Chapter Text
Opalescent Reflections
Full House
Chapter 4
Acomb, British Isles
Terra, Sol System
19 December 3056
“Is there some reason we’re meeting here?” Tiger Lily asked as she walked towards the restaurant table.
Wei Rong raised a wine glass in greeting. “It’s convenient for Sandhurst.”
“That is in fact a lie,” the Precentor Martial criticized from where he was sitting across from her, a tumbler of whiskey in one hand. Wearing a civilian suit with his long hair tied back in a ponytail, the one-eyed man looked like the villain of a holovid - in fact, a waitress had already asked if he was an actor. “We are over four hundred kilometers from Sandhurst.”
“That’s much closer than Hilton Head.”
“We could take a shuttle from Sandhurst and be in Hilton Head in under an hour. It took two hours by helicopter to get here.”
Wei chuckled. “Alright.” She sipped from her wine. “No one will expect to find us here, I’m fairly sure that there are no spies from any of the Great Houses here.”
Precentor Atreus looked around the converted pre-industrial farmhouse. “I can see why. Please tell me the kitchen is good?”
“I’d recommend the steak,” Wei told her. “The beef around here is excellent.”
The door opened and the last of her guests entered the restaurant, speaking briefly to a waiter before being pointed to Wei’s table. “With all due respect,” Andrew Norris told her in a tone that made it clear he wasn’t feeling respectful, “Why here?”
“Security reasons,” she replied. “Take a seat.”
Raising her hand, Wei called over a waitress and after a brief conversation everyone agreed on ordering the rump steak. A moment later and the waitress was back with Norris’ beer and Tiger Lily’s wine.
“What’s so sensitive that we can’t talk in Hilton Head?” Precentor Pesht asked after he’d taken a long drink from the pint glass.
Wei opened her mouth to reply but Focht spoke first. “The Primus takes every chance to escape her office, this isn’t the worst place she’s set up a meeting.”
“The Star League Council is finalizing objectives for the counter-offensive,” Wei said quietly. “The First Circuit voted in principle to participate but we are out of time to debate exactly what our part of this will be. I believe that the three of us have enough influence that whatever we agree will have the support of the majority of the First Circuit… and Anastasius is the best placed to advise us.” Tiger Lily lead the Terra-centric precentors and between Focht and Norris the militants would be on side. Combined with her own admirers, that came to around two-thirds of the First Circuit - the religious extremes made up much of the rest but Wei would be damned before she tried to bring Buckley in for this conversation.
Tiger Lily examined the contents of her wine glass as if the secrets of the universe were contained within. “So you are as concerned about spies from our own people as from the Great Houses.”
Wei tried not to let her face reveal how close that was. “Our spies answer to me, via DRUM. What I want is to avoid is spending weeks or months arguing via proxy. If we can come to an agreement and convince our political allies then ComStar is not the one slowing down the entirety of the counter-offensive.”
“That might have been easier to avoid with a smaller First Circuit,” the other woman murmured.
“The irony is not lost on me.”
Norris leant back in his seat. “My last information was that the Council had agreed that they need a commanding general to provide a single chain of command over all the operations being carried out.”
“They have elected such a commanding general,” Wei told him. “Taking a page from the history of the Free Worlds League, Precentor-Martial Focht will serve for a maximum of two years in the position before handing over to whoever is elected as his replacement.”
“It seems entirely probable that fighting will still be ongoing by then,” Norris warned.
Wei sighed. “I know. It was a compromise.”
“Quite honestly, two years of coordinating such extensive operations will be… exhausting,” Focht observed. “And I am not a young man. I imagine I will be quite ready to hand over the responsibility to someone else.”
“You said we need to decide quickly,” Tiger Lily said and sipped from her glass. “Oh dear, this was a mistake.”
“Order something else,” Wei told her.
“That is not done,” the precentor observed and sipped again. “Should I take it that military operations will be beginning in the next few months?”
Focht shook his head. “It will take at least a year to move the jumpships, supplies and troops into position. The distances are considerable and depending on our commitment, we may need to start making the moves almost immediately.”
