Текст книги "Coupe"
Автор книги: Michael A. Stackpole
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Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 26 страниц)
Armor plates buckled from internal pressure, plumping and rounding the Rifleman'sangular torso as the runaway fusion reactor's heat touched off the autocannon ammo stored in its chest. A series of detonations blew armor away in small spots, and savagely harsh light stabbed out through the holes like sunlight shining through gaps in a thunderhead. More plasma tongues flicked through these wounds, then the Riflemanripped in half across its waist. The torso shot into the heavens like a dark comet, then hung there motionless as the boiling plasma jet beneath it imploded.
The Rifleman'storso, its lower edges still glowing molten red, finally upended and tumbled to the ground. It landed on its right shoulder, but autocannon ammo exploding in the firing mechanism flipped it over one last time. Though the 'Mech rested on its back with the cockpit apparently undamaged and pointing skyward, no pilot ejected.
Dan stepped the Wolfhoundthrough the 'Mech bay wall. "Obliged, Colonel."
Morgan's voice had not fully lost its icy edge, but Dan heard a trace of compassion. "It had to be done, Captain. Let's move. We've lots more work if we're going to win the battle of New Freedom."
15
Lyons
Isle of Skye, Lyran Commonwealth
17 May 3029
Daniel Allard closed his eyes and rolled his head in a slow circle. Pain stabbed like fingers of lightning through his neck and shoulders. Even with the padding, the neurohelmet pounded my muscles into raw protoplasm.He arched his back and heard a series of pops run up his spine. I haven't been so sore since—he swallowed sourly– since the battle on Styx that cost Patrick Kell his life.
Dan reopened his eyes and stared out the conference room's window toward the ruins of New Freedom. With roofs torn off and walls destroyed, the buildings the Kell Hounds had labored to build looked like twisted, diseased, defoliated metal trees. Oily black smoke still rose from some of the rubble piles to hang heavily in the limp, moist air.
Scattered throughout the area were the remains of two dozen 'Mechs. Most of the battered hulks lay in heaps on the ground while Techs, looking like ants in the distance, salvaged what they could from the carcasses. In some cases, like the RiflemanMorgan had killed, the 'Mech's legs stood tall and strong, but supported nothing.
Dan looked around at those assembled at the conference table. Conn O'Bannon, the stocky commander of the Second 'Mech Battalion, looked as though he'd not slept since the Kell Hounds landed two days before. His unit had met the Third Dieron Regulars First Battalion outside St. Johns. They broke the Regulars, but could not prevent two companies from retreating in good order to DropShips and leaving the world.
Across from him sat Salome Ward. Her command, the First 'Mech Battalion, overran the Regulars' command position near Montpelier. The enemy General, Tai-shoSen Ti Ch'uan died in the assault, and his second in command, Tai-saHiro Akuta surrendered when he realized his DropShips had been cut off from his position. After being assured his men would not be mistreated, Akuta asked for and received permission to commit seppuku.
Major Seamus Fitzpatrick sat next to Salome and watched Techs explore the two Sholagars'melted wreckage for anything of possible value. Exhaustion bent him forward like a hunchback, and there were bags under his usually bright green eyes.
Unconsciously toying with the green sash, Dan shifted his gaze to Major Richard O'Cieran. Damn. If the rest of us looked tired, Rick looks dead.The infantry leader cradled his gray-haired head in both hands and stared down at the table. Digging down to confirm the site we found as a mass grave has taken it out of him. It's one thing to wage war on troops, but the wholesale slaughter of a town in unbelievable.
Dan looked up as Morgan Kell entered the room, followed by Clovis and Cat Wilson. As they took up places at the table, Morgan moved to its head and leaned wearily against it. "Thank you for waiting. Tim Murphy just died from wounds he suffered here two nights ago. That puts our dead at seven, total casualties at thirty." Anger and frustration ran through Morgan's words. "Unacceptable, all of it."
Salome looked over at Morgan. "We've secured the planet. The two DropShips that got offworld will link up with their JumpShip in three days, if they continue at their current velocity. We've really no fear of a return engagement. Popping in so close to Lyons and using the moon to cover our approach surprised them. Are we going to pack up and still try to reach Ryde in time?"
