OPREF-4 Chpt 9

=Book 4, Chapter 9 - Full House=
==Opalescent Reflections==
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===A Response to a Heinous Crime===
Hilton Head, North America
Terra, Sol System
10 January 3058
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Wei had written ‘the die is cast’ in the margins of her notes for the speech. She wasn’t sure where the phrase came from, probably some obscure military reference since she had heard it from Anastasius Focht. She recalled planning to look it up but she had never got around it.
“Are we ready, Nasty?” she asked him as preparations went on around the room. The idea that this was a historic moment had struck Sigma and Tau divisions, and they had insisted that her speech was to be recorded for posterity from every conceivable angle. It wasn’t as if ComStar was in the habit of losing records of formal speeches by a Primus, but this was getting out of hand.
The white-haired man looked up from where he was talking to Emma Centrella. “We are not getting any readier,” he said solemnly. “It is time.”
Wei looked at the clock and decided that he was speaking metaphorically, since the speech wasn’t due to begin for a few more minutes. She knew that ‘not getting any readier’ applied only to the ComGuards, because elements of Task Force Emerald and Task Force Opal were still arriving on post and would need weeks before they were ready for the planned operations. “Are you ready?” she asked the Magestrix, half-hoping for a denial. The plans had called for another month of preparation but the Clans had given the ideal provocation and the Star League Council, when polled, had decided it was better to move now than wait.
“If I had known that being voted in would mean staying longer on Terra, I might have declined it,” the Council Chair told her.
“I know the feeling,” Wei agreed sincerely. She’d felt Emma out on a bit of a tryst back when they were on Canopus a decade or so back, but - perhaps because her mother had been a particularly flamboyant New Hedonist - the magestrix claimed to be sincerely monogamous. Kyalla Centrella would probably have been more fun, Wei thought regretfully. On the other hand, the woman had enthusiastically invaded the Capellans back in the 3030s so she wouldn’t have been so politically reasonable.
You win some, you lose some, Wei thought philosophically. Perhaps she could slip away to Rio for a few days once she had delivered the speech. It wasn’t as if she could do much in terms of the military operations.
“Primus, one more minute.” one of the techs alerted her.
Where had those minutes gone?
Wei took the podium and a staffer rushed over to adjust the hang of her robes. “If you’re going to keep touching me like that, I should buy you dinner.” the Primus joked. The man backed off, blushing and then there were just seconds left.
The lights dimmed, leaving just Wei visible, standing at the podium with the banner of ComStar behind her. The signal light went on and the auto-prompter displayed the first lines of her speech.
“To all those who are listening, I am Wei Rong. Primus of ComStar, guardian of Terra and elected leader of all those who follow the Word of Blake.” She paused. “I stand here today to deliver a message to all of humanity, but particularly to those who lead the Clans of Kerensky and most specifically to the Khans and Council of Clan Steel Viper.”
“It has been the tradition of my Order since the time of the First Succession War to announce and decry acts that we deem atrocities. To speak for those whose voices have been silenced by war crimes and the acts of tyrants. It is also our tradition to remain neutral when it comes to the politics of the Inner Sphere. We document and we communicate, but it is very rare for us to do more than report on even the most serious of evils. This is not something to boast of, it is a matter of practicality: to survive we have been forced to compromise over and over. Worlds have burned, peoples have been oppressed, but I could count on these fingers the time that ComStar has spoken these words: ‘no more’.” She raised her hands.
“On the third of this month, a crime was committed upon the occupied world of Kowloon. Not, I am relieved to say, a deed of such infamy as the burning of Reykjavik, but a crime nonetheless. One that violated our neutrality and beyond that, any good sense. It was a pointless act of brutality, and has too often been the case, I brought the matter to those responsible - Clan Steel Viper and the Grand Council of the Clans.”
Wei took a deep breath. “The most polite response that I received stated that my protest was misguided,” she declared. “Other responses suggested that I should mind my own business, that they were shocked I would put my order’s neutrality above an order given by ‘Blake’s superior, Kerensky’; and most directly from Khan Perigard Zalman, that he would be delighted to dispense with ComStar’s services at the earliest opportunity.” She paused. “We will come back to that last.”
Wei took a sheet of paper from the podium and held it up, although it would take a very high definition display for anyone watching to read it. “The Steel Viper’s saKhan was good enough to inform me that the officer who marched into our hospice and murdered a patient in cold blood was carrying out Aleksandr Kerensky’s orders to eliminate the entirety of House Amaris.”
