Duke and a Deal Some may know me as the Chief of the Defenders of Bunny, a rising power in the mid levels of the warrior clans, but that is not how it began, not how I began. Truly, it began with a Duke and a Deal. I was a Sgt in the 744 Communications Regiment, Cogwork Armed Forces. Yes, one of “them”. We didn’t get noble officers, or choice planets. We were strictly line of communication troops, restricted by treaty to nothing heavier than 20 tons, lest we be seen as a threat to corporate security forces, or the noble houses. We were there to protect against other states planting the flag and taking over, and, theoretically, to deal with smugglers and pirates. Some of you are laughing. I am not. Ten years I supported myself and then my family taking light mecha out against better equipped pirates and smugglers, and four times received demotions, fines, and “career counseling” for hitting pirate raiders that had paid the right officials or noble lords the right bribes to have the regulars called off. Sometimes I missed the memo. Sometimes my tech “Two Tooth” McGuinty would arrange it so it looked like we hadn’t got the memo at all. Somewhere along the line I picked up protection. I never figured out who, but each time I was ready for court martial and expulsion, the charges would get stayed, and whoever was carrying the hatched for the powers I offended would look terrified when they told me charges were dismissed. There was always flowers and chocolates for my wife, and a stuffed Bunny waiting for my daughters when I got released from the clink. Weird hey? Word came down that a Slaver raid was hitting Picon 4. It was going to be a big one. There were going to be hundreds of mecha, and the colony was going to be taken apart, with total genocide being used as a cover for the slaves taken. We had non-discretionary orders confining us to base. We had been ordered to do a complete tear down and engine refit, leaving us totally unable to respond, should something drop in the pot. Lt Kennicut, aka “Payday Paddy” ran the standby squad. Rumour has it that he actually sold ammunition to the pirates who hit Albertville, they had expended too much gunning down the defenders, and might not be up to dealing with actual Cogwork Armed Forces troops. Luckily they got Payday Paddy Kennicut instead. Gives corruption a bad name. I had ordered “Two Tooth” to play a shell game with our mecha, to make it look like they were totally torn down, but really as close to 5min notice to move as possible. I ordered our pilots to hit the bars and make a big noise about leave, but stay sober. Some things you don’t let pass. There was a shiny lance of medium mecha out front of the bar. If I had serious steel like that, those pirates would burn! Man, I need that drink. I hit “Stinky Pete’s” It’s a terrible bar, but the only one that isn’t also a brothel. The wife always finds out. Never have figured out how. When I hit the bar and ordered some grog, there was a high roller buying rounds for the house. Some Cogwork noble, his uniform was worth more than my Shocklite, and his jewelry could buy my whole lance. What a butt-munch. I was nursing my drink, waiting for word of the pirate raid to come, when the noble hit my table, and with a drunken leer, slammed a bottle of dark beer on the table in front of me. “Drink up you ugly son of a Snavurm, you are going to get drunk, start a fight, and commit grand larceny tonight, right before you desert” I reached for my Cogwork Voland Express (sure the kick is stupid, but who doesn’t want to put a round through twelve inches of hardened steel with every trigger pull) only to find my hand burned hot. I looked down and the burning eye of the targeting laser of a Regretable Incident nerve disruptor was locked on my middle knuckle, no matter how I shifted my hand. I looked across the table at the “drunk” and realized there was something bigger going on here. “So, chocolates and a stuffed bunny aren’t going to do it this time. Your wife and daughters are being taken to my dropship with the rest of your dependents. You are going to steal it before the night is done. I got an actual bunny for your girls to play with, so they shouldnt mind the wait.” This was my benefactor. Whenever I stuck my neck out to protect the people, even when the powers that be were paid to look the other way, somebody bailed me out, and saved my career. I guess the stakes were going up tonight. “You are going to steal a lance of my bodyguard mecha, your Regimental pay chest, and my dropship, after starting a bar fight with my bodyguard lance.” I took a pull from the beer he had offered me while I thought about this. Sweet Freya’s titties, the beer was as fake as he was. Small beer, big games. “Who the hell are you?” I finally ask. He laughs long and loud, and flips a 50 Ferrite coin at me. I look at the portrait stamped on the back and match it to his features: Duke Crimson. The fifth most powerful noble in Cogwork space had been backing me against the pirates, and was now giving me a lance of medium mecha, a dropship, and a war chest to go stamp out the slavers, and walk away. “Why are you doing this?” His house could fall, the stability of the council itself could be threatened if he were found to be secretly using military force to block the abuses of the other noble houses. You don’t upset the balance of power of an empire for a few peasant lives unless you were insane. Well, I did. But the gods of my folk have strong views on duty and flexible ones on truth telling to enemies and bureaucrats. He had everything, and was risking it all. Why? He took a sip from his drink. Stared me right in the eye and said “Somebody has to” Roaring he came up from the table and brought his nerve disrupter around. I bounced my beer bottle off his head, and kicked his knee to bring him down. When his gun was pointing at the floor I gave a showy kick to the back of his head, but grazed it across rather than hammering it through. He played it up, and went down like a pole axed steer. His body guard lance all picked one of my people and began hammering. It was really showy, lots of jump kicks and spinning, a lot of throwing people around, but very few strikes thrown anywhere important. They fell quickly. “Get their codex” I told my team, referring to the crystal bracelet on the left wrist that contained your battle records, genetic code, and mental imprint for keying mecha security systems. Granted they didn’t match ours, and would be useless for doing more than opening the mecha, and only an idiot doesn’t set security protocols inside the mecha. AI know their owner, and fry anyone who shouldn’t be there……unless they have been told not to, or unless they would rather go with you. AI on mech are strange. I hopped into the seat of my new ride. A scarred Holmes. As it powered up, the AI flooded my implant with a full breakdown of the enemy force, command codes for all the mecha, and for the dropship. There were banking codes as well, a line of credit set up for us, and a mercenary contract offer from the Meiji Shogunate. If we survive, we have a new life awaiting us. Holmes and Imech met a pirate force of Axebot and Hoplite. More than enough to trounce the Shocklite and Anzu they were expecting to face. The battle was savage. Since we knew we were leaving Cogwork service forever, we took out our mixed feelings on the enemy. The Cornelion Ion Cannon was a big step up from Medium Lasers, and Advanced Cannon and Dual Gatling made our medium cannon look like pop-guns. We hit the pirates in a straight up charge, Unused to having the weight advantage, we abandoned tactics altogether in favour of pure aggression. It was liberating. It was short. Buddy, I kid you not; it was FUN! We left on Duke Crimson’s dropship for Misery, where we entered the Ronnin Rolls as a mercenary company. Onboard was the bunny that would one day be the reason for the Defenders of Bunny. Duke Crimson is famous as a drunk, a playboy, a disgrace to a great family who is only permitted to continue because he is one of the deadliest duellists alive, and has too many social connections to offend. All I know is we saved a whole lot of people because of his games, became mercenary mecha jocks, because of his games, and have been standing between civilians and one galactic menace or another, because of his games. A Duke and a Deal. That’s how we came to be here. He offers you one? I suggest you take it. John T Mainer 28840
Posted on: Thu, 28 Aug 2014 01:50:05 +0000
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