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Legion Of Steel, Those Who Chose The Wild Raven


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#1 William Draven

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Posted 13 January 2013 - 05:34 PM

William was relaxing with his legs stretched out as much as possible in Wrath's cockpit. He was leaning off a bit to the left side of the cockpit, and was working on his drawings of science-fiction and fantasy creatures and characters. Maybe he'd make some form of entertainment from it, such as a holovision series or something.

He glanced up for a moment after feeling someone gazing directly at him in the Battlemech's cockpit. He met her eyes. ~Is she a pilot or maintenance crew?~ he wondered. His phenomenal eyesight gave him a moment to partially read her name badge, but she saw where he was looking and covered her badge with her left hand, smiling wryly at him. Intercepted at trying to figure out who she was, he began to notice, well, her. In the nearly skin-tight black pilot's suit with a coolant vest over the top, she seemed to be taunting him. She smirked again and walked down the hangar.

"Okay, so whoever she is, she was certainly taunting me in some manner or another..." he said to himself, intentionally ignoring the more... typical thoughts that cross a person's mind when they see someone who appeals to them. He glanced up once more, but she didn't appear. "Perhaps I am drawing too much and not sleeping enough... Am I now seeing imaginary women?" he asked the air.

"Nope. You aren't." came a woman's voice behind him. He whirled around with his combat instincts, only to bash his head and upper back on the roof of the Centurion's cockpit. "Starblood..." he swore. "Get away from my Battlemech." He said with no real emotion, rubbing his head with his right hand as the drawing supplies in his left arm dropped to the floor of the cockpit.

"I'll--" she started to bend over to grab them and hand them to him. "No. Do not touch my personal effects please, madam. I knew I should not have left the hatch open..." he complained, irate with the fact she just walked up to his 'Mech without permission.

"Why did you come to my Battlemech?" He asked a bit abrasively.

"You looked bored and lonely, so I decided to stop by, Mr. Draven." she said slyly.

"Well, I was not bored, or lonely, so you may leave now. If you choose to approach my 'Mech again, ask first, Madam Steiner." he added with a bit of a snarling tone. Why was an Inner Sphere Steiner even in this area? Didn't they have their own personal war to run? William was not overly fond of the fact that an Inner Sphere Stravag was pestering him.

She frowned and made a grab for his drawing pad, but he moved it away, and did so three more times. "Do not touch my items Stravag!" Draven growled. He knew many of the Legionnaires knew that he was different, but none of them knew the specifics of why he was here, nor would they care, unless it became made known that he was relaying information to Clan Snow Raven to barter off with the other clans, and that became a threat to the Legion.

"You're an ***." She complained, and then climbed down from the tiny space they were momentarily -and awkwardly- sharing. She stopped for a moment and looked back up to ask him a question, only to see and hear the hatch snap and lock shut.

"Wow, a hermit MechWarrior who lives in his 'Mech and calls people weird names. What the hell is a Stravag anyway?" she asked the air walking off.

William turned on the communications system for a moment to see if any orders for drops were coming in. If not, he would simply Lone Wolf it for a while, since it didn't seem they specifically needed him at the moment.

((O.O.C.: Just making a story for myself here. I do not see many issues with this. Quite a few of you know my back story at this point.))

#2 William Draven

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Posted 17 January 2013 - 09:19 PM

William had just finished a relatively acceptable "meal" of military rations he was given by one of his fellow legionnaires. He was, as usual, sitting in his Centurion's cockpit drinking his hot cocoa while reading a series of stories about a famous detective on his holopad. He preferred the binding of old, solid books, but he knew that the space restrictions within the cockpit would not permit a small library in the tiny space.

He heard a knock on the outside of the hatch. "Perhaps whoever that is simply has the wisdom to ask permission. He flipped the switch and the hatch hissed open.

"Hello Mister Draven." came a woman's voice, almost sarcastic in nature.

"Hello Madam Steiner. Can I help you?" he replied in a question.

"Care to join me for a meal or at least to stretch your legs a bit?" she asked with the same even-tone as usual. But expecting a no.

