Chapter 7: Buyout
May 6, 3025
Alloway, Frontier
Deep Space
The next hours dragged on painfully slowly as the surviving engineering crew thoroughly checked and rechecked the maneuvering thrusters and triple checked the docking seals before starting the final approach to the jump ship. And each hour, each minute, the image of Dekker helplessly bleeding out in that cockpit while he was powerless to do anything about it haunted him. Even if the engineering crews were willing, the Argo's integrity was shot – that was hard vacuum outside the cockpit, and Dekker wasn't wearing a pressure-suit.
Finally his comms board lit up with a signal and Lady Centrella once more appeared in front of him. He considered his appearance grimly for a moment—he'd been in the cockpit for just over six hours, sweating it out on the surface and now shivering against the cold of space. Not his best to be verbally sparring with an extremely powerful noble.
"Your performance was exemplary, Commander. I'll be certain to ensure the upper echelons of Magistracy high command hear about your skills."
He pushed down his temper and forced himself to speak civilly. The chance to speak to someone with her resources and access to information was exceptionally rare, and not something he could afford to waste, even now. "That would be appreciated, Lady Centrella. I'm sure you understand my focus now is on my pilots and our 'Mechs, but perhaps you can satisfy my curiosity and tell me what this is all about. Because whatever it is, it isn't about the Argo."
Lady Centrella smiled. "Well, you have been a good man." An insult, coming from a Canopian. "It's not entirely about the ship, Commander. Alloway is a single jump from Joppa, which is a trade hub and one of only two mapped starlanes into the Magistracy rimward of Cassilda. The pirates have been causing us issues, but if we were to step up our military presence nearby the Capellans might feel provoked, shall we say. On the other hand, it's perfectly understandable to investigate word of a pitched battle in the system without raising suspicion… or explaining how we found the moon. I'm sure we'll locate a 'fleeing' pirate happy to tell our cleanup team all about it. They should be arriving shortly."
Donavan sighed. "Mercenaries as a deniable asset, that's common enough. But why us? Why me, specifically? I'm as self-important as the next man, I'm sure, but I am aware that there are a number of competent, better armed mercenaries well within your reach. Perhaps they would only increase the likelihood of success a few percentage points, but with the amount of money committed to this, the higher rate of pay would be nothing."
"Because you were on trial, Commander. For what, I'm afraid it's not my place to say, but expect to hear from us again."
She cut the channel and Donavan sighed again, mentally bracing himself for the delicate, nerve-shredding task of shuttling his fundamentally clumsy, 45-ton machine through zero-gravity out of the floating debris-field that was the Argo and into the narrow entrance of the Leopard's 'Mech Bay.
…
Twenty-four hours after the Argo connected with the Magistracy JumpShip and Donavan was back in ops, having slept, showered, and eaten. The follow-up Canopian forces had jumped into the system on another jumpship and mounted an impressive assault on what was left of the pirates. They were followed up by a salvage team, after which the whole force jumped out again, but here they still waited on endless checks to make sure the Argo they'd worked so hard to secure would survive the jump.
Normally Donavan would have resented the delay, but not this time. He looked up as a short, fearsome-looking woman with hair tied back and a white coat stepped into ops.
"Dr. Herrin, how is he?" Dr. Herrin, whom Donavan wouldn't dream of calling by her given name of Kit, looked across the room's occupants with exactly zero insecurity. She'd been with the Leopard since before the Aurigan Reach, and that was the full extent of his knowledge of her.
"He's alive, but in bad shape. He's broken his left arm and leg, as well as at least two ribs. We've reset the limbs, but he has yet to regain consciousness—I strongly suspect he has a major concussion, and possibly brain damage. Assuming there is no other brain trauma, he will be out of action for at least a month, more likely two."
"But other than the mental side, you expect a full recovery?"
"Physically, yes, but mentally? Even if his brain suffered no further physical trauma, it's far too early to predict the psychological effects of an injury this severe, but there is a significant chance he will never pilot a BattleMech again."
Donavan suppressed a shudder and nodded. "Thank you, Dr. Harrin. Please let me know if you need anything."
She nodded to Donavan and left without another word. Donavan, for his part, couldn't help but worry about Dekker. The Capellan ex-soldier was his pilot, his responsibility, and beyond that, he was a fine pilot and rock of professionalism, an important stabilizing influence among the 'Mech Warriors.
