While more active (I don't haunt OBT much, admittedly) on other sites, I've decided since this *is* an Battletech board... to post this here.
Enjoy, people. I recommend some 80's synth, some LSD, and as always, stay away from ROB.
With a lever big enough I can move the world
A Battletech FanFiction
By
Andrew “MageOhki†Norris.
All properties not owned by the current rightholders to Battletech(InMediaRes and Microsoft, depending on specifics) and other properties (at this time, not determined) are the property of the writer. However, given this is a derived work, no intent to profit or otherwise infringe on the IP owner’s rights are meant, and this is a work of fiction meant to entertain for free.
This is roughly based on the CYOA’s running around for Battletech such as Valles’ “
Tell the World we tried†using this version of it:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SK7JCvb3J8ytG18XZtHDsi0KGVmUOtKdy84lQ-zCdtY/edit# Without further ado, grab your neruohelment, put on the cooling vest,
put on some 80's rock, turn the reactor on
and let’s go!
***
Grab a lever and stand. If you’re reading this, you’re not meant to while I’m alive, I hope. Maybe… if not in this universe, you can, who knows? But… again, this is my own thoughts, my own way to decompress and deal with my insanity and life.
The things you learn over two lifetimes, boil down to key points.
As Star Trek pointed out, Random Omnipotent Beings appear to be assholes, but in reality, are just that. Random.
First impressions count. They stay with people. LRM fire actually is a good one.
There will always be those who seek power for its own sake, to impose their will on others because they want to. Not for the benefit of others, not for the improvement of humanity or their people, not to meet the responsibilities that power brings, but simply because they’re assholes and sociopaths. It’s scary, terrifying, dangerous and difficult to counter them. But it is oh so fun and rewarding to fuck them over.
In BattleTech, no matter where you go, you cannot outrun the past.
Also: Future of the 80’s? Fuck yourself. Hope endures.
But the biggest thing I learned? With a lever big enough, you can move worlds. Just be careful in which direction. Actions have reactions.
From the journals and notes of Kikyo Onishi, New Avalon Press, 3291 AD, as part of the “Century of Chaos: The Movers and Shakers.†series.***
Waking up should be one of three ways in my experience. Instant reaching for a weapon to defend yourself or respond to combat is the worst of them, of course. Waking up to start a new day running a normal routine is another. A third way is waking up with your significant other. Learning about a
fourth way wasn’t my idea of fun, though it wasn’t
unpleasant.
Where, on the other hand…
You’ll do. I heard muzzily.
You’ll do quite well to see what this recent spate of … CYOA is all about. I rarely remember dreams, mind you and on hearing this, I thought to myself I’d forget it. Silly me. Some things will stick with you forever. Considering I never heard that voice again to date, I wonder, I really do.
I’m giving you levers… which way will
you move the worlds, young humans? I’ll be watching… I drifted back out, feeling a flash, a sense of
difference, a view of a laughing face, then drifting back into awareness, seeing a mirror in front of me.
Looking into the mirror in this hazy, I saw a pretty Japanese face, about 18 to 24, I’d guess, with jade green eyes, dark wine red hair, staring back at me. Memories flashed behind both eyes, feelings swept though the vision. Knowledge was exchanged. A sense of sadness from the jade green eyes, into my blue-green was exchanged.
Not that I’m evil or anything, you understand… you’ll have the full lifespan you should have based on the youngest. At least from ‘natural’ causes, at least, I make no assurances your own actions will not get you killed. And they can. As one of you almost found out. Don’t do that. There’s easier ways to destroy your brains than taking stuff, you realize. However, more than the natural lifespan… you have to earn, children. And you can. Maybe. But your futures are fraught with peril… and will be even more so. You will be given a small amount of time to come to terms with what you are now, so you have a chance to settle into your lives before the peril starts. With that last line, I felt like snarking,
when weren’t they? But, before I could, I felt the world fade again into the comforting warmth of sleep.
Again, it bears repeating.
Silly me. I had a
lot to learn. Kikyo got the better deal, I think. I don’t know, I haven’t found out either way. Maybe I’ll learn when I die, and possibly meet her again.
***
Now, back to the fourth way of waking up I learned about. Being very warm, naked, sweathy, sticky and in a pile of bodies as a person is shaking your clammy shoulder, while flesh jiggles on you, is interesting when you’ve spent more than four decades not doing so. Or so you think, since part of you is saying this isn’t the first time.
“Hey, Kiki. We have visitors!†Opening my eyes at the female voice, I saw a face
similar to the one I just saw in a mirror, but softer, younger, with blue eyes and black hair. She was grinning, and part of me, part of me in this half state between awareness and sleep, recognized Aiko, my younger sister. The other part didn’t. To be honest, I felt detached, and let myself run on autopilot, not sure what was going on. And reminded, an
imperfect response
now, was much better than the perfect response
too late. “Oh?†The voice that came out was not what part of me had expected, but the other part felt it was perfectly normal. Even fuzzed with sleep, it sounded like pure molten honey pouring into the ears as well as the low Alto tones promising pleasure and delights. Part of me was pleased with the way it came out, the other part was realizing that either this was a dream, or it was time to panic. Panicking
bad, however. “Who is it, Ai?â€
Ai, or Aiko Onishi, my jumbled memories fed me, my sister shook her head. “Must have been
really fun, Sis, after you pushed me to bed. The lawyers that asked to see you today? Those people?†She grinned. “Must be important, they’re here at 9am on a
holiday, after last night?†She tilted her head. “You’re not the only one who indulges, nor your guests.†She cast a glance over the pile. “Maybe too much? You always tell me to wait, and not do things… and yet...â€
My mind supplied the response though the slight headache that I discovered as I lifted myself out of the pile. Blinking rapidly, I took a breath, as Ai grabbed my hand and finished pulling my shorter body, both from what one part of me was used to, and to her out of the pile, as she held out a silk yukata in her other hand. “Learn from experience, mine, instead of your own. It’s safer and less likely to get you in trouble.†Pausing a second, I slipped on the yukata, and headed for where I felt the bathroom and shower was.
“Yeah, yeah. But c’mon.†She said quietly, to keep the others still sleeping. “You started having
fun about my age… so did Ichigo!†Tilting her head. “Both of you are insisting I can’t. Why?â€
Blinking rapidly again at the bright light that shone in my now hurting eyes, I blindly reached for something, only to have a bottle of water shoved into my right hand, and a pill bottle shoved into my left.
