Dead Mech (5 page)

Themopolous raised an eyebrow. “Me...?”

“Yes. Pilot Jespers mentioned you were
asking about Foggy Bottom. Anything to do with the coded communiqué
you received this morning?”

Themopolous looked away.

***

“Hey, what was the name of those vids we
watched?” Jethro asked around the screwdriver clenched between his
teeth. He pulled it from his mouth, stretching his arm past wires
and pistons, trying to reach the right spot. “The
Transmogrifiers?”

“Transformers,” Jay responded, reaching from
the other side, helping guide Jethro’s screwdriver.

“Right. Transformers. Man, that was some
cool shit.”

Jay stared at his assistant in disbelief.
“You work on fucking mechs! I’m pretty sure these are way more cool
than that made up shit.”

“Yeah, but they turned into stuff like boats
and cars.”

“Yeah, you got a point.”

***

Harlow stood below Masters’ mech, manning
the initiation console, going over the start-up procedure. She
checked gauges, then looked up directly at Masters’ cockpit.

“You’re all set Pilot, go kick some deader
ass,” Harlow yelled. Masters cupped a hand to his ear and shook his
head. Harlow clicked her com.

“I said, you’re all set. It’s the same thing
I say every morning.”

“I know, baby. I just like hearing your
sweet voice in my ear,” Masters cracked. Harlow shook her head,
smiling.

“Get out of here, will ya?”

“Eager for me to leave?”

“No. Eager for you to return.”

***

Mathew sat in the control tower, built
decades before when the UDC expected the mech bases to be bustling
hives of activity, mechs coming and going, troops being transported
in and out.

Movement below caught his eye as Rachel
locked her cockpit. The tower was insulated from sound, but he knew
she was powering up full systems. Immediately he scanned the
horizon, trying to see what had alarmed her.

“Hey, what’s up?” he said, calling Rachel’s
com.

“Mech. Can’t tell if it’s a deader or not…
You watching me again?”

“Busted. I’m off shift until after the
Rookie gets here.”

***

June walked into the rec room, hoping Jay
had downloaded the new batch of vids. She grabbed some couch and
flicked on the wall-sized monitor. She scanned the menu, seeing the
same shows she had seen a million times. She clicked off the
monitor, depressed.

She wondered where Mathew was.
Probably
watching
her
again
, she thought bitterly.
Spoiled
little mech brat…

June stood up, anger and jealousy suddenly
motivating her.
Fuck this
, she thought.

She stomped out of the rec room, determined
to find Mathew and tell him how she felt. Determined to make him
feel the same about her.

***

The bay doors opened wide, allowing Masters’
mech to exit the hangar.

“Watch yourself out there,” Harlow buzzed
over Masters’ com.

“Don’t worry, sugar. I’m good to go.”

“Not worried about you, I’m worried about
your partner today.”

“Rachel? Why?” Masters asked.

“She only sleeps in her mech! A, that’s just
weird. B, no one can get a good night’s sleep in one of those
cockpits. If she’s fatigued, then she may hesitate when she
shouldn’t. Just watch yourself.”

“Not to worry, baby.
I
slept fine
last night. Rested and ready to wipe the wasteland clean of the
deader menace!”

***

“It was personal,” Doctor Themopolous said,
still avoiding Capreze’s gaze.

It was Capreze’s turn to raise an eyebrow.
“Personal? You don’t really expect me to believe that, do you?”

The doctor considered what to tell Capreze;
the Commander waited.

“I was looking to transfer. To get away
from” –she gestured about the office, indicating the entire base-
“all of this.”

“Any particular reason?” Capreze asked
kindly.

“No single reason. It’s just, well…”

“The isolation, the fear, the violence, the
desolation, the lack of any socialization beyond a bunch of mech
pilots half out of their minds?”

Themopolous laughed, smiling weakly.

***

Mathew climbed the spiral stairs to the
tower, having grabbed his binocs from his locker, preferring the
exertion of the steps to the static hum of the lift. He clicked his
com. “Anything?”

“Nope, still too far out for a decent scan,”
Rachel’s voice buzzed in his ear. “Did you get your binocs?”

“Yah, I’m almost to the- Oh, um, hey
June…”

“What’s she doing there?” Rachel asked, a
hint of jealousy marking her words.

