Prince of Havoc

by Michael A. Stackpole

  Victor tugged at the cuffs of his jacket. He'd chosen to appear in the kind of jumpsuit MechWarriors wore over their shorts and cooling jackets pre- and post-battle, and his was the light Steiner blue and gray of the Tenth Lyran Guard unit he commanded. Over that he pulled on a dark blue canvas jacket festooned with Star League Defense Force patches and rank insignia. Andrew Redburn wore his black and gold Kathil Uhlans uniform, but with an SLDF patch sewed over the left breast. The Precentor Martial had donned his ComStar robe, showing not only the Order's golden star insignia on the breast, but an SLDF patch added to the left shoulder. Tiaret wore a dark blue SLPF jumpsuit, but had cinched it around her narrow waist with a belt bearing the Smoke Jaguar mottling.

  The quartet set off for the ilKhan's tent, making their unhurried way along a gravel path that looked newly incised into the ground. At the tent's mouth, four Elementals in their armor stood guard. The two on the left were from the Ghost Bear and Wolf Clans, and easily recognizable by the white and gray motifs painted on their armor. To the right stood a Jade Falcon and an Elemental from a Clan Victor couldn't place. The paint scheme involved whites and blues suitable for wintry battle, but the insignia had a verminish look to it.

  "Tiaret, what's the white one on the right? What Clan?"

  Contempt dripped through to reply. "Ice Hellion. As long as the war is with words, they are very brave."

  "Always good to know." Victor lifted his chin as he passed through the Elemental phalanx. He paused a couple of steps inside the tent's opening and immediately recognized Marthe Pryde, the tall, dark-haired Khan of the Jade Falcons. Next to her stood a shorter, flame-haired man Victor took to be the Ice Hellion. Standing on either side of the desk occupying the center of the tent was a scar-faced man in Wolf Clan leathers and a slightly older, blond man wearing white clothing and a cloak of white fur adorned with pale gray claws—presumably a Ghost Bear.

  The ilKhan rose smoothly from behind the desk, looking as big in a jumpsuit as the two armored Elementals behind him. Muscles bunched beneath ebon flesh and Victor sensed no unsteadiness or weakness in him. If he was cut badly, aside from the scar on his forehead, I can't tell it. Any last fantasy about meeting Lincoln Osis in single combat that might have lingered after Tiaret tossed him about died abruptly.

  Victor took one step forward and extended his hand. "I am Victor Ian Steiner-Davion, Commander in Chief of the Star League Expeditionary Force."

  Osis' eyes widened. "You are Victor Davion? Impossible. You are so... small."

  The Prince's blue-flecked gray eyes narrowed. "Your underestimation of Inner Sphere forces has brought you to this point, ilKhan. Why compound your folly now?"

  Shock registered immediately on Osis' face. The Ice Hellion also reddened as anger started him trembling, but the other three Khans managed to keep their reactions largely hidden. Only on Marthe Pryde's face could Victor detect the twitch of a smile.

  The ilKhan balled his fists. "The folly here is yours, Victor."

  Victor smiled, realizing that the ilKhan had refused to use his surname because the right to bear a bloodname was the highest honor existing among the Clans. He seeks to shame me by addressing me so familiarly, but a first name really can't hold all the contempt he wants to project. "Shall I then retreat to Huntress? I would feel safe there, I think. No one left there to fear."

  With that remark even the Wolf Khan allowed himself a smirk to match the one that flashed across Martha Pryde's face. This Ghost Bear Khan took half a step forward. "I am Bjorn Jorgensson, of the Ghost Bears. I suggest this exchange is not productive, and not what we are here for. Victor Davion, you and your forces have been granted safcon and summoned here to bargain a battle. We should proceed."

  "I agree, Khan Jorgensson." Victor half turned and pointed to the trio standing behind him. "I would like to present my aides. Captain Tiaret Nevversan is late of the Smoke Jaguars. General Andrew Redburn commands the first Kathil Uhlans and had overall command of operations on Huntress for our final victory there. And this is Anastasius Focht, Precentor Martial of ComStar, victor of Tukayyid, and forger of the truce won from your invasion's second ilKhan." The Prince turned back to face the other Khans. "The truce was very useful, but would expire, which is why we have come all this way. We challenge you to a Trial of Refusal constraning his whole invasion. When we win, you will forswear any attacks on the Inner Sphere."

