MBMSFS Chpt I1

==Manufacturing a Blueprint for a More Stable Federated Suns‎‎ - Interlude 1 - - Happenings Behind the Scenes Pt. 1 -==
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===A Job Offer===
[Commander Jake Mason]
[Nadir Jump Point, Jumpship "Have Money, Will Travel"]
[Izar, Izar System; Lyran Commonwealth]
[April 23rd, 3027]
The Marauders had taken on some tough assignments before, but to date, their most recent operation against Black Inferno on Eaton had been by far the toughest. 
 
Sebastian Spear's intel had been good.
 
Eaten did have a hidden 'Mech Salvage and Repair facility that was being used by Black Inferno, and there were a Company of 'Mechs defending the facility. Hell, the intel that Black Inferno might even use badly damaged 'Mechs that were slated to be scrapped in order to defend it had been right. However, that was the problem.
 
There was a company of fresh 'Mechs down there, but there was also two lances of half-scraped 'Mechs as well, which even if they were so badly damaged that it took only a single well-aimed salvo of his MAD-3D Marauder's PPC to put them down... it wasn't the armor but the weapons they brought to the fight that put Commander Jake Mason and his lance under pressure. The enemy pilots might have been stationed to guard the facility, but they were by no means green Mechwarriors. No, they knew their 'Mechs were one good shot away from being junked, and they fought like it- hiding behind their fresh comrades to use their armor to defend themselves while they solely focused on poking out and taking whatever shots they could.
Thankfully their 'Mechs were in such a terrible state, with their Targeting systems likely as damaged as their chassis because their shots missed more than they hit- but even a near miss was enough to put Jake and his well-seasoned Mechwarriors under significant pressure. The close quarters and lane-like nature of the canyons they fought through made the situation all the more difficult because the tight walls and numerous buildings made the LRM fire from his lance's Centurion and Orion practically useless; Lieutenant Dawkins had long since traded in his Grasshoper's LRM-5 pack for an SRM-4, so he wasn't nearly as affected, but it made him glad he decided to keep Captain Wanko and her Catapult back on the JumpShip.
Despite her great skill as a former DCMS pilot, Yuri Wanko's Catapult would have been in a dire situation had she gone down there with him.
 
"We almost got scrapped, Ryana," Jake Mason groused as he slid into the booth on the Have Money, Will Travel's grav deck, the Mercenary Commander sliding his thin plastic tray in front of him so he could begin picking at his MRE, "Tell me that ComStar has a job for us. Either an easy one or knows an Industrial Hub close by where we can affect some cheap repairs."
Their contracted JumpShip had just arrived at the Izar System's Nadir jump point, and their JumpShip was in contact with the planet's HPG, so hopefully Ryana had already checked the Mercenary Boards to see if any new jobs had popped up.
Ryana Campbell, a former AFFS Infantry Major and the Operations Officer for the Marauders all of the way back to the days she worked for his mother with Chloe's Cavaliers, sighed as she pulled her heated soup pouch away from her lips, "I hate to break it to you, Commander, but you weren't kidding when you said that you almost got scrapped. Fahad has been going ballistic in the Leopard's repair bay ever since you stepped back on board."
 
Jake felt his XO's trepidation as she pushed the noteputer on the table toward him, "Spear's men have already tallied the salvage from the 'Mechs we wrecked and the repair bays that were still in salvageable condition, but even with a $7.3 Million C-Bill payout from our shares for the operation we're looking at nearly $5 Million C-Bills in damages alone..."
 
Commander Mason felt his lip curl, "And Spears doesn't do 'Insurance' like everyone else since he's the one-"
 
"Helping us get revenge on Black Inferno by tracking them down, I know," Ryana's hand reached out and grabbed onto Jake's own before he could pick the noteputer up, her blue eyes staring at him wearily, "But we're all in this together, Commander. We're all behind you in seeking our revenge. Black Inferno didn't just kill your father, they destroyed the very landhold that gave us all a home. While most of the men were fortunate enough to not lose their dependents in the direct assault on the Cavalier's facilities, the damage destroyed their homes, Mason. It's why we're all here with you, until the end of the line... but we're starting to crack at the seams. We can't handle another mission like that, not so soon."
 
Jake, for the first time in a long time, felt like a young teenager once more as he gripped her hand firmly; the stress of years of fighting and hunting was starting to take its toll on not just him, but everyone else as well.
 
They have been hunting Black Inferno for twelve years now, with some short breaks in between, so maybe it was time for another one?
 
However, after having just struck a vital blow against Black Inferno had having recovered his father's Victor from the bastard who stole it from him on De Berry, Jake had to admit that his blood was still running hot. 
 
He wanted more.
 
Yet...
 
