"No, Captain-General. Per the wishes of my Magestrix I stand ready to assist you in any way you deem appropriate."
The door to the office swung open without warning and a Knight in full battle dress entered. Marik recognized him as being from the Operations Center of the Knights Headquarters.
"Captain-General. Pardon the interruption. An urgent message for you."
"Colonel Kingelt, please forgive me for cutting this meeting short," Marik said. "I'll see you again before you leave Atreus." Marik waited until the Canopian had left the room before addressing the Knight. "And the message?"
"My liege, it's from Captain Trane. Somehow the message was distorted in transmission. The World of Blake people think that one of the HPGs may have been sabotaged by ComStar. All they could receive were the words Andrews, Periphery, Trane."
"Just those three words?"
"Yes, my liege."
"Thank you, Captain. You are dismissed." The Knight turned with a smart click of his boots and left the office. Marik looked at his old friend. "Harrison, what shall we make of this?"
Harrison Kalma got up and began to pace about the room. Suddenly he stopped, then turned back to the holotank and began searching through the programs stored in its database. Finding what he sought, Kalma called up the holographic map of the Inner Sphere and the surrounding Periphery.
"Thomas, St. Andrews ... It has to be New St. Andrews in the Periphery. I think our boys are telling us that the planet is the baseworld of the criminals we seek."
Marik came over to the holotank and looked at the colored globes floating in the air before him. "How can we be sure, Harrison? They could be advising us of the next stop in their quest to find these outlaws."
"That's a real possibility, but let us consider the information just given us by Emma Centrella. From Dainmar Majoris in the Magistracy of Canopus to Circinus in the Circinus Federation she hears persistent rumors of someone, or some world, trying to raise an army. I'm not trying to defend our intelligence agencies, Thomas, but it takes time for such information to be gathered by operatives, forwarded to us, then analyzed. Our people probably have the information but simply haven't yet pieced it together to form a picture of a larger operation. If 'Mech companies are being recruited in this region of the Periphery, or wherever, they need a staging area. New St. Andrews is close enough to launch raids into the Inner Sphere and to seek converts to their cause in the Periphery."
"Harrison, I have long valued your counsel. What are you saying?"
"Send out the Knights, Thomas. Send them in full strength, all of them."
"And what if we're wrong? What if New St. Andrews isn't the baseworld of the imposters? Our arrival in that sector will not go unnoticed. Instead of helping we might barge in and destroy all that Trane and Duncan have accomplished in these last few months. Not only that, my sending such a large force would bolster the false notion that the Knights are a private army for the conquest of neighboring states."
"I don't disagree, Thomas. If we're wrong all those things could happen."
Thomas Marik stood looking at the map in the holotank, then turned slowly to face his old friend.
"I am a politician and ... yes ... sometimes a soldier when need be. I make no pretense at being a military strategist like you, Harrison. No matter which way I go we will lose some good Knights. I could also be risking setting off an even bigger interstellar war. Against this, you could lose a son. I ask you again, my old friend, how do you advise me in this matter?"
Harrison Kalma hesitated for the first time in his life. And for the first time he wondered if he was getting too old for this business. Also, for the first time in a very long time he wanted to see his son again.
"Send the Knights, Thomas."
28
Cavern of the Skull
New St. Andrews, The Periphery
Rimward of the Circinus Federation
8 July 3057
Do you have any questions now that you are officially members of the New Republican Guards?" Varas asked. He could see the shock in the eyes of Duncan Kalma and his Demons, but it was a typical reaction to the revelation that they'd been recruited to fight for a new empire ruled by a man who intended to take over the Inner Sphere and claimed the right by virtue of his blood connection to Amaris the Usurper. Even Varas had never fully recovered from the news that Amaris the First, perhaps the most hated figure in human history, had managed to leave behind an heir. History taught that General Aleksandr Kerensky had destroyed Amaris and every trace of his line after the liberation of Terra. Who would have dreamed that a bastard son had escaped the fate of the rest?
