Phelan smiled. "I am pleased they will live. My thanks for the news."
The ilKhan smiled politely. "I am glad if it eases your mind. Of course, Conal Ward accuses you of treachery in winning the last fight the way you did. He wanted me to bring it to the adjudication of the Clan Council, but I overruled him. I pointed out that you had the choice of style in the decision, and that you acted within the letter of the law surrounding Bloodright contests."
The younger MechWarrior sighed. "So Conal has branded me a cheat as well as a freebirth? I suppose he wanted me killed and Lajos placed in the contest in my stead? Is he so worried that Vlad may not be able to beat me?"
The ilKhan suppressed a grin. "Conal has been most vocal about your perfidy, but Lajos is in no condition to fight. I told Conal that someone from House Ward would certainly nominate Lajos in the next Bloodright for a Ward Bloodname, so he has not been damaged."
"As for Conal being worried about Vlad, I would not place too much stock in that idea." Ulric stoked his goatee. "The two people fighting for the chance to oppose Vlad in the next round have managed to kill each other, so he has a bye. As of now, Vlad is in the final battle, barring death or injury on the battlefield."
"That will never happen." Phelan shook his head. "My luck is not that good."
"No, indeed." The ilKhan pointed at the computer on Phelan's desk. "Now, what is this about a possible solution to the mystery of Anastasius Focht? Tell me everything so I can follow your reasoning."
The young MechWarrior glanced down at his notes, taking a moment to mentally compose what he was going to say. "The way I began was with the base Gus Michaels created before you sent him off to Alyina. From that, Focht would be, at most, one hundred years old. He seems obviously male, but the possibility of a sex-change was not discounted. The lost eye is a possible battle injury. Though it would have ended his career as a fighting soldier, he could still continue in a command capacity. We also know that he first surfaced in ComStar a dozen years ago, speaks German like a native of the Lyran Commonwealth, and that he may have spent some time at the Nagelring. Focht also told me he met my father once."
"Not much to go on," Ulric said quietly.
"True, but it was enough to get started. Knowing Focht is an alias, or at least operating from that assumption, I ran the records for every cadet and graduate of the Nagelring from the last eighty years. Screening them for height and other Bertillon measurements, that brought me down to just over a thousand candidates."
The ilKhan leaned forward with interest, clasping his hands around one knee. "You cross-referenced thos& individuals with their careers to see who had lived or died in combat, quiaff?"
"Aff, my Khan. We included those listed as missing in action, even if they were lost in skirmishes well before the Fourth Succession War. The Fourth War cost us all but a few candidates, and follow-up on those individuals led to a dead end. Nothing."
Phelan tapped the computer screen with a knuckle. "That made me wonder about the search parameters we'd put into the program-sifting data. I ran up another set of search parameters to check for a known quantity: me. I had the computer search for me in the same way it looked for whoever Focht might be."
"And?"
"It came up blank!" Phelan's smile broadened. "I enlarged the search parameters by deleting the Bertillon stuff and adding the Kell surname. It came up with my father, but ignored me and my uncle Patrick. That was because, according to the ComStar and Lyrcom data sets we're using, Patrick and I are dead."
"But you are alive. So, it would appear, is the Precentor Martial." Ulric tugged reflectively on his goatee. "You changed the search parameters, quiaff?"
"Aff. I stayed with our core of a thousand candidates and started filtering for wild cards. Focht once mentioned staying at the Lestrade estate on Summer, so I sorted for individuals who had served in units stationed on Summer or folks connected in some way with Aldo Lestrade. That cut our pool by half."
Phelan counted down on his fingers. "A comment Focht once made led me to believe he'd lost his eye in the Fourth Succession War. As I'd already checked all the people who had survived the war, I concentrated on the dead and missing from that war. I also tried to cross-correlate into the equation any contacts with my father or joint service with him. By mistake, I also included social contacts in that latter line of code—I'd copied it from the Lestrade parameters and just changed the name—and got a most interesting narrowing of candidates.
