"Oh, you Davion men." She turned away as he released her arms. "Hanse, here in our private chambers, I have learned of the passions that run soul-deep in you. Every time I watch you viewing battleroms from the front, I see you wanting to be out there in the thick of the fighting. Sometimes I think you Davions have been bred for the battlefield the way some dogs are bred for hunting."
Melissa crossed to a window, where the moonlight washed her pale hair with silver. "With you it is more than desire, it is a hunger."
"Then your fear is not that Victor will be killed," Hanse said, "but that he will come to glory in killing, is that it?" At her shudder, Hanse immediately regretted his words. He softened his tone. "I know you hoped to curb any Davion propensities for war by raising Victor more as a Steiner than a Davion. Yes, the Steiners have proved themselves in war, but their strength has ever been in negotiation and administration of their vast holdings. Steiners are statesmen first and warriors second."
She turned quickly and swiped a tear from her cheek. "Is that wrong? Is it a crime to hope that my children and my grandchildren would live in a time and universe where war was a secondary option? No, I was never trained as a MechWarrior so I do not fully understand the relationship between you and your machines. You speak of them like friends, like faithful companions who get ripped apart or killed and then resurrected to fight again. Sometimes it sounds as though you MechWarriors believe it is not you who do the hitting and killing, but your 'Mechs."
"That reduces war to battles of hardware versus hardware, yet we both know that is a false concept. You Davions glory in the call to war. Your brother Ian, Victor's namesake, died in a battle for a parched planet that meant nothing to him or those he fought. He should have been nowhere near Mallory's World, yet that is where he died. And you, when New Avalon was attacked twenty years ago, you immediately joined the battle and never thought of summoning aid!"
Her hands balled into fists, and Hanse felt his own heart tighten painfully. "Now my son, my Victor, has concocted a scheme that will take him deep into enemy territory on a mission that might do nothing more than collect a box containing Hohiro Kurita's remains. It is not worth the risk."
Hanse worked his left hand into a fist, then forced it open to try to ease some of the tightness in his chest. "I will not argue with you the relative merits of this mission's goals. While you point out that Hohiro may no longer be alive, the rescue effort alone will be significant to the Combine. That one act, performed by Victor at Omi Kurita's request, could seal the agreement Theodore and I made, extending it to the next generation and perhaps beyond."
He took in a deep breath and forced it out slowly. "Ian died on Mallory's World because he would not ask his soldiers to undertake any task he would not perform himself. He died defending his men. He held off the Kurita forces pursuing them, knowing he would die. He must have sensed something even before going off on that mission because he forced me to promise I would not come after him."
Hanse sat on the edge of their bed. "I often wish I had violated that promise so that perhaps Ian might have lived."
"You sent him support. It just arrived too late."
"That really does not matter, my love. What is important is that Ian, as the First Prince of the Federated Suns, had the right to place himself in jeopardy. It was his choice and he exercised it on his terms. He chose that mission because he felt it was a challenge only he could meet."
Melissa half-smiled. "You do realize that most of you Davions believe your name really means 'messiah.' "
The Prince nodded solemnly. "You are correct in more ways than you imagine. A ruler has not only the right to place himself in danger, he also has a duty to do so. He must show, through his example, that the causes that are important to the nation transcend the importance of his own life or death."
He slapped his hand on the bed. "I was here the night the Death Commandos landed on New Avalon. When I realized what was happening, I felt neither panic nor fear, but an outrage that they dared violate the sanctity of my world. I was furious that they had so little respect for me and my people that they dared attack us. I went to my 'Mech to defend Avalon City, but more so to show the enemy that nothing would make us cower in their presence.
"The fighting that night was horrible, but it was also necessary to preserve the Federated Suns and its future. It allowed me to prove to myself and others that I was worthy of the vast trust and power placed in my hands by the Federated Suns. Now it is Victor's turn."
