Blackstone Medical Facility

John watched as the nurse wheeled Lucy into the operating room, somewhat surprised at how quickly they were able to take her in. Apparently, as a Guard Mechwarrior, she now had priority access to medical treatment. There was some questioning about how she had healed so quickly from the accident, but John just said it was a secret for now and that the Guards had found some interesting things up in the mountains that would be brought to Blackstone soon. 

As for the procedure, the doctor reassured them that they could have her up and walking fairly quickly, though the prosthetic legs would be a far cry from what was available back in the Innersphere. They didn’t keep things out here that were pretty; it was usually for miners who got injured and designed to be robust for the environment they worked in. The adaptors they would graft on her limbs would fit most standard prosthetics, and they could order her a nicer set if she wanted.  She turned that down immediately before John could offer to buy them, saying these would be fine for now. She gave him another kiss and a thank you before they wheeled her off.

That left him and Mia standing around Freddy’s bed in the ward. He was alone now, his forearm in a cast. “Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in! How’d it go?”

“We won, a major victory by all accounts. But…” John said, then filled him in on the battle, including how Jerome and Darla died.

“Drat, that is a damn shame.” He lamented, a slight bit of moisture forming at the corners of his eyes. He shook his head, then looked back up at John. “Well, that is how those old bats wanted to go out, death in battle instead of dying in a bed. Shall we get out of here and go have a toast to their lives?”

“You can leave? Why are you still here then?”

“Been trying to get the nurse to come over to the Blackcat tonight. Said I would do a set just for her. I should be okay to play. C’mon now, you can sing too!”

“God man, I don’t know about you some days.”

“What? I am always looking for a good squeeze, and if they want to squeeze back, what’s the harm in that? Speaking of, who’s your friend? I haven’t seen you with a woman for years, then in the span of a couple of days, you have two tagging along with ya.”

“This is… Mia Blackwell. She was a slave with the pirates who attacked. I am still deciding how to proceed with her case, as she had surrendered fairly peacefully. She has an interesting past, and let us leave it at that for now.” John said, choosing his words carefully. He wanted to talk with the old man first, then maybe the governor, before letting others know she had been a part of a group of people who were planning to invade the Innersphere.

“Well, pleasure to meet you, miss. Hope to see you at the bar tonight. Don’t let that stick-in-the-mud stop you from having a little fun.”

“Ah. It is agreeable to meet you as well, Mechwarrior Freddy Beard. May you find your death in glorious battle.” She said stiffly, not expecting to be addressed. 

“Ahh, see! This one gets it. Work hard, play hard, die in a nuclear fire!” Freddy laughed, slapping John’s arm. “I’ll meet ya over there in a bit. I need to try one more time before that nurse’s shift ends.”

“Jesus man, what does Maggie see in you? I can never figure you two out.”

“She likes the beard, and doesn’t want some puppy dog following her around. Nothing complicated about it.”

“Well, she said to say hi, so maybe you should pop in and check on her instead of chasing yet another woman,” John said teasingly. 

“Maybe I will lad, but you seem to have got your own problems. One in the operating room, and now another at your side. Hell, I bet you got girls on a bunch of different worlds between here and back home, all waiting on, what did Maggie call ya? Oh yeah, waiting on their silver fox to return.”

That hit a little too close to home for John, so he just laughed and bid Freddy a good day. Lucy wouldn’t be out of the operation for several hours yet and would need to stay here for the night at any rate. He decided he was going to go back home and check on Sandy and Rei, make sure they were doing okay.

“Lance Commander John Wayne, why did you not tell that man about me?” Mia asked as they walked towards the Blackcat.

“Frankly, it is none of his business. That is for me and the CO to talk about first. Right now, I am more curious about you. You haven’t tried to escape, you address me by my title and name every time, and you are acting almost like a servant naturally. Is this a thing that is normal to your people?”

“Somewhat. We have a strict code when taken in battle, we can either become a bondsmen, or request bondsref from our bondholder to be allowed to take our own lives. That, dezgra Susie Morgaine-Ryan, did not allow us the choice and enslaved us instead. I have been… tortured, in many ways, by that woman over the last five years, and some things are not quite right any longer. Then you came along.

When you did not throw my mech off the cliff and accepted my surrender, you became my bondholder, though your commanding officer could also claim me as he is the one who disabled my mech. To my shame, I have no wish to die by bondsref, so I am now your servant until you release me from that bond. At least, that is how I am… processing this. You do not follow our ways, so by rights I should be trying to escape, but I do not wish to. Where would I even go?”

“I suppose it would be difficult to make your way back home.”

“Impossible. Even if I could, it would be in disgrace. At best, I will be allowed to join some Solahma unit to die with what little honour I have remaining. As a bondsman, I can at least prevent my honour from falling further. While your customs are barbaric, from what I can see, you people are at least an actual government, not a band of pirates.

I will resign myself to serving you for the remainder of my life if that is what is required of me. To do less would be a dishonour to my clan and myself.” She paused, then looked at him, her heterochromatic eyes moist with held-back tears from the strong emotions she was feeling about this. “Why is it so easy to talk with you, Lance Commander John Wayne? It’s like my mind wants to tell you anything you ask me, in great detail.”

