Fiona walked into the virtually silent mechbay aboard the Overlord-C class Starbird. They were burning in-system to Tukayyid and would be prepping for drop in a few hours. The command star and the first three Trinaries were aboard the Raptor, with the remaining 2 Trinaries and elementals aboard the Starbird. Most of the warriors were asleep at the moment, trying to catch some rest before the impending battle. She had tried to sleep, but the excitement, combined with the sense of dread she felt about the upcoming battle had overcome her will to relax and sleep.

        She had slipped on running shoes, leggings, and a tank top, and made her way down to the mechbay to look over her mech one last time before the fight. She had run into a few others who could not sleep, some were walking idly, some running laps to try to burn off the nervous energy. But when she had reached the mechbay, she had found it eerily quiet and empty, most of the lights and equipment running in low power mode.

        She made her way to her Hellbringer, and rested a hand against the cool metal of it's foot. It would be the first time she had ever taken the mech into battle, and it would easily be the biggest battle of her life.  Most were saying it was going to be the biggest battle since the days of the Liberation of Terra. Part of her had dreamed of being in a battle like this. But her youthful dreams of battle had usually consisted of some heroic stand against the villainous forces of the Dragon, defending Fed Suns worlds from slavery in the name of freedom. Now she found herself fighting for possession of Terra, against what basically amounted to the TeleCom company, beside the descendants of Kerensky himself to restore the Star League.

        Suddenly a voice broke her out of her reverie. "You give her a name yet?"

        She turned to see the diminutive form of her tech, Maddie, emerging from behind the other leg. "Neg. I had not really thought about it. I never had time to name my Wyvern. It had some FedCom quartermaster designation, nothing more. Just like this one."

           "Just like her, you mean."

        She shrugged. "What makes you so sure it is a 'her'?"

        Maddie glanced up at the mech. "You ever watch the ROMs of your simulator runs? Or even of your fights in your Wyvern? When you watch them from 3PV or from opfor gun cam angles, your mech has a swagger to it. It's not as pronounced in the Wyvern. I think you picked a lot of it up in your time in the clans. It kind of mirrors your walk when you're around other warriors. Your friend has the same thing. It's a kind of swagger, little bit of arrogance, but definitely feminine. It slips into your piloting. So this baby, she's definitely a girl."

        Fiona laughed. "You have a very strange way of viewing machines. And people, for that matter, I suppose."

        Maddie shoved her hands in her pockets and slouched her shoulders. "I'm a watcher, I guess. Always have been. Always watched people, machines, everything. I'm not much of a talker or a social butterfly or anything."

        Fiona chuckled. "You could have fooled me."

        Maddie frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

        Fiona smiled. "Relax, I meant no offense. It is just that you are quite bubbly and talkative for a clanner. I just found it strange that you find yourself not much of a talker."

       Seemingly satisfied, Maddie continued on. "It's gonna be the biggest battle in centuries. I'm no warrior, but part of me wishes I were out there to see it."

        Fiona walked over and stood beside the small tech, putting her arm around her shoulder as they both looked up at the battlemech. "Where will you be? I did not get the full briefing, just our Cluster Combat overview. It made no mention of where the technical elements would be. Do they plan on having you near the front at all?"

        Maddie sighed. "Doubtful. From everything I've heard, Clan Command thinks it will be a pushover. Most repair elements are going to be way in the back, probably in the LZ. I'm combat engineer rated, but the odds of them needing us for anything are next to nill. We mostly build fortifications, bridges, that sort of thing. Doubt we'll need that."

        "It is for the best. I am still nervous about the whole thing, to be honest."

        Maddie gave her a quizzical look. "Why? We have the best forces imaginable arrayed against them. Everyone say we cannot be defeated, and Terra is in our grasp. You and I will both see Terra together."

