- Coromodir -
Capital of the Aurigan Reach
Seat of the Directorate
The Holotable crackled to life as the image of Santiago Espinosa, tinged blue and rippling with scan lines, appeared above the surface. His cruel face split in an insincere smile as he spoke. "Kamea," he purred, "Welcome home. We haven't spoken face-to-face since your father's funeral." Riana bristled at the comment but Lady Arano kept her face an inscrutable mask as she waited for him to speak again. "Strange, isn't it?" he continued, "For all the time we've been at fighting each other, for all of our struggles these last few years, we haven't actually talked until now."Capital of the Aurigan Reach
Seat of the Directorate
Riana opened her mouth to speak, her lips curled back in anger, but an almost imperceptible gesture from Kamea gave her pause. "I am not hear to talk with you, Uncle," her voice carried cold and clear, "I am here to demand your surrender."
"Then I'm afraid you'll walk away from this parlay disappointed," Espinosa shook his head in feigned regret, "did I teach you nothing, Kamea? The endgame is a time for negotiation, not demands."
"I learned a lot about betrayal and treason from you," Riana interjected but Kamea silenced her again with a raised hand.
"I remember your lessons well enough Uncle," Lady Arano sneered subconsciously as she spoke, "if our positions were reversed you would attack without hesitation or mercy!" Santiago granted her a small smile and an approving glint shone in his eyes. "The Founding Houses have rallied behind me," Kamea continued, lifting her chin triumphantly, "you are outnumbered and you have nowhere left to turn. Aside from a single hostage, you have nothing to negotiate with."
"A single hostage?" Santiago stifled a chuckle, "He's your dearest friend! Surely he means more to you than nothing."
"Alexander means a great deal to me," she admitted, "but I would sacrifice any one person, even myself, for the good of the Reach." She stiffened her posture and stood at parade rest, looking her nose down at him. "You are defeated, Uncle. Concede!"
Any semblance of friendliness or mirth vanished from Espinosa's face as his stance stiffened as well. "I've heard your proposal and now you will hear mine;" he hissed, "You will leave this system in my hands and establish your power base elsewhere. I will rule Coromodir and I will hold your friend to ensure your good behavior! You will agree to these terms or you will die."
"I will die?" Now it was Kamea's turn to suppress a laugh, "Your words are mere air, Uncle! You have nothing left to threaten me with."
"So you believed when you moved on Castle Nautilus," Santiago crooned, so you thought when you destroyed the Newgrange!"
"You're bluffing," Kamea growled, "and I am willing to wager my life on it! My DropShips are already making their descent as we speak... I'll see you on the field of battle!"
"Yes," Espinosa let the word leak out in a malicious hiss, "I suppose you will." Suddenly his image disappeared.
"If he won't surrender," Riana began, her eyes lifting to Kamea, "good. Let it be his funeral!"
"And it may be Alexander's as well..." Kamea's spirit lowered visibly for a moment, "but there's nothing we can do about that now. We cannot delay the attack." She turned and took a few steps into the center of the room before spinning around and letting her gaze sweep across the room; Darius, Farah, Riana, Apex, Glitch, Corsair, Vamp, Big Sly, Yang, and Sumire. Gone was the image of loss, replaced by iron resolve. "You all heard my uncle's demands. He made them knowing I'd refuse. I think that he's stalling... but I do not know what for, and that's what worries me. So I have decided to take that option away from him. Darius! Raise the Founding Houses on the comms. Tell them that I am ordering them to drop, all of our companies, our entire fleet... everything we have. As always, I will lead them from the front. We are taking Coromodir, and we are doing it now."
"Hot fucking damn!" Apex grinned, clapping her hands together.
"Hysteria," at her callsign Riana stiffened, "I want you to remain at the ready until I call for you. Prepare your Lance and await my signal."
"Revenge is yours, my lady," Hysteria bowed her head as, next to her, Apex folded her arms in a pouting fashion.
"We are going to crush what remains of my uncle's Directorate," Lady Arano continued, "With your company's help, I will retake the throne stolen from me and, come hell or high water, we will rescue Lord Madeira... I swear it on my father's name!"
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The battle was fully involved when the open comms flared to life in Kamea's Atlas. Through its crackle and the concussions of warfare she could identify Concordant Commodore Samuel Ostergaard's voice. "You should have listened to your uncle, Lady Arano. We have unfinished business, you and I..."
Aboard the Argo Darius hit the ship's comms and fed the transmission live through the bay where the Lance was loading the Leopard. "Riana!" he called, "Live feed! It's Ostergaard! He's broadcasting on the open comms!"
"The Iberia still carries a full compliment of BattleMechs," the Commodore continued, "plus enough firepower to level a city! Now know this: it is too late to withdraw your forces! When I reach Coromodir I will drown your Restoration in a sea of fire!! Every dog in Arano colors will die! You took my son from me, Kamea. My hope for the future died with him... now I'm killing yours."
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"Report!" Riana ordered as she stormed back into operations, already in her DropSuit.
