Battletech Welcome to the Jungle

En Route to Jump Point, Tharkad System,
District of Donegal, Protectorate of Donegal, Lyran Commonwealth
March 13th, 3016

I was glad to finally be boosting off Tharkad and away from the politicians so I could relax. Our stay on Tharkad had been productive, but it had been stressful.

Even the ‘friendly business meeting’ Julia had arranged for me with Dobless Information Services had been as much political maneuvering as negotiating for a service. Back in the 21st Century, if someone had gotten a recording of that meeting, everyone involved would have been slapped with so many RICO charges that we’d have been bankrupt by the time the Racketeering cases were half over.

In the Neo-Feudalism of the far future, that was apparently business as usual. I had the credit to purchase the services I wanted from Dobless, but at the level I was operating at, Kroner was rather less valuable than connections, alliances, and secrets. And Baroness Yasmine Kochhar, the dangerously attractive (and thankfully happily married) executive at Dobless, was smart enough to realize I was very well connected indeed. I had a sneaking suspicion that she’d either learned what Olivetti’s new Thunderbolts were mounting and traced the source back to CAC or the design studies for the Warhammer upgrades had led to some hard-to-explain questions.

Of course, she was already inside ‘the club’ as the wife of Dobless’s CEO and the granddaughter of the Duke of Chahar. She could just as easily have heard something from a ‘good friend’. The average newly-raised Duke wouldn’t have Julia Steiner sitting by his side, acting half as secretary and half as neutral moderator and go-between.

So, for less than half of what I had expected to need to spend, I had gotten a secret contract from Dobless to build a searchable database chock full of all sorts of scientific and engineering data, including any new scholarly information other Dobless clients shared with them once they got their teeth into the Core. Industry secrets were, of course, secret.

Still, it was invaluable information with much easier access than hunting through a dozen textbooks for the obscure fact you half-remembered. In addition, Dobless would keep it up to date via secure encrypted data packages delivered by bonded courier with the rest of the supplies the LCAF would soon be hauling my way.

Hell, just the conversation around the data delivery had been a de facto acknowledgment that I had the influence the Baroness wanted me to exercise on her corporation’s behalf, and her own casual familiarity with LCAF shipping procedures for Hesperus had been an equally backhanded way of boasting about Dobless’s capabilities. And at yet another level, by openly speaking about restricted information (even if only around the edges, and only things that Dobless was cleared for) with her, I was bringing Baroness Kochhar into my confidence and inviting reciprocation.

Olivetti was a business ally first and foremost; we were linked inextricably enough to be political allies more or less by default. Brewer, in his turn, was willing to be an ally to anyone who got behind the Commonwealth and pushed. Thanks to the data core, I qualified. But I’d fallen into those relationships almost by accident.

Dobless and the Kochhars were the first alliance I’d managed to negotiate purposefully, and I’d done it with minimal … okay, moderate training wheels. Julia had laid the groundwork in advance pretty thoroughly before she presented me with the meeting. Still, she’d only laid the groundwork. The actual negotiations had been up to me.

Even the elements of corruption baked into the system couldn’t banish my satisfaction entirely.

The contents of the deal were as important as the alliance itself. What I was getting was the sort of access to data that I’d taken for granted back in the 21st Century with the internet. In the 31st Century, this level of advanced research data availability was reserved for institutions such as Tharkad University, Defiance, or, ironically, Nashan Diversified.

The quid pro quo was my agreement to use my influence to ensure that any applicable bits of new hardware or software made their way to Dobless. The company’s claim to fame was their possession of an intact Star League era Library Core. The problem with Star League technology, though, was that it wasn’t actually magic, no matter how much it looked like it sometimes. It did eventually wear out, and the only people who could still manufacture computers to that standard were the eggheads at Nashan Computers.

Nashan, however, had a reputation for … aggressive voracity that made Dobless justifiably nervous. If they had a significant failure and needed to go to Nashan to get replacements to preserve their Star League-era computer infrastructure, they’d have done it.

