Chapter Ten

Tharkad Palace

Lyran Commonwealth

February 17th, 3025

The following morning I am escorted to a different location. I find myself entering a more comfortable if lavish sitting room for today's meeting. The Archon has been joined by Simon Johnson and General Nondi Steiner as well as several aids. I greet them and take a seat when indicated to do so.

Simon Johnson begins the expected soft interrogation. "Mister Grimm, what can you tell us about the Location of your father as we would like to speak with him."

"I do not know where he is. He specifically told me he was going to disappear to avoid this very thing. He knew sooner or later the information he was from a future would get out and he did not want to be hidden away and interrogated for his knowledge. The last time I saw him was on Andurien just before I left that world."

"I see, then please tell us what you can of our possible future."

"Very well mister Johnson. The Helm cache and the library core were originally discovered by the Gray Death Legion in early 3028. They were the land holders of helm starting in 3027 and were involved in combat with the Capellans on behalf of Janos Marik. They were apparently framed for killing millions of people on Sirius V by destroying the domes, when in fact it was actually a Comstar Precentor Rachan and the Duke of Irian who were responsible.

Their goal was to discredit the legion to gain control of Helm so they could search for the cache. The Duke was to get the cache and Comstar wanted to destroy the library to prevent the knowledge from getting out. Comstar has been doing this since the first succession war.

The Gray Death Legion suffered heavy losses to both military and civilian members but came away with a small part of the cache and a non-indexed copy of the library. The facility succumbed to destruction via booby trap and the core was deliberately copied and distributed randomly to prevent Comstar from containing the information.

Unfortunately, it took over a decade to access the information on the core as it was just a memory dump. Each house managed to acquire a copy of the Helm Core and used it to unlock different technologies over time."

"This of course should no longer happen as you now have a completely functional copy of the library core and with a proper plan we can loot the cache from under Marik's nose."

"In late 3027 the Draconis Combine turns on Wolfs Dragoons using company store tactics and staged riots etc. before turning to outright attacks. You may be able to use this information to gain their favor. Although I must warn you the Dragoons and Snord's Irregulars are originally from the Clans and their loyalty is suspect. Snord's base on Clinton may even be covering a Star League facility if the rumors are true."

"Shortly after that the fourth succession war kicked off at the wedding between Melissa Steiner and Hanse Davion. I can give you a synopsis of the war that was written by Doctor Banzai as it happened to be on one of the ships when they miss jumped. I have a copy of both fourth succession war atlases which have any reference to the game removed to give them, that will save me a lot of time.

"In March of 3034 Rasalhague declared independence under the advice of Comstar and with the support of Theodore Kurita. This led to the formation of the Rasalhague Republic which was created out of most of the worlds you gained during the war. This was precipitated in part by Duke Selvin Kelswa's treatment of the populations of the captured former Tamar Pact worlds."

"Following that was the war of 3039 which was when the Lryan Commonwealth and the Federated Suns tried to do to the Draconis combine what the Federated Suns succeeded in doing to the Capellan Confederation in the Fourth Succession War. It did not go well as Comstar once again were involved as they supplied the Drac's with downgraded Star League mechs which caught your and the Suns forces by surprise. The Federated Suns ended up losing Quentin and its factories to the Drac's. I have a treatise written about the war which you can have as it too was on board the ships." I have a copy of Historical War of 3039 which has any reference to the game removed to give them.

"Archon do you want to know when you are supposed to die?"

The Archon takes a few moments to respond. "Yes as you say, all this information is History from a probable alternate universe. I may also be forewarned by this knowledge."

"Very well it took place in January of 3040, you apparently passed peacefully in your sleep but there was speculation it was either cancer or a plot by the ISF."

"The next major event is the Clan invasion starting in the Coreword Periphery in 3048. The perverted remains of Kerensky's army return using advanced weapons and genetically engineered warriors to conquer Terra. Unfortunately the Lyran Commonwealth lies in the path of their invasion corridor to Terra. I can tell you they still have and use warships. I have aerospace fighters, mechs and vehicles produced by them for analysis, the Commando IIC being one of them. I also have documentation that pertains to the Clans."

"The next bit is going to be unsettling for you. The Federated Commonwealth Civil War began in 3062 precipitated by the second born child of Hanse and Melissa. Her name was Katherine Steiner Davion and she was responsible for Melissa's death and possibly others as Hanse died of a supposed heart attack in 3052. The first born was Victor Steiner Davion and he was too much a warrior and not enough of a Politician thus allowing Katherine the opportunity to split the nation in two. There is a possibility she was replaced with a double as she worked with the Word of Blake and Clan Wolf."

"The last major event was the Jihad which started in 3067. Think about the Amaris coup and apply across the entire inner sphere and you will have an Idea of what happened. It lasted until 3081."

"Before I forget there are several important sites from the jihad era that should be investigated."

"The first are the Ruins of Gabriel in the Odessa system, it is a Star League naval facility hidden in a large asteroid or planetoid and was the location of ships that were deemed unfit to continue operations when Kerensky moved on to the Terran hegemony from the Rim Worlds Republic. Comstar may already be operating there."

"The next would be Kwangjong-Ni Amaris had a hidden battlemech factory beneath the ocean which the Star League failed to find but Defiance industries managed to locate during the jihad years. Perhaps looking into old records could help narrow down the search area."

