"The Menagerie at Twycross", Part 2
- Date: April 23, 3050
- Planet: Blair Atholl, Nadir Jump Point
- Location: Invader-class JumpShip 'Sunset'
"Ma'am?" The voice brought the tall woman out of her thoughts, as the console's light flashed. "We're getting a message concerning new civilian Jump restrictions. I think you should know about this."
She let out an annoyed sigh, touching the button to respond. "I am not concerned about restrictions, captain." This was trying her patience, to deal with increasing restrictions this last month because some bureaucrats wanted to justify their existence. Something about pirate incursions, they kept saying, but they were nowhere she needed to concern herself with.
"Ma'am, I am obligated to inform you of these due to your role as-"
She counted to three slowly, before interrupting with another click of the button. "I know. Proceed." Her lips twisted as she thought to herself. 'Please proceed to waste my time, I have ever so much of it to spare these days.'
"Ma'am." The captain clearly was looking down at some notes during his pause. "The systems of Winfield, Trell, and Steelton are also to be considered off limits to civilian traffic by order of the Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth. Safety will not be guaranteed to any who make any Jumps into those systems. This joins the list of..." He trailed off. "I can send you the full list later. It's mercifully not very long."
"Thank you, captain. Your restraint has been noted." Hechek felt something nagging her from her subconscious, and she put the datapad back into a pocket on the wall. Better to deal with this now instead of letting it distract her. "Captain, can you please send the navigational chart and the list to my console now? I might need to plan a different path." Once she had the maps available she quietly used her fingertips to pick out the systems. That didn't quite look like a raiding pattern, especially with the deep penetration as far as Trell. No pirates should ever have gotten that far into the Commonwealth, this was something else. Was it an incursion being done by the Free Rasalhague Republic? No, that wouldn't make sense, even if they were the ones who were on the border.
Then her mind stopped and her heart sank slightly, as her eyes spotted another system merely one Jump away from where she had just touched. Her finger tapped lightly on the other system, not in the exclusion area yet but if this continued then it was next in line. Twycross.
Hechek's mind began rapidly conjuring up excuses, all of which were in a voice of her younger self. Pleading with her father, each one in a louder and more frantic tone. 'You can't go there, you're needed elsewhere.' 'You can't do this. you have responsibilities to the company.' 'What is she going to think about you returning so soon after the physical examination?' 'What if someone starts asking questions?' 'Do you really want to have to explain yourself if anyone gets even a hint of why you're really worried?'
None of these mattered, in the face of things, because there was one thought which was spoken in her father's voice. A stern, forceful tone instead of the rasping tone from someone on life support. 'Forget about the company, about the lessons, about the looks from the other branch managers. You are my daughter, and I trust you, no matter what anyone says. You and I may disagree, but I have no doubt you mean well. Otherwise you would not be standing here. Don't fear disappointing me because you made the wrong choice, fear making no choice at all.'
When put in that context, the decision wasn't hard at all. She clicked the comm open again, taking a breath. "Captain, I am changing our flight plan. How long until the drive is charged?"
"Another three hours, ma'am. Why are we changing-"
"That is not your concern. I will send you the new plan shortly. Please designate an agent you trust to act as a courier to carry a message to apologize for the change in plans to the gentleman at Graceland." She closed the connection and began to compose the route and the message, frowning to herself. Commander Garrido would be suspicious, but maybe she knew something more than what was being let on to civilians. Or she would once the 'Sunset' arrived, Hechek pondered, realizing there was at least two weeks of travel time before they would reach Twycross.
And Hechek would need a plan, a cover story which would stand up scrutiny. She picked her datapad up again, scrolling through the cargo list for the attached DropShips. Not her security escort, but the other things on board the 'Jackal's Smile'. Medical supplies she'd been bringing to resupply commercial outlets along the way, and she still had sixteen tons of it in storage. Perfect.
