He'd expected an immediate court case, formal charges or something that would allow him to defend himself, but the guards had merely deposited the Thorns here without so much as a word. Twenty minutes later McCloud and Ajax were added, and the door had closed for the final time.
At that point Rose would have accepted questions, but the other Black Thorns had descended into a gloomy silence. By unspoken agreement, they'd decided to wait out their confinement in silence, at least as long as they were being held in the Dragoons' main administrative building. Ajax had judged the mood instantly and taken a seat on a long bench opposite Rose. He had not moved since. Rachel McCloud was another story.
Rose could see the fury in her eyes as she entered the room. Although he suspected that she was mostly angry at the Dragoons for throwing her in with the mercenaries, her single hot look at Rose said she blamed him too. She threw herself into the wooden chair nearest the door and stared a challenge at anyone who might dare to approach. The Thorns left her alone.
Rose had initially thought to keep McCloud company, but one icy look from her told him what a very poor idea that was. He didn't understand their relationship any more than before, or even if they still had one. She'd been polite to him prior to the day's events, but that was about all. He knew she was once again concerned about acquiring a cargo, but if she was going to end up sharing the blame for the attack on the Dragoons, the chances of a profitable run dropped to about zero. Rose decided that a talk with her would have to wait until they were out of their current situation.
Looking around the room, he began to take the measure of his men. Hawg had collapsed on the floor, falling asleep with his head propped on his cooling vest. Even asleep, the man's physique was impressive. Rianna had initially paced the room, but eventually she threw herself onto a bench and tried to relax. As always, Angus seemed to come to rest next to her. Esmeralda and Badicus shared the bench with Ajax, but Rose couldn't judge their mood, even after two hours. The only thing he could tell was that this kind of treatment was probably not new to them.
Rose shifted his weight and felt the leather of his holster rub his bare thigh. The laser was still in its holster, as was his boot knife. Dragoon confidence or Dragoon arrogance? he wondered. As he pondered the question, the heavy latch on the single door slid open. Seven heads came up in unison. Hawg stretched slowly and pulled himself to a sitting position, his cooling vest now resting in his lap. The man's right hand was out of sight of the door, but Rose could see it resting on his holster. While his left hand wiped sleep from his eyes, the right unfastened the holster. As the door swung open a Dragoon security trooper slipped into the room and stood at the side of the door. Because the guard was so lightly armed, Rose assumed he was there for show only. The second man into the room was the main event. Although small, the dark-featured Dragoon exuded a presence that more than made up for his lack of height. His eyes moved from one Thorn to another, pausing slightly as he looked at Hawg. Rose stood and turned to face him.
Walking forward, the Dragoon extended his hand. Rose considered snubbing the gesture, but reconsidered giving offense. Grace under pressure always seemed to annoy people who did not have it and earned the respect of those who did. As the two shook hands, Rose realized this man fell into the latter category. Releasing his grip, Rose scanned the other's uniform. An officer and an infantryman. In his current situation that could only mean he was . . .
"Major Brubaker, I was beginning to think the Dragoons had forgotten about us."
Brubaker cocked his head and looked up at Rose. "Hardly, Captain Rose." Rose nodded and smiled, the picture of politeness, if not ignorance. "As you may have guessed, we have been detaining you because of your unit's action on the practice field."
No apology. That was typical for a Dragoon. It was even more typical for an infantryman when addressing a Mech Warrior. Rose wondered if curiosity might not be as important as he originally thought.
"I understand. I take it that we are free to go?" Rose's eyebrows popped up and he smiled as sweetly as he could.
Major Brubaker chewed his lower lip for a moment. Rose waited politely and gave the major time to speak.
"Upon further review of the holovids, we have ruled that Captain Hawkens broke the rules of engagement by striking the Warhammer." Rose heard a sharp intake of breath behind him and assumed that it was Esmeralda breathing again. Brubaker kept his eyes firmly on Rose, choosing to ignore the distraction. "Captain Hawkens will survive and possibly learn from the experience, although I wonder about his chances for further advancement.
"If it matters, the field supervisors have disqualified both teams." Rose was not surprised. They would look after their fellow Dragoons first, even those who broke the rules. "As the head of Contract Command, however, I have overridden their report and entered your unit as the victor in the engagement." Rose nodded his appreciation, not trusting his voice to contain his surprise. To his even greater surprise, Brubaker went on.
"Despite what you might believe about Wolfs Dragoons, we do not tolerate the kind of behavior displayed by Captain Hawkens this afternoon. He struck the Warhammerfirst, obviously aiming for the cockpit. Had his aim been better, he would be in the prison ward of the hospital charged with murder. Your retaliation does not change the fact that Captain Hawkens struck first and violated the rules. At that moment his team forfeited the contest."
Rose was impressed. The Dragoons were proving that they lived by the same standards they imposed on the other mercenaries who came to Outreach.
Brubaker had not looked away from Rose once as he spoke, but his voice carried through the entire room. Brubaker knew, as did Rose, that the contest could have gone the other way just as easily and it might have been Esmeralda in the hospital, or dead. Brubaker turned sideways half a step and looked at Angus and Rianna.
"Destroying the Crusaderwith a single salvo was very impressive."
Rianna blushed and smiled slightly. "Thank you."
"I'm afraid you misunderstand. I didn't say you did something good, just flashy. Throwing yourself on an opponent's sword is rarely a sound decision."
Rose could see his sister's blush turn a deeper red. Brubaker turned back to Jeremiah. "Captain Rose, Colonel Parella is going to be very upset when he discovers what you did to one of his lances." With a nod of his head, the major left the room.
They were free to go, and so Rose followed behind, but was the third one out of the room behind McCloud. By the time a security van dropped them off at the staging area, light was beginning to fade. Rose gathered his unit together around one of the Charger'senormous feet.
"Now that we're alone, we can relax. We've got a couple of hours of maintenance work to finish before we start the debriefing. Don't get your hopes up. This isn't the way we'll do it in the field, but I want to be absolutely sure we're alone. Get the 'Mechs back to the bay, then clean up and meet me in my room in three hours for dinner. Consider that an order."
Rose turned to Captain McCloud. "I know I can't order you, Captain, but I'd appreciate it if you'd join us." McCloud didn't bother with a response. For the first time in his life Rose was truly glad that looks could not kill.
Three hours later, Rose was still thinking the same thing as McCloud burst into his hotel room. The rest of the unit was scattered around the room finishing off the remains of their dinner, which had been provided by Ajax. Rose closed the door and returned to his chair.