OPREF-3 Chpt 6

=Book 3, Chapter 6- Stacking the Deck=
==Opalescent Reflections==
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===Struggles of Managing an Empire===
Hancock City, Abagnar
Diamond Shark Dominion
27 January 3054
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Another world closer to New Samarkand - although Abagnar was of even less strategic value in and of itself than Qandahar. It did have a medical school, so it wasn't worthless but there had been little glory here.
 
"I know there are worlds in the Inner Sphere that dwarf even the richest of our homeworlds," Angus Labov observed as he sat across from Ace in what had once been the governor's office. It had been his Twenty-First Assault Cluster that took the world off a mercenary garrison that had been outnumbered, outgunned… and outmaneuvered, which was positively embarrassing with their lighter and presumably more agile 'mechs.
 
Ace chuckled. "But this is not one of them, quineg?"
 
"Neg." The older officer shook his head. "And I have most of a trinary scattered across three other systems waiting for garrisons to catch up. If we're ordered to New Samarkand now then we will be understrength."
 
"Epsilon Galaxy has taken more worlds in the last year than Alpha Galaxy and Gamma Galaxy combined," Ace countered. "There is an extent to which they are acting as a diversion for the DCMS while we conquer this region of space."
 
"That is a nice turn of phrase," Angus told him, "But it will be generations before these worlds become as prosperous as they should be. And since we will need to guard them the entire time, right now they are a drain on the Clan."
 
Ace nodded. "Most investments are a drain… until they generate a return."
 
His former commander chuckled. "Now that is an excellent point. You have learned a great deal since Strana Mechty."
 
"I have." He paused. "Then you were my commander. Now that has been reversed. Is that a problem, quineg?"
 
Labov sobered sharply. "Not at all. You have more than earned your rank while I was in retirement." He paused. "Now, if I believe you are being truly stupid, I will challenge you…"
 
"That much is understood," Ace agreed. "And I have no intention of refusing to hear advice from my officers."
 
"I am glad to hear it." The Star Colonel pushed his chair back and walked to the window. "The world will cost us more than garrison and administration."
 
"Oh?"
 
"Jumpships," Labov told him. "I have seen estimates of the number of JumpShips the Draconis Combine has, and they have hundreds carrying commercial cargoes. Had, rather. Many have been diverted to military purposes and the rest…"
 
"We captured some," Ace noted. "But most will be operating below the truce line now."
 
"Exactly. How can we replace them? We are already straining to maintain a line of supply back to the homeworlds and it has pulled us away from our usual routes there. One of the major challenges the merchant caste faces at home is that we can no longer reliably ship goods on our own vessels - and the fees from other Clans make us less competitive." He snorted. "The Snow Ravens make no secret that they wish to dominate those shipping lanes, and there is no foreseeable chance of us returning JumpShips to those routes."
 
"How bad is it? We are gaining resources here in the Inner Sphere; but, from I what I understand, it will be years before the shipyards we've taken can replace that sort of loss in JumpShips."
 
"Right now a third of what we ship from the Inner Sphere is being sold off just to stabilize the position. The Burrock merchant JumpShips help as well, but they didn't have half as many ships as we did."
 
Ace considered that and then shook his head. "And in the meantime, ComStar is probably stepping in more and more to fill the gaps."
 
"Exactly! We have seized a huge empire, but running it?" The older man shook his head. "We have a very long way to go. Right now, this ComStar could seize us by the jugular. We can only hope that they do not realize it."
 
"Have you raised this matter with the Khan and the merchant factors?" Ace asked, turning the matter over in his mind.
 
"Of course. They're moving forward with trying to acquire JumpShips from the cached vessels as well as all possible new production."
 
"At more expense."
 
Angus nodded. "Of course. And every world we add to our domain makes the problem bigger."
 
"The only other option I can see is to invest in making worlds as self-sufficient as possible," Ace concluded. "If there is less need for shipping then it will reduce the strain on the other JumpShips."
 
"That is another mammoth project," Angus warned him. "And in the short term, it will put more strain on shipping."
 
"We had better start as soon as we can then," he replied sharply. "Will you help me write up a recommendation to the Clan Council?"
 
The Star Colonel rested his hand on the glass window. "The other issue is control. If the worlds are self-sufficient, they cannot easily be coerced economically. We could see local governments refusing to co-operate unless we have troops standing over them."
 
"That is how House Kurita governed the Combine." Ace observed.
 
