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?"