Reluctantly.

The implication had been that they’d have had to spend almost as much as the price of any equipment again making sure that their new hardware and software was actually what they paid for, rather than a carefully sabotaged approximation intended to deliver them into Nashan’s clutches.

Since Dobless’ entire business model was based on having the best data repository outside the Sol system, I was confident that making the agreement was in not just my own interests, but those of the Commonwealth and probably Humanity as a whole. That didn’t, however, mean I wasn’t left feeling vaguely unclean after the conversation was over. The outrageously expensive New Kyoto Kobe Beef provided for the ‘luncheon’ following was certainly an element of that, no matter how good my steak had been.

It just served to highlight one of the ways in which Julia and I were different, since to her this was, indeed, just the way things were done. And for all the things I liked about her, those differences might turn out to be insurmountable.

I reached up and ran my thumb nail along the left side of my lip in lieu of tugging on a moustache I didn’t currently have. That was the one thing I didn’t particularly enjoy about my new body: my facial hair was still patchy and unimpressive. I hadn’t had to worry about that since I was eighteen back in the 21st.

And you’re avoiding the subject, I told myself. The truth was, thinking about marriage in the clinical, dynastic terms that 31st Century Neo-Feudalism required made me profoundly uncomfortable. It had been a long damn time since my last serious relationship, and that one had fallen apart under differing expectations.

Which reminded me that I’d proposed a conversation that I now needed to follow through on. If Julia and I wanted sufficiently different things that a marriage couldn’t work between us, then Julia deserved to know.


Tracking Julia down didn’t take very long; an Overlord was a large dropship, but not that large.

I ran her to ground in the ship’s small gym, where she was working out on one of a pair of honest-to-God Bowflex machines that had somehow appeared aboard while we were on Tharkad. Julia was dressed in a gray ‘Give Blood -- Play Hockey’ Nagelring T-shirt, matching LCAF-issue spandex workout shorts, sneakers, and a blue stretchy headband to keep her hair out of her eyes. The final piece to this scene from a 1980s workout video was that she had a PDA hooked up to play a soundtrack which, if I wasn’t misremembering, was from Rocky of all things while she was doing prone leg curls as her valet counted her reps.

“Come to work out too, Alistair?” Julia asked with a wave as she spotted me.

It was tempting. Keeping in good condition was a basic requirement of being a Mechwarrior, and maintaining excellent condition was required just to be capable of a full day’s work in Catachan’s oppressive gravity. And, given I hadn’t been pushing myself the way I ought to have been recently, I was going to pay for that in a month or so.

Besides, I had discovered that I enjoyed working out now. It was the sort of activity that let me put my body on autopilot while I thought about things, and since I was starting from good condition it wasn’t an uphill battle like it had been in my last life.

Thank God for a healthy back; you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.

But that wasn’t what I was here for.

“Actually, I seem to recall promising you a conversation,” I said, seriously. “Though if now isn’t a good time …”

I trailed off, uncertain. Thankfully, Julia didn’t seem irritated that I’d chosen an inconvenient moment for this.

“Sarah, please watch the hatch and let anyone intending to exercise know that the compartment is occupied,” she said, levering herself into a sitting position on the bench. The valet handed her a towel before wordlessly complying.

I nodded my thanks and complied with Julia’s unstated wish for privacy before I continued, busying myself by grabbing a sports drink for Julia while she mopped off the sweat. I sat down on the bench of the machine opposite her and waited until the hatch was sealed.

I had actually put some thought into this, so…

“My understanding is that there are two big issues that can kill a marriage: religion and politics.”

Well, three really, but Julia doesn’t strike me as a person who valued money for its own sake. And really, with our combined net worth, the only way money will ever be a problem was if Kroner was our religion.

