AATiPDC Chpt 24

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==Chapter 24 - An American Tanker in Prince Davion's Court==
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===A New Theater of Operations===
New Avalon, Federated Suns
May 3rd, 3030
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The time has finally come for General Hodges to leave New Avalon and take up residence on Bristol. Ever since the wedding, he and Kym Hodges have been making preparations for the journey; some of the many tasks were to pack up Hodges’ collections, to disassemble the Hodges residence and to catalog/pack up the pieces for later assembly and to arrange transport for his tanks and ‘mechs. Having previously accepted General Hodges’ offer of employment, Natasha Kerensky and the personnel of Widow Company have been occupied in developing a training syllabus for III Corps’ future BattleMech contingent; as part of this, Kerensky has been promoted to the rank of Colonel.
Before departing for New Avalon Spaceport, General Hodges has one last meeting with the First Prince, Field Marshal Yvonne Davion and Minister Justin Allard, held in Hanse Davion’s private office at the Fox Den.
“Your highness, Marshal Davion, Minister Allard, before I leave for Bristol, I wanted to apprise you of certain other supply caches that should be visited as soon as possible.” A look of intense curiosity crosses the faces of the three men as Hanse Davion says “General, you now have my undivided attention; please proceed.”
“Yes, sir. Here in the Federated Suns, there are the depots on Grauss, Galtor, III and Epsilon Eridani; there is also the mothballed BattleMech factory in the Versailles system (located in the Markesan Operational area of the Crucis March; the toaster-worshippers in Comstar have only nominal control over the system so, if the Federated Commonwealth moves smartly, you’ll be able to grab Versailles before Myndo Waterly can react.”
“General Hodges, you have my assurance that that the AFFC will move on these targets as soon as humanly possible. Do I presume correctly that there are other locations that have to be attended to?”
“Yes, sir. In the Lyran half of the Commonwealth, there is the shipyard complex on Odessa IV and a regimental-level depot in the Dijonne system; it's rimward of Swartklip on the Lyran frontier. I think that the Archon will be delighted it taking control of it.”
“She most certainly will.”
“Indeed, your highness. Better yet, grabbing Versailles and Odessa IV will punch Comstar right where it hurts the most. As far as other depots are concerned, I’ll be accepting Takashi Kurita’s invitation to visit Luthien. While there, I’ll tell him of the abandoned Colony on Buffalo Meadows.”
“Abandoned Colony, you say?”
“Yes, sir. When General Kerensky committed his act of barratry writ large in 2784, a part of the Exodus Fleet comprised the SLDF’s 295th Division. While en-route to the fleet rendezvous at New Samarkand, the 295th’s Potemkin-class troop transport SLS Ulithi suffered a major drive failure and couldn’t proceed any further; the Ulithi was accompanied by a pair of destroyers (SLS Cape Bon, SLS Protecteur; an Essex-class and Lola III-class, respectively). Aboard these vessels were a total of 18 Overlord-class dropships carrying six regiments of BattleMechs and six squadrons of aerospace fighters. Having missed the rendezvous at New Samarkand, the 295th elected to settle on the planet of Buffalo Meadows and found a colony of their own. Unfortunately for them the population base was far too small to be viable so, after some 80 years, the colony died out.”
“You mean to tell me that there are operational warships in that system?”
“Yes, your highness. I will point out that the SLS Ulithi’s jump drive is completely non-recoverable; the SLS Cape Bon and the SLS Protecteur are fully-operational; SLS Ulithi is still worth going after, if for no other reason than all that lovely germanium in the drive core. ”
“Indeed. I can only imagine how the Coordinator reacted when you told him about the three depots on Holloway V; when he hears about Buffalo Meadows, he’s going to be positively ecstatic.” A pause, then “General Hodges, the expression on your face tells me that you’ve got something else up your sleeve..”
“Indeed I do, sir; I’ve been saving the best and greatest for last, so to speak. I am referring to none other than the POMCUS site for the SLDF’s II Corps, located in the Antares System.”
