Exile of the Faithful - Chapter Four

Exile of the Faithful - Chapter Four

Grand Ballroom, Solaris Hilton

International Zone

Solaris City

Solaris VII

Lyran Commonwealth

23 August, 3052

     The doors to the main ballroom remained closed, manned by two of the hotel staff. It had been a while since Faith had attended one of these events. The high social circles were never her comfort zone, but they meant a great deal when one was dealing with the bright lights of the Solaris stage. And that stage was going to be her redemption.

     "For a military brat you do know how to pick out a dress, I will give you that." Vance Grigsby quipped as he ever so slightly adjusted his suit. It was garish, but not overly so. It yelled money, but not in an overtly tacky way as some of the new Solaris money tended to.

     He was right of course, Faith had spent most of the previous day picking out her dress from one of the finer clothiers in Solaris city proper. Perhaps giving her an expense account had not been the best idea, but Vance had wanted to make a splash for her appearance, and she endeavored to not disappoint. The deep blue dress contrasted perfectly with her eyes and hair. The time spent with the designer had paid off, as it hugged her every curve in a way she was sure she would be thankful for when the inevitable throng of Solaris paparazzi focused on her after word had leaked.  She had made sure her makeup was perfect, accentuating the fire of her eyes and the precision of her features.

     Vance took her arm as they approached the doors, and with a slight nod from the master of ceremonies, two attendants opened the doors so that Vance and Faith could make their entrance.

     "Please welcome Vance Grigsby, CEO of Solaris' own Grigsby Endeavors. His escort for this evening is the Lady Faith McCarron, formerly of House of Lords stables."

     The two entered the ballroom, filled with the assembled upper echelon of Solaris society. The look on many of their faces was one of surprise. Faith knew that Vance had planned the event for maximum publicity and exposure. She had kept her arrival a secret, and he had kept his early preparations for a new stable equally under wraps. Tonight was to be the unveiling, the surprise announcement that made the splash that would ensure maximum press exposure, and, in turn, maximum money.

     As the furor subsided, members of the waitstaff quickly made sure that Vance and Faith had glasses of champagne. It helped as they made the rounds of the various dregs of the Solaris upper crust. Most squirmed at the thought of Vance Grigsby's further encroachment into the Solaris gaming scene.

     After a few moments of working the crowd, the came upon Alan Zheng, one of the more loyal Capellan stable owners, and some garishly dress floozy who dangled on his arm. "You have outdone yourself this time, Grigsby. We all knew you coveted a place in the gaming industry, but showing up with a washed up mechwarrior on your arm, this is a new low."

     Faith tense at the insult, but a gentle touch from Vance on her arm signaled her to tone down her defenses. This was his domain, and much as she might not like it, she needed to defer to him in this situation. At least until she had regained her stature here on the gaming world.

     "Afraid you missed out on an opportunity, Alan? That's not like you." Vance kept a cool smile.

     "It might have been an opportunity last year, before this one had slain several loyal Capellans in an attempt to cover her own downward spiral into debauchery. Fitting though, that she should find a place with you, one who is known to peddle such...trash."

     Vance chuckled. "Come now Alan, I am nothing but a legitimate businessman. And besides, I very much doubt you would like us to compare the pedigree of our escorts for this evening, given your company's ties to the....shall we say...oldest and basest profession in history."

     The fact that Zheng's companion did not flinch at the intimation of her involvement in the Solaris skin trade spoke both to her level of intellect and her lack of scruples.

     "If you think you are going to force your way into the stable industry with a traitorous has-been like this, you are in for a major fall, Vance." Zheng smiled slyly, and the nods from a few of the small crowd that had gathered showed that he was not in the minority opinion.

     Vance gave her arm a gentle squeeze. "You've managed to buy your way into the top twenty, why would you think that I can't?" He chuckled for emphasis.

     Zheng lunged forward slightly. "Martin Chao has made his way into the top twenty completely on his own merits. You and your traitorous whore will never make it that far!"

     At that epithet, Faith tugged at the grip of her escort. "I'm more loyal than you and your Cathay lackeys! I've bled for the Confederation, what have you bled for, asshole?!" Vance gently tried to rein her in.

