Victor studied another combat sequence shot from far above a battlefield. The raiders obviously controlled the battle and forced the militia back with ease. Still, as Victor watched it, he saw the raiders make some mistakes. You're good, but you're not invincible.

"Galen, you've been reviewing the information we've gotten from Kooken's Pleasure Pit, Pasig, and now Zhongshan. What's your guess on these raiders? Could the Revenants take them?"

Galen sat back and sank deeply into the thickly padded chair. "That's a hard call. The raiders rely heavily on beam and energy weapons. That means they can hang on for a long time in a campaign. Of course a long campaign is the last thing they want when they're so far from their home base and when we're in such a good position to bring heavy numbers of troops against them. Still, it means they aren't tied to supplies the way we can be."

"So, are they using OmniMechs?"

"Not that I can see. It looks as if they're just using refits of our Inner Sphere designs. But they do employ Clan-type technology. The Kell Hounds have some similar 'Mechs built out of salvage from Luthien. That gives them some added punch andmakes them look deceptively soft. Even so, we're fighting close to even on that account."

Victor frowned. "As always, they have the advantage because they know where they're going to hit. The lithium-fusion batteries in our JumpShips give us increased mobility, which lets us jump in on them from a long range. But if we jump in when they arrive, they might be able to jump right out again."

"And if we wait until they commit to an attack, we find ourselves in the same position as the Wolves did."

"Right." Victor pounded his fist against his leg. That hurt and he stared at his offending hand. "Someday I will learn."

"Yes, Leftenant-General."

Victor ignored Galen's sarcasm. "It seems rather obvious that one unit alone isn't going to be able to catch these bandits. If we deployed the Revenants forward, we could coordinate with the Wolves and catch them."

Galen shook his head. "I think that assessment is premature. The Wolves didmanage to find the bandits, and forced them away from Zhongshan. Another two days or a little more piloting intelligence and they could have had them."

"You don't think I should bring the Revenants up?"

"It's not that at all, Victor. Yes, get us into position to help out, but we have more than military considerations here, don't we? Didn't Phelan tell you that the Jade Falcons are just waiting for the ilKhan to fall flat on his face in this? If we use one of our units to destroy the bandits, we flaunt his help. If, God help us, we have to chase them back into Jade Falcon territory, it could serve as a rallying call to unite the Clans against us again. The ilKhan would be forced to side with them against us, too. Boom, we've got full-scale war once more."

"As always, you tend to think a bit more about the auxiliary concerns than I do. Thank you, Galen."

"My pleasure and duty."

Victor sat back and pressed his hands together, fingertip to fingertip. "I think we need to learn as much as we can about the bandits. Let's run some computer sims between their apparent strength and that of the Revenants."

Galen stood and nodded. "Works for me. Anything else?"

"Yes." Victor chewed his lower lip. "Get me a file on Nelson Geist. If he's close to the Red Corsair, I want to know how he thinks and what makes him tick. If he's still loyal to the Federated Commonwealth, we can use him. And if he isn't, we'll know who to notify when we kill him."

17

Arc-Royal

Federated Commonwealth

28 April 3055

Christian Kell gladly accepted the snifter of brandy from Dan Allard. He raised his glass to his commanding officer. "The Kell Hounds are operational once again."

"May they always remain so." Dan tossed off the amber liquid and Chris followed suit. It burned its way down to his stomach, but after two weeks in the field, it felt good.

Dan dropped himself into one of the briefing room chairs and put his feet up on the table. Watching him, Chris decided that Dan looked the way he felt. Both men were worn out. After the transfer of the regimental cadres back from garrison duty on Tomans, there had been a full week of integrating the new trainees into their units and then two weeks of exercises and war games. Even so, pleasure at the unit's successful showings took the edge off their fatigue.

"I was especially pleased with the way Akira's Second and Third Battalions were able to configure themselves like the raiders that hit Zhongshan." Dan clasped his hands over his chest. "We handled them fairly effectively, don't you think? Your battalion flanked them perfectly and we nailed the lot."

Chris appropriated the chair across from him. "We had a lot of practice against Clan tactics on Luthien. Yes, we did handle them well, but we also outnumbered them two-to-one. Granted, they were using Clan equipment, but in many cases so were we." ,

Colonel Allard frowned. "What is it, Chris? That exercise went by the book—hell, it was better than that."

The younger man shrugged. "Intangibles, Dan. There is too much we don't know about the raiders. Our exercise was based on their latest attacks, and though Zhong-shan didn't show us anything they hadn't done before, their withdrawal in the face of the Solahma's sudden appearance was damned orderly and organized."

"More so than you would expect from a band of renegades?"

"I think so, yes." Chris rested his forearms on the table. "For bandits, their equipment is way too good. And the way they attack, it's all wrong."

"What do you mean?"

Chris' face twisted into a frown as he tried to find words to express his thoughts. "Raiders usually pick LZs that are sparsely defended so that they can get away with as much loot as possible. They try to avoid direct confrontation because they're generally using second-rate equipment and running low on supplies. These raiders go straight for their targets, and straight at any forces standing between them and their objective. They fight in an organized manner and are able to withdraw in good order."

Dan tapped one index finger against his lips for a moment. "You're suggesting that they fight like a military unit. I buy that, but the explanation is nothing more sinister than that they're Clan renegades."

"Maybe, Dan, it just may be." Chris balled his hands into fists, then forced himself to open them again. Though Dan's explanation made perfect and logical sense, it still did not feel right. Chris understood the value of empirical evidence and logic, but he also knew that his survival had depended on his responding to gut feelings in many a tight situation. Concerning the raiders, his guts were telling him something just wasn't right.

"Besides, Chris, it doesn't matter what their motive is. What isimportant is that we nailed them." Dan smiled slyly. "Now that the Wolves missed their shot at them on Zhongshan, the Archon will be pressured into sending another unit out there. I'll send a message to Morgan that we're ready, and he can let that slip to Melissa when he sees her at the library dedication next month."

"It won't happen, Dan. We're not 'politically correct.' "

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that Ryan Steiner will use his influence to make sure it's one of the old Tamar or Skye loyalist units that gets activated to hunt down the raiders."