Chapter 9

Monday, immediately after entering my office, a sexy, bald girl entered.

“No one ever seeks your help, right?” Ellie asked.

“Everyone knows that,” I snapped. They either went to Marshal, if the issue could be solved by rational thought, or Josh, for everything else.

“Do you have time to meet with me for a few hours today?”

A few hours? I was planning on homework, but she looked serious.

“Sure.” I picked up my bag and followed Ellie to the Admin building.

In silence. From the both of us.

I noted the nameplate on the door of the instructor’s office we entered for later inquiry.

After closing and locking the door, Ellie sat behind the desk and gestured for me to sit anywhere in the small office which held only one visitor’s chair.

“First, I want to thank you on behalf of myself and my cadets. Without facing a real Mech Pilot, how would they ever know what to expect when planning missions after graduation?”

“Thanks, but I still have a lot to learn.”

“We all do. Leon, do you know why you are at this Academy and not any of the others?”

“No. I was sent here.” It wasn’t like I had a choice.

“I’ll get to that later. There are four Academies for aspiring top pilots from Noble households wishing to enter Mech Command,” she began her lecture.

“First among all schools in the human galaxy is Hephaestus Academy. The students here all use medium Tonnage Mechs and are expected to fight near, but not on, the front lines in their early years of service and never in their later years.

“After those five years have been served, they will either buy out their contracts or they will work their ways up the Federation Mech Corps’s command. Every graduate from Hephaestus Academy knows they have a chance to enter Command after those five years.

“Next is the combined command on Juno. Loki Academy is for the officers who are excellent with small Mech tactics or have the ability to lead thousands of Elementals in the wars against Humankind’s enemies.

“There is no buyout for those officers, they must fulfill their ten years before they have an opportunity of seeking different careers. But few of those officers fighting against our enemies leave. Do you know why that is?” Ellie asked, sounding all too similar to Major Flowers with that question.

“The Federation is the only one who uses Elementals?” I guessed. I had heard something like that before but I wasn’t sure where.

“Right. A few light Mechs is seen to be better at just about everything compared to their value in elementals. Elementals are not seen to be cost effective for the mercenary clans to field.

“The third Academy is located on planet Eden III. Their heavy gravity world is perfect for learning how to properly move in heavy Mechs.

“They are also taught four-person teamwork. One knight, two artillery and one swordsman Mech. Those four pilots live, eat, work, and train together night and day until they are one mind.

“Those are some of the best pilots in the galaxy. But only when moving as a single unit,” she paused and made sure that she had my attention.

“The fourth academy is on Mars of Sol System. Fleet command is a seven-year school where Math is their only god. They take the best and brightest minds in the galaxy to pilot, navigate, and engineer our spaceships.

“Now, Leon, do you see yourself fitting in any of those other Academies?”

“No.” That was a no-brainer.

“The top five academies outside of those four are all aimed at second tier nobles and remarkable commoners. Commoners who are either sponsored or have the backing of a merchant Clan or a House. Those academies aim their cadets at leading from the front. That doesn’t sound so bad, does it?” she asked. I admitted that that was where I belonged. I had figured that out a month ago.

“They train in Type IV Mechs and sometimes Type Vs,” she informed me.

I cringed.

“Right?” she noticed my wince. “Imagine facing fifty Type IV and V Mechs on the battle field. The Type V’s won’t even dent your armor. After they graduate, those cadets will typically,” she added, “be promoted to Lieutenant Third Class.”

Ugh. From Hate Academy, everyone will be either a First- or Second-Class Lieutenant. There is even a chance for a graduate to be a Second-Class Captain after graduation, if all of the instructors agree.

That had only happened three times in the past two hundred years.

“Leon, I want you to return your thoughts to the students here. Do you know what the biggest differences between you and they are?”

“You’re children of nobility and rich,” I flatly stated.

“Close. Every one of the cadets here will be given at minimum of one platoon of Mechs to serve under them by their Clans when they graduate.”

Well fuck. I had not heard that before.

