Part Seven - Federated Commonwealth
And it's been two years I miss my home
But there's a fire burning in my bones
Still believe
Yeah, I still believe
Chapter 40
Aswan, Caph
Draconis March, Federated Commonwealth
13 February 3064
Caph was one of humanity's first extra-solar colonies and it had been one of the core worlds of the Terran Hegemony and by extension of the Star League. As the Star League fell, Caph had been left brutally scarred by fighting between Kerensky's and Amaris' forces... and then again as House Liao, House Kurita and House Davion fought over it.
Two of the world's three continents were no longer habitable, but from the vibrant capital city it was hard to imagine that. The thriving metropolis rivalled Avalon City for size and sophistication. Even the relatively sudden end of their brief independence within the Chaos March didn't seem to phase most of the populace.
Peter's temporary residence had been used by Caph's militia until Marshal Orsina had brought the Fourth Davion Guards Regimental Combat Team across the Lyran Alliance and reconquered the world in the name of the Federated Suns. There were various reasons Peter had decided not to argue with the terminology, including but not limited to the fact that Caph provided a perfect jumping off point for his task force to cross back into Lyran space.
It was also part of the immense double-chain of HPG stations that enabled two-way real-time contact between Tharkad and New Avalon and the holo display of his suite lighting up drew his attention away from the skyline of Aswan and towards two women sharing a couch, hundreds of light years away. "Yvonne, Catherine, how are you?"
Each was sat against one arm, leaving a sizeable separation, he noticed as they both greeted him with smiles. "We're doing well, of course," Yvonne assured him. "Catherine has even managed to persuade George Hasek to make a formal statement of support."
Peter grinned. Finally! He'd been worrying about the March Lord's continued intransigence. "How did you manage that, Cat?"
"I can hardly take credit," his blonde sister said quietly. "I think your efforts on Algol and Acamar were what swayed him. I heard about the casualties there."
That soured the mood immediately. The Fifth Royal Guards had lost more than a dozen mechwarriors between the fighting on those two worlds, and twice that many of their 'Mechs had had to be left behind for major repairs or even to be scrapped.
"It was less the enemy's ferocity than some carelessness," he said harshly. "I should have made sure they were more adjusted to using lighter 'Mechs that couldn't simply bull through enemy fire the way our Mackie II's used to." He'd had to keep the Royal Guards in reserve of Epsilon Indi, although fortunately the arrival of two additional RCTs had left no need to commit them - the Davion Light Guards and Fifth Davion Guards were holding the recovered worlds until formal garrison forces could become available.
"I don't believe that that's all of the answer, Catherine," Yvonne said mildly. "But it did help and it's probably why he agreed to contribute to our belated birthday present for you."
Peter blinked. He'd turned twenty-nine at the start of the month but it had hardly registered except for one evening drinking with his company commanders. "I wasn't really expecting you to send me anything."
"Consider it a joint gift from Duke Sandoval, Duke Hasek and the two of us," his younger sister told him. "The Glowworm should have reached Caph's jump point yesterday by command circuit along with your other supplies from Addicks."
"Yes... I think they did." He frowned in concentration. "Why?"
"In addition to twelve fully reconditioned Mackie IIs - quality checked to Daniel Holstein's personal satisfaction - she's carrying twelve Templar OmniMechs and twelve Sagittaires to join the Fifth Royal Guards." Catherine smiled a little more sincerely. "Hopefully some of those less suited to lighter rides can now be back in their comfort zone."
He grinned and rubbed his jaw. "You know exactly what I want." A full battalion of assault 'Mechs would do wonders for the Royal Guards' strength.
"Well we were hoping to give you Kath-rina." Yvonne caught herself at the last moment and glanced guiltily at Catherine before continuing. "But we have no news of her. Just two unconfirmed sightings of the Lucien Davion."
"Two? I heard about Marlette -" A merchant jumpship had reported picking up a warship in the outer system - which could be a mistake of course. "But where else?"
"Similarly tenuous. The DCMS claim an Avalon-class cruiser was recharging at Styx - but they aren't sharing their sensor data so it could just be posturing over losing Marduk. I don't think Theodore Roosevelt would play such games but he has many subordinates."
"Kurita," Yvonne corrected her, with an air that suggested she was growing used to it.
"Pardon?"
"You said Theodore Roosevelt."
"Oh." Catherine frowned in irritation at herself. "Yes. My bad."