"Sure, as a reward for having some respect I shall join you, but I have eaten already." he replied, standing partway up in the small space and turning around to climb out. She stared in surprise because she was truly expecting a declination.

"Madam Steiner?" He prodded lightly for her attention.

"Damn it, stop addressing me so formally..." she complained. "My first name is Zoey. Zoey Steiner." she introduced herself finally.

"Alright. A fair exchange then. William Draven. But you may call me William." he stated, knowing that forming some pseudo-bond with other legionnaires by allowing name exchanges could be beneficial in combat. It closes the distance between members of a team allowing better cooperation.

They climbed down, Zoey proceeding down first, as William suggested. Once on the ground level of the dropship, she lead him toward the mess hall. She pointed out a table with a group of other Legionnaires, but he shook his head and pointed at a poorly lit table in the back corner, far away from the bar. She snorted in a bit of irritation, but followed his wish.

They sat down silently at opposite sides of the table, and William continued to read.

"You aren't very... sociable are you?" she asked, annoyance prevalent in her voice.

"No." he replied simply, still reading and drinking his hot cocoa.

"Aw come on! I invite you to sit with me, hoping for a decent conversation and you just sit there and read?" she groaned, leaning her head back in frustration. "Talk damn it!" she shouted. Everyone in the room looked to their corner, and Zoey turned as red as the Legion's patch on her left shoulder.

William raised an eyebrow, but followed her gaze to the group of legionnaires at the table she pointed out earlier. There were mostly males there, but a couple of women as well. A total of six.

William looked at them, his face hidden from Zoey and they stopped they're attempted attention grabbing for Zoey. In fact, the fell quieter than a graveyard. after which, he turned back around with the same neutral expression as was ALWAYS on his damn face. A face that drove Zoey absolutely nuts.

"What the hell did you do? They aren't even talking among themselves anymore..." she said quietly, still looking in their direction, but leaning toward him so she wouldn't be heard.

"I silenced them without words." He stated nonchalantly. "Let's just say there are things most people wouldn't want to know about me." he stated, returning, again, to his reading.

She sighed again, and started talking. "William, I am sure you have been asking yourself why I wasn't participating in my family's war. Well..." she began, "I don't care who rules the IS. I just want to get paid by fighting, because I see no point in a revival of the old royalty wars from ancient history. As long as I get food on my plate and drinks in my cups, I don't care who wins. Besides, I have more freedom being a merc than to be a slave to some military I barely know."

So, yet again, William's talent for gaining information was at work. He didn't ask, yet he was told.

"I see." he stated in a seemingly interested tone. "Did you give up your claim to any thrones?" he asked.

"Yeah. I hate politics. It's much easier to just fight for money than to try to come up with a decent policy to rule with." she answered, leaning back and unzipping her coolant vest, revealing her impressive, and fit, body. William raised an eyebrow because the vest was so restrictive. She unzipped her vest, and everything filled out quite nicely. Her very ample chest was the first thing he noticed.

"Stop staring would you?" she said shyly. "Although it does feel nice to be free to breathe without the restraint of that vest..." she mumbled looking into her dark drink.

William couldn't help himself, and he smirked. No, laughed. Either of these options seemed to surprise her. He lifted his gaze to her shoulder-length black hair, and tightened the braided ponytail on his own blonde, nearly white, hair.

"You.. smiled. And laughed?" she stated in shock. "Or have I had too much brandy?" she asked dubiously.

"No, I did both. I heard what you mumbled and found it amusing. Is that wrong by people of this... area?" he asked half-joking.

"Now you crack something of a joke. That's it. No more brandy for me..." she decided, and put her glass down, pushing it away.

"You thought I was some stone-hard person then?" he asked, smirking again.

"I guess I did..." she laughed nervously. Even though he was VERY attractive to her, something in his emerald gaze and mannerisms intimidated the life out of her. He was quite frightening to her. She regained herself.

"So, where are you from William?" she asked, dying to know where he could have come from that would make him so... predatory, yet so damn appealing. Like a vampire from the old legends.

