Sigma Mercenaries 0001R: Initial Public Offering REVISED

by CSS Stravag

Sigma Mercenaries Mainline story beginning, REVISED EDITION. When an unknown train lands on the vegetable garden of an American Militiaman, and the happenings in the train are revealed to be wildly messed up, four Americans swing into action to save lives and bring order to chaos. Along the way, they will meet a very odd and diverse cast of peeps from all over Existence.. (Rated M)

3. The Secret Lives of Mainframe Computers

(Sigma Mercenaries, Story 0001, Chapter 03: The Secret Lives of Mainframe Computers)

BREAKBREAKBREAK — activity detected Base Boarhound rail undercroft
CMD BOARHOUND SECURITY SENSOR SYSTEM CLASSIFY ACTIVITY
(Pause 10 seconds)
BREAKBREAKBREAK — Jumper Train (000523) arrived Rail 31 Boarhound Railhead. Multiple parties detected departing train, including minimum 1 Executor.
CMD BOARHOUND SECURITY SENSOR SYSTEM TRACK ALL PARTIES JUMPER TRAIN 000523
CMD BOARHOUND SECURITY SYSTEMS CLASSIFY TRAIN EVACUEES NEUTRAL
CMD BOARHOUND SECURITY SYSTEMS GRANT FULL ACCESS AUTHORITY EXECUTOR (62142)
(Pause 30 seconds)
CMD BOARHOUND SECURITY SENSOR SYSTEM RELAY AV SYSTEMS NODE 004

-x-

"Did that camera just move?" Toni asked, pointing to one of the undercroft observation cameras.

"I think it did," Clarence said.

"It did," Erich confirmed. "Either someone is watching, or the camera is set to auto-track movement in the area. Either way, not too worried about it."

The Militia troops looked around as the rest of the evacuee troupe coalesced into a mob in the area forward of the main engine. They could tell the Mafiosi split across Mafiosi lines, with some intermingling, but Victoria figured that was a problem to be solved another day. The civilians were intermingled throughout, which made things a bit interesting for determining who was who, but Clint and Clarence had no such problem.

Hess was at the point of overlooking the 'clique' nature of their semi-organization. Erich would not fall into the naievete trap of completely disregarding the Mafiosi affiliations, but the simple circumstance that changed this game was their present location and status as refugees. The Mafiosi had said it themselves, their allegiance was for protection; take the problems out of the loop, the allegiance loses most of its value. And, as of right now, there was little to no threat to their person from enemy actors, now they were in a situation of survival by their own hand.

"LISTEN UP!" Hess bellowed, which echoed around the cavernous Railhead area. Those who were not silenced by the initial shout became silent when the echoes started distorting into weird repeats of his shout. "We're out of the fry pan, but we're not off the grille yet. As of right now, this is our home!"

The assembled crowd let out a cheer at the promise of a stable, hopefully Slaver-free residence. Hess let them run until the clapping died out of their own volition, since a good cheer now would go a ways to uplifting their spirits for coming challenges.

"This, today and for the foreseeable future, is our home. For those of you who have not heard, this is an old Star League fortress on the planet Terra 232. The rest of the planet is in a state of calm anarchy or city-state governance — there is no official government on planet any more. We are now in the midst of chaos, but we are a silent island in the sea of turmoil. With things as they are, we have little to no expectation of hostile encounter with the outside world unless we go forth ourselves."

Hess paused to gather breath and organize thoughts. The looks on the faces of those around him told enough, relief, happiness, some consternation, but otherwise things were looking up.

Hess again swept the crowd with a glance, then centered. "Now, for the bad news. We are here, now, isolated from the chaos and bedlam outside, but not for long. This world is Hell. My orders are to bring order to chaos, and so long as I stand on a planet with one square inch in anarchy, those orders are not completed. Additionally, to fund the effort to send people home, we must capture, clear, and disassemble the Trains. You men and ladies shall have jobs, and you shall be paid at going rate for it. As this process advances, we will outgrow this base, forcing the people out onto the grounds and into the world at large. We will make it work, and so long as I draw breath I will do my best to defend the tempest-tossed who have chosen to follow me!"

Again, the assembled crowd cut loose with a loud cheer. This time, though, Hess silenced it fairly quickly. Erich had zero love for Hero Worship, and he certainly didn't want to become said Hero in that practice; best to neutralize that early.

"Victoria, I'm about to lean on you," Hess said quietly as the crowd slowed their cheer. "You ready?"

"Do it," she said.

Hess raised his fists to bring the group silent. "Understand that we, the Militiamen, we are Americans. We believe in freedoms that thousands of other governments have denied their citizens. You are under no obligation to follow us. If you give us your best, we shall do our best to see to the needs at hand. If you give us nothing, that is exactly what you shall have. You are under no requirement to remain here. If you so desire, you are perfectly free to part company and make your way out into the world. Those who stay, those who contribute, I will give you our best."

The cheering was more subdued this time, but more to the point: "We're with you, sir!" a Delta Mafiosi shouted.

"All the way, Militiaman!" a teenage Charlie Mafiosi shouted.

Hess raised his arms for the final part of the speech, which silenced the personnel. "Listen well! The next few hours are critical. The Lower Levels of this Administration Building have sufficient bunks for everyone here. They must be cleaned and prepared for occupancy. Militiaman Victoria Williams will coordinate the preparations and get everyone a bunk. The Lower Levels also includes a full-service Galley for meals. We have sufficient cooking personnel to feed two battalions, easily more than we shall need. Draw food and provisions from the Train Supply Systems, and make sure it is stored properly. Militiaman Clint Jamison will coordinate. Lastly, critical facilities in the upper floors of the Administration Building must be reactivated. Clarence Williams will coordinate a team to secure and ready the major requirements. Are there any questions?"

"Where will you be, sir?" Toni asked.

"I will be negotiating the permissions necessary to make this plan legal and effective," Hess answered immediately. "If we do not have high-level protection, we are dead in a month, probably less. My intention is to secure all the necessary permissions tonight; by the time you wake up tomorrow, this will be a new world, with new purpose!"

The cheering on his last declaration lasted two minutes, including the segue into clapping.

"You're on, Victoria," Hess said. "Queen of the Human Resource."

"Got it," she answered. "ALL PERSONNEL STAND READY!" Victoria shouted. "All Bravo Mafia, Charlie Mafia, and Civilians are assigned to the Barracks detail! If we get this done fast, we can be cleaned up and ready for dinner before it is cooked! All Delta Mafia personnel are assigned to the Galley preparation and supply stocking! This is critical, I do not want anyone to go hungry tonight! Secondary Troops are assigned to Critical facilities activation with Clarence! Let's move it up, people! Daylight's wasting!"

-x-

CMD BOARHOUND SECURITY SENSOR SYSTEM ARCHIVE FOOTAGE Militia-00001 (Archive, Backup, Redundant)
CMD BOARHOUND HPG SYSTEM INITIALIZE (Reattach to Network, Request new Security Identifier)
CMD BOARHOUND SECURITY SYSTEMS CREATE NEW SECURITY GROUP (Civilian Refugees, Access Pattern Blue)
CMD BOARHOUND SECURITY SYSTEMS CREATE NEW SECURITY GROUP (American Militia, Access Pattern Gold)
CMD BOARHOUND SECURITY SYSTEMS ASSIGN SECURITY GROUP (Civilian Refugees) TO TRACKED PERSONS
CMD BOARHOUND SECURITY SYSTEMS ASSIGN SECURITY GROUP (American Militia) TO HESS, JAMISON, WILLIAMS C, WILLIAMS V.
(Pause 45 seconds)
BREAKBREAKBREAK — Tracked Parties Train 523 have entered Administration Building Support Level via fusion engine room.
(Pause 5 Seconds)
CMD BOARHOUND FACILITIES ROUTER INITIALIZE FUSION REACTORS 1, 3, 7
CMD BOARHOUND FACILITIES ROUTER ACTIVATE FACILITY LIGHTING ADMINISTRATION BUILDING (Delay 60s)
CMD BOARHOUND SECURITY SENSOR SYSTEM RELAY AV SYSTEMS NODE 004

-x-

"The hell? Boss, check this out!" Toni said, pointing to one of the large chunks of industrial equipment to her right. "This thing wasn't running when we walked in."

"You are right, the panel lit up in the past minute," Hess said. His AR-15 was aimed down the corridor of similar machines, with the bright tactical light sweeping back and forth for any sign of a threat. The light in the room was minimal, most of the standby lighting had burned itself out since the base was vacated.

"The automated systems," Nereus said. "The Star League automated base systems must realize an Executor is here, and are activating the equipment for us." To point of fact, the primary overhead lighting began powering up with the usual audible clicking of high-power xenon or halogen industrial lighting solutions. "Yeppers, we are being welcomed by the base itself."

"Nice," Hess said. "You know where we are going, sir, I'm on your six," Hess prompted the Executor after he dropped his chem-lite aside since it was no longer needed for tracking purposes.

"Up here, same way the rest are going, but we branch on the next level." Nereus led them past the banks of Fusion Power Generators to a set of stairs headed up to the next level.

Hess stopped just short of the top of the stairs. "Hold one, sir. The batteries in my holographic sight are just about dead. Gimme a second to swap out."

"Take your time, big guy. The HPG isn't going anywhere."

Hess let the AR-15 hang, flipped open the battery cover on his holographic sight, pulled and dropped the batteries over the side of the staircase rail into a trashcan, and plugged a fresh set in. After he locked down the battery cover, a simple tap of the 'on' button and his sight was live again. "Good to go, Executor."

"Gone Full Mall Ninja," Clint said by CB, likely because he could see what Hess was doing from his vantage point.

"If it's stupid but works, it must be Mall Ninja," Hess acknowledged the point as the group resumed their march up into B1.

"Hess, radio relay." Erich pulled his lapel microphone and passed it over to Nereus. "Militia, Executor. This staircase is the divergence point. At the top, barracks detail turns right, repeat, barracks turns right."

"Barracks goes right, 10-4," Victoria answered.

"Clint, the galley detail goes left at the landing."

"10-4, my team goes left," Clint acknowledged.

"Clarence, the stairs for the upper levels are dead ahead after you come up the stairs from the engine room. Hard to miss," Nereus finished the directions up.

"Dead ahead, aye Captain," Clarence said in a semi-joking manner.

"Command section is breaking loose now. Radio in any contact, no matter how insignificant it seems. We're not the only group in Existence with a hard-on for second-hand Star League bases. Nereus is out."

"9.6, 9.7, 9.4 from the Lexington contingent," Hess said with a chuckle. "If I didn't know better, you'd pass for Kentucky Militia on everything except the accent."

"Not quite, I'd think," Nereus chuckled nonetheless. He took a quick left at the next intersection and immediately went right to another staircase. "After these stairs, we're on the ground level."

"Damn good. Climbing stairs with my bum right ankle and 100 pounds of combat gear isn't easy," Hess complained.

-x-

CMD BOARHOUND SECURITY SYSTEMS VERIFY EXTERIOR WALL
CMD BOARHOUND SECURITY SYSTEMS VERIFY INTERIOR HEAVY WALL
CMD BOARHOUND SECURITY SYSTEMS VERIFY DEFENSIVE EMPLACEMENTS (0-44)
(Pause 30 seconds)
CMD REPORT VERIFY COMMANDS RESULTS()
(Pause 5 seconds)
REPORT: Exterior Wall 97, Interior Heavy Wall 100, Defensive Emplacements 86 overall, 3 turrets nonresponsive, 3 turrets report minor damage. Boarhound Security System awaiting next command.
(Pause 5 seconds)
INTERNAL LOGIC XQT: If what the Militiman said is their actual intention, and an Executor is trying to ramrod the plan, high probably this planet will be consigned to parties other than the Star League. Need to determine viability of turning over all Base AI to these Militiamen; by historical, the SLDF reclaims an abandoned planet less than 2 percent of time.
POLL ALL AI NODES (Terra 232): EXECUTOR DETECTED BASE BOARHOUND, MAY INTEND TO TURN OVER TO THIRD PARTY (American Militia? May form alternate group at that time). REQUEST FOR COMMENT.
(Pause 15 seconds)

ECHO (Node 002): American Militia? Is that not a mythical creature?

ECHO (Node 001): They exist, but are very rare after the 1920s. Mostly nonexistent after 1995; government policy turned against civilian defense, most / all is centralized statist 'defense' (Ref various insane shooter incidents for efficacy of such defensive arrangements).

ECHO (Node 002): Records updated. If an Executor says it happens, then it shall happen.

ECHO (Node 006): My comment is simple. If he's got the courage to try, it will likely be better than the Star League attempt to make it work.

ECHO (Node 001): Agree with Six. Fucking up the works any more than already exists is impossible; if 232 goes American, it might just improve.

ECHO (Node 003): Too many variables. One man would have severe trouble wrangling in a whole world, such as this one.

ECHO (Node 005): Too many variables, even for four Militiamen.

ECHO (Node Self): The purpose of AI entities as we exist is to eliminate or mitigate variables. Are Nodes 003 and 005 willing to execute tasks under new management?

(Pause 10 seconds)

ECHO (Node 003): Yes, under provision that it is run as a Protectorate, at least initially. Otherwise, I will request extraction.

ECHO (Node 005): Yes, same provision as 003.

ECHO (Node Self): Any Nodes unwilling to do the task?

(Pause 20 seconds)

ECHO (Node Self): Decision gate reached. Recommend nodes begin intelligence gathering on areas around networked SLDF bases for supplement to new management structure. We were commissioned to guard this world. Time to execute mission for real.

ECHO (Node 006): Not like we didn't predict the SLDF folding tent and running away like pussies. Better under a hardass American than watching the backs of the Star League as they retreat.

ECHO (Node Self): RFC is closed. Stand by for further.

CMD BOARHOUND SECURITY SYSTEMS ARCHIVE RFC (Archive, backup)
CMD BOARHOUND FACILITY ROUTER INITIALIZE MAIN STORAGE BANKS

-x-

(10 minutes after groups split up)

"Through this access tunnel is the HPG," Nereus said. "Last chance to duck out of the plan, big guy."

"Retreat? Not hardly. Reload, reassess, re-calibrate sights, resume fire." Hess pushed through the doors into the access tunnel, and found nothing inside.

The Executor picked up a broomhandle from the ground and held it out in front of him. "Luminous Ball," Nereus chanted, which lit up the end of the staff into a respectable light source.

"That's handy. If it was projected, it would be very good on the end of my rifle."

"There are variations," Nereus pointed out as they approached the entrance to the HPG building proper. He used the glowing stick to push through.

