FicWad

Chapter 2




The next day a large redheaded man shows up with an air lorry to pick the three up. The four men quickly get the tree loaded onto the trailer before the redhead hands Duncan a brown paper sack.




Tom calls in an aircar while they dig a shallow grave for the would-be assassin.




Duncan looks at his cabin as they wait for the transport to show up. "Guys, I hate to ask this, I really do: is there anyone in the group that you brought who could look after the cabin while I'm away?"




Tom smiles, "Actually, there is a man who we brought along who's looking at retiring. I think he'll jump at the chance."




"I'll have to meet him before I give the final approval, but I don't feel comfortable just leaving this place unattended for over a year."




Tom reaches into his jacket and activates the locater, "There we go. The transport should be here within the hour."




Less than forty-five minutes later, a black aircar lands in the clearing. Out of the car steps a wizened man with a shock of white hair and an air of toughness and resiliency that speaks well of his chances of survival in this deadly arena.




Duncan looks at the man critically, "So you're the one who's gonna look after ma cabin whilst I'm away?"




The man looks at Duncan and nods his head slowly, "Looks that way."




The woodsman smiles, "I'll leave you my personal files on things to watch out for. This little ball of dirt has quite a few nasties for the unwary."




Duncan shows the man the cabin and explains where everything is and a few of the more basic traditions of the as yet unnamed planet.




Less than an hour after the armored vehicle landed, it takes off with it royal cargo aboard. Tom and Will are sitting the back of the limo at Duncan's insistence.




Tom looks at his new liege lord oddly, "Sire, you have seen some strange sh-stuff in your time."




Duncan laughs slightly, "Tommy boy, don't ever be afraid of insulting me, especially by a bit of minor swearing. God knows, I do it enough. So, what is the plan my fine friends?"




Both of the bodyguards are slightly shocked at the familiar tone of voice the Duke is using. After a moment, Tom finds his voice, "What do you mean milord?"




The mountain man shakes his head a bit, "Look guys, I'm in this mostly to keep my ass alive. Out here, I'm the expert at staying alive, but where we're headed, you boys know the turf a lot better than I do."




Tom finally swallows past lump that had formed in his throat, "Well, um, my liege, we should be arriving in Jamestown in a couple of hours to meet up with your main security detachment."




Duncan nods his head in contemplation. "Alright, that should work. Look boys, I'm gonna be leaning on you pretty heavily for a while, until at least I can get my bearings and learn the rules of my new environment. So, tell me a bit about the realm that I have unwillingly inherited."




Both Tom and Will want to speak up, but both hold their tongues as they tell their liege about his new dukedom.




About two hours later, the frontier town of Jamestown comes into sight. The town is a collection of about twenty or so prefab buildings separated by dirt streets assembled around a large, circular launch pad. The 'car lands on what would appear to be the main business section of the town.




Duncan steps out of the car, surveying his surroundings by instinct. He says, "Come on boys, let's go grab a drink at Lou's before we meet up with the rest of your buddies."




Tom and Will both step out of the vehicle and scan the immediate area for threats before following their lord down the dusty street.




As the three men walk towards the bar, none of them notice the shadow that's watching them from the alleyway. The hired killer raises his pulser and takes aim at his target's back.




Duncan can feel the hairs on the back of his neck start to rise. In a move that is more raw instinct than planned, the man drops low as he reaches for his handgun.




The assassin squeezes the trigger in the instant his target drops to the ground.




The three men turn as the non-explosive dart shoots right over Duncan's head to impact against a wall on the opposite side of the street.




Tom and Will start to draw their pulsers as they turn to face the sudden threat.




Both Duncan and the assassin start to bring their pistols into alignment at the same time.




In this deadly race, Duncan can see he is about to lose so he suddenly sprawls forward, landing on his stomach.




Four pulsers suddenly whine as one. The assassin's dart once more misses its mark. However, the paid killer doesn't have time to dodge before three high explosive tipped, anti-armor darts hit his chest.




The few pedestrians watch the brief gun battle and one man actually looses his lunch when he sees the assassin's chest suddenly vanish in a red mist.