     "Mr Zheng, while my colleague may be rather excitable, she does have a point. She has fought many a battle in the service to your beloved CCAF. Now, as a loyal subject of Hanse Davion, I would be the last one to intrude upon a matter of Capellan....honor...such as it may be. But Miss McCarron is a business partner of mine, and business is something we both understand quite well. We could spar over this all night, Alan, but we both know how foolish that would be. What would you say to settling this in the arenas?"

     Zheng laughed aloud. "You are desperate in your search for legitimacy, aren't you, Grigsby? Why would I agree to fight you and your whore?"

     Vance smirked. "The fact that you stoop to such insults shows a lot Alan. But if the lady and I are such an insignificant nuisance, why not dismiss us in the arenas? It's a simple matter."

     By now, a fairly significant crowd had gathered. She suspected that had been Vance's intention all along. There were significant players on the Solaris scene watching now, and with each passing moment, it was becoming harder and harder for Zheng to turn Vance down.

     "Fine!," Zheng spat, "Martin Chao will meet your traitorous whore in the Jungle, in single combat, and we will settle this once and for all!"

     Vance practically leaped at the chance. "Done! Faith will dispatch your yes man, and it will mark the inaugural victory of my new stable. Shall we say, two weeks time?"

Penthouse Suite, Sun and Sword Hotel

Black Hills

Solaris City

Solaris VII

24 August, 3052

     Faith lay on her back, staring through the skylight up into the stars on a rare cloudless Solaran night. Her breathing was slowly returning to normal, and a few beads of sweat remained on her skin. The ridiculously soft black satin of the sheets embraced her back, but the top sheets remained cast to the side, exposing her skin to the cool air of the room.

     "That went better than I could have hoped for. At least if you can beat Martin Chao" Vance Grigsby said as he lay next to her on his side, his hand resting gently on her abdomen.

     "I can beat Chao in my sleep. Why do you think you sided with me?" she replied.

     He chuckled in response. "I like to think the last few hours had something to do with my decision."

     Faith let herself laugh softly. "Don't play that card Vance. I know you can have any one of fifty whores on your payroll in your bed on a given night."

     "Then why are you here" he countered.

     "Adrenaline," she replied. "You danced on the edge tonight, gambling that one of those fools would take the bait because of their ego. It might be a different kind of rush, but it was a rush just the same. And I've never found as good a cure for a rush as a good couple of hours between the sheets."

     "And I won," he quipped. "In more ways than one. You're going to kick his ass in a few weeks, and I'm going to rake in the money.

     She let a soft laugh escape. "You mean WE are going to rake in the money. This is going to be your sweet spot, you know. The press is going to be all over this.

     He closed his eyes. "Yeah. And I'm going to rely on you to play that card. I didn't accept this risk just because you have a steady aim and a tight ass. You're press savvy. You can play this angle up. I'm relying on that to spark interest in our stable."

     She smiled. "Relax. I can play to the crowd just fine. And with my whole disloyalty angle, they'll be eating this stuff up faster than you can blink. The Davion angle rubs me the wrong way a little, but I can get over it if the price is right."

     Vance smiled "You seemed to let the Davion angle rub you fine just a few minutes ago." He paused with a smile that was a little too smarmy for Faith's taste. "It's not like you are fighting Liao soldiers. Solaris is a business. If you want to make the money, you'll deal with that part. And tonight shows me that you do want to make the money."

Exile of the Faithful - Chapter Three

Exile of the Faithful - Chapter Three

Black Hills

Solaris City

Solaris VII

Lyran Commonwealth

19 August, 3052

     Everything about Vance Grigsby's office complex fit in perfectly with his persona. Everything was new, and expensive enough that it screamed money. Not old money, the kind of money and power that came with nobility, but new money, the kind that came from a man who had made it himself and wanted to make sure that the world knew about it.

     Even the staffer that ushered Faith in fit the Grigsby mold, her hair was just the right blonde, her skirt just a little too tight and a little too short. The assistant took her place beside Vance's desk, as he reacted with a smile.

     "Faith McCarron. Now there is a face I never thought I would see on Solaris again. I thought you left to go play with the big boys now that those clanners have come to gobble up everything in existence?"

