"Ah, Jan, how are you?" Anderson Davion asked when Hakados stepped into the Fox's Den. Hakados tried to smile.
"Not well, sir." He handed Anderson the message, only a short paragraph in length.
"Sweet Jesus," Anderson said after he had read it twice. "He's really serious?"
"I do not doubt it, sir. ROM does, after all, have access to all of ComStar's transmissions." Hakados folded his arms in front of him, for the first time in his career truly disturbed by the information his duties made him privy to.
The dispatch from Nicholas Kurita-Davion was quite straightforward in its statement that the ruler of House Corrigan had entered secret negotiations with Chancellor Liao to bring the Free Worlds Republic in on the Confederation's side of the war. Nicholas had let them know that Precentor ROM, Jamie Guinness, had told only the Primus himself, and that ComStar was not yet ready to present this information to the First Lord, though Anderson doubted that Nicholas had not informally notified his cousin on the Steiner third of his heritage of the development. However, Donavan was too astute a politician to act without ComStar formally coming forward with the information, and of course, ComStar could not do that without admitting to everyone that ROM was spying on international communications. It went without saying that that particular issue would not go over well in the Star League's member states.
"If Corrigan enters the war on Sian's behalf, he'll turn it into more than just a Capellan civil war. This'll be a major interstellar conflict, and that's going to destroy the Star League."
"We can stop him," Hakados said idly, as if it were a trivial matter.
Anderson froze.
"What you're proposing," the First Prince said slowly, "is the beginning of a conflict that could bigger than the Blakist Jihad, hell, bigger than even the FedCom Civil War. There must be another way. I cannot risk it." He laughed half-heartedly. "I am not the Fox, Jan."
"Sir, I could not agree more. But you are my friend and my liege, and I must tell you that right now, the Free Worlds Republic could destroy the Third Star League. If that happens, the tensions in the galaxy have built up so that there will not be a fourth such union. It will be the succession wars all over again, and millions will die."
Anderson pursed his lips. "House Davion will formally put the issue before the Star League."
"How can we do that without revealing ROM's complicity? ComStar has taken great risks to give us this information . . ."
"I will lie," Anderson said. "It certainly worked often enough for my predecessors! No one needs know that ROM discovered Corrigan's intent, for I will claim that agents of the Intelligence Secretariat managed to smuggle the information to me. The Federated Suns will be on the spot, but Donavan will be able to redirect their attention at Corrigan—if he even needs to."
Corrigan Mansion Estate, MarikMarik Administrative Sector
Free Worlds Republic
May 19, 3219
Captain-General David Corrigan barely glanced at Galaxy Commander Mariah Fetladral, Clan Wolf's informal ambassador to the Free Worlds Republic. The Clan MechWarrior stood in a formal leather tunic and thigh-high boots, a wolf-skin cape furling around her body.
"You have not answered my question, Corrigan."
"And you have not treated me with the respect deserving of an ally's head of state," Corrigan retorted. "Or have the Wolves' manners decreased even more since our last meeting?"
Fetladral sneered at him, but he didn't even pretend to care. Corrigan's days of groveling before his Wolf masters were over.
The Free Worlds Republic owed its origins, and two-thirds of its name, to its great predecessor, House Marik's Free Worlds League. The last Captain-General of the League, Thomas Marik, had died fighting the Word of Blake Jihad, horrified that the Blakists had repaid his courtesy in harboring them with a legacy of senseless bloodshed. Word of Blake's assault on Atreus had been one of the most spectacular battles of the war, surpassed perhaps only by the battle for New Avalon, and had left the world a ruin that had only begun to begin to repair. After the total collapse of the Free Worlds League, including the retreat of the surviving members of the Marik family to the Isle of Skye, where Thomas's daughter Isis had married into the Steiner bloodline, dozens of governments had sprung up, all vying for control of the dying League.
The whole area had been leaderless, slowly being gobbled up by their Lyran and Capellan neighbors, until 3150. Arthur Corrigan, a native of the planet Marik, had resigned his commission in the Republic of the Sphere's army, leaving his life as a Knight of the Sphere and returning to reshape his native country. Ten years later, the Free Worlds Republic had been united under a new Captain-General. Gradually, the Great Houses of the Inner Sphere recognized House Corrigan as a power to be reckoned with, especially with their participation in the war with the Republic of the Sphere.
However, in 3200, David Corrigan had inherited the Captain-Generalcy after his father had been assassinated. The nation was in turmoil, and it seemed that civil war was imminent.
