Without thinking, Shin brought the laser rifle to his shoulder and triggered two shots. The bolts hit the Jaguar's head and the hump on his gray-spotted back, but failed to breach his armor. Like the cat whose skin he wore, the invader spun quickly, then bent his legs and launched himself up toward the third tier.

The railing collapsed beneath the invader's armored bulk, but impeded him just enough to make landing awkward. He landed on all fours, but his bloody left foot slipped on the ferrocrete decking as he started to get up. The shotgun slug from Shin's rifle hit the Smoke Jaguar in the right shoulder, further unbalancing him. His arms windmilling wildly, the armored figure pitched back off the balcony.

Before he could slip out of sight, his left hand clawed the ferrocrete like an anchor. Shin saw the gray form swing back and forth twice, building momentum, then the right elbow bit into the deck. As inexorable as the sun rising at dawn, the invader hauled himself up.

Shin's hand dropped to the laser rifle's pulse-rate selector and dialed it all the way up. At point-blank range, he sighted in on the dark, glassy V in the middle of the figure's lumplike head. His finger squeezed the firing stud, and the sustained bolt sliced through its target. The figure, smoke curling up from its single, shattered eye-piece, jerked, then fell back. It smashed into the tier below, then whirled end over end into the waiting crowd.

Nervous sweat misting against the inside of his faceplate,

Shin stepped back and moved down to Cell Fifteen. Hohiro was leaning against a bunk as Shin entered. "Now what?"

Without stopping to reply, Shin studied the cell's back wall. From the lower right-corner, he counted five cinderblocks out and five up. As he popped his power pack from the laser and snapped a new one in place, he offered the Sho-saan explanation. "When the contractor built the prison, the yakuza put pressure on him to seriously modify the original design. Various cells, with numbers and levels determined by use of the lucky number five, had escape routes built into them. They were never used because once their secret was revealed, all would be shut down."

The yakuza triggered a dozen laser bolts. The fivecinderblock pattern in the center of the wall dissolved into smoke and ferrocrete dust. The hole in the wall sucked much of the smoke down. Hohiro walked over to it and peered in, but carefully avoided touching any of the still-glowing rock.

He looked back over his shoulder at Shin. "This gets us out?"

"Yes. We climb down and take the first crosscut shaft heading north. That will dump us out in the Uramachi area. From there, the Old Man will get us aboard a fast shuttle heading up to a ScoutClass JumpShip hidden in the Rings." Shin forced himself to smile. "After that, it's up to your father's people to get us home."

Hohiro nodded and touched one of the hole's melted edges. "We can go now." More screams sounded from the Gallery. "What about them?"

Shin's eyes narrowed. "We live to serve the Dragon. Those who escape will join the Old Man's underground army." Muscles bunched at the corners of his jaw. "Those who don't ... Well, it's up to us to see they are avenged."

24

Nadir Jump Point, Arcturus

District of Donegal, Lyran Commonwealth

26 May 3050

Kai Allard turned and tossed the small petrochem case to the next man in line as the stream of cargo continued to flow from the small shuttlecraft's cargo hold. His shoulders ached just a little, but somehow the simple repetition and physical exertion felt welcome. I hate being cooped up in a DropShip, especially a troop transport ship. Granted, all of us moving from theViper to theGibraltar means the ship will be overcrowded, but there will still be more room to move around than on theOverlord Class ship."Leftenant Allard."

Kai turned at the sound of the voice and began to smile at Leftenant-General Redburn, when the guy next in line turned and shoved the next parcel at him. The sharp edge raked across the back of Kai's right hand, gouging out a bloody gash. "Youch!" Kai caught the package in his left hand and passed it along, then took a step back and inspected the damaged hand.

The trooper looked stricken. "Sorry, sir ..."

Kai shook his head and Andrew Redburn reassured the soldier. "Not your fault. I shouldn't have broken the rhythm of the line."

Kai sucked at the cut, then watched as blood refilled the wound. He clapped his left hand over the back of his hand to stop the bleeding, then grinned at Andrew. "You will forgive me if I don't salute, sir?"

Andrew nodded and draped his arm over Kai's shoulder. "I was up on the officers' deck waiting to welcome you with the rest of the Tenth Guard officers, but you weren't there. Leftenant Pelosi told me you'd come over with a cargo shuttle and were helping out. I should have known ..."

Should have known what, sir? That I wanted to help load and unload cargo, or that I wanted to avoid shipping over in the same shuttle as Deirdre Lear?Kai shrugged. "I assumed that the faster we unload the Viper,the sooner we can be on our way toward the rim. I just wish the Gibraltar had room for our BattleMechs."

Andrew grimaced. 'That is a desire we share. Unfortunately, the JumpShip assigned to carry the Viperblew a helium seal. Without liquid helium to supercool the Kearny-Fuchida drive, there's no way the ship can make the jump to Surcin with the rest of the armada. I wouldn't worry, though. We have more ships coming through Arcturus and their 'Mech bays will be free. Yen-lo-wangwill catch up with you soon enough, but if worse comes to worse, I know of a halfdozen 'Mechs available to a promising young officer."

Kai smiled broadly. "Thank you, sir. In that event—in any event—I'll do everything I can to justify your confidence in me.

"Excellent." Andrew gave Kai a hearty slap on the back. "The reason I wanted to speak with you concerns your battalion's new Kommandant."

Kai nodded. I didn't wonder that they left Kommandant Smitz behind on Skondia. He 'd already agreed to resign his commission and take over command of the Skondia Home Defense Force's Second Regiment. I wonder who will replace him?A nagging fear bubbled up into Kai's throat. "You're not going to make me his aide, are you? I mean ... I still have my lance to command, don't I?"

Redburn chuckled softly. "You sound just like I did when they told me I was being transferred to the Kittery Training Battalion. No, you'll not lose your lance. I wanted to talk to you about your new Kommandant because I would like you to speak up for him in the informal meeting of the battalion staff. There are bound to be some doubts about him, but they are baseless. I know I can trust you with the sensitive information needed to debunk them, and I know you'll be discreet."

Kai slowed his pace. "I don't believe you would set me up, General, but I just want to make sure what you're asking. I'm more than willing to help ease a man into his command, but I won't support an idiot who'll get us all killed. This new Kommandant is not someone who got his commission just because of his noble blood, is he?"

"You tell me," Andrew said, watching Kai carefully. "It's Victor Steiner-Davion."

The younger MechWarrior's jaw shot down, then snapped shut again. "Forgive me, General. I thought he was with the Twelfth Donegal Guards?"