Chapter 50
Castle Davion, New Avalon
Crucis March, Federated Commonwealth
14 February 3058
The Great Hall was growing more and more packed as the days went on and stray members who hadn't remained on New Avalon returned.
A few had actually left - recalled by planetary governments unhappy with how they had voted on the deposition of the First Prince - but that didn't really affect the political balance as far as Kate's head counting could tell. She and a few trusted people were analyzing voting records to try to predict how future votes would go. Ironically, the best tool they had was software that the Intelligence Secretariat used to try to game the Free Worlds League's Parliament.
No one had bothered to use that on the High Council until now.
"Drunk on power," Kate repeated her previous assessment under her breath.
"Given how long it's been since they were anything but a drinking club…" muttered Russel Payne. Her former commander was escorting her, but this was where they had to part ways. As Duke of Augusta, he was a member of the High Council, but Kate was officially no more than a spectator. "Good luck, your highness."
"I would take ten allies of your caliber over mere luck," she said with some sincerity, and then stepped away to climb the stairs leading to the gallery.
From above, the Council looked more like a sports crowd than a body of government. The lean of those attending to wear the gold-trimmed green of the old AFFS either as uniforms or as legally distinct formal dress gave them a degree of solidarity, with a mix of current AFFC colors marking a 'rival team'.
The truth on the floor was more complex and Horatio DuVall looked a decade older than he had when Kate had returned, working harder than he had in years. J. Hammond Davion was working the crowd, ostensibly trying to keep the Council focused and, Kate was increasingly convinced, solidifying support for once formal nominations were made.
In contrast, Marie Hasek-Davion sat on the throne, giving the appearance of austerely staying above the politics. In private, her aunt was gleeful that as regent she was legally barred from consideration as the next First Prince. She also admitted that the stream of work across Kate's old desk was keeping her so busy that if the Great Hall was quieter then she might have dozed off.
The contents of the speeches weren't riveting anyway. Everyone knew the High Council was spinning their wheels until the election, which made the meetings until then a chance for hobby-horses and posturing. Helen Trempeleau had filibustered for an entire day, making a point of bringing up every world whose representatives formed part of her faction to remind everyone present that she controlled those votes and that they would go to whoever they believed would support the Outback best.
From the gallery, conversations below almost drowned out Roger Sanromea-Davion as he raised the economic concerns of demerging the Suns' currency from the kroner. It would be extremely disruptive, Kate knew, but if the Suns was going to 'regain its independence' then it would happen. The higher cause would outweigh economic concerns, and as she took her place at the front of the gallery, Kate wondered how many of those in the room remembered that economic factors meant that real people would be suffering - businesses failing, jobs lost, interest rates fluctuating and impacting literally billions of loans…
Sanromea-Davion wrapped up his speech, getting some tepid applause from those paying attention and DuVall called up the next speaker.
Tasha Miran was the mayor of Jerseyville, an apparently humble role, but it was the capital of Defiance and that office had secured the right to represent their democratically ruled world on the High Council. One might have thought that the brunette's experience of elections would serve her well, but Kate's research suggested that the mayor's election had been more a matter of well-crafted soundbites, being prettier than average and fronting for a team of experts funded by Defiance's major mining firms.
Most of those experts were evidently still on Defiance as Miran began to spout her passionately held belief that the High Council should restructure to mirror the Estates-General of the 'Lyran' Commonwealth.
"Does she think no one remembers her seconding the vote to condemn the Estates-General for refusing to follow our lead and throw Victor out?" asked someone in the row behind Kate.
She turned her head slightly and saw it was Alexander McCorkendale. The Duke of Galax didn't represent his homeworld on the High Council; that role fell to an elected President. "She probably doesn't," Kate told him. "Being fair, half the people here probably aren't listening."
"She's a little more memorable than most of the speakers," the duke grumbled. His political power rested more on his position at the head of Federated-Boeing than the electorate, but he wasn't deaf to the tides of power. "If she treats her own electorate that way, I'm amazed she's still representing her home."
Kate shrugged slightly. "She may not after the next election, but that doesn't matter right now. Either she or whoever is doing her research doesn't know anything about the Estates-General."
"Oh?"
