We Are Cavaliers Chapter 1, a mechwarrior/battletech fanfic

WE ARE CAVALIERS

A MechWarrior Story by RogueBaron

Note: Well, I'm late. And I hate to be late. I promised you this story in July, but couldn't get the time to do it until now. I do have the plot laid out. I just didn't have enough time to wrap it. Now it's up, please don't expect to see it as on time as I,Ke2ensky. There will be delays, lots of them. And I'm afraid these delays will delay I,Ker3nsky. Once again, I'm sorry. I don't know what else to do.

Anyway, this story is the spin-off of I,Ke2ensky. While Parker climbed the ladder of fame at Solaris, what happened to Evee? And if you read I,Ke2ensky, you probably know that the ending was filled with holes. What was Evee thinking? Why did she do it? This story is her show. It will explain her part of story from 3061 (the time Parker and Evee parted) until the start of I,Ker3nsky sometime in 3070-ish. Hopefully this story will clears up things in I,Ke2ensky.

I tried my best to write this as a stand-alone fanfic. But if you want to know more about the history of the main characters, you can read Knights of FerroFibrous Armor, I Kerensky, and Escape from Carver V. Those stories will give you enough background to enjoy this story. And I want as many readers to enjoy this, so this story will be based on MechWarrior games. Lots of action, lots of mech bashing (except for the first 2 chapters, perhaps), and lots of fun. Writing dark stories is kind of becoming my trademark, but once in a while I want to make something fun too.

So I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 1

ASO65 Tavern,
Jumpship Anastasia IV
Chaos March,
October 11, 3061

Moonlight Sonata flowed flawlessly inside the cold tavern, filled only with bored passengers of jumpship Anastasia IV that solemnly glided through hyperspace toward the edge of Inner Sphere, into the Periphery. Somehow the blind pianist still found a motivation to play in the cold, dark, musky place, although it was clear that nobody paid attention to the music. The jumpship's passengers had been traveling for too long to enjoy music. If it were not because of the alle, the tavern would've been completely empty, and not even Beethoven's masterpiece could get rid of the boredom that monopolized the tavern.

Sadly, it was not the case for Evee Ridinghood.

As the blind pianist carried the tune to its finale, Evee emptied her third glass of scotch. The warm tickled through her chest, but still failed to fill the cold dark hole in her heart. Evee had never been a drinker, and three glasses of scotch was enough to make her head spinning. Unfortunately, the liquor didn't make her feel better. People got drunk to feel better, to forget their miserable lives and sink themselves into alcohol frenzy. In Evee's case, the alcohol only added agony.

Perhaps another glass will do, she hailed the waitress.

"Evee," a hand stopped her. "This won't bring Parker back."

The name struck a painful barb into her heart. It was the name she wished vainly to forget by drinking alone in the tavern. But even 'alone' was not hers today. Her two loyal companions managed to find her. Alison, an ex-Lyran officer that sort of adopted her as a sister, and Kangpae, the Solaris mayfly that tagged her along to gain experience in the real world, took the seats sandwiching her. The waitress came, but Kangpae sent her away, while Alison coerced Evee's hand to level at the table.

"What do you want?" Evee mumbled. "Just leave me alone."

"We stuck with you at Carver V," Kangpae replied, annoyed. "We followed you to Clan's world. We hung our lives with you. Now we're going to your hometown. And this is how you pay our loyalty?"

"Shut up!" Alison shoved Kangpae's shoulder. "Can't you do anything subtle?" She shifted her seat to look Evee in the eye. "Listen, Evee, life is not fair. You did all you could do to save him, but he dumped you in return. It's not fair, I know. But you can't waste your life for it. "

"Just forget about him," Kangpae interjected. "He doesn't deserve you."

A worthy companionship, Alison and Kangpae offered. Sometimes Evee wondered how she could get through her difficult time without them. She felt sorry for them for sticking up with her, when her mind focused on things she couldn't get. She felt selfish.

"Believe me," she tried to smile. "I've been telling myself the same thing. Over and over and over. And look where I end up now."

"Evee, Evee, Evee," Kangpae leaned back in his chair. "Love and hurt are two sides of a coin. When you're in love, you have to be prepared to get hurt, especially when you deal with the Clan. What do you see in him anyway? Isn't there any Spheroids left that you have to go for a trashborn?"

"Dammit Kangpae, another word and I'll throw you out the window!" Alison growled.

"No, Alison, he's right," Evee unexpectedly said. "When I met him, I didn't know he was a Clanner. He was this modest, simple man with extraordinary pride that I had never seen since my father. He made it so hard to hate him when I realized he was a Wolf. I thought I could make him my perfect guy. I was wrong. Once a Clanner always a Clanner."

"If he's perfect, then why didn't he make you happy?" Alison replied. "He's not that perfect. And it's his loss that he dumped you, not the other way around. Come on, you're young, you're beautiful, you're smart. You're too valuable to get burnt by some Clan jerk. So get up and forget about your past. The future is where the good things lie, and if I were you, I'd walk that way."

A small smile escaped Evee's lips. She didn't know if the intoxication started to take effect, or Alison's reasoning completely made sense. Feeling bummed wouldn't take her anywhere. There was another way to forget about the hurt: working. Perhaps it was the right thing to do instead of liquor binge.

"I'm tired," Evee sighed. "I'm so tired."

"Come on, drunk girl," Kangpae heaved her to her feet. "Sleep it off. Tomorrow will be a better day."

"Next time you're feeling blue, call us," Alison got up and slung Evee's hand over her shoulder. "We'll work you out so hard you won't remember anything the day after."

"Or find you another guy," Kangpae winked. "But this time, it's gonna be a Spheroid."

Evee chuckled. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you for being my friend."