DVH Chpt 3

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==Davion Heir (BattleTech CYOA)Chapter 3==
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===Checking out the Menu===
Davion Palace, Avalon City, New Avalon
Crucis March, Federated Suns
21st February, 3014
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“Hey Vic,” calls Tahmina as she walks into Victoria’s personal quarters, “Enjoying your new quarters?”
 
“I am,” admits Victoria from where she is working on her computer because she cannot deny that her new quarters are as comfortable as they are luxurious
 
Her quarters are massive with the bedroom alone being larger than the apartment she grew up in. She also has an oversized bathroom, an oversized closet and an oversized of everything that royalty could expect. Because she is royalty and that little fact is only just hitting Victoria
 
“I’m royalty, Tahmina.” says Victoria with a little giggle, “Royalty!”
 
“Vic, are you okay?” asks Tahmina as she gives her an odd look
 
“You’re looking at the First Prince of the Federated Suns,” declares Victoria as she gets up and steps away from her computer, “Look at me now! Gone from not always having working power or water coming out of the tap to being one of the Successor Lords! God, my old man would be pissed.”
 
“I see you are still upset at him.” notes Tahmina
 
“I miss Ian and I’m going to miss Hanse because my brothers were good to me, but our father?” says Victoria, “He can rot in hell for how he treated me. I’m the First Prince and I just wish that he was here to see how far I have risen despite his best efforts.”
 
“Really?” inquires Tahmina and Victoria sobers up
 
“No, I wish that Hanse, Ian, and my mother were also still around for very different reasons.” answers Victoria more seriously, “Ruling the Federated Suns is going to be a very different can of worms compared to leading a ‘Mech regiment. There’s a reason that the heir apparent traditionally leads a ministry for a few years and I am becoming very acquainted with that reason. Thankfully, I have a lot of supporters due to Hanse. The best gift that he could have left behind for me.”
 
“Glad to see that you are adjusting well,” says Tahmina as she takes a seat next to Victoria, “Now what about me? I appreciate the rooms you have given me and you’re my ultimate boss now, but what’s my job going to be going forward?”
 
“You’ve been my wingwoman since academy and you make an excellent XO to me,” replies Victoria, “I want you as my personal assistant. No specific responsibilities or positions, just working at my side, helping me get things done like you always do. If you want to, that is.”
 
“As you said, you’re the First Prince now so it isn’t really up to me, is it?” replies Tahmina, but Victoria can hear the teasing in her voice, “But seriously, Vic, I have your back girl.”
 
“Thanks, Tahmina,” says Victoria as she gives her best friend a grateful grin, “I knew I could count on your support.”
 
“You’ve earnt it,” says Tahmina with shrug, “So what are you working on now?”
 
“Familiarizing myself with everything I need to know,” answers Victoria, “Also crafting an HPG message for Loretta to explain my foreign ambitions and get her onboard.”
 
“You’re actually going for your anti-Drac and Cappie alliance then?” inquires Tahmina with a raised eyebrow.
 
“Mark and Olivia both feel that the current circumstances make it an unlikely possibility rather than a pie in the sky effort,” replies Victoria, “One of the reasons I ended up pushing so strongly to start ruling as First Prince is so I could take advantage of those circumstances. Mark and Olivia are handling things with their respective ministries while I am reaching out to Loretta and I have arranged for Morgan to get a command circuit here so I can speak with him personally about the Archon and if it is possible to get her aboard.”
 
“You can do that?” asks Tahamina, “Summon Morgan here, that is?”
 
“He might be a mercenary and a Lyran citizen, but we are friends so he’ll come because I am asking him to nicely,” answers Victoria, “There is an argument to be made that he is ditching his post, but since I am his employer, that argument only matters if I’m the one making it.”
 
“Sounds about right,” replies Tahmina, “It’ll be nice to see Morgan in person again, writing just doesn’t cut it.”
 
“Yeah, it doesn’t,” agrees Victoria, “Have you tried the room service yet?”
 
“I’ve been afraid to,” admits Tahmina with a slightly embarrassed blush, “It’s the Davion Palace and I just feel out of place here.”
 
