"Colonel Kell, I will dispense with all pleasantries because I know you would find them fatuous. We do not like each other, and I am content to maintain our relationship at the distance this mutual hatred engenders."
Lestrade leaned back in his high-backed leather chair. "It has come to my attention that you and your mercenary unit have taken up residence on my world of Lyons. I understand that you are staying in the refugee colony the Archon encouraged me to permit on that world." His choice of words and manner of speaking left Dan no doubt that Lestrade did not like the Styx colony at all, and only permitted it because of pressure from the Commonwealth's Archon, Katrina Steiner.
The camera pulled back to reveal more of Lestrade's office. The walls were made of unfinished gray stones that appeared to have been put together in an almost haphazard manner. Dan squinted at the image. That must be the Lestrade castle. Wasn't it moved stone by stone from Terra about five hundred years ago? I'm surprised to see it's survived the Kurita raids Lestrade is always complaining about.
Lestrade left his seat and limped around to the front of his desk. "Though I can appreciate your desire to return behind the lines after a raid deep into the Draconis Combine, I do not want you on any of my worlds. The Archon may have appropriated my troops to fight Hanse Davion's war against the Draconis Combine, but I want no part of the war. You and your Kell Hounds are a threat to the peace and well-being of the Isle of Skye. I hereby order you to leave it."
The camera moved in as Lestrade graced the viewers with a plastic smile. "I can appreciate the time it might take for you to move a mercenary unit. You have two weeks from the receipt of this message to be gone from the Isle of Skye. Have I made myself clear?"
Morgan shut off the viewer as the screen faded to black. He turned in his seat and leaned forward over the table. "Disgustingly frank for Lestrade..." he said. "Well, he says we've got to get off Lyons in two weeks. Comments? Salome."
Morgan's flame-haired second in command, Major Salome Ward, looked around at the small group. "Since all the troops have left Lyons for the attack into the Draconis Combine, our departure would leave the planet defenseless. I realize that Lyons seems far behind the lines, but just one 'Mech battalion jumping in from an uninhabited star could wreak havoc."
Major Scott Bradley, the dark-haired MechWarrior seated across the table from Salome, frowned. "Why hit Lyons?" He smiled apologetically at Clovis. "Not to run down your new home, but the object of modern warfare is to destroy the enemy's ability to wage war. Lyons, in that sense, is not a military target. Were the Combine able to spare troops for a raid, then this world's agro and water supply might make it a target, but I think the Combine has some other worries."
Morgan nodded. "I agree with you, Scott, that the Combine has other problems, especially in the Rasalhague District, but the Lyran offensive's punch down in the area came just slightly rimward of here. I would not consider the Isle of Skye's border at all secure. If the Combine wished, it could come through here, then swing out to trap troops in a pocket centered on Marfik."
Dan shook his head. "What troops does the Dragon have to perform such a maneuverer? Most of the Dieron Military District's troops, including the Genyosha,made that assault on the Terran Corridor and got pushed back."
"True, but Davion has not attacked into the Dieron District to pin down those troops. For all we know, they're massing on Yorii or Imbros III for a strike at Lyons." Morgan looked over at the black man seated between Salome and Dan. "What do you think, Cat?"
Cat Wilson knit his fingers together and rested his hands like a cap on top of his shaved head. "I think I don't trust Lestrade as far as I could throw this planet. He thinks he's got an ace up his sleeve somewhere. His wanting us out of Lyons could be a simple move to reassure Kurita that he, Lestrade, is not part of the war. As much as the man is a lying, scheming, power-hungry sycophant, we should remember that a Kurita raid cost him his left arm and left leg. I doubt that the idea of another Kurita assault on his holdings appeals to him."
"Point well taken." Morgan looked past Scott Bradley toward Clovis. "You're the mayor of New Freedom. What do you think?"
The dwarf smiled affably. "Remember, I'm only the acting mayor. Once my mother stops running you around in the Bifrost,she'll take over again." Clovis glanced at Cat. "My mother has told me stories of the raid in which Lestrade lost his arm and leg. She used to work in the castle on Summer and had to flee for her life during that raid. From what she's said, Lestrade probably murdered his father, and almost certainly arranged the accidents that killed all his siblings so he would inherit the throne. That doesn't offer much of a recommendation for his character, but I'd have to side with Cat. I don't think Lestrade would want a raid from the Combine in the Isle of Skye. And even if he did, why Lyons? It would make no sense."
Clovis looked back at Morgan. "Isn't this something of a moot point? You were going to be leaving Lyons within the month anyway. Right?"
Morgan nodded. "That's our plan. We've got a meeting scheduled for Ryde at the beginning of June. Whether or not we would have left Lyons on our own, part of me hates to appear to be following Lestrade's order. I suppose it can't be helped in this case. We cannot afford to be late arriving on Ryde."
Dan clenched his teeth. Morgan calls it a meeting, but all of us know what it really will be. Morgan and Yorinaga Kurita will once again do battle to determine who between them will live or die. While this war engulfs all the Successor States, Morgan Kell and Yorinaga Kurita are also holding their own little war. Were Morgan not preoccupied with—hell, obsessed with—his private conflict, he'd drop the Kell Hounds in on Aldo Lestrade just to deliver an answer to that madman's order.
"So, we'll get the Kell Hounds out of here on time, just to keep Lestrade happy." Morgan went on, his countenance darkening. "But if our compliance plays into one of Lestrade's schemes, I swear the Kell Hounds will make the Duke regret it for what little of his life he'll have left."
8
Tharkad
District of Donegal, Lyran Commonwealth
20 April 3029
Jeana Clay hit the pause button on the holodisk recorder as she turned toward the door. The instant the Archon entered, Jeana rose from her chair and crossed the room quickly. Before the guards had closed the door, she threw her arms around Katrina Steiner. "Hello, mother. How good to see you today."
Jeana's voice—a perfect match for that of Melissa Steiner-Davion—did not betray her unease. Why has the Archon come to my chambers? Has something happened to Melissa?Jeana pulled back from the tall, platinum-haired matriarch and gave her a respectful bow. "Forgive me, Archon, but I did not expect you."
The gray-eyed woman smiled easily and waved Jeana back toward her chair as she seated herself on the edge of the bed. "There is no emergency. Don't be alarmed. According to the holodisk I received this morning from the Federated Suns, Melissa is well."
Jeana caught a glimpse of her own reflection in the mirror on the closet door. The long golden hair and carefully sculpted features matched Melissa's face in all details. The gray eyes, given to Melissa by genetics and Jeana by contact lenses, stared back at her from the mirror. I wonder if I’ll ever get used to wearing another's face.