I'd like to thank Daryk and knowledgeispower for betareading this chapter.
Chapter 4: Breaking Out
'Few things are worse than knowing that your family is plotting the death of your love, yet not knowing how to prevent it. At the time I was told about my mother's plans, I had no means to warn Cat. Not without revealing my true loyalties to my family - a course of action with fatal consequences. This, more than anything else, made me finally understand that I had no future in the Capellan Confederation. Not under the rule of my mother or my brother, at least. For all that matters, I had grown up in the Star League in Dreamland. But knowing so didn't mean that I could do anything about it. At least not at the time.'
Collected Writings of Kali "Kelly" Liao
'Patient S-D has finally revealed what she knows about the origin of her special talents. Or what she thinks she knows. Her story about a 'Dreamland' sounds far more what a little girl developing supernatural mental abilities might imagine to explain what was going on in her mind during her coma. Just as eliminating the impossible led me to the correct answer to my question, no matter how improbable it seemed before Patient S-D confirmed it, I have to do the same when analysing these claims. And when applying Occam's razor, the choice between a parallel world made of dreams - where the venerated Star League still exists - and the delusions of a psychic girl is clear.'
Private notes of M.D. Phil Baker, NAIS Medical Center, New Avalon, 3050
Forbidden City, Sian, Capellan Confederation, January 13th, 3050
"Are you glad that your rival - amongst the Steiner-Davions - will soon not be a concern any more?"
Kelly didn't roll her eyes at her brother's thinly-veiled hint. "I have trust in Mother's decisions," she lied. "But I am aware that neither Melissa Steiner nor Hanse Davion will skimp on the security for their daughter - even more so if they realise what an asset Katherine Steiner-Davion could be."
"'Could be'?" Sun-Tzu scoffed. "It does not behove us to underestimate our enemies. The man who almost ruined our realm twenty years ago is no fool. Hanse Davion will be aware of what a boon his daughter's visions could be for his plans."
Kelly allowed herself the hint of a sneer. "That depends on whether or not my so-called rival has actually the same gift I have. We know that she has a supernatural talent for piloting a 'Mech - something I lack." She hadn't been foolish enough to reveal her skills to her family, at least.
Sun-Tzu frowned, looking puzzled, but whether or not that was merely a ploy to make her share more of her thoughts was hard to say.
In either case, Kelly nodded and went on. "I received a gift that will help our realm - and I was raised to care for our realm before anything else. The Davions praise their martial skills above all. What if this influenced her gift?" Her lips twisted into a subtle smile.
Sun-Tzus eyes widened for a moment. "You desired knowledge to guide and help the Confederation. She desired the skill to fight their enemies - in a 'Mech."
Kelly nodded again. "It is a possibility. Until we know more about my 'rival's' talents, we cannot say with any certainty. But if her talents are limited to fighting as a common soldier, then any resources her family spends on her are effectively wasted. Soldiers are replaceable."
Sun-Tzu nodded. "Indeed. What matters is knowledge and wisdom - to chart a course through treacherous waters." He smiled, but it wasn't a friendly smile.
Kelly had to talk to Alex and the others. She needed a way to warn Cat. Preferably one that wouldn't get her killed. Or Alex.
The Triad, Tharkad City, Tharkad, Federated Commonwealth, January 14th, 3050
"I can take Meriandreoxyn?" Cat gasped before she could help herself, turning to fully face her father, who was standing in the middle of her room.
"Yes." Dad nodded - he was still smiling, but she could see that her eagerness hadn't gone unnoticed. "Although you shouldn't expect too much - we've tested it with some volunteers. None of them experienced anything like you described."
They wouldn't have been in Dreamland as adults before. Cat was different. Alex wouldn't have sent her a coded message with a drug name if the drug wouldn't work. "Thank you, Dad," she said, more calmly. She couldn't help smiling, though. Finally, she would be able to see Alex and the others again! And Kelly - she was sure that Kelly was behind the drug; no one in Dreamland would have been able to test a drug like that, after all.
"You will be monitored, of course. A full medical team will be ready to intervene," her father went on.
"Of course." She didn't expect anything else. Not that it mattered - she would be able to enter Dreamland again! Kelly would be waiting for her, and Dragonslayer! All she had to… Oh. Would it be night on Sian at the same time as on Tharkad? Damn! How could she check without raising suspicion? If she told her parents that she wanted to meet the daughter of the Chancellor of the Capellan Confederation… Wait. "Where's Mum?"
"Melissa will come by a bit later," Dad said.
She narrowed her eyes at him. He was just a little… "She doesn't like this, does she?"
Dad sighed. "She agreed when I explained my reasoning."
"And what was your reasoning?" Cat kept her glare up.
"We don't want to lose you, Katherine. And…" He sighed again.
"You want to find out if I am delusional." She pressed her lips together.
He grinned at her, and, for a moment, he looked like her brother when he was caught doing something he shouldn't be doing. "Well, you have somehow, in your sleep, become a great MechWarrior. So, something happened to you that we cannot explain."
"But you don't believe in Dreamland."
"I think if children visited, they would remember," he replied.
"Do you remember your dreams?" she asked.
"Some." He smiled again, with a gentle expression.
"Or you think you remember them."
His eyebrows rose. "Did you just insinuate that memories of dreams might be made up?"
Damn! "It depends on the dreams. But Dreamland is real." She was sure of it.
"Well, if you could make contact with someone in Dreamland, someone dreaming, and they could verify it…?"
"Do you know how difficult it is to find a child from Tharkad?" She shook her head. "I can try, but finding a visitor from Tharkad on Earth in Dreamland… I guess I could ask Alex for a passage to Tharkad in Dreamland, but that will take some time."
"We're not putting you into a coma. The drug won't do that," Dad said quickly. "It shouldn't do that." He looked alarmed.
"It won't," Cat told him, hoping she was correct. "But when I go to sleep, I return to where I was when I was last in Dreamland. This would be Earth in this case."
"Earth."
"Unity City, to be exact. Well, Dreamland's Unity City. It's not quite the same."
"So I gathered."
But do you believe me? Cat didn't ask out loud. And she certainly didn't mention that she could ask Kelly to verify her claims.
"So, was Kali Liao there as well?" Dad asked, tilting his head slightly.
Cat froze for a moment. Dad's casual question didn't fool her. It was too obvious, anyway. "Yes," she said, looking straight into his eyes.
"And you've met her."
She rolled her eyes. "We were in the same regiment." Still were - she hadn't resigned her commission. "We trained together." Fought together. Lived together.
"Ah." Another far too casual comment.
She glared at him. "We're friends." There. She said it. Not that he wouldn't have already suspected it anyway.
He nodded again, without saying anything. Waiting her out? Hoping she would talk to fill the silence?
She wasn't falling for that. "So, when can I take the drug?" she asked instead with a wide smile.
He chuckled. "This evening."
"You've been ready for this for some time," she told him.
"Yes. A contingency." He grinned, suddenly looking far younger. "I knew Melissa wouldn't easily be swayed. And I had to consider the matter carefully myself. The implications, especially your friendship…"
"I can't ask Kali to confirm Dreamland's existence," she told him. "That would put her at risk." She pressed her lips together.
