Mercenary's Star

Holding the worn, sleeping woman as Grayson had done, Lori suppressed a laugh. Does being jealous mean I love the guy?

Whatever the answer, she did know that Sue Ellen Klein was going to need friends, And in her heart, Lori was happy for anyone who might have Grayson for a friend.

* * * *

Her name was Janice Taylor, and she was waiting for him by another fire not far off. He handed her a cup of coffee made with water boiled over an open fire and a packet of instant-mix crystals of uncertain vintage. "I'm not sure it'll taste like your Verthandian coffee..." he said.

She accepted it with both hands and a smile. "At least it's hot," she said, sipping at the mug, "and I'm not going to question its pedigree. Just so long as it takes care of my caffeine addiction."

Grayson sat down beside her. Jungle noises surrounded them, louder than the muted clank and drill-whine of the BattleMech repairs proceeding in the cave behind them.

"So you were a teacher at the University," he prompted.

"That's right. The history department."

"Then maybe you can tell us what's happening in Regis."

"I don't know what I could tell you, Captain. Like I said, I'm an historian, and I was never much interested in politics. I know there was some sort of a shake-up—maybe a plot against the Draco commander—inside the Council of Academicians. And there were riots that started out as a demonstration by the students and some faculty and staff. I guess things got out of hand, because the first thing I knew about it, there were BattleMechs rampaging through the streets of Regis, and soldiers arresting people in the University Quarters Wing."

"Got out of hand? I'd say so if people were demonstrating against Nagumo. Did they think he would quietly pack up and leave?"

"Verthandi has a long history of free expression," she said. "That's been stifled ever since the Kurita forces arrived, but that doesn't mean it's dead." She smiled. 'To keep Verthandians from speaking their minds, well...you might as well command Norn not to shine."

"ThatI believe is beyond the capability of Kurita's legions," Grayson said, "but there's plenty else he could do to try to bring you into line."

"And he tried it." The smile was gone. "My brother and mother and father...they must be working in one of the mines in the desert by now...if they're still alive at all. They were rounded up, too, and I heard a soldier saying what was going to happen to them."

"Would you be able to locate these mines on a map?"

She nodded, and there was a dawning light in her eyes. "You...you might be able to get them out? My family, I mean?"

"No promises," Grayson said, trying to make the words gentle. "But I can't think of a better way to prove we're friendly to the people of Verthandi."

"There's hardly a need for that. Since you've started raiding Nagumo's outposts and camps, the rebels have become some kind of popular heroes. And you mercenaries are something of a legend. In the last ten years, the rebel army has only managed to raid a few camps and knock out maybe five or six Kurita ‘Mechs. Since you offworlders arrived, it seems like Nagumo spends most of his time looking for a place to hide."

"It would be nice if that were true. I don't think he'll make it that easy for us, though. Seriously...are the people in Regis ready to fight Nagumo? Or did what happened the other night knock the fight out of them?"

"I wish I could say." She shook her head. "It started when some of the senior Academicians were arrested and shot. It surprised me, the way students and teachers and...and people not even co

"You'd like us to try to rescue those folks."

"Can you blame me?"

"Of course not. But do you realize the risk?"

"I think so. We were in danger today, weren't we?"

Grayson nodded slowly. "I tried to shave things to keep you folks out of the line of fire, and we had to move fast. But there was danger, yes. We knew they were taking you offworld. Once they got you away, there was no way we'd ever have gotten you back. It was do something and be damned if something went wrong...or do nothing and be damned for sure. I had to make the choice."

She laid a hand on his arm. "You chose right, Captain. When the first blasts went off, and I looked up to see those metal mountains crashing down on top of me, I thought the world was ending, right there. I fell on my face, and I couldn't do much because my hands were tied...but I think I must have been trying to dig a hole with my head. I've never been so terrified in my life, but then one of your soldiers was helping me up and cutting the ropes. It took a couple of minutes for it to sink in that I was really free. Free!

"The soldiers...the Kurita soldiers, I mean... they'd been talking about what was going to happen to us. Where they were taking us, you know? They were enjoying it...laughing at us...Captain, if you personally had shot me dead out there today, it would have been a favor. One way or the other, I'd have been free."

"But can you choose that for your parents...your brother?"

"I don't want them to die, Captain, but if half of what I’ve heard is true, they'll be dead soon anyway if no help comes."

"I won't even be able to promise we'd hit the right mine. The ones at Skovde are the largest, but there are others, and we don't have the numbers to hit them all."

"If you don't free my parents, you'll free someone else's parents... or husbands, or children. And I promise you that you'll be raising an army to help you free the rest of Verthandi."

Grayson nodded as he stared into the embers of the fire. "That, Miss Taylor, is what I'm counting on."

BOOK III

30

'To be blunt. General Nagumo," said Duke Hassid Ricol, "I am undecided as to whether or not to keep you in command. I ordered you to pacify this world, but the situation seems rather to have deteriorated in recent months, does it not?"

Nagumo had long since decided that a straightforward approach was his best hope. "It has, your Grace."

"You have an explanation? An excuse?"

"No excuses, your Grace."

"Ah, well. That is refreshing, at least. Failure seems inevitably to breed excuses, and I loathe them, An officer does what he is commanded, or he fails. Correct?" Ricol was tall and heavily built, his swarthy features partly masked by a square-cut black beard. As if that were not impressive enough, he wore an ornate, one-piece red suit trimmed in black, gold, and silver. He also wore the dramatic, stiff-collared cloak with braided silver aiguillettes in the fashion of the I

"C-correct, your Grace."

"Your information on rebel whereabouts leaves much to be desired. Admiral Kodo stated in his report that a prisoner he captured gave the location of the rebel base. You raided and destroyed it, he says, but have not followed up the victory."