Disclaimers: I do not own Battletech.
A/N: I do not own Battletech
So here's the next chapter and we finally see some development between Nico and Kamea.
So I brought the official Battletech book for House Arano: The Aurigan Coalition and I have to say there is a lot of stuff that in here that changes everything. But seeing how I have already started I have decided that I'm going to keep going with what I have while using the book to change a couple of things.
Coronation Day
It was one of the top stories on every newsfeed within the Coromodir system that day along with the coronation and would no doubt be one of the top stories in all the rest of the Reach soon enough. Nico and Kamea standing in front of the Argo at the docking yards shaking hands and looking into the camera with the entire senior staff of the Dragon's Raiders standing behind the ace mechwarrior and Lord Madeira standing behind the future High Lady cheering and clapping.
Nico Strong, also known as "The Dragon of the Reach" and hero of the Aurigan Civil War agrees to Lady Kamea's proposal and accepts the position as Commander of the revived Aurigan Coalition Special Forces, granting him the rank of Colonel!
Joining him will be the entirety of the Dragon's Raiders mercenary group, with such figures as:
The rampaging beauty of the battlefield, Behemoth!
The genius tech pilot who is also a native Aurigan, Medusa!
The phoenix of the cockpit who has survived over a dozen seemingly fatal wounds only to rise again, Dekker!
And the geeky yet lovely and deadly angel, Glitch!
Lady Kamea Arano followed up with these words:
"I am extremely grateful to Nico Strong and his mercenary company, The Dragon's Raiders, for accepting my offer and honored to have them protecting the good citizens of the Aurigan Reach! With their experience and insight, we will weed out the remaining Directorate pockets of resistances and strengthen our borders to ensure a stable rebirth of the Coalition!"
Already reports are coming in from recruitment stations across the system as young men and women flock to their doors and enlist in order to help Lady Kamea fulfill her goal as well as having the honor of serving alongside the legendary mechpilot!
A noblewoman from a branch of House Maderia had this to say:
"I was a prisoner at the "Icebox" on Weldry due to not supporting the Main Branch decision of joining the Directorate. On the day of liberation, I witness the Dragon's mech be the first one to burst through the walls of the prison and watch in awe as he began wiping out the guards in his mech. At that moment, I knew that Lady Kamea was going to win the war if she had pilots like that on her side."
A former sergeant of the 2nd Decimis Fusilliers also added his statement describing his encounter with the "Dragon" during the defense of Panzyr:
"I was pretty bang-up from earlier engagements but I was still manning a gun mount in defense of the barracks me and my boys were held up in. We were ready to fight to the death but even I'll admit that when I saw that Taurian Griffin mech show up along with three APC, I almost shit my pants. But it seemed that destiny was on our side when the goddamn "Dragon" himself show up on the other side of the compound and laid into the entire detachment. It was all over in like a minute and afterward, he jumped right back down into the main battle. Truly a sight to witness."
It's right to assume that the Reach's future is looking safe and secure with the unstoppable might of the Dragon's Raiders watching over it!
Meanwhile, the former Taurian fortress now turned palace was alive with activity as everyone, from the highest of nobles to the lowest of the servants were making preparations for the coronation of Lady Kamea Arano. Last-minute security checks were being made. Chefs and their assistants were checking the smallest details on their food. Castle servants were arranging then rearranging the decorations in the throne room while making sure the flood of guests were all taken care of.
Meanwhile, in her chambers, the next ruler of the Aurigan Coalition went over her own last-minute checks with her adviser while she was shielded by a dressing screen being seen to by her attendants.
"Alexander", she calls from across the room to the couch where her childhood friend was sitting with his back to her out of respect and tradition, "Have the patrols been dispatch throughout the capital?", she asks while lifting her arms up so her coronation dress could be fitted. While tradition dictated that no man other the noblewoman's family could be in the room while she was getting dress, Kamea was able to make an exception for Alexander simply because he was her head adviser.
