Chapter Text
Wolf's Dragoons General Headquarters
Outreach, Sarna March, Federated Commonwealth
6 March 3051
Romano Liao stormed from the room where the inquiry into Kai Allard-Liao's conduct had been heard—an inquiry that Romano had demanded, and one that had backfired on her. Rather than shame Kai, he had turned it back on her. Romano now appeared as if she had attacked her sister's son for little more than a petty vendetta—which, the ruler of the Capellan Confederation admitted to herself, was the truth. Her guards trailed her at a distance, fearing her wrath, as did her husband Tsen Shang and her daughter Kali, who could normally pry a smile from Romano even at her worst. Neither wanted to make an attempt now.
Somehow, she reached the chambers Jaime Wolf had provided for her and her family without ordering someone killed. She threw open the door, sincerely wishing shecouldhave someone shot, preferably one of her many tormentors on Outreach. Romano had learned long ago that the suffering of others eased her own pain: she did not know why this was so, only that it was. Romano walked into the bathroom and faced her own reflection. She was middle-aged now, but still showed signs of the beauty that had once made her the prettiest woman in the Confederation…save one other.
Romano had once loved her sister Candace, but now hated her more than anyone in the galaxy. Candace Liao had always been her father's favorite. It had been her who had gained the affections of Justin Xiang, when everyone thought that Justin was a defector rather than a spy; Romano had lusted after him herself, and taking Tsen Shang as her own lover was more Romano wanting a piece of what Candace had. When Candace had left with Justin and taken the St. Ives Compact out of the Confederation, it had left Romano with a sundered realm: a third of it controlled by her hated sister, half of it overrun by Hanse Davion and the Federated Commonwealth. With former ruler Maximillian Liao now quietly consigned to a mental institution, Romano was left to pick up the pieces.
And she had. She had defeated an attempt by the allied Duchy of Andurien and Magistracy of Canopus to finish House Liao off. She built new 'Mech factories and revamped the Capellan military, and shot anyone who got in her way. She wielded absolute power, bound the elite Warrior Houses closer to her, and reestablished the Thuggee cult to make herself even more feared. And yet, Romano knew that she and her line existed at the sufferance of Hanse Davion. If Romano died, Candace would rule. If not her, then Kai. As for the Clans, Romano often wondered if they even existed, if this was just an elaborate ploy by Davion to distract her and destroy her. The fact that the evidence was overwhelmingly against that conclusion did not bother her in the slightest, and what had happened in the inquiry merely reinforced it: if Wolf was so committed to uniting the Inner Sphere against the Clans, then why had he allowed her heir, Sun-Tzu, to be trained by one of her most hated enemies, forced to work with her greatest enemy's son, and humilated by her sister's son?
Romano stepped away from the mirror and returned to the spacious living room. Tsen and Kali had not joined her, and she was glad they had not. She needed some time to think. As she stood in the middle of the room, her mind turned towards Marion Rhialla.
If Romano was honest with herself—and she rarely was—Rhialla was a minor irritant at best, and one she had not really thought of for years. The two had actually been friends when they were young MechWarriors—the second daughter of the realm and the nobody from Bellatrix had found themselves serving together in the Confederation Reserve Cavalry. When House Marik had murdered Romano's first lover, a man she had truly loved, she launched a raid across the Free Worlds League and took no prisoners; on Berenson, she had burned the defenders alive, roasting them in their 'Mechs with Inferno rounds. Rhialla had been with her on that raid, and though she had said nothing on Berenson, she had left the Reserve Cavalry soon thereafter, going mercenary and forming her own battalion, Tigerstripe's Legionnaires, named for Marion's nickname. If Rhialla disapproved of Romano's butchery, she showed no sign: the two remained friends and if Rhialla was on Sian, she invariably visited Romano at the high court on Sian. They would sneak out together and get drunk, laughing about better times.
