In fact, Rally had become quite comfortable with it just late last week.
Rally was good at what he did. Once a bondsman of Sasha Breen, he'd been selected as her
personal trainer for all hand to hand combat. Despite Sasha's defeating Rally on their first
meeting, she instantly recognized Rally's skills during their brief battle. If not for Rally's untimely
misfortune that day, a nasty slip on wet moss followed up by a kneecap by Sasha herself, she
might never have captured him as her bondsman. She'd always been secretly proud of Rally's
performance under her and it was only through careful political plays that she'd secured him a
position in her Steel Viper star.
Rally's own kick came swift and unexpected to the blinded Sasha. He had guessed her worries
might interfere with today's sparring, but never imagined just how badly she'd perform. Before
she could begin to recover from the blow, her back hit the cold floor hard.
"Surat!" she cried out, ripping the blindfold from her eyes for the second time. She was angry,
but only with her situation. She fought back the urge to take out any more stress on Rally, who
was no doubt on her side when it came to today's problems.
Sasha sat upright. She, for one, noticed the change in heat as it dropped her own body
temperature, sapping away the warmth from her over-exercised legs. She pushed herself off the
floor with the base of her wrists, coming up into a relaxed stance. There would be no more
fighting today. Lowly surats. Words could not describe her feelings about the coming fight.
She prayed Colonel Mike Strider would get what was hopefully coming to him.
Rally faded into relaxation. Now was the time for any words he might put forth. The best he
could come up with ended up being, "You can not concentrate Sasha. You're all out of whack."
Sasha glared up at him. Regardless of how much she admired the man, especially as her capable
martial arts trainer, she despised his use of an Inner Sphere contraction in her hardliner Clan
presence.
"Clean up that mouth of yours. You have been among these people too long Rally."
Not one to back down from a contest, Rally held his ground. "You are the one whose abilities
are being impaired. I may not show so much mercy next time we spar." He grimaced, his own
echo of the distasteful language he often found himself speaking accidentally.
He looked down to the floor, then back to her again. "You are right though. This language is
not ours to use." he said softly.
"You speak as if you defend its use," she hissed. She realized her emotions were again trying to
take over and indeed impairing her judgement. She closed her eyes and concentrated, feeling
the anger wash over her skin just before it left her body. All that remained was the warm heat of
embarrassment.
Hazukashi.
It was the most common word to express embarrassment in the native Japanese tongue of the
locals. She had picked up a lot of the language during her time spent on Miranda, a planet just
barely located within the Nova Cat's Irece Prefecture of the Draconis Combine. It was still a
very alien place for a proud Steel Viper warrior like herself to be stationed at.
The reason for her embarrassment was in her failing in yet another sparring with the Mechwarrior
before her. He was supposed to be her inferior according to rank. A failure to defend that
earned rank usually meant a lot in the Clans. Luckily Rally was not one to backstab his trusted
ally when given the chance to do so. She was afterall, his oldest friend in the whole Clan of Steel
Viper. Sasha had long suspected he might try trumping her one day, yet far from anytime soon,
so to speak.
"I apologize Rally. I am finding it hard to be myself lately. We are Clan warriors, among the
best of Steel Viper." She began looking up at her surroundings, the brown barren ceiling inside
of the storage area of which housed her unit's BattleMechs. "We are not meant to sit idly by
while our unit plays out its justice system like children playing a game."
Had Devon issued the Trial a minute later, I would have challenged Mike Strider myself." She
always used Mike's full name, possibly because it was easier to express her sentiments with
more syllables. Sasha felt the anger building inside her once more. It seemed to pour from deep
within her stomach and progress with each sentence she spoke.
"You were right to wait." Rally said with all confidence. "Devon would not have taken lightly if
you had issued the challenge for his own fight. You must bend to his will if we are to retain the
unit's respect for our Steel Viper cause." Rally began to walk towards the far end of the
ferrocrete slab, where the massive Mechs of the Steel Viper warriors of Strider's Strikers lay
waiting like hibernating giants.
He approached to the foot of one of the machines, a Shadowcat salvaged during a raid against
the Ghost Bears, upon which sat a large thermos that spilled steam from its broken lid. Rally
grabbed the nearest foam cup and poured himself a swig of the hot liquid, some sort of Japanese
tea provided by the locals of Miranda. Downing the tea in a single gulp, he turned to her.
She had her eyes closed, head still raised upward.
He poured another cup of the bitter concoction and offered it to Sasha. It took a moment for
her to notice the gesture, but when she finally opened her eyes she nodded to him. Moving with
a gentle stride that betrayed the stiffness of her joints, Sasha drew the cup from Rally's hand.
Unlike Rally, she sipped the hot tea slowly.
He waited for her to speak, holding his own tongue for another moment before finally giving in.
"I know this match bothers you. You don't believe he can actually win, do you?" Rally's eyes
narrowed, prying for any clues Sasha's face might give away should she choose to lie.
"Of this I am sure." She hadn't even noticed Rally's second grammar slip. "Mike Strider could
not beat Devon Carns if he were given a Timberwolf as a handicap."
Rally shook his head. "I would not wager on that myself, but my confidence in Devon is
unmatched. Not one of the Inner Sphere pilots can beat him."
Norbert "Set your hair on fire" Owens had been born with Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia
congenita, itself a unique form of an extremely rare genetic condition that lead to what most
commonly knew as dwarfism. Though most people with the condition were known on ancient
Terra as 'midgets', citizens of the Inner Sphere had gradually given up the word for SDCers.
Abbreviations had proven more politically correct whenever the subject had come up, and all
found the short form of the scientific term the easier to pronounce. For the Clans, the condition
was even rarer. Clan members were usually awestruck at Norbert's uniqueness as a Mechjock.
