They Say

by Deadborder

...that they are a secret unit that dates back to the Star League, and that the fic is full of Arc Words. All we know is that it is a story of intrigue, deceit, betrayal and bacon

Algol City, Shalom

Algol

Capellan March, Federated Suns

2 March, 3068

Sandra Blackmore thumbed the trigger on her Thor's primary weapons, the twin laser cannons in each arm sending four beams of brilliant green energy stabbing into the Hollander's torso. The beams tore through the weak armour, then slashed away at the mech's vulnerable skeleton.

One of the beams must have hit the light Battlemech's gauss rifle, as the torso suddenly exploded in a brilliant ball of fire, gutting the mech's torso and sending it reeling. The battered mech collapsed against a building, little more then a wreck.

"Renegade Two to command." She spoke into to her helmet mike. "One Black Hand Hollander down in Tal Square."

"Roger that, Renegade Two." Major Barstow replied from their mech. "Militia tanks have the enemy armour pinned down in block S9, and their infantry are holding-"

"This is Daycare three!" Evelyn Silver's voice cut into the line. "We have a single assault class mech breaking through at block S13. He's already taken out two of the hovers. I can hold him off, but-"

"Show me dealing." Sandra shouted back as she opened up the Thor's throttle. An assault mech was the single biggest threat on a battlefield. Evelyn's lightweight Scarabus and the hovertanks with them wouldn't be able to handle it. Hopefully, her heavy Thor would.

Morgan's Black Hands, a group of mercenaries that were, by all reports, working for the Word of Blake, had landed on Algol two days ago and were heading for the planetary capitol. The militia were woefully ill-equipped to deal with their forces, which were a mix of mechs and infantry with some battle armour thrown in. That's where Barstowe's Badlanders came in. They'd been hired by the notoriously surrender-happy Algolian government to help cover their defences while the rest of the Capellan March had launched into their seemingly brain-dead assault on the Confederation. Thus, people like Sandra had to take up the slack.

She just hadn't expected an assault mech to be in amongst the attackers – but then, she also suspected that the tools hadn't expected a Clan-made mech to be in amongst the defenders.

A squadron of Infiltrator Battlearmour suits emerged from seemingly nowhere, opening fire on the Thor as it went past, their shots doing little more then lightly scoring the armour on the Mech's legs. Ignoring them, Sandra fired the jump jets, leaping up and over the armours and coming down on top of a nearby building.

Looking around Algol City, Sandra could see a lot of smoke and a lot of damage, as well as the signs of the various battles in progress. Checking her map, she located block S13. It was south of her current position, at the edge of the territory they controlled.

Perfect place for a break through, she thought. Let's see about that.

The red and grey Thor leaped from the roof, landing on the street and breaking into a run towards the fighting. She only hoped that Evelyn had been able to hold on against the larger mech. If she concentrates on running and hiding, then that should work, she thought as she ran. Now where is that tool?

A volley of cannon fire from a cross street answered her question. A burst of fire tore along the Thor's leg, shredding the armour there. A second volley narrowly missed her, tearing up the building behind her in a cloud of concrete dust and shattered glass. Glancing down, the street, she sighted her enemy.

The Thor's targeting computer identified it as a Legacy, an assault mech that was supposedly only used by the Word of Blake. Obviously nobody told that tool, she thought. Or have the robes begun handing them out to their special friends. That'd be my frelling luck. The Legacy was larger and slower then her, but packed an awful lot more firepower. Just what she needed. Just to make things worse, there was no sign of Evelyn and her Scarabus. Perfect.

Landing, the Thor broke into a run as soon as it was down, twisting its torso as it went, while Sandra sprayed it with fire from her lasers and missiles. The shots hit the enemy mech, boiling armour from its chest and flanks, while the missiles narrowly missed, instead tearing up more of the real estate. The Legacy returned fire, spraying her with more rounds from its twin heavy autocannons. A burst hit her mech in the shoulder, rocking it with the force of the impact.

Tool this for a lark. She knew she couldn't keep trading fire with the Legacy, as the battle would eventually favour its greater firepower. Instead, the reversed the direction's of the Thor's run, zigzagging back while ducking for another side-street. Again she opened fire, the shots doing little more then apparently scarring the armour.

The Legacy's return fire was more accurate and effective, the pilot spraying another pair of long bursts from the autocannons. One of the shots tore up the side of a building, only a meter or so from the Thor's head, spraying the reinforced canopy with concrete dust and debris. A second volley was more effective, however, smashing into the Thor's already damaged leg.

Numerous red lights came on across the mech's' control panel as it stumbled out of the line of fire, Sandra fighting to keep the heavy mech upright. "Tool!" She swore. "Tool, tool, tool!" The Legacy had shattered several of the actuators in the Thor's leg, reducing its mobility and costing her the sole advantage she had over it. Any more damage, and she would have lost the whole leg. "And this wouldn't have happened if not for those frelling Infiltrators!" She added, giving voice to her frustrations.

"Sandra Blackmore." A woman's voice came over the comlink, her tone demanding. "Is that you in the Thor?"

"Yeah, it's me." She replied, seemingly unconcerned about the fact that she had no idea who she was talking to. "Who else would be stumbling around in a Thor while swearing loudly at nobody in particular. Who the frelling hell are you?"

"Never mind. I'm a block or two back from the Legacy." She replied. "You?"

"More or less right in front of him." She replied, hearing the sound of the Legacy slowly approaching. "Spud's leg is almost busted and he's coming after me."

"Could you distract him?"

"I could blow up and hope I made a mess of him, if that's what you wanted." Sandra replied. "No, stuff that, I have an idea. What do you want?"

"If you can occupy his attention, I'll try to surprise him."

"Sounds like a plan, mystery voice. Let's go." I have no idea why I'm trusting you, mystery voice. But then, it's not like I have a world of options right now.

The Thor broke into a limping run, heading back towards the approaching Legacy. At the last possible moment, Sandra twisted the mech's Torso hard to the left, then fired the jump jets as her mech left the alley.

Unprepared, the Legacy opened fire, its two autocannons spraying fire where the pilot had expected her to be, rather then where it was. The shots went underneath her, tearing into an unsuspecting office block at the end of the street and sending chunks of steel and concrete flying. Sandra fired back with the Thor's weapons, the lasers and missiles tearing into the heavier mech's torso.

The Thor stumbled as it landed, crashing into the front of a glass-walled office complex. Sandra fought with the controls, struggling to keep the mech upright to no avail. The Thor fell forwards in a shower of glass, crashing into the office block's large lobby area.

Peachy.

She looked back at the Legacy as she fell, and spotted another mech behind it. A tall and slender Goshawk, the Clan-made mech looked decidedly alien as it dashed from cover. Opening fire, it sprayed the huge Legacy with laser fire from its arm and chest weapons. Battered, the huge mech staggered forwards, crippled but remaining upright.

Ah, tool. She thought. This had not worked out.

The Legacy turned to face its attacker as the Goshawk leaped away, twin bursts of cannon fire spraying wildly after it. As the Goshawk escaped, it turned back to her prone Thor, stomping towards it. Sandra was still fighting with the controls, trying to get the damaged mech upright. Either the leg was more badly damaged then she thought, or she'd landed badly on it or she was caught in some debris. In any case the Raider mech loomed over her, its two heavy cannons pointed at the Thor.

There was a hollow clicking noise.

The stupid tool, she thought. He'd been firing the cannons at double the normal rate of fire, and had emptied out the ammunition too quickly. Before it could react, Sandra opened fire with the Thor's arm-mounted cannons, tearing armour from the Legacy's front, sending it staggering back.

The Goshawk struck again, leaping back on pillars of fusion flame as it opened fire with its lasers again. The four beams struck the Legacy, carving armour off its rear, sending up gouts of black smoke from the mech. As it staggered forward, Sandra opened fire, capitalising on the damage done. Armour melted away as the beams dug into the exposed structure of the mech's torso. Sandra finished it off with the final volley of missiles from the Thor's launcher; warheads slamming into the torso, sending clouds of flame and smoke billowing out from the damaged mech.

The Legacy staggered, and then collapsed flat on its back, its chest little more then a smoking ruin. Sandra sighed, then keyed her helmet mike. "Renegade Two to command. Legacy is down, repeat, Legacy is down."

"Affirmative, Renegade Two" Barstow replied. "Join up with Daycare Three and support the tanks."

"Roger that command." Sandra finished, wondering where Evelyn had been all this time. Probably off crapping her pants in fear. "Out."

The Goshawk stepped forwards and took one of the Thor's weapon arms in its single hand. Between the two of them, they were able to get the Thor upright. "Thanks for the help there." Sandra began. "Now who the frel are you?"

"Someone who had a vested interest in keeping you alive, Sandra Blackmore" The Goshawk gave what could be mistaken from a bow, the alien, three-eyed head looking at the taller mech. "Your unit will be back on Galatea at the start of May. Meet me at Tharonja's for breakfast on the fourteenth if you want to know."

"And how do you know I'll be there?"

She could swear the mech was grinning. "Because I know you want answers." It jetted away, landing atop a building. Crouching, the mech seemed to be deliberately looming.

"Well that's fair." Sandra finished. "I have to get back to those tools that are my unit. But one thing"

"Name it." The other Mechwarrior spoke up.

"Tell me if you see any Infiltrators. I'm gonna kick one."

Tharonja's, Galaport

Galatea

Skye Province, Lyran Alliance

14 May 3068

Tharonja's had been a part of Galataport since before the turn of the century, making it something of an institution. Starting out as a simple diner, it had grown to epic proportions over the years based mainly on the success of its menu. From its simple origins, it had grown to a multi-world chain of restaurants, all offering slight variations on the same tried-and-true menu. Despite this, the original Tharonjas on Galatea had remained a big part of the business.

With the recent reduction of Outreach to so much radioactive rubble, the Mercenary business had shifted back to its original homeworld. Once again, the so-called Mercenaries' Star was, indeed, the centre of the industry, home to thousands of soldiers of fortune. And they all would, sooner or later, need breakfast.

Sandra Blackmore stepped into Tharonja's, sizing up the patrons. She had come here looking for the mysterious woman who had saved her back on Algol months ago and arranged to meet her here. It was a dicey proposition, given that she had no actual idea what her would-be saviour looked like. All she had was a voice which, under the best of circumstances, was not a great identification. Over radio in the middle of a cluttered urban battlefield? No chance.

On the other hand, this was one place where Sandra herself didn't stand out. Tall and muscular, she cut an imposing figure. Shaggy black hair framed a face that seemed to be set in a permanent scowl; her blue left eye scanned the room, while where the right had been was hidden by an eyepatch, the scarring around it suggesting what had happened to its companion. Dressed in charcoal grey fatigues topped with a black leather longcoat, she almost looked like a mercenary stereotype.

And whoever they were knew who I was, she reminded herself. And since none of these tools have stuck their hands up to say 'hi Sandra, over here, sorry for being enigmatic', I'll have to assume that they're not here. She shrugged to herself and took a booth seat by the wall. May as well wait. On the other hand, breakfast.

Sandra didn't mind that her mysterious saviour had chosen this place. She actually quite liked Tharonja's menu, especially for breakfast. "Let's see..." She looked over the menu as she waited. "Bacon and eggs. Bacon and eggs on toast. Scrambled eggs with bacon on toast. Sausages and bacon on toast. Bacon and egg roll. Bacon and cheese omelette. Beans and bacon on toast...."

"Can I get you something?" Sandra looked up to expect some enigmatic stranger. Instead all she had was a waitress.

"Uh, Bacon and cheese omelette." She replied. "And an orange juice."

The waitress nodded and left, leaving Sandra to continue to contemplate what was going on. This isn't going to be a frelling set-up, I can say that much. Nobody sticks their neck out to that degree just to set them up for a practical joke. Maybe they're just a slow riser.

She continued to study the room until her breakfast arrived, then decided to focus on the infinitely more rewarding task of eating her omelette. Say one thing about Tharonjas, she considered, they really know their bacon.

"Savoury pancake balls with bacon. And a glass of guava juice."

Sandra looked up from her plate to see a woman standing by the table. To say that they stood out would be an understatement. Almost as tall as Sandra, they were instead far more slender in form. Pale skinned, they had sharp features framed by black hair accented with bright red forelocks. Their appearance was made even more distinctive by their deep red lipstick and what appeared to be red eyes.

After that, the orange and black bodysuit that, while completely covering also left very little to the imagination seemed almost minor.

"Sandra Blackmore. Hi." She began as she sat, uninvited. "Knew you would come."

Sandra delivered a one-eyed glare at the new arrival, who returned it with her own crimson gaze. "So I can't glare you into submission. Who are you and why are you made up as an extra from a bad vampire trivid?"

She smiled, which seemed to betray a lot of teeth. "Fair questions. Let's start with what you know then."