        Fiona sighed. "Things are too simple, too easy. Our leaders think this will be a walkover. I am worried. These ComStar soldiers are an unknown, and I dislike the idea of fighting them on our own terms of combat. It is too....I do not know, to tempting of a gift, wrapped up for our taking. There is something else in play here, Maddie. Mark my words. This will not be an easy fight, no matter the outcome."

        Maddie looked at her, confused. "Don't you want to win?"

        Fiona threw her one hand up in dismissal. "Of course I want to win. I am clan now. And even if I were not, the idea of restoring the Star League....it is intoxicating. To be the one to accomplish it....it is a goal beyond words. But I have been on the other side, Maddie. I know how the Inner Sphere sees us. They do not see us as the Star League reborn, they see us as conquerors coming to enslave humanity under a rigid caste system. We are alien, we are invaders, and we are the enemy. They will fight to the death. And what is worse, they have brought this fight to us, using our own customs. This is exactly how I defeated clan forces when I was fighting for the Federated Commonwealth. The ComGuard leader, Focht, he has seen something. He has seen a weakness, a crack in our armor. And he will give everything he has to pierce that crack."

        Maddie looked at her with concern. "Then you will simply have to do better. It is what you warriors do, quiaff?"

        She sighed. "Aff. I hope so. Aff."

        About a week had passed, Fiona was back in the routine of exercises with the unit, and there were no further incidents. There was still plenty of venom from Joanna and her assistant, but Fiona was determined to not let it get to her. Today was different. Today, the entire unit had been assembled at once, elementals included, and arranged in parade formation on the main tarmac. 

        They had been assembled there for a few minutes when Star Colonel Aidan Pryde appeared and strode over to the podium at the head of the group. The assembled group shuffled anxiously, knowing that if the commander was addressing them, something of consequence was about to happen.

        "Falcon Guards! I have exciting news for all of you. I know you have all worked extremely hard over the past weeks, and this unit has become something to be proud of indeed. You have shown me that you can come together as a unit, and now the time has come to show everyone, the Khans, all of the other clans, and the Inner Sphere! We have been chosen to fight in a great trial, an extraordinary battle for the fate of our great crusade! In two days time, we will board our ships for the world of Tukayyid, and there, we will face the warriors of ComStar in a trial of possession. The prize of that trial is nothing less than the jewel of Terra herself! When we defeat the ComGuard, we will take possession of Terra, and the clan that earns the greatest glory on Tukayyid will have the title of ilClan forever!"

        The speech was a rousing one, and went on for a bit longer, but Fiona could not help but feel a pit of nervousness forming in her stomach. A single trial, one battle to end it all, it was too good to be true. She knew it was. She did not know the details, but somehow she knew it was the same thing she had done when she first encountered the clans, exploiting the trial system.

        When the assembly broke up, Abigail slapped her on the back. "This is incredible news, quiaff?"

        Fiona tried to put on a brave face and nodded.

        Abigail saw through the facade. "What is wrong, surat?"

        She shook her head. "Do you not see? This is exactly how I was able to achieve victory when I first met the clans. The trial system. These ComGuards will find some way to exploit it, I am certain. ComStar is nothing if not devious."

        Abigail grabbed her by the shoulders. "They may be devious, but we are Jade Falcons. You achieved some success, yes, but ultimately you were defeated and made a bondsman. The clan prevailed. That will happen here as well. We will triumph over whatever deviousness they have planned, and we will prevail. We must, we are clan! Now, tell me, what do you know of this Tukayyid and these ComStar warriors?"

        She scratched her head. "I have never heard of Tukkayid. The Star Colonel said it lies in the Free Rasalhague Republic. It is not one of their major worlds. As for the ComGuards....I know very little. For much of the time after the exodus, no one knew that ComStar even maintained a military. Their primary defense was their control of the HPG network, nobody dared strike against them. But slowly, over the last several decades, it has become increasingly clear that they have stockpiled arms and equipment, and have been raising an army. I do not think anyone knew of the size of it. An army large enough to take on all of the clans? I do not know. They will be inexperienced, but they may have vintage Star League weapons. There is no way to know."