Duncan is just getting to his feet as a man in a brown leather jacket and cowboy hat comes running around the corner, pulser in hand. The man stops dead in his tracks when he finds himself looking down three pulser barrels and into three sets of rock hard eyes.




Duncan says, "Put that away Luke or so help me we'll blow you away."




Luke deliberately keeps his finger away from the trigger as he puts the pulser back into its holster.




The mountain man slowly lowers his pulser as another group of men in full powered armor come jogging from the spaceport, all of them with heavy pulse rifles. As Duncan starts to raise his pulser to defend against this new threat, Tom puts a hand on his arm, "Relax my liege, they're with us."




The man in the cowboy hat says, "Bear, what the hell is going on here?"




Duncan says, "Take it easy Luke. That son of a bitch tried to shoot me in the back. These two suckers with me are buddies of mine that I just met. My presence is required in the Core and I left one of these yahoos out at ma cabin. I'd really appreciate it if you could stop in on occasion to check on him."




Luke nods, "I'll remember to do that Bear. What you want done with this idiot?"




"Tom, Will, search the body real quick for any ID, after that, have the mortician have what's left of him."




A man in full body armor with five red stars on his left breast walks up to Duncan, "Milord, if you would please step this way, we can get you under cover immediately."




The mountain man says, "Relax pally, if there were any other assassin's in the area worth worrying about they'd already have shot me by now."




The armored man is obviously irked at Duncan's words and is about to say something when Tom yells out, "Milord, we have something you might be interested in."




Duncan turns his back on the lead bodyguard and walks over to the blonde haired man, "Yes?"




Tom holds up a black sack much the same as that found on the other assassin, "I found this in his pants pocket; I haven't opened it yet, but it feels about the same as the one on the guy last night."




Duncan nods, "Well, if it is then you and Will are going to be might rich suckers."




Tom straightens up, "Err, Duncan, Will and I talked about this last night and neither one of us feels right about taking the money. We're here to protect you but you keep pulling your own fat out of the fire. We're willing to take a part of the money, but only if it's split three ways."




Black laughs, "You boys are full of guts, I will give you that. Well, if that's the only way you'll take the money then so be it."




The head of the bodyguard detachment walks over and barks, "Green, Barnes, what the hell is going on here?"




Both the men in question instantly snap to attention. Tom says, "Lord James, we were searching the body sir!"




"And why aren't you making sure the Duke is safely out of any potential lines of fire?"




Duncan glares at the man and speaks in a quiet, clipped voice, "Watch your tongue pal. These two were doing what I told them to do. If you have a problem with that, I would suggest you take it up with me."




The man, Lord James, turns to Duncan, "Please milord, I need to address a small matter of discipline within military ranks, something I'm sure you don't understand."




As the man starts to turn away, Duncan grabs him by the shoulder and spins him around.




Will winces as he sees his lord draw back his arm, knowing the extra momentum from the spin is not going to help when flesh meets flesh.




Harold James, Lord Commander of the McBane Protection Battalion, is shocked when he finds himself forcibly turned about and stunned when a hard worked fist impacts with his nose.




The wet crunch of bone breaking seems to echo though the quiet street and blood flies from the man's broken beak.




The arrogant aristocrat lands flat on his ass, unconscious.




William Barnes has to fight back the smug grin as he watches his annoying commander bleed on the dusty street.




Duncan turns to Tom and says, "Just who is this idiot?"




"This, milord, is Harold James, lord of one of the McBane feifs. He's the commander of the ducal protection battalion of the McBane military. He also happens to be an arrogant asshole of the highest order, though I didn't say that."




The McBane heir smirks, "We'll see about that. For now, have someone drag this... individual back to whence he came please."




All present can hear the scorn and derision in Duncan's voice and can easily guess he'd wanted to use a much stronger word to describe the unconscious bodyguard.




Two of the armored men shoulder their rifles. They grab the aristocrat by the arms and hoist him up before carrying him off to the space port.




