One might have thought that the threat of the Clans would become the source of similar trials and bonding, that the mere anticipation of the Clan threat would have been enough for the factions to want to iron out their differences. But so far only the oldsters and a few others had seen the need for complete Dragoon harmony.

In a bid to simultaneously promote harmony and improve our military position, the Wolf had devised a plan. Carefully chosen personnel were assigned to a special, secret mission.

Out in the Periphery lay a cold star named Bristol, ringed by barren planets. It isn't on any of the Inner Sphere's star charts—it's so far away from habitable systems that a rickety spheroid JumpShip would be lost if something went wrong with its drives. But Bristol is on the Dragoons' charts.

Before the Dragoons' entry into the Inner Sphere, they had marshaled in the cold space around Bristol. Their original mission called for them to pass as Inner Sphere mercenaries, but covert recon missions had shown them that Clan intel had made a few mistakes. Some of the Dragoons' equipment was well beyond what was available to even elite units of the Great Houses of the Inner Sphere. Using such hardware would have raised uncomfortable questions, if not murderous greed. Jaime and Joshua Wolf, co-commanders of the mission, had decided to leave some of their equipment hidden at that cold star. Advanced JumpShips and DropShips, BattleMechs that had been only prototypes when Kerensky's people had left the Inner Sphere, and early Clan electronics and weaponry went into mothballs. I think that even then, the Wolf brothers must have foreseen the possibility of a break with the Clans. Creating the supply depot made practical sense in any case. As it was, the Dragoons created stir enough with the quality and designs of the equipment they didn't hide away.

Now the Dragoons needed whatever edge we could get. Our once-secret Clan origins were now public knowledge. We no longer had to pretend, but we did need strength. The cache at Bristol would give us some of that.

The mission had to remain secret from the leaders of the Inner Sphere, however. With the Clans on their doorstep, they would have been more covetous than ever of what we would be bringing back. But the ships and machines were ours. They were to be our ace in the hole, our last resort should we be threatened by angry employers. If we survived the threat of the Clans.

The voyage into the dark had another purpose as well, a subtler, perhaps more important purpose. MacKenzie Wolf was named first among the officers in command of the mission, and his council was carefully chosen from among the factions. On the voyage to Bristol, MacKenzie would have the opportunity to forge a rapport with the men and women who would become his hard core of commanders.

Besides the necessary technicians and scientists who would restore the cache ships and their cargo to working order, there were representatives from all the Dragoon combat arms and most of the support arms. Non-combat personnel would go along also to provide a microcosm of the Dragoons. Isolated and in pursuit of a common goal, the group would come to know one another better, to learn that they shared a common goal and needed one another to accomplish that goal.

Jaime Wolf had concluded that much of the factionalism within the Dragoons was because the various groups were not familiar enough with one another. He knew that shared trials united even the most disparate groups. This mission was intended as an opportunity to end prejudice and replace it with respect.

The DropShip Orion's Swordwould be the flagship of the small fleet. It was a reconfigured OverlordClass ship, massing nearly ten thousand tons. Fully loaded for a combat mission, it could carry two companies of BattleMechs, six aerospace fighters, and a battalion of infantry and their support vehicles. Even without the ship's own firepower, that was a force more than sufficient to raid a defended planet. Although invasion was not the Orion's Sword'smission, she carried her full complement. The other three DropShips in the fleet had full complements as well. The DropShip fleet would be carried via a command circuit through various uninhabited Federated Commonwealth star systems, finally meeting up with the JumpShip Talbotfor the final leg of the journey into the Periphery. The official reasons for the military force were caution: no one knew what had happened to the cache, and long-term, deep-space operations were likely to feature prominently in future Dragoon operations. The Wolf felt sure that his ploy would not work if his real reasons were known.

I was on the bridge of the Orion's Swordconferring with the signals officer when MacKenzie Wolf arrived on a kind of conducted tour of the ship with his family. Katherine hung on his arm as if reluctant to let go of him. Shauna, their daughter, wandered around inquisitively, poking into things until techs shooed her away. She would be one of those MechWarriors fond of tinkering with their equipment if she didn't test into the tech class. Alpin followed the group at a distance like a tall, glowering shadow. Even though there was no chance of immediate action, he wore his cooling vest and pants rather than a Dragoon jump suit. His left shoulder was tattooed with a garish Clan Wolf crest, by which he proclaimed his sympathies with those who romanticized the Dragoons' Clan origin. His usual sour expression lightened occasionally when he spotted some bit of Clan tech captured on Luthien that had been incorporated into the Orion's Sword.

"It's a wonderful ship," Katherine was saying to MacKenzie as they reached the comm station. "I'm very proud of you." Alpin snickered. "The heir gets all the good toys."

"That's out of line, Alpin," MacKenzie said. "Jaime didn't pick your father just because he's family," Katherine chided. "Yeah, sure." Making a show of indifference to his parents' words, Alpin wandered away to examine the captain's chair.

Katherine leaned close to MacKenzie. "It isn't that, is it?"

"No," Mac said with a shake of his head. "Dad wouldn't do that. Why do you think I spent all that time in Beta Regiment under another name? Dad named me first among officers for this mission because he thought I was qualified enough to lead it, and unseasoned enough to need this sort of milk run."

"There's a rumor running around the compound that this is some kind of test. To see if you can glue some of the factions together."

"If it is, he hasn't told me about it."

"Be careful."

Mac smiled at Katherine and patted her arm. "We're not going into battle. We're just going to pick up some equipment."

She looked unconvinced. "You know I worry."

"Well, you worry too much," he said and kissed her.

"You give me cause."

Mac laughed softly. I thought there was a sadness in the sound. "Worry about Alpin. He gives you as much cause, and me even more."

They both looked at their son. Alpin had abandoned the captain's chair and was trying the fit of the military commander's couch. Mac sighed. Relinquishing his hold on his wife, he walked over and placed a hand on Alpin's shoulder.

"I'm going to have to get down to business soon." Mac's loving gaze took in the rest of his family. "I don't want you to go, but it's time."

Alpin threw himself out of the chair. "You could have gotten me an assignment on board. I could've commanded one of the lances."

"I didn't think it appropriate. Besides, your mother will need you."

Clenching his jaw, Alpin stared at the ceiling. When he looked at his father again, there was rage in his eyes. "Why are you shielding me? Your father let you be a warrior."