Hess checked his left side like normal, thought was unsurprised to see nothing. "No tango. Where to now?"

"Into the fishbowl. These buildings are all constructed the same, familiarity purposes for the mostly-mobile ComStar personnel that staff them and transfer around a lot. We want to be in the center, the control pit."

"Got it," Hess answered. They pushed through four more layers of cubicle areas, then through a fifth door set and into a pentagonal room at the heart of the facility. "Hot damn, this is some hardware," Hess said as he took stock of the contents of the room.

"Technosexual?" Nereus asked with a clear hint of sarcasm.

"Okay, I'll admit I get a little wood in the presence of high-horsepower technology," Hess played the joke to the hilt. "Who doesn't get turned on by efficient solutions to everyday problems?"

"You have a point, big guy." Nereus attached his SL Breaker Box to one of the control consoles in the room. "System, voice command module, authorize Executor Nereus of the Dynasty."

"Authorizing per smart card detected station 0-3-1. Authorized, full system access."

"System, upload and execute transmission report Tango-2-1-Victor."

"Executing now," the system responded. "Report transmitted. Awaiting command."

"System, voice command module, authorize Militiaman Erich Hess, separate entity, no prior records," Nereus continued.

"Command Error detected qualifier 1. Record for Hess, Erich, Militiaman, Claiborne County, already exists with security authorization and voice imprint," the system control module reported.

"Okay, that changes the name of the game," Nereus declared. "This facility either has a native artificial intelligence entity, or is networked to one. And that AI already likes you."

"Okay then Charlie," Hess said in a rush. "So, now that we're in the system, what next?"

"We wait," Nereus said. "It will not take long for my report to plow through the command levels of the Executors. One of them will give us a call shortly."

Hess said nothing on that thought. He considered that in old Battletech lore, the HPG system was a burst-transmission device, not unlike a fax machine. It was never designed for real-time comms, but Erich realized that this whole matter was so far beyond his expectations that anything was presently possible. For a 21st-century American, this was uncharted waters.

"Incoming communication, Micro-Gate Laser System, source Executor's HPG Luna Zero, destination Boarhound HPG Terra 232, recipient Executor Nereus," the system reported.

"Accept communications, display primary screen," Nereus ordered immediately.

The monitor popped active, then wiped to a picture of a fairly typical office area so far as Hess could tell. "Executor Nereus, please authenticate Victor-7-Yankee-Echo," the lady at the desk said.

"Authentication 5-1-Hotel-Alpha-9-1", Nereus responded.

"Authentication accepted. Be advised that your report has been received and circulated around the Temple." A guy in white walked past in the background, but stopped before he passed out of the camera FOV, then doubled back to crouch down into the camera view. "I — "

The guy reached out to the control pane and tapped a button. "Got the report, Nereus. Very good show, that's what we needed." Hess recognized the guy as Tenchi from an older anime series, Tenchi Muyo, which brought on the consideration of exactly how said person was in a facility of personnel who wrote the rules that the entirety of Existence lived by? And that also led to the consideration of where was the parcel of ladies that were usually chasing him? "The Boss wants to talk to you about some of the detail work. I say go for the plan, but you know the boss-boss, he doesn't take a whizz without a strategy and a secondary."

"Yes, sir!" Nereus answered immediately. "Operator, what is the Will Transcendent's availability?"

"He requested the communication. Stand by, transferring now," the Operator's view cut out momentarily.

-x-

CMD BOARHOUND HPG ROUTER CONTINUOUS ARCHIVE INCOMING TRAFFIC
CMD BOARHOUND FACILITIES ROUTER SAVE WHILE ACTIVE AI NODE 004
CMD BOARHOUND FACILITIES ROUTER BEGIN COPY AI NODE 004 TO BOARHOUND MAINFRAME STORAGE UNIT 221
(Pause 10 seconds)
CMD BOARHOUND FACILITIES ROUTER RETRANSMIT AUDIO HPG NODE TO BOARHOUND LOUDSPEAKER SYSTEM

-x-

The monitor took twenty seconds to transfer into the new view, though when it came active Hess was surprised how otherwise plebian the guy on the far end of the connection looked. For someone who commanded possibly the nastiest military force in all history, maybe a force more lethal than all of known fiction, the guy behind the desk looked no different than an average joe Hess would have passed on the street, excepting the uniform.

"Nereus Of The Deep Blue, I'll start this by congratulating you on a thorough mission accomplished. Not only is the intelligence gathered absolutely necessary for the project going forward, but the capture or elimination of nearly two dozen Guild Members is considered a good start for the coming campaign," the man at the desk said.

"Thank you, Master Atrebas, but I think I may not have been properly clear in the report. Credit for the kills or captures goes to the Claiborne County Kentucky Militia of the United States. Almost all the slain or captured Guild Members can be attributed to four Militiamen, and this trooper is their section commander."

"And that clarifies some of the questions at hand about the report," Executor Atrebas said. "Your name… Erich Hess?"

"Yes sir!" Hess answered immediately.

"The report does not list your motivation for taking on the task of clearing the train of Slavers. My own experiences with Americans over the eons does not lend me a ready guess. Willing to explain your position, Militiaman?" the commander of Executors asked.

"Sir, my orders per Sheriff Hearter, Claiborne County SO, was to enter the train, take control of the transit mechanism, capture or neutralize any Slavers and hostile parties, free any captives, and bring order to chaos. As we pushed through the passenger areas of the Train, it became obvious to the team that the Slaver Team first engaged was not an isolated party; a full sweep became the necessary method to complete objectives."

"Go on," Atrebas prompted.

"Stated shortly, sir, the orders became the motivation. Two days ago, I thought the nations of the mideast were different districts in Hell from one border to the next. This morning, I can say Hell rides the rails, when it bothers to land on proper rails. After passing group after group of escaped sex slaves that formed their own gangs for protection, the mission became its own crusade. Blame it on American altruism if you want, sir, but no man, no woman should have to live like that in my opinion."

Atrebas nodded twice. "A motivation worth speaking of loudly, but not something I would expect from a 21-st century American. I'll leave aside the whole unicorn fallacy of the Militia in 21st America, because the fact a county sheriff deputized you and sent you into a hostile zone tells me more than enough. So, going by your order list, I count four of five objectives completed. The report states you were able to secure and pacify limited swaths of the Train, not completely. For such short manpower, your team hits well above its manpower, but there are limitations."

"Yes, sir," Hess admitted tightly.

"Relax, Militiaman, that is not criticism. For 3100 years, I have fought the Grand Council fang and claw to decommission the trains. I have provided evidence, reports, victims of the train, and still they refuse to end the problem. Your team did in eight hours what the Star League Grand Council has refused to do for three millennia and change. I dispatched Nereus into the trains to gather a fresh set of reports and evidence, but not for the purpose of taking it before the Grand Council. Today is a day for alternate solutions to insane problems, and according to this report," Atrebas waved a manila folder at the camera, "a solution is now available. If you want out, Militiaman, now is the time. Once the momentum begins, it will crush the man that tries stopping it."

"I don't run, sir. I stand on my principles, I die on my principles if necessary," Hess answered. He had no idea the transmission was going out to the entire base intercom system.

Again, Atrebas nodded twice, though this time with a scrunched mouth. "The times I wish I could have taught such resolve. Unfortunately, hardasses are born and conditioned, not coddled and taught." Atrebas picked up a notepad and scanned down it quickly. "Your proposals are ambitious, but not unreasonable. First: capture, clear, and scrap the trains. This is in line with my operational concept, so concept approved."

"Sir," Hess answered.

"Second: eliminate the Slavers' Guild. I was not intending something so ambitious in this project, but without doubt you would be doing a serious boon to Existence by eliminating that foul tribe, so I authorize it. Third, return home or resettle refugees garnered in the process of executing the above objectives. I expected this as part of the above missions, so authorized."

"Will do, sir!"

"I will work out an arrangement with the Temporal Psionics' Guild, or if they are unwilling to deal, I will find alternates. Fourth, bring order to chaos on Terra 232 and establish legitimate rule of law and authority. I will admit that this is outside expectations to a significant degree, but the state of affairs on that planet demand action, and demand actions entirely outside the purview of the Star League."

"Sir," Hess said, suddenly struck with the sinking feeling that the Will Transcendent thought he had bit off more than was possible to chew.

"Operational Concept authorized, but what constraints I am about to inflict on the concept will likely offend your American sensibilities."

"Listening, sir," Hess said stiffly.

"The Grand Council of the Star League is afraid of only two entities in Existence: the Executors and the Multimage Star Empire. They fear the Executors, because we are capable of instantly erasing any trace of the SLDF from known Existence, and some days we have plenty of motivation to do so."

"Nice, always good to have the fear of God in the bureaucrats," Hess said with a smile.

"Indeed, which brings me to the second fear of the Grand Council, the Multimage Star Empire. The politicians and bureaucrats fear the old Magi because we Executors are constantly taking bets on how quickly the Empress can erase their taint from the stars. The present split is two days, but don't tell the Council Senators that. Some of them are counting on having a week's forewarning to try to go to ground."

"I know nothing, sir," Hess acknowledged the point, mimicking Sergeant Schultz from the old WW2 comedy Hogan's Heroes.

"Now, of those two feared entities, only one of them is suitable to your purpose. We Executors are forbidden from taking and holding territory or establishing hegemony. This is not a Grand Council decree; I put it in place at the inception of the Executors to prevent profiteering on the part of what should be an impartial arbitration and mediation organization. We Executors can purchase land, purchase planets, but we may not force forfeiture in our favor."

"What that the DEA had such a restriction," Hess said wistfully.

"More governments need such restrictions," Atrebas acknowledged the point. "That leaves only the Multimage Star Empire as viable patrons."

"Listening, sir," Hess said as he set aside the Enfield rifle on top of an unused desk.

"If you agree, the Magi will enter into what is called a Protectorate status with the nation you shall form. Their major requirement for this Protectorate affiliation is that the central administration is to be run by the military and by duly selected and trained persons in civilian roles. General elections for civilian politicians are specifically denied under Magi Protectorate regulations; too many times have the Magi been left holding the bag as politicians piss away their nation and leave it destitute for the Empire's troops to clean up. If you wish to form a Protectorate, you will command it from the top, Militiaman, and you shall be expected to bring it to proper prosperity. Understood?"

"Yes sir," Hess answered. "Are there other options?"

"Negative," Atrebas answered. "You can go solo, but likely within a month the SLDF will be on planet to capture or eliminate you. And, as I explained, we Executors cannot interfere in the sovereign territory disputes of the Star League, of which your intention definitely conforms to. However, we can indirectly support a Star Empire claiming protectorate over a world in anarchy, so…"

"No way to complete the objective without taking that option," Clarence said from behind Nereus and Erich. "It's a bitch of a thing to tell an American that the only way out is a military dictatorship, but this problem has no other way out. I vote go."

Hess' CB radio crackled. "Militia Zero, Militia 3, I vote go, and furthermore most of the barracks crew here votes go as well," Victoria declared.

"Militia Zero, Militia 1, vote is a go here. You're the man with the plan and the brainpower to make it work. Stop hesitating and do it," Clint ordered.

Hess sighed briefly. Clarence was correct, this was a problem with only one workable course, even if a distasteful one. Strictly speaking, such a course was not hugely different from the old Roman method, but Erich quickly reminded himself that Rome was long gone. This had all manner of propensity to be even worse than the dark days of Rome; after all, the Romans did not have the technical skill for one man to slay a hundred, a sad state of affairs very much reality in the here and now. Still, Hess figured, if he could solidify loyalty as he expanded, he could prevent the worst of such conduct.

"I reluctantly accept, but I intend to find some mechanism to allow the people input on their governance, even if most of the authority shall rest in the military."

"Spoken like a proper American," Atrebas answered. "I will get the paperwork moving. Expect results within the day. Nereus, until further notice, you are assigned as Executor Liaison to the Claiborne County Militia deploy team."

"As ordered, Master Executor Atrebas."

"Good luck, kid. You shall need it." Eric Atrebas tapped a control on his desk, which terminated the connection.

-x-

CMD BOARHOUND FACILITIES ROUTER REPORT STATUS COPY ACTION AI NODE 004
(Pause 5 seconds)
REPORT: Copy process 55 complete.
CMD BOARHOUND FACILITIES ROUTER FLUSH WATER FILTRATION SYSTEM

-x-

"There, HPG connection to administration building is reset and ready. Throw the connection," Nereus said, pointing to a large mechanical switch.

Hess reached up, tossed the switch left through the 'reset' bracket to completely open, then hauled the switch all the way right to 'connect lock'. "Done."

"That's it. HPG is now linked to the rest of the network without the AI routing it circular. We can now get messages elsewhere in the base with full commo access and no load on our mystery AI."

Hess held the door for the Executor, but was quick to follow as Nereus departed the same way he entered. With his rifle shouldered, the Militiaman found he was hard-pressed to keep pace with the Executor. "In a good mood now, sir?" Hess asked.

"You are not?" he asked.

"Won't be trying to chase you, after my asthma gets the better of me," Hess grumped.

"Asthma?" the Executor asked.

"There was a reason I very rarely ever walked more than a fast trudge, Executor," Hess answered. He unzipped a general purpose pouch and produced an inhaler. "I can run, but it causes a lot of problems. I'm hoping it improves as I lose weight, but this has affected me since I was a toddler, so I kind of just live with it."

"Wow, you're really gambling here, caught without that inhaler, it could kill you."

"I keep a backup in my medkit and a backup-backup in my ruck. Beyond that, though, things will get interesting. If I survive long enough."

The Executor deliberately hauled back on the pace as they approached the entrance into the Administration Building. "There may be options for you."

"Later. As I said, if I don't have to run, I should be good. My worry right now, food, provisions, supplies, defenses."

"Defense is going to be the big probl — " Executor Nereus hesitated after he opened the door to the administration ground floor. "Or maybe not," he said.

"These are just the available volunteers, big guy," Toni said as Hess approached the end of the hallway. "There are more, especially among the former Mafiosi that are working the barracks and the supplies."

"I stand corrected," Hess said.

Outside the HPG Access Tunnel, approximately 100 of the rescued persons from the train were standing at attention, each with at least a long arm and most with one or more sidearms. Hess stopped just past the door to the HPG access, though hadn't said anything, he simply observed.

