She nodded at his indication as to where the cafeteria might be, and followed along just behind and to the side of him, letting him lead the way. "It was an honor, believe me, I never thought I'd make it into that unit. It's supposed to be the best in the entire League, at least that's its rep."<br/><br/>Tetsuo nodded as Armina spoke. He had never fought against them, but by reputation, they were a fine unit. Not as good as the Sword, naturally, but then who was?<br/><br/>She paused and licked her lips to moisten them. "There was some politics involved in why I left. I had a disagreement with another officer and got brought up on charges. I was acquitted, but it soured me on all the damn infighting. From the stories I hear, its better than it used to be thanks to the Captain-General, but it still goes on."<br/><br/>He nodded again. "I understand."<br/><br/>"I ended up joining the Novas, they were founded by a friend of my father. The unit got hammered on a snatch and grab raid against the Capellans, I can't prove it for sure but those damn Liao knew we were coming and were waiting for us."<br/><br/>She took a deep breath and shrugged a little, "That's the op where I got my mech, the Hawk got wrecked and I managed to capture the Griffin in the warehouse we hit. Still, once we got pulled out, I was the second highest ranking officer left, and I was only a lieutenant, so the unit disbanded." She motioned to the patch she wore on her jacket, "I still wear the unit logo, guess it's just my way to honor those who died."<br/><br/>She looked over at the Kuritan to gauge his reaction to her story, then asked, "What about you? I thought the Combine disapproves of mercenaries. Why are you here?"<br/><br/>Tetsuo stiffened up slightly as she asked that inevitable question. He had expected it, and to hear it asked a number of times, but still ...<br/><br/>"It is true that the Dragon has no great love for mercenaries." he agreed. "I am here because ... it is a matter of honour, of bushido. I do not know you would understand." He shrugged slightly. Few outside the Combine did understand honour, and the tenents of bushido fewer still. It was ironic that some at least amongst the Clans understood when so few in the Inner Sphere did.<br/><br/>Entering the cafeteria he remained silent as they passed through the food line, gathering a small bowl of rice and vegetables, and a cup of tea that he wrinkled his nose at. He led them through the mostly empty room towards an unoccupied corner table.