What would Trader say, Diana wondered, if he knew that Aidan's genes were hers—well, half-hers, anyway.
"So you can see, Diana, that as long as we are part of Aidan Pryde's command, chances are we will see only backwater duty, will spend most of our time merely putting down minor uprisings, will only be—"
Trader stopped speaking as the challenges passing between Aidan and Jared Mahoney grew fiercer. Then suddenly the AgroMech's laser cannon shot outward, its beams passing between Joanna's Timber Wolf and the Stormcrow beside her.
"All 'Mechs, open fire!" Joanna shouted.
Diana, aiming her PPC at the city wall, quickly opened a massive hole there. Other 'Mechs connected with other targets. To her far left, she saw high flames erupt. The AgroMech took a hit to the shoulder, but no explosions followed. That made Diana wonder if the threat of explosives attached to the AgroMech was merely some cowardly terrorist bluff. She aimed for a new part of the city wall, but was stopped by Joanna's shouted, "Cease fire, all units."
Then Aidan Pryde addressed all the pilots. "We are not here to destroy Vreeport, whatever the provocation. We are to preserve civilian life wherever possible. That is the order of the ilKhan. Negotiations will continue. Star Commander Joanna."
"Sir?"
"Patch me into the speaker system again."
While listening to this, Diana watched as the AgroMech seemed to be preparing to fire again. She took a bead on it, just in case battle erupted once more.
"Jared Mahoney, this is Star Colonel Aidan Pryde again. Please come forward."
It was a long wait before the form of Jared Mahoney appeared atop one section of the city wall. He now had some kind of bandanna wrapped around his head and his face was smudged with dirt. A line of sweat darkened the rim of the bandanna.
"Jared Mahoney, our offer is simple. You will release all hostages, those from among your citizens as well as members of the Clan and ComStar. You will also surrender all your weapons and ammunition. Neither you nor your fellow insurgents will suffer repercussions. There will be no arrests, no punishments. We will leave you and your community in peace."
Jared Mahoney raised the bullhorn to his mouth. "And no more bondsman will be taken," he said. "Not in Vreeport or in any other place on Orkney."
"I am not authorized to revise Clan policy in this matter. To become a bondsman is an honor."
"Go to hell, you bloody sons of bitches!"
Diana gasped in shock. Clan warriors rarely cursed, and when they did, they used epithets such as freebirth and stravag, both referring to the live-birth process of freeborns. Jared Mahoney's ill-chosen words would be disgusting to any Clansman or woman, no matter what his or her Clan.
The insurgent leader dropped suddenly from sight, then the AgroMech fired again. This time its beams hit the Stormcrow dead-center. The 'Mech rocked back slightly on its heels, but remained upright.
Diana awaited the order to demolish Vreeport, but only silence came over the commline.
After a moment, Joanna's voice clicked into the line. "We have been ordered to withdraw," she said, sounding angry and bitter. "Proceed into the forest in an orderly fashion. We will regroup twenty-five meters in."
Diana was furious. "Trader, what is happening here?"
"A strategic retreat, apparently. To protect us while the others arrive at a plan. I hope."
"The Clans do not retreat before mere civilians. How could Star Commander Joanna order a retreat?"
"Weren't you listening, Diana? It wasn't she who ordered the retreat. It was our Star Colonel, watching from his safe haven at command center. He is the one behaving cautiously."
"He must have some reason. I mean, a good, solid military reason," was what she said aloud. But in her thoughts, she told herself, he is my father and he cannot be a coward.
"He's protecting the lives of the hostages, I suppose."
"You do not sound convinced, Trader."
"I'm not. It may be unfortunate that ComStar people are involved, but they're not Clan. The Clan hostages will be proud to die. And the others, the native hostages, why should we be careful about their lives?"
"I do not know, Trader. I would just go ahead and annihilate Vreeport, make this place an example. Hostages are not important. It is wrong to permit scum like Jared Mahoney to use them against us. Wipe out this group of hostages along with the insurgents, and perhaps you will never have to deal with another group of either."
