Several days had passed since the fight. Clan medicine was proving to be something of a marvel. She didn't understand the science of much of it, all she knew is that she was feeling much better and healing more quickly than she had imagined. 

          That wasn't to say she still didn't hurt. They had repaired her nose several days ago, and she still had powerful headaches whenever the painkillers wore off. 

          Lovvins walked into the medbay as she was sitting up. "How are you recovering?"

          She rubbed the back of her neck. "Quicker than I would have imagined. I think I should be back to normal in a few days."

          He stood with his hands on his hips. "This foolishness should never have happened in the first place. I do not know what you were thinking."

          She shot him an aggravated glance. "I was thinking like a clanner."

          He smirked. "Please, tell me how you fathom that?"

          She wobbly stood up. "Simple. Something was standing between me and something I wanted, so I fought it. Star Commander Joanna was driving a wedge between Abigail and I. I value her friendship too much to let that go without a fight."

        He scoffed. "And that is it?"

        She let her shoulders sag. "What more do you want?"

        "You are filling her head with silly freebirth notions like love and romance. Things that have no place in a warriors life."

        She shook her head. "Neg, I have fed her nothing. Whatever feelings she may or may not have are her own. They do not make her any less of a warrior, and they do not concern you."

        Lovvins bristled and stood to his full height. "You are growing rebellious, Fiona. And arrogant."

        Now it was her turn to stand tall. "Rebellious and arrogant. That sounds like the characteristics of a Jade Falcon warrior. Do not try to berate me for becoming the very thing you asked me to become. "

        Lovvins fumed for a moment. "If this ends badly, remember where it all started."

        With that, he turned and stormed out. Fiona let out a temporary sigh of relief. A moment later, Abigail arrived. "You are officially to be discharged from the medbay today, surat. You will be back on duty in no time from what the doctors tell me."

        She ran a hand through her hair. "Aff. I long to get out of this place and get a hot shower, even in the barracks facility here, though I never thought I would hear myself say that. I feel like a hot mess right now."

        Abigail gestured towards her. "I see they have removed the bandages from your nose. The scientists did an excellent job on your surgery."

        She gingerly touched her nose. "Aff, it is still slightly tender, but clan medicine is amazing. I was worried I was going to come out of this looking like a prize fighter or a hockey player."

        Abigail smiled. "Aff, you look like the surat I am familiar with. Speaking of, you mentioned you needed a shower. If you are cleared to leave, I might just be able to help you with that."

        Fiona shook her head and smiled. "You are incorrigible, Abigail. But yes, I am cleared to leave. So shall we go?"

        Abigail helped her make her way to the barracks, which would have been difficult in her current painkiller-induced haze. Her shoulder was still immensely sore, she could feel the dull pain through the fog of the painkillers, and so Abigail helped her top off. When she wobbled slightly from the buzz, Abigail eagerly volunteered to help her get undressed the rest of the way. Abigail's own clothes quickly followed, and they went into a stall and pulled the curtain closed behind them.

        In her mild morphine high, Fiona watched Abigail turn and crank the valve activating the shower head. She soaked in every bit of flesh, watched every muscle movement, and wondered how fate had brought her to such an amazingly beautiful example of a woman as this. The water began to spray, and Abigail turned and pulled Fiona by the hands into the stream.

        As the water poured over them, their eyes met and locked together. "I missed you, surat. I know, it is my own fault, and I hope you can forgive me for that." She draped her arms over Fiona's shoulders, linking her hands behind her head. "I was scared. There are feelings going on inside me that I do not know how to deal with. I have never encountered this before, and I do not know what the right way to handle it is. Everyone I have spoken to about it has told me to cast them aside and collapse in on myself, but that does not feel right. And so perhaps I am messing this up, surat, I do not know, but my last resort is to share my feelings with you. You have grown on me, surat. Slowly I began to realize I missed your company. First it was your wit and arrogance, then it grew to include the feel of your body against mine. I have felt the unfulfilled desire to couple on occasion, but never until I met you have I felt a singular desire to couple with a single person. Not even among my sibmates. I am confused beyond all reason, but I believe I can honestly say to you, surat, that I love you."

        Fiona saw Abigail close her eyes, as if waiting for an artillery shell to drop and destroy everything. She gently took Abigail's face in her hands and kissed her gently. "I know. I have known for some time. Because I feel the same. I feel sometimes as though I am living in a fantasy world, having this amazing woman practically dropped in front of me. But it is not fantasy. It is reality. And it is you and I."

