Deirdre frowned and squirmed between the two men. "Ugly vapor?"
"Clouds of insects that live in the swamp. If you've not got a thick hide or fur, they hit you with a narcotic sting, then implant eggs. The victim generally remains unconscious for the two days it takes for hatching, then the pupae leave for the swamp to continue their breeding cycle."
Kai felt decidedly queasy at the thought of bugs chewing their way free of his body. "Not a high survival rate on hosts, I take it?"
"Nope." Erik shook his head. "Of course, they tell me one of the Clan Elementals survived a hatching, but that's just a rumor."
Free of the swamp, the hovertruck started up the gradually sloping plains that led to the Riscaldamento Mountains, where Dove Costoso nestled in the foothills. In the predawn, its lights were the only signs of human habitation until the sun completed its slow climb over the mountains. With the coming of dawn, Kai could make out occasional homesteads similar to that of the Mahlers. The city itself, for that matter, seemed small by any true civilized standard.
"I have a question." Deirdre chewed her lower lip. "We're going to Dove Costoso to use its ComStar facility to send a message to New Avalon. That would be very expensive, but we don't have the money to send such a message. What do you plan to do about that?"
Kai shifted in his seat. "The message will be expensive, but there are ways to get one sent without money."
She cut him off. "Oh, forgive me, I had forgotten your word should be considered golden to ComStar."
The oblique attack on his nobility set Kai back for a moment. "Actually, Doctor, I'm surprised you don't realize I am in no hurry to use my family's resources when the Federated Commonwealth itself has provided us with a means for sending a message." He frowned. "Besides, I would just as soon avoid broadcasting who I am, for the time being."
"You do well to ward your family's reputation of infallibility, Leftenant."
"It's not that." Kai felt a shiver run down his spine. "Something is wrong. The Clans knew Victor was on Alyina and they went directly after him. I don't want to put myself in a position to be used against my father or Hanse Davion."
Mahler steered the hovertruck around a flock of sheep crossing the roadway. "So you will continue to be Dave Jewell?"
Kai shook his head. "Under the circumstances, I don't think identifying myself with the Federated Commonwealth troops is a good idea, either." Kai caught his reflection in the hovertruck's side mirror. "With my black hair and oriental eyes, I should pass easily for a Combine expatriate living here. How does Kevin Abunai sound?"
"It works, but I still don't understand how or why ComStar will send a message from this Kevin Abunai to Hanse Davion."
Kai smiled. "The Federated Commonwealth has set up a number of blind accounts with ComStar, as have corporations and other organizations. By knowing the account number, we may send a message to New Avalon and the Prince pays for it. Depending on how the account was set up, the message will be considered priority or some level of routine below that."
"What? I never heard of that." Deirdre frowned angrily. "Why wasn't I informed of this secret number system—or is it reserved for blue bloods?"
Mahler raised an eyebrow. "It is reserved for officers of your rank and above, so you were informed, Doctor, unless you were not trained in survival and evasion techniques."
Deirdre blushed. "I was at a medical conference when I was supposed to take that course. That's not what my records reveal, but ..."
"Doctors are seldom asked to perform some of the sillier training the rest of us endure." Kai smiled reassuringly at her. "It's no problem. Do you know your unit designator?"
"1024."
"And your rank code and Commonwealth identification number?"
"G15a and 4432-44323-19826."
Mahler smiled. "Then you know what number to give ComStar for sending a message back home. As a G15a, your message would head out at a near-priority level, if I remember correctly. Isn't that right, Leftenant?"
"Huh? Right." Kai blinked twice. "Yes, it would be a quick message."
Deirdre looked over at him. "What?"
"Nothing." Kai looked down, refusing to meet her gaze. What she'd just told him was as revealing as it was puzzling. Her personnel file had said she was from Odell, a world in the Crucis March of the Federated Commonwealth. Her identification number, however, began with a 4, which Kai knew meant she'd been born in the Capellan March of the Federated Commonwealth, well before the war that sliced the Capellan Confederation in half.
