Hilton Tara Riverfront
Tara
Altorra, Sian Commonality
Capellan Confederation
5 March, 3050
She waited until she was sure that Ace was asleep, and quietly slipped out into the main room. With the amount of alcohol he had consumed last night, she was pretty sure he was going to be out for a while, but Faith made sure not to make any loud noises as she slipped on a dark pair of trousers, boots, and a black tee shirt. She grabbed her coat, and slipped quietly out the door.
The halls of the hotel were empty at this hour of night. Only a few staff were to be seen, and she didn't care if they spotted her. She made her way down to the ground floor, and casually strolled out onto the street to hail a cab. While there were few cabs out and about, there were even fewer people, and she quickly found a ride and climbed into the hovercar.
"Comstar Compound please"
The car sped off, and within a few minutes, she found herself at the steps of the ComStar compound. She entered, passing through security with a minimum of trouble. She made her way to the counter, and was greeted by a smiling ComStar acolyte.
"How may we help you this morning?"
"I need to place a priority transmission to this account." She handed a plastic card to the acolyte. He took it and swiped it across the reader, then entered a few commands into the computer.
"Will you be requiring a delivery verification?"
"No. Just that the message be sent in a timely fashion".
"Of course. Just a few moments and I will have all the arrangements made. Your identicard please?"
She handed over her card, which the acolyte swiped to collect her identity and account data, and then promptly handed back to her.
"There you are, Ms. McCarron. Booth three is free for your recording, at your convenience"
She made her way to a corridor which housed several private booths for the recording of HPG messages. She closed the door behind her and sat down. She paused for a moment, then pressed the record button.
"Hello Cat. I need your help with something. There's been something of a dust-up in the 4TCR of late. A small but sizeable faction has left and made their way into Kurita space. The only thing I have to go on is a name, the Flying Circus. It's some kind of historical reference. The claim is that they're off to fight the clans, but I'm worried. More than a little. Check them out for me, ok?"
A few minutes later, the message was bouncing through the ComStar network, waiting for the recipient to log in and collect. The ball was rolling.
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Club Cataphract
Tara
Altorra, Sian Commonality
Capellan Confederation
4 March, 3050
It was an average night at the Cataphract. The club was relatively full with patrons, the upper middle class of Altorran society. ever since the Fourth Tau Ceti Rangers had made their base of operations there, the capital city had undergone something of a rebirth. The influx of money had invigorated the population, and clubs had popped up across all social strata. This, though, was not the kind of place she would have expected to find her quarry.
The Cataphract was a club for the young crowd. The drinks were relatively cheap, and the music was loud. It was a hot spot for the local single scene, and no doubt there were a few mechwarrior groupies there. Her time on Solaris had let Faith spot the groupies a mile off. Some people liked them. Some just used them. She had never had much use at all for them, and neither, she thought, did her boss. And yet here she was, tracking him down.
A young man, obviously a server or bartender of some kind, intercepted her as she moved through the room. "And what can I do for you, my dear? A drink, perhaps?"
She chuckled. "I'm not your dear. But I'll take the drink. And some information."
"Of course. Over here." He gestured towards the bar, and she followed. She brushed off several opening moves from young hotshots who had no idea what they were aiming for. She supposed that went with the territory. That was part of the reason she was annoyed at having to come down here. If Ace had been hiding at some dive, she could have thrown on any old thing and her trusty Sternsnacht Python and been done with it. But no, he had to go hunting somewhere on the social radar. That meant she had to get all dressed up, and that, in turn, meant beating the boys off with a stick. That was the price you paid when you had to go to a meat market.
She reached the bar and settled on a spot between a pair of young ladies that she pegged as rich girls out for a good time on the town. The bartender had made his way behind the bar and over to her. "So, what'll you have?"
"Scotch, single malt, neat."
"You got it"
It was a little past midnight. Probably the worst time to be at a place like this. The music was mixing with the energy of the crowd, and the alcohol was just at the peak level that deals were about to be made for the evening. Now was when she needed to make the intercept.
"There you go. Now what else can I help you with?"
"I'm looking for a friend of mine that came down here tonight. You probably spotted him as 4TCR and a mechwarrior." She figured he wouldn't be trying to hide either of those two facts on a night out like tonight.
"Yeah, he headed to the upper level a while back. Shouldn't be too hard to find."
She thanked the barkeep and took her drink with her, navigating the throng of eager young club goers, and worked her way up the stairs to the upper level. She scanned the room, eyes sliding over the nameless crowd. She found her quarry on the far side of the room. Ace had a drink in his hand, and a pair of what looked to be very eager women flanking him.
