[dcs_p]Devon smiled. He rolled from his side back onto his back. Looking up to the low
ceiling above them, he finally spoke.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”Why did he not tell me? Why is it this man thought he could get away with such
cowardice?”[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]It was now Dana’s turn to roll. She almost always faced him directly when they
were talking of serious topics. She blinked once, and when her eyes opened
they were aimed his way.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Devon’s eyes met hers just as she began. “He is not like you, you must know
that.” She paused, “And despite your own honor you mustn’t hold his own values
against him. His life was largely spent in the pursuit of revenge after all.”[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Her use of a contraction was only barely noticeable. Devon had been with the
Inner Sphere peoples for too long. His mind wiped his initial negative gut reaction
away. Clan upbringing had instilled such strict limitations on grammar since he
was a child, but he knew there was nothing truly bad with such a simple
shortening of a word.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”I know I cannot hold it against him personally, but I must hold it against him from
my half of this team. With Sasha’s membership in the Watch, only days remain
before the whole Clan knows of our employer’s behavior.” Devon cursed under
his breath, something he rarely showed in public for fear of some loss of face.
Only Dana and Duo Maxwell were privy to such outbursts, though one could
hardly call them outbursts at all.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]He closed his eyes in defeat. “If I’ve not fought Strider over this issue by the time
my own superiors hear of his actions, I face harsh punishment myself.” He
opened his eyes in a flash, realizing his own accidental use of a contraction. He
shook his head in the nonsense of it all.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”Sasha is a force to be reckoned with for sure, but you know she has her
boundaries so long as you are commanding. Her own strict rules will keep her
away from Strider until you do what you have to tonight.” Dana said. She sighed
and continued. “I only hope the little fireball will keep her cool after tonight’s
match.”[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Devon thought briefly of Sasha Breen’s devotion to the Watch, the Clan culture’s
only true espionage agency. Her routine transmissions to the organization were
completely permitted by the Inner Sphere commander as well as by Devon, her
immediate superior within the mercenary unit. Only out of respect or fear of
Devon had the aggressive Steel Viper pilot yet to share knowledge of Mike
Strider’s actions.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]His eyes glanced back to Dana, “What Sasha Breen does, Sasha Breen does.
There could be no stopping her even if we wished to do so. Her Viper warriors
have supported her again and again. I have no doubt one of them would
complete her work if she were not able.”[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Dana reached over to touch his arm, pushing ever so slightly into the soft muscle
of his forearm with her delicate fingers. She wasn’t quite sure how to ask the
question, but found herself asking it anyways. She was an Inner Sphere member
of the team, not a Clanner after all.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”Do you fear him?” she asked.[/dcs_p]