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The Universe, 3029


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Steve must have had an awful lot of “business things” to prepare; I’d been waiting for fifteen minutes or so, and I was starting to worry that a cop might come by and see my truck and trailer full of animals parked across three “compact cars only” parking spaces. It wasn’t quite obvious how to get to Steve’s office, but there was only one obvious entrance at the front of the building, so I went in to look around.

The front hall was a smallish space, with grey walls and a vinyl “tile” floor that was trying very hard to look like marble but not quite hitting the mark. To the right was a glass wall, with decals that said “Sammy’s Surgery Shack” and a door that opened into a waiting room. To the left, a bulletin board with ads for local businesses, and a small table that held a few magazines, some mail, and a package stamped with the Vinson Pharmaceuticals logo. Straight ahead was a short staircase up to a landing, which held a shiny gold umbrella stand with something crusty and greenish glopped down one side, and a dark purple door with gold painted lettering that said “Jenkins, Jenkins, Jenkins and Jenkins, Attorney at Law”. I climbed the stairs and knocked.

Hurried footsteps thumped down the hall, and the door burst open. Steve came out yelling something unintelligible, with white foam all over his chin and his mouth full of purple and brown fabric. Then he made an anguished sobbing sound while struggling to pull the rag out of his mouth.

I backed up to the edge of the landing to get out of range of his mint-and-outhouse scented spittle. "Did I come up at a bad time?” I asked. “I'm going to get a parking ticket if I stay out front much longer."

Steve finally succeeded in yanking the rag out of his mouth. He wiped his mouth with it and tossed it on the ground, and then spat a big glob of white gunk into the umbrella-stand-shaped spitoon. I supposed that explained the crusty gunk on it.

"Nope!” Steve exclaimed. “I'm ready to go, let's go see Jonny Ray Outlaw at the Farmer's Market!! He owns the Chocolate Farm, here's the address, it's at 12372 South Farmingdale Road. Want me to drive???"

I took another step back, down to the first stair. “How about I drive. The truck doesn’t look like much, but she’s sort of my baby. Is Jonny Ray an actual outlaw, or is that just his nickname?”

“Yep!” Steve said, and skipped down the stairs past me. I followed him out of the office building.

Steve bounded down the sidewalk ahead of me; he was hard to keep up with, even though I was a few inches taller. His bright green suit practically fluoresced under the sunlight. I glanced at the holo card again; he was dressed exactly like his business card photo. The outfit would’ve looked pretty sharp if it weren’t so rumpled.

Steve wailed in despair when he arrived at the truck. “Arrg, why does everything today have to smell like FARTS?”

“Oh yeah, I guess you don’t work with animals much.” I pressed a button on the remote, and the doors clicked open. “Go ahead and get in, the smell isn’t so bad once you’re inside.”

I got in the driver’s seat, and Steve took shotgun. I wiggled the steering wheel; it was locked up again. “Hang on a sec,” I said. I rocked back and forth in my seat a couple times to give the truck a shake, while pulling the wheel clockwise until it wiggled freely. One of the cows mooed. “Alright, there we go.” I turned over the ignition, and the motor purred to life.

Steve pulled a data disc out of his pocket and held it up for me to see. “How about some Tunes?!” The disc’s surface was mostly blank, with some characters I didn’t know how to read sharpied on.

“Sure,” I said, ejecting the disc I’d last listened to.

“You’ve got Electric Mayhem? Those guys are the Scene.”

“Yeah, they’re pretty good. The address was 12372 Farmingdale Road, right?” I started entering the address into the GPS.

South Farmingdale,” Steve said.

“Ok, got it.” I glanced at the mirrors, pulled out of the parking space and headed down the road as We Are the Champions played on the truck’s stereo; not what I would have expected from a data disk labeled with Asian characters.

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Site 187, Aegis Division compound
Outskirts of Gellen's Heights, Sheratan
Sheratan System, Tikonov Free Rebulic Space
March 11, 3029
____________________________________

I nodded slowly, it was a lot of information to digest and it would take some time for all of it to sink in, especially the tour itself. While I could easily navigate my way through the plethora of underground facilities right now, at least the portion we travelled through on our tour, within a few days most of the details would be hazy at best. My memory was something of a blessing and curse, I could very quickly and easily learn new things such as how to field strip a Zeus Heavy Rifle or the layout of a base or facility with only being shown once or twice but if it wasn't something I used regularly I could also forget it almost as quickly. Thankfully once I committed something to memory, through use or memorizing it, it stuck with me easily enough. The history of Aegis Division was definitely a colourful one, as it is with most mercenary companies, but where many struggle just to make ends meet it appeared that fortune favoured Charles Maxwell and his unit, at least currently. I mulled it over in my head for a little bit, though to be honest it didn't take long and frankly I had already made my decision long before this point, before deciding that I would like to join Aegis Division, I could definitely do worse, much much worse.

"So, that's the penny tour and a crash course in who we are. What questions can I answer?" asked Charles after a time, leaning casually against the podium in the briefing room deep in the underground base.

"This is quite the impressive facility," I replied, once again looking around the briefing room and taking in the rich upholstery, the somewhat grand presentation area, and the impressive way it was both almost extravagant and yet perfectly practical and functional.

"I'll be frank, yours is one of the best sounding mercenary units I've run across in many years," I continued, "and not just because you've actually got more than a BattleMech and a handful of C-bills to your name. I'd be a fool if I said I wasn't impressed, or that I didn't want to join you guys. On the other hand, you'd be a fool to just take in every man, woman or child who wandered in off the street and said they wanted a job and had skills you could use. Charles, you don't strike me as a fool."

