Scarlet Steel

Mechs were originally used purely for cargo and logistics. Their usage in combat didn’t come around until several new breakthroughs in miniaturizing antimatter engines. As soon as they were a viable option, however, wars pivoted to focus heavily around their use. The first mechs were truly massive, piloted by inexperienced cargo pilots. As time passed, smaller, more numerous, and cheaper mechs proved to be the more popular option. - Pilots Through the Ages

Even with the looming threat of a fight at any moment, security work is boring. It doesn’t take long before we all end up back in the dropship, stuck together in the singular front room. At least I get to play around in the simulator while everyone else just hangs out. 

Janus ramps up the simulator quickly. I go from running routes and trying to hit targets, to fighting other simulated mechs over the course of just a few hours. No matter how many times he tries to teach it, it still takes a while for me to get his main lesson through my thick skull.

I shouldn’t fight. It’s as simple as that. A Hopper can’t go toe to toe with much, even other scout mechs. A Dagger or a Switchblade would tear right through me in close quarters, and I can’t get through the armor of an Aphid or an Ant. No, I move quickly and only fire when another mech has their shields down and it’s safe to do so. If I do anything more dangerous than that, bullets and lasers have no problems ripping through my shields and armor.

No, I’m more effective being a second pair of eyes for everyone. If I can see an enemy, I can let Graff hit them with missiles, even when he’s deep behind cover. I can warn the rest of the group and keep them safe from unseen enemies trying to flank. Janus can even use my mech as a relay to try to disable other mechs. Just me being here will help everyone do their jobs better, even if I’m not actively shooting.

The other thing Janus drills into me is how to communicate clearly, quickly, and consistently. If I don’t do it properly, he shuts down my controls, and that almost always results in my virtual death.

Exa forces me to sleep occasionally. Apparently training while tired is bad or something, and fighting while exhausted is worse. The moment I’m awake, however, I’m back to training.

I’m asleep, curled up in the simulator’s cockpit when Juno’s voice blares through the speakers.

“Up and at ’em Scarlet! I want your mech ready in three minutes!”

“What?” I try to stand up, only to slam my head into the roof. “Ah! Shit!”

“A ship’s arrived in orbit.” I can barely hear Janus through my pounding head. “Their transponders are off, which means either pirates, or black market buyers for the artifacts. Either way we need to be on hand."

“Alright.” I climb out of the cockpit, rubbing my head the whole way. Juno waits until I'm up and moving before stepping through the airlock and into the mech bay. Exa and I are left alone, a breakfast bar and water in her hands.

“You ready for this, Kid?” Exa asks. “If this turns into a fight, then this is it.”

“Yeah.” I step forward and grab the food out of her hands. This is what Dad did. This is what I do now. “Yeah, I’m prepared.”

“We’ll see.” 

I scarf down my food and water as I rush to Hoppy. Everyone else is already in their mechs and going through their startup sequences. I rush up the ramp, climb into Hoppy, and begin my own startup sequence while Exa climbs into her hidden compartment in the engine bay.

“Scarlet, what’s your job?” Juno asks.

“Stay on your ass.” I answer. “I can help though! You’ve seen me in the simulator, right?”

“No, your job is to listen to my orders, and those orders are to stay on my ass, or stay in cover.”

“What’s the difference?”

“The difference is that I can’t have you questioning anything when I order you to do something else. And you're not going to fight, you're not going to do a single thing, you understand?”

“But I'm ready!”

“No you're not. There's a big fucking difference between the simulator and actual combat. I want you to see that, experience it first hand. After that we’ll talk.”

“Fine.” I snap. Dad could do it, I can do it too. But fine, I’m not going to argue.

“Can it. If you’re going to get pissy you can stay in the ship.”

I don’t respond, just finish up my startup checks. I’m still locked out of the weapon systems. Could I overwrite that if needed? Almost certainly, but I’m confident I won’t have to.

“Plan is to take up defensive positions at the mouth of the mine until we confirm who our guests are.” Juno says. “If overwhelmed, we fall back into the mouth. They’ve got defenses set up internally we can use. If things get real bad, don’t wait for an elevator. The mineshaft’s at a 45 degree angle, just toss yourself down. Exa, if Scarlet starts to panic, just send out a surrender and hit the LADDER system. Take her to orbit and let Andromeda pick the two of you up.”

“Will do.” Exa responds. “Just make sure my body stays safe.”

I flick on the engine, and Hoppy hums to life.

“Report status.” Juno orders.

Janus, Graff, and Elara all answer back, one after another. Their mechs are working fine.

“Apollo-4, green.” I say confidently.

“Apollo-4 cybersecurity, green.” Exa finishes off.

“Confirmed. Apollo-1, green. Releasing locks and opening doors. Take up defensive positions.”

The arms holding me in place retract, and the bay doors open. Juno and Janus step out first, followed closely by Graff and I.

Juno heads straight for the layers of defenses  just outside the mine's entrance. She steps to the side to let me through, and I walk past. I end up sandwiched between metal barricades, with the mineshaft behind me, and Juno directly in front.

