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The Asteroid that the Star League Base was bunkered within was actually more of a dwarf planet. At six-hundred miles in diameter, it was slightly larger than Ceres in the Asteroid Belt of Terra. The SLDF had really done great work on hiding the base, though, because the access hatches were really hard to find at a glance. Even knowing what I was looking for as the Hoplon, Hoard-Hauler, and Lynx approached through the smaller asteroids nearby, I could only just make out the locked, camouflaged, blast doors the same color as the rock of the asteroid. We'd been powering through the system for about three days now, equivalent to roughly one-third of the way to the Nadir Jump Point of the System. We'd been navigating the Asteroid Field for the last six hours of that, ever since we'd left Grunwald Station.

Grunwald Station was a standard Belter Station from which my Father's, now my, Asteroid Mining company operated. It was a relatively small operation, two hundred people mining some of the easier Asteroids in the Belt, akin to that of an old Terran oil rig. My father hadn't wanted to invest more heavily until more people were living on Iron Land than currently did, but Grunwald Mining was pulling enough metals out of the asteroids to feed the industry I currently had going. More than feed it actually, since they were no longer sending bulk loads of ore to Butte Hold. That ore had instead been going to Apollo and markets in the Lyran Commonwealth, along with a decent chunk of the surplus my mining companies were extracting. They did, however, have maps of most of the asteroid field, which had come in handy on our trip.

Over the course of the trip, I got to know my Dropship Captains a little better. Captain Haesteinnsson, for instance, liked games of all kinds, not just poker. He was particularly fond of a Jarnfolk game called Tafl, which had been a rarity among some Rasalhague Expats I'd known, but was apparently ubiquitous amongst the Jarnfolk. Meanwhile, Captain Cicerelli was a bit of a Gourmand, who sometimes commandeered the galley of the Lynx to make various dishes. Captain MacTavish, on the other hand, played the Guitar in her spare time. She was actually pretty good at it, though her tastes ran more to Federated Suns Music than I enjoyed, personally. They all also had their foibles and problems, as any person does. Captain Cicerelli owed millions of C-Bills from loans he'd taken out as a younger man, Captain MacTavish was addicted to gambling, and Captain Haesteinsson was an exile.

Still, they were good people, and clearly knew what they were doing. My father had only hired the best he could, and I was glad to have them with me. As we neared the large asteroid that hid the SLDF Base, Captain Haesteinsson ran his hands along his beard in a sign I'd come to learn was a tell that he was thinking hard about something.

"What's on your mind, Captain?" I questioned.

"Most of the runs we've done have been to planetary depots where there's an interface for a Noteputer, or battlefields where the salvage is easily gotten to, but this base is locked up tighter than the Archon's Vaults. I know you have clearance codes, but where do we send them to? Just a general hail?" Questioned Captain Haesteinnsson.

"Let's try it and if it doesn't work, we can try sending a team down for an EVA?" I hedged.

After a few moments of thinking, Captain Haesteinnsson nodded. "I can't think of any better solutions. Type in the codes your father left you and we shall see if that works or not." He said.

I moved over to the communications console as the officer who normally handled that duty, an Officer of Korean Descent from Lushann in the Outworlds Alliance named Jim Park, slid aside. I punched in the command codes in the sequence my Father had left instructions for and Officer Park sent them on a general hail to the Asteroid. For a few tense moments, nothing happened. We waited for something to happen and nothing did, until just before I was going to make the call to send a team down to the Asteroid on an EVA to look for a console to do things manually. Just as I opened my mouth to order that, there was movement from the Asteroid as a number of lights began to power on down on the base, outlining formerly camouflaged areas such as airlocks for Aerospace Fighter hangars and weapons emplacements.

"The lights still work, huh?" I queried.

"The Star League built their facilities to last. It's half the reason our profession exists. Some of their facilities could withstand Ragnarok itself." Nodded Captain Haesteinnsson.

"I'm getting a ping from the base. The computer is sending coordinates to a dropship hangar." Reported Officer Park.

"Mister Schmidt, take us in on those coordinates. Mister Park, signal the Lynx and the Hoard-Hauler to follow us in." I ordered.

"You heard the Baron, get to it, folks." Added Captain Haesteinnsson.

The various officers on the bridge set to their assigned tasks with gusto, all save Officer O'Connell at the Weapons Station, who just sat back as the others worked, though he kept an eye on his tactical screen for any unwanted surprises. Fortunately, not needing to use the tactical console for anything was a good thing, and Rick O'Connell, a former Taurian Defense Force Dropship Officer from Sterope, seemed more than content with not being necessary for right now. As the crew worked, the Hoplon flew around the Asteroid, followed by the Lynx and Hoard-Hauler. As we did so, we came up on a large blast door that was now opened, with tracks of running lights guiding us inside.

As we got closer, we began to see signs of what had happened to this base as bodies floated out of the now open airlock, corpses mummified in the stale air of the dormant base now exposed to the vacuum. All of them had suffered some kind of battle wound, apparent from the blast marks torn through body armor and the holes in skulls. As we made our way forward, the thump, thump, thumping of bodies hitting the hull could be heard, as we bulled our way through the Dropship-sized airlock. There was only one reason for this kind of civil strife within an SLDF base of this period.