Sandra narrowed her eye, clearly angry. "Well, it's clear that I'm not going to get a sensible answer until I play your stupid little game. Right." She took another forkful of omelette, swallowing before continuing. "You were the pilot in the Goshawk on Algol, even if Spud insisted on calling it a Vapour Eagle. You clearly are not a member of a regular unit, given that you seemed to be coming and going as you wished. Instead, you were there on some other objective."

She chewed her fork for a second. "You knew I was on Algol, which suggested that you had a fair knowledge of, at the very least, my unit, probably derived from a briefing on those forces on-planet. More to the point, you had a vested interest in keeping me alive – no tool in a medium would stick their face in front of a frelling Legacy if they didn't. Clearly, whatever madhouse you're from want me alive for some reason, though I'd wager it's not my good looks or scintillating conversational skills."

"Very observant." The woman replied as the waitress dropped plate in front of her.

"Also, you have terrible taste in clothes, hair and makeup, and don't seem to mind looking like an idiot in public." Sandra finished, taking another forkful of omelette.

She seemed genuinely amused at the comment, grinning as she speared one of the pastry balls on her plate. "You deduced all this from two brief meetings, only one face to face. Clearly what we have on you is correct and you were worth my time."

Sandra raised a brow. "What do you mean 'have on me'?"

The woman took another bite out of a pastry ball. "I love the bacon centres on these." She commented, then sat back. "So let's see. Sandra Blackmore; born on Tamarind; served time as a police officer until being badly maimed in a bomb explosion during a botched raid. Lost an eye, took disability pension and then apparently blew it all on learning to be a mechwarrior."

She took a sip of juice before continuing. "You then turned up on Outreach where you acquired a Thor through somewhat unusual means."

"I won it in a card game." Sandra replied, somewhat defensively. "It happens."

"A card game you weren't in." The woman stated.

"I cut in."

"You punched the guy out." The woman finished.

"He had it coming. He was a tool. Didn't deserve such a good mech. If he did, he wouldn't have put it up in a crappy card game that he was going to lose anyway"

"So you called him a tool to his face, punched him out, then demanded that he hand over his mech."

Sandra shrugged. "It worked."

"And then applied to his unit."

"I needed a job."

"He was the son of the commander."

"It seemed like a good idea at the time." Sandra finished. "And he did hire me."

The woman nodded. "I'm not criticising your actions, Ms. Blackmore. Anything but. In fact, you showed a lot of initiative in your actions. Oh, and more then a little courage too."

"Call it balls." Sandra stated.

"Either way, it's what I'm looking for." The woman explained.

"About time." Sandra muttered. "I played your frelling game. Its time I get an answer from you."

"Fair enough." She admitted. "I'll first start by saying that yes, we had our eyes on you, Sandra, so you were right about that much."

"And you being?"

"My name is Levisha Towne." She stated. "I represent a mercenary organisation that is very irregular in nature. We had identified you as a potential recruit, Sandra. Think of this as an interview."

"Why would I be interested?" Sandra replied, an angry tone in her voice.

"Because I can tell that you are thoroughly dissatisfied with your current place in Barstowe's Badlanders." Towne explained.

"Why do you say that?"

"Hmm." Towne seemed contemplative for a moment. "You're probably the best mechwarrior in the unit, yet you are still just that – only a mechwarrior. You're playing second fiddle to idiots like Barstowe Junior and Spleen, yet you're smarter and more capable then either of them. So I figure that must be pretty frustrating in and of itself. Added to that, the unit itself is on a downhill spiral of dead-end, low-paying jobs for bottom of the barrel clients while struggling to stay away from financial insolvency."

There was a tense silence. "Okay, I'll give you that much." Sandra admitted.

"And before you say anything else, we're looking at you for your skills and not just because you have a clan-built mech." Towne continued. "One that in and of itself is draining a lot out of the Badlanders' financial reserves through buying parts and ammo from Diamond Shark merchants who are bleeding Barstowe dry."

"Nice to know you care." She continued to study Levisha, sizing her up. "So, who are you tools, and what are you offering?" Sandra was getting sick of pussyfooting around, and wanted answers. But at least she was polite enough not to start anything over breakfast.

"A fair question." Levisha stated. "To be honest, the unit I represent is far from the traditional unit. We don't have a true unit structure; we have leaders and form our units into lances and companies as needed, but nothing fixed. Command goes to who's capable of it, not the idiot son of the CO. And we don't even have a name, before you ask."

Levisha steeped her gloved hands. "We don't do conventional mercenary work either. Employers hire us for a specific objective, one that they would rather do as quickly and efficiently as possible. No broad orders; specific targets and goals instead." She paused a moment. "On Algol, we were retrieving a specific targeted resource for our client. Unfortunately, those mercs got in our way, so I had to step in to clear the way for our team."

"And, while you were at it, rescue a potential recruit." Sandra finished. "Convenient that."

Levisha gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "It happens."

"And you can't say who your employer was?"

"Can I ever?"

"Didn't think so." Sandra accepted. "So what do you want from me?"

"Your skills, for starters." She stated. "You're a capable mechwarrior and we know you have a lot of experience in urban combat operations – a situation that we face a lot. As a Mechwarrior, you'd primarily serve as support for strike teams or taking out 'hard' targets. You'd be expected to work with small groups which would require a lot of on-the-fly planning; you may need to take command of a situation if things turn bad or unexpected events occur."

"I'm the queen of things turning bad or unexpected events occurring." Sandra replied. "I deal with it a lot. So what do I get out of it?"

"Respect. Not having to answer to idiots. More money then you'd know what to do with." Towne offered. "And we'd support your mech as well."

"Versus a life of don't ask, don't tell, of course."

"Of course." Levisha finished.

"And If I refuse?"

"Then we'll never speak again." Levisha stated. "I would. Of course, request that you do not talk about this to anybody. Then you can go back to your dead-end, downward spiral unit run by a cowboy and his idiot son."

"You make my options so clear and straightforward."

Towne sat back on her chair. "I just tell it like it is. I have nothing to gain from deceiving you, Sandra Blackmore. However..." She flicked a card over to Sandra. "I won't ask for a decision now. However, the contact on this card will only be good for twenty-four hours, so it's a deadline for a decision, either way."

Sandra took the card, pocketing it. "So if you don't have a name, what do I call you?"

Towne grinned as she stood. "They say that we do not afraid of anything, and that we don't run from nattle. They call us the Mimetic Badarses. Look us up." She nodded. "I'll pick up the check. It has been a pleasure to meet you, Sandra. I hope to hear from you soon."

"Yeah." Sandra replied with a non-committal grunt. "Sure."

She looked over the card; all it had was a simple contact number. So this obvious madwoman with terrible dress sense spins me a wild tale about some crazed, elite commando mercenary unit thing and expects me to drop everything and run off to join them based on their nonsense tale. She shook her head. What kind of a tool does she think I am?

Pocketing the card, Sandra stood and left Tharonja's. In truth, she was considering Levisha's words; trying to balance reality against the obvious fantasy that she'd been spun. I wouldn't say she was insane or anything, but at the same time, her story is too crazy to be true. My only real question is who did she think she was fooling.

A beep from her personal communicator grabbed her attention. "Blackmore here." She began.

"This is Barstowe." She instantly recognised the voice of her commander.

"What's the situation?" Sandra was instantly concerned.

"I need you to go down to the 6th Precinct Police House and bail Silver out. She started a fight in a strip club." There was a pause. "Again."

Sandra glared daggers at the communicator. "Sure. Right away." She finished as she reached for Levisha's card.

Tharonja's, Galataport

Galatea

Skye Province, Lyran Alliance

15 May 3068

It turned out that quitting the Badlanders had been a lot easier then Sandra had hoped for. There had been some protests from Barsotwe when she announced her resignation. Most of it was simply because she was invoking her rights under which she was hired to leave with her mech, being the Thor she had acquired from Barstowe Junior.

He was amused by the fact that Barstowe hadn't realised that she'd neglected to bail Evelyn out for several hours. By that point, Sandra had cleared out her possessions and had arranged to have her mech taken off their property.

As she had expected, Levisha's contact number offered a direct link to the woman herself with no explanation as to who or what was behind it. Instead, Sandra had simply wound up arranging to meet her again outside of Tharonja's the next morning. It seemed a surprisingly simple way to launch her life off into an entirely new and unexpected direction.

I must be mad. Sandra thought to herself for the hundredth time that morning. Completely and utterly mad. Instead she was standing there in her trademark coat, a precariously overstuffed backpack at her side and a second, smaller bag that was also stupidly overstuffed. Even then, it was almost depressing as to how little she owned that wasn't tied up in her mech.

"Travelling light?" Levisha asked as she seemingly stepped out of nowhere. The woman was wearing in an ankle-length dress that seemed to be made out of torn up and re-sewn wall hangings, complete with a nonsensical armband.

"I see your dress sense hasn't improved any in the last day." Sandra shot back. "And this is it, save for the Thor."

"Perfect. We'll arrange to have the mech moved to our bays immediately. If you'll come with me, we'll see about moving you into your new digs, and introducing you to your new life."

They clambered into a car, an anonymous sedan that had "rental" written all over it in giant pink neon letters. Setting off, the car easily ducked into the Galatean traffic.

"So what convinced you in the end?" Levisha casually asked as she drove.

"Well, I considered all that you'd given me, which was surprisingly little." Sandra stated. "All I had to go off were some half-baked statements that made little or no sense and seemed to be the products of the deranged imagination of an obvious madwoman."

"I'm glad you think so much of me." Her tone seemed to take it as a compliment.

"Says the woman with the punk hair dressed in her mum's curtains." Sandra shot back. "All up, you hadn't given me much to go on besides the usual 'we will make your life better in every conceivable way' claptrap that every tool spins when they're trying to desperately push a product."

"An entirely fair statement." Towne continued. "So what made you change your mind about me and my offer?"

"The fact that I was, indeed, stuck in a dead-end unit run by tools who were determined to either get themselves all killed or grind themselves into the dirt. It was no longer a matter of if the Badlanders would collapse, just how and when."

"That and one of your colleagues got themselves arrested." Towne commented. "We keep an eye on these sorts of things."

"Well yeah. That's what finally did it for me." She admitted. "They asked me to bail Silver out and, well, there's bog all chance of that happening."

"Not that fond of your former comrade?"

"You could say that." Sandra admitted with the tone of someone who didn't care who heard what they had to say. "She was one of the biggest tools in a unit full of tools, and that was no mean feat. Self-important, obnoxious little tool fairy who's only goal in life was to get as much attention as she possibly could. What she lacked in talent, she made up for in her ability to whore for attention. The only thing she liked more than talking about how awesome she was would have to be listening to others talk about how awesome she was."

"Clearly not then." Levisha concluded. "I will admit that there are some big egos at work here. However, at the same time, we hire based on actual ability, not imagined skill and strength of PR. If you do come across any braggarts, you can simply assume it's because they're as good as they claim to be.

"Because you're such a modest and retiring person yourself."

"Naturally." Towne grinned.

-----

They spent the better part of an hour crawling through the city traffic; Sandra couldn't help but notice that Levisha was deliberately taking a roundabout route to whatever destination she was headed for, presumably to make it hard for Sandra to figure out where exactly she was going. She personally doubted that it was an effort to avoid pursuit; in this traffic, they could be followed by a blind man on a moped.

The rise of Outreach and the Dragoons-backed MRBC had seen Galatea wither as the mercenary trade abandoned their former home for the seemingly upmarket new paradise that it represented. Galatea had been reduced to a backwater, the home of the desperate and the dead-end, those units either on the way up or on the way out. It had also become a place for those who operated off the radar, those who preferred not to have regulatory agencies breathing over their shoulder, both employer and employee.

However, with Outreach being reduced to a radioactive stain, the remnants of the Mercenary trade had relocated back to their old home. This had caused Galatea's economy to boom after decades of decline; however, there were still areas of the world that bore the economic and social scars of those times. The car entered into one such area; a run-down industrial district, filled with abandoned and decaying buildings.

"Charming" she noted as the car pulled into a parking lot outside one building, its crumbling facade no different to any one of dozens of others around it. "Love the rendered concrete wasteland look."

They got out, Sandra grabbing her bags and following Levisha into the lobby of one of the buildings. While manned, it had a definitely abandoned look; bare walls, peeling paint, cracked tile floor and no furniture save for a single security desk which in and of itself looked battered and worn. There was a man behind the desk, his face lined and scarred, while a metal hand protruded from his left sleeve. This guy's no security grunt, that's for sure. She thought as she sized him up. Former soldier? Hired killer?

He nodded to Levisha as she entered, a security card in her hand. "This is a new recruit." She stated as she strode towards the desk. "We'll need to get them all IDed up after induction, but I'll take care of them for now."

The man simply nodded, the pair of them passing him and heading to the battered elevator doors at the back of the lobby. As she passed, Sandra couldn't help but notice the electrical device attached to one of his ears; small and discrete, but noticeable. Inner ear damage? She wondered. If he was a Mechwarrior, that'd be career ending. Either way, he's not a normal security guard.

They stepped into the lift which proved to be just as shabby as everything else. "This is a nice place you guys have." Sandra commented. "Reminds me of some of the nicer periphery wastelands I've seen."

