Letter to an old friend

February 7, 3072
Outreach
Red Dawn Barracks

Smiling tiredly, Lonnie re-read the message that Kasperov had sent out to the Dark Horse Irregulars, once known simply as Bravo, and was now truly a combined arms unit with the addition of armor to the existing mech, battle armor and aerospace assests. She swiveled her chair around so that the back was facing towards the desk as she stretched out her legs and decided that it wouldn't hurt anything if she put off the paperwork for a few more minutes. The chair turned back towards the desk and its occupant picked up the single rose that had been waiting for her when she'd returned from her debriefing after the day's mock combat.

A soft chime came from her noteputer in response to the softly spoken, "New letter" as she absently sniffed at the delicate scent of the flower.

"Hey Alex, it's Lonnie. I'm sorry for being such a lousy correspondent lately, but considering what happened a few weeks ago between my promotion and the.... incident, I'm sure you know why. Anyway, this is more than just a quick 'I miss you' message. I just wanted to give some good news for once. And please, don't pass out in shock, you'll terrify Elise." Her voice was warm with the love she held for her brother-of-her-heart and lightened with gentle laughter.

"First of all, you're allowed to say 'I told you so' as well as giving me a swift kick to the ass if you so wish. These last few weeks of training have shown me that I did indeed learn a thing or two in that hellhole. And that my tactical knowledge isn’t as stunted as I thought it was. Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself.”

She paused for a moment, still absently holding the rose in one hand as she mentally composed what her next words would be.

“Due to OpSec I can’t tell you too much, but considering what you’re doing, I know you understand. But I can tell you this. We’re going to be taking the knife and shoving it to the hilt into the hearts of those bastard children of Kerensky. By the time we’re done they’re going to finally start to understand that the Inner Sphere in general and the Red Dawn in particular aren’t things to be trifled with. I know, I know, I normally am not that blood thirsty, I’m picking up just how strongly some of the others in the unit feel about the Clans. Don’t worry, I’m still somewhat dispassionate while on the field of battle.”

“Which brings me to today’s exercise and don’t worry I won’t go into details, I know how you feel about them. Let’s just say that I managed to keep the damage, as simulated as it may have been, to a minimum. No casualties, but there were damaged mechs, but the salvage we would have gotten more than made up for that. This was better than the last exercise which I definitely won’t go into except to note there were casualties and it was ugly even if we did win. Heh, now here’s a scary thought for you. The possibility of me piloting a mech with some Clan tech. And yes, the only way you’d be able to play with any of it is if you signed on with the Dawn and even then I don’t think you’d be given a lot of access. Especially since Uncle Billy knows about your reputation and I’d make sure that Nicholai knew what he’d be dealing with also.”

A grin lit up her features as she remembered some of the escapades Alex had gotten them into, at the time they weren’t funny, but given the softening of time they were now. Then she sobered as she realized what she said in her last sentence and sighed ruefully.

“Yes, I called my commander by first name… ah hell. It was bound to come out eventually, Dad already knows, but hasn’t shown if he approves or not. I… I fell for my commander of all people. And it seems he’s fallen for me as well. Needless to say it’s made an interesting life already more so. Needless to say we’re both doing what we can to keep it from having an impact on the unit.”

With another silent sigh she leaned her left elbow on her desk and propped her chin in her cupped hand, the right still holding the rose and shook her head at herself. And had to bite off an oath as she saw the time.

“Anyway, I need to cut the message short, have another meeting before dinner. Take care of yourself brother-mine. And as always, send my love to Elise.”

Before she allowed herself to erase that message and make another, she abruptly hit send and initiated the appropriate protocols to make sure it routed appropriately. Not having anything else on hand, she stuck the rose in a cup with water and headed out of her office.

Moonlit Musings

January 20, 3072
Outreach
Red Dawn Barracks - Kasperov's Bunkhouse

Pale, but bright, light from the full moon overhead flooded through the windows to illuminate the slumbering form in the bed leeching what little color there was in the man's skin and hair. Wrapped up in a robe, the moonlight making her seem like some sort of exotic spirit, Lonnie watched her lover sleep and silently sighed. So much had happened since the return to Outreach, most of it wasn't good. Like her father's injury in one explosion, Cabella's death in another.

Slowly darkening eyes shifted to gaze out the window at the serene moon above as Lonnie told herself once again that her father would be all right, that he was tough, even if he was out of shape. Victor still hadn't said how he'd learned of the madman who wanted to bomb part of Harlech, the section that her father, Jain, Jain's date Tammi, and she were going to that morning the week before. She still vividly remembered seeing her mother sitting across the street looking more than a bit feral, filled with a hate and rage that matched Lonnie's own. She'd turned away from her mother, refusing to acknowledge the older woman, just in time to knock her father to safety as an explosion rocked the street further down. She covered him to the best of her ability as chunks of building, street and other things rained down on them, but being much smaller than her father, she couldn't cover him as well as she'd hoped. Shrapnel from flying debris wounded his already lame right leg as well as parts of his back.

