Later that day
Mackenzie wiped the tears away and repacked the case with the utmost care. She smiled softly at Gregor and hugged him. “Thank You.”
“Just a courier, bringing a package. Take care of yourself, and if you have a message for your father or mother, send it to me tonight and i will see that it gets to its destination.” He smiled back at her, and she departed the restaurant shortly thereafter. He let out a slow sigh and ordered another drink. He still had several hours to kill before his evening meeting with Serena. Between the alcohol and the fond memories, he was feeling pretty good.
“Gregor Baba?” The voice interrupted his reverie.
“Indeed, and you are?”
“Star Captain Luna Hazen, this is my aide, Star Commander Ayat Icaza.” The Jade Falcon officers were standing a little closer than he liked.
“And you are here because?”
“What do you know of the 149th Battlemech Division?”
“I know Flynn’s building a castle somewhere, i know that Geri is working on a drone battlemech, and i know that Andy is currently recovering his casualties on Erewhon.”
“Wait, What?” Ayat said with quickly furrowing brows.
“Who are they?”
“Seekers, operating on a deep cover mission for the Ilkhan.”
“They’ve been operating since before there was an Ilkhan.”
“Technically incorrect, as they have not been in operation prior to the formation of the clans and the ascendancy of Nicholas Kerensky.”
“They have been operating before the reign of the current Ilkhan, Leo Showers.”
“That is a technically correct fact, yes.”
“How long have you been operating illegally in the Inner Sphere?” Ayat asked firmly.
“I have been operating for as long as the mission required. As to the legality, read the Dragoon Compromise contract very closely. Our people came with to make sure the Dragoons didn’t give themselves away. Our Khans, with the blessing of the council, took additional information gathering missions along the way.”
“And the result of those missions?”
“How do you think you managed to get the intel on the Inner Sphere that you have? Did Turkina bring them to you in one of your hallucinations?” Gregor was rapidly losing his patience with the two of them.
“We have questions that you need to answer, Elemental.” Luna said firmly.
“I believe you meant to phrase that, ‘If you have the time and the willingness, Star Colonel, we would like to humbly beg your indulgence about things we aren’t supposed to know’ .” The tension filled the room with a heavy pause. He outranked both of them, and the last anyone had heard, was carrying out a mission for the Khans of his clan.
“We have discovered some...irregularities during our operations on Anywhere, and if you have the time, we would like to ask you some questions related to the operations you and your unit carried out in the Inner Sphere.” Ayat managed to formulate quickly.
“See, even Falcons have manners.” Gregor said with a grim smirk.
“I do not believe there is a need for snark, Sir.” Luna managed to exhale.
“I tell you what i am willing to do for you, today only. You wrack your brains for as many questions as you can come up with, and submit them to me in writing.”
“Star Colonel…”
“And when i get back to my office on the Dire Wolf, i will order them to the best of my willingness and capability. I will give you this one for free though, I was not the operational mission commander. For that, you would want to talk to Galaxy Commander Ivan Kirov.”
“Why does that name sound familiar?” Luna asked Ayat.
“That is the name of Mackenzie’s uncle.” Ayat answered her, most of the color draining from her face.
“Yes, the Galaxy Commander and the Pup were quite close during their time with the Dragoons. If it were me, and i were the curious one, i would check into those early mission logs for more details. Now, if you two silly green birds will excuse me, i have an evening to prepare for.” The Elemental slid between them, letting them sit there with their thoughts.
“Well, that went perfectly.” Ayat said with a smirk.
“What?”
“We have a better idea of who Mackenzie is, and the people that raised her, and we have names and suggestions of places to dig for more details.”
“But, that does not tell us anything.”
“The Mystery that you suckered me into does not seem like it is going to have an easy solution, quineg?”
“Neg, the more we dig up, the less i understand.”
“Who is Flynn, and why is he building a Castle?” Ayat asked her quietly.
“Who’s Andy, and what is he doing on Erewhon?” Luna asked her in response.
“Building a Drone battlemech?” They asked each other. They quickly took over the table that Mackenzie and Gregor had vacated and started scribbling questions furiously.
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