Thirteen - New Recruit

	"Okay Death," I called into my com link. "What's goin' on?" I ran
through my Bulldog's system diagnostics as he spoke.
	"You want the short and sweet version or the exact details?" he 
replied.
	"The more info I have, the better off we are."
	"We've got 3 Megadeaths flying this way."
	"Okay, I like the odds so far."
	He chuckled. "They've got a whole shit load of air support too. More
Cyclones, ArchAngels, Devil Rays, and Hellfires than I thought they had."
	"Whoa, hold up! You were thinking?" A warning shot came from the laser 
mounted on the arm of the Ebonscrap that he was piloting. His mechs weren't 
air defense capable, so Williams lent him this behemoth. It IS a walking 
missile launcher. Nothing to it. It has more missile capabilities than my 
Bulldog. It was slow, so he wouldn't be doin' much moving. But with the 
range of his missiles and the sheer amount of missiles the Ebonscrap held 
(rumors have it of a 50 ton version of this mech that doesn't move, but has 
enough missile rounds to survive two Megadeaths at once), it meant jack to 
him. "Sorry man, my mistake. Do they have any mech support?"
	"Afraid not."
	"Damn. No fun for me." I checked my display. "They're sending the 
Hellfires in first. I'll waste them with my flaks."
	A few flak rounds fired from Axen's Scorpion. "Don't hog it all!" he
said.
	"Oh, that's right! You had those installed."
	"You should pay more attention."
	"You should get laid." He growled. "Just don't waste your ammo Ax."
	"Will do Hunter." I laughed and turned to the battlefield ahead of us.
There were scars from our previous scraps with Leo. I watched as Byrder's
ArchAngel flew overhead.
	"They're within' my visual range," he reported. "Should I go in for a 
strike?"
	"No. That's suicide. We can't replace ya Hawk-eye, remember?"
	"That's right. Returning to base. Prepare to dock." The jet flew over
me and landed on my back.
	"All right. Activating security clamps." I flipped a switch. I heard
some loud thunks overhead. Hopefully, the clamps in the airpad on my back 
were doing their job and securing the jet tightly.
	"Jet secured," the computer reported.
	"Good. Activating turret." I pushed a few buttons and pulled a few 
levers. The machinery in my mech ground to life. Gears and neumatic lifting
arms raised the base of the pad (the big circle part, not the square part
with the robotic repair equipment) into the air. If the clamps were doing 
their job, Byrder was being lifted into the air with it, securely, becoming
a new laser turret for the mech.
	"Turret activated."
	"Computer, redirect turret control to pilot seat in jet."
	"Done."
	"Hawk-eye, give it a test."
	The machinery came back to life as the turret spun around. "It appears
to work," he reported.
	"Good. Remember, to undock and send it back in-"
	"-Hit the little red button under the eject button. I know Crash. We
went through this already."
	"I know. I was just reminding you so you don't eject yourself out into
the snow like in our last training drill."
	"I find it amazing how you mercenaries can joke at a time like this,"
one of the Lupus pilots complained.
	"Well, son, that's our way of gettin' rid of the fear. If we joke, we
don't really worry about the three flying death barges coming this way." I
looked out into the distance. "Speaking of which, computer, activate all
flak batteries." The four cannons popped out of the mech's shoulders. Two 
more came out just ahead of the repair pad. "Target at random and auto 
retarget. Give me fire controls." The two control sticks appeared. I looked 
into my targeting systems. "Ax, when you're ready."
	"And I am."
	I waited until the first Hellfires were in range. "Fire!" I pulled the 
triggers. Every flak cannon on me started to fire off. It was mixed in with
laser fire from Byrder. Axen's Scorpion fired off round after round of 
energy flak. The Hellfires became vapor.
	"Hunter," Mohammed said. "I'm picking up some strange readings from
one of the MDs. It's an unknown energy source to this mech."
	I hit my scanners. "I got nothin'. Byrder, what've you got?"
	"Nada."
	"Damn scanners must be off. Nevermind then." Suddenly, the three 
Megadeaths released something. "What the hell-?"
	I checked my scanners. "They've released some more jets."
	"Okay. What've we got?"
	"We've got....trail mix." Trail mix was the code for everything except
the kitchen sink. Specifically, it meant they were sending a sample of 
nearly every small jet in their arsenal. "Ax, take out what you can."