"Well, when you're right, you're right, Ryana. I think we could all use some R&R, and we'll use this downtime to shop for a 'Mech Repair facility that won't charge us an arm and a leg," Jake sighed as he released her hand and scrubbed a hand through his short hair, "So what jobs are available on the boards? Anything close by?"
 
Ryana nodded her head slowly as she took the noteputer back and began tapping through the displays, "Actually, ComStar has sent us a message with a request directly for us, Commander."
 
"Really?" He asked, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise as he raised the re-hydrated meatloaf speared by his spork up to his lips.
 
"Yes, it's a Garrison contract in the Federated Suns. Apparently, the CEO of Corean Enterprises has been ennobled with a Dukedom of his own by First Prince Hanse Davion, and he was impressed with our work during the Operation GALAHAD training exercises we did with Colonel Sortek and the Crater Cobras. He wants us to take a six-month contract to act as training cadre and OPFOR for Corean Enterprises' Corporate Security Forces," Ryana's fingers swiped over the noteputer before sliding it over, "However, the Duke did include a short personal message as well if you'd like to hear it."
 
Jake picked it up, the Mechwarrior staring at the image of the CEO, the man's visage tickling his memories something fierce, "What's the payout?"
 
"$5 Million C-Bills for six months, with extensions available as well as re-up bonuses, and a flat performance bonus if we hit training targets," Ryana interlaced her fingers in front of her mouth as she rested her elbows on the table, "A little more than two standard Raid contracts, and obviously there is no chance of salvage, but the Duke is offering to give us- and by us I mean Fahad- access to Corean Enterprises' extensive Repair and Refit facilities... free of charge."
 
Jake's eyes shot from the noteputer to Ryana, "He's willing to repair and let us customize our 'Mechs free of charge? That's pretty generous..."
 
The blonde Major licked her lips before she gestured to the noteputer, "I think the message will explain why it's so generous, Commander. I may have already listened to it, if only because Arthur Corean's name rang some bells for me."
 
Commander Mason looked down at the message and pressed play:
"Hello Commander Mason, I hope this message finds you well. 
 
If not, then I hope its contents breathe some life back into you.
 
In 3013 my brother, Andrew Corean, was a Mechwarrior stationed in the 3rd Davion Guards under the command of First Prince Ian Davion. In that year the 3rd Davion Guards clashed with the Combine's 2nd Sword of Light and two other Mech Regiments as well as ten armor regiments. The fighting in the 3rd Battle of Mallory's world was fierce, and a Mercenary Company by the name of Chloe's Cavaliers got dragged into the fighting, and it was in that fighting that your mother and father saved the life of my older brother by cutting off a DCMS advance. This allowed him and his recon lance to regroup with the First Prince, where he fought for two more days before he and his lance mates were killed in a valiant delaying action.
 
Even though he still perished, the selfless actions of your mother's mercenary company saved a great many lives, or safeguarded their lives until they were in a better position to spend them. The Cavalier's were instrumental in buying the time needed for reinforcements to arrive.
 
I know this because my brother still found the time to write letters to me and my elder sister over those long days of fighting that he passed off to the rear line units to be delivered in the event of his passing.
 
I've heard through the grapevine that many years ago Nik's Cavaliers had been decimated, and it was only after some careful searching that I learned that the son of Chloe and Nik Mason still lives on. It was your performance during the GALAHAD war games that finally put all of the pieces into place.
 
House Corean remembers its friends, and more importantly, House Corean pays its debts... so allow me to settle the debt that my elder brother wished to extend to your parents for saving his life on Mallory's World.
 
I look forward to your response."
----
Jake Mason felt a small sigh escape his nose as he slowly lowered the noteputer onto the table.
 
It was always interesting when little tidbits and factoids about his parent's lives were revealed to him as time went on. From fellow Mechwarriors to Mech Techs, Infantry, and Armor crews, it felt as though his mother and father all seemed to know someone from somewhere who always popped up to tell him another story about his parents. 
 
In the beginning, it had hurt fiercely to be reminded of them so much, the wounds freshly reopened from the loss of his father, but as time went on those wounds began to heal... and every story told about them from some stranger he'd never met felt like a balm to his soul. 
 
Like a little puzzle piece he hadn't even known he had been missing just... slotting into place.
 
Of course, having traveled with his parents since the Cavalier's inception, he had been present at Mallory's World, a teenage boy who was skilled as a pilot yet remanded to stand in the command center of their Union Dropship and listen as his mother and father fought against the Combine. Though it wasn't solely to help out the First Prince, no, it was a matter of survival, as when it came to the Combine it wouldn't have mattered if they were with the 3rd Davion Guards or not- they would have been destroyed all the same.
 