After letting that sink in, she nodded. “We will come back to that as well. In the meantime, the patient killed in our hospice was a certain Mr Richard Thurston-Moray, born on Apollo in 3021.” An admittedly rather poor quality hologram of a somewhat pudgy man in his mid-twenties appeared next to Wei. “Mr Thurston-Moray owned a small business on his homeworld, a recording studio established by his mother and catering to local music acts. After the Jade Falcon invasion in 3050, he appears to have sold the business in order to pay a smuggler to carry him off world to safety, arriving on Kowloon the following year with what remained of his savings. The fall of Kowloon more recently left Mr Thurston-Moray no similar means to escape.”
“On the seventeenth of December last year, Mr Thurston-Moray was taken into protective custody after he attempted to beg outside a post office claiming to be Stefan Ukris Amaris VII, a direct descendant of the original raising funds for a military campaign to expel the Clans and re-establish the Rim Worlds Republic. House Amaris is not thought warmly of on Kowloon and the sum total of donations received were fifty-three pfennig and a stick of chewing gum. Upon evaluation by the local judge and medical authorities, Mr Thurston-Moray was deemed unfit to stand trial for the minor misdemeanor of vagrancy by reason of clinical insanity.”
“Two and a half weeks later, one of Clan Steel Viper’s officers concluded that this justified the execution of one lonely and sad man who lost himself in delusions after losing everything of value in his life. If he had claimed to be the lost heir of Napoleon Bonaparte or to be the reborn Alexander the Great, it is likely that it would have passed without notice and he might have one day been able to come back to his senses and rebuild his life.”
She banished the image of the poor victim. “Let us return to the matter of House Amaris. The SLDF conducted a purge in the 2770s and 2780s on the order of General Kerensky, executing everyone bearing that family name, in an act of reprisal for the extermination of House Cameron by the Usurper. Records left to us indicate that Kerensky deemed it a distasteful obligation to his feudal lord and that he considered the matter fully resolved with no other members of the family left by the time of the Exodus.”
“Clan Steel Viper appears, with the approval of the other Clans, to consider this an open-ended order to eliminate anyone with any blood ties to Stefan Amaris. Their orders - not a secret, something they have openly announced - are for a systematic search across their occupation zone for anyone with the slightest blood ties to Stefan Amaris.”
“Everyone,” she said solemnly, “Every relative of the Usurper, no matter how distant, has been condemned to death. The Clans claim to have mastered genetic science but they would seem ignorant of the basic fact that every human being in existence has at least some blood connection to every other, even if that may be beyond any means of tracing due to thousands of years of separation. In issuing this decree, Clan Steel Viper has declared their intention to commit genocide against all humanity… including the other Clans and themselves.”
“The absurdity of this seems lost on Khan Zalman and since not one of the other Clans has chosen to restrain the Steel Vipers.” Wei leant heavily upon the podium. “Were it not for the innocent life lost, I would view this as comedy… but the consequences of this are tragedy.”
“Given their declarations of support for Clan Steel Viper’s violation of ComStar’s neutrality, I hereby grant Khan Zalman’s request to all of the Clans. As of receipt of this message, all ComStar HPG stations upon worlds occupied by the Clans are ordered to close their doors.” Somewhat theatrically, Wei lifted a pen and signed a document on the podium. “On my authority as Primus and with the support of the majority of the First Circuit, the Clans are hereby subject to Interdiction.”
The lights went out, leaving Wei in the darkness.
Just as billions were now left isolated by the removal of HPG service to their worlds, over a decision they had had no say over. The Clans had their own HPGs and would no doubt manage to provide for their own needs to some extent.
And hundreds of garrisons, ranging from platoons of less than forty troopers to entire combined arms battalions were being left cut off with the order to hold until relieved. DRUM analysts suspected that the Steel Viper Khans welcomed this confrontation; that they wanted ComStar to break off ties so that their warriors, frustrated by the Nova Cats and Jade Falcons’ decision to accept a truce, could take revenge for their previous defeat on Camlann.
The Steel Vipers might be prepared to strike. The troops of Operation Sapphire might be just in time - or they might be diving into a firestorm. No one knew.
