Battletech a question of.., p.28
BattleTech: A Question of Survival, page 28
Khan Jiyi Chistu leaped again in his Gyrfalcon. He loved the idea of toying with the Ghost Bear Star Colonel, but really he just wanted to make sure his opponent did not have a chance to gain his bearings and get off another good shot.
Hall was an excellent ’Mech pilot, but he was too predictable in his attacks. Or counterattacks, rather. Part of that predictability came in the notion that he seemed to prefer parries and ripostes rather than an out-and-out offensive. He waited to see what the attack was before responding. Jiyi had only wished he could have noticed that pattern sooner.
Crashing down into the swamp once more, water splashed up high enough to reach the middle of his viewscreen, but the cameras and sensors were covered in rainwater anyway, so none of it mattered.
Lightning flashed, illuminating the Ursus II with its back exposed, and thunder cracked to mark the pull of Jiyi’s trigger.
The Gyrfalcon’s lasers flashed blue-green, ablating the armor across the Ursus II’s back. A solid hit, but not enough to take his opponent down. But Jiyi had planned this moment well.
Finally able to maneuver himself behind the Ursus II, he had time to take a second shot before the Ghost Bear managed to drag his aim across Jiyi’s ’Mech.
Damage indicators lit up across his console. Emerald had definitely seen better days, but never in a more difficult and righteous fight for its life.
Catching the Ursus II on its side, the lasers whittled a chunk from an arm and ablated a chunk off its torso. Rain sizzled against the meaty Bear ’Mech where it had been hit. Steam rose from the wound.
The Ghost Bear side-stepped again, pivoting his firing arc.
Normally, at this point, Jiyi would have launched up again into the sky, hoping to put the Ghost Bear off balance. But that was not going to happen this time. The jumping had been a feint for this moment.
Jiyi charged.
The Ursus II had expected him to jump, and so it took a moment for Hall to react.
Jiyi aimed the colossal arm cannons of his Gyrfalcon right at the heart of the Ghost Bear and fired. The twin lasers flensed off armor across the arm and side of the Ursus II, sending melted gobbets to the ground below in waves that brought steam rising from the shallow swamp water below.
The Ursus II stepped around further, still trying to get Jiyi into his firing arc.
Juking to the left, hoping to keep from getting shot, Jiyi fired again, carving more armor from the Ursus II. The Ghost Bear ’Mechs looked like giant bears to begin with, bulky and large, and this bear began to look like it had come out of its winter hibernation, all dangling skin and sinew, rather than the fat one would expect.
Hall fired back as fast as he could manage, his medium pulse lasers flashing at Jiyi’s ’Mech, vaporizing slabs of armor across Emerald, solid hits that brought the damage indicators across his torso into the yellow, verging on red.
Jiyi had one more shot at ending it, else he’d be ended himself.
But one shot was all he needed.
The Gyrfalcon’s cyan lasers sliced right through the center of the Ursus II, turning the inner structure and its gyro into slag.
The Ursus II crumpled over, the internal structure no longer able to hold the weight of the top portion.
“Yes!” Elation and relief washed over Jiyi Chistu. He could not keep from smiling. He would not have to give up the VaultShip to the Ghost Bears, and that meant something. That relief came laced with joy like frosting on a cake.
He had just ensured another generation of Jade Falcons would live to fight another day, and he could now build something special in the Occupation Zone.
“We did it,” he said to the Falcons assembled in the circle around him. “You have all fought well and we have won this Trial of Possession. You have taken Ghost Bears as bondsmen, and we will grow our touman. Our visit to Quarell has been nothing short of an unmitigated success. Each of you who made it through has won a place of honor in our Clan.”
There were shouts across the radio, his surviving Warriors excited at their victory. Jiyi looked at the wreckage of the Ursus II and hoped Star Colonel Hall had survived. If he had perished in the fight, Jiyi worried he would not find so magnanimous a Ghost Bear to deal with in his absence. “Now, we just need to ensure the Ghost Bears do not renege on the deal.”