Duncan shakes his head, "How could someone that arrogant get that high of a position?"




Tom smiles sadly, "Patronage milord, his family has been in the service of yours for generations. It's become a tradition that the heir of the James family serve as the head of the ducal protection detail."




"Well, that's a tradition that's most likely going to end. Luke, you need me any more or am I free to go?"




"Bear, with the looks these old boys are giving me, I'd be stupid to try and detain you. It was an ambush that went south and the perpetrator died as a result, end of report."




Duncan nods his head, "Alright. Hey, I got a small favor to ask. There's a guy watching my place while I settle some business off-planet. You think you could stop in and check on him from time to time?"




"Sure, not a problem my friend."




"Thanks man."




Luke nods as the McBane heir turns to Tom and Will, "Well boys, bar's waiting on us and I think we've all earned a drink today."




The blonde man says, "Actually milord, we would really prefer it if you would go straight to the starport where your shuttle is waiting."




Duncan eyes the man, "Why?"




"Because there could be other assassins waiting and there's less chance of someone slipping you a poison in your drink aboard ship."




The mountain man smiles and says, "Alright boys, you win. Take me to your ship."




The heavily armed precession takes a slow, but direct, path to the starport where a heavily armored space-to-surface shuttle is waiting, surrounded by two dozen troopers in heavy assault armor backed up by crew-served weapons, including Heavy Repeaters.




After Duncan boards the shuttle he, Tom, and Will are shown into a posh lounge. Three real leather recliners and a sofa surround a low coffee table.




Duncan says, "Sit down boys. You want anything to drink?" Without waiting for an answer, the mountain man walks over to the wet bar and says, "What's your poison boys?"




The two bodyguards are obviously slightly nervous as they ask for beers.




The large mountain man grabs out two longnecks of Tillerman. Duncan pops off the caps as he hands over the beers before he goes back to the bar. He fishes out a short glass and drops in a handful of ice before he starts rutting around in the liquor cabinet. Smiling, he pulls out a bottle of Imperial Crown whiskey. He says, "Ah, finally something I recognize." Duncan pours himself a shot and replaces the bottle. Leaning against the bar, the mountain man turns to his bodyguards, and raises his glass, "Well boys, here's to one hell of a meeting. I look forward to having you two at my back for a long while."




Tom and Will sip their beers before the smaller man says, "Well, that's not likely to happen. We only joined the battalion a couple of months ago. We just don't have the seniority to be part of your personal protection team."




Duncan smiles evilly, "Refresh my memory Tom; I have almost full autonomy within my own domain correct?"




"Correct milord."




"Well, in that case, you two just got promoted. I need and want men I trust at my back. I don't care what anyone else has to say about the matter, I've seen the both of you handle yourselves well under fire and that's what matters most to me, so as of this moment, consider yourselves assigned as my permanent bodyguards," Duncan says with a hard tone of finality.




Swallowing nervously, Tom is saved from having to do his duty by the opening of the cabin door.




Duncan's nerves are still on edge when the door opens. He draws his pulser and takes aim at the man just about to enter the cabin.




The man standing at the doorway is of slightly above average height and a whipcord thin build. The man has light brown hair and is wearing a pressed white shirt, a brown vest and matching trousers. He has his hands clasped behind his back; he opens his mouth and says, "Would you mind not shooting me sir? It takes forever to get the blood out of this type of carpet."




It takes a moment for the man's words to penetrate, but when they do the mountain man smiles and says, "You are one solid son of a bitch."




The man smiles and says, "Thank you sir. Would you mind lowering your sidearm please?"




"Sure, soon as you show me your hands."




"Ah, you are afraid I might be another assassin, allow me to alleviate that concern sir," with that the man slowly brings his hands out in front of him. "May I enter now sir?"




Duncan nods his head, but doesn't lower his pulser until the door closes at which point he holsters his piece.




The man in the vest nods, "Thank you sir. I take it then you are Duncan Black, true name Duncan McBane, heir to the McBane dukedom."




Duncan nods, "Apparently so, least ma name's Duncan Black. And you are?"




