Threads of Ambition

by Loren L. Coleman

  Sun-Tzu's forehead tightened in frustration. Meeting with Emma Centrella would do little more than strengthen the ties already existing between Confederation and Magistracy. Jeffrey Calderon, ruler of the nearby Taurian Concordat, was the key to further support.

  Support I must have, Sun-Tzu thought. With no significant old business to be advanced, new plans are in order.

  He typed his own request into a nearby console. On the map, a light outline of the old Confederation border sketched itself around star systems to include the Sarna Supremacy, most of the Chaos March and the Federated Commonwealth worlds that had once been the Tikonov Commonality. Another ethereal line enfolded the nearby St. Ives Compact—once the St. Ives Commonality. His aunt, Candace Liao, ruled the Compact. She had deserted the Confederation in the Fourth Succession War, taking her realm with her. It still remained lost to the Confederation, a recognized member of the new Star League, but not forgotten.

  "You are thinking of Sarna again?" Ion Rush asked, nodding toward the tiny two-world alliance that sat on the coreward border. In 3058 Sun-Tzu had given him the task of hurting the Sarna Supremacy, which he had performed admirably.

  "Two years ago you and Zahn both assured me that Sarna was ours to control through its food supply." Sun-Tzu raised a delicate eyebrow at them both. "Has the situation changed?"

  Both shook their heads, and then realization dawned as they studied the old border lines for a second time. Again, Rush was a touch faster. "St. Ives? Forgive me Chancellor, but the Star League member states would never stand for that. Candace..." He paused, careful in selecting his next words. "... Candace would turn the others against you."

  Sun-Tzu neither confirmed or denied the House Master's speculation. He simply stared at the map. "Sasha, what are the current projections for Katrina Steiner-Davion?"

  "There are reports of civil unrest originating across the entire Federated Commonwealth. Yvonne Steiner-Davion is flustered and out of her depth." Before Sun-Tzu could ask, she added, "We do not know, yet, if these reports are real or engineered by Katrina. Regardless, our profile of her, incorporating the data you provided from your meeting at the Star League conference on Tharkad, suggests that she will make an attempt to claim the rest of her brother's realm while he is away."

  Also privileged with the information from that meeting, Ion Rush spoke up, following his earlier train of thought. "But in the meantime Yvonne, Theodore Kurita, Magnusson, and Candace herself form an unassailable power bloc within the Star League. Hypothetically," he continued, no doubt hedging to preserve some form of respect for his master, "as First Lord of the new Star League you could be doubly damned, Chancellor, if you were seen as abandoning your responsibilities for nationalistic efforts."

  Noting Talon Zahn's silence, Sun-Tzu looked to his senior colonel, who stared back evenly for several long seconds and then shrugged. "Militarily the Compact is no match for the Confederation, though even with Magistracy troops that will be stretching our resources thin if we are to continue our other efforts. St. Ives would not be easy to hold." He shrugged again. "By your will, of course, Chancellor."

  Reaching out, Sun-Tzu brushed the fingers of one hand over the Chaos March worlds. "We still support irregulars and professional resistance cells within the Chaos March, correct?" He waited for Zahn's nod of assent. "Replace them with line units and begin an organized push to reclaim as much of the Chaos March as possible," he said. "Move the resistance effort to the Tikonov worlds controlled by the Federated Commonwealth."

  Zahn blinked, a fair display of surprise for him. "Tikonov? You expect to hold the Tikonov worlds without a secure border stretching that far coreward?"

  "I never said I would try to hold those worlds for myself,"

  Sun-Tzu said evenly, the plans meshing together in his mind. He would have to rely heavily on his Maskirovka intelligence people, but that would at least give Sasha a chance to redeem herself. "I simply want them causing trouble for whomever sits on the FedCom throne of New Avalon." His gaze sharpened. "And I want those people in place by zhong-qiu-jie, the Autumn Festival. They can use it to help rebuild traditional Capellan sentiments."

  His advisors glanced at each other, none of them able to read his intentions. "What of St. Ives?" Ion Rush finally asked for the three of them. "You spoke of—"

  Sun-Tzu shook his head, cutting off his Warrior House Master. "You spoke of," he said, his jade gaze taking in all three.

