Lovvins prediction had been right, though not through any direct meddling that any of them could see or prove. Over the next few months, the Eighth  saw few opportunities for combat, the only fighting they were privy to was the absurdly easy conquest of Apolakkia, and even then, much of the Eighth had been bid away early and had not seen combat. There were rumours about the next wave, but they were just that, rumors, and so far they mad been annoyingly stuck on Apolakkia.

    Fiona’s training had continued, and had broadened out into hand-to-hand combat techniques. She was still no match for Abigail but was learning fast and was still fiercely determined. She even had the chance to spar once against Lovvins, although she was dreadfully outmatched on that occasion and still suspected Lovvins had drawn things out toying with her.

    She was also learning more about what it meant to be Clan, and what it meant to be Jade Falcon. Some of the societal differences were easily overcome, others she felt like would never feel normal to her. Today, she and Abigail had gone on a tour of the capital city, seeing several of the ways that the clan occupation forces were integrating segments of the planetary infrastructure and society into the Clan model, which was being done with the help of ComStar.

    She had never really trusted ComStar growing up, and she trusted them even less now. They seemed friendly and helpful enough, but something was off, they were almost too eager to please. It was not the shadowy ComStar she had seen growing up in the Federated Suns. She worried, but for now that was all she could do.

    By now, the day was almost at an end, the sun was beginning to set, and they had made their way back to the spaceport. They had remained berthed aboard the dropship the whole of their time on Apolakkia, which had at first heartened them into thinking that another redeployment was soon at hand, but so far, that had not come to be. The port itself was still a hive of activity, with supplies and people being both loaded and offloaded. Luckily there was little by way of Falcon traffic heading into the port itself, and they had passed by security fairly quickly, ready to head toward the Blood Castle, looming a short distance away on the tarmac.

    She was talking with Abigail, when suddenly from off to her right, she thought she heard her name. She paused, then heard it again, this time being called more loudly. She froze as she recognized the voice. Abigail stopped, a confused look on her face. “It would appear you have an admirer among the prisoners over there.”

    Fiona turned and looked into the crowd of people. She found what she was looking for almost instantly. “That is not an admirer. That is my mother.” She paused for a moment. “Come on” and she strode quickly in the direction of the line of prisoners.

    Abigail quickly caught up with her. “What do you mean it is your mother? Your freebirth mother?”

    Fiona shot Abigail an annoyed look. “Of course my freebirth mother, what other mother would I be talking about?”

    Abigail shook her head. “Why would your mother be here, this is not your homeworld, quineg?”

    “Neg, my home is hundreds of light years from here in the Federated Suns half of the Commonwealth. I have no idea why she would be here. My father is there too.”

    She managed to shover her way through several lines of people, leaving Abigail to fend for herself crossing the crowd of people. When she reached where her parents were standing in a queue, her mother practically leapt out and hugged her. “Fiona dear, it is you!”

    Fiona squeezed her mother briefly, then extricated herself as quickly as she could. “Yes, mom, it is me. What are you doing here? What are either of you doing here?”

    Her father, wearing one of his expensive, but now ruffled suits, interjected. “The better question is what are you doing here? The AFFC civilian relations officer told us that you were listed as Missing in Action, presumed killed in the early stages of this god-awful invasion.” He paused for a moment, looking at her jumpsuit. “Did they capture you, take you prisoner?”

    Fiona shook her head. “No. Yes. Well….something like that. It’s complicated. Now, what are you guys doing here, light years from home, in a war zone?” She hoped desperately they had not come looking for her.

    Her mother spoke up. “This war has been extremely destabilizing for the economy. The Finance Ministry asked your father, and several other prominent figures in the Suns, to come here to the affected regions to try to reassure the business and trade communities.”

    Her father picked up. “There’s been lots of talk of business and capital just fleeing the war zone, what with information so scarce. I was to help convince as many influential businesses as I could out here to stay the course, that the Prince has a plan and we will beat back these invaders in time, but our economy must remain strong.”

    Fiona shook her head as Abigail arrived behind her. “So basically the Prince sent you on a PR tour here? In the middle of an invasion?”

    Her father scowled sternly at her. “Show some respect for your sovereign. Besides, we were assured that these Clan monsters wouldn’t hit here for months. We tried to get out after they made planet fall, but now here we are.”

    She sighed. “Look, I will try to figure out-“

    She was cut off by the bellowing voice of an Elemental guard. Though not in his battle armor, he was still quite disconcerting. “Is there a problem here, freebirth? This is a restricted area, all of these people were caught trying to flee. What is your business here?”

    She started to speak up, but Abigail stepped in front of her. “Neg, trooper, there is no problem. I was instructing my bondsman here on the efficiencies of Clan organization and governance, when she slipped away. I will deal with her most sternly, but she is, after all, just a freebirth.”

    The elemental looked at all of them for a moment, then laughed. “As you say, freebirths are an annoying lot. I am sorry we have both been burdened with such menial duties as tending to them, so I understand your frustration. Take her with you and be gone, Mechwarrior.”