"Do you think the people of these worlds will decide to obey us because we are… less dominating? If so, you show a remarkable lack of understanding of human nature."
 
"Needs must," he replied. "There are freeborn sibkos - here and in the homeworlds - that will graduate in two more years to deal with much of our manpower issues. Did you hear what happened to the Diamond Sharks that the scientist caste imported to Pesht?"
 
Angus frowned. "No, did I miss an announcement?"
 
"There was no announcement, but I have contacts." He shook his head. "They're not sure why yet, but they sickened. Half died, the others had to be moved to an aquarium."
 
"How many people died doing that?"
 
"Fourteen laborers, all retired Elementals we could have done with." Ace shook his head. "We need to adapt, Angus. Fretting about the Tokasha enclave does not help us."
 
"Losing it did not help either. Well, it helped Clan Blood Spirit. That might be their largest territorial gain in a hundred years."
 
"Ten years from now, that will not matter."
 
"The Clan may not exist in ten years."
 
Ace grinned. "Then it really will not matter. I agree that we do have to survive until our investment pays off. But we are on the clock. If we can bring the Draconis Combine to its knees then I doubt the other Successor Lords will come to their rescue. There is centuries of hatred between them, after all. Remove the outside threat and maybe… maybe we can deal with the internal issues."
 
Angus shook his head in disagreement. "Except we are an outside threat to the Inner Sphere. The Federated Commonwealth are already fighting two Clans. Why should they see us as different from the Jade Falcons and Nova Cats?"
 
"Let us hope that we are different." Ace felt weary at the idea. Thinking back to his youth, how much had he known of the differences between Kerensky's Clans? "Khan Sennet believes that the worlds we take now will be all we can take for ten or twenty years, however long it takes us to integrate our holdings. It is why she wants to take as many worlds now, while we can."
 
"Do you agree?" The older man walked back to the governor's seat, leaning on it rather than sitting down.
 
"When it comes to the Combine, yes. They will try to drive us out of the Inner Sphere, that is not in doubt. Taking away resources that could fuel a counter offensive, and worlds for them to stage from makes sense." He paused before admitting: "I did advise against going beyond that."
 
"She wants to cross the truce line?" asked Angus in surprise. "That makes no sense!"
 
"Neg!" Ace exclaimed. "No, she is not as mad as Leo Showers. But we are closing on the borders of the Outworlds Alliance and around a third of their worlds are above the line."
 
"I…" The Star Colonel froze and rested his weight on the chair. "I do not know much of them, other than that they were deceived by Amaris into fighting against Kerensky. Though… they drew the line at his murder of House Cameron."
 
"I suggest you read up on that, it's far more complicated than that," he replied. "I cannot claim that I am an expert either, but they are no threat. Their government is almost crippled - imagine if every Khan in the Grand Council had a veto that could not be overturned by Trial of Refusal."
 
"How would that work?!"
 
"For the most part? It does not. I do not understand it either, but it seems to be the truth." Ace shook his head. "They do have a strong aerospace tradition, but that is defensive in nature - they cannot take ground and so far as I can tell, they have never tried to. Most of their worlds are as poor as this region and the only industry of note is below the truceline."
 
Angus tilted his head. "Is she concerned that those worlds will be used to raid ours?"
 
"I think it is more that we can take them now and may not later. But it marks that our ambitions go beyond merely the Combine. We need time and striking at a periphery realm may lead to the Taurians and Canopians offering support to those who fight us."
 
"They're a long way off," the older man said thoughtfully. "But perhaps no further than our own homeworlds. I think you are right, at least on that. Let me do some research of my own, but if your points hold up then will add my voice to yours when the council next meets."
 
"On both ideas, quiaff?"
 
"Aff…" Angus agreed slowly. "But just my voice, you understand. Sennet is our Khan and we must remain united under her. If the Clan falls into division right now then the DCMS could push Alpha and Gamma back and cost us all the progress there."
 
Ace gave him an amused look. "You think that we can avoid fighting those who still think it is the first days of Operation Revival, quineg?"
 
"...neg. But not now. Let us take New Samarkand and Galedon first. Then we can deal with the rest."
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===Artifacts from a Lost Home===
Yamashiro, New Samarkand
Galedon Military District, Draconis Combine
3 February 3054
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Yamashiro's Cultural History Museum was in theory open to all visitors, at no charge, through the generosity of House Kurita.
 
