Lost destiny

by Michael A. Stackpole

  Smoke Jaguar Occupation Zone

  14 May 3052 (Day 14 of Operation Scorpion)

  Victor Ian Davion left the airlock and crossed to the side of the needle-nosed shuttlecraft. Seeing the Federated Commonwealth's crest emblazoned above the legend Arcturus made him smile. He patted the ship's hull as the hatchway opened and an emerging soldier saluted him. He returned the salute, then saw Galen struggle through the airlock doorway with both of their kits.

  Behind him the Prince saw Shin Yodama and Hohiro slip into the shuttle bay. Hohiro leaned on his cane far more heavily than Victor thought right in the light gravity provided by the ship's acceleration. Months on the run really hurt him. Still, he and his people put up one hell of a fight. He left the ship and crossed to where his two hosts stood.

  "I'll be leaving soon. My gratitude and best wishes to you and your people. If not for your intelligence services and the spirits of your men, we'd never have gotten off Teniente." Victor shook his head. "In many ways, I cannot believe we made it."

  Hohiro smiled, but the smile died quickly from lack of energy to sustain it. "When I sent Shin off to get help, I never imagined he would find it in the Federated Commonwealth."

  "Good help is hard to find," Shin offered.

  "And we come cheaper than most," Victor finished with a laugh. "When I was asked, I felt certain you would have done the same for me had our situations been reversed. I would hope that my father would have been wise enough to accept your help."

  Hohiro looked down, then glanced over at Shin. "My friend has told me how you came to be called to this task. I know what it cost and I regret causing you and my sister pain."

  Victor leaned back against the cool bulkhead. "You and I did not originally see eye to eye about much of anything on Outreach. There we learned to respect each other. We learned that we would accept what we had to do to successfully fulfill our duties. Personal pain falls into that category. I know that your safe return will lessen any pain your sister might feel because of the bargain she struck with your father. As I would feel her pain more sharply than my own. By saving you, I save myself."

  "You continue to amaze me, Victor." Hohiro looked to Shin for confirmation. "You do not come from our samurai tradition, but you understand giri and ninjo—duty and compassion—as well as any of us."

  The Prince of the Federated Commonwealth forced a shrug. "I had a good teacher. Moreover, the conflict between duty and feelings is not unique to samurai or the yakuza. Those of us born to the throne understand it quite keenly. Your father and my father were lucky that their marriages did not conflict with feelings for another. I fear that I will not have the same good fortune when I choose to wed. Perhaps, however, I will be the last Prince to be skewered by that particular dilemma."

  Hohiro leaned with both hands on his aluminum cane, then nodded slowly. "I hope reality exceeds your imagination. You do not have to leave, you know. You could travel with us to Luthien, then continue your trip from there."

  "Me, at Luthien? Do you wish my father's heart to explode in his chest?" The image of Omi danced tantalizingly before his mind's-eye and he almost agreed. Then he realized that Omi would not be allowed to see him. Do you wish my heart crushed?

  Galen arrived and filled the awkward silence. "Worse than that, do you want the Archon to have my head? The Davion and Steiner heir on Black Luthien? That would be enough to bring Amaris the Usurper back from the dead."

  All four men shared a laugh over that and the tension of the moment passed. "Hohiro, I appreciate the offer. I would, at some time, like to see Luthien, but I think the masters of protocol in both our realms would scream if I were just to drop in."

  "Understood," Hohiro said, then added softly, "my friend."

  Victor chuckled silently. "I never thought to hear those words from a Kurita."

  "And I never thought to say them to a Davion." The heir to the Dragon shook his head. "Imagine that. The Clans come to destroy us, but they only succeed in uniting us."

  "I'm afraid it will take more than one joint operation to unite us, Hohiro. Centuries of distrust and blood will not evaporate so easily. Who knows what the fear and suspicion that has existed between our Houses may one day force us to dor'

  Hohiro reached out and took Victor's right hand. He sandwiched it between his own hands on top of the cane. "You saved my life, which means, in our tradition, that you are now responsible for it"

  Victor recalled the Clan Thor coming at him in the battle. "And you saved my life, so you are responsible for it."

