D. R. T. Read online

  "Will you continue to pilot your Phoenix Hawk?" he asked. She looked over her shoulder at him, but Priam was still looking straight ahead, talking to the air it seemed. Ria walked back to him and handed Priam his refilled glass.

  "Does that matter for the contract?" she asked.

  "No, not really. I was just wondering if you would stay with the 'Mech you know or move on to something else." Priam took a sip of his water and regarded Ria over the rim of the glass.

  "Well, since it doesn't matter, I'm sticking with my Phoenix Hawk. With all the travel I've had to do, I haven't had the chance to work with another class. At least not yet. Maybe I'll have the opportunity to train with one of the other 'Mechs when we get to wherever we're going."

  "Which brings us back to the purpose of my visit." Priam turned to squarely face Ria. "I offer a unique opportunity for the right unit. It is, in effect, two contracts in one. Each contract offers full pay and you are considered to be performing the first while fulfilling the second." Priam paused, but Ria decided to hear the entire proposal before commenting.

  "The primary contract is for garrison duty. The length of the contract is one year, renewable upon the mutual consent of both parties. The supplemental contract varies and can be finalized at the time of your arrival at your new base." Again Priam paused and again Ria held her peace.

  "Several points of the contract are nonnegotiable, and so experience has taught me it is better to cover these points in the first meeting. First, I may not discuss the supplemental contract with you, nor is it contingent upon the first. They are considered two concurrent contracts. Second, transportation may be provided by the mercenary unit, the Black Thorns in this case, but each DropShip or JumpShip will have a supplemental crew assigned by the employer. Third, there are no salvage rights for the garrison contract. Any equipment captured shall become the property of the employer. You are, of course, free to make whatever arrangements you are able to negotiate in the supplemental contract. Finally, all orders will be communicated to the mercenary unit via a liaison officer assigned by the employer." Priam eased back into the chair, giving Ria a chance to consider these points.

  She sat for several moments trying to understand the implications of what Priam had said. Her mind seemed to scan over hundreds of possibilities and ramifications, but she had never heard of accepting concurrent contracts, especially from the same employer. The minutes flew by as she considered the vague offer. Although numerous questions came to mind, only two really mattered at this point.

  "Are the Black Thorns guaranteed the supplemental contract if we accept the garrison contract?"

  Priam leaned forward and set his empty glass on the table. "There are always supplemental contracts available, and they are, I believe, quite fair to both the employer and the mercenary. You have only to negotiate the unfulfilled contract you select."

  "You say you are empowered to sign the garrison contract, correct?" Priam nodded. "Then I propose we send a message to my brother on Borghese. In the message we enclose the contract and the general information we've discussed. If he agrees to the deal, he can travel directly to the garrison world and avoid the additional expense of coming first to Outreach."

  Priam looked shocked for a moment, then slowly smiled. "That would be acceptable if we can come to an agreement through hyperpulse communications."

  Now Ria smiled too. The money the unit saved by avoiding the unnecessary trip would help the Thorns offset their maintenance expenses. If her brother trusted her enough to select the right recruits and deal with the garrison contract from this end, Ria could get the recruits to the garrison world and link up with the rest of the unit there.

  "Priam, I think you should buy me dinner, since you're about to become my boss. Tomorrow we can send a message to Jeremiah and see what he thinks of your offer."

  Priam rose slowly and gestured toward the door. "There is, I believe, a table reserved for us downstairs in the restaurant. It would be my pleasure to have you as my dinner companion this evening. Perhaps we can even send that message out later tonight."

  5

  Nadir Jump Point, Fort Loudin

  Federated Commonwealth

  28 November 3055

  With a slight shudder, the JumpShip and its cargo unfolded from itself and reappeared in normal space. Seemingly as one, the passengers and crew released their collective breath and returned to their duties.

  "I'm just saying, I don't think this was the best plan I've ever heard of, that's all." Antioch Bell crossed his arms and looked down at Rose from his perch atop the bunk. Bell in his bunk and Rose at his desk were both holding their places with hands and feet firmly grasping nearby straps. As was usual in space flight, there was no gravity. "We don't know enough about what we're going to find."

