Chapter Seventeen

McKenna-class WarShip McKenna’s Pride

Geosynchronous Orbit, Strana Mechty

Clan Space

11 October 2823

As the airlock hissed and opened, McEvedy slid her cane into her belt loop and used the hand grips to pull herself aboard the McKenna’s Pride. A guard wearing the uniform of the Cloud Cobras saluted her as she drifted in. “Khan McEvedy. I was informed by the ilKhan that the two of you were coming aboard, sir. This way, if you please.” The young guard pushed off down a long corridor.

This ship was special for all of the Clans. It had been the flagship of General Aleksandr Kerensky during the original Exodus of the Star League Defense Force. When he died, Nicholas had him interred in a special glass coffin aboard the ship. Originally Aleksandr had been laid to rest in a normal tomb, but people had flocked to it as an almost religious site. Sarah knew that bothered Nicholas, as his father had been the only light that had ever outshone him.

So, he ordered a re-interment of the body. The former flagship remained fully operational, and was placed in orbit over Katyusha City on Strana Mechty. In the parks, telescopes were mounted so that citizens could look up and see their “great father” hovering over them. A guarding Star of troops from each Clan rotated in every few months, taking a shift guarding the body. This month must be the duties of the Cloud Cobras. If she remembered correctly, the Steel Vipers would take over in a a few days.

Other than the guards, there was a small maintenance team that kept the ship in full working order. Nicholas had ordered that the Pride was to always be kept fully operational. Her engines, guns, even jump drive were ready for action. It was a memorial to his father and at the same time, it was a powerful ship of battle.

McEvedy looked around. She had been aboard the McKenna’s Pride before, a few times, once when she had been on active service. She studied the ship’s interior as she followed the guard, checked the corridors. I imagine Nicholas hates coming here. His father and brother are reminders of his past. Keeping the General up here, the people can only look upward. No competition or comparisons with his leadership.

She entered the officer’s mess, which had been converted to the tomb for Aleksandr Kerensky. The coffin had a piece of ferroglass across the top and flat-finished metallic sides. The sides were adorned with the Cameron Star, the symbol of the former Star League. The guards stood with their backs to the coffin, facing outward. The figure of one of the greatest generals of all time lay with his arms crossed over his chest. His gray command uniform was adorned with his medals, his eyes closed. It was as if he were sleeping. McEvedy closed her eyes for a moment of respect, ignoring the fact that Nicholas, Aleksandr’s son, stood at the head of the coffin.

“Leave us,” the ilKhan commanded the guards. They silently left the room. The windows to the mess were open, giving a view of Strana Mechty below. The blue and green orb of the world shimmered as McEvedy moved closer. Nicholas did not betray any emotions as he floated next to his dead father. He has seen so much death during the occupation and the civil wars that even the death of someone close to him does not move him.

As the last guard turned and sealed the hatch behind him, Nicholas crossed his arms and spoke from the head of the coffin. “Why did you choose here to speak, Sarah? Did you think that the presence of my father would somehow help your pleas with me? Your performance in the Grand Council is not something I intend to let pass lightly.”

The zero gravity removed much of the pain that she had been feeling, and McEvedy felt more confident than she had in a long time. “Negative, ilKhan. I just realized that we are approaching a time of change. This place means a lot to me—your father means a great deal to me. I thought that I would come here one more time. None of us know when a visit to such a place might be our last. Besides, I knew that we could speak here without interference.”

There was an uncomfortable pause before Nicholas spoke. “You are starting down a path that you cannot turn back from.”

“I am beginning to see that. I was hoping I could come to you, as a friend, as a woman that trusts you, and see if you can give me advice on how to avoid the conflict I see coming.”

Nicholas offered no emotion. “Your Wolverines have grown very strong. The new technology you are working on, the new BattleMechs you have introduced, your skills in the trials, all show you becoming the most powerful of the Clans. In most respects, I admire what you have done with your people.”

“At the same time, it makes us a threat.”