Wei rested her elbows on the podium and as the cameras cut out and curtains were drawn back to allow natural light back into the room, she felt the sting of tears rolling down her cheeks.
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===Attacks from all sides===
Yamashiro, New Samarkand
Diamond Shark Dominion
5 February 3058
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Ace wasn’t complaining, but if the team who’d broken into his office had been using guns then this would have been over by now.
Three men and one woman were trying to surround him, swords flashing as he parried urgently with his wakizashi and its scabbard. The ivory on the latter was cracked and cut, but fortunately the metal underneath was holding out. The two facing him were using longer blades - not quite katana length, which meant he couldn’t really reach their bodies with a riposte - but a katana would be less than ideal in the low ceilinged office.
The other two were trying going around his aide’s desk, which had been shoved into the middle of the room. Thomas was on the floor behind it, swearing - his right arm had taken a nasty cut in the first moments of the attack. All that stopped the pair from getting around to finish off Ace and the young trueborn was Shiro. The limited space didn’t seem to bother the old swordsman and he was keeping the two handily in check as well as threatening enough of the desk that climbing over it wasn’t feasible.
Ace fumbled a parry with a blade glancing off the scabbard (causing another nick) and had to jerk back, seeing the silver gleam of one swordsman’s blade pass within inches of his eyes. He backstepped, getting his balance back and driving a cut from the other attacker aside - the man had to draw his weapon back rather than get entangled in the desk.
Another cut that Ace managed to parry came closer to the wall and he twisted his shorter blade, trying to catch the man’s wrist. Unfortunately the swordsman recognized the move and shifted back to avoid the attack.
All three of them were breathing heavily and paused - swordplay like this was exhausting - and the moment drew attention to the cry of the man facing Shiro, a curiously frothy sound that was explained by the blood pouring from his throat. The man tried to staunch the flow with his free hand but it clearly wasn’t working.
Shiro hadn’t managed it unscathed though - in extending for the cut he’d opened his guard enough for the woman to make a cut and while the mechwarrior’s wound was less serious than his foes - two fingers were missing from his left hand - any injury could be debilitating enough to change the tide of the fight.
The taller of Ace’s assailants seemed to be in charge: “Help her with the old man!” he barked.
“But he is Ace Enders!” the shorter one protested, demonstrating a complete inability to recognize who was the better swordsman.
“Do as I say!”
The junior man did so but was apparently so sulky that he missed the first sign of Thomas returning to the fight. Grabbing a heavy paperweight, the trueborn threw it left handed into the face of the leader.
The projectile lacked the accuracy it might have but none of the force - at this range, the power of the throw was barely abated as the ornamental stone disk smashed into the man’s jaw, breaking it.
The swordsman staggered back against the wall for an instant and Ace lunged forwards, dropping his scabbard to catch the man’s right wrist in his left hand. A moment later and his wakizashi was buried in the assassin’s chest.
“Hikaru!” last man exclaimed, turning back to Ace. Much to his own alarm, the galaxy commander realized that getting his sword out of the ribcage was going to be harder than getting it in had been.
There was a boom and the locked door to the office - one of the assassins had had the presence of mind to secure their rear in the first seconds of the attack - was violently unlocked by means of a shotgun. A heavy boot opened the door the rest of the way. “Thomas! Down!”
The trueborn dropped to the ground at the sound of a shotgun’s pump action and the swordsman had just enough to half-turn before Sasha fired the gun a second time, catching his left shoulder, throat and jaw with a load of buckshot. The shoulder and jaw might have survived but the throat didn’t and the half-decapitated swordsman dropped to the ground, evidently dying.
The last assassin screamed and tried to get over her last comrade at Ace. “For the -”
Her raised blade scraped the ceiling as she leapt over the dying man, sending her stumbling. Ace snatched the shorter sword from his victim and thrust it forwards, opening the woman’s belly.
Guts spilled out, adding a foul odor to the smell of blood, and her mouth opened in silent agony, lungs emptied by the earlier warcry. Before she could refill them, Ace swept the sword back around on reflex and her head left company with her shoulders.
“Blake’s blood,” Sasha muttered, looking around the office. “All the blood.”
Ace followed his gaze and nodded. He’d need a new office… but first things first. “We need a medic. Has anyone else been attacked?”
“Not this time, that I know of.” Sasha looked at the fallen bodies. “No guns?”
