Cat Stirling had remained behind with a small garrison force drawn from both Mulvaney's and her own troops, waiting until the permanent Combine garrison had arrived. The work of rebuilding the former Smoke Jaguar base had already begun. Some of the structures had taken severe damage before the Nova Cats finally took the base from the. Jaguar defenders, but a larger number were still intact and of value.
Parkensen walked over and gave her a firm salute. "Colonel Stirling, this brings to an end our contract and our working together," he said with an emotion that surprised her. "I never thought to see this day. I am very proud to have been a part of it. My entire command was lost again, as it has been every time I have served the Dragon. But this time I fought to the end, and in that end, there was a victory.
"The Combine has its moral victory—we have taken back a world from the Clans—something that has not been done before. And add to that, a planet that was virgin to war, one never invaded, never fully colonized. Together, Andrea Stirling, we have made history. A glorious history for the Kurita Dragon."
"It is one planet," Stirling was quick to point out. "One planet, barren and isolated in the Periphery."
"The longest journey begins with one step," Parkensen said, looking up again at the flags fluttering over their heads, then back to the dark-haired Highlander officer. "One day we will take the fight to the Clans themselves. This world, Wayside, is but one brick in the Exodus Road—the way back to the Clan home worlds.
"I will not forget—no one will—the sacrifices you and your people made here. The honored dead will be remembered. I have sent a message via JumpShip to the Coordinator. The names you and Loren Jaffray have given to the places of this world, they will remain."
Cat Stirling understood the significance of the gesture. She followed the handshake with a salute, which the Combine officer returned. With perfect military precision, she then did an about-face and started toward the hover car that would take her to the waiting DropShip and the long ride home.
* * *
The command chamber of the Nova Cats was deeply quiet. Even the heavy leather chairs around the oak meeting table did not creak. Through the wall of blast-proof glass a small slice of the twinkling lights of New Lorton could be seen.
"Santin West," said Khan Severen Leroux, "you have served your Clan and your vision well. Your forces fought with skill and bravery. You defeated an age-old enemy in the Smoke Jaguars, and removed a threat to our Clan. The Keshik is pleased and you have brought great honor to the Nova Cat." The small gathering was highly prestigious. SaKhan Lucian Cams, his ebony skin and head gleaming under the lights, nodded agreement, as did Oathmaster Biccon Winters, who stood at the back of the room, her hooded robes, as always, concealing her facial expression.
"Thank you, my Khans," Santin West replied, bowing his head deeply. "I fulfilled my vision," he said proudly. "And served my Clan with all that I had."
Leroux nodded. "Your actions are to be commended. Who would have thought the Cat you saw in your vision was a warrior of the Inner Sphere? Others have heard of your vision quest, and of the mission you led against the Jaguars. You are a leader among warriors, more so than ever before, Santin West," the Khan said. "Such a ristar is to be nurtured and given a command of his own, one of greater authority."
"There is the matter of Wildcat Station," Lucian Cams added. "I assume you wish I commence bidding to retake the world, Khan Leroux?"
"Negative," the older Khan replied firmly.
Cairns raised his brows in surprise. "Having an Inner Sphere holding in the Periphery is unprecedented."
Leroux was unmoved. "The world taken was not one of ours but one claimed by Clan Smoke Jaguar. Losing it endangers their supply route, not ours. If the Combine or these Highlanders use the world to stage raids against us, then I will pursue its destruction. For now, it serves a greater purpose—a thorn in the side of the enemy who sought to crush us. The Jaguars will bear the shame of the loss, further serving our Clan in their disgrace."
* * *
"Major Craig," cautioned Colonel Edward Senn. "It is inappropriate for you to address this Assembly on a matter that is purely internal to your regiment. Your CO will be back on Northwind in less than two months' time. Until then, you remain off duty, per her orders."
"Don't you see?" Cullen Craig demanded bitterly. "He's corrupted her just like everyone else." His arguments regarding the evils of Loren Jaffray had already taken up more than thirty minutes of the Assembly's time, and their patience was running out.
