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Trinary Alpha, Scorpion Aerospace Reserve, Strike Force Prezno
Tukayyid, Free Rasalhague Republic
January 15, 3044

Star Colonel Damien Kreek swore as one of his star-mates staggered under fire from behind and above him.  “Zulus keep those stravag bastards off my back!”  And then he trusted his escorting fighters to deal with the interceptors from Hell’s Black Aces as he brought his five remaining Huns in a low over the grassy plains.  “Now!” he ordered and he along with his four pilots pushed the throttles to their stops and pulled back on the sticks, sending the heavy ninety-five ton aerospace fighters climbing for altitude and threatening to roll over onto their backs—which just what Damien Kreek intended.  At the exact moment they reached the precise coordinates chosen by the computer, the bombs released and the fighter accelerated into the loop.

The bombs, perfectly delivered via the ‘lob-toss’ landed in the midst of the Kurita troops and exploded in fountains of inferno gel and the concussion of high explosives.  Let us see how much you like having that done unto you, you free-birth scum, he thought as rolled his Hun right-side up and armed the four nose-mounted PPCs.  “One strafing run, then back to the ships to rearm and refuel,” he ordered and then he gently squeezed the firing trigger with a smile on his face.


Trinary Command, Knife Dance Keshik, Strike Force Prezno
Tukayyid, Free Rasalhague Republic
January 16, 3044

“The tunnels go for miles, my Khan; it appears to have originally been a mine of some sort, the ore kind not the exploding kind," reported the Elemental commander of the scout force he had sent underground.  “These people must be moles, they have burrowed through the bedrock in all directions, expanded it to handle vehicles and BattleMechs, built strong-points and bunkers—it is a death trap.”

“Understood—can you get your men out?” Nikolai asked.

“Well, we are a little bit surrounded right now, my Khan, but I am working on it.”

“I think we can spare some Mandrills to come down there and help you out, Star Captain.”

“Nikolai,” Natasha’s voice growled.  “Recon flights have picked up at least ten regiments of ‘Mechs moving towards us fast; they will be here in ten minutes—and our opponents have launched every fighter they have in support.”  The Scorpion could hear the Khan of the Stone Lions sigh as artillery shells began to explode in their perimeter.  “I was wondering where their artillery has been.”

Nikolai considered the map on his console and he nodded.  “Star Captain Ismail—ignore that last.  I am going to need the Mandrills here.  Get clear, Warrior, or I will kill you myself for disobeying a direct order from your Khan,” he said despite wanting to pull the Elemental ristar.”

“Understood, my Khan—we will cut our way to freedom, or take as many of them to hell with us as we can.  Either way, we will make you proud of us.”

“I already am, Star Captain Ismail,” Nikolai said.  “I already am.  Scorpions!  Stone Lions!  Action west—reform and meet them at the run.  Star Colonel Kreek, we would really like some air cover, if you please.”


Trinary Command, Knife Dance Keshik, Strike Force Prezno
Tukayyid, Free Rasalhague Republic
January 16, 3044

Nikolai winced as his right leg cramped; the sun was slowly setting over the plains and his opponents had managed to disappear into those hidden tunnels they had bored all over creation!  He thought that he had managed to account for almost half of them—but at the cost of nearly forty percent of his own men . . . and Natasha’s and the Mandrills.  The Mandrills had fought like maniacs to regain their honor and they had gone down hard, selling themselves dearly—only four had survived.

And undoubtedly, Wolf’s commander of this theatre had something else in reserve, whereas all of Nikolai’s forces (and Natasha’s) had already been committed—and were exhausted after thirty-eight hours of near constant fighting above and below ground.

“Knife Dance Actual, this is Golden Wolf Actual,” the radio broadcast.

“Go ahead, Golden Wolf Actual,” Nikolai said.

“The ilKhan is dead, so is Khan Timur—Khan Truscott is wounded and unable to communicate; the Dinju Strike Force is in full rout.  My Wolves, the Coyotes, Horses and Bears have all taken around fifty percent dead or wounded—the Vipers are gone.  We are withdrawing as well.”

Nikolai winced.  But he nodded to himself.  “Aff, Golden Wolf Actual.  I will start loading my own forces aboard ship.  Knife Dance Actual out,” he said as he switched radio frequencies—but Natasha was already calling him.

“You heard?” she asked.

“I did.  Get the wounded aboard ship—those that are not already in the medical bays.  Get your people loaded while I put the Techs on recovering as many OmniMechs as we can in the time we have.”

“saKhan Posavatz is dead and your Scorpions grieve, Nikolai.  I will hold rear-guard tonight—the Stone Lions proved worthy of that honor today, quiaff?”

“Quiaff, your Clan will withdraw almost last—but the Knife Dance Keshik will be the last unit to lift.  I wonder how many of our Crusader trothkin will only look at the numbers of BattleMechs and Tanks and Infantry we killed and claim this as a victory?” he asked.

“Only if they are idiots—but then they are Crusaders, are they not?”

“Go, Natasha Kerensky, go and prepare to abandon this world.”

There was a brief pause, and the Black Widow spoke up, “We can recover his body, Nikolai; take Randall Posavatz home with us.”

“Neg.  He is home, Natasha.  It is well that war is so terrible, lest we become fond of it—that was his favorite quote you know.  He thought that we had become too fond of war for our own good, and he may well have been right.”

“We are not fond of war, Nikolai—we are fond of Trials.  This . . . this battle was War.  And I think you will find our surviving leaders have had their fill of it for a good long time to come.”

“So say we all,” Nikolai whispered.

Interlude
January 15 – February 22, 3044

Even as the Clans began the epic battle on Tukayyid, still more Clan forces—approximately one hundred and forty Clusters in numbers, if not actual strength—assaulted the fifty worlds assigned to Wave IV.  Bitter fighting erupted along the entire front of the Invasion from New Exford to Kilmamock.  The Rasalhague KungsArmee, a mere shadow of its pre-war self was swept aside by the Coyotes, Ghost Bears, and Wolves—and the handful of Capellan and mercenary Regiments were unable to prevent the loss of those worlds.  In the Draconis Combine, the fighting concentrated on Alshain, where the Star Adders had to commit two full Galaxies—but after three weeks of pitched battles that district capital fell.  The Cobras, Spirits, Cats, and Jaguars were surprised by the lack of resistance on the worlds which they fell upon—and their leaders began to quickly redeploy to fight still more uprisings in their rear organized by the Internal Security Forces of the DCMS and crack DEST teams left behind on already ‘conquered’ worlds.

