AQoG Chpt 5

==A Question of Greatness - Chapter 5 -==
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<<Next Chapter - Return to Story Index - Next Chapter>>
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===Shadow of a Falling Out===
Detroit, Periphery 
Early 31st Century
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It turns out, he'd set the meeting for that very night.
 
At least it was good to know that his words about feeling a sense of urgency to get this whole thing going hadn't been a bunch of hot air.
 
I was unhappy and trying not to show it as we took a shuttle to the city of Dearborn, one of the four cities of any significant size that existed in Detroit. Dearborn was near the Vargas traditional lands and they had a lot of influence there, since their production facilities were largely based out of the city.
 
Next to me, my brother was fiddling with his cuffs as he continued to fuss over the suit he'd decided to wear. It was a very nice business suit, well tailored, and he'd actually gone through the trouble of taming the wild mop that he called his hair. "What do you think? Everything look good?" he asked.
 
"You look fine," I said, barely glancing in his direction. My mind was elsewhere.
 
"Really?"
 
"Why are you so nervous? Aside from the obvious, I mean," I said, turning to him with narrowed eyes.
 
He shrugged awkwardly and looked away. "No reason."
 
A few minutes in silence passed before something occurred to me. "Weren't you friends with Valeria Vargas? I remember hearing something about that right before I left for Taurus."
 
Hector stilled. "We had some common interests. We also trained together with our 'Mechs quite a bit for a while there. Mock battles and such, having someone new to practice with, you know?"
 
I hummed. "Interesting. Did you have a falling out?"
 
"You could say that, yes." he replied, his tone dry.
 
"Do you think that's going to hurt our chances here?" I asked, suddenly concerned.
 
"No," said Hector with certainty. "In fact, I'm hoping it will help."
 
I hope so, I thought. But I said nothing as I continued to brood.
 
I could only hope that Hector knew what he was doing. When the vehicle stopped he picked up the briefcase he'd brought with him and we left for our destination.
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===Silent Fury===
We met in a small conference room in the most expensive hotel in Dearborn. The kind of place that catered to business moguls, local nobility, foreign government representatives and the occasional mercenary who could afford their outlandish prices. In short, the kind of place that lived and died by the privacy and confidentiality it could afford it's clients.
 
I still didn't like that we hadn't scanned the place for bugs ourselves, even if the consensus was that this was as safe a place as one could find on short notice to have a meeting about sensitive matters.
 
Was I too paranoid or was everyone else too trusting? At least I'd impressed on Hector not to discuss the truly sensitive matters in this room. He'd at least been prudent enough to see the sense in that, thank Terra.
 
We'd arrived first and stood by one end of the table, the one facing the door. It only took a couple of minutes for the Vargas party to arrive.
 
First in the door was an older man with long silver hair dressed like a secretary or a butler. He wore round spectacles and had sharp, intelligent eyes. Trusted advisor, consigliere type figure? The man held the door open for the next person to step through.
 
I'd never met Valeria Vargas face to face, but there was no one else it could be. The head of the Vargas family couldn't have been more than a few years older than me and the two of us were almost a contrast in opposites. While I was tall and thin she was short and stocky. Not fat, but strong and solid looking. Her skin showed her Hindi and Iberian ancestry, dark in color with brown eyes that were currently cold and unamused. With her conservative well-tailored business suit she looked like a hardass about to go to war in a corporate takeover. She first gave my brother and then me an inscrutable look before striding into the room.
 
The last person I did remember meeting, if only briefly maybe six years ago. This was Valeria's twin brother, Vincent, and for a second my memories stuttered as I took him in. He looked a lot like a buff, darker skinned version of Tom Selleck, complete with the iconic mustache. Unlike his sister he walked in with a bit of a slouch, an easy smile on his face as he nodded to us. The business casual suit he was wearing was rumpled and it was clear he hadn't been bothered to put too much effort into his appearance.
 
There were a few moments of tense silence between our two groups before my brother was the first to take the plunge.
 
"Valeria," Hector said, a polite smile on his face. "Thank you for coming on such short notice. I know it must have been something of an imposition."
 
"Hector," Valeria said, her posture and voice carefully controlled. "When you said you had urgent news to discuss I knew that it must have been important. I know you would not have contacted me otherwise."
 
I blinked at the wording and glanced at my brother, a suspicion beginning to form. Had he…?
 
Hector's smile melted away, and suddenly his expression was all business. "Yes. I'd like to share some unsettling information that I've discovered recently. Please, if we could all take a seat?"
 
I guessed we were skipping even the introductions and going straight to business, then? Judging by Butlerman's expression (I didn't know his name and that's why introductions were important) I wasn't the only one to pick up on the uncharacteristic rush or the tense atmosphere.
 
Everyone was stiff at attention when we sat down, except for Vincent, who somehow gave the impression of slouching even sitting in the stiff backed chairs. Very slowly and deliberately Hector put the briefcase he'd brought with him on the table and opened it. From inside he produced a file, at least an inch thick, and without a word slowly slid it over to Valeria.
 
"What's this?" she asked, her voice showing something other than the equivalent of a prickly brick wall for the first time. Curiosity. Was curiosity a trait that could be exploited?
 
