THE ROAD TO THE RITZA ACADEMY
EMPORIA
FEDERATED SUNS
8 APRIL 3150
0150 HOURS
The Goblin, Fox, and Vedette slowed to a stop, with the Ostsol ahead and the Griffin behind. All of the other ’Mechs remained in their outrider positions except a lone BattleMaster. The eighty-five-ton assault ’Mech joined them from the front of the convoy. It didn’t take a genius for Jasper to realize Dame Emma was in that ’Mech.
“All units, keep your sensors outward. We need to know if we have pursuit. We’re transferring the Vogels and Cadet Nadine Roux to the Goblin. Misra, Patel, Pease, assist with the transfer. Baron Vogel is badly injured. Baroness Vogel has died. We want this to be fast and careful. Ostsol, put the jeep down next to the Goblin.”
Jasper did as he was ordered. Four people got out of the Goblin: three MechWarriors in generic coveralls and, from the way his sister hugged the other cadet tight, Lyric Hayton in fatigues. Neither girl appeared injured. Nadine disappeared into the Goblin before he thought to zoom in on her and make sure she was all right. Lord Zachary limped and was supported by Lance Commander Zaman Misra. Lieutenant Theresa Patel helped Captain Nathan Pease get Lady Shannon out of the jeep. Then Captain Pease cradled her body to him like a child and carried her aboard the Goblin.
A moment later, James Radcliff commed, “Everyone’s on board and strapped in, Dame Emma.”
“Move out. Cole, make sure the jeep is off the road and can’t cause any accidents.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Jasper listened to this with a conflicted heart. Part of him wanted to snap at the others and his professor that this was still his mission until they got to the academy. Part of him was relieved to no longer be in command in any capacity other than getting the Ostsol back to the ’Mech bay.
Before he could relax into the hypnotic motion of being on patrol and letting the ’Mech’s sensors—and the other MechWarriors—warn him of danger, one of his screens lit up with a message from Dame Emma: switch to channel 5.
His mouth went dry. Switching channels was no guarantee of privacy. It only pulled side conversations from the main comm channel. Anyone could shift and listen in. The fact that the tactics professor had texted it meant she wanted at least the illusion of privacy. He flipped his comms to channel five and muted the rest. “Cadet Roux here.”
“I have questions I need answered before we get to the academy.”
Feeling like he was being called on the carpet, he nodded to the air. “I’ll answer them if I can.”
“Who is in charge of this mission? Who set it up?”
“It was me and Cadet Nadine Roux. She was in charge of the rescue operation. I was in charge of the distraction and cover fire until she called the retreat.”
“How did you get the academy vehicles?”
“We worked with Sergeant Major Auger. He set up the ground crew and technicians.”
“You didn’t work with the school’s cadre?”
Jasper grimaced and knew he was in trouble. “Most of the cadre wanted to hide the academy ’Mechs before the Combine troops came for them. They didn’t think the cadets would be capable of using them to protect the academy. Sir Felix objected.”
“Really. How do you know this?”
“I overheard them. I tried to join the conversation. I…they shut me out.”
Dame Emma took a long time to answer. In the end, she ignored his barely veiled outrage at having had a literal door closed in his face. “All right. What plans do you have set up for when we get back?”
Jasper frowned. “Plans? I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Defensive plans. Medical plans. Debriefs.”
“Cadet Osborn is watching for our return. We’ll have medics on site.” I hope, he added to himself. “Sergeant Crusett is in charge of the ’Mech bay, and I’m not certain who is managing the vehicle bay.”
“Where’s Sergeant Major Auger?”
“He’s in the city, trying to get out a message on a Black Box. To call for help. A lot has happened since you were…were taken.” He didn’t want to say “captured.” It sounded disrespectful.
“I see. And your defensive plans?”
Jasper didn’t respond. He didn’t know how to. In truth, he and Nadine had planned up to this point, and hadn’t planned on anything past it. Part of him didn’t think they were even going to get this far. The other part assumed all would go back to normal. Neither of them had thought any farther than the rescue operation.
“Cadet?” Her tone was light, but promised pain if he didn’t answer.
“We didn’t set up defensive plans, Dame Emma. We didn’t do this with the cadre’s permission. They would’ve told us, ‘No, we’ve got to keep you safe,’ and let you and the rest of the captured nobles be executed one by one. We weren’t willing to do that. The cadre refused to act, so a small group of us did.”
“I see.”
“No, you don’t. We needed to free you, or continue to let you die like sheep led to the slaughter. They hadn’t come for the academy yet, but they would’ve, and by then all chances to fight back would’ve been lost.”
“We’ll talk about this more at the academy. I expect you and the other cadets who participated in this…this mission…to wait for my attention as soon as we get back.”
“Yes, Dame Emma.” He unmuted the rest of the channels, but set them to toggle-response. He didn’t want to miss anything. Also, he didn’t want anyone to hear anything he said in the privacy of his ’Mech. Shaking his head, he wondered if they were spending their last nights as Ritza Academy cadets. Despite their rescue, Dame Emma seemed upset at them for succeeding.
Jasper bared his teeth. “Stop it. Don’t borrow trouble. You’ll find out when you get back to the academy.”
Looking at his watch, he figured they should be there within a half hour or so. He settled back and tried to let the Ostsol’s rocking momentum lull him into the patrol space of “no mind, all senses.” It didn’t work. Of course it didn’t work. That sort of thing never worked when you tried to make it happen. Instead, pieces of the night came back to him in snippets of memory.