	"Will do Hunter." He started to fire. I pulled my flak triggers. The
flak platforms from inside the base and atop the guard towers fired too. The
sky lit up in energy fire. The radar screen painted a pretty picture, with
all the red enemy signatures flying up to one point and disappearing. It was
like there was a wall. Occasionally, one would get by the wall, fly for a 
little, take a few bad shots, and disappear. We quickly dispersed the mist
of jets.
	"Here come the Megadeaths," Mohammed warned.
	"Understood." I pushed a button. "All units not blasting jets already,
turn everything you got on the Megadeaths or defend the Ebonscrap." I 
depressed the button. "Computer, activate and charge cannon. Target first
Megadeath and fire when the cannon achieves a 9,000 DP charge." The cannon
popped out of the Bulldog's back (the repair pad was safely behind that) and
started to charge. "Activate all missile packs." I could hear doors open
all over the front of the mech. "Targeting." A small reticule in the 
targeting system appeared right over the center of my sight. I peered 
around. It followed the movement of my eye. I smiled and looked at the 
second oncoming Megadeath. The reticule started to flash. I ran my finger up
the list of missiles I had to work with. My finger stopped on streakers. I
pressed it twice. I heard two missile packs load. I continued my finger down
the list. I pressed long rangers twice. I moved my finger to seeker and 
pressed it twice. "Fire missiles!" I commanded. Six of the missile packs
fired, sending their payload at the ship. All connected, causing moderate
damage. Suddenly, the cannon discharged. It flew at the first ship and hit,
vaporizing a major portion of it. Whatever wasn't destroyed crashed in a
ball of flame in the woods. Emergency crews went to go put out the fire that
would soon be starting.
	"Nice shootin' tex!" one of the Lupus pilots complimented.
	"Save it for after the fight. We've still got one more to go." The 
third Megadeath, which probably was still out of range, started to fire upon
us. It lit up in a blaze of glory, missing with every shot and saturating 
the ground with energy. "Poor shot. Computer, charge cannon, same 
parameters." The cannon started to charge up again. The ship inched closer 
and closer. I reached for my controls. Suddenly, two blue beams shot out of
it. It he my mech and Mohammed's Ebonscrap. "The fuck?!"
	"That's the energy signature I was talking about!"
	"I know. Mohammed, jettison all your ammo."
	"WHAT?!"
	"Dude, that's faerie fire. Your ammo'll explode!"
	"Okay." I watched as the Ebonscrap dropped a large box out of it's 
back onto the ground. I did the same with my missiles.
	"Hunter! Why'd your bulldog just shit on our lawn."
	"Don't worry, I'll pick it up."
	"I have to take off," Byrder said. The jet unlatched itself and took
off. The pad returned to it's normal position.
	"Turret disarmed," the computer reported.
	"Tell me something I don't know."
	"Heat levels at yellow condition."
	"Hunter," Byrder interrupted. "There's someone here who wants to talk
to you." The heat stopped increasing, remaining at the level it was.
	"Who is it?"
	"Hello Hunter." Tony's harsh voice rang out, sending arrows through
my chest. "We meet again."
	"Tony, what do you want?"
	"My revenge for what you did to my mechs back on HQ."
	"That was half a freakin' year ago! Get over it."
	"Fuck no. You're gonna die, my friend. When I get home...."
	I flipped a switch so he could continue ranting with out my 
interruption. "All Lupus units with EMP weapons on board, when I discharge
the cannon, fire everything you got at it. I want that particle bolt 
coursing with EMP by the time it reaches the Megadeath."
	"Understood."
	"....The Jade Wolf will disband, Crash. Your hard work will be worth
nothing. Now, prepare to die."
	"Not in this lifetime," I responded. I punched the fire button on the
cannon. It was less than 5,000 DP, but it'd do the job. The bolt flew out.
Every EMP weapon on Lupus' side fired, saturating the bolt with their 
energy. The bolt careened into the ship and exploded. Bolts of lightning
danced across it's surface.
	"Fuck! What the hell was that?"
	"EMP bolt. Approximately 4,850 DP worth of EMP coursing through the
ship right now."
	"I'll be back Crash!" The ship turned and started to fly away. 
Everyone who was able started to try to stop it.
	"Stand down guys," I told them. "We don't have to worry about it."

	"You idiot!" Williams screamed at me. I was alone, in his office, for
a debriefing and ranting session. But I had an ace up my sleeve. "Why did 
you let them get away with that new weapon!"
	"Don't worry about it."
	"Don't worry?! They'll study it! They'll mass produce it! They'll beat
us to a pulp with it!"
	"They'll destroy their disecting equipment." I chuckled and leaned 
back in the seat.