Wei leant forwards. “One of the planned operations is a ‘demonstration’ raid against the Clan homeworlds. It will take a year for the task force to reach the right region of space and the thinking is that the attack should take place at approximately the same time as the other operations so they will need to assemble and depart within the next month.”
“I am glad that they are making use of Kapten Miraborg’s data,” Tiger Lily said thoughtfully, setting her glass down. “Not to mention the Explorer Corps’ work… but such an attack may be provocative.”
“What are they going to do?” asked Norris sarcastically. “Invade the Inner Sphere? I think we are a little bit past that point.”
“By my understanding, more than half of the Clans haven’t joined the invasion so far,” she countered. “Do we really want to see that change?”
Focht ran one finger about the rim of his empty glass. “We have no guarantee that we will not have to face that anyway. Interrogation of captured Clan warriors makes it clear that the majority of the Clans actively competed for the right to join the invasion. Their original plan only involved five Clans’ participation and the involvement of seven was the result of pressure to expand that number.”
“Their invasion ultimately halted for lack of forces,” Wei reminded them. She refilled her own wine glass. “If I were in the shoes of a Clan Khan wishing to lead a renewed invasion - and we know that there are such men and women - then inviting more Clans to invade would be an obvious course of action. With that as a case…”
Tiger Lily nodded in understanding. “Alright, that is less of a concern. But we should still try to avoid provoking those Clans.”
“Of course,” the Primus agreed. “In the best case, Task Force Topaz will find Huntress. Our best information is that the world is almost entirely under the control of Clan Smoke Jaguar, with some possibility that Clan Jade Jade Falcon shares it with them. That may have changed since then but I don’t think that striking at either of those Clans will be considered excessive so long as there are no atrocities.”
“There will be considerable temptation,” Norris noted. “The Kungsarme have offered their Flying Drakons to join the attack and they were in the air over Reykjavik when it was destroyed.”
Focht grimaced. “For that reason we want to exercise tight control over any weapons of mass destruction involved. Nuclear armaments to engage warships must be taken as a contingency and General Mansdottir has confirmed that at least some of Rasalhague’s strategic arsenal was evacuated before the Republic’s conquest. Rather than have them bring their own, I want approval to have the ComGuards provide all of the warships for Topaz. If the Flying Drakons are staging from our ships we should be able to control what weapons they have access to and reserve them for cases where they are needed.”
“How many of our warships would this be?”
“I’m proposing to send our Second Destroyer Squadron,” the Precentor Martial informed her. “It’s made up of six Lola-class destroyers. Their fighter bays would be sufficient to carry all thirty-six fighters of the Flying Drakons and they have no dropship collars for carrier dropships.”
“Wouldn’t that limit their supplies?” asked Norris.
“The cargo bays are extensive,” Wei replied. “Between them, the destroyers can carry over six hundred thousand tons of supplies. Unloading them via shuttles would be time-consuming, but it’s enough to cover for a lot of contingencies.”
The ex-ComGuard glanced over at Focht. “Who else will be sent?”
“Thomas Marik has formed a new regiment of volunteers, the Knights of the Inner Sphere. Two battalions come from the FWLM while the others are mercenaries and even defectors from other realms. The Captain-General recruited them to be a chivalric order as much as a military force.”
Wei had a nasty feeling that it would go astray in time, but probably not in the first generation. “A unit of idealists may be suitable as a moral restraint and he was quite enthusiastic about sending them. The bulk of the fighting forces will be a full RCT from the Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth.”
“I suppose they can spare such a large unit for over two years, assuming they make it back at all,” Norris grumbled.
“Indeed. The Capellans and the Periphery realms were uninterested in contributing forces, but there will also be two battalions of battle armor from the DCMS, added to one with the regimental combat team. We expect a final decision on which RCT will be sent within the next few days, but it will most likely be one of the Davion Guard units.”
“That’s still quite a small force to strike at the Clan homeworlds,” Tiger Lily said thoughtfully.
