Mackenzie's Big Day Out

The Night sky above Apollo was disrupted by a powerful explosion that rattled the entire Jade Falcon base awake.  Mackenzie and the rest of her star had been the first ones to achieve combat readiness and the command from the higher ups was to investigate and contain.  A Dropship had suffered some kind of catastrophic damage entering the atmosphere and rained wreckage down onto the captured Castle Brian fortress.  Mackenzie had been one of the first on the scene in her brand new Summoner with Farraday and her Elemental point riding along.  They found a piece of the Dropship that had crashed into the ancient fortress.

“Farraday, investigate on foot and let me know if you find anything odd, quiaff?”

“Aff, Point, move out.”  Mackenzie felt the sudden shift in weight as the five power armored Elementals detached from her mech.  They had spent the last few weeks practicing this kind of operation and she was kind of happy that Luna had been so insistent on this training.  She watched her sensor readouts and thumbed a quick message to the HQ.  Evidently she had been the first on the scene.  Civilian support services were being mustered quickly to manage the fires and search for survivors. 

“What the?”  She heard one of Farraday’s point mates say over the comms.

“Report Romeo.”  Farraday’s voice clipped through the comms.

“Aff, Star Commander.  I have found an Elemental Suit.  It is horrifically damaged, but it is empty.” Mackenzie could hear the sound of scraping metal and guessed that Romeo was opening the suit.  “Ma’am, this suit was recently worn.  The auto injectors have been triggered recently, the harjel reserves are depleted.  We have at least one survivor.”

“Then why is he not here?” Mackenzie asked the elementals.

“That is a very good question.  This would have been a tremendous amount of damage to sustain.  I am not sure how this warrior is still moving.”  Farraday answered.

 

“Fan out, this has gone from a recovery mission to search and rescue.  If we have a survivor, we should offer them medical attention and provide assistance.  They will also potentially know what happened to the Dropship.”

“Aff.”  The Elementals responded in sequence and they started fanning out over the crash site.  Mackenzie caught just a flicker of movement on one of her visual screens before it disappeared into the night.  They spent another two hours on site before turning the scene over to the civilian teams.  They had made sure the area was secure for them.  They returned to their bunks and got a little bit of shut eye before the sun started to come up. 

Later

Farraday woke Mackenzie with a rough shake.  The motion, combined with Farraday’s enhanced size scared the hell out of her and she fell out of the bed.  “Damn it, Farraday…” she rubbed the bruise forming on the back of her head where she had landed hard.

“I am sorry, Mackenzie, but this is important.” 

“Okay, what is going on?” 

“News about the Dropship from last night.”

“Oh…do we know what happened?”

“Neg, from what has been floating around the HQ, the Snow Ravens were transferring personnel between ships and the dropship had to make an emergency landing in the atmosphere.  Something onboard triggered the explosion and killed every one aboard.”

“Except for the survivor we found traces of, quiaff?”

“Aff, but we are no closer to finding anything more about that individual.” 

“So what was so important you needed to wake me up?”

“Oh…it is a personal matter.”

“Farraday, what is going on?”

“The residents of this world are hosting an event this evening.  I had acquired tickets for it before the incident with Mason…”

“Oh, okay?”

“Would you please attend with me?”

“Farraday.”  She looked up at Farraday and wondered how someone so terribly innocent could shift into the murder machine she had seen her be so many times.  Right now she remined Mackenzie of a kid sister who wanted to hang out.  She nodded, “Of Course I will attend with you.”  Farraday wrapped her up firmly in a bear hug and put her back down on her bunk. 

“Thank you, Mackenzie.  I will pick you up when it is time to attend.”  Mackenzie waved at her friend and went back to sleep. She did not get to sleep much longer, as she had an alert from the HPG station.  She dragged herself slowly out of her bed and dressed again. This was going to be a long fucking day.

It had taken her nearly a half an hour to navigate her way back to the comstar facility.  The Precentor awaited her arrival patiently and gave her a private viewing chamber.  She hit the comms button and was surprised to see Ivan staring at her.  His face seemed so old these last few times they had talked.

“Ivan, what were you thinking?” 