Stefan Amaris the Seventh was very persuasive, however. His speeches about creating a MechWarrior republic, about finally ending the squabbling that had brought centuries of war and destruction to the Inner Sphere, his claim that his ancestor was falsely reviled by history soon overcame any lingering resistance. After all, the kind of warriors willing to be recruited to their new army were more interested in plunder and power than history or honor.
These four were different, though. Varas sensed it, but couldn't put his finger on what it was. He made a mental note to keep a close eye on them.
"Just one," Kalma finally said. "When will the rest of our company arrive?"
"Soon. In the meantime you can prepare accommodations for the whole unit in an area we designate. Also, I understand you lost three 'Mechs in the games on Galatea. You may select replacements from among those sent here by Jaggoda."
"Uh, actually, one could say we lost four 'Mechs on Galatea," said Duncan. "We had to cannibalize a 'Mech to repair the five heavily damaged in the fighting. If you want us at full company strength when our other two lances arrive, we'll need a fourth 'Mech."
"Very well, you may have it. My lord, do you have anything else for our new recruits?"
"Yes, Varas. I want to assure them that we are actively continuing to build our army. I trust Captain Kalma will not be deceived by what still appears to be a small force. There are six companies here now and two more due in shortly. When the rest of the Kalma company arrives we will have a full regiment plus a good contingent of ground troops. We will be ready to make our move in less than a month."
"In that case, we have much to do," said Duncan.
"I agree," said Varas. "Unless the Star Lord has anything further, you are dismissed. One of my aides will show you to your quarters."
Varas pressed a button on the comm console of the Star Lord's desk. A young officer entered the room and motioned for Duncan and the others to follow him. He led them back across the walkway from the Star Lord's office to the tunnel leading to the Cavern of the Skull, and then to the surface.
Outside the Cavern a small transport waited to take them to their encampment. As they rode past the areas occupied by other mercenary companies Duncan noticed that some had yet to remove the insignia of previous employers from their 'Mechs. He nudged Hawkes.
"See the Snow Bear on top of a ski and skipole? I think that's the Lothian League. Ever hear of them?"
"The name and that's about all," said Hawkes. "What's the one over there? A ship?"
"The Illyrian Palatinate. They draw mercenaries from all over the Periphery and the Inner Sphere by staging games like the ones on Galatea but on a smaller scale. These aren't crack troops, Hawkes. I've been to these worlds and I know.
"But I think this so-called Star Lord was right. It won't take him long to put together four or five regiments from all the various units in and around the Periphery."
"And that will be enough to begin capturing worlds," said Hawkes.
"That's how I see it. The people of the Inner Sphere will be too busy fighting each other and defending the Clan border to spare troops to recapture a few insignificant planets far out in their realms," said Duncan. "The worst of it is, this plan of his could work."
"Do you really believe that, Duncan?" Dawn asked. Duncan knew that it had taken every bit of her impressive discipline to keep fr
om leaping up and killing the man who boasted of his relation to Stefan Amaris and called himself Star Lord.
"It's a crazy scheme, but stranger things have happened in history. He's an Amaris. He calls himself Star Lord. If he really does manage to assassinate every House Lord, in the confusion people might turn to him and his wild dream of restoring the old Star League with an Amaris as its First Lord."
"Savashri!" Dawn spat out the word, her face cold with anger.
"Whatever that is, I second it," Hawkes said.
* * *
"Duncan, that Rifleman is a piece of junk. The bottom half is from a Warhammer. It works ... but just barely." Hawkes was steamed. "These aren't the 'Mechs we tested out on Kyeinnisan."
"Same story here," Duncan said. 'The one I just checked out was an Ostroc, an old Marik experimental job with jump jets. They don't work, of course. Not much on it does. Though the ones we had to 'certify' on Kyeinnisan weren't much better." The Demons had spent the rest of their first day on New St. Andrews going over the 'Mechs Jaggoda had sent on the same JumpShip that had brought them to this world. The search wasn't going well. Duncan had looked at two and Hawkes had gone over two others, with no good candidates so far. Seeing Dawn and Bovos approaching, they guessed from the looks on their faces that their luck hadn't been much better.
