Chapters 44-46
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Chapter 44
Yang-ku, Nanking
Sarna March, Federated Commonwealth
19 December 3057
Field Marshal David Sandoval looked like hell. Bandages still covered much of his face, and the cast around his left arm was too light to hide the fact that half of that hand was gone. He returned Kate's salute with the other hand, wincing slightly at raising his arm, and then lowered his hand back to the controls of his wheelchair.
"Don't get too excited, your highness," he said, and there was a twinkle in his eye. "I know I look like I've made a perfect recovery, but I'm afraid my topknot hasn't grown back in yet. It will be a few more weeks before the doctors sign off on my taking on even administrative duties."
Kate couldn't help but return the smile. David Sandoval might look a lot like his brother, but he had an easy charm that she admired. He, like her, had grown up as the spare rather than the heir, and on his occasional visits to New Avalon, they had got along well. "I can barely tell," she lied.
"I look far better than some of my staff," Sandoval replied, and the mask slipped - there was anger beneath the smile. "Not to mention quite a number of other senior officers. We owe Chancellor Liao a reckoning."
"I don't disagree," Kate acknowledged. "It will take some time, but we will not forget."
The Field Marshal nodded heavily, and she could see the fatigue now. See the lack of energy. She had seen recovering patients at NAIS, and while she was no doctor, she had some idea of how long it would take to recover from such severe injuries. 'Weeks' meant at least a month, maybe more than one.
"I wanted to thank you," he continued. "I am not surprised that you stepped up - you are a Steiner-Davion. But I am grateful. I think it is important to say that. My men needed leadership, and you provided it."
"It was the least I could do."
Sandoval shook his head. "You could have returned to New Avalon, led the efforts from there as the viceroy and that would have been just your duty. You went beyond that. Let no one say you are a lesser officer than your brother was."
Kate shook her head. "I fought in one battle and did little enough."
"You saw to it that we have won others," he disagreed. "And you extracted units that might otherwise have been lost. Leading attacks, whether you take the field or not, is easier than holding troops together in a retreat. Without you, we could have lost a dozen commands that I could name. Instead, I hear they are here and at other rallying points - refitting, getting replacement soldiers. I have not been able to visit them, but I still know their commanders and I can read their mood from the reports the doctors let me read. They are ready to fight - we have not lost yet."
That was putting a brave face on it, in Kate's opinion. Perhaps he had to though.
Rather than disagreeing, she gestured at the wall. "It's chaos."
"War always is," Sandoval told her. He looked at the map on the wall, the worlds it had been his responsibility to defend. Kate knew what he was seeing.
Sarna itself was lost - not even to the Capellans. The Kaifeng SMM had rallied to a local governor who had much the same idea Pierre Benton had tried on Epsilon Eridani. Reinforced by cadets from the academy on Sarna and now by mercenaries, the Sarna Supremacy claimed three worlds now, along with the name of the pre-Capellan Confederation realm that had governed worlds from Campertown to Goshen. The new realm wasn't a tenth that, not yet - and she was sure that Sun-Tzu Liao had no more intention than she did of allowing that. But the Chancellor was in a position to do something about it, while the mighty Federated Commonwealth was not.
"We haven't seen something like this since the Fourth Succession War," the Field Marshal considered. "Perhaps not even then - Janos Marik pulling out of the Terran corridor is the parallel I was thinking of, but we were able to take hold of those worlds. If the Capellans could do that, they would - and the number of unaligned worlds right now means that they can't."
"That's what I'm advised," Kate confirmed. "His people on Outreach and even Galatea are trying to hire up mercs to let him push harder but a lot of the small units are being signed up with new governments. Harlech's Hiring Hall was insane."
Sandoval looked over at her. "You went there?"
She shook her head. "Not personally. I spent all my time there convincing Maeve Wolf that the Dragoons are required to hold Outreach as part of the Federated Commonwealth and that going independent would invalidate their claim."
"I have nothing but admiration for your ability to persuade her of that," the wounded Marshal admitted. "The Dragoons have always been… difficult. And walking away with two regiments under contract even then."
"Northwind was good practice. I hate to blame Dad for this but some of the deals he struck are coming back to haunt us."
Sandoval smiled sadly. "Hindsight is always easier. I wasn't part of the planning then, but I doubt that this situation was considered at the time. Every generation inherits what they see as obvious oversights by the last. Hanse - or even Ian, I suspect - likely had to wonder why their father and grandfather had spent so much time building up relations with the Free Worlds League when the Lyran alliance was so rewarding as an alternative."
"Victor's eventual children will no doubt wonder what we were thinking."
"Yes, I promise that they will. That's life, I'm afraid."
Kate had to wonder how long it would be before Victor moved on from his feelings for Omi Kurita. His plans to lead the reinforcements put him at risk, but she had a feeling it might also lead to him reconnecting to soldiers his own age. Perhaps he'd meet someone more politically acceptable. The only women in his age bracket in Tharkad City were husband-hunters and there were few things the Inner Sphere's most eligible bachelor found less appealing than young women chasing the consort's crown.
"I realize you're not ready to resume command, but I would appreciate your opinion on my immediate plans," she said, taking up a pointer. Sandoval would have to continue those plans, so if he didn't agree then she would be well advised to change them now.
He backed up his wheelchair and turned for a slightly better view. "I would be pleased to."
"With the loss of Corey, we don't really have any rallying points in the Palos operational area," Kate began. At the rimwards end of the Sarna March, the one closest to the Capellan Marchm Palos itself was somewhere in the morass of independent worlds - some of them still fighting over who the planetary government was. "The Sarna Supremacy's position makes them a bulwark that's complicating Capellan logistics in trying to take worlds between Sarna and Bell."
Bell was part of the Capellan March but she'd had to pull regiments back there for stable and secure basing. "Right now, the region is a three-way contest between ourselves, the Capellans and Sarna. We're not going to win it, but the longer it goes on, the better our position will be. We don't just have to take over the governments - the Zhanzeng de Guang, their imitators and their rivals using the same tactics are the biggest problem."
Kate indicated three worlds near Bell. "We've got a hold on Jonathan, Footfall and Highspire - not perfect but the tide is in our favor." Then she traced a line. "If we can do the same for Shipka, St. Andre and Shenshi then we have something resembling a defensive line to halt Capellan efforts into the Chesterton and Tikonov regions."
"Resembling," Sandoval said with a hint of bitterness.
