Sigma Mercenaries 0001R: Initial Public Offering REVISED

by CSS Stravag

Sigma Mercenaries Mainline story beginning, REVISED EDITION. When an unknown train lands on the vegetable garden of an American Militiaman, and the happenings in the train are revealed to be wildly messed up, four Americans swing into action to save lives and bring order to chaos. Along the way, they will meet a very odd and diverse cast of peeps from all over Existence.. (Rated M)

19. Appearance Transformations

(Sigma Mercenaries, Story 0001, Chapter 19: Appearance Transformations)

(4 April, Magi Year 14408 / Year SL 8838, 0630 Hours Local Time)
(Ladies' Transformation Hangar, Base Boarhound, Terra 232)
(Day 18 of Campaign)

"Holy shit, these things are massive!" Megan said after they entered the hangar floor area.

"Stunning," Ikuno said after the size of the runes set in for her.

"And to believe that an Eternal Dragon is larger still," Harold said.

"Oh yeah, the wings of a good-sized Eternal would be a third larger than these runes, but we're safe from interference on that note," Carl said. "When Sigma One laid these out, he must have guessed about wing placement and stretching and planned for it."

"How so?" Megan asked. "A third larger, going in that direction, would put you ten meters into the other rune," and she pointed to the rune that would convert an Avian back to human form, which was in the back corner of the hangar. (The rune for transformation to Avian form was at the front corner of the hangar by the bay door, opposite the rune to return to human form, on the predication that a flier would want to step out immediately after taking on their proper form.)

"True, but it's a matter of use direction," Carl said. "If I'm facing the doors when I activate the rune, that's the direction my body in dragon form is going to be going. So my tail is going that way," he pointed to the back wall of the hangar, "and if I feel like a good stretch and call after the transformation, my wings are going left and right, laterally across the hangar and not diagonally."

"And then your wing goes into the wall here," Pete pointed to the side wall of the hangar.

"Small price to pay for a good stretch," Carl shrugged. "In practice, as long as the users are smart about their positioning and arm placement for the transformation, we're good."

"Like, if your arms are stretched out, so are your wings after the transformation?" Megan asked.

"Sort of," Carl said. "It's a little more complex than that, but you're in the ballpark," the Blue Dragon admitted. "Remember that a Dragon is going to have a lot more muscle groups than a human, especially in the back and wings."

"And I'm still going to make you work them out after this project is done," Megan assured him.

Carl cocked his head to the side, then smiled. "Threatening me with a good time, boss?"

"Hell yes," Megan said with an equal smile.

"Hey, what are these runes filled with?" Quintin asked from the center of the human-to-avian transformation rune.

"Good question. Carl?" Megan asked.

"Bronze alloy with mixed-in powdered runestone. The runestone reduces the specific weight of the Bronze fill, but helps with amplifying the rune's effects."

"Jesus, that's got to be rare material," Pete pointed out. "How much does this stuff cost?"

"That I don't know," Carl admitted. "Virtue?" Carl asked the wall-mounted loudspeaker.

"At pure quality, the Bronze with Runestone is roughly 14,000 C-bills per ton. Total project mass was 31.1 Metric Tons of material, or 435,400 C-bills in material and total cost of 455,000 after labor for the fill."

"And these will last centuries of use by avians," Cedric pointed out. "In common use, a dragon claw or phoenix claw can be sharpened by bronze, so it will take decades before you see any appreciable wear, and easily 500 years before you have to think loud about reclaiming it and refilling these runes. I expect the hangar itself will be rebuilt a dozen times before then."

"Amortize it across five hundred years, slightly more than 870 c-bills per year for the life of the project," Ikuno pointed out.

"Put that way, that's helluva cheap for something like this," Quintin acknowledged.

"And I'm donating my casting expertise freely for it," Cedric said. "Least I can do to make the team's lives a bit more relaxing."

"So looking forward to it," Megan said. "Dragons in the skies, phoenix in the skies, gives you some wing time, gives us something to cheer about, and gives the Star League a monster fuck-all for their wildly racist policies."

"Makes me think, what else is out there?" Pete asked. "I mean, when you think about it, Sigma's not been a nation three full weeks yet, and we've already found one new race, the Dryads. What else could we stumble across going forward?" the pointman asked.

"I think there are other kinds of dragons out there," Carl noted.

"That leads to the question, what are the colors of Dragons?" Ikuno asked.

"Oh, well, it's a list," Carl nodded, then paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "There are two large groups of Dragons, the Primary Colors and the Metallic. The Primary colors are, White is the smallest, then black, then green, blue, red, brown, then Eternal is really both Primary and Metallic. On the metalhead side, Brass is the smallest of us, then copper, then bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and Eternal," the Blue Dragon in human form explained. "I think, somewhere out there, there has got to be more than just those thirteen types."

"I feel like there must be," Quintin noted. "I want to see them all."

"We may get to," Megan nodded to the possibility. "This is going to be a helluva story if I ever get home. Still, that's tomorrow, today is today. What do you need to get from us to get started?"

Cedric cleared his throat. "Time and patience, Carl and I will take care of the rest. If you want to start scouting for possible recruits for the Rail Guard teams, we'll just get started."

"I did say I wanted to do that," Megan nodded. "Radio if you need anything, you two."

Megan and the remainder of the team loaded up in their crew vehicle and were out of the bay in short order, leaving only the Rune mage and the Dragon to behold the rune.

"This is going to be an eight-hour bitch to prepare, enchant, and seal the Rune, but it will be totally worth it," Cedric pointed out.

"You get started, I'll stand guard." Carl was geared up for combat, on the outside chance that the Star League had an infiltrator to try to disrupt the process. Oddly, despite the proliferation of these runes in decades to come, never once would the Star League attempt to assault one during the construction.

-x-x-x-

(4 April, Magi Year 14408 / Year SL 8838, 0830 Hours Local Time)
(HR Offices, Admin Building second floor, Base Boarhound, Terra 232)
(Day 18 of Campaign)

"I'm thinking I might have to borrow your dagger again," 'Dagger' (Princess Garnet Til Alexandros) said to Zidane.

"Going shorter?" Zidane scratched his head for a moment.

"Just a trim, I don't need to go too short," she answered. "Steiner?" the Princess undercover asked as she approached the conference room.

"Morning, milady," Adelbert Steiner nodded to Dagger. Today, he was not wearing his customary armor, but had changed out to a Sigma uniform and armor hauberk, though was not yet carrying a firearm. He still carried his customary sword and belt knife, though.

"Any warning about the crew waiting inside?" Dagger waved a finger at the conference room he was standing next to.

"They are eager, but I do not believe they understand the gravity of the situation or the duty," the Queen's Knight said quietly and candidly.

"Thanks. Time to get started," she said mostly to steel her own resolve. After a moment and a sigh, she pushed into the room and left the door open for Zidane to follow her in, and shortly thereafter Steiner (who closed the door). As soon as the door closed, the thirty-some persons in the room fell silent as Dagger stepped up to the podium for the conference and briefing room.

"Good morning. Welcome to the Rescue Rangers." Dagger was going to continue speaking for a moment, but had to pause for a few while the personnel in the room gave a round of applause. When the applause died down, she resumed her introduction. "I am the Division Head for the Rescue Rangers. My callsign is Dagger, and my office is down the hall if you have need to find me for any reason. Now, I'm going to start this out by saying that, until you pass all training requirements, your assignment to the Rescue Rangers is provisional, not a permanent post. When you're not running mission sets for the Rangers, you will be training. We all will."

"How hard, ma'am?" Onee of the greenhorns asked. Given the color of the questioner's hair, Dagger strongly suspected he was a Blue Dragon operating in human form.

"Basic Training standards are a requirement for the entire unit, and if you want to go past that level, you have to go to the specialist standards. The higher you train, the better your paygrade — and the better the contracts you will be assigned to," the Princess said. She had discussed the matter with Clarence yesterday during some of his downtime, and he had pointed out that waving a carrot in front of the incoming greenhorns was a good way to help retain them. "Some of the Rescue contracts we have seen can only be done by top-level teams, but the paygrades are enormous — over a million C-bills per contract for the involved team or teams."

"We were told there would also be non-combat contracts?" A younger lady asked. Dagger only barely caught sight of her before she finished her sentence, and from what she could tell there was nothing special about her.

"Correct, and that will be the largest number of our contracts by amount. Roughly three in four of Rescue contracts are noncombat or very low expectation of combat. For now, until you make the grade as Basic Recruits or Specialists, everyone in the teams will be operating primarily noncombat contracts, until your training is advanced enough you can hold your own on the battlefield. I don't say this lightly, ladies and gentlemen, the contract work we've been on so far, the combat requirements were at or above the expectations of my homeland. Some of you may already be ready, but there is always room for more training and practice." That lesson Sergeant Foley had quickly and bluntly imparted to her team: the Command Team against Ramirez and Dunn, the latter two using simunitions to demonstrate. In five engagements, Freyja had managed to down Dunn once, nobody touched Ramirez, and not once did Dagger's team prevail. Lesson learned: no matter how good one thought they were, there was always someone better around the corner.

"Good," a guy with light blue hair said with some relief.

"The operating pace will be very hot and cold," Steiner picked up after Dagger faltered for a moment. "Your teams will operate for a day on an amount of contracts, depending on how fast they go and the stress involved. After that, you return to base, rest up for a period, do several days of training, and then you return to the field once more to do a series of contracts. This will be the operating tempo going forward, though Sigma One has said the teams may be looped into projects around the planet or some similar contracts for the Main Unit forces. Details on that have not been put to paper yet, but be warned that you may be called up to duty with the line mercenary formations if needed."

Zidane took the next section: "Paygrade is commensurate with your specialties and veterancy, contract bounties are standard 25 percent of all contract cut that comes in. We get paid in material and in coin; if you don't want a cut of the material, you can sell it back to the unit. Word of caution, though: no piracy whatsoever, no looting, nothing of the sort. We're rescue troops, not brigands. Salvage may be allowed by the contract, and that will be unit commander's call. Clear?"

"Yes sir!" An older guy answered from the back area of the briefing room.

Steiner stepped up for the next. "We will form teams based on whether you signed on for combat detail or noncombat. Everyone for combat detail, please stand up and file out of the room, I will arrange your starting units." Fifteen persons stood up and filtered out of the room, some with gear already, others with only the clothes on their backs.

"I'll arrange noncombat teams," Zidane said to the remaining persons in the room. "We break down into five-man teams…" he began the explanation on what they had planned out.

Dagger, for her part, stood back and sighed. Zidane and Eiko would largely command the noncombat teams. Steiner and Freyja would command the combat teams. Vivi would handle the special requirements teams, when they started forming up. And Dagger had overall command of the Rescue Rangers.

She still wasn't convinced that the name wasn't itself some manner of in-joke amongst the Administrators, but she was starting to enjoy the old cartoon.

-x-x-x-

(4 April, Magi Year 14408 / Year SL 8838, 0800 Hours Local Time)
(Railhead Undercroft, Base Boarhound, Terra 232)
(Day 18 of Campaign)

"Good morning!" Mosley half-shouted after he closed the door to the HMMVW.

"Morning sir! Coffee?" Manami waved a travel carafe in his direction.

"Don't have to ask me twice," Mosley said. "Two sugars, please."

"On it," Manami poured him a mug and dropped in two packets of sugar. The remainder of the team was sitting around a portable bistro table one of them had brought down for the crew to do breaks and meals at.

"Ready to get hot and dirty today?" Mosley asked after he received his first mug of coffee for the day.

"How many are we doing today?" Glen asked.