"Well, Boss," Yang began, following her inside, "things look pretty grim, but hey! At least we've figured out what Espinosa's secret weapon is."
"Thanks for that ray of sunshine, Chief," Darius retorted sarcastically, "The Iberia is closing fast on Coromodir. They'll be in position to rain death on the Restoration long before they can withdraw.
"The transmission that was sent," Farah began, "did any of you see the wall behind Ostergaard? There were burn marks, bullet holes... his sailors must have tried to seize the bridge."
"If zere vas a mutiny attempt aboard ze Iberia zen it failed," Vamp said with dejection, "no doubt he's defying Taurean orders. He's gone rogue."
"As unhinged as Ostergaard is," Sumire offered, "he's right; it is too late for Lady Arano to withdraw the Restoration forces without the Directorate cutting them to ribbons, and nothing we have aboard the Argo can stop a Fortress-class Dropship."
"At least, not through conventional means," Dr. Murad said thoughtfully.
"Then we'll have to be unconventional," Riana cracked a smile, "what's up, doc?"
"We're going to use the Locura," she returned Riana's grin.
"The hell did you just say??" Darius exclaimed.
"Nuh-uh, No way!" Sumire stomped her foot, "Doctor, that code completely screwed us at Castle Nautilus! It nearly detonated our fuel tanks! It is too dangerous to go tinkering around with, we can't..."
"We don't have a choice!" Farah snapped, "It is the closest thing we have to a weapon that could destroy that ship! Lady Arano is engaged on the surface, if the Iberia gets within range they are doomed, and she committed the entire fleet to this attack!"
"I hate to say it," Yang began, " but Doc Murad's right. If we can't do something to stop him, Ostergaard will put an end to the Restoration," he looked over at Riana forlornly, "and to Lady Arano herself."
"Do you really think we can use it?" Glitch asked, clearly scared of the implication, "Do you really think it will work?"
"Yes, I believe it will," Farah nodded confidently, "Even if it doesn't destroy the Iberia it will cripple her long enough to take her out of the fight, but that code is a science experiment... not a weapon."
"The hell it isn't!" Darius stood up, "It nearly killed us all!"
"That was the science experiment," Farah said ominously, "wait til you see the weapon."
"Can you do it?" Riana asked, "Can you do it in time?"
"I think I can modify it, but there will be risks... I can't offer any guarantees."
"If you want to commit suicide then I can just put the Argo in the Iberia's path!!" Su snapped, "Commander this can not be the option! I can take the Leopard to the surface and evacuate Lady Arano, then we can regroup..."
"If we don't do this then Ostergaard wipes out the Restoration with impunity," Riana said with gravity, "There won't be a regrouping and you know it, there won't be anybody left. Lady Arano won't leave her forces to die, no, Kamea Arano will die... I can not let that happen."
"I'd imagined you'd feel that way. I will go ahead and get started." Farah began to leave but then paused, standing in front of a fuming Darius. "We're going to need a way to get the code onto Ostergaard's ship. I'd suggest taking over a ground-based comms array, something on a network that the Iberia's computer trusts."
"Wait a minute," Darius turned, his fingers moved to his chin as he was lost in thought for a moment, "There's a comm station on Lyris, the second moon. It was the system's primary communications hub back when we fought the pirates on Fjaldr in '19, that's how we were able to get our reinforcements request to Sir Raju!"
"If the Directorate is still using it!" Sumire interjected, "That was thirteen years ago!"
"The Directorate didn't change much," Apex offered, shrugging off the glances she got, "when I worked for Lady Victoria she went on and on about how they 'repurposed' and 'upgraded' Arano installations. No reason to change what works, right? Just make it your own."
"Iz not uncommon at all," Vamp mused, "all you need do iz change flags, da? Like mercenaries!"
"You could use this station to transmit the Locura, then destroy it," Farah grinned at Sumire, "the control tower is automated, so there shouldn't be any collateral damage. You'd be killing two birds with one stone."
"I like how you think, doc," Yang smiled broadly, "I'll rig the explosives."
"We're likely to encounter heavy resistance when we touch down," Dr. Murad continued, "I'll see if I can find an engineering solution to help up deal with it... maybe my team could seize control of their turrets, make them fight for us for a change."
"I like friendly guns," Riana nodded, "Yang, you'd better have your guys get that rumble seat prepped... two of them if you're coming."
"If it's all the same, I may sit this one out," Yang said, "the last time I rode shotgun I nearly froze my lungs and you nearly died... I fear me-in-a-rumble-seat may be an albatross."
"I can do it," Farah offered, "I'm the best choice. I know how to prep the signal and I'm confident I can rig explosives; engineers sometimes destroy to create, remember?"
"This won't be a walk in the park, doc," Riana said with concern, "you sure you want to do this?"
"You're going, aren't you?" she raised her eyebrows, "then I am to!"
"Ri," Darius moved towards Riana, concern splashed across his face, "you're starting to show now. How far along are you?"
"Not having this conversation again, Dare," Riana's tone featured a warning, "if I can fit in the 'pit, I'm going. We haven't come this far for me to sit out the end of this war."
