Avalon City, New Avalon
Crucis March
Federated Suns
January 2, 3219
"Captain Marsh, Mr. Zander is here to see you," said the orderly over the private intercom to Leon Marsh's office. Marsh looked up from the stack of papers on his desk, most of them contract proposals from various planetary and interstellar governments, and keyed the talk switch.
"Send him in, please, Sergeant." A moment later, the door opened, and the tall, pale-skinned man stepped in.
Marsh rose to his feet, shorter than Mr. Zander, but more powerfully built. He ignored the impulse to tug at his thick black mustache as he extended his hand. "Mr. Zander."
"Captain Marsh," Zander replied, his voice silky smooth. He did not take the offered hand. "I'm glad you decided to see me on such short notice."
"A mercenary company is in the business of making money, Mr. Zander," Marsh said, sitting back down. "And being that my contract with House Davion is almost expired, any venue of employment is much anticipated. Now how can I help you?"
Zander opened his briefcase, setting a pamphlet on Marsh's table. "Captain Marsh, this is a top secret operation. Even if you refuse to participate, I must have your oath that it will remain a secret. If you break that oath . . ."
Marsh did not appreciate the thinly veiled threat, but as he had said, money was money, and the proposals from the Draconis Combine, the Raven Alliance, and the Capellan Confederation were less than appealing. One from the Isle of Skye looked somewhat promising, but Marsh was certainly willing to hear what Zander had to say, if the price was right.
"How much?" he asked. Zander smiled.
"I was waiting for you to ask that. One million Star League credits, half in advance, half after completion of the operation."
Marsh blinked. One million credits? That was a great deal of money, especially for a two-bit mercenary company that had little actual combat experience. For a million credits, he could add another BattleMech company to the force, and upgrade his existing units considerably.
"The First Vanguard Company is at your service, sir, and I swear that no mention of this meeting shall escape my lips."
"Good enough," Zander said. "The situation is essentially this: I represent Charlemagne Kerensky-Liao. You've heard of him?"
Marsh nodded—everyone knew of the Wolf Clan warrior who had married Janice Liao, daughter of Capellan Chancellor Chong-lo Liao. Recently, tensions between Charlemagne and his adopted liege had run high, supposedly fueled by Janice's desire to break with the upper portion of her father's realm.
Zander continued. "Lady Janice Liao is preparing to demand for control of the Tikonov Province of the Capellan Confederation. Should her father be unwilling to reach a peaceful solution, it is General Kerensky-Liao's desire that he have a military force large enough to seize the province forcibly. However, he can only count on the loyalty of one regular Capellan army unit, which, needless to say, is not enough. I have been dispatched to gather a mercenary force sufficient to defeat any military reprisal that Chong-lo sees fit to mount. As you know, the Capellan military has suffered from Chong-lo's reforms, and we expect little trouble in defeating them." Zander shrugged. "Frankly, Captain Marsh, I doubt very much that you'll see combat at all. However, the million credits will be paid, whether or not your unit ever fires a shot."
"All the standard merc benefits?" Marsh inquired. Zander nodded.
"Everything as required by Outreach," he said. "Since your unit will be stationed on Tikonov, you'll have full access to the BattleMech factories should your unit be damaged in any fighting that occurs."
"Sounds too good to be true," Marsh said. Zander laughed as if he had never made the attempt before, and wasn't too proud of his success.
"I assure you, sir, it is true."
"We'll sign," Marsh said. "You're providing transportation?"
"A JumpShip will arrive in-system in a month, after your contract with the Federated Suns expires."
"Great." Marsh scrawled his signature at the appropriate points, and handed the contract over to Zander. "You've got a deal, Mr. Zander."
Zander ripped off Marsh's receipt, handing it back to him. "Thank you, Captain Marsh. I know you'll be glad you did this.