"Oh, I think three engines a day, pulled and emplaced, is a good pace," Mosley said. "I've already asked the engineering team to put some more cradles down for us."

"How big will the first array be? We don't have that much space to work with," Scott asked plainly. The geography and existing structures in the area of the Gate Flats would dictate how much of an array could be put in place, but Scott wasn't factoring in that Sigma One and the Engineering group were thinking in parallel about structure relocation or demolishing to accommodate a larger array.

"We won't go much bigger than this, I'm thinking we're going to do an integrated network of small engine clusters with a few massive arrays here and there, but Boarhound can probably support at least a full array of 128," Mosley said. "We'll have to do some urban renewal, but I don't see the Boss saying 'no' to eliminating a few barracks buildings to expand."

"We'll want to maximize the arrays on the bases," a voice outside the group noted. All eyes moved to the speaker, three persons not seen on the Trains by the trainees, but instantly recognized by Mosley:

"Holy shit!" Mosley was immediately on his feet when he recognized the guy in the lead. "Mark Queens! You son of a bitch! When did you get loose?" Despite the possibly hostile nature of the question, Mosley still gave him a shake and a shoulder embrace.

"As soon as the news of the Train Disassembly hit the airwaves, there was an instant wave of hope in the Jump Engineers that someone was trying to un-fuck the Trains. Then, later that night, the ComStar report about the first two Trains, we saw the empty engine cars on this one," and Mark waved a finger at the 423 Train, "and we knew some serious shit was going down. Day after, no work got done at the office, we were reviewing all the footage of the Trains that ComStar had loosed, and we started planning on getting out of Dodge."

"All of 'em?"

"All of us. We scattered in a dozen directions with the help of ComStar and the Star Empires' embassies, even the secretary jumped ship," the younger of the two ladies said. "Adalia Norbrook. I started about a year after you were laid off, Mosley."

"This outfit is for real, right? This isn't some kind of joke or sham, Mosley?" the older lady asked.

"It's real, and the boss of the outfit is no-shit. I report to the Support Services Commander, Jeff Evans, who's hard and ambitious enough to make this work. He's probably up top setting in engine cradles on the Jump Engine Flats. Jeff reports direct to Sigma One, who's an absolutely-no-bullshit American Militiaman and he's not afraid to burn the entire living monument program to the ground on his way through it. This is very real, Lilah, and very dangerous. Hope you're prepared to get dirty on this one."

"Oh Hell yes I am," Lilah Zelde said. "The Slavers abducted Melinda while we were working on one of their fucking Trains. I'll happily strip these down and piss on the remains."

"They got Melinda? God damn," Mosley said. "Well, the best we can do for her — for all of 'em we lost over the years — is strip these big bastards down and put the engines to good use."

"He's using them to move people and equipment around?" Mark asked, looking over the hulk of the deceased 423 Train.

"Yeah, he's already done contracts, rescue missions, hell, he's even used them to take the fight to the Slavers and Slaveholders already."

"Fuck. Yes." Adalia closed her eyes against tears and nodded twice.

"We signed up under you, Mos. Where do we start?" Mark asked.

"Paperwork in and everything?" All three of the ex-Jump Engineers nodded affirmative. "Well damn. If you're under me, I'm putting you yahoos to work straight away. Adalia, grab a crew car and head up to the Jump Engine Flats, help with getting cradles for the engines in place. You're rated for heavy equipment?"

"Yes sir," she nodded.

"Pull a tool set, a pistol set, and a tablet from storage," and Mosley pointed to the ScrapNet Bay. "If they need heavy gear up at the Engine Enclosure, pull it and use it. Go, get moving."

"Will do!" Adalia set off for the enclosure at a jog.

"Mark, you're still rated for heavy transport vehicles?" Mosley asked.

"Oh yeah. What do you have for hauling the engines?" Queens asked.

"HEMTT II tractors and specialized trailers. Get your gear and pull a sub-gun while you're at it, having the extra firepower in case shit hits would be handy."

"Can do," Mark set off for the enclosure after Adalia.

"Glen, need you up top in the heavy crane again," Mosley said.

"Already planning on it, boss-man," Glen lifted his safety harness from a pile on the ground next to his chair. "Almost done with my coffee."

"Good," Mosley took a sip of his coffee. "Sandra and Liadan, you're with Lilah on the number two engine. Scott and Manami are with me on the number one. If we shag this fast enough, we can do four engines today from grave," and Mosley pointed his mug to the Train Engines, "to the cradle waiting for it up top," and he gestured somewhat toward the northwest with his other hand. "Any questions?"

"No sir," Lilah said stoically.

Mosley looked her up and down with regard for a moment. "Who'd they get?" Mosley asked.

Lilah sighed. "Willy Pete," she said simply.

Mosley opened his mouth to say something, then closed it after three seconds. A few seconds past, he sighed. "Fucking Star League Living Monument cockroaches, and the Grand Council fucks that rode 'em last night," Engineer Goodwin said, which caused Lilah to rear back in shock and quite a bit of surprise from the newbies. Mosley was rather even-keeled for the Jump Engineers, so such profanity was unheard of from him. "Willy Pete was my training Engineer when I started in the Jump Engineers, he was a damn good guy working a shit job," he explained to the Sigma greenhorns on the team. "How'd he get it?" Mosley asked Lilah.

"Shootout with the Slavers, same incident where they grabbed Melinda. Took a big-bore rifle round during the gunfight with security. It wasn't a good way to go."

"We'll pay 'em back," Mosley said. "Go get a gearset and the heaviest small arm you're comfortable carrying. This is Sigma territory, we defend our own."

"Will do, sir!" Lilah said with some cheer in voice and some steel to it as well — the reminder that she was working for a new outfit did wonders to lift her spirit after the depressing turn to the conversation.

-x-x-x-

(4 April, Magi Year 14408 / Year SL 8838, 0845 Hours Local Time)
(Southeast Exit of Base, Base Boarhound, Terra 232)
(Day 18 of Campaign)

"Where's Mickey?" Brandii asked.

"Right here, doofus," to highlight herself, Michelle waved her hand over her head comically. "Need more coffee?"

"Apparently so," Brandii admitted.

"Everyone got some traveling rations? We're not going to be back for lunch, after all," Lise pointed out. Being the safety officer of the team, she tended to think forward about things like that when Brandii didn't catch them herself.

"Bag o' beef jerky," Christina held up her two bags of munchies.

"Beef, platinum dragon, surprising nobody," Mickey said. "I brought spare MREs in case anyone needs them."

"Definitely," Brandii hefted her backpack. "Got rations for anyone needed," the admin assistant to the crew said with a smile.

"Walking water?" the guard at the gate asked the crew. Blank stares from the Metallurgica Magica crew answered the question readily enough. "Thought so. Here," and the Armored Infantryman flipped each of them a large (1.5 liter) water bottle out of a pack that they kept handy in the guard shack. "Food's all well and good, dehydration sucks ass and will cripple you a lot faster. And do you have a radio?"

"Got one of those," Christina waved the aerial of it at the trooper.

"Firearms?" the Armored Infantryman asked.

"Two, and half of us are Mages," Lise answered.

"That's the big ones. Good luck on your search, metalsmiths," the guard resumed his sentry post and looking outward from the heavy gate at the sparse activity to the east of Boarhound.

"Thanks!" Mickey led the way toward their first building to inspect, an automotive repair shop that had been abandoned shortly after the situation on planet started deteriorating.

"So, how do we start on this one?" Mickey asked.

"Well, it's a five bay divided shop, three to one side and two to the other, so I say we get the Rhomson crew to fill in the oil change pits in the two-bay side, pull the lifts, and use that side for our grinders and similar. The three-bay side we can park the mobile furnaces and put up our blast furnace for metalworking, a couple anvils, our tool collection, home sweet home," Daniella put down her recommendation, the first thing she had said since the team broke fast back at the Admin building mess hall.

"I kinda like that plan," Lise said.

"I could get behind it," Mickey nodded. "Space permitting, that is. We may have to start by expanding it."

The march continued for another 90 seconds in silence, until they came to an intersection that had a service station on one corner of it. "Is this it?" Christina pointed to a garage that matched the building description provided by Virtue.

"Uh, hold one," Brandii pulled out the tablet she had purchased to help them navigate the muddy waters of the Protectorate. A couple taps and she had the answer. "Uh, yes, that is it," she said.

"Yeah, I don't think we'll have to worry about expanding that," Lise said.

"Did Virtue say it was a truck garage?" Christina asked.

"Hell no she didn't," Brandii pointed out. "That's got a lot more space than I expected. And a segregated office area that I can set up shop in."

"Let's head in and check it out," Mickey waved them toward before she pulled a flashlight out of a belt pouch. She didn't have to turn it on until she got to the front door of the facility, which had been forced open and the glass was busted out but was otherwise intact.

"Doesn't look too bad, a mop and bucket should get rid of most of this," Brandii pointed out.

"And a shitload of disinfectant," Christina pointed out a pile of dung on the floor next to the desk.

"Shit happens," Daniella said with a shrug.

"Bad Pun award number one," Lise said.

"I hear movement in the bay," Christina pulled her sidearm and did a quick brass check.

"Ready," Lise said after she had her sidearm drawn.

"Mickey, pull the door," Christina said. Mickey pulled the door and held it for Lise to go first, then Christina. When they entered the large bay, the team was instantly made aware of the presence of a bird nest in the rafters above the second vehicle lift.

"There's the problem," Mickey said after she got a flashlight on it.

"Not too big a problem, just a robin's nest. Anything down low?" Christina asked.

"Nothing down low that we can't get rid of easily, like lifts and mechanic tools," Yvonne said after her flashlight panned around the room. "We'll probably want to keep one set for working on the mobile furnaces, though."

"Pop the doors, girls, I think we've found our new home," Christina said with a smile. She lifted her radio and keyed it. "Virtue, Metallurgica Magica," she prompted the AI entity.

"Go for Virtue," the AI entity responded fairly quickly.

"Please list the East Side Garage as claimed by Metallurgica, this facility is perfect for our needs once we clear the garage equipment out. What's the rule for claiming an abandoned building?"

"Buildings where the owner is known to be still alive but fled the planet can be compensated to the owner for 25% appraised or sale value. Buildings with no clear line of ownership do not count toward this requirement. The owner is known to be residing on another world, shall I message him?" the AI assistant asked.

"Please do, and tell him if he wants any of his gear, we can transfer it to him," Christina answered.

"Message is sent," Virtue said. "I will relay when an answer is received."

"Let's get started on cleanup and disassembly," Brandii flipped the shop's main electric breaker to active, then pressed the bay door open buttons for each of the bays.

-x-x-x-

(4 April, Magi Year 14408 / Year SL 8838, 1130 Hours Local (Taiwan) Time)
(ComStar ROM Station Taiwan, downtown Taipei, Multimage Star Empire Homeworld Terra-02)
(Day 17 of Campaign)

"So no contract activity in a couple days?" Senior Demi-Precentor-2 Lubberk asked.

"No sir, nothing in a few days," the senior Military Analyst answered.

"Not surprising, either," the junior Military Analyst continued. "Sigma is a concept on paper and an absolute rabble of civilians that are working in a military and mercenary direction. They're not an army, at least not right now, and they really lack any kind of cohesive military forces to do that kind of job."

"And still they pulled off some sweet operations so far," Penny Poskovel pointed out. "They do have some proper military forces, and of course the Magi contingent on base is nothing to sneeze at. What do you think about these Mafiosi, though?"