But in the Lyran Commonwealth, the Falcons and Sharks, Horse’s and Ravens, Vipers and Hellions fought intense pitched battles on a score of worlds defended by fanatical troops refitted with advanced Star League technology.  Zellbrigen was ignored and the casualty counts—on both sides—climbed precipitously.  Still, in the end, the Clans—albeit mauled—managed to take forty-nine of the fifty worlds they assaulted (other than Tukayyid).  Only Graceland managed to survive the Clan attack as part of the Lyran Commonwealth when the planetary governor, dreading the fighting that was to come, challenged Star Colonel Henry Mattlov to a singing contest in the style of Elvis Presley—the King of Rock-and-Roll.

Amused by the request—and with his forces dangerously weakened by fighting on Bountiful Harvest and New Exford, Mattlov accepted the challenge.  The Lyran and Federated Suns regimental commanders assigned to the defense of Graceland protested, but General of the Lyran Armies Roman Steiner ordered them to hold position and wait—although his journals indicate that he had already issued orders that if the contest was lost by the locals to fight on, ignoring the result as a purely local matter.

The competition was epic and broadcast across the entire planet in a six-hour spectacle which boiled down quickly to a mere two competitors . . . but in the end, the Falcon’s admitted their defeat as a Gracelander performed an eye-tearing rendition of My Way.  Keeping their word, the Falcons then withdrew from the system in good order.

However, barely had Wave IV been concluded when the Combine struck back.  Thirty-six regiments of Alshain, Benjamin, Dieron, Galedon, and Pesht Regulars, a dozen of the finest Free Worlds formations, with four of the Sword of Light Regiments to stiffen their resolve and supported by the carrier Togura and six ComStar WarShips launched a series of lightning-fast counter-attacks from Bjarred to Kilmamock.

Bjarred, Stapelfeld, Chupadero, Kabah, Jeanette, Hyner, Maldonado, Pesht, Teniente, Irece, Cyrenaica, Kilmamock, and Avon were hit by multiple regiments—and the handful of Jaguar and Cat PGCs left to garrison these worlds were unable to hold.  They reeled under the blow and broke—and it was thus that House Kurita managed to regain thirteen of their lost worlds in a month of insane battles.  Theodore and Takashi gambled on a second wave . . . but that proved eight planets too far.

By the time the second strike of the Dragon launched against Port Arthur, Tarazed, Caripare, Juazerio, Outer volte, Marshdale, Jeronimo, and Bangor, the two Cat Clans were ready for them.  For the first time in this war, the Inner Sphere experienced assaults into the teeth of Clan defenders prepared and sitting in fortified positions—and the cost was extremely high.  Coordinator Takashi, on his own initiative ordered the commanders to withdraw . . . although a score DCMS regiments had been bled so white that were stricken from the rolls and disbanded.

A grave and somber Hanse Davion viewed the reports on the effectiveness of Clan forces focused on the defense and he set aside—for a while—his own planned offensive as he brought up still more troops and fed replacement soldiers into shattered formations.

As both sides licked their wounds, an uneasy lull settled over the Occupied Worlds.  Even as the first fresh reinforcements arrived for the Jaguars and Horse’s aboard the Scorpion transports of the Fire Wheel Naval Star (the Jaguars Epsilon Galaxy with five front-line Clusters, and the Horse’s Zeta Galaxy with three front-line Clusters and replacement Warriors and equipment) . . . no one at the time noticed that the two Potemkins and their Essex-class Destroyer escort did not turn around to make another trip to the Homeworlds, but instead remained in orbit above Rondane where they were joined by the Wild Hunt transport Star.

And while every Khan noticed that the HPG network to the Homeworlds was no longer operating, there was not an ilKhan to take command.  A few Clans sent a handful of JumpShips with replacement relay stations to find the fault and restore the comm relays, but by-and-large, most considered it nothing more than a rare failure of one of the stations somewhere along the chain.

The Khans moved heaven and earth to reform their shattered formations and shore up defenses for their possessions, so the Grand Kurultai in the wake of Tukayyid did not convene until the 23rd day of February in the year 3044.

Clan Ghost Bear

The Ourse Keshik (Elite) (1 Trinary) (60%)

Alpha Galaxy (The Golden Bears)
The Silveroot Keshik (Elite) (1 Trinary) (65%)
1st Bear Guards (The Rage) (Elite) (70%)
3rd Bear Guards (The ilKhan's Shield) (Elite) (50%)
5th Bear Guards (Arctic Thunder) (Elite) (60%)
50th Striker Cluster (The Black Bears) (Elite) (65%)

Beta Galaxy (Night Howlers)
The Shrill Keshik (Veteran) (1 Trinary) (50%)
304th Assault Cluster (The Howling Bears) (Veteran) (45%)
332nd Assault Cluster (The Iowa Blacklancers) (Elite) (40%)
14th Battle Cluster (The Maulers) (Elite) (55%)
12th Bear Chevaliers (The Wendigos) (Elite) (60%)

Delta Galaxy (The Blitzkrieg)
Jorgensson's Keshik (Elite) (1 Trinary) (60%)
8th Bear Cuirassiers (The Blinding Drive) (Elite) (75%)
73rd Battle Cluster (The Lash) (Veteran) (70%)
68th Striker Cluster (The Walking Panzers) (Veteran) (80%)
140th Striker Cluster (Death from Above) (Veteran) (75%)

Rho Galaxy (Bear Essentials)
Kabrinski's Keshik (Elite) (1 Trinary) (65%)
18th Battle Cluster (Fire with Fire) (Veteran) (70%)
243rd Battle Cluster (Apollo's Chariot) (Elite) (65%)
283rd Battle Cluster (Ursine Inferno) (Veteran) (50%)
279th Battle Cluster (The Burnout Brigade) (Veteran) (60%)

Omega Galaxy (The Raging Bears)
Tseng's Keshik (Veteran) (1 Trinary) (90%)
357th Assault Cluster (The Cave Bears) (Veteran) (80%)
10th Bear Cuirassier (Tundra Roughriders) (Veteran) (85%)
115th Striker Cluster (The Rolling Wave) (Elite) (70%)
139th Striker Cluster (The Sphere Hunters) (Veteran) (80%)

Zeta Galaxy (The Claws of the Ghost) (100%)
The Claw Keshik (Veteran) (1 Trinary) (100%)
20th Battle Cluster (Polar Bears) (Elite) (100%)
300th Battle Cluster (Roaring Phoenix) (Veteran) (100%)
1st Bear Regulars (Tip of the Spear) (Veteran) (100%)
2nd Bear Regulars (Ivory Claws) (Veteran) (100%)

