Betrayal 06

Tobias frowned. "Are you sure about that, Major? I mean it was just the two of us that really heard it..."

Mykal shook his head. "There are at least a dozen techs in here, and I guarantee that at least half of them caught some of what he said to you. If you don't nip this kind of thing in the bud, before long any officer that's older than you will be walking all over you. Have to set precedence." Shaking his head he muttered, "Even if he's a friend of mine."

Tobias nodded, "Alright then, I'll get to it right away." He saluted Mykal and headed for the opposite exit that Freddy had used.

"That's a sharp kid for his age. Makes me wish his brother had half the smarts." the Master Chief muttered.

Mykal looked over at the older man. "Prince Marcus you mean?"

"Mhmm. Kid had the back bone of a royal, could handle the entire political savvy just fine. Military stuff was just lost on him though. Always went with brute force methods. His instructors all agreed on that. Saw it myself a few times during the exercise maneuvers we had before the war started up."

Mykal looked over at the Master Chief. "There's more, I can see it on your face."

The Master Chief grimaced and chewed on the corner of his lip in thought. "This goes no further than the two of us, Sir?"

Mykal nodded, "I promise. I just need to know more about this guy."

"This is just my personal opinion, not gospel truth, but the kid always had a chip on his shoulder. Was really chummy with that little lordling you had a run in with yesterday. Started real soon after you and the little prick had your fallin' out. "

Mykal rolled his eyes a bit. "Gods, does everyone know about that? How many damn officers are there in our 'Mech corps, and everyone remembers me?"

"Son, I've been working on the Royal Lance 'Mechs for most of my really damn long career. I pick up things that have to do with the royal family. I may not be on the front line, but I'm just as hardcore as the rest of you about making sure that family stays safe." the older man said with a grimace.

Mykal nodded. "Understood, Master Chief. Speaking of keeping them safe, what kind of lance do I have to work with?"

The Master Chief grimaced, "Not much to be perfectly honest. We have three functioning 'Mechs," he said pointing to Tobias' 'Mech. "That's one of 'em."

"What are the other two?" Mykal asked; looking up at the medium assault type 'Mech, noting that it was a bit better armored and armed than his old machine, but not near as fast or responsive.

"Two Valkyrie Interceptors." Mykal whistled and his eyes got big. The Master Chief nodded. "Thems my babies. Closest things we have to Omnis."

"Well I'm glad that at least one rumor was true." Mykal muttered. "Do we have pilots for those?"

The older man made an uncomfortable shrug. "Yeah, sort of."

Mykal raised an eyebrow. "Sort of? Expound on that a bit for me, Master Chief."

"Pretty much everyone was killed trying to get everyone out. The only two pilots we have that are cleared both in skill and security clearance are you and the young Prince."

"Oh." was all Mykal said. "Something tells me his mother would have my hide if I used him to protect the rest of the family."

Master Chief Brockton chuckled. "You couldn't pay me enough to be the one to tell her that you were gonna do it. Her Majesty scares the pants off of even me."

Mykal scrubbed his face with both hands, checked his internal clock and groaned at the late hour. The king was expecting him soon. "Who knows, maybe I can get the King to break it to her. I have a meeting with him soon anyway. I'll see if I can get us a couple more pilots; see what you can do about putting us in the pipeline for new machines."

Brockton nodded. As Mykal turned for the door, the older man put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about the rumors your friend mentioned. They aren't bad as all that. Most of them actually make it seem like a good thing. He was putting an ugly light on it." Mykal sighed and nodded.

"Thanks, Master Chief. Keep me updated on the 'Mech hunt."

"Will do, Sir."

*****

Mykal sat back into the couch in the sitting room that Brigit, the two royals, and himself had retired to after having an early supper. Brigit settled next him, her legs curled up under her, one knee barely touching the side of his leg. A touch he was acutely aware of as he sipped his scotch. Brigit was smiling back and forth with her mother, both of which were enjoying a glass of wine. Hans refreshed his own drink and sat in a large overstuffed chair with a sigh.

"As comfortable as this ship can be, I really can't wait to get off this thing. The constant hum and the scrubbed air are getting old."

Mykal nodded. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind getting on some solid ground. Some time in a real 'Mech would be nice to. I feel like I'm losing my touch with only using simulators."

"I'm looking forward to you getting in the real thing too." Brigit said with a smile. "Maybe you'll be able to get something right without having to be tricked." She whispered just loud enough for him to hear as she pulled her glass to her lips.

Elaine giggled slightly a moment later. "Do they do this all the time?" Mykal asked the king.

"Do what?" he asked, his brow furrowed.

"They are having a data packet conversation. Started at dinner; hasn't stopped since."

Hans' jaw dropped as he looked between the two women.

Elaine smiled broadly. "I told you he was a quick one."

Brigit slapped Mykal's shoulder lightly. "Way to ruin the secret."

Hans shook his head and took a sip of his brandy. "Well, that explains a lot."

Brigit smiled. "Mom and I are almost always 'talking'. We've been doing it for years now." She giggled, "Its part of the reason I developed the programming for it."

Mykal sent a data packet to both women at once. [So it's going to be like that; is it?]

Both women answered out loud at the same time. "Yep." They both started giggling uncontrollably.

"Not you too Mykal; we have to show a united front." Hans said in a pleading tone.

"Do you really think we would have any chance of out maneuvering these two?" Mykal asked with an eyebrow raised.

"You have a point."

Mykal took another sip of his drink. "So when exactly are we expecting to arrive at Phoronas II?" he asked the king casually, just making small talk.

The crash of the glass as it slipped from the king's fingers in surprise snapped all of Mykal's attention directly on the King.

"How did you know where we are going? That information was locked down only hours into the flight; you were in ICU." the king asked tersely.

Mykal's eyes went wide. "I heard it in passing from...." Bolting out of his seat he made a beeline for the door. "Security to Lieutenant Freddy Davidson's quarters; make sure that you are armed. Take him into custody, but do not move him until I get there."

"Mykal! What's going on?" Brigit yelled after him as he ran out the door.

Turning briefly, "It looks like your brother had more moles than we thought."