“And you
really put one on. I can count of the number of hangovers you’ve had on my right hand. Though… saw some serious haze around here last night, stayed away, as you
asked me to… I can guess why.†Aiko snickered. “Anyways, I’ll tell the lawyers you’ll be a bit.â€
Chugging the water, as I watched the teenager walk out the room, her sweatshirt saying “NAIS Class of 3019†on the back, my mind was signing warning bells. Big, Loud, and insistent though the pain.
One thing most people never really truly understand, is meditation is possible under several situations, and most people
do meditation, often enough during routines. Meditation isn’t just clearing your thoughts, or ‘seeking’ enlightenment, it’s understanding yourself, processing information, and last but not least, centering yourself. If you have a routine you can do on autopilot, you can meditate. Apparently my other half agreed.
Going though the morning motions the body and the other half remembered, my mind raced. A very luxurious, but smallish high tech bathroom, with a grated shower that I was in, odd, but... I had seen stranger. Noting carefully the area around, my mind finally informed me I was on a
Princess class luxury liner/yacht. That I owned. This was just confirmation of the sweatshirt, however.
Three possibilities, I mused as I dried and combed my hair according to a routine that this body is used to, (and yes, pervs, the drapes and carpet do match, and the body is very much a match for the trained voice, not pure excessive, but shapely, toned, and firm more than handfuls.). First, this was a dream. If so, fine, go with it, and let it play out, no harm, no foul. Second: Reincarnation event. Since while I
did/do believe in reincarnation, I’ve never heard any
verifiable proof of a past life coming forward, and honestly, my karma wasn’t
that bad, was it, to end up in
3015 on New Avalon? Discount it, holding it as a secondary. Third possibility, given that strange … dream? Before waking up in the pile of flesh. A ROB event. Slang in various communities (my other half didn’t recognize it, must be my half) for where an transdentant being pops you into another universe. Fun to read, yes. But Battletech was one of the more craptastic universes to be put into. Not the worst, mind you, Cyberpunk, Shadowrun, Warhammer (any, really), some parts of Traveller, let’s not even mention most of the Pallidum games, all from the 80’s made Battletech look
good. But, that wasn’t the point. What to do,
was. Hope for one, operate as three seemed like a plan. Part of that plan would be to *integrate* the two halves. Which was already happening, I could feel. The other part, was to go see the lawyers, and pray that the term CYOA
didn’t mean what I thought it meant, otherwise…
I keep saying this, but it does bears repeating, people.
Silly me. ***
Walking through a
spaceship, was a thrill, no question. To be fair, the part of me from ‘here’, the thrill was more it was
hers. Finally. Though to be fair, she hadn’t had much space travel, except for a few movie shoots, or modeling, but that was more than my ‘other’ side had had and she was not a space virgin, nor did she think space travel was ‘a once in a lifetime’ event. Unlike a lot of people, even on New Avalon, one of the richest worlds in the Inner Sphere. It helps to be rich, doesn’t it? Or a popluar actress. Or both.
A brief discussion of Battletech’s travel wouldn’t be amiss, I suppose.
As an interstellar civilization, Battletech like most had FTL travel and easy
interplanetary travel in a sense. (More on this later.) Space and star ships could be broken down into three basic types, jumpships (the part that is FTL), dropships, and small craft. Jumpships were were pretty much the drive, reactor, batteries and a control module. And docking rings. They stayed in deep space, often 10
plus AU from the planet people wanted to get to. So, a solution for reasonable cargo and passenger shipping had to be developed, since small craft just couldn’t carry the load. Which lead to the next major ship type, and the one I was on. Dropship. Build a Jumpship with docking rings, and
big ships that could attach to them, and detach after FTL travel. Small craft carried by previous designs of jumpships rarely reached 1000 tons, while dropships that could land on a planet hit 52,000 tons. Big difference in load. And give that dropships at the least had 15 mps squared acceleration, they could get to and from the jumpship and planet in a reasonable amount of time.
And I, well, my ‘other’ half,
owned one of these massive things. My 20th century self…
Squee. My other self, while still
squee, wasn’t over the
fact of a spaceship, but of
freedom and ability to do what she wanted. Without being bound to a planet, or someone else’s ship.
When I mention my other half, I mean the half that grew up on New Avalon, acted as a child actress and model up until now, attended university at the average age for students in this universe (16, if you’re curious, same age to enlist, same age of marriage, same age of several things.), studied
thermonuclear engineering, and several other things! Not the half that grew up in the 20th century of Terra, fought in a war, gotten a PhD in history, and worked for a government. She
had very specific views on how one should dress, even for meeting sharks who’ll try to rip your arms off and eat them.
Which leads to the clicking of tall heels on a spaceship, without gravity unless under thrust, a short black pencil skirt, a low cut white silk blouse and a tasteful black blazer. As well as subtle makeup to enhance what nature had given,
Generally you want to look your best for lawyers who’ve asked to see you on your 20th birthday, and have insisted on
coming to you. Even
if it’s one of the universal holidays all of Humanity practices and takes off work from. Most atypical of the amoral creatures. When they’re not yours, it means one of three things. You have money they’re going to take, and lots of it. You have money they want to keep or gain control of, and you’re the ticket to do so. Last, but not least, they’ve been
paid a lot of money. That apparently hasn't changed in 1000 years. Good to know.
Three lawyers, two male, one female rose as I entered the stateroom that Aiko had put them in, and she had thoughtfully seen to their needs, as well as making sure a carafe of coffee was waiting for me. Aiko and I, well local me, had had too much experience with Lawyers, me more than her, but in the last 4 years,
way too much experience.
Generally, it could be put into three parts. Lawyers telling local me, I couldn’t have what was mine by earnings, Lawyers telling me to sign contracts for work or endorsements, or lawyers delivering threatening statements, or hints that cooperation in certain issues would be
appreciated. Even if I had set the situations up, or encouraged them. Or profited by them.
My memories from local me, made it quite clear, I was
very materialistic, and didn’t let little things like laws or general ethics get in the way. Morals? Bit different, I was thankful to say. Apparently the pleasure and love I felt when I looked at Aiko was very much a part of local me, as well as caring and affection for her friends and other family. But… there were downsides. It made enemies, it made waves, and I wasn’t apparently the best at long term thinking.
