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The pair of Elementals escorted a shackled Mason into the Star Colonel’s office. It had all happened so fast that he really couldn’t believe it. One moment he was engaging Ayat Icaza, and the next the had an entire star of Mechs lighting him up with their targeting systems, demanding he stand down. Farraday had pulled him out of the cockpit of his mech and there had been a very energetic debate that he couldn’t hear.
Not the first night i’ve spent in jail… Mason thought sadly as he was escorted to a chair in Brikai’s office. He noticed the very large and very obvious laser pistol sitting on the desk. That’s new.
The Star Colonel motioned the elementals out of his office and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Mason, what, precisely am i going to do with you?”
“Excuse me, sir?”
“You broke Zelbringen in the very first live fire combat action against a clan opponent. By doing so, you broke pretty much every bit of the honor code that binds our warrior society together. Explain your decision making process to me.”
“I wanted to win, Sir.”
“You wanted to win?”
“I wanted to pass my Trial of Position, to impress you and the rest of the officers, and find my place in this society.”
“And that gave you temporary leave of your senses and that’s what caused you to fire your jump jets and hit Mechwarrior Bradley’s Mech in the head, probably knocking him unconscious and incapable of defending himself?”
“I am deeply sorry for the death of Mechwarrior Bradley.”
“Bradley knew the risks when he arrived at the trial field that morning. His death, as Needless as it was, is an accepted part of the life of a warrior. Unfortunately, that leaves me short a Mechwarrior, and it gives you a chance to redeem the honor your friends have placed in you.”
“Excuse me, Sir?”
“I have had a parade of officers through here this morning, as well as a couple of civilians i trust implicitly. There have been a host of suggestions, ideas, and pleas for me to give you a second opportunity to prove you are not the savage barbarian you have shown yourself to be.”
“I don’t understand, Sir?”
“Your Trial of Position officially stands as 1 kill confirmed before the trial was ended. You have the rank of Mechwarrior, but your official codex will have a black band indicating your complicity in the death of Mechwarrior Bradley.”
“Thank…”
“I am not finished, Mechwarrior.”
“I ask Surkai, forgive me, the last few days have been very trying for me, and my actions have stained both my honor, and that of the people who placed their trust in me.”
Brikai let out a long slow breath before he continued. “You are forbidden to utilize Jump Jets on any Omnimech that you pilot for no less than three years, effective tomorrow. If you are assigned a mech with Jump Jets, your technical staff is ordered to reconfigure it so they do not exist. If such changes are not possible in the field, you are forbidden from using the Jets. You have lost the privilege of Flight for the foreseeable future.”
“Thank You, Sir.”
“If i hear a rumor that you have engaged in physical combat with anyone, I will have Farraday beat you to death in front of the rest of regulars as an object lesson. She put her reputation on the line for you today. I would not violate our ways again, Mason.”
Brikai unshackled him, and handed him a noteputer and his new codex.
“What’s this Sir?”
“I found your surname in the database of planets along our invasion plan. I would like you to personally write a military guide to your planet’s defenses and the areas that possess strategic and tactical value to a commander who wants to take it.”
Mason’s adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “Sir?”
“You are Jade Falcon now, and the fewer of our warriors that die taking that planet, the better, quiaff?”
“Aff, Sir.”
“I realize you have not been home in many years, but i want you to use your brain and show your homeworld to us, so that we can take it as cleanly as possible. We do not want to hurt your people, we want to embrace them under the Falcon’s Wings. Help me carry out that mission, and you will have done a great deal to restore my trust.”
“Yes, Sir, I will have a briefing written up by the end of the week.”
“Three days.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“You are assigned to the Command of Ayat Icaza’s Star, for the time being. I am sure she will try to pass you off to someone else as soon as possible.”
“I am very sorry, Sir.”
“Prove it, worth deeds, not words You are dismissed.”
Mason passed Bekker on his way out of the Star Colonel’s office. The Ghost Bear smiled at him and said softly “See, i told you you were going to get me killed.”
The rest of the day dissolved into a blur of things as he was issued a uniform, and quarters of his own. The last thing he really remembered was Farraday’s hard body against his. She’d been relieved when Brikai’s orders came down, and he felt a strange sense of peace wrapped up against her.
“You are the dumbest person i have met in my time with your people.” Her voice was shaking with anger.
“What?”
“You know our rules, i know Bekker explained them to you. Why would you do that? What lack of sense made you think that a physical attack in front of the entire unit was a good idea?” Her hands were massive, and he could feel them pressed against his ribs.
“My second opponent got behind me...almost drilled my side torso completely out. I felt everything starting to slip away. You, this life, or what it could be. I got scared, Farraday.”
“And that is a good enough reason to ruin your life?”
“I do not expect you to understand everything about us spheroids, but we get scared...we make poor decisions. I am sorry.” He ran his fingers through the roughly cut crown of red hair that graced her head.
“You will follow the rules, in the future, quiaff, Mechwarrior?”
“Aff, Star Commander, i will do my duty for the Clan.”
“Best answer.” She pulled him closer, and he still hadn’t gotten completely used to the size difference between the two of them. He felt her arm wrap around his waist and that’s how they fell asleep.
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