        With that, both of their barriers fell away and they kissed deeply and passionately, losing themselves in the moment for a time, before having to break the kiss and deal with reality once more. Abigail squeezed her gently. "What do we do now, surat?"

        Fiona took a deep breath. "Nothing. we just be ourselves. This is not the Inner Sphere where we can run off and live a life together. We are bound by our duties. We are warriors. But that does not mean we cannot share our feelings, our love, when we are alone. But it can only ever be when we are alone."

        Abigail nodded slightly, never breaking eye contact. "Aff. I understand." She smiled coyly. "I have no further duties today, and you are not back on active duty yet. Let us make the rest of today one of those times where we share ourselves."

          

        Abigail ran quickly to Fiona's side and knelt down beside her. "You are the most stubborn, most foolish woman I have ever met, surat. Are you alright?"

        Fiona gritted her teeth through the pain. "What do you think?"

        Abigail laughed softly to fight back tears. "You should not have done that surat. You did not have to."

        Fiona reached out with her good arm and struggled to get the words out. "I did...missed you...couldn't let her....between us."

        Abigail squeezed her hand. "Do not say anymore. Not right now. You are slipping into contractions. That, and you are going into shock. The medics will be here soon, but do not worry, I will take care of you, surat."

        She glanced down at her friend. Blood was still pouring from her broken nose, and her once white Jade Falcon tank top was now soaked deep red with blood. Abigail quickly stripped off her own tank top and pushed it as gently as she could to Fiona's face to stop the bleeding without inflicting too much more pain. She could tell from the bulge at her left shoulder that Fiona's shoulder was severely dislocated.

        "How touching. Tending to your wounded lover like a nurse. Pathetic. I was right about you, you are weak." Joanna stood over the pair of them.

        Abigail looked up at her with rage in her eyes. "Be glad I care more about her wellbeing than revenge on you, old hag. Go gloat somewhere else before I decide I am in error and tear you limb from limb." Her rage was joined by a small sense of pride when she looked at Joanna and saw the extent of her own injuries. Her lower lip was bloody and split open, and she would have a nasty black eye for a few days. At least Abigail's training had been of some use to Fiona.

        Joanna looked down scornfully before walking away. "Do not worry, weak little eyas. I am sure she will recover quickly and you can resume coupling like Inner Sphere harlots in love."

        Just then, the medics arrived. They quickly took over, tending to Fiona's wounds and administering a fast-acting painkiller. Fiona was unconscious by the time they put her on a stretcher and carried her off to the medbay.

        Abigail stayed with her the entire time, eventually commandeering a blanket to wrap around herself to combat the chill of the medbay given that she was clad only in leggings and a sports bra. She curled up in an uncomfortable chair, took Fiona's good hand in hers, and eventually fell asleep.

        Sometime later, she was awakened with a start and noticed someone standing at the foot of the bed. She blinked away the fatigue, and noticed it was Star Colonel Pryde. She quickly distangled her hand from Fiona's and cast the blanket off, coming to a respectful stance in front of her commander. "My apologies, Star Colonel. I did not expect that Fiona would have any visitors. I apologize also for my attire, I did not have time to return to my quarters."

        Aidan waved her concerns away. "It is alright, Mechwarrior. This is not really an official visit. I witnessed what happened earlier and wanted to check on Mechwarrior Fiona's condition. She fought bravely and quite well, especially for a freebirth."

        "A freeborn, commander. I make a point of not using the term freebirth in her presence. She has made every effort to adapt in the time since she was made a bondsman, and I try to respect that."

        Aidan nodded. "I understand, Abigail. I do much the same with my comrade, Mechwarrior Horse. They will never be trueborn, but they are warriors nonetheless, quiaff?"

        Abigail glanced down at her friend. Her eyes were closed, and her nose was bandaged. They had generally reset the nose, but they would do simple surgery on it later, and given clan medicine, you would not notice it had been severely broken. She was not sure why that mattered to her, any other time cosmetics would mean little to her. But there was something she cherished about the...well...beauty of her friend that she was glad would not be marred by this incident. Her left arm was immobilized, and Abigail knew that under the blanket covering her, Fiona's chest was tightly bandaged to help facilitate the healing of a cracked rib. Again, clan medicine meant that the process would be swift.

        "Aff, Star Colonel. I have had the privilege of training her in our ways, and I assure you, she has as much the heart of a warrior as you or I, no matter the accident of her birth,"

        He glanced down at her and nodded. "I understand your sentiment, Abigail. If I had any doubts about her assignment to the Falcon Guards, they are gone after her display today."