As if reading her thoughts, he laughed again. "Zoey, I am no such creature as you might imagine. However, I am... hesitant to reveal my origins, so IF and only if I tell you, you must take the knowledge to your grave, unless I feel trusted enough to share with the others. Do you accept that condition?" his tone was grave and cold, very cautious, yet full of warning.

"Well, I WOULD like to know, but I must admit I'm a bit scared of it." she admitted, noticing him wince at something in her sentence. "William?"

"Your speech... it is..." he searched for the words. "...rather coarse." he decided on that for the word.

"How's that? she asked, noticing the wince again.

"You... shorten words that need not be shortened. Where I came from you do not downgrade the language. It looks... it is unappealing." he states carefully.

"What do you mean? I'm--" She stops after the last word. "Ah. You speak like those in Star League did many..." Her eyes widen a bit with nervousness and basic fear. ~A CLANNER!?~ her thoughts bring great fear. They hadn't been heard about very much in a long time.

"Hmm, judging by your expression I would say that you have figured out something of my heritage. Do not worry. My origins are from a Clan, yes, I admit it, that is not very, well, prominent. Are you familiar with Clan Snow Raven?" he asked calmly.

"Well, last I heard they were nearly wiped out. Well, I heard that they were wiped out, but I don't think that's entirely true. So why the HELL would a Clanner be in IS space?" she asked, her hand on her sidearm.

"Think about what you know. Your thoughts are correct. Clan Snow Raven is not what it once was you see. So, I am here to make a living. Much like yourself." he told her, revealing SOME of the truth, but the gathering of information was, well, irrelevant. To the Stravags at least. Well, most of the Inner Sphere was freebirth scum, but perhaps there were exceptions. William, however, had decided he would avoid too much attachment if he could help it. Such a thing could jeopardize his mission. Especially to an Inner Sphere Freeborn. Oh how his clan would torment him for that. Despite his ability to perform in battle being leagues ahead of other Freebirth members of his clan, he still had more proving to do before they would stop with the harassment and superiority complex over him. Although... ~NO! Such thoughts are traitorous and considered treason!~ he mentally scolded himself.

"William?" Zoey's shy voice came through his deep thought like a calm breeze of warm air on a bitter winter day.

"Yes Zoey?" he replied, kindly.

"I mean no offense but you have told me things I would never have expected. Because of that, I feel I need to retire for the night to process it. And as you requested I can take this information to my grave. Just because I know it could cause trouble for you. Good night." she stated shakily, zipping up her vest to hide herself from the other men around the dropship.

"I understand. Would you like me to accompany you to your quarters?" he asked politely.

"I think I'll be alright." she said nervously, not noticing what William had seen.

"Alright. Perhaps I should try sleeping in the quarters I was assigned upon joining as well. I still have the key, but, I have yet to use that room. But you have made me less concerned, so I shall see how sleeping in a real bed feels." He stated with a smile, secretly watching her pull out her key to her room, which was Gamma 115. Not too far from the mess hall, but two floors below his room. Since he did not "know" the ship's layout, he could play the lost and tired card if she caught what he was about to do.

He waited a couple of minutes to let her leave as she nervously walked out of the mess hall, and once she was clear, he watched the others, who were far too inebriated for their own good gather up and follow after her about thirteen meters behind.

William would follow five behind them, yet remain unnoticed. He saw the lust in the drunkards' eyes, and knew it would probably be wise of him to ensure they do not act foolish.

Some time later, he heard some noise down a corridor, and walked silently toward it. Upon making the turn around the corner, he noticed that the four males were talking about rather... crude things as they followed Zoey. This angered him, but he would not show it. He saw one, then two of them pin her against the wall, hounding her about why she had to zip up her vest in monstrously slurred speech. They began to move their hands inappropriately. William saw this, and quickened his silent walk to a sprint of little sound. The loud, foul drunks would not hear him coming. Three meters...two... and the two unoccupied drunks were thrown onto their backs. The two inappropriate fools stopped their harassment once the noticed the Emerald Gaze and fit, but wiry William standing where the other two were less than two seconds ago.

