Focht brought his hands together. "In honor of all he has done, Hauptmann Trevena will present our bid."
"Very well." The Clan Khan brought herself to attention. "As I declared before, we bid all we have to defend the planet."
The Precentor Martial nodded gravely. "Yes, I recall the bid from when we were incoming. At that time we had misconceptions about your strength and you had no knowledge of ours. Given the circumstances, we see no need to hold you to that bid."
Doc leaned slightly forward as if broaching the distance between them would enable him to beam into Marthe's brain the message Take the deal. The talks he'd had with Victor and the Precentor Martial left no doubt in his mind that if she remained intransigent, the resulting battle would devastate both sides. The Clan casualty figures for Tukayyid, acting to the Precentor Martial, were hideous, and the estimates here were running twice as high. Not since the Terran wars of the twentieth century had mankind participated in the sort of slaughter we will see on Coventry.
If Marthe Pryde was surprised by Focht's comment, she concealed it well. "I appreciate your consideration in this matter. I will not hold your statement as an insult, for clearly that was not your intention. In the past you have bargained with Wolves. You are now advised by Wolves. A Wolf might even accept your offer and modify his bid, but then Wolves have no shame and an anemic sense of honor. I am Jade Falcon. My bid stands."
Focht nodded. "No offense was intended, Khan Marthe. We are prepared to offer our bid." She nodded. "Proceed."
"Hauptmann Trevena?"
Doc took in a deep breath, then pulled the muffler away from his mouth. He even pulled off his goggles and stood before the Clan Khan openly and unarmed, but not without pride and determination. He wanted her to know that he respected her strength. He wanted her to know that in combat he would give her a fight that, if she survived, she would never forget.
He saw all that in her eyes, and the promise of the same in return. We understand each other, then. Good. He swallowed once, nervously, then offered his bid.
"In the name of the Precentor Martial, in the name of the coalition force assembled here, I, Caradoc Trevena, commander of the Titans, conqueror of Whitting, offer you hegira."
41
Whitting Coventry
Coventry Province, Lyran Alliance
16 June 3058
Victor felt pain in his hands and it took a moment for him to realize it was from his fingernails digging into his palms. You have to accept this offer! You must!
The Jade Falcon Khan covered her reaction completely, but Rosendo did not. His jaw shot open, then clicked shut again. Surprise didn't leave his eyes until they began to narrow and the corners of his mouth turned upward. He clearly understood the import of the offer and the opportunity it gave them all for salvation. Had the decision to accept or reject been up to him, Victor had no doubt the Jade Falcons would be on their way off Coventry in a heartbeat.
Rosendo, silent, looked up at his Khan.
Marthe Pryde remained rock-still as if Doc's offer had combined with the wind to petrify her. She stared off distantly and Victor could discern no breathing, no movement from her save that of her wind-tossed hair and cloak. It was as if she had somehow moved outside of time to consider the words that had been said. All the while, as dust and sand blew around her face and body, she might have been a statue of an ancient war-goddess poised between life and death.
Her shoulders dropped a millimeter, then her icy gaze brushed Victor's face before she looked up at the Precentor Martial. "It appears, perhaps, that I was rash in dismissing the value of Wolf advisors, quiaff?"
Focht nodded. "Aff, Khan Marthe."
She turned to look at Doc. "I, Khan Marthe Pryde, conqueror of Coventry, accept the offer of hegira. Your generosity in the face of the losses we suffered here, in Whitting, is noble."
Relief rolled off Doc in waves. "The nobility is in your acceptance."
"Our battle here would never have faded from memory."
Doc nodded. "Better the scorn of armchair warriors than a font of blood and tears."
Marthe seemed to consider his words for a moment, then the steel in her voice softened slightly. "As is customary with hegira, we will release all bondsmen."
Victor nodded. "We shall have your people here by dusk, if that is acceptable. We can take ours back at that time."
