14

Leonard slowly made his way back home after sticking around a little longer to make sure the thugs were picked up by the authorities and didn't place Anna in any further danger. They wanted to get a statement from him, however he just waved them off, once they heard his family name they didn't try and stop him. 

He felt a little concerned about that, that he could just wave his name about and have the police not question in the slightest his involvement. While it wasn't a big situation by any means, the fact that the police more or less let him do as he willed didn't bode well. 

Such behaviour would certainly allow those treacherous noble houses to get away with many misdeeds, if no one bothered to look into anything their plans to topple the government would go unnoticed until it was too late. And that seemed to be what had happened in the future, their revolt coming as a complete surprise to the government. 

Maybe he would have to look into that, but there wasn't much he could feasibly do. 

His air taxi quickly landed outside the gates of the estate, unregistered vehicles not being able to fly over its walls. The walls surrounding the estate were large and military grade, their corners being topped by large cannon turrets. Being a military based house their security was top notch. Besides the large walls and gun emplacements they enjoyed a garrison of 50 mechs, all piloted by veteran soldiers. 

While some noble houses fielded larger garrisons, the Vallum Estate prided itself on only recruiting the best of the best. Either from pulling from their vast family of pilots to recruiting those leaving military service, no pilot in the garrison could be underestimated. 

Leonard himself would be denied entry if he chose to apply, his military history and experience not being nearly great enough to join their ranks. Although this was only the case for their headquarters on Citadel, the capital planet having very strict limits on the amount of mechs they could field. 

Throughout all their holdings in the nation the number of active mechs could rise to more than 300, being stationed in important locations to keep their many businesses safe. From factories to mines and various smaller locations their power was spread out over many star systems. 

Leonard walked through the large open doors of the main gate, the two security guards in heavy power armour remembering his face, or simply accessing it from the estates internal databanks. Either way he waltz through without being stopped, making his way down the main avenue back towards his family's apartments. 

The night had begun to set in, the sun dipping below the shadows of the towering skyscrapers. The path was fairly busy, many people who worked in the estate going home for the night. 

Leonard made his way and opened the door into his apartment, the first thing he saw was his mother sat on the couch watching something on the tv. She was dressed very conservatively as always, long white hair tucked very loosely into a bun, half of which had already fallen out.

"Hey mum." Leonard raised his hand in greeting nonchalantly. 

"Leo!" His mother jumped from the couch, pulling him into a tight hug. "How have you been?" 

She pulled back, hands on his shoulders as she looked him up and down before sweeping some non-existent dust from his clothes. 

"No complaints." He smiled. He had missed his mother greatly during his time away, she always seemed to be able to lift his spirits. 

"Come, sit, sit." she dragged him over to the couch, flicking the tv off with a wave of her hand. "Made any new friends? Didn't get into a relationship without telling me did you?" 

"I met some interesting people, yes." Leonard sat, quietly preparing for the pseudo interrogation.

"Oh come on," she nudged Leonard with her elbow. "You can tell me more than that." 

"Ah alright," Leonard sighed, going into a brief description of the current members of his mech squad. "Well the first person I met was Kyle Arming, he's much older than me so I was surprised when he was passed up for the leader position. But he told me he didn't care, didn't want the trouble that came with it." 

"Mmh ok." She nodded, "you two get along well?" 

"Yeah I'd say so. I often bombard him with questions but he understands what I have to deal with." 

"What do you have to deal with?" His mother Cassandria frowned, "Nothing bad I hope." 

"No no, just my lack of experience with many things, since he's been around much longer than me he knows a lot more." 

"Well that's good that he's there then." 

Leonard agreed, not knowing what he would have done if he wasn't a member of his squad. The man had been instrumental in his earlier days in the Mech Corps, being shoved into a leadership position fresh out of basic training. Nowadays he was much better adjusted, however nothing could make up for the simple lack of experience. 

"Now tell me," Cassandria teasingly smiled. "Any girls I should be worried about." 

"Ugrh, mother there's nothing like that." Leonard groaned, "me and Becker's relationship is only professional." 

"Oh~" she teased, "who's this Becker girl?" 

"Charlotte, she was in the same basic training group as me." 

"Ehh, and you're sure there's nothing going on between you two." 

"No," Leonard said flatly. "There's not, besides being against the idea personally, it is also against Mech Corps policy. Not to say I have anything against her, but I won't complicate my squad's situation further by bringing a relationship into the mix." 

"I understand, "she sighed, but quickly regained her smile as a memory came into her mind. "You know, when me and your father first met-" 

"I don't want to hear it." Leonard intervened before she could continue, his father and mothers love life was no business of his. 

It was at this time that his sister walked out from her room, having heard the pair's conversation. Summer Vallum looked much the same as her mother, the same long white hair and eyes. 