"It's plausible," Peter noted, pretending to ignore Catherine's lapse. "If Katrina is headed for Tharkad then Styx is the sort of backwater system she might be able to get away with passing through - although Draconis space might be risky it's avoids any chance of running into my forces here in the Chaos March."
"The surprise is that she hasn't contacted ComStar somewhere to have them send messages to try to stabilise her support. Losing New Avalon is bad for her but she could have mitigated it by remaining visible."
Yvonne nodded in agreement with Catherine. "Tancred's still got some hot spots to deal with but with the march lords supporting us, all the key industrial and command worlds look securely with us in the Federated Suns. Nondi can't say the same for the Lyran Alliance. There's not a day that goes by without news of another riot somewhere or fighting."
"If she's losing control then this could be the end of the beginning ."
"The beginning of the end perhaps." Peter glanced at Catherine and saw Yvonne doing the same - was she slipping like this so often? That probably didn't look good to the public. "Have you been able to get an idea of what forces she can rely on?"
"It's hard to pin down for sure, but a lot of regiments are finding reasons that they need to stay on their base worlds to cover the border and deal with the local conflicts." Yvonne pursed her lips. "She can count on the Royal Guards, of course, and it looks like the four remaining Jaeger units are in her pocket still."
The Coventry Jaegers had attacked Victor's ally, Duke Bradford, on Coventry itself last year. While the Duke's own forces had been crushed by the Jaegers, Victor's arrival had saved him and secured Coventry Metal Works to help supply the allied forces in the Lyran Alliance. The Jaegers had taken months to destroy though - like Katrina's forces on Algol, very few had been willing to surrender.
"The good news is that her hold on Skye has almost entirely collapsed," added Catherine optimistically. "The Skye Jaegers aside, the Skye Rangers seem to be paying more attention to Robert Kelswa-Steiner than Nondi. That's a problem in and of itself, but Caesar Steiner arrived in the region and swung all the Donegal Guards RCTs present - including the three that were in the Suns - over to our side. He can squash Robert flat if he tries anything."
"That's great news - what about Hesperus II?" Almost entirely unpopulated, Hesperus II was home to the largest 'Mech factories in the Inner Sphere, heavily fortified and guarded by at least two Regimental Combat Teams.
"As far as we can tell, all three units there taking the position that securing Defiance Industries for the Lyran Alliance is more important than holding it for either side - they'll fight if attacked, but unless we do that then we can discount the Fifteenth and Thirty-Sixth Lyran Guards, the Gray Death Legion and FCS Simon Davion."
"I can't say they're wrong," Peter agreed. The Simon Davion was a sister ship to his own flagship, the Hanse Davion. There were other warships in Skye Province, but without the Avalon-class cruiser they'd be hard-pressed to threaten him. "If Caesar is on Skye, I should be able to join up with him there and then we can pincer Tharkad between us and Victor."
His sisters exchanged glances and his heart sank. "What?"
"Victor is already moving on Tharkad," Yvonne told him. "He's leaving Coventry today."
Peter blinked. "But... he's only got..." He thought a moment. "Okay, five Regimental Combat Teams and some supporting units... that's more than we had on New Avalon, but he'll have more opposition than we had to deal with."
Catherine nodded. "I know. And four of them are from this side of the Commonwealth - he only has two Lyran units with him - the Seventeenth Donegal Guards and Archer's Avengers. Nondi may not be the sharpest political mind but even she can spin this in line with Katrina's Davion versus Steiner..." She searched for a word and settled on: "Ideology."
Sitting back, Peter activated his noteputer and checked his files. "Aunt Nondi's logical recourse is to bring in the task force she's been assembling to go after Coventry. With only the Eleventh Arcturan Guards and two Provincial Militias it's far from large enough to handle Victor's forces alone but added to the two Royal Guards RCTs on Tharkad, it can probably buy time for her to try to sway other units or to bring in the Jaegers."
"All three of the Royal Guards RCTs," Yvonne corrected him. "We've had confirmation that the Third Royal Guards aren't headed for Dalkeith after all - they're on the way to Tharkad and they'll beat Victor there."
"Then the numbers are close to even, and Aunt Nondi has the defensive advantage. What's Victor thinking? Given a couple more months we could combine our forces."
His youngest sister looked pensive. "His messages suggest he's concerned about Katrina. She could have reached Tharkad by now and if she hasn't then it could happen any time. He wants to take Tharkad before she can take the reins once more - just her presence would bolster her cause significantly."
