[Okay, I basically rewrote this part several times, and then I threw out that version of the chapter. The current version finally adds a bit of action.]
Chapter IV: Return
Office of James Ito
Fortress Loudon, Fort Loudon
Donegal Province, Lyran Alliance
April 15, 3061
Marshall Alberta Orsina stood outside the doors to the other high ranking officer on Fort Loudon. After knocking on his door, she just wished that she could leave right there. The Marshall once visited the ancient Star League Castle Brian known as Fortress Loudon more often, but after several incidents, Alberta had preferred leading her troops on raids than being here with Leutnant-General Ito or as some of her more pro-Suns troops like to say, that traitor.
“Come in,” said the Asiatic man on the other side of the door.
Alberta with her raven straight black hair starting to gray opened the door. She had decided to wear her Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth uniform as oppose to the Davion Green uniform that her troops and she had started to wear. She even found her Albion rag which she had been using for a hand towel.
“Ah Leutnant-General Orsina,” offered James Ito even though Orsina was wearing Armed Forces of the Federated Suns rank pins. “It’s nice to see you again. What are these rumors that the Fourth Guards are readying to leave? Are you going on another raid or just leaving?”
Alberta smiled even though she wanted to smack the man for forgetting to put the Davion in her elite regimental combat team’s name. Sitting down, she quipped Ito. “What tipped you off? The fact that I’m loading every piece of Fourth D-a-v-i-o-n Guard equipment is a pretty big one. The fact that I have my jumpships sitting at jumpoint could be it, or the fact that I already sent you several memos on the fact that the Fourth Davion Guard already voted nearly unanimously to go back to the reborn Suns.”
Ito’s eyes had rage in them. Under the rules that came from Katherine Steiner-Davion abdicating the regency on New Avalon, units associated with the original Armed Forces of the Federated Suns could return home if the unit had a simple majority. The memo that was sitting before Ito even said that the Fourth had voted at roughly eighty percent to return to the Suns.
“You realize that the Clans could make a strike on Fort Loudon at any moment,” dryly said Ito.
Alberta rolled her eyes. “So why are you worried? You already said in several reports to Thakard that if my Dragonslayers were gone that you could adequately defend Fort Loudon with your Fifth Lyran Alliance Guards and the Knights of St. Cameron. Since the rebirth of the Federated Suns, the Fourth Davion Guards have followed protocol to the letter, and with anything that I could do to help expedite our return via Comstar messages, I finally have full approval of General Nondi Steiner down to that janitor Otto Piffle who works in the mess near the mech hangars to go back to the Federated Suns.”
James Ito still did not change his expression of disappointment. “You know that you are still under the command of the Lyran Alliance until you leave Fort Loudon, right General?”
Alberta laughed. “Nope, I am a Marshall. And honestly, I’m tired of you and the entire LAAF treating my unit like scum, James. We both went to Albion, and you almost treat it like dishonor. Instead of raiding the Clanners, you sit here in this Fortress basically planning defense drills. Then again when the LAAF High Command decided that I should not receive replacement parts and replacement machines like regular units, is it any wonder that the Second Crucis Lancers and my units are ready to join the Seventh Crucis Lancers in leaving?”
Ito shook his head. “You should have kept your mouth shut, Alberta.”
“I do what I’m free to do,” said Alberta. “Besides, the only reason that I came by is to inform you that we are leaving behind about a battalion of equipment and personnel that we can’t carry with us along with most of the Lyran recruits that LAAF has been sending me.”
For a moment, James Ito seemed shocked. Then finally after hitting himself in the chest once or twice, he spoke. “I can’t believe you’d leave anything behind.”
“I really don’t have a choice. I don’t have enough dropships to take everything, and I figure that the people that you deserve to receive these things as oppose to going into the odd logistics of LAAF.”
Ito’s cold eyes studied Alberta. “There is another reason, Orisana. It’s in your face.”
Chuckling Alberta revealed a big grin. “Am I that obviously?”
Ito nodded.
“Fine, it’s mostly piss poor equipment that the Lyran Command actually set me. It’s mostly Quickscell vehicles, and some mechs that would be hard to get repair parts in the Suns.”
James thought for a moment. “That’s more acceptable,” said Ito finally.
