OPREF-3 Chpt 11

=Book 3, Chapter 11 - Stacking the Deck=
==Opalescent Reflections==
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===Talk about the Future===
Katyusha, Strana Mechty
Kerensky Cluster, Clan Homeworlds
1 April 3055
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Sarah had considered just meeting in the Hall of Khans. It wasn't as if Khans of the various factions meeting would be a surprise and it meant less travel time.
 
She had decided against it because that was business as usual and she didn't want her guests thinking that way. Instead, she had chosen a club on the edge of Svobodya Zemylya Park that catered to the more intellectual of the warrior caste. Private rooms were equipped for everything from chess to strategic simulations, and they had some soundproofing. It would do.
 
"Are we here to play games?" Asa Taney asked when he and Sarah's other guests had been seated and coffee was poured out into their cups.
 
"In a manner of speaking," rasped Malavai Fletcher, his voice soft in a way that the man himself never was. His eyes locked onto Sarah's. "You know what we all want, Khan Weaver. But I have no reason to give it to you alone."
 
Sarah's hand closed around her mug, glad that this venue did not use disposable cup. "In your place, I would say the same, Malavai."
 
The Khan of the Hell's Horses tilted his head at the use of his personal name, then gave his saKhan a weighty look.
 
Tanya DeLaurel nodded. "However much your Clan praises Leo Showers, we will not elect him ilKhan again. He has had his chance. And on Camlann, he wasted it, quiaff?"
 
Barring her teeth, Sarah met the other woman's gaze. "Whoever is next elected ilKhan, it will not be a Smoke Jaguar." She shrugged and sipped her coffee. "Someone must wash the taste of my Khan from the Grand Council's delicate palate."
 
"That is all very well," snorted Taney. The Ice Hellion took a gulp from his own cup. "But the same is true of an invasion. We are all Crusaders, but why should we vote to unleash you now when we are being kept here."
 
That got a nod from the other Khan. "Revival is over. There must be a new plan. Something that offers us something."
 
"There is a saying - from the Draconis Combine, though it long predates even the Star League." Sarah set her cup down. "The nail that stands out, gets hammered down."
 
Danielle Lienet looked confused. "What are you talking about?" It seemed neither of the Ice Hellion Khans had been picked for their intelligence.
 
"She means the Diamond Sharks," DeLaurel explained.
 
The Sharks were the largest Clan now… and they controlled the largest Occupation Zone. While the Jade Falcons, Nova Cats and Steel Vipers were still pushing forwards, the Sharks had driven the Draconis Combine almost entirely past the truce line and by volume, their share of the Inner Sphere was larger than that of the Wolves and Smoke Jaguars combined.
 
"When the truce ends, whether it is today or in 3066, they have little further to go than we do to reach Terra," Sarah agreed. "In alliance with the Ghost Bears, they could smash through the remains of the Combine while all the other current invading Clans would have to fight the Federated Commonwealth."
 
Taney frowned. "You could also strike at the Combine. I can read a map."
 
"Not as easily as you might think. Our corridor runs into a rift with few worlds suitable as bases." She was tempted to simply use uninhabited systems and strike directly for the motherworld without concerning the Jaguars with anything else. But that would be a dangerous gamble.
 
"There is a reason that you are here, talking to us, and not joining your new Tau Galaxy as they ship out," Fletcher growled in anticipation. "Get to it."
 
Sarah lifted her cup in toast to the Hell's Horse. Tau Galaxy had indeed left Huntress, heading for the Smoke Jaguar enclave on Eden. The world was shared with the Jade Falcons, the Wolves… and Fletcher's clan. It was the Wolves who would be bloodied by Tau, a chance for her to see how the Star Colonels she had chosen could fight outside of her direct command. The last test before they departed for the Inner Sphere.
 
"The Diamond Shark touman is sizable," she observed. "But they are spread very thin - divided between Homeworlds and Occupation Zone… and garrisoning a very large number of worlds. Their refusal to share the burden of such a large region is unwise, in my view."
 
There was a low chuckle from Fletcher.
 
"A lack of wisdom should be punished," Taney said, with a smile and a remarkable lack of self-awareness.
 
Fletcher nodded slowly.
 
