Heir to the Dragon

by Robert N. Charrette

  "You must act as you see best, Primus. If there are no ComStar-sponsored troops to aid our forces, we will find a way to survive on our own. Shigata ga nai.

  "If you find it inconvenient to honor your part of our deal, I'll understand. You must follow your karma."

  "Karma is not the issue here, Kanrei. Fulfilling one's obligations is. When I was growing up in the Combine, I was taught that a samurai always kept his word."

  "Were you also taught, Primus, that fate often prevents the most determined samurai from fulfilling his word, and that such a failure entails no loss of honor? A samurai is still a man, after all, and many things are beyond the control of a single man."

  Myndo sat silent, a sour look on her face. After a moment, she whispered, "Perhaps no loss of honor, but a failed duty. We were both taught the result of that."

  "I see that you appreciate my position, Primus. I have greater duties to attend to before I may dwell on minor failures." Theodore folded his hands together and leaned forward. "Despite your order's recent gains in influence within the Free Worlds League, the Draconis Combine is still the only viable threat to the Davion-Steiner alliance. Thomas Marik does not even have the support that his father Janos boasted, which was pitifully little. The Marik family may have pulled together since old Janos's stroke, but they have shown little progress in resolving the disgraceful squabbling within the borders of their own state.

  "The Periphery states remain minor players, at best, and the remnants of Liao's holdings are hardly significant. They have no industrial base, and their pride was smashed along with their military forces. The most powerful fantasies of their madwoman ruler will not change that.

  "Neither of us wishes to see an Inner Sphere under Davion rule. Since you have decided to step out of the shadows, you must let the light show you that our interests coincide here. You may not have gotten all that you wanted from the Rasalhague situation, but then neither have I. I think that if we can put the past behind us, we can still work to prevent the disaster of Davion domination."

  "ComStar works for peace, Kanrei," Precentor Mori stated firmly. "We will have no dealings with an aggressor."

  "I find that comforting, Precentor." Theodore returned his attention to Myndo. "ComStar is renowned for its peaceful intent as well as its neutrality and reverence for the sovereignty of national states. You yourself were born in the Combine. Could you sit idly by and watch an invader swallow your homeland?"

  "I may have been born in the Combine, Kanrei, but I was reborn among the followers of the Blessed Blake. The Combine means no more to me than any other state of the Inner Sphere. And no less. We exist to serve mankind and our communications network is our greatest service. We will not deny that service, save to those who are threats to the stability of the Inner Sphere."

  "Well spoken." And a relief, he added to himself. Even with Kowalski's boxes, an HPG blackout could still hurt the Combine efforts. As would the diversion of intelligence assets, should we be forced to make covert war against your ComStar ROM apparatus, as Davion now does. "I'm glad to hear that, Primus. I've no wish to face the hostility of ComStar. Let me give you a gift to show that I do not repudiate what remains of our agreement." Though I have no intention of relying on your good will. "I believe that you'll find it of use in your own dealings elsewhere."

  Theodore clapped his hands. The door opened to admit the sho-sa. She carried in her arms a folded packet of clothes, which she placed on a table next to the Primus. Myndo gave it a brief, disdainful look.

  Theodore waited until the sho-sa exited before speaking. "Do you recognize it?"

  "A general's uniform. This is of no use to ComStar."

  Theodore feigned a frown of disappointment. "The uniform is empty and of no real consequence. I had only intended it as a calling card." He clapped again.

  A man wearing a plain gray jump suit entered. He was tall and gaunt, but despite the white hair and beard, he strode like a young man across the polished wood of the floor to stand before the Primus. He gazed coolly at her with his single, steely gray eye; his right socket was covered by an eye patch. A small white scar crept from underneath the black leather patch to join the weather-etched lines of his face.

  Myndo reacted with open shock and surprise. Theodore was pleased that he had caught her off-guard. Even as she stifled her response and slipped back behind her poised facade, he recognized that he had won the battle. There would be no more talk of unfulfilled promises. He could see that she was already considering the possibilities.

