Threads of Ambition

by Loren L. Coleman

  "No word yet from St. Ives?" This question from Tamas, referring to the message Cassandra had sent to her mother regarding the approaching force. He was apparently somewhat ignorant of the limitations on HPG communication. Though assigned as her adjutant with Rubinsky's command, Cassandra felt disinclined to correct him in front of his father and the rest of the Light Horse.

  Colonel Rubinsky, however, felt no such compunction. "Even at their best, ComStar would require eight hours more before getting a message to St. Ives and back." The colonel growled, deep and guttural, either forgetting to close the channel or not caring who heard his frustration. "Central, get me name of that command. And tell them that without orders from Duchess Liao herself I must oppose their landing."

  Cassandra almost jumped in to override that order. Why place the assaulting force on their guard? But the Light Horse were too efficient, and by the time she tried to countermand Rubinsky the request would have been passed along. You want an identification? she thought, watching as the Overlord grounded in the bowl of a very shallow valley. She increased magnification on an auxiliary screen, the starlight video filter cutting through the predawn dimness. I'll get you an I.D.

  The large, egg-shaped DropShip had barely settled when its 'Mech bay door opened and ramps extended to the ground. The first 'Mechs down the ramp were, predictably, lighter scout machines. Even before Cassandra could focus in on the DropShip's registration markings, she knew that the disembarking 'Mechs were wrong. An Ostscout, never a Capellan design, and a Mercury, rare outside of ComStar or Word of Blake. Then two new Hammers for recon support. The lance formed up and headed for the low hills, angling in toward Cassandra just as she saw the eagle stenciled on the Overlord's side.

  Thomas Marik's Free Worlds League! And the dark shadows that her passive sensors could barely pick up, leaping around the legs of the second lance to debark, those would have to be the League's new Achileus light battle armor. Shades of the Marik-Liao offensive of 3057 leapt to Cassandra's mind, when Sun-Tzu and Thomas had collaborated to shatter the Sarna March and retake worlds both had lost to the Davions three decades before. She swallowed hard, anger choking her. Well not here, Thomas. I don't care if Sun-Tzu is calling the tune. My job is to make you pay for it.

  "Command Lance," she said, voice low and quiet, as if the Leaguers might hear, "we have the first recon patrol. Two-three Lance, the second. Tamas, jump in where you like. Concentrate on the probe-carriers first." She floated a dark reticule over the Mercury closing in on her position, one finger poised over the button that would power up her active scanners. "If we can keep their scouts from learning how many we have out here, they just might throw good 'Mechs after bad. Now!"

  Her finger stabbed down, and all auxiliary screens lit up with scanner information. Her HUD showed three enemy lances debarked, two within firing range of St. Ives units. As her targeting reticule burned a solid gold, she glanced to one auxiliary screen just long enough to see the Star League crest riding the Mercury's shoulder.

  You can't hide behind your office, cousin. She pulled back on both main triggers, lighting off all four of her lasers and also the Gauss rifle. All but one medium laser hit, the lasers slicing through armor to penetrate the internal skeleton beneath. Then the nickel-ferrous Gauss slug slammed into the Mercury's right leg, snapping off the limb just above the knee joint.

  One of Cassandra's lancemates added to the misery of the Mercury, his autocannon piercing the final shreds of armor and chewing apart the light BattleMech's gyro. Her other two warriors downed the Ostscout under intense PPC and missile fire. The Hammers struck back, but pitifully weak against the heavy command lance. Cassandra's Cestus took two glancing hits from medium lasers, the large 'Mech shrugging off the damage.

  Then Tamas' Company opened up, the scintillating gem-like colors of lasers and the man-made lightning of PPCs all converging in a savage crossfire as missiles arced in to help shred armor and tear apart myomer musculature. Both Hammers dropped. Yes! Cassandra thought. Scratch one recon lance with not one friendly casualty. Kai himself could hardly have done better. Cassandra checked her HUD and auxiliary screens, evaluating the battle on the far side of the DropShip.

