Malicious intent

  "We did that, Tony." Doc slowly started his 'Mech working back toward the tunnels. We also taught them to cover themselves, and I'm not sure that's a lesson I wanted them to learn so quickly.

  * * *

  Two hours later they linked up with the ecstatic members of the Titans. While Doc's team had been shooting up the Clan patrol in the mountains, the Titans had staged a successful raid on the Falcon firebase. Once they'd neutralized the base's defenses, the drivers brought in on one of the Rangers' working hovertrucks liberated three truckloads of supplies and munitions, including the hovertrucks on which they'd been loaded. They burned whatever they couldn't carry, then screened the convoy from the Falcon 'Mechs returning from the ambush.

  Isobel Murdoch briefed Doc on the operation. "It went very smoothly, Doc. And no one tried going after the 'Mechs limping home from your operation. There was one Goshawk surrounded by a Star of 'Mechs that my computer tagged as Baboons. They're very light missile boats and we could have given them a good run, but our mission was to get supplies back here before dark."

  "And you just made it. The ammo and armor you pulled will be useful, if our guys can get the latter to work on our 'Mechs." Doc smiled, then stretched and yawned. "Good work, Isobel. Thanks for keeping the Titans together and whole."

  "Yeah, well, you took the heat off us. Keep giving us missions like this and we'll do fine." She frowned. "There's just one thing that bothers me, but I can't tell if it's good or bad."

  "What's that?"

  She pointed back over her shoulder to the chamber where the liberated Clan loot had been stored. "Everything we got had already been loaded up on the hovertrucks. The storage bunkers there were clean. It makes no sense that they'd have set up those firebases just to abandon them at the end of the week."

  "Agreed." Doc stood and stretched again. "I think I'm going to take a little walk. You might want to come along and bring some binoculars."

  "Stargazing again?"

  "Yeah. Having a hobby keeps me from getting bored." Doc gave her a wink. "I was thinking we might have something good to look at tonight, Bel."

  "What makes you think it'll be any different this time?"

  Doc shrugged uneasily. "There are two explanations for what you found. One is that the Falcons have decided to leave Coventry and we might see their DropShips blasting out of Port St. William."

  "And the other?"

  "They're pulling away from us because they've found a more worthy foe." Doc smiled slowly. "If we're lucky, that means there are troops incoming and we just might be able to catch a glimpse of them as they burn their way in."

  29

  Tukayyid

  ComStar Garrison District, Free Rasalhague Republic

  10 April 3058

  Victor Steiner-Davion swirled the brandy around the bowl of the snifter and let the sweet aroma fill his nose. The ComStar acolyte serving the brandy passed through the group, and everyone accepted a glass, including the Precentor Martial and the woman he'd introduced as former commander of the Terran Defense Force. Had I been the one to lose Terra, I'd be drinking this stuff by the cask.

  The Precentor Martial held his glass up. "I offer a toast to those who have braved the fires of combat and yet are wise enough to see war as a most terrible thing."

  Victor lifted his glass in response and touched it to Kai's, then to Focht's. He waited for a moment, then clinked the glass against both Hohiro Kurita's snifter and that of Precentor Koenigs-Cober. He drank and smiled as the brandy made its fiery way down into his belly.

  The Precentor Martial set his glass on a mahogany side table and clasped his hands together. "I hope your attachés will not be upset that they were not invited to this dinner. It's true we'll all be seeing a lot of each other over the next month, but I wanted to speak with the three of you alone. Precentor Koenigs-Cober is here because she will liaise with you during the operations we've got planned, and some of those will be an outgrowth of this conversation. I hope you do not object?"

  Victor shook his head. "Whatever you think best."

  "You will forgive me, Precentor Martial, but I have a question." Hohiro Kurita, the son of the Coordinator of the Draconis Combine, bowed his head respectfully. "Unlike Victor, or even Kai, I cannot speak for my government. I will be most happy to bear your words back to my father, but if the purpose of this meeting is to craft a response to the conquest of Terra, I will be of little use to you."

