Month: June 2024

Dusal Village VTOL pad

0702hrs local 09 February 3081

 Krog stood to the side of the fields with his mate as the Kestrel VTOL flared to a landing.  When the blades wound down, he commented to his companion, “He is early.”

 She in turn looked back at him. “When have you known him to be not?” she replied.

 A grunt in agreement as the door opened up and its passengers got out.  Krog waited until they were halfway to him before speaking out. “Why have you not retired yet, you Surat codger?” he yelled to the lead person of the six-person group with him. “I am sure a Solahma would still take you…”

 The person he was speaking to laughed as he replied. “I will when ye do, ye Tube-Born jerk…” Duncan MacKenzie said back to the leader of the Elementals.  When he got to handshake distance, he held out his hand. “Isn’t there a ristar waiting in th’ wings, looking to stand on your carcass?”

 Behind Duncan, Reyna and the rest of her team cringed slightly. This exchange was semi-expected but that was a fairly vicious insult…

 A belly laugh. “Maybe… and when that day comes, he or she will have earned it!” Krog retorted as he took the offered hand. “Welcome to the Mountain, Duncan…” he said as he pulled the Blood Spirit into a Warrior’s Embrace.

 “Oof!” Duncan exclaimed when the back pound came, giving back as he got. “Good tae see you too, ye big lug… it’s been a wee bit,” Letting go of Krog, Duncan turned to look at the Elemental’s mate. “And a good morning to you, Bonita Dusal….” To her, he bowed.

  She snorted and pulled him in. “Enough of that nonsense, MacKenzie,” Bonita scolded as they exchanged hugs. “You are well and whole, I see… McCoy has not pushed you down a flight of stairs yet?”

 “Nay… he knows better than to make me wife mad,” he replied as he turned his gaze to Krog. “I trust the adhoc trials went well?”

 Krog nodded as he motioned the visitors to follow. “Yes.  They finished yesterday… and the Trial of Possession is ready. A non-traditional one as we talked about… that I think is going to surprise you and your team.”

 Duncan looked at the Dusal leader. “Then I am going to be entertained…”

**

  As they walked to the Mead Hall, Krog explained what was to come and Duncan had to admit he was impressed by the creativity of it.

 There were to be three Trials to be done and the Blood Spirits had to win two out of three Rounds to be able to pick from the available candidates…. With a role for whomever remained… This competition would be appropriate to the nature of who the Blood Spirits were. That there was an additional trial involved… was due to Krog being efficient at settling a discussion that had broken out when the Possession trial was mentioned four days ago.

 Entering the mead hall, the newcomers could see three Elementals standing at attention in their camouflage uniforms. And the three varied in age as well as gender. The youngest one was Ingrid, one of the recent blooded in the End of Year ceremony. The second was an older male and one of the few blood-named among the Dusal, Hosni Vong. The last one was Point Commander James.

 A crowd gathered in the hall as Krog began to explain the rules of the events.

 “There will be Two Trials to be fought… as this is to be a Trial of Position as well as Possession.  The Spirits seek to obtain a suitable Dusal for their ranks and have chosen to honor our ways with a Trial of Possession.  Because of this,” He paused. “A discussion ensued over the establishment of our own Watch.  While this is an unusual idea, given our size, it is not without merit… and it plain makes sense that we Dusal need a Watch of our own.  A Watch that can Think as well as Fight… and have no issue working with both the Lancer Intelligence Service and with the Blood Spirits.”

 Krog looked around. “There will be other Clans that come to this world… and they will intermingle with us, I am certain. Indeed, the Ghost Bear have… and the Snow Ravens will soon; I have had inquiries over visits to the Dusal Lands… to see how we do things and perhaps establish better relations with our off world cousins.”

 Krog continued, pacing a little bit as he spoke. “Considering the unique nature of who proposed the Trial of Possession and how this Trial has been set up, It is possible for Both sides to gain in this,” Krog stated as he looked around the mead hall.  And the hall was now packed with as many Dusal that were not busy elsewhere.

 “I have determined whoever wins Most of the trials among the Dusal will be the leader of our Watch… and I expect them to work closely with the Blood Sprits. Whoever the Spirits succeed in winning the most against, will go to them… with the One in the Middle being given a choice, as it were. In the event of a Tie…. Well, that will be determined then.”

 A smile. “Because of who the challenger is… the Trials are custom to best represent certain aspects of what is being looked for,” he said. “The First test… will be one of Accuracy and prowess with something Non-Traditional as a weapon of War. Especially for those such as us.” On a table off to the side sat six recurve bows.

 “These ancient weapons… require a measure of skill to use and a steady hand to hit what you are aiming for. Many times a warrior will be without a standard weapon… or need to improvise… And in many cases, modern is simply not available. Especially upon a back water world or in the back country of an advanced one. Demonstrating skill in these will show you are adaptable….”

  Reyna looked at the bows and noticed they were all fairly new. Someone went shopping… she thought as she listened to the Dusal Leader speak on test two.  I know he didn’t have these sitting around…

 “Test two will be one of Personal Endurance and Knowledge of your Physical Self….” He said as an older Elemental placed a series of compasses and folded sheets of paper on a table. “The candidates and their competition will each take a compass and a sheet of paper. On them is a set of coordinates and a series of azimuths and distances.”

 “Each person will start from here and go to the specific location listed…. Then shooting an azimuth, march out the appropriate distance in that direction, record what is there. They then will take next azimuth and hike the next distance, record the marker there… and so on until complete.” Krog smiled.  “And yes, this is timed… Speed will help you but you need to be accurate in what location you record. Errors can cost you.”

 Duncan actually laughed at this one for reasons Veratoni could only imagine.  She did note the pained look on both Quinn’s and Trace’s faces. They must not be strong at that event…

  “The last challenge….” Krog said next as a sheet was pulled from another table. “Will be a battle of wits on a most traditional battlefield of them all…. The chess board.”  On the table were three chess sets and a time clock. “Each move will be timed and the faster the move, the more time you have for a successive turn.”

Krog looked towards Duncan. “These are the challenges that your Team needs to win against the three candidates here. And none knew of them before entering this hall…”

 Duncan looked over the challenges and back at his team to see their reactions. Noting resignation on a few faces, he turned to face the Dusal Leader. “I believe my Chosen representatives will manage just fine, Khan Dusal. I agree to the tests as they stand with one request.”

Krog lifted an eyebrow. “It is?”

 “If one becomes injured on either side, their leader takes their place. After all… we should be able tae do these tasks because one should not ask thair people to do anything they nae prepared to do themselves….” Duncan said straight faced. “Leaders are nae eligible to be taken….

 Krog was silent for a good five seconds…. Then burst out laughing. “Bid and Done, MacKenzie…. Bid and Done. Select your first ones; the Archery portion begins in fifteen minutes…” He stepped away from the center of attention and left Duncan to do what he needed to.

 For his part, Duncan turned to face Reyna and the rest. “We knew this would be potentially physical… but I only expected some o’ this and nae the second trial.”

  Reyna sighed. “While I don’t think you got played, I do think he thinks he has advantage here…. Especially since no one thinks Elementals are smart…. And that land nav challenge,” she said. “Elementals on broken ground are fast… out of armor, I would think nearly as so. Faideth, how’s your pace count? I know you’re fast on broken ground…”

 The slight member was thoughtful for a moment. “I think I remember it…

 Veratoni spoke up. “I know I am not a full member of the team… but I can cross country run very well… and I can keep a pace count. Let me do that one…” she said. “I am also good at chess… The bow though, I haven’t done since I was still back home. I wasn’t very good at it either.”

 Trace spoke next. “Reyna- let her do those. I can handle a bow fine… and no one expects us to do all three with one person.”

