CHAPTER 13

Xolara Arena,
Xolara, Solaris VII,
Freedom Theater, Lyran Alliance
January 29, 3075

The aftermath of the medium fight brouhaha was anticlimactic. Salvage mechs dragged busted mechs and parts to a big dumpster, to be sold as parts or scrap. Most of them were unrecognizable, though some looked to be good enough for rebuilding. The Charger Kamikaze, on the otherhand, was still pristine save the head. It would take a long time to scrape off the burnt flesh sticking on the cockpit wall, but there was nothing much of the head to be rebuilt so it would have to be replaced anyway.

Various parties fought for the acquisition of the Charger, but the arena bylaw was if the mechwarrior was killed, the arena took possession of the mech, or what was left of it. Noloty, however, wouldn't give it up easily.

"Let me lay this down to you frakker," the arena manager said curtly. "If the mechwarrior is dead, the salvage belongs to Xolara Arena! That means the Charger is our possession! Who do you think you are claiming this mech?!"

"I'm the one who killed it," Noloty stood tall against the short chunky man. "Rule of the battlefield: I kill the mechwarrior, I own the spoil of war, including mech salvage."

"What are you, Clan trash?" the arena manager blurted. "This is no zellbrigen, Gringa! If the mechwarrior is killed in the arena, the arena owns the salvage!"

"The mechwarrior was not killed in the arena. He never stepped into the arena. He was killed in the hangar. He was not part of the match in the first place. I am willing to bet he never signed a waiver to transfer the ownership of his mech if he was killed in the arena."

"No need waiver, Puta! The Charger is ours!"

"Produce the waiver with his signature in it, and I'll back off. If you can't, I'll take the mech."

"You're not going anywhere with it! The mech stays here!"

"Would you like to settle this with the Solaris Games Commission?" Noloty gave the man a death glare. "I may be a gringa, but I always do my homework. I know what I am entitled to. If you think you can swindle me, hijo de puta, you are sadly mistaken!"

The stocky man looked at Noloty as if he was about to devour her, but he knew she had a firm footing on the matter, and he could not shake her foundation. Not wanting to risk his license as an arena manager, he left with an audible grunt and a long string of curses.

"I don't understand why you go the extra mile to get this mech," Keiichi stood next to her. "I know it's an assault, but it's a weak assault. It's a Charger. An abject misfit in the company of hard-hitting bruisers."

Noloty shot a nasty look at Keiichi. "What are you talking about? It's a Charger Kamikaze! It's perfect for Kayoko!"

"Perfect?" Keiichi consulted his noteputer. "Your choice of words is funny. Kayoko doesn't even jump!"

"Then strip the jumpjets and put a TarComp in their places. She is already familiar with Heavy PPC and guided missiles. All she needs is to learn to use the sword, which is not hard at all considering she already has basic training in martial arts."

Keiichi gave Noloty a funny look. "I know you and Kayoko are close but you're pushing it too far."

"Maybe you're right, but we don't know until it happens. Maybe she'll spurn it like she did the Marauder. But that's mine to concern, not yours." Noloty tapped Keiichi's shoulder. "Bring it back to the dropship, clean it, rebuild the cockpit, and modify it like we talked about."

"Yes, Ma'am," Keiichi groused. He drew his comset and called his crews. "Guys, bring the JI-100 to Xolara Arena! We have a mech to haul!"

As Keiichi went about the mech hauling, Noloty approached a group of people gathering near the feet of the yellow Vindicator. She supposed the mechwarrior of the Vindicator was the red-haired girl with Chinese root. The man in his 40's next to him was covered with a sheen of oil, so he must have been the mech technician. And there was an older guy in a wheelchair, wearing long mullet. And another old one pushing the wheelchair around. This one was a military one – or used to be one – with Fu-Manchu moustache and goatee that added macabre to his already stern face.

"You the mechwarrior of the Quasit?" the one in the wheelchair spoke. "I'm Major Tom, stable master of Ground Control Stable. This is Stan, my right hand and operation manager of the stable," he pointed at the Fu Manchu guy. "This is Amber, as you may have known, our best mechwarrior. The one over there is Kilroy, Ground Control grease monkey."

"Not that I need it, but I appreciate the help," Amber extended her hand for a handshake. "Amber Wang Chung. Pleasure to meet you, Miss…?"

