AWF Chpt 9

=Chapter 9=
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==A Warrior's Family==
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===Strip Poker===
Klathandu System
Federated Suns
August 3029
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The game went on as Hap found himself the center of McFinnigan's attention. He started by asking about Hap's call sign. At Albion Hap had the odd reputation of turning left when everyone went right. On one notable exercise he was given multiple land navigation points and instructed to plot the most efficient course. The exercise was actually meant to be a "React to Ambush" drill, but Hap's course circumnavigated the ambush area. To the instructor's frustration, he had accidentally found an efficient course that went around an obvious choke point. Since he had made tactically and technically good choices they couldn't fault him.
Another time he was given the mission brief for the wrong exercise. He was told to perform a "Movement to Contact" of a highly mobile enemy that was actually a fortified bunker complex. Even though they were unprepared and had the wrong 'Mechs Hap managed to change tactics and destroy the bunkers with acceptable loss, all in spite of being unprepared. At the end of the semester one of the instructors wrote in his evaluation, "Cadet Calahad's greatest weakness is that he just haphazardly wonders through life, his greatest strength is that his haphazard attitude allows him to adjust to everything, improvise, and survive." Somehow word got out and the name "Haphazard", or "Hap" stuck.
As he spoke Anastasia looked at Harold. He was tall, almost two meters. Like most MechWarriors he kept his dark brown hair short on the sides, and had a short undercut on top. It gave him an unruly mop of hair he was always brushing to the side or back. He had a square jaw and hazel eyes. She knew he shaved every morning, but by the end of the day it looked like he hadn't shaved in days. His skin was slightly tanned, which made his few scars more obvious, and made him look more rugged. His mannerisms, easy going nature, and appearance made him seem haphazard to some, but not her.
Anastasia remembered how he was in combat. He seemed sharp and quick to her then. He had a calm voice guiding her south while he organized his Lance to create a trap for her pursuers. She parked her 'Mech next to his and watched his genius strategy take apart two 'Mechs that nearly killed her. As far as she was concerned he was clever, unassuming, and the man she wanted next to her in a fight. She knew it was a girlish crush, but she also wanted him next to her all the time.
Hap finished his story and Anastasia was still looking at Hap and thinking about him and her when McFinnigan set the deck next to her and said, "Your deal, lass." She couldn't shuffle cards so, like she had all night, she passed the cards to Hap. He shuffled for her and she dealt. As she passed out cards Joker whined, "Aren't you going to make something wild?"
"Hadn't planned on it." Anastasia answered. She had been counting cards and calculating probability, so wild cards made it harder for her, and the whiskey wasn't doing her any favors.
"It makes the game more fun." McFinnigan told her with a wink, like Hap he had suspected she was counting cards, but he didn't care because he was doing the same thing. Except he was just trying to maintain the parity of the table and keep everyone in the game.
Anastasia nodded, "Fine, Aces." Anastasia said as she flopped back in her chair. She had finished her whiskey a few hands back but Roweyna then served everyone beer. She was halfway through hers, and realized she needed to stop. She looked at her cards. She had three aces. She exchanged cards for everyone, then exchanged two for herself. She pulled another ace and the King of Fists.
"So what did you study at Albion?" McFinnigan asked Hap.
"Psychology. I figured if the whole MechWarrior thing didn't work out, I'd go back to school and become a Psychologist." Hap said as he looked at his cards.
"Yeah, you already work with crazy people like me. So why not?" Joker snorted.
"Actually I think I'd try to go into family counseling." Hap told him.
"I've heard every officer come out of Albion has a 'Mech charm. Got one?" Erik asked.
Hap nodded and after throwing a few chips into the center of the table he reached under his shirt and pulled out a slender finger length piece of jagged metal attached to an ID tag chain. It was made of dull metal. The sharp edges were grounded down, but the long edges were rubbed smooth.
Anastasia watched as Hap passed the charm to Erik. He weighed it in his hand and rolled it in his fingers then gave it an appraising look like jeweler with a diamond. "Feels like Durralex light. Was it a Wasp?"
Hap nodded as Erik offered it back to him, but Anastasia took it from him instead. "Durralex light? So this is 'Mech armor?" She asked.
Hap nodded, "Cadets at Albion like to keep a piece of the armor from the first 'mech they get shot out from under them. We call it a 'Mech Charm. If you give it to someone it's supposed to keep them safe."
"Hey whose bet is it?" Joker asked.
"Yours." Hap replied.