“It’s a raid, not an invasion. Enough, we hope, that the Clans will concern themselves with defending their homeworlds rather than reinforcing their Inner Sphere holdings. We cannot hope to hold territory that far from the Inner Sphere,” the Precentor Martial warned. “There is considerable public pressure to hit back but we must be realistic.”
“And if Huntress is not found? My understanding is that the Clan capital system is close to it.”
“If we can’t locate Huntress, then Strana Mechty is unlikely to be found, they are within a single jump of each other.” Wei could imagine what a disaster an attack on what was apparently considered near sacred territory to the Clans would turn into. “In any case, Strana Mechty is off limits - if anything would send the Clans berserk it would be attacking them there. They don’t even fight over territory on their capital amongst themselves; but all the Clans have a presence, so it must be far too heavily defended.”
“Indeed,” Focht confirmed. “If they don’t find Huntress then any other enclave of the invaders would be a viable alternative. There will be discretion to negotiate with other Clans for navigational data if no other option is available, if the commander feels that they will abide by a trial of possession of such information. However, if we cannot find anything then it is better to withdraw intact. One consideration of sending such a small force is that it would cost us little even if nothing is accomplished.”
“Except it’s a large portion of our fleet.”
“Six destroyers from a fleet of forty-four,” Wei reminded Tiger Lily. “We will be completing four new ships before Task Force Topaz can return, and if necessary we can re-activate the seven destroyers still in mothballs. I don’t like the expense of this but it’s an option.”
“What other warships will we commit?” the other woman asked cautiously.
“That’s in discussion, but the need to keep warships around Terra is something we’ve made clear. The squadron of cruisers in our orbitals and another covering Titan is the bare minimum,” Focht assured her. “My initial thinking is to commit two further destroyer squadrons to the counter-offensives, with our battlecruisers and corvettes held back with the strategic reserve.”
“If you sign off on restoration work for the other destroyers then I can accept that,” Tiger Lily said at last.
At that moment, the waitress approached with the first plates and Wei was glad of the excuse not to reply immediately. Soon plates with steaks, fries and salad were laid out, along with serving dishes of peppercorn sauce and other condiments.
Wei poured out some of the sauce onto the plate and was amused to see Focht eschew it, cutting open his rare steak before sniffing approvingly. “I was wondering if they were raising the cow from birth,” he muttered once the waitress had gone. The soldier cut a slice off the steak and chewed happily on it.
“If you are willing to work with me on convincing Phi of the financing then I’ll approve the restoration and upgrade of the Naga and Baron hulls,” Wei told Tiger Lily. “Precentor Zwick had design work done in case we needed it, but we will need a wartime budget.”
“What is it the Clans say? Bargained well and done?” Tiger Lily dipped a fry in the sauce and tasted it. Her eyes widened slightly. “Alright, this is worth the distance to get here.” She put the rest of the fry in her mouth and chewed. “I’ll order some better wine and we can toast to our hopes for Topaz.”
“There is another concern,” Wei told the Precentor before she could signal to the waitress currently tending to one of the handful of other occupied tables.
“Oh?” asked Tiger Lily.
“I assume you mean the HPG stations on occupied worlds,” Norris said quietly, driving his fork through some salad, before spearing a fry to secure it. His post on Pesht was several jumps behind the truceline.
Wei nodded bleakly. “We have to assume that the Clans will turn on those stations as soon as we move openly. They’ve been establishing their own HPGs but as far as we can tell it’s far from covering all their needs.”
“For now. Ten years from now will be another matter,” he warned before lifting his fork to his mouth.
“Agreed. So from their perspective, taking our HPGs leaves them in control of their communications and deprives us of bases at their rear - particularly along the periphery border and the old Lyran-Draconian border.” Many of the HPGs in those regions were at the heart of enclaves tens or even hundreds of kilometers across. “We can’t allow that to happen.”
“How can we stop them?” Norris asked once he was done chewing.