Help had come from a surprising source. The Wolf Clan, until recently one of the more hostile members of the Star League, had extended its help, sending elite military units at Corrigan's bequest, helping the Captain-General to smooth over the crisis and enforce order where uprising was unavoidable. And in return, they had expected his servitude.
No longer. Corrigan had very carefully built up the Free Worlds Republic, nurturing its economy, military, and political situation until he was certain it would survive independent of the Wolves. He had severed his ties with the Clan when he had voted against granting freedom for Tikonov, and now he was certain that the Clanners would be fairly displeased with him.
"You see, Galaxy Commander," he said, "the truth is that I don't need the Wolf Clan anymore. I don't need your 'Mechs, and I don't need your money."
"Captain-General, I am a Warrior of the Clan Wolf, and I—"
"Save it for your Khans, Mariah. Have fun explaining to them that I ejected you from the Republic's territory." He waved his hands. "Now take your lackeys and get out. Your DropShip is standing by, and I don't want you to keep your captain waiting."
"Freebirth," Fetladral hissed. "This is not the last time we will speak to each other." She looked to the two staff officers standing behind her, and they followed her silently from the room.
Corrigan leaned back in his chair, triumphantly propping his feet on his desk. "General Romanov, you may come in now."
Andrei Romanov stepped into the office from behind a hidden door, holstering the pistol he had been carrying at the ready in case the Clanners had taken Corrigan's ejection badly. "They took that well," he said.
"Indeed. I think she'll make good on her threat," he said.
"If she does, we'll burn her whole galaxy to the ground on the doorsteps to Marik, if need be," Romanov asserted.
"Of that I have no doubt. But back to the matter at hand. What is the status of Task Force Python?"
Romanov took a seat. "Admiral Williams just reported in, while I was in the closet, in fact. Amazing the ventilation you have in that thing." Corrigan gestured for Romanov to continue. "Well, yes. Our BattleMech forces will be reaching their targets in just a few days. Acamar and Bharat are in the first wave. As you know, we won't target Tikonov itself until the second wave, when we can throw two regiments at them."
"Intelligence has confirmed that General Davion only has two battalions there?"
"That is correct, sir. Hell, if he had two divisions, I don't think he could stop the First Marik Knights," Romanov said, naming the Free Worlds Republic Armed Forces' elite shock troops.
"Don't get so cocky. Unlike just about everyone under the age of seventy-something, Edward Davion has held a combat command before. Don't underestimate his skill. And don't forget that the Principality has some heavy firepower of its own on Tikonov. They have the First Tikonov Regular Guard, and Jorge Esteban's Lakeland Cavaliers, and they have the advantage of fighting on their own turf.
"True, Captain-General, but then, we have the advantage of being able to blow up anything that we choose," Romanov said. "I shall deliver Tikonov to your hands, Captain-General. Just wait."
Twelfth Donegal Guards HQ, BharatTikonov Principality
May 21, 3219
"Romeo-six, Romeo-six, this is Skylark, come in, Romeo-six."
"Roger, Skylark, this is Romeo-six." The communications operator in the CIC quickly gained the attention of Oberstleutnant Kiel as the Peter Steiner came in on the comlink.
"Romeo-six, we have incoming bogeys, at least three WarShips and numerous DropShips. Commodore Grinau requests to speak with General Steiner."
"Skylark, I'm afraid that may be a little difficult, General Steiner is in the field right now," Kiel said. "We'll attempt to patch you through, but no promises."
"General, this is Kiel. Can you take a call from Grinau right now? He says that we've got incoming bogeys, probable hostiles."
Lara pelted the Falconer with a quick burst from her autocannon, wondering at how fast the Capellans had managed to repair the 'Mech's extensive damage in their previous meeting. "Kiel, this is kind of a bad time . . ."
A silvery gauss round smashed against the Atlas's leg, twisting it around. Lara executed a quick, albeit awkward, skip forward, barely keeping the 100-ton 'Mech standing. Her HUD informed her that she had lost almost all the armor over her left thigh. Lara's return laser beam went over the Falconer's head, and the Capellan 'Mech fired again, this time hitting her in the chest with both slugs. The Atlas pitched backwards, and Lara threw herself forward in her seat, rocking the 'Mech back into its feet.
"Well, this is interesting," she muttered between clenched teeth, hitting the Falconer with a large laser. The brilliant red spear made molten armor run off the 'Mech's side like a river, exposing the endo-steel frame beneath. Lara fired the autocannon into the wound, setting off a chain-reaction of explosions, blowing out pieces of the 'Mech's metal body. The pilot ejected moments before his machine collapsed, its artificial bones melting beneath the heat released as its fusion reactor lost containment.