“Our people do not respond to threats well. Sarah, there are numerous Clans working against your Wolverines. I am no fool. I know they believe they are guiding my actions—I assure you they are not. You need to know that they will not permit you to become even more powerful.”

“And you, ilKhan?”

Kerensky turned slightly and looked out of the window down at Strana Mechty, refusing eye contact with McEvedy. “Our people are stagnating, Sarah. You have seen it. With no enemies, no conflicts, their bonds to each other are weakening. They want the caste system relaxed. They seek some of what we have turned our backs on. They question the directions we have traveled together. This is a time when our values are being tested.”

“And my Wolverines?”

“You represent one possible future. It is not a future that I subscribe to or endorse, however.” Nicholas turned and locked his gaze to McEvedy’s. “I built this society, the Clans, with a vision. It is not for you or any of the Khans to question or attempt to change that.”

The words hurt. Nicholas was scolding her. “It was never my intent to erode what you built. I was serving my people.”

“As am I. The difference is, I answer to a higher calling.”

“IlKhan, the options for me, for the Wolverines, are becoming limited. What do you desire me to do?”

Nicholas said nothing for a moment, but placed his hand on the ferroglass of the coffin, over the face of his father. McEvedy was not sure if it was a loving touch, or if he was covering his father’s face. “I see no hope for the Wolverines going forward. Several Khans are going to move against you. They will seek to remove your Clan once and for all—absorbing you into their own holdings. They want the technology you are developing, the hardware that you have created, your territories, your people.”

“There are no provisions for absorbing a Clan.”

“There will be. They will create them.”

“And you see no hope for us?”

“There are nineteen other Clans, Sarah. All seek to benefit in some way from your demise. At the same time, it sends a clear message to all of them to not stray from the path I have laid down, or risk the same fate. I will not stand in the way of the Grand Council. Your Wolverines will serve as an example to the other Clans, to my people, of what happens when any one Clan becomes too powerful. It will force a level of self-correction to the Grand Council. It will prevent us all from turning on each other.”

“That is why you sent the Watch after us…you were conspiring against us.”

“I do not conspire,” he snapped. “I lead the Clans!”

McEvedy rubbed her chin in thought. They have already ordained our destruction, our absorption, perhaps even something worse. They will come at us like vultures, picking at our carcasses. If we are one thing as a people, it is relentless. “IlKhan, you know I cannot sit back and do nothing while the other Clans come at us. I am a leader, and must do what I can to protect my people. You would expect no less of me.”

Nicholas lifted his hands from the ferroglass over his father’s corpse. “I know you will, Sarah. In fact, I am counting on it.”

He was counting on it. A good fight, a bloody contest on the part of the Wolverines would solidify people behind him. We are to be made an example of. Testimony to his authority and rule.

“IlKhan…Nicholas—” Desperate, she went for the personal touch with her leader. “—this is not necessary. Innocents will die. My people and others can be spared. There must be another way.” She knew the answer before she asked, but asking was necessary.

“Even the Nova Cats will not be able to side with your Wolverines, nor will the Snow Ravens. They would like to, but they cannot do so. Your enemies are many and determined. If I spare you, I will be all but acknowledging changes to the society I created. I cannot do that.”

“I could renounce the changes I have employed. I can step down as Khan.”

Nicholas showed his teeth with a grin. “It would send ripples to other Clans. The message to the other Khans would not be sufficient, Sarah. Loss of rank, or even your life, is not enough to drive home the point. Pain, suffering, war—that is necessary to bring my people together. When they see the fury we are capable of inflicting on our own brothers and sisters, the more rebellious elements will fall in line.”

“You are selling us out,” McEvedy said in a low tone, looking down at Nicholas’s father. “You are using us to scare others into your way of thinking. This is akin to genocide.”

“I am being a leader. Your leader, until you allowed yourself to be corrupted by your lower castes and your own ego.”

“I have no desire to face you across the field of battle,” she confessed.

Nicholas did not seem to share her pain. “We will both do what is necessary.”