Levisha simply smiled as she pressed her card to a reader, then keyed several buttons on a worn keypad. Abruptly, the lift started, going down rather then up. "I'd like to think that we've done our best with the place." She replied casually. "It definitely was a fixer-upper, I'll admit. But it polishes up well."

The lift opened into a second lobby, one that was both modern and ruthlessly neat. A much larger security desk was present, as well as a scanner array that looked like it had come from a drop port. Also, and more ominously, Sandra noted that the guards were armed, and the setup of the place gave them a great position form which to fire from cover at anyone who stepped into the lobby uninvited.

Dropping her possessions onto a tray (two pistols, wallet, keys, communicator and boots) as well as hefting her bags onto the scanner table, Sandra looked up at the guard, Again, he clearly was no donut-munching rent-a-cop, instead being far more alert and dangerous looking. "Any bionics or other body modifications that we should be aware of?" He asked.

"Two fingers on my right hand." She replied, a touch surprised. "Don't think there's anything else." The guard nodded and waved her through the scanner which obligingly beeped. Sighing, she went through a second scan to confirm the readings of the first. "All checks out. Nothing other then the fingers. Collect your belongings and proceed."

"Gee, thanks." Sandra muttered as she put her boots back on. "Are they always this friendly?" She added as Levisha breezed through the scanenr without a worry.

"Allways. We take our security seriously here."

"So what if I want to go out and have a beer?"

Levisha shrugged. "Fine with us. Just be ready to be scanned on the way back in."

"Charming."

"And if you meet a guy, its always going to be his place, not yours." She helpfully added.

"Sure." Sandra snorted. "Because with these winning looks and my dynamite personality, I have men just tripping over each other to get to me."

They headed on, in, marching down a long hallway. "We'll drop your stuff, then we'll show you around." Levisha began as she stopped at one door, seemingly identical to dozens of others. "This will be your room." Opening the door, she tossed Sandra a key before they headed in.

The room was small and neat; bed, desk, wardrobe, bathroom. Everything she could want and, unsurprisingly, nothing else. "Feel free to do what you like to the décor. Just don't break anything too badly." Levisha offered. "We're pretty lax with personal rules around here, just so long as you don't breach security or anything like that. So you can do what you like, say what you like and even screw who you like in here and nobody will raise an eyebrow."

"Riiiiight." Sandra slurred. "I suppose that's because our employers will never see us beyond a handful of immaculately manicured contacts, I suppose."

Levisha shot back with a 'killer vampire' grin. "Got it in one."

I swear, she has too many teeth. "So what now?"

"I'll show you a few things before we go through the boring procedures of getting you all set up, just to familiarise you with matters."

"Will I get any of my thousands of questions answered?"

"Only in the most cryptic and elusive way possible."

"Figured you'd say that. Lead on."

-----

Of all the things Sandra had expected, a reasonably well-appointed pub had not been one of them. Carpeted, wood-panelled and with a surprisingly good amount of what would be politely called 'old world charm', it was a surprisingly nice-looking place for a secret subterranean lair. "This is, as you can imagine, out social dining and drinking hub." Levisha began as they entered. "We've had this particular base for some time, just letting the outside decay and get tarted up as the local economy waxed and waned. Early on, someone decided that everyone would need a place to drink, however. This place was the result."

"Charming." Sandra was genuinely impressed, but wouldn't admit it, of course. "Food any good?"

Levisha shrugged. "It's decent quality, nothing special but certainly better then day-to-day. Of course, we also have more then adequate kitchen facilities if you want to cook for yourself."

"If you can cook"

"That too." She replied dismissively. "However, there's something here I did want to show you."

They walked over to one wall; unlike the others which were plastered with genuine reproduction posters and the odd stuffed animal head, this one was, instead, dominated by a large board, covered in photos. "This is our history; at least, as much as we're allowed to see of it." She began.

Looking over it, Sandra could see a constant theme; people, often on the battlefield or with mechs and other fighting vehicles in the background. There was broad range to both men and machines, with no solid or consistent themes. She couldn't even begin to imagine who these people were or where they had come from, or where some of the photos had been taken.

"The history of our group is long and storied, but also largely hidden." Levisha explained. "They say that we started out as a SLDF black-ops unit whose existence was known only to the first lord, and that one of the original Clan founders was one of its members. Most of its members chose to stay behind during the Exodus, and instead decided to sell their services and expertise to the highest bidder. As time went on, they inducted others into their secret cabal to continue it."

"I don't know how much of this is true." She admitted. "However, I do know this group has been around for a while." She pointed to a picture, showing several people with a large tower in the background. "That one was taken on Beta Regulus, which was asteroid-smashed during the second Succession War." She offered, then indicated to a different picture, showing a blocky battlemech. "And that's a Phoenix, a design built by the Rim Worlds Republic and, as such, dead for centuries."

"Or they could be fakes."

Levisha nodded. "True, but you have to admit, it is more fun this way."

Sandra mulled over this, a photo catching her eye. It showed a younger Levisha, her hair with green streaks instead of red, and her eyes a presumably natural hazel. "So what about you?" She enquired.

"We have a policy here of 'don't ask, don't tell'" The other woman shot back, noting the picture that Sandra was looking at. "We don't pry into each other's pasts."

"Seems a little unfair, given that you know all about me."

"I was the one who 'discovered' you, so to speak." Towne offered. "If someone else had, I wouldn't ask you about your past unless you wanted to tell me."

"Right. I suppose I just have to live with that."

"Trust me, I am not going to tell a soul. What you say is up to you." Levisha stated. "Aside from me, only our enigmatic leaders know anything about you, and they're at a level of secretive that you can't believe."

"And if I asked who they were, you wouldn't tell me?"

"I couldn't, actually." She stated. "They say that the leadership of the unit is a secret council which includes a member of the one of the Successor Lord families, and they only meet in person once per year in the city of Pogata on an abandoned Outworlds planet." Levisha looked over the board. "Or that the leaders of the unit are composed of 'graduates' from its memberships."

"That's shockingly unhelpful."

"They're professional enigmas." Levisha simply replied as she walked away from the board, Sandra following her. "I'd be lying if I said I knew more."

Leaving the pub, they stepped into another room; equipped with numerous tri-vid displays, couches, pool tables and other electronic devices, it was clear this was a rec room more then anything else, albeit again a well-appointed one. Looking around, Sandra could see several people relaxing, watching screens or playing games. Sizing them up, she could see the same lack of consistency that had been on the photo-board; a broad range of ages and backgrounds represented.

Despite that, Towne still managed to stand out. It's like she wants people to notice her.

"Ah come on!" A loud voice called out from across the room. "You cheating hunk of crap!"

Levisha smiled. "There's a couple of people I want you to meet." She began. "We'll do formal introductions later, but at least a simple hello can't hurt too much."

"Too much?" Sandra muttered as they walked over to a couch. Two men were present, both holding game controllers. They were something of a contrast; the first, who was busy shouting at the machine, was tall and muscular, with long black hair, rugged features and a scraggly, try-hard beard.

"I swear, it cheats. You saw that, Reg!"

"No arguments there." His companion replied. To Sandra's eye, he could be best described as 'nondecript'. Average height and a touch overweight, his features were instantly and utterly unmemorable. He wouldn't stand out in a crowd; he'd be hard pressed to stand out all on his own. "The machines are programmed to cheat to force you to keep playing longer."

"Why, to wring more money out of you?"

"That's what they want you to think" He countered. "Instead, the programs are being used to project subliminal messages to blind you as to the Conspiracy's activities. That's how they made Comstar forget about the Democratic People's Republic of Yemen."

"Whatever." He shook his head. "I used to race cars for a living. I can beat some crappy console game."

"That's what it wants you to think."

"Ah shut up!" He snapped. Sandra glanced at Levisha, who seemed to be instead enjoying the show.

"Having fun there?" The woman began. "Boys, this is Sandra Blackmore. She'll be joining us."

"Hi!" The taller man immediately began, looking up at her.

"Welcome to the heart of the conspiracy." The shorter one added. "And don't drink the water."

"Sandra, this is Jake Peloquin and Reg Lewis." She continued, not missing a beat. "They're usually the other two members of my lance. I had them in reserve on Algol if things went bad."

"Usually?"

"We're very flexible." Jake offered. "Lances are put together on an as-needs basis rather then on a fixed structure. However, there are certain regular teams that work together. We work with Levisha a lot"

"Levisha put me in her lance so she could keep an eye on me." Reg continued. "She knows that I'm onto her. I know the truth about her."

"Do tell." Sandra replied, a mix of curiosity and apprehension evident.

"Oh great. You've gotten him started." Jake grumbled, then simply returned to his game.

"Levisha's actually a time traveller from the 21st century." Reg explained. "I've got documented proof of her being present at the assassinations of both Oleg Tikonov and Simon Cameron." He glanced around. "Between the four of us, I'm pretty sure she's actually from the Democratic People's Republic of Yemen"

"Again with Yemen!" Jake yelled. "Give it up already."

"Anyway boys, I've got to get Sandra all checked in." Levisha finished. "We'll do formals over a lunch meeting. Have fun." She turned to leave, Sandra following her.

"Well that was special." She finally spoke up. "Why do you work with those two tools?"

"Because tools or not, they're both very good at what they do." She stated. "Also, I must admit, Reg is kind of funny."

-----

They'd wound through the base, pointing out numerous features; Sandra had taken particular interest in the mech bay. Apparently, all the unit's mechs and other fighting vehicles were kept on-site and looked after by their own trusted technical crews. Again, she'd been impressed with the size and quality of the facilities; she'd also kept a close eye on the mechs present.

Much like everything else, there had been no consistency to the designs. She'd seen Levisha's Clan-made Goshawk, as well as a Uziel, a Fireball, a Phoenix Hawk and a Merlin, as well as at least one mech she didn't recognise, a blocky assault machine with a cannon in the middle of its chest, another larger one under its right arm and a missile launcher in place of the left hand. Added to that were such oddities as a Pegasus hovertank and Battle Armour, and the unit presented a decidedly eclectic collection.

Moving back into the base, she'd been shown a few more highlights. "And this is the last stage on the tour." Levisha began as they reached another door. "This is our ops centre where we do all our planning and pre-launch briefings."

"Who pays for all this crap?"

"Our clients." She stated manner of factly.

"Who I will never meet." Sandra admitted. "So then, can I ask what it was you were after on Algol?"

"I can't say who it was for, but I'll say what it was." Levisha commented. "Only because it's a total joke."

"Do tell."

"I can guess you're not into Xenobiology, so I can assume that you've never heard of Doctor Tal." Towne began. "Long story short, he's convinced that at some point in its past, Algol was inhabited by a race of advanced, sentient lizard men who possessed incredibly advanced biotechnology."

Sandra quirked her brow. "Right. Space lizards. Sounds like Reg's type"

"It gets better." She continued, her tone obviously mocking as the pair of them stepped into another room, this one lined with computers. "He claims that they used their biotech skills to 'grow' organic battlemechs. Giant lizard robots, massive bio-bomb scorpions, huge enemy crabs and so forth. All this on the basis of a few fragmentary fossil remains."

"Which is all patently ridiculous."

Sandra turned to the source of the comment, which had expressed exactly what she was thinking – albeit, a little more politely then she would have put it. A woman wearing a sleeveless top and fatigue pants was sitting on a stool, monitoring several different computer displays at once. With long blonde hair and light blue eyes, she was attractive but not particularly such – a look that didn't stand out at all.

"Biomechs are a stupid idea to begin with." The woman continued, typing with breakneck speed as she glanced between monitors. Sandra noticed that she was also wearing an eyepiece that seemed to have yet another display built into it. "The gross inefficiencies of the idea more than offset make any hypothetical benefits. To start with, such a machine would feel pain as it absorbs weapons fire; and, unless they have some way of creating armoured hide or chitin of unheralded toughness, there is no way to create a skin for such a construct that would be remotely close to manufactured armour in strength."

"Pay no attention to Elezha there." Towne replied, shaking her head. "She thinks she's so superior just because she's a transcendant technomorph."

"A what?"

Levisha smiled as Sandra glanced at the other woman. As she watched, a panel popped open on her forearm, the woman extracting a pair of data cables from it and then connecting them to the computer. After plugging them in, she simply went back to work.

"You meet the strangest people on this job."

"Really?" Sandra replied, a perfect deadpan, watching with a mixture of fascination and horror as the woman connected several more cables to herself.

"Anyway, this is our ops centre where we collect information on our objectives, allocate the appropriate resources for the task at hand, and so on and so on. You'll have to get used to it, as we spend a lot of time down here." She glanced over at the cyborg. "Elezha there is our chief information warfare officer. She was with me on the Algol job and was responsible for collecting the actual data from the targeted mainframes. I just provided cover for her."

"Well I bet she has fun with the scanner." It was all Sandra could think to say, then rubbed her forehead. "And who thought that this information was worth stealing?"

