OPREF-3 Chpt 9

=Book 3, Chapter 9- Stacking the Deck=
==Opalescent Reflections==
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===Quiet Negotiations===
Atreus City, Atreus
Marik Commonwealth, Free Worlds League
3 October 3054
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"It's getting late," the Captain-General of the Free Worlds League announced, with a look at his son.
 
Joshua Marik tried to look rebellious but a yawn crept out past his lips as his body betrayed him. To be fair, the conversation hadn't been geared to a seven year old, so Wei suspected it was boredom as much as fatigue.
 
Sophina Marik pushed her chair back. "Say goodnight to the Primus, Joshua."
 
The boy gave his mother a weary look and then slipped off his chair. Taking a step back from the table, he gave Wei a creditable bow. "Goodnight to the Primus." His father chuckled while Sophina looked frustrated.
 
Wei leant over and ruffled the little boy's hair. "Blake's blessing upon you, Joshua. Sleep well."
 
The seven year old didn't seem to know exactly what to make of that, so he accepted his mother's hand and leant against her once they were out the room, vanishing out of sight down the corridor. A discreetly dressed servant stepped in briefly to take the door handles and then backed out, closing the double-doors behind him.
 
"I don't recall being quite so pert around my father." the Captain-General mused, still staring after his family.
 
Wei lifted her glass and sipped from it. "If we remembered our childhoods too well, we might die of embarrassment," she theorized. "Some things are better left forgotten."
 
He turned to look at her, tilting his head slightly and then shook his head. "Perhaps. There are few absolutes in the universe." He lifted his own glass and raised it in silent toast to her. "Wei."
 
"Thomas," she replied and they both drank.
 
"While formal negotiations will be required," the Captain-General observed, "I take your presence to mean that you are willing to come to an agreement."
 
Wei ran one finger around the rim of her now empty glass. "In principle, yes. The devil, of course, is in the details."
 
She watched as he pushed back his chair and walked to the sideboard, selecting a cut crystal bottle. "Over brandy?"
 
"Why not?" Wei agreed and accepted one of the two glasses that he brought back.
 
Once both glasses had been half-filled, the man lifted his but looked across it at her rather than drinking. "If I may speak as a Blakist, rather than a Marik, I find the Order's new closeness with the Federated Commonwealth concerning. Your predecessor's hostility towards them was unfortunate, certainly, but it now appears that the pendulum may have swung too far in the other direction."
 
She nodded slightly. "It has. Unfortunately, the current circumstances give us few options - unless you believe I should throw the Order's influence behind the Clans?"
 
"Hardly, but I find it hard to believe that the Federated Commonwealth is the only option."
 
Wei toyed with her own glass. "We both know you're not that naive. In the face of direct invasion, House Kurita had no choice but to make accommodations with the Steiner-Davions. While I might personally enjoy climbing into that bed given the opportunity, the political implications were inescapable - either ComStar bends our neutrality in their favor or we join hands with the Clans. House Liao's… temper tantrum underscores their current irrelevance to that decision. It is, realistically, the same decision you made when it came to selling arms to the other houses." She raised her glass and drank. The brandy was superb, of course.
 
"The loss of most of the Draconis Combine leaves me with few powerful allies at this time," the Captain-General said slowly. "If the Fox defeats the Clans, let us say establishing a long term status quo at the truceline… In that case the balance of power would be strongly against the Free Worlds League."
 
"In that situation," she answered, "The Clans would remain a long term threat. I would think the treatments for Joshua would be evidence for you that the interests of the Great Houses need not always be opposed."
 
His face tightened, twisting the scars across it. "I am aware that NAIS' contributions are unmatched in that area. And that my son will have a longer and healthier life than was otherwise likely."
 
That was a little dismissive of the Canopian and Terran contributions, some of the latter having been acquired by the Clans. But it was politic to allow NAIS to claim disproportionate credit. "It is amazing, what the Great Houses can accomplish when they work together." Also frightening, because a century or so of peace had been framed by brutal warfare. (There had been a fascinating paper she'd read, theorizing that the Star League had been collapsing into a second Age of War by the 2720s and that the Amaris Coup had simply accelerated the process). Wei placed her glass down on the table. "The spirit of that cooperation is what I believe ComStar should uphold, rather than the ambitions for a mere throne."
 