She made her way across the room. "You can be a hard one to track down" She slid her arm between Ace and the girl on his left, coaxing the girl away, sliding her arm around him and giving off her best possessive vibe. "Sorry ladies, this one's taken for tonight. Good hunting."
The looks she got from the girls were not pleasant, but they knew better than to force the issue. Ace took a sip of his drink, a Scotch if she knew anything. "Marking your territory? Something I should know?"
Faith chuckled softly. "It's a meat market. Better to let them think I stole their meal than to get into a pissing contest with them".
He laughed. "I thought I was the one doing the shopping. Apparently I was on the menu?"
"Whatever suits your ego. But come on, you can score a piece of townie ass any day. I wanted to catch you before we lift-off for Bacum." He pondered her words for a second, then gave her a pat on the shoulder.
"Ok, but not in here on the 'meat market' as you call it. Let's catch some air."
The pair made their way out to the club's balcony, which gave a fairly good view of the riverfront that ran through the heart of the city. There was still a fair amount of hustle and bustle, but here from the backside of the club, the view faced away from the more chaotic social district. Ace leaned on the railing.
"So, what's this talk that the little lady hunted me down for?"
She smiled and paused, taking in the cool air, a stark contrast from the heat of the club, giving her goosebumps on her bare arms. "Right to the point, eh?"
"Hey, you're the one that interrupted my pleasure cruise"
"Don't play the pity card, you know I'm too much of a hard ass for that, Ace. But with us getting ready to ship out for Bacum, I wanted to make sure everything was cool."
"Yeah. Well, it has to be. Nothing any of us can do but move on to the next gig"
The sentiment was fine, but the tone in his voice was not. "Look, you know there's nothing you could have done. At the end of the day, we're warriors fighting for money. This kind of stuff is bound to happen."
"Maybe. But still. It doesn't take the sting away any. I still don't even know how to take it. That's a big chunk of the unit that's gone. I mean it's one thing to lose people in battle. You expect the occasional empty spot in the battle line, new mech in the mech bay. But this time they left on their own, and none of us even saw it coming."
She rubbed her hand over his back. "And we still don't know the whole story. But I have people looking into that. But if we're heading back to the front, we need you guys at the top to be on your game. No second guessing or doubting."
He smiled. "Easier said than done. But yeah, we'll be ok."
She put her arm around him and rested her head against his shoulder. "Hey, this unit is family. And we've all got your back. Elijah splitting off was a big bump in the road, but at the end of the day, 4TCR always comes back together. I went off to Solaris, but come game time, I came back. People come, people go."
"You got all dolled up to come give me a pep talk?"
"Hey, I'm not all badass in a battlemech all the time. A girl takes any excuse she can to get 'all dolled up', as you call it. Besides, I'm a Lady now, have to be seen among the commoners sometime, right?"
He chuckled. "You talk like that's a title of nobility and not a title of ass kicking."
"Hey, I worked for my title, and it made me more money than fighting the good fight ever will. You should have come, we could have had great times on that town."
"Well, we have to head off to 'fight the good fight' tomorrow, but the night is still young, we can raise some hell in this town."
She gave him a playful punch on the shoulder. "Thought you'd never ask, Ace."
Tara
Altorra, Sian Commonality
Capellan Confederation
4 March, 3050
It was an average night at the Cataphract. The club was relatively full with patrons, the upper middle class of Altorran society. ever since the Fourth Tau Ceti Rangers had made their base of operations there, the capital city had undergone something of a rebirth. The influx of money had invigorated the population, and clubs had popped up across all social strata. This, though, was not the kind of place she would have expected to find her quarry.
The Cataphract was a club for the young crowd. The drinks were relatively cheap, and the music was loud. It was a hot spot for the local single scene, and no doubt there were a few mechwarrior groupies there. Her time on Solaris had let Faith spot the groupies a mile off. Some people liked them. Some just used them. She had never had much use at all for them, and neither, she thought, did her boss. And yet here she was, tracking him down.
A young man, obviously a server or bartender of some kind, intercepted her as she moved through the room. "And what can I do for you, my dear? A drink, perhaps?"
She chuckled. "I'm not your dear. But I'll take the drink. And some information."
"Of course. Over here." He gestured towards the bar, and she followed. She brushed off several opening moves from young hotshots who had no idea what they were aiming for. She supposed that went with the territory. That was part of the reason she was annoyed at having to come down here. If Ace had been hiding at some dive, she could have thrown on any old thing and her trusty Sternsnacht Python and been done with it. But no, he had to go hunting somewhere on the social radar. That meant she had to get all dressed up, and that, in turn, meant beating the boys off with a stick. That was the price you paid when you had to go to a meat market.