That changed, like so many other things, during the Fourth Succession War. The Legionnaires had been on Highspire, backing up the planet's defenders, the Northwind Highlanders. When the Highlanders had been lured offplanet by Hanse Davion returning their planet of birth to them, it had left the Legionnaires alone against the AFFC: the First Bell Training Battalion, augumented by several armored regiments, had assaulted Highspire. Rhialla had fought hard, but she was simply overwhelmed and forced to retreat offplanet, despite orders from the CCAF to stand and die. Maximilian Liao had summoned Rhialla to Sian to explain her "cowardice." Rhialla had told the Chancellor to his face that they had lost the war, and she had no desire to die for a lost cause. When Maximilian had rose from the Celestial Throne to call Rhialla a traitor, she had looked at Romano.Tell him,Marion had pleaded.Tell him while there's still a Capellan Confederation left.
Romano could have easily talked her father out of declaring Marion Rhialla a traitor. She had done it before. Deep down, even then, she knew her friend was right. Yet Romano wanted Maximilian to noticeher, to see Romano in the same way he saw Candace. Romano had stood up, walked to a stunned Rhialla, torn off her rank boards, and slapped her in the face. Then she ordered Rhialla to be shot, and the survivors of Highspire with her. The sentence had never been carried out, because of the confusion following the raid on Kathil, and somehow Rhialla had managed to escape Sian and warn her battalion to run for Davion space. Death Commandos made sure than only seven of Tigerstripe's Legionnaires had escaped. Because there was still a kill order on the Legionnaires, bounty hunters had managed to kill five more, leaving only Marion Rhialla and Alfred Dennison—but they were far away on Grunwald, in former Steiner space, and Romano had actually forgotten about them.
And now, like some vengeful spectre risen from the grave, Marion Rhialla had suddenly reappeared in Romano Liao's life. Wolf had to have known about their shared history, and yet he had allowed Rhialla to be put in charge of the training. Romano was convinced that Rhialla was trying to get Sun-Tzu killed in a "training accident," with the approval and assistance of Jaime and MacKenzie Wolf. She doubted Sheila Arla-Vlata had much to do with it—Romano didn't think the young MechWarrior to be terribly intelligent, and unlike Marion, Sheila obviously feared the Chancellor. The only reason Romano had not pulled Sun-Tzu from the royals training was because it would make House Liao look weak and afraid, which she could not afford—especially if Candace's hated brood, Kai and Cassandra, remained. In a fit of irony that even Tsen Shang found bizarre, she did agree that Sun-Tzu could probably use some toughening up, if he was going to succeed her someday, but constant humiliation was not the way to do it.
Romano fell into a chair and stared out of the huge picture window that overlooked the suburbs of Harlech and the distant Tetsuhara Proving Grounds. She stroked her chin in thought, trying to think of a way to get revenge on Marion Rhialla once and for all—less for Highspire, which had been twenty years ago, and more for recent insults. It grated on Romano that, of all the people on Outreach thatshouldbe afraid of her, Rhialla wasn't. The other woman simply didn't care who Romano Liao was, and that enraged her most of all. Wolf had warned Romano to not even attempt vengeance on Outreach, and she knew he meant what he said: the man who had stood off virtually the entire Draconis Combine during the Fourth Succession War did not make idle threats. That meant that Rhialla was untouchable on Outreach, and after the training was finished, her nemesis would return to the distant Clan front, where even Romano's reach was limited. Justin Allard's MIIO intelligence service was remarkably good at finding Liao spies and assassins.
Romano sat in the chair for half an hour, twisting and turning ideas in her mind, all of which involved the very painful death of Marion Rhialla—and if not her, who would devastate Rhialla more, the death of Sheila Arla-Vlata or Rhialla's adopted daughter, Maysa Bari. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Between the corridor outside and the Liao living quarters was a vestibule where her handpicked guards were; neither her husband nor her children would need to knock. Romano got up and stormed over to the door, yanking it open. It was her secretary, a minor functionary from Sian chosen for his undying loyalty and easy expendability. "What do you want?" she spat.
Instantly the man dropped to his knees and put his head to the floor, kowtowing to her. "Forgive me, Celestial Wisdom, but you have someone…w-waiting for you. He's requested an audience t-twice b-before…"
"Who is it?" When the secretary hesitated, she kicked him, which did much to allieviate her current frustration. "Spit it out, worm!"
