AWF Chpt 31

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=Chapter 31=
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==A Warrior's Family==
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===Preprations before Deployment===
Monhegan
October 3029
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The Coyotes found the mechbay bustling with activity as techs performed last minute maintenance and loaded ammunition. Hap climbed the gantry and his lancemates peeled off toward their 'mechs. Hap found Mike by his Griffin cockpit. He had his clipboard and his regular look of annoyance and contempt.
"Good morning, Mike." Hap said as he climbed into the Griffin's command couch.
Mike looked at his clipboard, "Hap, Your Griffin's PPC is overdue for its quarterly maintenance."
"I'll come by the next day we're not on patrol, and run through the maintenance procedure." Hap said.
"Unnecessary. It's higher level maintenance. I just wanted you to know it was overdue, but the carbon buildup is within tolerance. I'll take care of it." Mike flipped pages on his clipboard.
"Okay." Hap was confused Mike rarely said more than two words to him.
"Also, I was going through your maintenance logs. There was a note that your gyro was replaced with a rebuild kit. The model wasn't listed. Do you know if it was a Rawlings or the Coventry?
"I'm not sure. Why do you ask?" Hap pulled his neurohelmet on, and started untangling its cables.
"There was a bad lot of Conventry rebuild gyros, I was going to order you the Rawlings." Mike said
"My gyro was giving me trouble, but I replaced it and it's been good since. I guess I got the Rawlings."
Mike gave him an odd look, "How'd you manage that? AFFS Quartermasters are notorious ass hats when it comes to getting replacement parts for perfectly 'acceptable' parts."
Hap shrugged as he plugged in his neurohelmet, "I won it in a poker game."
Mike shook his head as he made a note on his clipboard, "I'm disappointed you'd put something you won in a game of chance in your 'Mech."
"I had a faulty gyro, like you said, supply wouldn't order me a new one. What other choice did I have?"
Mike nodded and it almost seemed sympathetic. "I loaded your missile launcher before filling your LRM magazine. You have 25 salvos. I also had Mal work on your targeting computer." Mike leaned into the cockpit and pointed to two virtual buttons on the targeting computer, "This will pre-arm or "hot load" your missiles, and this one will disable the field inhibitor on your PPC. I know you know these safeties are for your protection, but the Griffin only has long range weapons. Up close you got few options."
"Thank you." Hap adjusted his harness. He was taken aback, this wasn't like Mike.
"Bring back this 'Mech. I like working on it." Mike told him as he pulled down the cockpit canopy.
"Okay." Hap said, now Mike was making sense. He was worried about the Griffin, not Hap.
Mike stopped lowering the canopy, "Also, look out for Mags. She's aggressive, careless, and dumb, even for a Mechwarrior, but her dad made her work with us when he was piloting the Jenner. The boys sort of like her, even if she was a lousy tech."
Hap looked up at Mike, "Are you going soft on me?"
Mike frowned, "We heard you're going up against the Immortals. They're no joke, and they play for keeps. Just bring everyone and their 'Mechs back". He finished lowering the canopy, and angrily slammed the locking bolts into place. 
Mike left the gantry and started to raise the platform. Hap watched as Anastasia had a last minute conversation with Maja and Taja, and one of the older Techs was giving Mags some advice before closing her cockpit. Joker was talking to Mal and Codey, but they were helping him close his Mech.
Hap led his lance out of the mechbay and headed toward the road. Without being told they formed into a wedge and Anastasia took point. Hap pulled up the map and on his nav-computer and tried to find the pass that Commander McFinnigan had told them to reconnoiter.
The light flash on radio channel that Hap shared with Anastasia. He switched the radio over, "Hey, sorry, we've been a little busy this morning. We haven't had much of a chance to talk."
"No we haven't." Anastasia's voice was cool and calm. "But we have time now."
"So, what're the chances that when this is over we can finish what you started?" Hap asked.
"Assuming we survive whatever insane thing Commander McFinnigan is currently planning, and ROM doesn't use this combat operation to assassinate me, and I feel embolden, or we find a way to guarantee we won't be unduly interrupted, and if I'm still in the mood, I'd say the chances are high. However I'll concede that is a lot of conditions to be met." Anastasia said.
"Yeah, those are a lot of conditions to be met. Although, in all my previous relationships sex usually required certain conditions. Usually I had to treat her nicely, maybe give her a little wine, but-"
"Was she hunted by Comstar? Or did she execute military operations? Did you have private quarters and co-workers who respect your privacy?" Her voice was still calm, but Hap wasn't sure if she was annoyed.
"Alright, so we have some external problems." Hap knew this was a bad time to talk about their relationship. "Maybe we should talk about this later. I was just surprised this morning when you suddenly seemed ready to make love. I was also wondering what changed."
Anastasia didn't respond, and the silence felt awkward to Hap, "Honestly I thought I was dreaming, until the PA went off. That certainly seemed more like my luck." Hap tried to joke.
She still didn't respond, Hap went back to searching the Nav computer. The small screen and two dimensional map made it hard to find the place Kelly had asked them to check out.
Anastasia broke the silence, "It was everything. I was lying in bed thinking about where we could go. I thought about returning to Mother on Hazelhurst and I realized ComStar must have killed my father. It's hard to explain. It was one of those moments where I had several thoughts in quick succession."
Hap looked up from his map and watched Anastasia's Valkyrie continue to march as she explained, "Dad wouldn't keep explosives in his workshop, but he had enough batteries or flammable materials that it was conceivable something could explode. Then I remembered my mother mentioned one of the guards had been killed. It occurred to me if a ROM agent tried to kill daddy and were caught by a guard, or if things got messy blowing up the lab would raise less questions."
