Air hummed softly in the cockpit, stirred by several ventilation fans
set above and behind the mechwarrior's ejector seat. The tinny whine of an
array of gas-plasma displays added to the ambient sound, as did the muted
roar of several hundred kilograms of liquid nitrogen rushing through the
flashing chambers of the battlemech's heat sinks.
Acting General Kasumi Tendo
That has such an interesting ring to it. ^_^
took in these subtle noises as an
indicator
of her Atlas' health, in much the same way as her father had taught
her when
she was little, and the way she would teach her own children - when she
finally got the chance to settle down and have some.
Not your manga bridal training, I'll grant you. :)
CHILD: Like this, Mommy?
KASUMI: No, Dear. Just slice him in two with your medium laser and be done
with it.
CHILD: Okay!
:P
Her battlemech was in
prime combat condition, though she could hear the coolant circulating
impellers surging, a consequence of the deep vacuum that surrounded her,
as it forced the battlemech's heat sinks to rely on inefficient radiation
rather than forced-air convection to shed waste heat. The coming battles
were going to be a problem for 'mechs that relied heavily on energy weapons.
Combat was imminent because the moon of Oni posed a strategic problem
for the Furinkan Combine that could not be ignored. The greatest threat to
them were the three underground bases for GunShips and aerospace fighter
squadrons, as they could range between the Jump Points and Nerima in search
of Combine convoys, and strike at will at their reinforcements and supply
columns. These bases had been constructed during the Age of War, in the
dimly-recalled time before the short-lived unity of the Star League. As
such, they were built to withstand the terrible firepower unleashed in
those elder days, up to and including low-yield nuclear warheads.
Prince Kuno and his Furinkan Combine were not going to be able to
simply bombard them from a distance with their far less potent weapons,
and hope to succeed. Even if they tried, the bases were protected by heavy
gun emplacements and formidable missile batteries - weapons reserved for
annihilating the great battleships of the First Succession War.
Though no rival Great House had ever faced these weapons before, the
guns of Oni had duelled with a seditious branch of the Tendo Family in
the Confederation Civil War of 2802. The result of this fateful battle
was that the rival Tendos and their allies within the nobility were forced
to withdraw from the system before ever reaching Nerima, and had suffered
the loss of their pretender to the Ducal Throne when his heavy cruiser
was gutted by Naval Particle Cannon fire.
The lethal barrage had come from the very base Kasumi now occupied
with the 1st Nerima Guards regiment - on loan from Akane until she
returned.
AKANE: ONEECHAN! What did you DO to my REGIMENT?!
KASUMI: Well... Tatewaki-kun and I had a small disagreement over a piece of
real estate.
AKANE: ...
From where her battlemech stood, she could see the bowl of the large crater
Satoru Tendo's _Shokaku_ had made when it crashed. In the airless void of
Oni, such historical landmarks were frozen forever in time.
The only way Kuno and his armies could silence the guns and seize the
bases was to launch a ground attack. There were blind spots in the weapon
coverage of the firebases that would allow his DropShips to land their
battlemechs without losing them en masse to the guns. They would have to
make a long trek across the airless wastes to reach the bases, and Kasumi
would see to it that they fought for every kilometer of it.
She had three regiments of battlemechs to do the job. It was a sizable
force when considering that the entire Confederation had perhaps
twenty full
regiments of active duty 'mechs, held six mercenary regiments on retainer,
and could call upon another four regiments of reserves made up of retirees
or from the nobles' personal levies. She also had two brigades of crack
Confederation Marines, a close-knit brotherhood of piss-and-vinegar
lifetakers who had been doing this kind of ugly close-quarters fighting
in a hostile environment for so long that most of the troops had permanent
rasps from breathing canned air.
Great detailing. I'm there, breathing it.
Even if the Combine got close enough to
the guns to destroy them, they still needed to dig out the Marines if they
wanted to get the fighter bases. No matter the outcome, the bloodshed would
be terrible.
[snip]
She bit her lip as shell after shell exploded with flashbulb
spontaneity in the darkness. The Combine had artillery of their own, and
were responding to the attack. They were probably safely dug in at their
own landing zones, where Combine fighters prowled in numbers large enough
to discourage a head-on attack.