She nodded. "There's no real lines in space, but having those worlds strongly held will make for bases that Sun-Tzu can't ignore. New Aragon will need to serve as our staging area for operations there - and for the worlds behind that line. We can't ignore them, but as long as they don't become bases for Capellans to bypass our defenses they're a lower priority."
"Diplomacy may work," the Marshal suggested. "Find factions there that remain loyal and send them supplies and support - even a company of 'mechs might be able to tip the balance in our favor."
Kate nodded, then indicated two more worlds. "Gan Singh and Styk have formed a defensive pact, the Styk Commonality. I'd love to take Styk and its 'mech factories but the best I can say right now is that they're a brake upon the Capellans and the Mariks." She paused and then added: "Unless Thomas Marik turns to diplomacy himself."
"Offering them provincial status?" asked Sandoval. At her nod, he reached up with another wince and ran his one intact hand over his scalp. "It depends how threatened they feel. And the same for Saiph, I suppose?" Another little cluster of worlds who had banded together.
"Liao will want them all," she said. "Marik may not wish to offend his future son-in-law. And then there is our biggest concern." Kate used the pointer to indicate the world that shared its name with the ruling house of the Capellan Confederation.
"Liao," Sandoval recognised, his voice a growl. "Do you believe we can reclaim it?"
"Seven of the Warrior Houses landed there," Kate replied. "It's not impossible, but we would need a large force and for now we need our troops elsewhere. Before I even consider it, we have to worry about Zurich - there's a force of the Crater Cobras there supporting a Zhanzeng de Guang-backed government. They are sending support to Nanking, where we are in a better position."
"I agree with you in principle," the Marshal agreed. "Secure defensive positions and we can hopefully clear out the worlds behind them once we don't have to worry about losing what we already hold. Once the Archon-Prince arrives, we will have more forces to work with."
Chapter 45
Mount Asgard, Tharkad
Donegal March, Federated Commonwealth
31 January 3058
The septic green of Clan Jade Falcon pierced the map of the Federated Commonwealth.
That had been the case for years now, but since Tukayyid no more worlds had fallen to the Clans' talons. That couldn't be said now, and the blow hadn't fallen against the fortified and garrisoned worlds that lined the border.
"What do we know?" Caesar Steiner asked evenly as Victor studied the display. The young - comparatively, he was Reinhart's father - general had only just arrived on Tharkad. There hadn't been time yet for him to take over from Nondi. In fact, Victor had had no chance yet to break the news to his aunt that her replacement had been decided.
The commander of the Lyran State Command wasn't even here yet - she and Morgan Hasek-Davion had been spelling each other, twelve hours on and twelve off, for weeks as they made preparations to deal with the threat to the Terran Corridor.
Morgan was beginning to show the signs of strain at that, lines deeper on his face. Even a touch of white at his temples that hadn't been there until… Well, sometime after Victor's accession to the throne. "The Jade Falcons hit without warning. The worlds are well behind the frontlines and only have militias protecting them."
Engadine was shown as having probably fallen by now - the last news was long enough ago that the outcome was predictable. Neerabup and Willunga had been hit next and Victor suspected that the latter world had also fallen, although Neerabup was a little better defended. It was only a matter of time though. As for Bucklands, the only news was that Jade Falcon jumpships had arrived, but the pattern was unmistakable.
"How are they doing this?" he asked. "Our projections were that Clan Wolf had done so much damage that the Jade Falcons would be recovering for months yet."
"We have a possible answer for that," the representative of the Intelligence Secretariat reported. Curaitis had been heavily involved in the hunt for evidence to convict Ryan Steiner and his promotion had been a reward for that. He still looked as if he would rather be in the field, to Victor - although the Archon-Prince suspected he might be projecting his own feelings. "Our latest reports from Wotan have taken time to arrive," the man added, before anyone could ask why his information hadn't been made available until now. "But there is evidence that Clan Jade Falcon has absorbed much of the Wolves' surviving military strength. It's possible that this also includes their territory."
"They were just clawing each other to death a few weeks ago," muttered Caesar. "I can't see them working smoothly together."
"It's almost entirely speculative," Curaitis said, "but this expedition might be intended to bond them with the Jade Falcons against a mutual foe."
Victor wished Phelan was here to consult, but they had a considerable amount of data on the Clans now. "What exactly was reported?"
The spy checked his noteputer. "Clan Wolf equipment was being repainted by work gangs into Jade Falcon colors, and the Jade Falcon leader made a grand ceremony out of cutting the bondcords of several individuals whose names match senior officers within Clan Wolf - mostly Star Colonels but also at least one Galaxy Commander."
Caesar nodded in understanding. "It would make a great deal of sense on a purely military basis," he said. "Both Clans are depleted by their conflict, not to mention Phelan Kell's defection to us. Combining their strength might be as much about warding off threats from the other Clans as anything else."
Victor leant over the map. "They're still using that strength against us. And we have limited options to counter them."
Morgan nodded. "We already stripped what we could from the frontlines to deal with the Free Worlds League. Of course, if the bulk of the Jade Falcon strength is here then it's possible we can afford to move more regiments away…"
"If." The Archon-Prince shook his head. "The Steel Vipers are still there and as far as we can tell they're unscathed. Do we have any indications that a new ilKhan has been appointed?"
Curaitis frowned. "Not clearly. There was a Grand Kurultai scheduled on Wotan, but we do not have reports yet of anything being announced. News could be on the way, but if so it has not arrived. We also have no reports yet of other Clans' leadership setting out."
"They might be meeting by HPG proxy," Morgan speculated. "We know they make much more liberal use of HPGs for real time communication than ComStar does."
"So we don't know."
"If an IlKhan had been appointed, news would likely have reached worlds nearer to us quite rapidly," the spy noted. "At least, I would expect the Jade Falcons to be celebrating if their leader was elected. We have no reports of that, and having defeated Ulric Kerensky, it seems likely that Khan Crichell would have been a leading candidate. Our profile on him suggests that he would make much of such an achievement."
Victor exhaled slowly. "The Truce of Tukayyid is effectively a dead letter then. The Jade Falcons might just be the first Clan to move - although why they'd hit us out there, I do not know."
Caesar joined him at the table and reached into the holographic display. "Perhaps it is just what it looks like," he said. "They have outflanked us. Look at where their line of advance will take them." The four worlds in question formed an irregular diamond, elongated with the first to be struck nearest to the periphery and Bucklands the deepest inside the Commonwealth.