Peter uttered a curse under his breath. "What's she going to do that Nondi can't? She's no general."
"She's also outmaneuvered Victor repeatedly," Catherine said quietly. "On the political battlefield, yes, but that's all the more deadly. We can't afford to underestimate her."
There was a long pause and then the prince rubbed his jaw. "Okay. I can't wait any longer then. The Davion Guards can stay in the Terran Corridor to secure a supply route back to Addicks - bringing them into the Lyran Alliance was always going to be inflammatory, even if the Fourth were willing to go back there."
"So you're moving now?"
Peter nodded. "We have three warships - that should be enough to deal with the two corvettes in Skye if they side with Nondi. Since Uncle Caesar is keeping Skye pacified I should be able to cross it quickly and reinforce Victor. If he can win, great. But if he can't then he should be able to hang on long enough for me to arrive."
"As long as you don't get defeated in detail," Catherine warned.
"I'd have to make some pretty major mistakes for that to happen," he told her confidently. "I've got the Pride of the Federated Commonwealth with me, after all."
Yvonne smiled, but she shook her head. "You know what goeth before a fall, Peter."
"Oh I know. But seriously. Between the Pride, four Regimental Combat Teams and two other 'Mech regiments -" the Tenth Lyran Guards, Twentieth Avalon Hussars, Nineteenth Arcturan Guards, First Ceti Hussars, Third Lyran Regulars and First Federated Suns Armored Cavalry "- Nondi would have to bring everything else she has together in one place to stop us."
"Or warships."
Peter paused and acknowledged the point. "Okay, yes. But she'd have to send those covering Tharkad to match ours and with Victor on the way, she can't afford that."
"It's still a risk."
He nodded soberly. "But Victor's forced our hand with his own risk. If Katrina returns and Victor gets himself killed, she could very well consolidate her position as Archon and regain control of the Alliance. She's had years longer to dig in there. If that goes on..."
The three Steiner-Davions looked at each other, each seeing the same determination in their siblings.
"You'd better wake up your staff then," Catherine said at last. "Good luck, Peter."
Peter nodded and closed the channel. When he looked out of the window, Caph's star was low in the sky, a brilliant sunburst over Aswan's towering buildings. The sight reminded him of the sunburst that formed half of the Federated Commonwealth's heraldry and he raised his hand before it in a fist, completing the image.
"Time," he said to himself. "Ask me for anything but time."
Chapter 41
Castle Davion, New Avalon
Crucis March, Federated Commonwealth
24 March 3064
Yvonne got a nod from Catherine's secretary - a woman pulled from the palace's general secretarial pool back when Catherine was just a newly arrived member of the royal family and less than two months later had found herself running the office of the effective head of state - and entered the main office without nodding.
It was her - their - father's office once, then Victor's... and Katherine had been using it as well, something that still elicited a shiver from the youngest Steiner-Davion. Who was Katherine really? For that matter, where was she?
"Catherine? Your secretary said you weren't doing anything urgent."
While the face behind the desk was still unnervingly familiar, the much shorter hair thankfully provided an obvious signifier that this wasn't the ousted blonde but the one Peter vouched for. And, Yvonne realised with a touch of judgmentalism, one who'd been doing a fairly good job of not just holding things together in Peter's absence but tying up the wounds of the war.
"Not urgent," Catherine agreed. She pushed her chair away, looking away from the documents being projected into the air in front of her (a holo-projector was cunningly concealed in the wooden desk). "Just reviewing reports from the Colonelcy Board."
"The what now?"
Lips curled, Catherine clarified: "General Abrams' board - the rank reviews?"
"Oh yes. Why do you call it that?"
"I didn't, FNS are calling it that. Presumably because we're formally reinstating the rank of Colonel."
Yvonne nodded in understanding. "I never understood why that was thrown out when the LCAF and AFFS merged - it was one of the few ranks they had in common, wasn't it?" She went to one of the couches in the office and put one hand on the back in silent invitation.
Catherine pushed back her chair. "I blame Seattle," she said as she walked around the desk, not explaining the cryptic response.
They sat facing each other and the younger sister hesitated before asking: "Have you thought about the future?"
The smile on Catherine's lips was self-deprecating. "Just a bit." She spread her arms and wiggled her fingers to indicate the breath of that 'bit'. "Time is a fire in which we burn, Yvonne."
"Are you being morbid or...?"
"It sounded better in my head." The blonde smiled a little sadly. "What scale are you contemplating the future of?"
