ADO Chpt 8

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==HomecomingChapter 8 - Aurigan Dreams (BattleTech CYOA)==
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===Discussion at the Dinner Table ===
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“I’m giving you a million C-Bills.”
“I beg your pardon?” repeats Dad as both he and Mum stare at me.
“I’m giving you a million C-Bills,” I repeat over dinner while Vanessa watches the byplay curiously.
“Are you sure, Liz?” asks Mum, getting betrayed looks from both of my sisters, “I know you have come into an unexpected windfall, but a million C-Bills is still a lot of money.”
Not enough to buy even the cheapest ‘Mech, but Mum does have a point. For an ordinary family like ours, a million C-Bills is a large amount and here on Coromodir. It should comfortably last them for a very long time. Perhaps even forever with the right investments and sensible spending.
“I have over a hundred million C-Bills now, Mum," I tell her, “I can spare just one million to my family and I trust you and Dad to make it last without wasting it.”
“Mum,” hisses Melika as she glares at Mum, “stop trying to talk Liz out of giving us money.”
“I just want to make sure that she isn’t being reckless in her spending.” says Mum.
“Don’t worry, I learnt responsible spending from you and Dad, Mum.” I reassure her, “I am fully aware that while a hundred million C-Bills might seem like a lot, it can go very quickly if you aren’t careful.”
“Elizabeth,” asks Malia sweetly as the middle child of my younger sisters smiles at me in what I suspect is supposed to be a cute or endearing way, “Do you think I could become a MechWarrior in your mercenary company?”
“Malia.” warns Dad.
“Not until you’ve finished your last year of school,” I reply, “And you have confirmed that you are neurohelmet-compatible. There is no point in getting your hopes up if it turns out that you aren’t able to pilot a ‘Mech in the first place.”
“Seventeen is still a little young.” says Dad.
“It is old enough for enlistment.” says Mum, “As Moana has shown us.”
“I still don’t approve of that.” mutters Dad.
“Moana?” asks Vanessa.
“My third sister, just a year younger than me.” I explain before something else occurs to me, “Well, she is my third sibling on Mum’s side of the family. She signed up with the military and has just started a stint in the Royal Guard as a Jump Infantry cornet. Dad doesn’t approve of Moana deciding to join the ACM.”
“It is just that there are plenty of safer careers for her to follow.” says Dad, “She didn’t have to join the military. A smart girl like her could have taken plenty of other options and she chose the one with the highest risk of dying.”
“Not quite the highest.” says Mum, “There are dangers to being a soldier, but while you run the risk of seeing battle. There are some more dangerous jobs out there.”
 
“Still too dangerous by half,” mutters Dad.
“How does Liz’s new career path fit into this?” asks Vanessa.
“She was already on the DropShip, heading for the jump point when I found out about it.” answers Dad as he shoots me a look, “I suppose being the colonel in charge puts her in a better position than being a mere cornet. The fact she is piloting what my wife says is a very heavily armored BattleMech helps. That has to be safer than what Moana has chosen to do.”
“It is.” says Mum, “The Atlas has almost as much tonnage in armor as many ‘Mechs have tonnage in total. Being a MechWarrior is safer and more prestigious than being mere infantry. No offense to Moana, of course.”
“Of course not,” says Vanessa, “My own mother serves in the infantry and my brother did too before he signed up with Liz. I would have probably signed up for the infantry as well if Grandpa hadn’t found the convoy when he did. Infantry might have been a budding family tradition, but only a fool turns down the chance to be a MechWarrior in favor of the infantry.”
“Moana isn’t a fool!” protests Melika, giving Vanessa a glare, causing the Feddie girl to look to me for support.
“She wasn’t calling Moana a fool.” says Mum gently, “Unlike Elizabeth and Vanessa, Moana never got the chance to be a MechWarrior. BattleMechs are a rare sight in the Coalition and I can’t think of one that doesn’t belong to either a noble family or a mercenary outfit.”
“I want to be a MechWarrior!” declares Malia, “Can I be a MechWarrior, Liz?”
“Maybe?” I answer hesitantly as I shoot Mum a look as I would rather not be the one who has to do this, especially since she is responsible for my sister not me.
“You've already been told that you will have to finish your last year of school first.” Mum tells Malia, “Same goes for you, Melika. Neither of you can sign up with any military or mercenary units until you have finished school and we’ll need to test you for neurohelmet compatibility first as well. No good getting your hopes up if it turns out that you are unable to use a neurohelmet in the first place.”
“Yes, Mum.” says Malia, “Finish school before becoming a MechWarrior.”
“If my unit is still active by then and you do have neurohelmet capability, I would be happy to start training you.” I tell her.
“Still active?” asks Dad worriedly.
“Statistically speaking, four in ten mercenary outfits don’t survive their first six months and six in ten of those that do fail to survive the next year.” I answer.
“Most mercenary units start out with a lance or platoon at most,” points out Vanessa, “You already have a regiment not to mention DropShips, a JumpShip and a sensible head on your shoulders. We might not become a big famous name, but I would be surprised if we go out of business barring a major disaster or two.”
“I suppose,” I say as I try to stop thinking about all of the things that could go wrong and focus on enjoying this family meal.
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===Working out the Deal===
The meeting between my people and my prospective employers had seven people attending, four on my side as I had brought my senior leadership with me while High Lord Arano and Lord Espinosa brought someone who I very much recognized. I had never previously met or seen Raju “Mastiff” Montgomery before, he had a reputation in the Aurigan Reach and he was too prominent a figure in that ga-in those memories for me to forget about him.
 