Janus and Graff both take up positions even further back than me, just outside the lip of the mine’s door.

“Apollo-2, in position.” Janus reports.

“Apollo-3, good to go.” Graff says.

“Apollo-4, right on your ass.” I add.

“I liked you better when you were seven.” Juno’s Rhino flares to life, and a shield gets projected out of her left arm, a rectangle held directly in front of her. Just another layer of defenses for all of us. The sword in her right hand stays as just a plain piece of metal, but I know she can ignite it at will. “Janus, how much flight do you have in that thing in 2 g?”

“Two minutes on the external boosters, 19 hours if I drop shields.”

“Confirmed. Exa, assist Janus in the Digital where you can, but keep your focus on Scarlet.”

“Of course.”

“Ship entering atmosphere.” Janus reports.

High above is a scene I’ve seen hundreds of times. A small dot of light streaks towards us, a reentry flare. It grows steadily as it approaches. I couldn’t see it before it entered the atmosphere, but whether that’s because of how much smaller this one is compared to the ships I’m used to seeing, or the fact that this planet is way bigger than my old one, I’m not sure.

“ETA?” Juno asks.

“Sixteen minutes, they’re coming in hot. Still not broadcasting a signal. Potentially a blocked signal from the plasma blackout.”

“Confirmed.”

As the ship gets closer, my heart grows louder in turn. It thunders in my chest, and I grab the controls tightly to stop my hands from shaking.

“You’re going to be fine.” Exa reassures me. “I’m going to make damn sure both of us are.”

“Right.” I guess Juno was right to not let me fight. My brain is screaming at me to do something, although I can’t tell if it’s demanding I run and hide, or fight. “How much fire can our armor take?”

“With three layers of shields? You could eat the full fire of ten .50 mg’s and be fine. From a single target, anything smaller than a three inch shell won’t even pierce the armor. Laser wise, no mech can match the output from the mine.”

“And my weapons? If things get bad, will you activate them?”

“I’m under orders not to.” Exa says.

“And?”

“I’m not going to let you get hurt, Scarlet. Yes, if things get bad I’ll let you defend yourself.”

“Thank you.”

The fireball in the sky only continues to grow, continues to brighten.

“Got density checks.” Janus says. “They’ve got room in their cargo bays, but also mechs.”

“Combat? Or logistics?” Juno asks.

“Unsure. Could be either. Whatever they are, they’re bulky, nonstandard.”

“Confirmed.”

“What’s stopping the ship from attacking?” I ask.

“It opens them up to being fired back at.” Juno answers. “The gravity generators on the bottom are fragile, and the ship is too big for a proper Photon Lock Shield.”

“It’s fun when they try.” Graff sounds more excited than he should be. “Hit the underside with a missile and the whole thing flips.”

“A much bigger worry is a Rod from God, a big tungsten rod dropped from their main ship.” Juno continues. “Generally, people only really use them to take down titans, and it still opens them up to retaliation, but it does happen. In that case, we’ve got a railgun on our ship running down the entire spine, capable of accelerating a slug to .9 c. They try anything and Andromeda will blow them out of orbit from just beyond the horizon. Plus, any other armed groups in orbit are required to assist.”

“Do we have weapons on our dropship?” I ask.

“Of course we do. Everyone does. As long as we don’t fire first, there’s no problem with that, and I’m not going to be caught out when we need it. Not to mention it’s useful when legalities go out the door.”

“Alright.” That’s actually comforting. If we need extra firepower, we have it. Well, probably. No idea what the repercussions for using it would be. Whatever they are, they’re better than dying.

The dropship continues to grow, and Hoppy’s sensors pick it up. I stare at the screen as the distance to target quickly shrinks. I swallow hard, my throat tight.

“How do you normally prepare for this kind of thing?” I ask.

“I don’t.” Exa says flatly. “Do this for twenty years and it becomes routine. You’ll get used to it, and the fear of death leaves eventually.”

“That doesn’t help.”

“No, it doesn’t.” Exa agrees. “It’s not too late to go home. We’ve got time to head back to the dropship.”

“No! No, I’m fine.” I swallow once more and check Hoppy’s status. She’s still good, and the drop ship is still approaching. Whatever happens, I can handle it. I’ll be ready.

As the ship approaches, Janus gives constant updates.

"Four mechs, and I can see density readings consistent with arms, both projectile and laser systems on non-standard bodies.” He reports. “They’ve got AI on board, powerful ones too. I can’t gain access to their ship computers.”

“Wait, you’re trying to hack them?” I ask. “Are you trying to start a fight?”

“Don’t judge AI by human standards. It’d be rude to not at least probe their security, and I haven’t tried any serious attack. And it’s not like I didn’t try to open up a dialogue with them first. Either way, my guess is that word has already spread and we’re dealing with desperate bandits.”

“Get ready then, people. Janus, I want the dropship available if needed.”

“Confirmed.”

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