"Moving to Engage." - Regular Speech
'What now?' - Thoughts
"Roger that." - Radio/Comm Transmission
"MOVE!" - Loudspeaker
Chapter 4: Daily Duty and 'Mech Training
"The Musutafu Concilium's Planetary Officer Academy is located just outside the Planetary Capital of Neo Tokyo. The large campus, comparable in size to a small fortress-city, was originally designed to house and train not only the MechWarrior trainees of the various Noble Families, but also to train the best and brightest of military recruits in everything from standard infantry tactics, AFV and Aerospace piloting, naval combat and even MechTech engineering and other support-staff operations. It holds facilities ranging from numerous training rooms filled with BattleMech and Aerospace Fighter simulator pods, various dojos for unarmed and armed combat training, multiple gyms and other physical training centres, war room simulators and firing ranges for weapons ranging from normal sidearms and rifles to MANPAD (Man-Portable Air Defence) missile weapons. This is in addition to a variety of classrooms, lecture halls and workshops for everything from basic engineering and mechanical maintenance to advanced MechTech laboratories and design studios for the more academic portions of the school's educational tuition.
The campus even has its own ASF runway and hangars, in addition to a large number of BattleMech Hangars, and the DropShips to make use of them in addition to its own dedicated JumpShip.
Originally founded just twenty years after the initial colonization of Musutafu III, and thus making it only ten years younger than the Musutafu Concilium itself as a formally formed governmental body, the Academy, as most Musutafians refer to it, is also a designed to act as a backup location in case The Tower, the Planetary Army's main command and control located on the opposite side of Neo Tokyo, is ever compromised or damaged. As such, it possesses data-links to nearly every vital system on the planet and even has its own dedicated war room that is near-identical in design and capabilities as the one located in The Tower.
Over the years the Academy has expanded its curriculum from being a purely military academy to include a variety of private sector and non-military courses. It is now considered the premiere academic institution on the planet for not only military and officer training, but also any number of civilian trades ranging from programming and engineers to civil leadership and literary academics.
All scions of the Council of Eleven are required to attend this vaunted institution whether they intend to eventually join the military or any other form of career path. This requirement was ratified as an official part of the Musutafu Charter by the Council of Eleven to ensure that all lords, ladies and potential heirs to the most powerful families on the planet are both competent and mentally stable in order to prevent a vile betrayer the likes of Stefan Amaris from rising within their ranks. This ruling goes hand-in-hand with the Academy's equally long-held policy of monitoring and vigorously checking the mental health of its students, many times without the students in question not even realizing that it is being done.
So far, this process seems to be working."
- Excerpt from 'A Newcomer's Guide To Musutafu (Military Edition)' by Ryōga Mineta
The Next Day
Midoriya Izuku's Suite of Rooms, Green Valley Grand Castle, Okami City
On most occasions, Izuku tended to dress far more casually than one would expect for someone of his station. This was partially connected to the fact that his favourite pastime usually left him covered in oil, grease and a great deal of sweat. That is not to say that he did not know how to dress properly, it was a necessity when he had to 'dress up' for anything from one of the far too many god-awful court functions, high-class events and parties or to attend to one of his duties as heir apparent to the Duchy of Green Valley.
Today was another such occasion. For this particular duty, he was dressed in the formal dress uniform of a ranking member of the Emerald Guard, the combined BattleMech, Infantry and Armoured Battalion that was nominally charged with protecting Okami City. It consisted of an emerald green and black military suit with golden epaulettes, a tag engraved with his name, a green officer's cap and the snarling wolf's head emblem stitched to his right shoulder that marked him as a full colonel of the Musutafu Army. He was just glad he was had managed to shout down the idiotic suggestion of having him granted some 'fruit salad' medals to complete the outfit.
If Izuku was going to wear a medal, it would be one he felt he'd truthfully earned.
Honestly, Izuku hated wearing this uniform more than anything else, mostly because he knew how utterly symbolic it was since he was in charge of an 'empty' battalion. The Emerald Guard was divided into four different regiments: the Ducal BattleMech Armoured Cavalry Division, more commonly known as the Ducal Guard, the Duke's Own Riflemen mixed infantry regiment, the Okami Armoured Cavalry Regiment and the Wall Guard that manned the large curtain walls that surrounded Okami City and the various inbuilt weapon embankments built into it, along with the roof-mounted anti-aircraft weapons that were strategically placed throughout the city.
His actual command position was supposed to be as the official commander of the BattleMech Division; unfortunately the majority of the BattleMechs of the Ducal Guard, along with a large portion of the Okami Armoured Cavalry Regiment's armoured fighting vehicles, had been gathering dust in their hangars for over a decade now, aside from regular upkeep, maintenance and upgrades of course. This was due to both his mother's banishing of the traitorous Ducal Guard when he had been less than a full year old and because the vast majority of the Okami 'Plain Wolves', as they had dubbed themselves, had been far more loyal to Rekka 'the Verdant Knight' Midoriya than they had been to the Duchy itself. They had, nearly to a man, left the regiment and emigrated elsewhere on the planet.
His mother had, of course, placed travel bans on the lot of them, preventing any from lawfully re-entering the Duchy of Green Valley for the rest of their natural lives, and any descendants trying to immigrate for at least the next few generations would be watched carefully.
While Izuku technically had just as much authority over either of the remaining regiments of the Emerald Guard, he felt it would be both petty and unbecoming of him to try and usurp control from their rightful commanders, particularly given his lack of experience.
With a bone-weary sigh, Izuku grabbed his cap, tucked it under one arm and began to march smartly along to his monthly inspection of the Wall Guard. He wouldn't be seeing to all of the various weapon embankments, of course; that would take several days of near-constant work. Instead, he was visiting three sets of guns today, two as part of a regularly rotating schedule and a third that was drawn at random, before visiting Wall Command for a brief tour and a status report over lunch before returning home.