“Miss. Kikyo Onishi?†The elder male of the pair spoke. “Daughter of Kiko Onishi of Ozawa, and per Lyran law, recognized child of Graf New Osaka?â€
Yes, my name is Kikyo Onishi, apparently here and now. But, Brief discussion here. Lyran law, aka Lyran Commonwealth, one of the big five realms of the Inner Sphere of Battletech, has
two states for children. Bastardy isn’t *formally* recognized, but for a parent to recognize a child, he or she has to sign the birth document, with witnesses. It’s not even a social stigma to have a bastard or two, either as mother or father, though at the highest levels, the nobility and very wealthy, married parents are preferred, after all.
However, there
is social stigma surrounding bastards. Not taking care of them. So, the Lyrans, being the Lyrans, regulated it. There’s two formal levels of parenthood. First is where you claim them as your son or daughter, second where they are a ‘recognized child.’ This is a lesser state where you don’t have any claim on their title or the majority of their estate,
unless you’re the only child the noble or ultra rich in question. It doesn’t stop them from leaving you large shares, however. It does however put them on the hook both legally and morally for child support. Yes, by 20th century standards, I was a bastard of Graf New Osaka’s. And he honored his responsibilities, at least financially. But, back to the lawyers who were waiting for me to sit down.
I nodded in response, and sat down, after pouring myself a cup of coffee, cut with fresh cream and a teaspoon of sugar. Apparently local me didn’t understand the joys of black coffee.
Crossing my legs, I put the saucer and cup on my knee. “You were most insistent on seeing me this day, but wouldn’t say why? Mr...†I trailed off “And before we actually handle the affairs that brought you here, my solicitor, a Miss. Darwin will be arriving shortly.â€
“Ah, I am Lewis Corn, Barrister, and senior partner of Corn and Urkle Legal Affairs.†I blinked once at the statement, wasn’t the one that faced off most often with Lannesh and Zeem, my law firm, the one Miss. Darwin worked for, officially, though my affairs effectively handled most of her time and also my… ah, clients? I mentally shook my head, and focused back on Mr. Corn as he leaned forward. “It’s not a bad thing, I don’t think. We are here to represent Graf New Osaka’s estate, and finalize his last wishes involving you.†I blinked. I had known that my father in the here and now died, but since I had never met him, my other self had not felt any real sadness at his passing. A bit of curiosity at what’d happen to his estate, but, in reality, any legal obligation he had had towards me ended today, under Lyran law.
“I see. Shall we wait for Miss...†I was interrupted by the door sliding open and a pair of heels clicking. Turning around I studied the severely dressed woman who walked in. Blonde hair, kept in a tight bun, professional black suit and white blouse, sheer hose, and 3†heels made for a striking sight on a 5’11†woman. In her left hand was a briefcase.
“Gentlemen.†Her tone was frosty, as noted above, the two firms were both elite, and often faced off in court. “Why are we here.†She laid down her briefcase and opened it up.
“As I told your client, we’re here finalizing Graf New Osaka’s estate.†Mr. Corn spoke up, slightly testily. “I’m sure you can handle such a simple matter as advising your client of how to accept a final bequest.â€
I carefully kept my face blank, as the two lawyers glared at each other. Finally, Ryanne, Miss. Darwin, spoke up, amusedly. “Couldn’t handle losing the Stone accounts to us, could you?â€
The woman with Mr. Corn put her hand on his shoulder before he could fire back. Gathering himself for a moment, he nodded once. “We’re here to see to the estate, and we are only paid so much. So, let’s be about it.â€
His assistant, the woman brought out a holoprojector, and put it on the table. Clicking a button, it started displaying a older male, who was clearly emaciated and missing most of his hair.
“Daughter.†*coff, coff* “When you get this, I’ll be dead, not a question. My last great adventure will start shortly.†A hacking cough sprayed a fine mist of blood outside the hologram. “And this is because my last adventure here killed me. Or maybe LOKI. If LOKI gets me before the polonium I managed to ingest, along with far too many of my people as we explored a area. Either way. If it is LOKI, do please try to kill a few of them for me, those maniacs.†I blinked, and shuddered. Polonium poisoning was not a way to go. If LOKI did kill him, I might thank them. And exactly *why* would LOKI, the fanatical special forces of the Lyran Commonwealth kill my biological father.
A coughing fit again brought my attention to the display. “I have sent a box containing some information to Corn and Urkle for delivery to you on your birthday, your inheritance, and my remaining people who were sworn to me, plus arranged for new hires to New Avalon, to arrive on your birthday, or as close to it as I could arrange. I do not trust my younger son to care for them properly, nor is my heiress, your niece capable of handling and caring for them. She’s a bit too young.†a wheezing sound issued from the speakers, and a long pause as he seemed to gather himself for a few final words. “Do read the messages in the sealed box, and while I question your judgement and some of your actions over the last few years, I do think you’ve done a admirable job of trying to meet what you see as your responsibilities, and that does make me proud. I know I’ve never said it to you, and this is my last chance. I love you daughter. Shake the world as you can.â€
The message ended, with an incredibly secure lockbox slid over from the younger male of the trio of lawyers across from me. “This requires a sample of your blood to unlock, and we have verifigraphed proof of it’s security.†A folder was slid over and Ryanne took it, reading though the papers, then nodding.
“Your liquid assets that he wished you to have are already in an account with UBS, accounts information and amounts are in the file.†The woman spoke. Black haired, sharp features and black eyes created the impression of a computer behind her eyes. “Your actual physical inheritance, besides what is in the lock box, and is also listed in the file, will land at this drop port at 1200 hours tomorrow.†She finished and looked at her superior, Mr. Corn. He nodded, removing a piece of paper. “This is proof that we have delivered the folder, the box and the proof of transfer for the physical assets that are arriving. After you sign, we have no further business.†Before you receive the paper, Ryanne studies it, nods one.
“I note, that there is mention that the personnel assigned to the delivery as well as those mentioned as hire ons have been paid for two months. Is this accurate?†Ryanne raises an eyebrow.
“It is. May you have your client sign, it is a simple receipt.†Mr. Corn apparently is not flustered by Ryanne’s actions and quiet provocations over their abilities to be accurate.
“It’s fine to sign, Kikyo.†Ryanne pauses. “From all the files I just scanned, it’s clear they’re just delivery boys, so it seems to be their speed.†All three of the other laweyrs shifted a bit at that, but said nothing. Ryanne passes me the receipt and a pen, which I use to sign, and pass back to Mr. Corn.
“Thank you.†He stands, followed by his two assoicates. “When you find Miss. Darwin and her firm unsuited to your needs, we would be pleased if you, like your father chose to take proffer of our services.†He nods once, and starts walking out.
