TBntG Chpt 38

==The Bull and the Genie- Chapter 38 - Interlude, Katrina and Takashi==
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===Parade of Bulls===
Thardad System, Lyran Commonwealth
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The thunder of marching 'mechs rose from the speakers as the Taurian 2nd marched down Katherine Steiner Way, the Battlemechs of the First Royal Guard standing honor on each side of the Way. Traditionally it was a route for regiments and forces that had distinguished themselves above and beyond the call of duty. Melissa had researched it, and mentioned that it wasn't only the first Periphery unit to be so honored, but other than some SLDF units, the only non-Lyran unit to receive such an honor. It was also probably the first time Dragon Battlemechs were marching on a Lyran world as anything but invaders, with the Unit CO, Colonel Thomas' Dragon marching along, sans on arm. Every Battlemech, all 50% that remained, had been marked in some way, and the infantry and armored units were similarly marked.
Twenty-five percent killed, another 30 percent wounded seriously enough to be rendered unfit for combat, not counting the twenty-five percent dead among the SASF and volunteer forces that had successfully taken a warship and freed just over 2,500 Lyran citizens.
Every soldier of the 2nd had been granted honorary Lyran citizenship, to become regular citizenship if they ever chose to settle in the Commonwealth. aAs well as a Unit Citation of Merit, something that had required some work with the Taurian embassy to make certain that no obligation of duty to the Commonwealth was applied to it. Katrina had paid, from her own funds, benefits equal to that those paid to Lyran soldiers, for the killed, and crippled.
The speeches were moving. Hell, I was moved. You expected your own soldiers to stand and die, but nobody would have held it against the Taurians if they'd simply evacuated the city and withdrew. Instead, the Colonel had bartered his regiment to rip the heart out of the most dangerous incursion in recent history—and had obtained prisoners. Katrina had been informed that Morgaine was talking, and there was no need to inquire as to why she was talking. 
But this has put a king-sized problem in my way., Katrina Steiner thought 
"Melissa," she said. "What problems does this pose for us?"
Her daughter turned the screen off and turned to her mother. "Right now, nearly every network in the Commonwealth is running stories about their brave stand, and most importantly for his, histories of the Concordat." Melissa shook her head. "When they came it was very much… Pat on the head retrospectives. The Taurians are here to let us do the important things, and look at their machines, how cute. Now, they took a Warship, and died to defend a world… and the retrospectives are talking about the Reunification War, and how it was nothing more than a land grab… "worthy of a Kurita" I believe someone said. This morning, I just heard that there's a new animated series being planned."
"Oh?"
"Heroes of Taurus, about a group of anthropomorphic warriors who fight Amos Hoglough as he tries to destroy the last Taurian museum to take it back to Prince Alexander Davion, in return for the forced marriage of the lost heir to Taurus, Jessica Calderon. Evidently, the prince will also be an anthropomorphic pig."
"You see the problem.", she commented
"Taurus is now a brave, heroic nation, one that was brutalized by the Star League and Federated Suns. More importantly, for those who fear our moves towards the Suns, they are both far away and not a threat."
"As we get closer to the Suns, the Suns' issues with Taurus become our issues. I believe Hanse has reiterated his order regarding no cross-border incursions and sent a recording of the battle here to his problem child, reminding him that evidently the Taurians haven't forgotten how to fight."
Melissa frowned. She wasn't experienced, but there was a reason Katrina believed her daughter would be an equal partner in this marriage. 
"The Federated Suns cannot be seen to give worlds away. But…"
"Yes?"
"They can admit that the war was without provocation, and perhaps at some later date schedule referendums on some of the former Taurian worlds."
"And if they lose?"
"They won't. I checked. The Davions are not the Kuritans, and by this time, the original families have intermixed so much that Taurian patriots are seen as a little… off."
"You've been giving this thought."
"It was obvious that this was going to cause us problems, but just admitting that it was a land-grab isn't enough, and the Taurians also must know that there's no chance of getting back populated worlds, but they're not the only ones."
"Oh?"
"There are at least fifteen worlds that are either depopulated or barely populated. Most of the people fled, and after the conflict they weren't seen as worth it to restore, or more truthfully, the Star League wasn't interested in giving the Taurians more worlds they'd have to watch. But now that the Taurians are producing water filters…"
"The Federated Suns could offer those worlds."
"Yes." 
"I'll leave this for you to discuss. It'll be good experience."
Melissa smiled. "Of course. What about the Warship?"
"Snord is going over it, along with our people, as to what to do with it…" Katrina shook her head. "It's a tremendous white elephant, so I've been in talks with Comstar. The pirates destroyed one of the charging stations, so we'll boost it to the location, then Comstar and delegations from the other states will observe while the jump drive is permanently disabled. Fixing the sails and putting in charging equipment shouldn't be hard, and so I can replace the station without leaving a charging-station sized hole in our budget."
One of many. Rebuilding the capital city of a world was already making the economists wince and talk about the need for local stimulus packages.
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===Reflections of the Dragon===
Throne Room - Luthern System, Draconis Combine
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"So the Lyrans have agreed to render the WarShip non-functional." Takashi Kurita said.
"Yes," Subhash Indrahar said. "We believe it to be an honest statement, and they have invited a delegation to observe." 
Takashi frowned. It would be too much to assume that the Lyrans would pour money into a Warship. Some of his own staff had wanted to rebuild some of their mothballed Warships and for that reason he'd ordered new pictures put into the palace. Glancing up, he saw one. The Fall of Lonestar.
Hopefully that would shut them down, and if not, he could always invite some to see the Garden. A world bombarded by a warship could provide nothing to winner or loser. Not to mention…
"And our countermeasures?"
"Well underway." Subash gestured, and a diffident engineer came forward.
"Lord Kurita," he said, "we have completed the design, and I hope it meets with your expectations." The man had violated half a dozen protocols, probably because he'd forgotten them in his nerves.
In a formal audience, notice would have to be taken, which was why this was a private audience. To be soft would lead to the fall of the Dragon, as his Son did not seem to recognize. To be too brutal would also lead to its fall, as Jinjiro had also not recognized. And right now, the Dragon needed strong leadership. Takashi had forged the alliance with the Liaos and Free Worlds League, but one was led by a fool and the other was always one step from civil war. As always, the only nation he could depend upon was his own. 
"This is our MK IV strategic anti-ship missile, along with its delivery system." The image appeared on the screen. An oddly non-aerodynamic DropShip, coupled with a missile that looked like a mass of tubes and modules, connected to a big engine unit.
"The Delivery system, which we haven't granted a name yet, can carry six of the MK IVs, and more than one hit should be enough to disable any ship short of a battleship."
"And atmospheric use?", he asked
"As per the orders, Lord Kurita, neither the delivery system, nor the missile can enter the atmosphere and remain functional. A blast shield can be used to allow the missile to be launched from in the atmosphere, but it must be jettisoned before the seekers can be used."
"How hard would it be to modify the system?"
"It would be easier to simply build an entirely new DropShip and missile, Lord Kurita." the man said, sweating.
"You have done well. Leave us.", he ordered the man
With that, the engineer bowed his way out of the chamber.
"He was briefed on protocol."
"And he forgot it." Takashi shook his head. "It's fortunate he's not a soldier, for everyone concerned. Are the channels ready?"
"Yes. Our enemies will know that we are building a small force, should another warship appear, and that so long as they… include similar limitations in their forces, we will feel no need to increase our strategic deterrent."
"Good." My son may yet be worthy, but even if not, another will lead the Dragon, and I will grant them a nation, not a wasteland.
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