|
|
Arrival
by Marcus Taylor |
|
Kommando HQ, Centaurus 1032h
Kavanagh found the two officers sitting at one side of the main bustle of the Operations room, having a quiet game of chess.
"Well, you two have only known each other one day and already you're sparring," he exclaimed.
Rogers looked up from the game to his commander. "Oh. We figured if we're going to be at each others' throats for the next month or two, we may as well get started."
"And we'd reached an impasse with our paperwork," McEnroe added, eyes implying something.
'She's a canny one,' Olly thought as he felt the tight, orderly mind before him. 'Make an excellent OPposing FORce commander.' He handed them a portion of the papers he was carrying. "Better mark down your places 'cause the impasse is broken. Maj. Hopkins and I came up with a training schedule that should take care of everything."
Rogers nodded his agreement, and McEnroe didn't find fault. As they went off to get the training begun, the Lancer colonel stopped and remarked "I notice that Hopkins signed this this morning - we haven't been able to reach her."
Olly felt uncomfortable and examined Lt.Col. McEnroe more closely. She didn't seem to have any sort of emotion at the moment - she not only had a Poker Face, she even had a Poker Mind! He couldn't tell whether McEnroe was teasing with a deadpan manner or honestly just wondering where Eva was. 'Best to take her seriously and stick to the truth - I'd rather fall for a joke than offendher.' "Oh, she was dead tired. She fell asleep during our meeting last night so I just left her there - she must've slept in, woken up late and approved this just before dashing off, since she was gone when I checked the conference room not long ago."
"And you left your jacket in the conference room as well?"
"Well, I just used my jacket as a pillow for her," he blurted out. By God, she WAS teasing him! He could just barely feel a sense of interest and humour somewhere in there! In keeping any outward signs suppressed, she was also keeping her emotions themselves in check; a very dispassionate person. If Olly wanted a challenge to develop his talents on, there she was! 'It'd be nice to crack that cool exterior of hers, though,' he mused as McEnroe moved off, vaguely satisfied.
* * * *
East Gate, Phoenix Gamma 1141h
"Hello again, Captain. Good thing you got here now; I was just about to put the fingerprint scanner away."
Olly grunted and placed his digits in the device's slots, getting a green light immediately. Leaving the Lancer's camp with his Shadow unit had been a much lengthier proposition. Without a verigraph, which the guards had expected every officer to carry, they had to dig out other identification equipment, much to Kavanagh's embarrassment. His troops were no help either. Being commandos who expected to operate deep within enemy territory, they had no identification of any kind.
It was merely a delay, though, and after repeating the process at Falkenberg's encampment, he met with the armoured infantryman and introduced his 'technicians'; a lockpick, a computer hacker, a demolitions expert, a sniper, two corporals and a squad leader. While 'Falk', as he liked to be called, explained his plan of infiltrating the Castle Brian, Olly took the opportunity to examine the Inner Sphere version of battle armor.
The suits were lighter than the Clan Elemental suit and more human- looking. They surely gave less protection to the wearer, but were just as mobile and carried a wider variety of weapons - mostly more effective on soft, unarmored targets like conventional infantry or light vehicles than the hard targets of tanks and BattleMechs. Falk's troopers would excel against a predominantly infantry force such as the Word of Blake's Militia.
As he returned to the ops room, a warrant officer told Kavanagh that he had a message from Major Hopkins wondering if he would like to meet with her for lunch. He returned to the conference room and sent a direct call to his own communicator.
"Give it back, please," Olly appealed, the levity in his voice emphasized to dispell any concerns Eva might have.
This read was different, and MUCH easier than McEnroe, even though Olly's only contact with this subject was wireless communication. "It's no problem; just inconvenienced me a little. You mentioned lunch; maybe I could ransom back my ID by buying a meal for you?"
"Sounds great. Where shall I meet you?"
Olly didn't bother telling her of his experiences, and suggested a time which they agreed upon.
* * * *
'Gasconie', Marcellus City, Centaurus 1318h
"Well, that was delicious - I apologize for being such poor company, but I couldn't stop eating!" Kavanagh wiped his mouth with a napkin.
"Don't worry about it - I missed breakfast, so I was hungry too," Eva replied with a sly smile.
"Hey, you looked like you needed that long nap - I didn't have the heart to wake you."
"I probably did, but sleeping in didn't lessen my mountain of paperwork.
I was hoping to be a little ahead of where I was last night, but now..."
"So you'll be busy all afternoon?"
"Probably. Why?"
"Well, I was hoping to take a trip around the countryside and get the lay of the land; it would've been better with a guide, but..."
"You certainly asked the right person; no one loves a good tramp in the woods more than I do! Er, I mean-"
Olly chuckled. "Relax - I know what you meant. What I'm looking for are some good cycling trails...oh, and maybe a secluded glade or two for picnicking."
"I've got just the place!" Then Hopkins' face fell, "but I'm busy - I've just too much work to do. I guess I could give you directions."
"Look - how many people are on your command staff?"
