Forging Freyja - Chapter 9.2

Lummatii
Lothian League
Marian Hegemony
The Periphery
26 December, 3149




     No one has had an awkward dinner until they've had to sit through dinner with pirates, Freyja thought to herself. The Bakker family dinner had been altered to include the new guests. Freyja hadn't eaten much, she was too on edge with this intruder in house. The conversation had initially been vague, but eventually it came down to business.

     "Bart Carter survived the fight alright, but I put a bullet in his head. That should at least rate a smile from you, shouldn't it?" he laughed in her direction.

     "A bit late to do me any good." she replied.

     He roared with laughter. "A slave with a sense of humor, I like it. I knew I liked these parts. The food is good too, of course." He paused to chew his food for some kind of emphasis before proceeding. "Old Bart Carter was a pushover, just like how he ran his business. I'm looking over his records, then thinking about this fine place that I saw as I came in, and it's obvious to me that he was undercharging you for his...protection."

     Ned paused. "We never had problems with him. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. We paid his fee, like all the landowners around here, and gave him a market."

     "Yeah, well he was a bit soft. I see greener pastures here than he did. I think you all can afford to pay a bit more for protection, and insurance against accidents happening." Raiden sat back in his chair and gave a sly smile.

     "How much exactly were you thinking, Mr. Trogg? Things are tight here. I have my tenants, and business is hard, as well you know." This was where things got tricky. Ned, like all the local lords, could not afford to make an enemy of the local pirate organization. Unfortunately, they still had to make ends meet, and she doubted that they could pay much more above what the protection fee had been under the previous regime.

     "I'm reasonable. I'm thinking...triple what you pay now."

     Ned did his best to stifle a cough. "Triple? There's no way we can pay that kind of insurance."

     Raiden leaned forward. "See, the thing is, I'm the one with the BattleMechs. Which means I get to decide otherwise. Look, I get that you're the king of your castle here, but I'm not in it to small time. I don't care what it takes, put the screws to your tenants, make your workers work harder, hell, whore out your pretty little mechwarrior over there, makes no difference to me how you come up with your payment, just that you do."

     There was a long pause. Nobody knew which way things would go. Trogg had two BattleMechs outside that said he would get his way, and he knew it. Ned had nothing to leverage against the pirate threats. "I'm sure we will figure out some arrangement. Keeping things running smoothly is our top priority here."

     Raiden grinned. "I knew you would see things reasonably. No point in upsetting a good thing." He pushed back his chair and stood, along with his compatriot. "Now that we've got that all settled, I think we'll call it a night and retire, leave you folks in peace. Have your slave girl join us."

     Freyja froze, her eyes darting quickly between Ned and Raiden. "Freyja isn't that sort of servant, she's more like a member of the household."

     Raiden tilted his head slightly at Ned. "I thought you were extending your hospitality to us? Don't be going back on your word now."

     Her mind raced at a frantic pace. Just a few days earlier she had spent the night with one of the most important men on the planet, and here she was back to being bargained over like a prize.

     "It's just that some things are understood-" Raiden moved forward to cut off Ned as he spoke.

     "What I understand is that I get what I want, and what I want is your hospitality, and you to understand who is the top dog here. If our arrangement is to move forward-"

     "It's alright, my lord. I'll go with him. Just see to the family. We can all get through this." She blurted it out, partially not knowing why she did, but part of her realizing that she had to diffuse the situation. Things were going to get out of control, and there was no way to know what a crazy periphery pirate was going to do. This would get the Bakkers to safety, and she could find her own way out.

     "You see. Hospitality." Raiden grinned as the three of them left the dining room and made their way towards the guest wing of the estate.