<div class="floatleft">(http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j77/wulfjaeger/___protector_of_time____by_vincentxyooj-d5lw1gq_zps59496fa9.png)</div><br/>Allia smirked when Damian talked of speaking to Emily and trying to understand her motivations for leaving.  Theirs had been an interesting history, though rather short in the span of time.  A look here, a suspect brush there had been all the interaction they had had for the first couple of months that Allia had been on the ship; then one night after a rather crazy mission the energy pulled them together like electrified magnets.  A bottle of wine or three between members of the unit in the observation lounge had ended with Allia and Emily sitting alone together talking.  Allia wasn't sure if it had been the comfort of the situation or the warmth of the wine in their blood that had drawn them so close together on that couch surrounded by stars, but something drew them together.  The talking and giggling and innocent touches had slowly pulled them closer like a comet that gets pulled too close to a star and begins to flare.  Before she knew it, Allia had leaned in and kissed Emily.  The embrace seemed to stop time, the way the world folds around the ship during a jump.  Emily let the embrace linger for a moment then pulled away.  That awkward moment hung in the air as Emily blushed and Allia tried to figure out what had happened.  It wasn't until Emily told her of the husband and child she had left behind, that it made sense to Allia.  The two women talked into the early morning, realizing a new found friendship that would grow deeper over the next few months.<br/><br/>Pulling herself back from the memory, Allia's feeling of sadness and remorse poked its head in again.  Loosing Emily would be a hard loss, they had become close since that night; but Allia knew where Emily's heart was and understood how a defeat like pulled at the need for safety.  "I don't have high hopes for Emily, but I'll do what I can."<br/><br/>Listening to the the remainder of the butcher's bill Allia's heart sank even more, knowing what Kari's plans were.  There wasn't much a company like this could do with three active mechs and a Dropship aside from guard cargo deliveries.  Now in today's world, you'd think this would be a fairly necessary job, but it did little for the morale of the mechwarriors as a recruiting tool.  Survival and money were the top priorities at the moment, and after the destruction they had just escaped, there was little of both in supply.  "If we just repair our three mechs and the damage to the drop ship, how much do we have for operation of the crew and dropship?"  Allia looked from Damian to Kari, her brow furled in thought.  "If anyone here thinks we are going to get back on our feet the conventional way we're kidding ourselves.  We're going to need to look at this from a new perspective if we're going to survive.  Damian is great at getting the logistical and financial pieces in place, but getting jobs for big money for raids and garrison duty isn't going to be an option for a while, and no respectable mechwarrior is going to sign on with a unit that can't promise credits.  We're going to need to think outside the box on this one.......at least for while."  She looked down at her plate for a moment, gathering her thoughts.  Damian was right, they were the face of the unit now.  The brains, money and morale of the units survival rested on them.<br/><br/>"Well....."  She looked back at Kari, remembering the strong front she had put up in the shower the day before when everyone else was falling apart.  "The Suns were your fathers, which means by default they are yours.  So you are the only logical choice as the new commander.  Between the three of us I think we have what we need to run the unit.  That will hopefully be enough for now."<br/>