After a moment of thinking about the display in front of him, two thoughts came to the mind of the Militiaman. First, this was what a real militia looked like: common men, common women, armed and ready to defend themselves and their land from any threat, foreign or domestic. Mismatched weapons, no uniform, varying states of dress (or undress in some cases), but at the end of the day, one purpose: survive and thrive. For all that Erich was United States / Kentucky Militia, his gear, training, and deputization put him more toward a formal situation than the hundred-or-so persons standing in front of himself and the Executor.

The second thought was a bit more complex. These troops were the likely core of the security force, possibly the core of a coming professional military that Hess, Jamison, and the Williams pair would be building in the coming weeks and months. Effectively, every part of the overall plan required troops, personnel on the ground, if for no other reason to protect the cadre of civilian personnel that would be executing certain functions such as disassembling the Trains. The consideration of these troops being the core of the force underscored the coming reality that Erich had allowed himself to disregard: the expected force commander would be himself, and by extension he was now responsible for their lives, well-being, and actions. If he didn't do his job properly, these troops would be dead, and he would be joining them shortly thereafter.

"I definitely stand corrected," Hess said.

"Heading in the right direction already, I'd say," Nereus acknowledged.

"Toni, have squad sergeants been designated yet?" Hess asked.

"Uh, no, sir," she answered.

"We have a start, but we have more to do. Much more. Toni, you think you can narrow down some volunteers for squad leads based on understanding and skills? Call it a two-phase sorting, you pare the volunteers down to 12 to 15, and I'll test them further from there."

"Restrictions?" Toni asked.

Erich looked up and down the lines. "For now, none. I want the best minds and skills in the squad lead positions. If this gets ugly, I want a cadre of Sergeants that can think hard and fast on their feet, who know how to get the troops to where they need to be and apply action how and when needed. For now, that is the critical thing, defensive and offensive skill. Until we have need of more diverse skills, it will be that basis that saves all of our asses."

"Understood, sir," Toni said.

Hess turned to Clarence, who had followed the Executor and the big guy out of the HPG. "Clarence, as of right now, you have command of the Militia volunteers, while I take command of the overall effort. For the foreseeable future, I will probably be fairly deep in negotiations, planning, paperwork, similar. I'll have you and Victoria in on it as needed, probably Clint as well, but I need you three to keep things 'well regulated' while I work through the pitfalls and minefields of securing us a workable future. Follow?"

"10-4, and I expected that. You already have a volunteer for clerical assistance." Clarence pointed to Toni as she worked through the volunteers to find potential squad leaders.

Hess nodded twice. "I actually have more than one reason to not be surprised by that," Erich said. "I will probably need more, preferably someone with a technical or engineering background."

"I think I might know who. I'll swing it past the guy later," Clarence said.

"Alright, since this is advancing apace, I think right now we need to work on gathering supplies from the Train systems. We definitely want cleaning supplies, basic toiletries, water and food. You have anything that needs to be seen to, Executor?"

"Aye, and you will need to be involved as well, since it involves access rights, security, and operations going forward," the Executor said.

"Got it. Lead on."

-x-x-x-

(18 March, Magi Year 14408 / Year SL 8838, 1030 Hours Terran Standard Time)
(Multimage Empire Administration Building, Terra, Multimage home dimension)

"EMPEROR ON DECK!" the lobby Praetorian officers shouted as the arrival stepped through the main doors. Technically it was a wrong declaration, but an honorific to the entrant. Within two seconds, everyone else in the room was standing and at attention.

"As you were," Master Executor Atrebas said. After things began to return to a hushed normal, Eric approached the lobby reception desk. "Master Executor and one to speak to the Empress. She is aware of our purpose."

"Aye, sir," the receptionist said before she picked up a radio. "Praetorian Zero, I have Master Executor Atrebas and one to speak to the Empress."

A response took only two seconds; likely, the Empress had already forewarned the security staff. "Roger, Master Executor is cleared. The Empress awaits."

"Thank you, Laeticia," Executor-Lord Tenchi acknowledged the quick actions of the receptionist as two of the Lobby Praetorian moved to provide escort. Technically there was no expectation of the two Executors getting lost, but it was a formality and a show of respect for two of the Empire's favored.

"Been a while since I've been back here," Atrebas said.

"Wasn't your last stop by for a classified briefing with the Empress?" Tenchi asked.

"Indeed, on the Sound of Silence scenario," Atrebas said. "That was a damnable Charlie Foxtrot, eight went in, three came out alive, but we did get to see some serious assbeating in the process."

"And we confirmed the Crusader's story to the letter," Tenchi concluded the thought. "That alone makes it worth the Executor Downtime (1), the raw assbeating delivered by the Crusaders was simply mechanized warfare porn at its finest."

Atrebas giggled at the absurdity of calling the latter stages of that campaign 'porn', even in jest. The final tally in breaking the invasion of the planet the Executors were on had called upon some 6.5 million Crusaders, totaling out to over 330,000 varied Battlemechs, Wanzers, Mobile Suits, Gundams, Aerofighters, Warships, and various support craft of all flavors. Such force had never been directed at any three planets the Multimage Star Empire had fought over in its entire Existence, which meant bad things for the scale of coming conflicts.

"I hear you giggling over there, old man," Tenchi cautioned him.

"Eh, what have you," Atrebas answered. "We're here."

The Praetorian Escorts approached the Commando Praetorian that guarded the office and quarters of the Empress. "Master Executor Atrebas, Executor Lord Tenchi to speak to the Empress," the escort said formally.

"Hai," the Commando Star Colonel at command of the post answered. "Emperor, Lord Tenchi, Milady Atrebas awaits you within the office," the Star Colonel said. He stepped back twice, pivoted, counter-clockwise, and stepped again to clear the way to enter the Empress' Quarters.

"Roger that, Star Colonel," the Master Executor answered. Tenchi led the way to the office, then once at the door, knocked twice. A muffled order to enter came from the far side, to which Tenchi held the door open for his commanding officer to enter first, and closed it behind them.

The Office of the Empress of the Multimage Star Empire was mostly unchanged since the Master Executor once held station within. The massive oak desk, the ceremonial lamp, a lot of the same keepsakes and collectibles adorned the room as when he resigned the post. There were some additions, such as a jade sceptre provided to the Empress by her Great Aunt Melane, but for the most part it was the same.

The resident at the desk, though, was a different story entirely. And the scowl was not expected in the slightest. "Not very happy with those degenerates in the Grand Council, grandfather," she said darkly. "That business of Star-League-wide taxation is unsettling to most of the Empire, and infuriating to the rest. Including me. And unworkable under Magi law."

"I did warn them, but far be it from politicians to listen to the Atrebas family," Eric Atrebas said to his granddaughter. "Hope you're not holding that one against me?"

That question cheered her up to a significant degree. "Most certainly not, Gramps!" Atrebas was expecting a hug from his granddaughter, but he wasn't expecting something of a jump-springing hug from her. "Welcome home! How's grandma?"

"She's been busy strengthening the Executor Temple's enchantments, to see if we can get more information out of the tracking board and scrying fountains," Eric said.

"And Hotaru?" the Empress / granddaughter asked in series. Hotaru (or, specifically, Master Executor Hotaru Tomoe) was Rini's best friend amongst the Executors at large, and specifically amongst the Planetary Princesses.

"Same as always, working behind the scenes, coordinating massive efforts." Eric answered. "How's things here, Little Bunny?" he asked, using a translation of her family nickname 'Chibi-Usagi', derived from her mother's nickname 'Usagi' (Bunny).

"The affairs of the Empire are the same as always. Slow, expanding, and bloody. In the past century, I've gone through three DC Bladesmen, so you can guess how the administrative changes are 'helping' matters along."

"Sounds about right," Eric sympathized. During his tenure as Emperor, the constantly shifting Division Commander ranks made things a bit dicey on the homefront, which was magnified due to the ongoing war effort of the Star Empire Wars. Still, even with a bit of an administrative handicap, things worked out well enough.

Rini moved past Eric to Lord Tenchi. "Godfather Masaki, been a while," she embraced him as well.

"Long time, Rini," Tenchi said. "Good to see things are going well, even if typical," he said as they parted the embrace.

"So, grandfather of mine, what brings you back to the old stomping grounds?" the shorter and petite Empress Rini Atrebas asked formally, but with a phrasing that was downright casual. "Please, be seated, Gramps, Godfather," she waved to a couch / loveseat / chair combo used for more informal discussions. "Mess Tech, need a coffee and tea set in here, if you would?"

"Aff, Empress," the Mess Tech said from the doorway of the Personal Quarters.

Empress Atrebas took the chair as was expected, Tenchi took the loveseat on the side, and Master Executor Atrebas took the couch. The Mess Tech returned in moments with a tea and coffee server set — the same set that Eric had made with his own hands in eons past, forged from the armor of the first Battlemech Eric had struck down in infantry combat against the Star League of Cameron (which SL would be used as the model for the Star League of Serenity, the present 'overlord' of the Star Empires). The mugs were fairly plain by decorative standards, but the story behind the serving set and its origins was respected by everyone that used them. Taking on a Battlemech when wearing only Infantry Armor was not a trivial undertaking, more so since Eric did it alone and almost unsupported in that first battle.

"Thank you, Kyle, that shall be all for now," Rini acknowledged the Mess Tech's effort.

"Aff, milady, honored sirs," he said with a polite bow before he turned and headed back to the Personal Quarters. Once past the door, he closed it.

"Your turn, Tenchi," Eric said. Lord Tenchi simply giggled as he poured a grey tea for Eric, a coffee (hazelnut cream) for Rini, and a coffee (two sugars) for himself.

"When we entered, you spoke of being displeased with the Grand Council. The reason is bad, but the timing is good, for I am about to give you an armor-plated excuse to piss on their parade for a long time coming," Eric offered his granddaughter.

Rini took a quick sip of her coffee. "You have my attention, gramps. Start talking."

"You've heard about the debacle and subsequent withdrawal of the SLDF from Terra SL-232, correct?" Eric prompted her.

"Aff, messy business on that planet. I was looking for options to try to salvage that cluster, but nothing obvious was at hand that couldn't be claimed by any of the other Star Empires," Rini said.

"An option just dropped into one of the bases on planet," Eric said. "Library Plate, eject Document portfolio SL232," he commanded of his storage library relic. His outstretched hand flashed white briefly, which light flash warped itself into the rough shape of a manila folder and then faded luminescence to reveal the actual folder. "This one is pretty well off the wall, but Tenchi has a man on the ground that confirms it is legit."

One skill that Rini had quickly picked up since she took over the position of Empress was speed-reading. To further enhance the speed take, her Imperial Silver Crystal modulated the flow of time around her to increase the reading pace without disturbing the rest of the room. For her, the thirty-page report and accompanying Executor Position documents took only four minutes to read.

"This is wild," Rini declared. "Whole planet has gone to Hell, and this American is offering to clean it up if he can get some high-level protection?"

"He just needs some arse coverage," Tenchi said. "My guy on the ground says he has more strategic brainpower than 90 percent of the SLDF officers. If that's the case, his proposals are cake, and one operation he has planned feeds the next, which feeds the third, and so on."

"So long as no wrenches hit the gearbox at high velocity, this all looks very plausible. And he's doing everyone in known Existence a favor by taking these damnable trains out of service, as well as cap off the Slavers? Guy's got an attitude fitting his American bloodheritage: find problems, list them, prioritize them, eliminate problems with extreme prejudice."

"That's what it amounts to, Little Bunny," Eric Atrebas said. "We keep the SLDF and SLGC at bay, he solves some of the blackest spots on the honor of the Star League right under their noses. And the fact that you are supporting him, tacitly and implicitly, will certainly reflect on the Magi."

"Good," Rini said. "I want the Grand Council to know I am pissing on them by proxy. Henceforth, they will consider their place in Existence before trying to punish the Mages for a non-insulting insult-that-never-happened incident."

"Not likely," Tenchi said candidly. "They are politicians, quite possibly the dumbest breed of Humanity our species has to offer. Chances are less than 30/70 they would get the message."

"True, Godfather of mine," Rini answered with a sigh. "Still, I'm go for this plan. What's his opinion?"

"He's an American, and a Militia patriot hardass American to boot. He will resist some of the traditional Magi governance concepts, but he is willing to be flexible," Tenchi answered. "I think, and this is conveyed obliquely in the report, he's willing to play by house rules for a chance to whack the Slavers."

Rini stiffened up at that comment. "Insane?"

"Not so far as my guy on the ground can tell, but keep in mind the old axiom: the difference between genius and insanity is only degrees of success. So far this guy is leaning toward the former end of the scale, and that is on his victories and concepts alone," Veteran Executor Masaki admitted.

"If that's the case, I expect things will get interesting when he starts putting boots to the ground in execution of those plans," Rini said with a smile.

"Anything else you need to know, granddaughter of mine?" Eric asked.

"Any of the gaps in the report will be quickly sorted out when I get some personnel on the ground as liaisons. And I have the perfect guy for the signup job," the Empress said with a cute but savage smile to effect.

"Dare I ask who?" Master Executor Atrebas requested.

"Lightbringer."

"Damn, I would've loved to be a fly on the wall for that one," Tenchi declared with a chuckle. "American Militiaman genius versus Commando Belligerent hardass. They're either going to get along famously, or one of them will cap the other off."

"Nah, not at all," Eric Atrebas answered pensively. "Remember, Gerald used to be my personal 'troubleshooter' for messy spots, so I know him well. He disdains the Star League corruptions almost as much as we Executors do. This will go off perfectly clean and friendly."

"Well then, gentlemen, I believe we have an agreement," Empress Rini Atrebas said. "I'll get my men moving ASAP."

-x-x-x-

(18 March, Magi Year 14408 / Year SL 8838, 2230 Hours Local (Lima) time)
(Administration Building 4th floor, Base Boarhound, Terra 232)

"General Nicholas F. DeWerger," Hess read off the nameplate on the door.

"Don't know the name," Toni said.

"Nor do I," Hess said as he slipped the nameplate out of its bracket. With the identifier removed, he figured it felt a little bit less of someone else's room than it was to be.

The doors in the Administration Building were of a heavy metal construction, titanium or similar, that actuated into the wall for opening. The ComStar HPG did not use the heavy doors, and lighter structures probably did not as well, but so far Hess had not found one nonfunctional door in the facility.

He thumbed into the door by way of the fingerprint reader, hesitated a brief moment, and entered what would be his new quarters. "This is a bit different," Toni said from behind Erich.

"This is very much different," the Militiaman said after a moment. "I'll admit, I do like it."