     He motioned to a chair opposite his desk, which Faith took. She leaned back, trying to exhude as much comfort with the situation as she could. "Yeah, well times change. Robbing Arby's can be more dangerous than I thought."

     Vance chuckled. "I've heard many a rumor about you. That you were doped up on stims, killed a few House Liao lackeys, and they're chasing your ass throughout the Inner Sphere. Now the stims part I believe, we all know you've got a weakness for the dust, but I thought you bled Liao green and soy sauce."

     "Let's just say that tales of my disloyalty are greatly exaggerated. But that doesn't really matter once the seed is planted, does it?"

     Vance motioned to his assistant, who poured him a scotch, and offered one to Faith, which she accepted. "Now, what I hadn't heard is that you were back here. And the fact that you're coming to see me first means you don't trust your old contacts down in Cathay. Probably a good idea, the Mask is thick down there. So what are you here for, a job? Not that you don't have the looks for it sweetie, but I wouldn't have thought you the humble type."

     "I'm not looking to push dust or turn tricks for your little...enterprise, Vance. I still have my dignity intact."

     Vance made an exaggerated gesture. "You wound me, my dear lady. I'm as respectable a businessman as it gets. I have clients throughout the city, and my goods are the best they come. You know that first hand, sweetie."

     Faith smiled ever so slightly. "Vance, we both know how deep your reach is. But I also know how much you like to paint yourself as the respectable one. That's the part that brings me here. I'm on shaky ground, things aren't what they were, and the House of Lords is more of a memory than anything else. What I need is money, a mech, and a stable. What I've got is what you need if you want to crack into the games business, talent."

     Vance paused for a moment, sipping his drink. "You're good, no doubt about that. And you've got the persona to headline. But why me? You know that I'm as Davion as a roast beef sandwich. If you're looking to stick it to Liao, I'm not interested. And I don't want a partner thats got her head so far up her ass about revenge that she let's business slide. As I said, sweetie, I'm a businessman. Money before loyalty, you know?"

     Faith took a drink of the scotch, a fairly good one from the taste of it. She let the burn slowly subside before answering. "That's exactly why I came here. You may be shady as hell, but your motives are clear as crystal. I don't need politics. I need business. You may be dirty, but you are down to business. You want to make money on the games to legitimize your other "holdings", I need to make money and I've got the skills to tear the circuit up. So what do you say?"

Exile of the Faithful - Chapter Two

Exile of the Faithful - Chapter Two

Crossroads Inn

Joppa, The Reaches

Solaris VII

Lyran Commonwealth

18 August, 3052

     It was raining. Though she had spent considerable time on Solaris, and the climate in The Reaches was exactly the same as that in Solaris City proper, it seemed to Faith that it rained more here in the reaches. It was a light rain, light enough that you could notice the sounds of water dripping off various rooftops and gutters. But it was raining nonetheless, and rain meant clouds. Clouds obscured the sky. Clouds cut her off from the stars.

     It was fitting, she supposed, since she was now cut off from what was once her home, cut off and on the run from the Confederation. At least for the time being, she told herself. Nobody was going to keep her down for long.

     "Staring at dreary, rainy streets serves no real purpose, you know?" she heard Cat say as she moved up beside Faith. Where Faith was leaning against the iron railing of the second floor balcony, Cat stood upright and poised, as ever.

     "Helps remind me of where I am." Faith replied.

     "I think you are focusing more on where you are not. You are not on Altorra. You are not with the Rangers. You are not with your daughter."

     "Yeah, all that's pretty obvious" she interrupted.

     "We are here because it is one of the only places where you are safe, and probably the only place where you can build up enough of a power base to restore your reputation. Back there you were a soldier, a cog in the machine. But here, you are Lady McCarron. You have a reputation, influence, a following. You have to build that Faith up bigger than she ever was before." Cat said.

     She was right of course. That was the whole reason they had come here. With the Maskirovka on her trail anywhere in Confederation space, she couldn't stay there. She had thought about turning mercenary and heading to the newly established mercenary star world of Outreach, but it would be do easy for the Mask to just disappear her there. But here on Solaris, she might just have a shot. The larger her public persona here on the game world, the more protection she would find.