An outside observer might have thought that she meant the Successor Lords' ambitions for that throne. The man across the table knew better, and thus it did not need to be said.
 
"The Star League, between you and me, Wei, is dead and gone. In my view, no one has a valid claim to that any more. Were it politically acceptable, I would remove that claim from my titles."
 
She inclined her head. "Indeed. And yet, while the Star League itself is dead, the idea of it still has power. I am sure that the Eridani Light Horse and the Knights of St Cameron would both be as quick to disagree with your statement as the First Circuit or the Clan's Grand Council. Look at how your own Parliament building harkens back to the imagery of an even older empire."
 
"As I said: were it politically acceptable."
 
"And yet, were there a new alliance among the Great Houses." Wei pointed out, "If, hypothetically, the lords of Steiner, Davion, Liao and Kurita were to un-disband the Star League Council to discuss how they were going to try to bring the wayward SLDF back under their control… could you refuse to attend?"
 
"Of course not," he admitted. "Parliament would insist, if only because of how ignoring the Star League worked out for the periphery back in Albert Marik's day. Also I would feel obligated to correct their English. Un-disband? Really?"
 
"Reform has unfortunate implications." Wei told him unapologetically.
 
"I am somewhat familiar with resistance to that idea." The Captain-General lifted his glass and drank from it at last. When he lowered it, he looked Wei dead in the eye. "On another topic, I haven't heard from Tommy lately."
 
"Tommy?" she inquired and then thought: "Ah, our colleague who kept being mistaken for you."
 
"Yes. It was amusing except when we received each other's personal mail." He sipped from his brandy again. "Have you heard anything about him?"
 
"If we're thinking of the same man, he was transferred back to Terra," Wei told him evenly. "He has a new job with the war graves commission."
 
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Was his health failing?"
 
"He's doing much better now. A healthy exercise regime is working wonders." The real Thomas Marik was on Mars, not Terra, but she didn't trust this one with the exact details.
 
"Ah good. I'm pleased to hear it." He finished his glass. "His last letters suggested that he was thinking of requesting a posting in the Free Worlds League. I unfortunately couldn't recommend that given how my people tend to treat those with significant cybernetics." The scarred man rose to his feet. "Another glass?"
 
"Of course." She handed hers over for a refill.
 
"To business," the Captain-General proposed once they both had full glasses.
 
"To business," she agreed and they both drank. "So, I gather that you were hoping to arrange a training agreement such as that we have established with the AFFC recently?"
 
"It would be reassuring to those who fear that the Order is giving preference to the FedCom," he agreed. "However, I also wish to discuss technical support with our warship programme, just as I understand you are assisting the Federated Commonwealth Navy."
 
Wei nodded in understanding. "We currently have a limited number of Level-III units equipped with clan technology. The intention is to raise a fifth in the near future, which could be posted to the Free Worlds League, but that would be the extent of our ability to field such battalions. It might be possible to transfer some of the units from the Federated Commonwealth at a later date, but that would have to wait a year or two."
 
"That would perhaps suffice," he allowed. "I understand that the units receiving training in the Federated Commonwealth expect to fight Clans so their need is greater than our own."
 
"Then I hope you understand that my Order will be hoping for some concessions in exchange."
 
The scarred man sighed. "I suppose."
 
"We can leave the details to be established in the formal discussions," Wei allowed. "However, as we recruit the ComGuards up to strength, our own production has been struggling to keep up. I am sure the Precentor Martial will have a list of factories he'd like the priority on purchasing on."
 
"I am already committing quite a lot of that production to the export market," he grumbled. "At this rate the FWLM will get nothing."
 
"I am quite sure that that is an exaggeration."
 
"And on the warship matter? The only thing worse than the estimated costs for developing them are military projections if our neighbors have that capability and we do not."
 
Wei shook her head. "The Clans' warships have not been all that decisive."
 
"I - more to the point, my admirals - think otherwise. The Diamond Sharks' use of them to prevent units from deploying to or from contested worlds has cost the DCMS severely. Even when the DCA managed to break past them, they often take ruinous losses in the aerospace fighters and assault dropships needed to do so."
 