“POMCUS? I’m not familiar with the term..”
“Your highness, POMCUS is a term that the United States military used to describe material that had been forward-staged so that units could speed up their deployments and get into action faster; the term stands for ‘Prepositioning Of Materiel Configured in Unit Sets’. In short, the equipment stored at Antares Base comprises an entire duplicate equipment set for the SLDF’s Second Corps. II Corps consisted of two BattleMech divisions, two mechanized heavy infantry divisions, an armored division and a light horse regiment; there’s also a regiment of BattleMechs and two battalions of tanks from the Black Watch (plus the Corps Headquarters reserve of 3 ‘mech regiments; two of heavies and one of assaults). There are also the supporting ships; SLS William Halsey (a Texas-class battleship), a Newgrange-class yardship, a Mercy-class hospital ship and two Bug Eye surveillance ships (SLS Donovan, SLS Casey).”
“Can you be more specific about what else Antares Base holds?”
“Aside from the Army-level data core and the automated maintenance depot (which has more manufacturing capacity than all but a few planets), the sheer amount of material there (to include five division-level modular field bases, five division-level field hospitals and five division-level water purification systems) makes what was recovered from Helm seem like the contents of a country hardware store; we’re talking millions of tons….”
Field Marshal Davion joins the discussion and says “General Hodges, if Antares Base is as massive and as well-stocked as you say it is, recovering all that material will take up a significant fraction of the Federated Commonwealth’s shipping capacity.”
“Very true, Field Marshal; I’ll point out that the maintenance depot, the field hospitals, the water purification systems, the field bases and all of the munitions and spare parts are palletized. By this, I mean they’re boxed up and ready to go.”
The First Prince tents his fingers above his desk, listens for a moment or two, then says “General, you have presented the Federated Commonwealth with an opportunity that is of such magnitude that it makes all that has come before seem like the merest fumbling of a child with his toys. There are discussions still to be had between the Archon and myself; know that you’ll find Archon Katrina and I suitably grateful.”
“Thank you, your highness.”
Upon the conclusion of the meeting, General Hodges takes his leave of the First Prince and returns to the spaceport. Kym Hodges greets him (as does Colonel Kerensky).
“How did the meeting go, Jim?”
“Well enough, my dear. Outwardly, the First Prince’s reaction was muted; inwardly, I could tell that he felt like a kid that had been given the keys to the world’s largest candy store. Are we ready to go?”
“Yes. Everything’s packed and loaded for transport; the dropship captains are just awaiting your word to take off.”
“Well, to quote Shakespeare’s play Henry V, ‘now sits the wind fair and we will aboard’. I’m sending you, Colonel Kerensky and the others on ahead; I’m entrusting you with the task of getting things up and running on Bristol.”
“Wait, you mean you’re not coming with us?”
“No, not directly. You’ll recall that, at the wedding, Takashi Kurita extended me an invitation to visit Luthien. I accepted Kurita-sama’s offer, and it would be ungentlemanly of me to say that I have changed my mind.”
“Jim, are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“I’m convinced that Takashi Kurita’s intentions towards me are honorable. Besides, having House Kurita as an ally (rather than as an enemy) will be of immense importance in the future…”
“Alright; just so long as you’ll be in no danger.”
Now that everything is in readiness, the Hodges party boards their dropship for the trip to New Avalon’s jump point; the expedition takes off and, just over 7 ½ days later, meets up with its JumpShips Here, General Hodges and his wife go their separate ways; he to Luthien via an Executive-class transport carried by a command circuit of JumpShips; the JumpShips carrying Kym Hodges and the other dropships head to Bristol via a network of recharge stations.
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One week later on May 10th, General Hodges’ dropship arrives at Luthien’s jump point; 10 ½ days after that, he’s in orbit over the planet.
“Luthien Traffic Control, this is Bristol One requesting landing clearance.”
