Bannockburn
Skye
Lyran Commonwealth
31 May, 2767
Carli
laid back and closed her eyes, letting her heart and breathing return to normal
as the cool night breeze blew over her through the open window. Just enough of
Roger’s arm lay against hers to bring back that feeling of security that she
still didn’t understand why she found in him.
“You’re
sure your orders are going to come down tomorrow?” she asked.
“Damn near
certain,” he replied. “Regular units got their move orders today, and we were
all told to expect orders and assignments to be drawn up as soon as they figure
out what they’re going to do with us. It can’t be long now.”
“Then it’s
off to the Rim World’s Republic?”
“Somewhere
around there. The General made it pretty clear that the cease fire didn’t apply
to the Republic, and that we’d be occupying them in short order. I still don’t
understand why we’re not all heading straight for Terra. Cut off the head and
the body dies.” He mused.
Opening
her eyes, she rolled over and snuggled closer to him, letting her leg wrap
around him and pressing herself against his bare chest, still glistening just a
bit from the aftermath of their earlier lovemaking. “You should trust Kerensky.
He knows what he’s doing. If there’s anyone that can handle this…whatever this
mess is, it’s him.”
Roger
stifled a tiny laugh. “You sound so certain; how come you’re not signed up with
the SLDF?”
Many around
the League, and nearly all of the SLDF personnel she’d had contact with in the
last few days had shared Roger’s desire to strike quickly for Terra and remove
the Usurper from the throne and to restore the Hegemony to its rightful place
at the center of the Star League, not this newly declared Amaris Empire.
But
Commanding General Aleksandr Kerensky had seemed to have decided to take the
cautious road, to deal with the Usurper’s realm in the Periphery before
attempting to storm the Hegemony proper. It made sense to her. It would give
time for the House Lords to mobilize their own forces to help in the liberation
when the time came and ensure that an enemy dagger was not poised at their back
in the form of Amaris former Periphery realm.
“We’ve had
that discussion before, Roger. I’ve always been bound for the Commonwealth
Armed Forces. It’s been my path ever since I decided I wanted to be a
MechWarrior. Besides, we’ll both get our chance to see action once Kerensky
turns his eye toward Terra.”
Roger
shook his head. “You seem so confident the Archon is going to take action. Don’t
be so certain. The House Lords are petty. They won’t get involved unless they
have something to gain.”
She raised
an eyebrow. “We have nothing to gain from removing that weirdo from the throne
and ending whatever this scheme of his is?”
“Steiner
won’t see it that way. Nor will any of the other Lords. Why expend resources
and risk weakening themselves just to restore the status quo. And that’s if
there’s even any Cameron’s left alive. Most coups are bloody, and there’d be a big,
huge vacuum at the heart of the League for the General to step in and fill. And
you know how they feel about him. Why not let the SLDF do the hard
lifting, maintain their own power, and only have a weaker central authority to
deal with?” He paused for a moment. “No, they won’t act.”
“I have
more faith in the Archon and the General than that. You’ll see. Once you
deal with the Rim Worlds, you and I will be fighting side by side again,” she
countered.
He
squeezed her gently. “I hope you’re right. I’ll remind you of those words when
I head this way again.” He traced a finger slowly in an aimless pattern over
her back. “Any word on your posting? I’d have thought assignments would have
been posted by now.”
Closing
her eyes once again, she savored the silence and his touch for a few seconds
before responding. “I’d have thought so too, but this mess has everyone on edge.
The Hegemony going black played havoc with the markets, and the economy is the
number one priority for the Archon. Everything else has slowed down. They say
we’ll get our postings by next week.”
“It will
be a Skye Rangers unit; we both know that.”
Carli
shrugged. “The question is which one? I want to make sure I’m in one that sees
some action, not stuck here guarding the Isle. I didn’t join the military to be
stuck on Skye my whole career.”
“Don’t
worry, Carli. I’m sure we’ll both see our share of travel before this thing is
over.”
She kissed
his neck. “Well, if you’re going to run off in the morning, the least you can
do is make tonight count.”