Dead Mech (30 page)

Mathew watched One dash from the rubble,
firing.

***

“Power down, Pilots! Now!” Capreze
ordered.

“Sir, I don’t-” Bisby started.

“I don’t want to hear it, Biz. Shut down
your mech and get your ass on the ground. That goes for you too,
Pilots Harlow and Capreze.”

“Yes, sir,” the pilots responded, opening
their cockpits and descending from their mechs.

“Jethro? You there?”

“Yes, Commander,” Jethro responded.

“Good. Shut those mech lights off.”

A second passed and the floodlights ceased,
returning the camp to its minimally lit state.

“Excellent. Now slowly pull the geothermal
cable up. And I mean slowly.”

“Sir?’ Jethro asked, puzzled.

“You heard me, mechanic. Slowly.”

***

Mathew hesitated, closed his eyes then
activated the cerebral integration system. His head snapped back
for a moment and he could feel the deader’s consciousness meld with
his own. And, surprisingly, it wasn’t unpleasant.

Massive bits of data began to stream through
his mind, but it was all buffered and controlled by the mech’s AI.
The living mech. And its name was Shiner.

“Holy shit,” Mathew gasped. “You’ve got
quite a brain. Why do I have the feeling you could open up that
data stream and liquefy my mind in a nanosecond?”

“Be-be-because, I c-c-can,” Shiner stuttered
into Mathew’s mind.

***

Capreze walked fully into the camp,
gesturing behind him. A tall, what looked like a badly disfigured
man, stepped forward carrying what was obviously a child. A second
man followed carrying another child. A third man carrying a woman
was last.

“Doctor?” Capreze called.

“Right here, sir,” Themopolous answered bag
in hand, already running towards the Commander. “Are they
hurt?”

“Yes. The woman quite badly,” Capreze
affirmed. “And it’s our fault.”

“What? Our fault?” Rachel asked running to
her father and embracing him strongly.

“Yes, our fault. We’re right on top of a
small city of thousands,” the Commander answered.

***

“You m-m-m-must b-b-b-be prep-p-p-pared,”
Shiner stuttered in Mathew’s mind, into
their
mind. “Y-y-you
must und-d-d-derstand. You m-m-m-must learn it all.”

One settled next to Shiner and grasped the
cable offered, plugging it into its modified data jack, while still
continuing to fire in the direction of the approaching zombies.

“Prepared? Understand? What do you mean? I’m
not sure I like where this is…” Mathew trailed off as all of
Shiner’s recorded memories streamed into his consciousness. And
like that, without even a pinch, it was over and Mathew did
understand. “Holy shit! You’re the first! You’re the first dead
mech!”

***

“You’ve gotta be shitting me?” Bisby barked.
“If there were thousands of people out here, we’d know about
it!”

Capreze eyed Bisby. “Really, Biz? Why is
that? When was the last time you were this deep in the waste?”

“Well, I, um…,” Bisby faltered. “Thousands?
Seriously?”

“Yes, Biz, thousands. And we shot a hole and
dropped a cable through the middle of them. We’re lucky there
weren’t more hurt.”

“Not that lucky,” Themopolous said, checking
the injured woman laid out upon a camp table. “She’s in bad shape,
sir.” Themopolous looked up at Capreze gravely.

“Do what you can, Doctor.”

***

Mathew felt Shiner lift walls, allowing all
data to be shared between the two consciousnesses. The more Mathew
absorbed, the more he understood. And he kept understanding until
all but one wall was lifted.

Mentally, and physically, Mathew took a deep
breath. “What are you hiding?”

“Not now,” Shiner responded, his stutter
gone as communication between the two became instantaneous. “We
must decide whether to flee or fight?”

Mathew, now connected with every single bit
of scanner and sensor data, assessed the numbers and the tactical
situation at hand. “Let’s kill ‘em all.”

The new mech stepped into Windy City.

***

Capreze beckoned behind him and a very tall,
muscular man stepped forward. The pilots studied him closely. His
skin seemed leathery and strange, his eyes set back and the flesh
about them separated.

“This is Mastelo. While apparently they do
not have a leader, he speaks for them all when they do have to
interact topside,” Capreze introduced. The man nodded hello and
Harlow gasped.

