The mercenaries imitated Yorinaga's gesture with equal care and precision. As all three men straightened up, no one smiled, but Akira felt that in that instant, the three men shared a unity and sense of well-being.
Yorinaga chose his words carefully. "I am indebted to you for Chu-saBrahe's life. His loss would have been a great blow."
Jaime Wolf nodded slowly. "You honored us by accepting our help."
Yorinaga received Wolf's remark with a graceful nod. "Do you know what he found in ComStar's heart?"
"We did not have time to explore ourselves, but we have an idea," said Morgan Kell. "One of the guards had a tattoo on his forehead that marked him as a former member of a band of Periphery pirates. Hiring a man like him means ComStar has something it desperately wants to hide."
Wolf smiled cynically. "Such as a storehouse of lostech."
Yorinaga invited Akira forward with a nod. "Tell them."
Akira looked apprehensively at the two mercenaries. These words should be for the Dragon's ears only, but my Father is right. These men have earned the right to hear.As he began to speak, his voice betrayed a slight nervous tremor. "Down inside the ComStar facility, I saw a warehouse of BattleMechs. From what little I could make out, all appeared to be in perfect condition. I saw no indication that they'd ever seen combat."
Something cold and dreadful flashed through Wolf's gray eyes. "Think back. Did you see any 'Mechs of the Hatchet-mandesign?"
Akira chewed his lower lip and closed his eyes. He summoned back the picture of all those many 'Mechs and searched through it for the unique model Wolf had inquired about. Opening his eyes, Akira shook his head. "I do not recall seeing that model, but I believe I understand the purpose of your inquiry. All the 'Mechs I saw seemed, from external appearances, to have been built along the lines of Star League originals."
Wolf's frown revealed his distrust of Akira's analysis, but the younger MechWarrior held his right hand up to forestall any comment. "Colonel, I know I do not have your vast experience, but I learned to pilot a 'Mech in the Alshain factory. Engineers used to regale us with stories about the original designs for the 'Mechs they worked on. It's true that their purpose was to show how their work had improved on the original design, but they taught me enough to make this report with certainty."
Morgan Kell stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Your answer, Chu-sa,gives us half the puzzle. It is possible that ComStar is sitting on a Star League armory. Colonel Wolf's question actually meant to discover if ComStar was manufacturing their 'Mechs, and if they were keeping current with post-Star League designs."
Akira shook his head. "I saw no assembly gantries, but then I only glimpsed a very small portion of what must be a very large facility." Remembering the shaft heading down beneath the ocean floor, he said, "Very large, indeed."
Wolf turned to Yorinaga. "Have you told the Dragon what your son has learned?"
Yorinaga hesitated before answering, and Akira winced at the pain in his father's eyes. The elder man brought up his head. "I hesitate to do so because of the reaction it might provoke. Given ComStar's pacifistic propaganda and despite the encounters last night, I believe it is possible that they keep these 'Mechs to prevent them from being used in war. Furthermore, any attempt to take the BattleMechs away from ComStar would be most troublesome."
Akira's emotions tore him apart as he listened to his father speak. My loyalty to the Dragon cries out at my father's betrayal of the Combine, but my brain and heart tell me my father is correct. If the Draconis Combine attempted to wrest the 'Mechs away from ComStar, it would be placed under an interdict that would prevent all interstellar communications from going in, out, or through the Combine. Without communication, defense would be impossible and our enemies would pick us apart.
Morgan Kell nodded in agreement with Yorinaga. "We have not truly determined ComStar's purpose in keeping those 'Mechs. I believe that it is advisable to keep the news of Chu-saBrahe's discovery secret for the time being."
Colonel Wolf reluctantly gave his consent. "I do not so easily accept the fiction of ComStar's purity, but the choice of action you draw from it is acceptable to me."
All three men turned toward Akira. They ask me to agree. They do not order compliance. I am indeed fortunate to serve with one of their caliber.He nodded. "The secret shall not pass from my lips, but what if ComStar is monitoring our discussion?"
Wolf grinned like his namesake. "Have no worry about that. Our conversation is safe."
Yorinaga turned slowly to face Morgan Kell. "Colonel, I would speak with you on another subject."
Morgan nodded slowly and Akira saw a weariness in his eyes and bearing that seemed to bear down on him like a great weight. It is as though he already knows what my father will say, and my father seems equally burdened.
Yorinaga bowed his head respectfully. "I wish you to know I that I would not have chosen to destroy your brother if there had !J been any other option. I assure you that your brother had full j knowledge of his actions and did not shun the glory of a war-rior's death."
Morgan clenched his jaw and forced his hands to unknot. In his heart was pain and grief, but his words were calm and measured. "It pleases me to know that Patrick earned your respect in the manner of his death. For all that, however, I wish it had not happened."
Yorinaga nodded. "It is the best one can hope for now. I trust that when you and I meet again in the battlefield, we shall be as honorable."
"Do you so look forward to that meeting?" Morgan asked. "You know what it will mean, don't you?"
Yorinaga opened his hands. "I have accepted and awaited that outcome for the past twelve years. I was ready for it on Mallory's World. In showing me honor, you shamed me. I have had many years to remember that battle and your actions. I have relived our contest again and again. I recall it in such exquisite detail that I have often studied a single action or thought for weeks at a time."
Morgan Kell's face became a mask of anger. "Have you learned nothing through that study?" He clenched his fists, then his expression melted in a flood of compassion. "I can feel it in you, Yorinaga. You have touched the key. You know it and have mastered it, but you've not used it to unlock the door."
Yorinaga smiled tolerantly. "Perhaps it is true that I have found what you call a key, but perhaps I have used it to open a different door. For me, it will unlock the chains that keep me from what I lost on Mallory's World. I have endured the years without it in hopes of some release from my captivity. For a time, I felt that the Coordinator would allow me to take my own life to purge me of the shame. He denied my every request, and so I came to accept that my salvation would not come by the Dragon's claw."
Yorinaga's hands moved through the air, eloquently describing a sphere. "I studied our battle and mastered every nuance of it. In myself, I found the raw materials of what you discovered during our battle. From them, I constructed the key. When we next clash, I will use it to free myself and to forever banish my shame."
"You willingly accept the price that we both will pay when that battle comes to pass?"
Yorinaga nodded. "Is there any honor in saving our bodies from what our minds already know and accept about us?"
Morgan shook his head. As he turned to walk back into the reception, Yorinaga moved to join him. Akira, confused, turned to Jaime Wolf. "What do they mean, Colonel? What are they talking about?"
Wolf narrowed his eyes. "It's simple, Chu-saBrahe. Morgan Kell and Yorinaga Kurita both know that the next time they meet in combat, they will kill one another."