Grayson nodded. "You also heard me say that you'd risked the whole strike force by changing plans at the last minute, in the middle of the action."
"It's different when youtell us to change plans, is that it? One thing for the high and mighty MechWarrior, something else entirely for the peasants in the ranks! Is thatit?"
"Dammit, no!" Grayson closed his eyes. How was he going to carry this off? He'd known Brasednewic's ego was bruised, that he would have trouble convincing the man to help, but had not been able to come up with an approach that might soften his resistance. "This operation will be planned from the start, not made up as we go along! But we have to get Lori out of there. If Carlotta's alive, we'll get her, too, and any of the rest of our people, we can find."
"Look, I can sympathize with you having lost your woman, Carlyle, but if you're asking me to bring my people in on this, forget it."
"She's not 'my woman', as you put it. But she is.one of us.”
“So was Carlotta."
"We don't even know that she's alive, Colonel!"
"We don't know a damned thing more about Lori Kalmar...except that she's in there and due for questioning!"
"Exactly! And you know as well as I do that when they start questioning her, they'll find a way to break her. Anyone can be broken:..and that's a specialty of Kurita. They'll break her...and find out about the Phobosand where it's hidden."
"So?"
How could the man be so blind? "So...the ship will be destroyed, and with her all of the machine shops and casting equipment and electronics repair facilities that've kept us going these past few months! Maybe you foot soldiers don't realize what's needed to maintain a BattleMech unit, but when Nagumo took the heavy equipment from Fox Island, he left us the Phobosand the people and equipment aboard her! If they locate and destroy our DropShip, the Gray Death and the Free Verthandi Rangers are finished, too!"
Brasednewic looked at Grayson with dull eyes, his face stiff and unexpressive. "I...can't, Carlyle. It's...a point of honor."
"Honor? What does honor have to do with it? The honorable thing would be to drop that wounded pride of yours and help us!"
"Your own views seem to have changed somewhat since our last meeting."
"What do you mean?"
"You weren't willing to sacrfice the whole group for one person. Now you are."
"Don't you see? Whatever my own personal feelings in the matter, we've got to break in there and get Lori out...get her out, or...or..."
"Or what?"
Grayson had not let himself face the question until now, and the reality made him feel wrenchingly sick. "Or we'll have to kill her ourselves. We can't let Nagumo find out about the Phobos."
Brasednewic's face worked against some cold silent, inner battle. "Why are you telling meall this?"
"Because we need to work together on this operation...the Free Rangers and the Gray Death. Every rebel soldier in the Silvan Basin must know by now that I took you down that day for going in against the University without orders, and every one of them must know why you did it. How can I give the order for them to do the exact same thing, unless you're willing to help? Ramage's commandos will follow my lead, I think. For this to work, we need to throw in everything we have, the whole Free Verthandian army. I needyou, Tollen. I need your help...and your influence with your troops."
There was a flicker of something behind Brasednewic's eyes, but Grayson saw that something die as he watched. The rebel turned away. "No, Captain... no."
"Good god, man, why?"
"You have the gall to stand there and ask me to send my people to certain death...after what you did to me...in front of my own people?"
"Look, you'll have your command back. You didn't have to walk away from it in the first place. We could have worked something out."
"It's too late for that, Carlyle. You embarassed me in front of my people. You think they'd follow me...now?"
"I don't see why not," Grayson said evenly. "Mypeople are following me."
"Maybe it's different for mercenaries. Pay them enough, and—"
"Dammit, what does that have to do with it? Look..."
"Carlyle, I don't think you understand. I've got a handful of people—ones who were with me before you came—who might still follow me. The rest...I don't know. Maybe they would, but that bond of trust just isn't there anymore. You broke that, Carlyle. You did. Well, I can still fight Nagumo, but in my own way. In my own time."
“Tollen, everything we've built here in the past months, the cooperation between the different rebel bands, between your people and mine...we can't let that be torn down."
"It already has been." He shook his head. "Most Verthandians wouldn't follow me...anymore than they'd follow you if you turned around the way you’re asking me to do for you. It'll be better this way. I won't stand in your way. Captain, or interfere with your plans. But I'm taking everyone who will follow me back to the Uppsala Mountains, above my old home. We'll raid and harry the Dracos from there."
"That's not the way, Tollen. We have to work together. Your people knowyou. They'll follow you."
"While I follow you? No Captain, I can't do that. I can't ask my people to do that."
"I don't understand."
"No? Then maybe you're not the leader I thought you were, Carlyle. Hell, you may be some kind of tactical wizard, but you've got a lot to learn about people." He turned and strode away, leaving Grayson standing there alone.
And Grayson knew Brasednewic was right.
* * * *
Nagumo nodded at Vlade's image in the intercom screen. "You think she might know something, then?"
"I'm certain of it, my Lord. We got extremely specific responses over the monitors when I questioned her about where the rebels had the heavy support equipment and repair facilities for their ‘Mechs.
She was lying, of course, but some of her answers suggest that the mercenaries have a secret base or facility hidden somewhere."
Nagumo's pulse quickened. "Did you ask her about their ship? Was it lost in a storm as everyone supposed?"
Vlade showed his teeth. "She said the DropShip was lost in the storm. I calculate an 80 percent probability that she is lying on that point as well and that the ship is intact, somewhere in the Silvan Basin."
"That would explain a very great deal. What else did you learn?”
“I found her weak point, my Lord. I have the lever with which to break her.”
“Oh?"
"I don't know the details, of course. What I suspect is that at some time in her past, Kalmar suffered a terrible loss...and that loss is associated with fire."
"Ah..."
"Exactly, my Lord. She showed no more than the usual response to statements designed to evoke images of death or pain or imprisonment, of wealth, of any of the usual stimuli. But she appears to be terrified of death by fire. A very unusual... very gratifyingresponse to that particular stimulus."
Nagumo closed his eyes and controlled his reaction. He would not let Vlade see his feelings.
The man's enthusiasm for his work had always repelled the Governor-General. Nagumo had not realized how much he actually loathed the man and his eager smile until now. He wondered if he had grown softer in the past months, for the interrogator to grate at his nerves so.
"Then I can count on you to... to use that response, to get me the information I need."
"Of course. Would you like to come down and participate? It should be interesting,"
"No."
Dammit, man, I've got other things, to do than make myself ill watching you play!