The Chancellor stood abruptly and towered over the MechWarrior. “Though your skill is great, it would be a needless risk to let you step into the arena again,” Liao said, producing another cruel smile. “More valuable to me than your reflexes and your tactical skill is your mind. You know how Hanse Davion thinks and plans, having taken part in so many Federated Suns actions. You also know your father well enough to guess how he may react in a certain situation. Best of all, you know fellow graduates from Sakhara, and have served with other key Davion commanders. All the intelligence training I give my people could never duplicate your close knowledge of the ways of House Davion.”
Liao paused as he looked hard at Justin for a moment. “I watched with outrage as Davion justice spat you out like so much chaff. I nearly ordered my people to deny that you were an agent, but I knew Count Vitios would have taken that to be even greater proof of your guilt. I grieved for you as everyone turned against and abandoned you.” Liao pointed to Tsen Shang. “When I learned that you had gone to Solaris, I ordered Shang to help you in any way he could.”
Justin nodded. “What would you have me do, Chancellor?”
Again Liao smiled like a predator. “It is not what I would have you do, but the opportunity I will make for you. Because of Tsen Shang’s excellent performance, I have recalled him here to Sian to serve as a Maskirovka analyst. I offer you this same chance to put your knowledge of the Federated Suns to use. You will sift through reports to help determine the truth about Hanse Davion’s plans and intentions. These analyses will help me to one day destroy our mutual enemy, Hanse Davion.”
Justin nodded solemnly. “And if I accept this commission, how will you know to trust me?”
The Chancellor threw back his head and laughed heartily. It was not a pleasant sound. “Ah, Justin, I can read you like a book. I know, despite what they have put you through, that you will not betray your family to harm. That I admire, and so I will not ask such things of you. But in the work of breaking Hanse Davion as he tried to break you, in this I know you can be trusted.”
Justin nodded. “You are correct. I willingly accept your offer.”
Liao smiled broadly. “Excellent.” At a single clap of his hands, a wall panel slid up into the ceiling. Liao descended from the throne and led the way toward the opening. “Come. It is time for us to celebrate your arrival, and to dine with yet another ally.”
Justin followed the Chancellor, then jerked to a halt in the doorway. The only other guest was already seated in the dining room, his bright green uniform clashing violently with the rich artistry of the embroidered silk screens surrounding the table on three sides. The petulant look on the man’s face disturbed the sense of peace that the arrangement of cherry blossoms on the dark walnut table was meant to create.
Liao glanced back over his shoulder and noted Justin’s astonishment. “I thought you knew our other guest.”
Justin nodded slowly and lurched forward with a stiff-legged gait. “We have met.” He forced a smile to his lips, but his eyes showed no warmth. “Politics makes for strange bedfellows,” he said, extending his hand to the man seated to the right of Liao’s place of honor.
“Indeed,” murmured Duke Michael Hasek-Davion as he took Justin’s proffered hand. “And that is because the end always justifies the means.”
Liao lifted a glass of plum wine. “Let us drink, then, to the one end on which we can all agree—to the destruction of Hanse Davion—his line and his House!”
Technical Readout
About the Author
Michael A. Stackpole is the multiple New York Times bestselling author of more than forty fantasy and science fiction novels. His best known books were written in the Star Wars® universe, including I, Jedi and the Rogue Squadron series, as well as the X-Wing graphic novel series. He has also written in the Conan, Pathfinder, BattleTech, Shadowrun, and World of Warcraft universes, among others.
* * *
Other honors include induction into the Academy Gaming Arts and Design Hall of Fame, a Parsec Award for “Best Podcast Short Story,” and a Topps’s selection as Best Star Wars® Comic Book Writer. He is the first author to sell work in Apple’s App Store, and he’s been an advocate for authors taking advantage of the digital revolution. Learn more about Michael and his work at www.stormwolf.com.