  56

  Kanrei's Palace, Deber City, Benjamin

  Benjamin Military District, Draconis Combine

  3 January 3035

  Theodore tossed his youngest son into the air. Minora giggled with joy, shouting "Again!" each time Theodore tried to stop. Finally arms sore from the repeated effort, he lowered the child to the floor.

  "We of the Kurita clan are Mech Warriors, not AeroSpace Pilots."

  The youngster nodded solemnly, then with an impish grin announced, "I be both!"

  Theodore laughed and hugged Minora to him. "You are ambitious, my son. A true Kurita."

  The boy nestled happily in his father's arms. Minoru's squirming slowed and his breathing became deeper. Theodore brushed a spike of his son's silky black hair down with a kiss. He raised his eyes to find Tomoe had entered the room.

  "You should see them more often," she said softly. "They miss you terribly.”

  “I see them as often as I can.”

  “It is not enough."

  Theodore could hear no accusation in her voice, but he felt the pang just the same. "Duty presses heavily. With all that must be done to ready the realm, it's all the time there is."

  "The Dragon's compelling call," she said resignedly.

  Theodore, arms full of his son, could not reach out to her. He searched her eyes, but could not find the meaning behind that curious comment. She had locked her feelings somewhere that he could not touch.

  "Zeshin," he called. The old monk raised his head. His bright eyes took in the situation as he rose and crossed the room with his distinctive rolling gait. He was already reaching out when Theodore said, "Take him. It's time for his nap."

  The monk enfolded the boy in the soft, voluminous sleeves of his Pillarine robe. His deep voice rumbled reassurances to Minora as the boy fought half-heartedly to return to his father. The sudden sleepiness that takes overactive children when they stop moving was too strong for the young Kurita. He subsided with a yawn, content in the comforting arms of his guardian.

  Zeshin took his charge off toward a sleeping room as Theodore stepped next to Tomoe. He placed his hands on her forearms, feeling the muscles stiffen slightly, then relax. She slid her own arms around his waist and held him tightly. Feeling suddenly awkward, he returned her embrace. For several minutes, they held each other without a word.

  "Father!"

  The strident voice was that of Theodore and Tomoe's eldest son. Hohiro ran past the door of the room, bare feet slapping hard on the polished wood. He skidded to a stop and returned to the door.

  "Father! Look what I found!"

  Tomoe and Theodore separated as their son approached, but her hand remained at the small of his back as her husband bent to see what Hohiro held out to him.

  "Isn't it marvelous?"

  The boy held an intricately folded piece of rice paper. The origami cat crouched threateningly on Hohiro's palm, its tail curled up, frozen in mid-lash.

  "Where did you find it?" Theodore said urgently. "Is Omi all right?"

  Hohiro was startled by the tension in his father's voice. His brows furrowed in confusion. "Sure. She's playing in the garden."

  Theodore's eyes locked with Tomoe's. She moved to the door, cautiously peering outside. Her affirming nod released a sigh of shared relief.

  "Now," Theodore said calmly, taking the cat from his son's hand, "where did you find this?”

  “In the hall near your swords."

  "And there was
nothing else there? Nothing out of place?"

  "I don't think so."

  Hohiro was looking more worried. Theodore smiled to reassure him. "You have done well to bring this directly to me. It's a secret message," he added conspiratorially. "If you find any more you must bring them to your mother or me."

  Hohiro nodded vigorously.

  "All right. Go get your sister, and take her to Tetsuhara-sensei. Tell him that it is time for your kendo lesson. Your sister is to watch."

  "But my lesson's not till three," Hohiro protested. He was clearly upset at being left out of the intrigue he had uncovered.

  "Your lesson is now. Go!"

  Hohiro's face hardened into a pout, but he left dutifully, making it clear that it was his own idea by taking a circuitous route to the garden. Theodore and Tomoe watched until their son and daughter had disappeared into the shadows of the dojo where Tetsuhara-sensei waited. Theodore handed the origami cat to Tomoe.

  "Is it?"

  She examined it carefully. "Definitely nekogami."