Does her hatred of me have something to do with the war? Hanse Davion sent my father to spy on Maximilian Liao, but his cover eventually had him directing much of the Capellan war effort against the Federated Suns. Did she lose a relative in that war? Is that why she loathes me?
Erik slowed the hovertruck as it joined other outland traffic heading into the city. "I will take you into Dove Costoso and drop you within four blocks of the ComStar station. It's still located in temporary headquarters because the city refused to rezone unless ComStar gave them preferential rates on communication. Still, all their equipment works, or so I have been told."
"Thank God for small wonders." Nearing the end of the journey, Kai felt reluctant to leave Erik Mahler on his own. "Look, Erik, after you drop us, just get the hell out of the city. I've got a bad feeling about things."
"Don't worry, Mr. Abunai. I picked you and your wife up here on the road and brought you into town. I don't speak Japanese and your German stinks." He scratched at his left shoulder. "Don't like you Dracos anyway, y'know. Maybe I'll report you myself."
Kai nodded solemnly. "Domo arigato." Reaching under the bench, he slid his pistol into the pack at his feet. "All set."
"Here you are."
Kai opened the truck door as the vehicle slowed to a halt. He helped Deirdre out, then closed the door with a thump. "What can I say?"
Erik shook his head and smiled. "Once a MechWarrior, always a MechWarrior. God be with you."
* * *
Kai slung the pack on his back, then he and Deirdre headed down the road, finding the ComStar facility easily enough. ComStar was currently ensconced in a long, narrow building in the middle of a street bounded by debris-strewn alleyways on both sides. A wrought iron fence topped with razorwire warded the front yard, but the gate stood open. Only a camera mounted on the wall of the building watched it.
To Kai the building looked bigger and more ostentatious than other ComStar satellite facilities he'd seen in the past. "Why would ComStar take this building? A storefront is more their style in a tiny city like this."
Deirdre shrugged. "I don't know." She stared up at the edifice and shivered. "I'm not sure I like it."
"Me neither," said Kai, "but we've got no choice but to go in."
Deirdre trailed Kai as he crossed the street and mounted the steps to the building. Before he could push the buzzer, the door opened and a yellow-robed Acolyte greeted them with a smile. "Welcome to the House of Blake. How may we be of service?"
The Acolyte then waved them into a round foyer whose floor was a checkerboard pattern of black and white marble. A corridor led deeper into the building, cutting beneath the sweeping, curved stairway along the far wall. To the right and left, large double doors opened onto beautifully appointed rooms furnished with antiques. Overhead, hanging down from the second-story ceiling, a crystal chandelier provided light for the foyer.
"I am Kevin Abunai and this is Denise Stratford. We would like to speak with the Precentor for this station. We wish to send a message out through a receiver account."
The Acolyte bowed, his smile frozen in place. "Please, wait here."
He withdrew down the corridor, shutting a door behind him. The second the latch clicked shut, Deirdre turned on him. "Denise Stratford?" she hissed in an angry whisper. "How did you dream that up? Some spy trick?"
"Denise is close to your own name, promoting recognition. That's why I'm Kevin." Kai smiled sheepishly. "Stratford came from Stratfo
rd-upon-Avon, the home of ..."
"Will Shakespeare, the author of King Lear." Her blue eyes sparkled, the anger slowly draining out of them. "Pretty quick, Kevin. Almost easy to remember."
"That's the idea." Kai looked around the foyer again. "ComStar's put a fair amount of money into refurbishing this place—if the condition of the neighborhood is any indication of how it must have looked before. Why waste the money if this is just temporary?"
"I don't know." Deirdre knelt and flaked a droplet of dried paint from the black marble wall edging. "This gold paint is recent and I don't remember a ComStar station in Dove Costoso before the invasion."
"Nor do I." Kai frowned. "I get the feeling this place is more of an embassy or government hall than any message-drop for ComStar."
The Acolyte's return cut off further speculation. "Demi-Precentor Khalsa will see you now." He pointed to a chair beside the front door. "You can leave your pack there. I will see to it that it is not disturbed."