My expression must have revealed my thoughts.

Gentling her tone, Ellie continued, “Firstborns or those with exceptional promise, such as Marshal Pentecost and Amy White, will receive triple that number of Platoons. Or more.”

“I bet that you have already been approached to run one of those platoons after graduation and your time with the Federation Mech Corps. Haven’t you?”

“Yeah,” I admitted.

“I bet that they even told you about the five-year buyout. Haven’t they?”

“I know about it. What do you want, Ellie? Do you want me to join you instead of them?” I asked harsher than I intended.

“What I want is for you to withhold judgment until you hear me out. Will you do that for me?” she asked in an all too reasonable tone.

“Sure.” I’d listen. Her spiel was probably better than Amy’s or Josh’s, if she was this confident.

“Do you know the difference between Houses and Clans?” she asked.

“I thought they were the same, other than some Military responsibilities,” I guessed. Honestly, I wasn’t all that sure of the differences. Federation politics was insane.

“Twenty-One Houses founded the Federation. We forced Humanity to band together and fight off the Hive who were slowly invading and devouring our planets and people.

“With the Houses combined military might and the added economic assistance of the Merchant Clans, we produced and fielded enough Elementals to grind the Hive to a halt. In the early days they ranged between one and three tons each, unlike the five ton elementals that the Federation produces now.

“But it was costly, both in human life and in credits.

“Without the Houses standing on the front lines, we would have lost the two hundred and thirty-two systems that we have today.”

I listened, that wasn’t what I read.

“The Clans exacted a steep price from us. In some aspects, we Houses paid a larger price to the Clans then we did to the Hive. But we would do so again if it meant that Humans would survive.” She blanked her face, probably remembering lost ancestors and the history she had been taught all of her life of their sacrifices.

“The Clans want you here to play solider with the rest of their hired Mercenaries. I want you to join my House and become my retainer, soldier, and Mech Pilot.

I didn’t know what a retainer was...

“Unlike those Merchant Clans, I will not be playing soldier fighting bandits or accepting money to help in skirmishes fighting against other mercenary Clans, Houses or Clan interests. Me and mine will fight for the next Thirty. To. Fifty. Years. under my house banner fighting aliens and protecting humanity.

“We,” she continued speaking as if what she just said wasn’t ‘fifty years’, “are fighting for Humanity. We are fighting against the Hive, who want to eat us. We are fighting the Grays, who think we are a sport. We are fighting the Trees who want our planets.

“My House and I will give you — not loan — Give You a full platoon of elite Skirmishers. Assassin Mechs, or whatever best suits you to take to the field,” she stated too generously.

I knew that her gift, even if it came with strings, was worth more than the stupid Knight Mech I fought last month.

“When in the years ahead you believe that you are capable of more than leading a single platoon, then a company will be made for you.”

“Retainers are for life. I will probably only have three in my whole life. I will not be taking the House Head position. My Brother is perfectly suited for that chore and he can have it. My place is out in the galaxy, fighting against those who seek Humanity’s destruction.

“I want someone, you, to be by my side while I am out there in the stars. I need someone who can lead a unit to take out a specific enemy and safely return. I need a man who can watch my flank, cover my rear or scout ahead. I need that man to return when he is supposed to and I need that man to be worthy of my complete trust.”

I began feeling very uncomfortable...

“I pray that you are that man, Leon Young.” She stared all too seriously into my face and eyes, making me more uncomfortable.

“I will graduate from Hephaestus Academy in seven months. I believe you are wasting your time here. You will never lead tens-of-thousands of Mechs. Nor do I suspect that would you want to. You have that individual mindset, one that you like and not wish to shed.

“I want to take you with me when I graduate.

“You are an Ace pilot. This school was never meant to teach an Ace anything. Let alone a future Master.”

“Huh? I thought everyone wanted to be an Ace?” What she said didn’t make any sense.

“You find that strange, do you? I bet that, if made to answer honestly, half the students here would rather never get in a combat for the rest of their lives. They were all promised a leadership position. One from the rear. Not the front.” She stated very clearly that damning accusation of her schoolmates. One that I felt was right down to my bones.