And because of that, vast fortunes are going to be spent on building more warships, she thought. Just like the First Circuit demanding the expansion of our warship fleets. Money that could rebuild worlds ravaged by war spent on the tools to spread more devastation.
 
And the saddest thing was, she could see their remorseless logic. As long as one faction possessed such vessels, all the others felt the need to do likewise.
 
"I have no business telling you what your priorities should be," Wei conceded. "My understanding though is that you are also entering into an agreement with the Capellan Confederation for such developments?"
 
He moved his hand, sending ripples through the brandy in his glass. "The new Chancellor has approached me on that matter. He is aware that both you and Hanse Davion have agreed to support the establishment of a shipyard at Necromo to supply the St. Ives Compact with Indomitable-class corvettes. It's understandable, I suppose, that he is wary his cousin will employ them against him in the future."
 
And since I am supporting one Liao, I can hardly protest that you support another, Wei thought. "If the Capellans will be receiving this technical support, then I would prefer that they are also involved in negotiations rather than benefiting by the backdoor, so to speak."
 
The Captain-General shook his head. "Three parties in an agreement would make matters more complicated. What I am suggesting is this: the Chancellor is interested in joint development and construction of six destroyers, divided evenly between our two states - this would give him three warships that are individually more than a match for the corvettes being planned for St Ives, but no real challenge for the numbers that the Federated Commonwealth could bring to bear. Rather than involving your engineers in that, I am hoping to hire them to work on the Zechetinu-class corvette project."
 
"Which is… not a joint project with the Capellans."
 
"Precisely," he agreed. "Oh, I am sure that the skills will transfer and I will not be so shameless as to suggest that there will be no trickle-down of benefits that reach the Capellans. But let us keep this simple."
 
Wei frowned. "I am certainly in favor of simplicity, but there are some issues about openness."
 
The scarred man put his glass down and leant forwards. "Would you like to apply those issues of openness to the Jardine question?"
 
"If that were to become public, I might have to resign," she told him. "I can live with that. I am unsure how well your own involvement there would be taken by Parliament."
 
They stared at each other and then the Captain-General smiled thinly. "A fair point. I think that even if the Star League's research on Jardine is publicized, then it would not be very welcome on most worlds within the Free Worlds League. Cybernetics are a problematic issue here. However, given the needs of wounded soldiers, sharing it with those nations fighting the Clans… is on the table."
 
Wei was the first to look away. "In principle, I am willing to discuss that as an arrangement."
 
"Thank you, Primus." He did not gloat. "More discreetly… Sophina and I have discussed having more children. Joshua's health may not support his becoming Captain-General in the future, but I think he would enjoy being an older brother."
 
"...I doubt you are inviting me to participate."
 
The Captain-General's expression made it clear she was correct. "I am hoping that ComStar's Kappa department can rival the Wolf's Dragoons when it comes to conception issues." He passed her a piece of paper.
 
Wei unfolded it, not expecting to understand the diagnosis. She wasn't a geneticist. Fortunately, however, it wasn't discussing the specifics in that manner. She felt her eyes widen. So this was why he had asked about 'Tommy'. "I will ask our people if we can help with this," she allowed. "Children are a blessing."
 
And apparently Joshua's siblings might have enough of Thomas Marik's DNA in them that any comparisons to the rest of House Marik would be plausible, assuming that the request was feasible. Arranging this would be a logistical nightmare…
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===Tough Call Between Father and Son===
Sarna Martial Academy, Sarna 
Sarna March, Federated Commonwealth
10 November 3054
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Victor preferred his quarters in the academy to the official residence, although as a matter of obligation he spent two or three nights a week there. He only taught five days a week and there was no excuse not to handle his ducal duties on the other days. And once or twice a month some evening social occasion would bringing him back at an hour where it made more sense to sleep there and travel back to the academy in the morning.
 
He'd just got out of the shower and was considering whether to make a start on grading this round papers on the Battle of Camlann, which he felt he had to touch on even thought the chances of seven Clans fighting on a single world again were pretty slim, when a triple ping from his comm alerted him to a priority call.
 
Grabbing the handset, he accepted the call. "Steiner-Davion."
 
