"Be that as it may," Duke Humphreys said, once again striving for magnanimity. "I haven't seen those methods, either. Until I do, I have no reason to consider an alliance."
And that was it. Rickard had fulfilled his instructions, almost to the letter. "Meet with Duke Humphreys," his orders had said. "Have him ask to see some sort of gesture from the magestrix before he considers an alliance. Once he has made that request, conclude the meeting."
Having followed his instructions perfectly to this point, Rickard saw no reason to deviate from them. He stood.
"I understand," he said, "and I will convey your sentiments to the magestrix."
Duke Humphreys rose and stretched out his hand. Rickard bowed, grasped the duke's hand and touched the Andurien sigil ring on the duke's finger to his forehead. Then he straightened. "Thank you again for your time, your grace."
The duke nodded curtly, saying nothing, and plopped down in his seat. He looked, Rickard thought as he walked away, like a man who needed a friend.
7
Lianyungang, Liao
Capellan Confederation
2 November 3135
The invitations had gone out within an hour after Da- nai's interview with Tao concluded, and they had all been accepted almost as quickly.
Not invitations, Danai corrected herself. Orders. Reas- signments for her command lance.
They were not the first orders she had given in her career, but they were the most satisfying. This mission was hers and hers alone, and she had the complete freedom (well, almost complete—this Bell character was being forced on her) to surround herself with the right people to get the job done.
Even Bell seemed acceptable, based on some quick recon work she had done. He'd trained in the Magistracy, so she'd have that much in common with him. It hadn't taken him long to figure out that a male could only rise so far or so fast in the Magistracy, though, so he'd managed to get a transfer to the Confederation. Capellan military leadership thought well enough of him not only to grant the transfer but also to put him in McCarron's Armored Cavalry. Clearly, he wouldn't lack for skill on the battlefield. And having someone who, like Danai, had spent some formative years outside the Confederation might be nice. Especially when Sandra Sung, who was as Capellan as they come, would be in the same command lance.
It would at least lead to an interesting mix of personalities, but that was pretty much the case any time you got four MechWarriors together. They would work together—her job was to see to that—and they would get the job done. That was all that mattered.
The three other members of her new command lance would be waiting in a room at the Liao Conservatory of Military Arts, a space that should hold all the readouts they would need on Aldebaran and surrounding planets. She was almost running to get to the meeting, full of adrenaline for the coming task. Nothing compared to actually fighting in Yen-lo-wang, but taking time to plan just what damage she'd inflict, and how, was a job with its own special delights. She was ready to grab this new assignment in a flying tackle, pin it to the ground and slap it around thoroughly.
An hour later, a fair amount of the excitement was gone. The first sign of trouble had come when she entered the room at the conservatory. The rest of her command lance was already there, and none of them looked happy. Clara Parks, her freshly minted executive officer, was on her feet, waving her arms, speaking emphatically, doing everything short of standing on her chair to get her point across. The trouble was, even after listening to her for a good two minutes, Danai couldn't be sure what her point was. Something about seniority and ancestry—Clara's grandmother had commanded the First McCarron's Armored Cavalry—and a lot about respect and who should get it, but none of it was congealing into any kind of central argument.
Sandra Sung sat near Clara, arms folded, staring at the wall with her full Warrior House glare. She was making a concerted effort to not so much as glance at Clara, who didn't notice her subtle defiance. Clara had too much momentum worked up to pay attention to her surroundings.
Then there was the third lance member, the man she assumed was Jacyn Bell. He sat slumped in his chair, one arm flung over the back, a smirk on his face. He watched Clara's fervent speech, then glanced at Sandra to make sure she was still seething, then looked back at Clara. Each time his eyes moved back and forth, his grin grew wider.
His amusement at the expense of his lancemates was bad enough. Worse was Danai's recognition of him. Jacyn Bell was the dark-haired officer who'd tried to chat her up on the JumpShip from New Hessen. The one she'd slapped down hard, twice. And now he was supposed to serve as a liaison to help her integrate into her first battalion command.
Her stomach sank. So much for her hope that he might be a welcome addition. Dammit, if men could just contain themselves once in a while, life would be so much easier.
But she didn't have time to worry about Bell. She needed to get Clara settled down first. No one seemed to have noticed her entrance, so she spoke up in her loudest, most authoritative voice.
"Sorry I'm late," she said, "but it looks like you started without me." She'd served with Sandra and Clara for a while and knew how much they'd bring to her lance. But she also knew their quirks and weaknesses, and she had known from the start that a run-in like this would probably happen sooner or later—though this was sooner than she expected.
Clara and Sandra turned. They looked surprised to see Danai, and immediately stood at attention. Bell, who did not look surprised at all, drummed his fingers on his leg for a moment, then stood as slowly as he could while still exhibiting some degree of movement.
After an eternity, the entire lance saluted. Danai returned it briskly. "As you were. Except for Clara's yelling."
The three of them sat. Clara and Sandra looked like conservatory students—Clara especially, her oval face quite youthful—while Bell looked like a truant in detention.
"I'll do the official welcome in a moment," Danai said, "but first let's take care of Clara. Clara, was that all you needed to say, or would you like to continue your speech?"
