Her hands over her mouth, Fuka stared at the billboard detailing the rules and participants in the Ironborn Battlemech trials, seeing her name printed in both Chinese and English. Her nerves were afire with excitement and tension, as if she was about to jump out of her skin and scream. At first, Fuka had never intended to try out to become a MechWarrior. It had seemed like the impossible dream of the schoolgirl who everyone made fun of for her obsession with the multi-meter tall war machines and how they worked. If only they could see me now, she thought to herself.
Originally, Fuka had accompanied Maria, Tristan and Julia to the Enclave in the hopes of helping her aku-nee-san, Julia earn a place where she now stood. However, once again, Col. Greyjoy had reiterated that Julia was too valuable as the Ironborn's assistant chief technician and engineer to be allowed to become a MechWarrior. It was a bit of a shock when not just Julia, but Tristan and Maria Botley had suggested that she take Maria's place in the trials, as the woman now had her own Battlemech that was exclusively hers. Given the chance to live out what had, heretofore, only been part of her wildest fantasies, how could she say no? You should go for it, kid. Maria had told her when she agreed to sponsor her for the tournament. Julia had given her similar encouragement, telling her not to do it for her, but rather for herself. The Colonel had no objection to her sponsorship and had even wished her good luck.
And now here I am. Fuka thought. What had made it all the sweeter was the fact that she'd been assigned the Grand Dragon, the very 'Mech she'd been maintaining for so long. I am going to win this. Fuka looked over at the aforementioned 'Mech with bright and unwavering eyes. And when I do, I'm going to give you your name.
"Hey, you there!" Came a feminine voice, waking Fuka from her reverie. Looking around, she saw an 18 year old girl dressed in a cooling vest and shorts, carrying a neurohelmet. Her eyes widened as she saw that the newcomer looked almost exactly like Maria, only younger and with a different eye color. Her hair was short, asymmetrically styled over the left side of her head, and dyed a bright shade of purple. She looked Fuka up and down smiling, reminding Fuka of the horny guys she used to serve at the restaurant she had previously worked at before joining the Ironborn. "What're you doing here?" She asked.
"Finding my 'Mech assignment." Fuka responded, indicating her name on the billboard.
"What?" The girl seemed perplexed, not quite believing what Fuka was saying. Seeing her name, the girl snapped her fingers. "Ooooohhh, so you're the new girl the 'rents picked to replace Cousin Julie. Fuka, right?" Fuka nodde in assent. Pointing to herself, the girl continued. "I'm Isolde Botley. I don't know what you did that convinced Mom and Dad to let you in, but I'm the one who's going to win this. Buuuut, if you want to hang out and...get to know each other better, maybe we can hook up later."
"Oh God, Isolde, you are soooo gross." Another voice, also female and even younger, came from behind Isolde. Standing there was a reddish-brown haired teenager, perhaps 15 or 16, dressed in a grey school dress uniform and glasses. Again, Fuka could see a resemblance to Maria, but with more of Tristan's features evident. They must be siblings, she thought.
"Nobody asked you, Lourdes." Isolde said indignantly. "Don't you have an exam to take or some giant textbook to read?"
"Heh. I'm surprised you actually know what you're supposed to do with books, given all the time I had to tutor you." The younger girl, Lourdes, snapped back, adjusting the bridge of her glasses.
"Oh yeah," Isolde growled, "I didn't see you complaining when I had to save your ass from bullies all the time. Maybe if you weren't such a nerd."
Fuka couldn't help but chuckle at the interplay between what were obviously sisters, but she couldn't help but think of Maria and Julia as she watched their childish spat.
"CHILDREN!!!" A very loud, very male voice rang out. Stomping his way towards them, a tall blond Scandinavian man wearing a field uniform advanced with a disgusted scowl. He was all hard edges and lean muscle. with a face seemingly chiseled from granite that was only made scarier by his prosthetic left arm and a left eye that had been replaced by an augmetic one and a jagged scar that went from his forehead, through where his eye should have been, and terminating at the end of his chin. Staring at the siblings, he snarled in accented English, "You DISGRACE yourselves with your banter. But, what can I expect given who your mother is. Why anyone would accept someone like YOU into this unit, Isolde, is quite beyond my comprehension." He then turned to Fuka. "And YOU..." His icy blue eyes bore into Fuka. "You don't belong in these trials, young lady. You're not one of us, not family, anyway. Another of Maria Botley's bad decisions. If you know what's good for you, you'll withdraw from this competition immediately. And you don't, well, I have no problem humiliating you too." Scanning the billboard once and finding his name, the man turned on his heel and walked off.
