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  "COMMAND TWO, SWEEP THE REAR!"

  "Anything coming up from behind?" bellowed Rose.

  "Affirmative," Riannon reported. "I've got another star moving on our six. They'll be within range in the next five minutes."

  Rose focused on the fighting in front of him and watched as Hawg and an ambushing Shadow Hawk crumpled into the boulders. Coolant dripped like blood over the boulder that failed to provide cover for the fallen 'Mech. A flight of long-range missiles streaked past Rose, and he involuntarily flinched as they exploded behind him. He scanned for the attacker, but the firer had already ducked behind the protection of the boulders.

  An enemy 'Mech popped up from cover and fired at Esmeralda. As the Clanner's shot slammed into the Mad Cat, it in turn was skewered by return fire from five different Black Thorn 'Mechs. The Clan 'Mech fell backward behind the boulders, but Rose knew the shots had been fatal.

  "One Cat," said Hawg, "D.R.T."

  None of the Black Thorns responded to the cryptic announcement. After a moment of silence, Hawg came back on the channel. "Dead right there."

  BATTLETECH

  LE5364

  D.R.T.

  James D. Long

  ROC

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Books USA Inc., 375 Hudson Street,

  New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.

  Penguin Books Ltd, 27 Wrights Lane,

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  Penguin Books Australia Ltd, Ringwood,

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  Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2 Penguin Books (N.Z.) Ltd, 182-190 Wairau Road, Auckland 10, New Zealand

  Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England

  Published by Roc, an imprint of Dutton Signet a division of Penguin Books USA Inc.

  First Printing, May, 1994

  10987654321

  Series Editor Donna Ippolito Cover Boris Vallejo Interior illustrations: Rick Harris Mechanical drawings: FASA Art Staff

  Copyright © FASA, 1994 All rights reserved

  REGISTERED TRADEMARK MARCA REGISTRADA

  BATTLETECH, FASA, and the distinctive BATTLETECH and FASA logos are trademarks of the FASA Corporation, 1100 W. Cermak, Suite B305, Chicago, Illinois, 60608.

  Printed in the United States of America

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  If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as "unsold and destroyed" to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this "stripped book."

  Prologue

  It is the year 3057. Mankind inhabits the stars, but has taken his warlike nature with him. The thousands of human-occupied worlds of the Inner Sphere were once bound together in a glorious, prosperous Star League. With the fall of the League in 2781, a Dark Age descended as each of the five surviving star empires warred for dominion.

  For almost three centuries, the five Successor Lords fought among themselves in the endless conflict that became known as the Succession Wars. Millions died and a few worlds changed hands, but for all the fighting and dying, little changed until 3049, when the fierce warriors known as the Clans invaded the Inner Sphere.

  With their superior war machines and superhuman infantry, these warrior descendants of the legendary Aleksandr Kerensky's vanished Star League Army came to reclaim the Inner Sphere. For three years, the Clans were unstoppable, until the Com Guards battled and bested them on the world of Tukayyid. Their victory bought the Successor States a fifteen-year truce, paid for with countless lives.

  Despite the truce, both sides continue to attempt daring raids and other dangerous actions in hopes of tipping the balance even before the day of reckoning fifteen years hence. Once more, the Inner Sphere trembles on the edge of apocalypse.

  This time, no one may survive.

  1

  Houston

  Borghese, Federated Commonwealth

  1 October 3056

  The high-pitched trill of laser fire was briefly accentuated by the sharp retort of a heavy pistol. Esmeralda continued her journey down the underground passage toward the double doors at the end of the hall. Pausing briefly at the doors, she could just make out a trio of male voices from within the room.

  "Bah!" barked the biggest of the men as Esmeralda entered. 'They'd never have us." He accentuated his point with a single pistol shot down the length of the firing room. Even though they were underground, the retort was no louder than it would have been under the clear blue sky. Their Borghesian employers had apparently gotten around to installing the additional layer of sound baffling that Captain Rose had requested. Esmeralda glanced down the firing range at the plastic target sheet. As usual, Hawg's aim with the oversized Sternsnacht was perfect. A single hole now gaped over the heart of the target, a shot that would have been an instant kill even against someone wearing light body armor.

  "And I'd not have them, either, if it came to that." Jeremiah Rose looked over at Esmeralda and nodded briefly. Esmeralda touched her index finger to the side of her head, but said nothing. Rose arced an eyebrow in question, but didn't voice it. Instead he turned back toward the barrel-chested Hawg.

  "You'd have a hard time convincing me anybody is crazier than Sun Tzu, but if there is someone, it's probably Aziz. She went 'round the bend even before I left the Com Guards, and we all know that's been a while." Though still speaking to Hawg, Rose had turned down-range and was holding his beloved laser at arm's length.

  "From what I hear, the Word of Blake faction has found safe haven in the Free Worlds League. But that's not so surprising, given that Thomas Marik is a former ComStar adept." Rose aimed and pulled the trigger three times in rapid succession. The laser burned a single hole in the center of the target's forehead, but made not a sound. Esmeralda still marveled at the pistol even though she'd seen it fired often enough. It might look like any other weapon of its type, but it was obviously much more.

