Perhaps he could allow himself a friendship now, without diving into the deeper questions others had stirred up. Just until he found out what he needed to about everything looming around him.

aThen you will do it?a aAff, ovKhan.a aBe careful, and discreet.a aI am always careful and discreet, ovKhan.a Petr looked at Jesup and found a wide grin plastered on the other manas face. He was anything but. And they both knew it. As they flashed past the last of the downtown buildings and saw the tops of Delta DropShips in the distance, Petr knew he did not have a choice.

More important, he knew he could count on Jesup. Had counted on him, without a word of praise or recognition, for years. Though such was the way of the Clansa"honor to the Clan for his servicea"Petr realized now there was another need.

When all of this is done, perhaps I can arecognize. The idea trailed out behind him as he raced into a new day.

24.

Field Office, Halifax Vanderfox, Adhafera Prefecture VII, The Republic 8 September 3134 The final deal sat on his desk. Petr enjoyed ignoring it. Master Tidinic surprised him and actually waited the entire allotted time instead of turning it around the same day, which he half expected. Several days now had pa.s.sed beyond the deadline of when he said he would make a decision and lift off-planet; Petr enjoyed letting the merchants swing in the wind.

Of course, there were other reasons he stayed on planet.

The fleeting pleasure sped away as quickly as it came, and frustration returned to gnaw at him. He had difficulty concentrating and could not bend his mind to what needed doing. Reports and reviews were beginning to stack up. Sickness, downtime, maintenance reports, personnel reviews, lost revenue: head be buried under a mountain of paper soon, if he could not regain his efficiency.

The impression of having all the time in the world when he left the Merchant House only days ago departed as quickly as Sha upon learning of the larger, riper markets likely to be found on Stewart. Now the force of time, each tick of each second, seemed to slam into him, rocking him with urgency. He could feel things in motion, great plans put into action outside of his control, and yet he felt nailed to the floor with iron spikes.

aovKhan,a a voice said from outside the small, curtained office in the field tent. Though it managed to keep out most of the pounding rain, noises still easily filtered through.

aEnter.a He straightened up. Tried to hide his disappointment when he realized it was not Jesup. The man had reported in once, two days ago, to let him inform him that no leads had surfaced. Nothing since. Where was he? What was happening?

He knew you could not push such things too quickly, but he felt the need for speed.

saFactor Tia bowed into the room, her hair plastered to her delicate scalp, with rivulets cascading down her fully soaked clothing. Though he took a deep breath for a confrontation he had expected some days past, it dawned on him she did not carry the scowl that had tattooed her face for the past week. She actually looked slightly confused.

asaFactor?a He waved a casual hand for her to make sure the flap sealed tightly, then actually indicated for her to take a seat. aWhat is it?a She reached inside her jacket and pulled out a small cube, which she carefully handed over. Confused, but willing to go along, he took the cube, pulled the data reader to the center of the desk, powered it up and slotted the cube.

After a momentas disorientation of a three-dimensional projection spitting snow and hiss, the image of a Fox Clansman (Beta?) materialized: bald head, large ears and eyes and a mouth that wore a perpetual sneer. In a soft voice, the man began to speak.

asaFactor Tia, I regret to inform you I will not be able to make our meeting either this day or any day in the foreseeable future.a The man stopped, closed his eyes as though he wished to avoid his next words, then continued after licking his lips. aThere have been several accidents, both within our compound and on the outbound Cards of Fate , all resulting in deaths. Though some might believe this simply to be a poor day for avoiding errors, saKhan Clarke is not so sanguine and has ordered all personnel to lift off-planet. He has decreed Adhafera enemy territory and we are to deal with any further security and safety concerns witha any needed force.a The man looked positively sick, but finished a last thought before the machine clicked off. aI hope to see you in the not too distant future, Tia.a On another day he might have been curious about the relationship of his saFactor (a woman he would not have credited to care about any type of physical relationship that did not impact on the art of the deal) and a Clansman from another Aimag, but the news that all Beta personnel were lifting off-world took his whole attention.

aStravag!a He slammed his hand down on the table, making the reader leap and tip over, sending the cube tumbling with the same urgency as his thoughts.

How, by the Founder, could he find out anything if they lifted off? He had been handed Sha Stewart, and now he would not get a thing out of it. Unless Jesup had found something. Anything.

aI know, ovKhan. I cannot believe the locals would stoop to this myself. They appear so peaceful and have treated us with respect. It is hard to fathom.a For a moment Petr could not even place her words, he was so wrapped up in his own worries. Then their import bludgeoned through.

