CHAPTER 9

Nowhere, Solaris VII,
Freedom Theater, Lyran Alliance
January 21, 3075

The term 'in the middle of nowhere' had never felt more appropriate in the city of Nowhere. It was located, literally, in the middle of nowhere, far from the brouhaha of battlemech arenas save from a small gladiatorial enclosure that, judging by the length of the grass and the scarcity of burnt metal parts, rarely saw combats. It was one of few arenas in Solaris VII that hosted Level 1 (exoskeleton) matches. There were some weapon facilities near the city, but for the most part, Nowhere was a small place forgotten in the realms of giants.

The name put a smirk in Scarlet's face.

Parking the rental car in front of an unkempt-looking warehouse, Scarlet put the gear on park and turned the ignition off. Gunjin Mirabel, sitting beside her, drew her Nambu pistols, checking the ammunition. She slipped one beneath her jacket, and another one on the holster on her thigh.

"Keep your eyes open," Scarlet said as she exited the car. "Assume we are in hostile territory. You don't know what's waiting for us at every corner."

"Yes Ma'am," Mirabel, ever the faithful, drew an IR scanner and painted the area for hidden targets. She walked around the building for a few moments, making sure that no hidden places were left uncovered. "Perimeter is secured. No mechanical or biological heat sources detected within 500-meter radius."

"I need you to swear, Gunjin," Scarlet checked her own gun, a Mydron auto-pistol. "Swear that whatever you hear inside this building, you will bring it to your grave."

"Yes, Ma'am, I swear," Mirabel replied without hesitation.

"Alright, then, let's get this over with," Scarlet said and walked toward the door on the warehouse.

Mirabel dashed toward the door, getting into the building before Scarlet. The stench of freshly cut grass oozed from half a dozen Harvester agromechs scattered inside the warehouse. She immediately ran the IR scanner again, and this time, the little black box beeped, broadcasting the presence of three humanoid form around the corner. She quickly drew her Nambu autopistol and shifted to the center. "Unidentified units detected! Possible hostiles!" She aimed her guns at the 3 men on the corner. "You have 3 seconds to identify yourselves!"

"You first!" the man in the center drew his own gun. "Tobitachi kanetsu?"

"Tori ni shi arane ba," Scarlet replied. "Stand down, Gunjin. They are ISF agents."

Mirabel retracted her pistol, but her eyes still gleamed with suspicion. Understandably so, considering none of the men looked like Kuritan secret agents. The man in the center, obviously the leader of the bunch, was a slim average-height young man with brown hair long brown hair drapped in turban-like cloth and a dark-blue jacket with gold-colored trims. He stood sandwiched by two other weirdos, a tall athletic man with short red hair and red eyes, and a heavily-built man with a metal plate that covered most of his face save for his left eye.

"Sho-sa Scarlet?" the slim man in the center greeted them. "Agent Jamil, ISF, serial number 30489AWER-KA. These are my personal guards, Goltas and Masrur."

"Hajimemashite," Scarlet bowed her head. She looked at the two men on Jamil's left and right. "Are those necessary?"

"The same reason you bring your watchdog," Jamil said as he nodded at Mirabel. "We are far away from home in a place crawling with spies, mafias, and scumbags. There is no such thing as overprepared in Solaris City."

"Why didn't you meet me at Kuritan space, where spies are minimum?" Scarlet muttered matter-of-factly.

"I have been an ISF sleeper cell at Solaris City for years," Jamil said as he grabbed three cups and a bottle of sake. "I am deeply entrenched in the game world of Solaris. It would raise alarm, not only among Kuritans, but also spies from other houses, that I suddenly left Solaris City and met with DCMS high echelons."

"So let's get this done," Scarlet said coldly. "What interest do you have in me?"

"There is a mounting mercenary activity in Outworld Alliance," Jamil handed the sake cups to Scarlet and Mirabel. "Old consensus stated that this was just a trickling effect from the power struggle between the Avellars and the local families, but disturbing reports from the world of Callone VI make ISF thinks that there is more to it than just another civil war in the periphery."

"Reports?" Scarlet scoffed.

Goltas, Jamil's sasquatch of a bodyguard, pulled up a holoprojector and put it on a short table. The hologram showed a battlemech Scarlet had never seen before, with two large-barreled cannons protrudig from the left and right torsos, and two mech-scale swords, one in each hand.

"Ghalan family from Callone VI developed that mech," Jamil took a sip from his cup. "The specs are a little hazy, but it is said to be the next generation of battlemech, on par with Word of Blake's Celestials. Periphery nations should not have the technology and the resource to develop such hi-tech war machine, so the question is where does this Ghalan family obtain such technology?"

"Periphery is the least of our concern," Scarlet said. "I have no interest in periphery nations, or mercenary units wreaking havoc outside Kuritan space." She sipped her sake. "This is good sake, by the way."

