05/27/63 06:00 Day 1

Prince’s Champion Marshal Bishop Sortek stands behind the podium outside Castle Davion, his Atlas behind him, the Commonwealth Press Corps in front. “Citizens of New Avalon and the Federated Commonwealth, I have grave news to deliver this day.

Early this morning a group of Republican Guard Commandos kidnapped Princess Yvonne from her residence in the New Hebrides. These commandos killed her protectors and escaped with her on a Coast Guard Helicopter, I have put every man I can in the field to find and rescue her. If you see her please report it immediately and you will be rewarded.

Additionally Archon Katherine Steiner has come to New Avalon at the head of an invasion fleet of Lyran, Tikonov, and traitorous Commonwealth troops. No doubt she seeks to usurp the Sunburst Throne just as she did the Archon’s from our beloved Victor. She now burns toward the planet at high speed eager to bring war to her home-world so that she may continue her illegitimate reign of terror.

The entire Guards Brigade stands with me, we will not allow the Federated Commonwealth to be seized by someone who so callously handles her own nation. Surely this is her final act of collusion in a long chain of Anti-Commonwealth actions that reveal her true motivation, Total Domination.”

Elsewhere on New Avalon

Yvonne woke to a snap of a fire, she was surprised to find that she was trapped in a sleeping bag, and suffered a moment of panic while fumbling with the zipper. After working her way out of the bag she looked down and saw that the clothes from last night were in tatters and her legs were bandaged. Every muscle in her body felt like it was on fire and she gritted her teeth while rising to her feet.

The camp looked abandoned, there was another sleeping bag on the other side of the fire, and a GM Outrider truck was backed into the glade which was surrounded by trees. It was early morning but she didn’t know what time it was or how long she had been out but she was thirsty. There was a small water cooler lashed onto the truck’s tailgate and she grabbed a cup from the attached holder, as she poured the water into the cup she was reminiscing of playing Field Hockey for Avalon City Girl’s School.

Lost in her daydream she didn’t hear the man walking out of the woods until he was on the other side of the truck. “Morning Sleeping Beauty,” she snapped out of it and saw Nikolai but to late to not throw water on him. Horrified she put a hand to her mouth, “I’m sorry Nik,” he grabbed a towel out of the truck bed and began patting the wet spot out of his clothes. He wasn’t wearing the camouflage uniform from last night having changed into a gray shirt and hat, green jacket, blue jeans, and brown work boots, a pair of sunglasses hung from his shirt pocket.

He tossed the towel back into the truck bed, “No problem Yvonne, sorry to surprise you”
“Where are we?”
“Around twenty kilometers east of Copper Gulch, Rostock”
She put her hand on her forehead, “Rostock!? How long was I out?”
“About seven hours, it’s nearly ten now”
“Where’s everyone else?”
“They are joining the Loki teams on-planet and getting ready to go again.”
“I’m sorry about the others”
“I know, I didn’t think the Striker would get out that quickly. They knew the risks, but I thought I could get them all out, that we would be fast enough.”

He grabbed a pink duffel bag from the truck bed, “These are yours, get changed and drop the camo in the pit on the other side of the truck.”
“I don’t think any man has brought me so many outfits. Are you sure you aren’t just using me like a dress up doll?”
“One of Katherine’s agents brought them, you apparently like her choices. I just hope she got the right size.”
Taking the duffel she walked to the other side of the truck, “I’m sure she did”

Yvonne changed and walked back to the fire wearing a blue shirt, gray pants, brown boots and jacket, with two jars of hair dye in her hand. “What is this for!?”

Nikolai had a cast iron skillet in the fire cooking some bacon, “Sorry Yvonne, but you are gonna need a dye job. Your red hair is to distinctive, people will know it’s you. Your choice, blonde or brunette?”
“But I love my red hair! I’ve never dyed it before, dad used to call me Sunshine”
“That’s cute. Who would have thought First Prince Hanse Davion would come up with such clever nicknames for his daughters. Way better than Vic, Pete, or Arty.”
She stomped, “Well I can’t do it out here! I don’t even have a mirror.”
“There’s a farmhouse not far from here with a proper bathroom, so think about it. I will help you do it right, but first how do you like your eggs?”