In practice, that required visitors to have the time away from their work to go to the museum so six days a week it was mostly catering to school tours in the mornings and early afternoons, as well as a trickle of nobles. Late afternoons and evenings were reserved for formal and scheduled events taking place around the many mementos of the Combine's long history and the rather smaller selection of artifacts of Terra's imperial Japan.
 
For the casual scholar, it was an unparalleled look at three thousand years of history. For Minoru Kurita, leaning over a rail on one of the mezzanine levels, it was a bit more personal.
 
"Thinking of all this in the Clan's hands…" he mused. "Even one dropship could take a huge number of the displays."
 
Chandrasekhar Kurita stood behind him, hands buried in his broad sleeves. "While excuses could be made so that the population as a whole were unaware of why certain items were on display," he began - nodding lightly towards the aerospace fighter hanging suspended above the museum floor, as it had since the death of their mutual ancestor Shiro Kurita, "There is insufficient shipping for everything that has been listed for evacuation. What would you wish to leave behind in place of the museum's collection?"
 
"That's the question isn't it," the Coordinator admitted. The loss of Luthien meant leaving a vast amount of House Kurita's history in the hands of invaders who, even if they were not actively trying to erase it the way the Smoke Jaguars preferred, were unlikely to go out of their way to preserve it either. The Imperial City's buildings alone required skilled craftsmen to maintain, and that was unlikely to be a priority to the Diamond Sharks.
 
And now New Samarkand, an even older home to his family, was going to be lost. An invasion force was inbound on Monywa, only one jump away from them, and the entire Simferopol to Ningxia jumpchain was in Clan hands. That meant that the Diamond Sharks had completely circled the Draconis Rift. From there they could potentially strike via Sanda or Murmansk to cut across and assault worlds between the capital and Galedon V.
 
"One of those dropships must carry you and your household, cousin." Chandrasekhar counseled quietly. There was no one with them to overhear the intimate form of address - this wing had been reserved for Minoru's visit, with guards at every conceivable entrance but privacy within.
 
"My father and grandfather didn't leave Luthien." he objected.
 
"No, but they sent you to preserve a line of succession."
 
Minoru frowned and said nothing.
 
"I am aware," the usually jolly industrialist added, with an attempt at his usual humor, "That the new palace on Irurzun will be more austere than the palace here, and I am not looking forward to living in that glorified bunker, but you have always been less concerned with creature comforts than I."
 
"I have seen pictures of the new palace," he retorted. "It is hardly a bunker."
 
"Then why do you hesitate to leave?"
 
"Cowardice," he answered, candidly. "That is what they whisper of me, Uncle. That the new Coordinator does not dare fight the Clans as his family did. I am another Dainmar Liao in their eyes, hiding beneath the bed as enemy 'mechs approach. If I leave now…"
 
Chandrasekhar Kurita moved up to stand near the railing. "Would you rather be another Maximilian Liao? Convinced beyond all reason that he can turn the tide, spending his last years pushing markers on a map that bears no relation to reality?"
 
"No. No, of course not."
 
"I have been called craven more than once. Truthfully…" his cousin trailed off. "I have never put it to the test. Except facing your grandfather in the courts, which I think would set any sane man's knees to trembling. It is fortunate that my robes hid that shame from public. But one gets used to the slings and arrows of gossip."
 
"A coordinator seen as weak may not be the coordinator for very long," Minoru countered. "I am not talking about going out and leading a lance or even a company if I was feeling especially proud of my training, but if I withdraw before the Sharks even threaten to land on New Samarkand, that will fuel those rumors."
 
Chandrasekhar sighed. "Those who believe such things will say just the same if you withdraw with the rearguard when New Samarkand falls - unless you believe that your presence will turn the tide?"
 
Minoru shook his head morosely. The loss numbers of the DCMS made the price being paid for the time to evacuate people and equipment from New Samarkand frighteningly clear. Most of the regiments on the frontlines were made up now of hardened veterans, but few were above half strength.
 
"And if you wind up dying - say that your dropship is intercepted, though there are many other things that could go wrong." The older Kurita shook his head. "What happens then? Unless you have managed to keep a wife and child secret from me…" He removed one hand from his sleeve and wagged his finger chastisingly. "In which case I will be most wroth! Where was I?"
 
Knowing very well that his uncle was merely feigning being derailed, Minoru nonetheless bit the bait. "My own hypothetical death."
 
"Yes! We have no clear heir. If you die I might be treated as a candidate and we all know what a disaster that would be. You have the trust of the remaining warlords, because they know you will show wisdom - wisdom far beyond your years. We can find any number of courageous young officers, but how many can fill the role that your titles call for."
 
