Mecha Corps (14 page)

Oh, shit,
Matt thought.
Of course.

He looked up. Clinging to the side of the building was a spiderlike robot. Its face was a black gun barrel. The barrel blurred and Matt’s screens flickered off for a moment, while a deep stab of agony seared his eyes.

“If those had been full-powered rounds, your optical sensors would be nonfunctional for at least one hundred sixty seconds,” Stoll’s voice told him.

Matt didn’t answer as he ducked and rolled, bringing his MK-15 up to target the robot. It scuttered quickly around the side of the concrete monolith, out of his sights.

No doubt waiting for me to poke my head around the other side,
Matt thought. He sprinted down an alley and circled around the back of the simulated building.

There it was! Pointing the other way, waiting for him to appear on the other side. Matt blew it off the side of the building, grinning at the little metallic squeal it made.

He didn’t have much time to be smug, though, as a hail of bullets spanged off his backside. Matt whirled to see a half-dozen of the little robots, some on the ground, some halfway up the side of the concrete blocks. His Hellion’s arms blurred as the MK-15 made short work of them. Matt laughed as the gun pounded in his hands. Mesh was great, but this was even better.

Two more spider robots peeped out from behind a building, far down the alley. Matt almost killed a pedestrian, but stopped himself at the last moment. He sprinted down the alleyway at the robots.

As he passed a side street, something whizzed at him from the park. Something bright. Matt only managed to turn partway before it exploded against his side with a brilliant flash and a spear of pain. His Hellion tumbled to the ground and slid within a couple meters of a simulated couple kissing on a bench.

“Ouch,” Matt groaned. The first hot twist of anger made him flush. How was it fair to snipe at him with a bunch of unfeeling automatons? Bring on the Corsairs! He’d make them feel some pain.

Matt stood and charged down the side street toward the simulated park. Amidst the spider robots, simulated families threw balls and pointed at nonexistent birds. Perfect cover. Or so they thought. Matt’s MK-15 barked in precise little bursts, perfectly controlled by his dextrous Hellion talons. Spider robots squealed and fell dead.

This was easy. As easy as the weapons drills—

A living carpet of spider robots crested the low hill at the center of the park and came at him, fast. Matt sprayed his MK-15 as the ammo counter cycled down to zero.

“Fireflies,” Sergeant Stoll told him.

Of course!
Matt slapped his head. That was stupid. Fireflies. That’s what they were for. He brought up the targeting overlay and mapped for best dispersion. It’d be close on the civilians, but the robots were coming fast.

Matt triggered the Fireflies. Pure white brilliance shot from inside him, briefly blinding him. A thousand tiny explosions reverberated through his Hellion as the robots melted to slag.

“Civilian casualties,” Sergeant Stoll said. “Three, five. Six total.”

“I had to do it!” Matt said. “They’d be all over me—”

“Don’t argue with your controller, cadet!” Soto bellowed.

Matt slumped. The concrete-block city suddenly seemed like the most desolate place in the world.

“Never kill,” Sergeant Stoll said, her words measured, almost soft. “Unless there’s no other choice. Or else we’ll be the same as them.”

Matt shivered, thinking of his father.

Thinking of that Corsair.

 

Later that afternoon, Soto had them work in teams of two and three to take on bigger scenarios, like destroying an artillery trench at the edge of the city and faking out an Aliancia tank when one Mecha was out of ammunition.

Matt got to work with Peal and Michelle on one exercise where they had to work through a nest of spider robots, a sniper with shoulder-fired Mini Seeker missile support, mined streets, and finally a tank.

Michelle had actually gotten faster than Matt. Where he had the precise control to target, shoot, and move on to the next, she could sprint across a broad avenue without taking a round in her Mecha at all. The machine almost blurred as it passed. Matt shook his head in amazement. At the same time, a small angry voice asked,
Training with Kyle?

Peal was uncanny at predicting exactly when and where the spider-robot swarms would strike. He was so good, Michelle accused him of hacking the system. But it ended up there was an even more bizarre reason for his prowess.

