MWWR-14

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==Chapter 14 - Mechwarrior: Wild Rose==
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Uncharted Wilderness
New St Andrews IV, The Periphery
Rimward of the Circinus Federation
May 30th, 3077
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Fleetfoot made its way smoothly between the trees, tracking the path laid out on its nav computer. Lumbering behind it came the Katamari. The Charger's ECM suite was running at full capacity, putting up a field of electronic interference to block any probing sensors. Now Caradin just had to hope no one noticed the thunderous vibrations that came with every footstep the big 'Mech made.
Clouds had rolled in that morning and had brought steady, drenching rain. Caradin didn't mind; if anything she liked the rain. It obscured things, like the outline of her 'Mech or the heat signature from the reactor core. Anyone out there looking for her would be at a disadvantage. One that she did not suffer from, thanks to Fleetfoot's enhanced sensors that could easily filter out the rain and see what it was obscuring.
She glanced up at the cloudy sky. She still wasn't sold on the pirates having some kind of spy satellite up there, but if McCloud's hunch actually was right, the pirates' eye in the sky would be blinded today. Unlike her own. The Blossom was overhead, flying in wide loops over the area. McCloud had been late getting off the ground this morning, having insisted on doing a full sweep of her machine for any other override boxes even after she'd spent the night getting the LAM fixed up. Caradin had allowed her to have her little prima donna moment; the girl had impressed her by getting the Blossom back into fighting shape as quickly as she had. Apparently the girl was taking 'her' 'Mech very seriously. Caradin shook her head at the memory of McCloud's move with buying the Blossom. There weren't many employees who would negotiate their own pay cut like that. 
She'd still had a use for that spare Arbiter Meridian had promised her; Thomas was finally back in the field, leading the reserve lance made up of the remaining Hussars and Bower. She wasn't sure who had looked more sour about the arrangement: Thomas when he'd been getting into the Arbiter, or Coghill when he'd been transferring the machine over to the Hussars. Coghill clearly felt they didn't deserve another unit when they had already four functioning 'Mechs and Bower's own Arbiter, but he had relented after Caradin had stared him down. Typical middle manager, Coghill was likely back at the Plant right now, sitting in his comfortable office and reading cost analysis reports while he waited for the Hussars to come back so he could second-guess everything they did.
Men like Coghill were just another burden thrown on her back by an unforgiving galaxy that seemed determined to put her down. This job had also saddled her with Bower, an idiot who was clearly just playacting at being a MechWarrior for the cameras, and yet expected to join the Hussars in a real fight. Then there were her own people: without a 'Mech of his own Thomas had been in a sour mood since landing, and the loaner Arbiter clearly was not good enough for him. And Wolf had given her a hard time about the training operation with McCloud. He'd had the tact to wait until after Coghill had left, but the man had still complained about the forced engine failure and the threat of crashing. After he'd been able to keep it together during the operation, she'd have expected more from him. She'd had to put him in his place and remind him that his job was to follow orders.
 
On top of them all was McCloud, who acted like she knew the situation better than anyone else, and who had somehow endeared herself to half of Meridian. Caradin had seen the latest holo advertisement Meridian had put out, and the Blossom had been prominently featured, along with shots of McCloud moving to and from the cockpit. It had all been smoothly edited to make the girl look very competent and in charge. All that, and there had been no images of the Hussar logo. She'd seethed at the result, and made a mental note to find who had been behind that decision. The job of a mercenary was all about image, and she was not about to let some teenager steal hers.
 
She sent a short command to Hoshino to slow down while she moved ahead. She thumbed a button on the sticks to activate Fleetfoot's Beagle Active Probe. The suite of sensors swept the area, gathering information from dozens of angles and compiling it all together on her screens. The Probe identified scattered indentations in the dirt as having been left by 'Mech feet just a few hours ago. Ghost images were displayed as the computer tried to fill in blanks.
 
Another button extended a comms antenna up into the air. This close to finding the raiders, she couldn't afford to risk tipping her hand with a communication broadcast that might get intercepted. The LAM changed that, however; with the Blossom airborne, secure line-of-sight communications with McCloud became possible.
 
