ADO Chpt 3

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==The CallChapter 3 - Aurigan Dreams (BattleTech CYOA)==
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===Family Politics===
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The Herman Ducal Palace has excellent guest rooms and the bedroom that I find myself in is easily the best one that I have slept in. With an attached bathroom, the guest room has almost as much space as my family’s house back on Coromodir, but I guess that is nobility for you. It is certainly a massive step up from the DropShip cabin that I’ve spent the last month in.
I almost don’t want to get out of bed when a servant shows up to let me know that Duchess Herman is having breakfast and I have been invited by the duchess to attend. The comfy covers and inviting mattress call to me, but I am here on Bromhead for business and while it should be easy enough to get a lie-in in the future, I don’t know how many chances I will get to make a positive impact on my paternal side of the family. Especially since I have made something of a negative impact by swooping in and taking their combined arms regiment.
Throwing on some clothing, I take a moment to comb my hair to get rid of the worst of the bedhead in an attempt to make myself presentable. I doubt I will get it good enough for the nobility, but a good faith effort combined with my background should be enough to get by with if Ava is anything to go by.
The same servant that woke me is still waiting to direct me to the breakfast table, which is bigger than the one at home, but not too much. Just enough space to easily fit a dozen people rather than barely being able to squeeze in six though there are only four other people at the table. One of them is Ava, but the other three are different enough to her that I am left wondering if they are fellow Hermans.
Two of them look like brother and sister with dark skin, black hair and what I think are brown eyes. It is hard to tell at this distance. They look to be about the same age as either me or Ava, but the fourth individual is definitely older though I am unable to judge just how much older.
“Liz,” calls out Ava as she spots, “I’m glad you could join us. Help yourself to breakfast.”
Glancing at her, I make my way to the table, taking a seat next to the dark-skinned young woman as her apparent brother is sitting next to Ava and the older woman is on the other side of Ava. While I could sit next to her. I would rather take my chance with the one who is my own age.
There are a variety of foods on the table, a buffet laid out in what appears to be some kind of heated tray to keep them warm. A good selection with more than enough for everyone here. Part of me balks at the wasted food, but I guess nobility like the Hermans can afford this. Not that my family has struggled to put food on the table, but we could never just waste food like this.
Of course, it would be even more wasteful if I didn’t do my part to eat this. Grabbing a plate, I load it up with food. A slice of toast, a couple of fried eggs, some hash browns and sausages and to be somewhat healthy, some veg as well. Maybe it is those impossible memories that have made a mess of my mind and life, but I have a fondness for an English breakfast over what else is on the table.
“So you’re Auntie Liz,” says the girl next to me as I begin to dig into my meal, “I’m Vanessa Herman, your niece and hopefully I’ll be one of your MechWarriors as well.”
At that, the older woman makes a tutting sound, one that sounds like disapproval, earning herself looks from the rest of us. That is enough to tell me that she is unhappy, but I can’t tell if it is with me or Vanessa. Or perhaps it is both of us that she is directing her ire against.
“That’s Auntie Regina,” says Vanessa, jerking her head in the direction of the older woman, “My aunt, your half-sister.”
“Nice to meet you, Vanessa,.” I say once I have finished my current mouthful as I am certain it isn’t polite to speak with your mouthful and I don’t want to be offensive to these nobles anymore than I have to be, “I’m hoping that you will be one of my MechWarriors though I can’t justify signing you up without at least meeting you in person.”
The older woman makes the tutting sound again though this time I just ignore her to take another bite of sausage and egg.
“Colonel Nora, I am Vance Herman, your nephew and Vanessa’s older brother,” says the man on the other side of Vanssa, “After having done some time as a lieutenant in the planetary militia, I can appreciate wanting to meet any recruits face to face. I’ve known my fair share of individuals who seemed more impressive on paper than they were in person.”
“Calling her a colonel is a bit much, Vance,” says the older woman as she finally speaks up, “She is barely twenty and hasn’t done anything to earn the title.”
“She owns a mercenary regiment, Regina.” replies Vance before any of us young ladies can reply, “That makes her a colonel. Trust me, I have made sure to look up the proper regulations and procedures.”
“Anyway, I doubt I will turn either of you away.” I say to Vance and Vanessa, ignoring my grumpy half-sister, “Apart from the ship crews, I have something of a shortage of personnel so a couple of trained MechWarriors with a reliable background isn’t something that I am going to turn my nose up at. Though exact positions will be something I will figure out once I have a better idea of what sort of people I’ll be getting. No offense.”
“I understand.” replies Vance, “You are going for qualified individuals for command positions, not a first come, first served stance.”
“Of course.” I reply.
“Except for the most senior position.” comments Regina and I ignore her in favor of taking another bite from my breakfast.
Ava, on the other hand, does not.
“Do you have something to say, Auntie Regina?” asks Ava in what is clearly a calm, but unhappy tone and I am impressed by how she does that as I don’t think I could pull it off.
It must be something that they teach young nobles or at least the heirs.
