WP3025 Chpt 31

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==Chapter 31 - Winged Praxis (Battletech 3015 CYOA)==
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===Bruising Reunion===
Mindstar Entertainment District
City of Crimson, Salonika (Continent)
Canopus IV, Magistracy of Canopus
5th May, 3015
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I drew my legs up and planted them against my assailant's stomach even as I fell to the ground. Pistoning my legs outward as I rocked back, I sent the man flying towards a fountain. A fighter pilot's legs had to be able to deal with extreme G-loads. 90 or so kilos of asshole were nothing.
 
"Pi mugo kar!" howled the man in Romani as he sailed through the air, cut off by a giant splash as he landed.
 
"Kudav ce di day!" I shot back in the same language as I rolled to my feet, giving the splash a one finger salute.
 
Terri darted past me, pistol in hand. Vaulting the edge of the fountain, she landed with much more grace than my assailant had. Reaching him, she tangled her free hand in his shirtfront, and slammed him back down against the fountain floor, eliciting a pained explosion of bubbles, before hauling him up and shoving her pistol's muzzle against his left eye. "Who the hell sent you, asshole?"
 
"Owwww." he moaned.
 
"Quickly, fucker," spat Terri. "I will not hesitate to splatter your brains all over that pissing goat."
 
"I think it's a satyr." he said.
 
Terri clicked off her safety. "It's gonna be a backstop."
 
"Gid," moaned the man, "ayudame, por favor?"
 
"Terri," I said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I told you about Natan, right?"
 
"Zingari?" she asked, looking down at one of my oldest friends, who was looking rather disheveled, soaked as he was and sporting a couple of darkening shiners along with a scalp wound that was leaking blood down his face. "I though you said he was good looking."
 
The hurt look on my friend's face as Terri dropped him back into the fountain doubled me over in deep belly laughter.
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===Lively introduction===
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"Sorry about that Nat," I said after we had retired to another bar that provided medical service at reasonable charges and no questions asked. "We're a little on edge."
 
Natan tested the looseness of a molar with his tongue and winced. "Well, I suppose I can't blame you. I expected to get a couple of knocks, I just wasn't expecting your ladyfriend to just about jam her gun into my brain."
 
"I've got a relation who we suspect might want to kill me." I said.
 
"Or three," said Terri. "If we're being properly paranoid, maybe even five."
 
"Yeah, that," I said. "Being nice to Sahar there, huh Terri?"
 
"Eh," said Terri, flipping her hair to the side, "She's a cute teen. I'll let her slide for now."
 
"Wait," said Natan. "This is Terri? The Terri?"
 
I smiled. "Yup."
 
"You told this chucklehead about me?" asked Terri.
 
I rolled my eyes. "I know I wasn't well off, but even I could afford an HPG message now and again."
 
"Lady," sad Natan, "If he wasn't talking about flying, he was talking about you."
 
Terri blushed. "Good to know."
 
"Anyway, mazel tov," he said. "Good to see things worked out. I swear, all that moaning about not being able to really be together…" He paused, picking up on our dark expressions. "What?"
 
Terri held up her ringless finger in mute response.
 
"Oh," he said. "Sierra foxtrot, Gid, what happened?"
 
"Noble shit," I said. "And really fucking annoying local laws. I'll introduce you to my wife later."
 
"We've got an arrangement," said Terri. "It could be worse."
 
"If you say so…"
 
I coughed, attempting to steer the conversation onto less fractured ground. "So, what are you doing here? Last I'd heard, you got nabbed by the Lyrans in a border skirmish."
 
Natan laughed. "You are behind the times. Guess my message didn't catch up to you. No, you're right, the Elsies did get me, and dumped me into a penal camp."
 
"Those poor camp guards," I deadpanned.
"I mighta burned it down on the way out," he admitted with a grin. "Anyway, I ended up befriending a savant Lyran tech and his daughter who ran afoul of the local lord in the clink and brought them back across the border with me. They helped me piece a 'mech back together, and we were looking to get stuck into the unpleasantness on Zion, when I heard a certain someone putting out the call for Southwesterners to come join a merc unit." He spread his hands. "And here I am."
 
"So what makes you think I've got a job for a reprobate like you?" I asked.
 