“Oh, I doubt she’ll come to you.†Ryanne shoots back. “I’ve had no problems managing her affairs.â€
Mr. Corn stops, turns and looks at her. “And the gutter rag reporting wasn’t stopped by you? As I said, Miss. Onishi,
when you find.†He strides out before Ryanne could respond.
Ryanne blew out a breath as the door closed behind the lawyers escorted by Aiko, who had waited. “Those assholes. They couldn’t have done shit about the paparazzi, and you know it, they’d have been blindsided, we weren’t. And we’re taking steps to mitigate the situation, though it’d
help, dear,
if you could behave for a while. Or be willing to at least quietly name some names.†Pausing a moment, raising a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, she sighed after the moment of silence. “Didn’t expect so, not right now. As to the inheritance… I know Lyrans are maniacal about accumulating wealth, but this is
insane.â€
“Oh?†I honestly didn’t think it’d be much. My memories were that while the Graf did not
stint, he wasn’t overly
generous, ethier. He left that for his mother and father, and their gifts to me.
“882
million cbills in several accounts at UBS,
six Jumpships, one of which is a
Monolith, of all things, hell, it might be the
only privately owned one in existence!
Seventy dropships, 52 of which are
combat dropships. I’m pretty sure there’s
interstellar nations that don’t own that many, and I don’t mean one or a half dozen world policies, I mean the
Outworlds Alliance!â€
She paused, clearly rattled. Having regained some balance, she went on. “That isn’t it, oh, no. Nearly 200 battlemechs, over 100 aerospace fighters, over
five hundred armored fighting vehicles or
infantry fighting vehicles…†She paused. “Quick math shows you could likely form two
Star League combined arms brigades, just about,
or a full
RCT1, with leftovers. More than enough military hardware to
conquer a planet!†She shook her head. “My advice, sell most of it and move on. Keep a jumpship or two, a few dropships, but the majority? Only thing it’d be good for is either bribing your way into the AFFS, or being a merc.â€
Part of me nodded at that, that was a truth. The other part remembered something. “Father stated he had people he wanted me to look after, not just the new hire ons. How many?â€
Flipping though the file, she stopped at one page, scanning down. “Counting ship crews, it looks to be about 2200 people. Give or take.†She paused, checking something else, and nodding once. “Add in the new hires, and you’re looking at north of 3100 people. Mostly ship crews, but a fair number of technicians of military nature, and combat personnel.â€
I thought about it for a moment. “Do try to explore possible buyers, focusing on Davion interests, don’t want to have onii-sama shot by my stuff, after all, but don’t make any firm commitments. I need to think on this, and meet the people involved.â€
“Your choice. It’ll do well to lessen some issues, if you’ve provided at fair rates an RCT’s worth of heavy combat equipment, at least to the AFFS, and they have pull. They could make a
lot of problems go away, Kiki.†Ryanne sighed. “While we
both know, your providing your friends and classmates ways to make money via those with money, wasn’t illegal, nor your activities with our firm, I’m quite aware that we have kept a
criminal lawyer for your people ready if needs be. And I’ve been
careful not to ask is there anything you’ve done, or people working for you have done that’d require such. I don’t want to know the answer, but with what we’ve been hearing from Avalon City Police… I can guess.â€
I thought to myself that I
really needed to spend some time sorting through my memories of here, to find out
exactly what was going on. This did
not sound good. “And I’ll be sure not to tell you unless I have to. And I understand.â€
“Look. You need to think about this.†Ryanne leaned forward to look me in the eyes. “Even if you can skate criminally, and get all your friends out, it’ll hurt, and cost money to fix your reputation. It’ll also hurt you with the nobility and those who
finance your films, though I’ll admit, with all your other assets, and what you just received, that’s not a problem.†She paused. “But even then, the powers that be,
can shitcan the films, and your other projects. You don’t want that. Or so you told me.†Her pleading voice sunk in. “And I doubt you
really understand what’s involved in running a
mercenary command. Not a good idea, Kiki, not with your age, nor experience. If you
really feel the need to take care of your
absentee father’s people, set them up, find them new units, if that’s their wish, hire them on in your other ventures of a
legal nature if not. There’s options, and you’re looking at well towards, maybe over
10 billion Cbills, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want or aren’t qualified to do.â€
I paused for a moment. She was passionate about this, but… “As I said, Ryanne.†I nodded once. “Let me think on it. I can see some edges in
having a unit of mercenaries at my disposal. I also understand how bad a idea for me this would be.†I paused for a second, mind whirring. Not
quite true, but a lie wouldn’t
hurt, would it? “But… and I understand your point about my father… they’re now
my people.â€
Ryanne sighed. “As expected. At least
think about what I said, Kiki? I need to get back to the firm to finish up some paperwork on all your assets being finally returned to your full control, plus now, adding
this, to it.†She shook her head. “Tomorrow, when you inspect the cargo and ships, I need a
full list of what they are. Full.†She stood and raised an eyebrow. “I do agree with at least
thinking, now. At times, I wonder if you
really think about the long term or even
medium term effects of your actions!â€
I blushed slightly, but nodded at her.
“Good.†With that, Ryanne walked out. “Be well and
stay out of sight, Kiki. We don’t need, nor want the press to badger you. At all.â€
“... yes.†I answered. “I’ll stay here til tomorrow.â€
The door closed behind Ryanne after I stated the above. Intentionally. So I didn’t have to listen to her reply.
***
As I went to what my mind had labeled ‘my stateroom’, it was empty. Apparently the room I had woken up in was something called a
playroom. I could guess.
“Hey,
onee-sama.†Aiko stopped me before I could enter, and continued in Japanese. <â€Your guests are gone, both the lawyers and those who partied with you last night. Why were they here, and why was Ryanne here?â€>
I paused, and thought about what to say. “I’ll tell you later, but it was about my absentee father. He’s dead, and he left me some things.†I carefully slanted it to seem minor.
“Uh-huh.†Aiko leaned against a bulkhead, arms crossed. “Lawyers
don’t come on New Year’s
day, just to deliver bequests of a minor nature. Try again.â€
Aiko was
not stupid, just young, my mind supplied, not that I needed further proof of that. Looking her in the eye, I finally responded. “As I said, I’ll tell you
later. I need to think on it.â€
A tilt of the head was my response, for a long minute of time. Finally Aiko sighed. “Must be some heavy stuff. You gloated about getting
Xanadu the moment you got the title.†I nodded at that.
