Exodus road

by Blaine Lee Pardoe

  * * *

  Judith moved in close to Trent at the feet of his Marauder II, which she was working to repair in the 'Mech bay. She spoke in a whisper as Trent held onto the Marauder's massive leg strut to keep himself from drifting off into the open bay. "You are not sure whether he saw the scanner?"

  "Neg," Trent whispered back, eyeing the storage bay cautiously. "He did not seem very intelligent, but he may have been trying to conceal his suspicions."

  "Miles is a risk, not just to this mission, but to our lives," she said.

  "That is an understatement," Trent nodded. "I must deal with him."

  "Negative," Judith retorted. "I will deal with Miles."

  Trent shook his head. "Neg, Judith. I am the warrior. This is my mission."

  "You will never get access to Miles. He is a tech. I have become friendly with several of the ship's techs. I can get to parts of the JumpShip and the DropShips that you would never be able to, even as a warrior. I will make sure he does not speak of whatever he may have seen."

  "You talk beyond your station as a bondsman, Judith," Trent said.

  "I have been beyond my station since the day you agreed to my proposition back on Hyner. - All I ask, Star Captain, is that you permit me to perform one of the duties for which I was trained in my former life. It is true that I am no longer a warrior. But this is not an honorable act. And thus far you have shouldered all of the risks of this operation. This is something that I can contribute. Allow me to be what I once was." Judith spoke from the heart, and it was not a tech Trent saw standing before him but another warrior.

  "Aye, Judith. Do as you must."

  * * *

  The drive core of the JumpShip Admiral Andrews was its most delicate mechanism. The Kearny-Fuchida titanium/germanium alloy core ran the 740-meter-long length of the vessel. Charged via the solar sail and suspended in perfect balance in a helium housing, the core was a massive superconductive capacitor. The helium suspension shaft itself was surrounded by a larger maintenance tube that ran the length of the ship.

  The maintenance of the inner core was accomplished via this tube, and it was sealed during hyperspace jumps between stars, and with good reason. During a jump, the field initiator at the aft end of the ship tapped the massive power stored in the core to warp the space around the JumpShip and its attached Drop-Ships, essentially moving it through hyperspace from one star to another instantly. During the field generation that took place, the core filled the maintenance tube with an incredible static charge. The maintenance tube was protected on the outside. However, anything inside the tube, which stood next to the helium-suspended and -encased core, would be reduced to pure carbon in a matter of milliseconds, so intense was the heat and electrical charge.

  Tech Miles was making a last check of the forward alignment system, sealing the control plate back into place before leaving the maintenance tube. It was a routine inspection, one he carried out in the few minutes before every jump. There was no risk. The drive-core maintenance hatch was open only twenty meters away, and he had the electronic key needed to lock it. As long as the hatch was open, the safety overrides prevented anyone from engaging the jump drive.

  He didn't even think about the hatch as he finished his work. Miles was a busy tech, after all, and there was a jump scheduled in a few minutes. He was intent on finishing the task at hand, while the back of his mind contemplated with pleasure the thought of the card game planned for later that evening in Cargo Bay Three. There was a sound behind him, but he did not even bother to turn and look. It was only his tool kit shifting. No one ever came into the jump core. Because of the risks, this was the last place even the techs wanted to work.

  There was a blur out the corner of his eye as Judith brought the wrench down on the back of his head. Then everything in his world went black.

  His lip tasted the metallic surface of the floor of the jump chamber, his ears still ringing from whatever had hit him. He was dazed and his limbs felt cold and numb and as if he couldn't control them. A flash of red lights in the chamber made his heart suddenly begin to race. Red lights in the drive core—a jump was about to take place. Miles pulled himself up like a drunk, staggering toward the hatch. Reaching down, he grappled for the access key. It was gone! In a blur he reached for the intercom and pressed the emergency button, but nothing happened.

  He did not suffer. A bright flash of light filled the corridor and enveloped his body in a final embrace.