	He grew calmer. "What do you mean?"
	"Commander, do you know what petriatia-hydride is?"
	He quirked a brow. "It's a super light weight metal plate. It's a very 
effective conductor."
	"Okay. What's so special about it?"
	"It has to be kept constantly in liquid chloride or else it'll be
ruined."
	"Do you know what happens to it when it's hit by any electro-magnetic
discharge?"
	"It reacts with the chloride and turns into high concentrated acid."
	"You're good at this!"
	"But the liquid chloride would short circuit the other machinery. It 
wouldn't work in it."
	"How about a solid iron-chloride barrier between the conductors and
the air?"
	"Ah. But that doesn't explain why I shouldn't worry."
	I leaned forward. "The Faerie Fire is a special weapon designed by the
Mercenary guild to superheat enemy mechs and cause internal ammo explosions.
However, petriatia-hydride is one of the only two conductors capable of 
carrying the needed electricity to power the machine."
	"Why didn't you choose the other conductor?"
	"We purposely added this flaw so, if the mech were to be captured, a
small device would set off an EMP pulse throughout the weapon. Since it's
laced with these conductors-"
	"The weapon would be useless. Nobody could learn it's secrets."
	I leaned back and put my feet up on his desk. "Now you got it!"
	He chuckled and sat down. "Why don't you tell me this things 
beforehand?"
	"Why?" I got up. "I like ta see ya panic bro!"
	He shook his head. "Go before I withhold your paycheck and put ya in
the brig again." I laughed and beat a hasty retreat.

	I had no formal office to turn to like back at home, so a small table 
in the mech bay would have to do. I watched over as my mech was given the 
full once over by Harris and the Lupus techs. I sighed and closed my eyes.
"They're wonderful machinces," a voice said. "But you'd never catch me
driving them."
	I opened my eyes. Standing opposite me was the femme raccoon I had
picked up back at D'Terra. SHe stood an easy 5'5" and weighed, my guess, 110
pounds. She was an easy C cup, though it looked like she never wore a bra.
Hell, I could see her nipples through her tight pink tee shirt. And her
jeans were almost as tight. "They are." I pointed at the Bulldog. "That one
has helped me through many a scrap."
	She smiled and looked at me. "I'd love to hear the story some time. 
But, if I'm not mistaken, you called me here."
	"That's right. Please, have a seat." She did. "All I have to do is get
some basic information on you to send back to the Mercenary guild to have 
you registered with us. Then, when my comrad gets here, we'll take your
measurements."
	"What for?!" She sounded alarmed.
	"Don't worry. It's just for your dress uniform."
	"And that would consist of?"
	"A white shirt and a Jade Wolf jacket." She quirked a brow. I got up
and showed her the back of my aviator jacket. "This thing."
	"Ah. Why do I get a jacket?"
	"You're working with us, right?" She smiled and nodded. "All right, 
shall we get this done?"
	"Sure."
	I sat down and pulled a datapad from my pocket. There were so few of
these things going around (the military hogged it all), so my having this
was a rarity. "Let's start with the basics. Name?"
	"Evelyn."
	"Last name?"
	"Dunno. Forgot."
	I nodded. "Age?"
	"26?" I quirked a brow. "Oh, all right! 17!"
	I nodded. "Specilization?"
	She lowered her head in, I'm assuming, shame. "Thievery."
	"Years of experience?"
	"9." Her voice grew weak.
	I stopped. "That's all I need for now Evelyn. We'll get some more 
stuff later. I can register you now."
	"Good. I mean, thank you sir." She held herself and started to sway. 
Tears were forming slowly in her eyes.
	"Are you okay?"
	"You wouldn't know sir."
	"Please, my name is Crash. And go ahead. Try me."
	She sighed and closed her eyes. "Do you know what it's like to lose 
your parents when you're young? Do you know what it's like to have to join
a gang to survive? Do you know what it's like to have the cops constantly
watching you?"
	"No, I can't honestly say I can."
	"Well, that's what I've had to put up with. No family, no true 
friends, no home..." She slunk over ot one side. "No purpose."
	"Evelyn."
	She looked at me. "What?!"
	I got up and took her hand. "Don't worry about it. You're starting 
over with us."
	She pulled her hand away. "Do you think I'm daft? I'm not falling for
that bullshit!"
	Byrder decided at that moment to come it. He walked up to me and shook
my hand. "Heya Crash! What's up?"
	"Nuttin' much Byrder."