Xanadu was the name of the
Princess we were in. A gift from a fan, Duchess Numeror, she who was the first to have a tame Numeror Wolf… called Fluffy, of all things,
Xanadu had been found in a valley on some world she didn’t mention, semi crashed from the early 1st Succession War. The Duchess had the damage repaired, and all systems restored, then realized she didn’t
want the dropship. So.. give it to her favorite young actress. At least she was talked out of sending one of Fluffy’s cubs with
Xanadu. “It is.†I paused. “It means… lots of things. Father
didn’t just leave me money, stocks, bonds, even physical assets. He left me
people.â€
Aiko facepalmed. “And you’re already thinking on how to put them into your little network and keep them, take care of them, see to them. Because that’s how you are.†She shook her head. “I’ll let you think on this, but Sis? These aren’t
your people. You owe Graf New Osaka
nothing. If Mom wasn’t the way she was, she’d have been alive, and we’d have shared the same father. But no… you’re striving to be
just like her.That got her in a bad place and
killed.†Aiko paused for a moment. “No, no, you’re not striving to be her, you’re striving to
surpass her. Not only that, but you
keep taking on responsibilities, that
aren’t yours. Doing
whatever it takes, to your mind to
meet those. And damm what it costs or
could cost you.
†Aiko’s eyes glittered. “If you don’t slow down and
think about things, and
not take everything on, you’ll
kill yourself.†She pushed off the Bulkhead, and stormed past me.
I honestly didn’t know what to say about that. I
really needed to meditate and work my way through the memories that I had from Kikyo. I hoped she was working through
my memories, but, I had no idea. Putting that thought to action, I went into the stateroom, and locked the door behind me. Folding into Seiza, I closed my eyes, and put myself into a position to figure out
exactly what was going on. I had a feeling that it was
worse than I feared.
Now, at least this time, I
wasn’t being silly. Yay, me. Improvement! Even if I wanted to be silly.
***
To understand where I found myself, a brief, well, not so brief story has to be told for those who don’t know where I was. At this point, and this location, as far as I could guess, I was in what my 20th century self would call a
Battletech universe. Renamed from the FASA game Battledroids,
Battletech could and should be considered the Stompy Robot TableTop game, which spawned several video games, role playing games, novels, and lots more. FASA pretty much wrote a game to have 10+
meter (30 feet or better for those using Imperial) tall robots piloted by ‘Mechwarriors’ (From the fact in universe said robots are called Battlemechs), shooting the everloving shit out of each other. The setting was to
justify this combat.
Therefore, Battletech is a crapsack world (it doesn’t sell product if it’s all sweetness and light, eh?). Not the worst, not by far, but on a scale of 1 (Meh, you have a *high* chance as a player character to live out your life and do well, ala Traveller/MegaTraveller) to 10 (Ohgods, we is all gonna die… and
not leave a good looking corpse, and nothing will change! Hi, Warhammer 40k) Battletech by the time I entered it had
over 30 years of in universe lore, development and rules. The Setting was a solid 6 to 7 on the Crapsack scale. To be fair, this was due to
all the lore, and there were periods of to in universe characters, the crapsack scale barely rated a 2. A Brief history is really needed to understand the time I’m in, so I’m summarizing for quick comprension.
Late 20th century, wars happen. Earth unifies. 2108 AD, first Interstellar travel. Late 23rd century, Terran colonies both revolt and are abandoned by the one species (Human) government. Shortly afterwards, Terra replaces that government with a new one, as the abandoned colonies form their own interstellar governments. Wars happen. Bigger and Bigger states form. Until mid 25th Century, the
Battlemech is developed.
Due to its weight to firepower to
crew ratio, and its ability to fight somewhat on almost *all* terrains, it becomes the premier combat asset to take and
hold planets. During all this lead up, Humanity in effect *reverts* back (some would say never left) to in primus, a feudalistic society to greater and lesser extent, given the limitations of the star drive and the stresses of colonization. (It doesn’t help that until the 27th century, there *is* no FTL communications in widespread use.). Everyone besides the Terran Hegemony (the Terran successor government,
and the first users of Battlemechs) gets Battlemechs, and the bleat goes on. Flash to the end of the 26th Century, Ian Cameron, “Director-General†of the Terran Hegemony has managed to sucker (my view) the 5 states surrounding the Hegemony into a superstate, where he is (and his heirs) are first among ‘equals’ (again, my view).
This isn’t working out too well, so he decides to bring the last free states (who told him either politely or
politely, looking at
you, Tarus, to bugger off.) to heel. 25 years later, with a death toll to *equal* barely the totals from all the wars before, The Star League rules over 99% of humanity. But the ones who told him to bugger off *don’t* get even the ‘lesser’ say that the 5 states (called Great Houses now, since they are comprised of a ruling house over several
hundred established worlds) get. These states who aren’t great houses are called the Periphery, and are on the Periphery of what’s now called the “Inner Sphereâ€, This, of course leads to their exploitation and resentment.
Okay, it’s now the 28th Century, towards the end of the Century. 3 of the 4 major Periphery states are *tired* of being bitchslapped around by the Star league and their pockets ran though for any and all loose change. So’s the 4th, but
their ruling house has a *plan!* He sets up the other three to revolt, while he’s schmoozing up to the last heir of Ian Cameron, who’s a minor, orphan, and pretty much left alone by anyone else with morals, ethics, or power. Yeah, you can see where this is going. As Kerensky, the official regent while Richard Cameron was underage, and the Commanding General of the Star League defense forces, finished squishing Amaris’ covert rebellions, he however had to use almost
all the SLDF, and Amaris was able to convince Richard to let Amaris’ troops be his guards. Yeah, we all can predict where this is going.
Anyways, 10 years later, Kerensky shoots Amaris, destroys his nation, then tells the Great House lords, “Sod you all for a game of Soldiers†and (again, my point of view) deserts the Star League, and the Succession Wars begin. The 1st and 2nd are total war, and pretty much blast each other a good 400 years downward in technology and even more so in industrial capability. Too
many worlds die during this period, too. And
not marginal or only habitable due to ultra high tech, either.
By the time I was at, the waning years of the 3rd succession wars, battles were very small affairs, and more along the lines of raiding more than missions of conquest, since
transporting troops to take worlds was difficult, and required
effort. Jumpships, the FTL spaceships are down to
maybe a tenth of what they were before the wars, and if the Inner Sphere could add 10 a year to the fleets, it was a
good year. So, the Star League was regarded as the “Shining city on the hillâ€, and wars were fought nominally over who’d rule. Not that all the Star League was
gone, it had one known surviving element. The Ministry of Communications, renamed Comstar. More on
them later.
