Strikers HeadQuarters, Miranda
Labrea System
Irece Prefecture
Second Quarter, 3066
"Hey lady, not so fast." Marc Lucas called out to the woman in the faded shirt and mudded
overcoat. Marc was looking rather tired and unaware until he suddenly grabbed the woman's
shoulder as she passed by him. "Nobody is in that big of a hurry to see Strider." he said,
shaking his head as he pinned her against the wall. "What's this about."
Tana Rishar was having a terrible day. Her mind was almost non-existent after what had
happened this last week. Just days after uncovering a great lostech ship amongst the asteroids in
the Novel sector off the uninhabited planet of Delst, she was now being forced to explain her
situation to this, this mercenary idiot! He had no right to do what he was now doing, pulling her
from the office door and demanding reasons for her behavior. If he didn't appear to have some
grain of intellgence about his blonde balding head, she would have already cracked him across
the face with her plasteel elbow-pad. Now she would have to tell him something. But what?
He wouldn't possibly take her statements seriously. How could she explain that she had been
forced to abandon her brother Dwaine back in Delst? This buffon wouldn't know she had been
seperated from Dwaine after alarming a pirate patrol. Jetting across space as fast as she could in
her lightly armed Sparrowhawk to her brother's location was the only real thing she could do to
save him. She had watched his Corsair go down, spiraling through Delst's atmosphere but
appearing to right itself as it disappeared in a brief gaseous fireball. Was Dwaine on-planet, or
had his already injured ship been destroyed in its descent? Tana was forced to face the worst,
knowing that Delst held little for her brother if he'd been lucky enough to land safely. His Corsair
was his only hope if he had survived, because Delst's thin atmosphere and fiery surface would
not provide him supplies or even the necessary oxygen outside his cockpit to escape. She could
only pray...and bring help! And now the idiot before her was keeping her from bringing that help.
"Get out of my way merc brat." Tana's words came from under her breath, quietly but sternly
giving Marc some indication that she meant business. Raising an eyebrow, the Mechwarrior
lifted his hand from her shoulder,
"Go," he said, nodding in the direction of the office door behind her.
That went better than I ever expected. She measured Marc's strength with a deep stare into
his eyes, then realized he wasn't playing her staring game. His eyes betrayed a feeling of
attraction to Tana, but his emotion was lost when his eyes broke hers and looked up
questioningly. His face screamed suspicion, and he was probably wondering if whoever was
behind Tana had seen Marc admiring her. Tana decided to face the unknown behind her.
Turning swiftly on her left heel, she nearly stumbled into Strider.
"Excuse me, sorry. Are you Strider? Is there a Strider? Where's the commander?" Tana
questioned.
"I am Mike Strider, yes." Mike stated. He immediately looked up curiously to Marc. "Is there
a problem?" Tana glanced at the ground, pausing nervously as if she had arrived so quickly she
had forgotten the news she carried. She bit her lip and looked up to Mike again. She needed to
ask for this help, not demand it. "I bring you good news, Mike Strider. I bring you wonderful
news, though I myself am at a loss. My brother is in a mess. He may be dead. I believe his
Corsair crashed down on an uninhabitable planet in system. I need your help, I wish to employ
you but only hold information as payment." Tana realized she was speaking quickly and tried to
calm herself. "I am just hoping I didn't travel all this way for nothing" she thought. She decided
to add, "If you won't help me I will take my information elsewhere. I assure you it is extremely
valuable. I just don't have time to make all sorts of negotiations with you. You must agree to
help rescue my brother if he is alive."
"What planet is this?", Strider said, his head shaking back and forth a bit as if he lacked some
muscular control. "I've probably got a lance than can take care of your problem. We even have
aerospace escort if needed. As far as helping your brother, we will do what we can, if we can.",
he said calmly.
"Delst is the planet. I'm not sure if you know it. It is unbelievably hot and I fear my brother may
be dead or die soon if we don't hurry.", she announced. "Your Mechs are not of importance but
I believe your aerospace is necessary. You would be wise to bring two aerospace lances
along." Tana said.
"We know of the planet, and what aerospace we have is yours. Our Union dropship "Eve's
Kiss" will take you there. Xylun will take care of you and your brother, assuming he is to be
found." Strider scratched his head, looking to his left arm. "What happened to your brother?"
"He was shot down by pirates. They were performing territorial patrols. A Sholagar and a
Visigoth were chasing him when I last saw him..." Tana's words ran out.
"What's a Visigoth doing near Delst? Did they identify themselves?" Strider probed.
"Yes. They identified themselves. They identified themselves as the Thunderdome Minons,
keepers of the Star League lostech Warship called 'The Crusher'. That is my information. I
hope you will help my brother." Tana kept her voice as even as she could, attempting to sound
confident. "As for the Visigoth... I have no idea."