"Someone willing to pay us lots of money to steal it." Towne stated.

"More money then sense." Sandra finished. "But I see what you mean."

Leaving the ops centre (and its somewhat creepy inhabitant) behind, they stepped back out into the hall. "Well that's it for the tour. How about we get lunch and then we'll sort out you signing all the right papers and getting your passes. Any questions?" Levisha asked.

"Yeah." Sandra replied. "Are you all insane here?"

Towne nodded. "Completely. Welcome onboard."

Perfectly Ordinary Derelict Factory

Galatea

Skye Province, Lyran Alliance

19 May 3068

After spending a day signing papers, having her ID recorded in every way she could think of (fingerprints, retinal scan, DNA sample, voice sampling), Sandra had settled in rather nicely to the headquarters of the unit – whoever they were. She found the lack of name to be something of an oddity. Everyone she talked to suggested that it was deliberate – by having no name, they were harder to track.

The bartender at their pub had proved to be a much more useful source of information then Levisha; however, that in and of itself was an easy accomplishment. A former Mechwarrior in the unit, he explained how he'd been forced to retire due to injury, much like their guard at the front gate. He confirmed some of her statements, most notably that the unit had been around for some time. It was old when he joined prior to the Clan invasion, and the members if the previous generation who were still around suggested that, indeed, it had been old when they had joined circa the Fourth Succession War or before.

Personally, he had no idea as to the origin of the unit, but it seemed that the 'Star League SpecOps team' story had been around for a while – at least as long as he had been there. He was also happy to fill her in a bit about what he knew about the unit's members and who Sandra had to watch out for. He'd personally recruited one of their members (someone Sandra hadn't met as yet) but couldn't in all honesty say who it was who had recruited Towne – nor anything about her.

For some reason, this didn't surprise Sandra at all.

He had given her one thing. The unit had an unofficial name, a nickname of sorts that its members gave to it, one they used to refer to the unit as a whole. It was an old one too, one that again predated his time. They simply called themselves the Mimetic Badarses- everyone said they were the best, so it must be the truth. She liked it.

Aside from trying to get more information on the unit, she'd also been taking a closer look at those who she worked with. Levisha was an enigma, pure and simple. More to the point, she seemed to prefer it that way. She'd spent most of her time in the unit being deliberately evasive, either not answering questions or giving deliberately evasive answers. More interestingly, it seemed that she had come onboard as an officer; she had been given command of a lance straight off the bat.

Sandra also noted the way she controlled her men. She kept them both in line, making sure that they'd have lots of reasons to follow her and giving them incentives to remain as loyal as possible. With Jake, it was simple sex appeal. The man was obviously infatuated with her, and she knew it. She had him twisted around her finger, using subtle suggestions and innuendos to keep him following her. She had to wonder if the vampire look wasn't playing to a fetish of his to underscore the point.

Despite that, Jake was clearly talented. She'd found out that he'd been a racing driver before being drafted into an insurgent cell during the FedCom Civil War; apparently, he'd proven to be a capable Battlemech pilot without any formal training or experience. At some point, his cell had done something incredible that had bought him to the attention of the Badarses' recruiters. Hot-headed and aggressive, he was good at channelling his anger and directing it on the battlefield to devastating effect.

With Reg, on the other hand, it was a little harder to see the man's skills. She couldn't decide if he was an idiot or delusional with his nonsensical conspiracy theories, and his ideas seemed to be patently ridiculous at the best of times. However, he had shown a considerable degree of skills as an investigator and an eye for detail – he just seemed to completely miss the point. She suspected that it was this trait that had seen him recruited, and not his claims that he was closing on some mythical "ultimate truth"

Again, Levisha played to his personality to keep him at heel. She hinted at things, suggested things, dropped little ideas about her past that even an idiot could have seen were blatantly false. However, to Reg, they were kernels of truth, pieces of his greater puzzle. Thus, he followed her to try and learn the truth from her, to prove his epic conspiracy of time-travellers that controlled all of mankind. Or whatever.

However, this made her wonder one thing. What does she have over me? Sandra had no dark secrets in her past and no reason to be loyal to Levisha beyond being members of the same unit. She had no vested interest in her commander beyond the fact that the woman had given her an opportunity. And no mistake, Sandra was grateful. However, that gratitude would only go so far. As far as she could tell, Levisha had no control over her, nothing to enforce loyalty.

And Sandra couldn't decide if this was a good thing or not.

-----

Despite her misgivings about her commander, Sandra couldn't fault the Badarses on the support they provided. No sooner had her Thor been transferred to their hangar facilities then she'd been assigned a tech to look after the mech.

Lynn Street James proved to be just as eccentric as everybody else she'd met so far. Fit and athletic, the woman's disposition suggested she was more of a solider then a simple technician. Her tattoo-covered arms and thick accent also raided questions about her background. However, there was no doubting her skills.

"Okiedokie. Let's take a look at this here thing." She began as she sized up the heavy Omnimech. Blocky and imposing, its off-centre head made it rather distinctive. At some point in its past, it had been painted in a brown-grey urban camouflage scheme; Sandra had added irregular red stripes to further break up its pattern. However, the paint couldn't completely hide the numerous pits, dents and scrapes in its armour, nor where it had been obviously patched and repaired.

"Yeah, it's a total frelling mess, I'll admit." Sandra replied as she looked on.

"Naw, it ain't the worst I've ever seen by a long way." Lynn countered as she plugged a diagnostic device into a port on the mech's side. "I mean, at basic everything checks out, but I wanna take a closer look at its bits and stuff."

"You won't like it, I can grantee that much. Spud's been a through lot, and been largely repaired by inept clods armed with third-hand parts."

"Well, there ain't nothing I can't fix with a strip of duct tape."

Sandra assumed she was joking, but then noted that there were several rolls of tape hanging off her utility webbing. Maybe not. "It's not a stock config. Is that going to cause problems?"

"Naw." Lynn dismissively replied as she gathered her hair into a bun and tied it back. "We get all kinda stuff in here. Tell ya the truth, what with the Thor being an omni and all means that as long as it's compatible hardware then it ain't a problem at all."

"I think the Thor's configuration files were written on clay tablets." Sandra replied. "I had a look at the source code once, and while I admit I know bog all about it, the dates on it seemed to go back to the 29th century or so."

"Somethin' like that." Lynn shot back. "I've worked with omnis before, so as long as the code's good, I can run with it. Yer laser and LRM boat checked out green, so there ain't no problems there. So let's take a look at the machine side of it." She pressed some buttons inside the maintenance interface, opening out a larger panel, then stuck her head inside. "Woo-ee, well this is a mess. Ima gonna need a lotta tape in here."

"Bad?" Sandra asked, a hint of apprehension in her voice.

"Well, nothing that ain't fixable, but I'll say this much. This baby of yours is old, an' it shows. Now while it was fine in the hands of clanners, well heck, the monkeys who have been workin' on it since ain't helped it none." She pulled her head out of the mech and stood back for a moment. "Yeah, this is gonna be a real six-pack job."

"Six pack job?"

Lynn nodded, then walked over to the collection of toolboxes she'd bought with her. Opening one up, she pulled out a six-pack of Pharaoh beer. To Sandra's surprise, she pulled off one of the pyramidal cans, opened it, and took a swig. "Well, that's a start." She simply stated as she put the can down. "Now let's take a look at this baby."

All of a sudden, Sandra realised what a six pack job was – and was more than a little worried. She needed to distract herself. "So Lynn, if you don't mind my asking, how'd you get in here."

"Funny story that." The tech replied as she picked several different tools out, stuffing them into her webbing. "I come from some Periphery world what's no longer on the map. Can't say which one, actually. Rightfully, we just call it 'our place' and try to get by with what we have"

She reached inside the Thor, shoving her head in and going to work. "One year, bunch of guys took up residence there. Mean fellas too; they had mechs and some of them battle armour suits to boot. We couldn't do nothin' about them, but that didn't stop us from tryin' none."

"So I was takin' a look about their forces, drivin' around in an old crapped-out Scout car that I'd helped keep together. Unfortunately, they found me and I had to get the hell outa there. I was drivin' like the devil with a buncha guys on my tail, but it was working. They couldn't hit me to save their lives."

"Thing is, the boys had been contracted to take 'em out, and I blundered on into them." She pulled out of the mech for a moment, and gestured across the bay. "Stumbled right on into that there freaky Gosh-Hawk while I was running from the bad guys. A few quick explanations later, they figured that I had the recon info they needed, and had already done a dang good job of spreading the enemy forces out all across creation. They took advantage of all I'd done and used that info to take 'em out good and proper."

"So you inadvertently helped them out." Sandra nodded. "Nice work."

Lynn crawled back inside the mech, going back to work. "Levisha thought so too. She offered me a spot right there and then. Course I was gonna take it; I mean, it was a chance to get offa that rock and see the universe, and I weren't about to say no to something like that."

"I know what you mean." Sandra casually replied.

"Anyways, I gotta lot of work you do here. Y'all may as well do whatever the heck it is that needs doing, cause Ima gonna be a while."

In other words, leave my mech in the hands of an ill-educated backwater hick who works with tape and thinks that getting drunk is a good step in the process. She looked around the bay, then up at the Thor looming over her. And it's not like I have a better choice. "Sure thing. And nice to meet you, Lynn."

"Hey you too. Tell ya what, when I'm done, let's have a drink."

"Aren't you already drinking?"

"That's a work drink. It don't count none."

-----

Sandra had also decided to take note of Levisha's fashion flips, if only to try and figure out a pattern to them. Maybe they were a part of her hold over her men. Maybe she had no dress sense at all. Both were possible. Today, she was dressed in what could be described as "grungy" streetware; a ragged top, battered jacket and torn jeans.

"Hopefully, we all know each other by now." She began. The three of them were gathered in the lounge, Jake and Reg having been apparently in the middle of another tri-vid game session. "However, I think we could use some battlefield simulation time. If we're going to depend on each other in the field, it's best if we all know what each of us are capable of. And while Reg, Jake and myself have spent a lot of time together, we do have a newcomer."

Which meant Sandra. "Fair enough. Truth being told, I wanted to get a look at you guys in action before we get shot at." She admitted. It was an entirely reasonable request – which made her wonder if Levisha was up to something.

"So we're going to go do some sim time." Levisha continued. "I've booked us in a couple of hours, so we're going to run through a few things. Sandra, I want to see how you handle your mech under various conditions, and see how well you work with the rest of the lance."

"Makes sense." Sandra agreed. "If I'm gonna be relying on you tools to keep me alive, I may as well know what you can do and how you do it."

"Trust me, we're good." Jake replied. Normally she'd put this down to bragging, but given the background of this unit, she had to admit that he may have a point.

"Of course you are." Levisha shot back. "Which is why once we're done with the basics, we're going to move on to something a little more advanced." She grinned a smile that was laced with anticipation. "I've constructed a scenario for the team that will give us some measure of what you're capable of."

"So what's the deal?" Sandra asked. "What kind of carpet are you laying on us?"

"Simple. The three of you have to chase Bob"

This elected a round of moans from Jake and Reg. "Okay, what am I missing here?" Sandra glanced over the pair of them. "Who or what is Bob?"

"Bob's a member of our unit." Jake explained. "And he's good at one thing – going fast."

"Levisha's been getting us to play 'Chase Bob' forever." Reg added. "No matter what happens, we've never managed to catch Bob once. But I've come very, very close."

"That you have, Reginald K. Aftermath"

"Lewis" He corrected

"Whatever" She dismissively replied. "So today, we're going to see if you can indeed catch Bob. You have come so close. Let's see if you can take the last step."

"So how does this work?" Sandra narrowed her eye as she sized up Levisha, trying to figure the woman out.

"Simple." She stated. "Jake and Reg knoiw this, but you deserve an explanation. How it works is like this; I drop the three of you into a controlled area – I'll give you the heads up before you start so you can figure where you want to be and tailor your loadouts as you wish. Then, at a designated point, I release Bob. You have to stop him before he exits the map. Simple."

"And you want to be ready as fast as possible." Reg added. "Levisha likes to mess with us and release Bob at whatever time she feels like. If you're busy climbing a mountain to get into place and he goes past, well, that's your hard luck."

"Think fast, don't mess around. Gotcha."

"Now as normal, points will be rewarded to whoever gets Bob. So first shot counts, boys." She threw in a self-satisfied smile. "As a bonus, whoever catches Bob gets pie on me."

Sandra couldn't help but notice how she laid on the double entendres there. "And if Bob escapes?"

"Then you all do laps around the parade ground." This elected another round of moans.

"I didn't think we had a parade ground." Sandra muttered, leaning close to Reg.

"We don't" He replied. "What she calls a parade ground is actually an abandoned lot full of knee-high grass, broken glass, potholes and hidden low walls."

"Which is an incentive to nail the tool. Let's go."

-----

The simulators had managed to get a pretty good rendition of Sandra's Thor; its custom configuration had been uploaded and added to the system, presumably by Lynn. Certainly it felt right during her initial drills and practice with the others. The virtual mech handled pretty close to the real thing.

