ALJ Chpt 5

frameless|right|300px|link=A Long Journey
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==Chapter 5 - A Long Journey==
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24 February 2784
Terra (Terran Hegemony)
"Sir, there is a Colonel Colin Blaine from the Quartermaster Command to see you." Major Jeffery Engles announced at the open door.
"Send him in Major and close the door, I don't want to be disturbed for this meeting." Lieutenant General Samuel Mitchell said as the Colonel was let in and the door shut behind him.
Lieutenant General Samuel Mitchell walked across the office and grasped the SLDF Colonel in a hard hug. "Damn, Colin, it is great to see you."
"HMMPH. back off cuz your gonna make me pass out, I'm a office puke not some damned grunt." Colonel Colin Blaine said as Samuel released him.
"You still look fit." Samuel said looking his cousin over.
"Yeah well, I do try. SO, what did you want to see me about and why the secret agent crap?" Colin asked
"You going with General Kerensky?" Samuel asked
"I planned on it, your not?" Colin replied
"No, me and Patricia want to stay and go home. It's getting bad back there and we might be able to help." Samuel said
"Well shit, I haven't kept up with home in a long while. The war kept me pretty busy and on the move. Well if your staying, I'm staying. I will inform them of my decision tomorrow." Colin said
"Whoa there, Colin, not so fast. If you want to stay and join us that's great, but if we say it out loud right now, you know they are going to send us packing with the clothes on our back and that's it. We are not going to be much help to the folks back home like that. I have a plan I want to run by you, Patricia is already onboard, but we have to get a bunch of pieces in place and you can help with that." Samuel replied
"And what plan do you have, Sammy?" Colin asked
"If we are going to help folks back home we are going to need equipment and resources we might need. Just having people is not going to be enough." Samuel said
"What kind of equipment?" Colin asked
"More than likely a few more transports, but they have to have crews staying behind. I am going to need equipment for my Division, replacement parts, ammunition, maybe some kind of manufacturing base. Mackolla had limited heavy industry but a decent amount of light industry. That particular list could get really big fast, so I would prefer to focus on what we can get without attracting any more attention than we have to. The recent defections to the Houses has got to have General Kerensky on edge and he probably has SLIC watching everything." Samuel replied
"Equipment could be hard, outside of the troops pledging to Hayes, it is all slated to rebuild Kerensky's units. I have not seen all the plans but have been given the heads up that if it is not nailed down, he plans to uproot it and take it with him. As much as he can pack aboard the ships and it is going to be quite a bit. I know for a fact he plans to take every warship he can with him to deny them to the Houses. Rumor has it that when Epsilon Indi was liberated there were sensor contacts of quite a few wrecked Dropships in the outer system, possibly from the 34th Royal Battlemech Division, but they didn't have any way to recover those ships. I might be able to get Patricia assigned to make a recovery attempt. I know most of the commands that have so far voted to remain behind have volunteered to assist in getting Kerensky everything they need." Colin said
"That is a starting point then. What I have in mind is we wait until the last second to join Kerensky, late enough that we can avoid taking on folks that might resist staying behind when we make our move. We leave with the General and pick our moment to leave the convoy and head home. I doubt the General will chase us, I am pretty sure once he starts off, he will want to move as quick as he can. But not so late that we cannot be equipped as best we can manage." Samuel said
"That is going to be a bunch of moving parts cuz. Sort of dangerous too, if SLIC gets wind, it is going to get ugly quick. I will tell you this, every command that is staying behind is on a list to be disbanded and their equipment gathered up, again to keep it from the Houses. I expect your unit will be added to the list also when you make your intentions known. I will at least try to keep it all in one place as best I can for you." Colin said
"That is all we can do. If you get the feeling your being watched, stop and keep your head down. We will just do what we can. Glad your with us cuz, I would hate to lose you. We have lost enough family in the war." Samuel said
"Family sticks together, we have a long journey ahead of us. I best be going, Sammy." Colonel Colin Blaine said
"Yes, a long journey indeed. Speak to you soon, Colin." Lieutenant General Samuel Mitchell replied
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26 February 2784
The polling had been completed and the majority of the 322nd Armored Division had voted to stay behind, but he was still losing almost 2,000 people that wanted to go with General Kerensky. He had gotten word yesterday that Patricia's people had all voted to stay behind. Which said a tremendous amount about what they thought of her. He wished he could have that sort of loyalty. He looked at his watch and decided it was close enough to dinner time that he would head for the combined officers mess instead of the 322nd's own mess hall. He just wanted to talk with some other officers, maybe get a feel for things.
