"Stan?"
"Soon enough, Jaime."
There was silence while I finished checking. When I reported that everything was normal, the Colonel said, "All right, Stan. Now maybe you'll tell me what this is all about."
"Maybe you'lltell me,"Stan shot back..
The Colonel frowned. "Not the way it works, Stan. Start with why you chased Captain Svados out of here. If this is business, your second's got a need to know. When did you start keeping secrets from her?"
"Since she started keeping secrets from me," Stan replied, confirming what I'd feared.
Colonel Wolf's frown deepened. "What are you talking about?"
"It's what I've been trying to tell you, Colonel," I blurted out. I almost lost my courage when he turned his eyes on me. "Someone's been falsifying communiques."
"That's a dangerous accusation, Brian."
"I know, Colonel. That's why I've been trying to lock things down, but I haven't been able to. I see logs that say messages and orders have been sent and others that report them as received, but I hear people saying they never got them or arguing over just what the content was. It's why I contacted Colonel Blake. I thought he might have an explanation."
Stan took up the argument. "Jaime, I didn't even know you were back on Outreach until Brian punched a call through on the emergency net. And don't put him on report for misuse of the net; I think he has good cause. If he hadn't done it, things might be a lot worse. Svados reported you still incommunicado in deep space."
"Incommunicado?" the Colonel echoed in a puzzled voice.
"As per your orders," Stan added.
Jaime Wolf cupped his chin in his left hand. "I never sent those orders."
"Damn!" Stan slammed his hat onto the floor. "It isworse than we thought. Jaime, you should never have gone chasing that feud."
Stan's outburst was cut off by a rap on the door. I don't know what I expected to see as Stan and I turned to see the door open, but it wasn't Colonel Carmody. The white-haired old man looked briefly surprised to see Stan, but he made no comment. He just said what he had come to say to the Wolf.
"It's time, Colonel."
"I'll be there in a minute, Jason."
Carmody nodded and closed the door.
"What's going on, Jaime?" Stan said, voicing my own question.
"A council meeting," the Colonel said quietly.
That was news to me, and I was supposed to know the Colonel's whereabouts at any given time. "It wasn't on your schedule," I said.
"Why wasn't I informed?" Stan asked at the same time.
The Colonel looked at each of us in turn. "I thought you were, Stan. I'm sorry, Brian, I forgot to tell you."
"You forgot!"
"Stan, back off. I'm tired and I don't need a lot of grief. I forgot. You'll just have to forgive me for being human."
Stan wasn't buying. "Unity, Jaime! What in Kerensky's name do you think you're doing? Why don't you just sell the 'Mechs for scrap and turn everybody out?"
"I'm trying to hold the Dragoons together."
"This meeting is about naming a second-in-command," Stan said. There was suspicion in his voice, and I began to see what was happening.
"That's right," the Colonel said. "I was planning to appoint Kelly Yukinov. He's done a good job with Alpha Regiment."
"Scuttlebutt says that Alpin is expecting to be named your second," I said.
The Colonel shook his head. His voice was heavy, freighted with what I took to be regret. "No. He's not ready now . . . if he'll ever be."
Stan sighed, then wet his lips. He was nervous and I didn't blame him. "Jaime, Alpin's been running with the Clanner faction. They've been touting him as your successor."
"Alpin? He's no leader of men."
"You've been a little out of touch. People change. He seems to have put together a coalition."
"You're blowing things out of proportion, Stan. The Clanners don't like the idea of a family succession. Alpin couldn't convince them otherwise."
"Then maybe you should put him in. The Clanners will have to shut up. Once he screws up, you'll have grounds to replace him, and in the meantime, there'll be time for some of the integration programs to do their work. We can't afford botch-ups like the cache mission."
Stan realized his slip when the Colonel stiffened. "I'm sorry, Jaime. I didn't mean that how it sounded. It's just that things haven't worked out the way we hoped. There's still too much friction within the Dragoons."
Jaime Wolf's flare of emotion faded as quickly as it had come. The energy had fled and he spoke like a tired, old man. "It's all right, Stan. It'll all work out. Yukinov is a good commander and he's done a good job with Alpha. Give it a year or so and then, well, who knows?" The Colonel stood. "The council is waiting."
We walked down the hall to the meeting room. The council was made up of the commanders of each of the Dragoons' active regiments and the heads of the various commands and operational areas. There were thirteen members, fourteen including the Colonel as the head of the council. Most were present and, except for the Colonel and Stan, all had brought their two permitted aides. By tradition one aide was allowed at the table with the council member, while the other sat or stood around the edges of the room. I took my place at the Colonel's side. Stan sat alone next to me. His mouth quirked up in irritation, and I looked across the table to see Alpin Wolf seated next to Neil Parella of Gamma Regiment.
Of the other field commanders, only Alicia Fancher of Beta Regiment was present. Hanson Brubaker of the Contract Command leaned across his aide, deep in conversation with Gerald Kearne, the Blackwell Corporation representative, who was a non-voting member of the council. Jason Carmody was sitting bolt upright in his seat. The Outreach commander looked as though he didn't want to be present. I sympathized, but at least he had known this was coming. Next around the table from him were Chan, Nikkitch, and Grazier: BattleMech, Infantry, and Armored Operations heads. The last council member present was Hamilton Atwyl, head of the Aerospace Command.
Stan whispered to me. "Maybe it's not as bad as I thought. Epsilon's on planet, and Nichole's a strong supporter. When she gets here, we'll have the numbers."
I wished that he had let me in on his suspicions. I knew where Alpin stood. Parella was an open Clan idolator, and Carmody and Atwyl were staunch supporters of the Colonel, but I didn't know the politics of the others. How could I help if I didn't know who was safe?
The chamber door opened and Major Elson walked in with a quartet of junior officers, mostly infantrymen.
"What are you doing here, Elson?" Stan demanded.
"I stand for Epsilon," Elson said, drawing himself to attention. "Colonel Nichole and most of the command are down with an intestinal bug. It seems to have been something in the officers' mess. As I am the senior officer unaffected, Dragoon policy requires that I stand in for the commanding officer to fulfill all duties and responsibilities."
Stan frowned, then gave the Colonel a sharp glance when Wolf invited Elson to take a place at the table. Elson motioned his allowed aide to the table, but he didn't sit. Instead, he walked around the circumference and held out a flimsy to the Colonel.
"Colonel Wolf, I was given this communique on the way in."
The Wolf read what Elson offered, then passed it to me. I announced the contents. "Colonel Yukinov's DropShip has developed a drive malfunction. He is still in orbit."
"We will have to begin without him," Fancher said.