Joker threw in a large stack of chips, then looked over at Hap, "So a piece of twisted and broken armor from a Mech that got destroyed is supposed to keep someone safe? How does that make sense?"
"It's like how your lucky rabbit's foot isn't lucky for the rabbit." Hap shrugged. Erik matched Joker's bet.
McFinnigan pushed in a stack of chips. "So how'd you lose the Wasp?" McFinnigan asked.
Hap smiled, "It was the classic 1 on 3 training scenario. Everyone goes with a Chameleon, overheats it, and get blown to pieces when the emergency shutdown starts. I thought I'd try it with a Wasp."
Anastasia raised as she replied, "I used the Chameleon, and followed doctrine."
"How'd that work out for you, Princess?" Joker asked sarcastically.
"It worked fine. Like I said, I used doctrine. I fixed the fastest mech, stayed mobile to prevent being flanked, and prioritized the most dangerous 'mech. Finally I closed with the remaining 'Mech and overwhelmed it. Of course, I don't have one of these." She said as she held up the charm.
Joker squinted at her, "What do you mean by doctrine?"
Anastasia looked annoyed, "Armed Forces of the Federated Suns Combat Field Manual 17- 10 Tactical BattleMech and Armor Operations."
"Never heard of it." Joker replied with a shrug, "I still don't understand anything you just said."
Anastasia sighed, "I destroyed the Locust at long range while falling back to prevent the other 'Mechs from flanking me. I then targeted the Wasp since its missiles had better range than the Stinger's machine guns. I focused on the Wasp's ammo magazine which forced the pilot to eject. Then I closed with the Stinger and destroyed him with my superior fire power. I was careful to manage heat and only use the large laser at distances greater than the medium lasers range, and kept the smaller mechs outside the range of their point blank weapons. "
"Some of those cadets might have hated you for reasons other than your Mom throwing her weight around." Erik said as he adjusted his glasses and looked at his cards.
Anastasia shrugged, "Yes. I learned that always volunteering the right answer in class usually didn't endear me to my peers, but they hated me anyways so what was the point?"
"Yeah, so that's the text book doctrinal answer," Hap sighed, and matched Anastasia's wager. "I'm told that about 60% of the cadets that try that will finish the scenario successfully, but Anastasia is one of the first I've ever met that managed to do it."
"But when you're Haphazard ye don't follow doctrine." McFinnigan said with a roguish grin.
"You sure don't." Hap said as they clinked glasses, "Instead of doctrine, I ran like hell to the forest while snapping off shots at the Wasp. I thought like Anastasia, his short range missiles were the same range as the medium laser, so I forced the pilot to eject by aiming for the missile magazine. The Locust couldn't keep up with me and the Stinger in the woods, so he ran around the forest and tried to flank me while the Stinger kept trying to close and maneuver me into exposing my back to the Locust."
Joker pushed all his chips into the center. "I think the Princess is trying to bluff, but she doesn't know it will break Hap's heart to think that his Princess is liar."
"So what happened?" Anastasia ignored Joker as she continued to toy with the charm. Erik looked at the chips in the center of the table, licked his lips and pushed in another large stack of chips.
"I rushed the Stinger, and he jumped on my head." Hap said nonchalantly.
Anastasia looked at Hap wide-eyed. "NAIS would never allow a DFA attack in a training exercise."
"Albion had the same policy. When I got out of the hospital I learned the Cadet had been removed from the academy. He did me a favor though, I was out for so long that I got a guaranteed passing grade in all my classes. Which was perfect, because I would have failed astral physics."
McFinnigan laughed as he pushed chips into the center, "Once more haphazard carried you through."
Anastasia made a show of counting the same amount of chips that Joker had pushed into the center. She smiled smugly as she pushed them into the center, then added another large stack.
"Oh come on." Joker howled.
"I told you I was going to take your money." She replied
"Hap, I gotta a good hand, and I can pay you back. Spot me the money." Joker said.
"I don't think I have the money, to keep myself in the game." Hap said looking at his meager chip pile.
Anastasia leaned over Hap as she told Joker, "If you want to stay in, all you need to do is write on a sheet of paper that you will never call me "Princess" again."
"This is getting weird, Commander." Erik said.
"Aye. Anastasia, what is this all about?" McFinnigan asked.
"Princess is her call sign, and she hates it." Joker said, "Damn it. Someone please get me some paper."
"I've heard much worse call signs, missy." McFinnigan said as Roweyna handed Joker a pen and paper.