“Well, most of the extended Steiner family is Lutheran,” Julia started, “but my branch is Roman Catholic, so I was brought up in that tradition. Even if I, perhaps, enjoy reading the Poetic Edda more than my priest back in Telesian would prefer,” she added. I couldn’t help but crack a smile; anyone who got to know Julia at all quickly learned that she was a big fan of Norse mythology.

Her answer didn’t really narrow things down much, though. The Catholic Church was hardly a monolithic entity even back in the 21st Century, much in the here and now.

“That’s a good starting place,” I replied, leaning forward, “but what do you believe.”

That drew her up short, and I could see her start to answer, pause as she realized just how serious I was about this, then stop and think. She finally opened her grape-flavored drink and took a long pull, then slowly tightened the lid.

“I’m not entirely sure how to answer that,” she finally said.

“I believe that what’s in the Bible is historically accurate, not merely metaphorical; over the centuries, archaeologists have certainly proved a great number of the details are correct. And I believe Christ died to fulfill the Old Covenant that God made with Moses. If that had been a fraud, at least one of his disciples should have broken under torture and admitted it. Instead, all but one of them were literally tortured to death for what they believed, and none of them recanted. You?”

For a question out of the blue that I deliberately left open-ended, that was a good answer.

“I believe in God as described by the Nicene Creed. But unlike the Catholic Church, I believe that man can and should have a personal relationship with God, not merely approach Him through priests or prayers to the Saints. I’m not one for joining a religious denomination; any organization that gets that big starts getting political, and politics has no place in religion,” I explained.

Ever since the Methodist church had tried to force the Methodist leadership's beliefs on the little country church I’d grown up in, I’d been wary of anyone who claimed to know what I should or should not believe.

Before the brief silence could stretch, I forced a smile, and tried to match Julia’s earlier levity.

“And my old pastor would agree with your priest: I spend too little time reading my bible. And I haven’t even been inside a church since the move to Catachan.” The statement got a brief smile, so I counted that a success.

“That said, I would want my children to grow up in a church. The … foundational assumptions that come with a Judeo-Christian worldview are the underpinnings of stable civilization, in my opinion. Just look at the Capellan Confederation.”

That got an actual laugh.

“Indeed. Little surprise that the state which claims their leader is a god has done nothing but stagnate and weaken for three hundred years,” Julia shot back. “Also, I agree that children need to be raised in a church that teaches the sanctity of life, the equality of all men and women in the eyes of their Creator, and a sense of ethics and morals as a foundation for them to grow on.”

“And some of that touched on politics,” I said and hesitated for a second before deciding to continue. If I couldn’t trust Julia to tell me the truth rather than what she thought I wanted to hear, then there was no point in even having this conversation.

“To tell the truth, I don’t have much in the way of politics. I believe that the Government is best that governs least. It should ‘provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare,’ and otherwise leave me the hell alone to get on with my life. I’m onboard with your aunt because she’s death on corruption, literally in this most recent case, and because she’s taking a hammer to the calcification of the LCAF.”

It had been widely reported in the press that the wave of arrests in the Aerospace Corps were going to overwhelmingly lead to Court Martials for treason. Only a little information had leaked thus far, but the little snippets of evidence that had gotten out looked bad. There were strong indications of a century-long campaign of bribery that had resulted in Lockheed CBM officials covertly determining who was allowed to reach any rank higher than Kommandant. I could only agree that ‘treason’ fit the bill.

Julia nodded along with my statement. She then gave me a direct and very intense look that reminded me of her mother and her aunt.

“I have slightly different views in some of the details, of course, since I was ‘born into the purple’ to quote my father, but my beliefs are broadly along the same line that you laid out. The major points for me as a person, and then as a Steiner are that we have an obligation and a calling to lead and protect the Commonwealth.

“But it is a Commonwealth and exists for the good of every Lyran with the betterment of Alistair Weber or Julia Steiner’s welfare no more and no less important in the grand scheme of things than Sarah waiting outside the hatch here or the servants who took our coats in the Triad last time you visited. We should not and shall never be despots and tyrants like the Kuritas, but instead lead as servants rather than overseers.

