"Did you not hear me knocking?" The tall Asian man said in a booming bass voice.
"What?" Corporal Weber asked.
"Did you hear me knocking on the door?"
"Uh yeah." The Corporal answered
"Then why didn't you answer?"
"Uh, my boss told us not to."
"Did he also tell you to slam the phone down while I was telling you that the ambassador and the Chief of Station were waiting for the Colonel and these two junior officers?"
"Uh…"
The Asian man stalked forward toward the corporal. Every step looked like a dangerous threat, "I am not the sort of man that arbitrarily crushes an insect. I know it would demean me, but when something creates such a nuisance that it prevents me from doing my duty, I'm inclined to ensure it stops."
The stocky woman brushed past her female companion and laid a gentle hand on the Asian man's arm as she passed him, "I'm not sure we have time for that." She said sweetly.
The Colonel looked like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, "Countess, my lady, I take full responsibility for my Corporal, but had I known you were-"
"Oh you knew." The countess replied coolly, "and I don't appreciate being made to wait."
"Wait till you hear what the Colonel's done." Sam said. Hap hadn't noticed but Roweyna and Sam were behind the other three. Sam had a bemused look as he closed the door. Roweyna gave Hap a mischievous wink as she looked around the room.
"Anastasia, is that you? You look just like your mother." The countess said as she swiftly approached Anastasia.
"My Lady, I assure you, if I had known it was you at the door-" Colonel Bruckner tried to apologize.
The countess wrapped Anastasia in a tight hug as she looked over the younger woman's shoulder she gave the Colonel a reproachful look, "You only hurt yourself when you lie."
The Ambassador let her go and stepped back to look Anastasia over, "It's so good to see you."
Anastasia seemed slightly confused. "My lady, this is my husband, Captain Harold Calahad." Anastasia said as she motioned to Hap, "Harold this is-"
"I'm still your Auntie Marlene, dear."
"This is Aunt Marlene, but she is also the Countess Marlene Clarke-Martin, and apparently the ambassador of the Federated Commonwealth to the St. Ives Compact." Anastasia said.
"You're as quick as ever, my dear." The Countess smiled before turning to Hap. "Your mother told me you found a dashing young officer, but I gotta say, she really undersold just how tall and handsome he is."
Hap felt his cheeks blush as he found himself pulled down and embraced by the woman, and he also received kisses on the cheek. "Ma'am, It's a pleasure to meet you, my lady."
"Please, call me Auntie Marlene. You're family now."
"Yes Ma'am, Auntie Marlene, my lady." Hap stammered.
"Oh Je'anne must have had a holiday when she met you." The countess laughed.
"My Lady we have pressing things to discuss." The Asian man said.
"Yes certainly Fenhua." The countess looked back to Anastasia, "But I haven't seen my god daughter in…how long has it been?"
"Since the last time you, Baron Rupert, and Freckles and Squints I mean his lord's daughters Francine and Samantha came to visit us on Hazelhurst. I believe it was about five years ago."
The countess suppressed a polite laugh, "'Freckles and Squints', oh I had forgotten your mother's names for my nieces. Five years sounds right, but also such a long time. You've really grown. Well not really more than a few centimeters, but military life has been good for you." The ambassador stood a little taller and straighter and got into a pseudo fighting stance, "You look tougher and fiercer."
The woman with the silver arm stood near the large table in the office suite's open area and looked around.
"Do you have a private conference room?" Fenhau asked.
"No." The Colonel answered as he quickly came around his desk and out of his office, "I hadn't seen the need to set one up. I usually go directly to the Compact's Military HeadQuarters."
"Oh is that what you call those golf courses and massage parlors." Sam mumbled as he placed a brief case on the table and opened it up to reveal a portable holo viewer.
As Hap followed the Colonel to the table he whispered to Anastasia, "I thought you didn't know the Ambassador."
