The morning after Hardin's impromptu speech was bright, and the air of grief around the warehouses had dissipated somewhat. Cross had thanked him after it was over and had since made her presence known around the base keeping spirits up wherever needed.
Hardin himself hadn't slept much that night. While in the wasteland he had gotten used to sleeping through the occasional distant gunshot, but here what kept him awake was the everpresent drone coming from the city.
Others had told him it was much the same for everyone on the first night but that it didn't take too long to get used to.
It wasn't long after he had woken up that Hardin made his way to check on the convoy they had been escorting. When he had arrived he was greeted with Brajun organising some of the beasts they had brought along.
"Ahh good morning Paladin Hardin, nice of you to arrive so early". Brajun said as he spotted him.
"And morning to you Mayor". Hardin spotted that some of the trading goods had yet to be readied for travel. Hardin noticed the man giving him a confused look. "Something wrong".
"No uhh… I suppose I'm just used to you wearing that big armour of yours".
He had switched out his T-60 power armour for the much smaller heavy combat armour that many knights used. The armour provided its user ample protection but nowhere near the security that power armour would.
"Oh of course. After talking to Star Paladin Cross, my squad and I have come to the decision to forgo our power armour. Stomping around a city in seven-foot tall suits of steel is good for protection but not so much for keeping people calm".
That had only been half, the reason the other was that they didn't want to draw too much attention to themselves. While a small company of armed soldiers was far from inconspicuous, that was still better than a group in power armour. "Rest assured we are all still combat capable. We should be more than enough of a deterrent, power armour or not".
"Good". Brajin nodded. "Although I was looking forward to some of the traders squirming in unease with that armour of yours behind us, oh well we can't get everything we want".
The two men chuckled for a moment. "I have my squad waiting at the front gate, are we just waiting on these last few supplies".
"Ahh well, that just happens to be one thing I needed to talk about". Hardin raised an eyebrow. "I was hoping you would let some of us stay here while the rest of us go into town, we usually rent a building near the city and stay there while we trade in groups".
"I see no reason that isn't possible but I'll ask Star Paladin Cross, she may be willing to assign a few knights to keep guard".
"Ahh that's a relief, Thank you, Paladin". Brajun gave Hardin a grateful smile before he returned to preparing the convoy for departure.
Hardin too got back to work and had soon organised a squad of knights to act as a guard for those villagers choosing to remain here. Soon both were ready and they began leading the convoy to the gate.
"Paladin Hardin, come in". Lukas' voice came over the radio.
"I'm here Lukas, what do you need".
"You might want to hold back the convoy from the front gate". Confusion came to Hardin and before he could ask why Lukas came over the radio again. "We have a situation here".
—
"What in the void is going on over there". Salant Hesp watched the abandoned warehouses through her electrobinoculars.
What she had been expecting was, at best, a group of Mandalorian mercenaries. Three, maybe four of them using the warehouse as a base while they hunted their bounty.
At worst, she expected a small Mandalorian clan running from the last vestiges of their little civil war. Supercommando remnants were honourable and in her case easy to deal with. Death Watch on the other hand would mean trouble, lots of it.
Any of those situations would have been something the commander of the small planetary militia could deal with. The reality she found herself faced with, however, not so much.
"What the Kriff is going on". She looked towards the few officers she had with her. "Where the hell did these guys come from".
The officers looked at each other. "We don't know. With all the budget cuts you know how lax orbital security has gotten, pirate vessels slip by all the time".
"Yeah, pirate groups of twenty or thirty in freighters". Hesp turned back to the warehouses. "There must be at least a hundred to hundred and fifty in there, they'd need a cruiser for all of them and I'd like to think we'd have spotted that".
The officers took their own optics and looked again. "That many! We only spotted fifty or so".
"No, there's definitely more inside". She lowered herself back into cover. "If what you told me is right then they're rotating guard shifts".
They were all silent as they contemplated her words, they had only brought with them forty of the militia fighters, with two repulsor lift transports.