Morgan shook his head. "We can't. On our original schedule, we had the Cucamuluswaiting at Alphecca to transport us to Ryde. When we learned of the attack on Lyons and headed back, Janos Vandermeer brought the Cuinsystem far enough to give us that tactical advantage. We've got ten days before the Cucan jump again, and then another ten days at Alphecca. We'll not make it in time."
Conn O'Bannon sank fingers back through his brown hair and frowned. "Perhaps Yorinaga Kurita will wait for us."
"No, Conn. I don't think so. He'll come insystem, perhaps land, and then will get out of there." Morgan lowered himself into a chair. "It doesn't really matter. We have to clean up this mess."
Dan sat up. "Am I missing something? I thought the world has been secured."
Morgan nodded. "It has. However, the whole reason for the execution of everyone in New Freedom raises new questions that have to be dealt with." Morgan looked toward Clovis. "Explain to them what you told me."
The haggard dwarf sighed heavily and rubbed a hand over his unshaven chin. "Despite Dan's valiant effort to destroy this building by backing his Wolfhoundthough it, he only managed to short out the entire electrical system and collapse the corridor leading to the computer center. This prevented the Combine staff from dumping the contents of their computers, as normal security procedure would dictate. With Cat's help, I've managed to bring the system back up and I've learned why .. ." Clovis stopped abruptly, choked up with emotion.
Morgan continued the narrative for him. "The ISF learned of New Freedom through normal channels and linked it with the group of people who had inhabited the Styx base two years ago. The ISF had always considered them a threat. Apparently, the ISF obtained information from agents in the Isle of Skye that suggested the Styx settlers were planning to have the Coordinator of the Draconis Combine assassinated. The Third Dieron Regulars were ordered to obliterate New Freedom."
Rick O'Cieran slammed his fist onto the table. "Jesus, Morgan! They bulldozed a trench and just shot people. Men, women ... it didn't make any difference ..." He glanced toward Clovis. "If you'd not gotten those children down to the shelter, they'd have shot them as well." He looked back toward the other officers. "Not everyone was dead when they filled the trench back in. Some people died trying to dig their way out..."
Silence filled the room. Dan swallowed hard as he remembered a young couple whose home he'd helped build. They never imagined any future but that of growing old together. As a Mech-Warrior, I accept the risks of war, but those kids never had a part in any of that.
Dan looked up. "We know that no one in New Freedom was plotting against the Combine's Coordinator. Hell, everyone here was a member of Heimdall. With their anti-Commonwealth history, I would have thought the Combine would have welcomed them as allies."
Morgan nodded. "That's probably one of the reasons that the ISF tolerated their presence in the Styx system. Unfortunately, the whole Silver Eagleaffair changed the ISF's view. The Styx base cost them elite troops, 'Mechs, and ultimately, a chance to capture Melissa Steiner." Morgan hesitated as everyone silently acknowledged the cost of that operation to the Kell Hounds: the loss of Patrick Kell and three other friends.
Dan shook his head. "What could make the ISF believe the Styx refugees had become assassins?"
Cat's deep voice carried finality with it. "Not what, but who..."
Morgan nodded. "Who, indeed. No doubt Duke Aldo Lestrade himself planted that little rumor in the ear of an ISF agent. He probably even pointed to our connection with New Freedom to suggest we were training commandos."
Salome shook her head, which spread her coppery locks over her shoulders. "I thought we decided before that Lestrade would not invite an assault on his own holding. It still makes no sense in my mind."
"Think of it in these terms, Salome," said Fitzpatrick. "Lestrade makes Lyons a nice target by planting this rumor. All he loses is a small settlement, whose destruction will hurt us, but costs him nothing. He knows the Combine can't hold the world, and he suspects that the Kuritans will pull their forces out the second the Commonwealth sends troops in."
Salome chewed her lower lip for a moment, then nodded. "Lestrade has an incursion into the Isle of Skye. He can complain all the more loudly about the Commonwealth's betrayal of his people." She paused as the logical extrapolation of this line of reasoning came to her. "Lestrade can even declare his holding neutral. This will keep Kurita out of it, allowing them to devote forces to other fronts."
Dan's mouth suddenly went dry. "The Isle of Skye going independent also cuts the Commonwealth off from the Federated Suns. Hanse will be forced to reopen the transit lanes, which means he'll be at war with a portion of his ally."
