Lothian League
Marian Hegemony
The Periphery
4 January, 3150
The hovercar pulled up to the front steps of the Logan mansion. Freyja tipped the driver and climbed out into the chill air. She paused for a moment, taking in the sight of the almost palatial structure. It was an impressive structure, more on classical Terran lines than the Romanesque style favored by the Marians. Of course, it was no Castle McCarron either.
She climbed the steps and worked the large bronze knocker that adorned the door. The entrance swung open almost immediately, and a servant greeted her.
"Freyja McCarron. Count Logan extended an invitation for dinner to me, so I believe I am expected?"
The butler smiled. "Of course, Lady McCarron. His lordship will be here to greet you shortly. Allow me to take your coat?"
She handed the butler her parka, not needing it in the warm confines of the mansion. She wore knee-high boots and black leggings, paired with a light blue sweater that almost matched her eyes. She wore her hair down, and had let Clarissa and Madeline style it for her, in spite of the fact that they battered her with questions about Gunnar Logan.
Count Logan appeared almost immediately, dressed impeccably in a pair of slate gray slacks and a cream colored sweater that hugged his form perfectly without appearing too showy.
"Freyja, I'm glad you decided to take me up on my invitation. I was worried that you were going to stand me up," he said with a warm smile. She wasn't even sure why she was here. Their one night fling seemed to have been ages ago, and so much had transpired since then. Not to mention, she was hardly the girl he had thought she was when they had last shared a bed.
She smiled sheepishly. "I was rather surprised that you invited me, after everything that's gone on."
He shook his head. "You needn't worry about that. I'm not holding a grudge. What's past is past. We have a lot ahead of us, and besides, you're still the strikingly beautiful girl who caught my eye."
She shrugged slightly. "But I'm not the girl I pretended to be. And now we are what we are, you're a noble, and I'm....far from it."
He smiled coyly. "Yes, well, about that. If you'd allow me, I've got something to show you that I think you'll enjoy. And it also might put your mind at ease a bit about the gap between our social stations." He offered her his arm, and she took it.
His touch was still electric. Even now, just holding him by the arm, she thought about their night together, and the elation of being wrapped in his arms. "So what is this that you're going to show me?"
He patted her arm as they walked. "You'll see. You remember that I said I was something of a connoisseur of history, military and what not? Well money has it's privileges, and I've built up quite the library over the years."
He led her into a room that was lined on three sides with books, discs, and data tapes. It was a library in the classical sense of what you would expect to find in a mansion on ancient Terra. The fourth wall housed a giant holodisplay, which currently showed a rotating image of Lummatii. Set up perfectly to view it from was a large, plush sofa that would easily seat two or three people.
He led her over to it and gestured for her to sit. She complied, and he followed, picking up a remote control as he leaned back. She could see the eagerness in his face.
"So, you also remember that I mentioned to you that I thought you looked somewhat familiar? Well, once I knew who you really were, it let me do a little digging. It's not like the old days where we could link up via HPG and get virtually anything, but I combed through my library until I found something that explained my feeling."
He pressed a button, and the display image changed. A logo for Solaris Broadcasting Company flashed on the screen. Freyja's mind raced. What had he found?
The image dissolved into a video of an arena, with people bustling in and out, brilliant lights everywhere, and a large city skyline in the background. Music played in the background, and text flashed onto the screen declaring that it was fight night in Solaris City. An announcers voice broke in.
Hello 'mech fans! This is Keith Callum with your call for the night, and it's fight night in Solaris City! That's right, we've got some amazing mech combat action for you coming up in just a few minutes. This one is gonna be good, I promise you, we've got two femme fatales stepping into the arena tonight, so get ready for a cat fight!
The image shifted to video of a tunnel where one of the mechwarriors was entering the arena, with the text "recorded earlier" flashing across the bottom. Freyja's jaw hung open. The warrior striding through the tunnel was her doppelganger. The blonde mechwarrior looked a little older, and was slightly bigger than Freyja, but there was no mistaking the resemblance. She wore baggy cargo pants and a tank top with a stylized number 4 on it, and as she approached the camera, she took off her large aviator style sunglasses.
The name "Faith McCarron" splashed across the screen as she spoke. "Yeah, I know my opponent doesn't say much, but that's fine. I talk enough for the both of us. And I'll wipe the floor with her. Everyone is scared 'cause she's new. Well sweetheart, I hope you enjoyed your first eight victories, because bout number nine is going in the "L" column for you."
Freyja turned to Gunnar Logan, her expression still one of surprise. "Oh my god, how did you find that? That's my great-great grandmother, Faith. She was the first in our line of the family to become a mechwarrior. She built the castle I grew up in back on Altorra."
Gunnar nodded. "And you're the spitting image of her. I've watched this fight before, so that's why you looked familiar."
Freyja stared at Gunnar and shrugged. "Well, does she win?"
He laughed. "You honestly want me to spoil it? This fight took place ninety-eight years ago, Freyja. And that woman's blood is flowing through your veins. Watch and find out."
She turned back to the screen and snuggled into Gunnar's embrace as he put an arm around her. Together, the two of them watched as the video continued.
And her opponent tonight comes to us undefeated, and something of a mystery. We don't know much about Catherine Black. She keeps her origins a secret, and a deadly one at that. She has faced eight opponents in her short career, and cut them all down with cold efficiency.
The feed switched to that of Faith's opponent entering the arena. She was a tall, fit woman, clad entirely in black, from her heavy black combat boots, black synthleather pants, and long black coat to her jet black hair, she walked with a fierceness and purpose of a warrior on a mission. It was hard to believe, but Freyja recognized this woman as well.
"Oh my god, that's Aunt Cat!"
Gunner gave her a confused look.
"That woman, I grew up knowing her as Aunt Cat. She was my great-great grandmother's closest friend, she was a former Nova Cat warrior. She's been with our family for almost a century. She's the woman who taught me how to fight in a mech. She's still alive, or was when I left home."
Who will triumph tonight, the cold, calculating Catherine Black, or the feisty firebrand Faith McCarron?
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