"Sending forces to the Inner Sphere is not quite as simple as sending them to the Pentagon," DeLaurel warned, sounding more as if she was trying to convince herself than the rest of them.
 
Lienet also seemed intrigued. "We also have obligations here. The Steel Vipers have seen how unwise it is to send too much of their forces to the Inner Sphere."
 
Sarah considered the Ice Hellion for a moment and upgraded her assessment of the other woman. Maybe she wasn't as much of a fool as her Khan. Just… slow. Which was ironic, given her Clan's obsession with speed. "Agreed. My own Clan must concern themselves with controlling our own Occupation Zone, so it is unwise for any of us to over commit. But together we can cut the Diamond Sharks down to size. Since Sennet and her cohort are so enthused about the spinward worlds of the Combine, let them keep those - opening corridors through their original corridor would be entirely to my own satisfaction."
 
That would deprive Clan Diamond Shark of the industrialized worlds around Luthien, including their new shipyards. They would also be left further from Terra - like the Steel Vipers, they would be essentially out of the race when it came to taking the motherworld and becoming ilClan.
 
"This is barely a plan," DeLaurel observed, "More of an objective."
 
"It is the beginnings," Fletcher declared, voice rumbling. He lifted his own mug and drank deeply of it. "Planning this will not be the matter of the five of us in a room. This will require a considerable amount of preparation."
 
"I could have three Galaxies in motion by sunrise tomorrow," Taney declared boastfully.
 
"Aff, but starcharts and supplies would take longer," pointed out DeLaurel. "Take care of these matters now and when your warriors strike it will be like a storm. Without them… more of a light rain."
 
While her Khan flushed in embarrassment, Lienet spoke up. "Are you suggesting that we expand your existing supply lines, Khan Weaver? And strike out of your occupation zone?"
 
"That is one possibility," she allowed. "However, that raises the possibility of coming into conflict with the Ghost Bears, who watch that region closely. Even if they were not directly involved, they might well inform the Sharks before we are ready. As an alternative, you could strike first at their coreward occupation zone - that would mean you would need to establish forward staging areas, but there is a better prospect of catching the Sharks off guard."
 
"Both approaches have their merits," Fletcher allowed. "And since you are inviting both our Clans, we need not settle for only one."
 
"That would be possible," agreed Sarah. Probably not ideal, but it was worth considering all the options.
 
Further conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door. She looked up in annoyance - the point of using this room was that they should be left alone. Then she opened the door a crack and demanded: "What?"
 
"Khan Weaver," the voice of the laborer who had brought the coffee for her sounded nervous through the door. "We have been asked to inform you that you have an urgent message. Your aide requests that you turn on your Comm."
 
There was a chuckle from Taney. "Perhaps Tau Galaxy are not yet ready to act without their instructor's supervision."
 
Sarah shot him a glare. Maybe it would be best to kill him and continue negotiations with Lienet alone? Taking out her Comm, she turned it on and checked the message queue. Then she blinked.
 
A bleep drew her eyes away from the device and she saw Fletcher had also taken out his comm unit and was checking his own messages.
 
Their eyes met and for the first time since she had met him, the towering Elemental seemed at a loss. "What," he demanded, "Is a Zeerga?"
 
"They are native to the Wolf enclaves here on Strana Mechty," Sarah told him. "Hunted for sport. It seems we have messages about the same thing."
 
He grunted. "Odd choice. Shall we share our information?"
 
"What are you talking about?" demanded Taney.
 
Sarah and Fletcher locked gazes, ignoring the Ice Hellion. After a moment, the Hell's Horse khan shrugged. "The Hall of Khans has been instructed to open offices for a Khan of Clan Zeerga."
 
"There is no such Clan!"
 
"There was not." He looked over at Sarah. "And you?"
 
"Tau Galaxy's batchalls for Wolf resources on Eden were answered by officials of a Clan by that name," she answered. "Clan Wolf will defend those resources 'on behalf' of Clan Zeerga."
 
Lienet rubbed her chin. "How can a Clan be created?"
 
"I see no reason for Ulric Kerensky to rename his own Clan," Fletcher answered. "And Clan Wolf clearly still exists or why would they be defending these Zeerga."
 
DeLaurel gasped. "Founder… there is a clause in the laws - obscure, it has never been done."
 