"I'm not going to discount them, but an army they are not," Izanagi noted. His years in Magi uniform gave him an insight into other combatants like few others, doubly so that he was a former 'mech rider and had decades in combat against the Clans to his name. He knew better than to underestimate even an overwhelmed populace, and knew that sometimes the best option was not always an autocannon. "That said, within their realm and their conditioning, I would not want to fight them even if they are not formally trained. I might have twenty years in the Magi and fifteen in ComGuard to my name, but that does not confer immunity to flying lead, a listed specialty of the Mafiosi."

"Aff, they did wound the Sigma troops more than once going through the Trains," the junior Counter-Intel officer in the group said. Aveline had not been Magi in the past, unlike some of the other senior troops in the room, but her time in ROM had given her a decent understanding of military and intelligence work.

"So, what interesting pieces do we have from Sigma today?" Pavel said to bring the conversation back to something mildly useful for work.

"Lunete did a fluff piece on how the Trains are engineered to just keep moving, how the Gate Arches allow thousands of cars to exist in a pocket dimension separate from the anchor cars while remaining accessible, and how their sustainment systems work interdimensionally. Also includes some gratuitous shots of them disassembling the two Trains they have cleared," Junior Demi-Precentor-7 Lolana pointed out. "Good long informational piece, but it's not a short segment worthy of airing on the network news," the News Analyst pointed out.

"Maybe that's something we should kick up the ladder? In years past we had a program after the major news segment at 1800 that did one to three long-form articles in a 30-minute window. I wonder why it was taken down?" Germund asked.

"Good question, I'll front the idea to the Primus when I do the 1400 briefing," Pavel said.

"If you can squeeze 30 minutes of broadcast, we have a couple more long-form segments that we could trim a bit and sandwich in some commercials."

"What other segments?" Pavel asked, now curious since they had not yet gone through the entirety of Lunete's submitted footage and articles.

"Well, we have an interview with a Magi Commando Gundam Pilot assigned to the Commando QRF on base," Mil Analyst Grimaldi said. "Touches on the good work that Sigma is doing for the refugees."

"Not bad, but what else do we have?"

"Partial-interview-partial training lesson with one of the Magi DI's talking to some of the Sigma recruits about the Militia ethos and how the Sigma Command Section are steeped in it," Mil Analyst Sawatumo explained. "I love it as an informational piece, and it's a hell of a cautionary tale to certain parties."

"Definitely want to aire that segment, then," Pavel said. "So, one more segment?"

"How about some face time with the galley staff and the mayor of a nearby town?" Doc Specialist Lorant Jensen asked.

"Also a good fluff piece," Pavel said. "Think we have enough to do a full 30 segment?"

"Oh yes, with some lead-in time for the three segments and six minutes of commercial," Lolana nodded twice.

"All right, then, let's get everything dialed in and I will present it to Primus Hallestrom in 80 minutes," Senior-Demi-2 Lubberk said. "I want to review this segment before I take it up, though."

"Can do," the team broke up into three knots to review and prep their three pieces that would be strung together into an 'infotainment' segment for airtime.

-x-

(90 minutes later)
(4 April, Magi Year 14408 / Year SL 8838, 1410 Hours ComStar Standard Time)

(ComStar Main Administration Building, Brasilia, Brazil, Terra 02 (Multimage Star Empire homeworld))

Primus Hallestrom picked up her desk phone and tapped the intercom button. "Mindy, I need News and Braoadcasting in my office right now," she requested.

"I'll get them, they just came out of conference."

"Thank you," Elaine set down her handset in the phone cradle. "Truth be told, Pavel, I've been thinking about reinstating the segment you are referring to, and yours might just be tonight's inaugural program. Willing to do the segment lead-ins?"

"Uh, no ma'am. I'm counter-intel by trade, and I don't want the Star League looking into me or my crew on the 232 Team, lest it make things difficult for us."

"Fair enough, I'll pull someone from Production for it, maybe rotate through Production to confound the Star League," Hallestrom said as the two requested Senior Precentors stepped into the room.

"Oh, we're shitting on the Star League today? Nice, where do I sign up?" Senior Precentor Higginson said as he closed the door behind him.

"Gentlemen, this is Pavel Lubberk, Counter-Intel and the head of the 232 Working Group." Pavel was on his feet and shook hands with both of the Seniors. "Pavel has an idea that I want you guys to slot in tonight. Go ahead, troop."

"Ma'am," he said with a nod to the Primus. "Years ago we had an informational segment on after the 1800 news block, it disappeared about nine years ago for some reason."

"Rotating programming, too much material vying for too few slots," Broadcasting answered. "Most of the programs that were involved in that knife-fight ran their course and left a vacuum behind. You're thinking about reviving it, boss?"

"Hai, and we already have a segment ready to go, just needs Production to polish it up a bit."

"Sigma," News nodded twice. "What do you have?"

"Three segments, 22:50 airtime so you'll need to do some quick lead-ins in the old '60 Minutes' segment lead-in style, and some room for commercials because capitalism," Pavel said with a crooked smile. All four of the room occupants laughed at the in-joke, they knew the necessities of the commercials but none of them had any love for them just the same as most everyone else in Existence. "First segment is an interview with one of the Commando Gundam Pilots talking about the state of affairs on base and how Sigma is dealing with a massive refugee issue from the Trains. Second segment is the slammer, it's a training briefing by one of the Magi DIs to some of Sigma's recruits about the Militia ethos and how that factors into what they are working toward. Big cautionary tale for anyone that has the sense to listen."

"Nice," Higginson nodded approval.

"Third segment is following with the Engineering group as they do maintenance on the base and work with the refugees to get people moving out from the base into the abandoned buildings around Boarhound," Pavel completed the briefing.

"Nice. Do you have material for more segments?" Higginson asked.

"Oh yes, at least two more segments worth right now, and more coming in daily," he nodded to them.

"Good. We'll do one airing every other week, and I can think of a dozen more possible angles to fill in other programs in the 'infotainment' slot we just signed on to," Broadcasting said. "We want to make some noise in the favor of the mercs, but we don't want to make it look like we're shilling for them."

"Agreed," Primus Hallestrom said. "Whoever you find from the Production group that you want to do the openings, make sure they want to be read in on the 232 Group so she can meet with them to discuss material."

"Definitely, I think I know a couple of our better-looking anchors offhand that positively hate the Star League," Higginson said.

Nobody in the room knew that they would have a massive injection of footage the following day, some unusable for security purposes, but plenty that would be gripping news stories of their own right. And a live broadcast from Lunete that would put many viewers on the edge of their seat to an even worse degree than blockbuster films.

-x-x-x-

(4 April, Magi Year 14408 / Year SL 8838, 1315 Hours Local Time)
(Apartment Building southwest of Base Boarhound, Terra 232)
(Day 18 of Campaign)

"This is the building recommended by Virtue?" Aerospace Academy Student Serena asked.

"It is," one of the instructors for the academy answered. Chastity, that would be, Matilda quickly recognized by hearing, the instructor for Mobile Warfare. She considered that her name was a completely incorrect moniker, as she had been in bed with more than one guy since they had been freed from the Trains.

"It could be worse," and Instructor Erin Vickers pointed next door to a similar apartment building that had burned and collapsed.

"Engineers have cleared it, let's go," Matilda waved them forward to the apartment building and into the front door.

"Why this one? We've got about a mile overland hike to the gate of the base, and another two miles into the base to get to the academy," Cadet Tiffany Krentz asked of the Academy Administrator.

"Simple. We need to get out of Boarhound to clear the way for military personnel. I figure, sooner we get out and about, sooner everyone starts readying up for this wild world we're about to expand into," Matilda said.

"So this is another phase of training?" Cadet Sancia Kolter asked. Matilda knew her from the Train and knew she was going into a Commercial program, not a military trade.

"Sort of," Matilda said. "If you want to look at it like that, but I don't. I look at it as, first, we need to get out of the barracks and BEQ housing so we can free up space for Sigma. Second, since we don't want to be Street Rats or Train Mice, we need somewhere off-base to be, and we'll probably move again once we have a formal academy set up. Third, we all need to learn how to live away from the Trains and out on our own with minimal supervision, so we're not dragging on the Protectorate any more than we need to."

"And fourth, we all need our space. I've broke up four fights that I can attribute to overcrowding," from Instructor Cherise, Matilda did not doubt that it was the truth or very close to it. Cherise was one of the Infantry Academy Instructors and had the physique to easily break up a fight just as much as she had the intellect (and patience) to teach a cadre of teens the value of knowledge and the basic skills to survive in this world.

"I yield," Sancia held up a hand in surrender on the point.

"This is all girls, right?" Easter Denver asked. Easter was younger in the academy ranks, she didn't know her age properly but the medical team had aged her out as somewhere in the realm of 12.

"Yes, this building and the next two apartments north of here are ladies only," Matilda explained. "Guys have a block of four apartments on the east side of the base perimeter."

"The engineers will be working on expanding the apartment buildings for both male and female Academy Students," an older and recognizable voice said from the rear of the crowd.

"Ma'am," Easter deferred to Administrator Williams as the crowd parted for her to step forward.

"Administrator, how goes?" Matilda asked as Victoria approached the front of the group.

"Clarence and I are helping the Academy students settle into the off-base housing, and our Secret Service troops," she said.

"Thank you, ma'am!" Instructor Vickers said.

"What's the word from the Command Building?" Cadet Tiffany Krentz asked.

"Fusion powerplant is scheduled for a test-fire tomorrow, so of it works out, easy access to power for everyone in the area," Victoria said. "Okay, any area where we need major help right now?"

"Psychological," Cadet Alida said in a dour tone. Matilda stifled a giggle, she knew Alida from her time in the Charlie Mafiosi and knew her to have a very dry sense of humor.

"Meh, best guy for that kind of help is Clint, definitely not me," Victoria said.

"Mostly we're just working on assigning rooms and we'll need drivers to haul personal gear back and forth," Matilda said.

Administrator Williams nodded. "I can definitely help with that."

"As can I," SSO Sidonia said.

"We'll need two of the larger trucks, then," Matilda nodded. "Instructor Cherise is already getting a vehicle for the second apartment building."

"Can you drive?" Victoria asked.

"No, I was a couple years short of the classes for that before I was pulled onto the Train," Academy Admin Jaspene nodded twice. "Would love to learn, though."

"I'll have to talk to Clint about starting a driver training course for civilians," Victoria said with a smile. "Learning to drive tanks and 'mechs is one thing, but we need civilian vehicles on the move just as much."

Victoria would file the request for the course by email, but that email would not be read for several days due to intervening circumstances to come.

-x-x-x-

(4 April, Magi Year 14408 / Year SL 8838, 1445 Hours Local Time)
(Ladies' Transformation Hangar, Base Boarhound, Terra 232)
(Day 18 of Campaign)

Cedric stood up from his kneeling position and stretched. "Done. Finally freaking done."

"That's a relief," Carl slapped the Runic Mage on the shoulder. "I'm half-tempted to test it myself, but I know better."

"Good call," Cedric said. "I'm confident in my casting skills, but I'd prefer if someone who wouldn't be permanently killed would proof it before we open it for general use."

The Runic Mage picked up his enchantment book and slipped it back into the hard-bound protective case, then slipped that protective case into his personal pocket-dimension magical storage for books. "Time to call it in," the Dragon said. "Your weapon, good sir," Carl handed him a radio.

Cedric snorted before he keyed the microphone. "Virtue, Rail Guard 1-9, reporting enchantment of Female Transformation Rune 1 has been completed. Rune is ready for testing by volunteer."

