Bred for war

by Michael A. Stackpole

  Whether it was the calm of his tone or the obvious wisdom of his words, something drained Katrina's anger away. "If I were to accept you as my advisor, what would you want in compensation?"

  Tormano smiled slowly. "My needs are few. The Sarna March is now a region of space contested by the Federated Commonwealth, the Free Worlds League, and the Capellan Confederation. Internally it is a shambles, with the various worlds forming their own alliances to keep themselves safe. A state of confusion reigns, yet you have one of the most legitimate claims to it. You will recall that when the area was taken from the Capellans by your father, he awarded it to your mother—a Steiner. And now you are obviously the heir to the Steiner tradition. What I will want from you are the resources necessary to maintain influence in the area. Together we shall keep the maelstrom stirred up, distracting the attention of everyone involved. '

  "But what you will give me is far less important than what I will give you, Archon. I will be loyal to you, both because I make that pledge and because no one else will have me. I am yours until you reject me. With my loyalty comes my willingness to act as your sounding board and your conscience. I will also be your confidant and carry out faithfully those missions with which ordinary people cannot be trusted. I even have enough standing to negotiate on your behalf with other sovereign rulers. From me you will get the counsel you need because I do not fear you, nor am I in love with you."

  The Archon half closed her eyes. Deep down inside she knew that her ability to manipulate and influence people left her feeling contempt for all those she was able to control. The strong ones, the people she could not bend to her will— Morgan Kell, her brother Victor, and now Tormano—were the ones she wished to have near her. Morgan and Victor had made themselves her enemies. She did not know if he could ever come to fully trust Tormano, but she could respect his frankness and forthright manner.

  And if she were to take on an adviser, at the very least it would have to be someone she could respect.

  The Archon stood and extended her hand to Tormano Liao across the desk. "I believe, Mandrinn Liao, that my realm will see great things as a product of our alliance."

  Tormano took her hand and lightly kissed it. "Most assuredly, Archon. Great things indeed."

  50

  Laws are dumb in time of war.

  -Cicero, Pro Milone

  Daosha, Zurich

  Zurich People's Republic, Capellan Confederation

  20 December 3057

  The cold drizzle falling in a light curtain between Xu Ning and the mercenary was no insulation from Colonel Burr's fury. Around them the Kaishiling base lay in ruins. Little piles of debris scattered haphazardly over the parade ground burned like votive candles to some chaotic godling. Fire-fighting teams, aided by Black Cobra 'Mechs, labored to douse the fires caused by the Dancing Joker's attack.

  Xu looked over at Burr. "I understand your ire, Colonel, but it could have been much worse. Had your people not been away from the base trying to defend Jihuaide Chumai against the Dancing Joker, the attack here might have killed many of them."

  Burr stopped and stared at Xu as if he believed the Director to be utterly mad. "You act as if you thought his strike here was serendipitous. Of course he didn't kill my people. The buildings he blew up here were a distraction so he could make a run against our warehouses for supplies. He would have gotten away with plenty of it, too, had we not already packed up everything to take with us tomorrow."

  "And had your security forces not counterattacked to drive his people off."

  Burr's nostrils flared. "Yes, but that left our DropShips unprotected during the firefight."'

  Xu raised an eyebrow. "Unprotected? Those ships bristle with weapons. They can never be unprotected."

  "Those weapons are designed for counter-'Mech fire, not antipersonnel fire."

  "Still, I heard your Captain Haverhill report to you that there was no sign of partisan sabotage aboard your ships."

  Richard Burr scowled and stamped out a small fire. "Lack of evidence is not evidence of lack, Director."

  "Does this mean you intend to delay your departure?"

  "You would like that, wouldn't you?" Burr shook his head. "No, we'll finish loading our ships and leave by noon tomorrow."

  Xu frowned. "You smile, Colonel. Is there something amusing about your departure that I missed?"

  "I don't know, Director. I do imagine, though, that the Dancing Joker will be surprised and pleased to see how quickly his action apparently forced our departure. I daresay, even at his most audacious, he would not have imagined our fleeing within twelve hours of his attack."

  You are but mercenaries, why would he imagine you would do anything but run? Xu nodded slightly. "Ah, yes, I imagine he will be very impressed with his potency for the few days he has left alive. However, when the woman your people captured is interrogated, she will give him up. I was led to believe she was his paramour."

  "That could be. All I know for certain is that she was very dangerous." Burr smiled unashamedly. "She shot your quisling before he could kill her."

  "Ah, the admiration in your voice reflects highly upon her." The Director clasped his hands at the small of his back as he began walking toward the gutted building that had once been Burr's headquarters. "Have your people turned her over to mine yet?"

  Burr bit his lower lip and remained silent for a moment before answering. "There are regulations governing the treatment of prisoners, Director. As a mercenary I have agreed to honor certain conventions."

  "Yes, yes, Colonel, I understand, but this woman is not a member of a legitimately constituted military organization. She and this Dancing Joker have murdered hundreds of people and even attacked you and your people. She and her ilk are enemies of the state and little more than very clever, very common criminals. Moreover, even if she proves to be a Davion agent, or in league with one, she would still be guilty of treason against my government."