5/27/63 17:13 Location – River Daring Region, Rostock

The now showered and brunette Yvonne sat in the passenger seat of the grimy Red GM Outrider truck as it bounced along the gravel farm roads. She was still working through last night’s events with the help of Nikolai, distantly watching the fields of grain and grass while idly waving at passing motorists. Her arms were crossed and she had sullen look, her mood darkened by the impending rain storm and hours on the poor roads.
“We’ll go over it again. What is your name?”
“Melanie Amber Woods of Crossroads Prairie, Age 24, Teacher at Little Sprouts Preschool, I have a little brother named Matt, who is a bother, and my parents are Mary and Richard, Birthday May 23rd”
“Good now who am I, Melanie?”
“Lars Henry Anderson of Temperance Forge, Age 29, Licensed Freelance Mechanic, you have an older sister named Susan whose truck we borrowed and your parent’s names are Wilma and Donovan, Birthday July 9th”
“And how did we meet?”
“The Bonnie Flats Blaze (Firefly/Lalapolooza with a 10 meter bonfire) last year, neither of us remember the exact time but I was in your truck that morning and we started a relationship”
“And where are we going?”
This was the fifth time he had gone over it and Melanie (Yvonne) was getting tired of the repetition, “Back to Crossroads Prairie after spending the week camping in the East Queensbury Royal Park and prior to that we visited the Gorge again.” She pushed away a pile of Gaveston’s Gorge and East Queensbury Maps and Brochures that were part of their legend.
“Good, now there is something special in the glove box that will seal the deal and maybe lighten your mood, go ahead and grab it”
She reached into the truck’s glove box and a small ring case fell out and onto the plastic floor covers. Leaning down she grabbed it, eager to see what was inside, gasping when as she saw an engagement ring sitting on the pillow.
“Nik!”
“There’s no Nik here Melanie”
Correcting herself, “Lars, it’s beautiful”
In an exaggerated Southlander (Australia/Texas) “I had to put in some extra hours at the shop to pay for it darlin’, but it’s all yours now”
She put the ring on her finger, “For real sweetheart”
“For now honey”
“You’re terrible at this”
“No Princess, acting is something I’m really good at, seems like you did pretty good for yourself for a college dropout”
“I don’t even regret that, I hold it as a badge of honor, it was the first thing I ever did for myself. I was always the dutiful daughter and sister, I had to draw a line somewhere. Who did my brother think he was to stop me from transferring to Tharkad by decree no less!? Where was he for the first twelve years of my life, when it was only Hanse, Arthur, and Katherine?”
“You shouldn’t speak ill of the dead. I would be appalled if my brother spoke of me that way were I to die.”
“You have a brother?”
“I do, my commission and salary go to paying his way through medical school and caring for his family. He just started his residency at Tikograd General as a Surgeon and my nephew is turning two in three months.”
“Your brother is a Surgeon?’
“Dah, he refused to take my money initially but I told him at least one of us should be getting their hands bloody for the right reasons.”
“All your money? but you buy things all the time”
“Yeah with the Agency’s money, I don’t actually own most of the things I possess. I like to travel light, all my valuable things are kept here (points to his head) and here (hand over heart). It’s difficult but I try not to be sentimental because I have to burn or blow up most things after using them. I never talk about my brother since we don’t share the same last name anymore to protect him and his family if I were to be compromised.”
“Your brother is a surgeon, did you always want to be a spy?”
“No, Artist”
“You can’t be serious, you wanted to be an artist?”
“Yes, in fact I studied at a Conservatory. Even was the Rat King for two years.”
“A Ballerina!? How does an Artist become a Spy?”
“Well if you think about it both are professions that reward careful experimentation and observation, creativity, clarity of focus, grounded in fundamentals, precision, and attention to detail. I even got the Tinkerers at TNGB to make me a sniper rifle that can fit into an easel assembly.”
“What? Why?”
“It’s so boring being a sniper, but the view is incredible, no one gets the kind of access I do. Katherine even has one of my originals on her personal drop-ship. I call it Towers of Tatyana, I painted it after I killed somebody that was trying to kill her. I think it was a SAFE Agent, but he might have been ISF or ROM, hard to tell nowadays not that it was easy before.”