 Quinn and Carter both said “Ditto”

 Duncan looked at Reyna. “Me thinks you have the first three set then…”

 She nodded as she pulled out a notepad and pen. “Does, don’t it?” she said. “Ok… Round One is Trace, Quinn and Carter. Don’t miss… Round two is Faideth, Veratoni and me… I’m good at land navigation so that should make up for lack of ground speed.”  Scribbling her notes, she looked up and around at everyone. “Two more for Chess….”

 Trace held up a hand. “I’m no master but I can give a fight….

 Carter said as much. “I win against the computer once in a while… and no, not on easy, either.”

 Reyna scribbled down their names. “Ok then… We’re set.”

 Duncan nodded. “Ok… Good luck all ye… and to ye places.”

**

  The competition began outside with the Archery portion.  All six shooters were given a few arrows for test shooting to familiarize themselves with a recurve…. And when it was time, the Trial was on.

 Scoring was five arrows with a maximum score of 25 points with a catch. At the center of each target was a dot that would give a bonus point in case of a tie per arrow touching it.

 Strangely enough, the Elementals all scored high with only Trace tying her opposite, her score matching Ingrid’s twenty-three. James and Hosni both scored the theoretical twenty-six, with James beating out Quinn by three and Hosni edging Carter by two touches to one. The Dusal won the round here… which made the next event interesting.

 Round two, the results were semi reversed with Faideth and Veratoni showing they were that good and that fast. Veratoni beat Hosni handily and Faideth buried Ingrid with a record time for the course.  Indeed, her record caused Krog to demand a rematch in armor at a future date (he was apparently the one who set up most of the courses); he didn’t like being shown up by an un-augmented person *that* badly.

 James however, nearly continued his streak and beat Reyna’s time…. But suffered a time penalty as one of his recorded numbers was off. It turned out that at each location was three markers set at various distances… with a small penalty assessed based on how far off you were. That penalty put him in a dead tie with the captain…

 The final round was speed chess… and there would be a question as to the matchups later. Those questions would be resolved in private (the next day, Krog would be seen by members of his clan with a bandaged hand and a black eye…. But defiant as ever.)

  Carter would draw young Ingrid…. Who would turn out to be one of those prodigies you only read about.  Their game would last a whole nine minutes and go exactly eleven moves to Check Mate and a win for the woman.

 Trace would draw Hosni… and that match would take the full allocation of time. It was everything the Doc Spirit could do to hold on and she managed some damn inspired chess play.  That inspired play helped her to force a draw against her Elemental opponent. He wasn’t happy about it… but when he realized he wasn’t last, it mollified him a bit.

 The match that would cause Krog grief later…. Was James versus Veratoni.

 All here knew of their relationship, and no one knew how it would affect their game. Flipside of that, a tense game could affect their relationship… and Duncan was certain the young Kuritan would not let this match be affected by her personal life or vice versa.

 He was not so certain that the same was true of James, due to his youth. Going into this match, there was one of three outcomes… If he won, he would be head of the Dusal Watch and the Spirits would get whomever was selected by Krog (they needed to win two rounds to get pick) If he drew, he would still be head of the Watch and the Spirits got the pick between the other two.

 If he lost, then it would be a complete tie all the way around.  And the two leaders would have to settle it.  And on some level, that thought amused him greatly. It would be fucking appropriate, the highlander thought.

 For over an hour, the two battled it out on the chess board, with measured exchanges occurring and more than a few moves by both being faster than expected by those watching. At about sixty-five minutes in, James appeared to miscalculate and Veratoni pounced…. And then it was only a matter of time.

 Nine minutes later, as the timer ran down for his turn, the Elemental looked up at Veratoni, back down at the board then back to Veratoni.  There is no draw here and check is only a matter of time with mate soon after, he thought.Wordlessly, he reached out for the timer and stopped it.

A murmur broke out in the crowd as Elizabeth looked up at him after he stopped the timer and blinked. “Hmm?” She said in surprise.

 James held out his hand to her. “I resign.”

Duncan could only shake his head… then looked at Krog as the crowd began to discuss what just happened. He then watched the three Elemental candidates step away to talk among themselves and the Spirits team were somewhat dumbfounded.

 Stepping over to the leader of the Dusal, he pointed his hand at him. “Ok…. You set this up, didn’t ye?” he asked the clansman.

 “Not in a million years, MacKenzie,” Krog growled. “Last thing I want to do is drag this out… or fight you. Fighting you means I have to fight all of them too… and I have not the time for that.”

  Duncan sighed. “You think I do?”

 A low chuckle. “No… full of whiskey you might be at times, right now you are not,” he said then paused. “I have an idea… and it is going to sound stupid…. But I recall something I learned from Drexel; something she used to settle a disagreement on occasion without violence.”

 Duncan lifted an eyebrow. “Oh? What wou’ tha be?” he asked. The Old Highlander had a feeling he knew what it was…

 “Something she called Rock Paper Scissors…”

 Duncan stared at him then burst out laughing, which caused everyone nearby to look in their direction. “Are ye bloody serious?” he asked after he choked off his laughing.

 Krog shrugged. “Unless you want to do the challenges, you versus me…. Remember, we were an option. I know neither one of us expected a blasted tie.”

 A chuckle as Duncan presented his hands, a fist in a palm. “No…. nae today on the first item. Ye know the land nav after all… ‘twould be too much an advantage for ye…. And no, a tie was never a thought until after Ingrid thumped Carter. This be most fair.” He replied. “Two out o’ three?”

“Three out of five.” Krog countered. “I want you to have a chance after a bad throw.”

 “Ach, so sure yeself… Ye got a Deal. Suggestion?”

 “What?”

 “No matter who wins, make the two who don’t go to me both Watch. Leader and second.”

 A chuckle. “Already thinking of it… Ingrid shows much promise, a potential Ristar, but she needs seasoning,” Krog said. “Let us finish this….”

 Roughly a minute later, everything was settled, and a winner determined as Duncan turned around to walk towards his Spirits, a smile on his face.

 Krog, his face non-committal, moved to the center of the room and called attention of everyone.

 “After a brief discussion with the leader of our guests, the resolution of the Tie has been determined and the Blood Spirits have won,” he announced. “As by the terms of the Trial, they have Pick and have made their choice….”

 He paused. “Point Commander James, you will meet with Commander MacKenzie and determine when you are to report to his facilities for becoming part of their unit….” Krog said. “Hosni Dusal of the Blood House Vong, you and Elemental Ingrid Dusal are to form the nucleus of the Dusal Watch… and within the week, you are to form a plan on how best to implement its formation. We will discuss this separately as I am certain there will be travel involved.”

**

  Within the hour, everyone started to gather near the Kestrel. Reyna was performing preflight as Duncan stepped up next to her cockpit door. “Questions?”

 She looked up at him. “No… none outside of was this rushed?” Reyna asked. “I know we discussed some of this but wouldn’t one of the other teams been better… and did you know what was planned?”

 Duncan shook his head with a smile as the rest of the team approached from the hall, James in tow. “Rushed? Maybe, but it needed tae happen sooner or later; I prefer sooner right now. As for who would have been better, no one. Only Salem might have had the right people… but I don’t think he has anyone who is good at chess. We’d have to have relied on the two bow hunters he has in his team. Land nav is land nav- the results they might have gotten would be nae different than your team.”

  A shrug. “Mileof’s mostly hitters and so is Argyle’s squad, though his would be better than Mileof’s at these challenges,” he said. “You had the right collection fer what I expected…. And, who I had.”

 A low chuckle as she made a connection. “Expected… wait a minute,” she stared at him. “You pulled a Birgitta, didn’t you, and set this up with him?”

 A chuckle as he opened the side door. “Lass… you just answered it for me wi’ thae accusation.” He spoke. “Let’s get back to Crossroads…”

 Pryme’s Office

1342hrs

  “… so she may be a key, THE key… to unlocking a few assets,” Duncan explained to the Legion leader. He’d given the man a brief overview of the Blood Spirits history and the sort of missions they had done- the successes as well as failures…. then he explained the sort of gear they had. Duncan touched on the advanced weapons and technical tools, leaving the advanced SOE suits for last. Explaining the specialized programs and features they had, the Blood Spirit Spectre leader went over the DNA security lock and then admitted the lack of bloodlines left that could access them.

