To The Battleground

“You realize this is completely…what was Mackenzie’s word for it…batshit crazy, quiaff?”  Bekker said through the comm to his passengers.  He was driving his Viper at full speed across a frozen plateau in the middle of a snowstorm. 

“Aff, but these are where the coordinates are directing us.”  Jaxun frowned from inside his suit.  The temperatures were low enough outside that Bekker had started firing his lasers into the air jut to spike the heat in his cockpit. 

“Either way, why couldn’t we actually land the dropship closer to where we were wanting to be?”

“The people we are meeting might have shot down a Jade Falcon dropship.”

“Jaxun, it really is none of my business, but who the fuck are we meeting?  I am sort of curious to see if they are willing to shoot down a Jade Falcon battlemech.”

“You know who my uncle is, quiaff?”

“Oh, the thing I am not supposed to talk about around the Seeker?  Aff, I know who your uncle is.” 

“What nobody outside a very small group of Goliath Scorpion Officers, my sister and I, and a very select group of others knows is that he has been running intelligence operations in the Inner Sphere above and beyond the Dragoon mission.”

“He what?”

“With the blessings of his Khans and assistance from a few other highly placed sources in the Diamond Sharks and the Snow Ravens, he has been bringing Watch Officers and Seekers into the Inner Sphere.”

“Does Annabelle know?”  Bekker asked slowly.

“No…when the Goliath Scorpion Hickory Myers died twenty years ago, his successor as Khan terminated the infiltration missions, but didn’t order a general recall of all the Goliath Scorpions operating in the Inner Sphere.”

“How many of them are there?”

“I do not have an exact count.  It is a lot, though.”

“How could they keep this fact from the rest of the clans?”

“No one asked?” He offered.

“We are being scanned, Jaxun.”

“What?”

A third voice came over the open comm channel.  “Pirate, you have 30 seconds to change course or  be subject to a severe ass beating.”

“Oh good, they’ve heard of me.”  Bekker laughed.

“This is Star Commander Jaxun of Clan Jade Falcon.  I was given these coordinates and encouraged to come here as soon as I could.”

“Who are your people, Star Commander Jaxun?”  The voice called to him over the radio.

“My parents are Kade Mackenzie and Nikolai Sokolov.  My Sister is Star Commander Mackenzie, also of clan Jade Falcon.” 

“Are those all of your people, Star Commander Jaxun?” 

“My Aunt Amelia, and the uncle I will not name.”  He answered. 

“Jaxun they are targeting me with a variety of weapons from fixed turrets.”

“Speak his name or be destroyed, Falcon.”

“Then I will be destroyed.  I gave my rede, I will not speak his name until he gives me permission to do so.” 

“Last chance, Parrot.”

“Bargained Well, and Done.”  Jaxun answered and waited for the turrets to open fire.

“Welcome to Valhalla, Jaxun Sokolov.  Transmitting coordinates for you to enter our facility.”

“Acknowledged.” 

“Jaxun, remind me to never play poker with you.”

“Aff, Bekker.” 

The coordinates led them into a tiny valley carved out of the glacial mountains.  There was a reinforced dome structure with a battlemech sized door set in its front facing.  There were sensor arrays crowning the top of the building and a small blinking blue light pointed out towards them, scanning the snow.  The Viper made quick progress towards the building and the door opened.  Thankfully, the inside was heated.  The Elemental point detached from the Viper after the doors closed.

“Orders, Star Commander?” Talon asked him quietly.

“Keep your eyes open, but enjoy the warmth.” 

“Aff.” 

“Bekker, there’s a mech gantry for you to pull into, if you like.”  Jaxun offered him.

“Yeah, these may be your people, but I will stay right here in my toasty little cockpit.”

“Fair enough.”

A dozen individuals emerged from a smaller structure within the dome and Jaxun let out a low sigh.  It was time to get this done.  He cracked the seal on his armor and stepped out onto the ferrocrete floor of the dome. 

“I come seeking Harlan Myers, will he step forth?”

“Harlan Myers is not here, Jaxun Sokolov.”  A voice called out from the group. 

“I know that voice…”

“Of course you do, Shorty.” 

“Faith, it has been too long.”  He smiled as he closed the distance. 

“That is Star Captain Faith Sword, Star Commander.”  The voice hardened. “Why have you darkened my door and brought your preening bird with you?”

“I came seeking information.”

That brought a chuckle from the assembled group.  “And you came here, seeking it?”

“From my betters, from learned scholars.”  He had closed the distance and was standing within arm’s reach of the Star Captain. 

“Is that all you came for?”

“How is he?”

“You came to ask after the Phantasm, then?”

“Yes, I came to ask after him.”

“He triggered a Necrosic Storm…overdosed on Necrosia while seeking a vision.  He is still in a coma, though from what the scientists tell me, he should be out of his regenerative tank by the end of the month.”

