BattleTech, page 5
Nadine considered him for a long moment. He’d always been a friend. At one point she’d considered dating him. In the end, he’d become someone she could trust. That had become abundantly true over the last couple of weeks. “When’d you get so smart?”
He snorted. “I’m living the same trauma you are. The only time I’m actually happy is when I’m on shift to monitor the radios, when I’m actively doing something. And that’s something I never thought I’d be happy about—waiting for your brother or the Ritza family to call—not that they ever seem to.”
“Not just them,” Nadine said. “Any one of my treasures who’d be willing to risk the open channel.”
James hmphed. “Why do you call your information network your ‘treasures’? It’s a little weird.”
As Nadine felt her skin heat up, she was glad Lyric wasn’t here to see her blush. It was the first time anyone asked her about her naming system for the network. Then again, she’d never made it a habit to talk about it before all this.
Trying to act casual, she shrugged. “Tiamat is my code name. It’s a dragon. My hoard is information. That makes my information gatherers part of my treasure. I had a system in place for their contact names. The female contacts got gem names. The male contacts got coin names. The city workers got metal names. It made sense to me.”
“Huh. Okay. Good for organization. I’d never remember who was who. Why Baphomet for Jasper?”
“Baphomet sounded cool.”
James closed his eyes again. “Oh. Okay. I thought there would be more to it. Thanks for telling me, though. I’d wondered ever since I found out about how and why you always had the information.”
She tilted her head. “When was that anyway?”
“Don’t know. Last year sometime.”
“You could’ve asked me, you know.”
He shook his head. “I doubt it. And don’t badger me on how I could’ve. I don’t want to fight with you to make you feel better. You need to find something else to keep you occupied. Or, you know, you could try to rest. It’s been a long-ass day. We’ve been up since way early.”
He was right on her itching for a fight. Nadine knew she shouldn’t take her anxiety out on him. “Nah. You sleep. You have your shift next. I’m gonna go see if the captain will humor me.”
“Be careful. He’s not like the academy cadre. He doesn’t know you or your past.”
“I think that’ll work in my favor.” Nadine turned away and grabbed handholds to pull herself out of the room. She looked over her shoulder. “Besides, what’s he gonna do? Toss me out an airlock?”
“Perhaps—if you give me enough reason to,” Captain Daniel Morse said as Nadine turned back around and found herself face-to-face with the man.
She gazed wide-eyed at the captain. “Uh. Hello, sir. I was just coming to see you.”
“Good. I was coming to get you. Follow me.” He flipped in midair and started pulling himself through the DropShip with ease.
She followed him with less grace and a lot more trepidation. On Emporia, she always knew the cadre could punish her, but she—and all the Sponsored cadets—were too valuable to lose. To date, no Sponsored cadet had been kicked out of the academy—that she knew of, anyway.
Captain Morse wasn’t the academy. He was active duty AFFS—Armed Forces of the Federated Suns. He also tended to be cranky, if recent experience was anything to go on.
Nadine had managed to get her way so far because of three reasons: One, the utter surprise of the cadets in escape pods after the DropShip got into Emporia’s space. Two, the Draconis Combine was attacking the planet in full view of everyone. Three, she’d been relatively competent, showing foresight, ingenuity, and skill with her shortwave-radio information network.
Now that the surprise had worn off and the Draconis Combine was not actively shelling the planet anymore, the active-duty military mindset was coming into play. Outside of the academy setting, the chain of command was an actual and real thing. There was no history between her and these AFFS soldiers. And, in general, Nadine knew her luck was running out.
She considered the tactics she needed to take now as she followed the captain into his small office. It was just off the bridge and had a separate, private ready room attached to it. Deciding silence was the better part of valor, she took as close to a parade-rest stance as she could, floating in the office with one foot hooked under a bar for that purpose and her hands crossed at her lower back.
Captain Morse spun and oriented himself to be on the same plane as her. “I’m going to come right to the point, Cadet Roux. I need you, as the senior-most Emporian cadet on this ship, to explain to me why I should risk the lives of everyone on this DropShip just to evac two people from the planet.”
