Once Danai received Bell's signal, she started the rest of the battalion moving (some of the units had spent the past thirty minutes making whatever fast field repairs they could in preparation for the next charge). She kept the 'Mechs with her to a walk, giving the lumbering assault 'Mechs to the rear a chance to draw closer. She couldn't keep up a slow pace for long, though. The planet's defenders were bound to see what she was doing and would collapse whatever forces they could on her planned breakthrough point. She hoped to get through before that happened.
Bell, Sandra and the 'Mechs they led caught up to her surprisingly quickly. Danai didn't bother to question their exceptional speed; she just ordered her battalion to move out as fast as possible.
The run toward the city's outskirts was uneventful for the first three kilometers, when they reached the bend. The militia had set up a roadblock about a kilometer farther down the road, and their long-range weapons opened up as soon as the first units made the turn. But the Capellans had long-range units of their own, and Danai was convinced she had more of them. She was content to pound away at the roadblock (though she wished her LRMs were functioning) while maintaining a full-speed charge, waiting to see who gave first.
The Republic troops did. When she finished crossing the kilometer after the bend, the only thing left in the road was scorched, pitted ferrocrete. The defenders had fled; Danai's soldiers had broken the line. The plan had worked.
Danai would have felt better about that if this hadn't been a retreat. It was just the next step in the path toward victory, she kept telling herself. Just the next step.
12
Amur, Oriente
Oriente Protectorate
28 November 3135
Nikol grabbed a servant passing by her in the high- ceilinged corridor.
"Why is my mother summoning me to a meeting?" she asked. She pushed a stray lock of red hair to the top of her head. It fell back in front of her eye as soon as she moved her hand away.
The servant, who was a good fifteen years older than Nikol, looked at her warily. "I assume it's because she wishes to meet with you."
"Right. I'd figured that out on my own. But why?"
"I'm afraid the captain-general has not seen fit to inform me of the purpose of the meeting."
"Well, yes, of course, I understand that, but why summon me this way?" She waved the heavy piece of paper in front of the servant. "With an official notice! Why not just call me? Or talk to me the next time we're having dinner? Why this?"
The servant looked purposefully down the corridor, as if yearning after the tasks she would be accomplishing if Nikol hadn't stopped her. "In my many years with the captain-general," the servant said carefully, "I've found it wise not to attempt to guess her motivations."
Nikol sighed. "All right, all right. Sorry to have stopped you."
The servant, with much relief, hurried on her way.
The summons had come just that morning, interrupting Nikol's daily chore of diplomatic correspondence. A large electronic pile of it waited for her each day, most of it from within the Protectorate, some from outside, matters deemed not quite important enough for the captain-general's time but still needing a Marik name on the reply. Nikol had been groomed as one of the family's public faces for many years now, so this sort of work had become routine for her. Most mornings she would have welcomed any interruption—but the message she had received made her nervous. "Your presence is requested in Captain-General Jessica Marik's council room at 1 p.m. on the afternoon of November 30." That was all. It felt like the precursor to an elaborate dressing-down—as if the written summons had been proffered because Jessica Marik was too angry to talk directly to her daughter.
Nikol had thought briefly of fleeing, of finding some matter in her correspondence that she could use as an excuse for traveling halfway around the planet, but then decided that would only make her mother angrier. Nikol was a better diplomat than that. She'd best face up to whatever it was she had done at the time she had been summoned.
She approached the walnut double doors of the council room at exactly one o'clock. She tugged at her blouse, adjusted the waist of her dark wool skirt and waited to be recognized by security.
It didn't take long. There was a click, then the doors swung majestically outward, revealing a rectangular mahogany table. At the end of it sat her mother, out of uniform (thankfully) in a gray herringbone suit, and her father, Philip Hughes, who looked like he had just come in from a round of golf. Which was probably why, Nikol noted, the captain-general had scheduled this meeting for the afternoon instead of the morning.
Jessica surprised her by smiling when she entered. The captain-general stood and motioned for Nikol to come to her end of the table.
"Hello, Nikol. Sit here—we're not expecting anyone else at this meeting, so there's no reason to divide up."
Any reassurance Nikol received from her mother's smile instantly vanished. They were alone—her mother would not be fettered by decorum or propriety. Nikol meandered to the opposite end of the long table, not eager to start the meeting. But eventually she found herself next to Jessica, so she pulled out a high-backed chair with red satin upholstery and sat.
"Is something wrong, Nikol?" Jessica asked. "You look like a condemned prisoner."
So much for my poker face, Nikol thought. "No," she said. "Just a little after-lunch sleepiness."
"Ah. Well, I hope our conversation will take care of that."
Nikol wasn't sure about that—being lectured by her parents didn't tend to make her less weary. But she smiled and tried to look enthusiastic.
"I asked you here because you and Philip were present when I met with Daoshen Liao on Terra, and you are the only ones with whom I can speak freely. Additionally, this is exactly the sort of matter with which you've been gaining experience during recent years."
