ammunition stores exploded, spreading like a fiery cancer inside the bandit 'Mech. Its shoulder and hip joints suddenly flashed with flames as the 'Mech contorted, falling into a heap.

  Laurel's Hellbringer unleashed a series of death-blow kicks to the already felled Grand Dragon. Trent's secondary display gave him a reading on the downed 'Mech, and his trained eyes knew that the fight was over even before he had seen them. Laurel's maddened kicks reminded him of someone kicking a fallen foe to make sure he was indeed dead.

  Only Lior still battled, engaging the last of the guerrillas as it tried to make a mad break out of the trap. Trent closed in on the fight as the Kat Killer Grasshopper lit into the air on a short hop, setting fire to several tree branches as it rose. Lior did not move, remaining still as he took his time to fire. A stream of depleted-uranium slugs and a Gauss rifle slug raced upward at the jumping Grasshopper, hitting it in the legs.

  The bandit 'Mech wavered under the impacts, then the jets on the leg failed as the remaining armor blew off into the air. It dropped like a rock, autocannon rounds tearing the 'Mech apart as it fell. Trent lost sight of it among the trees, but saw a giant oak topple under the weight of the falling 'Mech. His sensors completed the picture as Lior fired into the heart of the enemy 'Mech, destroying its fusion reactor and sending a cloud of white smoke up into the air above the treeline.

  "It is over," Trent signaled to his command, to Jez, and to himself. No other innocents would die now. The shameless and wasteful policy of razing villages could now end.

  "Aff," Jez added on the same comm channel. "Report back to the garrison command post for debriefing and new orders."

  * * *

  Jaz led Trent and the other warriors of his Star crossed the parade grounds of the Hyner planetary command post. They were headed toward the looming and impressive figure of Star Colonel Paul Moon, who stood reviewing several Stars marching in parade formation.

  Moon wore his gray dress uniform, and as always, the garment seemed barely able to contain his mighty musculature. The genetic engineering that had bred Paul Moon to such formidable size had made him not only strong but swift. He turned to watch the little group of approaching warriors, meeting the eyes of each one in turn. All except Trent.

  "I received your message, Star Captain Jez. I would offer congratulations, but there is little honor to be won in fighting bandits. "Your plan was flawless, but that is to be expected from one of your bloodline."

  Her plan! Trent reeled inwardly as he realized that Jez had claimed it as her own. "I thank you, Star Colonel," she said, bowing her head slightly.

  "I thank you in return. The towns surrounding that old abandoned methane plant have obviously been providing aid and information to these guerrillas. I give to you the honor of selecting which of them we will level to teach a lesson to those who aid our enemies. The choice is yours."

  Trent was stunned by these words. They had destroyed the Kat Killer Five. What was the point of further retaliations? The destruction seemed more senseless than ever. "Sir," he began, knowing he must choose his words carefully. "Permission to speak freely, Star Colonel."

  Paul Moon slowly turned his gaze on Trent, staring at him for a moment as though observing some disgusting alien creature. "Proceed, Star Captain."

  "Sir, this step, the razing of another village, it is not necessary. We have already destroyed the guerrilla operation. What merit can there be in this new action?"

  "It is not your place to tell me what has merit and what does not," Moon said, crossing his arms in what Trent now recognized as a typical gesture of authority. "We shall level one of these villages and transmit a holovid of the deed to the other cities of this world so that all on Hyner will know the price of standing in the Jaguar's path."

  Trent drew a deep breath. He could no longer stand by silently. He must make a stand, even if the price was his own life. The time for waiting had passed. "I challenge you to a Trial of Grievance, Star Colonel."

  "Indeed," Moon returned.

  "Aff. This command violates our code of honor, as set down by Nicholas Kerensky, the founder of the Clans."

  Moon chuckled slightly. "Must I remind you, Star Colonel, that this is a military command? Your opinions do not interest me, and meeting you in combat offers no more challenge than crushing a bug under my heel. But you are a blight on our Clan. For you to call yourself a Jaguar warrior brings only shame to the rest. There is no honor in combat with you, but I promise you that I shall find honor in erasing you like a stain."

  "Very well," Trent said, the blood rushing in his ears as his body prepared. "I assume you wish to fight unaugmented, quiaff?"

  Moon smiled. "Aff. And these warriors will form our Circle of Equals." He nodded to Jez and the others, who immediately moved to surround the two men. Moon unbuttoned his uniform collar and shirt, and flexed his muscles in preparation for the fight.

  "You do know that I will kill you, Trent," Paul Moon said, his voice barely a whisper as he lowered his body to a fighting stance.