“Is he here?”

“No, he is elsewhere.”

“Where?”

“You are cute, but not that cute.  You know where he will be and when, if you believe in the visions.” 

“I saw something in the vision, yes.”

“Consult with Annabelle, you should be able to see where this is going, if you work together.”

“I asked Harlan for help with a project for my Seeker candidacy.”

“We know, that’s why we were waiting for you.”

“You were waiting for me?”

“After you leave, we’ll set this facility back to sleep, and then return to the mission at hand.”

“What mission?”

“That’s two questions that are going to be disappointments for you, Jaxun.”

“Aff.  Did Harlan send anything for me?” 

“Where is your transport?”

“Our Dropship is at what passes for a Spaceport around here.” 

“You will want to bring it closer.  There is too much for you to carry on your own.”

“Show me, please.”

“Call your ship first.  Then we will get you out of our business.” 

Bekker’s Viper finally powered down and he was lured out of his cockpit with the promise of roasted meat and some sort of alcoholic beverage.  The rest of the point of elementals were likewise partaking of the hospitality of their as of yet unidentified hosts.  They wore no insignia of any clan on their equipment, and other than the Star Captain, none of them had identified themselves.  It was off putting to the Elementals, but Bekker seemed to have taken it in stride. 

“Faith…how have you been?”  Jaxun asked her quietly while they were waiting for the ship to arrive. 

“Busy, there are many things that had to be done.”

“What kind of things?”

“Jaxun, are you a Watch officer attempting to extract information?”

“I am sorry, I am trying to make small talk and am failing miserably at it.”

“What happened to you, boy?”  She asked him firmly 

“What do you mean?”

“I can see the physical changes the gene therapy worked on your body, but what did they to that brain of yours?”

“Explain yourself?”

“Jaxun, the last time I saw you, you were an inquisitive boy more interested in machinery than girls, which I’m sure frustrated the shit out of that Rasalhagian girl who was trying to date you at the time.  You were a capable mechwarrior, but you were not this…caricature of yourself.”

“Do you wish to settle this in a circle of equals?”  Jaxun’s eyes narrowed.

“That’s my point, Jaxun.  The old you wouldn’t have even considered a circle of equals.  This, as comforting as it seems, is not you.”

“You are correct.  It is not the person I was, but it is the person that I am now.  I will conquer the inner sphere for the glory of the Jade Falcons.” 

“You are a Crusader as well?  How quaint.”

“Are you mocking me?”

“A little, I am surprised you can notice with the swelling in your head.” 

“My honor will only tolerate so much of your behavior, Star Captain.” 

“If I have to hear about your honor one more time Jaxun Sokolov I will turn you over my knee and remind you of just how hard my hand is.”  The voice caught him off guard. 

“Amelia?”  His face changed from the scowl he had been wearing into a smile.  “Is that you?” 

“Who else would be here?”  She answered him softly.  The elemental looked down on the older woman and wrapped his arms around her. 

“Why are you here?”

“I told your mother I would meet with you.  Besides, I prefer to be near my husband while he recovers, and this is as close as most of us feel like getting.” 

“It is good to see you, aunt Amelia.”  He relaxed a little and studied her.  ‘Smalls,’ the mercenary mechwarrior that had been with his parents on Zathras.  The legendary temper that had won over one of the fiercest trueborns Jaxun had the privilege of meeting.  The woman who had taken him into her house when his parents had left to return to the clans.  She’d taught him how to talk to girls, how to drive a car, how to do a whole bunch of other things that wouldn’t ever make sense to anyone who had grown up as a freeborn clansman in the inner sphere. 

“You still have your head up your ass.” 

“Aff, I probably do.” 

“That’s better.  I hear you are enjoying your time with Annabelle.”

“How did you know that?”

“He may be old and out of the loop, but he has resources and contacts all over the place.  How was your first vision?”

“Confusing, things don’t make a lot of sense.”

“I hear that happens with Seeker aspirants, a lot.”

“Aff, Annabelle has proved very helpful.”

“And the sex is good, quiaff?”

“Aunt Amelia!”

“So the sex is not good, quiaff?”

“Neg, the sex is quite pleasing.  She is a fascinating woman.”

“I have read some of her mission reports on other quests.  She seems quite competent.” 

“How do you have access to mission reports?”

“Before he got sick, he made me pass a trial of position.  I scored three kills, and he has posted me as his executive officer.  That means while he is down I have the distinction of being one of the two highest ranking Goliath Scorpion officers in the Inner Sphere, that isn’t aboard the Dire Wolf.”

“Congratulations on the promotion.”

“I did not seek it out, but when he got sick, he left very implicit instructions on the situation and how he wanted it handled.”

“How is Vara?”

“She’s good, up and walking around now.”

“That’s great.”

“It is, I never thought I would have  a baby of my own.  It just didn’t seem like a thing.  Especially with his view on Freebirths.”