Near the former capital of Newhaven
Rockmeir, Dalkeith
Donegal Province, Lyran Alliance
April 15, 3061
If there was one truth is that you had to be mad to want to fight on Dalkeith. The Draconis Combine had seen to that by unleashing a dozen one hundred megaton tipped warheads during the darker days of the First Succession War. It had left the primary continent and most of the planet a radioactive wasteland. However, there were still valuable minerals here, so the Lyrans continued to mine these valuable minerals. It probably was also the worst place for a pick up ever, but when you are on the run, you take what you can get.
Colonel Andrew Terlecki III shook from the last blast of his former comrade’s alpha strike. The command coach still felt wrong since he was sitting in a Valkyrie that a friend had piloted until a week ago when a crack formed in the cockpit. The poor devil hadn’t lasted two hours after exposure to the radioactive and deadly atmosphere.
Andrew had decided at all costs to not let the cockpit of the mech get ruptured again, but at the moment, his former commander, Leutenant-General Fran Vidal was leading a group of mechs, battlearmor, and inclosed vehicles to try and stop the other half of the 4th Deneb Light Cavalry from escaping Dalikeith.
“How did it get to this?” questioned Andrew as he released a switch. The mech fired off its long range missiles, but it was mostly to cause delays more than direct attack. When it was announced that all former AFFS units would be able to vote if they wished to return home, the 4th Deneb had voted in the majority to return home. Then somehow, Andrew’s aide, Gareth Evers, claimed that Andrew had rigged the vote, and the Lyran members of the units turned on their former comrades. The only bright spot at the moment was the aerospace brigade had been part of the unit that had joined his group to return to the Suns.
“By the Unfinished Book, I wish that the 2193 Royal Attack would get here already,” screamed grizzled old Major Sergeant Upton Atkins. The man had been with the unit since the 4th Succession War, and he was hard as rock. His Stealth seemed to hold the line all by himself.
“Delay them only,” ordered Andrew again to Atkins. Some of the lasers had gotten a bit close for Andrew’s tastes. All Andrew Terlecki needed was enough time for the dropships that had contacted them and were already loading most of the rest of the unit to give the signal for the final boarding.
That and they needed the distraction. Andrew nearly cried for joy as his sensors beeped to indicate the 2193 Royal Attack was coming in for their bombing run. Every aerospace fighter was carrying as many bombs as they could carry. “Pull back,” screamed the Colonel.
All the remaining mechs went into full stride as suddenly a wall of fire was created by the bombs that Terlecki had ordered dropped. It created the wall of fire which would hold his former commander General Vidal back, but for now, he just ran.
And by God, he hoped that he hadn’t hurt other Cavalrymen. That was not the way of the 4th Deneb Light Cavalry.
Yulio, Fort Loudon
Alberta had traded her AFFC uniform for Davion greens. She hated the fact that her AFFC uniform felt tighter in the middle to her. Hopefully, it was just nerves. She’d hate to be going soft.
“So did Ito buy the reason that we are unloading an battalion of equipment and men to him?” asked Major-General Robert Davion-Zibler, the commander of the mech regiment. He had the typical Davion red hair despite his Zibler blood.
“Yeah, and I appreciate you finishing up getting the rest of the unit ready to go,” said Alberta Orisina. She watched with glee as the last of mechs that had been captured from Clan Wolf were being loaded into an Overlord dropship called the Camelot.
As a recently “liberated” Mad Cat walked past the two on the way to the Overlord, Alberta knew that it was good to speak what she was feeling. “I don’t know about this new DMI. Leaving behind troops to harass Ito if someone rises up against Archon Kitty Kat.”
Robert Davion-Zibler merely smiled even as a more humanoid Orion IIc soon followed the Mad Cat. “Trust me the Old Man knows what he is doing.”
Free Trader Jumpship The World is Not Enough
Pirate Point, Dalkeith
Donegal Province, Lyran Alliance
April 17, 3061
“Mr. Drax, get Colonel Andrew Terlecki some water. He looks absolutely exhausted. Most likely from spending too much time on that irradiated ball,” said the aging rust haired captain of the Star Lord Jumpship, The World is Not Enough. In the office of the tall captain on the gravity deck of the jumpship, the various paintings and priceless objects stayed in place thanks to created gravity due to the rotating floor. The room had various trinkets and paintings of women on its walls as well. All together it created an atmosphere of a palace in space.
The captain smiled as the door shut as Drax left bringing Terlecki back to his full attention.“Good man, Drax. He knows his place.” The captain nearly shook his neck. “Oh yes, what poor manners, I’m Moore, James Moore.”