"It's worse than that," Cat said. "Civil Wars are unpopular. Katrina loses and someone else steps in. Melissa is tainted by her marriage, so that leaves Frederick Steiner."
Dan nodded. "Frederick is Lestrade's puppet. Fred takes over, and Lestrade returns to the fold. Fred ends the war with Kurita, and everyone is happy. Aldo pulls Fred's strings, and the Commonwealth goes to hell in a DropShip."
Morgan smiled cruelly. "That's what Lestrade must have planned, but we messed things up for him this time. He'll try again ... I know it. I want everyone ready to move out within the week. Lestrade should be in his ancestral home on Summer. I want to bring it down around his ears. It's time to end his meddling for good."
Only one voice dissented from the quick shouts of agreement that greeted Morgan's proposition.
"No!" Clovis stood on his chair, raising his head above the others at the table. "No. You cannot."
Morgan stiffened. "I appreciate your concern, Clovis, but I'm willing to risk any fallout from our strike against him."
Clovis shook his head. "I do not doubt your ability to handle both the military operation and the political turmoil your action would stir up, Morgan Kell. But I say you cannot kill Aldo Lestrade because I claim that right." Clovis held his head up high. "I demand to be the one who kills him."
Clovis looked around at the stunned mercenaries. "Do not think I speak purely from anger and grief at what has happened here." He swallowed past the thick lump in his throat. "It does play a part, of course. If you've ever had to tell a child his parents died for reasons he will never understand, you'll know what that does to you inside. Each time I said the words, anger and outrage were like daggers ripping at my soul. Revenge seems like just the salve to put everything right again."
The dwarf bowed his head, his carefully chosen words coming slowly. "I know that's what you're thinking because you've lost friends and lovers in the battle here. I think back to the celebration we had less than a month ago and how I'll never see some of those faces again. I want to pay someone back for that, but vengeance is not the reason I claim Aldo Lestrade as my own. The only way those wounds will heal is to rebuild New Freedom, and that I will do before I head out after the Demon of Summer."
Clovis paused and looked at every person in the room before continuing. "All my life I have known of his evil. My mother was once employed as a servant by Lestrade's family, and came to know Aldo Lestrade far better than she ever wished. During the same raid that killed Aldo's father and made him Duke twenty-four years ago, my mother fled Summer with the aid of a Heimdall cell. Within six months, I was born, and I've been with Heimdall ever since.
"Children can be cruel, and they were to me. My mother comforted me with stories of my father, who she said was a bold Mech Warrior who would someday come and take us both away. I fantasized that my father would destroy all of my enemies for me, and I could endure anything while waiting for his return.
Likewise, to make him proud, I learned all I could about lostech and drove myself to excel in things like computer programming because everyone else found it too hard."
Clovis shook his head. "Of course, there is no father of mythic proportions waiting to come for me. Instead, as I grew older, I heard uncharitable references to my mother as 'the Duke's whore.' Slowly, the truth began to dawn. One night, I finally confronted my mother. She admitted that she'd become pregnant by Aldo Lestrade. She'd been too terrified of him to deny his advances or to report that he'd gotten her with child. From that point, she forbade me to speak of this matter. Were she here instead of up on the Bifrost,I might not have said anything."
Clovis opened his hands. "You see. Aldo Lestrade is my father. He murdered his way to the throne of Summer, and his manipulation has destroyed my people, the people of New Freedom. In keeping with the precedent he himself set, it is my right to destroy my father, Aldo Lestrade." Clovis's handsome face hardened into a horrible mask. "Warriors kill warriors. Lestrades kill Lestrades. Leave him to me."
16
Sian
Sian Commonality, Capellan Confederation
20 May 3029
Justin Xiang looked on as Maximilian Liao smiled for the holo-vid camera. A smile crept across the Chancellor's face, sending a shiver down Justin's spine. You'd never guess to look at him that a third of his realm has been conquered. That smile makes him look like a python studying a trapped rat.
"Zao,citizens." Maximilian's expression softened, and his voice dropped to the calm, warm tone of a benevolent patriarch addressing his family. "It has been far too long since I last addressed you in this manner. Though piloting the ship of state is never an easy job, my people are ever in my thoughts. Indeed, these thoughts of you are what sustain me in this time of trial."
