The Whereabouts of Happiness



Hayden pushed open the door into a closed off area of the cargo bay and she heard someone struggling?  She turned the light on and tilted her head.  Koruku was strapped to a chair in the cargo bay of her dropship.  He looked up at her with a pained look in his eyes. 
“Koruku?”  She asked hesitantly “What’s going on here?”

He struggled harder, though he couldn’t speak, there was something jammed into his mouth. She stepped over to him quietly and pulled the gag from his mouth.  “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“It was not voluntary, I promise you.  Would you please release me from this chair?”

“Sure, hang on.”  She popped the combat knife from its sheath and cut the bindings on his hands and his ankles.  “What happened.” 

“The loud one, Mason and some of the others jumped me.”

“Why?”

“I came here to see you…to ask a very hard question.  They did not seem to like the way I was waiting, and violence ensued.” 

“What?” 

“Uh oh…”  Sebastian said quietly as he stepped into the room.  “Did I interrupt something?”

“Was he involved?”  Hayden asked him quietly.  He shook his head no.  “Sebastian, go grab the spare med kit for me.”

“Sure, boss.” 

“What is going on?”

“I came to ask you a question, and possibly a follow up question.”

“What?”

“Are you heading towards Rasalhague on your next trip out?”

“I can’t really tell you.”

“The reason for my question should make this easier to answer.  
The invasion has disrupted my travel plans, and I have friends in the Republic that I am worried about.  I was trying to get back to them, but the jumpship I had hired for the task was pressed into service by the Federated Commonwealth.”  He rubbed his wrists gently, trying to get the feeling back in them.  “I was hoping that you would accept currency in exchange for giving me, Takeda and a small cargo container passage with you.” 

“Oh, Koruku. Have you been working up to that since I met you?”

“No…nothing like that.  I saw you in the bar that day and you 
looked like a person I would enjoy talking to.  Everything else has been a wonderful serendipity.”

“Hey boss, I brought the med kit?  Anything else I can do for you right now?”

“Lockdown the ship.  No one in or out until I say otherwise, got it?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I am sorry, Koruku.”

“So am I…I don’t know what to do now.”

“Help me up, please.”  He leaned up and she helped him to his feet.  He winced a bit when she slid his arm around her shoulder to help him walk. 

"Come on, lean over on the table, let me check you out.”

“Wanting to play doctor Hayden?”  He chuckled and then winced in pain again. 

“You’re lucky you’re cute.”  She ran the med scanner up and down his side and shook her head.  “I think you have at least one cracked rib.” 

“that’s what it feels like.”

“Cracked a rib before?”

“Temple life was hard for me.”

“Sometime we are going to have a nice long chat about temple.” 

“I think I would like that.”

Julian, Mason, and Carter entered the room, Julian’s pistol was drawn, and Mason’s hand was on the grip of his.  Koruku shook his head, and Hayden turned her attention to the three of them. 

“Hayden, step away from him.”

“Explain, now.”  Hayden said through clenched teeth.

“He is a member of the Order of Five Pillars, an intelligence service for the Draconis Combine.”  Julian leveled the pistol at him.  “Now step away.” 

“I know he’s a member of the Order of Five Pillars, you idiot.”

“What?” The three of them asked her incredulously. 

“He wears it on his sleeve.”  She pointed out the koi jumping up his right arm.  “Gold, Steel, Ivory, Jade, and Teak.” 

“They are spies” 

“Some of them are, but I don’t think he is." 

“He has questions he needs to answer.”  Julian said firmly. 

“No, he does not.”  Hayden said firmly.

“You can’t trust him, he’s Yakuza.” 

“Guys, we should put our guns away and use our words.  Tempers are running high right now and we all need to calm down a little.”  Carter tried to defuse the situation. 

“I am not yakuza.” 

“Enough!”  Hayden said firmly.  “Koruku, go, find a hospital, I will catch up with you later.”

“He’s not going anywhere.”  Julian said firmly.  “Hayden, you’re not thinking clearly right now, that’s okay.  We need to question him, there are several things we need to know before he goes free.” 

“No, we do not.”  Hayden’s hand floated down to the grip of her pistol.  Koruku’s hand dropped to hers and he shook his head. 

“You will not do this for me.  Help me get to a comfortable chair and I will answer your questions.” 

“You don’t have to do this.”

“The Way is a closed circle, and I will not break the circle, Hayden.” 

Everyone stopped for a moment, the main bay doors were opening.  

“Sebastian, I said lock down the ship.’

“It’s an override code, Boss.  I can’t do much about this.  I think we’re about to have company.”

“Main bay, now!  Tell the Sausage Party to be ready for intruders aboard the ship.”

