Shaas plan encapsulated all a Clan Sea Fox merchant aspired to accomplish. To be. A hundred generations of teaching and refinement led to this. The sheer genius of it all simply took the breath away.
Yet, ultimately, it was traitorous. Destructive. The breaking of what made Clan Sea Foxa Sea Fox.
As the feed clicked off and the machine autoterminated its power, Petr slowly turned toward saKhan Sennet; for just an instant, the back of his neck itched, as though he waited to feel a hand descending in a strike to send him into ultimate oblivion.
Horror illuminated Mikel Sennetas features in harsh lines. Petr let out a breath he had held unknowing. Though Fox Clansmen, as with any merchants, knew when to hide their hand, Petr did not think such emotion feigned. It was too primal; Sennet was truly stricken.
Eyes locked onto Petras like laser-guided landing lights. In those depths, the stunned disbelief read like a holofax in fifty-point type, able to be read from across the room. The man actually staggered slightly, tried to right himself and managed to unlatch himself from the floor. He swept his arms and legs back and forth futilely; a clumsiness embarra.s.sing under any other circ.u.mstances went unremarked as his brain consumed what head just seen, unable to devote energy to fine motor control.
After a pregnant pause, full of strained anger and incredulity, Petr broke the silence. aMy saKhan,a he began, as formal an address as he ever gave Khan Sennet, athere can be only one course of action. We must find the Khan. We must mobilize the fleet we have at hand and begin to move from system to system along the path he is likely to take.a Licking his lips, Sennet began to nod slowly: a child coming out of the darkness with the realization he can turn on the light. He can act.
Petr felt like pushing forward, yet realized he might go too far too fast. He must allow Sennet to come to grips with this. To see the urgency himself and make a decision.
After what felt an eternity, Sennet responded, aAff. Yes. We must move to protect the Khan.a Regaining his feet, he mastered himself, bringing his emotions under control and superimposing the ubiquitous Fox merchant caste mask.
aAnd what of Sha?a he asked, his voice once more as hard as a ferrous-nickel Gauss round, with eyes to match.
Petras eyes mirrored the savagery; his voice was a sentence of annihilation. aOne Scout JumpShip. My personal Trinary.
aLeave him to me.a
28.
Stewart DropPort, New Edinburgh Lothian, Stewart Prefecture VII, The Republic 24 September 3134 Anew world. New possibilities.
ovKhan Sha Clarke felt more confident than he had in days. Gazing out from the top of the off-loading ramp of the grounded DropShip Breaker of Waves, he could see the cityscape spread out before him, moving away from the DropPort into the distance: a surrealistic matte painting.
A twisting skein of metal, ferrocrete and high-strength polymers: man-made stalagmites rupturing the planetas crust; spreading scintillating, serrated bones to the lapis lazuli sphere swathing Stewart.
In his years as a trader, Sha had beheld many cityscape vistas. Many that eclipsed New Edinburgh in size, or height, or population, or any number of parameters. But the jagged, strange design of the cityas largest buildings and its odd, twisting streets, set against such a magnificent dome of a sky, with literally not a single puff of white to pull at the eye (a stravag relief after the endless cloud cover of Adhafera), gestalted into a striking beauty all its own.
A light breezea"a touch harsha"carrying the dry aroma of desert sage and the ubiquitous reek of petrochemicals found in any city in the human sphere, caressed his nostrils.
Familiar, yet alien. Comforting.
Yes. This must be a sign. A change. A move to the future. Here deals would once again be quickly struck. Here his plan would reach fruition. Here mistakes could be put at a distance. Forgotten.
No, never forgotten: you learned from your mistakes. No, they could be put into aperspective.
aovKhan,a Coleen said, coming to a stop slightly behind him.
He did not respond immediately, still drinking in the sights and aromas like a man deprived of sensation.
Finally, forever-cool eyes swiveled to take her in, his voice a chill wind in counterpoint to the warmth of the breeze. aAny news?a aFrom the planet, ovKhan?a She had always avoided using his first name, but after Sha had learned her secret, Coleen retreated completely from him, wrapping formality around her like armor.