"Several months ago I hired an investigator on a hunch," he began, and I knew then what was on that file. "I'd began to grow suspicious about the timing of different large pirate attacks that we've been hit with over the last twenty or so years. Something about it just didn't add up for me, so I had this person research and compile this data. What you have in your hands is the same report they gave me."
 
Valeria gave him a look that was both guarded and curious at the same time. Then, without another word, she opened the file and began to read.
 
The next close to four hours were both tense and incredibly boring at the same time. Valeria read the file along with her brother who had taken to shamelessly reading over her shoulder. After the first twenty minutes Vincent stopped her, and a rapid fire hushed discussion followed that was too low for me to overhear. They did that a few times over the next couple of hours as they continued to read the file, their expressions growing grimmer and grimmer.
 
Then, when they got to the end and I thought maybe now we could move forward, they insisted on letting Butlerman read the file. Which he did in about an hour, his eyebrows rising higher and higher the more he read. Then the three of them had another private, whispered discussion on their side of the table that lasted nearly another hour. By the end of it my butt was getting numb, my bladder was full and I was actively fantasizing about saying something extremely undiplomatic to absolutely every single person in that room.
 
Eventually, however, their discussion ended and they turned their attention back to us. All levity had left Vincent, his expression now stiff and looking like an angry storm. Butlerman looked grim and unhappy while Valeria had composed her expression into a look of pure ice. But her eyes told another story. Whatever else she might have been feeling right then, one thing I knew for sure was that she was absolutely livid.
 
"Thank you, Hector," said Valeria in what had to be the most official Lady of the House voice ever. "For bringing this to our attention."
 
Hector nodded. "It seems we have both suffered as a result of these unprovoked attacks," he said. "You might not have lost your parents the way we did, but I know your family has been extremely hurt by these suspicious attacks all the same."
 
"'Suspicious' he says," said Vincent with dark a chuckle devoid of any humor.
 
Valeria seemed to be weighing something as she looked right at Hector before she visibly seemed to thaw just a fraction. "You're right," she finally said. "We haven't lost close family to these attacks but they have cost us an incredible amount just the same. Twenty years ago we'd gotten the production lines for Harassers and for LTV-4 Hover tanks running for the first time in decades. Then we lost the LTV-4 Hover tank production line fourteen years ago to an improbably large pirate attack. Then we lost the Harassers five years ago to an attack that had always seemed like it had been suspiciously targeted. If," and she emphasized the word. "What these files suggest is true, then the one behind this has diminished and weakened our family a great deal."
 
I just couldn't keep silent at that. "'If?'" I asked, trying not to sound condescending. "There's no hard evidence in that file, but we're never going to find any. It's too easy for them to cover their tracks in such a way that we'll never find a true smoking gun. And even if we do? It won't make much difference. It won't change what we need to do now."
 
"That's what I've been sayin'." Muttered Vincent loud enough for everyone to hear.
 
"And what," said Valeria frostily, turning her eyes towards me. "Do you imagine that we need to do, Logan Axe?"
 
"Isn't it obvious?" I asked, giving her a grim, humorless smile. "They've been trying to put us into the ground. Slowly grind away at us until there's nothing left. We'll simply have to put them into the ground first before they can finish doing the same to us."
 
"There is nothing to indicate these kinds of attacks will stop," interjected Hector, taking back control of the conversation. "You've heard of the attack on us just six days ago? I'm sure you must have. You must have heard what it cost us. These attacks aren't ancient history. They're still happening right now."
 
Valeria's hard expression softened a bit. "Yes, I'd heard," she said in a low voice. "I'm sorry for your loss."
 
"Thank you," said Hector with a grateful nod. "And that attack against my family – the one that just killed my father - just highlights that something must be done. Please, indulge me. I have a plan to handle this if you would care to hear it."
 
"Oh, this ought to be good." said Vincent. Everyone in the room glared at him but I don't think it affected him any.
 
Hectors next words shocked everyone in the room, including me. "Despite our recent tragedy, fate has also decided to smile on our family recently. Shortly before we were attacked, my sister Logan here made an incredible discovery."
 
My head snapped to Hector, shooting him my most venomous glare. What was he doing? He ignored me, his focus entirely on Valeria.
 
"An incredible discovery?" Valeria asked, for the first time sounding a bit off balance as she instantly understood the implications.
 
Hector nodded. "You know how the SLDF had a habit of leaving things hidden away everywhere they went?"
 
"LosTech?" said Vincent as he finally sat up straight, his tone almost reverent. He turned to look at me. "Is it true?"
 
I didn't say anything, but my sour expression must have told him everything he needed to know. A look of awe and wonder came across his face.
 
"I'm not comfortable talking about the details here," said Hector in his most diplomatic tone. "So I'd like to invite the three of you to come with us on a little sight seeing trip in three days. We'll need to take my Assassin and some cargo with us, so I'd like to ask you to bring your Leopard."
 
Valeria's eyes narrowed. "If you're going to bring your Assassin, I hope you will not object to us bringing one of our own 'Mechs."
 
"Of course not." he said easily enough.
 
I knew, intellectually, that Hector was technically within his rights to do this. Technically, the things I'd found were assets of the family, so he fully in his rights to proceed in whatever way he saw fit. However a part of me couldn't help but feeling that these finds, the JumpShips and DropShips and The Cube, were mine. And I was not at all comfortable with what he was proposing to do here.
 