"What clause?" Sarah demanded urgently.
 
"A Khan can divide their Clan," the Hell's Horse informed them. "It is unheard of, but I believe it is legal."
 
Taney shook his head. "Why would anyone do that?"
 
For once he had come up with the right question, Sarah thought. And she would find no answer here. "We should meet again to continue our discussions," she proposed. "But right now…"
 
Fletcher lifted his comm. "I will call for transportation to the Hall of Khans. Whatever is happening, they will have any official news first."
 
Sarah nodded in agreement. The Diamond Sharks were tomorrow's problem. Whatever the Wolves were up to, that had to be dealt with first!
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===Managing things in Financial Troubled Waters===
Hilton Head, North America
Terra, Sol System
12 May 30555
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Phi Division was accustomed to trying to make their explanations suited to those whose idea of balancing a budget involved the phrase 'Blake vult'. They had therefore opened and closed their presentation with a simple graphic: a red line of expenditures that was rising and a blue line of income that was falling.
 
The two lines hadn't intersected yet, but projections had the blue dropping below the red within the next two years.
 
Wei Rong would only have counted herself as slightly above average when it came to finance, but if anyone on the First Circuit didn't understand that diagram, she'd consider dismissing them from their position.
 
"How did we become this dependent on cross-border trade?" asked Tiger Lily.
 
"Because our predecessors wanted to make the Successor States dependent upon us for that," Wei replied. "And since they succeeded in convincing the Successor Lords to blow each other's JumpShips apart, or later to seize them as the fleets shrank to the point that JumpShips were more valuable than their cargoes. Having the only JumpShips that could cross borders with impunity gave us a legal monopoly."
 
She rubbed her face and considered pointing out that it wasn't as bad as it looked. The actual excess income of the Order was never that much greater than their expenditures and she'd already cut away a lot of the black budget over the last few years. But it was better to have the First Circuit worrying now rather than overconfident.
 
"And now the Great Houses are at peace with each other," Rachel Orchard concluded. "Once they started shipping arms to each other, they were willing to send ships with less vital cargoes across borders as well…"
 
"And while we're still able to compete, we have to lean into our tax-free status to maintain an edge," Wei finished. "Meaning that we don't have the same profit margin - and everyone in the business can make a pretty good estimate of how much we were profiting at the previous rates."
 
Joe Buckley frowned. "Is that damaging to our image?"
 
That was a surprisingly good question from Precentor New Avalon, she thought. For all his fixations, he hadn't risen this far by being unintelligent. He was just… focused in how he applied that intelligence. Like most of us, Wei admitted to herself. "Given the number of jokes about our prices already, I'm confident that it isn't going to be anything that our PR people can't cope with."
 
"I always thought that most of our income came from the HPGs," the other Joe murmured. Precentor Tharkad rubbed his chin. "Are we going to have to hike prices there?"
 
"Most of our income does come from the HPGs," Wei informed him. "That side of the Order is still making a net profit - the uptick in military communications has offset the drop in commercial use of HPGs across the Clan occupied worlds. But it isn't enough on its own, thus we've been diversifying since the time of Blake. And it took him more than twenty years to get the Order to the point of making a profit."
 
Murphy blinked. "Really?"
 
"2802 was the first year we were in the black," she confirmed. "Much of the rebuilding of Terra was done on credit. The repayments to the Great Houses probably extended the First Succession War by six months, given the financial state of the Inner Sphere by that point."
 
"I take it you aren't planning on borrowing again?" Tiger Lily asked in concern.
 
Andrew Norris chuckled. "We already borrow money for short term needs - it's barely a blip on the budget, but it's standard practice to take loans for immediate costs - expanding Pesht's facilities recently, for example - and spread repayments over the next couple of years. The interest payments cost less than waiting until we have cash on hand."
 
Precentor Atreus shook her head. "I meant on a scale to cover this projected deficit."
 
"I would prefer to avoid that," Wei reassured her. "We might need to borrow on a short-term basis, but it would only make sense to do so to cover a gap until other measures put us back on a stable footing… which brings us to such measures in the first place."
 
"So we need to increase income, cut costs or both?"
 
"I confess I had never considered this downside to the Great Houses ceasing their wars with each other," Buckley chuckled.
 