"Significantly, all were listed as either dead or missing in action."
The ilKhan leaned forward as Phelan's story unfolded. "You worked to verify the deaths of those on the list, quiaff?"
The MechWarrior nodded. "Death certificates, autopsy reports, gravestones, whatever. The genealogical data base we picked up from Domain helped enormously. While looking through it, I found a nice little memorial marker for myself on Arc-Royal."
Though Phelan tried to make the comment come off irreverently, the words caught in his throat. It wasn't being thought dead that bothered him so much as the thought of the grief it must be causing his family. The Wolf Clan had very much become his new family, but he still loved his blood relations and regretted any pain they suffered on his account.
"I cannot imagine that was a pleasant experience, Phelan."
"It was not, ilKhan, but fortunately, it sparked a memory." Phelan punched a request for data into the computer and the image of a great marble and granite mausoleum appeared on the screen. Carved into the black marble and outlined with gold leaf was the word "Steiner."
"After Archon Katrina Steiner died, I was present at her funeral. She was interred in the family crypt along with other Steiners of note. I recall hearing, at the time, that one of the memorial plaques in the tomb marked an empty casket. If not for that bit of family gossip, I think I would have dismissed my best candidate."
Phelan punched up another data request and a picture appeared on the screen. "This is the man I believe to be the Precentor Martial. He studied for three years at the Nagelring, but transferred to and graduated from Sanglamore on Skye. It was during his time in Skye that he first came to the attention of the Lestrade family and they cultivated his friendship. He commanded both the Seventh Lyran Guards and the Tenth Lyran Guards, which rumor says may be Victor Davion's current unit. The next Archon often emerges from the Tenth Guards, and our man was a likely candidate at that time.
"His claim to the title had to be put on hold, however, when Katrina Steiner successfully rebelled against Alessandro Steiner, putting her on the throne. It was at that point in Focht's life that Aldo Lestrade became a major influence. Aldo was adept at political intrigues, including the planning and execution of several assassination attempts against Archon Katrina. The last of these came in the middle of the Fourth Succession War."
The ilKhan nodded. "What of his military career? What sort of commander was he?"
Phelan punched another key. "He was a fine leader. His men called him 'the Hammer' because of his predilection for concentrating firepower on specific targets. He was particularly effective against the Kuritans, whose old strategy used to involve numerous single, small-unit actions. In his one or two engagements against the Free Worlds League, he showed an understanding of the tactics of highly mobile forces, but he still strove to get his foes into a position where he could pound them into submission."
"It is a rare commander who will alter his tactics to suit his foes," said Ulric. "His ability to do so—and what he observed of our tactics—make him very dangerous."
"I concur, ilKhan." Phelan chewed on his lower lip. "The one anomaly here is that this man was considered incapable of subtlety, but that does not seem to be true of Focht. He seems to have learned some new tricks in this new incarnation."
"Do you believe him capable of treachery?"
Phelan frowned. Well, he did ask me to spy on the Clans for him, but accepted my refusal after I became a member of the Warrior Caste. "I think he is a warrior first and foremost, ilKhan
. Because of Lestrade's political meddling, he and his unit were assigned to a suicide mission during the Fourth Succession War. He acquitted himself well, in the end surrendering to Theodore Kurita to save the lives of his men. His assault broke the Combine's planned counterstrike into the Isle of Skye. It is believed that Theodore executed him."
The ilKhan stood, his face a study in thought. "Age and coloration are correct. Training is correct and his military background is suitable for the position he now occupies. What I have seen of his ability at tactical and strategic analysis certainly matches his background. Have you anything that casts doubt on your conclusion?"
Phelan shrugged. "Well, he could be mouldering in a grave on Dromini VI for all I know, but he is the best candidate we have. Except for the fact that he is supposed to be dead, he fits perfectly with Anastasius Focht."
Ulric nodded. "Very well. We will operate on the assumption you are correct. Prepare me a full briefing file on him and the other four top candidates. I need it tonight. You will brief the other analysts tomorrow."