The door to the corridor opened. Though her guards instantly blocked his path, Romano looked up and saw a handsome man dressed in an expensive business suit. Her eyes instantly went to the House Steiner raised fist pin on his lapel. She wondered how angry Wolf would be if she simply had this smiling idiot shot for his impertinence. The man stepped back and bowed deferentially. "Forgive the intrusion, Madam Chancellor. My name is Samuel Bonner, Duke of Furillo." Her confusion as to where exactly Furillo was showed on her face, so he added, "In the Skye March, Madam Chancellor, in the Federated Commonwealth."
"And what is it you want, Duke Bonner?" Her voice was one degree above freezing.
Bonner merely put his hands behind his back. He was a big man who evidently kept himself in good shape, a good half-meter taller than her. His graying black hair was slicked back and his goatee was well-trimmed. Her desire to shoot Bonner only grew. "I have been requesting a meeting with you, ma'am—"
Romano decided that Wolf probably would get angry if she had a duke of the Federated Commonwealth summarily executed for annoying her. "I have better things to do than entertain one of the Fox's flunkies." She turned her back on him.
"Undoubtedly, Madam Chancellor," Bonner replied patiently, "but I am no flunky of the Fox…or his brood mare, Melissa Steiner."
His tone of voice brought her up short. Most people spoke of Hanse Davion with awe, and of Melissa with affection. Bonner's tone was one of contempt. She also noticed he had referred to her as Steiner, and not her proper name of Steiner-Davion. Romano weighed it for a moment, then sighed. Bonner might be a distraction for awhile, at least. "Very well. Guards, I assume you have done your job and searched him?"
"Most thoroughly, Highness," Bonner answered instead.
"They'd better have, if they know what is good for them. Let him in." The guards went back to attention with their bayoneted rifles, and Bonner squeezed past them. Romano gave her secretary another satisfying kick and ordered him out; the man bowed and genuflected and retreated. They walked into the living room and she motioned him to another chair. "Sit. What do you want?"
"Madam Chancellor," Bonner began, "you are the ruler of the Capellan Confederation, whereas I am only a duke—and a minor one at that, I must admit. However, we share common interests."
"Like what? Your world is far from any of mine." She was already beginning to get bored.
"True…but not so far as New Avalon."
She watched him intently for a moment. "These walls have ears, Duke Bonner."
"With respect, Madam Chancellor, they undoubtedly do…but you have your own security services sweep it for bugs at least three times a day. Wolf's agents do as well." She blinked in surprise at that. "I assume so, Highness—that's what they do to me, and I'm just staying at a local hotel. Jaime Wolf does not want his guests to use this conference as an excuse for spying. So by his diligence, and yours, our discussion is, as they say in my realm, under four eyes."
Now Romano was intrigued, despite herself. She carefully kept her bored expression. "You know as well as I do that Justin Allard's vipers can nest anywhere."
"Most certainly, Madam Chancellor—you would know better than anyone." She decided to let that go past, unsure of Bonner was insulting her with the reference to Justin Xiang-Allard's infiltration of Sian, or merely was using it to prove a point. "But again, I am a minor noble. I am beneath MIIO's interest."
Romano wondered about that, but she always had several plots underway in the Federated Commonwealth; one more wouldn't make a difference, and if Bonner didn't mind risking early retirement by Justin Allard's assassins, that was his problem. "All right, Duke Bonner. I am listening."
"Thank you, Highness." Bonner steepled his hands in front of him. "As you are aware, Madam Chancellor, the Lyran Commonwealth—"
"There is no Lyran Commonwealth," Romano interrupted with a nasty smile. "Only the lesser half of the Federated Commonwealth. Youdoremember the marriage? I do, quite often."
She saw red rise into Bonner's cheeks for a moment. "For now," Bonner answered. She kept her smile. Now she knew who she was dealing with. The union of Houses Steiner and Davion was not a completely peaceful or seamless one. While only a few Davion nobles resented the alliance, many Steiner ones did, the most powerful of which was Duke Ryan Steiner, who ran the Skye March. Resentment simmered there worst of all, especially after Hanse Davion had put down the Free Skye Movement's demonstrations in 3034 with armed force. Though Melissa Steiner-Davion had smoothed things over with her typical charisma and grace, Ryan Steiner and his cronies still hated the alliance. Bonner was apparently one of these. "Of course," she said soothingly. "Please, continue."