  "Fine, Director, I will have her executed for you."

  Xu Ning laughed politely. "A good joke, Colonel, but a dangerous one. You skirt the edges of treason yourself. Give her to my people."

  Burr nodded stiffly, obviously reluctant to acquiesce.

  "Thank you." Xu looked down as one of a string of lights crunched beneath his heel. "Ah, Christmas lights. You are a Christian, then?"

  "I think of myself as one."

  "Then perhaps I should send for water that you may wash your hands of the woman's fate?"

  Burr ignored the remark, letting his gaze travel around at the damage done. "I will not be sad to leave this place, though I will regret one thing."

  Xu turned to face him. "And that is?"

  "I'll regret not getting to watch the Dancing Joker finish what he has begun here."

  "I do not think you will miss anything, Colonel." Xu Ning shook his head. "In fact, I will have you back here as my guest and over dinner, served on his grave, I will tell you exactly how I put an end to this Dancing Joker."

  51

  Military action without politics is like a tree without roots.

  —Attributed to Ho Chi Minh

  Sian, Capellan Commonalty

  Capellan Confederation

  21 December 3057

  The fact that he did not feel outraged or betrayed both surprised and pleased Sun-Tzu. Had his mother entered into an alliance with Thomas Marik and then learned that Thomas had offered Victor Davion an olive branch, she would have exploded in fury and ordered the wholesale slaughter of anyone with connections to the Free Worlds League in the last three generations. The streets would have run with blood, and bodies would have dangled from every tree and street lamp on Sian.

  Fortunately, I am not my mother. Even after Thomas had issued orders for the Black Cobras to go and secure Nanking, Sun-Tzu had known that the overt display of support had presaged some sort of betrayal. He also knew, when he complained to Thomas about the premature cessation of hostilities, that Thomas would respond with some aphorism about patience and vi
rtue. Every pearl of wisdom known to mankind might not have fallen from Jerome Blake's lips, but you'd never guess it from the way his disciples quote him.

  Because he had anticipated what Thomas would do, Sun-Tzu did not feel betrayed. Besides, he could see that the invasion either had to end or else escalate to engulf the whole Inner Sphere. As desperate as he was to re-gain the worlds Hanse Davion had stolen from the Capellan Confederation, Sun-Tzu did not want to see the outbreak of total war. No matter that other Houses of the Inner Sphere stood between him and the Clans or that they were hearing rumors of the Clans fighting and fragmenting each other. The Clans were a threat to them all and would be on the march again soon enough. When that time came, Sun-Tzu did not want to see the Inner Sphere weakened from within.

  Katrina Steiner had begun to offer to sell JumpShips back to her brother. If Victor accepted, it would not be long before he could start delivering troops to the Sarna March to reverse Sun-Tzu's gains. Thomas obviously saw the Sarna March as a buffer between Victor and the worlds the League had retaken. Though Sun-Tzu resented having his worlds seen as battlefields by other nations, he acknowledged that those planets also formed a buffer zone for him. Were the Marik-Liao invasions still hot by the time Victor got his transports back, he could choose to finish the job his father had started and nibble away at the Capellan Confederation itself. With a truce in place, Victor would launch operations to take back worlds that had been his, not conquer new worlds.

  Sun-Tzu sat back in Justin Allard's chair and smiled. The one universal fact about the Davions—the fact his grandfather had ignored and the fact that had given his mother nightmares—was that the Davions believed in retribution. Take something from them and they would take it back. Kill something of theirs and they would kill something of yours. This meant Victor, ever the perfect miniature of his father, would try to recapture the worlds Sun-Tzu had taken back before he pursued new conquests.

  Having concluded that, Sun-Tzu wondered briefly if he were making a gross error in anticipating Victor's actions based on what he knew of the man's dead father. In the time he and Victor had trained together on Outreach, he had believed the son would be more dangerous than the father just because of Victor's desire to escape Hanse Davion's shadow. Since Hanse's death, however, Victor had made a string of errors that had already cost him half his realm. It was as if Hanse had been his son's landmark, and with him dead, Victor no longer had any point of reference.

  Being a Davion, steeped in Davion lore, he reverted to type. Victor's apparent lack of feeling about his mother's death was just the sort of emotionless display Hanse would have made. Using a double to replace Joshua Marik was also the kind of trick that would have suited Hanse Davion. Victor had stumbled about until he found himself marching in his father's footsteps, and chances were he did not even realize he was doing it.

  It was exactly the thing Sun-Tzu had to avoid. He must at all costs not fall into the extremes that had plagued the ruling Liaos throughout this century. He also knew that complacency would destroy him. He could assume Victor would tend to behave like his father before him, but he had to test that assumption. He had to test all of his assumptions. For him to operate on belief instead of knowledge was to leave himself open for attack. And there are plenty of places from which it might come. Tormano, Candace, Kai—even my sister Kali might strike against me. And I mustn't forget that Isis Marik might be used against me too. If we wed, and then I am slain, Thomas could claim the Capellan Confederation and absorb it into the Free Worlds League. That would be better than having Kali on the throne, but I could never abide the thought of my nation being ruled by someone outside the House of Liao.