Focht spoke up. “For stations such as yours, that have no substantial territory, we will require full interdict protocols. Staff go to ground, hiding or destroying key components. The Clans have the knowledge needed to restore them to service eventually but it will take them years, due to the same component bottlenecks that are stalling their own parallel network of HPGs.”
That got a nod and then Precentor Pesht’s eyes widened. He lifted his beer and drank from it. Swallowing, he turned to Wei. “I am sure the Clans will give us a justification for a general interdict in the next year, but since the Precentor Martial only mentioned HPGs that lack an enclave around them…?”
“We could do the same,” Wei agreed. “It would mean abandoning the people who moved there for our protection, but except where the other Task Forces strike it is unlikely that garrisons could hold out for long.”
“That isn’t what you are planning, is it?”
Wei looked down at her own plate. “I am torn. It would be an abandonment… but if garrisons remain in place then they would likely be destroyed.”
“Casualties will be heavy,” Focht confirmed. “I expect battalions and brigade would be lost, perhaps entire divisions.”
“Can’t we simply evacuate the garrisons that cannot be easily over-run?” offered Tiger Lily cautiously.
The white-haired soldier shook his head. “That would reveal the regions that are of interest to us. It would be too suspicious.”
“Then why are we even considering having the ComGuards defend them?”
“There are two reasons,” Focht told them, voice solemn. “Firstly is the moral one. The duty of a soldier is to stand between civilians and harm. We have pledged to guard those enclaves and no one ever said that it would be safe to do so.”
“Dying for a principle sounds pretty but I imagine that the ComGuards will feel better about not being asked to die,” Tiger Lily pointed out and then reddened slightly, lowering her voice as a few heads turned at the next nearest table.
Wei smiled warmly at the other guests and mouthed “actors”. To her satisfaction, the other diners all turned back to their meal.
“No one is enthusiastic about dying,” Norris said quietly, “But unless they have changed significantly since my day, the ComGuards take their responsibility to those under their protection seriously. Abandoning those enclaves would be a severe blow to morale.”
Tiger Lily shook her head slightly but when she looked at Focht he nodded. “It would not be enough on its own to persuade me,” he told her. “However, there is also the argument that if the Clans are sending units to fight our garrisons, then those forces won’t be available to face the first waves of the counter offensive. I don’t intend to sacrifice my… our soldiers, but if they defend as long as they can before going to ground to fight as guerillas that could make a major difference.”
“Are you seriously considering this?” the precentor asked incredulously.
Wei’s face must have given her away.
“You want my support for this?”
“Several years ago,” Wei told her, “I sent the vast majority of our espionage experts behind enemy lines to support resistance movements against the Clans. The most favorable estimate I have is that half of them may be alive.”
“That’s what they’re trained for,” Tiger Lily hissed. “And they are volunteers.”
“And this,” growled Focht, “is what my ComGuards are trained for. All of them are volunteers as well.”
“I definitely need more wine.” Tiger Lily pushed her chair back and walked to the bar.
The three left behind said nothing as they waited. Wei cut some more from her steak but it was without taste when she put it in her mouth.
When Precentor Atreus returned with a full glass in her hand, she looked calmer. “Two divisions at most,” she almost whispered once she was seated again. “And they have to know what they are getting into - not the specifics, but brief them that there may be no relief if they come under attack by the Clans.”
Dali, Tamar
Clan Wolf Occupation Zone
12 January 3057
Ulric Kerensky had only expected to see Karl Bourjon appear across the desk from him, but as the live HPG communication opened, a second Khan was beside the leader of Clan Ghost Bear. The expression of Lynn McKenna was enough to tempt Ulric to hide behind the desk he’d laid claim to along with the rest of the Duke of Tamar’s office. “Dare I ask?” he enquired, barely keeping a groan from his voice.
The muscular Ghost Bear folded his arms across his chest. “You are acting as the protector of Clan Zeerga,” he rumbled.
What had those surats done now? “Aff, for a few more weeks. Since you are joining us, Khan McKenna, I assume that they have offended both of you this time?”
“You claim to be unaware?” she demanded.
