AWF Chpt 112

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=Chapter 112=
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===Souvenir and Kits===
Leopard Class DropShip, Phaidin 
In Transit to Jump Point
St. Ives System, St. Ives Compact 
June, 3030
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Roweyna came to the mech bay and found the techs and Joker sitting around a folding table playing cards. It looked like Dmitry was winning, although Joker had a certain earnest look about him which made Roweyna think he was either losing badly or had a good hand and was trying to make the most of it.
She glanced around the bay area. The 'mechs were secured for transit, all the tools and equipment were in their storage locations. She could see the missile crates were properly marked and secured. Mike's old tool cart was in the corner. It had a nasty dent in it where Hap had pushed it over the side of the gantry railing to kill a ROM agent. It seemed the other tech's had reverently put it back together and placed it where Mike normally kept it. As Roweyna started to walk toward it she noticed Mags bent over another workstation.
Rowyena walked toward the young mechwarrior, "What have ye there, Mags?"
She glanced over her shoulder and held up a piece of leather that had "JEFE" stamped into it. As Roweyna got closer she could see it was a knife sheath and Mags had sewn up half of it. On the workbench next to the leather tools was the vibrodagger the sheath was being made for.
"Where'd ye collect this lovely piece of kit?" Roweyna asked as she picked up the knife. It was heavier than it looked, like most vibro weapons, and the weight was concentrated in the handle. Mags had wrapped the handle with coyote colored paracord and the blade's edge shone like it had recently been grinded and rehomed.
"Jefe found it. One of those jump infantry putas was trying to use it to break open his cockpit when Joker barbacoa-ed them."
Roweyna nodded, she had heard bits of this story in the after-action reports from their operations with the Compact forces. She nodded as she put the dagger down. "So he asked you to make him a sheath?"
"Not exactly. I asked him if he was going to keep the dagger and he told me he didn't have a sheath for it, so I thought I'd make him one."
"That's a great kindness." Roweyna said, not sure what else to say.
"Yeah, Jefe was talking about how every time we meet some one we give them something of ourselves, and we take something of them with us. I wanted to choose what he got from me."
Roweyna nodded, "I'd wager he was talking about lasting memories that ye all have made from trainin' and fightin' together."
"No, he was talking about his dad's lighter. It's little things like this that are evidence that you're respected by other warriors. People ask you, 'Hey, where'd you get that?' And you tell them about the bad ass warrior who gave it to you, and they know you're a bad ass too. It's a sign of honor."
"My old man gave me all my kit, and he told me I could have medals from some army, but any fool could earn those. Instead he gave me a gun. I also got my uncle's belt buckle, a holster from a family friend, and a knife from my cousin. I also have my grandmother's crucifix and virgin of Guadalupe medallion. My papa told me anytime I wore this I would know my friends and family cared for me, had my back, and wanted me to conquistar my adversario. I remember that every time I go into battle." Mag explained
"Aye, my father calls that 'artifacts of a life well lived'." Roweyna said, "I'm certain Hap will greatly appreciate yer gesture. Father has often asked me, what sort of things I could point to show people that I was loved by family, respected by my peers, and feared by my enemies."
"What do you tell him?" Mag asked.
Roweyna sighed, "I could come up with some empty whiskey bottles and broken china, but little else I'm afraid. Though I've recently come into possession of a knife, and much like Hap the sheath for it seemed to have been lost when the previous owner met their untimely end. Perhaps ye could-"
"You need a badass warrior to make you sheath?"
"If ye have the time and leather to spare."
"I got some extra leather."
"All this talk reminds me though, I had a task for Henry, have ye seen him?"
"I think he was looking for you."
Roweyna nodded, "Of course. He's likely on the command deck."
"I think Smythe and Lucas were with them."
"When aren't they?" Roweyna asked as she started to walk away.
