Those were more his son Christopher’s affair. The broad mountains in the distance, the endless stretches of evergreens, the ponderous, serpentine river winding far below… Not even the gloomiest weather could truly destroy the beauty of this part of New Delos.Īlas, he was too old to try his hand at hang-gliding or BASE jumping. He paused several meters from the edge of the forested cliff and looked out on the scene splayed out before him. Still, as Philip breathed deeply in the rainy air, he admitted to himself that the months-long trip away from home had done him some good so far, the sense of foreboding aside. Even for something so simple as a hunting trip. She alone had possessed the strength of will to reforge the fractured League into something greater than the sum of its parts-despite the wayward provinces who still refused to join-and few had the strength to oppose her. BATTLETECH HEAVY METAL HUNTING SEASON FREEShe was the Captain-General, the most powerful person in the entire Free Worlds League. He had protested the trip at first, but not even a director on the board of IrTech, the oldest BattleMech manufacturer in the Free Worlds League, could truly deny a request from his wife-Jessica Halas-Hughes Marik. But this time he’d come here at her behest. The Pheasant Ridge preserve was his favorite hunting ground, one of the few things that could convince him to leave Jessica’s side. A few moments alone, to work through this sour mood, would do him good. In all honesty, he had no need to relieve himself, merely a sudden desire for solitude. He didn’t wait for Joel’s flustered reply before wandering off into the trees for some privacy. I don’t need bodyguards in the bathroom, even if it is outdoors. If anyone needs me, I’ll be in the little boys’ room. He held the scattergun by the barrel and handed it to Joel with a casual smile. I think this sprinkle is a not-so-subtle hint that it is time to take a break. Something in the air tingled like the static electricity preceding a lightning storm, only there was no storm on the horizon, just a grayish murk that spoke of a soft drizzle.Ī few drops of rain splashed amid the gray fringe on Philip’s balding, weathered pate. Perhaps it was the weather, the darkened cloud-blanket covering New Delos’ whitish-yellow sun from sight. Something gnawed at his gut, a sense of foreboding that he’d neglected something important, forgotten to cross some t’s, dot some i’s, or perhaps left some vital Irian Technologies business unfinished before coming on this trip. The young lad, Joel, meant well, but Philip had no stomach for empty sycophants today, well-meaning or otherwise. I’m sure you’ll bag the next one, no question. Eight decades have certainly taken a toll on the old reflexes.Īlmost had it, sir, one of his perpetually optimistic valets congratulated from the gaggle of other hunters shooting at game nearby. It was far too late to take another shot. A trail of downy secondary feathers betrayed the pheasant’s flight back into the underbrush. The report deafened despite his hearing protection, but the anticipated burst of chestnut feathers never occurred, much to his dismay. Philip Hughes sighted an aging, wrinkle-lined eye down the barrel of his shotgun, led the flushed pheasant just so above the treetops, and pulled the trigger. Together they must discover who the League's true enemies are, and hunt them to the ends of the Inner Sphere if necessary. At her right hand stands General Wilburn Kirkland, commander of the Ducal Guard, Jessica's personal bodyguard regiment. The threat of coups and assassins sets the League on edge as Nikol strives to maintain the unity her mother had fought so hard to achieve, even if it means putting herself in danger.īut she is not alone. But forces in the shadows seek to capitalize on the chaos and bring the Free Worlds League to its knees from within. Nikol steps up to the challenge, however, as this is the moment she has been preparing for her entire life. Beset on all sides, the League must navigate the flames of war with no direction from the top, leaving Warden-General Nikol Marik, Jessica's youngest child, in control of the League's military forces at a time when the nation needs her mother's leadership the most. After a personal tragedy, Jessica vanishes from the public eye, leaving no hand on the tiller of the fractious nation as multiple hostile neighbors drag them into open warfare. But even the strongest and most inspiring leaders have chinks in their armor. Captain-General Jessica Marik is holding the reborn Free Worlds League together by the might of her indomitable will, and has managed to keep all of the interstellar nation's foes at bay.
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