Be Prepared - For a Shiny New Integration

  Mufasa walked into his father’s office and dejectedly sat down across from him. “So, yet another planet’s leaders have decided to throw away any hope for the future in order to stay in control?” The Mapago Coalition were specialized in these integration security jobs, but they were starting to wear on Mufasa. His father, Simba, normally was head of the detail providing security for the principal leaders while Mufasa was in charge of the training for the local security forces. He spent more time among the ordinary people and would get to know them while he tried to prepare them for life in the system. All the while knowing that they had no future unless they found a way off their depleted planet when the sect had taken all that they were allowed and then abandoned them.

  Simba’s role was not as damaging to the soul. Guarding the principal, he rarely got close to anyone who did not deserve exactly what they got when the sects stole 75% of the planet’s essence stopping just short of the maximum the system enforced contract would allow. By leaving 25% of the essence, the planet would recover in a few short 10’s of millions of years. The corrupt powers that led the system integration bureau felt that completely eliminating the future of hundreds or even thousands of generations was fair as long as the planet’s leadership agreed to it.

  What wasn’t made public was that these deals were often made beforehand. The bureaucrats would leak the info on a planet due to be integrated to the sects. The sects would bid on it and the winning sect would receive the planet's coordinates allowing them to infiltrate the planet and hand pick who it wanted to be the leaders when the integration finished. The sect would then hire a mercenary outfit like the Mapago Coalition to participate in the planet’s integration and ensure the right people were able to take control of the planet.

  The beauty of this was in the contracts. The initial contract stated the leaders would sign a mining deal with the winning sect upon completion of the integration. The new contract signed after the integration ended, would be perfectly legal. Nothing to see here. The sect merely extended a hand to the planet welcoming them to the system and then negotiated a deal to assist them with mining their resources. See…nothing shady going on. No manipulation behind the scenes. Perfectly above board and legal. How did the sects communicate with and find the location of the planet? Well, through their outreach programs on the system exchange that offer training materials and supplies for newly integrated planets. Nope. Nothing at all suspicious about deals consistently being signed seconds after an integration is complete.

  “It’s the Draskari sect.” Simba said.

  “So, are the orcs the plan A or are we?” Mufasa asked.

  “Apparently we are. The orcs contract restricts them from entering any area that is under our control.” Simba looked up at Mufasa to ensure that he was understanding what those terms meant.

  “So we are Plan A for now with the potential of being sacrificed to the orcs if one of the scum that has already sold out the future of their planet decides that life would be better without us around.”

  “In a nutshell. Yes. The orcs will do as they please, rampaging across the planet and ensuring that no other powers arise.” Simba stated. “This mission has a bit of a twist. You will take 25% of our forces and work with the government officials that we have been contracted to. They should integrate together at the planet's capital. I will be in charge of the remainder of our forces guarding the true lords behind the curtains at 6 separate locations. We will need to pay the fee enabling long distance communication and coordination, but the sect has agreed to cover that.” Simba finished as he waited for what he knew was coming next.

  “Oh great. Kings hiding in the shadows ready to sacrifice someone else’s head when the peasants rise up. Aren’t you getting sick of these missions? They are so depressing. Surely we’ve banked enough credits to begin the coalition’s expansion and will have enough levels back by the time we have finished training to start taking other work. I’m tired of seeing good people’s future’s thrown away.”

  “This is about the friends you made last time. Mufasa, I have told you that they have a standing invitation to join us once they face the truth that their pride has no future on their planet. As to expanding and taking on better jobs, we are close, just not quite there. We would put the coalition at risk. The customers do not put enough value on our skills. They pay based off of levels and stats. We would struggle to find good jobs.” Mufasa conceded. “And I have some good news. Look at the expected rating of this planet.” He passed his son the information packet knowing that the planet’s rating wasn’t the real good news. Simba would discover that news in a few seconds.

  Mufasa picked up the crystal and began reviewing the information. “C+ to B. Not bad. We should be able to get back to B grade.”

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  “And make enough profit while we are there to be able to expand and compete for better opportunities.” Simba finished while he waited for Mufasa to find the gem hidden in the manifest. Mufasa froze and looked up. He had seen the first six names listed.

  “I have already contracted for their pride’s transportation to our base. Makulu, Rasta, Dred, Pretty Boy, Kinky Tail, and T will be joining us.” Simba nodded, taking joy from seeing his son’s reaction. The six new lionkin recruits had proven themselves to have outstanding potential and their respect for Simba who had beaten them down so thoroughly before putting them back on their feet would make them excellent additions to his core force.

  Mufasa stood and took a step forward then paused and said, “I will get the troops prepared and let them know their assignments.” Mufasa nodded once and quickly moved out the door towards the excursion planning office.

  Mufasa chuckled at his son’s excitement. “Thought the boy was going to hug me for a second.” he mumbled to himself and let out a long sigh.