He was picking at his food when someone sat down next to him with a tray of food. He looked up and saw Colonel Reginald Macy, 457th Heavy Tank Regiment, they had actually been classmates at West Point together. "Hey Reginald, it has been a long time."
"Sammy, or should I say, General?" Colonel Reginald Macy asked
"It is always Sammy for you, Reginald. Why the long face?" Lieutenant General Samuel Mitchell asked
"Me and my command chose to remain behind, been treated sort of like lepers ever since. How about you?" Reginald asked
"Not as lepers but most of my command and myself are staying behind, but I have not informed higher of that decision yet, that will be tomorrow." Samuel replied
"Well, the moment you do, expect orders to come down quick to marshal your equipment for redistribution. They are going to leave us defenseless." Reginald said
"I plan on going home, back to Mackolla, in the Federated Suns. Your from the Free Worlds if I remember right." Samuel said
"Yeah, but I didn't have any family. Was raised in an orphanage and joined the SLDF first chance I got, so no loyalty there. The Star League was my loyalty, and I fear that is doomed. Too much damage has been inflicted." Reginald replied
"Your welcome to head for Mackolla with us, plenty of land, good clean air and water. Only drawback is it is right next to the Periphery and word is the pirates are back in force and worse than ever." Samuel said
"So you plan to fight them off when you arrive?" Reginald asked
"Not sure, but I do hate pirates." Samuel said
"Only good pirate is a dead pirate. I got a hair over a Battalion left and about a Company of Mech Infantry, but I have been ordered to park my tanks in three days. But I guess we can play Infantry against the pirates. Yeah, I will tag along, but having equipment to really hurt them would be much better. I am too old to hump a rucksack and those Mausers are heavy as hell." Reginald replied
"Your talking Battlemechs, I don't have any nor do I even have pilots for them if I did. I only know how to support or kill Battlemechs." Samuel said
Colonel Reginald Macy looked around and spotted who he was looking for, Major Harold Tanaka, commander 306th Hussar Regiment, who he waved over. "Easy, Reg, let's not attract too much attention."
"Easy, Sammy, this particular mess hall is catering to us that are staying behind." Reginald said as Colonel Tanaka sat down with them. "Hey, Reginald."
"Colonel Tanaka, this is Lieutenant General Samuel Mitchell, 322nd Armored Division'x, we went to West Point together." Reginald introduced
"General, you staying behind too?" Colonel Tanaka asked
"Yes, I want to go home, back to Mackolla in the Federated Suns. Seems my home is being plagued by some pirates." Samuel said
"Never heard if it. Wish I could help you, but they already took my Battlemechs away." Colonel Tanaka said
"What if I could get some?" Samuel asked
"I got no problem pirate busting, damn sure don't want to go home and get drafted into the DCMS and damned sure am not keen on staying here in the Hegemony and getting slaughtered by the Houses when they make their move, and they will." Colonel Tanaka said
"Same here. How many people you got that would join up with us?" Samuel asked
"Myself and probably all 19 of my mechwarriors left." Colonel Tanaka said
"It is a start, keep this quiet, very quiet. We are still in the early planning stages. But it is a long journey." Lieutenant General Samuel Mitchell said
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