Yvonne leant back and eyed the other woman. "The future of the Federated Commonwealth and the Star League."
"It's entirely possible that neither has very much of a future," Catherine told her immediately.
"...you say that so easily."
"The Star League exists because it benefits all of the members. It's a purely voluntary association... and it was to a very large degree driven by the threat of the Clans. Victor, Theodore and..." She hesitated. "Mansdottir, are all concerned by that. Katrina should have been, but... Katrina. Thomas Marik and Sun-Tzu Liao have no direct stake in those threats - I suspect Thomas was pressured the Word of Blake since they have an ideological opposition to the Clans. Sun-Tzu just didn't want to be the one left out."
"The Clans are still there, aren't they?"
"Yes... but not as a unified force. Actually, I think they're going to face some very... interesting conflicts between themselves, but that's getting away from the point." Catherine considered and then shrugged. "Overall, Clan Ghost Bear are the strongest of the Clans right now - the Wolves and Jade Falcons are still weakened by their war seven years ago and other conflicts since. But the Draconis Combine is fighting the Bears fairly effectively right now, and with little to no outside help. The Clans are no longer the menace they once were."
"And without an outside threat, you think the Star League will break up - the way the Allies of World War II did once the Cold War broke out?"
"That's an awful historical parallel, but not entirely inaccurate," Catherine said with a wince. "Right now, the Star League is missing it's primary focus and without another that we can all agree on, it will be of reduced influence. It didn't exactly do anything about our recent war with the Combine and Theodore is the First Lord."
Yvonne nodded slowly. "Where does that take us, back to the Succession Wars?"
"Well not the early ones, at least I hope not. Although the technology for that level of savagery is more available now that it has been - warship fleets, for example. If someone starts breaking out the canned sunshine -"
The term got a blink and then a snicker from Yvonne, who fought it down just a little too late.
Her sister gave her an arched eyebrow and then wry smile. "Not a term to use in public, I confess. But yes. The Star League may have value as a restraint but if two or three of the major powers withdrew then it might collapse entirely."
"There wouldn't be many members left in that case," Yvonne pointed out and then paused. "Unless others joined it... but the Periphery was never interested and all the states in the Inner Sphere are members. Except the Word of Blake - have they contacted you?"
"I may be reading too much into it."
"Do you think that it would be wise? They're fanatics in Myndo Waterly's mould." Yvonne shivered, recalling how the former Primus had attempted to seize control of the entire Inner Sphere in the wake of the Battle of Tukkayid. The youngest Steiner-Davion had been only thirteen years old, but she remembered how her parents had been forced to divert resources to neutralise the plot after it was leaked by a Combine spy inside Waterly's inner circle.
Catherine leant forwards. "Keep your friends close, Yvonne, and your enemies closer."
"Ah." She shook her head though, still discomforted by the recollection. "And when it comes to the Federated Commo-"
Yvonne was cut off by a chime from the intercom. "Excuse me, your highness." The secretary's voice was cool and professional. "Count Allard and his grandson are here on what they advise is urgent business.
Catherine turned her hands palm up and shrugged. "Count Allard's judgement is usually sound. As is his grandson's." She went to the door of the office and returned a moment later with Quintus Allard and Quintus Allard-Liao, both looking grave.
"It's not news of your family, I hope?" Yvonne greeted them.
Quintus the younger shook his head. "No, your highness. So far as we're aware, my mother and siblings are well, other than being constrained to remain on Sian. The news is from somewhat further afield."
The sisters exchanged glances. "I think we're braced for the worst," Catherine said slowly.
"Our sources from the Lyran Alliance have pinned down the troop movements we've been concerned about," the Count informed them. "Unfortunately, it is as we feared - the redeployments to deal with the unrest were merely a cover for reinforcing Tharkad's defenses."
"It's not really a surprise. None of the worlds affected are as critical as the capital."
Yvonne called to mind the situation on Tharkad when she'd last been briefed. Although the forces were approximately equal in strength, Victor had used Nondi's need to maintain a grip on the capital to his advantage and landed on the smaller continents of Heidelberg and Franze. With local superiority they'd been overrun with relative ease, providing a foothold for the Allies from which Victor planned to move to Bremen, the planet's largest continent and the location of the Triad.
"How bad is it?" she asked the Allards.
