The captain seemed not to hear Rose, then his eyes lit up.

"You can't be serious. You really want to fight us? We'll kill you."

"Possibly, but on the practice field we'd live to apologize." Rose stood very still, trying to keep his face as calm and neutral as possible. After several tense seconds, the captain relaxed.

"You're on. One of my lances is down for refit. I guess we'll have to do with only two."

"But . . ."

"That will be acceptable," blurted Rose, firmly stopping his sister's comment. "Until tomorrow."

The captain didn't bother to acknowledge him, but turned and stormed away, his men in close support. Bailee eased his cap back and blew out a long breath. Shaking his head, he walked over to his assembled technicians and began conducting the stress analysis on the hip mounting. Rose's unit assembled around him, Esmeralda with a big grin on her face.

"What in the hell are you smiling at?" he grumbled.

"We're going to pound that creep to smithereens, and I was just imagining the pleasure of it." She ground her thumb into the palm of her hand for emphasis.

"Wait a moment," Rose said. "We're going to fight the best the Inner Sphere has to offer with a unit that has never fought together. We're definitely outnumbered and we're probably outgunned. And, in case you forgot, this is their home field." He stopped and looked around at his team. The smiles had faded with the grim realization of what they'd gotten themselves into.

"Now that may be the reality of the situation," Rose went on, "but we're not beat yet." Cautious smiles replaced earlier grins as his people listened. "I guess we can start building the legend tomorrow. Rianna, I might have a new recruit. Take his files and have them checked. If they're legit, we're up to seven, but don't get your hopes up for tomorrow. Even if he joins the unit, he's unavailable for the practice.

"Esmeralda, I know you've got a map of the field." A predatory grin confirmed his faith in her ability. "Work with Badicus on a plan of attack. There's no sense in standing back and letting them come at us.

"Angus, you and Hawg stay here and make sure all our 'Mechs are ready to go." Rose checked his chronometer. "We'll meet back at the hotel at seven sharp to finalize our tactics."

Rianna cleared her throat. "What about you?"

"You're going to drop me off at the spaceport. As important as this exercise is tomorrow, I've got to talk to Captain McCloud about the Bristol .If she wants to become part of the unit, we're in good shape. If not, we'll just have to see. We need to start looking for contracts, not just recruits.

"If there's time, I'm also going to try to find out about that dandy we just insulted. Maybe I can learn what we're up against."

Rose looked once more around the group. Now that they had a plan, their confidence was back, hopefully tempered with a little realism.

"Well, don't just stand there, people. We've got a fight to win."

18

Harlech, Outreach

26 September 3054

 

"This is Thorn One. Everybody on-line?"

Rose was still warming up the Charger,but decided to break the silence sooner than usual to give the rest of the team time to communicate. Five voices responded in the affirmative.

Running through the system in sequence, Rose was increasingly happy with his 'Mech. Though he'd not had the chance to pilot it before today, he counted on his years of experience to carry him through. Early that morning the lance had traveled as a unit along a carefully marked course from the repair bay and the spaceport storage facilities. It was the first time in more than a year that Rose had watched the sun rise from the cockpit of his 'Mech and the feeling left him somewhat nostalgic.

He had allowed Rianna to take the lead, mostly because she knew the way, but also to get a better view of the unit as they traveled. All the 'Mechs moved with grace, but Angus was by far the smoothest. Walking just to the right of Rianna, his Valkyrietraveled with a silky ease it took most pilots a lifetime to achieve.

Once they reached the practice field each 'Mech was swarmed by a host of Dragoon techs. The crews attached sensors, readouts, and inhibitors that would let the 'Mechs duke it out in combat without killing each other.

Although the system was expensive to operate and not nearly as good as the real thing, it was the best one Rose had ever seen outside that used by ComStar. As each 'Mech moved away from the preparation area the pilots put their machines through a series of tests to calibrate the new instruments for the Dragoons monitoring the match. Rose used the time to learn more about his 'Mech.

Despite what most civilians think, each 'Mech is unique. Except for the gross differences between individual designs, each 'Mech tended to take on a personality of its own. Indeed, part of the difficulty in becoming familiar with a new 'Mech, no matter what the design, was learning the subtle changes that were part of the system.

Like all Chargers,Rose's was extremely fast, especially considering the eighty-ton weight. It was also capable of jumping one hundred and fifty meters, a phenomenal distance for an assault 'Mech. Before launching those eighty tons into the air, however, Rose wanted to get to know the 'Mech a lot better. Originally built on Luthien, this particular Charger'scockpit was completely annotated in Japanese. Converting that to English had been Rose's first order of business once the 'Mech left Solaris.

The Charger'sweapon systems were adequate, but not outstanding. The torso mounted a Shigunga long-range missile system that could fire twenty missiles in under two seconds. The missiles were guided by an Artemis IV fire-control system slaved to a targeting computer. The entire system promised excellent first-strike capability, especially in the hands of an experienced gunner like Rose.

Four medium pulse lasers scattered over the 'Mech's torso and arms backed up the LRMs. The pulse lasers could dish out a lot of punishment, but their limited range made it difficult to use them effectively. Although the Chargerwas well-armored, it was not built to slug it out with other heavy or assault 'Mechs. Its strong point was speed, not stamina.

Rose's reverie was interrupted by a squawk of static. Somewhere in the Dragoon command bunker technicians had overridden his frequency to give preliminary instructions. According to the rules of the field, it would not happen again.

"Black Thorns, this is Wolf Alpha One. You are scheduled for departure in three minutes. Our sensors show all systems green and weapons locked down. This engagement is scheduled for three hours. You have until that time to meet your objective.

"Per individual agreement, the objective of this mission is simple survival. I remind all participants that the only rule of engagement is the prohibition of physical contact between 'Mechs of opposing sides. Other than that, you have free reign to use the field as you see fit.

"Wolf Alpha One signing off. Good luck, Black Thorns."

And we're going to need it, Rose thought.

Esmeralda had learned that the most prominent terrain feature in the training area was a small town of twelve buildings located a little more than twenty-five kilometers from their starting position. That in itself was not bad news, but Rose had learned from Captain McCloud that his opponents were nicknamed the Asphalt Warriors. Unfortunately, that was all he was able to find out about the unit in the short time available.