Warrior: En Garde

by Michael A. Stackpole

  "You mean, I put up a fight!" Justin spat out the words at Wolfson, who colored visibly. Both shared the knowledge of the fix, and Wolfson burned with the shame of having been so careless.

  Wolfson slammed a fist into the table. "I will kill you, Xiang! Rig up your 'Mech any way you can. It makes no difference to me. I'll destroy you, no matter what!"

  Justin nodded eagerly. "Done. Just don't be as stupid as Armstrong."

  Wolfson glowered at Justin. "What?"

  "Don't believe what Capet tells you is the mark of a man." Justin reached back and slipped his arm around Kym's waist as she came forward. Off to his left, Noton pulled aside the curtain of his alcove, and waved the MechWarrior and his lady into the private booth.

  Kym slid onto the bench and moved toward the center of the lable. Gray took his place at the head of the table while Justin seated himself beside Kym. Noton touched a button and the wooden panel concealing the holovision screen slid up into the wall.

  Noton waved at the screen. "Would you like to see a replay of your fight?"

  Justin shook his head. "I've never enjoyed reviewing my performance. That goes double for those training tapes they loved to make at the Sakhara Academy."

  Noton nodded understandingly. "I agree, though I maintain a complete library of battles here. If you ever want to review the fights of an upcoming foe, please feel free to use this booth."

  That could be very useful. Justin nodded to his host. "Thank you, Gray."

  The three of them looked up as the curtain slid back slowly. A servant smiled sheepishly, saying, "Just a second, folks, and I'll be gone." He turned away, then swung a silver wine caddy into the booth. Condensed moisture ran down the shining exterior, and ice brimmed up over the top. Protruding from the ice pack was the neck of a wine bottle.

  The servant produced three glasses and set them on the table. He also handed Noton a small envelope. Noton slid a thumbnail beneath the flap and withdrew the card. He turned it over, then handed it to Justin. "It's in Capellan, which I can't read."

  Justin accepted it wordlessly. When he had read it, he looked up with a smile. "It says, 'The honor of the House of Xiang rises like the sun. My compliments. Signed, Tsen Shang.' " Justin glanced over at Noton. "A friend of yours?"

  Noton nodded. "One of my shrewder friends, Justin. I'll have to introduce you." He looked over at the server and nodded for him to pour.

  The young man smiled. "I hope you realize this is from Palos. Not only is it the best Capella has to offer, it's the best in the Successor States. Mr. Shang had to ship this stuff in himself because we can't get it here." He stripped the lead foil from the cork and freed it of the wire cage. Carefully, he worked the cork loose, then covered the bottle with a cloth as he freed the cork with a muffled pop. The server poured for all three, then retreated silently.

  Gray raised his glass. "To your skill and intelligence, Justin. May you live long here on Solaris, and get all that you desire."

  Justin, abstaining from drinking to a toast in his honor, waited for his friends to lower their glasses. "To my two friends," he said, in turn raising his own glass. "May they help me to stay alive here on Solaris, and to get all that I desire." Justin drank, very much enjoying the piquant sweetness of the wine.

  He looked up at Noton. "This Tsen Shang must be well connected. I recall someone on Spica offering three bottles of this vintage to ransom his damaged Valkyrie."

  Noton smiled and set his empty glass down. "He's well connected, indeed. He even owns two heavy 'Mechs, though he lacks a pilot."

  "Then we two should meet, don't you think?" Justin drained his glass. "After all, I'll be needing a heavy 'Mech if I'm to kill Philip Capet."

  24

  Solaris VII (The Game World)

  Rahneshire, Lyran Commonwealth

  20 March 3027

  Darkness cloaked Kym Sorenson as she slipped out from under the thick coverlet. Rearranging the bedcovers, she bent down and drew the quilt up around Justin's shoulders, then knelt to kiss him lightly on the forehead. "Sleep well, lover. I'll be back soon." A quick glance at the empty glass on his bedside table told her he'd not notice her absence.

  Despite her confidence in the depth of Justin's drugged sleep, Kym gathered up her clothing and carried it outside their room to dress. Over the garments she'd worn to the fight and to Valhalla, she pulled on a heavy coat and then tucked her golden hair up into a wide-brimmed hat.