"The timing was very bad." Quintus Allard's lined face showed more resolve than it did sympathy. "The orbitals had remained contested and Victor's warships were focused on protecting the Bremen landings until too late. Both of the corvettes on loan from Phelan Kell were damaged trying to hold off LAS Yggdrasil and her escorts, although we believe one of Nondi's corvettes has been almost crippled. As a result, loyalist commands were able to set down on Heidelberg and overrun Victor's supply bases there."
Catherine rubbed her forehead. "What strength are they in?"
Quintus opened his noteputer and gave the contents a cursory glance. "The Donegal Jaegers and two regimental combat teams: the Third Lyran Guards and the Third Donegal Guards."
"So Victor's lost his supply base and he's outnumbered?" Yvonne gripped the arm of the couch. "Are there no reinforcements we can send?"
"Unfortunately, while many of the LAAF forces have shifted away from directly support of your sister during her continuing absence, very few are willing to support your brother either. And the exceptions are faced by other concerns."
"Robert Kelswa," Yvonne spat.
Catherine nodded. "Duchess Aten still hasn't woken from her coma and with her eldest daughter dead, that leaves Skye effectively in the hands of Robert and Hermione. Even if we wanted to risk moving troops away, by the time Caesar reorganised jumpships for it, Peter would be there with his task force."
"Can't Morgan Kell do anything?"
Quintus Jr. shook his head. "The Jade Falcons are mustering their forces. While it's tempting to think they're going to turn on Clan Wolf, it seems more likely that their Khan sees this as her last opportunity to blood troops against us before the Civil War is won. As a result, the Arc-Royal Defense Cordon can't spare any significant forces. With two warships and a battalion of the Kell Hounds already on Tharkad, they they can't afford to send more."
"It could be worse though."
They all looked at Catherine. "While it always could get worse, your highness, do you have something specific in mind?" asked the Count.
"The Twenty-Fourth Lyran Guards are on Donegal, only a jump away from Tharkad," she pointed out. "They could have been easily brought in and we've been assuming they were loyal to Nondi. Peter Riskind and Sabine Steiner are a formidable command team, but if they're still on Donegal then Victor may not need to face them."
Allard nodded. "You're correct, and we have no indications that they're preparing to move."
"If Sabine isn't moving to support her grandmother," (Sabine was their second cousin and one of Nondi Steiner's grandchildren) "then I have to wonder why."
Catherine shrugged. "Possibly she sees the writing on the wall - or possibly Riskind is forcing neutrality on her. He might have had to detain her in the latter case..."
"There is a third possibility," pointed out the youngest Allard-Liao. "She would hardly be the first Steiner to harbour political ambitions and she's very close to the throne - arguably the best outside you Steiner-Davions, should her mother and grandmother be discounted."
"Another would-be Katrina Steiner," Yvonne noted sourly, recalling that Sabine's military acumen had been likened to the former Archon.
"A better one than the last." Catherine made a face. "Not my first choice, or my second, but if it comes to a compromise then she might be one we can live with."
"A compromise where the Federated Commonwealth is no more."
Catherine spread her hands. "Not my first or second choice."
Chapter 42
New Glasgow, Skye
Skye Province, Lyran Alliance
21 April 3064
Skye was... interesting. In the Capellan sense of the word.
Peter had visited the Ducal Palace, paying respects to Hermione Aten - who seemed increasingly likely to be the Duchess as her mother's coma continued. Her husband Robert had been 'unavoidably detained' elsewhere but the youngest Aten had made pointed comments about how she and Robert had both lost parents to terrorism.
It was more than likely, Peter thought, that she was on the entirely too long list of people that knew that Victor had had Robert's father Ryan assassinated in retaliation for the murder of Galen Cox. Of course, for all those who knew it to be true, virtually everyone with a nose for politics suspected it.
"It's a terrible shame about Margaret," his host told him, offering him a glass.
"I'm not sure I should be drinking," he told Caesar Steiner, but accepted it anyway.
"It's not a cure to everything, but it eases the pain of dealing with the littlest Aten." His distant uncle sipped his glass judiciously. "Some of Kell's people very nearly got her and Ilse out, but the Skye security thought they were in on it and in the confusion..." He shrugged. "Poor communication kills."
"Yes." The contents of the glass were smooth, probably deceptively so, Peter thought. Wetting his lips more than once might not be wise. "On the other hand, if they hadn't been there then all three Atens could have been killed."
"A mixed blessing. Robert's in this Free Skye thing up to his neck, but he's as wily as his father so we can't pin it on him. And whatever he does, don't believe for a moment that Hermione isn't in it with him. They're two of a kind."