"Priority call for you," the voice of the night clerk informed him. "Patching it through now."
 
Great, he was taking an important call in nothing but a towel, "Go ahead." He moved a slider that physically blocked the camera, then grabbed for the stack of clothes waiting for him in the morning and pulled the undershirt over his head.
 
"I'd say good morning, son," a familiar voice greeted him. "But it's evening for you… or midnight? Are your lights out?" On the small screen, Hanse Davion squinted at the camera.
 
"I just got out of the shower, Dad." Victor grabbed his shorts and flung his towel in the direction of the radiator. "Is something wrong?" Had Peter caught a shot to the cockpit or something?!
 
"Ah, that's alright then." His father grinned. "Are you hiding someone having been in their with you."
 
"No, but I still don't flash people who call me, even on a priority call."
 
Hanse chuckled, which was some reassurance. He wouldn't be doing that if there had been a death in the family. "Fair enough."
 
Once he met minimal decency, Victor switched the call to his desk terminal which lit up both the screen and the light that warned that that camera was on. With a larger screen, he could see new lines on the First Prince's face, and more white strands in the famous red hair, but his father's eyes had the same electric energy as always. "Not that it isn't a joy to see you but -"
 
"But I don't pay the bills for this on a whim," Hanse confirmed. "I need a colonel for a 'mech regiment on short notice."
 
"Are you asking for recommendations?" Victor asked facetiously, feeling a thrill of excitement at the implications.
 
"If you don't feel up to the challenge, I suppose." His father feigned disappointment. "It's good to know your limits, son…"
 
Victor grinned. "You know I won't say no to that, but why is this coming up all of a sudden?"
 
"The First Avalon Hussars had a traffic accident of all things," Hanse told him, sobering. "One damn fool corporal with a heavy foot and Colonel Huntington's staff car ate a truck to the rear quarter. Killed her instantly, unfortunately, and that's not a position we can just pull out of a hat."
 
"No, I suppose not." The First Avalon Hussars had been one of the first regiments formed for the Federal Peacekeeping Forces in 2317, and had served for just shy of six hundred years in the FPF and later the AFFS, before the DCMS all but wiped them out. Considered virtually an extension of the Davion Guards, reforming the storied regiment had not been lightly done and it wasn't a legacy that could just be handed out to anyone.
 
"Before you worry about you getting it because you're my son, that isn't it." His father waved one finger. "It makes you politically acceptable, but you're promotable to Colonel as things stand and out of the short list, you're one of the few who can link up with them before they deploy out."
 
Victor sat down heavily on the bed. A new regiment and a combat assignment? Was it Christmas already? "I thought that the new RCTs weren't rotating forwards this soon?"
 
"Change of plans," his father said with a shrug. "The Steel Vipers joining the fighting means we have to cycle in reinforcements faster and the Hussars handled the ComGuards' Invader Galaxy pretty well. That moves them up the list to be moved in to see if they can do the same to real Clanners."
 
He grabbed his pants. "I'm guessing travel plans are being pulled together. How is mother taking it?"
 
"Not delighted, but she sees the logic. It helps that Peter will be in reserve for a while. The Third Guards gave as good as they got on Arc Royal, but both sides took a mauling there. We've pulled them back to Coventry to refit and rebuild them."
 
"No injuries?" Victor checked.
 
"No, he did well enough," Hanse allowed with a degree of poorly hidden pride. "Field promotion to Hauptmann, so that may have gone to his head. I know I was fairly excitable when I got my first promotion. And we don't have a Galen Cox in the RCT, despite the best efforts to find one."
 
"They broke the mold when they made Galen," he agreed. His old friend was still second-in-command of the Tenth Lyran Guards 'mech regiment, last he had heard.
 
Hanse nodded. "There are other officers that good, but handling royalty is a special skill. You may run into Peter on Coventry, try not to slap him down publicly. But don't feel that you have to put up with him if he does act out."
 
"So that's the staging point?"
 
"Central theater," Hanse agreed. "I can't tell you where you will be sent after that. The situation is fluid and it'll still be months before you get there."
 
"I'm not completely up to date," Victor admitted. "I heard we've been launching counter-attacks?"
 