“Aff, my Khan,” Star Captain Quinn said, unable to hide the relief in her voice. It must have been a strain on all of them. “Excellent work.”
“Thank you, Star Captain. Order the DropShip in and ready our departure as soon as we have taken possession of our prize.”
“Aff, my Khan.”
CHAPTER 32
BEARCLAW TRAINING FACILITY
COPPERTON
QUARELL
RASALHAGUE DOMINION
08 NOVEMBER 3151
Alexis still could not quite fathom the idea of being a Jade Falcon.
And since her illusions about the Ghost Bears were slowly fading, she had no idea if she should believe the stories she had been told about them.
Even though the Falcons had “won” her, would they resign her to a similar fate, as Star Captain Sasha Ivankova wanted? Would they simply kill her for not being a Trueborn?
The Den Mother kept Alexis, Daniel, Thomasin, and Sophie in handcuffs as they marched them to the transports alongside the rest of the Bearclaws and the Mektid Bears. The mood among the two sibkos was somber overall. There was anger there, but Alexis could not determine if the anger was for the Ghost Bears for losing them, for her and the others for not saving them, or for the fact that they were going to be Jade Falcons.
It would take two transports to get them all loaded and sent off, one for the Bearclaws and one for the Mektid Bears. The Den Mother for the Mektid Bears led that sibko, his walk a sad, slow trudge.
And then, they would all be taking the trip to Antimony together.
“There has to be a way out of this,” Thomasin whispered.
But before Alexis, Sophie, or any of their sibkin could respond, the Den Mother hissed, “Shut your mouth.”
Thomasin clenched his jaw and obeyed.
But Alexis whispered back to him, “You do not have to listen to her anymore.”
The Den Mother’s gaze snapped back to Alexis, glowering. Alexis thought the look would have killed a lesser being, but not a true Ghost Bear. But Alexis didn’t think she was much of a true Ghost Bear, because apparently part of being a Ghost Bear was surrendering children to the enemy.
“All right,” the Den Mother said when they arrived at the hover transports. “You four, in.”
She ushered Alexis, Daniel, Thomasin and Sophie into the transport, but instead of loading in the others, she closed them inside by themselves.
“What is she doing?” Sophie asked.
“Who cares?” Daniel said through a sniffle. “We are lost.”
“We will fight this,” Thomasin told Daniel, “Whatever it is.”
But Alexis knew. Ivankova was still trying to keep them separate, even as she lost control of them. She was going to drive one last wedge between them. She never thought she would succeed in uniting Thomasin and Daniel.
The sound of Ivankova’s voice carried—albeit muffled—through the transport’s door. “You Ghost Bears Cubs, this is the last time I address you as Ghost Bears. According to the rede of our Clan, you have been lost in a Trial of Possession. You will be Jade Falcons. Though this might seem a dishonor, know that it is your honorable duty to accept it.”
The Den Mother could be callous and cold, but it seemed beyond reasoning that she would be happy to just hand the kids she had spent years training over to the Jade Falcons and tell them nothing more than to just get over it. She had done nothing to prevent their loss, either. The Den Mother was supposed to be an example of Ghost Bear ideals, and hadn’t she been the one to tell the story of the Clan’s founding? Shouldn’t she have been offering them food and warmth, comfort and safety?
Alexis wanted to scream that she was a hypocrite, but it did not matter.
After their ride, she would likely never see the Den Mother again.
Another relief.
“I need you to remember,” the Den Mother continued, “that those four stravag washouts in the transport already have dishonored themselves. You do not have to suffer their dishonor any further. Mete out what justice you would upon them, in this life or the next. They were dezgra Ghost Bears; I imagine they will be dezgra Jade Falcons as well. Quiaff?”
“Aff!” their sibkin called back, the harsh edge of their bark passed undiminished through the transport walls.
Alexis’ heart sank deep in her chest when Ivankova opened the transport back up and her sibkin—former sibkin?—filed in. They came up the center aisle between the benches and began taking their seats.