“I am a very long way from the homeworlds,” Ulric pointed out. “No doubt some report from Clan Wolf’s Watch is on its way to me but much of their attention is focused on the Inner Sphere.”
The white-haired Snow Raven glared into his eyes. “Three days ago the Zeerga jumped their entire warship fleet into the Lum system and challenged the defenders of our shipyards.”
Ulric’s jaw sagged open. “They claimed your shipyards, quiaff?” There were several shipyards around the Clan homeworlds but most of them were focused on servicing existing vessels - understandable since the vast reserves left from the Exodus Fleet filled most of their needs. Clan Snow Raven, the paramount clan in the field of warships, were the most notable exception: their shipyards over Lum were the only one that could build new jumpships and warships.
Clan Wolf had tried to acquire part of the yards in 2966, something that his Clan would prefer to forget. The debacle had ended their own ventures into warship construction entirely.
“Neg!” McKenna exclaimed. “To stop that we would have destroyed them, no matter the cost.”
“They challenged for possession of three warships docked in the yards,” Bourjon rumbled. “Two of them belonging to my Clan.”
The Wolf Khan thought about that for a moment and then looked over at McKenna questioningly.
“The last was ours,” she confirmed. “But with the yards under the Zeerga’s guns the commander felt he must show restraint. He bargained down to fighters and elementals. A warship battle would have courted disaster.”
“Something Ward and Radick no doubt calculated on,” Ulric mused. “Reckless but effective.”
“Their fighters punched through and allowed elementals to seize control of the ships,” McKenna continued. “We ceded and they patched up controls for the jumpdrive and left a few hours ago.”
“They must be heading for Eden. The facilities there are their only option to complete warships. Off hand, I am unsure how long it might take though.”
“That is my own thinking,” agreed Bourjon. “We will not stand for this, Ulric. Those ships cost us a fortune in resources. The Zeerga cannot continue to hide behind you.”
The Khan leant back into his seat and examined the two. “I understand how you feel, but they did act under Clan law. I have no grounds to withdraw our support until March 18. Until then, any challenge to the Zeerga will be met by Clan Wolf. I can do no less…” Then he shook his head, feeling his gray hair brush the high back of the chair. “But I will do no more. If you want to strike at the Zeerga then I can only advise to wait until March 19.”
Both Khans nodded grimly and Ulric made a mental note that Clan Wolf’s forces in the Eden system were to make sure they left the instant that their obligations to the new Clan ended. They might once have been brethren but their actions over the last two years had soured the relationship.
“I am surprised they even wanted more warships,” he added thoughtfully. “Their holdings are not so widely spread as to need a large fleet. They could have probably have claimed ships from a naval cache with less difficulty. What ships were seized?”
“The Ark Royal is our newest battlecruiser.” McKenna all but spat. “Sister-ship of the Conqueror.”
Ulric nodded, searching his memory. Ah yes, a substantial rebuild of an SLDF fast cruiser, roughly comparable to Clan Wolf’s own flagship the Dire Wolf. “And your losses?” he asked Bourjon. He didn’t particularly keep track of Clan Ghost Bear’s ships but they were working hard as part of their shared supply lines with Clan Diamond Sharks so almost anything could have been sent in for maintenance.
“Do not tease me, Ulric! We had only two ships at Lum!”
For a moment, the older Khan was taken aback by Bourjon’s raw anger but then his memory gave up the missing pieces. “The Leviathans?! I thought they were far from being fit to jump.”
“Neg, they are largely unarmed and unarmored but their core propulsion was completed before priorities changed.”
The Leviathans - the Ghost Bear’s Follies - were a project going back more than ten years. Bourjon’s predecessors had entered into a partnership with Clan Snow Raven to build two of the most powerful warships ever built, a new generation to exceed even the Nightlord-class of battleships that represented the best of Clan warships. The costs had been huge, justified only by the expectation of having to fight warships belonging to the Great Houses.
Discovering that the Wolf Dragoons’ reports that such warships didn’t exist were correct, combined with the need to supply their own invasion force, had forced the Ghost Bears to divert the resources and thus the ships had lingered at Lum with progress slowing to a crawl.