  More glances. Sasha Wanli appeared confused and frustrated, her normally sharp mind unable to piece together the picture that was becoming ever clearer to Sun-Tzu. Ion Rush lapsed back into his usual stoicism, silently contemplating his master. Only Talon Zahn appeared unconcerned with understanding Sun-Tzu's train of thought. "So what, if any, are your plans for St. Ives?" he asked bluntly.

  Sun-Tzu—Chancellor, First Lord and, above all else, Liao— merely smiled disarmingly. "I believe I shall arrange a tour."

  Path of Shadows

  Nothing is more difficult than the art of maneuver. What is difficult is to make the devious route the most direct and turn misfortune to advantage.

  Thus, march by an indirect route and divert the enemy by enticing him with a bait.

  —Sun-Tzu, The Art of War

  The art of misdirection has its purposes; for what leader does not rely on it on a daily basis? But such deceptions, political or military, can carry a realm only so far toward victory. After that, it remains in the purview of the warriors.

  —Sun-Tzu Liao, journal entry, 21 February 3058, Sian

  1

  Shen-cai Amphitheater

  Gao Shan Province, Sarna

  Sarna Supremacy

  25 June 3060

  Sarna's bright afternoon sunlight beat down on the carved gray rock of the amphitheater, picking out the dark cracks that had formed naturally over time and bringing out the rich grain of the redwood stage. Carefully trimmed pines ringed the upper rim, and cultivated fern, ivy, and jade plants grew in redwood boxes set strategically within the immense bowl. No flowering plants, full of perfume, and no trees whose colors would turn with the seasons. Only green and a fresh woodsy scent to the air; nature's most basic forms.

  A good choice for the induction ceremony, Company Leader Aris Sung thought grudgingly.

  Aris stood at proud attention on the redwood stage, a light summer breeze running soft fingers through his short-cropped black hair. He flanked House Master Ty Wu Non on the left, while Infantry Commander Jessup stood a similar post on Master Non's right. Only a small section of the theater's seating was occupied; the first five rows fronting the stage, five warriors deep to either side of the main aisle. Slightly better than half of House Hiritsu's infantry battalion. Aris and Ty Wu Non were the only MechWarriors present—Ty Wu Non in his capacity as House Master, Aris as the aspirant's sponsor. All present wore the black and green dress uniforms of House Hiritsu, cloaks pinned open as was custom in a House ceremony.

  All wore the uniform save the aspiring House warrior, Li Wynn.

  Li knelt at the foot of the main aisle, hands resting on his thighs and head bent forward in supplication. The young man wore a simple, dark green silk robe, the closest yet he had ever been allowed to formal House Hiritsu colors. Though he'd never been in Li's position—Aris' own initiation into the Warrior House had been very atypical—he knew Li would be mentally rehearsing prepared responses to the formal questions that Aris and Jessup would put to him.

  As the aspirant's sponsor, Aris recognized the duty that demanded his presence. And it was unfair to Li Wynn that Aris begrudged him the entry ceremony he himself had never received. All things being equal, however, Aris would rather be strapped into the cockpit of his Wraith and leading his 'Mech company through today's exercise maneuvers.

  So long as I am wishing, why not hope that we receive assignment soon to the Disputed Territories or even the Chaos March? The Sarna Supremacy might be considered a high-tension post, but it is also decidedly low-action.

  Sarna, dependen
t on the Capellan Confederation for steady food supplies ever since they had recently lost their agricultural world of Kaifeng to House Hiritsu, was now forced to sell at reduced value their entire military production to the Confederation, which then brokered it to the Star League. The Star League member states, the same nations that had once recognized the Supremacy as a legitimate independent government, had turned a blind eye to the situation so long as Sun-Tzu Liao kept military supplies flowing to the offensive against Clan Smoke Jaguar, and even now continued to ignore the Supremacy's situation.

