The River Crow
Kufstein
Clan Wolf Occupation Zone
5 April, 3050



     The cold water from the river jolted Faith back to alertness as she splashed it over her face. She took out her pony tail and ran her wet hands through her hair several times, more so for the sensation than for any illusion that she was somehow going to wash out the last 2 days worth of cockpit sweat. She no doubt smelled horrible by now, they all did, but standing on the banks of the River Crow, any human odors were drowned out by the surroundings.

     Techs were already crawling over her battered Battlemaster, working to make what repairs they could during the lull in fighting. The smell of battle was still everywhere, the myriad blended smells of mech coolant, propellant, explosives, and more kinds of burning material than probably anyone could name. A few months ago, this spot would have been pristine, no doubt filled with the scents and sounds of nature, such as it was on this world, at least, and under the bright glowing moon that hung in the sky tonight, it might even have been a picturesque sight. But not today. Now it was the scene of battle, or more accurately, of countless battles. Control of the planet had gone back and forth nearly half a dozen times since the invaders had come. For now the Wolves controlled it.

     She chuckled to herself at the thought of the Wolves, set against the abnormally striking moon of this world, like some ancient Terran monster story. The combat would not start again for another 2 hours, the negotiations had seen to that. And while her experience with the Clanners was limited, the one thing it seemed to Faith that you could count on them for was to adhere to their word.

     "Damned Wolves will be on the prowl soon enough." She glanced briefly over at the speaker, a Rasalhague mechwarrior that was part of her ad-hoc unit. She didn't know his name, nor did she want to. This fighting had been a meat grinder so far, the chaos starting even before they hit the ground. They had rallied together and given as good as they got, but there was still a long way to go before they could even dream of relaxing, much less of pushing the Wolves off this world. She would see countless warriors just like this guy come and go during the course of the fight, and getting to actually know them would just make things harder.

     "Makes you think, doesn't it, though," she replied as she glanced across the slightly rippled water of the river, "in another set of circumstances, it could be you out there. A whole society, bred for war. Could be glorious, don't you think."

     She didn't need to look at the space viking to see the disdain he displayed at her comment. "They're beasts, barbarians, and conquerors. Slip up for even a second out there and you can be a slave in that 'glorious' society." he said. She couldn't blame him. These Clans had eaten up most of the man's nation, maybe even his home planet. But that didn't change her sense of curiosity.

     What if she had been born on that side of the battle line? How would she have measured up. Would she have even survived? Would she have thrived? She found herself thinking that there was something almost romantic about it, a warrior having ultimate and total control of their legacy, in their hands.

     It struck her then that legacy was something she had never given much thought to. She fought to win, and because she was good at it. She fought for the feeling, for the rush. She lived that way too. She had never much bothered to put her battles into any grander perspective. She had never really thought about having children either, it was always something way down the road, as she lived for today. But those warriors across the way, they were fighting for today, but fighting for their legacy as well, for their story. And in a few hours, it would be her job to write the final chapter for a few of those stories.