TLR Chpt 12

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==Chapter 12 - The Lucky RegimentJustin’s date night==
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A Japanese restaurant in the Kuritan district (Kobe)
Solaris City - Solaris VII, Lyran Commonwealth
March, 2nd 3027 - 19:00 hours local time
Justin Xiang sourly sipped his beer, times like this reminded him how lonely the life of a spy truly was. He had no genuine friends on this world, and the only person he was close to was a lady he was going to have to nastily break up with in order to build up his cover. That he knew she was a spy working for his father didn't help, she would have been a dream partner in happier times and she didn't know about his mission or status making it all an act.
 
He was seated at midway along one side of a horse shoe shaped sushi bar, he could see the only customer entrance and exit, and if needs be make an undistinguished exit through the kitchen door behind him. His date, Kym Sorenson was running late, in an odd way it was a sign she liked him, he reckoned if she saw the evening as 'work' she would have been on time.
 
The restaurant wasn't particularly crowded, it was a relatively quiet part of the arena season so it was mainly locals around. The sushi chef was very good and the prices were pretty reasonable, it was a bit out of the way though so Kym was being brave coming this far out. The place could take about twenty at the counter, there were a few big group tables and another eight smaller tables, so far it was just him at the counter and few couples scattered around. He liked it here, there wasn't the usual effort the fleece the customers and it didn't seem linked to organised crime.
 
The entrance door opened and a large man walked in, definitely of Kuritan extraction and with the look of a mechanic. He was very strong looking, yet had the figure of someone who was a bit too partial to a Triple F burger. The man could also speak fluent Japanese, yet the group filing in behind him clearly couldn't.
 
He watched them warily, their body language suggested Mechwarriors, it was something about the way they all checked out their surroundings. As he made out a few different accents he decided they were most likely mercenaries, and some were from the Federated Suns. That posed a problem, he was unpopular in that part of the galaxy, and based on the puzzled stare from a young lady with white hair he had just been recognized.
 
He looked down at his drink, getting in a fight would help build up his cover, on the other hand that Mechanic was in the weight class that only needed to get one punch on target and all the martial arts skill in the Galaxy would suddenly count for nothing. He glanced over again and saw the woman talking to a man, one he had earlier pegged as senior and now as intimately connected to the woman.
 
He looked at his watch, increasingly wishing Kym would arrive so they could head somewhere more private and safer. Another glance at the group told him the couple were still debating something, and since he caught the eye of the man he was pretty sure it involved him. His exit route was still there, but he didn't know what the intention of the group was, or why they cared it was him. The sort of mercenary group that mixed Kuritans and those from the Federated Suns probably didn't care much about a bit of public disgrace.
 
Most of the group headed over to a big table, yet the couple didn't. Instead they headed over towards the seats near him. The woman with the bleached white hair and slightly tanned skin sat down next to him and the man on the other side of her. The gentleman looked at the barman and pointed at Justin's beer, probably assuming the Kuritan barman didn't speak English or that Justin had good taste in beer.
 
"We watched your fight, Mr Xiang." She shrugged. "Well I did, he was keeping the local Steiner mercenary rep entertained." That statement made it clear he was very likely the commander of the company, so it was her polite way of establishing his status.
 
"I see". He ruled out lying about his name as her face looked a bit too perceptive for his liking, and the eyes had a hardness to them one didn't see very often. Whatever hardships he had endured were probably not on a par with hers, if she had had a soft upbringing something had ended it very abruptly. "Was it entertaining?"
"It's a waste of good 'mechs, still I won sixty c-bills so I should be grateful."
 
"I'm impressed you found a bookie willing to take such a low stake." At six to one it was no mean feat to find a bookie in a fancy venue willing to waste their time on low stakes.
 
"Edmund and I clubbed together to hit the minimum of 25, so he owes you too." Definitely the sort of sensible high rollers you didn't usually see in the fancy clubs.
 
"It was nothing, just doing my bit to keep the crowds entertained." It was a sick business, and he could tell neither she nor Edmund had much interest in show fighting. That instantly raised their status in his eyes.
 
