Morgan frowned. "How can you call me that when you said you were afraid of my disloyalty."
Quintus laid his hand on Morgan's shoulder. "Being afraid of fire doesn't mean you never strike a match. You just don't strike one in a place where the fire can get out of control. Hanse knew, deep down, that you could be trusted. He just had to be sure others could not twist you and use you against him."
Hanse nodded in agreement. "Now, however, a situation has come up that requires handling by a tactical genius. It is of vital importance. I will not repeat Ian's mistake. Besides, I'm not certain my skill could bring us a victory. You're the only one I can trust with it."
Morgan nodded once. "Give me a bucket of water and I'll storm the gates of Hell for you."
Hanse smiled uneasily. "Would that this mission were so easy." He plucked a folder from his desk and handed it to Morgan. As the younger man scanned the material, Hanse continued speaking.
"Liao has a minimum of one elite battalion—most probably his Death Commandos—heading in to Kathil. We believe they're going to destroy the generating facilities on the ground. On the planet, we have a very green militia unit. The only other forces I can give you are a reinforced 'Mech company and the tailings from the Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers. We've nothing else in range that can get there in time."
Morgan looked up anxiously. "If they cripple Kathil, we'll have no way to repair JumpShips, nor will we be able to build new ones to replace those that can't be fixed. Our troops will have to pull back, our supply routes become more chancy, and our reaction time to enemy raids goes to hell."
Hanse sat back on the edge of his desk. "Now you know why you've got to stop the assault. The Death Commandoes are suicide troops. They'll keep coming until you blow them to pieces. They might have some help—in which case, things are going to get really nasty."
Morgan snapped the folder shut. He stood and saluted Hanse Davion. "I'll stop them. If it takes every man and every 'Mech I have, I'll stop them."
Hanse returned the salute. "You'll have to do better than that."
Morgan frowned in confusion. "Pardon?"
"We learned of this attack because of a risky move by an agent inside the Maskirovka." Hanse looked his nephew straight in the eye. "After the defense of Kathil, whatever you have left in the way of men and machines must go to Sian to bring him back home."
34
Tharkad
District of Donegal, Lyran Commonwealth
10 August 3029
Katrina Steiner stood before her throne as Frederick Steiner entered the hall. The tap of his heels against the polished marble floor sounded a rhythmic tattoo, faltering only when Frederick noticed Ryan Steiner standing in the throne's shadow. The Archon saw Frederick's valiant struggle to keep the surprise from his face, and she savored it. Yes, you idiot. You are undone.
Frederick, resplendent in the gray uniform of the Tenth Lyran Guards, came to a halt at the base of the throne. He clicked his heels and bowed to the Archon, but she did not offer him her hand. He straightened up stiffly. "You have summoned me, Archon?"
The Archon looked down at him. "So I have."
Frederick squirmed uneasily beneath her cold stare. His right hand almost rose to massage the scar at his temple, but he caught himself. "What is it, Katrina?" Frederick transmuted some of his fear into irritation. "There's a war on out there, and it's time for my troops to rotate back to the front. What do you want?"
The Archon smiled cruelly as she seated herself on the tall throne. Above and behind her, the two
Griffin
Frederick drew back a step. "What are you talking about?"
Katrina waved his question aside. "You moron! It's bad enough that you plot little treasons with Aldo Lestrade, but now you actively join him in this latest of his plots! Until now, I'd always assumed the attempts on my life were the work of Lestrade, and Lestrade alone." She turned to Ryan. "Now he brings me a holodisk you sent to Alessandro demanding his support in the situation resulting from my downfall. How could you have been so blatantly stupid?"
Frederick's mouth dropped open. "Aldo has tried to have you killed? I knew there had been attempts, but I assumed they were made by dissidents, by Heimdall... or by House Kurita. I. .."
The pained look of betrayal in his eyes touched something in Katrina. Frederick has always been hostile and malicious, but I've overlooked many things because of his loyalty to the Commonwealth and his general lack of imagination. Am I wrong in supposing he was desperate enough to sanction this latest attempt?
"Frederick, two months ago, assassins nearly murdered me and Simon Johnson. If not for a member of Heimdall, you'd be sitting in my place now. Are you telling me this was not the incident you hinted at in the holodisk sent to Alessandro?"
All color had drained from Frederick's face, but fire still burned his eyes. He glanced hatefully at Ryan, then looked at the Archon. "I swear on my honor as an officer in the LCAF that I knew nothing of any attempt to kill you. Depose you, yes. I've wanted to do that ever since you usurped the throne. But I wanted to defeat you in a political battle, not destroy you like a thief fighting over the swag from a job."
Katrina's nostrils flared. "Your honor as an officer in the LCAF means nothing, Frederick, but the desire for an open battle is you, through and through." The Archon leaned back in her throne, resting her elbows on the arms and steepling her fingers. "What incident did you refer to in your message?"
Frederick stiffened as though prepared to deny her that information, but Katrina never gave him the chance to offer honor as a defense. "Face it, Frederick. Aldo Lestrade betrayed you a hundred times over. I know he is behind this—he's pulled your strings like a master puppeteer. What did he use to seduce you into cooperating this time?"
Frederick's resolve broke. "He planned, after any hostile action by the Combine forces, to declare the Isle of Skye independent. He would restrict trade, cutting you off from the Federated Suns." His eyes full of a plea for understanding, Frederick looked up at Katrina. "I would negotiate a settlement between the two of you. I would be seen as a leader and—" he glared at
Ryan— "with Alessandro's support, I could force you to abdicate. Or at least share power with me in some coalition."
Katrina glanced at Ryan, despising the smirk on the young man's lips. Just as he told me, though that plan was obvious from the political situation and the holodisk. Obvious enough for even Frederick to plumb its depths and decide it might work.Katrina felt a cold chill. Yes, with the people's irritation over the war's stalemate and my daughter's marriage, it probably would have worked.
She nodded solemnly. "The Kell Hounds defeating the Third Dieron Regulars put a crimp in that plan. Lestrade could not claim I had neglected him when the Hounds defended his world for him, could he?"
Frederick stared down at his boots. "No. He said the plan had just been delayed, not permanently stopped." His head came up. "You've seen that he's kept the Isle of Skye defended as lightly as possible, with the exception of Summer. He's still afraid of a raid there, though I think he fears the Kell Hounds more than he does the Dragon."