Sitting in his only clean uniform, Andrew Terlecki couldn’t believe the man who had rescued his unit. He had an accent that came off as Avalonian oddly for this region of space. And for the life of him, he’d think that Moore was old Suns’ Department of Military Intelligence or something from some of the uniforms of him in paintings.
“And I am Colonel Terlecki, but you already knew that Captain Moore,” said the ad hoc commander of the 4th Deneb Light Cavalry.
“Indeed,” offered Moore. “An old friend asked me to be in the area, Colonel. He figured that some former AFFS units might need a ride back to the Suns. He did not expect the 4th Light Cavalry to be fighting amongst itself though.”
Chuckling James Moore looked at Andrew Terlecki who had formed a dour look on his face. “It’s a good thing that I brought those merchant dropships along with my personal Overlord. I’m sure that my old friend will pay them a wonderful bonus once we reach the Suns. Though it is a good thing that your fighters were able to get their carrier dropship as well though the sacrifice that a third of your pilots made to ward off that Lyran independent naval squadron was horrid. ”
Before docking, the dropships were fired on by a Lyran space fighter wing that called the unit pirates. Even now, the remnants of the 644th Independent was scrambling to link up with the jumpship.
“Whom did you work for back in the day to afford a personal Star Lord?”
Moore chuckled. “Oh you know, the Suns government and Interstellar Exports. It was not exact the life of glamour or excitement that they talk about in trivids, but every once and awhile, you did see an exotic girl or two. Plus, you sometimes did work that saved the Suns as a whole.”
That confirmed Terlecki’s suspicion. Interstellar Exports was one of the cover companies for the extraterritorial intelligence agency for the Federated Suns. “You worked for DMI,” said Andrew pointing at Moore.
Smiling Moore chuckled. “Well you know, the Department of Military Intelligence just came back into vague, but it’ll never be as efficient as it once was. Honestly, it was bloody awful day when the Federated Commonwealth Intelligence Secretariate was established. Bloated and overstaffed, the place never did have the ability to find a Liao standing on the streets of Zi-Jin Cheng without thirteen analysts confirming it on both New Avalon and Thakard.”
Moore continued. “Thus some of us who didn’t want to close up shop for Interstellar Exports created a legitimate version of the company. And I eventually retired a rather wealthy man who could spend his leisure years getting away from some of the seeds he planted on the Prince’s Pince. Though this isn’t my first personal jumpship. The Moonraker was a good girl, but my old friend from the civilian agency and I went on a bit of an adventure last decade.”
Sighing, James Moore looked at a picture of another jumpship. “She was a good girl, but the adventure required a bit of sacrifice. And I never was good with bringing things back in one piece, or that’s what my quartermaster use to say when I finished missions.”
“Where did you lose that jumpship? You just don’t lose a jumpship like that without someone getting wind of it,” said Trelecki with shock on his face.
James Moore didn’t look at Andrew at first to answer the black-haired man. “That’s classified. And will remain so, Colonel. But my old friend did help in getting me this Star Lord fresh from Kathil at a discount. No doubt, he had to sell a bit more of his business holdings back to the Cuminghams to do so. Then again since his wife died, he really doesn’t have much use for property or wealth.”
Trelecki laid his large avian nose in hand. “So how did you know to help me and my unit?”
“About two weeks ago, I heard from Grand Duke Morgan Kell through some of his contacts that the Archon was angry about some of votes for old AFFS units. She could live with the 8th Deneb Light Cavalry joining the Skye Rangers, or the broken 7th Crucis Lancers giving her the finger since her LAAF just sent most of that RCT to die in the Periphery. She’ll ignore this new problem in the periphery due to her short sightedness.”
Moore got deadly stern. “However after the 39th Avalon Hussars and the Argyle Lancers swore loyalty Grand Duke Morgan Kell specifically to create the Ark Royal Cavalry; she was furious. Though she will let 2nd Robinson Rangers, 4th Crucis Lancers, and 4th Davion Guards go, Katherine wanted to make an example of the 4th Deneb Light Cavalry that you’d stay and pledge loyalty to her specifically. Thus, your aide, Evers, was told to accuse you after the vote if it went badly for Lyran interests by most likely a member of LOKI: her psych people at Lyran Intelligence believed you would back down after being accused. Then again, the Lyrans never understood the Deneb Light Cavalry or McDennis’ legacy.”
The whole Deneb Light Cavalry was created from a unit from the original Star League Defense Force that hadn’t followed Kerensky into exile. The Fourth was directly descended from that original rapid deployment mixed armed force unit that stayed behind on Deneb Kaitos. And it had always had a reputation for doing what is right.
