Nagano, Nirasaki
Dieron Military District, Draconis Combine
17 February 3028
Jaime Wolf walked out of the lift as the doors opened, followed by Majors Dechan Frasher and Natasha Kerensky, to his left and right, half a second behind him. The doors nearly closed on the scientists and technicians that they were escorting--all of whom stopped at the sight of the gaping, empty maw before them.
General Wolf, his field promotion had been ratified by the other colonels in absentia, strode to the Warlord of the Dieron Military District and hugged his friend. The stoic Kuritan aides all suddenly found the massive cavern's ill-lit walls and floors captivating.
Minobu Tetsuhara, shocked by the act even after living with his rash younger brother Fuhito all his life and all his years amongst the Dragoons returned the gesture timidly at first then patted his friend on the back.
"Tai-sho Wolf, it is good to see you again."
"You as well, Tai-shu Tetsuhara."
Dechan Fraser had drifted a step closer and bowed-to-superior to the Warlord then shook the samurai's proffered hand. Natasha Kerensky raised her chin in an non-overly-hostile manner and crossed her arms. Her eyes were alert and dangerous.
Jaime stepped beside his friend and peered into the shadows behind the Kurita group. His scientists and engineers eyed their Kuritan counterparts, headed by a man dressed in a tech's overalls and a scientist's labcoat.
He smiled warmly at a few of Tetsuhara's officers, having worked with a few of them over the last six years. They smiled back, politely, some offering congratulations on the 'Far Raid' as it had come to be known. Then they began pestering Major Fraser with questions. The man was paying for his crimes of being too competent at training new soldiers, many of the Dieron Regulars in the district had been petitioning to undergo the 'Dragoon Crucible': a one-month training session against the major's independent battatlion.
In moments, the Warlord's DCMS retinue had surrounded Dechan and Jaime was thankful they sought the younger man instead of him. Even several hundred metres below ground, with limited light and space, the Kuritans had brought paperwork. The Draconis Combine's bureaucracy was more fearsome than its military.
The rest of the group devolved into the popular gossip of the last few months; following Theodore taking control of the Davion front, the Combine media had been flooded with information about his secret wife, his Executive Officer Tomoe Sakade, and their hidden family. There had been all sorts of speculation and stories coming out from former comrades, many of whom were now saying they had known all along and kept it secret.
The news was allowed to spread to the lower classes, sparking romantic ideas of falling in love with nobility. Tomoe's own background was humble, a commoner whose determination saw her graduate from the exclusive Wisdom of the Dragon school on Luthien--an academy usually reserved for nobility.
Suddenly, recruiters were sifting through the lower Kuritan classes for willing and able pilots.
The two children, young Hohiro and baby Omi, had become instant stars. The Dragoons scientists were not immune to the popular culture and began swapping their favourite stories of the kids. Jaime admitted to himself that the young Hohiro's antics were endearing; they reminded him of his brother.
Minobu bent to whisper to and walked him to the side. "The Black Widow was thorough?"
Jaime nodded. "Yes. We've taken the parts we needed on Outreach and destroyed the rest. It wasn't a lot."
"Can the mercenaries hold?"
"I believe so. Whose idea was it to begin hiring mercenary tank and infantry regiments?"
"Coordinator Theodore's."
"Ahh. In any case, there seems to be a large number of them all-of-a-sudden. Mostly with Capellan equipment."
"So ka."
"I can't promise those mercs will hold against the AFFS's crack regiments, or RCTs now, but they'll give anyone else a black eye," Jaime said.
"That's all we need," Minobu confirmed. "If they can hold on Outreach, it will serve well as a central base. Otherwise, preserving their numbers is essential. We'll need them soon, regardless."
General Wolf nodded towards Dechan. "Major Fraser's made that clear. It's a shame destroying all that equipment, though Minobu..."
"Outreach is... out of our reach, for the conceivable future," Minobu said sagely and Jaime couldn't argue. "The possibility that Hanse Davion could use it for his own ends was too great a risk."
Jaime sighed at that. And so it has been for the last few hundred years. Destroy the tools of war or be destroyed.
An aide, gaudily dressed, approached Minobu and whispered and gesticulated. The elder samurai nodded once and the aide spurted off to talk animatedly on his wristcomm.
Without warning, and robbing much of the dramatic tension, massive floodlights exploded above them, blasting away the darkness. The MechWarriors amongst the group instinctively looked away from the lights, protecting their vision and allowing it to adjust, while the rest swerved their heads to get a better look and were blinded for several seconds.
As the civilians stumbled around, half-blind, Minobu smiled. "How familiar are you with ancient history? With he latter days of General Kerensky?" Minobu Tetsuhara began, addressing the Dragoons. Natasha snorted but Dechan shook his head.
"The latter days of General Kerensky--in the Inner Sphere--specifically?" the Warlord elaborated.
"'Half-heard rumours and half-read records', mostly, tai-shu," Major Fraser offered. The phrase hinted at his Periphery origins.
