FOOTHILLS BELOW STAG’S HEAD
EMPORIA
FEDERATED SUNS
18 APRIL 3150
OPERATION BARBICAN, T-MINUS 1 HOUR
Jasper remained back with Delany. She’d forced him to stay out of the discussion and out of the way. “I’m the lance commander, you’re a MechWarrior, and they’re in charge of the infantry. As we will not be going on this ruse, we’re here to observe and answer any questions.”
He hadn’t liked it, but he understood. Everyone had seen him question his sister’s plans enough times to know it was habit. There wasn’t time for questions or what-ifs now. No one knew if the plan would work, but he was not going to be a speed bump to this operation.
There had been no questions to or from the ’Mech side of things. There was only one disagreement on the infantry side of things, between Nadine and Fynn. Fynn had the same dark hair and basic build as Mason Ritza. For the ruse to work, there needed to be at least one cadet in the convoy. Nadine had disagreed until Fynn threw her words about sacrifice back at her. He also noted that in the dark of night, the enemy wouldn’t be able to tell who he was, but it was better that someone who looked similar to the heir be in the jeep.
To his surprise, Countess Ritza had also remained out of the discussion after she’d given them her plan. The cadets would be the ones to carry out the rescue. Her house guards would be the main part of the decoy. Once it was clear a decoy would be deployed, she’d been satisfied to allow them to work it out with her house guard.
In the end, a basic plan was formed. All three armed and armored jeeps would go, but three of the nine house guards would stay behind. Nadine insisted that at least one of the ill house guards stay: “The doctor aboard the Endeavor’s Run will need to test how the vaccine works on those who are already ill. She needs more than one sick person for that.” Those three house guards would join the vehicle fleet heading toward the Endeavor’s Run when it landed.
Once the decoy plan was agreed on, Delany stepped up and took control of the operation once more. Jasper stood with her. He knew what she was going to do now. It was basically what they’d planned before.
“Right,” Delany said, walking over to the Aston-Martin Roadster that had become the central meeting point, “once the decoy convoy heads north, I want everyone to reaffirm their plans with their teams. When the decoy makes contact with the enemy, I want everyone in their vehicles or ’Mechs and listening to the radio. Common channel two, ’Mech channel four, infantry channel six. After that, instructions will come as needed, but the infantry will head south, and the lance will remain here. Keep your lights at a minimum. They travel far in this kind of territory at night. Any questions?”
She looked around the group, her eyes settling on the leaders one at a time—Nadine, Fynn, Countess Ritza, Mason, and last, Jasper. Everyone shook their heads. Jasper knew what they were all thinking: there was only so much planning one could do until it was nothing more than spinning their wheels.
He looked toward the night sky, searching for any sign that the Endeavor’s Run was on its way. He didn’t see anything that looked like a vessel. Not even a shooting star.
“All right.” Delany nodded. “Decoy team, move out when ready. Keep your comms open. We need to hear what happens. Also, keep your lights dim and don’t oversell it.”
Fynn saluted Delany, who returned the salute as the House Ritza guardsmen saluted Mason Ritza and his grandmother. Jasper sensed the unspoken command between them. As Mason returned the salute, Lady Ritza nodded to him.
Jasper touched Fynn’s arm to hold him back. Fynn paused with a quizzical look. Jasper leaned forward, keeping his voice low. “House Vogel is proud of you. Know that.”
Fynn gave him a slow, surprised smile. “Thank you.” Then he walked over to the decoy group.
Mason Ritza cleared his voice. “Here, today, all of you are going above and beyond the call of duty. I will never forget what you have taught me about my place, my duty, my responsibility.” He paused, his voice cracking. “Survive. That’s an order. Come back and take your place at my side.”
Silence grew heavy and somber.
Fynn smiled. “That’s the idea. We’ll do our best, Master Mason. You do your best for Emporia, whether we make it back or not.” With that, he climbed into the center jeep and took the place of a protected noble. The rest of the house guards then took their places in the jeeps.
As they did, the first jeep radioed. “Barbican One, radio check.”
Delany ignored Jasper’s startled look as she answered, “We hear you, Barbican One.” She gave the same response to the second and third jeeps, Barbican Two and Three, respectively.
The cadets clumped together in threes and fours, listening to the radio. Jasper stood next to Delany, Nadine, and Lyric. “Barbican One?” he asked softly.
Lyric answered. “That was Lady Ritza’s idea. This is Operation Barbican after all. A decoy has to be convincing.”
As one, the group considered the younger and elder Ritzas. They stood together, side by side, watching the jeeps until they couldn’t be seen any more. Behind them stood Diamond and the sick house guard. Then the countess murmured to the heir apparent. The boy nodded, dry-eyed and stiff postured.
Delany poked Nadine. “ETA on the Endeavor’s Run?”
After a moment of silence, Nadine repeated the question. “Captain Morse, ETA?” She listened and nodded. “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” She nodded again and sighed, looking after the jeeps’ path.
“Well?” Delany asked.