  "Yes." Hohiro squeezed the other man's hand. "Let us both remember, come what may, this burden we bear. It may not stop us from being forced to strike at one another, but it will cause us to seek more rational solutions first. I do not want to face you in battle, Victor Davion."

  "Nor I you, Hohiro Kurita."

  "Then we can learn not to fear one another. In that way, we cannot be warped. We cannot be poisoned against each other."

  Victor capped Hohiro's hand. "For at least one generation, we can learn not to fear each other."

  The two men stared into each other's eyes and Victor read no treachery in Hohiro's steady gaze. Their grips remained strong, then broke apart as Galen and Shin shook hands. Victor turned and offered his hand to Shin. "Though your Prince credits me with the success of the rescue, without you, there would have been nothing. It has been my distinct pleasure and honor to work with you."

  Shin bowed his head. "And I have been most honored by the faith you have shown in me. Someday I hope to be truly worthy of it."

  Victor smiled and turned quickly to Hohiro. "Keep him by your side because he'll be more valuable than any courtier. And if you manage to clone him, send one to me."

  Hohiro laughed. "Only if you will send me a copy of your Galen Cox and Kai Allard."

  Victor stiffened. "I am afraid Kai never left Alyina."

  "Then the crimes committed by the Clans are compounded beyond redemption. I am truly sorry, Victor. I will offer prayers in his name."

  'Thank you, I will tell his sisters and brother." Victor looked back as the Techs disconnected the fueling hoses from the shuttle and closed the cargo bay doors. "I must go."

  Hohiro began his unsteady walk toward the airlock. "Travel well and safely, my friend."

  "Have a swift journey home, my friend," Victor shot back. "Tell your sister ..."

  "Yes?"

  "Tell her ..." Words failed him. He shrugged and shook his head.

  "I will tell her." Hohiro waved from the airlock doorway. "From me she shall learn all the things she would want to know about the man who terrorized the Nova Cats. I will tell her about the man who saved my life. The man who is my friend."

  40

  Pozoristu Mountains, Tukayyid

  ComStar Intervention Zone, Free Rasalhague Republic

  16 May 3052 (Day 16 of Operation Scorpion)

  Sheet after wind-driven sheet of rain lashed Phelan's Wolfhound. The computer-projected holographic display wavered and blurred as the torrential downpour washed over the sensors built into the Wolfhound's upstanding ears. Viewed from the infrared mode, the surrounding mountainous landscape looked as dark and bleak as it did under visible light.

  Inside the cockpit, working in the harsh rainbow backlight of a half-dozen monitors and weapon-condition displays, Phelan punched new commands into his computer to get it to define the incoming data in slimmer and slimmer slices of temperature. The projection melted, then reformed itself with little change in the dark blue and black representation of it.

  "Damn! This cursed rain is soaking everything to a universally wretched temp." The whole assault on Tukayyid had begun to get to Phelan. He and the Wolf Spiders had spent days cooling their heels and occasionally going after ComStar raiders. Then, all of a sudden, they had been rushed into the mountains just in time for a hideous weather front to move in. Hurry up and wait, hurry up and wait!

  He knew that Ulric was, in fact, working from a plan, but it bothered Phelan to hav
e to hear reports of the other Clans in combat while the Guards were stuck in place. They had successfully fended off two ComStar attempts to overrun their supply depot, and Phelan knew their efforts had pleased the ilKhan. Still, it made Phelan feel like a storekeeper chasing off shoplifters, not a warrior fighting for the ownership of Terra.

  Frustrated with the weather, he flipped the sensor over to visible light and shifted the Wolfhound up so the tips of its ears could rise above the solid granite boulder that hid it. He rose slowly, annoyed that his holographic display revealed a jagged, rocky landscape while his viewports only allowed him to see granite.

  A forked bolt of lightning arced up from the valley beyond his position to tickle the belly of the black thunderclouds overhead. Phelan winced and ducked away from the brutally bright light. With afterimages slashing lines through his vision, he forced himself to look at the holographic display. He shuddered, then punched up a replay of the one instant the lightning froze with its stroboscopic explosion.

