“This is what happens when you don’t bargain,” Allen grumbled, in a foul mood. He sat in the office on board the Purple Onion, tapping a data crystal on his desk.

“The crew that took the Dementor? Somehow they found out that last time you paid the ransom for 5 million C-bills. So that’s what they’re asking for it.”

Katarina had the grace to appear downcast, and not to reply. Allen continued.

“I am offering them a million to scrap it, with proof, so it doesn’t get passed around to God knows whom. I am including half payment if they sign the agreement, half upon receipt of proof. I expect I’ll be getting a reply within a week to two weeks. In the meantime… I don’t know. We can’t keep doing this. Your reputation precedes you, and everyone is gunning for you. The Dementor simply does not have enough armor to stand up to that kind of firepower, regardless of how fast it can move. You can’t jump every ten seconds and preserve enough heat sink capacity to make use of all your weapons anyways.

“I know how much the speed of that Mech means to you: I really do. But at this rate we’re going to go broke just trying to fix the damned thing every time you take it out.”

Katarina sighed. “I know you are right, my love, but I just can’t imagine piloting anything else now. What am I supposed to do?”

Allen considered. “I don’t know yet. We will think of something. But until we do, I’m afraid you’re grounded.”

Katarina nodded mutely. As there seemed to be nothing else to say, she stood to go. Allen watched her go, then returned to his holopad.

* * * * * * * *

They had retreated to a holding point on the planet of New Lincoln, a moderately well-known hangout for mercenary units that were not on active duty.

Allen was perhaps at his lowest when he received a call on his comm.

“Andurien Avengers, Allen McGee speaking: who’s calling, please?”

He was pleasantly surprised as the holovid popped up with a familiar face.

“Graham O’Connor here, Allen. How are you doing?”

Allen’s face broke out in a smile. “Graham, you old son-of-a-gun! Good to see you! Are you in system? I don’t detect any lag here…”

“Had a special mission that required a stopover here. A favor for a friend.

“I couldn’t help but notice, you didn’t answer my question. Is everything okay lately?”

Allen sighed, the smile fading. “To be honest, no. Katarina got shot down, and we couldn’t salvage her mech. We are really underpowered right now, and we haven’t been able to take on any new missions. I am still trying to figure our way out of this hole, and nothing seems to be working out.

“But that’s not your area of concern. I will work something out; I always do. So: what can I do for you?”

Graham was smiling, apparently not too concerned about the plight Allen was telling him about. It was odd; Graham was usually more sympathetic.

“I was just hoping you and your people could take a look at a Mech I’d like to send over. I’m sure you could figure out something to do with it: my people have done everything they can.”

Allen blinked. “I am sure Mike and Tommy would be glad to take a look at any kind of problem you’ve had come up. But I thought you had an excellent crew there, yourself. If your boys have had a go at it, I can’t say that my guys could do any better.”

Graham nodded. “I do: my boys are top of the line. They have put a lot of work into this. But in this case, I think your people are more qualified to take it from here. If that’s okay, Troy and Sarah will be by in about fifteen minutes.”

Allen shrugged. “Alright: if that’s what you want to do. I’ll let the crew know to expect a Mech coming our way from you.”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“I appreciate that,” Graham replied. “Trust me: you won’t be sorry.”

Allen met Katarina in the hall, apparently coming to see him. He waved to her and waited as she approached. She smiled to see him, and kissed him before she spoke.

“Getting out of the office? Good for you! You’ve been moping over paperwork for far too long. So, what’s the occasion?”

Allen began walking down the hall towards the lift. “Graham O’Connor is sending over a Mech that his boys at the MHSC have been working on, and apparently there’s something about it that they can’t solve. So, I’m going to have Mike and Tommy take a look, see what they can figure out.”

Katarina frowned. “He didn’t tell you anything more than that? How strange. I suppose they will have a file on the issue when they get here. But still, that’s very strange.”

