FSRB Chpt 215

==The Federated Suns Reborn - Chapter 215==
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September 3070Interlude: A Death
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Governor's Palace 
Benjamin, Benjamin District 
Draconis Combine 
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The Coordinator of the Draconis Combine, Hohiro Kurita turned from the command table he and his officers were clustered around and watched as the representative from Terra was led into the room. As per his standing orders he had been taken aside and literally strip searched to ensure that he smuggled no weapons in to attempt to assassinate him. Given that the ISF and most of the DEST teams had declared for his brother he was taking no chances. It also didn't hurt to remind the Blakists that they were now dealing with the rightful Coordinator of the Draconis Combine. As the man approached between two hulking figures in ceremonial armour from his "True Otomo". Another two stepped up protectively around their Coordinator as the Word of Blake ambassador approached and bowed, although the depth (or lack thereof) of the bow caused all four bodyguards and most of his assembled officers to hiss in disapproval or fury. He waved aside their outrage with a hand as the ambassador straightened. "So St. James finally decided to send someone... Good. Although there better be more jumpships en-route with the equipment I sent for as well! That Invader class JumpShip isn't carrying anywhere near enough dropships to carry the cargo I need to help me win this war and take my rightful place on Luthien!" 
The ambassador didn't bother to introduce himself but regretfully shook his head. "There is no equipment aboard my dropship, or the other dropships that arrived on the jumpship. I am afraid you have had the last support you can expect from Terra." Ignoring the growing fury from the self appointed Coordinator he continued. "The First Circuit and Precentor Martial St James have decided that you are a bad investment I am afraid Lord Kurita. We gifted you with ten full regiments of Battlemechs during your war with the Federated Sun's and you did little more than squander them by throwing green troops into their cockpits and throwing them into the battle. You took ten regiments of the finest battlemechs that Terra could provide and turned them into little better than target practise for the AFFS. I am afraid that the Word of Blake have lost faith in you as an investment of our time and resources. Perhaps your brother will be more accommodating..." 
Hohiro ground his teeth in fury as he snarled at his bodyguards to seize the WOB ambassador, which they did forcing the unresisting man to his knees in front of the Coordinator. Standing over him Hohiro snapped an order and one of his aides drew his ceremonial Katana and presented it to him carefully. Taking the blade and placing it against the WOB ambassadors neck he forced himself to control his fury. "I will say this for you... You are no coward to come here carrying your lord's insulting words to me like this... For that devotion to duty I will grant you the honor of slaying you with a blade and not have you shot or hanged like a criminal... Tell me so that I can send word to St. James along with your head, what is your name?" 
The ambassador looked up from where he was kneeling and an almost peaceful smile broke across his face. "I have no name. But you may call me... Kamikaze." 
Even as Hohiro recoiled sideways and slashed down with the blade while his aides and bodyguards rushed to impose themselves between their lord and the man who had just announced his intent the "ambassador" bit down hard upon the fake tooth artfully disguised within his mouth by the finest dentists on Terra. The shattering of that tooth sent a brief electrical jolt into his jawbone where it flashed through the carefully surgically grafted explosives molded to his bones. The detonation wasn't particularly huge in comparison to military grade weaponry, but it was more than sufficient to turn the entire command room into an abattoir. All four Otomo bodyguards died trying to shield their liege lord with their own armored bodies, but it wasn't sufficient to save him. Hohiro Kurita, self proclaimed Coordinator, had been turning away as he cut down into the assassin just as the explosion occurred. He suffered horrendous injuries to his left side directly from the blast, losing both his left leg, and the arm right up the shoulder. While fragments of bone and other debris were driven into his chest, neck and hip, but he was also blasted back from the explosion into the command table hard enough to snap his spine and send bone fragments lancing into his kidneys, liver and intestines. It would be a matter for medical conjecture as to which of his many injuries actually killed him. Along with the four bodyguards and the Coordinator a full dozen top ranking military officers and aides were killed in the blast - including the Tai-sas of the 2nd & 25th Benjamin Regulars who were the commanding officers of the Benjamin garrison. A fifth member of the Otomo who had been stationed in the nearby corner, died charging to the aid of his four companions. Two low ranking aides and the three bodyguards stationed in the other four corners were all critically injured by the blast, but survived long enough for the medics to reach and stabilize them. 
Alongside Hohiro Kurita a dozen officers and five bodyguards were killed in the blast. However that wouldn't be the end of the deaths. The surviving officers of Hohiro's supporters on planet would immediately order the execution of his entire Otomo battalion for dereliction of their duties to protect their Lord. This included the three members of the unit who remained in intensive care. They then ordered the execution of every soldier and officer who had had contact with the "ambassador" since he arrived upon Benjamin on the basis that one of them should have managed to deduct that he was a human bomb. Somehow. The 2nd Benjamin Regulars also stormed the WOB dropship that had brought the walking bomb to the world. However, as they approached the dropship (a converted Mule class vessel) exploded as it's crew detonated it's fuel tanks. Two companies of the 2nd Benjamin were destroyed in the blast, along with the bulk of their infantry assets. The Invader class Jumpship was destroyed by an Achilles class Dropship which took no chances with the vessel pretending to surrender. The assault dropship merely strafed the jumpship into an air bleeding ruin while fighters destroyed both of the other dropships it was carrying. 
None of which of course could bring Hohiro Kurita back from the dead...
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