The entire affair, in his honest opinion, was nothing more than a waste of time for everyone involved. Time that could be better spent on more productive works rather than dressing up pretty, polishing the guns up nice and shiny and standing at attention while he was forced to talk to a number of men and women who were mostly just starting to consider him as someone approaching competent rather than a young dilettante.
"Young Lord." his family's Majordomo, Miyagi Daikaku, greeted him as he descended the stairs leading from his family's private residential wing in the Grand Castle. "You wear the uniform quite well, very dapper."
"You were the one who taught me how to properly dress in this thing, Miyagi; and I certainly wouldn't want to disappoint you." Izuku rejoined lightly to one of his family's oldest and most faithful retainers as the man stepped forward to dust a non-existent piece of lint from his shoulder fussily. "Any messages for me before I head out?"
"Ah, yes. Miss Mei wishes for you to join her in the Ducal Hanger once you've finished your inspection of the Wall Guard." Miyagi replied with a slight nod. "And Miss Ochako has sent word that she will be arriving tomorrow for a brief visit and is looking forward to seeing you again."
The Ducal Heir couldn't stop himself from smiling brightly at the second message. Ochako Uraraka, future Baroness of Cloudy Peak, was one of his two oldest and most loyal friends, and he never got see her anywhere near as much as he would have liked. The Barony of Cloudy Peaks was one of the most distant of all of House Midoriya's vassal fiefs, and Ochako had always been a good and filial daughter, never liking to burden her parents by being away and unable to attend to her duties for too long.
"Anything from my lady mother? Or about the investigation into the…incident that occurred during my right of passage?" he asked curiously.
"Nothing yet on the latter, milord. As for the former, just a reminder that you aren't to let Miss Mei, and I quote, 'get you covered from head to toe in grease again' for the rest of the day. Your first training session with your family's Legacy 'Mech is scheduled for later this afternoon." the majordomo replied courteously.
Izuku nodded seriously. Every member of House Midoriya, from back when the first Midoriya had piloted a Mackie MSK-6S in 2470, had served their native armed forces with honour and distinction, but they hadn't had a true Family 'Mech for some time. They had bounced between various 'Mech types as they were developed, with the longest running being a rather basic Shadow Hawk SHD 2-H which was adopted shortly after it was released in 2550.
When the family had fled and eventually joined the founding families of Musutafu in mid 2780s, the then-Head of House Midoriya, Sekka Midoriya, had been among the most vocal in their belief that their new home needed to keep an eye on the galaxy outside the Briar Patch. This belief was only reinforced by the things he witnessed during his participation in the so-called 'Replenishment Raids' against the various remnant SLDF Castles scattered throughout the Periphery.
When he returned to Council after the raids ended, Sekka had led the lobbying in the Council of Twelve for the need to set up an intelligence department specifically tasked with monitoring both the Inner Sphere and the various Successor States that were emerging from the chaos, as well as working to acquire samples of any new technology or BattleMechs that might prove innovative, interesting or just plain useful to their new home.
House Yaoyorozu had led the argument against, the focus of their stance seemingly emphasizing that the risks of such operations exposing them to the galaxy at large simply weren't worth the potential gains.
The debates that had followed had been fierce, but in the end Sekka had won with a strong nine to three majority.
The first iteration of Musutafu's various spy rings had just been emplaced when the First Succession War had erupted in 2786 thanks to the idiocy of one Minoru Kurita, the then-First Coordinator of the Draconis Combine, as well as the pig-headedness and greed of the various other leaders of the Successor States. The war had been, by all accounts, an unforgivably bloody mess with the Ares Convention being almost completely abandoned by all sides. The Council had then been treated to report after report of massacre after atrocity after monstrosity. It would take several years for the operatives to be well-established enough to begin working on their secondary objective and start bringing various pieces of technology back into the Briar Patch to be examined, reverse-engineered and sometimes even improved on by some of Musutafu's best scientific minds.
The first iterations of this both delighted many involved in the research, due to the novelty of the developments, and disgusted them, as they got to see first-hand how far the overall tech level of the former Star League had fallen in only a few decades.
Then, in 2801, the first of the Centurion model Medium BattleMechs stomped their way onto the battlefield and an ageing Sekka Midoriya had seen a single image of the design and immediately fallen in love with it. The ageing Midoriya patriarch had personally financed the expedition that had been sent out to 'acquire' one from either the Free World's League or the Federated Suns. It had difficult and dangerous mission for all involved, including an amusing little run-in with ComStar's ROM agency at once point, but not only did the team manage to return flushed with victory and the promised BattleMech in 2804, but they had even managed to acquire a copy of the Centurion's schematics; which would be immediately handed over to the Musutafu's chief MechTech engineer, one Tsutsuji Hatsume.
That original Centurion had been House Midoriya's Legacy BattleMech ever since. It had fallen in combat no less than four times over the centuries, always in battles to defend the Briar Patch from some internal or even rare external threat, and had served as a temporary tomb to more than one Midoriya over the passing centuries. It had become a physical symbol of House Midoriya's dedication and loyalty towards their new home, and Izuku was proud to be its next pilot.
"Please let Mother know that I will do my best to keep Mei at arm's length today." he offered Miyagi with a nod. "Is the car ready?"
"But of course, Young Lord." the majordomo answered with a nod. "First Lieutenant Kayama has personally volunteered to be your escort for the inspection and is already awaiting you in the car."
"Again? I've told her a dozen times already that I don't even need an escort for this kind of event, let alone someone of her rank." Izuku replied, huffing in mild annoyance mixed with a touch of resignation. He had quickly learned that attempting to argue with Nemuri Kayama was something of an effort in futility unless he was willing to make it a direct order. And he wasn't willing to push his authority on an issue this minor.