Clara shot an angry look at Sandra, then composed her face. Her mouth and jaw seemed to stretch downward when she wanted to look serious, giving her a vaguely equine appearance. "No, Sao-shao," she said.
Clearly that wasn't the truth, but just as clearly now was not the time to resolve whatever issue had come up. Danai pressed ahead.
"All right. As you might have guessed by the tone of your orders, you're not in this lance to sit around. We're moving out, and soon. We've been ordered to take and hold Aldebaran for the Confederation, restoring one of our homeworlds to our rightful possession."
Danai paused, hoping to hear surprised gasps or appreciative murmurs at her announcement. She heard nothing. She reminded herself that there were only three other people in the room, and they were not likely to react the same way a crowd would. She'd just have to continue her speech without the theatrical flair.
"Aldebaran will resist us, of course, but their militia is not likely to pose much challenge. Latest intelligence reports put no more than two 'Mech companies around the capital, along with some infantry and battle armor units. I expect Third Battalion to be more than a match for them."
The other three remained silent, but at least Sandra and Clara nodded agreement.
"Aldebaran isn't our only target. Intelligence reports tell us the situation on Zurich has moved from abysmal to cataclysmic. The militia is essentially eating itself. We might be able to take the capital with a single 'Mech, but to be on the safe side I'm sending in a company of 'Mechs, along with some support."
"Leaving us two companies for Aldebaran," Sandra said.
"Right. That should be enough to deal with the forces currently on the planet, but there's a hitch."
"New Canton," Sandra said. She sounded like an eager-to-please student.
"Right again." Danai said. "They sat out Elnath. Second Try and Nanking, but now we'll be knocking on their front door. A double-pronged attack might bring their
forces out of hiding."
"Where will they go?" Clara asked. "Aldebaran, Zurich or both?"
"Good question," Danai said. "And I can only guess at the answer. We have to be ready for them to hit either planet, with a light blow or a swiftly descending hammer."
"That's a little vague," Bell observed dryly. "Tough to prepare for that."
"That's why you're not my tactical officer," Danai said. Her tone sounded harsh, but she didn't care. "Sandra, you and I will work on some specific contingencies."
"I'm already planning," Sandra said confidently, while Bell made an obvious effort to keep his eyes from rolling.
"I've got one element worked up already," Danai said. "If attacking two planets will put them a little off balance, what will attacking three planets do?"
The question hung in the air for a minute before Bell finally answered, likely saying what all three of them were thinking.
"Attack three planets with a single battalion?" He didn't bother to hide the scorn in his voice. "Don't you think that might be spreading our forces a little thin?"
"If the third planet was a real invasion, yes. But it's not. Take a look at the map."
Danai turned on the projector. The thousands of inhabited planets of the Inner Sphere appeared in the air, color-coded by nationality. Just like every other time Danai had looked at the map recently, the several borders seem to have shifted, with planets bouncing from one nation to another.
"We have an opportunity," she said. "Zion is about as close to our border as Aldebaran, but it's antispin- ward of New Canton. Think of how they'll react when all three planets—Zurich, Aldebaran and Zion—get hit at once. They'll have to respond. If all three planets fall, New Canton becomes a border planet."
"But all three planets won't fall!" Bell insisted. "We'll have one company per planet—that's not enough."
"No," Danai said. "We'll have two on Aldebaran, one on Zurich."
Bell opened his mouth for another scornful reply. Then he saw what she was driving at. He gaped wider for a moment, then spoke. "A feint. With, I'm guessing, aero units?"
Danai nodded. Thank God Bell wasn't a complete idiot. "That's right. I'm not too worried about aerial support, at least not at the beginning of the fight, so I think we can spare them. They go to Zion and wait for us to start our assaults on Zurich and Aldebaran. Once the news has gone out that we've landed, the aerial units attack Zion, doing their best to make it look like they're softening up the place for a third invasion. They don't have to do any real damage, though I wouldn't mind if they did. They just need to stay long enough and make a big enough fuss to get New Canton's attention. As soon as New Canton troops land on Zion, our aerial forces can leave. They'll have done their job."
"What if New Canton doesn't send troops to Zion?"
"Then the aerial units stay. They get more aggressive, hitting more and more strategic targets. If they keep it up, eventually we'll have a pretty easy time landing there. So we take Zion, too."
She was rewarded with more nods, but Sandra still looked concerned. Good, Danai thought. She should be concerned. A good tactical officer should always worry about plans and strategies, even in her sleep. And she shouldn't sleep that much.
"Sandra, you don't look completely satisfied. What's on your mind?"
"I like the Zion plan," Sandra said slowly. Her short, wide face was compressing itself into rough horizontal lines. "It doesn't cost us much and could gain us a lot. But I'm not sure it will be enough."
She sat up straighter in her chair as she talked. The more she went on, the more her voice changed, until she no longer sounded like a subordinate addressing her commander. She sounded like a professor lecturing to a class. Danai had heard that tone many times before, and she'd always written it off as the cost of knowing Sandra. You don't befriend someone who's eyeing a spot in Warrior House Hiritsu without learning to put up with a certain degree of arrogance.