The Commander closed the personal message, finally removing the severe, cutting visage of the CEO and Duke from his sight, and he flipped back over to the official ComStar contract summary:
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Training Cadre
Contractee: Mason's Marauders- Respected; Reliable (ComStar MRB, last updated April 2nd, 3027)
Employer: Corean Enterprises
Targeting: None
Mission Type: Garrison; Training Cadre for Corean Security Forces
Difficulty: Low
Tonnage Limit: None
Rewards: 5,000,000 C-bills for the six-month contract; ext. optional, re-up bonus to be negotiated | Paid Travel to New Avalon, Federated Suns | Complete Repairs for all 'Mechs & Vehicles
Contract Summary: Duke Arthur Corean of Corean Enterprises is seeking out Mason's Marauders to act as training cadre and OPFOR to improve the quality of their on-site Security Forces at their New Avalon manufacturing facilities. He was impressed by Mason's Marauders' sterling reputation with the ComStar Mercenary Review Board, and was likewise impressed with the Marauder's tandem performance with the Crater Cobras during the Operation GALAHAD training exercises of 3026. The Duke is willing to pay the travel costs to have the Marauders travel to New Avalon where they will be provided Room & Board, as well as complete access to Corean Enterprises' extensive repair and refit facilities at no cost to the Marauders.
 
Contract Details: [Enclosed Within]
----
"It... honestly sounds exactly what we need right now, Ryana," Jake set the noteputer down as he ran the numbers in his head, "A few months of travel to recuperate, six months on good soil to get everyone back in the game, and if the Duke is willing to pay for all of our repairs then we'll be saving a lot of C-Bills."
 
"Enough to almost pay off the Leopard, in fact," Ryana piped up with a small smile on her lips, "I've already run the digits, Commander, and we'll be saving just under $7 Million C-Bills in repairs and refits alone- that is if you still want to put that Double Heatsink kit we found in your Marauder. Then with the $4 Million we have in the coffers and the $5 Million from the payout we can drop half on the Leopard's outstanding balance and we'll only have $7 Million left to pay off on it."
 
Commander Mason smiled as he slid his empty meatloaf tray off to the side and picked up the square bowl of pork'n beans, "And we won't even have to pay the $950,000 C-Bills for the jumps either. What a guy. Though, speaking of the guy, what do we know about him? I know you still keep in touch for your buddies from the AFFS..."
 
Ryana shrugged, "Unfortunately I don't have much I can tell you right now. I do know that he is supposedly some sort of genius scientist who is working on a lot of advances, and became the CEO of Corean in 3025 after his parents were killed in a Dropship accident, but other than that? I'm just as in the dark as you are- I didn't even know that he had become a Duke until the ComStar Request came through."
 
The Commander hummed as he polished off the beans and moved on to the cornbread, which was quite flakey and moist for a ration- he idly checked the brand of the MRE to see if he couldn't get a few more cases to see if the rest of the meals were just as good; if they were then their current stock was going to get liquidated. "Well, take some C-Bills and reach out to your contacts. We'll accept and get underway, so tell Fahad to save his sanity and not even bother touching the 'Mechs. Least of all my father's... Corean Enterprises' has got to have the best equipment, so there is no sense in Fahad pulling his hair out when we can just have them do it all for us."
 
"Ooh, Fahad is not going to like that," Ryana winced, "But I suppose that makes sense. I'll just frame it as him getting some extra PTO in preparation for all of the headaches he'll be enduring working with Corean's engineers and Techs."
 
Jake nodded, "Sounds good to me. I'll go up and bring this to the Captain of the Will Travel and they should be able to verify if the pre-paid travel account is stocked. If it is then we can get the hell out of here as soon as the KF drive is charged up."
 
The Commander polished off the vanilla pudding before fixing his tray up and taking it over to the tray shelf- the man locking it behind the door so that its plastic contents wouldn't drift off when the grav deck stopped its rotation before jumping, "Let me know what you find, Ryana."
 
"Of course, Commander. Get some rest and take it easy, alright?"
Mason's Marauders
Commander Mason's Lance (Active):
-Centurion-C9A
-Grasshopper-5H
-Orion-1K
-Marauder-3D
Commander Mason's Storage:
-Locust-1V
-Catapult-C1
-Hunchback-4P
----
===Secret Mission in the League===
[Agent Game]
[Nagayan Mountain Complex]
[Helm, Helm System, Free Worlds League]
[June 5th, 3026]
"I still can't believe the First Prince's intuition was right on the money." Breathed Agent Rock, the mousey brunette's breathing hot and heavy as they surveyed the interior of the Nagayan Mountain Complex, a Star League-era Castle Brian that was touted as a 'Field Library'... if one read the plaque at the entrance to the expansive underground facility.
 