     "I know. And I've got that covered. I have a meeting tomorrow to set things in motion. What about you, you said you had to go somewhere on business?"

     Cat's gaze did not meet Faith's. The dark haired woman stared out into the rain and mist. "Yes. Important business. Business that only I can attend to while you are here doing what must be done."

     Faith sighed. "One of these days, Cat, you are going to stop with the mysteries."

     Cat chuckled. "Perhaps, but not today, Lady McCarron. Not today."

Finally getting out of the rut...

Hopefully finally out of the writing block rut here. I have a pretty decent portion of a post written, and with luck, I will have it finished, polished, and posted within the next day or two.

Exile of the Faithful - Chapter One

Exile of the Faithful - Chapter One

Mule-Class Dropship Penny's Pride

Nadir jump point

Purvo System

Capellan Confederation

12 June, 3052

     Faith woke to find herself face down on the cold deck. She had been in and out of consciousness several times in the last...well, she didn't know how long. Her head was splitting with an almost unreal pain, and her stomach was rocked with cramps that seemed as random as they were intense. Then there were the chills. She could not shake the chills and shivers, even though she knew that the room was probably quite reasonable in temperature.

     She tried to stand, but as she pushed herself up off the floor, her arms buckled and she slammed to the deck once again. She contemplated yet another attempt, but heard rapid footsteps making their way over to her.

     "How many times must I tell you, do not try to get up and walk around," Cat said as she helped Faith to her feet. "I know you are as stubborn as a mule, but this is not helping. You have to ride this out." With Cat's assistance, she made her way over to the bed, and curled up in an almost fetal position. Cat pulled a sheet over her and knelt next to the bed. "Remember, you are not simply suffering withdrawal from a single drug, but all of whatever were in your concoctions. Wait until you are recovered. Then we can figure out this mess."

Auxiliary Barracks

Purvo

Capellan Confederation

9 June, 3052

(Three days earlier)

     Faith wanted to slam her fist into the wall of her temporary berth. Incompetence, that's what had nearly cost the day. If it weren't for the efforts of dozens of brave MechWarriors, the FedSuns forces would still be rampaging over the planet. That's what happens when you put some second-line commander with delusions of grandeur in charge of a real operation. 

     "By Kerensky, I'm giving the Strategios a piece of my mind of saddling me with this assignment. After I figure out how to get the hell out of this assignment." She spoke aloud, even though the room was empty.

     She picked up her comm unit and started to dial, then realized that it was not connected. "No signal? Damn, these bumpkins are worse than I thought. Can't even keep comms up in their base."

     At that moment, the door flung open and Cat burst in, carrying a satchel. "Pack your gear, FAST!" As if to emphasize her point, she started grabbing strewn about items and stuffing them into Faith's gear bag.

     "What the hell is going on? Did you know the comms are down?" She stood there, waiting for some kind of reply.

     "Comms are not down. Only yours is down. Now hurry up."

     "What do you mean only mine? What the hell?"

     Cat paused from her hurried packing spree to face Faith. "You fucked up, that is what is going on. You pissed off that pompous fool on his own turf. We all know he fucked up, he always fucks up, but this time you gave him a scapegoat, and he means to use it."

     Faith rested her hands on her hips. "He's a blowhard. So what?"

     "He may be, but he is a blowhard with connections to the local Maskirovka agent. He wanted to pass off the near-debacle onto someone, and he must have had sources. He got the Mask to pull your last blood test, and it came back laced with god knows what. He is going to use that to railroad you."

     Faith started grabbing her gear and packing, even as she tried to wrap her head around what was going on. "So why are we running? I have to defend myself. Sure I was juiced to hell, but I still downed 2 or 3 times as many Rats as his whole little command lance put together."

     "That will not matter. They are out for blood and a scapegoat. If the Mask get their hands on you, we lose any hope we have. We have to get out of here before-"

     She was interrupted as the door opened and two Gatekeeper infantrymen entered, sub-machineguns at their sides. Before Faith, or they, could react, Cat had swung around to face the door, pistols already raised. The autopistols barked rapidly, the rounds catching each of the troopers in the upper torso and spinning them to the ground.