"The base must've gone dark during the Amaris Coup as SLDF Loyalists fought with Rim World Republic Troops." Breathed Mister Park.

"Yeah, and when the Admiral locked it down after fleeing, the remaining Rim Worlds Republic Troops must have all starved to death or something. I can't imagine Stefan Amaris would've been able to save them with Kerensky breathing down his neck." Offered O'Connell.

"Priorities being what they were, I suspect you're right on that count. I'm more concerned about the Rim Worlds Republic Troops tossing the SLDF corpses into the outer airlock." I agreed.

"It does show a certain disrespect." Concurred Captain Haesteinsson.

"All right, we're in and it looks like Lynx and Hoard-Hauler are too. What now?" Questioned the Helmsman, Erich Schmidt, a Lyran from Kostinbrod.

As he said that, the outer blast door of the airlock began to close and the inner blast door began to open, though the hangar wasn't pressurized. It wouldn't be until we landed and both doors were closed to avoid accidents. As we entered the base, we were shocked to see that this was no mere hangar for DropShips, but a fully functional small naval port of SLDF Vintage. Hulls of various models of Dropship lined the port in various docks as we searched for an available berth. I spotted a mix of Titan-Class Dropships, Triumph-Class Dropships, Veangeance-Class Dropships, Pentagon-Class Dropships, and Lion-Class Dropships. Those weren't all, as a pair of Jumpships, a Star-Lord, and a Tramp were berthed next to each other.

The most astounding thing was at the back, however. two Volga-class military transports and a single, pristine, Block Two Commonwealth Light Cruiser. Actual WarShips docked in this hangar. As we set down in an empty berth near the back, and the Lynx and Hoard-Hauler did the same, my mind was racing a hundred miles a minute. The Pentagon-class Dropships alone were enough LosTech to draw attention but with three actual WarShips on top? Granted two of those were military transports, but even still. The Light Cruiser was a hell of a find. And this was only the Naval Hangar, there were supposed to be mechs and AeroSpace Fighters here too, on top of a Research and Development area. Granted, this place was big enough to hold all of that.

"Baron, may I have a word in my ready room?" Asked Captain Haesteinnsson, his voice cutting through my scrambling mind along with the noise of the inner airlock shutting closed and the port pressurizing.

"Yes. I think that's warranted." I affirmed.

We stepped inside the small conference room off of the bridge and Captain Haesteinsson turned to me. "Those were WarShips." He stated.

"Yes. Yes, they were." I nodded.

"Did your father have any idea what he'd found here?" Queried Captain Haesteinnsson.

"If he did, he didn't mention it in any of the documents he sent me. This was more than a regular base and research and development post like he thought." I sighed.

"That is something of an understatement. Just the port alone is packed with enough metal to start a small-scale war. And that is by SLDF standards." Pointed out Captain Haesteinnsson.

"I have a sneaking suspicion this base was part of Stefan Amaris' preparation for his coup, only something went wrong with his plans, and the SLDF loyalists on base got alerted to his intentions ahead of time, allowing the SLDF Admiral and General on-base to try to mount a resistance against the Rim Worlds Republic Troops, then enact total lockdown procedures when that resistance failed. Something Like half the Castles Brian in the Star League were under Rim Worlds Republic Control by the time Stefan Amaris launched his coup. This base must have been under only partial control by the D-Day." I frowned.

"That seems likely. It's the only way something like this could have survived for your father to find. The luck it must have taken to find something like this, though. It makes it hard to believe that he could have died in something so mundane as a Hover-Forklift Accident." Muttered Captain Haesteinnsson.

"My father did have something of a reputation for prescience." I agreed.

I was starting to believe it too. The dreams couldn't have guided him to this kind of find by themselves. I'd heard of the Phantom Mech Incident on Mallory's World from four years ago, who hadn't at this point? At the time I'd put that down to a combination of rumors and stress-born hallucinations blowing a minor fluke or technical glitch out of proportion, but what if I was wrong? This certainly seemed to be a similar sort of thing, the extraordinary luck that my Father would have had to have had in order to stumble across something like this bordered on the fantastical.

For a few brief moments, we just stood there, Captain Haesteinnsson and I saying nothing and just pondering when our lives had taken a turn toward being like those bad Holovids I'd seen some of the rookies watch back on Blackjack. Seriously, this was practically an unreleased script for an arc of Immortal Warrior. After a few moments, Captain Haesteinnsson spoke up again.

"You know, this is going to need security measures if we're to exploit this properly. Your father kept Iron Land off the maps of the Inner Sphere, but that isn't going to be enough. Not with WarShips involved, plus whatever else is in the base." He said.

"I know. I can have Head Administrator Matthews draw up NDAs and Chief Mastersson start looking out for spies, but what else would you suggest?" I queried.