  The well-worn plastic grip was too smooth to have been worn away by a single user, even if the pistol had been fired daily. At first glance it looked like a Nakjama pistol, which, on the surface, was not particularly remarkable. Jeremiah Rose had, after all, been stationed in Luthien during his service with the Com Guards, and the Nakjama was the standard sidearm of Kurita Mech Warriors.

  Appearances, however, were deceiving. Subtle but important differences separated the pistol in Rose's hand from the Nakjama. Indeed, Rose had told them that the Nakjama was based on his pistol, not the other way around. For one thing, the barrel of this model was almost a millimeter wider in diameter. That meant a larger alignment crystal, which translated into more power. The range was also much greater—not that range was ever a factor with lasers. Most people, even MechWarriors, couldn't see as far as a laser pistol could shoot, and forget holding the pistol steady enough to hit a target at extreme range. What made the pistol special was what it didn't do.

  Rose's laser made not a sound when fired. Esmeralda had listened carefully every time she'd been near its firing, and had heard neither the familiar hum of capacitors nor the distinctive trilling discharge. All that happened with Rose's pistol was silence and a brief flash of red light. The eye couldn't re
ally register the flash of a laser, but the afterimage was briefly burned into the cornea, providing the illusion of sight.

  Rose slowly lowered the pistol and turned back to Hawg. "Thomas Marik might still be in charge in the Free Worlds League, but we can't count on that lasting for the length of a contract. The next House we sign with has got to be able to provide some stability, and Marik still doesn't have that."

  "But the League has been touched by the Clan invasion," argued Hawg.

  Rose nodded. 'True enough, but they've still had their share of problems, and the marriage of Ms Marik and Sun Tzu isn't going to make their realm any more stable."

  "I concur," put in the third man, who'd been silent until now. Esmeralda noticed that Antioch Bell was frowning instead of wearing his usual grin as he rubbed his chin reflectively. "We shouldn't consider Marik as a potential employer unless we're willing to accept Sun Tzu as our potential commander—and if anything happened to Thomas, that's what he'd be. I personally don't believe he's as crazy as everyone seems to think, but it does look like he only uses people for his own ends. I'd hate to see the Black Thorns become just another one of his pawns."

  Esmeralda nodded in unison with Rose and Hawg. She was glad House Marik was being ruled out as a potential employer.

  "All right, then," continued Hawg. "I'll prove Mom didn't raise me a fool, and also eliminate St. Ives, Tikonov, and any other government along the Periphery. There's no way they can afford us, and they're not likely to be fighting the Clans anyway." Hawg raised the Sternsnacht and fired at the target. Rose's mark disappeared beneath the larger hole of the slug-thrower.

  "Agreed," said Rose. "I founded the Black Thorns to fight the Clans, and that's what we're going to do. That leaves us with the Federated Commonwealth, who's currently signing the check, and the Draconis Combine." Rose nodded toward Antioch Bell and glanced down the range. Bell shook himself loose from his thoughts and reached for his holster. Firing from the belt, he punched a hole in the target's right eye, his Sunbeam laser making the familiar noises Esmeralda associated with laser fire. When she looked from the target to Bell again, the pistol was already back in the holster.

  "What about Rasalhague?" Hawg and Bell turned toward Esmeralda as she spoke. "They're not out of it yet, despite the losses they've suffered, and ComStar is backing their efforts."

  "Right you are," said Bell, "but the leadership of Rasalhague is totally demoralized. The people are still willing to fight, but the rulers aren't willing to lead. Ever since their precious Prince Ragnar refused to be rescued from the Clans, they've been in a stupor."

  "They might offer a high-risk garrison contract," Esmeralda said.

  "You're both right," countered Rose. "We could probably get the work, but I don't think it would be work worth having. Any garrison duty, even high-risk, would pay too little. We've got to go on the offensive, and that means signing on with somebody who has the C-bills to take this fight to the Clans ..."

  "And that means the F-C or Kurita," finished Hawg. "Both of them are on the rebound and ready to fight." Hawg fired twice down the range, matching Bell's shot with his first and opening a hole in the left eye with his second.

  "You're assuming we can even get on with one of the Houses, Hawg," said Esmeralda. "What if we can't? We ought to be keeping our eyes open for another local contract like the one we're finishing now."

  "Esmeralda's right again," said Rose. "We're riding some hot tech, but we can't assume that makes us marketable. The F-C or Kurita make the most sense, but neither one is ideal. I'd prefer the Kuritas, but that's personal taste."

  "The Snakes? Why them? You're not still mad at the F-C for what they did to your family?" Bell sounded confused and somewhat hurt by Rose's rejection of the Federated Commonwealth. As a past member of the Federated Commonwealth Armed Forces, he retained more than a little pride in his former military. Rose titled his head and squinted slightly, an expression Esmeralda knew meant he was carefully considering his next words.

