Chapter 8

               Meridian Manufacturing Plant One

               New St Andrews IV, The Periphery

               Rimward of the Circinus Federation

               20 April 3077    

 

               As promised, the Hussars prepared to move out early the following morning for Meridian’s first manufacturing plant. 

               Marie worried about how their liasons were supposed to follow them to the plant, but it turned out her worries were unfounded.  A VTOL would be sent over to pick up Bower and Coghill, and get them to the factory in time for the Hussars to arrive.  Marie breathed a quiet sigh of relief that she wouldn’t have to ride with Coghill stuffed in behind her command chair. 

               Not that she got off with zero annoyance.  Her mother insisted on having dinner with her ahead of time, which she used to give Marie a long list of warnings about things Marie already knew: stay with your teammates, watch your heat, and above all else, remember that you’re still learning.  Marie definitely didn’t need to be reminded of that last part.  She swore Thomas’ barking was still echoing in her head after all the test runs.

               Rachel made Marie promise to stay in touch while they were separated.  Marie nodded and sullenly agreed, as she’d learned to do over the last few years.  She tried not to think about how she’d been hoping to get some time out before going on deployment.  One of the engineers around the ‘Mech bay had caught her eye, and it would have been good to get a drink with him and unwind before heading out, especially after the stressful week of preparation.  But family obligations trumped her own wants, just like they always had.

               Standing in the ‘Mech bay at the crack of dawn the next morning, Marie realized this would be the furthest she’d been from her mother in quite some time.  The thought of going out on her own, piloting a BattleMech out over a planet instead of being crammed into a dropship, sent a thrill through her.  She figured her mother would appreciate some time to herself, too.    

               The march from Kilrymont to the manufacturing plant was over four hundred kilometers long, and Caradin said there would be no stops along the way.  On foot it would have been a grueling trek, but riding in BattleMechs it was a day trip.  Marie packed some emergency food supplies, along with toilet paper – the Blossom had a field latrine in the back of the cockpit, like many ‘Mechs.  So prepared, she and the other Hussars set off at sunrise.

               Caradin took point, her Fleetfoot ‘Mech moving out ahead while Wolfgang followed along, with the Blossom and the Katamari bringing up the rear.  En route to the manufacturing plant Caradin gave them a briefing: they were heading for Meridian’s Manufacturing Plant One, which was finalizing a shipment of Arbiters for transport to the spaceport, where they would be loaded onto the waiting Sirocco for shipment off to buyers off on nearby planets.  That shipment had been delayed, as less than two days ago there had been a concerted attack on Manufacturing Plant Two, inflicting heavy losses on their security forces.  The Arbiter shipment had been secure at Plant One, but the attack had spooked Meridian enough that they had locked all three of their plants down.  The Hussars were being called in as additional reinforcements to stabilize the situation and escort the ‘Mech shipment to the spaceport.

               “The babysitting’s starting early,” Wolfgang grumbled over the commline.  “They sending their man along with us on this?”

               “I’m sure they are,” Caradin replied.  “These people make military equipment and they couldn’t keep pirates away from their own base.  They’re looking to get some good publicity right now.”

               Wolfgang snorted dimissively at that.  “They shouted to the whole Sphere that they’re ready for pirates, and then when someone took that as a challenge, they cry for help.  Yeah, I’ll bet they need us on their little ad campaign.”

               Marie said nothing to that.  She couldn’t understand why the Hussars were so against Bower joining them.  Sure, he was annoyingly enthusiastic, and she could guess the man was not as experienced as most of the MechWarriors, but how bad could he be?  With hostile forces out there, another ‘Mech would be a welcome addition to anyone going out on patrols.  She chose to stay quiet about it, figuring the Hussars just weren’t fond of outsiders.  There was no reason to remind them that she was still basically an outsider, too.

               After almost eight hours of marching, they were finally coming up on the manufacturing plant.  Marie quietly breathed a sigh of relief as the plant appeared on her sensors.  Her back was stiff and her head was throbbing; Caradin had been serious when she’d said they would not be stopping along the way.  Marie was also exhausted from obsessively watching her sensor feeds for any trace of trouble.  Caradin had said that pirates would be hesitant to get near BattleMechs, but Marie wondered if the pirates knew she felt the same way about them right now.

               The manufacturing facility itself was a blocky structure built into a mountainside.  It looked almost peaceful from a distance, but as they approached the sensors began to pick up power plants.  A set of bay doors opened in the side of the plant as the Hussars drew close.

               “Form up Hussars, the welcoming committee’s here,” Caradin warned from her position far in advance of their column.  As she said this, a ‘Mech lumbered out of the doors.

