Reika's Comment: This was after the initial preliminary RP where my char got to meet her new employer and commanding officer: Nicholai Kasperov. Here's the details for the game. http://www.bulldrek.com/viewtopic.php?t=7001

The tall, slim and elegant woman with shoulder length white hair and vivid blue eyes paced back and forth in her comfortable hotel room packing as she composed a voice message to send to her friend. On first glance she seemed like a typical, waif-like young woman who was more than commonly pretty, but a closer examination revealed the fitness and attitude of a trained soldier.

The black jumpsuit with grey accents was finely tailored to her slim frame and every movement was unconsciously graceful, the result of a lifetime of training as a lady of good breeding and high social status. Had anyone who knew her well was present, they could have clearly seen the signs of wary nervousness.

"Hey Alex, it's your favorite pain in the ass, hope you got my thank you already. I owe you dinner the next time we meet up. If for some ungodly reason, you end up on Outreach I know the best place I have ever been to for great Italian food. Yeah, even better than Luigi's in Tharkad City."

She paused for a moment as she mentally went over what she was going to say next."Just wanted to let you know that I did get in, but I've been busted. The commander knows, so if he goes poking around, don't do anything to him, at least not yet. He stated that he won't tell anyone else, and I'll see what happens. Anyway, you know I trust you, so if he does anything suspicious, do what you think is best."

She grinned suddenly, an expression that warmed her big eyes and made her appearance truly extraordinary. This wasn't the false, polite smiles she had learned out of self defense, or the shy, genuine smiles would occassionally grace the deserving person with. It was something reserved for the closest of friends, a rare commodity indeed and was accordingly treasured.The grin could be heard in her voice as she concluded the message on a light hearted note.

"Anyway, try not to blow anything up, and I'm curious to see if you got the funding you were working on for that new mech project of yours. Send my love to your lady Elise. And for the love of god, try to get some time OUT of the lab with her."

"Hope to talk with you soon."

"Love, Lani."

"Message ended."

The comp beeped it's acknowledgment, and she paused in her packing to send the message on it's way through a series of drop boxes to her best friend. For a moment she stood looking out at the sight of Harlech at night, but not really seeing what was outside of her window, her eyes bright with unshed tears as she remembered good and bad times with Alex. But it was a brief moment and she was back to the young, untried, but professional she had strived so hard for to become.

At first her voice was tight as she spoke while finishing the last of her packing. "Computer, new journal entry."

A soft chime was the only response from the noteputer laying on the nearby table.

"So, I've been accepted to the Red Dawn, I should be more excited, but at this point I'm just terrified. I've never jumped into a situation so totally unknown, and I've always known exactly what I was doing before this. But as I've said before, I think this is the only way I'll know what kind of person I truly am."

"Aside from Dad's comments and what is publicly available on Commander Kasperov, I don't know anything at all about my new CO, or any of the members of my new lance. The commander is definitely an intelligent man and every ounce the leader he's purported to be, but he's just so..."

Lonnie frowned for a moment, but carefully, years of admonishments echoing in the back of her mind to be careful of causing wrinkles, as she tried to organize her thoughts.

"So quixotic. I'm fairly sure part of it is his way of seeing how people react to certain situations. He's definitely very informal, something that is both uncomfortable and refreshing at the same time. I'm pretty sure I've never dealt with a person like this in my years at Nagelring, not even my SpecOps instructors, and I know for a fact I didn't encounter anyone like him in my years at the Tharkad School of Military Sciences. I just didn't expect him to have a second meeting conducted over dinner. A very good dinner, but still, very strange."

"I know some of it was a test to confirm in his mind his conclusions about me. Certain habits are just too deeply ingrained, and that shows, despite his compliments on fooling my new XO."

She laughed a bit sardonically. "And for some reason I'm hoping it was more than just a test and that everything wasn't just a front, despite what my Lyran sensibilities claim. I could easily like this new commander."

Silently the woman zipped up her last case, surveyed her few belongings and wryly noted in her mind how her mother would have a fit if she'd seen how little Lonnie traveled with.

"Needless to say he saw right through my act, but he didn't get all the details right. I've told him what I felt comfortable with, but that was still too much. The commander has told me that what I told him is under the strictest of confidence, all he would tell Captain Mueller and Captain Dante is that I do have a past, but one I wish to conceal. Said that the Captain would understand."

"And he seemed more...saddened that I had lied about who I am, not angry. Or if he was angry, he hid it quite well."

She laughed softly, "I'll admit, I did take a bit of perverse amusement at his reaction as to who I really am."

Then she sighed, "But even he didn't seem to understand what I'm really looking for. He thought I was looking for freedom with my head full of tales of glory."

She snorted in derision, it was probably one of her few unladylike expressions."I could have gotten freedom far easier by going into another line of work, even under my real name. The same for glory."

Lonnie gazed out the window again, "Yes, I want freedom, but I could care less about glory. Right now I just want to know who I am. I don't know if what I've studied all my life is real or not, I know that my skills are real, but do honor and integrity still exist?"

"I used to think I was a person of integrity, I don't use honor since it's so damn overused, but as a typical noble I resorted to lies and trickery to get into the Red Dawn. My new superior officers seemed to understand. Hell, Commander Kasperov wanted to know if there were any dangers that should be removed now, or if I needed a security detail."

She laughed a bit weakly and shook her head slightly, "I like bluntness like that, but never expected someone to be so protective of someone that he'd just met. I know he said the unit takes care of their own, but... Well, I guess I'm just bitter about my experiences in the LAAF."

"I can definitely learn from this unit, something I'd vaguely hoped for, but thought I'd never see. And I might actually be able to do what I'd always dreamed when I first started training fourteen years ago."

"A chance to help others. Only this time not despite the fact I'm a soldier, but because I am one."

"But I won't hold my breath."

"End journal entry."

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Checking the time she saw that she could go to the little cafe near the hotel for some of that wonderful coffee, the caffiene fiend in her wanted to get as much of the good stuff as she could before going back to army grade swill.Lonnie returned long enough to get her bags before checking out to get her cab to the base.

She never looked back.