Arc Royal, October, 3058...Connaught was temperate, almost like springtime on Kowloon, when Elizabeth stepped off the shuttle. "Duke Kell." she greeted Morgan.
"Warlord. You know my son, Phelan." Morgan said, introducing the man beside him.
"Well, it's a good thing I came under truce then." Liz said casually.
"Phelan wasn't at Tamar, Liz." Morgan reminded her.
Elizabeth stretched, "Yeah, true." She hefted a small bag. "For you, Khan Kell." she tossed the bag to Phelan with a jingle. "It's only the Eyedee tags, Ears take too much work to preserve." she added. "Over all a productive hunting trip, but strangely,
nobody followed up."
Morgan sighed. "I know, I
know."
she yawned, displaying her tusks fully in a gape that some would find intimidating. "Still...productive. I've got a Horde heading home now, and this brigade's needing shore-leaves, if that's alright?"
"We've got facilities set aside for your soldiers, Duchess. I was surprised you called ahead." Morgan said, beckoning, Elizabeth fell in on his right, saving the place of honor to his left for his son. "you're not...you don't have that kind of reputation."
"I figured it would be better than trying to talk your security people into not shooting." she confessed, "I wasn't kidding about the shore leaves-aside from raiding strikes most of my people haven't had much time groundside. We'll need at least four weeks to get everyone rotated through, but I told you that already in my message."
"Four weeks-so you're not bringing the full Horde in?" Phelan asked.
"nope." she said, "just the One-Seven-One and 1st Squadron. Everyone else is booking it homeward, without the follow-up there's no point to the expedition beyond weakening the enemy, and there's only so much of that you can do before they start getting wise. You mentioned there were some increasing problems?"
"I'm getting messages from RCT commanders and regional leaders along the border, Duchess." Morgan said, "Apparently, there's a standing order to remain in place and dig in."
"not bad advice." she said, "Honestly not bad. We spent the first two months of the campaign killing some bunch called 'Steel Viper' before we could even
start savaging the Falcons. Nice 'mechs, decent fighters on the ground. I think we crossed the million tons of shipping two or three times in two months. I had to ration the warheads by month three, and some of those air-defenses were
formidable. we actually lost a couple of Longships over
Goat Path if you can believe it!"
"lost?"
"We recovered survivors, the Falcons didn't-that op ran a full squadron by the end of it, and we did some interesting damage to their fortifications, but..." she shrugged, "again, no follow ups. It's lonely out there fighting half a war. Victor's permission suggested we'd have human formations following up and making
gains, if he hadn't promised that, I'd still be back home." she growled the last words.
"You killed a lot of them...from this?" Phelan suggested.
"I lost three thousand personnel." she snarled, "it's probably not much to you guys, but it's losses for no gains. I don't like wasting my people's time and blood when the offensive is stalled behind me. Thus, we're taking R&R and going
home."
Morgan cleared his throat, "Duchess...
Warlord, you're not the only one expressing dissatisfaction with the current regime."
"Sounds like you're preparing to make a pitch." she said, "Let's go drink alcohol and you can give it to me in a fluffier mood."
Morgan laughed, "THis way."
***
Elizabeth looked over the documents while cradling a fine cognac glass in her left hand, half filled with Connaught Honey-Wine.
"hmm...well, if it weren't that she's family of yours, I'd say kill the bitch." she said. "Then again, if this is right, the blonde
paegu is a kinslayer, so maybe you can do it without bad karma. but it does explain why the elf-eared bitch is slutting it up on New Avalon while leaving her defective auntie in charge."
Elizabeth put down the documents. "I'm not going to participate in a civil war, Margrave." she said bluntly, "Not with live enemies on the border."
"I'm not asking you to." Morgan told her. "I'm asking if you can help support other units that feel...as you do-that participation in a civil war is, well...undesirable. It's building, units were told to dig in, and I personally know a lot of the former Fedcom corps is being shorted on supply, along with units suspected of being loyal to Victor-and I say 'suspected' because they're not signed up with my faction."
"Hrm..." she sipped her drink, almost looking refined for a moment as she contemplated. "I can help on some of the supply issues." she said, "but we've already had one aborted offensive fall apart, if the national forces aren't unified?" she shook her head, "If there is no unified action, I won't put my people on the front lines, and I absolutely will
not interfere in a dynastic struggle unless one of the sides attacks me first."
Phelan gasped openly, "WHY? You have
seen the evidence!!"
"right. It's a
Human issue." Elizabeth told him bluntly, "Human lords playing human-lord-games, every time Orcs get involved in the internal affairs of human nations, we get burned first. Not going to do it. This isn't a foreign invasion, this is a domestic squabble, I'm not Harmin or Arminius, nor am I
Clarion! It's a civil affair between members of the majority race, if we get involved without being attacked first, then what happens when it's over? WE get the blame for all the war-crimes and atrocities. Not Doing It. I will send ammunition, spares...at least, the ones that fit something, food and medical aid, but no advisors, no ground troops and only enough naval forces to escort the convoys. I will do this in the peace, for everyone on the border, but I want a list and it made clear to everyone that if this turns into a civil war, we're cutting everyone off until it's over, except those that declare neutrality and
enforce it among their ranks."
Morgan nodded, "that's fair." he said, "Not what I hoped for, but it's fair."
"It's not you, it's me." Elizabeth said, "I am the leader of the largest concentration of my people left in explored space. I have to put my people first, and this really isn't something that belongs to
us."
