Dead Mech (8 page)

“And I need it intact,” Themopolous
continued.

Caprezez stared at her, stunned. “Of course
you do…”

“It’s the only way to be sure, sir.”

Capreze laughed again. “Of course it
is…”

***

Masters laughed at the look on the Rookie’s
face. “Wow, you had no idea at all, did you?”

The Rookie shook his head in disbelief.
“What, that the survival of human civilization rests on only us?
No. That isn’t how the UDC spins it in the city/states.”

“Don’t make me tell you again, Rookie.
You
are not part of
us
,” Bisby growled. “Eat your
muffin.”

The Rookie ignored Bisby. “Okay, that’ll
take some processing. So, if
we
are all here, then who’s
patrolling? Doesn’t there have to be a patrol out at all
times?”

“EAT THE FUCKING MUFFIN!” Bisby roared.

***

Jethro ignored the other sixteen monitors,
his eyes darting back and forth between the four he was seated
directly in front of. He deftly worked a large joystick with one
hand while flipping switches with his other.

“Okay, let’s see what we have here…,” he
muttered.

“Anything fun yet?” Jay asked suddenly,
making Jethro jump and yank on the joystick. The images on the
monitors shook violently.

“Jeezus Fuck! Will you please knock?!? What
if I had Three on a ledge or something? It would be fucking pieces
right now!”

Jay smirked. “How’s Three holding up?”

“Just fine,” Jethro grumbled.

***

In an instant the Rookie and Bisby were out
of their seats and face to face.

“I don’t know what your fucking problem is,
old man, but you better back the fuck off,” the Rookie spat, his
voice low and even.

Bisby laughed. “Old man? You think you can
take me, you little shit?”

“Yes,” the Rookie answered
matter-of-factly.

“Fine then,” Bisby smiled. Before the grin
left his face he brought his knee up, aiming for the rookie’s
groin.

The Rookie countered quickly, stomping his
foot down on Bisby’s, stopping the nut shot.

Bisby stumbled back.

“Oh, you’re dead Rookie…”

***

“What is that?” Jay asked, taking a closer
look at the monitor.

“That’s what I was trying to find out,”
snapped Jethro.

“Okay, sorry. No panty bunchin’ required,”
Jay apologized.

The two mechanics remained silent, watching
the monitor. Suddenly something obscured the view, then the four
monitors connected to mini-mech Three’s feed turned to static.

“What the fuck happened?” Jay yelled.

Jethro checked a diagnostic screen, typing
madly at his keyboard. “Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK!”

“Well?”

“It’s gone.”

“Gone? Nothing? Check the homing beacon,”
Jay ordered.

“It’s gone Rind. Not a blip.”

Jay sighed. “We better tell Capreze.”

***

Masters grabbed the Rookie as Harlow shoved
Bisby back.

“Knock it off Biz!” Harlow yelled. “We’re
all torn up about Stan, but don’t take it out on the Rookie!”

“Fuck you Harlow! Get the fuck out of my
way!” Bisby roared. “I’m gonna fuck him up!”

“Try it you burned out fuckstick!” the
Rookie yelled back.

“Actually, I say let ‘em,” Rachel said
casually from the table. All eyes turned on her. “I’ve seen his
file. Apparently our Rookie has some skills. Let’s take this to the
gym and see what he’s got.”

“Perfect,” growled Bisby.

“Perfect,” mocked the Rookie.

***

Capreze stood before the static filled
monitors. “Okay, so what am I looking at? I thought you said you
had Three back online.”

“It was,” Jethro answered. “Worked
perfectly.”

“Okay. So what then?”

“Watch,” said Jay as Three’s last vid feed
started to play.

Capreze watched impatiently. “Gentlemen, I
have a lot to do today. This had better---” Capreze stopped short
as once again something moved quickly in front of Three and then
the feed went dead. “What was that?”

“Not a fucking clue,” answered Jay.

“Weren’t there any readings? Any proximity
warnings?” Capreze asked.

“No. Nothing,” Jethro answered.

***

“Give the pads to the Rookie,” Bisby
snorted, knocking the protective headgear from Mathew’s hands.

Mathew glared at Bisby, bent down, retrieved
the gear and offered it to the Rookie.

“No thanks. Only reason I’d need a pad is to
soak up all the blood this asshole is going to bleed,” the Rookie
taunted.