It had been a while since Rysel Industries publicly performed a donation of goods and services, and if her gut was right and this was a new war breaking out it could boost the company with some good will from civilians. The government would hate it, but they seemed to hate everything these days with the friction with the old Federated Suns and Lyran Commonwealth bureaucrats wrestling for whose methods to use.
"Captain, I have the itinerary changes and messages to dispatch. Please listen carefully."
- Date: April 26, 3050
- Planet: Twycross
- Location: Salmacis Base, Control Center
He tried not to flinch at her tone, but she saw his eyes glance at her briefly before finding themselves looking down at her boots. "Well, Commander, you're not going to like what I have to say." She let out a soft sigh, and he finally looked up. "It could be some hurt feelings getting in the way. Maybe you'll need to use alternative channels?"
"I did. I got a nice chunk of data to read over, quite a lot. There’s an annotated version and a summary attached along with the raw data. Not that we have anyone who can crunch the raw stuff anymore, but it's good to know our friend trusts us enough." She tapped her foot on the ground, and sighed. "Let's go ahead and get this started, there's a lot here and I want to get it done."
Otto covered his eyes with a hand, and sighed. "Why are you doing this to me?"
"You wanted to be the executive officer."
He split his fingers to peer through them at Olivia. "No, I said I didn't want it. I distinctly remember saying that numerous times."
"And I told you I had to assign one, and it was either you or Kelly. We both agreed it couldn't be her. So you agreed to take the role." Otto sighed and waved it away before leaning forward to peer at the text scrolling on the table. Olivia was using the controls to filter out all the raw data, having improved her speed over many years of being the commander. "Here we go, starting with the conclusion these are not raids from the Greater Valkyrate as the public rumors are saying. This is an invasion, which is somehow starting out in the Periphery." Her fingers quietly pulled a few report pages to be visible to the both of them, tapping at each in turn. "We have reports from other mercenary outfits which reached Lyran Intelligence. There's a note from our friend saying he'll pass along anything critical for us, but right now this is all we've got."
Otto stopped, and pointed to one of the images of text. "That data there, isn't that from-"
"I know, but it's still waiting to be vetted by our friend to be credible." She waved it off, and looked across the table. "We still look at it carefully, but it remains part of the report we need to take seriously. According to analysis of the reports, these aggressors are using 'Mechs not found in any readily available database. Furthermore, their weapons seemed to be more modern versions of equipment available during the height of the Star League."
"That-" He bit his lip, as her eyes lifted to look at him. "It doesn't make sense. Those weapons can't be made anymore by anyone in the Inner Sphere. There are no new versions. Hell, Olivia, new BattleMech designs are rare. Nobody's spending the development money when they can retrofit an old classic chassis." He paused. "By the way, still no luck getting upgrades to our 'Mechs?"
"Focus on the task at hand."
"That's a 'no' then." Otto quipped lightly, looking back down at the table before she could reprimand him again. "So we've got brand new designs, with ancient weapons. A comment sticks out here. 'Too damn fast to be that well-armored, too well-armed to handle heat that well.' Do you really think that’s accurate?"
"Possibly." Her hand made a dismissive wave at the concept, and she took a breath. "It doesn't matter in the long run. We just need to consider these targets would have more protection than we expect. While I'd like to get into the weeds with you on the specifics of the recorded designs and the BattleROM dumps, it's more important to note the source of this information." Her fingers pulled up a map and quickly centered it on a portion of the coreward Periphery border. "Erewhon, Anywhere, and more than a few others with much less information available. We've received civilian travel advisories, as well, discouraging travel to nearly a dozen systems. Which got my attention, since the Armed Forces don't exactly like to issue such warnings."
"Why? They interfere all the time."
Olivia straightened up and shook her head slowly. "Because it causes disturbances, and it's rare the release of the restrictions makes the same impact. I think it's safe to say the list is a fair indication of just how far the invaders have progressed, and I really wish I had my hands on what was going on in the Free Rasalhague Republic. That would give me a bit more peace of mind." She motioned a hand. "Now take a look at the list."