        "I am glad you understand, sir. Not many would."

        He sighed. "Not many have my colorful background either, Abigail." He paused for a moment, considering her words. "Joanna told me you swore vengeance for this. I understand your position. But I would ask you to let it go. Fiona and Joanna have buried the hatchet. I will speak to Joanna about it. For the unit, this must end. We are all misfits in a way here in the new Falcon Guards. But we must overcome it if we are to become a unit."

        Abigail scoffed. "That seems unlikely, sir."

        Aidan shook his head. "It must happen." He paused again for a moment, then faced her. "This is not common knowledge, and you must keep it to yourself until it is announced to the unit at large. The ilKhan has bid for a proxy battle for Terra. It will take place at the beginning of May. Yes, that is only a few months away. In that battle, we will face the combined forces of ComStar for the right to possess Terra. I am told it is a virtual certainty that the Falcon Guards will be bid in this fight. We must rally, we must put aside our bickering, and we must become a unit if we are to lead our clan to victory. That means putting aside personal vendettas for the betterment of the clan. I need warriors like you....and Fiona...and Joanna, ALL of you, for this fight, and all of you together. We must prevail."

        She paused, the excitement of the announcement overcoming her for a moment. "I understand, Star Colonel. I promise, we will be ready. I will be ready. And Fiona will be ready."

          The next day, the entire unit was scheduled for a long march with gear. Fiona had no doubt that the gear assignments would be punitive on the part of Star Commander Joanna. She had dressed lightly, wearing only calf length leggings and a tank top. 

          She hadn't planned to confront Abigail that day, but then she had spotted her nearby, stretching alone. She watched for a few minutes, marveling at the combination of lean and strength that was her friend. She still wasn't quite sure what it was that she felt. It wasn't exactly romance, but it was certainly beyond simple lust. 

          She made her way over to Abigail. "Can we talk, Abigail?"

          The clanner stood and put her hands on her hips. "This is not a good time, surat."

          Fiona shook her head. "It is never a good time for you anymore. We have not spoken in days. I miss your company."

          "Not here. Not now."

          She reached out and put a hand on Abigail's shoulder. "This is not you. What is wrong?"

          Abigail tended and then wriggled away, her gaze momentarily travelling past Fiona. "Nothing. I just need space. "

          Fiona turned to find out what had caught her friend's attention, and spotted Star Commander Joanna standing with Mechwarrior Diana and Star Colonel Pryde. She turned back to Abigail. "It is her, quiaff? She is filling your head with that Trueborn garbage and making you ashamed to be my friend. She is driving a wedge between us. Well I will not let that happen."

          As she turned and started to stalk off towards Joanna, Abigail called after her. "Do not do anything foolish, surat."

          Fiona did not turn back, striding confidently towards Joanna. "Too late"

          She stopped right in front of Joanna. "I am tired of your games and your bullshit. I am challenging you to meet me in a circle of equals."

          Joanna laughed uproariously. "You and I are not equals, freebirth. Just because you were lucky enough to be plucked from your freebirth cesspool and granted the privilege of becoming a Jade Falcon warrior, you will always be spheroid filth compared to a trueborn. Go away."

          Fiona stood her ground. "I may be freeborn, but at least I am no coward. You use cowardly tricks at every turn. And as if that is not enough, you are now so cowardly that you will not face me to justify yourself. "

          Joanna's anger flared. " I will give you one chance to perform surkai and get out of here."

          Fiona stood even taller, leaning defiantly towards Joanna. "I have done nothing wrong. I will not invoke surkai. I speak the truth."

          Joanna balled her fists. "Then you will have your circle, whelp. You and I, unaugmented, in the gymnasium, right now. I will not kill you in front of all of these warriors, I will simply humiliate you and leave you a bloody pulp."

          Abigail knew things were going to be bad the instant she realized Fiona was going to talk to Joanna. Her fears were realized minutes later. She had been unable to hear the details of the exchange, but shortly after, Joanna had announced that everyone would file into the gymnasium to watch a thrashing in the circle of equals. 

          Some of the Falcon Guards grumbled, but most seemed eager for some excitement. They all filed into the gym, which had been adapted by the Clan forces already into a circular court, which was at the moment set up for some lacrosse-like game. 

          Joanna and Fiona both stepped into the readymade circle, and the assembled warriors sat in the bleachers. 

          The fight started out slow, with the two opponents feeling each other out. Joanna no doubt would have preferred to simply rush in, but she was not so foolish as to do so without knowing her opponents capabilities. Abigail could see that Fiona was eager, but she too was fighting smart. 