“Bristol One, Traffic Control; we copy you on that, Clearance is granted. Proceed to Imperial City’s spaceport on Hokkaido; coordinates to follow. Be advised that an official party will be waiting to greet Hodges-sama upon his arrival.”
“Traffic Control, Bristol One copies that last; out.”
In his quarters aboard Bristol One, General Hodges spends the remaining time before planetfall making sure his dress blues are in immaculate condition and that his decorations are in their proper place. His Pattern 1940 cavalry boots are spit-shined to a mirror finish; afterwards, he dons his shaved black beret. The beret’s flash is sky-blue, with 13 white stars around the perimeter; on the field, there is a badge with the insignia of the U.S Army’s III Corps (with a cavalry tab sewed on above). Lastly, Hodges belts on his great grandfather’s sidearm (a Colt Commercial Model 1911a1 finished in Royal Blue) in a rig of polished buff-white leather; as a sign of respect, the weapon itself is unloaded (while the magazines in the three-cell pouch are loaded). Opposite the holster, the katana and wakizashi gifted to him by Takashi Kurita are thrust through the belt.
30 minutes later, Bristol One lands at Imperial City’s spaceport; an official delegation headed by Theodore Kurita (who was recently appointed to the position of Gunji-no-Kanrei by his father.
“Komban-wa, Hodges-san; welcome to Luthien. I am Theodore Kurita, and I have the honor to serve the Coordinator as Deputy of Military Affairs.”
“Komban-wa, Kurita-san; your reputation has preceded you.”
“Just so. I see that you honor the Coordinator by wearing the swords he gifted to you; if you will please accompany me, my father waits to receive you at Unity Palace.”
“At your convenience, sir.”
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===Dragon's Lair===
Unity Palace, Luthien
Draconis Combine
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Theodore Kurita and his security detail escort General Hodges to Unity Palace on the outskirts of Imperial City, there to be received by the Coordinator. During the drive, Kurita asks "Hodges-san, what do you think of our fair capital city?"
"A pleasing sight, to be sure, Kurita-san. I dare say that I'm the first Davion officer to set foot here since before the First Succession War; is this not so?"
"You have the truth of it, Hodges-san. I must confess that I have been looking forward to meeting you ever since my honorable father returned home from attending the First Prince's wedding on Terra (and, later on, your own wedding on New Avalon) and told me of how you showed up Romano Liao for the kusogaki she is."
"It was a small thing, Kurita-san. I wasn't so much offended by her antics as i was by the amateurish way in which she carried them out. My feelings towards her hardened considerably when House Liao attacked New Avalon with the stated purpose of destroying the New Avalon Institute of Science; it was during that operation that she tried to have a detachment of her Death Commandos kill me. While I was fighting alongside the First Prince, my good lady wife saw off the attack on my house; during this action, she destroyed two light mechs, two wheeled APCs and most of a platoon of infantry; it is of interest to know that Romano Liao's husband Tsen Shang lead the attack and was captured afterwards."
"What happened to him?"
"After the engagement was concluded, I prevailed on the First Prince to allow Romano Liao to travel to New Avalon for the purpose of effecting her husband's release. All that she had to do was to come to my house and present herself before me..."
"It couldn't have been that simple, Hodges-san."
"No, it wasn't, Kurita-san. You see, when Rommie came to my house, she tried to give herself to me as the price for Tsen Shang's release; as before, I refused. Then, I called her out for behaving like a woman whose physical affections are subject to commercial negotiation; also called her a few more than choice names and that, as she was acting like a spoiled, petulant child, she would be treated like one."
"Just what did you do, Hodges-san?"
Grinning wickedly, Hodges replies "Ohh, nothing more than bending her over my knee and giving her what she deserved; a good spanking; to make matters even better, I have the entire interlude on video disk."
"Do you mean to tell me that you bent the Chancellor of the Capellan Confederation over your knee and spanked her like a disobedient child?"
"Hai, Kurita-san. When the Coordinator attended my wedding and had a private meeting with me afterwards, I told him what had transpired; I also showed him the video recording. To say that your honorable father was most amused would be an understatement."