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===Repairs and Drinks===
Roweyna moved from the mech bay to the personal spaces and started moving between decks. She found herself in front of the storage locker. She paused for a moment before entering the large storage area. She looked around the room. Everything was in order. Her father insisted everything in the locker be organized by the classic military classes of supply, and it all seemed to be laid out that way.
The first section had rations and a few shelf-stable food products, and water purification tablets. Next was the McFinnigan themed clothing, shirts, coveralls, shoulder patches, a few miscellaneous uniform items. There was a small section of lubricant for small arms, and some of the Petroleum, Oil and Lubricant or POL needed for the ship, though the POL for the 'mech's parts was kept down in the mech bays, similarly there was some ammunition for sidearms and personnel weapons but larger ammunition, like missiles and large caliber machine gun ammo was also in a the mech bays. Between the POL and ammo was construction materials and dunnage. There was a large section of personal items like hygiene products, writing materials and batteries. Toward the back were the extra medical supplies, and some small repair parts.
Roweyna surveyed it all for a moment before staring at the ceiling. She wondered how long the ceiling had been electrified and how close she had come to either receiving a bad electrical shock, or even dying. As looked at the ceiling she heard a soft cough from behind her.
"There ye are, mum. We was lookin' for ya." Henry said. "Is somethin' wrong with the upper deck there, mum?"
"I don't believe so." Roweyna said slowly as she turned, "The chief engineer told me the roof had been electrified in the locker here, and I was considering all the times I must have been unwittingly cheatin' death."
"The Phaidin is a good ship, mum. I find if ye respect her, she takes you where ye need to go. I think some members of the crew had grown overly sensitive to some of her quirks."
Roweyna knew her chief boatswain's mate was probably personally insulted by the demand to overhaul the ship's electrical wiring. The condition of it had been dangerous, but it had also been considered acceptable for so long. There was also no money or time set aside to fix the wiring. He really couldn't be blamed for the condition of the electrical systems, and it was a sadly common situation on many drop ships in the inner sphere.
"Yer right, Mr. Henry, she's a good ship and has never failed to get us where we needed to go." Roweyna said. As she spoke Roweyna turned around to see Henry flanked by Smythe and Lucas. Lucas had the long two meter long 'mech torque wrench balanced across his back and shoulders, it looked like he was struggling with the weight.
"Ye told me ye wanted to hang this on the wall above Mike's photo. Figure we should do it afore yer father comes aboard. He's gonna want to make sure we gave big Mike a proper sendoff."
Roweyna nodded as she motioned for Henry to lead the way. They walked down the passageway toward the galley as Henry spoke, "I thought Mister Calahad did a fine job at Mike wake. Said many stirring things, talked about his skill, hard work, and his generally kind demeanor."
"He toasted the man and said his 'mech 'never worked finer since Mike became his tech, and when Mike gave a man a compliment, he had earned it."
"Aye. Kind an' truer words were ne'er spoken." Henry said wistfully.
"It was also short so we could start drinking sooner." Smythe added. "But I don't know why we didn't hang this thing when we hung his picture on the wall."
"Because on our equipment lists this is as Battlemech hand actuator adjustable torq wrench, 2.5-meter, titanium alloy.' What I didn't know was that it was used only for adjusting a Shadow Hawk's hand actuator and it's only needed for some very specific maintenance. Mike apparently kept it around to periodically use a pry bar. We're not currently fielding a Shadow Hawk, and even if we were adjusting the hand actuators is a very rare bit o' maintenance."
"Or knock the head off a man." Smythe added, "I heard he killed a dozen men by sneaking up behind them and then braining them with this thing."
"So heavy." Lucas groaned.
"Aye, it weighs over 50 kilograms." Roweyna said, "And apparently only Mike could hope to lift it and use it as a tool. I should say, he didn't kill a dozen men…though he did use it to protect the family on a few occasions… All that to say, Brant told me we this is thing sorta summed up ol' Mike. It's big, powerful, a little misunderstood and special. So I'm putting it on the wall. He defended the family with it. He was a warrior jest as true as fierce as any other in the company."