WARRIOR: RIPOSTE
By Michael A. Stackpole
Book Two in the Warrior Trilogy
AN ENTIRE UNIVERSE ON THE BRINK OF ALL-OUT WAR…
* * *
Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner have united two Great Houses of the Inner Sphere in a marriage that upsets the balance of power among the stars. Though some hope this may bring an end to centuries of war, Maximilian Liao of the Capellan Confederation has enlisted the aid of two highly placed Davion traitors to destroy Hanse Davion and the Federated Suns from both within and without.
But in the distant star chambers of the Capellan March and Draconis Combine, the warlords of Maximilian Liao are honoring a different and more deadly vow: to wage an unholy war that threatens to rip apart the vulnerable worlds of the Federated Suns. As Davion ’Mech commander Andrew Redburn and his mercenaries charge into battle, an explosive clash of metal and men signals the return of a formidable foe. Interstellar legend Yorinaga Kurita has returned to stake his claim as the most bloodthirsty warrior of all. For both men, it is do-or-die combat that could ensure the triumph of a glorious new alliance—or result in total annihilation…
COMSTAR FIRST CIRCUIT COMPOUND
HILTON HEAD ISLAND
NORTH AMERICA, TERRA
15 JULY 3027
Standing alone in the center of the First Circuit chamber, she held her head high and glared straight ahead at the Primus. Her golden hair fell to the shoulders of her red robe, and hooded her face, cutting off her view of the other precentors standing at their translucent podiums. Beneath her feet was the gold star inlaid into the alabaster floor, and the harsh overhead spotlight almost seemed to pin her to the spot.
They do not matter. They may surround me physically and their smug contempt provide background annoyances, but this is a battle between Primus Julian Tiepolo and me. Myndo let a thin smile upturn the corners of her mouth. A battle between the Primus and the Word of Blake.
The spotlight’s backglare left no shadows on Primus Tiepolo’s face, whose sallow, waxy flesh was barely a shade lighter than his unpretentious dun robe. His aquiline nose and flat, dark eyes had something predatory about them, and his voice was strong, despite being barely above a whisper. He still has some strength. I must be careful here.
Unblinking, the Primus met her stare. “Do you understand, Myndo Waterly, Precentor of Dieron, that we have summoned you here to account for your actions on May the twenty-second of this year? After hearing your version of what happened, we, the First Circuit of ComStar, will determine whether or not to convene a trial of excommunication. If we do so decide, you will be temporarily stripped of your rights and privileges as a precentor until the verdict is rendered. Do you also understand that the penalty for the alleged infraction of our directives is death?”
Myndo forced herself to nod calmly. “I do.”
The Primus folded his arms, tucking his hands into the robe’s voluminous sleeves. “You have been charged with informing the Internal Security Forces of the Draconis Combine that Melissa Arthur Steiner, Archon-Designate of the Lyran Commonwealth and fiancée of Prince Hanse Davion, ruler of the Federated Suns, was present within their territory. This action involved use of information that ComStar had culled from confidential messages sent through our stations as well as through other, covert methods of information-gathering. Your deed, therefore, threatened to reveal some of our Blessed Order’s secret operations. It also jeopardized our neutralist posture by helping the Draconis Combine.” The Primus paused, fixing Myndo with a piercing stare. “Furthermore, your action flaunted a policy agreed on by this body—a policy we all know you personally loathe. Do you offer a defense of your action?”
Precentor Dieron nodded slowly. “I would submit, Primus, that my action differed in no way from the other operations ComStar has undertaken. We have used information leaks throughout the two and a half centuries that our Blessed Order has been custodian of interstellar communications. Did not Jerome Blake himself write, ‘A well-placed word can defeat a BattleMech legion’?’”
The Primus nodded mechanically. “You should complete the quote, Precentor Dieron. ‘A well-placed word can defeat a BattleMech legion, but worry for the messenger if his duplicity is revealed.’ Your claim that your action mirrors those performed throughout our history could only be true if you were to warp beyond recognition the concept of similarity. Only the Primus can initiate when and how we might meddle in the politics of the Successor States—not some renegade precentor with delusions of divinity!” Tiepolo’s voice echoed from the chamber’s shadow-shrouded walls, seeming to batter at Myndo from all sides. “Above all, our actions must be subtle!”