She'd taken the time to check out her compatriots mechs as well. Levisha's Goshawk had been modified, with various electronic warfare systems replacing is missile launchers. Her preferred role seemed to be as a heavy scout and striker, using her systems to flush out the enemy, disrupt their communications and try to turn the battle onto their terms.

Similarly, despite his rather eccentric nature, Reg also proved to be a capable mechwarrior. He used a Uziel, a machine that had become popular despite being a relatively recent model. Watching him in action gave her a pretty good idea of how he fought. His mech was mobile, and he used that to his advantage, sniping at his opponents while keeping out of their reach.

Jake was in many ways his opposite. He piloted an assault mech, the same blocky one she'd spotted in the bay but failed to recognise. The simulators had identified it as a Rampage, and Jake had given a good idea of its capabilities. Aggressive, he used the mech's high speed for its weight to close with his opponents, then unleash his firepower into them at point blank range. Given how obscure his mech seemed to be, Sandra figured that there were few who were ready for it.

Obviously, Bob would be, which made her wonder how Jake planned to catch him. They'd been given a brief on the terrain, including where Bob would be entering from. Reg and Jake had both taken up aggressive, forward positions, aiming to catch Bob as soon as possible. She had other plans.

The simulated Thor jetted up onto a ridgeline, looking down at the desert badlands below, stretching off to an infinite horizon plane. She'd assessed the terrain and the situation and formulated a plan. All she had to do was see if it worked.

If the others don't get him first, she mentally added. And with my luck, this will be the time that they do.

"He's in!" Reg called out. "Beagle probe has him already! I'm tracking him and moving to engage!"

"Roger that." Sandra replied. "What are we looking at?"

"Fireball." Reg shot back. "And he's good with it."

Sandra nodded. The Fireball was considered to be nearly worthless if not for one thing – its speed. Capable of reaching nearly two hundred kilometres an hour in a sprint, the Fireball was a very elusive target at the best of times. And in the hands of a skilled pilot, it could prove to be a very wily foe. Safe bet then that's what Bob's good at; running away. I can see why they hired him already

"Right then. Let me know when the tool gets past you."

"Fat chance. I've got his number."

-----

Reg had taken a straightforward approach to catching Bob. The northernmost part of the battlefield, where Bob would enter from, was pretty much wide open spaces. True, it would let Bob get as much speed as possible out of his mech, but at the same time, it would let Reg fight the way he wanted to.

He'd figured out Bob's speed, heading and, as a result, the engagement time he had against him. His Uziel's twin PPCs and high speed meant that he'd have a lot of coverage and plenty of opportunities to bring Bob down. He'd been carefully studying Bob's past runs, his tactics, the way he moved and so on. He'd built a

complex profile around Bob and figured a way to bring him down.

In many ways, it was merely an extension of the work he'd done with other subjects, including other members of the Mimetic Badarses. He'd been building profiles on them since he joined the unit, trying to figure out the truth behind them. And, in each case, he'd been analysing their strengths, their weaknesses and their abilities. He often had to face his compatriots in simulated exercises, but he also knew there was always the chance that, one day, he would have to do it for real.

So in many ways, Bob chasing was valuable practice for him.

The Fireball was in his sights; he'd slewed the Uziel's torso to follow the likely path of the mech, so he'd have the maximum engagement envelope against Bob. Even then, he could take it to a sprint, which would give him a bit of chase time if needed. However, he was confident that things wouldn't come to that.

Sprinting at speed, the simulated Mech had come within his range. He had it in his sights. Ready... ready... now!

And a fraction of a second before he fired, the mech suddenly sped up, moving even faster then before. The Uziel's twin PPCs crackled to life, the screen filling up with simulated weapons fire that sliced into the air where the Fireball had been.

"The heck?" He called out as he desperately bought the Uziel around to track the fast-moving machine. Checking his readings, he could see that the Fireball was now moving at over two hundred – and was still accelerating. "Ah crap!" He called out as he opened up the Uziel's throttle, chasing after the fleet-footed mech. "He's put a MASC system in that thing!"

"What kind of a tool puts a MASC in a Fireball?" Sandra shot back.

"One who's a lot smarter then he looks!" Reg added as he fired again, the shots again going wide of the fast moving mech, While his own Uziel was now belting along at over ninety kilometres an hour, the Fireball was doing more then twice that. "Ah come on! You think you've written an exhaustive profile on someone and then they go and surprise you again!"

-----

"Dumbarse" Jake muttered to himself. He knew that Reg's plan wasn't going to work from the start. Sniping at Bob was never going to bring him down, despite everything Reg had claimed about his skills as a marksman. Even his lengthy rambles about some 'Jeff K' guy getting shot on a planet called Dallas meant nothing; he knew that his sniping was just not going to work.

He'd let Reg take the opening shots for just that reason. He knew that Bob would escape easily. True, he hadn't anticipated the MASC, but that didn't matter. The way that he was going to play it meant that Bob couldn't possibly use his speed to escape.

Rather then out in the open, he was lurking in a region of broken terrain, punctured by large boulders and rock pillars. Bob would have to slow down to move through the area, which would make him an easier target for Jake. Simple.

"I can still catch him!" Reg called out over the comms. "Damn it! He's headed for you, Jake!"

Jake couldn't help but smile to himself. He'd get the kill, the glory and, above all else, Levisha's pie. He felt a little bad for the new girl. Her first time in one of these sim battles, and she wouldn't get to do a thing. On the other hand, she'd chosen to set up as far back as possible and be a force of last resort, so it was her own fault for being left out.

Come on you little bastard. Let's have you.

The Fireball entered his engagement range; almost immediately, he pushed his Rampage into action. The huge mech stepped out, its weapons at the ready. Getting a lock-on tone from the targeting system, he opened up with the mech's LRMs and LBX cannon.

At the same time, the Fireball violently swerved out of the way, dashing behind a boulder. Pellets and missiles gouged into the rock, sending simulated chunks of dirt and debris flying, but leaving the mech undamaged. Instead, it continued to run.

"No you don't!" He called out as he fired his Rampage's own MASC system, surging forward after the smaller mech. The virtual ground crunched under its heavy feet as it powered ahead, chasing after the fireball. Again he opened fire, shots continuing to tear up the landscape around the mech. Swearing t himself, he continued to chase after the Fireball.

In response, the small mech began to zig-zag in and out of the rocks, continuing an irregular, weaving pattern. While its speed had decreased, it was now using the terrain, putting as much of it between itself and him. Regardless, he continued to try to bear down on the mech; one solid hit from most of his weapons would be enough to take the Fireball down.

However, Bob wasn't giving him the chance. Instead, despite the situation, the Fireball was slipping away,

"Ah hell." The realisation had struck him. This was just like a race; more to the point, it was one he was losing. Bob's only objective was to get to the other side. As such, it didn't matter how he did it, or how long it took him. What he was doing was running across his own course, roughly perpendicular to his original line of travel. Bob had forced Jake to chase him down and string him out.

All he could do now was double back and try to head Bob off. Muttering to himself, he wheeled the Rampage around, then opened up the comms. "Sandra, this is Jake. He got by me."

-----

"Dull surprise" Sandra muttered in reply. From her perch on top of the cliff, she could see the Fireball approaching. She dropped her sights onto the mech, watching as it charged towards the narrow canyon that would be its escape, the canyon she was looming on top of.

While she knew she was a good shot, Sandra also knew that Bob was a good evader. Best she could hope for was to blaze away at him and hope that she got lucky. The canyon itself was wide enough that she couldn't simply block it on her own. All standing in the canyon would get her was a single chance for a point-blank attack.

Instead, she was lurking on top of the cliff, watching as the Fireball charged forwards. The Rampage was somewhere far behind it, the Uziel even further back. Neither was close enough to bring it down, leaving everything it Sandra's hands. Her targeting reticule flicked green to indicate that the mech was in range of her large lasers; the LRM launcher didn't respond, being already empty.

Holding her fire, she let the Fireball run into the canyon, instead watching it closely, her finger on the trigger. It closed in, then abruptly, the ground underneath it erupted into a volcano of simulated explosions. The mech's legs were blasted apart, shredded into clouds of virtual debris as the Fireball crashed forwards to the ground.

Looking down from her perch, her reticle still over the fallen machine, it was clear to Sandra that the mech was immobilised. Both legs had been blasted apart, with nothing left below the knees. "Target is down." She called out over the communicator. "Repeat, target is down."

-----

"I must admit," Levisha commented as she took a forkful of lemon meringue, "the use of Thunder LRMs was rather clever."

Sandra shrugged in reply as she scooped up some ice cream. "I studied the terrain and figured the best way to stop him running. If Bob had been so hard to stop in past, I figured that simply shooting him wasn't going to work." She speared some pie, and took a bite. "Good lemon meringue by the way. I love this stuff."

"And you weren't concerned that Reg or Jake might get the kill first?"

"Not really" Sandra shot back. "And no, it's not because I think they're both blow-heard toolbags who don't have a shred of braincell between them who's plans were doomed to fail. Just so you know."

"How honest of you."

"Someone has to be around here." Sandra stated, dryly. "No, I was willing to let them get the kill. If they stopped him, fine, great, fantastic. If I stopped him, it's better for me. However, I saw the best way to stop him and decided to use it, even if it did put me at a disadvantage to the others."

"And why was that?"

"Because I put the objective before myself." She answered. "The goal was not for me to stop Bob, but for someone to stop him. Me, Jake, Reg, whoever. It didn't matter as long as he was stopped."

"So you put the mission ahead of your own needs." Levisha smiled. "Good to know my faith in you wasn't misplaced, Sandra."

"Was this just one big object lesson?" her face screamed disbelief.

"Maybe." Levisha dismissively concluded. "Or maybe I had a bet with someone that my new girl could stop the otherwise unstoppable Bob. Either way I'm happy with the outcome."

Dropship Miranda

Inbound, Pirate's Haven Cluster

Periphery, Rimward of the Federated Suns

4 July, 3068

OPERATION VOLCANO

After all that had happened, Sandra had been somewhat looking forward to her first operation with the Mimetic Badarses. After all, this is what she was being paid to do, rather than sit around all day and listen to Reg's crazy nonsense theories. She had privately wondered why Jake never punched the guy. Some days, she'd wanted to.

So when they were finally handed an assignment, it seemed like almost a relief. It had seemed rather simple on paper. There was a pirate group based in the Pirate's Haven cluster that had suddenly become a lot better seemingly overnight. They were better trained, more focused, better equipped and hitting their targets with much better precision. What had once been simple looting sprees had turned into very precise smash-and-grab operations and surgical strikes.

Clearly someone was behind this abrupt turnaround. People wanted to know who it was and why. That's where they came in.

Levisha's unit had been picked for the task. They'd been supplemented by Elezha and three others; it turned out the cyborg was actually a battle armour squad commander. She'd been bought in for information retrieval; her task was to access and retrieve whatever information she could on the pirates and their backers, something that her cybernetic reconstruction would allow her to do with ease.

Interestingly enough, none of the other members of her squad seemed to have any sort of cybernetic augmentation; not even simple prosthetic limbs. However, Sandra wasn't going to probe on the matter, especially given how anti-social Elezha herself seemed to be. During the entire trip, she had rarely left her bunkroom, and seemed mainly only to talk with her squad-mates. Given her unusual nature, Sandra had to wonder about the woman's past; however, much like Levisha, she wasn't telling.

Sandra's sharing a bunkroom with her commander (She was secretly glad that Reg and Jake were sharing, simply because she figured that sharing with either of them would drive her insane) was yet to offer any insights. Levisha was more than happy to converse, but had made it clear that her origins were a subject that was out of bounds. She'd shown herself to be intelligent, fluent and well educated, but still given nothing that revealed her origin.

She had noticed one thing, however; the ornate dragon tattoo that covered most of Levisha's back. Maybe it was a clue. Maybe her taste in body art was just as tacky as her taste in clothes. However, given her canny nature, Sandra figured that Towne had let Sandra see it, which made her suspect that it wasn't important.

Not like my bare back offers any clues either. It just looks like a relief map of Mars, trenches and all.

The eight of them had been called to the Leopard's small briefing room as they drew closer to their target. Levisha was at the front, while Sandra couldn't help but notice that there was a clear division between the mechwarriors and the Battlesuit operators. The two groups sat on the sides of the room, not attempting to intermingle. Sociable bunch.

"We all know why we're here." Levisha began. "However, you'll all want a brief rundown on what we're facing." She pressed several buttons on her console, bringing up an image of the world they were approaching. "This is our target. It used to be a Taurian colony, but the bulls pulled out centuries ago. What's left is a largely sustenance-based farming population with light industry and pre-spaceflight technology, scattered in numerous settlements. Local forces are limited to foot and beat-mounted infantry armed with light weapons. While we will not be engaging them directly, there is the possibility that the pirates will be using them to provide security."

Why do I suspect that nameless periphery worlds will feature heavily in my life from now on? Sandra asked herself.