"Eight."
"And how many subordinate officers do you have under you?"
"Er, three Captains, and sixteen Lieutenants."
"Twenty-seven, and with their staff - probably around forty people you can call on. Now, I know most of these people MAKE the paperwork for you, but surely Shahan's watching you to make sure you don't micromanage every last detail until you end up in the infirmary?" He could sense fatigue within her; held at bay for now, but by evening she'd be just as weary as she was the previous day.
"Yeah, I guess. Not everything needs my signature on it."
"And that's what you've got to learn. A single Company in the Lancers doesn't have that much independence to worry about. But trust me, a Battalion - or an independent Company - has many more concerns than that and more than what one person can handle. The Kommando is about half as large as your Scout Battalion, but I have a command staff of nine."
"You're right - I spent this morning supervising obstacle course drills.
The platoon's commander could've handled it. Shit! Have I been scuttling my chance at command with over-zealousness?"
"It's probably not too late. Tell you what; how about we go over to your office, filter through what you NEED to do yourself and delegate the rest, then blow the afternoon for a nice invigorating hike, a light supper and then you take care of that stack of paperwork?"
Eva was at a loss for words at first. "So what you're saying is skip off for half a day to save my carrer," she asked with a grin.
"Call it 'sick leave' or 'recuperative therapy' or even just plain 'playing hookey'. Hold on, I should have a Medical diploma around here somewhere." Olly started searching his pockets. "Unless you took that by mistake as well?"
His companion playfully jabbed him in the arm. "That was an accident and you know it! Okay, fine. I'll take you on a tour. Let's get things set up."
* * * *
Hills around Phoenix Castle Brian, Centaurus 1526h
Olly stepped past the last few trees and stood beside his guide to regard the view of the forested valley before them. "You're right; it's fantastic," he said, flexing his stiff knees. He would have preferred to cycle around, but some of the sights Eva had wanted to take him to were inaccessible by bike. 'It isn't actually painful,' he thought, 'I just can't walk too quickly after the first half-hour.'
"Yep, I had this in mind from the moment you mentioned you wanted a picturesque picnic site." She stood erect, visibly proud of her choice in locale. She glanced over to him, and noticed he was looking a little tired.
"Want a rest?"
He sighed. "Sure - I had to push myself a little to keep up with you at times. In case you haven't noticed, my stride is somewhat shorter than yours," he grinned ruefully.
"Sorry, I just zone out when I'm hiking I guess." She examined her companion more closely as sat down against a tree on the edge of the clearing.
"You're supposed to be taller, aren't you?"
"Well, it all depends on your point of view; either my legs are too short for my body, or my body is too long for my legs, but pretty much, yeah."
Kavanagh leaned forward and easily clasped his hands together under his outstretched feet. "But it helps in bar bets." He demonstrated, after some straining, by touching his nose to the tip of one hiking boot.
Hopkins laughed and applauded.
The two just sat and enjoyed the solitude of being miles from their units, bivouacs and all the problems created by the same.
"Yep, this'll do just nicely for romantic getaway," Olly declared.
"Oh, yes?" She glanced at him with a raised eyebrow.
"No, not for me - I wanted to know about local cycling trails and a friend was wondering of somewhere to be alone with her paramour."
"Ah. So you rested enough?"
"But of course - I just needed to catch my breath." They stood and made their way down the hill without conversation.
Eva looked back at him thoughtfully, and broke the pause. "I had a rather strange dream last night."
"I know," Kavanagh replied, rubbing his knee.
Her face expressed interest at his response and Olly recounted how Hopkins' nightmare had affected his evening's work.
Eva struggled to keep a straight face. "I did *that*? I'm so sorry!"
"Nothing to apologize for, since only my pride was injured. It was pretty funny though; I'm worried about you hurting yourself and, well..."
She took a deep sigh and appeared to make a decision. "I must have been reliving the night I capped Alexi."
Olly had felt something coming to a head within her, but the severity of Eva's secret caught him by surprise. "Capped? You mean?"
"I shot him. He was beating me for holding back money from him and I got sick of taking orders from the bastard. He had his hands around my throat and I just grabbed the gun I knew he wore under his coat, and before either of us realized it, I blew his head open." She wasn't terribly distraught over the act, but slightly bitter.
"So why did you owe this Alexi money, and why was he beating on you for missing a payment?"
"Oh, you don't understand - I didn't owe him anything. In his perspective, it was his money. He just paid me what he thought I deserved for my night's work."
Realization began to dawn in his mind. "You mean-"
Eva nodded and confirmed his notion. "Alexi was my pimp."
He stumbled. Another bombshell; this woman was as full of surprises as McEnroe! But Olly could sense her feelings as clearly as his own. 'Looks like I'm finding the limitations of my talent,' he mused ruefully. "So you were a..."
"Servant of the State, so to speak. You can use whore, prostitute, hooker, or call-girl if you prefer." Again she showed no signs of being upset, inside or out.
