WP3025 Chpt 21

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==Chapter 21 - Winged Praxis (Battletech 3015 CYOA)==
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===The shifting sands of Civil War===
Dropship Queen Anne, Nadir Point
Gouderak System
Duchy of Andurien, Free Worlds League
13th March, 3015
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"Anything?" I asked Terri as she closed the hatch behind her.
 
She shook her head. "Father didn't say anything about a bomb plot," she said, sitting down on the bunk. "But he's worried." She ran a hand through her helmet flattened hair and unzipped the top of her flight suit.
 
"Do you think that he would be brought in on that if it was Janos?" I asked.
 
Again, she shook her head. "I don't think so. I don't think he would tell me if he was, either." She grunted as she struggled with a boot for a moment before I pulled it off her foot. "Why risk it, right?"
 
I nodded. "So, we don't know if Anton's telling the truth, and it was Janos, if it was Anton's plot, or if someone else got cute." I snorted. "Or if the perversity of the universe trends towards maximum and there was a tragic and totally natural gas leak."
 
"Don't forget a rogue meteorite," suggested Terri, impishly. She tied the sleeves of her flight suit around her waist and propped herself up on the bunk's pillow.
 
"Or that, sure." I sighed. I had my suspicions about what had happened, of course, but I had no proof, and no way to even talk about it without sounding like a madman. "Lord, what a mess." It had been too much to hope that Terri's father had sent her inside information on what had happened. "What's your SWAG?"
 
She frowned. "I've got nothing, Gid. I can believe that the Captain-General would do it. He's a hard enough man to make the call, but I don't see what he would get out of it. And it seems like a stupid move for Anton. If the Dragoons found out, suddenly the most effective unit he's got is going to want revenge on him." She held her hands up in a gesture of helpless confusion.
 
"Sounds like a third party then." I said.
 
"Yeah, but who?"
 
ROM, I thought to myself. But I grunted instead.
 
Terri went on. "Mask doesn't make any sense, not after the Cappies went in on giving Anton more support. Maybe LIC. I can see the Elsies taking the opportunity to make the war more damaging than it already was."
 
"MIIO or the ISF could do the same." I said, deciding to run down all the options. "The Suns might be hedging their bets for an Anton win, hurting the League to make them a less powerful ally for the Confederation."
 
"And the Kuritans?"
 
"Las culebras?" I asked. "I figure they might be making the League look like such a tempting target for the Elsies that Steiner weakens their Combine border."
 
Terri winced. "I hate trying to figure out this cloak and dagger stuff. The worst part is that it doesn't even have to be just one of them."
 
I gave her a sick smile. "And those were only the Great Houses. Don't forget the minor players."
 
"Like the Magistracy," she said. "Our destination. Gid, you take me to the nicest places."
 
I laughed. "Only the best for you, Terri."
 
"Lucky, lucky me."
 
"Gotta specify the type of luck, girl." I stretched as best as I could in the cabin. "So we're back to we don't know, and everyone has a motive. Other than the bombing, was there any info?"
 
She nodded. "The rumor from Yanchep is confirmed. The 9th Regulan has joined Anton's forces. And the other Hussars are acting squirrelly."
 
"Lovely. What about Andurien?"
 
"Humphreys is apparently livid. She's pulled all of her forces back home. She's accusing Anton of being an obvious Liao puppet again, and of Janos of failing in his duties to Andurien. Father is convinced that if Anton looks like he's going to win, she's going to secede, and it's an open question if she'd make the attempt even if Anton loses."
 
I chewed on that for a second. My future memories insisted that Humphreys was supposed to secede later, after securing an alliance with the Magistracy. It had been over the League's stance on the Capellans, though, and the revolt was looking to be much worse than how things were 'supposed' to go. "Well, she's got no love lost for the Mariks or the Liaos. Do you think that Anton's got a chance?"
 
"Now?" asked Terri. "Yeah, I do." She fished in her pocket for a flimsy copy. "Look."
 
I scanned through the printout of her father's message, doing my best to ignore his exhortations to 'secure his loyalty by whatever means possible' and the local politics to get to the strategic picture.
I froze, disbelieving the words on the page.
 