"Which, ladies and gentlemen, brings me to our objective." She pressed another button, the planetary map zooming in on one area. From what Sandra could see, it was simply an elevated region in an otherwise open plain that had been paved over. Several buildings rimmed the pavement in what seemed to be a crude attempt at setting up a drop-port. "This is the headquarters of our targets, a group called something stupid in Latin which translates as the 'Forgotten Legion'."

"The Legion first popped up sometime after the Fourth Succession War, raiding FedSuns and Taurian border worlds. A nuisance and little more, they were initially well-organised but lacked in resources or manpower. Over time, their tactics began to degrade, possibly as their original leaders were killed off or retired. By the 3050s, they were pretty much a spent force, unable to keep up with the rapid pace of change."

She pressed several more buttons, the display changing to an image of a rectangular blue shield with a silver trim, decorated with a helmet in profile. "However, from the early 60s onwards, they began to suddenly improve. After languishing with Succession Wars-era machines, they began to at least pull themselves up to the quality of periphery tech. And, as mentioned, they were suddenly better coordinated, better led and far more tactically astute. Finally, they took to using Battle Armour in support of their operations – something that should have been out of their league."

"By our best estimates, they have about eight mechs. Most of these are of the 'middle-tech' we see so often in the Periphery. Some upgrades, but nothing too ambitious and certainly use of Rockets. We know that they've acquired some Brigands, but certainly will have some medium and heavy designs. Backing them up is a platoon of Battle Armour, apparently Standard types."

Levisha shot one of her signature toothy grins as the display changed to a rotating image of the aforesaid suit. "In other words, the most widely produced and anonymous suit they could find. Coming from any one of twelve different factories, they could be sourced from anywhere."

She indicated towards Elezha. "That's where our resident cybernaut comes in. Our objective here is not to wipe these guys out, but rather to get her into their systems. Finding out who's behind them is of key importance to our employers. If we take them out, it's a bonus but not needed."

The image changed back to the map of their base. "Surprise will be of the essence here, which is once case where this system's backwater nature works in our favour. The overall lack of technology means that they will almost certainly not know we're in the system until we drop on them. Furthermore, they're not likely to have any form of early warning systems save for outside patrols."

"Their base itself is probably undefended save for basic anti-personnel measures. They have a Leopard and a Mule which they use for raiding, however, it's unlikely that they'll want to risk us firing on the ships."

"We'll drop in here." Levisha panned the map over to a flat area southwest of the base. "Elezha's suits will ride on Sandra's mech to keep us moving as fast as possible; only disengage if we are attacked. Once we have the info, we'll break off and get the Miranda to pick us up." She smiled and nodded to herself. "Any questions that aren't tied into long-term conspiracy theories?"

Sandra could note the disappointment on Reg's face. Instead, Elezha raised a hand. "I assume that you want all their data to sift through later."

"Correct. There's always the chance that they'll have something juicy hidden in the bottom of their commander's collection of romance novels or the like." Levisha replied.

"And we have no idea what sort of systems they're using?"

"None at all, but I think it's fair to assume that they're using standard data terminal designs. After all, they have to be used by pirates."

She nodded, then looked over her arm. Several panels opened up along its length, Elezha sifting through them to pick out different connectors. Sandra found it somewhat disturbing.

"Okay then." Levisha finished. "Get ready to drop everyone."

-----

Sandra hated combat drops.

Jumping out of a space ship and making a planetary assault by crashing through the atmosphere was the principal reason why the Battlemech had been created in the first place. The result was a battle platform with a degree of mobility and flexibility that no tank or aerospace fighter could hope to match. It was the reasons why mechs had become the principal weapons of warfare for nearly six hundred years. It also didn't mean that she had to like it.

Even with its jump jets going at full burn, the shock of the Thor hitting the ground in a controlled crouch was enough to jar her, the shudder of the impact running through her body. Grunting to herself, she forced the mech upright as she quickly scanned over its status boards, confirming that nothing had been damaged in the landing. Well, at least Lynn did her job right, she thought to herself. This was the first combat situation she'd been in since the battle on Algol and the first since joining the unit. She felt she had every right to be apprehensive.

She'd landed in what appeared to be open grasslands; the area around her mech was burned from the heat of the jets, while otherwise, the area was largely featureless save for the odd tree or rocky outcropping. The sky, however, was more interesting. Two large moons loomed overhead, while the sky itself had an odd yellow tint to it that cast a somewhat off-putting colour across the landscape.

Glancing around, she could see the other mechs of the lance. Levisha's Goshawk and Reg's Uziel were already in motion, while Jake's Rampage was disengaging its drop-pack. "White Stig to all units." Levisha's voice came over the comms channel. "All systems green. Report status."

"Black Stig reporting." Sandra replied with the callsign she'd been assigned prior to drop. "All systems green."

"Rig Stig reporting." Jake added. "All systems green."

"Why do I have to be Fat Stig?" Reg cut in.

"Because you're fat." Levisha shot back. "So what's your status, Fat Stig?"

"All systems green." Reg finished, clearly unhappy.

"Ascendance Squad is green." Elezha added. "Ready for pickup."

"Roger that." Sandra's Thor walked over to the Kage squad, stopping to allow the battlesuits to clamber onto the mech, taking up position on the purpose-built handholds on its body. Despite the fact that they were Inner Sphere designs attaching to a Clan mech, they seemed to have no problems. A quick check of the status board confirmed that they were secured for transport and that Sandra could move without any fear of dislodging them. "Ascendance squad is secure."

"Affirmative, Black Stig." Levisha finished. "All units, move out. Rig Stig has point; Fat Stig has right flank and I have left. Keep Beagle probes running and scanning for hostile activities."

They set off, the lance quickly accelerating and maintain a sixty kilometre an hour run towards the base. For several minutes, there was nothing but a tense silence as the mechs continued to advance. Sandra warily studied her displays, looking for any signs of enemy activity. She knew that if anything happened, odds were that Reg or Levisha would pick it up first. However, it still paid to be certain. Keep your eye open, look for even the smallest things. See them before they see you.

Which was nicely countered by the comms system crackling to life. "Fat Stig to Stig Lance. I'm getting bursts of electronic activity from the objective."

"Confirmed." Levisha shot back. "I'm getting it too; looks like comms traffic. I'd say they know we're here."

Tool. So much for the element of surprise.

"How'd that happen?" Jake spoke up.

"If I were these tools, I'd have scouts hidden around the area." Sandra commented. "Get a couple of local kids, outfit them with binoculars and shortwave radios or even fiber-optics if you're feeling clever and have them hide nearby. It's low-tech and shockingly efficient security."

"Good thinking Black Stig." Levisha finished. "Assume that our enemies are onto us and get ready for incoming hostiles. Release Ascendance squad; they can avoid the fight for now. We'll call on you if needed. All units, maintain formation for the time being"

"Understood." Elezha replied, her voice flat. Moments later, the four suits detached from the Thor, dropping to the ground. Continuing to follow the rest of the lance on foot, the suits dropped back from the rest of the lance, all but vanishing into the long grass.

"Contacts" Reg called out. "I read three hostiles, more to follow. Looks like they're powering up mechs and getting them ready to go as fast as possible, sending them out as they get ready."

"They probably don't want to risk us hitting their base." Levisha commented. "Slow us down with the initial wave and while we're fighting them bring more up. Black Stig, be ready to engage."

"Affirmative." Sandra's Thor had the longest-ranged weapons of any in the lance; its Clan-made lasers would be capable of out-ranging anything that the pirates had. Hypothetically. Let's just see how bad this can go. Ahead of her, the first enemy mech came into sight. The Thor's systems identified it as being a Goliath, a hulking, quadruped assault mech designed mainly for long-range combat. Should have figured.

"Engaging enemy Goliath" Sandra continued as she thumbed the trigger. At this range, the beams went wide of the enemy mech, but not by much. The huge machine ponderously turned to face her.

Moments later, a siren sounded in the cockpit, warning of an enemy weapons lock. After maybe a second, a silvery blur sped past the cockpit, furrowing into the ground by her mech; another one followed closely afterwards. "Tool! What the frell was that?"

"Sighting on second bogey." Levisha stated. "Looks like a Cerberus."

"The frell? Since when has that been pirate-grade machinery?"

"Since whoever is backing these guys decided it was, I'd say." Levisha finished. "I also have an Ostroc inbound as well. I suspect they're bringing out the heavy guns."

Sandra let off another pair of beams at the Goliath, one of them melting armour off one of its legs. "So plan here, fearless leader?"

"Rig Stig, take down the Cerberus. You have the armour to go toe-to-toe with it. Fat Stig, support him." She replied without missing a beat. "Black Stig, bring the Goliath down; if it's one of the new H models, it's still weak at close-range. I'll deal with the Ostroc."

As the Cerberus turned to open fire on Sandra again, it was struck in the flank by a peppering of shells from the Rampage's autocannon. Moments later, its anti-missile system roared to life, swatting some of the LRMs that Jake sent after it. The Cerberus swung around, taking a pair of quick shots at Jake, its weapons going wide for now.

Accelerating, the Uziel twisted to face the Cerberus, opening fire with its twin PPCs. One of the electric-blue beams flayed armour from the Cerberus' flank, the other went wide. The Assault mech seemed to waver, likely not recognising the Rampage, the Mechwarrior was probably trying to figure its capabilities and figure a way to counter it.

(Sandra found it interesting that the Thor's targeting computer did recognise the Rampage, presumably being programmed from SLDF datafiles)

The Goliath's pilot seemed to be likewise surprised to be facing a Clan mech, but recovered a little better. Its twin LRM systems blossomed in smoke as they spat missiles at Sandra's mech, while the PPC stabbed out with its lighting-like blast. The PPC tore into the Thor's leg, while a half-dozen missiles peppered its torso. The damage was minor, Sandra ignoring it for now.

Instead, she twisted her mech to the right, rotating the torso to keep tracking the Goliath as she advanced parallel to it. She opened up with her mech's entire arsenal, aiming to do as much damage as possible. The twin medium lasers went wide, but the two large lasers more then made up for it, shredding armour off its hip and side. The LRMs followed up on the damage, peppering more armour off the flank. Clumsily, the Goliath turned to follow her; unable to twist its torso, it had to move its whole body to follow her mech.

Yeah, that's it. Take advantage of his biggest flaw – he's a Quad. A plan was forming in Sandra's mind. Just keep – the frell? She noticed something under the Goliath; zooming in on it, she could make out what it was. "Oh. You big tool fairy!"

"Black Stig, what's wrong?" Levisha called out, the crackle of weapons fire filling the comms channel.

"There's battle armour under the Goliath." She shot back.

"Screening it from a close assault. Clever." Levisha commented. "And showing that they're definitely well-practiced in using their suits."

"So not your ordinary pirates at all." Sandra glanced over the tactical display. "Rig Stig, how's things going with the Cerberus?"

She glanced over at the Rampage as the huge mech dashed towards the enemy assault mech. A sudden burst of speed from its MASC saw it sprint past the pirate machine, out of its immediate arc of fire. As it desperately turned to track the Rampage, Jake's mech opened up with a battery of weapons, tearing into its flanks. "Think things are under control."

"Right. Fat Stig, switch to the Goliath. Keep current course. I'll lead."

"Roger that, Black Stig." He called back as the Uziel swung around, its two PPCs opening up on the Goliath. The twin beams carved into its side, blasting into the hip and foreleg. Stumbling, the huge machine turned to face the Uziel, only to be again struck by Sandra's weapons fire.

"Gotcha, ya bastard." She couldn't help but grin. The Goliath was trapped between two more manoeuvrable opponents, and lacked the mobility to respond to both. All of its weapons were fixed forward, so it could only respond to one of them at a time. The pilot, clearly short on options, chose Sandra to be the target of his frustrations. In addition to the PPC and LRMs, the mech's flanks blossomed with fire as the pilot chose to empty all six of his rocket launchers into her mech.

"Tool!" She called out as she desperately tried to twist her mech out of the way of the wall of incoming fire. Her efforts were only partially successful; most of the rockets missed, but enough struck home to shake her mech, while the PPC stabbed into its flank. The Thor stumbled, crashing to one knee as Sandra fought to keep it upright.

However, the damage was done. On her screen, Sandra could see that the Goliath was burning red-hot from its own weapons fire. She figured that the pilot had to be fighting shutdown at the very least, and that it would have no chance of evading what was coming to it. As if to drive the point home, Reg wheeled his Uziel around, opening fire into the wounded mech's aft. The two PPCs peeled armour off its rear, while the SRMs tore through the holes that he'd made, shredding its exposed structure.

Pushing the Thor forwards, Sandra bought the big mech back to its feet. Seeing an opportunity, she opened up again on the Goliath, ignoring the wave of heat that washed in to the cockpit as she did. The lasers capitalised on the damage she and Reg had already done, blasting through the damaged mech's armour, tearing into its heart.

