Hall of the Khans, Katyusha City
Strana Mechty, Clan Homeworlds
September 30, 3036
Whispered conversation ground to a halt as Mikhail and Nikolai strode into the stone chamber. Thirty-two Khans and saKhans waited for them—the last of the Clan leaders to make an appearance here today. Behind the Scorpions, the double doors were slowly closed by Elementals of the Ebon Keshik, and those doors sealed with a resounding clang. Three tiers of stone benches formed semi-circular terraces surrounding the well of the chamber, and against the far wall, a raised dais sat, with the empty chair and desk of the ilKhan—vacant these past eighty-nine years since the criminal treason and execution of Tobias Khatib.
Once, forty thrones—benches in common vernacular, but thrones all the same—sat on these terraces behind forty desks, with twenty tapestries bearing the emblems of the Clans adorning the polished walls. But two of those Clans had been Absorbed, and the third Annihilated. Their thrones and desks and tapestries had been removed long ago. A visitor would have thought that power and ability would have been tied to whether a Khan sat near or far from the well; such an assumption would be easy to make given the nature of the Clans of Kerensky.
It would also be wrong. Tradition ruled here in this sacred chamber, and the arrangement of the Khans remained as Nikolas Kerensky, the first ilKhan had assigned them.
Fourteen benches for seven Clans rested on the upper tier, with only the perimeter walk of the Ebon Keshik terraced above: Blood Spirit, Burrock, Cloud Cobra, Coyote, Fire Mandrill, Ghost Bear, and Goliath Scorpion. The middle terrace held twelve more benches—thrones—for six Clans: Hell’s Horses, Ice Hellion, Jade Falcon, Nova Cat, Diamond Shark (once known as Sea Fox and seated accordingly), and Smoke Jaguar. The lowest tier, one level above the well and even with that of the ilKhan’s Dias, held the remaining eight Khans of the last four Clans: Snow Raven, Star Adder, Steel Viper, and Wolf.
A thirty-fifth man stood alone in the well: Loremaster Raphael Mendoza of Clan Hell’s Horses, the senior Loremaster of the Clans. In the absence of the ilKhan, it was his duty to preside—without a vote—over the Grand Council of Khans.
Mikhail, trailed by Nikolai, made his way through the Khans to his Clan’s assigned place at the far left of the upper terrace, even as Loremaster Mendoza called out for the Khans to take their seats and come to order.
Quickly, the Khans sat, and Mendoza nodded. “I call this session of the Grand Council of Khans to order. We are assembled today to discuss a grave charge made against Clan Goliath Scorpion: that they have knowingly, and willfully, violated the Martial Code as laid down by Nicolas Kerensky. That they have acted contrary to the orders of this very Council and dispatched an expedition to the Inner Sphere! That they use subterfuge and deceit to conceal the presence of an asset to the whole of the Clans, preventing others from bidding for its possession as if their right! That they no longer hold to the principles of zellbrigen, as given to the Clans by our Founders!”
Mendoza gazed at each of the assembled Khans, before he at last met Mikhail’s eyes. “These are serious charges which carry . . . irreversible consequences if found to be true. What does the Khan of the Goliath Scorpions say in answer? Are these charges against his Clan true or are they false?”
Mikhail stood and he removed his ceremonial mask, set it down upon his desk, and laid one hand atop of it. “I would know my accuser, Loremaster—as is my right under the Martial Code.”
Norman Rood, Khan of the Ice Hellions stood, removing his own mask. “I level these charges, you traitorous scum. See, my Khans, he denies his crimes here before you—he seeks to hide behind technicalities in the law while ignoring the spirit! He is an abomination to this Council and to the Clans, and I claim the right to end his treacherous and dishonorable Clan!”
“Like a poor marksman, Khan Rood continues to miss the target, my Khans,” Mikhail said with a laugh. “I deny nothing. Rogue Warriors, led by a rogue Loremaster, sent some few Scorpions against the will of the Council—decades ago. When this was discovered, my saKhan killed Angela Tazegul, as I slew Gregor Lunde. We ended this violation of the law and punished those responsible. To hold we, the ones who discovered this treachery of a few, the ones who corrected it with the blood of the dezgra faithless traitors, the ones who purged our Clan of those elements disloyal to this Council, is a travesty. And I shall present evidence before you today, my Khans, that we have—as other Clans before us—dealt with an internal matter according to the laws of our society.”
