"You are not suggesting Vlad or Conal would try anything on Tukayyid, are you?"

Ulric nodded solemnly. "After the decision on Tukayyid, you will face Vlad in the final battle for Cyrilla Ward's Bloodname. If you are in trouble and the Eleventh Wolf Guards are the force nearest you, I would not expect succor all that quickly. No one would deliberately kill you, but they just might let ComStar pick the winner in this Bloodright."

28

DropShip Dao , Hexare

Sian Commonality, Capellan Commonwealth

20 April 3052

House Master Ion Rush leaned back in his chair as the cloaked figure sat across from him. "You look weary."

His visitor laughed lightly. "Weary yes, but that is not so bad for someone who is dead, is it?"

Rush smiled and even managed to bring up the corner of his mouth, where a scar traced back across his cheek to his earlobe. "When I heard Romano's assassin had gotten you, I could not believe it. When I got the message you sent, I thought it was a trick. Even seeing you here and now, I have a hard time believing we have set ourselves on this course."

"Too late to turn back now, my friend." The visitor's gloved left hand slapped the arm of the chair heavily. "Even having me aboard your ship is treason. Your life is in peril and will be forfeit if even one of your men hints at my presence aboard the Dao."

"Waste no thought on fear of betrayal. House Imarra is fiercely loyal to me and to House Liao."

"And we agree that Romano has become a major threat to the continuance of House Liao."

"True. Were Hanse Davion not preoccupied with these invaders, he would have smashed the Chancellor for her audacity. Malignant bitch!" Rush exerted control over his emotions and forced his fists to unknot. "As for the threat to my life, when has it not been in jeopardy in the last twenty years? Because Romano had taken refuge behind a building I defended, I survived the purge after you made your escape from Sian. I luckily succeeded in some battles against the Andurien invaders and then defeated a unit of Marik Guards in later fighting. For that, Romano elevated House Imarra to her personal bodyguard unit, but we know the true duty for us is to safeguard the Liao bloodline, not the woman serving on the throne."

Rush half-hoped his devotion to his duty had not bled into his voice, but the low laugh from his guest told him he had revealed his heart. "Now I must urge you not to worry. My quarrel is with Romano and her consort. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. I believe my children more than capable of taking care of themselves. I merely hope my intervention will make your mission easier."

The dark-haired man smiled solicitously. "I thank you. With that obstacle out of the way, my duty will not be in conflict."

"What is our schedule?"

"We will jump to Sian in two days; the Kearny-Fuchida drive needs that much more time to charge. When we arrive, we will head into Sian at normal speeds. I expect us to make planetfall on or about the eighth of May. I have made all the arrangements you required so you should be able to conclude your business and leave inside a week."

"Excellent, Rush, excellent." The visitor rubbed one hand over the knuckles of the other. "You get the stable government you desire and I get what I want: revenge. By the end of the first fortnight in May, the fate of the Inner Sphere will have changed forever."

29

Tedesco Pass , Alyina

Jade Falcon Occupation Zone

1 May 3052 (Day 1 of Operation Scorpion)

Kai waved Deirdre forward with an over-exaggerated motion of his right hand. "C'mon gorgeous. It's not that much further."

He looked up along the grassy pathway taking them to the top of the pass. It clung to the side of the foothills like an overwide ledge. To his left, granite outcroppings played hide-and-seek amid a pine forest much like the one through which they'd been hiking for the better part of two weeks. Up this high, the trees had begun to thin, but Kai liked walking in the open and feeling the dying sun on his face.

To his left, the land dropped away as if the valley floor had been snapped off and pushed down into the ground. Though some trees did extend up to and even above the level of the pathway and the plateau toward which they headed, the geography still gave Kai an unobstructed view of the area to the north and west of the pass. Way off in the distance, he could see Dove Costoso squatting like a chalkpit in the midst of the forest. Beyond it, the mountains where they'd begun their journey slowly nibbled away at the sun's red disk.

Deirdre caught up with Kai and took his hand. "I'm exhausted, Kai. I think it's the thin air up here."

"Exhaustion just makes you prettier." Kai kissed her nose. "And the air is getting to me, too. If we make it another one hundred meters, we'll be on level ground. We can stop for the night, and then tomorrow we can descend the other side and we'll be at Mount Sera."

Deirdre blew an errant strand of hair from her forehead. "Thank God. Had I known what this hike would be like, I would have surrendered in Dove Costoso."

"You might have had a partner in that," Kai sighed. Deirdre had slowed him down in the trip, but he couldn't have made it without her. I accepted responsibility for her, as she did for me. If we had not worked together, neither of us would have made it even this far.

Her eyes sparkled blue. "What? You mean I could be the demi-Precentor's guest right now?"

Kai turned around and dragged her up the bill. "Sure, you could be his guest. I'm sure he'd really appreciate your bedside manner."

"In his wildest dreams."

The MechWarrior smiled. "Well, we did leave him in bad shape, and Lord knows I've healed much faster due to your ministrations."

She slipped her arm around his waist as they reached the circular plateau. "You and I have a special rapport. I sincerely doubt I could ever care as much about Khalsa's condition as I do yours."

Standing near the western edge of the plateau, Kai shucked off his pack and laid the autorifle down on top of it. He pulled Deirdre into his arms and kissed her. "Could be I have a chronic condition, Doctor. You might have to tend to me for a long time."

"I do make house calls," she whispered back and drew him closer.

"I find this touching, but I am afraid, Mr. Jewell, Doctor Lear, you will have to quench your ardor another time."

Kai turned slowly and guided Deirdre wide to his left, yet away from the plateau's sharp drop. He knew instandy from the deep timbre of the man's voice that the speaker could only be an Elemental and incredibly huge. The man he found himself facing fit that description far more perfectiy than he had hoped. He wore his blond hair short and his arctic eyes seemed positively alien to the MechWarrior. His clothing consisted of only a pair of shorts and leather sandals.

Behind him, three other Elementals slipped from the trees on the plateau's south and eastern perimeter. One moved to cut off any chance of heading back down the way they had come while another blocked the trail out to the northeast. All three wore jumpsuits and carried knives, but none had their weapons drawn.

The leader pressed his right hand against his breastbone. "I am Taman Malthus, the Star Captain in charge of the Elemental Trinary Star here on Alyina. I wish to applaud your efforts at evasion. Tracking and capturing you has proved most challenging."