The Chancellor narrowed his dark eyes. "I am well aware of the hardships you have endured as this savage assault has nibbled away at our nation. I know that fear and doubt must touch you in many ways, yet I would not consider that treason. By no means—worrying about your family and your lives is logical. Only succumbing to that fear is treason, especially in light of what we have just accomplished."
Justin felt a hand at the small of his back push him forward as the Chancellor turned to face him and the camera panned to pull him into the picture. "This is my trusted and valued aide, Justin Xiang. He has just returned from an operation that took place deep within the Federated Suns. Braving untold dangers and even wounding, he managed to destroy a Davion Centurionand escape Prince Hanse Davion's wrath. More important, Justin Xiang and his team successfully stole from House Davion a sample of new technology that will turn the war around for us."
The Chancellor stood to tower above Justin. For the benefit of the camera, Maximilian extended his right hand and showed off a baton about a third of a meter long. Carved of ivory in a braided ribbon pattern, the baton bore the Liao crest in its center, and was inlaid with coral, malachite, and onyx bands at one end. The Chancellor handled it with extreme care and honor.
"Though an insufficient reward for the many duties you have performed for the Capellan Confederation, I present to you, Justin Xiang, the Baton of Illustrious Service." Maximilian smiled and handed the baton to Justin. "I hope your unflagging service to the land of your birth will continue forever."
Justin's metallic left hand closed on the prize. He bowed to the Chancellor, then straightened up, his facial expression serious. "Even death itself could not end my service to my nation."
The Chancellor bowed his head to Justin, then turned again to the camera. Justin retreated back to the wings, where Candace was waiting. He turned to watch the Chancellor continue his statement before the dozen members of the press corps in the audience would have their chance to ask questions, but Candace tugged on his right elbow. "Justin, let's leave. Your part is done." Justin frowned. "I should stay through the press conference.”
“Why? You already know what the questions are. Didn't you help prepare them this afternoon?"
Justin smiled. "You win." He followed as she threaded her way through the people and equipment in the Palace's holovid studio. The Baton of Illustrious Service this evening and being invested as Shonso of Teng tomorrow. There was a time when I used to imagine winning such honors, but they always came from Hanse Davion's hands. Now I get them for actions taken against the Federated Suns. How life changes things.
Candace opened a doorway into one of the Palace's grand corridors. The exterior wall was made of glass that rose up three stories to provide a breathtaking view of the capital city below. Lights from a million houses burned like a mirror-image of the night sky above. The interior wall contained huge, framed rice-paper portraits of the royal family.
Though he had walked here hundreds of times before, it took a moment or two for Justin to identify the changes to the pictures. The portrait of Elizabeth Liao, Maximilian's wife, had been moved from his side and been replaced by Romano's picture. In addition, white ribbons hung from the frames of both her portrait and that of Liao's son Tormana.
Justin squeezed Candace's left hand tightly and pointed toward the paintings with his baton. "Why the mourning ribbons? Has there been some recent news about Tormana?"
Candace shrugged as they paused beneath her stepmother's portrait. "State militia found a body in a shallow grave near Dangao Lake. The victim's throat had been cut and the romanized letter A had been carved into her forehead—the cuts running deep enough to score the bone. Dental records have matched the body to Elizabeth, though my father has ordered that her death be listed officially as accidental drowning."
Justin nodded at the next picture in line. "And your brother?"
Candace stiffened as she looked at Tormana Liao's portrait. "Sources report that my brother was not among the prisoners taken when Davion overran Algol's defenses. Our agents there located his 'Mech, and there was blood in the cockpit. As nearly as we can determine, he escaped into the swamps and died there."
Justin slipped his arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry, Candace. I know you two were close." He drew her closer. "I never met Tormana, but I'm sure I would have liked him."
Candace turned toward Justin and rested both her hands against his chest. "I thank you for your concern and your sympathy, but I doubt you would have liked Tormana. Unlike you or me, he became a MechWarrior because all the alternatives bored him even more. I think he even married his lowborn wife as much out of desire for scandal as for love."