"Acknowledged, will inform Toni that the Rune is open for business. Do you intend to begin the de-transformation rune today?"

Cedric looked at Carl. "Another eight hours?" the Blue Dragon asked.

"Yeah."

"No," Carl recommended against. "We'd both fall asleep partway through."

"Thinking the same thing." Cedric brought the radio up and keyed it. "Virtue, Rail Guard 1-9, negative start second rune today, we'll begin on it tomorrow."

"Affirm, I will update Sigma One and Secret Service lead. Do you require transport to the western METARGraphic field?"

"Negative, we'll wait for the test run of the Rune." Cedric waved the Blue Dragon over to a bench that someone hand put into the hangar as a waiting bench for persons in human form.

"Whoever decided on adding benches needs to be Knighted," Carl said after he sat down and sprawled out. "My back is going to be hurting real bad from standing on all this concrete all day."

"I don't even know if Sigma has a rank of Knights, or if there is any kind of allowance for it," Cedric said. "Have to look into that."

Carl pulled out his duty tablet and activated it. "Virtue, is there an allowed rank of Knight in Sigma's laws?"

The speaker on the tablet popped. "Negative, none of the heraldic ranks exist in Sigma law or practice," Virtue answered. "And to settle the prior question, the benches were added by Moira of the Secret Service outfit a couple nights ago, primarily for seating to await a turn at the Runes. Bathroom fixtures and benches were added to the changing rooms in each Hangar to better facilitate gearing up or down for the Avians. Plumbing is scheduled for the next couple weeks as engineering and technician availability comes online."

"Nice," Cedric smiled. "Full service facility. Maybe we should add a sauna and hot tubs to the rec area here?"

"I'd say yes, but I don't know if we have the manpower to do it right now," Carl stretched out for a moment. "Yeah, gonna hit the excedrin for my back."

"Give me a round if you're going to break some out, my hips and knees are messed up from that." Cedric caught the packet of excedrin capsules and was quick to tear into it. A water bottle he brought along worked to help him down them, since he had depleted his water bladder pack some hours prior. Lesson learned, wear two of the water carriers, he thought in the moments afterward.

"Thanks, man," Carl said after a moment.

"Huh?" Cedric asked.

"You won't hear this from much of anyone, but thanks. You're risking your ass to help us Avians."

"I'm risking my ass to help decent troops," Cedric corrected the Blue Dragon. "Avian or not doesn't matter. Anything I can do to assist with easing the burden we all suffer, more's the better."

"Thanks, regardless."

The two Rail Guards were silent for a few minutes. "What are you going to do after you've flipped forms?" Cedric asked.

Carl laughed. "First thing I'm going to do, perch on the south wall, stretch my wings out good and wide, and sun myself for four hours or so. Six, if I don't have to compete with any other Avians for sunning space."

"Sunbathing, Dragon style," Cedric chuckled.

"You're probably thinking a ride on a Dragon?" Carl asked.

"Wasn't going to ask, but won't turn down a quick spin around the base," the Runic Mage said with a three-year-old grin of mischief.

"At my size, I can probably carry two or three in full combat gear, so it'd be a pleasure to give you guys a quick lift," Carl guesstimated based on his own gearset.

"And that brings a question to mind, if we were riding on you, and you cut loose with your breath weapon, would we get shocked?" Cedric asked.

"Hell no," the Blue Dragon answered. "When we Blues or a Platinum uses their breath weapons, we don't get anything more than a little bit of static buildup. The point of projecting lightning is to put amperage on the intended target, not into ourselves or any allies, follow?"

"Hai, I read you," Cedric said with another three-year-old grin to effect.

"Rail Guard 1-9, Virtue, be advised that Toni reports she is preoccupied and won't be able to test the rune for several hours. She will call when she is available to do the test, since you want to see it," the AI entity reported.

"Copy all, we're headed in for the chow hall, then," Cedric said. "Guess we're hot-footin' it over to the barracks chow hall."

"It's closer?" Carl asked.

"By about a kilometer," Cedric confirmed.

"Never ate in that one. First time for everything."

-x-x-x-

(4 April, Magi Year 14408 / Year SL 8838, 1715 Hours Local Time)
(Mess Hall, Administration Building, Base Boarhound, Terra 232)
(Day 18 of Campaign)

"We're on the way," Beck noted as the two crawled through the cafeteria line. Both were eating light, salad, fruit and some light proteins mainly, because they both knew that if trouble started up they could be called to flight — and that meant a large or heavy dinner could be detrimental to their stomachs. "What are your thoughts so far?"

Takeshi shrugged as he spooned out some mashed potatoes with prosciutto mixed in. "So far not bad, but I've not really pushed it to the limit, either. And I definitely haven't gotten out of the atmosphere yet."

"What's your schedule of flights look like?" Beck asked after he dropped a fruit cup on Takeshi's tray, then one on his.

"Nothing for the remainder of today, sim time in the morning tomorrow, 40K meters tomorrow and some live-fire at 1600, then I think the day after I'm doing a low orbit pass if I clear the sim requirements." While he was detailing the plan, Takeshi had taken a moment to draw a mug of hot green tea for himself, while Beck pulled the more-traditional light-roast coffee.

Both were silent for a few moments as they made their way away from the cafeteria line and over into the tables. They didn't pick a seat out before one was requested of them: "Yo, Beck, Takeshi!" a green uniform flagged the two pilots down.

"Sir!" Beck said as they approached the caller, and realized it was Sigma Two.

"Grab a seat, gents," Clint waved his pen at the two seats opposite him. "That's what we need to see," he passed his tablet to the SSO officer next to himself.

"Need to see more of it," SSO Moira pointed out. "A lot more."

"If you want to fly it by the big guy, better track him down fast. I hear he's got something going on 1730-ish," Clint said.

"Will do, back in a few!" Moira scurried off with the tablet and was out of the cafeteria fairly quickly.

"What's on your mind, sir?" Beck asked.

"Heard you up and about this afternoon, Takeshi," Sigma Two said before he took a bite of chicken parmesan. "What's the word?"

"So far not bad," Takeshi said. "It's a basic fighter as far as Aerofighters go, good blend of speed, weapons, armor, legs could be a bit better but you can't win 'em all. Next day or two I'll be going higher and working on weapons."

"Mhm," Clint nodded after another bite of chicken parmesan. "If I'm remembering your record right, you were a Hornet driver?"

"18-E driver, Super Hornet," Takeshi confirmed.

"Only fixed weapon on that is the 20-mil Vulcan, so you've got some gun time ahead of you on the fixed weapons I take it?" Clint asked.

"That's how they build 'em here, and I'm warming up to the concept. Modern fighters are set up to squeeze every last grain of performance (1) out of a design at the expense of mounted guns. Everything more damaging than a six-barrel is carried externally, which is a plus and a minus. Plus, in that I can reconfig for a mission in twenty minutes. Minus, in that everything I need is going to drag on my craft. With Aerofighters, I have more cut-and-dried performance, but I also have actual armor and fixed weapons exceeding what I could carry in a bomb load on the Hornet. Follow?"

"Oh yeah, and with Aerofighters, you can still carry the bomb load if needed," Clint nodded. "Looking forward to seeing it in action, pilot. When are you doing the gun work?"

"1600 tomorrow, sir," Takeshi noted.

"I'll make sure to free myself up so I can watch it. Want to see what kind of effects I can expect if I have you do close-air support," Sigma Two nodded twice.

"I'll try not to cut it too close, sir," the newly-minted aerofighter pilot said.

Clint chuckled. "While I have you two for a lunch break, wanted to ask you something. What's your guys' versions of America like?"

"I'm guessing if you're asking that, they're different from yours?" Beck asked in counter.

"Big-time," Clint said. "My history follows somewhat close to the natural procession of American history, with a couple minor exceptions like most local and state governments respecting militias and not shitting on them or trying to disarm the people."

"That would be nice," Beck said. "Went through my history compared to the Common History of Terra, and it's almost word for word the same right up to when I was shanghaied onto the 523 Train. Takeshi's history is where it gets weird."

"I don't think so, myself, sir, but compared to the Natural History of Terra, it's different," said Aerofighter pilot declared. "On my homeworld, magic has always existed to one degree or another. The Inquisition was created to ferret out Mages as well as heretics, Jews, nonconformists, and Muslims from Europe. When the new world was opened up, most of the Mages fled the old world over to what would later become America."

"Nice, America gained a bigass shot of magic users in the process," Clint nodded. "Go on, please," he said.

"Couple things different in the new America from yours. First, magic rights are enshrined as part of the Second Amendment, in addition to the more common term 'keep and bear arms' that Sigma has carried over. Second, slavery was outlawed from the beginning, and the labor force was substituted with magic force. Spellcraft to harvest and plant fields is big business, even counting tech means like combines and such. Anyway, no civil war that you went through, though we traded for two others: the Puritan War over people trying to purge magic from society, and the Mountain Affair, an attempted breakaway of several of the mountain and west coast states that went sour. That one turned out to be the work of Catholics trying to split America."

"Wait, what?" Clint asked.

"Yeah, forgot to cover that," Takeshi said. "The Catholic Church is one of the biggest bully pulpits on planet on my homeworld. Constantly trying to suppress or eliminate magic, and they have a huge row going on with America since the Mountain Affair. Europe and South America largely side with the Church, America and Japan are the two big bastions of magic freedom, China and Russia are hard communist because of their own veritably-enslaved Mages keeping things propped up, it's a mess."

"Agreed, I wouldn't want to dance in that minefield," Beck said.

"No joke. How do you pick from a list of bad options like that? Excepting America or Japan, of course. Go on," Clint said, now very interested in next steps.

Takeshi took a sip of his green tea and sighed. "WW1 and WW2 weren't far removed from each other, 1920 end of WW1 and 1935 start of WW2, but for us WW2 was solely America versus Japan — we didn't get in on the European front, that was their mess and they managed it horribly. We did beat down Imperial Japan similar to how it played out in the Common History, but the ground action was wildly different. American Combat Mages against Japanese Divine Miko, that was a big bloody mess. After the war, we rebuilt Japan and turned them loose, they're our best allies in the pac rim now. No wars in Korea or Vietnam, but we did bloody the Soviets in Afghanistan and we got caught in Mauritania fighting Soviet proxies to our detriment. When I jumped on the Train to look for my sister, tensions were starting to escalate, and I heard whispers that we were headed for WW3, Europe versus the Free World."

"That sounds like it could be a very messy Charlie Foxtrot," Clint said with some shock to voice. "Still, we can review options if America and Japan want a hand." His radio beeped, signaling a call, so he keyed the microphone. "Go for Sigma Two," he answered.

"Sir, draft plan is authorized," Moira reported.

"I'll come that way here in a minute." Clint took his last bite of chicken parmesan. "Godspeed, pilots."

"Thank you, sir!" Beck answered.

-x-x-x-

(4 April, Magi Year 14408 / Year SL 8838, 1820 Hours Local Time)
(Ladies' Transformation Hangar, Base Boarhound, Terra 232)
(Day 18 of Campaign)

Hess parked the HMMVW outside the bay door to the Transformation Runes and climbed out. He was greeted by the Rail Guard troops that did the enchanting. "Evening, gentlemen," he said as Carl and Cedric came to attention and saluted. "As you were," Sigma One said after he returned the salute.

"Welcome, boss, Toni," Cedric acknowledged the lady that was to do the test.

"Thank you," Toni gave Cedric a quick hug. "What's the process?"

"Activation phrase is on a piece of paper in the locker room, I'm going to have a plaque commissioned for a more permanent record," Cedric said. "You've done this before?"