 He touched on the programming aspect, how there was access to add a new user but explained his predecessor’s reluctance to run the software based on what happened to the previous attempt. He touched on the search for relatives of former members. When the linking of records revealed Veratoni as part of the Legion Roster and possibly a direct descendant of a former member, it was what brought him there to speak with Pryme.

 “While I’d love to have her as part of th’ Spirits, I’m nae one fer kidnapping. Her assistance is what we need and I’d rather do this the semi-proper way by going through her command to speak with her… and perhaps recruit, if she isnae under a contract.”

 He smiled. “Even though we be part of the Lancers, we’re partially autonomous… Me predecessors have that agreement as iron clad.”

 Adam thought over what he had learned in the conversation… and the statement about aging him a little was accurate. The Blood Spirits (and the 10^th SOE before them) had been in the middle of many things over the years… and given they have kept on after losing access to that old equipment, it spoke volumes about their talents.  It also spoke plenty about the danger involved.

 Not that what she did now wasn’t dangerous. But the crazy stunts the Spirits did in pursuit of objectives… such as the direct sabotage mission on Tikonov (he’d heard about it but didn’t know until now who did it) or the prisoner rescue just before that Orbital Strike… were borderline action vid worthy. High Budget Action vid worthy…

 And they needed Veratoni to get back what they had lost.  Talk about odds being long to even find her or someone anymore but here it happened. MacKenzie was prepared for a No answer, he could tell… but Pryme knew better. He knew she would help if she could, especially after what part of her former life did to this planet. And if she elected to both help AND join them, be part of something bigger than her, he’d support her choice.

 This was far bigger than just being his shadow.

 “Mister MacKenzie… I can and will authorize you to have your chat with her and see if she’d help you on her own volition,” he said. “Given what you told me, and I suspect it is a mostly clean version, I will encourage her to assist with getting access to that equipment. It’s the right thing to do…” Pryme paused. “Past that… she is a member of the Legion and her enlistment is up for renewal. Elizabeth is a grown woman and can make her own choices. While I do not want to lose her for a number of reasons, personal and professional, I know she could flourish elsewhere…” As he said the words, he mentally scolded himself. You sound like a Dad, Adam…

 Duncan nodded sagely. “Aye… ‘tis a thing, isn’t it? Being fond of some of your own and not want’n tae be a drag on their abilities or potential is painful thoughts… I’ve got much the same with one o’ me own juniors. He’s talented and he’d go far in House Service, as good as he is,” A chuckle. “Problem is Argyle is just as likely tae get busted fer going too far sayin’ the wrong thing to someone.”

 A laugh from Pryme. “Then you get it.”

“I do.”

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Pryme looked at his guest and when Duncan nodded, he called out. “It’s safe…” Duncan tapped the datapad and killed the block on the bugs. Nothing here was going to be said from him on subjects.

  The door opened to reveal Lori and the other two, coffee in hand. “Adam, sorry I’m late but I ran into these two in the Galley.” She said as Vance advanced in to set the coffee down. Reyna brought a cup over to Duncan and wordlessly handed it over.

 The Exec continued. “Anything I need to be aware of?”

 Pryme glanced at Duncan before turning his attention to Lori. “Some… notable part being is a need for Veratoni’s location.” He said. “Our guest would like to speak with her… And Colonel Duncan MacKenzie, my Executive, Kommandant Lori Spector.”

 Duncan stood up and turned to face Lori, hand out for a shake. “Kommandant… Pleased tae meet you,” he said in his brogue. “I’m certain himself can fill you in on pertinent details… but yes, I’d like to meet with your young Warrant.”

 She nodded and glanced at both Pryme and Vance before answering. “Warrant Officer Veratoni is, I believe, with Point Commander James Dusal over the Range. She had quals to do today.”

 Duncan lifted an eyebrow. “A Dusal elemental?”

 Smiles broke out on the Legion officer’s faces as Pryme answered. “Yes… the young man is her Bodyguard.”

 “Very Close Bodyguard…” Vance muttered and earned an elbow from Lori. His expression remained unrepentant.

 Pryme stifled a laugh of his own as he continued. “Indeed… the Dusal held a Trial of Position to be her escort and guard over in their lands and the young man won. They met at the New Year gathering we were invited to.”

 Duncan glanced at Reyna who answered the questioning look. “I know OF him and he’s rather fetching as well as skilled. Definitely a ristar,” She said in a quick analysis. “Salem mentioned recruiting one of the Dusal a while back and he was one of three potentials. Argyle killed the idea ultimately; said we didn’t have the right sized gear for it, among other things.”

 Duncan nodded. “I can see that… To me knowledge, Birgitta never thought about it and honestly, neither did I.” He said then then looked at Pryme. “I don’t suppose ye be willing to go for a ride?”

  Pryme thought on that one then glanced to Lori. “Do I have time?”

 “You do… though the longer you put off picking a spot in the rotation for the Command Company, the worse choices you are going to get….” She warned. “And if we wind up in the Ostara Celebration spot, I *will* ask if they have an old Zeus floating around to put you in… with the stock seat.”

The Exec had become friends with the leader of the Reign and had planned on attending a small gathering the priestess had planned for then, provided they too were still here.

 Pryme made a sour face as the others laughed. “Oh, that’s mean… those were uncomfortable as hell,” he replied. “It will get done tonight.”

 “Then I don’t see any reason not to go. Today was Wander the Cantonment Day anyway…” She stated. “Incidentally, I have those documents you wanted.”

 He nodded as he stood. “Put them on the desk. Depending on how this meeting goes, it might get used for that…” Stepping from behind the desk, he spoke to Duncan, who was also standing up. “Shall we?”

 A chuckle. “No time like thae present, Kommandant.”

 All of them left the office, with Vance leading the way downstairs and to the parking spots where the Duty SUV, another SUV assigned to the Post Commander (meaning Pryme right now) and the small utility vehicle the two Lancers had been loaned were parked.  After a brief discussion, it was decided the two leaders would go in the Commander’s vehicle with their Shadows. Lori would stay back as the current Duty Officer…

**

 Merck Small Arms Range

Port Braun, Johnson

1439hrs

 The small arms range for the Garrison was not terribly large, having been originally used for the Facility Security and the local Constabulary. Situated along the shoreline just north of Port Braun, the range set up was divided in three sections, one for pistol, a second for rifles and an area for staging for using the facility.

 A building for weather as well as a pavilion for those not on the range were present and currently only a handful of personnel were present using the ranges.

 Among them under the pavilion was Veratoni and James. They had just completed a course of fire, the Legion warrant officer having worked through her qualifications under the eyes of the unit’s Range Master. She’d scored expert with her side arm as expected and done well with the unit’s standard battle rifle, even though it wasn’t something she expected to ever use as Pryme’s normal shadow.

 James had attempted the same quals with her using a loaned rifle for it. His normal issue main weapons (a light machine gun used like a big rifle or an autoshotgun) was neither here nor appropriate for this range. His side arm, a modified Sternsnacht with an extended magazine, was usable and he performed the same course of fire she had. He had done well, showing his talents with weapons to the other Legion personnel here… and winning compliments for his accuracy.

 Veratoni was sitting at a table, her uniform blouse shirt off as she cleaned her pistol. It was warm enough today to do so and she took the opportunity to avoid getting it dirty.  The rifle was already cleaned and stowed in its travel case (there was no arms room here) for return to the unit armory. She glanced at James, who was currently cleaning his borrowed rifle. “Got it?” She asked.

 The TK Assault Rifles were notorious for needing a cleaning after use, the 3mm caseless munitions not always burning cleanly when fired. The rifles were reliable but a pain to break down for maintenance… and she was sure the reason the Legion had them was because someone in Procurement never used anything else.

