"What would you know about it, Major Elson?"

"I was an adoptee, too."

"But now you're just one of the big happy family."

"I talk with many of the others who are not part of the circle of old-timers and sycophants surrounding Wolf. Some of them have told me that you were once a rising star with the Dragoons. Some even said you had the makings of a colonel, and that you might one day have commanded the Dragoons. But that was before Wolf sent you away. Many people say he will not give an outsider due reward."

"Yeah, well, whatever prospects I had, they're gone now."

"Look around you, Fraser. Not everyone cares for the way some officers take rank and make it privilege. The Dragoons are changing."

That was obvious, but Dechan didn't understand what this man was making of it. Maybe he'd been away too long to know the currents within the Dragoons, but he'd lived the Kuritan life long enough to know better than to commit himself to a stranger. "What are you suggesting?"

"I suggest nothing. I merely point out the obvious."

"Obvious to you, maybe."

"I was told that you were a perceptive man. You know what the old Dragoons did to your life. Look around you, see where things stand, then remember what you heard tonight."

"And what does that mean?"

If the man was annoyed by Dechan's stupid act, he didn't show it. His tone remained calm, and his voice stayed pitched to carry no further than the two of them. He smiled a friendly, almost conspiratorial smile. "True Dragoons welcome, and honor, true warriors."

"Look, Major, I'm in no mood for platitudes."

"I am sorry to disturb you then," Elson said with a dip of his head. "I will be about my business and no longer impose upon you. I wish you well, Dechan Fraser."

The big man vanished surprisingly quickly into the crowd that was finally breaking up. Jenette called to Dechan and he headed in her direction. Clearly, she had seen the man.

"Who was that?"

Dechan found himself surprisingly reluctant to talk about what the big man had said. "Somebody who thought he knew me."

"I didn't know you knew any Elementals."

"I don't, but maybe I will someday."

Jenette wrinkled her brow at his obliqueness. She laughed in an attempt to change his mood. "But we don't need to play soldier tonight; that duty's done. I promised we'd have the night alone after the Remembrance and so I am at your command. What do you want to do?"

"I think I just want to go home."

36

Stanford Blake blew into Colonel Wolf's office like a whirlwind. I was glad to see him, and hoped he would shake the Colonel out of the strange lethargy into which he had fallen since learning of the death of his son. Blake was still in field uniform, which was worn and stained from the training maneuvers he had been conducting when I'd contacted him. I'd been worried that he would dress me down for not going through channels, but when he'd heard what I had to say, he had promised to come at once. He'd been as good as his word.

The Colonel looked surprised to see his intelligence chief burst through the door. Maybe it was because we were in the middle of an intel briefing that he took it in stride, but I had my doubts. Jaime Wolf had been been taking everything with a laconic indifference of late.

"You're a little early, aren't you, Stan?"

Blake started to say something and caught himself as he realized that the Colonel was not alone. Glancing at Captain Svados, Blake's intel second, he said, "Janey, you'd better go watch the store."

She nodded briskly. He stood slapping his bush hat against his thigh until she left. I started to follow, but Stan restrained me. "Just shut the door, Brian, then run a bugging check."

"But this is—"

"Just do it!"

I did. Stan appropriated a seat and waited silently until I was done. The Colonel humored him and waited as well. The scanners reported no active devices and I told him so. His response was, "Now, run a comprehensive check and match it against the last set in your personal commset."

Colonel Wolf lost interest as I followed Stan's orders. He called the morning's sitreps up on his screen and stared at them with more interest than he had shown when we were reviewing them. Still, I wondered if he was only feigning interest. Just as I started the tertiary checks, he spoke.

"Stan?"

"Soon enough, Jaime."

There was silence while I finished checking. When I reported that everything was normal, the Colonel said, "All right, Stan. Now maybe you'll tell me what this is all about."

"Maybe you'lltell me,"Stan shot back..

The Colonel frowned. "Not the way it works, Stan. Start with why you chased Captain Svados out of here. If this is business, your second's got a need to know. When did you start keeping secrets from her?"

"Since she started keeping secrets from me," Stan replied, confirming what I'd feared.

Colonel Wolf's frown deepened. "What are you talking about?"

"It's what I've been trying to tell you, Colonel," I blurted out. I almost lost my courage when he turned his eyes on me. "Someone's been falsifying communiques."

"That's a dangerous accusation, Brian."

"I know, Colonel. That's why I've been trying to lock things down, but I haven't been able to. I see logs that say messages and orders have been sent and others that report them as received, but I hear people saying they never got them or arguing over just what the content was. It's why I contacted Colonel Blake. I thought he might have an explanation."

Stan took up the argument. "Jaime, I didn't even know you were back on Outreach until Brian punched a call through on the emergency net. And don't put him on report for misuse of the net; I think he has good cause. If he hadn't done it, things might be a lot worse. Svados reported you still incommunicado in deep space."

"Incommunicado?" the Colonel echoed in a puzzled voice.

"As per your orders," Stan added.

Jaime Wolf cupped his chin in his left hand. "I never sent those orders."

"Damn!" Stan slammed his hat onto the floor. "It isworse than we thought. Jaime, you should never have gone chasing that feud."

Stan's outburst was cut off by a rap on the door. I don't know what I expected to see as Stan and I turned to see the door open, but it wasn't Colonel Carmody. The white-haired old man looked briefly surprised to see Stan, but he made no comment. He just said what he had come to say to the Wolf.

"It's time, Colonel."

"I'll be there in a minute, Jason."

Carmody nodded and closed the door.

"What's going on, Jaime?" Stan said, voicing my own question.

"A council meeting," the Colonel said quietly.

That was news to me, and I was supposed to know the Colonel's whereabouts at any given time. "It wasn't on your schedule," I said.

"Why wasn't I informed?" Stan asked at the same time.

The Colonel looked at each of us in turn. "I thought you were, Stan. I'm sorry, Brian, I forgot to tell you."

"You forgot!"

"Stan, back off. I'm tired and I don't need a lot of grief. I forgot. You'll just have to forgive me for being human."

Stan wasn't buying. "Unity, Jaime! What in Kerensky's name do you think you're doing? Why don't you just sell the 'Mechs for scrap and turn everybody out?"