Bitter Tears

((Just a vignette from the time Marlana graduated from the Nagelring, probably the most prestigious military school in the LA))

A cold wind whistled through the stark tree branches, the young woman sitting in the branches of large tree didn't notice since she was clad in a warm turtleneck shirt with heavy pants, both in winter camo colors. She had what could only be described as elfin features: somewhat triangular face with pointed chin, high cheekbones, thin, arching raven's-wing-black eyebrows over slightly canted enormous blue eyes, all set under ebony black hair that looked as if it had been precisely cut with a laser to go along her jaw line. There was enough softing of her features to make her exceptionally pretty so that her face wasn't all harsh angles and planes, combined with her generous mouth, it was a face meant for smiles and laughter.

There was no laughter in the sapphrine eyes, only bitterness, hatred and contempt as their owner surveyed the grand ball below her. Then she shifted her gaze to the ring in her hand, marked with the symbols of the Nagelring and her family on one side, Class of '69 on the other, it was gold with a diamond set in the center, covering the engraved clenched fist of the House Steiner in the center. The shininess of the gold testified to its newness. Her lips twitched sardonically. The ring was that of a graduation officer of that very prestigious school, and the fact that she had it, that she had just graduated earlier that day meant nothing to her.

The fact she had been accepted and graduated with honors meant nothing. After all her mother had bought it for her, like her mother had bought anything that would bring power and prestige to the family name. The woman's hand clenched over the ring, once again considering throwing it away, and more than the ring. All that it symbolized. As her arm drew tensely back to follow through on its owner's thoughts, the sound of not quite even footsteps could be heard crunching through the snow.

Pausing with her arm in the air, hand still clenched, she looked down to see an older man who had clearly seen rough days, but still had warmth in his eyes. The lines in his face were from care, but also from laughter, but it was clear that they were related by blood. Wrapped in a heavy coat, his breath frosting the air, it was clear that he wasn't as used to the wintry climate as the young lady perched in the tree.

"Alex told me that you'd probably be hiding somewhere up here once the party go to be too much for you." He smiled up into the fierce blue eyes staring down at him, "I know you're a mechwarrior and all, but I don't understand your constant fascination with heights."

The change in her countenous was quick, shifting from her dark thoughts, her face lightened and became almost heartbreaking in its beauty as she laughed softly, a genuine smile (an all too rare occurance), "Dad! I didn't know you were still here."

With a lithe grace of one who is in excellent physical shape, she dropped down out of the tree, absently pocketing the unthrown ring, before throwing her arms around her father. His breath whooshed out slightly as he wasn't ready for the hug, but he laughingly hugged her back.

"What? You'd think I'd miss out really celebrating with my favorite daughter on her big day? I thought you knew me better than that, Lani."

She wrinkled her nose slightly at him, "I happen to be not only your only daughter, but your only child too."

Ted Halas grinned down at her, wistuflly noting that he didn't have to look down as far. She'd grown into an amazing woman and once again regretted that he hadn't been there for her as much as he would have liked while she grew up into that woman. "Doesn't mean you can't be my favorite."

Marlana, Lani, just nodded, still smiling slightly, but this time her expressive eyes were tinged with sadness. Before she could say anything, Ted dropped a winter camo poncho over her head.

"Alex also told me that you'd probably be out here without a jacket. Smart guy your friend is."

Her reponse was muffled as she strugled with the folds of the poncho. judging by the tone the comment wasn't too pleasant. Ted simply leaned against a tree and silently laughed. It was good to see he could still surprise his daughter, even if he had to cheat by talking to her best friend first.

It didn't take her long to arrange the poncho, along with the weapons hidden in it to her satisfaction. Belting it into place, Lani looked at her father questioningly. Silently he dropped his arm around her shoulders and steered her away from the party, "I don't know why your mother decided to have the party here when there's just as nice party places that are enjoying Tharkad's excuse for a spring."

She sniffed in disdain before responding, "Because this is the most exclusive place to hold an event year round." Then added sourly, "She booked it the day I moved into the dorm at Nagelring."

He winced at the tone in her voice, then one-armed hugged her without breaking stride, neither realizing they were walking with a crisp, almost military gait. Or as much as his bad leg would allow.

"Don't let her get to you, hun. I'm proud of you, and your hard work. No matter what you think, you graduated the school on your own, not through your mother's bribes."

Her lips lifted slightly in a half-hearted smile, but didn't say anything.

Ted continued, pretending to not notice her reaction, "And I expect to see that ring on your hand when we get to our destination." Somewhat guiltily, she slid the ring onto her right ring finger under the concealment of the poncho. Her father seeing the furtive movements had a hard time stifling his grin. And before she could ask where they were going, he had her distracted by some of the trouble the younger members of his merc unit had gotten into on their recent leave while father and daughter headed to the nearby hovercar that he'd arrived in.

The resturant was small, cozy and friendly. While the lighting wasn't exceptionally bright, it was bright enough to imply privacy, but not meant for intimacy. The dining area was based around a huge central fireplace and the wooden furniture was simple, well kept and comfortable. Having left their weapons in the car, the two cheerfully handed their outer garments to the hostess before being seated at a table meant for a larger group. Frowning slightly, Lani looked around the resturant surreptiously, realizing that the resturant was almost empty. Her father simply grinned at her as he leaned back in his chair and started to study the menu.

As Lani opened her menu, still trying to figure out what her father was up to, the door to the resturant opened again, this time to a group of eight people who were laughing and talking excitedly. There was something about those voices...

A truly happy smile blossomed as she realized that it was Alex, his fiance Elise and their families. Alex was tall and somewhat gangly with dark hair and eyes with a pale complexion from spending most of his time inside windowless labs, his eyes were kind but often gazing into the distance. By contrast, Elise was short, slightly plump, but in all the right places, with short, curling golden hair, tanned complexion and big brown eyes. Much to Lani's amusement, it was love on first sight with those two. While it wasn't hard for people to believe that Alex was a genious with all things electrical and mechanical, most had a hard time believing that Elise was his equal. Lani didn't care, she just considered herself blessed to have at least two friends she could trust, even if she was closer to Alex than Elise.

It didn't take long for everyone to settle in and the night passed quickly with good food, laughter and excellent company. The parents were happy to see the pure joy in the eyes of their children, the last 6 years had been hard on everyone, but especially Lani. She just didn't have the heart to ruin everyone's good time with the news of her posting. She simply smiled and laughed and concentrated on having a good time. It was with a light heart she was able to celebrate Alex's and Elise's mutual posting to one of the experimental labs setup for the LAAF. And when it came time for her to say goodbye to everyone, including her father, she kept up the cheer until she was alone.

Then she returned to one of her favorite isolated heights and scream out the rage that had been festering in her all day. The angry bitterness that had started to well up when she was taken aside by an apologetic Dean who wanted to forewarn her about her posting after graduation. She could have handled the tour of a "Social General" knowing she could have shown what she was capable of. She could have handled being sent to some hellhole to do scutt work.

Instead her mother had pulled strings for a "soft" posting. To a planet that wasn't important in any way being outside of normal travel routes by 3 weeks, producing just enough crops to keep the small populace fed and clothed and covering what few imported goods they needed and no major resources. The people had a militia to take care of any small issues they may have, and a planetary governor who was retired from the LAAF and quite happy with his small pastimes there.

Finally the screams turned to broken sobs. She didn't want fame or glory, just a chance to serve honorably and well like her father. It took longer than she cared for to get herself under control.

Eventually she went to a place that should have been home, but wasn't, just a place to sleep. The only good thing was that she would be leaving in less than a week.

She could avoid going on a homicidal rampage that long.

She hoped.