“Right, locking down the bridge and sealing the doors for engineering.  It’s going to take me a few minutes to lock down the bay, so I would hurry.”

“Roger, On our way now.”

“What did you do?”  Julian asked Koruku firmly.

“We don’t have time for this, Julian.” Carter said firmly.  He handed one of the automatic shotguns to Mason and started moving towards the cargo bay.  Julian grabbed another shotgun and made his way down to the bay.  Hayden helped Koruku down the hallway as well.  The lights in the bay came up and everyone paused.

Percival and an attractive redheaded woman were surrounded by a dozen figures in black suits.  Each of them was carrying an automatic pistol Takeda was standing next to Percival, who had the palm of his hand wrapped around his face.  “Which one of you muppets would like to explain why I was visited at dinner by these fine people?”

“Takeda?”  Hayden asked quietly.

“We trade, them for him.”  She said firmly.  The friendly demeanor Takeda had treated her with before was gone.  This was the hard-edged bodyguard Koruku had told her about. 

“Why don’t we all lower our guns and talk about this?”  Julian said, lowering the barrel of his shotgun.

“Perfectly agreeable, Takeda-san?”  Percival bowed to the large woman.  “Hayden, be a dear and help our unexpected, but not unwelcome guest over here.”  Hayden nodded and helped Koruku walk over to the waiting group of dark suits.  Two of them took over for Hayden in helping him walk.  “Koruku-san, please excuse this gross breach of etiquette and accept my deepest apologies for this unfortunate and completely avoidable misunderstanding.”  He bowed deeply to the monk.

“It is already forgiven.  Please accept my apology for my friends interrupting your dinner.”

“We were finishing up desert when they arrived.  No apology needed.  Though I do owe you for your friends buying our dinner.”

“We can work something out.  Hayden, I am sorry about this.  Call me tomorrow, please?”

“I will, Koruku.  I am so sorry.”

“Nothing for you to be sorry about.”  He smiled and then the attendant dark suits escorted him out of the bay and to a waiting car. 

“Takeda, I am sorry.” 

“You should be.”  The woman bowed to Percival and left.

Percival turned his attention to the woman he was with and smiled.  “Well, I think this qualifies as a rather full tilt tour of the operation.  If you’re still interested in the job, we can discuss salary and benefits.”

“Affirmative.  You have very odd coworkers.”  She nodded back at him.

“You don’t know the half of it.” He smiled graciously “If you want to get started filling out your employment paperwork, I need to have a little discussion with my coworkers.”  The Aerospace Pilots filtered into the bay wearing tactical armor and brandishing the same shotguns everyone else had been equipped with. 

“We miss the party?”  Adrian asked quickly, scanning the room for hostiles.

“Yeah, we’re good, Adrian.  You guys can go back to what you were doing, sorry for the disturbance.” 

“No problem, glad everyone is safe.” 

“Sebastian, ship is secure, you can end the boarding procedures, restart the lockdown.” 

“Why the lockdown?”  Carter asked her quietly.

“Because you are going to explain to me what the fuck you were all thinking when you kidnapped the guy I was dating.  Then I’m going to decide if we get off the ship again before we leave.”

“You let a spy for the Draconis Combine get this close to our operation.”  Julian said quietly.  All eyes in the room turned to the redhead sitting at the desk.  She slipped a pair of earbuds out of her purse and started listening to music.

“He is not a spy.” 

“He’s O5P, of course he’s a spy.”

“He is in fact, not a spy.  He is highly respected member of the Order of Five Pillars who handles trade deals in the Free Rasalhague Republic and the Lyran half of the Commonwealth.  He is a mediator respected by all three parties, and has been responsible for a few of the trade interactions we have with the Combine, though he does have a soft spot for the FRR.”

“He’s still a Yakuza.”  Mason said with venom.

“Actually, he is not that either.  Despite the ink, he has no membership in any Yakuza clan operating anywhere in the Inner Sphere.  Despite the fact that his entire family are life long members, he stands apart from them.”  Percival continued. 

“Then why were you kidnapped by the Yakuza?”  Mason fired back.

“I was visited, not kidnapped.  His woman, Takeda explained the situation to me and I agreed to help her recover her lost friend.  He does have friends in the Yakuza, but he has a professional relationship.  He mediates disputes between various clans to keep the peace.  Evidently wanton violence is bad for business.  Who knew?”

“How do you know all of this?”  Julian asked him firmly. 

“When I heard we were heading to Blue Hole and getting off the ship, I checked the files for anyone of importance to look out for while we were here.  He’s the second from the top.” Percival grimaced and turned to Hayden.  “My dear, I am sorry that your interactions with Mr. Macalister have taken this unfortunate turn.  I hope you can find someone to rebuild the tenuous bridge of a connection you have with him.” 

