Nashira.
Alex cursed under her breath as the laser bolts passed close by, hammering into the wall behind her. Sighting in on the Slyth that had fired on her. She fired off her last two micro-missiles at the other battlesuit, one passed harmlessly to it’s right and exploded against the tarmac, the other blew armour from the right flank, but failed to penetrate.
Her railgun had more of an effect, slamming in the the Slyth’s right arm and wrenching it back with enough force that she knew the sheer transference of energy had to have snapped the arm of the man inside.
As the Slyth staggered back as the trooper struggled against his agony. Alex tried to take stock of the situation, and it was looking bad. If the Rim World Warriors had an elite reputation, they were certainly living up to it.
They made no all out assaults, but made constant, persistent probing attacks, seeking the weak points in Alex’s defensive setup and making Alex realize just how much she had to learn about managing a battle.
Yorinaga had been a blessing, she’d allowed him to takeover the battle, giving the orders and running this way and that to shore up their line. The timely arrival of a squad of Royal guard battlesuits had helped, though in the last few minutes casualties had started mounting among the lighter Ocelots the Royal Guard used.
Meanwhile, the remaining Broadsider tank had been a prime target for Canis’ troops, it was still fighting, but the damage was starting to have an effect. It’s right side tracks were shredded and one of it’s laser cannons was out of action. Though immobilized, it still proved an effective threat against the attackers. But it was still one big stationary target.
“Ogre One, what’s your status?” She asked, opening up her comm to the tank.
“Not to good, Claw One” The voice of the Broadsider’s commander answered, “We’re not going anywhere. Even with the track wrecked, we could have at least gotten somewhat mobile, but the engine is wrecked. We can aim and shoot, but not much more”
“Understood Ogre One” Alex sighed, then switched frequencies, “Demon One, things are getting tight here, what’s your ETA?”
“Same as before” Gol Sivran answered, “Five minutes, give or take. We’ll be there, Claw One, don’t you worry”
“I’m just worried about leaving you nothing to do” Alex laughed, “Claw One out”
Yorinaga’s Orca stomped up, it’s armor warped and carbon scored, but intact, it had taken a beating as Yorinaga had thrown the heavier battlesuit into the fray time and again to break another charge. It’s left arm laser was gone, only a tangle of wires remaining, but the right arm laser and the heavy blaster cannon on it’s right shoulder were intact and functional.
“They will attack in full force this time” Yorinaga said, his voice sounding weary, but determined, “They have probed and tested our lines. They have forced us to expend ammunition and have inflicted significant damage. They will attack”
Alex grimaced, “Five minutes minimum, that’s all we need”
The Orca turned and the heavy blaster swung to lock onto a target, “They may not give us that” Yorinaga said.
Without hesitating, Alex brought her own railgun up and fired at the battlesuits charging down the street, to the left and right Barnes and Rei adding their own firepower.
The next few minutes passed in a blur of firing, dodging, retreating and counter-attacking. Somewhere along the line, the last of the Royal Guard Ocelots fell and was forced to pull back and soon, only the Broadsider and Alex’s little squad were left.
“We’re two minutes out” Gol Sivran’s voice called over the comms.
“We’re still here. Barely” Alex answered, pumping two railgun rounds through an attacking LAV’s windscreen and sending it careening into a shop front.
Any joy she might have felt over stopping the LAV evaporated when the Crusader Heavy Tank rolled onto the street and turned it’s massive missile batteries towards them.
“Incoming!” She yelled as the Crusader disappeared in a cloud of smoke as it unleashed a full salvo.
Much of the salvo rained down on the stricken Broadsider and crushed it’s armour before the explosions triggered secondary blasts in the fuel cells and blew the tank apart. Alex found herself picked up by the blasts and thrown aside like a child’s toy
She wasn’t sure how long she’d been out, but when she came to, she was flat on her back looking through a cracked visor with her HUD flickering intermittently. Rolling to her feet, she pointed her Railgun at an approaching Gargoyle Battlesuit and fired.
Or tried to. Her HUD flashed up a warning about a major fault with her weapon and when she looked, she saw that the railguns charging coils had been wrecked, leaving her with eight feet of useless metal mounted to her arm.
“This is One” She called, ducking behind an overturned speeder “Report in”
“Three here” Barnes answered, “I’m battered, but okay. Two is down, vitals are good. She’s concious, but seems out of it, think she might be concussed”
“Copy Two” Alex said carefully aware that the Griffin was still approaching, “What about you, Four? Four?”
Cursing under her breath, Alex triggered the unlock on her railgun and allowed it to jump free of the mounts, then gripping it like a club, she stepped around the speeder and swung it at the Gargoyle.