Summoning her courage, Myndo laughed harshly. “Subtle? Since when, Primus, have your actions been subtle? In 3022, you allowed Hanse Davion and Katrina Steiner to sign a treaty that bound their two realms together. Next year’s marriage between Hanse Davion and Katrina’s heir—a match made possible by the treaty’s secret provisions—will seal that bargain. At the same time, you directed me to engineer another treaty, one allying the Draconis Combine, the Free Worlds League, and the Capellan Confederation. How is that subtle? Certainly, all the players have seen our hand in this series of alliances. Do you even know what subtle is?”
Myndo’s outburst provoked not even the slightest reaction from the Primus. Allowing the echo of her words to die out, he narrowed his eyes. “I understand subtle, Precentor Dieron, and understand it in degrees you will never comprehend. As an example, I offer our gracious reduction in prices for all communications sent out by the guests who will gather here for the wedding of Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner next year. Already the rulers of the Successor States plan out their lines of communications, and their messages of praise for our action come pouring in. We will be privy to every communication transmitted from this most important of gatherings, and our policy encourages that those messages will be sent in abundance.”
Myndo shook her head. “What you consider subtle I find needlessly reckless. I dislike the idea of having so many people invade our home. If anything goes wrong, it will be on our heads. There is too much that could be discovered here. As for encouraging increased messages, will this not raise suspicions about our motives?”
Myndo waved off the Primus’s attempt to reply. “Name one thing, Primus, that you have done in the past that does not bear the stamp of your manipulation.” The coldness of the Primus’s smile shook her confidence, but her anger was undiminished. What is in his mind? she wondered briefly. There is no quote from Blake to answer this.
An amused tone wove its way through the Primus’s answer. “I would not have expected you to notice, as you were so busy provoking a war, but Justin Xiang Allard is now a member of the Maskirovka in the Capellan Confederation. His addition to the Capellan intelligence organization will help Maximilian Liao deal with Hanse Davion. Justin Xiang, as he now styles himself, knows how his father, Quintus Allard, runs Davion’s Ministry of Intelligence, Information, and Operations. Xiang’s addition to the Maskirovka should blunt Davion’s intelligence operations.”
Myndo snorted derisively. “And you claim this chance happening as something you engineered?”
The Primus nodded. “Though we cannot claim credit for having Justin Allard tried for treason and exiled from the Federated Suns, we did manage to turn the situation to our advantage. I ordered dispatches about Justin’s victories in the BattleMech games on Solaris VII to be paired with depressing messages also going to Maximilian Liao. More often than not, news of Justin Xiang’s victories was the only bright glimmer in the Chancellor’s dark days. I manufactured Liao’s fascination with and hunger for Xiang. That moved him into place.”
Myndo bowed her head in a gesture that was equal parts respect and penitence. “I understand what you have said, and I stand corrected.” Her head came back up, slowly, and she met Tiepolo’s dark stare. “I submit, however, that my action was just as carefully orchestrated. I merely jested to a person known to us as an ISF agent that I was surprised at the Combine allowing bandits refuge in the Styx system. The ISF itself manufactured all the other information. They discerned Melissa’s presence on the Silver Eagle. They reacted.”
Myndo narrowed her eyes. “What has happened as a result of my actions that is so important? Quintus Allard has successfully created a story to explain why the Silver Eagle was so important, while keeping Melissa’s presence secret. Melissa was delivered safely into her fiancé’s arms. Some bandits, ISF troopers, and mercenary MechWarriors died. This is no great calamity.”
The Primus winced, and Myndo’s heart leaped. In that instant, she knew that she’d struck some chord that worried him, and that told her he had some weakness she could use against him. By the same token, it means there is something he fears, something he cannot control. Perhaps it is something I should fear as well.