Wei slapped her hand against her podium. "I refuse to see an end to that bloodshed as a bad thing, Precentor New Avalon. Those divisions have caused more suffering over the centuries than even the Usurper managed. I only regret that it has taken a war against an outside threat to bring some measure of peace to the Inner Sphere."
 
"It seemed to work for the Star League," pointed out Norris.
 
"That it did," she agreed wearily. The parallels to the Reunification War - from both sides - were not lost on her. "However, Precentor Tharkad has pointed out our options accurately and while Phi Division will be reviewing every division's finances to try to find ways to save money, the simple fact is that we have already been streamlining expenditures to rebuild the ComGuards and improve the defenses of our enclaves across the Inner Sphere. It is unlikely we can cut our outgoings significantly without compromising our other commitments."
 
"Is your Solar Shade on the chopping block?" inquired Tiger Lily a little snidely.
 
Wei exhaled slowly. "That has been considered, but at this point we have already paid the start-up costs and cutting it now would mean that the investment has been wasted. In fact, the Order has been approached about applying the workforce and techniques to other orbital construction projects around the Inner Sphere. That will represent a modest income stream which is already included in Phi Division's predictions."
 
Modest by the standards of ComStar. Alas, Wei thought, she could not justify claiming a negotiator's percentage for her part in arranging the matter. Her pension fund would have been full to overflowing.
 
"Is that what you have in mind to correct this?" Norris asked, gesturing towards the graph. "Consultancy?"
 
She spread her hands. "Our scientists and engineers are an asset. It is not a long term solution, because of the advances being made across the Inner Sphere will eventually spread from the centers of power to the hinterlands. Until that happens though, there is a shortage of trained personnel to implement the restoration of Star League infrastructure and manufacturing - particularly with most of those available being committed to military matters. In the short to medium term, ComStar can step in and bolster both our income and our reputation."
 
"At the low, low cost of our technological superiority." objected Buckley.
 
"That's going away whether we want it to or not," pointed out Trent Hone. The Precentor St. Ives' status had been elevated slightly by the growth of the St Ives Compact. "We may as well benefit the order while we can, because if we want to stay ahead of the recovery we'll need our R&D to outpace the Successor States."
 
"Or for the Clans and the Great Houses to bomb themselves back to the stone age." Joe Murphy looked dour at the prospect. "We all know it's a possibility."
 
Wei closed her eyes for a moment. "One to avoid, if we can." She wished she was more confident of that, she really did.
 
"Do we have any longer term options." Tiger Lily stepped forwards slightly. "I understand that this approach may be needed to keep us solvent while other strategies are put into practice, but I would hope that our successors are not left cursing us for short-sightedness."
 
"They will," Norris observed sardonically. "After all, we are cursing previous generations for not seeing all the problems we face now. The simple fact is that we can't reliably predict what challenges the Order will face ten or twenty years from now."
 
"And hindsight is always twenty-twenty," Wei agreed. "There are no investments that we can be sure will continue to generate income forever. The shortest term opportunity to bring in funds is a request from the AFFC to cover some civilian shipping lines over the next twelve months, replacing JumpShips that they wish to commandeer in order to rotate regiments that are facing the Clans at the moment."
 
"Doesn't that mean we're directly helping the AFFC?" asked Orchard cautiously. "That could be taken as breaking our neutrality."
 
"Technically not," Hone allowed cautiously, "Since we aren't directly transporting troops. But there is certainly a benefit to the AFFC. And therefore a detriment to the Clans that they are fighting."
 
"Will we ever get off the fence?" Murphy demanded. "We know the Clans are discussing breaking the truce and the current attacks aren't holding to the spirit of it. Look at the Sharks attacking the Outworlds Alliance - there's no limit to their avarice!"
 
The Primus couldn't bring herself to disagree, but… "Once we get off that fence it's hard to get back onto it. Therefore it must be done for maximum effect."
 
"And we're not ready yet."
 
"No," she confirmed.
 
"So long as they respect our enclaves, there is no gain to ComStar in breaking the truce." claimed Tiger Lily.
 