"Yes, Lady Kamea. The last transport truck dropped off its troops to their position twenty minutes ago. There are currently five thousand loyal men of House Arano and hundreds more from various other houses patrolling the streets at this moment", Lord Madeira answers.
"Good, now what of the outer perimeter of the city?"
"As of right now, four lances of the Dragon's Raiders are currently deployed around the city on all four main roads leading into it. Captain Behemoth's lance is guarding the north. Captain Glitch's patrol is watching the south. We have Captain Dekker's unit patrolling on the western entrance to the capital and finally, Captain Medusa's and his mechs are keeping an eye on things in the east. All four lances have been reinforced with infantry, support vehicles, and air support and both Leopards from the Argo are awaiting in orbit above with a total of three full reserve lances ready to provide backup if needed.", Alexander reports while looking at his data slate.
"Excellent", Kamea says as she leans her head to the left to allow the hairdresser to finish up combing out her strands, "I will not have a repeat of what happen all those years ago."
Alexander doesn't give a response to this statement and this peculiar behavior was picked up by Kamea.
"Is something wrong, Alexander?", she asks while slipping her feet into the heels being presented to her.
"I still think it is a bad idea for you to walk through the streets after your crowning", he answers after a moment.
"Alexander, we have been through this. I have to show everyone, my allies, and my enemies, that I will not cower behind these walls. I need to show the people a strong front and that they are right to place their faith in me."
"But through the entirety of the main road? We still have three infantry companies worth of Directorate's soldiers still unaccounted for here on Coromodir and this...", Alexander stops for a moment to find the proper words, "Brazen display of yours is basically begging them to try something! It is almost as if you're taunting them!"
"I assure you, Alexander, everything will be fine. With all their mechs and armored support gone, they are no more than rabble now especially without my uncle or cousin to guide them and they will disappear back into the masses soon enough and never bother me again. Though if it will help ease your fears, we can have a task force assemble to weed them out after things have settled down", Kamea states as the servants finish up the final touches on her dress, "Besides, it is like you said, we have thousands of men patrolling the streets and four mech lances to provide a safe and secure coronation and this show of force will prove to be a powerful deterrent."
"I would still like it to go on record that I am against this", Alexander insisted.
"Duly noted", Kamea says, "Now, any update on Nico and Darius?"
"Their uniforms were delivered to them on board the Argo and they are currently using the dressing room in the south wing to get ready for the coronation", Alexander said, "Though giving them House Arano's uniforms will no doubt raise questions among the other nobles. Did you not state that a universal uniform would be given to the military?"
Kamea nods as she dismisses her servants and waits for them to exit the room before talking. She then exits from behind the dressing screen, fully outfitted in her coronation dress, and moves toward the window to look out onto Cordia City.
"I said exactly that but that will only apply to the regular military. I intend for the special forces branch to serve directly under House Arano and myself, just like the Royal Guard."
The head of House Madiera rubs his chin in thought, "The Dragon's Raiders can easily field a large number of mech if you count all the ones on the Argo, their Leopards, and in storage."
"Nico did have a near-obsession with salvageable parts over actual pay when it came to contracts", Kamea reminded him, "Half of his mechs were piece together by his own men and used to belong to someone else."
"That is a strong mech force under your direct command, not even counting the mechs of the Royal Guard or the ones confiscated from House Espinosa", Alexander continued, "The other houses might see this as a power move."
"That is exactly what I want them to see it as", Kamea confesses, "While I will give them back a majority of the powers they had before my uncle's coup and reward those who were loyal to me, I will also make it clear that I am in charge of the Reach and I will never again be caught off-guard like I was in years past because I foolishly believed that no one would ever betray me. You and Nico are the only ones I fully trust right now, Alexander. The only ones I can depend on."
"What makes you so sure Nico will not stab you in the back down the road?", Alexander asks.