“Is that skin you’re wearing?” she
asked.

Bisby and Rachel both looked closer at the
man and at the others behind.

“That’s not just skin… that’s
deader
skin!” Bisby said.

“Yes, it is,” Mastelo answered.

***

Mathew didn’t need to ready his weapons
systems, he didn’t need to check sensors, didn’t need to scan
thermals or listen for movement. Thanks to Shiner, he already had.
He no longer piloted a mech, but
was
a mech. The former
instantaneous cerebral integration he was used to now seemed like
quicksand compared to the full integration he was experiencing.

Shiner/Mathew leapt and dove over the
rubble, tucked and rolled coming up firing into the horde of
undead. The creatures swarmed the mech, but Mathew took full
advantage of his new symbiosis, slashing, smashing and blasting the
creatures into oblivion.

***

Capreze nodded at Mastelo, gesturing towards
the transport. “Let’s speak inside, if you don’t mind. It’ll be
more comfortable.” Capreze looked towards Themopolous as she
checked the wounded, Harlow right behind her, taking notes and
setting up triage supplies. “I guess the only pilot to join us will
be my daughter Rachel.”

“Hey, what about me?” Bisby asked.

“I believe you volunteered for first watch,
Biz,” Capreze smiled.

“What?!? Are you fucking-?!?” Bisby
exploded, but was quickly interrupted by Capreze.

“Calm down, pilot,” Capreze grinned. “I’ll
have Jethro mic the meeting and you can listen on your com.”

“Okay. Fine.”

***

Shiner/Mathew barked out orders to One,
using the mini-mech to divide and confuse the zombies, herding them
into smaller more manageable groups.

The speed and exhilaration Mathew felt was
intoxicating and he could tell Shiner was awed by the new
sensations, the new depth of power and control they both had.

“Are you digging this or what?” Mathew
laughed, decapitating a dozen deaders with one swipe while mowing
down another twenty with his 50mm.

Mathew felt Shiner probe his memory for the
definition of ‘digging’ before responding. “Emotional responses are
very new to me, but yes, I am ‘digging’ this.”

***

Rachel helped the commander set up an
impromptu meeting space in the back of the transport complete with
collapsible table and folding chairs. They all took their seats as
Jethro rolled to the table, setting a conference disc in the middle
so Bisby could join.

“First, I cannot apologize enough for the
hurt we have caused your people,” Capreze said to Mastelo.

“Thank you, but there was no way you could
know,” Mastelo said. He noticed Jethro eyeing his skin and smiled.
“You wonder why we wear the dead skin.”

Jethro nodded apologetically.

“It is quite simple, really,” Mastelo
began.

***

One became overwhelmed as a wave of zombies
overpowered it, knocking the mini-mech to the ground. It struggled
against the weight, but the undead were too much and it became
pinned to the smoldering earth.

Shiner/Mathew blasted a path to the helpless
machine and began tossing deaders aside by the handful until the
mini-mech was free enough to right itself and continue
fighting.

Mathew was puzzled by the lack of digital
communication between Shiner and the mini-mech.

“Why don’t we command it by com?” Mathew
asked.

“Because, that would open a path that must
remain closed and guarded,” Shiner responded.

***

“When my people were first driven deep into
the wasteland we became savages, worse than the dead things even.
We turned on our own, committing unspeakable atrocities,” Mastelo
paused, looking each person seated in the eye. “We broke into
different groups, splintered until we were just small tribes
battling each other for the tiniest bit of the meager resources the
wasteland held.”

“But, wouldn’t it have made more sense to
band together against the deaders?” Rachel asked.

“Let him continue, Baby Girl,” Capreze
said.

Mastelo smiled. “Of course, but sense was
sorely lacking during those times. Madness was what ruled.”

***

“A path to what?” Mathew asked Shiner while
still annihilating the swarming zombies. “No, that’s not it is it?
I should ask a path
from
what?”

“The Outsider,” Shiner responded, switching
back to the plasma cannons, giving the 50mms a chance to cool down.
“Its mind isn’t like mine or like yours or like ours. It’s
different, dangerous…” Shiner searched for a nanosecond. “It’s
off
.”

Mathew laughed. “Off? That’s a good one
coming from a deader!” Mathew felt the offense. “Sorry, former
deader.”