  "I agree with both points. This isn't the best plan, but it's the best offer we got and that makes it the least worst plan." Rose was on the verge of losing his patience with Antioch. The discussion that had started some twenty-five light years ago showed no signs of resolution, and the friction was beginning to wear Rose thin.

  "Least worst? What does that mean?" asked Bell.

  Rose rubbed his eyes and looked across the small cabin at the opposite wall, keeping Bell just on the edge of his vision. "It means," said Rose, "exactly what you think it means.

  "Right now we're really short on good options. We've got some of the most technically advanced gear this side of the Clan line. Damned impressive for a small unit like us, but we'll be forced to put most of the company in storage if we don't keep ahead of the maintenance curve with the OmniMechs." Rose held out a hand to forestall Bell.

  "I know you understand the problems with the Omnis, but that's my point. We didn't have them when we signed the contract with Borghese, but now we do. A garrison contract, even a good one, won't pay the upkeep. That's why we need a good contract as soon as possible. The contract Priam is offering is only a garrison, but there's virtually no downtime. We won't be going ten or twelve months without a contract. We'll be out of pocket two months, three at the most. That makes it a least worst choice. Since there are no other good options available, given our requirements, we'll take the one that offers the fewest problems."

  Rose finished and turned back to the status reports he'd been reading prior to the start of the discussion. Bell took the hint and floated off the bunk. Slapping the door release, he headed out into the small hallway.

  "Hey, Antioch, one more thing." Bell stopped just outside the door without turning back. "Will you please round up the troops for a meeting in the level two mess room? I'd like to talk to everyone at the same time and brief them on what's been going on." Bell turned back toward his commander, surprised to see that Rose was smiling.

  "The way I've got it figured, Antioch, if you're having such a problem with the situation, the rest of the crew must be running in circles trying to figure out what's going on. Let's put their fears to rest. How about fifteen minutes—and thanks."

  "For what?" asked Bell, genuinely surprised.

  "For helping me keep this whole thing in focus. We're a team and I have to make sure everybody knows that. Sure, I expect everyone to follow orders without question, but we both know I'll get better results if everybody understands the reasons for those orders."

  Bell grinned and gave the shadow of a salute. "See you then. You want me to call Captain McCloud, or will you handle that? She probably ought to be there." Bell's grin became even wider as he skipped out the doorway. There was no way Rose was going to let him tell McCloud about the meeting. Talking to McCloud was one thing Jeremiah Rose always handled personally.

  Waiting for the doorway to shut, Rose hit the intercom button and punched the bridge.

  "McCloud."

  "Good morning, Captain—or is it afternoon?" She laughed and Rose smiled even though he knew the Bristol had no visual intercom system.

  "It's the middle of the night as far as I can tell," she said. "Why are you still up?"

 
"No rest for the wicked ..."

  "... and the righteous don't need it," she finished. "Seriously, though, what's going on?"

  "I've just called an impromptu meeting in the lower mess room. Thought you'd like to join us for a tactical update."

  "Why do you military types always use such obscure terms? I assume 'tactical update' is the same as a status report?" she asked.

  "It is," Rose replied.

  "Well, then, why don't you just say so?"

  "I just did," he said, smiling at her muffled cry of frustration. "Meeting starts in less than fifteen. See you then." He tried to sound cheerful just to twist McCloud's tail.

  "I'll be there," she said. Rose reached for the intercom, catching something about "damn soldiers" before the connection went dead. He laughed in spite of himself.

  McCloud still considered herself a civilian, even though she worked very closely with the Black Thorns. As the owner of a DropShip—or part owner, as she put it (the bankers owned most of the Bristol)—Rachel McCloud was much more concerned with the cargo she was carrying than the political situation surrounding it.

