Katrina let her hands drop to her lap. "It is well that he does. The Kell Hounds have business of their own to attend to, and after that, I am not certain I can restrain them from taking Summer apart." Indeed, if Yorinaga Kurita had not sent Morgan a message setting up a battle on the desert world of Nusakan IV in two months, Morgan might have already killed Lestrade.
Frederick Steiner tore the epaulets from his uniform and tossed them at the Archon's feet. "I resign from the Tenth Lyran Guards. They're the best troops an officer could ever hope to lead." He looked into Katrina's eyes, letting the barest hint of a smile lift the corners of his mouth. "But you know that. You commanded them before becoming Archon. They're still the best. I will not have their reputation soiled when you try me for treason and have me executed."
Katrina looked down at the shoulder-boards, momentarily entranced by the light flashing from the silver double diamonds on each one. I wish it were that simple.She nudged them back in his direction with the toe of her boot.
"Believe me, Frederick, I wish I could accept your offer. Had I a choice, I'd have you shot and Aldo Lestrade hung from the highest Triad tower. As it is, that's impossible. I cannot have you killed, nor can I accept your resignation."
Frederick's white brows met as a puzzlement made deep wrinkles in his forehead. "I do not understand."
Katrina moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. "In leaving the Isle of Skye open for attack, Aldo Lastrade has made his holding very attractive to the Draconis Combine. True, they did try a raid that would give him the excuse to pull out, but that plan came from Luthien. A new, more deadly plan has been drafted by Theodore Kurita. In short, he plans a major offensive based from the world of Dromini VI. The offensive is to begin in late October and will stab deep into the Isle of Skye."
Frederick closed his eyes as he summoned up a mental map of the region. "That puts a half-dozen worlds in jeopardy, and makes many more vulnerable to second- and third-stage jumps." His eyes opened. "With our forces strung out through the Rasalhague District and fighting along the Marik border, we don't have time to get troops and supplies to Skye to stop their offensive."
"Not unless we want to let our front collapse like a house of cards," Katrina said. "I could pump troops into the Skye worlds, but they'd not have the needed support or supplies. Given another month, I could do it, and another month is what I mean to have."
She leaned forward, all Archon-to-subject protocol abandoned. Speaking as one MechWarrior to another, she quickly outlined her only hope. "Theodore Kurita has already hit Dromini VI with commando attacks that have eliminated the world's militia. He'll begin filtering troops and supplies onto the planet over the next two months. Then, late in November, he'll head out. The JumpShips are using a pirate point less than three hundred thousand kilometers from the world to keep the evidence of activity to a minimum. The only hope we have of delaying the invasion is to prevent sufficient troops and supplies from being gathered. I need to hit Theodore's supply base."
Frederick nodded slowly, rubbing his hand over his chin. "An elite unit could do it. We could destroy the stores, but it would be a suicide mission."
Katrina met his unwavering stare. "Dying a hero is a much better way to be remembered in history than being executed for treason."
Frederick raised himself up to full height. "Promise me that a JumpShip will wait for any of my men who do somehow survive to make it back." He narrowed his eyes as she hesitated. "You need not fear, Katrina, that I will be among them."
The Archon stood and offered him her hand. "It shall be done."
Frederick kissed her hand, then took one last look at the throne room he had yearned to call his own. He bowed and turned to leave, but stopped to stare coldly at the other Steiner in the room. "What you have seen here, Ryan Steiner, is what happens when you lose to a gracious victor. I hope, when your time comes, that your defeat will serve the Commonwealth as well as mine."
BOOK IV
HONOR
It is better to deserve honors and not have them than to have them and not deserve them.
—Mark Twain
35
New Avalon
Cruris March, Federated Suns
15 August 3029
The frustrated look on Riva Allard's face melted as Kym Sorenson entered the office. "Kym, can I use you as a character reference?"
Kym set a small stack of disks down on her desk, then turned to look suspiciously at Riva. "What do you need references for?" She grinned and dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "You're not going to take that job with Biotron Industries, are you?"
Riva glanced at the data terminal in her desk. "No, no. Nothing like that. I just need to get an increase in my security clearance to be able to look at that Star League library memory core. The MHO investigators have to hear it from you that I'm not going to sell what I learn to the Draconis Combine."
Kym raised an eyebrow. "You tend to eat lots of sushiwhen we order lunch out. .."
Riva's shoulders slumped. "Don't even joke about that, Kym. This Star League library data is the hottest find in the past two hundred years. A mercenary company, the Gray Death Legion, apparently recovered it from an old Star League depot in the Free Worlds League two years ago. Copies have been slowly working their way through the Successor States and finally made it here to the NAIS."
Kym shrugged nonchalantly. "Probably just a romantic literature storehouse."
Riva shook her head resolutely. "That's not the word down in Advanced Research. They think it's chock-full of technical data on scientific discoveries and experiments. I've even heard a rumor that it has 750 kilobytes on Kearny-Fuchida drive theory alone." She smiled hopefully. "It could have all sorts of stuff that would help with my doctoral thesis."
"Hmmm, that's interesting." Kym pulled out her chair to sit down at her desk. "Why do you need to fill out a security report form? I mean, with your father being the Minister, can't he just clear you?"
Riva looked down. "Look, with Justin going over to the Maskirovka, I'm considered a worse risk than a Kurita prisoner of war." She tugged the sleeves of her blue sweater up to her elbows, then held her hands out, wrists next to each other. "Maybe I should just have them cuff me and cart me off to detention."
"Can't let that happen," Kim said mock-seriously. "Prison grays are just not your color." She laughed as Riva smiled. "Sure, put me down. Have you asked Dr. Banzai for a recommendation yet?"
Riva hesitated. "I was going to wait. .."
"For what? He's agreed to teach next trimester, and he's expressed interest in your thesis." Kym looked mystified. "There are times I don't understand you at all, Riva Allard. Dr. Banzai has been nothing but helpful and encouraging with your studies, yet you shy way from him as though he's got the plague."
Riva stood and came around to the side of Kym's desk. Leaning heavily against the wall, she crossed her arms. "I find him scary, Kym. He's so brilliant he makes me feel like a child again. And he knows all sorts of diverse things. I never know when he's going to offer a non sequitur that will throw me for a loop."
Kym sat back in her chair, light flashing from the silver neckpiece she wore. "For example?"
Riva shrugged, wracking her brain for an example, then a spark flashed through her eyes. "Well, he was in a coma when they brought him from Northwind to the NAIS. I assisted with the myomer quadricep replacement on his left thigh. When he came out of it, I went up to see him. He took one look at my name tag and said, 'Don't worry about your brother Dan. He's in a good machine.'"