     "Shit! What the hell is going on?" she yelled.

     Cat turned to face her. "You have to get it together, and fast. We have to get out of here, or else your neck is going to be in the noose."

     With that, Faith crammed the last of her essentials into the bag. As an alarm sounded, they bolted out the door, in search of freedom.

The Art of Compromise - Chapter Two

The Art of Compromise - Chapter Two

Penthouse Suite 2, Cathay Arms

Cathay

Solaris VII

Lyran Commonwealth

22 May, 3049

     Faith dropped her gear bag on the floor of her apartment. She quickly headed over to the kitchen bar, poured herself a shot of cheap vodka, and downed it immediately. She hadn't bothered to shower or change after tonight's fight, she had simply thrown on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt over her cockpit garb, swapped a pair of comfortable tennis shoes for her boots, and headed straight home. She was in no mood to party.

     The fight had been easy enough. Her opponent wasn't even in her league. She should have won the fight much quicker, and maybe a few people had lost some money betting on how long the fight would last, but who cared. She was about to head to the shower, when a sharp banging on the door caught her attention.

     "What is it, I don't need this now," as she opened the door, Cat pushed her way in with a huff. 

     "What the hell was that?" Cat stood with her hands on her hips. She was dressed casually in loose fitting combat trousers and boots, a white tank top that fit her snugly, and had her black hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. Her expression was not pleasant, she looked like she was spoiling for a fight.

     "It's called a win. I trashed the guy. Now if you hadn't noticed, I'm kind of a mess right now, I was planning on taking a shower." she said defensively. 

     Cat was not impressed. "Oh you are a mess, alright. You should have taken that hapless boy down in half the time you did. You were impatient, you pulled shots. If you were facing a real opponent you might be dead right now."

     Faith stepped closer to the other woman. Cat was taller and more muscular than Faith, and Faith knew she would almost certainly lose a fight with the dark haired woman, but right now she was not in a mood for criticism. "Well if you're so perfect, why don't you step into the arena with me and we can hash it out, miss know-it-all?"

     Cat scoffed, "I am not here to fight you. I am trying to figure out what is wrong with you."

     She shoved Cat in the chest. "Nothing is wrong, I'm fine, now get the hell out of here!"

     As she pushed Cat, the larger woman grabbed her arm and twisted her around by it. She forced her a few steps forward, then slammed Faith face down into the large plush sofa, pinning her down and leaning close to her.

     "I came here to help. If you want me to leave, fine. But do not try to take whatever your problems are out on me." With a parting shove, she stood up and headed for the door. Faith sat up quickly, filled with anger and wanting to punch her fist right through a wall. Cat was almost at the door.

     "Cat, I'm scared!" The other woman stopped as Faith continued. "I just fell deep into something big and I'm scared to death. And I don't even know why I'm telling you this, but there it is."

     Cat slowly walked back into the room and sat, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees across from Faith. "Tell me what has happened and I will try to help."

     Faith stared at the floor as she recounted the tale. "A couple of days ago, I got an invitation to a meeting with Arthur Hopewell. He wanted me to work for him."

     Cat frowned. "Hopewell is about as Davion as they come. Small time business dealings, big time money. There are rumors that he has ties to the FedSuns government, but nothing substantiated. Why would he want to offer you a job?"

     "He didn't. The rumors about him and the FedRats, they're probably true. He's blackmailing me." Faith sighed.

     Waiting for a moment as she pondered, Cat finally responded. "To blackmail someone, he must have something to hold over you. What is it?"

     Faith ran her hands through her still dirty hair. "A while back, after a fight, I hit up some of the clubs like usual. And afterwards, I may have gone to a hotel room to party with a guy....or three. Hopewell must have set it up somehow, because he has pictures and video."

     "That is not a particularly big deal. All it shows is that you have a rather healthy appetite. If the video were leaked, you might have to face embarrassing questions for a few days, but if anything, your popularity would rise. The audience would eat up a good sex tape."

