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Maxtac Jurai
HC Unit Leader
Joined: 29 Mar 2006
Posts: 29
Location: in yer blind spot
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Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 4:51 am
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Post 11
“ …The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't being said…”
Peter Drucker 1909 - 2005
Minnesota Tribe shuttle Doughboy, North Nadir point, The Stepps system, Outworlds Alliance.
9th February 3070
“Excuse me, Tai-shu, but why are we diverting to the Nodachi again?” Happy asked for the third time as the small passenger shuttle closed in on the Nodachi’s dorsal docking bay. Arizona considered the man, noting his somewhat concerned look and repeated questioning of Arizona’s motives for this diversion gave him the distinct impression that Happy didn’t exactly believe him.
“I’m meeting with OzoraTiny to ascertain the current condition of my flagship, before going on to the staff meeting,” Arizona replied simply. “Just like I said the other two times you asked. It wouldn’t do to arrive without the required information to go into negotiations, now would it?” Arizona gave his best ‘that’s my line and I’m sticking to it’ smile.
Happy sighed.
“Yes, I understand that,” Happy continued, his tone reverent to a senior officer but still determined to do his job, which was to unofficially keep tabs on the Minnesota Tribes ‘guest’ in charge of the Tortuga Dominion forces in the area, “but why don’t you just have him transmit the data to the memory pad you are holding? There really isn’t a great necessity to see him personally, and risk us being late for the meeting?”
“Oh but there is, there is,” Arizona disagreed, trying to keep the smirk from his features. “The best way I can ascertain the condition of the ship is to see it for myself, and then frame the appropriate questions to get a full picture. That’s why inspection tours were invented, after all.” Noticing the sides of the docking bay swallowing the small passenger shuttle, Arizona reached into his pocket and pushed a small recessed button on a device his hand found there. Deep inside the Nodachi, a similar device received a pre-typed message, and it’s owner dropped what he was doing to follow the instructions contained therein.
Happy sighed again. He knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere with this stubborn a commander, and he might end up pushing his luck too far if he kept it up. This wasn’t at all an enviable job, he considered ruefully.
“Don’t fret so much, Son,” Arizona said, actually reaching out and patting Happy on the shoulder, “I’m sure Nailor and KB can come up with enough to talk about to keep them busy if we are a few minutes late. You can blame it all on me and my ‘whims’ when we get there if you like. If they are angry, it’ll put MT in a slightly better bargaining position, after all.” The older Juraian winked at the surprised looking Staff Sergeant, deftly undoing his seatbelt and stood just as the seatbelt lights went out in the small passenger cabin. He stepped into the isle, and headed for the now opening airlock door.
“You can stay in the shuttle, if you like,” Arizona suggested without turning, a wry grin on his face, before stepping out the hatch and heading down the stairs. It was all Happy could do to jump up and follow his charge out the hatch and onto the recently derelict Nodachi.
Arizona ran his hand over the wall of the docking bay, where some rushed repair work had been done. He felt the difference in the grain of the plates, of the bubbled weld job and the odd shape of the patch. His eyes took in the different colour, grey instead of matt black of the original wall, and his heart ached. It ached for the great ship brought low, and for those that had perished upon her.
“You will be returned to your former glory,” Arizona mumbled the promise, laying his cheek against the cold steel.
“What was that, Sir?” Happy asked as he hurried up behind the Warlord.
“Oh nothing, just planning,” Arizona said, gathering himself up and heading into one of the main thoroughfares of the ship, Happy doing his best to stay on the older man’s heels.
It wasn’t long before Arizona met up with OzoraTiny, in the pre-determined section of the corridor system that ran through the ship like a venous system. Ari approached a section of the corridor that was still under heavy repair, and the background noise went up considerably in this area compared to other parts of the ship. At this point Tiny stepped out of a side utility corridor and fell into stride beside Arizona, giving his superior a quick nod in place of the bow that would have slowed his step, while Happy was still six paces behind.
“Is all in readiness?” Arizona asked in a hushed voice, barely audible over the background cacophony.
“Hai, Tai-shu,” Tiny replied in the same muted tones. “It is functioning as well as can be expected from replacement parts that I personally salvaged and fitted from throughout the ship. It has left some other ships systems dangerously inactive, but I’ve cordoned off those areas, and they will be repaired just as soon as replacement parts arrive aboard the Reliable. The power system is also stable enough for activation.
“Very good, Tai-i,” Arizona said, noting that Happy was all too aware that he was missing out on some conversation, and thus it was likely to be about something his superiors would want to be privy too. “So, how is my ship?” Arizona asked in a much louder voice, and Tiny took his cue from his superior officer.
“Repairs are coming along well,” he replied, “if you’d just come along with me to my office, I can give you the files pertaining to the current repair condition and schedule, and I can answer any questions you might have, to the best of my ability.” All the time during the conversation, the pair of Juraians kept up a cracking walking pace.
“Very good,” Arizona stated, finishing his part of the verbal shadow play, and let Tiny take the lead toward the man’s temporary office, a location that was already well known to the Warlord.
All Happy could do was to surge along in their wakes.
