“Well done, Austin,” Manfred radioed him on a closed frequency. “That lets everyone know where they stand, especially Mugabe.”
Austin stared down from the Lamprey at the Atlas, carefully picking its way through the city streets, hunting for the route to take it out of Cingulum while causing the least damage.
“Yes,” Austin said. “Well done. Well done, all around!”
39
Palace of Facets, Cingulum
Mirach
12 May 3133
“The last tank commander has surrendered out by the Blood Hills Barracks,” Sergio Ortega announced, looking pleased with himself. “Without a shot being fired. Captain Mugabe was instrumental in negotiating the capitulation. I think she’ll prove herself even more useful as we rebuild and reconstitute the Legate’s forces.” His colorless eyes fixed on Austin, who stood to one side of the vast office. “Good sense has prevailed over force of arms.”
Austin didn’t flinch. “If I hadn’t powered up the Centurion–your BattleMech—Tortorelli would have overrun the Palace and you’d be dead. Mugabe had her Behemoth’s Gauss rifle pointed straight at your head.”
“But she refused to obey Tortorelli’s—Elora’s—order to destroy the Palace. It was too powerful a symbol of The Republic for her to blow up.”
“The Centurion held her at bay and gave her time to consider how wrong her orders were,” Austin shot back.
“You’ve forgotten what really happened? I contacted Manfred,” Sergio said. “The show of force was enough to compel Mugabe to surrender.”
“After more than a hundred soldiers died.” Austin swallowed and tasted bile at this terrible statistic.
How could I have done it differently? he wondered. Was there a way to keep my father safe without killing any of the Legate’s troops? If there had been a way, he couldn’t see it—neither in the heat of the fight nor in its aftermath. The threat of force was meaningless without the use of force if the bluff was called.
“Are you forgetting my role in all this?” asked Manfred Leclerc. “You were dog meat until I saved you.”
“My point is made, Father,” Austin said. “Without that cutting wheel and autocannon of Manfred’s, I’d have been dead.”
“You should never have gotten involved in the battle. Your presence is what put you at risk.”
“If I hadn’t engaged Tortorelli’s forces from the helicopter until Manfred and the other MBA ’Mechs arrived, we’d have lost everything.”
“Your plea to the soldiers caused many to reconsider the legality of the orders Tortorelli—and Elora—had given,” said Sergio. “Words, not bullets, turned the fight.”
“If I hadn’t fought to clear that channel, I’d never have been able to contact any of them.”
“Please, you two,” cut in Manfred. “Stop arguing. You’ll never get the other to agree. Governor Ortega has a point, Austin. The combination of Parsons’ political muscle and Marta Kinsolving’s loyalty to Mirach made victory over Elora and Tortorelli inevitable sooner or later. And,” Manfred hastily said, turning on the Baron, “you needed force to bring about your goals. Without the MBA’s ’Mechs you would have been killed.”
“As Manfred said so colorfully before, ‘dog meat.’” Austin grinned.
“The use of force means failure of diplomacy,” Sergio said. “Diplomacy and a certain element of stealth served me far better than brute violence. That’s how I contacted Manfred and warned him about taking off in the cargo DropShip.”
“Baron,” said Manfred, inclining his head slightly in the direction of the open office door.
Marta Kinsolving came into the office, Envoy Parsons at her side. She looked a little flushed, but her brief glance in Manfred’s direction might have explained that.
“Envoy Parsons, Ms. Kinsolving, so good of you to come.” Sergio stood and graciously indicated that they take comfortable leather chairs in front of his desk.
“This meeting must be short,” Jerome Parsons said brusquely. Austin compared this with the man’s earlier visit and the way he had seemed diffident then. Now he was all business. “I am pleased with the outcome of my mission to your fine planet and commend you all.”
Austin looked at his father. Something sounded wrong in Jerome Parsons’ compliment.
“Why did you choose to bring an Atlas here at all, Your Excellency?” asked Austin. He left the rest of the question unstated, but his father did not.
“Why did you put the Atlas under the command of the MBA?” Sergio asked.
Parsons took a deep breath, looked around the room, then glanced over his shoulder to be certain the office doors were closed.
“You have proved your loyalty. All of you.”
“Loyalty to The Republic,” Austin said.
“Quite so,” Parsons said. “Quite so. I allowed Ms. Kinsolving and her trade organization control of the BattleMech because I wanted to reinforce their loyalty. I had not realized how closely she would adhere to your recommendation to refrain from using the BattleMech’s power, Baron.”
“You were afraid we would forge an alliance with Bannson?” Marta asked. “The BattleMech was an indirect way of showing the advantage of remaining loyal to The Republic and giving us the support we needed against the government?”
“There was that,” Parsons admitted, “but there was another element to my plan. I was certain Governor Ortega remained loyal to The Republic but would not deploy the Atlas because of his philosophical leanings.”
“You shouldn’t have brought it,” Sergio said. Austin heard something more in the Envoy’s words.
“I had to be certain that you weren’t loyal first and foremost to Aaron Sandoval, and only then to The Republic,” Parsons went on.
“It’s not the same thing, is it?” Austin said, his mind racing. “What haven’t we been told because the HPG net is down?”
“Austin,” Sergio said sharply.
“It’s all right, Governor. It’s time to share our secret,” Parsons said. “I am loyal to The Republic, but no longer can I say the same with regard to Aaron Sandoval.”
Silence fell in the room.
“Who are you working for, if not the Lord Governor?” asked Austin.
“Let us say a Paladin of The Republic and leave it at that. Sandoval, however, thinks I am still his faithful Envoy.”
“A double agent,” Manfred said in a whispered voice.
Austin looked at his father, whose enigmatic smile suddenly spoke volumes. Sergio had insisted he had a plan; for two months he’d kept silent. Austin looked to Parsons again.
“Yes, a double agent.” Parsons looked at each of them in turn. “This information could be my demise. My life is now in your hands.
“Though he continues to act as Lord Governor of the Prefecture, the truth is that Aaron Sandoval is no longer loyal to The Republic. With the destruction of the HPG net, he has tasted new power, as has Kal Radick. You may have heard rumors about their defections. These rumors are true. Given the chaos that has descended upon us, there’s been little time and too few resources to address the question of putting new leaders into place.” Parsons’ look turned grave.
“Know this. I willingly risk my life for The Republic. I am trying to shore up support amongst the worlds, and am not loyal to any single individual. The ideals of Devlin Stone are bigger than that. Come what may, I will fight and die for the unity of The Republic of the Sphere.”
“Mirach may not be a large, rich planet, but you can count on our fealty,” Sergio said.