She keyed her command mic, knowing that there wasn't much time to
lose.
"Break!" she cried over the tac net. "This is Mother!
/me falls out of chair. ^_^ ^_^
Override fire
mission! Shift fire to suppress hostile artillery!"
Shells that survived the point defense guns began dropping around the
base. Noiseless explosions threw clouds of rock and dirt into the void.
The interior of the base would be safe from these hits, but a 'mech would
be in trouble. A vehicle or a soldier standing in the open would be utterly
obliterated by a direct hit.
"Copy that, Mother. Shifting fire," the battery commander responded.
The guns began to train due south, and then renewed their salvos. To hit
the enemy artillery at the Combine Landing Zones would require them to use
much more propellant with each shot. Kasumi hoped the Combine's gunners
would run out first.
Prince Kuno had certainly come prepared for this battle, she noted
ruefully. It was almost as if he had in-depth knowledge of Oni's defenses.
she shuddered to think about the implications of that.
Nabiki...
Gah. If Kasumi ever gets her hands on her, she might not be all sweetness and
light.
* * *
Furinkan Combine Landing Zone Blue
Oni Southern Equitorial Zone
H + 12 hours
Tatewaki Kuno took in the reports of the battle from the War Room
aboard his Overlord Class DropShip _Oda Nobunaga._ His forces had managed
several landings on the surface of Oni, including a surprise attack within
striking distance of one of the cursed Confederation fighter bases. The
word from his commanders in the field was optimistic, though casualties
were much higher than anticipated.
He chafed to be within the cockpit of his battlemech, personally
handing the Confederation their defeat. Until the situation solidified
somewhat, he was needed here to direct his forces. Nabiki had not told
him everything about Oni, and his troops had earned their education the
hard way. All the more reason to have her quietly strangled when the
Confederation was at last brought to heel.
Nabs is REALLY walking the razor's edge. And knowing her, she doesn't believe
it will ever touch her.
Alarm klaxons sounded then, causing his staff to cringe all around
him. The deep booming of his grounded DropShip's weapons firing at an
unknown foe somewhere beyond the cramped and dim confines of the War Room
filled the still air. The ship shook with return fire impinging on the
armored hull, but no decompression alarms sounded to warn of a breach.
"Curse those Confederation fighters," he spat.
Tatewaki looks out the nearest viewport to see a black-and-white beagle go
zooming by on a thruster-equipped doghouse. He blinks. <In future, I will have
to refrain from imbibing Father's pineapple 'juice'.>
Sorry, couldn't resist. ^_^
They had been
harrassing his landing zones for the past twelve hours, non-stop. The
Confederation garrison either had far more fighters than was estimated,
or else their pilots were fighting at exhaustion levels. The answer was
probably a little of both.
The fighter base his commanders were close to overrunning had already
sent its deadly flock away, leaving only hardened positions occupied by
Marines and artillery modified for use in vacuum. He ordered the attack to
continue, for to leave the base unmolested was only asking for the fighters
to return when his back was turned. He would give them no quarter, and no
place to rest and regroup.
As he pored over the situation displays it became clear to him the
center of the Confederation's resistance was a base known only as LIBERTY
to his staff. Nabiki had been especially vague about its capabilities,
though his SIGINT (SIGnal INTelligence) group had determined that the
eldest daughter of the Grand Duke was personally directing its defense.
He smiled warmly at the thought. Though it was not the fair and fierce
Akane Tendo, he felt that Kasumi Tendo would make for a worthy opponent.
He would have to lead the charge on LIBERTY so that he might get the
opportunity to challenge her.
Alarms sounded once again, and once more the _Oda Nobunaga_ shuddered
with weapon hits upon its hull. This time a second alarm shrilled in his
ears, filling his staff with dread.
"Hull Breach on Deck Eight!" the 1MC crackled. "Emergency bulkheads
on Deck Eight indicate shut!"
Tatewaki seethed. These Confederation dogs were relentless!
Hah! DOGS! Now see? I wasn't wrong after all. ^_^ ^_^
On the other hand...
Tatewaki looked out the starboard viewport and almost fainted. A swarm of what
were essentially 150-megawatt lasers with engines were closing in, each
piloted by a tiny yellow canary with a ruffled crest.
"Give me audio!" Prince Kunou screamed.