"I didn't realize it was Aunt Marlene. We rarely use titles with her, she's one of Mother's best friends and her holdings are on Bastrop just a jump away from Hazelhurst. I had forgotten she's also an ambassador." Anastasia whispered.
As Sam set up the device Fenhau addressed Corporal Weber, "You will go outside this office and prevent anyone from approaching the door. Do you understand the instructions I am giving you?"
"Yeah."
"See that you do. Anyone that opens this door will be met with a lethal response, and I will hold you responsible for your failure. Do you understand?"
"Yeah I get it, you're threatening me, fine I'll go stand outside the door. Damn."
Fenhau gave the Corporal a warning look as Colonel Bruckner cleared his throat, "Corporal you just do what he says." As he spoke Colonel Bruckner walked around to the head of his conference table and pulled the chair out for the Ambassador, "My lady to what do I owe this pleasur?."
"I don't honestly know. I got a call from Natalie" the countess nodded at the woman with the silver arm, "She said we all needed to talk immediately." The Countess said as she sat down.
The woman with the silver arm, sat in the chair next to her, but said nothing. The Colonel glared at the woman as he sat down across from her. Hap sat down near the other end of the table between Roweyna and Anastasia. "How is your morning going? We spent the last half hour waiting to get yelled at by a superior officer." Hap asked as he pulled his chair closer to the table.
"Mine was fantastic, yer MIIO agents are giving some good work at a fair deal, and buyin' anything we kept from those ComStar rogues. I must say that before ye joined the family my life was dull, the most exciting thing that happened to me was the periodic battle side contract negotiation. Now I'm negotiating with MIIO, ye and Anastasia give me an endless source of amusement, and then there's whatever this drama is."
"Don't forget a few days ago a ROM agent trying to kill you, probably because of us."
"Ye got to learn to take the bad with the good, Mr. Calahad." Roweyna chidded.
"So Natalie why are we here?" The Ambassador asked as she got comfortable in the conference room chair.
"We intercepted a message from the Defense Attache's office to ComStar's office. Colonel Bruckner requested they relay a message to the AFFC regarding the items taken during the mercenary's raid, and how they had contacted the embassy staff." Natalie said. Hap could almost detect a Capellan or Russian accent as she spoke.
"My Lady, that's easy to explain, I was contacting my leadership with a recommendation that they have these items moved to NAIS and that Lieutenant Capetian-Calahad be reassigned to work on the equipment. The reassignment was for her own good, her safety, I assure you. I also wanted to confirm your niece's promotion." Colonel Bruckner tried hard to sound magnamious.
"First she's my god daughter, and second, her promotion to Subaltern? Didn't she leave the academy with that rank?"
"Thank you, my lady, I meant her promotion to Lieutenant." The Colonel said politely
"Oh! And is she promoted to Lieutenant?" The Ambassador asked.
"I haven't heard back, yet, but I can't see any reason why she wouldn't be." The Colonel said, sounding generous.
The Ambassador beamed at Anastasia, "Well very good. Congratulations Annie. The rest of that sounds reasonable, Natalie. What's the problem?"
"This equipment that the Colonel spoke of was taken from ComStar. They had arranged for it to be stolen from the Capellans. The Colonel has tipped our hand that we have something they want, and he has, in his ignorance, told them what we intend to do with it."
"How was I supposed to know that?" Colonel Bruckner snapped.
"How indeed" Natalie said as she reached for a small metal box tucked away in the briefcase with the holo viewer. She opened it and pulled out a cigarette. Hap noticed there were a few rifle cartridges among the cigarettes. Natalie gave Hap a sideways glance and snapped the box close.
"If you had confirmed with us before contacting ComStar we could have prevented this." Fenhau said.
"I have no reason to talk to you before speaking with my leadership." Col Bruckner said, "and I'd prefer you not smoke in my offices." Colonel Bruckner told her.
