O’Malley Mansion, North of Georgia
Northwind
Draconis March, Federated Commonwealth
17 September 3055
Greg O’Neil quietly headed for his car as he and the rest of the workers departed the ruins around 2000 hours. He was obviously nervous, but had managed to avoid too much scrutiny from his fellow workers, none of which were terribly willing to cooperate with the Star Sword investigators.
Wind blew through the nearby trees and Greg jumped as if startled. Not far away, a Highlander Vulcan Battlemech, still showing the scars of battle, stood silent watch over the ruins. “I need to be less nervous. No one is going to bother me with an anti-infantry Battlemech peeking over my shoulder.”
Greg got into the car and turned on the ignition. He felt something cold against his neck and an audible click.
“The sound you hear is of a Mydron machine pistol being cocked.” Said a male voice. Greg knew it was the man from that afternoon. “Now drive.”
“You can’t do this. I have rights.”
“If your boss can disappear into thin air, so can you.” Said a female voice. It was the one with him, the investigator. “Given that you stayed behind for wife and child while your master fled, I figure you’re keen on seeing them again. Do as he says and you will. Now drive.”
“Where?”
“We’ll tell you that in a minute. Just get us away from the manor.”
Greg contemplated hitting the car’s horn to get attention, but decided he’d be able to hold it for approximately 1 microsecond before the Mydron rounds turned his head into pate. He put the car into gear and headed away.
The woman instructed him as he drove. He recognized roughly where he was headed, towards the slum known as Exiletown.
Exiletown was so named because it was the part of Georgia in which all the refugees from the Conspiracy War who had come to Northwind were living. It was the roughest part of town. It was also the heart of the Northwind resistance, no doubt because with the influx of refugees it was easy to smuggle intelligence operatives into Exiletown without them being noticed.
Karl also recognized where they were going, but knew a little bit more than did the hapless O’Neil. He and the other Dark Rangers had hid out within Exiletown during the time they were stranded on Northwind.
“Stop here.” Ordered Gwen. O’Neil parked the car in front of a rundown bar. Karl recognized it instantly as the bar that belonged to Kyle MacDougal, one of the key members of the Northwind resistance.
Gwen got out of the car and drew her laser pistol. Karl ordered O’Neil to get out and then followed him out. The three went inside.
Inside was Nathan Bairn, still nursing his injuries from the firefight at ConsInt headquarters. “Ah, I see you have a visitor.”
Kyle was sitting at his usual spot behind the bar. “I presume you want the back room.”
“If you don’t mind.” Said Gwen as Kyle moved to the back door of the bar.
“I’ll have all of you arrested.” Snarled an indignant O’Neil.
“I’m sure you will, Mr. O’Neil.” Said Nathan. “But right now, your people are under our authority and any protests you make will conveniently fall on deaf ears. That, of course, presuming you remember any of this.”
“You get the stuff?” said Gwen.
“I got it. You think this will work.”
“It fucked Logan up pretty good. It ought to work on the good steward here. Jacob, Larry, take Mr. O’Neil down to the cellar and make him comfortable.”
Once O’Neil was out of earshot, Karl asked “What stuff?”
“This.” Nathan tossed a small bottle of greenish liquid to Gwen. “Falcona-7 they call it. Some sort of Jade Falcon drug that makes its user highly susceptible to persuasion.”
“Clan truth serum?”
“More than that.” Said Gwen. “It’s the same stuff O’Malley used on Yuri and Logan on Dieron to brainwash them.”
“Where did you get it?”
“O’Malley didn’t use all of it on Logan and Yuri. Kept the rest in a private stash in his office at ConsInt HQ.” Said Nathan.
“Weren’t you taken by ConsInt once?” asked Karl of Gwen. “Why didn’t he use it on you?”
Gwen shuddered at the remembrance. “He didn’t have to.” She said quietly. She turned to Nathan. “Got a syringe?”
“They’re downstairs with our guest. We’re all ready for you.”
