FiMTech - The Clan Civil War - EDITED (BattleTech Crossover)

Sundance and Mist were standing in line next to the other cadets inside the Mech Bay. They were on a catwalk situated around Commander Charcoal’s Mad Dog, and he was standing half-in a room, talking to a pony they couldn’t see. Everypony had already received a helmet, called a neurohelmet, and was waiting to be fitted for their cooling suits. Why this was happening, though, had yet to be explained.

Sundance glanced over at Mist. “You’re the expert. What’s a neurohelmet do? And why do we need cooling suits?”

Mist stared at the distant ceiling for a moment, thinking. “I’m not actually sure. I know that the neurohelmets let us interface mentally with our Mech to a certain extent, but I don’t know to what extent. As for the cooling suits… yeah, I’ve no fucking clue.” He grinned at Sundance. “But hey, it’s cool.”

Sundance glared at Mist and let out a sigh. “Don’t you start with puns. Getting beat up by Bittersweet was enough torture for one day.”

Mist opened his mouth to reply, but Commander Charcoal’s booming voice cut him off. “So, recruits. I bet you’re all wondering what these helmets do, exactly. Well, I’m not gonna to tell you,” he said, chuckling. “I believe in practice in the field and learning from experience. As useful as learning in a classroom is, you’ve all learned about the cockpit layout, heat management, the various weapon systems, yada yada. Now that you have the knowledge, it’s time to put it to good use.”

Commander Charcoal began walking down the line of cadets, and a dark blue unicorn followed him out of the room he was standing in front of. The pony wore a dishevelled lab coat, crooked glasses, and his long hair was a mess. He was carrying a scanner of some sort using his magic.

“Speaking of heat management, Cadmium here is going to fit you all for your cooling gear. Don’t mind his appearance; he’s been up all night worrying about his science crap. Theory and all that. You’ll learn about all that next year, though it probably won’t be relevant to any of you. You’re all here to learn to pilot mechs, not the inner workings of one. Whether or not you want to be here doesn’t matter. It’s what you’ve been tasked to do by your leaders. Following orders is the first rule of a MechWarrior in Clan Draconequus, and the sooner you learn that, the better,” Commander Charcoal said. “That being said, are there any questions before I throw you to the wolves?”

“Um… Commander Charcoal, sir?” a voice called out from the opposite end of the line.

Sundance looked down the line towards where the voice came from. A small grey pegasus with a bright yellow green mane and lime colored eyes stood at the opposite end of the line. “Yes, cadet?” Commander Charcoal answered.

“Why do we need cooling suits, sir? Shouldn’t there be air conditioning in the cockpit?” the cadet asked, her silvery voice barely carrying to the end of the line.

“Excellent question, recruit. The cockpit is cooled, yes, but only enough to keep your ass from frying to the seat and the controls from melting. What’s your name?” he asked the pegasus.

“I’m Chartreuse, sir,” she said.

“Well, Chartreuse, Cadmium here can answer your question better than I can. I’m going to go get the trial Mech ready while he does that. When he’s finished, we’ll head down the line and let everypony try to pilot a Mech for the first time. Starting with you.” Commander Charcoal nodded at Cadmium and stepped through a door in the opposite wall that seemed like it lead to another Mech Bay like the one they were currently in. Chartreuse looked around herself, obviously nervous.

“Dammit. I wish we could’ve started at our end. Now we have to wait for all of the others to finish before we get to go,” Mist said, looking at Sundance with exaggerated dejected expression.

Cadmium grabbed Mist’s jaw and pulled his head to face forward. “Hold still so I can scan you,” he said in a tired voice, before pushing a button on the device he was levitating in front of him. A series of lasers enveloped Mist before the device turned back off. A short sequence of beeps came out of the device, and Cadmium stepped in front of Sundance.

“Like Commander Charcoal said, the life support system in a Mech cockpit isn’t designed for comfort. It’s incredibly inefficient to cool the entire cockpit to a temperature that low, so we just closely regulate the temperature of your body more directly.” Cadmium pressed the button on the device again, and it began scanning Sundance. “Assuming any of you actually paid any attention in your classes, you’ll remember that during battle, the cockpit of an uncooled Mech can reach over four hundred Kelvin on certain planets. Without the cooling suits, you would boil to death before you ever got to do anything useful.” Cadmium finished scanning Sundance and moved down the line. “You’ll survive for today without one. The average temperature on Dike is rather low and you won’t be firing any weapons, so you won’t even break a sweat.”

