"Moving to Engage." - Regular Speech
'What now?' - Thoughts
"Roger that." - Radio/Holo Transmission
"MOVE!" - Loudspeaker
Chapter 1: Old Warhorse in New Lands
33rd Century
Briefing Room, Leopard-class DropShip Roppongi, Orbit of Planet Musutafu, Musutafu System, Briar Patch, Mid-Periphery
As Toshinori Yagi walked into the room, anyone would recognize him for exactly what he was, a veteran warhorse. Despite rapidly approaching fifty and still recovering from a rather severe chest injury, the blonde behemoth's steps were as confident and self-assured as they were when he'd stepped into his first Mech, only now that confidence was honed by experience and his self-assurance hardened by a well-earned sense of pride. The man's entire bearing spoke of solidity, dependability, and confidence; the very picture of the noble Mercenary MechWarrior out of some child's storybook.
The only flaw in this image was that his red, white and blue Combat Suit was hanging a bit loose on his frame for the first time in decades, thanks to the muscle atrophy his recent recovery had caused. He made a mental note to have it refitted before he met with their next client, appearances were important when it came to first meetings with new customers and a strong first impression could make or break a contract.
He nodded to his ever-faithful second-in-command, Mirai Sasaki, who was already waiting for him in his customary position to his right, the rest of his mercenary company already gathered around the large table that took up most of the Roppongi's Briefing Room in various states of readiness. His own Lance-mates, which included Mirai, Kaoruko Awata and the newest member, Young Mirio Tōgata, all sat attentively around his spot at the head of the table, while the Lance made up of the newer recruits, including Mirio's friends, Nejire Hadō and Tamaki Amajiki, and veteran partners Shōta Aizawa and Hizashi Yamada, took a moment to come to attention as he moved to take his seat.
"Alright then." Toshinori stated easily as he took his seat. "As you all are probably already aware of, we are currently beyond the boundaries of the Inner Sphere right now. To be exact, we are currently in the mostly uncharted gap that lies between and beyond the former Circinus Federation and former Greater Valkyrate states. We're not quite in the Deep Periphery just yet, but we are definitely at the very edge of what could be considered Periphery territory. To be a bit more precise we are, distance-wise at least, our current heading is just at the edge of the former Elysian Fields and Taurian Concordat's limits."
"Considering that the various Clans have conquered almost everything within the Corewards of the Free Rasalhague Republic, I can't say that I'm surprised that we're keeping our distance." Mirai stated dryly. "We've butted heads with Clan Jade Falcon one too many time to risk conducting business anywhere near Clan territory for now, but that doesn't explain why you've had us set course for the back-end of nowhere. I think we're all a bit anxious for an explanation by now, Toshinori."
"And I appreciate everyone's patience, Mirai. As to why we're here, that involves a bit of a tale from my youth. When I was far younger, just starting my career really, I came to work with a man who'd once been a captive of remnants of the Word of Blake." Toshinori started slowly, allowing the brief surge of shock and anger from the various pilots in the room to rise up. The fanatics of the Word of Blake had plunged the entirety of the Inner Sphere into a Dark Age with their Jihad and a great many worlds were still recovering from the ravages of that terrible war. After giving his people a moment to regain their calm, he continued. "He had been captured and used as an unwilling subject in some form of experimentation that had severely damaged his memory, only allowing him to recall his first name…Nezu. He'd managed to escape his captors, even stealing a BattleMech from them, and vanished from all known space for several years, before reappearing as the leader of a freelance mercenary group, which I ended up joining for several years before I struck out on my own."
"You've never mentioned this before." Mirai muttered in shock. He'd know Toshinori the longest of all the assembled, had been with his company since near the very beginning, and he'd never heard of this.
"It was a long time ago Mirai, a solid decade before we met at least. It wasn't something that ever really came up in casual conversation." The mercenary commander responded with a shrug. No one liked speaking of anything involving the Word of Blake these days, too many painful memories in nearly every part of the galaxy. "Anyway, I've kept in fairly regular contact with Nezu since I left his company, using what's left of the HPG network. He's the one who pointed me to several of our contracts in the past and in return, I've helped hunt down information he was looking for. It's been a very beneficial relationship for the both of us over the years, and I've even sent him some recruits that I thought would better suit his preferred methods over ours. Kayama was one of the more recent examples."
