CHAPTER 34
Review Corner
The Colonel: Of course he doesn't fight fair! He's a mercenary, what do you expect? :)
Ulquiorra9000: Bred of War is a good book. I hope you enjoy it.
New Aragon, Capellan March,
Federated Commonwealth,
May 7, 3063
When Trystan and Caelia arrived at the command tent, Chip and Latoya were talking to somebody in Lyran uniform. He could only guess that the man was the 'Lyran Molehunter', the Lyran operative that had been guiding the Blazing Aces since they arrived at New Aragon. He was shelling out orders while Chip and Lato
Trystan didn't know what Chip's deal with Latoya, but he hated the fact that she suddenly became the de facto second-in-command of the Blazing Aces without anybody's consent. She was hired when Maria was still in control of the Blazing Aces, so he assumed his mother signed her contract. But after Maria was murdered, she acted like she shared the ownership of the Blazing Aces with Chip. She backed him up on every decision he made. And to think that these two put a greater distance from Trystan's eventual 'succession' of the Blazing Aces from his mother added more contempt toward Chip.
Trystan entered the tent and intentionally interrupted the meeting the Lyran operative.
"What is your problem, Vandenberg?" Chip roared.
"We have a priority matter to discuss, Sir," Trystan said, trying to keep composed, but couldn't help staggering under the wrath of his commander.
"I am having a priority matter to discuss!" Chip rose from his seat. He was a short stocky man, roughly half a foot shorter than Trystan, but his intensity made him feel like he was actually the bigger man. "You have nothing! Now go back to where you belong!"
"Is there a problem in your rank, Major?" the Lyran operative asked.
"Just a regular squabble with a disobedient kid," Chip snorted. "Treat it as such. Nothing to worry about."
"This is more than a regular squabbling," Trystan replied. "This matter regards the survival of the entire unit. I suggest we discuss this matter before receiving further instructions from Lyran Alliance."
"How dare you bring up this matter upon briefing by employer?" Chip hollered. "Have you no sense of priority, Boy?"
"It seems that you have a problem of authority, Major," the Lyran operative started walking out of the tent. "When you solve it, fetch me in my command vehicle."
"You may have lost our employer, Trystan," Latoya growled as the Lyran operative disappeared. "Congratulations, you put the Blazing Aces on MRBC blacklist."
"Perhaps it is not that bad losing our employer," Trystan retorted. "Lyran Alliance is losing New Aragon. Soon Davion loyalists will kill all Lyran associates. This is a chance to escape and fix our mistake of taking the Lyran's side."
"Mistake? Mistake, you said?" Chip snarled. "Lyran agreed to pay 50 percent higher than the Davions will ever offer us!"
"Fifty percent more money for no chance of survival, Sir! We won't live to collect that money!"
"You of little faith! We pull this off, people will line up to hire us! Your lack of business perspective holds the Blazing Aces back, just like your mother before you!"
"Are you saying my mother did not fit to lead the Blazing Aces?" Trystan grimaced. Chip's mentioning of his mother's leadership made him angry. "Is that why you killed her?"
"Watch your mouth, young boy!" Latoya joined in. "You are getting close to insubordination!"
"Maria's leadership made the Blazing Aces weak!" Chip hissed. "She should not have held the position to sign contract for the Blazing Aces! I had every reason to unseat her as the leader of the Blazing Aces! But I did NOT kill her!"
"But this is not just about business, is it, Sir?" Trystan replied. "I know you are not a supporter of Victor Steiner Davion. When my mother made a move to collaborate with the 15th Avalon Hussars, you made it your business to see that plan fail!"
"By killing your mother? Is that what you think this is? FedCom politics?" Chip screamed from the top of his lung. "We are mercenaries, you retarded sonofabitch! Mercenaries do NOT care about politics! Only money!"
Chip's stance actually made sense, and Trystan started to see a big hole in his argument. A mercenary's first and only loyalty was to the highest bidder. Politics should not be in the mind of a mercenary. Nevertheless it didn't automatically rule out Chip's involvement in Maria's death. He did say that Maria's leadership slowed down the Blazing Aces, and even though he denied killing Maria, he confessed he had intensions to usurp her.
In Trystan's eyes, it was mutinous enough.
"Major, I am going to challenge you for the command of the Blazing Aces," he said firmly.
"What are you, trashborn?" Latoya scoffed. "Do you hear yourself?"
"Once Major told me that the only way for me to regain command of the Blazing Aces was through a duel. You do remember that, Major? I will take that chance now."