She managed to get a connection with McCloud up in the sky and get her to send down her sensor data. It was a clumsy two-step process to have the LAM collecting data and then Fleetfoot processing it, but it was necessary. Fleetfoot's Beagle Probe was far from just a bundle of sensors; it was an extra brain, focused entirely on finding things that didn't want to be found. For the last month Caradin had been feeding the Probe every scrap of data from every strike the pirates had made. The computer had learned the pirates' tactics and patterns, like a poker player learning the tells of everyone else at the table. Now, processing McCloud's snapshots of the ground, the Probe could make connections no human brain could. A smile tugged at Caradin's lips as her screens lit up, highlighting an area on the map just over half a kilometer from her current location. Found you at last.
She laid out a few nav points that would take her and Hoshino past the target area. With any luck her 'Mech would get close enough to pick up more details and confirm there was something more out there than just trees. It would be a careful balancing act; the pirates knew they were nearby, the Blossom flying around made sure of that. They would be lying very still right now, like rodents hiding in a hole waiting for the predator sniffing around to give up and move on. If she got too close, they might take their chances and strike.
 
This was the sort of thing that made her heart race, sending a thrill of adrenaline through her. Hunting things that hunted her back. Anticipating when the pregnant silence would suddenly explode into action. Her fate and her enemy's being decided on strategy and luck. Knowing more than they did, moving faster than they did, and striking where they weren't ready, that was what she had been born to do. 
 
She took a moment to lay out a second route for the rest of her people. Once she was ready she switched her attention back to her extended comms antenna. "Blossom, this is Fleetfoot. Return to reserve lance immediately. Get back to ground and relay orders to the sergeant: follow this set of nav points," she ordered, transmitting her generated map. "Keep your comms array open, but make no broadcast transmissions. Wait for my signal."
 
"…Sir, am I reading this right? These coordinates are nowhere near where you are – "
 
"You're reading it right. Return to the lance, Blossom. Don't keep them waiting."
 
"Roger, returning to reserve lance. Good luck, sir," McCloud replied as the LAM banked away, angling to the south where the rest of the lance was waiting.
 
Caradin's smile grew. The hunt was on, and she was at its lead. "Katamari, form up on me," she ordered. "And try to step lightly. Don't tip them off just yet."
 
"Hai, lieutenant," Hoshino responded. He obediently fell into step behind her as the two of them marched into the woods.
 
She concentrated on moving forward, checking Fleetfoot's computers for its estimates on the reserve lance's position. She shook her head to herself as she thought of the team McCloud was flying back to. Wolfgang had unceremoniously dubbed the reserve lance "Junk Squad." It was oddly appropriate. Two upjumped IndustrialMechs, a Commando from half a century ago, and a Phoenix Hawk that was only half of a 'Mech at best. It was funny to think that her own ex-gladiator and Hoshino's jury-rigged wreck of a machine were the most advanced things the Hussars had.
 
At the moment it worked for her, though. Anyone looking up would know where the Blossom was. If they watched where it landed, they'd see what it had for companions, and would reason it was a weak link. Meanwhile, she and Hoshino were keeping a low profile, making just enough noise that the pirates knew something was out there. If they were watching their seismic sensors, before long they'd figure out they had an assault 'Mech knocking on their door, and then they'd realize they had to move before the trap closed. Anyone would reason they had better odds against "Junk Squad" than the 80-tonner skulking through the woods.
 
After that, it was all down to luck and skill, things Caradin knew she had in spades.
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Marie angled the Blossom around, closing back in on the reserve lance. In less than a minute she was clear of the trees and was arcing over a range of rolling grasslands that surrounded the forest. Her eyes swept the view of the ground underneath her, looking for any sign of trouble through the pelting rain and trying not to imagine guns targeting her from around every hill. 
 
She swooped in and landed roughly, her feet sinking into the muddy soil. She swept her eyes over the sensor readouts one more time, confirming Wolfgang's Commando approaching her with Bower and Thomas's Arbiters in tow. Somewhat reassured there was nothing waiting to ambush her, she pushed up the mode selection lever, her body tingling as the numbness of the AirMech was replaced by the comfortable synchronization of the BattleMech.
 
Fixing the Blossom after the training op had been a headache and a half. The LAM's armor plates all interlocked with each other, moving in a very specific order when the she changed modes. On the upside, the overlapping panels gave some protection to the internals when she was transforming, which might be useful if she ever took fire outside of a training op. Unfortunately it made repairing the machine that much more complicated, with each panel tied into at least three others. Getting everything realigned had been an exercise in frustration, but after a sleepless night of work she'd managed to get it all moving smoothly again. Marie was running on caffeine and pep pills at the moment, but she wasn't about to miss an actual mission with the rest of her team.
 
