ALJ Chpt 62

frameless|right|300px|link=A Long Journey
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==Chapter 62 - A Long Journey==
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9 November 2786
Mackolla (Federated Suns)
The message from summoning him to New Avalon for consultations was not entirely unexpected. That it had taken this long was surprising. Lieutenant General Samuel Mitchell was sitting on his small front porch when a woman approached and said "General Mitchell, I was told to hand deliver this message to you and wait for an answer."
"Who is it from and who are you?" Lieutenant General Mitchell asked as he accepted the small envelope.
"I cannot say who it is from nor will I tell you who I am."
"So we begin with mysteries, not the best way to start a relationship." He said as he opened the small envelope an extracted the message slip.
 To: Lieutenant General Samuel Mitchell, 322nd Armor Division
 From: Major General Lauren Hayes, Commander SLDF Forces Terra
 This message was triple encoded before transmission, the woman before you works for me, not Comstar per se. I have been watching from afar on your actions in the Federated Suns and you are to be congratulated on your actions and also your extremely fair treatment of former SLDF personnel in recent recruitments. I cannot openly support you but am making arrangements to do so covertly. Before I proceed, I need to know that this assistance will not be in vain. A simple yes to the woman before you will be enough for me to proceed. Not only will it protect former SLDF but also assist you. This might be my last and only communication. Uphold the SLDF traditions and those of the Star League.
He looked up from the message and stared at the woman before him for several minutes. "Do you know what this says?"
"I am the one that decoded it and placed it in the envelope your holding."
"So that would be a yes to my question. You may reply that my answer is YES. And, if you happen to see General Hayes, send her my regards." Lieutenant General Mitchell replied to the woman's back as she was already walking away.
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12 November 2786
He was waiting to take the shuttle up to the awaiting Jumpship that would take him to Sherwood where he would link up with a semi command circuit for the rest of the trip. He had refused Patricia's offer of letting him take SLS Second Chance, Vigilant Corvette, on the chance that this meeting went totally wrong. He had refused to take any of his troops or aides either. He was going alone. 
He gave hugs all around and said "I might have to give the New Syrtis Class Carrier back to them quicker than I wanted, I was sort of saving it as our final bargaining chip. But I plan to extract my pound of flesh if I have to part with it this soon."
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