“You were there. You were with us. You are coming. Do you drink? Never mind, we will teach you. This is Ladies Night: and the Smurfettes will ride again!”
These were not Smurf clanswomen, but they had fought with the Bouncing Blue Brotherhood, the Smurf Factions during the war. Lt Pain knew and trusted them, but did not know about this thing called, Ladies Night, as there were still many customs she did not understand.
Christine Mainer led the Bunny women in, Stephanie Robbins, Melissa Powell, both Caitlyn Mainers, dressed alike to further confuse things, the leather clad sinister form of Kyra and the perky Alyssa preceded the unmistakable form of Jessica Bradley Rabbit.
Christine told Lt Pain “Its OK, John cleared it with Harley, we are taking the girls out on the town to paint it blue. Let the men do some work for a change, we have plans!”
The PA kicked in, and several of the women got the distracted look that usually means their comm implants were picking up a call.
“Attention Smurfs, all Smurfettes mount up and form up. You have been cleared for Ladies Night. We have received word that Theresa Wagner and Valeria Night have secured your tables at Minsky’s. A damage deposit of six hundred niodes has been banked. Request from the BBB Command; Please girls, do not shoot any Battle-cruisers this time!”
The women broke into fits of girlish giggles, unusual in such a serious group of professionals; except for one of the Caitlyn’s who began cursing loudly
“That was ONE TIME! Geez, let it go already…”
The mecha formed up, all sizes and color schemes, from all levels of the Smurf Clan, from the Bunnies, from Exiles, Heroes, Red Comet, Trident, Abominable Snowmen and Mechwarriors. Enough talent and experience was gathered in that tide of feminine firepower to level a small planet, or two. The men folk gathered at the view screens and watched the, usually disciplined women of their Clans head into town like a group of rowdy teenagers at Spring Break.
Cerberus Pain turned to Harley Gushwa and said “You think the city is going to survive this” Harley grinned and shrugged.
Minsky’s was crowded. This close to a Clan War, people had a lot of steam to burn off. There was a lot of aggression in the air, there were knots of people sitting together, glaring at each other. Clusters of similar uniforms identified the Clan Families, the major powers. Smaller clusters of identical uniforms identified the independent Clans. There were the usual smatterings of independent mech warrior lances, all trying to look like the hostile knots of glaring Clansmen didn’t bother them, but failing. Sheila took a look around and said loudly “Wow, you can cut the testosterone here with a Galaxy Eye, is Minsky giving out a third ball as door prizes or are these guys just naturally that wound up?”
The girls all laughed loudly and ignored the snarls from the other tables. There were lines of blue shooters at the table, and the former Smurf faction girls hit them like a charge of Keradons, the “older responsible women” showing an alarming skill at slamming shooters with one hand while signalling for more with the other. Caitlyn looked shocked “Mom!”
Stephanie smacked her on the bum and laughed, “Learn to multitask. Mind your elders, and buy the next round kiddo”
Sheri Waite reached into her handbag and pulled out the most feared device in Minsky’s; the microphone. With a grin she tossed it in the air and yelled “Head’s Up!”
Everyone turned, and half a dozen women jumped for it. Reflexes born on a heavier world caused the red hand of Lt Pain to be the ones that closed on the microphone, to her own great shock.
Her had closing on the crystal matrix activated the link to Minsky’s internal comm system, and the spotlights snapped onto the scarlet form of the terrified Smurf Phoenix.
Dozens of pilots lurched to their feet and screamed
“KARAOKE!!”
The music kicked in and a terrified Phoenix looked around, “what do I do?”
Valeria Night smiled her own dark sardonic smile and laughed, “Follow the music on Com-3, and the score on Com-1. Just let yourself go kid. If you suck, have another drink, and try it again”
This was not something they did on her planet, but she was terrified enough to open her implants to the feed, and touch the fire deep within. Letting the fir e her blood, and the fire burning from the shooters break down her barriers, she sang.
Fire is a wild thing, and alcohol burns fast and hot, so without thought she let the fire burn, let the Pain for which she was named pour out, and sang. The song was “Hell is for Children” and by the time she was done, her rage and her pain were beating the air like thunder, and the bar was screaming its approval.
Not everyone approved. From the tables at the back, a tray of whiskey came from the Highlanders. From their place in the center, a matching tray of Tequilla came from the skull wearing AFF. However what came from Takeda 1st Wing was something else.
“She shows a good voice, but no loyalty.” The voice was cold and ugly. Many heads turned and some of the pilots pushed their seats back, readying themselves for what might happen next.
“We are here with our Clan, with our brothers and sisters, mourning our dead, celebrating our victories, and here you are, with strangers, as if your own Clan’s meant nothing, as if your dead meant nothing.”
