Assumption of risk

by Michael A. Stackpole

  "Do I take it that you do not wish the adulterated version to go out?"

  Inspiration struck and Victor smiled. "I have a better idea, actually." He opened the central drawer of his desk and pulled out the holodisk copy of the interview the student had sent him. "I think we should substitute this for the footage of Bellerive. I'm sure those who expected something special will enjoy it."

  "The Fox bred true."

  In at least one of his children. Victor frowned. "But, tell me, how is it that I learn of this from ComStar before I hear of it from my brother?"

  "Your brother sent out two messages. One went up through the chain of command ..."

  "And was stopped no doubt by that idiot Richard."

  "His office did receive it, yes." McGwire nodded carefully. "The other message was of a personal nature and went to your sister, Duchess Katrina."

  "Her name is Katherine." Victor frowned. "Is there much of this sidecar stuff going on in your message traffic?"

  "It is not unknown, nor illegal unless covertly joined to a message for which someone else pays." The Precentor shrugged. "I understand an audit has been undertaken of such things, but it is well outside my area of concern."

  "And you have no way of stopping the distribution of physical copies of this holovid." Preventing broadcast of it will slow the distribution, but won't stop it. "It can't be stopped, can it?"

  "No, Highness, that would be almost impossible." She shook her head. "The images you have seen here will get out, but at a much slower rate of speed, to be sure. Were it possible to stop direct copy duplication and distribution, the entertainment industry would not be constantly lobbying you to strengthen the laws against piracy."

  "Yes, that's it!" Victor stood and clapped his hands. "I can have my people dummy up titles and information that will make that footage look like an advertisement for a holovideo drama. I could even fund the development of such a project—-the people at Virtual World Entertainment would do it quickly and well. Ryan's people would end up being branded frauds because it could be claimed they just stripped the overlays from the images to fake the footage. The only way they could claim it was real would be to admit having destroyed the village."

  McGwire nodded appreciatively. "It appears to be a workable plan, Highness. I will leave you to it."

  "Thank you, Precentor." Victor came around from behind his desk and shook her hand. "Please, tell the Precentor Martial I am in his debt."

  Solaris City, Solaris VII

  Tamarind March, Federated Commonwealth

  Though he would have preferred to be nowhere near the front of the room, Galen Cox took his place behind and to the right of the podium to which Katrina moved. The bright lights put in place by the media nearly blinded him, but he wouldn't let himself look down or away. He knew the people in the audience, and those who would later watch holovids of the event, would be observing him to see if he squirmed or shied away as Katrina delivered her message.

  Katrina placed note cards on the podium and adjusted the microphone before her. Galen knew she had memorized the whole speech, but he had helped her prepare the cards in the wee hours of the morning. He was confident she would not falter, but Katrina was obviously leaving nothing to chance.

  "I would like to thank you members of the media for coming here on such short notice. I have a statement to make. I will take no questions afterward." She cocked her head slightly forward in a gesture that Galen recognized as meaning she would brook no resistance to her intended plan.

  "It struck me last night," she began slowly, "that I have been in shock since the death of my mother. You all recall it—a nation wept when a terrorist's bomb ripped the Archon apart. You have seen holovideo of it, I am certain, and know how horrifying it was to see her life snuffed out.

  "I have labored in this state of shock to support my brother, Victor, as he attempts to take over for our mother. He is Hanse Davion's rightful heir, loyal son to our mother, and as much a son of the Lyran state as any other man born and schooled on Tharkad. I had thought that those who opposed him did so out of some misguided impression that his ambition had contributed to my mother's death. As I said then and reiterate now, Victor is blameless in that crime. I would stake my life on that fact, and I have done so by agreeing to place our nation in his hands."

  Her left hand delicately brushed a wisp of golden hair from her eyes. "I would have remained in shock except for several things that have conspired to wake me from it. The time I have spent traveling with Kommandant Galen Cox has opened my eyes to everyday life within the Federated Commonwealth. Until I had traveled with him to help out in the aftermath of the earthquake on Ginestra or had attended the memorial services for the Kell Hounds on Arc-Royal I had not realized how insulated from reality my life really is.