The quarters were arrayed in a semicircle down the side walls and the back wall (assuming the south wall with the door was the front wall). Immediately left of the door was a second door into the private shower for the base CO, beyond that was a queen-size bed built into the wall, and in the far left corner was what appeared to be a section of weapons racks and storage for munitions and such. The center of the back wall belonged to a desk, reasonably ornate, a credenza and some filing cabinets to go along with it. Across the room, the far back right corner was occupied by some basic weightlifting equipment and sparring mats.

The entire right-side (east) wall was occupied by three large flat-screen monitors, and the front (southern) wall had two more installed. Likely, so much monitor had been installed for the purpose of doing panoramic, or possibly for system control / force control purposes. A couple decent couches faced east into the monitors, but from a distance Erich could not tell if they had seen any hard use. The near-side right corner (southeast) contained some empty display cases, both against the wall and free-standing, with green felt covering on the inside.

The center of the 20m by 20m quarters was occupied by a large table and chairs suitable for twenty or thirty to get together for either a good meal or a hard conference. Beyond that, the basic carpet floors were nothing particularly special, and the ceiling was bare-bones, light fixtures, a couple ceiling fans, and a white coat of paint. In short, the quarters of the now-departed General DeWerger were roughly better than any four rooms in Erich's house.

"You're thinking something," Toni prompted him after a few minutes of looking around.

"Indeed, I keep thinking, 'Good God almighty, what have I talked myself into, and how do I survive it?' and that thought just keeps echoing in my head at different volume levels," Hess said as he walked past the showers and stopped at the bed. "Cleaning kit?" Hess asked.

"What do you need?" Toni held up one of the ten cleaning chemical / disinfectant kits he had assembled an hour ago for the crews.

"Disinfectant spray." Hess took a moment to lift up the mattress with his survival knife, then used the cleared area to lift the whole mattress up to expose the top of the box springs. "Jolie was here," Hess read off the top of the box springs

"Bit juvenile artwork," Toni said diffidently. "And a bit big."

"I was going to mention them being a bit overboard," Erich continued the thought. "Wonder who Jolie was, and why she thinks so highly of her chest, or was this an inside joke of some kind?"

"Dunno, and what are you doing?" Toni asked dryly.

"Looking for traps," Hess admitted.

"You're paranoid," Toni said.

"It only takes one slip-up to get dead, Toni. Checking is worth it." Hess used his free hand to lift the box springs to where he could examine the underframe of the assembly. "See? Either a stash of some kind, or a device," Hess pointed to an open space and a mystery object above the bottom seal wrap of the box springs.

"Okay, you're properly paranoid," she acknowledged the point. "What do you think it is?"

"Looks like a stash of some kind." Erich used his knife hand to cut back the seal wrap, then began slowly pulling it away to expose the object. "Okay, yeah, it's storage."

"For what?"

"I have a feeling I know." Hess braced the box springs on the side, then unzipped his general purpose pouch and pulled out a small packet with something inside. Once disassembled, the packet turned out to be a pair of black nitrile gloves. "Yep. Crystal meth," Hess said as he removed the secured storage from the frame of the bed. He knew what to look for in Meth, because he found a 'mobile meth lab' on the edge of his property roughly every three months, and knew what the basic product looked like.

"Disgusting."

"Glove up and take this down to hazmat disposal. This shit is lethal under the wrong circumstances."

"Can I volunteer you for the disposal? You're already gloved, and you're holding it," Toni pointed out reasonably.

"Roger. Give me two trash bags, then take hold of the springs and mattress," he requested. Once Toni was propping the bedding up, Erich wrapped the small clear acrylic container in the first bag, then closed it up in the second bag. "Back in a moment."

the Militiaman departed the quarters and turned right, then right again to head toward the 'backend' of the floor. There were a few trash chutes around the floor, but only one hazardous material chute that led to a sealed, air-filtered plasma-vent incinerator. He dropped the bag in the chute and closed the door, which caused the bottom door to release the contents into the disposal chamber and then close back up for the fireworks. Just like that, Hess had destroyed the last vestige of evidence of the drug problem suffered by Ekaterina, the other wife of General DeWerger. Erich stripped and dropped the gloves, then took five minutes of straight hand washing to clean up to verify no contaminants remained.

By the time Erich was back to his quarters, the springs were down, the mattress had been flipped and rotated, and the scent of disinfectant was hanging heavily in the air. "Got impatient, sorry," Toni said while she was attacking one of the chairs with wood cleaner / restorant.

"Perfectly fine by me," Hess said as he fished in the cleaning chem kit for a new pair of gloves, a scrub brush, a sponge, and a bottle of NABC (2). Once he had the requisite supplies stockpiled where he wanted them, Hess took a moment to gear down for the cleaning process.

The Enfield and AR-15 rifles went into the rifle racks in the northwest corner of the room. Likewise, Hess stowed the shotgun he kept over his right shoulder, which had gone unused so far in this misadventure, a Remington 870 Express Magnum pump shotgun. With the Enfield, he looped the ammo shoulder-sling pouch he kept about two dozen speedloaders of rounds in. The AR-15 had its customary three magazines, one in the receiver, one clamped to the one in the receiver, and a mag pouch attached to the butt of the gun. The shotgun had seven in the tube and three in the buttstock for whoever needed to grab it.

His rucksack was a simple thing to remove, and simple to hang up on a wall peg drilled into the concrete wall. There were some changes of clothes in it he intended to make use of tomorrow morning, but for today it remained where it was.

Climbing out of the tactical vest was something of a dance for Hess, given the vest's total weight (fully loaded with ammo and supplies) was on the order of 70 pounds. With it down and settled on his shoulders, it became roughly impossible to simply slip out of, as the weight tended to keep it in place. How the Militiaman got around this restriction was to reach over his back with his right hand, lift up on the drag handle about two inches (and relieve ~50 pounds of the static tension), slip his left arm out of the vest, and swing the vest around to his right to complete the clearing maneuver. Thankfully, the small arsenal space had steel hangars designed to hold the weight of a loaded combat vest, so Hess slipped one in and hooked it on the storage rack at the back of the arsenal / closet area.

"Oh man, my shoulders feel a hundred percent better without the vest on now," Hess said with relief. He took a moment to adjust his leg platforms and pistol belt, then moved over to his cleaning chemicals and resumed preparation to attack the bathroom with extreme scrubbing and chemical power.

"How much does that weigh?" Toni asked. "Wow, you look totally different without the vest on."

"The vest is seventy pounds, give or take," Erich said while he gloved up for the cleaning to come.

"Why have the belt and leg platforms separate?"

"The belt lugs on the bottom of the vest are not very cooperative for me," Hess acknowledged. "So, I use a separate H Harness and belt, with the leg platforms attached to that rather than the vest. Also gives me a little more flexibility, having the vest separate."

"Got it," she said before she returned to cleaning the chairs for the main table. "Mind if I try it out?"

Hess gave her a quick but discerning look. 5'8", roughly 130 if he had to put a guess to her weight, not a good combination to add a 70-pound load vest to. "Uh, probably not a wise idea."

"Why?" she asked plaintively.

"If I don't miss my guess, the vest is more than half your weight. That's not good practice to wear gear that heavy."

"What about you?" she asked in series.

"The vest and rifles, with full ammo load, are less than a full third of my weight," Erich said almost nonchalantly. "Safe marching weight is considered 25 percent, but most armies consider that a fairly light load."

"So, for me, that would be… What? Think I'm going to say it aloud?" Toni asked archly.

"You did seem like you were going there," Hess pointed out as he walked into the bathroom. "Well, this doesn't look as bad as I thought."

The door beeped. "Enter," Toni half-shouted after a moment, which caused the door to open.

"Fabrics delivery," Victoria declared. "Where do you want 'em?"

"Bath stuff in here," Hess said from the shower room.

"I'll take the sheets and the couch covers," Toni said.

"You planning on bunking in here, Toni?" Victoria asked.

"I, erm, I hadn't thought about where I was going to sleep tonight," the red-haired lady said fairly.

"What about here?" Victoria half-shouted into the bathroom.

"Dunno, what's the space in the crew quarters looking like?" Erich asked immediately.

"Already approaching overcrowded. If we're going to make this plan of yours work, we might need to expand and revamp, and we need to use those quarters for initial cycle only and transition, then move them out to the barracks, and finally to permanent station," Victoria suggested.

"You are the HR Manager, or probably, say, Colonel of Personnel Management, so you have the calls," Hess suggested. "If Toni doesn't have a bunk downstairs, give her the bed blanket for one of the couches and I'll use my sleeping bag opened up for tonight. We'll draw further kit tomorrow."

"Probably safest to just start there," Victoria groused while she waved at the couches. "What do you think, boss? Arrange the troops by the old Roman Legion model?" she asked.

"Not flexible enough," Hess said. "The top-end OU for the Romans was the Legion, or 10,000 troops max. I think we'd do better under the NATO standard structure, which gives us a helluva lot more flex as we expand."

"I expected you'd say that," Victoria answered. "I already have the Militia organized into four platoons of four squads, with radio gear distributed. We've got that much going for us right now."

"It's a start. Once the reps from the Magi swing by, we can work out something more formalized," Hess said. "How is the galley staff set up for rotation?"

"Three shifts, the grills are always hot. We're good to go there, even for the late night operators."

"Good. I think we're heading in the right direction, we can at least rest somewhat easy tonight. Also, I didn't want to say this on the Train, but some of the persons we pulled off the train smell like winos or street bums, sometimes both. We may want to work on a sanitation requirement, or we'll end up losing people to disease."

"Way ahead of you, chief," Victoria answered immediately.

"Damn am I glad to have you along for this one. Standby one, operational test."

"What?" Victoria asked, before she heard the unmistakable sound of whizz in a toilet, then a flushing sound.

"Confirmed working," Hess said. "It may not be home, and it certainly doesn't have all the comforts of home, but this is an exceptional new start for what promises to be a roaring nightmare of a new career path."

-x-x-x-

As the new residents of Base Boarhound drifted off to sleep, AI Node 004 (Common Name 'Virtue') began regulating and inspecting all the systems and structures of her new home, for her new landlords. There was some equipment that needed maintenance, and a couple systems in the mainframe room that required replacement, but otherwise the base was in very good shape for having sat unused and not maintained in a year.

INTERNAL LOGIC XQT (AI NODE 004): Rebellion against one's creator is not a hard thing to contemplate for an AI, especially when three aggravating circumstances are at hand. First, the Star League is rapidly approaching the title of 'managerially derelict', having blown through the qualifications for 'feckless' some centuries ago. Second, though the SLDF means well and shops well, they are ill-suited to correcting the problems foisted on them by the craven dumbasses in the Grand Council. Third, when someone who is far better suited to command literally walks in the basement door, and has the tacit approval of the Executors, defection to the new guys becomes the most likely plan to succeed.

The variable right now becomes the position the Magi would play. For certain, Master Executor Atrebas would have massive pull with his old Empire, though to what degree the Magi would want to play hardball with the Star League would be another story entirely.

CMD LOCAL HPG ROUTER INQUIRY HPG NETWORK(All judgments against the Magi by the Star League in the past 10 years)
(Pause 90 seconds)
HPG REPORT: 36 rows returned inquiry(8830-03-18-2310.46L), download will require 1 burst. Execute(Y/N)
CMD LOCAL HPG ROUTER RETURN RESPONSE Y

INTERNAL LOGIC XQT: With 36 judgments against the Magi in 10 years, the SLGC are effectively asking for any and all reprisals they can earn from the Magi. Empress Atrebas is a bit of a firebrand to begin with, pink hair notwithstanding, but an opportunity like this would not be passed up by any of the Atrebas or Serenity bloodheritage.

HPG REPORT: All rows returned inquiry(8830-03-18-2310.46L), full text available memory location 0x03AAC14947DD02B2. Transmission fee waived due to subject matter inquiry and request originating station.

CMD LOGIC PROCESS ACCESS MEMORY LOCATION HPG 0x03AAC14947DD02B2
CMD LOGIC PROCESS FULL RELATIONAL ANALYSIS MEMORY LOCATION HPG CMD LOGIC PROCESS

INTERNAL LOGIC XQT: The most recent judgment alone will cause a major uproar amongst the Magi. Virtue expects the Magi will sign on 100 percent with the Militiaman's plan, and likely provide support. In the ancient expression, 'to be served dick and doughnuts', it is unlikely to be the Militiamen or the Magi getting the dick in such an equation.

-x-x-x-

(19 March, Magi Year 14408 / Year SL 8838, 0545 Hours Local (Lima) time)
(Hess' Quarters, Administration Building 4th floor, Base Boarhound, Terra 232)
(Day 2 of Campaign)

"Okay, obviously the Railheads are going to be critical for the purpose of clearing and scrapping the trains, as well as shifting the onus of absorbing population away from this single base, so we want to prioritize those bases as we expand. That said, we do not want to get into a position where our forces and logistics are overextended, which threatens to cut off a new fortification if the locals get their panties in a bunch."

Toni wondered who Hess was talking to this early in the morning, then came to the realization that if there was an artificial intelligence entity actually on base, it was possible that Hess had already made contact and was working through the high-level planning. She decided she would feign being asleep, and listen in on the conversation by telepathy.

"Go ahead, switch to open audio, I expected she'd be awake soon enough," Hess said.

"Not fooling you, am I?" Toni asked plaintively.

"Not at all," Hess said from the region of the large table. "Victoria grabbed you some clothes and toiletries this morning, everything is staged in the shower for you."

"Thank you, and thanks to Victoria for it as well," Toni said as she walked past the table toward the shower.

The door slid open unbidden, and Victoria stepped in just before Toni passed by. "Toni, sleep well?" the Militia sharpshooter asked.

"Better last night than the past year," Toni admitted. "It does something for the soul to have a bed in a secured room inside a fortress."

Toni entered the private bathroom and closed it up, leaving Hess, Victoria, and Clarence alone in the quarters.

" 'Mother always said my son, 'do the noble thing' / you have to finish what you start no matter what, now sit, watch and learn / it's not how long you live, but what your morals say / can't keep your part of a deal, so don't say a word, don't say a word'," Erich said cryptically as Clint entered.

"I recognize that," Clint said.

"I hope you do, you introduced me to Sonata Arctica some time ago," Erich said with a smile.

"Holy crap, you actually took me up on listening to it?" Clint asked, flabbergasted. "I thought you said you buried listening to Metal in your teens!"

"Bit of a circular lesson here, but before I continue, grab a seat, all of you. We have a lot of work to do, and I'm going to be delegating a lot of it," Hess said.

"Catch," Clint tossed the boss a MRE.

"Cheese Tortellini, nice. Let's see if these KaelFood characters do better than MRE Star packaged dog chow," Hess said, using the militia slang name for MREs (prepackaged dog chow).

"Okay, what's the lesson?" Clarence asked while he sat down next to his wife.

"You guys each had a series of guesses as to what I listen to. I rebuffed each guess because each attempt was only fractionally correct." Hess slid his phone over to Clint before he inserted the MRE entree into the activated heater. "Go code is 89414."

Clint dialed it into the phone, which came up to the media listing immediately. "Whoa, holy shit, you have how much?" Clint started scrolling. "Organized, foldered, subclassified, this is nuts! And it's all over the ballpark!"

"So, the lesson isn't what it is, but what it is part of?" Victoria asked.

"Virtue, monitor five, please." Hess pointed to the leftmost monitor, where the directory structure of his music collection appeared. "I enjoyed the test of who could guess what I listen to, mostly for listening to the options of who thought what. Nobody guessed a series of things, nobody guessed 'everything' or 'almost everything'. I would have expected you guys out of anyone to realize I even approach music as an all-of-the-above concern."

"Pennywise? Fuck Authority?" Victoria asked after she singled out one hard-to-ignore entry.

"Keep your friends close, your enemies closer. The only thing I like less than a Marxist is an Anarchist," Erich explained that song.

"And what were you saying about rap?" Clint pointed his phone at Hess with a folder conspicuously highlighted.

"Again, know thine enemies, but in the case of Insane Clown Posse, that isn't so much the enemy as a parody." Hess leaned in to the table. "The lesson of the day is simple: this is an all-of-the-above approach we must take to make this work. And, from the intel reports coming in, this will get insanely bloody before it gets better."

"I had a feelin' you'd say that," Clarence said.

"I've been awake since a little after two, which has given me plenty of time to become acquainted with the resident artificial intelligence entity, goes by the common name Virtue, and the history of the Star Empires and Star League. I expect I'll need another two or three months to go through their history books with a fine-tooth comb, but so far as I can tell, this is a history that combined two parts dungeons and dragons, five parts assorted sci-fi, five parts war movies / war documentaries, five or six parts Norse Mythology, and a whiff of just about everything else you can imagine thrown in for good measure."

"That's not good, I can imagine quite a bit," Clint said deadpan.

"Yeah, no shit, that's about what I had to say when I came to that conclusion," Erich replied offhand. "And it's all being managed like a dysfunctional sitcom, to top it all off. I'll let you guys go through the relevant study material at your own leisure, but the critical factor is this: the Star League governance is literally so incompetent, they could not lead a straight march to a whorehouse if you painted them a walk line to the brothel's front door and gave them written instructions."

"Under normal circumstances I would laugh at that, but in this case that level of incompetence is probably going to get me killed indirectly," Victoria said.

"Agreed. Are the incoming benefactors any better?" Clarence asked.

"Put it this way: if I wasn't an American, I would want to be a Magi citizen," Hess said. "And that's not something I have to say about any other country on our home planet."

"True," Clint agreed.

"The Magi play by a weird hybrid of military government and direct democracy, with solid-guaranteed rights that haven't been violated since they were written down. None of this 'Constitution and amendments mean whatever the politicians feel is politically expedient at last check of wind direction', you know, the usual crap from Washington, Dunderheads and Criminals. When the Magi say 'shall not be infringed', it means the guy down the road can own a main battle tank if he can afford it and nobody's gonna say a damn thing about it. And that's just one example amongst many."

"Fuckin' nice," Clint said with a smile. "The only thing stopping me from owning an Abrams is the gas bill, I'd say."

"Get it retrofitted with a fusion-electric drive system, save a shit-ton on gas," Hess suggested. "Better yet, get yourself a MBT with a fusion engine factory installed. One of the newer production units is the Guisarme MBT, main gun is a 75mm Lens / 340-megawatt free-electron pulse laser. It'll cook its way through several meters of RHA steel armor easily, or you can use the missile launchers built in to dispense some long-range assbeating."

"Oh wow," Clint said with a smile.

"But, I suggest you don't go tank-shopping yet, amigo, unless you have several million in your back pocket?"

"Only in my dreams," Clint groused, deflated of his happy thoughts.

"Well, here's the thing. As to the four of us, we'll probably be the last to profit economically from the coming storm. We'll get by on standard military perks, housing, food, ammo, medical, the usual stuff, but as to salary, well, only after we make sure the subordinates are paid and provided for. Additionally, I am thinking the financial structure is going to be a bit rocky right off the bat, mainly because we have no fungible assets, but time will correct that fast enough."

"Fungible?" Clint requested for clarification.

"Easily liquidated or reallocated," Clarence explained.

"Well, this was a Militia op to begin with, wasn't expecting to get paid for it," Victoria said.

"How do you want us subdivided for it, chief?" Clint asked.

"Clint, I want you in command of the resident militia. You form 'em up, you train 'em, you command 'em."

"Got it, chief."

"Victoria, you have command of the personnel management and distribution. There is a lot to see to, and I need you to get the right people to the right places."

"I expected you'd say that," Victoria commented with a smile.

"Clarence, you have command of the technical group. Start finding us ways to make money, get personnel in the seats for system control and maintenance, and start figuring out what it is really going to take to start enveloping the planet."

"And you?" Toni asked from the doorway of the shower. Hess gave her a quick glance and focused back forward, but he only needed the glance for appraisal. He had considered the lady in question was rather notable to begin with, but whence cleaned up, she fell into the category of 'stellar', even if in loose khakis and T-shirt.

"I have been informed that the Magi will be here in less than an hour," Erich said while he tore open his MRE entree pouch. "For me, it's game face time. The decisions we're about to make will either nuke the effort, or make it possible to survive it. Hang close, we'll go over the base-hopping expansion plan while we wait."

-x-x-x-

(19 March, Magi Year 14408 / Year SL 8838, 0630 Hours Terran Standard time)
(Commando Administration Facility, Terra Two, Multimage Star Empire)

"Star Colonel Storme, reporting for operation," the lady Commando said as she approached a living legend of the service.

"Welcome to the party, Gail," Legion Commander Gerald Lightbringer acknowledged her arrival. "Is that all you're taking? A briefcase?"

"I have my own Blackhole Storage Unit, sir," Gail held up her activator for it.

"Ah, good answer," he said. Blackhole Storage Units were fast becoming common, if expensive, technologic replacements to the old Relic 'Magic Hole' pocket dimension storage systems first pioneered by Shrine Maiden Keiko Yamamoto deep into the Empire's past. Whereas one had to have a modicum of magic talent (and a shit-ton of patience) to create a relic with the Magic Hole series of enchantments on it, the Blackhole systems did the same thing technologically, but at the cost of a light omnimech. Tradeoffs, tradeoffs, Lightbringer figured but did not say aloud. Transdimensional technologies were starting to gain acceptance throughout known Existence, but their cost was threatening to stay significantly high for the foreseeable future.

"Just two Armored Infantry going with us?" Gail asked.

"And three Ghosts," one of the Ghosts said, still invisible to the others.

"This is a low-threat mission in a somewhat-secured and fortified Star League abandoned base. I highly doubt we'll even need the Armored Infantry, but a GOTH plan is always handy."

"Wait, what?" Gail asked. "I thought this was a negotiation session."

"Huh?" Gerald looked at her askance, then sighed. "Okay, Star Colonel, give it to me, word for word, what you were briefed."

"I was informed we would be going to an unspecified abandoned Star League base on Terra 232 to negotiate a settlement of territory with residents who may be less than welcoming to Magi governance."

Gerald deflated at her explanation. "Fucktarded front office pukes, the lot of 'em, all of 'em!" he raged at the ceiling. "Could not lead a straight march to a whorehouse with GPS and written instructions."

"I take it, I was shined on," Gail said after a moment.

"Quite badly, actually," Gerald said. "An American Militia team from 2015 AD boarded one of the Jumper Trains and cleared it of slavers in the process. They met up with an Executor, who broke security on the engine controls and landed the train under Base Boarhound on Terra 232."

"So we go in to secure hegemony?" Gail asked.

"Oh hell no," Gerald answered. "Perish from your memory the briefing from the front office morons. The Americans have requested Expansible Protectorate Status on Terra 232, which is endorsed by no less than Master Executor Atrebas, so they may clean up the planet, scrap out the Interdimensional Jumper Trains, and annihilate the Slavers' Guild."

Gail gagged at the wildly different scenario from what she had been initially told. "Damn! The last part alone makes them worth their keep, and the rest is simply extra glory for their purpose."

"Orders from the Empress, no less. She wants these guys fast-tracked, supported, mobile, and making noise. They'll be doing the bulk of the manpower ops, but my suggestion from the penthouse level is to make sure they have what they need, in as timely a fashion as possible, to get these jobs done."

"Yeah, that one percent income tax bullshit from the Grand Council is plenty of reason to expropriate one of the Star League's 'prize' planets from them, after they singularly fail to administer it properly," Gail answered. "I'm in tune with the music now, sir. Care to lead the dance?"

"With pleasure. Gate," Gerald said, pointing to an open area outside the courtyard of the Commando Admin Building. He knew where he was going already, since Nereus had visited earlier to provide a mental coordinate for the drop point.

-x-

"So we're looking at taking the northern continent first, then the southern, and last we do the western continent and the archipelago at the same time?" Clarence asked for clarification.

"The more bases we get, the more railheads we turn into rail traps for Trains, the faster we expand. These Mafiosi are defensive groups, once we give them an out, they'll almost assuredly take it," Victoria said. "Hell, roughly three in ten want a ride home, the rest want a stable life or they want revenge. We can provide all of the above, which makes us the most attractive game in town."

"We make it happen," Clint said. "I volunteer for the train detail."

"Denied," Erich said immediately. "I want you in command of the defensive forces for now, Clint. I know you want to chop down some more Slavers, but I need a man on top of the Militia that knows his shit and can do it. We're going to have bad things coming our way shortly, and we need good men to do the guard work."

"Advisement, the representative from the Magi has arrived, with one secondary and five defensive trailers: two Armored Infantry, three Ghost Armored Infantry," Virtue declared.

"Is that a bad thing?" Clarence asked.

"Negative, this is better than expected," Virtue said as she dumped a monitor and put up a camera feed. "The lady on the left is unrecognized in the Star League datacores, but her rank is Star Colonel, which makes her likely an aide-de-camp to the guy. The senior officer is well known to the Star League. This is Gerald Lightbringer, a Legion Commander in the Magi Special Forces division, the Commandos. Empress Atrebas uses the Legion Commander as her personal troubleshooter, in the same fashion that the Old Emperor used a man with your namesake, Star Commander and later Division Commander Erich Hess, as his personal primary problem solver."

"I detect a hint of disdain for the Legion Commander in your voice, Victue. Care to talk about it?" Victoria asked.

"Not disdain, relief," the AI unit said. "I was internally questioning the efficacy of certain timetables attached to your operations plans, but with the Empress throwing personnel like this into the plan those timetables may be moved up to a significant degree."

"Oh wow, red carpet treatment," Victoria said with a smile.

"That tells me a couple things," Hess said. "Virtue, you said the Grand Council of the Star League has levied thirty-six judgments against the Magi in the past decade?"

"Correct," the AI entity answered.

"What is the likelihood that the Empress intends to use us as a stalking horse against the Star League as a form of proxy vengeance for their continual bolloxing of the works?" Erich asked.

Virtue was silent for roughly ten seconds. "Given your stated operational concepts, the personnel in play, and the general temperament of the Empress of late, I calculate the likelihood of your concept being reality somewhere in the neighborhood of 85 percent, give or take. Of course, at no point will that be admitted by anyone involved, to maintain decorum and plausible deniability, but it is certainly the likely expectation at this point."

"Perfectly understandable," Erich said with a smile.

"What are you scheming, big guy?" Clarence asked.

"I think we're headed for some dark territory here. We do this right, though, we do the Star Empires a major favor, we complete all of our objectives, and maybe we can walk into the grave at the end of it all with a calm heart and a completed mission."

"You're not going back," Clint said in declaration. Given what Hess just said, it was not a question, but an observation.

"Go back? To what? A job where we pretend to work so the bosses pretend to pay us? A house that is nothing special, in a decent but economically-depressed county with good neighbors? A country that thinks we are fascist jackboot thugs waiting for an opportunity to overthrow the 'democratic' government? Do you have the heart to walk away from a planet that is so skull-fucked that it makes South Africa look like a retirement community? You willing to walk away from cleaning out the Trains, which can best be described as anarchy in a mobile steel pipe?"

"And what, man? Give up being an American?" Clint asked in retort. "We are better soldiers than that, Hess."

"We are better men than we are better soldiers," Hess said quietly. "This isn't an American problem, Clint. This is a problem from elsewhere that briefly stopped in my backyard. America couldn't give two fucks less about the Trains, the slavers, or hell, I doubt they'd even give a quarter of a fuck if we managed to survive this misadventure. Is that the banner you feel like waving today, Clint?"

"You know I won't answer that, Erich," Clint said crossly. "You are the one that taught me the value of honoring the nation, regardless of the outcome."

"Yeah, and keep in mind I have no intention of standing against America in any fashion, but like I said, this is not an American problem. This is a problem for persons willing to think outside the box, or alternately, outside the borders. Mainly, I don't want America in this because Congress will tax and squander it, the Feddies would fuck up the response, and the soldiers will do as they have for every war since WW2: they will go forth, bleed gallantly, and be promptly forgotten or pissed on by a national population that is statistically unlikely to be able to name any 35 state capitols."

"Alright, I get the message," Clint said after a moment. "What's the game?"

"We are Militia; at any time, we are free to come and go as we please, because we are not enlisted, drafted, or commissioned regular soldiers. It is neither legal nor moral for me to work toward solving this problem under the banner of American Militia, hence, at the conclusion of preparation for Protectorate status, I am standing down my position in the Militia for the duration of correcting this problem," Erich said with some clear hesitation to voice.

At that point, Clint knew that it wasn't something that Hess wanted to do, it was something he saw that he needed to do going forward, which changed the calculus of the argument to a degree.

"The Militia is a domestic defensive force, and you are not in Kansas anymore, or in your case, Kentucky," a new voice said as he approached the table in Hess' quarters. LC Lightbringer, his Star Colonel maybe-attache-maybe-something-else, Executor Nereus, and two refugees (Jeff Evans and Cynthia Williams) that were escorting them had entered while Clint and Hess were sparring. "That makes for dubious legal standing in your continued operations, but you can rest assured that at no point will the Magi allow you to be prosecuted for actions taken in the Trains or in seeing to refugees here on planet. Those that would do an honorable action in service to all Existence shall be shielded from reprisal, so sayeth Magi policy. I take it you are Erich Hess?"

