Scarlet Steel

The pain hardly lessens after three days, but I guess it’s a little better. At least Exa’s helped make a few shirts with a velcro shoulder and no sleeve. Getting that on and off avoids a lot of pain.

“Ready to go?” Juno waits by the door to the warehouse, leaning heavily on her crutches. Everyone else is already loading the generator into the dropship. “You packing?”

“I don’t know how much I can do with it, but yeah.” My left arm is through the sleeve of my suit jacket, but the right is just draped over my shoulder. I grab the corner and pull it away, letting Juno see the grip sticking out of my pocket.

“Good.” Juno turns and heads through the door. “There’s always a chance they try to screw us.”

“Is that Elara’s prediction? Or just experience?”

“You could call it paranoia, but you don’t live long if you’re not prepared.”

We step through and into the warehouse. Exa is just now returning Hoppy to her bay, and I get my first look at the damage. Hoppy’s fine for the most part, but both Aphids are dismantled on the floor, mid-repair. From the panels I can make out, one of them took an awful lot of fire. I know these things are horrible to repair, but even after three days things look bad.

“Thanks for waiting for me to work on Hoppy.”

“Exa insisted.”

Elara manifests beside Juno, joining us on our walk towards the dropship.

“Graff and Xenia just finished securing the generator.” She says.

“Good, thank you.”

I want nothing more than to rush forward and help secure the engine, but I’m forced to move at the same speed as Juno. Walking any faster is going to jostle my arm. 

Exa walks ahead of us into the dropship, and we join her a minute later. A large metal box on wheels is taking up one of the bays. The arms that lock our mechs in place are holding it securely in place.

Juno makes her way over to it and gives it a quick inspection. With a nod she turns towards the command room, and all of us pile in.

“Janus, take us in.”

“Copy. Undocking.”

I watch the screens as we approach the station. It’s tiny, by far the smallest station I’ve seen yet. Despite that, it looks like a fortress. A single docking bay is built into the front, and defensive weapons pepper every surface. Half the visible guns are pinned onto us as we approach, and the other half remain locked onto the main ship.

“I really don’t like this.” I say.

“You get used to it. These stations are run by Argenta, they would ruin their reputation if they attacked. They’re neutral ground for all groups, and they’ll keep that fact true by force if needed.”

I’ve heard that name before.

“The same group that enforces payments?”

“Yes.” Janus nods. “They can also handle dropoff and delivery after mission completion, although they do take a percentage of the profits. Most companies vastly prefer working directly with employers, and we would too if it wouldn’t necessitate retracing our steps. Not to mention they can and will ensure insurance payouts.”

“We should use them all the time if they’re that good.” I say.

“Not when they take twenty percent.” Graff grumbles. “All that comes out of our takes, not the repair bill."

“Right.” That’d end up being a few more missions before I could build my mech. It probably wouldn’t be many more, but still.

Our dropship approaches the landing bay. Turns out the inside is just as heavily armed as the outside. AI with weapons surround our eventual landing point, and turrets installed in the walls track us. A tingle spreads over my skin as we pass through a blue barrier spread across the entrance.

Janus makes sure to move slowly as we approach. We touch down in the center of the group, and Janus turns off the engine.

“Docking complete.” He announces. “Opening bay doors.”

“Let’s go, people.” Juno leads the way. She doesn’t hesitate to head into the bays, despite the armed guards. Sitting in front of the crowd is an AI. His top half is humanoid, but he rolls on a large cubic base teeming with fans.

“Juno, I assume?” The man nods.

“Yes.”

“Excellent.” The AI rolls towards the cargo bays. He reaches out to the now-disconnected metal box and opens the lid. He spends a few long seconds staring at the generator before gently closing it. “I doubt your employer will be happy with the damage, but you’ve fulfilled your end of the bargain. We’ll do minor repairs to pacify him. And you mentioned you wished to act on the injury clause?”

“Absolutely.”

“Right this way.” The AI turns around and heads deeper into the compound. He moves slowly, letting Juno and I follow at a comfortable pace. Exa and Elara join the two of us, but Graff, Xenia, and Janus stay with the dropship.

The AI leads us to the back of the docking bay, and through a door. Behind it is a small room filled primarily with medical equipment. Shoved in the corner is a small, dusty waiting area.

“I must apologize for our lack of amenities.” He says. “We rarely host organics for more than a few hours at a time. I’ll need to get fairly in-depth scans of both of your injuries of choice. Normally we would require an extensive investigation and discussion to confirm you were injured due to direct action on your client’s behalf, but your techie, Janus, has already provided sufficient proof. Instead, we’ll need nothing more than a short conversation with you to confirm what happened. Who would like to go first?”

“Take a seat, Scarlet.” Juno tilts her head towards the waiting area and steps forward.

The AI leads her towards a table and motions for her to take a seat. She does so.

“Please, state your name and tell me what caused your injury.” The AI picks up a small reciprocating saw and quickly cuts through her cast.

