DMHR7

=Chapter 7=
==Dead Man's Hand: Second Star to the Right==
Unknown Location
Nox
Clan Wolf Occupation Zone
10th September, 3054
Joker rubbed her wrists to get the feeling back, then looked around the room they had... assigned her.
She wasn't technically a prisoner any more, not after convincing them that she was telling the truth, but it had also been made abundantly clear that she was also not free to leave. Hence the room which looked like it belonged to a no-tell-motel, a cheap one at that. Everything that could conceivably be used as a weapon had been removed, including the bed. Leaving her with just a bare mattress on the floor for furniture. Indentations in the aged laminate flooring indicated where a chair, table and dresser had once stood, while discolouration and screw holes on the wall indicated where either a mirror or a TriVid set had been mounted.
The less said about the attache washroom the better...
She was alive, and no longer bound to a chair and getting hit around the head. If it wasn't for the armed guard outside the door, she'd almost consider it an improvement. It was clear that the local resistance didn't trust her, but didn't think she was working for the Wolves either. Jokinen as it turned out had been Ava Pettersson CO in the militia and had seen her fighter go down. She did confirm that Tobias and Kristin a were alive and well, but didn't seem all that interested in getting them back to their father. Indeed, she seems more interested in what kind of firepower that Dead Man's Hand had. Joker had the distinct feeling that she was going to be 'invited' to take part in some damn fool attack against the Wolves.
Not that she had a problem with fighting back in general, she just preferred to pick a fight she at least had a chance of winning. If Natasha Kerensky was indeed on Nox, she'd no doubt have her bodyguard unit with her. Hell, she'd have been a force multiplier on her own, but she'd have at the very least an extra Trinary, if not a full Cluster. Good as they were, her team wasn't equipped to deal with those kind of odd. Jokinen didn't want to hear that. It seemed convinced that all they needed to do was rouse the general populous into rising up, and they'd throw the Wolves off world.
And, if you believed that, Joker knew someone with a bridge to sell you.
Unfortunately, it was clear from their brief conversations that Jokinen and her people were True Believes. All ready and willing to die in a blaze of glory in the name of the Free Rasalhague Republic! Such an act would, no doubt, get them all killed. The only question being, how many innocent bystanders they took with them and Joker very much considered herself an innocent bystander in all of this.
Her options were limited, and time was running out. He best chase was to find a way out of the room, preferably without causing a scene, locate the Pettersson children and get the hell out of there. This, however, was easier said than done. So she started looking around the room for possibilities.
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Garrison Post
Bolsun, Nox
Clan Wolf Occupational Zone
11th September, 3054
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The old parade ground was a hive of activity, with techs running the final checks on OmniMechs even as armored Elementals lined up to board their transports. Amid this sea of organized chaos, Natasha Kerensky strode with every bit the menace and foreboding as her Dire Wolf did across the battlefield.
"Report." she snapped as she came up behind Charles Dinour.
"We believe we have located the main resistance base." he pointed to a map that had been spread out across the foot of a Shadow Cat, "Here, just off the main road out of the city. Before we arrived, it was a recreational area popular with the workers at the factories and their families. The militia retreated through it, and there has been little need to rebuild since. This building here, " he tapped part of the map with his finger, "was once some kind of temporary accommodation bock. Orbital scans have picked up traces of a shielded reactor and radio transmissions from within."
"Excellent work, but remember; a Falcon swoops in, while a Wolf stalks." the Khan nodded, "We would be wise to be cautious, less we walk into a trap."
"We, my Khan?" Dinour asks
"I will join you, but only as an observer. While the rest of the Golden Keshik remains here, in case this is a distraction of some kind." Natasha Kerensky smiled, "You have proven to be an excellent commander, Charles Dinour. Let us see how you handle this, and we shall then discuss your future."
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