A cacophony of frenetic birdsong filled the bridge.
"Curse the |||||-|||||||| |||| School of Fightercraft Martial Arts! ACK! TURN
IT OFF! TURN IT OFF!"
(You may fry me at your leisure. :D )
He would
have to see them properly chastised.
"Prepare my battlemech," he ordered his aide de camp.
Is that hyphenated? Aide-de-camp? Not sure...
"Have my
battalion commanders assemble in the Ready Room at once! It falls upon
the Blue Thunder of the Furinkan Combine to smite the foe!"
Lt. Yuka: Wasn't he the Shooting Star?
Lt. Sayuri: Yeah, but that fizzled out.
* * *
Confederation Main Line of Resistance
At the base of the Kyushu Plateau
H + 12 hours
Kasumi watched as the Combine Ostroc a hundred meters in front of her
position exploded under the hit of her main gun - A Class 20 Autocannon
with enough punch to annihilate a light 'mech in a single shot. The pilot
of the 60 ton Ostroc, hammered by missile fire from her rapid-firing LRM-20
rack, was not used to operating in a reduced gravity well, and had
attempted
a clumsy break from cover. He found himself haloed in her gunsight a moment
later. The hypervelocity depleted-uranium shell shattered the already
cratered center torso armor, punched through the musculature and foamed
aluminum internal structure, and then rammed straight through its missile
magazine.
Missiles corkscrewed crazily out of the glowing wreckage of the Ostroc
as the ammunition cooked off. Kasumi was enough of a realist to know that
even though the shell had not struck the fragile cockpit, the ammunition
explosion had finished the pilot just as surely as a direct hit through
the armored canopy.
There wasn't time to say a prayer or to ask forgiveness.
That's a nice touch, and very Kasumi.
The Combine
was pouring down from the plateau to the volcanic floodplain of hard,
glassy lava that marked the southern extremes of LIBERTY's defensive
perimeter. Their axis of attack was along three narrow fronts, into which
an entire regiment of battlemechs was being thrown. The understrength 1st
Nerima Guards and a battalion of the 3rd Tomobiki Hussars under Lieutenant
Colonel Mendo
;p I just have to know, t'cha: where's Lum and Ataru? Honeymooning, t'cha?
;p
was all she had with which to bar their way.
A barrage of missiles exploded into one of her wing companies on the
left. Warning shouts and explicatives crowded the airwaves for a moment as
the bombarded Confederation 'mechs sought cover and attempted to return
fire. Another wave of high explosives rained down on them, and Kasumi saw
one of the Lance Commanders fall into the churned grey rock, his Griffin
holed through-and-through with missile hits.
Searching for their attackers, she found a line of Combine 'mechs
setting up a defilade
Consider Vince's comments on increasing one's vocabulary restated. Nice.
on a nearby ridge. They were artillery units for
the most part; Archers, Crusaders, Trebuchets,
You were hurting for a word, ne? Going through your fonts? ;p Probably a
military term or appellation that I'm unaware of.
and Riflemen, with some
Hunchbacks and Centurions for close support. From their position on the
ridge, they could overlook the entire lava plain. In the weak gravity
and lack of atmosphere, weapon ranges were ten times longer than normal.
They could clobber almost anything they could see.
[snip]
Laser beams and autocannon shells zipped around her as she approached
the halfway point to the ridge. The intensity of their attacks was growing,
for they knew what an Atlas was capable of at point-blank range, and they
could not miss seeing the large blue and white Ducal pennant extended on
one of the 'mech's antennae. Kasumi bit down on her lip and continued on.
That's a nice snippet of characterization for her - reminds us tersely yet
completely that this is Kasumi.
As the beams and bolts of the enemy exploded around her mighty Atlas with
little effect, she was reminded of General DeChevallier's assault on the
palace of Stefan the Usurper at the end of the Reunification War in 2779.
[snip]
She was rewarded for her efforts by a dozen Combine 'mechs freezing
up in terror at the sight of her. The Atlas brought down a huge armored
fist onto the closest 'mech - a Hunchback. The 'mech tried to dodge the
well-aimed blow that was meant to knock out its powerful Tomodzuru Type-20
autocannon, and landed instead on the turret-like head. The Hunchback
staggered over, the arms flailing out of control as the mechwarrior's
dying neural spasms gave them commands they could not properly interpret.
