Battletech: Planet's Fall

(Open to 2 PCs)

Sitting down with her glass, Monique stared at its content for a long time. She raised it for a sip. It had been a few months since she'd last had something alcoholic to drink. New years.

She sighs as she sets it down. Everyone had been in a rush all day. The funeral service would be in a few more days. How many had she been to now?

"You never did take me out..."

Picking up the glass and swirling the brownish contents, the big woman mulled over the future of the Angels and Command lance. They'd need a replacement. There were two trainees that Steffen was working with. Probably one of them would take the spot, or someone would be moved into the lance and the rookie would go to that other lance instead. It would be someone new to get to know and fight alongside once more. Then see them either die, retire or perhaps end up leading a lance elsewhere in the organisation.

"I should have just gone the officer route." She mutters to herself.

Alek had made his way to the lounge to wind down after a day or salvage and workouts and team exercises with the Lance.

He looked to see Monique looking for all the world that some answers might be at the bottom of that glass. He'd gotten to know her over more than a decade of service together, considered her a friend. He could feel out her mood more often than not.

He reined in his usual exuberant excitement for a quieter smile as he sat near her after grabbing a beer "cbill for your thoughts Mo?" Came his deep and lightly accented voice.

She looked up and greeted him with a nod. "Ack. Just moping about Muraguri. He owed me dinner." She swished her glass around once more before taking a bigger gulp.

"We'll have to put one of the trainees into a mech ahead of time probably. That or someone's lance will be under strength. It'll be some time until they're as... as reliable as he was." She sets the cup down gently. "Aye... funeral's next week. For the others too."

Alek took a drink of his beer while she talked but otherwise she had his full attention. His expression somber and a slight frown set in his lips possibly looking a little out of place on the face that it so oft smiling.

He set the bottle down and looked to her " We lost a fine Mechwarrior but a better man. I'm sure he was a big part of your Lance. You'll have any help you need from me and mine in the mean time."

He paused for a moment "Is that it though? You sound like Monique the Sergeant major for the most part, talkin about inconveniences and replacements. We've known eachother a long time, you can be open with me Mo IF there is anything you want to talk about." He offered as he picked his beer back up and took another drink.

"Maybe... it's a bit hard to drop character Alek." She points out. Taking a sip, she thinks it over. Finally, she says. "I thought he was into me a bit. He wasn't very ambitious. Never did much more than he was asked, but he'd put in more effort around me. And, you know, not because of what I am. I've seen that look and that behaviour countless times. I can recognise it. It was, well, I thought it was something more than that."

She chuckled dryly as she stared at her cup.

"I'm being an eejit."

Alek shook his head and chuckled a little "Aye maybe a bit but not for the reason you think."

He would reach out, gently, to place a hand on top of hers, easily avoided if the contact was unwelcome "you're an eejit because its so hard for you to believe someone might be into you." He says with a gentle tone

"You have this rough, hard, outer shell. you bury your self in work and you keep your walls up all the time." His voice was only slight chiding mostly light with a bit of warmth in it

If his hand had hers he would give it a little squeeze "But over the years I've gotten to know you, I've seen past that to see how you truly care about people. You're hard on them yes but you're hard on them because you expect more from them, because you believe they can achieve more. You saw it in me, in those fighting pits on Solaris and I won't lie I thought you hated me for how hard you were on me when I joined up but I realized it's because you knew I could do more be more than I had been."

He waved his other hand "I talk too much. But point is you're a really wonderful person once you let someone see that part of you." He paused and grinned a little "plus, well, you're hot as hell Mo. I'm sure he was into you and I know others are and will be."

When had the giant Aleksandr Korolov turned into a counsellor? Monique pondered this as he sought to boost her spirits. She didn't move her hand away, but it trembled for a moment. She had considered pulling it away, but it was too much energy. She was feeling spent.

The Sergeant Major listened silently until Alek was finished. The smile that followed was brittle. "I'm a hard ass because that's what some people need to be motivated. Or united. I'm glad it worked on you and that we can now talk about it, but not everyone is a senior NCO. I can't drop the act in front of the lower ranks, and I can't be myself in front of officers. It's... a challenge."

She withdrew her hand. "Thanks for your words Alek." She says, looking up at him. "And, err, for saying that. Most of the men think I'm some giantess troll towering over them. I guess that never applied to you, aye?" Monique sighed a bit. "I'm not about the rest of it. I'm pretty boring. And I know you and your type, so we can drop the flattery. Still, thanks. It's nice someone gets me a bit."