Then he noticed everyone watching him and abruptly realized his responsibilities stretched further than just the pilots these days, and gave himself a mental shake. "Right. Yang, we got pretty banged up out there—how are we looking?"
Yang already looked exhausted. "Boss, it 'aint good. The Spider's a wreck without replacement parts, and you know how hard those are to find even in the Inner Sphere. And it's gonna take weeks, maybe more than a month, to make good on the others. To get to the internals we're gonna have to strip off all the armor, then fix 'em up, then replace the weapon systems, then replace the armor with whatever we've got left. The good news is, the Magistracy people really cleaned house down there and they left us a cut of the salvage. Replacing the 'Hawk's AC/5 and your medium lasers should be no problem, and they loaded us up with ammunition."
Donavan nodded. "I expected about that, though that's good news about the ammunition. We'll be traveling for a while—the Magistracy is going to drop us off near Lyreton, and that's a ways away."
Yang frowned. "Lyreton? That's mighty close to the Aurigan Directorate and the Capellan Confederation, isn't it?"
"It is—but that should translate to better contracts, too, not to mention more available spare parts."
Yang shrugged. "Can't argue with that."
"Alright, Darius, how are we looking?"
Alone among the command crew, Darius looked energized and upbeat. "Good, Commander. The Magistracy was as good as their word, and they paid off all our loan interest. For those of you that are interested, that's a lot of dough. And to keep us afloat to enjoy it, they paid a flat fee of one million C-bills. That should let us get our legs back under us."
Donavan managed a smile. Darius had really come through for them. "Nice job. Tell me about Lyreton. Any ideas why we're headed there? You'd think the Canopians would want their new toy deep in Magistracy space."
The XO shrugged. "Hard to say. Lyreton is known for its shipyards, but Yang's right—they're independent, technically, but heavily associated with the Capellans to coreward and are right on the edge of Aurigan space to spinward. I guess the Magistracy might have cut a deal with the Confederation to fix up their ship, and if so that might mean tensions are finally winding down. Still, it's hard to say what the Capellans get out of it."
Donavan sat back in his beat-up but comfortable chair. "Alright people, we took a beating down there, but we made some real progress on our financial situation and we've got a couple weeks to burn, so let's get that salvage cataloged and take a bit of a break from operations until we arrive. Dismissed."
May 19, 3025
Lyreton, Frontier
Deep Space
Everyone was ready for some shore leave by the time the Magistracy JumpShip shifted into real space a few days outside of Lyreton. Too many days packed into the Leopard had everyone going a little stir crazy, but they had kept busy. They'd claimed significant chunks of the pirate's Shadow Hawk on top of the weapons and ammo as their claim of the salvage from the raid on Alloway. They could almost build a Shadow Hawk from scratch, though that process would likely take months without more space and support gear than could possibly be squeezed into the already-packed Leopard.
And they'd finally come up with a name for the company. Donavan had gone to visit Dekker the moment he'd heard the pilot had woken up, whose first words when he walked in were "Heard you went lone wolf on us again Commander." Donavan had shaken his head. "Nope, I had you guys as backup."
"Yeah, a whole pack of wolves." And thus, Donavan's Wolves were born.
As they detached from the JumpShip to get flying under their own power they received a surprise call from Lady Centrella. "Congratulations once again, all of you. Now, you have a visitor who's been patiently waiting for your arrival. I'm sure you'll find something to talk about."
The call ended and they were immediately hailed by a Union-class dropship requesting permission to board. Whoever it was probably wasn't willing to forever blacklist themselves from all JumpShips by attacking them in front of witnesses, but given Lady Centrella's call, Donavan had no choice but to accept.
Lady Centrella dropped the image, keeping open only the cheaper audio channel, and the Commander of the newly minted Donavan's Wolves could only shrug. And not sixty seconds later the boarding hatch to the JumpShip blinked in requested access, Lady Centrella's image returned, and the hatch slid open to reveal—
Donavan's jaw nearly hit the floor. There before him stood Lady Kamea Arano, looking fit and regal in a carefully tailored red uniform. "Hello again, Donavan… or should I say, Commander Melodan?" she said calmly. "I'm happy to see you again. You've done well for yourself. The old man would be pleased. And you've recovered the Argo, a seemingly impossible feat, and one that will pay great dividends in the future. I have to admit, I was skeptical that you could pull it off. I can't tell you how happy I am to be proven wrong."
