CHAPTER 12

Review Corner:

Ulquiorra9000: Yes, they cover each other's butt, in and out of the battlefield. I know it sounds cheesy but that's what real friends do.


Fire Base 312,
Mesartim, Valexa PDZ,
Capellan March, Federated Suns,

March 23, 3074

After the grueling fist day at the world Mesartim, the Kuritans spent the next 10 days rolling their thumbs at Fire Base 312. The base was an infantry fort, so there were no battlemech technicians on board. The 1st Federated Suns Armored Cavalry had to ship battlemech technicians and supplies from a different place, and with everything that had been going on, it took a while.

For the first 3 days, the Kuritan mechwarriors welcomed the change in pace. Sleep and eat became their main chores. After that, boredom seeped in. They were, after all, mechwarriors. Sitting idle in a base full of infantry, waiting for something to happen, was not on their job description. They started to exercise leisure activities around the base, more often than not involving getting - or losing - money in spectacular fashion.

Fortunately for Noloty, the infantry gave her access to HPG uplink, and it thrilled the living daylight out of her to receive an HPG note from Halstead Station.

Hey, Beautiful!

How's life from down under? Boring? Interesting? Capellans catch your tongue?

I'm sure you'll do fine. The Redfield Renegades are not really Capellans. They are just generic mercenaries, with loyalty only to the highest bidder. You've seen those kind. Dultom Markham is among the top 5-percent of mercenary commanders by MRBC rating, so if you can survive Dultom, you'll survive the Redfield Renegades. I know, I know, you're not at your prime. You're in an industrialmech, of all things. But it shouldn't stop you from doing damage on the Renegades' ranks, I would think. I've seen you fight.

Speaking of your mech. Chu-I Keiichi, your chief tech, had obtained all the necessary parts to bring your beloved mech back from the dead. He told me – verbatim – "The morons at Robinson Standard BattleWorks didn't know what they were doing" in regards to the UAC10 being the stand-in for the LB10X. He said he would fix what Robinson screwed up, and swore on his girlfriend's grave that it'd perform 100-percent better. Except he didn't have a girlfriend. I don't think he ever had. But you get the gist.

Anyway, your boss is at Dieron, probably yelling at some Kuritan eggheads to release the Ryuken-go so you all can go and kick some Word of Blake asses. If that happens, you'll return to Ashio probably later this year. But that's good. You have time to return to Halstead Station to fetch your mech, which should be ready by then. It would suck if you had to return to Ashio with that industrialmech.

So that's the news from the underground. What news is there from the front line? Write me, if you have time. Sitting around doing nothing has its charm but it gets old pretty quick.

XOXO

Tsagoi

Noloty spent a good 2 hours smiling and giggling like a little girl in a doll shop. She read the message, over and over, trying to unravel hidden messages behind every word. After she calmed down, she regained composure and started typing her reply.

Tsagoi, Sir,

I am glad to hear from you. Life was more or less the same as with my old unit. We got simulation time, lots of them, which was essential to mold us into a tight-knit team. Chu-I Seether was hard on Kayoko. I could understand that. Kayoko was to be the carrier of Ryuken-go banner in a world full of Davions and Liaos. She would be responsible for the lives of her subordinates. She had to be tough. But somehow I felt that Seether's method was too discouraging. Being harsh was one thing.

Sorry, I don't mean to rant. I just want to say: I'm impressed with Kayoko. She handled everything well, with some humor to lighten the mood. I knew her since boot camp at Buckminster, and although she was not the best cadet, she always knew how to keep her chin high. And it's contagious, good for morale. Hell, if I were in Kayoko's position, I might have sulked for days, ha ha. I think my attitude will be the death of me one day.

Anyway, we landed on Mesartim, right in the middle of the Renegades. This planet is virtually crawling with Capellan mercenaries. We killed a few, then rendezvous with the 1st FedSun Armored Cavalry, but instead the Renegades waited for us at rendezvous point. We almost succumbed to that, but we dodged the bullet. Then Major Fernandes directed us to Fire Base 312, again, against the besieging Renegades. We kicked butt down here. We truly did.

So what's the nature of Major Fernandes' relationship with Sho-sa Scarlet, anyway? I started to think that he was using us as shield, probably cannon fodder, to protect his own troops against the seemingly overwhelming mercenaries. But Kayoko was adamant that he wouldn't betray Scarlet, therefore he wouldn't betray us. I don't know, I don't understand.

And now we have nothing to do. The Renegades had not returned, and I really hope they didn't. Fire Base 312 is an infantry holdout. No battlemech support in here. Major Fernandes has to send somebody to repair and reload our mechs, mine being the most severe. I don't know when they come. Might not come before Major Fernandes send us somewhere else.

Oohh, I can't wait to get back to Hamlet again!

