Someone in the crowd gasped aloud. "But that is impossible. They are holding their prisoners in Kurushiiyama. No one ever escaped from there when the ISF controlled it, and the Cats have only increased security. We will die in the attempt."

Shin saw many others nod in agreement. That prison—Kurushiiyama— is a legend even on Marfik. It is aptly named Pain Mountain. After what I have seen in fighting the Cats, if they want to keep people in, it's not likely we can get them out.Still, Shin was not inclined to bet against the Old Man.

"Why am I surrounded by children?" the Old Man asked in disgust. "Do you not remember any of the stories? Kurushiiyama surrendered a prisoner once before. Its walls have yielded in the past, and will yield again. We will see to it."

A tall man crouching just behind Motochika shook his head. "The story of that escape is an old-wives' tale. The prisoner was gut-shot. He may have escaped the walls of the prison, but he died in its shadow and the Sawagashii River carried him away."

Pity and scorn playing over his face, the Old Man unknotted the obion his kimono and fully bared the left side of his chest He pointed to the bullet wound scar that obliterated part of the dragon tattooed across his chest and abdomen. "This is where they shot me as I was clearing the last wall."

He let the rest of his kimono fail away, revealing the tattoo on the right side of his body. Like a grand mural running from shoulder to waist, the multi-colored tattoo depicted the story of a young man's journey from captivity to freedom. At his shoulder, the saga's hero escaped the confines of a dark, lightning-struck mountain. At the foot of the mountain, he fought and killed two demons, though one managed to stab him in the belly with a fiery spear. Finally, blood leaking from the wound, the hero swam a river and took refuge in a seasonally dry storm tunnel until he could regain enough strength to leave the sewers.

"You see, my friends, it is possible to beat Kurushiiyama. The route I used to escape had been deemed the secondary one because we saved the first and best for a mass escape. Our first duty is to the Dragon, and saving Hohiro will acquit it perfectly. After that," the old man smiled cruelly, "the Cats will be ours to play with."

20

Avalon City , New Avalon

Cruris March, Federated Suns

30 April 3050

Prince Hanse Davion leaned forward across the briefing table and stared at the holographic map of the Lyran Commonwealth. He reached over, took his wife's left hand in his right and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Are you certain four more worlds are under assault? They only hit the first dozen two weeks ago! Is it possible?"

Justin Allard, standing halfway down the table, nodded slowly. "It looks as though the troops that conquer the worlds are not the same ones used to garrison the worlds. Once the populace is disarmed, the invaders are most willing to work with local authorities to maintain order. This frees up the shock troops to move on to hit forward targets."

Melissa Steiner Davion studied the map. "If their first wave took twelve worlds so easily, why did they only attack four in this wave?"

"That, Archon, is a question I cannot answer." Justin nodded to Alex Mallory, the tall, slender man seated at a data terminal opposite him. Alex hit a number of keys, and the map dissolved in favor of some grainy images of bizarre 'Mechs engaging in combat. The picture zoomed in on the green falcon crest on one 'Mech's chest. As soon as that pictare stabilized, another crest—a wolf's-head—appeared beside it.

Justin pointed to the crests. "The majority of worlds taken from the Commonwealth in the first wave were captured by troops wearing this Jade Falcon crest. Icar and Chateau fell to the Wolves. Their 'Mechs are similar, but we have seen no combined operations. They appear to share a similar origin, yet the two forces are not working together."

Alex brought the map back up, then focused it down on the rim sector where the invasion had begun to nibble away at the Commonwealth. Invaded and conquered worlds burned green on the map, while bright blue pin pricks of light represented the Commonwealth's other worlds. "The four new invasion sites were hit by Jade Falcon troops alone. Reports have come in slowly, but we think the Jade Falcons concentrated their attack forces from the ten worlds they took to attack the next four. There is even a possibility that they reinforced Trell I because Leftenant-General Hawksworth's guerrilla tactics still appear to be giving them some trouble."

I pray to God you survive, Hawksworth. I want to pin a medal on your chest for being smart enough to get Victor out of there.Hanse's blue eyes narrowed. "How long can the Twelfth Donegal hold out?"

Justin's face darkened. "As an effective fighting force? Not much longer. Their 'Mechs have to be virtually out of supply. Their energy weapons will continue to work as long as there's fuel for the fusion engines, which is no problem on a world producing hydrogen, but the lack of repair facilities and missiles will put them at a great disadvantage. I'd be very surprised if they survived even a month more."

Alex nodded in agreement, but added a caveat. "Trell I does have a couple of hidden supply stations within Hawksworth's operational area. They were part of our advance line of supply when we feared the Ronin renegades would come through Rasalhague and hit our worlds. Hawksworth knows where they are. If he can reach them, he'll be able to resupply and maintain a good defensive position. Of course, any pitched battle against the 'Mechs these invaders are using would be foolish, at best."

Hanse leaned back in his chair as the others settled into silence. We always expected an invasion, but I expected Kurita or the Free Wolds League to launch it. We never dreamed of an attack by invaders from beyond the Periphery in 'Mechs the like of which we've never seen ... In their first wave, they almost robbed me of my son and then they sliced a chunk from my wife's realm. So far, the only way to combat them is with the desperate tactics of guerrilla war. That could work in isolated cases where the conditions of a world are favorable, but it cannot throw the invaders back.

The Prince took a deep breath. "But who the hell are they?"

For the first time in Hanse's memory, the Secretary of Intelligence let frustration flash over his face. "I don't know, Highness. So many theories have been put forward, but we don't have enough information to sort the fact from the fiction."

Melissa folded her hands in front of her, and tapped the tip of one thumb against the other. "Are they Kerensky's people come back?"

Justin looked at bis aide, and the slender man hit a few keys on the computer, summoning another holographic image above the center of the table. "We cannot be certain, of course, but their unit organization points away from a Star League genesis. As you know, we organize our troops on the old Star League four/three system: four 'Mechs make a lance, three lances make a company, three companies make a battalion, and three battalions make a regiment—with the battalion and regimental command lances adding up to about two dozen 'Mechs."

The gentle click of keys brought up another table of organization beside the first. "As nearly as we can extrapolate from the data gathered by your son and Hauptmann Cox, the invaders work on a system based on the number five. Five 'Mechs make up a lance, and five of those units make up the next highest unit, and so on."