“About what, Mackenzie?” 

“Annabelle!”

“Who?”

“Ivan, please do not treat me like I am stupid.  The seeker you sent to unfuck Jaxun’s brain.”

“I was not able to pick a specific seeker, Mackenzie, just get one moving in the right direction.  Is there a problem with this seeker?”

“Oh there are a bunch of them.  Ivan, she has the Kirov blood name.  Jaxun said you two are closely related somehow. They spend their days testing and evaluating and their nights aboard her shuttle.” 

“In what way does this concern you?”

“You know Jaxun!  He was never the kind to go jumping into a stranger’s bed for the hell of it.  That was more my thing.” 

“I am aware of your checkered sexual history, Mackenzie.  If he is behaving like a typical clansman, this is not unusual behavior.  We place different values on societal issues than the spheroids and casual sex and promiscuity are not uncommon.”

“She wanted to know if I wanted to couple with her!”

“Not unbelievable.  Again, different cultural norms and acceptable behaviors.”

“You are not helping right now.”

“I am trying Mackenzie.  Hopefully Jaxun takes the Necrosia soon and his mind returns to normal.  I still think you should try and have a little fun while you are a member of the Jade Falcon clan.”

“I will get right on that.  Take care of yourself Ivan.” 

“Be well, Mackenzie.” 

The line went dead and Mackenzie left the building quietly.  She needed to clear her head.  There was a small park adjacent to the Comstar facility that had done wonders for her in the past.  She sat on a bench, watching a small family of ducks swim their way around the pond.  It was soothingly uncomplicated. 

“Are you Star Commander Mackenzie?”  A voice called over her shoulder. 

“I am.”  She turned around slowly and stared up at the man who was talking to her.  She had seen him before somewhere.  He took a lurching step towards her, but fell almost immediately.  Her eyes widened in panic  He was….an elemental she thought by looking at him.  He was bleeding from a half dozen wounds and looked like he was about to die. “Oh god, I need to get you medical attention!”

“Take me…as bondsman.”

“What, Why?”

“Snow Ravens will kill me.”

“Who are you?”

“Wolf Elemental, Pryce.” 

“What are you doing here?”

“Take me as Bondsman, please.” 

“Oh…okay?  What do I do?”

“Wrap the cord around my wrist.” 

“Okay.”  She slid the cords around his wrist and tied the three knots in place, just like the one she had worn.  He relaxed visibly when the last knot was tied.  She pulled up her communicator and called the emergency services.  The ambulance rolled up a few minutes later and she rolled to the hospital with the strange warrior she had taken as a bondsman.

Later

Luna shook her head as she entered the hospital.  Mackenzie had gotten herself into a jam again.  The message had been brief, but Luna had gotten the gist of Mackenzie somehow finding a bondsman on an occupied world that was supposed to be pacified.  Mackenzie was going to end up giving her grey hairs.  Mackenzie was sitting outside the surgical unit, waiting to hear what had happened.

“Explain yourself.”

“Promise you are not going to be upset with me.”

“Mackenzie.”

“Okay, so you know last night we were out surveying the wreckage of the dropship that crashed.”  Luna nodded. “So I was in town running an errand and when I stopped in the park to clear my head, this elemental jumped me.  I managed to take him down and claim him as my new bondsman.”  Mackenzie smiled, and Luna shook her head.”

“You found an elemental from another clan while you were out clearing your head?” 

“Mmhmm.” 

“And you initiated a trial of possession for him?”

“Mmhmm.”

“While following all the standard protocols you were supposed to follow?”

 “Mmhmm.”

“Mackenzie, tell me the truth.” 

“He said he is a clan wolf elemental named Pryce.  He was aboard the Dropship that crashed last night.  He says the Snow Ravens were going to kill him.  He forced me to take him as a bondsman before I could bring the doctors.” 

“Why would the Snow Ravens want to kill him?”

“That is an excellent question ma’am, and I have a follow up.  What exactly is a Snow Raven?”

“The Snow Ravens are a clan that favors Naval combat and have devoted several centuries worth of energy and effort into making it their preferred field of combat.  We had to contract with them to bring some of our invasion forces into the Inner Sphere in exchange for mercantile concessions back home.”

