Military intelligence is where you find it. We are reprinting selections from the daily copy of Miss Chatterji as published in the popular society magazine The Dragon's Nest. We believe that a careful reading of these selections will show personal and political interactions that were not apparent at the time. Our readers will remember that this account has had to pass ISF censorship.-Editor's Note Arrival Day From the beginning, this wedding smells of war. The smell of orange blossoms and wedding cake which permeate the air of Comstar's First Circuit Compound are frequently overcome by the metaphorical stench of burnt ash qua as warriors from the different Houses refight old battles verbally and size each other up for new ones. I feel as if I had walked unawares into a holocast of a Borgia feast. If Prince Hanse believes for a minute that his wedding guests genuinely wish him well, he doesn't deserve to be called "The Fox". (In Davion and Steiner tradition, the fox has none of our associations with the Spirit World. It is purely and simply a trickster, not overscrupulous in its conduct. It does not steal the souls of children like our Shinto foxspirits. Nor has it the power to disappear at will.) Warriors of four Houses pose for a once-in-a-lifetime picture. Left to right, they are: Edward 'Buck' Wolf, 30th Marik Militia, Apocalypse Legion; Sashuma Honda, Elite 2nd Sword Light, House Kurita (The Steel Dragon), Commander (Chu-i) of Heavy Recon Lance, The Deadly Fists; Chuck 'Swoop' Wolf, 3rd Crucis Lancers: Achernar Lancers, Commander Medium Recon Lance; Matthew 'Killer' Kelly, 11th Lyran Guard. Which of these festively-attired guests who chatter and smile have murder in their hearts? Almost all of them. And I do not except the women. Romano Liao, gorgeous in her usual yellow and white, was half the room away with her back turned when a waiter dropped a serving tray. The turning leap-and-crouch she performed revealed two interesting items. One was the unusual degree of her martial arts training. The other was the unusual state of her nerves... The real question is not which of the guests have murder in their hearts. How many vials of poison lie next to those same hearts? Comstar insisted that we leave all weapons on our ships, even to ceremonial swords for the officers. They searched our persons and our baggage, and even sent us through scanners to check for implants. Yet if I were you, little bride, I would not go for a walk with anyone named Marik... The Opening Reception Prince Hanse Davion and his intended bride, Archon-Designate Melissa Arthur Steiner greated their guests with urbane charm, and on her part, with genuine sweetness. Davion Minister of Security Quintus Allard watched the guests benignly, like a brighteyed robin redbreast looking for signs of shifting alliances among the worms. When second daughter Romano of House Liao chose Tsen Shang, a highranking Maskirova official, to be her escort, tongues wagged at this evidences of their support for her candidacy for the heirship. But when first daughter Candace Liao, Duchess of St Ives, Capellan HeirDesignate appeared, Allard's wife Tamara forgot herself sufficientlyto grasp at her husband's arm. Candace's escort was his son by a former marriage Justin Xiang, now a citizen of the Capellan Marches. (Watchers of the Arena will remember Xiang's spectacular victories there in 3026-27 - and his crusade of vengeance against MechWarriors of Davion affiliation. Quintus Allard ignored his son for the entirety of the reception. Not so the  House Kurita's model Atlas, A variant with two LRM 10-racks instead of the usual LRM-20. This 'Mech was the Draconian gift to the bride and groom. Allards' other son Daniel, who had a moving interview with his brother. Daniel was informed publically that Citizen Xiang was now entirely Capellan in his loyalties, and that his former family was dead to him! A note beyond the social occurred when Colonel Jaime Wolf of the celebrated Wolf's Dragoons appeared at the reception with two officer's presentation swords and flung them dramatically at the feet of Coordinator Takashi Kurita.We were not privileged to overhear their dialog, but body language showed us that Col Wolf's extreme anger. Was he casting the Coordinator's honors back at him, or returning the swords of a dead man? Col Wolf remained at the reception, keeping to the company of other soldiers, notably Kell Hounds Morgan Kell and Daniel Allard. This conversation seemed to be friendly, despite previous participation on different sidesof campaigns. I am informed that the two units never actually fought against one another... Third Day Yet another Allard, the lovely young Riva (new PhD Candidate at the NAIS) was seen in openly flirtatious conversation with Chu-Sa Akira Brahe of House Kurita's delegation during our tour of ComStar's facility. Chu-sa Brahe, son of a mixed marriage himself, must have informed her of the racial purity doctrine in a manner less that tactful. An abrupt clapping sound brought several "civilian observers" to their feet groping for their nonexistent sidearms (remember, ComStar put all of our weapons in bond). The lady withdrew with an angry expression, while the Chu-sa wore the mark of her handprint red on his cheek. A warning to citizens of House Kuria who must travel among strangers! It is not necessary for purity to be worn upon the sleeve. Engrave purity upon your heart, and the wa so formed will guide your actions in a seemly manner. This will cause lesser beings to seek to emulate you, rather than to engage in useless struggle. So said Kadagowa Sensei in 2609. We recommend his advice to Chu-sa Brahe. Alliances we do not believe purely political include: Consolidating Davion-Steiner alliances: Kell Hound Daniel Allard (yes, the same busy Daniel Allard) and Lyran Jeana. Bad Luck, Baroness De Gambier! This luscious blonde has been trying to show young Allard just how much her given name of Felicity is deserved ... The bride's Maid of Honor Misha Auburn and Andrew Redburn of Delta Company are reported to be considering such a match as well. One wonders what - or who - the lovely Misha, daughter of Lyran Court Historian Thelos Auburn, will