As quietly as possible, I clambered up onto the roof. Crossing to the far edge. I leaped across to the neighboring building. Constantly watching my backtrail, and using all the evasion skills drilled into me at the Nagelring, I moved into Akumashima and lost myself among the Untouchables.

The soot from the explosion and the grime I'd picked up scrambling over roofs and through alleys completed the disguise I'd originally tried to create with my mustache Shoving my hands into the pockets of my fatigue pants. I set my face in the hard sort of look that I hoped said, ‘Mess with me and regret it.’ Moving through the milling crowd of sawararenai,I glared at people who got in my way, and snarled at those who actually bumped into me.

Shuffling along, occasionally looking back over my shoulder, I fit right in with the rest of the outlaws and outcasts that made up the dregs of Hakkinshi. As I watched those around me, I realized, perhaps for the first time, how different was my life as a MechWarrior from that of most of the other people within the Successor States.

Even taking into account the cultural differences between the Lyran Commonwealth and the Draconis Combine, the quality of life on Murchison was much different from what I saw as normal Arc-Royal, the world where I'd grown up, was a beautiful blue-green ball. Forests and fields covered it and the soil was incredibly fertile. The introduction of xenobiological and senobiological projects had been strictly controlled so that our people could make a living producing grains and animal products for export without destroying the natural ecology.

My family was nobility on Arc-Royal. My grandfather was the world's Duke and my father, as a Count, governed a large island continent. Even so, the relaxed pace of life on Arc-Royal and the Kell family's tradition of hard work meant that my brother and I both pulled our own weight. Working side by side with the people on our farms, I learned that we Humans are alike, no matter what our station.

But I'd wanted to be a MechWarrior for as long as I could remember, a desire that increased when my brother vanished for a year just after graduation from the Nagelring. Then the Nagelring accepted me and I worked hard to graduate with honors. I wanted the MechWarrior's life of excitement and danger because l truly felt there was no better way to live.

A MechWarrior's existence is a strange one. Someone once called it sheer boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror, but I think that may be a bit harsh. It's true, but there are other times when you earn the respect of an enemy, And there are times when you have to mourn a fallen friend.

As the singsong voices of merchants beckoned and cajoled the passers by. I realized that a MechWarrior misses out on huge chunks of life. All the people around me had worries that I would consider mundane. They had to work for their meals and clothes and homes, things I took for granted because the Regiment provided them for me. They had to wake up each morning and decide what they would do during the day, and what the consequences of their action would be. Me, I had orders and if I didn't follow them, I'd be thrown into jail. Though my life as a MechWarrior might be more constraining, it also served as a safety net to keep me from failing.

The people down here, and in every village or town or city throughout the Successor States, didn't care about who ruled what. The grand galactic game of war and politics only touched them when it stole a child or caused the government to change the faces printed on their money.

In that instant, I also realized what someone like the Little Dragon meant to the people of Akumashima. She was theirsafety net, making sure that whoever controlled the world of Murchison did not disrupt the life in Akumashima. When we blew the opium barge apart, she made certain those who needed the drug got it. whatever the cost to her.

My mind drifted to her gold renketsu,and I shivered. Whata way to live,I thought, then felt angry at myself. Who are you to judge her? She follows orders just like you do. but her orders come from her sense of right and wrong, not from the mouth of whoever pays the bills.

‘I know.’ I mumbled to myself, ‘but someone with that much heart deserves more and better.’ The moment those words came to me, I realized that something about Takara had gotten under my skin. Yes, I found her physically attractive, but that wasn't really it. I sensed something else that could bind us together, then realized my weariness and the mission's pressure had undoubtedly warped my perceptions to a dangerous degree.

Uneasy about spending too much time on the street, I slipped into a ramshackle restaurant offering biiru to baka.I chose a dark booth in the corner far from the door. When a serving girl inquired, I ordered the house special. The beer arrived warm and the noodles cold.

The beer, which tasted like something between swamp water and 'Mech coolant, cut the dust and soot from my throat. I leaned back in the booth and shut my eyes. O.K., Duke Michael, how do I innovate my way out of this one? We knew the Little Dragon would turn on me, but we didn't expect such an explosive betrayal.

I felt a breeze and heard the creak of the bench on the opposite side of my table, but the click of the Sternsnacht's hammer being thumbed back is what snapped me out of my ruminations. I felt the muzzle press against the inside of my knee as I opened my eyes. ‘Hello,' I said, smilng weakly.

The Little Dragon smiled back, but it was pure mockery, and did nothing to mask the fury in her eyes, ‘I did not betray you.’ she said grimly.

I nodded slowly. ‘I know. I just figured that out. If you meant for someone to take me, you would have given them the combination to the door. Besides, you would probably have turned me over to the ISF because they're the ones offering money for my head.’

‘How bad was it?’

I shook my head. ‘I'm sorry.’

Takara slammed her balled left fist into the table. I reached out. took her fist in my hand and squeezed gently until she let the tension drain from it. She tried to pull her hand back, but I held on.

I looked into her eyes. ‘I cannot say I will make it up to you, because you lost far more than money or time could ever replace. I will do my best to make it right.’

She jabbed the Sternsnacht's muzzle into the inside of my thigh, prompting me to slowly release her hand. ‘The only thing you can do to make it right is to get off this world and never come back.’ She met my gaze, and in one electric moment, I thought she would open up to me. Then a shudder rippled through her and the wall went back up between us.

I sighed heavily. ‘O.K., Little Dragon, if that's what you want. Let's find the girl and I'm gone.’

I felt the Sternsnacht withdraw and heard it slide home in the holster. The Little Dragon's expression eased toward neutral. ‘Let's go. Kell. While you were destroying my world, I found Hanako Aido.’ She glanced at her chronometer. ‘We're to meet her in an hour.’

The Little Dragon led the way out of the eatery. I saw her stiffen immediately, and despite my fatigue, I identified the source of her discomfort. The street had emptied. Doors were shut and windows shuttered. Even the stray curs slunk around with tails between their legs.

I turned to reenter the restaurant, but the door slammed loudly in my face. The sound of automatic rifles being cocked filled the street. Raising my hands, I came slowly about to find Takara also making the universal sign of submission.

One of a dozen black-clad ISF ninjas stepped forward. He bowed, and the sun glanced sharply off the mirrored faceplate of his circlevision headgear. ‘I am Talon Sergeant Ittetsue Kimura. I am pleased now, Chu-saKeirru. to accept the surrender of you and your confederate.’ He glanced at the other ISF agents with rifles pointed at us. ‘Resistance would be, ah, unpleasant.’