Alexis narrowed her eyes, staring them down, wondering if their anger was for her or for the Den Mother. Yes, she was handcuffed, but that did not matter if she had to defend herself if they decided to attack them. She had been in tougher scrapes than this.
Daniel cowered next to her. Thomasin and Sophie sat straighter, willing to meet whatever came.
Looking back to the doors of the transport, Alexis watched as the Den Mother began to close them. “Farewell, Ghost Bears,” she said. “And good luck.”
The doors locked shut, darkening the compartment, leaving them all alone.
As the transport started forward on their way to Antimony, Alexis looked to Daniel and took in a deep breath. Then she looked to the rest of the sibko, and held that breath close, waiting for what came next.
* * *
KODIAK POINT
ANTIMONY
QUARELL
RASALHAGUE DOMINION
08 NOVEMBER 3151
Though his left arm was in a sling, and he still felt the pain from the bruises across his face and ribs, Star Colonel Emilio Hall was not much worse for wear after the Trial of Possession. He wished he would have won, but there was nothing to be done about it now. The tenets of Clan life and honor dictated that he hand the cadets over, but they said nothing of magnanimity. He would bring that on his own.
They were to meet for the handoff in front of the Kodiak Point complex. Each of the sibkos on Quarell had gathered there; the Berserkers, Bjornsons, and Bearclaws were situated at attention on the right side of the building. The Dragonbears, Mektid Bears, Porbjorns, and Werebears stood similarly on the left.
Just over fifty of the Ghost Bears’ best and brightest, sent off to roost in Falcon’s land.
“A shame,” he said to himself, looking down at his shoes, polished to mirrors. He did not relish his next meeting with Star Captain Rand. The last thing he wanted was to have to face her I-told-you-sos and angry disappointment—not to mention having to meet her in a Circle of Equals.
There was nothing more severe than the feeling of letting down people you cared about. They were his family, even if he did not know each of them personally.
But honor demanded honor.
Emilio thought Jiyi Chistu might arrive by palanquin. Something about his demeanor insisted that would be a possibility. Instead, he came in a line of hover vehicles and transports he had probably hired in Antimony. It made sense that he would have had access to enough Bear-Krona to do it, with VaultShip Gamma still in his possession and them plying their trade across the Dominion.
Chistu arrived in the first car and stepped out onto the circular ferrocrete drive that fronted the complex. He was dressed in a drab olive Jade Falcon work uniform. His brown curly hair was unkempt, and he had a scar over his right eye—unsurprising to Emilio, he could not think of a Jade Falcon he had ever met without such a scar.
Chistu’s broad smile turned somber and business-like when he came to greet Emilio. “Star Colonel Emilio Hall,” he said, extending a hand to shake. “I am truly happy that you lived through the Trial. It would have been a shame for any Clan to lose a warrior as you.”
Emilio met Chistu’s handshake and found it firm, but not excessively so. “Jiyi Chistu. It is a pleasure to meet you, though I wish the battle would have gone the other way.”
“I am sure you would have. VaultShip Gamma would have been an immense prize.”
“I hope to show the sibkos that the Clans do not always have to be in constant conflict. Our rede is such that we can honor our principles even when we lose.”
“Admirable, Star Colonel. I appreciate your sense of chivalry. If all Clan Warriors thought as we did, imagine what we could accomplish?”
“Aff,” Emilio said, his voice hollow. This Trial would be a stain on his codex for the rest of his life. He felt the terror emanating from the neat rows of cadets that would be handed over like a chest of pirate booty. He had not been lying. He did want to show them an example of being gracious in defeat, but it still hurt like hell. “I hope you will allow them to keep some of their identity as Ghost Bears, even as they grow wings to fly as Jade Falcons.”
Chistu’s blue eyes glinted in the afternoon light, and he could barely contain the smile that seemed so readily apparent. Perhaps he was simply trying not to gloat, struggling, and not being very good at it. “You have shown them the strength of the Ghost Bears. I hope they never lose the equal measures of ferocity and wisdom that you have shown both on the battlefield and here today.”