“I guess it is my grandfatherly aura. Maybe it has been something weighing on your mind for a long time now. Listen, call me John, or John Wayne if that is easier for you. You don’t need to use my rank. Even the CO doesn’t really go by his rank unless it is something official.”

“Very well, John Wayne. You can address me as Mia. I am no longer a Star Commander, and I earned the Bloodname Blackwell back when I had honour. Until I find it again, I do not believe I deserve to use that name. Forgive me if I make a mistake, as we always call others by their full name and titles. That dezgra Susie Morgaine-Ryan, she forced me to call her by many titles over the years, then would beat me when I called her by one that she did not want to go by that day.”

“Sounds like she wanted an excuse to punish you for nothing. I am truly sorry you had to suffer through that.”

“Seeing her shocked, collared, and led around at sword point today made me feel very good. Thank you, John Wayne. If you execute her, will you allow me to watch?”

“We haven’t decided what to do with her yet. She is a powerful figure in a neighbouring nation, so she may be held as ransom. That will be for the King to decide, not me.”

“I see.” She said, then got quiet again. 

John could understand that she wanted to see her dead, and quite frankly, so did he. She was right there with Timur and Camila in his books.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, John putting his new… bondsmen? Out of his mind for the moment. He had a little girl to go and see.

“Daddy!” Rei shouted, jumping into his arms when he entered his apartment. Sandy was standing behind her, wearing an apron and nearly covered head to toe in flour. Rei was also liberally coated in the powder, making John think there must have been some sort of baking accident. 

I didn’t even know I had flour.

“Hello, little one. I missed you.” He said, returning her hug.

“Where is Mommy?” She asked, just noticing that it was Mia behind him, not her mother.

John stood her back on the floor and knelt in front of her. “She got hurt, but is okay. She is at the hospital, and the doctors are taking care of her right now. We will go see her in a bit, alright?”

“Okay! Auntie Sandy and I are baking cookies! Want to see!” She said, thankfully accepting that answer quickly. 

“Sure, show me your masterpieces.”

“Can we take some to Mommy?”

“I’m sure she would love that. Now show me what you two have made.” John said, ruffling her powdery hair. It really was everywhere.

“Sorry, Sir. I was just trying to find ways to keep her entertained while waiting for your return.” Sandy said, bowing her head. Then she leaned into his ear and whispered, “Is Lucy really okay?”

“She lost her legs in a reactor explosion. They are putting prosthetics on her right now. She should be out in a couple of hours, according to the doctors.”

“Good god. Did… were you not able… never mind, I know nothing of your… abilities. It was all just a nightmare, and you had power armour on.” She started to stutter, her facade beginning to break over what happened during his assault on their base.  

He took her by the shoulders then, and looked her directly in the eye. “I did what I could. Let’s leave it at that. And I need to thank you for taking care of Rei while we were gone. I can help you find a place to stay and maybe get some work if you would like. Maybe with the guards, if you are any good with mechanics, Maggie is always trying to find new people, not to mention the Leopard crews are understaffed as well.”

She looked shocked at his sudden presence in front of her face, but it prevented her from spiralling further. “I… I would appreciate that.” She stammered out finally.

“Good.” He said, releasing her. “I will see what I can do. I do have a little pull around here.” 

“Daddy! Come see!” Rei said, interrupting them. 

“Be right there.” He said, then turned to Mia. “Mia, this is Sandy, a friend of ours. And the little ball of energy who just ran into the kitchen is Rei, Lucy’s daughter and soon-to-be my stepdaughter. Make yourself at home for now. Do you want something to drink?”

“Ah. No, thank you. It is not proper for a bond- for me to accept being served by you. It is a pleasure to meet you, Sandy. May you die in glorious combat.”

“Huh?” Sandy replied, confused by the greeting.

John left them to it and followed his stepdaughter into the kitchen. There were indeed some cookies baking in the microwave/oven cooking device thing on the counter, and a massive mess throughout the small space.

Good Lord, how the hell will we get the flour out of here? 

He spent a fair amount of time with her and sampled her creations once they were ready. Sandy said it was her grandma’s recipe, but she hadn’t been able to bake anything for decades since she had been stuck with the pirates.  They tasted quite good for a simple sugar cookies, and he made sure Rei knew she did a great job. 

After the short respite and after making them both get cleaned up, he brought them downstairs and secured a pair of rooms for the next month for Sandy and Mia, on the hotel side of the Blackcat. That out of the way, he brought them both with him back to the hospital to wait for Lucy to get out of the operation. Surprisingly, James was there, along with the rest of his Lance. Although minor, all of them had various injuries, and were awaiting to be seen by the doctors.

After a quick round of introductions, during which Mia’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor when John introduced James as the CO who took her mech out, James spoke. “Well, Lad. How about showing us some of your magic tricks? Then, how about we head on over to the Blackcat for those drinks? I think you have a bit of explaining to do, for all of us.” 

“Ahh, I am here for Lucy right now.”

“I wasn’t making a suggestion this time, John. She will be fine, and Sandy there can let us know when she is out and awake.” James said, his normally calm tone turning firm. 

“Daddy! You said I couldn’t tell anyone about your magic tricks, but you already did!” Rei added, piqued a bit by his being so insistent that she could say nothing.

John sighed.

I guess we are doing this now. 

“Fine. Just… don’t freak out too much. Heal!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep