"The ends may justify the means, but in a war without end, the means are all that matter." - attributed to First Princess-Consort Patricia MacPherson of the Federated Suns
Brinkman's Hold, Saffel IV, Draconis Combine
12th November, 2965
"Reactor online. Sensors online. Weapons online. All systems nominal."
El Cid stepped down the Bardiche's 'Mech ramp. The 'Mech's canopy polarized to cut down the glare of the sun off the surrounding snow and ice. Polar worlds were a laser boat MechWarrior's best friend. Heat sinks worked more efficiently in the cold.
"House Steiner forces are raiding this planet to make off with a load of quartz that House Kurita is mining for use in laser focusing lenses." Commander Schneider had said in the briefing. "Our job is to run interference on the Saffel Militia until the Commonwealth forces achieve their objective. We're going to be out on the line on this one, Varangians, so keep your eyes peeled, heads on a swivel, and hands on the triggers. Good luck."
Given his Black Knight's armament, Cian knew full well the importance of a good focusing lens. The actual factory making such important parts would never be as close to the border as the Saffel System was, so the Lyrans were going for the next best thing.
Overhead, the Bardiche's long-range weapons began blazing away, a storm of long-range missiles, PPC blasts, and AC/5 shells. Impressive as its firepower was, the Union-class wouldn't stay where it could be damaged. It was far too important to the Varangians to stay in the line of fire. Even so, the fusilade turned multiple rapid-response vehicles and defense turrets into burning scrap.
Jotunn Company had deployed near an abandoned homestead called Brinkman's Hold. Like many such steadings, it was closer to a town than the frontier idea of a farm, originally surrounded by a concrete wall and turret emplacements to dissuade raids just like this. Much of the wall was collapsed now, the buildings beyond had clearly been turned into a Militia outpost. The Varangians had been dropped at several points around the primary mining operation on Saffel with the intention of drawing Kuritan strength away.
Cian guided El Cid into the lead, loping alongside Konomi and Tiamat.
"Ready for another dance, Iron Two?" Cian asked Konomi.
"Always." They replied, raising Tiamat's right arm in salute.
There was already a Lance of BattleMechs coming to meet them. Cian peered ahead, seeing their colors; beige with swatches and bands of green.
"That's not fucking Militia. That's Arkab Legion." Cian realized as a pair of PPC streaks rushed from the back of a Catapult sheltering near a section of the outposts's still intact wall. An autocannon round wailed past El Cid's head, fired by a waiting Rifleman. They were covered by three leading Legionnaire 'Mechs; a Centurion, a Crusader, and a Crab. The Arkab Legion wasn't particularly elite; it was no Sword of Light Brigade. All the same, it still meant they were facing down Draconis Combine regulars instead of planetary militia.
El Cid and Tiamat banked in opposite directions as the PPCs chased the latter 'Mech. One struck home in the left flank of Konomi's Dragon, but two more flew off and against a snowy snowy hillock as Konomi kicked their 'Mech into its top speed. Cian returned fire with his L lasers. Behind him, the rest of Iron Lance and all of Silver Lance began to open up. The air filled with projectiles crisscrossing, spanging and snapping into and off of El Cid's armor.
"The job's still the same, Iron Four." Ketill said. "Still, this is definitely cause for a little renegotiation when it's all said and done."
"Military intelligence failed to give us accurate information? I'm shocked and appalled, I say." Zahir quipped.
"Save it for after the fight, Iron Three." Vishali chastised him. "Brass One. We'll keep them looking this way. Get in the back line, if you can."
"Working on it, ma'am. We've run face first into a Scout Lance trying to do exactly the same thing to us." Yifeng replied.