  "Second and equally important was the Free Skye Militia's attempt to murder my brother Peter. You all know of my brother. The most warlike thing he has done in his time in the militia is to protect helpless animals against cruel poachers.

  "Peter is as unpretentious a man as exists in the Inner Sphere, yet hateful people target him for destruction because of his genetic heritage. They strike at him as if his death were the solution to a problem that cannot be solved in any other way. They are quite simply and clearly wrong. Misguided, misled, and woefully wrong."

  Katrina half-turned and smiled back at Galen before continuing. "Last night I watched Galen and Kai Allard-Liao fight against two warriors from Duke Ryan Steiner's Skye Tigers stable. Though the battle was a contest of skill between highly trained and experienced warriors, others have tried to make it so much more. I heard men exclaim that if Victor won his other battles as well as he won this one there would be no Skye Rebellion left to speak of.

  "Victor did not fight last night. Galen and Kai were not his surrogates. The other two fighters did not substitute for Duke Ryan. They fought over a point of honor that had nothing to do with politics, yet their battle was reduced to a coup for my brother or defeat for Duke Ryan. This is nonsense and, yet, this was the third thing that brought me out of my shock."

  She took a deep breath and used the silence to draw her audience more deeply in. Even though Galen knew what was coming next, he found himself leaning forward in anticipation.

  "I have neglected my duties—no, my responsibilities—as far as the people of the Federated Commonwealth are concerned. For this I apologize. Yes, my mother's tragic murder was quite a burden to bear, but I should have shouldered it more stoutly and should have borne it with more strength. I owe you more than I have given, which means now that I will labor tirelessly to repay you.

  "I hereby call upon Duke Ryan to use his vast influence within the Isle of Skye to bring an end to the riots and bloodshed terrorizing the worlds of Skye. No one should have to fear having a child slain by a madman's bomb nor their business burned in riots. Duke Ryan should remember that we are a civilized people and can settle our differences in other ways."

  Galen saw her eyes tighten in profile. "I likewise call upon my brother Victor to help ease the tensions in the area. We all know there is fighting on Glengarry, but he must protect against that conflict spreading. I wish him to return control of the militias to the local governments and I charge them with the duty of maintaining the civil order. Blood in the streets stains everyone and murder in the name of liberty is thinly disguised tyranny.

  "Both Victor and Duke Ryan are proud, intelligent, and headstrong men. In knowing one so well I know the other. I open my hands to both and offer to mediate their differences. I will guarantee that no reasonable grievance will go without redress, and I vow no crime will go unpunished. I offer myself as the buffer between ambition and the people it would oppress."

  Katrina's head came up. "This is what I was born to do, and it is the job I demand to be allowed to complete. Each citizen who dies takes a piece of my heart with him. I will allow no one to destroy me or my people."

  23

  Solaris City, Solaris VII

 
; Tamarind March, Federated Commonwealth

  12 April 3056

  Even with the years he had devoted to self-discipline, Duke Ryan Steiner had to struggle mightily to keep his temper in check. He stared one last time at Victor's smiling face on the holovision viewer, then mashed a finger down on the remote button that killed the power. Oh, that I could eliminate him so easily.

  Ryan looked at Hanau and snarled. "What happened? That wasn't supposed to be an interview with Victor!"

  Hanau looked stricken. "I don't know. I set up your distribution network and worked out how we can sidecar messages, but I didn't actually arrange for the transmission. What was being sent?"

  Newmark remained cool as ice. "We had graphic images of Davion aggression that we wanted to bind to the Cox fight."

  "Graphics? How much? What was it?" Ryan frowned angrily. "Holovid material."

  "What length?"

  Newmark shrugged. "Not more than ten minutes." Hanau slumped back into his chair. "No wonder they found it."

  Ryan took an odd comfort in the relief in Hanau's voice. At least something here makes sense to someone. "Explain."