Agent Game had to agree with Agent Rock.
 
Staring at dozens of regiments worth of war material all lined up in perfect little rows had that mesmerizing effect that even she found difficult to ignore. Self-Propelled Artillery Pieces, Tanks, APCs, Hovercraft, VTOLs, Aerospace Fighters, and of course, Battlemechs. All of which were in pristine condition within the singular giant cavern beneath the Nagayan mountains, and the other chambers leading to and from it were all jam-packed with weapons, spare parts, heatsinks, Active Probes, ECM modules, and more... equal to thrice the tonnage of the 'Mechs and Vehicles on display.
 
That didn't include the Regimental Hangar of the Royal Division's assets, nor the secret hangar of the Royal SOG unit's smaller hangar either.
 
It appeared that the logs and data inferred about the SLDF base being the logistics hub for the entire FWL theater of war were not wrong in the slightest.
 
"Less talking, more cataloging," Agent Scissors grunted lightly, the whip-thin blonde who was posing as Agent Rock's 'husband' was furiously typing away at his noteputer, "We need accurate accounting for everything here if we want the Prince to know just how much lift we're going to need to move all of this."
 
"We have plenty of time, Scissors. Try to relax. We're supposed to be taking an extended hike and camping trip out in the mountains and aren't expected to be back at the hotel in a week at the latest. We've spoken to more than enough people around Helmsdown for SAFE to feel confident in our location... if they even picked up on us in the first place," Agent Paper chided lightly, the red-haired man playing the role of Agent Game's 'Husband', toyed with his mustache as he piloted a small camera drone around the hangar in slow, lazy circles, "Whatever we miss on digits the eggheads and analysts who review our footage will note the discrepancy. And if we have to leave some stuff behind then it is no real loss. We'll be making out like bandits if we can grab even a fifth of what is here."
 
-12 Ballista Self-Propelled Artillery Pieces (55t x 12 = 660t)
-12 Sniper Self-Propelled Artillery Pieces (80t x 12 = 960t)
-12 Marksman Self-Propelled Artillery Pieces (65t x 12 = 780t)
-12 Mobile-Long Tom Self-Propelled Artillery Pieces (95t x 1140t)
Agent Game, the leader of this operation, squinted at the last group of 12 artillery pieces in the first (of four!) Artillery Parks in the hangar before she gave up and thumbed her noteputer over to the Battlebook for SLDF Military Vehicles and began flipping through the pages until she found what she was looking for. After double-checking to ensure she was correct, she flipped back over to her notepad application and resumed writing.
 
-12 Thumper Self-Propelled Artillery Pieces (65t x 12 = 780t)
"10, 20, 30.... 90... 120... 180, 190, 200... 250... 280, 290- 300 flatbed trucks," Agent Paper groaned as he counted out loud, his eyes glued to the drone controller's camera feed, "They only carry six tons worth of equipment. I mean, I guess this place is supposed to be able to resupply the entire theater for the SLDF, but how often do your supply lines get hit?"
 
"I think you should not bother to question why vehicles that are here are here," Game responded dryly, the woman walking away from the group toward the second Artillery Park to begin her tallying, "Just know that it is here, and that we must retrieve as much as we can for the Federated Suns. There is nothing else we need to do; leave the thinking to the analysts and desk jockeys."
 
That seemed to shut down any further conversations, and while Agent Game enjoyed the silence over their needless quipping, she was probably a touch too harsh on them. While they were all seasoned and accomplished infiltrators in service to MIIO and the Federated Suns, when compared to her they were still just babies. 
 
She was fifty years old with almost 25 years of experience in the field though she didn't look it thanks to frequent trips to the Magistracy to maintain her youthful visage longer; she barely looked a day over thirty, with her current facade having served her well enough for the past five years. Game hadn't needed to get her face restructured since she had been working as an instructor at The Farm, training the next generation of MIIO Agents, but when the First Prince came to her with this important task more than willing to rejoin active service once more.
 
She would scout out Helm, ascertain if the Castle Brian actually existed, and if so she would report to the First Prince directly before she could finally 'retire' from MIIO... and take on her last, and most likely, most important assignment yet.
 
To marry Arthur Corean and be his loving wife, minder, and bodyguard.
 
She closed her noteputer, and with the backlight off she caught sight of her reflection in its shiny surface.
 
-----
To think that she once had black hair and green eyes, but after decades of undercover work, numerous facial reconstructions, and some gene treatments she was now red-haired with freckles and fair skin; her eye color hadn't changed, not after she changed it once last time around, but her retinal patterns had been adjusted be completely different than her last persona. Still objectively just as beautiful as a woman could be, though her hips, bottom, and bosom had shrunk quite a bit as she adjusted her diet and had some fat removed so that she carried a Spacer's frame; her bone density and muscle density would be high, but Spacers who lived on Jumpships most of their lives were notoriously lightweight, and the bland coveralls she wore while 'working' hid her body easily enough.
 