 She had tried one of the Constabulary M8’s and liked its feel, even though she wasn’t a fan of large rifles. After being told about the Carbine changeouts, Veratoni knew she had to find one to try.

 James replied as he managed to get the bolt carrier back together. “Yes… These battle rifles are somewhat complicated to maintain.” After seating the carrier properly, he began putting the rifle back together. “I find the issue weapons I have are far easier to clean and perform proper maintenance on.”

 “No doubt,” she said. “I appreciate easy to use and clean; shotguns, even the auto shoguns, aren’t too difficult… until here, I did not have much standard equipment or standards on what to use.” She shrugged. “Everything I have ever done has used pistols or submachine guns if there was a firearm involved.”

 As she assembled her pistol, she continued. “Most of the time, it was hands or anything with an edge to it.” A pause to check the action before loading and stowing it, she finished. “Almost done?”

  Closing up the upper and lower receivers, he locked them down. “Yes… though I suspect we are too.” He stated. “The Hauptman Kommandant just arrived… and he has the leader of the Lancer special services with him.”

 Veratoni looked where he was looking and cursed. “Shit….” She exclaimed and quickly began to put on her uniform top.

 Others who were not completely in uniform also noted his arrival and straightened up their appearance.

 As Pryme and MacKenzie approached, their respective shadows kept watch. It was actually a boon the two had worked together before and even though it had been a long time, they fell back on their shared training.

 This did not escape Veratoni’s notice. Who is that? She wondered as she placed her uniform cap on her head. I have never seen Vance that comfortable with outsider security before.

 The two leaders acknowledged various greetings on their way onto the Pavilion ferrocrete as they maneuvered through the benches. Coming to a stop before Veratoni and James, Pryme greeted them both. “Afternoon you two…” He said. “A good range day, Point Commander?”

 “Yes sir,” James spoke first. “We only just finished cleaning weapons.”

 Duncan commented. “Did ye remember where all the pins go, Point Commander? TK rifles be a wee pain… an’ underpowered.”

 “Yes Sir,” he responded with a straight face, noting the humorous tone it was asked in. “No parts were remaining after assembly.”

 A nod. “Verra good… Next time I happen tae speak with yon Khan, I’ll mention ye ken handle normal sized weapon maintenance.” He glanced to Pryme and added, “I’ve seen what he does to non-suit guns. Swear ‘e forgets they aren’t built tae be clubs.”

 Reyna, who was watching others here as they went back to doing what they were doing, stifled a giggle while Vance shook his head slightly. It had been discussed on the way here to see how the Elemental would respond to gentle pokes at his Khan or supposed intelligence.

 There were a great many stories about the lack of sense in Clan Elementals or Clansmen in general where good natured insults were concerned… and oft times, it led to ill-appropriate responses from the immature or the less experienced.

 James didn’t rise to the bait. “Sir, the Ovkhan is a very enthusiastic leader and has a tendency to really get focused when in a fight. Anything and everything becomes a means to an end.” He replied. “As Elementals, it is expected of us to do such or so I have been taught.”

 Duncan nodded as he assessed the young Elemental once more. “A good answer, son… a verrra good answer. Fer tha record, I agree wi’ that mindset.”  He then looked at Veratoni. “Warrant Officer Veratoni… my name is Lieutenant Colonel Duncan MacKenzie, commander of the Blood Spirits Group within the Lancers; I’ve a wish ta have a chat with you pertainin’ tae some things ‘bout you and your family… and I have thae permission of your Hauptman Kommandant for it.”

 A pause. “As he wasnae doin’ much, I dragged him an’ his watchdog along as verification.” Duncan said with a smile. As was his style, this request was both formal and not.  Good way to throw some folks off.

 Veratoni looked at Pryme, who nodded, before answering. “Colonel MacKenzie, as you have his permission, where would you wish to have this conversation?”

 A glance back at Reyna, who shrugged and tapped her watch without looking at it. It was the unspoken message of Take your Time But Hurry Up Though.  Looking back at Veratoni, he motioned towards the bluffs overlooking the water. “Initial chat can be over there- enough background noise, I think…” He said. “Depending on yon answers determines next steps, aye?”

 A blink. “Sir…” She said and made to move with him.

 As the two of them stepped away from the Pavilion, Reyna looked over at James. “Point Commander… did anyone ever approach you about working for the Lancer’s version of the Watch?” She deliberately used the Clan name for their Intelligence Services. While *she* knew he’d been born here, Reyna also knew Krog and his mate were very big on educating the younglings on their past and Clan Society in all of its flavors. And the Watch was a part of it.

 James Dusal nodded. “Aff. Most of the Elders have mentioned it and expressed varied opinions on it, much of it based upon which Clan the Elder comes from…” he said, his voice and tone sounding like he was giving an answer to a professor or Mentor. “I view them as necessary… While the Clans state that they value Honor and Integrity while abhorring shadow work, I am well aware from both History and examples within the Remembrances I have read that there are some those former concepts are just words while embracing parts of the darker aspects of the behind the scenes.”

 He pondered his next words. “To me… The Watch is a guard against those outside and within.” He spoke. “The Clans, despite some of the genetic manipulation involved in the Trueborn, still have those among them who either work cross purpose to the betterment of their Clan or to advance petty, senseless rivalries and acts through poorly thought-out notions…” He paused.

 “Because of the clandestine nature of the Watch, even with the ability for direct action, the majority of the clans do not have capable forces in them. And of the ones that do have able, it is believed they are used poorly.” James stated then added. “Khan Krog believes the lack of sense where the watch is concerned should have been bred out by now.”

  The young clan warrior actually blushed. “My apologies…”

 Vance and Reyna laughed. “Nothing to apologize for, James,” Vance said. “She asked.”

**

 Over near the bluff, Duncan called a halt. “Good enough I think…” He said. Turning to face Veratoni, he asked, “First off… How much do ye know about the Blood Spirits?”

 She thought for a moment and answered. “Some.”

 Duncan made a ‘Gimme’ motion

 “What I know is fragmented, based on what is in our records, what is on the Extranet here and some half-remembered things from when I wasn’t with the Legion…” she said, brow furrowed in thought. “The Blood Spirits are a specialized intelligence and direct-action group part of the Phoenix Lancers… almost like a Wolf-Net. Not as big as that group but no less capable. You aren’t mech warriors though you have a few capable of it. The ability and purview of them is said to be very much in the realm of small actions to potentially create or prevent larger events… along with data collection or intelligence gathering. I know of four events in the last ten years that are supposed to have been the group’s actions or definitely were.”

“And they are?” He asked.

 “One is easy; that would be the rescue of the prisoners here on Centarus before the orbital strikes. Another event believed to be your group’s doing is an assassination of one of the Triad Strike Group leadership, Malcontavian Tellinghast, over on Hall,” She related to him, her features going blank as she searched her memory. “A third would be the destruction of the Word of Blake Overlord Dropship Sanctified Blessings on Van Diemen IV and the last one I heard about was a power plant sabotage on Al’Nair which wrecked a large amount of Blakist equipment….”

 Duncan nodded to himself. Nice… and that tells me something about her already. Looking out over the water. “Well… you would be correct on three of those. The fourth one we helped with,” he said as he picked up a rock and threw it out into the water. “All of it was hard to do- and harder still without some equipment we lost access to. And based on who you are, you may be able to help with that.”

 She blinked. He didn’t deny the destruction of the Blessings? They WERE right! “Might I ask how?”

 “How what?”

 “How you blew up the Sanctified Blessings?”

 “Only if you answer a question for me right here and now…” He replied.

 “Okay” the instant answer. She really wanted to know how they blew up an Overlord….

 “Your records… Sealed because you were Blakist? Only way to know about the Blessings, outside of DEST,” Duncan came right out and said it. “Heavy on the ‘Were’ part, of course. I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t be here if that wasn’t the case….”