She reached the bar and settled on a spot between a pair of young ladies that she pegged as rich girls out for a good time on the town. The bartender had made his way behind the bar and over to her. "So, what'll you have?"
"Scotch, single malt, neat."
"You got it"
It was a little past midnight. Probably the worst time to be at a place like this. The music was mixing with the energy of the crowd, and the alcohol was just at the peak level that deals were about to be made for the evening. Now was when she needed to make the intercept.
"There you go. Now what else can I help you with?"
"I'm looking for a friend of mine that came down here tonight. You probably spotted him as 4TCR and a mechwarrior." She figured he wouldn't be trying to hide either of those two facts on a night out like tonight.
"Yeah, he headed to the upper level a while back. Shouldn't be too hard to find."
She thanked the barkeep and took her drink with her, navigating the throng of eager young club goers, and worked her way up the stairs to the upper level. She scanned the room, eyes sliding over the nameless crowd. She found her quarry on the far side of the room. Ace had a drink in his hand, and a pair of what looked to be very eager women flanking him.
She made her way across the room. "You can be a hard one to track down" She slid her arm between Ace and the girl on his left, coaxing the girl away, sliding her arm around him and giving off her best possessive vibe. "Sorry ladies, this one's taken for tonight. Good hunting."
The looks she got from the girls were not pleasant, but they knew better than to force the issue. Ace took a sip of his drink, a Scotch if she knew anything. "Marking your territory? Something I should know?"
Faith chuckled softly. "It's a meat market. Better to let them think I stole their meal than to get into a pissing contest with them".
He laughed. "I thought I was the one doing the shopping. Apparently I was on the menu?"
"Whatever suits your ego. But come on, you can score a piece of townie ass any day. I wanted to catch you before we lift-off for Bacum." He pondered her words for a second, then gave her a pat on the shoulder.
"Ok, but not in here on the 'meat market' as you call it. Let's catch some air."
The pair made their way out to the club's balcony, which gave a fairly good view of the riverfront that ran through the heart of the city. There was still a fair amount of hustle and bustle, but here from the backside of the club, the view faced away from the more chaotic social district. Ace leaned on the railing.
"So, what's this talk that the little lady hunted me down for?"
She smiled and paused, taking in the cool air, a stark contrast from the heat of the club, giving her goosebumps on her bare arms. "Right to the point, eh?"
"Hey, you're the one that interrupted my pleasure cruise"
"Don't play the pity card, you know I'm too much of a hard ass for that, Ace. But with us getting ready to ship out for Bacum, I wanted to make sure everything was cool."
"Yeah. Well, it has to be. Nothing any of us can do but move on to the next gig"
The sentiment was fine, but the tone in his voice was not. "Look, you know there's nothing you could have done. At the end of the day, we're warriors fighting for money. This kind of stuff is bound to happen."
"Maybe. But still. It doesn't take the sting away any. I still don't even know how to take it. That's a big chunk of the unit that's gone. I mean it's one thing to lose people in battle. You expect the occasional empty spot in the battle line, new mech in the mech bay. But this time they left on their own, and none of us even saw it coming."
She rubbed her hand over his back. "And we still don't know the whole story. But I have people looking into that. But if we're heading back to the front, we need you guys at the top to be on your game. No second guessing or doubting."
He smiled. "Easier said than done. But yeah, we'll be ok."
She put her arm around him and rested her head against his shoulder. "Hey, this unit is family. And we've all got your back. Elijah splitting off was a big bump in the road, but at the end of the day, 4TCR always comes back together. I went off to Solaris, but come game time, I came back. People come, people go."
"You got all dolled up to come give me a pep talk?"
"Hey, I'm not all badass in a battlemech all the time. A girl takes any excuse she can to get 'all dolled up', as you call it. Besides, I'm a Lady now, have to be seen among the commoners sometime, right?"
He chuckled. "You talk like that's a title of nobility and not a title of ass kicking."
"Hey, I worked for my title, and it made me more money than fighting the good fight ever will. You should have come, we could have had great times on that town."
"Well, we have to head off to 'fight the good fight' tomorrow, but the night is still young, we can raise some hell in this town."
She gave him a playful punch on the shoulder. "Thought you'd never ask, Ace."