"Excellent." Marthe Pryde turned to her second in command. "Galaxy Commander Rosendo, please make the arrangements."
"Yes, my Khan."
Marthe Pryde rested fists on her narrow hips. "This bloodless solution will anger some of my people."
Victor's eyes narrowed. "Anyone who desired bloodshed in this place can wallow all they want in their anger and frustration. It is not only the Clans who harbor such individuals."
Marthe looked beyond Victor at the Inner Sphere officers gathered outside the square. "They did not know what you were planning to do here, quineg?"
"They only knew what all of us knew—if we fought, many would die. Your honor trapped you here. Our need to protect our people trapped us here. Now you retain your honor and our people are protected." Victor shrugged. "We both win."
"But perhaps you win a little bit more. In the past, all three of you have defeated the Clans by force of arms. Here our nature was used against us—to our mutual benefit, agreed, but more in your favor than in mine." Marthe Pryde shook her head. "I shall remember that you know more than one way to fight."
The Khan of the Jade Falcons extended her hand to Doc.
"It is well bargained and done. The Jade Falcons are leaving Coventry."
Doc met her firm grip with one of his own. "Well bargained and done. The winners here are those who would have died. In that victory no one loses."
Both sides turned away and proceeded slowly out of the square. The Jade Falcons disappeared in a billowing brown cloud while the coalition's officers slowly became more real to Victor. Jerrard Cranston and Ragnar joined the trio as they exited the square, and paced them across the gravel to where the other officers were waiting.
Marshal Sharon Byran broke away and made straight for Victor. "How many of us have been bid away?"
"Don't worry yourself, Marshal, it's over."
"Over?" The amazement in her voice was echoed by the expressions on the faces of the others. "What do you mean it's over?"
"We offered them hegira."
"What does that mean?"
Victor looked to Ragnar. "If you would be so kind as to explain."
"Gladly, Highness." The young Wolf clasped his hands behind his back. "Hegira is a right among the Clans that allows a defeated enemy to withdraw with their honor intact. It is a celebration of their skill and a sign of mutual respect between enemies."
"What is this nonsense? When were they defeated?"
Victor pointed up at the Titan Hunchback standing above the group. "They were defeated here in Whitting, by Hauptmann Trevena and his Titans. He offered them hegira and they accepted. Once we exchange bondsmen with them, they will go away."
"They're leaving?" Paul Masters of the Knights of the Inner Sphere blinked with surprise. "Just like that?"
"Just like that."
"You're letting them get away?" Sharon Byran's face had become a mask of disbelief. "After all they did? After all the death and destruction, you're letting them walk away scot free?"
Victor started to answer, but the Precentor Martial laid a hand on his shoulder and stopped him. "What is it you're protesting, Marshal Byran? We came here for the purpose of driving the Jade Falcons off Coventry. That was our sole aim. That purpose has been accomplished. They are leaving in accord with the rights granted by the Clans to a vanquished enemy."
A smile spread slowly across Kai's face. "You had this planned for a long time. You specified Whitting as the place for the bidding when we were incoming."
Victor shook his head. "I'd like to claim to be that clever, but I can't. Whitting was just luck—I suggested it because it was the
only town aside from their base or our base that I knew of here. That was well before the idea of offering hegira popped up. When it did, Hauptmann Trevena had to make the offer because he was the one who handed them their last defeat."
Byran turned angrily on Doc. "And you consented to be party to this? You were willing to let those who murdered your commanding officer go free?"
Victor would have replied for him, but Doc gave him no chance to do so. "I was a party to this because I spent the last three months fighting against these bastards. I've watched whole regiments of good and decent people get ripped apart, maimed, and killed. I've undertaken operations that I knew were risky, and the whole time thought the fear would eat me up alive ..."
"So you take the coward's way out!"
"No, damn you, I'm not a coward. That fear I felt, the fear I fought through was fear of getting my people killed. My people, the people in your commands, even the Jade Falcons, didn't need to die here. Yes, every one of us is willing to face death to preserve our own freedom and our way of life—we're soldiers—but nowhere is it written that the only way to back that willingness is with blood."