  A few weeks later Mustafa and some members of the support staff were waiting at the coalition's teleportation station when he saw a pride of Lionkin step off a set of teleporters and looked around uncertain as to where to go next. Simba let out a loud chuff and started marching towards them with a stern look on his face.

  Six large males stepped forward to meet him. Four wore big smiles. Dred looked as dour as ever and T…T looked like he wanted a fight, as usual. Mustafa stepped right up to Makulu with a snarl. “What are you smiling at recruit? Are you sightseeing? Is this a vacation? Is this the first time you’ve seen a real Lionkin and are overcome with the desire to be my mistress?” Simba moved down the line keeping his fangs inches from each of the newcomers asserting his dominance.

  “I am Lieutenant Commander Mufasa. You are assigned to my unit and I have the misfortune of only having four months to whip you kittens into shape.” When he arrived in front of T, the recruit’s hot temper got the better of him and he took a swing. Mustafa easily caught it and twisted the paw backwards, taking T down to his knees. Leaning forward, Mustafa whispered, “Sorry little bro. Got a reputation to uphold.” T lifted his jaw up slightly and Mustafa knocked him unconscious with a ruthless strike. “Pick up your brother and follow me.”

  The women of the pride quickly set their children and belongings down. Some stayed to protect the younglings while the others began moving out to the flanks, but the Captain in charge of the support element stepped forward and quietly said, “Please ladies. I will show you to the quarters assigned to your pride. Allow us to help you with your belongings. The men will be along shortly. Lieutenant Commander Mufasa will issue them gear and give them their assignments before bringing them to the residence ” The captain motioned her group forward and they began picking up the belongings and children.

  The ladies of the pride relaxed and recovered the children from the assistants. With one final look at the boys following Mufasa the captain rolled her eyes, and motioned for the group to follow her. Two of the senior ladies stepped forward and walked beside the captain. Feeling their unease she said, “Once the boys have finished comparing tail sizes, I’m sure you’ll find that Mufasa thinks quite highly of your boys. He has driven me nuts constantly asking for updates to your travels. He also insisted on personally inspecting your living quarters and made sure you were located in the best we had available.”

  When they arrived at the quarters, the women stepped in and froze looking around. The large communal area was surrounded by residences that were far beyond anything they had ever lived in before. “Simba takes care of us well. I and my staff will be available for the remainder of the day to help you settle in, show you around the coalition, and answer any questions you have. Before we begin, I want to let you know two things. The coalition is only about 30% Lionkin. Most of the higher ranking members are lionkin, but that is only because they have been with us the longest. Simba prides himself in his ability to find talented, trustworthy people no matter what race they are. Expect others to treat you with respect and we ask that you do the same. There are no prey or servants in the coalition”

  “The other thing you will quickly notice is that women can also volunteer for missions with the coalition. We operate on a merit based system that will be explained to you tomorrow morning. However, if you do not wish to be away from your family or prefer another role, we offer training in a variety of crafting and administrative skills that may help you find your path forward. I recommend being flexible and trying several before settling on a role that fits you best. I will be your pride’s liaison for the entirety of this first deployment, and these tokens will allow you to contact me at any time.” She handed one of the ladies a dimensional storage bag. “Now are there any questions?”

  “Thank you captain. We appreciate the opportunity you have given to our pride and wish to serve the coalition. Which one of these residences is ours?” Lena, the elder lioness asked.

  The captain looked confused for a second before answering, “All of them.”

  Mufasa took the boys on a slight detour so they could properly wake T up in a large water fountain. After the boys gleefully threw him in, T sprang up in shock only to have Mufasa duck him back under the water one more time before saying, “The armory is this way.” He led the boys to a large building near the rear of the compound while T climbed out of the water and jogged to catch up.

  Inside the Armory Mufasa led the group to a quartermaster who quickly pulled out the ready packs Mufasa had put together for the new recruits. “Inside you will find superior quality level 20 gear that you will start the integration with. After the briefings tomorrow, you will be able to make any necessary exchanges. You have been assigned to a special group working directly for me. We will take a cohort of crafters with us to provide upgrades for our gear as we level. All loot gained during the integration will be turned in to the quartermaster in exchange for merit. I will be responsible for ensuring your integration is correctly set up and training you in the meantime. Do you have any questions before I take you back to your pride’s residence?”

  “Yeah, why are you such a jerk?” T asked.

  Mufasa doubled him over with a quick punch to the gut. “The proper way to ask that question would be, Why are you such a jerk, sir? Is that understood?”

  “Yes. Sir.” The boys answered while failing to resist the urge to smile.

  Mufasa handed each lionkin a token and motioned over an enormous bearkin who had been observing the group. “Sergeant Boris is your group leader. He will pick you up in the morning to take you to the briefings. Use these tokens to reach us and you will answer us if we contact you on them”

  Boris shook hands with each of the lionkin in the line until he reached T, whom he punched in the face. “I like this one. He will make an excellent soldier. I will see you boys in the morning.” Boris said before walking out of the armory.

  “Pick up T and we’ll drop him off in the fountain on the way to your new home.” Mufasa said.