Melissa shook her head. "No. Victor knows his responsibilities and duties as the heir to the throne of the Federated Commonwealth. There are times when those responsibilities—maintaining the stability of the government—must overrule his own sense of adventure."
"If you think this is about adventurism, Melissa, you grossly underestimate your son." Hanse's eyes tightened. "Victor had adventurism burned out of him on Trellwan. He learned to be a leader on Twycross, and he learned how to lose on Alyina. He knows his responsibilities far better than either you or I did at his age, and this is his way of proving he can accept them. If he cannot defeat the Clans with his strategy and planning and training of the Revenants, he will never believe himself worthy of being our heir."
"It is folly to put so much weight on one fool's errand."
"You are wrong, my wife." The Prince felt little electric tendrils of pain caress the left side of his body. "If Victor fails in this mission, he will never assume the throne. He will know he is incapable of facing the challenges the next Archon-Prince must face."
"He will die," she whispered in horror. "He will die, just like Ian."
Hanse shook his head. "No. Victor's too smart. He knows that if he cannot do the job, he still has value. This is his Steiner heritage and he will not let his Davion passions overrule your Teutonic logic."
Melissa looked at Hanse imploringly. "You are not going to cancel Victor's mission. You never intended to, did you?"
The Prince returned her gaze. "Victor is my heir, not my puppet."
She let her head hang in a nod of resignation. "God be with you, Victor."
"Amen."
A bright flash filled the window with light, then seconds later a sharp report echoed through the night. Melissa spun and looked out through the gossamer draping. "What was that?"
The Fox smiled as his pain eased. "It sounded to me like a truck hauling toxic petrochemicals swerving to miss a small car and crashing into the wall surrounding the main ComStar facility."
She leaned forward slightly. "I see flames from near the center of the city." The wail of sirens accompanied her slow turn to face her husband. "Have you had hearing aids implanted?"
The First Prince rose from the bed and put his arms around his wife from behind. "We had a message from Theodore Kurita that ComStar might be trying to impose a general Interdiction over the whole of the Inner Sphere. Alex thought, and I agreed, that a little accident forcing the evacuation of the ComStar compound might be in order. Of course, all the clerks and Acolytes will have to. be quarantined to make sure they suffer no lasting ill effects from the accident. And we'll have to decontaminate the whole area. It could be years before the ComStar facilities are safe."
"Aren't you afraid of another Interdiction?"
Hanse shook his head. "We should actually take 80 percent of the facilities we go for. We can use them and the fax machines to circumvent any Interdiction. The Primus might inspire rebellion on some worlds where we fail to take the hyperpulse generators, but providing food inspires more loyalty than news from abroad. Any world that wishes to join ComStar can rely on ComStar to feed it."
"So much for rebellion." Melissa smiled and laced her fingers through his hands where his arms encircled her waist. "So, 'toxic chemicals' were the best you could do?"
"The Primus provided the inspiration, really." Hanse's grin broadened appreciably. "What better than a tanker truck hauling insecticide to get rid of a load of pests? Operation Scorpion, indeed!"
31
ComStar Intervention District, Free Rasalhague Republic
1 May 3052 (Day 1 of Operation Scorpion)
For the first time in all his years of service to ComStar, Anastasius Focht understood how the Primus could imagine herself the Mother Goddess of a humanity waiting to be born. In his headquarters hidden deep beneath the Tamo Mountains, an Interactive Construct Reality map of Tukayyid's northern continent spread out around him. A titan in his ICR helmet and body suit, he straddled the computer-created image of the mountains.
Above his head, hovering like a halo just out of sight, a circle constructed of the myriad views from his spotting stations and troops whirled in a riot of colors. Simply by reaching his right hand up and pulling down, he brought the band of information reports to eye-level. It slowed, then stopped as he selected one particular view. It expanded to enfold him, transporting him to the Przeno Plain. The other views spun up and out of sight as the radio chatter from the communications link slowly came up.
"Confirm, command. We have Jade Falcons dropping in on us."
