10

Scavenged Restoration

Chapter 10

-VB-

The day of the wedding. 

October 25, 3028. 

I walked into the wedding reception with my head held high, because I was the Chancellor of the Capellan Confederation and needed to show the other states that even if we were the smallest of the Successor States, we were not bowed by the pressure they forced upon us. 

The wedding hall was … it was suitably rich beyond the reach of the common people. Ice sculptures, exotic foods, and ridiculously expensive dresses costing around battlemech prices galore and the norm among the people who attended the wedding. The flags of House Steiner and House Davion hung from multiple walls and ceilings along with aesthetically pleasing Terran silk curtains in the colors of those two houses hung along with them. The marble floor shined with such luster that I could see an almost perfection reflection of myself on the floor. 

The slowly rising late morning sun and sunlight shining through the wedding hall's long and large windows almost seemed like a symbol of the new heights that the FedCom alliance would reach.

Oh, and let's not forget the mix of ComStar, Steiner, and Davion soldiers standing guard all around the place, though for obvious reasons, ComStar's ComGuard made up the majority of these guards. 

While the herald in the background went on and on with my oh so long titles, I looked around and spotted a few people of notice. 

The first person I noticed was Katrina Steiner. 

And damn, she was definitely the MILF of the House Lords. Full lips, a great pair of breasts she flaunted (to the envy of many ladies from all over the Inner Sphere), both laterally and frontally pleasing curves, and a full and bouncy blonde locks cascading down her shoulders. The only sign of her age was just a single laugh line on either side of her lips. If she was masking any wrinkles, then hell, I couldn't see them underneath her make-up.

The second person I noticed was Hanse Davion. 

He, too, was handsome in a way I could never be. It certainly made sense why Melissa fell in love with him rather quickly. Though the beauty of a man might not be the only factor why a smart woman like Melissa might fall in love but it probably definitely helped. He was … I supposed that he was the epitome of a mechwarrior: skilled, muscular, tall, and gallant. Actually, that's just what made a man attractive.

Of course, I wasn't dismissing the ladies who preferred their men to have some softness to them.

The third person I noticed wasn't Melissa Steiner. 

It was Janos Marik. How could I not? As the oldest of the House Lords and the only one with a facial tattoo, he was very recognizable. 

In a way, I noticed these people because they were the ones I wanted to talk to before the Fourth Succession War broke out. 

And to my surprise, it was Hanse himself who approached me first. That got everyone in the hall whispering and muttering. Expectedly, both of us ignored the rest of

"First Prince Davion," I greeted him with a smile I wasn't feeling. 

"Chancellor Liao," he returned the greeting with a nod and a smile he also probably wasn't feeling. 

It was just politeness, after all. 

"Thank you for coming to my wedding. I wasn't sure if you would come."

I shrugged. "My peers are getting married and sent an invitation. At best, it would be rude to not show up. At worst, I'm sabotaging myself when I have been sending messages to the Archon about wanting to make peace."

"I see," he replied noncommittally. "Thank you for coming, and I do hope you enjoy the rest of the wedding."

And it was finally time to talk with Melissa Steiner, who has been waiting quietly by Hanse's side. Now that our brief conversation was over, she spoke up. "Greetings, Chancellor Liao."

"Greetings, Heir Steiner," I greeted her. She smiled and lifted a hand for me. I did the kiss on knuckle, as was proper for the situation, and that seemed to make Hanse less tense. He certainly appreciated how I didn't linger or hold her hand for too long. "And congratulations on the wedding. There's not many men out there in the Inner Sphere like your husband here."

"Thank you," she smiled genuinely. "And … please forgive me, I am surprised that you came today, chancellor."

"Ah! If it was old pops, then he might not have," I replied casually. "But then again, I'm not my insane father, am I? I have nothing against you two. Part of the reason why I stopped the CCAF from launching raids into the Federated Suns."

Of course, I didn't mention that I did that to conserve my mechwarriors and mechs.

My words made both of them stiffen just a little. They were good at being politicians to show any overt and even minor expressions that give their thoughts away. They had probably already hardened their hearts against me and my people.

Too bad for them, I had no intention of letting them maul the confederation so easily. 

"Well, I do hope you enjoy my wedding gift when I make the announcement," I told them.

Hanse nodded and Melissa curtsied. I gave them a nod and walked away but not before I noticed Hanse's near blank face. 

'I think he really wanted to hint at the surprise he had in store,' I thought to myself as I walked away, leaving the couple to greet other wedding guests as they came. 

And now, I waited.

Like in all things political, the waiting game was both paradoxically the most and least important aspect of it. After all, I couldn't just walk up to Archon Steiner and ask her about the prospect of peace between her and my nation. No, no, no. It needed to occur at the right time and place, and right now when Hanse and Melissa greeted wedding guest was not the time. 

-VB-

But the time eventually came. 

After all of the guests checked in, people began to mingle. 

That's when I met with Katrina.

"Archon Steiner," I greeted her after approaching her almost too casually at the edge of the party. 

"Chancellor Liao," she greeted me with a nod. "Thank you for showing up at my daughter's wedding."

"Oh, that's not a problem at all," I grinned. 

