"I never have approved of this project, Carlyle. You know that, don't you?"
"Yes, sir."
"I certainly never expected His Majesty would establish anything like an elite unit elsewhere than within the structure of the Guard. I expect General Varney was responsible for this idiotic notion of having the Lancers be an independent unit Eh? Well?”
“I wouldn't know, sir."
"Hmm, no, I expect not." Adel leaned back in his chair, carefully crossing one leg over the other. "Well, be advised that that's all changing, as of now."
"Sir?"
"That surprises you, eh? Well, Varney is out of the picture, Carlyle, and the First Trellwan Lancers are, as of this period, being redesignated as E Company, Tenth Royal Guards. They will be under my direct command."
The room swam in Grayson's eyes. What Adel was saying did not make sense. "Sir... I..."
"You will turn over all records and files to your successor. Captain Nolem." Adel looked up from his desk at Carlyle, astonishment softening his voice. "You didn't think you'd actually keep the Lance, did you? You're young, Carlyle, too young for a command of such responsibility. The job was just too big for you. Try not to feel too..."
"Do you mean the Lancers aren't mine anymore?" Grayson cut in dully.
"That's exactly what I mean, Lieutenant. You are relieved. As you were never actually a member of the Trellwan armed forces other than through a special act by the King, I fail to see how they ever could have been... yours.
"At any rate, a company rates a captain, and you can't expect us to twist the whole structure of military command around just to accommodate you, do you? You will be retained as special advisor. Your knowledge of 'Mechs and 'Mech tactics makes you invaluable to us." Adel's eyebrows came together, his eyes narrowing. "That means no more of your gallivanting around in a combat zone. I will not risk having you killed and losing your expertise!"
"Sir, Sergeant Kalmar is..."
"That young lady is an enemy alien. She should never have been given rank or position within our armed forces! You were the one responsible for that gaff, I believe? Well, don't worry. As I said, you are young, inexperienced."
"What will happen to her?"
"That, Lieutenant, is none of your business."
"General, I demand..."
"You'll demand nothing, Lieutenant!"
"But..."
"Enough! I've wasted more time with you than I can spare. Dismissed!" With that, a sentry ushered Grayson out and into the marble corridors of the Palace.
General Adel stared after Grayson for long, hard seconds after he'd been escorted out. The young Commonwealther would have to be watched, and watched closely. It was always dangerous to allow any one man too much power. And control of the Lancers? No, he reminded himself, not the Lancers. It was control of the Tenth Regiment that meant power. Men would do anything to win power, and to hold it. Young Carlyle was very popular with his men. General Adel believed popular military commanders were never to be trusted.
Perhaps it would be best if Carlyle's career ended soon. A knife in the dark had solved such problems many times before in human history. He knew there had been a previous attempt, but no one in his command would have so botched the job by hiring untrustworthy personnel.
* * * *
Mara drew Grayson closer, her hands moving delicately at his ears, at the back of his neck. "But what are you going to do?”she asked, her dark eyes wide.
"I don't know, Mara. I really don't know." The shock of his talk with Adel had worn off, leaving him with a profound sense of emptiness, as though some inner part of his spirit had died.
"It's kind of hard to say. You know, when I started out... When I said I'd start an anti-Mech unit for your people, I was doing it for just one reason."
Her fingers moved along his chest, brushing at the few strands of hair there. "What was that?"
"Revenge. Revenge, pure and simple. I wanted to get back at the people who murdered my father, and I sure wasn't going to be able to do that on my own." He managed a smile. "Someone told me once I'd get into trouble on my own. I wish he could see me now.”
“But you're not alone, Gray. You have me." He pulled her close, and kissed her. "Thank you, love, but I needed help to fight back against those bandits, against that Marauder."He lay back on the bed, his eyes staring unseeing past the ceiling. "You know, those weeks building the Lancers, I think they were the best in my life. I was... building something... doing something that only I could do. And I had a purpose. I was going to destroy the 'Mech... and the MechWarrior who killed Dad."
"Maybe you were just trying to prove something to yourself."
He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe at first. I know I still want revenge. Want it more than anything else." He turned to Mara, probing his own feelings. "But after awhile, I had something more, something that pushed the whole question of revenge into the background.
"I had a purpose, a direction, and felt something like belonging. I was never so alone as when I found out all my people were gone... that I was marooned on Trellwan. The Lancers were like havig a family again, and that was special."
He paused again, working to control his voice. Don't think about that, he told himself. Not that. It was revenge you wanted. Revenge and nothing more.
"You know, with the Lancers, there was at least a slim chance that I might someday bring that Marauderdown. But now..."
Her eyes showed fear. "Then what hope is there for us?"
"Oh, things’ll be O.K., here. Now that Sarghad's got three 'Mechs, the bandits won't attack the city anymore. There'd be too much chance they'd get trapped in the streets, like that Locustwas when we captured it. It's possible they might raid the agrodomes, but they won't come into the city anymore."
Adel and his staff must have come to the same conclusion, Grayson realized with a new surge of bitterness. With three 'Mechs and a trained anti-Mech ground force, Sarghad was reasonably safe. They probably wouldn't be able to destroy the Marauderand Shadow Hawk— not without a remarkable stroke of good fortune — but the enemy could no longer get at them.
And wasn't that why they'd had him assemble the Lancers in the first place? So far as the Trellwanese
government was concerned, his job was done. They'dnever said anything about his using the Lancers to further his personal vendetta against the bandits. '
"Silly, there's really nothing to worry about." Mara nuzzled at his ear, her hands roving. "We have each other, and that's all we need. And next period, I'll talk to Daddy. I'll bet he can help."
He smiled and surrendered to her caresses. But the hurt within did not cease.
Sometime later, he came wide awake. A siren was sounding outside from the roof of the palace, its strident rise and fall cutting through the air above Sarghad.
Mara was sitting up, the covers clutched in front of her. "What is it Gray... an attack?"
Grayson stepped to the window and looked out, but could see only surging crowds of people in the streets. He scanned the horizon for ‘Mechs, saw nothing.
"I don't know, Mara. Something'sstirring the people up, that's certain."
Mara used a remote handset to click on the room's wall visor. Grayson turned and stared at the screen. The entertainment channels had been overriden by a government newscast. A man in a Guards Colonel uniform was directing the people of Sarghad to stay indoors, to keep their visors on and listen for continued updates. Then the scene cut to a long-range view of the spaceport, and to massive grey shapes settling out of the sky. Ships were landing, the speaker's voice explained, and Grayson was shocked to see that their insignia was the sinuous black and red dragon crest of House Kurita. Ships of the Draconis Combine, under the command of Duke Ricol, were landing on Trellwan to rid the world once and for all of the Oberon bandit menace. The bandits, the voice asserted, had already surrendered to Ricol. Now, at last, there would be peace.