Chapter 19

Kilrymont

New St Andrews IV, The Periphery

Rimward of the Circinus Federation

8 June 3077

 

               Marie’s intuition turned out to be right.  The Wolverine’s comm gear was still functional, even if it took a full day of work to get the external power lines hooked up and crack the encryption on the system.  As soon as the comm gear powered up it immediately connected with an external network.  The connection was severed almost immediately after it was established, but it was still enough to get a flash of data, highlighting a trio of ‘Mechs a hundred kilometers from the Plant.  Marie uploaded the location to Fleetfoot, and the hunt was on.  Caradin called all the Hussars back, telling them to get ready to move out.  The lieutenant’s enthusiasm quickly dimmed when Marie had to report that Katamari and Wolf were both still in need of repairs.

               Caradin had ordered them to get their machines moving any way they could.  As soon as the ‘Mechs were mobile Caradin had them move out to the capital city of Kilrymont.  They shipped out so quickly that Marie didn’t have time to get the Chameleon running.  It was necessary, Caradin said.  The Kilrymont spaceport had better repair facilities than Meridian’s Plant Two, and it would put them in striking distance of the pirate camp.

               Marie worked overtime getting the ‘Mechs ready.  She had just managed to replace Wolf’s arm with one off an Arbiter when word came in that the Hussars were not being deployed against the pirates, but rather as backup to Meridian’s own security force, who were getting ready to strike the pirates themselves.

               The Hussars had had a mixed reaction to the news.  Wolfgang and Hoshino had looked amused that Meridian thought they were up to pirate-busting on their own.  Caradin and Thomas had looked angry, likely suspecting another attempt to cheat the Hussars out of payment.

               For her part, Marie quietly felt relieved at not having to ride back into battle.  The Hussars were only barely back in fighting shape.  Even after all her work, Wolf still had internal damage and Katamari’s shoulder was not moving smoothly.  She didn’t trust the patchwork repairs against enemies that would be fighting like they had nowhere left to run.

               Caradin must have had similar reservations, because she pushed them to get any possible repairs done in the time they had while Meridian was gathering its forces to attack.  Marie spent some time in the Blossom’s cockpit, but sadly not piloting her.  She took stock of the LAM’s systems, seeing what needed work, and doing what she could to update things.

               At night sleep came fitfully, as the events of the last few months kept playing through her head.  All the stress, how many times she’d come close to losing her life.  Worrying over the work she still had to do to the ‘Mechs.  The looks she’d gotten from everyone: cold judgment from Caradin, condescension from Thomas, and anger from Melody.

               Under normal circumstances she’d have gone out drinking until someone took her home.  That would at least drown out the memories and wear her out enough that she could sleep.  Unfortunately Caradin had ordered them to be ready to move out at any time, and she couldn’t afford to be drunk or hung over when the call came in.  She had to be ready to pilot the Blossom, on the off chance Caradin would let her back in the cockpit.

               So instead when sleep wasn’t coming, she busied herself working on her equipment.  One evening she was quietly tinkering with her neurohelmet at a worktable she’d pulled into her quarters.  She had pulled the helmet’s casing open, giving her access to the electronics inside.  She touched voltage testers to the various circuits in the helmet, checking the readouts as she went along.

               A knock came at the door.  Before Marie could look up, it opened and her mother walked in.

               “Hi,” Rachel said in greeting.  “I heard you were back in town.  How are you?”

               “I’m fine,” Marie answered, briefly looking up from her work.  “I was going to call you in the morning.  How’re things?”

               “I’m…fine…” Rachel answered, distracted as her eyes focused on the neurohelmet.  “What are you doing?”

               Marie ground her teeth at the judgmental tone in her mother’s voice, and turned back to work on the helmet.  “I haven’t done anything, mom,” she answered, annoyed.  “I’m just having a second look at it.  Someone I talked to got me thinking.”

               “Be careful…” Rachel warned.  “If you break anything…”

               “I know, mom,” Marie mumbled.  “If I can’t get it back together, guess I have to fly into Clan space and start throwing out batchalls.”  She groaned.  “I’ve been tweaking neurohelmets half my life.  I can do this.”

               “All right…”  Rachel said, unconvinced.  She sat down at a small desk near the bed, watching Marie work.  “What are you trying to do?  I thought it was working.”