Because of some minor injuries to the spine, the doctors grounded her father stating that not only would he suffer from TDS while in transit, but it quite possibly would be fatal. Once again she told herself she'd done everything she could in the situation, in fact it looked as if she'd saved his life. Still, it bothered her that she'd almost lost all sanity due to the anger that ripped through her mind once the ground had settled from the bomb that had gone off. Lonnie had been so firmly convinced by her own subconcious that her mother was there that all she could think of was to make sure her mother was dead. Victor tried stopping her and fortunately for him that's all he had tried to do. Anything else and she might have taken him as a threat, which would have been very bad since she didn't recognize him. She snapped out of her rage induced fugue when Victor yelled for a medic. That was when her father's injuries sank in. Victor had almost joined the injured list when he had at first refused to take Ted with them back to base. Fortunately Kasperov had ordered that not just Ted to be brought back, but the wounded Tammi and a few other severely injured people to be brought in.

It had taken Victor, Major Mueller as well as Kasperov to convince her over the next few days that her mother hadn't been there, that it had just been her subconscious somehow picking up on the threat. That there was circumstantial evidence Her Grace was actually on Liberty, possibly joined up with Blakist forces. The pale, slim mechwarrior was then informed that there was more circumstantial evidence the Blakists had been responsible for the bombing of her mother's estate.

Without thinking about it, Lonnie's gaze turned back towards her soundly asleep lover and her lips curved up into a sweet smile almost involuntarily. He'd been a source of strength for her on that horrible day, not caring who saw him hold her as the adrenaline faded from her system. Later on they spoke privately in his office where she found out that he'd been having Victor look into her background and that Victor would be acting as security for her SOG. Then he told her the one thing she'd never expected to her from him. At least so soon.

He loved her.

Oh she knew there was something more than just physical attraction between them, but she hadn't realized the depth of his feelings for her. Feelings she could easily reciprocrate. Their relationship grew a little stronger, a little deeper that day. A relationship her father knew about, apparently having seen them due to Sledge's sharp eyes and quietly pointing out. She wasn't sure her father entirely approved, but if he disapproved he didn't say anything. Silently she shook her head, her father proved to her that he was almost as crazy as Jain. Somehow he had talked the commander into ordering a scout BA suit for him to use not only to help recover from his injuries, but to get back into fighting shape. Lonnie had known her father had BA training but he'd retired from the Rangers to help build the Dawn before he was able to use one of those tin cans. She just hoped the suits in question were more like the suits that the unit had already and not the quad style of the Fenris.

She shook her head again, this time at herself. She was starting to jump at shadows, not liking the tense atomosphere in Harlech or the rumors of war between the AMC and Blakists. Her lips quirked in a humorless grin that she unknowingly picked up from Nicholai as she acknowledged that the two explosions last week was more likely the source of her jumpiness. Her expression saddened as she looked back out the window as her thoughts turned toward Cabella, the man she'd considered something of an adoptive grandfather. Not only was he gone, but his partner and their families, as well as quite a few people who were eating at the resturant had died as well. Apparently that explosion had come about from some bad wiring somehow setting off a gas line. It had been ruled accidental, but still her paranoid mind couldn't help but wonder if someone had it out for the old comguard. Oddly enough, she knew her jumpiness wasn't from the contract that the Dawn had taken.

Taking the fight to the Clans to push them off the conquered worlds was a known quantity. They were an enemy whose tactics could be studied, whose strategy could be learned. She knew it wouldn't be easy, but then again if she'd wanted easy, she'd never have left her mother.

Because of all the hard work everyone had been putting in, she couldn't resist trying to drag Kasperov away for a quiet dinner for just the two of them in his office the night before her day off. He'd been surprised, but obviously pleased at her little surprise. But instead of eating there, he had them take the food back to his bunkhouse where they talked about little things as they ate. Including some truly bad jokes Lonnie had gotten from Jain. After cleaning up from dinner they'd curled up together to watch some documentaries about the Wolf's Dragoons. Her father had recommended that she study them when she expressed concerns that Outreach felt like Tharkad the months before it had been invaded during the FCCW. She wasn't entirely surprised that her love had no problems watching it considering his passion for philosophy of war and peace. While watching the documentaries, she came to understand why her father said anyone who tried to invade Outreach would have to be insane. Before she could really think about what'd she'd seen, Nicholai literally carried her off to bed with the announcement that even if he couldn't spend the next day with her, he could have undivided attention that night.

"Done brooding yet, love?" Kasperov's deep voice caused her to actually start slightly where she was sitting, then she wrinkled her nose at him slightly.

"I'm not brooding."

"Uh huh. I'd come and get you, except someone stole my robe and it's too damn cold to get out of bed." He gave her a mock indignant glower.

She grinned at him as they both knew she would as she elegantly got up from the chair and glided towards the bed, the edges of the robe flaring out around her a bit. Her grin turned a bit wicked at his expression. Just as she approached the bed, she laughingly shrieked a bit as she was suddenly grabbed and dragged under the covers as the robe was removed.

Later as she drifted off to sleep wrapped in his surprisingly strong arms she muzzily wondered what she'd done so very right to win his heart.

Sleep claimed her just as she put an arm around him to hold him close.