          It wasnt long before the fight got serious. The blows and attacks got stronger and more aggressive, in spite of the fact that neither woman could gain an advantage. several times Joanna seemed to pin Fiona,  only to have the younger Freeborn spring free. Alternatively,  Fiona landed several significant blows to the older warrior, but Joanna always bounced back and shrugged the hit off. 

          The crowd was something of an interesting dynamic. At first they had been subdued, but as things got serious, they got more vocal and energized. The crowds support first swung to Joanna, siding with the trueborn over the free. But the momentum swung as the crowd started to realize that the upstart freebirth was holding her own against Joanna the taskmaster. 

          The fight seemed to drag on forever. Each warrior had struck blows, but nothing close to a knockout. And now, the endless punch and counterpunch was beginning to wear both women down. Now it was a matter of who made the first mistake. 

          Much to Abigail's disappointment, the first mistake was made by Fiona. Joanna had lunged in for a strike, and Fiona had easily deflected the weak attack. There was no telling if Joanna was tiring or if she deliberately laid a trap. Either way, Fiona counterattacked vigorously, but Joanna rapidly dodged, leaving Fiona overextended. 

          With speed belying her age, Joanna grasped Fiona's left arm, held it firm, and delivered a powerful kick right below her armpit. The shoulder popped with an audible crack, and Fiona let out a cry of pain. She stumbled and barely remained standing, clutching at her left shoulder. 

          Joanna did not leave her any time to nurse the wound. She charged at Fiona, who managed to fight off her grapple attempt in spite of being currently one-armed. But her focus was gone, shattered by the searing pain in her arm. She was too slow in noticing Joanna spin around and deliver a kick to the back of her knee that sent her sprawling on her back. 

          Joanna stood over her for a second or two, as if judging the likelihood that Fiona would get up. Apparently satisfied that she would not, she delivered a furious kick to her side, leading Fiona to cry out once again in pain. 

          Joanna stood astride her fallen opponent and dropped to her knees, straddling her. She drove a blow directly into Fiona's chest, driving the breath from her lungs. As fiona instinctively tried to curl up from the blow, Joanna grabbed her by the hair and leaned in close, whispering something in her ear that the audience could not hear. 

          Letting Fiona's head drop to the ground, she swung her fist down and connected with the y oi unger womans nose with an audible crunch, sending her head flying to the side as blood began to pour from her nose. Joanna stood up, grabbed Fiona by the ankle, and dragged her unceremoniously to the edge of the circle, and careful not to break the circle herself, flung Fiona over the line. 

          Joanna triumphantly gazed around at the crowd. "We are done here, back to the field!" She shouted. Her gaze lingered on Abigail for a moment, her own look of arrogance meeting Abigail's look of rage. The crowd began heading for the door, but Abigail instead headed for Fiona's prone, bleeding form. 

          Lovvins grabbed her by the arm. "This way. The medics will take care of her. "

          Abigail twisted her arm free. "Neg, not alone they will not. And do not even try to lecture me or stop me."

        Fiona knocked on the door of Abner's quarters. It had been almost a week, and Abigail was still giving her the silent treatment. She didn't understand it, and it was frustrating her beyond belief. The daily physical training regimen that Star Commander Joanna had instituted had been the only thing to keep her mind away from the situation.

        Abner opened the door. "Hey kid. What can I do for you?"

        She took a deep breath. "I have a problem I need to discuss with someone."

        He gestured for her to come in and closed the door after. "I assume it's a freeborn problem?"

        She paused and shook her head. "No. Well....maybe...I do not know. Why would you say that?"

        He leaned casually against the wall. "Well, if it was a normal problem, you'd talk to Miss Trueborn about it. You're here talking to me, not her, so I figure it's a freeborn thing."

        She sat down on the edge of the bed. "Neg. It is an Abigail problem."

        He frowned. "Oh. I see. Well, I'll see what I can do without fighting with her again. Fighting hurt. I'd rather not do that again."

        She explained the situation to him in as much detail as she could. He leaned against the wall silently for a few moments, stroking his beard, then cocked his head slightly. "What's the problem? Why does it bother you?"

        She shrugged. "I do not know, it simply does. She is my friend. I am still a stranger in a foreign land in many ways. I just wish I knew what the problem was."

        He walked over and sat beside her on the bed, his elbows on his knees. "Look, kid. I don't know for sure what's wrong, but I can hazard a guess. I'd wager our esteemed Falconer got under her skin, put her to shame for hanging around with dirty freebirths and all that."