This is why nearly 200 Battlemechs as an
inheritance was mind boggling. Battles to
conquer worlds very rarely had more engaging. That was about a
third of the ‘Mechs produced in one year, in the fallen times. Not to mention
six Jumpships, one of which
maybe 200 of them still remained. This
does put a big target on your back.
Having meditated on the memories and everything else, I found myself and the ‘previous’ memories
integrating, creating what could be called, Kikyo-me merge, or Kikyo-me for short. What I found, was a 20 year old woman, who had problems with impulse control, mild case of disinhibition, stubborn as all hell, dedicated to those she
called hers, and working on being a cross between Lindsay Lohan and Heidi Fleiss at the same time.
This was a
bit of a shock to a 45 year old combat veteran of a republican nation, who was while not
straight laced, fairly ‘tame’ by any reasonable standard. Kikyo was not, and she had a bad habit of
not thinking things though, not thinking of consequences at all.
The situation Kikyo had left her new self meant that at very best, I was viewed… not in the best light with my home nation’s government or nobility, and my father, another state’s noble, due to putting the functional equivalent of nearly 3
percent of their Battlemechs into my hands, instead of his
Leige’s… well, his own government likely wouldn’t be too thrilled with me.
This is
why I wasn’t being silly when I thought it was worse than I knew. Those two governments above, were arguably lead by the two
most moral and ethical leaders, and the states themselves were, for the period, out of the Great Houses, decent places to live both for rights, and actual opportunities to be had. And here I was, considered at best, an greedy and amoral Lindsay Lohan, or someone who was a traitor’s daughter. Yeah. I actually asked myself. “How could it get worse?â€
Trust me, I
know I asked for it
, and, yes, I got it. Good and
hard. ***
After that session, I decided that I needed another shower, to unknotify my legs, in the dropship’s sinfully appointed bathroom. Fusion power meant unlimited hot water, considering that I was planetside, and the nozzles were perfectly located to massage every bit of my body.
While relaxing, I was considering what I needed to do. The big one was find out
what version of the
Battletech universe I was in. That meant checking for a nation that didn’t exist in the ‘main’ setting, to cover one video game, checking some facts out to cover fan fiction versions I didn’t know about, praying a singing battleship didn’t exist or had existed.
Looking for some people, here, Alpheratz, Terra, there, and everywhere would be part of it, lucky me, I just needed to
spend money, and since I had nearly a
billion of the local interstellar currency, which equated to
ten billion at least of the currency I was used to, that was
easy. Some alternate realities of the Battletech franchise wouldn’t have their divergence points obvious yet, nor the key figures. Some would. Also would need to dig to see if any
other large windfalls had been delivered… Oh, and if a bastard Calderon by the name of Jack existed.
He wasn’t the only one on the find list with a vengeance, to be fair, but I doubted he was in existence. Or that I could find him. Some of those I’d personally kill, without question
were mainline characters, who just needed to die. Let’s not mention looting a few sites where I knew LosTech (lost technology) was. Helm was *number one* of course.
Before I could ponder more, Aiko stuck her head into the shower, eating a mouthful of water. After coughing for a few moments, as I turned the water off and grabbed a towel, she guled air down.
“Kiki.†Pausing to make sure she wasn’t going to cough again, she continued. “Ichigo’s here! He’s back. And…†She looked a bit unsure of herself, but plowed on. “And he doesn’t look happy, not at all.â€
Drying off, and putting my wet hair into a towel that I wound on my head, I pondered this event, as Aiko waited. Ichigo had joined the military of our birth nation, the Federated Suns, ruled by one of the Five Great Houses, House Davion. The Armed Forces of the Federated Suns, AFFS for short, served the realm quite well over the last 150 years, though before that, their record was much more muddled. Ichigo being a honor graduate of one of the three premier military academies, was able to pick his assignment, and qualified on loyalty not just to the Suns, but to House Davion, get it.
The Davion Brigade of Guards, aka House Davion’s personal household troops, was what he picked. Not only for the most loyal to House Davion, they also had to be the best that the Federated Suns had. Quite a feather in his cap, to get in straight from an academy. For the first two years, he had served with the Light Guards, one of their subunits, fighting.
Since his first two year tour, and until now, he had been with the Heavy Guards, Hanse Davion’s, the current incarnation of House Davion, and the ruler of the Federated Suns, favorite unit. I had known he’d be back from the frontlines of the 3rd Succession war soon, just didn’t realize it was today.
“I see.†I paused, grabbing a robe and slipping on the sinfully soft terry cloth, I belted it, and nodded at Aiko. “I don’t think we should keep him waiting, then.â€
Aiko nodded, and lead the way. Shortly, we were in the area where he was waiting;
Xanadu’s park deck, a carefully constructed luxury for a dropship. A veritable garden of exotic flowers and plants to enjoy during travels. It wasn’t total luxury, after all, they did play a function in air recycling, but the
Princess class was the only ship class period, to have one as stock. All others started with relying on air scrubbers or other mechanical methods to clean their air.
Hearing the thump of Aiko’s sneakers, a strawberry blond haired, tall man, dressed in a orangish flight suit with leather jacket on, and a ballcap held in his hands turned around from the viewport. His sharp jaw clenched slightly on seeing me, but relaxed, with a resigned twinkle as he took in his two younger sisters.
“Right. Congratulations on getting into NAIS, Aiko.†He smiled naturally at our younger Sister. “And congratulations on graduating, Kikyo.†He paused at our nods. “Sorry I couldn’t be there, but…â€
“We know.†Aiko shot me a look. “The demands of the war. Your gifts were nice, though!â€
“I tried. And Aiko? I suggest you go to bed, it is 2 am.†He looked stern at the youngest.
Aiko opened her mouth to protest… but caught the hidden message, and shook her head. “No, brother. Not this time. I’m pretty sure you two will need a referee to keep from wrecking the deck.â€
“We’re not
that bad.†I protested before Ichigo could open his mouth. Aiko just
looked at the two of us.