“What changed his mind?”

“You and your sister.”

“What?”

“Look, Jaxun.  He is one of the most staunch protectors of clan ideals and especially the purity of the eugenics program, but you and your sister changed his attitudes on raising children.  He saw something in the two of you that changed his mind.  It’s a hard thing to do, Jaxun, usually once his mind is made up, he does not change it.”

“That must be challenging.”

“He’s a great lay, and that helps.”  Jaxun didn’t quite know how to respond.  “You and your sister were okay with us, right?  We took care of you, didn’t we?”

“Like we were your own.  In a universe where a lot of people don’t have parents at all, I had the supreme fortune to have two moms and two dads.” 

“Well, your fathers were often little more than children themselves part of the time.”  The tear of joy rolled down her cheek.

“I know, and that meant that you and mom had a harder time keeping all of us on the straight and narrow, but you did.  We were okay kids who turned out to be good people for the situations we found ourselves in.”

“You were great kids, even if you did try to burn down my house once.”

“That was an accident.  I still got an A on the science experiment.”

“Yeah, you did.  Is the necrosia helping?”

“Helping with what?”

“He thought it might help you regain fragments of your old personality back, that you might be able to shake off the conditioning.”

“Why would he think that?”

“Talk to your sister when you get back.  You two have some things you need to sort out.”

“Truly I think we do.”

“Sir, dropship is landing.”  One of his warriors said quickly.  Their transport was inbound and would be on the ground in minutes.

“So it’s about time for you and your cuddly bear friend to get moving.”

“You know Bekker?”

“Of course, I have had to deny every seeker in the inner sphere permission to go find him and take back their book.  Repeatedly.”

“Are they that upset?”

“I figure he has about another month, two at the most, before they stop asking for permission and just go find him in a darkened alley and recover the book in question.”

“Would they?”

“They are a different bunch of cats, Jaxun.  They will come together and cleave to the orders of their galaxy commander, but it is a cult of personality, and while he is out of action, they are lost and more than a little angry.”

“Annabelle has had a vision, of the Lost Seekers.  She wants to find them and bring them home.”

“I wonder if she has considered the possibility.”

“What possibility?”

“That to most of them, they think they are home, in the Inner Sphere.  This is what so many of them have dreamt about for years, and now they are here.  Why would they want to go back?”

“Because it is right.”

“You know that I have always frowned on being a person that tells another person what to do with their life.  I thought you were too.”

“I…”

“It’s okay, Jaxun.  I know your head is still not quite in the game yet. You’ll get there.”

“thank you, Aunt Amelia.”

“You are very welcome, Jaxun Sokolov.”  The woman smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.  He returned the hug and they stood up.  “All right, get their transport loaded, we have a schedule to keep.”  She turned her attention to the other warriors who nodded.  Underground hatches opened up and he entire dome turned into a flurry of activity.  Like a hive of ants, the warriors supervised and directed dozens of laborers and technicians as they rolled out heavy transports loaded with cargo pods. 

“How many people do you have here?”  Jaxun asked her quietly.

“You asking a question, Watch officer Sokolov?”

“No, ma’am, just the question an amazed boy has when he sees one of his parents do something he never thought he would see.” 

“Keep that sense of wonder.” 

“I will try.”

“Do not come back here, by the time you get back we will have packed up and moved on.  There will be nothing here but Ice and the wind.” 

“Why not stay?”

“There are other Castle Brians in more hospitable locations.”

“this is a Castle Brian?”

“this is the very tiniest access point to one, yes.  The actual structure is embedded in the mountains, a couple of miles down.”

“Is it fully operational?”

“The ice and the wind Jaxun, the ice and the wind.” 

“Will I see you two again?”

“Maybe, there’s no way of being sure of such things, is there?”

“No, but I would like that.  I know Annabelle would like to meet her mother.”

“Excuse me?”

“Annabelle has his bloodname, and that meant that he would have been decided as the mother in their genetic mix, otherwise she could not have earned his bloodheritage.” 

“he will probably find that to be terribly funny when he wakes up.”

“Maybe, and that would be good for him to laugh.”

“Him doing a lot of things would be good for him.”

“Sir, we are fully loaded.” Bekker said quietly over the comm.  

“Also, I do not like the look I am getting from most of these Seekers.”

“Acknowledged, Bekker.”  He turned his attention back to Amelia.  

“We should go, before the storm gets worse.”

“Be safe, my boy.”  She smiled back at him.  With a nod from her the rest of the Seekers and their civilians disappeared back down the hatches.  She waved to him and descended into the darkness of that mountain.  Jaxun wanted to follow her, to hug her, to spend one more minute with her.  He could not, they did not have the time. 

“All right, get loaded on the ship, and we shall see what the Scorpions have given us.”  He wiped the tear from his cheek and suited back up in his armor.  It was going to be a long ride back to the Falcons…