Disclaimer: I do not own Battletech, Gundam Seed, or Gundam Seed Destiny. They belong to their respective copyright owners and publishers. This work is not created with any commercial aims.

Chapter 1

=Exile=

Part 2

=Exile=

1 January 3015
Avalon City
New Avalon
Federated Suns

A few hours later, Lisa had to pry a grumpy Mia from my side, who wasn't happy that I was going out without her, even if it was supposed to be for a short while. A tray of fresh chocolate cookies finally got her attention, proving that Lisa had learned how to bribe and distract the little ball of energy properly. The downside was that when I came back I would be dealing with the horror that was Mia on a sugar high, but that was a problem for another time.

Smith and Jane led me to an underground garage where an armored car waited for us along with the rest of my security detail. These were new, relatively young, and very much fit boys. Their suits did little to hide their light armor underneath or what I was pretty sure were sub-machine guns. We pilled up in two-car and left the safe-house, heading for one of the many government compounds on New Avalon. It was nearly an hour ride, though we spent most of that time making sure that tracing us back to Mia would be very hard, something I appreciated, even if the waiting made me more and more nervous.

Finally, we arrived, parking in another underground garage, build under a tall skyscraper that was all glittering steel and glass. My minders led me to an elevator and a fast ride later, we pilled up into a conference room, where a middle-aged blond woman stood at the far end of a polished wooden table. She looked at us, her blue eyes peering over a rimless glasses, and smiled.

"Ms. Leng?" She stood up, and of course, she was taller than me! What did they feed women on New Avalon with?!

"Yes?" I asked warily.

"I'm Linda Hayes your appointed lawyer, Ms. Leng, nice to meet you." She smiled brightly.

"Hi?" I smiled back awkwardly.
"Please have a seat, we have a lot to discuss and a short time to do it." Lisa sent my minders a dirty look even as I walked around to the table to sit beside her at the chair she offered.

"How much were you told about the situation we're dealing with?" Hayes asked.

I told her what little I knew, which earned my minders a second dirty look. While this was a nice show, it didn't change the fact that I was going to get fucked in a way I most certainly wouldn't enjoy. The only questions were how and why the charade.

"This is so irregular it's not even funny, but needs must," Hayes grumbled. "We can confirm that at least part of the inheritance you're about to receive is genuine. The liquid assets anyway. A brief meeting with Mr. Leng's lawyers a few signatures and you'll have about a hundred and sixty million C-Bills to do as what you wish. My recommendation would be that the first thing you do is hire an outside lawyer to advise you as well and ensure no conflict in interests when the disposition of the rest of your inheritance, is concerned." Hayes looked me straight in the eyes. "You'll need that, I can assure you, Ms. Leng."

I just stared at the woman and I was sure my mouth hung open. A hundred and sixty million? From my bastard of a father? Whut? Does not compute.

"I'll need details, Ms., or is it Mrs. Hayes?" I inquired as to if it was the most logical thing in the world.

"I'm happily married, Ms. Leng." For a moment, Hayes' smile softened a bit, before she was all business again. "Considering your situation, the Federated Suns government managed to get access to information about your inheritance, though I note for more details we'll need to meet Mr. Leng's lawyers in person later today. In short, there is a Monolith en route to New Avalon, which will be inspected before it could approach the planet due to security concerns." Hayes paused, letting me digest the news.

A Monolith? Weren't those the largest jumpships like ever? How did my father get his hands on one? Why?

"Yours and New Avalon's security, Delilah." Jane pipped up, and that was a third dirty look Hayes threw at my minders.

"That's the reason why you need competent legal representation. Certain parties would like to get their hands on your inheritance, besides the C-Bills anyway, and you should at the very least get a fair deal." Hayes continued. She noticed my expression, which I was pretty sure was one of slack-jawed disbelief, and sighed at me. That was going a lot as of late. Ever since we arrived at New Avalon.

"What does the Monolith carry?" Somehow I rallied up the courage to ask and properly shut my mouth afterward.

