The Prince of the Federated Commonwealth forced a shrug. "I had a good teacher. Moreover, the conflict between duty and feelings is not unique to samurai or the yakuza. Those of us born to the throne understand it quite keenly. Your father and my father were lucky that their marriages did not conflict with feelings for another. I fear that I will not have the same good fortune when I choose to wed. Perhaps, however, I will be the last Prince to be skewered by that particular dilemma."

Hohiro leaned with both hands on his aluminum cane, then nodded slowly. "I hope reality exceeds your imagination. You do not have to leave, you know. You could travel with us to Luthien, then continue your trip from there."

"Me, at Luthien? Do you wish my father's heart to explode in his chest?" The image of Omi danced tantalizingly before his mind's-eye and he almost agreed. Then he realized that Omi would not be allowed to see him. Do you wish my heart crushed?

Galen arrived and filled the awkward silence. "Worse than that, do you want the Archon to have my head? The Davion and Steiner heir on Black Luthien? That would be enough to bring Amaris the Usurper back from the dead."

All four men shared a laugh over that and the tension of the moment passed. "Hohiro, I appreciate the offer. I would, at some time, like to see Luthien, but I think the masters of protocol in both our realms would scream if I were just to drop in."

"Understood," Hohiro said, then added softly, "my friend."

Victor chuckled silently. "I never thought to hear those words from a Kurita."

"And I never thought to say them to a Davion." The heir to the Dragon shook his head. "Imagine that. The Clans come to destroy us, but they only succeed in uniting us."

"I'm afraid it will take more than one joint operation to unite us, Hohiro. Centuries of distrust and blood will not evaporate so easily. Who knows what the fear and suspicion that has existed between our Houses may one day force us to dor'

Hohiro reached out and took Victor's right hand. He sandwiched it between his own hands on top of the cane. "You saved my life, which means, in our tradition, that you are now responsible for it"

Victor recalled the Clan Thorcoming at him in the battle. "And you saved my life, so you are responsible for it."

"Yes." Hohiro squeezed the other man's hand. "Let us both remember, come what may, this burden we bear. It may not stop us from being forced to strike at one another, but it will cause us to seek more rational solutions first. I do not want to face you in battle, Victor Davion."

"Nor I you, Hohiro Kurita."

"Then we can learn not to fear one another. In that way, we cannot be warped. We cannot be poisoned against each other."

Victor capped Hohiro's hand. "For at least one generation, we can learn not to fear each other."

The two men stared into each other's eyes and Victor read no treachery in Hohiro's steady gaze. Their grips remained strong, then broke apart as Galen and Shin shook hands. Victor turned and offered his hand to Shin. "Though your Prince credits me with the success of the rescue, without you, there would have been nothing. It has been my distinct pleasure and honor to work with you."

Shin bowed his head. "And I have been most honored by the faith you have shown in me. Someday I hope to be truly worthy of it."

Victor smiled and turned quickly to Hohiro. "Keep him by your side because he'll be more valuable than any courtier. And if you manage to clone him, send one to me."

Hohiro laughed. "Only if you will send me a copy of your Galen Cox and Kai Allard."

Victor stiffened. "I am afraid Kai never left Alyina."

"Then the crimes committed by the Clans are compounded beyond redemption. I am truly sorry, Victor. I will offer prayers in his name."

'Thank you, I will tell his sisters and brother." Victor looked back as the Techs disconnected the fueling hoses from the shuttle and closed the cargo bay doors. "I must go."

Hohiro began his unsteady walk toward the airlock. "Travel well and safely, my friend."

"Have a swift journey home, my friend," Victor shot back. "Tell your sister ..."

"Yes?"

"Tell her ..." Words failed him. He shrugged and shook his head.

"I will tell her." Hohiro waved from the airlock doorway. "From me she shall learn all the things she would want to know about the man who terrorized the Nova Cats. I will tell her about the man who saved my life. The man who is my friend."

40

Pozoristu Mountains , Tukayyid

ComStar Intervention Zone, Free Rasalhague Republic

16 May 3052 (Day 16 of Operation Scorpion)

 

Sheet after wind-driven sheet of rain lashed Phelan's Wolfhound.The computer-projected holographic display wavered and blurred as the torrential downpour washed over the sensors built into the Wolfhound'supstanding ears. Viewed from the infrared mode, the surrounding mountainous landscape looked as dark and bleak as it did under visible light.

Inside the cockpit, working in the harsh rainbow backlight of a half-dozen monitors and weapon-condition displays, Phelan punched new commands into his computer to get it to define the incoming data in slimmer and slimmer slices of temperature. The projection melted, then reformed itself with little change in the dark blue and black representation of it.

"Damn! This cursed rain is soaking everything to a universally wretched temp." The whole assault on Tukayyid had begun to get to Phelan. He and the Wolf Spiders had spent days cooling their heels and occasionally going after ComStar raiders. Then, all of a sudden, they had been rushed into the mountains just in time for a hideous weather front to move in. Hurry up and wait, hurry up and wait!

He knew that Ulric was, in fact, working from a plan, but it bothered Phelan to have to hear reports of the other Clans in combat while the Guards were stuck in place. They had successfully fended off two ComStar attempts to overrun their supply depot, and Phelan knew their efforts had pleased the ilKhan. Still, it made Phelan feel like a storekeeper chasing off shoplifters, not a warrior fighting for the ownership of Terra.

Frustrated with the weather, he flipped the sensor over to visible light and shifted the Wolfhoundup so the tips of its ears could rise above the solid granite boulder that hid it. He rose slowly, annoyed that his holographic display revealed a jagged, rocky landscape while his viewports only allowed him to see granite.

A forked bolt of lightning arced up from the valley beyond his position to tickle the belly of the black thunderclouds overhead. Phelan winced and ducked away from the brutally bright light. With afterimages slashing lines through his vision, he forced himself to look at the holographic display. He shuddered, then punched up a replay of the one instant the lightning froze with its stroboscopic explosion.

"One, two, three ..." Phelan continued counting silently to himself as he used the targeting joystick to tag each 'Mech image on the display. After finding a full company of them, he started in on armor and infantry squads. Very quickly his mouth went dry. "Dammit all to hell, this is a ComStar thrust that'll split the Guards from the 341st Assault. Not at all what Ulric thought the Precentor Martial would do."

Phelan hit two buttons on his command console. Because of the storm raging outside and the countless valleys in the mountains, using the radio was impractical. Avoiding its use also prevented the possibility of ComStar locating him by triangulation. Only the fact that the storm made all kinds of sensors useless had prevented him from being discovered so far, and with a company of 'Mechs inserting itself between his Star and his Cluster, he wanted to remain hidden.