XIII
The biggest building in the small town that the Ghost Bears were using as staging area, called Sandleford by the locals, was an old manor, surrounded by gardens and filled with lavish furniture. Arthur thought the place to be somewhat misplaced, as that kind of ostentation had no place in the Clanner way of life. But maybe it was the house of some merchants, who were somehow allowed to keep their business and lifestyle under Ghost Bear rule. There was no sign of such people at the moment, although they probably had been relocated to a safer place when the combat operations transpired to that area, along with the rest of the town's population.
Such thoughts crossed the mind of the Davion colonel once he got into the building, but, as soon as everyone was comfortable, sitting or just leaning against the walls, his thoughts came back to the problem at hand.
"I would like to keep those prisoners as my bondsman, Galaxy commander." He said, turning away from the window, filling the room with his stare.
"Oh, you must be kidding me, stravag!" Star Colonel Yasmine promptly replied. "First you put up that trick of yours, avoiding what could have become a glorious battle, and now you want to keep the prisoners?"
Arthur shook his head.
"With all due respect, Star colonel, I ask for your understanding. On one hand, I had the permission of Galaxy Commander Aleksandr to do what I did, and, on the other hand, you have no use for those men. They hate the guts out of you, and would only bring instability to the Clan. Also, I'm only requesting the rights to keep the men, including those you captured in the previous days. All the equipment I captured would be given to you and your people in return."
The female Star colonel kept sit on the small couch she had chosen, but crossed her arms as to assume an aggressive pose, though more looking like she wanted to jump over him and tear him to pieces. She said:
"If I recall well, Colonel Arthur Cassini, those men you are so keen to keep to yourself as bondsman also hate the guts out of you, as you would say. They firmly believe you should have come to help them defeat us, and not the other way around."
It was the Galaxy commander himself who replied to her words. He was leaning against the wall to Arthur's left, with Star Captain Gunter Kabrinski at his side.
"Well… What Colonel Arthur Cassini is saying remains true. We have no need for those men, so he can keep them and deal with them as he wants to. Furthermore his offer of all the equipment he captured with his own actions can be considered a generous act, as he had full rights to keep them for himself. It is within the rules for isorla. I'm actually more interested in this urgent matter that requires our attention." He turned to Arthur. "You have clues about what brought this aggression against us, quiaff?"
"Aff." The Davion Mechwarrior nodded in acquiescence. "We do believe that these so-called pirate raids were actually a diversion to turn Clan Ghost Bear's attention away from something else. Agent Shirazi knows more details about it."
All the warriors in the room turned their attention to the DMI agent, who sat in a large sofa, sided by Pavlos and Antonios. She noticeably took a deep breath, as her mind worked to put her thoughts in order.
"So, Agent Shirazi…" Aleksandr's words were as plain as it would be expected from any high-ranking Clan officer, although Arthur could believe to have felt a slight trace of scorn. If Inner Sphere warriors had little regard for spooks, then their Clanner counterparts had them in even lower consideration. It didn't help that the Clan secret services, the Watch, as they called it, was widely considered ineffective by most standards. "What is that you want to tell us?"
Shirazi stood up and looked directly to Aleksandr. It was like staring at a wild beast, Arthur thought, likely to enrage him and highly inadvisable. Still, the elemental kept his calm, and simply waited for whatever she had to say.
"Galaxy commander, I will be direct to the point: we in the DMI believe that we are facing a party that is searching for something in this region. And it might be a crafty and dangerous enemy."
The elemental changed weight from one leg to the other.
"Why would you say that, Agent Beatrix Shirazy?"
"I'm glad you ask. The troops you've faced here are actually part of the force assembled for the invasion of the Smoke Jaguar Occupation Zone. They were being held in reserve exactly for being used in any spec ops operation that could need their expertise. A few weeks ago we noticed that some of these units had disappeared from the staging areas they should be in, and were also out of reach."
She crossed one arm over the chest and rubbed the chin with the free hand, deeply thoughtful.
"We were actually a little too slow to notice this. These troops were mercenaries and remains of now-extinct line units, and as they were assigned to dark operations, it was somewhat expected that they would just vanish without warning once they were given missions. When you reported these attacks to your worlds and moved troops to reinforce the frontier, my bureau started to make questions, and only then we noticed that no-one knew what were these men doing. Of course, we did the math, and came here, to investigate what was actually going on."
Still sitting on her sofa, Yasmine leaned forward and let out a short laugh.
"So… You are telling us that your proud intelligence services were outsmarted?"
"It seems so. But there is more." She turned to Jezebel, who was standing near the table in front of the big sofa. "Major."
The MechWarrior placed a thin device over the table, and moved away. A small remote appeared on Shirazi's hand, and the device started to project life-like 3D images, that wavered slightly above it. The first was the blurry representation of the Steiner 'Mechs.
"These are 'Mechs that we believe to be part of a mercenary unit working for the Lyran secret services. They are probably heading to this region, to dispute whatever the mysterious party is searching for. Taking all of these elements into account, we at the DMI decided that it would benefit everyone if the Federated Commonwealth and Clan Ghost Bear worked together for mutual benefit."
"Bah!" Yasmine snorted. "There is too much 'what ifs' in your argument, Agent Beatrix Shirazi. Do you have any certain about anything?"
As if in response, Gunter Kabrinski shook his head, and said:
"You might have a point about these men being in our Occupation Zone, or why would these raids be staged anyway. Still, we cannot just wonder around, without having a clear target. Star Colonel Yasmine is right when she asks about any proofs to support your argument."
