Noton smiled quizzically. "I have not lost all my ability, but I bow to one of your skill. You turned the Hermeswith that flight of missiles. Not many fighters here on Solaris would waste munitions that way."

Justin smiled. "Ascribe it to the bad habits I picked up during Operation Galahad, those military exercises that Prince Davion put his troops through last year. He is generous with missiles, and as a battalion commander, I had to find new and interesting ways to use them."

Noton smiled warily. "I believe that Solaris is not at all prepared for you, Justin Xiang."

Justin laughed and offered Kym his left arm. "Shall we?" Justin pointed toward the bar. "I'm definitely in the mood for drink."

* * *

Kym Sorenson reached out and stabbed the glowing blue button on her Hurricane's dashboard. The passenger-side gullwing door descended on a whisper and shut out the cold, moist air. She closed her eyes and leaned back in the driver's seat. The gentle vibration of the aircar relaxed her.

Her index finger punched a number into the car's phone. She heard the chittering hum of a dial tone, then the piercing wail of a computer carrier before the phone muted the sharp sound. She punched in several more numbers, then picked up the receiver and spoke only one word, "Contact."

Putting the phone down, Kym watched raindrops splash across the Hurricane's windscreen. A shadow flashed in front of the vehicle, and she opened the passenger door in response to Justin's light knock. The Capellan MechWarrior slid into the thickly padded leather seat and tossed his bag into the small storage area behind Kym's seat. He started to open his mouth, but Kym pressed the fingers of her right hand to his lips.

"I don't know why I'm doing this, either, Justin. Suffice it to say that I'm very attracted to you." She glanced back over her shoulder at the garish red and yellow phosphoron facade of the Morpheus Hotel. "I will not have you stay in that place. Need you more of an explanation?"

Justin kissed her fingers and shook his head.

20

Pacifica (Chara III)

Isle of Skye, Lyran Commonwealth

1 March 3027

Nicholas Jones cleared his throat nervously. "I don't think this is going to work, sir."

Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Kell shifted his gaze from the dignitaries alighting from the Lyran DropShip and looked at the sergeant. "Mr. Jones, don't tell me you're anxious about how Joss will react?" Get any paler and I'll send for a medic.

Jones stammered. "W-well, sir, I am close to retirement, and I am still part of the Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces, even though I've been assigned to your command. I don't want any problems, if you know what I mean."

Patrick's chuckle did little to hearten the enlisted man. "Don't worry, Nick. I doubt she'll even notice your uniform. Now back in line. They're here."

Patrick Kell stepped forward with a smile and extended a hand to Hauptmann-General Sarah Joss. "Welcome to Pacifica, Hauptmann-General. As always, the Kell Hounds are honored by your visit."

The Lyran officer, her long blond hair glittering with highlights from the dying sun, frowned. She looked beyond Kell at the collection of Techs and astechs in the Kell Hound unit dress uniforms. "I hope you have an explanation, Lieutenant Colonel, because I do not find this amusing at all."

Kell winked at her and cleared his throat to cover the sound of

Jones's stricken gasp, then turned to the man following behind her. "Colonel Sortek, how very good to see you again. Shall I introduce you to my staff?"

Pacifica's growing breeze drove dust along the ferrocrete of the spaceport and tousled Sortek's brown hair. He squinted and looked closely at the men and women standing with Kell. "They've changed since I last saw them, haven't they, Patrick?" Sortek offered Kell his hand and the two MechWarriors shook hands heartily.

Sortek immediately turned and brought Leftenant Redburn forward. "Patrick Kell, meet Leftenant Andrew Redburn."

Kell smiled warmly. "Welcome to Pacifica, Leftenant."

Redburn nodded and shook Kell's extended hand. "Thank you, Colonel."

Kell laughed. "Call me Patrick." He turned back to Hauptmann-General Joss. "Please don't look at me that way, General. I'm not doing this to embarrass you before these distinguished guests, despite the fact that the Kell Hounds hate duty here." Joss opened her mouth to protest, but Kell cut her off with a friendly laugh. "No. We've something more diabolical planned."

Kell turned to Nick Jones. "Captain Allard, please conduct the troops inside before a storm starts blowing." He nodded to the woman wearing Major Ward's uniform. "Mare, would you be so kind as to ask Major O'Cieran's jump troopers to roust the last radio outlet to see if it's reported the bait is down?"

She nodded and spoke into the radio microphone clipped near her left shoulder. Kell turned to his guests. "Smile, my friends, because the Kurita insurgents want to make sure you have a pleasant visit. We've jammed their audio pickups, but there'll be someone watching with binoculars to confirm your identities."

Joss frowned. "What did you mean by calling us bait?"

Kell laughed. "Kurita has had elements of the 2nd Sword of Light orbiting Chara IV for the past two weeks."

The expression on Joss's face darkened like the stormy Pacifica sky. "We scanned nothing from the nadir jump point."

Kell led his guests across the ferrocrete toward the 'Mech bays. "And you wouldn't, General, because they took care against that. The problem is that they did not take Captain Janos Vandermeer into account."

Sortek laughed. "Is that old pirate still in charge of the Cucamu-luslI though he'd be dead by now."

Kell shook his head. "He's too mean to die." At the blank stares of both Joss and Redburn, he quickly explained. "Vandermeer, over the years, has collected an enormous amount of information about alternate jump points. Most JumpShip captains use the zenith or nadir points of the system sun's gravity well to jump in and out of a system because that's where it's easiest to recharge the Keamy-Fuchida drives. But a safe jump point merely needs to be sufficiently distant from any object of mass in a system. Many of the early Star League captains used to bring in their ships much closer to a system's planets to save the DropShips time traveling to and from the planet."

Joss's grin lit her pretty face. "Vandermeer has the Cucamulusin a position where he spotted the Kurita vessels?"

Kell nodded. "That's a confirmed kill, General. The second your JumpShip appeared in system, Janos reported Kurita preparations." Kell looked at his watch. "Their DropShips are scheduled to land in three hours." He looked up at Sortek. "So, Colonel, did they ship you out on this tour just to look, or did your Prince give you a toy to play with?"

"What?"

Kell stepped into the 'Mech bay, and the three visitors stopped just inside the doorway. Kell waved his hand at the empty hangar. "The Kell Hounds own half the Kurita spies on Pacifica. We know the ETA, landing sites, and troop strengths for two of the three DropShips. As you can see, my hounds are out waiting for our visitors." Kell hid the situation's grim seriousness behind a smile. "Would you like to join us?"

Sortek laughed, but turned to Hauptmann-General Joss. "What do you think, General?"