"You should probably bring a jump-capable Lance, Commander," Farah moved in beside Riana, turning her around and beginning to guide her out of CIC, "comm arrays like the one on Lyris tend to be housed on elevated platforms, lots of ramps and choke points."
Riana nodded, turning back to Darius. "Alert Lady Arano of our intentions. Tell her that it is vital that Ostergaard's attention remains fixed on the Restoration Army. I don't want him to realize what's going on on Lyris until it is far too late." She took a deep breath, a steel resolve forming in her eyes. "Tell her to move on Cordia City; accelerate her offensive into the capital... that should buy us all the time we need."
"I imagine she'll like that idea," Darius nodded, "all right! We've got a job to do, people... and it'll be the biggest challenge we've ever taken on! So put on your war faces and follow the Commander's lead; we've got a Fortress-class DropShip to crash!"
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The 'techs scurried like ants, getting Vamp's Banshee, Apex's Battlemaster, and Corsair's Grasshopper secured in the hold of the Leopard, along with Hysteria's Highlander and the assorted vehicles that Farah's team were going to use to get the turrets operational. Hysteria adjusted the harness across her lap, trying to insure that it would not constrict her belly during the operation. She fussed with the 'techs who worked on her, finally closing the cage as the 'techs cleared. Giving Yang a 'thumbs up' she hit the switch and closed the cockpit to the HGN-732B, listening to the satisfying sound of it hermetically sealing as the lights of the Assault Mech flared to life inside. Almost subconsciously she performed all the actions on her checklist at speed, as she looked up to her HUD and switched to the rear view. "How you doing back there, doc?"
"We haven't even left yet and I think I may be sick!" Farah chuckled in half-jest. "I don't know how you do this, mission after mission. I mean, I've been in warzones but never inside of a BattleMech before!"
"There's no safer place to be," Riana quipped.
"On the contrary," Dr. Murad shot back, "everyone shoots at the building-sized robot bristling with guns!"
"Yeah, but we shoot back!" she turned her head and smiled, then her face became serious. "Hey doc," she began quietly, "do you mind keeping it down for a minute or two?"
"Getting your head in the game?" Dr. Murad asked.
"No," Hysteria admitted, "I'm... I'm going to record a message... to Kru, so if you don't mind..."
"I'm not even here." Dr. Murad smiled warmly, closing her eyes as they could feel the Leopard detach from the Argo and fire her engines.
Riana keyed her comms to begin the recording and then took a deep breath. "To anyone who recovers this drive, this is a message from Lady Riana Annika Klaue of House Klaue on Avaloch, a private Hab in orbit around Artru, and Commander of Riana's Revenge, a Mercenary Company retained by the Arano Restoration to Todd Ryia, commoner of Solaris VII and member of the Solaris PD Special Forces Unit presently engaged with Carlyle's Gray Death Legion as a MechWarrior. If you are in possession of this drive, please see it delivered to him: Detective Todd "Death Krusade" Ryia of the Gray Death Company." She paused for a moment and took another deep breath before continuing.
"Kru," she began softly, "I hope you're alright. I know... I know why you left. I can't blame you, and I couldn't help it. I wanted to love you; you were great. Great to me, great as a MechWarrior. I could always count on you for anything. Hell, I can't do anything right! It's like I won't allow myself to be happy. I know... I realize that Kamea cannot love me the way I love her. She can't. She's a High Lady, a Queen for fuck's sake. She could never officially be with an ex-pirate mercenary with a very lurid past, but you could have." A tear rolled down her cheek as she looked at her belly, struggling to maintain her composure, "So, um, sort of a lot has happened since you left. You, heh, you left something... by accident, and I'm too much of a coward to contact you and tell you about it! I will, I mean I mean to... meant too, because if you get this then I suppose I'm dead and so's the Restoration and none of this mattered at all." She struggled for the words between sobs now, her eyes filled with tears as she gestured left and right, trying to compose herself. "I'm sorry," she managed through the tears, "I'm sorry I drove you away, I'm sorry I was so selfish, so stupid!" She swallowed, forcing the emotion down to a manageable level. "Todd, I'm carrying your son. I'm carrying him right into a war. I carried both of us right into death and I did it for selfish reasons and I never told you about it and I'm sorry." She sniffed and wiped her eyes, defiance flaring in them. "I'm sorry but I have to do this. If you are watching this then I failed but if I didn't go... then I'd be dead anyway. Ostergaard and his Taureans are going to kill everyone unless I stop him. Know that I died proud; proud to fight for what I believe in, proud to do the right thing, proud to have called you a companion and a lover," she paused, steeling her composure, "proud to carry your baby." She took another deep breath and smiled warmly. "Home is the Regiment, Kru, our family and our own! I love you, you big mook." With that she hit stop and let her head hang.
"That was very brave," Farah reached forward and put a hand on her shoulder. Riana reached up and their fingers intertwined. "Now you just need to say it to his face."
"I know," Riana exhaled, "I know. First, let's just get through this war!"
"And then?" Farah goaded.
"And then..." she paused again, "I need to speak to Kamea."
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