Fiona stood at the entrance to what appeared to be a dilapidated warehouse. Lovvins stood with his arms across his chest, Abigail beside him with her hands on her hips. "I have complete faith in you, bondsman. The garrison commander agreed to the trial and has named his champion, as I suspected he would. Do not be insulted by his choice to fight you, after all, you are an Inner Sphere bondsman and a freebirth. Even so, looking over your opponents codex, I am embarrassed that this piece of filth wears the same uniform as I. Even for a Solahma, his record is obscene. He has little to show for in battle, and his disciplinary record could fill the cargo hold of a Mule class dropship. His name is Brewwic, and he has numerous marks on his record for insubordination, tardiness, drunkenness on duty and so forth. Apparently he has an overpowering taste for alcohol, spends most of his time off duty carousing off base, and has sired innumerable freebirth children among the lower castes. That he is solahma in spite of not yet reaching thirty years of age speaks volumes for his usefulness to the clan."

    "Sounds like a winner."

    Lovvins shook his head. "Do not underestimate him. He may be filth, but he is a trained trueborn, and he has put his training to considerable use in drunken brawls and fights. I, however, have faith that honor will triumph. The Star Colonel selected this abandoned warehouse for the challenge. It will begin shortly. You will fight unaugmented. It is not to the death, but whoever disables their opponent first."

    "I am ready" she signaled.

    Lovvins nodded. "I know you are. Fight well, bondsman. Pay no heed to the foolish words of your freebirth parents. Fight this trial for your own advancement, with all you have, and you will prevail."

    There was a signal on Lovvins wrist communicator. "Mechwarrior Brewwic is ready. The trial begins."

    She entered the building cautiously. It looked to have at least three levels to it, and various pieces of broken down equipment hung sadly. The roof between levels had collapsed in several places, giving additional points of entry to the higher levels, in addition to the several sets of stairs and ladders she could see.

    At first she walked in and paced slowly, listening for some sign of her opponent. There were various ambient noises, but none of them seemed to warn of a human passing by. She had almost resolved to begin climbing to a higher level to get a better vantage point, when a voice echoed through the building."

    "This is new for me, freebirth. Normally when I commit some offense, they assign me to latrine duty or some such. Do you feel honored to provide me a break from latrine duty?"

    She could not determine his position from the sound of the voice, as it echoed and bounced of various levels and surfaces.

    "What say you, freebirth? Shall we rush to the center of the building and conclude this foolishness quickly? I detest this duty, and when we are done, I am free to roam the streets of this quaint Inner Sphere planet to find some trivialities. Do not waste my time by making me wait."

    As he talked, she walked the perimeter of the building, trying to get a sense for how the sound was traveling, so as to get a better idea of Brewwic's location.

    "The longer you wait, freebirth, the more tired of this game I grow. Announce yourself, surat!"

    She managed to make her way stealthily up to the second level, and there was so appreciable change in the way his voice traveled. She took from this that he was likely on the third floor somewhere. She glanced about for the nearest passageway to the upper level.

    "I do not have all day, freebirth. You are cutting into my evening's entertainment. I might just have to make you the evening's entertainment. Perhaps I will have my way with you after I have bludgeoned you senseless. At least the night will not be a total waste."

    She knew he was trying to goad her, and refrained from responding. She climbed her way up a ladder slowly and silently, emerging on the top level of the building. She took several soft silent steps forward, waiting for him to speak again to get a bearing on his position.

    Just then, she hear the whooshing of air, and something hit her and knocked her to the ground. She scrambled to her feet and looked around quickly to get her bearings, and saw her opponent getting to his feet. He looked middle aged, in spite of Lovvins saying that he was not yet thirty, no doubt a result of his heavy abuse of alcohol. Other than that, he was unremarkable. He was not muscular, yet he was stout of frame, almost sporting a paunch. 

    He laughed. "They have sent me to beat up a freebirth child? Come here, I will take you over my knee and spank you for whatever transgression has landed you in this fight. Then perhaps we can roam the town together in search of Inner Sphere depravity, and end our night coupling, quiaff?"

    "Neg you vile creature" She knew she should fight from the defensive, being so new to this, but she did not care, her blood was up and she was going to thrash this clanner. For his part, he seemed surprised at the speed and force with which she came at him, landing a blow first to his gut, then to his head, which he seemed to absorb with confusion.

    He struck back, but she parried well, defending against his attempts at a riposte, and then she channeled all of her frustration, anger, and rage into a scream and began raining blows down on the unfortunate man. She lost herself somewhere in the fight for a moment, then snapped back to reality as she dealt a satisfying blow to Brewwic's nose, which crumpled in a bleeding mass. She paused for a few seconds, then grabbed the semi-conscious man by an arm and drug him to the nearest exit door she could find. She opened it and tossed his flailing body through, which landed at the feet of a scarred man wearing the uniform of a Star Colonel, with Lovvins standing beside him.

    "I believe I have won the trial. That oaf is yours, Star Colonel."