"The Estates-General is an advisory body," she explained to him - and a dozen or so other spectators who turned their attention to her rather than listen to Miran. Perhaps out of interest in what she was saying, or perhaps because Kate was royalty. "It has no formal power except that delegated to it by the Archon."
"Wait, but they voted out Alessandro Steiner!" someone pointed out from behind McCorkendale.
Kate shook her head. "No, they held a vote of non-confidence that had no binding force. That made it public how little support the Archon had, but he had no obligation to stand down, and he didn't lose office as a result. The Estates-General has soft power, and they are customarily allowed to debate and vote on the budget, but the Archon can entirely ignore them if they have the support to do so."
"So if she gets her way, the High Council would be defanging itself?"
She smiled thinly. "If that is voted on and passes, then the High Council would be giving up their right to elect a new First Prince. Who decides the succession at that point would be an interesting constitutional question - most likely, it would be the regent."
Whispers started spreading that through the gallery, marked by laughter from some of those hearing it, and Kate could hear when the assessment reached the High Council on the floor, because their reaction was largely not hilarity. Several members started a chant of "No, no, no," and others began to boo Miran loudly.
"Order!" DuVall called, interrupting the speech. He took his gavel and started hammering on his podium but it wasn't until Tasha Miran stopped trying to continue over both gavel and booing that the tumult died down.
The Speaker glared out at the troublemakers on the floor before turning to the mayor. "I do not believe your motion has the support of the council, your excellency. If you would be so good as to cede the floor?"
The question was rhetorical and Miran complied, face pinched.
For his part, DuVall took a water glass from his podium and sipped from it, pointedly stalling until he had recovered his voice. "Duchess Hasek-Davion," he said at last, "You are the next to address the High Council."
Heads turned towards the regent's throne, but it was the current duchess who rose from where she sat at the side of the room customarily used by the representatives from the Capellan March. Kym didn't rush to the dais, and once there she took hold of her skirts and curtsied to her mother-in-law upon the throne before taking Miran's position.
"I cede my speech to Princess Katherine Steiner-Davion," the duchess said shortly and then took three steps back, leaving her almost in arm's reach of Marie.
"Point of order!" Duke Maxililian Rein of Woodbine forced himself to his feet, with no small effort given his age. "The… ahem, the former Viceroy is not a member of the High Council!"
DuVall hesitated a moment before answering the challenge: "It is the privilege of members of the High Council to call experts to speak on their behalf. Duchess Hasek-Davion is in order."
Kate stood and walked along the front of the gallery, going past the other guests until she reached the dais end of the hall. A guard removed a corded rope that sealed off the staircase down and hooked it back in place once she had gone past.
Once she reached the dais, the princess exchanged smiles with Kym and then stepped up to the microphone. She'd dressed carefully for the occasion, in a gold blouse over black pants that were bloused out from her spurred boots.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Kate began. "I am not here to praise my brother, nor to condemn him. I do not come before you to speak of the throne behind me." She paused. "I am here to remind you of the Federated Commonwealth."
"The Federated Commonwealth is not any one man or any dynasty. It was the inspiration of my father and grandmother. It was the life's work of my late mother. It has been and it is the labor of millions upon millions of men and women."
"Let us remember its merits. The prosperity of our worlds, to a degree not seen since the days of the Star League. The security of our worlds, such that nothing less than the entirely unforeseeable return of Kerensky's heirs could challenge us. That even the united might of the Capellans and the League, striking by surprise, could not overcome us and that it was Captain-General Marik, not my brother, who first begged an armistice."
She paused, sweeping the room with her eyes. "For two centuries, the Federated Suns had tried to liberate Tikonov from the Capellans… it was the Federated Commonwealth that succeeded. Twice," she turned to the lords and ladies of the Draconis March, "Robinson had felt the boot of House Kurita but in 3039, it was the Federated Commonwealth that halted Theodore Kurita."
That was stretching the truth quite a bit. Her father had learned since that the counter-offensive led by the current Coordinator had been a bluff, a gamble to stop the juggernaut offensives that had been hurled at the Combine. But it had worked and the perception that had been built up was that the attacks in 3039 had barely pre-empted the aggressive use of the secret Ghost Regiments against the Federated Commonwealth.