	He nodded and looked around. "So where's the new recruit?" I pointed 
at Evelyn. He looked at her and went all numb. "Her?"
	"Byrder, meet our new thief, Evelyn. Evelyn..."
	She smiled and took his hand. "Please, you can call me Eve."
	Byrder regained his senses. "Eh....Eve. That's a nice name." He took
out a notepad and a pencil and handed it to me. "Crash, could you take down
what I tell you?"
	"Sure."
	He removed a small tape measure from a pocket. "I want to talk to you
after this is done." I knew what was on his mind.

	"She is so fuckin' hot!" he cried. Evelyn had left for the bar (she'd
probably meet Mohammed there) and Byrder was....well....I don't know what
was going through Byrder's system. He was floating, quite literally mind 
you, at least a full 2 inches off the ground. "She's perfect! She's got a
soft body, and nice, delicate arms, and..."
	I grabbed him by the arms. "Calm down man!" I said, slappin' him 
across the face.
	He shook his head. "Thanks. I needed that." He landed. "But you have
to set me up Crash! I would kill to get a hook up!"
	"I've been meaning to talk to Willie about granting us a new bunk."
	"Who's Willie?"
	"The commander?"
	"Oh." He nodded. "Dude, if you get the quarters, can you set her up
with me?"
	"I'll try. Don't forget, it's her choice, not mine." He sighed. "But
that doesn't mean I won't try to convice her."
	He smiled and broke the cardnal rule of being a Merc. "Thank you 
Crash!" he said, lifting me into the air in a bear hug.
	"Put me down! Put me down!"
	He did. "Sorry. But you've made my day!" He bowed, for some oddball 
reason, and did backflips to the door. I wondered if I was doing the right
thing.

	I found Evelyn at the bar (see, my sixth sense works!). She was busy
sippin' on some sort of soda pop, since the bar didn't serve anyone under
19 alchohol. I sat down next to her and ordered a drink. She failed to 
notice me. "Evelyn," I said as soon as my drink arrived. "Are you okay?"
	"No, of course not. Why should you care?"
	"Cause you're in the Jade Wolf now. I have to care for you. You're
part of my family."
	She looked at me. "W-what?"
	I took a deep breath. "I never really knew my father. He went into the 
armed forces around the time I was two. We've yet to hear from him again.
My mother went insane around the time my brother joined up with Lupus, I was 
about...20 when that happened. So, save my brother, I have no real family."
	"Oh. I'm sorry."
	"Don't be. I've got an extended family in the unit. You're now part of
it."
	She smiled and ran a finger along the rim of her glass. "Thank you 
Crash. Now, what do you need?"
	"I was going to put in an order for a new bunk for you and another
crewman. I need to know if you don't mind sharing."
	"It depends. Who's in the unit?"
	"Well, you've got me, my second Mohammed, my brother Axen, our 
mechanic Harris, and Byrder."
	She giggled. "Oh, that adorable man? I wouldn't mind sharing a bunk 
with him."
	I quirked a brow. "You wouldn't?"
	"I'd probably enjoy it. I could probably wrap him around my little
finger."
	"Don't do that."
	"I won't. Sorry."
	"It's okay. So I'll hook ya up with Byrder for bunks then."
	"Yeah."
	I smiled. "Okay. It'll be done." I took a draft from my beer.

	Williams gladly gave me the new bunk. I hunted Evelyn down and gave 
her the keys. She returned the favor with a kiss on the cheek. Thank god
Stephanie wasn't around. I like my balls where they are. All I had to do,
which I was seriously debating on doing, was to give the second set to 
Byrder. After a brief pep talk from myself, I went to find him. He was in 
the hanger, workin' on one of his jets. "Hey Crash!" he said, pulling 
himself from under it. "What's up?"
	"Nothing much." I pointed at the jet. "Which ArchAngel?"
	"Laser array. I'm planning on adding a jolt to the main cannons."
	"A...what?"
	"A jolt...an amper!"
	"Oh, okay! I see."
	He quirked a brow. "What do you need, Crash?" Hesitantly, I held up
the keys. His eyes lit up. "She said-?"
	"She also said you were adorable."
	He snatched the keys from my hands and started to float again. "She
said I was adorable?" Ready for a big laugh, I replied affirmatively. He 
gave out a proud "YAHOO!!!" and flew around the hanger. He landed at my feet
and shook my hand. "Thank you Crash!"
	"You're across the hall from Harris and Axen. Finish your work here.
Then go pack your things; Eve is already there." I saw the glazed look in
his eyes, laughed, and walked away.