  The "deal" also called for one Confederation unit to act as observers, ensuring that the Sarnese carried through on their part. House Hiritsu had drawn that honor for the past six months, largely in reward for their earlier service. But to Aris and most of the House the post was standard garrison duty, to be endured until the state called them forward again. All House warriors wanted to take an active part in strengthening the Confederation. Even Li Wynn, who had confided to Aris that it was the Chancellor's Xin Sheng call for a "renewed Capellan effort" that had prompted him to petition for membership in House Hiritsu. "When the House is called forward again," Li had said, "I want to be a part of it."

  Aris appreciated such sentiment and, remembering Li Wynn's assistance on Kaifeng, had backed the young man's request to join the Warrior House. When the fighting comes, he will do well. But how much longer will it be?

  Aris could never have guessed how quickly he would receive an answer to his question.

  * * *

  Warrior-aspirant Li Wynn felt the ceremony of the moment weighing on him. The period of reflection, waiting for the House Master to call him forward, was harder than any of his time spent on the streets of Kaifeng, dodging authorities or, under the Capellan occupation, BattleMechs. But for the first time in his twenty-one years, Li actually felt as if he could belong somewhere. And that, more than anything, carried him through.

  "The aspirant may approach," House Master Non called out, his voice devoid of any emotion.

  Li Wynn rose fluidly, the braid of his long dark hair brushing against his neck and upper back. He noticed that Ty Wu Non kept his eyes focused on the theater's rim to signify that Li Wynn was beneath his notice and would very likely remain so. Aris had explained that tradition demanded that new students be accepted by the House Master at age twelve, not age twenty-one. But the House Master could make exceptions. And though he had finally decided to make one in Li's case, that meant the aspirant could only expect his true acceptance to be a long time in coming.

  With his future comrades looking on, Li Wynn mounted the stage and approached Aris Sung. His sponsor drew a simple gim dagger from beneath his cloak, holding it out edge-on to Li. "For services rendered to House Hiritsu and by extension the Capellan state," Aris said, speaking for the benefit of the audience rather than Li, "on the worlds of Kaifeng, Randar, and Sarna, the aspirant has been granted Capellan citizenship."

  No small honor, that. And Li Wynn knew it. Even someone native-born to the Confederation was required to perform a service that somehow benefited the state. To come from outside required a significant contribution. Li remembered the arguments Aris had faced just so the younger man would be allowed to accompany House Hiritsu as a servant and occasional contact to street-bred news.

  Aris looked down into Li Wynn's fierce dark eyes. "How will you continue to serve the Capellan nation?"

  "In any way I can," Li said with utter conviction. "As a producing member of society, and I hope as a defender of the realm. So I do swear myself."

  Awarding Li a thin smile, Aris nodded. Li placed the flat of his hand along the sharpened edge of the gim, breaking the skin and allowing blood to well up in his palm. Aris sheathed the blade. "Infantry Commander, I sponsor citizen Li Wynn for your consideration," he said, naming Li for the first time as a citizen and potential House warrior.

  Stooping so as to not cross Ty Wu Non's line of sight, Li passed along to the commander of House Hiritsu's infantry battalion. The tall, well-built man stared down at the smaller Li Wynn. Jessup did not care for Li, the aspirant knew, but House Master Non had already allowed for his acceptance. And the will of the House Master is the will of the House. "To serve in a Warrior House is to serve both the state and the person of the Chancellor," Jessup stated. "What do you pledge to this service?"

  The question was slightly misstated, and Li knew that Aris had arranged the slight deviation. Within tradition, to be sure, but giving the aspirant pause before answering and forcing him to alter his planned response. Li Wynn hesitated only a second, drawing sudden strength from the tranquility of the amphitheater's natural surroundings. "I pledge all that I am now and all that I am capable of becoming," he said, paraphrasing a House Hiritsu adage. "My honor, my service, my life."

  The infantry commander unrolled Li's pledge scroll, on which the vows of House Hiritsu were inscribed in Chinese pictorial characters. In an open area near the bottom of the scroll, Li smeared his blood onto the vellum. No dainty mark, the blood slashed across in a wide, bold splash of color. Li noted that the blood neither ran over any vows nor off the edge of the vellum, favorable omens for long and honorable service, he hoped.

  "House Master Non," Jessup said, "I have a potential warrior in need of guidance."