I kept my mouth shut, but it was a deathly struggle to do so.
 
I was furious.
 
"Why would you decide to show us something so valuable?" asked the gray haired Butlerman, speaking up for the first time. I really needed to find out his name.
 
"Because," Hector answered. "I have an ambitious plan that will solve our little pirate problem and also take care of the parties responsible. However we will need your full participation to make it work. I'm hoping that showing you what we've found will underscore how much you might gain from going along with my plan, as well as it being a show of trust." He paused and turned his gaze to Valeria. "This is about the good of both our families. I'm extending this trust because I believe you will do what is best for your family. And in spite of everything, I believe that you will deal with me in good faith."
 
Valeria's eyes narrowed, and I could practically see her weighing pros and cons and dissecting our motivations. Eventually after a minute of silence she nodded slowly. "Very well, Hector. I'd like to point out that going with you alone to an undisclosed place is a sign of trust for us, too. But I'm sufficiently intrigued. Very well. Three days you said? Yes, that can be arranged."
 
The rest of the meeting passed quickly, simply details on where we would meet, at what time, and so on. I let Hector handle that while I quietly seethed and glared at whoever dared to look at me. The Vargas family kept the file and then left, no doubt to verify as much of it's contents as they could independently.
 
The second they left, I turned and faced Hector. Whatever was on my face must have been something because he flinched slightly when he saw my expression.
 
"It was necessary and the right thing to do," said Hector, sounding conciliatory but not apologetic. "I'm sorry for springing that on you, but I think that them seeing your sincere reactions will actually be helpful for us at the end of the day."
 
I wanted to start yelling at him, but there was no way I could start yelling about JumpShips and Fortress-class DropShips or anything else in a hotel, no matter how secure everyone insisted it was.
 
So I bit my tongue hard and nursed the acid in my chest for the long hours it took us to return home.
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===The Plan and Reasons Why===
I had a lot to yell at my brother about when we finally entered the quiet room back in our home. The first I went with was the least important, but also the most personal, so it might serve to put my brother off balance.
 
"Why," I said, whirling on him as he closed the door behind us. "Didn't you tell me that you used to screw Valeria Vargas before dumping her?"
 
"What?!" yelped Hector, eyes wide. "I didn't use to screw Valeria! Logan, what the hell?!"
 
"Really," I said with a sneer. "So I was just imagining all tension and spurned lover bitchiness that she was trying so hard to hide? Or maybe the two of you thought little phrases like 'I know you wouldn't have contacted me otherwise' and 'I know you'll deal with me in good faith in spite of everything' were just too subtle for everyone in the room to pick up on? How the hell is you putting all this trust on a spurned lover a good idea?!"
 
"She's not a spurned lover, all right!" Hector said, growing agitated. Then he made a visible effort to calm down before sitting down in one of the chairs, rubbing his face tiredly. "Look. It wasn't like that. Valeria and I… we hit it off a bit before you left for Taurus. As friends. We used to meet pretty regularly, we trained together in our 'Mechs, we had lots of discussions about topics and events that interested us both. It lasted for about a year and it was… pretty good."
 
I frowned and reluctantly made myself sit across from him. "So what happened?"
 
"She confessed to me," Hector admitted bluntly, an unhappy frown on his face. "Turns out she'd started having feelings for me the more time we spent together. I… well, I didn't feel the same. Then our friendship became incredibly strained and awkward. Before long, we stopped talking altogether, and mostly because of me. It wasn't an amicable parting of ways. She's… not wrong to still be a little bit vexed about all that happened. I could have handled it better, in hindsight. We'd hardly spoken a word to each other for about two years until today."
 
I sat across from him in silence, digesting his words. "And this was the person you thought to bring into your confidence and spill all our secrets to?"
 
"Valeria is a good person," Hector insisted. "Honorable. She won't turn on us unless we give her a good reason to." At seeing my unconvinced and unimpressed look, he changed his strategy. "Look, I can understand why you'd be upset at me giving up 'our secrets' as you put it, but there was no way it was all going to stay secret for much longer. Can you pilot a DropShip? Or a JumpShip?"
 
Damn it. I could see what he was driving at, and I hated that maybe he had a point. "Of course not."
 
"Right, so that means we're going to have to trust at least some of our people with their existence. But, we don't have enough qualified people to fully crew all those vessels. So we would need to bring in new outside help anyway. Plus, do you think no one will notice once we fire up the fusion reactors on all those vessels? Or once we land DropShips on the planet?" Hector shook his head. "No. It was going to become common knowledge soon enough. This way, by showing them to potential allies first, we'll be gaining as much as we possibly can from the reveal."
 
I frowned. It made sense. I still didn't like that the decision was made without consulting me, though. "What about The Cube?" I asked.
 
"That will be strictly 'need to know'," he said immediately. "That cargo bay will be sealed off and strictly off limits to the crew. Ideally only a few select people that have strict 'need to know' will be made aware of some of the details."
 
"Will Valeria and her people 'need to know'?" I asked.
 
Hector hesitated before answering. "Yes."
 
I closed my eyes and sighed. "Why?" 
 
Then he opened up to me and finally told me his plan in it's entirety.
 
It was… a bit risky. And radical. And we would be giving some valuable things away.
 
But as Hector and Uncle Kevan had said, radical action was needed if we were going to save our family. And it wasn't a bad plan. With my input we made a few modifications to it but overall it was solid.
 