“That said, there are some functions of executive and state authority necessary for survival, such as keeping the state strong so that our enemies don’t overrun us in these wars that my ancestors got us into,” her lips quirked as she gave me a wry chuckle, “Although, according to the copy of her personal journals that I read, Jennifer Steiner really didn’t want the First Lord’s throne back then. She just had no choice; the politics of the late 2700s demanded that she had to press the claim to prevent Minoru Kurita from succeeding in his campaign to become First Lord.

“So yes, I agree that a light hand on the wheel of the ship of state, or Furillo in my personal case, is generally for the best. Although we can argue the case by case ethics and specific acts of noblesse oblige eternally.”

She sighed and her shoulders slumped. Her eyes shadowed as she tilted her head down. “Some days, my birthright terrifies me because it’s too damn easy to neglect the trees for the forest and get something wrong. And when a Steiner fucks up, the people they’re responsible for and, in the worst cases, the Commonwealth as a whole suffer much more than if a cook burns someone’s steak dinner.

“Just ask the ghosts of the Fourth Royal Guards what a bad Archon on the throne does to the Commonwealth. But if I don’t step up when I’m called upon to make the decisions that affect the lives of thousands, who will do it in my place? I can and shall take advice, rely on my subordinates and supporters, but ultimately that responsibility rests on my shoulders alone.”

She had a point. In the Middle Ages, children were mostly taught their parents’ craft. And Nobility could be considered the craft of Leadership. I had problems with monarchy as a governmental system, but the Great Houses had stood the test of time.

Republics tended to fail as soon as their citizens discovered that they could vote themselves bread and circuses, but a good Monarchical system could withstand the pressures of both events and time. Witness England, which had existed before American democracy and continued even now on Terra, long after the Great Democracies of the 20th Century were dead and gone.

While I’d been thinking, Julia had taken a very deep breath and visibly composed herself.

“So, since the nature of FTL travel and communications requires strong local executive authority who can make necessary decisions in a reasonable timeframe during a crisis, I have a lot to live up to just by the nature of my birth and the system that is the Commonwealth today. You have now seen the example that my mother has set in my life, and Aunt Katrina’s example, of course, and I could go through my family tree clear back to Katherine Steiner as the third Archon in 2408 if you want me to.

“Those are some big footprints that I have to fill as best I can when I’m called on, and running and hiding from my responsibilities when that day comes is not an option. There are too many historical examples of Steiners who did just that, and I’ll not have my name among their number.

“You should know that the Steiner family’s private diaries written during the reign of Claudius the Cruel made for very sobering reading for me at twelve. To the point that I still have occasional nightmares about what I read of his… diversions. That said, I’m called as a Steiner to set the example of good citizenship and good leadership for my peers, superiors and subordinates, to serve the Commonwealth as a Mechwarrior, Landgrafin von Wilda, an LCAF officer, and eventually as a Duchess and a businesswoman if and when I rule Furillo. But any true loyalty has to flow down as well as up, and I have an absolute duty to God, the Commonwealth, my House, and my subordinates and subjects, whomever they will be, to be the best ruler possible for them when the time comes.

“Use the lightest possible touch, insure the greatest good for them that I can, be honest, just, and honorable, and raise children that will inherit and build well upon the foundations that I shall set in my life. I know I’ll make mistakes, we all do, and we all have done, but I can only pray that, in the end, the credits outweigh the debits in my life.”

She paused, then shook her head with a grimace that faded into a wry smile.

“Sorry for the dramatic soliloquy, but that’s a subject near and dear to my heart.”

I’d been able to tell, which was why I’d remained quiet and let her speak. Her opinions were different than mine, but we’d grown up in vastly different worlds. Universes apart, you might say. Our philosophies weren’t incompatible, however, and that was the salient point.