"From her family, you mean," Dad said.
"Yes."
"Did she tell you about them?"
"You know how old we were when we met. We both had idealised views of our families." She smiled, showing her teeth.
Once more, he chuckled. "Well, while neither Melissa nor I am perfect, I do think we have Romano Liao beat when it comes to parenting."
"Unless Uncle Justin has been lying to you for decades in his reports about the Liaos, yes," Cat agreed.
"Your friend will have spent over a year with her family by now," Dad said.
Cat rolled her eyes. That was another not-so-subtle hint. "She won't be fooled. Or brainwashed." She stared at her father until he looked away. She trusted Kelly. With her life. Always.
An hour later, Cat watched with her mother how her bedroom was getting turned into a hospital room. Or a science lab - the difference hardly mattered with the number of devices that were rolled into her room and set up by people in white cloaks. It wasn't quite as bad - or full - as at NAIS, but it came close.
Mum didn't like this. Cat could tell by the way her smile was a little too wide and how she pressed her lips together when she thought Cat wasn't looking at her. "It probably would've been easier if I had simply moved to the infirmary in the Triad for this," Cat commented.
"This is safer," Mum replied, turning to look at her. "By now, our enemies will suspect what's happening to you."
"How?" Cat asked, frowning. The Liaos might know since Kelly had been revealing some information from the Star League, and they had to know that Cat had been in a coma as well, for the same period as Kelly, but the others… "Oh. The parallels between Kali and me."
"Yes. SAFE might not have realised it, although they are not as incompetent at espionage as their reputation makes them out to be. But the ISF will not have missed the source of the Confederation's latest Lostech findings, and they will expect that you have the same knowledge as her," Mum said. She had a grim expression.
"So, I have to watch out for DEST strike teams," Cat said. "Wonderful."
"We've doubled your security," Mum told her.
"Why? I am a Steiner-Davion; I am already a target for the ISF," Cat said. She was second in line to the throne - thrones - after Victor. Not that she would mention that now.
Mum sighed. "Dear, there are certain lines we don't cross. Not rules, more… unwritten conventions. Assassinating the children of a ruler of a realm?" She shook her head. "Such an act would lead to retaliation and escalation. Everyone knows that." Sighing, she sat down on the bed, next to a prepared infusion. "But if you are seen as a source for Lostech…"
"But we've recovered Star League technology," Cat pointed out. "Technically, it's not Lostech any more."
"We've recovered parts of it. But who knows what secret laboratories have been researching that wasn't available in libraries such as the one on Helm? What technology the Hegemony was saving for their special forces? Prototypes that the SLDF didn't take with them when they left?" Mum shook her head. "You're a target now."
She wasn't asking if Cat - or Kelly - could deliver such technology. She didn't have to. Cat could draw her own conclusions. "I'm an asset of supposedly such importance, I'm fair game?"
"If they even attempt to hurt you, we'll wipe them out," Mum spat.
That was bad. That was very bad. With the Horde invasion about to happen, the last thing the Inner Sphere could afford was a war between the Federated Commonwealth and the Combine. Or the Confederation. And… Cat stifled a gasp. If she was a semi-legitimate target, then so was Kelly! She looked at Mum, who was staring at the monitors being set up along the wall. Would Mum send assassins after Kelly? To deny the Confederation such secret technology that she had mentioned? Would Dad?
She bit her lower lip. No, they couldn't. They wouldn't. Dad had all but confirmed that he knew that Kelly was her friend.
But a small voice in the back of her head whispered: 'Yes, they would.' She didn't trust the voice - her parents were better than that; she knew that - but she couldn't trust Kelly's life on that. 'And what about the other Liaos?' the same voice asked. 'Would they kill Kelly to save their own realm?'
Not Kai. But his father was Dad's spymaster - and had been one of the main reasons for the Capellans' defeat in the Fourth Succession War. And his mother was Romano Liao's sister. The daughter of Max Liao. She had grown up on Sian, in the court.
No, Kelly was in as much - or more - danger than Cat was. And worse, if either got hurt, no matter who did it, war would likely break out. A war that would only help the Nightmare Horde.
Damn.
Cat could only hope that the drug would work and she could enter Dreamland. She needed help to find a solution to this before everyone was doomed.
But for now, she could only wait, hug her Mum, and hope no one would suspect what she was thinking.
When the sun was setting, everything was ready. Cat had a light dinner - no one made the obvious 'last meal' joke - and then got ready for bed. She had almost asked for a combat uniform to sleep in but had remembered that appearing in an AFFC uniform in Unity City wouldn't be a good idea. Kids appearing in the city, or even the palace, was one thing people were used to. Adults in unfamiliar uniforms? That would trigger a different response from the royal guards.
So she was wearing her usual top and shorts. 'Mechwarrior pyjamas', Kelly called it. Cat smiled - her friend preferred silk.
Wearing this also made it easier to glue all the sensors on her skin on which the horde of doctors and medics insisted. "I should just be wearing a neurohelmet," she muttered as a third sensor was glued to her temple.
"That was actually suggested, your highness," the medic fiddling with it told her. "But these sensors will gather more data."
Cat sighed and glanced at the tray in the corner, where the drug waited. Not much longer now.
"Katherine…" Mum blinked, Cat saw, holding back tears.
"It'll be OK," Cat told her.
"We know," Dad lied. He looked as if he had second thoughts himself.
Well, Cat knew better. This would work. This had to work.
"Everything checks out," another medic reported. "We're set, Your Highness."
Mum nodded, and another medic - no, a doctor - brought the tray over. A glass of water and a pill. Sealed.
Cat broke the seal and popped the pill into her mouth without hesitation, then grabbed the glass, swallowing it with a gulp of water.
Then she lied back down, closing her eyes. And waiting. Waiting to…
Unity Field, Unity City, Dreamland, January 14th, 3050
Cat blinked. She wasn't in her bed any more. She was standing … She looked around, and her eyes widened. She knew this field - Unity Field. She was in Dreamland! She could see the Royal Palace in the distance, overlooking the area, Unity City sprawling around it, the field itself, 'Mechs moving too far away to identify them, the faint silhouettes of dropships waiting to lift off. She could feel the grass under her feet, smell the clean air, feel the sun on her skin… She was back.
In front of her, a little boy appeared out of thin air, wearing colourful pyjamas with the ComStar logo on them. He looked around, smiling widely. "Hey, Miss!"
She returned the smile. "Yes?"
"Where's the Rainbow dropship?"
Cat blinked. "I don't know, sorry."
"Aw. My friends are waiting for me there. Well, I'll head towards starport!" He quickly moved to the electrobikes lined up at the edge of the field. Before he reached them, another little boy and a little girl appeared, also quickly heading to the bikes.
A little later, all three were off, squealing with joy as they rode the vehicles over the field. "Probably future mechanised infantry," Cat muttered as she eyed the bikes. They were far too small for her to use herself.
It looked like she would have to walk to the Royal Palace. Well, she wouldn't let that stop her.
Royal Palace, Unity City, Dreamland, January 14th, 3050
"Cat!" "Cat!" "Hey!" "Caaaat!"
