"Hai,Kurita Takashi-sama."

"Then you know what must be done." Takashi waved them away. "You may use the garden."

Tojiro blinked twice. "Sumimasen,Kurita -sama.Forgive me. We may use the garden for what?"

"For slitting your bellies, you treacherous dogs!" Takashi stood abruptly and both men cringed. "You claim to be my servants. You claim to follow me, yet you ignore everything the man I have placed in charge of my armies has told you to do! You place your honor above the life of the Combine!"

"No, my Lord, you have been deceived." Kwi-Nam dropped to his knees and bowed deeply. "Your son and his yakuza compatriots insulate you from reality!"

"Iie!"Takashi roared as he kicked Kwi-Nam aside. "Do not whimper, do not whine. You have certainly cost the Combine the world of Teniente, and you quite possibly have cost me the life of my grandson. Be glad I allow you to take your own lives. Be gone from my sight so I can try to remember when you were still men."

The two officers scurried from the briefing room, leaving Takashi, Theodore, and Shin alone around the holographic projection table in the center of the room. The Coordinator caught the yakuza's eye. "I admire the restraint it must have taken to endure a month aboard a DropShip with those traitors."

"I was sedated for the first part of the trip." Shin unconsciously rubbed his ribs with his right hand. "And when I was not, I made certain they were."

Theodore leaned forward heavily on the table. "The latest from Teniente is that Hohiro is alive. He has combined the Third Pesht Regulars and the Eleventh Pesht Regulars into one unit. They have supplies, but have gone to ground. They are gathering intelligence for a possible strike later, but the prognosis for their survival is poor."

Shin swallowed hard, his premonition of never seeing Hohiro again working its way in icy steps up his spine. "Hohiro asked for a regiment and a half to help relieve his position. With those troops, he thinks he can drive the Nova Cats from Teniente."

The Warlord of the Draconis Combine shook his head. "He might have thought he could defeat them at the time you left, but it is no longer possible at this point. The units took too much damage while Hohiro consolidated his command."

"But that sort of force should be sufficient to get him off the planet." Shin took a deep breath. "My ribs are healed. Assign me to a relief unit and we will get Hohiro out of there. We may lose Teniente, but we can pull the troops out."

Again Theodore shook his head. "There can be no relief for Teniente."

The Coordinator stiffened. "What do you mean? It is your son we're talking about."

"I know that."

"You must save him."

"How, Father?" Theodore dropped into a chair at his side of the table and punched out a request for data on the keyboard located below the rim. A map of the Combine and the Free Rasalhague Republic flashed to life, though fully a quarter of the worlds it displayed lay in Clan occupation zones. "I have the Smoke Jaguars and Nova Cats in position to hit fifteen different worlds. The Ghost Bears are ripping their way back down through the Rasalhague holdings, which exposes more of our flank to possible attacks. Just because they have not crossed the line between their apparent advance zone and that of the Smoke Jaguars does not mean they will not do so."

"You posit hypotheticals, Theodore, when it is your son who is in jeopardy." Takashi swiped a hand through the holographic map. "Hohiro is your heir. Ragnar Magnusson has already been lost to the Wolves. I would not have my grandson a captive of the Clans."

"He has been their captive before."

"And because of Yodama here, he was freed." The Coordinator hammered the table with his fist. "Give Yodama troops and let him go."

"What troops?" Theodore stood abruptly, his teeth clenched to hold back his anger. "Who, Father, who do I send? Can I send your Dragon's Claws? You and they fought valiantly in the defense of Luthien, but you were as shattered as every other unit that protected our homeworld. Wolf's Dragoons and the Kell Hounds have left to lick their wounds, but it will be two or three more months before they'll be back to operational strength."

"There are other units."

Theodore sighed heavily. "Yes, Father, there are other units, but they are protecting other worlds. Were Hohiro not on Teniente, we would not be having this conversation."

"But he is, so we are." The Coordinator sat down in his chair and stared broodingly at the map. "There must be a way."

"If there is, Father, it is beyond my ken to find it."

Omi Kurita's light, feminine cough spun Shin around to see her enter through the doorway behind him. The slender woman shuffled forward, keeping her gait politely modest. Her white silk robe rustled as she moved, and Shin smelled jasmine as she drew to his side. "Father, Grandfather, I must ask: if it were possible for a friend of mine who had a brother trapped by the Clans to obtain the troops necessary to rescue him, would they be used for that purpose?"

The Coordinator nodded sharply. "Hai!"

Theodore watched his daughter with hooded eyes. "Perhaps."

Omi's face remained an impassive mask. "You would not allow her to save her own brother?"

The Kanrei sat down slowly, resting his elbows on the briefing table. He steepled his fingers and watched Omi with restless blue eyes. "Omiko, I have already devoted more time to your question than I would allow anyone else asking such things. Still, I am on the horns of a dilemma. If I give your friend this leeway, what do I do if these troops she has obtained later become needed to defend a more important target?"

"Keep your word to her, Father."

Theodore shook his head gravely. "This is not some coy game to play, Omi. This is not the same as you asking to move a pawn for me while I play chess against your brother. You must know that if your friend were able to raise those troops, they would be vital to the defense of the Combine. We could not spare them."

Omi's eyes became sapphire slits. "Then, Father, what if she obtained them from outside the Combine?"

Shin felt his stomach tighten as Theodore recoiled from her question. In an instant, Shin knew her source for military support. As much as he wanted Hohiro safe, her suggestion struck him as treasonous. That Theodore had covered himself as well as he had surprised Shin.

The Warlord leaned back in his chair. "Your friend has grown up, hasn't she, Omiko? She plays at adult games."

"As her father often reminds her, this is not a game. If she were able to get a regiment of troops, would she be allowed to send them to rescue Hohiro?" Omi's composure began to crack and Shin saw a nervous tremor of her lower lip.

Her father watched her face, then nodded. As she reined in a blossoming smile, Theodore raised a hand. "However, daughter, your friend must understand that adult games do not always allow for total victories. Yes, if she musters troops, they may be sent to rescue Hohiro. I will even assign Sho-saYodama as her liaison officer. My offer is not without conditions, though, and she will have to agree to my terms before I allow her to proceed."

Omi glanced down at the floor. "As you would have it, Father."

"My condition is this, and it is one she may choose not to accept: From this point forward, she will no longer communicate with Victor Davion."