“Hello, Matty,” June said, her voice
shaking.

“Hey Rache, I’ll get back to you, okay?”

“Make it quick…Mathew.”

“Ahh, come on, don’t be like that…”

***

“That still doesn’t explain why it was
coded…,” Capreze led. Themopolous’ smile faded quickly, darkness
clouding her eyes.

“It was from an old colleague of mine. He’s
Chief Medical Officer for Foggy Bottom…,” she trailed off.

Capreze waited patiently. “And…?”

“And? Well, he has been seeing some issues
with the Reaper chips. Some very alarming issues.”

“He’s reported these ‘issues’ to the
UDC?”

“Well, that’s complicated…”

Claxons blared, the base sent into full
alarm.

Capreze jumped from his seat. “We’ll
continue this later, Doctor.”

“Of course, Commander.”

Capreze tapped his com. “Full alert folks,
all staff to stations. Be ready.”

***

“Approaching mech, this is Pilot Capreze,
please respond,” Rachel waited, but there was no answer. “Son of a
bitch…”

Rachel fired up all systems and triple
checked her weapons. She slammed her hand on the console,
initiating the base’s alarm and defense systems then started
towards the approaching mech. Her com crackled and Commander
Capreze buzzed in her ear.

“Whatcha got Baby Girl?” her father’s voice
asked.

“Not sure. Incoming mech, but can’t tell if
it’s friend or not. It’s not responding to my hail. Scanners say
it’s pretty banged up and power levels are low.”

“Be careful.”

“Will do.”

***

“Listen Matty, there is something I want to
say,” June said sheepishly. “Something I’ve been meaning to say for
a while.”

“Um, can this wait, June? Rache has an
incoming mech and I’m her eyes on this.”

“No! It can’t wait for Rachel!”

Mathew stepped back at the force of June’s
words. “Whoa, whoa, take it easy. Fine, what is it you need to
say?”

June took a deep breath, she couldn’t help
glancing out the window, down at the mech, down at
her
. She
let out the breath and turned back to Mathew.

Before she could speak, claxons blared.

***

“I wish it was more than meets the eye! Then
this piece of shit could transform into a mech that worked!” Jay
yelled at Jethro.

“How'd you get those vids anyway?” asked
Jethro, handing Jay the span-driver he hadn't asked for yet.

“Thanks... Some chick I was banging before
the dead mechs. Her dad was new media and had a HUGE vid
library.”

“Wow. Did he have that one with the talking
dog and those kids? Shabby Sue, I think?”

“Huh... Don't know that one.”

“Nevermi-”

Proximity klaxons shook the hangar bay.

“Shit, hope that's one of ours,” Jay
mumbled.

***

Masters settled his mech next to Rachel’s.
“What ya got?”

“Mech. Heading straight for us. Looks
damaged,” Rachel replied, engaging the drive gear. “I’m gonna head
out there and intercept. If my dad sends more pilots out, then you
come join me. Otherwise, stay back and cover the base.”

“Will do,” Masters responded, checking his
weapons systems and firing up long-range sensors.

Rachel started to walk her mech away from
the base. Her com crackled loudly.

“Hey! Where you going all by yourself?”
Mathew asked, not bothering to hide his concern.

“I’m on intercept.”

Mathew grumbled, Rachel smiled at this.

***

“Fucking piece of shit!” Bisby swore,
smashing his fist against the com controls. Far off he could see
the mech base, two mechs standing out front, just dots in the
distance.

Having a landmark in sight, he adjusted his
course, heading for the funeral pyre where he would deposit
Stanislaw’s body. Regardless of the state of the body, all corpses
were deposited at the pyre to be dealt with immediately.

It had taken him a couple hours to walk
several miles, but the last mile to the pyre was the hardest.

Bisby could feel the fatigue creep into his
soul.

***

With the motor drive in gear, Rachel took
the opportunity to stretch her legs as much as she could in the
tight space of the cockpit. She wanted to be plenty limber if she
had to be.

The terrain in the general area of the mech
base was smoothed and maintained, allowing the mechs to move fast
when they needed to. Rachel kept an eye on her scanners as she
approached the mystery mech.