“I am still no clearer on why they would want to kill him…”

“So he made you take him as a bondsman?” Luna shook her head.

“Yes.”

“That is not how the process is supposed to work, Mackenzie.”

“The first thing that really stuck with me about the clans is that we do not waste talented people needlessly.  He survived a dropship explosion.  That takes a level of talent that I know I do not have, quiaff?”

“Aff, you are correct, we do not waste talent.  Very well, he is your bondsman until you decide to free him to the warrior caste or he is deemed incapable of returning to active combat duty.  Should that happen, you will let me know immediately so I can make the necessary arrangements to have him transferred to the civilian command.  Understood?”

“Aff, ma’am.  Though I do have one question.”

“Mackenzie….”

“What exactly do I do with a Bondsman?”

“Figure it out, Mackenzie.  Show me you can take command of the situation you have found yourself in.” 

“Yes, ma’am.  I can totally figure this out.”  Yay, I get to keep him. 

Later that day

Pryce woke up with a scratch in the back of his throat and looked around the room slowly.  Star Commander Mackenzie was here.  That was good.  He felt the weight of the bondcord on his wrist and smiled.  She had taken him.  He ran his fingers along his scalp, finding several staples pulling at his skin uncomfortably.  He frowned.

“Hey, quit that.”

“Aff, ma’am.”  He nodded slowly.

“You are to be discharged from this facility the day after tomorrow, quiaff?”

“Aff.”  He nodded slowly.

“Once that happens, you will transfer on base with me unless the doctors determine you are unlikely to return to combat duty, quiaff?”

“Aff.” 

“According to your codex, you are a trueborn elemental, quiaff?”

“Aff.”

“I will have plenty of things for you to do until you have proven yourself ready to retake the field as a warrior again.  You will not disappoint me, quineg?”

“Neg, Ma’am.”  He croaked a little.  He rested his hand on the back of hers and smiled.  “Thank you for saving my life.” The warrior laid back in the bed and Mackenzie swore she saw a tear running down his cheek.  She shook her head and patted him on the shoulder before she left the room.

The Doctor was waiting for her outside.  “What is his prognosis?”

“Severe lacerations across his back and shoulders.  He was lucky, they missed anything vital.  The radiation poisoning was extreme, but we have started an appropriate treatment.”

“Radiation poisoning?”

“Judging by the amount of radiation in his body, he must have been exposed to one of the drive cores while it was in operation.  Frankly I am amazed he is even still alive.  If he had not gotten to his elemental suit, he probably would have died aboard the ship.  His right arm is severely burned.  His suit was equipped with a flamer for some reason, and when he landed the tank ruptured and engulfed his right arm.  He is lucky that his suit’s missiles were expended.” 

“Combat readiness?”

“We will have to assess the grafts on his arm, but he should be operational within the next week.  The radiation poisoning will be something he probably carries with him for the rest of his life however.  He will always have a little trace of it in his system”

“Will it hinder his ability to fight?”

“No, but it will taint any giftake he may give, and without his genetic purity, I doubt he will ever be considered a candidate for a bloodname.” 

“Unfortunate, but he will serve the clan to the best of his capacities.”  She said quietly.  She knew exactly what not being able to earn a blood name felt like, but that was a crisis for another day.  Her watch beeped and she realized Farraday would be looking for her soon.  She thanked the doctor for his time and made her way back to the barracks in time to get changed. 

Farraday was waiting for her when she got back, but gave her enough time to take a shower and change into something more casual.  Farraday had somewhere acquired a much more feminine gown than Mackenzie would have thought appropriate for her, but she had to admit, the elemental filled out her gown nicely.  

Mackenzie finally found an outfit that wouldn’t look out of place next to Farraday and they were off to the concert. 

Three and a half hours later, Mackenzie was pulling her much larger friend out of the car.  Farraday had found alcohol at the concert and had partaken heavily of a local blend of whiskey.  She was giggling and stumbling the entire trip back to the barracks, but they had had fun for the first time Mackenzie could remember.  She got to set aside the warrior aspect of clan society and just be 

Mackenzie for a while.