"Got a mech and a tech with me," he said. "And not even some bugmech. Fifty-five tons of fury. I call her Devil Cat."
 
"Color me interested," I said. "What is she?"
 
"She's mostly a Dervish. Lost her right arm and a chunk of her torso on that side, including the LRM. We…ah…acquired a Panther's PPC arm and its shoulder, along with it's SRM pack. Old man managed to make the arm play together with the Dervish, and we swapped out the SRM 2 in the left arm for the 4 pack. That was a pain and a half, but it worked out."
 
"So, a PPC and LRM 10 at range, then a medium laser and a SRM 4 for infighting? Moves like a Dervish?"
"When the DI isn't fighting me, yeah. She works, but she's quirky. Got an extra sink in there on top of the standard cooling loop too."
 
"Well, I suppose I might be able to find you a position," I said. "Got any references?"
 
"Oh, you know, I imagine the guards of the smoking ruin of a prison camp I left could vouch for me. Or you could ask this guy I know, name of Gideon…"
 
I laughed. "Good to see you again, Nat. Yeah, you're in. Welcome to the Coyotes, amigo."
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===How could I even consider saying no?===
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Later, when Natan had head off to tell his tech that they were moving to the Adelman Prospecting warehouses, Terri looked over to me. "So, what's his story?"
 
"Natan?" I asked. "No big story. He's a Cowboy. We grew up nearby each other. Tended to amplify each other's worst ideas."
 
"Tarot cards, though?" she asked, referring to the deck Natan had pulled out to do an impromptu reading to hit on a lady at the bar. "I thought you said Cowboys were squirrely about that."
 
I smiled. "Right, yeah. Natan's not a Protestant. He's from a Romani family."
 
"He's a gypsy?"
 
"If you want to be insulting, sure."
 
"Sorry."
 
I shrugged. "It's a common enough fuckup. But yeah, the Zingaris are one of those charming little edge cases that confuse gringas like you. There aren't many of them, but we lump em in with Cowboys." I nodded in the direction Natan had left in. "Anyway, Natan left round about a year before I did. He made some money in some stock scheme I've got no idea the specifics of, got into a spat with a former partner…JJ, or something like that, then got his hands on a Commando and started fighting on the border spats with the Elsies. Last I'd heard he'd been captured, but you heard the rest."
 
"You believe him?" She gave me a skeptical look. "Sounded like typical tinny boasting to me."
 
I shrugged. "More than not, yeah. He was a pretty hot hand in a RanchHand, way back when. And I can excuse a bit of creative exaggeration. Besides, we need mechs to get the training program started, and he's a fellow Cerillos boy. I can trust him to have my back."
 
She frowned at that.
 
"What?" I asked.
 
"Nothing," she started. "Just stings a bit that you doubted me even after we fought together, and you just trust him, no questions asked after you haven't seen each other for years."
 
I didn't say anything for a moment. There wasn't a good answer. It wasn't fair. We Trinity folk were just like that, and I had fucked up doubting Terri like I had. "Sorry," I said, quietly. "You know how much I regret that."
 
She sighed and nodded. "Yeah. I know. And I get he's one of your old friends. It's just tender, you know?"
 
"Especially with the Landynskis being asses." I said.
 
"Yeah." She bit her lip. "I thought it would be easier to share you with Vixen." She gave me a helpless look. "It's not like it wasn't my idea, and she's doing nothing wrong…"
 
"But it still hurts," I said. "We seem to come back here a lot."
 
She nodded. "But what's the alternative? Letting you go would be worse."
 
I drew in a sharp breath at the words 'letting you go'. Even hearing that Terri had been entertaining the idea hurt. "I'm sorry," I said, feeling helpless.
 
"You didn't try to end up in this mess," she said, wrapping her arms around herself.
 
"No," I said, hugging her. "But I can still feel bad that my love is hurting."
 
She buried her face in my chest. "I'm just tired of holding myself second. I've been doing it since forever." She looked up at me. "Can I stop? Even just for tonight?"
 
How could I even consider saying no?
----
===Sorting out Training===
Adelman Prospecting
Salonika (Continent), Canopus IV
Magistracy of Canopus
8th May, 3015
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"You've been hard to find," said Kumari with a reproachful glare. "Some of us were getting worried that Barzani had gotten lucky with an assassin."
 