A Centurion within arm's reach was the first to regain its composure,
and tried to gun her down with its autocannon. A 155mm shell gouged
a crater
in her left torso armor before she caught the cannon-arm in an elbow lock
that was a specialty of the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, and
wrenched it effortlessly out of the socket joint at the shoulder.
Nice melding of the two continuities, there. Kudos. :)
Using the inert cannon-arm as a club, she then proceeded to bash the
Centurion into a very expensive pile of scrap, ignoring the feeble beams of
medium and light lasers from the other 'mechs as she did so. If she showed
any mercy, it was only because she did not aim for the Centurion's head.
The other Combine 'mechs, being mostly walking platforms for long range
missile launchers, and therefore lacking a significant secondary armament,
now began to panic.
She took full advantage of this, stomping inexorably towards them
with the battered club held high. The grinning death's head of her Atlas
had been engineered to be as gruesome and frightening as possible, and the
sight of a 'mech that could literally rip any other battlemech apart with
its bare hands was enough to give even the bravest mechwarrior pause.
They were good troops, brave and dedicated, but they weren't stupid.
Kasumi let them run, sending volleys from her SRM launcher to speed
them on their way. On the floor below the ridgeline, she could see her
forces throwing back the Combine advance on all sides. Confederation
Eagles, Transgressors, and Hellcat IIs streaked without warning across
the starry sky, their hulls scarred and blackened, and their guns rippling
fire at their enemies.
Kasumi let out a deep breath, knowing that they had won this time,
and knowing that the Combine still had plenty of fight left in them. This
was only the beginning.
This had to be tough to write with Kasumi in mind. I think you balanced the
situation against her personality quite well, IMO.
[snip]
The Grand Duke nodded slowly. "I agree that your proposal has merits,
but the time is past for fleeing. The Combine has enough fighting strength
to conquer the Confederation no matter what happens to me. If we
must fight,
and I believe that we must, it is better to spare other the other systems
Repetitive typo: ...to spare the other systems...
of the Confederation from further bloodshed and destruction."
He gave them all stern looks.
"We fight here."
* * *
"I'm very sorry, Miss Tendo, but your access to this area has been
rescinded."
Nabiki Tendo gave the soldier a cross look.
"On whose authority?" she demanded.
"Lady Kasumi, ma'am," the man answered coolly. "My orders are quite
explicit. I'm going to have to ask you to leave at once."
She might have known.
"I'm the goddamned Chief of Intelligence!" she protested. "She has no
authority to restrict my access to the War Room."
The soldier unslung his weapon.
"Ma'am, my orders were countersigned by his Grace, the Grand Duke. I
have no obligation to inform you of this, but given that you're family, I
thought you should know. Now, will you leave or do I have to make you?"
Nabiki grimaced. This was not entirely unexpected, but a nasty
experience nonetheless. She had counted on having a little more time to
gather current data on the defense of the system. She was not going to
turn it over to Kuno-chan wholesale, however. She wanted him to pay for
his victories, that he might better appreciate her assistance when the
time came to offer it. Knowing what was going on in the war was important
for her sense of timing.
"Put that thing away," she said to the soldier, gently pushing the
muzzle of his rifle down towards the floor with her finger. "I was just
on my way out."
She would have the last laugh, she thought with a smirk. I'm ready to
act as soon as the time is right. And Kuno-chan is right on schedule.
Hmmm, as someone once said, no plan survives Ranma Saotome, and I think Nabiki
is in for some rude shocks, shortly.
[snip]
"<It is obvious that Shampoo was able to escape with help from within
the garrison of the Fortress. I would not put it past even the Castellan
herself to have had a hand in this affair. Would that I had jurisdiction
on this world, I could begin an investigation into the matter, but lacking
that, I can only report this incident to higher authority.>" He stepped
to the mat where his cape lay. Lime hustled wordlessly over to him and
draped the shimmering green silk over his shoulders. "<Give notice to the
Captain of the _Demon-God of the East Wind_
Shinma no Toufuu? :P
that we shall raise ship as
scheduled.>"
"<At once, sir!>" Lime and Mint scrambled to comply.