Honestly, she couldn't wait for all of this to be over with so she could return to her fighting weight; she had a handsome, wealthy, intelligent husband to woo after all, and while all men had their preferences, she had yet to meet a man who turned away a woman because she had some meat on her bones.
 
Game sighed happily at the thought of spending her future years dressing up and attending galas or acting as her future husband's secretary. Truly, she owed the Prince a great deal for finding her such an exceptional retirement package; money was great, and she could find herself a handsome man to marry, but someone of Arthur Corean's status was incredibly hard to come by when one didn't have a noble title of one's own to wave about like a flag. 
 
That the Prince said he was an honest, hardworking, and good man made it all the more sweet; she'd spent her time undercover seducing terrible men so she could make them do as she needed, or guarding important FedSuns nobility who just ended up being so irritating that she half-considered letting any potential assailants succeed just so they could be removed from the upper echelons of nobility. 
 
The fewer idiotic nobles there were to poison the well that was the Federated Suns the better, no.
----
[Agent Game]
[Helmsdown]
[Helm, Helm System, Free Worlds League]
[June 10th, 3026]
 
They had utilized the full seven days to catalog as much as they could, though there were still whole rooms filled with items that they hadn't had enough time to peruse in detail. They were mainly crates of infantry kits, enough to outfit multiple divisions worth of infantry, but they did accurately count the crates of weapons and SLDF Jump Kits for the infantry. Some shipping containers with Endo-steel blanks were left unmolested, however, as they ended up spending far more time cataloging the Royal and SOG hangars... and because of that there just wasn't enough time to get a full read on everything.
 
Then there was the largest find of them all: The Library Core.
 
However, they didn't bring with them a large enough core to even copy it, and even if they did there was no way they could smuggle such a thing off-world. Noteputer data chits hidden in bawdy jewelry purchased from handmade vendors or stitched into the linings of packaged clothing was one thing, a data core requiring a hard case and a four-man lift was a whole different thing entirely. Still, with some space left over on their data chits, their tech expert, Agent Paper, copied some choice information over that he found, mainly on Star League Double Heatsinks, and put that on the remainder of their stealth data drives; if something happened and they never recovered the Helm Cache, then at least the information on the Double Heatsinks would give them an edge.
 
In order to calm their nerves before they left for the spaceport, Game ordered her team to engage in some 'recreational activities' to liven them up and give them a healthy glow. During the car ride to the spaceport from their hotel they mutually, manually stimulated each other sexually (to completion multiple times for the ladies so their legs had just the right amount of wobble with their steps), and none for the men, unfortunately; the straining of their clothes and their frustration at being blue-balled would be more than enough to conceal any physiological nervousness as they passed through the lackluster customs port to catch the soonest dropshuttle to their Jumpship at the Nadir.
 
Game forced herself to blush beet red as she shifted uncomfortably next to her 'husband', a plaintive whimper on her lips, "You got me all wet. Now I'm going to be miserable all the way to ship."
 
"Well at least you got to cum, you gave me a handy through my pants and didn't even finish me off," He whispered lowly back as they stepped up next in line, and he gave the bored but clearly interested security officer at the scanning devices an awkward smile, "Hey, sup?"
 
"Then you'd have sticky pants and there is no way we'd hide that," She hissed back, just barely audible to the guard who was now more interested in watching the drama than their travel and shopping bags being scanned. This was probably the most interesting thing he'd seen all month.
 
She 'noticed' him staring and blushed even harder as she followed Paper through the body scanner and then slapped his arm, "He heard you, Allen! Now I bet he thinks I'm some Canopian floozy!"
 
'Allen' wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her away while giving the security officer a rakish grin from over his shoulder, "Don't worry about him. Worry about all of the maintenance cycles we're going to be shoved onto since we got the Ground Time instead of the others. We're going to be working out asses off just because you wanted to see the mountains on some backwater. I wanted to see the Mech Arena on Solaris."
 
With their bags in hand, they sat in the waiting room while Rock and Scissors made their way through security without a problem, and after a few hours, their dropshuttle was ready to leave.
 
Within an hour they were exiting Helm's Atmo and burning the four days toward their MIIO-backed Free Worlds League Merchant Jumpship.
 
From there it would be an agonizingly long wait until they could catch their Command Line back to New Avalon.
 