DropShip Mayflower, In Transit Dock With JumpShip CCS Lucien Cortez Tikonov ProvinceCapellan Confederation
March 22, 3219"All hands to battle stations! All hands to battle stations!"
"What the hell is going on?" Marsh grunted, rolling out of bed as klaxons screamed around him. The ship's captain's voice repeated the alert twice more over the intercom, and then stopped. Marsh grabbed one of the overalls in his closet and stalked into the hallway.
Lieutenant Rain Jeffers was right outside his door, her hand reaching toward the bell key. She blinked in surprise when she saw him, but quickly regained her composure.
"Sir," she said, "we just got commed by the bridge. The Cortez is under attack by Capellan WarShips. It looks like they were preparing to assault Tikonov when we jumped in. The planet is screaming for assistance. The Cortez's captain has ordered us to disembark so she can exit the system. We'll be making a four-gee burn into the planet any time now."
"Christ," Marsh muttered. "This isn't the way our contract read. Okay, get our people to their acceleration couches, and make sure all the 'Mechs are secure. But don't get caught out of a couch when they start the burn, Lieutenant! I'm going up to the bridge."
"Yes, sir."
The Mayflower's bridge was a din of hushed voices and short, concise reporting when Marsh arrived. Captain DeBrun waved him over.
"Dammit, man, get in an accel couch," he said. "We're just about to start the burn. Here, use the exec's." Marsh hurried to strap himself into the specially designed chair, which would use antigravity technology to compensate for the tremendous stress the DropShip would soon be under. Within a minute of the couch's activation, DeBrun gave an order to the helmsman, who started the ship accelerating toward Tikonov.
"What's happening—Jesus Christ!" The JumpShip Cortez was displayed on the main view screen, flanked by two brand-new Stirtz-class destroyers, and had been pummeled under the two WarShips' weapons to the point of structural collapse. Now, the burning wreck disintegrated as naval-grade autocannon fire ripped through its superstructure.
"They're not going to catch us, are they?" Marsh asked. DeBrun shook his head.
"No, we've managed to get out of their range, and we have the acceleration advantage. They might follow us in, but we'll make planetfall before they'll be able to hit us with anything."
Marsh sank back into the acceleration couch, muttering a prayer of thanks as the DropShip continued to burn toward the planet.
Tyler City, TikonovTikonov Province
Capellan Confederation
March 23, 3219
The rebels' headquarters was in the Tyler City University campus. TCU was a well-renowned college, known on any planet within fifty light-years as one of the Inner Sphere's premiere universities. Now, the fighting had hammered most of its buildings flat, and BattleMech tracks and tank treads tore up its beautiful landscaping.
General Charlemagne Kerensky-Liao was waiting for Marsh and the commanders of the other mercenary units that had come in on the Lucien Cortez. He wore the uniform of the First Tikonov Regular Guard, the unit Marsh knew he commanded in his capacity as the husband of the Regent of the Tikonov Province, and a cloak of wolf pelts over that. Now, Charlemagne's title was Lord of the Tikonov Armies, and his ambitious wife had declared herself Princess of Tikonov.
Despite the arrival of his reinforcements, Kerensky-Liao did not appear happy.
"These are the mercenaries?" he asked. A lieutenant nodded.
"Yes, my lord. Colonels Trigg, Esteban, and Lloyd; Captains Wallace, Marsh, and Lorvick. And with them two and a half regiments of BattleMechs and support."
"Excellent," Charlemagne said, his voice booming, "Mr. Zander did even better than expected! Their units are in the city?"
"All but Captain Wallace's," the lieutenant explained, "his are still unloading from the DropShips. But they will be available within the hour."
"Good, very good."
"Excuse me, General, we're getting a burst transmission from the Capellan commander."
"Go ahead and put in on the main screen," Charlemagne said, pointing. The communications technician nodded dutifully and quickly complied.
The screen now displayed a short man, slightly pudgy in the face, with definite Asian features and a shaved head. His voice was low and even, not unlike Charlemagne Kerensky-Liao's.