"Even if it meant that you might have to contend with the combined might of the two states?"

There it was. 

I shrugged. "Hasn't that always been the case?" I asked her. "The five Successor States are bordered by two others. Until very recently, my people had to fight the Federated Suns and the Free Worlds League, and it was only your alliance that forced the rest of us to form the Kapteyn Accord. So if the Lyran Commonwealth to join the Federated Suns … it would just be a return to the status quo."

She hummed. 

"So what did you think about my offer?" I asked her. "A peace between the Lyran Commonwealth and the Capellan Confederation?"

While her previous question could have been her answer, I still wanted to ask for a definite answer. 

Archon Katrina Steiner looked at me in the eyes directly. She seemed to be searching.

"Do you genuinely want peace?" she asked me. 

"... Yes," I told her. "I simply do not have an interest in the domination of the Inner Sphere," I continued. "There's nothing to gain by constantly fighting each other, and the living standard of our people continue to fall without stopping. Sooner or later, and perhaps in the next generation or the one after, we will be ruling over people who will treat dropship captains as gods and mechwarriors as demi-gods." I paused. "And you? Do you truly want peace? Was your offer to my father one you made to buy yourself time against the League and the Combine or a genuine desire for peace?" I asked her. 

She stared at me a bit longer before closing her eyes and nodding. "I do want peace," she said quietly. 

"Then can we have peace? Our two states that have nothing against each other who aren't even connected by border?" Then I paused before smiling. "Hell, I'll even give it up."

She opened her eyes and raised her eyebrow. "Give up what?"

"The title of the First Lord of the Star League."

Her eyes widened. 

"... Truly?" 

"Truly truly." 

My response seemed to genuinely hurt her not because I was hurting her … but because she was about to do something that went against what she also wanted. 

Because she was no longer in a state to accept peace.

"... Perhaps I will need more time to think about it. As you said, our two people have nothing against each other right now."

I gave her a brilliant smile of relief just to twist in that knife a little bit more. 

"Wonderful! I really do hope you agree to peace, Archon Steiner. Hell, I'll even be happy to exchange a few worlds with the Federated Suns to help your two realms connect if you agree to peace."

I saw her eyes flinching.

Just a little.

-VB-

And then… it was time for the exchange of vows. 

I watched from where I sat at the head of the Capellan Confederation delegates. 

I watched as Hanse said his part of the vow. And then Melissa did his part of her vow. 

Then they kissed. 

I gave them a heartfelt clapping and made sure they saw it.

Yeah. Yeah, I'm the guy smiling and clapping for you on your wedding. And you're gonna attack me.

Hanse Davion finally turned to the rest of the wedding guests.

Finally… he was going to say it.

"My dear…"

This was the start. 

"I give you…"

Of the most intense war our generation will encounter.

"The Capellan Confederation."

Right then and there, I stopped clapping but didn't drop my smile. 

Hanse and Melissa and I stared at each other. 

Both of us knew this had been coming.

Everyone around us broke out into whispers and murmurs. Many of them even looked at the Capellan guests with trepidation. My Capellan nobles almost began to shout and scream at the First Prince for the declaration.

"Well," I said as I stood up, silencing my people with a single word. "I guess my wedding gift isn't needed then," I said. 

Hanse stared at me, not saying anything. 

"This is about what my father did to you, isn't it, Hanse?" I asked, forgoing his title. "About Operation DOPPELGANGER?" 

And then his teeth gritted. 

"I'm sorry that you are haunted by his actions… but you need not attack us for it. I am not my father. You've realized this, haven't you?" I asked him. 

He didn't say anything. 

"Is it impossible for us to have peace?"

He still didn't say anything. 

I finally allowed myself to show some emotion. 

"So you draw your sword against someone who has done you no wrong, who has pulled his own armies back to stop the generations of warfare we have engaged in, and then came to your own wedding with peace in mind," I snarked. "What a great man!" I laughed as I clapped my hands. "Come on, people! Clap for the man who would attack a son for the sins of his father!" 

My people were quick to follow… but it surprised me when the League and the Combine's delegates also clapped with me. 

"Bravo, First Prince. Bravo, Archon. You wanted peace… but your peace was just a ruse," I snarled at Katrina. The "iron lady" of the Inner Sphere did not look away. 

I stopped clapping and dropped my hands. "You know," I said as I reached in and pulled out a small box. "This was supposed to be my wedding gift to you and your wife. A memory core from the days of the Star League."

His eyes widened. Some people stood up as I held what was in their eyes the closest thing to a sacred treasure from the golden bygone days.

"An offer of peace. An offer of better days to come! It might not have any military technology in it, but water purifiers, advanced desalination technology, agricultural technology, and medical technology for cancer screening … this has it all."

I raised the core… and allowed it to drop.

And then I crushed it underneath my feet. 

Everyone not part of the Capellan Confederation rose up in horror. Some of them even shouted in protest at the sacrilege I've committed.

Hanse didn't say anything… because there was nothing he could say right now that would be in his favor. 

"You want to kill my people and take my worlds, Hanse?! Then come and get it! I will turn my worlds into Vietnam