        Fiona shook her head in confusion. "It is possible, but why would words from that old hag affect her so?"

        "It probably just has her confused. There's not many trues tolerate freeborns at all. Joanna probably fed her some surat shit about how she can be great and all that but she has to clean up her act. So now she's running scared."

        "Scared? Scared of what?" she furrowed her brow.

        He paused, obviously choosing his words carefully. "Look, you know she sees you differently, right?"

        She shook her head. "No, what do you mean?"

        He raised an eyebrow. "For all intents and purposes, she treats you like you're true. She doesn't look down on you like she does every other freeborn. You weren't raised here in our society, so you don't know how unusual that is. Trues don't just have freeborn friends, it's not the way it works. So she's torn. Does she do the 'right' thing, or does she stick with where her feelings are taking her."

        Fiona chuckled. "It is strange to hear you talk about her having feelings."

        He shrugged in response. "For all their talk, trues aren't any different then us really. Some tweaked genes here and there. Faster and stronger a little. But they're still human, have feelings just like the rest of us. And now she's been called out for feeling she isn't supposed to have."

        "You make it sound like she's some schoolgirl scolded for having a crush."

        He turned his head to face her. "I don't know what you want to call it, but there's something there. I mean, in the time I've been around you guys, you two have always coupled like sibko kids hitting puberty."

        She smacked him playfully on the arm. "So? Coupling is different here than in the Inner Sphere, less inhibited, it is refreshing."

        "Feelings still happen."

        She shook her head. "We are just friends. It just so happens that she is amazingly hot and finds me attractive as well. It is not a big deal"

        He smirked. "Then why is how she's acting bothering you so much?"

        One floor down and a few rooms over, Abigail landed on her back and let her muscles relax and focused on slowing her breathing. She still felt the occasional twitch that came from a good coupling session and noted a few beads of sweat trickling slowly with the rise and fall of her chest.

        Lovvins rolled onto his side beside her, already calm and relaxed. "So, what is the problem you wish to discuss with me?"

        She kept her eyes closed and continued focusing on her breathing. "Perhaps I simply wished to couple."

        He chuckled softly. "Neg. You seek me out for coupling when you have a problem you wish to discuss, but are unsure about raising it in the course of everyday duties. If you simply wished a coupling partner, you would have sought out a mechwarrior somewhere, probably a female. Our freebirth friend, for example."

        She opened her eyes."Well, you are correct, and that is the problem I wish to discuss."

        He blinked. "Something is wrong between you and Fiona?"

        She stared up at the ceiling, looking for patterns in the ferro-crete. "After the exercise incident, I went to see Star Commander Joanna to challenge her on equal footing. It was foolish, but I thought I could gain some measure of lost pride back. She denied the challenge and went on the attack herself. She focused on my interactions with Fiona, each attack getting more perverse and obscene, until finally I attempted to strike her."

        Lovvins raised an eyebrow. "How did that go?"

        "She blocked my blow and told me that I needed to start acting like a trueborn and cast off other diversions. Especially Fiona. That my feelings would be a burden to me that I should release."

        The elemental rolled back onto his back. "Savashri."

        She opened her eyes and rolled over to face him. "What? What is wrong?"

        He sighed deeply. "Please tell me you have not developed some kind of freebirth emotional bond with her."

        Her jaw tightened. "Neg! I mean...I do not know. I cannot say. I...I am just confused right now."

        He sat up and faced her. "Stravag, by the blood of the founders I thought you were more warrior than that, or I would never have placed her in your charge."

        Her nostrils flared. "This has nothing to do with my being a warrior."

        He smacked his hand against the mattress. "It has everything to do with being a warrior. When you are a warrior, your very life is for the clan. Emotional attachments are for the lower castes and freebirths to justify their vile procreation. For warriors,  such attachments are a fatal flaw."

        She cast the sheets aside and climbed out of bed, holding her hand out to stop him from continuing. "Stop! You are treating me as if I were a Sibko brat with a silly crush, or some foolish freebirth woman wrapped up in a vile love story. It is nothing like that."

        He remained in the bed, his gaze following her as she paced angrily. "Then why are you so bothered by all of this? Star Commander Joanna was correct, the clan like thing to do is get rid of extraneous attachments. The logical thing to do would be to comply. Yet you are bothered by it. This serves to confirm that there is some abnormal attachment there."