Alex and the others intercepted Cat halfway on the way to her and Kelly's quarters in the palace, and Cat found herself swept off her feet and swung around by Alex before she could say anything, followed by Kiwi landing on her head and all but burrowing into her tousled hair.
At least Felicity and Nastajia greeted her less physically if still smiling widely.
"Took you long enough!" Felicity said, flashing her fangs. "Alex was all set to storm New Avalon."
"I was not!" Alex protested from somewhere around Cat's navel. He set her down and said: "I was just wondering what we could do if my plan had failed."
"Well, obviously, it has worked," Nastajia said. "Kelly will be very happy."
Cat turned to glance down the hallway.
"She usually appears in about an hour," Nastajia told her. "You've got plenty of time to freshen up."
"I think she's dressed perfectly fine for their reunion," Felicity commented with a smirk.
Cat refused to blush. Everyone knew about their relationship - well, everyone in Dreamland. Or at least everyone in the Royal Palace. "Yes, your plan worked. But…" She sighed. "I had to tell Dad about Dreamland, so I wouldn't get locked up in an asylum."
"Ah." Alex grew serious. "Well, it's not the first time this happened." He fingered the code key dangling from his necklace. "It's not as if any adults could enter Dreamland."
"I think Kelly's presence, and now Cat's, has disproven that," Nastajia pointed out.
"They both were sleepwalkers," Alex retorted. "Almost residents."
"Dad had the drug tested with volunteers. They didn't enter Dreamland - or so he claims," Cat told them.
"See?" Alex smiled at them.
Nastajia rolled her eyes and sighed. "I'll still put security on alert."
"Of course, Nat." Alex smiled at her, but she only snorted in return.
"So… I'm going to shower and dress appropriately," Cat told them. "Alone!" she added when Kiwi didn't show any desire to leave her head.
"Don't mind me!" the faery told her.
"Do you want to get all wet? And soapy? I'm using grown-up shampoo," Cat added. "It burns in the eyes."
"But…" Kiwi left her hair, flew in front of Cat's face and pouted. "I've been missing you for so long!"
"And so has Kelly," Felicity said.
"Oh!"
Cat smiled almost against her will. Kelly! In an hour, she'd see Kelly again. Hear her voice, Touch her skin, Smell her. Kiss her…
"That shower better be cold," Felicity said with a giggle.
"Felicity!" Nastajia scolded her.
"What? As if you wouldn't do the same if you saw Alex after having been separated for more than a year!"
Nastajia blinked, then blushed a little. "That's beside the point."
But Alex wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Come on, Nastajia! We'll talk to them in two hours."
Cat blushed again as both Felicity and Kiwi snickered. They were standing in the middle of the hallway! Alex' bodyguards acted as if they didn't hear anything, but she knew better.
"See you later," she managed and headed to her and Kelly's quarters.
Once inside her room, she closed the door and leaned against it, taking a deep breath. Her bedroom hadn't changed at all. It was clean, but nothing was out of place - it was as if she had just left a moment ago.
After a moment of hesitation, she entered Kelly's bedroom. Oh. She could smell a lingering trace of Kelly's favourite perfume. And the room had changed a little. Different lotion on the dresser. A different brush as well.
She picked it up, noticing a few loose, dark hairs wrapped around it. Kelly's hair.
She resisted the sudden urge to check the armoire. She had jogged a few miles; she really needed a shower. Nodding, she headed to her bathroom.
Royal Palace, Unity City, Dreamland, January 14th, 3050
Someone was taking a shower in the bathroom next door, Kelly realised when she woke up in her bed in the Royal Palace. She had rolled out of the bed and grabbed her service pistol from the nightstand before she blinked. She wasn't in her mother's palace on Sian - she was in Dreamland. She didn't have to fear assassins here. And what assassin would take a shower? Though as a distraction…
But the shower was in Cat's room. Her eyes widened, and she hurried to the door - which wasn't closed. Someone had been in her room. Once more, she was filled with dread for a moment before she told herself again that this was Dreamland, not Sian. If anyone was taking a shower in Cat's bathroom, it would be…
She licked her lips and pushed the door open, checking the room before stepping inside. No one was present, and nothing had changed since her last visit. She couldn't see any clothes strewn around on the way to the bathroom, either. Then again, even Cat wouldn't sleep in full uniform - she didn't even like the silk Pyjamas Kelly preferred.
Just as Kelly was about to approach the bathroom door - it was half-open as well - the noise from the shower stopped, replaced by footsteps and some sighing. Kelly froze.
Then a figure appeared in the doorway to the bathroom, a towel slung around her and another on her head, trying to dry her wet mane.
Even without seeing the girl's face, Kelly recognised her. Would've recognised her even in a jumpsuit. "Cat…" she breathed.
Cat froze, and the towel on her head fell off. "Kelly…"
Kelly threw the pistol on Cat's bed and rushed forward, arms wide open. "Cat!"
"Kelly!"
She embraced her friend, hugging her as hard as she could. Cat was back! In Dreamland! She had hoped, but to see her for real, to hold her, feel her… "You made it," she whispered.
"Was there ever any doubt?" Cat laughed.
Normally, Kelly would have had some snarky comment about this boast. Or a slender elbow to her lover's ribs. But she hadn't seen Cat for over a year.
So she kissed her instead.
The second towel joined the first on the floor. The pistol dug into Kelly's thigh when they ended up on the bed, and she had to twist her body to push off the sheets. Her pyjamas got damaged somehow and also dropped to the floor.
And they both needed a shower afterwards.
Kelly didn't mind. Not at all.
Alex, Felicity and even Nastajia were grinning when Kelly entered Alex's suite. Kiwi flew over, landed on Cat's head and tried to bury into her hair.
"Took you longer than I thought," Felicity commented. "It's been a long year, huh?"
"Felicity!" Nastajia snapped.
"Just saying!"
"Your hair's still wet!" Kiwi piped up.
"Come, sit down!" Alex said. "We have to celebrate this reunion!"
"More than they already did?"
"Felicity!"
Kelly shook her head as she sat down on the couch, Cat joining her. They both wore their dress uniforms. Kelly knew that Cat wanted to take Dragonslayer out for a stroll, but this was more important.
She cleared her throat. "We have things to discuss. Important things. My family is planning to have Cat assassinated."
Alex gasped, but Nastajia didn't seem to be surprised. Neither was Cat - Kelly could tell.
"And I've had to tell Mum and Dad about Dreamland," her lover added. "And they know that I know Kelly."
"Which means they won't trust you," Kelly said. No one trusted her family, and with good reason.
Cat shrugged. "You're also in danger. As I heard from Dad, we both count now as important military assets, so taking us out is fair game."
That was only logical. Kelly nodded. "In my attempts to prove my worth enough so I would be able to test drugs to return to Dreamland, I shared enough information about the SLDF to add more than a company of SLDF 'Mechs to my mother's forces."
"You had to, or she would have never let you attempt to come back," Alex said with a smile.
"And a company's worth of 'Mechs, even if they were Assault 'Mechs, won't affect the balance of power in the Inner Sphere," Cat said. Kelly saw her blink. "Uh, were they Assault 'Mechs?"
