Wolf paused and threw Dechan a stern look. “This is important, son,” he said. “No passes for those who are going. No letters back to dependents on anything, either. This has to be kept quiet.”
Wolf's insistence on such extraordinary security made Dechan curious. “Sir, this isn't a breach of contract, is it?”
“No, son. It's letter-by-letter legal. We need some supplies, and we're making the arrangements to get them for ourselves, per contract. Our employers aren't going to care for us taking an excursion across the border, though. They might not understand the situation quite right, so we just won't tell them about it.”
Dechan didn't like the sound of that. The scuttlebutt must have been right about the cash flow. “Is the supply situation that bad?”
“It's not good, son. I don't want it to get worse. Our friends in the Kuritan PSL office have been pushing us harder and harder since they changed the garrison stations last December. It wouldn't be good business to push back, so let's just say that this time we're doing a little sidestep.”
31
Gakken County , Benet III
Draconis March, Federated Suns
19 May 3027
“Recon, this is Command,” Natasha Kerensky repeated. “Clavell, can you hear me?”
Boshemoi! How could he?She could hardly hear herself over the clatter of small arms rattling off the sloping hood over the Warhammer's cockpit.
The Fed infantry that her lance was wading through was the weakest enemy force they had faced since grounding a week ago. Without anything heavier than rifles to use on the 'Mech in their midst, the Feds were wasting time and ammo. The best they could hope for was a series of lucky hits to scrag the BattleMechs' sensor probes. The chance of such a hit was very, very slim. They had guts, she had to give them that. No one would get herto stand up to a BattleMech with nothing more than a rifle.
The Widow 'Mechs moved single-file through the pass, ignoring the harmless groundpounders. Why waste precious ammo?
Colin MacLaren suddenly seemed to get another idea. His Marauderlunged out of the line toward a concentration of the Davion infantry. Like a beast of prey, the alien shape of the BattleMech stalked forward. With blistering laserfire emanating from its blocky forearms, it sought among the entrenchments for its victims.
The Feds held their ground until MacLaren opened up with the 120mm autocannon. Its snout ranged back and forth above the 'Mech's carapace, spitting explosive death at the infantry. The destruction so wrought was enough for the Feds. They broke.
MacLaren declined to pursue. They were just ground-pounders after all. The Marauderreturned to its place in the formation.
“Lose your temper, old man?” Kerensky asked, smiling in the privacy of her cockpit.
“I heard the Captain trying to reach Recon Lance, and I thought she might appreciate some quiet.” As always, Sergeant MacLaren addressed his superior in the third person.
“You are very considerate. Thank you.” She took advantage of the lack of distractions to try again while her lancemates took up defensive positions. The newest attempt brought no better results. For some reason, the Recon Lance was out of touch. She tried the rest of her company. “Command to Fire, report.”
“Command, this is Fire. Trouble on homeplate.”
That meant something had happened at the DropShip. This whole mission was one problem after another. “Where are you, Ikeda?”
“In the hills above homeplate. Had some guests nosing around earlier. We sent them away, but I expect they'll be back with friends soon.”
“What about the ship?” If the Feds had determined the DropShip's location, they would make it a target in an attempt to isolate the Widows.
“Don't think they marked it, but they must be wondering what a lance is doing out here in the boonies.”
“Excuse me,” MacLaren's gruff voice cut into the taccomm, “but I thought the Captain might like to know that we have Davion 'Mechs moving up the valley.”
“Thanks, Colin,” Kerensky replied. “Hold tight, Ikeda. I've got to check on this.”
Kerensky brought her Warhammerup to where Hayes's Griffincrouched by a boulder some forgotten glacier had discarded. From there, she could see MacLaren's Marauderand Sheridan's Crusaderfurther down the ravine. Beyond them, a lance of Davion BattleMechs advanced up the valley.
The Fed machines were in open order and moving slowly. Apparently, they had neither scanned the Widows nor been informed of their presence by the retreating infantry. Lambs to the slaughter.
“Hold fire till I give the word, people,” Kerensky called over the taccomm. “Let them get close, then concentrate fire on the leader. We don't want a real fight just now. If we can spook them by taking out their pointman, they should pull back and leave us alone for a while.”
As the Davion BattleMechs continued their advance, Kerensky waited for the leading Enforcerto close to thirty meters from Sheridan's position. When it did, she sidestepped her Hammerclear of cover and triggered both her 'Mech's Donal PPCs. The beams ripped into the target's torso as she shouted the command to fire over the taccomm.
Her lance responded with a rainbow of energy beams. Before the Feds could react, the Enforcerwas a smoking hulk, its pilot riding his ejection seat to safety.
The Widows turned their attention to the rest of the enemy lance. Facing opponents of unknown numbers and already down to three-quarters strength, the Feds decided to withdraw. Their weapons spoke often in their retreat, but they caused no real damage to the Widow 'Mechs. The Dragoons scored better, but didn't bring any more of the Davion machines down.
“Good show,” Kerensky congratulated her lance. “Hayes, scoot down and look for a way off this mountain that won't take us through the Feds. Colin, Sheridan, keep your eyes open. I'm going to get Ikeda back on the comm.”
Kerensky had to move her 'Mech further back up the pass before she could get clear reception from the Fire Lance. “Any sign of our Draco helpers, Ikeda?”
“Negative, Widow.”
Never trust a Snake, she reminded herself. Without the Kurita unit that was supposed to land on Benet to support them, the Dragoons had insufficient force to punch through the Davion forces. As yet, her company had not run into any insurmountable problems. Unless Recon Lance's silence meant otherwise, they were still in reasonable shape. Things were getting hotter all the time, though, and they had not come near to completing their objectives. If the rest of the Dragoons weren't doing any better, they could be looking at big trouble. “What about Epsilon?”
“They're stuck in heavy traffic up on the escarpment. Colonel Arbuthnot is expressing interest in packing his suitcase.”
Kerensky gave vent to a string of Russian curses. Ikeda, used to Kerensky's vocal tantrums, waited patiently for her to finish and resume normal conversation. “We're coming in, Ikeda. If you hear from Recon, call them home.”
She hoped the raid on Udibi was doing better. With the growing supply problem, the Dragoons needed whatever they could grab there. She had wanted to go, but the Colonel thought it better if her high-profile company stayed where the Kuritans could see it, a distraction of sorts. So the Widows had been stuck with this hopeless jaunt on Benet, which, it was beginning to look, the Snakes didn't want any Dragoons to survive. That didn't mean she was going to let this operation turn into a suicide run.
“All right, lance,” Kerensky called over the lance circuits. “Time for all us little spiders to head for the web.”
The Command Lance began the trip down the mountain. Hayes reported that Davion forces had all the easy routes blocked, but that he had found a trail near a firewatch station, which led around to the east face and then switch-backed down. Wanting to avoid entanglements with the Federated Suns troops, Kerensky decided to use the path.