"My lords and ladies, the Federated Commonwealth is not just a union of crowns. It is not just the effort to forge a new nation that can replace the Star League at the head of humanity. It is, before anything else, an alliance between two mighty and principled realms. An alliance that has, on the whole, served us well. Not perfectly, but well."
Kate lifted the microphone from its stand and then took a step down the steps from the dais, approaching the High Council. "The arrival of the Clans threatens us all. They desire not just the worlds they hold, not just Terra… but to take the entire Inner Sphere. To divide up all of our homes between them, to rule us under their system - a system that is every bit as cruel and oppressive as those of the Combine and Confederation."
"Today, as we speak, men and women are preparing to turn back the Clans. To put their lives on the line for all of us. Some of those soldiers are from worlds in the Suns, others from Lyran space… but they must stand together. Trust each other. Their lives depend on it. And ultimately, so do our lives. More importantly, the lives of those who you are appointed to represent."
"I do not ask you this for any great principle. I do not ask for my brother, much less for myself. For the sake of our people, soldier and civilian, I ask that you uphold that alliance. That you vote now, to affirm that with the exception of the union of the thrones, that the Federated Commonwealth Alliance treaty of 3022 is still in effect. That whether we and the Lyrans share a ruler or not, we still have their back - as they currently have ours against the Clans."
And then, Kate turned and tossed the microphone back to Kym - who caught it out of the air and put it back in the stand.
As she walked down the central aisle between the seats - framed by the Crucis March representatives who sat, as always, in the center - Kate met the eyes of everyone she passed. It wasn't easy, because they were all on their feet.
Remember, she told herself, you are mortal. You must die.
Chapter 51
The Triad, Tharkad
Donegal March, Federated Commonwealth
28 February 3058
Victor slammed his fist into the desk. "You're telling me this entire thing is a training exercise?!"
"More than that," Phelan corrected him, "but that is a part of it."
"Walk me over this again," the Archon-Prince demanded.
His cousin remained standing, but leant on the back of one of the chairs facing Victor's desk. "The Jade Falcons really were as gutted as we thought at first," he explained. "What we did not know is that they began raising a whole new generation of warriors close to twenty years ago. Dozens of sibkos that probably number over a thousand potential warriors. Maybe even twice that."
"But that's well before the Clans began their invasion," protested Galen.
"Given that most of these warriors are not old enough to normally be facing a Trial of Position, I don't think they were planning for the Invasion we got," Phelan told him. "We may never know since Elias Crichell is dead and he seems to have been keeping this close to his chest. If anyone else knew then it was his predecessor, Yvonne Hazen, and she died about a decade ago so…"
Victor's aide gestured to the data on the trivee, where one of the new Jade Falcon omnimechs was on display, overlaid by by analyst's assessment of its qualities. "I take it that the new 'mechs we're seeing are the same thing - something long prepared?"
The khan shrugged helplessly. "I think the designs themselves are based on lessons learned in Operation Revival, but the factories that build them are probably the same plan."
"And you knew nothing about any of that?" Victor demanded.
"I know you do not have much respect for the Clan's Watch," Phelan told him, "But what you have seen of them in the Inner Sphere is them being totally out of their comfort zone. In the homeworlds, they are almost entirely focused on the other Clans with investigation of outsiders like the Dark Caste being seen as just as much of a punishment as actually fighting them. The Jade Falcons may not like to admit it but their Watch is one of the most capable among the Clans."
Victor considered that and then nodded. "Alright, so this is a test for them?"
"I think the fact that units that have taken worlds are being left to hold them means that this is literally a test for them, maybe literally their Trial of Position. Those units have proven themselves - both the kids just brought into the touman, and the officers picked to lead them. They are being left behind to let other warriors get their chance."
Galen folded his arms. "And what happens when they've all proven themselves?"
Phelan released his hold on the chair. "I do not know. It will depend on their new Khan and I have never met Marthe Pryde. Her reputation is that she's excellent but conservative, so this is not what I was expecting. Customarily, Clan warriors do not complete their training until they are twenty. If she is bringing warriors out this far, I can only assume that the Falcons are under pressure to show their strength after the Refusal War."
"And taking Tharkad would do that."