Strawberry blond hair tilted in it’s buzz cut. Eyes narrowed, and Ichigo sighed. “Fine, you’re old enough to fight, old enough to at least listen to this.†Turning back to the older of the two young women. “Explain.†Crossing his arms, he leaned back against a bracer. “I’m
really curious to know what you’ve been up to enough to get the
commander of the Heavy guards
personally cutting my orders for a leave.â€
I tiled my head, my jade green eyes boring into his amber eyes, conveying my irritation at the way he was approaching this. “Are you sure you
really want to know?â€
“Yes.â€
I shrugged. “You remember how a new trustee was assigned to watch over my assets, correct?â€
Ichigo tilted his head. “As well as Aiko’s, yes.†He paused. “As I was shipping out to the Light Guards, I couldn’t do it, so…â€
I nodded. “Said trustee in essence… ah...
extremely limited funds.†I spread my hands. “No extra funding for Aiko’s tutors, no extra funding to maintain the lifestyle we had been living, and every penny she made sure was accounted for, and put any earnings from my acting or residuals into the funds. And yes, I tried to convince her otherwise.â€
“Okay. I see that.†Ichigo thought for a moment. “You could have contacted me, and I could have gotten Family support involved to find a guardian a bit less… tight.â€
I blinked. Flipping though my memories, the only real response was… “My responsibility, I
told you I’d take care of Aiko and home, while you were fighting so you didn’t have to worry about us…†I paused. “Family support could have done that?â€
“Pretty sure, one of my wing had a issue come up, and Family support got a guardian assigned to his son long enough to get the kid to where we were garrisoned…†Ichigo shrugged. “Getting a new guardian assigned would be fairly tame I’d figure.â€
I tilted my head and acted innocent. “Well, I wasn’t told that… so I did a bit of… ah, trading.â€
Ichigo’s eyes narrow. “Trading
what, sister mine? I’m getting the
distinct impression that you chose to get the money you thought you needed in ways that aren’t the most ethical.†He paused and nodded once. “Given everything, you chose to pick
up mother’s profession, just targeting those who
financed your films, I suspect, and you
got caught.â€
Aiko winced, but I bullied on, not impressed with his growing anger. “It’s not
illegal. And well, if they were going to…â€
Taking a deep breath, he finally held up a hand. “I’m not going to debate the legalities of it. Nor the ethics, nor what it could do to
all our situations, politically. That’s an argument for later.†He nodded once. “Now, to be
really honest, that’s not enough for the Marshal to call me in personally. All of it.
Now.†The last line came out hammered and preise, brooking no disobedience.
“Well, some of my classmates and friends were feeling even more ah.. Pinched…†I trailed off, not wanting to admit exactly what I did.
“Procurement.†That came out flat and hammered. Before he could continue, or I threw a nasty comment at him, Aiko interrupted.
“Let’s not forget throwing parties, with party favors, or getting nobles and the very rich stuff they shouldn’t be getting, such as those party favors or items that are on a heavy tariff or restricted list.â€
I shot Aiko a betrayed look, only to have my head snap back to Ichigo.
“
What.†He responded in a strangled tone, pushing himself off the brace. “
Drugs and illegal goods trafficking?â€
“Ah…†I thought how to explain this, derailed from being irritated with him. “Not…
quite.â€
“Not
quite?†Running his hand through his hair, he took a deep breath. “Exactly
what do you mean by
quite? And
did you get caught?â€
I hurried on. “Well, the nobles just wanted this or that, I made a few connections and delivered on both sides, not an actual ah… organization to do so. Or directly selling. And all my friends were of age, so.
Not illegal!†I paused, nodded once. “And no, I didn’t get arrested or even brought in for questioning!â€
“Uh-huh.†Ichigo took a step forward, then gathered himself. “But
that is something that would attract the attention of an AFFS senior officer, and have him send an junior officer to
squish.†Rubbing his chin for a moment, he nodded once. “Which means, the police
don’t have enough to act on, or all things being considered, want to handle it
very quietly. Which
we are going to do.â€
“Uh…†I stopped. I had no idea what Ichigo was referring to, how to handle the situation. Finally, I looked at him. “That’s not including what my biological father sent or is sending as an inheritance.â€
“What?†Ichigo looked derailed for a second, and shook himself. “You mean
there is more reasons for the
senior staff to have their eyes laser focused on
you?†He paused, clearly restraining his temper. “You realize that Aiko’s
attending NAIS can be hammered flat
by them at will? And if they feel she’s a security risk, and they
would, given just the above, they
will?
†I paused. No, I
hadn’t realized that, nor even really thought about it. Nor what it’d do to Ichigo's clearances. Before I could open my mouth, Ichigo just raised a hand.
“Don’t bother. I can tell you didn’t.†He just shook his head. “Just like when younger, you thought several roles would be
fun, not caring that they might get you type casted, or actually turn off your fans who
pay to see you. You’re worse than I am about long term thinking! And that
says something, since I’m not a poster child for restraint!†Ichigo muttered under his breath the last. Taking a deep breath. “Now, what the
hell did Graf New Osaka
leave you that Aiko thinks would have the AFFS’s attention?â€
I paused, nodded once, pulling out a folder I had hidden in my robe. “Here’s a copy of the list.â€
He took it and muttered a bit, at several lines, then paused a long moment, and a strangled voice came out. “A
Monolith?†Shaking loose from the shock, he continued on. Finally, after several long moments, he passed it to Aiko who had her hand out impatiently.
Silence went though as Aiko scanned. She stopped, blinked, continued on, and finally snapped the folder shut. “... My question is *what* are the dropships, the battlemechs and all that. The details were somewhat sparse on that. Does the box you got include that information?â€
“Good question.†Amber eyes locked into mine. “And yes, I
really understand why I was pushed here asap. So, what are they?
If the box Aiko’s referring to, tells you.â€
I tilted my head and sheepishly admitted. “Ah.. would you believe I haven’t looked?â€
“ARGGGGHHH!†Ichigo threw his hands up. “
Seriously? That’s …†He paused, tilting his head for a minute, then letting his chin hit his chest. “So
us. You still have a battlemech in the holds you haven’t even
turned on.â€
I couldn’t have a comeback, since we
all had a habit of ripping open gifts the moment they were in our hands, but putting them aside once we saw what they were, to play with other things, if they weren’t part of our interests or desires at the time. And since I knew it was a message from my dead father, I didn’t think about if it was time critical or a more detailed listing, since exactly what the items were might be something national governments would be
intensely interested in. Putting a Battlemech, a war machine of considerable power aside, was par for the course, I was an actress, not a Mechwarrior, though I had learned the basics for roles.
Taking a long, deep breath, Ichigo pointed at Aiko. “Fetch box. Bring box.