Flying the Blossom alone had been refreshing. She hadn't been able to watch her sensors very closely, but being able to send her raw data down to Fleetfoot had taken care of that problem. And with the cockpit to herself she'd felt secure enough to strip off her uniform, getting by with as little covering as possible in case the heat spiked, just like a real Mechwarrior. 
 
She glanced at the fuel gauge. Next to it, a flashing light warned her that after a week of aerial patrols she was down to a quarter of a tank. Marie's eyes glanced from that to the latest addition to her cockpit: Mydron autoloader sidearm, which Caradin herself had given her that morning before setting out. Marie appreciated the show of trust, even if the sight of the gun brought back haunting memories of the 'Mech bay back on Huntington. 
 
She checked she was on secure line-of-sight communications before transmitting Caradin's map and nav points to Thomas. "Loaner, confirming contact with Fleetfoot. Data package received," she announced, smirking a little at the callsign for Thomas' 'Mech. Caradin had given him the name when he'd balked at getting into an Arbiter. She wondered if she could convince Caradin to buy the machine just so she could keep calling the tightly-wound sergeant that name.
 
Thomas confirmed the map and started them moving.
 
"So what's the plan?" she asked, falling in line with the rest of the lance. 
 
"We're on standby. Fleetfoot will let us know if there's a contact," Thomas responded.
 
"Holly'll be fine," Wolfgang chimed in. "She's just going out to shake some trees. She only gets in trouble on her terms. Sit tight, girl. The party's just getting started."
 
Marie clenched her jaw at the condescending tone in his voice. She tried to take Caradin's advice and tune him out, but that proved difficult. She had a behind-the-eyeballs headache that was threatening to become a full-on migraine as piloting the AirMech after a sleepless night started to catch up to her. 
 
She distracted herself by thinking through Caradin's tactics. Most commanders refused to field anything less than three 'Mechs in a team, but Caradin apparently didn't believe in that, ranging out ahead with only Hoshino to watch her back while Marie got sent back to "Junk Squad.". Why would the lieutenant intentionally isolate herself while sending her backup along a path that wouldn't take them anywhere near her? Marie could guess it was about stealth; Hoshino's ECM could keep two 'Mechs relatively concealed. In contrast, Wolfgang's Commando had no electronic tricks up its sleeve, and Marie suspected the man enjoyed making noise. Then there were the Arbiters, which were lumbering along with all the grace of a pair of forklifts.
 
As for herself, Marie knew the Blossom was an obvious target while airborne. Anyone looking would have been able to see her coming in for a landing. So the quietest 'Mechs were split off, while the loudest ones were clustered together, out of the way…
 
Marie thumbed the button for the comm. "Are we bait?" she asked bluntly.
 
"Keep the lines clear," Thomas ordered. "Eyes open and mouths shut, people."
 
"The girl's asking about procedure, sarge. Seems I can do her a favor and explain that for her," Wolfgang said back. "I think you figured it out. The best way to make sure no one's looking for her is to keep them looking somewhere else." 
 
"So, yes," Marie summarized. "We are bait. What kind of forces are we expecting, again?"
 
She could almost hear heard Wolfgang shrug in response. "Don't worry your little head, she wouldn't let us walk into too big of a trap."
 
"Is this common tactics for this unit?" Bower asked, echoing Marie's thoughts. "I were expectin' more of a frontal assault on a band o'knaves."
 
"Don't worry, you'll get to show off your fancy SecurityMech," Wolfgang replied. "You and the girl in the toy 'Mech."
 
Marie grumbled to herself. "You can stop calling me 'girl' anytime, asshole. I'm the reason we even know where to look."
 
"You're a charity hire pretending to pilot an antique. I'll call you whatever I damn well please. If that's all it takes to get you rattled, you can save us all some time and go back home to sulk with mommy."
 
Her cheeks burned with embarrassment at that. She barely resisted the urge to snap at him. She waited for Thomas to say something, or at least order Wolfgang to keep the line clear again. When no such thing happened, she killed the connection.
 