Abruptly, the Goliath's belly erupted into fire as armour blew off its frame. Seconds later, more armour blew off its back as the mech erupted into flames, its LRM ammunition cocking off under the combined effects of its heat and the damage done. The Battle-armoured troops scattered from underneath the mech as the massive machine was rocked by the explosions. Gutted, the charred hulk of the mech crashed to the ground.

"Goliath is down." Sandra called out over the command network.

"Roger that, Black Stig. Ostroc is under control here." Glancing around, Sandra saw Levisha's Goshawk sprinting past the pirate mech, peppering its side with laser fire. In response, the enemy machine opened up with a barrage of lasers and rockets, doing only minimal damage to her mech. "Rig Stig?"

"Cerberus is also in hand." Jake commented as the Rampage again sprinted around the pirate mech, opening fire on its exposed back. Smoke and flames billowed from the machine as his shots struck home, tearing into its structure. The Cerberus managed to bring one of its Gauss Rifles to bear, the shot striking the Rampage's shoulder, shattering armour but not doing much else.

"Affirmative. We have more inbound." Levisha finished. "Fat Stig, aid Rig Stig and take that Cerberus down. Black Stig, we have another inbound, looks to be medium class. Can you deal?"

Sandra glanced down at the damage display. The Goliath's assault had savaged her armour, but it should hold for now. "Roger that." Driving the Thor forward, she bore down on the nearest enemy machine, an advancing Hatchetman. As the two closed, she opened fire on the slender mech, her lasers slicing into its arm to devastating effect. The twin emerald-green beams tore into the mech's right arm, ripping it apart, along with its signature hatchet.

Before the mech could recover, a flight of LRMs slammed into its chest, sending the mech reeling. As it collapsed backwards, crashing to the ground, another mech stepped forward. An ugly hunchbacked machine that the computer identified as a Cronus stepped forward, slashing at Sandra's machine with its large laser.

"They're persistent tools for pirates." She called out. "I mark one... no three inbound." She added as a flight of rockets slammed into her mech. In the distance, a lightweight Brigand and a Stinger were following the Cronus. "They probably got the heavies up and running first."

"Affirmative." Levisha bought the Goshawk around, spraying fire into the Ostroc with its pulse lasers. Shots tore into its flank, ripping through the armour over its side. The wounded mech replied with its own lasers, scoring armour off the Goshawk's breast, but Levisha managed to keep her mech moving in spite of the damage.

The Hatchetman managed to get to its feet, only to be struck again by Sandra's lasers. One of them boiled through its left flank, hitting something inside the mech as black smoke soon began to billow through the wound. Wisely, the battered mech began to fall back, joining up with the advancing Cronus.

"I don't know how much longer we can hold if they keep coming." Sandra commented. "There may be more of them – and the damn battle armour."

"Understood." Levisha shot back. "Ascendance squad, try and get around them, see if you can find some way into their facilities. See if we can pull this off without having to fight our way through all of creation." Another burst of laser fire cut into her channel. "Rig Stig, what's the status on that Cerberus?"

"He's being an obstinate bi-" Jake began, but was cut off by a heavy crash that cut into the channel. The Rampage staggered back, one of its knees crushed, the lower leg sticking out at an awkward angle.

"Black Stig, try and buy us some more time." Levisha called back. "Rig Stig, Fat Stig, get that mech down!"

"Roger, White Stig." Sandra all but spat the last comment out. Why do I always end up shouldering the hard work? She muttered as she opened up the throttle, a desperate idea forming in her mind. It probably wouldn't work, but she might as well give it a shot. At the very least, nobody will ever know we got tooled up by know-nothing pirates in the arse end of nowhere.

The Thor drove forward, bearing down on the Hatchetman and Cronus as the two tried to form up with the Stinger and Brigand. As she charged forward, she dropped targeting systems on both mechs at once, the Thor's targeting computer doing its best to compensate. Each of the arms spat leaser fire at each mech, with the LRMs being thrown at the pristine Cronus for good measure. The hunchbacked mech took the seemed to weather the hits, staggering but maintaining its advance.

The Hatchetman fared worse for the deal, however. The shots tore through its already damaged left flank, ripping through armour and structure. A blast tore the left arm free from its housing, then sent the mech reeling as it spiked red-hot on Sandra's thermal imager. To her surprise, in spite of the damage, the mech managed to remain upright. This only had the effect of making the now armless machine appear comical, rather than defiant.

Less wounded then its counterpart, the Cronus spat back with laser fire, raking the Thor's torso. Sirens went off in the cockpit as one of the shots tore through the armour, shattering a heat sink. Grunting to herself, Sandra tried to focus on keeping moving, rather then worrying about the damage. Though Lynn will have my hide for that, I'm sure.

Instead, she stomped on the foot pedals, firing the Thor's jump jets. Veering away from the oncoming light mechs, she quickly glanced over the battlefield. She could see the Ostroc down and burning, however, Levisha was now coming under fire from a rather brave (or stupid) Whitworth. Similarly, the Cerberus was continuing to bear down on the damaged Rampage.

She couldn't see Elezha's Kage suits; presumably, this was a good thing.

Instead, she landed behind the damaged Hatchetman, opening up again on the Cronus while ignoring her both her own heat warnings and the crippled mech. As the beams cut into the Cronus, the Hatchetman seemed to be determined to come at her, despite its condition. The armless mech stumbled forward, its mechwarrior seemingly forgetting about the autocannon in its chest as it instead tried to ram her.

"Ah come on ya dumb tool!" She shouted out as the Thor twisted to one side. "What did you think was going to happen?" As the Hatchetman stumbled forward, she lashed out with the Thor's blocky leg, slamming into its own stick-thin limb. With a deafening shriek, the Hatchetman's leg tore in half at the knee, sending it crashing to the ground.

As she came around, she saw the Cerberus suddenly stagger as a pair of blasts from Reg's PPCs tore through its rear armour. Bellowing smoke, the machine stumbled, then crashed forwards as the SRMs slammed into it. As it slammed into the ground, the back of its head erupted into a burst of flames, the pilot rocketing skyward on his ejector seat.

And that was all she needed to see.

Grinning, she turned back to the Cronus as the machine suddenly began to backpedal. "So, tool, how lucky do you feel?"

-----

With the destruction of the Cerberus and Ostroc, the fight quickly went out of the remaining pirates. With three of their mechs down and a fourth crippled, the survivors had decided that it was better to surrender rather than die fighting. The sole exception had been the Battle Armour squad that had been hiding under the Goliath; they had simply run at Levisha's mech and been cut down. It seemed as if they had deliberately wanted to get themselves killed.

Shouting at the surviving mechwarriors had confirmed that the mechwarrior in the Cerberus had been their commander of the pirate group. However, it was very much in the past tense now; when Elezha's squad found him, he was dead. More to the point, his body had been riddled with machine gun fire, reducing it to a bloody pulp. The most likely culprits seemed to be the now-dead Battle Armour squad – who weren't in any state to argue.

The base itself had proven to be little more then a collection of crude buildings centred around a reinforced concrete landing pad. The personnel at the port facility had surrendered on the orders of the surviving pirates. It was clear that none of them were interested in continuing to fight after the losses they had already taken. Levisha and Elezha had quickly rounded up their personnel, keeping them under the watch of the Goshawk's battery of machine guns.

They'd also found several more mechs and more battle armour, all of which had been in various stages of preparation. Most intriguing had been the ample supplies of ammunition and parts the pirates were keeping, making them far better stocked then the norm.

And all of this was still secondary to their actual goal. As soon as the base and its crew were secured, Elezha had gone to work retrieving their data files in order to accomplish their objective, the one that had seemed to be lost in all the shooting. She and her squad had vanished into what they took for their main command centre; a structure that was less shabby then most and sported a mass of communications equipment on its roof.

After several tense minutes, she emerged. "Bad news." Her voice cut over the comms channel. "They wiped all their data, probably during the battle. It's a powerful security code too; deleting and over-writing then re-deleting."

"Can you salvage anything?" Levisha replied, flatly.

"I got a full transcript of the data. I may be able to re-integrate and salvage some of it." The Kage suit indicated to the crowd of prisoners kneeling in the centre of the drop-port. "This is far too sophisticated for pirates. Someone else had to be running this from on-site."

"Someone who may have backups or a decryption key or something to that effect." Levisha finished. "Brilliant." The Goshawk loomed over the crowd, its machine gun-laden left arm outstretched. "So who do you think it is?"

Sandra glanced over the crowd. For the most part, they were a collection of rough, ragged and unwashed-looking men and women. With no uniforms as such, they were instead clad in whatever clothes they could beg, borrow or steal, leading to a wide disparity of appearance, one that gave surprisingly few clues as to the individuals they were looking for.

"In the back." Reg spoke up. "There's a man with goggles on. And he looks a lot cleaner and more sophisticated then everyone else. I figure that has to be our man"

Sandra zoomed in on the collected prisoners, locating the man he was talking about. He did stand out; while his shaven head and ragged, frequently re-patched jumpsuit were typical of the crowd, the high-tech goggles he was wearing really stood out. Covering his eyes and leaving only a narrow, red-tinted slit, they were far to new and shiny for the rest of the gear that everyone else around him had.

"I see him too. Well spotted, Fat Stig." Levisha spoke up. "You there, with the goggles. Step forward with your hands in the air."

To Sandra's surprise, he did. Standing, he slowly and peacefully walked through the crowd, his hands raised. At first, she assumed that it was the simple threat of being machine-gunned that was doing it. However, as he moved, she noticed that there was something wrong about it. He wasn't moving like a defeated prisoner. No, he seemed confident, as if he knew what he was doing and was in control of the situation.

And he seemed to be smirking. That was never a good sign.

"Wait." Elezha called out. "Those aren't goggles!" her Kage raised and arm, pointing its weapon at the man. "Stay back, whatever you are."

Sandra wasn't sure, but Elezha almost seemed afraid of him; her voice less commanding and more desperate. Zooming in as much as she could on the man, she took a closer look; sure enough, what Reg had taken for goggles didn't seem to be secured by any sort of band or strap. Instead, they seemed to be implanted in his skull in place of his eyes. He's a cyborg like her! She realised.

The man stopped and smiled. "Peace of Blake be with you." He spoke, calmly. And then he burst into flames.

Those around him, both the pirates and the raiders, watched on with a mixture of horror and awe as he was quickly incinerated; whatever agent had caused the blast quickly consumed flesh and bone, leaving only charred metal and melted plastics in their wake. "...monster..." Sandra heard Elezha whisper, her voice tinged with a tangible fear.

"Spontaneous human combustion!" Reg called out, his voice strangely excited. "I knew it!"

-----

"So." Sandra began as the Miranda lifted off. "We didn't get the objective, we got caught in a pointless firefight, our targets decided to machine gun each other and one of our prisoners set himself on fire, resulting in one of ours having a gibbering fit." She glared at Levisha ."I'm going to assume this is not normal for us."

"You're right." She nodded. "Your first op with us was far from normal."

"That's a relief then."

"After all." Levisha raised a brow, then grinned. "We all made it out alive."

Perfectly Ordinary Derelict Factory

Galatea

Skye Province, Lyran Alliance

23 September, 3068

In the end, they'd struck a deal with the surviving pirates, opting to let them go in exchange for a generous helping of salvage and other ransom. In return, after taking all she felt she wanted, Levisha had ordered the unit off-plant, leaving the survivors to their fates. It seemed like a fair deal, after all their contract had been to retrieve the information, not wipe them out.

Sadly, information had not been forthcoming. The surviving pirates knew nothing about the mysterious self-destructing cyborg, only that he'd arrived after the commander (now dead and reduced to hamburger mince, of course) had struck a deal for more equipment and the like. Naturally, there were no witnesses or other survivors to back this up; their second had been blown apart inside the Goliath, further reducing the chain of evidence.

And the Cyborg himself had left very little to mark his passing beyond a few pieces of debris that were burnt or melted beyond all recognition. So they'd had to make do; they'd taken serial numbers from the Cerberus (the most blatantly out-of-place mech) as well as one of the surviving battlesuits for further study. Both en-route and once back on Galatea, Reg and Elezha had been hard at work trying to make what they could of what little they had.

Sandra was just glad that the two were largely working different jobs. She couldn't imagine the degree of inane questioning that Reg would be pouring on otherwise.

"Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, my investigations into the origins of our targets' hardware yielded very little." Reg began. The four members of Stig lance, as well as Elezha, were gathered in the ops centre as a final debrief on the operation.

"I ran the numbers off the Cerberus." He continued. "The serials matched to an early production block machine that was sold straight out the door to a merc command. That command then fought in Op Guerrero in 57 and went MIA in the subsequent collapse of the Sarna march. There's no record of the mech after that."

"So it could have easily passed through a number of hands before ending up on some date-hole world out in the end of nowhere." Sandra snorted. "Convenient that."

"Pretty much." Reg nodded. "The Gorilla Suits are pretty much the same. Checking chassis numbers and components, I conclude they're from the GM-Talcott plant. Since that was switched over to producing Cavaliers before the Civil War, the suits themselves would be the better part of a decade old, at least. Again, this gives them plenty of time to filter around and get lost so to speak."

