Dangerous Duran
Pilot Wendell Sanders-Harris buttoned up in his cockpit. He was glad to take off into space again. It'd been damnably hard to avoid that Anya girl planetside, but it would be effortless in the cockpit of his Solidarity starfighter - and the flight would be a long haul alongside the shuttle back catch up to the Hefustians. He would be separated by cold hard vacuum from the shuttle full of unwelcome reminders of his infidelity to his wife. His now-former wife, Katherine Hodge-Smith. Or rather, legally, his never-was wife, a solution that Colonel Ludmilla Taylor-Smith pointed out would avoid charges of adultery.
Not that they'd been close, but she was well-connected, and their marriage assignment was one with strong prestige potential. They'd been assessed a high reproductive quota even before having a first child. The annulment papers that Colonel Ludmilla Taylor-Smith had prepared put an end to all that. Now he was legally married to a woman who was so stupid that she could barely speak English. His child would probably end up working as a janitor or something.
Hopefully the new trainee copilot that Major Ina Bailey-Richardson had assigned him wouldn't be too chatty. Wendell was looking forward to several days of peace and quiet. He looked over, watching as the trainee finished climbing the ladder up into the cockpit. The baggy flight suit was clearly too large for the pudgy little guy. Probably wouldn't pass fitness standards once they were back in the Union.
"I is say checklist interior now," a feminine voice said, crackling into his ears. "Husband Pilot Wendell, is the objects loose or objects foreign in the cockpit?"
***
There was a knock on the office door. "Enter," said Major Giorgio Kontos.
"Sir, what's this about the Obelisk leaving the system?" Captain Leo Tsakalotos held a crumpled flimsy in his hand.
"Nothing to worry about, we have other commitments now." The major smiled. "Cretu is on the cusp of claiming its first extrasystem territory. I was just talking things over with the Duke of Summer, and it was really quite an eye-opening experience. He helped me put things into perspective."
"Sir," the captain said. Then he paused, sucking in a long breath in and out. "If we do not go home, this all means nothing. My men have been waiting for two years. Two years, loyally waiting to bring Cretu's greatest prize home while the Nukashubans laughed at us."
"About that. I have good news. It's a rare sort of ship, something of a collector's value on it, and the Duke of Summer offered to lend his technicians to take a look at it to service the engine and check it for problems. He's willing to trade a dreadnought for it, and a pile of cash besides, if it's in good condition." Major Giorgio Kontos smiled.
Captain Leo Tsakolotos grimaced. "You haven't agreed to anything yet," he said.
"No. But the Hefustians have burned their bridges with our new allies, and the Inner Sphere has plenty more jumpships. We can book passage back to Dorman's World soon enough." The Major nodded. "So, it doesn't even matter that I had the fuel tanks of the Prize drained and the engine opened up for deep inspection, and that it can't fly right now. We've more important things to do than race home."
***
Three weeks later...
Aldo Lestrade fumed. He'd stayed too long. He should have left when the lion's share of the Periphery mercenaries fled, and now, it felt like he was wasting his time. For the last three weeks, Frederick's secretary had made it much more difficult to get in to see him, and Frederick himself had been shockingly resistant to Aldo's charm on the occasions when he'd been able to talk with him. Sure, on the surface, Frederick was polite and agreeable, but every time a concrete course of action was put in front of him, he agreeably tabled it for further study and then did ... nothing.
It was a striking change in personality, all the more striking because Frederick had previously seemed to have less depth than his rooftop koi pond. Aldo stared glumly at the koi pond, the decorative mosaics at the bottom clearly visible. Suddenly, there was a low rumble. Concentric ring waves raced inwards from the edge of the koi pond as the fish darted around in panic. Aldo sipped the glass of white wine in his hand and frowned.
The servant manning the bar on the rooftop put a hand up to his ear and turned pale white. "He's dead," the servant said, looking over at Aldo. "They killed him. He's dead."
"What?" Aldo blinked.
"The duke is dead," the servant said. "His new Zeus, the one that arrived on the ship from Hesperus II yesterday, the special prototype with the binary laser. The cockpit was rigged."
"That was a personal gift from the CEO of Defiance Industries," Aldo said. His frown deepened, in thought more than in sadness.
***
"The major was so distraught by the duke's death that he wasn't watching where he was going," Captain Tsakalotos said. "Unfortunately, in his condition and late at night, the cliff's edge was not visible. Do I have that correct?"
The sergeant nodded. "Yes, sir. Not a man will question that, sir. Not after you showed them what you showed me from his desk."
***
And with that, folks, we're closing up the side quest. Hope you enjoyed this little jaunt. How things shake out on Tharkad will depend partly on what happens in the main quest next. Fred is presumed dead, incognito, and has stealth BattleMechs to help him in any ... energetic discussion.