Nadine felt like he had slapped her. “I don’t understand, sir.”
“Major Hanover wants justification for the dangerous operation. She is having second thoughts. There is a plague on the planet below. If this DropShip lands, we risk every member of my crew, as well as the witnesses to this unprovoked attack. Not to mention there is a very good chance that the Draconis Combine will attack the Endeavor’s Run if we stick around too long.”
“But—”
Captain Morse continued to speak over her attempted objection. “Major Hanover is considering whether the rescue of two civilians—nobles or not—is worth the possible death of her crew, as well as being responsible for possibly spreading an unknown contagion into Davion space. Explain to me in terms I can use to convince my superior officer that an evac operation is worth the risk to her ship, her crew, and the witnesses.”
The unexpected request felt too big, too heavy, to rest on her shoulders, but Nadine knew she was Emporia’s—and her brother’s—best shot at survival. Her mind spun with the implication of failing. She could not allow that to happen.
“Sir, at the very least, we must rescue the Ritza family. But we should also rescue the surviving academy cadets. If not everyone, all of the surviving MechWarriors and ’Mechs. They are a resource the Federated Suns cannot afford to let the enemy capture and use for their own gain. Sir, if we do nothing and allow Emporia to fall into the Snakes’ hands, we are opening the door to telling them that our border is undefended.”
He frowned. “Explain.”
She gestured to him. “You’re here. Now. Everyone knows it. I have no doubt Elijah has spread the word far and wide…and taken credit for the JumpShip Golden Sail being here to save the day. Imagine what everyone will think when it is known that a Davion ship arrived, watched what happened, then just left an agrarian border planet to fend for itself. No one is going to stop and think, ‘Oh, that’s fine.’ They’re going to think House Davion has abandoned its people.”
Shaking his head, Captain Morse said, “I’m not sure that’s correct.”
“It absolutely is. As long as Mason Ritza and his grandmother, the Dowager Countess Ritza, live, Emporia lives. Our motto is ‘By Blood, We Stand.’ It all comes down to this. So, yes, if you want to rescue Emporia, you must rescue Emporia’s heir and his family. If you want to send a message to the Draconis Combine as well as the rest of the Federated Suns, we must also rescue as many of the Ritza Academy cadets and the planet’s surviving ’Mechs as possible.”
Nadine trembled as she spoke. A mixture of fear and adrenaline held her. She could’ve screamed at him for the very idea of abandoning her home and her family for the lives of a shorthanded JumpShip and DropShip crew. If nothing else, getting her people off the planet would be enough.
She said as much. “Even if we are all infected by whatever is in the planet’s atmosphere, we must get the Ritzas off the planet. They are the most valuable thing we have. They are Emporia. Baron Zachary Vogel ordered me and Jasper to do this after we rescued him. To do anything and everything we could do to make sure the Ritzas lived. If House Ritza lives, then Emporia lives. I am following the orders of my baron, who had his own stellar career in the Federated Suns military. Mason Ritza’s life is more valuable than my own because it represents everything to Emporia. He must be rescued.”
Captain Morse gazed at her with his arms folded. His face was a thoughtful mask. After a long uncomfortable moment of scrutiny, he nodded. “I will give your words some thought and then I will pass my judgment on this up to my superior officer.”
She couldn’t stand the thought that he would deny her. “Please, Captain. My brother is one of those MechWarriors trying so hard to do their duty. He’s also following Baron Vogel’s orders. Our planet deserves to be protected. If not by might, then by deed.”
He softened a little. “I said I will consider your words. But sometimes I must do what is best for the greater good. Also, my major works in facts, not pleas. Perhaps something with you following your baron’s orders will assist me in my justification. Remember though, you are asking Major Hanover to risk the lives of those under her command. We need to know we have a good shot at success, as well as survival.”
“Yes, sir. As soon as Jasper has talked with academy cadets involved and with the Ritzas, we’ll have a better understanding of what is needed and our chances of success. Please, just give us the chance.”
“As I said, I will consider what you’ve told me.” Captain Morse gestured toward the door. “Dismissed.”