"This is what we have." Shirazi answered, looking directly at the big man. "And it's never too much to remember you that while we talk, our really enemies, whomever they may be, are getting closer to their objective."
"Still, it is too little for us to organize any plan." Aleksandr looked to the ceiling, thoughtful, as everyone turned their eyes to him. "I understand that we need to discover who our real enemies are and, more importantly, what they are looking for. This is important both for you as it is for the Clan. But we simply cannot act without any clear heading."
An awkward silence followed the Galaxy commander's words, as everyone sunk into their own thoughts. Pavlos looked around, a puzzled expression on his face.
"Well… if I might say something." He shrugged as everyone gazed back at him. "We are assuming that these guys are already here. Don't you Bear guys know of some planet being attacked that doesn't fit the current pattern or something?"
"Humm…" Aleksandr started to scratch his throat, looking even more thoughtful than ever to the eyes of the still newly-arrived Davion warriors. Arthur felt something was coming together in his mind.
"Galaxy commander?" Kabrinski looked confused.
The other men still took a few moments to answer, but when he did his words fell as a bomb over the Davion colonel's mind.
"That is actually a very good point, Sergeant Pavlos de Cyrrhus. We do have some reports about a Hell's Horses raid in Ardoz, although no update had transpired since the last courier ship arrived in system."
The click in Arthur's mind was so sudden that almost made him shiver with the realization. A seven-year old rumor surfaced as everything started to make sense.
"There's where they are." He declared. "Our enemies are in Ardoz." He turned to Shirazi. "Can you show us a map of the region?"
The image floating over the table disappeared instantly, replaced by a set of lines and spheres, with names shimmering over them. Arthur pointed to the sphere labeled "Ardoz" and said:
"See? The raids were made to move your attention away from that area of your Occupation Zone. They will attack you in the back, exactly where you can't see it coming."
Aleksandr approached the hologram, thoughtful.
"Still, that does not explain why our ghostly enemy would have any interest for such an enterprise. The only thing that could interest them burned to the ground in 3015."
"Maybe…" Arthur shrugged. "Still, you don't allow any ComStar envoys in the system, isn't that so?"
"True, but even I ignore what is being done there. The installation is being dug by the Scientist caste, under supervision of the Watch and the directors of the project respond only to the Khan himself." He scratched his chin. "But it is an intriguing idea…"
"We can get there in a week, Galaxy commander. Our jumpship is recharged and ready to depart. It could get us into the Ardoz System in time to see what is going on and hopefully, it won't be too late."
A thick silence fell over the room, as Alexander kept looking at the hologram, measuring his options. Yasmine couldn't stand any more of that and she stood up with a single movement, fast as a lightning, looking incredulous to her superior.
"Galaxy commander, sir… are you really listening to this Freeborn?"
In a slow, but poignant fashion, the elemental turned to her, his eyes piercing the smaller and leaner figure of the MechWarrior with an ice-cold gaze.
"The idea has its merits, Star colonel."
"The installation is destroyed! There is nothing to discuss! We should be getting ready to the next attack! Or take offensive action ourselves. "
Aleksandr turned to her and crossed to his arms, the huge muscles tensing, like if he was ready to start a fight.
"You are right, Star colonel. There is nothing else to discuss." He glanced at Arthur. "You are allowed to go to Ardoz, Colonel Arthur Cassini. Take the Trinary under the command of Star Captain Gunter Kabrinski with you. He will be your liaison to the local command, understood?"
"Understood, Galaxy commander." Arthur replied. "Thank you."
Facing that decision, Yasmnine became tense as a bar of steel, clenching her teeth.
"What is it, Star colonel?" Aleksandr asked, in a menacing tone. "Do you have something to declare?" The Mechwarrior narrowed her eyes, and he kept his taunting. "Do you think you could make a better Galaxy commander? Do you wish to face me in a Trial?"
"That… That will not be necessary, sir." She straightened and saluted. "If my presence is no longer required, I would like to return to my post, sir."
The elemental relaxed, but only so slightly, his eyes still fixated on the defiant Mechwarrior.
"Request accepted. Do as you please."
Without a word, Yasmine turned over her heels and left the room. Allowing himself to relax a little further, Aleksandr glanced back at Arthur.
"You should depart as soon as possible, Colonel. I would like to ask you and your men to go on ahead and get everything set, while I give a further word to Star Captain Gunter Kabrinski."
Although the aggressive Mechwarrior was already out of the room, the fact remained that Arthur didn't felt the situation to be any less tense. There was a hint of distrust in Aleksandr's eyes. He knew, like Arthur and his men, that something was bound to happen in Ardoz. It was the only real option given the situation. But he also knew that these men were part of the army that was taking the Smoke Jaguar apart. He would never truly trust them. And the Davion colonel knew that he had to learn how to deal with it.
"All right, Galaxy commander. And thank you." He saluted, and walked out of the room, followed by his men.
Finding themselves alone, the two elementals turned to each other.
"You really are going to let these Freeborns take the point on this one?" Kabrinski asked.
"They seem to have great knowledge about whatever is going on. I believe they still know some things they decided not to share with us. Especially that Intelligence agent. Anyway, if you find them to be less than reliable… You have permission to deal with them as you find fit."
Gunter Kabrinski allowed his lips to dip slightly in face of that order.
"Understood, sir."