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Though he had reddened, temper rising, Hanse controlled himself. "You are naive, Ardan. You think that the straightforward techniques of war can be applied to diplomatic dealings among powers. That's where you're wrong, though." Hanse turned to look out over the expanse of garden and beyond to the distant wall of forest that bordered the great royal house.
"I grant your request," he said finally. "You will go with the strike force to Stein's Folly. I wish you well." Hanse took a step backward, almost spoke again, but seemed to reconsider. Then he turned toward the doorway beyond the terrace. The soft sound of his cushioned bootsoles on the stone was far more menacing than the sharp click of Ardan's heels as he retreated in the opposite direction.
The young man slowed a bit as he passed through the gates, with a nod to the 'Mech on guard there. Though he had been moving toward this point for two years, it had taken all his courage to face his friend and ruler so frankly. And now that he had what he wanted, Ardan felt suddenly without direction.
His life was about to change drastically. Even though he drilled regularly with the Royal Brigade to keep his skills at their peak, life at Court had softened him. He had not smelled ozone mixed with blood for a very long while. Going to battle also meant going away from Sep, but he quickly forced his thoughts away from that.
She was a MechWarrior, too. They had never spoken to one another of their feelings, and Ardan had no intention of changing that. But something inside him felt empty at the thought of facing battle with anyone else at his flank. Sep was good, and she was dependable.
He was going to have to bid her goodbye, along with the rest of his company. Because of his relationship with Prince Davion, many had been too jealous to seek Ardan's friendship, but there were three with whom he did share a closeness. It was not going to be easy, saying goodbye.
He strode away toward the drillfield and barracks. The Royal Brigade was housed in a shielded building capable of withstanding a full-scale assault by most weapons. Stored beneath the complex in double-shielded armory/workshops were the Brigade's ‘Mechs.
Ardan thought, too, of the Techs who worked so faithfully to keep his Victorin topnotch order. He'd miss Lai and Nym almost as much as his fellow officers. But he had to make the break, and as quickly as possible. By keeping his ear to the ground in recent days, Ardan had figured out that Hanse was sending troops to retake Stein's Folly within the week.
It would normally take almost two months to make the eight jumps between New Avalon and the Folly, but via the Command Circuit, they could make the trip in a matter of hours. Nevertheless, the last jump would be a doozy...right into the firepower of the Liao forces.
He stopped for the I.D. sca
Ardan knew that he would find Sep and Jarlik in the common room, where every afternoon they spent an hour at the computers, matching wits, polishing their strategic reactions, testing reflexes. He would wait to see them later in the mess hall. As for Denek and Fram, they would probably be in the quarters they shared. Quarrelling lazily, no doubt Drinking ale. Teasing.
Ardan smiled. To listen to them, anyone would think those two were the worst of enemies instead of the best of friends. He tapped at their door and heard a chuckle beyond it.
"Come on in!" Fram yelled. "Friend or enemy, we need somebody to keep us from scragging each other!"
Ardan pushed open the door and stepped inside. "Well, you're going to have to find someone else to keep you from each other's throats. I'm off to the Folly."
Two sets of boots hit the floor from their precarious positions propped on the table. Two pair of eyes stared at him, startled, from two brown faces.
"No lie?" asked Denek. He pushed a chair toward Ardan. "Here, sit and tell us. Action? Holy Roarer! While we sit here and cool our heels and drill, you're going to be back in a real war! Sheee! Now is that fair?" He turned to Fram for confirmation.
"Not fair at all," agreed the slighter warrior. "But just what you'd expect from someone with the Prince's confidence. Now we'll all have to be worrying about Ardan, as well as keeping our 'Mechs slick and our reactions smooth."
"Have you told Sep and Jarlik?" Denek rose to pace back and forth in the scanty space. "They're going to be almighty upset."
"No. I'll see them in a bit. Probably over chow," Ardan said. "I still need to get used to the idea myself, now that His Highness has given his consent. I guess I really didn't expect him to let me go." Suddenly weary from so many mixed emotions, Ardan leaned back against the neady made bunk.
"You going because of some of the things we keep hearing?" Fram asked. "About secret treaties and such?"
"I can't answer that," said Ardan.
Before anything more could be said, a chime sounded, echoing through the corridors of the vast barracks.
"Di
4
It had been a long day already. Sep had put her huge WarHammerthrough its paces for six hours without stopping, keeping Fram and Jarlik, in their lighter but more maneuverable Valkyrieson the hop. Though they had almost gotten through her guard a couple of times, she had managed to hold them to a three-way draw.
Given their abilities, Sep was rather proud of that. She would like to try the same sort of practice with Ardan, but in his present mood, she knew better than to ask. He was so touchy these days.
Unwinding at the computers afterward, testing her wits against Jarlik's, Sep had again managed to come out appreciably ahead. This was becoming a regular thing, and Jarlik grumbled that she must have reprogrammed the system to give herself the edge. He was joking, of course. She understood the big fellow too well to take offense, though others sometimes bristled under his heavy-handed humor.
Sitting in the common room, the two MechWarriors had talked of the growing rumor of a Davion counterattack against Maximilian Liao, who had seized both Redfield and Stein's Folly near the Federated Suns border. The loss of those worlds had set the mighty House Davion on its ear, and everyone in the armed forces was on edge. Something would have to give soon, Sep knew.
"Hanse must act," Jarlik had said. "He can't afford to hold back...There are too many powers watching his reaction. If he shows signs of weakness, well have others besides Maximilian Liao at our throats. Even Steiner isn't above a little polite planet-snatching, given the chance."
"Not to mention the nasties out in the Periphery, just waiting to dart in and grab whatever they can catch," Sep put in. "I wonder if that's the reason Hanse's Institute of Science is working so hard at a new security system?"
"New security? I'd have thought our old system would stand up to anything."
"Well, it might, but last week I was drafted into a team assigned to try breaching all the systems in the palace. A couple of times, we almostsucceeded. The NAIS observer kept nodding and making notes and muttering into a comp. Maybe she found out what she needed to know."