Even Amy talked about the five year buyout and making a large Mercenary corps to lead and scour the aliens. She couldn’t lead one that large from the front.

Could she...

“No, Leon. The cadets here don’t want to fight. And certainly not fight someone like you.”

“I don’t know.” I didn’t know what I didn’t know. And I didn’t know what I wanted to do.

“I have already been told. I will be sent to Grammarch after my graduation,” Ellie informed me.

Grammarch was the system which was invaded nineteen months before Vista by the Grays and was still occupied by the fuckers.

“Your Mech’s armor will have to be replaced with Federation standard, but if you want to bring your Fury, it will be allowed. We will be fighting Grays. Getting parts for your Fury will be easy from Gray salvage, don’t you think?”

“Yeah...” I said unconsciously.

“I need an answer before I leave, Leon. I hope and pray that you are the man I believe you are. Someone who will defend our homes at any cost, and not another Merc in the making who only wants to fight bandits or weak mercenaries for cash.”

Barely aware, I received a handheld from her. “Do not let this out of your sight. You can take it to your hangar and store it there. Major Flowers is a White and will already know everything it contains.”

“Okay,” I responded inanely.

“Leon, you can find me and ask me anything at any time,” she concluded.

Breathing out slowly, “I owe Colonel Lee a lot, and it’s hard to walk away from that,” I admitted to Ellie before she left.

“You mean Planetary Governor Jonathan White?”

“Who?” I asked with a suddenly bad feeling.

“General White-Lee retired a month after you arrived on Ares and assumed command of Vista. When he did so, he resumed his true surname.”

“Well fuck.”

“Joline White has too many enemies out there for her brother and sisters to keep their surnames, so they use aliases.”

Like Amy did.

“Her brother’s name is Jonathan White. She also has three sisters, Jessica, Jennifer and Judy,” Ellie said with zero emotion.

“Thanks, Ellie. I need to think about this.”

“I would think less of you if you didn’t. Take care, Leon, and remember, you can ask me anything at any time.”

“One last item, Leon. There are only fourteen Houses left. We have lost more Houses to the Clans than we have to the Hive or Grays. No one has ever said that there was a trustworthy Clan and I doubt that there ever will be one.”

She rested her hand on my shoulder before exiting the office closing the door behind her and out of my sight. But not out of my thoughts.

I knew she did not say a false word.

Every word she spoke was genuine.

Amy wanted to build a Merc corps. She said that clearly. She wanted me to leave the Mech Corps after our Mandatory five-year enlistment was up and join her. That was clear too.

She wanted me at her side. I knew I wasn’t ready for a large force under my command. Hell, one squad was pushing it right now. But that didn’t mean that five years in the future that wouldn’t change. I knew that I was still growing.

As for this school, I did not fit. I did okay at my academics, but my piloting skills and my Enlightenment were better than half of the instructors here. Over half of the instructors were not even Enlightened and other than Major Ingersol, no one had even tried to work with me individually.

But that made sense. Those instructors were on the command path, just like the students. They had little reason or desire to be Aces. They wanted to be behind the desks, sending people like me and Josh to the front lines.

What did that instructor say? ... Oh, that was it. ‘If I have to fight, then I failed.’

I still had that address from Lady Crimson. Unless it was an emergency, I didn’t have a way of contacting her. I bet Ellie would know who she was. They did have the surname...

“Captain Orseville, will you contact this address and inform the recipient that an offer has been made,” Elanor Crimson asked of the officer whose office she had used hours earlier.

She had expected Leon to vacate the Captain’s office after a short while, not two hours later.

“I shall, cadet Crimson,” the serious-minded officer replied. His own father was a retainer of her father’s cousin and he had been tasked to keep an eye on this Academy for their house.

Through his father, he was being honored as a trustworthy member of the House. If he performed well, then his children would be born as full House members and his own chances of being accepted as a retainer later in life increased.

