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gurrenbrigbondedOnce, during their foundling days, before they were thrown into basic training, Dex, Lola, and Matthew found a ruin some distance away from their sibko...a silo of metal and concrete, thrown up in the time of the Exodus and Settlement, and eroded to the extent that it must have been destroyed during the Exodus Civil War.
And in the back corner, covered with a light dusting of rubble, they found the broken chassis of a mech.
"It's a Marauder!" Lola cried out, stepping forward and laying a hand on it's side, noting the top-mounted cannon. "A MAD-2R, with mounted ER PPCs and double heat sinks! This must have...this must have come from the SLDF muster itself, during the Exodus! They must have scrapped it bit by bit for the myomer–!"
"Well..." Dex drawled, kicking a piece of metal across the pitted floor. "At least we know that if you test out, you will be in a state of bliss in the tech caste, quiaff?"
Lola scowled and kicked him in the knee. Dex obligingly fell onto his rear, still chuckling.
"I offer surkai, Lola...neg, neg, I do not regret it at all...oh, your face!"
"Be quiet!" Lola said. "You are standing in the presence of history! The history of us all! This mech deserved better than this mockery, and deserved better than to be striped down bit by bit..."
"Neg." Matthew said quietly, soft voice carrying itself through the silo.
Lola and Dex turned to face him.
"This Marauder did not fall to the hands of greedy techs." He continued, his voice becoming slowly more melodious. "Neg, it did not. For I have heard a story from an old creche keeper with a single eye, about how a long time ago in this place, during the Civil War, this Marauder fell in combat!"
"You hear a lot of stories from this 'one eyed creche keeper'." Dex teased, but fell silent after a poke in the ribs from Lola.
Matthew stepped forward. "It was piloted by a Bandit, one of the many crude wretches who sought to destroy the Great Father's vision, who scorned the Hidden Hope Doctrine and sought to claim power for himself and destroy all the civilians! It was appropriate that he and his fellow rogue Officers piloted Marauders, for they roved all across the land like giants, smashing everything in their way!"
He hopped onto a gutted weapon pod, and raises up a fist.
"But there was one person who stood in their way! A single Ronin, who was tutored in the ways of the Clans by Nicholas Kerensky himself through a hidden HPG unit, and told to prepare the Pentagon Worlds for the coming of the loyal 800! All over the planet, this Ronin was known for his incredible piloting skills on both the land and the air, and for this reason he was known as Max the Genius!
Long he pondered how to take down the Marauder Bandits, for as skilled as he was, they still outnumbered him greatly. And so Max the Genius's genius mind came up with a plan!
Enlisting the help of a group of villagers, he persuaded them to help him set up some loudspeakers in the middle of their village, speakers that could carry any sound far and wide. Then he started playing music, the music of the Star League!
When the Marauder bandit came to loot the village, they heard the music and were shocked! For they were completely without any culture, living only to fight or destroy, and so were amazed and mesmerized by the beautiful, music! And then, Max the Genius swooped down from on high, ambushing them in his custom Land-Air-Mech–!"
"Waitwaitwait..." Lola said, frowning. "A Land-Air-Mech? What kind of genius would use that?"
"And why would a group of highly trained soldiers be hypnotized by music? It does not make sense!" Dex added.
Matthew groaned. "You're interrupting! I was getting to the good part–"
"You uttered a contraction!" Lola blurted out.
Matthew's groans redoubled. "Stravag!"
%%%
Eight years and a long winnowing process later, three cadets leaned on a catwalk the day before their Trials of Position.
"What do you say, Matthew?" Dex repeated, tanned and filled out, stretched out against the railing like a stretching cat. "Together, we can guarantee each other a place in the warrior caste."
"One kill for each of us." Lola repeated. "Then we see how many of our fellow trainees we can down. And we avoid hitting each other's cockpits." She, in contrast to her pint-house days, had shot up above them all, to the point that she was almost too tall to sit in a mech cockpit.
Matthew rested both arms and the railing and looked out at the rows of mechs being prepped by techs. His knuckles were skinned, and a scar traced itself across the side of his neck.
He was silent for a moment. "We are supposed to succeed or fail based on our own merits. In that way we prove our worth to our Clan."
Dex groaned. "Aff, aff, aff! But we are also supposed to not be stubborn, stuck up sticks in the mud, quiaff?"
Lola held up a hand. "Quiet." She rested a hand on Matthew's shoulder. "We are not supposed to fight alone, Matthew. Not on the battlefield. These trials are supposed to mimic the battlefield, quiaff? Further, knowing when it is prudent to work together with others is just as demonstrative of one's personal merit as anything else..."
Here voice trailed off. "Please." She said finally, mouth twisting at the foul taste of the word. "Please trust us, Matthew. Trust in our Genius plan, you stravag pox-ridden surat."
A brief smile touched Matthew's lips for a moment. He turned to face his two remaining Sibkin. "We each get one kill for ourselves?"