If that is what she must do in order to not fail, then so be it.
aNeg. I already reviewed all three messages from Earl Stewart, as well as one terse message from the legate. Other news.a aAff, there is news.a He waited, but she held her peace for several long seconds. She still attempts to kick against the manacles. His eyes narrowed.
Petty. Perhaps he would have to deal with her after all. A pity.
Finally, she responded, aWe picked up a transmission that was broadcast into the clear by a tramp freighter that jumped in-system a few hours ago. They came from the Adhafera system.a aThe ship that precipitated our Trial of Possession?a aI do not know, but it is conceivable.a aIt does not matter.a He looked away and shifted his stance, feeling the solid thud of his boots against the metal decka"the pull of a large gravity well. aThe transmission.a aWhat by their description can only be an ArcShip jumped in-system at Adhafera, where a collision nearly occurred. The Delta Aimag DropShips burned toward the jump point with undue haste after our departure. They were in the process of maneuvering to jump when the ArcShip arrived.a aAn accident.a aAff. It is difficult to discern from their barbaric descriptions, but it would seem the Voidjumper managed to escape serious damage to all but one of its DropShip communities.a aIs that so?a They could have been discussing the price of beef, or the transfer of personnel between ships, instead of the potential death of tens of thousands of Sea Fox personnel.
The death of ovKhan Kalasa.
Gazing into the sky, searching to pinpoint the location where the Adhafera jump point would be visible from his position were it night, Sha could not help the sigh that escaped his lips, a small, soft decompression of resignation.
A loss to the Khanate, but it might have been best in the end.
He swiveled back. aAnd?a He could tell she held back more.
aShortly thereafter, a frenzy of DropShip transfers took place between the waiting JumpShips and CargoShips, then a spasm of jumping. The Voidjumper, despite her damage, jumped.a She paused a moment, swallowed.
Afraid to say it? He knew her next words.
aBefore the tramp freighter jumped, all that remained were the ArcShip and a Scouta"cla.s.s JumpShip.a She finally turned toward him and several seconds pa.s.sed as unasked questions fired like synapses, quick, decisive, angry.
His turn to hold out, despite the obvious question burning her lips; she grew visibly agitated. Finally broke the silence, though to her credit she kept her tone level.
aYou know what this means, quiaff?a aPerhaps.a She tried to stare him down for such a response, but could not. She blinked, spoke. aAff, ovKhan. Aff. You know what this means. They know. They have discovered the plan and are scrambling even now.a He shrugged lightly, dismissed all of Kalasaas efforts in one brief muscular twitch. aWe cannot undo what has been written. Only deal with what might be, or what is coming. I am still not convinced they have the whole plan.a For once, however, Sha did not even believe himself. Such activity rarely occurred and after their own quick departurea No, it did not bode well.
aAnd if they come here?a aThen they come.a She closed her eyes momentarily, as though marshaling strength to forge ahead. Spoke again without even opening them. aThey will fight us.a She did not see the look of disgust that washed his features.
aWe have fought them before,a he replied, abruptly moving down the ramp as though that ended the discussion.
aovKhan,a Coleen called out, her voice rising. Ma.s.sive vibrations ran through the ramp, sending shocks up into his groin and standing the hair on his neck on end; for an instant he imagined them coming from the tread of Coleen. From the questions she would not give up. From Kalasaas footsteps, thudding through the cosmos, looking for him.
He squinted, angry at such fantasies, and continued down the ramp. He heard the servo whine of the first aMech unlimbering in preparation for patrol duty around the grounded DropShip fleet.
aovKhan,a Coleen said again, her voice urgent. She pulled abreast just as they reached the hard tarmac of the s.p.a.ceport and kept pace with Sha, who was walking briskly toward the command vehicle, debarked almost as soon as the fusion drives were extinguished. aThey will fight and this time will be different. This will not be a Trial of Possession or Grievance or even a Ritual of Combat. They know and they will come to annihilate. A Trial of Annihilation!a Fear coated the word with desperation.
