Hanse allowed himself the hint of a smile. "As for being afraid of Colonel Ridzik—I have always respected his abilities as a leader and a politician. I am not afraid of him. I am wary of him. There is, I assure you, a world of difference between the two conditions."

The Prince pointed to a reporter in a wheelchair for the next question, a genuine smile brightening his face. "Yes, Brandon. You're next."

The reporter smiled. "Thank you, Colonel, I mean . .." Hanse waved away the gaffe. "Not to worry, Brandon. I'm just glad someone remembers my days in the regiment."

Brandon Corey let the other reporters' laughter die out before framing his question. "Highness, recalling your days in command of the Davion Heavy Guards, would you have imagined that an assault the size and scope of your Capellan invasion could be so successful?"

Hanse Davion smiled. "As ever, Brandon, your questions do not allow for simple answers. I must admit that as the commander of the Davion Heavy Guards, I never envisioned a military strike of these dimensions. That is because military academies throughout the Successor States have preached the idea that a strategic advance is impossible."

The Prince raised his right hand to forestall questions while he continued his explanation. "In the six centuries since Battle-Mechs first strode onto a battlefield, combat has become rarefied. When we look at a BattleMech, we see a ten-meter-tall amalgam of metal and munitions. Too often, we see a 'Mech as a chivalrous knight's armor and charger all bound together, and we imagine battles as fought between individual pilots, not faceless squads and divisions of soldiers.

"It dawned on me, during a casual conversation with Colonel Ardan Sortek, that we'd overlooked a central fact about Battle-Mechs." Hanse held his left hand out palm up, then curled the fingers in to form a fist. "To Napoleon ... to Patton ... to Rommel, a BattleMech would have represented the strength of a company or a division. Those generals, armed with communications technology that looks infantile compared to ours, easily commanded companies and divisions. They controlled armies composed of hundreds of thousands of individual warriors just to get the firepower of one of our 'Mech companies. If they could do that then, I asked myself, why can't we do it now?"

Corey leaned forward in his wheelchair. "That is when you decided to conquer the Capellan Confederation?"

Hanse shook his head. "That's when I decided we would organize the Operation Galahad exercises in 3026 and '27 to test out the idea. When those exercises indicated that large numbers of troops could be moved effectively, we looked at dealing with the Liao threat."

A man behind and to the left of Corey stood quickly, and the Prince let him speak next. "Ron Kilgore, Nebula News Network. Reports of Liao attacks on a number of Federated Suns worlds have begun to filter back from the front. Have you any comment about them?"

The Prince stood stiffly. "You know well, Mr. Kilgore, that military security bars me from discussing troop deployments and strengths with you, but your question does need to be answered. Yes, Liao forces hit several of our worlds in both the Draconis March and the Capellan March. Their objective was to capture or destroy supplies being held on those worlds in preparation for staging our next advance. Liao's intelligence service, the Maskirovka, had interpreted certain bits of data to suggest that this would be a crippling attack. However, it was our Ministry of Intelligence, Information, and Operations who fed them the information. In intelligence circles, that's knows as bait."

The Prince smiled as the reporters laughed. "Let me assure you that though Liao forces did land, none of them got away again."

Hanse nodded to another reporter. "Mr. St. James."

"Thank you, Highness. Last September, in your first press conference concerning the invasion, you said, 'It will continue as long as it must.' Do you now have a better idea how long that will be?"

Hanse Davion shook his head resignedly. "At one time, I thought we could subdue Liao by taking away the industrial worlds in the Tikonov Commonality, but he does not seem to realize he has lost his ability to wage an effective war. Indeed, the attempted assassination of Pavel Ridzik and the murder of Duke Michael Hasek-Davion point out that our assessments of Liao's mental stability have been far from the mark. Now Liao seems more like a rabid animal that must be put down than a shrewd leader of men."

Hanse frowned. "Please understand that this war is a hardship for me, just as it is for every one of my subjects." He looked up and out beyond the auditorium's wall. "This war keeps me apart from my wife. This was has cost me my brother-in-law, Michael.

And every day I must send men and women off to die, which is a painful duty."

A woman with short black hair stood. "Highness, we have heard rumors that Justin Xiang, a man you exiled two years ago, now serves as Maximilian Liao's advisor on intelligence matters dealing with the Federated Suns. Xiang is the son of your Quintus Allard, Minister of Intelligence, Information, and Operations. Is it true that you launched this invasion as a preemptive strike to prevent Liao from doing damage based on secrets known to Xiang? And if he has hurt the Federated Suns, will you sack his father?"

The Prince cleared his throat, but the look of contempt remained on his face. "Based on how the Capellan forces fell into our ambush, Justin Xiang must be an important advisor to Maximilian Liao. Xiang might once have been considered a capable company commander. As an intelligence advisor to Maximilian Liao, he could easily be considered an asset to the Federated Suns. As for Quintus Allard, it was he who planned Operation Ambush and carefully orchestrated its successful execution. I have the utmost confidence in him, and he will remain at my side until the day he chooses to leave my service."

A grizzled older man stood to ask the next question. "Shifting from the Liao front for a moment, Highness, we've heard rumors that a Liao unit, the Northwind Highlanders, landed and drove two Kurita regiments off the planet Northwind. Could you comment on this, and tell us if there are any plans to liberate the world from the Liao forces."

Hanse half-smiled. "Again, for reasons of military security, I cannot answer you fully. Suffice it to say that the arrival of the Northwind Highlanders on the world their forebears left centuries ago was not unanticipated or unwelcome."

With that, Hanse Davion held up his hands. "No more questions," he said. "I have much work to do. But we will do this again ... soon. I do respect your right to know the truth, and I will share it will with you as often I can." Ignoring the shouted questions, Prince Hanse Davion turned from the podium and retreated through the doorway behind him, deeper into the sanctuary of his palace.

2

New Avalon

Crucis March, Federated Suns

3 March 3029

As the CID guards closed the auditorium doors behind him, the Prince looked up to see his white-haired Minister of Intelligence, Information, and Operations waiting for him. "Morning, Quintus." By the dark look on the other man's face, the Prince knew something was wrong. "What is it?"

"I now know why we did not find Morgan Hasek-Davion this morning," Quintus said. "A holovid disc arrived during the night from the ComStar station here in New Avalon City. The label read, 'M. Hasek-Davion.' It was delivered to Morgan about three hours before dawn."