Ulric smiled. "It is the custom among our people to grant a Warrior a gift upon achieving full status as an active Warrior. We refer to this as a 'ransom' because of the ancient tradition of a captor ransoming a Warrior after his capture." He glanced at Natasha. "Despite Natasha's protestations that my gift is too generous, the ilKhan is possessed of great wealth and may disburse it as he sees fit. Giving her a 'Mech Cluster should keep her so busy she will stay out of his hair."

The older man turned slightly to address Phelan. "I have a 'ransom' for you as well, Phelan. It reflects my great pride at seeing you qualify as a MechWarrior. It is also an inadequate token of my appreciation for all you have done for me. I cannot fully repay the debt I owe you for saving my life, but I trust this gift will make a dent in it. Ranna?"

Ranna slipped her left arm through Phelan's right and led him out of the room. As he started to ask where they were bound, she pressed a finger to his lips. "This is supposed to be a surprise, lover, so I'm not going to answer any questions."

She took him down the stairs and toward the south end of the building. As they neared the 'Mech bay, she took firm hold of his elbow. "Close your eyes."

"If I do that, I can't see."

"I'll tell you when to open them again."

He shut his eyes and felt her kiss each one of his eyelids. Yielding to the pressure on his arm, he let her guide him through the corridors. He knew they'd entered the 'Mech bay when the clicks of their heels echoed away to nothingness. The sharp scent of 'Mech coolant and the cloying odor of autocannon high explosives also clued him to their location, but he could not accurately gauge how far they had gone or where they were standing when they stopped.

Ranna squeezed his elbow once, then let go. "Open your eyes, Phelan."

It took a second or two for his eyes to focus within the dimly lit cavern of a room, then what he saw took his breath away and freed a thousand memories. His mouth dropped open and he fell to his knees.

The BattleMech standing in the berth before him rose to five times his height. From toes to throat, its slender, humanoid form suggested speed and agility. Its left arm ended in a fully articulated hand, but the right arm showed a laser muzzle where a hand would have been. The black 'Mech mounted three laser ports on its broad breast, two at the shoulders, and one dead-center.

The 'Mech's head looked like no other in the 'Mech bay. Its jutting muzzle, tall, pointed ears, and dark viewport eye-slits formed a perfect wolf's-head image, just like Phelan's ceremonial mask. Together they transformed the 'Mech from an oversized toy soldier into a mechanistic avatar of an ancient wargod.

Bright tints broke the 'Mech's somber color scheme in only three places. Phelan saw the hound's-head crest of the Kell Hounds painted in black on a circular red field on the 'Mech's right shoulder. The eyes of the hound had been painted green to match Phelan's. Opposite it, on the left shoulder, Phelan saw a red hourglass and realized immediately that it meant Natasha had chosen him to serve in her new unit.

Phelan smiled when he looked at the 'Mech's muzzle, which had been painted with long white fangs in a snarling face. It matched perfectly the design he'd used to decorate his last 'Mech. That was over three years ago, back when I got myself expelled from the Nagelring and joined the Kell Hounds.

Choking down the huge lump in his throat, he turned to Ranna. "This is Grinner.This is my Wolfhound.How is it possible? Vlad blew it to hell and back on Sisyphus's Lament when he captured me."

Ranna came to stand behind, him, hands resting on his shoulders. "The head assembly formed your escape module. It contained the computer files we needed to reproduce the general design. Of course, we've modified it a bit."

Phelan frowned. "Modified it? That's one of the most modern designs in the Successor States."

Ranna patted his right shoulder. "True enough, but the technology used to put it together was old when the Star League fell apart. We replaced the skeleton with one made of an endo-steel alloy. It's a bit bulkier to stabilize in sheering-strength situations, but it's much lighter than the original internal structure. The power plant is brand new, and it provides the same power and speed at half the weight. The heat sinks built into it work at roughly double the efficiency of those you had before."

She hunkered down behind him and pointed over his shoulder. "The armor is made of a ferro-fibrous compound that is layered together and tempered to give it increased strength at a lighter weight. As a result, Grinneris carrying roughly 50 percent more armor than before. Your forward medium lasers have been replaced with the latest in pulse lasers. Both the large laser in the right arm and the medium in the back are now the extended-range variety so you can hit your foes further out. And your targeting system has been adjusted accordingly."

She directed him to look at the 'Mech's head and ears. "The edging on the ears is part of an electronic counter-measures system that will make the 'Mech harder to spot and also to jam many of the advanced targeting systems used nowadays. We wanted to mount an anti-missile system in there as well, but the engineers felt it would violate the original design objectives for a 'Mech that did not need to be supplied with ammo. If they get a laser-based system working, however, they're just aching to slap it on your machine."

Phelan stared at the machine as though it were a ghost from the past. "You don't know what seeing this does to me, Ranna. It reminds me of how much I've changed and how much I've lost. That 'Mech was part of Phelan Kell. To see it standing there leaves me in awe that the ilKhan did this for me. It also makes me wonder if I have not betrayed my people by abandoning them."

Ranna slipped her arms around his chest and gave him a squeeze. "Phelan, you should understand two things about the ilKhan. First of all, he began this reconstruction project even before you started training for your test. He was that confident in you and took great pride in your vindication of his judgement.

"More important than that, though, is that he asked me to say that he knew Grinnerwould rekindle memories of what you left behind in the Inner Sphere. He is glad of that because he does not wantyou to forget what you were. The Phelan Kell we captured is the basis for Phelan Wolf, a MechWarrior of the Clans. Because you have known life in the Inner Sphere and have been tempered by it, Ulric says you are stronger than Warriors who have know only the Clans."

Phelan nodded. "Perhaps he's right. Remembering who and what I was will make me stronger." He clasped her arms. "And it's strong warriors he'll need. Ulric the Warden becomes Ulric the Crusader and launches us back at the Successor States."

"That is true, Phelan, but do not mistake methods for ends." She settled her chin on his shoulder. "The only way Ulric can defeat the Crusaders is to beat them at their own game. As long as he is in the lead in our quest for the goal, he can dictate terms and rules. He'll need you and Natasha and the rest of us to keep that lead. It is up to us to make sure that our drive to win does not crush those whose only crime is inhabiting the worlds on our path."

Phelan straightened up, turned, and lifted Ranna to her feet. "Thank you for bringing me here. This is incredible. I must go and thank the ilKhan."

He started to walk off, but she grabbed his left hand and stopped him. "You can do that tomorrow."