"We haven't found a single 'Mech that's in good condition," said Bovos. "I checked out an old Firestarter. Only two of its flamers and one of its lasers were working."
"The one I tested was called an UrbanMech," said Dawn. "Neither its heat sinks nor its autocannon looked like they could be counted on in a fray."
Duncan shook his head in dismay. "I'm beginning to see something here. Jaggoda gets a fee for finding recruits for the Star Lord. He also gets a goodly sum for providing the New Rim Worlds Republic with 'Mechs for those warriors who don't have one and to replace those lost in battle."
"And what he's sending here are old relics that couldn't be sold anywhere else. The exteriors are made to look in fair shape, but everything else from engine to armament is in a lousy condition," added Hawkes.
"Talk about a sting operation," said Duncan. "The question is ... how do we turn this information to our own advantage?"
"We could always offer to assist our fellow Republican Guards," Hawkes said.
"Assist?" Bovos said. "To do what?"
"Well, first we fix up four of these heaps as best we can so we'll have a full company when Trane arrives. Next, we visit some of the other merc units and tell them about the 'Mechs Jaggoda sent."
"I see what you mean," Duncan said. "We take a second look at these 'Mechs ... and if we should be having a bad day and accidentally loosen a few connectors here and there ..."
"It means eight of these beasts will go out to different companies," Hawkes said. "And then we go to other merc outfits and tell them what we've discovered about the Jaggoda 'Mechs. These can't be the only ones he's sent here. We can accomplish two things, I think. One, they'll pull those 'Mechs offline to check them out. That puts some out of action for awhile. Two, we offer to check out their 'Mechs to see if we find problems akin to this latest shipment. We do as much damage as possible to any 'Mechs we can get into so they'll either have to pull them offline or else we make it so they'll malfunction in battle."
"Hawkes, this is a deceitful plan completely lacking in honor. If Trane were here he'd hate it," said Duncan. "But I love it."
"What about Trane?" asked Dawn.
"All I can do is guess, Dawn. Trane would have waited at least twenty-four hours before leaving Kyeinnisan space. Hawkes set the timer on the explosives he hid in Jaggoda's comm center to go off about the time we thought Trane would make his jump. From there he was going to Tiber where the Regulan Hussars would have set up a relay of JumpShips to whatever our destination might be. I'm sure he also forwarded our message on to the Captain-General."
"Then he should be one to two days behind us."
"If everything went smoothly. That's what I'm counting on, Dawn. It takes a week for a DropShip to get here from the jump point. If I'm right on all this, Trane and his Knights should be enroute in the DropShip now."
"I've got an idea of what we can do in the meantime," Bovos said.
"Let's hear it," said Duncan.
"This Star Lord has infantry. Not many and possibly not very good, but they must be dealt with. I've heard some gossip that some of the local Claves have defied the Star Lord and he sent people to wipe them out."
"Did they succeed?"
"No, the Clave Lords led their people into the high mountains where 'Mechs can't fight very well. If we could get them to attack Amaris's ground troops when the time is right ..."
"Why should they be willing to help us, Bovos?"
"These are simple folk who want nothing more than to raise their families, herd their sheep, and breed their horses. My own family back home is a lot like that. Perhaps I could speak to them in a way they'd understand."
"Do it. We'll fix up one of the 'Mechs for you, and then we'll get to work on Hawkes's plan."
"I suspect not all the Claves on this world are in revolt," Hawkes said. "Some may even elect to fight for the Star Lord. How do we tell the 'good' Claves from the 'bad'?"
Duncan thought a minute and then smiled. "Tell the ones who agree to help us to make a Demon's head and wear it . . ."
