North Sphere Merritt Sketches + Info (mild spoiler alert)

As promised, here's the bonus info for the North Sphere Merritt-themed sketches. 1. Mercury confronts Merritt in the parking lot of a coffee shop after a card game that didn't end as expected. Short excerpt: *** Mercury packed away his deck and then rose to his feet. “Well, Merritt. It was nice having coffee with you. I wish you the best with your future in the military.” Merritt recognized Mercury’s words as a permanent goodbye, and he swallowed his disappointment. “Yes, King. Thank you. I appreciated the opportunity to speak with you.” He extended his hand, but Mercury turned away, responding to the buzzing phone at his hip. He gave Merritt a brief nod of dismissal and then lifted the phone to his ear. As Merritt headed for the door, he could hear Mercury greeting Belmont on the other line. Merritt walked out into the blinding fluorescent lights of the simulated afternoon sky. He straddled his bike, but he didn’t turn his key in the ignition right away. Instead, he sat and examined his surroundings, asking himself if he’d just blown an important opportunity. As he retrieved his key from his pocket, he saw Mercury stalk out of the café, heading toward him. “You knew,” he called, his tone just sharp enough to convey the possibility of anger. “I’m sorry?” Mercury stopped next to Merritt’s motorcycle, laying a hand on one of the handlebars. “I just got an interesting call from Belmont.” *** 2. Merritt's feeling a little wound up tonight and has snuck out of the barracks... Short excerpt: *** Merritt stared for a second too long, and he inadvertently met the man’s eyes for a second time. He averted his eyes again, but not before the man laughed at him. “The poor ones always go for the Charisma when they can’t afford the Potent.” *** 3. Merritt has been assigned to take Troy through the North Sphere's waterways so Troy and his troops could attack the West Sphere at an unprotected border. During the mission, Troy launches an unprovoked attack against Merritt. (lol, the pic looks more suggestive than I intended; they're only half-naked because they were just in the water.) Short excerpt: *** Troy climbed slowly to his feet, rubbing his arm and wincing. He chuckled and shook his head. “You got skills, Sergeant.” Merritt’s breaths were still coming out hard and heavy. He knew the emotion was clear on his face, but he wasn’t prepared to hide it. With a humoring smile, Troy took a step forward. “You can calm down now. I won’t go after you again.” “The North Sphere gave you passage through the waterways as a favor,” Merritt said. “I’m under no obligation to continue escorting you.” Troy gave an exasperated sigh. “Oh, don’t blow this out of proportion. I know you wanted to test me out as much as I wanted to test you out. You’re talented, Merritt. You’d put most of my East Sphere men to shame. And you’re smart. Definitely beyond the level of a sergeant, if you ask me.” *** 4. During the mission with Troy, Merritt sleeps in a secluded spot rather than sleep in the same quarters as a potential enemy. Short excerpt: *** Merritt had a rough night, curled up in an elevated crevice within a hard-to-reach rock wall. He only knew of the hiding spot because he’d been through the waterways so many times before, and he knew that someone unfamiliar with the terrain wouldn’t spot the access point. The cost for his safety, however, was waking up with a sore, bruised back. *** 5. Merritt is by far the lowest-ranking guest at a party thrown by Mercury. He believes that Belmont added him to the invite list for malicious purposes, and he's getting really sick of Belmont's crap. Short excerpt: *** Merritt stared down at his glass, aware that the anger was clear on his face but unable to suppress it. He pressed his lips together, contemplating the best way to excuse himself from the conversation without setting Belmont off. “You’re not in the closet, are you?” Merritt squeezed his lowball glass in his fist. He didn’t want to answer Belmont’s question, but with only the two of them at the table, the silent treatment didn’t seem like a plausible technique for avoiding the subject. “Why are you so interested in my sex life?” he asked at last. “I’m just wondering if you even have one,” Belmont said snidely. ***