"An interesting theory, Diana."
"But you doubt it."
"You know I do. I'll never be as bloodthirsty as you."
"And that is why I deserve this Warhawk."
"I know you think that."
They had cleared the line of trees at the edge of the forest and were following Joanna's Timber Wolf to the rendezvous point.
There must be some strategy here, Diana thought, some trick that my father is planning. If not that, a respite until he can come up with a good scheme. It must be that. It has to be. He cannot be a coward. He will destroy Vreeport. It is the only way to handle the situation, and he will rise to the challenge.
As Diana considered the actions of Aidan Pryde, her commander as well as her father, doubts began to pull on her thoughts like weights. She hated the doubt. In this universe she had only one father. Whether or not he was aware of her existence, he had to be the father she had dreamt of so often, the father who had never been far from her thoughts.
9
To Diana, the rumbling sound of the ComStar helicopter seemed to slide toward the forest, then over it, shaking the branches and leaves with its vibrations. She and her Warhawk stood at the edge of the forest, where Star Commander Joanna had assigned her on orders from Command Center to post a 'Mech as scout. From her vantage point, Diana watched the large craft settle onto the ground in front of the city walls. Then Jared Mahoney's head reappeared above the main wall.
On the forest side of the aircraft, two people emerged from the open hatches. The first was a tall woman with broad shoulders and wide hips. If not for the ComStar insignia on the woman's white jumpsuit, Diana might easily have taken her for a Clan warrior, though she moved a bit clumsily for one. The second figure was her father, dressed in a simple green field uniform that showed no insignia of his rank.
Star Commander Joanna had told her that negotiators were coming from Command Center, but Diana suspected that even the hard-edged and confident old warrior would be surprised that Aidan Pryde had selected himself to negotiate with these vermin.
The moment his feet hit the ground, he looked around alertly. When he nodded in her direction, Diana thought he must have spotted her Warhawk lurking in the forest's shadows.
She studied his face, thinking it might solve the mysteries he had created for her. But there were no clues there, much less solutions. It was an impassive face, its skin rough from years in severe climates, yet generally untouched by age. The eyes seemed to shine in their sockets like jewels, giving off the same serene detachment. It was not a coward's face.
Diana worked her lips nervously, chewing on the bottom lip, rubbing the top one on her upper teeth. She was angry at feeling anything about this man. What did it matter that he was her father? Yet she knew that if Aidan Pryde brought even the mildest shame to his unit, it would bring deep shame to her. The thought was so unClanlike that she did not like admitting it even to herself. Freeborn warrior she might be, but Diana preferred to think like a trueborn one. Concepts like father should have no meaning to her, especially since Aidan had never been a father to her, nor was he even aware of their blood tie.
* * *
Aidan saw a flash of light off the BattleMech stationed at the forest edge. From what he could see of its configuration when he squinted, it was a Warhawk. He fervently hoped that neither Jared Mahoney nor any of his insurgents had spotted it, however. This was no time to provoke them, especially over a scout 'Mech.
The last thing Aidan wanted now was any provocation. As commander of the Quarell occupation forces,
he wished to prevent the unnecessary slaughter of civilians. Despite Clan Smoke Jaguar's destruction of the city of Turtle Bay on Edo, Aidan intended to obey the ilKhan's directive specifically ordering that civilian casualties be kept to a minimum.
Melanie Truit had insisted on accompanying him to Vreeport, suggesting that it would be prudent to have at least two spokesmen when dealing with emotionally volatile rebels like Jared Mahoney. "Because I am not Clan, it may be easier for me to interpret ideas that now seem so unacceptable to him," she said.
"I insist on conducting the negotiations myself. This is not a team effort. Understood?"
"Understood, Star Colonel."
"But I will appreciate your contributions and insights, Melanie Truit."
"I thank you. You are unusually decorous for a warrior, particularly a Clan Jade Falcon officer."
"And have you observed so many Clan officers, Melanie Truit?"