"I sent messages," I said.
 
"Those can be faked," she pointed out. "And we're in the process of building up. The unit needs its CO."
 
"And I need to run diplomacy with the Landynskis," I said, sitting down. "I know. I'm not rising to the occasion."
 
"No," she said, "you're not. What were you doing?"
 
"Maintaining morale," I said shortly. "Did Marc and Natan come by?"
 
She nodded. "Your friend has been integrated into the training command, along with his rather unique looking 'mech. Captain Thorklein has been a godsend. He's been collecting crews that he vouches for the skill and professionalism of…and their independent-mindedness. He's even been able to get his hands on people with decontamination skills. Honestly, sir, you might want to consider appointing him personnel officer. He's good at this."
 
"I imagine at logistics as well," I said.
 
"Likely. I wanted to ask you if you were sure you wanted to go with modified Oriente style for the rank structure?"
 
I nodded. "I'm sure. Major is more universally understood than Force Commander."
 
"Not that, sir. That's simple enough." She tapped on the org chart I had worked up. "I just don't see the point of copying the Lyrans."
 
I raised an eyebrow. "You mean the warrant officer ranks?" I shrugged. "The Elsies had a point here. Not everyone has the chops for command, but they might have technical skill we need to recognize. This gives us a way to reward that."
 
"It would be cheaper to just keep them as NCOs," she argued.
 
"First," I said. "we're going to do right by our people. If that means I've got to tighten my belt a bit, okay, but I'm not playing that game. Second, NCOs have command responsibility anyway. Warrants can be an expert in their field, while not gumming up the chain of command. It gives people an incentive to develop skills we're going to need. I hate to say it, but the Elsies really got this one right where no-one else did."
 
"I still think it's unnecessary complication," said Kumari, "But you are in command, and I can at least see the argument."
 
I nodded. "Okay, setting that aside. How are you feeling about the training command? Do you think things are stable enough for me to head out and retrieve the cache?"
 
She gave it a moment's thought. "Yes. There will be some disruption to the infantry school, but you're right that you might need Saidu and his armed rabble to ride herd on the JumpShip crew we've been saddled with. And it isn't like infantry is a skill that is unknown in the Magistracy."
 
"Alright. So, I'll talk to Marc, make sure we've got enough crews, and we'll take the Queen Anne and Wiglaf out to the Hida. Once we're there, we'll commence some marine drills to intimidate the plants, then jump out to the cache. We run decon, inventory the take, then jump back and get to planning exactly what sort of unit we're going to be."
 
She nodded. "I suggest you take your wife, Kundaraju, and Tomlinson with you. Between the four of you, that gives you two full crews for the Stingray and Corsair. Probably best to take Zingari for a Mechwarrior's eye on whatever machines we get. He's obviously skilled, and I imagine he'd make a fine lance leader, but he can't teach well at all."
 
"What about an armor officer?" I asked.
 
"Armor is armor," she said with a shrug. "And we need Datta here." She gave me a hard look. "I know she can handle a hovercraft, and you'd like her around for sparring practice, but she needs the seasoning this training course is giving her."
 
"Point taken. What about her brother?"
 
"He's doing fine as a teacher. Take Natan's tech, the Lyran. He's skilled enough, but he's another case of being completely unable to teach his skills. I'm also going to send Candy out with you so that he can grab the patrol tug and set it up as an orbital platform."
 
"Sounds like a plan. Got anything else I need to address before I go speak to Marc?"
 
"Only two days of back paperwork," she said with relish.
 
I groaned, thinking of the stack that awaited me. "Yeah, yeah. That's fair. Get me a pen. A bit of penance before Yom HaShoah."
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===Making Promises===
Landynski Compound
City of Crimson, Salonika (Continent)
Canopus IV, Magistracy of Canopus
3rd May, 3015
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"You're leaving already?" asked Sahar in a tone that was not quite a whine.
 
"Sooner is better," I said. "Canopus IV is a fifteen day burn to the jump point at 1G, and I don't want to give the others any time to get a visit from the good idea fairy."
 
"A good idea would be doing what I say," grumped the teen.
 