Then there was nothing more than to implement the plan and hope for the best.
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===Asking a favor===
First off, if we were going to get anything done, we needed to bring some of our people in on the secret of our most recent find.
 
Xavier Singh had been with our family for close to thirty years. He was officially in charge of the Mechbay and all of our 'Mechs. Unofficially, he was our general all purpose mechanical and technical guru. He was also the next closest thing to a member of the family at this point. I trusted him. It was hard not to trust someone you'd seen working closely hand-in-hand with your family ever since you'd been in diapers.
 
The large man with short cropped graying hair and dark skin looked at us disbelievingly over the rim of his glasses. "You want to run that by me again?"
 
We were in his office stationed in the mechbay. It wasn't completely secure but the walls were thick and I was reasonably certain no one had any reason to bug this man's office. Besides, most of what we were telling him would soon be common knowledge.
 
Keeping my voice low, I repeated what we'd just explained to him in my most casual and dismissive tone. "We found a Star Lord with a Union, a Buccaneer, two Mules and two Fortress-class DropShips. We need you and a couple of techs you trust to help us move the two Fortresses with no one the wiser."
 
"Yeah, I thought that's what you said," replied Xavier. "But I'm still trying to wrap my head around the facts here. So. You just found all of that. Just… found it. Lying around somewhere."
 
"To be fair, Logan was the one who found it," Hector said, pointing a thumb in my direction.
 
Xavier looked at me, then sighed and rubbed his balding head. "You kids don't do anything by halves, do you?"
 
"No, I suppose we don't," I said with a smirk. "But what fun would that be?"
 
"Less likely to give me a heart attack," Xavier grouched. "Alright. Move them where?"
 
"Just to a different orbit around Livonia. Preferably without anyone realizing there's anything of note up there just yet. People are going to know about the Star Lord and the other DropShips sooner rather than later. We'd like to keep the two Fortresses secret. As an ace up our sleeve."
 
That had been one of my modifications to the plan. Hector had wanted to just show the Vargas party everything. Shock and awe. I convinced him it was more prudent to keep a few cards up our sleeves just in case things turned sour and that we already had more than enough shock and awe for our plan. While I thought odds were on our side on this, it was better to hedge our bets.
 
Xavier chewed on that. "That's doable, assuming those DropShips are in good working order. Mike and Kim can be trusted to keep their mouths shut. They've both worked for your family for over a decade, their spouses also work for you and their kids are learning to be techs to work on the farms."
 
"That's not a guarantee that they won't blab," said Hector with a frown.
 
Xavier shrugged. "When have you ever gotten a guarantee set in stone that a human being will or won't do something? Give them a nice bonus if it'll set your mind at ease. Financial rewards are a time honored way of reinforcing loyalty."
 
Hector nodded. "We might just do that."
 
"Don't forget to include me in that bonus," Xavier joked. "How soon do you need this done?"
 
"As soon as possible. In the next couple of days at the latest."
 
"Damn. Well, better start getting some things together in case we run into any problems. Give me until the morning and I'll have everything I'll need ready to go."
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===Meeting of old "Friends"===
Xavier managed to get the DropShips moved without any issues. He was surprised at their pristine condition, but didn't make a big fuss about it. He also guaranteed us that simply using the maneuvering thrusters in the way they did wouldn't be detected from the planet or by any ships that might be in the system.
 
So far, so good.
 
Then the third day arrived, and the Vargas family landed next to our 'Mech hangar on their Leopard. 
 
That was definitely going to get the rumor mill going if nothing else.
 
Our little group came out of the hangar. It was decided that I would ride the Assassin so Hector could be the one to greet people face to face to schmooze. I walked out first in our last remaining 'Mech, with my brother behind us riding a flatbed along with a few hired hands.
 
On the flatbed were the remains of our father's Quickdraw. The techs had more or less welded the remains together into two separate pieces and arranged it so it almost looked whole laying there on the flatbed. However that 'Mech would never be operational again.
 
Or maybe it would be reborn. Maybe that was a more optimistic way to look at it.
 
Then the rear bay doors of the Leopard opened, and the first thing that I saw was a Hunchback-4G painted matte black from head to toe, standing there waiting for us with it's gigantic shoulder mounted A/C 20 autocannon pointed almost right at me.
 
"Sup," came a male voice over my comm, my display indicating it was coming from the Hunchback. "Logan, right? Sorry we didn't get a chance to chat last time. That mess was all too stiff and serious for my taste."
 
Right. Small talk. Surprisingly, I was actually pretty good at that now. "Sup, Vincent. Yeah, something more informal would have been more to my taste. Something about being the head of a house seems to make everyone at least three times as uptight. So the 4G is yours, huh? That's a pretty impressive machine." People often responded to you complimenting their 'Mechs even better than they did if you complimented their kids.
 
"I know, right?! I know Hunchbacks have a reputation for being slow but they're just as fast as a Centurion or an Enforcer. And they're tougher and hit harder than any other 'Mech in their weight class by a good margin. Ton for ton, it's the best 'Mech ever made in my only slightly biased opinion." 
 
I found myself smiling at his enthusiasm despite myself. "You know, half of all 'Mech pilots say the exact same thing about their machines."
 
