[b][center][h2][u][color=Sienna]Dinah Partanen[/color][/u][/h2] [url=https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=ZL-9SXHqwPw][img]https://image.eveonline.com/Character/3016847_128.jpg[/img][/url][/center][/b][b]"Uncle Mack's" Industrial Scrapyard Property of Maxwell Metals Incorporated A subsidiary of the Aqua Vitae Corporation 100 km south of Geom Haebyon 150 km northwest of Fort Tie 1815 Hours 28 March, 3030[/b] [color=Sienna]"Eldanka-järven, JÄÄÄÄ On taakse jäänyttä elämää"[/color] Dinah was often caught in that unfortunate middle in which she made no effort to conceal herself yet was always overlooked. Today was no exception but a particularly egregious case. As the salvage crew reveled and Mechwarriors marveled in the aftermath of their latest Heavy Class haul, Partanen dragged in tow a collection of angular chunks of steel wrapped in what appeared to be plastic rope, the entirety upon a tarp. The bounty could only be pulled a heave at a time, but she nonetheless murmured an upbeat tune, out of rhythm with her physical movements: [color=Sienna]"On siellä nyt fossit, ja Sassit, puomit, ja passit, JUUUU."[/color] [color=Sienna]"Korsuissa kamina, siellä pelataan nakkia, raminaa-"[/color] The recent note fell flat. She dropped her tarp and stared forward. She rubbed her eyes once then twice at the full company of unanticipated 'Mechs plus another lying prone. She cocked her head. [color=Sienna]"Huh."[/color] After a mighty yawn, she turned around, hoisted again the fabric's corners over her shoulders, and resumed her ditty. [color=Sienna]"On meillä Fritzit, ja Maxit, ja Petropamaxit, JUUUU."[/color] Maxwell alone noticed her arrival but gave no warm welcome. He stormed forth with petty fury. [color=Chartreuse]"Oye, Dinah! See this slag? What, thirty, maybe forty million C-bills for this sucker? Possibly the biggest score o’our lives! See everyone round it? We hauled ass to move this lump o’metal inside th’ gates ‘fore sundown."[/color] Dinah shook the slumber out of her, lifting a full toothed smile to match the light (and yellowed color) of the Terra System. [color=Sienna]"Congratula-tionss, Myster Maxwell! I nayver do-ubted yi."[/color] [color=Chartreuse]"Well, thank ya, I- hey, that's not th’ focus! Stop distractin’ me! ‘Twas all hands on deck. Where the hell were ya?"[/color] Dinah swallowed. [color=Sienna]"Yi sent me on the twainty vivth to find sale-happy parts from the southeast korhner."[/color] [color=Chartreuse]"Yeah, and?"[/color] She motioned to her catch. [color=Sienna]"So, sale-happy parts. I detached some actu-ator control systems from the discarded limb section! A whole shipment of Perse-uses!"[/color] "Honest" Ollie circumnavigated his underling to peruse the merchandise. [color=Chartreuse]"Shucks, Dinah!"[/color] he exclaimed. [color=Chartreuse]"This’s, what, a few hundred thou at best? Wait a goldarn secun."[/color] He used his knees to pick up a joint, dusting off the attached silicon chip. [color=Chartreuse]"These ain't even Perseuses, ya numbskull! They're X-65s! Cain't ya read the labels?"[/color] Dinah hung her head dejectedly. [color=Sienna]"No, sir, I can-not."[/color] [color=Chartreuse]"Oh, don't pull the 'illiterate' card on me! Ya know dam whale those’re X-65s!"[/color] [color=Sienna]"I mean, they serve the same funhction."[/color] [color=Chartreuse]"In what universe can I jam an X-65 into a Perseus slot?"[/color] Dinah pantomimed her procedure. [color=Sienna]"So yi attach it to a J-058 adapter."[/color] [color=Chartreuse]"Whale, o’course. Won't work otherwise."[/color] [color=Sienna]"Yi weld a lyttle byt of styl into the-"[/color] [color=Chartreuse]"Sure."