The trio walked towards a small spheroid dropship that was to be their ride back to the Invasion Corridor. Fiona had easily packed all of her few meager possessions, and Abigail's mech had been stowed aboard, along with Lovvins BattleArmor suit.

        "I have never seen a dropship like that. It looks like a Union, but it is far smaller."

        Lovvins spoke up. "It is a Confederate class dropship. It used to be the standard lance transport dropship class of the SLDF. Most were mothballed with the exodus. This one seems to have been comically named the Acorn. This does not bode well."

        They walked up the ramp and through the hatch into what turned out to be a rather dilapidated ship. There was even rust in a few spots, and the smell was reminiscent of walking into a museum. "Mothballed indeed," Fiona chirped.

        Abigail scowled. "Are you still so cheery now, surat?"

        "Just because we came to the homeworlds in a prime Warship and are returning to duty in a flea trap, do not let it dampen your spirits. It could be cozy, provide time for bonding, that sort of thing."

        Lovvins gave her a curious look. "It appears that several vermin have already bonded with the ship if the state of cleanliness is anything of note. At the very least, we have space to ourselves. Our gear is aboard, and I am told it is just us and one other, also bound for the Falcon Guards, aboard the ship. We have personal cabins and no one else to bother us."

        They climbed a ladder to the passenger deck. There was a corridor with several open hatches lining the sides, presumably the passenger cabins. They began discussing cabin assignments when an all too familiar voice rang out.

        "Whoa, fancy meeting you folks here. Of all the dropships in the Kerensky Cluster." Abner stood halfway through the bulkhead to one of the cabins. "Don't all cheer at once."

        Abigail nearly launched herself at the man. "You, freebirth, what are you doing here?! Tell me you are to be our maid or something. This is intolerable. I will not be cooped up for weeks with a stinking freebirth in this tin can."

        Abner raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you just made Fiona a warrior and you're already kicking her out because she is freeborn? Oh, you were talking about me, weren't you, Miss Trueborn?"

        Abigail made a move towards Abner "I will thrash you, freebirth! What is this insanity?"

        Fiona interjected herself in front of Abigail. "Look, calm down. I am sure there is an explanation as to why Star Commander Abner is here?" She turned to face the older freeborn.

        He shrugged. "Actually, it is just Mechwarrior Abner now. I got busted down in rank. Well, not really demoted so much as....well they gave me a choice of keeping my rank in a solahma cluster, or taking a reduction in rank to remain on the front lines. I'm sure my skill and years of service played a part in that. Better question is what are you merry three doing here?"

        Lovvins stepped forward. "If you are demoted, old man, then I am the ranking officer on this ship for the voyage. What cannon-fodder unit have they assigned you to, freebirth?"

        Abner straightened himself. "I understand, Star Commander, and I defer to your authority. I promise I will be no trouble. I'm just on my way to the scrap heap they are making out of the new Jade Falcon Guards."

        Abigail practically jumped "Savashri! I am not serving with this old rat. I would rather be a cannister-nanny wiping sniveling sibko brats noses than serve beside the likes of him."

        Abner took a step back. "Oh, so you all are assigned to the Guards too? Boy, you must have crossed some serious brass to get thrown on the same pile as me. And no offense, Miss Trueborn, but if you're on your way to the Falcon Guards, you best be getting used to serving with the likes of such colorful folks as me. Well, maybe not as colorful as me, but you get the idea."

         Fiona jumped in the middle of the mess. "Look, everyone, we are going to have to get along. Minor differences aside, it appears we are all assigned to the same unit. And we are all Jade Falcon, quiaff?"

        She let her gaze slowly float from the hulking Elemental form of Lovvins, to the statuesque image of rage that was Abigail currently, to the laid back grizzled freeborn veteran Abner. "Quiaff?!" she barked.

        They all nodded. Abner piped in. "I already have my quarters picked out. Anyone going to claim one of the cabins next to me? I may be old, but I don't snore."

