Morgan glanced over at Hecht. "Is he that powerful?"

Hecht hesitated, then nodded regretfully. "In places, yes. His opinions hold near gospel-strength for Skye separatists. Here on Tharkad, many individuals would have applauded your victory in a forceful argument, but. . ."

"But the argument would have been distorted when replayed in the Isle of Skye," Morgan said.

The Minister nodded. "Precisely."

As they spoke, the Minister had been leading Dan and Morgan toward a small set of steps leading up to a dais, where the Archon stood with her daughter. After dismissing the Minister with a nod, she said, "Forgive me, Morgan, for dragging you up here and away from that battle. As much as Lestrade deserves a mauling, I'll not have you begin the new year on such a dark note."

Slipping her hand through the crook of the Colonel's arm, Melissa stepped between her mother and Morgan. "No, to greet a new year in the company of those jackals would be an omen of nothing but trouble." Taking Dan in with her smile, she added, "A new year should be greeted in the company of friends."

Morgan accepted a glass of champagne from the silver tray offered by a servant. "That is a sentiment with which I fully concur, Melissa. Being here with you, Dan, and your mother does indeed make this an auspicious beginning for the year. With your coming wedding, I can imagine nothing but a happy year as well."

Melissa shot a glance at her mother, and the Archon nodded. "You could do something to make it yet happier for me, Morgan Kell," Melissa said, looking up at him.

"For you, Melissa, anything. So what is it to be?"

Melissa glanced down, the lights flashing against the gold of her hair falling to her shoulders. "You were my father's cousin and his friend. I never saw him, at least not to remember, because he died six months after I was born." She reached out and squeezed her mother's forearm. "All I have of him are the holographs and some vids. But, for me, he's always lived in the stories you and Patrick told of him."

Melissa's voice trailed off. Morgan handed Dan his glass of champagne and enfolded Melissa in a hug. "He would have been proud of you, Melissa." He released the Archon-Designate from his embrace and smiled at her.

"What I want to know, Morgan, is whether you would give me away at the wedding."

Morgan's head snapped up as though he'd been punched by a 'Mech. He looked over at Katrina, then smiled as he read the expression on her face.

"Melissa Arthur Steiner, it would be the greatest honor of my life to represent your father at your wedding."

At that moment, the palace's tower clock began to ring with the first of twelve peals to announce the new year. The Archon lifted a glass of sparkling champagne to the three people standing with her on the dais. "May 3028 be filled with love, health, happiness, and . . ."

"Justice, Archon," Morgan added as he spotted Aldo Lestrade in the crowd. "Plenty of justice . . ."

17

New Aragon

Capellan March, Federated Suns

15 January 3028

Captain Andrew Redburn saluted smartly as the orderly closed the door behind him. The dark-haired officer standing behind the gray metal desk returned the salute, then smiled and offered his hand to Andrew. "Good to see you, Redburn." The officer indicated a steel chair beside Andrew. "Please be seated," he said politely, but was clearly uneasy.

Andrew smiled. "Thank you, Colonel Stone." Andrew lowered himself into the chair and noticed the frown that momentarily creased Stone's brow. I wonder what's bothering the old man?

Stone forced himself to smile easily. Shuffling some files on his blue blotter, the Colonel looked up at Redburn. "A few simple things to take care of first, Captain. I see we finally got your Leftenant Craon into the Bachelor Officers' Quarters here on the base."

Andrew nodded. "Craon moved his stuff in yesterday. Now all my junior officers are on base."

"Good." The Colonel flipped open a green evaluation file and grinned somewhat sourly as he read it over. "These are amazingly good scores for a company that arrived on planet barely a month ago, Redburn. You should be proud of your people."

There was no way they were going to do anything but their best in their first evaluation, Colonel."Yes, sir. The honor of being selected for a Davion House unit. . . well, the tradition really seems to bring out the best in my people." Especially because we come from the Capellan March and I'm the only person with an academy background. We've got something to prove—to you and to everyone else in this unit. We're not farmers from the March who think we 're supposed to be running hot AgroMechs around.

The Colonel nodded absently and flipped one page over. Peering up over the edge of the file, he looked at Andrew and chuckled. "Your Corporal Pay en Montdidier earned the regiment's highest rating with small arms. You should know that's irked our Jump Infantry Battalion."

Redburn smiled. No surprise there . . ."I'm certain the Corporal will be happy to hear that, sir." Andrew hesitated as Stone frowned. "About his ranking, I mean, sir."

Stone raised one eyebrow, then closed the file. He slid it to the side, leaving a stark white folder stamped with a red legend alone in the center of his desk. The Colonel looked at it uneasily, then clasped his hands together and leaned forward. His forearms all but obscured the folder.

"Before I get to this last item, Captain, I thought I'd discuss with you the purpose for attaching your company to the First 'Mech Battalion, as your company is organized at this time. While I am not totally in favor of it, the Prince wishes to try an experiment. You're it." The Colonel opened his hands and laid them palms down against the polished surface of his desk.

"First of all, we won't split up your group. With twenty-seven people, you have more than double the personnel normally found in a 'Mech company. That does not disturb us because your people have all trained together. Leaving an odd-sized unit together has worked well with the other training battalions."

Andrew nodded. So much easier to quarantine us . . .

The Colonel eased back, ignoring the white file. "The Prince wants to build your company into a close-assault unit. We've cobbled together a group of 'Mechs that we believe to be uniquely suited to our purposes. Mostly Valkyriesand Jenners,but we've added some Javelinsand Firestartersto round things out."

Andrew nodded slowly. "They're all jump-capable and are fairly fast."

The Colonel smiled. "Exactly. Your job will be to get in and get out quickly after inflicting as much damage as possible to your objective. The Valkyries,with their long-range missile launchers, will give you some distance weaponry, but I see that as a way to discourage pursuit."

"Or," Andrew offered, "a way to soften up a target as we go in." He frowned. "None of those 'Mechs have machine guns to deal with infantry ..."

The Colonel waved away Andrew's reservation. "The Fire-startersare enough to throw a scare into infantry."

Andrew conceded the point with a nod. "I understand, sir, I'm sure my people will gladly accept this challenging honor." His gaze flicked toward the folder. "Is there anything else, sir?"

With the reluctance of a doctor giving a patient bad news, Colonel Stone handed Andrew the white file. "I want you to understand, Captain, that this makes me uneasy. I know how much you valued your time serving with Major Allard. I was with the Fifth Davion Guards on Spica when Justin and Bill Dobson broke the siege on Valencia. Justin saved our butts and there wasn't a MechWarrior in the unit that wouldn't have given his life for Justin."