  The second Marik recon company had fared slightly better, losing only a second Mercury and a Wraith. But then they also had the battle armor support that tied up good weapons fire. Cassandra sympathized. No Mech Warriors liked armored infantry climbing over their 'Mechs, ripping armor off with mechanized claws. Better to put down the recon unit hard than risk lives. "Two-two Lance, pick up those toads," she ordered, using the Inner Sphere slang for battle armor. "Help Three Lance finish off the recon unit."

  "Cancel that order!" Colonel Rubinsky's voice came over the general address frequency loud and strong. "All units ordered to stand down. Major Allard-Liao pull back. Those are Second Oriente Hussars."

  Opening her private channel to Rubinsky, Cassandra did not bother to hide her irritation. "So they are Leaguers. So what?" She cut in her command frequency long enough to bark out the order, "Two-two Lance, commit." The Hussars' Overlord, bristling with a fair number of weapons for close-in protection, began targeting what units it could. Where a weapons mount could not find an enemy within range or arc, it began to burn down stands of trees where enemy units even might be hiding. "Colonel Rubinsky, where are those fighters? The Overlord over there is angry with us."

  "Breskin's Pegasii squadrons have grounded, on my order," Rubinsky said.

  Rubinsky started to say more, but Cassandra overrode the comm circuits with a priority transmission to her Lancers. "We've lost fighter support," she informed them through clenched teeth. "All units pull back out of range from those DropShips guns."

  By lance, BattleMechs broke cover and either jumped or walked backward out of range. Those within range of enemy 'Mechs traded another quick volley of shots, but to no great effect. Cassandra consoled herself with her opening victory. We've hurt the enemy, without losing a single 'Mech and barely running up enough heat for me to break a sweat. I'll take that kind of victory any day.

  Swinging the Cestus around in a tight arc, Cassandra searched her firing arc for any Marik BattleMech foolish enough to stick its nose out. "Lancers, prepare for a quick charge and retreat maneuver. We'll slip in under the DropShip's sights, but only for a few seconds. Just long enough to bloody them again."

  "Major." Colonel Rubinsky agaiii, this time over the general address frequency. "These forces are under Star League colors. Do not engage."

  Cassandra's grip on her control sticks was knuckle-white. "False colors. Or misuse of the office." I know what I am doing! "Lancers, Light Horse—advance!"

  Every St. Ives Lancer ignored Rubinsky's repeated commands to hold. Running forward at best speed, they took some scattered fire from the DropShip, which could not bring its full power to bear as could Cassandra's battalion. A flurry of weapons fire cut deeply into the few League BattleMechs still outside their DropShip, bringing down two more machines. Each Lancer 'Mech then walked back out of range. Cassandra noted that Tamas' Company never made a single move.

  "Tamas," Cassandra yelled, feeling more betrayed by the younger Rubinsky's inaction than the colonel's meddling. "You are under my command and will follow my orders. Is that clear?"

  Tamas' reply came in on a private channel to her. "I am sorry, Major Liao." He sounded frustrated and truly apologetic. "The colonel forbids me to take your orders."

  Punching up her secure channel to Rubinsky, Cassandra worked to keep her mounting anger under control. Screaming wouldn't help. "Colonel Rubinsky, you will release Tamas back to my command and you will commit your forces to the defense of Indicass. Is that clear?"

  "Quite clear," Rubinsky said, his voice raw steel. "That order I will not follow, Major."

  How could this be happening? "Need I remind you that you are a mercenary colonel, in the employ of my family. My St. Ives rank is irrelevant. I am authorized to give you orders."

  "That I'd not dispute." The colonel's
voice was pitched hard and formal. "But under the Mercenary Accords of Outreach, written into the contract your mother signed, and under your own St. Ives Code of Military Responsibilities, I exercise my right to refuse an unjust and idiotic order.

  "Major Liao, I am relieving you of command."

  17

  Royal Compound

  Han-tan, St. Ives

  St. Ives Compact

  9 December 3060

  Indicass, Brighton, Vestallas, all occupied.

  Candace Liao sat in a comfortable high-backed chair in the middle of the Royal Compound's war room, hands folded calmly in her lap. The war room, rarely used in the last three years except to monitor the Star League assault on Clan Smoke Jaguar's occupation zone, now bustled with energy and activity as junior officers manned the console stations and senior officers stood about and debated the strategic implications of recent events and possible future plans. The largest of the three giant wallscreens—no hologram, just straight video—displayed a map of the St. Ives Compact. The three occupied border worlds flashed between St. Ives ivory and caution-amber, signifying their unsettled state. Candace studied the map with piercing gray eyes, as if it might reveal some hidden clue as to how to salvage the situation.