"That's how I knew Dad was killed by ComStar and they must have been hunting me. I suppose they assumed I died on Klathandu." Anastasia took in a deep breath before continuing, "Then I heard David coming down the hall and thought he was a ComStar assassin. I knew I was being foolish. If I was with you at least I'd have someone to watch over me. When I came to you, you held me, and I felt safe. You didn't question if I was paranoid." Anastasia said as Hap ignored the lance channel light flashing.
"I have to be honest, Anastasia, I was half-asleep and I probably would have agreed to anything. You could have told me 'we should get married', and I would have told you. 'Sure, just wait till morning.'"
Hap could almost hear Anastasia's eye roll, "I'll keep that in mind for later, Harold. We both know you, in your 'half-asleep' state, reminded me that we have the rest of this ad hoc family looking out for us, and that really did comfort me. When I woke up a few hours later I felt safe, secure and it was just you and me. Nothing changed exactly, rather the moment felt right."
Hap thought as his 'Mech kept marching on. When he said 'external problems' he was reminded that was usually an excuse and a sign for a couple in trouble, at least according to the counseling training he half remembered. However he reasoned their problem was more about how she needed security and reassurances right now, not someone obsessed with sex. Relationships were about more than sex too. He smirked as he realized he was usually thinking about sex, and she was thinking about privacy.
"Hap you still there?" Her voice was less calm now, actually it was normal almost flirty.
"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about those external problems, privacy, and how I could be more reassuring." Again he felt it was dump trying to sort out their relationship from the cockpit of their 'Mech. "Can you help me find that area the Commander wanted us to recon?"
"Already got it, Mon Amor." Anastasia said seductively. Way points appeared on his Nav Computer and he could see they would follow the road for another dozen or so kilometers.
"What does Mon Amor mean in French? 'My Beloved'?" Hap asked
"Harold, are you asking me if Mon Amor means 'my beloved' or are you calling me your 'beloved'?"
"I was asking." Hap said, again he had that nagging sense they should focus on the mission and flirt later.
"Mmm, pity, I liked being called your 'beloved'." Anastasia replied.
There was another pause. Hap took the hint, "Anastasia, my beloved, what does Mon Amor mean?"
"My love, or my darling." Anastasia replied, "Or my beloved."
"Very good. You've had your fun, now we should probably focus on the task at hand." Hap said.
"I'm having fun, and we just need to move to the objective. I'm enjoying the witty banter between us."
Hap sighed, "Anastasia, how does a girl with virtually no social life, and few friends learn how to flirt?"
"Well, mother could charm daddy when she wanted too, and I saw how women were in movies, and in those 'dirty girl' books. I also had a roommate that had no trouble getting a man's attention, of course it never worked out for her in the long run." Her voice trailed off, "And I'm a quick study, Mon Amor."
The light for the lance channel flashed again, "Well, my beloved, it looks like the rest of the lance wants to talk." Hap said, "We'll have to continue this conversation later." Everything with Anastasia was positive so it was a good time to stop. Hap also felt like he should be coordinating with his whole lance.
"Hap, it's pretty quiet. Are you guys talking about how to avoid more ComStar weirdness?" Joker asked.
"Something like that." Hap replied.
"Good, because I have a suggestion." Joker said, "Anastasia, I was reading this book about a Lord's daughter that was running from an arranged marriage, and she had to hide from her powerful father."
"Oh?" Anastasia said. Her voice hardened. It was obvious she was already annoyed by Joker.
"Yeah, so she ran to the periphery and became a concubine to the Pirate King. Now, I don't know what that is, but Mal and Codey mentioned something about ComStar hunting you, so you could try being a concubine to avoid them."
"Joker, what was the title of this book?" Anstasia asked
"Let's see, Annabelle's Passion on the Periphery. According to the back Annabelle enjoys a torrid-"
"Joker! That's my book. I was looking for that." Anastasia yelled.
"I thought so. I found in on your bed. Before you ask, I was talking to Mags, and saw it. I figured the Professor would want to encourage my literacy, so I borrowed it." Joker said.
Hap sighed, "Joker, don't take Anastasia's things without asking. And, so we're clear, no one is running anywhere. We all know too much and ComStar will likely kill all of us, so we've got to solve this together.
"Yeah, donkey brains, maybe you can run off and be a concubine" Mags added.
"What is a concubine?" Joker asked half laughing, "Seriously I don't know."
"It's similar to a mistress." Anastasia replied, "It's a somewhat informal, but habitual and often exclusive, relationship between two lovers when marriage is not expedient. Also Harold's right, ComStar will likely kill all of us just on principal. I apologize that I brought you all into this."
"I'm not afraid of a communications company." Mags said. "Eff em' I pay my bills. They send they're brawler after us, I'll stomp on him. Maybe with my boots, maybe with my 'Mech, maybe both."
Hap laughed to himself as he considered Mag's strangely optimistic tough-girl attitude. It reassured him to hear Mags say she didn't care about the odds, she was going to fight her way through, or go down swinging. It was a good contrast to Joker's bitching and Anastasia's practical realism. Planning was good, but sometimes you just had to throw caution to the wind and pray you come out the other side.
"Thank you, Anastasia, I'm touched you included me in the apology." Joker said.
"Joker, I am being sincere. Please don't make me regret being polite." Anastasia said
"I know, and I mean it, when shit looked bad on Klathandu and we all thought we were done, you made a point to insult me. I guess we've grown closer now, and I'm glad. I never had a noble for a friend."
"Well, we're lance mates, William. I have to trust you with my life." Anastasia's voice softened.
"Cool, Cool. So when you become the Pirate King's Concubine, you'll remember me, right?" Joker asked.
Anastasia sighed, "Should I find myself in the court of the Pirate King, I'll remember to ask him to flog you."
"As long as you remember me." Joker laughed.
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