They entered the galley and Henry walked to a table where he had already laid out tools, the wiring diagram for the room and the ship's plans. He ordered Lucas to hold the wrench against the wall above Mike's photo as Smythe prepared an impact hammer.
Roweyna stood back and looked over the wall of fallen company members. The Tir Na nOg had a similar wall and most of the pictures were the same between the two galleys. Her father had founded the company some 20 years before, when she was not quite a teen. She knew most of the men and women on the wall. She looked long and carefully at each of them. Most of their names she knew, and she had some memory of almost all of them. Her eyes rested on two pictures located over a corner booth.
Henry, Smythe, and Lucas completed their work and Henry turned to the contemplating Roweyna. "Pardon us mum, but this has been some thirsty work, perhaps ye could…"
Instinctively, Roweyna wanted to turn down the request. Before she could stop herself, she nodded and fished out the keys to unlock the cover for the galley's taps from her sweater pocket. "Alright lads, one drink, I won't have father think that I'm allowin' this to be a booze cruise."
Henry tapped his nose. "Yer secrets safe with us, mum."
Roweyna pulled pints for the sailors as she put them on the bar as she looked at the booth in the corner. "Here ye are lads."
Henry looked at Roweyna and then glanced over his shoulder to see what she was looking at. He nodded, "Come along boys" Henry said as he led Lucas and Smythe to the far corner of the bar. Roweyna pulled three more pints, and pressed all three into a triangle between her hands and took them to the corner booth.
She set the three pints on the table then put one below the picture of her brother, and the other beneath the picture of her uncle. "It's been a long-time gents." She said as she sat down next to her brother's photo.
She studied both photos for a moment. Her uncle's photo had a small brass plate beneath it with "Llewyn McFinnigan engraved on it. The photo was of a middle-aged man standing on the shoulder of a Victor assault battlemech surveying something off camera. If she asked her father what Llewyn was looking at he'd tell her how he was studying a grand battlefield and then he'd tell some embellished tale of epic combat that he and Llewyn had participated in. It was rarely the same story, and each time Llewyn's exploits grew. If Roweyna asked her mother she'd consistently reply, "That rogue was as always lookin' for a pub."
Roweyna used her sweater sleave to polish the brass plate marked "Richard McFinnigan" as she studied her brother's photo. It was a scene at the beach with both Roweyna and her brother. She remembered the time well. Her brother had gotten leave from the Donnegal guards at the same time she had a break from her law studies. The whole family went on a beach holiday. Her brother was looking straight at the camera and Roweyna was behind him with a big toothy smile. She was looking to the side, probably at her mother. This was part of a larger photo that also had her mother with an equally large smile. Roweyna realized her and Elinor didn't smile like this anymore, not since Richard had died.
There was a small shelf beneath each picture. Beneath Richard's photo was a small statue of a Orion and on her uncle Llewyn's shelf was a Victor and an old pipe and tobacco pouch. Roweyna took the Orion and polished it with the corner of her sweater before putting it back on the shelf next to a wooden rosary. Roweyna had an identical rosary, but she kept it in her briefcase. Her mother would prefer she wore it around her neck, but it would too often remind her of her brother, so it stayed in the briefcase until she needed it.
"Well gents, it's a fine mess I find myself in, and I think ye both know it's yer fault." She took a sip and then set her pint down. "I was jest going to be the company lawyer. That was the agreement. I went to law school, and uncle Llewyn you'd help father run this company, and someday, Richard, ye and Patrick were supposed to inherit the whole thing."
She took a long drink, "But yer both dead now, and Patrick is a drunk. Father's not getting' any younger, and honestly if some jammy bastard doesn't kill him, mother will make him retire sooner rather than later. It's jest a matter of time before I'm doing yer jobs."