The First Prince needed to know that Helm was everything he thought it would be, and more.
----
===Loyal Son of the Commonwealth===
[LOKI Agent #34, aka "Black Hand" Jack]
[Blackstone, Oberon Confederation]
[January 24th, 3027]
Deep in the middle of his private hunting grounds, Black Hand Jack looked at the packet in his hands, the deep-cover LOKI Agent committing everything to memory so that he could return it to the Handler who delivered it to him.
 
It had been a bold move slipping onto Blackstone, but given it was little better than a pirate haven all his handler had to do was buy passage to the place and walk the walk and talk the talk. Dangerous, but ultimately much more simple than the original plan of trying to infil with a Leopard. Black Hand Jack was glad that the Handler's superiors were able to be turned away from that course of action; even if the planet had little in the way of infrastructure, that didn't mean that people didn't have eyes and ears. Even as far out from his band's 'playground' as he was, safely ensconced in the solitude of his personal hunting grounds that he jealously guarded, there was no way the Dropship would have been able to remain undetected.
 
"Your mission is to raid through the Commonwealth, attacking a few choice targets to rile up the defenders, and then terminate at Helm." His Handler's gruff voice spoke out as he chewed on a chaw of tobacco.
 
"These targets seem particular." He noted idly, the man enjoying the fact that he didn't have to play the role of the bombastic, rapacious pirate around his Handler. He could speak as softly as he wished and no one else was around to see it as a sign of weakness.
 
He was Black Hand Jack, a renowned pirate that terrorized the Draconis Combine and neighbor states of the Oberon Confederation, and while he was an undercover operative, the members of his crew were most definitely pirates. Violence was the only language they spoke, with strength the only currency they recognized.
 
Aside from food, water, slaves, 'Mechs, vehicles, and spare parts, that is.
 
"Those nobles have been a thorn in the Archon's side. Do what you must, take what you will, however, leave the civilian centers alone; they offer you nothing, but the House Guards will have their LCAF counterparts pulled away for an upcoming series of war games, so that will be when you strike."
 
Agent 34 nodded.
 
Nobles that caused the Archon trouble must be eliminated for the good of the Commonwealth.
 
He didn't speak any further as he analyzed the route his JumpShip was to take, taking care to memorize the rough jump coordinates of a few empty and abandoned systems that they would use to duck their pursuers and continue their path toward Helm. 
He didn't ask what was at Helm. He didn't need to know, nor did he care. He had his mission. His duty. 
 
"Once I am at Helm?"
 
"You are to destroy the HPG station there. As well as all communication satellites within your reach. Helm must be dark. However, the Archon wishes for you to leave the Precentor there alive. Him being alive will corroborate the story that it was a band of pirates at the end of their rope that destroyed the HPG. No one can suspect that it was the Commonwealth involved. Your cover will be burned completely, as the complete destruction of the Black Hand Jack pirates is a mission goal. You will be extracted-"
 
"No." Agent 34 hadn't realized he'd spoken until the words left his mouth.
 
His Handler blinked but allowed him to organize his thoughts.
 
"It will be much more convincing if I were to perish with them. No matter what corpse double you have provided it might not pass careful scrutiny," The Agent reasoned softly, "That and I want to die. I have been a pirate for far too long. I have murdered many. Tortured many. Raped many. Defiled and destroyed much. All of it in service to the Commonwealth and LIC, but... I feel my soul still bears the stains. This... will be my final assignment."
 
Agent 34 felt a sweeping sense of relief as his Handler nodded, "You will not be remembered, but I will never forget. For the Commonwealth. For the Archon."
 
"For the Commonwealth and the Archon, long may she reign..."
----
===Operation Hoodwink===
Year: 3025
December 10th, 3025: Arthur tells Hanse of Helm. Hanse hands over information to MIIO.
 
Year: 3026
March 1st, 3026: MIIO tells Hanse that there might be something to it. Hanse tells MIIO to dispatch a team.
March 18th, 3026: Command Line from New Avalon to Caph takes 17 days.
May 10th, 3026: Normal JumpShip traffic takes 51 days from Caph to Helm. MIIO team blends in with MIIO Jumpship crew, lands on Helm for Ground Leave.
May 15th, 3026: Land on Helm. Conduct tourism.
June 2nd, 3026: After 17 days, they find the Nagayan Castle Brian, and upon opening it up, realize its there. They return to Helms down and rent camping equipment.
June 5th, 3026: After three days of exploring and cataloging everything they can, they return to Helmsdown and return to their JumpShip.
July 31th, 3026: Return to Caph, slowed down five days due to JumpShip mistimings.
August 15th, 3026: Return to New Avalon system. 7 day burn in.
August 22nd, 3026: Hanse Davion is informed along with Ardan Sortek and Quintus Allard of the Helm Cache.
August 29th, 3026: Hanse has planned with MIIO and Highest Ranking AFFS officers. Sends message to Tharkad to expect Ardan Sortek.
October 13th, 3026: Message returns from Katrina Steiner, letting him know that she'll 'expect Ardan to come bearing gifts' and that she has a Command Line set up to recieve him. Hanse and Ardan Sortek depart New Avalon. Seven day burnout to Jump Point.
October 20th, 3026: First Prince's Command Line to Tharkad begins.
November 5th, 3026: After 23 days, First Prince arrives clandestinely with Ardan Sortek at Tharkad system. Seven day system burn.
November 12th, 3026: Begins discussions with Katrina Steiner, Melissa Steiner, Quintus Allard, LIC, highest ranking AFFS & LCAF.
December 12th, 3026: After 30 days of planning, First Prince Leaves Tharkad. Seven day system burnout.
December 15th, 3026: Message begins being passed from Tharkad LIC to Blackstone in Oberon Confederation; Pirate Asset is being activated. (40 days, semi-command line; est. arrival Jan 24, 3027)
December 19th, 3026: First Prince Command Line begins.
 