Provisional Garrison Clusters:  26
Homeworlds:  4 front-line Clusters + 16 second-line Clusters + 26 PGCs

The Blizzard Naval Star
Cameron-class BC (Dieron's Run—Flagship)
Black Lion-class BC (Bear's Den)
Lola III-class DD (Blizzard)
Essex-class DD (White Fang)
Fredasa-class Corvette (Black Ghost)

   
Clan Goliath Scorpion
Knife Dance Keshik (Scorpion's Destiny) (Elite) (50%)

Alpha Galaxy (The Rock Minders)
24th Scorpion Cuirassier (The Khan's Own) (Elite) (55%)
25th Scorpion Cuirassier (Scorpions of the Veil) (Elite) (50%)
8th Scorpion Dragoons (The Whip-Tail Brigade) (Elite) (50%)
14th Scorpion Hussars (Swift Retribution) (Elite) (45%)
51st Scorpion Light Horse (The Scorpion Lancers) (Veteran) (100%) (forming)

Beta Galaxy (Sand Runners)
21st Scorpion Cuirassiers (Black Sun) (Elite) (40%)
23rd Scorpion Cuirassiers (The Ironshell Irregulars) (Elite) (50%)
1st Scorpion Dragoons (Heartvenom) (Elite) (60%)
6th Scorpion Hussars (Desert Wind) (Elite) (50%)

Gamma Galaxy (The Cave Dwellers)*
3rd Scorpion Cuirassiers (Kerensky's Covenant) (Regular)* (100%)
17th Scorpion Cuirassiers (The Golden Horde) (Green)* (100%)
16th Scorpion Dragoons (The Gate Crashers) (Regular)* (100%)
9th Scorpion Hussars (The Crimson Legion) (Regular)* (100%)

Delta Galaxy (Swift Strikers)
20th Scorpion Cuirassiers (Scorpion Ascendant) (Veteran) (60%)
26th Scorpion Cuirassiers (The Dark Sting) (Veteran) (40%)
7th Scorpion Dragoons (The Din of Battle) (Veteran) (55%)
22nd Scorpion Hussars (Eye of the Storm) (Veteran) (50%)

Epsilon Galaxy (Nightcrawlers) (100%)
18th Scorpion Cuirassiers (The Khan's Castle) (Veteran) (100%)
28th Scorpion Cuirassiers (Death Stalkers) (Veteran) (100%)
10th Scorpion Dragoons (Poisoned Gambit) (Veteran) (100%)
19th Scorpion Hussars (Untamed Will) (Veteran) (100%)

Zeta Galaxy (Sting of the Sun)*
4th Scorpion Cuirassiers (Adamantine Hearts) (Regular)* (100%)
15th Scorpion Cuirassiers (Burning Sting) (Green)* (100%)
5th Scorpion Dragoons (Forked Ambition) (Regular)* (100%)
2nd Scorpion Hussars (Blinding Stare) (Regular)* (100%)

Eta Galaxy (Protectors of the Nest)*
12th Scorpion Cuirassiers (The Highwaymen) (Regular)* (100%)
27th Scorpion Cuirassiers (Obsidian Claws) (Green)* (100%)
11th Scorpion Dragoons (The Devil's Tail) (Regular)* (100%)
26th Scorpion Hussars (The Fire Scorpions) (Regular)* (100%)

Provisional Garrison Clusters:  28
Homeworlds:  NONE

Scorpion’s Destiny Naval Star
McKenna-class BB (Lei Kung)
Aegis-class CA (Corona Austrina)
Congress-class FF (Bernlad)
Lola III-class DD (Auriga)

Striking Claw Naval Star
McKenna-class BB (Requiem)
Aegis-class CA (Corona Borealis)
Congress-class FF (Garlon)
Lola III-class DD (Sagitta)

Burning Sting Naval Star
Sovetskii Soyuz-class CA (Serket—Flagship)
Cameron-class BC (Hephaestus)
Aegis-class CA (Coma Bernices)
Congress-class FF (Fornax)
Lola III-class DD (Scorpius)

Fire Wheel Transport Star
Potemkin-class Troop Cruiser (Enceladus; Epimetheus)
Essex-class DD (Aquilia)

Wild Hunt Transport Star
Potemkin-class Troop Cruiser (Karttikeya; Prometheus)
Essex-class DD (Orpheus)

Clan Smoke Jaguar
The Jaguar's Den Keshik (Elite) (1 Trinary) (50%)

Alpha Galaxy (The Roaring Jaguars)
Alpha Galaxy Command Trinary (The Shroud Keshik) (1 Trinary) (55%)
336th Jaguar Combat Cluster (The Rake) (Elite) (50%)
6th Jaguar Dragoons (Smoke and Fire) (Elite) (45%)
7th Jaguar Dragoons (The Leaping Jaguar) (Elite) (55%)
Jaguar Grenadiers (The Immortals) (Elite) (35%)
5th Jaguar Regulars (The Victory Cluster) (Elite) (40%)

Beta Galaxy (The Mistweavers)
Beta Galaxy Command Trinary (The Swath Keshik) (1 Trinary) (50%)
362nd Assault Cluster (The Silver Jaguars) (Elite) (45%)
225th Battle Cluster (Bringers of Armageddon) (Elite) (50%)
267th Battle Cluster (The Devil's Mist) (Elite) (50%)
1st Jaguar Guards (The Whitewatch) (Elite) (55%)
2nd Jaguar Guards (The Striking Cats) (Elite) (45%)
   
Delta Galaxy (The Cloud Rangers)
Delta Galaxy Command Trinary (The Skyriders Keshik) (1 Trinary) (60%)
1st Jaguar Cavaliers (Ghost Cats) (Veteran) (60%)
3rd Jaguar Cavaliers (The Stormriders) (Veteran) (60%)
4th Jaguar Dragoons (The Pouncing Jaguar) (Veteran) (60%)
214th Jaguar Dragoons (The Stalkers) (Veteran) (60%)
19th Striker Cluster (The Razor's Edge) (Veteran) (60%)

Rho Galaxy (Guardians of the Lair)*
2nd Jaguar Regulars (Veteran)* (Bad Boys from Huntress) (85%)
4th Jaguar Regulars (Veteran)* (Jungle Cats) (85%)
11th Jaguar Regulars (Veteran)* (The Rippers) (85%)
12th Jaguar Regulars (Veteran)* (The Saber Tooth Tigers) (85%)
17th Jaguar Regulars (Veteran)* (The Ghost and the Darkness) (75%)

Provisional Garrison Clusters:  16
Homeworlds:  15 second-line Clusters + 21 PGCs

Streaking Mist Naval Star
Black Lion-class BC (Streaking Mist—Flagship)
Congress-class FF (Snow Leopard)
Lola III-class DD (Storm Cat)
Essex-class DD (Sabre Cat)
York-class CV (Lioness)

[NOTE:  Khan Howell disbanded Epsilon Galaxy in order to reform Delta Galaxy (a more storied unit).  While the new Delta should be at 100%, he also raided it to bring Alpha and Beta UP to the force levels listed.  The 2nd, 4th, 11th, and 12th Jaguar Regulars were also used to bring the 17th up to strength.]