Victor shook his head. "No, I don't think that's their plan. Our own sources suggest that the Clans have agreed to return to their home to elect a new ilKhan, and until then…"
"They are unlikely to overturn the Truce," agreed Phelan. "They would want an ilKhan and a plan before they take that step. Right now they likely do not even know which Clans would be fighting."
"Great, more Clans?" Galen protested.
Victor's cousin tilted his hand back and forth. "The invaders would be against widening the invasion. They might not get their way, but between them and the remaining Wardens it is more likely that Clans would try to take over invasion corridors from the existing invaders either by Trials of Possession or a Trial of Absorption."
"And that's why the Jade Falcons need to show their strength," Victor concluded. "After their losses, they look like a candidate for absorption."
"Exactly. I am not sure what Vlad is doing to protect the Wolves from the same thing - hitting the Inner Sphere would be hard for him without overturning the truce first - but I am certain he has a plan."
The Archon-Prince rubbed his chin. "So the units we're seeing in the push on Coventry are likely provisional forces just assembled for that campaign. In the longer run, these new warriors will be filtered into the galaxies still in the Occupation Zone. It would explain why our forces don't report them as returning to their previous strength." A fourth Galaxy had been identified in the forces moving on Coventry and the number of dropships seen suggested there might be a fifth, less units left behind as garrisons, hitting the provincial capital.
Phelan slapped the back of the chair. "Most likely, yes. Of course, if you do not contest Coventry they will not give the world back. It would be a wonderful staging area for them to strike at Tharkad once the truce ends."
"Which it will."
Victor and Phelan both nodded in agreement with Galen. It was only a matter of time.
"The good news is that it means we can pull more units in," the Archon-Prince decided. "The Jade Falcons aren't as strong along their corridor as we thought. Galen, tell Morgan I want him to activate the Zeta Three contingency for reinforcing Coventry."
"Zeta Three?" asked Phelan curiously, as the Leftenent General left the door. "I hope that gives you enough. My best estimate is that you'll need eight commands just to match the Jade Falcons."
There was a "hello Arthur" from Galen in the outer office and then the knock of knuckles against Victor's door.
"Come in," Victor called and his youngest brother entered.
"Blake's blood," Phelan cursed. "What are they feeding you, Arthur? Last time we met you were only this tall!" He held one hand around the level of his ribs.
"That was ten years ago," Arthur pointed out and offered his hand, only for Phelan to catch him in the same forearm grip he had picked up from the Clans. "Am I interrupting?"
"Nothing you won't need to know," his brother assured him. "We will be able to send more reinforcements to Coventry than I thought."
"That's good." The young officer turned around one of the chairs and straddled it, resting his forearms on the back. "How much?"
"Three more regimental combat teams," Victor informed them both. "The Fourteenth Donegal Guards and the Seventeenth and Twenty-Second Skye Rangers."
Phelan titled his head. "Ten units, maybe nine and a half given you are not bringing all the Gray Death Legion. Closer to nine given one of them is just a March Militia. But why not more FedSuns forces?"
"Arthur?" Victor asked.
His brother shook his head slightly. "Kate got the High Council to support us, didn't she? Why not include them? Don't you trust them?"
Well, his brother was fresh out of the academy. Victor suspected he might not have understood it any better at the same age. "I do, and the Kathil Uhlans will be representing the Suns half of the AFFC in the fighting, but from the messages Kath- Kate has sent, one of the claims being made is that 'their' regiments are doing the dying for the sake of sparing Lyran units. That means we need a victory that is mostly won by the regiments they are disparaging. In the meantime, they are 'covering our back' as she put it, by keeping watch on the Occupation Zone."
"I guess that makes sense," Arthur admitted. "It'd be easier without those divisions though."
"The real world isn't easy," Victor said heavily.
"Sir?" his secretary called. "You have an urgent message from Precentor Hettig."
"Case in point," he sighed. "Put him through."
The trivee switched from the display of the new omnimech to the familiar face of Klaus Hettig. "Archon-Prince," the officer greeted and then turned his head slightly. "Khan Kell. …Prince Arthur."
Arthur nodded slightly to confirm the identification.
"My brother will be viceroy here in my absence," Victor told the Precentor, "You can tell him anything you were to tell me."
Hettig looked grim. "Of course, your highness. I regret to inform you that our Order has lost control of Terra."