"I'm sure." The delivery was dry enough to tell him she didn't trust his response. "Tell you what I'll cut to the chase."
 
"I'm honored." Though if it was an offer for a threesome she was going to be out of luck.
 
She patted Edmund's back "Edmund here has issues with trusting Capellans, long story I won't bore you." She smiled, and he wondered what sort of background had made her the way she was. "Even he thinks you were treated badly, and I'm certain you were." Justin winced inside, the worst aspect of this job was the repeated efforts by those from the Federated Suns who felt he deserved better. Insulting those with integrity who meant him well was never easy.
 
"What does he know of injustice?" It was a stock line he had used before. He sipped his beer with his best angry expression.
 
"Edmund do you want to tell the story?"
 
"Not really, it's better coming from you." The Edmund person now had his own beer approaching and was clearly fixated on quenching his thirst. The bags under his eyes and air of weariness suggested a man in dire need of that drink. Justin could empathise, even so he managed his drinking very carefully, and noted the lady was sipping the free green tea rather than asking for anything alcoholic.
 
"A long time ago a handsome young cadet met the wrong girl". She smiled, but he sensed there was something unsaid. "Her father didn't approve and bad things happened, you see the man was head of the academy." Justin made the mistake of drinking at the moment and spluttered out most of the mouthful. The story had been vaguely funny at the time, and the odds of bumping into said cadet here seemed astronomically small. It was particularly ironic in that some of those cadets who had once laughed at him being humiliated on the parade ground were doubtless now sending him their CV.
 
When he recovered from making a mess he settled down. "I think I've heard that one, public humiliation in front of the fellow cadets followed by a glittering career in the periphery." The story had done the rounds, and again rather differently once the the Star League cache was retrieved. There was another rumor too about how said Mercenary had been involved with the daughter of some periphery warlord, the New Avalon press had struggled to find out much given the civil war in those parts, and then as was their way, a few weeks later forgotten all about it. Something about her was increasingly bothering him, she must have followed his case for a reason and she clearly was not a Solaris fan.
 
"Victoria feels we owe your father a favor." He felt a coldness inside, fear that they might blow his cover and uncertainty about how to handle it. He glanced again at her face and thought about the accent. She came across as aristocratic in her mannerisms and body language, she had that absolute confidence that came from being born into real power, yet the accent didn't quite match his expectations of any of the worlds he knew in the Federated Suns.
 
"He is no longer my father."
The woman looked at him sadly, "The affairs of state can do terrible things to families, I never got to make peace with my father." To maintain his cover he should have made some snide remark, but he knew body language well enough to think he would get a punch or elbow to the face if he tried.
 
"I am sorry to hear that, I am sure he thought fondly of you."
 
"I like to hope so. But in truth I prefer to remember the man who was my father rather than the one who wanted to be king." There was a sad look in her eyes. Whilst Justin now knew Edmund had been the man who delivered an SLDF cache to Hanse Davion, she however was still a mystery. Unfortunately his knowledge of peripheral events clearly ended where her story began, Kym would know more he decided.
 
"I take your point, thank you for sharing your experience."
 
Edmund looked across at him. "I don't want to ruin your evening, we just wanted you to know that if you want a fresh start we could use a skilled instructor." He prepared an acidic retort, but was too slow to use it. "If we're still in business in a couple of years and you have found peace with yourself, we'll make you a slot." It wasn't the first job offer he had had, or even particularly lucrative but it was a being made by someone who had more to lose than gain by making it.
 
Victoria spoke, "Believe me, there a quite a few of us who don't want to look back." She looked over at the group. "The old hands in particular have all got their stories to tell." That didn't surprise him, fewer questions were asked in the periphery, that and the barrier between mercenary and pirate was frequently breached.
 
"I'll keep it in mind." He was genuinely touched, and a far from tiny part of him was interested in testing out the lostech mechs.
 