“I intend Catachan’s government to be a … call it a Constitutional Monarchy, with the Duke or Duchess as the Head of Government and the Head of State, but with a bicameral legislature that shares power. I intend the legislature to be composed of an upper house, itself composed of inherited Counts and Barons as well as appointed Knights, and a lower house elected from the citizenry,” I began, laying out, in broad strokes, my plan for the planet I was now in charge of.

“I intend that the Franchise be restricted to those who pay at least a Pfennig more in taxes than they receive in handouts, thereby to limit the inherent weakness of a Democratic Republic while incorporating its strengths. Including an optional tax, payable up to and including Election Day to get a citizen into position to vote and prevent clever manipulation of legalities from keeping people from voting if some emergency pops up.”

Julia tilted her head, and opened her mouth to speak, then visibly changed what she was about to say.

“Direct election for your Estates-General representative, or would that be indirect through the lower house?” she asked.

“Direct election there to keep the horse-trading to a minimum, though I’m willing to give the Power of the Purse to the lower house in compensation. With the electorate structured the way I’m planning, it will presumably be elected by a pool of voters who are at least somewhat successful and understand economics,” I responded.

“Oh, and term limits for both of those elected offices. I’m thinking two terms of two years for members of the lower house. That way we don’t end up with parasites populating the place for life. Districts to be drawn up by the lower house and then approved or vetoed by the Head of State. Should keep the gerrymandering from getting out of control.”

There was one last big issue to present, but honestly at this point, I didn’t expect it to change anything. On the other hand, asking it was all but a statement of intent.

“As for succession,” I began, then stopped to take a calming breath, “how do you feel about Tanistry?”

It hardly took a moment for Julia to process my question and arrive at the logical conclusion. Still, I wasn’t ready to pop the question yet. I hadn’t bought a ring and even if I liked her, I’d only known her a few months. There was every chance that we’d end up discovering that we just didn’t get along in more peaceful circumstances. I didn’t want her to assume anything, so I hurried up and spoke.

“That isn’t a proposal,” I clarified, “But … take it as a strong statement of interest in addition to an honest inquiry. I figure you Steiners have lasted six centuries for a reason.”

She grinned then smoothed her features and tapped a finger against her lips faux-absently.

“With the caveat that the oldest-born child of the sitting ruler should at least get trained for the job in case of emergency, Tanistry is a workable system. I’m sure that when there is someone who just isn’t suited for the job, some aren’t and never will be, tasks will be found in line with their strengths. A House can make use of just about any talent; we Steiners have a tradition of encouraging artistic and literary activity for a reason, and better a mediocre poet than a bad ruler. Most of us are quite good at our chosen fields as a result. Also if we do this, we will have places to post our younger children: LCAF officers, business CEOs for branches of CAC and associates like the Argent Maple company and so on. Plus my father would never forgive me if I didn’t fund a proper higher educational establishment for Catachan’s people.”

She then leaned forward.

“My biggest condition if we get married is that we have the ceremony on Tharkad. For one, I’ve been dreaming about a wedding for ‘Princess Julia Steiner’ in the Royal Chapel in the Triad since I was five years old,” she said with a grin, but a tone indicating that she was serious.

I hadn’t had much experience with such things, my own sister having been very much a tomboy, but I recognized determination when I heard it.

“For two, as much as you hate politics, they would be a necessary evil in this case. A state wedding for a Steiner so near the throne is important, symbolically, for a lot of the people in the Commonwealth. It’s a political necessity since symbols matter for the Commonwealth and House Steiner.”

Her eyes gleamed and her grin widened.

“Even if the Duke of Catachan will want to ensure his House Troops are available for a combat drop on the honeymoon limo to extract him and his bride from hostile surroundings!”

Even if she was putting her best foot forward, she really did have a sense of humor that worked with mine. We had military experience in common as well as compatible belief systems. We both wanted the Commonwealth to beat back the Combine and generally agreed on matters of politics. That was a damn sight better than my last relationship. Maybe, just maybe this would end with something that would work.