"What?" three voices exclaimed.
The Precentor nodded solemnly. "The Word of Blake have invaded and we are seeing a significant number of defections - including the entire 21st Centauri Lancers, who have either broken contract or been subverted somehow."
"Aren't they mercenaries?" whispered Arthur.
"Aff, under contract to the ComGuards," Phelan replied.
Victor ignored the byplay. "Did they have League help?" While the Terran corridor didn't depend on access to Terra, it was hard to deny that the pro-Marik faction of ComStar hardliners holding the motherworld did pose a new threat to the critical line of communication.
Hettig shook his head. "No, although it is likely they received logistical aid that might otherwise have gone to support further League operations against you."
He leant back in his seat, rubbing his eyes. "And if I move to your aid…" There was no way of knowing how Thomas Marik would respond to his allies being attacked, even assuming Victor could find forces to do so.
"That will not be necessary," the ComGuards officer informed him. "Precentor Martial Focht is overseeing a relocation of our leadership to Tukayyid. Our intention is to maintain our commitment to holding back the Clans. Retaking Terra is a matter for the future, and it would be ill-advised for us to lean on one of the Successor States to achieve it in any case. I have been asked to inform you that the ComGuards will continue to provide you support against the Clans, including our previous offer of support on Coventry if you wish it."
"Thank you," Victor told him. "But as with Terra, Coventry is something we have to do alone. I will be more than satisfied if you can assist in covering us against the other Clans. I will deal with the Jade Falcons personally."
Chapter 52
Castle Davion, New Avalon
Crucis March, Federated Commonwealth
28 February 3058
"Your highness," Horatio DuVall declared loudly. "I beg to report that the High Council has been assembled at full strength with three hundred and forty-four attendees, thirty-two proxies and three members who are confirmed as medically unfit to attend and who are unwilling or unable to name proxies to cast their votes."
"I think," Marie Davion declared loudly enough to be heard from the gallery, "That any world whose representatives can't be bothered to attend or send someone for a vote of this consequence may wish to review the fitness of those representatives. I acknowledge, however, that we have a legal full house of the High Council. What is first on the agenda?"
As if anyone didn't know, and it was a rare person on the floor or the gallery who didn't lean forwards in anticipation as DuVall struck his gavel. "My lords and ladies of the High Council, I open the floor to nominations for the vacant office of First Prince."
Hands went up as if it were a classroom, but Kate's aunt stood forcefully. "As regent," she declared, "I claim the right to speak."
"That is your privilege," the Speaker allowed, gesturing for silence.
Marie moved forward from the throne. "My lords and ladies, I nominate my nephew Victor as our First Prince."
There was a ripple of mutters and she gestured sharply. "My nephew is an able warrior and his reign has been far from peaceful. He has been criticized for making the peace with the Mariks and for forming a friendship with members of House Kurita. To this I remind you that only a fool fights a war on more than one front and that his every action was calculated to reduce the number of enemies we must face. He gambled and to some extent he failed, but we have not removed First Princes for military reverses in the past, not even in the darkest days of the Succession Wars."
"Would we even see him?" a voice called.
"Order!" called out DuVall, but the words had been said and could not be unheard.
"Victor has assured me that if elected, he will return here and make a full account of his reign so far," the regent said heavily. "If not, he has a military campaign to command. I believe that at least one of my brothers would have agreed with his priorities. Perhaps both."
"My lords and ladies," Count DuVall called. "We have before us a nomination, I ask you now if his candidacy is endorsed."
Hands went up, but from the gallery, Kate saw fewer than she liked. It was understandable. This wasn't the election vote, and each member could back only one nomination. It didn't require that one vote the same way in the actual election, but nomination votes could not be taken back and there was a natural reluctance to commit them. A weak beginning was not likely to draw in the lukewarm.
Horatio DuVall consulted with the stewards assisting him and then turned to where Marie had returned to the throne. "I regret, your highness, that your nomination of Prince Victor has failed to reach the requisite twenty percent. As such, it does not stand."
Kate sank back into her seat. She hadn't had much hope of this, but a part of her had still clung the idea that things could go back to the way they had been.
That road was closed now.