I’ll admit that I was surprised to see him already in the employ of House Arano, but thinking about it, it makes sense. He has trained Kamea Arano since she was fourteen and the heir presumptive to the Aurigan Coalition is currently sixteen so yeah, Mastiff should be working for House Arano.
Thinking about it, I can't help but wonder why he had been training Kamea for almost a decade at that point while he had only been training Victoria for ‘a single season’. That is a massive discrepancy which doesn’t quite make much sense to me. Maybe Lord Espinosa had already decided to overthrow Kamea and Victoria training under Mastiff was a ploy to gain his trust for that?
Whatever the answer, hopefully it will all be irrelevant and House Espinosa won’t betray House Arano and the Aurigan Coalition.
The meeting itself went well as we hammered out the deals and while I am very inexperienced, I felt that I got a decent deal and what I’ve read in the mercenary’s handbook seems to back that up. A three month contract for garrison duty on Coromodir VI with a million C-Bills in monthly pay, generous overhead compensation with full technical support and getting a quarter of any salvage with three priority items for each engagement. The only real drawbacks were limited command rights in the form of me directly answering to Lord Espinosa who in turn will be answering to Lord Arano, having to handle our own transportation and no battle-compensation.
Even then, all of those were understandable given the Coalition’s circumstances. Directly answering to Lord Espinosa is hardly a burden at this stage while I had enough DropShips and JumpShips to handle all of my own transportation. The lack of battle compensation made sense as my heavy tonnage hardware would be something that the Coalition would struggle greatly to replace if they could at all. Even if I had got some compensation, it would be very limited in nature due to what my employers were capable of providing.
It should be enough to turn a profit whilst I build up the Rimward Sentinels into a proper fighting force. For now at least, since a million C-Bills is more than enough for my current upkeep costs, that will change as I recruit more personnel into my ranks. Not to mention that signing bonuses and the other costs of recruitment will cut into my funds even with the generous amount of support I am receiving from House Arano and House Espinosa.
That is just what went into the official MRB-approved contact as there were the unofficial agreements that were made during that meeting.
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===Contract Paticulars===
“And if we are all agreed, I’ll have someone set up an official contract with the Mercenary Review Board for you to accept.” says High Lord Arano, “Now with that contract settled, there are some other things I would like to discuss before this meeting comes to an end.”
 
I notice Thomas tensing from beside me, but both Vance and Commodore Geary just keep their professional look despite those potentially worrisome words. As for myself, I just trust that neither Lord Arano or Lord Espinosa will try to screw us over because that would mean that my plans will be seriously derailed.
 
“My daughter wishes to join the Rimward Sentinels after finding out about our meeting yesterday,” says Lord Arano, “She has decided that your sympathies towards the Coalition means that you are trustworthy enough to serve under and values the greater chance to see some action that she would not have as part of the ACM."
 
Huh. On the one hand, it is a good way to befriend Kamea Arano and get in her family’s good books. On the other hand, it means being responsible for keeping the heir to the Aurigan Coalition alive and while she might be a good pilot in the future, who knows what she is like right now.
 