Herb pulled the frogs of his cape closed. Mousse had been a useful
tool after all, for Mint was not to have given the word of Shampoo's
escape unless it had been confirmed that she and her half-blind companion
had boarded the Free Trader as planned. Had they not, then Lime was to
have given the report. One could never be too careful in the house of
one's enemies.
There would be fallout from this incident. It was necessary for him
to keep up appearances and denounce the escape as the work of Cologne
sympathizers within the Fortress, and it was no secret that the Castellan
was a strong ally of the Matriarch. Peony would seize upon that fact like
a mad dog with a bone in its teeth, and never let go.
She would need to be restrained from rash action. He needed to keep
Cologne in power for the moment. This would require a personal intervention
on his part, meaning that they would still have to Jump to the Jusenkyo
System. Once it was clear to Peony that his army was not at her exclusive
beck and call, and Cologne was coached to make vague threats about civil
war in the meantime, he would have the impasse he needed. If Peony balked
at his sudden lack of loyalty to her, that was all she could do. He didn't
need her nearly as much as she needed him.
With luck he would have enough time for Shampoo and Mousse to acquire
the data regarding Ryuugenzawa.
Seems luck is a rare commodity in the Inner Sphere.
He had a regiment of crack Musk Dynasty
troops standing by to deploy to any part of the Inner Sphere to take and
hold the legendary world long enough to loot it of all its secrets. Then
he could finally drop his charade of loyalty to the Joketsuzoku, and usher
in a new age for the Commonwealth: the Age of the Musk Dynasty,
with himself
as its first Emperor.
[snip]
"Sasuke?"
The ninja melted out of the bulkhead of Kodachi's quarters with a
smile. His chameleon suit crackled quietly in the dim light as it powered
down.
"I am here, Mistress."
Kodachi chuckled softly. Her ninja retainer was supposed to be on
the planet Nerima attempting to make contact with the turn-coat daughter
of the Grand Duke;
Suggest a comma here.
Nabiki. She was certain that Tachi had forbidden, on
pain of death, any contact with her.
[snip]
She continued to ponder the matter, as she had for the last week since
regaining consciousness. Sasuke remained silent and ready to respond at her
feet.
It would be best for the moment to withdraw from the Combine, she
decided. Once she had rebuilt the regiment, they would need training and
battle experience to regain the _esprit de corps_ and the unit cohesion
for which her old unit had been famous.
Suggest: ...regain the _esprit de corps_ and the cohesion for which her old
unit had been famous. (two 'units' in the sentence)
The quickest way to accomplish
this was to retire to the Federated Shiratori. Mercenaries were always
needed there to fill the ranks of the squabbling nobles who had good
reason to avoid the support of Empress Azusa's incompetent army.
Becoming a mercenary posed little stigma
Suggest: ...posed little fear of stigma to Kodachi,
to Kodachi, as she had always
been a bit of a renegade and a maverick within the Furinkan Combine. The
only difference now was that she would have to take orders from someone
else. It was distasteful, but if she found the right employer, namely one
who cared for results more than methods, such distaste could be minimized.
There might be an outcry from the Combine's daimyo at her defection, but
Father would handle them as he always did.
Once the Black Rose Terror Regiment regained its fearsome reputation,
she would see about putting Tachi in his place. She had little doubt that
the Confederation would fall before she was ready to return to the Combine,
Suggest: ...Combine;
the question was whether or not he would have the dreadful Akane Tendo as
his bride.
She hoped that he would. It would make the Tendo witch's death by her
hands that much more painful to him.
Of course, if Tachi had Akane Tendo for a bride, then Ranma Saotome
would have been dealt with. Dealt with severely, knowing her brother.
Kodachi did not like that idea one bit. Her longing for Ranma had
grown more and more within her heart during her captivity aboard the
_Imperator._ Having never felt such passion for a man before, she did not
question the rationality of it. It did not matter to her that they had
met only as foes over the barrels of her Marauder's guns. What mattered
was Ranma Saotome, headstrong and handsome devil that he was, holding her
in his arms, and telling dear Tachi where he could stick that precious
katana of his.
Hehehe. No symbology there, of course. ^_-
[snip]
The Blue Thunder of the Furinkan Combine tensed in the cockpit of his
battlemech. Sasuke... His hands clenched around the control yokes of his
Thunderbolt. He knew then that he should have listened to the voice of
caution and had that cur executed with the rest of them!
