Battletech: Planet's Fall

Early in the morning Richard stood outside with a hot cup of coffee near a small fireplace. He was wearing his uniform and an iconic red scarf.
It was a beautiful morning, the sun was creeping over the horizon and the snow was glistening in it.

None of this masked the typical signs that Richard was nervous. The cigartee in his hand and the look into the distance were key signs of that.

"How many cigs do you think you have wasted by lighting and then never smoking because you get lost in thought?" Mei said stepping up beside him.

"What's got you worried this time boss?"

He turned his head to Mei and smiled "Good morning Mei." he said and threw the remains of the cigarette into the fire. "Since when do you use 'boss'?" he said and chuckled.
He let a moment pass before sighing once. "Kelenfold is still in my bones. I can't really shake this feeling that everything is going to go wrong."

She put a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah...I figured as much, it's been on my mind a lot too. But we have to go on right; for them? I think they call it survivors guilt but if we can't focus our new friends are going to end like our old friends."

"I,... know" he said and put a hand on the hand on his shoulder.

He would stay like that for a moment before taking a deep breath, removing his hand and turning to Mei. "How are you?" he asked to distract himself.

She removed her hand and looked out into the trees.

"I don't know." She said flatly. "Privately I have never been happier. Publicly...I heard my name on a lot of people lips this morning and for a lot of different reasons. That's what brought me out here, I had to get away from the gossip. And privately I am as nervous as you are. If I'm being honest I'm not sure my lance is ready for this yet, were all so angry that I think bloodlust might destroy us. I almost feel like we need to get a patrols done first before we engage anyone, I think getting back into the routine of it will help refocus us."

She paused for a moment.

"I probably shouldn't have admitted that to my C/O."

"First of all, I'm only in command until Captain Aliyu recovers. Second, we've both known each other for years. If we can't talk to each other and support each other, I don't know who else to talk to, so I don't care about rank at all. And you know your lance best. If you still need some time to get used to it, that's perfectly okay. The comms site will be conquered today, I'm sure of it, at the latest when Crusader Command arrives." he said confidently, then it changed to more of a warm tone again.

"People talk all the time, but if any of the rumors are true, I hope you're happy with him."

"The rumors don't bother me as much as the speed with which they developed. I thought I might get away with it for a few days. But yeah, I'm really happy he's a great guy. I know he looks like glum stoney guy but he is really caring." She demurred slightly. "The word 'couple' and talk of me keeping things in his room may have happened which I know is quick but you also know I move fast. So it's serious but also not exclusive which takes some pressure off.

How about you, you got anything going on; anyone special?"

"It's a surprisingly small ship, so if someone leaves a fart at one end of the ship someone at the other end knows it before it gets there. And as long as you get along, it can't really matter," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Uhh, well... I thought I had a good flirt the other day, but apparently I blew it. Started out good, but suddenly she got up and left." he said, taking a sip of coffee. "Uh I'm talking about Gianna Rains, if you know her."

Her eyes went wide and then she lowered her head and shook it slowly, a sly smile on her face.

"Oh yeah, I know Gi, we are good friends. She's uhhh, she's been having a tough time. I've been trying to bark up that tree since the night of the New Years party without any success so I wish you luck. She's fun and nice and smoking hot but she feels a lot of guilt for stuff. I will try to put in a good word for you when I can. What drew your interest?"

"Oh? Really!" he laughed. "Looks like we have the same taste, huh?" he shook his head "She seemed a bit like kindred spirit, if you know what I mean" he smiled a bit before hastily adding "Uhhh,.... she's hot and stuff too of course"

"Yeah she's a nerd, you two should have no problems hitting it off she's just going through some stuff same as us. You should let her borrow some of your comics."

She reached up and inspected the scarf.

"I just gave her a sweater I made, hopefully she wears it. So many people thank me then never wear it but not you, you really seem to like this thing and it makes me want to make you more stuff."

"It's good if she knows she has a good friend in you and maybe she'll open up to you" he said "And maybe I can try again later."

"I like it, and I would be happy to have more clothes, I don't have much besides uniforms and functional clothes, I prefer to trust people with fashion taste like you."

"If I had ever invited you to go clothes shopping with me would you really have wanted to? I mean I would have had a fun time playing dress up with you but do you really want to sit on a stool while I try on new dresses? I mean there will be a shopping trip in the future with me, Gi and probably Cat, maybe we should drag you along for a male perspective of all the sexy things I'm gonna force Gi to buy." She said with a devilish grin.

"If we get a chance to take some vacation here, I'd like to get those with a friend.... Besides, you've been listening to my comic stories so far," he said, murmuring, "even the ones I've written myself..." he coughs.

"So a shopping trip like this can be half bad, right?"

"You're buying right LT?" he chuckled. "Kidding kidding. I hope we get some free time and warmer weather, Gi and I were hoping for a beach day before we leave this place. Someone picked the wrong season for this attack."

"Swimming would be wonderful! Although I don't think the water would reach acceptable temperatures on this icicle." he drank a sip. "and even if it did, I'd need a bathing suit first."

"Well we can get you one of those easy enough. It isn't as much about the water as an excuse to lay on a beach and check out all the hard bodies in little clothing. Socially acceptable ogling."

He laughed "We definitely have different priorities when it comes to the beach".

"Oceans are nice to look at and maybe dip your feet in but there are always big deadly things in oceans. Why would I wanna go into hostile and difficult terrain with no arms or armor? Plus the salt is terrible on the skin, I will stick with pools and fresh water thank you."