She pointedly looked away from the Commando's visage on her viewscreen, and concentrated on the 360-degree view in her helmet. They were moving over the hills, staying just outside the treeline. After a few minutes she saw something – with the gentle breeze coming off the nearby mountains, all the trees were swaying slightly back and forth. But two of them swayed the other way, against the wind.
 
"The hell…" she muttered, and turned the Blossom at the waist, giving her a view of the spot on the side viewscreen so she could zoom in on the movement. She saw nothing out of the ordinary, but with the distance and the interference from the minerals in the ground, many of her sensors were useless. She zoomed her view back out, her eyes quickly flickering over the displays looking for any other signs of trouble. She was not going to get ambushed again just because she was looking so closely at one spot. When she didn't see anything obvious, she groaned to herself and switched on the comm again.
 
"Loaner, this is Blossom. I've got a potential contact," she said.
 
"Was wondering when you were going to see that." Wolfgang casually replied. 
 
The smug tone of his words made her blood burn, but she took a breath to try and steady herself. "Contact is north-by-northwest, located at these coordinates," she said, transmitting them to the rest of the lance. "Confirm?"
 
"Yep. Guessing it's a 40 or 45-tonner." Wolf replied.
 
Her brow furrowed. He had to be making that up; at the distance she was seeing the trees moving, seismic sensors were practically worthless. There was no way he could estimate weight without at least getting a look at whatever-it-was, and that wasn't happening with all the trees in the way. 
 
"You want to take this seriously, Wolf?" she asked angrily. 
 
"Hey, I'm just happy Holly's got something bigger than a chair in her sights. She's angry today, and someone's gonna feel it."
 
Marie processed that for a moment. "Wait, what do you mean a chai – "
 
She jumped in her seat as her radar pinged loudly, cutting her off mid-sentence. A red blip appeared momentarily on her screen, then vanished. 
 
"Confirming mech reactor signature," she said tensely into the comm line. "Model unknown. Permission to engage?"
 
"Permission denied," Thomas sharply replied. "Lieutenant's orders are clear. Stay on the assigned path."
 
"Sir, if there's something out there that's shaking the trees – "
 
"Hold position, Pilot." His voice had an edge that told her there would be no further argument.
 
Marie ground her teeth. Maybe what she'd seen was a sensor ghost, a glitch caused by all the extra electronics crammed into the Blossom. Or maybe it was something more. If it was, they didn't have much time. The lance was out in the open, so anyone hiding in the trees knew exactly what they had and where they were. That was a problem if whoever-it-was was setting up an attack. On the other hand, if the lance was supposed to be bait, it would make sense to pretend they didn't see anything, and draw as much attention as possible…
 
The deadlock broke when Bower began to move. "Dinnae worry, I'll have a look." he cheerfully announced.
 
"Bower, hold formation!" Thomas barked, but the Arbiter just kept moving, heading into the woods. Within seconds he was out of sight, out of the reach of Thomas' tight-beamed orders.
 
"I'll get him sir," Marie said, and kicked the Blossom into motion before Thomas could say anything.
 
She followed Bower's 'Mech into the woods, immediately getting frustrated as her sensors lost track of him. She was suddenly painfully aware of why Caradin hadn't wanted them venturing into the woods. The icon of Bower's 'Mech kept appearing and disappearing, seeming to jump around on her screens as her sensors struggled to make sense of the signals they were receiving. She wondered if the Blossom's systems were having trouble following the cooler signature of the Arbiter's fuel cell engine. She wouldn't have thought it was possible for trees to scramble 'Mech sensors so well.
 
Not like I don't have options, she thought to herself. The Blossom was only using passive sensors at the moment, picking up what they could from electromagnetic, seismic, and thermal signatures in the air. Going to active sensors would let the 'Mech actually see what was out there. Of course it would also give away her position, but if she was supposed to be bait anyway…
 
Mentally shrugging, she figured one sensor pulse might be acceptable. She flicked the sensors to active for one second before flicking them back to passive. A bright wave washed across her screen, radiating out from the Blossom's position at the center. Almost immediately she could see Bower's Arbiter about two hundred meters from her. As the wave spread out, she looked for any other contacts. For a moment, she thought she saw something –
 
But before anything could materialize, her screen dissolved in a blast of static, then went dead. Marie stared at the black screen dumbfounded for a moment. Then it abruptly clicked in her head: the Blossom's sensors weren't glitching at all, they'd been targeted by electronic countermeasures.
 