Farraday smiled up at her from her bed when they finally managed to get her into it.  Mackenzie shook her head as she sat next to her friend.  That actually felt like the right thing to call Farraday finally.  More than soldiers, more than colleagues.  Farraday said something so quietly that Mackenzie had to lean over to hear her.

“What did you say?”  She asked her friend to repeat herself.

“I said do you want to couple with me?”

“Uh….do you want to couple with me?”  Mackenzie asked her friend.

“Not particularly right now, neg.  But you are my friend and I would if you wanted to.”

“Why would you offer that, Farraday?”

“Because you are my friend, and you are under so much stress.  You think I do not see it, but I do.  I understand if you do not want to, it is all right.” 

“I do not think I am in the right place in my head or my heart to couple with anyone, but if that changes, I will let you know Farraday.” 

“Good.  You are a good friend, Mackenzie.” Farraday leaned up and kissed her softly on the cheek. 

“You are a good friend too, Farraday.  Now get some sleep.”

“Aff.”

Mackenzie changed out of her clothes and got ready for bed.  The last thing she thought before sleep claimed her was that she might be finally losing her mind. 

Morning came with less fanfare than the previous day and she had been able to have some interactions with Jaxun, though it seemed like Annabelle was always around him.  Something about her just irked Mackenzie.  They were flirty cute in public, and that just wasn’t the way her brother was.  He never had been and the fact that he just went with it just pushed all of her buttons. He still hadn’t been back to the barracks, which meant he was probably sleeping with her.  She had a great hope somewhere in her heart that the bed was too small.

She went through her morning exercise activities and spent the afternoon at the cockpit of her Summoner, getting acclimated to the new machine. She had spent a week getting used to the ride of it, and it was a different machine than she had driven before. At some point during the day, laborers had come through her area of the barracks and given her an enclosed space of her own.  Not that she minded the extra space, but she was somewhat confused by the extra bed in her space.  While she was eating with the rest of her starmates (and not her brother and his weird piece of tail), the hospital called.  Her bondsman had been released a day early and was being shuttled over by the hospital staff. 

She worked quickly to make him a space in their newly joined quarters and primarily that consisted of a small lamp, an end table, a drawer in the dresser, and his overly large bed.  Her Starmates were amused by the state of her bondsman, who looked like he had been through hell and back.  He was moving stiffly, but other than the large red pressure glove covering his right arm up to the elbow, he was functional. 

He had been issued a temporary uniform at the hospital and she would have a conversation with the quartermaster tomorrow about getting him some things, but tonight he literally wandered into her life with the clothes on his back.  He was very quiet, and that confused Mackenzie.  None of the clansfolk she had met previously were anywhere near this kept to themselves, she thought he might even be shy of all things. 

“I am going to sleep, Star Commander.”  He slipped the shirt off his back and set it on the table under his lamp. 

“Very good, Pryce, I will speak with you in the morning.”  She nodded back to him.  The barracks had a lights out policy around 10 pm, but everyone had lamps and flashlights for any after hours work they might have had.  She was reading through one of Ivan’s old mission reports with her lamp light when the oddness started.  Pryce started breathing rapidly, and she saw the muscles in his face twitch.  “What the fuck?”

“No…please do not do this.”  She heard his voice softly call out.  She got out of the bed and moved closer to him.  “Please, there are civilians aboard that station, it is not a military target.”  He was pleading with someone.

“Pryce, you are having a nightmare.”  She said softly to him.

“We do not have to target the escape pods.  Those people do not deserve this.”  Tears were flowing down his ragged looking cheeks. 

“Pryce…Wake up.”  She put her hand on his shoulder and softly shook him. 

His eyes flashed open and he stared through her for a moment.  “The order is given, open fire.” 

“Pryce!”

His eyes focused on her and his left hand came up defensively.  He looked around confusedly, trying to get his bearings.  “I am sorry for disturbing you, Star Commander.  My dreams are worse than they used to be.  I offer surkai for the disruption to your evening.”

“You have not disturbed me, Pryce.  What were you dreaming about?” 