"And they would all be wrong. Except the ones who pilot a Hunchback. Then they would be right, 110% of the time."
 
I shook my head in amusement and turned to look down below to see how things were progressing. The crews had the flatbed in the Leopard already and were unloading the remains of the Quickdraw. After that was done they would take the flatbed and leave. I could make out my brother down there having some quiet words with Valeria and Butlerman, whose real name I'd found out was Larson Miles, long time retainer and confidant of the Vargas family.
 
"So," I said over the comm. "I guess we should get our 'Mechs secured in the bays now? Looks like they'll be ready to take off in a few."
 
"Sure," came Vincent's reply over the comm. "Just, uh, I'm going to be staying in the cockpit of Besty the whole time. Orders, paranoia, yada yada. You know how it is." 
 
"I get it," I said. I wasn't planning on getting out of the Assassin either. "Trust but verify and all that. Also, Betsy?"
 
"Hey, I didn't name her," said Vincent. "But the name suits her once you get to know her. Come on, let's get these bad boys stowed away. Try not to step on anything."
 
I rolled my eyes and followed after him inside.
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Time passed, and soon we were on our way. It wasn't too long after that before my comm clicked to life again.
 
"Hey," said the voice. It was Vincent again, and he sounded a little shell shocked. "Val just called me. Wanted to fill me in before we got there. You guys really found a Star Lord and four DropShips? She says your brother was even hinting that the Star Lord has some kind of experimental enhanced jump capabilities. Is that true? She didn't suddenly decide to grow a sense of humor and start yanking my leg, did she?"
 
I smirked even as I turned the page of the paperback novel I was reading. "Yes, it's all true. We haven't tried it yet but supposedly it's got some kind of advanced system that makes jumping to pirate points essentially risk free."
 
"God damn," marveled Vincent. "And you just found all of this?" 
 
"Combination of luck and skill. Mostly luck," I replied vaguely.
 
"Wish I had your luck then, girl. Maybe I'll take you with me next time I go play cards, since if you've got that much then I don't see how a bit of that luck wouldn't rub off on me."
 
"Relax, Vincent," I said, a smile tugging at my lips. "We've still got a few surprises left to show you."
 
"Well shit. I can't wait." 
----
===The Proposal===
Soon enough, I was walking through the Star Lord in our Assassin headed towards Cargo Bay Six.
 
It was logical that I lead the way since I knew where we were going, but suddenly I found myself incredibly uneasy. The hallways were narrow by BattleMech standards so we had to walk single file. That left the Hunchback behind me, it's huge A/C 20 pointed right at my back.
 
Vincent seemed like a nice enough guy, at least from what I'd seen, but I didn't think he wouldn't put an autocannon shot into my rear armor if he was ordered to by his sister. Also, if it came to a fight, the cramped hallways of a JumpShip were as perfect for a Hunchback as they were terrible for an Assassin. Narrow, cramped hallways and no room maneuver or to bring my jumpjets into play. I was confident in my skills as a pilot, but if it came to a fight in these circumstances, me and my Assassin were dead.
 
Thankfully it didn't come to that. We came to the doors of cargo bay six without incident, each of our mechs carrying half of what was left of dad's Quickdraw. Down below I saw Hector punch in the code I'd given him, and the large bay doors then slid open smoothly.
 
I couldn't see or hear Valeria's or Butlerman Larson's reactions from my cockpit, but Vincent's were easy enough to hear since he was transmitting over the open comm channel.
 
"Holy mother of god!" he said as he saw The Cube for the first time. "What in Terra's name is that thing?"
 
I discreetly made my way out of his line of fire and put down my half of the Quickdraw about thirty feet from The Cube. "Put that down over here next to mine, will you?"
 
"What? Oh yeah, sure." replied Vincent, walking over to do just that. "What are you even going to use this stuff for anyway?" 
 
"This is really more of a 'show, don't tell' situation," I said to him. "When you're done I'm going to deactivate my Assassin and climb down to join the others. Hope that you'll join me, or you're going to miss the show."
 
I clicked off the comm without waiting for a reply. Then I moved the Assassin next to The Cube at what I judged had to be close enough for what we were about to do. For a moment, I hesitated before beginning the powering down sequence. This is the last time I'm going to see the inside of this particular BattleMech. I indulged myself in a few solemn moments of silence before I began powering down the 'Mech. Minutes later I was exiting the hatch and using a rope ladder to climb down the side of the 'Mech to rejoin the others on the ground.
 
When I rejoined the three of them I could tell from long experience that my brother was purposefully doing his best to look perfectly calm and in control. Valeria was doing an admirable job of remaining stoic but even she couldn't help her eyes constantly darting not only to The Cube but to everything else around us. Butlerman Larson was looking a little wild around the eyes, and he was not even making the pretense of not gawking at everything that he could see.
 
 "Hi." I said in what might have been inappropriately cheerful fashion. I decided to get right to the point. "Are we going to start now or are we waiting for Vincent?"
 
"What, exactly, will we be starting, Lady Axe?" asked Butlerman. Before I could answer Valeria spoke. "Yes, I think it would be best to wait for Vincent."
 
I'm not sure if she signaled him somehow, but within a couple of minutes Vincent was climbing down off his 'Mech on his own rope ladder. Suddenly, my palms started to feel sweaty. I was nervous I realized. About what? I wasn't sure. It could be a lot of things, or all of them put together.
 