“I know that feeling,” says Victoria before letting out a sigh, “I am First Prince Victoria Davion now, but I still feel like I am just Colonel Victoria London.”
 
“Davion?” repeats Tahmina with a frown, “You’re taking up the name now?”
 
“I kind of have to if I want to be First Prince,” explains Victoria, “Going to take a while to adjust, but if duty calls, I’m going to answer and this time duty requires me to start calling myself a Davion and embracing my heritage.”
 
“For what it's worth, I think you are more than worthy of calling yourself a Davion,” says Tahmina.
 
“Thanks, Tahmina,” says Victoria, “Want to order some food and drink? The kitchen staff here are some of the best in the galaxy and you don’t have to pay anything for it..”
 
“I might as well,” says Tahmina, “Where’s the menu?”
 
“That’s the second-best part, there isn’t one,” replies Victoria with a grin, “The steward explained it to me when he was showing me my quarters. The reason there is no menu is because I get to order something and the chefs do their best to cook it. Obviously this has limits, but we basically just pick what we want. Well, I do. I didn’t ask the steward about guests like yourself, but since you’re here with me, I’ll just order whatever you want alongside what I want.”
 
“The perks of being royalty,” says Tahmina, “Give me a moment to think about what I want, Vic.”
 
As her best friend comes up with her desired meal, Victoria can’t help but wonder if she could have grown up with this level of luxury had her father been a better person. If she could have grown up with siblings and a family instead of getting by mostly on her own on an underdeveloped Periphery world
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=== Return of the Halstead Expedition ===
Davion Palace, Avalon City, New Avalon
Crucis March, Federated Suns
25th February, 3014
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Three days after Victoria stepped foot on New Avalon, the first group from the Halstead Station expedition jumps into the system. Not all of the units involved have arrived, but elements from the Davion Heavy Guards and the 34th Avalon Hussars have jumped into the system
 
The majority of their RCTs are staying with their JumpShips, including the entire 10th Deneb Cavalry, but some elements have gone ahead on a pseudo-command circuit on the orders of Major General Ran Felsner. Amongst their number is Ardan Sortek and Dana Stephenson, the best friend and fiancee of Hanse respectively
 
Victoria hopes that they’ll support her like they did with Hanse. All three of them are capable individuals in their own right and Ran Felsner is a rising star in the AFFS who comes with the Davion Heavy Guards at his back. And then there is the prize that they have brought with them, the majority of a Star League library, something that her brother died for. Victoria really hopes that those books will be worthy of Hanse’s sacrifice
 
The following day as the Davion Heavy Guards and 34th Avalon Hussars burn for the planet, Colonel Morgan Kell shows up as the command circuit that Victoria arranged for him arrives at the capital. It will take some time for the Lyran mercenary to land, but he and Victoria have already begun to catch up now that they are in the same star system
 
And then on the twenty-fifth, Michael Hasek-Davion finally arrives, a full five days after Victoria has taken up the position of First Prince with the majority of the Privy Council backing her
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“Michael is here so what are he going to do?” asks Victoria to the small council she has gathered.
 
She has Olivia, Mark and Yvonne, but Victoria also has Aaron and Joan Davion joining their little band of conspirators. The Princess Imperial has also invited Tahmina to the meeting though she doubts her oldest friend will contribute much and her presence is more to help her get more experienced with this sort of thing more than anything else.
 
“Make a play for the throne, of course.” says Yvonne, causing Mark to roll his eyes at her
 
“Of course he is,” says Mark, “Victoria was looking for the specifics so we can come up with a way to counter them.”
 
“He’ll go for the High Council,” says Aaron as he looks around at the others in the room, “He has to as it is the only viable avenue left to him. It is a long shot option for him, but we have closed off the Privy Council and Michael doesn’t have the support for a coup, something he is fully aware of.”
 
“Going to the High Council won’t work for him either,” says Olivia, “He might have the support of the Capellan March, but the Draconis March will support House Sandoval and most of the Crucis March will default to you. Not to mention that by all accounts, the members from the Outback are looking to support you rather than remaining neutral and score some tit for tat support for their worlds.”
 