Cian kept El Cid moving forward, past the burning wreckages of the vehicles the Bardiche had killed, the shrieking riffs of a song about riding a dragon into battle against demons blaring in the cockpit. He drew close enough to hammer the Legionnaire Crab with his M lasers, making armor plating superheat and run like wax. The hunched, fifty-ton laser boat 'Mech's pincer-housings opened to reveal its own L lasers, which both fired at Cian. One cyan beam passed under El Cid's left arm, the other scoring a line down the Black Knight's chest.
But, at the range they were fighting, the Crab could only bring one M laser to bear, while El Cid had four, as well as three L lasers to the Legionnaire's two. It was the simple advantage of a Heavy 'Mech over a Medium in a straight up fight, and within moments the Crab's head and torso armor were melted away, the 'Mech's structure beneath giving way under the torrent of bright beams. As the Crab's weakened chassis faltered under its own weight, Cian finally drew close and hammered the button that sent El Cid's left fist rushing forward in a punch. The Crab was pitched over backward, its cockpit crushed, though the MechWarrior within had ejected at the very last moment.
El Cid's forward momentum carried it into knocking the Crab over. Cian bypassed the Centurion and Crusader, trusting the rest of Iron and Silver to overwhelm them. Tiamat was rapidly closing with the Legionnaire Rifleman, while Cian was intent on casting down the Catapult that kept emerging from cover to take potshots at the Varangians.
The Catapult's PPCs, twin scorpion tails where other 'Mechs had arms, turned on Cian and flared to life. El Cid's legs bore the brunt of the attack. Cian's HUD and sensors went haywire for several moments; a side-effect of the PPC. Cian trusted his aim and returned fire with two of his L lasers. He was rewarded by hitting the Catapult's right PPC, but it wasn't destroyed. He fired his third and final L laser a moment later, raising his voice into a triumphant, "FUCK YEAH", as the PPC came apart.
Cian's sensors beeped a warning. VTOLs incoming. A flight of laser-armed Warrior helicopters. Turning his back on the Catapult would not end well, a point driven home by the Catapult responding with several M lasers. Left arm, right torso, and head; El Cid felt the heat. But this was what his Black Knight was made for.
"I have you covered, Iron Four. Catapult is yours." Lieutenant Barrata assured him, her Blackjack's AC/2s scoring a kill almost immediately.
"Obliged, Silver Two." Cian replied to Maya.
Blue and green retribution tore into the flagging Catapult. It backed through a section of concrete wall, slowing its attempted retreat, rocking the 'Mech and sending a PPC shot wild. It was a costly miss. PPCs were heat intensive, even more so than Large Lasers, and Cian had likely wrecked some of the Catapult's heat sinks. He was sitting a two-thirds heat and decided to push his luck, fingers dancing across the firing triggers on his controls.
The lasers that blazed from El Cid were a light show epithet heralding the end of the Catapult. Its lasers slagged, its remaining PPC warped beyond use, the Catapult's pilot punched out, the BattleMech collapsing behind them.
Cian turned El Cid, heat warnings beeping at him. A crashing Warrior streaked past and exploded against the ground. Konomi was up close and personal with the Rifleman, battering it down with repeated punches. The Dragon's arms were specially reinforced for exactly that action, one of the reasons why audacious MechWarriors favored it.
The other three Arkab 'Mechs were down, outnumbered and outgunned by the rest of Iron and Silver. Cian saw fairly minor damage among his fellow Jotunns, except for Lieutenant Lawali Dubkane's Centurion. It had taken a beating from the enemy Crusader's missiles and had its underlying structure exposed in a few places.
"Steel Actual, Iron One. Objective secure, all Arkab Legionnaires down. Silver Four has sustained significant damage and Brass One reports Brass Three is out of action but alive." Vishali reported to Ketill
Cian frowned. Brass Three was one of their Jenners, piloted by Lieutenant Dragomir Fontaine. Drago, as most of the ship called him, was dour and a little abrasive, but not a bad sort of person.
"Can Brass Three limp it to your position?" Ketill asked.
"He says he can, sir. Brass is covering him." Vishali confirmed.