“Something that happened when I was newly assigned to Lucian McKenna’s entourage.  We were running a shakedown cruise of his new ship, the Fury of Dehra Dun.  We jumped into a system we knew that the Dark Caste was using as a staging ground.” 

“The Dark Caste?”

“The ones that do not fit into clan society.  They live outside its protections and mercies.  We sometimes hunt them for training exercises as cadets.”

“I had no idea such a thing existed.”

“There will always be those who break faith with unity.  There is only one solution for that.” 

“What happened?”

“The Nightlord performed to expectations.  It crippled the station with its opening salvo and proceeded  to hunt down and destroy every last trace of the Dark Caste presence in the system.” 

“How many people died?”

“Too many.”

“Why does that memory haunt you?  There was nothing you could do about it.”

“It was the first time I saw the absolute devastation our warships can cause.  Since then I have seen them turn cities to glass from orbit, and rain down calamity on countless battlefields.” 

“They were warriors, were they not?”

He shook his head slightly.  “Not all of them.” 

“That is unfortunate…”  She said softly.  Pryce nodded softly.  He rolled over on his side facing away from her. 

“I will try and not wake you again.  I am sorry Star Commander.” 

“When we are here in this room and it is just the two of us, you can call me Mackenzie.”

“All right, Mackenzie.”  He said quietly. 

She stared down at the warrior, watching his body try to relax so he could sleep.  Something about the vulnerability of him felt strangely right to her.  He wasn’t flashy or loud.  He simply was a man who had problems.  That touched her.  She turned the lamp off and set the mission report aside.  “Slide over, Pryce.” 

“Excuse me, Mackenzie?”  Pryce turned to look over at her.  She was sitting on the edge of the bed. 

“Move over a little bit.”  Mackenzie laid down in his oversized bed and wrapped an arm around him.  She had no idea why she was doing this, but again, it felt right. 

“Aff, ma’am.”  He made space for her, laying on his side.  She rested her face against his broad back and curled her arm against his stomach. 

“Do not tell anyone about this, quiaff?”

“Aff ma’am.” 

Mackenzie woke the next morning to an empty bed.  It took her a moment to get her bearings.  Someone had cleaned her room in the time since she had gone to sleep and now.  All of her books were lined up neatly on top of her dresser.  Her bed had been made, the dirty clothing had been tossed into the hamper.  There was a small tray of food sitting on her nightstand and a note.  She picked it up and read it

“Good Morning Star Commander.  You were very kind to me last night and to return that kindness I have straightened up our sleeping area.  I do a morning workout, and that is where I currently am, should you wake before I return.  I have not attempted to escape your custody.  Also provided is a breakfast, so that you can concentrate on the tasks for your day.”

Well shit.  She ate the offered breakfast quickly and then went about straightening up his bed.  It would not look good for either of them if one of the two beds was unmade to a passerby.  She pulled her field uniform on and emerged from her quarters.  Ayat smirked at her as she walked past but said nothing.  She found her bondsman in the middle of the technical bay surrounded by a group of Jade Falcon Elementals.  He was kneeling in the middle of their pack, with closed eyes.  He was breathing in and out in slow, controlled exhalations. 

“This can not be an elemental, quineg?”  She heard one of the Elementals say loudly to him. 

“Neg, he does seem to fall short of measuring up.”  One of the others commented.  Mackenzie hadn’t thought about it, but compared to most of the other elementals, he was on the shorter side.  He probably wasn’t much taller than her brother. 

“What precisely are you doing, surat?”  one of the other elementals questioned him loudly. 

“I am practicing an ancient form of martial training from Terra.  It is called yoga, warrior.”

“Yoga?” 

“Deep core exercises to keep the body centered with the mind.”

“You, jest, quiaff?”  One of the other elementals asked with a smirk on her face.

“Neg, warrior, Too much time aboard warships can strip the muscle from any body.  Even with the addition of weight training, it is difficult to maintain muscle mass in zero gravity.” 

“So just how strong are you?”  the elemental taunted him.

“You require a demonstration, quiaff?”