"The fairy might be misnamed," I replied. "Look, the sooner I have the cache in hand, the more secure both of our positions are. Me because I'll actually have the materiel to match my rank, and you because you're my patron…scuse it, matron."
 
She sighed. "I know. But you've barely had time to meet the house proper. You even disappeared for a couple of days. What was that about?"
 
I coughed. "Ah, adult matters."
 
"You were sleeping with your mistress," she said. "Right? I'm Canopian uncle, we aren't prudes here."
 
"Among other things, yes." I said.
 
"You know your wife was worried, right?"
 
I nodded. Vixen had torn a strip off of me, up one side and down the other. "She made that very clear."
 
"She's really good at deniable death threats." said Sahar.
 
"I understand it's a job skill for a mercenary commander," I said. "I'm still working on the deniable part."
 
She giggled. "Alright, Uncle Gideon. Get back here as fast as you can, okay?"
 
"And here I was thinking of stopping by Hardcore for a visit on the way back." I joked.
 
She stuck her tongue out at me.
 
I laughed. "I'll be back as soon as I can, Sahar."
 
She gave me a hug. "You better."
 
"Promise."
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===Not so welcoming News===
Dropship Queen Anne, Nadir Point Transfer Burn
Canopus System, Magistracy of Canopus
24th May, 3015
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"Ready for me to ruin your mood?" asked Socks as he knocked at my open door.
 
"Just before we have to transfer that collection of wild men and women I've pretending to be marines to the Hida?" I asked. "Sure, why not. You're wearing an ablative vest, right?"
My Regulan friend chuckled. "Nope. I'm relying on the magnificence of my moustache to protect me."
 
I shook my head and waved him in. "For a guy who can't grow a beard for shit, you do have a hell of a soup strainer."
 
Socks ran his fingers along what part of my mind insisted on calling a Bollywood-ready bit of facial hair. "Thanks. Anyway, do you want the bad news or the worse news?"
 
I groaned. "We got a message drop from Comstar, didn't we?"
 
He nodded.
 
"Bad news," I said. "Let's work up to it."
 
"The bad news is that the Dragoons are off the bench." he said.
 
I raised an eyebrow. "That's the bad news? Not the worse news?"
 
"Yeah." He handed a noteputer to me. "The short of it is that they're still doing some training of the Ducal Guard, but it looks like it's progressed to on-the-job training. Small unit stuff, mostly. Looks like they're continuing the same sort of campaign as the Highlanders have been. Apparently, there's been reports of the units competing to see who can do more damage to the loyalist logistics. Good natured, so far, unless you're on the sharp end of it."
 
"Who's in the lead?" I asked as I paged through the files.
 
"Well, the Highlanders have been at it for a while," he said. "But the Dragoons seem eager to catch up. Clavell's Independent Company's been on a hot streak, apparently. Fighting like they've got something to prove. Or avenge. They were the first Dragoon unit into the field, and they've been supported by elements from the First and Fourth Ducal Guards."
 
"There was a tiny little explosion that made the news," I observed. "I thought the Fourth were forced to surrender back on Park Place in January."
 
"Some of them got away, apparently. Or maybe it's a clean sheet rebuild to throw off intel estimates."
 
"Yeah, possible." I sighed and looked up from the noteputer. "Alright, that is bad. What's worse?"
 
"The Count of Harmony's been deposed." said Socks, face very still.
 
It took a moment before I got what he was saying. "No." I said.
 
He nodded.
 
"I knew there was news that they were going to Anton," I said. "But…"
 
"Yeah," he said quietly. "Apparently they all decided to throw in with Anton, all but the Second. Cameron-Jones ordered the Second to engage the rebel forces, and they wouldn't leave Regulus." He gave me a bleak look. "So, the Duke came to talk with them, shore up their loyalty."
 
"Well, that was dumb." I said.
 
"He did come with some personal guards," he said. "And it's not like the Hussars haven't been traditionally personally loyal to House Cameron-Jones, ever since the Selaj kicked it."
 
"Let me guess," I said. "The Second took the opportunity to tender their resignation."
 
"At the point of a gun, yeah. They smashed the Duke's guards and have established a military junta."
 
"Bet they're not calling it that."
 