"Ah, forgive me for not making formal introductions sir. My name is Walter Brown, I am your manservant. Charged with the rudimentary education needed to ensure you keep your head attached to your shoulders once we reach Terra to present you to the Emperor for formal induction into the ranks of noble society and for your formal investiture into the House of Lords. This in addition to the duties associated in being your valet."




Nodding again, the mountain man says, "So what can I do you for?"




The primly dressed man says, "I just came from the infirmary where Lord James was having his nose repaired. He was, I believe the phrase out here is, fit to be tied. He was quite irate with you for some reason."




Duncan smiles, "Could be because I'm the one who busted his beak."




"That would do it, the man is incredibly proud. He's also a first rate ass, and his isn't even too good."




The McBane heir gives his valet an odd look.




Walter laughs, "Don't worry milord, I happen to be in a happy, stable, monogamous relationship. Besides, the rough and rugged type simply does nothing for me."




Duncan chuckles as he raises his glass in a silent salute. As he gets ready to take a sip though, the door to the cabin opens once more, this time admitting Lord Harold James.




The man, out of armor, locks his eyes on the mountain man and marches into the room, not even bothering to look at the other occupants of the room. He stops just outside of arms reach of his liege lord. "Milord, I must demand an explanation as to why you struck me!"




Duncan merely shrugs his shoulder, "You publicly insulted me, I punched you out. By the laws out here, I'd a been in my rights to shoot you or gut you. Take this incident as an object lesson in watching your tongue when speaking to me."




"But still sir, you publicly humiliated me!"




"After you publicly insulted me, fair's fair fucker."




"Nonetheless sire, you hit me in front of my men, if I'm to regain their respect, I must insist on a public apology from you for that blow."




"And you can kiss my ass. You insulted me; I punched you, that's the way it works out here."




Harold is appearing to get a bit hot under the collar as he says, "Nonetheless milord, I must demand a public apology. The men must respect me if they are to follow me in combat!"




Duncan, who to this point had been leaning against the bar, stands straight up, towering several centimeters above the angry man locks eyes with him and says, "Listen up you arrogant aristo, you think you can come in here and brow beat me into submission. Well buster, you got another damn thought coming to ya."




"Listen you low born piece of filth. You may have the McBane genes but you do not yet have the training of a proper noble. You should let yourself be guided by a proper aristocrat until you can..."




The rest of Harold James's words are lost as Duncan pulls his fist back and punches him in the nose, again, breaking the cartilage, again.




Walter seems to magically appear behind the man before he can hit the ground and catches the unconscious individual. "William, please fetch a towel to catch the blood, I do not want any to get on the carpet. Tomas, please get over here and help me, Lord James is quite heavy."




The two bodyguards spring into action instantly and manage to get the arrogant and unconscious aristocrat out of the room without allowing a single drop of blood to reach the carpet, much to Walter's pleasure.




Duncan's shaking his head and sipping his whiskey a few minutes later when he feels the subtle vibrations of a surface-to-space shuttle taking flight. A moment later Tom and Will walk back into the cabin.




The brown haired man says, "The captain says we should reach the Marie in about half an hour."




Duncan looks at him and says, "The /Marie/?"




"The Marie St. Cloud is your personal yacht. Though small by the standards of major luxury transportation, she's more than enough to pick up one wayward heir."




The men walk over to their chairs and sink into them gratefully. The two take a long draught from their beers.




The three are silent for the next fifteen minutes until Walter reenters the cabin, "Greetings milord. I bring good news. Lord James shall not be disturbing your trip again until we are aboard the /Marie/. The doctor was kind enough to tranquilize him on the grounds that he'd been forced to treat James twice within the space of half an hour."




Duncan nods in acknowledgment and says, "Thanks for the info, can I get you something to drink?"




"No thank you milord, I rarely imbibe alcohol except in official settings."




The mountain man shrugs his shoulder. "So, how are things going to be working for the time being?"