As Cadmium continued scanning the line of cadets, they heard a loud scraping noise from the other side of the wall, where the Commander went. The ground started rumbling, and a bright orange mech peeked around the wall. It stopped underneath the catwalk the cadets were on, facing outwards and standing in front of the Commander’s Mad Dog.

The cockpit swung open and Commander Charcoal pulled himself on top of the Mech. Mist nudged Sundancer with his shoulder. “That’s a Shadow Cat, a forty five ton OmniMech. One of the best medium Mechs to be produced by the Clans. I guess the hideous orange color is to designate it as a training unit.”

The Commander stepped onto the catwalk and walked towards the cadets. “You’re up, Chartreuse. Cadmium can scan you after you finish,” he said. “Do you remember the start up procedure?”

Chartreuse nodded. “Yes sir.”

“Good. go on, then. We’ve got a lot of cadets to get through before lunch.” Chartreuse saluted and walked out onto the Shadow Cat. She hopped down into the cockpit and strapped herself in nervously. She stared out at the other cadets, briefly catching Sundance’s eye, before putting her neurohelmet on. The cockpit swung closed with a slight hissing sound.

Mist nudged Sundance again. “She’s lovely, don’t you think? Pretty sure she likes you.”

Sundance frowned at Mist. “Why? You’re not one of those ponies who over analyzes every little detail, are you?” he asked.

Mist shrugged. “Maybe, but not in this case, I think. She’s been staring at you pretty much every day since we got here. Haven’t you noticed by now?”

Sundance glanced back at the Mech where Chartreuse disappeared. “Has she been? That’s odd,” he said.

“Right? You’d think a gem like her would fall for a strong, brave, smart pony like me.” Mist flexed his muscles in a dramatic pose. “Not somepony like you. You know, all weak and helpless.”

Sundance gave Mist a light shove. “Hey. This weak and helpless pony is all you’ve got, so don’t go getting all narcissistic on me.” The two of them smiled at each other.

A god awful noise came from the Shadow Cat as it powered up and immediately fell onto its back. The cadets all moved to the railing of the catwalk to look down at the fallen Mech. Cadmium let out a cry of annoyance as the pony he was scanning ran past him.

“Not to worry, cadets. The chassis of this particular Mech was built specially for training. It’s lighter than its fully decked out counterpart, and the cockpit is separated in such a way that you won’t get a concussion from falling over constantly.” Commander Charcoal said. He eyed his Mad Dog. “Maybe I shouldn’t have left my poor Mad Dog so close.”

He looked over the edge of the catwalk at Chartreuse in the Mech. “Don’t worry about falling. It happens to everypony their first time. The DI Computer in training Mechs isn’t as extensive as the ones in full BattleMechs, and they lack a Battle Computer entirely. If you can do this now, piloting a true BattleMech will be a breeze,” he called down to her. The Mech lied on its back, its legs flailing slowly. “Twist your torso to push yourself back upright. Use the arms to your advantage. They won’t snap off, don’t worry.”

The torso of the Shadow Cat turned slowly in an arc and leveraged itself up slightly on one of its arms. The arm swung out, bringing itself up off of the ground high enough to swing the legs around. The Mech got its legs underneath the torso, stood back up, and promptly fell over onto its side. The cadets all laughed.

Commander Charcoal looked at the other cadets. “You laugh now, but just wait until you’re behind the controls,” he said with a chuckle. This process went on for a few minutes, the Mech standing back up, just to fall over again. Sundance noticed that Chartreuse managed to keep the Mech on its feet longer each time, though.

After a few more tries, Chartreuse managed to keep her balance after standing back up. “That’s it, cadet! Keep your balance for a full thirty seconds, and we’ll move on.” The Commander held up one of his forelegs, a retro style analog watch strapped to it. “Halfway there.”

The Shadow Cat stood relatively still, swaying to and fro occasionally. Excited murmuring began in the other cadets as Chartreuse neared the thirty second mark. Suddenly, the Mech pitched forwards and face planted again, seconds away from finishing. The cadets let out a collective groan.

“Too bad. Try again, cadet. You’ll get it this time,” the Commander called down. Chartreuse stood back up, balancing even better than last time. The Commander’s watch kept ticking, and the excited murmuring picked back up as she neared thirty seconds again. This time however, Chartreuse passed the thirty second mark without a hitch, and the other cadets cheered.