Otto shook his head slowly and was about to speak before he blinked at the list and consulted the map still visible on the table. "Trell. That's only one Jump away." He looked up to the commander, and every muscle tensed in reaction to her expression. "You think they're coming here?"
"You tell me, Otto, do you really think an invader wouldn't come to Twycross? It's potentially a key position to spread inward. They either would have to go through us, or Butler, and I'm fairly sure they could do both." She clenched her fingers into a fist. "If we get a notice Butler is on the restricted list, then we're certainly getting hit. There's a chance we could only be facing a small force, or we could be facing the bulk of the invading army."
Otto folded his arms over his chest, walking a couple steps away "So what do you want to do?"
"Drink." She muttered, and turned around to lean on the edge of the table, arms folded as well. "But failing that, we need a better plan than we have now."
"Which is nothing?"
She nodded, pointing at him with a finger. "Which is nothing. So, Executive Officer Greene, what do we have to work with and what do we do with it?" She stood back up and started walking. "You think on that, I'm going to requisition two coffee makers from storage."
"Good, I'll need it-"
"Those are for me." She turned around at the door, and smirked at his dismayed expression. "But I'll share if you impress me with what you come up with before I get back."
Olivia never really understood how becoming commander would change her life, let alone her dreams. Now she dreamed of routine things, such as doing paperwork. In fact, this time she was reviewing a list of expenditures, before a figure stood before her desk. "Commander, might I have a word with you?"
She let out a sigh and looked up, annoyed, though part of her brain was realizing this was something which had happened. A memory being called up. "Is this about the physicals for the new recruits? Were there some unforeseen complications?" This conversation, one she didn't want to remember. Ever since the January recruiting drive, she wanted it not to have happened.
"Yes, well, most of them tested within the parameters you set. However, there was one outlier." The figure was holding up a file folder. "Sofia Garrido. I believe she's related to you?"
"Please get to the point. Where did she fail the parameters?"
"That's just it, ma'am, she didn't. She exceeded almost all of them, and I wanted to have a look at her medical file." The hand holding the folder bounced it slightly, a sound of the paper flexing against the motion. "And hers is peculiar enough that I think it could be a forgery. Almost all the information comes from the same source, with no others. Every record of vaccination, every treatment she underwent growing up, every routine exam? The records say all of these were performed by Rysel Medical, on Phalan."
There it was, what Olivia didn't want to discuss. What this medic shouldn't have spoken of. "And what makes you think this is a forged file?"
"They don't have offices on Phalan, ma'am. They never have."
Olivia had sighed, putting her hands on the desk before standing. "Very well. Leave the investigation to me. Until then, tell no one of your suspicions. If this is a forgery, and we have a problem with a spy, then we shouldn't alert them yet." After the medic left, she looked down at the desk and quietly made a change to some schedules.
She wasn't proud of it, in fact the part of her aware of what followed was shrieking to not do it. One slight change was the only needed task, to move a medical examination sooner. To put 'MechWarrior Kelly Sedda higher on the list for her checkup, making a note that her medication schedule needed to be reviewed and potentially adjusted. Two weeks later, the medic wouldn't be an issue any longer. And it would haunt Olivia's dreams on occasion how easy it was to cover her tracks and pretend nothing had happened. That she hadn't used Kelly as a tool to cover something up.
A flash to the infirmary, Olivia gently holding Kelly's shoulder as they were removing the body. The younger woman was protesting how she didn't mean to do more than stop the medic. How it had just gone too far, and they wouldn't listen. And Olivia was having to keep her calm, and assure her things would be fine, while her insides were knotting at the realization it was now real. Someone had died to preserve the secret.
And as she looked up in the dream, she met the eyes of a much taller figure who nodded approvingly. "Nobody can ever find out, Commander Garrido."
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