"As you know," Bonner said, "theLyranhalf has taken the bulk of the losses against the Clans, and our economy is being bled dry to fight them. Hanse Davion has promised reinforcements from the Davion half to support us and stop the invaders, but so far only a handful of troops have appeared…and aside from very limited offensives on Twycross and Planting, it doesn't seem he's too concerned about the worlds we have lost. Bad enough we had to give up almost all our gains against Kurita in the Fourth Succession War; now we have to accept our losses to these Clans." Bonner's hands clenched on the chair's arms. "Madam Chancellor, you will agree that it is sickening to see my heads of state talking so easily with our archenemies in House Kurita."
Romano resisted showing any reaction to that, recognizing the traditional Steiner bugaboo: that Davion would sell out Steiner to Kurita. A nonaggression pact between the Federated Commonwealth and the Draconis Combine made sense even to her if the Clans were truly the threat they supposedly were, but she suspected that Bonner would rather deal with the Clans than the Fox. "I agree, Duke Bonner. The Combine is supposedly my Kapetyn ally, but Theodore Kurita seems happy to sell me out as well." For added salt in the wound, she added, "I have also heard that Victor Steiner-Davion and Omi Kurita are apparently interested in each other." It was only a rumor that Sun-Tzu had mentioned, and Romano personally doubted it, but there was nothing wrong in winding up Bonner even more.
It worked, as he scowled. "That doesn't surprise me, Highness."
"So all of this is well-known to anyone who pays attention, Duke Bonner," Romano said, feigning boredom, "so why are you telling me what I already know?"
"Not all nobles are flunkies of the Fox, as you put it, Madam Chancellor."
Romano laughed. "Again, you think that is news to me? Youareflunkies, Duke Bonner, and you always have been—all bark and no bite, full of nothing but pretty and useless words, skulking in the shadows."
Bonner visibly fought to keep his temper, which Romano found vastly entertaining. "Wewillact, Madam Chancellor, but not overtly, otherwise Hanse Davion will merely stomp us flat on his way to deal with the Clans. That is not our intention." He kept going before she could needle him further. "We intend to conclude a separate peace with the Clans. Lyran troops will not fight them in exchange for returning the worlds we have already lost—save for a token world or two they can keep. Nor will we assist former AFFC units that do resist the Clans, regular or mercenary. Davion will have to withdraw his forces from Lyran territory or risk being cut off. We would even concede to the Clans the right to traverse our territory to attack the Draconis Combine, the Free Rasalhague Republic, or the Federated Suns, if they so choose."
"I see," Romano replied. "Where do I come in?"
"Your assistance in this manner could come in several ways, Madam Chancellor. Right now what we need is a honest broker, someone who does not have a vested interest in either the Clans or the Lyran Commonwealth. An approach made by Liao agents on our behalf, outlining our terms—and perhaps yours as well, if you wanted to sign a separate peace with the Clans—would be welcomed." He nodded and returned her smile. "We both get what we want, Madam Chancellor: an opportunity to hurt Hanse Davion. We get ourLyranCommonwealth back, under the rule of an actual Steiner and not a giveaway bride, and you get a Federated Suns threatened by the Clans from one direction with you at their back in another." He shrugged. "I imagine you could even get the Taurians to throw in with you. They rarely need an excuse to attack."
"I see," she repeated. Her mind soared with possibilities. If the Clans were as savage as Jaime Wolf claimed, then the AFFC would have its hands full just trying to keep the Federated Suns from being overrun. In the confusion, she could easily retake the St. Ives Compact, or less ambitiously, nab off Tikonov or the family ancestral planet, Liao. The Taurians were always fools, easy to manipulate, and they could open another front against Hanse Davion.