Kelly shook her head. "No. Twelve Hussars. Standard model."
"Ah!" Cat nodded. "The misfiled scout company!"
They had heard of that story during training - replacement 'Mechs for an entire scout company, lost in transit shortly before the Exodus. Forgotten by everyone, except for Dreamland's SLDF.
"Yes," Nastajia said, pursing her lips. "But as Cat said, they don't really matter. You matter. And you both are in danger."
"Yes. If your parents don't trust Kelly's family, they might cut you off from the drug you need to enter Dreamland," Felicity commented.
Kelly felt Cat tense at that. "I won't let them," her lover said through clenched teeth.
"I think you overestimate your influence on your parents," Nastajia said what Kelly was thinking.
"No. I mean, I won't stay with them," Cat said. "I can't stay with them. If anything happens to me, Kelly's mother will get the blame, and we'll go to war - and that with the Nightmare Horde about to invade the Inner Sphere!"
Kelly's eyes widened. "So, it's true - the Nightmare Horde is attacking outside Dreamland."
Cat nodded. "I've seen reports with their 'Mechs, but no one believes me that those aren't crappy Frankenmechs from the Periphery."
"What are the chances that they can strike straight at Terra, as they did here?" Alex asked, leaning forward.
"If they could, they would have done so already," Cat said. "They wouldn't deal with Periphery pirates for months."
Kelly nodded. Supplies and travel worked differently in Dreamland. Most children didn't understand travel times. And most of them who did didn't like them. "They will have to invade from the Periphery."
"Where my brother's stationed," Cat added. "We need to do something about that."
"Once the Nightmare Horde attacks the Federated Commonwealth, your parents will know you've told them the truth," Alex said.
"And they'll keep me from doing anything about it. And the other realms will consider me an even more important target," Cat said. She shook her head. "I'm an officer and 'MechWarrior, not some intel analysis weenie!"
"You want to fight them," Nastajia said.
"I can tell my parents all I know about the Nightmare Horde in an afternoon," Cat claimed.
That was hyperbole, in Kelly's opinion. They had fought the Horde for years, after all. But there would be differences between the Horde in Dreamland and in the Inner Sphere. And Cat was correct in that their knowledge about the invaders wouldn't be very valuable after the first few battles. And she was also correct in that their families wouldn't let them fight.
And both of them wanted to fight the Horde. They were officers and MechWariors, after all. Not to mention that they couldn't be together unless they ran away together. Their families wouldn't let them.
"So, we need to get both of you away from your families. Who happen to be the rulers of two Successor States - both amongst the most powerful families in the Inner Sphere," Felicity said with a wide grin. "That sounds like a challenge, even for me!"
"So, to sum it up," Alex said about an hour later, "You need a way out of your families respective palaces, a way off the planet, and a way out of the system." He nodded.
"Yes," Kelly said. She was too polite to mention that this had been said many times already.
"We've told you that already." Cat wasn't.
"Yes, yes." Alex nodded. "So, getting out of the palace shouldn't be too much of a problem. I'll lend you my key, and you can wake up in a suit of Nighthawk. Go stealth and leave, just as I did."
Kelly kept smiling. "You were not watched over and guarded by some of the most skilled and motivated security details."
"And you didn't have to get off Terra," Cat added. "We can't exactly sneak on board of a dropship - the moment we vanish, they'll halt all traffic."
Kelly nodded. Mother would do so without regard for the economic consequences.
"Yes. Mum and Dad wouldn't let anyone leave the planet until I am found," Cat said.
"Would they? And how long would they keep it up?" Alex looked at both of them.
"And how would you expect us to get off the planet once traffic resumes?" Cat asked.
"At least on Sian, they would keep searching every dropship before departure," Kelly added.
Alex grinned. "But they won't find you. Because you won't be there."
Oh! Kelly's eyes widened. That was… Well, it would still be dangerous, but not impossible. Not by a long shot. She glanced at Cat.
Her friend nodded with a grin. Well, she had always been more fond of dangerous plans than Kelly.
"Of course, we have to make preparations so you will have the means to actually fight the Horde once you're clear," Alex said. "I have a few ideas about that, but I'll have to get involved myself."
Nastajia groaned, and Felicity snickered.
The Triad, Tharkad City, Tharkad, Federated Commonwealth, January 15th, 3050
Cat woke up in her room in the Triad with a smile. She'd been back in Dreamland. She had met Kelly again! And she…
…caused a ruckus? She heard beeping and shouting and screeching. She opened her eyes. Right. She had gone to sleep in her room, which had been turned into a mixture of emergency treatment unit and research lab.
"Katherine!"
And there came Mum. Cat blinked. Mum looked… like she hadn't slept at all. But it was morning. "What happened, Mum?" she asked.
"You…" Mum shook her head. "You looked like when you were in a coma. And your brain's reactions were the same."
"Oh." That was… bad. Mum must have been so afraid.
"I was so worried…" Mum hugged her. Hard.
"Actually, this reaction was well within the expected parameters," someone said in the background.
"Shut up, Kurt!"
"But…"
"Shut up!"
"I'm fine," Cat told Mum. "I dreamed." She glanced at the scientists and medics crowding the room. She wouldn't tell them about Dreamland. And not just because this was classified. Dreamland was hers. Her home.
She blinked, still holding Mum. Dreamland was her home. Not Tharkad or New Avalon.
Oh.
"So…" Mum released her and turned to face the people in the room. "Are you done?" She didn't look upset any more - she looked composed and stern.
"Err… there are a few more scans we should take…"
"Shut up, Kurt!"
"We are done for the time being, Archon." A woman bowed. "It will take us time to analyse all the data."
"Good. Then my daughter and I will retire for a quiet breakfast," Mum said.
And a debriefing, or even an interrogation, Cat was sure of that as she went into the bathroom to get a shower.
And indeed, twenty minutes later, Dad was waiting in the small dining room in Mum's quarters here. He didn't… yes, he looked like he hadn't slept well or long either, Cat noticed as she went to hug him. "Morning, Dad."
"Morning, Katherine. Did you have pleasant dreams?"
Yes, definitely more tired than usual, Cat thought as Mum glared at Dad - he usually was much smoother.
"Yes," she said, grabbing the pot of coffee. "I entered Dreamland. I met my friends."
"Ah." Her parents exchanged a glance. "And who were your friends?"
Cat didn't roll her eyes. "Alex - Alexander Cameron. First Lord of the Star League. Nastajia Ashenheart, Commander of the First Royals. Kiwi. And Kelly."
"Kelly would be Kali Liao, then?" Dad wasn't asking.
"Yes, as you know," Cat replied - a little more sharply than she had intended.
"Ah."
This time, she rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm friends with Kali Liao." More than friends, but if she told her parents that, she'd probably be imprisoned in a monastery. The only thing that would get a worse reaction would be Cat claiming to have fallen for Hohiro Kurita.
"The Liaos have a certain reputation for a reason," Dad said.
"Like Candace and Justin Liao? Or Kai?" Cat shot back. "I grew up with Kali. She's spent ten years with me in Dreamland." She pressed her lips together to stop herself from revealing too much.