Rally was good at what he did. Once a bondsman of Sasha Breen, he'd been selected as her
personal trainer for all hand to hand combat. Despite Sasha's defeating Rally on their first
meeting, she instantly recognized Rally's skills during their brief battle. If not for Rally's untimely
misfortune that day, a nasty slip on wet moss followed up by a kneecap by Sasha herself, she
might never have captured him as her bondsman. She'd always been secretly proud of Rally's
performance under her and it was only through careful political plays that she'd secured him a
position in her Steel Viper star.
Rally's own kick came swift and unexpected to the blinded Sasha. He had guessed her worries
might interfere with today's sparring, but never imagined just how badly she'd perform. Before
she could begin to recover from the blow, her back hit the cold floor hard.
"Surat!" she cried out, ripping the blindfold from her eyes for the second time. She was angry,
but only with her situation. She fought back the urge to take out any more stress on Rally, who
was no doubt on her side when it came to today's problems.
Sasha sat upright. She, for one, noticed the change in heat as it dropped her own body
temperature, sapping away the warmth from her over-exercised legs. She pushed herself off the
floor with the base of her wrists, coming up into a relaxed stance. There would be no more
fighting today. Lowly surats. Words could not describe her feelings about the coming fight.
She prayed Colonel Mike Strider would get what was hopefully coming to him.
Rally faded into relaxation. Now was the time for any words he might put forth. The best he
could come up with ended up being, "You can not concentrate Sasha. You're all out of whack."
Sasha glared up at him. Regardless of how much she admired the man, especially as her capable
martial arts trainer, she despised his use of an Inner Sphere contraction in her hardliner Clan
presence.
"Clean up that mouth of yours. You have been among these people too long Rally."
Not one to back down from a contest, Rally held his ground. "You are the one whose abilities
are being impaired. I may not show so much mercy next time we spar." He grimaced, his own
echo of the distasteful language he often found himself speaking accidentally.
He looked down to the floor, then back to her again. "You are right though. This language is
not ours to use." he said softly.
"You speak as if you defend its use," she hissed. She realized her emotions were again trying to
take over and indeed impairing her judgement. She closed her eyes and concentrated, feeling
the anger wash over her skin just before it left her body. All that remained was the warm heat of
embarrassment.
Hazukashi.
It was the most common word to express embarrassment in the native Japanese tongue of the
locals. She had picked up a lot of the language during her time spent on Miranda, a planet just
barely located within the Nova Cat's Irece Prefecture of the Draconis Combine. It was still a
very alien place for a proud Steel Viper warrior like herself to be stationed at.
The reason for her embarrassment was in her failing in yet another sparring with the Mechwarrior
before her. He was supposed to be her inferior according to rank. A failure to defend that
earned rank usually meant a lot in the Clans. Luckily Rally was not one to backstab his trusted
ally when given the chance to do so. She was afterall, his oldest friend in the whole Clan of Steel
Viper. Sasha had long suspected he might try trumping her one day, yet far from anytime soon,
so to speak.
"I apologize Rally. I am finding it hard to be myself lately. We are Clan warriors, among the
best of Steel Viper." She began looking up at her surroundings, the brown barren ceiling inside
of the storage area of which housed her unit's BattleMechs. "We are not meant to sit idly by
while our unit plays out its justice system like children playing a game."
Had Devon issued the Trial a minute later, I would have challenged Mike Strider myself." She
always used Mike's full name, possibly because it was easier to express her sentiments with
more syllables. Sasha felt the anger building inside her once more. It seemed to pour from deep
within her stomach and progress with each sentence she spoke.
"You were right to wait." Rally said with all confidence. "Devon would not have taken lightly if
you had issued the challenge for his own fight. You must bend to his will if we are to retain the
unit's respect for our Steel Viper cause." Rally began to walk towards the far end of the
ferrocrete slab, where the massive Mechs of the Steel Viper warriors of Strider's Strikers lay
waiting like hibernating giants.
He approached to the foot of one of the machines, a Shadowcat salvaged during a raid against
the Ghost Bears, upon which sat a large thermos that spilled steam from its broken lid. Rally
grabbed the nearest foam cup and poured himself a swig of the hot liquid, some sort of Japanese
tea provided by the locals of Miranda. Downing the tea in a single gulp, he turned to her.
She had her eyes closed, head still raised upward.
He poured another cup of the bitter concoction and offered it to Sasha. It took a moment for
her to notice the gesture, but when she finally opened her eyes she nodded to him. Moving with
a gentle stride that betrayed the stiffness of her joints, Sasha drew the cup from Rally's hand.
Unlike Rally, she sipped the hot tea slowly.
He waited for her to speak, holding his own tongue for another moment before finally giving in.
"I know this match bothers you. You don't believe he can actually win, do you?" Rally's eyes
narrowed, prying for any clues Sasha's face might give away should she choose to lie.
"Of this I am sure." She hadn't even noticed Rally's second grammar slip. "Mike Strider could
not beat Devon Carns if he were given a Timberwolf as a handicap."
Rally shook his head. "I would not wager on that myself, but my confidence in Devon is
unmatched. Not one of the Inner Sphere pilots can beat him."
Norbert "Set your hair on fire" Owens had been born with Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia
congenita, itself a unique form of an extremely rare genetic condition that lead to what most
commonly knew as dwarfism. Though most people with the condition were known on ancient
Terra as 'midgets', citizens of the Inner Sphere had gradually given up the word for SDCers.
Abbreviations had proven more politically correct whenever the subject had come up, and all
found the short form of the scientific term the easier to pronounce. For the Clans, the condition
was even rarer. Clan members were usually awestruck at Norbert's uniqueness as a Mechjock.
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