 Veratoni’s shoulders sagged. “Yes… I thought they were a means to escape the wrath of the Dragon…”

 Duncan stared at her. “Wrath of the Dragon? From out o’ thae frying pan into thae fire, lass,” He said. “And I thought I didn’t mess around w’ enemies. I take it something tae do w’ family?”

 She nodded. “An uncle. He was Black Dragon Society… He was my mother’s brother and a favorite. Father and Mother weren’t part of the Society, but the Combine was purging anyone connected, to include families… When that became apparent, they got me away, sacrificing themselves to do so…” She paused in her recounting of memory as she looked away. This hurts to talk about… so why am I doing so? She wondered and continued speaking.

 “Ran for a bit then joined the Word. I was on Al’Nair when the plant sabotage happened,” she said. “How the population responded followed by the Word’s crackdown made me realize I needed to run again… that I didn’t want to be there with the Blakists, despite what I was getting from them. For that matter, I wanted to not live in the Combine anymore.”

 Duncan nodded. He totally understood her reasonings and could sense the conflict. But he needed to press a little more. “Coventry is a loooong way from Tabayama Three so I think ye managed that well enough,” He stated. “Family always from there?”

 She was quiet for a few seconds then answered. “Yes… well, if you go back to 2880s, we are. I’m a fifth generation native.… and the only one of my gen. Probably the only one left of my family too.” A pause. “You said this had something to do with my family?”

 “Aye…” He said. “Some of what we have is DNA locked… and needs someone with the right DNA to access. If we had one, more people can be given access with theirs added to the database. One of those who were, settled Tabayama III around 2880, 2890.” Duncan let that one hang out there, to see if she picked up the implication.

 She did. “The DNA…. My records… You mean….” She turned to look at him, curiosity written all over her face like a kid, despite that she was a 24-year-old woman.

  “Aye…” he said. “Michael James Veratoni retired from the 10^th Special Forces Group, our forebears if ye will, and immigrated to Tabayama III. We maintained his records all this time and when your medical records hit the Phoenix Lancer Medical Database, your records tripped a search flag.”

 She was now intrigued. She had known her grandfather… and heard stories of her great grand. Indeed, her father and grandfather had regaled her with stories of her ancestors, how the first Veratoni on the world had been a great warrior… She had pictures of all of them still to include what could be this Michael Veratoni- no, *would be*, because the data fit. Those pictures were one of the few items she had left and not terribly much to pass on. Not even the family daisho, long ago left behind.

 Her next thought was related to this DNA link. If the picture she had matched their records, it meant she was linked to the Blood Spirits through her ancestor… and had been left a Legacy to fulfil, a very traditional thing, if an unconventional one. It also meant, if it was him, that this Legacy would give her possibly something to pass on to any children should she have any.

 A distant part of her mind also prodded her. The Blood Spirits are kin, after a fashion, she thought. And they are seeking help, not demanding it. What the fuck am I waffling about? “Colonel MacKenzie… these items. What are they?”

 He smiled. “So, I take it that’s a yes on the help then?” At her nod, he continued. “They are specialized league power suits and thae process to perform has a wee bit o’ danger to it….” Duncan cautioned. “And I ken the basics of the program to add an’ verify. Given time, I can figure it out….”

She looked back towards Pryme then back to him. “As much as I am a Legionnaire, I am still a citizen of the Combine in some ways… and I would be insulting the honorable portion of my ancestors if I didn’t try to help family in need. Even though I didn’t know I had them until now.” Veratoni said. “You have my blood and my help; As for that program, I can decipher it…”

 A nod as he held out a hand. “Well then, Lass… lets go calm ye Kommandant’s nerves and find fast transportation,” He said to her. “Before we go harin’ off, there is a stop or two to be made… one of which is back at my cottage. Things ta gather and a more proper chat…”

  Johnson Spaceport, Centarus

 1315hrs local

   Hauptmann-Kommandant Adam Pryme walked casually around the spaceport along with Kapten Vance. Although not an official inspection, he wanted to see how his men were doing and decided to go poking around.

 The Spaceport was now a garrison for the 361st Group as well as refugee housing for some of the Brookstone residents who had nowhere yet to go after the nuclear strikes. Progress was being made on repatriating them but there were going to be issues moving them or finding places for them to go. Those with absolutely nothing to go to remained here at the evacuation center. With the recent change in the status of the area to a cantonment, this also meant that the contingent of Centarus Constabulary on hand as law enforcement gained extra work on top of keeping the peace.

 Most times this worked out well between the Constabulary and Legion Military Police, however there was always a glitch or two where priorities overlapped or some sort of tension flared. AS a whole, it was actually good training for the Legion Security troops; civilian-style law enforcement was not normally taught in Lyran Alliance military schools… but the Centarus government operated off of a modified Military Justice code which did make the job easier. Unfortunately, with the Technical Support Group involved with so much outside of Johnson and Brookstone, building housing here was slowed some. There was just so much to do… and with Planetary Engineer units still reconstituting, it was going to take time.

 This meant Pryme was getting to adjust to non-military administration… Not a fan, per se, but an irony was that he got in more walking around which he needed. Taking a page from the leader of the Lancers, showing himself looking into things gave the impression he was both involved and interested. The fact he WAS interested, as opposed to the Social Generals back home, would go a long way towards helping image here.

 “Well how are we doing?”, Pryme asked Vance, who was walking at his side. His security man was proving to be a good right hand, as much as Lori Spector was and the former intelligence officer would tell him straight.

 “Well Boss, I’d say fairly well. Everyone is adjusting to the garrison news and our Hosts are just as eager to keep hands busy right now. We’ve started a training cycle over on the West Johnson Range, facing off against units of the Lancers. First one’s in the que was Alpha Port Security Group of the 25th.”

 “And?” Pryme asked. He knew it could not have been that bad if he had to ask.

 “It went rather well,” Vance replied semi-smugly as he consulted his small datapad then handed it to his commander.

 Beta Company [Augmented] of the 25th had taken defensive positions in a mock fort (Camp Tippman) on one of Johnson’s training grounds. The Unit, consisting of newly developed assault class battlearmor, vehicles and modified battlemech frames, was an untested entity beyond functionality on the testing grounds prior to coming out this way. This was to be a battleground test outside of the factory grounds of home…

 A medium mech company from the Lancers were sent with orders to remove them from the fortification. From the Battle-roms he was watching, it did not go well for the Lancer company. Instead of doing a recon of the site, the company formed a skirmish line and advanced to contact, trying for an envelopment of the site by relying on their overall speed.

 As they didn’t have much in the way of long range firepower, it seemed like the way to go… but problems developed quickly and were compounded by both hubris and poor choices. The medium lance on the left flank and the light lance right flank were stalled by terrain while the center medium force failed to match pace, moving too fast.

 This proved to be their undoing. Moving through a valley, the medium unit in the center rushed undeterred to the attack only to find themselves blocked by minefields created by Thunder munitions. Armored vehicles armed with multiple light autocannons and battlemechs rebuilt with Thumper artillery cannons peppered the lance with hit after hit seriously damaging two mechs and destroying one.

 By the time the other two lances moved into the fray, they found themselves facing assault class battlearmor hidden in its mimetic sheath with their heavy transports forcing a withdrawal. An second exercise was laid on, this time by an assault company which literally blasted Beta out of the fort with heavy casualties. It would be Alpha’s turn in the barrel next week as Beta took up their duties at the Bunker complex.

“Rather well indeed in that first go round,” Pryme said with a smile. “I suspect it will be our turn eventually… The Lancers have a port defense group, I’m sure.”

 Vance nodded. “All too true, Kommandant and they do. I’m not looking forward to that; they run a mix of Typhoon and Alacorns…” He paused. “Incidentally Boss, there is something else that I need to talk to you about.”

