Ep11

**This page contains major spoilers for the story. You have been warned!**

## Summary

After dealing with the Yellow Masks, the Marauders gain more information about The Benefactor’s motives and Talon encounters someone with ties to his past at the DCMS.

## Play by Play

Having taken care of the remainder of the Yellow Masks, the Marauders attempt to get back to civilization while letting the rest of the sector know that the planet of Chimera exists and there are people living on it.  Salvage is collected over the next week as the team wait for their transport to arrive.  Once onboard and heading away from their previous excursions, the Marauders must decide what to do next.  They take some time to relax in Detroit and Beta is contacted by Bradley, his information broker, before going to speak to the Lord Commander.  He reveals that his investigation of Diva has uncovered some disturbing information.  Her partner Malika does not exist, no records of her can be found anywhere.  The Lord Commander is incredulous since he remembers meeting and fighting with her but Beta is adamant, her profile does not exist.  What it means is that Diva is affiliated with a ghost and the Lord Commander happens to know a spook.  Lazarus is called to speak with the Lord Commander and agrees to look into Malika and her former partner from the Solaris VII tournament grounds.  He also agrees to help the Marauders get in touch with the noble house who hired his team to take care of the Yellow Masks as the Lord Commander hopes that this will provide information that could be useful to overthrowing the control of The Benefactor.

Valravn continues to look into mercenary jobs in order to keep up the guise of being willing employees of The Benefactor.  Lazarus comes back with a time and a place for meeting with his former employer, something Talon is less than excited about when he learns that they are from House Davion.  The Lord Commander acknowledges his concerns but overrules them, although he does expect each of the team to come to the meeting armed.  Arriving at the meeting place, the Marauders meet someone who appears to be a mechanic of some kind.  He introduces himself as Wilson and he tells the Marauders that he, and the people he represents, are aware of some person or persons active in the Periphery engineering conflict and instability.  These people have been using independent third parties to carry out actions with no consequence to them should the people they hire be killed, and it is also clear that the third parties are hired in part thanks to blackmail.  There are some suspicions that sympathetic members of several noble houses might be tied to this as well.  What he cannot tell the team is what the motives behind this instability and continued warfare in the periphery.  The Marauders decide to continue to investigate The Benefactor and keep up their mercenary work.  Valravn wants to take a job dealing with pirates and medical supplies, specifically because she wants to find out more information regarding the illness affecting her mother.  Beta wants to take a job which would be more like a vacation entailing garrison duty to help guard pieces of national infrastructure.  However, Talon speaks up and is very interested in taking a job for House Davion regarding a group of Taurians who are being lead by a former member of House Kurita named Okada.  When pressed he finally reveals that this man is one of the people who was instrumental in his downfall and dismissal from the DCMS.

Meeting on the battlefield, Talon reveals himself to Okada who seems less than impressed by the appearance by his former comrade.  The Marauders engage the enemy mechs with both sides taking damage.  Beta attempts to convince the Taurian infantry to retreat from the battlefield but they are engulfed in flames from his lasers before they can do anything.  Talon finally has enough and comms over to Okada with a challenge.  The two Kuritans agree to a mech duel, melee only, to settle the battle.  Both combatants are evenly matched and deal a great deal of damage to each other’s mechs.  They finally disembark to meet on the ground with swords in hand.  Talon faces down Okada and slays him in a single motion.  Impressed, Valravn comms to Talon with a one time offer for some face to face time in the simulators when they get back to the Yojimbo.  Talon agrees and then contacts the remaining enemy forces.  They agree to withdraw so as to not dishonor the sacrifice of their commander.  They also agree to send over personal affects and communications from Okada to Talon, with the exception of his family sword or extremely personal affects.  Back on the Yojimbo, Talon and Valravn share a look and head into the simulator.

## Media

* Youtube (remove this bracket text and add the link)