Chapter 6

They allowed the Pirates to withdraw and leave the planet to lick their wounds. We set about repairing our damage and removing the captured Mechs from the battlefield. I had been assisting in the Mech bay when Rachel sent for me. When I reported to her office Captain Tor of Martine's Marauders was there.

"Leofa, I have some bad news for you," he said. Before he could continue Rachel left the office.

From his looks and her actions I knew what was coming. "It's Marci isn't it?" I asked.

He nodded and continued. "They punched a hole in our lines and were starting through. Out gunned and out weighed she jumped into the middle of them and held them up long enough for help to arrive. By the time it was over that move cost them eight Mechs but it cost us Marci Franks. Her P. Hawk was totally trashed. She died fighting Pirates and holding the line. Knowing how close you two were I thought it only right that I tell you in person, especially as you were part of the relieving force that came to assist us."

"She was the kind of person that everyone liked and respected. Both as a person and as a warrior. I am sorry for you and for us. We will all miss her." Tor's voice cracked a bit towards the last so I knew that his words were sincere.

"Thank you, sir, for taking the time to come over here to let me know. I know that right now you're as busy as we are. I appreciate the time and the thought. If you'll excuse me I need to return to work." I saluted him, turned and left.

For the next three days all I did was work. We repaired all of our Mechs. They were now 100% and we even began to work on those we had captured. From the two shot up Wasps we made one, the Hunchback and the Awesome were scraps. The Locust we were able to repair as well as retrieving and repairing Flannery's Catapult. Of the other twelve we were able to repair seven using parts from the other five. We also swapped parts with Martine's Marauders for some of the things we needed. They had captured or killed eighteen and were busy bringing some of them on line.

From the Mechs that we had captured and repaired Shadow chose eight. The others were passed on to Eager Beaver. They were paying for all the repairs anyway. With these eight new Mechs and what had been captured and repaired when they first landed Shadow was two full companies plus a Command Lance in strength. We had twenty-eight Mechs that we could put on the line as soon as we had pilots for them.

For two months now my Mule Dropship had been hauling ore and rare earths out of here. The AC-20s had been sold for nearly twice what they had cost and with the hauling contract the Dropship would soon be paid off. We hauled the mined ores and rare earths out and Mech and Dropship parts back in. We always picked parts that were hard for the Concordat to get so we usually made a 100 percent profit on each trip. Dad had allowed the captain, a man he knew well, some leeway in repairs. He was slowly replacing gear that was worn out and taking too much maintenance time. It was actually cheaper to replace some of the gear than it was to keep repairing it. I was slowly becoming a man of property and I had lost my girl!

All of the other didn't mean a thing and I was being eaten up inside by my loss. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, all I could do was work to keep my mind off of her because when I wasn't working she was all I COULD think about. And now we were running out of work to do.

It was during this time that J.J. Ravenhawk came by. "Mick, I want to talk to you, come on," he said taking me by the arm. He took me over to the club, ordered two drinks and took a table.

"You know we have eight new Mechs. I think it is time for you to move up to something larger. I think you can handle it and we need the firepower. What do you think?" he said.