Chistu turned to his second, a woman who looked to Emilio like a much younger Malvina Hazen, but with kinder eyes, blonder hair, and no scar. “Star Colonel, this is Star Captain Quinn, my second in command.”
Emilio nodded to her, and she nodded back.
“Star Captain,” Chistu said to her. “Please, get them loaded up.”
“Aff, my Khan.”
Emilio suppressed his reaction to her words, hoping his eyes did not widen too much. This man was the Khan of the Jade Falcons. This really was everything they had left. And he had failed to eliminate them. The realization was yet another blow to his pride.
Chistu turned back to Emilio as Star Captain Quinn began the transportation of the sibkos, looking sheepish at the slip of his title.
“I see,” Emilio said, “why you obfuscated your title in our negotiations.”
“I felt it would only complicate the situation for us both.”
“Aff.”
“But we are no worse for wear. We have both made it here with our lives, and live to fight another day, quiaff?”
“Aff.”
“And that is all we can ask for in these troubled times.”
Hall furrowed his brow, processing all the information he was being given. The more he thought, the more he believed that this was likely the entire Jade Falcon touman. They had nothing else. They were those left behind.
“That is fair enough,” he said politely.
“I thank you again for your honorable conduct, Star Colonel.” Chistu extended his hand to shake once again, and Emilio accepted it. “It is in short supply in these dark days.”
“I hope to meet on the battlefield again one day,” Emilio said, and it was no lie.
“One day,” Chistu said. “But let us hope it will not be too soon.”
The Jade Falcon Khan turned his back to Emilio, effectively dismissing him, as his Star Captain began loading the sibkos onto vans and transports. Emilio took the time to turn and salute as the former cubs went by, hoping to offer some honor to the sacrifice they were forced to make through no fault of their own.
For the most part, they were fresh-faced youngsters, ready to lay down their lives for the Ghost Bears, had they been asked. This was just a different type of sacrifice.
A few saluted on their way by. Others would not even look at him. Some had bruised faces and arms, and he wondered if the cross-training exercise had really been that hard on them.
One passed him by, patches torn from the shoulder of her uniform. She locked eyes with him and paused just a bit in her step.
Her accusing glare held blazing fury in it.
Not fear. Emilio would have recognized that much easier.
No, in her face he saw resolve—and disgust.
And it withered him to his core. In its place blossomed the shame of failure and anger at himself for his defeat. He had been tasked with protecting them. All of them. And he had lost all of them in a duel. He could do nothing about it.
She shook her head disapprovingly as she passed, judging him personally responsible. Tears threatened to form in his eyes as his emotion overtook him.
Emilio had failed.
He had failed all of them. But he had failed that cadet in particular, in a way she would never forget for the rest of her life as a newly minted Jade Falcon.
And neither would he for the rest of his life as a tired, old Ghost Bear.
Khan Jiyi Chistu watched the first of the cadets load up into the last transport van. He clapped his hands and rubbed them together.
This was work well done.
They had done it, even though it had cost them.
The Ghost Bear Star Colonel had stood at attention, watching each new Jade Falcon go by. His neatly pressed uniform and perfect posture never wavered in the wind. It was a worthy sign of respect as the sibkos were led to their transports and loaded up just a few at a time.
“I only wish I could have bid him into the touman, too,” he told Star Captain Quinn. And he meant it. The offer of hegira meant to sweeten the pot might have been too high a cost.
“Who?”
“The Star Colonel.” He would have made a fine Galaxy Commander, when the Jade Falcons had a Galaxy in their command once again. Perhaps Jiyi would come back for him and take the Trial. Though he wondered if the Ghost Bears would continue standing for other Clans coming and taking their best Warriors in Trials every so often, as had happened with Ramiel Bekker, and these many, many cadets.
“I see,” Quinn said, pressing no further. She had no qualms leaving it at that. And she had likely also become accustomed to the riddles Jiyi would sometimes answer with. Questions answered with more questions.
It was not because he was difficult, but because sometimes he just needed the time to think of the right thing, and more data always brought it to him.
