Chapter XVIII, by Kat Wylder

IBMU Complex,
Irian, Free World League,
April 25, 3068

"Well, I must say, Colonel Aari, you did a fine job of defending the IBMU facilities from the initial attack. However," said the IBMU liaison as she glanced up from her computer, "you failed to prevent that Locust from downloading information. You also failed to identify its pilot, track the 'Mech, and destroy it. We picked up the 'Mech from a local salvage yard yesterday. All the data was pulled from its memory; the pilot got away clean."

Aari frowned and balled his fist a little. The Nagereboshi crew and half a dozen guards had died, and the perpetrator would likely never be seen again. "That all might have been prevented if your company had told us about the rebels. We were ready for the mercs, but not for some crazy vigilantes. My people died because of what you didn't tell us."

The liaison pushed her glasses up a little on the bridge of her nose. "It is regrettable that some of your employees were killed, but the rebels are the concern of Irian's police force, not mercenaries."

"I don't think you heard me, miss. They frikkin' shot six of my men! The Locust vaporized the tank crew! No amount of money's gonna make up for that, but you had better reimburse us for the equipment loss and for dangers not specified in the contract."

"I can reimburse you for the equipment, but nothing more," she said, handing him a check. "You failed your primary mission. Your contract is now terminated."

Aari jumped to his feet and slammed his fist down on the woman's desk. "The MRBC is going to hear about this," he fumed. "And I can guarantee you that if the Scimitars ever visit Irian again, you will not be happy to see us."

"Is that supposed to be a threat, Colonel? It's hardly effective. There are dozens of mercenary units in the InnerSphere who would gladly accept a defense contract from us. Don't try to spite me by threatening to run the mission from the other side," she scoffed. "We won't be hiring you in the future regardless."

Aari frowned and slipped the check into his shirt pocket, then turned to leave.

"Oh, and, Colonel," said the woman. "I expect you've released your prisoner to the custody of the police?"

"You mean that kid from the Bushwhacker?" Aari laughed and walked out of the office. "Not a chance!"

Outside, Nannen waited for him. "Well, how'd it go?"

"Snafu," Aari said with a shrug. "They really stiffed us on this, Faye. All I got out of the IBMU was a check for damages, and that's probably because they felt bad about our casualties. And their liaison had the nerve to tell me to turn that merc pilot over to them."

"Hmph, as far as I'm concerned, they can shove it," she muttered. "What're we gonna do about that pilot, though? Blitzie's his name, I think."

"Doesn't matter. If he'll earn his keep, he can tag along with us for all I care."

"Are you outta your head, Ken? He fragged one of our guards!"

"And we fragged his friends, too. I'm not happy about that, but I don't have anything against him for doing what he was hired to do," said Aari, as he began walking. "Doesn't mean I'd trust him completely, but I'm not looking for revenge."

Nannen trotted along beside him. "You know, you seem different lately."

"Just think about what happened last year. I was ready to lynch Randi, when all the time it was Jen who was stabbing us in the back." He shook his head. "I'm tired of holding grudges. To be honest, sometimes I get tired of this work."

"What would you do if you quit?" asked Nannen. Aari only met her reply with silence. "Yeah, me, too. The Shamshir just touched down. You ready to get off this rock?"

"Yeah, I think I am," Aari said with a sigh.

As he walked across the field, he was more and more convinced of what he said. A mercenaries' loyalty was to the highest bidder only. There was no room for grudges, no room for prejudice, no room for anything but a willingness to do what needed to me done and not look back. There were no "good guys" and "bad guys", and you could at any moment find yourself working for the people you were shooting at last week. That was simply the way life worked for mercenaries, and it would never change.

At the far end of the field, Aari could see the gunmetal dome of the Scimitars' dropship, the Shamshir. The little spots on its hull that were scratched shone in the unspectacular light, while the vehicles and 'Mechs marched into the bay. Its presence was like clockwork, and meant that it was time to move on to a new contract and a new mission.

No grudges. No anger. Just more money. Nothing else mattered.

THE END

Notes from authors:

Well, we did it. This little joint fanfic may serve as a trial to make something bigger. We admit, it was rough. But if we didn't do this, we wouldn't know what needs to be improved. Better coordination is what we need for the future, should we want to do this again. Anyway, lives go on for the characters. You might see Mario, Aari, Nannen, and the survivors of this story in our next installments, so stay tuned. Also, reviews are appreciated. They're our biggest source of improvements.