Year: 3027
January 11th, 3026: First Prince arrives in New Avalon System. Is briefed about the nearly successful assassination attempt made against Arthur. Begins process of ennobling Arthur while on seven day burn in.
January 18th, 3027: First Prince arrives on New Avalon, and enobles Arthur Corean secretly before sending him to Petrolia in secret to get the Recharge station up and running.
January 20th, 3027: Arthur Corean leaves New Avalon, seven day burnout to Jump Point.
January 27th, 3027: Arthur Corean begins 21-day journey to Petrolia.
February 1st, 3027: Message arrives to LIC Pirate asset on Blackstone. Asset begins prepping for movement to Helm.
February 13th, 3027: LIC Pirate Asset begins to make his way south. Est. 200 days plus raids, (Actually arrives September 11th, 3027 after 210 days).
February 17th, 3027: Arthur Corean arrives at Petrolia. Gets acquainted with Recharge station, Olympus station personnel, and Federated-Boeing personnel. 22nd Independent Special Task Group (22nd ISTG) begins six day system burn in toward Petrolia II to begin setting up their temporary headquarters.
February 23rd, 3027: 22nd ISTG arrives on Petrolia II. Conducts 24 hour orbital survey of land to match against previous reports.
February 24th, 3027: 22nd ISTG lands on Petrolia II, meets with Mayor Faraba, the largest town on the planet with 44,000 people.
March 3rd, 3027: Recharge station is halfway re-opened. Arthur has had great success meeting with Fed-Bo personnel. Learns a lot about Recharge stations from Olympus personnel.
March 17th, 3027: Recharge station is re-opened, and Arthur spends more time with Fed-Bo personnel. Gets promise to have new Jumpship ownership and Dropships constructed in less than a year or his money back (jokingly). lol Asks Fed-Bo to swing by New Avalon to deliver a message to Yuri Corean and to get more samples of the product (Andosteel, Henan Crystal) for testing purposes.
March 24th, 3027: Arthur spends a week of more time with the Olympus engineers and crew, learning about the Station and how it works. Before leaving Corean Gem station for Petrolia II, a six day burn in, a JumpShip arrives carrying the tax collector of the Duchy of Sodus. They meet and Arthur is cordial in the beginning, but after learning that the man has arrived late to collect the year's taxes, Arthur is incensed. Show up four months late to collect the taxes? Over his dead body. He tells the man to go and tells him in no uncertain terms that whoever Duchess Minova is that he hasn't heard of her, but he isn't afraid to punch down- the full weight of his noble power and the power of Corean will fall down upon her if she so much as utters a word of complaint. If she tries to fuck with him then he will bury her. First politically and then literally. Salim is amused.
March 30th, 3027: Arthur arrives on Petrolia II and meets with LTC Reiker and the Mayor of Faraba city.
April 16th, 3027: Fed-Boeing design team arrives on New Avalon and plans with Yuri Corean and the scientific design team to build four purpose built Mammoth Dropships. Yuri is not enthused.
May 1st, 3027: Corean Gem is requisitioned by MIIO and disappears from the map.
September 3rd, 3027: LIC Pirate asset arrives in Solaris system. Quietly they unfurl their jumpsail and begin recharging.
September 5th, 3027: Elements of the 10th Skye Rangers and 32nd Lyran Guards 'Abandon' Solaris to head off the Pirates at Helm. Leaving Solaris VII undefended, though the 6th Dongel Guards is just behind them. It is an elaborate ruse, trying to bait an attack on Solaris VII if they get greedy thinking the world undefended.
September 3rd, 3027: LIC Pirate asset arrives in Amity system at Nadir jumppoint. Captures and sabotages nearby JumpShips while recharging. Amity dispatches fighters to kill.
September 4th, 3027: Lyrans arrive in Amity. Half burn toward pirates, other half turn their attention to the Lyrans. The Pirates reveal their hidden fighters and destroy the Marik Militia fighters, in the meanwhile the Lyrans launch their own fighters and destroy them after telling them they're only here for the pirates goes unheeded. They broadcast it system wide they only want the pirates.
September 11th, 3027: LIC Pirate asset arrives in Helm system. Captures JumpShips and begins destroying satellites. 4 days burn toward Helm.
September 13th, 3027: Elements of the 10th Skye Rangers and 32nd Guards jump into system, begin 4 day burn toward Helm.
September 15th, 3027: LIC Pirate asset and his crew land on Helm. "It's been an honor boys. To glory!" Spend two days destroying local militia before 'having as much fun as the can before the noose'. LIC Pirate Asset gets into a confrontation with ComStar Precentor Emiliano Rachan, and has male ComStar employees killed and the women raped. Only Rachan is left alive as he watches the Pirate torch the HPG station, destroying it.
September 16th, 3027: Unknown jump signatures are detected entering Helm. (Helm Liberation Team begins grueling, 2.5 day, 1.75G burn from Nadir Jump point)
September 17th, 3027: 10th Skye Rangers and 32nd Lyran Guards land on planet.
September 18th, 3027: 10th Skye Rangers and 32nd Lyran Guard begin hunting the Pirates who fled into the lands surrounding Helmsdown. They work with the locals to track them, being pulled south where the pirates fled toward the ocean once their Dropship was destroyed.
September 19th, 3027: (Helm Liberation Corps containing the largest assembly of Dropships since the start of the succession wars, enters atmosphere from the pole and flys around the planet, dropping down with 7 Unions, 4 Overlords, 5 Excalibers, 8 Mammoths, 8 Mules, and 2 Leopards. They disembark with the MIIO Advance Team and begin packing up the base.)
September 23rd, 3027: (Helm Liberation Corps is forced to send up three fully packed Excalibers and two Mules to the Corean Gem, at 1.5g, where they arrive September 26th, spend 48 hours offloading, and then return at 1.75g, arriving September 29th).
September 25th, 3027: (Helm Liberation Corps sends back all seven Unions and two Mammoths.)
 
