Exile of the Faithful - Chapter Six

Exile of the Faithful - Chapter Six

Cathay

Solaris City

Solaris VII

Lyran Commonwealth

9 September, 3052

     Faith stepped through the door, entering the multi-story building that housed significant portions of the Capellan influence on Solaris. From the outside, one might never even notice the building, slightly dilapidated, with little to hint at the importance of some of the residents within. She took the first set of stairs that she came to, heading down a level to a long corridor. At the end of the corridor, a burly guard stood watch. While his image did not lend itself to any kind of quickness, she had no desire to test him. People in this segment of society rarely employed substandard help.

     "I'm here to see the lady of the house. I'm expected." She handed the guard a small poppy that she had found in her dressing room following the last match. It was a signal, and one she could hardly mistake. And so, she was here, to see what, exactly, the local Capellans wanted with her.

     The guard held out his hand, and she reached into her jacket, producing a small hold out pistol and handing it to the doorman. She wasn't going to be shooting her way out of this situation anyway. After a few seconds, the guard, satisfied, opened the door and allowed her to pass. She continued on her way. The hallway could have been any hallway in any drab building throughout the Inner Sphere, cold barren walls, and a floor not dirty and yet not quite clean. She reached the end of the hall to find a door slightly ajar. She knocked and walked through.

     Walking into the room, the environment changed completely. The lighting was subdued, it's source obscured, leaving the room cast in a myriad interaction of light and shadow. The room was decorated in dark, rich colors, deep reds and purples mixed in amongst the dark Capellan greens.

     Casting an impressive image, Jasmine Xiu sat casually against the plush of an oversize chair, draping one arm over the arm of the chair. The soft lighting highlighted her delicate Asian features.

     "I'm glad you accepted my invitation, Faith. We were very disappointed that you didn't come see us upon your arrival here on Solaris." As she spoke, the woman gestured for Faith to take the seat opposite her. Faith obliged, sitting back in the plush chair, careful to remain relaxed.

     "Yeah, well I didn't exactly leave the Confederation on the best of terms, so a warm welcome wasn't what I had in mind here."

     "Yes, that entire situation was quite...unfortunate." She paused as if deliberately choosing her words. "It may interest you to know there have been....further developments in that regard."

     Something was going on. Xiu was well known in the Capellan community, and this invitation to meet was about as official as an unofficial request could get in the internecine mess of Capellan politics.

     "I'm sure you're going to share"

     "Indeed. Shortly after you made good your escape from Purvo, the entirety of the Gatekeepers battalion treasonously fled the Confederation, stole their equipment, and took their services to the Draconis Combine."

     Faith laughed aloud. "I can't say as I'm surprised. Blackhand was about as unbalanced as they come. So what, the Gatekeepers and their mini-Napoleon have been unmasked and I can return home to a party and open arms?"

     Jasmine frowned. "Alas, no. While the traitorous machinations of the Gatekeepers have been revealed, Lady Romano does not take lightly her subjects going rogue. She feels that disloyalty is a blemish of character that cannot so easily be dismissed. The circumstances have, however, cooled her furor in seeking accountability."

     Faith leaned forward. "I'm not big on Mask double talk. What does that mean?"

     "It means that while you may not be welcome in the Confederation, the Maskirovka is not directed to seek your death or capture at this time."

     "I'm touched. You'll forgive me if I don't exactly celebrate. I came here to build up something I could stand on, and that plan hasn't changed. I like that I may not have to worry about you guys sticking a knife in my back, but I'm a free agent now."

     Jasmine gracefully stood. "Whatever you might think, I am not mindlessly in lock-step with Sian. I play a role here, as every Capellan citizen does. As you do, even if you may not embrace it at the moment."

     "Still wouldn't hold your breath. You'll forgive me if I'm still a bit cagey. You guys made this issue, now deal with it."

Exile of the Faithful - Chapter Five

Exile of the Faithful - Chapter Five

The Jungle

Cathay, Solaris City

Solaris VII

Lyran Commonwealth

7 September, 3052

     "Hello mech fans, welcome to another exciting broadcast from one of the top venues that the gaming world has to offer. I'm Cliff Cleary, and I'll be giving you the call tonight from the Jungle, the jewel Capellan arena in the heart of Cathay. Tonight's fight is a little something special. Not part of the normal circuit, tonight we bring you a grudge match that features intrigue, politics, and the return of a Solaris favorite from a few seasons past."