“What about assassination?” says Tahmina with confidence that Victoria can tell is to cover up her nervousness, “He tried that last time around and if he has no other options…”
 
“Surely, Michael wouldn’t go that far,” protests Olivia, but nobody else in the room seems to agree with her.
 
“It is an open secret to those who care about such things that Hasek-Davion was behind the sniper on Emerson even if no proof was ever found,” says Mark, “The question would be if he is willing to risk it because if he does get caught, the blowback from that would be disastrous for him.”
 
“He will risk it,” says Yvonne, “The man is ambitious and being given another chance to claim the throne mere months after his first? God knows that Michael won’t turn his nose up at a second chance to fulfill his ambitions.”
 
 “As much as I would rather not speak ill of my fellow March lord, duty and honesty compel me to acknowledge that Michael will not pass up this opportunity,” notes Aaron, “And the same also compels me to note that Michael is likely to resort to unsavory tactics to seize this opportunity.”
 
 “And so we are back to the High Council and assassination.” says Victoria, “Alright, Mark will worry about that second one and the rest of us will worry about the High Council.”
 
 “I’ll be open in my support for you,” replies Aaron, “I am the best counter to Michael in the political arena as the Draconis March supporting House Sandoval matches the Capellan March supporting House Hasek.”
 
“Aaron is right,” says Olivia, “To win the High Council’s support, Michael needs to turn this into a Davion on Davion affair using his wife or son. Using Duke Sandoval to turn this into Hasek versus Davion who has the support of Sandoval is the best way to sink a legitimate bid for the Throne.”
 
“The representatives from the Outback and the Periphery will also give their support to Victoria,” says Joan Davion as she speaks up for the first time, “I’ve spoken to more than a few of them since we received news of Hanse’s death and they view Victoria as one of their own. They see her becoming First Prince as their best chance to get support for their worlds and people and they see Michael claiming the throne as that support getting redirected to the Capellan March.”
 
“That leaves Michael failing with the High Council,” adds Yvonne, “Back to assassination, how much of a serious threat is that?”
 
“More than I would like,” admits Mark unhappily, “Michael was in a position of extreme influence during Ian’s reign and Hanse only began the first steps of purging his influence and people from the Federation’s government. Doing a clean sweep of the ministers and the First Prince’s immediate advisors is a step down that path and something easily done because it is expected of every First Prince at the start of their reign, but it is only one step and limited to only the highest level. I’m not saying that each ministry is rotten except for perhaps the Ministry of the Capellan March, but not much has been done to remove Michael’s influence yet.”
 
“We have been working on it,” says Olivia, “I’ve cleared out the worst offenders from the Ministry of Foreign Relations.”
 
“It isn’t the worst offenders that we have to worry about, Olivia,” Joan tells the younger woman, “It is those who are actually competent at their jobs and have the wrong loyalties, but know how to keep their heads down.”
 
“Joan is right,” says Mark, “I’ve been doing my best to clear out those I can’t trust, but the problem is that not all of Michael’s people are blatant about where their allegiance lies. The people who I know I can trust and the people who I know I can’t trust are both massively outnumbered by the people who I don’t know if I can trust or not. Just because I don’t know that I can trust them, I cannot use them, but because I don’t know that I can’t trust them, I cannot just dismiss them out of hand.”
 
“How soon can we solve this problem?” demands Yvonne, looking frustrated.
 
“With time and hard work,” answers Mark with a nod from Joan, “In the meantime, my domestic assets are going to be limited. I can trust that regardless of political loyalty that my agents will do their best for the Suns against the other states of the Sphere, but I only have so many reliable people within the Suns. If you are willing, Duke Sandoval, I would like to burrow some of your personnel. Just as the Ministry of the Capellan March is the most corrupt, no, the most compromised due to having the most of Michael’s influence, the Ministry of the Draconis March is the least compromised due to having the least of Michael’s sway. Right now, primary loyalty to House Sandoval is an acceptable substitute for primary loyalty to House Davion.”
 