"The people who died here cry out for retribution."
"Only survivors cry, Marshal Byran, the dead remain silent." Doc raked both hands back through his hair. "Honor and high ideals and all the moral justification in the world mean nothing when weighed against the value of a life. To commit troops to war for an objective that can be taken any other way is a crime that is an order of magnitude more serious than mass murder. If you want evil in its purest form, there it is. I want no part of it, and none of you should either."
His anger spent, Doc looked wordlessly at Victor Davion. The Prince gladly took up his fight. "Everything Doc has said is true. Fighting here would have been worse than murder because we'd have been killing Falcons and they'd have been killing us over an objective that meant nothing to them. They came to Coventry to train troops and show the other Clans that they're still a force to be reckoned with. That was the reason they couldn't retreat from us, though they might have wanted to. In letting them go, we all have a victory."
Byran shook her head. "We'll just have to kill them in another place, at another time."
Victor's eyes sharpened. "Are you speaking of your troops or theirs, Marshal?" He let her stammer for a moment, then burrowed in again. "We will face the Falcons in the future, there is no question of that. We'll face all the Clans again, without a doubt. The problem with that is, and has always been, that they have chosen the battlefields. They fight on worlds that we must defend. They force us to make decisions about what we value. If we continue to fight when they call us to battle, we will forever be at a disadvantage and we will never truly defeat them."
Wu Kang Kuo's quiet voice broke in. "What is your solution to this problem, Prince Victor?"
The Prince of the Federated Commonwealth looked around at the assembled officers, willing grim determination onto his face and into his voice. "The force we've gathered here shows me that we all understand the seriousness of the threat presented by the Clans. The solution seems equally clear. We need to build on the foundations we've established on Coventry and do what even the Clans would think is impossible."
Victor opened his hands to take them all in. "We need, my friends, to assemble a united, force, search out the source of Clan power and, for the first time since we've met them, take the war to the Clans."
42
Leitnerton Coventry
Coventry Province, Lyran Alliance
16 June 3058
Standing there on the rooftop of the Titans' headquarters building, Doc scratched at the back of his head. "That's a good question, Shelly. I guess I figured I'd stay with the Titans, or at least try to keep them together. I kind of doubt the Lyran Alliance Armed Forces are going to rebuild the Tenth Skye Rangers anytime soon."
Shelly Brubaker turned to face him, the setting sun reddening the right side of her face. "You've impressed a lot of people with what you've done here."
"I was just doing what Prince Victor told me to do."
"I don't mean that, though your stock will be considered quite high within the Clans for making the offer. They dwell a lot on things like that." She laid her left hand on his shoulder. "And I'm not just talking about your managing to keep a bunch of light 'Mechs operational during a three-month campaign. What's impressed folks is your ability to plan things out, your insights about the enemy, and the way you refuse to take unnecessary risks with your people."
"I hear you say that, and I appreciate it very much, but it doesn't seem that remarkable to me." Doc shrugged and watched hovertrucks returning with prisoners from Whitting wend their way up the road to Leitnerton. "I guess I have a hard time seeing anything I did as impressive because I just ... did it."
"All the more impressive, Doc." Shelly smiled. "And that's why you need to think about the future. You know, after the way you spoke to Marshal Byran, your career is at a dead end in the LAAF."
"Yeah, but I've done that sort of duty before, so no big hardship."
"You make it sound like a sentence."
Doc snorted. "Yeah, I guess I do. My problem is that all this seems so unreal at times that I can't really get a handle on it. Objectively, I know that by keeping my people alive, I did a good job, but I don't know how much better I could have done. I'm into new territory and I have to tell you it's scary. Being sentenced to the same old thing is safe."
Shelly's hand fell from his shoulder. "Perhaps they'll return you to Calliston so you can settle back in with your wife."