"Urgh…." Aizawa grunted, remembering the woman that had once served as his and Hizashi's Lance-mate. "That irrational woman…"
"Anyway, our relationship continued as such until roughly seven years ago, shortly after I sent Kayama his way, when he and his company simply vanished." the MechWarrior sighed. "There were no signs of foul play, just a long-term contract of some kind pulling them out of contact for a while. I've kept an ear open afterwards and occasionally sent messages via our usual methods since, but I hadn't heard a word from him…until two months ago."
"Just after we fought that 'rogue' Star of Clan Jade Falcon led by Star Colonel Shigaraki!?" Mirai snapped sharply, eyes locking onto Toshi's warningly.
The larger man winced, one hand going to his side in remembrance. He'd been lucky, his poor 'Mech was still in the repair bay from the damage that bastard had caused her. Thank god David and Melissa were genius MechTechs.
"That's right Mirai, and, before you ask, yes, I am completely certain that the message was from Nezu himself. All of our messages have several levels of encryption and codewords embedded in them; Nezu's time with the Word left him a bit of a paranoiac when it came to intel security." Toshinori stated evenly, cutting his long-time friend's paranoia off at the knees for the moment. "Not only that, but his writing style is still the same once the contents are decrypted, and he mentioned several things that only he and I'd be aware of from our time working together."
"So just what did this Nezu fellow want after being out of contact for so long? I take it wasn't just to renew your old agreement?" Mirio asked curiously.
"He had a job offer for us." the ageing MechWarrior stated simply. "Before I go into details on the job itself, I need to share a bit of background on the planet we're orbiting around, along with the sector of surrounding space that the locals have named The Briar Patch." His fingers quickly tapped a few buttons into the side-panel attached to his chair, bringing up the holoprojector at the front of the room, which quickly displayed a star map of the Briar Patch. "The Briar Patch itself contains a total of seven system that, for some strange reason, are almost impossible to reach via JumpShip due to a strange interference that causes a reaction similar to bouncing off the 'The Wall' that the Republic of the Sphere came up with back in 3135."
"Holy crap balls! That coulda killed us!" Hizashi protested, shooting to his feet.
"Indeed, fortunately there are two ways through. The first is through a sole 'corridor' through the interference that allows a JumpShip to pass through unhindered. The second is a lone Jump Point that bridges it." Toshinori stated evenly. "Fortunately, the Briar Patch has its own JumpShip, a First Star League-Era Monolith-class ship, the Spirit of Venture, the ship that transported us all here."
Hizashi slumped back into his seat in relief.
"It also means that we're effectively trapped here." Mirai pointed out darkly, glaring at Toshinori. "I've never even heard of this 'Briar Patch' before, and considering that just you came back from planet-side, getting briefed by this 'Nezu' person in all likelihood, you probably haven't either. Seven star systems that are effectively impenetrable by normal Jump technology and completely cut off from the rest of space? Any pirate kingdom would cheerfully kill for control of that kind of territory, let alone what the more legitimate Periphery States or even the Clans would do to get their hands on it. That means that the people living here have somehow managed to keep Op Sec for centuries at least. Just what kind of mess have you gotten us involved in this time Toshinori!?" Mirai was near-shouting near the end, glasses askew and half-way standing out of his chair as he realized just how badly this situation could turn on them.
"Mirai, calm down…"
"Urgh, would you mind cutting off your irrational hissy fit and just let the boss finish already?" Aizawa cut in, the senior pilot effectively cutting off any argument before it could start. "I'll agree that its more than a bit worrying that the only way out of this patch of space is controlled by the locals, but its utterly irrational to start going off on the lummox before we even get all the facts."
"Luckily, the locals aren't going to be a problem here." Toshinori put in firmly. "I got a complete briefing on the Briar Patch systems and their history while I was planet-side, and they're non-hostile. It actually makes for quite the interesting tale."
