CHAPTER 15

FIXING BROKEN HEARTS

Author's Note:

So The Colonel finally cracks an Easter Egg of this story. Yes it's true, every single title of the story makes reference to a song. The main title "Lost Country" is a reference to "Lost Highway", a song (and album) by Bon Jovi. The first chapter, "Freefall", is a reference to "Free Fallin'", a song by Tom Petty. And so on and so on.

So let's make this a little interesting. There are 40+ chapters planned for this story. The first person who can get 20 correct song titles referenced in this story will get a very nice gift for me. So get your musical whiz out and play a little game.

Harlech, Outreach,
Chaos March,
February 1, 3065

Dawn barely broke when Trystan found Lei Fong walking out of the dropship.

"Lei Fong wait," he chased down the technician and blocked his path until both of them stopped. "I admit, I misled you, and I am sorry. I am sorry for the promise of fame and fortune, while in fact I have nothing to offer. But I need you. I don't know what I would do without you at the helm of the repair bays."

"Find someone else that will believe in you," Lei Fong spat. "That's how mechwarriors deem technicians anyway. We hold nothing of value. The battlemechs are more valuable than the techs that keep them in good condition!"

"You know I never think of it that way," Trystan replied.

"Well this is Outreach. You can get technicians as easily as mechwarriors."

"I don't want just technicians. I want you. I have secured 2 mechwarriors that will come with us to Chara III with no payment. One has never seen real combat, the other one has been dormant for 7 years. They will need miracles to keep their mechs up and running at all times. Miracles that only you can deliver."

"And why should I trust you?" Lei Fong sneered, but couldn't hide the derogatory smile in his mouth.

"After what I did, perhaps there is no reason anymore," Trystan sighed. "This is the truth: I don't have anything. I don't have money to offer for months to come. But I need you. I need your expertise. So I can only beg. Stay with me and build our future together."

"I already had a future, one I abandoned in favor of your empty promise."

"A future that is determined for you."

"At least I don't have to build it. I can just sit and let money come to me."

"I thought you said you were glad you came with me."

"I was glad I came with her, not you," Lei Fong snorted. "A sentient mecha that has a mind of its own… how can I pass that? What do you have for me? Nothing! You don't intend to do shit, Trystan. I know your heart. You just want people to serve you because you are the grandson of a hotshot mercenary commander! You don't think I know what you're doing? You're just taking her round and round and round so you can do your shit first!"

Talking to a stereotypical, opinionated person like Lei Fong was hard. Trystan realized his relationship with Lei Fong was forever broken because the tech would hold this grudge as long as he lived. He may have lost Lei Fong altogether.

"I'm guilty of many things, but deceiving her is not one of them," Trystan lowered his voice to calm Lei Fong down. The conversation would not go anywhere if the tech was consumed by rage. "I may have taken paths I shouldn't, but those were miscalculations. Honest mistakes. I'm not a jerk, Lei Fong. I'm just an inexperienced fool. I gave my words to her, and I will see them fulfilled."

Lei Fong looked at Trystan for a long time, deciding if he wanted to believe the young man or leave him behind. For one year he worked with Trystan, he never saw this side of him: a young man full of sparks. He was an obedient subordinate. The only hint of what lurking behind the skinny body was the fact that Trystan spent a lot of time stargazing. He had no idea that Trystan was actually setting things in motion.

But like the old proverb had it: Wise man speaks of few words.

"What else did you hide from me?" Lei Fong leaned forward.

"That's all I have. I am going to Chara III to get the Blazing Aces back. Then I will challenge Star Captain Benten of the Wolf to a Trial of Possession. Then I will take Saskia home with whatever information I can get from the Clan. And I'm begging you to take part in it, because the Blazing Aces will have a good chance of survival with you as the lead technician."

"And you're not going to pay me for my effort?"

"Not until I deliver Saskia home. After that I will start taking contracts."

"If you told me this up front, I would have respected you."

"I am sorry," Trystan lowered his head until his chin touched his chest. "I was afraid you would refuse."

"Of course I would! But instead you earn respect from your crews. Some of them will follow you for free if you have their respect."

"Lesson learnt," Trystan replied. "Is there any way we could mend our relationship?"

Lei Fong let out a long, arduous sigh. "A complete greenhorn and a rusty veteran? What are they piloting?"

"A Hellspawn and a Crab. That's all I can get without money."

"Crab is an old technology. Hellspawn is new. I'm gonna need the repair manual for it."