He gave his cousin a quizzical look.
 
"Coordinator - the one who coordinates the efforts of the disparate agencies of our state. Unifier of Worlds, need I say more?" Chandresakhar slipped his hand back into his sleeve. "We need you to survive, because without the realm will be torn apart… and without a unified Combine, our enemies will consume us."
 
Minoru sighed heavily. "You are right." Even if the Sharks respected the truceline, which oddly he thought that they might, Hanse Davion would surely declare Omi as the new Coordinator and send troops to enforce her claim, whatever she wanted.
 
"A most obnoxious habit of mine," his cousin admitted. "I sincerely apologize."
 
He sighed again, though for a different reason. "Very well. I will arrange to depart before the end of the month. Subhash suggested that a double continue to carry out court rituals for a week or two in my place, to confuse anyone trying to intercept me."
 
"A wise choice. I believe the 'pitch' that he has given to the Voice of the Dragon is that you will be portrayed as being too cunning for the Sharks to capture."
 
Minoru shook his head. "What does that say about my father and grandfather."
 
"If either of them had been willing to back down and be the one sent to set up a new capital here, then you would not need to carry this burden," Chandrasekhar pointed out sharply. "It is important that a prince blood himself in war, and I acknowledge that you have not had the chance. But as ruler, your job is to direct those who do the fighting." He nodded towards the Sabre suspended in the air in front of them. "Shiro Kurita created the post of Gunji no Kanrei so that his brother Urizen could lead their soldiers, while he ruled their realm. There is no shame in emulating that partnership."
 
After a moment of contemplation, Minoru turned and began to walk along the gallery, looking at walls that bore oil paintings and traditional inkings alike. He would probably never see them again. His cousin walked behind him, surprisingly quietly for such a large man.
 
"There is one historical artifact we may wish to consider the disposition of." Chandrasekhar observed as they passed the glass cabinet containing the tea set another Minoru Kurita had been carrying when he was shot.
 
"Oh?"
 
The industrialist cleared his throat. "Not an artifact, precisely. There is a certain corpse buried in the cemetery of the University of New Samarkand."
 
The coordinator thought for a moment, trying to think which member of his dynasty had been buried at the university, and then realized that it wasn't one of his relatives at all. "Amaris?"
 
"Indeed. General Kerensky did entrust the university with the body, after all."
 
"As I recall, he left the body in a cryogenic pod that we proved unable to maintain." Minoru noted. "It could be argued that we neglected that responsibility." He shook his head. "No, if we are leaving behind the pieces of art displayed here, whatever may remain of the Usurper is not being taken either. Tell the university that when the Diamond Sharks land, they are to be informed where they can find the body. If they want it back, they can have it. I will not see a single life lost defending the corpse of Stefan Amaris. If they are unhappy about the condition, that is their fault for not coming back sooner."
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===Bandit Hunting in Enemy Terrorities===
Nadir Jump Point, Inarcs
Periphery March, Federated Commonwealth
18 March 3054
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"You know," Horse observed as the Jean Bart began the final count-down to jump. "There is one experienced Star Captain you could request to fill the gap."
 
"Oh?" Aidan was glad his old friend was back, since casualties among the touman were beginning to wear down the available officers. Star Captain Taman had stepped up ably in Horse's absence, but two other officers had been lost - one to a AFFC minefield and a second had been offered promotion to take over a garrison cluster when the previous Star Colonel lost a trial of grievance.
 
His oldest friend nodded. "Adler Malthus got replaced with the Falcon Guards - he needs two cloned legs after they got ambushed on Atocongo. Apparently his replacement…"
 
"Collin Buhallin?"
 
"Aff, that is him. He brought in two of his officers from the Eyrie Cluster and an entire Star of green warriors. Would you care to guess who he replaced?"
 
Given that there was only one officer in the Falcon Guards that they both knew… "He reassigned Joanna?"
 
"Aff. There was a trial of refusal, of course."
 
"I feel almost bad for her." Aidan admitted. "Not that I like her, but to be told she was too old."
 
"From what I hear, it was more how she handled the after action review Buhallin carried out when he arrived. He was not even criticizing her specifically."
 
"Ah. Well, that makes me feel better about her fate. Why are you suggesting I request her?"
 
Horse chuckled. "Well, if you do not then she will probably be sent to the Jade Falcon Eyrie Cluster, and you know what she was like as a Falconer. It would spare the warriors of the Cluster from that."
 
