Ardan rose to his feet as if pulled by strings."Madame Doctor," he said.
Shali inclined her head. "You may speak, Ardan Sortek."
"There is one thing that only the true Prince will be able to do. Not another warrior in all the systems could accomplish it. I suggest that each of these men be taken to the storage and repair area beneath Barracks A and asked to activate Prince Davion's BattleMaster."
There was a communal gasp from those in the room. It was true—none but its warrior knew the exact sequence of actions and words that would release a 'Mech from stasis.
Ardan looked toward the two Hanses. Neither seemed surprised or shaken at the suggestion. Now, having looked away, he found himself unsure as to which was which. But the Techs had put dye markers on their hands. It would be determined, when necessary.
Shali was smiling. Not her official, inscrutable smile, but a beam that touched her eyes as well as her lips.
"Well done, Ardan Sortek. A most useful suggestion. Lek, you will help these men to robe themselves properly. We will go ahead to await them in the 'Mech quarters."
There was a rustle of motion as the seated witnesses rose to follow Doctor Shali from the chamber. Ardan glanced back at the men, who were being led away into the robing room.
Even as he looked, one of the big, red-haired shapes turned his head slightly. A trace of a grin wrinkled the visible cheek. Ardan relaxed.
He knew, once more, which was his old friend. He found his step much more lively as he joined Sep and the others in the corridor. In only a short while more, the truth would become apparent to everyone.
35
The underground workshops and storage areas provided for the Mechs and their technicians were tremendous. To move the huge mechanisms in and out, as well as to hoist them for repair, required cavernous space. The bright metal of the walls reflected the brilliance of the work lights. The maintenance of a 'Mech was somewhere between mechanics and surgery, and the Techs were men of great skill.
The clang of metal on metal echoed through the vaulted chambers. Some of the witnesses winced at the noise until a runner sent by Ardan ordered the work to cease until this crucial testing was done.
The wait was a short one, however. The laboratory Techs arrived soon after, with the identical Hanse Davions in tow.
The compartment that held the Prince's BattleMasterwas marked with both the Davion crest and the symbol of the Federated Suns. The monster machine stood there silently, its domelike upper body framed between tremendous arms. Lasers and machine guns bristled from its every port
The Tech assigned to its care opened the sliding portal and moved the thing out on its tracked carrier. "It is always ready for use, though the Prince seldom has the time to drill in it any longer," the man said.
Looming into the space high above their heads, the machine was awesome. Even in another 'Mech—a WarHammeror a Zeus—it was a forbidding sight. Unprotected, unarmored human flesh instinctively cringed away when faced with such a potentially destructive behemoth.
"I shall go first," said one of the doubles.
Ardan could not tell which one it was. He found himself concentrating fiercely on the hope that his suggestion would lead to justice being done. If not...the destruction of the entire Federated Suns might well be a result.
The man climbed rather awkwardly into the cockpit of the BattleMaster.Within moments, the machine's great arms shifted position, and its legs relaxed from their rigid stance.
Ardan looked at the Hanse still standing on the floor. He looked astounded and ill. That had to be the real Hanse, then. In some way, the conspirators had decoded the unlocking sequence for the 'Master.
Ardan felt sick, too. Beside him, Sep took his arm. Jarlik, on the other side, had read the situation at a glance. He was staring up at the triumphant face, crowned with red hair, that had emerged from the hatch.
"Arm it!" he shouted to the descending man. "A ‘Mech is not operational until the weapons are armed and ready. Arm it, or come down and let its true master do so."
The man, dwarfed against the huge mechanism, halted. He looked questioningly at Shali.
She turned her delicate face up to speak to him. "Do as he says," she insisted. "An unarmed ‘Mech is not operational. Arm the weapons and let us see them work."
The man hesitated, then crawled back inside and closed the hatch.
There came a long pause. The 'Mech's limbs shifted, as though restless. The turret swiveled slightly, though not to its full range of motion. The weapons, however, frozen into their inoperative position, did not budge. At last, the hatch opened again. The red-haired figure climbed down.
"I defy you to accomplish what I have failed to do," he said, rejoining his double on the floor at the feet of the monster. "The weaponry has frozen and cannot be activated. The 'Mech has sat idle for too long. That is the problem."
There was a murmur about them. Of course, such things happened. After all, a machine was a machine, subject to occasional breakdown.
But the other Hanse was now climbing up to the ‘Mech, quickly, triumphantly. He slid into the cockpit with practiced ease, closing it behind him. After only a short pause, the 'Mech's arms lifted into a salute. The turret swiveled smoothly through its full round of modons. And the weapons, those dark round mouths that could spit death in beams or bursts, moved and locked into position. The 'Mech turned on its heel and aimed them at the ferrocrete wall provided for testing weapons.
Red lances probed, leaving more dark scars on the pale stone. Machine guns chattered, their slugs bouncing harmlessly into the baffles set there to contain the ricochets. The BattleMasterwent through its paces flawlessly.
Jarlik was grinning widely. Sep was clapping Ref on the back, and Ardan felt like dancing.
The 'Mech wheeled smartly and took up its position on the tracked carrier again. The hatch opened. Hanse Davion descended, amid greetings and subdued cheers from the witnesses. Doctor Shali was waiting when he jumped lightly to the floor.
"Although my discipline disapproves of hunches, Your Highness, I had a hunch that you were the real Prince of the Federated Suns. A human being is far more than the sum of his biological and chemical processes. There is another dimension. In another era, it might have been called spirit Now we have no term for it, but it exists, nevertheless. Welcome home, Your Highness." She took his hand and turned to face the imposter.
"You will be questioned," she said. "I am sure that His Highness will concur in that. We have...facilities...in the NAIS for learning what we need from even the most reluctant informant"
Ardan, moving through the crowd, was joined by Jarlik, Ref, and Sep. He came up to the spot where Efflinger was standing, calm and cool. In his remote way, the Steiner ambassador was enjoying the results of his maneuvering.
"Well done, sir," said Ardan. "And please convey our thanks to your son."
Maylor smiled, his expression aloof. "Ah, yes. Kolek. He thinks that I'm unaware of his fondness for a certain young woman named Prillie. Never tell him differendy, but I am hoping that he marries her soon. I shall make a tremendous fuss and cut him off without a credit. That will force him to pull himself together and find work. And it will be the making of him, do you not agree?"