Heir to the Dragon (8618)

A FLASH OF STEEL, a thin crimson line, and a foamy gurgle of confusion marked the beginning of Takashi's rule, and the passing of Theodore's grandfather.

Theodore Kurita is the son of Takashi Kurita, and heir apparent to the Draconis Combine, one of the most powerful realms of the Inner Sphere. But the Draconis Combine has never been a place of smooth transitions. Historically, a Kurita proves himself a fit leader by a successful bid for power, political or...otherwise.

Theodore's perilous journey to power is a twenty-year odyssey beginning with his graduation from Sun Zhang Military Academy. At each level of ascendancy, Theodore finds that keeping power is far more difficult than getting it, and failure lies in wait at every turn.

Theodore's tactical knowledge is put to the test all too many times. His successes in impossible situations are dismissed as smoke and mirror trickery by some, but lauded as genius by others.

Upon reaching the level of Lord of the Combine Military, his new power allows him to see the uncertain future of his people. Theodore must step carefully as he bargains for his future with ComStar, the mystic sect, and the Yakuza, an interstellar network of organized crime. All the while, maintaining an uneasy truce with the man whom he must one day dispose...his father, Coordinator of the Draconis Combine!