Chapter 51
Date: November 4, 3004
Location: New Vandenburg, Taurian Concordat
“Mister Calderon,” I shook the other man’s hand, meeting both eyes without flinching.
“Major Hull,” the man replied. “It’s not often that I receive a request for a meeting from mercenaries. Particularly ones with such an odd background.”
“It’s not often that I need an urgent meeting with the son of a nation’s leader,” I dipped my head in thanks. “Thank you for being willing to meet with me on such short notice.”
“You provided the Concordat with two jumpships,” Calderon shrugged. “You are on the list of people that we would rather have favorable relations with.”
“Good to know,” I smiled. “Now, if we’ve got the pleasantries out of the way I have a request.”
“Go on.”
“I need you to have your people go through this room for any listening devices, and then I want everyone out aside from someone that you trust with your life and the Concordat as a whole.”
“An unusual request,” he raised an eyebrow. “And one that could end poorly for me.”
“If I wanted you dead I’d land my troops and stomp you flat in my ‘Hammer,” I replied. “Your people already disarmed me, I don’t even have the pen that I brought with me. So, send your people out.”
Thomas’s eyes trailed up to what must have been the head of his security detail, their eyes locking as they communicated without words.
“Alright,” Thomas agreed. “Arnold, I trust that you’ll see to it that the room is swept?”
The guards left the room aside from the named head of the detail, who pulled out a small device and began going over the room piece by piece. A few bugs were removed and he then returned to his position behind the right shoulder of Thomas Calderon.
“Alright, what is so important that you needed to close off the room?”
“This,” I opened a small backpack and tossed a .
“Eidolon?” Thomas read the top of the folder. “Doesn’t that mean ghost?”
“Something like that,” I leaned back in my chair. “Now read the damned thing.”
–
–
“You’re fucking with me,” Thomas threw the folder down onto the table and stood up, a furious expression on his face.
“Nope,” I replied. “Not even a little bit. So, I want to meet with the Protector. And I’d like that meeting soon if at all possible.”
“Right,” Thomas took a deep breath. “I need proof. It’s not enough to take you at your word. Take me to them. I need to see with my own eyes that they’re real.”
“That, I can arrange,” I locked eyes with him. “But I want your word that you’ll allow me to meet with the Protector.”
“If what you say is true, then you don’t have to worry about meeting Mother, you’ve got to worry about having to deal with the rest of the bureaucrats along with her. Regardless, I wish to see your proof. Sooner, rather then later.”
“Thomas,” I pulled the man’s attention away from the Talos and Toros that he was looking up at, an expression of awe on his face. “The ‘Mechs are cool and all, but this is the important bit.”
I opened the door to the next bay, the lighting shining and showing the small apartments that we had hastily built for the people we had rescued. Each not much larger than a hundred square feet, but enough for people to have some smattering of privacy.
“There are around three thousand of them,” I told Thomas. “They’ve been on board dropships for the last two months, so I’d appreciate it if you could find somewhere to house them. If I have to break up another fight over someone taking too long in the bathroom, I’m going to shoot someone.”
“Major!” The redheaded woman stepped up and saluted me. “Please tell me that it’s time to disembark,” her eyes were pleading with me.
“Johnson,” I returned the salute, noting that she had put on some proper weight and muscle again even with the limited rations that we’d been on. “This is Thomas Calderon, I’m hoping that he can help us out with that.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Thomas turned and looked around the area, his cybernetic eye seeming to focus on something in the distance for a moment. “Let me make contact with the people who can actually make these sorts of decisions.”
“Keep it as self contained as possible,” I cautioned. “For now, I’m going to be leasing some land and putting up prefabs, I need to get these people some space.”
“I’ll see if I can get some help routed to you. Just keep me appraised of any decisions that are made.”
“You got it,” I shook his hand. “A pleasure doing business with you, Mister Calderon.”
–
–
Date: November 20, 3004
Location: Taurus Zenith point
“And you’re absolutely certain that this is accurate,” Zarantha asked, the report on the table in front of her.