Walter gets himself a glass of water and sits down slowly. "Well, when we arrive onboard the Marie we will get you situated. You will have the remainder of today and tomorrow to get acclimated to the ship and then we will begin in earnest the process of acclimating you to your new duties."




Suddenly, a deep tone reverberates through the ship, prompting the three seated individuals to rise to their feet. As the four men head towards the door, Duncan moves instinctively to take the lead only to be casually cut-off by Tom.




"I'm sorry milord," the shorter man says, "but we're trained to always precede you, just in case."




Duncan scowls slightly but nods his ascent.




As the quartet troop towards the boarding hatch, they feel the slight disorientation of passing from one anti-gravity field and into another.




"We must have just docked," Will muses.




The group arrives at the hatch, to find six marines in full dress uniform.




Duncan scowls slightly as the men form into two ranks that leave a short path directly to the embankment ramp. He carefully steps out onto the ramp and is shocked to find over two dozen space marines in full powered armor in honor guard formation. It takes most of his willpower not to go for the pulser at his hip on sheer reflex. The man feels a gentle hand touching his back, pushing forward slightly. He looks back on reflex and sees that Tom is attached to said hand. Duncan nervously steps off the ramp and starts to slowly walk through the corridor of heavily armed and armored marines. At the end of the corridor is a blond haired woman who barely comes up to Duncan's chest. He clearly sees the captain's stripes on her cuffs. He smiles as he says, "Permission to come aboard ma'am."




The woman smiles brightly and Duncan can hear the slight Russian accent as she says, "Permission granted milord." She then extends her hand, "Captain Yuri VanDyke of the /Marie St. Cloud/. It's an honor to have you aboard my lord."




The McBane heir takes the captain's hand gladly, "It's an honor to be here."




Captain VanDyke turns and gestures to the hatch, "If you will follow me milord, we have prepared some refreshments in my cabin."




"Lead the way milady. Tom, Will, come on."




The three men follow the female captain out of the boat bay and down several corridors until they come to a hatch guarded by a uniformed marine. Both Yuri and Duncan nod to the sentry as they pass by.




As the quartet enters the room, they find a young woman waiting for them. The rather petite blonde smiles welcomingly and says, "Hello captain, milord, gentlemen; may I get you anything to drink?"




Duncan cuts his eyes to Captain Vandyke who grins and says, "A cup of hot chocolate please Mary."




"A cup of coffee, if you please miss," the mountain man says with a slight smile.




Tom and Will also ask for coffee.




As the young woman disappears through a doorway, Duncan's eyes can't help but stray to her shapely behind before he starts to survey the cabin.




A large desk, covered in data chips dominates one wall with two chairs on the opposite side. Two chairs and a sofa surround a low coffee table. As the McBane heir notes the awards and trophies from various martial arts contests. After only a very little thought, the mountain man concludes that the captain is a truly dangerous woman.




Yuri leads the groups over to the coffee table as the blonde appears carrying a tray.




The captain and Duncan sit down opposite each other while the two bodyguards occupy the couch and Mary sets the tray on the table. She hands the captain a stein filled with hot chocolate before placing an empty coffee mug in front of each of the men which she then fills them from the same pot. As the blonde sets the pot on the table, she says, "May I get you anything else; cream, sugar, something stronger perhaps?"




Duncan smiles pleasantly and says, "Thank you, but no."




With a minor shrug, Mary sets the cream and sugar on the table before asking if there is anything else anyone needs. After receiving a round of negatives, the young woman disappears through the hatch from which she had just emerged.




As Duncan raises his cup to his lips, Tom calmly reaches over and places his hand over the top of the cup. At his liege lords sharp look, Tom inclines his head towards Will who is drinking from his own cup.




At the ducal heir's curious looks, Captain VanDyke laughs slightly, "I'd heard you were uninformed about aristocratic traditions but I didn't realize you quite so naive. Allow me to give you your first lesson in Aristo Traditions. When you are the guest of a non-family member, traditions says that the host, me, drinks first," at this Yuri takes a decent draw from her chocolate, "and then you and I make small talk for about the next five to ten minutes, officially to let the coffee cool, while one of your bodyguards empties his first cup and starts in on his second. This allows you to check for poisons without offering gross insult." She laughs at the shocked expression on the man's face. "Don't worry milord, you will get the hang of thinking like this rather quickly."