  * * *

  Judith half-walked, half-floated into Trent's quarters, closing the doorway behind her. Her stomach was still rolling from the last jump. She stood before him, her face blanched of color. Trent stared at her for a long moment before speaking.

  "It is done, quiaff?"

  "Affirmative. It will appear to be an accident. There still is a risk that he spoke to his seniors and told them about you."

  Trent nodded. "I considered that. That is why I thought it best if I were the one to perform this act."

  Judith shook her head. "You are proceeding from a misinterpretation, Star Captain. You think that I have not killed before."

  "I know that you were a warrior, Judith."

  She shook her head violently. "Negative. I was a member of ROM before I joined the Com Guards. I have had to murder before. I do not enjoy it, but I have done it."

  Trent ran his fingers through what hair he had and nodded. "And what I did to Jez was close enough to murder that I would not know what else to call it. But our acts are justified. We are doing what is necessary to put an end to a corruption—that of our own Clan."

  Trent spoke boldly, but he still remembered how he felt after the death of Jez on Hyner. The mix of anger, frustration, guilt, and bitterness. Now he and Judith were bonded in still another way. "Do you play chess, Judith?" he asked.

  She was puzzled by this sudden shift of conversation. "Aye. Though, I have not played in many years."

  Trent opened the small drawer above his bed and pulled out the box containing his chess set. "I used to play, before Tukayyid. Star Commander Russou played me, but he did not have the finesse I enjoy."

  "Is this not a breach of etiquette, Star Colonel? You would be gaming with a lower caste member."

  "When we are alone Judith, you and I are equals from this moment forward." Trent set up the board and deployed the white pieces on his side. In the slight gravity of the Drop-Ship, they just barely stayed in place. It was going to be a long night. . .

  23

  DropShip Dhava

  Nadir Jump Point

  Pivot Prime, Caliban Nebula

  The Exodus Road

  24 January 3056

  Trent set the small packet of food on the table in his room, and it drifted slightly above the surface in the gravity-less environment. He was eating alone, as he did most of the time on the DropShip. It was not that he did not care for the other warriors. Quite the opposite, he found their company a pleasure on the few occasions he had joined them in the mess room. They were, like him, all trueborn, with many common interests, viewpoints, likes and dislikes, and so on.

  Despite that, he knew in his heart that they were also very different from him. And that was what made him keep to himself. The feeling that he stood apart, as much here among warriors who respected him as back on Hyner among warriors who scorned him. Where he had decided on a path of action to preserve himself, they were willing to submit to orders, to walk obediently into their solahma assignments without so much as asking why. Their complacency frustrated Trent, a situation made even more difficult by the fact that he could express his thoughts and feelings to no one. No one, that is, except Judith.

  There was a firm knock on his door that stirred him from these dark thoughts. "Enter," he said and was surprised to see Star Commander Allen hovering in the doorway. Behind him he glimpsed a light gray of a jumpsuit, which told him that Judith accompanied the big Elemental. Every time he saw Star Commander Allen, Trent's heart beat slightly faster. Does he know or even suspect what happened t
o Tech Miles? Does he suspect that Judith or I had something to do with it?

  "I hope we are not intruding," Allen said, moving through the doorway with an elegance that seemed to defy his giant stature. Judith followed, closing the door behind them. "But this is a special eve. We have reached Pivot Prime, and there are traditions we must share."

  Trent raised his one real eyebrow. "Pivot? I do not understand."

  The big man lowered himself somehow into the other chair across from Trent and placed a cloth sack on the table. Judith drifted into the room but stayed back, acknowledging her position with the two warriors.

  "This place, the planet below, is known as Pivot," Allen said. "We are at the edge of the Caliban Nebula. This was the first point from which the great General Kerensky and the Exodus Fleet could view the Pentagon Worlds, which everyone knows were the first homeworlds of our ancestors. It is an important point, a place of great significance."

  "I do not understand," Trent said with a puzzled expression.

  Allen chuckled. "I am not surprised. We Marines and the spacers who travel these lanes treat this point like the crossing of Terra's equator or the rounding of Cape Horn in ancient times. For us, this is a crossing point on the Exodus Road, and we mark it accordingly."