He stopped abruptly, rounded on her and raised his voice fractionallya"the equivalent of a shout for anyone else. aThena wea fight.a She stopped as though poleaxed by a aMech fist, her mouth dropping open, eyes wide, wild.
Sha hardened his gaze until he could have carved his words into lamellar ferro-carbide armor, his voice a tornado to shred any resistance. aI have told you, what we do comes with risk. Great risk. And if they come to fight, then so be it. I have bested Petr and will do so again. In the end,a he finished, unable to refrain, ayou are Clan. A battle should be relished, quiaff?a aBut they will come with overwhelming force,a she managed to mewl. He didnat expect a real answer, but Sha felt disappointed despite his expectations. Her fear diminished her ability to think. Dangerous in one who knew so much.
aNo, they will not. The Scout ship is for us. The rest will be hunting for the Khan, trying to stop the inevitable. No, Petr will come alone, and with a smaller force than what we wield.a He slowed his breathing, brought his emotions back under control, leashed his blue eyes and the power of his personality. Coleen sagged after the onslaught, as though an arm pinning her in place had been jerked away.
aIf you think clearly for a moment, you will remember that any merchant worth his salt has plans within plans. My cards have not yet all been revealed.a She looked up at that, and then turned as a technician rushed toward them from the command vehicle.
Sha turned to follow her gaze, and frowned at the unseemly haste. Petr could not be here this quickly. What else could be happening? Nothing that required such a state of frenzy. Sha was on the verge of opening his mouth for a reprimand, but the manas words robbed him of any such desire.
aovKhan, DropShips inbound as we speak, orbital insertion already begun.a aWhat!a aWe have multiple contacts, verified. Coc.o.o.ns already in interface, with numerous DropShips in stages of descent.a aI told you,a Coleen said vehemently, the note of victory in her voice warring extravagantly with her panic.
He hardly heard, concentrating on the hard copy the breathless tech thrust into his hand.
aHow were they undetected?a aWe do not know, ovKhan. A pirate point. Disguised as local traffic. Either might explain it. A tap on the legateas channel confirms agitated voices; we have not yet broken their encryption, though one would a.s.sume they are as surprised as we.a Perhaps he had truly underestimated Petr after all.
The words seemed to echo in Shaas brain, reminding him too much of his flight of fancy a moment ago. Frost practically cracked his lips as he smiled cruelly, suddenly relishing the fight to come. He did not notice the tech blanch at the killeras look that filled his eyes.
Let Petr come!
29.
The Republic 24 September 3134 Askein wove slowly, intricately through the starsa"a net to capture the elusive prize.
Starting at Adhafera, the first strands jumped to the Savannah system, where those ships with lithium-fusion batteries immediately jumped again to the Bordon system; a lone ship jumped to the Dieudonne system, where rumor said a lone Sea Fox JumpShip held station.
Those that did not immediately rejump unfurled kilometer-wide sails and began to drink in the universeas life energy. Yet they could not wait the one hundred seventy-three hours for a standard recharge. Instead, tight-lipped commands were issued. Nervous technician castemen ma.s.saged controls; sweat-slicked palms eased safety parameters. The onboard fusion reactors spiked as the energy draw siphoned off into the Kearny-Fuchida hyperdrive. Each ship sought to shave some sixty percent off the normal charge times, but the forced quick charge might be catastrophic. A drive damaged by the force-feeding of such mammoth energies might blow during jump initiation or discharge violently upon arrival; either would strand a JumpShip for long weeks, if not months (averted eyes spoke volumes of the simple disappearance into hypers.p.a.ce such measures might precipitate).
The skein continued to grow as sister ships met in transit were immediately tasked with the great hunt. Tendrils stretching out blindly, hunting, covering every possible location, avoiding the thought of a dead system jump.
The horrific beauty of the Castor trinary system, with its mammoth red giant and its evilly, brilliantly white twin sisters.
Blazing-hot Zosma, with its spa.r.s.e system and monthlong intrasystem travel to a habitable planet.
The Dubhe binary: a cool orange giant and its lonely, pale yellow main sequence companion, orbiting a scant twenty-three AU.