Clan Snow Raven
Corvus Keshik (Elite) (cluster) (50%)

Alpha Galaxy (Swift Wing Galaxy)
6th Raven Battle Cluster (The Meteors) (Veteran) (40%)
1st Raven Dragoon Cluster (The Longshanks) (Elite) (70%)
9th Raven Striker Cluster (The Snow Hunters) (Elite) (55%)
4th Raven Wing Cluster (The Snow Wing) (Elite) (35%)
Raven 4th Raven Regulars (Veteran)* (80%)
   
Beta Galaxy (Storm Crow Galaxy)
5th Raven Dragoon Cluster (The Wind Riders) (Elite) (50%)
97th Raven Striker Cluster (The Soaring Ravens) (Elite) (45%)
5th Raven Wing Cluster (The Frost Wing) (Veteran) (40%)
9th Raven Wing Cluster (The Ice Wing) (Veteran) (70%)
Raven 6th Raven Regulars (Veteran)* (80%)

Provisional Garrison Clusters:  12
Homeworlds:  12 second-line Clusters + 8 PGCs

White Cloud Naval Star
Sovetskii Soyuz-class CA (Storm Crow—Flagship; White Cloud)
Lola III-class DD (Spur)
Essex-class DD (Eternity)
Whirlwind-class DD (Drake)
York-class CV (Corvidae)

Swift Wing Naval Star
McKenna-class BB (James McKenna)
Conqueror-class BC (Ark Royal)
Congress-class FF (Magpie)
Lola III-class FF (Bloody Talon)
Whirlwind-class DD (William Adams)

Raven’s Nest Transport Star
Potemkin-class Troop Cruiser (Bonaventure; Rook)
Volga-class Transport (Tenacity)
Lola III-class DD ()Vision of Terra)


Clan Star Adder
Adder Command Keshik (The Light of Command) (Elite) (Cluster) (35%)
Adder Quasar Keshik (Iron Will) (Elite) (Cluster) (65%)

Alpha Galaxy (Old Blood and Guts)
5th Assault Cluster (Georgie's Gorillas) (Elite) (30%)
85th Adder Cavaliers (Gallant Steeds) (Elite) (35%)
191st Adder Guards (Saar Cavaliers) (Elite) (45%)
11th Armored Cavalry Squadron (Messina Missionaries) (Veteran) (30%)
87th Dragoon Cluster (Ivory Six-Shooters) (Veteran) (60%)

Beta Galaxy (Blood Feud)
13th Adder Assault Cluster (Arcadian Devils) (Veteran) (50%)
42nd Adder Cavaliers (The Answer) (Elite) (45%)
73rd Adder Cavaliers (Scourge of the Highlands) (Veteran) (55%)
9th Armored Cavalry Squadron (Spirit Crushers) (Veteran) (60%)
69th Dragoon Cluster (Fighting Gurkhas) (Veteran) (65%)

Delta Galaxy (Thunderstrike)
6th Adder Assault Cluster (Vladivostok Flames) (Elite) (50%)
132nd Adder Guards (Raleigh Rifles) (Veteran) (60%)
18th Armored Cavalry Squadron (Allah's Will) (Elite) (55%)
212th Battle Cluster (Sheet Lightning) (Veteran) (45%)

97th Adder Sentinels (Veteran)* (80%)
235th Adder Sentinels (Elite)* (80%)
522nd Adder Sentinels (Elite)* (80%)

Provisional Garrison Clusters:  22
Homeworlds:  8 front-line Clusters + 16 second-line Clusters + 24 PGCs

Last Word Naval Star
Sovetskii Soyuz-class CA (Nygaard—Flagship)
Black Lion-class BC (Admiral William S. Preston)
Lola III-class DD (Warlock)
York-class CV (Crusader; Ranger)
Potemkin-class Troop Cruiser (Renown)
 

Clan Steel Viper

Alpha Galaxy (Steel Viper Galaxy)
400th Assault Cluster (The Diamondbacks (Veteran) (35%)
4th Viper Guards (The Deadly Venom) (Elite) (25%)
61st Striker Cluster (The Heirs of Cukulcan) (Veteran) (30%)

Beta Galaxy (Steel Fang)
233rd Battle Cluster (The Hunting Vipers) (Veteran) (40%)
126th Striker Cluster (The Copperheads) (Veteran) (50%)
19th Striker Cluster (The Black Mambas) (Veteran) (55%)
Viper Fusiliers (Mercer’s Own) (Elite) (25%)
9th Viper Guards (The Anacondas) (Veteran) (35%)

Gamma Galaxy (Striking Serpents)
4234d Assault Cluster (Gamma's Pride) (Veteran) (40%)
428th Assault Cluster (The Striking Viper) (Veteran) (40%)
51st Battle Cluster (The Silent Strikers) (Veteran) (55%)
94th Battle Cluster (The Cottonmouths) (Veteran) (35%)
57th Striker Cluster (The Fangs of Death) (Elite) (60%)

Provisional Garrison Clusters:  14
Homeworlds:  20 second-line Clusters + 20 PGCs

Viper Triumphant Naval Star
Sovetskii Soyuz-class CA (Sanra Mercer—Flagship)
Congress-class FF (Snake Leader)
Lola III-class DD (Anaconda)
Essex-class DD (Martial Legacy)
Fredasa-class Corvette (Pit Viper)


Clan Stone Lion

Alpha Galaxy (Rock from Fire)
1st Lion Assault Cluster (The Widow’s Pride) (Elite) (55%)
1st Lion Battle Cluster (Hell’s Own) (Elite) (50%)
2nd Lion Battle Cluster (Strength of Stone) (Veteran) (55%)
3rd Lion Battle Cluster (The Roaring Lions) (Veteran) (60%)
The Lion Dragoons (First Team) (Elite) (70%)
1st Lion Striker Cluster (The Stone Lion Hussars) (Elite) (65%)