"Aff." Dex said.
"And then we aim for the legs?"
Lola nodded.
Matthew exhaled, then nodded himself. "Well bargained and done, then. We aim for each other's legs."
%%%
Matthew, in the end, has what can be called two nemeses. Wayne Waco, leader of Waco's Rangers, who killed his trothkin Dex in a rear-guard action during the early weeks of the Great Refusal–and his old trothkin Lola, now a Star Commander, and part of Peregrine Galaxy during it's assault on Terra. One the object of his revenge, and the other a friend now placed on the opposite side by cruel fate.
Waco's Rangers, hired by the Word of Blake to act as a 'dirty tricks' force and as agent provocateurs, comes into conflict with the White Chalice several times, particularly during assaults upon secret WoB bases...and thus Matthew and Waco himself come into conflict. Wayne Waco's grudge against Clan Wolf stems his son's death at the hands of Wolf's Dragoons. Matthew's grudge comes from Waco's Rangers killing his sibkin Dex in combat. Eventually, I see them both realizing that they have a bunch in common, to their mutual displeasure. In their climactic confrontation, Matthew will have to let go of his hate and forgive Waco in order to defeat him, paradoxically enough.
When Lola and Matthew meet on the field of battle during Jade Falcon's all out invasion, things will be more complicated. In there battles, it is less the case of two rivals clashing, and more two estranged friends reconnecting, and coming to understand how each has changed and grown over time
Matthew, in his many battles to protect Terra, has mellowed on Crusader dogma, and follows the koan of Kamina.
Lola has risen in rank, potentially gotten a bloodname, and picked up some of the 'Joanna' grit, making her a bit more verbally derogatory towards 'Spheroids', but also more cunning and devious.
Still, she's as much of a tech Otaku as she ever was: she pours over report sheets on new Omnimech models, Clan and Inner Sphere alike, and will be beguiled by the more interesting varieties of Earth Sphere mecha technologies, trying to think about how they can be incorporated into Clan Tech ("This Psycommu technology...what if it could accept sensory input from Enhanced Imaging Tattoos?")
Matthew will try to talk to her about the experiences he's had, and the new convictions he's gained: Lola will suspect Matthew of having been brainwashed by the 'Spheroids': Matthew will actually consider this possibility for a bit: after all, these things have been known to happen.
However their battle ends, they will renew their friendship. They may wind up joining forces to fight a common enemy again. Perhaps Jade Falcon will be driven back, and Lola will send a final farewell to Matthew before heading off. Perhaps Matthew captures Lola as his Bondsman.
The ultimate outcome will develop naturally, I think.
And in the back corner, covered with a light dusting of rubble, they found the broken chassis of a mech.
"It's a Marauder!" Lola cried out, stepping forward and laying a hand on it's side, noting the top-mounted cannon. "A MAD-2R, with mounted ER PPCs and double heat sinks! This must have...this must have come from the SLDF muster itself, during the Exodus! They must have scrapped it bit by bit for the myomer–!"
"Well..." Dex drawled, kicking a piece of metal across the pitted floor. "At least we know that if you test out, you will be in a state of bliss in the tech caste, quiaff?"
Lola scowled and kicked him in the knee. Dex obligingly fell onto his rear, still chuckling.
"I offer surkai, Lola...neg, neg, I do not regret it at all...oh, your face!"
"Be quiet!" Lola said. "You are standing in the presence of history! The history of us all! This mech deserved better than this mockery, and deserved better than to be striped down bit by bit..."
"Neg." Matthew said quietly, soft voice carrying itself through the silo.
Lola and Dex turned to face him.
"This Marauder did not fall to the hands of greedy techs." He continued, his voice becoming slowly more melodious. "Neg, it did not. For I have heard a story from an old creche keeper with a single eye, about how a long time ago in this place, during the Civil War, this Marauder fell in combat!"
"You hear a lot of stories from this 'one eyed creche keeper'." Dex teased, but fell silent after a poke in the ribs from Lola.
Matthew stepped forward. "It was piloted by a Bandit, one of the many crude wretches who sought to destroy the Great Father's vision, who scorned the Hidden Hope Doctrine and sought to claim power for himself and destroy all the civilians! It was appropriate that he and his fellow rogue Officers piloted Marauders, for they roved all across the land like giants, smashing everything in their way!"
He hopped onto a gutted weapon pod, and raises up a fist.
"But there was one person who stood in their way! A single Ronin, who was tutored in the ways of the Clans by Nicholas Kerensky himself through a hidden HPG unit, and told to prepare the Pentagon Worlds for the coming of the loyal 800! All over the planet, this Ronin was known for his incredible piloting skills on both the land and the air, and for this reason he was known as Max the Genius!
Long he pondered how to take down the Marauder Bandits, for as skilled as he was, they still outnumbered him greatly. And so Max the Genius's genius mind came up with a plan!