"Noloty Malche," Noloty grabbed Amber's hand. "Tai-I Noloty Malche, Ryuken-go Battalion." She grinned at Amber's note that she didn't need help. Solaris mechjocks had ego as big as their battlemechs. They wouldn't admit that they were in trouble. But Noloty knew better.

"Kuritan frontliner? What are you doing in this corner of the universe?" Kilroy chimed in.

"R 'n R, reinforcement, logistics, scavenge, anything but fighting," Noloty sighed. She looked at the downed Charger, then returned to Amber. "Who's Jamil? What did he want? Who was he working for? He was an ex Arkab Legion but in the end he made attempt at me just as he did everybody else."

"He was the worst of his kind," Major Tom explained. "An ambush predator that will snap at anything that comes too close. We've been lucky to have not crossed path with this man."

Noloty smiled knowingly. If only they knew that she was there to kill Amber for a battlemech.

"How did you get tangled with Qishan Stable?" Stan asked in a husky voice.

"Nothing more than being in the wrong place at the wrong time," Noloty fibbed through her teeth.

"Everything has a silver lining," Major Tom pulled a smile. "Good to meet you, Tai-I Noloty. I'm sure our path will cross again, in this life or the next."

"I look forward to it, hopefully in better circumstances," Noloty replied. She bowed, then went across the hangar to meet Jamil's large bodyguard. His injured hand was wrapped with makeshift bandage, yet blood still seeped through the strap. A wound that size would need a serious suture, and Noloty made a mental note to ask Risa to fix the wound. But it wouldn't matter if she was going to kill the bodyguard anyway.

The large man sat on the floor with Drake standing behind him, aiming a gun at the back of his head. His metal faceplate concealed his expression, but his stare from his sole eye let Noloty know how much hatred he harbored. And Noloty knew only one kind of man held that much grudge against her.

"Where do you want the bullet, Boss?" Drake smiled as he put the barrel of the gun on the bodyguard's head.

"In the magazine, unfired," Noloty replied curtly. "I will decide after I speak with him."

"There's nothing useful coming out of a mob's mouth," Drake spat. "Let's just waste him."

"I'll be the judge of that," Noloty grabbed Drake's gun. "The Ryuken-go is a tight-knit military unit with clear rank hierarchy. If you don't know how to carry order, then I can't use you."

"Yes, Ma'am," Drake snapped a salute, then retreated a few steps back, but turned back and kept watch of the large man from the distance, lest it made attempt at Noloty's head.

"As for you, your life depends on your answers to my questions," Noloty addressed the large man.

"I am not afraid to die," the man hissed.

"I'm sure you're not," Noloty shot a sour smile. "Everybody dies. The question is: in honor, or in shame." She went down to her knees and looked at the large man eye to eye. "I want to know who your master was, and why he made attempt at me while I was trying to help him. Give me that, and I'll let you die in honor."

The man weighed in Noloty's offer for a brief moment, then decided to take a jab at it. "My bondholder was a wicked, selfish, and arrogant freebirth. He had no remorse in using underhanded tactics like betrayals and sacrificing his people slaves when things didn't go in his favor."

Noloty raised her brows. "Freebirth?"

"My name is Mechwarrior Goltas of the Smoke Jaguars," the man muttered. Noloty felt a great deal of anger coming out of his voice. "When I was still a young kit in Smoke Jaguars eugenic program, the 4th Arkab Legion attacked my sibko. He used disgraced tactics to dispatch my kitmaster, then took 3 sibbies as his bondsmen. Then instead of returning to Arkab Legion homeworld, he ran away to Solaris VII, taking us 3 with him. He built himself a stable using stolen loot from Operation Bulldog. He made us do unimaginable deeds to advance his stable in the gaming circuits. Murder. Coercion. Blackmail. Fight for money. Out of 3 sibbies, one died wastefully in a fight with Bertolli mobs. You just killed the second one. I am what is left from the Smoke Jaguars sibbies."

"Sorry for killing your friend," Noloty said morosely.

"No need. We Clanfolks are made to die. They are the lucky ones."

"You are a good man, Goltas. I will keep my promise. I will let you die in honor." Noloty smiled wolfishly. "As my bondsman."

Goltas' eye flared with rage, and if Drake was not keeping at gunpoint, he would have lunged at Noloty and wrap his fingers around her neck. "There is no honor in dying as a bondsman, freebirth!"

"On the contrary, bondsman is a prisoner by honor, is it not?" Noloty replied calmly. "I am the 2IC of a Draconis Combine battalion called the Ryuken-go. Soon the Ryuken-go will join Operation SCOUR to purge the Word of Blake from humanity. I will put you to war, where you can serve the Draconis Combine until you die in honor."

