CHS2-1

==Chapter 1 - Book 2 – Chappy's Howling Siegers==
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Mercenary Office to the Governor 
New Munich (Capital City), Continent Adelaide 
Planet Giausar, Lyran Commonwealth
March 6, 2786
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Major Matthew ‘Chappy’ Chapman sat there in an office on the other side of the hall from the governor of the planet. The office was a fairly nice one, all local wood paneling that was stained a dark rich cherry color, built in bookcase ran the length of three walls with a sofa and recliner in the middle of the room and the desk off to the side. This contract was a simple one, Relief duty for the FWL front line soldiers as they try to defend against the Steiner War Machine. Conflicts were abundant throughout the Inner Sphere and what the experts are now calling The Succession War was swinging into full gear. It has been almost a year since him and his closest friends formed this unit. The unit has grown and is now a three mech company, two aero flights strong and through salvage, have enough tanks to make a company, the only problem, personnel. Matthew was not going to hire just anyone and that was the problem. Placing the dossiers back on the desk he decided to get up to retrieve some water out of the cooler when his aid burst into the office.
“Sir, a package just arrived for you at the ComStar station, only you can pick it up. The tech there said it was mark Urgent and Confidential for your eyes only. Curious, Matthew picked up his outer shirt of his uniform and said, “Ok, get the jeep I will meet you out front.”
Captain Pople was walking into the building when she ran into Matthew leaving, “I was just coming to see if you wanted to grab lunch.”
“Sorry I can’t, I have to get to the HPG Station and pick up some classified package or whatever it is.” Major Chapman said.
On his way over he hoped it was good news, but with it being classified it would not be about his wife or kids, that being said it made him nervous, who could or would send him a ‘for your eyes only’ message through the HPG. When he pulled up to the compound a tech was already there waiting to escort him to the message. Matthew left the jeep and went inside as they were walking through the maze of the compound the tech started to speak.
“Sir, glad you could come we have been looking for you for few months now, our information on you and your unit was limited. A message from Vice Admiral Chapman was sent with a secure electronic package attached for you about 7 months ago. You can download the message in here, sir.”
With that the tech opened a door to a 10x10 room with a console and a chair as the only furniture.
“Thank you”, Matthew said and then he shut and locked the door. Matthew was kind of in shock or dismay, an old message from his long-gone father. What was it, was it his father’s last-ditch attempt at getting his son to leave the Inner Sphere? Taking out a hidden scanner in his briefcase Matthew scanned the room and then set up the white noise feature of his device. Can’t be too careful these days, Matthew thought.
Sitting down in the chair he saw that the message was ready he pushed played and his father’s face popped up on the screen, the amount of money his father spent on sending a video message, this must be good Matthew thought sarcastically.
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“Son, I hope all is well. I heard about the unit your formed and the battles you fought on Helm. Even though you decided to stay on Earth I am proud of you for not being sucked into ComStar and started to fight for your ideas. I hope this gets to you before you leave Helm, there are some things there that you might want. In the secure package, there are a list of items that I left for you to help in your agenda. I hope that one day you and your offspring will discover what the Chapman family has always dreamed about. I know I never really said this too often, but I love you, miss you, and remember always hold on to your family. Don’t be like me.”
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The screen went black and then asked for a security code.
Matthew sat back in his chair and ran his hand through his dark brown hair. “What the frack.” he said out loud and then thought to himself could this day get any weirder. He assumed the code the computer was asking for was the personal code that him and his father had set up when they were both in SLDF was download, and not corrupted he open the index to the package to make sure it was all there. After checking all the codes that his father had at the beginning and end Matthew was satisfied that all was in order. He unplugged his data port and then deleted the message from the system. He then took a second data port out of his briefcase plugged it in and ran the security program verifying that the message was truly scrubbed. The program was almost done when the door started to make a loud noise with the tech banging on it yelling to let him in. Matthew saw that the program was done he retrieve the dataport and placed in the briefcase in the hidden location along with the other equipment, then unlocked the door. The tech rushed in furious looking at Matthew and the console.
“What did you just do? We got an alert saying the system was being hack!”
Matthew calmly looked at the tech and said. “Did you? How odd all I did was delete the message after I read it. All it was the Admiral saying he was proud of me and left me a gift, which I am sure you already knew that.”
The tech was taking back, “Ummm no of...course …not…I mean we would never read any message that was marked ‘for your eyes only’ honest.”
Matthew looked at the tech shook his head and started to leave.
“Wait Major I need to search you.”
“No, you don’t.” Matthew said. “If you do then everything you said is a lie, I am a free citizen that has done nothing but follow the Vice Admiral orders on this last matter that he sent as an officer of the Star League Defense Force now step aside”
With that Matthew left the building and went back to base.
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On the drive back he looked at his pad, three days until all the families show up from New Earth, he recently purchased a luxury liner (Dropship) so that for now on all his family along with the rest of the unit’s families can travel from contract to contract. Even though that will double his travel expenses having two drop ships, it was worth it, family was important. He was also wondering what was on the package, with all the security his father placed on it, Matthew decided back at the HPG site to only view it on his non planet network computer that was only connected to the Siegers database/network. He had also noticed a drone hovering over his vehicle the minute they left the HPG Station, slightly touching the side of the briefcase he continued to look at the news feed on his pad.
The vehicle just went around the final curve and the front gate to the base was in site, he elected to go to the dropship instead of the office the governor had given him for security reasons. There was however a problem, two dozen ComStar guards blocking the path into the base. Matthew’s driver came to a stop, at the same time the gate opens up and a dozen Siegers fully armed rushed out.
“Major Chapman, have your men stand down, by the order of Precentor Coulmen, I Adept Venc order you out of the vehicle with your briefcase so that I may search you for any illegal contraband. If I find any, I will keep it and you can continue your contract.”