        "It will be glorious though, quiaff? Imagine, we are now mere months away from Terra. From completing the crusade. You and I shall stand on Terra's soil together. That is a dream come true."

        Fiona cautioned her friend. "It is not yet achieved. The battle still must be won. Much can go wrong."

          Abigail shook her head. "It cannot. We will not let it. We are Jade Falcon."

          The rest of the evening had surprised Fiona. After the shower, Abigail had told her that she was going to take her somewhere different to get out of the stuffiness of the Mudd Station barracks. They had gone back to Abigail's room, where she had stuffed an inordinate amount of blankets and tarps and a few other supplies into two large backpacks and then they had set out. 

          Fiona was left scratching her head as they made their way to one of the outward most supply buildings, a tall, ugly utilitarian structure, and had then proceeded to make their way up onto its flat roof. 

          Once they had made their way to one of the outermost corners, Abigail pull out the tarps and very quickly erected a kind of lean-to tent, covering the sky above them and leaving only open a wedge that looked out into the dense underbrush and woods that grew beyond the perimeter of the station. 

          She enlisted Fiona's help to layer some of the thicker blankets on top of the 'floor' of the tent, making it relatively comfortable. When they were done, Fiona turned to her. "You brought me up here to pitch a tent on the roof?"

          Abigail shrugged and smiled. "Well, we cannot leave the base, and the only privacy on the base is our quarters, I figured you might like a change of scenery."

          Fiona raised an eyebrow and gave Abigail an exaggerated up and down look. "Oh I do not mind the scenery, I just never would have guessed this."

          "Did you never go camping as a child, surat?" She teased. 

          "Neg, not really. Remember, I was a spoiled brat."

        Their coupling was slow and gentle, both out of necessity of Fiona's injuries and the general emotion and feel of the moment. After a while, a gentle rain began to fall, and Fiona nervously waited for drops to pierce their shelter. Abigail had built it well, and there was just the soft patter of the rain, a gentle rain different from the almost daily deluge that pounded Mudd Station in the afternoon.

        Abigail propped herself up on her elbows and turned her head to look at Fiona, who lay on her back with her arms above her head. "Can I ask you a silly question, surat?"

        Fiona nodded. "Sure. I think you and I are past worrying if questions are silly any longer. Shoot."

          "When you were a child in the Inner Sphere, what did you dream about?"

          Fiona scrunched her shoulders a bit. "That is a strange question. What do you mean?"

          "I mean growing up, what did you dream about as a child, what did you envision the future being? For me, and for that matter, for everyone I grew up around, it was simple. We all dreamed of becoming warriors, winning glory, and returning to the Inner Sphere. We never knew that we would be the generation to do it, but we dreamed of it anyway. But it occurred to me once that I had no idea what it was like for you."

          Fiona sighed softly. "Mine were ever changing. When I was very young, of course, I dreamed I would grow up to be a beautiful princess, somehow charming my way to become the beloved leader of New Ivaarsen."

          Abigail laughed gently. "I cannot imagine you like that, surat. You are too much of a fighter for that. But it is amusing just the same." 

          Fiona gently slapped at Abigail. "Go ahead and laugh, but you asked." She paused for a moment. "As I grew up, though, I began to realize that my parents were always going to be more focused on my brother. He was older, and he was a boy. For a time, my dream was to be better than he was, but I soon realized that all my successes would continue to be politely shuffled off to second place behind Jackson. And then my dreams shifted to finding something where I would be judged, where I could rise or fall, based on what I did, not according to my parents or anyone else's standards or ideas."

          Abigail smiled. "And that led you to becoming a warrior. And to coming here."

          Fiona nodded. "Not intentionally, but it has seemed to work out that way. I have no illusions that there is not still a ceiling here that I will never clear, but at least it is more straightforward here."

          "When we have restored the Star League, will you go home and show them all how far you have come?"

          She shook her head. "Neg, I do not see any circumstances that would ever lead me home. The clan is my home now."