BattleTech Legends: Malicious Intent by Michael A. Stackpole

Author:Michael A. Stackpole
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Catalyst Game Labs
Published: 2016-09-25T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

DropShip Barbarossa Nadir Recharge Point Raman

Draconis March, Federated Commonwealth

1 March 3058

Watching his friend’s face as he studied the holographic star map projected into the space between them, Victor couldn’t help but smile despite the gravity of the situation. The Kai Allard-Liao sitting across from him in the DropShip cabin seemed as sharp as ever, and his comments were as insightful as in the days of the Clan invasion, yet he’d changed in the six years since the truce of Tukayyid.

And in the six years, since I left him behind on Alyina. The two friends had met since then, but what little time they’d spent together had been on Arc-Royal. That had been only a couple of years ago, but Kai had changed significantly in that time—as much as he’d changed after the year behind the lines on Alyina.

Physically he was the same as ever: tall and on the lean side, but proportionately muscled. His almond eyes and yellow skin, along with his black hair, were all characteristic of his family’s Asian background. He’d gotten his gray eyes from his mother, but the intelligence that shone in them came in equal and generous portions from both his parents.

Still, he looks different. “That’s it,” Victor said suddenly.

Kai looked away from the glowing globes of the holo map. “That’s what? You’ve found a solution for this Falcon raiding?”

“No, I’ve been trying to figure out what’s different about you.”

“Different?”

The Archon Prince of the Federated Commonwealth nodded. “You look happy. For the first time in all the years I’ve known you, you actually look happy.”

Kai blushed. “I guess I am happy.” His smile wavered for a second. “Not that I haven’t been before, but, well, I always felt a lot of pressure trying to live up to what my parents expected. Of course, what I thought they expected had nothing to do with what their expectations really were—I was the one who decided I had to prove myself worthy of being heir to their reputations.”

Victor laughed. “Their legends, you mean.”

“Right.” Kai shrugged. “It’s odd, you know, but there are only a half-dozen people who I can talk to about this with any hope of their understanding. Being Hanse Davion’s son, or Melissa Steiner’s son, can’t be any easier than what I faced, but you handled it differently.”

“The situation wasn’t exactly the same.” Victor frowned. “Your parents were proud of you and willing to let you find your way in the universe. Mine knew I stood to inherit the family business, so they didn’t have that luxury. As a result, my father would set up targets and I’d hit them, which meant I had a lot easier time figuring out how I was doing.”

“Your parents had you hitting the kind of marks that would prepare you to rule the Federated Commonwealth one day, while mine let me pick my own—which happened to be marks they’d hit themselves.” Kai rubbed a hand along his clean-shaven jaw. “Deirdre and I are combining those methods. She’s already done a wonderful job with David.

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