Mirai let out a huff of breath, before readjusting his glasses and returning to his seat. "Very well then…enlighten us."
Suppressing a sigh at his old friend's stubborn paranoia, Toshinori marshalled his thoughts and returned to the matter on hand. "Alright…the Briar Patch was first settled back during the brief lull between the end of the Amaris Civil War and the collapse of the First Star League in 2781 and the start of the First Succession War in 2786. The original colonists were a disparate mixed group of refugees, idealists, expatriates, and the like from nearly every Successor State that existed back then, as well as a group from the Terran Hegemony that fled before it was eaten up by the other states. They all met up in what was then known as the Lyran Commonwealth and pooled their limited resources in order to somehow 'acquire' two JumpShips and roughly one dozen DropShips of various sizes and makes, before disappearing into the outer edges of the Periphery, which was entirely unexplored by the Inner Sphere back then…or so they like people to think."
"They managed to steal JumpShips?" Nejire whispered in shock, reading into what he meant easily.
"I looked into the subject a bit, and only one was actually stolen, a Merchant-class called the Profitable Venture. It was cannibalised for materials once they arrived here, according to the local records anyway." Toshinori offered. "As for DropShips, they apparently had four Leopard-class, one Mule-class, a Jumbo-class, two Trojan-class and four Union-class. Among the group were several minor noble families who carried their BattleMechs with them, not to mention a whole host of AFVs, ASFs and infantry."
"…" Aizawa gave his leader a small scowl of irritation. "And they just let you access their historical records because…why?"
"Because I was granted access by the Planetary Marshal of Musutafu, Nezu." Toshinori answered with a grin. "His remit gives him a rather large amount of discretionary power when it comes to hiring in MechWarriors, including reading them in on some basic history files. The contract Nezu is offering is without a doubt one of the best I've seen in my year as a mercenary. Five years of service both in the defence of the planet and some work assisting in their MechWarrior Academy; in exchange, we'll be granted land to settle and noble titles dependent on the quality of our service. That on top of a rather substantial payment in the local currency and a 40% discount on maintenance fees and repairs on our 'Mechs during that time."
"And if we don't want to settle down and would rather take our payment in H- or C-bills and leave the Briar Patch when the contact expires?" Mirai asked tightly.
"…then you will be offered it at the current exchange rate and allowed to leave the same way we were brought in, though you'll be required to swear an oath to keep what you know of the Briar Patch secret from outsiders. The fact that we won't be read in on the location of the Bridge Point was something Nezu wouldn't break on, its exact location is a closely guarded secret even among the locals." the larger MechWarrior stated simply after a moment of staring his former protégé and good friend in the eye for several long moments. "I'd be sad to see you go, but I've already decided that this will be my last contract, Mirai. It's about time I listened to your advice and retire for good, and from what I've seen, this little patch of space looks like the perfect place for me to spend my final years. I convinced Nezu to extend the offer the same offer he gave me to the rest of our group, but if you'd prefer to leave, I'll personally sign over ownership of the Roppongi and the Agency over to whoever wants to lead the rest of you once I'm gone. Now what do you all think?"
The group was silent for a long contemplating moment before Kaoruko spoke up. "They wouldn't need to hire defenders if there wasn't an existing threat. What kind of hostiles are we expecting?" she asked sensibly.
"Currently, the major threat is a large pirate coalition that knows the way in and out of the Briar Patch, along with the location of Musutafu, the only long-term habitable system and planet in the Patch." Toshinori gave the female MechWarrior an approving nod. "From what information the locals have on them, they've got somewhere between two and three Lances of 'Mechs. Primarily Light 'Mechs with a small number of Mediums mixed in. There used to be a secondary band of pirates, but they were wiped out roughly fifteen years ago by a lone MechWarrior."
"Bullshit!" Hizashi snorted out. "I'm calling crap on that one. Unless they were using nothin' but AFVs and tanks there's no way they'd be wiped out by a single 'Mech."
