Alshain System
Harry let the breath escape from his lips slowly as he concentrated on his meditations. The dropshp was an older monarch...a passenger liner. It had taken a beating over the years but the DCMS was currently using it to ferry replacements around the Inner Sphere. He was going to Alshain, and he knew he was joining one of the Alshain Regulars. Maybe he could restore his family’s honor through service...that was the way of the Combine.
He knew that most of the personnel on the ship were soldiers heading to Alshain to report ot units and then disperse along the border with the Free Rasalhague Republic. The words still felt alien on his tongue. He would always remember the Rasalhague Military District fondly, he’d spent most of his youth there with his father. He felt the tear run down his cheek as he thought about that. His father and both of his older brothers had been declared Ronin during the formation of the FRR and they’d been put down by the loyal soldiers of the Dragon.
Hs uncle, Hiro had taken him in on New Samarkand after the fighting was over, but the family had been virtually destroyed by the stain on their honor. His mother had died of a stroke after she had heard of his father’s passing and both of his older sisters had just disappeared one day. He still did not know what happened to them. Their estate on Rasalhague was burned by partisans loyal to the Republic and he had lost everything he knew. Hiro was the only member of the family not stained by their shame, but that’s because he’d been serving with the 1st Genoysha putting down the rebels.
He brushed the tear from his face and stared out into space. Everything seemed so calm out there. Just the peace of the cosmos.
“You know, there are a uncountable number of things moving at impossible speeds out there and the briefest of intersections between those things is usually catastrophic for at least one of those things.” The voice called out from his doorway.
“Excuse me?” Harry spun on the balls of his feet.
“Calm yourself, Mechwarrior, it’s an observation.” The older man smiled slowly at him. Harry studied the man’s face slowly, taking in all of the details. His face was creased with age, and he had wrinkles around his eyes. He was also wearing the Mechwarrior pin on his informal uniform without any rank insignia.
“How did you get in here?”
“You left the door open.” The older mechwarrior smiled again. “It’s nearly dinner time, come, join me.”
“Very well, Sir.”
“I am not your superior officer, just a lowly Mechwarrior who is too young for the Night Stalkers and too difficult for the Legion of Vega.”
“Then how did you get assigned to one of the Alshain Regular units?”
“A third of the personnel on this transport are being assigned to the Regulars, but the rest of us are being moved to alternative units.”
“What alternatives?”
“Lord Theodore, in his infinite wisdom, is considering expanding the Ghosts again.”
“The Ghosts?”
“The Ghost Regiments, my young friend.”
“Those are folk tale, surely? Units staffed with the riff raff of society? Women, Criminals? Who in their right mind would want such a posting?”
“Two, well, really three kinds of people. There are those among the riff raff who desire to serve the Dragon, and are just as loyal as any high born samurai. There are those who don’t fit it anywhere else. Finally, there are those who have no other place to serve, through shame or dishonor, the Ghosts are the only way they can fight for the Combine.”
“There are other ways to serve the Combine.”
“My young friend, some of us are simple things...the arrows fired from the bow. You can not ask us to be plowshares, it is not in our nature. Besides, the arrow knows the way.”
“Who are you?”
“Nori, my name is Nori.”
“Harry Kiyomori.”
The older man tilted his head for a moment. “Your father was Benjamin Kiyomori, yes?”
“He was.” Harry braced himself for the withering condemnation of his family that swiftly followed that revelation.
“As i recall, he was a good man who followed his lord’s orders. Duty is a hell of a thing.”
He knew that most of the personnel on the ship were soldiers heading to Alshain to report ot units and then disperse along the border with the Free Rasalhague Republic. The words still felt alien on his tongue. He would always remember the Rasalhague Military District fondly, he’d spent most of his youth there with his father. He felt the tear run down his cheek as he thought about that. His father and both of his older brothers had been declared Ronin during the formation of the FRR and they’d been put down by the loyal soldiers of the Dragon.
Hs uncle, Hiro had taken him in on New Samarkand after the fighting was over, but the family had been virtually destroyed by the stain on their honor. His mother had died of a stroke after she had heard of his father’s passing and both of his older sisters had just disappeared one day. He still did not know what happened to them. Their estate on Rasalhague was burned by partisans loyal to the Republic and he had lost everything he knew. Hiro was the only member of the family not stained by their shame, but that’s because he’d been serving with the 1st Genoysha putting down the rebels.
He brushed the tear from his face and stared out into space. Everything seemed so calm out there. Just the peace of the cosmos.