“Let’s go make O’Neil spill his guts.”
---
“There was a man from ConsInt. He came with an attaché case. Master O’Malley read the letter within and got really frightened. He told me to arrange for transportation off-world, no matter what the cost. He planned to take only Celine and the boy with him, but the troops soon got word that he was going to leave Northwind. Two full companies went with him.”
“Do you know where he went?” said Gwen. The Falcona-7 was working and O’Neil’s resistance had long since faded.
“Not exactly. They launched out of New York.”
Gwen stepped back and motioned for Nathan and Rohan to do likewise. “Two full companies means he needed a jumpship that could carry a minimum of two and possibly three dropships. There can’t be many of those who’ve come through the system in the last three weeks.”
“I thought the Alliance grounded all dropships after the invasion to prevent any Conspiracy stragglers from escaping.” Said Rohan.
“We did, but two Union class dropships are unaccounted for among the Highlander assets.” Said Nathan. “Somehow, two of them got off world. But one thing that is true. Every jumpship that’s come into system has been forced to register their logs and proposed destinations. Standard procedure for any system on lockdown. We’ll know where he went.”
“An abduction, an illegal interrogation, and we’ve learned nothing we didn’t already know.” Mused Gwen bitterly. “So far, this is proving to be a comedy of errors.”
“Actually, we do know one thing we didn’t before, and it’s important.” Said Nathan. “Why O’Malley fled.”
“The attaché?” said Rohan.
“Yeah, let’s see what we can learn about it. It may answer the question about O’Malley’s ultimate destination.” Said Gwen quietly and turned back to O’Neil. “Greg, what was in the attaché that Baron O’Malley received?”
“I don’t know, but whatever it was terrified him. He said people would kill him for it, would kill us all for it.”
“Who did the attaché come from?”
“Richard, I think. A Japanese man delivered it. I can’t remember his name.”
“Hiroshi Takagi, most likely.” Said Bairn. “Takagi. He was head of Planetary Security and worked closely with O’Malley.”
“Would he know what was in the case?” asked Gwen.
“It doesn’t matter. He was found dead in his cell two nights ago. Exsanguinated. Drained of his blood.”
“Like a vampire. That’s….” Gwen paused. “Isn’t there a Loki hit team that goes by that name?”
Nathan nodded. “And those LIC agents at O’Malley’s office the other day.”
“Someone else is after the case.” Said Gwen. She looked at Nathan.
“Anderson.” They said in unison.
“So the Conspiracy isn’t dead after all?” speculated Rohan.
“Well, maybe yes, maybe no. Either way, there are those still loyal to its cause that are willing to kill to keep whatever information Baron O’Malley has out of our hands. What that information is, is anyone’s guess. Financial backers, deep cover agents, who knows? But we don’t have much time, because others are also after it and they are probably ahead of us.”
“Is there a jumpship available now?” asked Gwen.
“Should be.” Said Nathan.
“Rohan,” said Gwen, “tell Logan to be ready to launch by dawn. I’ll have the name and destination of O’Malley’s jumpship before then.”
Dark Ranger dropship Pegasus
Outbound, Northwind system
Draconis March, Federated Commonwealth
21 September 3055
The large open bay of the dropship afforded Gwen the luxury of enough open space for exercise, a luxury she chose to take. After jogging several laps through the bays of the ship, she headed for her quarters.
“She’s quite a ship, isn’t she?” said Logan, running to catch up to her in the hallway.
“She is. How, pray tell, did you manage to keep the DCMS Mercenary liaison from finding out you stole it?”
“A few well placed bribes to our jumpship crew. It never disengaged from the jumpship when we reported our success to the Combine liaison on Wolcott. We used our old Union to make planetfall. They never knew that we claimed a whole prototype dropship from the Jaguars. Once we got back to Commonwealth space, we sold off the Union and have been using this one every since.”
“Quite a story.” Said Gwen, entering her quarters. Logan did not wait for an invitation and followed her in.