“Percival, can I talk to you about something later?” 

“Certainly, Julian and I are about to have a long conversation about starting an international incident on vacation.  After that I should be free to discuss whatever you need.” 

“Thank you, Percival.” She turned her attention to Carter and Mason.  “Briefing room, now.” 


The three of them stepped into the briefing room and Carter turned and shook his head at her.  “I’m Sorry.”

“for?”

“Getting carried away in all this craziness and kidnapping your friend.”

“Why?” 

“Well, that’s a little more complicated.”  Carter sat down at the table. “Watching my mom go through her adult life basically by herself was hard.  She dated a lot, but she was nervous about introducing me to the men in her life, and I really just wanted her to be happy.  I always worried that the guys she was dating weren’t good enough for her, that they wouldn’t treat her the way she deserved to be treated.”

“Carter, I am not your mother.”

“No, but you are one of my best friends, and the only woman aboard our ship in a command position.  You have to put up with a lot of stuff for us, and I worry that you don’t have someone to take care of you, when you need it.  I’m not saying you can’t take care of yourself, but everybody needs someone.” 

“And you decided to go along with this caper because?”

“I figured if I was close to the inside I could keep it from getting too out of hand.  And boy howdy did I screw that up.” 

“You meant well.” She turned her attention to Mason.  “How about you?”

“The guy is bad news.”

“Because he has friends in the Yakuza?  Because he could be a spy?” 

“Yep.”

“We are all spies now, on this fucking mission.  That means this is much harder than any single one of us realizes.  There’s no one aboard the crew we can talk to about it because we are all going through the same shit, dealing with the same problems.  So if we can’t have spies for friends, who the fuck are we supposed to be friends with?”

“It’s not that…Hayden.”

“Then what the fuck is it?  You three almost caused an interstellar incident tonight.  You also made things really complicated for me with the first friend I might have made outside of work in a really long time.”

“He’s not good enough for you.”

“What the fuck business of that is yours?”

“Look, I don’t want you to get hurt, like the last time you got close to someone.  Like Jaxun. I don’t want you to get yourself into something that’s going to hurt coming out of.” 

“Noted.  Stay out of my social life, the both of you.  You get involved again, that may be the end of our friendship.  Understood?”

“I’m sorry, Hayden.”  Carter nodded his acceptance.

“Yeah, I hear you.”  Mason added. 

“I’m going to go talk to Percival, and then it’s time for bed.  I hope Koruku takes my call in the morning.”

“I do too.”  Carter said.

Meanwhile

“You want to tell me what you are doing bringing a civilian aboard my ship, Percival?”

“One, this ship belongs to the Federated Commonwealth government, not you personally.  Two, this mission is under your field supervision, but there are oversights within the government that are watching to make sure this doesn’t turn into how they used to say, a sticky wicket.  Three, have you lost your god damned mind, kidnapping an O5P monk in the Commonwealth?  Four, the civilian is my new assistant, and she will be travelling with us for the duration of this mission.  Five, if you ever take that tone with me again, I may have to take it personally.”

“What?”

“I don’t believe I have a stutter.  The Mission is for the Commonwealth, not you personally.  Try not to lose sight of that when you let your paranoid fantasies override your judgment.”

“He’s a spy.”

“He’s the second name on the list of VIPs on Blue Hole, in the green file you neglected to check when we got here.”

“How do you know about the green file?”

“When the Aces were constituted on Outreach, it was a combined operation for intelligence gathering.   Michael didn’t tell me exactly what the plan was, but there was not time to slip a pair of Wolfnet operative into the mission, the way the Colonel wanted to.  They had to settle for an outside intelligence agency that they trusted, and they brought the matter to the DMI. When Parker was killed alongside the Crazy Eights, it became a one man show.” 

“Are you saying you are a DMI operative?”

“That would be quite the foolish thing to say, now wouldn’t it?  I have tolerated you tagging along with my operation so far, because you have been helpful and a boon to the Aces as they sit.  If you ever compromise their potential safety again by attempting something so foolish as what you did tonight, I will take that personally as well.”

“We need to have a much longer conversation.”

“I think this conversation is at an end.  I’d check your fax machine when you get back to your quarters.”

“He represented a danger to the mission we are both on.”

“How could that pacifistic little ivory trader be a danger to us and the mission we are on?”

“He’s  a distraction for Hayden.” 

“And god bless him for that.”

“What?”

“Have you seen what she’s been through?  She’s not even twenty five, and she has signed her first mercenary contract, been deployed to a war front she never expected.  She’s gone to war with the Clans and survived.  She has lost her first crush, her friend, her father figure, and most of the people she knows and cares about in this world and she still has the sense of certainty to get out of bed in the morning, put her uniform on and go back to work.  If anyone in this universe deserves a distraction from the pain of life, It’s her.”