 Pryme smiled as they walked to the front of the command building. “Everything is Important nowadays. What is it?” What Vance said next made Pryme stop dead in his tracks.

“Veratoni.”

 The Kommandant was like a father figure to the young woman whereas Vance was like the favorite uncle who encouraged and laughed at the antics that drove parents crazy. He was that same uncle who noticed every change in you and gave you advice without judgement. And apparently, what was going on with Veratoni was bothering him.  Bothering him enough to go talk to Dad about it…

   Pryme sighed, He had only seen Elizabeth infrequently in the last three or so weeks they had been here. She would show up to staff meetings of course and once a week for the family dinner; When she did, it was usually in the company of that man-mountain called James Dusal.

 He tried to act the part of the bodyguard to her when in the presence of others…. But it didn’t fool those who knew her. You could see it in their eyes when they looked at each other; the occasional hand touch and the hushed whispers… they tried though, Pryme had to give them that.

 He also saw something else. He saw Elizabeth smile, a real gushing smile for the first time since he met her. If she was happy and seeing outside the Legion for the first time, how could he not encourage it. But there was also her fierce loyalty she had to him and the Legion; he knew that if he asked her to pick up and leave with the Legion, she would, heartbreak or no.

 And Pryme could not do that to her. “I’ll talk to her Vance. I will phrase the conversation so she knows whatever she decides when the time comes- either to stay here or leave with us, we have her back.” A pause. “It’s been in the back of my mind for a while, actually, and losing a daughter, even an adopted one, is hard. If she stays, she stays…”

 A shrug. “Eh… Since it’s in the open now, I need to talk to Lori for a minute while she’s at Admin about paperwork if she does decide to stay…. Why don’t you head up to the office- I’ll be fine down here. Its not like we have to worry about assassins here. At least in this building.”

  Vance nodded and headed into the building.  He’s already thinking on it being likely… but he knows her best. He thought. She’ll come to me after that talk, odds are. I’ll have to tell her not to be afraid to make a new start. Shit, I did coming here… With that thought he headed for the stairs.

 **

 Upstairs, Vance chuckled to himself as he walked down the hall to Pryme’s office, thinking about the predicament the kommandant had with Veratoni. Glad it ain’t me he thought to himself as he opened the outer door of the office suite and stopped. Fuck…

 He noted immediately something was amiss… and possibly not in a good way. The door to his boss’s office was cracked open and the scent of pipe tobacco wafted in the air. Instinctively, he unsnapped the strap over his pistol as he paused to listen intently for anything unusual. What the fuck? He thought to himself as he approached the slightly open door. Yep… that’s tobacco alright; no assassin is gonna give himself away like that but still…

 Stepping up to the door, he stooped to draw his sidearm and listen again for anything odd. Hearing nothing, he pushed the barrier open. He was prepared for almost anything but what he initially found.

 Before him was Pryme’s office, the desk in its usual semi-chaotic organization. However, what should have been an unoccupied chair wasn’t. In the chair was a man with a neatly trimmed mustache and close cropped crew-cut in the uniform of a Phoenix Lancer, the rank of a Lieutenant Colonel adorning a collar. A tobacco pipe was clenched between teeth and a wisp of smoke wafted from it.

 “G’day lad…” Duncan MacKenzie said from the seat, one hand to the bowl of his pipe as he took it from his mouth to speak. “Figured I’d wait in here…”

 Two ways to go about this… Vance thought immediately as he recognized the eclectic leader of the Commando from the briefingsand began to stow his pistol. “Colonel MacKenzie… you know that’s not your chair, right?” he said with a semi-forced smile. I swear, all commandos are crazy.

 A chuckle. “Oh aye… I know tha’, but it was thae only one available tae use. Thae other be occupied…” Duncan replied.

  A female voice spoke up from the aforementioned chair that was in the corner. “Hi Vance…”

 The Legion officer turned to look immediately towards the voice and got a slight shock. Sitting in the chair was, to him, a damn ghost. “I heard you were dead…” The former LIC Molehunter was wondering if he put his pistol away too soon, the thought about assassins very fresh in his mind… Well, he wasn’t dead so she wasn’t here to kill him…

 Reyna smirked as she replied. “I was… but it didn’t take, so I came home,” Shrugging, the former Loki agent opened her hands to show nothing was in them as she continued. “Good to see you too… and that you found more honest work.”

 Duncan glanced between the two of them and commented, noting the body language. “Seems tae me you two know each other…” he said as he thought Long tailed cats in a room full of rocking chairs…

 “Yes,” Both Reyna and Vance answered at the same time then they both looked back at the Spirits commander. By almost an unvoiced agreement, Vance spoke first. “Back during the end of the Civil War, there was some shared work…”

 Reyna took up next. “Then someone decided I was not suitably loyal enough to the Archon and tried to have me permanently fired.”

 Vance held up a finger. “That wasn’t me…”

 “Did I say it was you?” She shot back with a half-smile.

 “No but given we didn’t always see eye to eye…”

 She shook her head. “Vance, if I thought it was you, he’d not be here right now….” She said, indicating Duncan. “Or this very impromptu meeting between Duncan and Pryme would be in a far more public place.”

 Before the discussion could continue, Duncan interjected. “This isnae the time for that talk,” he commented. “The two of you can catch up later, aye? Reyna- you and I will have a wee chat when we get back about surprising this old man with potential professional hiccups; it may involve some logs and an axe. Aye?”

 Reyna nodded. “Yessir…”

 Turning his gaze directly to Vance, he continued. “and Kapten, where is your boss? I am here tae have a chat with him, providing he’s somewhat available? Or did the message get lost by thae speed of bureaucracy?

 From behind Vance, Pryme stepped into view, a bemused expression on his face. “I literally only just got the message about your coming, Commander…” He said as he shifted past Vance. “Something about one of my personnel… and what scent is that?”

 “MacBaren Royal…” Duncan replied. “It’s a go-to for meetings… and yes, it’s about one of your personnel. Th’ Blood Spirits would like to have a formal discussion with one of your command staff about her Family and where she be from…” He stood up from the seat and moved away from the chair, now that the owner was present.

 He also noted the body language of the two former LIC agents had relaxed a bit. Good… I am not in the mood right now to thump sense into people, he thought.

 Pryme picked up immediately on the distinction- it was a Commando interest and not a Lancer interest. If it had been Lancers, Tinney would have said something and this far more fornal… was his thoughts as he answered the man. “I see…” he said as he moved further into the office, Vance shifting to the side to allow better view of all parties.

 Going to his chair, he sat down in it and looked at the Blood Spirit leader. “Which of my command staff would you be inquiring about?” he asked. Somehow, he had a feeling he knew which one….

 “Miss Elizabeth Ann Veratoni,” Duncan replied.

I knew it… Pryme closed his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose. That child… Leaning back in his chair, he opened his eyes to look at the former highlander. “What did she or her family do…. And are you sure?” he asked, his voice non-committal.

 He knew her family had not been a popular one within the Combine, based on what he gotten out of Lori but those details were not public ones to share outside of very few people. Why a mysterious commando and intelligence outfit would want details…. Stop right there, old man; you know that’s a rabbit hole.

 “Its nothin’ bad, I should think….” Duncan replied as Reyna got up from her seat and moved it over to a position before the desk for her boss.  Wordlessly, he took the seat as he reached for a small datapad from his hip pouch on his kilt-belt. Turning it on, he continued. “Though it has potential to be somethin’ very serious based on who we think she is linked to… and why we’d like to have this serious discussion, quiet like. And being her commander, it be my belief ye need to be brought up to snuff on a few things and a handful of details on what I ken reveal on why our interest.”

He paused and his tone became more serious. “Not that he’s untrustworthy… but may thae room be cleared?”

 Pryme blinked. “That serious?” he asked.

“Wouldnae ask if it wasn’t,” was the reply. “An’ before you ask, this is tae be a secure conversation ‘tween you an’ me. My shadow willnae be here.”