"Hey, blondie, go find another toy. We call her for the--" the fool who spoke was lifted by his throat and knocked unconscious by a kick from William who had maintained balance while holding a man noticeably larger than himself by the neck. The other one let go of Zoey and moved to attack him from behind, since he had turned his back to him. William dropped him with a swift elbow to the Solar Plexus, and spun and kicked him just hard enough to knock him unconscious.

"William!? What did you do to them?" Zoey asked, panicked.

"Worry not. I have simply made them have a harsher hangover upon waking. No real harm has been done. I have enough control to prevent that. More importantly, are you hurt?" he asked with genuine concern, running his eyes over her arms and neck to ensure no bruising or other injuries had occurred to her.

"Yes..." she replied, then gaining her resolve, realizing she was pinned next to her door. "Why did you follow me? What do you want?" she asked, anger starting to boil.

"To ensure your safe arrival to your quarters, Madam Steiner. Nothing more." he bowed like a gentleman, and decided now was a good time to play the "lost and tired" card. "Well, that is what occurred. I actually am lost you see. I have never been to my quarters, so I did not know where I was going. I heard noise, and came to investigate because I heard your voice. Would you mind telling me how to reach Gamma 317? I am rather tired and lost..." he stated somewhat convincingly.

"I don't buy it William." She sighed. "Thanks though. Gamma 317 is on the third level of the dropship. The elevator is right down this corridor next to my room." she finished. Then she realized what he had said a moment ago. "Damn it William, I said call me Zoey! Non of this "Madam" ********." she growled.

William smiled wryly and replied "Alright Zoey. Rest well, and lock your door. For your own safety." the last sentence materializing over his shoulder as he walked away.

"Thanks. You too William." she sighed. "Bedtime."

William stopped a couple of meters out of sight to ensure she closed and locked the door. Upon hearing the lock tone, he nodded and proceeded to the elevator, and then his room.

#3 William Draven

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Posted 14 February 2013 - 07:47 PM

The next "morning" had arrived and William had a message waiting for him. He checked the clock next to the oddly comfortable bed. It was 1000 in the morning. He checked the message. It was from Zoey, and sent at about 0930.

"William? Are you awake in there? Or is this the first time you slept in a real bed? As things stand there are still no team drop orders, so you can probably Lone Wolf for a while longer. I'll let you know if there are changes. But honestly, do all Clanners sleep so late? Well, I'll be in the mess hall until 1200 if you want to talk for a while more."

"And don't worry. Your secret won't be found out. Hope to see you at lunch."

P.S. Thanks for your help last night. I know you probably followed me out, but I appreciate what you did.


William got up somewhat sluggishly, but woke up enough to put his pilot suit on and his coolant vest.

After taking the elevator down, he walked into the mess hall with his fine walking form that told of his phenomenal combat training. All of his steps were measured and in perfect balance. He saw Zoey sitting at the table from the night before and walked over.

The morons who drank too much the previous night were wrapped up in mild bandaging and got real quiet when they saw him come in. He looked at them, smirked, and sat down.

"Hey Zoey. And no, I do not normally sleep this late. I ordinarily would have been up four hours ago but that bed was rather comfortable. So how are you feeling today?" he asked calmly, reverting to his usual neutral expression.

"Gah! Again with the super neutral look! You know that drives me absolutely nuts. Anyway, I'm alright. Those guys over there that you knocked around kinda stared when I walked in. So, the one with the eye covering. Was he the one you kicked in the head while holding him off the ground?" she asked with a catlike grin.

William looked over to him and nodded. "Indeed, it was him. So what did you call me out here for? Something major to discuss or just a day of smalltalk? Either is fine." he stated.

"Well, I am curious about your past. What was it like growing up there?" she asked.