“Oh, I like this guy,” Masters laughed from
the edge of the sparring mat.

“Okay, gentlemen. The rules are--” Mathew
started, but was quickly interrupted.

“Fuck rules!” Bisby shouted.

“Fine by me,” the Rookie shrugged, cracking
his neck.

Mathew sighed. “Okay. Fine. Have at it.”

***

“What about the other mini-mechs?” Capreze
asked, irritated.

“They’re fine, sir,” Jethro responded.

“Which one is closest?”

“One, I guess, although it would take it
about an hour to get to Three’s position.”

“Then get it going,” barked Capreze, turning
to Rind. “Can you make anything of this Jay?”

“Not a goddamn thing,” Jay said, playing the
vid feed again. “Alarms should have gone off whether it’s mech,
zombie or other.”

“Other? What other?” Capreze’s eyes
narrowed.

“Human,” Jay said. “Waster, culter,
whatever.”

“Just because you put an –er at the end
doesn’t make it a word, Jay,” Jethro joked.

***

The Rookie dodged Bisby’s first swing,
shuffling to the side.

“Dancer, eh?” Bisby taunted. “Too bad, I
like the arts.”

The Rookie laughed, batting away another jab
and slapping Bisby upside the head.

Bisby feinted right then brought his left
fist up in a powerful uppercut. The Rookie crossed his arms,
blocking the uppercut and sending Bisby off balance. Using the
advantage, the Rookie shoved Bisby to the mat.

Bisby immediately jumped to his feet, face
dark red with rage. “Stop fucking around! Come on!”

“Okay,” the Rookie said, landing a lighting
fast roundhouse kick to Bisby’s jaw. “How’s that?”

***

“Okay, sir, One has a new directive and is
heading to Three’s last position,” Jethro said, pushing back from
the mini-mech console. “Should only take about forty minutes to get
there.”

“Good. Keep me posted,” Capreze commanded,
heading out the control room door. “Let me know the second you find
anything.”

Jay and Jethro watched the Commander leave
then turned back to the screens. They watched them in silence, each
lost in their own thought processes.

“Fuck this shit,” Jay said, stepping away
from the console. “You want anything from the mess?”

“Coffee. Lots of it,” Jethro responded.

“Can do.”

***

The Rookie stood over Bisby’s prone form. He
watched the stunned pilot struggle with consciousness then turned
to the rest.

“Anyone else?” the Rookie laughed.

Harlow quickly unzipped her uniform,
stripping down to her boxers and bra. “Looks like I finally have a
challenge.”

The Rookie’s eyes widened. “I was kidding. I
don’t have a problem with you.”

“And I don’t have a problem with you,”
Harlow said casually. “But it’s my duty to hand every mech pilot
their ass. It’s good for character.”

“Is she serious?” the Rookie asked, looking
at each pilot.

“Yes,” they all answered in unison.

***

“Fucking fuck shit he’s fast!”

The words from the gym stopped Jay. “What
the fuck?” Coffee retrieval would have to wait.

The scene he walked into gave him a gut
clench. “Oh, this isn’t good…” He sidled up to Mathew. “What the
fuck is this?”

“Hey Jay,” Mathew greeted the mechanic.
“Just blowing off some steam. Kind of a get to know you moment for
the Rookie.”

“She’ll kill him.”

“I don’t know about that,” Bisby said from
behind them, an ice pack on his jaw.

“What the...?”

“Fucking Rookie.”

Jay turned back to the sparring match, his
interest piqued.

***

Jethro sighed, irritated Jay hadn’t
returned. He clicked his com. “Where the fuck are you Rind?”

“Holy shit! You have to come see this!”
Jay’s voice crackled back.

“See what?”

“The Rookie is holding his own against
Harlow!”

Jethro shoved away from the console,
instantly on his feet. “What?!? Oh, fuck! I’ll be right there!”

He typed a couple commands into the
keyboard, grabbed a tablet, double-checked the vid feed had
transferred and dashed out the door.

Directly into Commander Capreze. “Um,
Commander…I thought you were in your office.”

Capreze frowned. “Going somewhere
mechanic?”

Jethro smiled weakly. “Um, well…”

***

Harlow grabbed the Rookie by his neck,
slipping around behind him, knocking his legs out from under him
and slamming him to the mat.

The audible crunch of the Rookie’s nose made
the spectators cringe.