"You don't understand. I was the cadet that had a call sign the first time I walked into my first Mil Sci class. It was on my desk, where everyone else had their last name. When I got issued a Neurohelment it was hot pink and had Princess painted in gold. Everyone knew I was the girl that was only in the MechWarrior program because her noble mother made it so. For three plus years I was reminded that no matter how hard I tried, how good I was, or what I said or did, everyone thought I was the spoiled rich noble girl whose parents money and influence allowed me to 'play' MechWarrior."
"Well from where I sat most of the kids from NAIS, Nagerling and Albion were spoiled little rich noble children pretending to be MechWarriors at least until they survived first contact." McFinnigan said, "But I get yer point. You've proved to be a skilled enough MechWarrior to survive. Erik you think she's a spoiled little rich girl?"
"I made her spend the morning welding and gluing armor plates, she isn't too spoiled to work when it matters, she's bad at it, but not spoiled." Erik said as he crossed his arms and leaned back.
"She was happy to help me in the kitchen." Roweyna added.
"So Erik and Roweyna say you're not very spoiled, and you're clearly a MechWarrior, so depending on how this wager go, maybe you can earn yourself a new handle, or everyone will just call you by name."
Joker held up the folded piece of paper, "Done."
Anastasia snatched the paper from him and read it as Roweyna looked over her shoulder. "Does this look good to you?" Anastasia asked her.
"Well intergalactic law isn't exactly clear on written informal contracts used as wagers in games of chance." Roweyna said sarcastically, "Though some of the bandit kingdoms do allow you to remove fingers for unpaid debts, so perhaps that would apply here."
"That'll work." Anastasia replied, "I've wanted to cut him a few times now."
McFinigan cleared his throat, "Anastasia you can't hurt him to the point he can't pilot his 'Mech. Joker, if you can't keep your word and she hurts you, it's not a 'combat injury' so no compensation for lost limb."
"I agree to this." Anastasia said as she laid the paper in center of the table.
"Hey! Wait a minute. Since I'm risking fingers, I think this whole thing is worth more than what's in the pot." Joker said.
Anastasia's eyes narrowed, then she stretched her arm to Hap, "Hold my sleeve, please."
She pulled her arm into her coveralls and rolled and contorted her shoulders as her hand moved around her back. After a moment she reached into her coveralls with her other arm and pulled out a black lacey bra that had finely embroidered flowers and leaves in black silk thread on the cups.
"I'm out." Erik said as he pushed his cards forward.
"Aye. Same." McFinnigan said, "I can't be part of a game where those are wagered. If Mrs. McFinnigan-"
"We'll tell her you bid us good night before this happened and reminded us to go to Sunday school in the morning." Hap said as he looked up at the center of the table and back to the full house in his hand.
Roweyna laughed, "Oh she'll never believe that. He's been calling the pub 'Church' for so long, she'll think he was up to something else."
McFinnigan laughed, "Aye, but I like where your head is at lad."
Hap looked at his cards and cracked his knuckles. He had promised Anastasia that he wouldn't let Joker get a hold of her underwear. It also really bothered him to think of Joker having her bra. He looked over at Anastasia, "I promised you I wouldn't let him have that, can I stay, if I go 'all in'?"
"This will do." Anastasia said as she tossed the 'Mech Charm into the center.
"I think I'd rather go all in." Hap replied looking at his 'Mech charm on top of her bra.
"No, I think you should save that money so you can spend it on me later". Anastasia said with a smile.
McFinnigan laughed as Hap blushed. His talk with Anastasia couldn't come soon enough.
"Well, Joker?" Anastasia said.
"I'm really more interested in what goes in your bra, and I thought it would be bigger."
Anastasia smirked, "Well it's as close as you're going to get to anything under my shirt."
"And it's a designer bra." Roweyna added like she was trying to sell it.
Anastasia looked at her incredulous, as McFinnigan said, "Aye. I don't know much about bras, but it doesn't seem like something you'd want to wear under a cooling vest."
"It's not. When I was packing my e, I mean, go-bag it was the bra I happened to grab." Anastasia replied. I meant to grab a sports bra, but I don't know, it was clean and I was in a hurry." Her voice dropped, "and it's sort of my favorite."
"You're such a boot. Go bags need to have important survival gear." Joker told her.
"Oh! A good lacy bra can be a key piece of survival equipment." Roweyna corrected him.
McFinnigan gave Roweyna a shocked wide-eyed look. She parodied his look and replied, "I don't know how you expect to get grandchildren."
McFinnigan pulled out his pipe and shook his head, "You all just tell Mrs. McFinnigan that I left before the bra came off, and all of ye should go to Sunday school tomorrow."
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