September 27th, 3027: 10th Skye Rangers and 32nd Lyran Guards finish off the Pirates and hand them over to the populace, except for LIC Pirate asset; he was rescued and given a corpse double that was strung up in the town square. 10th Sky Rangers and 32nd Lyran Guard start packing up and taking salvage, though leave most behind as a small gesture of goodwill.
September 28th, 3027: (Helm Liberation Corps sends back remaining Dropships except three Excalibers and two Mules who land on the 29th.)
September 29th, 3027: (Helm Liberation Corps 3 Excaliburs and 2 Mules land and begin packing up the remainder.)
September 30th, 3027: 10th Skye Rangers and 32nd Lyran Guards are all packed up and they feast with the populace as Emilian Rachan watches in complete disdain. More than a few babies were made that night.
September 31st, 3027: (Helm Liberation Corps 3 Excalibers and 2 Mules lift off from planet and burn toward Nadir jump point.)
October 1st, 3027: 10th Skye Rangers and 32nd Lyran Guards lift off and burn toward Zenith jump point. "Unawares of the other Dropships in their AO" the sensors scrubbed of the data.
October 3rd, 3027: (Helm Liberation Corps load up their JumpShips and make two quick jumps back to Lyran space with the Corean Gem and the four Monoliths that carried the group).
October 14th, 3027: (Helm Liberation Corps arrives safely at Hesperus II, free of preying eyes as they begin offloading their cargo and start to divvy it up.)
October 17th, 3027: Commanders of the 10th Skye Rangers and 32nd Lyran Guards are "court-martialed for insubordination" and forced into a supremely cushy retirement, though they are applauded for putting an end to the Pirates that tore through Lyran Space.
December 25th, 3027: The Corean Gem returns to Petrolia, which Hanse insists that Arthur be present, and the Gem returns with a whole bunch of goodies for him. Though Arthur only wants to study them so that he can make better things, he takes them and uses them to stand up his Ducal Guard and reinforce his Mercenary units (A Company of Crater Cobras and Mason's Marauders).
*; Chapter Note from the Author : If you see some stuff in here that doesn't happen "On Screen" you can assume that I either forgot about it or it didn't happen (particularly if it differs from what I wrote. I'm not going to bother correcting one or two different details in this as mainly this is the timeline for the Helm Heist, and any other dates for Arthur were just put in there to give me some ideas as to where Arthur was in the timeline (or possible ideas to write about for his sections during this time).
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