     Faith shook her head. "That's not the end of it though. According to Hopewell, one of the guys is an MIIO agent. If that came to the attention of the Maskirovka, at the very least my career as a mechwarrior would be over and they'd ship me off to some backwater where I could never find out anything about anything ever again. At worst I'd end up in some gulag somewhere." She paused and took a deep breath. "And on top of that, the pics and video shows that I might also have had some illegal drugs there. That could mean jail time, and definitely would get me run out of town by the gaming board."

     Cat stood and began to pace. "I knew I should have warned you about that. Your habits are going to cause you nothing but trouble."

     "I know, but....wait, you knew about that?"

     She nodded. "About the drugs? Yes, I suspected. At the very least that you were using stims to get jacked up before a fight. I will not bother to lecture you on the long term consequences, but you must be more discreet, at least."

     Faith laughed. "Yeah, well it's a little late for that now. I just....I don't know what do do at this point."

     "What has he asked you to do?"

     "So far, nothing. But he made clear that he will. And that if I don't go along, or if any harm comes to him, that the info gets released and I get burned."

     Cat shook her head. "This will not be easy. But I am willing to help. We can fix this, given time and patience. The first thing we will have to do is mitigate any damage that he does. You will have to trust me, and let me know the instant that he asks you to do anything. The more he has you do, the deeper he will have you compromised, so in the short term, we must work to minimize any damage you do and leave no evidence leading back to you. In the long term, we must find out how he has this data kept. Then we gain control over it. Then we kill him."

     Faith laughed. "That easy, huh?"

     Cat shook her head in response. "No. But I have been thrown to the wolves on matters such as this, and learned many lessons the hard way. In the end, we will beat him."

     "Why are you doing this, Cat? I mean, we're friends and all, but you've only known me a couple of months. Why take on a risk like this?"

     "My reasons are my own. Maybe once we take this scum down, I will share them with you."

The Art of Compromise - Chapter One

The Art of Compromise - Chapter One

Hopewell Plaza
Black Hills
Solaris VII
Lyran Commonwealth
20 May, 3049



     Though it was done subtly, signs of the owner's wealth were visible throughout the entrance to the office building that was Hopewell Plaza, the Solaris headquarters of Hopewell Enterprises. From the company logo finding its way nearly everywhere, to the ultra-modern construction, to the immaculately tailored employees, it was clear that Hopewell was a profitable enterprise.

     Of course, what exactly that enterprise was seemed to be another question entirely. When she had received an invitation to a meeting with owner Arthur Hopewell, Faith had done what research she could on the interweb. Real estate, consulting, and other nebulous terms were thrown around when describing the company. But what stood out was it's links to the Solaris gaming industry. Hopewell had apparently invested heavily with various stables, arenas, and design firms around the city to the point that it seemed like he had his fingers in everywhere.

     The invitation had been vague, but an invitation by a power player on the Solaris scene like Hopewell was not something you simply turned down. Her initial instinct had been to go in dressed as her usual casual self, Sternsnacht Python and all, but she had thought better of it. This was Hopewell's turf, best to respect it. And so now she stood at the reception desk, dressed in a dark green skirt suit, heels, hair and makeup all done to perfection.

     "Faith McCarron, I have an appointment with Mr. Hopewell." she forced a smile to the secretary sitting behind the desk, who looked like her practiced smile was practiced 24 hours a day.

     "Of course, he's waiting for you. His office is at the end of the corridor, you can't miss it."

     Faith headed down the indicated corridor, and found the office door, complete with a large bronze name tag with Arthur Hopewell's name emblazoned on it. She knocked on the heavy wood door, and entered when she received a reply.

     Arthur Hopewell was dressed just as you would expect him to be, in a suit current with the latest trends, perfectly tailored, with a sword and sunburst Davion pin on his lapel. He looked to be about in his mid forties, with light blonde hair, and the smile of a politician, far too natural.

     "Yes, thank you for coming Miss McCarron. Or is it Lady? You Lords prefer that title here on the game world, don't you? Well, with a gaming record like yours of late, who am I to argue. Please, have a seat."

     She took a seat in front of his spacious desk. The seat was luxurious beyond belief, soft leather that welcomed the occupant comfortably. "Can I offer you a drink, Lady McCarron? Scotch perhaps. I have a 14 year Balvenie that just arrived from Terra."