"Not many, but enough. And you make me wish to be as direct as any Clan warrior. I wish to couple with you when all this is over."
Aidan's stride broke.
"You hesitate," she said, with an embarrassed laugh. "Is it that I have violated a taboo? Are you Clansmen so culturally primitive that a woman may not make such an overture to a man?"
"No. My Clan has no such taboo. But an individual from another caste Or someone not of the Clans may not initiate the request to couple."
"And, as not-Clan, I am unacceptable to you?"
She was beginning to become angry, he could see.
"No, it is not that at all. I merely say that, as a Clan warrior, I must ask that you wait for me to make the offer."
"Then I will wait, Star Colonel. But do not ask me to wear caste-marks."
Was he mistaken or had her voice taken on a sarcastic edge?
"I assure you, Melanie Truit, that the offer will be made."
"I am pleased, I think."
A ComStar adept, a lower-class functionary in the Inner Sphere, climbed out of the VTOL after Aidan and Melanie Truit. He handed Aidan a bullhorn similar to the one the insurgent leader was using, but it was an upgraded model, easily operated by buttons next to his thumb. It was also much lighter.
Coming around the vehicle, with Melanie Truit just behind him, Aidan began immediately to address Jared Mahoney. "I am Star Colonel Aidan Pryde. I would speak with you, Jared Mahoney. Open your gates."
"What makes you think I wish to meet with you, Pryde!"
Aidan cringed at being addressed by his surname alone. That was never done within the Clans. A Bloodname was sacred, and no one would ever use it in any casual, pejorative, distorted, or demeaning way. And certainly not as a form of address without other names and titles.
But, as Melanie Truit had instructed him, it was essential in hostage negotiations to remain calm and to keep the rebels from controlling the discussions.
"If you wish to have your own people come out of this alive, you must deal with me, Mahoney."
Aidan used the rebel's surname with malice, but doubted that the man cared how he was addressed.
"All right. Are you armed? If so, drop whatever weapons you have."
"I am not armed."
"Who is that with you?"
Melanie Truit stepped forward. "I am Melanie Truit, ComStar Demi-Precentor for this sector of Quarell."
"So ComStar is frightened by us, too?"
"Do not become self-important, Jared Mahoney. It is only I who am interested. No official ComStar policy is to be inferred."
"Are you armed, Truit?"
"No."
"Then come forward, both of you."
* * *
Diana watched as her father and the ComStar representative went through the opened gates of Vreeport. She felt a catch in her throat as the gates closed behind them. It suddenly occurred to her that she might never see her father again. The regret aroused by that thought was as detestable as it was unbearable.
10
Jared Mahoney led them down a cluttered Vreeport street. Hardly a street, Aidan thought. More like a dirt path strewn with litter. The buildings, too, were battle-scarred, with doors hanging off hinges, windows broken, char marks on siding. The people seemed to hang back from them, their gestures nervous and agitated. Hostility hung over Vreeport like a corona around a moon.
The rebel leader pointed to a large building at the end of the street. "In there first," he said, an odd note of satisfaction in his voice.
The building turned out to be a warehouse full of weapons, ammunition, and boxes of explosives. "This is one of many filled with enough volatile material to create one damn big blast," Jared Mahoney said. "I show you this to prove that we're not bluffing."
Melanie Truit touched Aidan's arm. "This may still be bluff," she whispered. "Maybe this is their only warehouse, not 'one of many.' And how can we know what those boxes are filled with?"
"Do the people of the Inner Sphere employ so much deception?"
Melanie Truit smiled, and Aidan noted once more the evenness and brightness of her teeth. "Star Colonel, in some way you Clansmen are guileless. Don't you imagine that people with their backs to the wall would use any trick possible to get out alive?"
Aidan bristled at the allusion to naivete, but all he said was, "You are right about the Clans, Precentor. We sometimes use bluff in our bidding procedures, but blatant lying is not our way. I suppose it is another aspect of the degeneration of the Inner Sphere."