She downed half the pint, "...and my job too. And I have to tell ye, if this job is any indicator of my future performance leading this lot…well McFinnigan and Sons will end pretty quick. And another thing, jest to add insult to injury, Mother expects me to find a husband and give her another half a dozen cryin' grandchildren like our sisters, Richy." She set her glass down and admired the quarter full pint for a moment, "Like she needs more grandchildren. She must have at least two dozen between our sisters, and when do I have time to find a man?"
She took another drink, "If I'm being fair, Patrick is an amazing mechwarrior and leader when he's sober but he misses ye Uncle Llewyn." Her voice got quiet, "Father misses ye too…I suppose we all do, 'cept maybe mother."
Roweyna shook her head, "Of course Patty's wife doesn't see how good he is. Maybe she does, but she doesn't care for him when he's been in his cups. That's why she's livin' on Donegal with their son. Mother's been trying to convince her to come back to this…vagabond life."
She nearly finished her pint, "Of course once she's back she'll be focused on me, and again I ask ye, where am I going to find a man? Not from among the amadan father hires, no sir. You know the one of these fools that I'd actually consider marriage material brought a damn noble with him? She, of course, used all her charms and noble privileges to trick him into marrying her. It's jest not fair."
"I should tell ye, the closest I've come to any romance was a client that nearly strangled me after he tried to kill our flight crew. If ye see a saint, perhaps ye'd ask him to change my luck?"
The 1MC cracked to life, >>"Roweyna, the Tir Na nOg is on station, they want to speak to you."<<
Roweyna looked across the bar to Henry, "Tell 'em I'm comin'."
Henry pointed to Smyth who had to get up and take half a step to hit the intercom button on the wall, "She's on her way." Henry called out loudly.
Roweyna finished the pint, "Well gents, duty calls. It will be good to be talkin' to Father, and let him resume runnin' this armored circus." Roweyna kissed two fingers than pressed them to the frame of her brother, then did the same for her uncle, "watch over me gents." She whispered.
Roweyna stood up and started to leave, "Henry have yer lads take care of these pints, and then" She tossed the keys to the bar, "lock up everythin'. I'll get the keys from ye later."
Henry caught the keys as he nodded, "Yes, Mum."
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===Interrupted Phone Call===
Roweyna looked over the photos of her brother and uncle again and then walked out of the galley and walked swiftly to the command deck. She used her sweater sleeve to wipe her eyes. She walked onto the bridge and approached the comms station. On the holo screen was Willard, the commander of the Tank Company.
<<"Well howdy, little darlin' aren't you a sight for sore eyes.">> Willard called out.
Roweyna sat down and tried not to sigh obviously. "Mr. Willard, hello."
<<"Please Ma'am, call me Charlie.">>
"I think Mr. Willard will do." Roweyna answered coldly.
<<"Alright, play hard to get. I like a challenge.">> Willard didn't seem phased by her cold response, <<"You surprised to see me?">>
"Aye." Roweyna said, "I had imagined I'd be speakin with my father, so perhaps-"
<<"Before you talk to your daddy, I have something to discuss with you. See he liked what my boys and I bring to the fight, so I suggested we join our companies."<<
"And he agreed?" Roweyna said. Willard's bombastic style annoyed Roweyna and she knew her father had a similar view. She figured her father would have dropped him and his company off on the first planet they landed on, or just tossed Willard out of an airlock when his personality got too big for the ship's cargo hold.
<<"You know your mighty cute, when your eyes get big like that, and yes he agreed. He told me he could use more fire support, but he wants to get another Long Tom. My strike lance and recon lance got mauled pretty bad on Necromo, but he wants to just build out the recon lance. He says he has mech's for using as a strike lance, though he likes the idea of having some real fast tanks to scoot and shoot, and he might consider something defensive to protect your dropships.">> Willard said. "I need you to convince your daddy that he needs a complete armored company, not just some self-propelled artillery and rockets with a few hover tanks."
"Mr. Willard, I don't make it a habit of giving my father tactical advice, and I dare say, he and I have more important things to discuss."
