Main Event

After studying the information supplied by Hoffbrowse, Rose deduced that Borghese was still dominated by pioneers who refused to believe that there was something better than what they had. The planet was completely self-sufficient, but that was about all that could be said for it. Then again, Rose reconsidered, maybe that was saying quite a bit in the current era.

When he would finally satisfy himself that he'd worked enough for one day, Rose usually wandered into the spacers' quarters to look for McCloud. Though he would never forget the support she'd given him during their stay on Northwind, something had changed when they reconnected on Outreach. Rachel seemed like a different person. Despite their previous intimacy, she'd insisted on keeping her distance. He was sure that pulling her, and her DropShip, into the Dragoon fiasco had strained their personal relationship, possibly to the point of no return.

The long trip to Borghese, however, seemed to have smoothed away any anger she'd been harboring toward Rose, and by the end of the trip she was her old self again. At least the old self he'd first met when she'd transported him from Terra to Outreach.

As the Bristol cleared the JumpShip and began the nine-day trip insystem to Borghese, Rose began to scan incoming information about the planet. When the nine days were up, he believed he had a good grasp of the planet's political climate, but he didn't like what he'd learned. If the public newscasts were correct, the mercenaries were not being welcomed with open arms. Rose approached Wilkins several times on the final leg of the trip, but the civilian steadfastly refused to give him any more information about the situation.

"Now that we're back in Borghese space, I'll have to ask you to wait for an official answer from the Ruling Council," he said. Until the Bristol had jumped into the Borghese system, Wilkins had been bending over backward to provide Rose everything he needed. Two hours after McCloud made the required announcement to the Borghese port officials, Wilkins was suddenly struck mute. Rose didn't even need to check with McCloud to know that the man had received a message from his bosses and been told to keep quiet. Even while the Bristol was descending toward the Houston spaceport, he knew something was definitely wrong.

As the Bristol touched the ground, Rose could see pickets outside the landing area. Most of the signs were crude banners demanding that Rose and his "mercenary killers" go home. Although the spaceport crowd was not very large, Rose knew from the broadcasts he'd monitored that others shared their viewpoint. His team hadn't even cleared the DropShip yet, and he was being called upon to make his first command decision. One that would undoubtedly set the tone for the rest of the mission.

It was customary for any 'Mech force to debark their DropShip in parade fashion, at least if they were landing at a secure spaceport. Often the arrival of a new unit would be marked with music and ceremonies that officially transferred the protection of an area from one unit to another, or from the civilians to the new unit. Even as the Bristol was still high over the spaceport, Rose had noted the conspicuous lack of typical review stands. He reached for the adjacent handset and dialed Wilkins' room.

"Yes?" Wilkins sounded like he was in a hurry.

Rose didn't bother to identify himself. "You said the contract we signed will be accepted by the Ruling Council, right?"

"Yes. The agreement we signed is technically binding, per the agreement with the Mercenary Bonding and Review Board, but the Ruling Council has final say in all matters that concern the safety of the planet. They will have to ratify the agreement before you are officially accepted."

Rose had asked the question at least three times before, but Wilkins had always given a half answer. Now the line was, "wait for the Ruling Council."

"That's fine. Just tell me where the Ruling Council meets."

"The Assembly Pavilion. It lies at the opposite end of Assembly Avenue. If you'd been watching as the ship landed, you'd have seen the column-lined streets. Quite impressive actually."

"Thanks." Rose hit the disconnect. He hadseen the column-lined street and the gigantic white building at its end. The avenue led directly from the spaceport to the seat of government. God help Borghese if a surprise invasion ever hit them. They'd have a 'Mech parked on the floor of the assembly before the councilors even knew the enemy had arrived. Rose dialed Esmeralda's room.

"Saddle up the troops, Essy," he said when Esmeralda answered. "We're riding into town."

"You sure about this? Looks like we have friendly opposition. "

"I want all pilots in their 'Mechs in three minutes." Rose paused before disconnecting. "Make it a drill." He grinned and grabbed his holster as he disconnected Esmeralda.

Rose hit the doorway and sprinted down the hall, buckling his holster as he went. The spacers were all on decks well above him so he threw caution to the winds and increased his pace. As the commanding officer, Rose's quarters were one deck higher than the rest of the unit, but the same distance from the 'Mech bays. At the end of the hall he slapped the door controls and ducked under the rapidly rising door. Back-slapping the down button without looking, he emerged into the 'Mech bay. Ignoring the stairs directly ahead of him, Rose grabbed the twin railings and flung his feet over the metal rails. Pushing off with his hands, he used the rails as a crude slide, and flew down to the deck below. As he hit the deck floor, the far door opened and Ajax led the rest of the unit into the room. His eyes went wide for a moment as he realized Rose had beaten him into the room.

Rose flashed a grin and ran across the room to his 'Mech. He climbed the chain ladder to the torso handgrips, then hit the ladder's rewind button. As the ladder began disappearing into the Charger'slower torso, Rose continued the climb. Reaching the 'Mech's shoulder, he stopped to take a brief look around the bay. The others were also in the process of climbing up the length of their 'Mechs. Ajax would likely be the first one up, a testimony to his foot speed and the Raven'sshorter stature.

Rose slipped around the Chargerand entered through the back of its head. He closed and sealed the hatch, then dropped into the command chair. Reaching to the rack above the main viewscreen, he pulled out his neurohelmet. Using both hands, he settled the helmet on his shoulders and began the ignition sequence. Electrical power flooded the 'Mech and lights filled the cockpit.

"Authorization confirmation, please." Rose loved the voice of his new 'Mech, but he would never admit it. Speech synthesizers were still not widely used, despite the added benefit they provided. Most pilots had enough to worry about coordinating the movement, firing, communications, and heat levels by sight and feel to worry about listening, and reacting, to another presence. Rose had always used one in the Com Guards, figuring he could look one place and listen another. The Shootist'svoice had been firm and unemotional. The Chargeralmost purred. Though the system had been disabled when Rose purchased the 'Mech, he'd just managed to re-engage it prior to the jump to Borghese, and to program the verbal warnings, which were based on a variety of hostile or threatening actions. This was the first time he'd heard the voice except during testing.