"The Clans are skilled enough in warfare, Star Colonel, but the sophistication of Inner Sphere politics seems to elude you."
"You call it sophistication?"
She shrugged. "A word merely."
"Not merely, I think."
She smiled again and took his hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze before releasing it. No one had ever touched Aidan like that before, and the sensation gave him pleasure. He even looked forward to being with this woman later, once the negotiations were concluded. That anticipation perplexed him. He generally attended to any problem at hand without being distracted by thoughts of the future except as it related to the problem. Casual speculation about the future seemed unClanlike.
Jared Mahoney led them to what Aidan thought must be the town square, except that it had no real geometric definition. Viewed from above, it might have seemed more bloblike than anything. Standing roughly in the center was the AgroMech, with some vehicles haphazardly arranged around it.
If any doubts remained about the rebel claims, Aidan saw now that they were not lying about the explosives attached to the AgroMech. They had actually gone overboard, decorating the machine with enough charges to blow up ten AgroMechs and much of the surrounding area. And enough to set off the caches of explosives and ammunition in the warehouses.
Such a chain reaction would certainly destroy everyone in Vreeport. Jared Mahoney was definitely not bluffing.
After the rebel leader permitted Aidan and Melanie Truit to examine the AgroMech, he raised his right hand and waved it from side to side. At the signal, hundreds of people began pouring into the streets. Some climbed out from vehicles or through building windows or slipped through doorways. Soon the town square was filled with them, leaving space only for Jared Mahoney and his two visitors.
Aidan's throat constricted, not from fear, but from the sheer sensation of being surrounded by so many people. The air seemed to tighten, condense into compacted molecules that could be felt separately with each inhalation.
Jared Mahoney spread his arms expansively to take in the crowd. "These are my people. All we ask is fair treatment." Some in the crowd echoed bits of his words. "And that includes our demand that the Clans cease taking our citizens as slaves." The crowd seconded him again, this time more angrily.
The rebel took a few steps toward one end of the open area. Standing there was a group of people being held by the arms.
"And these," Mahoney said, "are our hostages. Pryde, you may recognize some Clan tech insignia among the group."
One Clan tech pulled awa
y from his captor and took a step into the circle and shouted, "Sir, I am Astech Trion. I was stationed here. Do not deal with these—"
Before the man could say more, Jared Mahoney struck him on the side of the head, instantly knocking him unconscious. A Vreeport citizen dragged Astech Trion back into the crowd.
Jared Mahoney walked back to the hostage area. "Truit, you, too, may recognize your ComStar people by their shoulder patches."
She nodded and turned to Aidan. "They are ComStar," she said, "and like all loyal members of our Blessed Order, they are prepared to die if duty requires it. However,"—and here she turned to address a section of the crowd, pointedly ignoring its leader—"if Jared Mahoney has his way in this issue, it will create needless slaughter, not honorable sacrifice. Agree to surrender, and I vow that ComStar will work to modify the policy that you now pro—"
"Keep quiet, woman!" Jared Mahoney shouted as he ran toward her.
She turned toward him, refusing to back down. She even managed to utter a few more words before the rebel leader hit her viciously across the face. The Precentor staggered back, but held her ground.
The violence took Aidan by surprise. Before Mahoney could hit Melanie Truit again, he stepped forward and grabbed the rebel leader in a bear hug. He squeezed fiercely, trying to kill the man. Before he could do that, some Vreeport citizens rushed up to seize Aidan by the arms. They managed, with some difficulty, to pull him away from Jared Mahoney. Then they threw him to the ground and began to kick at him until Jared Mahoney called out for them to stop.
Like robots, the attackers obeyed and faded back into the crowd. Mahoney extended a hand to help Aidan up.
"I apologize to both of you," he said. "Feelings are running high here, my own included. But the prospect of slavery would tend to make anyone a bit edgy. And yes, if you must know, I have already been selected as a bondsman, so my interest in this cause does have its personal, even selfish, ramifications.
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