"This is General Hu Lan-Shu, Eighteenth Capellan Heavy Lancers, to General Charlemagne Kerensky-Liao, commander of the rebellious Tikonov forces. General Kerensky-Liao, my forces have captured the capital city of Tikonov. Both Lady Janice Liao and Colonel Amanda Chou, the commander of your Second Tikonov Regular Guard, have been captured. It is my distinct pleasure to inform you that, as per the Chancellor's orders, both Janice Liao and Amanda Chou have been shot for treason. I sincerely wish to meet you, General Kerensky-Liao, that I might extend the Chancellor's courtesy to you as well. That is all."
Charlemagne turned away from the screen with a grim smile on his face, but nary a sign of remorse for his recently executed wife. "You can see the situation. General Hu is headquartered in the capital city. We need to capture him to force a settlement. Hu is a cousin of the Chancellor and, despite all his posturing, he is essentially a coward. Killing him would be easy, but it would not accomplish our objectives for a free Tikonov Province. Do you understand your units' mission, quaiff? Good. My staff and I will brief you before you are deployed."
"Excuse me, sir," said a man standing in the corner. Marsh looked and immediately recognized Mr. Zander. "Perhaps the shock is too much for you, but General Hu just informed us that the Princess of Tikonov is dead. Am I to understand that you are now assuming leadership of the Tikonov Principality?"
"You should assume nothing of the sort," Charlemagne said. "I realize that I did not react . . . as expected when I learned of my wife's death at the hands of her father's errand-boy. However, I cannot allow her dream to go uncompleted. The Tikonov Principality will become a reality, and Chong-lo Liao will pay for his crimes. I swear it on my dead." Charlemagne moved to the massive map display that now showed on the view screen. "But back to the business of war. The Eighteenth Heavy Lancers hold the northern side of the Eras River, and the capital. But that is all they hold. We have been able to triangulate the position of Hu's headquarters based on the general's previous transmissions. We believe that the Capellans are using the MegaMech Corporation planetary headquarters as their command center. Needless to say, this target is not to be heavily damaged in your assault. Because of this, your 'Mech forces will work in close concert with infantry units from the First TRG and whatever we can recover from the Second. The primary objective is the capture of General Hu and as many of his senior officers as possible. If it is absolutely necessary—and only I will judge that situation—General Hu may need to be terminated in order to prevent his escape. Understood, quaiff?"
The mercenary commanders nodded their understanding. Charlemagne smiled. It looked unnatural on his scarred face.
"Excellent. Report back to your units; my staffers will be around to update each of your on your units' specific missions."
Marsh's technicians were already going over his 'Mech when he arrived. The BattleMech, a 75-ton Caster that he'd "liberated" from the service of the Free Worlds Republic after leaving that institution's military ten years before, stood some ten meters tall. It was roughly shaped like a man, though the left arm ended in the muzzle of a Falcon 12 10cm autocannon rather than the fully articulated hand that was affixed to the other. Two lasers were mounted above the hand, and three more, these ones of the pulse variety, formed a rough semi-circle on his chest. A fire-and-forget pack of SRMs was mounted in a boxy pod beside the Caster's head. The 'Mech was emblazoned with the red and orange paint scheme of the First Vanguards, and had been named Perseus after its first kill in battle had been a pirate Medusa.
"It's all ready for you, Captain," the tech sergeant in command of the crew called down from a crane that was retracting from the 'Mech's shoulder. "Full combat load and everything."
"Thank you, Peters," Marsh said. He brushed his hand up against Perseus' leg as he walked past it to head into the makeshift briefing room that the Vanguards had set up after being stationed in an unused section of the Tyler City spaceport.
All fourteen Vanguard MechWarriors were already there, under the watchful eye of Lieutenant Jeffers. They stood at attention when Marsh walked in, and he calmly waved them back to their seats.
