A scowl darkened Andrew's face, but Stone gave him no opportunity to speak. "People change, Captain. Something snapped inside Justin. I don't know if it was losing his arm or whether it was the trial or what—but he's not the same man we both knew ..."

Andrew shook his head angrily. "Why tell me this, sir? Are you afraid I'll embarrass the unit when some high official comes to visit?"

Stone stiffened at Andrew's accusation, then seemed to shrug it off. "I just want you to read this report in context, Captain." He pointed to the file. "Read it."

Andrew's mouth dried out like a riverbed in a drought. The scarlet legend stretching across the white folder looked like blood on snow and sent a shiver down Andrew's spine. Codeword Only!—Things don't come much more secure.Andrew opened the file with the enthusiasm of a man prying open the lid of a coffin.

He swallowed hard as he recognized the cover sheet's letterhead. Ml 7-Military Intelligence's liaison with the Ministry of Information, Intelligence, and Operations. Why do they have me reading this?Andrew glanced up at Colonel Stone, but his superior officer seemed to stare through him as though he were made of glass.

Andrew turned the page and his heart nearly stopped. He brushed his fingertips across each of the terrible words, wanting to rub them out, to destroy them and the reality they represented.

"RE: Maskirovka Operation on Kittery, 20 Nov 3027," he read. "Analysis.

"In reviewing the information recovered from the Maskirovka stronghold on Kittery, we have made the following discoveries and drawn the following conclusions:

"1) The operation used personnel last known to have been on Sian. All indig Maskirovka agents captured as a result of this operation have defined the assassination attempt as an operation set up and directed by the highest Maskirovka circles on Sian. All documentary evidence supports this claim.

"2) The operatives used were onplanet for two weeks before the assassination attempt. During this time, ample opportunity presented itself for attacks on ranking officers of the Davion Assault Guards, the Capellan Dragoons, and the Kittery Borderers. There were no apparent efforts made to attack the command structure for these units, despite what our investigation shows was poor security during this time period.

"3) During this same time period, the First Kittery Training Battalion was involved in its final testing and graduation program. To prevent the possibility or appearance of cheating, security surrounding this unit ran high at this time.

"4) Complete dossiers on each of the training battalion NCOs and officer candidates was recovered from the Maskirovka warehouse. The details contained in the dossier included information that has been described as 'intimate' and 'insightful.'

"Conclusion: This assassination attempt against the staff of the First Kittery Training Battalion was not a random act of terrorism. The information compiled and the operatives chosen for the mission were directed at one target, and one target only. Orders flowed from Sian with the blessings of the Maskirovka.

"It is our belief that the effort was directed specifically by Justin Xiang against his old command. Xiang is placed highly enough in the Maskirovka to be the source of all orders associated with this operation, and details revealed in the files are appropriate to the level of information he had as the unit's Commanding Officer. The attempt even took place at what was known to be Xiang's favorite restaurant in Shaoshan. Though this last point may well be a coincidence, it is inconceivable that Justin Xiang had no previous knowledge of this operation."

Andrew's hands trembled as he closed the file. Pale and shaking, he handed it back to Colonel Stone. "I... I don't know what to say." His head had begun to pound with each heartbeat. "I can't believe it."

Stone nodded sympathetically. "I know, Captain. I can hardly believe it myself." He glanced down at the folder and shrugged impotently. "The spooks generally know what they're talking about."

Andrew clenched his jaw to stop it from trembling. "Dammit, Colonel! It makes no sense! Why hit a training battalion's staff?"

Stone shook his head. "I don't know, Redburn. But you're absolutely right. It makes no sense." The Colonel tapped the file with a finger. "I think that's why they've put it down to a personal vendetta. I've seen vids of the trial, and I saw a holovid of Justin's last fight on Solaris. There's no love lost between him and the Prince."

Andrew shrugged. All that may be true, Colonel, but there's something wrong.He ground his teeth and balled his fists. No matter what anyone says, I know Justin didn't change—at least not in that way. Murder just isn't his style.

He glanced up at the Colonel. "I know I can't say anything about that report to my men. What should I do?"

Stone took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. "Just be careful, Redburn. Tell your men to stay alert. You're a lot safer here on New Aragon than you were on Kittery, but we don't want to give Justin Xiang a chance to succeed a second time where he has already failed once."

18

New Avalon

Crucis March, Federated Suns

14 February 3028

As sweat dripped from the tip of his nose, Hanse Davion adjusted his shooting glasses. Then he glanced to where Quintus Allard crouched by a pile of broken bricks, trying to catch his breath. The Prince pointed at the outline of a three-story building hidden in the gloom halfway down the street. He tightened his grip on the laser pistol, then held up three fingers of his left hand. Quintus nodded, and as the fingers curled into a fist, the spymaster spun from cover and dashed across the street.

A string of burning scarlet laserbolts stitched a pattern of destruction behind Quintus as the sniper on the roof sought vainly to track the dodging target. Pools of molten ferrocrete blazed in Quintus Allard's wake. Debris whistled through the air on waves of laser-born heat, but nothing stopped Quintus from reaching the safety of a small building.

Hanse rose to one knee and spotted the sniper in the backglow of the laser rifle's fire. I've got you now!he exulted, sighting down the pistol's barrel and squeezing the trigger twice. His laser bolts stabbed skyward and lanced explosively through the sniper's humanoid form.

Quintus Allard whirled and snapped off three fast shots, which sizzled through the air above Hanse's head. The Prince spun, smashing back flat against the half-wall that had covered him before, and saw two bolts burn into the casement below a window in the building behind him. The third bolt exploded brilliantly, revealing a haunting glimpse of a broken human form reeling back into the room.

An obnoxious buzzer roared over the ruins complex. Lights hidden in the roof came up like three dozen small suns to dispel the artificial night. Smiling broadly, Quintus crossed back to Hanse and offered the Prince his hand.

"Excellent shooting, my Prince." Quintus squinted back along Hanse's line of fire toward the robotic rooftop sniper. "Two hundred meters if a centimeter."

Hanse shook Quintus's hand, then glanced back over his own shoulder. "Well, Quintus, your marksmanship puts mine to shame. A shot through a window at a hundred meters while on the run? Why didn't we ever train you as a MechWarrior? With skill like that, I could leave the Capellan March to you and never have to worry."

Quintus shook his head, though the smile generated by the Prince's praise remained. "I'm afraid that I've slowed down, though, Highness. In the old days, I'd have hit with all three shots."