Victor watched his cousin's finger trace the direction of travel further, past other worlds that to him were little more than names on the map even if they were home to millions of his citizens. But soon the finger found something more substantial. "Coventry." One of the most important industrial worlds of the Commonwealth.
"And beyond it, if we assume the truceline is not restraint." Caesar's finger continued until it pointed at another world. The world they all stood upon. "Tharkad. Unless we hear otherwise, I must assume that the Jade Falcons are coming here."
Morgan folded his arms. "I cannot argue with that. I hope you are wrong, but in that case we must stop them. Tharkad isn't just the capital. Beyond its political and economic might, it's at a key junction in logistical routes: almost every major jumpship lane in this half of the Lyran Commonwealth goes through this system or those around it."
The Archon-Prince closed his eyes wearily. "If we cannot afford to pull back from the Tamar March then we have only one option for where to pull a response force from." His eyes went to the cluster of regiments that was assembling near the border between Donegal and Skye, preparing to move up en masse to relieve Callison.
There was ripple of concern from around the room and Victor turned, looking around. "I don't like the idea. If anyone has any alternatives, however junior you are, then speak up. But Thomas Marik has offered me an armistice - a negotiated settlement that recognises most of his gains. If I use the task force we've spent the last weeks assembling to fight him then we may lose Coventry or even Tharkad."
No one said anything.
"I am open to any reasonable alternative," he continued. "I will be breaking promises made to those already fighting in the Terran Corridor if I take Marik's terms. I do not want to do this. But -"
"I see no other way," Caesar Steiner said quietly. His words were audible. "Your highness, I volunteer to lead those regiments to Coventry. We can have them there before the Jade Falcons arrive, unless they ignore every world in their path."
Morgan walked to the table, circling it, eyes on the display as if viewing it from another angle would open up another option. Then he shook his head. "I am sorry, Victor. I believe you are right. And if that is the case…"
"Then I need Thomas Marik's agreement now. He will learn of this attack soon," Victor pointed out. "His terms will be harsher once he knows we are facing another attack, one from the other flank."
And still, no one else was able to come up with a realistic alternative. Or if they did, they did not voice it.
Victor nodded. "The responsibility is mine." Surely the blame will be. "Morgan, get our forces moving back towards Coventry. Caesar, I appreciate your offer but I need you here. I will lead the task force personally. That was always my plan, and I am as prepared to fight Clan Jade Falcon as anyone else would be."
Also, Kathy had handed over control of the Sarna March back to David Sandoval a week ago. She was on her way back to New Avalon - if things went disastrously, she would be in a secure position to salvage whatever could be done from the wreckage. The last few months had proven she had the ability to do so.
He turned to leave and then paused. "Morgan, unless I missed something, we never heard back from the spyship we sent to Sirius?"
Morgan grimaced. "No."
"Something is up there. The Marik offer seems to be on the assumption that we control those worlds. Since he hasn't asked for them, we may be in a fractionally better position than we thought. I'll try to get him to drop Callison from his claims, but if he doesn't have those worlds, I'd rather not lose them to whoever does."
Chapter 46
Avalon City, New Avalon
Crucis March, Federated Commonwealth
3 February 3058
The command circuit back from Terra Firma had taken its toll on Kate and she'd slept only fitfully as the shuttle made its approach to New Avalon. The last jump had been aboard a Merchant jumpship scheduled to carry wounded soldiers to the NAIS College of Medicine for treatments they could not receive anywhere else. Rather than bump the dropships, a small shuttle had been crammed into the jumpship's hangar. Her 'mech and all but a small escort would wait for a later jumpship.
The traffic through the proximity point between New Avalon and its star was heavily regulated, but it cut the transit time to the surface to hours rather than days. The only closer options were the points created by the capital's three moons, and their own interactions made those too hazardous for regular use.
Two gravities of acceleration would have been ill-advised for the wounded, so their dropships would take more than a day to arrive. Kate felt that the short-term pain of the experience was worth it - a chance to get home and rest in her own bed before what would no doubt be a busy schedule of catching up with everything she'd missed.
The roar of superheated air around the shuttle died down, and the princess was able to look out of the window at the landscape below as the shuttle rolled and began its final deceleration burn, angling down towards Castle Davion. Much like most working dropships, the small vessel was a roughly globular shape, mounted above the engines. The upper hull made up the heat shield for re-entry, but now that they were coming in to land, she could see the fields and forests below, giving way to the sprawling capital city - great towers, open campuses, the mansions of the wealthy and the factories and warehouses needed to make the entire complex metropolis function, the whole knit together by highways and a network of elevated railways.
Castle Davion rose above it all, as it had for centuries. The deliberately archaic structures with their gothic architecture and vast size were inimitable, immortalized for years on bank notes as well as every conceivable form of recording.
The shuttle settled towards one of the small pads on the edge of the drop port. It didn't need quite as much clearance as a dropship would, but it was still a fusion torch being pointed at the ground.
"Your highness." The hauptmann leading her escort platoon leant over as far as he could given seat constraints. "Your sister is waiting for you at the terminal."
Kate smiled with some relief. "Of course she is." Probably to make some reasonable complaints about the delays in returning. She'd never intended to leave Yvonne handling the public duties as long as she had.
The shuttle touched down, the sound of the engines fading, and as soon as it was deemed safe, Kate unstrapped herself and picked up the small bag that was her only luggage. She didn't need to carry much with her - most of her possessions would either catch up shortly or were already waiting for her at Castle Davion - so it was just an overnight bag. "I'll carry it myself," she told the officer when he reached for it. "You're already busy keeping me safe."
"If you say so, your highness."
"You are senior to me, so I suppose you could insist," she joked and then took her place in the middle of the queue of guardsmen ready to disembark. She wore the same duty uniform as the rest of the Davion Guards so she wouldn't stand out if there really was a threat waiting.
By the time she was at the hatch, the bright afternoon sun making her wish she'd brought sunglasses, a limousine was screaming across the ferrocrete towards them - moving fast enough that the leading elements of the platoon were even taking defensive positions until the aircar skidded to a halt - the driver expertly bringing it up to the line marking how close any vehicle should approach.
The door swung open and Yvonne leant out. "Kate!"
"Yvonne!" she called back, smiling and waving. Then the gesture faltered as she saw her sister's face. "What's wrong?"
The redhead climbed out, waving a newspaper. "Politics!" she exclaimed.
Kate crossed to her and accepted the broadsheet, unfolding it to see the front page. Then she said a number of things that Mom would have scrubbed her mouth out with soap and water for. Personally, not even handing the job over to staff.