“I just think it is disgraceful that some foreign stranger gets to swoop in and take away such a bounty of military hardware because father had an unfortunate lapse in judgement and passed away before it could be corrected.” says Regina.
“Grandpa’s will was quite clear on who he left ownership of the Rimward Sentinels to and both Precentor Oakley and Commodore Geary have been equally clear on the Rimward Sentinel’s status as a legitimate mercenary company.” states Ava, “I might be new to my position, but don’t think I will hesitate to use it if you cannot accept these facts. Just ask Uncle Basil.”
“I don’t think it is inappropriate to point out the poor wisdom in throwing away such a substantial amount of military equipment to a Periphery barbarian because she happens to share some blood with us,” replies Regina stiffly,“Nor is it wise to simply invite her into our ancestral home like she is one of us or be eager to join her mercenary company when that mercenary company rightfully belongs to a Herman.”
“Well, it seems that politeness is LosTech in the Inner Sphere.” I retort, causing Vanessa to burst out in laughter.
Regina glares at me and I have no problem meeting it with one of my own.
“Auntie Regina, I do believe you have outstayed your welcome.” says Ava coldly, “Will you see yourself out or do you desire a repeat of what happened with Uncle Basil?”
“Unlike Basil, I know to act with grace.” says Regina as she gets to her feet, “And unlike you, I am wise enough to know better than to consort with Periphery barbarians and invite them into my home.”
There is a tense silence as the rest of us wait for Regina to leave the dining room, one that I fill by ignoring the uncomfortable family byplay in favor of demolishing my breakfast.
“My apologies about that, Liz.” says Ava once the doors are closed behind Regina, “I had hoped that whatever her feelings on your recent inheritance. She would be able to remain civil in the same room as you. Unfortunately it seems that faith was misplaced.”
“Regina is usually more composed.” says Vance, “I’m not sure what is up with her, but that outburst was uncharacteristic of her. It might not even be about you, Elizabeth, with your presence just being a smokescreen.”
“Something that I should look into rather than dismiss.” agrees Ava before sighing and turning to me, “I’ll have her barred from the palace for the duration of your stay, Liz. On a lighter subject, have you decided what ‘Mech you’ll be piloting yet?”
“Probably one of the Atlases,” I answer, “While slow and short on long-ranged firepower, it is a solid command ‘Mech and it has nineteen tons of armor. The Marauder is also a nice ‘Mech, but it has too little protection compared to the Atlas for me to go for it. I don’t know what everyone else will be piloting yet. Like with command positions, I’ll be waiting to see who I have working for me before making any decisions on who gets to pilot which ‘Mech.”
“A sensible choice in your position.” says Ava,“If you are willing to listen to a suggestion, I would recommend taking Vanessa and Vance with you where you can, at least here on Bromhead. Having a Herman with you will help you out here on Bromhead and will make many with the willingness to move against you hesitate. And it lets me justify having some of our bodyguards hanging around you.”
“I’ll take that into consideration.” I reply, “Honestly, I tend to stick to either the palace or one of my DropShips. Less chance of trouble that way even if it means I won’t get to see much of the planet.”
“That is probably for the best.” says Ava, “I like you, Liz, but I would like to avoid any incidents involving you if I can help it. It would be an unpleasant start to my rule.”
“Avoiding incidents is good.” I agree, “Vance, Vanessa, if you don’t mind my curiosity, why are you signing up with me rather than the AFFS?”
“Not enough ‘Mechs in the family.” answers Ava, “We have Grandpa’s Orion and we had a Marauder, Davion-variant, but it was Dad’s ‘Mech and it was lost at the same time as he was.”
“I could have signed up with the AFFS, but there is no guarantee that I would be good enough to given a position as a MechWarrior.” adds Vanessa, “Grandpa found the JumpShip and I figured that signing up with him was my best bet of becoming a MechWarrior. I inherited enough C-Bills to buy a ‘Mech of my own if I don’t mind spending all of my fortune, but I always decided to become a mercenary with the Rimward Sentinels and I figured that I should stick with it.”
“I’m in a similar boat to my sister.” says Vance as I finish off the last of my breakfast,“I enjoyed my time in the militia, but the Rimward Sentinels offers me the chance to become a MechWarrior. I’m not going to turn that up, especially if Vanessa is also going to be there.”
“Well, I’ll be glad to have the two of you with me,” I say as I make a judgement call to help myself to a second helping of breakfast.
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==Author's Chapter Notes==
;Word from the Author: I wasn’t expecting the breakfast scene to take so long, but the conversation just unfolded as I wrote it and it ended up being rather different to what I expected. I was intending to establish Vance and Vanessa as characters, but I was originally planning to have Regina keep her prejudices in check before they ended up slipping out in the writing.Anyway, I am only expecting to have one more chapter on Bromhead before Elizabeth returns to Coromodir and the Aurigan Coalition, where she will be worrying about a different set of local politics.
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Category:Aurigan Dreams Chapters