"Listen to the man, lady."

Rose and McCloud turned to the final attacker. He stood across the room, one hand cradled to his chest, the other holding a needier. The few customers who had not fled into the restaurant seemed to side with the locals. Although none seemed to be armed, they all looked ready to let the remaining Highlander finish the fight as he saw fit.

McCloud was stunned. "You provoke a fight, then threaten to kill us when we beat the snot out of you?"

The gunman did not answer, but his eyes told her the truth.

"So much for that Highlander honor you've been telling me about, Rose." Backing away from the man she'd been kicking, McCloud allowed Rose to lead her out of the restaurant.

The cool air was bracing against their sweat-soaked skin. Rose grabbed McCloud's arm and began to walk her away from the bar as quickly as possible. Although the hour was early, the streets were temporarily deserted. Heading back to The Fort, they glanced about for a cab. "You know, Rose, I think you saved my life in there."

"The hell you say. I damn near cost you your eye, not to mention your life." He spotted a cab and waved frantically. McCloud was leaning heavily on him as the adrenaline wore away.

"No. You saved my life. Now I owe you." The cab started forward and Rose quit waving. He used both hands to hold McCloud up. "Hey, where did you learn all those fancy moves?" she mumbled.

"I was stationed on Luthien for years, remember? I guess I learned the basics here on Northwind, though, from my mom." McCloud slumped against Rose, barely conscious. As she started to fall, he scooped her up in his arms and waited for the cab.

"What about that shout?" she said groggily. "Where'd you learn that?" Rose looked down at her, surprised to see she was still conscious. The cab pulled up and the driver got out to open the door, concern etched on his face.

"My spirit shout, if you believe such nonsense. My sensei said that if you were ever in great need, you could release part of your spirit to stun your opponents. That's the first time I've ever tried it in combat, though."

Blood dripped from Rose's fingers onto the pavement as the driver opened the door and tried to help Rose with Rachel, who by now was definitely unconscious. The door closed behind him and the driver trotted around to the driver's seat.

Rose looked down at McCloud and held her close. "That's also the first time I've ever heard anything that sounded like that."

4

Tara, Northwind

25 April 3054

For the next two days Rose stayed at the hospital with Rachel McCloud. The jagged wound on her shoulder had sliced through the skin and muscle, but there was no permanent damage. It had been impossible to stitch the wound, however, so McCloud was forced to keep the arm perfectly still until the injury could begin to heal itself.

Rose hovered around her bed during visiting hours and in the waiting room during the night. Twenty-four hours after being admitted, Rachel had seen enough of Rose. In no uncertain terms, she demanded that he leave her alone for the rest of the day. The duty nurses were equally glad to see him go. They had rarely been criticized as harshly for their care, or what Rose perceived as a lack thereof.

Leaving the hospital, Rose walked without purpose for a few hours, his head and stomach churning over the past days' events. Eventually he stopped for lunch at a small restaurant within the shadow of The Fort, but the meal did little to improve his darkening mood. Picking over the remains of his meal, he finally decided to go home. I'm already in a bad mood, he thought. I might as well make it really bad.

Two hours later Rose was standing in the street in front of his former family home. The cab fare had cost a small fortune, but he hadn't felt like taking the monorail to the Warrior's Quarter.

Rose wondered at the location of his father's home. Cornelius Rose was considered one of the best techs in the Highlanders, but the home the elder Rose now owned had come to him as a legacy from his wife. Although Marie Rose had died when Rose was still a child, he knew she'd been an excellent warrior and leader. He tried to recall her face, but as always, could only envision her standing in front of her Thunderboltin a cooling vest, shorts, and neurohelmet. A Mech Warrior and her 'Mech just seemed to go together.

Rose studied the house his mother's skill had purchased even though she had never lived there. Like many others, Marie Rose had died fighting in the ill-fated War of 3039. Yes, she'd been a warrior, but Rose had never reconciled himself to the waste that was her death. Any child mourned the loss of a parent, of course, but his loss went even deeper than that. Rose believed that Prince Hanse Davion of the Federated Commonwealth, and others like him, had killed his mother with their greed and megalomania. Fighting an invader like the Clans was one thing, but going to war over the ownership of a few depleted planets was another matter entirely.

The strong anti-Davion sentiments that Rose could not help but feel had earned him his father's wrath. To Cornelius Rose, Hanse Davion could do no wrong. But Rose did not believe that Davion was a saint because he had allowed the Highlanders to return to the planet Northwind, especially when it was the Davion rulers who had forced them off the planet in the first place. Rose had never forgiven Hanse Davion for his mother's death, yet the Prince's recent death had somehow softened Rose's opinion of the Federated Commonwealth. Besides, he reasoned, the loss of his mother and the split with his father had forced him into ComStar, which had been a good thing, despite the recent turn of events. Although it may not have been a fair trade, he valued his time with the Com Guards.

As always, the house looked strange to Rose. He had lived here for almost eleven years, but it had never really seemed to belong to him or his family. He'd always thought of it as his mother's personal property, just like her Thunderbolt.Rose wondered what had happened to Tea Bowl.

As a child, his brother Danny had never been able to pronounce the 'Mech's real name. The Thunderbolthad transformed from a T-Bolt to a T-Bol and finally to Tea Bowl. Even when Danny was grown up enough to pronounce the word correctly, Marie had continued to call her beloved 'Mech the Tea Bowl. Now that Danny was gone, his father had probably sold the 'Mech back to the Highlanders.

"Hey, you."

Rose was startled out of his reverie by a shout from the front porch. He had no idea how long he'd been standing in the middle of the street, but his presence had evidently attracted someone's attention.

"Why are you standing in the middle of the road staring at my house?" The woman, or girl, on the front porch seemed genuinely offended. Rose guessed her age at no more than eighteen years as she stood confidently before the open door, hands firmly on her hips. Her tight-fitting clothing revealed an athlete's figure, thin and long-limbed with broad; muscular shoulders. Rose guessed she was a swimmer, but the girl's long dark hair seemed out of keeping with the supposition.

"Sorry." Rose stepped from the street onto the sidewalk in front of the house. "I was looking for the home of Cornelius Rose." It had not occurred to Rose that the family might have moved, but with both his mother and Danny gone, the old man might well have wished to relocate with his daughter to Northwind's Tech Quarter. Then it hit him.

"Rianna?" Rose began walking forward, increasing his pace as he neared the front porch. The girl's annoyance changed to alarm as Rose picked up speed. Instead of running, however, she dropped into a defensive crouch. Realizing the effect he was having, Rose drew up just short of the porch steps. "Rianna Rose?"