 A slight smile as Pryme saw the flash of surprise on Reyna’s face followed by cool detachment. That made this a legit request as far as he was concerned, which really intrigued him now. “Then by all means…” He said as he leaned back in his chair and looked at Vance. “Clear the room… and try not to kill each other?”

 A look of concern on his security officer’s face but it wasn’t voiced. “Yes sir… and can’t promise the latter if she’s trying to kill me…”

 Reyna giggled. “Find me a cup of kaff and I’ll hunt whoever you want, at least locally…” she said. “Cross country if it’s really good…”

 Pryme smiled. “You heard the lady, Vance…”  As the two former comrades (?) left the room, he looked back to Duncan. “Consider it cleared… though my Exec might show up soon.”

 Duncan nodded. “If she does, she does… and I can modify as needed. Depending on the questions, this willnae take too long. First things first…” He tapped a few spots on the device and immediately two scratchy noises were heard in the room from different spots. “Your bugs?”

 A chuckle as he held out his hands in a You Got Me gesture. “I’m old for a reason…”

 The Spirits commander shared the laugh. “Ditto….” He said then continued. “Some o’ what I am about to tell you might have you age slightly…”

**

 Reyna entered the outer room ahead of Vance and turned to face him as he closed the door behind him. “He’ll be fine with Duncan, Vance. The old man doesn’t play games… though he can.” She said. “On this, no way.”

 Vance, for his part, just nodded as he lifted his comm unit and touched a tab on the device’s screen. Noting the Out of Service indicator on two entries, he closed his device. “You guys came prepared, I see.”

 She shrugged, knowing what he checked on and noting to herself some habits remained even fifteen years later. “He always has a gadget for bugs…” She said. “He’s been doing this work for a very long time and had a very good teacher in the previous leader of the Spirits. I think Duncan could have taught Harburg a thing about surviving Katherine’s pet… I know Birgitta could have and he learned from her.”

 Vance chuckled at that. “Somehow, I suspect there are some stories there….” He said. “The one I want to hear about is how you got here…”

 “Find me that kaff and I’ll tell you,” Reyna said. “Enough time’s passed, and we are both different people now.”

 “That we are,” he said as he lifted the comm unit again. “One sec, I realized I need to warn someone…” Tapping a button, he waited then when the other end picked up, he spoke. “Lori… You might want to delay showing up in the office.”  A two second pause. “He’s in a consultation….”

 Another quick pause. “The kind that has me kicked out of the office because I don’t have clearance….”  A much longer pause. “He is meeting with Commander MacKenzie from the Spirits… which means its secret squirrel stuff.”  A three second pause. “I know, I know; it’s the sort of thing I suspect has a short list of Need To Know and I ain’t on it. You might be though; I’m also assured he’ll be fine. Give him ten minutes or meet me in the galley. I’ll be there with a ghost from my past… Later.” He hung up.

 Reyna looked amused. “Funny you should say that…”

 Vance looked at her as he led the way to the hall. “How so?”

 “Among the Blood Spirits, we have two detachments, Ghosts and Spectres. I started off as the former before I met you; I became the latter when I came home…” She said as she followed him. “I’ll explain…”

**

 Lori Spector arrived in the Galley about fifteen minutes later as Reyna and Vance were leaving it, each with a pair of travel coffee cups. “Took me longer than planned,” the executive officer said when she got to them. “Nothing’s blown up, has it?”

 Vance shook his head. “Not yet, at least….” He spoke then introduced his companion. “Kommandant Lori Spector, Captain Reyna Wolf of The Blood Spirits Commando; no relation to the Clans. She’s an old… friend… from the LIC.”

 Lori nodded to the shorter woman. “Pleased to meet you,” she said. “I would ask how you two know each other but spooks generally don’t talk about such things.”

 Vance and Reyna looked at each other then back at her. “It’s kind of a funny story…” Reyna began.

 Vance took up the rest. “It is… Involves some violence, lots of blood, a little bit of gore and a touch of eye gook.”  At Reyna’s snort, he defended his description. “What? Can’t forget the eye gook….”

 Lori looked at them both and shook her head. “I swear, all of you intel types are crazy.”

 Vance shrugged. “Personally, I think it’s a requirement… Anyway, we are on our way back to the office as their meeting should be close to done. According to Miss Wolf here, her boss was going to go over the real sensitive items first and would probably want a coffee shortly- it’s been a very long day for them.” He said. “I suspect Pryme might too… so here we are.”

 Lori listened and turned to lead the way. “Probably…” She replied. “And I hope whatever is being discussed with him isn’t too wonderful a distraction. With our unexpected delay in departure, we have training to arrange, and I know he doesn’t want to work on that.”

 The two former Lyran intelligence officers shared a look but said nothing… Under the cover of the background noise in the galley, Reyna had given Vance a very Cliff Notes version of why there were here… and the Legion Officer commented Pryme might get very curious about it. They would find out when they got to the office…

Blood Spirits Ghost Center (remote site)

Village of Sembach, 9km North of Port of Galloway

Western coast of Cromwell

0610hrs 05 February 3081

Selby Drexel had risen with the sun as was the usual and done her morning stretching. The woman, one of the senior-most of the remaining Blood Spirit Ghosts, had been one of Birgitta’s adopted children; the old warrior having the habit of taking in orphans to give a better life than what they had.

 Like her other adopted siblings, Selby had joined the group her adopter ran and found her niche in with the analysts as she was a wizard at puzzling out solutions to problems or finding the hidden data in a ton of information. Part of it was intuition, part of it was really good search parameters and the rest of it (as she insisted) was having the right tools… but no one former or current argued with her track record.

 She had moved into this place after the liberation of 3072 and with the help of Chaplain MacKenzie and a few favors, gotten her home set up for remote work as desired. She had agreed with him being in one place was a bad idea and while being as far as she was from the main areas, she was not isolated… and her home was both large enough for guests to come calling and small enough for her to manage on her own…

 Galloway was big enough for her and the small village her home overlooked was plenty comfy for her.  It was small, home-y and everyone sorta knew each other. If someone came looking for her, she’d be told… and there would be concerned neighbors who would become involved if the outsider was not benign. No better security system, when you thought about it… as more than a few were former military that lived in this village along the southwest coast of Cromwell.

**

  One of the various things that had occurred after the first Word Invasion was the decentralization of the Spirits and their personnel. A fear Duncan had was another attempt to either get at the Archives or the computers they used for processing and during the recovery, he acted upon that fear.

 As the Spirits rebuilt and continued working as they had, he worked with the new commander of the Lancers to find suitable location for unit cells.  Processing cells, team lodging, armories…. Everything the Spirits had in that one location but spread out over the world. Given their groups nature, finding locations for them to occupy and base out of was both difficult and easy.

 For the commando teams, they needed to be near actual bases for access to transport and gear maintenance. Weapons and armor needed specialists to maintain them and while there were very talented people among their number, none were dedicated armorers or armor-techs.

 Where the Ghosts and the data-cruncher analysts were concerned, their being spread out was far easier to accomplish. As long as they had reliable power and a secure connection to the master servers in Auburn (or their backups in Forbes), they could be anywhere on Centarus. Most chose to live in and around Auburn or Landing but a few took opportunity to live far from the bustle of the big city.

 When Landing was destroyed, it was a major hit to the Ghost section but thankfully, not a deathblow. The remaining members of that section doubled down through their grief and attacked the Trinity Cache (as the intel acquired by the Farquharson child was being called) with a vengeance. More than a few Word of Blake Cells that had not been gathered with the first information dump early in the war were rounded up in the days since the Bombings.

Even as the remaining Ghosts worked overtime on that data, original search routines still ran… and these were legacy searches, requested by Birigtta in her final wishes to be kept at.  Their role was to look for former members of the 10^th or original Spirits from the very early days of the group in the hope these descendants could help them regain access to the locked away gear.