“My Clan does possess an asset, but it is not one unknown to the Clans of Kerensky. Two Clans, besides my own, at least know of it and of what it produces. And the Khans of Star Adder and Wolf will confirm that. Should we have told the rest of you of this facility? Are you children who need to be led around by an adult caretaker, or are you Warriors? You ignore the Scorpions, and then you accuse of us of hiding secrets, concealing assets, violating the Law. All at the testimony of a Hellion! I relish proving the innocence of my Clan here today, Loremaster Mendoza, my fellow Khans! In fact, I demand the right to prove my Clan’s innocence, today!”
“And yet you do not answer the most serious of the charges, Khan Kirov,” Rood continued. “You have broken with zellbrigen, you seek to arm your civilian castes, you no longer conduct yourselves as one of the Clans of the Founder!”
Mikhail struck a pose of indignation, and shook his head. “Have we? Have we really? My Khans, I will present to this Council Battle-ROMs of every Trial that we have fought since I became Khan. Show me where my warriors have breached zell, you fool of a Hellion. It will be a fruitless endeavor for your attempt to show any such evidence; for we have not broken the sanctity of zellbrigen.”
Mikhail walked down the stone steps to the well and he turned to face the assembled Khans. “What my Scorpions have done—what the Hellions protest—is simply this: we changed our tactics, my Khans. Now, when we engage you in a Trial, we hold as strictly, or as loosely, to zellbrigen as does the opponent we face. We will fight you using your own rules for zell, be those rules strict adherence or tactics verging on the dishonorable. The Hellions accuse us of treachery because in their most recent Trial against us, our light BattleMechs and OmniMechs used their own pack tactics against them! There is an old saying, Khan Rood: what is good for the goose is good for the gander.” The Khan of the Scorpions laughed theatrically. “Of course, it was the Hellions who got plucked like a chicken on their last Trial on Roche—not my Scorpions. Stephan Cage must weep at the martial prowess of his descendents—if you had not already lost the vessel Cage’s Pride to us perhaps it would even now be renamed as Cage’s Shame.”
Norman Rood’s face drained of blood, and he lunged forward, stepping up on the back of the Snow Raven bench before him as he prepared to hurl himself into the well, but his saKhan and the Khan of Hell’s Horses restrained him.
Dozens of other Khans sprang to their feet as well, and Mendoza pounded the gavel and called for order.
Ghost Bear Khan Amanda Tseng turned to Nikolai and removed her mask. “Is he deliberately baiting the Khans?”
“Neg, Khan Tseng,” Nikolai answered. “He is showing the Hellion accusations for what they are—derived from the shame of a string of losses to a Clan the Hellions consider weak and beneath them.”
Lucien Moon removed his mask, and he snarled at the Khans until they quieted down, walking out onto the well alongside of Mikhail. “Your machinations of words will matter not at all here, Scorpion—what of the charge that you are arming your civilians? Answer this, or your Clan will answer to mine!”
“Khan Moon, the Scorpions are more than prepared to meet your Jaguars should you be willing to make good that threat. Be careful of how far you push, Jaguar; for our sting is fatal for those envenomed.”
Utter silence descended upon the Council Chamber as Moon’s jaw worked in rage, but then Mikhail held up one hand. “As to the charges—they are baseless. Nikolas Kerensky himself set forth rules and regulations on how one might change their assigned caste. It is true that in the recent decades, our Clans have let these laws wither; we have ignored them for too long. I have begun a program in which any Scorpion, of any caste, may be tested—according to the laws of Nikolas Kerensky—to determine whether or not he or she is qualified, be he true-born or free-birth, of claiming the title of Warrior!”
A dozen Khans jumped to their feet; still more only stared in abject shock, but Mikhail smiled. “This resource may be something that your Clans has chosen to ignore—until recently the Scorpions as well left the civilians to languish within the caste to which they were born, regardless of their ability. We will no longer do so—we will follow the tenets of Nicolas and allow those worthy and able to prove they have the heart of a Warrior to serve as one. To do otherwise, my Khans, would be a waste of valuable resources. Your Clans may be willing to squander such, but the Scorpions are not.”
Six Khans began shouting as Mikhail finished, and a flustered Loremaster Mendoza stood on the dais. “SILENCE!” he bellowed. And surprisingly enough the Chamber quieted.
“The accusations presented to the Grand Council by the Hellions, and the refuting evidence submitted by the Scorpions in their defense has been assembled into a report for each of you. I would suggest, my Khans that we recess for forty-eight hours to give each of you the time to go over this information in detail.” He paused, and then he slammed down the gavel. “Without objection, this session is hereby in recess. Khan Kirov—you and your saKhan are to remain within the confines of Katyusha City until this matter is resolved. We are adjourned.”
