ASO Chpt 11

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==Chapter 11 - First Mission - Aurigan Sentinels (BattleTech CYOA)==
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===Thoughts of Family and the Future===
Cordia City, Coromodir
Aurigan Reach, Aurigan Coalition
31st December, 3020
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“Are you sure that you don’t want to go?” asks Kamea and I grimace at the thought of attending the politically-charged New Year celebration that High Lord Arano is throwing.
 
“I’m definitely sure,” I reply, “Politics isn’t my forte and that party will be completely full of that. I would rather get something productive done like looking at the preliminary contract your father has sent us.”
 
“Haven’t you already looked at that?” points out Kamea.
 
“It doesn’t have to be that specifically,” I grumble, “Given that I want to set out by the end of the week, there is a lot to be done and doing preparations is a better use of my time than making a fool of myself at a fancy party.”
 
“Please, you aren’t nearly as bad as you seem to think you are,” says Kamea, “Besides, plenty of people want to meet you. You’ve been pretty reclusive.”
 
“I haven’t been any less outgoing than I have been before,” I point out.
 
“You weren’t high profile back then,” counters the Arano heiress, “You were, what, just a university student before. Now you are a countess who owns a WarShip on top of being one of the richest people in the Reach and having a military force comparable to a House Guard. You avoiding people now makes you reclusive and it will get noticed.”
 
“You know what, I’m perfectly fine with that,” I say, “Less people wanting to bother me is just peachy.”
 
“We’ll work on it in the future,” says Kamea as she gives me a look, “It isn’t going to be a sustainable state of affairs in the long run and who knows how long until important people begin to take your lack of socialization as a snub.”
 
“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it,” I reply, “I want to at least win a battle or two so I have some credibility to my claim of being a military leader. I don’t want people thinking that I am all bark and no bite because I haven’t done anything, but get lucky on a LosTech expedition.”
 
“This mission should fit the bill,” says Kamea, “We’ll go smash some pirates and bring the Argo back for my father. That will give you the clout you want and once we are back home, we can arrange what will effectively be your debut. Even if there aren’t any convenient holidays, we’ll be able to arrange something suitable for the occasion.”
 
“When I make a dozen or so accidental faux passes?” I ask dryly.
“Victoria and I will teach you enough that you won’t,” replies Kamea, waving off my concerns, “Even if you won’t admit to yourself, you have a solid grasp on the basics so we will only need to worry about the finer points. Once we get you up to a passable level of competence, nobody will care about the little slip up here or there.”
 
“You have greater faith in humanity than I do then,” I mutter and the Arano heiress rolls her eyes at me.
 
“Fine, some fools will complain, but I can assure you that nobody with enough power or influence to harm you will,” says Kamea.
 
“Fine, fine,” I grumble, “Is that all?”
 
“I was hoping to ask about the upcoming mission?” inquires Kamea, “Not that I think that Father would give us a bad deal, but I would be lying if I tried to deny that the last few months have seen me become invested in the Aurigan Sentinels.”
 
“That’s not unexpected, it is your first unit after all,” I say.
You see, while it might seem obvious that Kamea would have served in the ACM as the heir presumptive, the truth is more complex. The ACM is a very feudal military and while it is capable of providing infantry equipment and ICE-power vehicles without difficulty, any ‘Mechs or fusion tanks are largely owned by the nobility. The nobles provide those machines with crew in service to the ACM as part of their feudal obligations, while the scarcity of ‘Mechs means a noble family will only provide a single BattleMech and MechWarrior at a time.
 
Even the main branch of House Arano only has their ancestral ‘Mech, the Kintaro that they have kept since their ancestors in the 159th Hussar Regiment defected to the Taurian Concordat, forming the Red Chasseurs. She might have had it during the events of the Espinosa Coup and the Arano Restoration, but that was only due to the death of her father. These days, High Lord Arano is still making use of the family ‘Mech, leaving Kamea unable to serve in the ACM as a MechWarrior.
Now, she could have joined the ACM as a tanker or an infantrywoman, but the Arano heiress had chosen to remain a MechWarrior even if she was dispossessed until she inherited the family ‘Mech. And honestly, that isn’t just MechWarrior pride talking. Cross training would have taken up plenty of Kamea’s already busy schedule and then there are the social consequences.
 
The heir presumptive choosing to be a lowly tanker or infantrywoman rather than a noble MechWarrior doesn’t have anything inherently wrong with it, but try telling that to some of the nobility. Unfortunately, the Reach has enough Mechjocks amongst the local aristocracy that Kamea choosing not to be a MechWarrior could have notably hurt her social standing. As far as too many people in a position of power are concerned, better to have a MechWarrior who has never served than someone who has served in a lesser position.
 
“I just want to make things work.” says Kamea, “Now, what is the contract?”
 
“It's a good one,” I tell her, “It's a retrieval mission to Alloway and we'll just be taking the Myrmidon plus a couple of Leopards. One of those will be Markham’s old one to get our ‘Mechs to and from the surface while the other is a loaner from House-from your house to carry the infantry and engineers. We’ll only be getting paid to take just a single company of ‘Mechs and a squadron of ASFs along with an infantry contingent.
 