  "I appreciate your candor, Prince Hohiro, but it is not my intention to address that situation here." The Precentor Martial smiled graciously, which Victor found somehow reassuring. "I am not averse to discussing the attack on Terra, but ComStar considers it an historical event that does not require attention at this moment."

  Victor glanced at Kai and saw his friend's barely hidden surprise at the announcement. During the trip to Tukayyid they'd discussed the chances that ComStar would suggest some sort of joint operation to retake Terra. Both had thought the request unlikely and believed ComStar might seek a pledge of neutrality in the matter. Victor knew he had to tread carefully, since Word of Blake had Free Worlds League connections and the war so recently ended could easily reignite.

  "Precentor Koenigs-Cober and I have prevailed upon the Primus to maintain our current focus on the problem of the Clans. The operations we will engage in during the exercises will be directed toward honing our ability to deal with the Clans in a variety of situations." He opened his hands. "It will be our pleasure to share with you the opportunity to work against ComStar's Invader Galaxy."

  "Invader Galaxy?" Victor arched a brow. "Would that be a unit configured to act as a Clan Galaxy?"

  "That is it exactly, Highness." The Precentor Martial nodded toward the golden-haired Precentor. "Precentor Koenigs-Cober can give you the details since she is being installed as the unit's leader."

  Koenigs-Cober smiled politely. "The BattleMechs are constructed mainly from salvage uncovered in the rehabilitation of Tukayyid. Over half the pilots are veterans of Tukayyid, and they've got more than two hundred 'Mechs and appropriate support personnel attached to the unit."

  "It sounds impressive, Precentor." Kai smiled broadly and glanced at Victor. "Your intelligence people knew nothing of this unit?"

  The Prince of the Federated Commonwealth frowned. "ComStar isn't considered hostile to the Commonwealth, so our assets aren't much focused in this direction."

  "But you knew my wife was pregnant."

  "Touché, my friend." Victor shrugged. "Perhaps if the Invader Galaxy had been pregnant we would have known about it."

  "Calm yourself, Victor, my father's Internal Security Force didn't know about it either." Hohiro's mouth twisted up into a wry smile. "When Subhash Indrahar does learn about it, it may be his death."

  From your lips to God's ears. Subhash Indrahar had been the director of the ISF since well before Victor's birth. He represented the old and reactionary forces within the Draconis Combine—forces that opposed the societal and military reforms that had enabled the Combine to adapt to the Clan onslaught. If Indrahar had his way, the Combine would slip back into the ignorant feudalism and rigid military that would crumble when the Clans came again. The sooner Indrahar dies, the safer the Inner Sphere will be.

  The Precentor Martial nodded slightly as if he'd read either Victor's thoughts or his expression, and agreed with them. "The question I wish to put before you is this: would you prefer exercises that give us practice in defending against a Clan assault or exercises where we take the battle to them?"

  Victor narrowed his eyes. "There's a subtext to those questions that needs to be addressed, I think."

  "And that would be, Highness?"

  "Are you advocating a shift in the way we deal with the Clans, including a change from defensive tactics to a more aggressive stance?" Victor took a deep breath. "And if you are, have you a target in mind?"

  "Perhaps," Precentor Koenigs-Cober offered gently, "the latter question is premature."

  "I hope like hell it is
n't." Victor looked down and saw his reflection wobbling darkly in the liquor. "It's no secret to anyone here that the Jade Falcons are raiding fairly deep within the Lyran Alliance. My sister has declared that realm independent of mine, but I relinquish neither my claim nor my responsibility for the worlds and people of her Alliance. My last report indicated the Falcons have landed on Coventry, but that's all I know at this point."

  Focht nodded as Victor finished speaking. "They've reached Coventry and have destroyed organized resistance on the two larger continents. Graf Joseph Mannervek declared himself ruler of the planet, accusing Duke Bradford of treason. It seems Mannervek has reached something of an accommodation with the Jade Falcons, so they've left him alone."

  Victor felt a cold lump sucking the brandy's warmth from his stomach. "Any word on Duke Bradford or his family?"