Donavan had recovered enough to get his brain working again, and it was going into overdrive. He jumped to his feet and gave a half-bow. "Forgive me, Lady Arano, this is… one hell of a surprise."
Darius, too, was on his feet, though Yang remained stubbornly seated. "I'll say. Lady Arano, the news feeds ran footage of your DropShip getting blown out of the sky for months!"
Donavan noticed a darker-skinned man with short black hair and a neat mustache at Kamea's back. He was dressed in a fashionable and expensive-looking blue coat with a green scarf that didn't entirely cover what looked like some nasty burns on his neck. The man glanced at Lady Kamea through black-rimmed, half-moon glasses. She gave an approving nod, and he stepped forward a half-pace. "If you don't recall, Commander, I am Alexander Madeira. And to answer your implied question, Mr. Oliveria, that wasn't our DropShip. What you saw was Directorate propaganda. Lies."
Donavan let out a low whistle. "That's one hell of a risk for them to run."
Kamea nodded. "Correct. And they very nearly became true. The Directorate's assassins pursued us into the Frontier. In the months that followed we had more than our share of close calls. Eventually they gave up looking for us."
"If I may ask, where were you?"
Alexander winced. "As far from Directorate space as we could get without leaving the Frontier. A miserable little ball of rock called Zathras. It was a nasty, brutish planet full of strife and turmoil… there were power struggles and mad nobles, plagues and zealots and holy wars."
Yang snorted. "So you're saying it was a typical Frontier world."
Donavan shot him a look, and he shrugged.
Lady Kamea sighed. "Unfortunately, he is right. Living on Coromodir I heard stories about the problems many Frontier systems face, but I was distracted. I never saw how rough life outside the Aurigan Coalition could get. My uncle's coup changed everything… including me."
Donavan's head was still spinning at the implications of Kamea's survival. Zathra was smack dab between the Free World's League and the Magistracy, next door to Hastur where he'd grown up, and he was keenly aware of the political tension such a situation entailed. Small wonder that the Magistracy had scooped her up and backed her. But why? Destabilizing the Reach might keep the Capellan's outer flanks secured, which would keep their attention towards the other Inner Sphere houses and away from the Magistracy? And what was Kamea's angle? Fix up the Argo for the Canopians and in exchange they bankroll a potential civil war? There were too many possibilities at this point. He needed more information.
"So, my Lady, it seems clear to me that you are working with the Magistracy and asked that we recover the Argo—may I ask why?"
Kamea gestured to Alexander, who answered. "In part as a test of your abilities, to make sure your performance on Coromodir wasn't a fluke. Our experience in the coup has taught us to be careful, Commander. We couldn't just reach out to you on faith."
"And you have little political capital to spend on something you're not sure of."
Alexander gave him an approving nod. "I'm glad you understand these things, Commander."
Lady Kamea jumped back in. "And you passed that test, Donavan. So now we can tell you that the Argo is perhaps critical to our plans. She isn't just a ship-she's a symbol of reclamation, of rebirth, and the return to better days. You'll see for yourself soon enough—under Dr. Murad's care, she will be majestic once again, and serve as my mobile command center."
"As you say, my Lady… but what comes next?"
"I imagine you've already guessed. I intend to seek justice for my uncle's crimes. I intend to take my throne back. But I can't do it without you."
Donavan blinked. That was a major admission… and a surprising one.
Lord Madeira explained. "We have resources. The Magistracy is providing finances, and with it we've raised an army drawn from all across the Frontier. We have a symbol that we reclaimed with the Magistracy's help."
"The Magistracy is openly backing you?" Donavan glanced at Lady Centrella's image, but she gave away nothing, and Lady Kamea quickly continued.
"No—Lady Centrella is acting as intermediary, so it remains, at least somewhat, a personal venture rather than an official policy. It also allows us to maintain our independence."
Donavan, thankfully, managed not to roll his eyes at that. There was no chance Lady Centrella would undertake any of this activity without at least the tacit approval of the crown. Still, he reminded himself with another glance at Lady Centrella, they're saying it for her benefit more than mine. Well, if he could say it with a straight face, then Donavan would listen in kind.
Lady Kamea nodded. "Understand that this is to both sides' advantage. The Periphery is, as the ancient saying, a powder keg. Tensions between the Taurian Concordat and the Federated Suns are high, and my uncle's military posturing could be viewed as a provocation by either side. If open conflict between the great Houses of the Inner Sphere should reignite it would be difficult for anyone to remain neutral. The third succession war is finally winding down, and the Magistracy wants to avoid a renewal of the conflict. Backing my claim should keep the major powers out of the Periphery."