“As someone who is unfamiliar with the local political scene, could the implications be explained?” asks Thomas as he shoots me a look.
 
“She might only be sixteen, but Kamea has had two years of training under me,” answers Mastiff, “I wouldn’t rate her any higher than Green, but she does know what she is doing in a ‘Mech and she is competent enough for battle. Personality wise? She is still a teenaged noble MechWarrior so Kamea is reckless, overconfident and emotional though she knows discipline and how to follow orders. Somewhere between standard and above average in terms of rookies.”
 
“It is because I have Atlases,” I say as I recall something Dad said last night, “One of the most heavily armoured ‘Mechs in existence and offers a level of protection on the battlefield that you wouldn’t be able to give Kam-Lady Arano otherwise.”
 
“That is indeed part of why I would allow my daughter to do this,” replies Lord Arano, “Normally joining the Royal Guard or the Arano House Guard would be Kamea’s options to get some military experience, but your presence offers an alternative. With your character, an Atlas and the opportunity for some action, it is safe enough for me to risk my heir.”
 
“That can work,” I answer, “I haven’t made any final decision on who gets to pilot what ‘Mech yet so I have some spare Atlases. I don’t think I’ll be able to justify giving her a command, but I can stick her in my command lance so I can keep a personal eye on her.”
I want to say that I won’t be giving her any special treatment, but she is the heir presumptive to the Aurigan Coalition and the future of my people. To say that I will treat Kamea Arano like any other member of the unit would be a lie.
 
“That is acceptable,” says Lord Arano, “For the past two years, Sir Raju Montgomery has been serving as my daughter’s instructor. And if you would have him, I have given him leave to join the Rimward Sentinels to continue training Kamea and assist you in general.”
“Yes, of course,” I answer as there is no way I am turning up the chance to get Mastiff in my Rimward Sentinels, “I would be honored to have Sir Raju with us.”
“Mastiff’s reputation is known to me,” says Commodore Geary, “His presence would be a boon.”
“Then I'll be happy to sign up with you.” says Mastiff, “Now, I understand this is all sudden, but do you have anything specific in mind for me?”
“Would you mind taking on another trainee?” I ask, “Because I am still learning to pilot a ‘Mech and we don’t have any professional trainers right now.”
“I’ve been doing my best, but I’ve never handled training anyone else before.” says Thomas
“I can easily handle another student.” Mastiff reassures me.
“The last thing that we would like to discuss today is what your Monolith JumpShip will be doing while you are on garrison duty.” says Lord Espinosa.
“You want to use it rather than having it wait around for us,” I conclude because that is the only sensible course of action.
“We don’t wish to send it too far,” says Lord Arano, “but going between Coromodir, Itrom, Mechdur, Tyrlon and Guldra would be very beneficial. With its nine collars, your JumpShip is worth three of the usual Invaders that we usually rely upon. A small, but temporary boost to the local economy.”
“As long as we get paid for the usage of its docking collars, I don’t see any reason to refuse,” I answer, shooting a look at Commodore Geary for her opinion.
“I concur with Colonel Nora,” says the leader of my naval complement, “A JumpShip is wasted sitting around on garrison duty and so long as we receive payment for our services and it isn’t sent too far, I see no reason to not help out with the local economy. I will be making sure that the Starbound Steed will be arriving back here in time for the conclusion of our three month contract.”
“Of course,” agrees Lord Arano and just like that, I have my first contract, the heir presumptive to the Aurigan Coalition and a wise mentor to teach me how to pilot a ‘Mech and run a mercenary unit.
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==Author's Chapter Notes==
;Word from the Author: Not entirely happy with this chapter. The family dinner was more rambly than I expected, but at the same time, I don’t want to cut it because I want Elizabeth’s family to be relevant to the story and her character.I also wanted to write the meeting in more detail, but I struggled to write out the actual contract negotiations. Instead, I decided to summarise them and focus on showing the unofficial deals being made. Speaking of which, Elizabeth is able to pick up both Kamea and Mastiff.The CYOA says that you don’t start off with a wise mentor, but Elizabeth is throwing her lot in with House Arano and they’ve got Mastiff working for them at this point so it works out for her. Anyway, one more chapter of getting things set up and then it is off for the Argo.
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