“You know, there are a uncountable number of things moving at impossible speeds out there and the briefest of intersections between those things is usually catastrophic for at least one of those things.” The voice called out from his doorway.
“Excuse me?” Harry spun on the balls of his feet.
“Calm yourself, Mechwarrior, it’s an observation.” The older man smiled slowly at him. Harry studied the man’s face slowly, taking in all of the details. His face was creased with age, and he had wrinkles around his eyes. He was also wearing the Mechwarrior pin on his informal uniform without any rank insignia.
“How did you get in here?”
“You left the door open.” The older mechwarrior smiled again. “It’s nearly dinner time, come, join me.”
“Very well, Sir.”
“I am not your superior officer, just a lowly Mechwarrior who is too young for the Night Stalkers and too difficult for the Legion of Vega.”
“Then how did you get assigned to one of the Alshain Regular units?”
“A third of the personnel on this transport are being assigned to the Regulars, but the rest of us are being moved to alternative units.”
“What alternatives?”
“Lord Theodore, in his infinite wisdom, is considering expanding the Ghosts again.”
“The Ghosts?”
“The Ghost Regiments, my young friend.”
“Those are folk tale, surely? Units staffed with the riff raff of society? Women, Criminals? Who in their right mind would want such a posting?”
“Two, well, really three kinds of people. There are those among the riff raff who desire to serve the Dragon, and are just as loyal as any high born samurai. There are those who don’t fit it anywhere else. Finally, there are those who have no other place to serve, through shame or dishonor, the Ghosts are the only way they can fight for the Combine.”
“There are other ways to serve the Combine.”
“My young friend, some of us are simple things...the arrows fired from the bow. You can not ask us to be plowshares, it is not in our nature. Besides, the arrow knows the way.”
“Who are you?”
“Nori, my name is Nori.”
“Harry Kiyomori.”
The older man tilted his head for a moment. “Your father was Benjamin Kiyomori, yes?”
“He was.” Harry braced himself for the withering condemnation of his family that swiftly followed that revelation.
“As i recall, he was a good man who followed his lord’s orders. Duty is a hell of a thing.”
“Yes, it is.”
“So are you being posted to one of the alternative units or have you got a berth with one of the Alshain units?”
“I am supposed to report to the 13th Alshain Regulars, here on Alshain.”
“You’re meeting at the headquarters is in the Kansitoshi building complex in Alshain city?”
“Someone has played a trick on you my friend.”
“What?”
“There isn’t a 13th Alshain Regulars. The Kansitoshi building is the supply depot for the Alshain district and it’s where the Ghosts are unofficially mustered out of.”
“How do you know that?”
“The Alshain units muster out of their base outside of the capital, Fort Alshain. Besides, my orders are to report to Kansitoshi building for my assignment with the Ghosts.”
“Are you being punished?”
“I volunteered for the Ghosts.”
“Why?”
“Kill enough people...enough friends, and war loses its luster. I have certain skills and talents that i believe could benefit other mechwarriors.”
“Why not volunteer to teach at one of the schools then?”
“I still owe debts on my soul that i have yet to pay back. Those debts are written in blood, and tears. When that’s finally done, maybe i will.”
“Who are you?”
The older man let out a slow sigh. “Someone who’s seen too much war in this life. I hope you never see what i have seen, my young friend.” Two of the other passengers gave them a very wide berth as they moved through the ship. “We should eat, while we can.”
“So are you being posted to one of the alternative units or have you got a berth with one of the Alshain units?”
“I am supposed to report to the 13th Alshain Regulars, here on Alshain.”
“You’re meeting at the headquarters is in the Kansitoshi building complex in Alshain city?”
“Someone has played a trick on you my friend.”
“What?”
“There isn’t a 13th Alshain Regulars. The Kansitoshi building is the supply depot for the Alshain district and it’s where the Ghosts are unofficially mustered out of.”
“How do you know that?”
“The Alshain units muster out of their base outside of the capital, Fort Alshain. Besides, my orders are to report to Kansitoshi building for my assignment with the Ghosts.”
“Are you being punished?”
“I volunteered for the Ghosts.”
“Why?”
“Kill enough people...enough friends, and war loses its luster. I have certain skills and talents that i believe could benefit other mechwarriors.”
“Why not volunteer to teach at one of the schools then?”
“I still owe debts on my soul that i have yet to pay back. Those debts are written in blood, and tears. When that’s finally done, maybe i will.”
“Who are you?”
The older man let out a slow sigh. “Someone who’s seen too much war in this life. I hope you never see what i have seen, my young friend.” Two of the other passengers gave them a very wide berth as they moved through the ship. “We should eat, while we can.”
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