Chapter 133

　　"Try it again!" Elric shouted from the central console of the repair bay. A schematic of the Mech they were working on hovered above it, slowly turning to show its status. The large man was wearing a pair of orange coveralls, liberally stained with dirt and oil.

　　With its short and stocky body, the Medium Class Bulwark` stood next to the console. They had scrubbed the wear and rust from the Mobile Suit, repairing its armour and giving it a new paint job so that it shone in black and red. But they were still having problems with the internals.

　　A grinding noise came from the Mech, followed by a high-pitched whining that made Elric wince.

　　"It`s no good! Something is interfering with the reactor!" Talha shouted from the open cockpit. Ducking her red-haired head out from the opening, she looked to her grandfather for answers. The young woman wore similar clothing as Elric, orange coveralls heavily soiled by the mechanic work they engaged in, but she had taken to removing the upper portion, leaving her arms bare in only a tank top.

　　They had retrieved the Mech from the crater on Luna, where they had first rescued replacement equipment and materials a few years ago. To Talha`s surprise and delight, Kal had gifted it to her as a birthday present. When she had told him that she was still only a Light Class Mech Pilot, he had replied that she would grow into it.`

　　"There`s a reason this thing was buried for five hundred years." Elric growled. He leaned in closer to the image displayed above the terminal. Punching in a few commands, he rescanned the problem area, carefully assessing for damage.

　　There was a small smudge on the Suit`s reactor, something that he had taken for a scan error but perhaps was an indication of something more.

　　"We`re going to have to remove the reactor and strip it down." Elric muttered. Even from the cockpit, Talha heard him.

　　"That`s going to take months! We`re backlogged as it is, and Reactor repairs are specialty work. I don`t want to send it off-world." Talha whined, and her grandfather turned to her with a grin.

　　"No need. I heard from Tan that Aesir is moving here in a few weeks. They`ll have what we need to repair it. Just have some patience. You`ll be stumbling around in that thing, looking like a clown, in no time." Elric replied, giving his granddaughter a wink.

　　"Thanks. It warms my heart to know you have such confidence in my Piloting abilities." Talha grumbled before climbing down from the cockpit.

　　"I know you wanted to show it off when they arrive, but they`ll be happy just to see you. Now, we need to get ready. They`ll be here soon." Elric responded, wrapping his huge arm around her shoulders and leading her out of the storage bay.

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　　"You`re both late." Tamara observed as the pair walked out to the landing pad. They had cleaned themselves up and changed into something less filthy. Elric wore a white shirt and black pants, while Talha wore a black long-sleeved shirt and pants.

　　"Sorry, you wouldn`t want us to arrive looking like we had just been digging through oily trash. Takes a minute for me to clean up and look respectable." Elric exclaimed, joining his wife. Tamara raised an eyebrow at the comment but didn`t respond. She carefully looked over at Talha.

　　"I like your earrings." Tamara commented, causing the young woman to blush slightly and touch the gold spirals set with a ruby.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

　　"Thanks, they were a gift from a friend." Talha responded. Turning away from her grandmother, she hoped the latter didn`t ask any more probing questions. Her relationship with Micah was still new, and she wasn`t ready to talk about it.

　　"They should be here soon. I checked the arrivals a few minutes ago, and everything is on schedule." Tamara remarked. Elric nodded and looked to the sky, shading his eyes with his hand.

　　A few minutes later, a transport shuttle landed on the pad. From the ramp, a large group of people descended. Visitors to Caledon, tourists or locals who were returning from business or vacation abroad, Talha and her grandparents spotted who they were looking for immediately.

　　"Mom! Dad!" Talha shouted, running forward through the crowd to hug her parents.

　　Her mother was the spitting image of her grandmother physically, while she was her complete opposite in personality. Warm and always smiling, her Tina Sun had never been suited for combat or Piloting, preferring to settle down on a world other than Caledon and raise a family.

　　Her father was quiet and calm, a strange juxtaposition to his fiery red hair that Talha had inherited. Wearing a simple grey jacket and khaki pants, he hugged his daughter tightly.

　　They were both environmental engineers, working on Terraforming planets before settling down on a planet and working to maintain its weather controllers.

　　"It`s good to see you both again." Talha said, stepping back and smiling at her parents.

　　After the past few years, things had finally calmed enough that they could make the trip to Caledon to see her. They had tried to convince their daughter to return home numerous times, to join the local militia as a Pilot, but Talha had always refused.

　　"You too." Tina responded before looking over at her own parents. Gently pushing past Talha, she walked towards them.

　　"Mother, you`re looking well. It seems as if a desk job suits you." Tina joked, and Elric boomed with laughter at the sour expression on his wife`s face at the comment. He stepped forward and engulfed his daughter in a hug.

　　"That it does! You should hear how she complains about it. You`d swear that the years we spent on a Starship were paradise in comparison."

　　"Dad, you must be enjoying your time here. Lots of interesting Mobile Suits to tinker with?" Tina asked, her voice muffled from his embrace.

　　"You know it! I can`t wait to show you both some of the things we`ve been working on. You might not be Mech mechanics, but you`ll appreciate the engineering. It`s good to have you here." Elric said the last part quietly so only Tina could hear him.

　　"Well, we couldn`t miss the wedding! The Imperial Net is abuzz with it." Talha`s father, Lorne, spoke from the side where his own arm was over Talha`s shoulder.

　　"Bunch of nonsense. Kal hates ceremony, but concessions had to be made with Havencroft and Prince Argyle. They want everyone to know that Marella is marrying into Caledon, not the other way around." Tamara muttered.

　　"Well, I, for one, appreciate being back. We weren`t born on Caledon, but it`s still home. I`m glad Baron Caledon has turned things around here. I wouldn`t believe that this place was once considered a backwater,` things appear wonderful from orbit." Tina responded as the group walked away from the landing pad.

　　They had seen new space stations being constructed in orbit, and the environment of Caledon had made considerable progress in their renewal of the biome and cleaning the air. The difference was remarkable in a few short years since Kal`s return.

　　"It`s no backwater anymore. Even your mother says that it reminds her of better times." Elric replied.

　　"It`s as if the old Duke was back." Tamara added, nodding in agreement as they took in the city around them. They walked through the streets from the spaceport on their way to the waiting hovercar. Travelling over the metropolis of Caledonia, Talha pointed out the monuments and sights to her parents.

　　The car settled onto the grounds of the estate, where a Heavy Class Colossus kept careful watch of threats. House Guards in Caledon Exosuits stood at the entrance and respectfully saluted when they spotted the group.

　　"Will we be meeting with the Baron?" Tina asked.

　　She had been curious about the person who had captured her mother`s loyalty. She hadn`t been born when her parents served the old Duke, but she had heard stories about him. If Kalen Caledon was anything like the Duke and Duchess of her mother`s stories, she was very much interested in meeting with him.

　　"The Baron is busy and won`t be able to meet anyone." Tamara replied.

　　"He`s avoiding the wedding planning like the plague. He`s probably looking for any excuse to leave the planet as we speak." Talha added with a laugh.

　　"Talha! Don`t be disrespectful!" Tamara reprimanded her.

　　"What? He would be the first to admit it!" Talha retorted.

　　"He`s been training to advance to Heavy Class. He`s close, but he still needs more time. The lad never takes a break. A year expanding Caledon`s borders, and he`s right back at it after returning." Elric added.

　　"You`ll meet him at the wedding." Tamara responded to her daughter.

　　"I`m looking forward to it."