“Entangled computing,” he told them. “Jahl and I got the implants as kids. The computing network is part of us now.”

“Isn’t that illegal?” Matt asked.

“Not illegal. Simply unsupported. In the words of the Union, ‘Maintaining technology at this level of complexity is too difficult in a low-density, distributed state; therefore, it is beyond the warrants of life and fitness inherent in our Articles of Unity.’ ”

“You colonists are crazy,” Michelle told him.

“As are you, Earth girl.”

Michelle just laughed. “I don’t have any deep, dark secrets. What about you, Matt?”

A chill shivered through Matt, and he stopped dead still. His Hellion almost overbalanced and fell forward. He forced himself to start walking again.

“Nothing like that,” he said finally. Which was technically true. His secrets were a lot deeper, a lot darker. The silence stretched out. Matt sensed they were waiting for him to say something.

“Enough chatter,” Sergeant Stoll broke in on all their channels.

Matt breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Soon, a tank came into view. Matt raised his MK-15.

Fighting never felt so good.

 

Next, Matt and Kyle got paired on something that looked really simple at first: take out a single Taikong tank.

This tank wasn’t a crawling shell, though. This was the real deal. Or real enough. When Matt stuck his head out of an alley, the thing damn near took it off with a well-placed shell. Fragments of concrete showered down on them, and the booming report echoed through the city.

“Shit. That’s real ammo,” Kyle said.

“Wanna try it yourself?” Matt asked.

Kyle’s Hellion shook its head. His Mesh had gotten a lot better; his Mecha now mimicked his bored slouch, cocky walk, and snappy salutes almost perfectly. Still, he was trying. Matt had to admit he didn’t seem to be just a silver-spoon kid there for a thrill.

Instead, Kyle tried circling around to the other side of the tank. Matt watched Kyle’s tag move through the city grid on his NPP. But the moment he poked out his head, the tank almost took him out too.

“Damn thing’s fast!” Kyle said. “New plan. I say ‘Go,’ we both jump out, and the one it isn’t targeting takes it out. Fireflies. Full burst.”

Matt bristled at Kyle’s presumed command, but it was a solid plan. “Ready.”

“Go!”

Matt jumped out. The tank’s short turret whipped around toward him as Kyle stepped out of his alley just a moment later.

“Oh, shi—”

That’s as far as he got. Matt’s world went red in electric pain. He fell backward, thrashing. On his screen, a bright-red warning flashed:

“Controller, what’s wrong? Ma’am!”

“You were hit in our right-side upper Control Nexus. A known Hellion weakness.”

Matt pushed himself up off the ground as Fireflies exploded from Kyle’s Hellion, painting laser-bright trails to the tank. They enveloped it and the tank disappeared in actinic fire.

Matt tried to stand, but he couldn’t keep his balance. He managed a few shambling steps, then stopped, gripping the concrete wall. His Hellion felt broken and clumsy.

“What’s wrong with me?” Matt said.

“Your Control Nexus needs time to regenerate,” Sergeant Stoll told him.

Matt finally noticed the tag in his screen:

But he had other problems. As the smoke from the Fireflies cleared, Matt realized,
That tank is still alive
.

A shell exploded right next to him and his Hellion hit the ground. All he could do was thrash. He couldn’t get up again.

“Get in close!” Kyle yelled. “We have to hit its sensors with the MK-15 rounds as hard as we can.”

“I’m down!” Matt cried. “Control Nexus fault.”

“Come as fast as you can!” The chattering reverberation of MK-15 fire came from Kyle’s direction. Matt twisted to look as the tank swung to target Kyle. The tank’s targeting seemed uncertain; it narrowly missed the other Mecha.

Finally, a chime sounded. Matt’s screen displayed the words

Matt whooped and ran to help Kyle. His MK-15 barked a hail of slugs at the tank as the turret spun in confusion.

“Good! It’s done!” Kyle said.

Matt grinned. He was healed and he had a weapon full of ammo.

“Stop firing your weapon!” Kyle yelled.

