1/1 Dragoons Wild Horses: Redemption

Chapter 1

The Crime

Disclaimer: see prologue please!

AN: Well here's chapter two. For those of you who reviewed the prologue, many many thanks!! I hope to live up to your expectations or to even exceed them.

Location: Mike's Bar, Capital City, Planet ManticoreTime: 2134 hours Local

The bar was like many of its kind in this part of the city. The place was dimly lit, full of smoke and the smell of cheap beer. Salary workers and factory workers sat huddled in groups, griping about being broke, or about their bosses or their wives. And like any normal Friday evening, the bar was filled once more to capacity. Well almost filled, for in one corner there appeared to be a bubble of empty tables around on occupied table.

At this lone table sat four people nursing their drinks. A tall Asian man with short black hair, a build like a gymnast and grey-blue eyes. A shorter Asian man with longer brown hair tied in a pony tail, and brown eyes. A tall English looking woman with a figure to die for; long brown hair that flowed freely and sad looking big green eyes. The last was a stocky man of African stock whose muscles looked like they had muscles, his straight black hair was kept military short and his dark brown eyes flitted everywhere. These four people radiated depression and anger so strongly that only the barmaid and bartender even dared to approach them. All four wore the same clothes, the dark green formal uniform of the Royal Manticoran Army. The berets that were the uniform's head gear were thrown haphazardly onto the table, rather than tucked under the epaulette on their left shoulder as regulation demanded.

All could recognize the unit insignia on their shoulders. The news had done its usual wonderful job of letting the whole nation know about how badly the military had messed up. In this case it was the complete destruction of one of the Army's best units, the Ninth Squadron of the Ninth Cavalry Regiment. And was this unit lost in glorious victory against an enemy?

Oh no!! It was lost during a retreat! A retreat that resulted in the capture of one of the Kingdom's planets no less!! And, according to the media, all the blame could be laid on one man. Lt. Colonel Ranma Saotome should have fought harder, been smarter, and should have died with his men. At least that is what the media says.

So in this quiet little bar, near the Royal Army Academy, in the far corner table, sat the last remnants of the 9-9 Cav. They had good reason for being angry and depressed. All four were told that they would be tried before a military court for their actions on Mersedas. The anger was all directed at their former division commander, who was also the one pressing the charges against them.

"What are we going to do Sir?" Asked the dark skinned man, who wore Sergeants stripes, and was the only enlisted person seated at the table. "As far as I can see it, we're screwed!"

The taller Asian man, who bore Lt. Colonel rank, leaned back, running his hand through his short hair, remembering easier times when it was longer, and he was a kid with three fiancées. "I don't know Angus. But I ain't giving up! You know my motto. Wild Horses never loose and never give up." He replied as he leaned back forward to drink his beer.

The woman of the table, one of two wearing captain rank, snorted in amusement. "When it comes down to it we've never lost a battle yet, ne Ranma?" She asked as she downed her beer in one gulp.

Her companion across the table nodded in agreement as he sipped his beer. "Yeah, but we've sure gotten the shite kicked out of us this time Makoto." He commented grimly.

"Heh, you're both right Tenchi." Ranma commented as he stared down at the table, deep in thought. "But we'll figure something out."

Angus took in his commander's posture and expression before he banged his fist hard on the table, causing everyone in the bar to jump. "Bartender, a bottle of tequila and four shot glasses!" He bellowed.

The man behind the bar, an older gentleman whose graying hair marked him as a first generation prolong recipient, smiled as he grabbed the requested items. "You're lucky my shipment came in today Angus or you'd be out of luck tonight." He said as he brought them their items.

Ranma shook his head, while Tenchi smirked as Angus poured the shots. Makoto stared wide-eyed at the amber liquor in the tiny glass in front of her, remembering the last time she had it.

"Oh no! I ain't having that shit again Angus!" She said as she waved her hands in front of her frantically.

All the men suddenly grinned up at her. "What's wrong Mako-chan? Afraid you can't handle it?" Tenchi teased her.

"Oh no, I ain't falling for that one Tenchi. I remember what happened the last time I had that stuff and I don't want a repeat!" She countered darkly.

Angus broke out into a huge grin. "I'd thought you would have loved to get a repeat performance Ma'am. Lord knows your two friends did!" He said cheerfully.

"Angus……" Makoto snarled as she rounded on him, her fists clenched in anger.

"Mako, take the shot, I'll walk you home tonight." Ranma told her as he glared at Angus.

"Thanks Ranma, I'll hold you to that promise." She replied, calming down as she reached for the shot, more comfortable now, knowing that her boss would see her home safely.

The men nodded as they too grabbed their shots and together the four of them raised the little glasses.

"To our fallen comrades." Ranma intoned solemnly.

"To the fallen." The others replied as together they downed their shots.

Angus continued the ritual by refilling their shot glasses before they were raised again. This time Tenchi spoke. "To those we left behind." He said sadly.

"To the ones we left." Came the somber reply as more of the golden liquor was poured down their throats.