Before Lei Fong left, Trystan grabbed his hand. "Thank you."

"Lie to me again and I'll kill you," Lei Fong grumbled. "I asked Saskia to come with me to Antallos, but she hadn't made her decision. If she decides to go back to Antallos, I'm going with her."

It took Saskia for a long time to finally come to the decision to leave Outreach with Lei Fong. She didn't feel comfortable with it. She didn't know Lei Fong more than she knew Trystan. All she knew about him was he used to work for the pirates at Antallos. Lei Fong swore upon his mother's grave that he was not a pirate. He merely took care of their battlemechs.

But at this point Saskia didn't know what to believe anymore. Trystan led her no closer to her home. He seemingly cared only for his own vendetta, although she didn't know why he dragged her with him. Lei Fong had shown a hint of compassion toward her, but she didn't know what prompted him to do so. However, his suggestion seemed more reasonable than Trystan's. He had a clear vision of what needed to be done.

Saskia decided to give Lei Fong a chance. If he turned out to be a heinous bastard, then she would ask her Gilvader to fight to their death.

Unfortunately, the revelation would have to wait. She was packing up her belongings when Trystan busted into her quarter, oozing remorse and urgency from his face.

"Lei Fong told me you wanted to leave," Trystan said.

"As said the day past," Saskia replied apathetically.

"Before you make a decision, let me say something," Trystan said, half pleading. "I said things I regret. I may be too carried away in pursuing the Blazing Aces. I did not think of it until I met Commander Arla Vlata. Her scheme tore an old wound and revived my vengeance. For that, I'm sorry."

"You put false deed upon somebody else's hands," Saskia mumbled as she continued packing up. "A convenience, as the good commander is not around to defend her honor."

"You take my words the wrong way," Trystan snorted. "We are both indebted to Commander Arla Vlata. She showed us the way for you to go home…"

"Simply conjectured by Lei Fong."

"Lei Fong does not know the path!"

"Come to grips, Trystan. A month of costly time, wasted for drudgery and detours. We have treaded no further since we started. A simple solution, born from the mind of an engineer. I came to Antallos through a 'door', provisioned to set me upon the proper path. I merely ought to reverse direction."

"It doesn't work that way," Trystan sighed. "You have the door, but you still need direction. Nobody knows about your home planet. The only one that has the information is Star Captain Benten, a Clan Wolf operative. That is the only way that will set you upon the proper path home."

"You would rather have me follow your steps?" Saskia broke from her chore and went to face Trystan. "What value do I hold in your wake? I but slow you down!"

"I uh…" Trystan didn't know why he persisted to help Saskia. Or was it him that needed her help? Her zoid was not particularly combat-worthy, even against pirates who knew very little about military organization. Would it help him to ambush the Blazing Aces? Trystan didn't think so. And Saskia, she was a stubborn nuisance who didn't contribute anything to her own cause. All she did was whining. So why did he insist to help her?

"First of all I gave you my word," Trystan dug hard to find excuse. "I promise you, I will take you home. I will make it my business to deliver it. Second of all, I am indebted to you. You bailed me out of slavery. I do not like living in debt. Third of all, Lei Fong's suggestion is dangerous. You need a fixed coordinate to go through hyperspace. Without clear direction, you will get lost in space, forever. Unfortunately, there is only one way to make sure you are not lost in space. It's to challenge Star Captain Benten in a Trial of Possession."

"You divine my cause this much?" Saskia cocked her brows. Sometimes Trystan appeared like a little boy who cared only of himself. Other times, he was this gentleman basking in chivalry. She wondered if her judgment was clouded by her own misinterpretation of him. She had it before, one that sent her spiraling into depression.

"I told you, you may see me as a pig but I'm not abandoning your cause. You are still my priority. Sometimes I just need to have my mind reset." Trystan took a brief pause. "It's going to take a while, but I promise you, I will deliver you home. So please, don't leave. Stay with me and we'll go through this together."

Saskia slammed her butt on the cot, burying her face in her palms. Truthfully she wasn't fully comfortable going back to the pirate world with a man she barely knew. He could have set a trap for her. But how long was it going to be if she followed Trystan? The boy had a short attention span. One thing popped up in his path and he gladly took a detour.

"Perhaps a good breakfast will clear your mind," Trystan offered his hands. "Let's walk it off and eat."

Saskia was, indeed, starving. All this pondering made her lose appetite, and now she suffered the consequence. It didn't take her long to grab Trystan's hand and walked out of the quarter. Trystan followed her until they walked down the ramp of the dropship, then led her toward a group of eateries not far from the landing pads.

