"What is this?" Noton shouted laughingly. "Is this Valhalla, or is it a funeral home?"

Capet's head snapped up as if on a spring. He glared at Noton, then flushed as his gaze fell upon Justin. "You have gone too far, Noton, bringing that quisling scum in here!" Capet thrust an accusing finger at Justin Xiang. "There!" he shouted. "There is the Capellan traitor who killed Peter Armstrong. Look on him and see the face of a coward!"

"Coward!" Justin's denial exploded from him. He released Kym's hand and stalked forward. "Coward? No one in this room can call me that, least of all you, Capet." Justin laughed and looked around as the curtains over many alcoves fell back. "I see you have not shared the secrets of your past with those here."

Capet narrowed his eyes. "We have all seen the kind of liar and coward you are, Xiang. Vids of your trial played long and well here on Solaris. We heard how you abandoned your men to a Capellan ambush. Even your father admitted you were a spy. Why should anyone here believe anything you say?"

Justin nodded slowly. "Actions speak louder than words, Philip. When will you come after me?"

Capet hesitated, but no one noticed because Billy Wolfson shot to his feet. "He'll not get the chance, slant. You defeated me because you took Fuh Teng's place . . ."

"You mean, I put up a fight!" Justin spat out the words at Wolfson, who colored visibly. Both shared the knowledge of the fix, and Wolfson burned with the shame of having been so careless.

Wolfson slammed a fist into the table. "I will kill you, Xiang! Rig up your 'Mech any way you can. It makes no difference to me. I'll destroy you, no matter what!"

Justin nodded eagerly. "Done. Just don't be as stupid as Armstrong."

Wolfson glowered at Justin. "What?"

"Don't believe what Capet tells you is the mark of a man." Justin reached back and slipped his arm around Kym's waist as she came forward. Off to his left, Noton pulled aside the curtain of his alcove, and waved the MechWarrior and his lady into the private booth.

Kym slid onto the bench and moved toward the center of the lable. Gray took his place at the head of the table while Justin seated himself beside Kym. Noton touched a button and the wooden panel concealing the holovision screen slid up into the wall.

Noton waved at the screen. "Would you like to see a replay of your fight?"

Justin shook his head. "I've never enjoyed reviewing my performance. That goes double for those training tapes they loved to make at the Sakhara Academy."

Noton nodded understandingly. "I agree, though I maintain a complete library of battles here. If you ever want to review the fights of an upcoming foe, please feel free to use this booth."

That could be very useful.Justin nodded to his host. "Thank you, Gray."

The three of them looked up as the curtain slid back slowly. A servant smiled sheepishly, saying, "Just a second, folks, and I'll be gone." He turned away, then swung a silver wine caddy into the booth. Condensed moisture ran down the shining exterior, and ice brimmed up over the top. Protruding from the ice pack was the neck of a wine bottle.

The servant produced three glasses and set them on the table. He also handed Noton a small envelope. Noton slid a thumbnail beneath the flap and withdrew the card. He turned it over, then handed it to Justin. "It's in Capellan, which I can't read."

Justin accepted it wordlessly. When he had read it, he looked up with a smile. "It says, 'The honor of the House of Xiang rises like the sun. My compliments. Signed, Tsen Shang.' " Justin glanced over at Noton. "A friend of yours?"

Noton nodded. "One of my shrewder friends, Justin. I'll have to introduce you." He looked over at the server and nodded for him to pour.

The young man smiled. "I hope you realize this is from Palos. Not only is it the best Capella has to offer, it's the best in the Successor States. Mr. Shang had to ship this stuff in himself because we can't get it here." He stripped the lead foil from the cork and freed it of the wire cage. Carefully, he worked the cork loose, then covered the bottle with a cloth as he freed the cork with a muffled pop. The server poured for all three, then retreated silently.

Gray raised his glass. "To your skill and intelligence, Justin. May you live long here on Solaris, and get all that you desire."

Justin, abstaining from drinking to a toast in his honor, waited for his friends to lower their glasses. "To my two friends," he said, in turn raising his own glass. "May they help me to stay alive here on Solaris, and to get all that I desire." Justin drank, very much enjoying the piquant sweetness of the wine.

He looked up at Noton. "This Tsen Shang must be well connected. I recall someone on Spica offering three bottles of this vintage to ransom his damaged Valkyrie."

Noton smiled and set his empty glass down. "He's well connected, indeed. He even owns two heavy 'Mechs, though he lacks a pilot."

"Then we two should meet, don't you think?" Justin drained his glass. "After all, I'll be needing a heavy 'Mech if I'm to kill Philip Capet."

24

Solaris VII (The Game World)

Rahneshire, Lyran Commonwealth

20 March 3027

Darkness cloaked Kym Sorenson as she slipped out from under the thick coverlet. Rearranging the bedcovers, she bent down and drew the quilt up around Justin's shoulders, then knelt to kiss him lightly on the forehead. "Sleep well, lover. I'll be back soon." A quick glance at the empty glass on his bedside table told her he'd not notice her absence.

Despite her confidence in the depth of Justin's drugged sleep, Kym gathered up her clothing and carried it outside their room to dress. Over the garments she'd worn to the fight and to Valhalla, she pulled on a heavy coat and then tucked her golden hair up into a wide-brimmed hat.

Kym flipped up the collar of her coat against the wet, rainy wind as she left the villa and crossed to the Hurricane. At a touch, the door swung up and Kym slipped into the driver's seat. The door descended and locked tight as she tapped the ignition code out onto the dashboard's number pad. The engine hummed to life, and the Hurricane rose up on a cushion of air.

The lights of Solaris City sparkled like raindrops on a spider-web of streets as Kym guided the Hurricane down from the hills of the Davion sector, known locally as the Black Hills. She steered the vehicle onto Bunyan Road, then brought it to a halt before a moderately well-kept apartment tower.

She hurried from her aircar to the glassed-in vestibule, where she pressed one particular button twice, waited for a three-count, and then pressed it four more times. While waiting for the tenant to open the door, she looked around anxiously but saw no one else in the outer darkness. With a rasp like that of an angry beast, a buzzer sounded, but stopped abruptly as Kym yanked open the door. She darted inside the building, but went no further until she was sure the door had clicked shut behind her.

Instead of going to the lobby elevator, Kym turned to the fire door on her right. She opened it and stepped cautiously into a long, dimly lit corridor. Passing quickly through it, she reached the apartment building's rear exit. From there, she slipped out into the dark alley behind the building.

Kym hurried on through the night until she reached an avenue named Twain Street. Stepping out from the alley onto the street, she resumed a relaxed pace. Strolling past a restaurant, she paused as if making an impulsive decision, glanced at the holovid menu display, then went in.