"Nirasaki was a Hegemony world once," the Warlord began, "and was home to the Nirasaki Computers Collective, the ancestors of the modern-day Blue Heron. They built more than commpads and noteputers back then, the NCC was primarily responsible for the fabled Space Defense Systems--computerized defense warmachines that coordinated robotic WarShips and other assets in a fearsome manner. It cost the SLDF greatly to take SDS-protected worlds."
Jaime smiled and listened. It was a rough overview of the truth as he knew it.
"The key to General Kerensky's liberation of the Hegemony lay within NCC's headquarters, which lay in a rubble thanks to the Usurper's troops. After the war, the Draconis Combine offered to help rebuild many of the shattered industries on Hegemony worlds."
The Warlord beckoned them to walk with him, and Jaime fell alongside.
"Nirasaki was one of the most heavily damaged ones--its shattered infrastructure could no longer support the population. In return, and in thanks, the people of Nirasaki granted the Combine the use of its moons. Both Nagano and Okinawa are laden with resources, and Okinawa is perfectly suited to serve as a naval base. That was destroyed in the Second Succession War."
"Nagano's facilities," the Warlord paused and tapped his foot for emphasis, "was not. Rebuilding from the mess Amaris left was a grand undertaking, but both the Amaris Empire and the SLDF needed new sources of supplies."
"This moon, the lesser one, produced 'Mechs. The Dragoon Heavy 'Mech, in fact."
A few eyes darted to the Wolf's Dragoon contingent, noting the thin association with the name. Jaime felt the conspiracies weaving around their minds. What if the Wolf's Dragoons aren't descendants of Kerensky? What if they're descendants of Amaris?! He smiled at the Kuritans who shifted away.
"We don't have the time or the resources to churn out the advanced composites and materials for the AEM-01," said the jumpsuited, labcoat wearing man. "But we do have a Star League--well, Terran Hegemony--factory here. And we could use your help rebuilding it..." The man said hopefully.
General Wolf turned towards the man, and Minobu introduced him. "This is Chief Researcher Kowalski, formerly of Theodore Kurita's 11th Legion of Vega and now head of the Imperial Institute of Technology."
"I'm just a tech," the older man mumbled.
"A pleasure, Chief Researcher," Jaime said shaking the man's hand. "This is all very impressive. But they look like assembly equipment, not manufacturing equipment, to me."
Kowalski examined him, and Jaime felt the re-evaluation from a very organized mind.
"You're right, tai-sho. This is just an assembly plant. Krupp Stellar Technologies was relying on more locally sourced components to assemble the Dragoon. With the equipment you--ahh--recovered, well we have all the pieces now we just need help putting it back together."
"That's useless."
All eyes turned to Natasha Kerensky who had climbed up on the nearest machine and had been peering inside.
"What's the use of assembling 'Mechs you don't have the parts for? Or are you telling me you have another moon that makes parts?"
Jaime couldn't help but want to smile even as he was frustrated at her.
"Who says we need more parts?" Minobu asked. He held up a hand, cutting off the Black Widow's haughty retort. "Do you know how many components Gorton, Kingsley and Thorpe produce for the Panther? Or Luthien Armor Works for the Jenner and Dragons? This assembly facility will let us turn spare parts into whole 'Mechs."
"Kuritan 'Mechs," Natasha said dismissively.
"And nearly any other standard SLDF 'Mech," the chief researcher added. He said, shrugging, "I don't know how well the DCMS would like Griffins and Shadow Hawks but we can rebuild them here. And piece new ones together if we had the parts."
"But hey," Kowalski smiled up at the red-head, "if you're volunteering to make us new part factories too, I wouldn't complain one bit, sweetness."
The Black Widow leapt down and rolled on the floor and without stopping, rose and walked to the stunned Kowalski. She stood in front of him, bent close and smiled. "I like you."
"I like me too," was the chief researcher's sudden reply sent shocked laughter rippling through the group.
"Your agreement with Takashi Kurita will be upheld by Coordinator Theodore," Minobu said over the laughing. "A fourth of the output will belong to the Dragoons, for their own use, or for sale to mercenaries." Minobu eyed the Dragoon contingent. "I can't promise you a regiment a year, or even a battalion for that matter. I can't even promise you what model of 'Mech you'll get. Some runs may be nothing but Wasps and Stingers. This is the reality of the Inner Sphere today; we make do with what parts are on hand. I've delivered lances of Panthers to regiments that had requisitioned Assaults."
"With your help, we can do more---"
Suddenly, their comms started ringing one by one. Jaime looked Minobu in the eye as they heard the flow of conversations.
An aide walked up to Minobu and bowed. "Emergency HPG burst from Tok Do. Coordinator Theodore Kurita survived an assassination attack from Marcus Kurita." The man paused, tears welled in his eyes.
"His family, however, did not."
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(Happy Family Day to my fellow Canadians... I know poor timing.)