"Pull everybody back and circle the wagons, Iron One. Skye Rangers are inbound on the primary objective." Ketill informed them.
"Fighting on the same side as the Skye Rangers. My father's rolling in his grave." Cian muttered to himself, shaking his head. Fighting for the Lyrans made Cian once again consider the fact that, if he stayed in this line of work, he would have to fight FWLM forces one day. He was finding more and more that he was at peace with the idea. Cian had been fine with scrapping enemy 'Mechs for almost his entire adult life. What difference did it make what flag they flew over their heads?
Brass Lance slowly made their way into the outpost, Drago's Jenner hobbling along. One leg was damaged to the point of almost being nonfunctional, and the other was only marginally better. A Jenner's only defence was its speed. Without that, it was just a liability.
Jotunn Company formed up and waited. There were still DCMS personnel within the outpost, but they were out of vehicles, turrets, and 'Mechs. Any anti-'Mech weapons they might have possessed would merely be a provocation if unsupported by larger units, and so the Kuritan infantry decided on a live and let live policy. That suited Cian just fine.
"The time has arrived for a grand game of hurry up and wait." Zahir complained. "Konomi, you know Tiamat has weapons on it, don't you? Punching everything to death seems like it should be the last resort, not the first."
"I do what works." Konomi replied.
A question struck Cian that he'd been meaning to ask. "Hey, Zahir. Why haven't you named your Jager?"
"Do I need to?" The Tortugan queried in response.
"Obviously not. I'm just used to most people doing it." Cian explained.
"This 'Mech does not deserve a name, Cian. It was turned to evil purposes for far too long. To name something is to give it power, to give it life even after it dies. No, this 'Mech is just a weapon to me. When I'm gone, maybe someone who doesn't know its history will be the next to pilot it. Then their name will give it new meaning."
"Hm." Cian made a thoughtful hum. The idea of seeing El Cid as just a weapon was utterly alien to him. The 'Mech had defined his family for centuries. It wasn't just part of House Serrano; in many ways, El Cid was House Serrano, especially now.
"Heads up, Jotunn. You've got DropShips coming in. Two of them, but they aren't DCMS." Ketill warned.
"Mercs?" Vishali asked.
"That would be my guess. Get ready." Ketill warned.
As if prompted by the Commander's words, a new broadcast came over Jotunn Company's comms.
"Attention unidentified mercenary units, this is Commander Julius Crane of Crane's Carabiniers. Pull back from your position and leave the field, or we will be forced to engage you with the full force at our disposal." A masculine voice warned them in a businesslike tone.
"This is Major Vishali Varma-Neophytos of Valdr's Varangians. Your warning is acknowledged and denied, Commander Crane. We are contracted to hold this position. I suggest you alter your approach vector and depart at once." The response was quick, courteous, and firm.
"Acknowledged and denied, Major. Prepare yourself." Crane responded, ending the connection.
The formality of it surprised Cian. There never would have been any such courtesy in his time with the FWLM.
"Jotunn, incoming Leopards are marked, I suggest you take cover within the outpost." Ketill said.
The Varangian 'Mechs did as they were told. Though not as heavily armed as a Union-class, those two Leopards would be able to bring six LRM-20 racks and four PPCs to bear at the range they would be landing, to say nothing of two dozen lasers at a closer range.
"They'll be expecting us to stay back and use the outpost as cover, like the Arkabs did, I bet." Vishali said. "Alright. Silver One, take Iron Three and Four, Brass Two, and Silver Three and break right. Brass Four?"
"I'm here." Confirmed Lieutenant Jiro Hiruma.
"Stay with Silver Four and Brass Three. If anything breaks through us, you fight them with your teeth if you have to." Vishali commanded. "Everyone else, with me on the left. Whatever comes out of those DropShips, we need to hit them hard, fast, and first. Steel Actual, once those DropShips are off the field, a visit from Mercury Wing wouldn't go amiss."