"Yeah," Yvonne agreed, rather than teasing her.
The main headline was explosive. 'STEINER-KURITA ROMANCE?!' it shouted. And below it, taking up almost half the page was an image of their oldest brother talking to Omi Kurita. It must have been taken years ago… at Dad's funeral? Perhaps even earlier - on Outreach. She wasn't sure.
But the expressions on their faces were perfectly clear. The photographer had done a wonderful job of capturing the feelings between them.
If there was nothing else, that would have been damning, but the story below wasn't just speculation on that one fact. No, someone had talked. Someone close to the royal family. Someone who was able to give far too much information about the relationship between Victor and Omi. And yet, at the same time, they gave too little.
Their occasional meetings, kept discreet to avoid this sort of attention, were mentioned.
But the understandings that those meetings must be entirely chaste were not. The reality that this Romeo and Juliet had no intention of letting their feelings destroy them was not touched on. Instead, the delicately-woven gaps left room to imagine a fairy-tale romance that was well on its way to 'sealing the deal' of a dynastic marriage.
Oh, nothing was clearly said. Everything was speculation. Some of it was even couched sympathetically. Not that it mattered.
It wasn't even some tawdry tabloid. The Inquirer was a reputable paper, one of the mainstays of conservative political discussion on New Avalon. And this was the morning's paper.
"How bad?" Kate asked simply, tossing the paper back to her sister.
Yvonne caught it. "There haven't been riots… but there is already a demonstration outside the gates. Victor canceling the reinforcements to Skye was the -"
"He what?" She had been out of contact for less than three days!
Her sister made a face. "The Jade Falcons are hitting Coventry Province, so he's negotiating an armistice with Thomas Marik. That's what the demonstration was about, but they're going to have more things to put on placards now."
The sun was no longer the sole cause of Kate's headache. "Welcome home, Kate…" she said. "Dammit, Victor!"
She got a hug from Yvonne. "Welcome home." And then: "The High Council is meeting right now. Those who didn't go home."
The elder sister nodded wearily. Many of the High Council had arranged to prolong their usual autumn visits to the capital in hope of attending a Christmas coronation. Even once it became evident that this wouldn't be the case, inertia had kept most of them on New Avalon. But… "How many of them?"
"I think they have a quorum." Yvonne gestured towards the limousine. "Uncle Hammond and Uncle James are trying to keep them from doing anything rash but I think they might need help."
Kate threw her bag inside and climbed in after. The High Council dated back to the foundation of the Federated Suns, a legislative body that had elected the first Davion Presidents. Presidents and then First Princes had had to work with the High Council, but the Succession Wars had demanded greater centralization of power to direct a war effort that lasted for generations. The High Council met every year and approved the decisions of the First Prince with little dissent.
But in theory they did not have to. They were the voices of the planetary governments of every member world in the Federated Suns, and exactly how much power they had in the Federated Commonwealth was a very fuzzy issue.
It was a point Kate was left musing over as the limousine took off for the great hall of the castle at top speed. The paved roadway rushed by underneath them, various landmarks going by in a blur that was only partly due to her distraction by political calculations. Yvonne gave name after name of those present, and even just the key leaders made it clear that more than a few of those attending were those who had complained about Victor's policies in the past.
The journey was over entirely too soon, the limousine arriving at one of the side entrances to the grand structure. Kate hopped out, wishing she was dressed slightly more formally than a duty uniform. Then again, it might play well. The Suns was traditionally very favorably inclined towards its' soldiers.
The sisters passed sentries at the main door, then Kate led the way through the network of side rooms until she arrived at one of the discreetly placed entrances to the main dais. There were guards here as well, two men in the First Davion Royal Guards. They saluted crisply as she approached and Kate returned the gesture before she opened the door.
The great hall was full. Seating had been laid out, as was customary for a council meeting, and Kate reflexively counted each full row as she went up the three steps onto the dais. A quorum? There were something close to three hundred attendees - and the 'public' seats behind and in the galleries were completely full of those who lacked a vote but had the connections or other status to get in.
Horatio DuVall was standing at the front of the dais, calling for order and he turned slightly as the sisters stepped forward, Kate heading for the viceroy's throne. If the speaker was having trouble then perhaps she could -
The Duke of Argyle had been at DuVall's side, but as Kate approached, J. Hammond Davion turned and, to her astonishment, he took two steps and then stretched out one arm to block her path.
The move drew eyes and though the hall could not be called silent, it at least began to quiet, all eyes going to those behind the Speaker.
"Is there some reason," Kate asked, projecting her voice to be heard above those still speaking from the floor, "that you are not welcoming me?"
Her uncle's voice was statesmanlike, calm and almost regretful. Some instinct sent a shiver down her spine. "Your highness, you may not yet have heard that your brother has agreed an armistice with House Marik."
"It is my understanding that it is an unpleasant necessity," Kate said firmly. "And perhaps you will now answer my question, your grace."
Hammond turned to Horatio DuVall and gestured invitingly to the pale count. There was a flicker of smugness barely audible in the duke's voice. Beyond him, Kate caught a glimpse of James Sandoval, face rigid in fury. "For that, I believe it is for the Speaker to say."
"Your highness." DuVall bowed slightly. "I regret to inform you that a motion has been placed before the High Council and by a clear majority… your brother Victor Steiner-Davion has been deposed."
Kate's first reaction was relief, closely followed by contempt for herself. She took a half-step forwards. "And thus I am no longer viceroy. I see." Then she let her eyes sweep the room, looking from left to right across the crowd of nobles and elected officials who made up the High Council. Drunk upon their own power, she guessed. She could guess almost at a glance who had voted for and who against.
"My lords and ladies," she said, forcing herself to remain calm. Or to pretend it. "Our nation stands at war. We cannot be without a leader. You have removed my brother, but I think you have not yet elected a new First Prince." She doubted if any but a very few had even considered what the provisions were for that. The few who had called for this. "I lack a seat upon the High Council in my own right, but as the senior member of House Davion present, I nominate Marie St. Clair Hasek-Davion as regent until such time as a successor is decided."
Her aunt was in the second rank, and if there was one thing that everyone knew about the eldest child of Andrew Davion it was that she had not the slightest desire for political power. There was a wave of applause for the motion and Kate pulled Yvonne back aside as their aunt made her reluctant way to the dais, Hammond Davion also forced to give way rather than seem ungracious.
"What do we do?" hissed her sister.
"Panic?" Kate suggested, almost giddy at the shock. "We may as well get that over with. It'll be hours before we do anything useful."