Donavan had major doubts about that line of reasoning, but elected to keep them to himself for the moment. Darius met Donavan's eyes for a long moment, questions passing between them, then the XO turned back to Lady Kamea.
"So, if I have this right, you're the best choice for a clean solution. They fill your war chest, you keep the Directorate focused anti-spinward on you to avoid a flare-up to spinward and eventually take them off the board, the Capellans ignore us when the region to conflicted to mount a significant threat to their flank, and the Magistracy lets tensions between the Federated Suns and the Taurians simmer down on their own. Am I reading that right, Lady Arano?"
Donavan glanced at the still-open channel to Lady Centrella, who returned his gaze steadily. As far as he could tell, this whole line of reasoning was shaped by Lady Arano's perspective. Her concern was limited to whether it would be in the Magistracy's interest to let her stay on the throne if she won, but he knew the Magistracy better than that. They had just as many plans for failure as they did for success.
"Correctly enough, Mr. Oliveira. But understand that this isn't just about defusing a dangerous situation. For me, taking on the Directorate is personal."
That much was obvious. And just as obviously, to Donavan at least, was that the Magistracy knew it as well. So… did this Alexander Madeira see how blinded Lady Kamea was? Or was he just as blind? For whatever political expertise he was supposed to have, he hadn't seen the coup coming. Or were they both just putting on a show for Lady Centrella? It was impossible to know.
Meanwhile, Lady Arano was still talking. "My uncle betrayed me. The Found Council has been reduced to a handful of powerless figureheads. Our very identity has been cut away and discarded. House Espinosa is long overdue for a reckoning, and with your help I will bring them one. Join with me, Donavan, and we will not fail."
Donavan forced himself not to glance at Lady Centrella as his mind raced. He needed to distance himself from this, to be hired, not recruited, but you never talked money with a high lord or lady. By the same token, he couldn't afford to say no, not with Lady Centrella obviously supporting the venture, and especially now that he knew the secret of Lady Arano's survival. They could not afford to let him walk away alive if he wasn't committed to the cause.
He swallowed, mouth suddenly dry at that thought, and chose his words with care.
"Your cause is honorable, Lady Arano. The financial terms will be worked out, but the Wolves are at your disposal."
Lady Arano favored him with a small nod. If she was disappointed, she didn't show it. "Good." Of course, you cannot wage war on my behalf while your travel restrictions remain in place, so I shall remove them. Now that you are committed to me, I will buy your company's debts—all of them. From this moment you will be free to travel and seek clients as you please, so long as you come to me when I call. And on the day that I reclaim my throne, your obligation will be forgiven, your debt wiped clean. I am also told that one of your 'Mechs was severely damaged, possibly permanently. We will provide you with a Centurion as a replacement."
She nodded to Alexander to continue, done speaking of anything related to money.
"Of course, you will also be paid for every battle you fight at Lady Arano's behest, at a rate that will feel quite generous, given the clientele that you're accustomed to."
They were looking at him, waiting for him to say something. "Ah, we look forward to working for you and avenging Sir Raju."
"Thank you, Commander Melodan. I feel that Raju is smiling down on us, even now. I take my leave—I have an army to rally and preparations to make, but it won't be long before I contact you again… and when I do, you must be ready. Prepare yourselves. Our war is about to begin."
She looked around the room once more, then turned to go and Donavan finally permitted himself to look at Lady Centrella, eyebrows raised. She simply smiled and her image winked out.
Twenty minutes later Donavan was in the cockpit with Sumire and Darius, the most politically savvy members of the team, each of them digesting the seismic shifts in Periphery politics. For his part, Donavan was still wrapping his head around it. Lady Arano's analysis was fine, but only as far as it went. She was probably right that the Magistracy would let her stay on the throne if she won, but Donavan was keenly aware that the Magistracy made just as many plans, if not more, in anticipation of their pet projects' failure.
"So, what do you think?" Sumire, as always, cut straight to the point. "There's more to this than they're saying, obviously. The real question is, why us? By which I mean, why you?"