Provisional Garrison Clusters:  0
Homeworlds:  6 second-line Clusters + 6 PGCs

Clan Stone Lion Naval Star
Sovetskii Soyuz-class CA (Reaver—flagship)
Lola III-class DD (Anathema; Rancor)


Clan Wolf

Alpha Galaxy (The Dire Wolves)
The Golden Keshik (Elite) (1 Trinary) (55%)
328th Assault Cluster (The Lion-Hearted) (Elite) (45%)
279th Battle Cluster (The Golden Horde) (Elite) (60%)
3rd Wolf Guards Cluster (The Sentinels) (Elite) (50%)
4th Wolf Guards Cluster (The Cyclops Cluster) (Elite) (55%)
13th Wolf Guards Cluster (The Wolf Spiders) (Elite) (60%)

Beta Galaxy (The Arctic Wolves)
The Silver Keshik (Elite) (1 Trinary) (60%)
341st Assault Cluster (The Silver Blizzard) (Elite) (40%)
352nd Assault Cluster (The Silver Wolves) (Elite) (45%)
3rd Battle Cluster (Silver Devils) (Elite) (55%)
9th Wolf Guards Cluster (Silver Fangs) (Elite) (60%)

Gamma Galaxy (The Wolf Hussars)
The Bronze Keshik (Veteran) (1 Trinary) (50%)
5th Battle Cluster (Ghost Hunters) (Veteran) (55%)
7th Battle Cluster (The Hungry Wolves) (Veteran) (55%)
11th Battle Cluster (The Bronze Lancers) (Veteran) (40%)
16th Battle Cluster (The Bronze Furies) (Veteran) (70%)

Delta Galaxy (The Red Wolves)
The Red Keshik (Veteran) (1 Trinary) (60%)
11th Wolf Guards Cluster (The Lightning Pack) (Veteran) (65%)
4th Striker Cluster (Red Death) (Veteran) (50%)
37th Striker Cluster (Blood Kits) (Veteran) (55%)
103rd Striker Cluster (Red Thunder) (Veteran) (50%)

Iota Galaxy (The Steel Wolves)*, Elements
The Steel Keshik (Veteran)* (90%)
Wolf 8th Wolf Regulars (Stalking Death) (Veteran)* (90%)
Wolf 15th Wolf Regulars (The Inquisitors) (Veteran)* (80%)

Provisional Garrison Clusters:  24
Homeworlds:  8 front-line Clusters + 14 second-line Clusters + 16 PGCs

Wolf Naval Star
Sovetskii Soyuz-class CA (Dire Wolf—Flagship)
Congress-class FF (Rogue)
Lola III-class DD (Nature's Wrath)
Vincent-class Corvette (Trailblazer; Valiant)
Potemkin-class Troop Cruiser (Full Moon)

The Steel Palace, Malcheema
Arcturus, Lyran Commonwealth, Federated Commonwealth
February 22, 3044

Jason Scott paused his kata in the small gymnasium where he was allowed to take his exercise as two dozen burly men entered through a side door.  Although still a prisoner, he had spoken several times with Melissa Steiner-Davion, nearly a dozen times with Roman Steiner and Morgan Hasek-Davion, twice as often with Quintus Allard—but not once with Hanse Davion.  Still, he had been allowed privileges such as this exercise time and books to read in his cell—and Stephen Davion visited every day.  The two men had struck up a friendship on the voyage to Arcturus and it continued now, through their daily games of chess.

But this was different—and Jason could taste the fear and anger radiating off of the new arrivals.  One of Jason’s two guards shook his head, but a newcomer held out a thick wad of bills and the guard pocketed them, and then the two regular guards left.

The newcomers spread out in a semi-circle and they were all armed with stun-sticks—nasty implements that dealt a mild electrical charge to the individual struck; they short-circuited the nerves momentarily and allowed police to subdue a captive quickly . . . and were generally considered non-lethal weapons unless the target of their attention had an undiagnosed heart condition.  But they were also intended to be used in moderation—and not one of the thugs approaching had anything resembling moderation in their eyes.

Their leader stopped a dozen feet away from Jason and he spat.  “Clan bastard . . . my brother was in the 15th Lyran Guards—your people killed him on Tukayyid.”

“The 15th Lyran fought in the Dinju Mountains—my Scorpions fought on the Prezno Plains . . . you clearly have the wrong Clan bastard.”

“You are all responsible for this,” another muttered, “each and every one of you, and each of us has lost family to your Invasion.”

“Ah, and you came down here today to extract your vengeance from my flesh and bones, then?” Jason asked in a calm voice.

“We are going to beat you until we break every last bone in your body,” a third man snarled.

“You do realize there is a camera that is recording everything in this gynasium, quiaff?” the Scorpion Warrior pointed out, raising one hand to point.

“And that tape will be long gone before anyone thinks to ask about it,” the leader said as thumbed the power of his stun-stick to full and blue-white arcs of electricity climbed up and down the shaft.

And Jason moved—he did not wait on them to attack him, instead he attacked them, diving into their midst and striking out with all the skill honed by the long hours of training and sparring and actual combat to the death in a Circle of Equals.  The leader went down as Jason’s knuckles buried themselves in his throat—crushing the larynx—his foot lashed out and dropped a second—a third thug collapsed to the floor as Jason swung his elbow and shattered the bones in his skull at the temple . . . but there were too many of them and the Scorpion howled as electricity coursed through his body—and the stun-sticks rose and fell and slammed into his flesh and bonues with sickening thuds and cracks again and again and again.

*****************************************************************

“I don’t like him, Stephen!” growled Hanse Davion as he walked down the corridor towards the exercise room, a team of his best guards both ahead and behind the First Prince and his cousin.

And Stephen snorted.  “Who says you have to like him?  He’s an arrogant bastard who likes to settle things with a fight; he is also the personal representative of someone who is trying to negotiate a settlement to this war without additional bloodshed, and you are treating him as Second Coming of Mad Max!”

Hanse stopped and he stared at his cousin.  “Then why haven’t the Scorpions crossed over yet?  It’s been five weeks since the fighting on Tukayyid ended, and yet we haven’t received the first word of when he is going to do this!”