               “The Blossom’s fine on the ground, but she won’t talk to me in the air,” Marie answered.  “It’s like having a hand tied behind my back.  And I think this thing’s the culprit.  It’s not made to fly fighters.  But then I started thinking, Clans are all about efficiency, right?  What if their ‘Mech helmets also had the circuitry for aerospace fighters?”

               “How is that efficient?”

               “Mech and aero helmets have mostly the same circuitry, except for a few parts.  The Clans have it refined down to a couple circuits that would have to be switched out to change a ‘Mech helmet to an aero one.”  Marie pointed to the exposed circuits.  “These parts have to be made in a clean room, not a field base on the front lines.  The people making them would have to guess at how many ‘Mech and aero helmet chipsets they’ll need.  They’d end up with not enough of one and too many of the other.  So I thought, maybe instead they just make one chipset with circuits for everything.  Then whoever does final assembly can set the helmet up for whatever it needs to plug into.”

               Rachel thought about that, finally nodding slowly.  “It could work.  But are you sure?”

               “I found a switch in here that blocks out some of the circuits if it’s flipped one way, and blocks out others if it’s flipped the other way.  Right here,” she said.  She picked up a narrow pair of pliers and carefully slipped it into the guts of the helmet.  She gripped a small piece of the electronics and pulled.  She heard her mother gasp when something snapped, and Marie pulled off a small plastic piece.

               “What did you do?” Rachel asked numbly.

               “I got rid of the switch.  Now I’ve got to replace it,” Marie answered matter-of-factly.  She began soldering in a new part on the top panel of the helmet.  “This switch isn’t as compact as a Clan one, but it does the same job, and I can tie it into the Blossom’s systems.  If I wire this right, I’ll be able to change between the circuits depending on the mode I’m in.”

               “Are you really sure that’ll work?”

               Marie shrugged.  “The parts are all there.  After that…the helmet’s made to learn and adapt to what it’s controlling.  I’ll just have to hope it can keep up with me.”

               Rachel offered her a smile in response.  “I keep forgetting how good you are with these things.”

               Marie shrugged again and kept at her work.  “Should pay more attention then.”  Silence fell on the women for a few seconds before Marie glanced over at her mother.  “What brings you here?”

               “Can we talk?” Rachel asked.

               Marie sighed and put the tools down before turning in her chair to face Rachel.  “What about?”

               Rachel’s eyes softened and she folded her hands in her lap.  “How are you?” she asked.  “I saw you coming back with wreckage, so I’m guessing you found your pirates?

               “Yeah.  Nothing we couldn’t handle.”  She sat in an awkward silence for a moment, with Rachel staring at her, prompting her to go on.  “They put up a fight, but it was mostly all smoke and mirrors to scare us off.  Once we actually pushed, they broke pretty easy.”

               Rachel nodded, but still looked at her patiently.  “But…?”

               Marie grumbled in annoyance.  Her mother had always been able to tell when something was on her mind.

               “We got prisoners afterwards, and I had to get them to tell me where the rest of them were.  The lieutenant says it’s part of the job, and really it’s no big deal,” Marie answered, trying to sound convincing.  “They just don’t cover prisoner interrogations in ‘Mech or aerospace fighter training.”

               Rachel smiled knowingly.  “Your father had to deal with that, too.  It’s hard when you have to stop seeing the other side as machines and start seeing them as people.”

               “People who had nothing but bad choices to pick from,” Marie added half to herself, before shaking her head.  “So how are you?”

               “I’m doing all right.  Been working a few extra shifts around the spaceport, trying to save up some money.  It sounds like we’ll be done here pretty soon.”  She leaned forward and met Marie’s eyes.  “So have you thought about what you’re doing next?”

               Marie shrugged.  “What’s there to think about?  The Hussars will ship out to the next contract.  Hopefully it’ll be a little tamer than this one.”

               “You want to stay with these people?”

               “The universe finally gave me a chance, I’m not letting it go by.”

               Rachel’s mouth tightened and she fixed Marie with a concerned look.  “I know it can seem like it’s a big chance, but do you really think this is the best thing for you?  I saw the ‘Mechs coming back in.  It didn’t look like you had an easy time at all.  Do you think you can keep doing that?”