That got a grin from his father. "The Nova Cats and Steel Vipers don't appear to have learned the same lessons that the Jade Falcons did after Twycross. We probably can't do the same again but it bought us a little breathing room."
 
Three Clans advancing on a broad front was proving rather different from fighting a relatively narrow advance, which was Victor's past experience. Not all the differences were bad - coordination between the three Clans wasn't particularly good. But at the same time it left the AFFC spread thin.
 
"Not that I want to get rid of you, Dad, but is there any other news?"
 
His father's lips quirked. "I'm going to be shameless and spend money to talk to you. It might be a while before we meet again."
 
"Did Quintus manage to get Kai back onto civil terms with Candace?" he inquired.
 
"Neither his brother or his grandfather managed that," Hanse noted. "I can't really blame him - if Ian had popped up in 3015 saying he'd been hunting down Yorinaga Kurita I'd have probably popped him one on the nose." He punched the air to illustrate. "Omi seems to be getting some traction though, I guess Combine and Capellan culture have enough similarities that she has a point of reference for both of them." Then his eyes flicked down to look below Victor's face and raised a questioning eyebrow.
 
Looking down, Victor realized that he'd clenched a fist at the thought of Kai and Omi spending time together. He deliberately forced his fingers to relax. "It's good they have each other as friends," he forced himself to say and flushed slightly at his father's questioning look. "Probably also a good thing I'm here and not making an ass of myself," he admitted ruefully.
 
"That girl's really got to you," his father noted sympathetically. "And even James Sandoval doesn't think she was trying to - he doesn't like her much, but I'll give him credit for trying to be objective on the topic. What's the secret: you only met her a couple of times."
 
"I think I've seen more of her by now than you had of Mom before you got married," Victor pointed out. "We spent a fair amount of time sharing a dropship after Luthien."
 
"Mmm." Hanse's eyes went distant. "You may have a point. Of course, we corresponded for several years as well."
 
"And before you say anything, I am not blind to the politics. I am… trying to keep an open mind about other women," he said. Forcing himself, really. Too often he found himself comparing the women who attended various functions to Omi. It wasn't fair to them - or to her, really. She was Keeper of the House Honor, it was even more impossible for Omi to marry him than the reverse was.
 
"Believe it or not," his father said slowly, "I know how that feels. I had my own hesitations about your mother, and not just because of the age difference. You know that there were other women in my life."
 
"Dad…"
 
Hanse Davion raised a hand in command and Victor shut his mouth. With evident effort, the older Davion confided: "I was engaged, very briefly, right after Ian died. Dana was… very special. And then I had to watch her die. There is a reason that I was never linked with anyone between then and the announcement of my marriage. I wasn't living like a monk, but those encounters were… Well, not serious." He shook his head. "It took a very long time and a very special woman for me to open up again. I am privileged to have known two great loves in my life."
 
"You never said anything."
 
"There is a glass ornament in my office," Hanse told him softly. "Only four people know there's a holo of her projected inside it. Ardan, Ran and now you." He shook his head. "And whatever ComStar analysts decipher this, I suppose. It isn't a shameful thing, but I rarely speak of her. My point is, I understand how you feel and my only objections to Lady Kurita are the politics. In other regards I would consider her an excellent match."
 
"That doesn't help, dad." Victor shook his head. "Get you behind me, temptation."
 
"If it is any consolation, my experience does show that there isn't just one special person for anyone," Hanse offered compassionately.
 
"I hope so, because neither of us is so irresponsible as to want to cause a civil war - probably on both sides of the border." He frowned in thought. "Speaking of which, is there any update on her mysterious half-brother?"
 
Of all people, Theodore Kurita apparently had a third son that no one knew about, one who had somehow been caught smuggling weapons out of the Commonwealth only to be semi-conscripted into supporting a raiding campaign against the Clans. Conscripted by one of Victor's distant cousins, in fact.
 
"He's on Irurzun as of our last report," Hanse told him. "How Minoru actually feels about him is hard to say, but he's not been killed which is a good start."
 
"Normally I'd say that was a given, but we are talking about House Kurita." Victor shook his head. "Omi sent me a letter on the subject of her own feelings, so I'd suppose Minoru's feeling pretty damn conflicted."
 
