Anywhere
Tamar March
Federated Commonwealth
26 March, 3050

        Fiona had drifted off to sleep in the makeshift cell, and slept surprisingly soundly until one of the guards barked at her to wake up. When she awoke, she found herself greeted not by Abigail, but by the hulking form of Star Commander Lovvins. "Your training regimen for today has been altered. Get yourself cleaned up and meet me here in ten minutes, bondsman."

        She hurriedly acknowledged him and scurried off to get showered and changed, and made sure to return in under the allotted time. She was mentally kicking herself for her lapse in control, and wondered what kind of punishment she was going to face from the Star Commander. He said nothing as she followed him out of the barracks and in the general direction of the assembled Dropships on the tarmac. They stopped short of the Dropships, however, and entered a large hanger that housed a few Battlemechs, and a greater number of vehicles.

        She broke the silence as they walked past various ground vehicles. "I am sorry for my outburst in the barracks, Star Commander. I should have shown better judgement."

        The large man did not break stride, forcing her to keep a quick pace to keep up with him. "Firstly, I do not concern myself with the goings on of the lower castes unless it becomes a problem to my unit. But secondly, you need not apologize for handling whatever trivial matter it was. So long as you acquitted yourself honorably, I am not bothered by your handling of matters among the lesser bondsmen as you see fit. Sometimes the rabble needs kept in line."

        He paused as they reached a military groundcar. "I did not call you here this morning to discipline you for teaching a lesson to a few malcontents. Rather, I have need of your services as my bondsman today. You can operate this groundcar, quiaff?"

        She nodded apprehensively. "Aff, Star Commander."

        "Good. Drive us out of the spaceport towards the city center. I will explain things as we travel." He looked almost comical as he settled his large form into the passenger's seat. She took the driver's seat, familiarized herself briefly with the controls, and began driving. The trip would be a relatively short one, but she would have to pay attention to the signs, being unfamiliar with the city layout.

        Once they had left the confines of the spaceport, Lovvins spoke up. "It is almost time for us to be leaving this world and making preparations for our next conquest in the invasion. I have been selected to brief the incoming garrison commander for this area of the planet for the handover of garrison duties. I wished to have you along to assist in the answering of any questions regarding the planet or its inhabitants that might arise. You can do this, quiaff?"

        She nodded. "Aff, Star Commander. My knowledge of the population and planet is limited, I was only stationed here a few months before the invasion occurred, but I will do my best to assist you."

        He nodded approvingly. "Good. I have several other questions for you before we arrive. Mechwarrior Abigail reports that you are adjusting to our ways reasonably well, so I trust you will be able to help me."

        Fiona smirked. "I very much doubt Mechwarrior Abigail thinks me capable of much that is useful, Star Commander."

        "Do not confuse her harsh methods for a lack of objectivity. She did not start as a believer in my choice of your path as a bondsman, but she is warrior enough to carry out her duties honestly, and her assessments of you have been more positive than you might think. Regardless, the judgement as to how ready you are is mine to make, and I have questions for you."

        She nodded. "Aff, I understand, sir."

        "Good. Star Colonel Brikai Buhallin has tasked me with deciding which of the population that we have claimed as isorla are to be left here to administer the world and which, if any, are to be brought with us to perform tasks as we continue the invasion. If they were clan, there would be no question. But the extent to which these Inner Sphere surats respect the traditions of honorable warfare is in question."

        "I would expect resistance to the idea from anyone who was not a warrior. It will seem to them like some kind of piracy or forced labor. This is not the Periphery, where such things normally occur. You will find staunch Steiner loyalists among them, especially any who have ties to the previous administration of the world. I do not know the makeup of those you have claimed in this way, but I would say that the only ones that should be brought forward with your invasion are any that you have taken from the defenders of the world." Part of her was pained by the coldness of her own analysis, but in the long run, it would serve everyone best.

        They arrived at the city center to find two other Jade Falcon warriors there waiting for them. Both were older, far older than any Clanner she had yet seen, which caused her some curiosity. She had thusfar noticed a decided lack of veteran warriors among the Falcons, and these two looked to be in their forties. As they approached, the man in the group stepped forward and addressed Lovvins. "I am Star Captain Oscan, of the Peregrine Solahma Cluster, here to take charge of the garrison shortly. You are Star Commander Lovvins, quiaff?"