The truck pulled into the Pine Creek Motel of Pine Creek, a small town along one of the tributaries of the River Daring. The sky was dark with the impending rainstorm and the “couple” rushed to unload everything into their room before it got rained on.

05/27/3063 00:00 Location – Isle Azul, New Hebrides, New Avalon

The blue-green sea around Isle Azul was calm, storm season had passed and summer would soon be upon the sleepy island. The three moons were full as they danced across the starry night sky, gentle waves lapped along its wide white sand beaches. A black suited figure appeared out of the surf and removed the re-breather from his mouth, then another, and more cleared the ocean quietly dashing across the sands to the cover of the dunes.

“Zero Hour”

05/27/3063 01:11 Location – Villa Azul, New Hebrides, New Avalon

Princess-Regent Yvonne Steiner-Davion couldn’t sleep anymore, she was shaking, this place had become more a prison everyday, they were trying to break her will, she wasn’t even sure who they were anymore. The only people she saw were masked and showed up with guns and a script for her to read, or else. She resisted at first but they beat her until she did as they asked now it was just reflex.

Radio addresses to her loyal and loved Federation citizens that were concerned about her well-being assuring them that she would return when she was ready; that they were never far from her thoughts. That Bishop Sortek was doing what she asked of him, not a rogue general that had kidnapped her and imprisoned her on a remote island, that likely planned to murder her.

She couldn’t eat either, she eyed the plate of cold food from dinner but refused to touch it despite her hunger. She was sure they were drugging her, since she had stopped eating the food her thoughts had cleared but rapidly turned back to food; fancy parties at Castle Davion, exquisite state dinners, lunch meetings with important ministers, now all she wanted was something to quiet her growling stomach.

Six months of near isolation was taking its toll on her body and mind equally, her will was beginning to falter as it became clear just how little the universe cared for her. All of her friends had abandoned her. Why weren’t they pushing Bishop to release her? To be allowed to visit? Maybe they weren’t her friends at all, she had grown up with them, trusted them with her heart’s desires, and believed it to be true. Maybe they were just using her, like Katherine said they would.

When she got out…if she got out

The balcony and windows had been barred and shuttered with metal, the only sign of time was the clock that ticked relentlessly like a metronome. It’s constant click was slowly driving her mad, many times a day she walked up to it and almost broke it to quiet the noise. She could hear birds sometimes, but most had moved on with their migrations or were driven off by the sounds of construction around her. Her captors had taken all her books, stereo, everything but a bare chest of clothes, the gaudy colors of this resort’s walls mocked her in this now barren room.

Soon they would have to finish the job or move her to another location, she almost wanted them to finish it. All it would take is a moment of pain to free her from a lifetime of nightmares.

She heard a faint crash in the hallway but dismissed it, maybe her guards dropped something. However, she heard the lock turn and froze, whispering to herself, _“not again, I can’t take it anymore, please go away”
_
Three camouflaged, armored, and masked men holding pistols at the ready entered, their rifles hung forward from the slings. One moved with purpose toward the bathroom, he low kicked the door then entering with his pistol up. A fourth came behind them carrying a duffel bag but his rifle is strapped behind him.

Yvonne stood up, defiant. The three men in the room look at her through gray tinted goggles, “If you are going to shoot me at least let me see your face.”

The three men looked at each other apparently confused, the fourth returned to the room weapon down. The leader carrying the duffel takes his goggles and mask off, “We are here to rescue you Yvonne.”

Yvonne ran and embraced him almost knocking him over he only managed to stay up by crashing into the wall behind him,_ “Nik you came back.”_

“I said I would, Katherine will be arriving at the Zenith point”, he checked his chronometer over Yvonne’s shoulder, “in four hours, give or take thirty minutes.”

“Really!?” Nik covered her mouth and she quieted down

Yvonne let go and Nikolai handed the bag to her, “Really, but let’s get off this island alive first. I need you to change.” She hesitated looking at the rescue team for a long moment, Nik made a hurry up motion, but she looks at them again, understanding finally developed in the Captain’s head, “Gentlemen we have some FedCom traitors to deal with, let’s give the lady some space.”