  Taking it back, he held it to the light from the garden, looking to see if a message was written on the paper. He had thought the cat looked like the one Ninyu had identified at the headquarters on Moore in '29, but he wanted her to confirm it. The nekogami were few in number and rarely acted, but they had a fearsome reputation and were often blamed for the acts they did not commit. They were the premier spies and assassins of the Combine, masters of deceit and subterfuge. His own brushes with intrigue and assassinations over the years had not made him like them any better.

  "What does it mean? We've no secrets here to be stolen. No one and nothing seems to be missing."

  "It is most likely a message," Tomoe concluded. "You felt the characters embossed onto the paper?"

  He hadn't. Rubbing the paper, he traced the strokes now. They were in the formal Chinese syllabary.

  "Loyalty?"

  "They offer you their services ... I think. They serve the Dragon's best interests, as they see those interests. It appears that they have decided that you embody the Dragon."

  "I suppose I should be honored. This will require a good deal of consideration."

  Theodore paced across the room to a console and tapped in his ID code. Tomoe stepped up behind him, laying her hand on his arm. He turned to her. Gazing into his eyes, she gave a slight shake of the head.

  "I leave my other life outside this place. Let it go for now."

  "I can't."

  "You won't," she accused.

  "When I'm here, I want to forget what goes on outside. Truly. But I never seem able to. Outside concerns come intruding of their own accord," he said, holding up the origami cat.

  "I don't want to lose you," she breathed in his ear, throwing her arms around him to hug him tightly. Theodore felt her strength, strength he knew could snap his spine if applied with the cunning grips of her martial arts training. But there was no danger for him in her arms, only desperate love.

  The paper cat crumpled in his grip, dropping forgotten to the floor as he stroked her hair.

  57

  Kanrei's Palace, Deber City, Benjamin

  Benjamin Military District, Draconis Combine

  28 December 3038

  Dechan Fraser and Jenette Rand bowed to Tai-shun Kester Hsium Chi. The Warlord had headed over to them as soon as the strategy meeting broke up. The white-haired Tai-shu beamed happily, his wispy beard hobbling as he spoke. "I am pleased that you two will be serving in my district of Galedon."

  "It was not our first choice," Jenette grumbled.

  Dechan elbowed her in the ribs at the lapse in manners. In return, she scowled in annoyance. Tai-shu Chi laughed, relieving the tension. Dechan knew at once that this man was very different from the last Galedon warlord he had known.

  As soon as his mirth subsided, Chi clamped a cigarette between the fingers of his artificial hand. The stark white of the cigarette contrasted sharply with the black bioplast of the prosthesis as he held it out for an aide to light. He treated himself to a long drag before fixing them with his shrewd eyes. "I appreciate your dedication to duty, then. Your previous experience should prove useful if I am not mistaken. You do know the District?"

  "Too well," Dechan agreed.

  "Even disagreeable experiences can be enlightening," Chi counseled, with a wink. "I met your Colonel Wolf once."

  "They're no longer affiliated," Theodore reminded him as he stepped up. The Kanrei towered over the diminutive Taishu, but Chi showed not the slightest sign of being intimidated by either Theodore's rank or his imposing physical presence. Whether that was due to familiarity with the Kanrei or to Chi's own easygoing nature, Dechan could not discern. The Tai-shu simply smiled enigmatically, leaving Dechan to wonder what the Warlord had heard of the circumstances of his and Jenette's departure from the Dragoons.

  "As I was saying," Chi continued, "I met Colonel Wolfe on his last visit to Luthien. He is a remarkable man, very adept at his craft. I must say that I admire him greatly. What followed was most unfortunate."

  "I am sure the old Wolf will be tickled to hear that," Ninyu quipped as he and Fuhito joined the circle. "Theodore-sama, surely you could have found a better use for me than wet-nursing that pirate and his cronies in Dieron?"

  Chi exhaled a long puff of smoke, causing eyes to water and cutting off the Kanrei's response by forcing a cough from him. "I knew that Noketsuna had an unusual past, even more so than my monkish confederate Shotugama, but he seems to have ordered his District well. I had not heard that he was a pirate. Is it true, Theodore, that you allow barbarians to run one of our important districts, instead of confining them to the ranks of the ISF?"

  "You are impertinent, Tai-shu Chi," Ninyu said, warning clear in his voice and tightened jaw muscles.