The Primus forced emotion from his voice, but the effort made his lower lip tremble slightly. “One of the mercenaries killed was Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Kell. Indeed, it was fortunate that his Kell Hounds arrived in time and with sufficient force to save the Archon-Designate, but his death unlocks a problem that I believed was safely behind us. I have no doubt that his elder brother Morgan will return and once again take control of the Kell Hounds.”
Myndo frowned. This frightens you? “I fail to see the significance of that eventuality, and I challenge the possibility of it ever occurring. The Kell Hounds have not even sent Kell a message about his brother’s death.”
The Primus shook his head slowly. “No, they have not, nor would they. They will send a messenger to tell Morgan personally. That messenger will also tell him that his old enemy, Yorinaga Kurita, once again fights for the Combine. If the conflict between those two men ignites again, it could become a conflagration beyond our control.”
Myndo watched as the strength drained from the Primus’s body. It is as though he is deflected from his attempt to crucify me. She opened her hands. “I have offered my defense, Primus. I submit that my effort was subtle, and undertaken at a time when it would have been impossible to summon this august body together. Rash though my judgment may have been, I contend that it has caused no real harm. Let it serve as a lesson for all of us concerning the true power behind information, and let this experience temper our thinking. Let it be so in the sacred Name of Jerome Blake!”
The Primus looked up and polled the precentors, then nodded wearily. “In the Name of our Blessed Blake, let it be so.” His body jerked with a silent laugh. “Your peers absolve you of any guilt. You are free to go, but mark your own words. Let this experience temper your thinking, Precentor Dieron.”
Myndo bowed her head. “It shall, Primus. It shall.” When next I make a move to undercut your power, it will be even more subtle—so subtle, in fact, that you’ll not see it coming, nor will you survive it.
CHAPTER 1
NEW SYRTIS
CAPELLAN MARCH
FEDERATED SUNS
10 OCTOBER 3027
“Damn you, Hanse Davion!”
Duke Michael Hasek-Davion’s oath echoed off the white adobe walls of his private office. Angrily, he crumpled the message he’d just read and hurled it across the room. It bounced from the wall and Michael stared at it, wishing fervently that it would utterly vanish or, better yet, have never arrived at all.
The duke narrowed his restless jade-green eyes and shook his head in a motion that made his long, black braid slither like a snake. “How pained your wording sounds, brother-in-law. Written even in your own hand. You honor me with the information. You trust me with the information.” Michael spat at—but missed—the crumpled piece of paper. “You damn me with it.”
He crossed to the missive and recovered it in his prosthetic left hand. Returning to perch himself on the edge of his desk, he smoothed out the sheet against his thigh. Though he hated to do it, he reread the message, hoping that somehow he had missed some fact, some nuance that would cast the whole communication in a more benign, beneficial light.
“My dear Michael,” it began—with a lie. “Had it been solely up to me, I would have apprised you of this information much earlier. As well you know, I value your wisdom and devoted service as the guardian of the Capellan March. However, other forces have prevented me from sharing this joyous news with you before now.”
Michael snorted derisively. You pretend to blame the security precautions of your own Quintus Allard or the Lyran Commonwealth’s Simon Johnson for this unspeakable breach of faith, but you do not fool me, Hanse. You are not known as the Fox for your slavish devotion to the wishes of subordinates. No, Hanse, I see your shadow hand behind all of this.
The duke slid from his desktop and crossed the room to stare out the arched window. Any other time, the view he had of the New Syrtis Spaceport would have calmed him, because it was such a strong reminder of how much power he did wield. He studied the dozen egg-shaped DropShips squatting on the tarmac. Their cargo ports stood open for loading, with service personnel hurrying about to fill the ships’ empty bellies before New Syrtis’s unpredictable weather could close the scheduled launch window.
Warrior: En Garde (The Warrior Trilogy, Book One): BattleTech Legends, #57 Page 40