Phelan raised an eyebrow. "I have more checks to run. Why so quickly?"
"Because, Phelan," the ilKhan said with a smile, "I want everyone briefed before the Precentor Martial joins up with us in three days to bargain away the future of ComStar."
23
JumpShip Dire Wolf, Transit Orbit, Diosd
Wolf Clan Occupation Zone
5 April 3052
The Precentor Martial held his head high as the bridge doors slid back into the walls. The two armored Elementals standing beside the hatchway came to attention, as did the lines of Clan officers running all the way from where the ilKhan waited. Hanging down from the top of the bridge, Focht saw a Wolf Clan banner side by side with a ComStar pennant. From the speakers on the bridge came the strains of a martial tune popular back in the days of the Star League.
Focht adjusted his eye patch, then marched in time with the music across the deck to where Ulric waited for him beside the holotank. Making his passage through the gauntlet of Clan warriors, he gave them the same respectful nods due his own men when he reviewed them. These are warriors whom I cannot but respect. His jaw clamped down hard. Anything less could be suicidal.
He stopped in front of the ilKhan and gave Ulric a solemn salute. The Clan leader returned it, then offered the Precentor Martial his hand. "The Peace of Blake be with you, ilKhan Ulric."
The ilKhan nodded his head. "And with you, Precentor Martial. I welcome your company again, even if it is only for a short time."
"As I welcome yours, ilKhan." He shook Ulric's hand, then took his place beside the younger man. The Precentor
Martial searched the faces of the gathered soldiers, thinking he might have missed someone who passed on his blind side. Not seeing Phelan, he looked up at the viewing area above the bridge, but the familiar silhouette was not there, either. Does Phelan's absence from here have some significance?
Ulric waited for his troops to salute, then returned it and dismissed them. "If you will, Precentor Martial, I think we will find the holotank best suited to our discussions."
Focht thought he heard something more than business in Ulric's statement, but could not puzzle it out on such skimpy evidence. He bowed his head and followed the ilKhan into the holotank.
Entering the machine was to step into a world where one could truly feel godlike. Within the lozenge of black panels, Focht discovered he walked through a projected map of the Inner Sphere. At head-height, he saw the Periphery border— where the Clans had entered the Inner Sphere—and down near the floor his beloved Terra. Focht did not think it a coincidence that ComStar's home appeared low enough for Ulric to crush it with a casual misstep.
The Precentor Martial did not even attempt to suppress a smile as he entered the virtual reality produced by the holotank. Like a child marveling at his first planetarium show, he admired the view of the myriad stars, each appropriately labeled. Focht's own computer-generated realities required datasuits and ICR helmets, which made his equipment a mere toy compared to this device.
Focht looked around the bridge one final time, then gave the ilKhan a polite smile. "I had hoped to see Phelan again. It was a surprise when Elementals met me in the shuttle bay."
Ulric shrugged slightly. He reached up and touched a label hanging in mid-air beside a star. A glowing green window opened below the world and data—mirror-written from Focht's point of view—scrolled down through the air. "Phelan would have liked to have seen you as well, but his unit is on Diosd in case another of their militia units comes out of hiding. We believe all are accounted for, but zealots destroyed the central computers on the planet, throwing all intelligence-gathering and record-combing into chaos."
As Ulric pushed up on the lower border of the window, the scroll retracted into the small label again. "Your concern for Phelan does bring up a point I wish to discuss before we start our bargaining. It is in the nature of a personal favor, for which I will be grateful."
A personal favor? "Yes, ilKhan?"
The Wolf Clan leader clasped his hands behind his back and did not meet Focht's eyes directly. "I have recorded a holodisk that I wish transmitted to Colonel Morgan Kell of the Kell Hounds unit. I wish to tell him his son lives and is one of my most valued warriors." Ulric's blue eyes flicked up to make contact with Focht. "Does that surprise you, Precentor Martial?"