“You can wait here for me, Staff Sergeant,” Arizona stated after spinning on the hurrying MT warrior as they arrived at the ante-room to OzoraTiny’s office. “I shouldn’t be too long.” Happy had to pull up short to prevent himself from physically running into the Jurai Warlord.
“But Sir...” Happy began.
“WAIT. HERE.” Arizona repeated in a tone that broached no argument. His deep blue eyes bored into Happy’s, and the younger man found himself flopping down into a comfortably padded waiting room chair almost without deciding too. Arizona nodded down at him, and continued after Tiny who had already entered his office.
As the door closed behind the Warlord, Happy sighed. It would just have to come down to the tracking and listening devices that the MTIA had planted on and around the Warlord now. Happy hoped that Nailor would understand.
Inside the office, Arizona quickly shrugged out of his uniform jacket, and slid into the replacement one Tiny held up for him. It wouldn’t do to take too many listening and tracking devices along with him, and the uniform jacket was the most likely place for such devices to be placed. His belt and shoes were also suspect, however there was no handy replacements for those, and it wouldn’t do to be talking to who he intended to contact with his pants about to slide off!
Arizona handed Tiny a small recording device which the Ozoran had slipped to him while he was still in his hospital bed, and a rough script on paper for him to follow. Ari then smiled at his junior officer, quite enjoying all this cloak and dagger play, and then slipped out the back door of the office which Tiny held open for him.
Walking quickly and intently down a service corridor, Arizona crossed a main thoroughfare and stepped into an unassuming looking doorway on the far side. From there he crossed under the large and noisy bulk of a capacitor bank and generator system, and grinned as he imagined what all that energy was doing to any tracking and listening devices still about his person. At the far side of the room he pressed his thumb into a print reader while simultaneously looking into a retina scanner. A short moment later the door hissed open, and Arizona slipped inside.
The door opened into another short corridor, the surfaces of which were of unusual construction not unlike the materials from which it was made. As the door slid shut again behind him, the noise level from the heavy machinery outside dropped to zero. It was a welcome change, and Arizona shook himself in preparation, then strode purposefully forward, glad that this area was heavily shielded and proof against any transmission for any device that may or may not be about his person. It had to be, for the room ahead to fulfil its purpose.
Stepping through the final doorway to his objective, he walked around a comfortable-looking command chair and took a seat within its welcoming leather embrace. The room was quite small and barren, besides the chair, and totally lacked control surfaces besides yet another fingerprint scanner on the armrest of the chair, which Arizona now touched his index finger too. There was a flash of blue light from the scanner, and then a whir of servos as the automatic weapons of this facility were deactivated. Only now did the door slide closed, and the room grew gradually darker. None of this surprised Ari, however; he’d used this room many times in the past.
Arizona lifted his hands from the armrests of the chair, and control surfaces coalesced in front of him. Resting his elbows on the ends of the chair arms, he could comfortably work at these holographic controls for several hours, and while inactive, there was no sign as to what this room would be used for by an interloper. Touching a few controls, Arizona activated the device the room operated, and on the surface of the Nodachi facing toward the Tortuga Dominions, two dozen small transmission dishes extended slightly from the ship’s surface.
“Time to make a call,” Ari breathed to himself, and pressed the connection activation stud. The controls surfaces dimmed as the whole wall in front of Arizona seemed to dissolve into a HD image of the Jurai Cruciform, replete with actively circling chains and then it dissolved to show the head and upper torso of Jurai Misato, Home Warden of House Jurai, Warlord, oldest surviving Royal Juraian, and head of the Internal Security Service – ‘retired’.
“Misato-sama,” Arizona said in a reverent tone, bowing as well as he could from a sitting position. The old, yet remarkably well preserved woman on the screen did not return the bow, and looked little impressed at the Tokomi’s honorific, yet Arizona could see the edges of a smile tug at the facade she showed the world.
“Agh,” Misato began, “are you still alive, old man? What does it take, to kill such as you, if even a star cannot manage it?” Her face did not smile, but her eyes did.
“Oh the star would have managed the job quite well, as it did with the bulk of my crew, if not for your nephew Jurai Maxtac,” Arizona replied, trying to keep his tone jovial, but as he mentioned Max, his brow furrowed just slightly.
“And how is he?” she asked, an edge of concern creeping into her voice.
“Whole, but unconscious,” Arizona reported, “I have never seen the like of what he did to save the bridge crew of the Nodachi, and I suspect it cost him far more than he had at the time to give.” Misato considered this, then nodded lightly several times.
“Yes, my... nephew as you put it, is overly fond of sacrificing himself for others. A wholly non-Jurai Family trait, for the most part,” Misato said, and despite her tone or words, Arizona could tell Misato was glad he did. Despite her harsh exterior, Ari knew well that Misato loved Jurai and those that strove to make it great. She would be as glad as any that Max had saved who he could, and doubly glad that he’d not quite managed to kill himself doing it.
“Well the staffing situation would be far worse if he had not,” Arizona added, “and I have a feeling with those he’s saved around him, he’ll recover eventually, perhaps sooner than expected.” At this Misato raised a questioning eyebrow, and the pre-smile played around the edges of her mouth again, but she didn’t enquire further.
