"No, Shin Yodama, it is not possible. Yet I willreward you. This is why you and my grandson wear the same robes, for you are to assume the leadership of my personal bodyguard unit, the Dragon's Claws. In honor of your exploits, however, we will rename them the Izanagi Warriors."

Shin stared blankly at the steaming bowl of green tea. Izanagi, he knew, was a legendary warrior who traveled to Hell, then fought his way back out again. It cannot be denied that Hohiro and I have faced many foes and have returned from a living hell time and again.He glanced at Hohiro and was pleased to see his friend grinning.

Takashi tugged his kimono straight at the waist and stirred his own bowl of tea. "I know that each of you would like to protest that what you have done would not have been possible without the help of this Victor Davion and his people. My tailors have prepared for each one a similar set of robes and I will endow a fund providing educational grants for all their children, to be administered by the Davion court and overseen from Luthien by a member of our family. I would think it an excellent experience for one who will someday become the Keeper of the House Honor."

Behind him Omi bowed in acceptance.

"I salute you, for you are heroes all." Takashi lifted his bowl and the others followed his lead. "Let us five who have done all we could to hold the Combine together drink as one. Let this ceremony mark our resolve to meld our efforts and rededicate ourselves to serving and preserving our nation for all time."

45

First Circuit Compound, Hilton Head Island

North America , Terra

6 June 3052

Anastasius Focht, Precentor Martial and Victor of Tukayyid, stood in the central courtyard of the First Circuit Compound and stared at the monument raised to his victory. The black marble obelisk towered over him and the sunlight glittered from the gold leaf that had been applied to the words carved into its base. Choking down the lump in his throat, he spoke the words to see if they sounded better than they read.

"Aware of the threat the Clans presented to the dreams of our Blessed Order, Anastasius Focht and his Com Guards— by order of Primus Myndo Waterly—met and defeated the invaders in the first three weeks of May 3052. In stopping the Clans, he facilitated the rebirth of our Blessed Order and its acceptance of the role Jerome Blake envisioned when he founded ComStar."

Focht studied the words again in silence, then shook his head. Despite his dispatches to the Primus, she obviously had no concept of the death and destruction Tukayyid saw. To her, the battle with the Clans was a tree from which monuments could be plucked. She saw it as a beginning for ComStar, not as the end of so many lives. She must be made to see reality!

The Precentor Martial tugged at the clasp of his white cloak and let it fall from his shoulders. Beneath it he wore the olive jumpsuit he had been given six months earlier by the 82nd Division of the Second Army when he inducted a new group of MechWarriors into their organization. In the heavy pouch on his left hip was a book with the names of each of the 82nd Division's warriors who died fighting Natasha Kerensky's Wolf Spiders. As he pressed his hand against the book, he also felt the pistol hidden in the pouch. She must be made to see!

Following the pointing shadow of the obelisk, he walked across the granite-paved courtyard to the Hall of History for his appointed meeting with the Primus. Waiting for him in the rotunda were she and her aide, Sharilar Mori, clad in robes of gold and red, respectively. He stopped and saluted smartly, only continuing forward as the Primus clapped her hands appreciatively.

"You have, of course, seen the monument?"

"Yes, Primus. It is impressive."

"I am glad it pleases you." Myndo smiled and brushed her long white hair back from one shoulder. "In the twenty years since we formed the Com Guards, we have never had to fight a battle of any seriousness or importance. I cannot tell you that my confidence in you was 100 percent. There were members of the First Circuit who believed sending untried troops against the Clans was sheer folly." She glanced at Sharilar. "Fortunately, we were able to prevail to give you that opportunity."

"Your support was most encouraging, Primus." Focht frowned. "I thought you indicated this meeting was for me to debrief the First Circuit? Where are the others?"

Myndo opened her hands in a gesture of dismissal. "They are really redundant now that a new age for ComStar has dawned. You should be happy, for you are our Light-bringer."

Light-bringer!"Are you saying I am your Lucifer?"

"Prometheus is more appropriate, I believe, Anastasius. You have empowered our enlightening of humanity." She took his right hand in her left and guided him deeper into the building. "You must see this. Our artisans have been working day and night since the victory. This is much better than your computer reality."

She led him through a doorway and he stopped short. The massive gallery that had been devoted to displaying all the relics of Jerome Blake and the early days of ComStar had been stripped to the walls. In their place, countless tables had been erected. Drifting in toward the nearest, he saw mountains and trees in miniature that matched perfectly with the images of battlefields burned into his brain.

Burned-out swaths of ripe wheat and aching holes dotted the tiny landscape. 'Mechs, scaled down to match the area of the world where they stood or had fallen, were twisted and broken, yet each was exact down to the details of paint scheme and pilot's name emblazoned on his 'Mech. Little human figures lay strewn around the miniaturized battle-fields as they had on Tukayyid. The artisans had somehow even mixed a paint to match the gray pallor of their flesh.

My God in heaven!"This is Luk." He moved to the table next to it and saw more destruction. "These are the Dinju Mountains, and there, that is the Przeno Plain."

Inexorably, like a moth drawn to a flame, Anastasius Focht moved through the models with the same ease he had crisscrossed the planet in his virtual reality, always working in toward the massive gray display in the center. With each tableau, he recalled hideous details the model-makers could in no way match. Their little worlds did not ring with the moans and screams of the wounded and dying. Their work lacked the cloying stench of rotting corpses or the snarling voices of scavengers coming to feed on the dead. Their artificial worlds did not have the same cold chill that had marked Tukayyid after all the guns had stopped.

At the very center of the room, Focht found the Pozoristu Mountains. Slowly orbiting the table, he followed the line of destruction that marked the Wolf Clans' methodical campaign. He saw the valley where Khan Garth Radick had fallen, but the number of lost Clan 'Mechs looked insignificant compared to the number of Com Guard bodies, tanks, and 'Mechs littering the terrain.

"It's all here, Anastasius, and this is just the beginning." Myndo's dark eyes flashed with an infernal light. "These models only show the aftermath of the battling, but we will recreate each of the fights, second by second. Each battlefield will have its own building, and people will be able to watch the battle unfold as it did on Tukayyid."

Focht could not believe his ears. "Why do that when you have our own and Clan battleroms to piece together an accurate history?"