"Well, the jumpship itself is very valuable. It's cargo too. What we have listed are four Jumpship coming along, an Overlord, a Mule, Triumph, and Union…"

I recognized only one of those names, Overlord, those were the distinct egg-shaped ships you could see on practically every movie nowadays. That one at least was big. Yeah, I could see how someone might want all that hardware. Then it dawned on me.

"What do they carry?"

"That's almost as interesting as the Monolith." Hayes shrugged. "A lot of Battlemechs, Aerospace fighters, and support equipment."

"Roughly a battalion worth of hardware, currently unknown makeup and condition," Smith added. "We'll know more after your Monolith is inspected."

"How long will it remain my Monolith?" I asked even if I should have known better.

"That's why you need a lawyer." Hayes pointed out.

I bit the inside of my cheek, feeling like screaming at the charade. As if anyone would let me see, much less keep any of this mythical hardware. It wasn't like I would have any idea what to do with it anyway… My head tingled at that thought. A Battalion with Aerospace support. I had an idea or two about what could be done with such a force.

Or a dead man's memories stuck in my head pointed at that direction anyway. The prudent course of action was obvious – get rid of this complication in order to not offend my benefactors at whose mercy I was, and more importantly, Mia was. Yet, there was an uncalled for treacherous thought – what I could do with such a force, how much trouble I could cause to the Capellans?

That was my anger speaking. It wasn't something that a young woman like me should ever think about, or worse, contemplate acting on. It wasn't the done thing, my upbringing told me. At that thought, a nearly overwhelming wave of rage hit me. Fuck it, fuck father and the horse he rode on!

I took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm down, while my minders looked warily at me. While strictly speaking they weren't supposed to be during such a meeting, they were here both for my and Hayes' protection. Among other things, my damn implants made me a combat cyborg, one who fortunately didn't know how to fight. Or at least, I didn't until that infernal debriefing. Now? I had a recollection of learning hand-to-hand combat among other things, though I had no idea if I could put it to good use. For one thing, Veil was taller, broader, what would have worked for him wouldn't necessarily work for me.

It didn't bear thinking about what would happen if Lisa triggered something in me without adult supervision so this was as much for my protection as for hers.

"I'm as well as I could be under the circumstances." I exhaled slowly. "So daddy dearest made me a millionaire and sent me enough hardware for a small mercenary outfit," I concluded.

"This sums it up. And a certain case which is still undergoing testing for anything truly unpleasant." Hayes nodded in agreement.

"Your government want's the hardware, all of it," I stated the obvious.

"Well, until a few days ago I would have said that it wasn't like you could use it so selling it at a fair market price would have been your best bet, Delilah." Jane shrugged. "After that, you could use all the C-Bills to live your life, recover and get Mia the best education and security money could buy on top of what you're getting as guests of the Federated Suns."

My minders were briefed about my debriefing, at least those two were. Which was the reason why Smith has been giving me speculative looks over the past few days when he had been simply coolly professional since we met for the first time two months ago? Thinking about it, Lisa, my Lisa, or well, Mia's Lisa, had been doing the same however until my mind dragged it to my attention just now, I hadn't been particularly observant lately.

"What? Are you curious about what I can do in a fighter's or a Mech's cockpit?" I shot back.

"I am and it shouldn't surprise you, I'm not the only one. However, first, you need to recover and straighten up this inheritance business. Doctor's orders." Smith shrugged.

"Do I dare ask?" Hayes appeared less than amused. "Are you trying to recruit the poor girl?"

"I'm merely curious!" Smith rose his hands in surrender. "At worst, Ms. Leng might visit a simulator or two if she so desires, but only after her doctor tells us it's safe to do so."

If it was at all possible, Lisa's glare became even less amused and welcoming.

"Children, enough!" I snapped, then covered my mouth and not just because I was the youngest one in the room.

"That's the spirit, girl!" Jane gave me a thumb's up and a brief smile.

Why wouldn't this damn nightmare end?!

=Exile=

Two hours later, after Hayes and I went through what the Federated Suns knew about my inheritance and a few odds and ends surrounding my alysium settlement within the realm, it was time to meet my father's lawyers.