Pravin Singh, Duke of Panpour, stood. "My lords and ladies, I understand that the esteemed Duke of New Syrtis has previously renounced his claim upon the throne of the First Prince, but this was in the lines of legal succession - something set aside by the removal of the sitting First Prince. None can doubt his exceptional military achievements, nor his integrity. I propose that we offer the throne to Morgan Hasek-Davion."
Kym Hasek-Davion stood up but waited for Horatio DuVall to point to her in permission to speak. "The possibility has been raised to my husband, my lords and ladies. His response was in absolute terms: his previous decision to renounce the claim on behalf of himself and of our children is not conditional or open to reconsideration. His loyalty is unshakeably to the legitimate heirs of Hanse Davion."
Singh grimaced and then bowed towards Kym. "With regret for what might have been, I withdraw my motion."
"Count Zibler," DuVall recognised another speaker.
The Count of Euclid rose to his feet. "My lords and ladies, there is a gentleman amongst us who I feel is worthy to lead us. He has served in the military, commanding a Regimental Combat Team before retiring to serve in our government, where he was personally chosen as a minister by the late Hanse Davion. That being the case, I nominate Jerric Hammond Davion, the Duke of Argyle."
The duke stood from where he was seated among the nobles of the Crucis March. "My lords and ladies, I respect the Duke of New Syrtis' integrity, but we differ slightly in how we see our duty. If elected, I will serve the Federated Suns to the best of my abilities."
Kate restrained herself from questioning his loyalty openly. It was clear that he had either deliberately or through oversight allowed the High Council to boil over, neither of which reflected well upon Hammond. But as viceroy, she was easily open to the same accusations and that wasn't something she could risk right now.
The vote was called and hands went up all around the room. Unlike her brother, Hammond had a tide of support behind him and even after stewards firmly reminded a pair of representatives that they had backed Victor's nomination and that turning one's coat was not acceptable, the count was well over the minimum with over a hundred votes.
"Do I hear further nominations?" DuVall asked once Hammond was confirmed as a candidate. If there were none, then they could move directly to a vote whereas if there was more than one they would need to spend time being queried on their positions by the High Council until everyone was clear on what they claimed to stand for.
"You do!" Russel Payne, seated only a few chairs away from Hammond, rose to his feet. "Hanse Davion had several children and I see no reason that their brother's failures be held against them. House Steiner-Davion is the principal branch of our ruling house and it is a travesty not to have one of them in consideration."
"Could you be more specific?" challenged DuVall crisply. "Archon Steiner-Davion has four siblings."
"Count DuVall," Marie declared. "I call forward Yvonne Steiner-Davion to address this nomination, before the vote is called on it."
The Speaker frowned but had no grounds to protest.
Yvonne looked very small and young as she descended to the dais from where she sat facing Kate on the far gallery. "My lords and ladies," she greeted them. "I speak to you on behalf of myself and my brother Arthur. In the absence of our other brother Peter, we have exchanged letters on the question of how to address the removal of Victor from the throne." She squared her shoulders and took hold of the microphone with both hands. "We are resolved that it is in the best interests of the Federated Suns that, while we do not renounce our positions in succession, we do recognise that our sister Katherine has greater experience in government and military experience. Not," she added wryly, "difficult when Arthur is not yet twenty-one and I am younger yet."
There was a ripple of laughter, but they were laughing with her sister, not at her. Kate gripped the arms of her chair.
"My sister was Victor's viceroy," Yvonne continued. "She is familiar with the duties of the First Prince, and during the recent crisis, she has also proven herself as a military leader. I endorse the nomination of my sister, because I know she will see it as a duty and a responsibility, not a privilege of our birth."
She surrendered the microphone and as Yvonne left the dais, the Speaker turned to the gallery and scanned it to find Kate. "Your highness, do you accept the nomination?"
Stiffly, Kate nodded.
DuVall lowered his gaze to the floor. "My lords and ladies, do I hear your support?"
"You do!" called Helen Trempeleau and in an impressive show of unity more than sixty hands went up from the representatives of the Outback.
James Sandoval's hand also rose, as did Marshal Payne's, and others across the room until the count was called and - endorsed by more than a hundred men and women - Katherine Steiner-Davion was confirmed as a potential First Prince of the Federated Suns.