"Dreamland." Mum nodded as she took a sip from her cup. "Did you hear anything in Dreamland?"
"You mean: Do I have proof that I visited an actual realm and didn't just imagine it with my psychic powers?" Cat snorted. "I told you that finding a child from Tharkad is difficult. I didn't find one - traditionally, children are left to roam."
"And recruited into the army," Dad commented.
"No," Cat objected. "That doesn't happen. Kelly and I were special cases." No need to mention how they had managed to stumble into their first battle.
"Very special, since we've found no one else who has experienced a similar thing - and we've been searching every archive in the Federated Commonwealth," Dad said.
"Yes. Cases such as ours are very rare." Cat grabbed another bread roll. "And we're the first who managed to return to Dreamland after waking up - most who stay in Dreamland stay until their death without waking up."
Dad made a noise that could have been both agreement or disagreement.
Mum cleared her throat. "We're aware that it's very hard to prove that this Dreamland exists."
"Yes." Cat clenched her teeth as she prepared a ham sandwich. "Even if I could prove that I am in contact with Kelly without endangering her life, that wouldn't prove that Dreamland is real."
The expressions of her parents were answer enough. She sighed. "What can I do to prove to you that I'm not delusional? The location of lost SLDF caches? Will you be convinced once the Horde invasion starts?"
"Well, a couple of SLDF 'Mechs would certainly come in handy if we're invaded by a Horde of Lostech 'Mechs," Dad tried to joke.
Cat glared at him, as did Mum. She knew something that would prove Dreamland's existence to them - but if she did it, she would lose any hope of slipping out of the Triad and joining Kelly in this realm. "I'll see what I can do," she said and then focused on eating her sandwich.
At least it wouldn't take too long before they could implement their plans. And she was on Tharkad and not on new Avalon.
Unity Field, Unity City, Dreamland, January 16th, 3050
Kelly heard Cat scream behind her and whirled around - just in time to see Cat faceplant into the ground, splattering mud everywhere. She shook her head as she approached her friend, reaching out to help her up.
"I want working jump jets!" Cat complained as she gripped Kelly's armoured glove.
"No, you do not," Kelly told her. "Not at this part of our training."
"I know how to use them! Dragonslayer has jumpjets as well!"
Kelly rolled her eyes behind her faceplate. "There's a difference between piloting a jump-capable 'Mech and a suit of power armour."
"Yes, the power armour sucks!" Cat shook her head, trying to clear the mud from her faceplate before starting to wipe it off - or smear it across her armour. "I should…"
"What are you doing? Get moving! You can rest when you're dead!" the sound of Sergeant Gillian McKenzie rang in their ears - the non-commissioned officer training them had a radio override.
"Yes, Sergeant!" Kelly snapped, turning around.
"Yes, Sergeant!" Cat would add some expletives under her breath, Kelly knew, but she got moving as well - to the next part of the obstacle course of the First Royals' base. The pool.
Or, as Cat called it, 'the maelstrom of death'.
It wasn't deep. Nor was there a current in the pool. But it was wide - wide enough so they couldn't just jump over it. Not without jets, and those were disabled on their Nighthawks until further notice.
No, what made this obstacle so tricky was the combination of a shoulder-deep pool and a moving floor. Supposedly, it taught you how to handle rough terrain without risking damage to your suit.
Cat insisted it taught you how to drown in power armour. Kelly couldn't, not with good conscience, contradict her. She was in the lead, so she jumped into the pool - and her armoured boots slipped as soon as she hit the ground. She tried to compensate, but the water hindered her, and she started to tilt forward, her leg too slow to regain her balance, and…
A hand grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back. Cat! "Thank you!"
"Sure thing. Didn't you learn not to jump into murky water as a child?" Cat asked. "You need to climb into the pool."
Kelly knew that, but they had lost enough time, and she wasn't looking forward to being called out for slowness as well as ineptitude. Sergeant McKenzie was an Infantry NCO and probably loved to take down Mechwarriors. "I'll remember th…"
Cat yelping and flailing interrupted her - her friend had slipped as well. Kelly moved forward, but Cat's arm hit her side and sent her reeling as well. She took a step back… and slipped.
And both sank to the ground in the murky pool. Great. Another death flag.
"Why are we doing this, anyway?" Cat complained again when they had finally managed to climb out of the pool. "We should just get stealth suits!"
"Try to tell Nastajia that," Kelly suggested as she started a light jog towards the next obstacle.
"Ugh, no thanks." Nastajia had made her opinion of what was the minimum amount of body armour that she considered acceptable for their plan quite clear. Probably because Alex would be using it as well.
And, to be fair, Kelly was fine with that. The suit could withstand heavy machine guns - for a time only, of course. And that meant she wouldn't even notice most small arms fire. In a pinch, this could be the difference between success and death.
Even though the training regime was far harsher than the academy had been. Not that she'd ever admit that where an infantrywoman could hear it - she was a Mechwarrior, after all.
Royal Palace, Unity City, Dreamland, January 16th, 3050
"Ow!"
Stepping out of the bathroom, Kelly rolled her eyes at her friend - they were in the privacy of their quarters. "You pressed for that last round."
"So we'd qualify and could stop doing this. Ow." Cat, lying on Kelly's bed, wet hair splayed over the silk cushions, moaned again.
Which they hadn't. Kelly shook her head, then winced when the muscles in her neck protested. She had overdone it as well. At least she had fewer bruises than Cat - she hadn't been quite as enthusiastic as her friend. Still… She sighed. "Well, let me check you out." She walked over and sat down on the bed, running a hand over Cat's back. "Yes, tense is an understatement," muttered.
"I'm battered and bruised," Cat replied - mostly talking into the cushion. "A bit of tension is nothing."
Kelly used her thumb to dig into one muscle.
"Ow!"
"Yes, you need a massage." Before Cat could answer, Kelly straddled her legs and started working the tension out of her back. "I'll expect you to return the favour."
"You know I'm not as good at massage as you areOW! Ah!" Cat sighed.
"Do your best." Which usually was good enough, Kelly knew.
Besides, they'd release more tension after this, in other ways.
"Ow! How are you doing with your family?" Cat asked.
"Fine."
"Really?"
Kelly sighed. "I might have to give up another cache so my mother won't be overly influenced by my brother."
"What's left?"
"A Leopard which went missing checking out a former Hegemony planet. Full lance on board," Kelly told her, working on her neck muscles now.
"Oh, that one - the one on the ice planet?"
"Yes." They had recovered that one in Dreamland. Which meant that children had seen it and had been dreaming about it before the last dome on the planet was breached, and the world turned into an ice ball devoid of life.
For a moment, neither of the two said anything as Kelly finished her massage.
Then she nudged Cat. "Come on, your turn."
Cat groaned but rolled over, and Kelly lay down in her spot. Her back needed a massage as well, after all.
The Triad, Tharkad City, Tharkad, Federated Commonwealth, February 20th, 3050
"You're barely eating," Mum said, frowning as she put down her fork and looked at Cat. "Is something wrong with the food?"
"No, no, I'm just… distracted," Cat replied. By the fact that tonight she'd flee the Triad. Or tomorrow, depending on how the timing worked out. Not that she could say that.