Aidan rubbed his chin. "You make a good point."
 
"Wait, I was jok-" Horse's eyes went wide in alarm, right as the count-down hit zero.
 
Jumping always left sensors confused for a moment, which seemed fair to Aidan. He didn't suffer Transit Disorientation Syndrome - it had been almost entirely eliminated from the Clan's breeding programme, and exceptions were always washed out of Clan Jade Falcon's sibkos - but, like most people, he did find that jumps left him briefly dizzy. Since the electronics recovered before most operators were able to fully focus on the results, that was good enough.
 
The shout of "Great Father!" drew attention from everyone on the bridge and cut off Horse's "-king!"
 
Star Captain Albert - an aerospace pilot who had suffered an in-ear injury that demoted him from flight status - snapped "Put it in the main tank!" without trying to look over the technician's shoulder, and slammed a switch on his console.
 
An alarm rang, alerting everyone on the Jean Bart and her attached dropships to stand ready for combat.
 
Horse, who had been halfway to unstrapping himself from the jumpseat, swore and began tightening them again. "Just talking about the woman is bad luck."
 
The holotank rebooted and Aidan recognized it as a battlespace display, the Jean Bart and her attached dropship, and then the space around it.
The icon that appeared almost on top of the jumpship was inside the sphere that designated the 'danger zone' for jumping out - not that the Jean Bart's drive was ready to do so. Close enough that there was a realistic risk that the other vessel must have been struck by the electromagnetic wave of the arrival.
 
"Did we just hit someone?" Horse asked.
 
"I do not think so, but they are probably not happy about our proximity." Aidan wasn't sure who the vessel was, the icon had no identification codes showing and the computers were still splicing the data from the sensors together to fill that gap. "Star Captain Albert, what is the situation?"
 
The little man twisted around, lips curled into a snarl. "Star Colonel, I am ordering your aerospace fighter pilots to launch."
 
Aidan grabbed the comm unit on the side of his seat and punched the code that would patch him through to both his dropships. "Foxtrot, Foxtrot. Scramble, scramble. Jean Bart has command. I repeat: Foxtrot, Scramble, Jean Bart has command."
 
"Thank you, Star Colonel Pryde." Albert replied gratefully.
 
"What are we dealing with?" Horse asked.
 
"Either we have run into another Clan or the Inner Sphere had acquired a battleship."
 
I am unsure what would be worse, Aidan thought. "Communications?" If it was another Clan, they should at least try to talk.
 
"Our arrival will have disrupted their systems," Albert informed him as new markers, the familiar markers of aerospace fighters, appeared around the Jean Bart. At almost the same time, similar markers appeared around the battleship. "We are trying."
 
Horse grimaced. "And if they are hostile?"
"Sir, it is a Nightlord-class vessel," one of the techs confirmed.
 
"One salvo would kill us," Albert informed him matter-of-factly. "The design is post-Exodus, I do not see how the Inner Sphere would have one."
 
One less concern. Of course, another Clan could be just as unfriendly…
The communications tech grabbed her headset. "Reply from the ship. Identification is CSV Dark Asp. K-khan Perigard Zalman demands to speak to our commanding officer."
 
"I will take that," Aidan said quickly, before Albert could even ask. That was, after all, the price of his rank. Steel Vipers, though. What in the hells he had read of were they doing in the Inner Sphere? After the defeat on Camlann they had no territory in the Inner Sphere. So far as he knew, they had returned to the homeworlds.
Except, apparently, they had departed only to return.
 
His handset pinged to mark the connection. "Who is this?" a voice demanded.
 
"Star Colonel Aidan Pryde. Of the -"
 
<<"Gyrfalcon Guards,">> the man recognised him immediately. <<"If you have not been informed, I am Khan Perigard Zalman. Your jumpship has poor timing.">>
 
"Or very good timing. We both survived what could have been a very unpleasant accident."
 
<<"That,">> the Khan retorted, <<"Remains to be seen. Why have you come to my Clan's territory?">>
 
"Our last information was that Inarcs was in the hands of the Federated Commonwealth." Aidan replied. "There is, of course, no requirement that one Clan inform the others of their acquisitions. I was unaware that you had taken possession of the world." And the battlemech factory, one of the newest in the Inner Sphere. A prize that could build Star League era war machines.
 
