"This is Leftenant Andrew Redburn and Miss Joana Barker. As you have requested, I have assembled a number of the passengers here to discuss the problem you outlined to me earlier." The Captain smiled as he introduced the last two of the passengers summoned to this meeting, though Melissa easily read the fatigue and frustration in the dark circles under his eyes. I'll wager he hasn't slept a wink in the two days since they captured us.
Melissa nodded to the auburn-haired woman standing across the room from them, and assessed her as she'd learned to do during her military training days. Though shorter and stockier than Melissa, the woman appeared very fit. As their gazes met and Melissa stared into those brown eyes, she realized that the woman was assessing her, too.
"I am Danica Holstein," the woman told her, smiling with impatience in her voice. "I command this little outpost we have usurped from the Draconis Combine." She turned and indicated the young man behind her. "This is my son, Clovis."
Though she knew it was impolite, Melissa could not avoid staring at him. Born a dwarf, Clovis wore meter-long stilts so that he could reach the computer controls with which he fiddled. He was apparently well-accustomed to the Styx planetoid's reduced gravity, for the dwarf moved with incredible agility. Like a master musician in concert, he let his stubby fingers drift over the half-dozen keyboards. He turned just long enough to nod at them in profile, then brushed his long, black hair from his face and again attacked the computers.
Danica addressed herself to the group of Silver Eaglepassengers. "Clovis informed me earlier today that a Combine ship has appeared at the nadir jump point. It has already sent one Drop-Ship in our direction. According to its acceleration vector, we estimate that it will arrive on the twenty-fifth, only forty-eight hours from now. I've brought you together so we may discuss our options."
Erik Mahler stepped forward. "Do you think it represents more than a routine patrol?"
Clovis answered in a voice far deeper than it seemed his small chest could contain. "Patrols use ScoutClass ships. This is an InvaderClass JumpShip and it's sent a FuryClass DropShip toward us." As he cocked his head, the dwarf's eyes revealed their hint of blue. "The acceleration vector says that they're probably carrying somewhere between thirty and fifty jump troopers."
Melissa heard those words and slowly sank back through the crowd. To take a base this size would require a company of light 'Mechs.She stared down at her fingers and quickly went through the guidelines she'd been taught for an assault on such a base. Yes, they 'd certainly need a company of light 'Mechs to subdue this base. So why were they sending jump troops?
Melissa wormed her way through the crowd and found Andrew. She pulled him to the back, then clapped a hand over his mouth. "Andrew, the jump troops on that ship must be elite ISF troopers."
Andrew's eyebrows shot up, but her hand stifled his outcry. He hesitated, then pulled her hand away. Cupping his hands around her ear, he whispered softly. "How do you know that?"
Melissa shrugged. "A Furyis built for hauling infantry, not 'Mechs. It can hold more than a hundred comfortably, so why would they send less? In fact, why would they send anything but 'Mechs? The only answer I can see is that they have troopers who they believe can accomplish the job. That means ISF troops."
"Damn!" Andrew's eyes narrowed. "That also means something else. Clovis said Kurita patrols use Scoutships, which means Kurita knows about this outpost. Curious, isn't it, that they decide to clean it up now, yet they chose such a discreet force to do it."
Melissa felt her insides coil. Somehow, by some means, they've learned who I am!She looked up at Andrew and his curt nod confirmed her fears. She leaned back against the wall, overwhelmed by doubt and anxiety, yet some of the discussion around her registered, albeit dimly, on her brain.
Andrew Redburn pushed his way to the front of the crowd. "Excuse me, but doesn't it seem foolish that the Combine would waste fifty soldiers assaulting this base?"
Danica Holstein shifted her attention to the Leftenant. "Perhaps, but then we have seen governments do so many foolish things. That is why my son and I fled Summer when we did. What is your point?"
"My point is this. From what little I saw of this base, it would take a company of 'Mechs to conquer it." Around him, the few MechWarriors in the group nodded in cautious agreement. "I would suggest that the troops aboard that Kurita ship are tough enough to accomplish the job they've been sent to do."
Danica considered his statement silently, but Clovis immediately spoke up. "ISF, that would be. It's too much of a coincidence to think that they've finally decided to blow us out of here. In fact, all they'd need for that is a bomb. No ... it must be that they want someone."
"Be that as it may," Andrew said, taking the floor again. "We have to plan a defense to hold them off. If we don't, many people could die."
Back against the cold wall, Melissa hugged herself tightly and winced at the clawing fear in her stomach. The sinister voice crawled again from the black pit of her self-doubts and whispered in its evil way. The ISF want you. Kurita's elite troops are coming for you, little Princess. Perhaps this is what you deserve....
Melissa looked up as Clovis produced a schematic view of the entire base on a holovld screen set high in the far wall. This whole asteroid is a deathtrap, Melissa, and here you will die.
Danica turned to face the screen. "As you can see, Leftenant Redburn, it would be it difficult—at best—to defend this maze of mining tunnels and the company-town complex. I concede that there are hard points, but those were meant to seal off the complex in case the outside were breached. This was not built as a military complex, and we can be certain that the ISF troops have extremely up-to-date charts on our set-up."
Captain von Breunig frowned. "But we must do something. I will not turn even one of my passengers over to the Draconis Combine."
Danica laughed coldly. "Why not, Captain? Is the ISF any less brutal than our own Loki? Let's be practical and leave these moral discussions to the philosophers. Those of us here who are not from the Combine have come from the Commonwealth, and we know well the excesses of power." Unconsciously, Danica reached out and rested her hand on Clovis's shoulder. When he hugged her hand between his shoulder and large head, her expression brightened momentarily.
Danica let her hand drop away. "Let us be pragmatic, Captain. If the ISF wants someone, we'll find out who it is and negotiate. If the ISF attacks, we know that many of us, including some of your passengers, will die. If, on the other hand, we sacrifice one person to save the rest, who can say it would not be the right choice?"
Hear that, Melissa?the voice echoed in her mind. People are going to die because of you. You'll not pass from this life alone. How many will go with you, little Princess? How many of them must die because of you?
Andrew held up both hands. "Wait a minute!" He pointed out toward the Bifrost."Why don't we just jump out of here?"
Von Breunig shook his head savagely. "Even if we ran the Bifrostout to an alternate jump point, the Kuritans are only twelve hours from here, and we'd not have enough of a charge to jump. The ISF troops would catch us in space."
Andrew frowned. "But the generators are recharging the jump drive. Surely they can power it faster than the solar collector."
The Captain again shook his head. "You don't understand, Leftenant. It's not the amount of energy needed to charge the coils that matters. It's the length of time required to do the job. Energy fed in too fast can damage the K-F drive. A speedy loading would probably rupture storage cells or blow the liquid helium seals. The latter would render the ship inoperable. Worse yet, the former could result in a misjump." Von Breunig looked down. "Only an idiot, or a very desperate man, would jump after having spent less then a week recharging his drive."