Scarlet Steel

I’m left tossing and turning in bed the whole night before our mission. At least I have the good sense to try and go to sleep early, so at least I can fail at sleeping for longer. Maybe that counts for something.

“This is your wakeup notification.” I’m not surprised when Andromeda’s announcement comes. “Operation commences in four hours, please prepare.”

“Do I need to wear my survival suit?” I ask into the empty room.

“I would suggest doing so, yes.”

“Alright.” I roll out of bed and pull on my compression suit, leaving off the gloves and hood. It’s more comfortable than the first time after Andromeda made a few modifications.

I head downstairs, and as always, I’m last. I feel like I even got up quickly this time.

Juno notices me the moment I reach the stairs, and she intercepts me at the bottom.

“You didn’t sleep.” She notes, and reaches out to tug down my sleeves and adjust my collar.

“I really tried.”

“I know.” She taps me on the shoulder, nods, and turns towards the kitchen. “You’ll get used to it. I’ve got meds in the meantime.”

“Not caffeine?” I follow beside her.

“Nope. It’ll work.”

“I’d appreciate it then.”

I grab a bar from my box for breakfast, and Juno hands me a small pill.

“This’ll keep you up for eighteen hours, whether you want it or not. And be careful, these things can be addictive.”

“I’m fine to take it once, right?” I stare at it in my hand.

“I wouldn’t give it to you if you weren’t.”

“Right.” I toss the pill into my mouth and chase it down with an entire glass of water.

“You ready?”

“Yeah.” I nod. “I know what I’m doing.”

“Good.” Juno nods. “Don’t forget that no plan survives-”

“Contact, and my safety comes first. I know.” I must have heard that a hundred times in the last two weeks. “I’ll keep you updated.”

“Make sure you do.” She turns on her heel and heads towards the central table. “Everyone! Small update. Got ID on the two scout mechs. Two Hoppers. One standard, the other, based on heat output, looks to have a modified engine. Expect a laser boat. They’re likely to be traveling together. If in trouble, take out the lasers and leave the projectiles to your shields.” Her eyes are locked on me while she says that.

I guess I’m the only person who really needs to worry about it. Juno and Janus are both in medium mechs, two scouts aren’t going to be able to fight them. Actually, Graff also has similar problems, but I’m certain he doesn’t need to be told who to shoot at first. He’s also a size class up on the scouts, but his self-defense capabilities are limited on his own. Either of them would be a problem for him, but even a single gravity missile could buy him time to escape. 

If I get chased, as long as I don’t panic, it should be the same for me. If they make a mistake, or get delayed, I get away. If I make a mistake? It’s best to not think about that.

Four hours pass by, simultaneously far too short, and far too long. I just do my best to relax and stay calm as the planet grows in the windows.

“Ten minutes!” Juno announces. “Get moving, people!”

It’s almost a relief when she yells.

“Ready?” Exa stands up from the couch and offers me her hand.

“I need to get the full suit on.” I take her hand, and she pulls me easily to my feet.

“Get moving then. Meet you in Hoppy.”

“Right.” I rush upstairs and dip into my room for just a moment. Getting my hood on with all my hair in the way is still a little uncomfortable, but I manage. I pull on gloves, slide into the outside of my survival suit, and grab my helmet off the desk.

I flinch a little as a small glint of gold catches my eye. Sitting on the desk, besides the picture frame of Mom and Dad, is the locket Mom gave me. Ugh, I completely forgot about it.

It’s safer to leave here, but if I take it with me, then I have to come back. It’s another promise I have to uphold. Another promise I will uphold.

I slip the necklace into my pocket and run downstairs. Everyone else is already in their mechs, and I climb into mine.

Battery power, dismiss error, systems green, warm up antimatter tubes, wait. The screen already displays ‘Bay-2’ proudly in the center. Great, I need to dock first or second, and everyone has to wait for me. It’s fine, there’s still time. I wait a full minute before bringing Hoppy to life.

“Hopper released.” Andromeda announces.

I step out into the hallway, and walk into the dropship’s bay. 

“Hopper secure.” Andromeda informs me.

The other three mechs join me quickly. Graff parks directly next to me, with Juno and Janus behind either of us.

“Report status.” Juno orders.

“Apollo-2, green. Apollo-2 cybersecurity suite, green” Janus confirms. 

“Apollo-3, green.” Graff reports.

“Apollo-3 cybersecurity suite, green.” Xenia adds.

“Apollo-4, green.” I’m far more confident this time.

“Apollo-4 cybersecurity suite, green.” Exa says.

“Confirmed. Apollo-1, green. Janus, confirm dropship stealth systems.”

“Stealth systems green.” He confirms. “We’ll be off radar.”

“Confirmed. Take us planetside out of sight. Stay low on approach.”

“Copy. Expect quick-drop in 20 minutes.”

“Comms free.”

I reach out and flick off my mic before speaking.

“Just 20 minutes?” I ask.

“It’s a smaller planet.” Exa answers.

“Huh, right. What’s the gravity?”