Gwen paused at his boldness, but chose to ignore it. She moved to her desk, tossing her sweaty towel aside. Logan looked over the items on her desk.
“Is there something I can help you with, Logan?”
“You never stuck me as much of the nerdy type.” He commented, holding up a filmbook. “A History of the Draconis Combine. Sounds dry.”
“But necessary. We are en route to Formalhaut. As you well know, O’Malley piggybacked on the very same jumpship the Genyosha used to return to Combine space. Thus, he’s now in the Draconis Combine and it helps to know a bit about where we are going.”
“You were ISF. Don’t you know all this stuff already?”
“To a point. Keep in mind what history and culture I did learn, I learned via propaganda and the state-approved version. A more open-minded view couldn’t hurt.” She took the filmbook from his hands.
Logan picked up another item from the desk, Gwen’s blaster pistol. “This is an odd weapon.”
“It’s called a blaster, a name we stole from old science fiction stories. It’s basically a handheld PPC.”
“Ouch.”
Gwen took the pistol from his hand. “You’re like a little kid. Why are you here, Logan?”
“Ok, you got me. Just making small talk. I figured if we’re working together, we may as well get to know each other better.” Logan said the last part with a sly smile.
Gwen chuckled to herself. “I was ISF, Logan, which means I was trained to read between the lines when people lie to me.”
“I wasn’t lying.” Said Logan defensively.
“But you’re not telling the whole truth.” Gwen leaned forward. “I seem to recall you getting to know my boss pretty well on Dieron. I’m guessing you mean it the same way here.”
“You’re going to be a challenge.”
“This whole ship is a sausage fest. What makes you think I’d pick you over someone else?”
“Because I’m the cute charming one.”
“Nice try. I don’t go for that sort of thing, Logan. Don’t waste your time or mine.”
“Really? Hmm, you see, because I recall that while I was enjoying Yuri’s company on Dieron, you were having quite a bit of fun with General Messer, and he was and still is a married man.”
“That was different.” Gwen could feel her anger rising. “And if you’re trying to work your way into my bed, leveling an accusation at me is not the way to go about it.”
“You called me a liar, said I wasn’t telling the whole truth. Well, glass houses and all that.” With that, he turned and left.
---
Gwen marched onto the bridge roughly an hour later. Rohan and Doc were there, overseeing the docking procedure with the jumpship.
“So what did you say to Logan that got him into such a wonderful mood?” inquired Rohan.
“Well, Loverboy seems to think that the only woman aboard ship is his personal plaything. I…ah, corrected his presumption.”
“Well, he wasn’t real happy to take this job.” Said Doc. “Guess he figured you were a consolation prize.”
“Gee, thanks, Doc for making me feel like I’m truly part of the team.” Said Gwen sarcastically. “Nice to know I’m little more than a piece of meat.”
“Hey, pull in your claws. Logan doesn’t speak for me here. His opinion is not my own.”
“Sorry. You’re right. I’m just a little peeved myself. After Logan didn’t get what he wanted, he practically called me a slut for my relationship with Joshua.” Gwen slumped down into an empty seat and let out her breath in frustration. “You sleep with one guy and the world presumes that if you did it for one, you’d do it for anybody.”
“If it matters,” said Rohan, “I never thought of you that way. You knew Joshua from before, didn’t you?”
“The great irony is that it’s unlikely he would ever have married Lisa MacLeod if he’d known all along I was still alive.” Mused Gwen with regret. “But that’s water under the bridge now. Joshua’s married. He’s happy. They’ve got a kid with another on the way. Of course, the first one is why we’re all here.”
Rohan picked up on Gwen’s hint to change the subject. “Well, we should be docking with our jumper within the hour. We’re the last ship to dock, so we should make the jump to Formalhaut very shortly after that.”
“Good.” Said Gwen flatly. “Let the chase begin.”