"Our best projection is that he'll be announced shortly. House Kurita is usually pretty cagey about revealing the existence of their children until they're older, so most likely he'll be introduced as another brother without specifically stating he's a bastard."
 
"Minoru does need an heir," Victor admitted. "Although he probably wants to make sure that Franklin isn't going to turn around and usurp his throne."
 
"Normally I'd think that was more of a risk," the First Prince said drolly. "But Ardan pointed out that right now, taking on the Coordinator's throne isn't exactly an easy job, and Franklin seems to know it. Adam also says that he was approached at least once by Combine conservatives while they were working together, and he had no time or patience for their aspirations. I don't particularly wish Minoru ill, but if he does die without another heir, Franklin might be a Coordinator we can live with."
 
"You told me when I graduated that you had no intention of launching another war with the Combine," Victor said cautiously.
 
"And events have shown that to be a wise decision, if for reasons I would never have guessed." Hanse shook his head. "I have no idea how things will stand in a year or two - much less ten years from now, but I can't see the Combine surviving in its previous form. The Capellan Confederation hardened even further after the Fourth Succession War, but I couldn't say if the Combine will go the same way. My best guess is that it'll implode or explode if the threat of further invasion goes away… and right now that would just give us an even longer border with the Clans. Not something we need."
 
"Not at all," he agreed. "Thanks for not dying on me, Dad. I don't want to think what it'd be like if I was in Minoru's shoes."
 
"You're quite welcome," Hanse offered drily. "I'm quite happy to put that off for a bit longer."
 
Victor ducked his head. "Love you, dad."
 
"That, I am glad of." His father's eyes softened. "Good luck, son. My thoughts, and your mother's will be with you."
 
Then the signal cut off, replaced on the screen by a ComStar logo and a brief glimpse of the time, date, length of call and the cost - which was eye-watering, even to Victor.
 
He spread his arms wide and fell back to lie on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Another active posting! And command of a 'mech regiment, probably the most desirable posting for any mechwarrior. After that he'd be a general officer and chances to take the field would be almost non-existent. It was also a fearsome responsibility.
 
Victor rolled his head to one side and looked at the stack of papers. He should probably get those done - no point leaving them for whoever replaced him. Besides, he wasn't going to be able to sleep right now. So get the marking done, then make sure all his kit was ready. He would probably hear in the morning about the transport arrangements to get to the First Avalon Hussars' current post on Liao. It could be anything from tomorrow to the next week before he had to leave, so he'd have to be ready for either.
 
Oh, he thought. "I'll need new rank pins."
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===Squabble between Clans===
Serling, Sargasso
Clan Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
3 December 3054
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Aidan Pryde felt some degree of accomplishment as he saw a Commando and a Wolfhound sprawled by the country road. "Those marked for pick-up, quiaff?" he asked Horse as the two of them pushed their 'mechs to race down the road.
 
His old friend paused, checking reports. "Aff."
 
"Good, make sure they are collected before the Steel Vipers forget who claimed what," he ordered.
 
The Steel Vipers had 'offered' their help in retaking Sargasso from the Fifth Deneb Light Cavalry, and it had seemed better to Aidan to accept that rather than bidding against them for the right to take the world and, at best, being understrength to take on the AFFC forces.
 
Most of the raids on occupied worlds had been too small to do more than harass the garrisons, but a full RCT had rolled right over the binary of 'mechs posted to Sargasso to support the administrators and their solahma infantry. In exchange for the help ofStar Colonel Kathryn Hartford's Fifty-First Battle Cluster, Aidan had conceded to share the world and their current destination was right on the dividing line between the two territories.
 
"It was lousy luck that the Lyrans put their landing zone right between us." Horse observed.
 
"I do not think luck had anything to do with it." he replied after a moment's thought. "They knew that Hartford and I did not want to risk firing on each other and that coordinating to avoid that would slow our response." The Deneb Light Cavalry's dropships had been picking up scattered groups of the RCT for three days now and those that took off last night were probably the last ones.
 
"Accidentally."
 
"What?"
 
"You and Hartford did not want to risk firing on each other by accident, quiaff."
 
Aidan bared his teeth. "Yes. It would be better if it was not an accident."
 
