"Plenty of Inner Sphere leaders will lose sleep over my not persuading you to stay here, Phelan." Morgan stepped back and took a long look at his son, then shook his head. "I have to say that when I heard the Nagelring had expelled you, I never imagined this."

"Nor did any of us." Phelan swallowed past the lump in his throat. "Thank you for accepting me then and accepting me now."

"No matter what, Phelan, you and your sister will always be our children. We are proud of you both." The older man smiled happily. "No matter what, you have us behind you. If need be, you alwayshave a home here."

Phelan watched his father closely. "Does it hurt you that I choose to stay with the Clans?"

Morgan thought for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Inasmuch as we miss you, yes."

"But you are not hurt that I am not here to help with the Hounds?"

"I had hoped for that, once, but I realize you must find your own way. If you decide that your place is with the Hounds, they will be here. If not, then as long as you are happy, so am I."

Phelan wanted to say, "Thank you," but the words stuck in his throat. He embraced his father again.

Then he looked around at the others in the departure lounge. Carew, in his flight suit, was exchanging a final farewell with Caitlin, while Chris, Ragnar, and Evantha were sharing some joke that made them all laugh. Ranna and his mother were whispering in tones that he found far too hushed and conspiratorial to make him feel at all at ease.

Then, from the back, Victor entered the room and walked toward him. "I didn't want to miss seeing you off, but I had a dinner engagement." Victor didn't elaborate, but Katrina had told Phelan where her brother was when she said goodbye earlier. "I am glad we had our chance to talk."

"So am I, Victor. I know our peoples are enemies, but the Federated Commonwealth and the Wolf Clan have more goals in common than differences to set us apart." Phelan half-smiled. "In fact, I got confirmation that the ilKhan has deployed a solahma unit to hunt down the bandit group that hit Pasig."

"Solahma?" Victor looked confused.

"I should explain. Solahma is a designation the Clan gives to units made up of warriors who are beyond the age for regular units or who have disgraced themselves. More often than not the solahma spend their time hunting bandits. They are BattleMech units—at least this one is— where an old warrior can hope for an honorable death and where disgraced warriors may try to redeem their honor." The Khan shrugged. "This one is a Wolf Clan unit. They will get the job done."

"Why are the Wolves hunting the bandits down? I thought you said it was a job for the Jade Falcons because the Red Corsair operates out of their space."

"The Jade Falcons are really a bit prissy and decidedly reactionary. They cling to the veryold ways, which explains much of their impotence. They will abide by the ilKhan's bargain with ComStar, but they are not pleased with it. They have decided that the bandits actually originated somewhere in the Wolf zone, so it is ourproblem. They are making the ilKhan force our Clan to waste fuel, munitions, and personnel trying to get these guys."

The Prince smiled. "I understand his predicament. All messes are to be cleaned up by someone else."

"Exactly."

"So this unit, is it sharp?"

Phelan hesitated as he recalled who led it. "Star Colonel Conal Ward is in charge. He is good."

"He's a Ward." Victor nodded with satisfaction. "We have that going for us."

"True enough, Victor." I do not think the fact that Conal sees me as responsible for his disgrace bears mentioning here."The ilKhan is keenly aware of Conal's abiding hatred for bandits. Conal wanted the assignment desperately, so much so that he bid away his air wing to get it. He will do the job well."

Victor offered Phelan his hand. "I wish you all the best, cousin."

"Likewise." Phelan shook his hand heartily. "How much longer have you here?"

"A week, then I'm bound for Port Moseby to meet up with the Revenants again."

Knowing that Omi would not be departing for another four days brought a smile to Phelan's face. "Enjoy your time here, then."

"I will."

Phelan embraced each of his parents and Caitlin again, then summoned his entourage and headed down the loading arm to the K-l Class DropShuttle that had brought them to Arc-Royal. As Carew headed up into the cockpit, the other four passengers went to their cabins and strapped themselves into their seats. The hatch closed and the ship lifted off from the spaceport facility.

As it accelerated up into the sky , Ranna turned off the interior cabin lights. Slipping his hand into hers, Phelan leaned over to look out the window beside her. As the spacecraft picked up speed and soared into the air, the tiny lights of Old Connaught outlined the sleeping city.

He shivered.

"What is it, Phelan?"

He forced a smile onto his face. "The last time I saw that view of Old Connaught was when I left to chase pirates in the Periphery. Stars have fused a lot of hydrogen atoms since then."

She stroked his dark hair. "You became a bondsman, then a warrior, won your Bloodname, and became a Khan. Yes, many things havechanged, yet I do not think you have changed that much."

Phelan sat back in his seat. "What do you mean? I have changed a lot since I left Arc-Royal."

Ranna squeezed his hand. "You have, in that you have grown from a youth to an adult, but the change of venue did not alter the path destiny had chosen for you. If we Clans had never come, or if we had never made you a bondsman, you would still have become the man you are today. You see something you want, a goal you want to attain, and you let nothing stand in your way. You have drive and ambition."

She pressed her free hand against the viewport glass. "Down there, spending time with your parents and your family and your friends, I saw them through your eyes. Some always thought you contrary and contentious, but the perceptive ones knew you did not suffer fools or insults. This I have seen many times for myself. Experiencing the environment that produced you, I more fully understand why you have the gifts you now share with the Wolf Clan."

"Had I remained in the Inner Sphere, I would be, at best, a captain in charge of a scout lance in the Second Regiment of the Kell Hounds. That's not saying much for ambition."

"You sell yourself short." Ranna raised his hand to her mouth and kissed it. "I saw the light in your eyes as you forced Kai Allard-Liao to talk about his career on Solaris. You could have ended up there, and if that skirmish was a true indication of your respective skills, you and Kai would be arch-rivals for the title of champion."

Phelan nodded thoughtfully. "Champion of Solaris, that would not be bad."

"No, but I do not think you would have stopped there."

He looked over and arched an eyebrow at her. "Oh?"

"Your cousin Victor would have found a use for you."

"Never. We hated each other."

"Oh, I think you would have been brought together." She smiled impishly. "Katrina would no doubt have found a way to make you two reconcile. You, as heir to the title of Baron of Arc-Royal, would have your uses. Victor might not have seen them, but Katrina would have. She would have convinced him that his cousin, the young, brash Champion of Solaris, would be a wonderful candidate for the Estates General from the Donegal March. You would have been put into a position where your ambition could have worked to counter that of Ryan Steiner."