Nikol perked up. The conversation had taken a sudden 180-degree turn. Not only wasn't she in trouble, but she was about to take part in a confidential, serious political discussion. As Jessica's fifth child, she was usually kept at arm's length from the most sensitive discussions and decisions. She had been excited to go along to Terra for Victor Steiner-Davion's funeral, but at the same time she knew she had been allowed to come while her siblings stayed at home because she was expendable. All of them were needed to keep the Protectorate functioning in the captain-general's absence, but Nikol had little trouble delegating most of her diplomatic responsibilities to her staff for a time, leaving her free to travel. She liked to think her diplomatic experience was one reason her mother had brought her to Terra, but she could not escape the nagging feeling that the main reason she'd been chosen to go was that she would have the easiest time getting away.
But maybe that feeling was wrong. On Terra, she had been present when her mother met with Chancellor Daoshen Liao, and she had watched as they carefully negotiated an informal agreement between the Protectorate and the Capellan Confederation. She had heard the entire meeting, and she had the experience to understand the implications of most of it. The trip, it seemed, along with her background, had made her more necessary to her mother.
"I think it's pretty clear what Daoshen wants me to do," Jessica said. "A full charge into Prefecture VI, penetrating as far as Menkalinan. We would force New Canton to deal with us, leaving the Capellan forces free to do whatever they wanted in the sector with minimal forces, minimal cost and minimal loss."
"We would also be effectively putting an end to Prefecture VI," Philip added.
"Correct. And in return we receive the planets we conquer, some valuable military experience, but very little in actual concessions from the Capellan chancellor. If we're doing him a favor, it seems he should do a little more for us."
Nikol decided this might be the right time to venture a thought. "We'll be in Chancellor Liao's good graces, which is something. Not having to worry about the Capelians frees us up to concentrate on our other borders."
Jessica sighed. "Unfortunately, we always
have to worry about the Capelians. Being in Daoshen's good graces is nice, but it means nothing if he decides we're in the way of the Confederation's destiny. He'll attack us just the same. The only difference is, he might offer us more generous surrender terms if we've been nice to him."
"What about his sense of honor?" Nikol asked. "Wouldn't that keep him from openly violating an agreement?"
"You live in what used to be the Free Worlds League," Jessica said sharply, "and we, more than anyone else, know how little restraint agreements like the Ares Conventions impose on the Capellans. Like any Liao, Daoshen's sense of honor bends itself to his sense of expediency. He will find a way to make what he wants seem honorable."
"Then why negotiate with him in the first place?" Nikol fired back.
Jessica opened her mouth to respond, then stopped. Her mouth closed, her head tilted to one side and she smiled. "You're quite right, Nikol. If Daoshen truly had no compunction about violating agreements and treaties, it would be pointless to form them. I overstated my case. I appreciate your correction."
Nikol nodded, pleased to be taken seriously. To this point, the meeting could not have been more different than what she had been dreading.
"Daoshen would indeed like to be known as a man of his word," Jessica continued. "That does not mean he won't violate an agreement or treaty, but rather that he'll need to have strong, clear reasons before he does it."
Philip, who for the past few moments had appeared to be pondering an errant golf shot from earlier in the day, spoke up. "Then we need to be careful to show Daoshen that keeping agreements with us is to his advantage, while breaking them is not."
Jessica nodded. "Right. That means we should have a clear understanding of what Daoshen expects to gain from our agreement. Then we can decide the best way for us to fulfill our end of the bargain."
Nikol thought back to the discussion on Terra with the Capellan chancellor. "Did we agree specifically to invade as far as we could? To hit Menkalinan?"
Jessica immediately understood why Nikol had asked the question. She leaned forward. "No. Menkalinan was simply named as an example. We agreed to get the attention of New Canton. And there are a number of ways to do that."
"Right," Nikol said. "There's a whole line of worlds between us and New Canton. We hit a few of them; there's no need to go as deep as Menkalinan. We'll get New Canton's attention, but we won't do all of Dao- shen's work for him. Save some wear and tear on our people."
Philip looked alarmed, wrinkles filling the space between his eyes and his smooth, bald scalp. "Daoshen's not likely to be pleased with that. He won't enjoy having to work harder for the prizes he's after."
"Then he can make it worth our while to go in deeper," Jessica said dismissively. "We will fulfill our end of the agreement by distracting New Canton. If he wants more from us, he can offer us more."
Philip was not yet appeased. "The Capellans are already planning on sending forces into Prefecture VI," he said. "You're proposing making Daoshen angry when he has troops moving in our direction. Are you sure brinkmanship is the best approach here?"
"It's a tactic the Liaos have used dozens, if not hundreds of times in the past," Jessica said. "It's high time he had the barrel of that particular gun pointed back at him."
Nikol felt a surge of pride at her mother's words. The captain-general was pushing the Protectorate to be a true power in the Inner Sphere, not a loose coalition of planets that neighboring states could push around whenever they pleased. And standing up to the Capellan Confederation as part of this assertiveness felt particularly right.
Still, she was concerned. She didn't want her mother pushing the Protectorate to run faster than it had strength. If they overextended themselves, it would be all too easy for a foreign power to make their nation collapse upon itself.
She broached her concerns cautiously. "We need to be careful. It's probably best that we don't go too deep into the Republic's territory. With our forces being what they are, especially considering the low number of 'Mechs at our disposal, we'd best stick as close to home as we can."