               It was an imposing form: a chunky, apelike design with thick armor plates on the shoulders bracketing a narrow cockpit.  Its humanoid body was dotted everywhere with spikes, and the ‘Mech’s entire right arm was an enormous gun barrel.  It leveled that gun directly at Fleetfoot as the Hussars approached.

               Marie’s hands twitched on the controls, a targeting reticule appearing over the ‘Mech as the Blossom read her intentions through the neurohelmet.  “Lieutenant?” she asked hesitantly.

               “Hold fire, Blossom!” Thomas snapped.  “Cool your guns right now!”

               “Take a breath, McCloud,” Caradin added more calmly.  “Look closer.  See the camera crew?” 

               Marie blinked, looking closer.  As the display zoomed in, she spotted a holo crew on the ground near the hangar, their lenses aimed up at the ‘Mechs.  On top of that, she could pick out the specks of unmanned camera drones flying around the entrance to the factory.  Even as Marie took that in, the other ‘Mech’s external speakers came to life.

               “Good ter be seein’ ye, lads and lassies!” Bower’s voice boomed out over the speakers, making Marie jump in her seat.  “Yer right on time!  Welcome ter our home base!”

               Marie glanced back down at the sensors, seeing the Blossom’s computer had finally made sense of the other ‘Mech’s IFF signature and labeled it Arbiter.

               “All right, I’m sold,” Marie said half to herself.  “If I were a pirate, I would not want to face that thing.”

               “Too bad for these guys they’re up against people who actually have some guts,” Wolfgang said back to her.  “And their ‘best test pilot’ is busy announcing to the whole planet where he is.”

               “A clever warrior knows how to draw attention to himself,” Hoshino quipped.

               “So do the dumb ones,” Wolfgang shot back.

               “Quiet,” Caradin snapped at them.  “Fall in, Hussars.  We’re parking here for four hours, then we’re heading back out for this escort mission.  I want final checks on all the machines before then.”

               Marie grimaced at the thought of just four hours’ rest, especially if she was going to spend at least two of those hours checking all the Blossom’s systems for the hundredth time.  At the moment she just wanted to just go to bed.  Check that, she thought as her stomach rumbled.  First she wanted to eat something with more flavor than the military MRE’s she’d brought along.  Then she wanted to go to bed.

               The Arbiter turned around and headed back through the bay doors it had come from.  They followed behind the ‘Mech, entering into a ‘Mech bay inside the doors.  They were directed over to where a set of hangars were sitting open for them.  Once the Blossom was secure, Marie took a moment to change back into her uniform before exiting her cockpit. 

               Outside, she saw the other Hussars in various states of getting dressed, apparently preferring not to get changed in the cramped ‘Mech cockpits.  As they were straightening up their uniforms an aide appeared, saying the management board wanted to talk to Caradin. 

               “Not a surprise,” Caradin replied.  “Sergeant, make sure everything here is in order.  I’ll go take care of this.”  She tugged her uniform straight and had turned to follow the aide when she stopped, looking thoughtful for a moment.  “McCloud, come along,” she said.

               Marie gave her a confused look.  “Sir?  I was going to get the Blossom in order…”

               “Thomas’ll handle it.  Come on,” she said, beckoning.

               Marie hesitated a moment, glancing back at the other Hussars who were looking at her expectantly.  Swallowing her nervousness she followed along after Caradin.

               “I hate going to these things alone,” Caradin whispered in explanation.  “The client’s always got something new to bitch at me about over things they don’t understand.  And they always show up with a whole entourage, so they’ve got me outnumbered.”

               “Why not bring Thomas, then?” Marie whispered back.

               “I need him supervising the ‘Mechs,” Caradin answered.  “And you were asking smart questions at the last one of these.  Figured you should see more of how the sausage is made in this business.”  She flashed Marie a supportive smile at that. 

               "Sounds good,” Marie said with a nod.  “What should I expect?”

               “They’re going to complain a lot, they always do.  And there’s going to be a ‘one more thing,’ moment.  They’ll want to change the contract terms over something.  I’ll handle them, you just stay quiet and remember you’re more important than any of the people we’re about to see.  “But remember you are under my command.  When I give an order in front of a client, your answer needs to be ‘yes sir.’  Meridian wants to see I’m in control and have a plan.  It’s a bad look for my people to be questioning my instructions.  Even worse than aiming lasers at our liason,” she added with a raised eyebrow.

               “A…all right,” Marie said.  “Yes, sir,” she corrected.  “Sorry about that, I didn’t know what was happening.”