"A couple times. Did someone stock some beach towels in there?" Toni asked as the group moved toward the personnel room.

"Way ahead of you there, girl," Moira said. "Got everything needed except the shower for after the fact, still need to have the plumbing put in."

"I can do a shower in quarters after the fact, that's not a deal-breaker." Toni stopped at the door to the locker room. "Here goes," she said mostly to herself to fortify her resolve.

"We're just in time!" A voice said from behind the crew as Toni stepped into the room with Moira. Hess looked over his shoulder and saw the Rhomson Ferrocrete team with the Metallurgica Magica team just behind them.

"Almost missed it, Rhomson, Metallurgica," Sigma One said as he stepped away from the locker room door. "Still, well come, and thank you to both of you for putting in the work to make this a physical reality, and Cedric for making this an enchanted reality."

"Definitely, thank you," The unit lead for Metallurgica gave Cedric a hug as well. "Not every day someone goes out of their way to help a clear-nonhuman, thank you."

"That's what we're trying to do, work it out for everyone," Cedric said.

"And you, big blue? You going to use it as well?" Christina asked of Carl.

"Hell yes, if the ladies will permit the use of their rune by a guy. Otherwise I'll have to wait until the men's side is done," Carl said.

"No objection from me, but would I be allowed to use this rune? I mean, I'm not technically Sigma," Christina pointed out, then looked at Sigma One.

"You are an area resident, I heard you took over a garage on the east side so you count as a resident, and I won't say no access until or unless a civilian-access rune is put in somewhere nearby," Hess answered. "Just make sure you don't interfere in base operations coming or going, that could get spiky."

"Can do—" she was cut off mid-sentence by the teleport arrival of Nereus and his apprentice, Cynthia Williams. The arrival of an Executor caused a few gasps and more than a few to bow respectfully.

"Sir," Hess saluted Nereus, who returned the salute adroitly. "Come to see the inaugural run of the Rune?"

"Oh yes," Nereus said with a smile. "These are something that don't exist in Star League territory, and are helluva rare in the other Star Empires. The largest concentration of these are in New Moon Star Empire territory, with the Magi somewhat behind on saturation, but even that is a gamble, some worlds have 'em, some do not."

"Which is a headscratcher to me, all else being equal," Hess shrugged. "The total cost of this rune is less than 500,000 C-bills, not counting the donation of Cedric's casting skill here. If you assume this slab is going to be here for 500 years that breaks down to a cost of 1000 C-bills a year for the life of the Rune. That's a pittance to pay for crew amenities, especially when you consider Sigma already has over 40 Dragons and Phoenix in our Basic Training cadre, not even counting in the noncombat or active operations groups. Let alone already one immigrant Platinum Dragon," and Hess pointed to Christina. "So, what's the stonewall?"

"Racism, at the end of the day," Nereus shrugged. "The tolerance in the Star Empires for the nonhumans is variable from minute to minute. The New Moon Star Empire is majority nonhuman, so their policies hold well for Avians. The Magi are much more disciplined in that regard than others, but every now and again you see that old-school xenophobia flare up and get hammered down flat in a hurry."

"Aff, High Executor, we tend to put a quick end to such Xenophobia with a little application of Trial By Combat when it shows up, though even that is very rare at best," Century Commander Vickers said as he approached the group. "Better than half of Magi worlds have never seen a xenophobic pogrom form up, and of those that did, the planetary garrison was quick to quash such misconduct and run the offenders through the courts for their misdeeds."

"I've something to say about using the military for such things, but, different system and different rules," Hess said.

"From an American, I would expect that comment," Vickers answered with a knowing nod.

"Glass houses and flying rocks, though, when you get down to brass tacks a lot of police forces in the US were starting to look more like occupying armies than the old-school idyllic image of a police officer on the beat," Sigma One finished his point. "Still and all, I was a rural resident, and got along very well with my sheriff."

"Hence why you set up an elected and accountable sheriffs program for Sigma's counties—" Vickers was cut short by the rest of the crowd coming silent as Toni stepped out of the locker room.

"Better stand clear," Moira waved the crowd off the Rune for safety purposes. Persons outside the border of the Rune would not be affected by it, and persons outside the rune were much less likely to be bowled over by the transforming Avian.

Toni, dressed down in only a modesty towel, paced over to the center of the Rune and faced the hangar doors. "I'm ready."

"You can do it!" Christina shouted from the sideline.

"Activate the magicks within, engage the Rune of Transformation for the ladies," Toni said simply.

With a significant flash from the Rune, Toni transformed from her human form to her Celestial Phoenix form in a matter of three milliseconds, far faster than her mind could register the transformation and far faster than anyone could visually recognize.

Herein, the choice of a modesty towel was the proper way to dress for the transformation. Any clothing could potentially injure or kill a transforming person during the process, as it could bind or constrict or choke during the change, and a very quick transformation such as the rune's power would easily break bones in so doing if nothing else. Armor and weapons were just as dangerous, if not more so, hence the need to be wearing only a loose-fit towel that would easily slip away during the process. When the light flash faded away, Hess barely caught sight of the towel as it finished fluttering to the ground.

Beyond the towel, though, there was Toni, now no longer the bright-red-haired Secret Service officer and now standing before them as a six story tall and very beautiful bird. Tall enough that when she unfurled her wings and stretched them in an arc upwards, the tips of her feathers became entangled in the rafters and the hangar fire-fighting deluge system above her. After holding that stretch for a few seconds, she brought her wings level and arched her back to flex her spine, and the popping noise from her joints releasing from head to tail sounded of a door being slammed repeatedly in rapid succession.

Ah, that feels much better, Toni said telepathically.

"That sounded painful, but when you're that large that has to feel good," Cedric said.

Damn straight it does, I've been wanting to stretch out like that for a while now, Toni acknowledged the comment.

"What's up with the telepathy?" Victor Rhomoson asked.

"Dragons can speak properly, Phoenix cannot," Christina answered that question properly. "Improper vocal chords for common speech."

And a lack of a proper mouth in this form, beaks normally don't flex to correctly form words, Toni finished the lesson. On the plus side, any Phoenix is a telepath, so we can definitely communicate.

Hess shook off his momentary entrancement with the Phoenix and moved to the hangar bay door controls to begin opening the door. He had to turn a safety key and hold in the button to open the doors, which set off the warning alarm for the doors being in motion, but within a second the doors began sliding open. "How far do you want me to open up?" Sigma One asked over his shoulder.

Only about a third of the way would be more than enough for me to squeeze out. No doubt Moira, Carl and Christina will want to take their turns since the rune worked, so we can keep the bay partially closed for their run over the Rune, Toni explained.

"Cedric, spot me for when the door is opened up enough, I can't tell at this angle," Hess requested.

"Keep it going for another twenty seconds, boss-man," the Runic Mage said. "Another ten seconds," he half-shouted over the beeping of the door alarm. "Just about — there! That should do," Cedric waved Hess off, so he let off the controls.

Perfect, thank you, Toni said. If you'll excuse me flying the coop, I'm going to go catch the last rays of sun on the southern wall.

"Enjoy," Hess gave her a wave on the way out the bay door.

"A pence for your thoughts?" Nereus asked as Sigma One rejoined the group. It was a question he considered critical for the racial harmony of the Protectorate and thus warranted the direct question, though he already suspected what the American transplant would answer.

Hess snorted. "Seeing the avians in holovids or pics is one thing, eyes on one in real life is a wildly different experience. Don't think I'm going to forget seeing this for a long while, if ever," Sigma One said. "Who's going next?"

"I defer to the Secret Service Officer," Christina said.

"And I defer to the ladies in the room, this is their hangar after all," Carl said.

"I'm up," Moira nodded twice. "Here goes!" She ducked into the locker room to drop her gear and towel up for the transformation.

Before the day would end, there would be four Avians on the southern wall, stretched out to catch the evening sun rays. And the various non-coms or trainees of Sigma would have something fresh and very different to discuss tonight.

-x-x-x-

(4 April, Magi Year 14408 / Year SL 8838, 1630 Hours Local Time)
(Megacity Yuline, Planet Marder II, Multimage Star Empire Dimension M-10330)
(Day 18 of Campaign)

Justinian sighed after he stepped foot off the elevator. Technically what he was about to do was take a chance on being slapped, or worse, given that the last time he spoke to the lady in question he had been threatened with having his nuts dry-roasted over a magical fire downtown in Central Park.

Still, there weren't a lot of Time Mages in the Empire — it wasn't a disfavored skill, per se, but it was a rare one — and the one that he figured he knew to be adventurous enough didn't like him right now. The gamble cost him thirty seconds of considering it, and he decided that he would take the chance. So, down two doors, halt at apartment 306, and he knocked.

"Who's there?" A lady's voice asked from the far side of the door.

"Justinian."

"I am not going out with you, Justinian. Remember what I told you last time?" The voice was a bit more hostile now, what he expected from Leene.

"Aff, you wanted to roast my nuts in public, down in Central Park I think? So no, this is not a booty call, it is a business call."

There was a few seconds of hesitation on the far side of the door, then it cracked open a bit. "What kind of business call? If you're selling vacuum cleaners, I'll roast your entire ass in Central Park," the discharged former Armored Time Mage said darkly.

"Well, you know, when you clean the vacuum cleaner, you become the vacuum cleaner," Justinian said with a big and cheesy grin.

"You are terrible," Leene said, then started chuckling at the dad-joke-level quip from her off-and-on boyfriend. "Okay, what are you after?"

"Business proposition for you, figured you would be adventurous enough to make it work and at profit," the former Armored Infantryman said. "What's your present paygrade?"

Leene sighed and flipped her medium-length blond hair back. "Frankly, not enough. The outfit I'm working with is using me as their front-woman but my cut of the business they gin up is ten percent. So, over the past six months, I've pulled in about 6500 C-bills."

"Damn, even Lane is doing better than that," Justinian referenced one of the other Armored Mages that he had pinged for the adventure and had been turned down by. "He is middle management for Optifree, makes around 16,000 a year."

"Damn, he did hit the ground running," Leene grumped. "Point taken, pervert." She opened the door completely, grabbed Justinian by the collar, and hauled him inside the arc of the door before she closed it forcefully and pushed him back against it. The finger in his face was quite ominous, doubly so that she still wore the enhancer ring that gave her about a ten percent boost in spellcraft power. "Ground rules, Justinian. No smacking my arse, no trying to grope me, no kisses, no booty calling, no husky innuendo, you are here for business or you disappear back down that elevator, clear?"

"Aff, milady," Justinian said with clear reserve to voice. "I am serious, this is about business and not a roundabout attempt to get back into your pants. Though I would not complain if one leads to the other."

"Of course you would not," Leene said before she let go of his collar. "Come on, just finished baking up a coffee cake and I want your opinion on it," she waved him into the kitchen area. True to his word, Justinian resisted the impulse to give her a good booty slap, but he didn't miss the opportunity to give it a good look-over.

"Coffee included?" Justinian asked as he followed two paces behind to prevent any kind of misunderstanding.

"You know I always have coffee around," Leene admitted. "Shot of creamer and a sugar still?"

"Yeah," Justinian sat down at her small-apartment-sized kitchen table and sighed. So far, he wasn't roasted or (as far as he could tell) time-stopped, so he was liking the possibility that this venture could go somewhere…

"All right, what is your business concept that would involve a retired Time Mage?" Leene asked as she flipped her coffee cake onto a cooling rack to begin cooling, but only after she cut herself and Justinian a slice.

"Before I dive in, how much have you been keeping up with current events?" the former Armored Infantryman asked.

