"I see, Primus," Myndo said, head cocked to one side in thought. "The forces do balance. The elements needed to control Davion and Steiner are in place. If those two realms were not headed up by such dynamic leaders, the threat they pose would be minimized. But how can we trigger the necessary internal and external forces? What could set them in motion?"

Tiepolo allowed himself a mirthless smile. "Each and every Successor Lord—Takashi Kurita, Janos Marik, Maximilian Liao, Katrina Steiner, and Hanse Davion—dreams of being the one to establish and reign over a new Star League. Each has an equal claim to that throne, but the marriage of Hanse Davion to Melissa Steiner will change that stand-off of forces. Suddenly, one House will have a stronger claim to the old throne of the Star League. Until the wedding, we will guard the knowledge of that most secret clause of this treaty, but we will not hesitate to use it in laying our own secret plans . .."

BOOK 1

1

Kittery

Capellan March, Federated Suns

27 November 3026

The loud knock on the plasteel door of Major Justin Allard's office shattered the quiet tranquility he'd been savoring. The slender, dark-haired MechWarrior drew in a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. As he rose from behind his teakwood desk, he straightened his jacket and tried to compose himself.

I hate this part of battalion command. Do well in combat, get a medal pinned to your chest, and they give you a job spending most of your time with discipline or supply problems.Justin shook his head and frowned at the three piles of paper on his desk. They need an accountant to handle all this nonsense. Then again,he thought, this particular problem probably did require a Mech-Warrior's touch.

"Enter," he said finally.

A faceless MP opened the door, and Private Robert Craon stepped into the room. The MP waited expectantly at the door because the tall, thickly built Craon towered over Allard. The smaller officer narrowed his almond-shaped eyes and gave a short shake of his head to dismiss the MP. The guard shrugged and closed the door.

"Private Robert Craon reporting for disciplinary action, sir." The younger man's voice, though shot through with nervousness, rang loud and strong. As his gaze flicked around the office, he seemed to recoil in disgust at the sight of the Capellan rice-paper paintings that formed the backdrop for Major Allard's desk.

Justin nodded formally. "At ease, Private." He kept his voice calm, trying to filter out as much anger as possible. When Craon went from standing at attention to a careless slouch, Allard could not help but snap, "I said at ease, Private, not fall apart!"

Craon swallowed and straightened up crisply. "I'm sorry, sir." Justin snorted and seated himself. "I doubt that, Robert." He quickly typed something on the keyboard at his desk, and bars of light drifted up over his features as information scrolled onto the screen. Justin shook his head once, then looked up. "I want you to understand a couple of things, Robert, and they're matters I expect to go no further than this office. Is that understood?"

Craon nodded solemnly, and the look of sincerity on his face caught Justin by surprise. Perhaps I can trust him, after all.. .

Justin glanced at the screen, then stopped the information flow with an almost casual movement of one long finger. "I want you to know that you're subject to this disciplinary action because of your insubordination, notbecause of your particular actions at the time of the incident." Looking up at Craon, he added, "I don't care that you called me a .. . Ah, how did you put it?"

A smirk twisted the corners of Craon's mouth, and Justin felt his own anger leap up like a solar flare. "I believe that I called you the half-wit whelp of a Capellan whore forced upon a Davion noble to prevent a war."

Justin studied the computer screen again and nodded. "Almost word for word. You must have practiced." Since your early years, no doubt. Let's hope your racism has not warped your reason.Craon beamed triumphantly. "I aim to be accurate.”

“I did not ask for a comment, Private!" Justin snarled. He rose slowly and deliberately. As the two men stared at one another in that instant, both knew that physical size meant nothing in the battle between them. "I don't care that you hate me because my father's first wife was a Capellan whom he met while serving in the Federated Suns embassy on Sian. What you regard as an error in judgement belongs to my father, not me. Your bigoted opinion of me is notthe reason you will be disciplined."

Justin angrily twisted the screen on his computer to where Craon could see it. "The report indicates that you disobeyed Leftenant Redburn's direct order to return to your watchpost. The report does not mention the altercation that erupted after that, but I assume Leftenant Redburn had his own reasons for not including it."

Craon swallowed again and looked down. He shifted his jaw from side to side and winced as it popped. "Yes, sir."

Justin's stiff posture relaxed slightly. "Believe me, Robert, when I say that I understand your resentment of my dismissing Sergeant Philip Capet. I know he was assigned to your training company after he guided you all through boot camp. I know he's a legend here in the Capellan March. And I know how you all looked up to him."

Craon's head came up fast, color flooding his cheeks. He hesitated a second, then his blond eyebrows narrowed in anger. "He was the goddamn best, Major, and you kicked him out for disagreeing with your policies toward the indigs. He offered to go man-to-man with you, to fight it out, but you just gave him his walking papers. Damn! He won the Gold Sunburst for his actions on Uravan. He wasted bunches of Liao 'Mechs and gave his boys time to get themselves and their wounded comrades out of that ambush. He was a hero, and you spit him out of the corps without a second thought!"

Having spent his long-pent fury, Craon now seemed at a loss for words. His hands, clenched tightly into fists, rose as though to strike, but he made no move toward Justin.

Give him time to recover his wits,Justin thought. He can be salvaged.Justin waited silently for the emotion to drain from Craon's body, then he spoke slowly and evenly, measuring his words. "I know what Capet was to you men and of the dreams you all shared. You were to become his new unit to avenge the other boys lost in battle. With you, he would win new awards and would once again become a symbol, a hero, for the Capellan March. With you to lift him up, he would once again dine at Duke Michael Hasek-Davion's right hand."

Justin seated himself again and typed out a new request for information on the keyboard. The computer searched for a moment, then spilled reams of data over the screen. "What you don't know, Robert, is that Capet's men, the ones he saved on Uravan, should never have been in danger in the first place." Craon opened his mouth to protest, but Justin raised a hand to silence him.

"Yes, Robert, a Capellan company did ambush them, but they were ambushed because Sergeant Capet led them into an area where he had no authorization to be. Capet's family lived and, regrettably, died in the village he tried to rescue. His family might still have died in that Liao raid, but if Capet had kept his head about him, a half-dozen MechWarriors would nothave perished with them."