"Hard." he replied simply. "I am a freebirth, which means my parents had me through natural conception. I was the butt of jokes and bullying. Well, until they learned I could hold my own. Many other Snow Ravens are thin and wiry like me. Something to do with the training. Granted, they had me going through rougher training than the others because they see those who are born naturally as weaker than the 'test tube' babies that are the norm in Clan space. I proved them wrong, and then left to work as a Lone Wolf until your Legion-- Our legion grabbed me and brought me into the fold. That's about all I would like to share for now." he concluded, leaning back in the booth they were sitting in.

"I've heard of the Free Born versus True Born issues of the Clans before, but there is not much information on it in the Inner Sphere's libraries." she said leaning on one arm.

"Are you an avid reader, Zoey?" William asked curiously.

"You could say that. Maybe not like you though. What were you reading last night anyway?" she asked.

"Detective fiction about Sherlock Holmes. Old stories from the nineteenth century on Terra. Very interesting individual. I have often wondered if he was more than just a legend. There is a lot of detail on him. Almost more than one can normally put into fiction." he replied, resting an arm on the back of his seat.

She stared in amazement. "How did you get that kind of documentation? Do the Clanners keep those old things?" she asked, bewildered.

"Well, Snow Ravens waste nothing, so we found and kept the books and uploaded there data. There is nothing we dispose of really. We keep everything. Some could call us hoarders, but we keep it all very organized and with room to live our lives and not be suffocated by all of our gathered items." he replied matter-of-factually.

"Very interesting. So the Snow Ravens are kinda like record and technology keepers then? That's rather cool. And stop wincing every time I use a contraction please. It's strange." she said shyly.

"Sorry, very difficult to do. We would often get disciplined, not harshly, whenever we spoke in that crude manner." he stated apologetically.

"I see. Well, tell me about your parents, if you would like." she said.

"Well, they died when I was still a child, but what I can remember, they were rather calm and patient people. They waited for many things because they were also Free Born, so my entire family was sub-graded by the Clan society. They had it a bit better than others who were Free Born because talent with various military technologies runs deep in my blood. They often reminded their colleagues that people were not always True Born. That in the ancient history of humans, the only way to produce offspring was through natural birth. This angered many others, but they knew the truth in the words of my parents. After some time, higher echelons of our Clan started giving very limited protection to them because of their talent and skill in what they would do." he told Zoey somewhat proudly.

"That's rather nice. At least your family never tried to crush you underfoot. My younger sister was always trying to assassinate me so she could be eligible for the throne. That was one of the other reasons why I left all that behind me. I gave up my throne because I decided I was going to die on my terms, not through another's agenda. She stopped sending killers after me once I informed my family, much to their displeasure, of my plans to renounce my title and leave for a mercenary group. They all tried to stop me except her. I have no idea why they'd want me to be a ruler so damn badly. I have no interest in political issues." she stated with a bit of annoyance in her voice from remembering her time in Steiner space.

William nodded and said "So it seems we both had reason to leave our points of origin. Perhaps a greater plan is at work? Who knows. Anyway, I am going to go tune my BattleMech. You can join me if you wish." He stated, rising from the table.

"Sure. I'm not doing anything anyway." She followed suit and they headed to the hangar bay.

#4 William Draven

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Posted 09 March 2013 - 09:16 AM

Snow Raven Efficiency

Zoey and William began working on his Wrath variant of the CN9-AL Centurion. William smirked, because he typically kept quiet the loadouts he could create. Zoey activated the computer system in the hangar and her eyes got extremely wide.

"William, how on Terra did you get this BattleMech equipped like this? A PPC, Endo Steel, almost full armor, three medium lasers, and basically an LRM 10?" she asked, looking to her left where he was standing.

"Actually, that is a dual-linked pair of LRM 5s. Less tonnage with the same damage. Oh and look at this." he pulls up the engine core scan. "What do you think?"

"Wait, you have a 215 Engine in this thing? What else do you have... 14 double-heat sinks... Better question. What don't you have in this? You are carrying about twice the firepower this 'Mech is designed for. DO you have any heat issues?" she asked incredulously.

"Only if I forget to take a break from firing, which I do not do. Doubling the firepower of a BattleMech is actually quite simple. You just have to know what you are doing." he states with a hint of pride.