    Fiona began to protest, but Abigail grabbed her strongly by the arm and shot her a look of pure death. “Come with me, now. We will discuss this elsewhere.” With that, she practically dragged Fiona out of the crows and back to the dropship.

    An hour later, she and Abigail were both seated on a crate in one of the cargo holds on the Blood Castle. Star Commander Lovvins strode over to them.

    “I made some discreet inquiries, bondsman, and found more information about the situation regarding your freebirth parents.”

    Abigail interjected “I apologize, Star Commander,  I should have been more vigilant”

    He stopped her with a raised hand. “Neg, it is alright, Abigail. The matter is a trivial one.” He turned to Fiona. “Apparently, your parents were caught on a smuggling ship fleeing the system several days ago, carrying mostly refugees. Many do not appreciate the wisdom of Falcon rule, and flee out of fear. The story your parents relayed to you is consistent with what they told their interviewers. The irony is that had they not fled immediately, they probably could have gone unnoticed or simply slipped away quietly later.”

    Fiona sighed. “I realize my concern seems foolish to the two of you, but it is a thing for freeborns and people of the Inner Sphere.”

    Abigail spoke up. “As disgusting as the notion of family is, even among the clans, the lower caste freebirths maintain family ties to their offspring and parents. Little heed is paid to it, as long as the vile practices remain unseen and do not hinder the function of the Clan.”

    Fiona glanced between the two of them. “What will happen to them?”

    Lovvins crossed his arms across his broad chest. “The Clans have little use for bureaucrats and petty men of words like your father. He has no actual merchant aptitude or governmental standing, and we have no use for noble titles. He will simply be classified as non-essential and turned loose, most likely repatriated and part of the exchanges we are undertaking with ComStar.”

         She let out a sigh of relief. “That is good news, thank you Star Commander.”

    The Elemental frowned. “Your mother, on the other hand, is a different matter. She has scientific training in biomedicine, and showed significant aptitude. Skills enough to be claimed as isorla and assigned to the scientist caste, most likely to be sent to the homeworlds for additional training.”

    Fiona slammed her palm down on the crate. “I cannot let that happen. There must be something we can do?”

    Both of them looked at her, somewhat at a loss. Abigail spoke up first. “Why would you wish to? And why does it matter? She will adapt, just as you have. You have more than adapted, you have embraced the Clan. Why would you not wish that for her? And more importantly, why does it matter at all?”

    Fiona stood. “It is a freebirth thing, yes, but it is important to me nonetheless.  You two, one day you fill fight for bloodnames, quiaff? That is important to you. Yes, this is different, but it is similar as well. It is my gene heritage. Surely those are terms you can understand.”

    Lovvins replied. “I understand the concept, I simply do not fathom the importance. Your gene heritage is random. I too have geneparents, but I have no interest in them beyond what they have given me as tools to be a warrior.”

    She sighed in frustration. “Yes, but your genes were combined in a lab, and produced tens of examples. My combination is unique. It may be flawed or inferior or imprecise, but it is unique to me, and to those two people who made me.”

    Abigail shook her head. “It is immaterial, nothing can be done.”

    Fiona took a step closer to her. “This is the Clan. There is always something to be done. Anything can be fought over, quiaff?”

    Abigail shook her head and held up her hands. “Within certain bounds, yes. But this is beyond that. You are not even yet a full member of the clan, you have no standing to challenge the classification.”

    Much to both of their surprise, Lovvins stepped between them. “That is not entirely true. She may not make a challenge, as she is not a warrior, but she can make a challenge if her bondholder sponsors the challenge.”

    Abigail countered. “Why would you choose to do such a foolish thing. There is nothing to be gained by challenging some merchant bean counter who will make the official decision.”

    He smiled. “Neg, but the challenge would not be to the merchant. All decisions would happen under the approval and signature of a warrior, in this case, the acting garrison commander for this world.”

    Abigail threw up her hands in frustration. “And who is that? And better yet, what is the point. If the challenge is to the garrison commander, whoever the poor soul is, he is a Star Colonel, and there is no way that Fiona is ready to fight a Star Colonel in a Trial of Refusal.”

    The Elemental grinned. “That is the beauty of it, she would not have to. Look at this matter in context. No Star Colonel is going to fight his own trial against a freebirth bondsman from the Inner Sphere. Neg, he will pawn it off on and underling, probably some malcontent as a form of punishment. And we can exploit that.”

      Fiona finally jumped back in. “I am on board with this, and not that I do not agree, Star Captain, and forgive me if I sound ungrateful, but why would you wish such a trial to take place?”

    He smiled devilishly. “Things are not always as straightforward as they appear, bondsman. Our goal is to make a warrior of you, quiaff? Even when you have been trained to a point where you are ready, it is not as simple as me cutting your final bondcord and you declaring your intent to a trial of position. Many would oppose your undergoing such a trial. We must have firm grounds to build a case upon. You have already demonstrated fearlessness under fire, and your use as a source of information. If you were to fight this trial, then if any oppose your Trial of Position, you can then rightfully point out that you have already fought and won a combat trial. And this matter is trivial enough that no one of consequence will oppose your participation at this stage. Aff, it is perfect. All you need to do is win.”