“Aff.”  The warrior replied.  Pryce had nodded quietly and moved very quickly.  The warrior who had taunted him sailed through the air into her point mates.  It took Mackenzie a moment to process what had happened, but it looked like Pryce had pulled himself up on his hands and slipped the backs of his feet under the elemental’s arms.  One fluid motion kicked his legs backwards and sent the other elemental off her feet.  The aggrieved elemental was on her feet and roaring a challenge at him before Mackenzie could do anything. 

“Enough.”  Mackenzie heard Farraday's voice boom through the techbay. 

“He struck me!”

“Technically he grappled you with his feet.  You struck Jord.”  Farraday replied.  “You were also the one that wanted a demonstration, Sasha.”  Sasha was fuming, but kept her composure.  “Star Commander Mackenzie, in the future would you please keep your bondsman out of the techbay unless he is performing maintenance?  I would hate for him to get stepped on by something bigger than he is.”  Farraday turned her attention to her.

“Aff, Star Commander Farraday.  He will not be a bother to your star.” 

“See that he is not.”  Farraday turned her attention back to the point of elementals and they dispersed to their section of the bay.  Pryce bowed respectfully to the officers and returned to Mackenzie’s quarters. 

“That could have turned out poorly.”  Mackenzie said quietly.

“Indeed, Sasha will have her sights set on him now.  That may be an issue.”  

“I will speak with her.” 

“Respectfully, I would not.  She will not do anything while he is a bondsman, that would be chalcas.  Should he earn his way into our 

warrior caste, there will be time for trials of grievance.” 

“Do you think that is the best course of action?”

“It is what I would do, in the circumstance.”

“Very good.” 

“So, your bondsman prefers to be taken when you couple?”  Farraday asked her quietly.

“What?” 

“Mackenzie, you have medical gel staining your cheek, and none on your hands.  I would posit then that you were leaning over him from behind and used his lower back to support your weight.” 

“Farraday…”  She felt the blush rising in her cheeks.

“It is no worry, Mackenzie.  I am glad you found a…pressure relief.”  The elemental patted her on the shoulder.  “I would not mind borrowing him some time.  That yoga seems…interesting.” 

“I will let you know when he has availability.”  Mackenzie answered her.

“Good.  I am having an elemental suit brought up from our reserves for your Bondsman, working under the assumption he will be returned to combat duty.  I have no spare technicians to help him break it in for combat duty, however.” 

“That is fine, I am sure he could use the time getting used to the familiar.”

“Good morning, Star Commanders.”  Luna greeted the two of them. 

“Good morning, Star Captain.”  Mackenzie said quickly.  Farraday nodded and both saluted.

“How is your bondsman this morning, Star Commander?”

“He is well.  He has a busy day ahead of him.  He has class on Jade Falcon history all morning and has been assigned to assist the technical crews this afternoon with battlesuit maintenance and reloading and rearming my summoner after I return from maneuvers this afternoon.”

“How is he fitting in?” 

“He is very quiet, and seems to keep to himself.”  Mackenzie said quietly.

“He gave one of my warriors a demonstration of something he learned from his time with the Snow Ravens.”

“Really?”

“Aff, something called yoga.” 

“I am unfamiliar with it.” 

“It appears quite impressive, though I am not sure how it could be practically applied to all of our warriors.” 

“At least he is not provoking fights.” 

“He seems very unlike a Wolf.”  Farraday said firmly.  “He has none of the arrogance, none of the bravado I usually see when we interact with them.”

“Is this true?”

“My experiences with the Wolves are extremely limited, ma’am.  He is very subtle, very quiet from our interactions so far.” 

“Well I hope that his humility holds.  The Magistrate has requested his presence this morning to explain his recollection of the dropship explosion.” 

“I will make him available at the magistrate’s convenience.” 

“You seem…more centered this morning Mackenzie.  It is a good look for you.”  Luna nodded at her junior officer, though she did take a moment to wipe her cheek.  “Perhaps you should continue whatever activity has led to this centering.” 

“Aff, Ma’am.” 

“Very good, keep me apprised if the situation changes.”  Luna dismissed the two of them with a nod an went about inspecting the rest of her warriors. 