“It is a matter of honor,” Shiro said solemnly, face losing some of its color as adrenaline faded. “Ace Enders served as the second to Hohiro Kurita. It would only be fitting that he die by the sword rather than a gun.”
Ace looked at his borrowed sword, which had what seemed like screw holes in two places along it. “Or they could not smuggle guns past our security. I would be fascinated to learn how they got these in.”
“Both are possible.” the old man allowed.
“Thomas, Shiro,” Ace ordered, “If there’s no other attack then go to the medical section - you have both done well.” They’d saved his life and he was not going to forget it.
“Yes sir.” Thomas acknowledged. “Come on, old man.”
“Yes yes, do not rush me.” Shiro wiped his sword clean on his sleeve before sheathing it.
“Are you hurt, sir?” asked Sasha.
Ace checked that he hadn’t missed anything. “No,” he confirmed. Dropping his borrowed sword on Thomas’ desk, he went back to the leader and with both hands he managed to retrieve the wakizashi. There was a cleaning kit for the swords in his own desk and he opened the drawer so he could clean the weapon.
Hitting the button for the security desk, Ace pinned the head-set between his ear and his shoulder so that he’d have both hands free for the cleaning cloth and wakizashi. “Security!”
“Security desk,” an accented voice confirmed. “Is this… ah, reporting Galaxy Commander!” she added, obviously having read the caller ID.
“Is that Karrin?” Ace asked, recognizing the accent. “Good, I need a forensics team and a guard for my office. Four assassins got past our security and I want to know how.”
“Yes, sir.” the woman replied, dread behind her business-like tone. Understandable since that reflected a failure by the security while she was on the desk. There was a bleep over the comm. “Point Commander Harry has the first reaction squad, I will call forensics next.” She was probably more familiar with the process than he was - before being recruited for aerospace training, she had been attending a Combine police academy.
“I just need one guard, not a full squad.” He examined the sword blade and then folded the cloth to wipe it again.
“There could be a second squad waiting for our guard to go down, sir,” Karrin told him firmly. “The rest of the squad can sweep your wing of the palace to make sure.”
“Fair point,” Ace allowed. “Tell Harry that Thomas and Shiro are on the way to the medical section.” The elemental and Thomas were often found together. He wasn’t sure why and it wasn’t really Ace’s business, but he figured Harry would make sure the other two didn’t get sidetracked before their wounds were treated.
“Will do, sir.” the woman promised.
“You are not going to keep working here?” Sasha asked as Ace retrieved the handset and dropped it back in the desk.
“My desk is just fine,” Ace pointed out - the room was L-shaped with the aide’s desk taking up the shorter leg and partially blocking access around the corner to where Ace worked.
The mechwarrior gestured to the mess and then sniffed illustratively.
“I suppose you are right.” He was about to pick up the comm unit to arrange another office when it pinged to indicate an inbound call. Putting sword and cleaning kit down, Ace lifted it. “Enders.”
“Sir, you have an HPG message from Khan Sennet.”
“Live, quineg?” he asked, incredulously. New Samarkand had its own HPG under Diamond Shark control, so losing the ComStar station to the Interdiction wasn’t so bad here, but there wasn’t even a single chain of stations left around the Draconis Rift, much less the double chain needed for realtime comms.
“Neg, sir. Relayed by jumpship to Charity.”
“Send it through.” The interdict wasn’t a small problem, it was wreaking havoc with organizing the flow of both trade and military supplies across the Dominion. What was worse was that every world Ace had heard from had an insurgency group going active as soon as ComStar cut services. Whether it was coordinated or just opportunistic didn’t really matter: half of Epsilon Galaxy was spread out helping to put the uprisings down.
This assassination attempt was the third attempt on the palace this week, and the first not to kill at least one warrior. Progress, technically.
“News about the vote?” suggested Sasha lightly as the comm unit’s screen lit up.
Ace gave him a sour look. The interdiction had also interrupted the voting over the Clan’s name. While each world could count it’s own votes, without HPG comms it would take months for that count to be relayed and at least one rebel group was proclaiming that the entire interdiction had been ordered by conservative Diamond Sharks to cover up a result they didn’t like. The fact that New Samarkand and at least six worlds nearby had strong votes for the Sea Fox name and associated policy only gave that claim credibility.
Damn the Steel Vipers!
