Cox nodded. "How fast?"
"Fifteen minutes. Include projections to end of this week."
"Done."
As Galen closed the door, Victor steered Renny to a chair, then returned to his desk. As he seated himself, he saw Renny was still standing. "What is it, Renny?"
"Sir, I want to be frank with you. Permission to speak freely?"
Victor nodded slowly. "Granted."
"Kommandant, I ran into some trouble in my fight with the Uhlans." Renny blushed. "I'm better now. I won't let you down."
"Thank you, Leftenant." Victor pointed him to the chair. "Because we're friends, I'll give it to you straight. Galen liked what he saw of your fighting ability. He said you were really willing to get in there and mix it up, which is good. We need people who are game and are willing to push the 'Mechs to their maximums."
"Thank you, sir."
Victor met Renny's blue-eyed gaze. "Unfortunately, your leadership skills are not suited to this type of unit. That means that, if you choose to stay with us, you'll not command a lance."
Renny looked down. "I'll lose my rank?"
"As it is right now, I've got some excellent lance commanders. I can't bump one of them just because you're an old friend." The Prince opened his hands. "And Galen thinks it will take some time for you to be at ease working within our system. I cannot give you a lance until you are ready to lead."
Renny shook his head. "You haven't changed at all, have you, sir? You hated favoritism when it was show to you at the Academy and it's the same thing here."
Victor's gray eyes narrowed. "Does that surprise you?"
The MechWarrior smiled. "No, it's just what I expected, so it's kind of a relief. If you are willing to have me in the trenches, I'll take the step down to do it. You know me and you know how to use me. More than fearing death or failure, I fear never getting the chance to try."
The Prince smiled. "Well, if General Kaulkas approves your selection, the Revenants will be glad to have you aboard."
"And I will be honored to serve in the Revenants."
Victor smiled. "Now let's drop this formal 'sir' stuff. Tell me, are you still seeing Rebecca Waldeck?"
The large man nodded and held up his left hand. "We got married last year while I was ... away from the Uhlans." He blushed and spun a gold band around his finger with his thumb. "She's already expecting. Due some time in May."
"That's fantastic, Renny." For a moment, Victor envied his friend's ability to meet and marry a woman without having it become an issue of national security. The only woman I would consider marrying is light years away and as inaccessible as the Clans' homeworld, wherever that is.
A red light on top of Victor's visiphone burned to life. The Prince hit the answer button and a very nervous commtech appeared on the screen. "Highness, forgive the intrusion, but General Kaulkas wants to see you immediately in her office."
"On my way." He glanced over at Renny. "I'm afraid that's it for now, Renny. Do me a favor and find Galen. Tell him to meet me at the General's office, please."
"Yes, sir."
Victor returned Renny's salute, then bolted from his office. Around the corner, he took the stairs two at a time, then slowed just before he entered the General's outer office. There he saw the commtech who served as Kaulkas' aide and was waved straight through into the General's office. Victor passed through the interior door without a moment's notice, and saw the reason for the nervousness in the commtech's voice.
General Kaulkas stood behind her desk watching the monitor mounted in the far wall. On it Victor saw a graphic representation of the Port Moseby system. In space he saw the symbol representing a JumpShip, and a smaller icon moving away from it and toward the planet where he now stood.
"Here I am, General." Victor frowned. "Incoming?"
Andrea Kaulkas's head jerked down in a nod, the stark economy of motion characteristic of her personality and command style. "It's a Combine JumpShip. It just appeared in the system. It released a LeopardClass DropShip, the Fukakaina.Our records show that ship in service to the Royal Family. ETA twelve hours."
"The Fukakaina?"Victor took a step closer to the screen. "Why would they be sending it here?"
Kaulkas shrugged. "Don't know, but will find out."
The commtech appeared in the doorway. "General, I have Orbital Defense Command. They want to know what you want to do."
"Scramble an aerospace fighter lance to escort it in."
The commtech looked puzzled. "Escort, sir?"
Kaulkas nodded. "Escort. You don't think the Kuritans are going to attack this planet with the four 'Mechs that Leopardcould be carrying, do you?"
"No, sir." The commtech pressed a hand to the earpiece in his left ear. "Highness, the ship is requesting a clear, secure channel to communicate with you."
Victor glanced at the wall screen and the General nodded. "Put the message through here." Victor fought to keep his curiosity and surprise from his voice. He locked his attention on the screen as the picture shifted. Instead of the system display, Victor saw a young Oriental man whose face he easily recognized. "Komban-wa,Yodama Shin-san."
"And greetings to you, Prince Victor Davion." Shin's face remained impassive, but Victor thought he heard some joy in the man's voice. "I have come on a mission of great import to the Combine. I hope you and your commanding officer will see this in whatever inadequate explanation I offer. First, however, I have been asked to play a holodisk for you. May I?"
Victor nodded, his stomach knotting up. "This line is secure."
"Good. Beginning transmission now."
The image on the screen blew apart like a house of straw hit by a tornado. It reformed itself into the picture of beauty and serenity Victor had come to expect in communications from Omi Kurita. Yet neither the robe of white silk embroidered with pink cherry blossoms nor the smile on her face could deceive him with their sweet calm. Victor knew something was very wrong.
"Victor, this message fills me with hope and despair. I know the great burden on you as you rebuild your command, so I had resolved to only present pleasant moments of diversion in my messages. In return, from you, I have received messages I cherish because of your openness in expressing your feelings concerning us, the war, and the loss of your friend. You said in your last that you felt your communications were unworthy of me, but, in truth, the reverse has been true.
"I fear this message will continue this trend, because I must prevail upon you, ask you for help in something that is not your concern. You have your duties and responsibilities to the Federated Commonwealth, and I have mine to the Draconis Combine. These responsibilities are what make our relationship so difficult, yet I know neither of us would truly abandon them. We, you and I and our siblings, are symbols that make our people take heart and believe victory against our enemies is possible. We may have inherited these roles by the accident of birth, but we both hold them sacred, even to the point of honoring them to our own personal discomfiture."
Victor clenched his jaw against the emotions her words stirred in him. Though they had resolved to be just friends when they had parted on Outreach, and knowing they probably would never see each other again, their messages back and forth had deepened their feelings immeasurably. Victor knew, deep down, that he loved the woman on the screen before him, and it frightened him that he might consider never marrying if she could not be his bride.
The camera recording the holovid slowly zoomed in on her angelic face. "On 18 January the Nova Cats overran Teniente. My brother Hohiro and Shin Yodama were both present as observers during that assault. Things went badly for our forces and the command post was hit hard. As a result, my brother assumed command of the forces on the planet, and Shin, who had been wounded, was sent to Luthien to obtain a rescue force. Hohiro assumed he could hold out for two or three months, and has the supplies to do just that. Without a rescue force, he will never be able to safely pull his men out.