“.8 g.”

“Oh, that’s going to be nice.” Being in 2 g was miserable, even if most of our time was spent in the ship with the gravity generators on. I’ll be able to actually pilot Hoppy at a decent speed, instead of basically lumbering across the surface.

“Mm-hmm.”

I run diagnostics on our ride down, checking the extra capacitor over and over. I even send in Spidey to visually confirm the connection. I’m glad Tera suggested the full sensor suite, I can even check to ensure nothing is getting hot. I mean, sure, temp sensors in Hoppy are already showing me that, but it’s nice to double check.

I still don’t know how everyone else is always so relaxed. Everyone except Exa and I are out of their mechs, casually talking. Maybe one day I’ll be like them. This whole thing will feel normal. 

I hope so.

“Five minutes to drop.” Before long, Janus’s voice comes through the speakers.

“Get ready, everyone!” Juno adds. “Let’s get to work.”

While everyone gets back into their mechs, I tap into the cameras on the outside of the ship. I watch as we quickly skim across the top of the trees.

“They don’t see us coming?” I ask.

“They shouldn’t.” Exa answers. “Juno spent an awful lot on this ship. We have passive countermeasures for most sensors. Cameras are the big issue, and Janus is tapping into them as we pass.”

“Which is why we’re getting dropped off first?” I grab my helmet off the floor and twist it into place. The suit pressurizes for a moment before venting down to a comfortable amount of air.

“Mm-hmm. Suit’s green, by the way.”

“If Janus is far away, is that a problem while we walk towards the compound?”

“That’s why you’ve got me. I’ll keep us unseen.”

“You better.” I guess training works. The absolute last thing I want to do is to get in a direct fight. It's not terrifying exactly, I know exactly what to do if it does happen, but every moment with Janus is screaming at me to avoid it.

“Biggest risk is the drop. You feeling confident, or do you want me to do it?”

“I got it.” I haven't broken anything in the simulations after the first few attempts, and I'll have Exa watching over my shoulder anyway. “I've done a 20 foot drop in 2 g.”

“It's all yours then.”

The ship eventually begins to slow, hovering just above the endless forest, and the doors open. My monitors notify me that Hoppy is entirely disconnected from the ship.

“Apollo-3, green for drop.” Juno says.

“On it.” Graff goes first. He rolls directly off the edge of the dropship, and small jets at the corners of his mech keeps him vertical. He falls, crashing through the trees and disappearing beneath the leaves. A flock of bright red birds take to the air in the wake of his destruction. “Landing clear, systems green.”

“Confirmed. Apollo-4, green for drop.”

I step out into open air, and for a moment find myself weightless. I keep Hoppy’s legs extended without locking her knees. A second later the leaves and branches of the forest consume us, blocking out my sight. The world roars as branches break and drag along Hoppy’s hull, and it slows us enough to drag me into my harness.

Hoppy hits the ground, and I apply just enough force to bring her to a stop just before the chassis hits the dirt. I stand back up while nature rains down on top of us.

I let out a breath and check the console. Hoppy’s not reporting anything wrong, nothing was stressed too hard.

I reach out, and turn on my mic.

“Systems green.” I report. 

“Confirmed.” Juno says. “Proceed to waypoint Alpha, we’re heading to drop point Beta.”

“Got it.”

I’m the scout, that means I lead the way. I push through the dense trees, letting Exa relay back a path that Graff can follow. He still has to plow through smaller trees occasionally, but he dodges the bulk of it.

Small creatures watch us pass from the lowest branches, seemingly without fear. The floor is mostly barren, the trees too dense for much sunlight to bleed through.

My radio comes to life and Xenia’s voice comes through.

“You look confident.” She says.

I even remember to flick my radio over to exclusively talk to her.

“I guess I am.” It’s just like training. My heart isn’t even racing, or at least not that much.

“Just don’t leave us too far behind.”

I glance at the monitors and find them already almost a mile behind me.

“Shoot, sorry.” Guess I’m a little anxious.

“You’re alright!”

I flip my radio back to global before continuing scouting. We settle into a routine, and it’s not long before I’m comfortable enough for Exa to start talking casually.

“You know Juno’s going to ask what you think about this, right?”

“Ugh, I’m sure she will.” I force myself to glance around and take in the sights. Trees are kind of cool? The colors are neat? I’m used to seeing browns everywhere, my entire planet was brown, but green’s an uncommon color. Maybe I could tell her about the animals? It’s cool seeing glimpses of them just living their lives. “What’s with her and plants, anyway?"

“No idea, she’s always been like this.”

“I’ll try to think of something.”

It takes half an hour of crashing through the forest before we reach a hill. The trees are a little less dense I think, although they still prevent any light from getting through. Graff crests the hill and stops, finally in position to fire.

“Apollo-3 to Apollo-1, in position.” Graff reports.

“Confirmed. Apollo-1 and Apollo-2 dropping now. Apollo-4, continue to waypoint Beta.”

“On it.” I head off on my own.

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