Off in the distance, he saw four DropShips executing precision retro-burns as they disgorged their cargo. Each spherical ship hung motionless above the plain, charring the wheat fields black, as 'Mech after 'Mech of a Jade Falcon Cluster jumped clear of its armored belly. Careful to avoid the DropShip's ion jets, but heedless of the grass fire, the Jade Falcon 'Mechs moved forward to take up defensive positions.
Focht opened a communication link. "Precentor Gesicki, you may pull your scouts back now."
Anna Gesicki's tone revealed both fear and irritation. "My people are not afraid, Precentor Martial. The White Lions will hold."
Focht smiled in spite of himself. "I do not doubt your troops' ability to fight, Precentor. You are looking at a Cluster of Jade Falcons. As you will recall, they seem susceptible to the hit-and-run tactics the Federated Commonwealth has used against them. You will recall that Prince Victor's error an Alyina was in getting bogged down before he needed to. You have a full complement of air, artillery, and armor assets. Use them as we have planned."
"Yes, sir." Gesicki hesitated. "I only meant that my scouts are willing to stay in the field until time to withdraw."
"Understood, Precentor. The time is now. We do not want them there to be spotted as the Falcons advance. When the Falcons hit your first line, I want them to be surprised."
"That they will, Precentor Martial. Pulling them out now, sir."
"Very good. Remember, the White Lions must play with the Clans the way a cat would harass a dog. Strike, hiss, appear bigger than you are, then leap away. Make them devote resources to strikes that generate no return."
Focht broke the communication by reaching up and pulling down the zoetrope. It spun around him until he selected a gray frame. With a few simple hand motions, he selected it and made it hang unsupported in the blue sky over the Przeno. The individual trapped therein looked up from a computer terminal.
"At your service, Precentor Martial."
"I need some things double-checked, Hettig." Focht opened his arms. "I have the Jade Falcons down on Przeno Plain. The Smoke Jaguars have landed in the Dinju Mountains and the Racice Delta. The Diamond Sharks are in the Kozice Valley, the Ghost Bears have hit both Spanac and Luk while the Nova Cats are down at Joje, Tost, and Lo-sije."
"Correct, sir," replied the commtech. "The Steel Vipers are on an incoming vector that looks to put them at Hladno Springs in an hour. Our forces there have been alerted."
"Excellent. Anything from Brzo or Skupo?"
"No, sir. Looks like the Wolves have not taken the bait."
Focht frowned because he could not believe Ulric would decline his open invitation to attack at those two sites. He had placed his 66th and his 278th divisions there and let Ulric know they were two of the best the Com Guards had to offer. Focht was certain the Com Guards could hold their own against the Clan Wolf Warriors if they adhered to his strategy.
"Judge not so quickly, Hettig. Have you any indication that the Wolves have committed? Have all DropShips been successfully monitored and tagged?"
Hettig's face darkened with a scowl. "If the Clans have anything on this world that we don't know about, I'll offer to fight them with a can-opener."
"You need not take such a drastic stand, Mr. Hettig." Focht made a hand movement that put a smile on the face of his image in Hettig's visiphone. Hettig's enthusiasm mirrored that of the rest of the Com Guards. After twenty years of training, they finally had a chance to show how good they were. Whether fighting for personal pride or to save ComStar, his troops ached for battle and welcomed it here on Tukayyid.
"The answer to the question you are seeking is this, Precentor Martial: as nearly as we can determine, the Wolves have not deployed in this battle."
Hettig's analysis confirmed what Focht had guessed. Why not? Why has Ulric been denied? Focht chewed on his lower lip. If the ilKhan had been prevented from deploying forces, it might signal his fall from power. Were that the case, the deal struck between them might already have been repudiated. No matter the outcome, all would be lost.
Even as he considered that possibility, Focht rejected it. If the deal had been repudiated, the Clans would have renegotiated the battle. Though they did bid among themselves for the right to lead the assault on the various targets ComStar had given them, no one had offered to rebid the whole fight. No, Ulric will be coming, but the others must have out maneuvered him. They saw it as a quick fight and they did not want him here to win it.