Star Swords Staging Area, Georgia
Northwind
Draconis March, Federated Commonwealth
22 September 3055
“Not that I wish to question your orders, sir, but are you sure this is wise? You and most of the command staff going off by yourselves?” asked Mike Koren. “I know this is no doubt something important to Prince Victor, but to strip the Star Swords of most of its senior officers?”
“I understand your concern, Mike, and don’t think for a second I hadn’t weighed that into my decision.” Said Joshua as he marched across the tarmac toward the mech hanger. “But this is something the senior officers have to do, and we’re truly the only ones who can do it. That’s unfortunately, because you’re right. I’m stripping the Swords of its most senior leadership, but I have full confidence in yours and Kou’s abilities. You’ve both been brevetted to regimental command. Take the Swords back to New Belfast. Among your tasks when you arrive is reintegration, working our amnesty troops back into the fold.”
“Including Juan?”
“Yes. He accepted our offer. It would be bad form for us to turn on him now, regardless of his crimes.”
“Very well. Any other orders?”
“Kick the Falcon’s ass if they come calling. The usual. And try not to have too much fun with my sister-in-law.”
“I thought you figured that was old news.” Said Mike with a smile.
“We may not be the closest of friends, Mike, and we certainly have had our disagreements over the years in the Swords, but I’m not blind. You’ve always had this on-again off-again thing with Marian, ever since you saved her life when we re-conquered New Belfast. She’s not a child anymore, 23 now. What’s holding the two of you back?”
Mike just shrugged. “It’s not me.”
“Well, you’ll have plenty of quality time with her without her sisters looming over your shoulder.” Said Joshua, coming to a stop at the foot of his Cauldron Born. “Now, get to work, you have a departure to plan.”
“Yes, sir.” Said Mike with a casual salute. He walked briskly away.
“Look at this.” Said a voice from above. Joshua turned and looked behind him and saw Daisaku perched upon the shoulder of his Uller. “The wise old general dispersing advice to this troops. The funny thing is, Mike has you by 4 years.”
“Years do not equal experience, my friend. You and I have seen more of the horrors of war than I hope Mike or any of our Inner Sphere colleagues ever have to. But on a happier note, I have also been married a lot longer than anyone else in our group of friends.”
“A marriage that you almost lost.” Said Daisaku, climbing down.
“We must learn from our mistakes,” said Joshua flatly. “otherwise what good are they? Of course, the real question before us now is whether we made a mistake in assuming we were the last.”
“The question on all our minds.” Said Daisaku, stating the obvious. “Prince Hanse sent an expedition back to see if he could recover more Clantech from New Vision when we were at NAMA. They found no one.”
“New Vision is a big planet.”
“Either way, mistake or no, we did what we did to survive. So let’s not dwell on regrets. What we have now is an opportunity. Our families, they might have survived.” Daisaku’s voice almost broke with joy over the possibility. “And even beyond that,” he worked to retain his composure. “we could rally them to us. We could recreate the Touman. Imagine how we’d terrify the Jade Falcons with 5 or 6 regiments of Star Swords instead of just two.”
“I sometimes forget how much you all lost in that holocaust. I know I shouldn’t, but I do. I’ve been the lucky one. My sister survived, came with us, and my one lover also made it through. You lost brothers, fathers, mothers, sisters, lovers. The only family I lost was the one I killed myself.”
“You still carry a lot of regret over that, Josh. I can see it in your eyes. You always get this haunted look when you talk about him.”
“I sometimes wonder if things wouldn’t have turned out differently if he’d been alive when the Falcons arrived.”
“That’s idle speculation. Our tactics and strategies were sound. We failed to anticipate the potency of their advanced technology. Speaking of mistakes, that’s not one we’ll make again. We know a lot more now about our enemy than we did then.”
“Perhaps.” Joshua looked beyond his friend to the mech behind him. “How soon will be ready for departure?”
“I’m good to go now.”
“Alright. We’ll depart in the morning then. I’ll pass on the word to our dropship.”
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