  Senior Colonel Caroline Seng stood behind the Duchess, along with General Simone Devon, a petite—almost delicate— fair-skinned woman and the AFFC liaison to the Compact. These two women currently shared the top level of the St. Ives Compact's military command structure, with Seng in charge of the Compact's military and Devon commanding all Federated Commonwealth units on loan to Candace Liao.

  "Other than the small skirmish on Indicass," Caroline Seng noted aloud, "we have managed to avoid any military incidents. But we cannot expect that to remain. The situation is highly unstable."

  Nodding, Candace looked back over her shoulder. "Please display the occupation forces," she said calmly.

  Caroline Seng passed the order to a sub-commander sitting at a nearby console, but General Devon pulled up the information faster from her photographic recall. "The Second Oriente Hussars, also known as the Crazy Second, dropped on Indicass. From the Draconis Combine, Sun-Tzu borrowed two battalions of the Second Dieron Regulars, complete with full air wing and infantry support—those are on Vestallas. Brighton he gave to the Raman DMM, a Draconis March unit of the Federated Commonwealth." Even as General Devon completed her recitation, the text appeared on one of the large auxiliary wallscreens to back her up.

  "The units are still claiming to be Star League peacekeepers?" Candace asked. "No direct claim has been made in the name of the Confederation?"

  "None," Seng assured her. "And Sian continues to deny any such allegations. Our best analysts have torn Sun-Tzu's formal statement apart looking for any discrepancy or half-truth, anything we could use to help predict his intentions or prove duplicity." Seng vented her frustration in a sharp exhale. "Unfortunately, it holds up. Not that I believe him, or Zahn's apology that our not initially receiving the statement was an oversight."

  Candace recalled the statement to which Caroline Seng referred, sent to all Star League member states except the Compact, though Candace's name had appeared on the list. In it Sun-Tzu outlined his intention to place Star League occupation forces along the Compact border until he could be sure, as First Lord, that no further hostilities were forthcoming. He also quoted—she could almost say misquoted—her request for him to see the Lancers back to Denbar, making it appear as if she had invited him into the Compact.

  The Blackwind Lancers were returned to Denbar all right, notably lacking over five hundred million C-bills worth of equipment, counting the DropShip, but the "escort" I mentioned ended up on three other worlds. "Masterful," she said in a mixture of anger and very grudging respect, "though I hate to admit it. He effectively undermined my efforts to oppose the occupation weeks before it even happened."

  General Devon flushed, displaying more anger and less admiration for the move. "Your nephew has done a remarkable job of painting the Compact as the aggressor and his nation as the victim. He will milk that for all it's worth and, I'm sorry to say, use it to disguise his true intentions."

  Nodding her agreement with the general's assessment, Candace felt the last two months of stress pulling as an ache in the muscles of her neck and lower back. All the activity of this crisis had interfered with her regular regime of tai chi exercise, and now she was paying the price.

  "Patterns," Candace whispered, more to herself. "There must be patterns." Sun-Tzu knows what he is about, and if I am to counter him I must know as well. Indicass, Vestallas, and Brighton. "Why those three worlds?"

  "Indicass has Ceres Metals," Seng volunteered. "But Vestallas and Brighton are of no extreme strategic significance. Plus, he bypassed Denbar, homeworld to the Blackwind Lancers second battalion and obviously the most vocal world then supporting the Lancers and now denouncing his actions." She shook her head. "It makes no sense."

  "My nephew does nothing that does not make sense," Candace said with conviction. "To forget that is to invite disaster."

  Invite disaster. Candace sat up stiffly. Now that strikes a chord. "Pull up the St. Ives Military Forces roster for those three worlds." Relayed to the sub-commander at the console, the order was quickly carried out. Of course, Rubinsky's Light Horse regiment of the Cossacks and two line battalions held Indicass. And as the other units were sketched in with text labels, Candace saw it. "There it is," she announced quietly. "Part of it anyway. The garrison forces on each world are potential troublemakers."