Nikolai’s squad left the room and she opened the bag on the bed it was filled with gray combat boots, camouflage uniform, flash goggles, head cover, Ablative/Flak vest with a knife on it, some TRG rations, first aid kit, and a pair of canteens. She ripped open the rations and chowed down on the nutty and sweet snack bars inside, it was the best thing she had ever tasted. Yvonne stripped and dressed taking a moment to breath and collect herself.

She exited her prison into the simple corridor eating a cracker pack from the rations, she was still so hungry but this made it a little better. One of the commandos adjusted her vest and web gear tightening it in the right places so it wouldn’t shift and impede her movement.
“Yvonne, are you ready to go? If not tell us right now. We can bring the way out to you but it will get messier.”
“I’m fine Captain, I can walk.”
“Good, do as I say and stick close, if everything goes according to plan this should be an easy extraction.”
“When does anything ever go according to plan?”
“Princess, I always try for the best and plan for the worse. If we run into more trouble than we can handle take this.” Nikolai removed his drop leg holster containing a L110 Semi-Auto pistol and magazine carrier handing them to Yvonne who attempted to strap them onto her own legs but not to Nikolai’s satisfaction. He knelt down, adjusting and tightened them which drew looks from the squad, and “The Look” from Yvonne. “Don’t you have more important things to be doing?”

They turned away and Nikolai was satisfied having confirmed with Yvonne that the rig was comfortable and secure. He ordered the squad to form up and move on, his rifle at the ready. Yvonne stayed right on his back, one hand on his armor’s carry straps as they moved in the center of the formation. She tried to stay clear of the FedArms M42B Carbine that occupied that space as well having been taken from the fallen jump infantry after the commandos dealt with them. She didn’t know how many guards had been staying in the house but there were no bodies, just dark pools that she saw in the red tinted lights attached to the commando’s rifles.

As they slowly walked through the manor Yvonne secretly seethed. If Tancred Sandoval had any balls he would have ordered the DMI’s Rabid Foxes or one of MIIO’s Covert Ops teams to bust her out and eliminate Bishop Sortek. Instead he was off world supporting the Capellan and Draconis Marches in their unsanctioned wars against the Combine and Confederation. That’s what she gets for trusting Victor’s friends rather than Katherine’s agents, she at least got the job done. I mean DOPPLEGANGER; who thought that was a good idea?

Once the lead commandos neared the exit, one of them whispered to Nikolai “wait here, we’ll deal with the sentries” Three of the squad drew their pistols and screwed on the suppressors, their rifles were put over their shoulders and they held their narrow daggers in the other hand and crept out into the darkness.

They returned in five minutes, “we’re clear now”, the Captain nodded and signaled for them to continue. The squad regrouped with another in a palm grove and headed out toward the village.

02:07

Yvonne watched as Captain Vasiliev spoke with his subordinate squad leaders, she was happy to be outside again and the stars were beautiful tonight untainted by big city lights or the near constant storms that had whipped the island during her captivity. All she could make out was that they were going to have to move soon, the elimination of her guards would not go unnoticed much longer. The village below was dark, only the long pier showed any lights and those were from the NASDF auxiliary ship Blue Harvest and the pair of Sea Skimmers docked there.

A Karnov was on the Blue Harvest’s fantail and a Marten and Ferret were painted in Coast Guard colors on the ground of NASDF Air Station Cliff Key. She looked through a set of Rangefinder Binoculars and followed a PVC-141 on its patrol route near the barbed wire fence that formed the perimeter of Cliff Key but didn’t see any other lights or movement.

“It’s so dark, where is everyone?” she asked
Nikolai looked back at her, “Most of the houses are summer rental properties, so they weren’t occupied while you were here, Colonel Bareis asked the few full time inhabitants to leave for an extended military exercise. There is a reinforced company of troops mixed between the 2nd and 33rd on the ground and most of them are aboard the Blue Harvest or at the Air Station. Problem is…we need to go there.”

02/19/3063 21:19 Location – Isle Azul, New Hebrides

“Ah Nikolai how did you end up in this situation?”, he placed another cam into a crack in the wet stone, “Dmitri is surely laughing his head off in hell knowing”, three meters, “you are climbing a sea cliff,” another three meters, “during a cyclone”, three meters more slipping twice, “to save a Davion princess”, five meters more, “guarded by an elite jump company”_, he pushed forward nearly there, “unarmed.”_

Clearing the edge he flattened out taking a moment to catch his breath, coughing when the rain went down his throat. Taking a moment to unharness and position the climbing rope for rapid rappelling if that became necessary, afterwards stashing his climbing gear and wet-suit in a waterproof bag then placing them within a nearby bush. Then he donned his Sneak Suit over his under-layer and powered up his multi-spectral optics. Taking a moment to look around and verify that everything was working creeping through the dark palms whipping in the wind.

