Hanse nodded thoughtfully. "On Algol, did we pick up the prize?"

Quintus nodded. "Half alive, but we have him. He ejected from a damaged 'Mech and headed into the wilderness. Infection almost cost him his leg, and his broken ankle will never heal quite right, but we've got him."

Hanse smiled to himself. Excellent. A son is such an effective tool to use against the father."No one is to know his true identity. Have him brought here." Accepting Quintus's nod as a reply, Hanse shifted subjects. "Has an evaluation of the close assault company's activity on St. Andre been completed?"

Quintus again typed a command into the computer console, then touched a button on the table's edge. Aldebaran's image faded, to be replaced with a data display. Projected in bold blues and greens, the column indicating the tonnage destroyed by Redburn's company towered over the column representing tonnage lost by the same group.

The Prince smiled broadly. "This is better than expected."

Quintus nodded. "You should remember, my Prince, that the Goliath'Mech is notorious for its lack of close-in weaponry. The Delta company was fighting a Liao force singularly susceptible to their configuration. That said, the most important thing to remember about the Delta company is how well they fought when they believed Redburn had died."

Quintus shifted the wartable's display. It went from the graphics breakdown to holographic battle footage. "We captured this from one of the Goliaths."Quintus pointed to a Goliathslowly turning after being hammered by a series of LRM explosions. "That's Colonel Cochraine's 'Mech."

Lasers blasted into the 'Mech, scouring the remaining armor from the turret, but failed to stop the war machine. Its turret slowly turned, then focused on a Jenner.Off to the Goliath'sright, a Firestartershot into the sky on silver jets of ion flame, then landed, feet first, on the Goliath'shead.

The resulting fusion engine explosion filled the war-room with a blinding white fire. As the light died, the Prince saw the legless torso of the Firestarterwhirl up and away from the ruined Goliath.The broken 'Mech spun through the air like a discarded toy, then slammed into the shoulder of another previously damaged Goliath.That assault 'Mech's shoulder collapsed, sending it crashing to the ground, while the Firestarterbounced off and lay face up. It did not move.

Quintus stopped the display, leaving the 'Mechs frozen in the midst of battle. "Redburn suffered a concussion and remained unconscious for the rest of the battle. Leftenant Craon immediately directed his Valkyriefireteams to keep Goliathsoff the Captain's position, then drove the three other lances deeper into the Goliathformation. He even radioed Colonel Stone and told him that the rest of the First Battalion could, quoting now, 'join in any time they wished.' "

That drew a chuckle from the Prince. Stone must have loved to hear that!"Imagine that, Quintus. A unit built from one of my training battalions inviting an academy unit to join them. Mech-Warriors like Craon would never have had a chance if we'd not started that program. Let us hope this kind of thing will help kill criticism of that program."

"Yes, Highness, let us hope." Quintus summoned the data display back to the wartable. "The Delta company is still at full strength. Redburn is fine, and his Firestarterhas been replaced with a Centurioncaptured from Liao forces. It occurred to me that the Delta company could be used for tactical drops similar to the way we used Redfield's Renegades on Liao. I can allocate a DropShip to them if you think it wise."

The Prince nodded. "Do it. It appears that everything is under control. All the preparations for the second wave are proceeding apace?"

Quintus smiled. "We could go early in some cases."

The Prince shook his head slowly. "No, we stick with the plans. I want each wave to land hard—hard enough for Maximilian Liao hear his doom in every step."

Quintus narrowed his eyes. "And the data going to Michael?"

The Prince clapped Quintus on the back. "Focus the spotlight on our weak points, as we've discussed. We don't want to make the Maskirovka's job any easier for them, but we can't have them miss the obvious weaknesses in our strategy. If they do, our plans will not fulfill their potential."

Quintus nodded solemnly. "It will be done as you direct."

"Good." The Prince gave Quintus's shoulder a squeeze, then removed the headset and placed it on the wartable. He strode from the command center, and after giving his eyes a chance to adjust to the hallway's somewhat brighter light, he marched on past the bank of elevators. Turning the corner at the far end of the passage, he nodded to the two CID guards posted beside the entrance to his private elevator. He entered the open carriage, then leaned back against its oak-paneled walls as it silently carried him aloft.

The invasion had gone well, very well. It had, in fact, exceeded his wildest dreams of success. His forces had suffered no major losses and their attacks truly appeared to have been surprises. Liao salvaged even less in the way of troops and materiel than the Prince and his advisors had calculated.

As the elevator slowed, Hanse Davion stood away from the wall, straightened his military style tunic, and composed his face with a smile. The next wave is in place and goes off in October. I hope its harvest will be equally bountiful.

The elevator door opened into the Prince's private apartments. "Hello Melissa . . . Morgan. How are you?"

Melissa, her golden hair framing her face, smiled. She set her teacup and saucer on a white marble table before her, then rose to greet her husband. She slipped her hands into his and kissed him lightly on the lips. Pivoting to her left, she pointed at the holodiscs on the table, then smiled at Morgan. "Your nephew brought me discs of the latest episodes of the New Adventures of Sherlock Holmesholovid series. They've not yet reached the Commonwealth for rebroadcast." Holding his left hand within the folds of her pale blue skirt, Melissa squeezed it a bit more than necessary.

Hanse smiled. "That's very considerate of you, Morgan."

Morgan stood, folding his hands behind his back. "I need to speak with you, Uncle." The look of concern on his face echoed the emotion in his voice. "I did not come here only to bring Melissa those discs, and we both know it. Again, I ask you to let me rejoin my unit."

Hanse slipped his hand from Melissa's and drifted over to a small desk as his wife again took her seat near Morgan. "I cannot, Morgan. You know that." Hanse turned toward his flame-haired nephew. "Your unit is performing successfully—perhaps not as well as it would with you leading your battalion—but I need you here."

Morgan shook his head angrily. "You told me I'm too valuable because I am your heir, but that never prevented me from participating in combat operations before."

Irritation settled over the Prince's face like a thundercloud. "Before was different, Morgan."

"No, Uncle, it was not. Before, I became a rallying point. The Heavy Guards knew you were confident of them because you let them fight with me in their midst." Morgan pointed angrily toward the ceiling, but his gesture encompassed the sky and the universe beyond it. "They knew you knew they'd win because, otherwise, you'd not have sent me out with them. You would never risk losing me."

Hanse shook his head slowly. "I have Ardan Sortek leading them. They can take the same confidence in the fact that I have entrusted my best friend to them."