Ghosts of War (DFA Legacy) Part 2

A few days later

“So this is the Kansitoshi building?” Harry asked Nori. It was a sprawling complex of warehouses, garages and annexes. He was trying to follow the map on the sign as they crossed the front gate but there was a lot of data to take in.


“Bit of a misnomer, isn’t it?”


“I expected...well i don’t know what i expected.”


“Building sort of suggests a single structure...but this is more of an industrial complex.”


“We move cargo from a half dozen offworld construction companies and handle most of the basic infrastructure needs for the DCMS base nearer the capital.” A young woman intercepted them as they crossed past the first security checkpoint. She was dressed in a fairly typical DCMS field dress uniform, but Harry hadn’t seen her rank insignia anywhere. “What can we do for you, gentlemen?”


“Oh, i’m no gentleman.” Nori said with a polite bow as he handed her his orders. The young woman’s eyes scanned the orders and then flew back to Nori, then back to the orders. She snapped a very crisp, formal bow.


“I am honored, Sir.”


“There’s no need for that, you probably outrank me, Lieutenant?”


“Yes, Sir, I am a lieutenant.” Nori saluted and returned the bow, showing her the proper honor and deference.


“Reporting for duty.” Harry nodded at the woman and handed her his own orders. She nodded, looking them over before returning them. She did not give him the bow that she gave Nori and it took Nori’s elbow in his ribs to remind him to salute a superior officer.


“The Captain’s been expecting you, you round out our compliment of Mechwarriors. Your Mechs have already been transferred to our bays below, the Senior Tech, Jarn, would like to see the both of you. The Captain, Hoshi, and the Major are on the 23rd floor of the main building.” She handed them two of them visitor IDs to get them past the basic security and sent them on their way.


“That was odd…” Harry said slowly when they were alone again.


“What was?”


“A woman in uniform.”


“You prefer them out of their uniforms?” Nori said with a wry smile.


“What?”


“Perhaps in an old fashioned kimono, doing their assigned duties around the house?”


“That’s not what i said.”


“Perhaps you fancy a Geisha girl? Properly attired, and ready to meet your needs?”


“Whoa, Whoa.” Harry stopped him. “That’s not what i meant at all. I haven’t had many experiences with female soldiers is all.”


“The military is changing. It’s becoming a better representation of the Combine..with its many faces and ideas.”


“Is that a good thing?”


“My experience in this matter has been that war doesn’t generally care whether it’s the blood of samurai or the blood of peasants being spilled. War just wants blood and fire.”


“I don’t know. Isn’t everything built on the idea that everyone has a role and a place, and we should be happy to serve in our role?”


“Says a man who was born to wealth, power, and a spot near the top of the social hierarchy.”


“I can not control how i was born or to what role in life.”


“No, but if you had been born to the rice farmers who owed fealty to your House, and grew up learning the enviable task of agriculture, with no hope of being anything but a farmer, would you feel the same way about being happy in your role?”


“Well...I don’t know.”


“There are a great many people in the universe who think they know what is best in life for everyone around them. Most of them have never experienced life from anywhere else. They’ve never been hungry, or cold, or sick and unable to get treatment. Hardship is an unkind teacher, but it’s honest.”


“What Hardships have you suffered, Nori.”


“I saw Misery.” The older man smiled. “In my experience, every person wants to control the circumstances of how their lives end, even if they can’t control how they began. That would be a good lesson for you to remember, my young samurai.”


Harry shook his head for a moment as they stepped into the elevator. “Up or down?”


“Technical staff or the Officers?” Nori asked him.


“Your choice, though the lieutenant mentioned that the Senior tech was looking for us.”


“Down it is.” Harry hit the button and waited for the Elevator to take them into the depths of the building.


The Elevator finally came to a stop and Harry let out a small sigh of relief. This was the first thing that felt familiar since they had arrived on Alshain. It was a Mech Bay, with technical crews scrambling around to finish repairs and arming battlemechs. Harry suddenly felt very aware that every eye in the room turned to stare at them.


“Back to work you scoundrels, just more lost Mechbunnies.” The hard edged voice of a woman cut through the din. Chuckles filled all corners of the room as the crews went back to work. The woman crossed the room to meet them and Harry’s breath caught in his throat. He’d never seen a woman so big.


“You’re staring.” Nori said slowly.


“I…”


“Can i help you two?” The woman said with a gruffness that pushed Harry further out of his comfort zone. She was a massive woman, and Harry could see the tattoos wrapped around her arms.


“I am Nori, this is Harry, we are the last two mechwarriors to report in.” Nori smiled slowly. We were told to find a Senior Tech Jarn.”


“Glad they sent you this way. I’ve got a technical crew for you” She jammed a finger into Harry’s chest. “But i will be taking care of your Mech personally. I found the spare parts your previous crew packed up and we have your Phoenix Hawk already on the gantry. I am not as well versed with the electronics systems as i should be, but your previous crew sent along schematics and technical data.”


“I am glad that the Ryukami won’t be a chore to deal with.”


She turned her attention to Harry and narrowed her eyes. “Your Grand Dragon is probably the newest thing in this place, and it’s in pristine shape. It still has the Luthien Armor Works seals on everything. I don’t think it’s even been taken out of the package. We’ll get it broken in and ready for a ride by the close of business tomorrow. Sound good?”


Harry still hadn’t formulated a thought.


“Forgive my friend, he is having a widening of his cultural views of society.”


“I was hoping he wasn’t mute, that makes radio work that much harder.”


“He is usually quite chatty, it’s hard to shut him up.” Nori smiled at her.


“Well, i hope he recovers partially. Hoshi is probably looking for the two of you upstairs.”


“Sounds good, we will see you later.”


Harry managed to nod along with Nori’s words.


“If you need a good breaking in, come find me Chatty.” Jarm smiled at him. She went back to supervising the technical crews.


“Oh, she likes you.” Nori said with a smirk.


“She’s tattooed.”


“Makes me wonder what she did to earn those.”


“This isn’t funny.”


“It’s a little funny. Besides, i think you can take her. Not sure what you’d do with her after, but that’s more of a conversation for the two of you.” Harry glared at his new friend as they rode the elevator back up.

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