“Ah yes, the staffing situation,” Misato said, steering the conversation along the path both parties knew it needed to go, her face turning grim. “There have been no reports of any of the other jumpships turning up in any star-systems in which we have a presence.” Ari winced at the news. “However a scout I sent in to Mimic reported that only one of the medium jumpships and a handful of merchant ships were in-tact and depopulated at the site. There was considerable wreckage, however investigations suggest that it was not from military vessels. Those vessels that were intact and repairable within a sensible timeframe were extracted.”
“So what you’re saying,” Arizona said, as the signal broke up for a few moments, and he waited for the disturbance to pass, “is that it’s likely the other warships got out, but as to where they ended up, is anyone’s guess.”
“Indeed,” Misato verified, “but the ships aren’t really the issue here...” She let the statement hang, unfinished.
“Yes, I’m well aware,” Arizona chimed in, “we are desperately short of experienced pilots.” Misato nodded, her face still more grave. “What is the situation at home?”
“I have things in hand, for now.” Misato replied. “We have mercenaries fighting our defensive actions, and no new raids are pending. However, if the mercs get wind of our lack of loyal Mechwarriors, they might consider a hostile takeover is in their... best interests.” It was Ari’s turn to nod, his concern also evident in his features. “We need those pilots back, but until their fate is known, we need some way to keep ourselves from being absorbed by someone else.”
“That... may not be possible,” Arizona said honestly, and Misato’s ire at his statement was evident. “Now don’t get me wrong,” he continued, raising his hands in an effort to beg Misa’s forgiveness, “I don’t want that any more than you do. However it is a likely outcome of the unfortunate times we find ourselves facing.” It was Misa’s turn to reluctantly nod assent. “So what I’m suggesting, is instead of having absorption forced upon us by whoever works out first that we are vulnerable, we go and deal with a preferred party to get military aid, without the deposed government and possible execution angle.” Arizona grinned in an attempt to diffuse another possible outburst from the Royal Juraian, but she only looked thoughtful.
“And I suppose you’ve found a viable second party for this... deal of yours?” Misato asked, knowing full well Arizona’s answer.
“Why yes, as a matter of fact, we sort of ‘fell into their laps’ you might say,” Arizona said. Misato smiled at that, but the smile lacked any warmth. “With your agreement, I intend to present this very case to the leadership of the Minnesota Tribe just as soon as I head over to their flagship. And I believe Max would agree to it. He was never happy with the schism between our two governments.” Misato looked into Arizona’s eyes for several long moments, and the reception began to flicker and fade.
“Okay, very well,” Misato said at last, looking crestfallen that this was the only viable course of action left open to HJ at this time. “I just hope you know what you are doing.”
“So do I, Misato-sama, so do I,” Ari agreed, glancing down at the holographic readouts. “The connection is steadily losing signal, so we’ll have to cut this short, but before I go, I was wondering, has there been any more progress from your end with the Sodium drive situation.”
“Why yes, there has,” Misato confirmed. “I’ve been working on the trail from this end, and have had considerable success at tracing the path the thieves took with our data. I’m gathering the net, and the breach will soon be... closed.”
“Oh,” Arizona said, mental gears whirring, treading carefully though a minefield of possibilities that Misato’s comments had just revealed before him. “Have you activated a final solution yet?”
“No, but very soon now.”
“Ah, I see. Well can I ask one favour?”
“Name it.”
“Can you not obliterate any inhabited worlds, this time, please?”
“Not inhabited, per se.”
“Okay, close enough,” Ari almost audibly breathed a sigh of relief. “Well the signal will cut out here soon. Keep things in check till I can get you some experienced pilots down there, order any of our forces in this area that contact you to report to me here in The Stepps, and let me know by coded transmission if any of our lost ships turn up.”
“Sure thing,” Misato said, “and Arizona?”
“Yes?”
“I am glad you are okay. You are very important to me, and Jurai, you know.”
“I know, and thanks. Stay safe.”
“I will, you too.”
“Bye.”
Misato’s last words were bathed in a sea of static, and Arizona shut down the transmission, returning much needed power to the rest of the ship. Running a ship-based HPG was power taxing at the best of times, but with the Nodachi still being repaired... Of course this one had a few ‘added extras’ that made direct connections over long distances possible. Ari expected that when MT found out about this little goody, they’d be keen to get their hands on a few. TD itself only had them installed on Flag class ships at this point, and there weren’t too many other classes that had the space or the power output to mount them, not to mention how Comstar might react if word got out...
“And thinking of MT,” Ari said, deactivating the chair and heading for the door, “I’d best get moving.” He jumped up and headed for the door that whooshed open as he approached. Ari had his go-ahead, and now it was time to negotiate a future for House Jurai and the Tortuga Dominions, where currently there wasn’t much of one.
to be continued...
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[HJ]-Maxtac Jurai
IC House Jurai
Warlord of the Tortuga Dominions
NBT-HC
Last edited by Maxtac Jurai on Sun Oct 18, 2009 12:07 am; edited 1 time in total
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