“They must have been better informed than I was,” Ulric admitted ruefully. “But it would take years for them to complete the Leviathans. There’s no stockpile of capital armaments on Eden and I have heard nothing of them being seized from elsewhere. I am sure someone would have made me aware.”
McKenna snorted. “The answer is obvious. I will give you until the nineteenth of March, Ulric. But that clears any and all debts I may have owed you.”
“I would not ask more.”
The Snow Raven inclined her head sharply and then dropped out of the call, her hologram blinking away to leave the Wolf and Ghost Bear looking at each other.
“Transports,” Ulric concluded quietly.
Bourjon nodded. “We considered using them for that ourselves. Weapons require solid mountings, ammunition feeds, power… and then building the armored hull around all that. But cargo modules, habitation decks and life support - any dropship yard could build that given time.”
“What sort of capacities did you estimate?”
The Ghost Bear shrugged. “It depended on the preferred mix but… say a quarter million souls and as many tons of cargo, with fuel and life support to make the voyage to our occupation zone.”
“You never think small, quineg.”
“Neg. Nor short term.” Bourjon shrugged his shoulders. “The Clan Council is furious. You know how we are when roused.”
“I can only offer you what I did McKenna. When my pledge lapses, they are all yours,” Ulric promised. “When I offered my protection they were our erring sibkin, I had to appease their grieving comrades. The Zeerga have burned those bridges since then.”
The Ghost Bear folded his arms again. “I cannot imagine doing such a thing.”
“It was not my first resort,” he retorted. “I gave them a chance and they chose to squander it.”
“Our Clan is not the only one that desires revenge. It is probable that by the end of March the Zeerga will hold only their enclave on Strana Mechty,” warned Bourjon. “After that they may end up absorbed.”
Ulric had guessed as much. He would almost have expected abjuration but the chance at the genetic legacies the Zeerga had access to would be too great a prize. “That would not have my vote but I will not fight against it. Our Clan’s future is here in the Inner Sphere.”
Bourjon eyed him thoughtfully. “I had heard that you were establishing enclaves here but I had never thought to hear such worlds from you, Ulric. You have become a Crusader, quineg?”
“Neg, but Clan Wolf now rules worlds caught between the way of the Clans and those of the Inner Sphere,” he admitted. “Socially and geographically, the occupation zones will always be caught between the Clan and the Inner Sphere. The only way to stop further invasion is to create a point where both can meet with civility, if not peace. It will be a long road but that is something our Clans are better at than some others.”
“I have had similar thoughts,” the Ghost Bear agreed. “Of course, we may not have the time for such a road. If we do not survive our enemies’ claws, then it will not matter. The Zeerga are far from the largest challenge we are about to face.”
Kyoto City, Benjamin
Benjamin Military District, Draconis Combine
1 February 3057
Oda Hideyoshi’s estate would have fit in perfectly in the Imperial City. The marquis’ ancestor had acquired the land almost four hundred years ago and according to the dossier, the house had been built in the styles that were fashionable at the time. That being the traditional japanese architecture being pushed for by House Kurita as they moved the capital to Luthien, the only obvious differences were some subtleties of the wood that likely marked that the Hideyoshi family had used local timber originally or for repairs.
Probably the former, Minoru thought as he greeted his host with an exchange of formal bows. The Hideyoshi’s fortunes had risen and fallen over the years. When they first moved to Benjamin they would not be able to afford shipping rates for this much timber, not even in the golden years of the Star League.
The retired Otomo officer bowed deeply as Minoru crossed the threshold and the Coordinator returned the gesture. He was the lord of all lords in the Combine but he was still a guest today.
“My lord,” Hideyoshi greeted him. “You honor me with your visit.”
“I regret that I have not previously had the opportunity to spend time upon Benjamin,” Minoru answered politely, pretending not to notice that the older man was leaning on a cane. Hideyoshi had left a leg inside his battlemech on Luthien, if Omi’s resistance had not rescued him he would be a Diamond Shark bondsman. “Your estate has the appearance of a jewel in the crown of the district capital.”