"I appreciate that, I try my best not to be, though I'm sure we all have our moments," replied Charles.

"True enough, but since you're not a fool, and I truly do wish to join your organization, there are a few things you need to know about me. Probably more than a few, but we'll start with the big ones," I chuckled a little at the end. 

There was something about Maxwell that put me at an unusual ease, but not uncomfortably so as was the case with Mr. Kauffman earlier. Something about that man was off putting, not really in a bad way but it kept you off balance, he was both warm and welcoming and cold and calculating at the same time, and the way he spoke it was like he knew exactly what to say to get the reaction he wanted from you, even with a perfect stranger. Maxwell on the other hand was nearly the complete opposite in a sense, he was much more grounded and level headed, he was warm and welcoming and seemed to almost go out of his way to avoid making any judgements until he knew someone, at least that's the impression I got. He was the kind of man that you would unquestionably follow through hell and back, not because you thought he'd see you through the other side but because you knew for damn sure there was a good reason to go there in the first place. I don't know exactly what it was about the man, whether it was our common upbringing in the Periphery, or just his magnanimous personality, but I liked him and got the impression he liked me too, as far as strangers go at least.

"First, and I'm trusting you with this, I'm not exactly in ComStar's good books. In fact, I'm pretty sure they've sent at least one kill squad after me. Granted it wasn't me specifically, it was my old unit, BeoWulf's Knights. Accidentally ran across one of their secret bases on an unmarked world, thought we had got away clean but it turned out they must have ID'd us somehow. Well it is ComStar, that's not all that surprising. Anyways, don't know how extensive their knowledge of the old unit is, we've since disbanded completely and gone our separate ways but ComStar can be rather dogged sometimes and I have no idea if they are still after me, or even know who I am for that matter."

"Well, thank you for trusting me with that, I know it can't be easy and you never know how someone will respond when ComStar is involved. However, we have our own fair share of experience dealing with, let's say, the less than benevolent side of ComStar. Thankfully they are not as omnipotent as they would have everyone believe," responded Charles with a smile.

"I've come to realize that myself as of late, and a good thing too, all things considered. That kind of leads into the second thing I feel you should know before hiring me. In a bid to escape the watchful eye of ComStar I got tangled up in some work with the DMI. While I'm not a Davion by any stretch of the imagination, I have worked for them in the past and I have family that is involved rather heavily with them, the DMI specifically. Turns out that the DMI were not as involved as I had originally thought with my employment there though so now I find myself here, looking for work."

"That is interesting, might have to get some more details about that at a later date, sounds like a good story. Oddly enough, turns out we also have experience with working alongside Intelligence Agencies, mostly Lyran in our case, but they are all fairly similar. Provided you don't have any outstanding warrants for your arrest, or some other issue we should be aware of it looks like you'll be an excellent fit with Aegis Division."

"None that I'm aware of," I replied, "only other thing that's caused me issues is my prosthetics. I like to keep the concealed laser on the down low, seeing as how it is illegal in some places, and other places just hassle me over the prosthetics themselves, but so far it's never been enough to prevent employment. Though I do tend to avoid certain areas of Marik space just to avoid the hassle."

"Excellent, well then allow me to say welcome to Aegis Division," said Charles as he stepped forward and extended his hand, "Mara Walsh will get the paperwork done up and all the HR stuff, speaking of, she might be finished up by now. Let's head back topside and get the two of you acquainted. Once that's complete we can work out transport for your gear and 'mech, I believe you mentioned they were stored at spaceport in Gellen's Heights?"

I confirmed that my gear was stored in temporary storage at the local spaceport and that transport for my BattleMech, the 60-ton Merlin, would be ideal, though if necessary I could also pilot the 'mech here with little trouble. On our way back to the surface Charles also offered me lodging on site and while greatly appreciated, I declined since I had already paid for a room near the spaceport for two more nights. Back on the surface Charles directed me on where I could meet up with Mara and get all the paperwork side of things in order.

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MEANWHILE... 

Me and Nikki bounced and banged down the Pothole road as we drove out of the City and to the Chocolate Farm at the Farmer's Market. Every time we hit a bump the tape deck skipped and I heard moos and other Animal Noises from the farm trailer. "So this truck is pretty old huh?" I asked as we went over another bump and the Glove box busted open and bashed my knees. I yelled as a Brick fell out of the Glove Box and landed in my lap, it almost hit my junk. 

"YOU KEEP BRICKS IN YOUR GLOVE BOX???" I asked. 

"Yeah what do you keep in there?" Nikki said. 

"I use my glove box to put the Alcohol in when I get pulled over, also sometimes puke, but that's usually after the alcohol is gone." I said in a serious voice. "But I still don't know why you keep a brick in there??" 

"It's your seat belt, and now it's where it's supposed to be, in your lap. Hold it there." Nikki said. 

"Ohhhh" I said.

"HOLY SHIT WHAT THE FUCK???" Nikki yelled and then she swerved the truck HARD to the left and to the right, I felt the trailer go snaking back and forth behind us and more moos happened as we just Barely kept from running over a huge gurney that was randomly in the road. 

" Holy shit! I hope someone gets that thing out of the road before the next car comes along!" I Said. Then I heard a ton of crunching noises as we ran over a lot of Medical Supplies that were everywhere in the road. 

"What kind of dipshit asshole Blake-damned idiot leaves three quarters of the insides of an ambulance in the road like that?" Nikki said out loud. 

