They woke the next morning, and although their routine didn't change, things felt different,  at least to Fiona. Yes, she had hints that the woman putting her through hell and back might have a tiny corner of her brain that wished to see her succeed, it somehow felt different knowing it, even if it remained unspoken. 

     For her part, Abigail did not relent an inch, pushing Fiona harder and harder through the next several days, though it bothered her less than it would have previously. 

     Four days later, their daily routine was interrupted slightly as they reached the system's jump point. That morning Fiona had awakened and prepared herself for her normal routine, but Abigail had arrived slightly early and intercepted her. 

     "Today, surat, we will be docking with our jumpship and jumping to our next target. I expect we will be detaching again shortly after we jump in system, so you need not bother packing your gear, we will remain aboard the Blood Castle, but I believe Star Commander Lovvins wishes you to witness the batchall as it unfolds, so we will go aboard the Lord Death."

     Fiona tried to keep up, but blinked in confusion. "Wait, so we are going aboard the jumpship just to witness the...the batchall you call it? You act like we would be staying on the jumpship under other circumstances. I am confused."

     Abigail grinned wryly. "Another thing you peasants lost to petty bickering among the house lords. The Lord Death is a combat jumpship, an Aegis class Warship from the days of the Star League. We will jump in system and witness the batchall once we rendezvous with the other ships carrying our Galaxy."

     A few hours and several rearrangements of gravity later, and they were standing at the airlock after having met up with Star Commander Lovvins. Once a seal was made, they traversed the series of interlocks and found themselves aboard the warship. 

     From inside, it varied only slightly from the interior of the combat dropships with which Fiona was familiar. But she knew that it dwarfed any dropship or jumpship she or anyone else in the Inner Sphere had seen in centuries. 

     Lovvins led the way. "I am glad you were able to make time away from your training to witness this, bondsman. You will be privileged to witness the batchall and subsequent bidding for our next target, it will give you a greater understanding of our ways. Mechwarrior Abigail informs me that your training is proceeding on pace. You should be proud of how far you have come, especially when compared to the less than stellar performances we have been seeing put on by any other Inner Sphere isorla."

     She interjected, "I will not disappoint you, Star Commander. I will prove my worth, I promise you that."

     They paused as they waited for the lift. He turned to her and took her right arm, then produced a blade from his belt. He quickly severed one of the three strands of the bondcord around her wrist. "That reminds me. You have proven your loyalty to me, and thus I sever that cord of bondage. When we were attacked by the vermin in the city on Anywhere, you showed no hesitation or fear for yourself in getting me back into the fight. For that, and other reasons that I have been made aware of, I do not doubt your loyalty to me or the Jade Falcon Clan. You are now one step closer to becoming a warrior again. That should hearten your spirit, along with what we shall soon witness."

     The lift arrived, and it carried them up several decks until they emerged on the mammoth bridge of the warship. it was beyond any bridge she had seen on a jumpship or command dropship. And that was without considering the massive holotank that dominated the middle of the room. 

     Fiona glanced around the room in awe. The stations were manned by techs too focused on their job to notice her, but the bridge also contained a slew of clan warriors. She recognized Star Colonel Brikai Buhallin, and noted a few other mechwarriors. She also noticed a few of the large hulking Elemental infantry, and a few others who seemed almost comically small, with oversized heads. 

    Fiona leaned closer to Star Commander Lovvins and spoke quietly. “What is the purpose of this batchall?”

    Lovvins responded in an equally low tone,not wishing to disturb the goings on around the bridge. “You have already used the batchall, albeit crudely, on several occasions. It is the formal challenge issued before a battle is to be bid. The attacker will declare their intent and their target. The defender will declare what forces they will defend the objective with, and then the attacking commander will entertain bids among the sub-commanders to see who is willing to accept the challenge using the minimum possible force. In this way, waste is limited, and honor is maintained.”

    She nodded. “I believe I understand. That is how I was able to engage your forces for small, distinct prizes of battle.”

    He nodded. “Yes, you exploited the process quite well. That is part of what brought you to my attention. Few among the Inner Sphere forces we have fought thusfar have shown any ability to work honorably within the rules of warfare. There is talk of not even granting batchalls moving forward, but that is not yet decided. In this case, apparently our intelligence has indicated that our target is protected by a unit and a descendant of Star League forces that fought for General Kerensky long ago, and so the decision was made to honor the batchall in this case.”

         She paused for a moment. “Where are we going?”

   

    “The Steelton system, defended by a unit known as the Twelfth Star Guards.”

    She was about to respond, when a small man, apparently the Captain of the vessel, began barking out commands for jump preparation. A few moments later, they were ready to jump. A few seconds after that, the universe seemed to collapse in on itself, then suddenly snap back to reality. She steadied herself briefly, but luckily she had never been bothered to any extent by the stresses of hyperspace jumping.

    After a few moments had passed and everything appeared normal, she spoke up again. “What now?”

    Lovvins pointed to the holotank. “Very shortly, Galaxy Commander Mattlov will broadcast her initial challenge. Then we will see how the Inner Sphere defenders handle themselves.