"Lad, you need some time to cool off," Colonel MacLeod said, hoping to defuse some of Craig's anger.
"No!" Craig shouted, ripping the clusters from his uniform. "I resign my commission. I'm going to find a unit that's willing to take a stand against this kind of treason. Next time I face you, it'll be from the cockpit of a 'Mech .. ." Before anyone could say more, he had stormed out of the venerable old Hall of Warriors of the Northwind Highlanders.
* * *
Loren Jaffray got up from his bed and made his way across the room slowly. His arms and legs still ached, a result of suffering the slow decompression of his cockpit and then two weeks spent battling the results of the bends. His arm still bore a long scar from the electric shock he'd received in the destruction of his Masakari. Looking out of the window he saw the government buildings and the inner walls of The Fort in the distance. His apartment had become a prison during his recovery, and he looked forward to the day he could return to duty.
A rap at the door disturbed his reverie, and the next moment Chastity Mulvaney was standing there, in her formal uniform.
"Damnation, it's good to see you." Loren reached out for her and pulled her close, an embrace he dropped quickly when he saw she was not alone. Just outside the door to his apartment were Mitch Fraser and Kurt Blakadar. With a slight twinge of embarrassment, he released Chastity and shook hands with each of the men as they entered the apartment.
"We thought we'd pay you a visit," Chastity said, exchanging quick glances with the other two officers.
"Thank Kerensky you did," Loren exclaimed. "I've been going stir crazy. The doctors won't release me to duty."
"Have you heard about Craig?" Mulvaney asked.
Loren shook his head as she continued. "He's resigned. Not surprising. He tried to drag you through the mud, but it was a wasted effort. You'll have to watch your back with him from now on. He's on his way to Outreach, if you believe the rumors."
"How's the rebuilding going?" Loren was hungry for news of the regiment.
Blakadar and Fraser exchanged quick glances. "Those OmniMechs and parts we recovered after the Nova Cats picked up their dead were a virtual goldmine. We're probably going to be right up there with the Kell Hounds and the Dragoons for Clan tech after this."
"Machines are important," Loren said. "But what about our warriors?"
Chastity fielded the question. "The Fusiliers are running at about thirty percent their total numbers once your injured get better. It's going to take a lot of recruiting to get them back up to speed."
"Don't worry," Kurt added. "I'm on top of it already."
"Don't get too settled in, Blackie," Loren said. "I'm going to be back on duty in a week or so."
A quiet fell over the room. "You haven't heard then?" Chastity asked.
Loren felt his heart race. "Heard what?" he demanded.
Chastity pulled out an official command order and a small box from her dress uniform sash. "By order of the Assembly of Warriors, the Northwind Highlanders, Major Kurt Blakadar is granted commission as the new Executive Officer of Stirling's Fusiliers."
Loren felt his heart drop. The words hit him like an unexpected splash of ice cold water, leaving him numb. "I don't understand," he said, stunned by the loss of his command. "Why?"
"Oh," Chastity said, "there's more." She looked down at the order, reading on. "And for his action above and beyond the call of duty, and his efforts against the Clans, Loren Jaffray is hereby promoted to the rank of
Lieutenant Colonel." She handed him the small box. Inside was the bird insignia that signified his new rank.
"Lieutenant Colonel?" Loren said, still dazed even as he suddenly realized the news was not all bad. "Under what command?"
"Loren," Mitch Fraser said excitedly. "You're going to love this. The Assembly of Warriors decided that your ideas about studying the Clans and their fighting tactics should become part of the Highlander regimen—that we're going to have to fight them again sooner or later. They're forming a new unit with you as the CO."
"What?"
"You're in command of the Northwind Hussars."
Loren drank in the words. "The Northwind Hussars?" My own unit, my own command. I've worked my whole life for this moment. I now have a home, a place I belong, and a unit to lead. A broad smile wrapped his face, uncontrollable and unstoppable.