Unofficially, Nemuri was the 'Vice-Captain' of the slowly reforming Ducal Guard, however since such a rank didn't exist on the Slate of Organization and Supply (SOOAS) for whatever reason she had been given the official rank of First Lieutenant to different her from the other Lieutenants that should be a part of the Ducal Guard. On paper, the Ducal Guard should have a strength of at least six full Lances of BattleMechs (or twenty-four MechWarriors) at all times, with the Guard being officially fully staffed only when it had twelve Lances (forty-eight MechWarriors).
Instead, the Guard currently consisted of just her, Captain Torino and two others MechWarriors.
Grumbling unhappily under his breath, Izuku entered the private elevator that was one of only two ways of entering the Ducal Living Wing and pressed his signet ring to the chestplate of the antique-appearing suit of armour located next to the large elevator's door, causing the helm to light up as the ring was scanned. The light turned from yellow to green as the ring was recognized as authentic. Aside from the specialized ID Cards carried by the Ducal and Palace Guard, these signet rings were the only keys that could unlock access into or out of the Ducal Living Wing. Even the servants charged with cleaning or staffing the wing had to be escorted in and out by a member of the Palace Guard.
A bit paranoid perhaps, but House Midoriya had a long history of being cautious and pragmatic, and they had an equally long history of surviving things that should have killed them because of it.
"Garage One." he stated aloud. The doors immediately slid shut and the large lift began to shift. Technically, Green Valley Grand Castle circled the entirety of Okami City, protecting it with its massive curtain walls that were taller than even an Assault Mech. According to his family's histories, the castle itself had originally been a small mountain with the city and fortress eventually being carved out of it. Okami City had been breached exactly once in its long history, being a major target in House Chisaki's attempted coup. A series of strategically placed bombs snuck in via infiltrators over the course of at least a year (and possibly far longer) and a sudden assault mere moments after their detonations had resulted in the city largely being levelled, though the city's bunker system had kept the casualties from being as nightmarish as they could be.
House Midoriya had soldiered on though, and had rebuilt their city larger and stronger than ever before.
The only way of moving through the Grand Castle was a series of variously sized elevator systems, as well as a series of internal trams that circumnavigated the near entirety of the wall. As Ducal Heir, there were only a handful of areas that Izuku did not have access to, while his Duchess Mother had access to every area of the Grand Castle that she pleased.
When the doors hissed open again, Izuku set his cap securely on his head and headed towards the limo that was already waiting by the elevator, likely alerted by Miyagi that he was on the way. The limo would take him through the centre of the city to The Gatehouse, the Wall Guard's command hub. It originally had been located near Okami City's ancestral main gates (hence the nickname), but when the city had been rebuilt after Chisaki's attempted coup, the command hub had been relocated deeper into the city to make it more difficult to target if the city was ever attacked again. The old nickname was kept, like a number of other things in the rebuilt city, to honour of the fallen.
"Young Lord." Nemuri Kayama greeted him with a smile as he entered the limo. As always, Izuku couldn't help but notice that she was a very attractive woman, but he had always prided himself on his self-control and found it easy to keep his eyes focused on her face rather her cleavage as they spoke, even if the female Ducal Guard uniform showed it off quite nicely.
"Countess Kayama." Izuku nodded back as the limo started to move. "I will repeat, once again, that this is an even larger waste of your time than it is of mine. You could just as easily send one of the ordinary members of the Guard for this kind of thing."
"I barely know my subordinates from lumps of oakwood, Young Lord; let alone trust them with your safety. Until that changes, I will be handling your escort personally as much as I am able." the black-haired woman responded simply.
"So that's your story and you're sticking to it, hmm?" Izuku responded dryly, already suspecting that the younger woman was here more as a favour for his mother than anything else, not that he had any proof of it. "So which of the weapon embankments am I visiting today?"
"Your scheduled visits are LRM Battery Nine-Gamma and PPC Battery Seven-Delta; while this month's 'winner' was ER Laser Battery One-Omega." Kayama answered immediately. "Wall Commander Nishiya also extends his compliments on your battle the other day and is looking forward to speaking with you at Wall Command."
Izuku nodded, his mood slightly lightened at the news. Shinji Nishiya was the Colonel currently in command of the Wall Guard (thus earning him the title of Wall Commander) and was one of the youngest soldiers in the history of the Emerald Guard to have earned his rank. The man was earnest, diligent and consistently proper in the fulfilment of his duties, as well as being an incredibly capable fighter and soldier. The only reason the man wasn't a BattleMech pilot as well was because he suffered from a congenital brain deficiency that made it impossible for him to use interface devices without becoming violently ill. Despite the man being twelve years his senior, he and Izuku had always gotten on fairly well.
"I look forward to speaking with him as well." Izuku agreed with a nod. There was a brief silence after that, though it only lasted a few moments before Nemuri broke it, her expression oddly serious.
"Young Lord, how are you feeling after what happened yesterday?" she asked.
"You mean after someone deliberately sabotaged the Legacy 'Mech of an allied Duchy's vassal in an attempt to assassinate me?" he asked blandly before snorting. "I'd honestly like to say I was surprised when my mother informed me that it was likely an assassination attempt last night, but I'm afraid I can't. Rekka Midoriya was a charismatic bastard when he was in his prime and managed to turn a large portion of the Emerald Guard into little more than a cult of personality centred around himself. The fact that the 'Verdant Knight's' fanatical followers have finally started to move and that I'm squarely in their sights is something that I knew was all but inevitable."
The way he spoke so calmly about this was a surprise. There was worry in both his tone and face, but little in the way of fear, and that honestly shocked Nemuri a lot more than she'd care to admit. Izuku had always seemed so…soft to her.
"You…are taking this far better than I was expecting, milord." she offered after a moment.
Izuku let out a slight breath before looking her in the eye. "I've known since I was old enough to understand the story of what happened between my mother and bastard grandfather that Rekka's most zealous followers were not just going to just leave me and my mother be, that there was a better than average chance that some of them would make an attempt on me in revenge for what is being done to their master." he admitted. "I think it all just…clicked a bit over three years ago. I've had plenty of time to come to terms with it and prepare myself to face what is to come."
