ENCORE

Orkney Beach,
New St. Andrews, Periphery,
July 17, 3066

The beach looked different in the afternoon. Blazing sunrays exemplified the silver lining between the water and the sky, and avian creatures danced around the clouds before skyrocketed into the water, then went airborne seconds later with live lunch in their mouths. The sound of rhythmical wave and scenes of marine mammals jumping up and down the water gave me tranquility to my otherwise aching mind.

I stood right where Evee and I spent our last time together, commemorating what we went through all these years. She was gone. I always store a glint of hope that one day I would be together with her. But now the hope had withered to die. She was gone, and I would live in oblivion for the rest of my life, just like I told Kyle Garret.

But perhaps I deserved everything. What I did on Solaris was unforgivable. I could not imagine how I would disgrace Evee if I had to tell her everything. Even if she were not engaged to Jeremy, she would not have me back. This way, I did not have to tell her at all. I would just take my secret to my grave.

Then what? What would become of life after this? Where would I go? I could go back to Solaris, crawling my way up to fame again. But I did enough damage to my self-esteem that I did not want to go back there. I could go to Outreach, finding a new job as a mercenary. There should be copious contracts as the FedCom Civil War escalated to the boiling point. Or perhaps back to Arc Royal, where I should have been these days. But could I undo what I did to Phelan Kell and the Wolf Clan?

I did not know the answers.

I glanced at my watch, noticing that I only had a few minutes left before I had to go to prep myself in a tuxedo, and be present at Evee's wedding. I remembered Kyle mentioned that he would love to see me in a tuxedo. I smiled at the irony. Kyle always wanted Evee and me to be as happy as him and his wife. I could not wait to see his face when I told him that I did wear a tuxedo in Evee's wedding, but it was not my wedding. A demented joke, but at least it was me that I made fun of.

"I knew I'd find you here."

I felt like I heard thunder. It was undeniable and impossible at the same time. I knew the voice, but it could not be her voice. I turned around, and I thought I was dreaming. It was Evee, yes, unmistakably Evee, without make up, without all the wedding attribute. She wore nothing but a short shirt that she bundled above her navel, and a knee-length skirt that danced in the wind. Her hair was in total disarray.

"What are you doing here?" I stammered. "Why are you not dressed up?"

"It's not gonna happen," she walked slowly toward me.

"What?" My heart jumped to my throat. I knew it was cruel to feel a bit glad to hear bad news, but I could not help it. "My sympathy… what happened? Did Jeremy find out?"

"It has nothing to do with you, Parker," she smiled, which increased my anxiety to feverish pitch. I expected to see tears and lamentation, but surprisingly, none was present. And I noticed she did not have her ring anymore. "Alright, I lied. It has everything to do with you."

I squinted against her smile. "I do not understand."

"I told them about you," she explained, closing her eyes to feel the gentle breeze pampering her hair. "I told the MacGregor family that you used to be Star Commander Darien Kerensky, a ristar in Phelan Kell's Delta Galaxy. I told them about your victory over Jade Falcon's most heralded sadist. I told them that you were a Solaris champion in 2 different divisions, and a runner up in the other two. I told them you traveled the great distance, skipping the Grand Championship that you could've won, to join the MacGregor army, but the only thing holding you back was Jeremy Stewart. Greedy jackasses that they are, the MacGregors called off the wedding, kicked Jeremy out of MacGregor's property, and assigned me to get you with any means necessary."

"Stravag!" I cursed involuntary. "How could you do that? He loves you, you know."

"I know, and I'm not proud of what I'm doing," she sighed. "But this marriage shouldn't happen in the first place. It's based on deception. Besides, I am a Ridinghood. I work for MacGregor, but I am not one of them. If the Stewarts look for matrimonial bond, they should look for a MacGregor, not a Ridinghood."

"But the Stewarts will not let this humiliation unavenged," I mused. "You have not forgotten about your responsibility as MacGregor's Chief of Defense, quineg?"

"I brought them new war, aff," she answered my involuntary Clan rhetoric with its equivalent, which surprised me. "But I also gave them a means to defend themselves, something more powerful than a marital bond – you. The Ridinghood Cavaliers are in need of CO for the Battlemech Company. With you at the helm, MacGregor's army would easily overpower the Sterlings, Brannigans, and Stewarts combined. The MacGregors like peaceful solution, but won't pass a shot at total domination."

She walked toward me until her hair whipped my face. Her eyes were swollen red from sleep deprivation, probably thinking about this scheme all night long. But the passion flickered brighter than the afternoon sun of New St. Andrews. "Lead my Cavaliers," she said, flashing a small smile, "and own me whole."

