"Tomorrow?"

"Yes, tomorrow," she said firmly. Ranna slipped one of his arms around her and kissed him on the cheek. "Tonight, my love, I want to give you another ransom." She nibbled at his earlobe. "It is a present I think you will enjoy unwrapping, and I do not think you want to delay getting it in any way."

22

Wolf's Dragoons General Headquarters, Outreach

Sarna March, Federated Commonwealth

5 August 3051

Kai Allard cringed as his mother rose and cut her sister off in mid-tirade. "No more lies, Romano. I've seen you indulged and shielded your entire life. Even here, people have bent over backward to please you. For the sake of your pitiful forces, we've mollycoddled you and elevated you to a rank you could only deserve in your demented dreams. I will not sit here and listen to you slander my son."

Romano's green eyes sparked fire. 'The she-bear rises to defend her cub! Cannot your son fight his own battles?"

Candace shook with rage. "He fights his own battles, and those of your son, as I recall. Your tale is absurd. Sun-Tzu punched out accidently after targeting one of my son's targets? Romano, even you were not that incompetent in a BattleMech. If your son is not an outright coward, he's a schemer who tried to engineer an embarrassing defeat for my son. Had Kai not proven himself worthy of the challenge, you'd be denouncing him as a failure. Because he won despite your son's trickery, you argue that he will lead your troops into untenable situations because he believes in his own invincibility."

Candace turned to face Jaime Wolf. "You were there, Colonel. Your Archerdestroyed Kai's Daishi.Did you find him invincible?"

Romano's harsh laugh usurped Wolf's answer. "Dare you imagine, Candace, that your son could stand against the greatest warrior in the Inner Sphere? Even cheating as he did, he is not that good and you cannot be that arrogant!"

"Lady Romano, I am more than able to answer questions on my own," Wolf snapped irritably. "Kai Allard-Liao's actions speak for themselves. His use of the geological survey satellite feed was not cheating—it was incredibly resourceful. The first 'Mech he downed was piloted by his father, once the undisputed champion of Solaris VII. The BattleMasterhe destroyed had Hanse Davion as its pilot. My son MacKenzie and Christian Kell were at the controls of the Marauderand Thunderbolthe took down. Sven Ngov, one of my better Dragoons, piloted the Hoplite.Acting alone, Kai Allard-Liao used his head and took down five of the best MechWarriors the Successor States have ever seen."

Wolf looked over at Kai. "And it was by no means assured that I would not be his sixth victim. One more exchange and I might have turned the Dragoons over to his lead."

Feeling all eyes on him, Kai looked around selfconsciously. His father and Hanse Davion were smiling proudly. Theodore Kurita and Hohiro acknowledged his warrior skill with simple nods. Victor, Cassandra, and Ragnar wore big grins and Prince Magnusson seemed to be wishing he could clone a hundred of him. Thomas Marik, on the other hand, seemed to watch him warily, and Romano's savage stare threatened to burn holes through him.

Sun-Tzu was the only one who refused to look at Kai.

Romano pulled herself erect. "So this is it, then? You all unite against me! Very well. I shall deal with the Clans when they set foot in my realm, and not before." With that, she turned on her heel and stalked from the room. Stunned, the rest of her entourage followed slowly. Kai noticed Isis Marik watching Sun-Tzu intently, and he saw his cousin nod to her as he walked past.

Wolf waited for Romano to fully exit the council chamber, then addressed Thomas Marik. "Well, Captain-General? I would not characterize you as Romano Liao's ally in all this, but you have been closer to her than any others. Will you leave us, too?"

Thomas Marik rose slowly, revealing his sickly little boy seated behind him. The dark circles under the boy's eyes mirrored his father's haggard expression. "Colonel, I do not dispute or question the bravery of Kai Allard. Though I do not have Lady Romano's objections to the suggested plan, I do have my own reservations. I cannot fail to recognize our common threat, but I am uneasy about putting your new 'Mech weaponry into production within the Free Worlds League. You want me to export ninety percent of what we produce to the Federated Commonwealth and Draconis Combine."

Wolf frowned. "That is now a problem? I thought we had agreed ..."

"In principle, yes." Marik sighed wearily. "However, my advisors have pointed out that payment for these parts is to be made on a long-term schedule, the last not due until 3110. How can I ask my people to approve that agreement when neither the Draconis Combine nor the Federated Commonwealth might survive that long?"

Theodore Kurita gave Marik a withering stare. "Captain-General, if we do not get the field modification kits, it is you who carve our epitaphs. If we do have them, we can throw the Clans back."

Thomas raised his hands. "Kanrei, I understand the trap of circular logic, but I cannot be certain my enemies will see it the same way. My nation is a democracy, not a dictatorship. I cannot ..."

"Bah!" barked Hanse Davion. "You could impose those production quotas using the powers of the Emergency Action Laws enacted after your father's assassination. Do not use the excuse of politics to justify your refusal. You mean to gouge more out of us, more worlds and more technology."

The Captain-General stuck an air of noble innocence. "Far be it from me to use this crisis as a means of ransoming your freedom. However, some immediate and material gains for the Free Worlds League would make it easier to justify this agreement to my people."

Hanse shot to his feet. "Cut to the chase, Thomas. You will make our equipment as long as we give you something, right?"

"If you choose to see it that way."

"I do." Though Hanse had his back to Kai, the young MechWarrior could easily imagine the Prince's expression as he hunched forward. "Very well, Captain-General, I will give you something no one else can. I will give you your son's life."

All color drained from Marik's face. "What?"

"You heard me. The New Avalon Institute of Science knows no equal in the Inner Sphere for its medical research. Candace Liao, for example, successfully battled breast cancer at the NAIS a half-dozen years ago. Since then, our oncology researches have proved very promising in cases of leukemia, even in advanced cases such as your son."

The Captain-General of the Free Worlds League leaned heavily on his table, then looked back at his son. The boy gave his father a brave grin, but even that effort seemed to fatigue him. Thomas reached back to rub his hand affectionately over the boy's bald head.

He turned back to Hanse Davion and Kai saw tears streaking his face. "You would use the life of a sick child against me? If I don't agree, you will consign my son to death?"

Hanse nodded solemnly. "Yes! As readily as you would consign our sons to death without those 'Mechs. I'm not out to win a Peace Prize and I don't care how history remembers me. All I care about now is ensuring that there willbe people who can remember. This effort may be futile, but it would be criminal cowardice not to make it."

Hanse's voice softened slightly. "If bargaining for your son's health is the only way to communicate to you the urgency and gravity of this situation, then so be it. I regret it comes to this."