"Good morning, people. It seems that General Kerensky-Liao has a bit of a problem. You see, the Capellans seem to think that they own this planet."
"Maybe they should show him their real estate papers!"
Marsh laughed. "That's a thought, Scoot. Not a good one, but hey, with you we make exceptions, right? But all jokes aside, this little revolution is not going well for Mr. Kerensky-Liao. Seems that Papa Liao was a bit angry with Lady Janice for deciding she wanted to strike out on her own. Seems he was so angry that he gave orders to the Capellan commander to have her executed. Apparently the commander of the Second Tikonov Regular Guard got stood up right against the wall right next to Lady Janice, and we can't count on much support from that regiment anymore."
"Helluva situation, Captain."
"There you are correct, Yountz," Marsh agreed. "But let's not forget that we'll get paid one million credits if we help the good general win this little war of his. And Charlemagne seems to think that'll happen if we capture the Capellan commander, a General Hu Lan-Shu. General Hu has the ear of Chancellor Chong-lo, and Kerensky-Liao believes he can get the Chancellor to grant independence to the 'Tikonov Principality,' whatever the hell that is. Our part in this grand operation is to provide a distraction for the force that goes in to get Hu. We'll be working with Captain Lorvick and the Lonesome Devils. Our job will be to ford the river and make it obvious. If attacked in strength, we are not only authorized but expected to bug out." Marsh smiled. "Hell, if they pay us to retreat, what is the world coming to?"
"What a damn pity," Scoot muttered.
"I agree. Lance commanders will have their lance's assignments momentarily, but there really isn't much to our part. Run through some water, make some noise, get the Capellans' attention, and run like hell when they throw a battalion or two at us. Everyone understand?"
"Ho!" the company answered as one.
"That's what I thought. Let's get going now."
The Eras River lie just ahead of Marsh in his Caster, and he watched the company's leading lance stride purposefully through it. A few warehouses on the other side were leveled with bursts from autocannons and lasers. Scoot even marched his Spider up to one and kicked in the side. For the most part, the operation was well in hand.
Except the Capellan BattleMech units, the ones they wanted to draw away from their command center, weren't budging.
"Vanguard, this is Red One. I've got visual on three VV1 Rangers, Capellan markings."
"Waste 'em," Marsh ordered, driving his 'Mech to a run. If the Capellans were content to send light vehicles to the slaughter, he was happy to oblige them. It took only a handful of seconds to ford the shallow part of the river, and then Perseus stepped onto the shore, water dripping from its angled hull.
Let's kill things.
"Red Lance, firing," sang Red One. Up ahead, Marsh could see the four BattleMechs, pouring too much ammunition into three light attack vehicles. The Rangers exploded quickly, none of them having fired a shot.
"Vanguard, this is too easy," Jeffers commented. She was leading Blue Lance, the command lance, in her Striker II. Marsh shrugged inside his cockpit.
"So we make more noise," he said. "The Capellans aren't buying that we're a real threat. We'll convince them."
Up the bank a way was a major refueling station that the Capellans had seized and were using to fill their vehicles. Marsh dropped his golden crosshairs over the nearest fuel tank, and waited until the dot in the middle flashed red before depressing the firing trigger on the right joystick. The two large lasers lanced out, scarlet beams that pierced the fuel tank—
And created on hell of an explosion, totally destroying the JES missile carrier that had been guarding it. Marsh smiled to himself as black smoke wafted into the air.
"That ought to get their attention."
"Captain Marsh, Captain Lorvick," said the voice of their communications operator back at Kerensky-Liao's headquarters, "be advised you have Capellan 'Mechs en route to your position, at least two companies. Keep up the good work, Captains."
"Thanks for the lowdown," Marsh said. "Well, Captain Lorvick, our plan seems to be working."
Half a kilometer to the east, Captain Lorvick laughed in the cockpit of his Trebuchet. "It would appear so, Captain Marsh. Shall we take full advantage of the situation our disturbance has created?"
