Chapter Twenty

Wolverine Enclave

Williamsport, Lum

Clan Space

11 October 2823

The bidding had been more vicious than Star Captain Douglas had ever imagined. The Widowmakers had been whittling away at the bidding with his Clan Mongoose for hours. Now that the Mongoose Clan had won, they stood poised to swing into the small city of Williamsport and seize the laboratories and holdings there.

The Wolverines would pay for their treachery.

A Trial of Absorption. He had never heard of that before. He had only been out of his sibling company for three years now, and this would be his first large scale trial. His youth had been with other warriors, all training in combat, now the real test would come. The Wolverines had held the city for years. It was where they conducted weapons research, if the information he had was right. He and the binary of ’Mechs under his command would sweep in and catch the defenders off guard. They would fight them, crush them, and the city would be the possession of his troops.

His Khan had told him that the Wolverines would most likely not be fighting according to Clan customs and traditions, and for Douglas that made things even more irritating. Rumors had abounded that the Wolverines had declared themselves independent, that they had renounced Nicholas Kerensky and the other Clans. They had threatened total war with the Clans. He had heard that they had desecrated the memorials to the Star League on Strana Mechty. Even in his own city there had been graffiti on the walls of a warehouse, scribbled by some lower caste scum, calling Khan McEvedy a hero. Hero? No, she was not a hero. The lower castes saw that because of her reputation for supporting their ilk. McEvedy had lost her way, forgotten her place in society—Douglas was sure of that.

He was also sure that his force would teach the errant Khan the price of her mistake.

His Mongoose forces would be the first test by the Grand Council of the resolve of the Wolverines, at least that was what his Khan had said. Douglas was ready. He would teach them the respect and honor that only a true Clan warrior could exemplify.

Smoke rose from the valley below. Not heavy smoke, but wisps of gray and white. It did not appear to be the normal pollution of a city, it was far more extensive. His first concern was that the Wolverines were employing some sort of gas attack. He checked the sensors on his Hermes and detected no biological, radiological, or toxic fumes. Fire? Negative. Had the Widowmakers or some other Clan cheated and rushed in before him to secure a victory?

“Sneak Star,” he called out. “I want you to fan out to the north about two kilometers. Come up to the valley edge when you see us close on the ridge. You are covering our flank and the Cameron Highway that leads out of the city. I do not want these surats escaping.”

“Affirmative, Star Captain,” he heard. Sneak Star jogged to the north. He waited until they were in position. “All right Avalanche Star, we are going to crest the ridge. Assume firing positions. The rules of engagement that the Grand Council gave us allows us to fire first. Remember, the Wolverines are not likely to be playing by any rules whatsoever, so provide cover fire and support to each other as needed. We are not here to destroy the city, but to take it intact.”

Douglas maneuvered his Hermes to the edge and looked down. It was a scene he had only seen on historical holovids, images of Operation Klondike and the Pentagon Civil War. The city of Williamsport was blackened. Only a handful of buildings remained intact, mostly residential units from what he saw, that and a few water towers and other service-oriented structures.

The buildings had been burned. Not a burning from battle, he was sure of that. They had been careful, controlled burns. It looked as if a nuclear weapon had gone off. Some structures had been spared. Most had been totally destroyed. His primary target, the science laboratories near the west edge of the city, were flattened black piles of ash. The remaining whiffs of smoke curled upward.

He checked his sensors. Nothing. There were people down there, but no signs of any armed forces. Douglas first suspected a trap, but realized that he was not being fooled. The Wolverines knew that they were coming and had destroyed the city.

“What happened, Star Captain?” came the voice of Sneak Star’s Point Commander.

“Fan out,” he said. “I want this area secured.”

“Sir…what happened here?”

“The Wolverines,” he said carefully, “have shed their honor. They ran like cowards rather than face us in battle.”

There was a pause. “Sir. If they have run, the question I have is, ‘where to?’”

Douglas said nothing. That was a question for the Grand Council to answer.