"I have NO idea, but let's listen to some more tunes!!" I Yelled, then I grabbed the Electric Mayhem tape and stuffed it in the CD player. Their hit song from 3028 called Flailing Gaiden Chains came on and we listened to the 7 minute death metal solo the rest of the way to the Farmers Market. Then we pulled into the market after we went by Site 187 on the road and I showed Nikki where it was that I Worked when I wasn't busy being a high-powered attorney. We pulled into the Farmer's Market and pulled into the parking lot to park, it was totally Mobbed with shoppers. 

"Shit there's no place to park out here, and anyway we were supposed to go into the Vendor Lot instead of the Public Lot." I complained. 

"Crap, I wish I had known that before we had pulled the truck and the trailer all the way in here." Nikki said. "I don't know how I am going to get us backed out with so many cows in the trailer and I can't turn around in here." 

"Wait here, I have an idea!" I said. Then I jumped out of the truck and Ran into the market. I walked around until I found my friend Kenny Milkenspill, he owned the Gellen's Heights Auto Pound, it was the biggest Tow Truck company on the bad side of the river. Kenny and I had became friends when we both were doing an Overnight in the People Pound, which is what the Gellen's Heights police called the drunk tank downtown. I had told Kenny about how my car had ended up in the river on account of being stolen, and he offered to get it out for free if I would let him film a commercial of him doing it. So I told him sure, and come to find out a tow truck on the muddy bank of a river trying to pull out a car that's full of water and mud and has a random dead guy in it isn't a good idea, Kenny's tow truck ended up in the drink too and we had to hire a Helicopter to get them both out, but anyway long story short Kenny and me became friends due to that adventure, and I saw that his big rig turbo tower with the flames painted down the side and side view mirrors that looked like gorilla arms was out front. Finally I found Kenny over at the potato stall. 

"HI Kenny!" I Yelled and ran up to him. 

"STEVE JENKINS??? Oh my GOD I thought you were dead, I haven't seen you since the club a bunch of months ago!!" Said Kenny, then he gave me a bro hug. 

"No, I have been off the planet working with MERCENARIES!" I said in excitement. 

"Bull shit, I bet they cut you loose after the first day." KEnny joked. "No I'm serious! This one worked out!!" I said. "This guy Captain Maxwell hired me and keeps giving me jobs, plus I got to go to a bunch of planets and fight Kuritas and Capellans and a weirdo AI and I met the CEO of some HUGE Corporation and I saved his life and then we almost got blown up on the way home and there's this dude who wears power armor all the time and he's really scary and also we have a hacker guy....... "

*** 7 MINUTES LATER ***

"...... So anyway I'm here with the lady from the freighter and she has a bunch of wild animals that she has to unload but we came in the wrong lot on accident and now the truck and the trailer are Stuck in the lot and I was wondering if you could just tow a bunch of cars out of the way so that Nikki can drive the Truck over the sidewalk and into the Vendor lot. "

" SURE! " Said Kenny. "I LOVE towing!" 

"GREAT!" I said. "I have a load of cash I made that I've gotta blow before we leave the planet again, so I'll pay you and there's a bonus if you can move all the cars in one tow." 

"CHALLENGE ACCEPTED" said Kenny, then we high fived.

Me and Kenny ran over to the Parking Lot and I Yelled to Nikki, "HEY NIKKI KENNY'S HERE AND HE IS GOING TO MOVE THE CARS IN THE WAY, GET READY!!" 

"What??" Said Nikki. "I don't know what that Means." 

"IT'S OKAY KENNY'S A PROFESSIONAL!!!" I Said. Then Kenny turned on his Tow Truck and ramped up the engine really loud to make it seem more Thrilling. A bunch of fire shot out of the Tow Truck's smokestacks. Then Kenny went around and put a Tow chain on the car in the spot closest to the Farmers Market shed and then ran the chain underneath the car and underneath all of the other cars Next to it. Then he hooked it up to the Tow Truck down at the end of the line. 

"OK STEVE ARE YOU READY TO SEE SOME ACTION??" Kenny asked. 

"I SURE AM!!" I Yelled and then got out my cell phone to make a Video. "OK GET OUT THERE AND DO SOME STUNTS!" I Yelled.

Then Kenny stomped on the gas pedal a bunch to Rev up the tow truck and then he slammed it in drive, the tow truck made a bunch of groin grabbing noises and then a huge diesel ROAR and then LURCHED forward, the first car in the line started getting dragged sideways on its tires as Kenny's tow truck drove away faster and faster, then the first car smashed into the second car next to it and started dragging it down the Parking lot, then those two cars smashed into the third car and all kinds of car alarms were going off. 

"WOOOOOOO HOOOOOO!" Yelled Kenny and the Tow Truck rolled a bunch of coal and shot flames out of the sides, then Kenny shifted into the next gear and SMASHED the 3 cars into the 4th car and dragged it another 100 feet, now there was a space big enough to drive through! I screamed in excitement and ran back to Nikki's truck. 

"GET R DONE, STEVE JENKINS!! I'LL SEE YOU INSIDE!!" Kenny yelled, then he ran to undo the tow chains and go move the tow truck before the people came back to their cars. 

"THANKS KENNY!!" I yelled, then I jumped back in Nikki's truck. 

"OK Nikki, let's burn rubber!!" I Said. The cows mooed, I think they agreed. 

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Elsewhere...

