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Strategos (A Great Captain Roberts Tale!!)
Chapter 13 - Not all flesh is equal[]
"..Madame Mayor, may I introduce…
…Our commanding officer, Captain Roberts." Seron said it seriously enough to be a model Raven officer.
Amanda, for her part, managed to make herself look at least half decent for this. She'd traded up to the latest iteration of Nighthawk style armor instead of the heavier stuff the actual landing force uses, mostly because it was easier for Desmond to interface with the SLDF aged architecture, and topped it with the nemourlon and canvas 'frock coat' with piping and ranks, helmet secured back thanks to not needing it for more than head protection.
"Ma'am." Amanda said, giving a heel-click.
"You look like some kind of actor in a story holo." the older woman cracked, "Laura Hopkins, I'm…the mayor here, and probably the closest thing to a planetary official."
"I do read my Marine Commander's reports." Amanda said, "How often do they show up?"
"Who?"
"The guys who keep refreshing the mass graves at the end of the runway, and keep stacking bullets and blood on the blast fencing?" the young woman asked, "It may come as something of a surprise, but we're looking to put them out of business, and it serves some use to know when they're coming back, because coming back looks pretty frequent."
"Who are you with?" the Mayor asked.
"Outworlds Alliance Privateer Fleet, ma'am." Amanda told her, "we have a mission to clean up this end of space and restore safety and order for citizens…like yours, and freedoms you've clearly lost."
"You don't beat around it, do you?"
"I'm not subtle by nature, Ma'am. I find a direct approach has served me well in social interactions-it's why I wear the armor." she gave the older woman a wry expression. "There will be a force from Clan Snow Raven coming to provide your world with protection, and the Outworlds Government is looking to restore your utilities and provide the supports that were stolen from you."
"They come at Harvest time, the fall, and they take most of the harvest, leave us enough to support the number of people they didn't take."
"Reapings." Amanda said, "Like a farmer culling his herd."
"Yes."
"Do you ever get people back??" Amanda asked. She knew the answer, but it was important to establish it.
"No."
"Do you ever see any of your former people working with them?" the girl asked.
"No."
"Tell me about this..reaping, this harvesting they do-"
"THEY call it a 'Tithe', in the name of the Star League." Mayor Hopkins stated, "The Sons of Plunder claim to be the Star League's Provisional military, and when people resist…"
"They kill them to make examples, like Furlough." Amanda filled in.
"Yes."
"They aren't the Star League." Amanda stated, "They're Bandits cosplaying as the Star League, it's one of the things we're out here to put an end to. This world historically was a member of the Outworlds Alliance, and Clan Snow Raven really is the SLDF…well, their descendants, anyway-they have a legitimate claim to the title that's more legit than a bunch of bandits and slavers with lots of expensive gear."
"They have bigger 'mechs than your…marines."
"That's because ours…well, the Snow Ravens anyway…are more advanced, because they're REAL, not cosplaying deserters and cowards." the girl said, "The Snow Raven garrison will be arriving in twenty days. I don't know when the relief teams and engineering group will be here to fix your looted utilities and help you reclaim what's yours, but they are coming...and with the lead time you suggest, We'll l have a real defense in place to protect your citizens, and following behind that defense, will be traders and merchants…and maybe more settlers, and if..no…when we succeed, we'll bring back as many of your people as possible."
"You don't know the Sons of Plunder, 'Captain' Roberts." Mayor Hopkins said, "They're ruthless, powerful-"
Amanda laughed. "Madame Mayor, they don't know ME yet either."