Lestrade shook his head slowly. "True enough, but what is one battalion in a holding as vast as the Isle of Skye? Besides, that raid is the exception that proves the rule. You soldiers think of worlds as squares on a chessboard, and your 'Mech units as the pieces on that board. To you warriors, especially when not engaged in a line unit, the squares on the board are empty."

Lestrade nodded toward Duke Steiner. "Those commanding line units, on the other hand, realize that each world has a life of its own. Though a raid may not result in the loss of a planet, it always generates hardship for the inhabitants. That perspective is easily lost when you only view the situation on a strategic level."

Ardan laughed. He relished the anger in Steiner's eyes, and the shock filling Lestrade's face. "I am amazed at how like my Prince you sound, Duke Lestrade. This lack of feeling for a world's natives is exactly why he suggested—and the Archon accepted—^ my visit. I will see the places where men have fought, and I will meet the natives. Through further exchanges and stronger ties between our two nations, we will address the very issue you raise."

Though reluctant to leave Steiner and Lestrade as they writhed over his favorable comparison of their views and those of Hanse Davion, Ardan excused himself. He returned to the dais and laid a hand on Redburn's shoulder. His arrival prompted Baron Sefnes to withdraw quickly, and Redburn was finally able to unknot his lists.

Melissa smiled. "Ardan, you're a cross to a vampire."

"Salt to a slug, more like," Redburn grumbled. "So help me, Colonel, if you'd not arrived, I'd have punched his eject button! Blake's Blood, he's as bad as Vitios!"

Ardan shook his head and snorted. "No one is that bad, Andrew."

Redburn nodded sheepishly. "I guess not."

Melissa reached out and brought a fourth person into their circle. "This is Misha Auburn," she said. "Thelos Auburn's daughter and my best friend. Misha, this is Ardan Sortek and Leftenant Andrew Redburn." Melissa hooked her left arm through Ardan's right. "You men are far too handsome to be locked away here in political discussions. Let's go to the ballroom and dance."

A quick glance from Ardan told Redburn that there was no appeal of the sentence, and so he offered Misha his right arm. He smiled as she deftly slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow. "I pray, Miss Auburn, that you are either an able instructor or that your feet will move swiftly from beneath mine."

The dark-haired young woman laughed throatily, and a mischievous glint illuminated her brown yes. She brought her right hand to rest on Andrew's right forearm as they walked down the wide corridor behind Ardan and Melissa. "And I pray, Leftenant, that you have the MechWarrior's legendary agility so that you may avoid stepping on my feet. I fear this gown was not created with an eye toward swift movement."

Andrew chuckled lightly. Misha's black-sequined gown covered her slender body from floor to throat and from neck to wrists like a snake-skin. Slits up the sides extended only as far as her knees, but he could not see that the dress hampered her movement any. "Forgive me, Miss Auburn, but you move as if born in that gown. And please, call me Andrew."

She gave his arm a slight squeeze. "And I am Misha, Andrew." She turned and smiled at him. "Let me suggest that if we survive each other's skill at the dance, we should enjoy the winter sports here in Tharkad tomorrow. That is, if you have nothing else planned."

Andrew nodded his head and guided Misha into the darkened ballroom. Splashed against the domed ceiling, stars twinkled in the exact pattern they would have taken had the roof been glass and the blizzard a memory. The orchestra filled the room with sensuous music, but the song had enough intensity for both the younger and the older listeners. Its tempo even infected Andrew, who seemed able to follow Misha's instructions with ease.

Out of the corner of his eye, Andrew saw Ardan and Melissa dancing, too. He could not hear what they were saying, but the smiles on their faces and the laughter in their bodies revealed the lightness of the conversation. He nodded to Misha, then gestured with a tilt of the head at their two friends. "It's good to see the Colonel enjoying himself."

Misha smiled. "Melissa nursed him back to health after his trauma on Stein's Folly. They became very close. She has been looking forward eagerly to this visit."

As the music slowed and faded around them, Misha and Andrew retreated to the edge of the dance floor. "You dance very well, Andrew," she said.

"Ah yes," he told her. "We may attribute that to the superior skill and grace of my teacher." Misha took the glass of champagne that Andrew offered her from the bar and touched it to his glass.

"To great combinations," she said.

27

Tharkad

District of Donegal, Lyran Commonwealth

11 April 3027

"Good afternoon, Misha .. . Andrew." Ardan strode into the living room of Redburn's suite, stopping to warm his hands before the fire blazing like a nova in the fireplace. "I trust your skiing went well?"

Redburn nodded and set his brandy snifter down on the low table before him. "Yes, sir."

Ardan smiled at Misha. "I trust, Misha, that you worked the Leftenant hard and that he did nothing to dishonor the Federated Suns?"

Gracefully uncoiling herself from the sofa, Misha shook her head. "He learns quickly, Colonel, and did very well." She reached down and squeezed Redburn's hand. "If you leave him here on Tharkad, I'm sure he'd pick up enough within two weeks to teach those Federated Suns Mountain Troops whatever they need to know."

Ardan nodded slowly. "Indeed." He looked at Redburn. "I'm afraid that duty now calls, Leftenant." Misha made to get up, but Ardan waved her back. "No, Misha. Please stay. I'll only steal him for a little while. He'll return within the hour."

Redburn seconded Ardan's invitation with a hopeful smile, and Misha nodded. He stood up slowly and stiffly, then looked at Ardan. "Should I change first?" Wearing a thick pullover, blue corduroy knickers, and thick wool stockings, he looked far too casual beside Ardan's neatly pressed blue uniform.

"No, Andrew, that will not be necessary." Ardan turned and walked from the room. Redburn caught up with him in the corridor, but neither man spoke. Their silence continued unbroken until they'd entered a small, nearly featureless room and Simon Johnson closed the door behind them.

Johnson stood while the two Federated Suns officers sat in the gray iron chairs. He narrowed his black eyes and addressed himself to Ardan. "How much does he know?"

Redburn felt a sinister thrill as Ardan answered. "He has not been briefed."

"Very well." Johnson dragged a chair around before him, but seated himself on it with his chest against its back. "I will keep this simple, Leftenant. I could have let you read a file, but you would probably find all the details boring. As you are aware, Leftenant, the more you know, the more you might reveal."

The Chancellor of the Lyran Intelligence Corps exhaled, then watched Redburn for a moment before beginning to speak. "Five years ago, in 3022, Hanse Davion and Archon Katrina Steiner signed an agreement on Terra. Your visit is but one of the exchanges made possible by that treaty. For example, I believe that two Lyran Commonwealth students entered the Warriors Hall in your final year there."