  Osis folded his arms across his broad chest. "And when we defeat you?"

  "You won't."

  The Wolf Khan smiled slyly. "Hardly a bargain you are offering us. Victor Davion. If we win, we should be rewarded."

  Victor nodded. "If you win, the Precentor Martial is prepared to release you from the truce agreement he struck with Ulric Kerensky. You will again be free to attack the Inner Sphere."

  The Ice Hellion spat out a sharp laugh. "If we win, you give us Terra."

  Victor smiled. Word of Blake, the reactionary splinter group of ComStar, had wrested Terra from ComStar's control two years earlier. Word of Blake mixed mysticism with paranoia in a way that produced fanatic followers capable of all manner of lethal and insane actions. I'd gladly give them Terra, and any other Word of Blake world, but they really aren't mine to give.

  "No, you don't get Terra." Victor shook his head slowly. "We've come here to fight for peace. You're fighting for the opposite, you're fighting for war. You win. You'll get all the war you want, and you'll get it in the Inner Sphere, and here, too."

  Jorgensson's blue eyes half-closed. "If you were to win, what would be the status of the worlds we've taken in the Inner Sphere?"

  "If we win, I no longer see a state of war as existing between us." Victor carefully considered his words. "I cannot tell you that powerful people may not try to influence the Star League to drive you from your occupied worlds, or that wealthy people will not hire mercenaries to liberate those worlds. Economic integration of the Clan worlds into the Inner Sphere would be much more productive than war, and if that avenue were open, I suspect it would be preferred."

  Marthe Pryde arched an eyebrow at Victor. "You think your people are tired of war?"

  "I sincerely hope so." Victor let his gaze pass over each one of their faces. "You've based your culture on war and the need to prepare for it. We fight when pressed to do so, but that is not our preference. When we are forced to fight, as you know, we adapt quickly. This is the first expedition to your homeworlds. It can be the last. It will be, if I have any say in the matter.

  "So, there it is. We challenge you to a Trial of Refusal of this invasion. Let us know what you will defend with, and we'll match you strength for strength."

  Victor again looked from one Khan to another. "Here, on Strana Mechty, this thing will be decided. The best warriors will win, and the fate of mankind will be determined."

  5

  Hall of the Khans, Warrior Quarter

  Strana Mechty

  Kerensky Cluster, Clan Space

  18 April 3060

  Vlad turned around to watch the apoplectic Asa Taney explode from his seat in the Grand Council chamber. The small man's face had become a darker red than his hair, giving the impression that the hair was really a spray of blood fountaining up from his scalp. His balled fist slammed into his desk and made a surprisingly loud thump.

  "We cannot allow ourselves to be trapped by this Trial of Refusal. The Inner Sphere forces—this ersatz Star League— have no right to use our traditions to bind us so."

  Lucien Cams of the Nova Cats rose to that point. "Khan Taney, you forget that since the inception of the invasion we have issued challenges to the Inner Sphere troops and on Tukayyid we engaged in a similar trial. To refuse to honor a challenge now would be base chicanery and unworthy."

  "Unworthy? It is they who are unworthy." Taney thrust a finger toward the west, where the Inner Sphere forces had been allowed to land. "You were not there, Khan Cams, when this Victor came before us. He mocked the ilKhan. He mocked us. His language was full of contractions and he brought with
him a bondswoman taken from Lincoln Osis' own genetic legacy. She is a harbinger of what we face if we accept this challenge."

  Vlad allowed a low laugh to rumble from his throat. "She is a harbinger only if we are defeated, Khan Taney."

  Taney shook his head. "That will not happen."

  "If not, Khan Taney," asked Bjorn Jorgensson, "why the concern about accepting the consequences of defeat? Your protests seem out of place. Do you not want to fight?"

  "Do not question my bravery, Khan Jorgensson. My Hellions and I will fight."

  Vlad barely suppressed a smile. And why do I think your air wing will be bid away first, Asa Taney?

  Kael Pershaw banged his gavel down. "The ilKhan's report on what the Inner Sphere offered at negotiation was not made a voting issue. To refuse such a challenge without becoming dezgra, the Grand Council would need only a simply majority vote to void the challenge."

  Taney raised a hand. "I demand such a vote."

  The Ghost Bear's Jorgensson nodded. "I would second that call."

