What was it I wanted? I remembered the face of my father, the day he returned to Marakani and told us that he was now one of the Dispossessed. A MechWarrior in the service of House Kurita. his Mech had been shot to pieces around him in the fighting at Mallory's World. The Regimental DropShip had returned him to us. that he might tell us he was no longer a warrior, buta simple man without caste or position or responsibility... a man with nothing left except his honor.
He brought us the money he'd earned fighting House Davion, then died the next morning as the sun rose above the mountains. A man without honor is not a man,he'd said. He died a man.
The others in the room watched silently. Most had their weapons pointed at me, but others wavered.
With Hassan as hostage, I could probably make it outside the headquarters, there to lose myself in the crowds. Okabi had found the underground that existed within the city. Perhaps I could find it as well.
But the choice was between life...and honor.
My finger tightened on the trigger, and the heavy caliber weapon bucked in my hand. The pellets smashed into Hassan's chest and face at a range-of three meters, spraying the shards of Holmes's good luck charm in bloody gore across the room.
'Honor.' I told the corpse.
I didn't even feel the blasts of his bodyguards' weapons an instant later.
NATASHA KERENSKY: A BIOMEDICAL REPORT
Tara Gallagher & James Lanigan
Misha Auburn
Archival Report or Natasha Kerensky DBA the Black Widow
Security Clearance: Eyes Only
Number 2 of 3 copies
Object:
Natasha Kerensky is one of the best known and most successful MechWarrior leaders currently active. Kerensky has worked for four of the five Successor States in the last 15 years. Some insight into her motivations, methods, and goals may prove useful in keeping her employed here, or in neutralizing her, should she leave.
Also, Kerenaky's origins are unknown. Especially in light of her name, it is important to know as much as possible about potential problems, conflicts, or hidden agendas.
Methods:
Personal Interview 4/7/3023
Medical Records, Chukchi III, 3020
Personal papers of Natasha Kerensky
‘Natasha Kerensky: The Woman, The Myth, The MechWarrior,’ Reader's Digest, May 3021
Photographs and holographs from Lyran Commonwealth and ComStar Archives
Various unsourced material
HOLOGRAPHIC/PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE
Remarkably few photographs and holographs of Kerensky exist in our archives. Intelligence suggests that the situation is the same in other Houses. This is in keeping with the minimal amount of data extant on Kerensky, but is even more suggestive of deception, or at least coverup.
Computer analysis of exiating physical evidence suggests consistent facio-cranial structure, but alterations of fat and muscle formation. The pictures suggest the same woman with periodic reconstructive surgery.
Those pictures with positive dates suggest facial alteration at of the following dates: 3007* major, 3010* minor, 3013* minor, 3015 minor, 3017 major, 3019 minor, 3020 minor, 3022 minor, 3024 major, 3026 milnor.
*Dates or identification inconclusive.
MEDICAL REPORTS
Medical examination by Lyran Commonwealth Official Physician, as condition of employment by Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces, is incomplete. On medical history questionnaire, Kerensky lists date and place of birth, parents and date of menarche as ‘unknown, ‘and family medical problems as ‘none.’ Dr. Bona, the attending physician, was unable to get more than ‘time and temperature, ‘that is, a reading of pulse, blood pressure, and temperature. A blood sample revealed no diseases, and then disappeared from the lab.
Dr. Bona did note irregularities in skin appearance highly suggestive of scarring and plastic surgery. Certain shaping of the ears and mouth especially suggested this, and there was evidence of possible burns and skin grafts on Kerensky's arm, although they had been treated to be invisible from a slight distance. No dental records are available, but Dr. Bona's report suggests the possibility of some replaced teeth.
Kerensky probably has suffered at least one instance of severe injury and treatment, including reconstructive surgery by a highly skilled practitioner. There is no way to tell from current records if Kerensky has undergone surgery for merely cosmetic reasons.
INTERVIEW WITH NATASHA K. APR 7 3023
MA: Thank you for your time.
NK: ‘I've always considered history the most important discipline. It's my duty to share my experiences.
MA: With your long and varied career-you've served four governments on dozens of worlds-it's hard to tell where to start.
NK: You might try the beginning.
MA: (Laughs) Good answer. Where are you from?
NK: Human space, I presume.
MA: Well, maybe you could tell me what was the first planet you remember?
NK: Father traveled a lot. I really don't know where we were.
MA: Uh huh. What did your father do?
NK: He was a 'Mech driver, of course. My mother was an engineer. Biological, I think. That seems right.
MA:Genetic?
NK: Yes, she was my mother.
MA: What was your father's regiment?
NK: I really don't know. I was young. I wasn't very political.
MA: I presume you inherited your father's 'Mech.
NK: Oh, no. No.
MA: Why not?
NK: Oh, Misha, dear, I'd rather not talk about that. It was very long ago.
MA: How long ago?
NK: It might have been yesterday, I remember it so vividly. I...I really can't talk about that.
MA: O.K., then where did you get your current 'Mech?
NK: From the wreckage of dozens of battles. The left arm was mostly captured on New Wessex. Both of the feet, -or maybe just one of the feet, came from New Delos. -You can't tell the pieces apart because we paint them all black. MA: Why black?
NK: Because I'm in mourning for my life.
MA: That's horrible. What's wrong?
NK: God, Misha, that was a joke.
MA: Chekhov?
NK: Chekhov.
MA: How did you join Wolf's Dragoons?
NK: I was young. It was spring time. We were MechWarriors.
MA: I thought you said you would help. Do you want to go down in history, as a flippant, snotty bitch?
NK: I don't much care. I've fought in...what...a hundred battles, a thousand battles? It could be a million as far as I know. I've fought for anybody who offered a decent contract and a couple who didn't. And the universe is not much different after all that. I could go on fighting for another hundred years and it would still look the same.
MA: Then why do you do it?
NK: Isn't that obvious? I like it. I like the pay. I like the people I'm with. I like the life. It's interesting. It keeps me young. Mostly, I like the battlefield. Just when you've seen everything, someone finds a new devious wrinkle and you're back where you were 20 years ago. That keeps me young.
And, it's all I know. You might like to raise orchids for a living, but all you know is history. So, you have to love what you do.
Anything else you'd like to know? Some grooming tips for my fans?
MA: a matter of fact, I would like to talk about your appearance.
NK: Now, don't try to make me sound shallow and vain, Misha. Something about how Keren sky laughed, tossing her raven tresses over her shoulder. That sort of thing.
MA:Blond.
NK: Whatever.
MA: There's no denying that you are a striking woman—a large part of the Natasha Kerensky mystique.
NK: Ah, yes. The belle dame sans merci. The sweet young thing who will blast your nuts off. The kitten with a whip. That mystique?
MA: Well, these pictures of you running across battlefields in improbable outfits.
NK: Well, you know that MechWarrlors dress skimpily because of the heat and tight space inside a 'Mech.