Matthew slowly got out of the vehicle with his briefcase and complied to the search. “Captain Bruce, stand down it’s ok.” The Acolytes did not find anything on Matthew then they searched the vehicle. While they were searching the vehicle Adept Venc walked up to Matthew and said with a snug voice. “I to was once part of the SLDF I recognized that briefcase, standard issue, and it has a secret compartment.” The Adept ripped the briefcase away and all the Acolytes turned to look at their leader. Venc slowly looked at the briefcase then open it to the secret compartment, and there it was a data-port. “Noooo”, was all Matthew could say as he struggled being held by two Acolytes.
“I knew it, I outsmarted you dirty merc. Men we got what we came here for let them go move out.”
The COMSTAR troops left in a hurry and Captain Bruce walked up to his commander and asked what that was about. Matthew looked at his friend picked up the discarded briefcase went to the vehicle to retrieve his hat turned and started walking toward the main gate he looked at Captain Bruce and said, “It was all about deception.”
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Adept Venc pulled up to the HPG station and handed the Data-port to Precentor Coulmen. “I have retrieved the item for you, Sir.” Precentor thanked him and went inside to inspect the info, sure enough the data was on the drive. He listens to the message again but this time he had a code the code that the merc imputed the first time. After entering the code, the info of the gift was listed. The Precentor push backed in his chair, All this cloak and dagger shit, and all that was there was an Archer and a bank account with 30 million C-bills, unbelievable he thought.
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Matthew entered his office on the DropShip and turned on his anti-spying equipment then sat down at his desk. This office was not as nice as the one in the capital building, a makeshift office in the conference room of the DropShip, but it was more secure than the nicer office. Pulling out his secured Pad and inserting the data-port he made some coffee while he waited until the encryption ran its program. Someone started knocking at the door.
“Sir! Sir! Are you ok? Why is your door locked, this is the aid to the governor. I need to talk to you!”
“Just a second.” Matthew said as he reached out and closed his pad, he then opens the door, “What is it?”
“Sir the enemy has been spotted about 100 miles from our port city on the south side of the continent.”
“Yes, I know I have already dispatched a unit to aid in your forces against the enemy breakthrough, now if you will excuse me, I have matters to attend to.”
With that he shut the door to the dismay of the aid not because the Major did not open the door but an inch but because he was unable to place a new bug in the room. The room just a few minutes ago went dead silent and now the governor will not know what the mysterious message was about.
Matthew sat down with coffee in hand made a mental note to forbid anyone that was not a Sieger on the base, and started to read the message, after an hour of reading Matthew sat back and could not believe what he just read. His father left five caches of various equipment and supplies, the first one on Helm they already dealt with, although if he had known that was supposed to be all his he would have done things different. The last one on the list was the biggest surprise, a planet off all maps that has advance factories and repair equipment, enough equipment to create 5 units at least and also have personnel there loyal to the Chapman family. He then started to type a secure message to his contract personnel.
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Team,
Here is a list of three planets that we need to get to or as close as possible. I would like to get a contract to the actual planets, we can take contracts in between to save on cost of travel and gather more experience. There is a fourth planet that I am looking at too after some research I will identify the planet to you. They are listed in order; this is top priority, but we also need to be careful about letting others know that we want to be at these planets so tell our office at New Earth to be tactful. Thanks for all you do.
1. Ingress -- terra hegemony 
2. Balletine – Federated Suns
3. Bad News – Draconis Combine
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Major Chapman
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He then sent a message to his XO.
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Captain PopleI have something that the spouse support unit can start doing as soon as they have landed and gotten comfortable. I need them to start intel on the planet Ingress.
Thanks, Major Chapman.
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He did not dare give anyone the location of the fourth planet over any electronic message system. Since that location was out on the fringes of the other side of the inner sphere.
A knock at the door and then a voice. “Matthew its Bruce”
Matthew got up and let his friend in.
“What was all that about at the gate?” Bruce said while sitting down.
“Deception Ethan, deception, my father left an encrypted message for me seven months ago. I can only assume that COMSTAR has been trying to hack the message from day one. After I imputed the first code and listen to the message, I downloaded the whole message and then used a data-port security program to scrub the data from their system. When I left, I notice a drone following us and I assumed, correctly I might add, that they were going to cut us off and searched me. 
So, with a slight of hand, I had the briefcase download the file to the data-port that had the security program on it and then the original data-port went into a secret compartment in the floorboard of the vehicle. The data-port that the Adept has now is misinformation, because when they open it with the first code it will erase all the data except for two lines. First line was an Archer dad gave me and the second was a line of credit he had set up for us. Come over here, Ethan, and see what father really gave us, you will not believe it.”
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Office of General Hayes
Hilton Head Island
South Carolina, Terra
COMSTSAR Headquarters'
Almost a year has passed since she dealt with Matthew Chapman and his little merc unit. She was, up to now, just following their escapades, but here lately they were starting to get the attention of the COMSTAR civilian leaders. 
Hayes threw the file down on her desk, got up to stretch and get coffee. Chapman, she thought What is going on?, she rubbed her temple and carried her cup back to her desk. The last report she had, showed that his father sent him a secure message. One in which no one could hack into and then when they released it to see if they could read it while Matthew read it. He did not, he just downloaded and then hacked a cleaner into the system that deleted everything about him and the message. That's because the one that the Precentor said they retrieve was bogus and she knew it. Even if those other idiots did not. What was so important, she had to know. A plan formed in her mind, she needed someone inside his mercenary unit either a new guy or one that is already in place. She sat down and started to bring up files of spies that could infiltrate Chapman’s merry band of friends.
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Book 2 - 01