“I would be happy to,” replies Aaron before frowning, “Though I must find it a cause of distress that we reached the point that we are plotting against one of our own. I understand why we must, but it is a shame that we have come to this.”
 
“Michael’s ambitions have gotten the better of him.” says Joan distastefully, “The man has decided he deserves the throne and that greed exceeds his sense of duty and loyalty.”
 
“I’ll be keeping an eye out for assassination attempts, then,” says Victoria, “Now enough about that weasel Hasek, what do we do with the Halstead Station expedition?”
 
“All three RCTs involved will need time to recover and rebuild,” says Yvonne, “All of them took a pounding at the hands of the DCMS. I might suggest rotating out the current garrison to the frontlines and keep the Heavy Davion Guards, the 34th Avalon Hussars and 10th Deneb Light Cavalry as part of New Avalon’s garrison until they have been rebuilt. The 1st Davion Guards and 3rd Davion Guards could do with some action to keep them sharp.”
 
“They would be appreciated in the Draconis March, especially if the DCMS was hurt as badly at Halstead Station as the AFFS was,” adds Aaron, “We could have some opportunities to exploit and the Davion Guards would be excellent help for that.”
 
Victoria feels that it might be too blatantly favoring the Draconis March as the weaker Liaos could have opportunities of their own to be exploited, but Aaron Sandoval has been a loyal and faithful supporter while she is literally holding a meeting to discuss how to stop Michael Hasek from overthrowing her. It might not be the most militarily optimal choice, but from a perspective of rewarding loyalty, there is only one option for her.
 
“That can be arranged,” replies Victoria, shooting Yvonne a look and the Prince’s Champion gives her a nod of understanding.
 
“That leaves to discuss the Star League library books that they recovered,” says Mark, “I’m sure everyone here understands the value that those things hold. Even Michael wouldn’t be foolish enough to do anything to target them.”
 
“You’ll want to set up a secure research or education site using them,” says Joan, “Obviously this is more the Ministry of Education’s area than my own ministry, but these books could be used as the foundation of a new university, one built upon a Star League library.”
 
“The remnants of a Star League library,” warns Mark, “Hanse wasn’t able to recover everything and while he got most of it out, some portions of it were destroyed to keep House Kurita from recovering them.”
 
“A regrettable if necessary action,” says Yvonne, “Hanse did what he had to, but I’ll be damned if the thought of destroying such valuable treasures doesn’t pain me.”
 
“Hanse would be one of the most pained by such a decision,” says Victoria solemnly, “God knows that he would appreciate their true worth more than I do. I’m willing to go ahead with the idea of building a new university around the recovered library though I’ll need to speak with Minister Patel about the details.”
 
“It would be a good use of competent, but unreliable agents in my ministry,” says Mark excitedly, “Even those loyal to Michael wouldn’t dare harm the recovered library materials and he wouldn’t let the Federation’s enemies damage them either. There is no benefit for him to do so and even when he fails in his bid for the throne, he still stands to gain from the Federation making use of them.”
 
“You have a higher opinion of the Haseks than I do then.” mutters Yvonne
 
“I agree with Minister Butcher,” says Aaron as he looks thoughtful, “Michael might be treasonous enough to make a bid for the throne and go so far as to resort to assassination, but he stands to benefit from being successful in those actions. I don’t see him benefiting from targeting the library cache or letting harm come to it and so I don’t see him doing anything to damage it or let it be damaged.” 
 
“I would also like to raise the possibility of using copies of the library as bargaining pieces, Victoria,” suggests Olivia, “If you want to get the Lyrans and the Leaguers to agree to an alliance, then offering them copies of the library or at least parts of it would go a long way to sweetening the deal.”
 
“I’ll consider it,” says Victoria
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==Author's Chapter Notes==
;Word from the Author: So things are coming together and the arc of this story is reaching its climax as Victoria is going to finally face off with Michael for the throne. Additionally, Victoria is adjusting to the culture shock between her childhood and her new lifestyle, which of course brings up resentment of her father for not letting those be the same thing.
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