[/color] [color=Sienna]"And yi twyst the my-omer into the-"[/color] [color=Chartreuse]"Uh huh."[/color] [color=Sienna]"And yi reinforce the power supply with a-"[/color] [color=Chartreuse]"Yup."[/color] [color=Sienna]"Yust ensure that-"[/color] [color=Chartreuse]"Obviously."[/color] [color=Sienna]"And then yi sell 'em for half markup as Perse-uses."[/color] Maxwell put his arms on his hips. [color=Chartreuse]"So, teknikly, it works. Be a rill bumpy ride, though. Gyro cain't compensate."[/color] Partanen shrugged. [color=Sienna]"Eh, I've been in worse. My-omer's my-omer, don't matter what Friedhof calls it."[/color] The pit boss pointed an accusatory index finger. [color=Chartreuse]"So ya DO know th’ manufacturers!"[/color] [color=Sienna]"Juu sir, yi told me so."[/color] Maxwell hoisted his hands suspended beside his face, his brow furrowed in consternation. [color=Chartreuse]"Dinah, just... let me yell at ya for skimpin’ out on today's haul!"[/color] Dinah glanced behind her at the mechanical muscles. [color=Sienna]"I'm sorry for fuck up. How may I pay penance?"[/color] Maxwell deflated. [color=Chartreuse]"If ya cain't bringit in, perhaps ya can bringit up ta speed. How long will ya need to get that big ol' beast combat ready?"[/color] Partanen looked over her superior and calculated the damage. [color=Sienna]"I estymate a twainty for hour yob."[/color] [color=Chartreuse]"Twenny four hours?"[/color] Maxwell's scowl turned to harsh mirth, a glint in his piercing vision. [color=Chartreuse]"Ya cain't get ‘er dun in that time!"[/color] [color=Sienna]"Seems sim-ple enof to me."[/color] [color=Chartreuse]"Tell ya what. That Catapult's runnin’ with two good arms by end of day shift tomorrah, I'll let ya take her out for her first spin."[/color] [color=Sienna]"Uh-"[/color] [color=Chartreuse]"Too late! Better watch yer cake hole when next ya open it.”[/color] Maxwell cackled, throwing a dismissive palm down in his wake. [color=Sienna]"May I at list-"[/color] [color=Chartreuse]"Shut it! Go to task, Partanen!"[/color] [color=Sienna]"...Use showers,"[/color] she bemoaned. Three days of solitude had taken their toll on her. The last stretch of the expedition had been fueled by the hope to eat something other than bars, to sleep on something softer than metal sheet, to, ahem, in actual functioning toilets. That was apparently far removed from her sights now. She'd meant work hours, three days, not total, one day. She'd require night and graveyard shifts in addition to her regular. She didn't much care to ride the confounded contraption anyways. She gulped as she reminded herself of her modus operandi. Disobedience was failure. Failure led to banishment. Banishment sent her drifting once more across the cosmos. Hers was not to make reply; hers was not to reason why; hers was but to do or die. Into the hull marched the Finn. [b]0230 hours 29 March, 3030[/b] Unlike the great concerted efforts of the prior afternoon, she could in fact pound, wrench, and screw to the beat of her daily earworm. The mallet slammed into the warped frame to every emphasis of [color=Sienna]"Pum pum pum! Patteri paukkuu, ja korohorot haukkuu, JUUUU!"[/color] [color=Orangered]"Oye, Peegeon!"[/color] Dinah's blonde noggin surfaced from the Catapult's right torso shoulder socket. [color=Sienna]"Juu, bossss?"[/color] Morozov aimed a flashlight at her face. [color=Orangered]"Do ewe understand vye I em heer?"[/color] She summoned a grin. [color=Sienna]"No, I don't. Can I haylp with anything?"