But Stephen met that fearsome glare resolutely.  “You, better than anyone else alive, understand the issue of timing things closely, my Prince.  We knew—from the first briefing—that it would be March or April before he moved; and the death of the ilKhan on Tukayyid is probably going to push that back some more.  This is something he has to get perfectly right, or he and his Clan will die.”  Stephen snorted.  “You would shed no tears at that, but put yourself in Nikolai Djerassi’s shoes—he is trying to end this madness and keep his people alive . . . and you cannot damn well tell me you wouldn’t do exactly the same thing in his place!”

Hanse started to reply, but then he drew in a deep breath.  “The casualty count from Tukayyid had really done a number on my composure—and the results of Takashi’s offensive has made me even more on edge.  Every advantage they have is magnified in the defense—I should have expected that.  I should have planned for that!  After all, that is our strategy, my strategy, to make them fight through our fortifications to come to blows with us.  The idea that the Clans might do the same thing to our offensive never really occurred to me—but that is what the Jaguars and Cats did to the DCMS and Theodore was lucky to pull a dozen regiments out of the fire.”

“And none of that is the fault of our Scorpion Ambassador, eh, cousin?” Stephen asked as the two started walking.  “Let’s face it, you are still pissed at not being First Lord of the Star League aren’t you?”

Hanse stopped again and he shook his head.  “I . . . no.  No, Stephen, I’m not,” and Hanse shook his head.  “It’s just that . . .”

“You aren’t in charge for once in your life.”

The Fox glared at his cousin who chuckled.  “He’s Melissa’s cousin—and he isn’t a true believer in ComStar.  I know you don’t trust them, I know you wish you could stand each and every Adept and Acolyte and Demi-Precentor and Precentor and Primus against a stone wall and give them a blindfold and a cigarette for all they have done in the past against you and Melissa and the Suns.  But there comes a time when you have to let it go—or you will give yourself either a heart-attack or a stroke.”

“All right,” growled Hanse, “all right.”  He held up one hand.  “I’ll calm down and be good, I promise.  Now how about we have that talk you have been wanting me to have with your pet Scorpion?”

The two began walking down the stone corridors deep beneath the palace once again and Stephen chuckled.  “Pet Scorpion?  He’s really not, Hanse.  What he is a hell-on-wheels Warrior inside a ‘Mech and out, and a philosopher.  Hell, he’s a lot like you when you were twenty.”

“He’s twenty?” Hanse stopped again, just outside the door.  “He’s twenty?”

Stephen nodded.  “He is.  And he’s got as big a chip on his shoulder as you had at that age, trying to prove your worth to older brother Ian and Uncle Andrew.  And like you with Ian and Uncle Andrew, he has been entrusted with great responsibility—responsibility he has earned because of his ability, not his birth.  Bear that in mind cousin.”

And an agonizing howl of pain came from the far side of the doors, causing Hanse and Stephen both to turn their heads.  The guards reacted instantly—half covering the two Davions and the rest pouring into the room; after a moment one of the guards nodded at the Fox.  “Clear, sir—you can enter.”

Hanse Davion stormed in and he drew in a deep breath at the gaggle of men with stun-sticks at their feet and the bloody, battered body of the Scorpion ambassador lying on the ground.

“WHAT IN THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?” he bellowed, but none of the soldiers—not one of whom as assigned to Palace security!—meet his glance.

One of the Prince’s security detail was on his knee examining Jason and he thumbed his radio.  “Medical emergency—detention area exercise hall—get down here fast!”

“H-he . . . attacked us,” one of the Lyran Regulars finally said under Hanse’s stern gaze.  “We were defending ourselves.”

“Right,” said another, “you tell him,” chimed in a third.

“Son,” Hanse said as he stepped up close—his guards getting even closer to the sweating soldier, “that camera better confirm every word out of your lips or I will see you hang in a wire noose.  So help me God.”

“DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?” Hanse thundered.  “So, now, without the bullshit, explain to me why soldiers in mine and my wife’s military forces who are not even supposed to be here, were just beating the ever loving hell out of an Ambassador to Our Court?”

A bath in liquid nitrogen would have warm in comparison the last words uttered by Hanse Davion—and twenty very frightened men began to confess, laying the blame on anyone but themselves.

“ENOUGH!” Stephen barked, and he nodded at the guards, who took all of them into custody, some still begging forgiveness, others pleading their innocence, but they were ushered from the exercise room as medical professionals rushed in and began to examine the unconscious Scorpion.  One of the doctors looked up, “I need to get him into surgery, my Prince,” he said.

“Go,” commanded Hanse.  “Erik,” he said to his guard commander.  “Cancel my DropShip flight back to New Avalon—and assign a detachment of our people to Star Captain Scott in order to prevent this from happening again.”

“At once, my Prince,” the security chief said as he began barking orders into his radio.

And Hanse chuckled grimly.  Stephen just stared at him as the doctor and the medical team loaded Jason Scott in a gurney and wheeled him away.  “You find this humorous, cousin?”

“I was thinking about how you said we are alike, Stephen—and damn me if I wouldn’t have tried to take some of them with me too,” Hanse motioned to the three corpses lying on the ground.  “Damn me if I wouldn’t have,” he whispered again.

Clan Goliath Scorpion Field Headquarters; Bayern
Memmingen, Clan Goliath Scorpion Occupation Zone
February 22, 3043

Natasha rapped the frame of the door at Nikolai’s office and the Scorpion looked up from a report he was reading—and then he carefully closed the monitor screen and stood.  “Khan Kerensky, to what do I owe the pleasure this evening?”

She held up a bottle of Nikolai’s stolen Scotch and smiled.  “I come bearing gifts.”

“Beware Stone Lions bearing gifts, to paraphrase an ancient author,” Nikolai said sourly but he waved his hand towards a pair of chairs flanking the roaring fireplace.  The Widow stepped into the office and handed the sealed bottle over; then she chuckled.  “I think you might need to activate your bug-stomper, Nikolai, after you sweep the room for listening devices—because you and I need to have a little chat.”

Nikolai shrugged as he sat down the bottle and called his latest aide into the office.  The young Scorpion swept the office with a hand-held electronic device and then he nodded at the Khan, who powered up a powerful electronic jammer built into his desk—the young Scorpion left and closed the door behind him—sealing the Faraday cage constructed into the walls, floors, and ceiling for additional security.

The Scorpion took a folding utensil from his pocket and cut away the wax seal on the neck of the whiskey bottle, then he levered out a cork-screw from the implement and extracted the cork with a pop.  “Rocks or neat?” he asked.