     While some gladiators liked to turn off the chatter of the broadcast call, Faith left the SBC feed playing through her comms. It had been some time since she stepped foot in the arenas of Solaris VII. She had seen many battles since then, but the battles of Solaris were something different. For her they were a joyride, a high to ride, and she hoped to ride this high all the way to fame and fortune.

     "Our competitor from the Capellan Confederation, you are all familiar with Martin Chao. Over the last two years, he has made a steady, if less than noteworthy rise into the top twenty, staking a claim as one of the top Capellan mechwarriors here on the game world."

     Faith hadn't fought Chao before, but she knew his type. He was a mouthpiece, a puppet. He had the talent, and powerful backers carefully rode and directed that talent. He was good, but not flashy.

     "And then we have the source of all the controversy this past week. Two years ago, as part of House of Lords stables, Lady Faith McCarron tore up the leaderboards and earned a quick and loyal following. But with the Clan invasion and the fires of Inner Sphere politics, she left to serve her native Capellan Confederation on the true battlefields. While details are sketchy as one might expect from such a tightly guarded realm as the Confederation, what's clear is that two years later, Faith has fled the Confederation in the midst of scandal. Some call her a traitor. Some call her a victim. Regardless of all that, tonight will test her against the honor of Liao establishment here on Solaris. As the headliner of a brand new stable, Valkyrie Stables, Faith has made it clear she intends to make a name for herself here on the gaming world, and powerful Confederation loyalists seem eager to block that."

     "If that drama doesn't get you fired up, I don't know what will. So enough of the introductions, mech fans, this grudge match is about to begin!"

     She pressed her Enforcer into a walk. There was no need to rush into things. Chao was in a Cataphract, and the twenty tons worth of extra weapons meant she preferred not to let him get the jump on her. She made an effort of carefully patrolling the area, dropping back whenever she ran into a major branch of the stream that ran through the lush jungles that gave the arena it's name.

     In theory, a pilot who played often in the Jungle would have an advantage, but the arena staff were careful to regularly re-sculpt the landscape, and with it, the path of the river. To be certain, there were general trends, but anyone who thought they knew the precise layout of the streams, slopes, and openings in the tree cover would find themselves sorely mistaken.

     Her heartbeat remained slow and steady in the cockpit. With battle not yet joined, there was no high, no rush. That would come. For now there was just the comfort of the cockpit, whose temperature remained almost frigid at the moment. The Enforcer she piloted was unfamiliar to her, the design being one of Davion origin, and the model she piloted was a non-standard variant at that. Her right arm packed a new model Gauss rifle, an ultra cool running weapon, but one that took a steady hand to pilot. Spread over the opposite arm and torso was a bank of five medium lasers. The weapons compliment was an impressive one, but it came at a cost. An extra-light engine sat at the heart of the machine, and it's lighter weight brought with it increased fragility.

     On the battlefield, she knew it would mean an early exit from most fights for her. But in the short and brutal combat of the arenas, she knew she could make it work, at least against the likes of those she was likely to face in the early going of her comeback. By the time she won a few matches, she would be more than set to secure a ride more suited to her style.

     Her reverie was interrupted by a slight glint of reflected light to her left. She resisted the urge to quickly swing her whole machine in-line with the disruption, but kept her movements slow, so as not to alert her possible prey. And her prey was what she had found. A scant few hundred meters off, Martin Chao's Cataphract was lumbering through the shallow water of a stream. He wasn't facing her, moving at a slight angle to her.

     She kept her targeting system in passive mode. At this range, she was a good enough shot that she wouldn't need it active for her first salvo if she timed it right. She waited until he had moved forward, predictably following the course of thew stream. When he was facing sufficiently away from her, she brought her machine into a fast walk. With careful motion, she brought her mech slowly around until she found herself trailing directly behind the Capellan mechwarrior.

     She could have flipped her targeting system active and had plenty of time to squeeze off the shot, and at this range, she would have torn through his rear armor in a single salvo. On the battlefield, she would have done so without hesitation. But here, combat was part martial prowess, part show. And what she needed at this point in her Solaris career was some showmanship.

     She flipped over to her mech's external speakers. "If this is the best the Confederation has to send after me, Chao, I'm glad I left."

