Riva shot cautious glances to either side, then spoke in a low voice. "The Duchess traveled to Terra aboard the Prince's ship."
Dan pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Interesting."
Janos Marik, Captain-General of the Free Worlds League, was next to appear in the doorway to polite applause. Though he had once been a tall man, age had stooped his shoulders somewhat and had entirely leeched his shoulder-length hair of color. Deep wrinkles gathered the flesh at the corners of his eyes and lined his brow. Everything about him, including the House Marik crest tattooed on his forehead in black and purple, seemed tired. His uniform bore the medals and campaign ribbons befitting the long career of the eldest Successor State ruler, yet the man seemed weighed down by the responsibilities they represented.
His consort, a strikingly beautiful woman with long chestnut hair and almost hypnotic eyes, seemed filled with enough energy to power them both. As she laced her long fingers with Marik's, ihe older man seemed rejuvenated. He smiled at her, and she returned it with a look that seemed to operate on a legion of different levels. Seeing how her red gown clung to her shapely body and the way she continually brushed close to the Captain-General, Dan found himself envying the older man.
Riva leaned toward her brother. "Janos Marik looks so old."
Dan nodded. "The Civil War against his brother Anton really took it out of him, though they say he's gotten better since he look Brownwen Rafsani as his mistress." The Kell Hound nodded at the other members of the Marik family trailing Janos into the room. "Unless someone gets an upper hand soon, it would appear there will be another civil war when he goes." He smiled to himself. Half Janos's heirs will be fighting for the Captain-General's baton, and the other half will be fighting over her.
The appearance of the Lords of the Draconis Combine cut off any of Dan's further speculation concerning the Free Worlds
League. Standing with head held high, Takashi Kurita paused before entering the room. A handsome, wiry man, he exuded strength. Though his closely-cropped hair had gone to white along the sides and forelock, the rest of it was as black as in the days of his youth.
Dressed in a suit of antiquarian cut, with a jacket short in front and with long tails in back and a gray striped cravat, Takashi claimed dignity from some older tradition. He bowed his head slightly to the crowd, then proceeded down the steps.
Following behind him was his wife, Jasmine Kurita, her eyes cast down respectfully. Small and delicate, she wore her black hair gathered at the nape of her neck in traditional Japanese style. Hand painted jasmine blossoms decorated her green silken gown.
Riva groaned enviously. "She walks so gracefully."
Her brother nodded. "Like something so delicate, it might easily break."
Dan stiffened as the next two Draconian guests entered the room. What is he doing here ?he thought. Turning to his father, Dan said, "That one, the older man, that's Yorinaga Kurita." The breasts and sleeves of Yorinaga's hakamawere decorated with the Genyoshatidal wave. "You see, father, there's the crest you couldn't identify."
Quintus Allard nodded slowly, his thick, white brows nearly touching at the center of his forehead. "Who do you suppose that is?" he said, gesturing with his chin toward the tall, blond man descending the steps with Yorinaga.
Dan shook his head. "Don't know, but I'll bet he's from Rasalhague. He's wearing the same crest, so he must be in Yorinaga's unit."
"Hmmm ... I wonder." Quintus scratched at the back of his neck. "I recall that Yorinaga had a son before he was disgraced."
Dan raised an eyebrow. "What happened to him?"
"Don't know, really. Yorinaga's wife killed herself. We've assumed the son did the same, but perhaps not." Quintus's gaze turned to follow the progress of Coordinator Takashi Kurita and his wife. "No Theodore Kurita, though. How interesting."
Riva turned toward her father. "How so?"
Quintus's face froze in an expression that Dan recognized immediately. It was the I can't talk about itlook, which puzzled Dan, because the answer to Riva's question was hardly classified information. He turned to his sister. "Everyone else here is parading their heirs. With Theodore stuck off somewhere with his 'Mech unit, well, it raises questions of relations between father and son."
Quintus nodded to confirm Dan's analysis, then turned his head quickly as Maximilian Liao became the next figure framed in the doorway. Dressed in formal black robes embroidered completely with Liao crests in shiny black silk thread, the tall, slender Capellan Chancellor showed something less than a festive air. A thin smile tightened the corners of his mouth as his dark eyes swept the crowd. With his left hand, he smoothed the long tails of his mustache.
In contrast to the Draconian Coordinator, Maximilian Liao turned and extended his hand to his wife. Almost as tall as her husband and strikingly beautiful, Elizabeth Jordan Liao gracefully accepted his arm. Her waist-length black hair tumbled over her right shoulder, half-obscuring her white silk robe. Dragons and tigers embroidered in black thread cavorted throughout the design, but the aggressive images could not rob Elizabeth Jordan Liao of her femininity or charm.
Emerging behind her father and her stepmother, Romano Liao assumed center stage with the air of a warrior conquering a planet. Blue silk trimmed her golden robe, yet her obvious uneasiness in wearing it seemed to dim its beauty. Beside her, dressed in a blue robe trimmed with gold silk, Tsen Shang escorted Romano with a smile of pleasure. The Maskirovka analyst led her down the steps, though the look on her face made it clear that she was not yet ready to relinquish the spotlight.
Dan's breath caught in his throat as Candace Liao and her escort stepped through the door. My God! It's Justin!Riva shot Dan a hard glance, and Tamara reached out for her husband's hand.
Unlike Maximilian or Romano, Candace had chosen to wear a clinging black gown decorated with sparkling black sequins instead of traditional Capellan garb. In a concession to current fashion, the right side of the gown was sleeveless, but a full sleeve covered her left arm, from the back of her band up beyond her scarred shoulder all the way to her throat. Starting at the shoulder, the sequin design swirled down the sleeve like ivy, while slender sequined tendrils spiraled from the same spot down across the rest of the dress.
His face a proud mask, Justin stood a half-step behind Candace, with all his attention focused on her. He wore a black waist-length coat and sharply creased black trousers that accentuated his lean build. No design or insignia decorated his jacket. As though to mirror the way Candace's sleeve half-concealed her left hand, Justin wore a black leather glove over his.
Turning her head toward Justin, Candace lifted her left hand. Justin reached for her with his right, then guided her down the stairs. Though Colonel Pavel Ridzik, the tall, red-haired Strategic Military Director for the whole of the Capellan Confederation, was next to stride through the door—discreetly followed by a uniformed Alexi Malenkov—no one in the room noticed.
Dan turned to his father, whose face was ashen. "I have to talk to Justin," he said.
"No, Dan. Don't do it. Please."
"How can you tell me that? He's my brother, dammit, and I've not seen him in years." Dan glanced down, remembering a holovid he'd seen of Justin's battles on Solaris. "At least, not in person."
Quintus's eyes hardened. "He's changed, Dan. He's no longer the Justin we knew."