  Kym flipped up the collar of her coat against the wet, rainy wind as she left the villa and crossed to the Hurricane. At a touch, the door swung up and Kym slipped into the driver's seat. The door descended and locked tight as she tapped the ignition code out onto the dashboard's number pad. The engine hummed to life, and the Hurricane rose up on a cushion of air.

  The lights of Solaris City sparkled like raindrops on a spider-web of streets as Kym guided the Hurricane down from the hills of the Davion sector, known locally as the Black Hills. She steered the vehicle onto Bunyan Road, then brought it to a halt before a moderately well-kept apartment tower.

  She hurried from her aircar to the glassed-in vestibule, where she pressed one particular button twice, waited for a three-count, and then pressed it four more times. While waiting for the tenant to open the door, she looked around anxiously but saw no one else in the outer darkness. With a rasp like that of an angry beast, a buzzer sounded, but stopped abruptly as Kym yanked open the door. She darted inside the building, but went no further until she was sure the door had clicked shut behind her.

  Instead of going to the lobby elevator, Kym turned to the fire door on her right. She opened it and stepped cautiously into a long, dimly lit corridor. Passing quickly through it, she reached the apartment building's rear exit. From there, she slipped out into the dark alley behind the building.

  Kym hurried on through the night until she reached an avenue named Twain Street. Stepping out from the alley onto the street, she resumed a relaxed pace. Strolling past a restaurant, she paused as if making an impulsive decision, glanced at the holovid menu display, then went in.

  Once inside, Kym removed her hat and shook out her hair, which cascaded over her shoulders as she moved toward a rear booth. When a smiling server handed her a menu, Kym leaned back to study it in leisurely fashion.

  A deep male voice whispered from the speaker hidden in the cushions just behind her head. "Report."

  Kym yawned. "Contact with Shang. Noton is interested in Xiang, and Xiang is susceptible to Nasodithol. He did not notice it in a drink, and was highly suggestible under its influence."

  Kym stopped speaking as the server returned to her table. "Coffee, please. Nothing else."

  When the server was again out of earshot, the voice hissed in Kym's ear like a snake. "Satisfactory. Continue to encourage Xiang's entry into Noton's service. He will be most useful there. Be aware that Fuh Teng is Maskirovka. Take care." The flat, emotionless voice paused. "The Minister would hate for you to find it expedient to kill his son."

  * * *

  Gray Noton sank back into the shadows across Bunyan Street when he saw Kym reenter her Hurricane. Pressing his hand over his right ear, he listened carefully to the agent reporting to him over a radio. Noton smiled and watched the aircar rise and disappear down the street.

  Come all the way down here for a cup of coffee, Kym? I don't think so. Especially not after you cajoled half a kilo of that special Atocongo blend from Enrico Lestrade a week ago! There's nothing at that restaurant that you'd want, at least not to eat or drink. Remembering Lestrade's assurances that Contessa Sorenson was nothing more than a bored rich girl, Noton laughed. You fooled him, Kym, but that's no great feat. You didn't fool me. And that will cost you more than you want to know.

  25

  Tharkad

  District of Donegal, Lyran Commonwealth

  10 April 3027

  The DropShip's retrorockets blasted snow from the landing pad. The howling wind whirled in at the spherical Union Class craft, but the billowing clouds of snow
broke the wind's fury. The Cougar landed heavily on its four steel feet. The second the Captain cut the ship's engines, the raging blizzard smothered the DropShip in a blanket of snow.

  Moving at a snail's pace, a square patch of snow detached itself from the landing pad and rose skyward. As wind blasted the snow from its roof, the gantry grew upward. It stopped opposite the Cougar's smallest hatchway and secured a canopy to the craft's hull.

  Ardan Sortek stood back as an Ensign cracked the Cougar's hatch. She smiled and waved Sortek forward into the room at the top of the gantry. Ardan moved quickly and shivered as the frigid winter wind of Tharkad nipped at him despite the canopy. Leftenant Redburn followed closely behind.

  Why is Tharkad always so cold when I visit? Ardan crossed to the elevator in the rear of the gantry. He pushed the black button on the wall, then turned to Redburn, who was tugging nervously at his dark green dress jacket. Ardan laughed, thinking that Andrew looked as nervous as a MechWarrior dropping naked into a combat zone. "Easy, Leftenant. You look fine."