Romano, however, was enough of a veteran plotter to see the huge flaw in Bonner's plan, besides the obvious one—if MIIO learned of this, their only regret would be they could kill Samuel Bonner only once. The flaw was that the Clans might just ignore Bonner's offer and wipe out the Lyran half of the Federated Commonwealth. Still, she considered, it was always advantageous if Davion had to fight both the Clans to his front and the fire in the rear from people like Bonner and Ryan Steiner. "I am surprised," she finally spoke. "If the Fox knew you were meeting with me and proposing this ambitious scheme, I imagine you would find yourself suddenly struck with a terminal case of death."
Bonner shrugged. "It's a risk I'm willing to take, Highness. My country has already been taken by Hanse Davion; I'll not see it destroyed by the Clans as well. Better to cut cards with the devil rather than fight an enemy we can't stop."
Romano raised an eyebrow. "That's a rather damning assessment of the AFFC."
"They are brave, Madam Chancellor…and they are doomed. I've read the reports. We've lost more planets in six months than your realm did in three years. A peace treaty at least buys us time," Bonner told her.
Appeasem*nt,Romano thought to herself.Hoping the alligator eats you last.She had been advised to make some sort of arrangement with Canopus and Andurien. She had shot those advisors and fought, and won. She kept those thoughts off her face. "Very well, Duke Bonner. My communications here are undoubtedly monitored by Wolf's Dragoons, as are yours, and I'm sure that sanctimonious bastard Jaime Wolf would take offense at your plan. I will send people to you as soon as I can arrange it…but that may be some time. I must wait until I return to Sian."
"Not necessarily, Highness," Bonner said. "There is a trade fair on Solaris VII at the end of the month. My people will be there. I imagine House Liao will also be sending representatives. As they say in business, perhaps my people and yours could…do lunch."
"Perhaps so. Even the Fox does not mind a little innocent trade between our realms, does he?" Then an idea struck her, and it took every ounce of Romano's self-control not to laugh out loud. "There is, of course, an additional problem besides keeping this plan under four eyes, as you say."
"And that is, Madam Chancellor?"
"The Clans. I doubt they would simply accept the word of a friendly messenger, mine or yours. They will also want something to 'trade.' Certain bona fides, in return for hearing out your generous proposal, and mine. Something in return, yes?"
"Of course, Madam Chancellor," Bonner nodded. "We could offer information."
"Troop movements?"
Bonner bristled. "I won't sell my countrymen in the AFFC down the river, Highness. I don't want to hurt them, only Hanse Davion."
"Certainly," Romano said, though she thought that Bonner was already doing a fine job of selling his countrymen down the river. "What about mercenaries? Their only loyalty is to money. Perhaps the Kell Hounds, or the Sentinels?" She saw an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone: Dan Allard, Justin's brother, and Marion Rhialla.
Bonner shrugged. "That sounds reasonable, though the Clans might already be in contact with them by the time we get people to them."
"There's other things," Romano offered. "Morgan Kell's battle history—he would be a definite threat. The Eridani Light Horse's reluctance to engage the Clans. The Knights of St. Cameron's odd fascination with the Star League, if the Clans are truly Kerensky's army returned." Then she said what she had been planning to say all along. "Then there's Sheila Arla-Vlata and Maximilian Canis-Vlata being assigned to the Junior Officers' Strategy Group. I would imagine either one would be privy to secrets, and they would be far easier to capture than anyone else."
"Who?" Bonner asked. "I'm sorry, Madam Chancellor, I don't know who they are."
"I'll provide you the details later." Romano waved it off. Inwardly, she was laughing. Getting two of her son's tormentors in the way of the Clans would be simple; the happy couple would undoubtedly be fighting them anyway. A little honey in the ear of a receptive Clanfolk, and suddenly Sheila and Max would have a nice target on their backs. Romano didn't really care about them, but it would hurt Marion Rhialla. Romano didn't mind, in the old Kurita proverb, killing with a borrowed sword.
She stood, and Bonner quickly did the same. "Well, my dear Duke," she said, putting out a hand. "I must say you have improved my afternoon."
Bonner shook her hand. "Then let's hope it ruins the afternoon of the Fox, Madam Chancellor."