"I have news of even graver import to tell you, my prince," Kyle
continued. "We have just received unconfirmed reports via HPG that the
League of Five Nails has launched an offensive against the Combine border.
Six systems have been hit in surprise attacks against our garrison forces.
All six systems are believed to have fallen to the League."
WOO-HOO! Go GOS! :)
Tatewaki could not believe his ears! He was within scant kilometers
of seizing his primary objectives on Oni, and then this! His cursed sister
had escaped, and now Hikaru Gosunkugi had the effrontery to attack the most
powerful nation in the sum of all human reckoning?
"How can this be?" he asked himself. This news was beyond grave, it
was staggering! "Speak man," he told Kyle. "What is the nature of this
attack? What are their intentions?"
Kyle studied a hastily assembled report from the Intelligence Section,
leaving Tatewaki feeling helpless and impotent within his cockpit.
"The main thrust of the League advance seems to be directed towards
the Alpha Centauri System," Kyle replied. "Thus far, their intention seems
to be one of conquest."
"Conquest of the Furinkan Combine?!" Tatewaki cried in disbelief.
"Surely the seed of the House of Gosunkugi hath better sense? Or mayhap
he thinks that I, properly distracted in noble combat, will not pay heed
to his base deeds, that he might profit from this skulduggery!"
"Whatever his intentions, my prince," Kyle returned. "It seems our
interior garrisons are in no position at the moment to form an organized
opposition to this invasion at the present. Most of our deployable assets
are tied up with our own invasion of the Confederation."
"Of course," Kuno snorted. "Certainly, this is what the cretinous
Gosunkugi believes."
"What are your orders then, my prince?"
Tatewaki struggled with his rage for being placed in such a damnable
position. He was so close to conquering Oni, the stepping stone to Nerima.
But his honor had been sorely wounded by this surprise invasion of his
empire by an upstart, and that he could not abide! There was also the
matter of his sister, who was no doubt headed straight for their father.
The fool would naturally take her side in the matter, and forbid him to
take punitive sanctions against her.
It was enough to make his blood boil and his teeth grate.
"It seems that we must answer this challenge to our sovereignty," he
said at length. "The Confederation is beaten; that much is obvious by our
great victories in battle this day. They shall keep for the nonce. It is
the head of Hikaru Gosunkugi that I hunger for now..."
Well, maybe Soun can generate a little luck in the Inner Sphere... ^_^
[snip]
The dead had already filled the morgue, and were now being laid out
on tables in the Mess Hall.
She stood in the doorway to the Mess Hall, looking at the many still
forms lying beneath bedsheets, blankets, even formal capes and camouflage
panchos. The steady drip of blood and other fluids into sheet pans from
the kitchen that had been placed on the floor underneath them, echoed
hollowly in a room meant to serve hundreds.
Ooo, that was a stark piece of detailing with the sheet pans, but very
effective.
She walked silently among the
dead, passing a pale and bloody limb that had fallen out from under the
mortuary shroud here, or a long fall of once-lustrous green hair that
reached the floor over there.
[snip]
What would Happi have done? she wondered idly, knowing full well that
the Happousai she had known many years ago had never cared for power so
much as he did the pleasure that came with it. He would have thrown all
caution to the wind, and had Peony's faction rounded up and killed without
a second look back.
That was an answer in itself, she decided, and one which vindicated
her decision to hold no ill will against the defeated factions the day she
had become the head of the Council. She had gone far in life by *not* doing
what Happousai would have done.
Point to Cologne. :)
She nodded grimly to herself. Civil war was
not what she wanted to be remembered for.
In truth, the entire fate of the Commonwealth rested upon the hybrid
shoulders of General Herb. He was backing Peony's bid for the Matriarchy
with his army - an army loyal first to him, and then to the Commonwealth.
Peony's fiscal improprieties in the general's favor had not gone unnoticed
by Cologne, and she understood what Peony hoped to gain in making Herb
such a powerful and nearly independent force within the Army. What troubled
her most was how Peony could possibly believe that she could control him?
Was it hubris, or was it naivety on a simply staggering scale?
