(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/9/9a/Tony_Leung.jpg)(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/5/5e/Sarna_reserves_kamakura_s_hussars_spider_by_viereth-d585zvf.jpg)<br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;">Hiro Kagekaze, Spider pilot</span></span><br/><strong>Location:</strong>The campfire<br/><strong>With:</strong>Yamina<br/><br/>The mission briefing concluded and everyone went their separate ways, but I stayed behind and enjoyed the fire in front of me and the moon above.  As usual, I was looking over my shoulder as well as checking my seat.  My old unit had a tendency to play pranks on each other when they weren't stabbing each other in the back.  It seemed like that would kill morale but it just made everyone more aware of their surroundings.<br/><br/>A briefing on a snow-covered mountain surrounded by a forest of evergreens was also nothing new to me.  I liked the cold, and usually took an ice bath after a long sparring session.  Also, my old unit specialized in mountain warfare, and a briefing like this usually took place with everyone wearing nothing but boots, gloves, a hat, a scarf and a single layer without sleeves or pant legs.<br/><br/>We were weird like that.<br/><br/>I had on a black t-shirt with a purple logo reading "DDG" that represented the school I graduated from.  On the back it said "Class of 3048" along with 20 names, including mine.  Other than the shirt and cold weather accessories, it was just black shorts for me and a blanket between my rear and the log I was sitting on.<br/><br/>I was feeling a bit antsy and didn't feel like sleeping.  I had some graham crackers on one knee, squares of chocolate on another, and akimbo twigs in my mittens, a marshmallow on the tip of each piece of wood.<br/><br/>My breath fogged up the air in front of me as I moved the marshmallows up and down, making sound effects like jump jets, lasers, flamers, machine guns, missiles, explosions, and screams.  I kind of wanted to get some of the chill of the air into my bones so I could better endure the heat of my Spider when it was jumping around, drawing enemy fire while unleashing flames of my own.<br/><br/>In the back of my mind, way way<em>way</em>in the back, I reviewed the plan and tried to think of things that might go wrong and how I would react to them.  The plan seemed reasonable, but plans only lasted until the first AC or LRM rounds started flying.  After that, it wasn't about acting but reacting, not planning but training, not so much being good but more about being lucky.<br/><br/>I also thought about the members of the merc company.  I thought for sure I would test well enough on Outreach for a more established group - maybe not an A-rated company like Wolf's Dragoons or Kell Hounds or Hanson's Roughriders or the 21st Centauri Lancers, but something that... people looking for mercs have heard of?  I still wasn't sure what the name of our unit was, or even if we had a name.<br/><br/>Still, I couldn't complain that much.  The leaders and pilots seemed competent, the mechs were maintained if not top-of-the-line, the pay was okay, and all the women were easy on the eyes.  There was the petite Maho, the pink-haired Lily, the redheaded Ranna, and even Miyoko and Elisa had sort of Amazon things going for them.  But then there was the white-haired Yamina.  Now she was someone I<em>really</em>wanted to get to know better.<br/><br/>I continued playing out the battle in my head, then got to the aftermath, when some damsel-in-distress wanted to show her gratitude.  I raised the tone of my voice as the marshmallows "spoke" to one another.<br/><br/><strong>"Oh, Hiro, you're my hero.  Thank you so much for saving me from that big bad Atlas.  Is there anything I can do to repay you?  <em>Anything</em>?"</strong><br/><br/>But then I got interrupted.<br/><br/><em><strong>"Hiro.  Would you walk with me to my Locust?  There is something I'd like to talk to you about."</strong></em><br/><br/>I nearly jumped off my log and dropped my dual wielded marshmallows.  I don't know what I found more embarassing - getting snuck up on or someone catching the tail end of my little role play.<br/><br/><strong>"Oh.  Hey... there... you..."</strong>I cleared my throat, then deepened my voice.<strong>"I mean, hey, Yamina.  Uh, or is it Mina?  Mina?  Yamina?"</strong>I was trying to not sound like a fool.  I had a feeling I was failing miserably.<br/><br/><strong>"Kind of in the middle of something, actually.  Care to join?"</strong>I offered her a twig with a marshmallow.<br/><br/>