  "One, two, three ..." Phelan continued counting silently to himself as he used the targeting joystick to tag each 'Mech image on the display. After finding a full company of them, he started in on armor and infantry squads. Very quickly his mouth went dry. "Dammit all to hell, this is a ComStar thrust that'll split the Guards from the 341st Assault. Not at all what Ulric thought the Precentor Martial would do."

  Phelan hit two buttons on his command console. Because of the storm raging outside and the countless valleys in the mountains, using the radio was impractical. Avoiding its use also prevented the possibility of ComStar locating him by triangulation. Only the fact that the storm made all kinds of sensors useless had prevented him from being discovered so far, and with a company of 'Mechs inserting itself between his Star and his Cluster, he wanted to remain hidden.

  Using his left hand, he manipulated the crosshairs for his rear-firing laser. The buttons had downgraded its power to a fraction of what it used in combat and extended its focal length. He punched in a set of coordinates, waited for the weapon to acquire its target, then patched his communication system into the beam generator.

  'This is Ax One. I have forty, four-zero, 'Mechs inbound to Sector 4134. They have armor and infantry support. Stand by for data download." He sent out a check-signal, and something back along the line of relay stations sent a go-ahead to his onboard computer. In 2.3 seconds, the scan and the analysis of it shot off at the speed of light to the Guards' headquarters.

  Phelan watched his computer put a roster for the ComStar unit up on his secondary monitor. Hmmm. The computer says they're designated the Thirteenth Army, which means they are brand-new. The individual 'Mechs date from the Star League era, as is to be expected, and they're all virgin. Definitely a new reserve unit.

  "Black Widow to Ax One. Hit them from the flank or rear."

  Phelan blinked his eyes with disbelief. "I have a Star here, Colonel. Even if we are the Clans, those are mighty long odds."

  "The rest of the Cluster is coming up fast, Ax One. We need you to stop them. Khan Garth Radick is bringing up the 341st Assault to finish them. Go, now!"

  Phelan snapped off the laser and returned its power output to martial specifications. He flipped his communications over to the radio and boosted its power output. "Ax Star, we are to go up and into the ComStar company in the next valley. Move fast and worry less about being accurate than causing a commotion. Do not worry about aim. They are packed cheek to jowl. You cannot miss."

  Ace came back at him. "We getting help, Commander?"

  Phelan recognized the question as a request for information, not the voicing of an opinion about the intelligence of the order. That's the Clans. Do or die without a worry.

  "That is the rumor, Trey. Give them everything. They are new, and if we are lucky, they are green. They will break." He cut his radio link with the rest of his Star. If they are not, they will kill us.

  * * *

  Initiate Horagi Kano hunched his shoulders against the rain and pushed on forward. He watched the back of the man in front of him, and did his best to keep his balance on the narrow ledge. Down below, rolling its way through the canyon, a Rhino just waited to grind a clumsy foot soldier into protoplasm beneath its treads.

  Kano tightened his grip on the disposable Inferno rocket launcher. The Precentor Martial has put us here to stop the Clans. The weight of humanity is upon our shoulders. He fought to keep his thoughts pure and away from the clammy squishing of soaked socks inside his boots. Be alert and ready. ComStar is depending upon us.

  Above, twenty meters upslope on the canyon wall, he saw some rocks shift and a little slide of pebbles cascaded down to bounce off his helmet. He cursed, men followed the line of their fall with his gaze. As he looked up, lightning flashed and burned stark white highlights into the avatar of a war god.

  "Waaahhh!" he screamed and unlimbered the Inferno launcher. The man behind him fell off the ledge in the excitement. Kano extended the launch tube and flipped the sights up into place. ComStar is depending upon us.

  As the 'Mech swung its large laser into line with his troop, Kano hit the firing button. "I give my life for the glory of the Primus!"

  * * *

  The Inferno rocket exploded as it pulled up to the middle of the Wolfhound's chest. A clinging cloud of jellied petro-chem covered the 'Mech with a burning coat. The rain diluted it somewhat, but that just caused it to turn the 'Mech into a living torch as the liquid covered all of it.