—Claire’s panic at the Kishi attack and her death scream—
—The Hatamoto-Suna reaching for the jeep—
—The Vedette’s explosion—
—Nadine’s call for help—
“No,” he muttered. “Think of the good. We succeeded. We won.”
“Tell Dame Emma that Lady Shannon has died…”
“Didn’t we?”
Lyric grabbed Nadine as she approached the Goblin. The two hugged each other tight. “What happened?”
The whispered question could only refer to one thing. “She was impaled by shrapnel when the Vedette exploded.” Nadine let go and glanced over her shoulder as the adults took care of the Vogels. Turning from the scene, she looked to the troop transport. She didn’t want to see Lady Shannon’s dead body. Not again.
“There’s room up front with me. James is driving.”
Nadine clambered into the front of the vehicle. “No one on turret?”
Lyric’s eyes narrowed. “Plenty. All of them of higher rank than me or Radcliff.”
James gave Nadine a rueful smile. “Hey. Good work out there.”
Not good enough, she thought. “Thanks. You, too.”
Lyric slid in next to Nadine and snuggled close.
Nadine wrinkled her nose. “Hon, I love you, but you’re covered in blood.”
“That I am.” While Lyric didn’t seem bothered by it, she straightened, pulling away. “I’ve also spent the last thirty minutes being debriefed by…” She pointed a hidden thumb at their passengers. “I told them everything I knew, and that you were in charge of their rescue, and they all had you to thank. You’re welcome, by the way. The debrief wasn’t fun. I don’t even know who took charge. I don’t recognize everyone, and no one has uniforms on.”
Nadine resisted the urge to look over her shoulder at the rescued adults. Now would be inappropriate. The long drive home gave everyone the time to think long thoughts. The dead and injured Vogels had emotions running high. She heard sounds of grief behind her. Lady Shannon had been a popular noble and a respected MechWarrior in her own right. Nadine didn’t want to give any of the adults a reason to lash out at her.
But she couldn’t keep her secret. If Lyric still loved her after this, all would be well. Nadine leaned in close to her girlfriend and confessed her sin. “Lady Shannon’s my fault. If I hadn’t stopped the jeep to look at the bolo and harpoons in action, she wouldn’t have been hit with shrapnel.”
“You don’t know that. The Vedette really went up. Even the Goblin got hit.” She stopped, and Nadine thought about the explosion and the cadets inside. “I don’t think they had time to suffer,” Lyric added.
Nadine sighed and rested her head against the seat, closing her eyes.
“You okay?”
“No. But I’ll live.”
Lyric leaned forward. “You’re hurt?”
“Only a little.” Nadine opened her eyes. “I almost got shot in the temple and slammed my head in the explosion.” She touched the left side of her head near the temple and winced.
“Good thing you’re hard-headed. Lemme see.” Lyric eyed her. “Might scar, but your hair will cover it. I don’t think the cut above your eye will scar either. Where’s your helmet?”
“Lost it in a fight.” She bowed her head. “Dammit. I lost my helmet and my rifle. Placket’s gonna have my ass.”
“Yep. You’re gonna catch a world of shit for the helmet. Good thing the weapon wasn’t registered to you.”
Nadine glanced over her shoulder. Most of the adults were either attending to Lord Zachary or looking out the window. None of them looked happy. “You’d think they’d celebrate their freedom.”
Lyric gestured to the passengers. “They’d been captured just long enough to get angry, not long enough to get scared. Most of them are probably pissed that a few good cadets had to pull their asses out of the fire.”
“We gonna be cadets for long? I mean me. It was my plan. My idea. I…” Nadine felt like crying. “I didn’t think about what would happen when we got back. I figured they’d just take charge again.”
“It’s going to be okay. I promise. I mean, I’m sure the cadre’s going to be pissed and all, but you’re a hero. We’re all heroes. We rescued them.”
“Most of them. Sir Robert was killed, too.”
Lyric looked away. “Damn. I liked him.”
The two of them lapsed into silence.
Watching herself in the windshield reflection, Nadine saw she looked like hell. Dried blood ran down the right side of her face, her hair hung in wild waves over her shoulders, and she felt as old as she looked in the bad light. Pale with dark circles under her eyes. Her mind felt bruised.
She searched her pockets for a hairband and smiled wanly at Lyric as she handed one over. Pulling her hair into a low ponytail, then wrapping it into a bun, she secured it with the hairband. It was nowhere near regs, but it was out of her face and made her feel better.
“We did the right thing, didn’t we? It’s what Lady Shannon said.”
Lyric tilted her head. “Of course we did. It was a choice of doing nothing at the academy and waiting for the enemy to come down on us like a ton of bricks, or doing something and rescuing the captured.” She threw a glance over her shoulder at the adults behind them. “They may have had their egos bruised by being captured so easily, then getting rescued by cadets, but they’re alive and should be grateful.” Her eyes narrowed, “If they’re not, well, that’s on them. Besides, some of them trained us. They should be happy the training took.”
Nadine tried to smile. She nodded instead. “Yeah.”
She focused on the darkened road again. The first signs of false dawn lay on the horizon. Lady Shannon had told her they’d done the right thing. Had thanked her. The baroness had known she was dying, and she made certain to say those words to Nadine. Just the memory of Lady Shannon squeezing her hand tight made Nadine want to cry.
If we did the right thing, why do I feel so terrible?