"Close, the entire pirate group contained a total of three mixed groups of Strikers, Galleons, and Scorpion Battle Vehicles or their equivalents, backed by a short-lance of 'Mechs containing a Locust, a Panther, and an Assassin; with the Medium being piloted by the pirate scum's leader." the mercenary leader stated simply, causing a murmur to rise from the gathered pilots. Even the veterans admitted that wouldn't be an easy fight to take on their own. "Normally, that wouldn't have been an issue since the planet does have MilitiaMechs active across most of the habituated areas, but the vast majority were sadly under maintenance at the time, leaving only a number of upgraded versions of the old Silver Shield Security Guardian 'Mechs. Even the local noble's Heritage 'Mech was being upgraded at the time, so that left a single MechWarrior alone to face the incoming pirates…Freeborn MechWarrior Hisashi Jade Falcon."
"A CLANSMAN!?" several pilots shouted at once, causing Toshinori's poor old ears to ring.
"Yes, a Clansman, using a Firestarter OmniMech." Toshinori stated, earning more wide eyes. The Inner Sphere BattleMech known as the Firestarter was well-known as a death trap to those who piloted them due to the limited damage its Flamers could deal against most opposing 'Mechs and its light armour even among Light 'Mechs. OmniMech versions were slightly better, being Medium 'Mechs with several alternate configurations that a skilled pilot could use to adapt their style and overcome the Firestarter's natural disadvantages against any properly-maintained 'Mech. It still boggled the mind that a single Firestarter managed to beat over a dozen battle vehicles and three combat 'Mechs on its own.
"Did he have some Enhanced Imaging Implants or something?" Tamaki asked in disbelief.
"No, just an Enhanced Imaging Display Neurohelmet." Toshinori stated with a shake of his head, sounding a bit wistful. It was battle he'd have loved to have seen. "One man, his 'Mech, and a few static defences, against an entire pirate force. The few online MilitiaMechs were pulled back to defend the civilians. Still, MechWarrior Hisashi managed to take down every single pirate vehicle and two of the 'Mechs before the Assassin managed to take him down. Even then, he eschewed his chance to bail out in order to fire a final volley that managed to cook the pirate leader in her own 'Mech. That unfortunately killed him as well."
"Damn." Mirio breathed out with a shake of his head. "You've got to give it to the Clansmen, they don't go down easy."
"The fact that he was a Clansman had little to do with it, Young Tōgata." the pilot of the BattleMech All Might, shook his head. "He was protecting his wife and son by engaging the enemy like that. To be precise, he was the consort to the current ruler of the area, one Lady Inko Midoriya, Duchess of Green Valley. Their son had apparently just turned a year old at the time."
If there was one thing Toshinori Yagi could respect, it was someone who was willing to put their life on the line to protect what they loved. That Hisashi had done that and more meant that, Clansman or not, Toshinori would see that the MechWarrior's sacrifice was treated with the respect it deserved.
"Poor woman…" Kaoruko sighed, shaking her head sympathetically.
"Shame, sounds like a decent warrior for a Clansman." Mirio agreed with a nod of his head. "Why exactly were the local MilitiaMechs almost all out of commission save for some of the worst. The only thing the old Guardian SecurityMechs are useful for are anti-infantry defence."
"The Guardian III models that the Duchy of Green Valley uses are fairly heavily revamped. Their armour's been upgraded to modern specs and the machine guns have been largely replaced with a single SRM and a pair of Small Lasers. They're capable of holding their own against most forms of Light 'Mechs, but not much else." Toshinori stated with a shake of his head. "According to the reports, there should have been two Lances available, with a further Lance being hastily put back into combat-ready form. The remaining MilitiaMechs are a local design built by Hatsume Innovation Industries, a 20-ton Light 'Mech called the Marlfox. From what I've read, they're pretty comparable to a standard Locust but with a more customizable loadout."
"Weird name, but whatever." Aizawa grunted before letting out a sigh and refocusing on Toshinori. "And what precisely are we supposed to be guarding? Our company only has two Lances of 'Mechs, that's nowhere near enough to help protect an entire planet."