<<"Now you know.">>
 
"It is unfortunate that I did not arrive in time to bid against you." And after he'd extorted the concession from the Nova Cats into not contesting the Jade Falcon's making the first bid for the world.
 
Zalman made a noise that was either a snort or a chuckle. <"Yes, that would have been interesting. Do you wish now to claim possession of the world from us?">>
 
Aidan considered his orders. "It is my Khan's orders, that the Federated Commonwealth has sufficient worlds for all of the Clans. So long as no Clan contests the worlds that we control, we will extend the same respect to them."
 
<<"What pretty words.">>
 
"If I may, Khan Zalman, I believed that your Clan had returned to the Homeworlds after Camlann. Obviously I was mistaken, quiaff?"
 
The Khan chuckled. <<"Aff. Once Operation Revival ended, we were bound not to attack worlds beyond the truce line. Worlds above it were not excluded. We lacked only a base of operations.in the Inner Sphere and supply lines.">>
 
If they had taken worlds within the Inner Sphere, at least until recently, the Watch would have found out. Kael Pershaw was not careless about such matters. That meant that their base was in the Periphery. "You destroyed one of the local bandit groups and seized their base?"
 
<<"Bases, rather. For your own accounting, the group was led by a 'King' who called himself Hopper Morrison. It seems unlikely that there will be further raids by his followers. We were quite thorough. There was even a bounty, the Precentor here has agreed to pay it to us. I am not sure I like the precedent, but it is not as if anyone else can claim their money for the deed.">>
 
Aidan smiled at the thought. "If nothing else, taking the reward will let you pay for ComStar's services."
 
<<"There is that.">>
 
"I hope you have no objections to my using their local station to inform my superiors of your presence?"
 
<<"By the decision of the Grand Council, ComStar are free to do business with any member of any Clan who can pay them.">> the Khan replied. <<"We have not advertised our presence, but nor do we hide it. But once you charge your drives, be so good as to move on. We are establishing our headquarters on this world and there will be heavy jumpship traffic.">>
 
He frowned. "Since you are being open about the matter, how heavy will this traffic be?"
 
<<"Eight galaxies, Star Colonel. We are taking this very seriously. Leave promptly. I would prefer no further accidents.">>
 
"As you say, Khan Zalman. Let us have no accidents."
 
The channel cut out abruptly and Aidan shook his head. "So. We have another Clan here. That could be very good for us… or very bad."
 
"Either way, it hurts the Federated Commonwealth," Horse observed. "And they do not appear to be running short of soldiers to throw into our path."
 
"Aff…. but that does leave us with a snake in our boot, so to speak."
 
Albert straightened, but did not take his eyes off the icons marking the two forces of aerospace fighters that were dancing between the two vessels. They were not in weapons range of each other but not one of the dozens of fighters was lowering their guard. "Eight galaxies is a lot of force. Too much to ignore."
 
"On that, we agree." Aidan looked over at the comms tech. "Get in touch with the local HPG, tell them we have a priority transmission to Elias Crichell, on Twycross."
 
"Yes, sir." She turned to her console and started working.
 
"Telling the Khan about this?" asked Horse.
 
Aidan nodded. "And putting in a personnel request."
 
"A… wait, you are serious? No, this a joke! Quiaff?"
 
He shook his head, amused at Horse's horrified face. "Neg. We need every warrior we can get. And we need them motivated. You know Joanna. She will scream at them, berate them, belittle them… and our warriors will fight like demons to prove her wrong. We need that."
 
"She will refuse." Horse said desperately.
 
"Will she?"
 
"No. Damn you, no." He shook his head. "She will accept. And you, you will be the death of me, Aidan."
 
Aidan chuckled. "Yes, she will. And… well, I cannot promise anyone eternal life, Horse. We are warriors and neither of us will live forever. You knew that when you accepted a place in the warrior caste."
 
"You are different." Horse observed. "Something happened while I was away."
 
Aidan nodded, considered telling him and then shook his head. "Ask me another time."
 
"Sir?" the comm tech asked. "I have contact with the local ComStar Precentor. She wants to know who will pay for the priority. It is… not covered by our plan?"
 
Horse and Aidan exchanged looks. "I think the word for our Khan is… cheap," the freeborn observed.
 
"Give her my name," Aidan told the tech. "They will know that I am good for it." He'd established an account when he first made arrangements with ComStar, back when he was still a garrison commander. It was, to use a phrase he had found in his small secret personal library, 'something for a rainy day'. And right at the moment, he was feeling very rained upon.
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