"My ex-wife." Doc patted the pocket containing the holodisk with all the legal documents on it. "Save a planet, get a summons via ComStar. No, there'll be no Calliston for me, and she's history."
"So you are making changes."
"Yeah, but not radical ones. I really do feel an obligadon to my people." Doc reached down and took her hand in his. "You do understand that, right?"
She squeezed his fingers. "Better than you think, Doc. What would you say if I told you I want your Titans in my rebuilt regiment? I've got clearance from General Wolf herself to offer all of you contracts."
"Most of the Titans still have obligations to LAAF."
"We can work something out." Her blue eyes sparkled brightly. "Think of it. You'll still have all your own people while joining the top-notch mercenary unit in the Inner Sphere. We've got the best training, best equipment, our choice of assignments, and even our own world. You'll be making more money than any Leftenant General in the LAAF and your people will see similar raises in their pay. Retirement benefits and family benefits are better than you'll find anywhere in the Inner Sphere."
Doc half-closed his eyes. "And how would you feel if I said yes?"
"I'm the one offering you the job, remember? I wouldn't make the offer if I didn't want you with us."
"But how would you feel personally?" Doc smiled and tightened his grip on her hand ever so slightly. "All this time I've felt there were sparks between us. I've missed you since the rest of the Dragoons arrived and you've had so many other duties taking up your time. I realize this is really a hothouse atmosphere, and we were tired and worn out emotionally, so I don't want to presume or assume or ..."
Shelly pressed a finger over his lips. "My home on Outreach is really too big for one person, but I have no intention of moving. Does that answer your question?"
"Rather succinctly and directly, yes."
"Good." Shelly laughed lightly. "So you'll join the Dragoons?"
Doc smiled. "It's the best offer I've had all day."
"The day isn't over yet, Hauptmann Trevena."
Doc and Shelly whirled around to see Victor Davion coming up onto the roof. "Colonel Brubaker, I thought the Dragoons recruited from within."
"We do, Highness, save in cases when exceptional talent is available."
The Prince nodded toward Doc. "Hauptmann Trevena is in my employ. He's not available."
Shelly arched an eyebro
w. "His commission is with the Lyran Alliance Armed Forces."
"It was with the LAAF. To have things in order for this morning's ceremony, the Titans were temporarily transferred to the Federated Commonwealth. Marshal Byran has evidenced no desire to reclaim the Titans, so I'm making the transfer permanent." Victor smiled. "You've been working for me since sunrise, Doc. I'm sure you could tell the difference."
"To tell the truth, sir, no."
"Then let me make amends." Victor held his hands up to forestall comments. "Hear me out, completely, then make your decision. If you don't like what you hear, you can resign and my loss will be the Dragoons' gain."
Doc looked over at Shelly and she nodded. "Okay, I'll listen."
"Doc, somewhere along the line you learned a lesson that separates commanders from great commanders. You learned that victory without bloodshed is better than victory that's blood-soaked. I know it seems like something every officer ought to know and keep foremost in mind, but most never learn it and even fewer actually try to work with it. This is a lesson that's only recently been drilled into my brain, so when I see someone else who understands it, I see someone I don't want to lose."
Victor walked to the edge of the roof and looked down as prisoners started filing out of the hovertrucks. "What I said earlier at Whitting is true—we have to take the war to the Clans. That's going to require everyone working together and working toward the same end. There will be a lot of killing during that campaign, no doubt about it, but I don't want any stupid surplus killing. I want objectives, not body-counts; I want missions that are sharply defined and completed, not Pyrhrric victories that bleed us white.
"To get that, I need people like you, Doc. I want to make you a Leftenant General—Chairman of the Coalition Committee for Operational Review. You and your staff will be the people who review every operation, every situation and find a way to do it better, with fewer casualties and more efficiency. If you say an operation can't go without modification, it doesn't go without modification. If you tell me a commander is overestimating himself or underestimating the enemy, I'll say he is."