  Vlad ignored the buzz of voices around him. The Clans had long ago split into two camps along political lines. Wardens held that their true mission was to act as guardians for the Inner Sphere, waiting in their self-imposed exile until a crisis called them back to save the worlds that had spawned them. The Crusaders knew the truth and knew it was their destiny to conquer the Inner Sphere and provide leadership for all humanity. Until recently the Wolves had been a strong Warden Clan, but Phelan Kell had culled the Wardens and had taken them to the Inner Sphere, leaving behind the hard-core Crusaders.

  Looking around the room, Vlad did a mental inventory of the Clans and their leanings. Of the sixteen Clans present- including the Smoke Jaguars, though Lincoln Osis was the only Jaguar in the room—seven were Wardens. That left nine Crusader Clans, though it would have been ten had the Star Adders not recently completed their absorption of Clan Burrock. This provides the Crusaders with the needed votes to void the challenge.

  Vlad felt a shiver run down his spine. The conditions laid down with the challenge were not unexpected, and for his Clan the consequences would be far from disastrous. The Wolves had driven deep into the Inner Sphere. Their holdings exceeded all the other Clans. If there is peace and we cannot attack the Inner Sphere, other Clans may be tempted to prey upon the Wolves. We are not so strong yet that we can scoff at the likely attacks to come our way. By voting to void the challenge, another set of conditions would be negotiated, or the Inner Sphere, would continue its war and the Wolves had the Ghost Bear and Jade Falcon occupation zones to serve as buffers against attack.

  On the other hand, peace would work well for him and his people. His covert alliance with Katrina Steiner-Davion and her Lyran Alliance meant the Jade Falcon occupation zone was caught between his hammer and Katrina's anvil. The Wolves could fall on the Falcons, destroying a hated enemy, and help the Lyrans liberate worlds of their own, A formalization of his alliance with Katrina would unite the Wolves with the Inner Sphere, giving him a much more powerful base to work from. And it would oust Phelan Kell and his rogue Wolves from their safe haven.

  Before Vlad had reached a decision on how he would vote, Kael Pershaw spoke. "The senior Khan will issue the vote for each Clan. Since the ilKhan is still the senior Khan of record for the Smoke Jaguars, he will vote for them. I will have your votes now, by Clan."

  Things began much as Vlad anticipated. The Blood Spirits and Fire Mandrills, Crusaders both, voted to void. They were balanced out by the Cloud Cobras and Diamond Sharks, who chose to sustain the challenge. That brought things to the Ghost Bears, another Crusader Clan.

  Kael Pershaw looked up at Bjorn Jorgensson. "What is the will of the Ghost Bears?"

  The flesh around Jorgensson's eyes tightened. "To void this challenge would be to repudiate the whole of our tradition. Ghost Bear votes to sustain."

  Vlad blinked. The Ghost Bears had the most to lose if the challenge were upheld. Though they were the strongest of the invading clans, without the Smoke Jaguars in place, they now bordered the Draconis Combine. The fanatical Kuritas would undoubtedly continue to press for the reconquest of their worlds, leaving the Ghost Bears vulnerable. They must have some trick in mind.

  The voting continued to split along Crusader and Warden lines, leaving Vlad the last to vote. Since the Wardens possessed eight votes because of the Ghost Bear defection, the challenge could not be voided. As Pershaw called for his vote, Vlad smiled. "The Wolf Clan chooses to abstain."

  Marialle Radick shot him a quick glance, but Vlad waved away her mute inquiry. Why waste a vote in a decided matter, when by doing the unexpected I can sow chaos and uncertainty?

  Lincoln Osis looked up from the ilKhan's bench. "The challenge stands. Next we shall decide who shall fight for us,"

  Taney stood. "We should all fight."

  Marthe Pryde scoffed from the top rank. "Those who have earned the right to fight should fight."

  The ilKhan nodded, "Khan Pryde is correct. The original four invading Clans shall fight, of course..."

  "You will forgive me, ilKhan." Bjorn Jorgensson rose slowly behind his desk. "The Ghost Bears have no desire to participate in this battle."

  "What?" Osis' face screwed down into a sour frown. "How can you refuse this honor?"

  Jorgensson leaned forward. "How can you call this an honor? We have defined ourselves as warriors down through the centuries. We have refined our skills and our weapons, and have even resorted to altering the basic structure of human culture to create a martial ideal in our people. When we first invaded the Inner Sphere, our victories, our easy victories, confirmed what we had long held true: we were the physical, intellectual, and moral superiors of those who had been left behind.