Armour shattered on the Gargoyle’s shoulders, then the makeshift club continued up with her swing and clipped the battlesuits helmet. From the way the man staggered back, she knew she’d stunned him at the least. She pursued him, swinging the railgun again, but this time the trooper blocked the attack, then brought his shatter rifle up and fired it point blank.
The impact to Alex’s stomach was like being kicked by a horse. Her battlesuits armour held, but she was still dumped onto her back winded and tasting blood from where she’d bitten her lip. Coughing and trying to catch her breath, she tried to roll back to her feet, but the Gargoyle kicked her over on her back and leveled his weapon at her helmet.
Even as she looked desperately for an escape option, the hulk of Yorinaga’s Orca loomed over them both, one arm reached out and grasping the helmet of the Gargoyle crushed durasteel and flesh and bone with equal ease.
“Am I glad to see you” Alex grinned as she slowly, painfully regained her feet..
“There is no time” Yorinaga snapped, “You have to go. Get clear”
“I can still fight” Alex responded, picking up the Gargoyles shatter gun. It’s trigger assembly was a little different, but it fit well enough to work with her own battlesuits firing systems.
“There is no time” Yorinaga repeated, his Orca turning and starting towards the advancing Rim World Warriors. “My Orca’s fusion generator has been damaged and is in an overload state. Do you know what that means?”
A numb feeling swept through Alex. She knew exactly what it meant, “Yeah, I do”
“Then get clear, I will delay them” Yorinaga said. He paused, “You have thirty seconds, it may just be enough time”
“I…thank you” Alex swallowed.
“No, thank you for giving me the chance” Yorinaga chuckled, then the Orca turned again and leapt towards the oncoming attackers, it’s weapons blazing.
Alex turned away and started to run, “Two, we need to get clear. Grab three and pull back to Garth Oslo Street, three blocks over”
“”We’ll meet you there” Barnes answered.
Alex turned briefly as she ran, saw the Orca in the midst of a swarm of enemy battlesuits, it’s heavy blaster already torn away, but at that range, the failing fists were more than enough to crush armour and send those it hit tumbling.
Then the fusion core in the Orca blew. Alex had a brief glimpse of white light eating away at the Orca, then she was once again thrown through the air like a ragdoll.
Kitten saw the explosions off to the north, but she thought little of them as she cut down alleyways to where Leeza’s fighter had come down. It wasn’t easy, fighting still raged in this area of the city, though it was clear the Rim Worlds forces were being pushed back hard, but she still had to be careful.
Pausing at one intersection, she watched as a pair of tanks rolled past followed by a squad of battlesuits and a pair of infantry haulers. She waited till the street was clear then dashed across, almost jumping out her skin as a group of civilians came out of a doorway and bumped into her.
Landing on her rump, she looked at the two men and three women that had appeared. They were armed with hunting blasters and rifles, the sort of weapon one would use for sport, but they also bore medi-kits.
The lead man held his hand out and helped Kitten back to her feet, “Sorry for that” He looked her over, “You’re a pilot?” His eyes narrowed suspiciously, “That’s not an Alliance uniform”
“I’m not Alliance” Kitten shook her head, then held her hands up as the group became tense, “I’m with them though. I’m a pilot in Alexandria Tarn’s unit, the Ghosts”
The man looked at her carefully, then gave a sharp nod, “Okay, are you the one from the craft we saw come down?” He indicated in the direction Kitten had been heading, the direction in which Leeza had come down.
“No” Kitten shook her head, “But she’s my friend. I’m trying to get to her”
“We were heading there to” The man smiled, “My name is Gerald”
“Kitten” Kitten replied.
———————-
The group found Leeza’s fighter -or what was left of it- embedded in the side of an office building. The s-foils had been torn away, taking away the port side engines in the process and the fuselage was snapped at the midpoint. The cockpit itself was crushed and the impact would have been unsurvivable.
Fortunately, Leeza hadn’t been in the cockpit at the moment of impact. Both the command chair and canopy were missing.
“Damn, she could be anywhere” Kitten scowled.
“She’s won’t be too far” One of Gerald’s men shook his head and pointed out onto the street, “That’s the canopy frame there” He frowned, “She didn’t punch out long before impact, otherwise the canopy would be a lot further away. She must have ejected just before impact”
“But at that height” Kitten winced, “Her chute wouldn’t have had time to open properly” She looked at the four-five story buildings that lined the streets, “Assuming she didn’t hit any of the buildings” She frowned, none of the buildings looked like they’d been hit by an ejecting command seat.
“Over here” A voice called out.
Over in the next street, they found Gerald and the others stood around an empty pilots seat. It was badly damaged, but all the damage seemed to have been caused when the seat hit the ground rather than from hitting something else.
