<div style="text-align: left;">(http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j77/wulfjaeger/black_widow_png_by_sasha2000dog-d52srzs.png)</div><br/><strong>Name:</strong>Ranna Krannok<br/><strong>Mech:</strong>HCT-6D Hatchetman<br/><strong>Callsign:</strong>Harlequin<br/><strong>Location:</strong>ComStar Facility<br/><strong>Tagged:</strong>Ailis, Elisa<br/><br/><hr/><br/><em>"Mind if I invite m'self along? If we're no' talkin' to th' boss fer a while, I would nae turn down a chance t' sit an' not be wonderin' if I'm about t' be shot at." </em><br/><br/>Ranna nodded to Ailis and shrugged as they slowly moved down the corridor.<br/><br/><em>“It’s a Black Knight.  They run at two temperatures, ‘overheated’ and ‘not overheated yet’. And that’s on a good day. When you get it on a hot, baking desert hellhole, well, by the time you’re done you’re drowning in your own sweat. Not fun.”</em><br/><br/>Elisa's comment caused Ranna to laugh slightly.  She knew some of the downsides of the Black Knights, along with many of the other types of Mechs in the inner sphere.  Unlike her Hatchetman, many of the older model mechs still had a lot of design flaws, but good pilots knew how to balance those flaws with capability.  Ranna knew Elisa knew how to run her Black Knight just right having seen the mech in combat a few times.<br/><br/>When they entered the cafeteria, Ranna felt a bit of disappointment fill her.  ComStar invested so much money in all of the new toys and technology they could, but the simply creature comforts like a cafeteria got the barest of attention.  The shiny white walls and off colored floor did little help the room look like anything more than a triage room at a hospital that served food.  The stainless steel kitchen equipment and picnic style tables with benches were starting to make the cramped mess hall on the Bastion look cozy.<br/><br/><em> “Of course, by the time I inherited the old girl, she was a bit of a mess. I loved my father dearly, but there was only so much that he could do with what little money he and the unit had.  So many merc units live hand-to-mouth, and one bad deal can break ‘em easily.”</em><br/><br/>Ranna listened intently remembering some small bit about Elisa's past but not realizing it had been a family affair.  "It's that the truth.  I didn't remember you mentioning you grew up in a Merc unit.  I guess growing up with the Dragoon's I didn't really see what it was like for the less established units.  I see now how tough it is keeping things together.  How long had you been piloting mech before your fathers unit fell apart?"  She asked as they slowly picked their way through the drink bar in the cafeteria.