“Very good! Hop on out, and let’s continue down the line.” Commander Charcoal nodded at the next cadet in line, and he walked up to the Commander. Cadmium let out another frustrated noise, having been in the middle of scanning the cadet when he moved away.

The cockpit opened again, and Chartreuse stretched up towards the catwalk. Commander Charcoal reached down and grabbed her hoof, pulling her up to stand next to him. “How does it feel to be a MechWarrior?” he asked, patting her on the back heartily.

Chartreuse pulled off her neurohelmet, her hair tousled. She grinned up at him. “Amazing, sir,” she said.

The Commander nodded. “Wonderful. Head on back over so Cadmium can scan you.”

Chartreuse nodded and walked back over to her spot in line. She shot another quick glance at Sundance before turning so Cadmium could scan her.

Mist sidled close to Sundance. “I’m telling you. She totally likes you.”

Sundance pushed Mist away playfully. “Shut up. Even if she did, I’m not going to worry about it. I’m not really looking for a relationship right now. I’m twelve.”

Mist shot Sundance a grin. “Does that mean you don’t care if I woo her? She’ll definitely fall in love with me when she sees my superior Mech piloting skills.” Mist flexed his muscles again.

Sundance laughed. “Who says ‘woo’ anymore? I’m pretty sure that word died thousands of years ago, back in Equestria.”

“I couldn’t think of any other word. Anyway, let’s watch. The next cadet is about to start.”

Sundance and Mist looked back over the railing. The cadet had already gotten in the Mech, and it was powering up. For a second nothing happened, and Sundance thought the cadet was actually balancing, but then it propelled itself into the ground faster than a simple fall. The cadets all burst out laughing again.

“Hey, hey, hey! Cadet, don’t try to break the Mech. I know I said it was modified for training, but that doesn’t mean it’s invincible,” Commander Charcoal said. “If you damage something, Cadmium is gonna have to fix it.”

Cadmium snorted as he finished scanning Chartreuse. “Yeah. Thanks a lot.”

The rest of the cadets went like this, receiving praise and input from the Commander as things went along. None of the cadets were exceptionally good, but some were much better than others. A couple of the cadets impressed Commander Charcoal like Chartreuse had. One cadet somehow managed to stumble forward and knock into Commander Charcoal’s Mad Dog, earning himself a slap on the back of the head from the Commander.

Before too long, it was Mist’s turn to go out and try his skills. “Wish me luck, Sundance. I’m sure to win over Chartreuse with my amazing talent at Mech piloting. That’s what my cutie mark is going to be, I feel it,” he said, walking towards the end of the catwalk.

Sundance rolled his eyes. “Mist probably is gonna impress the Commander more than any other cadet so far. There’s no way he can’t do well with his extensive knowledge of Mechs.”

Sundance couldn’t have been more wrong. Mist fell over as soon as the Shadow Cat powered up, and flailed around pitifully. He continued the cycle of standing up and falling over longer than any other cadet, but after a while, he managed to shakily stay upright for thirty seconds. The Commander called him out, and he clambered out of the Shadow Cat shamefully. “Don’t worry about that, MechWarrior. It doesn’t come naturally for everypony. You can only get better from here,” the Commander said sympathetically, patting him on the back like had the other cadets.

Mist slunk back towards his spot in line while Sundance walked towards the Mech. “Don’t say anything,” Mist said as he passed Sundance. He giggled and continued towards the end of the catwalk.

As Sundance passed by Chartreuse, he caught her staring at him, and he flashed her a friendly smile. She looked away, embarrassed. “Maybe Mist is right. She does seem really nice, and I wouldn’t mind being friends, but… I don’t know. That’s not something I’ve ever really bothered thinking about,” Sundance thought. He climbed down into the Mech cockpit and strapped himself to the seat. He put his neuro helmet on and it linked automatically to the Shadow Cat. The cockpit swung closed under its own volition, and Sundance flipped the activation switch, shut his eyes, and waited for his inevitable loss of balance.

After a few seconds he cracked one eye open, and found himself staring just below the catwalk, barely even swaying. “Huh. Did I miss something? I should be in the dirt by now. Is there a button I forgot to press or something?”

He looked out of the cockpit and found the Commander staring at him in awe. “By the Khan…”

Sundance glanced out at the other cadets, who had similar expressions. “Am I actually balancing?” he thought. Nopony said anything for a while, so Sundance pressed the button to activate the external speaker. “Um… did I forget something, sir? Shouldn’t I be on my ass?”