               “I got through it.  I can make this work, mom.  And anyway if I leave the Hussars, they keep the Blossom.  I can’t give up on her.”

               “So you want to keep the ‘Mech?”

               “Of course I do.  I want to so badly I’m breaking the last thing dad gave me just so I can control her a little better,” Marie said with a gesture at the disassembled neurohelmet.  “I can’t just give up because it’s hard.  I have to stick with this.” 

               The care lines in Rachel’s face deepened.  “I’ve been getting what news I can off the ships that come in,” she said.  “Holly’s Hussars isn’t doing so well.  They’ve only got a C+ rating, you know.  It looks like they’ve had trouble on their past jobs.”

               “Yeah, Caradin was telling me about that.  A small unit like the Hussars gets bullied around a lot.  We don’t have the pull to argue with a client who decides to screw us over.  I’m sure a few clients have filed complaints just because they can.”

               “Do you think maybe some of the complaints are legitimate?  You’ve seen how they treat you, and you’re on their team.  They shoot you down and blame you for it, they give you jobs you hate.  They don’t even call you a MechWarrior.”

               “Caradin knows what she’s doing,” Marie shot back, annoyed.  “She’s in a tight spot and demands the best from her people,,” “I’m still the rookie here.  I’m earning my place, mom.  I’ll make it work.”

               “What if you try to make it work, put yourself in so much danger and stress, and Caradin decides to take the ‘Mech from you anyway?”

               Marie flinched at the suggestion, hitting painfully close to home.  Her stomach tightened at the memory of Thomas’ smug expression when he’d first climbed into the Blossom.

               “I’m buying the ‘Mech off Caradin,” Marie explained.  “It’ll take some time, but I’ll do it.  And as soon as the Blossom’s mine, I’ll look for another unit to sign up with.  But I need to leave this one on good terms.  I want my service record to say I’m a team player.”

               Rachel’s eyes widened at the admission.  “You’re paying these people for that thing?  Why?”  Marie ground her teeth and didn’t look at her.  “Oh, I wish you’d talked to me first about it…”

               “What other choice do I have, go back to working dropships?” Marie bit out.  “We can’t even do that.  Captains don’t like mutineers.”

               Rachel’s lips quirked in a tiny smile.  “You’d be surprised what people will overlook if you’re qualified,” she said.  “There’ve been dropships coming every couple of weeks.  The next one due to come in is a Union class.  And I hear the captain’s always looking for new crew.  I’ll bet I can get us both a spot.”

               Marie felt a heavy weight drop into her stomach at the thought.  “Mom, if I do that I’ll be giving up the last four months of my life and starting over from zero, again.  Yeah, it’s been hard, but if I walk away from it, it’ll be like it was all for nothing.”

               “It wasn’t for nothing,” Rachel calmly replied.  “When we get you into an academy you’ll have that experience with you.  You’ll be a year ahead of everyone else.  They’ll all be coming to you for help.  And you’ll be safe.”

               The weight in Marie’s stomach got heavier.  She could feel herself sinking into the same situation she’d been in so many times before, leaving her with two choices: go along quietly with her mother’s plans, or argue, then go along anyway after a guilt trip.  This time, the thought of surrendering made her insides twist up, so much that she had to say something.

               “When’s it going to be enough, mom?” she quietly asked.  At Rachel’s confused look, she went on.  “How long have we been trucking around the galaxy?  Stuffed into those junk ships, getting paid next to nothing.  Yeah, the Kuritans can’t find us, but do you really think they’re still looking?  So when’s it going to be enough?  When do we get to move on from it all?”

               Rachel’s eyes saddened.  “I know it’s hard,” she said.  “I lived that life for years before I even met your father.  But I know you and I will be all right if we stay together.  I’m trying to protect you, Marie.  I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose you.”

               The frustration built up so much that Marie could not hold it back any longer.  “What do you want, mom?” she snapped.  Rachel started at the sudden outburst.  “You want me to give up?  Let them take my ‘Mech and chop her into pieces?  What if we can’t get a spot on a ship, what’s next?  We go back to work flying cropdusters like we did after Galedon?”

               Rachel’s face was strained.  “We’ll be all right, Marie.  We’ll get through, you and me.  We always have.”