Alek leaned back with a grin, beer in hand "you know my type eh? Seems like you've put me in a box Sergent Major. Maybe there's more to me than you think?" He said raising an eyebrow before taking a pull from the bottle.

"Besides I'm not usually a flatterer anyway, I'm usually pretty straight forward. Usually if anything I'm TOO honest." He said with a laugh.

"Ahh but I'm not here to try and fix your problems or be your therapist, but I am your friend. You can always talk to me about stuff. We don't always see eye to eye but you can be yourself around me eh?" He offered

"I've seen you flirting with petite, feminine women. Sergeant Zhou, Corporal Ch'oe, that bridge crew woman with the pigtails..." She counts out a few more, going years back, on her fingers. She certainly had a good memory. Monique stared at him with a 'ah ha, see, I do know your type' look.

Smiling slightly, a bit self-satisfied, she leaned back in her seat. Sliding her arms behind her head she tried to force herself to relax.

"I'll try. I think what I really need is a holiday. Perhaps once this world is conquered we can have an extended stay here for a few weeks. I can't see Eric agreeing to deploying us immediately somewhere else. Well, not unless it's a serious pay day."

A glance as she put her arms behind her head that lingered longer than necesarry Alek laughed a little as she listed things off and looked so proud of herself "If you think I'm the type of man to be so basic as to have a 'type' " he said making air quotes around the word "then you don't know me so well as you think you do."

He said while leaning back in his chair. He regarded her a moment with a playful grin on his face "besides you seem to be paying an awful lot of attention to who I'm Flirting with eh?" He said with a raised eyebrow "and for all the attention you paid you somehow missed how I look at you in the gym." He said with continued playfulness as he took another drink. He hadn't leered or ogled her but he had given her more than one appreciative look over the years.

He chuckled a little "a vacation here would be nice though. Nice enough planet for it."

She didn't seem to notice the glance. She was too busy considering a holiday. "Actions speak louder than words Alek."

There's a shrug as he suggested she was paying too much attention to him. "A lot of men look, but that's all they do. I don't pay attention to none of that. I do pay attention to interpersonal connections to an extent. It impacts how people perform. How they behave. We're both in Command Company. Can't have anyone enticing the Master Sergeant for an advantage." She answers honestly.

He smiled in an amused manner suppressing another chuckle at her words "Well I appreciate you looking out for me then." He said taking a drink from his beer.

He thought for a moment "Well in that case have you checked out the little mining town? Torutovy I think its called." He asked leaning forward on his knees as he regarded her.

She shook her head. "I've only left the dropsite for sorties." Her gaze fell on him. "Why? You been there?"

Alek shook his head with a little smile "Nah been too busy studying up on tactics and training maneuvers." He paused a little "maybe we could check it out together?" He asked raising an eyebrow. "Not quite a vacation but could be nice to get away from all this for a little bit."

This has her nodding ever so slightly. It was a nice idea. She was interested.

"That'd be braw... I'd like that. Damn. I'm busy tomorrow, as a heads up. When were you thinking?"

That had Alek smiling "yeah maybe in a couple days? Day after we hit the camp maybe? Might be a nice way to relax a bit after a strike." He said taking another drink.

"If it goes well, aye."

She shifts forward to lift her glass for a bit more whiskey.

"So, what's new with you?"

Alek shrugged leaning forward on elbows "eh you know staying busy, doing recon, studying, running drills, finding time to work out." he made an amused huff "doing more paperwork then I ever thought I would but hey it comes with the territory." he said smiling as he refilled the drink for her and poured one for himself.

"What about you Mo? I assume Eric is keeping you pretty busy." he asked as he took a sip of the stronger, amber colored liquid

"There's even more for most of the officers. We should both be thankful. Fecking paperwork."

She lifts her glass to him in appreciation for the top up. She waits for him to sit down before taking another sip.

"Aye. Mostly helping to keep the infantry and vehicle crews in line. Our mechwarriors have been pretty good of late."

Alek nodded taking another sip "Aye we've got a pretty good crew right now. Definitely seen some improvement over a few of those arseholes we picked up five years ago. A few of them were right pricks, glad they didn't last long." He said with a chuckle remembering a rowdy and unprofessional lot that thought raider and mercenary were interchangeable terms.

He leaned one elbow on the table and placed his chin in a large hand looking at her "How are you feeling so far about this deployment so far? Thinking it'll be a big pay day?"