        She thrust a finger angrily at him. "Neg! There is not." She knew it was a lie. "We are comrades and have become friends. That is all." Even as she said it, her mind rebuked her for the lie. She may have even believed their relationship was merely one of friendship until Joanna had prodded her. In the moment she had tried to lash out at Joanna, her self-delusions had crumbled and she had been forced to admit that there was something more, something she did not understand and that she was simultaneously excited by and fearful of.

        Her reaction had been to push Fiona away to give herself space, but the reality was that the added distance seemed to being with it an even stronger desire. At first it was just Fiona creeping into her thoughts at ever increasing moments. Then she had entered Abigail's dreams on several occasions. It was simultaneously maddening, infuriating, and exhilarating. 

          Lovvins sighed. "It had better be. There is no place among warriors for that sort of frailty. You would be wise to remember that, Abigail."

        Abigail slammed her fist down on Joanna's desk. "I demand that we settle things in a circle of equals, old woman! Your underhanded tactics may work on that sad collection out there, but I am a trueborn Jade Falcon warrior in her prime. I will not suffer this indecency any longer."

        Joanna, who had not looked up from her desk until now, sat back in her chair and laughed. Abigail, who had returned to standing at attention, did not know what to make of Joanna's reaction. Her first instinct was to jump over the desk and strangle the aging freebirth, but she knew she could not do so without cause, and held herself back. 

        After a time, Joanna stood and walked around the desk so she was beside Abigail. "You, eyas, have barely seen any fighting, and yet you wish to think of yourself as better than the rest of the Falcon Guards? You hold yourself above that so called 'sad collection' out there, but they have seen more battles than you can dream of. They may not be the best example of Jade Falcon warriors, but I intend to shape them into that."

        She paused for a moment to somehow look down on Abigail, in spite of Abigail's height advantage over the falconer. "But you, eyas, do you wish to know what I see when I look at you? You want me to see the proud, arrogant Jade Falcon warrior you pretend to be, but I see through that and I see weakness. You and your little pet freebirth, what a nice couple you make. You rush to her defense like some freebirth lower caste lover. I have no doubt that you probably couple like some revolting freebirth family. Perhaps that is where you belong, you could be a happy little family, producing offspring like rabbits for the lower castes. Perhaps you can share the duties of suckling the little whelps, you both have the chest of a mother...

        Finally Abigail snapped and yelled in rage, swinging with all her might at Joanna. The veteran Falconer was ready for the blow and blocked it,and the two locked gazes with their eyes mere centimeters apart. "Good. You are not such a lover of freebirths after all that you can stand revulsion and obscenity. I was right, I have seen your weakness. You are a trueborn Clan warrior. Start acting like one. Cast off friendship or whatever else you are feeling and be a warrior. Any other attachments are a stone around your neck. You know I am correct."

        Abigail broke the deadlock first, then pounded her fist into the wall with rage. "Damn you, old woman!" and with that she stormed out. She knew she tersely brushed or bumped a number of lower caste workers as she made her way toward the exit, but she did not care. She was angry, frustrated, and confused, and she had no clear way to straighten it all out.

        She came upon members of her Trinary, apparently getting ready for some kind of meeting, and she saw the last person she wanted to see at the moment break off from the group and walk towards her. Sensing her obvious discomfort, Fiona instinctively made her way to her friend, but Abigail was in no mood.

        "Abigail, what is wrong? We have a trainary meeting in ten minutes, are you alright?"

        Abigail said nothing and kept walking. Fiona followed hurriedly. "Abigail, what is wrong? Can I-"

        At that, Abigail stopped and faced Fiona. "Leave me alone, freebirth! I have a great deal on my mind."

        Fiona recoiled. "You have not called me freebirth in a long time. What is wrong? Perhaps I can help."

        Abigail stood for a moment, the unconscious insult toward her friend giving her pause. She tried to collect her thoughts. "I am sorry, surat. I am upset and it just came out."

        Fiona grabbed her shoulder. "I understand. I really do not care. But I see that you are upset and I want to help."

        Abigail shook her head. "Neg, surat. I must figure this problem out on my own."

        As a total aside, I'll say a few words on the configuration of Fiona's Hellbringer, which I settled on so I can bring the character into tabletop play. Armor is stock (which is yuck, but what can you do), movement is 5/8/4, I resisted trying to tweak out things to try to get a fifth jump jet to give the mech a more rough, slapped together feel. For weapons, there's an ER Large and an ER Medium in each arm, plus one ER Medium in the left torso. The streak-6 is downgraded to an SRM-6, the AMS moved from the head to the right torso along with it's ammo. ECM, Active Probe, and Targeting Computer are all intact, and 4 extra heat sinks round the beast out.