  "But I will not kill you, Star Colonel, even if I get the chance," Trent returned, lowering his own center of gravity.

  "And that is your weakness," Moon replied.

  "Neg. Death is a merciful release for a warrior. Letting you live with defeat would injure you more than a death blow. Especially if I, one who you consider an unblooded failure, were to defeat you."

  "No more words," Paul Moon said, then sprang out at Trent, spreading his massive arms wide to prevent Trent from escaping to either side.

  Trent lunged backward as Paul Moon landed just short of him, coming down on his knees and sweeping one of his arms like a flail at Trent's legs. He caught Trent mid-stride, knocking him down hard onto the grass of the parade grounds.

  But Trent knew he had to stay in motion. Any hesitation and the huge warrior would be on top of him. He was rolling before he hit the ground, moving away. He came up on his feet at the same time that Paul Moon, from a kneeling position, swung his massive fist at him. The blow hit with pile driver force against the left side of his face, breaking a tooth loose and sending Trent's entire body flying back with its force. Ringing filled Trent's ears as he turned toward the edge of the Circle of Equals. He saw the faces of Lior and Laurel, the two warriors under his command, watching without emotion.

  He was too dazed to outmaneuver Paul Moon. The Elemental grabbed him from behind and encircled him with his bear-like arms. It was like trying to wrestle an Arcadian steel viper as Moon tried to squeeze the life out of him. Trent's ribs ached, and he heard a snapping sound as one of his ribs snapped. Air was being forced from his lungs. If he was going to do something, it had to be now.

  Using every last shred of his strength, he managed to double over, bending enough at the waist that he could reach between his own legs to grab Moon's ankle with his right hand—the one reinforced with myomer muscles. Before Moon could react, Trent straightened up again, still holding the ankle.

  Moon pitched backward, bring Trent down on top of him. Trent's weight temporarily knocked the wind out of the bigger man, and Trent broke free. His left arm ached from the crushing squeeze Moon had given him, but he would continue to fight until nothing was left of him.

  As Moon rose to his feet again, Trent did not wait for the punch he knew was coming, but made a fist of his right hand and smashed it into Moon's face with every bit of power he could put into his artificially enhanced arm and fist. The blow broke one of Trent's own knuckles as well as shattering Paul Moon's nose. Blood spurted from both nostrils, but Paul Moon did not seem to care. He licked it with his beefy tongue and leveled his own punch at Trent.

  No amount of agility could have allowed Trent to dodge the blow. His whole head snapped to the side on impact, and his body lifted slightly off the ground as he staggered backward. He felt something behind him, something that stopped his fall briefly before his back finally slammed against the cool of the grassy ground. Trent knew then that he had lost, and was ready to die. I hope he takes me quickl
y. At least I will have served Nicholas Kerensky as I saw fit.

  He felt his body being hoisted into the air by the collar of his shirt, then the hot breath of Paul Moon in his face. "You broke the Circle of Equals under my last blow. I am still within my rights to kill you. But as you said earlier, perhaps I can make you suffer as you would have done to me."

  Moon's voice was raspy as he gasped for breath. "I can hurt you more by letting you live with the shame of your failure."

  Trent opened his augmented eye and saw Moon glaring at him like an angry bull before tossing him viciously back onto the ground.

  "This Trial is done. Star Captain Jez, name the town to be razed," Paul Moon said, using the sleeve of his uniform to wipe the blood from his face.

  Jez looked down at Trent and smiled. "Chinn shall perish under the claws of the Jaguar, Star Colonel." She sounded pleased.

  "Good," Moon said. "Commence operations this very day."

  Trent stared up at the cold sky of Hyner. He had failed to best Paul Moon, and now the deaths of the people of Chinn would also be on his head.

  14

  Smoke Jaguar Planetary Command Center

  Warrenton, Hyner

  Smoke Jaguar Occupation Zone

  10 February 3055

  "Star Captain," Judith said, as Trent looked up from a hard copy report he was reviewing in his temporary office in the Planetary Command Center. True to form, Star Colonel Paul Moon had assigned him one tucked away in the bowels of the base. Small and cramped, with no windows and barely any ventilation, it was hardly a desirable work area, even by Clan standards. "I have come to ask a favor."

  He looked up at his bondsman and nodded. The swelling on his face where the muscles were operative had diminished but not entirely gone. His hand was still bandaged where his knuckles had been broken fighting Paul Moon. But these were but minor injuries considering what had happened to the village of Chinn—wiped off the map because of his failure.