Yang-ku, Nanking
Sarna March, Federated Commonwealth
19 December 3057
Field Marshal David Sandoval looked like hell. Bandages still covered much of his face, and the cast around his left arm was too light to hide the fact that half of that hand was gone. He returned Kate's salute with the other hand, wincing slightly at raising his arm, and then lowered his hand back to the controls of his wheelchair.
"Don't get too excited, your highness," he said, and there was a twinkle in his eye. "I know I look like I've made a perfect recovery, but I'm afraid my topknot hasn't grown back in yet. It will be a few more weeks before the doctors sign off on my taking on even administrative duties."
Kate couldn't help but return the smile. David Sandoval might look a lot like his brother, but he had an easy charm that she admired. He, like her, had grown up as the spare rather than the heir, and on his occasional visits to New Avalon, they had got along well. "I can barely tell," she lied.
"I look far better than some of my staff," Sandoval replied, and the mask slipped - there was anger beneath the smile. "Not to mention quite a number of other senior officers. We owe Chancellor Liao a reckoning."
"I don't disagree," Kate acknowledged. "It will take some time, but we will not forget."
The Field Marshal nodded heavily, and she could see the fatigue now. See the lack of energy. She had seen recovering patients at NAIS, and while she was no doctor, she had some idea of how long it would take to recover from such severe injuries. 'Weeks' meant at least a month, maybe more than one.
"I wanted to thank you," he continued. "I am not surprised that you stepped up - you are a Steiner-Davion. But I am grateful. I think it is important to say that. My men needed leadership, and you provided it."
"It was the least I could do."
Sandoval shook his head. "You could have returned to New Avalon, led the efforts from there as the viceroy and that would have been just your duty. You went beyond that. Let no one say you are a lesser officer than your brother was."
Kate shook her head. "I fought in one battle and did little enough."
"You saw to it that we have won others," he disagreed. "And you extracted units that might otherwise have been lost. Leading attacks, whether you take the field or not, is easier than holding troops together in a retreat. Without you, we could have lost a dozen commands that I could name. Instead, I hear they are here and at other rallying points - refitting, getting replacement soldiers. I have not been able to visit them, but I still know their commanders and I can read their mood from the reports the doctors let me read. They are ready to fight - we have not lost yet."
That was putting a brave face on it, in Kate's opinion. Perhaps he had to though.
Rather than disagreeing, she gestured at the wall. "It's chaos."
"War always is," Sandoval told her. He looked at the map on the wall, the worlds it had been his responsibility to defend. Kate knew what he was seeing.
Sarna itself was lost - not even to the Capellans. The Kaifeng SMM had rallied to a local governor who had much the same idea Pierre Benton had tried on Epsilon Eridani. Reinforced by cadets from the academy on Sarna and now by mercenaries, the Sarna Supremacy claimed three worlds now, along with the name of the pre-Capellan Confederation realm that had governed worlds from Campertown to Goshen. The new realm wasn't a tenth that, not yet - and she was sure that Sun-Tzu Liao had no more intention than she did of allowing that. But the Chancellor was in a position to do something about it, while the mighty Federated Commonwealth was not.
"We haven't seen something like this since the Fourth Succession War," the Field Marshal considered. "Perhaps not even then - Janos Marik pulling out of the Terran corridor is the parallel I was thinking of, but we were able to take hold of those worlds. If the Capellans could do that, they would - and the number of unaligned worlds right now means that they can't."
"That's what I'm advised," Kate confirmed. "His people on Outreach and even Galatea are trying to hire up mercs to let him push harder but a lot of the small units are being signed up with new governments. Harlech's Hiring Hall was insane."
Sandoval looked over at her. "You went there?"
She shook her head. "Not personally. I spent all my time there convincing Maeve Wolf that the Dragoons are required to hold Outreach as part of the Federated Commonwealth and that going independent would invalidate their claim."
"I have nothing but admiration for your ability to persuade her of that," the wounded Marshal admitted. "The Dragoons have always been… difficult. And walking away with two regiments under contract even then."
"Northwind was good practice. I hate to blame Dad for this but some of the deals he struck are coming back to haunt us."
Sandoval smiled sadly. "Hindsight is always easier. I wasn't part of the planning then, but I doubt that this situation was considered at the time. Every generation inherits what they see as obvious oversights by the last. Hanse - or even Ian, I suspect - likely had to wonder why their father and grandfather had spent so much time building up relations with the Free Worlds League when the Lyran alliance was so rewarding as an alternative."
"Victor's eventual children will no doubt wonder what we were thinking."
"Yes, I promise that they will. That's life, I'm afraid."
Kate had to wonder how long it would be before Victor moved on from his feelings for Omi Kurita. His plans to lead the reinforcements put him at risk, but she had a feeling it might also lead to him reconnecting to soldiers his own age. Perhaps he'd meet someone more politically acceptable. The only women in his age bracket in Tharkad City were husband-hunters and there were few things the Inner Sphere's most eligible bachelor found less appealing than young women chasing the consort's crown.
"I realize you're not ready to resume command, but I would appreciate your opinion on my immediate plans," she said, taking up a pointer. Sandoval would have to continue those plans, so if he didn't agree then she would be well advised to change them now.
He backed up his wheelchair and turned for a slightly better view. "I would be pleased to."
"With the loss of Corey, we don't really have any rallying points in the Palos operational area," Kate began. At the rimwards end of the Sarna March, the one closest to the Capellan Marchm Palos itself was somewhere in the morass of independent worlds - some of them still fighting over who the planetary government was. "The Sarna Supremacy's position makes them a bulwark that's complicating Capellan logistics in trying to take worlds between Sarna and Bell."
Bell was part of the Capellan March but she'd had to pull regiments back there for stable and secure basing. "Right now, the region is a three-way contest between ourselves, the Capellans and Sarna. We're not going to win it, but the longer it goes on, the better our position will be. We don't just have to take over the governments - the Zhanzeng de Guang, their imitators and their rivals using the same tactics are the biggest problem."
Kate indicated three worlds near Bell. "We've got a hold on Jonathan, Footfall and Highspire - not perfect but the tide is in our favor." Then she traced a line. "If we can do the same for Shipka, St. Andre and Shenshi then we have something resembling a defensive line to halt Capellan efforts into the Chesterton and Tikonov regions."
"Resembling," Sandoval said with a hint of bitterness.