Kai wanted to keep the pack with him, as it contained both the gun and the knife Victor had given him, but he could not risk attracting undue attention. "Thank you, Acolyte." He set it down and followed the man down the hall and into a large, walnut-paneled office.
Rising up from behind his desk, a scarlet-swathed, rotund man extended his hand toward his visitors. "Welcome, welcome. The Peace of Blake be with you." He shook Deirdre's hand, whispering, "Be seated, my dear." Then he enfolded Kai's hand in both of his and gave the Mech Warrior a smile that Kai found uncomfortably familiar.
Kai sat down next to Deirdre and felt pleased when she slipped her left hand into his right. Khalsa lowered his bulk into a huge chair, then leaned back until the light from above glowed off his shaved pate. "How can I help you, Mr. Abunai and Ms. Stratford?"
"As I told the Acolyte, we need to send a message."
"Well, that's what we're here for." Khalsa swung the monitor for his data station around so Kai could see nothing of the screen. He drew a keyboard toward him. "To whom is this message addressed?"
"Consolidated Manufacturing NA." Kai smiled as he gave the demi-Precentor a military-intelligence dummy corporation name. "It needs to go to the central office."
Khalsa arched a black eyebrow. "That's on New Avalon. This will be a costly message to send."
"I have a number." Kai closed his eyes. "1024-G15a-4432-44323-19826." He opened his eyes again as Khalsa punched the numbers into the computer. "I think that should be enough to get the message off."
Khalsa nodded. "That is a Davion military code."
Kai felt a microtremor pass through Deirdre's hand. "Is it?"
"I am afraid it is. And, of course, Consolidated is a FedCom Milint cut-out." Khalsa frowned as the light reflected in his eyes told Kai screens of data were scrolling by. Like a teacher disappointed with a student's improbable excuse, the demi-Precentor shook his head. "Really now, you shouldn't have tried to fool us. We know who you are."
Kai raised an eyebrow. "What difference does it make? I have given you an account number. You should accept my message and send it."
The ComStar official shook his head. His jowls jiggled, making him look more like a basset hound than a man. "I'm afraid you don't understand. The Clans own this world now, and ComStar is administering it for them." The door behind Khalsa opened and two men with automatic rifles entered the room. "We will have to detain you until an escort arrives to take you to our holding facility."
Deirdre glanced at Kai. "I thought the account code wasn't supposed to betray us."
Khalsa smiled coyly. "It didn't, Doctor Lear. You did. You were betrayed by your beauty: I recall seeing you at a concert here in Dove Costoso a week before Christmas. I had hoped for a chance to meet you and have kept an eye out for your name on the lists of detainees we have gathered. I could never let someone like you be billeted with mere warriors. That would never do.".
Kai looked over at her. "Glad to see the Alyina branch of your fan club in such good hands."
Deirdre's eyes asked forgiveness, and Kai gave her hand what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze.
The demi-Precentor stood and bid the two ROM agents forward with a flick of his fat hand. "Please forgive the shoddy nature of our accommodations, but I cannot afford to take any chances with Dr. Lear just yet." Khalsa tapped the screen of his monitor. "Your file was one of those we recovered from some damaged Davion computer equipment. Says here, Doctor, that you scored two points shy of perfect on your survival and evasion course. I'm afraid it's the dungeon for you until more suitable arrangements can be made."
Kai let her hand drop. "Surely you don't have to put me away with her. I'm harmless."
Again the demi-Precentor looked at his screen, but ruefully shook his head. "Do not try to play innocent with me. Despite your diligent attempts to erase all traces of your identity, we know who you are. We are too smart for you. You cannot fool ComStar."
"I suppose not."
Khalsa nodded sincerely as a ROM guard prodded Kai with a rifle. "You suppose correctly. Tracing you through the contents of your rucksack was simple. The holodisks were sent through ComStar, after all." The demi-Precentor sighed wearily. "ComStar does not appreciate deception. I suggest that be something you consider long and hard while awaiting transport to the reeducation camp, Mr. Jewell."