“She saw the stain on my cheek, quiaff?” Mackenzie said slowly.

“Aff, and I agree with her.  You seem much calmer today than you have in the past few days.  Were I a doctor, I might prescribe you continue that course of treatment two or three times a day, if the treatment were capable.”  Farraday chuckled at her.

“Farraday…”

“Go try and find something to wash that off your cheek or you will be made more uncomfortable as the day progresses.”

Mackenzie spent the rest of the day avoiding the glances of her star mates and generally trying to be the best mechwarrior she could be.  She returned to the mechbay and powered down the Summoner.  Her technician, Whitehall was waiting for her. 

“Star Commander,”  he greeted her respectfully.

“Whitehall,’ she returned the greeting.

“How is the ‘mech performing?”

“There is a hitch in the gauss rifle loader.  It takes a few extra seconds to load, and I noticed that it was taking progressively longer as the day wore on.” 

“I will take the assembly apart and have it checked thoroughly.”

“Thank you, Whitehall.”  She smiled at the young tech and climbed down the gantry.  Pryce was waiting for her. 

“Pryce, how was your day?”

“It was good.  I went to class after I met with the magistrate.  

Thank you for granting me the provisional use of a suit of battle armor.” 

“You still have to earn the right to wear it.” 

“Aff, m’am.” 

“I am hungry, join me for dinner?” 

“As you like.”  He nodded again.  His requests from the quartermaster had come in, and he was dressed in a fresh suit of laborer’s clothes.  He waited patiently for her to shower and change. 

“What would you like to eat tonight, Pryce?”

The elemental smiled softly.  “Choice is a new feeling for me, ma’am.  I am used to whatever was being served in the mess hall.”

“There is a Restaurant in the capital that I would like to try.” 

“A very good choice then, ma’am.”

“You can express your opinions, Pryce.”

“Respectfully ma’am, as a Bondsman I should not.  My opinions are not relevant to anyone right now.”

“When we are alone, you can express your opinions.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The pair drove into the city and after a few wrong turns they found the restaurant.  It was a very relaxed atmosphere and the cuisine paired well with the wine the waitress offered. 

“Pryce, what do you want in life?”

“Honestly, ma’am?”

“Always honestly, Pryce.  We are Jade Falcons.  Dishonesty does not suit us.”  She answered him.  His lip quivered for a moment and his lips turned to a frown.

“I respectfully can not say, Mackenzie.” 

“Why?”

“Because I do not wish to dishonor you.”

“What, explain yourself.”

“Neg, I offer my surkai.”

“Your surkai will not avail you.  Speak plainly.”

“I…want to go home.”  He answered slowly, a tear running down his cheek.

“I am sure we can get you back to Strana Mechty, Pryce.”

“Neg, Mackenzie Sokolov.  I want to go home, to see the Inner Sphere our people left so long ago.”  She was taken aback by the boldness of his statement. He had also used her surname, something that none of the others had done. 

“We will see the Inner Sphere when we conquer it.”  The words felt heavy on her tongue and she was surprised she could even say the words.

“Would you think less of me as a warrior if I said I did not wish to see the Inner Sphere as a conqueror?”

“What?” 

“I would like to see the Inner Sphere as a visitor, not as a warrior.  I do not wish to conquer the Inner Sphere.”

“That…is chalcas.” Mackenzie had to struggle with the word.

“I know, but I was ordered to speak plainly.”  He wiped his cheek.  

“Excuse me for a moment, the air in here is very bitter.  He stood and walked outside.  Mackenzie gave chase and followed him into a small courtyard.

“Pryce, what you are saying is treason.  You could be killed for even thinking those thoughts.”

“I know, but I do not want to have to run anymore.” 

“Pryce, explain.”

“My conscience would not take it again.” 

“Take what again?”

“In March…the smoke jaguars opened fire into a populated city from orbit.  They killed over a million people to punish an act of civil disobedience.” 

“What does that have to do with any fucking thing.”

“If the Jaguars were willing to do it, how long before that insanity spreads?  How long before the Falcons order that?  How long before I have to stand on the bridge of a ship and watch another city burn?”

