EPILOGUE:
And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,
the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency,
shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
It shall never be inhabited,
neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation:
neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there;
neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.
But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there;
and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures;
and owls shall dwell there,
and satyrs shall dance there.
And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses,
and dragons in their pleasant palaces:
and her time is near to come,
and her days shall not be prolonged.
-Isiah 13:19-25
The Ruins
As Natasha Kerensky started to unstrap herself from her safety chair, a loud chime indicating an incoming message reverberated inside the entire DropShip's bridge. The ship's captain read it carefully and then handed the message over to her. With nary an acknowledgement, Natasha skimmed through it and then handed the paper back to the DropShip commander and walked out of the bridge towards the cargo bay.
The Union class DropShip's engines had barely gone idle when the massive cargo ramp of the ship already began to open while the Monk, Jimmy Clavell and Lewis Sorenson all waited inside. Just as the ramp fully deployed on the ground, Natasha walked into the hold from a nearby corridor. They could clearly see a large, ornate estate less than a kilometer away while an entire platoon of black-clad Capellan soldiers stood in loose formation, facing the opened cargo bay with weapons at the ready.
"I freakin' knew it!" Clavell raged. "I knew those damned Cappies were up to something!"
"What are you talking about?" Natasha said. Although the command circuit with its string of JumpShips only took a few hours for them to reach planetfall, the Black Widow was able to clean herself up. While still sporting a few bruises, Natasha was as beautiful as ever.
"The Capellans assured us that once we got you oughta there, we would head over to Tharkad and deliver the delegates there." The Monk sighed. "Now, it seems they have reneged that promise."
"Captain," Lewis Sorenson whispered to Natasha. "I have the other Widows in their 'Mechs, ready to roll. We can do a rapid sweep and take Sun-Tzu Liao hostage. All you have to do is give the signal."
"The signal is stand down," Natasha said softly. "Everyone stay here. When I get back, we're leaving. Tell the ship's captain to prepare for embarkation to Outreach, we have to pick up Duncan."
"What?" Clavell protested. "After all you've been through? They're responsible for the death of all those delegates, including Major Durant! You're gonna let that bastard Sun-Tzu get away with this?"
A flash of anger manifested itself on her steely eyes as the three men were suddenly taken aback. "Do as you're told!" the Black Widow hissed. All three of them were hardened killers, but they remained silent as she turned and walked down the ramp.
As Natasha made it to the ground, she instantly saw Peter Coetzee being flanked by a team of Capellan Death Commandos. The concrete airstrip was alive with technicians as well as massive electronic cables that snaked across the concrete tarmac that led to an erected stage on the far side of the runway. Flanking the stage were a number of mobile luxury trailers and a large green prefabricated tent. She could notice that in addition to the uniformed Capellan techs, there were white-robed ComStar personnel working on several mobile HPG projector units that seemed to face the stage's podium. It seemed that everyone was in a hurry.
"Welcome to the planet Liao, Captain Kerensky." Peter Coetzee smiled as he straightened his uniform to make the trim more pronounced than ever. "This recently recaptured world not only serves as the hereditary birthplace of the great Liao family, but also accommodates our dear Chancellor's newest summer palace."
"I can see that with your Xin Sheng, you guys went on a massive building spree. You may have captured back a few worlds you lost decades ago, but you people are still small fry. I find it funny when a clownfish actually thinks it's a shark now." Natasha said wistfully.
Coetzee's smile all but disappeared. "Let's get to the point. We are prepared to let you go; all I need is the datadisk, if you please."
"So after the Blakists, now you're holding us hostage too?"
"Enough of the games, Captain." Coetzee was clearly losing his patience. "We are pressed for time; the Whitting Conference on Tharkad is winding down and we have a limited window to get this HPG live feed to the delegates there. We have over a battalion of Death Commandos here including BattleMechs so do not test me; I need that datadisk now!"
"Since you sacrificed everyone to get it," Natasha said as she took out the datadisk from her jumpsuit pocket and then handed it to him. "It's only fair that you receive your just reward."
Almost immediately, a female ComStar technician ran over to them. Coetzee quickly handed the disk to her. "Cue it up and get it ready to play. Hurry up, we only have a few minutes!" He said as the technician took the disk and hurriedly dashed away towards the mobile HPG units near the soundstage.
"You must be proud of yourself." Natasha said. "Was this your brainchild?"
"Most of it was mine, yes." Coetzee's smile returned as he relished his success. "I actually thought the mission was a failure when we found out about the Blakist interception and that would have spelled the end of my career. Luckily, we had you to thank that it wasn't. You are now free to go, the waiting JumpShip still has a lithium-fusion battery charge and has been instructed to take you wherever you wish as soon as you dock with it."
"I'd like to ask you a favor before I leave." The Black Widow said.
Coetzee laughed. "Of course, as long as it is within my power. I owe you one, after all."
"I want to talk to your 'Dear Chancellor' before the HPG uplink is online."
"I'm afraid that's not possible, we are starting it up now and he will be live in a few minutes time." Coetzee said.
"I just need a minute… please."
Peter Coetzee whispered into his jacket's collar; it was obvious now that he had a microphone in his neck. After a few seconds, Coetzee's demeanor changed from pleasant to confused as he listened to the reply on his earpiece. "Our Chancellor has agreed to your request. You may go see him; he is in the tent. You will be escorted by a team of Death Commandos, of course."
"Of course." Natasha said as she started walking towards the tent while being flanked by four Death Commandos on either side.
Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao sat in an ornate plush chair while several ladies in waiting applied more makeup to his pale face inside the air-conditioned tent. The supreme leader of the Capellan Confederation was immaculately dressed in flowing emerald green robes while a solid black Mandarin headpiece was fitted on the top of his head. He was in a very good mood for the Council Members allowed him to address them via live HPG just before they would adjourn for the final meeting of the conference. This was the chance to make his bid for ultimate power and he wanted to be well dressed for the occasion. The soft hum of the climate controllers made a slight adjustment as the tent flap was opened and the Black Widow was ushered in, flanked by four Death Commandos.
"Captain Kerensky, welcome." Sun-Tzu said without facing her as his servants kept applying the makeup. "I heard that you wished to see me. That is good for I wanted oh so much to meet this so-called 'new' Black Widow that everyone is talking about as well. It seems that whoever or whatever you may be, you are as equal as the original Widow herself in terms of innovation and sheer ability; only someone with a cold blood of a reptile and a burning heart of fire could have survived that ordeal you went through. I congratulate you, my generals are now referring to you as a WMD, a woman of mass destruction."
"And I congratulate you, Chancellor. Seems that your plan has worked to perfection. What will you do then when you are elected as permanent First Lord of the Star League?" Natasha said.
"To tell you the truth, I don't quite know yet." Sun-Tzu smiled. "But for you, whatever you desire, is yours. In fact, I would love to have you as one of my Death Commandos. If you ever decide that the SLDF Special Operations Command is not to your liking, there will be a place for you among my elite troops as long as you prove your loyalty to me."
Natasha was too tired to smile so she just smirked. "Thank you for the offer, Chancellor. But I just want a moment of your time."
"Then a moment is all you have," Sun-Tzu said. "I'll be on HPG in a few minutes."
"I just wanted to ask," Natasha said. "I did get you that datadisk, but a lot of people died in the process. I just wanted to know how you felt about it."
"Well, I would like to thank them too." Sun-Tzu continued to smile as one of his servants held up a mirror for him to see his face as he continued to preen himself. "The Star League appreciates their sacrifice. When I become First Lord, I shall have a memorial dedicated to them, it shall be encased in marble and granite and a nice little fountain to top it all off so that the little children can play around it."
"We found an archaeological team there too," Natasha said. "They were students and teachers- civilians who died helping us as well. They all fought to the last man and woman."
"Then it shall be a rather large memorial." Sun-Tzu giggled.
The tent's flap opened again and a ComStar technician peered in. "Chancellor, we will have live uplink in thirty seconds. We need you on the soundstage now."
"That is my cue," Sun-Tzu got up from his chair and started to leave the tent. "I'm sorry but destiny awaits. I do hope that we meet again, Black Widow. It was a pleasure teaming up with you."
As the Chancellor of the Capellan Confederation left the tent, Natasha soon followed him out but then abruptly changed direction and walked the other way as Sun-Tzu Liao made it on the soundstage and faced the podium. The ComStar technicians had extended their mobile units so that it linked directly with the HPG station several miles away and the entire setup was siphoning off huge amounts of energy for the live uplink that the surrounding countryside as well as the Liao summer palace was bathed in darkness, as the hyper-pulse machines took every ounce of energy that the planet's fusion powerplants had.
One of the ComStar technicians sitting behind a console held up five fingers on his right hand for Sun-Tzu to see. "Live HPG uplink in five… four… three… two… one…"
Sun-Tzu Liao smiled as he noticed the holovid camera lens pointed at him. The green light on the unit's front top indicated that he was now in a live broadcast across several star systems, including the uplink to the Whitting Conference in the Lyran capital world of Tharkad. At that moment he now realized that his lifelong dream of attaining ultimate power was at hand. All he had to do now was play the datadisk and let them decide.
"Greetings fellow Council Members," Sun-Tzu looked straight into the holovid camera and grinned. "You are all probably wondering why I had not decided to join you for this historic conference but I was rather busy with a number of important matters that could affect us all. To put it to you simply, my state intelligence service has stumbled upon a previously guarded secret that no one outside of a few select people in Terra ever knew about. I have in my possession a video from a legendary man, a man who has decided to bequeath to us all a revelation that will give new impetus to unity and peace. I believe that this evidence will signal a new beginning, a new direction for our beloved Star League."
With those words, Sun-Tzu immediately gestured the tech crew to play the video on the datadisk so that it would also be broadcast live. As the holovid began to play, the Chancellor of the Capellan Confederation couldn't help but feel exhilaration for the triumph was now his. He knew that every faction, including the Clans, the Great Houses of the Inner-Sphere and the Word of Blake would be watching and recording the revelation from their own uplinks, there was no stopping it now.
As the scene in the holographic video began to play, it showed a bloodstained bed and two naked people in the throes of sexual passion. Sun-Tzu's sister Kali Liao and the late Brandon St. Jamais showed every bit of their perverted sensuality in front of the camera's eye. The heaving close-ups of writhing flesh and the explicit noises were so overwhelming that several of the technicians either turned away in disgust or continued to stare at the holovid monitors, their mouths hanging wide open.
Sun-Tzu continued to keep a straight face, as he knew the camera continued to record him live. But it was obvious by now that his smile had disappeared as the holographic video continued to play. He had given explicit instructions to his men that they would let it play on regardless; just in case of any sabotage the entire video was already fed into the system and there was no way of stopping it until it ended. What the camera did not see was that several of Sun-Tzu's long nails had cracked after gripping the side of the wooden podium.
As confusion reigned while technicians started scrambling to find a way to shut down the broadcast, Natasha took out the datadisk that contained Jerome Blake's testament from her jumpsuit pocket and gripped it with both hands until it shattered. The Black Widow then let the tiny shards fall effortlessly from her hands as she walked back to the waiting DropShip.
THE END