The Commander nodded. “You should, but… Dear Celestia. I haven’t seen anything like this in years.” He scratched the back of his head. “Try going for a walk around the Bay”

Sundance looked down at the controls. “Ah, man. I forgot which one does what. There’s so many buttons,” he thought. As his concentration faltered, he felt his balance leaning backwards. Panicking, he grabbed what looked the most like the throttle and threw it backwards. The Mech immediately started pedaling backwards, nearly throwing itself onto the ground. “No, don’t fall!” he shouted in his head, throwing the throttle back into the neutral position. The Mech obediently stopped and regained its balance.

Sundance sat there for a moment, regaining his composure, when he felt something reaching out into his mind. He couldn’t tell what, but it was foreign. He’d never felt it before. “H-hello? Is somepony there?” he asked. There wasn’t an intelligible answer, but he felt something like a warm hum in the back of his mind, almost like it was reassuring him. It wasn’t an obtrusive feeling, strangely. It actually was comforting.

“Are you... the Shadow Cat?” he asked. The hum picked up in intensity briefly, as if it was acknowledging him. “Wow… so the neurohelmet is like a way to communicate with Mechs? I wonder why none of the other cadets were able to keep their balance so easily.” The hum switched to a strange frequency that Sundance couldn’t decode. “I guess understanding your Mech comes with time. For now, let’s just do as the Commander said, I guess.” The Shadow Cat hummed in a happy way.

Sundance pressed the throttle slightly forward, imagining the Shadow Cat moving forward with even, balanced strides. The Mech happily obliged, moving exactly as Sundance wanted. “This is what it feels like to be a MechWarrior, huh?” Sundance thought, feeling exhilarated. His whole body felt warm as he completed a lap around the Bay, never losing balance. He wasn’t sure, but it felt like a lot more was going on than just elation. “Wow… this is amazing!” he thought. The Shadow Cat hummed in a way that came across as excited, as if it was as excited as Sundance.

Sundance pulled the Mech to a halt in front of the catwalk. “I’ve never felt anything like this.” He looked out at the Commander, who was beckoning to him excitedly. “I guess I should probably join him.” The Shadow Cat whined in a way that almost sounded sad. Sundance pressed one hoof reassuringly on the cockpit. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back tomorrow. There’s no way I could stay away,” he thought, grinning. The Shadow Cat hummed in reply, but Sundance couldn’t quite decipher it this time, either. “See you later.” The Shadow Cat beeped what Sundance assumed was a farewell and powered down. The cockpit opened, and Sundance stepped out, removing his neurohelmet.

“That was incredible! I’ve never seen a performance like that in all of my years training new cadets!” Commander Charcoal said, pulling Sundance up onto the catwalk. His aching ribs hurt sharply at this. “It normally takes months for a MechWarrior to develop that level of skill. How did you do it?”

Sundance scratched the back of his head. “I don’t know, it just sort of came to me. It felt like I was communicating with her. The Shadow Cat, I mean. It seemed like she had emotions and everything.”

The Commander opened his mouth to speak, confused, but Cadmium pushed past him excitedly. “You mean you actually interfaced with the Mech? What did it say?” he asked excitedly. Commander Charcoal shot him a glare, but didn’t say anything for now. He must have been just as curious as the scientist.

“Well, she didn’t say anything, but I could sort of hear a buzzing in the back of my head. The buzzing changed when I asked questions, and it kind of felt like emotions, but I couldn’t make out words or anything.”

“Fascinating… How strangely fascinating,” Cadmium said.

“She?” Commander Charcoal inquired.

Sundance looked back at the Mech, slightly embarrassed. “Yeah, I think. It was hard to tell, but that’s what it seemed like, and I would have felt kind of bad calling her an it.”

Commander Charcoal looked thoughtful for a second. “I’ve never heard of a MechWarrior communicating with a their Mech to such an extent before, let alone a training Mech.” The Commander patted Sundance on the back like had the other cadets. “You’ve got an amazing talent, Mechwarrior. We’ll have to see how well your piloting skills translate into combat.”

Commander Charcoal looked out at the other cadets. “That’s what it looks like when you learn to listen to your Mech instead of trying to control it. By the end of the month, every single one of you should be at that level. Once everypony has gotten used to communicating with his or her Mech, we’ll move on to full BattleMechs and start working with the weapon systems. You all are dismissed. Leave your neurohelmets in your locker on your way out.”