She smiled weakly. "He was a useful ally in tormenting Romano when we were all children. My affection for him remains from those days." She looked into Justin's eyes. "You would find little in common with him, my love, and for that I am very thankful. Despite the vicious rumors Romano has spread, Tormana is not the sort of man I would wish to know on an intimate basis." She kissed his lips lightly. "But you are."
Justin enfolded Candace in a strong hug. "For that, my Duchess, I am most thankful." He released her. "Shall I assume, then, that I am being made Shonsoof a world in your St. Ives Commonality so people will not be similarly outrage that you've bedded a lowborn citizen?"
Candace grinned. "A tad late for that now, isn't it, Citizen Xiang? Besides, your maternal grandfather served in the Ministry of Information Standards for years and was made a Lord before he died. You are hardly an ordinary citizen, Justin." She kissed his lips again. "How well I know that."
She patted him playfully on the right chest, then recoiled in horror when he winced. "Oh, Justin, I'm sorry."
Justin shook his head, giving the pain time to drain away. "No problem. Everything is fairly well healed. I react more from habit than actual pain." He paused and smiled as two Development Ministry officials walked past. "Let's find a more private place to talk."
"My sentiments exactly." Candace took his hand and led him down the passageway. "For the two days since your return, they've had you debriefed and tested by just about everyone in the Maskirovka. Tonight, I've arranged an intimate dinner for just the two of us."
Justin smiled. "And afterward?"
She smiled coyly. "And after that, I thought we could slip into something more comfortable, like my bed, and I could properly welcome you home."
* * *
Lying next to him in the bed, her head resting on his left shoulder, Candace brushed the fingertips of her left hand lightly across the patch of lighter colored flesh on the right side of Justin's chest. "Aside from the skin tone, I can't really tell that you've been hit."
Justin nodded and kissed the top of her head. "Thanks to Tsen Shang's foresight, we had a fully equipped biolab on the Drop-Ship that remained with our JumpShip at Bethel. Though your father would not allow his top scientists to man the lab, those who did had enough knowledge to analyze the myomer fiber we stole. It's fortunate they also had the expertise and equipment to culture a skin graft to cover up my wound."
She shifted around so that her right forearm lay against his chest to support her chin. "The preliminary reports said you'd lost people and that the 'Mechs had been hit. I was worried."
Justin forced himself to smile. "Well, things might have been a bit worse for me if one of the JumpShips hadn't suffered a liquid helium leak. That meant its Kearny-Fuchida jump drive wouldn't work, so we had to recharge the JumpShip we were using. Because there was no transfer, and we had to wait ten days to recharge, the scientists had the time to make up the culture." He snorted a hoarse laugh. "That is, however, the last time I want research scientists to work on me. As one of them said, 'Citizen, if you were a rat, I could be sure this would work, but I cannot make a Human any promises.' Luckily, the Fourth Tau Ceti Rangers had a real doctor with them who supervised everything."
Candace smiled and kissed his chest. "I was so happy to hear you were alive that I almost took a shuttle out to meet your Drop-Ship when you finally jumped into this system. I had no desire to lose my only ally against my sister."
Justin touched her cheek tenderly, wondering what Candace would say if she knew the truth, that it wasn't a Davion security officer who'd shot him but one of her own sister's agents. Romano certainly took the news of Ling's death calmly. But then, she'd had a week of knowing I'd survived before I set foot on Sian.
Candace traced a small circle on Justin's chest with her index finger. "Did you manage to deliver the present I left in the cockpit of your 'Mech?"
Justin nodded and gave her a squeeze with his left arm. "Unless my father's people have actually sunk to the level of incompetence claimed by our propaganda, they'll find it." Justin narrowed his brown eyes. "In fact, that's how I got shot—accomplishing that little feat. The guard shot Ling and then me before Alexi killed him."
Candace smiled contentedly. "Excellent." She reached up to caress the side of his face. "I shall have to remember to thank Alexi Malenkov for saving your life. What would be a suitable gift?"
Justin chuckled lightly. "Alexi is a man of simple tastes. Perhaps making him a Mandrinn on Warlock would suit him."
Candace's eyes became gray crescents. "Good idea, lover, but slightly off target. I shall make him a Mandrinn on Teng. He will become your vassal, to remind him that you are important to both of us. I believe Dao Shan Province is within your holding. I shall give it to him as a reward for his loyalty to you."