  He pulled his gray uniform shirt sleeve back and revealed a small set of marks. They were stars, Cameron Stars of the former Star League, tattooed in a small row on his bicep. They were small, but brilliant yellow, almost golden. "Each one marks my passage past Pivot. We commemorate the past with these symbols of why we have launched the invasion of the Inner Sphere—the restoration of the Star League." Allen pulled a small black device four centimeters by two centimeters out of the sack.

  "This is a laser tattoo marker. I have programmed it for the symbol of passage, the Cameron Star. I wish to share this rite with the two of you."

  "With both of us?" Judith asked.

  Allen nodded once, firmly and quickly. "Aff, Tech Judith.

  You and your master have brought me many good stories of combat. We are of different castes, but our ship techs have a similar ritual, so perhaps I do not err too gravely in sharing this one with you. I have read the official reports of Tukayyid, but your tales have made me feel that I was really there."

  Trent could well imagine that even stories would somewhat feed the hunger for combat of one who had been raised and trained as a warrior. Ship duty offered little chance to fight in true battle except in Trials of Possession, a rarity for the precious JumpShip assets. He pulled up his right sleeve, exposing the artificial skin of his arm, which retained a small patch of real skin near the shoulder. "I am honored," Trent said. Judith also pulled back her sleeve and bared her arm.

  Allen reached over and pressed the device against Trent's arm. There was a clicking sound and a slight whir. As the big man pulled the marker away, Trent saw a golden Cameron Star about the size of a fingernail permanently lasered into his skin. Allen then reached over and performed the same action on Judith.

  "Is there more to this ritual?" Trent asked.

  "Aff," Allen said, reaching into the bag and pulling out a bottle with odd markings. "This is an alcoholic drink. Whiskey. Tradition calls for us to share a drink from the same cup, the mark of kinship."

  Trent did not drink alcohol. It dulled the senses, which no warrior could afford. But this was a rite, even if not an official Clan ritual. To refuse would be insulting. He reached over to his nightstand and pulled out a small collapsible cup, which he handed to Star Captain Allen.

  Allen looked at the cup for a moment, as though his mind were suddenly distracted by other thoughts. "There was a death aboard the JumpShip, one I am investigating," he said.

  "A death?" Trent said.

  Allen opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a siren coming from the hallway and over the small speaker in the ceiling over Trent's bed. A red light flashed in the room, and the festive mood suddenly changed. Allen rose to his great height and lifted his wrist communicator to his lips, opening a direct channel to the bridge of the JumpShip. He spoke in short muffled tones of command, and listened intensely to the responses coming over the tiny speaker in the communicator.

  He looked over at Trent, his expression grave. "We must go, Star Captain. An emergency situation has arisen."

  "What kind of emergency?"

  "A JumpShip has been detected at this jump point. It is an Explorer Corps vessel."

  * * *

  Trent had been in the Combat Information Center, the CIC, of the Admiral Andrews several times since the journey had begun. It was the perfect command center in a crisis, with all JumpShip and DropShip operations able to be coordinated from this single command post. Trent was also impressed with the rapidity with which the captains of the Andrews as well as those of the docked DropShips had been summoned.

  Star Captain Jonas of the Admiral Andrews was a lanky man. He was also well past his prime from the looks of it, but had somehow dodged a solahma assignment. He stepped up to the holographic projector in the center of the CIC and let his eyes travel over all the faces gathered around. "Sitrep is as follows. Apparently a ComStar Explorer Corps Scout Class JumpShip arrived several hours before we did. Our sensors only just detected her when we sounded the alert. The other ship was in midst of deploying its jump sail at the time and has not tried to flee. Most likely it does not yet have the charge for a jump."

  "DropShip?" Star Captain Walter Stiles, master of the DropShip Dhava, asked.

  "One detected in-flight on a fast burn for Pivot Prime," he said, mentioning the name of the single planet in the system. "Ship class is Union. Pivot is a habitable world with a single Clan outpost on it to defend the HPG relay there. According to Ops the vessel has a four-hour head start."