It was a risky plan. All it would take is one intact 'Mech of decent tonnage to wipe out the three Varangians hanging back. Two Jenners, one of them crippled, and an ailing Centurion weren't exactly an SLDF Royal Brigade.
"Mercury has their hands full keeping the skies clear above Dverga. I'll get you what I can when I can, Iron One." Ketill said. Dverga Battalion referred to the combined strength of Valkyrie, Fafnir, and Kraken Companies, who usually operated in concert due to all being deployed from the Halberd.
"Alright, you four, on me." Shen radio'd to Cian and the others Vishali had just assigned to him. His Kintaro was a missile brawler that could threaten heavier 'Mechs with its devastating close-range Alpha Strike, but such an act would leave the Kintaro running very hot. Alongside Shen, Cian, and Zahir were Valeria in her Trebuchet and Lieutenant Viktor Cadiz in his Assassin, a blisteringly fast but lightly armed forty-tonner built for recon and hunting Light 'Mechs. In the approaching fight, it would be a skirmisher and flanker.
The Leopard was a much smaller DropShip than the Union, aerodyne in shape rather than spheroid. One advantage it had over the Union was it didn't need to land to disgorge its deadly cargo. Though Cian couldn't see it from where El Cid took cover, he knew the two Leopards would swoop in, open the floor hatches in the MechBay, and drop eight 'Mechs straight down onto the battlefield. As they did so, eight new sensor blips appeared before Cian. And one of them was an Assault 'Mech.
"Wait." Vishali ordered.
The Leopards departed.
"Go!" Vishali commanded.
Cian kicked El Cid into gear. His was the heaviest and best armored of the group on his side, and thus it was his duty to take the first hits. However, in spite of being twenty tons lighter, Shen's Kintaro had only one less ton of armor. They took the lead, shielding the much more vulnerable JagerMech and Trebuchet.
Facing them was a discouraging sight. The broad form of an eighty-five ton Battlemaster formed a fulcrum upon which the stand of the seven other Carabinier 'Mechs turned. The machines were bottle green, cross-hatched on their torsos with black. They did not split off from each other to meet the two incoming Varangian groups, only spreading out to give each other room to maneuver. Whoever was commanding them was keeping a cool head.
The Battlemaster's six M lasers immediately opened up, splitting the air as Cian's own lasers crossed them. A Vindicator beside the Battlemaster fired a PPC at El Cid as well, which struck the Knight in the center torso with the resounding boom of a lightning strike. Cian's HUD went wild as a swarm of SRMs from Shen peppered the Vindicator's front. AC rounds from Zahir also slammed into the enemy Medium 'Mech. A PPC blast burst against the Battlemaster from the side, then another, then the explosion of an AC/5 round, and it turned to deal with the assault from Mastani.
The Vindicator had help from a Javelin that was jump jetting about, flurrying in missiles, a Centurion, and a Heavy Warhammer behind them all providing fire support with twin PPCs of its own.
As intended, Cian and Shen took the brunt of the attack. Two of the M lasers in El Cid's torso stopped responding. An alarm warned the armor on the Black Knight's left leg and left torso were approaching critical.
The enemy Javelin was destroyed mid-jump, pitching to the ground like a meteor; a kill for Viktor, who kept his Assassin sprinting around the Warhammer, which itself was harried by Zahir's Jager and a hail of missiles from Valeria's Trebuchet. Shen and the Centurion traded Alpha Strikes and the Carabinier 'Mech lost one of its arms, its head coming apart. It died standing up, but Shen's Kintaro shut down; he'd pushed it too far, and the Warhammer made him pay. It turned one PPC and blasted the Kintaro's left leg off at the knee, sending Shen down. Between Cian, Valeria, Viktor, and Zahir, the Warhammer was quickly overwhelmed, core glowing as its pilot ejected and the 'Mech finally fell. The Heavy 'Mech went critical, exploding into a mushroom cloud.