“I witnessed it with my own eyes,” Thomas replied. “But he refuses to discuss anything beyond returning the citizens without you present.”
“Alright,” Zarantha tapped the table with a yellow highlighter that she’d been using on the report. “We can discuss what we are wiling to offer this mercenary while we’re on our way back to New Vandenburg.”
“We’ll need to transfer to another Jumpship with a Lithium-Fusion battery,” Thomas sighed. “We burned both charges to make it here in a timely manner.”
“We will do what we must. Regardless of what they ask for, if we manage to acquire the Toros it will be a boon to morale and probably recruitment for the military as well.”
“I’ll begin the transfer,” Thomas stood up. “I wrote up notes on the report, they should be attached at the end. You should go over it and see what TMI thought about the unit prior to this incident.”
Date: December 16, 3004
Location: (Marksman temporary base and housing), New Vandenburg, Taurian Concordat
“Protector Calderon,” Major Hull shook her hand, his hair and beard still looking damp. “Sorry for the late arrival, I was out on an infantry training exercise when you arrived.”
“I understand,” she smiled in response. “I was told that you would only negotiate with the Protector. Well,” she spread her arms out. “Here I am.”
“Dunham,” the Major turned and spoke to a large man, a hurried whisper sending him out of the room. “He’s securing the area from any potential eavesdroppers.”
The man then pulled out a biometrically secured lock box, his hand allowing the box to open before a small stack of papers were lifted out.
“We didn’t just find a bunch of civilians and ‘Mechs,” the man leaned forward, the intensity of his gaze drawing her in. “No, we found something far more valuable.”
He set the papers down and slid them over to her before reaching back into the lock box and pulling out a data core, causing her to snap her attention to it.
“Dare I ask what that is?” Zarantha’s eyes shifted to follow the data core, her adrenaline spiking and driving her heart rate up.
“It’s not a Star League Computer core,” the Major shook his head. “But it’s something that might be a bit more valuable, especially to the Concordat. No, this is a core that’s about you, and your history. I haven’t been over the entire thing, though I did make copies. But it looks like it has the full sum of knowledge that the Concordat possessed prior to the Star League coming and subduing y’all for the first time. And, regardless of what you decide insofar as negotiations go, this is yours.”
The man then set down a priceless artifact, the weight of the knowledge sitting on the table and Zarantha felt something inside of her snap.
“If you’re handing me this, then what do you want? Money? Fame? A royal fucking title?” She felt her face burn with rage. “No one does anything for free.”
“I want my dropships refit to my standards,” he shrugged. “And I want a safe haven for me and mine for as long as the Concordat exists. And, you’re going to want to find a place to put the factory.”
“What factory?” Zarantha closed her eyes and took a deep breath before slowly exhaling. “Wait, stop, is there anything else that you’re going to drop into my lap that’s going to make me have to scramble my intel people>
“The factory that manufactured the Toros that we brought with us, of course,” the insufferable mercenary smirked. “It’s not an Automated thing by any means, but it’s easier to maintain, and can be modified to whatever you need. And no, nothing else I can think of at the moment. That should be everything.”
“You, stay there,” Zarantha pointed at Major Hull. “Don’t move.”
Zarantha bolted up out of her chair and left the room, grabbing her security detail and her son before returning to the conference room, finding the mercenary tidying up a small stack of papers.
“Gentlemen, we have a lot of work to do. Thomas,” Zarantha handed the core to her son. “This is more valuable than both of our lives. Get with TMI, and plant this in the wreckage of the old WarWorks ruins. Major, you’ve got your deal. We’ll refit your dropships, Jumpships, and whatever else you want. But you’re going to need to bring the factory to Taurus. We can work out the precise details once we’re on Taurus and in a location that I trust. Subaltern Francis, you’re going to grab some passenger dropships, I want the scientists and all of these people relocated to Taurus.”
Everyone simply stopped and stared at the animated woman.
“Did I fucking stutter, people? Move it, now!”
Author's Note: Sometimes you have to break your own promise to yourself because it was just too much fun...