"Should we call in the city police to back us up". The newest of the officers blurted out before the others could stop him.
Salant felt her eye twitch at the mention of the local police and more specifically the Wasulta Chief of police Meez Taafe. She and him got along like oil and water which naturally meant he was a friend of Pomst.
"No". she said between gritted teeth, her officers aware of her misgivings of him looked nervous. "And not just because I don't watch him taking credit".
"These people whoever they are, they're not pirates". Seeing the questioning look on her officers' faces she continued. "They wear uniforms, they're well disciplined and if there were this many pirates in one place you'd be able to smell the spice from here".
"Their armour as well. We have Plasteel which is good but they seem to have durasteel plates on some of theirs".
The officers all had worried looks on their faces. "So what now?"
"Well that's the good news. Reports said that they've only shot at the local gang members and not the civilians that come out here". One of the officers nodded. "Good".
She took out a holopuck and it lit up to show a map of the area. "Squad 3 and 4 position themselves here and here, I want them to cover us if we need to retreat".
"Squad 1 and 2 will come down the main road here, slowly and with weapons lowered". She looked at all of them with serious eyes. "No one and I mean no one is to open fire unless I give the signal or we are fired on understood".
They all nodded and two of the officers left to move their squads into position. Reading her rifle Salant began to walk towards the road with the rest of Squad 1 and 2 behind her.
"So what exactly is the plan here, Ma'am".
She glanced back at the captain of the 2nd squad. "Just to talk, one organised force to another".
—
The scene Star Paladin Cross found as she approached the main gate was unexpected to say the least. The knights posted at the gate had their weapons raised and the few Power armoured troops among them had their heavy weapons ready.
She approached Paladin Lukas who had been the one to take control of the guards and maintained a defensive line. "What's the situation, Paladin?"
Lukas turned for a second to acknowledge her presence before directing his gaze down the main road. Following his line of sight Cross saw the reason for the commotion. "Someone's coming down the road".
Coming towards them was a group of twenty people, all of them armed and armoured. Using her helmet's internal optics she could see them in greater detail. Most of the group were humanoid although some were more alien. What they all shared however was a uniform.
Each had a tan overalls covered with pieces of grey armour, most prominent was a breastplate with a small emblem printed onto it. Most had helmets the only exceptions were the non-humanoids and two leading from the front who had caps on. In their hands was a small rifle that Cross would have thought was an SMG had she not seen some of these 'blasters' they had recovered.
Cross continued to watch as they approached, they had no doubt seen the brotherhood soldiers alerted to their presence yet they all maintained their march. The woman leading them seemed to be encouraging them to keep their weapons down so Cross figured an attack was unlikely. 'No sense taking chances'.
"Lukas I need you to radio Vargas, tell him to gather the paladins together but have them hang back and have someone do a sweep of the perimeter to make sure we're not being flanked". He nodded and got onto the radio immediately. Cross meanwhile, stepped out from behind cover and towards the middle of the gate making herself visible. "The rest of you, fingers off triggers but be ready. If they seek no quarrel then they shall find none but if they wish to test us then they shall feel the might of Steel".
Cross stepped forwards slowly catching the attention of the woman leading the small band of soldiers. Both parties stopped 40 feet between one another and they engaged in a tense staring match for a few seconds.
"State your business here". Cross amplified her suit's inbuilt speaker to give herself more presence.
The soldiers looked between one another before their leader spoke up. "That's really a question we should be asking you". Cross glared at the woman for a moment but the woman didn't budge. "You're trespassing on private land".
"No one was here when we showed up, it looked pretty abandoned to us".
"Be that as it may, what would normally be a police matter has been put under my jurisdiction because of the many-". She looked behind Cross, towards the Brotherhood soldiers poised and ready for anything. "Armaments you've brought to bear. You're well armed, well organised and far too close to my city for me to ignore you. So I'll say again, who are you and what is your business?"