        Fiona was awakened after far too few hours of sleep by a knocking on her door. "That better either be the ilKhan himself or news that we are ready to jump to Terra. Otherwise I'm going back to sleep," she grumbled.

        The door swung open throwing light all over the room. "I am afraid I am neither, surat. But you must get up all the same. Let this be a lesson to you about poking around inside a mech all day with freebirth techs."

        Fiona didn't bother to aim, but simply hurled a pillow in Abigail's general direction. "You still often conveniently forget that I am freeborn."

        The pillow came flying back, it's aim more true. "I never forget, surat. But you are different from the dirty masses of freebirths everywhere. You at least try to overcome the accident of your birth. Most of them revel in it. But enough of this nonsense. Get up and get dressed. The entire unit is to assemble for some kind of review before the Star Colonel. Apparently we are to review by trinary, so we of Trinary Delta have a little more time, but hurry all the same. We want to make a good impression, especially amongst this miserable lot."

        

        Half an hour later, the two were making their way towards the tarmac. In spite of the fact that it was apparently some kind of review, they were all told to wear standard field uniforms. Both women had pulled their hair back into tight ponytails. Fiona voiced her unease first. "This seems strange. Why now, of all times, for a review? Why by Trinary? and Why are we not in dress uniform?"

        Abigail shrugged. "I  do not know, surat. I asked Lovvins about it, and it seems that for now only the Mechwarriors have been summoned. I then asked our Star Captain about it, and she was evasive, speaking only of rumors. Apparently, ours was the last batch to arrive, including replacements for two imbeciles that killed each other in a Trial of Grievance. One of those replacements is apparently the pet of the Star Colonel or some such, and is going to be our unit 'Falconer' to whip the unit into shape. Personally, I have my doubts about it all, the Star Colonel included."

        Fiona smiled. "I can see why, a Trueborn consorting with freeborns, scandalous, quiaff?"

        Abigail gave her a sidelong glance. "There are times, surat, that you make me long for the days when I could punish you with impunity. Your sarcasm dropped off noticeably at the end of that period. It is returning now that you are a warrior."

        They exited the main building and walked out towards the tarmac. Greeting them, though walking in the opposite direction, was a ragtag lot of warriors, some walking, some stumbling, and most sporting wounds of some kind. They looked more like a group flooding out of a bar after a full on barroom brawl than a Trinary of Clan warriors. Fiona and Abigail looked at each other and shared a concerned glance.

        They made their way to the tarmac, and within a moment, the other mechwarriors of the group had assembled. Fiona hadn't really had much of a chance to meet her trinary comrades until now, and what she saw was less than encouraging. Having so recently gone through the process of raising herself to the standards of a clan warrior, she was acutely aware that most of these specimens fell short. Most were old. Some were even overweight. Their Star Captain was an almost frail woman, so much so that Fiona pondered if she could have bested the woman in combat even before her Clan re-training.

        "This is pathetic. Are you Clan warriors or eyases fresh from the nest that you stand around like a mob? Neg, you are too old and decrepit to be eyases. Form even ranks, you slovenly scum!" The words came from the older of a pair of warriors who strode towards the group as if they meant to kill the lot of them.

        The contrast in the pair was striking. The Star Commander of the group was old. Fiona still hadn't gotten used to judging age among Clan warriors, but this woman, whose uniform marked her as trueborn, was definitely older than the norm. She seemed even older than Abner and Star Colonel Pryde. Yet her build and bearing defied her obvious age. She walked prouder than the haughtiest of young warriors Fiona had seen, and her frame, while thin, was still muscular and strong.

        If the Star Commander was old, her companion was the opposite. This woman was tall, lithe, and beautiful. Fiona had early on catalogued Abigail as the most totally beautiful woman she had ever met, and their time together, even the harsh times, had never changed that assessment in her mind. The woman who accompanied the Star Commander came in a very close second. Fiona noted that her insignia marked her as Freeborn, but everything else marked her as the perfect clan warrior. And she was far younger than the Star Commander, most likely closer to Abigail and Fiona in age. If the woman had not looked as if she were ready to kill the entire group on the spot, Fiona might have summoned the courage to ask the woman to couple.

        "NOW!" the older warrior barked. So fierce was her tone that none of the fifteen assembled mechwarriors questioned her further, and they quickly formed into three ranks of five. The two unfamiliar warriors stood next to each other in rigid stance, as the older woman barked out instructions. She identified herself as a Star Commander Joanna, and informed the group that she had been appointed by the Star Colonel as their Falconer. The standards of the unit were lacking, she said, and that was all going to change from this moment forward. She started by outlining a strict regimen of calisthenics that they would begin, starting immediately. One of the mechwarriors made a crude remark, and without warning or hesitation, Joanna stormed into the ranks and knocked the offender unconscious. "Are there any further objections to the training process?"