               “We keep losing things, mom!” Marie shouted.  “First dad, then the Bristol, then Daniel.  We even lost the damn Sirocco and that useless job!  The Blossom fell into my lap and I finally got something to help us claw our way back up, and you want me to give her up?!”

               Rachel’s eyebrows knit together and she drew back.  “I’m saying what you’re working for isn’t worth what you’re risking.  I want to keep you safe.”

               “I’m so tired of being safe, mom!  I had to give up dad’s name because it’s not safe.  I had to let Daniel leave us because it’s not safe.  I never get a home, I never get friends, because it’s not safe.  Instead I get squished into a junk ship doing work I hate, forever!  What’s the point of being safe if I’m dead inside, mom?!”

               “Marie, you know that’s not what I meant for you – ”

               “But it’s what you did anyway!  Don’t you get it?!  Your way isn’t working, and I’m sick of it!  You don’t know what you’ll do without me!?  I don’t know what I’ll do if I stay with you!  I need to make this work or I’m going to go crazy!”

               Silence fell on the two women for a long few seconds, as Marie’s words echoed and faded.  Finally Marie took a breath.

               “Mom…look, I’ve got things to do.  Can you just give me some space?”

               Rachel stared at her for a long moment.  Finally she lowered her eyes and stood up.  The hurt look on her face was heart-wrenching, but Marie barely felt the guilt with the anger raging in her.  She pointedly looked away as her mother turned and left.  After the door closed she furtively wiped at her eyes and focused on putting her helmet back together.

 

               *             *             *

9 June 3077

 

               Early the next morning, Marie was in the ‘Mech bay of the spaceport.  The guilt had finally settled in shortly after Rachel had left.  After lying sleepless in bed for hours, Marie had given up on getting any rest.  It was cold in the bay and the metal was not much for conversation, but she felt more at ease with the machines right now than she did with any people.  The ‘Mechs at least didn’t judge her or force decisions on her.  They just sat there with their quiet promise of a better future.

               The Hussars’ ‘Mechs were stored in the back of the hangar, the front cleared out in anticipation of Meridian’s machines and the inevitable holo-shoot that would follow.  The group of Arbiters and tanks that would strike the Circinans was expected to arrive later that day, but for now Marie was the only one in the bay.  The isolation suited her just fine.

               “Good enough,” she muttered as she finished her work on her kneecap.  She couldn’t work on the ‘Mechs without help, but she could at least take advantage of the quiet peace of the ‘Mech bay to work on herself.  She’d replaced her worn-out plastic kneecaps with solid metal plates.  Fabricating the parts from scrap metal was a welcome distraction from the thoughts bubbling through her head.   Now that the work was done though, she needed something else to focus her attention on. 

               With a sigh she looked over to the Blossom, sitting quietly in one corner of the bay.  She picked up her neurohelmet off the ground and made her way over to the silent Phoenix Hawk. 

               “Hey, old girl,” she whispered as pulled herself through the hatch.  She wrinkled her nose at the smell of Thomas’ sweat in the cockpit.  It made her feel dirty, imagining the sergeant’s hands on the controls.  She dropped down into the seat.

               “Got something for you.  Don’t judge me on how it looks,” she said to the ‘Mech as she set the neurohelmet on the control console.  She’d managed to get the helmet back together again, but she’d had to rebuild the casing to make room for the new switch she’d installed.  The end result was rougher and blockier than the original sleek Clan design, but if it worked like she hoped, looks wouldn’t matter.  Still, she’d made time to re-print the Black Thorns logo on it.

               She plugged the input/output lines into the helmet, pulled it on, and keyed in the code to bring the ‘Mech up on backup power.  She felt a chill as the ‘Mech’s systems synchronized with her brain.  Thankfully she did not get the overwhelming static that usually came when she connected to new equipment.

               “At least you still remember me,” she mumbled.  She checked the synchronization levels and I/O feeds.  Everything seemed all right, though she wouldn’t really be able to test it until she powered up the reactor and took the Blossom out on a shakedown run.  That would have to wait until Caradin finally cleared her for duty again.

               “It’s crazy, isn’t it?  Asking permission to use you, when you’re mine,” she said to the Blossom.  The ‘Mech did not respond.  “All right, part mine.  Shut up.  I like you more when you’re not judging me.”  She sighed.  “Has the sergeant been giving you a hard time?  I know he likes shoving girls around.” 

