Chapter One - Fateful Decisions

Castle Brian “Tara,” Georgia
Northwind
Draconis March, Federated Commonwealth
12 September 3055

“As I’m certain the Archon-Prince is aware,” said Colonel Edward Senn, “the Mercenary Conference on Arc-Royal made the formal decision that no mercenary unit in the employ of the Federated Commonwealth would suffer any form of criminal prosecution for accepting a legal contract with Duke Ryan. Add to that the fact that we accepted your offer of amnesty and did not oppose your landing here last week.”

Victor Davion stood up. “Colonel Senn, this hearing is merely a formality, legally mandated to return Northwind into the Davion fold. Your Clan Elders will remain in power. Your regiments will return to the employ of the Federated Suns, unless you so choose to renegotiate at this time.”

Senn shook his head. “That will not be necessary.”

“Good, then let us proceed. This will not take long.”

Joshua Messer, commander of the Star Swords, watched his Prince and friend from near the exit of the room. He had come to press his own case against the Highlanders, that one of their officers still had custody of his toddler son, Daniel. Daniel had been the offspring of his wife Lisa and the former Highlander officer Robert O’Malley. Now Ian O’Malley, Robert’s father, had the child, who had been abducted by Robert’s brother Richard and brought to Northwind.

“You cannot do this.” protested Senn.

“These are your orders, Colonel. Your Highlanders have caused significant damage to the infrastructure of several Combine worlds. It is my full intent that you make reparations to the Combine by entering into their employ. Only one regiment need leave Northwind for this assignment. The rest may remain, but I am ordering you to be a peace offering from those who fought for the Conspiracy.”

“And if we refuse…”

“I wouldn’t.” said Victor sternly.

Senn turned to those behind him. Seated with him were the other three regimental commanders of the Highlanders. Senn commanded the 1st Kearny Highlander regiment and was their spokesman by appointment. The 2nd Kearny, the O’Malley’s unit, were commanded by James Cochraine. The other two units were named for their commanders: MacLeod’s Regiment for Colonel William MacLeod and Stirling’s Fusiliers for Colonel Andrea Stirling.

The three men and one woman discussed Victor’s proposal among themselves. Joshua stood up and walked over to Victor. Victor turned and looked at Joshua.

“Good, I see you’ve arrived. It would seem that my surprise offer has succeeded in catching them off guard.”

“It’s a bold move, and not unprecedented. After all, after the Dragoons fought for Anton Marik in his revolt against the Free Worlds government, they ended up working for that same government for several years.”

“True.”

“The Highlanders never really took up arms against the Commonwealth. They only fought against our troops on Dieron and there was the one skirmish between O’Malley’s troops and my own here on Northwind. This whole mess is just complicated because Duke Ryan chose Northwind as his proxy capital after Skye was retaken.”

“In truth, I think we can still trust them to do the right thing.” Said Victor. “I’m not asking a lot. And I dread the alternative at least as much as they must.”

“Still, they got into this because they hate Kurita.”

“And the best way for them to unlearn that hatred is to meet with and live among the people of the Combine. Times change. The Highlanders need to learn that.”

The Highlander huddle broke and Colonel Senn walked towards Victor. He glanced at Joshua for a brief second. Joshua meanwhile was looking at Colonel Cochraine.

“We are willing to hear your offer, your Highness. I presume we will receive the details via our liaison on Outreach.”

“You will. Now there is one other matter, one concerning my subordinate here.”

“Yes, regarding your request that the scions of House O’Malley be turned over to you for criminal acts not associated with our Conspiracy contract.”

“Richard O’Malley kidnapped my son. He is in O’Malley custody as we speak.” Said Joshua.

“We sympathize with you, General. Baron O’Malley is a respected member of the nobility here on Northwind, a Clan Elder, and has been a good and loyal soldier with the Highlanders. His children….” Senn paused. “…are another matter. We were going to request that you not press criminal charges in exchange for their turning the boy back over to you. However, something has happened to complicate matters.”

“What’s going on?” asked Joshua suspiciously.