Diana's Star had been able to keep up with the fast moving AFFC force, but only barely. They were responsible for taking down the two 'mechs now dropping behind Aidan's Summoner and Horse's Hellbringer. They were also the only Jade Falcons between the two of them and Steel Viper territory. It meant that whatever incident Hartford insisted on discussing in person had to involve those five mechwarriors.
 
Up ahead, the small town of Serling marked the boundary - or rather, the river that flowed just to the north-west of it. The report said that the AFFC dropships had been across the river from the town, in Jade Falcon territory.
 
Smoke was rising and Aidan didn't recall any industry here that would cause that.
 
"Looks like things got nasty." Horse observed, voice tight.
 
"A lot of different things can get nasty." A cold worm was snaking through his guts.
 
There were Steel Viper 'mechs north of the town. A full Star, two Battle Cobras, two Crossbows and a Summoner that Aidan knew was Hartford's own.
 
They weren't the only 'mechs around Serling. There were four 'mechs moving through the wreckage of the north of the town - Diana's Black Lanner among them, barely recognisable under battered and broken armor - stamping out fires. Quite literally - they were demolishing buildings that were on fire, or had been. Keeping the damage from spreading.
 
Somehow Aidan doubted that the people who lived in Serling would appreciate the kindness. More likely, the Jade Falcons would be blamed for the fires and everything that came with that.
 
And then there were the other 'mechs. Six of them. In no better shape than the Lyran 'mechs they'd passed earlier. Scattered around on the ground like broken toys.
 
And every last one of them was on the south-east side of the river.
The scream of jamming was still cutting them off from radio communication, but with line of sight to work with, Aidan was able to punch a laser comm line directly to the battle-scarred Black Lanner. "Star Commander."
 
"Star Colonel." Diana sounded relieved.
 
"Six on five," Horse noted. "Maybe this is not suicidal."
 
Given the condition of Diana's Star, the survivors, Aidan was less than confident of that. Against five fresh Steel Vipers, he and Horse would have to do the heavy lifting. Hammer the lighter Battle Cobras first and hope that the heavies could be dealt with afterwards? He was already calculating the strategy, even as he hoped he didn't have to.
 
"You appear to be on the Steel Viper side of the river," he said slowly. "Do you have a report for me, Star Commander?"
 
"Aff… and neg," Diana replied. "That is, I have a report. But this is not the Steel Viper side of the river. Not the town."
 
"Talk to me, Diana."
 
"Star Colonel Pryde," Hartford's Summoner moved up to the river's edge. "Your warriors do not seem to understand the terms of our contract to work together to retake this world."
 
"I am talking to my officer, Star Colonel Hartford," Aidan replied, voice flat with anger. "You will be next."
 
"Do not keep me waiting," she replied sharply and he saw that she'd cut the laser comm.
 
Diana had heard the conversation. "Sir. When I arrived here, the Vipers were leveling the town. I objected."
 
"Violently?"
 
"Not at first, sir."
 
"Talk to me, Diana. Tell me what happened before I have to listen to someone else explain it." he demanded.
 
"They said that the people here had hidden that the dropships were here. That this was a punishment for their treason. And an example to everyone else on Sargasso."
 
Aidan exhaled slowly. "And as it was on Steel Viper territory, it was their business. Not yours."
 
"Sir, even if someone here wanted to report it, how could they have? We do not share our comm channels with the civilians, and if they broadcast in the clear… the Deneb Light Cavalry were right here."
 
"That they were. So you decided to cross the river into Steel Viper territory and stop them. Despite the agreement I made with Star Colonel Hartford."
 
"I challenged their commander to a trial of possession." Diana explained.
 
"For Serling."
 
"Yes, sir."
 
"Clever." He could understand the impulse behind the act, but finding a way under Clan law… Horse might have thought of that. Aidan had a suspicion that he himself might have waded in shooting first.
 
Or he might have waited and watched, and done nothing. Because it was his duty to the Clan. Because he had struck a bargain and therefore had to keep it.
 
"I see that you won. How are the people taking it?"
 
Diana sounded embarrassed. "I have not asked, sir. A child threw something at my 'mech."
 
"And?"
 
"It was a child. I ignored him."
 