be dreaming of at the altar ...Archon Katrina Steiner is escorted everywhere by Morgan Kell, the CO of the newly-reformed Kell Hounds. The Archon is said to have left her heart in her husband's grave, but Morgan Kell was Arthur Luvon's best friend... Free Worlds League Citizen Elespeth Battin found herself the object of a scolding from her father Anton Battin, Underminister for Defense. The reason? Little Elespeth found herself next to an handsome gentleman in the buffet line and enjoyed an animated conversation with him, despite his unfamiliar accent. He wasn't in uniform, so she didn't recognize the Steiner minister responsible for the Lyran strategy known as "Flypaper". You know, take a Marik border planet, wait six months, leave a skeleton garrison to lure back the defending forces, pounce on them as they arrive with the troops you have in reserve offworld, then wait six months ...Elespeth will not be attending the wedding. Elizabeth Jordan Liao honored Col Pavel Ridzik with several slow and graceful dances during the dancing which ended the reception. Elizabeth seems to have chosen a new favorite. I noticed daughter Romano glaring daggers at the lovely Elizabeth. Does the lithe Romano feel threatened by her mother's maturer charms? We were struck by the absence of sons and heirs. The Prince of Luthien is, of course, on duty with his regiment on Marfik. But surely Janos Marik could have allowed one son - or cousin-to attend. Tormana Liao, "former son" to Chancellor Liao, was also among the missing. The Chancellor, it seems, did not fear corruption for his daughters. "The last time I saw one of these, it was ripping my 'Mech's arm off." Matthew 'Killer' Kelly The Wedding We watched with interest as the usher asked the traditional question "Friends of the bride or of the groom". Janos Marik answered curtly, "Seat us on the the Steiner side. I supposed that the bride had one advantage to him - she wasn't a Davion yet. The lovely Candace, despite her escort's objections, chose the Davion side. She even asked the usher, Lt Gen Ardan Sortek, if "that wasn't a difficult question for many of the guests to answer?" Coordinator Kurita and family chose to exhibit their good will toward the groom. His manner was, as always, an example to all of us in an ambivalent situation. The Wedding Reception The tables were set in a hexagonal pattern, with open space in the middle for service - or insulation. The Wedding Party table faced Liao directly, with Marik opposite Steiner, and Kurita opposite Davion... Each table had a little card telling us that the china, glassware etc were made especially for the wedding, and that each place set would be given to the guest to take home. The crystal included the Hasek crest for the Best Man, MorganHasek-Davion. He has reverted to the old crest, with the Davion Sunburst once again included... The plates each had depicted a different world from the Inner Sphere, planets loyal to all the Houses. Much merriment began among the guests as they disputed whether the plates were distributed at random, what this guest's possible connection could be with the steamy world of Mira, etc... When the wedding cake was served, I looked at my plate again to see what world I'd got, and found it obscured by a paper doily. The bride gave the groom a bite of wedding cake, and a regiment of 'Mechs. The groom toasted his bride, first removing the doily from his plate and passing the glass across it. "I give you," he said, " the Capellan Confederation!" No one for an instant doubted what he meant. The much-tried Capellan people were enduring yet another invasion! Another Succession War was to begin! Maximilian Liao screamed to his family to pack up their plates, as they contained valuable intelligence information! (Candace's, I happened to see, was the Federated Suns' world of Axton). Mistress Rafsani hurried to Janos Marik's side - he seemed to suffer something like a heart attack. Coordinator Kurita sat dignified, the Mountain that lasts through all the petty storms. Justin Xiang toasted Prince Hanse, then crushed the glass in his metal hand, a state-of-the-art production of Davion's own technology ...I put my plate in my purse immediately. I now possess a valuable historical souvenir. It represents the backworld Nashira, a world of which I had never heard until that day. Elespeth Battin & Friend  The Next Day I saw the vehicle leaving early this morning, returning the bride to her people of the Commonwealth. It seems that the Lyrans don't trust the Fox not to corrupt their pretty heiress. So after one night of wedded bliss, the bride returns to Mama's arms. Perhaps she was relieved. I picked a scrap of rice paper up off the ground, the sort of paper officers use. On it, two haiku in different yet similar calligraphies. Father and son? My heart wishes to believe so... These photographs are supplied through the kindness of Shield Laminating, makers of forms for 'MechWarrior training. Photographs taken in the Hall of Exhibits, GenCon-Origins, held here this year as a courtesy to the distinguished guests. In Memoriam Our Photographer, Antoni Fitzwalter, BattleTechnology's representative at the Wedding, was one of the first casualties of the war. The craft which was returning him to the DropShip exploded on the landing dock. There were no survivors among passengers or crew. Goodbye, Antoni, you will be missed. Antoni's will requests that donations be sent in his name to the Action Archives on Solaris in lieu of flowers, or if the giver wishes something more personal, a blood donation to the Indigent Journalists Association, any branch. We are indebted to Miss Chatterji for the haiku which appear in More Than Warriors this month.The haiku, believed to be written by Yorinaga Kurita and Akira Brahe, appear at the end of this issue, along with a drawing by Rae "Raven" Philips, DropShip pilot now serving with Wolf's Dragoons. Raven's recent feat of piloting is described in BattleTechnology News. Back to BattleTechnology 7 Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1988 by Pacific Rim Publishing. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. 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