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
The Factory, Solaris City
Solaris VII
Lyran Commonwealth
24 April, 3049
Pushing through the crowd of reporters, fans, and hangers-on, Faith could still feel the pounding of adrenaline in her head. "Faith, how does it feel to have earned a wild card berth in the second division?"
"Fucking amazing!"
"Any response to Peter Faulkner's assertions that your win was, to quote him, cheap?"
"I don't have anything to say to that motherfucking cuntscraper. He tried to gauss me in the back and I made him look like the little shit that he is. I won. He lost. As we like to say, GGCLOSE. That's all for now."
She slammed the locker room door shut and let out a laugh. "God, that was better than sex."
"Maybe you're having bad sex." an unfamiliar voice rang out. Faith glanced in the direction of the voice. A raven-haired woman, dressed all in black, stood against the wall.
"Who the hell are you?" Faith retorted.
"A friend. A scout. An asset. People call me Cat."
"Yeah, well, Cat, this girl is hitting the town. Not sure what you want, but it will have to wait."
The woman didn't move. Faith put her hands on her hips. "Ok, what do you want?"
"Right now, nothing. You're going to hit the town, I'll watch your back. Along the way, maybe we can talk."
She didn't know why, but there was just something in this woman that Faith trusted. Or maybe she just wanted to trust. "So what's your angle?"
The woman finally moved from her initial position, walking slightly closer. She absolutely exuded confidence, she knew what she was doing and wasn't afraid to let other people know it. "You'll find out. And you'll find out that it's not as nefarious as you're probably thinking. For now, you want to celebrate, go celebrate."
Shaking her head, Faith headed to the showers, and then to enjoy the spoils of her victory.
Solaris Hilton, Solaris City, International Quarter
Solaris VII
Lyran Commonwealth
25 April, 3049
Faith slowly became aware of the fact that her eyes were open. She blinked a few times, trying to comprehend what she was looking at. It was a sea of white, with a vast array of lines, waves, and shadows. And that was when it suddenly hit her. She was staring at the ceiling.
All at once she became aware of herself. Her head was pounding with pain, each beat of her heart sending a pulse of pain through her skull. She was laying on her back, on a bed from the feel of it. The air was cold. She had nothing covering her, and the subtle airflow of the room started prickling against her skin.
"You're finally awake, I see." She recognized the voice. She wasn't totally sure from where yet. The entire night was a blur. She had various bits and pieces floating around in her head, images, faces, thoughts, sensations. She tried to remember back to when it all started. Then it hit her, the woman's voice was that of the extremely persistent woman she had met after the match.
"Wha...what are you doing here?" Faith rolled her head from side to side, trying to get her bearings. She was in her own suite at the Solaris Hilton, she recognized it. She also spotted Cat sitting comfortably in a chair off in the corner.
"I told you I would have your back, and I did. Nobody left with any incriminating photos or video or anything like that. What happens on Solaris stays on Solaris."
Slowly, painfully, Faith lifted herself onto her elbows, trying to shake away the haze in her mind. "Did I have a good time, at least?"
"You're the one waking up hungover and topless at 11:30 in the morning, you tell me."
"Point taken. Look, I don't need a lecture if that's what you're getting ready for." She sat up, wondering if there were any muscles in her body that weren't sore at the moment. She cast about quickly and grabbed a tank top, pulling it on quickly before pulling her legs up underneath her.
"That's not what I'm here for, I assure you." The woman paused for a moment, then stood up. "Look, you've got talent. You're going to win lots of fame, glory, money, and all that here. But a year from now, you're going to be back on the battlefield. It's just who you are."
She couldn't deny that. This trip to Solaris was on a whim. She didn't know how long she was going to be here, but she knew that her real place was on the battlefield, fighting back the Federated Suns. Fighting real fights.
"So, you're going to be here for six months or a year. You can either survive this town, or you can ride this town for all it's worth. At the end of it, you go back to the battlefield, but you have a network of people, information, favors. You leave this place stronger than you came here. And that is my angle. You're smart, and you can take care of yourself. I like to have a network of people like that. You become part of it, we both win."
What Cat was saying made sense. "So what's the catch? What do I have to do that I'm not already doing?" The answer to that question would determine how she was going to spend the next few months on Solaris.
"Live the life, but live it smart. Last night you just met hangers-on and nobodies. As you win matches, you'll start partying with money, nobles, politicians, even spies. That's where it gets fun. And that's where I come in. I know some of the players, some of the game. I'd like to be the one to help you out. But it's your call."