Isolde made a face behind the man's back as he walked away and turned back to Fuka. "Who in the hell was that?" Fuka asked the elder Botley sister.
"Oh, him." Isolde responded. "That's Jurgen Blacktyde. He's always had a massive stick shoved up his ass, but he's only gotten worse since his dad retired and left him in charge of House Blacktyde. Let's just say that he really hates our mom."
"Why?"
"Because he blames Mom for what happened to his eye and arm." Lourdes explained.
"He was ordered to support Mom when she advanced too far into enemy territory once." Isolde added. "Got his 'Mech destroyed and, well, you saw him. He's despised her ever since."
"He's also a bit chauvinist. He's called our Mom the worst names." Lourdes continued. "Whore, slut, cuckold. Says she keeps Dad whipped and collared."
"Best just to ignore him." Isolde finished. "Unless, of course, you wanna team up against him and shut him up?"
Fuka laughed at that. "I'll think about it. Which 'Mech did you get assigned, Isolde?"
"The Anubis." Isolde answered. "I was hoping I'd get my brother Lorren's Wolverine, but Meifeng's been training me with the Anubis, so I'm familiar with it. What did you get?"
"The Grand Dragon." Fuka said proudly.
"GET OUT!" Isolde shouted in exasperation. "They gave you a heavy?!"
"I'm familiar with her." Fuka explained. "I've been maintaining it for a few months now."
"Lucky."
"Looks like she'll have you outgunned, Isolde." Lourdes interjected. "That should keep you on your toes."
"Heh. Just so you know, I'm not gonna a tech beat me here. So you better watch out, Fuka-chan. Come on, Lourdes, before anybody else decides to try and scold us." Isolde and her sister nodded to Fuka before walking off.
Fuka shook her head as she watched them go. She's definitely Maria-san's daughter. She was about to leave when she bumped into a man and woman walking up to the billboard. The man reminded Fuka of Col. Greyjoy, but younger and a bit more handsome, with longish brown hair and a stubbly beard. The woman was frighteningly similar to Jurgen, but her features were softer and her expression more open with a mane of long braided blonde hair and ocean blue eyes.
"Sumimasen." Fuka bowed her head.
"No need for that." The man said. "We're all equals here. You don't look like a family member. Did my brother sponsor you?"
"Brother?" Fuka asked.
"Sorry." The man scratched the back of his head. "I mean the Colonel. My name is Victarion Greyjoy. The Colonel is my older brother." Gesturing to the woman by his side, he added, "This is my wife, Freyja."
"Ahh. I didn't know the Colonel had a brother." Fuka perked up. "I'm Fuka Hiyami. I was sponsored by Tristan and Maria Botley, as well as by Julia Goodbrother."
"Pleased to meet you, Miss Hiyami." Victarion shook her hand, followed by Freyja doing the same. "I guess that means we'll be opponents in the trials unless we end up on the same team in the lance vs. lance battles. We were just about to look to see which 'Mechs we'll be assigned to in the tournament."
Stepping back to the billboard, Fuka followed them and found their names and 'Mechs. Not surprisingly, Victarion would be running the Colonel's Marauder, while Freyja would be driving Lorren's Wolverine.
"Hmm. Good choices." Freyja remarked.
Victarion shook his head. "Euron's showing me too much favoritism. I don't need Crow's Eye to ensure a victory. But I guess it can't be helped."
"I think it's good fit." Fuka said in agreement with Freyja. "The Marauder is a great 'Mech, and Chief Tech Hoare keeps it running in awesome shape. You should be glad the Colonel trusts you so much with his own machine."
Victarion laughed. "I hope you're right about that. So I guess I'll see you on the battlefield, Miss Hiyami. Good luck to you."
"And to you." Fuka bowed again.
Nodding, Victarion and his wife retreated from the billboard.
Wow, so many challengers, thought Fuka as she watched them leave. Still, I can't worry about that. Maria-san and Julia-nee-san are counting on me. I won't let them down. I won't let myself down. Still nervous, Fuka returned to her quarters to prepare. The trials would start soon, and she needed to be ready.