     "Of course, thank you." The man had obviously done his homework. He poured two robust rocks glasses of Scotch, handing one to Faith before sitting down behind his desk with one himself.

     "I must say, I'm impressed with your performance here as a newcomer. Only 22 years old, and you are tearing up the lower divisions of the medium and heavy circuits. But more than that, you have fire, and you're doing it with flair. Seems like you might have what it takes here on Solaris to make a career of this."

     Faith took a sip of the excellent scotch and nodded at his praise. "Thank you. I'm not sure how long I'll be here, but I am loving the opportunities the game world provides for a good mechwarrior."

     "Oh yes, there are endless opportunities here. I'm no mechwarrior, but I've made my fortune here and have no plans on going anywhere. And as a pillar of the community, I am always on the lookout for young rising stars like yourself. We could have a profitable association together."

     There it was, starting to come out. He wanted something, but she wasn't sure yet what it was. "Perhaps. But as you know, House of Lords is unaligned. And I am Capellan by birth. I'm not sure that would fit with your squeaky clean Davion image."

     He dismissed her concerns with a wave of his hand. "Nonsense. We rise above factionalism here on Solaris, at least on a superficial level. Besides, it is your connections with the Confederation that interest me. The local Triads love you, and you're still officially on the Confederation rolls, are you not?"

     She nodded.

     He pulled a folder from a drawer on his desk. "Whenever I consider a partnership with someone, I make sure to do my research. it's always best to know with whom you are dealing. Your brash personality isn't just in the arena in front of the cameras, is it? It seems you are quite the party girl, aren't you?"

     Faith chuckled. "I like to live the Solaris night life, yeah. What's the point in raking in the cbills if you don't use them?"

     "Indeed. And you use them beyond the club scene, don't you?" He opened the folder and slid several photos over to her. They had obviously been captured with some kind of hidden camera. The images were of her, in rather compromising positions with several men in a suite at a Solaris hotel. She couldn't quite tell which one from the images.

     She shrugged. "So I like me some beefcake. Piloting stompy robots can get a girl all hot and frustrated you know. And for the record, I didn't spend any c-bills on these guys, if that's what you're worried about."

     He smiled a smile that left her feeling rather uncomfortable. "You haven't yet caught on. I have little interest in how you satisfy yourself, my dear Lady." He paused for a moment. "Do you know any of those gentlemen?"

     "Yeah, not really sure gentlemen is the right word. But no, I don't know them. I'm sure they told me their names and all, but that wasn't really what was sticking in my mind at the time, you know." She was starting to get annoyed with this man.

     "Yes, well I have no idea or interest in who two of them are, but you should be very interested in who the third one is. The blonde, he is a known MIIO agent. That's right, a Davion agent." He raised an eyebrow.

     "So I banged James Bond. Big deal. Was he the one who took the pictures?" Just about now she could have slugged the guy in the face.

     "No. I arranged for someone to have the images recorded. There is video as well, if you're interested. But I don't suppose you are, you were there for the live event. But I tell you who just might be interested in these images and that video. What would the Maskirovka say if they found out that you, a Capellan Citizen and CCAF mechwarrior, were playing games with a Davion spy? I imagine they would be none too happy about that, now would they?" His smile was gone, but she could tell in his eyes that he was pleased with himself. He passed her several more images. "And there's more. These images here show you have some expensive tastes. Opiates, Dust, Stims, I wonder what the Solaris gaming board would think of that?"

     She stared at him with fire in her eyes. "You snake. I have half a mind to kill you right now. You're trying to blackmail me, seriously?"

     He laughed. "Oh no my girl, I am not trying. I AM blackmailing you. And some food for thought, I have these images stashed away somewhere safe. I monitor them from time to time. Should you kill me, or I die in an accident, or at all, they will be automatically released. So you better hope I live a good long life, because if I don't, then it's a race to see if the Solaris Gaming Board can throw you in prison before the Maskirovka whisks you off to some dungeon somewhere on Sian."

     She smashed her fist into the table. "And what, exactly, am I supposed to do?"

     "Whatever I need you to. Having someone with Capellan connections is going to go a long way for me. You will be one of my most prized assets."