"I am not fighting side by side with freebirths!" Goltas growled.

"Then where are you going to go? The Smoke Jaguars has all but perished. You will be without a Clan, wandering around as a solahma without a means to regain your glory as a Clan mechwarrior." Noloty paused, giving Goltas a chance to assess his situation. "Face it, Goltas, your chance of dying in glory lies with me. I need mechwarriors. You need a unit. We can help each other."

"It seems you are still unaccumstomed to our culture, freebirth," Goltas snarled. "You have to beat me in a circle of equal to take me as a bondsman!"

"I did beat you, didn't I? I beat you in an attack without proper ritual. You hit me from behind when I had no intention to harm you. Your attack betrayed all zellbrigen ever known to Clans. And you bring up circle of equal? How do you expect a circle of equal when you didn't give me a chance to set up proper circle of equal?"

Goltas looked at Noloty, first with unwavering desire to kill her, then slowly with respect. "I am mistaken. You know Clan culture well. But that does not mean I am glad to serve you as my bondmaster!"

"You don't have to. Just do what I tell you. In return I will give you a chance to regain honor lost. And maybe one day I will let you go." She rose to her feet. "Get up, Goltas. You are my bondsman now. Stand by my side and watch over me. I do not like this place."

"Including him?" Goltas stood up and looked at Drake.

"Including him," Noloty replied with a smirk.

"Tai-I Noloty, I helped you out when you were in need," Drake was a bit insulted. "I hooked you up with somebody that could help, and I fought your battle! And now you're picking him over me?"

"Clanners operate on honor and glory. Mechjocks think of nothing but fame and money. I'll take a Clanner over a Solaris mechjock any day," Noloty said matter-of-factly. "That being said, your deed earns you a place in my rank, Mechwarrior Drake. Let's be gracious about it, before we both regret it."

Drake looked at Goltas with utmost enmity, but did nothing short of mumbling curses. He turned his back and left.

"So, Goltas, how many mechjocks does Qishan Stable own?" Noloty said.

"Ten to twelve at one time, depending how many of them are killed in the arenas," Goltas' answer came swift and clear. "Most of its battlemechs are in medium and heavy classes."

"I'll have the Qishan Stable disbanded and see if any of the mechwarriors are interested in joining the Ryuken-go. I think we may solve Ryuken-go's mech shortage problem." She mused about the situation for a while, then turned to Goltas. "You said you were a mechwarrior. What are you driving?"

"A Summoner-C. I am a close-range infighter."

"Ultra-autocannon, Class-20," Noloty beamed brightly. "We need that amount of firepower."

"Then get me something to kill and I will kill it for you," Goltas stated.

"I wish I could give you Jamil to shoot at. That would be interesting to watch," Noloty chuckled. "You never answer me why Jamil wanted me dead, after I agreed to help him."

"Jamil will take the first opportunity to kill anybody for a shot at a higher state, even sacrificing those who are close to him. His allegiance is only to himself. He is throwing himself at the Redfield Renegades for a shot at a Brian Cache in the periphery, even though the Liao mercenaries cannot be trusted."

"Redfield… Renegades?" Noloty pricked her head. "You mean…"

"They are looking for a particular Davion rogue commander, but they are here for his alleged coupling partner…"

Noloty's heart skipped two beats. "That's my CO! What did you do to my CO?!"

"We captured them at Nowhere but I heard the Renegades took them to Burgton."

"Shit," Noloty hissed. "It's a haven for Capellan scums. We're gonna have to raid that place." She drew her comset. "Kiyomi, I have the location of Sho-sa Scarlet! I need your APCs and possibly your armor support!" She threw in a few more instructions then hung up and dialed another number. "Vash! Tai-I Vash! Pick up your comset! Tai-I Vash, this is Tai-I Noloty Malche. I have acquired the location of Sho-sa Scarlet. We are going to get her!" She waited a few seconds for no answer. "Tai-I Vash! This is critical! Pick up your comset!" Her message remained unanswered.

"Sonofabitch!" Noloty hung up in frustration. She turned to Goltas, "My infantry CO does not answer his comset at this time, probably busy humping my Chief Medical Officer. I will kill them myself, but if you need somebody to beat up, you can get them!"

"I will be glad to, Ovkhan," Goltas replied dryly. "Point me a target and I will shoot!"