  General Devon frowned her confusion. "Well, the Cossacks are well-known for their hatred of Sun-Tzu Liao, though Rubinsky's Light Horse is obviously the more moderate regiment on that score. But I was not aware that Aliesha's Mounted Fusiliers or Raymond's Armored Infantry were questionable troops."

  "Not questionable," Caroline Seng said, understanding dawning on her face, "but unpredictable, yes. Both units have a history of unsanctioned attacks and heavy-handed tactics." Seng leaned forward, excitement in her voice. "And look at the choices made for occupation troops. The Crazy Second from the Free Worlds League, also unpredictable. And the Second Dieron Regulars, well known for their questionable loyalties and near-brutal methods."

  "What of the Raman DMM?" General Devon asked. "They don't fit your theory. Green FedCom troops and utterly reliable. No outstanding feuds or history of recklessness."

  Candace stood, feeling the need for movement as more pieces to the puzzle fell into place. "Troops of the Draconis March," she said, "which is already heavily depleted to support the assault against the Smoke Jaguars and where most of Yvonne's trouble has originated of late. I sense Katherine's hand behind that choice." She gave her AFFC liaison a hard stare. "Tell me the March won't scream louder with this further reduction in defense."

  Simone Devon looked thoughtful as Candace continued. "And they've been matched up with the Armored Infantry, the only Capellan unit ever to have bounties put on their heads by House Davion." It all fits. He's coming, and no doubt of it.

  Seng put the thought into words. "So he's trying to provoke further incidents."

  "Which Cassandra handed to him," Candace said, shaking her head. "She should've known better, true, but I had hoped to smooth this over with Thomas Marik. Sun-Tzu won't allow me that chance, I'm sure. Thank the deities that Colonel Rubinsky was level-headed enough to recognize the situation for what it was. It could have been much worse." I have to pull Cassandra out of there. She's out of her depth. "Order the Second St. Ives Lancers back to the world of St. Loris. Let her sit there with the rest of the Cossacks to think on her action."

  General Devon ran her fingers back through her blond hair, a thoughtful expression on her face. "You think your nephew will use the Indicass incident to move in more occupation forces? Press the Compact for outrageous concessions?"

  Candace pursed her lips, trying to place herself in Sun-Tzu's position and weighing the advantage versus the risks being taken. "It runs much deeper t
han that," she finally said. "He already had more occupation troops on the way before the trouble on Indicass, I'm sure of it. And only the very last arrivals will be Capellan troops, though more will come later. It is a self-sustaining pattern. He'll find ways to push at our forces, creating incidents and allowing more troops to be brought in."

  Colonel Seng frowned, studying the map as if a Capellan invasion fleet might appear any moment. "He left Denbar alone, for the moment, so they can continue to complain and posture and generally agitate the situation." She nodded. "You paint a bleak picture, Duchess, but I think you have it pegged. And I don't think we can throw back the occupation forces, not militarily anyway."

  "Agreed," Candace said. "There isn't much we can do at all." Then her voice hardened as she fixed her senior-most officers with a stern gaze. "But there is much we can prevent. No matter what the occupation forces attempt, our units will have strict orders of peaceful noncompliance. They may defend themselves, but only if fired upon. In the meantime, I will see what I can accomplish politically. Perhaps it is not too late to shut this down."

  Candace turned to face the map once again. "If Sun-Tzu persists, he will cut his own throat with the Star League and eventually will have all support pulled out from underneath him. So long as Yvonne, Theodore, Magnusson, and I form our power bloc within the council, he can be checked."

  She glanced back to her AFFC liaison and her senior colonel. "But make no mistake, he's here to stay."

  Sian

  Sian Commonality, Capellan Confederation

  Very little green was to be found in the Celestial Palace's outdoor gardens so late into Sian's long autumn. Trees thrust naked branches toward a gray sky, and flowers slept in the earth. Talon Zahn, now Sang Jiang-jun, or senior general, walked the gardens' flagstone path at the side of Sun-Tzu Liao. Two Death Commandos trailed a dozen paces back. Only the shrubs and a few evergreens hinted at the life that would bloom up again in the spring. Spring, the rebirth of life. Xin Sheng.