  Redburn's face flushed scarlet and his eyes nearly bugged out.

  "Easy? This is the Archon we're going to meet." He followed Ardan into the elevator as its doors yawned open for them.

  Ardan nodded and pressed a button to shut the door. "And the Archon-Designate, and the whole of the Lyran Commonwealth court."

  Redburn wilted before his eyes. "Oh thanks, Colonel, that makes me feel much better." The elevator, independent of any command, sank faster than Redburn's self-confidence.

  Ardan laughed again, then straightened himself up and arranged his own dress tunic as the elevator slowed. He wore a blue uniform with gold trim because, unlike Redburn, he was not attached to a combat unit in the Capellan March. Despite the color differences, their uniforms looked similar and distinctive. The sunburst design, which started at the left shoulder and shot four rays extending out and down to the middle of the jacket, created a brilliant, asymmetrical double-breast. Tight-fitting trousers tucked snugly into cavalry boots. Completing the uniform were rowel-less spurs, remnants of ages-old cavalry traditions and the mark of a MechWarrior in the Federated Suns.

  Ardan reached out and adjusted the Silver Sunburst on Redburn's chest. With a certain satisfaction, he noted that the medal matched the uniform's silver trim. Redburn looked down nervously, but smiled as Ardan winked. They both turned to face the heavy elevator doors as they opened.

  Ardan Sortek grinned at the sight that greeted them. Standing in the small receiving room, Katrina Steiner and her daughter, Melissa Arthur Steiner, returned his smile warmly. Stepping from the elevator, he took the Archon's extended hand. "I am honored, Archon."

  "And I am very glad to see you, Ardan Sortek." Katrina turned to her right. "You remember my daughter?"

  Ardan laughed heartily and swept Melissa into a bear hug. "The best nurse an ailing MechWarrior ever had." He hugged her tightly, then held her out at arm's length. "Let me look at you."

  Melissa Arthur Steiner shared her mother's height and steely gray eyes, but her blond hair was a shade darker, a legacy from her dead father. More lithesome than her mother, she nevertheless showed strength in her regal bearing and in the sharp fire of her eyes. In keeping with Lyran custom, Melissa's light-blue eye shadow extended in a feathery pattern from the corners of her eyes and curled down onto her high cheekbones.

  "You have become lovelier than ever in the two years since we last met, Melissa!" Ardan hugged her again, stepped back, but still held her right hand in his left. Ah, she will make Hanse Davion very happy.

  Melissa smiled brilliantly. "I miss the time we spent together while you recuperated here, Ardan, but I'm glad you have not again needed my ministrations." She gave his hand a squeeze, then reluctantly released it.

  "You're not alone in either thought," Ardan admitted quietly. He turned toward Redburn, inviting him forward with a wave of the hand. "I should like to present my traveling companion and friend, Leftenant Andrew Redburn. Archon Katrina Steiner, Duchess of Tharkad, and her daughter, Melissa Arthur Steiner, Archon-Designate and Landgrave von Bremen."

  Redburn snapped to attention and saluted. Katrina Steiner returned the salute and glanced reprovingly as Melissa raised a hand to her mouth to smother a giggle. The Archon stepped forward and offered Redburn her hand. "I am pleased to meet you, Leftenant. News of your brave deeds has preceded your arrival in Tharkad."

  Redburn nodded. "The honor is mine, Archon."

  Melissa took Redburn's hand in both of hers. "Forgive me, Leftenant. I'm afraid I cannot understand how a man so courageous on the battlefield can be so baffled in a social situation."

  Ardan started to answer, but Redburn decided to speak for himself. "I think, Archon-Designate, the difference is that, on a battlefield, if I don't know what else to do, I can always shoot." Redburn smiled sheepishly. "That could get very messy in social situations." The four of them laughed at Andrew's witticism, which help to relieve his anxiety.

  "I'm afraid, Leftenant, that you and the Colonel will be thrown to the social wolves tonight at the reception," the Archon said, leading the quartet out through a small door and into a large, underground maintenance facility beneath the spaceport. She pulled back the wrist of her quilted parka to glance at her chronome-ter. "Because the weather delayed your landing, things have already begun."