        Though it would seem that the man outranked Lovvins, the elemental did not seem to treat the mechwarrior with much respect. "Aff, I am here to brief you on the disposition of this region so that your aging fodder can take control of it, releasing us for further glory. This is my bondsman, late of the defenders of this world. I brought her so that she might address any questions we might have regarding the freebirth population of this world."

        The group went off, the two commanders continuing their conversation, Lovvins seemingly perpetually taking shots at the older warrior, and both of them denigrating the population of the conquered world. This did not bode well for the occupation of the planet going forward in her mind, but that would not be her concern, if she guessed right that she would be traveling forward with the invasion. She got lost in the conversation so much that she did not at first notice the atmosphere around them. In general, the mood was tense, but as she scanned the passers by, she got a growing sense of unease. There were too many furtive glances, aborted conversations, and avoided eye contact. She began to feel nervous, as if there was some danger around them that she could not put her finger on.

        When she noticed several faces disappearing, only to reappear further along the tour, she knew something was wrong. She injected herself into the middle of the conversation, grabbing  Lovvins by the arm. "Star Commander, something is not right here. I cannot be specific, but I think we are in danger."

        The group stopped abruptly, Lovvins glowering at her. "How could we be in danger here, this is a simple merchant caste street?"

        She started to explain her suspicions to him, but they were interrupted by the sharp crack of gunfire, and the female mechwarrior accompanying Oscan dropped to the pavement, hit by multiple shots. The three remaining Falcons reacted, trying to find the source of the gunfire, but after a few seconds passed, the soft whooshing of a missile was heard, and the street around them erupted, tossing all three warriors to the ground. Fiona fought off the ringing in her ears and tried to assess the situation, as gunfire seemed to erupt from all around them. She and Oscan had landed behind some kind of food cart that had been overturned, which provided them with cover, at least initially.

        But Lovvins lay out in the open, seemingly either dazed, unconscious, or dead. Neither she nor Oscan were armed.

    At that point, she decided on one of the most incredibly stupid things of her young life. With no exact picture of where the shooters were currently located, just a vague sense of direction, she lunged from cover and sprinted over to the still form of Star Commander Lovvins. He was breathing and alive, but unconscious, a nasty wound on his right temple. Unsure if she would even be able to get her arms around his massive chest to drag him from under his arms, she instead gripped one of his huge legs with all of her might and began dragging him toward cover.

    She had no doubt that weeks before she could not have even moved the gargantuan man. Even now, her every muscle burned and shook with the effort required to move the dead weight of the giant elemental. Finally, she collapsed, and could go no further. She looked around to see that she had, indeed made it back to the cover of the overturned food cart. She lay on her back, her lungs heaving to try to get oxygen into her system, as bullets panged off the cart and surrounding pavement.

    She could hear shouts, but she was too shaken to make out what they were saying. After a few seconds, she forced herself up onto her knees to check on Lovvins. She smacked his face several times in an attempt to jolt him into consciousness. After the third blow, she snapped violently awake.

    “Savashri! What is going on?!” Somehow, he had snapped out of it and was sitting upright.

    He started to stand, but she put her hand on his shoulder to stop him. “We are under attack, Star Commander. Some kind of ambush. They fired a manpack missile and the concussion wave knocked you temporarily unconscious. I was able to drag you to cover. I am unable to discern how many of them are out there, but they are armed with small arms and are shooting at us. As far as I know, we have no weapons available.”

    He looked confusedly at her for a moment, still gasping for breath slightly as she was. “Very well. We must get something to fight back against these dezgra bandits. Oscan, what is your condition?”

    The older mechwarrior looked down at his leg, which he was clutching in pain. “I believe my leg is broken, Star Commander. Like you, I am unarmed.” He gestured out toward the street at the limp form of the female mechwarrior who had accompanied him. “Mechwarrior Brigitte appears to be either dead or gravely wounded.”

    After a few seconds, a shout was heard from across the street. “Jade Falcon scum! We have you pinned down. Surrender and you’ll be made our prisoners.”