She sighed in exasperation. "Again, guys?" she asked the empty air. She'd had enough trouble already with Hoshino and his damn franken-Charger scrambling her circuits. She swept her eyes over the viewscreens, looking for Caradin's Raptor waiting to shoot her in the back. Seeing nothing, she tensed up further. Her cameras were currently her only reliable view while the Blossom's sensors rebooted. Had she missed something? Right now would be a great time for an ambush…
 
…unless I'm not the target, Marie realized. Unless Caradin's making a point that I need to keep an eye on our liaison.
 
Cursing, she turned the Blossom towards where she'd seen Bower's 'Mech, and floored it. She imagined a missile launcher aimed at her from behind every branch. Seconds ticked by agonizingly slow until Bower's 'Mech came into view.
 
The Arbiter was turning towards her as she barreled out of the trees. Its large gun arm was swinging up towards her. Marie skidded to a halt at the sight of it. 
 
"Hold fire!" she snapped at him. "Bower, what are you doing out here?!"
 
"Where did you come from?" Bower shot back. "I've almoost tracked doon the enemy pirate."
 
"Look, you hired us to do this job, you can't just run off…" Marie said, trailing off when she saw something move. She swung the targeting reticule up over Bower's shoulder, leaving him recoiling as the Blossom's weapons glowed with energy. Marie ignored his protests and squeezed the triggers. Lasers stabbed into the woods, burning afterimages into Marie's eyes and leaving smoking tree branches in their wake. The heat in the cockpit immediately spiked as the Blossom's heat sinks struggled to bleed off the output from the powerful lasers.
 
"Ach, watch it!" Bower protested over the commline. "What do you think you're doing?!"
 
Marie ignored him and moved the Blossom towards the movement she'd seen as she waited for her weapons to recycle. The Blossom's sensors were finally coming back online, but they couldn't pick anything up through the ECM haze. She tried the comm channel, but heard nothing but static. In frustration she switched on her external speakers.
 
"All right, Fleetfoot, come on out!" she shouted into the woods. "You think I'm not ready for you?"
 
She glanced at her rear view in her neurohelmet's HUD, seeing Bower behind her. He at least was recovering from the shot past his face, though his gun was still aimed dangerously close to her.
 
"Bower, form up on me." she ordered him. "We're going back to the rest of the lance. Watch your back, there might be someone out here."
 
"Aye, I figured! But what're ye doin' shootin' yer damn lasers like tha'? There's enough trouble oot here wi'out us shootin' each other, gel! Ye want ter be shootin' yer own – "
 
The rest of his rant was cut off as a laser stabbed out of the woods at them. Marie flinched and took aim. What were the Hussars thinking, staging another test out here? Getting Bower involved risked him splitting his own head open tripping over a tree. 
"Katamari, watch it!" she shouted at the direction the laser had come from. Her heart skipped a beat as she caught a glimpse of metal between the branches. The Blossom's sensors spotted it too, immediately populating her screens with information on the target: a Vulcan.
 
She paused, her brain racing to make sense of what she was seeing. Hoshino's ride was the one with ECM, so where was it? And when had the Hussars picked up a Vulcan? Unless it was…
 
She had just recognized the 'Mech from the convoy strike when it turned to aim its hip-mounted autocannon at her. Her eyes widened and she immediately put the Blossom in reverse, falling back while she switched her jammed targeting system to manual, moved her reticule over the Vulcan, and opened fire. 
 
The Blossom's lasers flashed into the woods. Rain flash-boiled under the coruscating light, bathing them all in steam while her computers registered a hit on the Vulcan. The 'Mech returned fire with its autocannon and another shot from its medium laser. Marie's stomach lurched as she felt the impact from the autocannon shells. Last time the Vulcan had been firing shotgun-like cluster rounds, which shredded vehicle treads but did almost nothing to a BattleMech. Today it was firing solid rounds, which left marks in even BattleMech armor.
 
"Tha's the ticket!" Bower crowed. His Arbiter's gun swung around to aim at the enemy 'Mech. "Let's show this bastard what we can do!"
 
