Binding Force

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Binding Force, by Loren L. Coleman, is about the siege of planet Kaifeng and, more broadly, tests of loyalty for Warrior House Hiritsu.

From the back cover

“ Aris Sung is a rising young star in House Hiritsu, noblest of the Warrior Houses that have sworn allegiance to the Capellan Confederation. The Sarna Supremacy, a newly formed power in the Chaos March, is giving the Confederation some trouble—and Aris and his Hiritsu Comrades are chosen to give the Sarnans a harsh lesson in Capellan resolve. But there is far more to the mission than meets the eye—and unless Aris beats the odds in a race against time and treachery, all the ferro-fibrous armor in the galaxy won't be enough to save House Hiritsu from the high-explosive cross fire of intrigue and shifting loyalties... ”

Summary

The chapters about Aris Sung's back flashes are still missing.

It is the year 3058, New Year's Eve by the Chinese calendar. Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao takes this as a good omen, to resort to a more aggressive approach of the Capellan Confederation against the Chaos March states. He orders House Master Ion Rush to find a way to significantly weaken the Sarna Sovereignty, the most stable state in the Chaos March. Ion Rush developes a simple plan: The planet Kaifeng exports large amounts of food to the other planets of the Sarna Sovereignty. If the Confederation would conquer that planet, the Sovereignty would not just loose a planet, but it would also have to buy the needed food from their state budget, maybe at the expense of their military budget.

House Hiritsu is deployed for the task of conquering Kaifeng. But the planet is heavily guarded: one 'Mech battalion of regular troops and several mercenary companies. So Company Leader Aris Sung draws up a plan that works perfectly, if not for a traitor: They capture a commercial JumpShip and fake a havary at the charging station of Kaifeng. As the attention of the crew is diverted, Capellan infantries storm and capture the space station, before a warning to Kaifeng can be sent. Shortly after, the rest of the troops of House Hiritsu arrive aboard their regular Jump- and DropShips.

House Hiritsu repairs the damaged radio transmitter of the space station, so no one on Kaifeng would notice a break of routine. Later during that night Aris Sung finds House Master Virginia York dead in her bureau onboard the space station. Her throat is cut and her blood is splashed all over the walls and her desk. But Aris also notices bruises on her neck: She was strangled! The chief medic seals her corpse and it is sent directly to Randar, with no information published about the circumstances of her death. Ty Wu Non becomes new House Master of House Hiritsu.

House Hiritsu quietly approaches Kaifeng, but just as they are about to arrive in the orbit they are assaulted by spacefighters which hid at Nochen, the moon of Kaifeng. House Hiritsu breaks through the fighters and drops it's troops. But how did the Kaifeng-militia know they were coming?

The 2nd company under Aris Sung attacks the port of the city Tarrahause to stop the flow of agricultural products to the capital. But they are ambushed by mercenary forces. How did they know that the Hiritsu Company would concentrate on the port? The company retreats into the wilderness, losing one 'Mech including it's pilot. Aris Sung decides to scrap this part of his plan and to attack Tarrahause directly.

The 2nd company marches towards Tarrahause. Just as they are about to cross a bridge, they are again ambushed, this time by regular Kaifeng-militia. Sung tries to jump to the other side of the river in his Wraith, but is hit in mid-air. Aris sung looses consciousness and his 'Mech disappears in the waters. Demoralized, the rest of his company retreats again.

In the meantime, the 3rd Hiritsu Company successfully conquered it's objectives on the southern continent and sends all available forces to the 1st company as reinforcements. The 1st Hiritsu Company secures a base at Beijing Airport, not far from the capital of Mahabodhi.

As Aris Sung is "missing in action", Terry Chan is promoted new commander of the 2nd company. As Tarrahause has become the main obstacle to conquering Kaifeng, Ty Wu Non presents his next plan: The governor of Kaifeng has asked for a 72-hour ceasefire, so the population can celebrate a Chinese spring festival. And as the Capellan Confederation worships its Chinese heritage, House Hiritsu will officially accept this offer. But unofficially Ty Wu Non wants to provoke the Kaifeng forces into breaking the ceasefire. Hiritsu troops would attack Tarrahause about 1 hour before the ceasefire is in effect and when the defenders counter-attack, House Hiritsu would have every right to conquer the city.