Each system felt the pinp.r.i.c.k of quantum mechanics and human ingenuity shred reality for a strained heartbeat, before the materialization of a JumpShip, the infinitesimal alteration in each systemas solar winds as sails rapidly deployed.
Each future day sluicing into todayas frothing rapids, flowing into the flatlands of the past and soon to be history saw Sea Fox JumpShips. .h.i.tting additional systems.
A web interconnecting each world in a frenzy of need.
Birthed on Adhafera, it grew into an unfolding weave that flowed into an ever-widening cone, moving through most of Prefecture VII, into the interior of Prefecture VIII and sweeping relentlessly into Prefecture X.
The ilKhanate had to be found, the ilArcShip located.
The Khan saved.
30.
Clan Sea Fox DropShip Ocean of Stars Near Orbit, Stewart Prefecture VII, The Republic 26 September 3134 aWhy again are we holding station?a Jesup asked; the strain in his voice transmitted as a shout, yet Petr did not look up.
Jesup stood restlessly across from Petr in the main cargo hold of the converted Overlord-C DropShip. Originally designed to carry an entire Cl.u.s.ter of aMechs (Petr shivered to contemplate such a force of BattleMechs at his disposal), it now transported mostly cargo, with only a mixed Trinary of units lefta"a skeleton compared to the glory of years gone by.
Petr ignored Jesup for the momenta"the echoes of focused activity as that small military force readied for action falling away as wella"and continued studying the small holographic table between them.
Tapping the controls lightly, Petr zoomed through several regions of Stewart, what they were able to tap from the satellite comms. Enough to show the wicked battle raging in at least two different areas around New Edinburgh. Petr coughed, tasted the snotty phlegm coating his tongue and grimaced.
Am I getting a cold? The fate of Clan Sea Fox hangs in the balance and Iam getting a cold? He frowned in frustration, ignored his own vulgarity in his anger.
Jesupas anxietya"he practically hopped from one foot to the other like a warrior ready for his first Trial of Position: a warrior who would lose with such impatiencea"peeled away Petras concentration layer by layer. Forced him to glance up, regardless of his wish to ignore the question.
Petr finally sighed, turned off the machine, which immediately folded back into the wall, straightened to a ripping crack of vertebrae. aYou seem to be questioning all my actions of late. Demanding answers when I have already made my reasons clear.a Jesup leaned toward him, as though to keep the words between them. aI would not need to ask for such clarifications if your decisions made sense.a Petr stiffened. Felt the rage he had almost lost across the last week flare up, bringing a familiar warmth. aIn case you have forgotten, Jesup, I am ovKhan. I need not explain my actions to you. You follow my orders.a He bit off the last words as though taking a mouthful of Jesupas hide. He knew the rejoinder before the words emerged from the other manas lips.
aNeg, ovKhan. Your great and powerful person does need to explain itself to me. Or I, like any of those under you, may decide to call a Trial of Grievance, quiaff?a Though the words came coated with his usual sarcasm, Petr noted, to his chagrin, that nothing touched his eyes.
Have I estranged him so much? Has our friendship gone so far afield? Petr closed his eyes for a moment, wished he knew how to undo enough of the damage to satisfy his aide until there was time to truly repair their relationship. To implement the changes he finally understood were needed. Yes, Jesup should serve the Clan and serve his ovKhan, but Petr had come to realize that by taking such for granteda he might as well be a spheroid.
But the time was not now; later, (had been saying that too much of late) he would fix it later.
He opened his eyes, and his shoulders slumped slightly at the admission. aAff, Jesup. Aff. We stay in orbit because we do not have sufficient forces to defeat what we will face on-planet. We hold station until the forces on-planet have been weakened enough that we can make a difference.a Jesup c.o.c.ked his head to the side, confirmation and disgust warring for dominance on his face. aYou hide,a he said.
Petr jerked as though slapped. Words of denial flooded his mouth, but he choked them off by refusing to open his lips. He refused to add lies to a situation that already sickened him. Already forced him to question everything he believed about being Clan.