As Duncan lowers his cup, Tom slowly retracts his hand.




The captain refills Will's cup before she leans back in her chair. With a smile, the woman says, "Now on with the small talk. Tell me about that sidearm of yours."




The mountain man grins, "It's a Magnum Research 10mm Space Eagle loaded with H.D.A.P. rounds." As he finishes speaking, he hears the ships engines powering up, indicating that the vessel is breaking orbit.




Yuri looks at him inquisitively and says, "Hdap? I don't think I've heard of those before."




Duncan shrugs slightly and replies, "It's the the acronym I was taught. Stands for Heavy Duty Armor Piercing."




The woman nods slowly before she reaches over to refill Will's coffee cup. "I was taught the term A2, which means Anti-Armor. In either case milord, it would appear we have a problem."




The ducal heir leans back in in his seat and steeples his fingers, "What sort of problem?"




The captain swallows nervously as the suddenly highly intimidating man across from her. "The problem is your sidearm," she is surprised at the resolution in her own voice. When Duncan motions for her to continue, she does so. "I can understand and agree with your desire to be armed at all times. However, I must object to you carrying that cannon around my ship loaded with Anti-Armor rounds."




Duncan's voice is calm as he says, "And why is that?"




"Because I don't want you to accidentally decompress a compartment."




The man nods, "So what sort of compromise do you think we can come to?"




The woman breathes a quiet sigh of relief as it seems her liege lord is not going to fight her on this, too strenuously at least. "I would prefer you to pack impact rounds in that monster regardless. However, if you wish to keep A2's, I must insist you keep it secured in the locker in your quarters."




The mountain man nods slowly, "As you can probably guess, I am highly reluctant to be unarmed, and I also do not relish the concept of giving up my anti-armor abilities, how would you suggest we resolve this impasse?"




Tom is actually the first to respond to the question, "Milord, I happen to know that Marines on board carry spare 4 mm's for just in case and they are designed to take A2 rounds. The arms locker in your quarters can be voice coded so your piece would be safe there. Now while a 4 might not have the power or mental impact a 10 does, it can still kill armor with the proper rounds and good aim, which I suspect you have. This should satisfy both your need to be armed and the captains desire that you not be able to accidentally hull the ship."




Both Yuri and Duncan nod thoughtfully before agreeing to the idea.




As the mountain man finally raises his cup to his lips, he offers the woman a silent salute. He can barely hide his wince as he tastes the slightly cool, and unpleasantly weak, coffee. "So," he says as he carefully sets the cup down, where are we headed for?"




"The Crowley system and New Berlin 5."




Duncan nods at the standard reference to the terminus of the New Berlin wormhole junction. "Why not Sylybos and Jordon 2? It will cut no less than two months off of the journey."




Patiently, Yuri explains, "We don't dare use the Jordon Junction because the Jordon System is under the direct control of the Jordon Family and they've never been overly friendly towards the McBanes. They might take it into their heads to blow us out of the sky as 'spies' if they find out we're carrying you aboard."




The mountain man scowls as he nods, "That makes sense I suppose." As he finishes his coffee, he says, "Well Captain, this has certainly been an... informative meeting to put it mildly, now if there's nothing else, today's been extremely trying and overly tiring. If it's all the same to you, milady, I'll take my leave of you now. I intend to see the arms master to draw a second sidearm before retiring to my cabin."




Yuri smiles at the apparently instinctive deference the new heir has for a ships captain, "That should be acceptable. If you don't object milord, I shall have my steward get in contact with your valet to arrange a dinner meeting between us by the end of next week so you have time to settle in before being formally introduced to the ships' officers."




Duncan stands up slowly, being careful to keep his hand away from his pulser, "I appreciate the thought captain and I look forward to the dinner."




The three men find a marine escort waiting for them outside of the captain's quarters.




A/N: Until next time.