  Phelan heard warning klaxons go off and saw the heat in his 'Mech spike from cool green to blue and almost up into the yellow zone, but the rain had so cooled everything that it minimized the chances of his overheating. Hitting the thumb button on his right joystick, he swept a line of laser fire above infantrymen who had fired the missile and into the side of a Rhino.

  Even as the tank started to rotate its turret toward him, Phelan stepped the Wolfhound off into space and let it drop toward the valley floor. He bent the legs to cushion the shock of hitting the slope, then kicked off and landed solidly on the ground, crushing a hoverjeep beneath his 'Mech's right foot.

  For a split-second, everything froze. The Wolfhound stood like a fire elemental mocking the puny mortal force gathered in the valley. The light from his fire splashed gold over the rainslicked stone and sent the shadows of terrified soldiers wavering like black flags over the canyon walls. Towering over the equipment nearest him, Phelan felt alien and immortal. He reveled in the terror he saw on faces.

  Then, just as quickly, his own companions stalked into the valley. The ComStar armor began to swing its turrets around to blast the impudent intruders. When one whole company of ComStar 'Mechs turned back to engage Ax Star, Phelan knew he was in trouble.

  Jerking to the left as a PPC fired at him, Phelan smiled and whispered to himself. "Phelan, Phelan, burning bright, can you survive this fight tonight?"

  * * *

  The Precentor Martial, standing unseen at the other end of the valley in his virtual world, shuddered as he saw the fiery 'Mech descend like an avenging angel. How could they find us here? If they blunt this thrust at splitting them ...

  In a second, a computer command readjusted the con-struct's scale so Focht became a titan huge enough to be able to see the curvature of the world. Instead of seeing the whole length of the Pozoristu Mountains, he saw pockets of clarity in a sea of cloudy gray floating around his feet. The storm made it impossible for him to have information on anything except the areas his troops or scouts inhabited.

  We grapple blindly in a minefield. If I cannot see them, they cannot see me, but having both of us at a mutual disadvantage does nothing to reassure me.

  He shrank himself back down to the size of a 'Mech and opened a direct communications line to the troops beset by the Clan Star. "Acolyte Durkovic, turn Gamma Company and destroy the Star behind you. Precentor Leboeuf, your Alpha Battalion is under attack. Move now to reinforce it."

  His troops moved to comply, but he saw it would not be easy. The Cla
n 'Mechs moved as swiftly as they could to present difficult targets for Alpha Battalion. Though they could duck and dodge at will, scattering troops and destroying vehicles, his own troops had to wade back through their comrades. This slowed their counterstrike and allowed the 'Mechs to terrorize the infantry enough that it broke.

  Angry and heartsick, Focht watched Phelan Kell's Wolfhound drop down on its haunches to take cover behind a ComStar Rhino. He locked his left hand over the turret and twisted it back so the missiles, if launched, would pepper ComStar troops. Laser beams swept out at him, but the heavy tank shielded him. When a Black Knight missed with a PPC shot and two large laser beams, the Wolfhound popped up like a jack in the box and blasted back at it. Two of the medium pulse lasers and the large laser stripped the armor from the Black Knight's right arm. The third pulse laser ripped a nasty scar in its chest armor.

  The other 'Mechs in the Clan Star proved equally effective. Their fire hit a multitude of targets. The Thor and Fenris sprayed their missiles over the narrow canyon in a haphazard pattern that maximized panic. Giving much better than he got, the Dragonfly traded shots with a Lancelot, while the Black Hawk made an apelike Kintaro pay a dear price for trying to close to its weapons' optimum range.

  Phelan Kell is not stupid. This attack would be suicide unless ... "Hettig, ETA for Beta and Gamma Battalions to reinforce Alpha?"

  "Ten minutes, Precentor Martial."

  Focht clenched his fists. "Hurry, Durkovic. Scatter them now, or Alpha Battalion will be a memory by the time your reinforcements arrive."

  * * *

  Compared with his feelings at the beginning of his assault, Phelan was overjoyed with having survived more than one exchange with the battalion he had been asked to ambush. Another shot with his large laser took the Black Knight's right arm off at the shoulder. The others in his Star had inflicted more damage and the infantry had been completely routed, but the 'Mechs being sent after them were closing fast.