<<"Oh I know that, but when the time is right, if you could ask him, for me, I'd be much obliged.">>
"I'm not sure-"
"<<I wanted to add too, your mother has come back, and I see where you get your good looks. She brought with her a little gal with a child. I think it's your cousin's wife and son.">>
Involuntarily Roweyna blushed at the compliment. "Mother's back, and she convinced Bonnie to come with her?"
<<"Yup! Bonnie. That's her name. Your Mother also brought some mean lookin fellas too. All of them got that same Donegal accent as you. I gotta say that accent though when you ladies talk it's something else. It's like half singing, and I gotta say, it can make man go wild.">>
"Can ye go get my mother?" Roweyna asked, then added, "Charles."
Charles smiled, <<"Yeah, her and Kelly were talking. They said they'd be on their way up.">> Willard glanced over his shoulder, <<"Here they are now.">>
Willard got up and disappeared from view and Elinor's head floated into view as she sat down. She looked off camera and smiled politely before turning to look at her daughter. When she saw Roweyna she really smiled, <<"It's good to see you love, are ye well?">>
"Fine, fine. I didn't expect ye'd return so soon. It's only been a few months."
Elinor nodded, <<"Well I cut my trip to Donegal short, not as much time as I would have liked with yer sisters and my grandchildren. I heard about the trouble we were in though, so I decided to hurry back.">>
"Bonnie came with you, and ye brought Brandon and his lads?" Roweyna asked
Kelly sat down next to his wife and put his arm around her shoulder. He looked off camera and motioned to someone that Roweyna assumed was Willard. It was obvious whomever he was motioning too he was trying to get them to leave.
Elinor glanced over her shoulder then turned back to Roweyna, she flashed her daughter a mischievous grin, <<"I happened to find some help as I was on my travels, I see yer father's done the same. Though I believe the help I've brought will likely leave before they've worn out their welcome.">>
Kelly shook his head, <<"I've been thinking about changing our business model, try to get more of those garrison details and protect a planet, or some key cities or infrastructure, and having artillery would help with that…but that man Willard, I suspect if I keep him in my employe-">>
Elinor looked at her husband, <<"He believes he's yer partner.">>
Kelly and Roweyna groaned in unison, "He'll be the death of us." Roweyna added.
Kelly could only grimace and nodded. <<"I'll speak with him and get it straightened out, but for now, give me some good news lass. Take my mind off of these troubles.">>
"I've negotiated with the Federated Commonwealth to escort the prize we took from the Capellans. It's not the most lucrative job, but they've seen to the logistics. We're going to lose the Professor and her 'mech when it's done, but I believe we'll break even, and still be in good standin' with Feds. I also did some work with the compact, they'll might have a planet they need a garrison for. I'm sure we won't have much trouble lining up another contract either way."
<<"Aye, as long as we can avoid any more complications.">> Kelly said.
"It's a few short jumps in Compact space." Roweyna said, "I think we can avoid complications."
Every alarm seemed to sound in the cockpit. Hawkins and Kate's hands were a flurry of motion. Sarah looked concerned as she glanced around the navigation station and started changing displays.
"Commander, we've got a JumpShip inbound. It's a couple thousand kilometers off from the jump point, and it looks like it's going to be within 100 kilometers of us." 
There was a flash like lightning and then a large ship appeared in front of the Leopard.
<<"Brace for full stop.">> Kate said over the 1MC as she flipped multiple switches on her control panel. She pulled back hard on the yoke as Roweyna felt the ship lurch. Instinctively she grabbed the underside of her seat with both hands. For a moment it felt like she was going to dislocate a shoulder, but then she was suddenly weightless. Several papers, cups and personal effects bounced off of the walls and then floated away.
Roweyna grabbed her seat's harness and started to put it on as she glanced out of the Leopards viewports. She couldn't believe her eyes. "What's that?" Roweyna said.
"Complications" Kate said, "Complications that shouldn't exist."
"The scanners indicate it's a Black Lion..." Sarah paused, "...Warship?"
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