"I see." Nemuri offered, face carefully neutral. "Well, while you remain in the Duchy, you're going to have some extra protection. Three members of the Heroic Hearts Mercenaries are only a couple of years older than you are, so Her Grace requested that they spend some time assisting with your Medium BattleMech training. I think she's somehow managed to arrange a teenage play-date for you, Young Lord."
"Motherrrrr…" the young heir groaned as he rested his face in the palm of his hand. His mother was a dear and lovely woman who he would defend to his last breath, but, by their Ancestors, did she love to baby him.
After taking a moment to compose himself again, he eyed the now smirking Nemuri and asked warily, "And who precisely are these three mercenaries?"
In response, she presented him with her own data slate, three pictures already pulled up and on display. One was an extremely well-muscled blonde boy with an infectious smile that practically screamed 'big brother material.' The boy next to him was taller and more lithe, with messy navy-coloured hair and seemed to be trying to shrink in on himself even in the picture.
The last was a girl that seemed to radiate a bubbly energy even through the camera. She had bright sky blue hair, an unusual trait for someone not born with Musutafu's…unique genetics, and bright deep blue eyes. Physically she looked quite fit and…good ancestors, those had to be the largest pair of breasts he'd ever seen. He took a moment to pause and mentally reinforce his resolve to not stare when he eventually met her. She was a trained MechWarrior and deserved better than to be stared at like a piece of meat!
"Make you sure you do take at least a brief look." Nemuri pointed out, making Izuku flush slightly as he realized his old bad habit of muttering out his private thoughts had come back for a moment. "While not staring is a given, pretty girls like Nejire Hadō like people to confirm that they're pretty, so ignoring her looks completely would be something of an insult, and I know you better than to think you'd insult a girl you've only just met."
He winced, that was a fair point. "Very well, but I will not be doing anything more than looking respectively."
"You do know that you are allowed to date, don't you Young Lord?" the countess asked rhetorically. "I'm willing to bet that most of your peers will have at least dated by the time they reach the Academy."
"Anyone I do decide to date will not be in for a pleasant time, Countess Kayama." Izuku let out a tired sigh. "With the sheer amount enemies my family is facing now, be they mother's political opponents or Rekka's bloodthirsty fanatics, anyone I become too 'close' to will end up becoming a target as well. Their family history, their parent's courtship, their own lives…all of it will be dragged up and through the mud to try and find some way to hurt my family. I'm simply not willing to put someone I care for through that, let alone the kind of stress such a situation would put on my mother."
"You truly do care deeply for your mother." Nemuri noted fondly. If more boys had loved and respected their mothers like Izuku Midoriya did, then the Inner Sphere wouldn't be such a clusterfuck all the time. "Still, I think you are overthinking this by quite a bit. I know that Her Grace would be hurt if she thought that you were denying yourself the simple pleasures like dating a cute girl for her sake. Or boy, if that's your preference."
"Girl. I don't have any issues with same-sex dating, but I simply don't find my own gender attractive in that way." Izuku informed her quickly, the last thing he wanted was to offer the woman more ammunition to tease him with.
"If you'd like my honest advice, Young Lord, is to act your age and have some fun." the dark-haired woman continued adroitly. "You're only young once and once it's gone, you'll never get it back. Some crotchety old folks like to say that 'youth is wasted on the young' and there's definitely some truth to that. Sure, it's good to think about the future, but it's also important to live in the present and be a bit reckless from time to time. Then again, I'm sure your idea of 'reckless' would look more like a carefully planned out operation to other people."
"Ha. Ha. Ha." the next Duke Midoriya laughed sarcastically at her. "Having a sensible amount of caution is never a bad thing, countess, but I will…consider your point. Anyway, did Mother tell you that she managed to convince Baroness Utsushimi to join the Ducal Guard for the next five years?"
"Yes, I'd heard that, though I'm still wondering why." Nemuri agreed with a frown. "The Yaoyorozu Family isn't going to take kindly to Her Grace just snatching up one of their vassals like that."
"That's probably why Mother put in the five-year limit to her service, to ensure that the Yaoyorozu know that we're not attempting to steal their vassals, just borrowing one." Izuku replied with a smirk. "Personally, I'd have simply let her off. She did take the time to warn me that her 'Mech was going critical before punching out. That could have cost her her own life if she'd been any slower."
"Do remember that your trial was still supposed to be a friendly competition, Young Lord. Not warning you about the danger would have gone against the very spirit of such a match." Nemuri responded. "The young lady seemed to be quite mortified that she was being used as a cats-paw in an assassination attempt; which is likely why she didn't put up much of a fight against the idea. That and her Phoenix Hawk was utterly wrecked. From how Majima was grumbling, it's going to need a total rebuild to get it back on its feet. I sincerely doubt that that kind of expense was within her current pay-grade, and I can certainly understand her not wanting to start her military career as a Dispossessed."
"Even if we deducted the maximum amount courtesy would allow us to pay?" Izuku responded with a raised brow.
"She is only a Baroness, Young Lord; and her fief is nowhere near as prosperous as Cloudy Peak or Burning Heart." the Countess pointed out.
Frowning to himself, Izuku mentally went over everything he knew about Phantasm Ridge and realized that Nemuri was right. The Barony of Phantasm Ridge was one of the smallest and least populous Baronies on Musutafu. While not exactly poor, it was in no way prosperous and was almost a complete non-entity in the political realm. The only remotely noteworthy thing about the entire region was House Utsushimi's long and distinguished service in the Advanced Recon Forces and Intelligence Departments.
"Hm, well at the very least Baroness Utsushimi will be getting her Illusory Lady fixed up properly at no cost to her family." he surrendered with a shrug, before straightening as he spotted the looming form of The Gatehouse coming into sight. "Well, guess it's time to get back to military formal, First Lieutenant."