  Jeremiah Rose had been born the eldest son of a MechWarrior member of the Northwind Highlanders, one of the oldest and most respected mercenary units in the Inner Sphere. In the debacle that was the War of 3039, the Highlanders, fighting for Prince Hanse Davion, had attacked several worlds along the Davion-Kurita border. It should have been a good plan, but Theodore Kurita's counterassault was even better; as a result the Combine succeeded in winning back some of the worlds they'd previously lost to Davion. Rose's mother was killed in the fighting, and Rose made no bones about the fact that he blamed Hanse Davion for his mother's death. His anger had created a rift between Rose and his father that eventually led the younger Rose to abandon the Highlanders and join Com Guard, the military arm of ComStar.

  "No, it's got more to do with the politics of the situation," Rose said, but saw that Bell didn't seem convinced. "Here we've got the biggest threat the Inner Sphere has seen since Stephen Amaris practically sitting on our doorstep, and the Federated Commonwealth is still trying to decide if it likes being one big, happy family. The new boys are a perfect example."

  Esmeralda knew Rose was referring to the Gray Death Legion. The members of that crack mercenary unit would probably have been furious to hear themselves being referred to so offhandedly, but Esmeralda already knew where Rose was going with his comment and agreed wholeheartedly.

  "Ever notice how closely the Gray Death is tied to Tharkad and the Steiner family?" she said. "Maybe it's Victor Davion whose officially giving them their orders, but they still consider themselves a Steiner unit from the Lyran Commonwealth. That's where the Gray Death Legion began even before there was a Federated Commonwealth, and they're still tied to that past.

  "And the F-C's far from being one big, happy family. Most of the ordinary people—and that includes people in the military—still think of themselves as being loyal to either Davion or Steiner. They work together and fight together, but they don't see eye-to-eye on many important things."

  "Such as?" asked Bell.

  "The Clans, for one," said Rose. "The Steiner side of the military has done a lot of the fighting and dying, and all the planets lost to the Clans have been on the Steiner side of the FedCom border. The Lyrans wonder why their Davion allies aren't helping more, while people on Davion worlds wonder why they have to help at all."

  "It's a mess," Rose agreed quietly, his eyes turned down-range as he squeezed the trigger of his pistol. 'The entire Inner Sphere is mired in a web of politics."

  "Except Kurita," said Bell.

  "No, Antioch, I suspect the Draconis Combine is as bad as the rest when it comes to playing politics, but they've got two important advantages the others lack." Rose didn't look at his friend as he spoke, but continued to send shot after silent shot down the firing range.

  "First," he said, "except for what the Combine has lost to the Clans, they've maintained a fairly stable border. And the ordinary Kurita people stand behind Theodore Kurita in his efforts to beat back the Clan threat. I think we can safely assume that Teddy will continue to direct his entire war effort at stopping the Clans, not in looking for ways to attack the Federated Commonwealth.

  "Second, the Kuritas have the most able military leader in the Inner Sphere. Theodore Kurita has proved that time and again. Unlike Victor Davion, who is still a boy, or Thomas Marik, who is, at best, a religious zealot, Teddy is a Mech-Warrior first, politician second. I think we can count on that"

  "But the Snakes have a terrible reputation for how they treat mercenaries," put in Bell. Rose nodded and finally turned away from the firing range. In the time they'd been speaking, he'd fired two dozen times at the target outline, burning through the torso, head and neck. He popped the energy cell from his pistol and replaced it with a fresh one from his belt before holstering the weapon.

  "Quite true, but I think that attitude has changed, or, at least, is changing."

  "Why?" asked Hawg.

  "Well, ever since Wolf's Dragoons and the Kell Hounds helped save the entire planet of Luth
ien from a Clan invasion, the general population seems to look upon mercenaries as, well, less unacceptable. Teddy has never had a problem hiring mercs, and the reports from Outreach indicate that the Snakes are offering decent terms and the widest range of contracts."

  Esmeralda cringed at the mention of Outreach, and Rose asked, "Something wrong?"

  "That's the reason I came down here in the first place. I got so caught up in the discussion that I forgot to deliver a message from Ajax." Esmeraldo checked her chronometer. "Ria arrived on Outreach approximately thirty-six hours ago and has registered us with the Mercenary Review and Bonding Commission. She has started to look for available contracts, but is wondering if there's anything particular she needs to know."

  Rose glanced around the room. With the exception of Ajax, the recon lance commander, and his sister Riannon Rose, who served as the executive officer of the Black Thorns, all the leaders of the mercenary unit were assembled in the firing room. It was true that the unit roster listed neither Hawg nor Bell as officers, but their experience and devotion to the Black Thorns had earned them a voice at impromptu meetings such as this one.

  "Well, unless I've completely misunderstood our current discussion, we're looking for a chance to go on the offensive." He looked around the room at the trio of nodding heads. "She should probably start with the Draconis Combine, then go to the Federated Commonwealth." Rose checked the room again. Esmeralda and Hawg were already nodding agreement, with Bell joining in after a moment.

  "Then it's settled. If Teddy will have us, he's the first choice. If he won't, we'll have to see what we can get."

  "He'll have us," said Esmeralda.

  "Oh, really?" asked Bell. "And how can you be so sure?"

  "If everything we've heard about him is true, Theodore Kurita is too smart not to hire a unit as good as the Black Thorns."

  2

  Harlech, Outreach