Kitten looked around in worry, “She can’t be far. The height she seems to have punched out at, she won’t have landed far from this”
Gerald nodded, “She may be badly hurt. We need to find her fast”
They spread out, searching the streets as best they could, with two of Gerald’s men heading into buildings and making for the rooftops to search them and also gain a vantage point. It was one of those men that struck gold.
At the shout from above, Kitten looked up from the alleyway she’d been moving through and saw the man gesturing to the east.
“Two streets over” He shouted, “I can see a chute”
Kitten half ran in the indicated direction and sure enough saw the fluttering cloth of a drop chute fluttering in the warm, dusty breeze. Leeza had come down on the roof of a landspeeder with enough speed to smash the roof in and she laid, unconscious but somewhat intact on the top.
Her skin was pale, but her breathing was somewhat regular, Her legs had apparently taken much of the impact, both were bloodied and twisted at an unnatural angle.
The two woman from Gerald’s little team were just behind Kitten and she found herself pushed up around Leeza’s head as the two woman went to work. One pulling out a pair of scissors and cutting away Leeza’s flightsuit around her legs as the other swept a medi-scanner back and forth across the pilots body, paying particular attention to the head, neck and spine. Then with Kitten’s help, they carefully lifted Leeza from the top of the speeder and onto the pavement.
Kitten knelt down and grabbed her friends hand and was surprised when Leeza’s eyes fluttered open, “Hey, Kitten. Funny seeing you here. What happened?”
“You fudged your landing” Kitten smiled at her friend.
“Is that why my legs hurt so much” Leeza frowned and tried to look at her legs, but Kitten gently held her friends head down while the two women worked.
“Better you not look” Kitten said, “They’re a little messed up at the moment”
Leeza looked startled, “They aren’t going to cut them off are they? Only I don’t want to have to throw all my shoes away”
“You’ll be fine” One of the women said, “Both legs are broken, but the breaks aren’t too bad, blood loss is manageable, you haven’t severed any arteries, which is usually the worry with injuries like this” She took on a serious tone, “Are you in any pain?”
“Yeah” Leeza nodded, “More by the second” She winced.
“This should help” The woman produced an injector and pressed it against Leeza’s neck. The device hissed and the injured woman’s eyes defocused.
“Oh, that’s the stuff” Leeza sighed as the painkillers kicked in, “Can I have more?”
“No” Kitten frowned, then looked at the women as Gerald and the other two men arrived, “Does any of you have a comlink? Mine is supposed to be run through a fighters comm-system, it doesn’t have the range to call for help”
Gerald shook his head, “No, but I know where we can find help” He looked to one of his men, “Hal, with me, we’ll try and wave down the Alliance forces”
After they’d gone, the two woman looked at Leeza and Kitten, “We should reset the breaks now and get them immobilized. It’ll limit the risks of doing it later if there’s a delay getting to a med-station.
“It’s going to hurt isn’t it?” Leeza grimaced.
“Yes” The woman nodded, and held up the injector, “I can give you another shot”
Leeza sighed and nodded, “Do it”
The woman injected Leeza, then turned to her companion, “We’ll do the right leg first. On three” When they pulled the leg straight, Leeza screamed in pain as the pain overwhelmed the painkillers and then she passed out.
A moment later, they repeated the act with the left leg, though this time the thankfully unconscious Leeza let out only a soft moan. With both legs now reset, they quickly and with the help of the other man, bound both leg with splints and bandages.
“She’ll be fine” One of the woman reassured Kitten, “She’s young and in good health. Once they get her into bacta, I doubt there will be much scarring” She frowned, “She may be limping for a while”
“Thank you” Kitten nodded, “She’s my best friend. She’s helped me through a lot”
“And now you’ll be helping me go to the fresher” Leeza said, having regained consciousness enough to be somewhat coherent and aware.
“Joy” Kitten smiled at her friend, then looked up and Gerald returned, with him were the other man and a squad of Royal Guard troopers, one of which was currently talking away on his com-headset. “You had luck then?”
Gerald nodded, “The Lieutenant here is getting us a medevac now”
“Thank you” Kitten smiled.
“Hey, Lieutenant!” Leeza cut in, “Tell them to bring more drugs!”
———————————————
Alex sighed with relief as finally with the help of Scooter Barnes and with a screech of warped metal, her battlesuits helmet finally came free and allowed cooler air to hit her face. Almost immediately, she was assaulted by the dry and dusty nature of it, the smell of something burnt and other less than pleasant smells and a heaviness in the air that suggested a rainstorm was in the offering. But after the hot confines of a battlesuit with it’s air-con system off line, it was like being in a walk in chiller.
“Thanks Scooter” She nodded, then turned to the man standing before her with the helmet of his own Terok Battlesuit tipped back, “Thanks for showing up when you did”
Gol Sivran nodded, “I wish we could have been here sooner, but a few picket units were harassing my rear lines” He glanced up the road to where Yorinaga had made his last stand. The roadway had partially collapsed into a crater that the buildings lining the roads threatened to tip into.
