Enemy resistance to the Jade Falcon search of the river had been meager. Diana thought that the Com Guards might be playing a child's game with the Clan warriors, the kind where the dominant side holds back to one side of a line and then, with taunts and dares, tries to lure the disrupted side across the line. Come and get me, might be the Com Guard's present taunt. They had only launched some air attacks, their aerofighters going after any units or individual BattleMechs separated from the main body. The fighters were like pesty insects, zooming in to do some damage but slipping away again before any counterattack could be effective. Occasionally, the sound of artillery fire echoed from upstream, but Joanna had received no information on whether any of it had hurt Jade Falcon 'Mechs.
The other side of the rapids was undefended. Diana thought that was probably because it seemed so unlikely that a unit would ever attempt a cross here. No engineer with any sense would suggest building a bridge across this steep chasm, above these treacherous waters.
"Any news, Star Captain Joanna?" MechWarrior Leema asked. She had brought her Stormcrowright to the cliff's edge and was conducting a depth scan of the waters below. The figures changed quickly as she watched them, for the depth was highly unstable.
"Just the same information. The engineer battalion has been pinned down by artillery several kilometers from the river. They are trying to reach both the Robyn's Crossing and Plough Bridge sites."
"A tough mission for those techs," MechWarrior Khastis cut in, "since the enemy is keeping at least one regiment at both sites."
"And that will be our destination," said Star Colonel Aidan Pryde as he hove into sight from behind a riverside grove. "The other side of Robyn's Crossing. We will take out the ComStar forces there, and we will build the bridge across the river at that point."
"A simple task," Joanna said dryly. "The only hitch is figuring out how to cross the river."
"A problem, I will admit, but I have solved it."
"Oh? What place are we using for the exercise, Star Colonel?"
"Why, right here, of course."
Though Joanna and Diana could not see each other, neither would have been surprised to find the other examining the turbulent, rocky rapids incredulously before hearing Aidan's explanation of how the exercise would work. Even then they were leery of the Star Colonel's plan.
"Assemble the Falcon Guards and the BattleMechs from the Second Falcon Cluster at this point," he ordered. Whatever her option, Joanna sent out the call.
* * *
When Aidan asked for volunteers for the first phase of Operation Skipping Stone, the names of every Clan warrior from both units appeared on his primary screen. Even all the Elementals, none of whom could be used in this phase, volunteered. He was not surprised by the number of volunteers, but the ritual had to be accomplished. Setting his computer for random selection, five Mech-Warriors were chosen, with a pair of alternates. He eliminated any 'Mechs from Trinaries Delta and Echo so that they would be free to carry their Elementals to the opposite side of the river. Joanna suggested that other Elemental units be carried on BattleMechs of various Stars. Aidan vetoed the suggestion, saying he wanted no extra weight on BattleMechs that did not normally carry Elementals. "The weight of one Elemental could throw off a pilot's control, and we cannot risk even a fraction of error." Instead, he announced a different plan.
Falcon Guard MechWarriors Ta-Ken from Trinary Bravo and Peel from Trinary Charlie were the first to jump into the middle of the Prezno River. The spot chosen for their landing was a relative shallows. Nearby rocks had slowed the current somewhat, though it still rushed violently past the 'Mechs' legs at a breakneck rate. Ta-ken's 'Mech swayed and immediately fell sideways into the water. As instructed by Aidan, Ta-ken guided the 'Mech's fall, first going down on one knee, then sliding its leg backward. He then let the 'Mech slide into the water while rotating its torso to the left so that the cockpit was still above the surface when the machine had settled into the water. Most of the 'Mech was now underwater, with only a leg, the front of the torso, and an arm above water. While Ta-ken's 'Mech went down, Peel was executing similar maneuvers so that his 'Mech came down next to Ta-ken's, with the bottom third of its legs slightly behind the upper section of the other 'Mech's torso.
In the second group of jumping BattleMechs were one from Marthe's unit, piloted by Star Commander Todik, and two more Falcon Guard MechWarriors, Fenn from Trinary Alpha and Shank from Trinary Charlie. These three made their leaps, one jumping a second after the other. Todik's 'Mech came down next to Peel's, Fenn's beside Todik's, and Shank's beside Fenn's. Then they maneuvered their machines so that each slightly overlapped the other in a line. The five 'Mechs now formed a breakwater, diverting turbulent water around each end and creating a tranquil pool in the center of the river.
But the forming of the breakwater was not without a cost. Fenn's 'Mech crashed into the river with its cockpit submerged, and when Shank landed, the fall into the river breeched his 'Mech's torso, flooding the engine compartment and killing power to the 'Mech. Trapped in their cockpits, both Shank and Fenn suffocated within fifteen minutes.
As Aidan oversaw the creation of the makeshift breakwater, Joanna lined up the other BattleMechs in groups of four. Some Jade Falcon officers, detached by the Khan to observe the operation, watched as she set several even lines of quartet groupings going back from the edge of the river, each line at about the same distance from the one in front of it.
When the last 'Mech had settled into the river and the current was obviously diverted. Aidan took stock of his creation and, in a godlike way, felt pleased. There was a kind of austere beauty to the way the visible parts of the five 'Mechs formed a thin metal island in the middle of the river. Some water sprayed over them and left droplets on their surfaces. The light on the droplets sparkled with activity. The water of the tranquil pool was clear and the underwater sections of the 'Mechs were distorted into shimmering patterns.
"Star Colonel?" Joanna said. "The first line is ready to jump at your order."
"The first one will jump after me," Aidan said, setting his Timber Wolf bythe edge of the embankment.
"You intend to be the first?"
"Who better? It is my plan. If it is poor, I should be the one to pay the consequences."
"But—"
Without waiting to hear her objection, Aidan engaged his jump jets for the leap. He had already prepared the coordinates for landing.
His stomach did its own little leap as the Timber Wolfrose into the air at a slight forward angle. It went up to the height Aidan had calculated, then came down. He could use only his primary screen to guide his fall into the chasm. Directing an external camera downward, he watched the surface of the river come toward his 'Mech's feet. It was shooting up at him faster than he wanted. At first the tranquil pool seemed like a tiny puddle that the BattleMech could not possibly hit on target, but then it enlarged in the viewport until he saw he was zeroing in correctly. His calculations had been accurate.
His hands securely on the controls, Aidan felt the Timber Wolf hitthe water, then come to a rough stop as its feet made contact with the riverbed. His secondary screen showed that, as originally estimated, the depth of the tranquil pool measured two meters.