Edmund patted Victoria gently on the shoulder as he stood up. "Anyway, Mr. Xiang, we are grateful for your time and won't burden you any longer." Edmund deftly deposited a business card on the table next to Justin, it was pretty standard looking. The name read Major Edmund Blackadder, with the regimental title The Marauders written below and a standard Mercnet contact address. He figured Edmund had been dishing those out across the planet, this was a world where money came came to find the means to carry out its will. It was also a place Mercenary companies came to recruit.
He watched them return to rejoin their group, it was a relief from an operational point of view not be sat next to them any longer. However he was left curious about how exactly that Star League Cache had been found and what else apart from the mechs had been recovered. He didn't get to spend long pondering how amazing it must have been to see all those lostech mechs lined in storage waiting for the return of an army that would never come. He heard the door opening and the noise of footsteps he recognized, he looked up to see the lovely face of Kym Sorensen walking towards him. She looking more casual than usual, fashionable looking jeans type trousers and a dark grey turtleneck with a bright necklace.
 
He half stood up and kissed her on the lips. "I'm so sorry I'm late, Justin, I completely misjudged how long it would take to get here."
 
"I understand, It's a bit out of the way."
"It is, but it feels so authentic, how did you hear about it?"
 
"One of the techs told me about it, he and his wife come here for their anniversary every year."
 
"I can see why."
 
A glass of champagne appeared in front of each of them, it was locally produced so on about the sort of budget Justin should be able to manage as impoverished noble yet recent winner of several matches. Kym would probably pick up the tab, but his choice of order showed his intent to pay. He didn't know if she saw this affair as a game, he suspected part of her wasn't play acting and at times he desperately wished this was a real romance.
 
"Cheers, Justin, let's drink to us."
 
"To us!" They said as one and clinked their glasses, then he sipped happily.
 
"Looks like a rough bunch on the big table." The one he had labelled as the mechanic was laughing uproariously.
 
"Mercenaries." He said quietly, and then whispered "Mostly from the Federated Suns."
 
She looked concerned, "Did they give you trouble?" she looked around warily.
 
"They sounded me out about employment. Turns out one of them is a man called Edmund Blackadder." She looked slightly blank, but he sensed she knew the name. "He helped find a Star League cache."
 
"Maybe you should take him up on the on the offer, it's got to be safer than the Arena." She wasn't wrong, the odds were almost certainly better in a decent regiment.
 
"Then I wouldn't see you." She smiled, but he could tell she would prefer that he did something a bit safer to earn a living. He was pretty sure that she genuinely cared about him, even if not as a lover.
 
"It's a long shot Kym, but do recognize the woman with the bleached hair on the big table, She knows a lot about me, but doesn't seem to like the arenas." There were obsessive stalkers out there, but they weren't generally Mechwarriors or serving in mercenary regiments. Kym pulled out a little mirror from handbag and checked her makeup whilst spying on Victoria, almost certainly a trick she had learnt at spy school.
 
"Holy s***, I don't know what she's doing out here, but she was lurking around the court on New Avalon." Justin wasn't surprised Kym moved in those circles, but he did notice a certain amount of uncertainty on Kym's face. "Victoria Espinosa, I'm sure of it."
 
"Who is she?"
 
"Her father launched a coup in a small realm between the Taurians and the Canopus, he was soon deposed and I don't know why but she ended up an exile on New Avalon." Justin could take a good guess, Hanse kept around a number of claimants to various positions in other neighboring realms, you never knew when you might need one.
 
"So Major Blackadder would have helped defeat her father?" The details were coming together in his mind. Fragments of news stories merged with obscure place names on maps. It was an odd picture, with some strange contradictions. Blackadder had made the news for both delivering a enough equipment to re-equip a regiment and then victory in a campaign nobody except staff officers cared about.
 
"That I don't know."
"Well they definitely are an item now, so that makes for a pretty unusual story." She looked slightly confused.
 
"Can you imagine being in a serious relationship with the the offspring of your enemy?"
 
Kym looked unimpressed, and he realized the obvious offense he given and the foolish risk he had made a statement at odds with the persona he was attempting to portray. "Forgive me, that was inappropriate. I'm sorry."
 
She put arm around his shoulders, and spoke softly in his ear "Justin, I love you for who you are, I can't change our backgrounds and I don't know what the future holds, so try and enjoy the moment." She deserved better than him he thought sadly, fate owed her a real relationship with someone who could truly love her back.
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