"I want to be clear that I don't consider two companies of 'Mechs to be an insignificant force. It's not insignificant in anyone's terms, particularly when the companies contain Capellan 'Mechs and Capellan warriors. However, the fact remains that New Canton is— was—the capital of Prefecture VI, and it held the military forces you'd expect it to have. True, they're somewhat reduced—we already defeated some of them in Prefecture V when they came to give assistance, while others seem to have disappeared between Levin's wall. Still, a fair amount stayed behind as we've been whittling away the prefecture around them, and we cannot expect them to stay away when we attack. I firmly believe two Capellan companies can take and hold Aldebaran, but I am hesitant to say two companies can withstand whatever New Canton decides to throw at us. The Triarii Protectors are not Capellan, and they are partially built for show, but that does not mean we should underestimate them."
Those remarks, coming bare moments into her first command briefing, put Danai into her first critical moment as battalion commander. Sandra had a point, and the expression on Clara and Bell's faces showed that they knew it and were interested in what their new commander had to say. The trouble was, she was just as much in the dark as they were. She'd been asking the same question ever since she'd received her orders.
Briefly, she thought of how Sang-shao Tao would handle the question. He'd slam his hand on his desk, bark that the orders had come from the chancellor himself! and that they should be honored to receive the assignment, instead of wasting time questioning the will of their leader.
The flash came and went and, as it faded, Danai saw a different path.
"I can tell you two things," she said. "First, the chancellor is well aware of the threat New Canton poses. Second, our attacks are only one part of the chancellor's larger plans for furthering the glory of the Confederation. I think we can be confident that among the other aspects of the plan are measures that will help ease any pressure New Canton might want to place on us." She took a breath, and then surprised herself with what she said next. "I'll be honest with you—I don't know what the chancellor's other plans are, and I wish I did. Knowing would make it easier for us to anticipate what we might face. But we know what we know, and in the chancellor's eyes that's enough. So all that's left is to live up to his expectations."
It worked. The three of them nodded. Bell even sat up a little straighter.
Danai had noticed an odd thing as she spoke. The middle part of her remarks, the part she hadn't planned on saying, the small admission of her own frustration at being kept in the dark, was the part that really sparked the attention of her lance. She had seen a lot of leadership techniques in her time, and she knew there was still a place for the one she'd seen most often in the Capellan military—intimidation. But now she had a new tactic to call on when she needed it, and any warrior knew that two weapons were better than one.
"Now that we know what we need to do," Danai said to her attentive lance, as she made the planetary map zoom in on Aldebaran, "let's talk about how we're going to do it."
8
Outside Wen Ho, Aldebaran
Republic of the Sphere
23 November 3135
I'm not taking any bets on military maneuvers!"
The hall was nearly empty. The worn strip in the middle of the red carpet, covered by the feet of the crowd in better times, was embarrassingly visible. The instability of the past month had people on edge all the time, and so far not enough people had decided to dull that edge through the joy of gaming. Gartin Krauss had laid off so many employees he was forced to take on more and more duties each day—including, today, manning the sports betting window.
"It's all everybody's talking about!" said the lumpy man in the stained sweatshirt. "When's it going to happen, who it's going to be. Even the news people are getting into it; I heard Phillip McConnell laying odds on what's going to happen."
Krauss pulled at his tie in a too-subtle reminder that patrons used to dress up when they came to his establishment. "What'd he say?"
"Five to two that the Cappies wil
l come get us before anyone else. They're closest, right? But he kind of hedged his bets, saying you never know, some power on the make like Oriente may want to make its move before the Cappies come in."
"Did he put any odds on Oriente?" Krauss asked, running some numbers in his head in spite of himself.
"Naw, he was just talking, you know? Off the top of his head. But the point is, he was interested. I'm interested. And since when does a fine establishment like yours not want to take the money of people like me?"
But the moment of temptation had passed. "No!" Krauss said. "You're talking about war! That's not some game for us to pass money back and forth on. It's life and death. I won't have it!"
The lumpy man smirked and waved his hand in a gesture that took in the slot machines with the scratched displays, the tables with the felt peeling in the corners, and the bar empty except for one person who had been running a tab all month and hadn't paid anything yet.
"You worried about the reputation of this place?" the lumpy man said. "Worried that bets like the one I want to make will bring you down in society?"
Krauss opened his mouth to respond, but before he could make a sound, a piercing wail filled the air. It rose, fell, rose again. The whole planet had been waiting for that sound, while hoping it would never come. Krauss didn't know exactly what was happening, but the sound gave him the general outline.
Outside, engines roared to life and people shouted as they ran past the casino's entrance. They didn't need to be told twice to get the hell out of there.
Krauss walked to his terminal so he could see his evacuation instructions and get the joint secured. As he passed the lumpy man, he did his best to match the fellow's smirk.
"Sorry." he said, "but I can't accept a bet once the event in question has started. Game's up."
* * *
The evening sun had settled behind some distant, low- lying clouds, lights in nearby Wen Ho were coming on and the wind was blowing through Danai's hair as Yen- lo-wang strode forward. All in all it was a lovely way to start the night.
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