               Caradin nodded briefly in response, but had already turned her attention to Bower, who had climbed out of the Arbiter in an adjoining hangar, near the huge flatbed trucks holding the other four Arbiters being shipped.  Bower was still in his kilt, and was readjusting his bonnet hat as his feet hit the catwalk outside of the ‘Mech.  Marie spotted the holo crew on the catwalk with him taking pictures, and suddenly she wished she’d had more time to straighten up before getting out of the Blossom.  Her wrinkled clothes and ashen face looked especially terrible next to Caradin, who somehow looked like she’d had time to press her uniform and get made up before coming out into the public eye.

               The aide led Marie and Caradin out of the ‘Mech bay and to a conference room.  Bower jogged to catch up to them after leaving the holo crew behind. 

               “Damn glad ter be seein’ ye here,” Bower said.  “There’s plenty of arse ter kick oot there.”

               “Sounds like it,” Caradin replied politely.  “Let’s find out how much.”

               Bower held the door for Caradin and Marie before following them in.  Inside was a wide wooden conference table seating Coghill and a few other sour-looking people in suits.  A projector on the wall displayed a panel of other people who were video-calling in remotely.  Counting a dozen faces in all, Marie understood what Caradin meant about being outnumbered at these meetings.

               Bower dropped into a chair near Coghill, while Caradin took a position standing at the end of the table, gesturing for Marie to stand at the wall behind her.

               “First, we’re glad you could come so promptly,” a large man at the head of the table said.  “I’m Creighton Napier, Chief of production for this plant.”  He gestured to a woman at his left.  “This is – ”

               “Why don’t we skip the introductions,” Caradin interrupted.  “From what I understand time is of the essence here.  We were lucky enough to get on-planet a few days ahead of schedule, so let’s not waste that.  Now, you’ve already had a strike on your plant?”

               Napier nodded at that.  “Straight to business, I can appreciate that.  Yes, we had a strike on Plant Two.  Our security teams moved out to engage them, but they were repulsed.  We lost a few truckloads of ‘Mech components from the factory, along with several security units.”

               “Including some of your Arbiters, I’m guessing?” Caradin asked. 

               The man clenched his jaw and nodded.  “We lost two of the units we had set aside for testing and security purposes.” 

               “Then your security teams gave them what they came for.”  She went quiet for a heartbeat, letting that sink in.  “What can you tell me about the raiding force?  Composition?  Tactics?”

               Napier nodded at the wall of video callers.  One of the projected faces cleared his throat.  “Yes, Gaven Wenley, head of security at Plant Two,” he said in introduction.  “There was an initial strike by a lance of light BattleMechs.  Our security force moved out to engage them, and drove their forces back.  They retreated,” he said defensively.

               “But…?” Caradin asked.

               Wenley hesitated.  “When my security team gave chase, a unit of heavier BattleMechs engaged from cover in the trees,” he admitted.  “They flanked us.”

               “They tricked you into overextending,” Caradin said.  “They drew you into a killbox where they could fire from cover, all for the cost of a couple damaged ‘Mechs, which I’m guessing were still able to limp away.”  At the silence this brought on, Caradin leaned forward, putting both hands on the table and sweeping her gaze over the suited officials.  “Then I got here just in time,” she said evenly.  “Like I told Coghill when we first got here, you’re not just paying for my unit’s machinery, you’re paying for our experience.  I’ve been leading a light, high-mobility unit for over a decade now, and I can already tell these raiders are familiar with the basics of asymmetric warfare.  Right now you’re stuck trying to guess at what move to make, and these raiders know it.  So you need to let my people get to work, so we can actually go out and find these pirates and take the fight to them.”

               Marie felt a warm bloom of pride in her chest at Caradin’s words.  The woman’s voice was confident and strong, without a hint of hesitation or doubt.  She glanced over the other people at the table, who looked similarly impressed at Caradin’s speech.

               “I like that,” Coghill said.  He looked at Bower.  “Did you get all that?  Think you could manage her delivery?”

               “Aye, I’ll give it a shot,” Bower said with a little shrug.  “Soon as we’re done here, git the cameras rea’y.”

               Caradin shot Bower a withering look.  “I’m not your pitch lady.  Do whatever you want with your marketing team to sell your ‘Mech.  Just remember why you had to call me in here.  You need to stay out of my way and let my people work.”

               “And what’s that gotten us so far?” another man at the table demanded.  “We’re paying you people good money, and so far all you’ve done is take up space in our ‘Mech bays and run laps around the spaceport.  You weren’t able to stop an attack on our Plant!  If not for our own security team we’d have lost a whole shipment!”

               Caradin slowly turned her head to look at him, her eyes steely.  “Don’t criticize my people for your own mistakes,” she said coldly.  “We had repairs to make and new blood to get up to speed.  If we’d raced here without preparing, we couldn’t have helped you.”  She looked away from him, back to Napier.  “I choose to see this attack as a positive.  The pirates know my people are on-planet and they don’t have a way off until their dropship comes back.  It was a risky move to strike one of your plants directly.  That means they’re nervous.  They know they’re in trouble with my team here.”