They were apparently from Speer, Speer, and Ivon, an old and respected law firm on New Avalon. A woman in her mid-fifties wearing a no-nonsense expensive business suit and a much younger man, a few years older than me at most came to deliver me the father's blood money.

Accepting the C-Bills divided into three separate accounts took a bit longer than Hayes implied, however, it was indeed just a few signatures on various documents, which we both went over. The legalese went straight over my head and my new irritating

memories were no help there. After Lisa's nod, I did sign.

I was supposed to be a millionaire now, yet all I felt was numbness.

More paperwork followed, about accepting ownership on the jump and dropships, along with their contents. It was indeed a battalion worth's of hardware, though the precise make-up and models were supposed to be sealed up in the case currently in MIIO's hands.

This was indeed an irregular way to handle things, yet not without precedent or so all three lawyers told me. Jennifer Speer agreed that it wouldn't be amiss to consult an outside lawyer as well before the Federated Suns tried to cheat me out of a fair trade about my physical inheritance. She even bashfully offered her services once our current business was concluded.

I declined of course. They worked for my father, which meant that even if they were straight, I didn't want to have any more interactions with them than absolutely necessary. Perhaps it was paranoid, perhaps it was petty, I didn't care. Damn it, there was a part of me that didn't even want to touch the C-Bills because of their source!

It was early afternoon when we were done with my father's lawyers, which as it turned out was just in time to go see the case he left me, Hayes in tow. I didn't have to pay her, because while she was retained to observe my interest, which I still didn't fully buy, she was being paid for the service by the Federated Suns. It wasn't like I could object, because they were paying for everything ever since we arrived anyway. Nevertheless, it felt nice to have my own money, no matter the source.

Damn it, the source did matter, I thought in vexation.

We rode for about an hour to a different building, Hayes in tow and she was trying to make small talk, caring not that I was being pointedly antisocial while trying more or less futilely to straighten up my head. I knew for a fact that right now I was more of a mess than when we first arrived on New Avalon and I was certainly not a pretty picture then. If it wasn't for Mia, I don't know how I would have held on.

This time around, I had no idea what building we ended up in – we got there through a long tunnel with more than a few twists and turns. We got out in the third underground garage for the day, this time complete with armed and armored guards. So a more secure facility then.

I observed the soldiers, a man and a woman in Fed Suns colors, paying close attention to their equipment. It looked both familiar and alien at the same time.

We passed through a couple of checkpoints until we ended up in a comfortable living room Expy. There was an open metal case on a table in the corner, its contents, primary data-chips laying around. I wondered how much of my inheritance was gone, deemed too important for my eyes.

While I was starring at the case, not sure if I wanted to approach it and see for myself what father sent, the second door leading into the room opened, admitting a pair of large troopers, followed by a man who everyone who spent any time on New Avalon would recognize, that included a willing recluse like me.

"First Prince!" I exclaimed, not squeaked in surprise, merely exclaimed, and fell on one knee as it was the fashion back in the Capellan Confederation.

This was surreal and potentially very bad for me! I just didn't know how or why.

"Do stand up, please, Ms. Leng." The First Prince announced, even as calls of 'Your Highness' echoed in my ears.

I wearily got up, carefully not meeting his eyes, you didn't look a member of a Great House in the eyes, much less the leader or so father hammered in my head for years. I was pretty sure Hanse Davion was examining me critically and was as even surer I didn't pass muster.

"Damn, I saw the pictures and recording but this…" The First Prince muttered before he caught himself up. "Ms. Leng, Mrs. Hayes, please do take a seat we have a lot to discuss."

The First Prince's suggestion was anything but. Naturally, I didn't hurry to a seat, it would be considered a great offense if I did it before he sat. I could feel his eyes boring into me. What he said next, however, came as a surprise.

"Ms. Leng, if I wasn't certain your father was dead, I would be sending the Rabit Foxes to make sure he would be," Davion said with sight and I caught a sharp motion from the corner of my eyes that might have been a head-shake.

The First Prince sat on a nearby chair and only then did I allow myself to sit on the edge of the closest one, still carefully keeping my eyes to the ground. I could feel my supposed lawyer staring at me as well.