"Hey bro," she was still dressed in her academy uniform, having just returned from the Mech Corp Academy on Apex, the 7th planet of the Bastion system and headquarters of the Mech Corps. Leonard himself had attended the same academy, though most service members just called it bootcamp. The Academy was just the Mech Corps version of the Militaries bootcamp anyways, only the training differing slightly and the length being much longer. 

Leonard himself had spent four years inside, the standard three that every pilot that gets accepted goes through as well as another year for specialised officer training. From there the fresh pilots are usually assigned to smaller and less dangerous combat zones to help build up their experience. The Adamin system had been just that, in the vast galaxy such a warzone being especially minor. 

"Hey yourself," He waved back as she plopped herself onto a chair. "How's the Academy going? You're in your second year right?" 

"Urgh! Don't remind me." She instantly began complaining. "Thank goodness I'm on break. But who the fuck decided it would be a good idea to only let us leave for one week a year?" 

"Hey at least you get leave," he complained himself. "I was stuck for two and a half years on a bloody desert planet. Not a single day off." 

"Yeah but you're in active service," Summer countered. "It doesn't count." 

Leonard didn't bother responding to that, once her training had finished she'd understand. For now she was just being a brat. 

Before anyone could say anything else his father walked in, having just returned from work. His eyes scanned the group before looking onto Leonard, eyes hardening. 

"I need to speak with you, "he said, ignoring everything else. "My office." 

"What's wrong dear?" His mother asked sensing his Arthur's displeasure. 

"Nothing, nothing." He dismissed, fooling no one, "just need a quick word is all." 

Leonard didn't know what he had done wrong specifically, but he had an idea. His father probably found out about him stealing, or how he would say it, borrowing his gun from his office. He didn't bother complaining, simply getting up and following his father into his office despite the worried look on his mothers face. 

His father closed the door behind him, the materials buildings were made out of absorbing most sounds. The density of cities made it very loud for most residents, and so sound dampening technology had come a long way. The office was made out of such materials, meaning their conversation wouldn't be overheard by anyone outside. 

"Where is it?" 

Leonard didn't try to play dumb, simply pulling the pistol from his pocket and handing it to his father who snatched it from him. He had a spare now anyways, tucked into the back of his waistband. 

Arthur pulled open his desk draw and placed it back inside, having just confirmed that the laser pistols batteries were still full, not having been used. 

"Do you want to explain why you took it?" He asked taking a seat, Leonard doing the same. 

"I.. ah.." Leonard racked his brain looking for a suitable explanation. However his father bet him to it. 

"If you're going to lie dont bother," he said plainly, easily able to read the facial expressions of his own son. 

"Sorry." The simple apology was all he could manage out. His father looked pissed, but mellowed out slightly after he said it. 

"Aye.. do you know what I thought?" He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his forehead. "No, that doesn't matter. Let me just ask you this, you didn't plan on ending it did you?" 

"What!" Leonard stood from his chair. "Of course not! Why would you even think something like that?" 

Arthur visibly relaxed after hearing his response. Although he didn't believe it himself, seeing Leonards animated reaction to the idea was enough to set his mind at ease. 

"I'll admit, while the thought did briefly cross my mind I never thought that you would. But really, look at it from my position. What other reason would you need to steal my gun for?" 

Leonard thought for a second, before figuring out a response. While it wasn't technically the truth it wasn't a complete lie either. 

"I have a friend, William." Leonard began, "He got into a lot of debt with some gangs and has since disappeared. I figured it might be better to be safe." 

"Why not just ask then?"

"I didn't think about it." 

Arthur sighed, while gangs weren't really big on Citadel, at least to his knowledge, there really wasn't any way to get rid of them entirely. There would always be people willing to exhort people down on their luck. 

"How much debt?" 

"I don't know the exact details, but his sister told me around one million credits." 

Arthur whistled, much like Leonard himself when he heard the large number. While he dealt with sums much larger on a daily basis for his job, he knew for an average citizen such a number was astronomically high. 

"Do you know who they are?" 

"No, i'm not sure." He admitted, there really wasn't much to go off. "But I did run into a few of them when I met with Anna, William's sister. They were trying to fleece her for the money before I tied them up and turned them over to the police." 

"Be careful with that," Arthur chided. "While I don't doubt your abilities, you never know what they could be carrying." 

"I'll keep that in mind." He relented, "but I did find something on one of their bodies." 

Leonard fished out the small coin imprinted with a skull and bones and handed it over to his father. Arthur's eyes hardened as he saw it, seemingly recognising the organisation immediately. 

"Do you know what it is?" Leonard asked after his father stayed quiet. 

"Yeah." He answered slowly, placing the coin down. "It's a syndicate known as the White Skull. While they are one of the larger groups in Bastions underworld that's not the main problem." 

His father paused, deciding if he wanted to let Leonard know what he did or not. 

"It's who they're affiliated with that's the problem." He decided to be forthcoming. "The Rochester's"