“Jeezus, baby, don’t kill him before he gets
his first mech,” Masters laughed.

“Yes, Pilot Harlow, please don’t. The
paperwork I would have to fill out would put me in a very foul
mood,” Commander Caprese said, stepping into the training room.

“Commander on deck!” Mathew announced.

All but one stood at immediate
attention.

“How is that different than any other mood,
Commander?” Bisby quipped.

***

“Jay? Jay! Come in dammit! Capreze’s on his
way!”

“Yeah, I know. He’s here already,” Jay
responded. “Thanks for the heads up.”

“Dude, I tried. He blocked my com. I just
now got the override in place,” Jethro listened for a second. “Is
it bad?”

“What the fuck do you think?”

“Mechanics? Please get off the com right
now,” Capreze’s voice barked.

“Yes, sir. Sorry sir,” Jethro answered,
killing his com. “Shit.”

He sat before the console staring at One’s
vid link, watching the mini-mech make its way across the
wastelands.

Movement caught Jethro’s eye. “What the fuck
is that…?”

***

“Alright. I understand yesterday was hard,
which is why protocol has all mech pilots stay at base for at least
24 hours after a loss,” Capreze met each pilot’s eye. “But, that
doesn’t mean you act like caged animals.”

“Sir…,” Masters started. Capreze held up his
hand, cutting him off.

“I’ll chalk this up to letting off steam and
breaking in the Rookie. You all get a freebie.” A collective sigh
went up in the gym. “However, I want to see Pilots Bisby and
Capreze in my office right now.” Capreze turned and left.

“You too Rookie!” he called back.

***

Jethro switched from viewpoint to view
point, hoping his eyes were just playing tricks on him. They
weren’t.

“Jay? You still in the gym?”

“No. Heading back your way,” Jay answered
over the com. “What’s up?”

“You have your tablet?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Good. I’m shooting over an image. This is
going to freak your shit out.”

Jethro waited a moment. “You seeing
that?”

“Hold on,” Jay barked. “Oh sweet fuckin’
Jeezus with eggs…”

The com was silent.

“Jay? You still there?”

“Yeah.”

“Should we call Capreze?”

“No. Not until we are sure.”

“Fine. Should I pull One back?”

“Not yet.”

***

“You are confined to barracks, Pilot,” the
Commander ordered. Bisby’s face reddened and he opened his mouth to
speak, but Capreze instantly cut him off. “I don’t want to hear it,
Biz. You know what you did. Regardless of what happened yesterday I
need to know you can keep it together out here. If I have any
doubts, any doubts at all, I’ll ground you and put you on KP with
Steve. Are we understood?”

Emotions swam across Bisby’s face before
settling on furious resignation. “Yes, sir. I understand
completely.”

“Good. Send in my daughter on your way out.
Dismissed.”

***

“How far out is it?” Jay asked, pouring two
cups of coffee from a large thermos. “Is it close enough for a full
scan?”

“It’s been close enough for the last ten
minutes. I’m getting nothing,” Jay responded.

“Is there something wrong with One’s
scanners?”

“No. Full diagnostic shows them working
perfectly.”

“What the fuck…?” Jay mused. He handed
Jethro a cup and sat down. “Let’s try something. Does One have
short wave?”

“Sure. All the mini’s do.”

“Good. Start scanning the bands.”

Jethro typed quickly. Static filled the
speakers then a high-pitched keening began.

Jay smiled. “That sneaky bastard…”

***

“Okay, I know you’re mad, but--”

“Sit down Rachel,” Capreze interrupted. “I’m
not mad.”

Rachel sat down, puzzled, having expected a
thorough chewing out.

“How are you holding up?” Capreze asked.

“Um, fine,” Rachel answered, confused.

“Stan was like family.” Capreze closed his
eyes briefly. “He was our only connection to life before this base.
Now, it’s just you and me, Baby Girl.”

Rachel stood and crossed behind Capreze’s
desk. She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. “No, Papa
Bear, that’s not true. We’ve got all those assholes out there,
too.”

Capreze laughed and hugged his daughter.

***

“Mother fucker. Jam me will ya,” Jay
muttered, furiously typing commands. He cocked his head and
listened to the screech coming from the short wave. With a flourish
he tapped the enter key one last time and pushed away from the
console. “Try that bitch!”

The short wave signal immediately went back
to normal static. Jethro jumped as One’s scanners started picking
up and streaming data.