10
JumpShip Dire Wolf, Pre-assault Orbit
Hyperion, Free Rasalhague Republic
8 February 3052
Phelan Wolf looked across the room, drawing in a deep breath, then trying to expand his chest and look more massive as he exhaled. Dressed in a gray jumpsuit with a red dagger-star on its right shoulder and the red and black patch of the Thirteenth Wolf Guards on its left, he knew the uniform, at least, was impressive. In the three weeks since learning of Cyrilla's death, he'd trained hard and honed himself to a fine edge, but it might all be for naught in this first round of the Bloodname battling.
His first opponent, a huge Elemental, nodded slowly. With his clothing peeled to the waist, the man's bronzed flesh looked as if it had been spray-painted over veins and bulging muscles. His right hand twitched and Phelan caught the flash of a silver medallion. As the Elemental's hand closed over it, the Mech Warrior had no doubt the man could have bent the coin in half without raising a sweat.
Phelan turned his own coin over in his right hand. On the head it displayed the Wolf Clan crest: a wolf's-head with narrowed eyes and high, alert ears. On the reverse, as he turned it over, Phelan saw the name "Ward" emblazoned on a scroll. Beneath that, this name, "Phelan Wolf," was inscribed with the date.
Phelan looked up at the Elemental again and took no comfort in the man's evil smile.
Natasha slapped Phelan lightly on the back. "Can't let him get to you. He's just posturing, because if you win the decision, you'll pound him flat."
The younger Mech Warrior frowned. "I am not yet clear on this. If I win the decision, I choose the nature of our battle, but he chooses where it will occur, correct?"
Natasha nodded. "If you win, you choose to fight in your 'Mech. He'll don his armor and unless he's very good and very lucky, you'll smear him all over the battlefield."
"Hardly fair."
The Black Widow's eyes narrowed. "Fair has nothing to do with Bloodname battles. You are fighting for an honor that knows no equal in the Successor States or beyond them! Defeat him, defeat the rest of those you face, and you prove yourself one of the ultimate warriors in House Ward."
Her fierce expression shifted down into a wry grin. "Besides, if he wins the decision, you know he'll choose to fight you bare-handed. You're no slouch in unarmed combat, but ..."
Looking at his opponent, Phelan saw a pec heave like a tectonic plate in an earthquake. "Yeah, I. don't want to get near him outside my 'Mech, either." He shuddered slightly. "I surrender three decimeters in height and at least thirty-five kilos to that clown."
Natasha winced. "Best not call him a clown until you beat him."
"Good point."
> Back beyond Natasha, Phelan saw the small visitor's gallery slowly fill with his friends. Evantha Fetladral, the Elemental with a long red queue hanging from her nearly shaved pate, sat next to Ragnar and appeared to be explaining the whole procedure to him. Next to Ragnar sat a small man with an oversized head topped by a shock of blond hair. Carew, like Phelan, was unblooded, so he listened intendy to Evantha's explanation of the ceremonies. In the same way that Evantha and others had been bred for the massive size Elementals would need, Carew's smaller size had been deemed desirable for aerospace fighter-pilots.
Last into the box walked a tall, slender woman whose white hair was cut boyishly short. Ranna smiled at Phelan, her blue eyes flashing encouragement. Phelan returned her smile and felt his spirits buoy. Ranna sat down next to Carew.
Natasha passed a hand in front of Phelan's face, breaking off his stare. "Think about her later."
Phelan smiled mischievously. "Sorry, but you and your granddaughter are mesmerizingly beautiful."
The Black Widow shook her head. "Fine, dream if you want to, but when I was in your shoes, I was trying to figure out how to even the odds in a straight-up fight with an Elemental."
That sobered Phelan. "What did you do?"
Natasha shrugged. "I won the decision."
The MechWarrior turned the warm coin over in his hand, then stopped playing with it as ilKhan Ulric Kerensky stepped into the room and took up a position in the center. Natasha gave Phelan a pat on the back, then retreated. The Elemental's friends and supporters also withdrew, leaving the combatants alone with the ilKhan.
As Ulric drew himself up to full height, his white hair and goatee seemed to glow beneath the harsh lights overhead. "I am the Oathmaster and accept responsibility for representing House Ward here. Do you concur in this?"
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