She nodded. "There's no real lines in space, but having those worlds strongly held will make for bases that Sun-Tzu can't ignore. New Aragon will need to serve as our staging area for operations there - and for the worlds behind that line. We can't ignore them, but as long as they don't become bases for Capellans to bypass our defenses they're a lower priority."
"Diplomacy may work," the Marshal suggested. "Find factions there that remain loyal and send them supplies and support - even a company of 'mechs might be able to tip the balance in our favor."
Kate nodded, then indicated two more worlds. "Gan Singh and Styk have formed a defensive pact, the Styk Commonality. I'd love to take Styk and its 'mech factories but the best I can say right now is that they're a brake upon the Capellans and the Mariks." She paused and then added: "Unless Thomas Marik turns to diplomacy himself."
"Offering them provincial status?" asked Sandoval. At her nod, he reached up with another wince and ran his one intact hand over his scalp. "It depends how threatened they feel. And the same for Saiph, I suppose?" Another little cluster of worlds who had banded together.
"Liao will want them all," she said. "Marik may not wish to offend his future son-in-law. And then there is our biggest concern." Kate used the pointer to indicate the world that shared its name with the ruling house of the Capellan Confederation.
"Liao," Sandoval recognised, his voice a growl. "Do you believe we can reclaim it?"
"Seven of the Warrior Houses landed there," Kate replied. "It's not impossible, but we would need a large force and for now we need our troops elsewhere. Before I even consider it, we have to worry about Zurich - there's a force of the Crater Cobras there supporting a Zhanzeng de Guang-backed government. They are sending support to Nanking, where we are in a better position."
"I agree with you in principle," the Marshal agreed. "Secure defensive positions and we can hopefully clear out the worlds behind them once we don't have to worry about losing what we already hold. Once the Archon-Prince arrives, we will have more forces to work with."
Chapter 45
Mount Asgard, Tharkad
Donegal March, Federated Commonwealth
31 January 3058
The septic green of Clan Jade Falcon pierced the map of the Federated Commonwealth.
That had been the case for years now, but since Tukayyid no more worlds had fallen to the Clans' talons. That couldn't be said now, and the blow hadn't fallen against the fortified and garrisoned worlds that lined the border.
"What do we know?" Caesar Steiner asked evenly as Victor studied the display. The young - comparatively, he was Reinhart's father - general had only just arrived on Tharkad. There hadn't been time yet for him to take over from Nondi. In fact, Victor had had no chance yet to break the news to his aunt that her replacement had been decided.
The commander of the Lyran State Command wasn't even here yet - she and Morgan Hasek-Davion had been spelling each other, twelve hours on and twelve off, for weeks as they made preparations to deal with the threat to the Terran Corridor.
Morgan was beginning to show the signs of strain at that, lines deeper on his face. Even a touch of white at his temples that hadn't been there until… Well, sometime after Victor's accession to the throne. "The Jade Falcons hit without warning. The worlds are well behind the frontlines and only have militias protecting them."
Engadine was shown as having probably fallen by now - the last news was long enough ago that the outcome was predictable. Neerabup and Willunga had been hit next and Victor suspected that the latter world had also fallen, although Neerabup was a little better defended. It was only a matter of time though. As for Bucklands, the only news was that Jade Falcon jumpships had arrived, but the pattern was unmistakable.
"How are they doing this?" he asked. "Our projections were that Clan Wolf had done so much damage that the Jade Falcons would be recovering for months yet."
"We have a possible answer for that," the representative of the Intelligence Secretariat reported. Curaitis had been heavily involved in the hunt for evidence to convict Ryan Steiner and his promotion had been a reward for that. He still looked as if he would rather be in the field, to Victor - although the Archon-Prince suspected he might be projecting his own feelings. "Our latest reports from Wotan have taken time to arrive," the man added, before anyone could ask why his information hadn't been made available until now. "But there is evidence that Clan Jade Falcon has absorbed much of the Wolves' surviving military strength. It's possible that this also includes their territory."
"They were just clawing each other to death a few weeks ago," muttered Caesar. "I can't see them working smoothly together."
"It's almost entirely speculative," Curaitis said, "but this expedition might be intended to bond them with the Jade Falcons against a mutual foe."
Victor wished Phelan was here to consult, but they had a considerable amount of data on the Clans now. "What exactly was reported?"
The spy checked his noteputer. "Clan Wolf equipment was being repainted by work gangs into Jade Falcon colors, and the Jade Falcon leader made a grand ceremony out of cutting the bondcords of several individuals whose names match senior officers within Clan Wolf - mostly Star Colonels but also at least one Galaxy Commander."
Caesar nodded in understanding. "It would make a great deal of sense on a purely military basis," he said. "Both Clans are depleted by their conflict, not to mention Phelan Kell's defection to us. Combining their strength might be as much about warding off threats from the other Clans as anything else."
Victor leant over the map. "They're still using that strength against us. And we have limited options to counter them."
Morgan nodded. "We already stripped what we could from the frontlines to deal with the Free Worlds League. Of course, if the bulk of the Jade Falcon strength is here then it's possible we can afford to move more regiments away…"
"If." The Archon-Prince shook his head. "The Steel Vipers are still there and as far as we can tell they're unscathed. Do we have any indications that a new ilKhan has been appointed?"
Curaitis frowned. "Not clearly. There was a Grand Kurultai scheduled on Wotan, but we do not have reports yet of anything being announced. News could be on the way, but if so it has not arrived. We also have no reports yet of other Clans' leadership setting out."
"They might be meeting by HPG proxy," Morgan speculated. "We know they make much more liberal use of HPGs for real time communication than ComStar does."
"So we don't know."
"If an IlKhan had been appointed, news would likely have reached worlds nearer to us quite rapidly," the spy noted. "At least, I would expect the Jade Falcons to be celebrating if their leader was elected. We have no reports of that, and having defeated Ulric Kerensky, it seems likely that Khan Crichell would have been a leading candidate. Our profile on him suggests that he would make much of such an achievement."
Victor exhaled slowly. "The Truce of Tukayyid is effectively a dead letter then. The Jade Falcons might just be the first Clan to move - although why they'd hit us out there, I do not know."
Caesar joined him at the table and reached into the holographic display. "Perhaps it is just what it looks like," he said. "They have outflanked us. Look at where their line of advance will take them." The four worlds in question formed an irregular diamond, elongated with the first to be struck nearest to the periphery and Bucklands the deepest inside the Commonwealth.
Victor watched his cousin's finger trace the direction of travel further, past other worlds that to him were little more than names on the map even if they were home to millions of his citizens. But soon the finger found something more substantial. "Coventry." One of the most important industrial worlds of the Commonwealth.