“Captain Morse says ETA in thirty or so…and good job on the decoy idea. He thinks it’ll buy everyone the time they need for the DropShip to land. He also reminds everyone to give them a full kilometer out for the landing, otherwise we’ll be more than a bit singed.”
Jasper leaned into Delany. “Why aren’t we in our ’Mechs already? Or them in their vehicles?”
Delany shook her head. “That would be a bit more hurry-up-and-wait. Besides, some of them are realizing they need to find a bush. This always happens. Especially with intermixed infantry and ’Mechs. Better to have everyone get in their vehicles with less than ten minutes to go. It’s going to be more than that for this ruse to work. Everyone is being cautious, and the decoy convoy knows they’re buying us time.”
“Making Yoshizawa close the trap slowly?”
“Something like that. Also, it keeps us from being trigger-happy. If we split up and the infantry heads south too soon, they might see it and realize the convoy is a decoy sooner than we want them to.” She gazed skyward. “Anyway, as soon as the Endeavor’s Run can be seen with the naked eye and they realize it isn’t going to land where they thought it would land, all bets are off.”
Jasper didn’t like it. Obviously, neither did some of the other cadets. He and Delany were the only ones not in their ’Mechs now, and Questa had disappeared into the hovertank as soon as the jeeps left. As had the other two Ritza House guardsmen—one to the Growler, one to the civilian jeep.
One look at Lyric told him she wanted in the Roadster they stood next to, but was keeping an eye on Nadine and Delany for official orders.
It was ten minutes before the first of the radio chatter from the decoy convoy, beyond radio checks, broke the mounting tension.
“Barbican One to convoy, I can see the top of the DropShip.”
“We see it, Barbican One. Orders?”
“Slow to half-speed.”
Lady Ritza, Mason, and their retinue drifted closer to the group to listen to the Roadster’s radio and what was happening.
“Barbican One, there are soldiers to the sides of us. I just caught a glimpse of them.”
“I see flashes of them, Barbican Three. They must be from the DropShip. Probably don’t know who else is out here. Keeping us protected from afar.”
“Acknowledged, Barbican One.”
“Radio check, Barbican Two.”
“Barbican Two here. Listening in. Keeping the package safe.”
“Roger that, Barbican Two.”
Nadine shook her head. “Don’t sell it too hard…” She looked to Lady Ritza. “Is this how your security usually interacts?”
The countess shook her head. “No. They are usually much more silent. I told them to act inexperienced and confident until it becomes clear that it’s an act.”
The radio chatter continued. “Barbican One, is that another DropShip?”
“I-I think it is.”
Jasper’s head, and every other head in the group, snapped upward. High in the sky, looking a bit like a falling star, but clearly visible, was a DropShip. “That’s the Endeavor’s Run, right?” he asked.
Nadine nodded. “Yeah.”
Mason turned to his grandmother. “This is it. This is where our people die for me.”
“Where they die to protect Emporia and give you, and our planet, a chance to live.” Her voice was implacable.
“It’s a trap!” the decoy radioed. “This is Barbican One to all vehicles, turn around. That’s not our DropShip! Evasive action now!”
“We’ve been cut off. We’re surrounded!”
“Do whatever you need to do! Get him out of here!”
The shouted words were accompanied with the distant sound of automatic fire, screams, shouts, and an explosion. The radio chatter ceased, and the silence was deafening.
Jasper realized that it meant either Fynn was dead or captured. As were every single one of those men. It would take a little bit of time for the enemy to discover the ruse. He watched the Endeavor’s Run come closer, and hoped they’d bought the DropShip enough time.
“All right everyone, to your vehicles! Infantry, wait on my mark to head out.” Delany said this last bit to Nadine, who nodded.
Jasper reached out and grabbed Nadine’s hand. “Do the impossible.”
She squeezed his hand. “Always. Don’t die.”
“I’ll do my best.” He let go and bolted for the Awesome.
Hugh Salter stood at the ’Mech’s foot. “You had ten more seconds before I took your place. Cutting it close, Roux.”
Jasper nodded. “I know. I’m sorry. Where will you be?”
“The Growler. Three-man vehicle. I’ve always wanted to work a manipulator arm like that. Ten-to-one says I can use it as a weapon.” He held the bottom of the ’Mech’s chain ladder and gestured to it. “Move it.”
“Thank you, Hugh.”
“Thank me by doing your job and hold the line.”
Jasper didn’t answer more than a quickly-tossed half-salute before racing up the ladder. He felt Hugh let go of the bottom and looked just long enough to see the cadet’s shadow sprinting toward the truck. Jasper focused on himself, his ’Mech, and his job. Hugh said it best. The lance needed to hold the line between Yoshizawa and the Endeavor’s Run.
In the back of his mind, he knew that meant facing Yoshizawa’s Hatamoto-Suna again. This time, it would be fully powered up and ready for him, and he wouldn’t have the infantry’s surprise bola weapon to knock it to the ground. He would be facing a megalomaniacal madman who was also a veteran MechWarrior who hated cadets.
“This time,” Jasper muttered as he strapped himself in and put his neurohelmet on, “we will win. I’ll have my whole lance with me.”
Brave words, he knew, but this time it was do or die.