“Oh...my god.”

“How long before I have to make another sky turn to fire, and watch millions die?”

“You are not Pryce.”

Pryce was my dearest friend in this world.  He was with me when the Snow Raven Watch came for me.  We were pinned down in the engine compartment of the dropship.  We managed to survive their attack, but an engine room is full of things that react poorly to bullets and lasers.  We just managed to get to the hangar when the ship started to erupt.  Pryce died pushing me into his suit of armor…”

“You are Lucian McKenna…”

“Aff.  I understand if you turn me in to your commander.  I have done things that are not the way of the clans.”

Mackenzie stared at him for a few moments.  She saw the flash of movement nearby and reached out to grab him.  “Go with this.”  She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a long, deep kiss.  She felt his shoulders strain for a moment and then his arms wrapped around her. 

“Ahem.” The voice cut through the night and the two of them looked up.

“Jaxun, your sib is kissing a bondsman, quiaff?”  Annabelle looked around Jaxun’s arm.

“aff.” 

“My apologies, I offer surkai for the breach of decorum.”  Pryce said quickly.

“What are the two of you doing?”  Mackenzie asked quickly.

“Annabelle wanted to try some of the sweets offered by a local eatery.  Join us.”

“We could not impose.”  Mackenzie tried to beg off.

“Oh please do.  It would give us a chance to…get to know each other better.” Annabelle said with a smile.

“If you insist.”  Mackenzie said quietly.  Pryce nodded at her.  She whispered quietly to his ear “This conversation is not over.”

The two couples found their way into an off the beaten path shop run by a very large family of confectioners that traced their family line all the way back to Terra. They had been making sweets and candies for generations.  Somehow they ended up here on Apollo, and fortunately for the Clansfolk, they were the only ones in the place at this time of night.  They tasted chocolates from a dozen different worlds, candy from across the whole of human space and even a frozen confection that none of them had ever tried. 

“You two look well.”  Mackenzie finally said to the two of them.

“I am well, sister.”  Annabelle nodded, she was in the middle of tasting a frozen fruit concoction. 

“How are the Falcons treating you, Pryce?”  Jaxun asked the bondsman.

“Better than I had any right to expect. Star Commander.”

“Is my sister treating you well?”

“Very well, sir.” 

“How is your candidacy going?” 

“Well, I think.  I have some research to do, but I think it is a project I can manage.”

“That is good.”

“Do you have any idea when your next operation rolls forward?” Annabelle came up for air from her frozen treat.

“Neg, we are currently in a holding pattern waiting for orders.”  Mackenzie answered her.

“I suspect the Ghost Bears are slowing the offensive down.”  Pryce replied.

“They would be dragging their feet.”  Jaxun chuckled. 

“We are creatures of action, we should be on the move.”  Mackenzie said quietly.

“Indeed, sister.  It is good to spend time with you like this again.” 

“We have not had a night like this since we graduated from the military academy.”

“True, that was a good night.”  Jaxun smiled at his sister and she saw a little piece of the person he was peaking through the Jade Falcon warrior.  He let out  a soft sigh and nodded to the two of them.  “I believe we will retire for the evening.  You have a pleasant evening, both of you.”

“Aff, Star Commander.” Pryce nodded.

“I will see you later, brother.”  Mackenzie kissed him softly on the cheek and they were left alone in the shop.

“He cares for you a great deal.”  Pryce said firmly.

“Pryce…what am I supposed to do with you?” 

“Whatever you choose.”  She started to talk but he put his hand up.  “I have been running and hiding who and what I am for my whole life.  I am tired of that.  This is the closest I have been to a free man since I was gestated.  If I die as a warrior this close to freedom, then so be it.  If my fate goes a different way, then I will see what storm comes.”

“You are a traitor to the way of the clans…”

“And I am yours.  If you wish to turn me in, I will understand.  I have put this burden on you, and I know now that I should not have done so.  I owe you surkai until the day I die.”

“What…Oh fuck it.”  She reached over the table and pulled him close again.  She kissed him, and he kissed her back.  “Just take me to bed and we will sort this out tomorrow.”

“As you like, Mackenzie.”