shortstoriessasha2

Claudia defeated you.”
“Of course I am, but there is nothing I can do about it. Tech work, that is what my punishment
is, the same as it always is with Tiveli. He seeks to demean us at every pass.”
“Aff, but still I imagine he is not much worse than any other Handler.” She had finished drying
and was busy slipping into a clean body suit.
“Yes, but he is harsh. There is what? Six of us remaining?”
“Aff. And if we are lucky, half that number will graduate the sibko. That day is not far off. If
Blachloke is not destroyed and washed out by then, I will make damn sure that will be his day of
reckoning.” Tac felt the venom dripping from her voice, he had heard it many times in respect to
their sibkin, Blachloke. They might all be cut from the same genetic cloth, but they were very
different people. Blachloke was tall, skinny, and liked to keep his head shaved. On the other
hand, Sasha was short, somewhat stocky, with well defined muscles, completely unlike
Blachloke’s stick like appearance. The differences weren’t just physical. Blachloke believed
himself superior to everything and had definite illusions of grandeur. For some reason, he had,
during some exercise or another, deemed Sasha not worthy to be in the same universe as him.
Sasha, naturally, did not hold with this belief.
“You should not say such things of your betters little Sasha.” Blachloke rounded the corner and
halted. He ran his hand over his bald plate. “I might have to teach you a lesson. Again.”
Claudia tried to step around him and go to her locker, but Blachloke’s toady Lejad stopped in
her way. "Figures, the little brat," she thought to herself.
“Step aside Lejad.” Sasha’s look was dark, menacing. Lejad’s mouth opened in a big goofy
grin, moments latter he was picking himself off the ground, bleeding from the nose.
“Bitch, I think she broke it!” He was trying to stem the blood and feel around his nose at the
same time.
“I will do worse next time, toad.” She glanced at Blachloke, he didn’t seem concerned about
any of this.
Then Tac’s voice floated across the room, “Isn’t it about time you two got on with your
business?” He seemed calm, but there was no mistaking the underlying threat. Blachloke merely
shrugged, grabbed Lejad by the shoulder and lead him out.

The Steel Vipers have an odd training regime. Well, not so much odd as extremely grueling. At
the end of the Spartan training regime, every Clan has a Trial of Position for their warriors.
Usually these occur between differing sibkos, ensuring the next generation of warriors is the
best. It is customary for the Steel Vipers to take this one step further, the members of each
sibko must fight each other. This is the way of Clan Steel Viper, what every Viper warrior trains
for, and what Sasha was waiting for.
“This is it. You have learned everything I know, and now it is time for you to put it to the test,
and become the very warriors you were meant to be.” Tiveli’s tone did not sound encouraging,
it was not meant to be. “Now, when you succeed in your task, and become a Mechwarrior, I
will welcome you into the caste as fellow warriors, and friends.” He sounded sad, and a little
disappointed, at this point. “Now, mount up.”
Sasha was nervous, extremely so. Though she shook as she climbed aboard the Stormcrow,
once she had donned her neurohelmet and coolant vest, her training and instincts took over and
her shaking stopped. All systems green, ready to take the field. The com chattered, “Trainee
Sasha, your designation is Gamma Prime for this Trail. Your opponents are piloting similar
Omnimechs to yours.” This was custom, it was also custom that she did not know which
members of her sibko she was up against. “Report status Gamma Prime.”
“Status is go. All systems green. Gamma Prime ready for op.” Sasha rattled off into her helmet.
“Copy that Gamma Prime. Stand by.” Sasha bit her lower lip, like her weapon systems she was
ready to attack. “Gamma Prime you have permission to move into the combat zone. From
there you know what to do. Eliminate your opponents.”
“Aff.” Sasha barked the word into her neurohelmet as she charged her Omnimech onto the
field. A quick survey of her instruments told her all she needed to know. She had two enemies
on radar, and even though they all had come out fairly equidistant from each other, she knew the
other two had a visual on each other all ready. Rolling hills prevented her from seeing her
opponents, and they could not see her. But, they could see each other. That meant that they
would most likely engage each other and leave her alone for a bit, a lucky stroke. A Steel Viper
strikes fast and hard, but not foolishly so, she would take a slow march to the fight, and make it
easier to get her first victory. Some of the young warriors might chide her for that, but none of
the veterans. They knew even if she ran she would just have to wait for an opponent to open up
at any rate.
Coasting over the range Sasha could see what was transpiring. Judging by the way the mechs,
another Stormcrow and a Mad Dog, were moving and their styles Sasha thought that Claudia
was in the Mad Dog and the Stormcrow was being piloted by Loren, one extremely odd
warrior. It was amazing to think that even though she had grown up with Loren, Sasha hardly
had any type of relationship with him. And now she might have to kill the man. Oh well, it is
better that way.
Well, perhaps she wouldn’t have to fight him after all. The Mad Dog fired a volley of LRMs
basically pulverizing its already battered opponent, the Stormcrow’s blip went out on her radar.
Loren would be relegated to some other caste, poor bastard.
“Mad Dog, this is the Stormcrow Gamma Prime.” Tradition states that trainees are not allowed
to know their opponents names so challenges would have to be kept mech to mech in this
particular Trial. “You are now my target. Fight me!” Sasha unleashed a torrent of fire on her
enemy, her autocannon unloading shells as her lasers bore holes into her opponent's armor. The
heat inside the cockpit instantly jumped and sweat poured off her face. She was already on the
move, circling around her opponent. That didn’t really help as the Mad Dog poured its lasers
into Sasha. Armor dropped off her mechs legs and left torso. Sasha hardly noticed, she just
aimed and fired another volley of autocannon into the Mad Dog, which hadn’t moved far at all.
Hip damage; Sasha just kept circling. She brought her lasers to bear just as the Mad Dog fired
its missiles at her. Some missed, most hit. The heat rose further. Sasha re-aimed her lasers and
blasted away, her large pulser doing major damage to the Mad Dog, while her smaller medium
pulse lasers just cleared armor.
By now the heat in the cockpit was climbing rapidly to an unbearable state, the Stormcrow’s
heatsinks working overtime to dissipate the heat. Sweat stinging her eyes, Sasha dropped her
autocannon down on the Mad Dog. Her mech lurched as the Mad Dog’s lasers dropped armor
off her left side, the jerking motion adjusted her aim for her as she fired the autocannon. The
solid stream of bullets from the autocannon bore into her opposition’s right leg, doing even more