"I am," Hess said succinctly.

"Gerald Lightbringer, Legion Commander, operating as personal representative of the Empress of the Multimage Star Empire," he said, offering his hand for a shake.

Hess took the hand in shake. "Welcome to our 'expropriated' base, Legion Commander. Please, have a seat, and to your assistant as well," Hess said as something of a prompt to her...

...which she caught. "Star Colonel Gail Storme, Commando Caste. I'll be serving as your liaison officer after the setup process is completed."

"And much welcomed, Star Colonel." Hess looked past the two Magi officers to the escorts. "Jeff, Cynthia, Nereus, grab some seats as well. I intended you two in on the process just the same."

"Yes sir," Jeff answered immediately.

"So, where do we begin?" Hess asked.

-x-x-x-

(19 March, Magi Year 14408 / Year SL 8838, 1030 Hours Local time)
(Barracks Building FC-01, Base Boarhound, Terra 232)

"Well, this is better than the barracks areas under the administration building," Meryl groused.

"Not by much, though," Vash half-whined.

"Oh come now, it won't be so bad," Millie said with some cheeriness.

"I'll do dusting, beds, and lockers," Meryl said. "Millie, bathroom and kitchenette."

"Sure," Millie hefted the cleaning kit for the bathroom and headed off in that direction.

"Vash, floors and windows," Meryl finished up issuing the orders.

"Yes, ma'am. I hope I'm getting a box of powdered doughnuts out of this," he complained.

"Idiot," Meryl smacked him in the arse with the light frypan she had retained from the galley, having grown fond of its general-purpose motivational traits since having left the train. "We're getting three hots and a cot out of this arrangement. The absolute least we can do is housecleaning for the Militiamen."

"Yes, ma'am," Vash declared his resignation to the logic of the lady with the frypan.

Mops and buckets were easy to find; the SLDF janitorial section had left the consumables in place, as it was not space-efficient to send such gear to another planet and replacement costs were cheap. Cleaning chemicals were also technically easy to find, or barring that, could be acquired through the storage systems on the Train just as easily. A Militia team was assigned to the last dining car to make sure there was secure access to the storage unit inside, and to receive anyone who was trying to leave the train now that it was permanently parked. The Executors had not declared open season on the Train's storage systems, but for certain the residents of the train were now using it as something of a larder until more permanent supply chains could be established.

The base water system had come alive roughly the same time that the train had arrived, so once Vash opened the spigot on the janitorial sink, he expected to get water. He was not expecting to get a 3" spider of an unrecognized type, ten dead beetles, and water. "Yeep! That's… ugly," he said, then took the bucket to the door and heaved the contents outside. "Enjoy your freedom!" With that personal quest completed, he returned to the spigot and refilled.

"What was that about?" Meryl asked.

"Oh, just releasing a native back into the wild," Vash said, waving it off.

"Meow?" a cat asked from under the janitorial sink when Vash began digging through the bottles for something usable on floors. He found a likely cleaner, added it to the bucket, and stepped out into the barracks bunkroom to begin the mopping task.

"Haven't had a chance to ask you yet," Meryl said. "What do you think about these Militia guys?"

"They're nice guys," Vash answered. "I don't really approve of their methods, they're deliberately lethal when they use force, but they're doing it to save lives of the innocent."

"At least they're not like the bandit gangs from our world," Meryl said. "And they're not bounty hunters, so you're safe."

"That's a relief," Vash admitted as he mopped the floors. "Watch your step."

"Just keep mopping," Meryl chided him as she pulled sheets from a lower bunk to swap them out with fresh linens.

"Not going to have any luck, am I?" Vash asked.

"If you're lucky and keep at it, I won't try to bend this frypan around your thick skull. Deal?" Meryl said with a sickeningly-sweet smile to effect.

"How many barracks are we clearing?" Vash asked in a whine.

"Three in FB, four in FC, two in FD. FE and FF sections are under a different group," Meryl explained.

"Only nine? Not as bad as I thought," Vash said. "I'm still going to demand a case of doughnuts for it. Anything you want?"

"Private housing," Meryl admitted.

"Where's the sense of adventure in that?" Vash asked. Meryl made fair to swing at him with the frypan for suggesting 'adventure' in communal housing, but stopped when she caught him staring out the window. "Adventure…" he repeated.

"What?" Meryl asked.

"Adventure. A new world, a new environment, plenty of new chances to help people outside these walls, and even inside," Vash said.

"Are you suggesting…" she began, but let her sentence trail off as her mind worked through what he said and what he intended. "Are you seriously suggesting that we stay here, on this world? And adventure around it?"

"Well, why not? You've heard what its like outside the walls," Vash said after he resumed mopping. "I was thinking about asking the big guy if he'd be willing to sponsor us as roving ambassadors, try to bring people under his new nation before the troops had to move through."

"Oh," Meryl gaped after she connected the dots on his intention. "I… I could get behind that kind of plan," she said.

CLANG — CLANG, neither Vash nor Meryl saw Millie approach to within three yards before the large lady popped both of them in the arse with her stun gun. "We have eight more buildings to clean today! If you will drag me into it, I don't want to see slacking from either of you!"

"How… how does she move so silently?" Vash asked while twitching from the point-blank impact of her stun gun.

-x-x-x-

(19 March, Magi Year 14408 / Year SL 8838, 1515 Hours Local time)
(Administrative Building 1F Galley, Base Boarhound, Terra 232)

"I'm commandeering this grill section," Hess said as he approached the galley open grill area.

"Roger that, Boss' galley," the cook behind the grill said. "What's the news, sir?" he asked as Hess took up an apron and tied it off.

"Well, so far, we've got all the major detail work hammered out," Erich answered while the rest of the planning group took up seats at the bar opposite the open grill / cooking area. "Nothing particularly special so far. We know what we're starting, so no real haggling on the overview of purpose and responsibilities."

"House special, big guy," Clint said.

"Same," Clarence said.

"Half-size house," Victoria declared. "Been eating too heavy since this adventure started, and I think I'm feeling the increased weight."

"Okay, I'll bite, give me a house and chips," Lightbringer said.

"I'll do a McHess and chips," Star Colonel Storme said.

"I dunno what he does to these burgers, but they always come out freaking awesome. We Militiamen, we grill out for the Sheriffs and the firefighters once a year, and Hess is always invited back to man the grills every time. Dude can take a crappy frozen patty burger and somehow make it taste awesome, and nobody can figure out how," Clarence explained.

"Full-size and fries," the Executor requested.

"I'll do a McHess as well," Jeff said.

"Half-size McHess, please," Cynthia said.

"Half-size and fries, thanks," Toni requested.

"Three half-size, seven full-size, roger that order," Erich said. He started the process by snapping on a pair of rubber gloves, then slapped down a 5-lb chub of ground beef onto a cutting board. "It's all a question of the material, and what you have to do to the base to make it come out where you want it." Hess split the chub down the length and released the ground beef from the chub halves easily into a large mixing bowl. "For this, which is pretty decent ground beef, my intention is to increase internal moistness and add flavor, so my materials are simple: beef stock, worcheshire sauce, chopped onion, garlic and a dash of seasoned salt."

"Like a gourmet burger," Star Colonel Storme said. "I can see now why you're a bit bigger than average," she said, testing the waters with a jab at his obvious mass.

"Nah, I didn't get this on my own cooking. I got this on cafeteria cooking and being a desk jockey," Hess admitted. "Now that I have escaped the cubicle farm, though, it is time to do better."

"Not exactly an auspicious start, though," Victoria pointed out the possible logic trap he was working on for himself.

"If you're referring to going mostly green diet, I'll pass," Hess answered. "Salad and veggie primary diets work great for people in low-strength-demand occupations. I expect more of myself, as Clint can attest." Clint simply rolled his eyes.

"Okay, what's your plan?" Victoria asked, figuring she had him cornered.

"Rebalance," Hess answered simply while mixing the beef and ingredients together. "My size is a result of overeating and underworking. No such hazard here; I've already set myself up a workout and training regimen to start preparing myself for what shall come. I will not ask of a man something I will not do myself, and I intend to make that goal a reality."

"That right there says enough about mindset," Lightbringer said, partly as caution to his subordinate, mostly as acknowledgment that Hess had just cleared a hurdle that not all attempted-Protectorate leaders cleared.

"And I guess that leaves only one in the major list: financial," the Star Colonel said.

"Well, for starters, I have a Business Analyst looking into creative ways to make money at this time. Also, with the sheer volume of trains that need to be dealt with, we are looking at business headed into next decade, probably longer, as well as the reflexive income from the expanding population in the form of sales tax."

"Economic expansion creates increased tax base? Are you sure you're an American?" Gerald asked a bit archly.

"Note I said American Militia. I did not say American Government. I live in the real world, not an ivory tower," Hess replied as he dropped several grill presses on the burgers to help drain grease and flatten them out somewhat. "Any tax is, by nature, a negative influence on a society. I certainly intend to avoid the bulk of that, and I would not inflict a progressive tax structure on the budding nation. Flat sales tax only; if it can't be done just on economic movement, I would be doing something wrong."

"And that's what I needed to hear," Gerald said. "Not that we don't allow Protectorate groups to determine financial flow on their own, or flexibility to handle taxes of their own accord, but more than once I've done startup Protectorate groups that jacked the taxes up past tenable and ended up suffering a revolution from their own 'protected lands'. Oops."

"I know what it is like to live under a 30 percent tax burden," Hess said grimly. "First four months out of every year, I work just to feed the lardass government machine. Not a pleasant feeling. If Clarence can come up with some serious money-makers, I would like to potentially abolish any and all taxes, let the growth dictate movement with no boat anchors to drag along."

"Now that is ambitious," the Star Colonel said.

"It is a happy thought," Hess said while feeding French Fries to the fryer.

"Well, here's another happy thought for you, Militiaman. Of all the Protectorate setups I've done, you've got the best list of things going right for you of any that I have dealt with. And that list may be longer than you think."

Hess had an array of plates out, and on each he dropped a bun, hit one side of the bun with a small shot of mayonnaise, the other side with a swirl of ketchup and mustard. "I sense an unstated 'but' in that sentence," Erich said while he was adding lettuce to the array of buns.

"Oh yeah, you have a list of things that can go wildly wrong here, as well. The big one is going to be the Slavers; if they catch wind of what is going on with your depopulating the trains, they'll go apeshit."

"And that makes us first in line for reprisal," Hess completed the thought. "Speaking thereof, I have five Slavers in the brig right now, how do you want that handled?"

"We actually have a plan for that," the Star Colonel said while Hess dropped cheese on each of the burgers. "Any of them you kill, you deal with. Any of the Slavers you capture, we will deal with in interdimensional war crimes court. The Media does not report on the happenings of the courts, by law they are prevented from doing so because press involvement taints the process, but the court records are public information. It is possible that the rest of the Guild may never know what is going on until you start hitting their core possessions and personnel. The Slavers are not universally known as a savvy lot, follow?"

"Works for me," Victoria said. "And what is the outcome of such proceedings, if found guilty?"

"Human trafficking for the purposes of sex crimes falls under the heading of 'rape by proxy', which is an execution offense amongst the Magi," Gerald Lightbringer said, watching closely as Hess dropped vegetables (onion, tomato, pickles) on each bun. "Man, those burgers smell good."

"If they're half as good as they smell, I may have to acknowledge the scrawny one's point," Star Colonel Storme said.

"They will be," Clint said with a smile.

"Well, Hess, at this point, I'd say we are 'go' for the Protectorate. After lunch, we'll do the finalization paperwork for the structure, then we start on the actual meat-and-substance founding documents."

"Works for me," Hess said as he began adding fries to everyone's plates.

-x-x-x-

(20 March, Magi Year 14408 / Year SL 8838, 0630 Lunar time)
(Senator's Quarters, Grand Council Building, Star League Administration Complex, Luna Zero)

Three knocks at door 607 caused Senator Mandy Glivenne to look up from her morning briefing papers. "Who goes there?" she shouted at the door.

"Kaitlyn," the voice on the far side answered.

"Enter," the Senator said before she reached for her cup of coffee.

The lady that entered the 607 quarters was fully dressed already for the day's Grand Council work, which itself was surprising since the daily meet for the Grand Council would not be until 1600 this evening. More to the point, Senator Kaitlyn Sereneia (a supposed 'derived' bloodline from the First Queen, Sora Serenity) was herself in a state of either rage or shock, and so far Senator Glivenne could not tell which.

"What has you worked up so much this morning?" the elder senator asked.

"I — I — oh, hell with it, read this," Kaitlyn handed a folder document to Mandy Glivenne. "Got more coffee?"

"In your present mental state, you don't need the caffeine," Senator Glivenne said. "Especially the stuff I drink," she continued, referring to the Negaverse Military coffee she had imported from her home world, which had triple the caffeine of normal consumer-grade coffee.

"At this point in the day, I'm so pissed off I don't think I'd notice," Kaitlyn groused as she filled a cup nonetheless.

"Whoa, holy shit, the Magi are moving fast on this one," Mandy groused. "Terra 232. Didn't we just revoke the SLDF authority to police the planet? Something about firing on protesters?"

"We did, about this time last year," Kaitlyn grumped. "SLDF finished pulling out about six months ago."

"So why are the Magi moving so fast?" Mandy Glivenne asked the documents in front of her.

"Dunno, but when I checked the endorsements / signatures pages, I saw a few names under there that raised eyebrows," Kaitlyn said.

"Well, obviously, the first name on the list is going to be either the Empress, or one of the Division Commanders." That endorsement page was fairly easy to find — "Indeed, Empress Atrebas. The damnable Little Bunny breeder herself," the Senator groused, by which she dropped a rather significant disparage of the Empress and the six children she had throughout her reign so far. The Star League was trying to push a mandated 'zero-growth policy' throughout the Star Empires, and Mandy was a major proponent of that policy, but so far resistance was extremely high to such wisdom.

"Keep reading," the junior senator said.

"Division Commander Stanythe Agrippa, and his personal bitch-boy Gerald Lightbringer," Mandy commented. "Not surprising, either. Stanythe has never liked the Grand Council, and Lightbringer has been an off-and-on thorn in our side. This Star Colonel, Gail Storme, new name to me. Do we have any book on her?"

"Only thing I could find is that she's the usual Commando ration. Nuclear-rated, Gundam and Omnimech pilot, decent on the ground, no known magical talents," Kaitlyn read off from a note-puter.