I stared at her for a long time, confused by how I should react. Politics was a very powerful tool, and Evee used it well. She deftly coerced the MacGregors to call off the wedding. By doing so, the MacGregors waged war against the Stewart family, and they would necessitate Evee to recruit me. She had no choice but to comply, hence nobody would see her as a tramp, or me a third man.

But in contrast, I had never seen this ruthless side of hers. I felt bad for Jeremy. He was a nice guy, albeit obnoxious, and he truly loved Evee. I could not begin to imagine the damage she did to him. He would mortally suffer, yes, there was no doubt about it. Not to mention the bloodshed she ignited. How could she expect me to take part in her ploy?

But in the end, perhaps the war was inevitable, and the wedding would only delay it. I did not know the relationship among these families; Evee did. No matter how ruthless it might sound, I knew she was making the right judgment. New St. Andrews was her home, her game, her arena. All I could do was to trust her and back her up with all my power.

After all, I was a Clansman. It was at war that I found my peace.

"Evee, I am not the same man you saw at Tecumseh," I said, preparing myself for the worst. If I was going to take this path, I had to let her know. "I did terrible things…"

"Shh," Evee put her hand over my mouth, grinning from ear to ear. "We both did things we wish we didn't. Let them sink into our past. For now, pretend the wave as the drum, the wind as the guitar, the chirp of the birds as the cymbals… then dance with me."

Ah, Evee. All this years, it was our first dance that she remembered the most. But I could understand. I did not recall much of the song but I did recollect that I had never felt so close to her before. It was as if we melted into each other in concert with the music. So I put my right hand on the small of her back and swayed, leading her back to Tecumseh, dressing her with pink satin dress with flowers on her hair. She was an angel back then, and she was an angel now and always.

"Eight years, Parker," she sighed, leaning her head against my shoulder while swaying to my lead. "What a life we had together. Why must our path be this complicated? Why do we have to shed blood and tears to be together? Is life that cruel to us?"

"The way I see it," I caressed her tresses, "it makes us stronger, wiser, and aware that we can not live without each other. Well, I cannot live without you. And it also gives us a very strong message."

"Which is?"

I leaned on her ear, impersonating the best Spheroid accent I could muster, "There's nothing the two of us can't do."

Evee lifted her head, posing the most beautiful smile I had ever seen in her face. "I love you."

"I love you Evee."

As the tidal wave soaked our feet, our lips met. Once again, it was us, Evee and me. Nothing else mattered in this universe, because from now on, we knew only one thing…

… perpetuity.

THE END...

... for now

I surmise that the course of this story, up till the end, may upset some readers. I apologize if I did. It's not my intention to do so, but OTOH there's some standard I need to uphold. One, and the most important thing, is BattleTech's political atmosphere. BattleTech is not an action/adventure story. It's a war drama. Two, I always plan to make Parker-Evee as my perfect couple, but being 'perfect' means they both have to understand what it takes to have a perfect relationship. And what better thing to do the job than time, right? Time is the season for wisdom. That's the only reason why I keep them the way they were for 8 years.

But enough of the lovey-dopey. Let me express my greatest gratitude to readers and reviewers. To Kat Wylder and SulliMike23, many thanks for keeping up with me through the first half of 2007. And special thanks to Tasmanian Tiger for letting Parker be a part of Jericho Chronicles. It's a very promising fanfic, so please read and enjoy it. To Tony, EvAnGeLzZz, Ogrewolf, Shadrach, Braasch, GeorgeK, Mutig, Callidus, Canonizado, and Zmuh11, thank you very much for the reviews. So far I managed to post once a week, but it is only possible through the motivation from readers. Knowing that many readers keep reading it after tedious 25 weeks injects a high level of adrenaline to my blood.

Then the obvious question: I, Ker3nsky? I have all the intention, but not right away. Writing Ke2ensky is very time-consuming and draws a lot of energy. So through the rest of 2007, I'll post some lighter fanfics. One in hand is the side story (or spinoff, if you will) of Ke2ensky. It'll be Evee's show, from the time she parted with Parker in '61 until the start of the Ker3nsky. It'll explain things that are not covered here (like that Jeremy guy). Another one is the finale of Eagle Screams and Sword Clashes (sorry Kat, I barely have time to take care of Ke2ensky. But I will finish it). And of course I'll keep updating 'Knights in F-F Armor' for more 1-shot stories. Then, if everything goes as planned, I'll start I, Ker3nsky in Spring 2008. It'll be less drama and more action-adventure (less BattleTech, more MW4), but it'll still be dark, bleak, and violent.

Until next time, and do enjoy!

RogueBaron, 2007