Mk Mathews rose slowly from the Raging Vengeance table and walked between them, something passed between him and the leaders of the other Clans as he took charge of a situation about to explode. He nodded to the ladies, and then turned to Takeda.
“I see loyalty is important to everyone here, but words are empty. We are warriors, and the proof is always found upon the field. Will Takeda take their question to the arena? To face the women of the Blue Bouncing Brotherhood mecha to mecha?”
The Takeda leader rose, and accepted. “If we win, they will scrape the Clan colors they dishonour off their mecha.”
Theresa Wagner had been holding Pain as she cried, and answered back hotly for the BBB.
“When we win, you will wash our mecha in your jockstraps!”
The bar filled with howls of laughter, as the assembled Clans voiced their opinion on bold women.
+++Minsky Arena+++
“Ladies and Gentlemen, it has been agreed that this will be a Clan match; maximum of 15 per side. Takeda has conceded the BBB may bring the full fifteen to the field in recognition of the far higher division and level of Takeda. Battle continues until one side is unable to discharge a weapon, or signals surrender. Death will not absolve your bar tab. Begin!”
Takeda functioned like a finely meshed machine. Terrors of the battlefield, they actually were light in tonnage for their division, making up in skill and speed what they lacked in heavy metal. Their weapons and training were easily the equal of any, and would make short work of any scratch force, with no history of shared battle. Their mecha swung into battle like a pack of wolves, falling upon a large herd of sheep.
Faction War had been a brutal crucible. In the long run up to the war, the men and women of the Bouncing Blue Brotherhood had learned to fight as one. From a dozen clans, they came together in common cause, through two heavy Clan Raids, and the madness of Faction War, that dwarfed the fighting of any previous Clan Level war. Those who shared that hell of endless slaughter learned to fight as if a single living thing, a single will in over a dozen hulls. The women of the BBB, in equipment ranging from super heavies down to mediums, swung into battle formation with the ease of a pride of lioness hunting the plains.
They came together like lava meeting the sea. The explosion of missiles, beams and gauss slugs gave way to the crash of mecha actually striking each other, in a close quarter melee that only resulted when two sides utterly abandoned defense, in favor of guaranteeing kills.
Daniel rocked under the power of a Bullseye rail, watching his own plasma wash over the Dreadnought that stepped between him and his chosen prey. The clan less rabble moved alarmingly like his own troops, watching each others backs, meshing their attacks, and instantly stepping up into the breech his own kills had made.
Two waves of missiles converged on him, a Tandem Bomb and T85 Berserker spread combined to utterly overwhelm his shields in a precisely “Time on Target” salvo that only the elite clans could deliver. As he rode his Luison to the ground, and his feedback to the edge of unconsciousness, he wasn’t aware he was broadcasting as he swore
“How the frack can honor less wretches who betray their clans fight together as good as we do?”
Igor’s Buchis stepped over his fallen form, and answered missiles with a Galaxy Eye that dropped finished one of the attacking mecha.
“I tried to tell you boss, these girls aren’t betraying anything. They fought the whole damned Faction War together, and you know how tight that makes people."
The battle hung on the balance, Takeda’s superior power balancing the number of the BBB women, but Daniel snarled in his cockpit, his honour could be lost on the field today, and not by losing.
“Mi o hiku! Takeda, stand down. Weapons tight.”
Honor road was a hard one, to live your honor meant you did what was right, even if it meant accepting public shame, when you could have covered your error with the blood of your Clansmen, and blameless women. Takeda was about loyalty, and shaming these women would cheapen that. They showed no disloyalty, and any victory his men won upon the field would taint both his men and these women with his shame. There was only one answer.
“I admit my error. You have won honor for your Clans, for the Blue Bouncing Brotherhood. You were sisters in battle, you will be comrades forever. Takeda 1st Wing salutes you. The blame is mine alone, the shame is mine alone. I accept the debt” His Clan mates howled their rejection, whatever came, they would face it together.
===Smurf Mecha Bay===
Cerberus Pain and Harley Gushwa looked upon their mech bay, and worried. Inside he saw a number of warriors wearing only jockstraps washing the girls mecha. Unless he was gravely mistaken, Harley thought he recognized the tattoos of a few of the pilots as belonging to Takeda 1st Wing. In front of the naked dripping men, the women were sipping coffee in lawn chairs, except for one graceful red skinned form that was curled up sleeping, cuddling a glittering crystal microphone.
Cerberus whispered “Do we ask?” Harley showed the leadership that made him Papa Smurf “No way!”
Submitted by John T Mainer#28840