"I resolve to only the finest of qualities," Jamil turned off the holoprojector. "And ISF is not interested in your interest. It is interested in your involvement in it."

"My involvement?" Scarlet cringed.

"The Federated Suns spends a lot of time and effort in the Outworld Alliance," Jamil emptied his sake then pour in some more. "Davion-employed mercenary units like the Lexington Legends and Carter's Wolverines are operating under MRBC radar, attacking independent families within Outworld Alliance. This covert-op does not make any sense, unless the Davions are up to something." He turned to Scarlet and looked her straight in the eyes. "Considering your 'intimate' relationship with some FedSun's high echelons, ISF expect that you have heard something about Davion's sneaky campaign in the Outworld Alliance."

Intimate was an understatement. Scarlet lost count how many weekends she and Major Fernandes spent enjoying each other's flesh. But that was not the matter in question. She did remember one of those times with Major Fernandes at Outworld Alliance border a few years ago. As memorable as the sex went, she remembered him showing off his 'pet' mercenary unit, the Lexington Legends, and asked her not to stand in the mercenary's way. She complied in one condition, that she would turn a blind eye if the mercenary let Kuritan sympathizers unharmed. She had not heard anything to that effect since.

"I am not aware of Federated Sun's operation in Outworld Alliance, nor I care," Scarlet kept her promise. "Operation SCOUR is our priority. We are putting nails on Word of Blake's coffin. The Ryuken-go, and all its component, did not take part in small-time ventures like Callone VI or Ghalan crime family."

"Your country is asking for your service," Jamil put pressure on Scarlet's stance. "The Federated Suns is our closest ally, but it is still the enemy of the state. There is no guarantee that 50 years from now we are still friends. If you know something about the Davions, I suggest you spit it out."

"I have given all I have," Scarlet didn't want to betray her own lover, even though he was a Davion. "My answer stands. If you are looking forward to pleasing ISF with dubious reports, you have to look somewhere else."

"Very well then," Jamil took a deep breath. "Your stand in the matter is duly noted." Her raised his cup. "We serve the same master, so I propose a toast. To Draconis Combine."

"To Draconis Combine," Scarlet raised her cup and finished her sake. Mirabel did the same. "Good luck, Agent Jamil. I'm sorry I wasted your time, but I can't help you more."

Scarlet bowed and turned around, but suddenly she was overwhelmed by fatigue. It was weird that the short conversation with the ISF agent drew so much energy from her. The closer she got to the door, the heavier her legs felt. She stopped for a while, taking several breaths to get ahold of herself, but it seemed like her eyelids weighed heavier by each passing second. She reached for the door and leaned on it for support. Her feet felt like bricks, and her spine lost its rigidity.

"Sho-sa…" she heard Mirabel called for her, followed by a loud thud. She turned around and saw Mirabel lying on the floor, not moving. The ISF agents stood in the distance, watching her struggling to control her body. She started to think that they were not ISF agents at all, but before she could go any further, everything turned dark.


Qishan Stable,
Solaris City, Solaris VII,
Freedom Theater, Lyran Alliance
January 21, 3075

The thick Middle-Eastern influence of Qishan Stable gave Noloty the creeps. The front façade was grand, and the domed top gave impression of a palace from the far east. But it also exuded hostility and macabre, like a venus flytrap that attracted unsuspecting insects with its attractive exterior, only to trap them between their inch-long 'teeth', and suck them dry.

As she followed Drake inside the building, Noloty wondered what kind of 'service' could the stable possibly need. Not that she was complaining. She could ask for a battlemech or two. But it seemed that the stable was doing great, and was not in dire need of some 'service'. But Noloty didn't want to guess. Solaris VII was a world she didn't understand, and the less she speculated, the better off she would be.

Drake led her to a grand rotunda where a man was sitting at the end of a long table. He was of a slim built, with brown hair long brown hair drapped in turban-like cloth and a dark-blue jacket with gold-colored trims. Two guards stood on his left and right, a tall athletic man with short red hair and red eyes, and a heavily-built man with a metal plate that covered most of his face save for his left eye.

"Drake," the guy chimed as the two came close. "Who's your pretty friend? She's a sight for sore eyes."

"My name is Tai-I Noloty Malche, Second in Command, Ryuken-go battalion," Noloty introduced herself.

"Aren't you a little too young for a Second-in-Command of a renown unit?" the man looked at Noloty from head to toe.

"Age is but a number," Noloty replied halheartedly. "You are familiar with DCMS chain of command."

"Everybody knows about the Ryuken-go. Moulded in the shape of the Wolf Dragoons. Fought the Smoke Jaguars in Wolcott and Garstedt. Decimated by the Federated Suns in 3068, rebuilt shortly after, yet still not officially on DCMS active roster." He grabbed some cups and a bottle of sake. "Kinda ironic, isn't it, that your commanding officer has a tight relationship with Federated Suns?"