"No, that's what the Planetary Guard is for, as well as the local Militia." the large man shook his before typing a few more buttons on his side-panel. "We're primarily being hired to bolster this location's defences for the moment, along with assisting with training the locals."
The image on the hologram change, showing the planet Musutafu, technically Musutafu III, and quickly focusing in on a small continent just above the planet's equator. The landmass was marked with a single crest, a shield bearing a green valley with a silver knight's helm facing the onlooker.
"The Duchy of Green Valley, I take it?" Mirai spoke up, adjusting his glasses. "That explains the history lesson about the local hero. Have you met the Duchess Midoriya?"
"Not yet. Though she is due to become the Dowager Duchess in the next two years, once her son, Izuku Midoriya, turns eighteen." Toshinori nodded. "I do need to point out one more thing about the local culture before we move on."
"Culture?" Tamaki asked, raising a brow. They normally didn't care that much for local customs unless it was something that could get them killed or imprisoned easily. "What about it?"
"The refugees and expatriates who first colonized Musutafu and the Briar Patch were largely disenfranchised with the Star League and the Cult of the MechWarrior, so they instituted a different system that can be…quite hard for outsiders to adjust to." the blonde MechWarrior offered carefully. "MechWarriors are still a respected position in their society, but the caste differences between MechWarriors, MechTechs, and regular soldiers are largely non-existent. As such, a large number of the automatic privileges and respect that MechWarrior from the Core Worlds and even the Peripheries might have come to expect aren't here. The Musutafu Concilium is primarily a meritocracy, how well you perform your duties is largely seen as a better gauge for respect over your ability to pilot in general. Perform your job well and you'll be respected and rise quickly; perform poorly and you'll be lucky if you keep your machine. There's also a large cultural disdain for nepotism and egotism in general, everyone's expected to earn their place and prove their worth. Remnants of the lean times when they were first colonizing the area."
"Huh, that actually sounds pretty neat." Nejire offered with a smile. She'd never really liked how divisive some people could be about MechWarriors and their places in society, so this actually sounded fairly cool.
The rest of the assembled pilots looked fairly sceptical. Almost every single world that Mankind had colonized had some form of inbuilt reverence for MechWarriors, those capable of piloting the massive war machines that had shaped humanity's history for so long. To find somewhere where that wasn't the case…
"What a strange world we've blundered onto." Mirai stated absently after a moment. "What about the political atmosphere? You mentioned this Nezu is now the Planetary Marshal? Who does he report to?"
"Ironically enough, the ruling body of the Concilium is structured quite similarly to that of the Star League during its heyday, with the High Council being formed from the eleven highest-ranking noble families. All of which, it is worth noting, are descendants of the noble houses and factions that supplied most of the ships and 'Mechs for the colonization of the Briar Patch. It is primarily known as the Council of Ten when the ruling seat is being filled, with the ruling seat themselves being known as the High Councillor. The High Councillor holds the highest authority during their period, with the Council of Ten acting as both an advisory body and a check on any ambitions or abuses of power." Toshinori explained with an amused smile. "The Council is made up of four Dukedoms, five Marches, and two Counties; each with their own specific duties, areas of influence, and responsibilities. The House Midoriya that we'll be working with, for example, is in charge of roughly 40% of the raw food production for the entire planet, along with large percentages of the planet's lumber and animal husbandry. They're also the original, and still chief, backer and financier of the HII, which maintains one of the planet's largest Mech Factories and Research Institutes on a large area of fallow land just outside the Ducal Capital."
"And what's stopped them from going the same way as the original Star League then?" Tamaki asked curiously.
"Simply put, they managed to think ahead when the Council was being formed, likely from seeing the starts of collapse within the original League. The High Council has a well-defined set of duties and a limit to the amount of power any individual member and the council itself can hold all built into the very charter of the Musutafu Concilium." The ageing mercenary stated bluntly. "Additionally the seat of High Councillor can only be held by a single family for two generations before it is passed on to another family via an election between all members of the High Council. So far, the system's worked fairly well for them, with only one large-scale planetary conflict appearing beyond the occasional group of home-grown bandits and raiders surfacing. Apparently, the High Council originally had twelve seats, but one of their own attempted a coup near the end of their term as High Councillor; only to have all eleven of the remaining Houses align against them and forcing the majority of the House and its retainers to flee via a newly constructed JumpShip."