Donavan nodded. "That's my question, too. I've been thinking about it a lot over the past couple weeks with nothing to do, and I've got a couple ideas. You all heard them talk – they're afraid to trust anybody, even Lady Centrella. They're probably paranoid living on the run for a while. If there's anyone she can be sure isn't going to turn her over to the Directorate, it's me, since I was there and they damn near killed me as I helped her get away in the first place. And maybe the Magistracy wanted me around as a reminder to Kamea that it was the Magistracy that sent me over in the first place. That makes them, at least indirectly, part of the reason she's still alive."
Sumire gave him a skeptical look. "I'm not sure that's enough. For the money they've spent on us, they could hire someone with a lot more weight in metal than us. Trust or not, they are starting a war."
Darius shrugged. "Yeah, but the bigger and more well-known, the less anonymity you have. If you hire the Big Mac, there aren't that many potential backers. And, though it kinda hurts to admit, any mercenary with a reputation is going to be pretty hesitant to start up a rebellion against one of few reliable employers out here. At least to start, they have to rely on nobodies like us, and it's just a bonus that we have nothing to lose with our name being blacklisted by the Directorate."
Donavan leaned back in his chair with a frown. "Good points, both of you, but I think we're missing something. I know the Magistracy, and they don't think small. What are they really getting out of this? They're rich, but they're not that rich—they have a specific objective here."
Darius shrugged. "Just keeping the Directorate busy? Everyone knows the Magistracy was friendly with the Aranos."
"By kicking off a civil war?" shot back Sumire. "The Magistracy has to deal with the Inner Sphere—anything that keeps their flank secure is what they're after, not taking down a stable power and leaving the unclaimed space filled with pirates and deserters."
Donavan chewed on his lip, a nasty thought forming. "What if they're not after a war at all?"
Darius looked at him quizzically. "How could they not be if they're bankrolling it?"
"Are they, though?" Donavan leaned forward, eyes narrowed. "They've put a lot of money into recovering the Argo and in buying up our debt. But what have they actually given Lady Arano? A mercenary company that's missing the 'company' – we're small and, frankly, not that useful in a pitched battle scenario that a civil war is bound to produce. Plus, thanks to our debt, we're really expensive per ton, so she's not going to be inclined to waste her expensive new toy."
Sumire frowned. "I see where you're going, and that is a nasty thought. You think they're holding her out as leverage against the Directorate, threatening to expose their lies, while she pokes at them with her pet mercs but lacks the firepower to do any more than that?"
"And if she tries to start anything too aggressive, they can pull us–and whoever else they lend her–away. After all, they're the ones that hold our debt, whatever Lady Arano says."
Darius whistled. "That's brutal. A pawn of the Magistracy, huh? I wonder how much she knows?"
"Hard to say. Lady Arano seems a decent sort, but our concern right now isn't what her future holds – it's what this means for us. Above all, we know that Lady Arano is alive, which is one of the Magistracy's most important diplomatic cards right now, so until that card is played the Canopians aren't going to let us go anywhere. On the other hand, they're probably not going to squish us on a whim, either. If we're supposed to keep Lady Arano distracted from making any actual moves, then we'll probably be busy, but Arano wants us in one piece as her single heavy element, and the Magistracy wants us in one piece or they lose all the money they spent on us. So I think we'll see some action, but they won't put us into anything over our heads. Deliberately, anyway."
"So… we keep going?"
Donavan nodded. "Not much else we can do at this point. The good news is, Arano's going to want as big of a stick as she can get away with, so she'll probably push to have us paid as much as she can. That gives us a chance to rebuild. After that, we just hope for the best."
…
High Lady Kamea Arano only relaxed when the hatch to her union dropship, dubbed the Cormorant, and the only Aurigan asset she'd managed to hold onto, was sealed behind her. Beside her, Lord Madeira's shoulders relaxed as well as they walked past the honor guard in House Arano colors and into her private conference room.
"Well, my Lady, do you think it worked?"
"Please, Alexander. When we're not in public, it's Kamea."
The man gave her a crooked smile. "As you wish, Kamea. So… do you think they bought it?"
"The Magistracy or the mercenaries?"
He chuckled. "I admit, I am slightly more concerned about the reaction from the Magistracy."
She stared off into the distance as she thought, her face creased with the worry she wouldn't show another soul. "It's hard to know. The Magistracy has been playing this game for a lot longer than we have. It's entirely possible that they know what we're doing and are letting us do it anyways. But from everything I can see, they seem to think that we're content to use our fancy new ship and handful of mercenaries to stage a raid or two and feel good about ourselves."
"So… we continue?"
She nodded. "If this is the only card we have to play, then we play it as best we can."