        The stunned group said nothing, and Star Commander Joanna began barking out instructions. Nothing was too complicated, it was simply a regimen of basic exercises. The state of the unit was what made the request so problematic. Within the first 5 minutes, several of the unit had dropped out, collapsing or stopping and being punished severely by Star Commander Joanna and her aide. After ten minutes, only four of the mechwarriors remained. After fifteen, it was only Fiona and Abigail.

        To Fiona, it was nothing new. This was simply a rehash of what Abigail had put her through in their early moments. But the others, other than Abigail, had simply faltered. Some had just quit, in spite of the beatings from Joanna and her assistant. In the end, it was her and Abigail, pushing forward trying to keep up with Joanna's commands.

        They were winning, she could feel it. They kept going where Joanna expected them to fail. Every muscle in her body screamed in pain, but Joanna's insults kept her going. When she felt like giving up, she glanced to her side and saw her friend in just as much pain and distress as she was, yet continuing on.

        Joanna had them doing Burpees, and in her mind, Fiona was trying to decide which muscle was going to fail on her first. Joanna stood inches from her, inspecting every move and hurling the occasional insult, as her assistant stood by Abigail. She felt a slight spasm in her arm muscles as she completed the push-up, deciding that her arms were probably what would give out first. She returned back to the squatting position and lunged upward with all the strength she could muster, determined not to show any weakness.

        It was at that moment, just after her feet left the ground, that Joanna struck. The older warrior whipped her leg out with a speed that belied her age and delivered a kick that swept Fiona's legs out from under her. In spite of the shock, she tried to react and brace herself as she fell to the ground backwards, but her arms failed her and her head and shoulders impacted on the tarmac with an audible smack.

        Stars swam in her eyes as her vision blurred and distorted. She heard words from Joanna but their meaning did not register. She was then aware of two Joannas leaning over her, and as the two images merged back into one, words began to register. "Clumsy freebirth, you should know when your body is fatigued and prepare for it, not flop on the ground like some circus performer. Get up, filth. Neg, do not get up, you are done. You have failed, lay there like a stunned surat!"

        At the last word, she heard a scream of rage and Abigail flew over her and tackled the Star Commander. Fiona managed to roll her head to the side to witness the ensuing fracas, albeit from a strange perspective. Abigail took quick advantage of her initiative and rained several blows down on the hapless Falconer. But Abigail was as exhausted as Fiona was, and after the first few blows, Joanna had recovered her wits and turned the tables. From then, it was only a matter of seconds before Joanna was atop Abigail, shoving her face to the tarmac. Then Joanna grabbed Abigail in a choke hold.

        As Abigail's body went limp, Fiona struggled to her feet and staggered towards the two combatants. Joanna let Abigail's body fall to the ground like dead weight, and strode vengefully towards Fiona. As she made a feeble attempt at a punch, Fiona noted the sense of intense rage in Joanna's eyes. It was her last thought before the older woman's fist struck her on the side of the head, and she collapsed, twisting, to the ground, unconscious.

        Her next memory was of a medic shining a light into her eyes. A few more tests and she was sent packing with a diagnosis of a moderate concussion and some painkillers to take the edge off of the fact that she felt like she had been run over by an Atlas. She was discharged at the same time as Abigail, and the two made their way back to the barracks together. Abigail had insisted that Fiona stay the night in her quarters, as she should not be alone with a concussion.

        As they stripped off their jumpsuits, the toll of the day was shown  in cuts and bruises starting to form. "You did not have to fight her, you know. She is just trying to provoke us."

        Abigail waived her hand dismissively. "Of course I did. I know she was trying to provoke us, but that does not mean I must stand by and watch treachery unfold. She is using underhanded tactics to get the results she wants. Just because we are better than the rest of that rabble out there. I wish to wring the life from her ancient neck in a circle of equals."

        Fiona shook her head. "You tried that, it did not seem to work."

        Abigail scoffed. "That was no circle of equals, that was a knee jerk reaction, and I was worn out, you know that. I could pummel her on an even footing."

        Fiona sat down on the bed. "I know that. But that is a discussion for some other time. For now, we must simply be the best we can. That witch is not going anywhere, and I will be damned if I let her get the better of me. Now, come over here and make sure I do not die in my sleep, quiaff?"