The Villa belonged to Wilson Lycomb, an executive of Lycomb-Davion IntroTech, Nikolai Vasiliev didn’t know whether or not Mr Lycomb was aware that it now held Princess-Regent Yvonne Steiner-Davion but it didn’t matter. He climbed a small shed near the gardens crouching then zoomed in and saw two squads of the 2nd Necedah Jump Infantry on patrol. They clearly hadn’t brought proper MilSpec foul weather gear with them, instead the reflective stripes on their civilian gear marked them in his goggles. There was a whole company on this island but his intelligence had been correct that the majority of them were located near the port village. There was probably only a platoon at the villa itself, after all their captive couldn’t run anywhere.

Nikolai used the landscaping to avoid the patrols which were moving around in pairs and reduce his exposure time to the surveillance systems, visible because they were recent additions and didn’t fit with the villa’s Neo-Revival architecture. The Cheka operative stuck to the shadows avoiding the pools of light emitted from the mobile light towers and settled beneath an illuminated window where a towel hung out on a balcony.

Princess-Regent Yvonne Steiner-Davion sat on a chair surrounded by piles of books wearing a red top and grey capri pants. She had screeched and whined long enough that her captors had bought her whatever she wanted to keep her quiet and she figured she might as well try to complete her studies. The island had its own power generator so there was no threat that the Class 3 Cyclone howling outside would cut off her reading light or air conditioning. She had just finished reading the biography of Reynard Davion and was beginning to work on Reunification War Historicals when she heard a tap at the window. “Shut up! stupid storm”

The tap occurred again, and again in a rhythmic pattern, eventually she got up and looked out the window. There was a figure beneath it that she recognized, she opened the window and the sopping wet man cleared the window frame. Yvonne kissed him, Nikolai paused for a moment, that was unexpected but not unwelcome they had already gone way further than that.

She was about to speak but he put his finger to her lips and whispered directly into her ear, “Yvonne, can you put some music on?” Confused for a several moments while she worked her way through possible scenarios she nevertheless did as asked playing popular music in the FedSuns from the room’s speakers. Nik adjusted the volume and went into the bathroom, it was an elegant room the walls a light pink with a very large bathtub and glass shower stall, Yvonne followed confused.

His sneak suit was still wet and dripped rainwater onto the white floor tiles and he pulled the mask off placing it in the sink, then adjusted his hair and she got really close.
“I’m happy you’re still alive Yvonne, but we have to speak quietly, if I was your captor I would have an audio recorder somewhere in the room, that’s why I wanted you to turn the music on.”
“Nikolai you found me. How are we getting out of this?”
“I don’t know; your sister is on her way, she already has a force near Tikonov but she can’t launch an invasion without cause. ”
“A Ferret should be coming in tomorrow and you know I can pilot it, we can get off this island you can take me to her.”
“I know you can but I can’t get you off-world. Marshal Sortek has everything locked down, I only managed to sneak in via a refrigerated meat container.”
“Well if you can’t get me off world. What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to smuggle a message back to Katherine, I can’t send it back via the New Avalon HPG. If you were in immediate danger I would have busted you out but the whole Guards Brigade is on planet. You are safer here than free unfortunately. Especially since Bishop has been launching a very slick campaign trashing you and your sister trying to convince people that Conrad or George might be a better choice than either of you for First Prince.”
Yvonne’s eyes went wide, “The Whole Brigade? That’s nearly sixty regiments plus the Militia.”
“I think the Militia will be loyal to you if they knew what was going on, the Guards too but they don’t know everything that has happened. If they don’t however, three other Crucis militias and the 1st Armored Cavalry are already mobilizing since we convinced them that something was wrong. The Admiralty is with us as well. They are already positioning themselves to negate George and James if they try to support Bishop.”
“Where’s Ardan or Jackson? Why haven’t they done anything yet?”
“Ardan is still in the Capellan March overseeing the end of the St Ives conflict on behalf of the Star League. He has no reason to distrust Bishop and still thinks you are taking time off to deal with Arthur’s death. I don’t know where Jackson is, he apparently hasn’t made any public appearances in the past few weeks.”
Yvonne looked concerned, “Do you think Bishop killed him?”
“I don’t think so, Jackson is a longtime friend and General of the Armies but then again Bishop isn’t acting like himself. I’ve poured over the scuttlebutt and archival videos I picked up the last time you had me spy on him again. I just can’t figure out who might be influencing him or to what end, he has to be compromised in some way.”
“Why would someone do that?”
“I think someone is trying to collapse the Federated Suns, the Black Dragons are already sabotaging the Combine, the Confederation is a weak state barely able to overcome a breakaway province, the League is on the rise if they can get over their many internal problems. The only state that is still hanging on is the Alliance and they still have the clans on their borders. There were plenty of opponents to the Federated Commonwealth, people who opposed your father’s marriage. You know that, we used them to weaken Bishop’s power base and remove potential enemies from the field before they turned on you.”
“Could it be Tancred?”
“I don’t think so, this conspiracy is far deeper and more expertly executed than anything he is capable of. We both know he’s no Quintus Allard, that is why I’m here after all. Although maybe…it doesn’t make sense though, the moves are all wrong. Arthur wouldn’t have been killed if he wanted to be First Prince, your brother and him were so close, he would have been on the shortlist to be his Champion.