Now.â€
Aiko scurried to obey, as Ichigo
glared at me. Finally he relented, and admitted. “Upside, we
can get your stunts squished, fairly easily. AFFS pays well for equipment. Even basic stuff. Sell some without major hassle or greed, and as a condition, squish this, with a
promise…†He trailed off, nodding once. “
Not to do more of what has their attention, maybe give some names, and it’ll all blow over, and your career is fine.†Blowing a deep breath, he nods once. “Bad, but fixable, thankfully.â€
I wanted to shoot back about ratting people out, but Aiko came in with the box. “Here!â€
Ichigo studied the box for a second, then gestured at me. “Open it.†Ichigo rarely took control of any situation we were all in, mostly due to .. well. Nuff said, my memories indicated he was used to being the only male in a household of women who had iron whims all the time. The AFFS was
good for him, in letting him build up a backbone to corral us.
I put my thumb against the spot and felt a sting. The box popped open and revealed a rack of datachips, a small holographic projector and a datareader. On top of this was a written note. Simple, sweet and to the point. “Play the holomessage first.â€
Ichigo raised an eyebrow. I sighed, and took the three items out, putting the chips and datareader aside. Putting the projector on a ledge, I hit it’s play button since it was a portable one.
A holograph came out, clearer and neater than most that I was used to. In it, my father, looking better than the previous message appeared.
“Daughter. I don’t have much time, and much to do, so I will keep this short and sweet. These chips in this box have a detailed listing of your inheritance, the first two chips listing the equipment, its’ state, and basic technical details, the 3rd through 6th listing the personnel I dearly wish you would care for, or at least see them properly settled, the 7th is exact spatial coordinates for the location of a Star League temporary naval support station, as well as a map on how to *get* there from Terra, with some options for other locations. The 8th and final chip is my best guess on what it is. I verified that it
exists, but that’s all. And before I could move to collect it, well. My message you’ll receive with the lawyers will make it obvious.â€
He paused, and nodded once. “I’ve followed your life, even after Miho died, and what I’ve left you will either allow you to do whatever you want, conquer a planet outside the Great Houses, live a live of total luxury with as many boytoys as any girl could want, film the invasion of Terra, whatever. I was
not surprised you are getting into trouble, after all you are my and your mother’s daughter. It would be more of a surprise if you
didn’t. And you did, in a way that both disappoints me, and doesn’t surprise me. The casting couch is alive and well, and you’d not be the first Lyran girl to directly monetized it.†Ichigo
just facepalms. “This will help you
get out of it.â€
He coughed once, a racking sound, then took several deep breaths. “Right. My
final and likely only advice to you. Trust but
verify everyone. Even your older brother via Miho, or the people I am sending to you. Don’t fully trust without
severe verification any House Lord.
Do not trust Comstar. I cannot repeat that enough, daughter. Do not. And make sure your little sister
doesn’t do too well in NAIS, or she takes a non science field. Or doesn’t go into research. And if she does, she
stays inside Davion’s guards. With what I have left you… no matter what, if you parley it right, a planet, a
whole planet can be yours. I would
not deal with the Coordinator, putting aside all hate, simply because you are a woman, and well.†His shrug is speaking.
“Janos… no, but it’s more because I don’t think he’s at all trustworthy. Liao? Please.†He nods. “Given all things, you’ll not have a easy time with the last two, but they’re at least honorable and pragmatic… if you remember that they
take their duties seriously into account. But, you’re going to have to deal with them. Not me. And I didn’t help at all here. Good luck, and I hope you’ll do your name and your blood
proud.†The holograph turns off and a chip appears, to be pulled out at will.
Ichigo tilts his head, picking up the reader and the first two chips. “Let me scan this really quick, I’m
far more up to date than you are on military stuff, dear little sister who only
plays a mechwarrior on screen.â€
I looked at him, sourly. “At least
I know how to
drive one, brother-mine, unlike
you.â€
Ichigo doesn’t comment as he reads
slowly the information. One of his eyebrows
twitches, and shortly, a quiet
“Bullshit…†is breathed. His face turns stone after that. Somehow he plows though, even though by the end, he’s
whiter than some of the linen aboard
Xanadu, or our mother’s funeral kimono.
“Ichigo?†Aiko asks, concerned. He’s
afraid. I’m concerned too. I
could not recall when he was afraid. Ever. He’s
always been head on, meet any challenge and overcome it. He feared
nothing. “First,
hire security right the hell now. And by security, I mean ex Rabid Foxes.†Ichigo finally responds. “LOKI is going to be out to kill you. If they don’t know yet, they will, and they’re going to want you dead thanks to the Graf.†He pauses. “And we need to talk to the Heavy Guards CO.
Once we verify this.â€
I tilt my head. “Why?â€
“Because this is the biggest trove of Lostech this side of what C*’s hiding on
Terra.†Aiko has stolen the datapad, and is also growing white. Ichigo continues, regaining his balance. “And that means
everyone is going to want it. Which means it’s in
your best interest to
get rid of it. Now.â€
My eyes narrowed. Sure, we hadn’t been close the last 8 years, but… Ichigo had to be
reacting, not
thinking. I paused at that. Something else we apparently shared, besides our family. But…
I bit out, clearly restraining my temper. “
Excuse me?†Apparently I didn’t keep enough anger out of my voice. Aiko winced and carefully eyed our positions.
“Get rid of it. All of it. Pay off and help the people he sent settle into other places, and be
quit.†He nodded as it was the most obvious thing.
Holding onto my temper by slimmest of margins, I managed to simply hold a hand to Aiko, who passed the data reader to me. Scanning the reader, I came to the conclusion while he was only
reacting, … all things considered he was
not wrong in a very viable solution. In fact, I suspected he was even more right than he thought. Putting aside every nation in the Sphere, Comstar was a threat too… and I knew from being not all just Kikyo, they had
warships. But… “Dear brother.†I
purred, “You are making some
serious assumptions.†I paused for effect. “First, it’s
impolite to make others’ decisions for them. Second, they may want to stay together, and may have verbal promises from my father on what they get. Third: I’m thinking this might be a good way to get away from New Avalon for a bit. Maybe run a reality show focusing on a merc unit. Real mercs.†Before I could continue, Ichigo made a strangled sound and reached for me. Ingrained training and instinct honed by both my mother and a sensei that had taken a shine to us siblings, snapped into action.
Wham. My hands snapped out, spreading Ichigo’s out, as I dimly recognized the sound of Aiko running off, but I was more focused on leaping back after kneeing him in the abdomen.
(con't below)
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Topic: With a lever big enough I can move the world {CYOA} (Read 10812 times)