Aris Sung still lives. And he has realized that he could easily enter Tarrahause with his 'Mech: by staying underwater. Aris Sung goes into Tarrahause and leaves his mech underwater in the city lake. Then he decides to mix unto the population to gain intelligence. He makes friends with Li Wynn, a teenage criminal. And Li Wynn invites him to a robbery: Hiritsu 'Mechs will attack the following night, at this time, in that district of the city. They will be awaited by Kaifeng-defenders. And in the ongoing chaos Li, Aris and others could easily rob a jeweler or a bank. Aris asks Li, how he knows that House Hiritsu would attack. He answers, that's easy: He knows it from a soldier and the Kaifeng-militia knows it from a traitor in House Hiritsu.

Close to midnight, the attack of House Hiritsu is about to start, the defenders are waiting, and so are Aris and the criminals. They split up and Aris exchanges his tools for several Molotov cocktails. When the fighting starts, he marks several Kaifeng 'Mechs with Molotov cocktails, so they are easier to see for the Hiritsu warriors. Next he openly approaches one the Hiritsu 'Mechs and gives standardized Hiritsu hand-signals: "Enemy 'Mechs and DropShip ahead. Retreat." The Hiritsu 'Mech pilot realizes the trap, but has to retreat, before he can pick up Aris.

Ty Wu Non is glad to hear that Aris is alive. (He is Aris' mentor, though he never really liked him.) Maybe he knows why the Kaifeng-militia can constantly lure House Hiritsu into traps? Someone has to sneak into Tarrahause as a civilian and find Aris Sung. Terry Chan says, she would go, as it's her fault that Sung was separated from his company. Ty Wu Non wonders why, because she never liked Aris Sung either and would also loose command of the 2nd company if Sung returned. But he grants her wish.

Meanwhile Aris Sung tries to find out, who the traitor is. The next night he goes into a night club, where members of the Kaifeng militia regularly hang out. He overhears one Major Karl Bartlett worrying, that House Hiritsu will break the ceasefire and directly attack the festivities. Sung is perplex. House Hiritsu would never do that. Why is Bartlett missling his own soldiers? All of a sudden Terry Chan appears with a loud "Aris Sung! How are you doing?" and a long kiss, rubbing her body at his. They leave the nightclub as if they are a couple, but Bartlett awaits them at the sidewalk. Aris Sung is shocked as Terry Chan identifies herself with a code sentence as an ally of Bartlett. She is the traitor!

Li Wynn watches the scene from a distance and knows, trouble is brewing. Aris Sung is handcuffed and stuffed into the trunk of a car. Li Wynn sneaks behind the steering wheel and hears Bartlett mentioning, that two Kaifeng 'Mechs will be painted like Hiritsu 'Mechs and then attack the Dragonboat Festival in Tarrahause. That would force the military command of Kaifeng to change course to a more aggressive approach against House Hiritsu. Li Wynn realizes that Aris belongs to House Hiritsu, but that he also has always acted as a friend. Li Wynn starts the car and he and Aris are off.

The next day Aris and Li hang out at the Dragonboat Festival at the lake of Tarrahause. Aris does not want all these innocents to die and that means he has to get into his 'Mech and that means, he has to get somehow to the middle of the lake. Li Wynn manages to place them both as rowers on a raceboat. In the midst of the race, suddenly two 'Mechs, a Blackjack and a Raven, appear at the promenade and open fire into several cars and buildings. Aris jumps out of the boat and dives to his 'Mech. He jumps with his Wraith into battle and the two Kaifeng 'Mech pilots are shocked, that they are interrupted. The plan was to cause as much destruction as possible without killing too many civilians. And now this! Aris Sung destroys the two Kaifeng 'Mechs and then jumps back into the lake, leaving Tarrahause the way he came in: underwater in the river.