Cross remained silent, carefully observing the fighting force before her, they were disciplined to be sure, but so was the brotherhood. She knew her brothers and sisters could take them even with the others that had been keeping low in the forest. The DC ruins had a way of training one to be observant.
Making her decision Cross raised her hand and could see the soldiers tense, with deliberate and calm movements she removed her helmet revealing her face to them. "I am Star Paladin Cross, keeper of the ARM of the Brotherhood of Steel. Our presence here is one of accident but rest assured we seek no fight, we wish to trade here in your city and then we shall leave. That is our business".
Cross watched their leader's reaction, she was calm and held a steady pose, her face betrayed no emotion but her eyes held scepticism. Cross could tell a good leader from a mile off and she was looking at one. Cross inclined her head. "Would you return the favour and let me know who I'm talking to?"
"Commander Salant Hesp, Eulea planetary militia". The now identified Salant Hesp presented herself and Cross nodded to her.
"So what do we do now Commander Hesp".
The commander looked between Cross and the warehouse behind her. Letting an armed fighting force sit so close to the capital city didn't sit well with Hesp. On the other hand, she was in no real position to evict them.
"Brajun?" An exclamation from one of Hesp's soldiers caught both of their attention. The man was staring with surprise at someone on the brotherhood's side.
Cross turned to see Hardin approaching with someone behind him.
"Do you know someone, private?" Salant addressed the soldier as he slowly moved forward trying to get a look at the man.
"I uhh… I think so". Salant looked to Cross and without a word, the Star paladin turned and gestured for Hardin and Brajun to come over.
After a moment of exchanging confused looks both men approached. Now closer the soldier smiled as he recognized his friend. "Brajun it is you".
Brajun stopped and squinted at the man. "Danarey is that you boy". The two stepped towards each other before Brajun began to chuckle. "Haha, the last I heard of you boy, you'd run off to the city and look at you now haha".
The two embraced in a hearty hug only to be interrupted by a cough. "As nice as this reunion. Private, do you know this man?"
"Yes Ma'am, he's the mayor of my hometown".
Hesp turned to Brajun, she knew small towns had been a pirate playground especially recently but the man standing before her didn't look to be under any duress.
"Sir, do you know these people?"
"Yeah, these are the guys that have been doing your job for you". Brajun looked at her critically for a moment, the militia held no favour with those in remote towns. "About a week back we were attacked by a pirate band, next thing we know these guys show up and kick their ass. They saved us, helped us rebuild, hell they even chased after those bastards and took over their ship and freed a bunch of slaves. Like genuine heroes".
Salant chewed her lip for a moment, she understood his frustration with the militia but if she had had her way they would already be out there hunting the pirates. She looked between Brajun, the man escorting him, Paladin Cross and the thirty or so soldiers poised and ready to jump into action before she made a decision.
"You'll be gone in a few days". She looked Cross dead in the eyes and the Star Paladin nodded. "Alright then, as long as you don't start anything I see no reason to not let you go about your business".
"Don't start any gun fights and don't think of this as a free pass to do as you please in my city. We'll be watching you". She motioned for her soldiers to begin to stand down fully. "And don't make me regret this".
With that said she turned and started giving orders into her commlink. Cross watched as the militia began to leave, and soon she made her way back to the base. "Hardin, I hardly think it needs saying but be careful not to cause anything while you're in that city. But just in case I'll have a rapid response team ready so take extra flares with you, understand".
"Yes Ma'am".
—
It was a few hours later that Pomst received a ping from his informant's commlink, and it was no sooner than that he had the man picked up and brought to his office.
"And she's let them be, Just like that".
"Yes sir". The man had been easy enough to bribe so he could feed him information about the commander. "She's assigned a small detachment to maintain a watch on the warehouse but other than that, nothing".
"I see". Pomst leaned back into his chair, hand stroking his chin. "Thank you for reporting this. Rest assured there will be some changes to the militia in the coming days and I'll endeavour to secure you a position fitting for your service".