“Aff, Commander!” the cadets called, saluting. They filed out down the stairs and out of the Mech Bay, Sundance bringing up the rear. Mist waited by the top of the stairs for Sundance. He looked at his friend excitedly as he walked closer.

“That was so cool! I can’t believe you were able to do that!” he said animatedly. He leaned in close to Sundance’s ear. “I wish I could have done that well. There’s no way Chartreuse would ever like me over you now.” He nodded towards Chartreuse, who was walking down the stair in front of them.

Sundance rolled his eyes. “Mist, I don’t really want something like that. I’m worried about the Trial of Position, not a relationship. Maybe later.”

“You might not have a later. Do you know what the mortality rate for new MechWarriors is in this war? Twenty percent per year. That’s including all of the light skirmishes that haven’t lead to a MechWarrior’s death. It’s now or never, and I vote now,” Mist said.

“You’re unusually relaxed about dying in your first battle. That’d be sure to impress her,” Sundance said jokingly, trying to direct Mist’s attention away from the subject.

“Well, I kind of accepted the fact that I’m going to die years ago. I remember everything about the day they stole us from Styx.” Mist shuddered. “I still have nightmares about that. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forget.”

Sundance gave his friend a quick hug. He was lucky enough to only have very vague memories of what happened. He was pretty sure he had been asleep when he was grabbed, because he only remembered being in a cart with other foals and hearing gun fire around him. “Might as well try. You’ve got a friend now, so it won’t be all bad from now on.”

Mist smiled slightly at Sundance. “Yeah, you’re right.” He straightened his shoulders. “I can’t just give up on Chartreuse so easily, either. If you’re not gonna go after her, I will.”

Sundance laughed. He wasn’t entirely convinced he comforted Mist all that much, but getting him motivated seemed like a good way to distract him. “Try all you want. If you think you’d be happy together, go for it.” He nudged Mist lightly. “Now come on, let’s eat lunch quickly so that we can clean the Mess Hall in time for the drill instructor’s next training session.”

Mist grinned at him. “Yes sir!” he said, mock saluting. “I’m actually looking forward to it, now that we know he’s actually a good pony on the inside.”

Sundance nodded. “Me too.” The two of them walked towards the Mess Hall, Mist going on and on about his favorite Mechs. Sundance looked up at the treeline. “I wish things could stay like this forever,” he thought, “without me having to worry about the Trial of Position, dying in my first battle, or Bittersweet and his shitty personality.” He sighed. Even if things didn’t get much better, he had a feeling he was going to enjoy most of the next few years.

~~

Mist collapsed onto the ground as the drill instructor released them, the sun already having dipped below the mountains. The sky was dark blue and was rapidly shifting towards black. A few of the brighter stars had begun poking through, and the two moons were visible in the sky. “I can’t go on, Sundance. My body is dying. Carry on my memory with you when you ride off into battle,” he said melodramatically, before faking his own death in a theatrical pose.

Sundance poked Mist’s motionless body with his hoof. “Get up, you. I’m not going to clean the Mess Hall alone after dinner.” Mist just moaned pitifully in response. Sundance sighed. He was pretty sure Mist was only trying to make Chartreuse laugh, who was conveniently standing only about ten feet away. He couldn’t see her since she was behind him but he doubted Mist’s plan was working.

Sundance leaned down next to Mist’s ear. “If you’re trying to be funny for Chartreuse, I don’t think it’s working,” he whispered. Mist cracked open an eye and glanced over at where she was standing. Mist sighed and rolled over onto his front before pushing himself to his hooves.

“I know, I know. I guess that’s not going to work.” Mist thought for a moment. “Maybe if I got a cragadile…”

Sundance shoved Mist lightly, laughing. “What? No, that’s a terrible idea. Come on, let’s go. I’m starving.” He moved to walk towards the Mess Hall and winced with pain.

Mist looked at him as they started walking, concerned. “Does it hurt any more than earlier?” he asked. Sundance nodded. “You should go to the infirmary after we finish eating. We don’t have any more training today, so I can clean up by myself.”

Sundance glanced at Mist. “Are you sure? It’s a lot of work to do yourself.”

Mist nodded. “Of course. I’m used to it by now, and it’s really important that you get yourself looked at. Rib injuries aren’t a joke, as proficient as I am with those.”