“Juno. I was in an Aphid. A brace supporting my right knee buckled under sustained fire. If I remember correctly it bent 25 degrees past vertical.”

“28.” Elara helpfully adds.

“28 then, I suppose. It shattered my knee. Elara, my partner, pumped enough chemicals into me to keep me moving, and I fought until the end of the op.”

“And what were you doing at the time of your injury?” He picks up a scanner and slowly moves it across the length of Juno’s leg.

“Failing to protect Scarlet.” She nods towards me. “She was out of her mech at the time, unhooking the generator.”

“And can you confirm that?” The AI glances over at me to ask.

“That I was out of the mech? Yeah, of course.”

“Did you see her injury?”

I glance at Juno, and she nods. Hopefully this won’t screw anything up.

“No, I didn’t know about it until I was getting treated and she was wrapping her own leg. By the time I saw it, it was already wrapped up.”

“I see.” He puts down his small scanner and wheels over a much larger machine. It takes him a moment to get it into position directly above Juno’s knee. The machine begins to quietly hum as it works. “Did you suffer your injury in pursuit of your employer’s goals?”

“I did.”

“And did you take every reasonable precaution to avoid undue injury?”

“I did.” Juno repeats.

“Very good. Thank you. Scarlet, while we're waiting, come here please.”

I stand up, and glance at Exa for a reassuring nod. The AI leads me to a chair next to a table that rises to my armpit.

“Please place your arm flat on the table.”

I grit my teeth and do as he asks. I get my arm flat before unclasping my sling.

“Thank you.” He picks up the same scanner he used on Juno. “And would you please answer the same set of questions? State your name and tell me how your injury occured.”

“I’m Scarlet Miller. I was out of my mech disconnecting the fusion generator.” I answer. “I'm not sure when exactly it happened, to be honest. Just that when I got back in my mech, I thought I pulled something in my arm.”

“It happened when you were jumping back in.” Exa answers. 

“Apparently my suit and the adrenaline made me miss most of the pain.” I continue. “When I got back to the ship, Exa pulled me out and started operating.”

“Did you suffer your injury in pursuit of your employer’s goals?” He puts down the scanner and moves to the machine above Juno’s leg.

“Absolutely.”

“Did you take every reasonable precaution to prevent undue injury?” He wheels the machine over to my table, gets it positioned above my arm, and it begins to hum once again.

“Of course. Juno built a barricade around me.”

“Very good. Out of personal curiosity, do you have a medical professional taking care of your injuries?”

“I am.” Exa speaks up. “I’m forwarding everything I'm doing now.”

“Thank you.” The man nods. “I do like to ensure people I come into contact with have access to a good medical system. I can’t tell you how many permanent injuries I’ve seen that could have been healed with prompt medical attention.”

“I’ve got a few if you look hard enough.” Juno says.

“Yes, I noticed your inability to fully bend your thumb, among other things.”

“What, what?” How did I never notice? 

Juno just smiles to herself and gives a small shake of her head.

“While you’re here, would you like me to ensure your wound doesn’t scar?” The AI offers. “It’s a quick procedure, and I can offer it complimentary.”

I hesitate. I’m no stranger to scars, I’ve got plenty of them from my years exploring the junkyard. They’re kind of a nice reminder of my mistakes, to make sure I don’t make them again.

“No…” I say slowly. “I think I’d like to keep it.”

“I understand. You’re finished, by the way.” The AI rolls the machine away from me, storing it against the wall.

“I was really expecting more.” I say.

“If you want me to cut you open and detail your damage, I’m more than willing.”

“No! I’m not complaining! Just surprised.”

“I’m aware.” He quietly chuckles to himself. “I detailed every fibre in your muscles, every imperfection marring your bones, every hair on your skin in the area. I could give you the chemical compounds of the detritus in any pore of your choice if you wish.”

“Really? Think I could go grab some circuit boards to stick under there? I think they have internal traces that are broken, and if I could track them down I could run a bodge wire. You’d save me a lot of time.”

“Alas, I don’t believe we have the time. Your co-workers have already unloaded your cargo and are awaiting your return.”

“Ah, right.” I can’t help but let my disappointment show. “Well let’s get going then.” I grimace as I fit my arm back in the sling and slowly lower it back to my body.

 “I’ve gone ahead and deposited your agreed upon rate and injury payouts into your account, minus our administrative costs, of course. If you have any issues, please, don’t hesitate to contact us.” The AI gestures for us to head back into the landing bay, and Juno takes the lead.

It’s a short walk back to the dropship, and an even shorter ride back to the main ship.

“Alright everyone, here’s the plan.” Juno announces. “No ops until we’re back in shape. “We’re a few weeks out from Mnemosyne space, we’re doing nothing before then. Once we arrive, we’ll get back to work. Understood?”

“Understood.” Janus nods.

“Sure.” Graff mumbles.

“I’m alright with that.” I can’t say it’s not a relief.

“Good, you’re all dismissed.

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