DMHFV9

=Chapter 9=
==Dead Man's Hand: Family Values==
Ngo Family Estate
Hue, Kowloon
Bucklands Province
Lyran Commonwealth
November 1st, 3057
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"Most men, most heterosexual men anyway, if confronted with an attractive young woman dressed in something that is as uncomfortable as it is revealing, giving them 'Bedroom Eyes', would not wave them off and go back to watching a hologram for what has to be the twentieth time this evening!" Liz protested, stomping her foot, which made certain parts of her anatomy move in suggestive ways, "Is these something we need to discuss?"
"Sorry?" Nathan Roshak looked up, then suddenly found himself completely incapable of complex thought as a significant amount in blood rushed away from his brain.
"Better." Liz clocked her head to one side, "You've been obsessing over that recording all evening. What is it?"
"The recording?" her lover shook his head to get his train of thought back on track, "Yes. Emilio gave me a copy of the BattleROM footage from Sweet Water as part of the Militia training program... and I have to admit, I am... perplexed."
"I'm no expert, but isn't one battle against pirates pretty much the same as another?" pulling a robe around herself, Liz sat down across the table from him and looked at the flickering image.
She recognized the unmistakable outline of Joker's Loki, painted a sandy yellow color moving across the field of vision. There was an unmistakable fluid grace to its movements, as opposed to the more jerky reactions of its opponents. As she watched it blasted a smaller, more humanoid looking 'Mech with a flight of missiles, emerald laser beams following up to slice through the remains of the armor. The pirate stumbled backwards, struggling to remain upright, only to be almost casually batted aside by one of the Loki's arms, Joker already moving onto her next target.
The struggling pilot lost their battle with gravity just as assuredly as they had the mercenary, and they landed in a twisted, broken mess on the fire savaged ground.
"It goes on like that." Nathan Roshak paused the playback.
"So? You knew she was good." Liz looked confused, "I mean, she defeated you..."
"The woman who narrowly defeated me is not the same woman who effortlessly decimated those pirates." the ex-Star Colonel lent back in his seat and rubbed his chin, "I say this with no ego, but I am considered to be an excellent Mechwarrior, even by the standards of the Clans. Joker only defeated me because she did not fight like a trained Mechwarrior, and that unpredictability his her greatest strength. Had she shown half this skill in our battle... she may well have defeated me, but I would not have felt so... confused by the loss."
"So...she's good?"
"Better than she realizes. I have a feeling that on Sweet Water, she allowed her instincts to guide her." Nathan Roshak turned off the recording, "Whoever her parents were, they must have been remarkable."
"Well, whoever they were, they gave her good genes." Liz looked at her partner, "How old would you say she is?"
"I have never given in much thought." Nathan Roshak admitted, "Late twenties?"
"Add ten years to that." it was Liz's turn to lean back in her chair, "She thinks she was born in 3019, which makes her closer to forty than thirty."
"She looks... remarkable for it." He responded.
"Yeah, she told me you hit on her." Liz stood and walked back to the bedroom, "Only reason you're not sleeping outside is that it was before we met."
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Category:Dead Man's Hand: Family Values
Category:Works by JA Baker