"So…" Trystan chimed awkwardly. "Do you have any… you know, boyfriend, at home?"

"A what?" Saskia stopped to give Trystan a dirty look. "Why is that important?"

"Well you're so eager to go home, I thought maybe you were missing your boyfriend."

"How did you come upon it?" Saskia shook her head. Not a moment ago she admired his grace as a man, now he gave her every reason to think of him as a 'tween. "If you are far removed from home, would you not shed blood to see it reversed?"

"So no boyfriend?" Trystan cringed.

"No! Would that it makes any difference!" Saskia blurted. "Why would my private life be a beacon for attention? First Laeta, now you!"

"I'm just trying to know you better," Trystan sighed. "We're stuck together for a while. I just thought we should not live like strangers to each other."

"Intention well nudged, yet there are pressing matters at hands," Saskia mellowed out by the smell of fresh bread just as they arrived at the eateries. The server gave them bread as soon as they sat down, which Saskia immediately devoured with reckless abandon. "Oh my God, I'm starving," she mumbled with her mouth full.

Trystan smiled watching Saskia gobbled up the bread as if she hadn't had a meal in a week. She was on the heavy side, and her 'table manner' highlighted her confidence about her appearance. And he had to admit, he enjoyed her company, something that never happened before aside from her sister Caelia.

Having breakfast certainly put Saskia in a lighter mood. She ordered a bowl of soup and a few other dishes, all of which she gobbled up in a short time. Stuffed, she leaned back on her chair, staring blankly at the ceiling with face laden with oxytocin.

"So it is decided, then?" Trystan sipped his coffee. "You're going with me?"

Saskia replied with a smile. "Is it such a treasure, the Blazing Aces?"

"I thought you don't care about the Blazing Aces."

"I stand indifferent. Yet purpose must be clear if I am to tread your path."

Trystan leaned back in his chair, drawing a deep breath. He didn't want to tear an old wound, but he owed the truth to Saskia. "My grandfather founded it," he began. "He handpicked personnel, trained them, and knitted them together into a tight-fit unit. The Blazing Aces was the premiere mercenary unit in the Inner Sphere until it was decimated 15 years ago.

"A visionary, my grandfather had trained my mother to rebuild the unit, in case something like that happened. Like my grandfather, my mother built the Blazing Aces from ground up, picking up personnel, buying up-to-date equipment, and building interpersonal relationship to make it a tight unit. And like my grandfather did to my mother, she prepared me, and my sister, to succeed her. My sister is not really interested in taking charge, so it was just me.

"Unfortunately some personnel wanted control of the Blazing Aces. Two mechwarriors murdered my mother and tricked me into believing that the CO did it. I killed the CO in a blind rage. The rest of the unit saw it as an act of mutiny, including my own sister. They rallied behind the slain CO and sold me to the pirates. That's the reason I was there, a slave at Antallos.

"You asked me if the Blazing Aces is such a treasure. It is, more than you can imagine. But getting it back is not just chasing lost treasure. It's a retribution, for my mother, and for me, so I can redeem myself from killing an innocent man."

Saskia listened to his oration and started to understand why he acted the way he did. She could draw similarity with her own life, where her father was murdered by a corrupt military leader who blamed the act on another party as a maneuver to take control of the entire nation. She was fortunate she didn't pull the trigger on innocent men. She couldn't imagine how Trystan spent his nights knowing that he killed the wrong man.

"We stand equal footing, you and I," she sighed heavily. "Your grief is known to me. My father fell for the ambition of one man, a coward who robbed the sun from deserving souls. A heavy thing, to be denied his warmth. I would not have it so. The heart constricts at the thought, but swells with promises of vengeance."

"What does that mean?" Trystan chimed. "You will go with me?"

"I will see the Blazing Aces returned to your hands," Saskia said firmly, "and the villains' blood upon graves."

"I would not ask you to go that far," Trystan cringed. Saskia's resolution gave him goosebumps.

"Do not think it a kindness; I burn for no cause but my own," Saskia replied halfheartedly. "I will see your mother avenged, but I would have exchange. Strike all matters from thought and see me home."

"Done deal!" Trystan extended his hands for a handshake. "You don't know how this means to me."

"Stay true to your words, and I will toward mine," Saskia grabbed his hands. "Deviate from plan and see head well advanced from breast."

"I'm sure you'll do that," Trystan smiled. "Now let's go. I need you to meet some new recruits and help me train them."