"Thank you, Jeremiah Rose. I accept your gift in the spirit it was given." Senn removed his own knife from the top of his heavy right boot and replaced it with the Clan version.

"Now, Mister Rose, I believe you wished to address this assembly."

"Indeed I do, Colonel." With a sudden turn, Rose faced the gathering. For the first time he noted the glass-enclosed gallery where sat the spectators of the Assembly. Hidden behind the darkened glass, hundreds watched the proceedings in silence. Rose felt the weight of their attention as he looked down at the assembled warriors.

With the formalities finished, they stared up at him expectantly. Private conversations began to fade away as Rose walked across the platform. He had hoped for a podium, yet such a prop would have been out of place here. The open stage left him no place to hide, which was just the way the Highlanders wanted it.

"I would speak to you of the Clans—the Ghost Bears, the Nova Cats, and the Smoke Jaguars. The Jade Falcons, the Steel Vipers, and the Wolves. Like many of you, I have fought against them and their high technology. I have stood against their OmniMechs and survived. I have seen the Clan invaders crushed on the battlefield, and watched their retreating DropShips light the night sky above our campfires." Murmurs broke out among the warriors as Rose spoke. He was asking them to believe quite a story. The Clans had rarely been beaten, and only twice had they ever retreated as Rose described.

"I speak, of course, of the battle of Tukayyid and ComStar's victory over the combined forces of the Clans." The murmurs grew louder. ComStar was still not held in high regard, despite the success of their military forces on Tukayyid and the resulting treaty with the Clans.

"Today, however, I speak of the future, not the past. Too long the Inner Sphere has allowed the Clans to dictate the ways of the war. We react to their attacks and are forced to play the defender. To that I say, no more. It is time to take the battle to the Clans. It is time to fight them on our own terms." A few warriors nodded, while others leaned forward as though to listen more closely. One warrior thumped on his wooden table, encouraging Rose to continue.

"I was at Tukayyid when the Com Guards defeated the Clans. It was a great victory for the Inner Sphere, but it was paid for at great price. Because of that battle the Clans have agreed not to press their attacks below the line of the planet Tukayyid. Yes, the invasion downward has been halted, but what about the planets to the right and left of the Clan advance? What of those planets that lie above Tukayyid, those worlds not covered by the treaty? Will the ravenous Clans allow the inhabitants of those planets to live in peace? You know they will not!"

More nods, a few more thumps on the wooden desks by other Highlanders. Rose began to pace the platform like a caged beast, his confidence growing, his voice pitched slightly louder. In his heart, however, Rose knew the warriors were not responding only to him. Like most warriors of the Inner Sphere, the Highlanders wanted to stop the Clans, political boundaries be damned. Mercenary units were especially vocal, and the Northwind Highlanders, despite their recent return to Davion space, were among the most outspoken.

"So, what do we do? While the politicians scramble for cover and the Great House leaders try to protect their dwindling empires, the Clans prepare to strike to their right and left into Commonwealth and Combine space.

"I know the Highlanders have a just and legal contract with House Davion. I also know the Highlanders will fight without equal while they fulfill the remainder of the contract. Highlander honor will not allow them to break that contract and do what their hearts cry out for them to do. The Highlanders must abide by the contract and coordinate the use of their battalions with the forces of the Federated Commonwealth." Rose paused and looked at the empty chair of Colonel MacCleod. The move was not lost on the Assembly.

"It doesn't have to be that way." Rose waited for his words to fully sink in. He walked back to the center of the platform in silence as his audience waited.

"My plan, like all good military plans, is a simple one. The Highlanders have contracted to provide four regiments for the defense of the Federated Commonwealth. There is no contract, however, that prevents the Highlanders from forming an independent unit that might further hire itself out to take the fight back to the Clans." A few shouts of agreement rang out, mostly from the younger warriors.

"The purpose of my address to you is a simple one. I ask simply that the Northwind Highlanders allow me to recruit warriors and technicians to be hired out solely to fight the Clans.

"Further, I ask that the Northwind Highlanders allow me to purchase any 'Mechs not necessary to fulfill the Davion contract in order to equip warriors capable of fighting the Clans but who lack the 'Mechs to do so.

"Finally, I ask that the Northwind Highlanders allow me to use their name for this new unit, which I would call the Northwind Black Watch." One warrior jumped to his feet and raised a fist in the air. More thumps and shouts of agreement rose up here and there. Rose turned toward the Northwind commanders and saw that his plea had also touched them. Colonel Stirling was sitting upright in her chair. Senn and Cochraine gazed at him with bright eyes, although their bodies did not show the tension of their junior counterpart. Rose nodded once to Senn and moved to the right side of the platform.

Senn waited for complete silence before speaking. He held out a hand to Rose and gazed around at the assembly.

"Jeremiah Rose has spoken eloquently on a subject near to the hearts of all warriors assembled in this hall. Before we cast judgment on his petition, I call upon any who would speak against him."

Rose had known this was a required part of the procedure, but he did not expect any serious opposition to his speech. Senn was right, the Highlanders had become very vocal about taking the fight back to the Clans in recent months and Rose was offering the chance to do just that. He was surprised when a strong voice called out from the back of the room.

"Colonel Senn, I too would address the Assembly of Warriors." Heads turned to face the old man walking down the center aisle with the aid of a brass-tipped cane. In the dim light Rose could not make out who he was, but warriors near the aisle bowed their heads in silent respect as the man passed. Whoever he was, the man was obviously well-regarded by these warriors, despite his advanced years.

When the newcomer reached the sod floor, Rose could tell by his garb that he was not a warrior. He wore an old but clean tech's uniform without rank or insignia. Looking down on the man, Rose could still not see his face. He was suddenly nervous as the man reached the bottom of the platform stairs, then he stared aghast as Colonel Senn introduced him.

"Master Technician Cornelius Rose will address the Assembly." Jeremiah had tagged another name to the man: Father.

"Thank you, Colonel. The hour is late and I am an old man, so I will make my statement brief." The elder Rose turned back to the suddenly silent gathering and leaned heavily on his cane.

"Fire and brimstone, Highlanders. Fire and brimstone. You're born to both when you take the seat of that grand invention called the BattleMech and stride off in search of glory and honor.

"Honor can be a heavy burden to bear in such a world. Don't think for a moment that I don't know what it's like to face the fire, the shells falling around you and the heat of your 'Mech spiking higher by the second. I understand all too well what that's like.