Golden Fields

Chapter 4: Viola Lucha

Strantor Mechwarrior Academy, Strantor,

Lyran Alliance,

November 4, 3063

On a chilly Sunday morning, Ras got himself out of bed before anyone else, eager to work off some stress. He dressed in the semi-dark of his dormitory and left the room, knowing that few other people would be up and about during this time. He wandered rather aimlessly through the Training Center for a time, trying to find something to occupy his mind. Not much stood out to him, however, until he looked out the windows of a rec room and saw the running track on the Academy grounds, with the morning sun washing its golden color in the background. Ras nodded at the sight. Maybe a little jogging?

Ras changed into his cold-weather workout clothing, a warm set of green and blue jogging pants and a jacket. He exited the Training Center through one of its many doors and made his way to the track, breathing in the crisp morning air. No wonder I'm a morning person. Everything feels so... fresh. The day can become anything after the morning. It's a time of anticipation. Ras got onto the track and chose his lane, starting to speed up. At once, he appreciated the common saying that exercise worked off stress. He felt his mind start to ease into a comfortable state, his clinging doubts and anxiety melting away as he started to jog faster and faster. It wasn't long before his breath started to come in gasps and his legs burned from the effort, but it was worth it.

"Hey! Looks like I'm not alone today," a girl's voice said from behind Ras and to his left, and someone patted his left arm at the same time. Shocked, Ras stumbled and lost his balance, tumbling forward as though tripped.

"Argh! Ow... what the...?" Ras grunted, once his momentum ceased and he skidded to a halt in a confused pile. He looked up from the ground to see one his his fellow Cadets hurrying over to him, hands over her mouth. She had long brown hair that fell past her shoulders, and gentle eyes of the same color.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that," the girl apologized quickly, extending her hand to help Ras up. He gratefully accepted it, relishing the soft but strong feel of her hand as he got back up. He stood to his full height, aware that he was almost three inches taller than the girl. Height didn't matter, though, because she must have been running fast and quiet; Ras had had no idea that she was here until she made her presence known by talking.

"Good morning, Viola," Ras told the girl politely, remembering that her name was Viola Lachu, or something like that. "Um, Cadet Lachu, I mean!" he saluted, feeling more awkward by the second.

Viola giggled with a hand over her mouth. "No, it's Lucha! Not Lachu."

Ras winced. "I knew I remembered it wrong!"

"Don't sweat it," Viola encouraged him, clapping his shoulder and starting to jog away. "Follow me, and we can talk while running."

"Yeah. Okay," Ras agreed, struggling to catch up to his fellow Cadet. He noticed right away how fast and easily Viola could run, almost like a gazelle. He managed to get neck-and-neck with her, however.

"Funny," Viola commented, flashing Ras a smile, "I really didn't think I'd have company today. I jog around here whenever I find the time, and my runs are usually solitary. It's relaxing being alone."

Ras' stomach lurched. "Oh. Um, sorry," he apologized quickly. "I can leave you alone..."

"Wait! Th-that's not what I meant," Viola hurried to explain, her eyes widening as she realized her poor choice of words. "No, it's fine if you want to join me, Ras. In fact, it makes a nice change."

"That's... whew! That's cool," Ras agreed, wheezing for breath while Viola seemed unfazed by her exertions. "Um... so you're a morning person, too?"

Viola nodded. "Uh-huh. I used to walk to school every morning, since my family could barely afford even one car for my dad to use. It wound up being a boon, though, because exercise is good for you. It helps keep the mind sharp, and I really need that boost."

"Good student, huh?" Ras commented, curious at this insight into Viola's life. He had seen her around on the Academy during the past two years, but never really talked to her much. She's really... really nice. Ras tried to ignore the stomach butterflies he started to feel.

"Well, um... not exactly," Viola laughed nervously, as she and Ras arced around a curve on the track. Sunlight glinted in Ras' eyes, so he turned away from the sun. "I grew up in a poor region of Valdenfel, that city a few miles from here. I didn't really like school very much. It felt kind of pointless to me."

Ras didn't expect this, and he was starting to breathe hard from running. "Not... whew! Not important? But you're at the... at the Academy now."

"It's a bit of a story," Viola admitted. "In short, I didn't feel like I'd amount to much. Being poor and being bad at school gave me low self-esteem, and having a delinquent for an older brother didn't help either. I was in danger of flunking out of high school when my brother finally snapped."

"H-he didn't hurt you, did he?" Ras flared up, angered at the thought of someone hurting Viola.

"Oh no, not me!" Viola corrected him. "He decided to run off with some gang and got tired of living at home. There was a final argument between him and my parents, then my brother stormed out of the house and I haven't heard from him since. That's why I've vowed to not be like him. I've had it with giving up on life; I'm going to be somebody. To prove that I'm better than my brother."

