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Despite how central dueling was to the culture and environment of Asticassia, there wasn’t actually any concrete requirement for the challenged party to accept all or even any provocations raised against them. There were commonly accepted customs, of course- it was considered in poor taste to issue a challenge for which you didn’t have worthwhile stakes, or to turn down a challenge in which one’s circumstances were extremely favorable. Even the Holder, recognized as the pinnacle of the school’s dueling circuit, could turn down all potential adversaries if they desired- though a Holder unwilling to defend their title would be unlikely to keep said title for very long.
In this way, Suletta Mercury was almost considered unusual in the number of duels she accepted, even reaching a point where some students would challenge her with little if anything in the way of stakes, just to say that they had. It was at this point that her fiancé felt the need to step in, almost acting as a manager for the deferential redhead. Suletta had responsibilities far beyond winning duels, of course- Miorine’s tomatoes couldn’t keep themselves trimmed, of course, and the heiress couldn’t possibly allow herself to be attached to a groom who couldn’t keep up with her studies.
(And, though few were brave enough to ask and even fewer close enough to her to receive an honest answer, the seemingly icy heiress did find herself missing the comfortable leisure spent with her groom.) There was something special about the quiet moments of tranquility as they worked in parallel, or the lighthearted exchanges interspersed by the clicking of pruning shears. Regardless, there were still duels that had to be fought- oh, the pair may say they needed to maintain their status, but a deeper inspection would often find that the challenger had made the fatal error of insulting the white-haired bride in front of her usually timid groom, or letting said bride overhear any comments about “country bumpkins.”
These duels were more often than not short, brutal, and left the challengers with a much more apprehensive attitude on just how passive the diminutive redhead was, or just how indifferent the would-be prize's feelings truly were.
A vibrant beam of energy surged past Aerial’s cockpit, briefly bathing the suit’s pilot in a pink glow. Despite just having narrowly dodged what almost certainly would have been a duel-ending hit the cockpit’s occupant seemed distracted, humming inaudibly to herself.
“Miorine?”
Behind a crowded arrangement of complicated looking readouts and visualizations, Aerial’s spotter and the battle’s prize paused for a brief moment, her gaze moving towards a live feed showing the cockpit’s interior. Dexterously entering a command into the computer with speed and accuracy only born of countless repetitions she switched cameras to one showing a close-up of her bride’s face. “Hm?”
“I was just thinking that this was a tougher fight than usual.” Miorine smirked. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe Suletta- after all, she wasn’t the one fighting the duel- but if it weren’t for the pilot’s words, you’d never be able to tell she was exerting even the slightest amount of effort. Her face, usually an animated window into the girl’s emotions, was a blank mask. Seeing Suletta’s mouth open in the faintest trace of surprise, Miorine realized she’d become distracted and quickly reacquainted herself with the situation- the hint of surprise she’d noticed had been due to the enemy launching a flurry of attacks that Suletta threw herself into a brutal twist to evade. Briefly examining the impulse graph to her right, Miorine saw that the recent maneuver had peaked at a blood-curdling 6.7Gs. And Suletta hadn’t even flinched.
Miorine couldn't help but smile. Remarkable didn't even do her groom justice.
Shaking herself out of her trance, she pulled up their opponent’s records. “Kale Shims. Spacian, no strong manufacturing company ties, but her aunt has the current Dominicus maintenance contract. 3-1 dueling record, mobile suit’s capabilities don’t match apparent characteristics, so we have to presume there’s not a stock part left on-“
“Mmmm, Miorine?” Suletta interjected in a pleasant, almost musical fashion that Miorine felt was far too casual for someone currently weaving through a hail of laser fire in an elegant dance.
“Yes, Suletta?”
“You know I’m not very good at that strategy stuff.”
Once again Miorine smirked. “For someone who isn’t good, you certainly aren’t showing it.”
“Well, of course!” On the screen a cheerful giggle spread across the pilot’s face. “I might not be the best at strategy, but I have the best team, after all.” Aerial swung low to the terrain, her adversary’s suit soaring past her as Suletta’s fingers danced across the controls. A scream of frustration echoed through the arena, Kale apparently deeming it necessary to broadcast her anger for everyone to hear.
A flashing light on one of her displays grabbed Miorine’s attention. “Energy spike, Suletta, evade.” A look of mild surprise spread across Suletta’s face as she swerved to avoid a glowing pillar of plasma directed at where Aerial had been a moment before.
“She seems mad.”
“Suletta,” Miorine rolled her eyes. “How long has the duel been going on?”
Pulling her controls back and opening her throttles, Suletta sent Aerial hurtling skyward in a plume of smoke. “You’re the one with the timer, Miorine!” The redhead cocked her head to the side, a slightly quizzical expression on her face. “A little bit, I guess. Why?”
“And have you attacked at all during that time? Or done anything besides evade?”
“She’s gotten close, but…” Realization dawned on Suletta’s face. “Oh! She thinks I’m toying with her?”