  "The other thing I must do is to continue to make the others underestimate me." Sun-Tzu smiled broadly and steepled his fingers. "When Thomas tells me he has concluded a peace with Victor Davion, I shall thank him. I shall even ask him if he wants his daughter back with him on Atreus. That should start him wondering about me and my plans. Meanwhile I go about consolidating the worlds I have taken and prepare for the next opportunity to return to my realm that which is rightfully mine."

  52

  Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow-creatures is amusing in itself.

  —James Anthony Froude, Oceana

  Daosha, Zurich

  Zurich People's Republic, Capellan Confederation

  21 December 3057

  Despite her right eye being almost swollen shut and the blinding light glaring down from above, Cathy Hanney recognized Xu Ning when he stepped into the cold chamber. Knowledge of his identity came not from the way her tormentors snapped to attention at his arrival, but in the suave and simple way he translated his initial shock into a casual shrug. Had she any saliva left in her mouth she would have spat at him.

  "Miss Hanney," he began in oily tones, "you must realize that your resistance is quite futile. We know you are exhausted and in pain from the beating the Black Cobras gave you. These first four hours, of course, have been filled merely with questioning because we would rather not take more drastic measures with you."

  Cathy remained silent as her thoughts raced. Four hours? Try eight—I've watched the clock grind through transplant operations, when every second counted, and I know how long I've been here. How long I've held out. He's coming. Soon. I can wait.

  Xu Ning's hand felt cold as his fingertips traced the bruise on the right side of her face. "You have shown bravery and intelligence in your time with the Dancing Joker. Let me tell you what will happen from this point forward. Because you have given us nothing, we must find a way to stimulate your cooperation. We have two choices! physical torture or narcointerrogation. The latter is, of course, the more effective, but in this case time is a key factor. If we use drugs to pry information from you, we must let you recover from those drugs before employing pain to verify your answers. Using pain first, we achieve the answers we want even more swiftly than might be imagined because the oblivion of drugs can be dangled before you as a reward for giving us your answers."

  She remained silent. I will say nothing. He is coming for me. He will be here. He will rescue me and destroy all of you.

  Xu Ning folded his arms and stepped back until he was a silhouette framed by the open door. "Your resistance is predicated on the mistaken belief that the Dancing Joker is coming to rescue you. That is a false premise. You are currendy in a location well removed from Daosha and you were not followed here. This area is well protected so that even were he to come here, he would die."

  He is coming. I know it. He will rescue me.

  "Of course, you have failed to grasp the full import of your situation. You might not have been captured except that the Dancing Joker set you up. He assigned you to work with a traitor—a traitor he suspected but about whom he told you nothing. Had he not been suspicious of Fabian Wilson, he would not have switched targets and the Black Cobras would have captured him."

  He is coming.

  "You were abandoned." Xu Ning gave a brief laugh. "In many ways I admire him for sacrificing you so. It guaranteed that we would not guess his change of plans. Your Dancing Joker is almost cold-blooded enough to succeed with his counterrevolution."

  "He is coming."

  "Ah, she speaks. Good." Xu Ning presented Cathy his profile as he looked over toward her chief torturer. "Let us not be too brutal with her. Electrical stimulation should be effective, I would think. Farewell, Miss Hanney, and should I be unable to speak with you later, thank you for your assistance."

  "He's coming. He will come for you."

  "I'm sure he will, my dear young woman, but by then you will have told us all you know about him." Xu Ning's laugh stabbed deep into her heart. "And with that information, I will destroy him."

  53

  There is only one tactical principle which is not subject to change. It is: to use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wounds, death and destruction on the enemy in the minimum of time.
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  —George S. Patton, Jr., War As I Knew It

  Bay of Broken Hope, Australarctica

  Morges, Lyran Alliance

  25 December 3057

  Phelan looked out across the pristine snowfield and saw in the distance the snow-covered colony of DropShips that had brought the Jade Falcons to Morges. Though snow and ice capped them, the emerald-green hue of their hulls marked them as being as alien to Australarctica as the Clans were to the Inner Sphere. The presence of snow on the ships meant that they were not ready to travel and that confirmed Phelan's fears about Angeline Mattlov and the Jade Falcon host.

  They're not going to run.

  It was ridiculous for them to stay. Their assault on Carson Rift had hurt the Wolves, but it had been costly for the Falcons as well. It stalled when supplies failed to get to the Falcon field units. The Peregrine Eyrie Cluster had fought a rear-guard action as the others pulled back to Broken Hope. At the same time the Ninety-fourth Striker Cluster and Seventeenth Falcon Regulars had retreated from Archangel. During the retreat the Kell Hounds Second Regiment had poured down out of Icegrief Pass and mauled the Seventeenth Regulars.