The Crayven Corporation SUV wound its way back through the streets of Gellen's Heights' industrial district as a light drizzle of rain started to move in. I looked toward the river, occasionally visible through openings in the dense buildings. The reflections of the towering buildings in the commercial district on its far shore shimmered on the water's surface as though they were distant mirages of a life I'd never have. My eyes traced upwards to follow an enormous cargo Zeppelin that plied its way over the gigantic suspension bridge connecting both shores, while underneath, a monorail thundered past, leaving from the grounds of the spaceport to carry its passengers into the city.

Bishop turned the transport again, and the starport itself swung into view. It was an incredible complex, matching the sprawl and diversity of the city itself. It occurred to me that this might be the last time I would be going anywhere with Bishop. He was, after all, a Crayven employee, and I assumed that wherever his life took him after he collected the massive weapons purchase from Site 187, it would be inextricably tied to the fate of the people I'd betrayed. I decided that now was the time to swallow my pride and try to make amends for the impact of my actions on him. 

"Hey, look, Bishop, I don't know how to say this, but I wanted to tell you before it was too late that...I really regret the choices I made. Not because they fucked my life up. Well, ok, I do regret that, but more to the point, I regret the impact that they had on people I realize now should never have been involved. Like you. I know that you got hurt bad back on Nirasaki - nearly killed, and the recovery hasn't been easy for you. I don't know if things might have gone differently down there if I had done things differently. Whether on the Half Moon or elsewhere. But for any impact it might have had on you, I want you to know that.... I'm sorry."

Bishop was silent. I didn't know if he was thinking about what I said, or if he just didn't have any answer. He had been really different since his brush with death, and sometimes his responses were...cryptic. I continued. 

"I want to make it up to you if I can. I know your injuries have been awful, and I can't even imagine what you've been through in your mind as well. I can't fix that part. But maybe there's something I can do to help with your physical recovery. Something happened to me down on Nirasaki as well. And I don't really know what it means. If I tell you, though, you have to promise me that you'll keep it a secret. I don't want to end up as a test subject in one of your boss's labs."

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Bishop quietly listened to Spy’s words, he spoke from the heart. The Skinwalker admired the man’s humanity, something he had struggled to hang to for so long. It was a fight he had lost and Mother had won.  Bishop knew what Irain did to her and hated them for it.  He felt for Nathan. He also knew the man had changed as well. His sent didn’t lie.  

“Nathan,  no need for apologies, I can not and will not, judge you on your sins. You are a soldier... and a damn good one....better then me....you followed your orders from your Great House. It’s is what we do, following orders is the cornerstone of being soldiers. Without that stone our castles crumble. Society can carry on without doctors, science even education... but it will fall apart without its soldiers guarding the wall”.  Bishop said with sorrow. 

The Skinwalker continued while driving,

“I have done many terrible things, some unspeakable. I have seen things that would make a wiseman go mad. Things that no science or technology can explain.... old mysterious things. Things that never should be seen by our kind. These things that I’ve done and seen will haunt me forever. They have changed my soul... and who I’m. They have given me terrible gifts, gifts I chose to use for good.

You saw me in the Nighthawk suit, you saw what I was capable of doing. No man should be able to do those things yet here I stand. I am a Skinwalker, I am an Elder, a keeper of terrible secrets, the Bone Collector, I’ve been give the name of Death Walker, I have died and returned to the battlefield. There is nothing you can say that scare me or make me not believe you” said Bishop as he turreted his head to Nathan, allowing the passing vehicle lights catch his reflective iris. 

Nathan calmly smiled but bishop could smell a hint of his fear pheromone. 

“I will only ask that you talk to Kauffman, he has an ear for you. Ask him to work with me to get my suit back to me. It’s important to me, it part of me”.

Nathan turned to stare out the window. 

“It almost killed you bishop, there is something wrong with it and it’s not programming, I saw it. It has spirt or something... something I’ve never seen. You can’t beat it my friend”. 

“I have no intention of beating it. Just harnessing it safely” said Bishop. 

“Ok, I can try” said Nathan. 

“So, I showed you mine... now you show me yours” chuckled Bishop. 

Edited by Joker 4-1
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The Chocolate Farm turned out to be a farm stand selling various chocolate-and-dairy products out of ice-filled coolers. A young woman wearing overalls, a tiara, and a “Dairy Princess” sash ran the cash register, while a man with a cowboy hat and greying hair milked one of the four brown-spotted cows hitched behind the stand, apparently demonstrating the process for the two young children watching him.

“This is where Jonny Ray Outlaw works?” I asked.

 

“Sure is,” said Steve. Then he jumped and waved his arms. “Jonny Ray, Jonny Ray, I brought my Business Associate to meet you!”

 

I speed-walked to keep up with Steve, as Jonny stood up to greet us. The “Outlaw” part of his name made more sense, now; he was tall and broad-shouldered, with a piercing gaze and a big scar across his face. Exactly the sort of person you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley. On the other hand, the milk in his pail was brown, as though he’d sneakily added some chocolate to it already; so he must have a sense of humor.

 

“Why hello there,” Jonny said to Steve. “I thought you were out on Solaris, tradin’ blows with war machines.”

 

“I was,” Steve said, “but then Nakagang lit my mech and my pants on fire and I had to eject and lost the Match. But then I found a Poster, and this cab driver with terrible music drove so crazy that I blacked out and woke up in a freezer on Outreach! So I got an Awesome job as a Mercenary.”

 

“I’m not sure I understood all that, but I’m glad to hear things worked out for you,” Jonny Ray Outlaw said. “Now what brings you here today? Would you like the usual?”

 

“Boy would I!” said Steve.