  "You, ilKhan, stand hare, wounded, stripped of your Clan, exiled from your homeworld with no hope of return, seeing your bloodkin serving your enemy. We all saw an Inner Sphere warrior, Phelan, rise from bondsman to Khan of the Wolves. Both of you put the lie to what we have thought of ourselves. By defeating you, by having one of their own rise to high rank among us, have we not been shown that our superiority was an illusion?"

  Vlad looked up at Jorgensson. "You have not forgotten our victories, Khan Jorgensson."

  "No, Khan Ward, I have not. They burn brightly in my mind, as do the images from our defeats. On Tukayyid, ComStar showed us our vulnerability to prolonged warfare. Since then, our major efforts have been thwarted. The Huntress campaign showed that even here, in our own stronghold, we are vulnerable. Our supposed invincibility is a sham, as is our superiority.

  "The reality of things is quite clear to us. As Crusaders, we embraced the invasion because it was clearly our destiny, and our early, easy victories made that plain. Our defeats have undercut our conviction in destiny. After long consideration, the Ghost Bears have come to question our commitment to the Crusader philosophy, and now consider ourselves Wardens, so we can avoid the sort of self-deception that has brought the Clans to this state. We now stand with our Warden brethren, apart from the Crusaders, so they may defend an invasion that has defined them, and likely will destroy them. Take heart, though, ilKhan. I am certain there will be no end of Clans willing to take our place.

  Vlad shivered. This is a serious realignment by the Ghost Bears. They will require close watching, especially with their holding being next to mine in the occupation zone.

  Osis stared with disbelief plain on his face at Jorgensson, then slowly shook his head. "Are there others of you who do not wish to fight against the Inner Sphere?"

  Not unexpectedly, the other Warden Khans answered the ilKhan's question in the affirmative. Severen Leroux stood in the back rank of the room. "The Nova Cats applaud the Ghost Bears and the other Wardens who are wise enough to look for something other than blood to fulfill their lives. Shed a single drop more of Inner Sphere blood and you will doom yourselves for all time. This is your chance to be welcomed back into the fold of humanity. We took ourselves apart so we would not be consumed by the Inn
er Sphere's squabbling, and we have united them against us. Let us not fall prey to their unity."

  Taney laughed aloud. "We will not fall prey to it. We will shatter it."

  Leroux hissed. "Seek that course, Asa Taney, and you walk a path more evil than you can imagine. A wound has healed. Reopen it, and the diseases that fester there will consume you. You cannot be allowed to do this."

  The Ice Hellion sneered contemptuously at the Nova Cat Khan. "Your brain has atrophied with age, Khan Leroux. We will go and fight the Inner Sphere. We will break them, then we will turn our eyes to you and your Clan. Your days are at an end."

  "This I know, Asa Taney, but I also know how they will end." Severen Leroux sighed heavily, letting his shoulders slump. "Your choice forces mine."

  "I am certain." Taney turned back toward the ilKhan. "The Wardens and their ilk clearly have no stomach for a fight. So be it. There are eight Crusader Clans. We will defend the Clans and our honor."

  Osis nodded. "Seven Clans fought on Tukayyid, eight will fight here. Smoke Jaguar, Ice Hellion, Jade Falcon, Blood Spirit, Fire Mandrill, Star Adder, Hell's Horses, and the Wolves. On our shoulders will rest the fate of the Inner Sphere."

  Vlad nodded. "We are defending, ilKhan. What shall we defend with?"

  The ilKhan shifted his shoulders uneasily. "They said they would match us, strength for strength, which is good. Of my Clan's warriors, all I have left are the Elementals who carried me from Huntress and my bodyguard Binary here on Strana Mechty."

  "That is well and good for you, ilKhan." Asa Taney's smile grew quite broad, "The rest of us can summon more troops from our homeworlds."

  "Why would you need more than a bodyguard unit?" Marthe Pryde looked down on the red-headed Ice Hellion. "I see no reason to require more than a Binary to defeat any unit of Inner Sphere forces. BattleMechs have ruled warfare since their introduction six centuries ago, and have decided outcomes as momentous as this one before. We need nothing else to defeat the Inner Sphere."