Chapter Sixty-Nine: Nice!

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Nice!

Robinson, Draconis March, Federated Suns, September 13th, 3015

"What do you think David?" I asked my son as I got dressed in a simplified Marksman/Kentares Guard uniform, properly tailored to suit the environment I was about to find myself in. "Do I look good?" I gave my Son a thumbs up and got one in return, along with a fist bump. "See, I don't need to look too good, gotta keep the women away after all."

Mathis was chuckling in the background.

"Hey!" I said pointing at my bodyguard and friend. "No comments from the peanut gallery."

"But, it's funny." Mathis said, still laughing. "It's not the clothes that keep women away from you." He was doubled over at this point. "It's that you wouldn't notice unless they dragged you to a bedroom and tied you up."

"I'm better about it now." I said while crossing my arms. "I am married after all."

"Yeah, no." He said as he finally contained his laughter. "You're just not on the market anymore and so don't have to notice anything."

"Just shut up and help me wrangle a two year old." I told him, grabbing David who was in a miniature version of my uniform. "We need to get going."

Later that day…

"Mathis," I told my bodyguard through the small mic attached to my collar. "I need an exfil plan, if another woman comes and tries to pick up my son I will shoot somebody."

"Sorry sir, but you haven't been able to meet the Sandoval's yet." Mathis told me. "If you manage to get in and have a small discussion with him and some other important nobles, we will be able to exfil."

Grabbing David and slinging him onto my hip, I politely slipped through the crowd. After gently making my way through, I managed to find the area I needed to be in.

"Duke Sandoval." I shook his hand. "A pleasure to meet you again."

"Duke Hull." He responded. "A pleasure to finally have your presence grace the court here on Robinson. Have you met my children?"

"I am afraid I have not had the chance to meet any of them as of yet." I responded. "I'm pleased to meet you." His four children all introduced themselves to me going from oldest to youngest.

"Colonel Hull." James Sandoval got my attention after being introduced to me. "Would you care to have a discussion on combined arms tactics? I have just graduated from the Academy and while my father has had very good advice, there is always something new to be learned."

"Of course." I responded. "What area of combined arms tactics do you want to discuss? I personally favor asymmetrical warfare and overwhelming firepower whenever possible." I said. "The new Sting class makes for an incredible CAP gunship and is able to support infantry and Vehicles in a way that current Aerospace does not."

"I saw the Sting" Duke Sandoval weighed in. "We are currently on the purchase list from the Layover facility."

"There are a lot of people on the purchase list." I replied. "We are rolling them out and getting more lines set up as fast as we can vet and hire people. I think the overall goal was to have a minimum of three per world, with as many as six or more for critical infrastructure worlds."

"Yes," James agreed. "I think that stopping an invasion force before it arrives is something that could become critical, but why would you waste something so valuable as a close support craft?"

"Because a dropship can be replaced." I told the two of them. "There is no Lostech involved in their construction, and the licenses that we sold to the Taurian Concordat and the Lyran Commonwealth will help curb and/or end piracy as we know it."

"Is that your overall goal?" Duke Sandoval asked. "To end piracy?"

"No, my goal is to have secured a permanent place for my family, and to make the Inner Sphere a better place." I said, shifting the now sleeping David to my other arm. "And I would like peace, but I know that peace is something that is hard to come by."

September 15th, 3015

"We are finally leaving." I said with no small amount of cheer. "Done with the politics, and back to the things I actually understand."

"And where there is less of a security risk to yourself and David." Mathis weighed in. "The armored car is here."

We had purchased a small convoy that we used, with an armored hover-limo as a decoy and the armored sedan as the actual vehicle that we used to get to our destination. We were on our way to the spaceport, where the Messenger and some of the Sting gunships we had brought as escorts waited for us when the hover limo exploded in inferno gel and explosions.

"Stay down." Mathis told the two of us as he moved the sedan out of the way and accelerated towards the spaceport. "I'm pretty sure we just got hit by some sort of cell trying to kill the both of you."

I just drew my sidearm, and put David down on the floorboard. "Anything bigger than my pistol?" I asked Mathis who simply pushed a button on the front dash of the car. "Thanks." I said as I grabbed the rifle that was stored behind the rear seat. "Let me know if I need to provide supporting fire."

"We're two mikes out from the Spaceport, and the Messenger and her escorts are prepped to lift off as soon as we are aboard." Mathis reported to me. "It seems that whoever it was took the bait for now."

"Stay cautious though." I told him. "We've pissed off enough people that it could be ROM, ISF, or MASK trying to kill us."

"Or it could be all three." Mathis shrugged. "At this point it doesn't matter who is trying to kill you, only that they don't succeed."