It wasn't just the bright sunlight reflected in Viola's eyes; there was a definite fire in her amber eyes, a blazing will to succeed. Ras admired that.

"Am I that interesting?" Viola smiled, seeing Ras watching her.

Ras jumped, shaking his head. "It's nothing," he told her, trying not to blush. "It's just that... you seem really calm about all this. Your brother stormed out of the house for a gang, you were a bad student... wait! I didn't mean that last part..."

"It's okay," Viola smiled, bumping a fist on Ras' shoulder. She slowed down a little bit to keep Ras from collapsing from exhaustion. "Maybe I shouldn't take all this so lightly, now that you mention it. I've been kind of carefree all my life, but I think I should focus more. I'm near the bottom of our class."

"Me too," Ras admitted with a nervous laugh, reflecting sourly on the superiority Rick flaunted over him. "I've got leadership aptitude, as everyone says. But my 'mech piloting and my nerves leave a lot to be desired. Plus, there's the fact that I keep annoying everybody. I've been trying to work on that, but..."

"Everyone's got faults," Viola comforted him. "Don't be too hard on yourself."

"I think I took a double portion of faults when I was born," Ras lamented, looking down.

"Don't be so sad," Viola urged him. "Why do you pressure yourself so much?"

Ras sighed. "I didn't come all this way just to fail, but I'm heading that way. Plus, I have a little brother at home who looks up to me. I don't want to let him down."

"A little brother?" Viola asked brightly.

"Lane Farlow, he's six years younger than me," Ras told her, and explained the rest about Lane being a Prodigy. Viola was impressed.

"No way are you going to fail with someone like him looking up to you," Viola said firmly, just as she and Ras finished their run. She gripped Ras' shoulders and shook him slightly. He relished the feeling of her hands gripping his arms, but he forced himself to listen to her. "Listen. After my runs, I do a little self-studying. Why don't you join me? We can help each other out here."

It can't hurt, Ras decided. "Okay. Lead the way," he invited her. Viola nodded happily and led him back into the Training Center. After they both changed into Cadet uniforms in their appropriate dorms, they met again in one of the libraries for study hall. There were only a dozen or so other people here, ensuring a quiet environment. Viola assembled a number of books and notebooks, and she and Ras set to work.

"Which subjects are we going to do?" Ras asked, seated next to Viola at the table as she set up and opened a few books. Viola slipped on a pair of glasses, with thick plastic frames not unlike Instructor Harrow's, and Ras had to admit that the glasses made Viola look not only smart, but really cute, too. Focus! he scolded himself.

"Since you're here to help me, we can try my worst subjects," Viola suggested, adjusting the glasses on her face to a more comfortable position. "That would be economics and biology."

"Biology?" Ras repeated, trying not to laugh. He prided himself as being a pretty good biology student, and often considered the topic really easy to master. But Viola wasn't as good, and he didn't want to lord his better knowledge over her. Be polite to her! She's very nice and wants you to help her. Don't say something you'll regret. "Okay. Which first?"

"Math. You see, I've been doing the general education classwork like everyone else, but my scores have been below average," Viola said, dragging a math book closer to her. She picked up her pencil and flipped to a blank page in her notebook. "My career ambitions take me to higher levels of education, and I can't let my poor educational background slow me down. So, I do some extra studying. I'm grateful for your help today, Ras."

Ras frowned, trying to absorb all of Viola's rambling. "It's great that you're studying extra, but what did you mean by 'career ambitions'?"

"I'm an okay Mechwarrior, but what I really want to do is work for the New Avalon Institute of Science one day," Viola said, flicking through the math book's pages. "Even though this civil war is raging on, I hope to work for NAIS when there's peace again. Hence, my extra studying. I've got to get smarter."

Does this mean that I won't see Viola again after she leaves for NAIS? Ras realized with a sinking feeling. That event would be farther into the future, but it made him uncomfortable for some reason. I'm just going to be a Mechwarrior, but she wants to work for NAIS...

"I've been doing badly in economics recently, so I thought I'd revisit the basics that I've forgotten," Viola said presently, snapping Ras' attention back to her. She pointed at the open textbook. "Like this..."

Ras marveled at how relaxed he felt when he was with Viola, as though she were a friend he had known for years. He didn't say anything, but simply reviewed academic material with his new friend in relative silence. After some time and covering a fair amount of material, Ras got stuck.

"I guess I'm not really a genius student or anything," he admitted, scratching his head as he stared at the textbook with puzzlement. "How'd we get all the way to the graduate-student section of the book, anyway? I never learned this stuff."