    It was a scant few minutes before the Holotank flickered to life, it’s image shifting from a display of the world of Steelton to that of a holographic representation of a Jade Falcon officer. She was an older woman, older than most that Fiona had observed so far in her time with the clans. She was possessed of a powerful presence, however, and her voice cracked across the transmission. “I am Galaxy Commander Angeline Mattlov, and I am here with the Peregrine Galaxy to claim this planet in the name of Clan Jade Falcon. What forces dare oppose our claim?”

    The wait seemed excruciatingly long, the image of the Galaxy Commander frozen on the holotank as the Jade Falcon forces awaited a reply from their HPG transmission to the surface. Finally, an image flickered to life, the head and shoulders of a middle aged, dark skinned man with a goatee and a small scar on his face appeared. Seconds later, the image of Galaxy Commander Mattlov snapped to real time as well.

    “I’m Colonel Charles Carranza of the Twelfth Star Guards. We have heard rumors of your forces attacking other planets in this area. This system belongs to the Federated Commonwealth, and we defend it in her name. I will use everything I have to protect this world from your invasion. I’ll be waiting planetside with an entire elite Battlemech Brigade of the illustrious Twelfth Star Guards, plus the Steelton  Defense Brigade of the Tamar March Militia. We will meet you wherever your forces dare to tread.”

    Galaxy Commander Mattlov nodded. “I salute your bravery, Colonel Charles. I pray that you will meet us honorably on the field of battle, and there will be glory for all. I will submit the forces of my attack once the bidding process is complete. Well bargained and done.”

    Both images faded, and the holotank returned to a display of the entire Steelton system. Fiona turned to her superior. “Star Commander, something was not right about that bid.”

    The elemental looked confused. “Not right? What do you mean? Explain.”

    She nodded thoughtfully while continuing. “Colonel Carranza basically declared he was defending with two brigades. Now the militia, it’s a stretch, but I can see what he means, on paper it’s a Brigade, but maybe only a Regiment of that is mechs, the rest is tanks and infantry, and they are militia. The Star Guards are another kettle of fish entirely. They are a merc unit, and they are Battlemech heavy. Now, he claims he has a mech Brigade, no way. The entire Star Guards unit is about 4 regiments combined, and their contract is for defending 4 or 5 entire systems. On top of that, the Star Guards Commander is a DeChevilier, traces his roots back to the Star League. This guy here doesn’t have the whole 4 regiments with him.”

   

    She noted the two clanners attention peaked at the mention of the DeChevlier name, but they both remained silent at first. “Is any of what I’m saying making sense here?”

    Abigail was the first to speak up. “Why would someone lie during the batchall?”

    Fiona shrugged. “First, remember, fighting is not as ritualized in the Inner Sphere as it is among the Clans. Few Inner Sphere commanders would feel obligated to be truthful when revealing the size of their forces. Second, remember, he hinted that they had heard of other Clan attacks. They are starting to get a picture of what they are up against, and how superior Clan forces are. He is far more apt to use deception, or any other means at his disposal, to try to gain an edge.”

    Lovvins held his hand up. “What I do not understand is what is to be gained by inflating the size of his forces in the bid? Let us say he has only two or three regiments of Battlemechs at his command. What advantage does he gain by making us think that he has eight?”

    Fiona frowned. “I cannot say with any certainty. Maybe he is hoping to bluff his way out of a fight. He has no way of knowing the size of your available forces, maybe he thinks that by making himself seem like too big of a target, you will back down.”

    Abigail scoffed. “What kind of cowards must he think us that we would run from a fight?!”

    Fiona waved her hand to calm the woman down. “It is only a suggestion. There may be other reasons. Maybe he hopes to force your forces into moving slowly and cautiously, buying himself time to seek reinforcements. Maybe he is trying to buy time for an escape, Who knows. I just know that I’m almost certain he is lying.”

    Lovvins stroked his chin. “It is something to think about. I will inform the Star Commander of your suspicions.”

    A few hours later, she found herself walking through the corridors of yet another Warship with Star Commander Lovvins, this time aboard the Galaxy Command ship. Her suspicions had been sent up the chain of command, and apparently the Galaxy Commander wished to judge Fiona for herself.

    “Is there anything I should know about the Galaxy Commander?” she asked Lovvins as the walked.

    “She was once a ristar in our Clan, the youngest in fact to have ever attained a Galaxy Command. But time seems to have passed her by, she is practically ancient, well over sixty years old. Only her considerable combat skills keep her in her position.”

    Fiona looked puzzled. “I do not understand. Many Generals and great commanders are around that age. They have decades of wisdom to draw upon.”

    Lovvins waved his hand. “Pah, perhaps in the Inner Sphere. But among the Clans, we are constantly breeding newer and better generations of warriors. It is only natural that they should push out the old. What is your age, for example?”

    “I am twenty-one. I will be twenty-two in October.”