“Chilled is good, naked is better,” Natasha answered with a stunning grin and the Scorpion Khan chuckled in reply, pouring two fingers of whiskey for her, and two for himself.  He put ice within his own, however.

“We are as secure as I can reasonably make us, Khan Kerensky—what do you desire to 'chat' about?”

“Jaime told me what you told Melissa, Nikolai—you’ve been a naughty boy, haven’t you?” she asked with her eyes twinkling.

Nikolai turned his head in question slightly, but his pupils did not grow any wider, nor did any muscles on his face or neck twitch; nor did any sudden sweat beads begin to emerge from his forehead—he gave absolutely no outward sign that he had the least idea of what she was speaking of . . . and Natasha suddenly burst out laughing.

“Remind me to never to play poker with you, Nikolai!  Damn, you’ve got good control over your reactions, quiaff?”

“When I play poker, which is not often,” the Scorpion said taking a pause and a sip, “I play for only the highest of stakes.  Now what, pray tell, did Commanding General Jaime Wolf—our enemy, need I not remind you—tell you that I supposedly said to Melissa Steiner-Davion—or were you referring to another Melissa, perchance?”

“I know you are the one who gave her the idea to reform the Star League—and that you have offered to bring the Scorpions under their banner.”

“And if that were true, are you here to kill me?” Nikolai asked, and cocked his head to one side.  “Or to join me?”

The Khan of the Stone Lions took a deep swallow of her own whiskey and sat down the glass on the table.  “If the other Khans find out—and they will eventually—they will tear you apart with red-hot irons, Nikolai.”

The Scorpion nodded his agreement and he took a second sip and sat down his glass as well.  “So I was right—you are an Inner Sphere plant.”

“Yes, you were—and you will go down in history as a traitor to the Clans.”

“Perhaps . . . but we have a Star League once more.  This is a chance to end this war, and end it with the best of all possible results—a united Inner Sphere, under one government that is not bound by our traditions and castes and rules of conduct!  We were meant to serve the Star League—I have always been a Warden in this endeavor, Natasha.  And rather than see my Crusader brethren make a hash of it, I have pulled the strings as best I could to steer events to this point—where the Davions and the Steiners and the Kuritas and the Mariks and the Liaos have united to preserve their own cultures and societies . . . and ours as well.”

“By and large, my Scorpions are Wardens—we have a Star League now, a Star League we can be proud to serve . . . and they will follow me into that service.  I had suggested that Jaime Wolf be named First Lord, but I cannot have my way in everything it seems.” And he shrugged.

“Oh-oo!” howled Natasha with laughter.  “He forgot to tell me that.  You must have known that Takashi Kurita would never allow it.”

Nikolai shrugged.  “It does not matter who is First Lord—the League has been Reborn.  Will you stay here in the staid boring Clans or will you return to the Terran Hegemony in the company of Scorpions?”

The Black Widow grew serious.  “They will Annihilate the rest of your Clan, Nikolai.  Your Scorpions will be absorbed into the Inner Sphere and pass away into history.”

“Everything passes with time, Natasha, nothing lasts forever—the Scorpions are fully aware of that fact.  I have not left a single Warrior, a single sibkin, a single ship in the Homeworlds for our trothkin to slake their vengeance on—they will arrive at Rondane soon, where we will load up my other civilians to join the ones from the Homeworlds, and my factories, and they will meet us on Asta . . . a former world of the Hegemony which will be ours to call home.”

Natasha lifted the whiskey and slugged back the rest of the tumbler’s contents.  “High-stakes indeed,” she whispered.  “If my Stone Lions joined you, we would lose our civilians from the Homeworlds and what few military units have been formed there in my absence.”

“A handful according to my sources—before our unfortunate technical difficulties with the communications relay.  And all fractious, unrepentant Mandrills—you are better off without them.”

“And I have a sudden suspicion that you had something to do with that technical difficulty.”

“Aff.  My Fleet has been destroying the HPG relays and taking the JumpShips assembled for the command circuit to Rondane—we also seized the Raven’s Yard-Ship Sanctuary at Way Point 427.”

“You are a madman; you realize this is a medical fact?” Natasha asked with a shocked look on her face.

Nikolai smiled.  “I needed the JumpShips to haul my civilians and factories from Rondane and we will need the Yard-Ship once we arrive on our new home.  Peter will be pissed, of course, but when I return the six Potemkins I shanghaied, he might not feel quite so bad—especially since the Ravens were only running the Yard-Ship for the ilKhan; technically it is not their ship at all.”

“Pour me another,” Natasha whispered, and Nikolai did so with a grin. 

“Surprised, Khan Kerensky?  When I play, I play to win—and speaking of winning, if you fear that your Warriors will not follow you with their genetic legacies in the hands of Scientists back in the Homeworlds, well . . .” Nikolai smiled broadly, “let us say that there are Scientists who are not very Clan-like in their attitudes.  I have a complete copy of the Master Genetic Data Repository aboard the Fleet en route to Rondane.  Not physical samples, but enough for any competent Scientist to ensure that the Blood-Names of your Clan—and mine—are preserved.”

“They will have to invent a way to resurrect the dead to kill you as many times as you deserve, Nikolai!” Natasha blurted out.  “How long have you been planning this?”

“The genesis of the idea was Khan Kirov’s before his death—he chose me as saKhan because we agreed on this issue.  The Star League must stand again—and the Scorpions must return home to serve it, before our infighting in the Homeworlds tears us asunder.  For nearly two decades first Mikhail and then I have been working for this end—this goal—that we finally achieved just before we landed on Tukayyid.  And for that purpose, I pledged my life, my treasure, and my sacred honor as a sacrifice if needed.”  Nikolai took a sip of whiskey.  “So, are you with us or will you stand against us?”

"Are you going to give them the Exodus Road, Nikolai?" she asked in response.

"Neg.  I am purging all navigational data from every ship's computer as it arrives in the Inner Sphere.  I want to see the Star League Reborn, Natasha . . . I have no desire to see the SLDF fighting amid nuclear detonations on the Homeworlds.  You know that the Khans, for all their talk about honor, would resort to that if they were invaded.  With us or against us?"

“Oh, I am with you, Nikolai—you are too much fun for me to be anywhere else.”  She paused and sipped her whiskey again.  “What of the other Clans?  Some . . . some of them are rethinking this invasion.”

“They should all be rethinking the Invasion,” Nikolai answered and frowned.  “We can count out the Falcons, Sharks, Horse’s, Ravens, Vipers, Hellions, Adders, Spirits, and Jaguars immediately—none of them will be willing to serve a Star League not of their own making.”