"As you say, Colonel Midoriya." Nemuri snapped a smart salute at him, making him roll his eyes at her before putting on a professional mien. This inspection was going to take all morning...
Later
Ducal BattleMech Hanger
Mei Hatsume had always considered herself a fairly straightforward girl, one with simple tastes and desires. She liked technology in all its forms, albeit with a particular interest in BattleMechs, and loved nothing more than pulling them apart to see how they worked before coming up with ways to improve on them. She was especially fond of doing such works and planning out new designs with her friend Izuku. Her desires were equally straightforward, she wanted unlimited access to technology and the freedom to build as many babies as her heart desired; well that, and to keep Ocha-whatsherface Somethingorother-raka away from Izuku.
While Mei knew that she wasn't what most would call socially apt (and honestly didn't care enough about interacting with other people to try and correct this), her rather pinpoint female intuition told her that the brunette Baroness-to-be wanted to take her MechTech buddy and building partner away from her. And Mei would freely admit to anyone who asked that she was rather possessive of those few people, her parents and brother aside, whose names she had put the effort into actually learning.
"Heya Izu!" she greeted her friend as he made his way into the Hanger. "I've got your Panther all fixed up, good as new!"
"I knew I could rely on you Mei." her best friend smiled at her in a way that made some weird part of her go all wiggly-wobbly. Izuku had been causing that weird feeling more and more since she went through that stupid 'puberty' thing. It was weird and kinda annoying, but not enough to outweigh her enjoyment at spending time with her best friend. One of the few who'd people who didn't see her as the 'weirdo BattleMech otaku' or 'that crazy girl who's always blowing shit up' and either tried to scold or change her or just straight-up avoided her.
Izuku had always accepted Mei as Mei, and she treasured him for that.
"Seriously though, what happened to its left arm?" she complained aloud to distract herself from those weird thoughts. "There was barely an inch of armour left there."
"One of Baroness Utsushimi's shots managed to hit it at a really odd angle." Izuku answered. "It managed to tear straight down the side Emerald Flame's arm before hitting the ground. Seriously, an inch more to the left or right and it would have completely mangled the arm. Still, even a glancing shot would have been enough to tear through the remaining armour and damage the internals, I was really lucky in that match…"
"Yeah…one of the 'Techs working in the Hangars mentioned that her 'Mech going critical like that was some kind of assassination attempt. That true?" the pinkette asked, a scowl starting to form on her face. If someone was going after her buddy…
Izuku sighed before nodding. "That's what it looks like. But we've got no clue who was behind it right now, so you're not allowed to go on a rampage in that mock-up Mackie of yours." he stated flatly, referencing the first major project they'd worked together on, building an exact replica of the original Mackie MSK-5S using scraps from the BattleMech Hangars and historical data that the Hatsume Family had received from the Midoriya Family. It was the only usable Assault BattleMech on Musutafu III and was kept locked securely in the Hatsume Family's private hanger; though the machine itself would have a hard time dealing with a modern Medium, let alone a Heavy or another Assault.
"Poo." she harrumphed unhappily, only vaguely aware that Izuku found that kind of act 'cute' on her.
"Ahem!" Izuku hastily cleared his throat before changing the subject. "Anyway, Mum has given me strict orders to avoid getting greased up today since I've got my first training sessions to start learning how to pilot Emerald Heart later this afternoon, so no getting arms deep today." he finished apologetically. "How about we keep today's work as a brainstorming session. We're almost done with setting up the base schematics for our 'Mech design, so a good session might let us finish and get started on the real nuts and bolts."
While initially disappointed that they wouldn't be stripping down a mech like she'd been intending (and she really liked looking at Izuku when he was coated in oil for some reason), Mei's exuberance instantly returned when he brought up their newest and biggest Baby yet; their attempts to personally design the Briar Patch's first home-grown Medium BattleMech. The two had been working on it since they'd found her great-great-grandmother's engineering journals three years ago.
Mei's great-great-grandmother was also her personal hero, the woman who had invented the only fully home-designed 'Mech to come from Musutafu III. The Marlfox was comparable to any of the general-purpose Light 'Mechs in the Inner Sphere or even the Clans; designed with primary focus on adaptability and ease of reconfiguration.
Eagerly heading towards the hangar's offices, with only a brief stopover so that her childhood friend could personally check on his Panther, Mei was giddy as she mentally went through everything they'd come up with on their Medium 'Mech design so far. The first step had been, of course, selecting their Baby's designated combat role. That had taken longer than she'd hoped, since there were a lot more options than she'd initially thought. She and Izuku had discussed it for weeks, going through various other 'Mech designs to find some hole to fill or an idea that they could improve on. In the end they'd decided on a Main Battleline Combat 'Mech, one that could stand on the frontlines and be the main unit to hold it against almost any enemy class.
Then they'd started working on the weapons loadout. LRMs were always a favourite in Musutafu's combat doctrine so one of the first things they'd added was a pair of hard-points for missile weapons on the base chassis' shoulders. Izuku had also been insistent on using the AC-10 as the main weapon (and he'd made a good argument for it too) so they had decided to have one built into the machine's right arm. The opposite arm would have a trio of Small Lasers built in to act as secondary weapons as well as a Battlefist in case the machine was ever forced into close-quarters. Finally, they'd decided to leave the chest more easily customizable to better suit an individual pilot's combat style so they'd only incorporated a few free hard-points for either missile or energy weapons.
For the rest of the 'Mech's main equipment, they'd chosen to go with an Artemis Targeting System to better improve the damage potential of the missile weaponry and incorporated a gyroscope to help increase the machine's ability to resist being knocked down, since the weapons loadout did make it a bit top-heavy.
They were still working on deciding the rest, including the base frame, engines and the type of ejection seat to use. The actual visual design would be the last thing they worked on.
Their design session lasted for a couple of hours until it was time for Izuku to head out for his 'Mech training, and they made good progress on selecting their base frame, so Mei was willing to call it a success before a sudden thought prodded her brain.