Natalie put the cigarette in her mouth with her right hand, and held her silver hand to her face and glanced over the outstretched fingers. The thumb went down and there was a metal click followed by the hiss and woosh of a torch and a thin tail of smoke emerged from behind Natalie's silver hand. The whole time she boldly stared at the Colonel.
"And I would prefer that, the one day you decide to work, you would not reveal to our enemy that we have something they prize while you tell them where we are moving it." Natalie said before inhaling deeply.
"Natalie, I'd prefer you not smoke in the embassy." The Ambassador said.
"Forgive me, my lady, but it is one of the few luxuries I still enjoy." Natalie said as she blew smoke in Colonel Bruckner's direction.
The Colonel coughed and waved his hands as Natalie pulled out a long silver tube and fitted the cigarette to one end and put it in between the fingers of her silver hand. The cigarette holder was made of the same silver as her hand and it fit into it like it was made for it. Natalie took another long drag as she stared at the Colonel daring him to try and stop her.
"So what do we take from the Capellans or was it ComStar?" The Ambassador said.
Natalie glanced at Sam.
"Actually, both my lady." Sam turned on the portable holo viewer as Private Harmay came with a tray of cups and a carafe of coffee. She looked nervously around and started setting cups in front of everyone and pouring coffee.
"Do you have a Top Secret security clearance?" Fenhau asked Private Harmay as he took a cup from her. Hap glanced over at him. He had a certain charm, polish, and menace about him all at once. Hap could also see the pistol grip in a shoulder holster just under his designer sport coat.
Hap understood that Natalie and Fenhau were MIIO field agents, not like Sam or the other analysts he had met yesterday. These were dangerous and capable individuals. When they walked into the DAT's office he assumed that Fenhau was the senior office, but after watching how everyone reacted to Natalie it was evident she was the superior. Hap looked over at her again. Up close he could see that she was older than he first thought she had a few slight wrinkles at the edge of her lips and there was the subtle hint of crows feets at the edges of her eyes. She was probably in her mid to late 40s, maybe older. It occurred to Hap she was probably the head MIIO agent of the embassy.
Natalie seemed to sense that Hap was looking at her and turned her head to meet his eyes, "Do you have something to say Captain?"
"I was about to offer to get the lights." Hap said quickly. His heart raced as she raised an eyebrow. She was definitely beautiful even if she was years older than him. She seemed to be judging him as she took another drag off her cigarette. This brought her silver prosthetic to Hap's attention. It looked decorative, almost like a fashion piece. It didn't have any obvious markings, but the edges around the joints and fingers had an intricate filigree design. It looked and moved so naturally it could have been a piece of jewelry or pseudo armor that covered her arm, wrist, and hand. Hap also noted it was proportional to her and ended just above the short sleeves of her blouse. With long dress gloves she could easily conceal the device.
"The private can get the lights." Natalie said, and Fenhau looked at Harmay and snapped his fingers, "Have you seen many prosthetics, Captain?" Natalie asked, Hap felt again like he was being judged.
"I have." Hap said "They were just usually bigger and bulkier." Hap said thinking of Major Braun's prosthetic devices. Not only were the Major's devices larger, but he also didn't have the near natural dexterity that Natalie was demonstrating.
"They're all the same." Natalie said, "They hold things, little more." She said as she raised the hand to her mouth and inhaled from the silver tube. Hap couldn't see it, but he knew her prosthetic clearly concealed tools and weapons. Hap wondered if the bullets in the cigar case were for a concealed weapon in her arm, or if the case could shoot them. It occurred to him it could be both.
Private Harmay turned off the lights and it became easier to see the holographic image. It was several rectangular boxes and it took Hap and Anastasia a moment to realize this was the contents of the container they had taken from Necromo.
Sam cleared his throat, "My Lady, what we have here is a very large Electronic Countermeasure Device. It's designed to jam radios, defeat radars, interfere with sensors, basically anything electronic that can be used for wireless communications or targeting, it hates and makes them no-worky."