He would have tried to convince Arthur to get you to marry him, then once that happened, killed him. His dad too, he’s not the most stable of men but he treated your brother like a son. Even with all his hatred for the Combine he wouldn’t have used Arthur as a pawn like that, he could have come up with any number of reasons to attack the Combine.”
“I’m really scared Nikolai, I want to leave, I don’t want to be the Regent, I don’t even want to live on New Avalon anymore. I’ve spent my whole life here but it feels like a changed place. Why is this happening to me?”
Nikolai had spent years cultivating agents and spent more than a few months as a prisoner but it was something else when it was a friend that was breaking down under the strain, “I understand Yvonne. You know I’m doing everything I can, but you have to hang in there. I’ll be back and Katherine is on her way. You are not alone or forgotten, you will get out.”

Nikolai spent a few more hours with her before heading out and re-boarding his mini-sub clearing out the climbing cams on the way down. He smuggled himself to Argyle and then boarded a Loki vessel to transit back to Tikonov and delivered it to the Loki commander there personally before heading back out into the Outback.

12/10/3062

The Black Dragon Society bomb claimed responsibility for the bombing but questions still remained and dark rumors spread. There was no body, the explosion was small, the holovid cameras had cut out frames before the explosion completed. There were too many unknowns but nevertheless Duke Sandoval swore swift and terrible retribution for the attack. Yvonne had sent both Tancred and Nikolai out to make sure he didn’t do anything rash but it left her with few even unreliable allies on New Avalon.

Yvonne was grateful that her sister had sent Nikolai as a seed for her own personal network. In the few years she had worked with him they managed to build a network of “fellow travelers” and engaged in an influence operation to rally the slumbering Warrior Cabals in the Outback. Those idiot noblemen gladly martyred themselves to make Marshal Bishop Sortek look like a bastard.

It was a double win, he looked like every bit a warmonger but still dealt with a possible future problem especially since Battlemech production had increased dramatically over the past thirty years. After all it was the Davion Brigade of Guards (currently commanded by Bishop) that killed the Cabals the last time they made themselves known nearly a hundred years and four First Princes ago.

20:17 Princess-Regent’s Office

Yvonne was watching the rising moon after a long day of work, to many things needed to be done and even though she had once been a heavy sleeper there was scant time for sleeping in. She normally would have retired to her apartments by now but taken to long a lunch break. While the Ministries, whose lights were rarely off, were responsible for all the day to day she still needed to provide guidance to them. A loud knock on the door broke her out of her concentration, no one should be here right now.

“Who is it?”

The very large door opened to reveal Prince’s Champion Marshal Sortek in his Garrison Uniform followed by a squad of infantry.