"Hey, what should we name our Baby?" Mei asked suddenly as they started putting everything away.
Izuku almost faceplanted into the desk at that, his face instantly flushed bright red at what someone outside Mei's family or his mother would infer from her words. "Mei, can you please not say things like that!? You are going to make everyone think we spent the afternoon….c-canoodling!" he was practically begging.
"Oh, you mean having sex?" the pink gearhead asked, tilting her head slightly to one side in contemplation.
"Yes. It would be very bad if people started to think I was taking advantage of you or something." the boy responded, relieved that she seemed to at least understand that much.
"Anyone who thinks you could, let alone would, take advantage of me is either so stupid that I need to crack open their skull to see what's wrong with their brain or just deliberately trying to stir up shit." Mei responded with a snort. Privately, she admitted that she would prefer if her partner would drop the overly noble 'I will not objectify women' barrier he kept up all the time. "Idiots aside, name?"
Izuku sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose, before responding mildly. "I honestly don't think that's something we should decide at random, Mei. Coming up with a proper designation should probably be part of the final design phase, since the name will likely influence how we handle the cosmetics. But if you want a temporary placeholder…going by what we've designed so far…how about...Knight?"
"Isn't there a Heavy 'Mech using that one?" the gearhead replied with a blink
"That's the Black Knight, Mei." Izuku responded. "There's no BattleMech that has used just 'Knight' as their designation without some qualifier added to it. Gear Knight, Silver Knight, Blood Knight…stuff like that."
"…what kind of stupid edge-lord named a BattleMech design 'Blood Knight'?" Mei responded incredulously, more than a bit offended at the mere idea of giving one of her precious babies such a godawful name.
"Some would-be Pirate King in one of the Periphery States. He apparently made a bit of a name for himself after the Second Fall of Somerset in 3052 and had a bunch of MilitiaMechs constructed based on the old Arbiter model back in 3070." Izuku explained, pulling a slight face when he mentioned the MilitiaMech's base design. The Arbiter was one of the worst 'Mech designs he'd ever seen, an utter paper tiger that was only capable of looking threatening. "I'll give the man credit, he only used the Arbiter as a base design, the actual 'Mechs weren't that bad. They used a 35 ton Light Mech frame, likely salvaged from either Spider or Panther models, for the base and built up from there. As I recall, Clan Ghost Bear wiped out his entire force just over two years later in 3072."
"He deserved it, for giving a 'Mech such a cringe-worthy name if nothing else." the Heiress to the HII stated flatly.
Izuku laughed at that. "Don't ever change, Mei. Don't ever change." he offered with a grin as they finished cleaning and made their way to the access doors. "So, what are you going to do while I'm working in the simulators?"
"Going to do some reading up on the Centurion. I can't be your Chief MechTech if I don't know everything there is to know about your 'Mechs." Mei replied absently. She'd done the same when he'd selected his Panther, it would be simple to just repeat the previous process.
"Just remember to sleep this time? Please? I know you get caught up in your work, but you worry me when you neglect your health like that." her green-haired friend begged.
"Can't I just make a baby to handle that for me?" the inventor complained in annoyance.
"Biology doesn't work like that Mei!" Izuku groaned in exasperation. He would have continued, but when the doors hissed open he walked face-first into…
'...are those balloons or tits?!' Mei thought dumbly as Izuku walked into the bustiest girl she had ever seen! Mei was (secretly) rather proud of her D-Cups, since they were just as big as Ocha-something's and she had the largest breasts Mei had seen in the entire Duchy.
This girl had to have at least an E-Cup! If not bigger!
The rest of the girl was just as appealing as her massive knockers: soft and obviously well-cared-for skin, bright deep blue eyes, long and luscious blue hair, and a face that still had a hint of youthful cuteness to offset a burgeoning beauty. She was dressed in a MechWarrior's Combat Suit, done in multiple shades of blue matching her hair, which confused Mei a bit. Most MechWarriors she knew kept their hair short to keep it from interfering with the Neural Interface Helmets they used, but this girl's hair reached her knees!
"Oof!? Oh, there you are!" the girl grunted slightly, but didn't even budge at being walked into before grinning brightly as she noticed Izuku stumbling back a few steps, already stammering apologies and already cherry red after walking headfirst into her breasts. The girl seemed to not have even noticed the situation. "Nice to finally meet you in person!"
"Y-You're...M-MechWarrior Nejire Hadō, of the H-Heroic Hearts Mercenaries, right?" Izuku asked, trying desperately to keep the slight stammer out of his voice.
"Yup! Yup!" the girl agreed with a bright smile and a cheery salute. "Mirio sent me to pick you up, so c'mon time's a-wasting!"
Quickly grabbing the stunned Ducal heir by the wrist, the bubbly bluenette quickly pulled him along behind him, completely ignoring his stammering protests that he could walk on his own. Mei was left there gaping at the scene she'd just witnessed.
Had some other girl just up and 'yoinked' Izuku out from under her!?
A feeling that had previously only arisen when a certain bouncy brunette was involved began to bubble up from Mei's stomach; jealousy, pure and unadulterated jealousy. She was the only person allowed to drag Izuku around and make him all flustered. If this off-world hussy thought she could just dive in and take her place, then she was shooting at the wrong BattleMech!
Deciding that studying the Centurion could wait for a day or two, Mei stomped back into the office the Duchess had kindly set up for her and Izuku's use when they were diving into the more cerebral aspects of their passions. First, she was going to design a few new…energetic Babies to calm down, then she was going to start finding out everything she could about these outsiders, and this 'Nejire Hadō' girl in particular.
No one yoinked her friend from her and got away with it! Especially not some girl with tits bigger than a kid's head.