"Some, I try to catch a round of ComNet News every other day or so," Leene admitted after she plated their cake slices and poured coffee for both of them.

"Been keeping up with the hustle and bustle around Sigma?" Justinian asked.

"Yeah, that's been hot news around the office, everyone's interested in that Protectorate and Mercenary Unit, and how much the Star League is shitting fury about them," Leene said. "Why, something special there?"

"Yeah, the mercenary unit," Justinian said. "I figured out how they are operating without using more traditional transport methods. And how it can be done even without using the Jumper Train engines." He received his coffee mug and cake slice with grace.

That revelation caused Leene to stop moving with her arse not yet on the chair and staring at Justinian. "Fly that by me again?" she asked before she realized that she was flashing her cleavage at him and completed sitting down.

"Sigma does not hire Dropships. They do not need to, they are disassembling the Interdimensional jumper Trains and using the engines to move people and material around. They have already tackled a bunch of low-end contracts and all of it was at profit because they have no transport cost."

"Oh," Leene said with some shock. She was silent for about five seconds, until: "Ah, I see where you're going with this."

"Here," Justinian handed her his personal laptop, of which he had pulled down a copy of available contracts from MercNet and then filtered the contracts down to under 15K per contract. "How many of those jobs do you think a five-man team can clear in a day's hard work?"

Leene was silent for 90 seconds while she went through the list. "As Armored Infantry, we could do a dozen of these contracts with little or no hazard in a few hours."

"Add up the contract bounties of that dozen."

"Four, six, ten, thirteen, seventeen, twenty, twenty-six, thirty-six, forty, fifty, sixty-two, sixty-eight thousand in the dozen I just picked," Leene rattled off. "Divide that by five, a bit more than 13,000 I think."

"You think your time and effort casting Gate spells is worth 13,000 a day?"

Leene gag-snorted loudly, which caused her v-neck shirt to flap in the breeze from her nose. "If it was half that, I would consider it a worthy use of my time."

"I figured you would say that," Justinian nodded. "Second dimension to the plan: we hire ourselves a vehicle and vehicle crew for transport, PMCs that use Infantry Armor or Battle Armor have been fielding a new vehicle called the Maester Armored Infantry APC."

"Interesting, what are the specs?" Leene scratched idly at her left temple, a sure sign to Justinian that he had her attention.

"45 tons, wheeled, better armor than nominal for weight, 5 tons infantry bay plus 2.5 tons cargo, bulldozer blade, turret with two Medium ER Lasers, a LRM 10-silo, and three AP Gauss guns. I knew a crew that used to drive Strikers, they are in shittier jobs than either of us and I am pretty sure I can talk them into driving for us."

"Vehicle crews are going to eat into our earnings quickly," Leene pointed out. An Armored Infantryman was one thing and one person, but each vehicle had a crew that started at one person for the smallest vehicles and only got larger from there.

"We pay out for the vehicles as a single cut, or we could do thirds per contract, third to the vehicle, third to the Infantry, and a third to the Unit Pool," Justinian explained his plan he had ginned up. "Vehicles are going to be our big bad sledgehammer, so I would give them a prime cut but they are going to have to earn it. And, as a reasonable factor, they have repairs and routine maintenance to keep up with, just as much as we Armored Infantry would."

"Damn," Leene said with a smile. "If we bust our asses on this, we could make big bucks in a big hurry. Downside is that I am not a member of the Gate Mages Guild, if we get caught, the Star League will hammer us flat."

"Already have that angle covered," Justinian spun his laptop back around and opened up a copy of an email from a former buddy in the Commandos, then spun the laptop back to Leene. "Read it and enjoy," he said.

"Wow, okay, game-changer in one paragraph. Guild Law is unenforceable against Magi citizens unless the Star League wants the Guilds to face off against the Commandos in Trial by Combat for the right to —" Leene choked up for a moment, then started giggling. "Yeah, right, like Hell the Star League would ever risk one of their Guilds in the Circle of Equals against the Commandos."

"DC Agrippa has already told them that the Star League will lose worlds, lose combat formations, lose warships, and lose their Guilds should they ever dare to try enforcement of Guild Law here in the Empire. So, they can try to grab us and rough us up, but I am thinking we might put in an insurance policy for it."

"Listening," Leene said.

"Sigma. I shot an email to them earlier today asking about a reciprocity agreement for rescue or assistance, they accepted. If you are willing to do it, we can do it and we get some ass-coverage," the Armored Infantryman said with a smile.

Leene grinned. "We need a team."

"I know a few guys. Let us make some calls, milady," he said with the utmost charm.

The coffee cake would not survive the night, as six others would descend on Leene's apartment to discuss terms of the plan. Before midnight, they would be at the ComStar HPG station to register their unit.

-x-x-x-

(4 April, Magi Year 14408 / Year SL 8838, 2045 Hours Duchy Time)
(Dropship Red Blackjack, Zenith Jump Point above gravity well of Nuone Strike Force homeworld)
(Day 18 of Campaign)

Time moves differently between parallel dimensions, a fact that many would allow themselves to forget in the art of interdimensional travel, unless they plan meticulously for it and compensate. The Nuone Strike Force had planned for such themselves, but so were others…

"Docking sequence initiated," the helmsman announced.

"Steady as you were, Ensign," the ship's Captain said.

"Ten minutes to docking," the secondary Helmsman said.

"These Banner-class Jumpships have good docking support systems," Captain Watters said. "If we expand enough to warrant it, might be worth investing in one." After she said her thought, she immediately chided herself about showing optimism that this plan would not go completely tits-up before the end of day tomorrow. Unrealistic expectations, she rebuked herself.

"What is the cost of one of these ships?" Regent Nuone asked the docking master that had been dispatched from the Jumpship Sally's Caterpillar to assist in the docking procedure.

"M'lord, I believe the dockyard price of the ship is slightly over a billion C-bills per ship," the Dock Master answered gruffly. "Operating cost is about 10 million C-bills per year plus crew salaries, give or take."

"That's not horrible," Major Grant said with a nod. "And if we're to go about hunting down all the little Sigma-esque shits throughout Known Existence for the glory of the Star League, having our own transportation would not be a bad idea."

Captain Watters almost burst out laughing at the string of profanity she heard in the mind of the Dock Master.

"You'll want to keep them moving, troop," the Dock Master said. "Jumpships do little good when sitting idle, they incur costs and garner no profit in that state. E'en the Magi keep their Superdreadnoughts moving from day to day, and the cost of one of these Banner-class civilian JumpShips is a pittance compared to the operating budget of a Phalanx-class, much less the purchase cost, crew or mobile forces complement."

"That reminds me, have the Magi moved a warship into the Terra 232 system?" Retainer Ludwig Barto asked.

"No intelligence on one," Captain Watters said. "No announcements, no news footage mentioning it," she continued, and thus damned her force to continue on a path that she knew would end badly and could no longer stop, even if she did not know there was a Phalanx-class Superdreadnought waiting for them.

"That's good news."

"There will be one to visit us and forcibly announce their displeasure shortly after our invasion, of course," Retainer Barto pointed out. "For all their other sins laid bare in front of God and Existence, the Magi are extremely timely in responding to territory encroachment."

"Can't deny that, but by the time that ship shows up, they should be neutered by the Grand Council's resolution against Magi reciprocity," Major Grant said with a snide smile.

Like that will stop them, Helena Watters thought coldly but made sure to not broadcast. She was less than surprised to hear the same thought from the Dock Master a moment later.

The Helmswoman perked up. "Lord Nuone, communication from the Jumpship's Captain."

"Main screen, please," Ulysses said. "Captain Targa, how does it go?" he asked.

"Very well, Lord Nuone," Captain Karen Targa answered after a salute. "My Charter Company has confirmed that your rider payment has cleared. We have begun quick-charging our jump drive by fusion reactor and expect jump readiness in three hours. Please have your ship and crew ready for jump in 150 minutes or less."

"We will be ready, Captain, thank you," Ulysses said.

-x-

(Same time as above scene)
(Office of the Empress of the Magi)

Rini was quick to cinch down her bathrobe and square up to the monitor. The calling party was already identified — Master Executor Hotaru Tomoe — so she had no fear of embarrassment. "Accept call."

The monitor flicked on, but was of a divided screen, meaning that someone else was being called to three-way the call. "I am including your grandfather in this call, Rini. Circumstances have changed."

"That's unusual, what happened?" Rini asked.

"A pos—" Hotaru was cut off by the activation of the monitor for Master Executor Atrebas. "Sir," Master Executor Tomoe nodded to the screen.

"I already suspect a problem, given the timing and combination on this call," Eric Atrebas noted. "Talk to me."

"A possible branch decision tree from what we discussed days past has been traversed, one that I did not mention because it was considered unlikely but now it is the blossoming history in front of us."

"Okay, that is exceedingly rare for you, Hotaru," Rini said. "You usually call the decision tree down to the exact phrasing of belligerent's defiance. What gives?"

Hotaru sighed. "Variables are changing faster than the Equation of Ragnarok can account for — but they are changing in our favor, not in the favor of Jotunheim. And now, even with the changing paths, we have options but we also have a compressed schedule."

"Tomorrow morning?" Eric Atrebas asked.

"Neg, sooner, given how ghost-white Hotaru is," Rini needled her old friend.

"Eric, you and I will need to join Rini for a quick soldier's breakfast at the Administration Building in eight hours. After that, we go to battle."

"Aff, we will be there," Eric said. "Cafeteria in the main Admin Building is still open all hours?"

"Always, grandfather," Rini said. "See you in eight hours."

"We will be there," Hotaru said before the call cut out.

Rini took the ten steps to the door out to the hallway and opened it. "Annabelle, in here," she said quickly to her Commando Praetorian commander.

"Aff, milady," Annabelle Kerensky unlatched her shield, followed Rini into quarters and closed the door behind. "Guessing by the time of evening and your tension, Highness, you don't have good news."

"Sadly so, Star Colonel. You know the op we had laid in for two days hence?" Rini asked.

"Aff." The responding troops to the Protectorate would be Praetorian, primarily, though operations planned for the homeworld of the Duchy would be drawn from all four of the Combat Services and spearheaded by the Commandos.

"Schedule is moved up to tomorrow morning. Get your combat team to quarters to rest, we deploy in nine hours. In eight, Hotaru and my grandfather shall be here to break fast with the troops and ready for the coming battle."

"Very good, milady, we shall be ready to greet the Old Emperor and the Firefly of Silence. Do you require a wake-up call?" Star Colonel Kerensky asked.

"Aff, please," Rini said.

"Rest easy, Highness, the intel we have, this will be a brutal but easily winnable battle. We will make right of their folly, as is needed and warranted."

"I know, but the fact that this is even happening is a worry, a portent of darker designs by the Star League."

Star Colonel Kerensky snorted. "Permission to speak freely, milady?"

"Please do," Rini said.

"In deference to your grandmother's designs for the Star League, screw the Grand Council with a serrated and rusty pike shaft, ma'am. On public television, if it gets the point across to more of the upstarts in Existence." The Star Colonel snorted and drew in a breath. "For what good they did in calming the Star Empire Wars in millennia past, and ultimately participating in the end of them, the corruption at the core of the Star League today pretty much has corroded what little goodwill they have retained in recent centuries. The whole rotten mess needs to be sundered and torched, but as Master Executor Atrebas has said, they serve a tepid purpose by staying alive for the time being, and that time is ticking fast."