"Bower, fall back! The pirates are – " she cut off as the Vulcan followed up with a gout of flame from its right arm, liquid fire pouring over the Arbiter. Marie's blood froze as she heard Bower scream. She ground her teeth and slammed the throttle forward, giving up on a slow retreat and instead running in a circle around the Vulcan. She fired her lasers again, shouting over the loudspeakers in the hopes it might get the enemy 'Mech's attention. Her shots went wide, but the Vulcan still started moving away from the Arbiter to pursue her. It spat out another laser shot, searing the Blossom's legs.
 
Marie was already sweating. She glanced at the heat gauge to see if she could afford to fire again, only to be jarred with an impact as she crashed into a tree hard enough to rip it right out of the ground. The Blossom's arms flailed as Marie struggled to keep her balance. Her stumbling ended up saving her as the Vulcan fired its autocannon at where it had been expecting her to be. The heavy shells blasted past her, rocketing off into the woods to obliterate more of the terrain.
 
Marie blinked in surprise and took aim before she could think about what had happened. Her lasers fired again, the large one biting into its spindly torso. Armor melted, but the laser the 'Mech had mounted there looked like it still worked. Meanwhile, the Blossom's heat alarms were going off.
 
Bower finally caught himself and lined up a shot. Marie resisted the urge to duck as his Arbiter's cannon arm swung around. Her teeth rattled with the report as the cannon barked out a heavy shell…
 
…which flew harmlessly over the Vulcan's head.
 
Marie groaned as she heard Bower cursing about "faulty targeting" and "sweat in his eyes." Still, the Vulcan pilot seemed to finally realize he was outnumbered. He fell back into the woods, putting out suppressing fire from his autocannon to keep Marie and Bower back. Marie tried to aim through the haze of the rain and the ECM scrambling. As the Vulcan turned to make a full-speed retreat, she and Bower both fired, dissolving the area into splinters and steam. The Vulcan's rear armor liquefied under the Blossom's large laser, sparks flying as the 'Mech's skeleton gave way underneath. Marie quickly lost track of the Vulcan through the trees, but she still noticed one thing for the better – her sensors cleared of electromagnetic interference.
 
She immediately got on the commline. "Loaner, this is Blossom, reporting contact!" she shouted. "Enemy scout, a Vulcan!"
 
"Blossom, where the hell did you go?" Thomas' voice answered. His anger was nearly palpable, but Marie still felt a wash of relief at the sound, confirming the ECM jamming was gone.
 
"I've got Bower, we're heading back to you right now," she said. "Target is bugging out. May need assistance, I don't know what else is out here."
 
"Negative Blossom, we cannot support. Fleetfoot signaled us, pirates are moving fast. We're already en route to intercept," Thomas replied. A nav point appeared on her screen, along with Wolf and Loaner's position. Marie ground her teeth, seeing her lancemates were hundreds of meters from her. Meanwhile Bower was moving away from the lance, staggering after the retreating Vulcan. Marie shouted at him to turn back.
 
She heard Bower swearing over the line. "We cannae just leave that bastard tae run off!" he protested. "Come on, we got 'im on the run! Let's go jam our foot up his arse!"
 
Marie glowered at his image on the screen. "This is not a photo op!" she shouted at him. "That Vulcan was bait, get it?! He drew us away and now the lance is split up! Forget him, the rest of the Hussars need us!"
 
He was quiet for a moment at that, before she heard him groan. "Fine. Lead the way, gel. But give me some space, the 'Mech needs ter cool doon a wee bit."
 
That's an understatement, Marie thought to herself. Between its weapons fire and the flamer hit, the Arbiter was glowing red in her thermal view. Rain was steaming off its gun barrel, and Bower had popped open his cockpit hatches to try and let in fresh air.
 
"Stay with me," Marie warned before heading into the woods towards the nav point. Behind her the Arbiter fell into line, moving achingly slow now as its motivation system struggled with the accumulated heat.
==Notes from the Author==
;Word from the Author : Chapters 14-16 are effectively parts 1, 2, and 3 of one event. I've done my best to make them self-contained, but chapters 14 and 15 may still feel like they have abrupt endings.I'd rather put them out sequentially like this on my schedule, rather than make you wait for well over a month for the full scene.Whether you read these chapters as I post them or wait until they're all out, thanks for reading. I love writing this story, and love that people will read it.
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