"They can build their own JumpShips here?" Mirai snapped, eyes sharpening again. The ability to build JumpShips had nearly been lost after the First Succession War and even to this day, many Periphery powers still lacked the ability to manufacture them in any real numbers. For such a small, hidden enclave to have the ability to produce them on their own was…!
Mirai was truly starting to worry just what kind of strange world they'd been drawn to, and if they might have accidentally stumbled onto a sleeping dragon by mistake.
Toshinori nodded once. "From what Nezu told me they've only been able to get two functioning designs so far, and that was mostly through reverse engineering. The first was from the Monolith-class that originally brought them here, the second is for a smaller Scout-class design. The one stolen by the attempted rebels, the House of Chisaki, was one of the first Scout-classes they'd produced. That was all a bit over two hundred years ago now and, interestingly enough, just fifty years after the failed coup was the first time that the Briar Patch came under attack by an organized group of pirates. I'm sure I don't need to spell out what that means."
"Hmph, so we're basically being hired to clean up the leftovers from their own mess." Aizawa grumbled. "Great, just great."
"These aren't your run-of-the-mill pirates, Shōta." Toshinori argued with a shake of his head. "These 'Precepts of Death,' as they apparently call themselves, have access to a steady stream of Combat Vehicles, 'Mechs, and trained fighters. Their attacks are planned, coordinated, and extremely dangerous. I'd put this closer to dealing with one of the smaller Bandit Kingdoms in the Periphery than your normal band of cut-throats. Everything Nezu showed me has me agreeing with his own theory, there's something larger going on here than simple banditry, and that's why he called in some extra help."
"So shadowy plots, megalomaniacal space pirates, and a planet in need of rescue. Hm, is it Tuesday already?" Mirio offered with a chuckle.
Mirai snorted at his protégé's attempt at humour, the joke doing a great deal to calm him down and refocus. "Indeed. We've faced down aspiring pirate lords, vicious space bandits, Clansmen, rogue military operations, and power-hungry nobles from the Five Great Houses. Whatever these 'Precepts' are attempting, I doubt it'll be anything we can't handle."
"Let's not start counting our kills before the battle even begins, Mirai. We haven't even seen what these pirates are capable of yet." the lead mercenary stated, though he was grinning as well. His and his team's confidence wasn't exactly overdue. As Mirai had so bluntly put, they'd faced down more than their fair share of dangerous foes over the years, including an entire Lance of Assault Mechs from the Lyran Alliance turning on them during a cooperative mission. After having an Atlas, an Awesome, a Banshee and a Berserker bearing down on them with the intent to rip them apart, Toshinori thought they were entitled to a bit of ego.
"Now then…now that we've gone over the pertinent details of the contract, what do you all think of Nezu's offer?" Toshinori asked the room at large.
There was a few minutes of discussion between the gathered mercenaries, but most of the room seemed to think the offer was a good one. Only Mirai and Mirio seemed to be demurring on the subject, with the younger man simply following his mentor's lead out of habit. Toshinori honestly hoped they'd change their minds over the course of the next five years, he'd honestly miss the two if they decided to leave.
"If there are no objections, then I shall contact Nezu and let him know that the Heroic Hearts have agreed to accept his contract." Toshinori stated with a broad smile.
Later
Duke's Office, Green Valley Grand Castle, Okami City, Duchy of Green Valley, Musutafu III, Musutafu Concilium
"So these mercenary contacts of yours have accepted the contract?" Inko Midoriya, sitting Duchess of the Green Valley Duchy and head of the Noble House of Midoriya, asked evenly. She was a tall, willowy woman whose shoulder-length deep green hair and bright green eyes, both common traits of House Midoriya, all set on a kind face that looked more accustomed to smiling than frowning. Her clothing was surprisingly simple for a noble of her rank, but they were still high quality, well-made and fit her exceedingly well. "And you're sure that they are trustworthy? That they can accomplish what we hope for?"