Several wrecked tanks and shattered battlesuits littered the area, including one misshapen, half-melted lump that might once have been an Orca battlesuit. The detonation of Yorinaga’s battlesuit and the subsequent arrival of Sivran’s relief force -his battlesuit squad and Hugh Paeyen’s tank group- had broken the Rim Worlds Warriors and sent them into a rout.
Despite that, the fighting still raged across the city. First and Second Batallions had driven their respective foes back to the area around the royal palace, but were unable to make headway against the dug in troops.
Alex glanced over to where Barnes was now talking with Rei, her helmet also off and a bandage wrapped around her head. She still looked groggy, but looked more alert than she had when they’d first got her helmet off.
“Thanks all the same” Alex nodded, “This battle has become one of attrition. Canis is just going to keep fighting till the end. Too many are going to die” Her thoughts briefly turned to the brief comm call she’d had with Ash. The news that Amaris had been killed in a duel with Helene was surprising, she’d never even thought Helene knew how to use a katana.
Sivran shrugged, “I think everyone knows that, but apparently he’s refusing to answer comm calls, so no one can ask for his surrender. Draco’s tried, Col’s tried. He’s made a decision and he’s sticking to it. With this Amaris dead and General Kiguri out of the picture, Canis is on his own. But he just won’t accept it”
“It’s not all lost yet” Alex smiled, and yanking her comm headset from her helmet, flicked it on, “Sacul, do you read me?”
“Here Captain” Sacul’s voice answered, “We’re just doing some medi-evac runs. What do you need?”
“I need you to get me on Canis’ comm frequency. Just me and him and can you pull some wizardry to prevent him cutting me off” Alex asked, “It’s time I had a very important talk with him. Patch Draco and Col in too, but let me have the initial verbal”
“No problem” Sacul said, “Making the connection now. You’re on”
“General Canis” Alex said, “This is Alex Tarn”
“Captain Tarn?” She could almost hear the frown, “I’m not going to bother asking how you got on this frequency. But we have nothing to say” There was a click as Canis switched frequencies.
“I’m still here, General” Alex grinned, “There’s no getting rid of me this time”
“How did you….?” Canis trailed off, “You continue to surprise me, Captain. Fine, what do you want?”
“What I want is as important as what you want?” Alex said, “What can you hope to accomplish, General? Amaris is dead. Angus Tarn is dead. General Kiguri is dead. Your forces are surrounded and have no where to go. What do you hope to accomplish? What can you accomplish?”
“I can make victory costly for you” Canis shot back, but she could hear reluctance in his voice, “I won’t surrender my soldier’s lives”
A thought occurred to her and she began pacing, ignoring the activity around her and the curious eyes of Barnes and Rei, “Surrender your soldiers lives? What are you talking about?”
“They’re dead either way” Canis answered, “I’d sooner they died fighting, than before your firing squads”
“Is that what you think?” Alex felt sick, “Is that really what you think? That we’ll execute prisoners?”
“It happened before” Canis replied, his voice tinged with anger, “You know the history. You know what happened when Anya Tarn defeated the first Stefan Amaris”
“No!” Alex snapped. “That’s not going to happen. They’ll be disarmed, maybe some will serve prison terms, but we won’t kill out of hand”
“You honestly think you can back that up?” Canis’ disbelief was audible, “You’re not the Prince”
“And my father isn’t Anya Tarn!” Alex said angrily, “He won’t order the slaughter of soldiers who surrendered. He’s been a warrior himself”
“And what of the ISF?” Canis asked, “Can you guarantee they won’t execute us? Can you guarantee they won’t find a way to the Rim Worlds Collective and finish what their ancestors started?”
Alex hesitated, “No, I can’t. But I can guarantee that if whatever is left of the ISF after all this tries that, they’ll find me standing in their way”
“You are only one woman” Canis said, sounding a little less confident,
Draco’s voice cut into the conversation, Sacul giving him participation in the conversation with perfect timing, “This is General Draco Fel-Tarn. In the absence of the First Prince in this discussion, you have my word that if you surrender, none of your men will be ill treated. If you and your command staff are willing to hand yourselves in for trial, I can also arrange for a ship to take the remainder of your men home, or in the the case of the mercenaries, transport to the Sprawl” His voice took on a cold edge, “And if, after the ISF has finished it’s own housekeeping, they plan on striking at your worlds, they’ll find Republic March forces in their way”
“And if your Prince Harrison wants to strike at the Collective?” Canis asked.
“He won’t” Alex said, “I have a back up plan to make sure he won’t have the support for a war against the Collective”
“Alex, what are you…..” Draco started to say, then trailed off.
