"Misguided though he may be, that is his motivation. That is the force driving him. I would be the last to claim he is incapable of deceit or treachery, but I believe he descends to that level in the name of his goal, something that he sees as a great vision. Besides, we must trust Hanse Davion. We have no choice."
Hideyoshi sighed heavily and Shin heard the resignation in it. "Then do not let Hanse Davion know that the Clans have attacked Luthien until you are able to inform him of our victory in throwing the invader back."
Theodore shook his head slowly. "Too late. A message informing Davion of the impending strike on Luthien is already on its way to him."
The Otomo leader raised his hands in despair. "We are lost."
"No, Hideyoshi, we are not." Theodore smiled carefully.
"You are right that Hanse Davion must come after us if we lose Luthien. But there lies the solution to the problem. No matter what the Clans throw at us, we will never let Luthien fall."
32
Avalon City , New Avalon
Cruris March, Federated Commonwealth
27 November 3051
Hanse Davion watched as the muted light of the briefing room glinted off silvery scars on Justin Allard's black metal left hand. "I never expected to hear those words from you, Justin."
The Intelligence Secretary shrugged helplessly. "It grieves me to disappoint you, Highness, but our mutual discomfort does nothing to answer your question. The construction of the fax message—everything from the syntax to the brush strokes used—indicate it originated in the Draconis Combine. My experts trace it from Luthien and even suggest it may have come from the brush of Theodore Kurita himself. I have no way of authenticating beyond that."
The Prince looked to Alex Mallory. "Have you anything to add, Deputy Secretary?"
The slender blond man shook his head. "I can only echo what Justin tells you, Highness. The fax appears to have originated from within the Combine."
Hanse felt a flutter of fear. "Do you realize what you're saying? If the Combine has somehow gotten hold of one of our fax machines, they've been privy to our communications for the past twenty years!" He shook his head sadly. "No wonder we lost a war ten years ago. I'm more surprised Theodore Kurita has not shown up at our doorstep at the head of his army."
"You overestimate the threat, my Prince." Justin's expression showed the reflective calm that Hanse had seen and learned to depend on over the years. "Every Black Box was accounted for at the end of the Liao war. We have proof that all were either destroyed or remained in our hands, though the possibility of deception cannot be dismissed. The evidence is less compelling in the 3039 war, and that may be when Theodore could have obtained one. It was just that danger that made us encode all military messages we have sent over the past two decades, and we have also improved the speed of the machines. In fact, one of our machines on Murchison picked up this message, then transmitted it to New Avalon. The original message won't reach us until the beginning of next month."
Melissa interlaced her fingers and placed her hands on the hardwood table. "So you believe that the threat to our security is minimal?"
"I would characterize no threat to the Federated Commonwealth as minimal, Archon, but the threat is within normal limits and has been handled in an appropriate manner. We treat faxes as subject to discovery and always include some disinformation to make things difficult for the ISF or ComStar if they are intercepting our messages."
Justin held up the sheet of paper from Theodore. "This merely confirms our suspicion that the Combine did capture one of our machines."
"Well, then," Hanse said, wearying of all the explanation, "what about the content of the message?" Hanse studied his copy again. "Can we believe Theodore that the Clans are on the way to attack Luthien?"
Alex punched a request for data into the keyboard at his place. "The reports we've gotten from our agents on the borders of the Draconis March and the Isle of Skye report massive recall of troops. The Combine has left a few worlds with 'Mech units in place, but it is usually one company from a crack regiment, with reinforcements cobbled together from yakuza elements and militia forces. They're stripping off all air and aerospace assets especially.
"I read that as a definite move to reinforce the front with the Clans."
"As Kurita moves the troops toward the fight, other troops move to Luthien." Melissa chewed on her lower lip. "A strike at Luthien could seriously damage the Combine's ability to fight. Their people are so tied to honor, they could start committing seppukuin droves out of shame for a fallen Luthien."
Hanse nodded. "Worse yet, you'd have a replay of the Ronin Invasions. Units would head out to avenge Luthien, without direction or supply. The front would be chaos, then it would collapse. This is very bad." My buffer with the Clans is about to disintegrate.
His head came up. "Assessment of the threat to Luthien, Justin?"
"Serious." Justin's hands curled down into fists, then opened again in a slow, rhythmic display of frustration. "At best, we show them with four line regiments, one political regiment, and another three weak regiments of reserves. The troops are some of their best, but we have no way of judging what the Clans will throw at them. The Wolves used three full regiments to pacify Rasalhague, but that was only a fraction of their available force. With the Clans' new strategy of hitting heavily defended worlds while skipping others, they will, undoubtedly, send whatever they need to take the world. With two Clans operating in that area, I have no doubt they will have the resources they need to do the job."
But Theodore is very crafty."What if Theodore successfully outbids the Clans, as was done on Wolcott?"
The Intelligence Secretary nodded. "A good point, but I doubt the Smoke Jaguars will let themselves be humiliated again. Given their defeat on Wolcott, I'd wager they chose Luthien precisely to redeem themselves."
"Luthien." Hanse felt goosebumps rising on his arms. "For years, I dreamed of capturing Kurita's Black Pearl, but now the idea of its fall fills me with dread." Or is it only that you hate the idea of someone else taking it instead?
"The implications of Luthien's fall are not good." Alex's quick fingerwork on the keyboard brought a holographic map burning to life over the Jable. "Luthien's loss means
Pesht would be isolated. If it goes, so does the whole Pesht Military District."
The top half of the Combine's red triangle went black. "If Theodore survived, he would have to pull all the way back to Benjamin to have a secure capital world. Benjamin, as a world, holds significance for the people of the Combine, so the loss of face would not be overwhelming. He could organize a defense from there, and with fewer planets to defend, he could hold out for a long while. However, he wouldn't have the industrial backing needed to defeat the Clans and reconquer the worlds he had lost. The Galedon District would go, leaving Theodore with the Benjamin and Dieron Districts, but no hope of ever again being a power."