Within seconds here computer chimed, letting
her know it was Bisby’s mech she was seeing.

“Biz? Come in Biz!” she hailed, hoping he
could still hear.

***

Bisby struggled to keep his mech going
towards the funeral pyre. The hydraulics were quickly breaking
down; he wasn’t sure if he would make it to the pyre and back into
base.

Bisby saw a mech approaching fast, but
couldn’t tell whose it was. He could give a shit who came to greet
him, as long as they stayed out of his way.

In seconds the mech was close enough for
Bisby to see it was Rachel coming to intercept him. He immediately
launched three flairs. Red, blue, red. The signal that he was
alive, but his com was down.

***

Rachel walked her mech right up to Bisby’s
so they could hear each other. She opened her cockpit and motioned
for Bisby to do the same. He was slow in responding, but eventually
he did.

“Where’s Stan?” Rachel called out.

It was all Bisby could do to keep his tears
in check. He wasn’t going to cry in front of another pilot,
especially one that he taught himself.

“Biz! Where is Stan?” Rachel called
again.

Bisby pointed down towards the auxiliary
cargo pocket holding his dead mentor’s body.

Rachel’s eyes swept down and then she
squeezed them closed, quickly understanding.

***

Rachel hailed Capreze, trying desperately to
hold back the sobs, but the second her father’s voice came on the
com, she lost all control.

“Rachel?!? What’s going on out there? Whose
mech is that?” Capreze asked, struggling to keep his voice
professional.

Rachel couldn’t answer. Blinded by tears and
racked with despair, she stopped her mech, letting Bisby hobble on
without her. Her chest felt empty yet unbelievably heavy at the
same time.

“It’s okay, Baby Girl,” Capreze soothed, all
thoughts of protocol lost. “Let it out, let it all out.”

“St-st-stan...”

“You’re with Stan?”

“St-st-stan’s gone, Daddy!” Rachel
wailed.

***

Despite the massive damage his mech had
sustained, Bisby was able to retrieve Stanislaw’s body from the
auxiliary cargo and place it gently upon the concrete pyre.

He stood there, man and machine, man as
machine, staring at a corpse that was no longer his friend, but
just so much flesh to be burned, to be turned to ash.

Bisby let a tear fall from his right eye,
but wiped it away quickly. He switched his gaze to the direction he
had come from, making himself a promise he would find One Arm.

And destroy the deader or die trying.

***

Watching Bisby approach, Rachel gave him a
thumbs up and motioned towards the base. She hoped she was far
enough away that he couldn’t see her grief ravaged face. Bisby’s
mech returned the thumbs up, the metal protesting.

“Pilot Capreze to base, we’re heading in,”
Rachel called over her com, using every effort to keep her voice
from shaking. “Stanislaw’s body has been placed on the pyre. We’ll
need to get a watch on it right away incase there are any zombies
in the area.”

“Will do,” her father responded, back to
professional. “Just get yourself and Biz back here.”

***

“Masters?” Capreze called.

“Yeah Commander?” Masters responded over his
com, still in his mech, watching his sensors as the two far off
mechs made their way slowly to base.

“We’re gonna need a detail out at the pyre,”
Caprezez stated. “Bring your mech in and grab Mathew. I need you
both out there ASAP.”

“Sure thing Commander,” Masters responded,
hesitating slightly.

“Yes, Masters?”

“Whose mech is that coming back with
Rachel?”

“Bisby’s.”

Masters didn’t need Capreze to elaborate, he
knew whose body he and Mathew would find out on the pyre.

“Mech returning to hangar,” Masters called
over his com.

***

The two mechs walked back to the base,
Rachel hanging back in order to keep pace with Bisby’s damaged
machine. Groans of protest, smoke and sparks escaped the
battle-ravaged mech.

Neither spoke, not that they could be heard
over the clanging and grating the mechs made. But even if Bisby’s
com had worked they would have remained silent. Stanislaw meant too
much to both of them for either to keep it together if they spoke
of what happened.

Rachel was patient enough to wait until they
were back in the hangar and Bisby had made his report to the
Commander.

***

Half the base staff stood at the hangar bay
doors, watching as Bisby and Rachel drew closer.

“Is that Bisby or Stanislaw?” June whispered
to Mathew.