"Truly, a most remarkable achievement, Hodges-san. Do I presume correctly that you had some other purpose in mind; something beyond mere vengeance?."
"Hai, Kurita-san. What I did was simply the conclusion of my campaign of psychological warfare against Romano Liao. I wanted to demonstrate that, in a battle of wits, I had her outgunned six ways to Sunday; furthermore, I wanted to destroy her self-confidence and implant what happened so deeply into her mind that she'll never, ever be rid of me. In the future, when Rommie staggers through whatever remains of her failed and useless life, I want her to be continually tortured by the memory of my hand coming down on her hindquarters (and by the vision of my happy, smiling face mocking her from out of the darkness.)"
Theodore Kurita responds with great bellows of laughter which echo through the hallway leading to Unity Palace's audience hall. In that room, Takashi Kuriat hears the laughter and says "My worthy son and our guest approach." Standing nearby are several officers and officials of the Imperial Court, the most prominent among them are ISF Director Subhash Indrahar and Constance Kurita (Keeper of the House Honor).
Director Indrahar requests permission to speak and says "Kurita-sama, after you told us of what Hodges-san is like, I am minded to test him so that we can gain a better understanding of his character."
"Indrahar-san, you are aware that Hodges-san is traveling here by my personal invitation, are you not?"
"Hai, Tono. I don't propose that he be injured in any way, shape or form; what I have in mind is to have one of my comeliest and most seductive female agents to attend him this night and offer herself to him. If he declines the offer, all well and good; if he accepts, then perhaps you should reassess Hodges-san's character.."
"A cogent point, Indrahar-san; you have my authorization to proceed.."
Just then, there is a knock on the door; the Coordinator calls out formally "Enter" then gestures for a palace attendant to open it. His son and General Hodges enter the door and both make formal bows from the waist; Hodges formally greets the Coordinator with "Komban-Wa, Kurita -sama; it is a pleasure to see you again."
"Komban-Wa, Hodges-san. I am pleased to see that you accepted my invitation." By Theodore's posture, the Corodinator sees that his son wishes permission to speak; this is immediately granted.
"Greetings, Father; I have brought General Hodges here as you directed."
"Thank you, My worthy son. I couldn't help but hear your laughter in the hallway; something amused you?"
"Hai, father. Hodges-san told me what transpired between him and Romano Liao, and I found it just as amusing as you did (especially when he told me that he had a video recording of it."
"Indeed." The Coordinator gestures at the table and says "Take your seat opposite me, Hodges-san; you and my worthy son will sit beside me. Now, to the business at hand. I wish to present to you my cousin Constance (keeper of the House Honor) and my chief adviser Subhash Indrahar." Hodges replies "Greetings, my lady Constance; greetings, Minister." The mutual looks exchanged between the two men are those of two professionals sizing each other up.
Takashi Kurita now raps his knuckles on the table and says "Hodges-san, you have something for me?"
"Hai, Kurita-sama. As I promised you when we last met, I have with me the plans, specifications and technical schematics for the modifications that my engineers made to the Dragon BattleMech which you gifted to me; also included are plans for my multi-spectral rangefinder and stabilization system, which mechanisms forming the heart of the Dragon's fire-control system. As your honorable self will recall, these devices are a significant part of how I was able to defeat the Black Widow in just 30 seconds."
"Yes, I remember that; continue."
At the Coordinator's gesture, Hodges continues with "The next set of plans are for my caseless electrothermal-chemical cannon. It is the main armament of my new tank design and its advantages are three-fold. First, the weapon's magazine holds twice as much ammunition as a conventional gun of the same bore size; second, it does more damage and third; the gun's effective range is twice at long."
Subhash Indrahar speaks up and says "Hodges-san, the information you are giving to the Coordinator is the equivalent of state secrets in the Combine. Yet, here you are giving them to us."