29
Cavern of the Skull
New St. Andrews, The Periphery
Rimward of the Circinus Federation
11 July 3057
Kemper Varas considered that he had many virtues as a military man. One of those was not letting himself become overconfident. Though all seemed to be going well, he had arranged for a JumpShip to be standing by, just in case.
"Captain Varas," Amaris was saying, "sometimes I don't understand you. Within days we'll have built our force to a regiment or more of 'Mechs, within weeks we'll be on our way to conquering the Inner Sphere. Yet I sense you have doubts."
Varas looked at the man who called himself Star Lord as he sat in his desk endlessly studying the map of the Inner Sphere. He relished the thought that one day this fool would no longer be needed.
"It's not the plan that concerns me, my lord. It's the quality of recruits to our cause. The best we have are the Black Warriors of the Circinus Federation. Some, like the Crimson Reapers from Astrokazy, show promise if they can be disciplined. Many of the others are questionable."
"Questionable—who?"
"The so-called Praetorian Guards from the Marian Hegemony, for one. They're a mixed lot of ex-nobles, impoverished merchants and farmers, and just plain scrum. They may, if someone points them in the right direction, actually find the battlefield."
"We shall replace them as our agents continue to seek out more capable warriors."
"That's just it, my lord. We can't count on Jaggoda anymore. He's our main supplier of recruits and 'Mechs, but the man is defrauding us. In the past three shipments of 'Mechs form him, the machines were old and poorly refitted. Many were nowhere near battle-ready. Such treachery must not go unpunished."
"Then by all means you must deal with him," Amaris said impatiently. "I have other matters of even greater import to resolve. For one, our raids on the Inner Sphere have resulted in a most surprising lack of response among the leaders of the Great Houses. Much of what I hope to do rests on seriously discrediting Thomas Marik both within and without his state. Marik should certainly have done something by now ... or has he?"
"An excellent question, lord. Those new recruits Jaggoda sent us, the Demons, there's something about them— something odd, suspicious ... I still haven't been able to confirm what Jaggoda told us about the rest of their company. I don't trust them."
"Trust is primary, Varus. You know that," Amaris said. "There are plenty more where they came from. Get rid of them."
"Yes, my lord."
* * *
"This is our third day here, Duncan. Where the hell is Trane?" Hawkes looked toward the
late afternoon sun. There wasn't much of their third day on New St. Andrews left.
"I don't know, Hawkes. But once he does get here, we'll be able to receive in either our 'Mechs or on our portable links. I've tuned our commlines to the DropShip's frequency."
"Any idea where he might land?"
"My best guess is that he'd touch down near the mountains and call for us to rendezvous with him there." Duncan looked out across Brannigan Plain, pensively scanning the mountainous area to the west, then turned his attention back to the four 'Mechs they'd labored so hard to get refitted. He'd chosen one of the most menacing ever built—the Atlas.
It was an ugly, brutal piece of machinery, famous in history as the 'Mech used by General DeChavilier, who had spearheaded the assault on the last stronghold of Stefan Amaris the First. It was poetic justice that one would now be used against his descendant.
Dawn emerged from her Orion. It was another older model, but this 'Mech too was symbolic. After DeChavil-ier's Atlas had knocked down the wall surrounding Amaris's Canadian palace, it was General Aleksandr Kerensky in an Orion who began the triumphant liberation of Terra by kicking open the palace gates and capturing the Usurper. She climbed down to the ground and walked toward the heavy JagerMech they'd chosen for Bovos that was standing near the lighter Hatchetman Hawkes had tinkered with.
"I have done all I can do, Duncan."
"I'm sure you have, Dawn."
Dawn had not participated in her comrades' efforts to sabotage as many mercenary 'Mechs as possible. It was something her Clan would never permit her to do. From what they could make of her explanation Clan warriors believed that deception should not be necessary to vanquish an opponent. Instead she'd spent all the previous day and most of last night working on the 'Mechs the Demons had selected. With still no word from Trane, Duncan and Hawkes had left her around mid-morning to visit other Republican Guard units and do what damage they could.
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