“Baron O’Malley has disappeared: he, his family, much of his household staff, and number of his soldiers with their Battlemechs. It would seem that they have gone rogue and we do not know where they are.”

“Was he aware of your intent to force him to turn Daniel over to me?”

“I think the Baron knew his position was untenable in regards to your son. I also think he might have feared reprisals from the people of Northwind and your people for the brutality of his son’s tenure as head of Conspiracy Intelligence. There are many who remember well the lengths to which the Baron has gone to cover for his troubled children, and he is not terribly well liked outside of the nobility. But he is not, despite what you may believe after your dealings with Richard and Robert, an evil man, merely one who loves his family a little too much. Neither is he a coward. No offense, General, but he would not have run from the likes of you.”

“And yet he has, Colonel.” Said Joshua angrily.

Victor touched Joshua’s arm. “There is little to be gained by arguing this here. The Highlanders don’t know where he is, Josh. Considering the pressure I could bring to bear on them right now, I doubt they would lie to us about that.”

“Please be assured that we will use every means at our disposal to locate Baron O’Malley and the child.” Said Senn.

“Don’t mind then, if I don’t put much faith in that assurance.” Snarled Joshua. He stood up and left.

Provisional Command Center, 1st Star Swords Enclave
Northwind
Draconis March, Federated Commonwealth
12 September 3055

Lisa could tell from her husband’s expression how things had gone with the Highlanders. She waited patiently as he walked away from his car and over to her.

“What happened?” she said dejectedly.

“O’Malley has gone AWOL. The Highlanders claim to not know where he is.”

“That doesn’t make much sense. Why would he abandon his barony and flee?”

“Because he knows the Commonwealth courts will never side with him over the issue of custody of Daniel. That much is obvious.”

“Are the Highlanders are protecting him?” said Lisa, her voice growing shrill in fear and frustration. “Damnit, Joshua, they gave you a few platitudes and you just walked away. This is our son!”

“They’re not protecting him.” Retorted Joshua strongly. “Their position is too fragile right now to do anything like that with Victor backing us. When they say they don’t know where he is, they are telling the truth. There’s nothing for them to gain to protect O’Malley and everything to lose.”

‘So he was right. With his dying breath, Richard was right. He won.”

“Not yet he hasn’t.”

“What are we going to do?”

“Simple. We are going to find him.”

“It’s a big galaxy, Joshua. The Swords are needed on New Belfast and we’ve no clue where he’s gone.”

“None of those are obstacles we cannot overcome. I found you when you ran. I can find our son.” Said Joshua. “And I have someone I trust enough to bring him home.”

“Who’s that?”

“Logan.”

“You’d send the Dark Rangers?”

“Why not? They’re a small mercenary band. They can go places we cannot. They can cross into Liao space, Marik space, wherever O’Malley may have gone. We take ourselves and we’ll start an international incident.”

“But it’s Logan…He’s a thug, Joshua. He’s good at that. But it’s like the old saying, when all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. We don’t need a hammer for this. We need a brain, someone who’s trained at investigation, who can speak multiple languages….”

“Who has intelligence training.” Finished Joshua. “Do you not think I hadn’t considered that?”

“Gwen?”

“Absolutely. I’ll send her with them.”

At the mention of Joshua’s former lover, Lisa stiffened.

“With her skills, she’s easily the most qualified to track him down and you know it.” Said Joshua. “And you know damn well she’ll do everything in her power to find him.”

“I know.” Lisa relented. “I’m just not comfortable with the whole idea. It all makes sense, Josh, I know that. You’ve thought this through, which is probably good because I can’t think straight about this. I’m too scared, too worried. I’m not usually like this.”

“No, you’re not. But this is different. Our son is at stake.”

“Add to that the simple fact that I’m not terribly emotionally disciplined when pregnant.”

Joshua smiled and gave her belly an affectionate rub. It was just barely beginning to show. “I do hope you will be a bit more reasonable than last time.”

“I couldn’t be much worse.” Lisa smiled. “No, my love, I don’t plan to go crazy this time.”