 “Beyond that, good combat pay along with fully-covered transportation costs including combat drops for both Leopards. We’ll be expected to catch a ride on passing JumpShips, but the costs of hiring them are being covered and it will save us time. Supply is only partially covered, but honestly, it isn’t that much compared to the transportation fees. Salvage rights could be better with us receiving thirty percent with ten percent priority picks, but given that the rest of the salvage will be going to your father, I can accept that more than if it was another employer.”
 
“We’ll be going, right?” asks Kamea.
 
“I’ll be going, but I’m not sure about who else,” I reply before relenting under the glare that the Arano heiress gives me, “Alright, I’ll make sure you, Victoria and Mo join us, but I’m not going to bring the Myrmidon’s standard complement. It’s all too green for that given you and Mo are the most experienced members.”
“That’s a fair point,” concedes Kamea, “I presume that you have something in mind?”
 
“I’ll swap out Daybreak Squadron for Storm Squadron,” I say, “An elite squadron of Royal Stukas should handle any aerospace resistance that we run into. I’m thinking of bringing the Vixens along as while they might be overkill for a bunch of pirates, they will certainly get the job done.”
 
“I’m not going to argue against overkill.” says Kamea after a moment of silence, “A successful first mission will be important to our reputation and I won’t deny that I am biassed about this. Retrieving the Argo and uncovering her secrets has been my father’s dream longer than I’ve been alive. The chance for him to finally fulfill it…I just don’t want to mess this up.”
 
“I can understand that,” I reply slowly, “It was more of a hobby than a dream in Dad’s case, but he spent the last couple of years researching his, well, my find. He got more invested and excited as the time went by and I just remember how happy he was to make his big breakthrough. Then a goddamn hover truck kills him a month before the expedition he put together was supposed to leave.
 
“I had to pick up the pieces and while I am grateful for the opportunity, it sucks that he put all of that hard work into finding what would be the LosTech find of the century only to be killed before he can find it himself. Sometimes, part of me feels guilty that I was the one to go on the expedition to claim the rewards of his hard earned efforts. Because Dad shouldn’t have died and I shouldn’t have had to take his place in the expedition.”
 
“That’s-” starts Kamea before hesitating as she gives me a look of pity, “I’m not going to lie and say that I can understand all of that, but I do get where you are coming from. I would hate for us to get the Argo just to come back and find something had happened to Father. Hey, Elizabeth, do you mind if I ask a personal question? One about you and your stepfather?”
 
“Go ahead,” I say after considering it for a moment, “I trust you won’t be rude or disrespectful about it.”
 
“I’ll try not to be.” says Kamea before taking a deep breath and continuing, “What exactly was the relation between you and your stepfather? Or you and the rest of your family? I’ve been trying to figure it out since we first met and all I can come up with is that it isn't like what I assumed it would be like.”
 
“Huh,” I say to buy myself some time to think, “just what were you expecting then?”
 
“Something more typical,” admits Kamea as the Arano heiress avoids meeting my eyes, “Perhaps even stereotypical. I assumed that you wouldn’t get along with Moana because she was the heir, but you were the older one. That your stepfather would sideline you in favor of his actual daughters and you would resent him for that. Not whatever it is that you’ve got going on in House Kalani.”
 
“It’s complicated.” I say as I flounder on how to respond to all of that, “He was my Dad, but I always knew that I wasn’t one of his daughters by blood. That I was a Nora and not Kalani. I knew that it would be one of my half-sisters who inherited and not me. Never me and I wouldn’t be involved in the noble side of the family. Dad and Mum made sure that I knew that growing up. They loved me, but I just didn’t have the right blood.”
 
“So he just side-lined you to keep you out of the way?” asks Kamea, “And you were just okay with that?”
 
“It was just a fact of life.” I reply with a dismissive shrug, “I was the stepdaughter who wasn’t in the line of succession. I never particularly wanted to attend those events and I wasn’t left out of other family stuff, just the things relating to the baronetcy. I even got some basic training in the family Locust. For all I know, Dad just recognized how bad I am at noble etiquette and decided to keep me away for that reason.”
 
“If he had noticed that, he could have taught you to be better rather than keeping you away,” points out Kamea softly.
 
“I never asked so I suppose we’ll never know,” I tell her and my mood drops at the reminder of his death and the conversation that we will never have the chance to have, “Because he is dead.”
 
Thanks to that damn truck driver. Accident, my arse. Someone had to be at fault. There has to be someone I can blame for Dad’s death.
 
“Are you okay?” asks Kamea.
 
“I’m fine, just remembering that Dad is dead and I won’t be able to speak with him ever again,” I reply, “Can we change the topic?”
 
“Of course.” says the Arano heiress hastily, “How is your training with Mastiff going?”
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==Author's Chapter Commentary==
; A Word from the Author: Start of a new arc once again. This chapter is mainly because I wanted to establish what was going on with the mission before it is shown on-screen. So I put the discussion of the contract in the middle of showing Elizabeth’s avoidance of politics and some insight to her family dynamics.
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