"Aapaatakaaleen sainy sthirata parishad," he said. "Means Emergency Military Stability Council."
"Bets on them making their commander the Prince-General?" I asked with gallows humor.
"If you allow me to bet on them using Hindi for it, sure. 20 C-Bills on raajakumaar janaral."
I shook my head with a brittle chuckle. "Sure, I'll let you take my money. So Regulus had gone over to Anton? With all the Hussars?"
He nodded. "The whole damn Principality, looks like. Apparently, the majority of the local militias were in on the plan."
 
I gave a moment to think about the astrography. "Carajo," I swore. "If Regulus is actually allied with Anton, not just dropping out and playing neutral…that's an open road to Atreus." I brought up the map on the noteputer, tracing a path with my finger. "See?"
 
"Shit," said Socks. "You're right. That's bad. That's really, really bad."
 
I nodded. "It may not be critical for the loyalists," I said. "Janos still has the Third Guards and Fourth Oriente on Atreus. Those are some solid troops, and there's no way he hasn't seen what I did. He'll be drawing more units in. He has to."
 
"Where from?" asked Socks. "The border is stretched as it is, and Anton's been real good at keeping provincial units on the bench."
 
"Yes, he has," I agreed. "I don't think there's a good answer to that." I sat back and thought about it. "Well, there's got to be some militia and local forces in the Principality that are unhappy with how things broke. If I were him, I'd work on whipping them up into enough of a problem that Anton and his allies have to divert resources into suppressing them. In the meantime, it's probably going to be a border region or two that gets the shaft." I tried very hard to ignore that the Trinity was one of those border regions. "I suppose he could try and cram through an emergency measure to yank provincial troops, if Parliament is scared enough."
 
"Yeah, I'd be a bit nervous in their shoes, staring down the barrels of Dragoon guns."
 
I quirked a smile. "They are a mite pissed. Anyway, if he does get the power to yank provincial troops, that'll just play into the 'Janos the tyrant' narrative that Anton has been pushing."
 
"Think it would get Humphreys to pull the trigger on succession?" he asked.
 
"Like she hasn't done it already," I snorted. "But yeah, no way she wouldn't make it official." I sighed. "You weren't kidding. This was worse news. Does Terri know yet?"
 
Socks shook his head. "No, I was up on the bridge when the data dump came in. When I saw, I came to you first."
 
I smiled and shook my head. "Pestering Spuds again?" I asked. "Man, it's not going to happen."
 
He nodded with a sad smile. "Yeah, I know. She's been making eyes at your mate Zingari. I've just never seen someone make a Leopard move like she can. And that Drac look? Gets my torch warm, you know?"
 
"Plenty of fish in the sea," I said. "We are in Canopus, after all."
 
Socks gave me a Look.
 
"What?"
 
"Man, you don't get to talk about just giving up on it, not without sounding hypocritical."
 
I considered my situation. "Alright, that's fair. Sorry man."
 
"Not a big deal." He waved it off. "You want me to leave the messages with you?"
 
I nodded. "Yeah, I should break the news to Terri, I think."
 
"I'm going to go find that rumored still," he said, waving as he walked out the door. "Good luck."
 
I looked down at the noteputer. With the news as bad as it was, I was going to need it.
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===Sanity of Trinity Homeworlders===
Jumpship Chaim Josef David Azulai, Nadir Jump Point
Canopus System, Magistracy of Canopus
25th May, 3015
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An indio marine let out a coyote war whoop as he knocked a Cowboy and a brava floating out of the cover they had occupied. A swarm of paintballs peppered them as they floated helplessly in the middle of the corridor.
 
"Sir," said Jai as he flew up to me where I hung floating, overseeing my 'marines' in their drills. "Captain Oyagi is complaining."
 
I turned to the big jump infantryman "I'm not surprised. What about?"
 
"Apparently her crew is finding it difficult to perform their duties with a bunch of 'half-mad hicks' looking over their shoulders and asking questions. That was a direct quote from one of her officers, apparently."
 
I laughed. "And I thought I asked you to get me three-quarters mad and up."
 
"Sorry, sir," he replied with a grin. "But the insanity of your homeworlders has been overstated."
 
"Well, she can like it or lump it." I said. "Your people need these drills, and I trust this crew significantly less far than I can throw them, even under 1G."
 
"She's not complaining personally, just passing along her crew's issues. She made that very clear." said Jai.
 