Minutes Later
Medium BattleMech Simulator Room, Green Valley Grand Castle
"I do wish you'd have at least let me properly say goodbye to Mei before we left." Izuku grumbled slightly to the overly exuberant girl as they entered into one of the Grand Castle's dedicated simulator rooms. There were several scattered throughout the military command sections of the Green Fields Grand Castle. Some were designed for mixed 'Mech Lances while others were specifically designed for a particular weight class of 'Mech and other were designed for 'Mechs with a specific function, like Recon or Frontline Combat. This one, if Izuku remembered correctly, was designated specifically for Medium 'Mech simulators, including a few that weren't even used in the Musutafu Concilium.
"Who?" the periwinkle-haired girl asked, her head tilting to the side cutely.
"The pink-haired MechTech that I was working with when I literally walked into you?" Izuku pointed out dryly. "Mei Hatsume, my Chief MechTech and childhood friend."
"Ohhhh…I didn't notice that the two of you were actually working together, I just thought you were walking in the same direction! Sorry." the mercenary girl giggled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "Wonder why she was looking at me funny though?"
"Probably because I literally walked face-first into your cleavage." the Ducal Heir deadpanned, though he couldn't stop the slight flush from rising to her face. Meeting Nejire in person had certainly proven that a picture didn't capture the true essence of a person. Nejire's photo had made her look quite energetic and more than a bit…vapid, and, while she did seem to be a bit of an airhead, there was also a very good mind hidden beneath that bubbly personality. The talk they'd had about her own Lynx, the Little Nejire, during the tram-ride to this sector of the castle had made it quite clear that he was dealing with an experienced and well-trained MechWarrior rather than some vapid bimbo as others might assume based on her appearance and personality.
Her appearance was also far better than a simple photograph could demonstrate. In person, Nejire had vibrant, lively energy that only seemed to enhance her looks not unlike Mei, albeit more bubbly and less manic. She was also extremely expressive and enthusiastic, her face lighting up the moment something caught her interest, excitement or attention. Most importantly, to him at least, there was a level transparency to the girl; he'd learned long ago to spot when someone was hiding their own agenda and he hadn't caught a single sight of such while conversing with the bluenette. Either the young MechWarrior was a master actress in disguise or she simply didn't have one.
"Oh…yeah…" Nejire's cheeks dusted pink at that little reminder. Usually, she was the one who dragged people into hugs there and she honestly didn't mind the contact that much, but having it done to her out of the blue had caught her off-guard for a moment. Still, seeing the green-haired teen turn so red that he looked like a ripe tomato (the image was particularly strong when combined with his green hair) and started sputtering and stammering out apologies like he had had so cute that she'd quickly recovered her equilibrium and dragged him off without even thinking about it, which had likely unintentionally annoyed his friend.
Oopsie.
Nejire was long-accustomed to having the fend off the attentions of arrogant nobles (and merchants, and pirates, and soldiers, and MechWarriors and just about anyone who had too high an opinion of themselves) who tried to come on to her in some form or another. More annoyingly, 'female mercenary' apparently translated into 'prostitute' in a number of different sectors of space, so since puberty had hit her 'like a fucking DropShip' (as one female mercenary had described it) she'd been forced to fight off would-be swains with a stick.
Yet, despite all of that, Izuku Midoriya hadn't once tried to proposition her in any form and had actually managed to talk to her face rather than her boobs like 90% of the time. Since most men rarely managed to do better than 40% that was actually quite impressive in her books. Instead, he'd been polite, friendly and had kept his eyes mostly on her own. Their talks about her baby girl had been quite fun and he hadn't even tried to cop a feel since his accidental faceplant into her boobs.
Like her friends Mirio and Tamaki, she was a war orphan from a planet on the far side of the Inner Sphere, between it and the Tortuga Dominions. The three of them had been piloting shitty excuses for UrbanMechs since they had been thirteen, trying to defend their little camp of less than five-hundred people from pirates, unsanctioned mercenaries and the occasional Tortugan Pirate Noble looking for 'prey' to hunt. Then the Heroic Hearts had shown up when they were fifteen, crushed the local nobles and mercenaries and helped evacuate their people to a welfare camp in the Federated Suns. It had taken a while to persuade Toshinori to let them join (mostly because of Mirai constantly whispering in his ear), but Nejire and her friends had become mercenary trainees.
They even still had their old UrbanMechs in storage aboard the Roppongi.
Because of those early years, they'd all had a hard time dealing with nobles of any stripe. The past couple years working with Heroic Hearts had broadened her horizons significantly, showing her both the best and worse of the galaxy's nobility. From those that worked to protect their people, to those who'd gladly sell them off to fatten their wallets. 'In the end, Nobles are just like most people, there's good ones and bad ones, and a lot that fall somewhere in-between, you just got to learn to spot which is which.' Mr. Yagi had taught them that.
He was right, they were people, most just tended to be really snooty people.
But Izuku and his mother seemed to be different from any of the ones she'd met so far, more like the nobles in the storybooks she vaguely remembered her mother reading to her when she was a little girl.
Plus, there was no way a sleazy nob could act so dang cute after walking face-first into her boobs.
"Hiya greenhorn!" Mirio greeted them from where he was leaning against a simulator. Just like her he was also dressed in his Combat Suit, smiling widely and extending his hand. "The name's Mirio Tōgata, pleased to meet you!"
"Izuku Midoriya, but I'm sure you knew that already." the green-haired boy said with a smile of his own and a firm handshake. "Nice to meet you, MechWarrior."
"Eh, technically, we're just MechWarrior Trainees until we turn eighteen." Mirio responded with a slight shrug as the two men let go of each other's hands. "That's only a month away for me, while Nejire and Tamaki have another three and two to go respectively."
"Speaking of your teammate, where is he?" Izuku looked around and seeing no one else in the room.
"Tamaki's got a lion's heart in combat but he's got a flea's heart when it comes to people." Nejire complained with a wince. "He's really, really super socially awkward. Put him in a BattleMech and point him at an enemy and you won't find a braver, more tenacious MechWarrior. Put him in a room with a few people not immediately trying to kill him and he'll curl up in a corner until they go away."