  Half-turned toward the House Master, Li was able to read the faces of all three men and quickly realized by a tightening around the eyes and half-formed smile that Ty Wu Non had readied a surprise. The House Master turned his gaze on Aris. "Company Leader Aris Sung, by sponsoring this warrior, you have made yourself responsible for his conduct. I name you Sifu, his Mentor, so long as Infantry Commander Jessup has no objection, and relieve you of your other responsibilities."

  "It would be a pleasure to have Aris Sung under my command again," Jessup responded immediately. So quickly, Li knew that he had been warned beforehand.

  Aris stood dumbstruck for a few long seconds, and Li read the indecision there. A House Sifu was an honored position, carrying with it the prestige of inculcating younger warriors into House traditions and skills. But to be placed back within the ranks of infantry, relieved of his BattleMech company, seemed a demotion in itself. Then, realizing that his House Master awaited some response, Aris nodded his understanding. "I am honored by your trust, House Master."

  Li nodded to Aris when his sponsor's gaze fell on him, hoping that Aris was now not regretting his decision. I will not fail your trust, he thought, willing Aris to read his mind.

  Aris gave him back no answering expression.

  * * *

  Aris Sung and Infantry Commander Jessup waited with House Master Non while the House infantry filed out of the amphitheater. Infantryman Li Wynn trailed behind, last to disappear over the rim and doing so with only a single glance back at his new Mentor.

  Aris waited patiently. He hoped for—indeed expected—an explanation from Ty Wu Non, but was not about to demand it. Central to Hiritsu intra-House relations were the teachings of K'ung-fu-tzu, and courtesy foremost among those. Ty Wu Non would broach the subject, or he would not and the matter would remain closed. A light summer breeze brought to Aris the scent of fresh pine, and he attempted to enjoy the moment while awaiting his House Master's opening remarks. It almost worked. The natural surroundings were ones Aris had learned to enjoy for their own sake, though they could not quite force his attention from the apparent loss of his company.

  "You must be upset, but your appearance is one of tranquillity. You hide it well, Aris Sung."

  Ty Wu Non's voice was speculative, but Aris doubted the House Master expected a confirming response. "Or it means I am not upset, House Master." Aris looked to Jessup for support, but found only stony silence. "I am confident that your reasons will make sense to me."

  The House Master laughed, something he did seldom. "Well done, Aris. You prompt me to explain myself, without being impertinent enough to ask directly." His mirth quickly died, however. "You are being placed back within the infantry because I need you the
re. Our new orders have arrived."

  That captured the attention of both Aris and Jessup. Chancellor Liao's recent expansion into the Disputed Territories and harder fighting in the coreward Chaos March region had left most House Hiritsu warriors hoping for combat assignment. Certainly their success in liberating Kaifeng argued for it. Aris frowned. But if the House was heading into combat, why would Master Non pull him from his company?

  "We did not receive assignment to the Disputed Territories," Ty said, anticipating the question. "We have been selected as honor guard to Chancellor Liao himself. He is making a 'goodwill' tour of the Confederation side of our border with the St. Ives Compact. Isis Marik will accompany him." He paused, apparently marshaling his facts. "On Necromo and Capricorn III we are the main guard, supplemented by local militia. But with Relevow and several worlds after we can also rely on McCarron's Armored Cavalry."

  The Chancellor! Aris' head swam with the implications. No chance for combat, not if Sun-Tzu thought it safe enough for his presence and that of his fiancee, but the honor being shown House Hiritsu was nothing short of incredible. "And after the tour. . .?"

  Ty Wu Non deigned to pick up on the trailing question. "We are slated to accompany Chancellor Liao to the Detroit Conference. But after that, he promises us all the combat duty we can handle."

  It was a lack of combat assignment that had once instigated unrest among the Hiritsu warriors, then almost ruined the Kaifeng operation. Like owning a Liao stallion, and then forbidding it to race. Aris shivered with anticipation, just as he knew his company would. Then he remembered that he had been relieved of his company, and the apparent reasoning behind House Master Non's pulling him from his command hit him full force. "I am on the honor squad?" he asked cautiously.