Barbara Sennet’s face appeared on Ace’s screen. Perhaps it was his imagination but it looked as if she had new lines on her face. //“Galaxy Commander Enders,” she declared without prelude. “The Dominion has been attacked from two directions.”\\
Ace slammed his fist against the desk. Of course the Combine was attacking now!
//“As anticipated, Clan Ice Hellion and Clan Hells Horse have made appearances along our periphery border,”\\ the Khan continued. //“Attacks have been as far apart as Richmond on the border with the Smoke Jaguars and Gravenhage, near Qandahar. Gamma Galaxy was already on the way to the region to deal with ComStar enclaves but I must now lead Alpha Galaxy to join them - garrison and Spina forces are buying time but we will need massed frontline forces to face them.”\\
The khan paused. //“Analysis of Chatterweb messages in the homeworlds has allowed us to make a solid estimate of the supplies available to the two Clans. Solid resistance now has a realistic chance of exhausting their logistical support before they dig in, but I am estimating six to twelve months. Fortunately the Ice Hellions have already attacked one ComStar enclave, so they have made themselves an enemy now. For now, I am ordering a halt in attacks on ComStar enclaves: there are no reports of their garrisons taking the offensive so we can afford to wait.”\\
“No reinforcements,” whispered Sasha.
Ace nodded in agreement. Without Alpha and Gamma Galaxies, it would be down to Epsilon Galaxy to back up the rest of the forces all along the border.
Sennet rubbed her face. //“The second attack hit Itabaiana and Labrea.”\\
Ace jerked upright in his chair. Where?! Those worlds were well behind the frontlines.
//“Leo Showers has led two galaxies of Smoke Jaguars across the Rasalhague Rift,”\\ the khan continued. //“Based on the timing we believe that this was coordinated with Khans Fletcher and Taney, or at least planned with advance knowledge of their attack. If he continues to advance, he threatens the core of our holdings here.”\\
“Luthien.” Sasha guessed.
“Pesht and Irece are also in that area,” Ace reminded him. Not to mention other industrial worlds - there were two JumpShip yards within jump of Luthien.
//“As much as I would like to use Alpha Galaxy to face Showers, Gamma Galaxy alone will not be able to stop the Horses and the Hellions. In the worst case we could lose them and the entire corewards half of the Dominion. I have ordered Omega Galaxy reinforced with every warrior we can find and they will buy us time: you are to assemble a relief force and cross the Dominion to face the Jaguars. I am aware that this exposes the worlds on your side of the Draconis Rift to risk but we can afford losses there more than we can elsewhere.”\\
Sennet closed her eyes for a moment. //“Your acquisition of Tau Galaxy and masquerading as Beta Galaxy have angered many of the Clan Council, but they may stave off disaster. We have no reports yet of Inner Sphere attacks on the Dominion, so they may have not been ready to take advantage of the Interdiction. Clearly that will not last, so the Jaguars need to be repelled as quickly as possible. You have my complete confidence and I am authorizing you to take command over the other Galaxy Commanders regardless of seniority.”\\
Then her eyes snapped open and she was all shark: //“Kill Showers if you can - their saKhan is in the homeworlds so she cannot control commanders here. But whatever you do, it must be quick and decisive. What we lack most is time.”\\
The screen went dead and Ace exhaled slowly. “This could not be worse.”
“Well, clearly it could. At least the Combine is not attacking.” offered Sasha.
Ace opened the folder still lying on his desk from before the assassins reached the office. Inside was a single short message, written not typed. A Diamond Shark jumpship had reached Tabayama the previous day and its HPG was one of the few that had been patched up with available parts, undoing ComStar’s sabotage. New Samarkand was just barely in range to pick up HPG messages from there. Ace showed it to Sasha.
“FWLM and AFFC dropships on approach to Jordan Weis,” Sasha read quietly. “Escorted by Outworlder fighters. Send help. Ellison Enders, Tau Galaxy Commander.” He dropped the paper back on the table. “Oh.”
Ace nodded. Failure to respond would reveal that the Clan no longer had a reserve in the area. But they could not afford to leave Showers free to claim what had once been the industrial core of the Combine either.
“What are you going to do? Khan Sennet ordered us to reinforce Omega Galaxy, so we must comply, quiaff?”
Ace studied the ceiling for a moment and then… a smile crept across his face. “Neg… she ordered me to reinforce Omega Galaxy.”