  The Archon guided them toward a hovercraft and stood back as the door slid upward and melting snow dripped from it to the ground. Melissa preceded the others into the craft's dark interior. She seated herself with her back to the hovercraft's pilot and Leftenant Redburn sat down in the jump seat beside her. Ardan Sortek took the seat opposite Melissa and the Archon sat facing Redburn.

  The Archon pressed a hidden pair of buttons. The hovercraft's door slid shut and the clear partition between the driver's compartment and the back slid open. At a nod from the Archon, Melissa stood up and said something in a low voice to the hovercraft pilot. The driver rose, too, and moved to the seat Melissa had vacated while Melissa made her way to the driver's seat.

  When the whole exchange was complete, Katrina Steiner smiled. "Ardan," she said as the hovercraft pilot removed a woolen cap to let free a rain of golden hair around her shoulders, "I would like you to meet my daughter, Melissa."

  * * *

  Ardan Sortek, standing in the Archon's offices, turned to Simon Johnson and shook his head. "Even seeing them stand side by side, I cannot tell them apart. You have done a superior job." Ardan had suppressed a shiver, however, as he thought, This reminds me too much of what Max Liao almost accomplished with his duplicate of Hanse.

  Johnson smiled. "I did nothing." He pointed to the Melissa on the right. "Jeana has worked long and furiously to become the Archon-Designate's double. Because she has voluntarily adopted the role, we believe she will be superior in her job." Johnson glanced over to where Redburn stood talking to the Archon and raised an eyebrow.

  Ardan shook his head only slightly, as if to say, Redburn knows nothing of the double, or of his true purpose here.

  Johnson took his cue from Ardan's curt shake of the head. "Thank you, Jeana. You may withdraw."

  Jeana nodded and retreated from the room through one of the private and secure corridors built into the palace for the royal family's protection in even wilder times. Melissa crossed to a bookshelf and pressed a switch. The whole bookcase swung out to reveal a hidden bathroom and vanity. She glanced in the mirror. "I always feel an urge to make sure I'm still me after Jeana and I spend time together." She smiled and turned back toward the room. "Sometimes she seems more me than I do."

  Ardan caught the tremor in Melissa's voice. He nodded to Johnson, then walked over to the girl. "What do you mean, Melissa?"

  The Archon-Designate shrugged her bare shoulders, then tugged at the top of her gray gown. "Jeana is eight years my senior. She's a MechWarrior and she's so much more mature than I am. It's scary the amount of discipline she has and how com-, manding is her presence."

  Ardan reached out and
placed his hands on Melissa's shoulders. "You seem to forget how commanding is your own presence, Melissa, and how you've grown into your duty. I can see it." Remember, Ardan, though she is a woman in form, she is only seventeen years old. Melissa may have matured since last you saw her, but she has a way to go before she's ready for the responsibilities that await her.

  Melissa frowned and bit her lower lip. "When I look at her, I see the person I could be. Perhaps I should just let her rule in my place when the time comes."

  Ardan rocked back on his heels. "What's this? Why is she more worthy to rule than you?"

  Melissa looked down at her feet. "She's a MechWarrior, just as my mother was—and as all the Archons have been."

  Ardan gave Melissa's shoulders a squeeze. "As I recall, you did not study to become a MechWarrior."

  "I was too skinny. They trained me for infantry." The dejection in her voice slowed her words to a dirge.

  Ardan reached out with his right hand and tilted the girl's head up so that he could look her in the eye. "I seem to recall that you did well in that training. Didn't you once tell me to tell Hanse that he'd be getting a wife who could command the household infantry while he ordered his 'Mechs about?"

  Melissa shook her head. "Those were games, Ardan. Jeana has had the will and discipline to become a MechWarrior and a champion triathlete. And she gave it all up to help protect me. That's the sort of sacrifice I could never make, and I don't think I'm worthy of someone else making such a one."

  Ardan noticed Leftenant Redburn hovering by his shoulder. "Yes, Leftenant?"

  Redburn swallowed hard and looked down at his feet. "Begging your pardon, sir, and your Highness, but I overheard that last remark." He looked up, embarrassed, and his brown eyes searched their faces for understanding. "I'd not intended to, you understand, but the Archon wants a word with you, Colonel. What I wanted to say, though, is that I think I understand some of what the Archon-Designate is saying."