A light tapping sounded on the teakwood door. "Mistress?" asked a timid voice that Justin recognized as belonging to Candace's maid.
Candace looked toward the door. "I left orders that we were not to be disturbed, Li."
The nervous tremor in the servant's voice survived translation through the doors. "I know, Mistress, but there are men here, and they have orders to bring Citizen Xiang to the Chancellor. I have told them you would not know where he might be ..."
Candace swung her legs around over the edge of the bed and stood. "Tell them to wait in the outer chamber." She pulled on a silken yellow robe to cover her nakedness, but let it gap open as she leaned over to kiss Justin full on the mouth. "This had better be more than one of my sister's tantrums. If she has pulled us from my warm bed for no reason, I will personally supply reasons for white ribbons to decorate her portrait."
Justin felt a sinking sensation when the two Death Commandos escorted Candace and him toward the briefing room and not the Chancellor's throne room. Something dire must have happened.
The door of the chamber retracted into the ceiling, allowing Candace and Justin access to the black chamber. Behind them, the door descended again, sealing them within a nearly featureless ebon capsule. A holographic display table dominated the center of the room, and the Chancellor stood hunched over its far end. Midway along the left side, Tsen Shang feverishly entered data requests on a keyboard, then gave soft commands to Alexi on the other side of the table to repeat his calculations.
The Chancellor did not raise his head even though an image burned to life in the air before him. "You are certain, Citizen Xiang, that this new myomer fiber will make our 'Mechs strong?"
Justin nodded. "Yes, Celestial Supremacy, it will."
The holographic display taking shape above the table distracted Justin before he had a chance to notice the effect of his reply on Maximilian Liao. The image, which represented what had been the Capellan Confederation at the beginning of the Davion invasion, glowed with different colors. The renegade Tikonov Free Republic burned with a defiant blue, while a fierce red denoted the planets Davion troops now occupied. A rich green colored the space of still loyal and intact planets, but Justin noticed that a new fork of red stabbed into the Sarna Confederation.
Justin's mouth went dry. "The fifth wave... Davion's launched a fifth wave."
Tsen nodded his head wearily. "They hit Matsu, Zaurak, Menkib, New Macao, and Mandate—all defended by militia alone."
Justin narrowed his eyes. "Reinforced militia, or just the standard stuff?"
Alexi, peering closely at his data terminal, punched up a summary of the action. "Menkib, New Macao, and Mandate had all called up reserves, and they had supplies. Matsu had done no call-up. Zaurak had initiated some activity, but this is the season of storms in the northern hemisphere so we don't know how far they got in their efforts."
Justin nodded idly as he leaned forward to see. "What have we got to oppose them on Wei, Remshield, and Tsingtao?"
Tsen glanced at his data screen. "All three battalions of Sung's
Cuirassiers were on Wei, but Davion dropped regiments in on them, as per past attacks. The other two worlds have single battalions defending them and are facing full regimental combat teams."
Tsen Shang shot a haunted glance at the holographic map as a dagger of red stabbed deep into the heart of the Sarna Commonality. "By the gods, they can't." He looked up at Justin, then over at Alexi. "Have you got confirmation?"
Alexi's head sank forward as he nodded. "I've got enough Jump– and DropShips for at least two RCTs."
Justin stared open-mouthed at the world now slowly burning red. I don't believe it. They've actually done it!"Sarna!" he said aloud.
Maximilian Liao's head came up as a deep, insane laugh echoed from his throat. "Sarna. They actually struck at Sarna."
The harsh sound of his laughter echoed in the room, and struck Justin with a momentary fear. He's lost it. The Chancellor has finally lost it."Highness, this is their deepest and boldest stroke."
Liao's eyes narrowed until they were no more than black, reptilian slits. "Have you forgotten, Justin Xiang, that you yourself anticipated this attack? McCarron's Armored Cavalry has not left Sarna. They will smash the invaders and then, with 'Mechs strengthened by the new myomer fibers, we will force the invaders from our domain." Liao smiled cruelly. "Hanse Davion does not realize it, but he has overextended himself. This attack is the beginning of the end for House Davion and its conquest of the Successor States!"