"I'm…fuck I'm alright. Don't worry about me." Shen informed them.
"My LRMs are almost dry." Valeria warned.
"If your armor's in decent shape then you're up front with me." Cian said.
The four of them turned on the remaining Carabiniers. Maya's Blackjack was down, Konomi's Dragon was flagging, and Mastani's left arm was hanging limp. Yifeng was in the middle of a bold circling attack against the Battlemaster, a move that Viktor moved to join with his Assassin. However, it was not one-sided. The Battlemaster was beat to hell, another Carabinier Centurion was a smoking heap at its feet. A Vindicator and a Shadow Hawk were standing with the Battlemaster, and without the rest of the Varangians turning on them, it was almost certain Vishali, Konomi, and Yifeng would have lost their side of the battle. But Cian and the others around him immediately started pouring fire into the surviving Carabiniers. Now, it was a foregone conclusion, but how many more would fall before seeing it through?
Suddenly, the blips representing the surviving Carabinier 'Mechs on Cian's HUD began flashing a white flag symbol. Joining this, the 'Mechs powered down to only essential systems, their weapons going offline. It was a risky, dangerous move; one that assumed one's opponent would honor an attempted surrender. Lucky for the Carabiniers, Vishali was in command on the ground.
"Cease fire! All Varangians, cease fire!" She commanded.
The Varangians did so. An eerie quiet fell upon that field of snow and ice, broken up by plumes of black smoke. It was almost impossible for this sort of thing to be a ruse. After all, the Varangian weapons were still powered. If they saw the Carabiniers begin to power up again, it would be a slaughter.
"Major Varma, it's obvious the field is yours. There's no need for anyone else on either side to die here. All I ask is you allow my surviving people and 'Mechs to pull back. The field, and the salvage, is yours. We surrender." Commander Crane broadcasted.
"Steel Actual?" Vishali asked.
"Commander Crane, this is Commander Ketill Schneider. We accept your terms. Take whatever time you need to collect your pilots that punched out, then fall back to the coordinates provided." Ketill said.
"Confirmed, Commander Schneider. Thank you." Crane said.
The Carabiniers did as they said they would, departing from Brinkman's Hold.
"Silver Two? Are you alright?" Cian asked at once.
"I'm alright. But it's damned cold out here." Maya replied.
Cian checked his sensors. There was a emergency beacon nearby indicating where Maya's crash chair had landed.
"Brass Four, go pick her up." Vishali commanded.
"Yes, ma'am." Jiro said. He was not happy for having sat that fight out. Personally, Cian would have ordered him in. It wasn't as if one Jenner was going to be worth much if the Carabiniers won that shootout. But, it wasn't Cian's call to make, and it had all worked out in the end.
Jotunn Company's part in the battle was over, though they did not know that quite yet. The Dverga Battalion achieved their objectives, sustaining comparable BattleMech losses to Jotunn, though thankfully none of their MechWarriors were killed. Alfar Company, meanwhile, went almost untouched. Their entire purpose had been to raise hell behind enemy lines without getting bogged down, sewing confusion, and they had done so swimmingly. The Skye Rangers, for their part, also accomplished what they had set out to do, but that was of less concern to the Varangians.
Ketill's comment about renegotiation had not been an idle one. The nature of the Mercenary Review Board gave merc commands some leverage against their employers. Someone who consistently hung mercenaries out to dry or badly compensated them would find themselves unable to recruit anyone competent. Thus, threatening a scathing report to the MRB for failing to accurately report the disposition of enemy forces, Ketill was able to win some concessions from their Lyran liaison, earning both more C-Bills and salvage shares. Maybe the job hadn't gone as well as it could have, but it could have gone a lot worse.
The Varangians left Saffel IV behind, just one more battlefield in their wake.
The Bardiche
16th November, 2965
Well, what do you like?
That question may have initially been a sad one for Cian, but in the days that followed it, he'd turned his free time to figuring it out.