    “You see, so you are approximately the same age as Mechwarrior Abigail. I myself am twenty-four. I must soon attain my bloodname if I am to remain shining as a ristar in the ranks of the Clan. If not, I will grow old and stagnate, and I will not abide that. But think, if you were a warrior of say, thirty when you were made a bondsman, could you have pushed yourself so hard to become what you are now becoming? Neg, you would have failed long ago due to the physical and mental strain. Among the Clans, you must be constantly growing into something better, or you will be left behind by those who come after you, and you cannot continue to grow once you are old and worn out. It is simply the way of things, the way of nature, the way of the Clans.”

    She nodded. “I understand. But how then do you have examples like the Galaxy Commander?”

    He shrugged. “There are always a few statistical outliers. The Khan of the Nova Cats, for example, is some aged and petrified thing, but has maintained his position to due some retention of skill and the importance that the Nova Cats place on mysticism and witchcraft. The Loremaster of our Clan, Kael Pershaw, is some twisted obscenity of man and machine that somehow still draws breath, but he is cunning beyond comprehension, and so he has retained his position. For that matter, take you as an example. If you are to succeed as I hope you will, it will be against all odds. You were born to random chance, from parents whose genes possess some chaotic amalgamation of talents and flaws. The deck was stacked against you from the start, and only through sheer courage and determination can you overcome that in some small way. But even in that, you will never, for example, be a Khan. It is the way of the Clans. You can find the extremities of its border, but in the end, we are all still limited by them.”

    “That does not seem particularly fair.”

    Lovvins scoffed. “Nature is not fair. Humanity is not fair. Time is not fair. That is the truth of it. Of course, that does not mean that we are powerless to strive against it. We are warriors, that is what we do. I, for example, as an Elemental, am less likely to attain higher rank. Some say it is because it is harder to stay at the front of the battle and keep apprised of the situation. Others claim that in breeding us for strength and reflexes, skills like intelligence and leadership are bred out. I will, of course, fight against that with my dying breath. It is part of why I was so eager to embrace having you as a bondsman. For one of my phenotype to rise far in the ranks, I must make use of every edge that I can. And you will be one of those edges.”

    With that, they came to the door of the Galaxy Commander’s office. They passed between the two elemental guards flanking the doors, and within, the Galaxy Commander was seated at her desk. Seated opposite her was Star Colonel Buhallin, and beside him was a woman who also wore the uniform and rank insignia of a Star Colonel.

    Angeline Mattlov stood, her frame still strong despite her age, which was betrayed by the strands of gray interlaced amongst the black, and the subtle lines and creases on her face. What Lovvins would have described as ancient struck Fiona as vigorous and strong for her age. “Star Commander, thank you. I take it this is your bondsman?”

    Fiona stepped forward and stood tall, stronger and more confident than she ever would have imagined herself in the Ivarsson Chasseurs. She bowed her head slightly in submission. “I am bondsman Fiona, Galaxy Commander.”

    She felt Mattlov eying her up and down, trying to take her measure. “Star Colonel Buhallin has explained to me your suspicions that the enemy commander was less than truthful during our batchall. While my faith in the warriors in the Inner Sphere is far from unflappable, why should I believe you, bondsman? You claim this man is lying, but are you not also an Inner Sphere warrior? What makes you more trustworthy than he, who claims a noble lineage back to the Star League Defence Force?”

    Fiona met the Galaxy Commander’s stare. “I am no longer an Inner Sphere warrior. I am now Jade Falcon.”

    Mattlov looked down at her desk. “Were you taken from another Clan, I would have more faith in your assertion. Thus far, Inner Sphere bondsmen have proven less than adaptable to our ways.”

    Fiona swallowed her fear, and pressed on. “The other bondsmen you have claimed, they have been broken and are no longer warriors. They see themselves as prisoners. I am still a warrior. My word is my bond.”

    “Hmm. So it is true then that you fancy yourself capable of attaining warrior status again, even as a freebirth? Well, I suppose you are in the right cluster for that, at the very least. And why do you bring us this information? Do you seek to buy your way back to warrior status with secrets about our foes?”

    Fiona remained firm. “Neg, Galaxy Commander. I expect no reward or praise for my actions. I had information, I passed it along. I am merely upholding my duties to my bondholder and my new Clan.”

    Mattlov glanced back and forth between the two Star Colonels. Brikai Buhallin spoke first. “I merely bring you the information that was brought to me by my officer, Galaxy Commander. Do with it what you will.”

    The female Star Colonel leaned forward. “I care nothing for the word of some freebirth that one of Brikai’s footsoldiers pulled off of some Inner Sphere street. It does not matter either way. We commit both of our Clusters to the fight. If this freebirth wench is lying, we will have a glorious fight and will smash their forces in a massive battle. If the freebirth Inner Sphere commander is the liar, then he is a fool and we will swat him like a gnat with our overwhelming might.”

    Part of her seethed at the Star Colonel’s words, but she forced herself to remain calm.

    Mattlov spoke firmly. “Star Colonel Senza Oriega is correct. We will stick to my original decision to bid both the Eighth and Twelfth Regulars clusters. Either we will defeat them in honorable combat, or crush them like vermin if they are lying.”