But I guess until then I have to settle with this little industrialmech. I hated it, but now that I had spent time with it, I can live with it. The Plasma Rifle is awesome, but I only have 10 shots. I just need a different fighting style. But overall, not too bad. I guess I was lucky it was a Quasit. Scarlet could put me in an agromech and there was nothing I could do about it.

OK, I talk too much. Where is your next deployment? Will I see you when I return to Halstead Station? I'd love to talk to you again before we depart to wherever our next assignment will be. Crazy time during jihad, right? Well then, until we meet again. Jaa matta!

Best regards,

N

Noloty just pressed the send button when Kayoko appeared.

"Guess what I found," she chimed. "One of the Davion infantrymen is pretty cute."

"Aw, Kayoko," Noloty sighed. "Please don't hurt yourself."

"Why would I hurt myself? Socializing is human nature. We're confined here for an indefinite time, and I need to find something to keep me from losing my mind. We have our own ways to deal with boredom. I talk to cute boys. You play with your… your…" She paused to observe what Noloty was doing. "What are you doing?"

"Checking HPG messages," Noloty replied halfheartedly.

"From?"

"None of your business."

Kayoko gasped. "Heishi Noloty Malche, you're hiding a cute boy from me?!"

"With all due respect, Sho-Ko Kayoko Kuraishi, that is private matter!" Noloty brusquely shot up from her chair, but she could feel her face burning.

Kayoko grabbed Noloty's shoulders. "You're blushing! I knew it! You're talking to a stud! Oh My God! Are you talking to Duke?"

"Wha… Duke?! No! I'm not talking to Duke!" Noloty tried to hide her face, which was blood red by now.

But Kayoko didn't take 'no' for an answer. "Who is he? Is he a mechwarrior? A Kuritan? Davion? Lyran? What does he look like? Is he cute? Smart? Brawny? Hard pecs? Big guns? Oh My God! Does he have respectable 'girth'?"

"Oh My God! What is the matter with you?!" Noloty tried to pry her arms off Kayoko's death grip. "Really, Kayoko, he's just somebody I know along the way…"

"No way! No way he's just a 'somebody'," Kayoko looked straight into Noloty's eyes. "You don't flush when you talk about 'somebody'. Now look me in the eye and tell me you don't have a feeling for him."

Noloty stumbled on words. "I- I- I… why is this important to you?"

"Because!" Kayoko forced Noloty to look at her. "You're my best friend. Best friends share everything with each other. I always share guys with you. I thought you were not interested in guys, but it turns out you were hiding it from me, and it hurts my feelings."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know what to do," Noloty sat back down. "I guess I just don't deal with guys the same way you do."

"There's nothing wrong with sharing between friends," Kayoko sat next to Noloty. "That's what friends do. Friends share, therefore friends are. Come on, let it out in the open. Who is he?"

"He's um… the CO of 13th Legions of Vega…"

Kayoko's eyes bugged out. "You're dating the CO of the 13th Legions of Vega?!"

"I'm not dating the CO of the 13th Legions of Vega!" Noloty turned her head left and right to see if somebody caught Kayoko's loud proclamation. "Look, we met at Ashio. I was on my way to Luthien when my ship was shot down by a mercenary gang. He was working on a humanitarian effort on Ashio. We banded together to get out of the planet. It was a bond out of survival, not attraction. Yet I can't get him out of my head."

"What does he look like?"

"Dark hair, brown eyes, rough. He pilots a Pillager, and he's built just like his mech."

"Ah! Appropriate allegory!" Kayoko snickered. "Did you sleep with him?"

"Dammit, Kayoko! I did not sleep with him!"

"Do you want to?"

Noloty didn't answer, because she didn't want to lie to Kayoko.

"I see what's going on here," Kayoko played with Noloty's ponytail. "I think you've bitten by 'the bug'."

"I am not comfortable talking about it," Noloty slumped in her chair. "Can we please talk about something else?"

"Alright, fine, but just for your information, no girl should go through this thing alone," Kayoko patted Noloty's shoulder. "I'm here if you need me. I have my ups and downs with boys and men. I know a few pointers that could 'spice up' your relationship with him…" she leaned over to whisper in Noloty's ear, "… especially when you feel that strongly for him."

"I uh…" Noloty struggled to form up an answer, but in the end she settled with the obvious . "Thank you, Kayoko. You are a great friend."

"Wanna meet the Davions? There is something for everybody," Kayoko winked mischievously. "If you don't want to take advantage of this 'target-rich environment', be my guest. I will."

"How about I'll just 'watch and learn'?" Noloty forced herself to smile.

"That'll do." Kayoko rose and started making her way toward a bunch of Davion soldiers. "You may be a better mechwarrior, but in hunting for bed mate, I am the master."