The locals. Accidents. He leaned forward and very carefully righted the reader, while reaching across to the edge of the desk where the cube had arrested itself before the sudden drop to the dirt floor below.

Savashri. Now he would lose this deal as well. How many months sitting on this rock and now he might have to lift off without a single card left in his hand?

Could Tidinic or one of his cronies have put this into motion as a last resort to better their end of the deal?

He cradled the tiny cube in his hand, feeling the edges press against his palm, the slick of dampness from its travels here making it cool to the touch. He thought back across those weeks, about everything he had seen. To Master Tidinicas rabbit eyes at the end. Minutes stretched. He knew he should order the liftoff of his own troops. He even considered leaving the trade doc.u.ment unsigned, lonely and bereft on the desk, as punishment for Adhafera turning against his Clan. But his instincts told him something else was afoot.

His mind fastened on that first monstrous possibility that had sprung into existence when he had learned from Snow that Sha may have met the Jade Falcons in secret. If what he believed was true (and he must verify his suspicions before going to saKhan Sennet again), then it was a small leap to accept that Sha would cause a few accidents to occur in order to eliminate dangerous loose ends.

Petr himself had occasionally removed an opponent by tearing victory from their grasp right in front of them. But occasionally, he removed his opponent another way.

Regardless of how closely they clung to Clan ways, regardless of their belief that the Clan ways defined them and made them better than their opponents, Petr recognized that Clan Sea Fox had been in the Inner Sphere long enough that aanother waya had become an accepted part of the deal. When an enemy could not be removed through the standard trials and rituals of the Clan, other means could and would be used.

Galvanized, he lurched forward, as the idea fully formed. Sha had said the same thing when he visited Petr after their trial; Petr had rejected his words then, as they struck too close to his own history. Yet in retrospect, Sha had plainly told him what he would be willing to do, and Petr had failed to see it. Could not believe it. But now the truth rang like a aMech-sized bell hammered with an iron fist.

Sha moved to take down the Khan; he must find proof!

The curtain whipped aside, revealing a haggard and harried-looking Jesup. Tia yelped in surprise and half rose before recognizing the intruder.

Petr almost crushed the cube in his hands as he stared hard at Jesup.

Bitter, ghastly disappointment slid through him at the negative shake of Jesupas head. A panoply of emotions raged across Jesupas face, but Petr focused only on one.

Failure.

Overlord-C DropShip Breaker of Waves Midpoint Turnover, Adhafera Gravity disappeared in a sickening lurch as the mammoth drive plume cut forward acceleration and the captain initiated a midpoint turnover for the Overlord-C DropShip. Several minutes pa.s.sed as Sha continued to scan the papers head been reading (his mind blanked out the four notices that rang the length and breadth of the ship, warning of imminent turnover). Then, with another lurch, which sent the hard copies spinning lazily to fill almost every corner of his office, the drive flare ignited once more, beginning the deceleration burn toward the waiting CargoShip.

A good thing he had not been drinking anything. The thought barely penetrated his bitter mood.

It had to be done.

He kept telling himself that, but the words did not comfort him. His decisions had cost too much, too many personnel. People who could have served the Aimag, the Khanate, for years to come. People who trusted him to lead, to not throw their lives away without cause. He kept the helm pointed at his target with steady hands, but his heart began to wonder if this truly did lead where he needed to go.

Sha never intended to see so many die, so quickly.

Especially at his own hand.

But ovKhan Kalasa was becoming inquisitive, and Sha felt the need to remove his people from Petras grasp. Especially Elemental Corin, whom he now could not find. And simply removing them off-planet was not enough; they had to be permanently beyond his reach. Sha swallowed dryly and realized he did need a drink. But he needed to destroy most of this paper before an aide could bring it.

He stood up slowly and began to gather the paper. As each report floated in front of him, he glanced at it again. All Iave done for weeks is deal with endless reports.

Destroy endless reports.

Star Colonel Coleen Nagasawa entered at that moment, unbidden and uninvited. She closed the door slowly. Sha c.o.c.ked an eyebrow, surprised at her boldness. Then he saw the rage burning in her eyes, in stark contrast to her calm face, and he knew the answer to his question.