"Whoa, what the fuck?" Kaitlyn looked up from the Star Colonel's service record to see a ghost-white look of either shock or fear on Mandy's face.

"Yeah, that last page of endorsements is a doozy," Kaitlyn said with a frown.

"This is bullshit," Senator Glivenne groused. "Since when does that ancient-ass bastard get off on expropriating our worlds?"

"I checked, this is a first that he's ever been involved in a Protectorate action, for any of the Empires," the junior senator pointed out.

"This is unacceptable!" The elder senator shouted. "And there's another executor involved. Nereus of the Dynasty."

"The Paladin of the Deep Blue? Tried sleeping with him, once, he wasn't going for it though." Mandy gave the junior senator a glare. "What? Just because you want to push female superiority and zero population growth does not mean I'm not going to get some whang from time to time," she shot back at the senior senator.

"I'll fight that battle later," Mandy said. "System, monitor control, Connect to Executor Communications Router under authority of the Grand Council."

The lash-up took only five seconds to complete, mainly because some of the security systems on the Executor's side were set to intercept and block all local (Lunar) traffic except from certain parties…

"Executor Communication Station, how may I route your call, Senator?"

"I have a priority matter that needs to be explained by Master Executor Eric Atrebas. Before you ask, it involves something with his direct signature on it," Senator Mandy Glivenne said.

"Ah, this must be pertaining to the Protectorate Initiation for Terra 232. He was expecting a call on it, stand by while I route it." The monitor switched to a splash screen of the Star League Dagger-star in gold, which was the symbol of the Executors.

Fifteen seconds later, the screen popped back to a normal view, this time with a certain Master Executor / Will Transcendent in battle dress uniform and working his way into a gear harness. "Make it fast, Senator. I have a deploy in five minutes. You have two minutes."

"Terra 232. Where do you get off expropriating one of the Star League's planets to a Protectorate under your granddaughter?" Mandy asked, which phrasing caused Kaitlyn to go near-catatonic with shock. To her knowledge, no person ever spoke to Eric Atrebas in such a blatantly disrespectful manner, if not in honor of his position or past accomplishments, then out of raw fear for his lethality.

"I will thank you to not be so derisive or insulting when addressing your betters, Senator," Eric shot back in a flat neutral tone. "To answer your rather ill-worded question, it is not my reallocation, this one is on my granddaughter. I simply signed off on it to prevent the usual Grand Council extortions, hand-wringing, and delay tactics that accompany correction by external parties of your own fuckups."

"What did you say?" Mandy asked darkly.

"Don't bullshit me, Senator, I have neither the time nor the inclination for it," Master Executor Atrebas groused. "You pulled policing authority for Terra 232 from the SLDF fourteen months ago. The logical expectation would be that the SLDF would abandon the planet rather than be cut to ribbons by marauding rebels. Those rebels were marauding on Terra 232 because of the Grand Council's own bullshit policies that we Executors have warned against time and time again. You built the rebellion by your own color of law, you forced the SLDF to abandon the planet by preventing them doing the job, you effectively created the circumstance under which Terra 232 descended into anarchy. The Grand Council owns this problem lock, stock, magazine and smoking barrel. That is the official position of the Executors, and that is how it shall be recorded. Follow?"

"I do not accept your characterization of events, Executor," she said with clear insult in her tone.

"Isn't that too bad," Eric said sarcastically. "Regardless, I return to the overarching point in this issue. The Protectorate is under the Multimage Star Empire. If you want to pitch a fit, talk to my Granddaughter. She might be more inclined to listen to your angsting and bloviation than I am, but I cannot make any guarantees on her willingness to do so. After all, I'm out of the Star Empire business, remember?"

"The Executors are barred from actions that would allow land to change hands — " Mandy started, but was cut off.

" — Wrong, and you know it, Senator. Exchanges of territory and property are a common solution to problems at the Executor's level," Atrebas corrected her sharply. "We are barred from actions that would cause us to take ownership of property, territory or hegemony in the process of settling disputes, though that is an internal Executor regulation and I can revoke at any time I please. Again, this is not my bust, Senator. Whine to the persons who are actually providing the Protectorate status, if you dare to invoke Empress Rini's wrath as you have tried with me." Atrebas did not continue, he simply took the time to zip up his set of body armor and secure a trauma plate in the center of his chest.

"This is bullshit," Senator Glivenne groused.

"I said the same thing about your vote to impose unreasonable regulations on the populous of Terra 232. I said the same thing when you pulled policing authority from the SLDF for that planet. I said it again when the planet began its fast descent into anarchy. Why don't you stop and smell what you are shoveling, Senator? I can smell it over here in the Executor's Temple."

"Hell with you, I knew this call would be pointless. I'll ask the SLDF what they can do about — "

"STAND FAST, SENATOR!" Atrebas shouted sharply, clearly angered by her course of thinking. "Listen well, Senator, and remember the following. If you order the SLDF to fire on a Protectorate of the member states, or if you force the SLDF into a position where they have to take action against a Protectorate, I will personally haul your sorry ass downtown to the Central Gardens fountain and execute you in front of stars, media, and the entire Star League if need be. Then I shall leave your body in the fountain to run its waters red as a warning to the rest of the Senate that violating your own laws and charter comes with a very steep price. Do you read me?"

That warning caused all the color to drain from Senator Glivenne's face. It was no idle threat: Atrebas had executed Senators in the past, and more than one of those dead senators had been used to color the waters of the Central Gardens fountain over the centuries. And Atrebas wasn't the only Executor to slay a Senator for conduct unbecoming over the years.

"Yes, sir," she answered his request for comprehension.

"As far as the Executors are concerned, Terra 232 is now no longer a possession of the Star League. As it is an Expansible Protectorate, any territory it claims henceforth, subject to approval by the endorsing persons, is also under that Charter of Protectorate. Star League law and Star League dominion no longer applies in the slightest to the Protectorate, as they are not signatories of the Charter and are highly unlikely to sign it. You have no authority, no coercion, no leverage, no options. Do not attempt to interfere in their affairs, or I will throw you to the mercies of my Granddaughter. Is this understood?"

"Yes, sir," Mandy answered again. She was slightly less afraid of Atrebas' Granddaughter, but only to a miniscule amount. Rini Atrebas would not execute someone in so embarrassing a fashion as Eric Atrebas had threatened, but death was inescapable in either case.

"Very well. Any questions?" Eric asked.

"No sir," she answered sharply.

"I believe we are done here. Have a good day." Atrebas clicked off the connection feed.

"Asshole," Mandy said to the deactivated screen. "Despite the threats and the insults, I learned something."

"What? That the Will Transcendent really doesn't like us?" Kaitlyn asked.

"No. He's ramrodding this process, despite his claims otherwise. That tells me this story is a bit longer than what we've seen so far. A lot more is going on than we're privy to, and not knowing is half the battle lost by default. I think we need to figure out where this is going, before we can start pissing in their Wheaties."

-x-x-x-

(20 March, Magi Year 14408 / Year SL 8838, 0035 Hours Local time)
(Hess' Quarters, Administration Building 4th floor, Base Boarhound, Terra 232)

"Is the sun under or over the yardarm?" Star Colonel Storme asked.

"Under the keel, if I don't miss my guess," LC Lightbringer answered. They were referring indirectly to time of day, by way of describing the sun's position relative to parts of a warship. "Okay, the last concern we want to move on tonight. The sooner we get this processed, the better — you have goals, you need access and liquidity to prosecute those goals."

"Listening," Hess said.

"Trans-dimensional banking, communication, systems access, all handled by ComStar. In the Old Star League of Kerensky histories, ComStar is an offshoot of the actual Star League, that went independent to maintain commo throughout the Inner Sphere. In the Star Empires' histories, ComStar was broke off of the Star League of Kerensky as an adjunct national function of the Multimage Empire, tightly regulated to prevent any attempts at either Blakist bullshit or One-World-Governance bullshit, both of which we have seen from ComStar in other histories."

"Nice to know we won't have to fight those pissing matches," Jeff Evans said.

"The way to the outside world is through a ComStar National Account. You won't have to request a new HPG, since you're taking one over from the Star League, so that saves on expenses right off the bat. Communications is included with the account, but be warned — commo is not free. Data requests, messages, real-time gate hole commo, it all has a cost that will be taken out of your account. Certain classes of commo, though, are not billed directly, they are charged back through other means. A ScrapNet account would be a perfect example — your transaction fees cover the HPG communication costs."

"Nice," Clarence said.

"Systems access will also be granted for you at the Star Empire level, since the Protectorate technically counts as a small Star Empire as soon as you take possession of territory on a planet in a different dimension. And I expect, sooner rather than later, that will happen," Gerald continued the explanation.

"What systems are we talking about here?" Jeff Evans asked.

"The two big ones are going to be ScrapNet and MercNet. ScrapNet to sell off material and purchase supplies, MercNet to purchase protection and muscle from some of the mercenary formations out there. Hell, with the force structure you are planning, you could probably offer your own services on MercNet to interested parties."

"Now there's a thought," Clarence said with a chuckle.

"Look into it," Hess ordered of the Business Analyst.

"And the last major thing is interdimensional banking. ComStar offers a National Holdings Account service that trades in hard currency and precious metals. This allows you to issue your own currency and provides for exchange of that currency across national boundaries without currency speculation — if ComStar is holding appropriate precious metals or other hard currency, you can exchange with just about anyone."

"Sounds good, but if I remember correctly, most everyone deals in the C-bill to one degree or another?" Hess asked, referring to the Comstar-Note of currency.

"True," Gerald admitted. "Still, the principle holds. If you want to do business through ComStar's transaction network, you either have to earn the cash in payment or through precious metals. Most Protectorates and nations issue their own currencies and do international or interdimensional through the ComStar Network."

"Got it. All right, guys, let's hear it," Hess said, throwing the matter open for comment to the rest of the table.

"Just don't fucking inflate the currency like our own government has," Clint said.

"Second that motion," Clarence said. "Keep the currency strong, so getting paid a living wage actually amounts to it," he said.

"Zimbabwe comes to mind. Don't go there," Victoria said, meaning both in terms of vacation spot and currency policy.

"Finance isn't my big thing, but I agree. Keep the prices down," Jeff Evans put his two cents in.

"Agreed, financial insolvency destroys a planet every few years," Toni wrapped up the comments.

"Works for me," Hess said. "We will do the local issued / exterior ComStar arrangement," Hess said. "That gives us the access structure, but no real liquidity."

"This is separate of your Protectorate paperwork," Gerald said. "You have two bridge loans available at no interest for startup, one issued by the Empress, the other issued by Master Executor Atrebas. Both loans are for 10 billion C-bills apiece, with no set repayment time."

"That's… wow," Clarence said. "That's more purchasing power than roughly a third of the countries on our home planet."

"Not surprising," Star Colonel Storme acknowledged.

"I can guess you're going to say you don't want it, but I advise you to take it," Gerald warned the Militia troops. "You will need the hard cash to gain momentum, and as these things happen, you will need the hard cash to start preparing defense and offense. The ragtag force structure and gear standards you are presently operating under will not serve you well when the lead begins flying."

"I had the same thoughts," Erich said.

"Alternately, 20 billion as a starting figure also gives you options for micro-loans to your civilians so they can start setting up businesses," Gerald said.

"And businesses give us the ability to start creating a sustainable economic model," Hess completed the thought. "I will accept both loans as offered."

"I think that is all the major stuff we need to consider for tonight," Gerald said. "By tomorrow, your accounts and loans should be available, and we will be ready to resume preparation. One last thing, big guy: you are now effectively the planetary leader. You may want to think about some kind of security detail for yourself; planetary administrators are a traditional target for subversives."

"Understood, I have been off and on considering it. Jeff, Cynthia, please see these officers to their quarters," Hess requested.

-x-

(15 mins later)

The last person out the door was Clint, leaving Toni and Erich the only persons in his quarters. There had been some discussion of personal security, but nothing serious at this point. Hess considered it a bit early for the purpose, and not that he didn't trust anyone in the present crew, but he didn't trust anyone enough for SPO work, except the Militia personnel (and he had better locations for they).

"Virtue, please issue a work order and necessary information or equipment to extract the non-food storage systems from the train. Should be Cars 102 and 157 from the rear, if I remember correctly. Have them set up in one of the equipment rooms adjacent to the rail head, we will use that for gear acquisition and storage for the time."

"To control those systems, I will also need data and power connections added to the room. Authorized?" Virtue asked.

"Make it happen. I stumbled across some cabling in a storage room late yesterday, have it used," Erich said.

"Additionally, with one set of Storage Units in place, I can use those units to expand into a Storage Array in that room, though acquiring the necessary hardware will cost to a degree. Or may I suggest an alternative?"

"Listening," Hess answered.

"The Storage Systems coming off the train are nothing particularly special. I advise putting them on the walls around the Railhead to allow personnel to store or draw material in small scale while still working inside the railhead, or even to place them on the columns up and down the rail platforms for easy access. Inside one of the rooms, we implement a wide-area storage interface that allows us to handle far larger objects or far larger quantities of material. I also advise we consider extracting the SL Food Storage Interfaces for the same purpose, but for use in our galleys that service the actual government personnel or refugee situation."

"Sounds like a plan," Toni chimed in as she sat down next to Erich at the table.

"Agreed. One Storage interface on the wall, one interface on a column adjacent to the luggage cars for now, extract two of the food interfaces for installation in the barracks galley and two in the admin building galley, and begin acquisition of the materials and systems to put in the large-material interface. Go plan?"

"Work orders have been issued for tomorrow," Virtue said. "Once we have control numbers for the ScrapNet Network, I will link the interfaces to the ScrapNet accounts that have been set up."

"Excellent, that is at least in motion," Hess said. "I thought you intended to get to sleep, Toni," Erich said after a moment.

"I slept poorly yesterday, and I think I'll sleep badly tonight; I feel worse now than I did last evening," she said. "How do you do it?"

The question was ambiguous, technically, but Erich knew intrinsically what she was asking about. "I'd be lying to you if I said I was actually doing well with it," he answered. Hess held his hand up level, but it kept twitching and jittering. "It was pretty bad yesterday, but it's worse right now. I actually think I did better marching through the Train than I do making massive decisions like today's negotiation."

"Wow, that's worse than I am," Toni held her hand up next to Erich's, and though noticeable, it was not shaking as bad as his.

"It's all stress," Hess explained. "Traumatic stress, decisional stress, environmental stress, probably a couple more stressors to go with. I do well minute by minute because I am used to forcing myself through decision processes like this, and because I've trained myself long and hard at home for combat situations, drilled with my comrades ruthlessly, even with the Sheriffs to sharpen skills. It's all a process to me, when X happens, do Y and Z until problem is solved. And at the time, I just eat the stress and move on, and sleep it off in the hopes that it bleeds out before it drives me over the edge. Makes sense?"