Nadine swallowed every emotion she could and saluted. She turned in a careful motion and concentrated on her movements to keep herself from screaming her rage and fear at him. A small part of her understood where he—and Major Hanover—were coming from. It was the same question, and lesson, of collateral damage Sergeant Major Vale Auger had given her before he left on his own mission and, while he succeeded in it, he was ultimately captured by the enemy. Only, this question of collateral damage was on a much, much bigger scale.
As she returned to the cadet quarters, she didn’t know what she was going to tell Lyric and James. Or if she should tell them about Captain Morse’s question at all.
Part of her hated having to question it. Part of her understood it all too well…and it made Captain Morse’s request for justification a little less offensive.
She couldn’t tell if that made the situation any better or not.
7
THE VENGALIL ESTATE
LIEGEDEN, EMPORIA
FEDERATED SUNS
17 APRIL 3150
2100 HOURS
After Hugh showed him where he was going to sleep for the night, Jasper took twenty minutes to himself. The room had once been a playroom. Now it housed six cadets for as long as it took to figure out a new permanent home—which might end up being this estate for the foreseeable future.
The room contained two cots, a couch, and three gym mats to sleep on. Currently, all of them were empty. The mismatched sleeping spots looked out of place in the relentlessly cheerful pastel room. Part of him wondered what it was like to grow up in a house that had a whole separate room for children to play in.
Standing by the window, Jasper looked out at the slowly darkening sky and the estate grounds spread beneath it. The damage to the backyard was more pronounced than the front. Probably because of the shelling he had done to the enemy tank that had killed Ethan and the Ostsol. Despite the destruction, all signs of the destroyed tank were gone. Uprooted trees punctuated the broken ground, and the outbuildings behind the manor house were collapsed enough that they were beyond immediate use.
Jasper turned away and looked at the shortwave radio backpack. It sat on the only unclaimed mat, along with the backpack of things he’d been able to retrieve from the destroyed dorm building. That was all he had left of his old life now. It wasn’t much, especially if he never saw Nadine again. Part of him still didn’t believe she was alive, even though he’d spoken to her, heard her voice.
Thinking of his sister reminded him he’d promised to hunt down Fynn Pohl and Benjamin Delamere to figure out the infantry’s part of Operation Barbican. This first meeting was just to gauge how many infantry cadets had survived, and how many would be willing to throw themselves right back into danger.
He figured all of them would if he asked in Nadine’s name—especially if it involved saving the Ritza heir. But some of the cadets needed to stay behind and protect the estate and the civilians and injured within. He picked up the shortwave radio pack and paused before slinging it over his back. Despite the relative safety of the Vengalil estate, he didn’t feel safe leaving the shortwave radio by itself. It was too important to the plan, and was his only assured connection to both his sister and the Ritza family.
As he stepped out of the makeshift dorm room, Fynn hailed him from down the hall. “Roux! There you are. Got time for us now?”
“If by ‘us,’ you mean the infantry cadets you’ve chosen for our next mission, yes, I was looking for you.” Jasper shifted the backpack from one shoulder to both. “But it needs to be private, yeah?”
Fynn nodded, his blue eyes twinkling. “We know how Nadine works. We got this. C’mon.”
Jasper followed the tall teenager down the open mezzanine hallway overlooking the manor house’s entryway. Delany was behind her desk and talking to a couple of cadets. He wondered when she’d get to sleep tonight. She’d taken on the duty of running the cadet side of the estate until an adult came along and told her she couldn’t do it. But he bet she’d only step down if she thought that adult was competent.
Fynn continued to the back half of the manor house and up to the third floor. This floor was filled with smaller rooms for a myriad of functions. There were guest quarters, two offices, a formal library, a sewing room, an art studio, and a music room. Those were just some of the rooms he’d been able to peek into. Most were empty. To Jasper, it looked like there were so many rooms in the manor house that the Vengalils had had to invent things to do in each.
It reminded him of the main Vogel estate, which was smaller than the Vogel country estate. He’d never actually explored all the rooms of the main estate, much less the country estate. He and Nadine had spent most of their time on Emporia at the Ritza Academy.