"Aff, and soon enough that purpose will be exhausted, leaving only the corruption and our burning desire to put an end to it. You have said nothing that has not crossed my mind of late, Star Colonel, and Sigma will be one of our best proxies in so sundering the Star League in years to come. But for tomorrow, we must defend the fledgling Mercenary unit."

"Hai, we stand ready to do so, highness. By your leave?" Annabelle asked.

"Thank you, Star Colonel," Rini implicitly dismissed her.

-x-x-x-

(4 April, Magi Year 14408 / Year SL 8838, 2100 Hours Local Time)
(Hess' Quarters, Administration Building, Base Boarhound, Terra 232)
(Day 18 of Campaign)

Erich entered his quarters and immediately glanced at Toni's bed on the way in the door. It was a reflexive action, all else being equal, but he also didn't have to wait for Toni to take her shower first before he took his, which was a strange change of routine he realized.

Don't have to worry about me soaking up the hot water tonight, Toni told him telepathically.

"Helluva thing to think about, though," Hess said audibly.

"Something amiss, sir?" Virtue asked.

"Speaking to Toni, who is speaking to me telepathically," Hess said, then chuckled grimly as he squared up to his armor and weapons racks. "Now there's a freaking phrase I never expected to have to say aloud."

"How so?" Virtue asked.

Sigma One was silent for a few moments as he slid out of his armor hauberk and hung it up on the rack. "A month ago, I would never have seriously considered the necessity of discussing chatting with a Phoenix telepathically to an artificial intelligence entity. What that I could say my life was now complete, but you, me, and Toni all know and understand that the shit can only get weirder from here."

"I cannot disagree with this statement," Virtue admitted after a moment.

Seconded, Toni chimed in.

Hess finished putting up his H-Harness, combat belt and drop-leg platforms, then pulled his sidearm and set it on the stand next to his bed as was customary. "Virtue, run me a playlist of, oh, 1960s and 1970s rock in the shower," he requested as he entered the bathroom.

"Stand by," Virtue took a few moments to collate the rock songs from his personal music collection, but also threw in some similar songs from elsewhere in the Star Empires and shuffled them together randomly. "Array generated and started."

Hess stripped down quickly and dropped his clothes in the laundry hamper for processing on his next day off (scheduled in a few days). Whence inside the shower, he turned the faucet on and could immediately sense the touch of Toni's telepathy inside his mind. "So I get an audience for my shower?"

Still working on answering a few personal questions, figured I'd go straight to the source material. Unless you object? Toni asked.

"Mild objection, yes, but my grounds for it are a bit thin," Hess admitted. It wasn't that he did not trust Toni, but the thought of being picked at by a telepath was a bit unsettling to him still.

I wasn't going to say anything about you watching me flying around from the rooftop or watching when I was sunning myself. Little bit of a different level there, and I was flaunting it, Toni admitted to what Hess figured was some showboating on her part. Not that he figured she had any reason not to flaunt it, her phoenix form was absolutely majestic in his opinion.

"Gawking comes in many forms, and today has been a very rare instance thereof for me," he said.

I give you points for the gentlemanly conduct in such matters, big guy. A lot of men I've dealt with couldn't get past the thought of how I would look in bed, Toni said. You actually care about those around you, and that's a game-changer in these things.

"Which brings me to a question, how have you been feeling since you flipped forms?" Hess asked.

Like a million C-bills. I have no real problem being in human form for extended periods, but this is a totally different feeling. Liberating, comforting, and energizing all at the same time. Definitely want to make a routine habit of doing a day or two in Phoenix form every month, Toni announced.

"Well I had those runes built permanent or close to it for a reason, call it a job perk going forward for any active-duty Sigma personnel, if you're not on active ops, you're free to operate in Avian form — or if your duties would allow for use of Avian form, you could do that as well."

And that is all the more example of why I really like you, big guy. Not only can you do the categorically right thing by people, you can make it profit everyone involved as well. I'd call it creepy mastermind skills, except that it's not all that creepy after three weeks of seeing it in action.

"Probably the strangest compliment I've received in, well, ever," Hess admitted. "Still, I kinda like the thought of it, but one must be cautious. In a lot of these skills, I'm still a greenhorn hoping to survive long enough to gain better skills and experience."

Hence the Secret Service, we're here to keep you alive so you can keep making a difference.

"And much welcomed for covering my ass," Hess said. He finished his shower and began toweling off. "Not sure if I've reminded you of this fate recently, Toni, but this is going to be a long, bloody, destructive, painful, probably heart-breaking and soul-crushing job for us for a long time running. You, more than I, given you get to cycle through a regen phase every couple centuries; if I make it to 70, I'll consider myself damn lucky."

We can work on that, big guy, Toni said as he slipped on a pair of underwear and an undershirt. Wizardry comes in many forms, and age is a number that can be easily modified with the right spells.

"Now that is a leap of faith I probably will eventually take, but mentally I don't think I am ready for it just yet," the displaced American said on his way out the bathroom. "Virtue, switch music to my night-time list and set volume low."

Virtue did so and also dropped the lights to quarter power until Hess climbed in under his cover, and then shut them off after he was settled. Getting to sleep early?

"Catching up on some outstanding sleep deprivation. I can go four or five days on four hours a night, but eventually need to recover."

Point taken. Good night, big guy.

-x-x-x-

(4 April, Magi Year 14408 / Year SL 8838, 2230 Hours Star League Standard Time)
(Personal Quarters of Mandy Glivenne, Star League Grand Palace)
(Day 18 of Campaign)

"We're all here, except Lady Nuone," Senator Hajin said.

"I spoke to her a few minutes ago, she is on a HPG call with her brother in the strike force," Senator Kayleigh Asari noted. She flipped her hair back and re-tied her hairband in the pause thereafter.

"Any indicator?" Senator Glivenne asked.

"Nothing, no hints," Kayleigh grumped. "Can't even tease us properly."

A couple knocks presaged the last entrant of their conspiracy — Maria Nuone.

"Hail!" Mandy hoisted a wineglass to their last arrival. Others around the room joined her in the salute.

Maria stepped up to the table in Mandy's quarters, slugged the wineglass waiting for her, and grinned in a purely evil fashion. "I have got some good news for you!"

"We could use some good news," Mandy said with a stretch.

"My brother reports he is docked at the Jumpship and the charter company has agreed to quick-charge for him. He jumps in six hours, they had a minor jump controller fault and will have it fixed quickly, then they have to recalculate their landing zone because they are using the Terran L1 Pirate Point."

"Six hours? And probably two for flight time from pirate point to Terra 232, ten minutes for landing, so they'll be in combat in roughly eight hours," Senator Zoey Hajin guessed. Given that she was one of the Senators from the Dynasty Star Empire, one of the more warfare-focused Star Empires of the Big Six, she would have a better understanding of such matters than the others in the group.

"Sounds right," Maria nodded twice.

"So we're about to be rid of the pestilence of Sigma," Mandy raised her wineglass. "I propose a toast to the Duchy of Three Rivers. You're courting the vengeance of the Magi to rid the multiverse of these tools and their idealistic American blowhard Administrator, but the Star League will stand with you in all particulars and against the Magi for this issue."

"I thank you on behalf of the Duchy for the assistance in this matter. We will fight long and hard to keep the peace of the Star Empires, even if we must challenge the biggest of the Big Six in so doing." Maria Nuone raised her wineglass and downed it in one shot. She would not realize that it would be her last glass of wine on this side of the mortal coil. "Now, I shall retire for the night, I have an alarm set to the timing of combat on Terra 232, and will be tracking the matter as that bitch ComStar reporter Lunete Ueda shows our forces smashing through the Protectorate."

"You will want to put an appearance in around 10A for the bill signing," Senator Amise Orvanne noted. "I doubt there will be much resistance to the bill, but every vote 'yea' for it will help beat the Magi back down into place."

"I will definitely be there," Maria said. "Good evening, everyone," Maria was quick to duck out now that she had delivered the good news to the crew.

"We protect the Duchy for doing what must be done," Senator Serenia acknowledged her willingness to stand against the Magi. "They have gone too far with this Sigma project of theirs. And the Executors."

"We will have to draft a censure of the Executors, possibly strip them of their authority?" Mandy asked. There were a couple pale faces around the table at her suggestion, but nobody spoke directly against it. Truth to tell, the thought of such action gave Mandy a case of the butterflies just the same as the others, the Executors were truly ancient beings possessed of power beyond that of the Gods — and the amount of Senators that had power equivalent to the Gods could be counted in a few dozens, max. Eric Atrebas properly cemented the title of Executor as a being to be respected by way of annihilating more than a few of the Greek Gods in his quest to reclaim and reign in his wayward Empire, and that lesson was easily remembered by people all throughout Existence.

"That might be a harder sell, Senior Senator," Zoey said with some trepidation. "I would certainly sign on to knocking them down a peg or two, but outright stripping them of power may simply set them off."

"And what? They would turn their blades on the Star League?" Mandy scoffed at the possibility, though her conversation with Atrebas in days past crept back into the forefront of her memory — the damnable Will Transcendent had threatened to execute her less than two weeks ago, and Mandy had to remind herself that there was nothing that could physically stop Eric Atrebas from doing so. Except maybe another Executor, though she strongly doubted any of that foul tribe would be loyal to the Star League over their master.

"I would not say that an impossible outcome," Zoey nodded twice. "Still, we do what we must. They were necessary in centuries past, but they are not the conscience of the Many Nations as they want to believe of themselves."

Senator Orvanne cleared her throat and took a strong slug of wine. "If we are to be titillated by the destruction of the Protectorate, best we get to sleep so we can enjoy it without falling asleep in front of our monitors," she said with a wry smile.

"Can't argue that point," Senator Serenia threw back what was left of her glass. "Do you have a good zinfandel for celebrating tomorrow?"

"Oh yes, I have a bottle of 8803 in my rack that I intend to uncork when it is confirmed that the damnable Command Administrator is dead," Mandy said with a smile.

"Morose, but I'll join you for a drink when that time comes," Senator Orvanne said before she stood up from the table and bowed. "Have a good evening."

The meeting of conspirators would break up a few minutes past, but their next gathering would be under far different circumstances.

---

Author's Chapter Afterword:

So, yeah. Took a long break from writing Sigma, though not as long as AAA, and now's as good a time as any to get back into it.

Happy 2023! The shit-show of the past few years continues at full horsepower, but I am not daunted by things that suck that bad! I will continue on, as shall my writing!

First off, want to get the review by Winblades out of the way here, as he makes some good points. So, long reply short, message received, and I have modded my processes to compensate for at least that much of a problem on the backend. As I want to fully automate the backend eventually, for now I'm just going to keep the bare minimum of records to make sure the story stays straight going forward. And that Sigma doesn't completely blow the budget. This is a mercenary unit and a Protectorate, after all, there is at least some expectation of making a profit in here…somewhere?

Second, on the writing side, well, looks like Winblades gets his wish to a degree, the dice have moved up the timetable for invasion — that was supposed to happen in Chapter 21, but as is shown here, next chapter is when the party happens. And it will be one fuck of a party, as the early segments of the next chapter will explain exactly why. And, this is going to be a showcase for something that professional armies tend to forget from time to time: if you put a populace under imminent pressure of death, they will fight absolutely to get out of it. The militia ethos is built around that expectation, if in concept their purpose is to defend their lands and their nation. Kind of a duality thing, and you will see that duality in stark contrast in the next chapter.

