Mercenary's Star

"Steiner-Reese?" Ramage's eyebrows clawed toward his hairline. "That wouldn't be a relative of..."

Tor's smile grew wider. "That he is. He managed to cut quite a nice swath through the red tape, and even shepherded me clear through to Tharkad itself!"

Grayson whistled. Tharkad was the Lyran capital, and he'd never dared to hope that his message would carry so far.

"Tharkad..." Grayson said. "You made it to the Lyran capital?"

"Yep. I had an audience with the Archon herself."

"You met Katrina Steiner?" Lori said, equally dumbfounded.

"I had di

"Their military commander landed three days ago," Grayson said. "I imagine the presence of the Lyran fleet will... ah... influence the peace talks a bit"

"Peace talks?" Tor said. "The Verthandians are talking peace with the Dracos?"

"They've had enough war, Ren, and they're not anxious to charge the Kurita encampment to force them out." He shrugged and looked off toward the north. "I've seen the defenses up there. I can't say that I blame them."

Tor shook his head. "I just remember how determined that Rebel Council fellow was not to settle with the Dracos. What was his name?"

"Devic Erudin." Ramage laughed. "Believe it or not, he's on the negotiating team. It should be interesting to see what they hammer out."

Grayson smiled. "Interesting? I guess that's the word for it. Anyway, whatever happens, it's out of our hands now."

EPILOGUE

The band of the newly organized Free Verthandi Legion played a crashing martial march, as troops in new and glistening uniforms snapped to attention and rifles came to crisp, military salutes. Behind the ranks of men were ranks of BattleMechs. Though cleaned up now and with battle scars repaired, those ‘Mechs still showed more pain and hard use than the fresh-faced youngsters lining the Scandia Way from the University's Gate of Heroes to the airfield. Two Gray Death DropShips waited there, ramps extended, to take their final passengers aboard.

The parades, the speeches, the presentations of medals and honors had lasted most of the previous day, much of the evening, and most of the present morning. Grayson was resplendent in the new gray uniform presented him by a group of Regis citizens, the ornate golden Star of Verthandi heavy against his chest. He felt that his arm would fall off if he were forced to return one more salute. The dressings had been removed from his arms only a week before, and the skin was still raw and tender.

The elite commandos whom Ramage had trained were the last unit to pass in review. The crowd was still applauding the Verthandi Rangers when Tollen Brasednewic and his wife separated themselves from the crowd that lined the reviewing stand and made their way toward Grayson. Trailing them was another small parade of their assistants, council staff, and secretaries. Though the couple wore civilian dress, Grayson felt they rated a proper salute as members of Verthandi's new Citizens' Council.

"Councilman," he said formally, with a smile, then turned and bowed ceremoneously to Carlotta Brasednewic. "Carlotta. Your husband appears to have made the transition from rebel general to head-of-state quite nicely. I credit you with whatever political expertise he has developed,"

Carlotta smiled softly, and Grayson caught himself watching her eyes for the haunted look that had been there during the past weeks. They had found her among the worst of the horror-numbed prisoners during the Battle of the University, so deeply in shock it was feared she would never recover. Time spent with Tollen Brasednewic seemed to have gone a long way toward healing her, but traces of the pain were still there in her expression. Grayson was glad to see that there was warmth as well. Perhaps, even a measure of peace.

"We are grateful to you. Captain," Tollen said. "Our offer stands. You could remain here to build our army. We need people like you and your unit."

Grayson shook his head. "You've been doing that yourself, Tollen." He nodded toward the ranks of one-time rebel veterans, near-children still. Only their eyes were old.

He caught sight of one face in the Verthandians' front rank. Sue Ellen Klein, at least, had found her place here. She'd refused to talk about what had happened after she'd left Grayson in the tower, and Grayson felt she still carried some black, i

Sue Ellen had immediately accepted a commission with the Free Verthandi Navy. They had no ships, as yet, but the purchase of a pair of aging Lyran freighters was about to change that. Sue Ellen had happily accepted the task of organizing the new Verthandian fleet arm. Grayson was glad for her.

"Your battle now is a political one," Grayson continued. "All I'll say is...remember what I told you last night. You could easily find yourself giving away at the conference table what you've already won on the battlefield."

"I'll remember," Brasednewic said, but Grayson wondered if anything he'd said would make any difference.

Admiral Kodo had sued for peace. There was not much else the vacillating little man could do, with his troops down to quarter-rations and disease already gnawing at the ranks of men who had obviously lost the will to fight. The garrison regiments on Verthandi had been badly handled. Grayson wondered how long it would be before they were in fighting shape again. He knew that combat could ruin a man in ways more subtle and more devastating than a physical wound or maiming.

Only two days later, things became really complicated when Duke Hassid Ricol's flagship Huntressappeared at the zenith point, accompanied by the Draconis Combine Fifth Fleet.

Combat between jumpships is rare in this era because starships are a resource too rare and too fragile to risk in combat. With the situation on Verthandi in doubt, the two fleets hovered at the jump point on gently pulsing thrusters and kept a wary armed truce. After all, there was no current state of war between Luthien and Tharkad. Ricol conferred with Admiral Kodo, but the result was already a foregone conclusion. Unless Ricol wanted to initiate a whole new invasion of Verthandi—this time with a Lyran fleet facing him at the. jump point and Lyran BattleMech regiments waiting for him on the ground—he would have to accept the negotiated peace Kodo had signed. In time, that is just what he did.

Once the peace talks were ended, the Kurita troops began boarding the DropShips that had arrived to ferry them offworld. Verthandi was once again a free and independent planet

Independence had not brought peace, however. The Dracos had refused to take any Verthandian Loyalists with them. They had, in fact, abandoned them. As far as the rebels were concerned, the ceasefire of their talks with Kodo had never applied to Loyalists and Regis Blues. The massacres continued in scattered villages, forest patches, and hill country across the planet, a bloody, fratricidal civil war that no one seemed able or willing to end. Listening to Brasednewic tell of the slaughter, seeing the pain in a face grown markedly older within just the past weeks, Grayson suddenly remembered that the big rebel's brother had been a Loyalist. It looked as though this part of the Verthandian war might never end.