               The screens lit up as she tapped on the controls.  She brought up the recorder logs, displaying the Blossom’s movements over the last few days.  Her chest tightened as she watched her ‘Mech going out to gather salvage over and over again.  She winced at how Thomas roughly plowed the Blossom through the woods on each run.  At least he keeps her standing up, she thought bitterly.

               She checked the Blossom’s system recordings, seeing Thomas kept the weapons charged while out in the woods.  She also saw the comms array lighting up periodically as he moved.  She could practically hear him snapping at her to report in every half hour.  As she watched, she saw the Blossom took a curving path back to the Plant, leaving the salvage transport behind so she could climb up a ridge and power up her comms array.  The ‘Mech only took that path every fourth run, but invariably the Blossom would end up on top of the ridge to send a transmission.

               Checking in with Caradin?  Complaining about the ‘Mech he’s been assigned to? she wondered.  She looked around the cockpit.  “What’s the sergeant been saying about you, old girl?” she asked aloud.  Her brow furrowed as she saw the recording move on to a patrol run Thomas had gone on only yesterday.  She saw the Blossom stop on a ridge again while Thomas ran the comms for several minutes straight.  After a second’s hesitation Marie mentally shrugged and tapped a button to play the in-cockpit recording.

               “…so what’s it going to be?  None of us have any time to spare right now,” Thomas’ deep voice was saying. 

               “How do I know I can trust you?” a voice responded, distorted and staticky.

               “How can you afford not to?” Thomas responded.  “We move out in a day.  Your choices are to stay where you are and get blown out, or evac and get left behind when your boss sees what a mess you made of things.  You ready to die over a couple loads of farm equipment?”

               There was a pause before the voice answered.  “We had a full load of ‘Mechs to bring back alongside the loot.  Now thanks to you people we don’t anymore.  Even with our loot, the boss won’t be happy we’re short so much metal, and bringing on extra cost with us on top of it all, unless you’re workin’ for free now.”

               “If I were going pro bono, we wouldn’t even be talking right now.  But no, even with what you have left you’re in a place to end things before they begin, if you can play your cards right.”

               “Yeah?  What are you promising?”

               “For starters, I’ll tell you Meridian’s gatherin most of its security personnel at Plant One while they get ready to come after you.  The other two Plants are on a skeleton staff.”

               The other voice made a dismissive noise.  “So what?”

“The prisoners are being stored at Plant Two,” Thomas answered.  “I’m just sitting on my ass out here, it’d be easy to get over to the Plant and cut your people loose.  You’d get them back, and whatever they can grab on their way out.”

               “What they can grab out of a Plant that’s emptied out.  Getting our people back would make going home sting less, but still not worth gambling on.  What else are you offering?”

               “How about the Kilrymont spaceport?” came the smooth reply.  “It’s a better LZ than that patch of grass you’re sitting on.  And once I take care of the defenders, you can drag whatever you want out of the city before your dropship shows up.  No one’ll be around to stop you.”

               Marie’s breath caught at the suggestion.  With Meridian gathering up its security forces, the Hussars were the defenders of the spaceport right now.  A cold sweat formed on her brow as the conversation continued to play.

               “That place?  Are you serious?” the other voice asked skeptically.  “It’s the capital city, but that don’t mean nothing to the sheep farmers or Meridian.  There’s barely anything there worth taking in the first place, it’s why we didn’t bother with it.”

               “Meridian’s moving equipment into the spaceport now and leaving us to guard it for them while they get pilots together.  It wouldn’t be hard to lock this hardware down.  And there’s always the people here, too.  If you had a spaceport to land at, I’ll bet you could round up a couple truckloads of civilians to bring along with you.  They’re sheep farmers out here, but they’re strong.  I’m sure they’d be good for whatever it is you do with them.”

               “Well now.  That makes things interesting, don’t it?”

               “It makes things simple.  Meridian’s already got us deployed there while they get ready to strut out to fight you.  Think you can get here before they notice?”

               “Heh.  We been dodging those chuckleheads this whole time.  All right, mercenary.  You got my attention with that.  What do you want?”