"Yes on both counts, my lady." Nezu agreed without a moment's doubt. As always when speaking via a comm, Marshal Nezu's face and body were almost entirely engulfed in shadow. "Toshinori is not only one of the finest MechWarriors I've ever met, but one the finest men as well. He will be an excellent influence for your son."
"I can only hope." Inko agreed with a tried sigh. "Recently he's been spending more and more time with Mei Hatsume in the R&D labs, working to develop a home-grown Medium BattleMech. I worry he's burying himself deeper and deeper away from the rest of the world. If only Hisashi was…" she cut herself off with a sharp shake her head, a frown crossing her lips.
This was all because of her damnable father, the Duke Emeritus, and his damned Anti-Clan prejudice. He'd sent the near-entirety of the Ducal Guard to 'offer aid to an old friend' across the continent on the same day that the majority of the MilitiaMechs were down for regular maintenance, leaving the bare minimum to protect their lands and forcing her consort to fight an entire pirate band on his own in his personal 'Mech, the Firebreather.
She'd investigated the entire affair afterwards and found the truth. Her own father had sold out their people to the mercies of a pirate band just to have her consort removed. Either Hisashi would fight the pirates and die in the attempt, or he'd hide and Rekka could publicly name him a traitor, planting evidence that he'd worked with the pirates to set up the raid.
The sanctimonious old bastard hadn't even bothered hiding the proof of his crimes, content that with Hisashi gone, Inko would be too lost in her grief to investigate the matter until he had time to bury everything.
Rekka had always underestimated his daughter, viewing her as too 'soft' a ruler. He'd honestly been shocked when she'd presented proof of his crimes against her consort and their people to the High Council.
The man had been stripped of all titles shortly afterward and Inko had personally tossed him into the deepest depths of the ducal dungeons. The hard-nosed old bastard that had sired her had been utterly unrepentant even as he was thrown into his cell, only expressing a desire that she'd end the 'miserable genie brat that she'd spawned' to properly restore their family honour.
She'd personally made sure that he'd only received the bare minimum food and water needed to keep him alive after that. She still visited every year on the anniversary of her lover's death, looking down on the emancipated wreck that had once been the proud Verdant Knight of Green Valley.
No one threatened her child and got away with it.
Sadly, her actions, while immensely satisfying, had brought several unfortunate consequences. Old Duke Rekka Midoriya might have been a hard-nosed bastard, but he'd been popular and respected by the military, particularly their own MechWarrior contingent, causing a large majority of the Ducal Guard to leave in protest to what they saw as a betrayal and usurpation of the Duchy's rightful ruler and many of those that remained had still looked at her and her son with some deal of mistrust. This had greatly inhibited her son's training as a MechWarrior, leaving it mostly in her own hands to train him as a pilot. Something that she'd had precious little time to do.
Luckily, her Izuku was a very bright boy. While Inko didn't ascribe to the same eugenics beliefs that the descendants of Kerensky followed (even Hisashi, though he'd been very casual and offhand about it), even she could see that that combination of his parent's genes had blessed her child with both a naturally high intellect and a sharp eye for those who thought to use and manipulate him. He was also some degree of natural talent for piloting, and had even managed to pilot their family's old Flea FLE-14 when he'd only been twelve.
The Flea series were notorious for a very good reason. They were an 'ultralight' Light Mech and extremely responsive, making manoeuvring them a difficult task for fresh pilots. That Izuku had managed to pilot it on a walk around of the entire city without causing any collateral damage on only his second attempt at piloting it was beyond impressive to many.
Inko still got a warm feeling remembering the gob-smacked faces of the bigots who'd tried to look down on her precious little gem after they'd seen him pilot.
Now at fifteen, soon to be sixteen, he would be departing for the Planetary MechWarrior Academy for two years in just a matter of months. All of the Noble Families on Musutafu sent their 'Mech-compatible children to the Planetary Academy for training in not only piloting BattleMech, but also on tactics, logistics, and various other aspects of warfare. The Academy, rather than training them from the basics which was largely handled by their family trainers, was instead a place for the young nobles to refine and hone their skills and knowledge, as well as gain additional training in their secondary specializations.