"Currently," Wei allowed, "No. But at the same time, if the Great Houses turn the tide then it would be better for us to not be too late in supporting them." It was nakedly self-interested, but that was how politics worked. Everyone loved a winner, and someone who offered help before it was clear who that would be was valued more than a johnny-come-lately. ComStar was well placed to monitor the tide of the conflict… but it would still be very easy to make a mistake.
 
"If they do." Norris said dourly. "I see little sign of that from the Combine."
 
Precentor Shaffi, who had been thrust into the role of Advocate for the Combine when Minoru Kurita moved his capital to Irurzun, made a pained face. "I cannot readily disagree," the mousy little woman conceded.
 
"Then that particular proposal is probably not the best of ideas," Tiger Lily declared. "The truce must hold, at least until we can be sure that Terra will be protected by other means."
 
"We appear to have a difference of opinions," Wei observed, looking at Joe Murphy. "Does anyone wish to call for a vote or shall we abandon that particular request?"
 
"Since the civilian JumpShips will likely be requisitioned either way, we can expect to be picking up their cargoes when our JumpShips are in the region anyway," he pointed out. "The Federated Commonwealth may be picking up the tab, but we'd be doing it anyway."
 
Tiger Lily tapped her finger tips together. "Perhaps if there was a further layer of obscurity. Could we give the Federated Commonwealth assurance that if they issue vouchers to pay for replacement shipping, that we will accept them where we have JumpShips positioned? Since other shipping lines could also take the vouchers, it would be a purely commercial interaction that doesn't tie us directly to military planning."
 
It was sophistry, but it could help, Wei thought. "That is reasonable to me. Who supports Precentor Atreus' amended proposal?"
 
There was a show of hands that indicated a clear, if not overwhelming, majority of the First Circuit favored the motion.
 
Wei nodded. "The motion passes. Precentor Tharkad, if you would take point on negotiating this with the Federated Commonwealth?"
 
"Of course," Murphy agreed.
 
Buckley made annoyed noises, but the Lyran half of the Federated Commonwealth was always the most financially astute.
 
"There are two proposals for ComStar-backed - or directly owned - corporations to begin export manufacture to bolster our income," Wei continued, moving on from the matter before it could bog down. "In the longer term, the demand for shipping means that JumpShips would be potentially very profitable. We have had requests for years to open up our shipyards to support merchant shipping, we've even had a new request from Clan Diamond Shark to provide new JumpShips or even just maintenance and support."
 
"You want to help one of the Clans?" exclaimed Buckley.
 
Wei shrugged. "Since we're neutral, selling JumpShips to both the Clans and the Great Houses would be consistent, although by the time that we have shipyards up and running to build new JumpShips in numbers the entire situation may have changed."
 
Hone frowned. "We have shipyards already,"
 
"Shipyards that are busy supporting our own fleets - civil and military," Murphy reminded him. "The Primus is proposing to re-establish other yards, I believe?"
 
"Indeed. Possibly in the Terran system or, if enclave status can be negotiated and seems secure, then other systems may also be feasible," Wei agreed. "That would be subject to extended discussion. It will take years, perhaps more than a decade, for us to be building JumpShips in numbers."
 
"Where would be obtain the germanium for the the jumpdrives?" asked Orchard. "The majority of deposits in the old Terran Hegemony territory have already been exploited."
 
"That would be a strong argument for establishing yards away from the core of the Inner Sphere," Wei pointed out. "There are sources available in the Periphery in all the major states, although I would be hesitant to rely on the Marian Hegemony as a source. The Taurians or Canopians might be a better starting point."
 
"I think I would want to see some more detailed proposals," the Capellan's Precentor-Advocate said slowly. "Can Phi draw up some options to be reviewed."
 
"If not then I'll cut their budget until they do," joked Wei. "This isn't something we can decide quickly, but it's probably the safest long term option for growing our income."
 
"Unless someone tries smashing yards again," warned Orchard absently. "Although if that is happening, our budget won't be our first concern."
 
No, survival would be.
 
"How will shipyards be paid for?" asked Norris. "I like the idea, but wouldn't the cost of building them add hugely to the expense side of our finances."
 
Wei smiled thinly. "Correct. And while that is a proposition we could borrow towards, what Phi is recommending is that we use rather smaller manufacturing projects to build up income in the shorter-term, then spend that on the shipyards to provide for a longer term investment in the shipyards."
 