               “I think twenty percent of your haul sounds fair, but this is an introductory rate, so we’ll go with just ten percent plus transport.  I don’t know about you, but I’m done with this stupid backwater.  I want a ride off of this rock, and it sounds like you’ve got space on your boat.  And you need some people who actually know what they’re doing in a ‘Mech cockpit.  We can discuss my going rate for future work once we’re in orbit.”

               The other voice chuckled.  “Always down to business, aren’t you?  All right, you got a deal.  Keep the door open, we’ll be coming right to you.”

               Marie ended the playback with the touch of a button.  She could barely breathe.  Her thoughts were a swirling, jumbled mess.  She must have heard wrong, there was no way Thomas would…but what else could she have heard?

               She swallowed hard and tried to get her head clear.  What was she supposed to do now?  Her first thought was to go to Caradin, try and head the problem off at the source…but what if Thomas was already putting his plan into action?  What if he was headed to the ‘Mech bay right now?  If he jumped into the Blossom before any of the other Hussars could get to their own ‘Mechs…

               She swallowed again and entered several commands on the controls.  Her pulse was humming in her ears as she reconfigured the Blossom’s systems.  After several minutes she was finished.  She powered the computers down and let out a breath she’d been holding.  She pulled her neurohelmet off and climbed back out of the cockpit.

               Once she stood up straight again on the catwalk outside, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  As she processed what she’d heard, another thought hit her: what if it wasn’t just Thomas?  What if the Hussars had decided to break contract as a unit?  Her mother’s warning about them echoed in her head, alongside Caradin’s words to Coghill.

               She shook her head violently, pushing that thought out.  No, there was no way.  The Hussars were rough around the edges, sure, but them breaking contract would mean the unit she’d signed on with, the one that was going to finally pull her out of insignificance, was nothing but a band of thugs ready to sell out their allies and innocent civilians.  Caradin wouldn’t do that, would she?  Marie refused to even consider it, and all the horrible implications.

               Instead she thought of another possibility: what if it was a trick?  Thomas had convinced the Circinans to come to the Kilrymont spaceport, where the Hussars would be waiting.  The Circinans had to be desperate for some kind of safe haven, and any kind of offer would look better than staying where they were and getting attacked.  What if Thomas was setting up a sneak attack, so the Hussars could end things?  It might be enough to earn them the contract bonus.

               It was an enticing story, but she couldn’t be sure.  If it wasn’t a trick then they had a serious problem, even if Thomas couldn’t use the Blossom.  She had to find Caradin immediately, show her the recordings… 

               Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching up the catwalk.  Turning to look, she felt a brief surge of relief at the sight of Caradin, the feeling quickly damping as she saw Thomas walking right alongside the lieutenant.  Her feet froze to the ground. 

               She awkwardly saluted, trying to look like everything was fine while every muscle in her body tensed.  She had to warn Caradin about Thomas, but she couldn’t do it while he was right there.  Unbidden, the memory of Jain in the Huntington ‘Mech bay flashed to her mind.  Her eyes flickered to Thomas’ sidearm, waiting at his hip.  She could see him drawing it, putting it to her chest…

               “Pilot.  You’re up early,” Caradin said in greeting, snapping Marie back to the present.  “Everything all right?”

               Marie tore her eyes off of Thomas’ gun and looked back to the lieutenant.  “Just a few adjustments,” she answered, hoping she sounded convincing.  “The Blossom’s got a lot of moving parts.  Needed to check in to make sure everything’s still aligned.”

               Caradin nodded in acknowledgment.  “That’s good initiative.  You’re taking care of the metal.  And not just yours, either.  Wolf and Katamari are looking a hundred percent better.”

               Marie nodded cautiously.  She glanced furtively at Thomas, who was waiting patiently just behind Caradin.  “Thank you, sir.  I’m trying my best.”

               She looked at Caradin expectantly, but the lieutenant did not dismiss her.  Instead, Caradin tilted her head, a thoughtful look on her face.  “You’ve had a hell of a first contract, haven’t you?  Think you’re fitting in?”

               Marie awkwardly shrugged.  “I think I’m doing the best I can,” she answered. 

               “You’re doing pretty well, all things considered.  I can see good things for you in the future.  Just hang tight and follow my lead, you’ll be the star player of this lance before you know it.” 