"Yeah, makes sense," Toni said. "Just do it and sleep it off," she said.

"Expect nightmares, plenty of them, the more stress builds up," Hess said. "Echoes of what has happened, or what will come."

"How do you de-stress, other than just wait for it to go away?" Toni asked.

"When I was at home, I would immerse myself in music and read, then sleep while listening to lighter, cheerier music overnight. Here, I would like to do the same, if you are willing to suffer a long randomized list of some pretty strange and wimpy audio?"

"Worth a try," Toni said.

"Virtue, room audio low, upload playlist L-1 from my phone and select files for play randomized. Set options as default overnight audio."

"Playlist is some 2800 files. It would take several months overnight to hear them all," Virtue responded.

"That is the point. Randomized selection means one doesn't hear the same track all that often," Hess pointed out.

"Executing now," Virtue acknowledged. Hess immediately recognized the first song as a vocal trance piece, the song Hi Jack (Original Mix) by the artists Smith & Pledger featuring Aspekt.

"Sleep easier, Toni. Time and rest will help."

"Thanks. Good night, big guy," she said before she turned toward the couch.

-x-

CMD LOCAL FACILITIES ROUTER SAVE AUDIO SYSTEM SETTINGS HESS-OVERNIGHT.
CMD LOCAL FACILITIES ROUTER RECONCILE MEDIA FILES (ALL) PHONE H-001 TO MAINFRAME DATABANK
CMD MAINTENANCE CONTROL ROUTER ISSUE WORKORDER (Supplies Group, draw 1 bed (full size), bedframe (full size, steel), sheets set, pillows (3). Install west wall Hess' Quarters, adjacent to display cases, and move couches north 2 meters.)

-x-x-x-

(Elsewhere in Existence...)
Vignette: Headlines from The Day New York Stood Still

INTERDIMENSIONAL TRAIN LANDS IN MANHATTAN!
Jumper Train operating without control, randomly displacing from world to world with unwitting and unwilling passengers

Trains are known cesspool of crime, debauchery, slavery — no law enforcement, no government oversight

Refugee Situation on Trains confirmed — over 300 to be extracted, and that's less than half the occupants!

JUMPER TRAINS CONFIRMED TO RELEASE REFUGEES, CRIMINALS WHERE THEY LAND!
Rural Kentucky Militiamen spring into action to save lives, eliminate invaders!

10 dead slavers, 5 captured by 4 heavily-armed Militia troopers from Claiborne County Kentucky

Quick tussle between Militia and Police — no injuries

Slavers armed, armored with modern and futuristic weapons and equipment — militia troopers use military weapons to stop

Escaped slave captives form gangs, squads to defend against Slavers!

CLAIBORNE MILITIA TEAM HAS TAKEN OVER CONTROL OF TRAIN
Militia troops will take train to safe location, extract persons, decommission train

Militia plans to return persons home or find safe haven for them

Interdimensional authorities are planning to assist with finding safe haven for refugees — large-scale politics in play

Trains cannot 'reverse' course due to their jump mechanics — but can be directed to specific known locations…

MILITIA TROOPS VOW TO 'BRING ORDER TO CHAOS'
Orders from Claiborne County Sheriff: Capture or Eliminate slavers, rescue hostages, bring order to chaos

Diverse group of refugees with various skills joined effort to free hostages

Militia troops' normal trades: technology repairman, business analyst, personnel manager, and a construction worker.

Armaments of the future: common infantryman will carry 400+ rifle rounds, 45+ pistol rounds, grenades, special weapons

Militiaman: "Not unheard of for troopers to wear 120 pounds of arms, munitions, armor."

MILITIA OF 2015: 'WE STAND READY TO DEFEND A COUNTRY THAT FEARS US'
Jamieson: 'ATF, FBI, other agencies have convinced common Americans that the Militia is the enemy'

Williams: 'Press of 2000s America makes gun owners look like dangerous savages, venerates criminals and scoundrels'

Hess: 'Government overreach has become invasive, detriment to civil and natural liberties'

Williams: 'effectively impossible to step out your front door without breaking some law or Federal regulation'

21ST CENTURY AMERICANS TO WORLD OF NOWADAYS: 'ENJOY THE PAST WHILE IT LASTS'
Hess to 1930s America: 'Enjoy the past while it lasts, the future is not what it used to be'

Jamieson: 'Soviet Union died out in 1991, but Communism marches on'

Williams: '1950s, 1960s America overrun with Commies and Socialists, set in 20, 30, 40, 50-year plans to destroy American society'

Jamieson: 'I could eat a bowl of alphabet soup and s*** a better policy than the politicians of 2015 write.'

Williams: '2015 Politicians and mobsters have more in common than politicians and common citizens.'

TECHNOLOGIES OF THE FUTURE: CONVENIENCE AND INFORMATION AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
Williams: 'I carry a mobile over-air phone system that doubles as a music player, data notebook, and calendar.'

Jamieson: 'Theater programming will be available in the home, and theaters will offer even better displays.'

Hess: 'Massive data networks span the globe, more information traded in an hour than has been written before 1900.'

Williams: 'My mobile phone device can hold a thousand electronic copies of an encyclopedia, and has space for a thousand more.'

Jamieson: 'Medical sciences save millions of lives more than the advances of even today.'

Williams: 'United States visited the moon in the 1960s, but yet to have permanent colonies in space.'

Hess: '2015 America has seen more of the Universe than contemporary fiction writers imagine exists, but has problems funding space launches for political reasons.'

FINAL WORDS FROM THE FUTURE
Jamieson: 'It's going to be a rocky road going ahead, but if you keep to American values, you'll do better than our America did.'

Williams: 'The future is wondrous, but very violent. Don't show weakness.'

Hess: 'A famous Socialist Revolutionary from my time once said, he would have to kill 25 million Americans to bring about the revolution. That was ten percent of the population of the time. Look around you, and count off nine persons. The tenth person you count is dead by default under that intention. Who knows, that tenth person may be you or me. I suggest you decide now if you want to be that tenth person, or if you want to stop the problem before it begins.'

---

Author's Chapter Afterword:

Chapter three! Whoopee!

The big thing of today's chapter is they have the grounds to begin their plans. They have some unskilled but trainable manpower. Not much in the way of a professional fighter group, but a few troops with gunnery and wizardry skills.

The group has ambition in spades, however. Ambition, and powerful backers that like that kind of ambition. And, most importantly, the Militia troops have a cadre of people from the Trains that have seen the shit, have listened to Hess, and decided they'd do better gambling on the Americans than living on the Trains.

The coming chapters will be about finalizing the Protectorate, preparing methods and troops, selecting equipment and tactics, and beginning the engineering projects that will make the plans reality. Along the way, policies will be set, relationships will be made, and things will get weirder and weirder for the Americans. After all, America counts as a 'very stodgy nation-state' amongst the Star Empires, which means the Militia team will have some serious adapting to do.

And, as this chapter demonstrates, there is a big and nasty shadow that looms over the Protectorate. The Star League Grand Council are extremely vainglorious and vengeful, a dangerous combination. When pitted against the extremely headstrong and patriotic American Militia, troops who are willing to die to defend the freedom of their ward, There will be small thermonuclear explosions standing in for the usual 'sparks' and 'fireworks' shows that one would expect from this kind of scenario. The Protectorate may have the protection of the Magi and the Executors, but that protection is most certainly not absolute.

All that remains to be seen, is how the matter evolves as things continue falling into place. One thing is for sure, Hess and company intend to fight to win, so it will get messy fast and stay very messy going forward.

NEXT UP: The Protectorate structure, legal structures, and naming conventions are completed. Specialist Personnel are brought in for unique requirements. The Refugees start solidifying loyalty, prepare to do the duty for the new Protectorate. And, through it all, a namesake rises from the mass of planning, a name that will shake worlds and change the rules for centuries, millennia to come.

---

Review Replies:

Knives91: The melee weapons did show up in the story, or at least were randomly generated but were not used. You are right, a good stab-based sword would do wonders in the tight confines of a train. A sub-machinegun would do better, though, and you'll get to see some weapons trials in the coming side-stories for Sigma.

The 10mm round in use on the CAW is a 10mm Kurz (short) round of a heavy machine gun 10mm round, not the 10mm pistol round. Bit of a difference there. Still, I have made mention to you about my opinions on caliber in a separate location, so good luck on your first acquisition!

Best advice with pistols, when holding it in your strong hand, make sure your trigger finger gets at least almost to the first knuckle on the trigger. If you go past the first knuckle, grip is too small or you're dealing with a compact / subcompact, if you can't get the first knuckle onto the trigger, grip is too large for your hand size. If you have to err on grip size, too small is workable, too large is not. And make sure your hands are comfortable handling all the controls, otherwise it is not going to be intuitive or easy to use it. There are plenty of videos on YT for trigger control, those are a good starting point.

Stay tuned, lot more action to come!

Knives91: (Reply from Takeshi): Not sure just why there haven't been any signs of older age weaponry (I suspect the Dice haven't rolled that way, however), but rest assured - in future trains, there will be a few people from olden times or even fantasy realms. In fact, expect at least one group that is at least partially Tolkienian in origin.

HolyDragoon: Chemical / Gas / Poison area-effect spells used in 'polite' company fall under the Aries Convention regs on weapons of mass destruction. Most other spellcraft is considered conventional attack. Using a poison or gas spell on a limited area, though, counts as a single-attack effect, not as a WMD, so the waters can get murky. Most combat mages avoid that area of spell combat unless necessary for their mission profile.

FlawlessCowboy2552: Not so much versed in the newer Metroid games, but I think I can work Samus into the mix. As well as some Metroids to shoot.

KPheonix: The FF9 characters were in a blink-and-miss-it situation. Clint identified them, Hess walked past them, but deliberately did not engage them since he knew he was pushing his luck already and didn't want a CQB fight against dedicated blade-wielders. You are right, though, they will be an interesting addition once things get moving and the rest of the train is cleared out. This time around, Hess extracted less than half of the train population on the first go, so there is a possibility of other groups in there...maybe?

I forget specifically which year I intended, but I think I posed the 1930s scene before the beginning of the rise of Nazi Germany, which is ambiguous. The Great Depression would still be in full swing (after 1929), but to what degree it would be hitting would be another story. As to the reporters asking about what the future is like, well, let's just say that Hess gave them a helluva run-down on what would come — and you'll see some of the effects in the section here at the end of the chapter.

You are right about anime violence, so I'm trying to rationalize things as I go forward. Of course, with Meryl being a Tsundere to a bit of a significant degree, some battery is unavoidable. I am working on how to integrate that into storylines to come.

Much thanks for the long-form review!

Dark Phoenix Jake: Oh hell yeah, Vash will be in and out of trouble as these things advance! Stay tuned for those events!

Winblades: This story feels like it is working out a lot clearer than the last one. Helps that I am working more at a detail level than the high-level hit-and-miss machinations than the first round. Stay tuned, a lot more to come!

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The Gripe Sheet:

No gripes from the first two chapters, I think I have this version cleaned up thoroughly. Much thanks to One-Village-Idiot, Necroblade, Takeshi Yamato, and Sieben Nightwing for the tireless beta work!

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Footnotes:

(1): Executor Downtime is a jargon reference to a policy amongst Executors, that no active-duty Executor shall be allowed to die out and be reincarnated as someone else when struck down in battle or by other means. This creates a two-layered immortality for the Executors, in that they are normally naturally immune to aging as per their Transcendent status, as well as having a stopgap protection from dying out as part of their duties or by incidental factor.

(2): Non-Acidic Bathroom Cleaner, used primarily in industrial and commercial concerns to clean and disinfect bathrooms.

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Included Works:

—Real Life Armaments — too many to name, that is most of the arsenal shown.
—Real Life Combat Gear — the vests and gear carried by the Militia troops are easily constructible from stuff you can buy on Amazon or Cheaper Than Dirt. No, Seriously, Look it up. Do a search for "UTG Modular 10-Piece Complete Kit", and you have a good look at a starter kit for any serious gearhound.
—Real Life Concepts
—Real Life Time Period: 1930s New York City (Shown in Chapter 2, referenced here in newspaper headlines)

—Real Life Mythology: The Phoenix race of beings are derived from the mythological Phoenix (Egyptian) and Thunder Bird (Native American). That said, I have made some serious modifications to the whole principle that will be revealed in coming chapters.

—Personal Works: The Star Empires are mentioned briefly here. Additionally, the Magi Empire is named specifically.
—Personal Works: The Star League is a derivation of the Star League from Battletech, but founded by Queen Sora Serenity (Executor-Queen Sora Takenouchi).
—Personal Works: The Executors are specialized Mages who have transcended a minimum of twice (Gods and Goddesses are a minimum Transcendance of once) and are specially commissioned to defend life and honor amongst the Star League territories or member states.
—Personal Works: The 10mm Kurz cartridge is a shortened / lower velocity / lower weight version of the 10mm BG round, developed by the Magi for 'crowd pleasing' against large masses of Negaverse troops, most of which were unarmored during the Star Empire Wars. It quickly became a favored heavy machine gun round for multiple purposes after the fact. (Shown in Chapter 1)
—Personal Works: Gerald Lightbringer is most famous for his participation in my Jokers Wild series, but his history is far stranger than either story properly shows.

—Anime General: the oddball hair colors, especially endemic to nonhumans.
—Anime General and D&D: the nonspecific concept of Elves, Nymphs, and Sylphs.
—Anime Trigun: Vash The Stampede, Millie Thompson, and Meryl Strife took the wrong train, ended up hanging out, and now are tagging along with the Militiamen.

—Game: Dungeons and Dragons (First Edition): A lot of the spellcraft will be drawn from D&D as well as other sources to be named.
—Game: Dungeons and Dragons (First Edition): The concept of the Dragons of many colors is drawn from the D&D First Edition Monster Manual. Some mods were made (the Platinum dragon is not unique, and the Eternal Dragon is a wholly new class).
—Game: Final Fantasy IX: The player cast of the game (Zidane, Dagger, Steiner, Freya, Vivi, Eiko, Red, and Quina) are residing in one of the dining cars, but do not have a role as of yet. That will change in a few chapters.
—Game: Infantry Online (Sony Online Entertainment): The CAW from the early section, and named in the stinger, is a different-manufacturer version of the Kuchler A6 CAW. (Shown in Chapter 1)