"I'd rather come to the same conclusion." He set his glass down. "And the Skye Rangers all rushed back here so I assume that they'll fall in with Kelswa-Steiner if it comes to it."
"Almost certainly," Caesar agreed without hesitation. "If that happens I'll wipe out the entire brigade - but that won't do anything for public opinion."
"A possibility best avoided - but of course that means I can't take you with me to Tharkad."
The older man shook his head. "I'm sure Reinhart will uphold the family honour." His son commanded the BattleMech regiment of the Tenth Lyran Guards. "I thought you were bringing one of the Ceti Hussar RCTs as well?"
"Some of the jumpships needed repairs - nothing serious but we've been pushing them fairly hard shuffling units - so I left them behind. Since we have the opportunity, I told Marshal Lamont to see if he could secure other worlds within the Chaos March. We need the Terran corridor re-established if the Federated Commonwealth is to have any future."
"You believe that it does?"
Peter considered the man asking the question seriously and nodded. "I believe both halves have benefited a great deal from it. One of the things that Katrina used to try to discredit Victor's rule after 3057 was the economic problems in the Suns. Granted, she exaggerated some of those issues, and others resulted from her sitting on much of the military jumpship fleet, forcing Victor to lean more heavily on civilian shipping..."
"I'm familiar."
"Yes. But at root, both sides of the Federated Commonwealth saw reduced economic growth after the Alliance seceded. The Lyran manufacturers profited from the markets of the Suns and access to Lyran production stabilised those markets, letting the Suns diversify in ways they hadn't for centuries."
Caesar grunted. "Money talks, I'll give you that. But politics is more about emotion and your sister has stirred that up good and proper."
"I know. The damage she's done to relations between both halves won't be made right easily - but at the same time, that gulf still isn't as wide as it once was, not when my parents chose to bridge it for the first time."
"Civil war can be polarising. It may be wider than you think."
Peter rubbed his chin. "Is that what Victor's thinking?"
"I couldn't say."
Slumping back into his chair, Peter looked across the table at the general. "Where do you stand?"
"I'm here, aren't I?"
"Right." He sighed. "Do you need anything to help hold Skye together?"
"I wouldn't say no to another regiment or two, but it's been worse."
Peter nodded decisively. "The Third NAIS Cadre is made up of heavy and assault 'Mechs. I'll detach them to reinforce you - if nothing happens then they'll get to broaden their horizons here on Skye. and if the worst does, you'll have a heavy unit to complement the Second Donegal Guards."
Caesar tossed back the rest of his drink. "A bunch of green cadets? Alright, I'll take it. If nothing else, those fresh-faced kids'll look good on the holos."
"If we can win this battle with PR instead of guns, then so much the better. We're going to need all our firepower when the Jade Falcons move."
"You're sure they will?"
"They're more vultures than birds of prey. Katrina was useless against them five years ago, and now we throw a civil war into the mix... Everything I've heard about them makes it just a matter of time."
"And the SLDF isn't likely to join us - Theodore Kurita isn't calling on them against the Ghost Bears, so he's unlikely to let the fight the Jade Falcons for us." Caesar had been the Lyran liaison to the SLDF since it was reformed and remained well informed, even now.
Peter set his own glass down. "Which is a problem in and of itself. But one we'll need to deal with another day."
"Yes, taking care of Nondi and the Falcons will take both hands." Caesar's eyes narrowed. "You've still got enough forces to tip the balance on Tharkad, but there's no knowing if Victor will still be alive when you get there."
"I couldn't swear that he's alive now." Peter glanced out the window and then back. "Unless your news is more current than mine."
"He was alive two days ago, when he tried to come down on the Triad from the north. I think if your great-aunt had killed or captured him, she'd have let everyone know that. It'd be a blow - no offense, but you don't have as much of a reputation as your brother. Yet."
"That assumes she knows. But someone pulled the Prince's Men back in good order, so here's hoping."
Without his supply bases, Victor had been operating a mobile campaign across the northern ice fields of Bremen. So far Nondi had been content to keep a strong garrison with her at the Triad - the three Royal Guards RCTs, that had stalled the attack on the 19th - while General Esteban hunted for Victor's task force with other regiments.
"Assuming what she has said is true though," Peter continued, "He's taken losses - serious losses. And I doubt he has the supplies to rebuild from it."
"Much like Bishop Sortek's position then," Caesar said with a smile and offered Peter a topping up before filling his own glass for a second time.