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===To the Future of the Dragon!===
Imperial City, Irurzun
Benjamin Military District, Draconis Combine
19 February 3058
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The great hall dwarfed even the throneroom of the palace (which was in an entirely different building), intended for ceremonial events where everyone, including the Coordinator, might need to move around. Today, for the first time, Minoru thought that it might be packed with a banquet for over three thousand guests (and around half that many servants in or nearby.
With so many people, it couldn’t possibly have been intimate and the reception line had been a major struggle, with several people ‘pre-emptively’ greeted the day before on the understanding that they wouldn’t have much chance of actually meeting the Coordinator or his most important guests on the day itself, even to exchange bows.
At some point between that unreasonable scale of events, the necessary ceremonies had been carried out and Minoru had found (by virtue of only limited time to eat earlier) that he had quite an appetite. Unfortunately, even this was scheduled and even if the staff hadn’t been making pleading looks, the increasing sound as guests imbibed more wine than they did food would have been a hint.
Minoru wasn’t exactly reluctant as he turned to Atsuko and lifted her hand so that he could kiss the back of it. The young lady blushed demurely and her father gave Minoru a pleased look. He probably should be pleased: in addition to the informal advantages he had just accrued, he had been granted courtly positions that granted him the right to enter the Imperial City at his own recognizance (not assured even to the nobility) and immunity to prosecution except by the Coordinator.
It would be a public embarrassment for the Coordinator’s father-in-law to be brought before any court, so while Oda Hideyoshi could still be detained by law enforcement, any consequences would now be for Minoru alone to decide.
The chair was heavy and a servant discreetly pulled it back from the table so Minoru could stand. Just in case someone missed him doing so (the back of the hall was quite some distance away), the man at his right hand also stood up from his much more manageable chair. “Noble gentlemen and virtuous ladies of the Draconis Combine,” Franklin Kurita announced by way of a discreet microphone. “Hearken to the words of Lord Kurita upon his wedding day!”
Accepting the microphone from his… brother - and an encouraging nod from his sister, who sat between Franklin and the tai-sa who was Franklin’s plus one for the occasion, Minoru turned back to the hall and felt a slight surge of stage fright. It would have been nice, he thought, to have ‘forgotten’ his contact lenses and been able to pretend he was looking at a blur and not a crowd of thousands. Alas, someone would have noticed him squinting.
“Loyal sons and daughters of the Dragon,” he greeted them. “Though today is a marital occasion, it gives me pleasure to acknowledge the brave soldiers who have done my wife and I the honor of returning the world of Tok Do to the Draconis Combine, after years under the paw of the Ghost Bears. As our noble samurai win victories upon worlds as far removed as Shirotori and Cerberus, the Clans have been forced to bow in acknowledgment of the dynasty of Kurita, to whose numbers Atsuko Kurita is added this day.”
Hoping that would satisfy the militants, Minoru lifted the glass in front of him in salute. “Though it is an abiding regret that my parents are unable to attend today, nor to take my lovely wife into their embrace, I have no doubts of their approval. Indeed, my grandfather would no doubt be pleased that I am not keeping my wedding a secret for over a decade.” If anyone else had mentioned that it would be a faux pas, but as a means to invoke the revered Takashi Kurita, it would serve from Minoru’s lips.
“Though I am young in years, I benefit today not only in my beloved wife but also in her wise father,” he continued. “Wounded upon the sacred soil of Luthien, Marquis Oda Hideyoshi nonetheless survived and returned to us as so many have, pouring his time and energy into recovery not only for himself but of many others.” Certainly there were political reasons behind Hideyoshi’s open support for wounded soldiers, both those able to return to the battlefield and to those who could not… but had been needed and the marquis had provided.
“Like my new father, the Combine has suffered reverses, but undaunted it rises once again,” Minoru declared. “A toast to my father-in-law!”
He sipped from his glass and everyone else did likewise - though some gulped rather than sipped. He, on the other hand, did not want clouded wits.
“I have many words for my dear wife,” the Coordinator said, looking down at her for a moment. “But I will save most of them to be said in private. For now: ten thousand years of good fortune to Lady Kurita!”
“Ten thousand years!” almost half that many voices called, a wave of sound that washed over Minoru as he finished his glass.
A servant pulled Atsuko’s chair during the toast, since she naturally wasn’t drinking to her own good fortune. Minoru extended his hand to her and helped her to his feet, then offered her his arm. She threaded her arm through his, a pleasantly warm pressure against his size.