Joshua pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “Come on, there’s work to be done here. We smashed up the town and it’s the least we can do to help the Highlanders put it back together. Organizing some work crews might get our minds off things.”

Lisa nodded and followed after him.

ConsInt Headquarters, Georgia
Northwind
Draconis March, Federated Commonwealth
15 September 3055

Gwendolyn Laidir shivered as she stepped inside the now-abandoned base of Conspiracy Intelligence. The last time she was here, she had been brought as a prisoner, wounded in the fight at Napineo’s Prison. Wounded, she remembered, by Lisa MacLeod.

“Not that she didn’t have plenty of reason to shoot me.” thought Gwen. The Swords intelligence liaison and New Vision survivor frowned at the thought. After reuniting with Joshua, Gwen had done everything in her power to win Joshua from Lisa, but in the end failed to do so.

“Lots of bad memories in this place.” said Karl Rohan behind her. The Dark Ranger had accompanied her to help out.

“You aren’t kidding.” Said Gwen, using her flashlight to sweep the room, looking for clues.

“Hello?” Said a voice.

Gwen spun, startled. The man who had entered the room behind them was dressed in scruffy old clothing. When he noticed her surprise, he smiled.

“I could have shot you.” Said Gwen annoyed.

“Not with a flashlight in your pistol hand.”

“Nathan Bairn.” said Gwen. “It has been a long time.”

“Aye, that it has, Gwendolyn. They had told me you had signed up with the Star Swords, but I didn’t believe it until I saw you walk in here in your uniform.”

“You still dress like trash. Why must you try to maintain your cover when there is no need?”

Nathan, who was affectionately called “Bum” because of his undercover role as a street person, smiled. “Sorry. Laundry day is tomorrow.” He joked.

“Why are you here?”

“I’m heading up the team that’s tearing through the Conspiracy’s records. All kinds of nice tidbits to find in their files.”

“We’re looking for O’Malley’s office.” asked Gwen bluntly.

“Upstairs.” said Nathan, pointing to the ceiling. “We hit it first, so most anything of interest has already been shipped out of here.”

“What I’m looking for likely won’t be in the records you took.”

“Looking for his father?” said Nathan. “Or the boy he took?”

“Where we find one, we’ll find the other.”

“We didn’t find any clues to his whereabouts up there. Most of us know about the boy.” Nathan paused. “You all aren’t alone in this. Don’t forget that General Messer is regarded as a hero by many in the Commonwealth. The fate of his son matters to us.”

“We appreciate that, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to investigate myself.”

Nathan shrugged. “Be my guest.” He gestured for the stairs, indicating for Gwen to take the lead. He fell into line behind them.

Gwen climbed the several flights of stairs to the top floor, Nathan close behind. As she approached the door at the top, she heard voices. She looked back at Nathan, who had a look of curiosity on his face, as if he was not expecting anyone to be there. Gwen approached the door with caution and peeked through the glass pane on the door into the hallway.

There were three men standing outside the door to O’Malley’s office. All three were in uniforms for LIC, the Lyran Intelligence Corps. One was working at the door knob, trying to unlock the door, whether with a key or something else, she couldn’t tell. Another, Gwen recognized immediately as Antoine Anderson, Richard O’Malley’s aide. Anderson appeared to be shackled.

Gwen cocked her head toward the door, indicating for Nathan to look. Nathan peeked in. “Anderson.” he whispered. “What’s he doing here?”

“He appears to be a prisoner. Those LIC goons have him.”

“Gwen, there are no LIC agents in this operation. It’s all DMI.”

“Then something is wrong.” said Gwen, drawing her blaster pistol. Rohan drew his gun also.

“Quiet like,” said Nathan, pushing Gwen’s arm down. “There are three of them.”

“And three of us.” Emphasized Gwen.

Gwen slipped into the hallway, with Nathan and Rohan close behind. Nathan had drawn a slugthrower. They crept up to the door. Nathan motioned for Gwen to cover the other side of the door. She darted across and took up position on the other side.