Clan Sea Fox knew the trials, rituals and traditions of the Clans were flexiblea"guidelines to be bent and twisted when needed in order to further their goals. But this went beyond twisting, or bending, or windinga this stank of shattering.
aWe have no choice,a Petr finally responded.
aThere is always a choice, quiaff? Have you not told me that again and again?a His strident tone changed to that of a pupil reciting rote text. aA Sea Fox merchant makes choices every day. And none are trivial or insignificant. Each has a consequence that will unfold for the benefit or detriment of the Clan. It is you who must decide.a Petr sniffed, felt the savashri phlegm at the back of his throat, focused on not gagging for a moment (subconsciously knew the gagging reflex stemmed from his current decisions as much as his cold), nodded his head. aAff, Jesup. But there are times when both choices lead to detriment, and only by measuring the degrees can you know which is the lesser of two evils.a aYou sound like a spheroid.a A momentary lull in the general noise of the cargo hold allowed the words to be heard by innocent ears; stunned faces turned to watch the scene unfolding in the far corner.
Petras rage burned hot and bright, filling his eyes with a fire he directed first at Jesup and then swept the large cargo hold, sending personnel scurrying about their business. His ire, though directed at Jesup for allowing their heated discussion to spill to the lower castes and the rest of the warriors, found equal target in himself; Jesupas words mirrored Petras own thoughts too closely for comfort.
He took two steps toward Jesup, his heavy magnetic boots dragging at him like the load of current events strapped around his neck. aThen what would you do, Jesup?a aAttack. Now. That is the Clan way.a aAnd if Sha defeats us? Or if we are caught between them and the Marik forces? We would be crushed.a aThen so be it. Such is the way of the Clan. This hidingaa"he swallowed, licked his lips as his eyes darted, trying to find a targeta"aI cannot abide it.a aThen Sha escapes.a aOthers will hunt him. He may hide, but others will find him, will hunt the deep currents and run him to ground.a Petr had to get through to him. Must make him see. The time for justice was now, not later. aWhat happened when the Bears made such a decision? When Clan Ghost Bear let those most deserving of Clan justice escape?a Jesup reared back, his jaw falling open at such a comparison. At the memory of the Not-Named Clan and the total annihilation they escapeda the havoc they wrought.
aWould you let such happen again? Look at what he has done right under our noses. Imagine what he might accomplish hidden from view. Imagine what he might unleash against our Clan. Mark my words, Jesup,a Petr said, trying to infuse each word with the h.e.l.lish energy of a particle cannon, tried to ram it past the other manas doubts and fears. aHe will not be satisfied until he sees the Clan shattered for destroying his dreams of rebellion.a Me shattered.
Jesup looked like a cornered animal. aHe would not do that,a he finally said.
Petras eyes went wide. aYou defend him? After all that he has done!a aYou consider it misguided, but he has done what he felt best for the Clan. What every Sea Fox Clansman has done for centuries. He has made decisions.a aYet youare the one saying each leader must answer to his superiors.a aDo not throw such vulgarity at me,a Jesup said, straightening, regaining some of the spine Petr thought knocked out of him.
Stravag. aEach leader must answer. Now I am coming to give him his Trial of Grievance over the decisions he has made.a The two eyed each other across some gulf that Petr could not see. Finally, as though losing the will to continue such a battle of words, Jesup turned away. aSo be it. In a Circle the rightness of his decisions will be decided.a Petr felt unsure how to answer; he was further distracted by the harsh stench of spilled diesel. aThen you understand the need to wait. To even attempt such a Trial of Grievance, their force must be brought closer to the strength of ours.a Though he hated himself for it, Petr wanted Jesupas approval. An understanding of the path he chose.
aAff.a The tone carried a half dozen flavors. Could be taken any way Petr wished.
Dissatisfied by the answer, but realizing none other would be forthcoming, he sighed, coughed again, sniffed hard and felt bands of light pain bind his forehead. aTomorrow, Jesup,a he said softly, moving toward the small medstation. Must find something for this savashri cold.
aWe shall move tomorrow at dawn. And then it will be done.a Petr did not know if the words were for Jesup. Or himself.