"No wonder we can't do it," Viola shrugged. "But that's okay. We can try other subjects, at least! Thanks so much for helping."

"Nothing to it," Ras smiled, and they moved on to other academic studies. Ras was a fairly good student back at home, but not exactly the top of his class, either. His adequate skills and his charismatic guidance were enough for Viola, however, and the hours flew by without them even noticing. Viola was much better at the other topics than economics, especially the topics revolving around technology and communication. Ras could tell that such studies were her strong point, and that she could definitely apply skills like those at NAIS. She was very happy to hear that.

"'Mech piloting will look easy after all this," Ras joked as he and Viola studied a book about particle physics. "Right?"

Viola thought it over. "Oh, I don't know," she admitted. "I'm not that great at 'mech piloting either, though I scored pretty well in our last simulation, at least. Remember that?"

"I do," Ras nodded, remembering how graceful and skilled Viola had piloted her preferred 'mech in the simulations, a Jenner. Viola liked how fast but powerful the 'mech was for its size, and Ras knew that he'd be at least even with her in a duel, if she didn't have the upper hand outright. Well, Ras was focusing on improving his piloting, too, and his average scores had been creeping up slowly since early October, when Rick had belittled him harshly for botching the base attack mission.

"What's on your mind?" Viola asked Ras, seeing his expression.

Ras opened his mouth to talk, but wasn't sure exactly how to state his mind. He closed his mouth, then tried again. "Rick's a lot better than me, and he reminds me of it every chance he gets."

"Ohhhhhh, don't let him get to you," Viola cajoled Ras, clapping his shoulder and giving him a comforting look behind those glasses. "So that's what's been getting you down all morning? Don't worry about Rick right now. He's one of the best in the class, anyway. He's someone to work your way towards."

It's not that simple. "B-but... he acts so superior, and always picks on me in particular," Ras said slowly. "Even though his leadership skills aren't as good as mine, his better 'mech piloting lets him have his way time and again. It came to a head during that sim battle in early October..."

And Ras explained the events of the October 3rd battle, when Ras had tried to lead a brave charge against the enemy but Rick sabotaged him, taking over leadership of the charge that Ras had started. Ras remembered Rick's words clearly: "You are no Mechwarrior."

"Yikes. Your rivalry with Rick is more intense than I thought," Viola smiled in spite of the situation.

"R-rivalry?" Ras repeated, surprised to hear someone else describe his relationship with Rick that way. The word "enemies" seemed more likely.

Viola blinked. "Of course. He and you envy each other's skills, and you refuse to lose to each other! Every day is a contest to see who's better."

"It's no contest," Ras stated. "Rick's better than me. I'm just a wash."

Viola looked upset at Ras' attitude. "No, Ras, you're not," she told him sternly, taking hold of both his shoulders and shaking them. "Rick might do better in the sims right now, but you improve with each day, and you have guts! Plus, your leadership and tactical awareness is always better than Rick's. He can outfight you, but he's not a better role model or leader on the battlefield. He's not commander material. He's just a berserker to be unchained when things get nasty."

"Ha ha. Unleashing the hound, huh?" Ras smiled, feeling better.

"Of course!" Viola encouraged Ras. "Listen. When the Striking Tigers come again, I want you to apply."

Ras was not expecting this. "Th-the Tigers?" he sputtered. "No way!"

"They only come once a year, in May," Viola reminded Ras. "Starting with their next visit, you'll be eligible to try out to be an intern Tiger Mechwarrior! Come on, Ras. This is your best chance to impress someone and make it count."

"But I'm nervous..." Ras joked, but he meant it. Once a year, in every spring, the famed Striking Tigers Battalion would arrive at Strantor to examine the Cadets' skills and accept interns to train. If the intern did well enough, they might even be allowed to join the Tigers for real. Ras doubted that he'd earn a spot among the Tigers, but it was worth a try. He wouldn't get anywhere sitting on his butt.

"Ras? Is your mind here or there?" Viola asked gently, seeing Ras' distant expression as he thought this over. He snapped back to the present.

"Okay. I'll work and train harder than ever to get ready for those tryouts in May," Ras smiled, his enthusiasm making Viola smile back. "And I hear that they're looking for replacement staff, too. Maybe you could try to be a Tiger intelligence officer? That would look good on your resume for NAIS."

Viola looked nervous, but excited. "That's a great idea!" she glowed, turning back to her books. "I'm going to study harder than ever. Why don't we both do our best, in fact? You could become a full-time Tiger Mechwarrior, and I could move on to NAIS to realize my dream."

"Yeah. Best of luck to both of us," Ras agreed.