Alex cut back in, “General, If you surrender, your soldiers will be able to go home. If you persist with this fight, none of them will make it. Please, don’t make us slaughter them”She let her voice carry a plea of urgency
“I…I…” Canis stammered, and Alex could hear the indecision in his voice. Then it came back strong, “Very well. Captain Tarn, General Fel-Tarn. I, General Holtan Canis of the Rim Worlds Collective Armed Forces, surrender to you. My forces will cease fire with immediate effect”
“Thank you, General” Alex sighed with relief, “I promise you, you won’t regret this”
“I trust you, Captain” Canis said wearily, “I trust you. Thank you” Then his end of the line went dead.
But Draco was still there, “Alex, what did you mean by back up plan?”
“Not now Draco, I’ll try and explain later” With a sigh, Alex switched off the comlink, then rubbed her forehead before she became aware of how quiet things had suddenly become.
Sivran had noticed it too, “Cease fire?”
“Yeah” Alex nodded, “Canis was convinced to surrender. There might be a few hold outs in the city and we’re also going to have to keep an eye on our own people, especially the Royal Guard and the First Skye Rangers. Their survivors will be looking for blood”
Sivran winced, “Good point. I’ll talk to Col, we may have to deploy the Jaegers as military police to keep the peace short term. It’s going to be tough once people start filtering back into the city”
Alex nodded, “Glad to see the old drills still work. Everyone got to bunkers or fled the city when the fighting started” She shrugged, “Well, mostly everyone, I know there was a few who were to stubborn to evacuate”
“It’s been so long since a drill, some people didn’t take notice till the shooting started” Sivran said.
Alex sighed, “People just live in their their own world. Makes you wonder if they’d have even noticed a change on the throne”
The Safe Room.
Jacob looked up from the terminal he had been using and grinned, “It’s confirmed. Enemy forces are surrendering. We’ve got tanks and battlesuits powering down, infantry disarming and starfighters are landing in the spaceport fields” He nodded, “Our own forces are taking up defensive positions, but Draco doesn’t think they’ll be needed”
The First Prince visibly relaxed as a cheer went up around the small group in the room, “Good Jacob, good” Harrison smiled, “Give my thanks to Draco and the Jaegars for their timely intervention”
“And what about Alex?” Natasha’s voice cut through the air, drawing all eyes to her, “The Jaeger’s wouldn’t have even been here if not for her” She tried to stand, but was held down by the medic working to bandage her injured leg. She was already irritable at being told her injury wasn’t a high enough priority for her to get bacta treatment due to the sheer number of injured soldiers in worse condition, so she made little effort to hide how she really felt, “If Alex hadn’t led us in uncovering Amaris’ scheme and then taking the chance to bring Draco in, you’d be dead and a puppet controlled by Amaris would be on the throne”
“Watch your tone Major” Harrison narrowed his eyes, “You and your friends may have been instrumental today, but you are on thin ice as it is. Alexandria will get the credit she is due” He hung his head, “Despite everything, she was still there when the Alliance was threatened”
Ash shook her head, her tone softened, “Not just the Alliance, but you” She pointed to Jacob and Hanna, “Her family. She loves you, even after everything that was said between the two of you. Why can’t you just accept her for who she is?”
“I will consider it” Harrison sighed.
“Not good enough!” Hanna shouted, the naked anger in her voice causing heads to snap in her direction. Heavily pregnant and leaning against Jacob, Hanna’s face was a mask of fury, “Dammit, Harrison. She’s your daughter. She is who she is. Her choices are her own to make” She looked at Ash, “She has chosen who she loves, she has chosen her friends, and as you said yourself, after all that happened between the two of you, she chose to come to Skye and save your life” She shook her head angrily, “You cast her out and all but disowned her and she still saved your life and all you can say is ‘You’ll consider it’? Not good enough”
Ash nodded, “You know, she was willing to risk everything to uncover Amaris and his plot. She knew full well that had it got out that she’d joined -albeit temporary- with Amaris and his scheme she’d forever be marked as a traitor. As it was it never came to that, but she was willing to risk all to stop him” She stared at him, “Face it, the only reason you were angry with her was because she didn’t tell you. She’d been planning to when that media outlet released the details”
“I do not like surprises” Harrison sighed, “I was angry because I was given no warning, no way to prepare for” He looked uncomfortable saying so in front of so many people, “I was angry at the surprise and yes, I took it out on her” He looked Ash in the eye, “On both of you” He looked up, his face reddening, “I need time to think” He turned and left the room, several security officers and aides in tow.
