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Clay shook his head, but his smile matched Grayson's. "Only oneregiment? Well, then it damned well better be an elite regiment of heavy assault 'Mechs, or Langsdorf's going to cut them to pieces!"
"I've got a question, Gray," Lori said. "This Langsdorf . . .he's probably got orders to find the Star League cache, right? What makes you think he's going to be coming through the passes at all? He might be trying to figure out how to open the east gate right now, and if he can't figure out how to open it, he'll figure out how to blow it down. Like wewere going to do."
"Good point, Lori. But put yourself in his boots. You know the Legion vanished into those mountains. You don't know what's inside or where things lead. You don't have a map. You go in after the prey, and you might lose your whole army.
"But suppose you see the Legion ... or most of it, right out in the open? Like about . . . here." His forefinger touched the northeastern end of the Drango Gap. "You've got scouts and recon patrols out. You see the Legion 'Mechs that you were chasing out in the open now and moving through this pass. What do you do? Keep trying to open the door? Or try to catch the bastard while you can?"
"Gotcha," Lori said. "He won't take the unknown road if he sees us clear in the open."
"And when he sees us in the Drango Gap, the idea of splitting his force in an attempt to trap us or get at the DropShips will occur to him ... if it hasn't already." Grayson spread his hands. "After all, he may have decided to send a force through the mountains as soon as he saw the DropShips coming in last night."
"We'll have a hard march if we're going to get across the Drango Gap before he decides to move, one way or the other.”
"Agreed. But we're not going to march, at least, not all the way," Grayson said.
"No, I think what we'll do is give the Nagayan Mountain League Facility's transport system a workout."
* * *
Colonel Langsdorf crossed his arms and closed his eyes. The ComStar Precentor had the most a
"Sir, I understand what you are saying. Lord Garth will be eager to get into that mountain and find the weapons. And I can understand that you are as anxious about that as he.
"But please, sir, understand my position." He looked at the Precentor, then let his eyes rest in turn on each of the cowled and hooded ComStar Adepts. Langsdorf's personal belief was that the pseudo-religious hokery of the Order was a mix of superstition and baseless mysticism. If this was the hope of modern civilization . . .
"Perhaps the Gray Death Legion went through that wall. The tracks and signs we have discovered, plus those bubble tents they left behind, suggest that. But on the other hand, we have seen their forces in a pass ten kilometers northwest of here. Seen them, do you understand? It may well be that my engineers couldopen this wall with explosives, as you suggest. But it would take time . . . and a great deal of attention that I simply do not have to spare. I will need my engineers for crossing the mountain passes. It is they who will detect and clear mines ahead of our main forces.
"I ca
"Now, I'm willing to grant that you, Precentor, and your Adepts have important work inside that cave. I will be delighted to detach an engineer group to assist you, once we've completed this operation.
' 'But whatever you have to do can damn well wait until I've done my job!"
Langsdorf surprised himself as much as the ComTech people with this outburst. He was normally quiet-spoken, and not given to emotional outbursts.
The campaign was taking its toll on him. There were too many people eager to give him advice, but refusing to give him help. With twenty-seven BattleMechs and a fair-sized armor force, he had an overwhelming superiority against the enemy. Yet, Langsdorf knew 'Mechs well enough to understand a twist of luck, or some stupid mistake on his part, could just as easily wipe out his advantage.
"I understand your position," the Precentor said. "You will do me the courtesy of understanding mine. Whatever you may believe, personally, this expedition is here for mybenefit. I suggest you remember who gave you command of this force, despite the objections of Lord Garth. It is imperative that I and my assistants enter that cave as quickly as possible. I am willing to grant you . . ."He looked at his wrist computer. "Let's make it six hours. That should give you time enough to crush Carlyle's force and recapture his DropShips. But if you have not won through the pass in that time, I will insist that you dispatch engineers on my command to undertake the opening of this gate."
Colonel Langsdorf burned with a slow, i
"The one thing we must not do is underestimate the man. If we fail to understand the way he is thinking, then six years would not be enough for us to beat him."
* * *
Drango was a small village of perhaps three hundred people on the road leading south from Helmdown to the Vermillion Plains. The people were lammen herders, for the most part, though there were many farms scattered along the broad, mountain valley. Ferrisgrass was a nutritious grain that had found a place as one of Helm's few offworld exports, and the tough, fast-growing plant flourished at Drango's high altitude.
It was midmorning when Drango's citizens heard the growing thunder of an approaching army. Some of the town's children had reported seeing army vehicles and BattleMechs earlier in the morning, and there had been rumors of mysterious fires in the night; of strangers, strangely dressed, working in the fields east of the town at night; of spaceships flying overhead on the previous day and landing on the plains to the south; and of strange sounds echoing down from the surrounding glaciers and mountains.
It had been easy enough to dismiss the earlier reports as children's pranks or the overly active imaginations of adults. Not even the most skeptical observer could dismiss the sight that greeted the townspeople who ventured out to investigate that growing thunder.
Altogether, there were twelve BattleMechs travelling slowly at the head of a column of dozens of tracked and hover vehicles. The eagle crest of House Marik was plain to see on 'Mechs and vehicles alike. While the inhabitants of Drango had heard little of the news of rebellion and bloodshed to the north, they knew trouble when they saw it. Most found refuge in the sturdy basements of their homes. A few fled further afield, and by hiding among the rocks and crags that surrounded Drango Gap, they inadvertently won a splendid view of the developing battle.