The Primus shook his head. "The same man did not kill all three?"

Jarlath shook his head. "From footprints at the scene, we estimate that there were at least two attackers, and quite possibly four to six more. From the angle of the bone break in the case of the Captain, we know his attacker was shorter than him."

Tiepolo waved his left hand at the pictures. "Images off." At his command, the pictures dissolved. "This disturbs me, Jarlath. Why was no alarm raised? Why weren't more ROM agents there to capture these individuals?"

Jarlath cleared his voice. "Primus, our ROM agents have been trained to operate as individuals because so many of their missions demand that they work alone. As you are aware, we recruit them from among some of the most notorious sociopaths in the known universe precisely becausethey do not quibble at possible violence and because few would be missed if they fail. We also encourage competition among them. I assume that this patrol did not call for help because they felt they could handle the situation."

Anger contorted the Primus's face. "They clearly did nothandle it."

Jarlath shook his head. "I would beg to differ with you, Primus. Though you accurately note we lost three people, we can detect no sign of a security breach. The vent grating was welded shut. In addition, I hasten to point out the information any uninvited visitor to our facility would bring out would certainly have caused quite a stir and a commotion by now."

The Primus exhaled slowly. Could we have been that fortunate?"Your point has merit." He narrowed his eyes. "You do realize, of course, that if any word of this gets out, you will be removed." I don't need Precentor Dieron in an uproar about this, too.

The ROM chief nodded courteously. "Our patrol found the bodies before dawn. We are reasonably certain that they had been in the water for under ten hours, so we assume that the only people outside ComStar who know of the murders are the culprits themselves."

A dull ache pulsed up from the Primus's neck into his brain. "Very well, keep this quiet. Report on it only to me."

Jarlath bowed. "As you direct, Primus."

Tiepolo ground his teeth. "And double security, Jarlath. With the Blessed Blake as my witness, I will have no more incidents like this to ruin the culmination of our plans ..."

32

ComStar First Circuit Compound

Hilton Head Island, North America, Terra

19 August 3028

Chu-saAkira Brahe bowed his head as he broke into the small circle of people at the Archon's reception. "Excuse me, please."

Riva's face brightened immediately. "Hello, Akira."

Akira smiled, despite the scowl on the face of Riva's brother. "Good evening, Miss Allard." Akira looked over toward where Colonels Wolf and Kell stood with Daniel Allard and Ardan Sortek. "Colonel Wolf . . . Colonel Kell? Tai-saYorinaga Kurita has asked to speak with you out on the balcony."

Dan Allard stiffened, but Morgan nodded easily. "Lead the way, Chu-sa."He handed Dan his mug of stout. "Watch this for me, please, Dan. Everything's fine."

Akira bowed his head again. "Please forgive my rudeness." He smiled at Ardan and the two Allards. "I will return them very soon."

The look on Riva's face told him he'd be welcome. He winked at her, then escorted the two mercenary leaders back through a glass doorway to the darkened balcony. He closed the door behind them, then looked toward the man gazing out at the ocean. His father looked so tired . . .

Yorinaga Kurita turned slowly from the railing. His face an impassive mask, he executed a deep, respectful bow. Moonlight washed his black silk kimono with silver highlights and the ocean breeze tugged at the ends of the sash, but somehow Yorinaga seemed beyond the effects of nature.

Akira watched with his heart in his throat. The honor he shows them is unnatural—as unnatural as their helping an enemy save his son.

The mercenaries imitated Yorinaga's gesture with equal care and precision. As all three men straightened up, no one smiled, but Akira felt that in that instant, the three men shared a unity and sense of well-being.

Yorinaga chose his words carefully. "I am indebted to you for Chu-saBrahe's life. His loss would have been a great blow."

Jaime Wolf nodded slowly. "You honored us by accepting our help."

Yorinaga received Wolf's remark with a graceful nod. "Do you know what he found in ComStar's heart?"

"We did not have time to explore ourselves, but we have an idea," said Morgan Kell. "One of the guards had a tattoo on his forehead that marked him as a former member of a band of Periphery pirates. Hiring a man like him means ComStar has something it desperately wants to hide."

Wolf smiled cynically. "Such as a storehouse of lostech."

Yorinaga invited Akira forward with a nod. "Tell them."

Akira looked apprehensively at the two mercenaries. These words should be for the Dragon's ears only, but my Father is right. These men have earned the right to hear.As he began to speak, his voice betrayed a slight nervous tremor. "Down inside the ComStar facility, I saw a warehouse of BattleMechs. From what little I could make out, all appeared to be in perfect condition. I saw no indication that they'd ever seen combat."

Something cold and dreadful flashed through Wolf's gray eyes. "Think back. Did you see any 'Mechs of the Hatchet-mandesign?"

Akira chewed his lower lip and closed his eyes. He summoned back the picture of all those many 'Mechs and searched through it for the unique model Wolf had inquired about. Opening his eyes, Akira shook his head. "I do not recall seeing that model, but I believe I understand the purpose of your inquiry. All the 'Mechs I saw seemed, from external appearances, to have been built along the lines of Star League originals."

Wolf's frown revealed his distrust of Akira's analysis, but the younger MechWarrior held his right hand up to forestall any comment. "Colonel, I know I do not have your vast experience, but I learned to pilot a 'Mech in the Alshain factory. Engineers used to regale us with stories about the original designs for the 'Mechs they worked on. It's true that their purpose was to show how their work had improved on the original design, but they taught me enough to make this report with certainty."

Morgan Kell stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Your answer, Chu-sa,gives us half the puzzle. It is possible that ComStar is sitting on a Star League armory. Colonel Wolf's question actually meant to discover if ComStar was manufacturing their 'Mechs, and if they were keeping current with post-Star League designs."

Akira shook his head. "I saw no assembly gantries, but then I only glimpsed a very small portion of what must be a very large facility." Remembering the shaft heading down beneath the ocean floor, he said, "Very large, indeed."

Wolf turned to Yorinaga. "Have you told the Dragon what your son has learned?"

Yorinaga hesitated before answering, and Akira winced at the pain in his father's eyes. The elder man brought up his head. "I hesitate to do so because of the reaction it might provoke. Given ComStar's pacifistic propaganda and despite the encounters last night, I believe it is possible that they keep these 'Mechs to prevent them from being used in war. Furthermore, any attempt to take the BattleMechs away from ComStar would be most troublesome."