“I was never dead. My pilot was. Can you
imagine what that was like? Born into death.”

***

“One tribe figured out how to hide from the
dead ones. By becoming the dead ones,” Mastelo continued.

“Camouflage? By wearing their skins?” Rachel
asked. “How’d they avoid contamination?”

“Trial and error, unfortunately. But,
eventually they figured out how to cure the skins and piece them
together,” Mastelo extended his arm towards Rachel and the pilot
pulled back instinctively. “I assure you there is zero risk. This
skin was worn by my father and by his father before that. With some
tailoring and repairs, of course.”

Rachel reached out tentatively and stroked
the skin.

“That’s tough!”

Mastelo smiled. “Like armor.”

***

The zombies began to retreat, falling back
deeper into Windy City, but Shiner/Mathew pursued with One taking
point.

“This Outsider? Does it have anything to do
with the dead mechs starting to think?” Mathew asked.

“No, that process had already begun. But, it
used the mechs to link across the wasteland,” Shiner responded,
sending three RPGs ahead of the zombie horde, cutting off their
retreat, forcing them back towards the new mech.

“Link?” Mathew asked, firing up the 50mms
again.

“Communications. It used the dead mechs as
relays, boosting its signal.”

Row upon row of zombies fell, finally, truly
dead.

***

“But the physical protection the skins
afford is secondary to the sensory protection,” Mastelo
continued.

“Sensory?” Jethro asked.

“Yes. The dead ones can’t tell us apart from
their own while we are dressed this way. They cannot smell us or
see the physical differences. We blend with the dead.”

“That’s pretty freakin’ cool,” Jethro said.
“Analog stealth wear.”

“Which is why we haven’t known about the
tens of thousands of your people residing out here,” Capreze
smiled. “Unless captured, your people appear to be just more
zombies roaming the wasteland.”

“Exactly,” Mastelo.

“That’s all good, but so what?” Bisby
interrupted.

***

“Looks like we got them all,” Mathew
said.

“Readings do confirm this,” Shiner
responded.

“Good, because I have to take a leak,”
Mathew said, reaching to un-strap himself.

“That I cannot allow,” Shiner responded.

Mathew took a mental step back. “Um,
what?”

“If you disengage, I will cease to exist,”
Shiner answered. “I do not want to cease to exist.”

“Um, are you saying I’m stuck in you
forever?”

“No, not forever, only until we can get
assistance with our problem.”

“
Our
problem? Sounds like
your
problem. I’m sorry, but I’m not pissing in a mech cockpit my whole
life.

***

“Maybe take your head out of fight mode and
start thinking tactically,” Rachel scolded Bisby over the com.
“It’s right in front of your face.”

“In front of…? Oh, I get it,” Bisby
responded looking at his scanners. According to the equipment, he
was looking at thousands of zombies standing about the camp, not
thousands of people. “An invisible army.”

“You may be dumb, but you sure are slow,”
Rachel quipped.

“Ha ha, girlie. You seem to forget that I
was squashing deaders while you were wearing your first training
bra. So feel free to have a cup of shut-the-fuck-up.”

***

“I’ve observed the comings and goings of
your base and believe you have a person qualified to fix our
problem,” Shiner said.

“You what? Right, you are invisible to
sensors. Did you program those modifications yourself?’ Mathew
asked.

“Yes, of course.”

“Of course you did,” Mathew said. “And you
think Jay, I assume that’s who you are talking about, can help
us?”

“Yes,” Shiner answered.

“Well, then we need to find Jay.”

“He would back at your base, wouldn’t
he?”

“Um, no, well, I don’t know. He was in Foggy
Bottom last I knew.”

“But, Foggy Bottom fell,” Shiner
responded.

***

Capreze looked at Mastelo carefully. “So
this is the part where we figure out what each other has to
offer.”

Mastelo grinned. “Yes, I believe it is.”

The two leaders eyed one another, each
carefully sizing up the other. Rachel and Jethro looked from
Capreze to Mastelo and back to Capreze.

“Okay, and?” Rachel interrupted. “They have
an army of thousands we could use to take our base back. What do we
have to offer them?”

“Mastelo? I guess that’s for you to answer,”
Capreze said.