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[Xelah]

This is my first attempt at writing any fanfic for anything. I'm not amazingly familiar with BT lore, but I think I might be able to write some interesting OC's and hopefully not destroy any canon facts.

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Chapter One:


Nianzu shifted anxiously and read the message again, even though he'd already committed the entire thing to memory. He was to meet Mei Li, a friend of the family and mechanic for his family's Jenner. She would take him to where they buried his brother.

“All passengers are advised to return to their seats and fasten their seat belts,” the shuttle's intercom squawked, “Failure to do so will result in a less favorable experience with Mushu-Murphy Shuttle Service.”

Nianzu grumbled his annoyance, having not left his seat. He and his brother hadn't been close, but now the family depended on him to make something of himself. Chao was the hard worker, earned citizenship and everything. Nianzu on the other hand was happy with a beer and some holovid clips of the latest arena fights at the end of the day.

The shuttle rattled and creaked as it entered the atmosphere. Unsecured objects clattered to the floor as gravity took hold again.

“Stupid budget shuttle,” he moaned as his lunch fought to liberate itself from his body. The jarring thud of the ground was a welcome change.

“Thank you for flying with Mushu-Murphy Shuttle Service. You could have picked anyone, but you couldn't afford them and had to settle for us. And for that, we are sorry. Now get off my boat.”

Nianzu punched the loudspeaker as he passed through the airlock. It must have been made out of tougher stuff than most of the rest of the vessel. His hand hurt, and he didn't put a dent into the casing. Bitter cold wind and dim orange sunlight greeted him.

The other passengers channeled past him as he fumbled with his Comnav-650 to get directions. Deciding to forgo any more transportation, he walked the four kilometers to the hangar. A thought occurred to him as he struggled against the heavier-than-normal gravity of this backwater planet; his parents had not sent him to pay respects to his fallen brother. They sent him to help support the family. He was the new pilot.

Nianzu wasn't exactly sure what he thought about that. This could be an opportunity for awesomeness. Then again, he could be killed. Horribly. Of course that wasn't why Chao was dead. Chao had a brain aneurism while putting his pants on a few weeks ago.

Out of breath, he arrived at the hangar. “Hold up there. This is a restricted area,” the guard called out to him.

“I'm here to meet someone.” He held up his identification chip

“That way, and keep to the orange marked areas.” The guard gestured inside.

The hangar looked old, but the tools and bays well maintained. Ignoring the directions about orange areas, he strode toward the only Jenner in the building. It was a little beat up, but Mei Li had held it together quite well considering the shoestring budget. A new coat of paint and nobody would notice the odd chip in the armor here and there.

“Hey! Get away from there!” A voice shouted, erupting into a cacophony of shouting and weapons being drawn.

“Relax!” Nianzu shouted, “I'm just here to find my mechanic and get my 'mech.”

A firm hand pulled him around to discover his mechanic. Mei li, with her one eyebrow permanently flat and slightly lower than the other, giving her a distrusting look, stared back at him. “What are you doing? Are you trying to get shot?”

“I was just-”

“We're over there.” She gestured to something in the orange area that looked like it might have been a Jenner once.

“What the. . . how-”

“Pretty slick, huh?”

“Why does it have bunny ears?” He stared up at the rusted monstrosity.

“Those aren't bunny ears,” Mei Li gestured upward with a grin. “A couple years ago, we couldn't afford repairs, but I won those in a card game and was able to make them fit.”

“What are they?” Nianzu probably could have tried harder to hide the look passing over his face.

“Those,” she paused, “are the arms from an old Firebee. I had to mount them upside down and on the wrong side to make them fit.”

“This thing is rusted to pieces.”

“No, this isn't rust. This is the latest in experimental ferrous-oxide armor.” She smirked as she tapped a bit of armor with a wrench, producing a small cloud of rust.

“What about that? That looks like it was painted to look like rust.”

“That is more experimental armor. It's a carbon-fiber composite refined from oak trees.”

“Paper? I'm going to die,” Nianzu wailed, “This thing is a death trap!”

Sharp pain just below his ear sent him crashing to the floor. Mei Li stood over him with her wrench. “Insult this machine again, and I won't use my fist next time.” She prodded his nose with the wrench for emphasis. “More selfless people than you have sweat and bled to keep this thing running.”

Nianzu struggled to his feet.

“There are Catapults that don't have this kind of firepower up close. There's a medium laser and six racks of Hovertec dual missile launchers. The jump jets are still good and the engine is a General Motors 300 XL with custom heatsinks that I made myself, and your brother might have had a hand in shooting the legs off an Uziel so we could get the engine.” She frowned a bit. “So if you want to cry about some rust or a spot where we shaved off some armor to save weight, go ahead, but do not call Little Chen a death trap.”

“Little Chen?” He spoke quietly and with a hand to his jaw.

“It's what I named my baby.” She tapped the rust spot again with her wrench.