Nadir Jump Point, Steelton System,
Trellshire, Tamar Pact, Lyran Commonwealth
April 6th, 3016

We had been able to buy fast passage by swapping from one JumpShip to another almost all the way out to Steelton.

Almost.

JumpShip traffic in the near Periphery was too scarce to make it all the way, but we’d only come up about three jumps short.

What we had done was arrive in time to catch up with our own JumpShips, which had made a small detour on their way back home.

I was just glad to be well away from Tharkad. The whole damn planet was a half-frozen snake pit with few redeeming features. A couple of those I’d made good use of, though. It was perhaps the predominant place in the Inner Sphere to acquire a household staff. With new debutantes moving into Tharkad City to be closer to Court or find a spouse, and moving back off planet when they were married or done lobbying for a particular policy, there were always a handful of highly skilled, LIC-vetted, and utterly discrete professionals looking for work.

Finding a set that was prepared to move off world to go into the service of a new Duke was surprisingly easy. The increase in prestige and the pay packet Julia had suggested that I offer appeared to outweigh the need to move to a place popularly considered ‘sixty light-years from anywhere.’

Between writing those checks, the ones to pay for my recruits from Tharkad University, and the line of credit to pay Dobless, my Scotsman-like desire to not pay for anything I didn’t have to was rubbed sort of raw.

Still, shelling out a bit more money than I liked had meant we had been boosting for the jump point before the Mallos twins could hatch a second plan to sneak into my hotel room. That had made it money well spent.

It was also a solid distraction from my personal pre-jump routine in the Implacable’s Sickbay.

“I much prefer FTL travel when I’m in an induced coma,” I admitted. Julia smirked at me. Since our conversation, she’d made a point about keeping me company when I was in sickbay, whether that was before the doctor put me out for the pseudo command circuit or while nurses hooked me up to my IV fluids and pumped me full of Dralaxine and antiemetics before one of the jumps since.

“Ah, but this is the last one. At least for a while,” she reminded me. “Aren’t you looking forward to getting home to Catachan and showing me around your secret villain lair?”

“It’s more a Dwarfhold,” I corrected her, pretending to sneer down my nose. Julia liked spy thrillers, which were clearly inferior to good fantasy novels. “And yes, but also no,” I admitted. “Yes, I’m very much looking forward to getting back, but the gravity is just going to suck for a month.”

That made her scrunch up her nose in a grimace.

“At least we’ll be miserable together?” she was probably aiming for comforting, but she mostly just sounded uncertain. I couldn’t stop a chuckle.

“Oh, no. I’ve mostly kept in condition. I’ll bounce back in a month or so,” I explained. “You, on the other hand, will have at least six months before you acclimate, and even that will be more like ‘normal person’ fitness rather than ‘Mechwarrior’ fitness. Twenty-five percent extra gravity is a real bite in the ass.”

Julia made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat and grimaced. “I’m glad that I bought those Bowflexes while on Tharkad,” she finally confessed her role in that minor mystery. “I pride myself on being ‘fighting fit’ to set an example. I don’t suppose we can run at 1.25G on the flight in to start acclimatizing early?”

“The Dropship crew hate it and it uses more fuel, so it hasn’t been a battle worth fighting. Besides, we use the planetary L1 pirate point, so it’s a short run.”

Seeing her appalled look, I just grinned.

“Hey, it isn’t just my Mechwarriors that are Elite-rated. Smitty’s crew are some of the best in the business,” I asserted.

“Still quite a risk in a system that’s relatively uncharted, isn’t it?” she asked.

I shrugged.

“It’s not that bad. There’s always some small rocks floating around, but the Catachan System is remarkably free of rogue asteroids or comets and the crew have had years now to pick out the few that are big enough to be a problem,” I explained.

“I’ll bow to your superior experience, then,” she said, “but-”

Whatever she intended to say was cut off by the ‘all hands’ siren.