"Makes comms and targeting computers no-worky. Got it." The Ambassador said, seemingly proud of herself.
"The problem is, we don't have the ability to create anything quite like this, and it's big, like really big, like it has to be carried by a Drop Ship big." Sam said.
"Do you launch it like a 'mech from the Drop Ship, or does it make it so comms and targeting computers no-worky around the drop ship?" The Ambassador asked.
"Good question, my lady." Sam said. Hap got the sense that Sam had anticipated this question and probably briefed the countess daily, "It would be used by the Drop Ship to protect it."
"Oh!" The ambassador seemed alarmed, "Does this mean the Capellans can land a drop ship on a planet undetected?"
"No." Fenhau answered, "Maybe use it to slip past an orbital defense platform, but it wouldn't do them much good. Once a drop ship hits a planet's atmosphere it's pretty easy to detect. They create enough friction that you can see them, and there's no way to hide that. They could use it for an undetected lunar landing maybe, but we're still trying to sort out the tactical purpose or advantage to this thing."
"Maybe this was just the prototype. A large system they've since miniaturized for use with Battlemechs. There was that 'mech you were telling us about-"
Fenhau cut him off, "This was taken for an aerospace research center, it's related to the BattleMech research, but this is designed for aerospace vehicles."
"Okay the tactical purpose is something I'll leave up to you." The countess said as she sipped her coffee. "I'm guessing you're telling me about this because now that ComStar knows it's in our custody they're going to do something to get it back?"
"They may 'leak' word of it to St. Ives Compact." Fenhau said.
"I would." Natalie added.
"Well that would be annoying, I'd get so many questions from…" The Ambassador reached over and put her hand on Natalie's silver arm, "This could be a real problem for us."
Natalie nodded as Fenhau turned to Hap, Roweyna and Anastasia. "What did you tell the Compact about what you had taken in your raid?"
"Nothing. We just told them we had been on a raid that had gone bad." Hap replied.
Fenhau looked back to Sam and nodded.
"Good, good, here's your story," Sam said as he smiled, "Your raid went bad, we'll stick with that truth, but your employer had you raiding an alleged Star League cache. Turned out to be full of junk, office supplies, jammed-up staplers, broken office furniture, centuries old candy, the regular shit you find in abandoned cache."
"Ye find a lot of these abandoned caches?" Roweyna asked.
"Not exactly." Sam said, "But the Star League's Military was a big organization with a lot of bureaucracy and staff, and when the staff bugged out they'd generally leave all their crap. Wait a couple centuries and you get a star league cache full of broken office equipment."
"That does seem probable now that you mention it." Anastasia said.
"Yeah, and you know what's even more probable?" Sam asked. "No one is going to talk about having a damn near big lostech score, and it turns out to be a bunch of busted coffee makers and office chairs with missing wheels."
"Which is why we never hear about them." Hap said.
"Exactly." Sam said, "So you and your employer had an argument about paying for the raid since you didn't bring back lostech. While you were arguing another company moved in trying to steal the lostech, and you had to fight them. That's why you had to limp into this system looking for work. Remember to act extremely embarrassed about the whole thing." Sam looked at Roweyna and Anastasia, "Try to score some sympathy points."
"Oh aye, that does sound too terrible to speak of." Roweyna said.
"Well keep it vague and sad then." Sam answered.
"What if they want to see this collection of broken office supplies?" The Ambassador asked, "Some of our friends in the Compact don't trust us and they may demand that we show them something."
"We got a basement full of garbage, it's easy enough to rent a truck and fill it with that stuff. You can show whoever you like. We can drive it around real conspicuously before taking it to Area P so ROM can take a shot at stealing stuff we don't care about from a site we won't mind if they break into."
"Remind me what Area P is again?" The Ambassador asked.
"My lady, it's that bunker on the outskirts of the small village east of here." Fenhau said.