               “Thank you, sir,” Marie replied.  Instead of the usual bloom of pride that followed Caradin’s words, Marie just felt a hollow pit in her stomach.  She glanced at Thomas again.  His gaze bored into her like a laser, making her feel like he could read her thoughts and see what she knew.

               She desperately wanted to just ask Caradin outright what was going on, but she couldn’t risk it with the sergeant right there, watching her.  Still, she had to prod a little and see if the lieutenant was wise to any plans.

               “Sir, if I can ask…what’s the next step here?  Has there been any word from Meridian about mopping up the Circinans?  No offense to anyone, but I’d like to get paid for this whole thing,” she added on with an innocent-looking smile.

               Caradin nodded in response, though Marie felt the woman grow colder.  “I’m working on a solution to that right now,” Caradin answered.  “We’ll get what we’re owed, don’t worry.  We’re almost at the end of this, so just trust me.”  She glanced back at Thomas, seeming to remember he was there, and tilted her head at the Blossom. 

               Marie clenched her jaw as the sergeant obediently ducked into the cockpit.  She knew she should just leave, then find Caradin later when she was alone.  But seeing Thomas disappear into her ‘Mech, she couldn’t bring herself to just walk away.

               “Lieutenant, a word?” she asked. 

               “I’ve got a busy morning ahead of me, but all right, let’s have it,” Caradin answered.

               Marie glanced nervously at the Blossom’s cockpit, wondering how long she had before Thomas re-emerged.  She took a breath and cut to the chase.  “Your sergeant’s getting ready to break contract,” she whispered hastily.

               Caradin’s expression did not change.  “What makes you say that?”

               “I heard him, in there,” Marie whispered, pointing at the Blossom’s cockpit.  “Play back the cockpit recorders from a couple days ago, you’ll see it too.  He’s getting ready to sell us out to the Circinans.”  She took a step closer and lowered her voice even further.  “He’s going to call them to the spaceport, after he takes care of the defenders.  Which would be us.”

               Caradin nodded slowly, looking back at the Blossom herself.  “He looked pretty surprised to run into me this morning.  And he gave me some line about needing to pull the BattleROMs for something…” she muttered.  “You were right to come to me with this.  Are you armed?” Marie clenched her jaw and shook her head.  “Have you gotten in touch with anyone else?” Marie shook her head again.  “All right.  Walk away slow, get outside and contact Coghill, tell him what you know.  I’ll keep Thomas busy.”

               As though summoned by the lieutenant’s words, Thomas emerged from the Blossom, holding the battleROM recorder.  “Got it, sir,” he said.

               “Next time you need to look at your playback don’t forget to pull it when you’re done.  Meridian’s people will be here in a matter of hours, and we don’t impress anyone when we make sloppy mistakes,” Caradin snapped at him, immediately reverting to the role of a harsh commander.  Even so, with one hand she quietly waved Marie away.

               “Sorry, sir,” Thomas said, coming up on the catwalk to join them.  Marie looked at his sidearm again, then turned and started walking away.  She fought to keep herself from moving too quickly.  Her mind was a mess as she tried to think of the next move.  Coghill had to be somewhere nearby, and he would probably take her call.  She might also have to warn her mother.  Rachel would be staying near the spaceport, it would be best if she wasn’t anywhere nearby…

               She was so distracted by these thoughts that she didn’t notice the footsteps coming up behind her.  Before she knew it, something hard cracked into the back of her skull, making her vision explode in stars.  Her balance failed and she collapsed, passing out as her head collided with the ground.

 

*End Chapter 19*

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Battletech and Mechwarrior are the property of Catalyst Game Labs.

 

Rachel McCloud, the Bristol, Marie Rose (Sr.) and the Black Thorns are creations of James Long, who among other things wrote Main Event and DRT for the Battletech universe.

 

Image of Rachel McCloud comes from Fed0t on X: https://twitter.com/fed0t1

 

A gallery of images from this story is compiled on my Ko-Fi page.  Donations are not required, but they are appreciated, and help me pay the artists to make more images for this story.  (Thanks, Eadbald!)

 

Follow me @lucendacier on Twitter for story updates and the occasional BattleTech meme.

 

Audio version of this story is available at https://lucendacier.podbean.com/ , and on Apple podcasts.

 

Audio with images is available on Youtube, which also includes music I found out on the wilds of the Internet.