Vlad bounced from his shoulder and into the doorway, where the repair Tech whisked him out of sight. Phelan tried to scramble to his feet, but his bloodsoaked boots could get no traction. All around him, small pieces of debris began to vibrate and dance as the seal tore away around the edges. Phelan clawed for anything that would pull him closer to the doorway, but nothing gave him purchase. He began to slip, centimeter by centimeter, toward the breach.

Suddenly a huge metal form filled the doorway. The Elemental grabbed the mercenary by the scruff of his neck and heaved him into the corridor beyond the bridge barely seconds before the bridge doors snapped shut behind them. Phelan landed awkwardly in a heap, but the relief at being free of the vacuum's grasp erased any pain or embarrassment he felt.

He climbed to his feet, and with the rippling crackle of parting Velcro, he yanked off his left glove. He offered his hand to the Elemental who had saved him. "I don't know how I can ever thank you."

The armored figure reached up and pulled off its helmet. Holding the helmet in the crook of her right elbow, Evantha enfolded Phelan's left hand in a steel grip. "It would have been a waste to let you die."

The mercenary's jaw dropped. "Evantha? After what I did on Rasalhague ... Why?"

She shook his hand once, then released it. "You may be a bondsman, Phelan Patrick Kell, but you have a warrior's heart. You have much to learn about us and our ways, but you should realize that we respect you. To let you die needlessly would have been a greater sin than letting you defeat me." Then she let a grin break the fearsome mask she wore. "And it would have prevented me from having the chance to fight you again."

Phelan stared after her as she walked off down the corridor behind the medtechs carrying Vlad away. She's right. I do have a lot to learn about the Clans. Perhaps that's what Ulric wants ... for me to understand why they've come to the Inner Sphere.His thoughts drifted back to his pledge to help the Precentor Martial unravel the mystery of the Clans. But what happens when I have that knowledge and how will I be allowed to use it?

42

Triad, Tharkad City, Tharkad

District of Donegal, Lyran Commonwealth

10 November 3050

Victor Ian Steiner-Davion smiled as he enfolded Kai Allard's hand in his own. "I'm glad you've decided to remain in the AFFC. Losing you would have been a blow."

Kai shook Victor's hand firmly, but the Prince read doubt in his friend's gray eyes. "I appreciate that, Highness, but I'm not certain it is deserved." As Victor's eyes narrowed, Kai held up his hands. "Don't say I'm being too hard on myself. It's just that sometimes you all try so hard to bolster my confidence that you may err on the other side. I do make mistakes and I had to deal with the consequences of the one I made on Twycross. Thanks for giving me the time to do that."

Victor broke their grip and shrugged. "It was the least I could do for the man who prevented the annihilation of four 'Mech regiments." He opened his arms wide to take in the whole of the throne room where they stood. Green and gold bunting hung from the balustrades and encircled pillars. Even the two Griffinsthat stood on either side of the Archon's throne had been repainted with the Donegal Guard's crest. "If not for you, all this ribbon would be black and there'd be no celebrations going on. Hell, after the drubbing you gave them, the Clans have pulled back and made no attempt to retake Twycross."

Kai pressed his lips together into a thin, grim line. "I appreciate that latter comment, but you and I both know better than to believe it ..."

"You did what had to be done," Victor said, almost sharply. "You're not guilty of any crime. Dr. Lear said it herself: Those men were doomed before you ever sent them up there."

Kai raked his fingers back through his dark hair. "I didn't need to send those men up there at all. I know the properties of pentaglycerine. I knew that an explosion nearby could set it off. I could have used my autocannon or gotten some of the invaders to shoot missiles at me. Those men did not have to die. They could have been evacuated with the others. No matter how I try to look at it, I know their blood is on my hands."

Victor started to frown. "This is basically what you said on Twycross when you resigned. Why the change? Why did you decide to stay with the AFFC?"

Kai pursed his lips, then sighed. "At first I resented your having 'sentenced' me to the medical evacuation ship taking folks off Twycross. My wounds were minor, at best, and even though I'd decided to resign, I still felt responsible for my lance. I was trying to keep to myself on the Curie,but word got out somehow about who I was and what I had done."

The Leftenant fixed Victor with a suspicious stare, but the Prince backed off and raised his hands innocently. "Hey, it wasn't me." Dr. Lear was on theCurie, but with orders to stay away from Kai. Though we didn't try to keep Kai's action a secret, it wasn't generally known, either. I wonder ...

"O.K., Victor. I'll take your word for that." Kai looked up toward the ceiling's shadowed spine, his eyes focusing distantly. "On the trip here to Tharkad, many soldiers came to thank me for the sacrifice I'd made to save them. They told me it took great courage to do what I had done. Some of them were soldiers who'd been evacuated from Dr. Lear's field hospital and they thought they'd have wandered around forever if I hadn't come through and given them something to do. They told me I saved their lives and that they'd gladly serve under me again if given the chance.

"Maybe for the first time in my life, I wasn't my father's son, or heir to my mother. They saw me as Kai Allard and they welcomed me not because of my parents or my connections, but because of what I had done for them. They offered to serve with me because of something I accomplished on my own."

"Kai, if you thought I became your friend because ..."

Kai shook his head emphatically. "No, Victor, I know you didn't. I'm honored to have a few friends who, like you, persevered enough to get to know me. I should have said that at the start. But even you have to admit that we'd probably not have become friends if the positions of our families hadn't created a natural alliance between us.

"Anyway, those men and women thanking me didn't exactly balance what happened on Twycross, but I realized that I'll never commit that same error again because I know the horror and pain of it. If I resign, however, some other green Leftenant might replace me and make the same mistake all over again."

Kai shrugged. "Therefore, Highness, I withdraw my resignation."

Victor looked at Kai with true joy in his eyes. He knew his friend still had the habit of second-guessing himself, but at least he'd begun to learn to put his actions in the proper perspective. It was a small change, but enough to make a difference.

Victor heard the sound of a door opening behind him and saw Kai jerk to attention. He spun about quickly with his smile growing wider. His mother, Archon Melissa Steiner Davion, accompanied by Morgan Hasek-Davion, entered the throne room through a side door. "Great news!" he told them. "Kai has withdrawn his resignation!"

Before he could say another thing, a third individual entered the throne room through the same door. Dressed in a black uniform, belted at the waist, with red piping running down the legs, the man stepped around Morgan and stood with his fists planted on his hips. His black eyes flashed with an unholy glee and blue highlights played through his long black hair. Both shoulders of his jacket had been embroidered with a wolf's-head design, including actual fur, and the rubies glinting from the wolf's eyes matched the fire in the man's eyes.