  Trent spoke up next. "Garrison strength on Pivot?"

  Jonas stroked his goatee. "At present one Star. Two Points of BattleMechs, three of Elementals."

  "And a Union Class vessel could be carrying upwards of two and a half Stars worth of 'Mechs," Trent said.

  "Operational orders for all units traveling the Exodus Road are specific regarding Inner Sphere encounters," Jonas said. "We are to use any and all force necessary to capture or destroy these forces. Under no circumstances are they to be allowed to escape."

  Trent understood. Should the Inner Sphere obtain information of a Clan settlement on Pivot, that data would put them a step closer to learning the location of the homeworlds. He could have used Judith there to advise him of what she knew of the Explorer Corps from her days in ComStar. That, of course, was impossible. No tech would participate in a council of warriors. "We must deal with two threats then," he said. "One is the JumpShip, the other is this force currently burning for the planet."

  "Aff," Jonas said firmly. "If they seize that HPG it will not give them all of the coordinates of the Exodus Road, but they will get enough to map out several other star systems on the way."

  "We cannot permit that to happen," Star Commander Allen stated.

  "Aye," Captain Jonas returned. "We should detach the Mohawk and the Stealthy Cat along with fighter escort. They can intercept and disable the JumpShip within the hour. The Marine forces should be ample to seize control of the Jump-Ship or to make sure she does not jump."

  Star Captain Walter Stiles spoke up next. "I assume that leaves me to go after the ground force with the Dhava." He glanced at Trent. "Perhaps this is a chance for our solahma forces to prove themselves worthy of the Smoke Jaguar one last time."

  "They will not fail," Trent said. "But the enemy forces are not inconsiderable. I have six operational BattleMechs and the warriors to man them. Let me also take one Star of Marines for close-combat support."

  Stiles nodded and glanced at Star Commander Allen, his grin broadening from ear to ear, then back to Trent. "Well bargained and done. Commence launch operations in fifteen minutes. We will download all tactical data on Pivot Prime and relay a priority message to the outpost there. May the will of the Kerenskys guide
you."

  * * *

  Judith double-checked the cockpit seal on the hatch to the Marauder II from the access gantry as Trent climbed in. "Are you sure this is the course you wish to follow?"

  Trent scowled slightly in response.

  "The Explorer Corps is seeking the same thing we are, the path of the Exodus Road. You will be killing those we hope to one day assist."

  "Aff," Trent replied. "I will do my duty to the best of my ability, Judith. To do anything else would risk us appearing to be something else besides a Clan warrior and his tech."

  She bowed her head. "I understand," she said. "You must be careful, though. Ammunition is minimal, half-loads for every 'Mech. These machines were isorla, meant for analysis and investigation by our scientists, not for use under battle conditions. They work, but some may have problems we did not discover through routine testing and diagnostics."

  "As with all people and all things, Judith," Trent said, pulling on his neurohelmet, "we do what we must."

  24

  Smoke Jaguar HPG Station

  Pivot Prime, Caliban Nebula

  The Exodus Road

  30 January 3056

  "Smoke Jaguars, this is Captain Bryant Foster of Meredith's Marauders. We have beaten the force defending this HPG and claim it in the name of ComStar. Withdraw your forces immediately and no one else need die."

  Trent sat back in the cockpit of his Marauder II and surveyed the scene. Pivot was a desolate and barren world of rocks and brown dirt. The only plant life consisted of mosses and lichens, and his force kicked up a cloud of dust that rose nearly a hundred meters up as they advanced. They had been on the planet a full day, after being dropped off by the Dhava. Six lone BattleMechs against at least ten mercenaries in the employ of ComStar.

  The mercenaries had done well. They had hit the Clan HPG facility from two different sides at once. The defenders, solahma warriors all, had made a futile but heroic effort with their pitiful second-line 'Mechs and generations-old battle armor. Now Meredith's Marauders held the small outpost. The problem they faced was that they had suddenly become the defenders, and Trent's force was on the advance.