When Vince joined us, Valeria immediately spoke up. "So, you've kept us in the dark long enough," said Valeria. "What, exactly, did you mean to show us? I assume it has to do with whatever this machine does."
 
My brother nodded before turning to me. "Logan? If you could."
 
We'd talked about this, so I already knew how we planned to go about this. "When I first discovered this machine," I began. "It took a blood sample of me. It is now genetically locked to me and me alone, so I will need to be here every time we might want to work this machine. If you will come this way, I'll let you read the same explanations and instructions that I read the first time I made contact with The Cube."
 
"The Cube?" asked Vincent curiously.
 
I shrugged. "That's my nickname for it. Officially it's called the Not-SLDF Mech Replicator."
 
 "… the what?"
 
I didn't bother to respond, instead walking along the side of The Cube until I came to the designated spot, everyone else trailing behind me. Placing my hand where I knew it needed to go a needle once again drew a drop of my blood before the wall before me began to twist, rotate and expand just like it had last time. When it finished we were all once again looking at a fairly standard looking computer screen.
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======================================================================================================
>>>Biometrics accepted
>>>Welcome back, user Logan Axe
>>>Please choose one the following options:
>>>Activate 'template creation' function
>>>Activate 'absorb materials' function
>>>Activate 'create BattleMech' function
>>>Review stored templates
>>>Review available materials 
>>>Display this unit's basic functions
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======================================================================================================
I gave everyone plenty of time to read the menu. There were some interested and surprised noises from the peanut gallery but that was all. When no one seemed inclined to immediately comment, I went ahead and chose the bottom options for the benefit of all the new people. Immediately the instructions from last time popped up, though surprisingly what was displayed was slightly modified.
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======================================================================================================
>>>The Mech Replicator functions as follows:
>>>Bring a unit recognizable as a BattleMech to the Mech Replicator
>>>Then activate the 'template creation' function. The Mech Replicator will deconstruct the BattleMech in a few minutes. Note that the BattleMech will be lost during this process
>>>At this point, the template of the BattleMech will be stored in the Mech Replicator
>>>To replicate a stored BattleMech template, bring the required raw materials before the Mech Replicator and activate the 'absorb materials' function
>>>Once all required elements have been absorbed, you may replicate any mech template stored in the Mech Replicator. To do so, activate the 'create BattleMech' function
>>>Only one BattleMech may be replicated at a time
>>>The new BattleMech will be an exact replica of the one stored in the template
>>>The new BattleMech will be created at a rate of 1.5 tons per day. Interrupting the process will lead to loss of all materials used
>>>The Mech Replicator will work only for items it recognizes as BattleMechs
>>>Would you like to return to the previous menu? Y/N
======================================================================================================
----
The last line had been altered. Interesting.
 
"This can't be real..." said Butlerman Larson.
 
"I don't know," said Vincent, looking up at the towering cube right in front of us. "You'd have to be pretty out there to fake something like this." 
 
"Does it really work?" asked Valeria, her eyes glued to the screen with barely concealed excitement.
 
"Well, I'll admit we haven't tested it yet," said Hector. "But that's what we're here to find out." He gave one last longing look at his Assassin before turning back to me. "Logan? If you would do the honors."
 
With a nod, I worked the menu on the computer until I was back at the command prompt screen. Then I hit the option for "absorb materials." A new screen popped up, showing the cargo bay we were in from a bird's eye view. I realized The Cube must have cameras high up. With a rather simple interface I selected the area where the remains of father's Quickdraw was as the area to get absorbed.
 
All of us turned to watch as out of the middle of The Cube a panel opened revealing something that looked vaguely like a high-tech camera lens. Then lines of yellow light began to come out of the lens and settle around the area I had designated for absorption. Over the course of about thirty seconds we watched the Quickdraw slowly… I suppose the best word would be fall apart. It just, started to crumble like it was made of sand. The small particles that were left over were sucked up, pulled into the lens and presumably into The Cube itself.
 
Less than a minute after it started, it was over. The floor was left intact and there was no sign that anything had been there at all just seconds before. No one spoke at first, all of us wide eyed and shocked at the spectacle.
 
"Okay," said Vincent after about a minute of collective silence. "I'm pretty sure that wasn't faked, yeah?"
 
"What did that do?" asked Larson.
 
"See for yourself," I said, turning to the computer and navigating to the 'Review available materials' option.
 
At the top it gave a new number: 57.1 tons. Below that there was a long, long list, breaking down how much of each individual element on the periodic table The Cube currently held.
 
"Remarkable," the older man said, awe coloring his tone.
 
"I dunno, I get the feeling we haven't seen the truly shocking shit yet." said Vincent, glancing over at our Assassin.
 
Well, that sounded like a straight line, now didn't it? "No, we haven't," I said, quickly navigating to the 'template creation' option and hoping no one could see my hands subtly shaking. I picked the option and quickly navigated the interface until I'd found and selected the Assassin which was quickly recognized by the system as a valid 'Mech for the replicator. Turning, I gave Hector one last questioning look. He gave me a subtle nod, and I braced myself for what came next.
 
"Watch this."
 