Mum sighed, then straightened. "Do you miss your father and your siblings?"
She did, but not enough to abandon her plans. Not as much as she missed Kelly and Dragonslayer. She bit her lower lip to distract herself from the guilt she felt. Her flight would hurt her family. But she had no choice.
"You could have travelled with them to New Avalon." Mum smiled. "I was tempted, but… I'm the Archon."
"I know," Cat replied. But Tharkad was closer to Solaris than New Avalon. And If she disappeared on New Avalon, any jumpships going towards the Confederation would be scrutinised far more than any others. Tharkad, though, and the Lyran half of the Federated Commonwealth, had too much traffic for that. "It's not that."
"What is bothering you?"
"The Horde," Cat said. Technically, it wasn't a lie - she was worried about the Horde as well. "They're out there, preparing an invasion. I know it." They had found too many children with dreams of the Horde 'Mechs.
"Well…" Mum's smile changed a little. "We've sent more scouts out, but they haven't reported in yet."
"Like the Kell Hounds' Third Battalion," Cat grumbled.
Mum sighed once more. "We can't move regiments to the border to the periphery on a hunch, Katherine."
She knew that as well. "It's not a hunch. It's an educated guess based upon trusted intel."
Mum didn't object, but Cat knew that she didn't believe her. "And if we shifted more forces towards the Periphery, Rasalhague would assume we're planning an invasion, which might drive them into the arms of the Combine. Which would reinforce their borders as well."
"I know." And if everyone mobilised and shifted forces, that would only help once the invasion hit. But Mum and Dad wouldn't move enough troops, so what regiments they did move - split up to look for the Kell Hounds - would get destroyed in detail.
Mum slightly shook her head, still smiling. "And how goes your training?"
Cat rolled her eyes. That was too patronising. "Very well. If you'd let me pilot a Victor, I would show it to you." That was a lie - she hadn't been training nearly as much in her 'Mech as she had trained to pilot - to wear and operate - a Nighthawk.
"That would draw too much attention."
Cat shrugged. She was already marked for death. Another reason to flee - she would stop endangering her family and her security detail. Still, leaving Mum, leaving her family… They would be hurt. And worry.
But she had no choice. She couldn't stay. The longer she stayed, the worse her situation would become. Kelly was under even more pressure, what with her brother and mother.
And Alex had used another of his Star League legacy assets on Terra to set this up; he didn't have unlimited numbers of those, and with everyone he used, ComStar gained more information.
No, it would have to be today. Tonight. She smiled at Mum. "I'm sorry for…" She shrugged again, guilt filling her.
"I know you're concerned, Katherine, but Hanse and I have the situation in hand. And even if the invasion starts tomorrow, we'll counter it."
You'll try, Cat thought. Try and fail because you don't know the enemy. And because you don't trust me and my 'intel'.
But if she vanished tonight, then her parents would finally have proof that Dreamland existed.
Another reason to leave her family. One of several.
And yet she couldn't help feeling guilty for what she would be doing to her family.
Tonight.
Forbidden City, Sian, Capellan Confederation, February 20th, 3050
"Do you like the curry?" Mother tilted her head slightly.
"It's delicious, Mother. My compliments to the chef," Kelly replied.
"It's a little too hot," Sun-Tzu complained at once.
Kelly glanced at him - her brother was frowning with just a hint of a sneer. As usual. If she had claimed the curry was too hot, he would have argued that it was perfect. Anything to needle her. And the worst was that she couldn't tell whether he was merely being childishly contrarian or if this was part of his plan to make her lose Mother's trust. Or a distraction so she wouldn't see his real attempt coming.
Whatever it was, she would not show any reaction or weakness. Not that it would matter much anyway - soon, she would be out of the palace. Free. Free of her family. "Maybe you are a little too sensitive for the dish," she said, tilting her head the same way Mother did.
He narrowed his eyes at her as if she had called him stupid or unfit. Well, anyone as petty as he was would be unfit for the throne, in her opinion. Not that her opinion mattered since she wasn't about to fight her brother for the Chancellorship. She had no intention to take the throne - she was an officer in the SLDF, not a politician.
"Children…"
She inclined her head towards her Mother. "I am sorry, Mother. I meant no offence."
Sun-Tzu managed a decent facade of being contrite as well. It didn't fool her, and it wouldn't fool Mother, but appearances had been upheld.
She finished her curry, and a servant silently took the plate away.
Mother was still in a good mood - Kelly had done well to drag out her latest - and, so she hoped, last - revelation of Lostech. The four SLDF 'Mechs hadn't been anything extraordinary, but a dropship, even just a Leopard one, to be salvaged was different.
But she could tell that her mother expected more of her. And Kelly dreaded what would happen if she ran out of caches to 'find'. Or found out that Alex's information was outdated.
No, leaving her family, leaving the Confederation, was the best course of action for her. To stay would only doom her.
The Triad, Tharkad City, Tharkad, Federated Commonwealth, February 20th, 3050
When Cat opened her eyes, alarms started to go off. Medical ones at first as the sensors placed on her when she had gone to bed had suddenly vanished, but by the time she had rolled off the bed - ripping through the sheets in her Nighthawk suit and shredding the mattress - the other alerts started as well. The ones for armed intruders. It looked like her security detail was quick on the draw. She had expected that - her parents wouldn't have trusted her security to incompetents.
And she and her friends had planned for that. She rushed to the window, grabbing the shaped charge dangling from her hip with her free hand and slapping it against the window's frame.
She pivoted and stepped aside, Alex' code key shifting over her chest where it dangled from a chain around her neck. Her armoured boots crushed the wooden floor. As soon as she was pressed against the wall, about a meter away, she flicked the detonator.
The explosion filled her bedroom with smoke and splinters and left the armoured glass shattered and the window hanging from a single hinge. She grabbed the edge with her free hand and ripped it off.
"Freeze!"
Four guards appeared in the doorframe, weapons aimed at her. Submachine guns and carbines, Cat noted a moment before she triggered her jumpjets and flew through the broken window, sailing over the wall outside and landing in the snow of the inner courtyard.
Alerts were now going off everywhere. And Cat couldn't count on the guards outside holding their fire - few would suspect it was her in the powered armour. They would only see a DEST trooper or a Death Commando.
She triggered the stealth system and started running, the route she had programmed into her systems appearing on the HUD inside her helmet. Behind the next wall, she could see the upper half of a Zeus moving, followed by a Rifleman. They weren't supposed to be able to detect a Nighthawk, but nothing was ever certain - she didn't know what kind of upgrades NAIS had come up with since they had rediscovered Lostech. If they had built sensors that beat the old SLDF standard…
She approached the wall and jumped without jets, but she had miscalculated and didn't reach the top. Just like on the obstacle course.
She cursed as she hit the ground, rolling and getting up again. Soldiers burst through a door nearby, sprinting in her direction. They wouldn't miss the tracks on the ground.
She cursed again and hit her jumpjets once more. The first shots rang out before she had cleared the wall, but none hit her. The Rifleman turned towards her, the big sensor dish on top of the 'Mech rotating, but she landed behind the Zeus, so the 'Mech couldn't fire at her.