Focht allowed his surprise to show. "It does, ilKhan, and it pleases me as well. It will bring great joy to the Kells."
"Yes, I imagine it would. You know families far better than I, the petty rivalries and deep feelings that run between members." The ilKhan crossed his arms over his chest. "Our culture, as you know, stresses strong Clan and House ties at the expense of family units. If this is a weakness on our part, it matters little at this point. I do not wish to cause suffering to the Kells because of our need for Phelan. Is it not what they say in the Inner Sphere: blood is thicker than water, quiaff?"
"Yes, ilKhan, but we generally add the caveat, 'but not as thick as duty.' " Focht studied his foe carefully. This is not the Ulric I have known. Is he sincere, or is this a ploy to unsettle me? "As for my understanding of family, I fear it is not as strong as you might imagine. My family thrived on misunderstandings, but you have a correct impression of the Kell household, I think."
"Good. I have not informed Phelan that this message is to be sent, but I will allow him to receive any reply. If you wish to include a message of your own to Colonel Kell expressing this, or including your own impression of Phelan's life here among us, please do so." Ulric held up a hand. "And, of course, I know that the Primus may prevent the transmission of this message, given the state of our relations at this point."
"I will tell Colonel Kell how his son has thrived here." Focht allowed himself a traitorous grin. "I think I may even be able to circumvent the Primus in this matter."
"Good, then I will not be alone in treason, for I think the Grand Council would not approve my communicating with the enemy." The ilKhan's blue eyes narrowed. "These are dangerous times, Anastasius. What we do here will be wondrous and terrible, and the greatest tragedy is that politicians may render it all for naught."
"I share your fear, Ulric. Between us, there can be trust I will not betray you."
"Nor I you."
Focht smiled. "What our diplomats cannot divide, we must battle over. For the record, I would not have chosen to go to war with you, ilKhan. I have watched you enough to know better than to relish battling a foe of your abilities."
The ilKhan laughed lightly. "I am not immune to flattery, Anastasius. In our bargaining that may earn you a Cluster."
"Just so long as it is in the Thirteenth Wolf Guards."
"Interesting choice, my friend, but do you wish to be the one to tell Natasha Kerensky or Phelan Wolf they cannot fight against you?"
"Touché, my Khan. There are some missions not meant for mere warriors." Focht glanced back at one of the Clan computer consoles where an aide was working with a
Clanner. "I have brought with me data that will help us bargain out this battle properly."
The starfield in the holotank flickered for a second, then re-drew itself. "I believe your data has been incorporated into my database here. Shall we proceed?"
"Yes." Focht pulled himself up to his full height. "I am Anastasius Focht, Precentor Martial of ComStar and Supreme Commander of all Com Guard troops. Myndo Waterly, Primus of ComStar and Keeper of Blake's Sacred Word has assigned me the duty of negotiating this battle. What I offer, I warrant is true and free of deception."
Ulric nodded, then also straightened to attention. "I am Ulric Kerensky, ilKhan of the Clans and Khan of the Wolf Clan. It is by my own authority, in action for the Grand Council of Khans, that I enter negotiations with you. What I offer I warrant is true and free of deception."
He waved a hand through a thousand stars. "As you are the defender, I ask if you have chosen a venue for our confrontation."
"I have, ilKhan." Focht reached out and touched the label attached to the planet Tukayyid. "In the fourth planet, I believe I have found us a battlefield."
The window opened and the ilKhan's left hand strayed to his goatee as the blue and gold world rotated through space.
As they watched, the holotank brought their viewpoint down through the atmosphere and sent it skimming across vast fields of ripening wheat. They flew like eagles over the flat plains, then climbed into the dark Pozoristu Mountains. From those cloud-shrouded heights, they swooped down river valleys, through swamps and deltas, then across the dark Crucible Sea.
"Hardly an exhaustive survey, but the geography appears well-suited to any number of battles." The ilKhan frowned. "The population is small and centered in very specific areas?"
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