"In other words, our suppliers chose hardware that would be impossible to trace to a source." Levisha nodded. "Cunning."

"Indeed. And my own work turned up very little." Elezha cut in. "I managed to reconstruct some of the files; if I had arrived any later, I doubt I would have gotten anything at all. The information I extracted doesn't help that much. There's a list of targets on different worlds, some of which we matched to recent raids, while others were yet to occur. It does suggest they were working to some sort of plan, but to what end I cannot say."

"What about the targets themselves?" Jake asked. "Do they have any pattern to them?"

"Well, I did notice-" Reg began, but was silenced by a raised hand from Elezha.

"None, save for the fact that they are all in FedSuns space." She stated. "And outside of deluded ravings of the obviously insane, there's no key pattern that I can discern. Of course, the list is still partial, so there may be a pattern outside of that. However, I do find it unusual that they were going for FedSuns targets rather then Taurian ones."

"True that. Taurian worlds are only harder targets in the minds of whackjob periphery nationalists." Sandra stated. "Which is most of the Tuarian population, but..."

"Exactly. These pirates were targeting FedSuns worlds on somebody's schedule. In fact, they were due to lift off in the next couple of days when we hit them."

"So did you find anything that tells us why?" Levisha asked.

"Maybe." Elezha pressed several buttons on a console, a wall of text coming up on one screen. "This mess here is what passed for the rest of the data. As you can see, it's nothing more then electronic gibberish, the result of the delete-rewrite-delete command they were running. However, I did manage to extract one partial file."

She hit another button which in turn narrowed the text down to a few broken paragraphs. Sandra squinted at the screen, trying to make out the words. "It appears to be a report on the status of their operation." She stated in a factual way.

TO: xxxxxxxxx xxxx, CLASSIFIED

FROM: xxxxxxxxx xxxxx xxxxxxx, CLASSIFIED

SUBJECT: xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxx

DATE: xx/xx/xxxx

Ogel,

- have taken control – begun raids as per sch – pliant and agreeable, more then – not ask questions – vil, greedy, stupid peo – displaying skill and organisation, however - hey will be – ultimately expenda – eccomend use for – peration Arasaka when the ti – if you agre – will prep for reci – devices.

xxxxxxxxx xxxxx xxxxxxx

"And that's it." She finished. "The header details were lost, though I suspect they were deliberately scrambled even before the deletion process. All I have is this one name here." She circled the top of the page. "Ogel."

"Who or what is an Ogel?" Levisha asked.

"I have no idea." She shook her head. "Unfortunately, that thing we encountered didn't yield any further clues."

"I take it then nothing was salvageable?"

"The thermal charge built into that creature did its work well." Sandra couldn't help but notice the obvious distaste in her voice. "Besides destroying any biological evidence that could be used for identification, it also completely destroyed any cybernetic evidence as well. Everything was reduced to wreckage, so much so that I could not begin to tell you the functions of the components I found, let alone their origin."

She sighed, seeming almost reluctant for a moment. "What I can tell you is that he boasted numerous systems that went well beyond simple medical assistance. He was augmented; someone deliberately changed him. However, I cannot fathom who, how or to what end."

"I think it's obvious." Reg spoke up. Elezha rolled her eyes as he continued. "He was a part of a time-traveller cabal who had augmented himself to extend his lifespan even further. I suspect that the strikes were aimed at a rival cabal-"

"Shut up, Reg." Sandra snapped.

"Yeah, shut up, Reg." Jake added.

"Thank you, mister Aftermath." Levisha stated in an almost patronising tone. "But let us stick to the facts."

"Lewis." He snarled. Sandra wondered what was with that comment of hers; it wasn't the first time she'd heard it used.

"Whatever." Towne finished. "Question is, can we hand it over to our employer."

"In so far as it is data retrieved from the operation, then yes." Elezha finished. "However, it is not complete or informative in any way."

"They didn't specify completion or coherency. Only that we got it." Levisha finished. "I'll make arrangements for the transfer. Operation Volcano is officially closed. Dismissed."

Shrugging to herself, Sandra stood to leave. Jake and Reg both were as well, while Elezha began to open up one of her arms. Shuddering to herself, Sandra turned away from the cyborg. "Sandra, a moment please." Levisha spoke up.

"What is it?" She replied, turning around.

"I just wanted to congratulate you on your first successful operation with us." Levisha replied, her tone unusually friendly. "And I hope that you'll be with us for a lot more."

Sandra cocked her head. "Meet new people, go to new places, do things that you can never talk about and collect a stupidly big paycheck at the end of the day. It's not like I can argue with that."

Levisha smiled in a way that suggested genuine warmth and lacked in excessive teeth. "I'm glad my faith in you was not misplaced when I recommended you to the council. You've shown skill, determination and an ability to think on your feet, Sandra. I like that."

"Thanks. I suppose this is the part where I ask what you want from me in return for all this flattery."

"Ever the cynic." Levisha nodded. "A fair response, too. But, the truth is, Sandra, all I want is for you to do your best. Can I trust you on that?"

Sandra considered it for a moment. "You can trust me every bit as much as I can trust you."

She grinned in reply. "I thought as much. Welcome aboard, Sandra Blackmore. You've picked great time to join us."

"Oh yeah. I can hardly wait."

-----

Elezha had waited until everyone had left before settling down to one of the consoles to do some work. She had a reputation for being something of a loner, and rarely talking outside the members of Ascendance Squad, one that she never tried to discourage. Most people were content to let her be and do whatever she wanted to do; after all, they tended to find her more then a little weird at the best of times.

But then, as a transcendent, it was to be expected. She had been recruited into this agency because of her abilities; to the best of their knowledge, they were unique. It was an idea that she had done her best to encourage.

However, after the encounter at Pirate's Haven, she knew that image would be shattered, one way or another.

She selected a collection of 22nd Century Spacer synth-ambient on her media player, and began writing. Dearest mother. After many trials, I have finally completed my enrolment into high school... However, her own internal noteputer system was composing an entirely different message.

I have encountered another Technomorph, one that was not one of Us.

He was with a group of pirates operating out of Pirates Haven, but clearly was not one of them. He was making only minimal attempts to hide his nature; an obviously visible optical augmentation betrayed his form, although to the untrained they may have passed for goggles or other optic systems. When we attempted to capture him, he activated an thermal destruct system which destroyed his baseline components as well as rendered his augmentations unrecognisable. As yet, I cannot ascertain what augmentations he was using, let alone their point of origin.

However, it was apparent that whatever he was, this Technomorph was not a Transcendent

This scares me. And it should scare you too. This creation does not appear to have been aiming at transcendence; rather, he was created for far cruder purposes. That man could think to create such evils horrifies me, but only serves to underlie the point of our cause.

I have included video footage of the Technomorph including his self-destruction and his remains. I do warn that it may be distressing. However, I feel that it is imperative that we discover the truth behind his nature and his creators.

She'd handed over all the footage from her Kage's HUD and recorders to Levisha after the battle. However, she hadn't handed over the copy that had been downloaded to her augmented internal systems. She'd made sure that nobody knew that she had been recording and storing anything that she felt would be useful.

Finishing her report, she then combined it with the letter she was writing, using an encryption filter to hide it inside the document, then similarly merging the video with a random, currently popular song file.

As soon as she done, she got up to go out, heading to the Comstar HPG. There were people who needed to know what she had seen.

Transcendence has always been our goal. If someone else is aiming for it, then we run the risk of losing all that we have worked for.

-----

In the end, Sandra's room was the only place she was sure that she could get any privacy. It wasn't that she was anti-social by any stretch; however, she did need a break every now and then from her fellows. The funny thing was, she actually liked them as long as she didn't think too hard about them. Reg was actually somewhat amusing, Levisha and Elezha were both very well read and conversant, Lynn was incredibly funny (regardless of if she meant it or not) and even Jake had his moments when the testosterone wasn't cutting off the flow of blood to his brain. However, the instant she thought about it, everything changed.

Which is what she was doing now; compiling her thoughts on them to get them into order.

Reg. She wrote in a small notebook. Idiot. Then she considered that. He was a good mechwarrior, and had very good analytical and investigative skills. He just had no idea how to apply them. Crossing that out, she edited it. Talented idiot.

Jake. There wasn't much to say. Jake was an angry young man who had been in the right place at the right time, and had put his skills to good use. However, he also had a blatantly obvious blind spot that was being shamelessly exploited. Idiot who thinks with his bedlfute.

Lynn. The woman was an incredibly talented technician, no questions asked. She was the best tech that Sandra had ever known, and certainly had shown an ability to adapt to whatever piece of technology was thrown at her. She also was barely literate, could hardly string together a sentence and had handwriting that looked like that of a spastic rhesus monkey. Idiot Savant.

Elezha. This was hard. Intelligent, observant, well-educated. And a cyborg of incredible technological sophistication, certainly better then any Sandra had seen. One of her arms seemed to possess adaptors capable of connecting into any computer system she could think of, and it was obvious that she had a powerful onboard computer of her own. What other capabilities she had were a total mystery. Transcendent Technomorph. She wrote down, then considered that. The term had no meaning to her, but yet seemed important to the woman. = Cyborg. But that wasn't true. Elezha seemed to see herself as being more then 'just' a cyborg.

No, her modifications seemed to have some almost religious significance to her. They were more than simple hardware, and certainly went beyond simple replacement for limbs lost to injury. Instead, she seemed to see them as being as much a part of her as her flesh and blood parts (however much of those there were). Transcendent = Ascendant? Didn't Levisha call her Goshawk 'ascendant'? Was there a connection? Sandra considered matters some more. To transcend; to overcome, to go beyond, to become something greater. Was that it? He was becoming something else?

And then there was the cyborg they had encountered. Elezha had been unnerved by him; everyone had, save for possibly Levisha. A man bursting into flames in front of you did that. But there was more to it then just that. Whoever or whatever he was had unnerved her, not his firey death. Afraid of other transcendants? What the hell is another transcendent?

She had nothing else to add, so she moved on. Levisha. She considered this for a moment. The woman had been her entry into the unit. And yet, she was the one she knew the least about. Elezha had made no effort to hide her nature, however, Sandra had no way of knowing what Towne was concealing. Liar. She wrote down. That much was obvious. Shameless manipulator. Intelligent. Cunning. Ruthless? Knows what she is doing.

Then one final thought crossed her mind. Terrible dress sense.

------

Levisha rolled over onto the motel bed, breathing deeply, a contented smile on her face. "You know, Levisha." The man lying next to her began, gazing up at the ceiling. "Of all the operatives I've worked with, your style of meting is the most... unique."

"Are you complaining?" She asked, quirking a brow.

"Well, no." He admitted, glancing over to her. "It's just odd, that's all."

"And you haven't objected any other time." She replied, playfully. "Besides which, there are men who would kill to be 'briefed' by me. Peloquin for starters."

"Speaking of which..." He asked, trying to keep his tone formal and business like. It wasn't easy when you had a beautiful naked woman next to you, a fact that Levisha knew and played on. "Your assessments?"

She rolled over onto her front, the ornate tattoo on her back clearly visible. "Hmm." She playfully chewed on one of her bright red-tinted forelocks. "Peloquin is a useful tool and nothing else. Aftermath is another matter. The man is a lot more intelligent then anyone gives him credit for, but lacks the ability to focus it. Certainly I can feet him enough false leads to make sure that her never finds anything that would lead him back to us."

"However, at the same time, I can direct him when needed. His investigative skills are excellent, he just lacks the ability to reach sane conclusions. However, he can give me all the evidence I need." She gave an almost hungry grin. "That he's burrowed so deep into his colleagues without realising it only proves just ho useful he is."

"And the new woman, Blackmore?"

Levisha laughed. "Sandra paints herself as being a hired gun with a foul mouth and self-image issues. However, she's a lot sharper then she lets on. Besides her skills as a mechwariror, she serves one other use." Reaching out, she began to gently trace a nail across his bare chest. "She keeps me on my feet, and stops me from getting complacent. I have to watch myself around her."

"You're setting yourself an additional challenge?"

"Oh yes. I can't have life getting boring." She finished.

He ignored her playful tone. "What about Karoly?"

"I have a good idea of who created her and why." Levisha stated. "But I want to confirm it before I action it. Certainly if I'm right, she's not a threat per se, but I want to see just how useful she could be."

"But she's not one of them?"

"Definitely." There was a sudden, stern tone in her voice. "Her reaction alone proved that much. If anything, I can see her being as opposed to them as possible. They represent the antithesis for all that I suspect she stands for. That scares her, and I can use that."

"Interesting." He seemed to be ingoing her physical teasing, or at least doing a good job of it. "And finally, the council?"

"The Omniscient Council of Vaugness?" Levisha gave a derisive snort. "Can be bypassed as needed. Certainly, they will have their uses, but I have enough in my own hands to make sure that, when the time comes, I can use this unit as I want."

"And as we need."

She grinned a toothy grin. "Of course."