The other big note for this chapter is the deployment of the first Avian Rune. Right now it looks like a funky job perk for the Sigma staff, but I can tell you right now it is going to be a big story point going forward at a lot of levels. Just think, city riot contract, riot police call Sigma in and they send in a Dragon or two. Just the threat of something like that would cause rioters to shit a brick and run for the hills, never you mind such a dragon showing up on a battlefield in medieval Europe or ancient China. The raw intimidation factor of Dragons in a force would break campaigns down in both directions. And I can think of dozens more uses for Dragons than just that obvious one.

No combat action in this chapter, but that is not unheard of in a military setting. Not every day is in battle, but battle always comes, just a matter of time.

On the writing front, I think I am going to roll straight into the next chapter since I have such a clear mental picture of what is to come, I have been running this scenario out in my mind to a hellish degree and here's to hoping the dice decide it plays out in that direction. We shall see what we shall see. Next chapter is probably going to be AAA or MMC2 afterwards. Nothing else special to report, this is the middle of northern hemisphere winter and shit is kinda boring right now. I like it that way, to be honest.

Nothing else to report. NEXT UP: The Duchy of Three Rivers makes their first combat action off-planet in service of the desires of the Star League Grand Council. Sigma will quickly find itself in the path of a force of war, will it rise to the challenge or be buried under Senatorial ambitions?

---

Review Replies: Eight reviews across the last chapter. THANK YOU FOR THE FEEDBACK!

Stalvir: I am off-and-on with writing to try to de-stress as much as possible, stress is the biggest killer for my writing. Thanks!

Birga: I will be going back over the engineering of the Sigma version of the Minerva in a later story, before the first new ship is built. Such an issue with cargo will be corrected!

Pridefallen: Takeshi is a character supplied by my beat reader, Takeshi Yamato, and is an introduction to a very stiff story line I came up with some time ago for a JW side story that I don't think is valid any more but the background is too good to let sit idle. And on mobile structures, yes they do exist and Sigma will dabble in them in due time.

Holy Dragoon: Yes, there are those who march toward the grinder with a smile on, but for some the allure of power is inescapable. Also, may I make use of your online handle as a unit name? Horse cav is going to be probably a rare unit class or a non-starter, but I've got some plans for it nonetheless.

Hellhound D.O.W: Thanks for spot-checking my writing.

Winblades: Above and beyond what I've said in the notes block above, I want to thank you for keeping up the skeer on my writing. I do not fear nor disregard criticism, and I do take such lessons to mind for my writing, but keep in mind that my writing is more along the lines of Dale Brown and Tom Clancy, a buildup with spikes in the action and lulls headed toward the end-game. I am not a big fan of the tempo posited by most shonen stores or even a goodly portion of mecha shows, where the throttle is pinned to the floor for whole swaths of chapters / episodes at a time. I aim for more of a realistic element in these things, similar to in real life warfare the actual battle is the last ten percent of your effort, and the other 90 percent is logistics, maneuver, staging, strategy that shapes the battle and determines the outcome. As always, any recommendations welcomed!

Alpha 12: After some soul searching and process changes, I am back on the battlefield! If you haven't caught it yet, the last chapter of DFA has been dropped and that story is closed out, but rest assured it will echo into JW3 to a very hefty degree (one of the main six characters is an Allster, after all). On my storytelling pace, yes, it's not all up front and full throttle, as I noted to Winblades, my writing style is more along the lines of Clancy, a more lengthy buildup to a helluva battle at the end. And you can rest assured the battle coming up in the next chapter will fit the description! Stay tuned for the next, the party's about to hit the beat drop!

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The Gripe Sheet:

No errors in the last chapter. Much thanks to Necroblade, Sieben Nightwing, and Takeshi Yamato for keeping my writing straight, if not necessarily prompt.

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Footnotes:

(1): While the expression is normally 'ounce of performance' in common use, in this case the use of 'grain' is deliberate to show an even finer level of engineering: an ounce is 1/16 of a pound, a grain is 1/7000 of a pound.

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Included Works:

—Real Life Armaments — too many to name, that is most of the arsenal shown.
—Real Life Combat Gear — the vests and gear carried by the Militia troops are easily constructible from stuff you can buy on Amazon or Cheaper Than Dirt. No, Seriously, Look it up. Do a search for "UTG Modular 10-Piece Complete Kit", and you have a good look at a starter kit for any serious gearhound.
—Real Life Concepts
—Real Life Time Period: 1930s New York City (Shown in Chapter 2, referenced in chapter 3)
—Real Life Equipment: The Caterpillar equipment showcased in the chapters is based on real life designs or equipment from said manufacturer.

—Real Life Mythology: The Phoenix race of beings are derived from the mythological Phoenix (Egyptian) and Thunder Bird (Native American). That said, I have made some serious modifications to the whole principle that will be revealed in coming chapters.
—Real Life Mythology: The first of many Valkyrie have joined the blossoming Protectorate. That said, do not confuse the Valkyrie with the term Valkyria — separate work, separate purpose. (Shown in chapter 7)
—Real Life Mythology: The Dryad featured in this chapter (and in a helluva lot more chapters to come) is a derivation of the ancient Greek mythos around Trees and Tree Spirits. Specifically, the Dryads used in this story are akin mostly to the Hamadryad of older mythos.

—Personal Works: The Star Empires are mentioned briefly here. Additionally, the Magi Empire is named specifically.
—Personal Works: The nations of the Jokers Wild are mentioned in Chapter 6. There is a very good reason for that.
—Personal Works: The Star League is a derivation of the Star League from Battletech, but founded by Queen Sora Serenity (Executor-Queen Sora Takenouchi).
—Personal Works: The Executors are specialized Mages who have transcended a minimum of twice (Gods and Goddesses are a minimum Transcendance of once) and are specially commissioned to defend life and honor amongst the Star League territories or member states.
—Personal Works: The 10mm Kurz cartridge is a shortened / lower velocity / lower weight version of the 10mm BG round, developed by the Magi for 'crowd pleasing' against large masses of Negaverse troops, most of which were unarmored during the Star Empire Wars. It quickly became a favored heavy machine gun round for multiple purposes after the fact. (Shown in Chapter 1)
—Personal Works: Gerald Lightbringer is most famous for his participation in my Jokers Wild series, but his history is far stranger than either story properly shows. (Last seen in chapter 5)
—Personal Works: The last section of Chapter 6 makes it clear that the Jokers Wild, Sigma, and Multimage Chronicles are interconnected at multiple levels. This WILL come back to haunt everyone involved, in multiple ways.

—Anime General: the oddball hair colors, especially endemic to nonhumans.
—Anime General and D&D: the nonspecific concept of Elves, Nymphs, and Sylphs.
—Anime Trigun: Vash The Stampede, Millie Thompson, and Meryl Strife took the wrong train, ended up hanging out, and now are tagging along with the Militiamen.
—Anime Gundam SEED Destiny: Mentioned briefly chapters 13 and 14, though more to be seen in Sigma 0003-06 is the presence of Athrun Zala and Meyrin Hawke, as well as a goodly portion of the crew of the Minerva. You can rest assured this is an issue that will echo going forward into the rest of the story. As of Chapter 17, roughly 40% of the ship's crew is in the Protectorate and has joined for the purpose of vengeance, including a rescued Captain Talia Gladys.

—Cartoon Publishing Group: Disney Works in general are mentioned here, but have not made an official showing yet.

—Cartoon: Chip 'n' Dale's Rescue Rangers is mentioned in this chapter as well, and due to the show mechanics may not actually make a showing except as a show within a story, but you can rest assured that it will influence things going forward.

—Game: Battletech: You are starting to see some serious discussion of Battletech units and force concepts in this chapter. They will become more prevalent as the story marches on. (Happens off and on.)
—Game: Dungeons and Dragons (First Edition): A lot of the spellcraft will be drawn from D&D as well as other sources to be named.
—Game: Dungeons and Dragons (First Edition): The concept of the Dragons of many colors is drawn from the D&D First Edition
Monster Manual. Some mods were made (the Platinum dragon is not unique, and the Eternal Dragon is a wholly new class).
—Game: Final Fantasy IX: The player cast of the game (Zidane, Dagger, Steiner, Freya, Vivi, Eiko, Red, and Quina) were residing in one of the dining cars, but are now members of Sigma's Basic Training Group.
—Game: Infantry Online (Sony Online Entertainment): The CAW from the early section, and named in the stinger, is a different-manufacturer version of the Kuchler A6 CAW. (Shown in Chapter 1)
—Game: Call Of Duty MW2: The Remington ACR in use in this story is based on the Magpul Masada / Bushmaster ACR / Remington ACR in use in said game. Hey, even if it was pooh-pooed in real life, someone in an alternate dimension would do it right, ne?
—Game: Command And Conquer Renegade: The Infantry Ion Cannon (Portable Ion Cannon) is a personnel weapon from Renegade, and is considered a mainstay amongst the Star Empires. (Seen in Chapter 8, to be seen frequently in the future))

—Game: Dark Cloud and Dark Chronicle (Dark Cloud 1 and 2 in English): The concept of Chronicle Relics is derived from the Chronicle Sword and Chronicle II from the games. The specifics of these weapons, their purpose and powers, will be quite different from the games but the form factor is roughly the same (though individualized by each relic). (Shown in chapter 15 and will be fleshed out significantly in Chapter 20 and 21)

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Clan AeroTech 2 Vessel Technical Readout

VALIDATED

Class/Model/Name: Wasp Medium Fighter
Tech: Mixed Tech / 3067
Vessel Type: Aerospace Fighter
Rules: Level 3, Standard design
Rules Set: AeroTech2
Mass: 40 tons
Length: 15 meters

Power Plant: 240 XL Fusion (C)
Safe Thrust: 8
Maximum Thrust: 12

Armor Type: Ferro-aluminum

Armament:
1 Large Pulse Laser(C)
2 SRM 4(C)
2 ER Medium Laser(C)
2 LRM 5(C)

Class/Model/Name: Wasp Medium Fighter

Mass: 40 tons
Construction Options: Fractional Accounting

Equipment: (Mass)

Power Plant: 240 XL Fusion (5.75)
Thrust: Safe Thrust: 8
Maximum Thrust: 12

Structural Integrity: 8 (.00)

Total Heat Sinks: 12 Double (2.00)

Fuel: (4.00)

Cockpit & Attitude Thrusters: (3.00)

Armor Type: Clan Ferro-aluminum (196 total armor pts) (10.21)
Standard Scale Armor Pts
Location: L / R
Nose: 66
Left/Right Wings: 49/49
Aft: 32

Weapons and Equipment
Loc, SRV, MRV, LRV, ERV, Heat, Mass

1 Large Pulse Laser(C)
Nose, 10, 10, 10, -, 10, 6.00

2 SRM 4(C)
Nose, 6, -, -, -, 6, 2.00
(Ammo (SRM 4) 25 - 1.00)

1 ER Medium Laser(C)
RW, 7, 7, -, -, 5, 1.00

1 ER Medium Laser(C)
LW, 7, 7, -, -, 5, 1.00

1 LRM 5(C)
RW, 3, 3, 3, -, 2 1.00

1 LRM 5(C)
LW, 3, 3, 3, -, 2 1.00
(Ammo (LRM 5) 48 - 2.00)

1 C.A.S.E. Equipment (C) Body .00

TOTALS: Heat: 30
Tons Used: 39.96
Tons Left: .04

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost: 5,165,280 C-Bills
Battle Value: 1,663
Cost per BV: 3,106.0

Weapon Value: 2,082 (Ratio = 1.25)
Damage Factors: SRV = 31; MRV = 19; LRV = 5; ERV = 0

BattleForce2: MP: 8, Armor/Structure: 5 / 0
Damage PB/M/L: 4/3/2, Overheat: 0
Class: FL; Point Value: 17