The marquis accepted the microphone and offered a toast of his own, to the happy couple. Minoru was barely listening and simply waved in acknowledgement as more cheers went up.
A few steps back from the table and curtains were pulled across to screen them from the hall. For a brief moment, Minoru was alone with Atsuko - not in public or chaperoned. Then three others slipped through the curtains, removing that privacy.
“Don’t glower at us, brother.” Omi chided mildly.
“I’m not glowering.”
“I have one or two words of advice for my sister-in-law,” she told him. “You come along as well, Tai-sa.”
Lainie Shimazu looked quite startled to be pulled aside as well - the commander of the Ninth Ghost Regiment was fairly well born from certain points of view but she was only acceptable as a guest at the wedding due to her military rank and Franklin’s support. Either alone would have not been enough.
Minoru and Franklin looked at each other, speechless for a moment. The younger brother arched an eyebrow but refrained from asking if the two were serious directly.
For his part, the illegitimate brother shrugged slightly. He looked more like their father than Minoru, not quite an image of the young Theodore but too close to deny the kinship. “Is Omi always so quick to take charge?”
“When she feels it is her obligation,” Minoru told him ruefully. “She is keeper of the house honor, after all.”
Franklin frowned. “Do I want to know what she is saying?”
“Probably not. I imagine it will either end your relationship with the tai-sa - whatever it is, and I will not pry - or solidify it.” Minoru felt a smile tease at the corners of his mouth at Franklin’s outraged expression and fought it back. “She has an important responsibility: House Kurita may rule the Combine but it is the Keeper who must make the rules for House Kurita. If you are serious about Shimazu then she will also be Omi’s charge one day.”
“I am older than her.”
“I can tell that you are inexperienced with sisters.” Minoru glanced at the curtains and took a peek through them rather than focus on his sister’s whispered conversation. Through in the banquet hall, decorum was still holding but more drinks were being served along with desserts that likely wouldn’t soak up the alcohol.
Franklin was looking at him when he looked back. “Do you have any more instructions for me?” he asked.
Minoru shook his head. “No, you know what to expect from Li Dok To.” Franklin would be traveling with Shimazu’s regiment to the border - officially to reinforce the border against counter attacks but also to be ready for the proposed attack on Galedon. “He is enthusiastic to reclaim Galedon V, but he knows that risking you will do him no favors.”
“Even when I am not your only heir?” the older man asked lightly.
“Even then.” Minoru paused and then added: “Losing one brother was dreadful, do not put me through that again… brother.”
Franklin paused and then patted Minoru’s shoulder. “Likewise. I may be safer away from the court than you are.”
“Hopefully not. The factions in court know how dire our state will be if we do not remain divided.”
“For now,” Franklin said slowly. “But if that pressure is removed…”
It was a fair point, Minoru allowed privately. But the ladies were back with them now and thus their conversation was over. A moment of farewells and then Minoru led Atsuko out of the antechamber, leaving his siblings behind. Both would be leaving early the next morning - Franklin for Galedon District and Omi back to the Federated Commonwealth.
A small limousine was waiting for the married couple, whisking them across the palace in minutes. Although the driver and the Otomo trooper in the front were both discreetly quiet, their presence still felt repressive to Minoru. He looked at Atsuko and found her looking back at him. She flushed again and lowered her eyes. He saw her feet shift awkwardly in the footwell.
“Do your feet hurt?” he asked her quietly.
“A little,” she admitted embarrassedly.
“You can take off your shoes,” he offered.
Atsuko looked bemused. “But won’t we have to walk into yo- into our rooms?”
“I believe it is traditional for the groom to carry the bride across the threshold,” Minoru suggested, smiling.
The tips of her ears, only visible because she had her hair up, went red. “Let’s not,” she said shyly.
The limousine pulled up at that point and Minoru got out first, taking Atsuko’s hand and trying to match his pace to hers as they entered the residence. There was an outer layer of rooms with traditional paper and wood construction, mostly used for guests. But the core of the building was more solidly built, in token of the need to protect those inside from the risks of their royal station. Only three doors led into the two adjoining suites, all guarded and with access tightly restricted.
“My wife and I can manage from here,” Minoru ordered as servants came to attend them. “Leave us.”