Jacob grinned at Ash and Hanna, “Congratulations you two. I think you finally got through to him”
Ash let out a deep breath, felt a little woozy as the painkillers finally started to kick in and numb the searing pain from her knee, “It’s up to him and Alex now. Let’s hope they can patch things up”
Jacob glanced at Ash, then at his wife, “Remind me” He said to Hanna, “Never to annoy you. I don’t think I’d survive the counter-attack”
——————————————-
Emergency Medical Treatment Center Twelve.
Nashira.
323ABY.
June 6th
Alexandria Tarn absently nodded to the two security officers standing guard at the door and slipped into the makeshift medical facility – a re-purposed school hall. Beds had been set up in a half dozen ranks, upon which were those who needed medical care, but weren’t seriously injured enough to take up space in the hospitals and better equipped facilities.
Many of those here were in good spirits, though Alex had no doubt that the inactivity was getting to some. Nurses and orderly’s moved between the wounded, but few of the patients really needed urgent care. Many were simply here until they were discharged from care or until transport could be arranged.
Seeing a small group in one corner dominated by one particularly tall man, Alex made her way over to them. Not all the Ghosts were here today, Galatea and Esm were still repairing damage to the Wolf and the units surviving battlesuits, Helene and Connor were off somewhere cosy and Karl Sims was dispensing his surgical skills at Nashira General Hospital.
“Morning everyone” She smiled and the group parted with a chorus of ‘mornings’ and grins.
Four beds with the units injured members had been pulled together and Ash -her leg restrained in a brace to allow her knee to heal-, Leeza with both legs in casts, Notha Wel with his arm in a sling and Rei with her broken ribs taped up and a bandage wrapped around her head were sat upon them.
The rest of the present Ghosts stood in a loose circle around the beds, Jasek Garcia, Dan Halcyon and Kitten, Antioch Bell, Samson, Scooter Barnes and Sacul.
“Still grouchy today are we?” Alex grinned at Ash.
“Less grouchy now” Ash smiled and took Alex’s hand.
Alex grinned then looked around the group, “I had hoped everyone would be here, so I’d only need to do this once. I’ll just have to tag the others later” She nodded, “Okay, first things first. Thanks to Draco Fel-Tarn, the Ghosts have been retroactively contracted to assist the First Anobis Jaegers in the battle against Amaris and his forces. As such, our accounts have been boosted to the order of forty-thousand credits plus a ten thousand bonus” She looked to the four injured members, “Furthermore, the four of you received a ‘casualty compensation’. Proportionate to your injuries and intended to cover your medical costs”
“Now that you mention it” Dan grinned and held up his right hand. A small plaster was wrapped around the middle finger.
“Oh right” Alex nodded and dug into her pocket and produced a credit chit which she tossed to Dan, who caught it and looked disappointingly at it, “Proportionate to injuries”
“One whole credit?” Dan sighed dramatically, “The box of plasters was two credits”
“Then you got ripped off, love” Kitten laughed setting off laughter through the group.
Alex waited for the laughter to stop, then sobered, “We also received a ‘fatality payment’ for Yorinaga. I’ve got Sacul trying to find out if he had any dependents, it’s quite a sum of cash and I’d rather it went to family”
Garcia frowned, “I’ve a few contacts from my old Intel days that I can talk to, if it’ll help”
“Thank you” Sacul smiled, “Anything you can do to help is appreciated. Even with my access to their networks, the Circinus Intelligence databases are a mess”
Alex nodded, “On a positive note, Draco also had two new Dragonfly fighters diverted to us. An extra bonus” She looked at Leeza and Kitten in turn, giving them a stern look that was undermined by the smile that threatened to erupt on her face, “Can you two try not to break these ones”
“Aye aye, Captain” Leeza tossed of a sloppy salute, echoed a moment later by Kitten.
“What’s the plan now, boss?” Notha asked.
Alex shrugged, “That depends on the next few days. I don’t really plan on us staying for long, just long enough for the Wolf’s repairs to be completed and for you four to be reasonably mobile again. I have too many bad memories of this world and I’d rather not be here for longer than necessary”
Ash frowned at Alex, “What do you mean ‘next few days’? What’s going on?”
Alex shook her head, “Nothing yet, okay” She looked around at everyone, “Look, I’m utterly proud at all of you for what we accomplished, and very humbled by the fact that you all followed me here and you were willing to do so, even if we’d had to do so without Draco and the Jaegars” She smiled, “Now, whatever the future brings, you’ve earned the chance to celebrate and relax. So don’t make me order you” She looked at Ash as the group began to break up a little, “Ash, can you walk a little?”
Ash grinned, “I can. Why you taking me somewhere nice?” She stood and testing the brace on her leg, limped away from the bed with Alex’s support.