"And beyond it, if we assume the truceline is not restraint." Caesar's finger continued until it pointed at another world. The world they all stood upon. "Tharkad. Unless we hear otherwise, I must assume that the Jade Falcons are coming here."
Morgan folded his arms. "I cannot argue with that. I hope you are wrong, but in that case we must stop them. Tharkad isn't just the capital. Beyond its political and economic might, it's at a key junction in logistical routes: almost every major jumpship lane in this half of the Lyran Commonwealth goes through this system or those around it."
The Archon-Prince closed his eyes wearily. "If we cannot afford to pull back from the Tamar March then we have only one option for where to pull a response force from." His eyes went to the cluster of regiments that was assembling near the border between Donegal and Skye, preparing to move up en masse to relieve Callison.
There was ripple of concern from around the room and Victor turned, looking around. "I don't like the idea. If anyone has any alternatives, however junior you are, then speak up. But Thomas Marik has offered me an armistice - a negotiated settlement that recognises most of his gains. If I use the task force we've spent the last weeks assembling to fight him then we may lose Coventry or even Tharkad."
No one said anything.
"I am open to any reasonable alternative," he continued. "I will be breaking promises made to those already fighting in the Terran Corridor if I take Marik's terms. I do not want to do this. But -"
"I see no other way," Caesar Steiner said quietly. His words were audible. "Your highness, I volunteer to lead those regiments to Coventry. We can have them there before the Jade Falcons arrive, unless they ignore every world in their path."
Morgan walked to the table, circling it, eyes on the display as if viewing it from another angle would open up another option. Then he shook his head. "I am sorry, Victor. I believe you are right. And if that is the case…"
"Then I need Thomas Marik's agreement now. He will learn of this attack soon," Victor pointed out. "His terms will be harsher once he knows we are facing another attack, one from the other flank."
And still, no one else was able to come up with a realistic alternative. Or if they did, they did not voice it.
Victor nodded. "The responsibility is mine." Surely the blame will be. "Morgan, get our forces moving back towards Coventry. Caesar, I appreciate your offer but I need you here. I will lead the task force personally. That was always my plan, and I am as prepared to fight Clan Jade Falcon as anyone else would be."
Also, Kathy had handed over control of the Sarna March back to David Sandoval a week ago. She was on her way back to New Avalon - if things went disastrously, she would be in a secure position to salvage whatever could be done from the wreckage. The last few months had proven she had the ability to do so.
He turned to leave and then paused. "Morgan, unless I missed something, we never heard back from the spyship we sent to Sirius?"
Morgan grimaced. "No."
"Something is up there. The Marik offer seems to be on the assumption that we control those worlds. Since he hasn't asked for them, we may be in a fractionally better position than we thought. I'll try to get him to drop Callison from his claims, but if he doesn't have those worlds, I'd rather not lose them to whoever does."
Chapter 46
Avalon City, New Avalon
Crucis March, Federated Commonwealth
3 February 3058
The command circuit back from Terra Firma had taken its toll on Kate and she'd slept only fitfully as the shuttle made its approach to New Avalon. The last jump had been aboard a Merchant jumpship scheduled to carry wounded soldiers to the NAIS College of Medicine for treatments they could not receive anywhere else. Rather than bump the dropships, a small shuttle had been crammed into the jumpship's hangar. Her 'mech and all but a small escort would wait for a later jumpship.
The traffic through the proximity point between New Avalon and its star was heavily regulated, but it cut the transit time to the surface to hours rather than days. The only closer options were the points created by the capital's three moons, and their own interactions made those too hazardous for regular use.
Two gravities of acceleration would have been ill-advised for the wounded, so their dropships would take more than a day to arrive. Kate felt that the short-term pain of the experience was worth it - a chance to get home and rest in her own bed before what would no doubt be a busy schedule of catching up with everything she'd missed.
The roar of superheated air around the shuttle died down, and the princess was able to look out of the window at the landscape below as the shuttle rolled and began its final deceleration burn, angling down towards Castle Davion. Much like most working dropships, the small vessel was a roughly globular shape, mounted above the engines. The upper hull made up the heat shield for re-entry, but now that they were coming in to land, she could see the fields and forests below, giving way to the sprawling capital city - great towers, open campuses, the mansions of the wealthy and the factories and warehouses needed to make the entire complex metropolis function, the whole knit together by highways and a network of elevated railways.
Castle Davion rose above it all, as it had for centuries. The deliberately archaic structures with their gothic architecture and vast size were inimitable, immortalized for years on bank notes as well as every conceivable form of recording.
The shuttle settled towards one of the small pads on the edge of the drop port. It didn't need quite as much clearance as a dropship would, but it was still a fusion torch being pointed at the ground.
"Your highness." The hauptmann leading her escort platoon leant over as far as he could given seat constraints. "Your sister is waiting for you at the terminal."
Kate smiled with some relief. "Of course she is." Probably to make some reasonable complaints about the delays in returning. She'd never intended to leave Yvonne handling the public duties as long as she had.
The shuttle touched down, the sound of the engines fading, and as soon as it was deemed safe, Kate unstrapped herself and picked up the small bag that was her only luggage. She didn't need to carry much with her - most of her possessions would either catch up shortly or were already waiting for her at Castle Davion - so it was just an overnight bag. "I'll carry it myself," she told the officer when he reached for it. "You're already busy keeping me safe."
"If you say so, your highness."
"You are senior to me, so I suppose you could insist," she joked and then took her place in the middle of the queue of guardsmen ready to disembark. She wore the same duty uniform as the rest of the Davion Guards so she wouldn't stand out if there really was a threat waiting.
By the time she was at the hatch, the bright afternoon sun making her wish she'd brought sunglasses, a limousine was screaming across the ferrocrete towards them - moving fast enough that the leading elements of the platoon were even taking defensive positions until the aircar skidded to a halt - the driver expertly bringing it up to the line marking how close any vehicle should approach.
The door swung open and Yvonne leant out. "Kate!"
"Yvonne!" she called back, smiling and waving. Then the gesture faltered as she saw her sister's face. "What's wrong?"
The redhead climbed out, waving a newspaper. "Politics!" she exclaimed.
Kate crossed to her and accepted the broadsheet, unfolding it to see the front page. Then she said a number of things that Mom would have scrubbed her mouth out with soap and water for. Personally, not even handing the job over to staff.
"Yeah," Yvonne agreed, rather than teasing her.
