As his olive-drab Orionbegan its trek across the landing field, Tomoe disappeared into the hangar building. Rather than switching to IR or light-amplification circuits to follow her progress in the darkness of the structure's cavernous interior, he elected to do something more useful. He began running his checklist of monitor circuits to verify that the machine had survived its transport across the gulf of space. All circuits read green on his status board. Good. No lengthy maintenance would be necessary, and he could shut down the machine as soon as it was safely parked.

The heat indicator showed a level slightly higher than the maintenance manuals predicted for the 'Mech's current activity level, but Theodore wasn't worried. The discrepancy was due to the dark olive paint worn by the Orion.The paint had a lower albedo than the manuals recommended, but Theodore was happy to live with the increased solar heat absorption. He had spent weeks of patient research discovering the color scheme carried when the machine had served General Kerensky. Once the colors were authenticated, he had painted the 'Mech himself. Only the insignia were different. Instead of Star League markings, the Orionnow carried the serpentine dragon of House Kurita. Within the gaping jaws of the dragon, clear upon the red field of the disk, was a silver star, the cadency mark of the Heir-Designate. He was very proud of the 'Mech and had named it the "Revenant."

The "Revenant" entered the shadows of the hangar and headed for a gantry. With the delicate touch of an expert, Theodore maneuvered the blocky, humanoid 'Mech into the waiting cradles. As soon as the 'Mech was locked in, he cracked the access hatch at the back of the machine's "head" and squeezed his lanky body down the narrow, low corridor that led to the opening. Once outside, he kept his crouch until he was sure he would not clip his head on the rearward-projecting, rectangular horn that held much of the Orion'scomm gear.

As soon as he had cleared the horn's shadow, Tomoe was in his arms. Their lips met, and her deft hands twitched open the closures of his cooling vest so she could slide her arms around him. When they stopped to catch their breaths, Tomoe smiled radiantly. "Hardly the behavior of a man who is to be married to someone else in three days."

"Maybe so," Theodore said, returning her smile. "If I loved her. The marriage is only political."

"I thought you hated politics."

"I do. This is necessary, as you well know. The Combine must have continuity in the line of the ruler, and my father arranged this marriage to ensure that I will have a sound claim to Rasalhague. My bride-to-be is the daughter of the District Governor, and her family has strong ties with both the Sorensons and McAllisters, two ancient and honorable families in this region. The marriage will serve to bind this oft-rebellious district closer to the heartland of the Combine.

"It is my duty and I will do it."

"Quite a speech," Tomoe said with a frown. "And quite political. You must be coming to like politics after all."

"You know that's not the case," Theodore insisted. "It is giri.I am a samurai and must do my duty."

"Yes, you are a samurai," she said, caressing his cheek. "Always girirather than ninjo.Always duty before human feelings."

Tomoe stared deeply into his eyes. He wondered if she was searching for a denial of her statement. If so, she would not find it. At last, she sighed and lowered her head to rest it against his chest.

"I had hoped you would return early from the drill and give us some time together before the wedding," she said, voice muffled in the folds of his vest.

"And I have done so." Theodore rested his chin against the soft pillow of her glossy black hair.

"I know. I shall treasure that for the rest of my days."

The sorrow in her words was painful to him. "It doesn't have to be this way."

"Oh, but it does, my brave samurai," she sniffed. "We have been through it all too many times. I will not be your concubine. Once you are married, we will be lovers no more."

"That's not what I want," he insisted, holding her away from him and tilting her face to his.

"It's not what I want, either, but it is the way it must be."

He started to object, but she held her fingers to his mouth.

"Don't spoil the little time we have left."

She took his hand and led him to the gantry elevator. They said nothing during the ride down and the subsequent walk to the barracks. As soon as they had closed the door of Theodore's room behind them, she slid his vest over his shoulders. Before it hit the floor, she had started in on the closures of his tunic. For an hour, they had no more need of words.

She lay with her head on his shoulder and ran her hand down the length of his body, back and forth, pausing occasionally before sliding past the bony curve of his left hip. Theodore relaxed, enjoying her gentle touch. He wanted to convince himself that it would go on forever.

"Your father has been delayed," she said without preamble.

"An attack?"

"Nothing so dramatic," she said with a shake of her head. "Court business. His JumpShip is due in-system tonight, and Tai-shoSorenson's DropShip awaits him.at the zenith station. They will have to make the trip from the jump point under high-gee to arrive in time."

"Rest assured that they will. Father must be here to bless the union; anything else would undermine what he hopes to gain." Theodore shook his head ruefully. He had received no more than the barest acknowledgment of the wedding date from his father, and now the Coordinator would be pushing men and machines in order to be present. "What about Mother? The Mukadereceived no communiques through the ComStar network while we were enroute."

"Your mother and the rest of the court is already inbound from the jump point. They delayed departure from Luthien somewhat when it looked as though Takashi might be able to accompany them, but they finally had to leave without him. You know Takashi won't risk her on a jump to a nonstandard point or allow her to travel at more than one gee. That puts quite a constraint on travel time. Her DropShip has been inbound for over four days. Morning update put ar rival in"—she pulled his hand over to check his ringwatch— "one hour."

"I should be there to meet her," Theodore said, rising from the sleeping mat.

They showered together, using much of the hour. He was half-dressed before noticing that she was only watching him.

"You're not dressing."

"I'm not going with you," Tomoe said simply.

"Why not? You're my Command Lance second. As my executive officer, you are entitled to be present at formal gatherings."

"A position, it is well known, that I earned on my back."

Theodore walked across the room to the comm unit, which Tomoe had warned him contained a listening device. Slipping a prepared disk into the slot, he pressed down on the receiver three times, activating a recorded conversation that would drown out anything they said. He turned to Tomoe.

"That's not true. We may be sleeping together, but you have earned your position in my lance fairly. Your record at Wisdom of the Dragon speaks for itself. The simple fact that you, a woman, could graduate from the academy shouts of your ability."

"Tell it to the troops, especially Tourneville," she responded bitterly. "Most believe that you carried me through the academy as well."