Sha casually reached under the desk and pressed a b.u.t.ton, which kicked on a white-noise generator. Even among his own Aimag, on his own ship, the words he knew were about to spill did not need to be heard by anyone outside this room.

Enough surgical removal for now. More than enough.

aWhat have you done?a she demanded quietly.

He nodded slightly at her cool tone; his years of work with her to obtain such objectivity had reached fruition. She had been trained to keep her emotions at bay when making a decision, and she could do that now, regardless of the hate or anguish or despondency that tried to engulf her at this moment.

aWhat I must.a aWhat you must. What you must.a Her voice rose a pitch and stopped. Her clenched fists popped with tightly wound tendons.

Sha bent and began to pick up the papers, which fell like large, dry snowflakes. Though Coleen knew most of his plans, even she was not privy to the full scope; he needed to destroy some of these before she could become aware and feel compelled to make a decision she would regret.

aWhat you must. But they were Aimag.a The sudden look of confusion that drooped her eyelids and slackened her mouth momentarily pulled at his own emotions, echoed his own thoughts.

He did not answer, but continued to shuffle the hard copies, trying to recapture the order he so carefully had given them earlier. He could then feed them all into the incinerator.

Finally, when Sha refused to repeat himself or elaborate, she took a single step toward him and raised her arm. He would never know what she intended to do, but he simply looked at her.

Though a small man, short and slight of build, Sha possessed a look as cold as the voids of s.p.a.ce, which could blast through any defense, harrow a soul, freeze a self-imagea"ultimately shattering.

He stopped her with a look.

Sha turned back to his papers, finished his reorganization and then, and only then, turned back.

aWe have agreed this can be the only way, quiaff?a After a long silence, she finally responded in a low voice. aAff.a aThen we must stay the course, quiaff?a She hesitated another moment before replying, aAff.a At that moment, he experienced an epiphany. Suddenly, he understood her reaction, and though he lost a degree of respect for her, he also felt more confident of her. He understood that now he held the upper hand, not just as her ovKhan, but in every other way. Now he could keep her in line. Keep her from making a foolish error.

aI trust you completely,a he said. aYou need not worry.a She flinched as his words shot straight toward her true concern: her own safety. If it became known that she possessed such an unClanlike characteristic, her position as Star colonel would become auncomfortable. He could feel her anger (read: fear) dissipating as the strings he tied to her wound tight once more.

That she could lack the courage to embrace death yet rise to the rank of Star colonel in spite of it, actually increased his trust in her. His instinct to include her at the beginning was rewarded by the knowledge he could move with more freedom with her at his back.

She is more spheroid than Clan.

He could see her self-loathing. His new understanding of her weakness should have made him sick. Instead, he smiled gently.

She turned her face away, though her shoulders lost some of their slump. Give acceptance with one hand. Take away self-respect with the other.

Everything is a compromise, Coleen. Everything.

But Sha knew shead known that much longer than he. Reminded now, he firmed his resolve.

He felt more committed than ever.

25.

Halifax DropPort, Halifax Vanderfox, Adhafera Prefecture VII, The Republic 10 September 3134 Petr tried to decide if the torrential rains were preferable to this soupy mist. Because moisture was not actually falling, you believed you would not get wet; but in the brisk walk between buildings or vehicles on the hard tarmac of the DropPort, the dampness built up until you were covered in a fine layer of water. Most of the drops maintained their cohesion for a certain period, then suddenly soaked your head, and everything else.

He was not sure his mood could be more foul.

aovKhan,a Jesup said, coming up from behind him as he stepped into the Command HQ vehicle, which sat almost three hundred meters from the closest of Deltaas DropShips.

He noticed that Jesup somehow managed to keep mostly dry and cursed under his breath. aWhat?a aMost personnel have reported in. We have an exercise running out beyond Tumbled Heights, but word has gone out to all troops.a aAbout time. What has happened to our discipline? How did we grow so lax?a He moved around inside the main briefing room and squelched into a seat at the holotable, disregarding the water saturating the seat and now soaking through his pants; he waved a hand at his aide to take a seat as well.

aSha lifted off in, what, less than six hours? We should have done the same.a aHe did not take all of his forces with him.a aAff, but I wager he could have if he intended to. We have been here too long.a aThen why would he wait to leave until the sabotage by Adhafera terrorists? I disagree. He could not have lifted off so quickly.a The musk of their warm, damp bodies quickly pervaded the interior, mixing with the stale sweat of years of use, creating a miasma head almost gotten used to. He shivered.