By the time the Zeus had turned to aim at her, and the Rifleman had stepped to the side, she had vanished around the corner.
"Note to myself, the latest Anti-Air 'Mechs can detect jumping Nighthawks," she muttered.
"There she is!"
And the stealth system didn't do anything to hide the tracks the heavy armour left in the soft soil. She had to get on the road.
And a few more walls to clear for that. Great.
At least the hours and hours of frustrating and humiliating training hadn't been wasted. She jumped once, landing on a guardhouse, then jumped to clear the 'Mech-sized wall.
Halfway to the top, the guardhouse and wall were hit with laser and autocannon fire - the Rifleman had detected her again. She clenched her teeth and rolled over the top, down the other side, just before an LRM salvo turned the entire wall into a cloud of splinters and smoke.
Someone would get a reprimand!
But now she was on a 'Mech rated road! No more tracks!
She started running down the road. Another 'Mech - another Zeus - was standing guard at the gate before her, but he didn't react to her - none of the weapons moved to track her.
But the gate was closed. And if she used her jumpjets, the 'Mech's sensors would likely notice. Or the damn Rifleman would track her again.
She scoffed and eyed the gate. Then the wall next to it.
And then the Zeus.
It was stupid. Very stupid.
On the other hand, the 'Mech was far easier to climb than the wall. And with a bit of luck, the Mechwarrior would not even notice.
She stepped onto the Zeus's foot and jumped, without jets, to grab onto the ankle joint's armour. Then the knee. And the hip… she slipped, dangling from the hip with just one hand holding fast.
But she managed to pull herself up. And climb on. Shoulders. Still no shells flying towards her. And the top of the wall was in reach now.
Provided she could make the run across the 'Mech's arm and jump off the LRM-15 at the end of it.
She took a deep breath, then started running.
And slipped.
Cursing, she managed to hit her jumpjets before she hit the ground, then soared up, past the jerking 'Mech, and over the wall.
She landed harder than she should've managed with her jumpjets and started running again - first down the road, then to the left, an alternative route appearing on her HUD.
This would take a while.
Royal Palace, Unity City, Dreamland, January 21st, 3050
Cat was late. She should've been back already, Kelly thought, staring at her friend's bed. It had been hours. Something must have happened. Maybe she hadn't managed to escape her quarters on Tharkad. Or her guards had been prepared for power armour for some reason - a child could have remembered a dream with Nighthawks. Or… Kelly drew a breath through clenched teeth at the thought. She might have been stopped by a Battlemech. Even the smallest weapons on a 'Mech would be more than enough to kill Cat in the armour. She got up and started to pace.
"We're still perfectly within the expected time range for the mission," Felicity said. The catwoman was sprawled on the thick carpet near the door, a half-eaten slice of cake on a plate next to her notepad.
Kelly frowned at her. "I am aware of that."
"And I'm aware that you're fretting."
Of course she would see through Kelly's act. Sighing, she sat down again. "I'm worried. This is a dangerous mission."
"Don't let Nastajia hear that; she's been saying that for weeks."
Kelly was aware of that as well. "It's too late to change anything," she said. "We have to do it today." The Maskirovka assets on Tharkad would quickly hear of an incident at the Triad and pass the news on to Sian. And Mother would, even if she didn't suspect Kelly's complicity, increase the security around her in case someone tried to kill her.
"Yes." Felicity rolled on her back and stretched. She was wearing a top and shorts, not an undersuit like Kelly was wearing. But then, Kelly wouldn't have to wear a Nighthawk suit as soon as Cat returned.
"Don't scratch the carpet," Kelly said as she glanced at the armour suit in the corner, ready to be worn. She could put it on already - it would save some time… But it would also tire her out. Right before it was her turn to escape her family.
Felicity snorted. "I only do that in Nastajia's room." She flexed her claws on both hands and feet.
"She wouldn't be happy to learn that."
"She knows." Felicity giggled.
Kelly shook her head. The rivalry between Felicity and Nastajia still baffled her. Each woman would die for the other. And yet they quarrelled like… Well, like rivals. She'd heard that they had been both fallen in love with Alex, but Alex had been, as long as Kelly had known him, together with Nastajia, so that should have been settled long ago as well. To keep quarrelling like this… It wasn't very seemly.
And yet she would vastly prefer to have a similar relationship with her brother than the polite but almost certainly deadly rivalry that Sun-Tzu had developed with her. She sighed again.
"Cheer up! Cat will be here very…"
The creaking of the bed interrupted Felicity, and Kelly gasped when, from one second to the other, a suit of Nighthawk armour appeared on Cat's bed. A suit with scratches and even scorch marks on it! "Cat!"
"I'm OK!" Cat replied at once, opening the faceplate of her armour. "Everything went as planned! I got out, lost pursuit and sneaked onto the dropship Alex hired."
Kelly narrowed her eyes at her friend. "And I suppose the scratches were when you slipped on ice and fell down? And the scorch mark was when you dropped a lighter?"
Cat's smile grew a little wider. "The scratches are from climbing walls and Battlemechs. The scorch marks are just backlash from the jumpjets." She pulled her helmet off and reached into her collar. A tug later, she held Alex's code key out to Kelly. "Here."
The scorch marks were a bit too high on her suit to be normal backlash. Unless Cat had triggered them in a shaft or something. But that could be sorted out later.
Kelly took the code key and slipped the thin chain fastened to it over her head. "Thanks."
For a moment, they stared at each other. Then Kelly leaned forward, placing both hands on Cat's chestplate, and kissed her.
"I'll return soon," she whispered when she pulled back.
"Be safe," Cat replied.
Kelly nodded and went over to her suit of armour, slipping the code key under her bodysuit.
Felicity was already there, ready to help her put it on. By the time she was grabbing her helmet, Cat had shed her own suit and stood in front of her.
They kissed again. Then Kelly lay down on the bed, which creaked once more, and took the first sleeping pill from the medical dispenser mounted in her helmet.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath…
…and opened her eyes to sirens and screams in her bedroom on Sian.
Forbidden City, Sian, Capellan Confederation, February 20th, 3050
Kelly jumped up, wrecking the silk sheets of her bedroom, and raced towards the door - the 'window' was actually a screen linked to a camera outside; Mother hadn't skimped on her security.
Two guards with SMGs were already firing at her, almost hitting the screaming servant fleeing from her. Kelly moved like she had trained, smashing her armoured fists into their faces. She got only one, the other dodged her strike, but she didn't stop and kept running.
The servant was sent spinning into the wall next to the door by her shoulder, hopefully out of the line of fire of the other guards. Not that she could do anything about it now - she was past the point of no return.
She managed to slip through the doorway before the armoured door could close and entered the hallway outside. Dashing to the right, she took a turn and ran towards the guard room at the end of the hall. A dozen guards in armour were already spilling out, the first shots bouncing off her armour.
She sped up, crossing her arms to shield her front, and barrelled straight through the guard like a bowling ball. They kept firing even when thrown out of the way, and she saw at least one of the guards get hit by their own bullets before she was in the guardroom - and at the window there. One stun grenade made the remaining guards dive for cover, giving her enough time to slap a demolition charge on the window and trigger it.