A third time Angus poured the shots before Makoto continued with the ceremony as she raised hers. "To love lost because of our jobs." She said with a sad smile as she remembered her last boyfriend.

"To love lost." The men agreed as they drank and remembered their own lost loves.

Angus poured a final time before he set the bottle down and raised his glass. "To a friendship that will never die." He said as formally as the others, but with a light smile.

"To our friendship." They cried as one as they drank, then they slammed their glasses onto the table in a final toast to all.

All four were understandably surprised then when a fifth shot glass was put down between Tenchi and Angus. They all looked up to see an older man. His short brown hair just starting to go grey, his hazel colored eyes clouded a dark grey with sadness. His tall frame was muscular and lean from years of working out. As he pulled up a chair and sat down they all noticed how silent and graceful he was.

"Mind sharing a drink or three with an old vet?" He asked in a kind voice.

Angus looked over at Ranma to see him nod in agreement. Angus shrugged and poured him a shot. The old man nodded and downed his shot before holding it out for a refill. He drank until he matched the rest of the group before he waved to Angus to fill everyone's glass.

"Powerful toasts friends. Ones I myself gave when I was your age. But you have forgotten one toast." He said with a small smile as he raised his now filled glass. "Ladies and gentlemen, to the Queen, long may she reign." He said with deep respect.

"To the Queen." Came the proper reply as they all drank.

Ranma gazed at the older man speculatively. "So, what brings you to our dark corner tonight old man?" Ranma asked him bluntly.

"Yeah, I figured we'd be putting off enough of an aura to be left alone." Tenchi chimed in.

The old man smiled gently at them all as he settled in like he was planning on staying for a time.

"I have nothing to fear from you four." He said with a light smile, while his hosts seemed a bit upset at being dismissed as unworthy of being afraid of.

"Let me see if I can place names with your faces." He said as he looked thoughtfully at them.

He first looked at Ranma, looking him up and down, making Ranma feel a bit like when his pops used to do the same to him. "Hmm, short hair, storm blue eyes, you must be Lieutenant Colonel Ranma Saotome, former commander of the 9th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment. Currently you are charged with cowardice in the face of the enemy, failure to obey a lawful order, insubordination, striking a superior officer, and incompetence." Ranma's expression darkened dangerously at the older mans words.

His gaze then moved to Tenchi, giving him the same piercing stare as he did Ranma. Tenchi stiffened slightly, his hand moving towards his hip as if reaching for a sword or knife. "Hmmm, long hair pulled back in a tail, wiry frame, sharp eyes, you must be Captain Tenchi Misaki, former commander of Alpha Troop 9/9 Cav. Currently charged with cowardice in the face of the enemy, insubordination, failure to obey a lawful order and incompetence." Tenchi glared as his hand touched his hip right where a sword or knife would lay, his fingers grasping around a non-existent hilt.

His eyes moved over to Makoto as he looked at her carefully, his expression one of sadness as Makoto winced at his gaze. "Long flowing brown hair, lovely figure, striking green eyes, you must be Captain Makoto Kino, former commander of Bravo Troop 9/9 Cav. Currently charged with cowardice in the face of the enemy, insubordination, failure to obey a lawful order, incompetence, fraternization with lower enlisted, sexual harassment, and striking a senior officer." Makoto's expression fell even further as she looked ready to cry again from his words, something that had been all too easy to do in the past two weeks since their return from Mersedas.

His gaze finally landed on Angus, who looked ready to commit murder for the things he was saying about his friends. "That means that you must be Sergeant Angus McRory, former infantry squad leader from Echo Troop 9/9 Cav. Currently charged with cowardice in the face of the enemy, insubordination, incompetence, striking a senior officer, attempted murder and fraternization with an officer."

Angus couldn't contain himself, nor his anger, any longer as he jumped to his feet. His right hand flashed down to his belt where he drew a ten inch long fighting knife, and then stabbed said knife into the table between him and the old man, anger flashing in his eyes.

"You got about five seconds to start explaining yourself old man, or me and the old girl here get to know your innards real well." Angus snarled as his knuckles whitened around the hilt of his knife.

The older man looked up at Angus, and then to the others before he nodded. "True, I do believe I owe you an explanation. It's simple really." He said nonchalantly as he leaned back away from the table, looking relaxed but ready for action. "I'm the one who could make all those nasty little chargers that I just mentioned you all having, just disappear as if they never existed." He looked at them all with a wide grin on his face before he started to laugh, great belly shaking laughter, at their stunned expressions.

TBC

End notes: Don't you just love cliffhangers? Well the stage is set! Our intrepid heroes are in hot water already!! For those of you who don't know, little tidbit of info. Cowardice in the face of the enemy is a very serious charge within the military. The max penalty for a crime like that is death. Also, if anyone wants to know how things are arranged (aka what a unit organization table looks like) for the Royal Army, I will gladly either email it to you or post it later as part of the story. I plan on eventually posting the unit roster for the Wild Horses, I just need to get access to all my BattleTech books in order to do that properly.

Until next chapter

Captain Dave