"But no one else in the legion has done something like this yet..." she states, confused.

"Because most of them are not willing to play around much with the 'Mechs. They find something they like that works and do not tamper further for fear of damaging it. A 'Mech is simply a piece of equipment, and like any equipment can be modified to improve performance without too much risk of damaging it. One thing that made this easier, albeit very expensive, is the use of the Endo Steel internals. It is lighter, but slightly bulkier than a normal internal set up." he continues, smiling with pride.

"Wait, so are all Clanners this intelligent with working on weapons and 'Mechs?" she asked, a little fear in her voice.

"Yes. Especially Snow Ravens. After all we live with the mentality of waste not want not. Nothing, I mean nothing, is wasted with us. We always find some method of use for whatever we gather. Even if something is marred beyond functionality, we melt the metals down and create new things from it. Many Inner Sphere people are so wasteful. Hell, even the other Clans can be rather wasteful. Which is why the Snow Ravens get all of the refuse we can. And we reuse it." he finishes, entering a few new commands to enhance the control performance of his Centurion.

"And now you're modifying the actual capabilities of this thing!?" she looks at what he is entering. "Extended torso twist, air cooling... faster reaction times with arm movements... What can you NOT do to a BattleMech?" she asks, trying to figure out if there was a limit to what he could do.

"Change its class." he replies. "I cannot make a Medium into a Heavy, let alone an Assault. Downsizing could be done, but it would fully defeat the purpose of the class of the BattleMech. I cannot increase the tonnage capacity, but I can make more efficient use of what it has to begin with. Streamlining if you will." he explains, finishing the tuning of the Mech.

"What do you say you watch me test it?" he asks with a grin.

"Sure. I want to see what you made this thing able to do."

"Alright then." he climbs in and moves it to the testing area where the dropship had landed.

#5 William Draven

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Posted 07 February 2017 - 04:46 PM

Upon completion of the demonstration of the capabilities of William's Modifications to Wrath, he returned back to the dropship. Zoey met him in the bay after watching from the observation area.

"Well, I can see what your people are capable of, and now I'm scared. What happens if we go to battle against them? Can we survive?" she asked, voice breaking in fear.

"Well, Zoey, that I cannot answer for you. That is up to what this Legion is capable of, and which MechWarriors we must deal with. It is possible, but will not be easy." He stated bluntly. Expecting her to distance herself from him, as she was a member of the Freeborn of the Inner Sphere, and he was a Clanner. And he knew the Purge was fast approaching.

William steeled himself for the coming battle, and began walking away. She sprinted after him, still afraid. "William! William! What are you going to do if we go to battle against them?" she asked hurriedly, making sure no one else was nearby.

"Fight my hardest, and try to survive. It is what we do. If you seek to continue, you may find out things you do not like about me, and the Clans." He warned gravely.

She stopped as he continued walking away. "William! What about me?" she asked, nervously.

He stopped and turned. "I do not know. I will see what I can do, but I can make no promises. Do not expect mercy, as the Clans have none to give. Not even to our own." he stated coldly.

She stood in silence, and he continued to walk to his quarters, eventually fading from sight. ~What do I do?~ She asked herself, her thoughts deafening even the sounds of the mech bay. She stood in silent contemplation for several minutes before she noticed the sun setting. She then proceeded to her quarters lost in thought, afriad of what the future might hold.

She was then stricken with a realization. If he's a Clanner, and here, what does that mean? Was he really just using the job to make money? Or was he there for a more terrifying reason? These questions terrified her, and exhausted her. It was barely twilight before her mental exhaustion forced her into sleep. But it would not be peaceful sleep, and the beginning of one of many nightmares began. Soon to be reflected in reality, before people could prepare.

#6 William Draven

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Posted 07 February 2017 - 06:01 PM

Here is a link Back to the previous Chapter. This can also be found in my About Me section: https://mwomercs.com...18#entry5605018

Here is a link Forward to the next Chapter: https://mwomercs.com...e-to-the-purge/

Edited by William Draven, 07 February 2017 - 06:02 PM.






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