I frowned. I shouldn't have been surprised. A junior officer being raised to the captaincy wasn't going to have the respect or command skills to ride herd on a whole new crew. Lord, knew I was probably making a hash of it myself, even with an experienced teacher. But Oyagi had the added challenge that her crew was a battleground for intra-house powerplays. It was being thrown into the very deep end, I knew.
 
But that didn't mean she was going to be an effective captain for me. Which meant I might have to replace her…and that would make her more amenable to going along with her patron, Rebin's, requests. "Hate this." I mumbled to myself, then looked to Jai. "I've heard her complaints, but the unit's needs come first."
 
"Yes, sir. Do you want me to relay that?"
 
I shook my head. "No. Get back to your people. If I see her, I'll tell her. Being honest, I was expecting her to complain about the crew for the other jumper riding on board."
 
He snorted. "I think she'd like to, but doesn't feel confident that you'd take her side."
 
"Perceptive," I said, thinking again about if I'd need to replace her, and potentially the entire crew. "Thanks, Jai. Good work."
----
===Dangerous Rendezous===
Dropship Queen Anne, Deep Space
Unnamed T8 Brown Dwarf - Orbit
Unnamed Star System, Magistracy of Canopus
26th May, 3015
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The sky was dominated by the mottled and streaked magenta bulk of the brown dwarf that Ephraim Adleman had found his death around. The failed star was of little interest to a humanity that could jump between worlds, and relied on the luminosity of their suns to charge their drives. This curiosity would never support a habitable world. It would take months if not years to charge a K-F core.
 
It made it perfect to hide a Jumpship around. As much as part of my mind was captured by the site of the non-quite-star above me, more of me was studying the silhouette of the laden jumper printed across its disk.
"Confirmed," said Spuds from the helm. "It's a Star Lord of some mark. I've got three Fortresses and a Union CV on LADAR." The Drac-looking Taurian threw the hull map up onto a screen for the rest of the bridge to view. Like she said, all four eggs were there, safe and sound, nestled up against a pair of wedge-shaped cargo containers that took up the back two jump collars.
 
"That's what we're looking for," I said. "Take us in, Spuds, but be careful. That ship already fried one salvage team."
 
"I understand that's pretty much how lostech hunting tends to go," said the young woman in a wry tone. "Look what we found! Then the screaming starts."
 
"For amateurs, sure," said Stephanie Rose, one of my father's remaining people. "You've got to be careful. Methodical. When you don't, well…" She looked over at me. "Sorry, sir."
 
"It's only the truth," I said. "I'm following your lead, Mrs. Rose."
 
She nodded. "Just keep in mind, I wasn't there for the first time around, so I'm working off notes."
 
"If you don't mind me asking, why?" I said, mostly to kill time as Spuds crept us closer.
 
"Maternity leave," she said. "Hell of a thing."
 
"Huh. Well, mazel tov." I said.
 
"Thank you, sir. Anyway, apparently they blew the air to limit the contamination when they realized what happened, and did a couple wash cycles after they realized that medical attention was worthless. So, assuming there wasn't too much neutron radiation, it should be safe to go over there, even shirtsleeves once we pressurize."
 
"What if the neutron flux was high?" I asked.
 
"Then I hope you're prepared to wait for at least a couple of decades before it's safe," she said flatly. "If it was high enough to create radioactive isotopes, the only thing to do is wait a couple of half-lives."
 
"Lovely," I said.
 
"Physics is a bitch that way, sir. So's cancer. Though I suppose you could supply drugs for everyone who works on the jumper, droppers, and all the shinies inside."
 
"Seems a little cost-prohibitive," I said. "We'd be picking that up, right? On rad sensors, I mean."
 
"We should," said Stephanie. "But you'll excuse me if I take samples as I go."
 
"Sounds smart. Spuds, should we just turn around now?" I asked.
 
My helmswoman smiled. "Conventional wisdom says yes. But the rad sensors say no."
 
"Well, that's good news. Mrs. Rose, it's your show."
----
Stephanie and her crews were as methodical as she claimed. It was hours before I got an urgent call, interrupting a game of low-stakes poker we were using to kill time. "Colonel, I'm calling a preliminary clear on the jumper. She's safe enough for the moment while she's powered down. But I think you'd better get over here. I've got something you need to see."
 