Sundance smiled at his friend. “Thanks. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious. I doubt the drill instructor would take it easy on me even if he knew I was injured.”

Mist smiled back and nodded. “Yeah. I can’t lose my only friend before our first battle together,” he said jokingly.

The sky had darkened by the time the two of them made it to the Mess Hall. The food at dinner was usually more edible than the breakfast, but nothing special. Mist noticed that Chartreuse wasn’t anywhere in the Mess Hall when they finished eating, even though she was coming from the same place as them.

“Maybe she left without you noticing?” Sundance suggested.

Mist shook his head. “I guess so. Oh well. I’m gonna stick around here until everypony is done eating. You should head on over to the infirmary.”

“Are you sure you’ll be alright on your own for that long? No choking on muffins while I’m gone?” Sundance asked.

Mist laughed. “I’ll live. It’ll take more than some stale bread to kill me.”

Sundance shook his head. “If you say so. See you in the barracks later,” he said as he walked out. Mist waved to him happily as he left. Sundance stepped out into the night air, thinking. “The infirmary… I think it’s this way,” he thought, heading down the path to the left of the one that lead to the barracks.

After heading down the path for a minute or so, he saw a small building poking through the trees, light spilling out of the windows and open door. As he got closer, he noticed the red cross over top of the doorway. “Definitely the infirmary. Glad I remembered correctly.”

He walked through the opening, looking around. The only other time he had been here was when he first got to the Sibko, when they checked to make sure the cadets didn’t have some horrible disease. There were beds lined up along the opposite wall with curtains separating them, cabinets lining the adjacent walls, and sinks near the door. He glanced around the room, looking for the nurse. He couldn’t see anypony, but he heard voices coming from behind one of the curtains at the end of the room. He walked towards the voices, one of which he recognized as the nurse. He couldn’t quite remember who the other voice belonged to, though he thought he should.

Sundance remembered whose voice it was right before he walked around the curtain. Chartreuse was sitting on one of the beds with the nurse, an ancient beige unicorn with a grey mane and orange eyes, poking her stomach gently. The nurse glanced up as Sundance walked over.

“Ah, another sick cadet. Neurohelmet fry your brain, too?” the nurse asked. Chartreuse glanced over her shoulder at Sundance and nearly fell off the bed in surprise. “Easy! Don’t add to your list of problems.”

“No, I actually fell into a hole this morning and my ribs have been hurting ever since. My friend said I should come here,” he said, giving Chartreuse a mildly concerned look as she regained her posture.

“This morning? Why didn’t you come to me then?” the nurse asked, shaking her head. “Have a seat on the bed behind me. I’ll get to you in a bit.” Sundance walked over to the bed across from the one Chartreuse was on and sat down. It wasn’t as thin as the ones in the barracks, but it still wasn’t extraordinarily comfortable to sit on.

Chartreuse spent the next minute awkwardly trying to avoid making eye contact with Sundance as the nurse prodded her. She occasionally let out a squeak of pain and the nurse jotted something down on a clipboard.

After a few more seconds of this, the nurse stood back up, looking at her clipboard. “Yep, it looks to me like the neurohelmet scrambled your brain a bit. It happens to most cadets the first few times they get in a Mech. You’re going to get migraines and pain in some very strange places for a while, but it’s part of the game.” The nurse nodded to one of the cabinets next to them. “Grab one of the small green bottles from a cabinet. Take one pill after breakfast every day until it’s empty, then throw it away. You should get two weeks out of it.” Chartreuse nodded and walked over towards the cabinets. She began searching through them for the bottles the nurse described.

“Now, your turn,” the nurse said, walking over to Sundance. She motioned for him to hop off the bed and he obliged. “You’re lucky you didn’t collapse from blood loss. Even if you can’t see it, internal bleeding is serious.” She began lightly feeling Sundance’s flank, and he winced occasionally. “There probably isn’t any if you’re still here, but it doesn’t hurt to check.” She made a tsk-ing noise with her tongue. “I can’t do anything with these shoddy bandages in the way. You put these on yourself?” She asked, beginning to unwrap the bandages Sundance had hastily applied earlier in the day.

Sundance heard Chartreuse gasp, and he glanced over at her. She was staring at his flank, a shocked expression on her face. “I wasn’t hurt that badly. Surely she’s overreacting,” Sundance thought. However, when he looked back at his flank, he saw what had surprised her so much.

Sundance’s cutie mark had appeared, and it was a BattleMech.