"We shall." Marsh switched into the all-company channel. "All right, ladies and gents, the Capellans are on the way, so fight like hell!"
"The attack is going well?" Charlemagne Kerensky-Liao asked in his private chambers. Lieutenant Colonel Grund, his chief of staff, nodded.
"As well as to be expected, General. The mercenaries are distracting the Capellans quite nicely. The reserve units are ready to begin their attack across the river."
Kerensky-Liao laughed. "I am sure they are. You know that General Hu will not be taken alive, quaiff?"
"I thought," said Grund very carefully, "that we were relying on that certainty."
"Aff, my friend, we are, we are." Kerensky-Liao toyed with the displays on his wall view screen. "However, being able to blame the mercenaries and not my own forces for the death of the Chancellor's cousin is only a piece in the puzzle. I sincerely hope that Chong-lo is reasonable enough to recognize that the civil war this incident could ignite would tear the Confederation apart. If he indeed is aware of this fact, the Tikonov Principality will become a reality much sooner than I dare expect. However, Chancellor Liao has already behaved quite unexpectedly in this circumstance, quaiff?"
Grund grimaced. "We did not expect that Lady Janice would be captured with Amanda Chou, much less that General Hu would have her executed."
"Not General Hu," Kerensky-Liao said. "Not that spineless worm. No, an order to have the Chancellor's youngest daughter stood up against a wall and shot could only come from the Celestial Throne itself. And that showed more fortitude that Chong-lo is known for. Not to mention the hitch it threw into our plans."
"It was an unfortunate development, sir," Grund agreed. "Without Lady Janice, your claim to the throne of the Principality is nowhere as solid as it was before."
"But perhaps it is for the best, quaiff? No one will be able to refute my claim to the throne, not after I sacrificed all to attain independence for the province. And of course, there is the small matter of the military's loyalty."
"There is no doubt that the Tikonov Regular Guard would follow you into Hell, sir." Kerensky-Liao glared at Grund for a moment, for the chief of staff's demeanor bordered on that of a sycophant. Grund quickly recovered his objective composure.
"We're going to have trouble with Mr. Zander though," he said.
"Oh, Zander is nowhere as loyal to my late wife as he acts," Kerensky-Liao said. "I do not know what exactly what game he is playing, but I have no doubt that we will be able to turn him in time."
"I'll take your word on it, sir," Grund said. An orderly came up behind him and whispered into his ear. "Sir, the reserve is launching its attack."
Drops of sweat stung sharply as they dripped into Marsh's eyes. The temperature inside his 'Mech's cockpit had raised dramatically over the last few minutes, and he drove the machine back down into the deeper regions of the river where the cool water greatly added to his heat sinks' ability to cool his 'Mech. This was the fourth time in twenty minutes that he'd sought the refuge of the river, and it didn't look like it would be the last.
So far, the Capellans had not been fighting very intelligently. They had sent lances and pairs of lances out to meet the two mercenary companies, which had, obviously, picked them apart under a withering storm of lasers, particle beams, missiles, and autocannon rounds. Marsh himself had scored a kill on an ancient Capellan Cyclops, felling the machine after a prolonged firefight.
"Boss, looks like they finally wised up," Jeffers warned. "They've got six lances inbound, and none of 'em look like they're gonna stop and watch the fun."
"Okay, people, look alive, we've got a company and a half inbound." The fun part. "Lance commanders, check your personnel."
"Red Lance, we're all go."
"Green Lance is good too, sir."
"Gold Lance is green."
"And Blue Lance checks out, sir."
"Right, then let's show these Capellans how real mercs fight!"
"I was not aware," said Scoot, "that we got paid to retreat."
Funny guy, thought Marsh. Then a Capellan Men-Shen appeared before him, launching a full flight of long-range missiles at point-blank range. Marsh managed to evade all but two, and their warheads made shallow pockmarks in his 'Mech's armor.