“You are too kind.” The samurai gestured with the arm not using the cane towards the garden. “I feared that the style might be too melancholy while Luthien is inaccessible.”
That was delicately put, the younger man thought. “I have the fortune to place my own stamp upon the new capital.” Even if Luthien was liberated by the counter-offensive - which would be rather optimistic - then it would almost certainly be too exposed to shift the government there. Particularly given that another move would layer more disruption onto the court.
Hideyoshi indicated a turn on the path. “It will be a little time before dinner. Perhaps you would be pleased to engage in some archery while we talk. I imagine that you have had little chance to practice as you traveled.”
Minoru wouldn’t have said that archery was his favorite of the martial arts, but he was reasonably proficient and he supposed that it would be unreasonable to suggest a sparring session against a man twice his age with half as many organic legs as he had. “I would be pleased to.”
The older man seemed pleased and led Minoru through to one of the gardens. An open gallery at one end held firing positions and four targets stood at the far end, separated from them by a recently mowed lawn and lined with colorful flower beds.
“Less stark than the usual arrangement,” Minoru murmured as he selected a bow from the selection that had been laid out waiting for them. “I suppose less skilled archers might incur the anger of the gardener.”
Hideyoshi had set aside his cane once he reached a firing position and stood stiff-legged with his own bow in hand. “My wife first cultivated the flowers here,” he explained. “It was a way for us to combine our pleasures… and yes, she was most wroth on occasion if an arrow went astray. A fine inducement to improve.”
“One must respect the lady of the house.” He knew Hideyoshi had lost his wife several years before to cancer. Making his selection, Minoru carried the bow and a quiver of arrows to the next firing position. “Would you like the first shot?”
“Please,” the samurai declined with a gesture towards the targets.
Minoru nocked an arrow and extended his arm, waiting a moment before drawing it to extension. He looked down across the garden, letting the flowers flanking it fade from awareness. There was only the target, the arrow and the intent to bring them together.
The release came almost as a surprise and the arrow knifed into the target, dropping into the 9-ring just below the bullseye.
Hideyoshi did not offer sycophantic congratulations, simply drawing back his own arrow and releasing. His own arrow pierced the very edge of the bullseye. “I do not think you came here simply out of courtesy, tono.”
Minoru chose another arrow. “It is the nature of governance to seek to strike many targets with one arrow.”
“And neither diminishes the other. If I may help you to carry the burdens of the Combine then it is my duty and pleasure to do so.”
This time Minoru’s arrow was a hair too high, he had over-corrected and it would have been generous to say that the arrow was touching the bullseye. “I would value your counsel, Marquis Hideyoshi.”
“In the ancient wisdom of the west, a young man in possession of wealth and land must be desiring a wife,” Hideyoshi commented before launching another arrow into the target. It settled next to the first, clearly within the bullseye. “But I think that is not the topic that you have in mind.”
“It is not,” Minoru agreed evenly. He supposed that the remark or something like it was inevitable given that the man had a daughter who was unwed. “Have you ever met with Daniel Sorenson,” he asked instead.
“I had the privilege of attending his wedding,” Hideyoshi replied, to Minoru’s mild surprise. “Although we are not close. I think the offer was extended simply as a courtesy to a fellow officer who was on the same world at the time. His promotion came as a surprise, but not his loyalty or competence.”
“I have been pleased by both qualities.” Minoru loosed another arrow and it sank neatly between the first two - clearly in the bullseye, if not quite in the center. “While on Dieron I had the chance to meet with him and he has some interesting ideas about restructuring the government of his district to reflect lessons learned over the last few years.”
“Only his own district?” Lifting an arrow from his quiver, Hideyoshi examined it carefully, squinting along its length to check that it was perfectly straight. “The way some have spoken of his ideas, it would be easy to believe he wants to have the entire Combine reorganized into new districts to fit our diminished territory.”
Minoru was selecting his own next arrow and let it slip from his fingers in irritation. “It would be presumptuous for one Warlord to look beyond the boundaries of his district.”