Then I read them again, and they refused to change their meaning. The loyalist offensive had ground to a halt. Between the defection of Regulan units, Andurien pulling back to castle up, and various other factions sitting on their hands, the murderously effective spoiler raids of the Highlanders had paralyzed the loyalist push. Lord only knew what would happen if the Dragoons decided to enter the fight.
 
The news got worse on the political front. People weren't happy about Liao showing their support of Anton more blatantly, but everyone had already known that Liao backed him, and his rhetoric was convincing more and more of the people of the League that Janos was a tyrant. Janos still had a hold of Parliament, but his grip was looking shakier by the day. People were believing more and more of what Anton had to say.
'One thing that is certain,' said Sir Jason Tomlinson's words, 'is that House Marik will never be viewed the same way, whatever should transpire.'
 
I snorted. About time, in my opinion. I tapped the folded flimsy against my palm, thinking. The loyalists were on the back foot, but Anton, despite his new infusion of units, was in desperate need of reconsolidation, if things were anything like my memories. His offensive power was limited, assuming he meant to keep what he had taken so far.
 
And of course, there was the Dragoons. We had no idea which way they would jump or how badly they were hurt.
 
When we had set out, I was sure that the war would be over soon, and Anton would be dead. Now…
 
"Stupid fucking message." I growled.
 
"I know, right?" asked Terri. "That wasn't any fun to read on patrol." She had pulled her hair back as I read the flimsy, and sat looking at me with a raised eyebrow.
 
"I'll let you get some rack time," I said, only to be cut off by a t-shirt to the face.
 
"I've been thinking about this for hours," she groused. "Are you really going to make me go to sleep with that being the last thought on my mind?"
 
I pulled the t-shirt off my face and tapped the locking plate. "I suppose I can try and arrange some sweet dreams for you." I rumbled.
She giggled, then yelped as I took her in my arms.
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===Unexpected Encounter===
Open Space, Nadir Point
Butzfleth System
Duchy of Andurien, Free Worlds League
19th March, 3015
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"What do you make of it, Cliffhanger?" I asked as I studied the Stingray's threat board.
As had become standard procedure, we had launched the two medium fighters as a CAP immediately after jumping in to Butzfleth, while reserving a pair of the light fighters for back-up and relief. It probably wasn't best practices for the CO and XO to be flying at the same time, but needs must, especially with Socks's wrist still not healed.
 
We had expected the standard jump point traffic with widely spaced charging jumpers, along with transiting DropShips, and that was certainly all present. 
 
The contact my DI computer was flagging as UNKN STA right at the center of the jump point was a puzzle though.
 
(("Butzfleth doesn't have a recharge station.")) she said after a moment.
 
"And the sensors would have picked up the sail, yeah." I said, bringing the fighter around to focus the main sensor suite on the anomalous contact. "I didn't miss something in the briefing, did I?"
 
(("Not unless I did as well, Duster.")) She paused for a moment as she scanned the space around us. (("We have small craft traffic."))
 
I hummed as the fighter gleaned more information about the likely station. "Class?"
 
<-<"Computer says Lyonesse.">-> I heard a thump across the commlink as Cliffhanger applied percussive maintenance. <-<"They're 200 tons. Aquarius.">->
 
I nodded to myself. "Sounds like a customs checkpoint then." I brought up the warbook on an MFD, scrolling to the Aquarius. The 20 meter long craft had been designed for escorting droppers up from the surface, and had a solid missile and energy armament. It was tough, but sluggish, only able to pace a Leopard. Declared obsolete for combat, they had gotten a new lease on life as short-legged system patrol craft and customs cutters.
 
<-<"Or pirates acting the part.">-> she pointed out. A contact blinked on my threat board. <-<"We may have incoming.">->
 
I studied the highlighted contact. It was starting a leisurely burn that could bring it over to us. "Concur. Doesn't look like they're in any sort of hurry."
 
<-<"No need. There's no transfer jumper we could slip to before they got here.">-> said Cliffhanger, referencing a smuggler's gambit.
 
"True enough. I'm going to loop in Siduri and Wiglaf." I flicked switches on the com board. "Coyote 1-1 to convoy. Coyote 1-1 to convoy. We have an unknown station and small craft traffic. Best guess, they stood up a customs checkpoint since you were last through. Outside possibility its pirates playing sneaky. We've got an incoming contact on a slow burn, looks to be Aquarius-class Escort."
 