  "Yet you prove him correct with your bad manners, Ninyu-kun," Theodore chuckled. The others followed the Kanrei's lead, pretending to find the comments humorous and thereby avoiding conflict. Dechan found the reaction very Kuritan, but he observed that Ninyu's slow-growing smile did not extend to his eyes.

  "With regard to your assignment, Ninyu-kun, there is no change," Theodore said. "You'll go to Dieron because I have need of your special expertise along that front. You'll just have to get along with Tai-shu Noketsuna as best you can."

  Dechan thought that he would rather be the third passenger in a Locust with a bad gyro and a faulty leg actuator than be around those two. Ninyu had taken an instant dislike to Michi as soon as he had joined Theodore's shitenno, and Michi, though less vocal about it, had returned the sentiment. Jenette dismissed Michi's antipathy as the remnants of anger over events leading to the death of his mentor, Minobu Tetsuhara. Dechan wasn't so sure. He had known Michi longer and had a growing feeling that there was more behind his friend's reaction.

  Much of that feud had spilled over onto Jenette and himself, connected as they were to Michi. Ninyu took any opportunity to ridicule them and remind anyone who would listen of their origins. The whole situation had not made their already precarious position in the Combine any easier. The years had gone by quickly, though, lost in training and tactical exercises. Dechan had discovered a liking for the job. The new recruits were eager and many showed great promise; teaching them was easy. Their belief in bushido gave them a drive Dechan had only seen previously among the Dragoons.

  But despite the pleasure he found in imparting his skills, the years had been lonely ones. He and Jenette, shadowed by their association with Wolf's Dragoons, had encountered little sympathy among the often suspicious Kuritans, and they had no real friends here. Without Jenette, Dechan knew, he would never have lasted. There were few people with whom he was comfortable, beyond Kowalski the Tech, Asano, and Tetsuhara. Dechan still found it hard to believe that Fuhito was the brother of the old Iron Man himself. Theodore was cordial, but Dechan had never really warmed to him. His wife Tomoe was another story. She had been full of kindness, but they saw little of her.

  Dechan searched for Michi among the disp
ersing officers, but he was not there. Probably already left for Dieron, Dechan thought ruefully. So much for spending some time with old friends. Since his appointment as Tai-shu of Dieron, Michi had been uncommunicative, answering their communiques with cold brevity or ignoring them entirely. Michi had abandoned them, leaving them trapped in a promise to help Theodore protect his realm. They had little choice but to follow through. Dechan had expected to be done with that promise by now.

  The invasion of the Davion-Steiner alliance that Theodore had predicted should have come and gone for good or ill, but even the Kanrei's uncanny instincts had been thrown off by events in the last few years. The formation of the Free Rasalhague Republic had triggered secessionist sentiments across the Inner Sphere. The Free Worlds League had lost the powerful Duchy of Andurien, and Duncan Marik had seized the Captain-Generalcy and launched a campaign to regain Andurien. The Isle of Skye had threatened secession as well. In response, Hanse Davion had mobilized troops to hold his fledgling empire together by force. His harsh measures proved to be unnecessary when Ryan Steiner managed to bring the matter to a peaceful settlement, thereby embarrassing the Fox. Many in the Combine had expected Davion to throw those same troops into an assault against them, but it had not happened.

  Kanrei Theodore had assured his commanders that Davion would not yet attack, for the Fox would wait for the Dragon to relax its vigilance. They had a reprieve, but he warned that Hanse Davion would come, lasers blazing, as soon as he believed he had the advantage.

  Now that attack loomed on the horizon. The Free Worlds League was licking its wounds. Thomas Marik had picked up the pieces left behind by Duncan Marik's death in battle, and had successfully reintegrated Andurien into the League. Romano Liao's opportunistic attempt to assert herself had been slapped back. Steiner troops were massing in Skye, and several key units of the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns had vanished from their duty stations, much as they had before the outbreak of the Fourth War. Davionist sentiment was growing stronger in the worlds of the former Galtor Thumb, while Kurita's own attempts to stir nationalist sentiment in the former Tikonov Free Republic were less successful. It would not be long before Davion attacked.