Enlisting the help of a group of villagers, he persuaded them to help him set up some loudspeakers in the middle of their village, speakers that could carry any sound far and wide. Then he started playing music, the music of the Star League!
When the Marauder bandit came to loot the village, they heard the music and were shocked! For they were completely without any culture, living only to fight or destroy, and so were amazed and mesmerized by the beautiful, music! And then, Max the Genius swooped down from on high, ambushing them in his custom Land-Air-Mech–!"
"Waitwaitwait..." Lola said, frowning. "A Land-Air-Mech? What kind of genius would use that?"
"And why would a group of highly trained soldiers be hypnotized by music? It does not make sense!" Dex added.
Matthew groaned. "You're interrupting! I was getting to the good part–"
"You uttered a contraction!" Lola blurted out.
Matthew's groans redoubled. "Stravag!"
%%%
Eight years and a long winnowing process later, three cadets leaned on a catwalk the day before their Trials of Position.
"What do you say, Matthew?" Dex repeated, tanned and filled out, stretched out against the railing like a stretching cat. "Together, we can guarantee each other a place in the warrior caste."
"One kill for each of us." Lola repeated. "Then we see how many of our fellow trainees we can down. And we avoid hitting each other's cockpits." She, in contrast to her pint-house days, had shot up above them all, to the point that she was almost too tall to sit in a mech cockpit.
Matthew rested both arms and the railing and looked out at the rows of mechs being prepped by techs. His knuckles were skinned, and a scar traced itself across the side of his neck.
He was silent for a moment. "We are supposed to succeed or fail based on our own merits. In that way we prove our worth to our Clan."
Dex groaned. "Aff, aff, aff! But we are also supposed to not be stubborn, stuck up sticks in the mud, quiaff?"
Lola held up a hand. "Quiet." She rested a hand on Matthew's shoulder. "We are not supposed to fight alone, Matthew. Not on the battlefield. These trials are supposed to mimic the battlefield, quiaff? Further, knowing when it is prudent to work together with others is just as demonstrative of one's personal merit as anything else..."
Here voice trailed off. "Please." She said finally, mouth twisting at the foul taste of the word. "Please trust us, Matthew. Trust in our Genius plan, you stravag pox-ridden surat."
A brief smile touched Matthew's lips for a moment. He turned to face his two remaining Sibkin. "We each get one kill for ourselves?"
"Aff." Dex said.
"And then we aim for the legs?"
Lola nodded.
Matthew exhaled, then nodded himself. "Well bargained and done, then. We aim for each other's legs."
%%%
Matthew, in the end, has what can be called two nemeses. Wayne Waco, leader of Waco's Rangers, who killed his trothkin Dex in a rear-guard action during the early weeks of the Great Refusal–and his old trothkin Lola, now a Star Commander, and part of Peregrine Galaxy during it's assault on Terra. One the object of his revenge, and the other a friend now placed on the opposite side by cruel fate.
Waco's Rangers, hired by the Word of Blake to act as a 'dirty tricks' force and as agent provocateurs, comes into conflict with the White Chalice several times, particularly during assaults upon secret WoB bases...and thus Matthew and Waco himself come into conflict. Wayne Waco's grudge against Clan Wolf stems his son's death at the hands of Wolf's Dragoons. Matthew's grudge comes from Waco's Rangers killing his sibkin Dex in combat. Eventually, I see them both realizing that they have a bunch in common, to their mutual displeasure. In their climactic confrontation, Matthew will have to let go of his hate and forgive Waco in order to defeat him, paradoxically enough.
When Lola and Matthew meet on the field of battle during Jade Falcon's all out invasion, things will be more complicated. In there battles, it is less the case of two rivals clashing, and more two estranged friends reconnecting, and coming to understand how each has changed and grown over time
Matthew, in his many battles to protect Terra, has mellowed on Crusader dogma, and follows the koan of Kamina.
Lola has risen in rank, potentially gotten a bloodname, and picked up some of the 'Joanna' grit, making her a bit more verbally derogatory towards 'Spheroids', but also more cunning and devious.
Still, she's as much of a tech Otaku as she ever was: she pours over report sheets on new Omnimech models, Clan and Inner Sphere alike, and will be beguiled by the more interesting varieties of Earth Sphere mecha technologies, trying to think about how they can be incorporated into Clan Tech ("This Psycommu technology...what if it could accept sensory input from Enhanced Imaging Tattoos?")
Matthew will try to talk to her about the experiences he's had, and the new convictions he's gained: Lola will suspect Matthew of having been brainwashed by the 'Spheroids': Matthew will actually consider this possibility for a bit: after all, these things have been known to happen.
However their battle ends, they will renew their friendship. They may wind up joining forces to fight a common enemy again. Perhaps Jade Falcon will be driven back, and Lola will send a final farewell to Matthew before heading off. Perhaps Matthew captures Lola as his Bondsman.
The ultimate outcome will develop naturally, I think.