"It's not the half-flooded concrete tunnel with the leaking nuclear reactor?" The Ambassador asked.
"That's the one. The Compact guys told us we could have that as our COOP site, for obvious reasons we've been shopping around for an alternative." Sam said,
As Sam spoke, Hap watched the people around the table. Fenhau looked bored. Not in a rude or impatient way, just that he was waiting for the meeting to end so he could go work. Natalie was casually smoking and showing Colonel Bruckner indifference and contempt. The Colonel was giving her a cold hard stare and it looked like he was trying to figure out the fastest way to get them out of his office.
The Ambassador looked happy to receive the briefing. She smiled warmly as Sam talked, although as Colonel Bruckner and Natalie continued to pick at each other she seemed annoyed with them. Initially the Ambassador struck Hap as naïve but very likable. Hap was starting to realize this was her charm, she was just someone you couldn't help but like and want to help her. Sometimes Hap felt that she might be a little out of her element as an ambassador.
The MIIO team was taking it all in stride and apparently humored her, or it was a masterful act. Hap realized his mother-in-law didn't suffer fools, and Natalie and Fenhau certainly wouldn't either. Maybe she was a shrewd politician, more skilful than he was giving her credit. Sam finished talking about their plans to create a decoy and the ambassador asked, "So when are you going to get the ECM suite of the planet?"
"We've begun arrangements, but it will take a few weeks." Fenhau said.
"Do you need my help with anything?" The Ambassador asked.
"No, My Lady." Natalie said
"Why did you bring your garbage truck operation to me?" Colonel Bruckner asked. It was obvious he had as much contempt for the MIIO agents as they did for him.
"Technically we asked you to come to our offices. You forced us to come to you." Fenhau said.
"You are wondering why you are here? I am wondering the same thing." Natalie said.
"Look, Natalie, or Ivanka, or Fiona Vulpine, or whatever your name is today. I don't know how most MIIO officers act, but I would expect they know how to treat a Colonel. But if you want to be rude and passive aggressive. I don't mind doing the same, especially since I heard you slept your way up the ranks. It's bad enough you all barge into my offices, I'm not going to sit here and let you insult me." Colonel Bruckner said.
As he spoke Natalie continued to smoke disinterestedly. When he was done, she inhaled deeply and then leaned across the table, blew smoke in the Colonel's face as she said, "You could say, I slept my way to this promotion. Yes. It was my job to get as close to a target as I could, and gain information to help our country. Risk life, limb, whatever is required." As she said "life, limb" she used her prosthetic hand to tap her cigarette on the side of the Colonel's coffee cup, dumping ash into his coffee. "It was my job, I did what was required. I didn't have a rich noble patron to watch over me. I was promoted based on the quality of work I do."
"The work you do? Does anyone see the work you do?"
Fenhau tensed as Natalie stood up to her full height and stared down the Colonel, "Very few see the work we do and live, but every day you wake up and Maskirovka hasn't shoved your balls down your throat before slitting it, you are seeing evidence of the work we do." Natalie sat back down in her chair and stared at the Colonel contemptuously.
Colonel Bruckner snorted, "How would I wake up with my throat cut." He picked up his coffee cup and held it out for Private Harmay, "New cup, Private." Colonel Bruckner leveled his glare at Natalie, "It must be easy to defend your value when you can just say, 'I could tell you but I'd have to kill you.' Most of what I see from you is just some childish posturing and insults."
Sam cleared his throat, and pulled out a folder from the pocket of the briefcase, "If the Colonel wants us to do some business in the open, where everyone can see it, I got this folder we can talk about." Sam slid the folder across the table to the Ambassador.
The Ambassador opened to reveal the picture of a young Asian woman. It looked like an identification photo. There were other photos of the Colonel with the same young woman. Under the ID picture was a list of names, Wai Yeoh, Michelle Lin, Lay Ling, the list contained several more. The Ambassador's eyebrows raised as she examined the contents of the folder.