"You just don't know when to stop, do you, Vandenberg?" Chip immediately stripped his shirt. "Alright! You wanna take command? You wanna see me fall? Come on! Take it yourself! Prove it you are better than me!"
Trystan started to strip his shirt but before he could even lift the bottom end Chip launched an uppercut at his abs. He felt his breaths left him. His vision turned grey. He tried to find his footing but the punch took him completely by surprise. He fell on his butt, staring blankly at Chip as if he didn't know what to do.
Chip jumped on the lanky young man and pinned him to the ground. Trystan only had a split second to access the situation before Chip swung his arms like a pair of club, pummeling his face. Trystan could only double up to cover his face under the assault. He took a glance at Caelia, hoping that she would jump in to get him out of trouble, but his sister just stood cross-armed in the distance.
Traitor! Trystan thought as he tried to find a chance to strike back at Chip. He was in this situation because Chip launched a 'blitzkrieg' before he was ready. That was a dishonorable tactic, or dezgra by Clan's term, to attack without warning. He knew Chip would pull a stunt like this to gain the upper hand. He warned Caelia about it. Yet she didn't do anything to help him. He didn't understand that, after watching each other's back through impossible situations, she let him getting beaten up like this. What a sister.
Satisfied, Chip rose and grabbed Trystan by the shirt. He dragged the young mechwarrior and threw him at a table full of maps. The table disintegrated, and Trystan winced in pain as pieces of the table gouged his ribcage. He pulled himself up but Chip's boot dug deep into his stomach, taking away his wind. He crashed back down, flat on the ground, gasping for air. Chip took a broken piece from the table, heaved Trystan up to sit, then pressed the piece onto his neck. Trystan gagged, reaching back to get a grip on anything to ease the pain, but Chip pressed harder. Trystan gurgled, and his eyes rolled into his head as his world started to slip away.
"You have been a thorn in my flesh for far too long, Vandenberg!" Chip growled in Trystan's ear. "Maybe it's time to pluck this thorn for good!"
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Sir," Caelia, who had been watching the entire proceeding in silence, suddenly decided to speak up. "We are down 5 mechs already. Without him, our chance of survival greatly diminishes."
"I'd rather fight with 5 than take this traitorous piece of crap on my side!" Chip roared in response.
"I think you made your point across, Sir. My brother is inexperienced but he is not stupid. He needs this beatdown to open his eyes, but he will learn his place. I can guarantee that."
Chip stared at Caelia for a while and decided to trust her. He shoved Trystan to the floor and rose to collect his shirt. "Fall in when you're ready, Vandenberg! You're going double shift after this!"
Trystan lied down on the floor to collect himself, taking short agonizing gasp one after another, until his head stopped throbbing. He dragged himself up, and steadied himself when Caelia came to help. He gave her a dirty look as she tried to get him out of the tent.
"Where were you when I needed you?" he said with hoarse voice. "I told you to watch my back! Look what he did! How could you just stand when he cheated?"
Caelia responded with a nasty hook right on Trystan's temple. Trystan never expected that punch coming from his sister. His head felt like double in size. He staggered around the tent, holding his temple.
"You just failed a mutiny, Trystan!" Caelia sneered. "You should've died for what you did! You think I didn't watch your back? I just saved your ass!"
"But somebody has to step up! Chip is dragging everybody to his grave!" Trystan bemoaned.
"And what did you do? Did you save everybody? Did you make things better? Do you think Mom would be proud?" Caelia grabbed Trystan's jaw. "Tell me, Trystan! Would Mom be proud of what you did?"
Of course Trystan couldn't make that claim. He knew his mother would be disappointed in him. She brought him up to be a soldier first, a businessman second. She trained him to set an example of being a leader, and what he did was the opposite of being an example of a great leader.
"The Blazing Aces are ours, Caelia," Trystan sat down on a bench. "Mom had carved a path for us with the help of the 15th Avalon Hussars. Chip killed Mom and robbed us from our destiny."
"There is no proof that he did it."
"All clues point at him. Even Blitzie and Linc have the same vision as me. How can't you see it?"
"The only thing I see is a delirious man biting more than he can chew."
"I am not delirious!" Trystan rose from the bench. "Why isn't this bothering you in the slightest?"
"Look, Trystan, I love you, and I miss Mom, but we need each other to stay alive," Caelia turned around and looked at Trystan in the earnest. "We are a team fighting for survival. We need you, and you need everybody including Chip. You break up this team, you'll kill everybody. I am not letting you break up this team, not now when we need each other to get out of this mess. Next time you try something like this again, I'll kill you myself."