[/color] [color=Orangered]"Sere ees reason vye vee stick ewe on sunlight shift, vye vee send ewe very far away for meessions. Ewe our loud, ewe never ztop zinging,"[/color] he stamped the ground with his boot. [color=Orangered]"AND VEE OUR TRYING TO ZLEEP!"[/color] [color=Sienna]"So yi ask me to be qui-eter? Alright, then. I'll hum inste-ad."[/color] [color=Orangered]"No, my leettel weenged rat,"[/color] grumbled the old Slav in a foreboding tone, [color=Orangered]"For vatever purpose Maxvell hess ewe verking overnight, malletz vill make it impozzibul to return to bed."[/color] He raised his chin. [color=Orangered]"Zo I am come down from barracks to laugh at ewer bozz’z mizmanagement."[/color] Her hand popped from the same hole to point at what seemed in starlight like a hanging rack of meat. [color=Sienna]"If yi help me guide the new arm in, that would be hilario-us!"[/color] [color=Orangered]"No, no. Zis is Maxvell's proyect. I'll enjoy vatching him vlounder come mornink."[/color] [color=Sienna]"Understude."[/color] Dinah disappeared again, save for a thump, thump thumping across the great hulk's torso. A lever was pulled. The right arm fell off and crumpled into itself. He ducked for cover. [color=Orangered]"Are ewe insane? Sere iz long range mizzul viss ammunition in sere!"[/color] [color=Sienna]"Don't be big baby,"[/color] Her voice reverberated from the chest cavity. It felt as if the Catapult itself talked to Morozov. [color=Sienna]"I alre-ady removed it, and it wouldn't explode on yi if it did. I deco-upled it from the autolo-ader. That limb has so many holes that it's che-aper and faster to attach a new one from scratch, use a couple of those X-65 pi-eces."[/color] Morozov chortled and, still fatigued, wandered off to at least attempt rest. The loud clanging did not cease until morning. [color=Orangered]“Goodbye, Peegeon. God’s blezzing go viss ewe, because Maxvell sure von’t.”[/color] [b]1900 hours 29 March, 3030[/b] Maxwell puffed out his chest as he approached the 'Mech in question. The beast had all limbs but was still attached to chains. [color=Chartreuse]"Whale, whale, Dinah, looks like yer mouth’s written chex that yer ass cain't-"[/color] The loudspeaker announced, [color=Sienna]"Oh shoot, he's arrived. Um."[/color] The fusion engines roared to life. With a shrug, the chains were lightly tossed aside. [color=Sienna]"I stink, and I nayd to go to the bathro-om. I request a ten minute brekk, if possssible."[/color] The missile bays readied as if for extra bargaining leverage. Maxwell, at first dumbfounded, bellowed hearty laughter and applauded, genuinely. [color=Chartreuse]"I'll be a monkey's uncle! Ya actually did it, ya son of a bitch!"[/color] He motioned to the Green Knights' barracks. [color=Chartreuse]"The Knights’re about to launch off in a half hour. They brief their mission in that room. Take yer place there; ya've earned it!"[/color] [color=Sienna]"Well, first, could I… Never mind."[/color] She popped outside the cockpit and jogged her way to the appropriate facility. [color=Sienna]"Yi were correct, Maxwell. It duss feel a tad wobbly, but she'll move fine."[/color] [b]1915 hours (one bathroom break later) 29 March, 3030[/b] She entered the enclosure, where a large projected map of the battlefield lay. She took two minutes to squint her eyes and soak in the information. [color=Sienna]"Generator, turrets, comms tower..."[/color] Within a single deep breath, she was beaming. [color=Sienna]"We have a Catapult if yi wish to employ her. Reportyng for duty! And, um,"[/color] she fingered small circlets at the white lines, [color=Sienna]"there's no way we can punch through those walls, correct? Fills very nar-row to lead company thro-ugh."[/color]