Aff, a sure sign head been downside too long.

He ignored Jesupas insistent belief in the Adhafera terrorists. Petr had broached the topic at least a half dozen times with the man, and he refused to acknowledge any other possible explanation. Considering what they had seen together over the years and the impossibilities made truth before their eyes, Petr was infuriated by his obstinate refusal to even entertain an alternative. It confused him, made him wonder, briefly, if Jesup needed to believe in the terrorists for some reason.

In fact, it dawned on him that his aideas usual sarcastic mockery no longer echoed in his every word. It was as though something had stripped away, or at least blocked, his capacity for looking at the world with cynicism.

The cacophony of a thousand autocannons burst across the tarmac and drove all such thoughts from his mind. He jumped for the door, ignoring the rain; Jesup followed.

Outside, the first of the DropShips began to lift off, illuminating the late-night darkness.

aAbout time,a he said again, aggravated by his reaction to the liftoff. He had ordered it, and the captain had informed him it would occur soon, so he should have expected it. He was jumpy. Upset.

After a moment, Jesup said glumly, aI hate gravity. I cannot bear to think about how horrible two gravities will be. Stravag Sha for pushing his DropShips to such extremes.a aHe must believe we would pursue him as soon as we knew he had secured the Stewart information.a Does he have a clue about the rest of what I knowa"what I suspect? Is that why he ran so fast?

But he must know I will follow him to Stewart. I have to wring information from him I can present to Sennet. Or is Stewart a diversion and he flees elsewhere?

He shook his head, moved back inside and sat down, turning on the holographic table, which sputtered to life, showing the entire Adhafera system with the estimated whereabouts of Betaas ships; both the first group with Sha himself, as well as the smaller group that departed later. He ran some numbers and realized Shaas JumpShip transport must be available to depart the system immediately upon his DropShip reaching the nadir jump point, leaving a second ship to depart with the second group; he hopeda"vainly he was surea"that Sha would not be able to remove all of the forces from the system for another two days.

It would take Petr ten days, perhaps a day less, to intercept Sha, but pushing at two gravities for the entire haul. Petr rubbed his hands together, almost wincing at the aching tendons and joints that would result from such punishment, especially for a Clan used to long years of microgravity.

A small price to pay to stop Shaas plans. To stop him from shattering Clan Sea Fox.

aWhat are you going to do once we catch him?a Jesup asked in a small, deadly serious voice.

Gazing up into his aideas serious eyes, Petr wondered the same thing himself. Had been wondering since he made the decision to lift all available forces off world and head out after Sha.

He felt pulled. He was reacting to events as they unfolded rather than controlling the situation; he had felt this way for weeks. He hated that sensation and knew such strategies always lost. If he hoped to find victory, hoped to do something beyond following Sha around as though led by the nose, failing utterly to stop him, he must seize the initiative again.

But how? That question did not yet have an answer.

He opened his mouth to reply and blackness stepped into the doorway, as though detaching from the night itself.

Jesup glanced over his shoulder to find the source of the absurd look on Petras face and immediately threw himself out of his seat toward the back of the room, spun into a low crouch and sized up the situation.

Clothed in a pitch-black sneak suit with night-vision goggles dangling around the neck, totally drenched (probably why none of the areaas IR sensors squawked), the short, stocky intruder moved with lethal grace. The Shredder heavy needler pistol swung in perfect arcs, one-two-three, checking the room, placing targets, before sliding back on straps to a hoisted position under the right arm, easily pulled into position if needed. Though the gun almost looked too large for the intruderas stature, Petr didnat doubt for a moment the efficiency with which this person could use such a weapon. Every action, every muscle movement radiated competence and lethality.

Death dressed to kill.

Though the intruderas eyes were difficult to see in the shadows playing across the doorway, they were visible.

Smoky eyes.

aSavashri,a Petr breathed, unable to restrain himself. He had known all along, though he never admitted it, what she likely must be. But her profile, the body that did not fit her movements, all allowed for easy denial. Allowed him to lead himself astray.

Now, however, the strange emotions he had felt at their last meeting coalesced into something more, something he could not ignore. Respect? Admiration? Esteem?

Aff. And more.

Though the traditional Clan warrior within warred with the vision of the obvious special forces persona before him (such dishonorable tactics!), the tough merchant-warrior respected any ac.u.men, under any circ.u.mstances.