“Indeed.” Hideyoshi nocked his arrow and drew it. “Such a decision would be cowardly, in any case - accepting that our recent reverses are largely irretrievable. And Sorenson -” His voice was slightly strained from holding the draw so long. “- is no coward.”
The arrow struck the target but only in the 8-ring.
“I hope you have extended your understanding to those who err in their comprehension,” the Kurita offered. He drew and released the arrow, seeing it settle next to the last arrow, on the edge of the bullseye. “Sorenson believes that through these changes Dieron can offer more support to the coming campaigns. With the Star League divided in its priorities when it comes to repelling the Clans, I am inclining towards giving him the chance to prove his theories.”
“It would be too much to expect that the Federated Commonwealth would be willing to extend efforts to reclaim our worlds at the expense of their own. Your sister’s efforts in keeping them from taking advantage of our focus on the Sharks have been admirable, but it would take a miracle to have more. My daughter is a great admirer, I may have to bring her to Irurzun when Lady Omi is next there,” he said in an indulgent tone. “I hope that it would not be presumptuous to introduce her - I owe your sister my life.”
“I’m sure Omi would be pleased, although I’m not sure when she will return,” Minoru said, picking another arrow and politely waiting for Hideyoshi to take a shot.
“Now that I can no longer take the field myself, I find myself thinking more about the future,” the marquis said, nocking the arrow. “I had fixed ideas of where my life would go and now I find myself living a rather different life - I had rather hoped to be chosen as the next regimental commander but now I have to find other ways to serve.” He released the arrow and it struck the dead center of the target.
Minoru drew his own arrow and sought the focus to make the next shot the equal of his host’s. There was a flicker of movement at the entrance of the gallery and he sought to banish the distraction - if it was any threat his security would not have let it pass.
The arrow struck home just on the edge of the bullseye again.
“I crave your pardon for distracting you, Lord Kurita.” The new arrival bowed deeply and Minoru was caught aghast for a moment. Why was Wei Rong here!
A moment later, his mind caught up with what he was seeing. This wasn’t the Primus of ComStar, although she bore some resemblance with a similar figure and long hair worn in the same style. She wore a demure kimono and as she looked up, he saw solemn and intelligent eyes.
“One grants pardon only where there is something to be forgiven,” he told her. “Please think nothing of it, Marquis HIdeyoshi is merely a better shot than I am.”
The man in question lowered his bow. “Should I take your arrival to mean that dinner is served, Atsuko-chan?”
She bowed her head again. “Yes father.”
“As an old campaigner, one should not pass up on a chance to eat,” the host advised, turning back to his lord.
Minoru set his bow down. “Wise words that I have heard from both my father and grandfather. Let us wash our hands and eat.”
Atsuko clapped her hands sharply and two servants entered, each carrying a bowl in one hand and a jug in the other. They had towels over their shoulders.
Rinsing his hands, Minoru accepted soap and realized that it was Atsuko who had passed him the bar before turning away to offer another to her father. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining the warm touch of her hand as she gave him the soap.
His hope that Hideyoshi had missed his distraction was dashed when he saw a knowing look in the old officer’s eyes. “Do not take this the wrong way, tono, but Warlord Sorenson’s reforms are probably less critical to the realm’s future than you ensuring that you have an heir.”
The young woman flushed and snatched the soap back from her father. Minoru handed his own bar back to her before letting the servant pour warm water from the jug over his hands to wash away the soap. Her hand definitely brushed his and he watched her leave.
Minoru gave Hideyoshi a sharp look and the marquis spread his own clean hands slightly. “One wishes the best for one’s children, tono. I hope that you provide well for your own, with the future of the Combine… whoever you choose to wed.”
There was no doubt what the man was hoping for, only whether the resemblance between Minoru’s first crush and the marquis’ daughter was a coincidence.
“I admire your archery,” he said blandly, changing the topic as the two of them left the garden and followed the young lady of the house towards the dining room. “Clearly, I should practice more.”