  "None, but we haven't heard word of their deaths either, which is a good sign." The Precentor Martial looked thoughtful for a moment. "I wish I could tell you more, but the Falcons have cut our people off from reaching the equipment that would let us communicate with them directly. All we've heard has come from simple radio broadcasts picked up by ships entering and leaving the system."

  "I understand."

  "The one good thing I can tell you is that four mercenary regiments have arrived and made planetfall. Two are Wolf's Dragoons. The others are the Eridani Light Horse and the Waco Rangers."

  Hohiro shook his head. "Posting the Rangers and the Dragoons together on Coventry seems most unwise. They've been feuding for years."

  Victor looked at Kai. "Your uncle Tormano is usually smarter than that."

  "I'd have thought so, but his decision to become your sister's advisor has me wondering about his mental stability."

  "Lunatics find comfort in company. Tormano and my sister are well suited to each other."

  Focht adjusted the eye patch over his right eye. "You both know better than to think either Katrina Steiner or Tormano Liao insane or even foolish."

  Victor nodded slowly. "We do know that, Precentor Martial. But it's hard to remember when they do things that defy what I define as logic. That's not to say there's not some method to their madness, but I don't trust their judgment because I can't understand it."

  "I realize that, but to underestimate them is to risk being caught unawares by them." The Precentor Martial sighed.

  "The Inner Sphere has long been home to intrigue, and members of the ruling houses are steeped in it. You three have each lost a parent or grandparent to an assassin, so I should think armoring yourself with caution is wise."

  "Agreed, Precentor Martial." Victor upended his snifter and let the brandy's warmth relax him. "My question still stands, however: if we choose to operate with your Invader Galaxy as a defender, will we be using Coventry as a model for what we do?"

  "We could choose worse examples, Highness."

  Victor set his glass down and smiled. "And if we show ourselves to be adept at defeating Clan forces, how would you respond to the sovereign ruler of a nation inviting you to continue these exercises on a world in his realm?"

  The Precentor Martial clasped his hands behind his back. "It is said the weather on Coventry is pleasant in the spring."

  "The weather is always pleasant on Coventry." Victor's expression hardened. "Except when it's raining Clan 'Mechs."

  "Perhaps, then, Victor, if our efforts are successful here," Hohiro said with a sly smile, "we should visit Coventry and see what we can do to clear up the weather."

  30

  Coventry Expeditionary Force Headquarters, Leitnerton Coventry

  Coventry Province, Lyran Alliance

  15 April 3058

  Doc Trevena hoped that his ability to have his little force materialize inside the CEF's perimeter was not an omen concerning the Coventry Expeditionary Force's future or the success of its mission. The CEF had grounded at the northern end of the Cross-Divides, near where the mountains themselves ran down into the Central Sea. They'd chosen the mountain village of Leitnerton as their headquarters, then sent a task force southwest to help the remains of the Skye Rangers, Academy cadets, and Militia break out of a pocket around the town of Whitting.

  The fact that Doc's recon lances found Waco Ranger and Crazy Eight patrols before they found his force made him proud, though it clearly did not amuse the leaders of the mercenary units sent to liberate Coventry. CEF security personnel ushered Doc into the Armitage Hotel's Grand Ballroom and marched him straight over to where the expedition's leadership stood studying the graphs, charts, and holograms being projected by the work stations that ringed the room.

  The officers all turned and stared. Doc knew he looked a sight. His unit's deployment had been so fast that no one in his command had a sufficient change of clothes for the duration of the fighting. And they'd had more precious uses for fresh water in the mines than for washing clothes. The security police who'd brought him in let him wash his face and hands first, but without a clean change of clothes Doc was sure he looked more like a miner than a soldier.

  He gave the officers a salute. "Hauptmann Trevena of the Tenth Skye Rangers reporting."

  Of the officers present he had only previously met Judith Niemeyer, the Leftenant General in command of the Coventry Militia. The black jumpsuits with red trim easily identified two others as Dragoons. By process of elimination Doc also identified the black woman off to the left as General Ariana Winston, commander of the Eridani Light Horse. He'd read about her, and her presence made him think she and Alliance command took the current situation seriously.