“All hands, Jump in T minus five minutes. Ensure final preparations have been carried out,”

Julia made room for the nurses who were going to have to strap me down to keep me from floating away in zero G.

“See you tomorrow, Alistair,” she called and headed for the exit and a seat on the bridge.

“See you then,” I agreed. With only a couple of jumps, and after a consult on Tharkad I was mostly back on my feet within twenty-four hours now. I guess the human body can get used to pretty much anything given enough time.


Julia sat down in her seat on the Implacable’s bridge and strapped in, trying to get used to the idea of jumping into a pirate point as a routine maneuver rather than as a risky method to surprise the enemy garrison on a raid or invasion. The thought of casually risking a misjump if even the slightest mistake had been made in the jump calculations was …

Well, she’d rather fight the Fifth Sword of Light without the benefit of a BattleMech. At least there, she had some applicable skills. Just sitting back and trusting the old Merchant’s crew not to make a mistake was substantially more difficult.

“T minus ten seconds,” the Engineer announced, and Julia realized her hands were clenched around the seat’s arms in a death grip. She did her best to relax them, even as the man counted down and her tension ratcheted higher.

“... three … two … one … ju-

“-mp!”

She bit back the flash of nausea and a sensation of having briefly seen endless spiraling fractals, then realized she was still alive and let out the lungful of air she’d been holding.

“First time using a Pirate Point?” the Captain of the Dropship, Haley Chapman, asked, visibly amused.

“It was,” Julia admitted while trying to force her heart rate back to normal.

“Well, you handled it well. It's old hat for us, but I thought the Captain of the Long Haul was going to have kittens after that first time back from Sudeten when he realized we’d jumped into a pirate point without so much as warning him.”

Julia groaned involuntarily.

“I’m not sure if that would have been better or worse,” she admitted.

Chapman shrugged.

“Well, while we were busy down on the planet and exploring the orbitals, Captain Tandles had his crew taking extensive surveys of the system. Anything bright enough to reflect sunlight got cataloged and they put together some damn impressive charts. They’ve actually been doing the same for Steelton and Toland when they visit, just in case we need to respond to a pirate raid some day.”

That was a little more reassuring, but Julia seemed to recall that the Adam Smith had been down a collar at one point in the not-too-recent past.

“And how long has it been since they were in a shipyard for-”

“Ma’am, incoming challenge from Catachan! It’s a wide band transmission!”

“Play it,” Chapman snapped, suddenly alert.

“-own JumpShips, this is a secure system,” a middle-aged woman with a Mechwarrior’s short hair and … assets … that would make wearing a standard cooling vest interesting was speaking. “Identify yourselves immediately or be presumed hostile. I repeat, unknown JumpShips, this is a secure system. Identify yourselves immediately o-”

Captain Chapman made a slicing motion with her hand and the recording cut off.

“Something has got Comet exercised,” she said, but her voice was deadly serious. “Prepare to record,” she ordered.

“Smitty is transmitting,” the Communications officer reported a moment later.

“Belay that,” Chapman rescinded her previous order and shook her head.

“What’s this all about?” Julia asked, feeling out of the loop.

“We’ve never been challenged like that before, which means Comet has a reason for it,” was all the other woman would say. Finally, after waiting for the light-speed lag …

“Damn good to hear from you, Captain. Sorry for the interrogation, but about two months ago, we had an unknown contact jump in to the system’s Nadir point,” Alistair’s second in command announced, and a handful of conversations broke out around the compartment before Captain Chapman called for quiet.

Julia’s face had set and her fists clenched while she reviewed her classes in interstellar logistics at the Nagelring. The timing would be about right for….

The older blonde was still speaking.

“- know about you, but a couple months seemed all too likely to be just about right for somebody to go off and arrange a raiding force. We’re more than half-expecting an attack at any time.”


A/N: Thanks again to Seraviel, Lordsfire, and Yellowhammer for beta reading, idea bouncing, and canon compliance checking. This chapter is vastly improved by their efforts.