"Ah." the Ducal Heir nodded in understanding. "So basically me back when I was ten, only dialled up to eleven."
"Really? You don't seem all that awkward to me." the girl asked. Yes, he'd gone all stammery and blushy when he faceplanted in her boobs, but that was more cute than awkward in her opinion.
"Trust me, I was a timid, neurotic mess back then; only really comfortable when I was elbows deep in a 'Mech or with people I knew well. You can thank Captain Torino for getting me to this level of functional. He started working for the Concilium when I was nine and started working directly under my mother when I was ten." Izuku winced slightly as the slightly traumatic memories of his training came back a bit. "The training he put me through was…vigorous in the extreme and his efforts to get me to 'build up a proper spine' were…incredibly unpleasant. I am actually grateful that he spent a lot of his time talent hunting in the Inner Sphere back then or I might not have survived. Still, it proved effective in the end."
"Wow. That is…some kind of talent he's got there." the blonde man observed with a blink, not sure how else to respond.
"It was…painful but necessary." Izuku stated blankly, his face devoid of emotions. "Please don't ask."
"Okay!" Nejire agreed cheerfully, before turning to Mirio. "I take it Tamaki's already in one of the simulators."
"Yup. We lucked out, they've got simulators for both Raijin and Sentinel models." he agreed with a grin. "We know the greenhorn is going to work on the Centurion simulator, so what are you going to play with Nejire?"
"Hmmm." Nejire hummed in thought. "Is there a simulator of a 'Mech that's anything close to my Lynx?"
"My Mother's customized Targe would probably be the closest. I know that the simulators have the data for that one loaded." Izuku offered. "They should also have the Fennec or, if you're feeling a bit adventurous, the Blackjack."
"Neato! I'll flip through them and see which works best on the first few runs." Nejire beamed.
"Hahaha! Good to see you're just as eager to try new 'Mechs as ever, Nejire!" Mirio said with a laugh. "Now, before we start, could you run us through how you start up your 'Mechs? We noticed at your Rite of Passage yesterday that your 'Mech was a bit stiff starting out but got better as the match went on."
Puzzled, Izuku ran through his normal start-up procedure from A-to-Z, and once he finished, the two more experienced MechWarriors kindly told him he was activating a couple of things out of order and causing complications in the BattleMech's systems that took a few minutes for the system to even out. Nothing that would be harmful except for wearing down a few internal components a bit faster than normal, but it would leave even the fastest 'Mech a bit sluggish until it was running for a few minutes.
"Ugh, I should have noticed something was off." Izuku groused with a facepalm. "It also explains why Captain Torino never managed to catch it; he assumed that even the bastards who were originally charged with my training wouldn't be able to misrepresent something as basic as starting up a BattleMech!"
"These people really don't like you, huh?" Nejire asked, mindful of Commander Yagi's request to gather information on just how the Ducal Heir viewed his assailants.
"I'm half-Musutafian, half-Clan; a child of two worlds that, according to some, doesn't belong to either." Izuku offered with a snort of disgust and a pointedly sour look on his face. "My…mother's father, Rekka Midoriya, the so-called 'Verdant Knight of Green Fields' was a major figure in the anti-genetic modification movements on Musutafu. He personally viewed the modifications our ancestors had to go through to original colonize Musutafu III as a 'poisonous necessity' and was among the loudest in decrying any further 'sullying' of our genetics. As you can imagine, my mother marrying a Clansman, who are well-known for their abundant use of genetic engineering and eugenics, and then having me was the straw that broke the camel's back as the old saying goes."
Izuku was silent for a moment before he continued. "I'm fairly certain that most of those acting in his name now don't even share his ideals, at least not to the point that they'd go this far for it. No, despite his rather close-minded ideals, my grandfather was…well, he was an exceptionally charismatic man, one that could gather followers and instil loyalty with an almost impossible ease. Those that strike against my family now are merely angry dogs, snapping and biting at my mother and I for what she dared to do to their 'beloved master'."
"Isn't he just imprisoned?" Mirio asked, head tilting to once side.
Izuku let out a bark of cold, humourless laughter. "That is a most severe understatement. After mother de-fanged him, humiliated him, and destroyed his reputation before the entirety of the Council, she had him thrown in the most high-security sector of the Grand Castle's penal area. He is in a state of almost permanent isolation with extremely limited light, little food, and just enough water to survive on. My mother sentenced him to the worst kind of death he could suffer, a slow, wasting one as every part that had made him the great Verdant Knight is slowly ground away. Mother even forbid me from entering the penal area until he dies, she doesn't want to risk seeing me driving the old fool over the edge and giving him even that much escape from his fate."
Both mercenaries felt a cold shiver go down their spines as they listed to the younger teen coldly describe the fate that Inko Midoriya was visiting upon her own father. That the nice and kindly seeming lady they'd met a couple days ago was capable of something so…cruel was terrifying. It wasn't the worst thing they'd heard of (not nearly) after being forced to deal with the Pirate Lords of Tortuga, but it was still a very real sign that there was more to Duchess Midoriya than her soft exterior showed.
"Your mother…is kinda' scary." Mirio offered weakly. "Remind me to stay on her good side while we're staying here."
"You'd be surprised how hard it is for some people to learn that, even though Rekka's fate has been well-known for over a decade. Just remember that my mum lives by a very simple philosophy and you'll be fine. 'Treat friends and those who could be friends with a silken glove, and crush those who make themselves your enemies beneath an iron hand.'" Izuku offered ruefully. "So, simulator training?"
"Right." the older teen agreed, glad to be back on task. "We'll start off with having you as a fourth in a Lance with me, Nejire and Tamaki against simulated opponents, then we'll each have a round against you to get a feel for your fighting style. Once all that's done, then we'll go over everything you did right and wrong. Sound good?"
"Let's get started then." Izuku agreed firmly, eyes glinting with determination.
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Next Chapter: Shadows Abroad and At Home
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