 

Jonny called out to the girl at the register, “One double-dipped mega-chunk fudge bar, if ya please, Billie!” Then he turned to me. “And what’ll it be for you, miss?”

 

“I’m here because Steve thought you might want to increase your herd,” I said. “I have some Jersey cattle to sell, mostly heifers, and my agreement with the original buyer fell through.” Jonny raised an eyebrow. “It’s a really long story. Nothing to do with the animals themselves, though, it was more of a… people problem.”

 

“Ain’t it always,” Jonny said. “How many are you lookin to unload?”

 

“About a hundred,” I said, “but I’m definitely open to splitting up the herd; I’m not sure how large your operation is.”

 

“Oh, this is just my retirement gig,” Jonny said. “Good excuse to talk to folks and spend some time with my niece Billie. My daughter and son in law run the dairy now, and they’re expanding - so I’ll have a look at those cows, and if they’re in good shape I’ll pass along your number and my recommendation.”

 

On our way out of the stall, Billie handed Steve a chocolatey fudge bar, covered with chocolate sauce and chocolate chunks and chocolate sprinkles. “That’ll be 50 c-cents,” she said with a smile.

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Meanwhille...

I sat quietly, letting Bishop's words sink in. His response had been unbelievable cordial and understanding....much more than I deserved. It also was an adjustment hearing him speak at length. Most of my previous encounters with him had been when he was...joined...with his suit, and in those moments, he seemed hollow...robotic....like his spirit was absent. Even his eyes would glaze over and look distant. But now, Bishop seemed firey and full of life.

"I'm humbled, Bishop. I really am. Honored, in fact. You're the embodiment of everything that I picture when I think of the ultimate soldier. And I don't know how I can measure up to the image that you have of me, but I promise you I'll do my best. I want to ensure that the trust you have in me isn't misplaced." I eventually replied.

"See that you do." Bishop nodded. "That's the one other thread that binds us together as warriors. Trust."

"I've come to realize that." I acknowledged. The SUV gave a lurch as we went over the spaceport's speed bumps. As we rolled up to the security gate, a guard approached us. I instinctively slid down in my seat.

"Destination and business?" the guard asked. Bishop reached into a pocket and pulled out a folio. Flipping it open, a Crayven Corporation security badge gleamed in the daylight, accompanied by an ID card that said "SECURITY ACCESS: TACIT BLUE."

"Berth 59. Half Moon. Meeting with the boss." Bishop answered cooly.

"Have a nice day." The guard replied. We drove forward.

"You have Tacit Blue corporate access? That's...really high. I'm not sure if you know that or not, but when I was in their...er...your computer systems, there were only two clearance levels higher than that. Tacit White and then one above that that didn't have a system label. I'm not sure what that one's called." I commented.

"Guess they figured I needed it for some reason." Bishop shrugged.

"In any case, I'm surprised to hear that I have General Kauffman's ear. Tacit Blue seems like a higher circle of trust than I have with him. I'm just some kid that did really stupid things to him. But if you think that my words to him would be to your benefit, I'll definitely give it a shot. But - Bishop - I'm not kidding. That suit has something going on with it. It's malevolent. I'm legitimately concerned for your safety when you wear it. Not for fuddy-duddy reasons. It's got programming in it that looks like it's trying to introduce addiction into you. Any idea why someone would do that? Is that normal for Nighthawk suits?"

Bishop was silent. I wasn't sure if he was thinking about my question or if he didn't want to answer right then. I continued.

"In any case....you shared your secret with me. And I'm honored. I'll share mine with you. When we were on Nirasaki, something happened to me. Remember the server room? When I was trying to get into the computers, I got....stung....by something. I swatted it, and it turned out to be a tiny drone. It was pretty badly smashed, but I kept it in a vial. It's in my backpack. Anyway, about 40 minutes later, I noticed that a giant cut I had on my face was gone. And then after that, when we got back to the Tana and I was showering, all of the bumps and brusies and burns I picked up when my Jenner got destroyed were gone. Later on, I cut my hand on the Mendacius and it healed right in front of my eyes. And then, on the Hurry Up Bessie....I got shot straight through the left side of my chest and out the back, and I'm pretty sure I was near death, and then an hour later, I was waking up on Major Hayes' shoulder with my injury completely healed. I think that something happened to me. I can't get permanently hurt. I don't know what it is or how long it's going to last, and I have no idea if it can be shared between people, but I've seen how much you're suffering. If I can help by giving you whatever I have, I'd like to."

"That sounds unbelievable, but I've seen things crazier than that." Bishop replied. "It means a lot that you would want to do that for me. But we probably should figure out what it is before we start talking about blood transfusions or anything else like that. Who else knows about this?"

"No one except you and Captain Maxwell, and I haven't told Captain Maxwell the full extent of it, mostly because we haven't had a chance to talk in private."

"From what I've seen, General Kauffman and Major Hayes have one of the slickest mobile science lab setups I've ever run into when working for the corporations. Why don't we ask them for some lab time?" Bishop suggested.

"I'm not sure I want to do that. I don't want to become one of their test subjects." I replied. "Nothing against you or the Crayven Corporation, just call me paranoid. Besides which, if I had to guess, I'm dealing with LostTech. Something more in the domain of ComStar than a courier company with some mad scientists on the payroll. Have you ever seen anything similar to this before? Know of any other option we might have to, I don't know, get me an x-ray or a blood draw or something and figure out why I'm suddenly psudo-immortal and how you could use it?"