“Conrad said he saw Leon with Elanor from House Crimson after dinner,” Josh informed his cousin.

“He’s not that dumb,” Marshal replied without looking away from his reading assignment.

“He might think that staying in the Mech Corps is the easy way,” Josh speculated.

“It’s a death sentence for anyone fighting the Hive.”

“But you know, if he gets a plum assignment to a Gray world, he would rock,” Josh countered.

“We have this year plus three more. I think all of you are wasting your time on him. Mine too, now let me study.”

Looking through the wall that they shared with Leon Young, Josh wondered if Leon had three years left at Hate.

He didn’t think so.

“That conniving bald bitch. I’ll teach you to keep your claws to yourself,” Amy Adams/White growled to herself when she found that Leon spent hours alone with Elanor Crimson of Crimson House.

Sacrifice, my ass. If it wasn’t for the Clans, you would all have been overrun a millennia ago...

I opened the hangar door and sought out Major Flowers. Surprisingly, according to Ellie, she too was a White. And a White with the same first name as one of Joline White’s sisters.

Since Colonel Lee ... I mean ’Planetary Governor Jonathan White’, was Joline’s brother, and Amy was her daughter, how far of a stretch was it to believe that Major Jessica Flowers was Joline White’s sister.

But Major Flowers has always acted as my ally. My and Tisi’s ally that was. She stated and acted like Mechs were the most important things in her life. Not the pilots, or the people around them, but the Mechs themselves.

Since my meeting with Ellie today would become common knowledge before I returned to my dorm, I didn’t see any reason to hide it, nor the contents of what was inside the data block Ellie handed me for safekeeping.

“Major, do you have a few minutes?”

Unlike usual, instead of working, Major Flowers was playing a concentration game on her persecomp while snacking on something. Flicking the pause icon, she frowned, but not seriously, “What are you bothering me at this hour for, Leon?”

“I need to set up a game for the freshmen cadets...” I went on to tell her my plans and asked permission for the use of one of her mini-Mechs. A spare, which had not been tuned to any of the Sergeants she brought with her.

With a little tweaking, she thought my plan was doable and sent me off with a flick of her fingers.

My next stop was Major Deering’s office, I had called him earlier and asked for an appointment. After waiting in the lobby of the Admin building for forty minutes, he arrived earlier than he said he would and invited me in.

“You’ve been quiet thus far, cadet. Too quiet. What brings you to my office?”

“Sir. I want to reserve Field Charlie II for this Sunday. I would like the whole freshman class to participate...”

Three hours later, he approved of my plans for the rest of the trimester. Although, our days would be moved to Saturdays instead of Sundays.

As for the rest, he was much more willing to add his advice for my wargame and on other topics.

I didn’t leave his office until 23:42. Figuring what the hell, I sent a priority message to Josh, Marshal, Amy, Lea, and Lorraine.

Lorraine and Lea were the last to arrive. Lorraine’s short wet hair was the reason, I guessed.

“Thanks for coming.” I placed a data chip before each of the cadets with the most merits. Those who were expected to do the best as commanders in the future, according to some esoteric body.

I had learned that cadet Larson was really supposed to bunk in 2-G. My arrival here messed up everyone’s planning. It wasn’t by any sort of coincidence that their kill numbers were exactly as they ended up. There was a multi-Clan body who regulated who went where when it came to the Academies. And even in what positions they entered those Academies.

Marshal was supposed to be the cadet Captain of this year and everyone knew it.

Was. And maybe still is in most of the cadets’ minds.

“Keep your Saturdays free from now on. Those are your assigned platoons. No trading. No breaking a cadet’s legs who you don’t want to handle, and no leaving them off the roster to do KP until the mission is over.

“You want to be commanders, helping the worst is just as important as helping the best.” Major Deering’s beliefs and words, not mine.

I thought that the worst should be relegated to permanent KP or sent to the front lines to learn not to suck so badly. Being the worst meant that others had to cover for their sorry ass on a regular basis. Even when they were worried about their own asses getting shot off.