  The portly man leaned forward in his chair, his stomach stressing the buttons on his tunic. "The system I created was designed to pass coded messages. Those messages are always very short and, in computer storage terms, very small. They are smaller than most rounding errors. At the very worst they would add only a kilobyte of data to any message to which they are attached. Most often they go out unnoticed because most communications programs round up to the nearest kilobyte for billing purposes. As far as they're concerned, our messages are rounding errors."

  "Graphics and holovideo data is really thick. It takes up a lot of computer space. The Cox fight weighed in at something like ten gigabytes. That includes ads and translations and the like. But that's only an approximation, you understand."

  Ryan nodded. "Understood. Go on."

  "Even if this holovid you tacked on were only five minutes or so, that would add about two gigabytes. You bumped the size of the packet ComStar was sending by twenty percent, which is a big enough anomaly for them to notice. They took a look and immediately asked Victor if he wanted the other signal to go out with the fight, since he was paying for the fight's transmission. He obviously substituted this message, both to confuse our people and to let us know this form of information transfer has been compromised."

  Ryan's breath hissed in between clenched teeth. "This does not please me at all. The Cox fight proved to be a disaster for my fighters and made me look like a fool. Then this sidecar message is something warm and fuzzy from Victor himself."

  David Hanau smiled cautiously. "I don't think any of our people will believe anything he says in this interview."

  "Of course they won't, you fool. It's pap and anyone with enough brain cells to make a working synapse can see it." Ryan's nostrils flared as he sat back in his thickly padded leather chair. "The fight has done the most damage. Galen Cox comes off as a hero. He had the lightest 'Mech of all and used the most daring tactics. My people had him. They could have destroyed his 'Mech. They had his arms naked, but then they let him escape.

  "Next, Katrina makes her little statement. My God, she all but accused me of being the mastermind behind the Free Skye Militia and of murdering her mother. The bitch needs to be reminded that if she wants to move into the forefront she too becomes a prime target."

  Newmark's tone urged caution. "You cannot have her killed."

  "Of that I am well aware. Regicide has ever made people uneasy." The duke rested his chin between the thumb and forefinger of his left hand. "Still she must be reminded that anyone who jumps into the political waters risks being attacked by sharks. She can only stay safe if she remains on the beach."

  "Pity your fighters didn't kill Galen Cox in Ishiyama." Hanau shrugged. "He wouldn't be much of a symbol dead, but his death would likely have traumatized Katrina enough that she'd have retreated to lick her wounds."

  Sven Newmark nodded halfheartedly. "You're probably right. She seems quite fond of him."

  Well, now, there's an idea. Ryan's obsidian eyes became dark slits. "We have circulated the rumor that Galen Cox is estranged from Victor, have we not?"

  Hanau nodded. "The idea has an appeal among those who think Victor killed his mother and tried to have Kai Allard-Liao killed on Alyina."

  "Good. We have to modify that rumor. Point to Katrina's statement and Cox's support as proof of the distance between Galen and Victor. We should also note that Galen has Katrina under his influence and has, as she said in her statement, opened her eyes to reality. We need to drive a wedge between Victor and Galen—in appearance if not reality."

  Hanau nodded. "That will be easy enough to accomplish. We'll build on what we already have. Skye is ripe for it, but it will also play in other parts of the Lyran Commonwealth. Maybe even in the Federated Suns, too, though our influence there is much less."

  "How long will it take for the campaign to move past the initial stage?"

  "Two weeks. By then it should have newsbyte opinion pieces and have become a topic of discussion on various talk shows. It will have begun to germinate."

  "Good, very good." Ryan smiled as the plan crystallized in his mind. "In a week Kai Allard-Liao will defend his title. He will likely win and after all the hype leading up to his defending duel, there'll be a bit of a news vacuum. I think we should fill it."

  Hanau smiled. "With copies of the stuff from Bellerive?"

  "Yes, the Bellerive bonfire will do nicely for starters, but we'll need more."

  "More?"