  In this case the Black Thorns had hired the entire ship for the trip to their new base of operations. Although the Thorns wouldn't take up all the Bristol's available space, Rose wanted to be sure McCloud was well-paid for the trip. He knew she needed the money.

  In the Black Thorns' final battle with the Jade Falcons on Borghese, McCloud had been shot down while piloting a 'Mechbuster conventional fighter. Rachel had been lucky to survive the crash, but her wounds had landed her in the hospital for more than two months, and then several more months passed before she was able to take command of her DropShip. The loss of revenue from missed cargo runs had put McCloud in serious jeopardy of losing the Bristol to her creditors. Rose had helped her buy some time by hiring out the entire ship with the advance paid them by Priam, but she was still behind in the payments.

  Rose had offered on several occasions to include McCloud and the Bristol in any contract the Black Thorns received, but McCloud always refused. She was a civilian, by choice as well as circumstance, and she did not want to be part of any fighting unit. Only the strong personal bond she shared with Rose kept her from leaving the Black Thorns after she'd recovered from her recent injuries. Rose hated to admit it, but part of the reason he'd accepted Priam's offer was the advance money. It had let him keep McCloud with the Black Thorns for another few months.

  Rose picked up the last HPG message he'd received from Riannon and Priam and headed for the mess room. Finding himself the first to arrive, he triggered a cup of coffee into a dispenser bulb as the others gradually began to pile into the room. As he expected, most of the Thorns had been busy with various duties, so they came dressed in all manner of attire. Most wore simple duty uniforms, but Hawg and Esmeralda were wearing heavy coveralls, a sure sign they'd been working on one of the OmniMechs in the storage bays. When the last of Thorns arrived—and Rose considered McCloud a Black Thorn, no matter what she thought—he began the meeting.

  "All right, troops, this is strictly informal, so if you've got anything on your mind, speak up. I wanted to have a brief, and I stress the word brief, meeting on our current status." Rose smiled at McCloud, who rolled her eyes at the private joke. "As you all know, we've been negotiating with an individual named Priam for a rather unusual mercenary contract. I can now tell you that the contact has been approved and guaranteed by the Mercenary Review and Bonding Commission. We're now under contract for garrison duty."

  "We just received the sanction?" asked O'Shea. Badicus O'Shea was one of the most outspoken members of the unit, and so his question didn't surprise or rattle Rose.

  "Officially, yes. Priam and I completed the agreement before we lifted off from Borghese. That's how we got the advance money and that's the reason I was willing to start this trip. It just took the Commission a while to decide if this was on the up and up. It seems that negotiating the contract through ComStar, then commencing the contract before receiving a sanction was a little out of the ordinary." Rose shrugged his shoulders. "Who knew? In any event we're legit as far as they're concerned.

  "As of several minutes ago, we have arrived at the nadir jump point of Fort Loudin in the Federated Commonwealth. We'll be here a couple of days while the JumpShip recharges its batteries. Captain McCloud, anything to add?"

  "Not really," she replied. "The JumpShip captain reports that he's not scheduled to pick up any other DropShips, and the sails are being deployed to recharge, so all is going well." McCloud shrugged. It was all going by the book, which meant there really wasn't anything to tell. Everyone in the room had spent plenty of time waiting aboard DropShips while the host JumpShip recharged its solar batteries so it could transport them to the next jump station. There might be slight variations in the actual routine, but the pattern of jump, recharge, jump never seemed to change.

  "All right, then, here's something you don't know." Rose nodded to McCloud. As the DropShip captain, she was technically superior to Jeremiah Rose while he and his unit were aboard her ship. As a result, even though there were some things McCloud didn't know, she had been fully briefed on everything concerning the journey, including the destination and any special arrangements. "Our next jump will take us to Pilkhua in the Draconis Combine. From there, we make another series of jumps that will eventually bring us to the Kurita capital of Luthien." Rose paused to watch the expressions on the faces of his people.

  "Yes, we've been hired by the Snakes, but I guess we shouldn't call them that anymore since they're the ones signing our paycheck." The Black Thorns' overall reaction was exactly what Rose had expected: silent acceptance. It didn't really matter to them who they served, just as long as they were treated fairly.

