Phelan nodded slowly. "Perhaps the next time the Combine strikes from Wolcott you will want the ilKhan to complain to you about it. The Jade Falcons are distinct and quite separate from the Wolf Clan."

"Point taken," Victor allowed, then he looked accusingly at Hettig. "Why is ComStar concerned about bandits when they've let the Jade Falcons and the Steel Vipers raid the Federated Commonwealth above the truce line? Why the need for this meeting? I'm taking a lot of heat from Ryan Steiner and his mouthpieces for guaranteeing a Wolf Khan safe passage here, and it doesn't help matters that he's dragged Ragnar with him."

"ComStar appreciates your difficulties and your efforts on our behalf." The ComStar Precentor smiled. "We would not have asked you to go to these extraordinary lengths were the problem not so grave. These are not ordinary bandits, Prince Victor."

"They got lucky."

"Twice,they got lucky, Victor." Phelan leaned back, but Victor saw concern flash through his green eyes. "Hear the Precentor out. The Precentor Martial was able to convince the ilKhan that enough was at stake to have us meet here under cover of my father's retirement celebration."

Victor nodded, knowing the Precentor Martial's reasoning had been sufficient to convince his mother to send him to Arc-Royal. "To what are these bandits such a threat?"

"The truce, Prince Victor, the truce between ComStar and the Clans." Hettig folded his hands together, but the movement was so stiff that Victor knew it was a deliberate effort by the man to maintain his placid facade.

"How can bandits threaten the peace?" Victor looked down into his nearly empty coffee cup and waited for the caffeine to clear up his fuzzy thinking. "They are just bandits. They raid and they run. If the Grave Walkers could have gotten around from the other side of Kooken's just two hours sooner, we would be talking about the Red Corsair in the past tense."

Phelan shook his head. "You have been looking at the reports of bandit raids and been dismissing them because what you see jibes with what you believe about bandits. Your experience with them is not personal. Perhaps I see matters differently because I once hunted bandits in the service of the Federated Commonwealth. What I'm trying to say is thai our information shows that a very lucky bandit group got away with some spoils, most of it not terribly valuable. By any analysis, Kooken got off light-it lost no industrial assets, damned little in the way of loot, and was not conquered."

The Prince nodded. "I remember the numbers. The raiders took food and some slaves. You can't shoot enemies with cans of soup."

Hettig nodded. "But you also remember another old saying, Prince Victor, 'An army marches on its stomach.' "

"But those bandits are hardly the armies of Napoleon, Precentor Hettig," Victor snapped, then downed the last swallow of his coffee to give himself a chance to calm down. Having heard enough whispers that he had a "Napoleon complex" because of his small physical stature, he couldn't help but wonder if the allusion was meant as a subtle rebuke. ComStar is nothing if not subtle.

"That is true, Prince Victor, but to date they have not found a Waterloo."

The Prince snorted. "Then I will play Wellington for them." He glanced at Phelan. "If you can persuade the ilKhan to keep the Jade Falcons in line, I will bring my Revenants up and we'll pound the Corsair."

Phelan shook his head. "The Jade Falcons would ignore that sort of request, even if the ilKhan were foolish enough to make it."

"Does the ilKhan even want the bandits stopped?"

The ComStar Precentor and Phelan both looked at him quizzically. "What do you mean, Prince Victor? The ilKhan sent Khan Phelan to Arc-Royal precisely for the purpose of discussing the means to do just that."

"Really?" Victor put down his empty cup. "You both agreed that my information was good. Do either of you dispute the fact that the Red Corsair retreated into Jade Falcon territory after the strike on Kooken's? That would have been a perfect opportunity to resupply a covert force."

"Unworthy, Victor. We have had raiding on both sides and no unit has seen the need to strike from behind a false identity."

Hettig nodded in agreement with Phelan. "Determining the unit's identity is also immaterial at this point because the perception of its origins is doing more harm to the peace than anything else."

"I do not understand, Precentor." Victor stood and refilled his cup. "How can perceptions do more damage than the fighting?"

Hettig drew in a deep breath. "There are elements within the Tamar and Skye communities who believe that the Red Corsair bandits are a covert unit in the employ of the Federated Commonwealth government. They say the bandits are actually a death squad whose mission is to destroy those who oppose the union between the old Steiner holdings and House Davion."

"Ryan Steiner again works overtime to manufacture rumors." Victor shook his head. "That whole idea is, of course, preposterous."

"Of course, but humanity's fascination with conspiracies makes it intriguing. In this scenario, which is helped by the fact that the Kooken's raid damaged facilities owned by a Ryan Steiner supporter, the raids will continue until you or your brother Peter can be positioned as the hero who stops them. It would be a replay of the role Ryan himself played in the 3034 uprising."

The Prince nodded. "And, I suppose, others think the Red Corsair is a unit being funded by Ryan Steiner to build up the tensions along the border. As he champions the cause of the oppressed people out here, and uses a mercenary unit to destroy the bandits, he gains a great deal of popularity."

The Wolf Khan smiled. "Ryan calls the bandits a Clan unit running covertly, and uses the fear of the Jade Falcons to keep his people united and dependent on him for security. He isolates you as someone who does not care for the people. Should your mother ever step down as Archon, he will be a viable and powerful rival opposing you."

Victor chewed his lower lip. "And all this infighting will sap our strength and make us look very vulnerable to the Jade Falcons, who might then decide to launch multiple strikes over the line, destroying the peace."

The ComStar Precentor nodded appreciatively. "You two have distilled in minutes what it took weeks for ComStar's analysts to conclude."

"And the solution is to kill the bandits." Victor again sat down. "Despite your worries about Ryan, my Revenants can do the job."

"There is no doubt about that, Prince Victor, but ComStar has something else in mind." Hettig looked up and his eyes focused distantly. "As I indicated before, this is an atypical bandit unit. If you look beyond the battle-damage assessments for Kooken, what you find is that the bandits are using energy weapons almost exclusively."

Victor shrugged. "Bandits work with what they can get."

"You're missing the point, cousin. I pilot a Wolfhound.When my father designed it, he armed it with lasers. He did so because he wanted to create a scout lance of 'Mechs able to operate beyond the line of supplies, in the enemy's rear area. Because the 'Mech has no need for missiles and autocannon ammo, the only limitation on its operation was the pilot's need for food and water."

"As the Khan says, the Red Corsair has her bandits configured for a campaign in which food will become the most important factor for success."