"I beg your pardon?", the Countess of Coromodir said, shocked that Alexander would say such a thing.
"I am not saying he will, but how can you be so sure?", Alexander said before the High Lady got the wrong idea, "What to keep him from changing his mind if he gets a better offer from the Taurians or the Capellans?
Kamea remains silent for a moment as she looks at all the preparations being done for her coronation before speaking, "Because any sane person would have turn tell and ran when the Taurians enter the war on my uncle's side, but Nico did not. In fact, I like to believe the thought never cross his mind. But like I have said before, that man is anything but sane and we should be thankful for that."
On the outer edges of Cordia City, sixteen towering mechs stood watch on all the major roads leading into it. Hundreds of infantry were positioned in machine nest and bunker alongside them and entire tank squads were dedicated to providing aid should it be needed.
"Surime, this is Behemoth, all things clear in our sector."
"Copy that, Behemoth. With you all lances have checked in with all conditions normal", the navigator turned navy officer who was in charge at the moment while Dragon and Darius were attending the coronation radios back, "Next check-in is in thirty minutes, see you then."
"Copy that, Sumire. Behemoth out", the towering woman says as she leans back into the chair within the cockpit of her Banshee BNC-3M and observes her surrounding through her cameras, mainly that of her lance consisting of Big Sly, Deadeye, and Tinker. The first two were deck out in Commando COM-2D mechs while Tinker herself was in a Trebuchet TBT-5N. Behemoth decided it would be best for the pilot from Galax to have a fire support position while on guard duty, despite her being a more frontline pilot. This was of course due to Dragon's suggestion that all mechpilots be well versed in all combat roles, not just the ones they're good at as this would prevent a shortage of pilots in a particular role from occurring.
"There he goes again, making a decision that I can't help but agree with", Behemoth grumbles, "He makes them so often that you would think that he used to be a general or something."
"You talking about Dragon?", a voice came through the comm, startling the pilot and making her nearly jump out of her seat.
"God damn it, Medusa!", she screams once she recovers, "Why are you on my lance's comm channel?!"
"Um, I'm on the lance commanders' comm channel right now which Dragon ordered to remain open until the coronation was over, remember?", the tech whiz native reminded his counterpart and after a moment, Behemoth shook her head in embarrassment upon realizing her mistake.
"Anyway, you were saying something about Dragon?" Medusa press on.
"Yeah, have you ever notice something weird about the decisions he makes sometimes? Like how some of his tactical choices would fit better with a full-blown general than a mercenary company commander?", Behemoth asks.
"Like how he sees the big picture, not just what's right in front of him?", Dekker interject as he and Glitch join in on this conversation, "Remember that job on Joppa where he remained on the Argo and directed the mission? He sent you and me around the main base to scout the hills behind it while Glitch and Medusa took it over on their own..."
"And you two were able to ambush the returning patrol and inflict some serious damage on them before Medusa and I showed up and help you wipe them out? Yeah, I remember that one", Glitch finish, "Markham would have had us just take the base and thought of nothing else."
"Sad but true", Behemoth agreed as she remembers back to her old commander, "He was never one to plan ahead."
"As much as I agree with your conversation, you guys need to get back to your guard duties", Surime comes through over the channel, "Dragon and Kamea want no surprises today."
"Oh, give us a break, will ya? This has got to be the most boring job will have ever taken, even before we became part of the regular military. The only upside is the fact that they haven't gotten us our uniforms yet besides Dragon and Darius, so we can stay in our usual outfit for the time being", Behemoth complained.
"True, but that doesn't mean you any less in the Coalition military than those soldiers next to your mech's feet right now", Surime counters.
"Well none of us, not even Dragon nor Darius, has even taken our oaths of service yet either. All we've done is sign some paperwork", Medusa points out, "By most accounts, we're still technically mercenaries working underneath Kamea."