    Lovvins cocked his head in their direction. “Lay down your arms, vermin, and I promise your deaths will be quick!”

    Several bursts of gunfire accompanied their response. “Wrong answer, tough guy. We know you’re a couple of big shots, and we’d rather have taken you alive, but we’ll settle for putting you in your grave, teach your people a lesson!”

    Lovvins looked inquisitively at Fiona. “What is that freebirth pattering on about?”

    She shrugged. “He probably thinks he can leverage you as hostages or your death to try to force the Jade Falcons off the planet. This is obviously some kind of resistance attack.”

    Lovvins howled in rage. “Freebirth! I will kill them with my bare hands, the audacity of merchant rabble to think they can force the hand of trueborn clan warriors!”

    Fiona peeked her head out to try to gain a picture of what was happening. She saw two armed people trying to sneak around to their left, but multiple bursts of automatic gunfire forced her head back down under cover. “Respectfully, Star Commander, even given your size and strength, I think they will win unless we can get some weapons ourselves. There are two of them trying to sneak up on our left. They were behind that delivery truck when I last saw them. Perhaps we can isolate them somehow?”

    Lovvins chuckled. “I am beginning to see I was right about seeing promise in you bondsman. Your humor under fire is admirable for a freebirth. It is a rarity among the clans, but refreshing nonetheless.” He glanced in the direction she had indicated the two flankers were coming from. “It is perhaps only ten meters or so to that truck. Are you sufficiently recovered to sprint that distance?”

    She stared at him wide-eyed. “You can’t be serious, sir?”

    He laughed. “The correct phrasing I believe is ‘you cannot be serious, Star Commander, quineg?’ And I am most serious. They will continue to flank us until our cover is no longer viable, then they will gun us down like dogs. We must act, and they will never expect us to act so courageously. On my signal, run as fast as you can, and do not stop until you have crushed one of them and taken their weapon. They are likely to focus their fire on me, if I am hit, I am relying on you to turn a weapon against them as quickly as possible so that I may continue on. You are ready, quiaff?”

    She shook her head. “Neg, I am not, but let’s go anyway.”

    On his signal, the two broke from cover and sprinted towards the delivery truck. No sooner had they emerged than they were met with shouts and a hail of gunfire, but miraculously, neither of them seemed to be hit as they approached the truck. Just as they reached it, a man and a woman, both armed with assault rifles, emerged from the cover of the truck, apparently ready to continue their flanking maneuver. Their surprise saved Fiona and Lovvins. The elemental charged at the man on the right, bellowing a terrible battle cry, and Fiona flung herself at the woman on the left with a scream.

    She slammed into the other woman before she could raise her rifle for a shot, and they crashed into the side of a car, the assault rifle sandwiched between them. She grappled for a few seconds with the woman, until suddenly the other woman’s body shook violently in her grip and a warm spray passed between the two of them. Fiona blinked in shock at first, seeing the life almost instantly slip out of the other woman’s eyes, then instinctively shoved the body away from her, gripping the barrel of the rifle in one hand. 

    She glanced over to Lovvins, who pointed the assault rifle in the direction of the dead woman, the gun looking almost comically small in the grip of his massive frame. At his feet, the form of the other man lay heaped with his head at an unnatural angle. Lovvins quickly shifted his aim towards the remaining enemies, sending bursts of gunfire towards them, and sending one body sprawling unceremoniously from a rooftop.

    Fiona gathered her wits and scrambled for cover, finally sending a few shots downrange towards their attackers. They seemed poised for a climactic gunfight, but that was not to be. At that moment, a group of armored Elementals bounded around the corner, and after the merest of pauses, began spraying anti-personnel machine gun fire at the ambushers. 

    With the arrival of the elementals, the battle was over in a matter of seconds. There was significant collateral damage to the surrounding buildings and vehicles, and more than a few innocent bystanders lay dead on the ground, as did the Solahma mechwarrior who had originally been in their party.

    Lovvins made his way over to Fiona, who was still coursing with adrenaline and spattered with blood. “You are uninjured, bondsman, quiaff?”

    She nodded sheepishly. “Aff, Star Commander. That was just a bit…..intense.”