(<"Well, that's new,">) said Marc from Wiglaf's bridge. (<"Not the first time the League has set up a border checkpoint, though.">)
 
(< "Coyote, Siduri. Worst case, can you take them?">) asked Captain Merlune.
 
"Absolutely," I said. "Between the Queen Anne and the fighters, we can carve up an Aquarius or two without breaking a sweat." I let aside that things would almost certainly not go all our own way. "The only thing that might worry me is what might be hiding in that station. Do we have a transfer lined up yet?" We might not have been able to slip the first boat, but if we were able to swap ships, we might be able to dodge follow-up craft long enough to disappear from the system.
 
"Shara is in negotiations now. We'll keep you updated. With any luck, this will be nothing more than a routine customs inspection." 
 
I thought back to teasing Terri about types of luck 21 light years back. "Here's hoping," I said, pushing myself back in my straps to wait.
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<-<"Here they come.">-> said Cliffhanger, shaking me out of my ruminations on how the League was spiraling into further chaos. The craft had breached the perimeter we had set for interception of unknown contacts. 
 
"Still not talking," I replied. "That's not a great sign." Indeed, the closer the Aquarius could get to our charges, the more options it had. "Queen Anne, Coyote 1-1. Status on the ready five?"
 
"Crossbones Lance is sitting in their cockpits, all ready to launch," replied Socks. "Call em ready two, Duster. Slap the scramble switch and they go."
 
"Copy. Coyote 1-2, let's go be neighborly." I pushed the throttle forward and felt my shoulders sink back into the padding of the seat. Shaping an intercept course, I highlighted the contact on the threat board and designated it as PCOI, telling my DI computer to prioritize that contact for data collection and analysis. I kept my full active array on standby, however.
 
<-<"Two.">-> said Cliffhanger as she slid into position on my wing.
 
We sped towards the Aquarius for a full minute without any response.
 
"Are they blind as well as mute?" I asked in disbelief.
 
<-<"They could just be incredibly sloppy.">-> growled Cliffhanger, seeming offended.
 
"Nose hot." I ordered, bringing my active array fully online and locking the craft up. "Looks like it's up to us to say hi." Illuminated by a pair of TTSs, the Aquarius seemed to shudder in space before its drive flare cut, and its nose came around to generally face us. "Unidentified small craft, this is Coyote Lance on MRB sanctioned convoy escort duty. State identification and intentions."
The return transmission was distorted and slow in coming. <<"…king dammit, how did you not…Coyote Lance, this is Andurien Customs Flight Beta-Niner. Due to the ongoing emergency, all jump and dropship traffic at this jump point is subject to inspection for contraband, military hardware, infiltrators, or deserters.">> Beta-Niner's captain voice firmed up. <<"By authority of the Duchess, you are requested and required to stand by for boarding and inspection.">>
My mind raced. Butzfleth wasn't formally part of the Duchy at this point, or at least it hadn't been. And standing on the authority of the Duchess… "Copy Beta-Niner," I said. "We will pass on your requests to our convoy so that they can have manifests ready for you. In the meantime," I said as Cliffhanger and I passed on either side of the Aquarius escort, smoothly tracking the shuttle with our noses as we flashed past. "We will escort you in." A hard burn matched our velocities, our fighters forming up on the customs cutter's tail, active sensors still singing.
 
I could hear the concern in the captain's voice. <<"Unnecessary.">> they replied.
 
"Contractual obligations." I said, laying my pipper on a wing root that I remembered having an ammunition feed in it. "I insist."
 
They didn't respond.
 
"Duster, they're going to push back." said Cliffhanger on a private channel.
 
I frowned. She was right, of course. "I wasn't lying." I argued. "We're under contract to provide security, and there's something hinky here."
 
<-<"Yes,">-> she said, "but is this the best way to address it?">->
 
I pondered that. "Nose cold." I ordered, flipping to passive. It wouldn't be hard to lock them up again if necessary. "Give the convoy a heads up."
 
<-<"Two.">-> she acknowledged before switching channels.
 
I stared at the shuttle as we drifted in, trying to figure out what was going on in Butzfleth.
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*;Notes from the Author : It's a shorter chapter, but it checks out (hopefully). Anyway, it came out a lot faster than the last, so that's something. A bit more insight into how things are going outside of the convoy, though no specific answers on what's happened with the Dragoons. 
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