  The Kuritas, whose symbol was the dragon, had not been popular among mercenaries for some time. It wasn't only that the late ruler of the Combine had issued a "death to mercenaries" order and had almost destroyed the legendary Wolf's Dragoons, but that the Kuritas were too unpredictable. In recent times, they'd viewed mercenaries as everything from murderers to a necessary evil to saviors. It was only within the last few years that the Combine had begun to permit mercenaries to even enter its space, let alone actively employ them.

  "Does this mean we're going to garrison Luthien?" asked Ajax, though Rose was certain the Capellan already knew the answer to the question. Ajax usually spoke only when necessary, and even then his words were at a premium. Rose looked at the man for several seconds, but the Capellan just sat there with a blank expression on his face. Someday, thought Rose, I'll figure out what's going on inside your head. Then we'll see how you know so much.

  "No, Ajax, we're not going to be stationed on Luthien." Rose looked around the room and let the silence build. All the warriors were doing their best to remain calm, but most were dying to know the exact nature of the new mission. Only McCloud seemed at ease, but, of course, she already knew the destination.

  "The planet we've been hired to garrison is called Wolcott. Ever hear of it?"

  "Jesus wept," said Badicus, looking as though he'd just been axed. The rest of the Thorns seemed equally surprised.

  "No wonder the advance is so big," Badicus went on. "We'll never survive to collect the rest."

  Rose laughed, but he could tell the rest of the Thorns were inclined to agree with Badicus. "Easy, people. It's not as bad as all that." Rose reached for another bulb of coffee and let the words sink in.

  "It's true that Wolcott is in the Clan occupation zone, but the planet is strictly off limits for invasions. When the Clans couldn't take the world, they were forced to pass it by. According to their code of honor, they're not allowed to try to capture it again. That means that Teddy Kurita and the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery can still use it as a semisafe forward base of operations."

  "Semisafe?" asked Esmeralda.

  "Right. According to Priam, who turns out to be very well-placed in the Kurita high command, the Clans can't invade Wolcott, but they ca
n besiege it and they can carry out raids. I admit I don't really understand how that's different from an attack, but I've been assured it is. According to the Clan honor code, they can make it very tough for Teddy and the boys to hold on to the planet, but they can't invade."

  "That means a full blockade, right?" asked Esmeralda.

  "That's the picture we got before we left Borghese," McCloud told her. "The Smoke Jaguars will attack anything that jumps into the system and will keep pounding until they either get too close to the planet or are driven off by DCMS defenders."

  "That means the inbound run will be rough," said Rose. "Which is the reason we're heading for Luthien.

  "Most of the Kurita effort to keep Wolcott supplied comes from Luthien. Snake—sorry, Kurita—JumpShips go from Luthien to Wolcott via a pirate point in the Wolcott system. The DropShips disengage and the JumpShip jumps out immediately. That means every JumpShip goes into Wolcott fully charged."

  The Black Thorns were impressed and it showed. It was rare for a JumpShip to have the necessary energy storage cells to perform two successive jumps. The cost of equipping the Wolcott JumpShip fleet with that equipment must be straining the Combine treasury to its limits.

  "We'll team up with Riannon and the new Black Thorns on Luthien," said Rose. "We'll also receive some Kurita specialists to supplement the DropShip crew. They're trained for the Wolcott run and will handle some of the preparation." Rose knew better than to look at McCloud while delivering this news. Although she had already been informed that the specialists were a condition of the contract, she didn't like the idea of having other DropShip pilots underfoot on her ship. A fact she'd made very clear to Rose, several times.

  "We jump to the Wolcott system, then burn our way to the planet. Once we land, we set up shop, and that's when the fun begins. While we're garrisoning Wolcott, we make a supplemental contract with the Kuritas." Rose paused to let that sink in. "Yeah, I thought that would raise a few eyebrows," he said.