Andrew Terlecki sadly looked down. “And it would have worked as well if that fist fight hadn’t broken out that turned into the week of hell.”
Moore nodded. “I tried to get here quicker, but finding additional dropship proved problematic. But we eventually found some loyal captains who could be trusted.”
There was knocks on the door of the cabin, and the short and stout Hudson Drax brought two bottles of water. “Sir, the last of the 4th Deneb Light Cavalry fighters have docked,” said the man.
“Good, Drax. Tell Zorin to use the battery to charge the jump drive to get to our next destination. It isn’t a particular nice place, but it’s empty. Plus, its primary is a quick charge, so we will be on schedule. Then we can go to a recharge station near Northwind, and by the 20th of May, we should be back in Suns’ territory.”
Andrew had fought for the Federated Commonwealth his whole life, but it felt right after that week to just go home to the Federated Suns.
“Cheers,” said Moore holding his bottle of water. Smiling, Andrew joined the toast because he knew the Legacy of Eveline McDennis would go own.
Near a Citadel
Mars, Word of Blake Protectorate
April 19, 3061
Demi-Precentor Arnold Lambert wore orange robes as he entered the citadel’s air lock chamber to make his report. Though there would be many more before he would see the man that his people gave the title, Master.
As he removed his rebreather from his mouth as the chamber pressurized, it still angered him how the world that his people had called their primary home for more than two hundred years was deteriorating worse than ever. “The Master had promised us that he’d help to stabilize this all,” he lamented.
“Ah if it isn’t the frail, Lambert,” said a self-satisfied voice.
There was no other way to describe it when the Master of Jardine spoke to someone other than he was satisfied. Then again, he was more machine than man. On the accent, Lambert hated it.
Lambert tried to pass the so-called “Hand of the Master,” but he knew that there was no way that could pass without a confrontation with the creature. A metallic hand landed on Lambert’s shoulder.
“No words of peace to a brother in Blake,” said the cyborg.
Lambert turned toward the cyborg’s right eye to avoid laughing at his huge nose. “Peace of Blake be with you, Precentor Apollyon. Now let me go report to the Master,” said a bit disturbed Lambert.
The cyborg in his always pristine red robes moved aside to let Lambert pass. “And may you be blessed by the wisdom of Blake as well, Demi-Precentor Lambert.”
Lambert walked past Apollyon to a room where he was ushered in by guards to another room where there sat another cyborg who Lambert’s people had given their loyalty to. “Master, my forces have discovered the Scout Jumpship finally after three years of search that was part of the two who discovered Jardine.”
“Where was it discovered,” offered the Free World accented speaker.
“It was discovered in the Draconis Combine’s New Samarkand Prefecture. The current owner of the jumpship even told me that it was sold below market rate by men who he described as from the Federated Suns.”
The Master was not quick to anger except when hearing about the accursed state ruled by the Davions especially after the plans for the Federated Commonwealth Civil War had collapsed thanks to one of the Devil’s minions. The Master’s metallic arm pounded the side of his chair. And then his mechanical eye looked at Lambert.
“It appears that we now know how our plans for the Steiner-Davions were undermined. Apollyon was too naive to believe that any leaks were taken care of with the sacrifice of the Taus that he sent against the first jumpship. No doubt, some of the men who lead this so-called ‘Avalon Rebellion’ have information from that second jumpship that Tau-69 transmitted on before she went totally offline.”
Lambert did not speak he merely knelled.
“Lambert, you will attempt to restore our plans. Devastation of the Federated Suns and Lyran Alliance is paramount to the Third Transfer.”
Lifting his head, Lambert looked at the Master. “It shall be done, Master, but we might have to rethink our plans with this reborn, Federated Suns. Precentor Rom Kernoff already has confirmed that ROM has lost forty percent of our deep cover agents in the Suns to the conspiracy on New Avalon. The others seem to be giving contradictory information. In other words, it seems that Quintus Allard intends to achieve success as oppose to his previous failure against ROM.”
The Master nodded. “Sadly, the Precentor Rom of the time, Focht, believed the reports that Allard had Alzheimer.” The Master snidely added. “But then again, Frederick was always too soft to do what was necessary.”
The black lensed right eye of the Master stared directly at Lambert. “You will not fail me in this regard, Demi-Precentor Lambert?”
“No Master by the blood in my veins; Quintus Allard will pay for delaying the Will of Blake.”