Herb was the unknown variable in the equation of the Commonwealth's
power politics, that much was clear. He could, and would, go whichever
way offered him the most advantage, and at the moment Peony was in the
ascendant. As far as Cologne saw things, Herb had two options.
He could continue to support Peony in her bid for the Matriarchy,
and bide his time until the opportunity to betray her was at hand. Unlike
the hereditary Joketsuzoku core of the Commonwealth Armed Forces, his Musk
Dynasty was a populist movement. It was true that the core of his army was
comprised of male hybrids of considerable skill and power, but on the whole
they were inferior warriors when compared to the Joketsuzoku females.
One has to wonder if this is a truly objective assessment on Cologne's part,
or does she fall victim in some measure to the Joketsuzoku arrogance where
males are concerned.
What
made them a threat to the stability of the Commonwealth were their
numerical
advantage, and the many worlds under Commonwealth dominion where the common
men chafed under matriarchal rule.
Well, that's objective enough, but it would be a poor matriarchal leader not
to recognize those situations in her own backyard, and it still doesn't
absolve her of the possibility of the aforementioned arrogance.
Herb was probably strong enough to form
a breakaway state within the Commonwealth even if total conquest
eluded him.
[snip]
Doctor Gaido was feeling better than he had in years. It helped that
his sinister landlord, General Herb, had left the system for Tau Ceti. Not
having the hybrid general breathing down his neck was a liberating feeling.
Heh, we can imagine. :)
The data for Saffron stood before him on the little computer display
in his office. The hybrid represented the crowning achievement of the
Commonwealth's Breeding Program, a being of incredible power and physical
perfection. His ability to control his chi was innate - very little
training
had been required before he was capable of projecting devastating blasts
of thermal energy generated by his own fighting spirit.
General Herb's own ability to do so was considerable, but if the data
was accurate, Saffron eclipsed Herb's might by a full order of magnitude.
The Chief Scientist of the Commonwealth knew that Saffron represented the
future of the Armed Forces; warriors who were almost as dangerous outside
their war machines as within. Once the hybrid reached full maturity and his
power could be fully established, the production of whole legions of his
kind would begin.
These others would, by necessity, be less powerful than the original,
but no less fearsome against the troops of the Inner Sphere. Saffron would
be their general, and, if the Council could be trusted in this, fully under
the control of the Elders.
Gaido wasn't as confident. General Herb was the only example he needed
to justify his wariness. Though Saffron's indoctrination was being
conducted
with great thoroughness, how long would it take before he realized
the power
he possessed, both within himself and within the ranks of his hybrid army?
What if Herb, ever the calculating player in the games of power and
politics
within the Commonwealth, somehow got his hands on Saffron, and added a
little conditioning of his own? The Musk Dynasty could not receive that
kind of boost to their ranks if the Commonwealth was to survive.
He knew that Saffron was supposed to be Cologne's weapon against Herb,
but now he heard vague rumblings of a schism within the Council that
threatened her ouster. Whose finger would rest upon Saffron's trigger then?
Most likely Herb, if the rumors of collusion between the general and Elder
Peony were to be believed. The fact that Herb had rushed from the planet to
the Tau Ceti System on Council business seemed to confirm in Gaido's eyes
that the rumors were to be believed. Herb didn't jump through hoops for
the Council unless he was getting something out of it, and Cologne would
not be throwing the general any bones.
He switched off the display. It was time to take matters into his
own hands. Cologne respected his opinion, and she needed to hear his
reservations about Saffron firsthand. Before it was too late.
I think I'm beginning to see at least part of the bigger picture. It's
ultimately going to be Saffron versus Ranma and whatever it is that
Ryuugenzawa does to him. Akane's life will probably hang in the balance. That
will be an interesting retelling of the climactic manga arc.
Chapter Six
Kanehoe Beach, Maui Atoll
Planet New Hawaii, Alpha Centauri System
The Furinkan Combine
9 April 3025
Hikaru Gosunkugi tramped across the firm wet sand of a beach, enjoying
the cool night air and the fresh salty breeze provided by the tradewinds.
He was surrounded by his soldiers as they fanned out across the expanse of
Maui Atoll in search of their quarry. The atoll was too small and weak to
support battlemechs, and in any event, careful observation from orbit had
indicated that there were no Combine 'mechs anywhere on the watery planet.