Chastity continued. "It's a paper unit now. You're going to have to build this regiment up from the ground. But with all of this Clan tech, there's more than enough to rebuild our losses on Wayside, with plenty to spare. The price of Clan weapons on the open market is enough to greatly expand our rank and file."
Loren looked at Chastity Mulvaney and, despite the impropriety and company, pulled her close and gave her a long and loving kiss. She was shocked, and laughed in response as he finally released her. "So, Lieutenant Colonel Jaffray," she said, arms around his neck and smiling into his face. "How do you feel now?"
"At home, Chastity. Home at last."
* * *
Smoke Jaguar Khan Lincoln Osis sat down before the box that had been delivered to him and stared at it with suspicion. It had come to him, via merchant courier, marked with the seal of the Nova Cat Khan Severen Leroux. He stared at the rectangular, half-meter-long black container and pondered what it held and what message his foe had sent him. Here, in the safety of his command bunker in El Gitar on Avon, whatever it was could not embarrass him in front of his command. Reaching out, he pressed the stud on the top and the lid opened. Lincoln Osis leaned over the box and looked inside.
There were two objects there. He pulled out one, a small metallic cylinder, and held it in his hand. It was a familiar item, a container used to maintain the giftake, or genetic sample, of a warrior. It was from these genes that a warrior's legacy could be passed on to future generations. A giftake was generally taken only from fallen warriors, those lost in battle. What made this unusual was that it had been sent from one Khan to another.
He turned the container over and cursed angrily as he read the words on the white band wrapped around it. Now he understood why he had heard nothing, now he understood what had happened. In a fit of rage, he cast the giftake container against the wall of his office with such force that it shattered the metallic seal, spilling the frozen contents on the floor in a cloud of white mist from the container's coolant.
"No!" he screamed, then swept everything off his desktop with a violent sweep of his arm. His voice was almost inhuman—beyond anger, beyond hatred. Then he pulled the second object from the box, a Galaxy Baton from the Tau Galaxy. The name on the outside of the baton was Devon Osis. The chip from his codex bracelet had been pressed into place as well, proof of his failure.
Hefting it with two hands, the Khan of the Smoke Jaguars then brought the baton down with all his might, beating it again and again against the desktop until it was nothing more than a mangled piece of worthless metal.
As Lincoln Osis gave vent to his fury, raging at enemies unseen, the essence of Devon Osis's genetic material lay spilled on the floor—lost forever.
About the Author
Manassas
Commonwealth of Virginia
Terran Hegemony
United States of America, Terra
13 March 1996
Virtual Geographic Society Biography:
Blaine Lee Pardoe
Blaine Pardoe was born in Newport News, Virginia, Terra, pre-Star League 1962, but spent most of his life living in Michigan. He attended Central Michigan University and graduated with an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and a Masters in Human Resource Management/Administration. He also became a die-hard BattleTech aficionado and fan.
Pardoe has been writing for BattleTech for the past 12 years, including his first novel, Highlander Gambit, published by Roc Books in 1995, which introduced the character of Loren Jaffray. He also has written a number of computer game books for the Brady Books imprint of MacMillan as well. It's a rough job, being forced to play and write about BattleTech and computer games—one that he absolutely loves.
In his "day job" Blaine is a manager for one of the "big six" accounting firms in Washington, D.C., in charge of national training and documentation services. He and his wife, Cyndi, have two children, Victoria Rose and Alexander William, who lovingly tolerate his nightly trips into the 31st century, where most of his writing takes place. He resides in Manassas, Virginia, just outside of the Bull Run battlefields, and on cool autumn evenings he can be found on Henry House Hill, contemplating what might have been.
What's in the future? Pardoe is already hard at work on a new novel set in the BattleTech universe. At last sighting, he was muttering about the Clans, something called "the Exodus road," and the McKenna's Pride . . .
Impetus of War Page 31