"That would explain your distaste over talking about 'a life in the Service Sector' yesterday." The Capellan Confederation Hopkins came from was an autocratic state which controlled as much of a person's daily life as possible. This included House Liao-regulated prostitution. Olly had trouble accepting the idea.
"I can see it in your face, Lyran - the thought of the government controlling what should be free enterprise revolts you doesn't it?" Eva smirked at her reference to the Steiner populace's propensity for trade and commerce.
"Hey, I grew up in Marik space-" he began in mock indignation.
"With Commonwealth parents; not that the Free Worlds League is much better at running things. No, it wasn't as horrible as you think - medical benefits and protection from abusive clients made things downright cozy. And after all, it was sex..." Red purred, eyeing him for his reaction.
Olly shook his head to clear it of some of her more vivid memories. "I suppose; as long as it's work you like!" He smirked at her nonchalance to the subject.
"Yeah, and to be honest I was _good_; Alexi's star performer."
"So why are you here, and why's he dead?"
"He got greedy. We were getting probably only half the money we were supposed to."
"So complain."
Eva stopped. "To who? Alexi took care of all the paperwork; we never saw anyone. For a while I thought he was a freelancer, but my later experiences disproved that. Anyway, after I resolved our labour dispute, I suddenly had misgivings."
"Uh-oh."
"Yeah, I hadn't really thought about what I was doing, just defending myself reflexively. Well, I panicked and dashed out of the apartment. I ran out into the street and almost got run down by a jeep."
"Cosmic justice?"
"Maybe, because those soldiers took me in-"
Olly leered. "Oh, yeah?"
"No, no, no. The *female* mechwarrior in charge found out what I'd done, and given me a cover. Siona called-"
"Wait a minute, Siona Atredies?" Hopkins nodded as they stopped. "Hell, my dad tangled with her once; got his ass handed to him in a paper bag. She's one of the reasons the Killers weren't as successful as they could have been."
"Wow, my mentor messed with yours - it really is a small galaxy."
He smirked. "Yeah...so, you were saying?"
"Okay, Atredies called in a few favors and got me into the Army. There wasn't a vacancy in her unit, but I got a reasonable assignment and learned a lot. Then after two years of safe hiding, I get an anonymous message to skip."
"From Siona?" Olly noticed they were heading up another hill.
"I dunno; I'd like to think she kept an eye out for me, but it doesn't really matter. I applied for and got the first leave available and then went AWOL."
"That's taking a bit of a chance, isn't it? Now you've got the Army after you as well."
"As it turned out, they were the least of my worries. Alexi was more than he let on - he was Maskirovka."
"Shit." Olly immediately understood the significance of this; in a totalitarian state like the Confederation, the intelligence service would need to know about the loyalties of everyone; what better way to get a politician or staff officer's guard down than with a beautiful woman? "So in defending yourself from an angry pimp,..."
"I was actually destroying a small part of the Liao intelligence machine; they wanted my head for that. I was lucky that it took them two years to find me - I learned a new profession in that time."
"So the rest of the story is the same?"
"Pretty much; I fled to Outreach, banged around looking for a unit willing to hire, and lucked into an interview with Alicia. After she accepted me in, I told her everything. The XO was even more accomodating than Col. Atredies - she gave me a new identity, and when the Maskirovka came sniffing around, an 'accident' let them know that exacting revenge on a simple hooker would be quite expensive. I haven't been bothered since."
"You said something about a new identity - Eva Hopkins isn't your real name?"
"Not my original name, but as far as I'm concerned it is my *real* name."
Olly didn't press her. He realized that they were now standing just inside the door of a small hut; he was so engrossed in the conversation, he hadn't noticed entering it. "Where are we?"
"A little getaway of mine for when I want to just be alone and think; you looked like you could use another break, and I didn't want to get my butt dirty again." She sat on the only furnishing, a simple camp cot.
Olly knew that the 'clenliness' line was just that, and hesitated before sitting next to her.
"Relax, I won't bite...unless asked."
With a smile, he sat cross-legged on the cot, facing her. "So you go through all these memories at night?"
"Not usually, and you know how dreams are - what must have been years of life get compressed into a few minutes of recollection. But something happened last night that isn't part of the 'regularly scheduled program'." And Eva told him about the surreal part of her nightmare. Olly listened carefully with his hands on his temples and his eyes shut. "So, chiefly I'd like to get a second opinion on some of the wierder symbols - who or what does that 'teddy bear' represent, for example."
"Well, it can't be me. I'm too short, I'm extremely talkative, and I can't make walking corpses disappear!"
His attempt at egocentric levity caused Eva to break out in laughter and lean forward to shove him over. He grabbed her wrists and they struggled playfully. Due to her height advantage, he found himself pinned into the cot with her lying on top of him.
"Ha; gotcha. Now I can do with you as I wish." She swooped down and gave him a quick kiss. They stared into each other's eyes.
'And I know exactly what you wish to do, Red,' Olly thought as he stretched up to kiss her in return. 'Not that I mind...' |
|
|
|
|
| Page :
1 2 3 4 5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