Aidan nodded inside his cockpit. "You have won us a quarrel with the Steel Vipers and a town that will hate us. Well done."
 
"I am sorry, sir."
 
"Do not be sorry. I am… I am proud of you."
 
"Same here," Horse added from his own cockpit. "But it is still a problem."
 
Aidan turned his Summoner and waded it out into the river until it was hip deep in the water. The flow of cold water around the legs would draw heat away from the 'mech - if not as much as if he had heatsinks in there, but that wasn't an option for a Summoner. And the river's surface would absorb and deflect shots, making it almost impossible for Hartford to land hits below the waist of his 'mech - if it came to a fight.
With that done, he spiked Hardford's Summoner with a comm laser. "So, what can I do for you, Star Colonel."
 
"What can you do for me?" she demanded. "I would like this Star of my Cluster back! Five 'mechs down, and two of the mechwarriors will be unavailable for weeks after their injuries. We had a contract, Pryde!"
 
"We did." He waved one arm of his Summoner towards the wrecked buildings. "I admit, I would have been curious in her shoes - seeing a Star of Steel Vipers picking a fight with unarmed buildings."
 
"It was none of her business!"
 
"Perhaps not. As I recall, when your Khans spoke on the Great Debate… before Leo Showers, they said that they believed in rebuilding the Star League with the Great Houses. Is that still your policy?"
 
"The invasion has caused many changes," Hartford equivocated. "What has this to do with that?"
 
"For a Clan who believes - and perhaps rightly - in working with the Inner Sphere, stamping a town into ruins seems unwise. Certainly wasteful," he added.
 
"Working with the lords, if that still possible, is one thing. They may see the wisdom in Kerensky's ways. But that does not equate to letting freebirths act against us with impunity."
 
Aidan snorted. "Act against you? I doubt there is a weapon in Serling that could threaten an armored elemental, much less your battlemech."
 
"They withheld tactical information. My warriors could have been here to capture the Lyran dropships before their lackluster warriors could escape, if these freebirths had done their duty. Your Clan are too soft on them".
 
He could not remember ever being accused of that before. "That remains to be seen. However, Star Commander Diana tells me that she challenged your Star Commander to a trial of possession for Serling. You are disputing that, quineg?"
 
"Neg. But we had already agreed on a boundary."
 
"True. But such agreements are always subject to new trials being launched," Aidan pointed out. "She issued a challenge, it was accepted and now the town has changed hands as a result. This is nothing out of the ordinary, Star Colonel."
 
"And if I challenge you for the rest of this stinking world?!"
 
He laughed. "Then I will defend our claim, and the Khans of both our Clans will no doubt be furious. Of course, I think Khan Chistu is getting used to my being a troublemaker. How much patience do you think Zalman or his saKhan will have with you?"
 
Hartford's Summoner moved up to the riverside. "Freebirth," she cursed at last.
 
"Yes," he agreed. "Diana is freeborn. And she beat -"
 
"Impossible!" Hartford exclaimed. "She declared herself to be of Bloodhouse Pryde's lineage! I heard her." Then her voice grew sly. "Her challenge was under false pretenses!"
 
Aidan chuckled at the thought. Probably either Hartford or the Star Commander here had refused to take her seriously without that. "Do be careful of your words," he warned, fingers on his triggers. "Remember, disputing the outcome of a Trial via politics once brought down an entire Clan. You might find it hard to hold onto your rank if you are accused of that."
 
There was a hiss across the comms.
 
"Star Commander Diana is my daughter," he continued. "Her lineage and right to compete for the Pryde Bloodname has been confirmed and I have every confidence that she will succeed in taking it at the next opportunity. Now, unless you think your Khans will be impressed by you losing an entire Star to a freeborn officer in a squabble over one small town, I suggest you drop this."
 
Then he turned his Summoner pointedly towards her and raised the weapon pods. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Horse raise the Hellbringer's PPCs as well. "Or shall we make this a Trial of Grievance here and now?"
 
For a moment, he thought that Hartford's pride would push her to issue the challenge.
 
Then the other Summoner turned away. "You have the town," she spat. "But not one centimeter more."
 
"Bargained well and done," Aidan Pryde lied, a smile on his face.
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Chapter 3-9