"My Lady, that's my masseuse. I hurt my back when I ejected from my 'mech some years ago, but a good massage helps a lot. Once I find a good masseuse, I try to take care of them."
"That would explain why your masseuse made house calls, and often stayed the night." Sam said.
"I think it's a little petty of MIIO to dig into my personal affairs like this, my lady. I would submit that they should have better things to do."
"Prevent a spy from compromising a high-ranking military officer? This is core of my job." Natalie said as she lit another cigarette. Hap could see this time that her prosthetic thumb folded down to reveal a small torch. She snapped her wrist, and the thumb went back into place as she took a long drag on her cigarette.
"We should talk about this in my offices, and with a smaller crowd." The Ambassador said as she closed the folder. "We'll do it immediately after this meeting."
"It should be a short meeting." Colonel Bruckner grunted, "I haven't seen Lay Ling in a few days, her co-workers said they thought she didn't like the changes to Sian and was going back to Capellan space."
"Is that what they told you?" Fenhau said.
"You know something different?"
"She won't be coming back." Natalie said ominously as she fit the cigarette into her holder. "Also you should find a different brothel."
"You mean massage parlor." Colonel Bruckner looked at the Ambassador, "It was a massage parlor where I met Lay Ling, my lady."
"So you say, Colonel, so you say." Natalie said as she exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"Stop." The Ambassador said as she gently tapped the folder's cover. "We aren't going to discuss this now."
"I must say Hap, I've sat at tables with pirates and periphery warlords, and they were better behaved, and I daresay a little more subtle." Roweyna whispered to Hap.
"When you deal with peers and people deserving respect, you deal with subtlety and civility. When you deal with crude animals, you treat them as such." Fenhau said as Natalie continued to casually smoke.
"Thank ye, that is sage advice." Roweyna said.
"Who are you again?" The Ambassador asked Roweyna
"Ah, forgive me mah lady, I'm Roweyna McFinnigan of McFinnigan and Son's Mercenary Company." Roweyna said as she stood and curtsied. She offered the Ambassador a business card, "If ye need large scale military grade murder, destruction, or jest a reinforced mech company worth or firepower we're at your disposal, ye jest call me up. Seeing as how yer related to the Professor we'd give ye the family discount."
The Ambassador took the card and smiled as Roweyna spoke, "The Professor?" She pointed to Anastasia, "Is that you."
"Yes, Aunt Marlene." Anastasia said.
The Ambassador exuded sincere warmth as she laughed, "I can see how you'd get a name like that. That's right up there with Freckles and Squints." She turned her smile and attention back to Roweyna as she motioned for her to sit, "Well I don't often need that sort of military hardware in my personal life, but I'll keep that in mind. Like I said earlier, I'm not Annie's, or rather the Professor's biological aunt. I'm more like her godmother."
"Aye my Lady, that's close enough to family in our company. Of course, next time we entertain the High Lady and Protector of Hazelhurst, Countess of Calais Parmi Les Étoiles, we'd be honored if ye also graced us with yer presence. My father would be quite pleased to have you dine at his table, and spend a night drinkin' from his deep store of wine and whiskey as ye told us yer favorite stories of the young Professor."
"Oh I could never intrude like that ." She said as she nodded, "though that is a very compelling offer, perhaps I'll mention it to Je'anne next time we talk." The Ambassador looked over the business card again, "Though I could use a reinforced company to help the Compact, at least if they asked for it I could."
"That actually brings us to the next order of business, my lady." Sam said, "We need the McFinnigan and Sons to work with the Compact forces, both to hopefully help them turn the tide with the Capellans, but also so that the Compact will be too distracted to notice what we're doing with the ECM suite. To that end, we wanted to brief the Captain and Lieutenant on what the Compact is up against." Sam touched a button on the mini holoprojector and the projected image changed to show a large walled military complex built into the side of a mountain.