Philip smiled broadly. He looked over at Jessica, who looked oddly girlish. She was gazing down at the table, her index finger tracing a random pattern on the dark wood. Nikol couldn't see her mother's mouth well, but she thought it, too, bore a smile.
She looked back and forth between them. "What? What's with these faces?"
Jessica looked up. She was definitely smiling. It made her look a dozen years younger, except for the crow's- feet that sprang up next to her green eyes. She looked back at Philip. "Well?"
"Your decision," he said. "You were the one who wanted to bring her this far in; you can decide what to tell her. But if you want her to be truly helpful, she'll probably need to know the situation."
Jessica nodded. "Our military strength is . . . somewhat beyond what is commonly assumed. Especially regarding 'Mechs."
"Irian!" Nikol practically jumped out of her chair. "Irian Technologies! The rumors are true!"
"Not all of them," Philip said. "People routinely overestimate IrTech's wealth and capacity." He grimaced. "Believe me, I wish some of the rumors were true. My family is far from poor, but if we really had the wealth some of the stories attribute to us . . . well, your mother wouldn't have to dress like such a peasant." He patted Jessica's hand.
Nikol knew her father was being facetious. She had been with Jessica when she bought the suit she was wearing, and she knew full well it had cost nearly three hundred eagles. The Hughes family might not be the wealthiest industrialists in the Inner Sphere, but "far from poor" was still a generous understatement.
"IrTech is making 'Mechs?" she asked, enjoying the sound of the words as she spoke them. "Making 'Mechs for us?"
"Yes," Jessica said. "We need them."
She sat back in her chair, and Nikol thought the meeting was about to reach a conclusion. And a good thing, too—she already had a fair amount of information to absorb.
But her mother wasn't done with her yet.
"Having 'Mechs, however, is only the first step. We now need to decide how to use them. You mentioned the worlds sitting between the Protectorate and New Canton. I'd like to hear your thoughts on which ones we should move against."
Nikol was too excited to be stunned. This, she thought, is diplomacy.
"I'd start with Park Place," she said. "Here's why."
* * *
It took a couple of days, of course—multiplanetary assaults were not organized at the drop of a hat. But things moved along, Captain-General Jessica Marik met with her military staff and discussed strategy and force strength and dozens of other variables, and before long the army of the Oriente Protectorate was on the move.
They had targeted three planets: Park Place, Holt and Bernardo. Nikol had named Park Place and Holt, and added Asuncion and Suzano. In a way, she was relived when the final target list was different than the one she had proposed. She had a fair amount of diplomatic experience, but military planning was a new field. She would have been worried if her mother fully adopted the recommendations of a novice. When she studied her map more carefully, paying greater attention to existing force deployments, she understood her mother's decision better.
Asuncion and Suzano lay too close to the Capellan border, which meant two things. First, their militias were likely to be on high alert and growing in size, as recent troubles in the Republic combined with Capellan belligerence had led to a recruiting boom on each planet. Second, should Daoshen decide to take offense that Jessica was merely observing the spirit of his agreement with him rather than the exact letter (as he saw it), he might well decide to lash out at vulnerable planets near his border, where the Oriente invaders had already been softened up by local militias.
In short, if you intended to tickle a sleeping wolfs belly, it was better to tickle and run rather than stand near the wolf to see how it would react. Nikol could easily picture Daoshen Liao as he had appeared at his discussion with Jessica—tall, sepulchr
al, with eyes that burned cold. Nothing seemed to amuse him, ever, and she could not imagine that Jessica's insolence would be an exception. The question was not whether he would respond, but what shape his response would take— whether it would be the extra concessions Jessica wanted, or a swift sword falling on the neck of the newly bold Oriente Protectorate.
13
Aldebaran
Republic of the Sphere
6 December 3135
It was a damn good thing her 'Mech had a global positioning system, Danai had thought more than once in the past few days. Without it, she was convinced she would either have become hopelessly lost or disoriented enough to stumble right into the nonstop pursuit that had beleaguered her since departing Jifang Po City.
There were no landmarks to speak of. She saw trees, grass and numerous farms, but they all looked like each other. She had tried once to remember a place, describing it in her head as the white farmhouse near the red silo and the three maple trees. As the day wore on, she passed at least four other white farmhouses with red silos and three maple trees. Without SatNav, she never would have known she wasn't passing the same place four times. She was harboring an increasing dislike for the planet, and becoming increasingly eager for the chance to grind down another corner of it.
But she couldn't stop and engage the forces behind her. She had run the numbers at least twice every day, and each time they looked very bad for her side. Her troops hadn't had an opportunity to make any real field repairs, because every time they stopped and tried to bivouac for an extended period, the Triarii troops—for it was mostly them, the militia staying back to protect Jifang Po—crashed toward them. Plus, now that they were out of Jifang Po City and there was no danger of damaging surrounding buildings, Triarii aero units had been particularly bold and annoying. Danai's LRM launcher was still nonfunctional, and likely would remain that way until she got off-planet or thoroughly crushed the Triarii forces and had time for full repairs.
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