"Then act like it then and keep watch. Everyone knows there are still Directorate's holdouts here on Coromodir and the coronation would be a fine target for them", Surime orders.
Behemoth hits her head on the back of her seat, "If I knew military life was going to be this boring, I might not have signed up."
"What are you babbling about? We literally just got done fighting a war less than a week ago and you're already itching for more action?", Glitch asks.
"She has somewhat of a point. Other than maybe taking out a few Directorate holdouts, this is probably going to be the majority of our job from here on out. Patrolling, guard duty, and if we're really unlucky, training instructors duty", Medusa added, "Things are starting to settle down now around the Reach, thank God."
A light bulb goes off in Glitch's head, "Oh yeah, you're from the Reach, aren't you, Medusa? Just like Darius?"
"Yeah, born on one of Mechdur's lunar colonies but mostly grew up in Katinka", he answered, "Luckily, the war didn't affect either one of them too much so they're mostly still intact."
Behemoth lets out a whistle, "Must have been hard on you to fight against your own people during the war."
Medusa shrugs, "Not really, they were in my way and I was getting paid to get them out of it. Simple as that."
While his three fellow lance commanders had their discussion, Dekker was alone with his thought as Medusa's words sunk into him. If what Dragon told him and Surime back on the Argo was true, the Reach was about to be anything but peaceful here soon. Pretty soon the Dragon's Raiders were going to more than likely find themselves back on the frontlines and this time against a real military threat. Sure the Directorate wasn't a pushover but now they were talking about the most powerful state out here in the Periphery factions or one of the Inner Sphere factions. Either one of them could easily beat the Coalition through sheer military attrition alone.
And despite what Dragon told him, Dekker felt it best that the same people he has been through hell and back with for years had the right to know what might be coming for them.
He presses the button that tells Behemoth, Medusa, and Glitch to switch to the private comms channels that not even the Argo could listen in on and after getting three confirmation signals….
"There's something I need to tell ya but you can't tell anyone else."
Back to the confines of the Royal Palace, Nico and Darius were discussing a matter of grave importance.
"How the hell do you walk around in this thing?!", Darius screams as he takes a look at himself in the mirror alongside Nico. Both of them were wearing uniforms that depict the colors of House Arano with a dark gray tunic and trousers, along with a high-collared red and white coat accented in gold to distinguish themselves as officers. On both of their shoulders were silver eagle insignia, only Darius had an anchor in the middle of his while Nico simply sported a military rifle. Surprisingly, only Nico had to get a haircut as Darius already kept his in a nice trim fashion that passed regulations. The "Dragon of the Reach", hair that was once a jungle mess was now a straight buzzcut that was high and tight or a "Hairstyle 18", as the troops nickname it apparently.
Also, the mechwarrior was "ask" to shave by Lady Kamea herself though it felt like more of a threatening order than a suggestion and now not a single hair was present on his face. In fact, the only thing that remained that could help identify him was the scar and his green dragon tattoo and despite there being technology available that could remove the tattoo, Kamea told him that he could keep it.
"You get used to it", Nico merely said and turns to walk away while Darius adjusted himself. It was only after a few moments that he realizes the meaning of Nico's words and turns around.
"How do you know that?"
"I'm from a noble house out in the Deep Periphery, remember? I have worn far less comfortable clothing then this", Nico answers without turning around to face his executive officer.
After pondering for a moment on his answer, Darius merely shrugs and goes back to fixing his uniform. While Nico sat down on the couch that was in the dressing room. But while he thought his answer was the end of the matter, Darius did not as he kept adjusting his clothes while thinking over in his mind.
No one really knows about Dragon's past. The only man that knew that was Raju and he ain't talking anything soon. Wonder why he hasn't told anyone else?", he thought before the sound of a loud bell ringing brought him out of his thoughts.
"Time to go", Nico said as he got up and the two of them left the room and made their way to the courtyard.
A/N: A revision is coming up.