  Ryan glanced over at Newmark. "Melissa Steiner-Davion liked flowers, as I recall."

  Newmark nodded slowly. "She did indeed."

  "Perhaps we can see if Cox does as well, Herr Newmark." Ryan's smile broadened as he saw a look of horror spread across David Hanau's face. "Cox will be leaving Solaris after the title fight, and we should present him a nice bouquet to send him on his way!"

  24

  Tharkad

  District of Donegal, Federated Commonwealth

  13 April 3056

  Victor saw instantly that the rapid trip from Lyons to Tharkad had taken a lot out of Peter. Regret at not meeting his brother at the spaceport assaulted Victor but he suppressed it as remorselessly as he would have liked to put down the Free Skye Movement. Perhaps his being fatigued will make this easier. "Welcome home, Peter."

  "Welcome is the least you can offer me, brother." The fire burning in Peter's eyes told Victor he had a fight on his hands. "Thanks very much for pulling my whole lance off Lyons. I'd never have run on my own accord, so you pull me out and make me look like a coward!"

  Victor waited for Curaitis to shut the doors to his office before speaking. "Better you be thought a coward then end up a dead fool."

  The controlled, quiet reply stopped Peter Davion dead in his tracks. "Choosing the greater of two evils for me, Victor? I am in your debt, but then, what happens to me is beyond my control anyway, isn't it?"

  "If you think that is so, little brother, then why fight it?"

  "Because I have responsibilities, Victor." Peter's eyes flashed, and Victor felt his own ire rising in response. "I care about my people. The members of my lance worked hard and are as good a scout lance as any in the Inner Sphere. I demand you take care of them."

  "You demand?" Victor came around from behind his desk and steered Peter into one of the two wingbacked chairs near the holo-vision viewer. "I understand your concerns, Peter, but their lives are in jeopardy, as is the whole of the Isle of Skye. I have made arrangements to have them join the Kell Hounds. Morgan will take them on, no questions asked, and you know we can trust his loyalty and discretion."

  "He should be damned proud to have them, too!" Peter nodded distractedly, then his head came up. "You're playing cute with me, Victor. Why should Morgan be discreet? What are you going to do?"

  Victor straightened up. "Your lance is being court-martialed. The charges are re
ckless disregard for life, reckless endangerment."

  Peter shot to his feet. "You can't do that. They had nothing to do with the village exploding. You know that, dammit, and you're marking them for the rest of their lives."

  "The records will be sealed—they've already been sealed."

  "With no trial?"

  "What kind of trial would you want, Peter?" Victor fought to keep his anger in check. "A show trial? Would that suit you? Would you like it known throughout the Federated Commonwealth that you caused the death of some 550 people who were known to oppose me? Even if you wouldn't, I'm absolutely certain Ryan Steiner would—and of that I have proof. What were you thinking, Peter?"

  "You would have done what I did."

  "No, I wouldn't." Victor shook his head adamantly. "I would have weighed the alternatives. I would have viewed the situation against the political context."

  Peter sneered down at his brother. "That wasn't part of my operational orders."

  Victor tapped his brother's forehead. "That should always be part of your operational orders, Peter. You're a Davion, dammit!"

  "I'm a Steiner-Davion, Victor." Peter growled, his hands balling into fists. "If you didn't want me in that situation, you shouldn't have put me there."

  "That's a mistake I won't make again." Victor turned away from Peter and noticed Curaitis had been poised to take Peter down had he turned violent. "Suffice it to say your people will be taken care of. The Steiner-Davions always take care of their own."

  Peter clasped his hands behind his back. "And how will you take care of me? Am I to become a mercenary, too?"

  Victor shook his head slowly. "No. Once burned, twice shy. Your days in a 'Mech are over."

  "What?! Over? Why? I was set up!" Peter slammed a fist into the arm of his chair hard enough to crack the wood beneath the leather. "Victor, you can't do this to me. I'm good, I'm damned good, I'm goddamn great, and you know it. I'm your brother, for God's sake."