Chapter 11

April 22nd, 3025

House of Parliament, Mach 'Beh

Suk II

"How off was timing on the virus?" said Orsula Alvarez, frowning at one of her nondescript agents while seated at her large office desk. The man didn't blink.

"In some cases, the cams went offline as late as thirty seconds before the attack, but over seventy-five percent of the raids had a successful virus before our teams went in. The plants at Bust, New Cameron, and Langley are the ones we suspect might have commandos recorded visually. We aborted two northern raids, due to a virus that failed completely. No one was detected."

"Any idea which units might have spotted them?" She leaned back in her oversized leather chair, the frown now becoming a scowl as she accepted the possibilities of this.

"It seems almost entirely to be RoughRider gun cams. We have two Planetary Militia tanks that caught "movement," he said, making the universally-known air quotes with his fingers. "Those units have already been recalled and the cam footage destroyed."

She studied her fingernails for a moment, leaning on her other hand while pondering further. She does that when she's stressed, he thought to himself. The awkward moment between the two of them seemed to stretch on for a week while a large digital holographic clock ticked away the seconds, complete with the sound of an old grandfather clock.

Finally, breaking the silence, she asked "What about these Iron Jackals? Did they break their contract after the raid on Langley?"

The man, slightly overweight but no doubt in shape enough to take out several people tailing him, said "Iron Coyotes, madam. A good chunk of them got caught in the blast, and then they stopped shooting at each other and walked together towards a RoughRider base. They might just pack up and leave, but I think there's less than a ten percent chance of that. They seem like an impressionable bunch. Perhaps they can be re-hired to…" he cleared his throat. "Augment? Our Planetary Militia."

As the head Minister of Safekeeping, a part of their Parliament dedicated to localized defense and allowed a more fast-acting response in times of crisis, she had a decent amount of control when it came to contracting mercenaries. These were busy times, with the planet being raided almost at a rate of almost once per year. She was instrumental in hiring the RoughRiders and helped negotiate the terms.

She stood, her tan ceremonial toga-like dress protesting at being wrapped around her so snugly. The agent, doing what most men do every few seconds, quickly wondered if "something" was going to pop out. She leaned forward with both hands on her desk and gave the man a view he would savor for the rest of his life, staring him down angrily. "Two things. Number one is the destruction of any more gun cam intel on the commandos. This is alpha one el numero uno priority. Anything it takes. I can always move things around to make it possible, but the clock is ticking. The second is to find every tech that was assigned to help plant the virus, whether they knew about it or not. Scour every log for every vehicle and 'mech, and if someone was involved, even by accident, find them. Use their families as leverage if we must. I don't care."

A few strands of her long, straight black hair in front to drape between her breasts.

"Yes, m'lady. Will that be all?" It took the willpower of a few stubborn Greek deities for the man to keep his eyes locked with hers.

"One more thing. Let's get in contact with these Coyotes. Offer them a standard garrison contract for what their forces are worth. We'll dump whole debacle on the RoughRiders if it comes to it, but for now let's just say investigations are underway, and it was obvious they were used as cannon fodder. Offer a severance on their current contract if you must. We need to get their 'mechs, and anyone else's that might have caught a glimpse of the commandos, under our roof so we can get that footage." She stood up straight, causing him to resist the urge to raise his eyes to stay with hers.

"Aye, m'lady." He bowed, breaking eye contact and walked briskly out of the room. Closing the door, he made his way downtown to a local all-hours bar that played loud music and had a smoke machine going almost every part of the day. A great place to pass the word along to his men.

April 22, 3025

Firebase Yankee

Suk II

Mr. Caine, the toga lawyer, was the first to break the awkward silence. "As far as the MRB is concerned you're in the clear. You could take off from this planet and take what you got paid already."

LaPointe could tell from Emily's expression that there was a better chance of him becoming Lord of a brand-new Star League. "They have their own score to settle. It's why they're here, Mr. Caine. Right, Major?"

Emily and Danek both exchanged nods. "We were doing just fine on our own with minimal losses when these bastards decided to get in the mix. Whoever's at the top, bankrolling them, is who I want to pay the butcher's bill for my people."

Understanding nods circled around the room. Emily could tell LaPointe was weighing his options. She might even get the offer to get hired, but there might be too much bad blood between her and the RoughRiders she'd be working with, having a few of them and ransomed a great deal more.

Almost as if reading her mind, LaPointe shook his head. "We couldn't take you in, ourselves. You could try the Planetary Militia. They're half-decent, but generally don't have the hardware available. That's why we're were hired."

"So, what would you recommend at this point?" Emily's gaze got serious, staring down the LC.

A few moments pause, then the LC pursed his lips as if he'd caught an idea and was considering it. He then nodded, and said "You're looking for answers, first. My first two guesses are whoever's responsible is either living on this planet, or somewhere in Combine space. Since you're already here, you might as well start here. Try to get with the Planetary Militia, even if at arm's length at first. They can probably help you get parts to restore your remaining 'mechs. You might even find a contract. I'll vouch for you. That'll go a long way. Especially with our recent history. Maybe you'll get a chance to round up some of these commandos sneaking around the planet. There's still plenty of targets for them to go after."

Everyone nodded, including J.J. He wanted answers too, but for different reasons. Lots of people wanted answers. It was time to find out who else wanted them as badly as she did.