As Dechan approached, he recognized the pretty blonde ‘MechJock who was speaking as Jenette Rand, from Laskowski's Company. He'd hoped to get to know her better, but she didn't seem to have noticed him among all the other ‘MechWarriors. “Anybody know what happened to that Draco Colonel?” she was saying. “The one the Ryuken Jocks call the Iron Man?”
“Heard the Fed commandoes did for him in that raid two days ago,” said Sergeant Kerri Tennler. The stocky redhead was the pilot of a Grasshopper,which at seventy tons was the heaviest 'Mech in the ambush team. Though Dechan hadn't met her, either, he'd heard about Tennler's reputation as a tough customer. When Corporal Thom Dominguez brayed out a laugh at her comment, Dechan thought he might get to see that rep in action.
“Where doyou get your info, Tennler?” Dominguez managed when he caught his breath. Every 'Mech battalion had its scrounger and Dominguez was it for Chan's Battalion. Unlike most scroungers, he was as good at gathering information as he was at acquiring spare parts looking for a new home. He had little patience, however, with those who merely dabbled at what he considered an art. “It wasn't any Feds. The Draco was in the same skimmer crash as the Old Man. Don't know yet if he's a farmer, but the MedTechs who rushed him off to the Draco D-Ship had real long faces.”
'Too bad if he invested,” Dechan mused. Noticing the many sour looks around him, he added, “He helped me save the Colonel back on Quentin. He's all right... for a Snake.”
“Hey, Dominguez. Since you've got the poop, what's the word on the Old Man?” Rand asked.
“Gonna be laid up for a while.” Dominguez was preening in the spotlight. “I saw him that night. Leg looked like it had an extra joint. Very messy.”
“He gonna lose it?” The new voice was Private Erik Johansson. Like Dominguez, he was a member of Fraser's Lance. Unlike the scrounger, Johansson was a novice, fresh out of Alpha's Training Company. Despite the mildness of Dominguez's description, the kid looked a little green around the gills.
Dominguez shrugged. “If he does, Wolf will see to it that he gets the best, a full replacement with myomer artificials. Nothing's too good for the Colonel's fair-haired boy.”
“Why shouldn't he get good stuff?” Tennler bristled. “He may be a little old, but he's a good CO. Takes righteous care of us.”
The snide reference to an officer she respected riled Tennler more than Dominguez's earlier slight of her own abilities. She started to get up, ready to make the scrounger eat his words. At the same moment, Private Donal Cameron also rose from his seat next to her, as if by coincidence coming between Tennler and Dominguez. Dechan knew better, however. Cameron was his lance's peacemaker and had plenty of experience in heading trouble away from the scrounger.
“Yeah, Yukinov's a good man,” Cameron said to placate Tennler, but hoped to quickly change the subject. “Now we got Jamison upstairs. Hope he remembers we don't all ride Assault 'Mechs.”
“Nothing to worry about,” Dominguez assured him, oblivious to the near start of mayhem. “Old Jamison has been herding 'Mechs for longer than most of us have been around. Zeta Battalion may be full of Assault 'Mechs, but I'm sure he knows a light from a heavy. Why, I haven't heard of him sending a Locustup against an Atlasin two or three weeks.”
Laughter rippled through the group, defusing any remaining tension. The idea of a twenty-tonner duking it out with a massive, hundred-ton Atlaswas funny. That is, if you weren't the Jock piloting that Locust,Dechan thought.
“At least, he ain't like that prissy Satoh. Don't know how the Ryuken Jocks can stand him,” Rand remarked when things calmed again. For some reason, she seemed fascinated by the Draco command. Dechan decided that might be a way to catch her attention.
“Could be worse. I'd thought that Akuma creep would take over,” Dechan offered. That got nods of agreement, including one from Rand.
“Naw, he left,” Dominguez said, taking center stage again. “Think he went out on the same D-Ship with Iron Man.”
“No lie? Thought he'd want to be around to take whatever it is we're after.” Rand mimed, clutching something valuable to her heart. Her act got more laughs.
“Damp it!” Tennler cut in, voice low. “Here comes Stone Face!”
Major Chan was indeed headed in their direction, accompanied by Captain Amy Laskowski of the hastily assembled Light Company. Behind them, Dechan could see the other company commanders heading off to their own units.
“All right, troops. Our spotter has called in,” Chan announced. “Our pigeons are on the way and will be here soon. I know most of you have new lancemates for this operation. Keep it in mind! Don't rely on a buddy who isn't there. I don't want any losses because somebody is running on reflexes instead of brains. Got it?”
Among the chorus of “Yessirs,” Dechan also heard a dutiful “Yes, Daddy.” He couldn't tell who the wise guy was, but Chan hadn't heard it. Laskowski might have, though. There was the ghost of a smile on her face as she returned Chan's salute. The Major sprinted off toward his Crusader-L.
“Saddle up!” the Captain ordered, and the ‘MechWarriors scattered to their machines. Johansson ran alongside Dechan, grinning from ear to ear in anticipation. “This'll be easy.”
“Don't get too cocky,” Dechan cautioned him. “We still got to get through the Fed heavies.”
“We'll do it. All the Feds here are low-class mercs. The White Witches are the best they got on this rock, and I hear they didn't do so well against Delta on Quentin. Delta, for Unity's sake! Now they're facing Alpha. We're the best.”
While Johansson clambered into his Javelin,Dechan started up the chain ladder hanging from the cockpit of his own Shadow Hawk.Once seated, he slipped on the neurohelmet and buckled up as the 'Mech's systems came to full power. As Lance Commander, he checked with the others and received ready signals from all three. Dechan then linked into the taccomm circuit to report his unit ready.
When all lances signaled readiness, Chan fed the video from the scout position to all commanders. The Federated Suns convoy looked tiny on Dechan's cockpit screen. The dozen BattleMechs pacing the trucks and hovertanks in the column could have been armored men running alongside toy cars. Dechan knew better.
Moving along the highway at about 40 KPH, the Davion column passed the hidden position of Fraser's Lance. The BattleMech lance providing advance guard had already passed out of sight, headed down the road away from the ambush site. Still to be seen was the rear guard that the scout had reported, another 'Mech lance.
“Hit 'em!” Chan barked over the taccomm when the Fed column was in position.
Chan's Command Lance cut loose with a barrage of long-range missiles to open the attack. The rockets fell among the lead elements of the column. Their main target, the convoy command vehicle, disappeared under a cloud of black smoke.
From where Dechan stood concealed in Millon's Woods, he could see the confusion wrought by the sudden assault. The loss of the command vehicle and the sudden appearance of more than a dozen enemy BattleMechs had thrown the Davion convoy into chaos. The cargo trucks jerked to a halt while fighting vehicles and 'Mechs started to spread out in uncoordinated formations. Dechan could pick up their chatter on the comm. Though the words were hidden in electronic codes, the patterns plainly indicated their confusion.
Chan's team took advantage of the Feds' disarray to close the distance between the forces. The Dragoons moved forward at full-tilt to cut off the head of the column. While the Major's lance deployed to meet the expected return of the advance guard, the rest of the team, Uchimaya's Company, moved to attack the column.
At last, the Davion defenders began to react. Saracen and Scimitar hovertanks fanned out from the road, their blowers finding the rolling terrain almost as congenial as the paved highway. The flanking 'Mechs began to form a line between the Dragoons and the Fed trucks, whose cargo the Dragoons sought.