There was no window in the door, but the trio inside had left it slightly ajar. While they couldn’t see anything, they could hear them talking.

“....looks like they’ve picked this over pretty good.” said a voice.

“Yes, but I doubt they were looking for what we’re looking for.” That was Anderson. There was a rattling sound, as if someone had released the shackles.

Gwen looked over at Nathan, as if he might know what these three would be after. Nathan responded with a shrug and a look of puzzlement that matched Gwen’s own.

“You sure this thing exists?” said a third voice.

“O’Malley had to do something with those files. He wouldn’t have been foolish enough to take what he knew to the grave.”

“You suppose it’s at the manor house?”

“Could be. If so, it’s buried under the rubble after the Star Swords razed the building. More likely his father has it.”

“It might be in the hands of the enemy already.”

“No, if it were we’d know and since Prince Victor has yet to take action against the Duchess, I’m sure the files are still in the open.”

The talkers fell quiet. Instinctively, Gwen jumped back from her perch beside the door. Her instincts saved her as gunfire roared through the door.  Rohan dove to the floor as the rounds whizzed over his head. Nathan darted back, but not quickly enough to avoid getting hit.

Gwen leapt forward, going through the door. The window on the far side of O’Malley’s office was open. One of the LIC troops was still within the room, brandishing a submachine gun. He brought the weapon to bear on Gwen, but Gwen squeezed the trigger on her pistol as he did so. The blaster bolt struck the LIC man in the shoulder. The superheated plasma seared through his clothing and flesh and threw off his aim. The gun rattled off several rounds as its bearer fell to the floor.

Gwen dashed to the window as klaxons sounded, no doubt triggered by the reports of gunfire. Anderson and the other flunkie were nowhere to be seen.

“Sloppy.” she snarled at herself. “They must have heard us.”

Davion soldiers rushed into the room a second later. “At ease. This area is secure.” said Gwen.

“Kommandant, what happened here?”

“Three infiltrators got inside this office. Agent Bairn and I interrupted them. Do you have a medic?”

“Yes. Agent Bairn is being tended to.”

“Good. Two of them escaped via the window. The third is smoking quietly in the corner.”

“Shot to the left chest and shoulder. Nice clean kill.” complimented the lead soldier.

“Unfortunately,” lamented Gwen. “He might have answered a few questions for us.” She turned and headed for the door. Something more was going on here than a simple flight from justice. And Gwen was determined to find out what.

10th Lyran Guard Command Center, Georgia
Northwind
Draconis March, Federated Commonwealth
16 September 3055

Galen Cox, aide-de-camp to Prince Victor Davion, shook his head. “It was a bad hit, a lot worse than most pirate raids. The militia of Pattison is completely shattered, nearly all the troops killed. I think a tank corporal is in charge now. Guy by the name of Lee.”

“And what of the raiders?” asked Prince Victor.

“Stole several dozen heavy loaders. Construction vehicles, Workmechs, as well as nearly 100 civilian prisoners.”

“Slaves?”

“Most likely.”

“The slaves I can understand. As appalling as it is, the trade in human beings is one of the more profitable means of commerce in the Periphery. Abductions of this type are sadly not very uncommon. But the equipment? Why construction vehicles?”

“Perhaps they intend to build a base on some uncharted or uninhabited world close to our border.”

“That sounds too organized for ordinary pirates. Is that why this one merited your interest?”

“No, let me show you what did.” said Galen, holding up a vidchip. “Gun camera footage from Corporal Lee’s Manticore.” Galen put the chip to the player and pressed “PLAY.”

The screen flickered to life, showing several tanks of the militia battling a number of raider Battlemechs. Victor looked intensely at the mechs.

“I recognize those designs.” To that, Galen merely nodded. The chip played on for another minute or so before Victor exclaimed. “Wait, hold there!”

Galen paused the image on-screen. “Yes, you see it too.” he said.

Frozen on screen was a clear image of three mechs: a Mongoose, a Clan Thor, and a third mech similar in appearance to Clan Wolf’s Naga artillery mech, only smaller.