"Oh, and there is a data core from Terran Hegemony intelligence on New Dallas in the FWL. Be careful though as Comstar is apparently monitoring the planet."

After my long rambling recounting of events. I look up to a collection of somber and shocked faces. It is obviously a lot to take in and I am only providing the general outlines. I have slipped in some of my personal knowledge of the Universe as the opportunity presents itself, but I have to be careful not to provide details that would not be expected to be available to the public.

"Archon may I presume to suggest we break until tomorrow so that you and your advisors might digest todays information."

"Yes, Rick your suggestion is welcome, may I call you Rick?"

"You may refer to me as you wish Archon."

"Very well then Rick you may use our first names as well when in private as we are now."

"Thank you, Katrina, Nondi and Simon, for this courtesy. It will make things easier in our future discussions."

I find myself sitting in my assigned quarters pondering the events of the last couple of days. I wonder why I keep referring to these luxurious rooms as my quarters, it must be the military mindset I have inherited from Mastiff. I hope my employees are being treated well. So far things are going well, I have not been disappeared and they seem to be treating me as if I still own all my equipment. They are making requests of me rather than demands at least. I still find myself in awe of the palace and Katrina Steiner. She is quite the milf, if only I was older and in her league. Damn I need to get laid all this running around and stress has left me on edge. Hopefully once things settle down, I can see to that. In a couple of weeks, I will be twenty and have been here for four years. A good part of that time has been spent traveling or waiting on dropships. Interstellar travel sucks after the novelty wears off. I am getting tired now I should get to sleep.

(The following section was inspired by YuffieK, thank you.)

That same evening finds the Steiner's reflecting on today's revelations in Katrina's private chambers. The three ladies are sitting in comfortable chairs around a low table with a bottle of amber liquid sitting in the center, each sipping from a crystal glass. Melissa's glass notably contains only a small amount of the amber liquid compared to Katrina and Nodi's glasses.

"So, Mel, you heard everything via the surveillance feed?"

"Yes Mother, Mein Gott my own daughter had me assassinated. Schisse!"

Nondi shakes her head. "Mein Gott is right; how could I have let this happen?"

"Well now that we have been forewarned, the both of you can plan accordingly if things proceed as described. I will arrange for a medical exam to determine if I have cancer as he indicated was the cause of my death. Perhaps with the data from the library core there may be an effective treatment."

Nondi and Mel nod in acceptance of Katrina's statement. "Mother what are your plans for mister Grimm?"

"For what he has brought to me and the realm I would have offered him your hand if you were not already committed to Hanse. That being said I will have to come up with a suitable reward for him. I will have to find out more about him and his wants as unlike others who would have made demands he has not done so at this point."

"In some ways I would have preferred him over Hanse, he is handsome and closer to my age. He would also come with far fewer complications to deal with."

The sisters share a knowing look before pouncing on Mel with embarrassing girl talk.

The next morning sees me back in the same room with the addition of Melissa Steiner having joined us. I take my seat after being formally introduced and wait for the questions to begin.

Katrina begins todays discussion by bringing me up to date on what is happening due to my revelations.

"Rick, I first want to thank you for providing us with a copy of the library as well as the other information you have given us. I have ordered a task force created to recover the Helm cache and ask that you join it. We of course will have to come to an agreement on your fair share of the contents."

"Your welcome Katrina."

"Duke Brewer has agreed to purchase the Hatchetmen mechs from you at cost as agreed with mister Weiler, although he is having trouble coming up with a cost for the two upgraded models."

"According to the documentation my father left me the cost listed for the HCT-5S is six point one three five million C-bills each."

"Very well I will inform Duke Brewer. If you can provide your account details to Robert, he will arrange for payment from the Duke."

"Certainly Katrina." I provide my account details to the indicated assistant so he can arrange to complete the transaction.

"We would like to purchase, lease or come to some other form of agreement to acquire a large quantity of your equipment for our use or for the purpose of reverse engineering it. We would prefer your equipment not fall into the hands of those hostile to the Lyran Commonwealth or its allies."

"I am more than willing to come to an agreement with you as I share your concerns."

"That is a relief, Simon has some of his people looking into the locations you suggested and would like to see the documentation you mentioned. Nondi has been pestering me to get her copies of the fourth war synopsis and war of 3039 treatise. I would also like to hear any suggestions you may have for how I and the realm should make use of the knowledge you have provided as you have had a lot more time to consider this."

"Very well but please let me know if I over step my bounds as I am not used to dealing with people of your status."

"As to suggestions for the possible future."

"I would use what time you have to most effectively improve your forces before the fourth war using limited technology upgrades, the LB 10X and multiple missile system come to mind if they can be manufactured."

"Look into widening the Terran corridor during the fourth war."

"Work towards a more homogenized force composition as your logistics must be a nightmare with the mishmash of equipment and varying support requirements. Omni technology would vastly improve your logistics but will take quite some time to reverse engineer."

"Avoid the war of 3039 if possible and try to prevent the civil war."

"Do what you can to prepare for the Clans and Comstar/Word of Blake."

"That is about all that comes to mind at the moment."

"If you are done for the moment and Simon can spare the time or a trusted aid, we can contact my jumpship to make arrangements to have the proper containers holding the documentation and personal affects of the future crew ready. Either to be transloaded to a dropship for the journey down if you have one at the jump point or I can send my own dropship but that would take an extra week."

At a nod from Katrina Simon stands and motions me to follow him.