        The next hour or so was spent selecting cabins and getting gear and clothing put away. The ship seemed stale, but once one got past the general feeling of mothballs, it was relatively clean. It was also old. There was a new mattress on the bed, but the frame creaked annoyingly. All of the hatches had creaks or groans to them when moved. Space was confined, but not overly so to the point of causing discomfort. She wondered how Lovvins would fare in his cabin, as the accommodations had obviously been designed without thoughts of the Elemental phenotype. 

        After she had suitably unpacked and given life to her small little cabin, she headed out into the corridor and looked for signs of any of the others. Two hatches remained closed, with Abner's being the only one open. She poked her head in and found him flopped casually on his bunk. 

        "What's up, kid?"

        She stepped through the hatch. "You really should stop calling me that, you know."

     He sat up. "Alright, Princess."

     She set her hands defiantly on her hips. "That is no better. I am not, was not, a princess, and I think I have come a long way from a spoiled brat."

     He rested his elbows on his knees. "I know, you're a rough and tumble badass now. Even rough and tumble badasses don't get to pick their nicknames though. But that's beside the point. You came here to talk about something."

     She sat down on the bed beside him. "You and Abigail, you guys have to find a way to bury the hatchet you know."

     He smiled. "Tell that to Miss Trueborn. I'm not the one with a massive chip on their shoulder. And she'll listen to you a sure sight better than she will to me, you guys have your little badass sisterhood."

     Fiona nodded. "I plan on telling her just that. But you also enjoy pushing her buttons, dont bother to deny that either."

     He chuckled, "That girl needs her buttons pushed now and again. All trues do. Can't let then go on getting too big of a head on them."

     "She will come around. She did with me. Just give it time."

     He gave her a sidelong incredulous look. "You're different."

     "What do you mean?"

     "You know what I mean."

     She pursed her lips, "No, I dont."

     He looked deep into her eyes for a moment, as if trying to make a decision. "Some day you will. Till then, trust me. She isn't coming around on me the way she did with you. But, I'll do what I can."

     She put her hand on his shoulder as she stood up to leave. "Thank you."

     She banged on the next hatch, and Lovvins replied from inside. She opened the door and entered, coming upon the almost comical scene of an Elemental sitting on a bed made for a normal sized person. "I am sure I will develop some kind of muscle or joint condition being stuck in this tin can for the whole journey back."

     She laughed. "According to Abner, I should be the one complaining about the conditions on the ship, spoiled as I am."

     Lovvins grimaced. "I suppose I should become accustomed to dealing with his particular style of joviality, as we will be stuck with him for some time, and I suspect many more of his ilk when we reach our new assignment."

     She sighed. "You still do not trust me on this, do you? It will be a greater opportunity than you think."

     He shook his head. "It is not that I do not trust you, you know I do. It is more that I know you are still very new to our ways. You still do not fully understand the way of the clans."

     She sat down in the lone chair in the room. "I hope I am not out of line, but I feel this needs said. When you first captured me, I was weak and broken. You came to me and told me that where I went from there was up to me, that I could simply give up, or I could rebuild myself into something better. You were sure it would be the latter. In the early stages I did not really believe, I was simply in self preservation mode. But your belief kept me going until I began to believe myself. Do the same here. Allow my belief to keep you on the path until you start to believe yourself."

     Lovvins smiled. "You also had a very aggressive trainer beating your success into you."

     She laughed. "I could threaten to beat the belief into you, but I think we both know how that would go. I am not saying there will be no hardship. But there is genuine opportunity here. Just trust in yourself."

     He sighed. "I will make every attempt. In the meantime, we must find a way to prevent Abigail and Abner from murdering one another."

     "They need to find a way to focus on their common ground, rather than their differences. I have already spoken with Abner about it. I will speak to her about it shortly."

     He laughed. "My solution would be to lock them in a compartment until they emerge on friendly terms."

     She stood and made her way to the door. "Assuming they both would emerge."