               Napier nodded at that.  “Agreed.  Now, the first step of your response is to figure out what’s out there, yes?”  Caradin nodded at that.  “We’ll see you’re provided with all the sensor data we’ve gathered so far.  Your team can start your scouting patrols as soon as your ‘Mechs are ready.  With one caveat,” he said, raising a finger.

               One more thing, Marie thought to herself.

               Caradin gave him an irritated stare for a few seconds before nodding at him.  “Which is?” she asked icily.

               “Coghill let me know the basics of your plan.  Preemptive sweeps are a good step.  But we’ve moved security units off of Plant 1 to reinforce Plant 2 after the attack.  At the moment Plant 1 is fully committed to fulfilling the orders from our customers, so after this shipment of Arbiters leaves, we will be vulnerable here,” he said, pointing down at the table for emphasis.  “That’s not tenable.  Plant 1 assembles our finished products, which makes it a very tempting target for these pirates.  So until we get a chance to rebuild our security forces here, I have to ask you leave some forces behind to help manage our defenses.”

               Caradin raised one eyebrow skeptically.  “It sounds like there’s a minimum of two lances out there, and I’ve only got one.  You want me to handicap myself even more?”

               “We have to keep our workers safe and our factories operational, or else running off the pirates will be for nothing,” Napier replied.

               Caradin considered that, drumming her fingers on the table as she thought.  Marie could see her weighing the options.  Two-to-one odds were hardly favorable.  But there was a lot of area to cover, too.  The Hussars were getting ready to play a game of hide-and-seek with missiles and lasers over a swath of open wilderness hundreds of square kilometers in size.  And if anyone slipped past them, the client was the one who would take the hit.

               “All right,” Caradin finally agreed.  “The original contract was to review and coordinate your defense force anyway, so we can give you a review before we head out.”

               Napier nodded.  “That’s a good start, but we still need hardware on-site.  I was thinking that Phoenix Hawk could stay on guard duty here.  We’ve been getting initial feedback from your test runs around the spaceport.  You’re all getting some great reactions, but the best numbers by far are for that one.  People love things that fly,” he said, spreading his hands.  “On top of that most people have never seen a BattleMech that changes shape.  Amateur holos of its landing have gotten almost as many eyeballs as our last ad campaign.”

               “You don’t make a ‘Mech like the Blossom,” Marie protested.  “No one does.”

               Caradin gave her a sharp look at that outburst before turning her attention back to Napier.  “More importantly, you’re asking for a ‘Mech to help with defense, but you just told me you want it because it gets views.  Pilot McCloud has better things to do than pose for holos.  You realize you’re under a real threat, right?  If the plant gets attacked while your crew’s out filming her, McCloud will be handicapped trying not to step on any of your own people.”

               Marie clenched her jaw at the implication, but said nothing.  Meanwhile, Napier held up a hand placatingly.  “Trust me, your Pilot will be working guard duty full-time.  We aren’t asking her to pose for anything.  Our team will only shoot a few holos of the ‘Mech in operation for some B-roll.  And our field camera crews exclusively use unmanned drones to capture footage.  If combat breaks out, your Pilot won’t have to worry about stepping on anyone.  Our people will be safe behind these walls,” he said, gesturing at the room around them.

               “And yer own field team will nae be understaffed a’all,” Bower added on.  “I’ll be deployin’ with ye.”

               Caradin remained silent for another few seconds.  Finally she turned to meet Marie’s eyes.  “Pilot, think you can handle defensive patrols for a while?” 

               Marie’s heart sank as she saw not just Caradin, but everyone in the room looking at her expectantly.  “Yes, sir,” she answered quietly. 

               Caradin nodded at her and looked back to Napier.  “Well, I can tell you McCloud’s a gifted pilot.  You’ll be safe in her hands.  And I’ll leave my XO here too, to help coordinate and send me any new intel from your Plants.  But, once I get so much as a mild suspicion about where these raiding teams are based, I’m pulling McCloud back over to my team.  And you,” she went on, turning her attention to Bower, “You have my word we will be the model of professionalism out in the field, but you have to meet us halfway.  We will keep moving.  Any posturing or marketing routines wait until I say we’ve got time for them.  Sound fair?”

               Bower stood up, his back straight and his chin high.  He at least looked the part of a proud military man as he gave Caradin a sharp salute.  Marie barely even registered this gesture, though.  She couldn’t help feeling like she’d just been replaced before she’d even gotten started. 

 

*End of Chapter 8*

 

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Rachel McCloud and the Bristol are creations of James Long, who among other things wrote Main Event and DRT for the Battletech universe.

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