The thin man got up and walked to the window that surveyed Cerant. A satisfied laugh filled the room. That laugh had a nerve-grating quality to it, but the two men in black Kurita uniforms showed no reaction at all.

17

Hoshon Mansion , Cerant, An Ting

Galedon Military District, Draconis Combine

16 August 3026

 

“Michi,” Minobu called over the intercom. Noketsuna appeared immediately. “Yes, sensei.”

“I want to show you something in the garden.”

“Is there a problem, sensei?”

“Perhaps.” Neither spoke as they strode through the passages, soles slapping softly on the oiled wooden floors of Hoshon Mansion. It was not until they were walking among the carefully tended plants and away from the walls of the mansion that Minobu spoke again. “I want to discuss a matter that may have great bearing on the future of the Ryuken.”

“Why do you speak to me, sensei!Surely your Executive Officer or some other member of the command staff would be of more help to you. Perhaps your friend Colonel Wolf?”

“I have already spoken somewhat to Jaime Wolf. You were with me when I was PSL officer, which gives you a perspective that my other officers lack. Besides, if I call the whole staff together, the ISF would know what was said before the minutes of the meeting came off the printer. It might be well to avoid that.” Minobu watched Noketsuna react with a moment of dismay that was quickly replaced by trust in his superior.

“The ISF would need to be informed of treason, sensei.I am sure I will have no need to speak to them.”

“You are honorable and trustworthy. Michi- san. And bright.”

“Thank you, sensei.”

“But I think the time has come that you should stop addressing me as sensei,especially when we are alone. We are both soldiers and have weathered the storm of Combine and military bureaucracy together. Let us speak as friends.”

“I am most honored by your trust, sen ...” Noketsuna stuttered, at a loss for the correct form of address. The sudden offer of comradeship from an older man, and a military superior at that, clearly flustered him.

“Minobu will do in private,” Minobu prompted.

“Minobu,” Noketsuna repeated hesitantly. He drew himself up, almost defiantly. “I shall agree to your request, but you shall still be my sensei.”

Minobu shook his head resignedly, but proceeded to outline for Michi the problems the Dragoon officers had brought to Wolf's attention on the previous night. Noketsuna listened carefully. Minobu could see that he was reaching a conclusion even without all the details. Rather than continuing, Minobu asked, “Well, what do you think?”

“The Dragoons are justified in calling Chu-saAkuma an obstructionist. He is using his position as PSL officer to make their lives difficult.”

“A year ago, you would have said that mercenaries should expect no better treatment or that Akuma was justified in making their lives difficult. You have changed.”

“I've been learning from you, sensei.”Michi's use of the honorific was unrepentant.

“Have you learned to predict what the Dragoons will do?”

“That was something I thought even the master could not yet do.”

“Well spoken, imp. They are indeed hard to predict in many things. Jaime Wolf is a man as bound by his honor as we are by ours, and he will stand by his contract. Most of the others will follow his lead without question. The one I worry about is Natasha Kerensky. That one has a wild streak. She is impetuous and at the moment most unhappy with her employers. I fear she will do something ... hasty ... that will cause bigger problems.”

“Surely she will not disobey Wolf's orders.”

“Let us hope not. Things are confusing enough in this situation, even without such a volatile personality. For example, the supply shortages that the Dragoons are experiencing do not make sense, especially in light of our own abundance.”

“Could Chu-saAkuma be setting them up for the 'company store' approach? Setting them up to be plunged into debt to the Combine?”

“Perhaps. I cannot say for sure. He has offered no Combine alternatives, with the attendant higher prices, to replace the balky sources on which the Dragoons rely. If that is his plan, it will fail. The Dragoons are too resourceful.”

“But you said that they were having trouble even with shipments from their long time suppliers like Ceres Metals.”

“That is another curious fact. From hints that Jaime has let slip, I had the impression the Dragoons held stock in that company. Major Seward of the Contract Operations Group reported increased tariffs and communications problems. Why would that be? There are unknown factors operating here.”

“If they are unknown, how can we deal with them?”

“As best we can, Michi-san.As best we can.” Minobu stared at the wall that blocked the view of Cerant. “I begin to believe that many recent events are interrelated in some way I do not yet understand.

“This latest order, for example, requiring that each military cargo be inspected and verified by a PSL officer, who will then accompany that shipment. The Dragoon officers are upset about that. Spies, they say. Spies set to learn their secrets. I think they may be right.”

“That would seem to be a reasonable assumption,” Michi said.

“Are we not the same, my young friend? We have been set the task of learning the methods behind the success of Wolf's Dragoons and copying those methods to better serve the Combine. We are also to learn their weaknesses.”

“Why does that make us spies? To copy their success is wisdom. Is it not also wise to identify another's errors that you may avoid them yourself?”

“Yes, it is. Somehow I do not think that it is quite that simple and innocent. I fear that someone wants us to find those weaknesses so that a plan might be developed to exploit and to destroy the Dragoons, should it become necessary.”

“If they are a threat to the Combine, should they not be destroyed?”

“It is always a Kurita samurai's duty to destroy threats to the Combine,” Minobu said with conviction. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. After a moment, he spoke again. “I think we can discern little more at this time. We have work to do and troops to train.”

“At least that is something we can do with a full heart, Minobu-.sama. It is a good work that is well underway.”

Minobu nodded, eyes on the sky. “But, my young friend, I fear that Akuma's work has only just begun.”

18

Greggville Province , New Mendham

Benjamin Military District, Draconis Combine

19 September 3026

 

“Your papers!”

John Norris grimaced at the Kurita officer. Papers! As if the camera and recording equipment weren't enough identification. The bloody Donegal Broadcasting Company logo was plastered on every piece of hardware they carried and prominently displayed on their white caps and armbands. Norris fumbled in his satchel for the papers.

If the Draconian was annoyed at the delay, it didn't show. He stood patiently, the bright sunlight turning the dark brown of his combat jacket and the tan of his fatigues to pastel shades. In the shadow of his helmet's wide dish, his face was impassive.

Norris finally fished out the documents and placed them in the man's outstretched hand. As though waiting for that cue, the holotech, Berger, plopped his own passes right on top.

The Kuritan studied them for several minutes before announcing that they were in order. As he handed them back, his harshness slipped away in favor of curiosity. “Why are you fellows here in Kempis, so far from the front?” he asked. “This sector is pretty quiet. Not much action for a news team.”