Then she was outside, jumping down into the garden. The Battlemechs on patrol would be alerted now, so she wasn't going to risk jumping - not with at least one Raven and their advanced sensors in the area.
Instead, she ran on foot towards the maintenance building for the gardens. The walls wouldn't stop even light weapons, but they hid her for a few more moments - long enough to blow a hole into the floor and open the way into the storm drains.
She dropped into the tunnels - too small for 'Mechs, of course - a moment before the maintenance building blew up. The Battlemechs on guard duty were quicker than expected.
Not quick enough, though. And the explosion would throw them off her trace for a few more seconds at the least.
She reached the cistern at the edge of the palace without anyone trying to intercept her and dove into it. The suit was waterproof and had an internal air supply. And even a Raven would have trouble detecting her in the river fed by the cistern.
Starport, Zi-Jen Cheng, Sian, Capellan Confederation, February 20th, 3050
There was the dropship Alex had chartered - well, the dropship hired by the firm from which Alex had ordered hand-made furniture to be delivered to Solaris. A Mule-class, sitting on the landing field in the middle of a patch of ferrocrete blackened and burned by countless fusion torches. All Kelly had to do was sneak on board and take the sleep drugs that would send her back to Dreamland.
Unfortunately, and as predicted, the starport was already sealed off. Kelly could see police, customs officers, soldiers and even Battlemechs on the landing fields, searching dropship after dropship. And leaving guards in front of those already searched.
Fortunately, the Mule - named Rainbow Pier - hadn't been searched yet; there were not enough troops to cover every area on the planet she could reach. Father's people would assume any intruder had help and at least local transportation, so the troops would have to be spread out. Certainly now that they knew that she was wearing power armour which small arms couldn't stop. Not that that would stop Mother from executing guard for their failure to stop Kelly, but… She clenched her teeth. She couldn't do anything about that. Except for remaining a prisoner, and that would have been unacceptable.
She shook her head. She couldn't dwell on that. The ship would be searched soon - she didn't have much time left.
And she had to cross five hundred metres of flat tarmac to reach the Mule. And that with a Raven and a JagerMech Patrolling close by. No chance to jump. And running wouldn't be a good idea, either.
She could shed her suit and disguise herself as a maintenance worker, though. That would allow her to reach the Mule under the pretext of refuelling or checking something. Easy to slip inside in the confusion. But she'd likely be seen on cameras, and if the records were checked before the Mule was cleared for leaving…
No, she would have to slip into the cargo. Alex had picked furniture that was voluminous enough to hide a person in the crate, but if anyone weighed it before she was inside and could go to sleep and vanish…
No choice. Kelly crawled back into the ditch behind her, then quickly made her way to the warehouse where the crates were waiting to be loaded into the Rainbow Pier.
On the way, she was almost detected by two patrols; if not for the stealth equipment of the suit, she wouldn't have been able to evade them. But she reached the warehouse and slipped inside.
There were the crates - a dozen of them. Alex didn't do things halfway. And guards outside. Kelly cursed her breath and started opening a crate to the side. Alex hadn't gotten the codes to the cargo crates, so she had to trust the little gimmick Felicity had whipped up.
After thirty seconds that felt like hours, the thing had unlocked the shipping crate, and Kelly crawled inside, almost getting stuck as she did so.
But she managed to close the crate again, restore the electronic lock, and wait. According to standard procedure, the guards would scan the crates before clearing them for transport. That meant Kelly had to be asleep and vanished when they did it.
Ten minutes later, she heard voices. Guards, complaining about scanning. She triggered the medical dispenser with her tongue and swallowed the pill it spat out. A few seconds later, she woke up in Dreamland. With Cat.
Forbidden City, Sian, Capellan Confederation, February 25th, 3050
"Not only didn't you prevent an intruder from entering the Palace, no, you also couldn't stop them once you finally managed to discover them!"
Long experience prevented Tsen Shang from wincing at the shrill, screeching tone of Romano. That and the fact that he wasn't the one who had earned her ire. That was aimed at the commander of the Palace guards.
To Colonel Sidorova's credit, she didn't flinch as she listened to what was undoubtedly her death sentence. She would know what to expect - the officer in command of Kali's security detail had already been executed, together with her entire squad.
Unfairly, probably - as impossible as it seemed, Tsen was certain that the 'intruder' seen in his daughter's bedroom in stealth power armour had been Kali herself. As impossible as it seemed, he had studied the records of the security cameras in Kali's room a dozen times, and the results were beyond doubt - from one moment to another, Kali had been replaced with someone wearing power armour. No glitches. No blurred images. No signs of any tampering. Either someone had switched Kali through some unknown means with an intruder in power armour, or Kali had returned from her dream wearing a suit of armour of unknown make and technology beyond even what the Star League had been capable of.
And if someone could switch out people guarded by the best security detail in the Confederation, why would they insert someone only to have them break out again? If that was needed to kidnap someone, anyone with any sense would have sent a disposable replacement, already dead or dying.
No, the logical conclusion was that Kali had fled the palace.
Of course, Romano had dismissed this theory - stated by an underling, of course - and decided that it must have been sabotage and treason, ordering the execution of the staff responsible for the surveillance cameras alongside the close security detail.
"...and for such failure, leading to the loss of my own daughter, who is of crucial importance to the state, there is only one punishment!" Romano spat.
Sidorova bowed deeply, accepting the punishment. As she glanced at Tsen, he inclined his head a fraction of an inch. Her family would not suffer for this; he had taken steps to ensure that - provided she accepted her fate. Romano might assume that even doomed men and women would meekly accept their death, but Tsen preferred to take some precautions. Families served as hostages in multiple ways, after all.
As the woman was dragged away by guards, Romano looked at Tsen. "What news do you bring?"
Her tone made it clear that she expected news - good news. Fortunately, Tsen had new information. Whether it was good enough to spare him from suffering Sidorova's fate remained to be seen. He bowed deeply. "My assets in the Federated Commonwealth have confirmed that Katherine Steiner-Davion disappeared from her room in the Triad on Tharkad under the same circumstances - she disappeared from her bedroom, and a person wearing power armour of the same model as the one who appeared in Kali's bedroom replaced her, then proceeded to escape from the Triad."
Romano drew a sharp breath, then a twisted smile appeared on her face. "I see."
Tsen didn't know what she saw - or thought she had seen. Which was disconcerting since his continued survival depended on reading her mood.
"And they could not stop the intruder either."
"No, Celestial Wisdom. Tharkad was locked down, but the intruder was not found." He bowed again. He was treading treacherous ground, after all. If he were to be blamed for the failure to catch the intruder…
"Either this is a deception by the Steiner-Davions, or someone is attacking both our daughters. Find out the truth!"
Tsen bowed once more. "As you command, Celestial Wisdom."
He didn't show any expression but firm resolve as he backed out of the throne room. And even then, he didn't allow himself to sigh.
Caught between his lover's command and his daughter's desire. Tsen had doubts that he would survive this unscathed. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to blame Kali for escaping - Sun-Tzu had been working to undermine her standing ever since she had woken up.
Woken up - or returned?
Tsen hoped that, whatever else happened, he'd find the answer to this question.