The soldier eagerly nodded and made for the door. Pomst waited until he was sure the man was gone before pressing his intercom. "Animar, could you schedule a public address for tomorrow… wait no the day after. Also, set up a meeting with Commissioner Taafe later today. Thank you".
"Yes sir". was the quick response from his secretary, one of the many perks of being a governor.
Reaching down to one of the desk drawers and opening the fingerprint lock he took out another of his many comlinks. Pressing the call button he waited for a moment before it went to record his message.
"Tsalloh, it's Pomst, I have work for you".
—
Paladin Lukas sat at a small outdoor cafe area, next to him were Knight Captain Jules and Berger. All three of them tried their best to remain discreet, their combat armour covered mostly by a poncho and their weapons concealed.
Hardin had made the call to split their group, group 1 led by Hardin would be escorting the villagers as they did their trading around the city. With him had been the majority of Viking squad as well as Knight Commander Harper.
Group 2 was led by Lukas, accompanied by the rest of their squad and a few members of Viking. Their task had been to escort and protect the scribes to a location where they could access the Holonet.
They were on their third day of the mission and had settled into a sort of rhythm. On day one they had asked one of the villagers familiar with the city to show them where they could go and that had led them to the city's communications hub. It was a giant building that reminded Lukas of the prewar office buildings in DC only with a giant antenna sticking out of it.
When they arrived the scribes had quickly settled in, Lukas and the knights however stood out like sore a thumb. The locals were quite unnerved around the armed and armoured soldiers and it wasn't long before they were accosted by local police.
Lukas had made the call to depart early so as not to cause a commotion, much to the protest of the scribes who were all acting like blind dogs in a meat market. When they returned the next day Lukas had spread out the knights and told them to 'act casually'. This had worked and they had since not been bothered.
Lukas looked around the square outside of the building, he and the others were either in or around the building in groups of two or three, with a few of the knights guarding the scribes directly.
"It is with a heavy heart that I address you here today". His attention turned to a radio that had been installed in the cafe, replaying an announcement that the local governor had made yesterday.
"I have heard your voices, your cries for justice. We have been set upon by pirates and our Militia is nowhere to be seen, this is something I cannot condone. The failures of the Militia leadership are now known to me and it is why I have called for the resignation of commander Salant Hesp and have taken steps to merge the duties of the militia into that of the Eulea Planetary Police Force".
"This is a wrong that is in desperate need of righting, so I implore those in the militia to accept this changeover cleanly". When the announcement had been made yesterday, Lukas had been around to witness the reactions of those listening. There were mixed cries of agreement and those of dispute. He had so far dismissed the situation, politics had almost always meant little to him.
"Lukas, 3 o'clock, coming out of the side entrance". He was broken out of his musings by Jules' callout. Looking where she indicated he saw two individuals, their heads down and hoods up, both looking like they were trying hard not to be spotted.
"I see them". He got up followed closely by Jules and Berger. He sent looks to the other group of knights that had been stationed outside and they nodded moving towards the entrance.
They only got about halfway across the square until Lukas' group was stopped as an explosion rocked those in the square.
*BOOM
Lukas's neck snapped up to the source of the explosion. The communications tower creaked and groaned until it finally gave way to gravity and came tumbling down towards the square.
—
Salant had been a mess for the past day and a half. She had all but confined herself to her office and had been very liberal with the usage of her drink closet. Yesterday police officers had come and confiscated most of the militia head office paperwork leaving no one with anything to do.
She knew Pomst was a bastard, but he was a bastard who could spin a story. She had spent most of the morning drafting a letter of resignation and lamenting to herself where it had all gone so wrong.
So suffice to say when the building shook with the aftershock of an explosion she had rushed out of her office to the nearest window. She was joined by a few other of her more loyal militia members who had stayed even after the building had been mostly emptied.
Salant turned to them with her game face on, already formulating a plan in her head. Unfortunately, she didn't get a moment to speak a word of it, as another explosion ruptured out from her office knocking them all off of their feet. Sending Salant into the realm of unconsciousness.