 Those searches had not borne fruit over the years, the passage of time and the nature of movement of people in modern times made finding those descendants difficult, if not nearly impossible for a small group like themselves. But the Universe sometimes has a odd way of providing opportunity…. And in this case, decided to do so.

**

 Finishing her morning stretches, Selby rose and picked up the mug of kaff from the brewer and sipped warm beverage. Going to her den, she glanced at the screen of her workstation as she sat down to begin the day… and noticed immediately a small black and red flag in the upper right corner of the screen, fluttering as in a breeze.

 “That’s a first…” She said as she tapped the flag to bring up the notification message.  Reading through it, Selby blinked. Son of a Capellan Bitch… Selby thought to herself as she pulled out a notepad to jot a few notes. Pulling up another pair of screens, she immediately set to work verifying what that notification was telling her.

 And what it was telling her was that a descendant of one of the Original Spirits was here on planet…

The Cottage

Knox Mountains north of Zathras

0845hrs local 05 February

 Duncan held the axe in his hand as he eyeballed the log in front of him. Not for the first time since getting back to the cottage did he lament not having stocked up on wood for the Barn’s stove or the cottage’s… or having one of the others do the cutting. Rank has its privileges after all… but that would have made him a rotten host.

 Two days ago, the head of the Spirits had taken a bit of leave time to head back to his property up here in the mountains, something he and the wife had not seen in almost two months. With him and his family was at least one team of Spectres… and not by his complete choice.

 With everything that had gone down and the still on-going rounding up of Blakists (cell and loose troops), Colonel Tinney had calmly informed Duncan no matter where he was going, he was to take security with him. Beit a full team or a pair of watchers, he was taking someone with him…. And no arguments. He was in Leadership again and the Rules, such as things were, had changed some. Until it was certain that there was no more potential for a sleeper, the old SOP for unit leaders was back in force. And that meant bodyguards.

 With a grumble, he accepted the order and when telling Bronwyn about it as they were preparing to come up here along with the children, she was actually happy about it.

 “Duncan MacKenzie… when was the las’ time we had right proper guests? Ye know I love livin’ where we do but I never get opportunity tae Entertain… or cook for friends” She had said. “Even if’n its fer business they be with us, they will be eating right, aye? I dinnae get tae properly feed tha pilot but tha’ was a wee bit hectic time. I’ll be feedin’ them… and they will be right proper treated as guests.”

 He loved his wife, and she was right- it had been a long time since they had guests. But the Barn’s sleep areas had not been ready for guests in some time, and he was sure it wasn’t stocked properly. *THAT* discussion had been short…. But at least the team with him understood.

 Reyna had even giggled at his being yelled at over it but assured him she and her team could clean the place up, taking some of the heat off of him. Its not like this had been planned, after all… and well, the woman said the roughing it and work would do them good.

 Upon arriving, the team of Spectres set up in the barn without fuss and then set to tasks discussed while on the flight in.  There was a proper landing zone to spec out and hunting to do to which members of her team went off to do alongside his eldest, Esmerelda, who was an excellent hunter. After all, Reyna had commented, a full five-man team of soldiers could eat a lot and it would be rude to plunder the MacKenzie larders without trying to help stock it some. The stocking of the wood for stoves though, still fell to him.

  Swinging the axe, Duncan began splitting the logs in an efficient manner.  The work was therapeutic, in some ways, and his complaining was silly. As he worked his way through the tenth log, Reyna came out of the cottage where she had been working with Bronwyn. “Heyla Chaplain!” the slight woman called to him with an earbud in hand along with a comm-unit.

 Pausing his swing, he looked over to her. “What?” he asked.

 “You got a call…” Reyna said. “It’s Selby; says its important.”

 Setting down the axe, he walked over to the cottage and took the comm-unit from her along with the earbud. With a nod of thanks, he put the earbud in place then spoke. “Duncan….”

 [Duncan, its Selby… and the Legacy Search got a hit.] she said to him. [And you won’t believe where…]

 “Ok… where and who?” He asked.

[I don’t want to say over comms. I don’t care how good they are…] Selby responded. [Its that weird and potentially sensitive.]

 A sigh. “Ok…  I can be down there in a few hours.” Duncan glanced at his watch. A Kestrel flight would take forever but well, rank did have privileges… and there was a shuttle in Zathras. Time to flex, he supposed. “See you then.”

 [I or Mikey Clark will pick you up. See you!] She clicked off.

 Looking over at Reyna, he commented. “Well… I have a trip to make,” he said. “You up for flying or should I call for another bird?”

 Reyna blinked. “Good thing I haven’t been drinking,” she replied. It had been her who flew the Kestrel up here rather than the hour plus drive.

“Aye… A good thing, that,” he replied. “Lemme tell Bronwyn we’ll be missing dinner, you and I. The rest o’ the team ken stay.”

 A lifted eyebrow. “Oh?”

 “Aye… we’re off fer Galloway.”

Selby’s residence

Sembach

1215hrs Local

 Duncan leaned back in the chair Selby had him sit in to read what was on her screen. Showing was several windows, one of which was a personnel record from the Kohn Kaen Legion, and it was interesting to read the identity of who it was.

Name: Veratoni, Elizabeth Ann

DoB: 19 December 3056

PoB: Tabayama III, Galedon Military District, Draconis Combine

Joined: 05 January 3076, Coventry, Coventry Province, Lyran Alliance

Blood Type: AB Positive

 The rest of the entry was locked from view by a security clearance needing password authorization.

 “How does a Draconis Combine Citizen from clear out on the Outworlds Alliance-Combine Border wind up in the middle of the Lyran Alliance at twenty?” he asked rhetorically.

 Selby, missing the rhetorical nature of the statement, took it literally. “I’ve no idea, Duncan. Initial query shows her records are sealed with a Commander’s Authorization Only protection,” she said. “If you need to know, I could try to crack it. Might take me some time though unless I contact Rowanberg. She’s as good as me with this stuff…”

 He shook his head. “Nooo… No, dinnae do that,” Duncan replied, deep in thought as he looked at the rest of the available record then tabbed over to the lineage data from Spirit Records to see who she was related to.

 The person she was potentially linked to, Michael James Veratoni, had been a member of the 10^th SOE like his father and grandfather before him, leaving sometime around 2875, and settling on Tabayama III. Contact with him had been lost not long afterwards but with the Third Succession War raging, that should be expected. “I’m certain there be an answer tae be had… and if I am going tae get it, best be asking the person involved… or her boss, aye?”

 Selby nodded. “I guess that makes sense,” she said, sounding slightly sad over the denial of a challenge. “Either way, it’s kinda wild someone has been found after all this time.”

 “Aye…” he said. “It is. Fortuitous it be but I am nae looking a gift horse in its mouth. Finding her willnae be hard- she be their Kommandant’s shadow which means she’ll be where he is. It also sorta tells me she likely has a peculiar history to go with this lock.” A chuckle. “Now I think of it, seems tae me everyone’s shadow around here has a peculiar history…”

 Reyna, who’d been quiet, snapped her head up. “Hey!” she exclaimed, “I resemble that remark!” As a former member of Loki, she most certainly did…

 Duncan smiled. “Nae just you Lass….  Thae good Precentor’s shadow has a special background too…” Standing up, he took one more look at the dates listed and her birth date. Doing the math, he commented. “Depending on age of parents, Veratoni’d be sixth generation. Outside chance of fifth which would be better… but if the DNA tracks, won’t matter.”

 Selby looked at him. “Is that close enough?” She was one of those who knew full well the contents of that archive and the requirements of those suits. Managing the search filter had been her responsibility, after all…

 Duncan shrugged. “Dinnae know, lass… but won’t know till we have her try, eh?” Looking at Reyna, he motioned for the door. “Looks like we have another trip tae take, lass. This one be up over to Johnson; I have a meeting tae have with the wee lass’s boss.”