"Her personal affair is not of my concern," Noloty replied matter-of-factly. "You know my name and my unit. Are you going to give me the courtesy of knowing yours?"

"Chu-I Jamil, 4th Arkab Legions, retired," the man gave Noloty a courtesy bow. "I, too, partook in Operation Bulldog in 3058. I fought as hard as any man in the battalion, but I wasn't built for the military. So when my service ended, I left and built my empire here, in Solaris."

"Glad to hear that we are in the same line of work," Noloty said. "Then I hope, as a former DCMS soldier, you could help another DCMS soldier in need. The Ryuken-go is low on resources. As of this moment, we only have 5 operational battlemechs. Unfortunately DCMS put us on low priority for reinforcements. We don't have the money to buy overprized Solaris mechs in the market. Mechwarrior Drake mentioned that Qishan Stable could use some services, and I am trying to see if the Ryuken-go could provide them, in exchange of battlemechs."

"Drake, Drake, Drake," Jamil poured sake into the cups. "I know Drake. He's a mechwarrior of mediocrity. Always tries to find favors out of the arena, because he is not good enough to win games fair and square. Isn't it true, Drake?"

"You don't know me enough to judge me," Drake growled, obviously holding back a lot of anger.

"But I do. I have been a stable master long enough to pass judgment on any mechwarrior that grazed the sand of the arenas," Jamil handed in the cups to Noloty and Drake. "Tell me, Tai-I Noloty, what's in it for him that he went through the trouble of mediating our meeting?"

"That is between me and Mechwarrior Drake," Noloty grew impatient. "Could we turn our attention to more pressing concern?"

"No service worth 7 battlemechs."

"Anything helps."

"Very well," Jamil snapped his finger. His large bodyguard pulled out a holoprojector to show a hologram of a rare Vindicator -5L, holding a sword in its left hand. "Qishan Stable has mechwarriors in all mech classes, but the medium-class team is not developing well. There's a major obstacle in the medium circuit." The bodyguard pressed some button, and the hologram switched to a picture of a woman of Asian origin, with shoulder-length reddish hair, eagle-sharp eyes, and a tattoo of kanji characters on her left arm. The same characters engraved on the Vindicator. "Amber Wang Chung, from Ground Control Stable. She has a knack to kill Qishan Stable's mechwarriors in the medium circuit."

"Amber Wang Chung is one of the best mechwarriors in medium class," Drake added.

"If you want me to get rid of her, then I can't provide that service," Noloty huffed.

"Aren't you a bunch of killers? Isn't your job to kill other mechwarriors?"

"With clear purpose, for the glory of Draconis Combine, in the battlefield. We don't kill for games."

"Well you have a purpose. You need battlemechs. Kill Amber Wang Chung, and I'll give you a battlemech of your choice. We have a good line up, both Spheroid- and Clan-made."

"I'm sorry, I can't provide this service," Noloty muttered morosely. "Is there something else we can do that does not include Solaris games?"

"Tai-I, think about this," suddenly Drake chimed in. "I'm not bound to duty and honor like you. Let me pilot one of Ryuken-go's battlemech, and I will kill Amber Wang Chung in the arena for you."

Noloty gave Drake an incredulous stare. "You? Killing one of the best mechwarriors in the medium class circuit? Why should I believe you that you have all it takes to do the job?"

Drake replied with a shrug. "Maybe you shouldn't. You don't know me long enough to trust me. But look at it this way: If I kill Amber Wang Chung, you get one battlemech and a mechwarrior. If I fail, you don't have to deal with me anymore. You win either way."

As promising as it sounded, Noloty wasn't sure if she should go with this scheme. She didn't know anything about Solaris game world. She didn't know how good Amber Wang Chung was. She didn't want to risk one of her teammates. She didn't even know what game Drake and Jamil were playing. They may aim for the bigger prize: Ryuken-go's stash of high-tech war machines. Perhaps they were playing her from the beginning, and she fell right into their trap.

Sho-sa Scarlet, where are you when I need you? Noloty sighed.

"I will make it easier for you, my young Tai-I," Jamil said with a sly smile. "I'll loan you one of my battlemechs. You take it to the arena. If you kill Amber, you keep the mech, as is. If you fail, I'll take my mech back. Sounds fair?"

"I will fight for you," Drake added, "for a place in your rank."

It was hard for Noloty to say 'no' to this. "Alright, let's do it."

"I'm glad I can help a fellow Kuritan," Jamil raised his sake cup. "Let's drink to celebrate. To Draconis Combine!"

"I'm sorry, I don't mix business with pleasure," Noloty bowed, then walked out of the stable.