"Respected Minister, it is with the specific authorization of the First Prince that I am doing so. I believe that Kurita-sama has told you of the three supply depots on Holloway V; depots which you were previously unaware of.."
"Err, yes."
General Hodges nods, then asks "Kurita-sama, do I assume correctly that the Combine has taken steps to recover the materiel from Holloway V?'
"You would be correct, Hodges-san. It will, however, be some little time before all of the materiel is in hand. Those supply depots were just as large and well-stocked as you said they were."
A businesslike grin crosses General Hodges face as he replies "Kurita-sama, then I must apologize for further-burdening the Combine's transportation infrastructure; there is yet another SLDF supply cache within the Combine's territory that needs to be attended to..." Takashi Kurita affects to raise an eyebrow in acknowledgement of this information and chuckles."
"Another treasure house, Hodges-san? Your wonders never cease to amaze me..."
"The Coordinator's praise is gratefully received. I am speaking of the depot on Buffalo Meadows; to tell you how it came to be, I must tell you all a story from the latter days of the Star League. After that rat bastard Amaris the Usurper was overthrown, General Kerensky was irked that the High Council chose to relieve him of his position of Commanding General of the SLDF. Accordingly, he chose to take the vast bulk of the League's remaining military forces and leave the Inner Sphere for parts unknown; in so doing, he and his officers committed an act of Grand Barratry."
"All of us here are familiar with the Great Exodus, Hodges-san."
"Hai, Kurita-sama. What you don't know is that one of the units tasked to go with General Kerensky was the SLDF's 295th Division. Back in 2784, part of the Exodus Fleet comprised that unit; while on the way to the fleet rendezvous at New Samarkand, the 295th's Potemkin-class troop transport SLS Ulithi suffered a major drive failure after materializing in the Buffalo Meadows system and couldn’t proceed any further. As an escort, the Ulithi was accompanied by a pair of destroyers (the Essex-class SLS Cape Bon and the Lola III-class SLS Protecteur; aboard these three vessels were a total of 18 Overlord-class dropships carrying six full regiments of BattleMechs and six squadrons of Aerospace Fighters. Having missed their rendezvous at New Samarkand, the personnel of the 295th chose to settle on Buffalo Meadows and set up a colony of their own; the dropships were landed on the planet and the colony was set up. Afterwards, the SLS Ulithi was towed to the system's asteroid belt by the two destroyers and placed in a parking orbit. Then, the Protecteur and the Cape Bon were put into the same orbit and all three ships were then completely-concealed with small asteroids. Unfortunately for the 295th, the population base was far too small to be viable so, after some 80 years, the colony died out.”
"Do you mean to tell me that there are intact and functional warships in that system?"
"Hai, Kurita-sama. I will point of that SLS Ulithi's drive core is completely non-functional; her spaceframe, armor, weapons and other systems are intact, however."
"Hodges-san, you are sworn to the service of the First Prince and you are a married man. Therefore, I can't give you one of my developed planets as a landhold; neither can I give you the hand of one of my female relatives in marriage. The question that must now be asked it what you want in return for this information..."
"Kurita-sama, I seek nothing beyond what I have already asked for; one service from the Draconis Combine, to be asked for by myself or the First Prince at some time in the future.”
"Then, by my word as Coordinator, you shall have it. So let it be written, so let it be done."
Now that the present business is concluded, the party proceeds to Unity Palace's Chashitsu or Tea House. The structure is located in one of the palace's formal Japanese gardens, and is one of House Kurita's great treasures. The building is the actual Zangetsu-tei (Morning Moon Arbor) which formerly belonged to the Omotesenke school in Kyoto on Old Terra, and was brought by to New Samakand in 2265 by Kamaro Kurita. Subsequently, the house passed down through Shiro Kurita to future generations of House Kurita until the present day.
The ceremony to be conducted is an informal tea gathering (or chakai), instead of the formal chaji; as there will be a formal dinner later on. The chakai involves the preparation and presentation of powdered green tea, along with small confections and a light meal; after due preparations, the party takes their seats around a low table. As Hodges sits, he notices the kakemono scroll he painted for the Coordinator displayed in the house's tokonoma alcove.