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Site 187
7.5 kilometers from the Gellen's Heights spaceport
Gellen's Heights, Sheratan V
March 11, 3029
______________________________________________________

The sunlight poured in through the windows of the dusty administration building, columns of golden rays painting pools of oblong-shaped illumination on its old, marble-tiled floor as the doors of the lift rumbled shut behind us.

"A fine place you have here indeed," Orlex commented, glancing around. "Finding ready-to-go real estate like this is practically unheard of."

"Well, one thing I learned out in the sticks is that planets that are constantly changing hands have a tendency to develop surplus military assets, and those things can often be had at a steal. Sheratan is a definite investment world. Hell, if I had unlimited funds, you can bet I'd be buying up several of those city blocks near the river and repurposing them, too," I chuckled.

"You sound like quite the entrepreneur, Captain Maxwell. That's a good characteristic for a mercenary commander to have," Jaeger replied.

"The byproduct of an over-active imagination during interminable stretches of boredom," I explained, walking toward the lobby doors. "I'm sure that I don't need to explain to you that gunslinging work involves lots of transit time."

"Indeed not," Orlex agreed. "And there's only so much you can do to pass the hours. Makes me wonder what the hell the folks in the Exodus Fleet must have done for entertainment."

"The Inner Sphere may never know," I laughed. "Come on, let's go see Mara."

###

The Tana was abuzz with activity as Orlex and I maneuvered down its congested corridors. Aegis Division, Crayven Corporation, and Skinwalker staff milled about everywhere as they disembarked with their gear and headed off to various end destinations, while the ship's permanently-embarked staff went through the various post-flight procedures to stand down the vessel until it was needed again. It would be the first time in years that the Tana got an extended port call, and I'd asked the senior crew to make the most of the downtime by performing as many preventative maintenance and refit tasks possible. They'd clearly wasted no time in getting started; as Orlex and I made our way up to the flight deck, I counted no fewer than seven different bulkheads that had been opened and had their components pulled out.

Arriving on the bridge, Orlex and I nearly collided with Lieutenant Marius Lennox, who was heading rapidly for the exits as we arrived.

"Captain!" Marius exclaimed. "Sorry about that, I - "

"Can't wait to get out of here, huh?" I joked. "I didn't think our last job was that bad."

The lieutenant laughed. "Not at all sir; actually, I was headed over to Silo 1. I'm really excited to check out the training range down on level eight. I'm pretty sure we can move our battle pods down there and set up a simulator area. That'll also free up considerable cargo space on the Tana. If everything's up to snuff, I can get started with that project this afternoon. With your approval, of course."

"Do you ever take time to relax?" I laughed.

"I am relaxing," Marius replied. "Mad science is my jam."

"All right, I think the project has tremendous value, and if doing it makes you happy, so much the better. Consider it approved. But if you need extra IT help during leave time, you're on your own. I don't want to be the guy telling Dexter that he's got to come in on his day off, and Alyssa's already informed me in no uncertain terms that she's off the clock and abducting me away someplace for the next two weeks."

"No worries at all, I got this under control," the lieutenant nodded. "Who's this guy?"

"Marius Lennox; Orlex Jaeger. He's going to be joining our unit," I replied as the men shook hands with one another.

"Oh yeah?" Lennox asked. "You sure you want to do that?"

"I haven't signed anything yet," Orlex laughed. "I could still back out if I had reason to."

"I swear to Blake, if you scare off another applicant..." I chided.

"I'm totally kidding," Marius replied. "This is a decent gig. What are you signing on as? Let me guess. Infantry? You look like you could hold your own in a fight."

"I'm a MechWarrior by trade, but I'm also something of a JOAT. I go where I'm needed," Orlex explained. "I've got my own hardware. A Merlin."

"A Merlin!" The lieutenant let out a low whistle. "How'd you get new hardware? Even the Captain here is driving a 280-year-old salvage queen."

"Hey now," I retorted. "Don't you make fun of my King Crab."

"It was something of a gift from my dad," Orlex answered. "A King Crab's nothing to underestimate. That's quite a prize."

"Indeed," I agreed. "She's gotten me out of more than a few scrapes. As has the Catapult. Your Merlin will fit in nicely."

"Anyway, I'll let you guys do your thing," Marius replied. "Thanks for the green light, Captain. I can't wait to show you the finished product."

"I'm sure it'll be awesome," I agreed. "Thanks for all that you do."

"Don't mention it. And, hey, nice to meet you, Orlex. Welcome aboard. Give me a shout if you need anything at all," Marius concluded.

"Thanks, same to you," Jaeger replied.

Crossing the bridge, Orlex and I located Commander Walsh at the situation table, a sea of data pads spread out before her.

"Commander Walsh; Orlex Jaeger. He's going to be joining up with our unit. I knew you were busy, so I handled the initial interview. I also made sure that I told him about the part of the admission process where you put jumper cables on his toes and ask him to recite Stefan Amaris' favorite Golden Corral locations in descending order. He seemed to be amicable to the idea," I deadpanned.

"Oh, good, that's always the part of the screening I enjoy most," Walsh replied without missing a beat. "Mara Walsh. Pleasure to meat you," the commander smiled, shaking Orlex's hand.

"Likewise, and I'm assuming you're kidding about the jumper cables?" the mercenary laughed.

"Maybe. In either case, I apologize for not being able to see you right away. We're just now getting moved into this base while simultaneously offboarding a combined-arms unit from our most recent outing. It's a bit of a logistical nightmare," Walsh explained. "We should have everything ironed out in the next couple of days."