As it turned out, there was more than a little overlap between enjoying power metal and liking fantasy stories. There were some overlapping themes, to say the least. So, Cian had been reading the fantasy novels Inaya had bought for him. In addition, it turned out Cian still enjoyed learning about history, so he'd picked out two titles from Second Flight's rather limited selection in that area, one about the Reunification Wars, and another about the transition from the Terran Alliance to the Terran Hegemony in the early 2300s. Cian was engrossed in seeing the patterns of history and comparing them to the modern day.
Cian also found himself becoming a dedicated fan of the BattleMech arena fighting circuit. It used to feel gauche, or somehow cheapening what he had seen as the noble cause of a MechWarrior. Now, he realized, it was an entirely arbitrary designation. 'Mechs were the biggest part of his life. He enjoyed gathering with others of the Bardiche's crew in the rec room to watch arena battles, betting meaningless amounts of money or promises of buying drinks on the outcomes.
Cian felt…not young again, but maybe alive for the first time. It was so new to seek things out for his own desire and no other reason. He'd been bereft of this pleasure for so long that he hadn't even realized he was missing out on it. Cian chose to focus on the fact that he finally had the opportunity to do so. He'd mourned the past enough.
And then there was Inaya.
Cian's thoughts drifted to her throughout the day. Was it untoward? Was it weird? Cian didn't know. This was something else he'd never had the chance to experience. Cian was used to seeing Inaya on and off throughout each day before the battle on Saffel. They mostly talked about the books they were respectively reading, or Inaya would get into the nitty gritty of whatever system she was working on of whatever 'Mech in Jotunn Company.
But over the past few days, Cian hadn't seen Inaya at all. She and her people were working overtime to get Jotunn Company's BattleMechs fixed up. Given Cian had seen several of Inaya AsTechs, but not Inaya herself, he suspected that the Head MechTech was pushing herself beyond what she expected from her team.
It was close to midnight standard time when Cian found himself swinging his remaining foot out from his cot. His prosthetics were hooked up to their charging stations on the floor beside Cian's cot. The process of strapping them to the stumps of his right arm and leg were second nature, but it remained a somewhat annoying, laborious process to ensure they sat correctly on the electrode contacts in his flesh while also not chafing. Once that was done, Cian pulled on sweatpants and a worn shirt.
Among the FWLM MechTechs, telling them they should take a break and stop working was anathema and usually just resulted in receiving a tongue lashing. Cian suspected that would be the case here. So, rather than that, he went first to the galley, then to the MechBay.
The MechBay was relatively quiet compared to its usual din. It was dimmer than usual, kept at the half-light this deck was normally on when the hour was late. The robotic arms that were hung over each maintenance cradle were still at work removing damaged parts or attaching new ones. Much of the MechBay's empty space was taken up by salvage brought aboard from Saffel, and that was just the overflow from what was in the cargo bay. Selling all that salvage at market was going to be the real payday from the Saffel contract.
Cian found Inaya on the scaffold around the severed leg of Shen's Kintaro. Valkyrie Company had cored an enemy Kintaro elsewhere during the battle, and one of that 'Mech's legs was now being fitted to Shen's machine. Inaya was laying on a flat, padded "bed" attached to one of the robotic arms, allowing her to move herself around the 'Mech to do the finely detailed work the robots couldn't. She was firmly focused on the Kintaor's hip joint, only her legs visible from where Cian approached after climbing up a ladder. Sparks and flashes of light flew from withing the Kintaro's hip.
"Hey, Chief." Cian said.
The welding continued. Cian realized she was probably listening to music.
"Chief!" Cian called. He didn't want to startle her by putting a hand on one of her boots or something like that.
The welding stopped. Or maybe soldering? Either way, the robotic arm slowly retracted from the interior of the Kintaro's hip. Inaya emerged, wearing the coveralls she normally had on while at work. She pushed a pair of safety goggles onto her forehead. Her face was stained by dark smudges.