"All right, Kiel, patch Grinau through."
"Ma'am, this is Grinau. Our aerofighter patrols have detected three, no, make that four incoming WarShips and an undetermined amount of DropShips. We've identified the WarShips as FWRS Mercury, Iliad, Knight, and Invincible, but they haven't responded to our hails."
"Damn." Lara shook her head as a Pack Hunter fired at her. "Grinau, you are authorized to defend your ships with extreme prejudice, but make certain it is just that—defense. We can't afford an interstellar incident here. If you can, find out what the hell they're here for."
"Yes, ma'am. Grinau out."
"Steiner clear—damn!" A medium laser scorched the Atlas's head, a half a meter from her view port. "Yeah, yeah, everyone wants attention. I just hope you don't mind the kind you're going to get!"
LAS Peter Steiner, High Bharat Orbit
Tikonov Principality
"Helm, take us out of orbit," Commodore Jacob Grinau said, strapping himself into his acceleration chair. "All hands secure for battle stations."
"Sir, Precentor Serghenti suggests splitting the bogeys between us," the comm tech said. "He's offering to take Mercury and Iliad."
"By all means, they're his," Grinau said. "Deploy our aerofighters in a screening action ahead and stern, we'll use them to harass our targets and generally seed confusion in the minds of the agents of evil." He smiled. "Assuming that they're not using psychic protection."
The bridge crew chuckled, glad to have a moment's release. Grinau let the smile stay on his face for another second, then dropped it.
"Helm, bring us right six degrees, roll right thirty . . . thirty-two, and increase acceleration to three gravities."
"Right six degrees, roll right thirty-two, three gravities, aye, sir," Helm reported.
"Sir, we're receiving a transmission from Admiral Williams on the Knight. He commands us to heave to and prepare to receive borders. We are to consider ourselves prisoners of the Free Worlds Republic."
Since when, wondered Grinau, were the Free Worlders pissed at us? "Like hell we are. Guns, give me a good lock. I want to hit that bastard with everything we've got if they open fire, but you may not fire without my express orders."
"Aye, sir. Guns ready."
"Sensors—"
"Jesus, sir, they just fired on the Excalibur!"
Grinau did not hesitate. "Guns, fire at will!"
Naval-grade lasers scorched out across the distance between the WarShips, beating their counterparts that did not travel at the speed of light by fractions of seconds. The Peter Steiner struck the first blow, vaporizing armor from the Knight's nose, moments before her two gauss cannons and three autocannons pounded massive rents in the WarShip's hull. Her missile launchers let loose their Killer Whale anti-ship missiles, sending the deadly weapons on their way. It took the missiles longer to get to the Knight, but when they did, their powerful warheads blasted aside armor.
"Sir! Knight is leaking atmosphere in at least two places! We've done heavy damage to her forward sections!"
But then it was the Peter Steiner's turn to be on the receiving end.
Lasers burned off tons of armor, kissing the WarShip's hull with the heat of a sun. Gauss slugs the size of tanks and streams of DU blew off chunks of the ship's protective skin, exposing B-deck's forward compartments to space. Eight of the Peter Steiner's crew died from the explosive decompression of their stations, and fires raged until their consumable atmosphere was extinguished.
"Damage control, report!"
"Sir, power to the lasers was cut in that last explosion! You've got to cut accel so the damage control teams can repair the problem!" Engineering insisted on the comlink. Grinau nodded.
"Helm, cut accel to one and a half gees. Guns, hammer that bastard with everything we've still got. Run the magazines dry."
"Absolutely, sir," Guns said, the steady chugging of the autocannons rumbling through the hull as they went to full auto, joined at six-second intervals by the launching of Killer Whales. Guns conserved the gauss cannons more, firing them only when a hit was guaranteed.
All the while, the Knight and Invincible pummeled the Lyran WarShip. Alarms went off in the background, and more and more of the damage schematic displayed on the left secondary view screen went bright, flashing red. Grinau shook his head.
"Damage, what's taking so long?"
"Sir, Commodore, everyone's dead, they're all dead—"
Grinau cut the connection.
"Helm, come left sixty five degrees and increase acceleration to six gravities. Weapons, hit the Knight with everything we've got."
"Aye, sir."
"Course input, aye," Helm said, not mentioning that Grinau's course would take them right into the Invincible.
As they accelerated toward the WarShip, pouring fire into the Knight, the captain of the Invincible must have noticed something. He had to. But it made no difference, and the two WarShips collided under full acceleration. The resulting explosion was to bright to be described.