Norris chuckled. "How very Lyran of them. What did they dream up?"
 
"Actually, the proposal came from the Mercenary Review Board," she told him. "But Phi Division reviewed the idea and they think it has potential. The bulk of the advanced equipment being manufactured by the Great Houses is going to their own forces, with the Wolf's Dragoons being essentially the only source for mercenaries." She paused to let that sink in: Jaime Wolf's death on Luthien had done much to offset suspicions that the Dragoons had once been spies for the Clans, but there was still some prejudice against them. Wei liked to think she was above feeling that… but she was not above using it.
 
"Spreading their influence further," Tiger Lily said distastefully. "You suggest that we enter that market - I thought that we needed all of our own manufacture for the ComGuards?"
 
"As with JumpShips, that reflects current production," Wei told her. "The Precentor Martial has been requesting standardization of cooling systems across the older equipment, which requires refitting the reactors since those are usually the core of them." She was more than happy to take his word for it - he had an engineering degree, which she lacked. "Even the SLDF often used older cooling equipment and that is reflected in what we inherited from them. He's asking for production of reactors in several sizes that include the best heat sinks that we can currently build in numbers, so that the ComGuards can simply…" She paused. "Well, relatively simply, remove the old reactors and fit upgraded ones without needing to do a full rebuild that might be beyond their immediate facilities."
 
"And the MRB suggested over-producing and selling the excess?" enquired Tiger Lily. "Is that affordable for mercenaries? I understood that the newer reactors are quite expensive."
 
"The plan is to offer what are called standard reactors, rather than the lightweight models being introduced. Those should be compatible with the older 'mechs that make up the bulk of most mercenary forces." Wei shrugged. "The MRB say there is a huge amount of demand and since we're not selling weapons, or selling to the Great Houses, this shouldn't cause too many problems."
 
"Define too many?"
 
"It won't keep me from sleeping at night," Wei lied smoothly. "And I have a very delicate conscience."
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===Targeting new Staging Worlds===
New Johannesburg, New Capetown
Clan Steel Viper Occupation Zone
20 June 3055
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The late Duke Aren Hearscht had bravely led New Capetown's garrison in defense of his homeworld.
 
Aidan was willing to credit the duke with personal courage. The riots that had swarmed over the noble quarter of the planetary capital before the Ninety-Fourth Striker Cluster had been able to secure the city suggested that Hearscht had few other merits as a ruler.
 
With the mansions not confirmed as safe, Star Colonel Redmond had confiscated a hotel near the financial center of the city as her administrative headquarters. It wasn't ideal for BattleMech access, so Aidan and Horse were brought in by helicopter.
 
The building was on the corner of a triangular block and as Aidan glanced out of the window, he saw a Fire Moth standing watchfully on one of the streets flanking the hotel. While he couldn't see the other street, the movement of traffic suggested that there was another 'mech there. The helicopter pilot lowered the little craft down until it hovered over an ornamental pond, the downdraft sending ripples through the water.
Horse slid open the side-door, revealing a pair of Elementals waiting on top of the mechanical penthouse. Aidan followed his friend in hopping down from the aircraft, the armored infantry reaching out to make sure they managed the step. A perceptible increase of power to the helicopter's rotors presaged it leaping for the sky again, leaving them on the roof.
 
"Star Colonel, Star Captain." One of the elementals saluted and indicated the stairs down to the roof terrace. "You are expected."
 
"I would hope so," Aidan told them. He was here on orders, after all. An unexpected helicopter approaching the building would probably have been fired on by the omnimechs below and however many Elementals were here on the roof.
 
The elemental chuckled. "So far the local insurgents seem more interested in targeting survivors of the previous government. It makes this world a refreshing change."
 
Horse snorted. "I hope we have moved on before they have sharpened their claws on that and move on to the current government."
 
With that happy thought in mind, the two of them were pointed down the steps to the terrace and then into an elevator that carried them to one of the lower floors. Here they found more armed guards - though not in battle armor - who directed them to a twin room where they could leave their traveling kits and get ready.
 