“Hardly nice” Alex smiled, helping her lover towards a small side room, an office that was currently empty, “Just wanted a little privacy, something we’ve had so little of recently”
“Can say that again” Ash grunted as Alex helped her to the offices couch and then shut the door, “Things have been hectic”
“Yeah” Alex sighed, “”I’ve been trying to avoid places where my dad might show up, this was one of them. I hear you gave him a bit of an earful, you and Hanna”
Ash winced, “Kinda. Needed to be said though. He wasn’t going to ignore your contribution to things, but he needed know that you were the catalyst. Without you pulling us all together and leading the way, things would have been a lot different” She leaned in and kissed her, “I’m so proud of you, little one”
Alex bushed, “I just did what I had to do” She shook her head, “I’m not after glory or recognition. I just want to make a difference in my own way”
“You’re well on your way to doing that” Ash grinned, “What did you mean earlier? What’s going to happen in the next few days?”
Alex shook her head, “That’s down to my Dad. I’m going to talk with him tomorrow and there’s some things that need to be said”
Ash frowned, “You aren’t planning on burning your bridges, are you?”
“Not planning on it” Alex sighed.
A knock on the door drew their attention and cut off further conversation. Before either could stand, the door swung open and Jacob Tarn stepped into the small room, stopping up short when he saw the two embracing on the couch.
“Oh, not interrupting, am I?” Jacob winced.
Alex smiled and stood to hug her brother, her forehead just brushing his chin,“Yes, but it’s okay, you’re forgiven”
“Good to hear” Jacob grinned down at his sister, then looked over at Ash, “Hi Natasha, how’s the leg?”
“Hurts” Ash grimaced and rubbed her knee, “Finally got some bacta treatment this morning. So that’s an improvement”
“Good” Jacob nodded. Then looked back at Alex, “Can we have a quick chat?”
“You know the answer will always be yes” Alex frowned, “What about?”
“Are you avoiding Dad?” Jacob asked.
Alex glanced at Ash where she sat on the couch, “We were just discussing this actually. Yeah, I guess I have been. But he’s known where to find me. He could have sought me out, or sent a runner”
“The First Prince doesn’t chase after other people, even his own daughter” Jacob snorted, “He’s proud, but stubborn, much like someone else I know”
Alex grimaced, “Look, I’m going to see him tomorrow. Okay?”
Jacob scowled at her. “Why have you even been avoiding him?”
“Reasons, many and varied” Alex snapped, turning and pacing across the office to stare out the window.
Painfully, Ash rose and limped her way over to rest a hand on Alex’s shoulder. Alex responded by reaching up her right hand and gripping her lovers hand.
“Be nice if he would just accept me for who I am and for who I love” Alex sighed.
“Maybe” Jacob shrugged, aware that this was still territory he was inexperienced with, “But acceptance does work both ways. You’ll have to accept that he’s going to be slow coming around. I imagine most fathers would be slow at accepting their daughter is gay”
“Maybe” Alex said reluctantly. “I do remember some of the less than flattering things he said the last time we talked. And some of the names he called me”
Ash turned Alex so that she could look her in the eye, “And I remember that you were just as uncomplimentary. You didn’t exactly help the situation” She grimaced and reaching out brushed a few strands of hair away from Alex’s eyes, “I do hope you’ll try to be a bit more civil tomorrow. Give your dad a chance, he may come around”
Jacob nodded, “At the very least, he’s going to be willing to at least try, I think”
“We’ll see” Alex frowned, “We’ll see”
Royal Palace.
June 7th.
On reflection, Alex thought she would have been better off dressing in the spacers jumpsuit and nerf hide jacket she’d taken to wearing most days as opposed to her old Jaegers uniform. Technically, she was still a Captain with the First Anobis Jaegers, but having been relieved of duties some months ago, wearing the uniform made her feel like a fraud.
On the other hand, she didn’t see that thought evident in her father’s uneasy expression, just enough of a frown to suggest that he was wary about how things would be going from here.
Alex moved into the office and peered at a model of a starship. She didn’t recognize the class, nor did she remember if it had been here the last time she’d been here. Meanwhile, her father closed the office door and moved towards a drinks cabinet.
“Can I get you something to drink?” He asked.
“Turian Brandy, if you have it” Alex glanced over her shoulder.
Harrison frowned at his daughters choice of drink, but produced a bottle of the metallic blue liquid and poured measures into two glasses.
“I glad you came this morning” Harrison said, handing her one of the glasses, “I think we have a lot to talk about”
“Yeah” Alex sighed, “I guess so. We didn’t exactly end things well the last time” She shrugged and knocked back her brandy with one toss, “I’m sorry I never told you about me and Ash, I was always worried about how you’d react” She sighed, “I guess I was proved right”
“I wasn’t prepared” Harrison winced, “Having it thrown at me like that and so publicly. Yes, I was angry. Angry that you’d kept it from me. Angry that it was Natasha, someone I’d entrusted with a dangerous mission and then rewarded after her mission was complete” He tossed his own drink back, “I was angry and under those circumstances, I couldn’t accept my daughter was gay”
“Can you now?” Alex asked carefully. “Can you accept that I’m into girls and not the daughter you might have hoped for?”