"Well, you earned you pay last night. So yeah, we'll see where this goes"
Solaris VII
Lyran Commonwealth
24 April, 3049
Pushing through the crowd of reporters, fans, and hangers-on, Faith could still feel the pounding of adrenaline in her head. "Faith, how does it feel to have earned a wild card berth in the second division?"
"Fucking amazing!"
"Any response to Peter Faulkner's assertions that your win was, to quote him, cheap?"
"I don't have anything to say to that motherfucking cuntscraper. He tried to gauss me in the back and I made him look like the little shit that he is. I won. He lost. As we like to say, GGCLOSE. That's all for now."
She slammed the locker room door shut and let out a laugh. "God, that was better than sex."
"Maybe you're having bad sex." an unfamiliar voice rang out. Faith glanced in the direction of the voice. A raven-haired woman, dressed all in black, stood against the wall.
"Who the hell are you?" Faith retorted.
"A friend. A scout. An asset. People call me Cat."
"Yeah, well, Cat, this girl is hitting the town. Not sure what you want, but it will have to wait."
The woman didn't move. Faith put her hands on her hips. "Ok, what do you want?"
"Right now, nothing. You're going to hit the town, I'll watch your back. Along the way, maybe we can talk."
She didn't know why, but there was just something in this woman that Faith trusted. Or maybe she just wanted to trust. "So what's your angle?"
The woman finally moved from her initial position, walking slightly closer. She absolutely exuded confidence, she knew what she was doing and wasn't afraid to let other people know it. "You'll find out. And you'll find out that it's not as nefarious as you're probably thinking. For now, you want to celebrate, go celebrate."
Shaking her head, Faith headed to the showers, and then to enjoy the spoils of her victory.
Solaris Hilton, Solaris City, International Quarter
Solaris VII
Lyran Commonwealth
25 April, 3049
Faith slowly became aware of the fact that her eyes were open. She blinked a few times, trying to comprehend what she was looking at. It was a sea of white, with a vast array of lines, waves, and shadows. And that was when it suddenly hit her. She was staring at the ceiling.
All at once she became aware of herself. Her head was pounding with pain, each beat of her heart sending a pulse of pain through her skull. She was laying on her back, on a bed from the feel of it. The air was cold. She had nothing covering her, and the subtle airflow of the room started prickling against her skin.
"You're finally awake, I see." She recognized the voice. She wasn't totally sure from where yet. The entire night was a blur. She had various bits and pieces floating around in her head, images, faces, thoughts, sensations. She tried to remember back to when it all started. Then it hit her, the woman's voice was that of the extremely persistent woman she had met after the match.
"Wha...what are you doing here?" Faith rolled her head from side to side, trying to get her bearings. She was in her own suite at the Solaris Hilton, she recognized it. She also spotted Cat sitting comfortably in a chair off in the corner.
"I told you I would have your back, and I did. Nobody left with any incriminating photos or video or anything like that. What happens on Solaris stays on Solaris."
Slowly, painfully, Faith lifted herself onto her elbows, trying to shake away the haze in her mind. "Did I have a good time, at least?"
"You're the one waking up hungover and topless at 11:30 in the morning, you tell me."
"Point taken. Look, I don't need a lecture if that's what you're getting ready for." She sat up, wondering if there were any muscles in her body that weren't sore at the moment. She cast about quickly and grabbed a tank top, pulling it on quickly before pulling her legs up underneath her.
"That's not what I'm here for, I assure you." The woman paused for a moment, then stood up. "Look, you've got talent. You're going to win lots of fame, glory, money, and all that here. But a year from now, you're going to be back on the battlefield. It's just who you are."
She couldn't deny that. This trip to Solaris was on a whim. She didn't know how long she was going to be here, but she knew that her real place was on the battlefield, fighting back the Federated Suns. Fighting real fights.
"So, you're going to be here for six months or a year. You can either survive this town, or you can ride this town for all it's worth. At the end of it, you go back to the battlefield, but you have a network of people, information, favors. You leave this place stronger than you came here. And that is my angle. You're smart, and you can take care of yourself. I like to have a network of people like that. You become part of it, we both win."
What Cat was saying made sense. "So what's the catch? What do I have to do that I'm not already doing?" The answer to that question would determine how she was going to spend the next few months on Solaris.
"Live the life, but live it smart. Last night you just met hangers-on and nobodies. As you win matches, you'll start partying with money, nobles, politicians, even spies. That's where it gets fun. And that's where I come in. I know some of the players, some of the game. I'd like to be the one to help you out. But it's your call."
"Well, you earned you pay last night. So yeah, we'll see where this goes"
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