Lance applied to many a mercenary companies, and was rejected every time. Few even gave him the chance to even show off his 'Mech. Three weeks had passed since he and his crew had finished reconstructing the Hunchback's head, and repaired the wear and tear and the damage from sitting idle and exposed. As such time passed, the debt stacked up. This only pushed Lance to drive harder. He honed his skills as a MechTech, expanded his preficiencies, and his portfolio.
He finally determined he wouldn't take no for an answer. Not without contest. The next mercenary company landed in a Union-class dropship, and he recognized the emblem. A blue circle with a yellow border, and the silhouette of a Battlemaster 'Mech riding a horse. He knew not the company's name, but would soon find out. He approached George and asked if he could take over the task of welcoming this company to the Depot, and learn about said company. George accepted.
The standard procedure would be to approach the dropship in a forklift, or some other form of compact, single-man transportation. Since Lance intended to impress these mercenaries, he had to make a show of it, even if only subtly. He commandeered an unoccupied industrial 'Mech, and used that as transport to meet the 'Mercenaries. He'd piloted these industrial 'Mechs before.
He parked the 'Mech in front of the dropship, and descended through a series of ladders stretching up the industrial 'Mech's side. Waiting at the feet of his 'Mech was who Lance assumed to be the commander of the mercenary company. He was an older fellow, short copper red hair, and a stern expression. Lance approached the man, and spoke politely.
"Welcome to Kathil III Supply and Repair! I'm Edmund Trephore, but my friends call me Lance." He extended an open hand.
"Anthony Ward," said the man, shook Lance's hand firmly. His voice was low, and like gravel. "Commander of the Ward's Cavaliers Mercenary Company. Enough with the formalities, Trephore, you're about to have work to do." Mr. Ward guided Lance into his dropship. In it stood twelve 'Mechs. Three of which were damaged, the rest were pristine. A Thunderbolt stood in 'Mech Bay one, presumably Mr. Ward's personal machine. Right next to it was a Vindicator, and to the left of the T-bolt was a Trebuchet. One Lance recognized from two years prior. It bore the same silver paintjob with blue edges. He should have guessed as much by the emblem on the dropship itself.
"Our last operation caught us by surprise." said Mr. Ward. "They hid their numbers and a BattleMech from intel. Where we thought it was just infantry and a few tanks, it turns out they had a Black Knight as well. We ultimately scrapped the bastard, but he made us work for it. Trebuchets are hard to use up close, and while the T-bolt can take some punishment, it's not invincible."
Lance analyzed the damage. While it mostly looked like armor damage on the Thunderbolt, he spied some areas where laser fire seemed to have burnt through and caused internal damage. He made notes of this on his data pad, and moved on to the Trebuchet. There was less damage to its front armor, and the internals seemed intact. Once he circled around, he saw the rear armor was nearly stripped away, and there was substantial damage to its internal structure. Lastly, he looked to the Vindicator. The damage was minor around the torso and legs, but its right arm had taken a fair beating; the PPC was likely damaged.
"One Black Knight did all this?" asked Lance.
"Yeah," answered Mr. Ward. "If you let them take you by surprise, they'll scrap you up good."
"Repairs won't be cheap, sir. Laser damage is hard to clear out."
"I've used your services before, boy." Mr. Ward's tone grew slightly aggressive, Lance took a small step back. "I know how these things go. The sooner y'all get to work, the sooner y'all get paid."
"Of course, sir. If you'll just walk your 'Mechs over to the MechBays and we'll begin the necessary repairs and maintenance."