Harrison winced at the question, “Alexandria, I’ve long had my own beliefs and moral codes and yes, I have never had a problem with anyone being in a relationship with someone of the same gender or another species for that matter” He took a deep breath, “But you are my daughter, you are a Tarn, you are a Princess of Skye and there are certain expectations of you. It’s difficult to put aside some of those expectations”
Alex scowled, “Is that really so difficult to do?” She asked, “I’m gay, Dad. Accept me, deal with it or don’t, I’m beyond caring what people think of me. I’m proud of who I am, I have a woman who loves me and I love her. I have friends and a crew that were willing to follow me through the gates of hell. I love you, Dad, but if you can’t accept me for who I am, then I really can’t be a part of your life”
Anger flared in Harrison, but he clamped down on it and turned to look at the office window to buy himself a few moments to prepare his thoughts, “Alexandria, you are my daughter, no matter what I will always love you. But this is difficult for me. You also have to appreciate the sheer scandal of all this. The Lesbian Princess the media is calling you” He scratched his beard, “And what about children? Like it or not, you are still in line to the throne should Jacob be unable to rule before his child is of age. A lesbian who cannot conceive an heir would not be acceptable on the throne”
“Is that all you think about?” Alex snapped, her carefully constructed calm eroding, “The image? Well then. Let me make things easy for you. I don’t want the throne. I don’t want to rule”
“You are a Tarn” Harrison said angrily, “You have obligations. You cannot simply step aside”
Alex’s hands formed into fists in frustration, “Obligations? Such as what? Marrying some nobles son to strengthen an Alliance? Jacob got to chose his bride, but you’re telling me, what? That I won’t have the luxury of choice?” She shook her head, sending her rainbow tresses thrashing around her face, “I refuse”
“You cannot” Harrison scowled, “You are a Tarn”
“Fine” Alex took a deep breath, “Then I relinquish everything that goes with the name of Tarn. My military career, my position, the perks of my name. If being a Tarn means I can’t be with the woman I love, then I don’t want to be a part of this tainted legacy”
“Tainted legacy?”Harrison frowned, “What are you talking about?” He asked, a cold feeling settling into his stomach.
“Anya Tarn” Alex replied, leaning against the rooms desk and folding her arms across her chest, “I know what she did, what she ordered. I know about the massacres, the purges, the death squads. Millions of deaths that were blamed on Amaris, or plagues or accidents, and they were all murdered because they protested against Anya’s actions”
“How can you know?” Harrison stared at her, “That’s restricted information. I only found out when I took the throne”
“I have sources” Alex shrugged, “Ways of digging up information people don’t want to have revealed. I know our family’s dark little secret. We’re descended from a mass murderer”
Harrison’s throat felt thick, “What are you intending to do with this information?”
Alex frowned, “Nothing. Well, I’m not. But I think it’s time this family acknowledged it’s past”
“Ridiculous” Harrison cut the air with a swipe of his hand, “The past is the past. Leave it there”
Alex moved to the window and pointed out through it in the general direction of where some of the heaviest fighting had taken place, “Wake up, Dad. The past just bit you on the ass. Yes, Amaris had his own fevered dreams about the throne, but where do you think his army came from? They’re descendants of survivors from Anya’s massacres and purges, of those who were persecuted by the Alliance and even within the last few years were still living in fear of the ISF or an Alliance fleet descending on their home worlds” Alex was struggling to keep her emotions in check, “Amaris played on those fears using the ‘official’ Alliance history that their ancestors killed all millions of people to convince them that a pre-emptive strike was the best option”
“People did die at Amaris’ order” Harrison snapped.
“But not as many as history says” Alex shot back, then took a calming breath, “Acknowledge the truth. Tell the people what really happened and maybe, just maybe, in ten years time or a centuries time, when another Amaris rises, he won’t be able to find an army to help him”
“No” Harrison shook his head, “End of discussion. The past is the past, let’s leave it there” He straightened up, “And enough of this mercenary nonsense. There will be a ceremony in three days to to memorialize those who gave their lives. Be there, in uniform. Afterwards, you will report to Colonel Levin for assignment”He turned his back on her, “As for this thing with Natasha Loren, be discrete and I will tolerate it, though your chances to be together may be limited as she will have duties here, helping Ran Gavin put the ISF in order”
“Tolerate?” Alex stiffened, then gave a sharp nod, “Fine. I’ll be at the ceremony” Then without another word, she turned from her father and swept from the room, not even bothering to shut the door on the way out.
Fractured Galaxy 