“Yes, indeed,” Allen replied, “which is why I decided to take a look for myself. I’m happy to do Graham a favor: the MHSC have been valuable allies. I just wonder at all the cloak and dagger going on about it, though.”

As they entered the lift, Allen thumbed his wrist comm.

“Call going out to whom, please?” the automated voice inquired.

“Mike Madsen and Tommy Jones, please.”

In a moment the mechanic and the techie had answered. “I need you two to meet us in the mech bay as soon as possible. We have a Mech from MHSC they have asked for you to look over.”

“Sure thing, boss,” Mike drawled: “We’re already down here, runnin’ some diagnostics on the Grasshopper. We kin set ‘er aside an’ take a look at whatever them boys have got.”

Down in the bay, Allen signaled for the bay door to be opened to admit their guest. Slowly the door lowered outwards to convert to a ramp for the incoming Mech to mount.

Apparently Graham and the Duct Tape were parked somewhere to the side of the Purple Onion, as they could not see the approaching mech but could hear its footsteps as it came near. Before the Mech hove into view, a jeep drove up the ramp and Sarah Greene stepped out, flashing them a big smile. “Just tell me where you want it parked, and we will bring it on in.”

Allen was about to indicate the largest mech gantry, useful for any kind of repairs, when he stopped in mid-wave, and his jaw dropped. Rounding the corner and coming up the ramp was the last thing he had expected to see: Katarina’s Dementor, fully restored and painted in its original shiny white with a purple stripe down the left front.

Sarah grinned. “So: where would you like it?”

Allen was so nonplussed he couldn’t think to answer for a moment. Katarina spoke up. “Bay number three, please, right over there.”

Her voice trembled with emotion as she spoke. “But… How?”

Sarah continued to smile. “We were checking out Discount Dan’s Mechs and More when we spotted her sitting in a corner. We would not have known it was yours except for the battered paint job: otherwise we would have assumed it was just another Wraith.

“She was rather badly torn up, as I am sure you guessed. But we were able to restore her fully, and here she is.”

The Dementor turned to bay number three, then backed up to the gantry and powered down. Troy Hayes stepped out of the cockpit, waving as he made his way to the lift.

“Howdy, folks! Somebody lose something?”

It took a moment for Allen to recover his composure. “This is… beyond incredible. We paid a million C-bills for her to be scrapped so that no enemy could get their hands on her. I’ve never been so glad to be cheated out of a million c-bills in my life.”

Sarah shrugged. “What can I say? We got lucky, and we are happy to pass her back to you.”

There were tears in Katarina’s eyes as she continued to stare at the restored Mech. “How can we possibly repay you? What do we owe you for the repairs?”

“Not a thing,” said Sarah: “It was our pleasure to give you something back for all the times we have fought side by side. We hope you will use her well, and be careful not to lose her again.”

Troy stepped off the lift and approached with a holopad in hand. “Man! She is a sweet ride! I can see why you like her so much.

“I should tell you that Avery did have one issue with the repairs. He said the handshake between fire control and those Clan Pulse Lasers was giving him shit fits trying to properly attune the two. He installed a diagnostic reader to see if it would catch what the issue is and how to resolve it. I’ve got the access code for the reader here: who should I give it to?”

Mike stepped forward, pulling out his own holopad. “Right here, thank ya vurrah much. Ah’ll be happy ta look over the data, see what we get.”

Troy synched his holopad to Mike’s, then turned back to Allen and Katarina with a satisfied grin on his face. “So: anything else we can do for you guys today?”

Allen sighed. “Absolutely nothing, except accept our deepest, heartfelt gratitude. Can we honor you with a banquet, anything?”

Sarah shook her head. “Thank you, but we must be going. We have another assignment in this area, and will be taking off shortly. Graham said you were really missing this lady, and would probably be getting assignments with her very soon. We wish you the best: take good care of her! And perhaps we shall see you soon.”

So saying, she and Troy mounted in the jeep, turned around and drove out. Allen and Katarina turned to each other, still stunned for a moment, then grabbed each other in a tight embrace, whooping for joy.