While Commander Walsh and Orlex chatted, I retrieved a data pad and loaded it with Aegis Division's onboarding forms, personnel dossiers, MRBC profile, and contact information. I also programmed a temporary site pass for the mercenary and retrieved and activated a standard-issue comm unit. Heading back over to the pair, I presented the bundle to the new hire.

"Here's everything that you'll need to get started. There's a bunch of forms to fill out on the data pad, including a release for us to pick up your 'Mech from the spaceport and bring it here. I also loaded up some extended profile information about who we are and who to contact if you have any questions. The comm unit will give you a direct line to the staff here, and the pass will get you on base," I explained. "We're going to be planetside for the next thirty days for leave, resupply, and contract-hunting. Go ahead and take this stuff with you, fill it out, and then call Mara in the next couple of days to set up your onboarding and background review. We'll get you squared away. I'm going to be out of pocket for a bit, but she should be able to help you out. I'll be back on post on the 25th, but if any emergencies come up, I've included my contact info there as well. Again - welcome aboard - we're happy to have you here!"

###

A light drizzle began to fall as I watched Orlex pull off on his trike. As the vehicle wound off into the distance, I felt a slight pair of hands clap down on my shoulders. Turning around, I saw Alyssa standing before me. 

"How'd it go?" Alyssa asked, pushing a wet lock of hair away from her forehead and gazing at me intently. 

"Really well," I replied. "I can't believe we had someone like that just fall in our lap when we needed him."

"Good. And he's all set with the usual new hire stuff?" Chase pressed. 

"Yeah - should be good to go. I asked him to set something up with Mara this week," I replied. "Why do you ask?" 

"Because if that's been sorted, then as of this moment, you're relieved of duty for the next two weeks, mister." Alyssa grinned. "Come on, let's go get your vacation stuff."

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RE DEUX..... 

MEANWHILE...... 

"Thanks Billie!" I said, then I gave her at least 55 C-Cents. "Keep the change." I said, I was a big spender today and she giggled at me, women dig guys who know how to blow their cash on the right things. "Also here's my phone number, not the one on the top of the card, that one got cut off, not the 2nd one either, that one goes to a Taxidermist that I had to print on there to get a discount on the cards, its the 3rd one, you'll know you called the right one if you get a sick ring back tone."

Then I handed her my business card and played the ring back tone on my Phone so that she knew what the phone number sounded like. Then Billie giggled again.

"HEY STEVE, LESS GO LOOKAT THEM COWS!" Outlaw Jonny hollered, then we went to the trailer where Nikki opened up the back and got some of the cows out. It was pretty hot and my quadroFudga-double-dipped-choco-fudge bar was starting to Sweat, a bunch of chocolate rivers were running down my arm and onto my sleeve, pretty soon it looked like I had had an emergency on my arm instead of where accidents usually ended up. "Ewww, gross" I said and I tried to wipe my arm on the trailer, all of a sudden a HUGE tounge came out of the side of the trailer and licked my arm so hard that I almost fell over!! "The SHIT??" I asked, then I went around to the side of the trailer and looked inside, there was a HUGE bull inside with tattoos and a ear tag and one of those big nose rings like you see in the cartoons, it had glowing red eyes and it had its face mashed up against the side of the trailer trying to get at my fudgesicle! 

"Uhhh Nikki how come you have a bull in here??" I asked, then Jonny Ray came over and bent down and was like "That's the one you need if you want to make more cows, didn't you know that, I thought that you grew up on a farm!!" 

"We were Poor Farmers, we didn't even have a whole cow!" I said, then I made a face. "It was gross." 

"I don't know what that means, but OK." Said Jonny. Then my phone rang, I got it out with my free hand and looked at the screen, it said BILLY THE BATH GUY on the caller ID. 

"Oh my god I have to take this!!!" I Yelled. Then I answered the phone and started talking, while I did that I leaned up on the trailer and ate my ice cream and talked, come to find out that Bobby was just calling about a bunch of legal crap to do with closing on the baths, mostly boring stuff, and I was almost done with the call when all of a sudden a gigantic Mouth came over my shoulder and ate my phone right out of my hand!!! 

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGHHHH!!" I Screamed, first in rage and then in Terror when I turned around and saw that it was the Bull and he had ate my phone on account of the ice cream on it!!!

"Ohgodohgodohgodohgod" I said and I crawled along the side of the cage while my ice cream made a chocolate waterfall down my arm. "BILLY?? BOBBY?? WHATEVER YOUR NAME IS?? CAN YOU HEAR ME?? ARE YOU STILL ON THE PHONE??" 

I heard a really muffled voice coming from inside the bull's stomach, the phone must have still been connected!! 

"BOBBY??" I Yelled into the bull through the side of the cage. "BOBBY, WE HAVE TO DO THE BUSINESS DEAL!!!" I Yelled "I NEED YOU TO EMAIL ME, I'M GOING THROUGH A TUNNEL AND I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!" Suddenly the bull mooed and kicked the side of his cage really hard and I heard a dial tone coming from somewhere near his butt. 

"BALL DAMMIT!!" I Yelled, then I bit my ice cream in terror and frustration. A HUGE pain went through all my teeth and up through my face and into my brain! "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" I Screamed as the Brain Freeze kicked in, all of a sudden I was falling through a crazy Drakness with all kinds of purple and green circles flying by me and weird faces swirling around as some kind of maniac evil clown laughed int he background. 