The main headline was explosive. 'STEINER-KURITA ROMANCE?!' it shouted. And below it, taking up almost half the page was an image of their oldest brother talking to Omi Kurita. It must have been taken years ago… at Dad's funeral? Perhaps even earlier - on Outreach. She wasn't sure.
But the expressions on their faces were perfectly clear. The photographer had done a wonderful job of capturing the feelings between them.
If there was nothing else, that would have been damning, but the story below wasn't just speculation on that one fact. No, someone had talked. Someone close to the royal family. Someone who was able to give far too much information about the relationship between Victor and Omi. And yet, at the same time, they gave too little.
Their occasional meetings, kept discreet to avoid this sort of attention, were mentioned.
But the understandings that those meetings must be entirely chaste were not. The reality that this Romeo and Juliet had no intention of letting their feelings destroy them was not touched on. Instead, the delicately-woven gaps left room to imagine a fairy-tale romance that was well on its way to 'sealing the deal' of a dynastic marriage.
Oh, nothing was clearly said. Everything was speculation. Some of it was even couched sympathetically. Not that it mattered.
It wasn't even some tawdry tabloid. The Inquirer was a reputable paper, one of the mainstays of conservative political discussion on New Avalon. And this was the morning's paper.
"How bad?" Kate asked simply, tossing the paper back to her sister.
Yvonne caught it. "There haven't been riots… but there is already a demonstration outside the gates. Victor canceling the reinforcements to Skye was the -"
"He what?" She had been out of contact for less than three days!
Her sister made a face. "The Jade Falcons are hitting Coventry Province, so he's negotiating an armistice with Thomas Marik. That's what the demonstration was about, but they're going to have more things to put on placards now."
The sun was no longer the sole cause of Kate's headache. "Welcome home, Kate…" she said. "Dammit, Victor!"
She got a hug from Yvonne. "Welcome home." And then: "The High Council is meeting right now. Those who didn't go home."
The elder sister nodded wearily. Many of the High Council had arranged to prolong their usual autumn visits to the capital in hope of attending a Christmas coronation. Even once it became evident that this wouldn't be the case, inertia had kept most of them on New Avalon. But… "How many of them?"
"I think they have a quorum." Yvonne gestured towards the limousine. "Uncle Hammond and Uncle James are trying to keep them from doing anything rash but I think they might need help."
Kate threw her bag inside and climbed in after. The High Council dated back to the foundation of the Federated Suns, a legislative body that had elected the first Davion Presidents. Presidents and then First Princes had had to work with the High Council, but the Succession Wars had demanded greater centralization of power to direct a war effort that lasted for generations. The High Council met every year and approved the decisions of the First Prince with little dissent.
But in theory they did not have to. They were the voices of the planetary governments of every member world in the Federated Suns, and exactly how much power they had in the Federated Commonwealth was a very fuzzy issue.
It was a point Kate was left musing over as the limousine took off for the great hall of the castle at top speed. The paved roadway rushed by underneath them, various landmarks going by in a blur that was only partly due to her distraction by political calculations. Yvonne gave name after name of those present, and even just the key leaders made it clear that more than a few of those attending were those who had complained about Victor's policies in the past.
The journey was over entirely too soon, the limousine arriving at one of the side entrances to the grand structure. Kate hopped out, wishing she was dressed slightly more formally than a duty uniform. Then again, it might play well. The Suns was traditionally very favorably inclined towards its' soldiers.
The sisters passed sentries at the main door, then Kate led the way through the network of side rooms until she arrived at one of the discreetly placed entrances to the main dais. There were guards here as well, two men in the First Davion Royal Guards. They saluted crisply as she approached and Kate returned the gesture before she opened the door.
The great hall was full. Seating had been laid out, as was customary for a council meeting, and Kate reflexively counted each full row as she went up the three steps onto the dais. A quorum? There were something close to three hundred attendees - and the 'public' seats behind and in the galleries were completely full of those who lacked a vote but had the connections or other status to get in.
Horatio DuVall was standing at the front of the dais, calling for order and he turned slightly as the sisters stepped forward, Kate heading for the viceroy's throne. If the speaker was having trouble then perhaps she could -
The Duke of Argyle had been at DuVall's side, but as Kate approached, J. Hammond Davion turned and, to her astonishment, he took two steps and then stretched out one arm to block her path.
The move drew eyes and though the hall could not be called silent, it at least began to quiet, all eyes going to those behind the Speaker.
"Is there some reason," Kate asked, projecting her voice to be heard above those still speaking from the floor, "that you are not welcoming me?"
Her uncle's voice was statesmanlike, calm and almost regretful. Some instinct sent a shiver down her spine. "Your highness, you may not yet have heard that your brother has agreed an armistice with House Marik."
"It is my understanding that it is an unpleasant necessity," Kate said firmly. "And perhaps you will now answer my question, your grace."
Hammond turned to Horatio DuVall and gestured invitingly to the pale count. There was a flicker of smugness barely audible in the duke's voice. Beyond him, Kate caught a glimpse of James Sandoval, face rigid in fury. "For that, I believe it is for the Speaker to say."
"Your highness." DuVall bowed slightly. "I regret to inform you that a motion has been placed before the High Council and by a clear majority… your brother Victor Steiner-Davion has been deposed."
Kate's first reaction was relief, closely followed by contempt for herself. She took a half-step forwards. "And thus I am no longer viceroy. I see." Then she let her eyes sweep the room, looking from left to right across the crowd of nobles and elected officials who made up the High Council. Drunk upon their own power, she guessed. She could guess almost at a glance who had voted for and who against.
"My lords and ladies," she said, forcing herself to remain calm. Or to pretend it. "Our nation stands at war. We cannot be without a leader. You have removed my brother, but I think you have not yet elected a new First Prince." She doubted if any but a very few had even considered what the provisions were for that. The few who had called for this. "I lack a seat upon the High Council in my own right, but as the senior member of House Davion present, I nominate Marie St. Clair Hasek-Davion as regent until such time as a successor is decided."
Her aunt was in the second rank, and if there was one thing that everyone knew about the eldest child of Andrew Davion it was that she had not the slightest desire for political power. There was a wave of applause for the motion and Kate pulled Yvonne back aside as their aunt made her reluctant way to the dais, Hammond Davion also forced to give way rather than seem ungracious.
"What do we do?" hissed her sister.
"Panic?" Kate suggested, almost giddy at the shock. "We may as well get that over with. It'll be hours before we do anything useful."
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