Once he had cleaned up and shaved again, Aidan handed the bathroom over to Horse and sprawled out on his bed. Whatever was going on here, it had to be something more than another quarrel with the Steel Vipers. Most of the Gyrfalcon Galaxy had assembled here on New Capetown, which wasn't within a single jump of any inhabited systems in the direction of the Federated Commonwealth. Were the Watch predicting further counterattacks such as that which had briefly retaken Sargasso?
 
"Are you falling asleep?" Horse asked, emerging from the bathroom, still drying his face with a towel.
 
"No. Just thinking."
 
"Ah." The freeborn tossed the towel over a radiator to dry. "About Diana?"
 
"No," he replied absently.
 
"That makes a change from you brooding over your inadequacy as a father." Horse told him.
 
Aidan sat up sharply. "I have never been her father."
 
"And that is the problem, at least in your eyes." The other man picked up his uniform tunic and pulled it on. "She is too old for you to feed or to clean the diapers of. So you want to do something, and get frustrated when you cannot think of anything."
 
"I begin to see why Joanna always wants to punch you."
 
Horse reached over and slapped Aidan on the shoulder. "When she needs your help, she comes to you. That is all you can hope for right now."
 
"I suppose you are right," Aidan admitted. He got off the bed. "We should go, the meeting is due to start soon."
 
The elevator took them down further to a meeting room where Aidan found that they were the last to arrive. In addition to Star Colonel Kristen Redmond, with her distinctive Enhanced Imaging Neural Implants, Aidan's sibkin Marthe Pryde sat at the table while the other two Star Colonels of the Gyrfalcons currently taking advantage of the coffee bar on one side of the room. Three aides were clustered by the window - Aidan wasn't sure who had elected not bring one.
 
And stood at the far end of the room, Kael Pershaw was examining a data display on the podium, images reflected on his face from the screen. "Aidan Pryde," he offered in greeting and gestured towards the table. "Take a seat."
 
Diane Anu and Rard Hoyt both joined Aidan at the table, since the meeting seemed about to begin. However, when Perhaw said nothing, Anu leant over to Aidan. "I understand that you defeated one of the Inner Sphere's Summoners on Arc Royal, quiaff?"
 
He nodded. "Aff. A skilled mechwarrior, and unfortunately he was retrieved before I could take him as a bondsman."
 
"Are you sure it was not isorla?" she asked.
 
Aidan recalled that Anu was a skilled 'mech technician who liked to prepare her own weapons… and she also used a Summoner. "It was certainly not using our weapons," he told her. "And the technician who examined it is very experienced - he was assigned to me during my Trial of Bloodright."
 
"Concerning," Anu mused. "I have encountered what may have been such 'mechs on two occasions, but we were unable to capture them to check their provenance. If we could capture the factory manufacturing them then it might address some of our supply issues."
 
Before the conversation could continue, the door opened and Aidan realized that he and Horse were not the last attendees to arrive. All five Star Colonels stood up in respect as saKhan Vandervahn Chistu marched into the room.
 
The Khan glanced at them and then nodded in acknowledgement. Removing the cape that covered his uniform, their commander turned to hang it up but one of the aides stepped up and took the garment, a reverent look on his face. Chistu patted the warrior on her shoulder in thanks and walked to the head of the table, folding his arms behind him. "Take your seats," he instructed and waited as they settled down.
 
"You have all made me proud," Khan Chistu congratulated them. "The Gyrfalcons have flown furthest and hardest of all our forces during this campaign, supporting our brothers and sisters whenever you were called on. And now I must lead you further than ever before."
 
"The Ninety-Fourth are ready for anything," Redmond asserted and both Hoyt and Anu made similar remarks.
 
Aidan exchanged glances with Marthe and then both nodded towards the Khan. Whatever the Jade Falcons needed, their Clusters were ready.
 
"I did not doubt it," Chistu confirmed and then stepped aside. "Pershaw."
 
The cyborg nodded automatically and transferred the display from his podium to the screen behind him, showing them a map of the frontlines - golden stars representing the Federated Commonwealth contrasting with green Jade Falcon, white Nova Cat and silver Steel Viper progress.
 
"Tharkad," Pershaw indicated, pointing at a highlighted golden star. "One of the two capitals of the Federated Commonwealth. Donegal." Another light, almost next to it. "A provincial capital, comparable to Tamar." Clan Wolf's great prize during Operation Revival. "Both worlds are below the truce line… but when the truce ends…"
 
"Whether that is a decade from now or sooner," interrupted Chistu.
 