“Suletta, you dolt.” Miorine gently teased. “By all metrics, you are.” A faint blush spread across the pilot’s face.
“I didn’t mean to! I just… I was a little… Distracted.”
“Oh?” Miorine watched as Aerial continued to rise higher into the sky, her pilot’s face a mask of deep contemplation. Cutting the boosters Aerial finally reached the apotheosis of her arc, the brief weightlessness tugging at Suletta’s hair as she made an adorable low trilling noise and seemed to look right at Miorine through the camera with big, hopeful eyes.
“Emmmm, Miorine?”
The usually collected bride didn’t even care that there was almost certainly a hopeless smile on her face. “Yes, Suletta?”
“I don’t know if I can handle her. She’s pretty strong.” A light giggle escaped from Miorine’s lips.
“Somehow I doubt that.”
Through the camera, Suletta twiddled her fingers, seemingly blasé to the fact that she was currently in a free fall with an angry mobile suit flying towards her. “Well, you’re good at all that strategy stuff, and you’ve got all those numbers and graphs…” Miorine rolled her eyes. Suletta had piloted Aerial to a point of artfulness long before she ever met Miorine, and almost certainly knew the data readouts better than the white-haired spotter. “I think I’ll need your help, Miss Miorine. You know, with the tactics and stuff. And maybe, if I win… a reward?”
At the return of the old honorific any doubts of this being an act disappeared fully from Miorine’s mind, and she let out a loving sigh. “Who taught you to be coy like this?” A carefree giggle resounded through the cockpit.
“Is that a yes?”
Miorine’s eyes hardened, her eyes shooting across the displays in front of her with businesslike intensity as she rapidly formulated a plan. Unbeknownst to her groom she had her own reasons to take this seriously- Kale Shims had seemed pleasant when Miorine had first met her, even friendly, but a stray comment about a “boyish Mercurian who didn’t know her place” had sealed her fate. Miorine Rembran would make sure that Kale Shims knew exactly where Suletta’s place was- at Miorine’s side. “Suletta!”
The redhead’s face split into a wide, gleeful smile. “Yes, Miss Miorine?”
The bride’s eyes watched closely as Kale’s suit approached her groom at breakneck speed. “When I say, break right hard and immediately fire all starboard thrusters into a full retrograde burn. As soon as you see her shock diamonds, open it up until you’re right on her back.”
Suletta nodded, hands tensing at the controls, but her face was the image of trust and serenity. Looking away from the two dots, Miorine adjusted her attention to a panel displaying the surface temperatures of the two mechs, waiting until the displayed number shifted to an angry red. “Now!”
Aerial twirled in the sky, her pilot somehow managing to make the violent maneuver appear graceful. Her adversary’s suit shot past her, the two barely clear of each other before Suletta was on Kale’s tail, the pair’s trails entwined into one. G-forces pulled on the edges of Suletta’s face, but her concentration remained unbroken. “What now, Miss Miorine?”
The heiress’s eyes were locked onto a dial now, watching as the digital dial creeped ever closer to the end of the arc. “Hold close, then as soon as her engines cut keep your primary propulsion burning but switch all leg nozzles to a prograde maneuver.” The pilot bowed her head in acknowledgement, apprehensive but unquestioning. Time seemed to slow as the needle crawled to the edge of the dial, every miniscule movement watched by Miorine until it maxed out and a dozen gauges dropped to zero, a self-satisfied smirk finding its way onto Miorine’s face as the engines of Kale’s suit blinked off, heat radiating from the glowing ducts. Following her orders Suletta wasted no time, Aerial’s head dipping forward as she flipped and drove the heel of her foot into the other suit’s shoulders, sending it plunging downwards into the ground before landing with a thundering crash. Descending at a much more graceful pace, Aerial touched down next to the downed mech, eyes glinting. Kale’s suit twitched weakly, trying and failing to climb to its feet. Stepping forward, Aerial slowly reached towards her shoulder and drew one of the blades holstered there, leveling it to Kale’s plume but stopping short.
“Miorine?” Suletta asked, looking directly into the camera. “How did you know she would cut her engines?” Even though Suletta couldn’t see her, Miorine tossed her hair to the side and brushed a strand away from her face.
“ She didn’t. You made her quite angry, it seems, and she stopped paying attention to her suit’s heat- not a good idea with how many modifications it has. She exceeded the maximum safe values and her suit shut itself down. Now, Suletta.”
“Yes, Miss Miorine?”
“You said you wanted a reward, right?”
Suletta bobbed her head happily, a giddy noise rising in her throat. “Mhm!”
“What were you thinking?”
“Well, I was…” Suletta’s head descended into her shoulders slightly. “I was thinking… maybe… a date?”
Miorine’s face melted into a loving smile. “You don’t need to win a duel to ask me that, Suletta.” Her groom squirmed in place, excited noises escaping from her mouth.
“So… is that… a yes?”
A hint of malice spread onto the edges of Miorine’s smile. “Well, I think you have to finish something first.”
Aerial’s arm swung down, and the sky split into a shining rainbow.