"Kurita-sama, I am honored to see that you have displayed my humble gift in so prominent location."
“Indeed, Hodges-san. For such a gift, I could do no less.”
With the preliminaries out of the way, the following chakai lasts the better part of an hour. The matcha (powdered green tea) is served and admired, as are artfully-prepared small confections and a light meal (more an appetizer than anything else). Next comes the kaiseki (formal meal) served in one of Unity Palace’s dining rooms; this takes four hours from start to finish and by the end, it is just past10:00 pm local time.
The Coordinator rises from his seat and says “Hodges-san, you are my guest for the next two weeks. As the Combine has no pressing military needs at the moment, I will assign my worthy son to act as your guide while you are here.”
“Domo arigato, Kurita-sama; your kind gesture is much-apprieciated. Might I ask to visit Luthien Armor Works tomorrow? I’m setting up manufacturing plants on the two planets of my landhold, and I’d like to see how the Combine does things; the better to serve as an example…”
“Granted. See to Hodges-san’s request, my son.”
“Yes, father.”
As the Coordinator and the other members of his party go their separate ways, General Hodges is escorted to a suite in the palace’s guest wing; by now, it’s 10:30 pm. Hodges prepares for sleep by belting on a short kimono, placing his sidearm under the pillow and arranging his daisho on a rack at the head of the tatami.
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Hours later at just past 1:00 am in the morning, General Hodges’ instincts cause him to wake up; there are the sounds of soft scratching at the door as of someone trying to be quiet while opening the lock. Fully awake now, Hodges pulls on his shorts and a T-shirt; thne he draws his katana and places himself so as to be able to surprise whoever comes in.
Outside the room, Agent Sakura of the ISF opens the door, advances quietly into the room and closes the door behind her into the; pausing only to let the neck of her all-too-short kimono slip from her shoulders. Advancing towards the sleeping platform, Sakura demurely crosses her hands in front of her chest to keep the kimono from falling open; to her very great surprise, Sakura sees that the tatami is empty. Suddenly and without any warning, Sakura feels the hard steel edge of a katana pressed against her throat.
General Hodges chuckles softly and says “Well, well, well; What have we got here? You move like a cat, young lady. Perhaps I should call you Neko-chan? Come into the light where I can see you…” Agent Sakura swallows nervously as she does so; then says “Hodges-sama, the august personage who I serve thought that you might want some companionship after your long journey..”
Wordlessly, Hodges rolls his eyes up and down Sakura’s half-dressed from. He chuckles, then replies “I hardly think that Kurita-sama would have directed you to come here. Say rather, Minister Indrahar. You’re not one of the Sons of the Dragon, because the membership of that organization is exclusively male; this means that you’re ISF, and not just some palace servant or other. Please return to Uncle Chandy and give him my compliments; thank him for the offer of entertainment that I must decline. I am a married man and I would be unworthy of my good lady wife’s affections if I were to be unfaithful to her.”
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Five hours later, Agent Sakura reports to Subhash Indrahar; he asks “how did it go with Hodges-san?”
“Indarhar-sama, this unworthy servant begs leave to report that Hodges-san didn’t accept my offer of companionship; I didn’t even have time to make the offer as he took me by surprise.”
“What happened?”
“He held the edge of his katana against my throat and said that Kurita-sama wouldn’t have sent me to him, and that is was you who did. He said that I wasn’t one of the Sons of the Dragon, and that I had to be ISF. Hodges-san said that I moved like a cat and that I should be called Neko-chan.”
“Is that all, Agent Sakura?”
“No, Indrahar-sama. Hodges-san is unlike anyone I have ever seen. I never thought that a gaijin could move like a ninja, but he did; may Susanoo no Mikoto strike me down and carry me off to Jigoku if I lie…”
“You have done well, Agent Sakura; dismissed.”
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