Star Commander Lovvins and Mechwarrior Abigail sat in the security office adjoining the ship’s brig. Abigail nursed black coffee in a stainless tumbler, while Lovvins paged absentmindedly through a noteputer. After a few minutes, he thumbed the power button and tossed it on the table.

“It has been hours now. I swear by the founders, if that mechanical monstrosity has damaged my bondsman, after all we have worked for so far, I will tear his machine bits apart circuit by circuit.”

Abigail downed another swig of the foul tasting synthetic coffee. “I share your concern, Star Commander, but have faith. If I have learned anything over these last months, it is that she is strong and resilient. She will be fine.”

Lovvins laughed softly. “If I recall correctly, you would rather have bathed in a pool of surat waste than accept the assignment as her trainer when this began.”

She waved a hand dismissively, “I will admit that perhaps I was overzealous in my objections early on. But I am not so foolish as to blindly follow a path when I have been proven in error. Your choice was a wise one. She has come a long way.”

He leaned back in the chair, which seemed absurdly small given his frame. “High praise, coming from you. But will she succeed in the end?”

Abigail nodded, “Though I will never admit it to her, I am quite certain she will pass her trial. She has the spirit and the drive. I have reviewed the BattleROMs of her two duels with our pilots, and she has considerable skill as a mechwarrior as well. We were about to start training on simulator pods when this whole insanity began.”

He nodded, “Aff. Hopefully this absurdity will not delay things too much. We are, I believe, fairly close to the home worlds now. It should not be long.”

Abigail was about to respond when the door slid open and two Elementals entered, dragging Fiona limp by the arms between them. They dumped her roughly on the deck, naked and unconscious. One of the guards grunted, “Star Colonel Kael Pershaw is done with your freebirth. He will be departing shortly.” They both turned and left the room.

Lovvins stood, and Abigail scrambled over to Fiona’s limp form, feeling for a pulse. “She is alive, her pulse is strong. She is mostly likely just sedated.”

“We will take her to your cabin, it is, I believe, closest.” He lifted her gingerly and carried her as Abigail led the way to her cabin. Once they arrived, he placed her on the bed and covered her with a blanket. “Stay with her. I will go and see the Star Colonel off. Call me when she awakens.”

Several hours later, Fiona awakened. Her head throbbed, and she needed to use her arm to steady her as she proper herself up. As she glanced around, unsure of her surroundings at first, Abigail knelt next to the bed and put a hand on her shoulder. 

“Do not move too fast, surat. You have been through a lot.”

She ran her hands through her hair. “I feel like I had my brain extracted through my ear.”

“You are the one who that it was a good idea to have Kael Pershaw poke around in her head.” Abigail quipped.

Fiona tried to shake the remaining cobwebs from her head. “I really had no choice.”

Abigail walked over to a cabinet and opened one of the drawers. “Of course you had a choice, surat. But I understand why you came to the decision you did. And I respect it.” She pulled a pair of boyshorts and an oversized t-shirt with the Jade Falcon logo on it and tossed them to Fiona. “Lovvins will be here in a few minutes to discuss things.”

Fiona dressed slowly and awkwardly, still fighting a sense of disorientation. “Was that a compliment I heard?”

Abigail pulled a bottle of water from another cupboard and tossed it on the bed beside her. “You are probably still delirious from the effects of the drugs, surat. Drink that, and my tone will improve.”

Fiona smiled at the subtle and underhanded humor that she had come to expect from Abigail. “I suppose that since I’m here and they did not space me that I passed whatever tests that hideous man had for me.”

Abigail crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. “That creature is Star Colonel Kael Pershaw. He is head of the Jade Falcon Watch, the intelligence arm of the touman. He is a warrior in name only, the mechanical parts that keep him alive have mutated him over into some kind of spy. I detest spying, though the Khans say it is necessary for the sake of security.”

Just then, Lovvins entered the room. “How are you feeling, bondsman?”

She breathed in deeply. “Like I just stuck my head inside the K-F drive. But I will manage. What can I do for you, Star Commander?”

He gestured for her to remain seated. “Rest. I am not here to ask anything from you at this time. You have just undergone much. I could have spared you some of that, but I suspect you know that, and I respect your decision. The matter is thankfully behind us. There is one thing I must do, however.” He pulled a knife from his belt. “You have more than proven your integrity, and so I sever that bondcord. The only remaining cord is that of warrior prowess, and that you must demonstrate in a Trial of Position. But know that that is all that now stands between you and your place as a warrior.”

She rubbed her wrist and fingered the final cord that she wore. “I trust that my training can resume soon? How close are we to our destination?”

Lovvins rubbed his chin. “I do not know precisely, but we are close. And yes, you may resume your training as soon as you are physically able to. Star Colonel Kael Pershaw’s inquiry is complete. The bondsman known as Dirk was apparently some kind of internal spy within your unit, a sleeper agent of sorts. He was meant to passively watch and report anything untoward. Once we made planetfall on Apolakkia, he somehow received new orders to begin spying on our clan for the Federated Commonwealth. Our scientists have thoroughly interrogated him, and you have been exonerated.”

She looked at Lovvins. “Where is he now?”

“He is currently in the brig. He is scheduled to be terminated shortly before our next jump.”

She stood up on wobbly legs. “I can save you the effort.” She walked to the door. “Where is the brig?”

Lovvins opened the hatch, and Abigail quickly walked over to the door. “Do you think this is wise?”

Lovvins extended a hand to hold her back. “The scum wronged her. Let her do what she will.”

As Lovvins walked her to the brig, she used her anger to build up her strength. When they reached the brig, Lovvins vouched for her at the guard station, and the elemental took them to a cell and opened it. Inside, clad only in a pair of shorts, was Dirk Masterton, sitting on the small bench provided. He looked up in surprise, and Fiona stormed in and grabbed him by the arm. She yanked him to his feet and out the door.

“What the hell is going on, Kendrick?”

She led him out the door and into the corridor. “Shut up.”

He stammered. “What’s going on, I already told them everything. Where are we going? And why the fuck are you here?”

She remained silent until they reached an airlock. She smashed the panel to open it with her hand and shoved him through the opening door. She followed him into the chamber, and hit the closing control before slamming him up against the wall as the hatch closed behind her with Lovvins and Abigail on the other side.

“Now, talk. You want to tell me what the hell you were doing?!”

He snarled back at her, “My job. You may have given up on the fight and turned traitor, but I didn’t. When the Intelligence Secretariat activated me, I knew I had a shot at dealing a real blow to these assholes. And I almost pulled it off. I could have shown the folks back home where these bastards came from. I could have succeeded with a little help, but you were too busy jumping in bed with them and looking out for your own ass to care about the people of the Federated Commonwealth and the Inner Sphere. They made you their bitch long ago.”

She slugged him. “You, you almost got me killed. You told me none of this stupid plan of yours. What were you just going to keep on fucking me, try to turn me into your little weasle? No, you’re done!”

She gave him no time to recover, she opened the hatch, stepped through, and sealed it behind her. Once the door closed, she hit the override button to cycle the airlock and depressurize the compartment. She slapped the safety on to seal the inside hatch as Dirk banged against it.

She faced Lovvins and Abigail. “Now I’m done with him.”