The warm glow of a campfire suffused the darkness ahead. His men were
already close to the site, their armed and armored silhouettes darting to
and fro against the light. As he neared the scene, he could hear the sound
of music and singing.
"Tell the men to exercise restraint," he hissed to one of his
officers.
"There's no need to go in guns blazing. He can't escape."
"Yes, sir," the man responded with a salute. He passed on the
appropriate commands to the troops via the radio.
"It was good to get off the ship," Tetsuo Gosunkugi observed from
nearby. Hikaru agreed with his cousin. They had spent entirely too much
time on miserable spaceships getting here. He must have lost another vital
kilo or two to free-fall sickness during the trip.
"We have the area surrounded, sir," the officer reported. "We're ready
to move in on your command."
Hikaru nodded and continued on. There was no hurry. The man was making
it easy for them.
As they reached the cordon of League infantry, the crackle of the fire
was soothing, and the music was clear and proud. Hikaru pushed his way past
the troops and through a stand of leafy saltwater shrubs. His men followed
right behind him.
"Aloha, bruddahs!" a husky voice greeted them as they stepped into the
ruddy light of the campfire. "You been expected!"
I can't help but grin here. :)
Hikaru turned to the voice and saw the Shogun of the Furinkan Combine,
dressed in a floral print shirt and bermuda shorts, casually strumming on a
ukulele. Exotic dark-skinned beauties in grass skirts danced a hula, their
graceful hands and arms undulating in time to the music. More girls
appeared
with wreaths of colorful tropical flowers, and set them around the necks of
Hikaru and his infantry - giving them each a kiss on the cheek as they did
so.
"When you been lei'd,
in a manner of speaking. *Ba-dum, swish. CHING!*
den come over here and siddown. We gotta whole
lotta pig to eat tonight, eh bruddahs!" Shogun Kuno told them happily. A
chorus of burly men in loincloths and brightly colored capes agreed with
their Shogun - or was it Kahuna? - their large feathered hats bobbing with
raucous laughter.
Hikaru turned to his cousin, who looked back at him with a look of
equal bafflement. The two shrugged in unison and returned their attention
to the father of Tatewaki and Kodachi Kuno. There was no doubt about it,
weirdness ran wild in their family.
"We're here to take you as a hostage of the League of Five Nails, your
Eminence," Hikaru told the Combine Shogun in his most assertive voice.
Kuno gave the leader of the League forces a big grin.
"Sure whatever, brah,"
brah? This one lost me.
he said laughing. "But first we gonna have us
a luau!"
Hikaru looked once again at Tetsuo, who once again shrugged. It
*sounded* like he was agreeing to surrender to them...
"Uh, okay," he told the leader of the Furinkan Combine. He had heard
stories about how whacked in the head the guy really was, but until now had
never really believed them. He did seem friendly enough, though, and the
whole atoll was surrounded by League troops. "Where do we sit?"
"Anywhere you like, brah,"
Oh, a shortened 'bruddah'?
Kuno said graciously. "Dis be your party,
eh? Siddown, grab one o' dese pretty wahines dere, and eat! We gonna party
all night, no shit!"
Again, the burly men laughed loud and heartily in agreement. Hikaru
figured that even one of them could eat an entire pig by himself. He then
blinked in surprise as two young lovelies of Polynesian stock approached
him with bashful smiles, their grass skirts whistling as their hips swayed
with the music. It occured to him then that the nights on New Hawaii lasted
about twenty hours at this latitude and time of year. As the girls sat down
on either side, and as a healthy portion of roasted pig, a bowl of poi, and
a tray of assorted pupus was set before him, it also occured to him that he
didn't really mind. It was all so surreal that the only way he could deal
with the situation was to accept it.
After all, they had days before Kuno could disentangle himself from
the Capella System and Jump all the way back to Alpha Centauri, and how
often did he get to attend a luau?
Hikaru's in for a nasty surprise, vis-a-vis Tatewaki, methinks. He was right
in another matter: this last scene IS really surreal. :)
Another nice installment. Great battle scenes. Look forward to the next.
Ja!
Dave
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D.F. Roeder
FanFiction - http://www.flash.net/~dfroeder/index.html