Focht nodded to himself. Ulric allowed them to keep him out of the first day's battle. He'll be coming after Brzo and Skupo, but only after he sees how my troops react. He's using the others as stalking horses, and he hopes I'll have committed my reserves before he comes down.
"Mr. Hettig, have all reserve units stand by. I want each one to trim back a battalion to form a Sixth Reserve Army."
"Noted, sir."
"Good."
Focht knew his strategy would carry the day, provided his people executed the plans they had been given. Organizationally, the Com Guards were broken down into twelve armies. On Tukayyid, one Clan landing area had been assigned to each of seven armies. The smallest and least experienced armies were being held back in reserve to reinforce their fellows when and if needed. Aside from the 66th Division, which had been transferred from a reserve unit to the Fiftieth Army to welcome the Wolves, the armies maintained the operational integrity they had known in their previous postings.
Each of the armies was broken down into its six component divisions. Unlike the forces of the rest of the Inner Sphere, the Com Guards were organized as integrated, combined-arms units. Through training, Focht had managed to erase the normal jealousies between the branches and to bind the Guards into terrifyingly efficient fighting units.
If the Inner Sphere had ever dreamed of our capabilities, they would have tried to destroy us long ago. Armor elements would attack the Clans at first, then air and artillery cover would allow them to scatter and regroup to nibble away at the Clan's flanks. The Com Guard 'Mech units would hit, then fade, keeping the Clans constantly on the move. Because each division functioned as its own unit and worked in tandem with another division, they would be able to grind the Clans down little bit by little bit.
"If everything goes as planned."
"Excuse me, Precentor Martial?" Hettig looked at his commander with a quizzical stare.
Focht shook his head. "Nothing, just thinking out loud. What are the hottest zones right now?"
"No one is shooting yet, but Dinju and Spanac look close to—." Hettig clapped a hand to the earpiece in his left ear. "Priority 1-Alpha message coming through for you from the Primus."
Irritation burbled like acid up from his stomach. "I will take it here at Przeno." He turned as Hettig's image expanded then splashed itself across a distant thunderhead. Myndo Waterly's face replaced that of Focht's aide. "Primus, the assault has begun."
The white-haired w
oman nodded serenely, then her head came up abruptly. "But you are not in a 'Mech."
"Nor will I be unless things go very wrong." He tried to keep his voice even, but annoyance tinged his words.
"But it was maintaining an immobile headquarters that caused trouble for the Combine's forces on Teniente." Her stare rebuked Focht for his foolishness. "Have you learned nothing from that situation?"
"Indeed I have, Primus. From this bunker, all communications are routed to the planet's communication network. Through optical cables, they reach broadcast substations. The messages are, of course, scrambled and either broadcast directly from the substations, or sent up to satellite facilities and bounced down to our forces. It costs us perhaps a second or two of transmission time, but ultimately forces the Clans to devote forces to trying to ferret out our location."
He let the computer paint a scowl on his face. "This communication from you is tying up valuable resources."
"Then I shall not keep you over-long." Myndo let what he saw as an insincere smile twitch across her lips. "I just wanted to impress upon you how vital your success in this matter is for ComStar."
"I am well aware of how crucial is our victory, Primus."
"Good, but I want you to see you have a stake in this also." Her eyes glittered, and it was like a cold wind up Focht's spine. "If you win here, I will give you what you have always wanted."
"You need not reward me for performing my duty, Primus."
"But I shall, my friend."
Those words, coming from her, sounded more like a threat than a promise. "I am honored," Focht said.
"You shall be more than that," Myndo told him. "You shall be exalted. If you defeat the Clans, I shall return to you your birthright." The Primus of ComStar held her head up high. "I will restore you to your former glory and I will make you, Frederick Steiner, Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth."
Lost destiny Page 24