“Clan raiders?” said Victor, puzzled. “That’s awfully far out of their invasion corridor.”

“I suspect our pirates may have stumbled upon one of the Dragoons’ caches. They would likely have Clan equipment stored within.”

“Perhaps, but I find it unlikely that they’ve left any of it behind for people such as this to find. Summon General Messer. He hails from that part of the Periphery. Perhaps he knows something.”

“Very well.”

---

An hour later, Joshua was standing in Victor’s office. The two were alone; Galen was not privy to the secret of Joshua’s true origins and although Victor trusted him implicitly, Joshua did not know him.

Joshua viewed the chip with a look of concern. He paused the video at the same point as Galen had before.

“Tell me this isn’t what I think it is. I spend most of the last year chasing Clan equipped pirates across the Lyran Commonwealth. Now I see footage of raiders in the Federated Suns Outback armed with a Mongoose, a Thor, and a machine we’ve never seen before.”

“Not a Thor,” said Joshua, “although it’s understandable why you’d made the error. That’s a Harbinger, an early Clan upgrade of the venerable Thunderbolt and a precursor to the Thor. The Mongoose you recognized. The last mech is what we called a Ranger, a heavy fire support unit based on the old Archer. From what Star Colonel Mechlanthon tells me, it was also used as a model for several artillery and fire support mechs in the Clans touman.”

“So we’re looking at first generation Clan machines here.”

“Yes, machines not any more advanced that our own recovered technology machines.”

Victor nodded. “So where did they come from?”

“You wouldn’t have asked me here, my Prince, if you didn’t already suspect the answer.”

“Could these pirates have looted your homeworld for these machines?”

“Possible, but unlikely. Our equipment cache was strong enough to repel warship bombardment. Unless these thieves had a tactical nuclear device, I doubt they could penetrate it. Still, security measures can be fooled, even a genetic lock.”

“Might the Dragoons have left them behind in one of their caches and that’s the source of these machines?”

“Several problems with that theory.” said Joshua. “One, you’re assuming the Dragoons would have abandoned any of their supposed caches. That’s unlikely considering the damage they sustained in your father’s wars. Two, the Dragoons were meant to be equipped with machines familiar to the Inner Sphere. Although a few Clan designs were among the ranks, the Annihilator and the Imp for instance, it would be unlikely for them to cache a large number of unfamiliar designs. And then there’s the third reason, one you wouldn’t know, my Prince.”

“And that is.”

“We were their cache. The Dragoons never brought extra equipment along with them, despite all the rumors. Their infamous supply runs were trips to New Vision, where we outfitted them with excess machines from our supplies.”

“I thought the other Clans had kill-on-sight orders for your people.”

“They do, but Jaime Wolf is a more practical man than that and so was my grandfather, who was Khan when the Dragoons arrived. Both of them discerned the true intent of the other and rather than waste themselves in a useless battle over a vendetta two hundred years old, they agreed to work together. The Wolverines would supply arms and equipment to the Dragoons in exchange for what they learned about the Inner Sphere. It was a great arrangement, our first glimpse at the Inner Sphere since Kerensky’s Exodus. But then my father succeeded his father-in-law and the arrangement came to an abrupt end. The year I was born, I might add.”

“Then there’s one another possibility for the origins of these machines we haven’t mentioned.” Said Victor. “One you’re avoiding.”

“What? That they are Wolverine survivors? My Prince, don’t be preposterous. You never saw what the Falcons did to our world.”

“You survived. Your friends survived and most of them were pulled from battle damaged and demolished machines. If they lived, surely others could have. What was the population of your world when the Falcons struck?”

“Four million.”

“And only seven survived? Joshua, you’re being unrealistic. Surely there were others. Even the Falcons killed 99% of the world’s population in those few short hours, that would still leave 40,000 people alive. Simple arithmetic.”

“New Vision is a savage world, populated with powerful predators. Forty thousand, you say, but forty thousand without infrastructure, without food, weapons, medicine. Those the dracosaurs didn’t eat, disease would have finished.”