     The enemy mech froze for an instant, then began to twist. She squeezed the trigger off for a full alpha strike. The gauss slug tore through the center of the heavy mech's back, tearing into critical internals by itself and sending the mech lunging forward. The array of medium lasers slashed into the armor in and around the breach like five hellish green claws. Waves of heat poured through the rents torn in the Cataphract's rear protection, and the mech stumbled to one knee, twisting laboriously to try to face it's tormentor.

     Chao raised the PPC in one arm as he braced the mech with the other arm. Her external speakers still active, Faith laughed aloud. She had switched her targeting system fully active by now, and before Chao could align the arm for a shot, she squeezed off another slug from the gauss rifle. The supersonic slug tore into the PPC barrel, sending arcs of energy from smashed capacitors dancing in all directions.

     "Try again. This may be your home turf, but I'm out of your league. Come back when you're ready to make me sweat, Chao." She closed the gap between the two mechs quickly, and drove the elbow of her left arm into the upper torso of the Cataphract, carefully to the side of the cockpit, enough to rattle Chao severely, but not a killing blow to the cockpit. It was enough to send the mech tumbling onto it's back, and Chao knew he was done. He signaled defeat.



Press Suite, The Jungle

Cathay, Solaris City

Solaris VII

Lyran Commonwealth

7 September, 3052


     Roughly forty-five minutes after the fight ended, Faith strode brashly through the doors to the press room housing the assembled media. She was dressed in knee-high combat boots, black leggings, and a snug tank top of conspicuously Davionish dark red, her blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. As the reporters began to shout questions, and cameras scrambled to focus and begin shooting, she quickly climbed the two steps to the raised platform and made her way to the podium.

     She had done these before, and with practiced ease, she let the room sort itself out. The routine was settled, and the reporters from lesser outlets and those with smaller levels of prestige among the press corps allowed their voices to quickly trail off into silence, as the few top-end reporters battled to get their questions out. Faith kept her expression stern, but not too negative.

     "Miss McCarron! This is your first bout on the Solaris stage in almost two years. How did it feel to take to the arenas?"

     Faith tilted her head slightly, feigning contemplation for a second. "It's good to be back, and having a mech under you always feels good, but you saw the fight, this was more of a warm up for me. Ask me that question again after some serious competition and I'll let you know.

     "Your return was unannounced and came as a surprise to all of us. There has been little solid news on your leaving Capellan space. What made you decide to return?"

     She smiled. "Seemed like a good idea."

     "Following up on that, there are rumors that you fled the Confederation. There have been hints that your leaving was a result of everything from a drug problem to some even saying that you are wanted by the Capellan government on charges of murder. Do you have any comment?"

     Faith cleared her throat. "You would have to ask the Capellan government about that. All Liao mechwarriors serve at the pleasure of the Chancellor. You'd have to ask her. Next question."

     "It's been announced that you are to be the headliner for a new stable, backed by Vance Grigsby. Given his obvious ties to House Davion, is it safe to say that you have switched your allegiances here on the game world?"

     "My allegiance is to where the money is. I came here out of a job, so I followed the money. A girl has to earn a living, you know."

     "Given the circumstances of your leaving, are you worried about your safety here on Solaris?"

     She smiled wryly. "I'm always worried about my safety. I shoot big guns at big robots that shoot back with their own big guns. I'm focused on winning my matches. Out of the cockpit, I'm not going to be shy or live my life. I'm here to make money, and I'm going to enjoy my money. Plan to see me a lot. But that's it for now, folks. You'll be seeing plenty of me, I promise. For now, I'm going to enjoy my victory. Have a good night."

     With that, she made her way away from the podium and out the door the way she came. She made her way down the hallway toward the visiting dressing room. A few meters outside the door to the dressing room, Vance Grigsby stood waiting. He wore a suitably expensive suit, telling her that he had already met the press and probably planned to make later appearances. As she approached, he smiled. "You handled that quite well."

     She nodded, and he stayed a step ahead of her, opening the dressing room door for her. The two entered, and he closed the door behind them. Her combat garb had been removed in her absence, doubtless by some staff member. "Of course I did, I'm not new at this. The fight was easy, I told you. And the press, they're always looking for a story, it's easy enough to feed them."

     He perused his handheld nonchalantly. "You're going to be the story for a while, and that means lots of people are going to be keeping an eye on you. You'd be wise not to take too many risks or live too wildly in public for the time being."

     She chuckled. "So you're telling me to be a good girl?"

     He tucked his phone in his jacket pocket. "Hardly. But be a bad girl in private, in safe places, that's all. There's no telling whose interest you may have aroused."