  Doc had seen enough of the Waco Ranger crests on the 'Mechs that escorted his people in to be able to pick out their leader, Colonel Wayne Rogers, from the group. It wasn't at all comforting that the man was dressed as casually as Doc. The only one who was missing was the commander of the Crazy Eights—a unit that had lived up to its name by becoming affiliated with the Waco Rangers.

  The Waco Ranger leader squinted at Doc through thick glasses that magnified his eyes into huge brown reptilian orbs. "You're the idiot who brought two companies of 'Mechs into my occupation zone."

  Doc pulled his right hand down from a salute and put himself at ease. "Those were my people, yes." He looked toward General Niemeyer. "We need repair and refit, but I have two companies that are operational."

  One of the Dragoon officers, a man as tall as Doc, but a bit more slender, smiled carefully. "We appreciate what your people have gone through, and General Niemeyer is taking command of the Coventry Provisional Militia, but they will be serving in a reserve role at this point. We want to debrief you, of course, but we'll be handling things from here on out."

  Doc frowned and looked at General Niemeyer. "What happened to General Bakkish?"

  "Killed in a skirmish on the outskirts of Port St. William." Niemeyer glanced down as if she were uneasy with her position. He'd heard her described as matronly, and her look of defeat seemed to match. She seemed to Doc less a commanding officer than a grandmother disapproving what her grandchildren are doing, but who finds herself powerless to stop them. "As Colonel Tyrell has indicated, we're being held back as reserve troops."

  "Reserve troops?" Doc shook his head. "I've got two-thirds of a battalion back there that's given as good as its gotten from the Jade Falcons in a month of fighting. While you guys were burning into this system, we were hitting the Falcons for supplies. My people went from green to seasoned fighters in short order. Not using them, especially when they have knowledge of this area, is foolish."

  The dark-haired woman in a Dragoons uniform punched a command into a noteputer and one of the screens on the west side of the ballroom flashed up a copy of the Tenth Skye Rangers table of organization. "You speak rather possessively about a battalion led by Kommandant Horst Sarz."

  "Not possessively, Colonel, proudly," Doc said. "Kommandant Sarz has a condition that rendered him unable to command. I replaced him."

  "But you had no previous combat experience?" Doc read more curiosity in
her blue eyes than recrimination. "The other two officers in the battalion had more time on the battlefield than you did."

  "With all due respect, Colonel, I think the fact that we've survived as long as we have and maintained force integrity should speak for itself." Doc smiled despite the sour expression growing on Wayne Rogers's face. "Half my command is a scout company made up entirely of light 'Mechs. Aside from some armor damage, they've gone unscathed, yet they've engaged in more operations than my other 'Mechs."

  Rogers exaggerated a shrug. "You were lucky. You should leave this to the professionals now."

  Before Doc could answer, the woman from the Dragoons snapped at Rogers. "Hauptmann Trevena is a professional, Colonel Rogers."

  "Yeah, I know that, Shelly dear, but a pro who had his butt stuck in a lousy unit in a worse assignment. They put him in charge of a recon company! Blake's Blood, woman, they invented a do-nothing unit for him." The way Rogers blinked made Doc think of him as a toad—a tall, bald, florid-faced toad, but a toad nonetheless. "The only way he could have been busted lower was if they'd put him in charge of a lance of simulator pods."

  Tyrell stared laser bolts at Rogers. "What Colonel Brubaker is trying to get into your thick skull, Rogers, is that Hauptmann Trevena may not have the experience we do, but he's been trained and knows how to use his training."

  Ariana Winston imposed herself between the Dragoons and Wayne Rogers. "With all that being true, my friends, I have no doubt that Hauptmann Trevena is merely espousing the wisdom of our working together. He's offering his experience here to help us, not to hinder us or steal any glory. He's been fighting the Falcons, and that's what we're going to do, too."

  She looked over at Doc, her brown-eyed gaze searching his face for something. Doc blushed and she smiled. "Hauptmann Trevena, we're here to push the Falcons off Coventry. As you can see on the diagram over there, they've set up a perimeter around Port St. William. Their force is estimated at three Galaxies, which makes them roughly equivalent to our force. We intend to move them."