“Point taken.”

“They’re not special forces, or ninjas or commandos.  They are three kids from around the inner sphere caught up in the roiling tide of something bigger than any of us ever expected it to be.  They are going to do amazing things, if we don’t screw this up.  Now get out of my office, I have a glass of scotch to drink, an employee to file paperwork on, and a young officer to counsel about the bullshit you and the others put her through.” 

“Good night, Percival.”

“Good night, Julian.” 

Hayden passed Julian in the hall, but didn’t say anything.  Sebastian finally came off the bridge, and smiled at her when he saw her coming down the way towards Percival’s office.

“Did you know?”  She asked him.

“I try very hard to stay out of everyone else’s personal lives.  You all work very hard and under intense pressure.  You need your own space to decompress and vent your frustrations.”

“Did you know?”

“That they had kidnapped him?  No, I was just as shocked as you were when I found the two of you in that room.  I thought you might be getting together for some fun times in an out of the way place in the ship.  I didn’t realize he had been a prisoner until you sent me to go find the med kit.” 

“If you see something like this coming again, put your foot firmly in the middle of it.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“That’s an order, Sebastian.”

“I understood.” 

“Good, now go get some sleep.” 

“Sure thing, one question though, what do you want me to do with the smoking hot redhead in the cargo bay?”

“Ask Percival, she’s going to be working here.” 

“Is she single?”

“Sebastian…”

“Just kidding, Hayden.  Have a pleasant night.”

“You too.” 

She knocked on the door to Percival’s office and he smiled as he opened it.  She shook her head as she sat down in the oversized chair that sat on the opposite side of the desk.  He sat down across from her and poured her a scotch. 

“Tough night.” 

“How do I put this back together again?” She asked him.

“The one positive I note in this is that everyone who acted operated under the belief that they were pursuing their chosen course of action out of a want or a desire to protect you.  They may not have the right words, or the right actions to properly express that sentiment, but it did come from a positive place.”

“They involved themselves in my personal life, Percival, what do I do about that?”

“Build a little electrified fence around your personal life with a little sign that says keep out.” 

“Percival…”

“That’s a hard thing for any of us to do, Hayden.  You and the boys have been close since the academy, and you effectively all become adults together.  They are your friends, and they want the best for you.  You are also the only woman aboard, and that can lead to some overprotectiveness and I am just glad they haven’t had a common cause to fight over you.”

“What, no?”

“You are an attractive single young woman, who spends most of her days around warriors.  I am just happy the aerospace boys prefer boys.  Feelings are a tricky thing for us to manage, and I hope that you can find your way to manage your feelings through this bump in the road.” 

“Is that all this is, a bump in the road?”

“Well, you have the choice to make about whether you want this to trouble you, or whether this is something you laugh about down the road.  I can’t make that decision for you, but I know that you have gone through worse, and come through just fine.”

“I wouldn’t say just fine.”

“None of us are fine, deep down.  There are holes in all of us.  We just have to decide what to fill them with.”  He smiled at her.

“Koruku told me he came to see me to ask a favor.”

“What did he want?”

“He wanted to know if we were heading towards the FRR, if it would be possible to take Takeda, a cargo pod, and him along for the ride.  The Invasion has screwed up his travel arrangements and he is trying to get back towards home.” 

“That seems innocuous enough.” 

“But if he is a spy for the Combine government…”

“If you would like my advice on this, I would sit down with him tomorrow, hash out all the details, and bring them back.  I can discuss all of the particulars of the trip and we can negotiate a price for the service rendered.  Besides, it will give the two of you time to get past your bump in the road.”

“I don’t think getting kidnapped by you date’s overprotective dumbshit friends is something you just get over.”

“Mr. Macalister has been through a lot in his young life, and you might be surprised by what he is willing to overlook.”

“How do you know what he has been through?”

“Less important than you finding a time for the two of you to sit down and talk about it.” 

“You’re probably right.”

“Now, have your scotch and get some rest.  I still have to sort out some details with the young lady.” 

“Thanks, Percival.  Are you tapping that?”

“Me, what?  Never.” 

“Bro.” 

“Now they have you doing it to.  Good night, Ms. Shields.”

“Good night, Percival.” 

Percival let out a long, contented sigh and went back down to the cargo bay.  She was waiting for him, emerald eyes glittering in the reflected light. 

“ Now what am I going to do with you?”

“That depends, what would you like to do with me, Percival?” 

“That’s a hell of a leading question, Ms. Meyers.”

“The fun ones usually are.  Shall we discuss it in further detail in your quarters?”

“Who knows, we could find something to do there.”

“We could always screw, or play chess.”


“Let’s play chess.”  

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