"You can't tell me?"
 
"No, sir. I think you need to see this. And you might want to have some of your more disciplined marines come with you. We might need some help with the inventory of the cargo containers and droppers."
 
"I'll suit up and be right over." I cut the channel and called Jai. "Saidu, Zalman. Get me a platoon of EVA qualified marines who won't push buttons for the fun of it. The pros are calling for some grunt help."
 
"Yes sir," he replied. "Will do."
 
"Excellent. Zalman out." I looked up to my table of poker players. "Terri, Socks, you're on alert five. It's probably nothing, but if something's hinky, I'd rather be safe than sorry. Vixen, Nat, you're with me. Let's go see what's got Rose in a tizzy."
----
===Comes down to a Deck of Cards===
Dropship Queen Anne, Deep Space
Unnamed T8 Brown Dwarf - Orbit
Unnamed Star System, Magistracy of Canopus
26th May, 3015
----
"Hijo de la chingada," I breathed as I looked down at what had made the prospector so nervous. "You're sure it's safe?"
 
Stephanie looked down at the inert Alamo and nodded, tossing a part to me. "Here."
I caught the segment of the reaction chamber the tactical weapon used to generate its blast. "That'd do it," I said.
 
"We got lucky," she said. "It looks like the original crew shorted the sensor relays it was using during one of their rad cleanses. Otherwise, this whole thing would have been plasma long ago."
 
"He did say to triple-check," I mumbled. "Did you find any other nasty surprises?"
 
"Booby traps?" she asked. "No. But nasty surprises? Oh yeah." She pointed a flashlight at a hatch.
 
The nuclear trefoil was almost expected, given the Alamo set as a booby trap. But it was joined by a biohazard symbol, and a less familiar one. Three balls on rods radiating from a third central ball, with arcs against the central ball in-between the rods. Chemical weapons. "All three," I said. "What the hell? Has anyone else been in this compartment?"
 
"No one I don't trust." she said. "Look, I'll be straight with you, I wasn't sure about coming back to this. If it wasn't for Marc vouching for you, I wouldn't have even got on the ship. I know your brother and sister can't be trusted with this sort of thing. You, I'm not sure. You seem to listen to experts, and aren't too hotheaded…"
 
I smiled where she couldn't see me.
 
"…but this sort of thing is…yeah."
 
I nodded. "Yeah. It's a lot. Honestly, my first inclination is to pack up that entire room, and dump it into the brown dwarf."
 
"I've heard of a lot worse plans. The other thing?" She looked around. "The old man? Your father? He lied when he said there were no markings."
"I saw some Cameron Stars on the way through the ship," I said. "It's not that surprising to see for a cache, right?"
 
"No, it isn't." She pulled out a small object from a pouch, about the size of a deck of cards. "Here."
 
I took it. It was a deck of cards, still in what looked like for all the world a cellophane wrapper. I cracked it open, heedless of the provenance. Unlike modern decks, which used Davion, Steiner, Kurita, and Marik as their suites, this had the traditional spades, hearts, clubs, and diamonds. Though the red and black suites were reversed. "Black Diamonds," I mused. "Red Clubs. Weird." I looked up to see Stephanie giving me a strange look. "What?"
 
She drew the ace of hearts and held it up. "Black Hearts."
 
I tried to curse, but no words came out as confusing elements of my father's files clicked into a cohesive picture in my head and my heart sank. Damnit, father, I thought. Comstar's going to kill us!
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*;Notes from the Author : A slightly eventful chapter, filled with all sorts of revelations. As always, I'm curious to see just what people pick up on from the small and meta stuff, and what people think of the more large scale developments. This is the last chapter before you get the long awaited accounting of just what's in the cache, so final bets and requests on what's going to be there with the new context are due. Theories on just what this ship is doing out here are welcome as well. Other things, other things. We continue our little tour of cosmic phenomenon in this chapter with a visit to a brown dwarf, a fascinating ball of gas that didn't quite make it to be a star, though it is self-luminous, and exhibits lower forms of fusion, even if it can't do classic H-H fusion. I find these things incredible, especially given that current estimates have them as being rarer than stars. The universe is truly an amazing place.sar
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