"I heard you paid off the debts of several fighter jocks after a night of drinking. That wouldn't be a bad place to start earning loyalty. Another would be to issue bonuses for discretion. We'll have to screen who comes and goes from Iron Land, but thankfully, your father was already doing that as part of keeping the system hidden, and I know that Chief Jankowski might have suggestions for security improvements, We have to play this very carefully, otherwise, every Successor State and not a few of the Periphery Powers are going to try to snake this find out from under us." Suggested Captain Haesteinnsson.

"Not least of which would be Hendrik Grimm." I grumbled.

"You are still nominally a vassal of Redjack Ryan, who is an enemy of his. His striking at Ryan through you is a given. I was more concerned about the Duke of Apollo in the Lyran Commonwealth, though. Plus the Second An Ting Legion isn't stationed too far away. New Caledonia is only two jumps from here if the Combine decides to make a play." Cautioned Captain Haesteinnsson.

"I'm not worried about the Duke of Apollo. The Heiress to the Duchy is one of my closest friends, but I take your meaning, especially in regard to the Combine. We'll have to play this carefully." I confirmed.

"Good. For now, though, we should explore the rest of the base. I know that Doctor Sokabe has been practically vibrating in her cabin from the chance to retrieve an intact Research and Development Data Core, and there may yet be more surprises further in the base among the mech and aerospace contingents waiting to be discovered. I would recommend we not leave the base until you at least have a chance to screen everyone and call a meeting of senior staff. I understand that Chief Jankowski seconded Lieutenant Adamski to us for this mission. Talking with him sooner rather than later would be a good idea." Informed Captain Haesteinnsson.

"Right. I'm going to go do that." I nodded.

I left to go find Lieutenant Adamski, who I found sipping out of a flask near one of the cargo bays. Over the next twenty minutes, as everyone else on the dropship got ready to disembark, I hashed out the skeleton of a security plan with him, which he deemed both feasible and decently effective for what we had on hand. He had fifty security troopers in his platoon with him all of whom were unquestioningly loyal. The same could be said for the dropship crews, especially now that I'd be paying off their debts and issuing bonuses. The main issue, in his mind, were the support staff porters and the Technical staff. Not so much the Senior Technicians or Doctors, but the junior engineers and research assistants. He'd have one of his squads keeping an eye on them and the support staff at all times, leaving two squads for a reserve while one squad rotates off-duty.

Lieutenant Adamski would be present with me for the duration, of course. Just in case. I honestly welcomed that. I'd had infantry training, same as Vehicle Crew, Spacer, Staff Officer, and Mechwarrior training at the Blackjack School of Combat, but I hadn't had any intelligence training beyond the basics given in the staff officer courses. Lieutenant Adamski, meanwhile, had commando and counter-intelligence training, which made him more than qualified to sniff out any rats I might have missed. That would come in handy during meetings and interviews.

As Lieutenant Adamski put his plan into motion, I sent off a quick message to Head Administrator Matthews to draft up an NDA for use here and to send it to my Noteputer via the in-system communications uplink in our Smeltertown Office. I also sent a message to New Ålborg's Baronial Treasury via one of the K-Class Transmitters to begin paying off the debts of my people and to make funds available for bonuses for the employees of one of the Baronial Companies. I attached the Baronial communications codes so the Treasury knew it was authentic. I'd visit New Ålborg once I was done here to properly sort things out in the Barony.

For the moment, though I had a base to catalog. . .

XXXX

AN: Yeah, this base has a lot stored in here. It was one of the stockpiles that Stefan Amaris was beefing up in advance of his coup, though it wasn't completely under his control like a lot of the other bases. Rim Worlds Republic Troops had complete control over half the Castles Brian in the Star League by the time Amaris launched his coup, thanks to the Rim Worlds Republic Army covering for SLDF Units being deployed against the Taurians. Here, something alerted the SLDF Loyalists in the base ahead of D-Day for the Coup here, though the question of what exactly that is hasn't been determined.

What it meant though was that the Admiral and General at the base, both Loyalists, were able to lock down the base using their personal authorization codes once the SLDF Loyalists were on the verge of folding. The Rim Worlds Republic Troops inside were then stuck in a base with only a Year's worth of food, unable to leave or communicate with the outside. With Amaris preoccupied with Kerensky, they withered on the vine. And since the Pentagon Dropship that the Admiral and General were on was shot down and sunk into Iron Land's ocean, the SLDF didn't have the codes to crack it open either, and Kerensky left the Sphere with the Exodus Fleet soon after beating Amaris anyway.

That means that yes, Jozef gets a lot of goodies, but he also has to be careful about security or every power in the Sphere is gonna want to grab the system from him, or in the case of ComStar, do that and have him assassinated at the same time. Their family is clearly far too lucky, though no it isn't any more of a supernatural thing than some of the stuff in canon, like the Phantom Mech phenomena or the Seekers of Clan Goliath Scorpion. It also isn't likely to play a role outside of stuff Jozef's dad did. Jozef isn't playing on Mary Sue mode like his dad was, after all.

At any rate, next up will be seeing what else is in the base.

Stay tuned. . .