The little squad backed off obediently and he closed the door firmly before looking over Atsuko. “I’m not actually entirely sure I know how to help you out of the dress,” he admitted, “But we’re both clever people and there is little enough privacy in my days. I may need your guidance.”
She offered him a small smile. “It will be our first task working together, my lord.” There was a little emphasis to the ‘my’ that he rather liked.
In the master bedroom, Minoru escorted her formally to sit on the bed before going to the side table and popping out his contact lenses. It only took a moment to replace them with his glasses. “The vanity of my office,” he explained in a light tone. “The Coordinator’s vision cannot be seen to be imperfect.”
Atsuko nodded slightly. “I think they suit you better,” she said after a moment. “You look more the scholar… but perhaps you are right about public perceptions.”
“Now,” he asked, “Where do we begin?”
In reply, she lifted one foot off the floor and started to kick off her shoes.
It took several minutes before they were free of their outer layers. Sometimes the process was playful, sometimes awkward. Minoru concluded after his shirt was off that Atsuko’s increasing hesitance was nervousness. She was still wearing her undergown, with her hair loose down her back. His fingers itched to go back to stroking it’s silky length,
“Would you like to sit a while?” he asked, indicating a couch against one wall.
“I think so,” his wife agreed softly, then yelped as he lifted her in both arms and carried her the short distance, sitting her down gently at one end.
Stepping back for a moment to admire her, he found his own seat at the far end of the couch, sitting at an angle so that their bare feet were almost brushing each other. “We will be learning about each other for years,” he offered quietly. “Is there something you would like to ask?” A ‘married life’ guide book he had found suggested that exchanging confidences would help with the relationship.
Atsuko swallowed. “My… Minoru? Why did you marry me?”
Oh. Minoru blinked at the directness.
“I’m not unhappy,” she exclaimed, apparently realizing how it sounds. “It’s just… why me of all women? You could have married anyone.”
Not quite anyone, a little voice whispered and he drove the idea from his head. Minoru had spent enough time soul-searching over whether he was approaching her as a substitute for… another. He had decided that he was not, and this was not the time to second-guess himself.
“I courted you,” he stressed the verb intentionally. “Because you are beautiful, socially acceptable and politically advantageous.” Then, before her face could do more than fall slightly, he reached out for her hand. “I married you, because having courted you I felt you were someone I wanted to grow old with.”
Her eyes went wide. And her fingers closed around his.
For a moment they sat in silence. “Is there something you would like to do, as the Lady Kurita? There are formally expectations, but there is plenty of precedent to reach out beyond it. My grandmother was a patron of the arts… I’m not sure what mother would have done, she might have continued to serve in the DCMS.”
“I’m not sure,” the young woman asked. “I have managed father’s household since… for several years, I think I could do the same for you, although it’s on a grander scale.”
“That would help.” He agreed. “But that can’t be everything.”
“I… I’d like to travel? Not as far as your sister. I admire her for going into the Federated Commonwealth alone,” Atsuko confided, “but I rarely get the chance to leave home.”
His sister had an entire embassy to back her up, so she was hardly alone. This probably wasn’t the time to explain that though. “That can certainly be arranged. We can go to Terra together for the next Star League Council meeting,” Minoru suggested. “And there will be other opportunities.”
Her face brightened. “I’d love that!” He was very conscious that her chest was… not very contained by the undergown and had to pull his attention away. There was a brush of skin against his foot and then it was withdrawn.
“Minoru,” Atsuko said cautiously. “My father is likely to give me advice to pass on to you.”
That was inevitable, he thought. The man would have plenty of chances to advise him directly, but that obviously wouldn’t be enough for him. “You can give me your own advice, you know…”
“But what if I gave advice that you hated?” she asked warily. “I… not that I’d want to, but I’m not educated the way a man would be.”
“I doubt many people agree with me on everything,” he told her reassuringly, running one thumb gently over her knuckles. “It’s possible there isn’t anyone at all. I could still get plenty of advisors who agree with me on everything, but they would be doing so to ingratiate themselves not to help me.” He leant forwards and raised her hand to his lips, dropping a gentle kiss on the knuckles. “Your mind is one of the reasons I fell in love with you.”
“One… of them?” Atsuko asked, leaning forwards to meet him.
“Shall I tell you about the others?” He slipped one hand behind her head to caress her hair.
They found other things to do with their lips, thereafter.
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Chapter 4-9