Chapter 10

Blue Moon Motel, Eselex,
Callone VI, Federated Suns,
September 15, 3078

Checking into a motel with a hostage was not a simple task, especially when the hostage was Rebecca Ghalan. She was the duchess of Callone VI, and she commanded an elite mercenary unit. The Hansen's Roughriders must have put their spies on every corner of Callone VI, and one wrong movement could reveal her position. Extra measures had to be taken so that nobody, absolutely nobody, became suspicious of her whereabouts.

But Kyle and Samantha Goyua knew just what needed to be done to pull it off without alerting the motel reservationist or their neighbors. Samantha was a sniper, so she knew how to move without being noticed, even in plain sight. Kyle was not particularly in the sniping business but years of living with Samantha injected the skill into his blood. Although it was not natural for him, he could do it just as fluently as his wife.

The mercenary couple put Rebecca in a chair and restrained behind her back. Her ankles were tied to the legs. It was a very uncomfortable sitting position, and Kyle made sure it was so for Rebecca. But so far Rebecca showed an admirable resistance against the mild torture, so much that Samantha started to lose her patience.

"You are not getting anything out of this," Rebecca sneered between her mirth. "Sooner or later the Hansen's Roughriders will find you."

"But until then you just have to endure this," Samantha replied. "Both of us know that you'll break before then."

"I am the Duchess of Callone VI!" Rebecca roared. "I am not to be treated this way!"

"And you will not if you just give us the blueprint of the Cleaver battlemechs," Kyle answered. "For all we concern, it will not affect your sovereignty or your throne. You can't produce the Cleaver since the Ghalan manufacturing plant had been destroyed during the civil war. You can't sell it because nobody will wield it for fear of Devlin Stone. Might as well give it to us."

"The Cleaver is the flagship of my family," Rebecca panted. "Do you suppose I should just give it to you?"

"A purchase, then?" Kyle tried to negotiate. "We'll buy it for a reasonable price. Don't expect too much, but you can guarantee that no other mercenary unit will buy it from you. We are your only customer in the entire Inner Sphere."

"I will not negotiate under hostage situation," Rebecca tried to sneak her way into freedom. "If you want to negotiate a purchase, do it in a neutral ground. Let me go first."

"We will as soon as we see the blueprint," Samantha added.

Indeed it was a tough situation for Rebecca. She cursed her inexperience in dealing with the Roughriders, thinking that a mercenary unit with their reputation would not do such a low misconduct. Had she not blinded by vengeance and illusion of grandeur, she would still have had the Cleaver and the blueprint, and negotiated a better deal with better mercenary units like the Kell Hounds or Wolf Dragoons. Or at least she could buy her freedom off this hostage situation.

"You don't have it, do you?" Kyle caught Rebecca's expression and correctly guessed the situation.

Rebecca sighed exasperately. "No. I traded it as a down payment with the Roughriders. I wanted them to use the Cleavers to overrun the Royal Lion Lancers and the Liberty Party. Only after I gain control of Callone VI can they claim the Cleavers as their own. But Wolfgang Hansen cheated me. He kept the Cleavers and sent Major Tenoch to Callone VI instead. So there. You want the Cleavers? Talk to Wolfgang Hansen. Now let me go."

Kyle and Samantha looked at each other for a while, wondering if they could trust Rebecca or not. In the end, they chose to use her as a different bargaining chip. Kyle set up a portable HPG uplink, then established a connection to the Hansen's Roughriders. A hologram of Major Tenoch popped up in the middle of the table, brimming with confidence.

"This is Kyle Goyua from Arctic Wolves mercenary unit," Kyle introduced himself. "I wish to speak with Major Tenoch or Hansen's Roughriders ranking officer."

"Arctic Wolves," Tenoch smiled curtly. "What could an overrated, little-known mercenary unit want to do with the Hansen's Roughriders?"

"I have Duchess Rebecca Ghalan in my possession," Kyle ignored Tenoch's slur. "If you're in charge, I'm ready for negotiation."

"Negotiation bullshit, hijo de puta!" Tenoch spat. "The Hansen's Roughriders do not negotiate with terrorists! Take the duchess and shove her up your ass, Ese! You have nothing I want!"

"You'll be sorry to spurn us without listening to what we have to offer," Kyle tried to spark Tenoch's interest. "Besides, your resume will not look appealing with a record of a failed campaign."

"My order is to wipe out Davion existence in Callone VI," Tenoch muttered, almost incoherently. "My mission is accomplished. As of September 13, the Hansen's Roughriders had enforced martial law throughout Callone VI. Rebecca Ghalan is no longer my concern." With that, he disconnected the link.

Rebecca couldn't believe what she just heard. The Hansen's Roughriders were supposed to be her bodyguards that ensured her safety as well as her throne. Tenoch's statement made her realize that her world started slipping from her grasp. And when it fell completely off her hands, she was as good as dead.

"Look what you bring to Callone VI," Samantha said. "That monster had no regard of human lives. The attack on Bervalla left 20,000 civilians dead, 50,000 more critically wounded. Now that he declared martial law under Hansen's Roughriders, he would just be an unstoppable beast. That's the price of your ambition."

"All I want is for the Ghalan family to have a dignity in the world of Callone VI," Rebecca replied, holding back tears. "This is not what I want. If you're done, just kill me. I don't have anything else to live for."

"We are not Tenoch," Kyle retorted. "We don't kill somebody just for the hell of it. Besides, you may still have a bargaining value for us. Let's see if Wolfgang Hansen is more reasonable than Major Tenoch."