The process more or less repeated itself, with a panel retracting high up in The Cube to reveal another high-tech looking lens. Only this time the light that came out of the lens was red instead of yellow. And instead of seemingly atomizing and absorbing it like it had the remains of the Quickdraw, in this case it looked for all the world like the light was slowly vanishing the 'Mech from existence.
 
More than one person let out a strangled sound of horror at watching the process happen. I think I may have been one of them.
 
This time it took almost five minutes, but eventually, our family's ancestral Assassin was completely erased from existence. Or as good as anyway, since none of us had any idea what had actually happened or had been done to it. Everyone exchanged slightly shell shocked looks before I bit my lip and forced myself to gather my wits.
 
This had been planned. No need to be freaking out.
 
Quickly I turned back to the computer and began navigating the menu back to "Review stored templates." There looking at us right in the face was a new entry.
 
Assassin ASN-21
 
"You can bring it back, right?!" asked Vincent, sounding surprisingly alarmed.
 
"Of course," I said, injecting my voice with far more confidence than I felt. "Or rather, we can create a new one. An identical one."
 
Scrolling through the menu again I navigated to the "create BattleMech" option. Once again I got a simple interface that let me choose where in the room I wanted the 'Mech created. I chose an out of the way spot and hit the confirmation to begin.
 
It was the same procedure again, a retracting panel and a huge high-tech lens. Only this time beams of green light shot out and began to converge on the floor. It took a few seconds but eventually I could see what looked like the beginnings of two 'Mech feet being created by the green light from the ground up at approximately the correct distance they needed to be from each other to truly recreate the Assassin.
 
"This is like a dream,." I heard Valeria say, the usually ultra composed woman looking like a leaf might knock her over right then.
 
I turned back to the computer monitor. A new message had appeared on the screen.
-----
======================================================================================================
>>>ASN-21 being created 
>>>Remaining time: 26 days 15 hours 55 minutes 03 seconds
>>>Do you wish to cancel? Y/N
>>>Warning: Canceling will result in all materials utilized to be lost
======================================================================================================
----
 
"Twenty six and a half days until it's done." I said softly.
 
"This, this is incredible," said Larson, his voice filled with awe but also thoughtful. "Something like this can completely change the balance of power on Detroit. If you add up everything on the entire planet I doubt you could scrape together more than a regiment or a regiment and a half, and those forces would never all act in concert except in the most dire circumstances. Even a handful of new lances could be enough to radically tip the scales."
 
"It's a bit slow though." commented Vincent, though it didn't sound like a criticism. "But if you could keep this thing running around the clock for even a year or two…"
 
Valeria tore her eyes away from the sight of the 'Mech slowly being built and turned to face Hector. I wasn't sure what I was expecting from her, but the sudden wariness and hostility on her face was definitely not it.
 
"What do you want from us?" Valeria asked Hector bluntly. "Why show us all this? I know you, Hector. You wouldn't just play this hand like this unless you somehow thought you could use it to win big."
 
Hector took a deep breath and seemed to gather himself. "I know you appreciate straightforwardness, Valeria. So I'll be blunt," he began. "We – the Axe family – are sick and tired of the status quo on Detroit. The Ten Families has never been an effective governing system and I believe it is at least partly to blame for our slow recovery since the War of 2813. And now, with these revelations that others in the Ten Families have been covertly attacking us and undermining us for nearly two decades now? That was the final straw. Our plan is to use all this newfound power," Hector said, making a motion that encompassed not just The Cube but the Star Lord as well. "To take power in Detroit. To give the planet one ruling family, just like the rest of the Inner Sphere and the Periphery have the good sense to do. This planet deserves one ruling, unified family that will serve it's best interests. It also helps that in the process we will also remove those who have been attacking us with impunity for years."
 
I heard Larson suck in a deep breath at my brother's revelation. Glancing over I saw that Vincent looked thoughtful if still wary. Valeria, however, was the one whose reaction mattered most.
 
"So what?" Valeria said, practically sneering the words. "You want us to help you become that family?"
 
"No," said Hector, looking each of them in the eye before his attention settled on Valeria. "My proposal is this: Marriage. Between me and you, in case that wasn't perfectly clear."
 
Silence. It was a radical step, and everyone present knew it. A marriage between the heads of two noble houses in this way could only end one way in this particular instance: with the two families merging and becoming one. In a world where nobles took a great deal of pride in their family history and jealously protected their powers and privilege, such a thing was beyond rare in Detroit. It was unprecedented. 
 
Valeria's first reaction was utter, flabbergasted shock. Then, to my alarm, that shock slowly bled into a furious simmering anger. "You dare to try to manipulate my feelings like this?"
 
"I'm not." said Hector quietly but firmly. "I need to make myself clear, Valeria. I'm not claiming to have suddenly fallen in love with you. I am not. What I'm proposing is motivated purely by political considerations, and by what I think will most benefit my family. These attacks have brought us to the brink and I have my people and my brothers and my sisters to think of." then he continued, his tone softening slightly. "That doesn't mean I don't think we could have a good marriage given time. I'm not interested in being trapped in a loveless marriage my whole life."
 
"I see." she said, her expression conflicted now. "And what about, 'I never want to be with someone unless I'm madly in love with them'? I seem to remember you giving me that speech quite clearly. In very strong terms, as I recall."
 