The Cult of the MechWarrior had been a force in the Inner Sphere since the birth of the Mackie, the first BattleMech worthy of its name, by the Terran Hegemony. It was one the things that many of the refugees, dissidents, and disenfranchised that originally colonized Musutafu and the Briar Patch had grown disaffected with as they'd fled the slowly imploding Inner Sphere. As they'd built their new home, they had worked diligently to ensure that the cult's single-minded mentality never took root among their people.
A big part of that was encouraging each generation of MechWarriors to take on a secondary speciality. MechTech, tank commander, radar analyst, and even elite ground troop training were all viable options for young 'Warriors to study and try and improve themselves, to grow beyond being a simple MechWarrior into something more.
Ensuring that each and every young 'Warrior knew that even an Atlas Assault BattleMech was anything but invincible was another way of taking away some of the glory and invisibility associated with the BattleMechs.
It had worked, for the most part anyway.
'Though some will always refuse to see the forest through the trees…' Inko thought sadly as her thoughts turned briefly to her childhood friend, Mitsuki Bakugō. The Baroness of Burning Heart who ruled, alongside her husband Masaru, one of the few inhospitable lands on the continent that housed the Duchy of Green Valley.
The Barony was located on harsh, stony lands, but it was home to several large veins of minerals and deposits of natural gas. Both of which helped support and fuel the rest of the Duchy, and kept the Barony as a wealthy, if rugged, land. And the Bakugō Family that ruled it was much the same; hard, rough but with a great deal of hidden wealth.
Unfortunately, Mitsuki's son, Katsuki, had what most Musutafians would call an unhealthy fixation on being a MechWarrior. The boy was supposed to have been a born pilot, taking to the sims on an almost instinctive level, but his obsession with heavier and more destructive 'Mechs tended to put many people ill at ease. The boy categorically refused to pilot anything less than a Medium BattleMech, save when under thereat of his mother's wrath, and had a particular…enthusiasm for any 'Mech type that had a missile-heavy platform.
By tradition, every member of the nobility attending the MechWarrior Academy was supposed to have at least a base understanding and skill level in piloting all 'Mech types. Her Izuku had already become quite adept with his now-modified Flea and was working on customizing his personal favourite Light BattleMech, a Panther PNT-10K2. He'd already been signed off on the Panther and was scheduled to start training with their Ancestral Family Mech, the Centurion CN9-AL, within the next couple of weeks.
"Have no fear, Your Grace, you'll find no better example for your son to follow than Toshinori." Nezu offered cheerfully. "He's a man I trust wholeheartedly, and you know what that means coming from me."
"Indeed I do, Marshall." Inko offered her friend a wan smile. "Thank you again for the help. Now, I'm sure that we both have work we need to get back to, and I have dinner with my son soon as well. I'll bid you a good day for now."
With a nod, Nezu cut the comm from his side.
Sighing heavily, Inko returned her attention to the datafiles before her. A Duchess' work was never done.
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Next Chapter: Emerald Heart
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MechWarrior Files!
Name: Toshinori Yagi
Location of Birth: Japan, Terra
Age: 48
Occupation: Mercenary Leader, MechWarrior
BattleMechs Piloted: Locust LCT-1V, Panther PNT-10K, Hunchback HBK-4N, Blackjack BJ-2, Phoenix Hawk PXH-3D, Shadow Hawk SHD-2Hb, Vindicator VND-3L, JägerMech JM6-Dgr, Rifleman RFL-3Cr, Axeman AXM-6T.
Opponents Fought: Lyran Alliance, Free World's League, Draconis Combine, Capellan Confederation, Word of Blake Remnants, Federated Suns, Clan Jade Falcon, Ghost Bear Dominion, Free Rasalhague League, Clan Wolf, numerous Periphery States and other mercenaries.
Enemies: Star Colonel Mugen Shigaraki Pryde of Clan Jade Falcon.
