Masters of War by Michael A. Stackpole

Author:Michael A. Stackpole [Stackpole, Michael A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Science Fiction
ISBN: 9780451461377
Goodreads: 572523
Publisher: Roc
Published: 2007-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

17

Overton, Baxter

Former Prefecture IX, Republic of the Sphere

18 January 3137

The weight pressed down on Verena’s chest. She couldn’t move and a warning buzzer pulsed through her head. She was facedown and could see nothing. Blackness. The Mad Cat is going to stomp me.

The buzzing grew more insistent. She clawed against the ground, and it came away in her hands. Her fingers tightened around a thin sheet of it. She ripped a hand free and pushed off, flopping over onto her back.

Cool air hit her, turning her sweat into an icy coat. Her eyes snapped open, and then she looked to the right. She slapped her datapad, killing the alarm she’d set. She pulled herself up in the bed and her head bumped off the headboard.

Good thing it is padded. She leaned back, then untangled the sheet from around her legs and drew it up to her neck. The nightmare had been horrible, but she wasn’t completely certain she was awake yet. This cannot be real.

The Regal Crown Hotel was the best Overton had to offer. Within the Badgers it was the place most warriors said they’d go after winning a lottery. By the standards of other worlds it might not have been all that great, but there wasn’t a resident on Baxter who would have refused to be crowned for a night.

On seeing the suite she’d been given, her first impression was plush. Velvet curtains hung everywhere and matched the thick, burgundy carpet. The overstuffed chairs and couch were more inviting than any billet she’d known as a MechWarrior. She could have fit her whole barracks room into the bathroom, and was fairly certain the bathtub was roomier than her ’Mech’s cockpit.

She shook her head. She and the southern contingent had remained in the caves awaiting word on how the fight had gone up north. The night before she was brought to Overton they’d heard that the Skondia Rangers and the Beasts had crushed a Clan Star, completing the liberation of the planet. That resulted in a lot of celebrating in the caves, and that night she’d gone to sleep in a bedroll hoping the fire wouldn’t go out before she woke up.

The next day a Rangers’ helicopter arrived at her headquarters. Abbie Dannik took command of the Badgers, and Captain Verena and Lieutenant Kennerly were invited to return to Overton. Verena had gotten the distinct impression that she’d not be returning to the Badgers, though she couldn’t immediately put a finger on why.

Kennerly had been most helpful in identifying the problem. “You have two things going against you. First, it takes no stretch of the imagination to blame you for Colonel Bradone’s death. Major Peres inherits the unit based on the partnership deal when it was set up, but he has a problem. Because of your victory, you’re more popular than he is. He really is nothing more than a logistics genius, so the warriors would be happy to follow you—save, of course, those who think you got Bradone killed.

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