“Joshua, you’re my friend. In my position, I can’t say that about a lot of people. I’m not one to psychologize, but it seems to me that you’re doing your damndest to avoid facing the facts. I’d thought you’d be happy to learn that you weren’t alone, that others survived the holocaust of your world. What happened there? You have a haunted look about you.”

Joshua allow himself a cynical chuckle. “Haunted? That’s a good word. There are ghosts on that world, Victor. Ghosts I’d rather not face.”

“Well, either way, Joshua, someone has to stop these pirates. I cannot allow them to continue to ravage my worlds. So I am ordering you to do that for me. Whoever they are, they are equipped with machines you are familiar with, so you are clearly the best for the job.”

“Ordering me or the Star Swords?”

“Ordering you personally. I’d rather the bulk of the Swords be back on New Belfast by the first of the year. New Belfast, as you well know, is vulnerable whenever you are away. Select your best and go after these pirates. The rest of your regiment will return to its post.”

“And what if you’re right and they are my people? What am I to do then? Kill them?”

“I would never order that of you after what you’ve been witness too. No, I have something better. My father took a great gamble with you and your fellow refugees, a gamble that has paid off in spades. Imagine then what a force I could put together with not five Wolverines, but hundreds, maybe thousands. Negotiate with them, Joshua. Bring them into the Commonwealth like my father brought you in. And maybe at last, if you succeed, we will have an army with which we can beat the Clans once and for all.”

Mech Hanger, 10th Lyran Guard Compound
Northwind
Draconis March, Federated Commonwealth
16 September 3055

Captain Logan Thorpe, commander of the Dark Rangers, sat perched on a repair platform looking intensely at the ugly scar torn into the front of his personal mech, The Nightmare. The hanger, loaned from the 10th Lyran Guard, was empty except for Logan, who was trying to repair the damaged circuit boards beneath the scar. The scar was battle damage, a wound inflicted by any one of a dozen opponents Logan fought during the attack earlier that month.

As the hanger was empty and as Logan was not using any heavy equipment at the moment, he easily heard the footsteps of someone coming into the hanger. He turned his head to see his second-in-command, Karl Rohan walking towards him.

“Are you sure you don’t want Doc to help you?” called Rohan up to him.

“Doc’s got a lot of work to do on the other machines. I figured I’d try to get as much done on my own as possible. Besides,” he said while ripping out a fused circuit. “This is just like the test. I can’t damn well inflict it on our recruits if I can’t do it myself.”

“The test” was something Logan had concocted when the Dark Rangers were formed. Determined to make sure his unit would not lack for technical support. He would take a laser rifle and fire it repeatedly into an open service panel of a Dark Ranger mech and then order that mech’s pilot to repair the damage. Dark Ranger mechwarriors very quickly learned how to do such repairs.

“Have you thought about General Messer’s offer?”

“I wasn’t aware we had a choice. I believe you already helped Agent Laidir the other day. Nearly got you killed to boot.”

“You’re not happy about this.”

“Why should I be?” He leaned over the edge and looked down at his comrade. “You know what happened the last time we did a special job for him.”

“That was different. That was a trap.”

“I know and we barely got out alive. But one thing isn’t different, Karl. Like before, General Messer is demanding a lot of us. Asking us on this wild goose chase with little chance for battle and salvage.”

“We owe him. Most merc outfits our size would have already folded or succumbed to attrition by now.”

“Don’t remind me.” Despite his defiance, Logan knew he couldn’t argue with that logic. It was true. The Dark Rangers owed much of their success to the Star Swords. Joshua had put in good words in all the right places and times to get the Rangers choice assignments. The Rangers had trained alongside the elite Star Swords “Dirty Dozen” company. His technical staff had repaired their forces and even refitted them with the powerful Clan technology when they ran afoul a Jade Falcon raid during a training exercise. Messer had even arranged for their refit and repair after the disastrous raid on Northwind.

Logan showed in a spare circuit panel and watched the diagnostic readout go green. “Alright, where are we going?”