_“What is the meaning of this Marshal Sortek?”
_
“Princess, I would apologize but I believe it is the right thing to do. Yvonne Melissa Steiner-Davion, you are under arrest for conspiring with Enemies of the State. If you go quietly, we will allow you to remain in Castle Davion under guard, for your own protection of course.”

“What! How dare you?” Yvonne stood up from her chair,_ “I am the Princess-Regent of the Federated Commonwealth a title I did not seek but was given to me, one that I would be eager to shed in fact, and you are supposed to be my Champion.”

“I am not your Champion Princess, I would have been your brother Arthur’s but I am Victor’s Champion and a Champion for the people of the Federated Suns. As such I believe you are far too close to the usurper Katherine Steiner and have been compromised by her malevolence.”

“What proof do you have of my sister’s supposed malevolence? The Lyran Alliance is prosperous and strong while the Federated Suns wastes its strength on War while the Outback starves. It would be lucky to have her as a Ruler, I am lucky to have her as a sister. You may cover your actions with alleged justice but this is nothing more than a coup.”

“Very well Princess, off to the New Hebrides for you then”

“It shall be a short vacation then. This will not end well for you Marshal Sortek”

“Lieutenant help the prisoner pack, she won’t be back in Castle Davion for a long time”_

12/12/3062 04:39 27km NNW of Villa Azur, New Hebrides

Yvonne Steiner-Davion had spent the past two days on the Rapier NASDF Bonaparte, fitting considering she was currently en route to her own exile. Officially her absence was the result of the “protective measures” put in place to ensure that she was safe. Bishop Sortek may be a fool but he didn’t have proof for his accusations or he would have made them public. He just wanted to rule like Victor had let him before he made her Regent.

With Arthur now gone and her allies away attempting to prevent the Draconis March from starting a war there was never a better time for a coup. She only wondered what he told Jackson or how long he would keep her in exile until she committed “suicide”, grief-stricken at the loss of her brothers and estrangement from her beloved sister. He may be a bloody bastard but she didn’t think he was that bloodthirsty. Regardless she was going to have to do something, Katherine would come but she needed to make sure it was sooner rather than later.

Her quarters were spartan, formerly those of the third officer mainly because that was the smallest independent room there was. They hadn’t handcuffed her during this journey the door was locked and guarded by a squad of unarmed but highly trained 2nd Necedah Jump Infantry. She couldn’t overpower them having received only the barest of martial skills training. Supposedly the ship was traveling in radio silence so she couldn’t make contact with Jackson or any of her friends even if she did somehow sneak out, no she would have to wait for the right opportunity.

12/17/3062 Location – Skye, Lyran Alliance

Archon Katherine Steiner landed at the Inverness Military Starport in the Claymore LAS Blue Molly 7, the assault dropship was a pleasant change of pace from her Monarch. It was sleek and deadly something she was increasingly trying to become and make her LAAF forces into.

She was on Skye because something was going on in the Draconis Combine but the Coordinator refused to speak of it. Expecting trouble she posted the Ygg and her escorts to Port Moseby, capable of responding to a situation within two weeks. Even the LIC lacked answers, the Combine was a difficult place to operate and while her intelligence service could best anyone given time the ISF and O5P were equally capable when they worked together.

Being on Skye also put her closer to New Avalon, while her sister insisted she was all right after the death of their brother Arthur she hadn’t spoken to her in more than a week despite sending many messages. Normally Yvonne would respond within a day or two, something was wrong she just didn’t know what. To that end she sent messages to Jackson Davion, as well as Ardan and Bishop Sortek, they could not deny that she speak to her sister even if it was through proper diplomatic channels.

Returning to the Villa where she was staying she checked her inbound messages on the house’s console. Jackson replied that her sister was fine just under protective measures for her safety. Ardan had not seen her of late but sent his condolences for the loss of Arthur.

Bishop on the other hand said that Yvonne refused to speak with her. Suddenly her pattern recognition kicked in, the secret to keeping an operation undercover is to make sure everyone is on the same page. Yvonne would never refuse to speak with her and with Bishop Sortek as Prince’s Champion he was the second in charge of the Federated Commonwealth. That meant that he had done something to her.

She sent a message to her General of the Armies Maria Esteban on Tharkad

“Green Light FALSE DAWN”