"Strider?" Inaya asked as she pulled off heavy gloves and took out her headphones. She looked exhausted, as well as puzzled at Cian's presence. Her red-orange hair was gathered into a bun behind her head. She sat on the edge of her…bed? Platform? Whatever it was.
Cian held out the mug of coffee he'd made in the galley. It was still steaming.
"Figured I owed you for my part of your workload." Cian said.
Inaya blinked. A tired smile crossed her face as she accepted the mug.
"You all putting your asses on the line in the field is what keeps my paychecks coming." Inaya said as she held the mug in both hands.
Cian decided not to ask if she even needed those paychecks, given how wealthy her parents were, and assumed it was just a figure of speech. Clearly, wealthy parents or no, she was willing to put in the work.
"Even so, I only have to put my ass on the line about five percent of the time. If that. And I wouldn't be able to if you and your people didn't keep our shit from falling apart. So this is the least I could do." Cian said.
Inaya sipped from the mug, letting out a pleased sigh.
"You're not about to tell me I'm working too hard and should take a break, are you?" Inaya asked, still holding her hands around her mug.
Cian chuckled. "Furthest thing from my mind."
"Good." Inaya said, taking another drink. She looked around the Bay. "This is…it's my safe place, you know? Even if the work can be unsafe, it's the one place in the Sphere where everything seems to make sense. Every problem has a solution, even if you have to beat your head against a wall to figure it out sometimes. I think that's why working late in here never really feels like work. Even when I'm pissed off at something."
"El Cid's cockpit is my safe place. So, yeah. I get you." Cian agreed.
"Heh, it would be, wouldn't it?" Inaya said with a snort. She looked down at the mug in her hand. "You got up at midnight just to bring me coffee?"
"I hadn't gone to sleep yet." Cian said. "And, I'll admit, it's been a few days since I've seen you and I missed you. Sorry if that's weird."
"Last time I checked, missing someone you like being around isn't weird." Inaya said with an arched brow. "If it is, well, guess I'm weird, too."
"I mean…you kind of are." Cian said. In truth, knowing she had missed him as well made Cian a little giddy.
With a scoff of mock outrage, Inaya tossed a stained rag at him.
"You're lucky you're on my good side right now." Inaya made a haughty face. She held up the coffee mug and drank from it.
"I am." Cian agreed.
Several seconds passed, the two of them simply smiling. Cian was struck by the urge to step forward and kiss her. Maybe reading all those fantasy novels hadn't been an entirely good thing. Cian did not listen to that intrusive thought.
Inaya drained the last of the coffee. "You really don't have to trouble yourself for my sake like this."
"Was that a 'I'm politely telling you not to do this again' or a 'I feel bad you went out of your way for me?'" Cian asked. Being blunt was preferable to a misunderstanding. The last thing he wanted was to bug the Head MechTech.
"The second thing." Inaya assured him. "You don't have to. But I'm glad you did. Sorry I've been so busy."
Cian took the coffee mug back, his fingers accidentally brushing hers as he did. That little touch alone felt like it left his hand tingling.
"You don't have to apologize to me. Your time is yours. I'm glad for however much of it you manage to give me." Cian said.
A curious expression Cian couldn't quite read crossed Inaya's face as she looked down at the floor and cleared her throat.
"Yeah, well, no one else will listen to me talk about 'The Chronicles of the Silver Cutlass', so, I guess you're just stuck with me until you quit doing stuff like that." Inaya said.
"I look forward to the next chance to hear about it." Cian said, feeling this was a fair time to call it good. "Until then, I'll let you get back to it. G'night, Chief."
"Thanks for the coffee, Strider. Sweet dreams." Inaya said. She put her headphones back in, pulled on her gloves, and lowered her goggles back into place. By the time Cian was leaving the MechBay, light was flashing from inside the Kintaro's hip once again.