“Gwen checking out some leads now. I think she’s got a good shot at tracking down what system the O’Malley’s fled to from here.”

“Give orders to the troops. Have them ready to leave at moments notice. The sooner we catch this guy, the sooner we can get a real job.”

O’Malley Mansion, North of Georgia
Northwind
Draconis March, Federated Commonwealth
17 September 3055

Although the fires had long since gone out, the ruins of the O’Malley manor still had the feel of recent battle. Many of the buildings had been leveled or burned out. Now, manor workers were picking up the pieces, many of them wondering why they had been made to suffer for their employer’s crimes.

A Highlander Captivator and Tempest stood guard near the demolished gate to the grounds, both machines probably claimed from the now-dissolved Conspiracy regiments. A single automobile drove up to the gates and stopped before the two mechs.

“They didn’t leave much behind, did they?” said Rohan, looking out over the ruins from his vantage point in the passenger seat of the car.

“On every world, there are villains. It seems that given the predations of the younger son and the treason of the elder, the O’Malleys will take their place among them in the history of Northwind.” Said Gwen, who was driving. “Once the Conspiracy surrendered, those who suffered under Richard’s tender mercies had their revenge on his father’s home.”

“Why didn’t O’Malley’s troops stop them? I presume that’s what these two jokers are.”

“Most of them fled with the Baron. Only one company remained and even then, they would be reluctant to fire on their own people.”

“This only makes our job harder.” Said Karl with an air of frustration. “O’Malley’s flown the coop and we don’t have a first clue as to where.”

“That’s why we’re here.” Said Gwen. “One of the remaining household personnel is bound to know.”

“You’re assuming they’ll talk to us.”

A Highlander infantryman walked over to the car. “Can I help you?”

“Yes, Gwen Laidir, and Karl Rohan, here to investigate the kidnapping of Daniel Messer.”

The soldier stiffened at Gwen’s introduction.

“We are here with Duke Stuart’s permission.” Said Gwen, holding up a document to the soldier. “I was assured of full cooperation from the Highlanders.”

The soldier read over the document quietly. He returned it to Gwen without a word and then waved up to the two mechs. The mechs stepped aside.

“I guess that means we’re in.”

“I guess so.”

Gwen drove onto the grounds and parked near the front of the mansion. Ironically, the rioters who had ransacked the place had left the front of the building somewhat intact. Or, at least as intact as it was, because Joshua himself had shot it to pieces with his autocannon to kill Richard O’Malley. Perhaps that was why they left it alone, to make finding O’Malley’s body easier and to make a statement in that.

Another Highlander infantryman was there, waiting for them.

“Miss Laidir, Mr. Rohan,” said the man. Now it was Gwen’s turn to stiffen, more than a little annoyed at not being addressed by rank. “I am Sergeant Angus McDonald. I’m overseeing the cleaning process here.”

“So you’re in charge?” said Gwen bluntly.

“More or less. I’m detached from the 2nd Kearny Alpha Battalion, so I’m not in direct chain of command with Baron O’Malley’s troops.”

“Do you know who might be able to help us?”

“Greg O’Neil is the steward of the manor. He’s likely to be the one who can help you.”

“Is he here?”

McDonald gestured towards a small group of people who seemed to be inventorying things retrieved from the wreckage. Gwen and Karl walked over.

“O’Neil.” Said Rohan.

“Yes,” he said, looking up nervously.

“We’re here on business from Duke Stuart. We’re interested in the whereabouts of Baron O’Malley.”

“I don’t know where he is.” Said O’Neil evasively. "I've told that to what seems like hundreds of people now. Why won't anyone believe me."

“You would be the one to arrange for any transportation for him.” Said Gwen. “That's why. No one believes for a second that you don’t know where he is.”

“I don’t and I mean it.”

“Very well. If you uncover anything, please let us know.” Gwen turned and headed back to the car.

“Don’t tell me you’re giving up on him.” asked Rohan confused.

“I’m not. But the means by which I’ll get the information out of him are best not done in front of the guns of Highlander soldiers. I hope you’re not squeamish.”