"Indeed. We need staging areas, worlds to launch our attack on Tharkad in the future." Pershaw highlighted a handful of worlds just short of the glittering prizes. "All three of our Clans have eyes on the prize, and all three are fighting for suitable worlds. The uncertainty over events in the homeworlds means that we must complete our operations soon. And at the moment none of us are making the progress we need."
 
Aidan leant forwards. "Can we take Tharkad alone?"
 
"The Diamond Sharks took Luthien," Redmond snapped. "Anything they can do, we can do, quiaff?"
 
"If the circumstances were the same," assessed Hoyt cautiously, "Yes. But they are not." He was the smallest of the Star Colonels present, but Aidan knew that his apparently fragility was deceptive. The commander of the First Striker Cluster had survived the competition to reach high rank through excellence in unarmed combat: he had defeated Elementals twice his size. "The Federated Commonwealth was the stronger of the two realms already, and now they have had years to prepare and fortify - not to mention, developing new and more advanced BattleMechs."
 
"Even if the Diamond Sharks are the only Clan currently fighting the Combine, the Ghost Bears and Smoke Jaguars present a threat that House Kurita cannot ignore," Aidan added pointedly. "The Successor States are too large for any Clan to defeat entirely alone."
 
"That is -"
 
Marthe cut off Redmond. "The full might of our Clan could take Tharkad, but only at the cost of abandoning the rest of our occupation zone. Unless we are willing to do that, we will need allies." She sounded as certain as ever.
 
"Correct." Chistu stepped forwards. "I am pleased that you have reached the same conclusion that I did."
 
Redmond sank back into her seat, the implants standing out against her skin as she paled.
 
"The khans of all three Clans have agreed that we will cooperate to secure the most advantageous positions for the future," continued the bearded saKhan. "If this goes well then it may extend to Tharkad in the future. Before then, before we take the capital, we have another target."
 
Pershaw took up the presentation again. "Coventry," he indicated. The world was directly across the rift from New Capetown. "One of the most important industrial worlds in the Commonwealth, home to the Lyran's first battlemech factory - not counting those seized from the Terran Hegemony - and still building battlemechs to this day. We believe that Coventry is the center of developing their most advanced light BattleMechs. There is a military academy, a major logistics center… and it is also the destination of regiments too battered to continue the battle, meaning that while the garrison is large on paper, it is made up of exhausted warriors and under strength units."
 
"That is why we are here, quiaff?" Anu proposed. "We take Coventry."
 
"Aff," agreed the crippled warrior. "All three Clans will commit a galaxy to the operation, in our case the Gyrfalcon Galaxy. Deny the factories to the Inner Sphere - capture would be preferable, but likely unattainable. Destroy the weakened units there before they can be rebuilt with new 'mechs and a new generation of Inner Sphere warriors… and cripple the flow of logistics to the units currently fighting on Kirevci, Incukalns and Dukambia, letting us move up to more vital worlds within reach of the Lyran heartlands."
 
Aidan saw Horse shifting warily out of the corner of his eyes. He could see the unvoiced question and uttered it himself. "This will be the biggest battle for our Clans since Camlann, where cooperation was almost non-existent and logistics was our achilles heel. What have we learned from that experience?"
 
Chistu smiled thinly. "Good questions. Our supply expectations have been adjusted based on the experience of Camlann. Supply shipments are being assembled from all three Clans to exceed those requirements and we have agreed that a combined staff will coordinate their allocation across all three Clans. In addition, Kael Pershaw here will be overseeing elements of the Watch to share and distribute intelligence for the full invasion force." He paused. "Many garrisons have given up their reserves to contribute to this operation, Star Colonels. They are asking us for victory and we will not disappoint."
 
Pershaw tapped a control and the star chart was replaced by a map of a planet - Coventry, Aidan guessed. The map was positively littered with icons marking cities, key industrial notes and defenders. "Bidding for targets will be reserved to the senior representative of each Khan," he began as the map spun and reformed into a globe. "The focus of the attack will be the Veracruz and Dunnigan continents, which are divided by the Cross-Divide Mountains, a formidable barrier to operations…"
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Chapter 3-11