Hector actually looked a bit sheepish. "I suppose I was quite the romantic idealist back then. And if we'd started a relationship then, it would have been a complicated political mess. People were already whispering about the implications of us spending so much time together. That… wasn't what I wanted." He said, shaking his head. "I guess I had this idea of being madly in love without anything as mundane as politics tying me down. But responsibility and family tragedy have a way of changing one's priorities. And I really do believe a marriage between us would greatly benefit both our families, and Detroit. And our children would become the rightful rulers of Detroit going forward."
 
Valeria was quiet after that, a storm of emotions passing through her face so quickly that I couldn't get a good idea of what she might have been feeling or thinking. Eventually she seemed to gather herself and draw herself to her full height. "I see. I hope you will not mind if I take some time to consult with my brother and with my advisor?"
 
"By all means," said my brother graciously. He waited until she had almost turned away before calling out to her. "Oh, and Valeria?"
 
She half-turned to face him, raising one eyebrow in question.
 
"I forgot to mention, but if you accept my proposal I will immediately gift your family one of the two Mules as an engagement gift." Hector said with a charming smile. "It would be completely yours, all access codes and overrides included, in order to show my deep gratitude and appreciation for you agreeing to my proposal."
 
Vincent whistled at that, and by Terra it was just the most inappropriate thing ever. If I had been standing next to him I would have probably smacked him, possible diplomatic incident between our families or not.
 
Valeria's face twitched in exasperation before schooling her features and giving Hector a regal nod. "Thank you. We will take that into consideration." Then she turned away, and she and her party walked a good ways away near their Hunchback so that we couldn't possibly overhear.
 
"Well," I said to my brother in a low voice. "I rate this so far as 'worse than I hoped, better than I feared'. At least no one's gotten shot at with an A/C 20 yet."
 
"Day's still young." Hector said optimistically.
 
"Do you think they'll go for it? It is a good deal, even if I don't like the idea of changing my name to something hyphenated."
 
"I don't want to jinx it," said Hector. "And I wouldn't force you to change your name."
 
"Thank you. But it might look bad if everyone else is doing it and I'm not."
 
"It's a little premature to be worrying about that, don't you think?"
 
"I like to be prepared."
 
"Yes," responded Hector dryly. "I'm sure that must be it."
 
I'd half expected raised voices and lots of obvious excitement, but the Vargas party simply put their heads together and had a quiet – and lengthy – discussion about what to do. Hector tried to hide it but I could tell he was getting more nervous the longer the discussion dragged on. I couldn't blame him. From a certain point of view, it was also his future they were discussing.
 
I'm not sure how long passed, at least thirty minutes, before the three began to head back to us as a group. Valeria's face was once again inscrutable as she came to a stop in front of us, her companions flanking her on either side.
 
"Just to clarify a few things," began Valeria, speaking to Hector. "I will be your equal on this, not subservient. All major decisions will be made together. One of our children might become the sole ruler of Detroit but until then Detroit will simply have to make due with two."
 
It was subtle, but I could see the relief in my brother's body language. "Agreed. But I also have a few conditions."
 
"Oh?" asked Valeria with a raised brow.
 
"I've run the numbers, and our only realistic option to increase our military power in a short time is to go off planet and get it," said Hector. "That means we're going to need some kind of expeditionary force. Possibly even form a mercenary company. Whatever that ends up looking like they will need the use of this Star Lord and at least the Union and the Buccaneer. I want Logan to be in charge of this force."
 
I schooled my features, but I was a bit shocked. That had been the plan, yes, but I hadn't expected him to casually throw it in there as part of his marriage negotiations!
 
"May I asked why that is?" Valeria asked. "No offense to your sister, but there are more experienced soldiers or MechWarriors that we could call upon."
 
"First of all, she's the most qualified," began Hector, raising one finger. "She's the only one among us who's gone off world to receive proper military training at a real military academy. Not only that, but she graduated near the top of her class. She doesn't have the most experience, but she's smart and she has the training that is needed. Secondly," he continued, raising a second finger. "She's the only one that can access and operate the Mech Replicator. For that she needs to be near it, but she also needs the authority to do what she needs to in order to keep it as secret as we possibly can. And thirdly," he said, raising a third finger and then giving Valeria a little grin. "Running off and playing merc has been a dream of hers since she was a little girl, so I know that she'll do a good and proper job of it.
 
Valeria seemed to chew on that before seemingly coming to a decision. "Fine. I'll agree to that. But only if Vincent is appointed as her second in command."
 
Surprised, I looked towards Vincent, who I found had also just turned to look at me with a dumbfounded expression on his face. Huh. I guess he hadn't been expecting that one, either.
 
"Agreed," said Hector with an easy smile. "So."
 
"So."
 
"To go over things one more time," began Hector, barely holding back a smile. "We agree to marry and take over Detroit for our new, unified family. We agree that we will cooperate with each other to the fullest extent possible in order to achieve our shared goals. And finally, we agree to rule jointly until one of our children comes of age, at which time we'll install them as the sole rulers of Detroit when we feel that they are ready."
 
Valeria thought it over for a moment before giving him a decisive nod. "Agreed."
 
Then they shook hands on it. Not the most romantic way to start a new life together, but it was the traditional way to seal a deal.
 
Vincent and I shared a look, and he grinned at me. I smirked right back. It looked like he and I would be throwing together something like a mercenary group very soon.
 
I absolutely couldn't wait.
----
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