Terry Chan reports to Ty Wu Non, that she could not find Aris Sung. But as he was engaged in a fight in Tarrahause, he is probably waging his own private war. Ty Wu Non gives orders to all House troops that Aris Sung is considered a renegade and has to be arrested.

Knowing the patrol-routines of House Hiritsu, Aris Sung has little problem infiltrating the Hiritsu headquarter at night. Nevertheless he has to force the guard at Ty Wu Nons bureau at gunpoint to ask Ty Wu Non to open the door. Ty Wu Non appears with a gun. Aris Sung gives him his gun and then declares, that he is ready to report on the events in Tarrahause. Ty Wu Non orders the guard to take care of all traces Aris Sung left during his infiltration and to keep quiet about this matter.

Aris Sung reports, that Terry Chan is the traitor and that she works with one Major Karl Bartlett from the Kaifeng-militia. He reports also, that Lieutenant-General Cynthia Fallon, the commander of the Kaifeng-militia, is not fully aware of Bartlett's actions. Ty Wu Non doesn't want to believe all this, but Aris offers him an idea for an easy test.

Ty Wu Non gathers all officers in the headquarter and presents a new attack plan: He will offer General Fallon the possibility of final field-battle and she will have to accept or she will loose her reputation among the population. When Fallon would lead her troops towards Beijing, she would have to follow a street alongside a river. And Hiritsu troops would crush her with a flank attack from underwater. Who will transmit the plan to the rest of the Hiritsu officers for their comments? To Ty Wu Non's deep disappointment Terry Chan volunteered.

She went to the radio transmitter with a chip containing the plan. There she prepared a transmission on a frequency she knew Bartlett's aides were listening to. The transmission contained a draw-up of the plan and several 'Mech designs, at which the Kaifeng-militia should not fire. She tried to send, but it didn't work. Again. Nothing. Suddenly Aris Sung and Ty Wu Non appeared and arrested Terry Chan. Aris identified five traitors, including Terry Chan, by their 'Mech designs. Terry Chan was astonished: There should have been six 'Mech designs! Why did he leave one of her fellows off the hook? Never mind. At least someone would continue her work.

In the end, Aris sent her transmission anyway. Ty Wu Non declared, that he intentionally created this plan as a trap for the Kaifeng forces. There will be a flank attack, but from the woods, not from the river. And Terry Chan and the other traitors would serve as bait!

Both sides positioned their forces for the final battle: General Fallon led the Kaifeng-militia and the mercenaries along the predicted route. Terry Chan and the four others were positioned underwater. They opposed Ty Wu Non, but they considered themselves still loyal to the House as a whole. The rest of the House waited in the woods.

When Fallon's forces arrived, Terry and the others came over the dam and tried to inflict as much damage as possible. The defenders thought that this was the deciding moment and focused all their attention on the river. In that moment, the Hiritsu main force activated their 'Mechs and opened fire on the weak backs of the defenders. The defenders lost several 'Mechs in the initial salvo and House Hiritsu brought the rest down with it's superior MechWarrior skills. The five traitors died during the battle.

Kaifeng was conquered. House Hiritsu arranged a festivity, in which Kaifeng would be declared part of the Capellan Confederation. Aris Sung knew that there was one last thing to do: He found company-leader Thomas Lindell alone in an abandoned room and confronted him being the murderer of Virginia York. Thomas Lindell stayed cool. Aris Sung accused him, that he killed Virginia York for personal motives because he knew, that Ty Wu Non would become next House Master and not Lindell. Lindell calmly replied: "And that's a reason to strangle her?" That is what Aris Sung had waited for: Only Sung, the chief medic and the murderer knew, that York had been strangled before her throat was cut. Aris Sung killed Lindell with a strike of his ceremonial sword.

With Kaifeng lost for the Sarna Sovereignty, Sun-Tzu Liao ordered to cease further actions against it. Time was working for him.

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