"WHAT THE BALL DAMN HELL IS THIS PLACE???" I Screamed as I fell deeper and deeper, as I looked back at the direction I had came from there were a 1000 fudge bars falling out of the purple and green vortex at me and shooting past me so fast, as they went by they were transforming into chocolate knives and bazookas and at least one of them turned into the skull of Satan with firey eyes!!! I rolled over in the air to see where I was falling to and when I looked down I saw the most Terrible thing.... It was a Gigantic bowl of chocolate sprinkles but it was moving and it turned into a huge mouth with enormous fangs and licking jowls that Undulated and moved in a way that freaked me out as I realized I was about to fall straight into its fangs!!!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" I Screamed as the giant Mouth came up on me so fast I couldn't even see it all the way, then the next thing that I Knew I plunged inside and saw a chocolate dangly thing at the back of the chocolate monster mouth coming up on me and the next thing I knew, it went WHAP!!!!!!

......and then the next thing I knew after that there was a huge CRASH and my ice cream tower of fudgewent up and smashed me in the face, I looked up and some how I was on the Tilt a Whirl on the Chocolate Farm and my fusgesicle was spraying everywhere while I going around and around on the ride even though I didn't know how I had got there!!

"NEXT RIDER PLEASE" said the announcer and then he put the brakes on really harder and slammed the ride stopped. The carnival music was playing and I looked down at my lap and there was brown sludge everywhere, it made my Suit look pretty wrecked., I hoped no one would notice. 

"RIDER ARE YOU OK??" Said the announcer.

"I'm all better now, but my suit looks pretty wrecked. I'm really glad you have brown seats, the Chocolate Farm was super irresponsible for giving me so much chocolate." Then I bit off a huge chunk of my choco cone, which made more fudge fall out of it and land in my lap, the cold made me yell. Then I started to get out of the ride car and a little kid who was waiting in line walked up to me. 

" YOU WERE ON THERE FOREVER" He said, then he whipped me in the nads with a plastic wiffle ball bat.

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Nighthawks are old, few exist that is for sure. You are correct my friend, it’s old and malevolent but not against the wearer. It has an old spirt... a hateful spirt. I believe it wasn’t trying to kill me... it was trying to keep me alive by all means possible so that I could complete my mission. 

“What was mission Bishop?” Asked Nathan. 

“To protect the pack, you and everyone else. Make no mistake Nathan, I am a monster. There is an old saying,  an ancient saying... sometimes you need a monster to hunt other monsters.  The universe we live in is not black and white, just various shapes of grey. I know you know this.  Look at who you are, a spy really, I believe you had to do some terrible things in order to save lives. There is nothing clean about what we do...just various shades of grey, that’s all. There are no true hero’s in this universe, just men and Women, who find a way to justify what they do and why and why they do it”.  Bishop said softly. 

“I’m getting old, and I’m badly damaged. Yet my place is and will always be on the battlefield. I have no where to go, I’m not as skilled or as talented as you are. I’m just a killer, who kills for the least evil side, that is all that I am. I’ve done this for so long I can’t remember anything else. You have the ability to go on and do good things. This why I want to give the suit a second try, I need it. I would like to see if you can write a fresh program for it.

Now, as to your new development... I’m aware of something similar. Years ago we.... the Skinwalker’s, under a legally sanctioned mission ran into something like this. Please keep this quiet, people will kill for this information.  As you are well aware of, Irain Industries has a Intelligence Division called the I.I.D. They have Covert Ops guys everywhere, all the Great Houses, Corporations, shit even the periphery states. A few years back one of our  Operatives was somehow compromised by Interstellar Expeditions. 

At the time we had been spying on a secret bio weapons research dig site that IE was poking around in. My unit was sent in to recover the Corporate asset, her code name was Empress Scorpion. IE had found some kind of LostTec that had the ability to repair woulds in the human body, something that could be injected into the blood stream. I don’t know anything else about it, that’s all they told us”. 

“What happened on that mission?” Bishop could see Nathan mind turning with his question. 

“What’s the standard protocol? Bishop fired back. 

Nathan was silent for a few seconds

“Extract the operative, gather up any useful intelligence and sanitize the site”

“Yes, that’s what professionals do, and no, there where no civilians on site that day” said Bishop. 

Nathan silently nodded at the Skinwalker’s words. 

“But the story doesn’t end there.  During extract we got ambushed by a different player. The vtol carrying the hard Intel was brought down by an SRM. We spent the next ten hours slaughtering each other, in the end we won the battle. Those of use that lived, which wasn’t many made it home, including our Operative. She is alive and well, last that I heard she was still on Galatea in a safe house.

”Who was hit your team Bishop?” Nathan was now showing his Operative mind.

”I’ll give you three guess, the first two don’t count” Bishop chuckled.

”ComStar” whispered Nathan.

Bishop nodded.

Look, this is all that I know. If you don’t want to ask Kauffman for help then you have two options, one, get blood work done and attempt to figure out what you have, or find her and ask.” Bishop felt for Nathan, like him, he had a secret hidden in his body and wanted answers. 

Bishop continued while driving,

“As for me, the best I can do is ask for augmentation, if I want to stay in this game for any amount of time. I can’t pilot battlemechs the Nero-helmet causes me to have seizures. I don’t know what you have, so I’m a little spooked about injecting something into me. We don’t even know if it’s compatible with me. Though I do like the idea and appreciate it. I just don’t know.”

“Christ Bishop! That dangerous, expensive and there are long last medical issues with that” Nathan said with concern. 

“This is true....like you, I don’t have allot of options” said the Skinwalker. 

Edited by Joker 4-1
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