“You, Marion, and Jake are friends, you might persuade them . . .” but Nikolai shook his head and the Widow stopped.

“Friendship has nothing to do with this—and Marion knows it.  Right now, if the Clans are forced out of the Inner Sphere and back home, he—and the Bears—have the two largest and most powerful toumans remaining.  And the Bears are a cautious breed.  With the losses the Falcons and Jaguars and Vipers have suffered, he will lead the Crusaders . . . and rule the Homeworlds as ilKhan.  No, he would rather be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond.  Jake Fletcher,” and here Nikolai sighed.  “Jake will take this as a personal betrayal and he will consider me a traitor to his last days—he will try his best to kill me.  Peter might have jumped ship, heh, but his displeasure with me will keep him on the Clan side.  For now.”

“That leaves the Coyotes, Wolves, Bears, Cobras, and Cats,” said Natasha.  “Ulric . . . I just don’t know.  He’s a hard man to read—but he is a hard-line Warden, a true-believer in his own fashion.”

“And a pragmatic one who wants to change the Clans from within—unless the survival of Clan Wolf itself is at stake, he won’t jump—neither will Pavel and his Coyotes.  Amanda will understand why I have done this—she will even silently applaud the audacity and risks involved in my actions, she will wish me luck, but she will not risk the survival of Clan Ghost Bear.  Besides,” he said with a grin, “she gets to keep my worlds and Rondane—including the factories I cannot move in time.”

“And then there were two,” the Widow mused.  “The Cats are fanatical about the Star League—but it all depends on their Khan and Loremaster.”

“And the Cobras, they have to know their best chance of surviving to see the next century is away from the Homeworlds—the other Clans have begun getting antsy about their religious practices,” Nikolai added.

“Do we approach them—do we dare to broach this subject with them?”

Nikolai licked his lips.  “Not yet . . . we still have much left in this play of ours, and our time upon the stage is not yet at an end.”

Natasha sat back in her chair and took another swallow of the smooth, deep, warm whiskey.  “How do you know the Lions will follow me?”

“How do I know that when the sun sets for the night it will rise again in the morning?  Or that water is wet?  Of all the questons you could have asked, this is simplest.  Natasha Kerensky, you led them—led them—through the fire to regain their honor.  They are truly Lions now, not a collection of free-birth cast-offs from the Fifteen Clans mixed with surviving Mandrills.  Those men and women—from your saKhan Aiden Pryde down to the lowest laborer, each would follow you into Hell without hesitation, evasion, or reservation.”

“And how do you know I won't take this to the Grand Council and reveal all of your masterful plans and schemes, O Great and Powerful Oz?”

“If I even suspected that you would, you would not get out of this building alive.”

Natasha Kerensky smiled and she stood and she nodded.  “Oh, now the fun part really starts.”

Grand Council of the Khans, Memmingen University, Bayern
Memmingen, Clan Goliath Scorpion Occupation Zone
February 23, 3043

Thomas Black, Khan of the Steel Vipers rose from the seats normally used by students attending a lecture with a scowl on his face.  To his eyes, to those of many of the Khans present today, this chamber was simply a parody—a mockery!—of the Hall of the Khans on Strana Mechty; that anger and frustration showed clearly on his face.

“Khan Black,” the new Loremaster of the Clans—Grace Kabrinski of Clan Ghost Bear—said, recognizing the Viper and granting him the floor.

“It has never been done—not once in our entire history!  The ilKhan is elected on Strana Mechty, in the Hall of the Khans, and in no other place!” he thundered.  “We must—the Khans and the Blood-Named, return home to elect a new ilKhan.  The Martial Code sa-. . .”

“Nothing on this subject, Khan Black—I know, I have read it in preparation for today; every last clause and article and regulation,” Nikolai interrupted as he stood.  “Tradition has our election of an ilKhan take place in that sacred Hall on Nicholas Kerensky’s Strana Mechty; tradition, my Khans, not regulation.  Not law, nor any code handed down by the First ilKhan or any of his successors.”

“You would be wise to remain silent today, Scorpion,” hissed the Viper.  “Your plans led us to this catastrophe, your desire to take Tukayyid, your failure to adequately prepare the Khans for what we encountered there!”

“We, Khan Black?  I fought on Tukayyid,” Nikolai answered in a scathing tone.  “Many of the Khans here today fought and bled on Tukayyid—you did not.  The only reason you are here today holding the rank of Khan is because your predecessor disobeyed the orders of her lawful commander under combat conditions and got herself and three full Clusters of Vipers killed!  And for what?  The battle had been lost already—she threw away your trothkin because of her foolish pride!”

Black’s face twisted with anger—and shame—and he started to leap forward, but one mighty bellow brought him to a halt.

“ENOUGH!” shouted Brandon Howell as the Jaguar leapt to his feet.  “The Scorpion speaks the truth Khan Black.  You dishonor yourself and your Clan if you do not accept the truth of what happened in the Kozice Valley!”

The two Khans locked eyes across the room, but it was the Viper who finally looked away.  “That being said,” continued Howell in a calm and even voice, “it was your plan which led us to this state, Nikolai Djerassi—a plan which you agreed to accept the consequences of if you were wrong.”

Aidan Pryde, saKhan of Clan Stone Lion stood and shook his head.  “Was he to be prophetic in nature, Khan Howell?  Tukayyid was a trap for us—a trap laid by Commanding General Jaime Wolf of the Star League Reborn.”  And in answer a rustle arose from the Khans as at last those words were spoken in a formal setting.  “Aye . . . we cannot deny reality, my Khans—and the reality is that we have forced the Inner Sphere to unite against us and to reform the Star League . . . whose armies have now handed unto the Clans our first defeat.  The first of many defeats.”

“This false Star League will not prevail—we will not be defeated!” growled Howell.

But Aidan only cocked his head to one side and nodded.  “Then perhaps we should hold this meeting on Pesht, Khan Howell.  Or on Bjarred, or Jeanette, or Teniente, or Irece, or on . . . any other of your worlds bordering the Draconis Combine.  Oh, wait, we cannot for those worlds the Jaguars and Cats have been driven from—in defeat.”

“It is but a temporary setback,” howled Brandon, “we shall recla- . . .”

“Begging the Khan’s pardon, but you have not the strength of arms at this moment in time to reclaim those worlds—and you know that as well as I,” Aidan continued in a sober voice.  “The plans for Tukayyid were sound, we all know this.  Just as we must all acknowledge that we were outfought.”

And all Hell broke loose at that final sentence.