He sent a stream of autocannon shells back at the Men-Shen, stitching a line of destruction up its right leg, and then fired the pulse lasers, scoring a few hits on the BattleMech's left arm. Armor ran off in molten dribbles, singing the grass below.
The Men-Shen wasn't just standing still, though. It ran right past Marsh, hitting his Caster full in the chest with both large pulse lasers. Marsh's body was immediately drenched in sweat as the heat went up at least ten degrees in his cockpit, and the captain swore as the computer informed him politely that one of his pulse lasers was offline. He spun the 'Mech on its heels, letting loose his fire-and-forget SRMs. The missiles peppered the Men-Shen with explosions, rocking the light-footed 'Mech and sending its obviously inexperience pilot to the ground. As the 'Mech staggered to get up, Marsh poured fire into it, as did Scoot in his Uziel, lashing the fallen Men-Shen with PPCs. The 'Mech did not get back up.
"Captain Marsh, Captain Marsh, this is Lieutenant Daniels, Captain Lorvick's second in command. Captain Lorvick is down, sir; I am now in command of the Lonesome Devils. I am deferring to your superior experience and requesting orders."
"Dammit. Captain Lorvick is unrecoverable?"
"Affirmative, sir, his 'Mech took a gauss round right through the windshield."
"Hell, Lieutenant, I don't have much to tell you," Marsh said, taking a hit from a Lion Hunter. "Just keep doing what you're doing, and let me know if you're being overwhelmed! I'll keep in touch. Marsh out."
He didn't hear Daniels' reply, for his attention was concentrated fully on the Lion Hunter that was now directly in front of him, it's autocannon leveled at his face. Marsh brought his 'Mech's arms up as fast as he could, willing them to be faster, faster—
And yet, not nearly fast enough.
Rain Jeffers saw the Lion Hunter lining up the kill shot on the captain. She swung her 'Mech's torso around, trying to bring her weapons to bear even as Marsh tried to block the enemy's shot. She wasn't fast enough either.
The steady stream of depleted-uranium shells blew though the Caster's head in a burst of fire and shards of metal. Finally Jeffers had the shot, and fired everything her 'Mech had, sending it into an emergency shutdown. Lasers, missiles, and a particle beam turned armor into slag, fusing the Lion Hunter's arm in place, but it did little damage. What truly did the damage was the single LRM that had gone astray from its brothers . . . and punched right through the Lion Hunter's cockpit windshield to explode practically on the Capellan MechWarrior's lap. It was the best shot Jeffers had ever had, and the most complete kill she'd ever claimed, and yet, it hadn't been enough. It would never be enough.
Tears rolled down Jeffers' face as she turned away from the burning wreck of her captain's 'Mech. A Capellan Hollander showed itself, and was immediately on the receiving end of Rain Jeffers' pent up rage.
The Striker II marched proudly into battle, its pilot no longer a thing of flesh and blood and emotion, but a cold, calculating killer just as machine as the 'Mech she piloted.
Charlemagne Kerensky-Liao did not sleep that night. Instead, he stood in his private chambers, hands clenched behind his back, staring at the tactical repeater. The two mercenary companies he had sent as a distraction had not fared well in the battle, but it was of no consequence. Colonel Esteban's forces had blown through the Capellan defenses, and, exactly as he had planned, had killed Hu Lan-Shu as the General had attempted to escape.
His regards had been transmitted to Chong-lo, as well as his sincerest apologies for General Hu's unfortunate demise, all through the faster-than-light HPG stations operated by ComStar. Chong-lo ought to be responding within a matter of hours, and Kerensky-Liao was content to give him all the time he needed, for he already controlled Tikonov. Already, the worlds of Yangtze, Nopah, and Bharat had sworn allegiance to the Tikonov Principality.
Charlemagne Kerensky-Liao smiled to himself. It was all coming together as it should.