"Ya of course Scar I'll ask the first chance I get for sure."

As was becoming habitual, Scarlet found herself once more in Kolme's room, sitting across from him in one of the two worn armchairs, drinking tea she now found oddly comforting.

"I'd just search it myself, but..." Kolme added.

"Hard to search her file when we don't actually know her name?" Scarlet finished for him, he nodded.

She leaned back into the chair, "Thanks, whenever you get chance - I should of already had that name myself."

Kolme frowned, "Hey you couldn't know she would fixate on something like that Scar, you're doing your best."

"Well my best doesn't seem to be worth much!"

----

"The err, the reinforcements arrived ok?" Scarlet continued, breaking the silence from her previous statement.

"Ya fine lass, 2 Neo-Cs and a pile of Tos-Duirs-Mk3s."

"You mean those little missile launchers? The ones you can strap onto the side of just about anything?"

Kolme grinned at the question;

 "You betcha! It was Nate noticed them when he attended that meeting in Bannerman - Massive pile of them going spare, Bailey Mechanics have discontinued the line you see, got some new version in the works - Anyway I got in contact with a friend of mine there and convinced him to give us the lot! Gon'na strap every last one onto the new Neo-Cs, it isn't the panicle of customisation but better then nothing."

"Discontinued or not, they can't of been cheap?" Scarlet replied, a knowing smile of her own starting to form.

"They weren't but by the time IAFS find the bill we'll of used them all up - That'll teach them to send me more reinforcements next time." Kolme boasted.

She nodded, impressed by the unexpected haul - "So what's the plan? I heard you were in another senior staff meeting this morning."

"Ya well, looks like me and Nate can't stall any longer, now that the reinforcements are here we are to enter battle again in 2 days - Well unless the Curadh decides to attack us first again, they've gotten the jump on us twice already.

 Anyway plan is pretty simple really. First we fire a full barrage including all those new missiles, they might only make small explosions in real terms, but all of them at once should give us cover to launch all our mechs, while confusing the Curadh's sensor-systems"

"Good idea, then what, another defence line like last time?"

Kolme shook his head, "Not exactly, didn't really work great the first time did it? I'm going to leave Tomo in charge of the line this time - Eh now don't give me that look, I'll still be field commander, but the four of us will be busy elsewhere."

"The four of us?" Scarlet asked.

"Yup, while the missiles give us cover, we're gonna cross the field, straight into the Curadh's airspace and lure out the Casnel - While the 7 remaining mechs will stay behind to guard our ship's under Tomo's command."

"I see." She mused, "Two battles, one between us four and the Casnel, while the rest of the machines on both sides guard their respective ships, while said ship rip into each other. It means our defence line is going to be really thin though?"

Kolme agreed, but it was they both knew, worth the risk - If the four of them could keep the Casnel occupied by themselves, then the Tristain flotilla's supior numbers and firepower might just be enough to sink the Curadh, especially if its defences consisted of just the three Vijaik Specials.

"Just two problems then, can we beat the Casnel ourselves? And what if the Fortress makes an appearance?"

Kolme sighed, "Yup, it's a risky plan but what better is there? If we leave the Casnel guard the Curadh like it did last time, then the best we can hope for is a stalemate again - And HQ have been pretty clear, in not so many words, 'Destroy them, or die trying'....

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

 Ya know Scar you're welcome to come to the Flotilla meetings, no one would complain about having you there... Well Commander Batty would but she complains about everything."

Scarlet paused a moment, normally she just fobbed off offers like this, but her and Kolme had been pretty close these last few days - She felt he deserved a proper answer;  

 "Thanks but no. I'm not just saying this, I actually think you're pretty good at your job Kolme and you've got Hoki, Tomo and Erfu there too, lots of reliable people - I think at this point you all have a dynamic, honestly I think I'd be a spare part, my style of leadership isn't actually that different from yours - And right now I think the last thing we need is to let me into meetings like those, a fox among the hens ya know?

 I really don't think I'd of come up with a better plan then you guys have - And besides, especially after this morning I don't want to leave Una alone too much."

Kolme looked truly surprised by the sincerity of her answer, then smiled softly, "Ya know you can use this bed here for things other then what we've used it for, like actually sleeping. I can keep an eye on Una for an hour, you must be exhausted Scar."

"No it's fine, thanks though. Bet'cha I'm still sleeping better then she is."

"Scar...."

"I just.... I wish I could do more Kolme. I wish I could tell you I'd go out there in two days and take down the Casnel all by myself! I wish I could tell Una it's going to be alright, that things will work out, I wish I could... Argh I don't know!!

 I'm not good at moping like this!" Scarlet growled, days of frustration building.

Kolme laughed across from her.

 "Oi, what's so funny!?"

"Nothing really, just, I'd rather see you shouting, over being depressed. Trust me when I say I know what I'm talking about with this ok? Sometimes it's too easy ta' focus on all the stuff we can't do and none of the stuff we can. Scarlet you give people hope, you make them believe they can win against any odds - That's worth somethin' Lass."

"Do you really think that? Hope? I'm just a mediocre pilot takin--"

"A deadly drug? Ya you've said that before, doesn't change the facts - You make the impossible, possible - You slay Casnels - That's what people think when they see the Scourge." Kolme smiled.

She blushed, then immediately wanted to slap herself, she couldn't remember the last time she had blushed, it wasn't the sort of thing she did - She was Thee Scarlet Scourge, not a school girl;

 "I should get back to Una now, ah, c'ya later Kolme." She murmured, standing out of her chair.

"Sure, take it easy."

She paused in the doorway of the room, hand on the handle.

 She turned back around.

"I'll do it!"

Kolme, standing himself and tidying up the tea set, gave her a confused look - "Do what?"

"I won't attend meetings or be a field commander, not right now, I really do think you've got that covered - That isn't what I can do for us now, what I can do is be the Scourge they want right?

 Get them all together, all the pilots we have left, an hour or two before the battle is scheduled, when they're most nervous, when their minds are most fixated on those who died in the last battle - I'll give 'em a speech, tell them Casnels are over-rated, that I eat 'em for breakfast! If you really think that will give them hope, help us win the battle, then that's what I can do!"

Kolme's smile was broud, it warmed her heart, "Hey Kolme, this thing we have, its more then a fling ain't it? So you should smile like that more, it's good on yo--"

His smile faltered as her sentence stopped, "What's wrong?"

"I said something like that to Una, just before the last battle, about smiling."

"She'll smile again soon, just you watch, nothing can break that girl forever." Kolme said back with a confidence she'd never heard from him before.

She grinned, that wolfish grin people knew, sometimes even feared her by, "Ya we will, I'll make you all smile again - Just you damn well watch!"