Decision at Thunder Rift

24

Grayson awoke to a sound of thunder, distant but growing nearer. Somewhere beyond the darkened corridors of the cell area, he heard men running, and shouts. Fully awake now, he sat up, as a fine spray of plaster dust sifted down onto him from the ceiling.

The thunder came closer, a rock-splintering crash that thudded repeatedly and seemed to pound even at the wall. There was a pause in the bombardment, and then Grayson heard the harsh rattle of heavy machine guns being fired close by — perhaps just outside the building. With a start, he realized that there was a battle going on out there!

There were more thundering crashes, much closer this time. Rock and shattered stone burst through the passageway outside his cell, and the lights suddenly went out In the dark, the racket seemed even more infernal, with shouts, screams, and gunshots echoing through the corridors. Then a pair of soldiers were outside his cell, dazzling his eyes with the beam from a handtorch that probed the dust-thick air.

"Lieutenant, sir! Are you all right?"

He recognized the men. Corporal Yee and a private named Thorel. Yee used an electronic key on the lock. "Quickly, sir! The Sarge is parked illegally upstairs!" Dazed, Grayson let himself be led out of the cell, past rubble and shattered walls, and up a short flight of stairs to the building's main level.

The front wall had been smashed in, and was now draped around the hull of the Locust,which squatted in the rubble approximately where the watch sergeant's desk had been until very recendy.

Lori was there, an MP-20 cradled in her arms, waving him on.

"Lori! How..."

"Later! We've got to get out of here." She turned to the corporal. "Yee! Take your squad and head back to HQ. I’ll cover your withdrawal."

Grayson looked at Yee, and nodded. With things happening so quickly, he'd been letting himself be swept along by them. He knew he had to pull himself together now, take charge again — of himself and then of his command. First, they needed a rendezvous, somewhere to gather the unit. "You'll get there ahead of us, Corporal. Give Sergeant Ramage a message from me. Tell him to saddle up. Pull in the perimeter, load what he can on every available vehicle, and pull out We'll assemble at Thunder Rift."

"Thunder Rift, sir?"

"Right, It's marked on my maps. Avoid the spaceport and the Castle, but get to Thunder Rift. Follow the eastern flank of Mount Gayal on the other side of the Castle. The 'Mechs can make it through there. Hovercraft will have to go west of the port, running at high speed and hoping they're not spotted."

Yee saluted crisply, gathered up the rest of the squad, and led them into the darkness.

Grayson paced. "Now... supplies..."

Lori's teeth flashed in the dim light. "Already taken care of. We liberated a couple of HVTs behind this building when we broke in. They're on their way to HQ."

"Food?"

"We've got some. But mostly we've got ammo, some weapons, and oil."

"O.K. It'll have to do."

Running figures moved in the distance, shadows against the darkness. Light flickered with the stutter of auto gunfire, and bullets sighed and snapped through the air around them.

Lori jabbed a thumb toward the crouching 'Mech. "Let's move it, Lieutenant!"

Automatic rifle fire chopped at the rubble and squealed off the Locust'sarmor. Lori propelled Grayson toward the open ventral hatch that had been brought down to within two meters of the ground. Grayson swarmed up the chain ladder dangling below the hatch and into the 'Mech.

The Locustcockpit was cramped for one. With two, it was claustrophobic. Lori shrugged out of her coat and squeezed past him, slipping into the control seat and pulling the neural helmet down over her blond hair. Grayson was forced to stand behind the seat, crouched with his head and neck brushing against the spaghetti tangle of bundled wires and power leads running across the overhead. The 'Mech turned slowly, then lurched free of the rubble, which cascaded down in a roar of dirt and debris. The Locust'sIR scanners were on. Blurs of green and white light shimmered and moved through blue darkness as soldiers closed in.

With the creak of grinding metal, the Locustrose to its full height, pivoting to face the attackers. Lori's right hand pulled at the machine gun controls, and glowing tracers etched trails of light across the screen. One of the glowing shapes collapsed and lay still.

Grayson stooped to bring his face close beside Lori's. Even in the heat of the Locustcockpit, he was very aware of her warmth, her nearness. "I take it you have a plan?"

"Well. . . finding you, mostly."

"And now that you have?"

Something heavy and loud whanged off the Locust'storso armor, making Grayson's ears ring and even his teeth hurt. "I suppose the next step in the plan is staying alive," Lori said. "What was that you said about Thunder Rift?"

Grayson nodded as he clung to an overhead handhold. It was difficult to stand with the cockpit lurching from side to side with each stride the 'Mech took. "Yeah. A place I know in the mountains. A small army could hide there." Listening to the unearthly din clanging against the cockpit armor, Grayson recognized it as the staccato rhythm of heavy machinegun fire on the outer hull. "They may follow us."

Grayson smiled, a cold light in his eyes. "Let 'em. Hovercraft won't be able to make the trek up Gayal. Nothing else they have is fast enough."

"You've been there?"

"Many times. I know that terrain. It's broken and way too steep. Even a hoverscout wouldn't make it.”

“Can we?”

“No problem."

Grayson did not add that there were two types of vehicles that could track the Locustup the flank of Gayal to the Rift. Broken ground would not slow aircraft. He didn't know if the Combine Regiment had aerospace fighters at the port, but he did know the bandits had had helicopters. There was a good chance that they were armed with anti-armor missiles at least. Or, if they weren't, they soon would be.

The other vehicle that could follow them was another ‘Mech.

"Better alert the rest of the unit," he said. "Yee might not get through."

Grayson saw the muscles in Lori's cheeks bunch as she opened a commline. She began speaking to some unheard listener, suggesting the rendezvous at Thunder Rift

After the Rift, then what? Grayson asked himself. What came to mind was the conversation he'd had with Tor about capturing a ship to take them off Trellwan. Grayson seized on the idea, feeling hope and fear mingled.

He knew that capturing a ship would be a dfficult undertaking. The DropShip at the spaceport was merely the shuttle for transport between a planet's surface and the redstarship, which was designed to remain close by a star's jump point without ever approaching a planet. The Invidiousshould be at Trell's jump point now, ion thrusters maintaining its position against the star's gravity. The ship might have Tor's original crew, plus an unknown number of Hendrik's pirates. Or, the Red Duke may have already put his own men aboard. There was no way of knowing.

It was even possible that the Invidiouswas no more, vaporized by a missile from Duke Ricol's flotilla when he dropped from the jump point. That was unlikely, though. Starships represented a resource from the old Star League days that everyone took great care to maintain. As starships could only be built by a few remaining old League shipyards, the same practical considerations that had effectively banned the use of nuclear weapons prevented the destruction of man's last remaining starships. The star-faring vessels could be captured; they were never destroyed.