"Gentlemen, I appreciate your gracious offer, but I must delay my decision until I can discuss it with my staff. I'm sure you understand. In the meantime, I assume that you can provide more details about Borghese to my executive officer?"

Hoffbrowse nodded and Wilkins produced a data disk from the pocket of his jacket. Rianna accepted the disk wordlessly and slipped it into her thigh pocket.

"The disk contains our Outreach address, where you can reach us at any time. Please let us know as soon as possible; we are most anxious to secure the safety of our planet."

Rose shook hands with the two men, then remained standing there as the pair made their way out through the crowded terminal. When they'd finally disappeared from view, he turned to Rianna, gesturing her toward the main exit doors.

"Now, what's the story on those two?" he asked.

"Well, they've approached every respectable unit on Outreach, but nobody will bite. I did a little digging on my own and learned that Borghese has very little to recommend itself to either mercenaries or the Clans. The population is small and the planet is self-sufficient, but that's about it. Their preliminary offer was pretty laughable, but even with a good round of negotiations, any unit stuck there would just barely make a profit.

"I'd have let them walk without bothering you but they're also offering unrestricted use of their facilities for repair and refit. In the event of any real combat, we'd also get all the salvage."

"How did they happen to choose us?" Rose asked as they followed Angus' lead to a small car parked across the street. Without being told, Angus slipped behind the wheel while Jeremiah and Rianna climbed into the back.

"Well, we're pretty much the bottom of the first barrel. They went first to everybody with a decent reputation, but got turned down cold. Next they hit on the new units and got a similar reception. We fall into the 'new unit looking for its first contract' class. If we say no, I imagine they'll start talking to the units with questionable reps."

"They're not too anxious to call the wolves into the fold, are they?"

"No, but they seem determined to hire a unit and they're bound to get to that point soon."

Rose looked out the window at the city scrolling by, trying to put his finger on what bothered him about Hoffbrowse. Angus was evidently heading for the repair bays to meet with Esmeralda and Badicus.

"What's our situation, besides the men from Borghese?" Rose asked, bringing his thoughts back to the present.

"We've been officially recognized by the Mercenary Review and Bonding Commission, but like most other new units, we have a C rating. That's not real good, but it can go up quickly if we do well with our first few contracts.

"Angus and I weren't allowed to start recruiting until we received recognition. That slowed things up quite a bit, but since then we've held preliminary interviews with several independents. We eliminated a few whose transcripts were questionable and a couple of others because they didn't have their own 'Mechs. We also rejected two who we thought were just plain crazy." She stopped and looked at Angus through the rearview mirror. He caught her glance, but did not speak. Rose decided to break the silence.

"Which leaves us with what?"

"Six possibles, only two of which I would say are strong contenders."

Rose shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose as he thought about the numbers. "When do I meet them?"

Rianna brightened at that question. "Later tonight. I've set up interviews every hour starting in"—she glanced at her watch—"two hours.

"On the up side, I've gotten us a spot on the Dragoons' training field for day after tomorrow. It will give us a chance to get better acquainted. Do you think everything will be ready by then?"

Rose thought about it. "Probably. The ChargerI got from that thief Carstairs was a pile of junk, but Esmeralda and Badicus have been working on it since we left Solaris. I knew it was a risky deal, but I took it anyway. The 'Mech's not as bad off as I'd feared, but it's not as good as I'd hoped either.

"Esmeralda's Hammerand the Shadow Hawkshould be ready to go by now. I'd say two days would be just about right to finish the Chargerand conduct a full set of tests on the other two 'Mechs."

"Good, we're scheduled to take on a unit called The Gargoyles and they've—"

"We're what? You mean we're taking on another unit on our first exercise? Whose idea was that?" Rose knew the answer when his sister glared at him.

"Mine, Captain. We had to do it to get the use of the field. Without use of the field, we can't even try out our weapons, which makes the practice rather pointless. And by the way, you'd better strap on that laser you've had tucked away in the box. Everybody on this planet goes around wearing a sidearm."

Rose had always heard that Harlech, the capital of Outreach, was a rough place. From what Rianna was saying, it sounded like the rumors were true. The place was nicknamed Wolf City, which suddenly struck him as an ominous name for a town.

The trio finished the ride in silence. When they reached the repair bay, Rose made a quick round of introductions, then left Angus with Esmeralda and Badicus to finish the task of unloading their 'Mechs and their gear. Esmeralda provided the kind of capable, and loud, leadership that Angus seemed accustomed to. Rose knew the three of them would have to work well into the night to get everything ready, but it couldn't be helped. Although they were not yet in the field, he had the same sense of anticipation, and the other members of the team seemed to share it.

Rianna drove him back to the hotel and served as an assistant during the six hours of interviews Rose conducted that evening. They made offers to only three candidates. The two tagged by Rianna as strong prospects said they'd like to think over their decision but eventually decided not to join the unit.

The third candidate's file contained only a question mark. Rianna smiled when Rose asked what that meant. It meant the man was borderline insane, she said, despite an excellent service record with the Third Lyran Regulars.

Rose was initially put off by the man's wild personality and refusal to answer to any other name but Hawg. The more they talked, however, he saw that Hawg was also honest, capable, and very unusual. Besides, his Zeuswould be a welcome addition to the unit.

When the repair team arrived early the next morning, Rose briefed them on their newest member before sending them to get some rest. He continued wading through the files and records of the candidates until the sun rose the next day, when the recruiting interviews started all over again.

17

Harlech, Outreach

25 September 3054

 

By dusk of his second day on Outreach, Rose had still not seen much of Harlech except for the Hiring Hall and his hotel room. The groundwork Rianna and Angus had done in the previous weeks had just about played itself out. By mid-afternoon Rose realized that none of the remaining candidates who interested him were interested in return. His unit was simply too new to attract experienced pilots.

He was just leaving the hall for a belated lunch when a small, dark-haired man approached, obviously wanting to talk.

"Excuse me, but would you happen to be Captain Rose?"

Rose gave the man a polite smile. He'd seen him enter the Hiring Hall several hours earlier, but had assumed he'd left after examining the postings.