Just as Jasper’s mind was about to lead him down a dark path of thinking about how much they’d already lost, Fynn entered a sitting room decorated in gold and red, accented with blue. There were enough couches, chairs, and loveseats dotted about the medium-sized room to allow a platoon of cadets to sit in comfort and have at least four separate conversations going.
Fynn stopped at one of the smaller conversation areas that already had three cadets sitting there. Two female cadets sat on the couch. Benjamin sat on the loveseat. There were two open armchairs, but Fynn sat next to Benjamin and indicated the chair next to him. In the middle was a low wooden table.
As always, it felt weird to sit in a plush seat rather than in a wooden chair or on a bench. It was why Jasper rarely sat at the House Vogel monthly “family dinners” except when necessary. Even now, part of him worried he’d get the plush fabric dirty as he slung the shortwave pack off, set it next to the chair, and sat with care.
Fynn gestured to the brunette with brown eyes. “This is Amelia Voigt.” Then he indicated the raven-haired girl with blue eyes. “This is Questa Blanc. And you know Benjamin.” He gestured to Jasper. “Jasper Roux, Nadine’s brother.”
Neither girl said anything, but they nodded or waved at him. Both had the serious look of teenagers who had lost more than they’d ever thought possible. Jasper understood it all too well. Questa had to be the daughter of Baroness Esme Blanc, who had died when the Draconis Combine first attacked. Lady Esme had been a well-liked and respected noble. Her loss was felt as much as Lady Shannon’s had been.
“Well,” Benjamin said, “what have you got for us?”
Jasper paused, not exactly sure what he should say. He started with Noah’s advice. “I’m sure you’ve already heard, but if you haven’t, here it is officially…Nadine is alive. She and her team succeeded in their mission, if not their goal.”
“Which was?” Questa asked.
It was clear Questa was a Blooded cadet with the same sensibility as his sister: take charge, no bullshit. Don’t sugarcoat it. Details, and even more details. She looked Jasper straight in the face and did not look away when he returned the frank look. He glanced at Fynn. Fynn shrugged.
Jasper mimicked the shrug. “To make Emporia too much trouble for the Kuritans to bother with. Nadine made it into space, and she’s currently on a Davion DropShip named the Endeavor’s Run. Before you ask, I don’t have details. I don’t know what happened. I just know she and her team are still alive.”
Amelia leaned forward. “Are we being rescued? Is the military coming? Or evac ships?”
Jasper didn’t keep her in suspense. He shook his head. “We’re still on our own. We need to save ourselves. I’m sorry.”
There was a collective soft groan and shaking of heads. Jasper saw the lines of strain and disappointment on their faces.
Fynn nodded and leaned forward. “All right. All right. What’s the plan?” At his words, the other infantry cadets straightened up and paid attention.
“Short version? Rescuing Emporia by getting the heir apparent and Dowager Countess Ritza evaced off the planet before whatever is in the atmosphere can kill them or the Draconis Combine can capture them. Details are in the works.”
Questa smiled for the first time. “Mason’s still alive?”
“Yes. Still alive and currently safe. We save him, we save Emporia. I’m going to contact the Ritzas after this meeting, but there’s a level of complexity to Operation Barbican that is designed to fool anyone listening in on the unencrypted channel.”
Fynn nodded to the shortwave radio. “I thought that was encrypted.”
“It is,” Jasper said. “But calling up to the DropShip is not. It’s open and therefore suspect. However, I have a way to securely contact Nadine. We’re going to make real plans in private and false plans in the open.”
Questa handwaved all of that away. “What do you need us to do? What’s our part?”
“You, the infantry, need to get as many operational ground vehicles together as possible. Once we know where the Ritzas are, we will know where the DropShip can land. It’ll be at least a kilometer from point A to point B. We’re going to have an entire fleet of vehicles driving together to confuse the issue.” Jasper cheered up at the looks of interest and nods. “Our ’Mech lance will be there to protect and escort. We want them confused about who is in which vehicle and too busy dodging the ’Mechs to have time to figure it out.”