Matt jumped, the barrel of the MK-15 came up, and slugs peppered Kyle. Even though they were light rounds, ripples deformed Kyle’s Hellion as he fell backward. Sparks shot from its visor.

“I’m blind!” Kyle bit out. “Idiot! What’s wrong with you?”

“I’m sorry,” Matt said.

“You’re an idiot. A hundred seconds of regen.”

A little coal of anger glowed in Matt. “It was an accident.”

“I bet it was,” Kyle growled.

Silence for a long time. When Kyle finally spoke, it was to both Matt and Major Soto. “Major, I never did get to see how Superman fought. What do you say, sir?”

Soto’s voice crackled over the comms: “I say it’s stupid. But if you want to spar, have at it. No weapons.”

“Got it, sir. Cadet Lowell, you have twenty seconds before your ass kicking.”

“I don’t want to fight.”

“Scared?” Kyle said, standing.

“No.”

“Then why are you backing away?” Kyle’s Hellion dropped into a boxer’s posture, hands clenching into fists. Matt swallowed. He’d never boxed.

Matt put up his hands in imitation of Kyle. He stepped forward.
How bad can it be?

Kyle’s Hellion’s fist came up, blurring fast, and Matt’s vision fragmented. The blow was like a sledge in his stomach. Dust flew out of his joints and he fell backward on the ground. The entire cockpit rang like a bell.

Matt scrambled upright as Kyle leapt at him, spraying chunks of dirt behind him.

The two Mecha met with a resounding clang. Matt raised his arms to ward off a hail of blows. Kyle switched to an uppercut and caught Matt’s Mecha right on the chin. He fell on his back, skidding along the rough practice field.

Matt sprang at Kyle, his anger rising. He wasn’t going to lose to this high-born asshole!

At the last moment, Kyle turned and crouched. Matt’s momentum carried him over Kyle. Kyle grabbed him in midair and threw him to the ground. Matt’s Hellion let out a metallic groan as Matt got the wind knocked out of him.

Kyle jumped on top of Matt and pinned him with a headlock. The feedback through his suit was suffocating. Matt flailed on the ground, trying to find purchase.

You don’t wanna be on bottom,
Pat said.
Don’t stay down. Break a bottle over his head—anything.

Matt pulled his legs up under him and pushed as hard as he could. Kyle bucked with him and his grip slipped. Matt pushed again, hard. The two Mecha flew five feet in the air. Kyle came down on Matt like an anvil. But in that moment, Kyle lost his grip on Matt’s neck. His long fingers spun and whirred, trying to find a grip.

Matt pried a broken hunk of cement out of the dirt and brought it up fast on Kyle’s head region. There was a deep metallic bong as the rock exploded to dust. Matt rolled out from under Kyle and quickly retreated.

Something fell from the sky. It landed between Matt and Kyle, shaking the earth under their feet. A Hellion. A Hellion with wings. Jet exhaust streamed from bulking apertures on its back, burning Matt’s Mecha. Its tag read: MAJ. G. SOTO.

“You guys suck,” Soto said. “How about a real fighting lesson?”

“Yes, si—,” Kyle began, but that was as far as he got.

Soto’s Mecha moved, blurring by fast. Kyle’s Hellion was suddenly on the ground, writhing in pain.

In one jump, Soto was on top of him. His Hellion’s arms flashed like obsidian spikes.

Matt got up and charged Soto’s back, but Soto flashed out of the way at the last second, hurling Matt over his shoulder to land face-first on Kyle’s Mecha. The entire simulated city rang with their impact.

Soto stood with a foot on the two downed Mecha, laughing. “Think you’re hot? You’re still babies.”

Matt felt rage blossom in his mind like a nuclear flower. Except it wasn’t just his anger. It was Kyle’s dark thoughts about his father, standing over him like a tower, telling him,
You will never let a lesser man beat you.

Wait. What was that? Was that real?

And there was something else. A buzzing, almost electric sensation wherever he touched Kyle’s Mecha. He didn’t know where his Hellion ended and Kyle’s began. As if they could come together. As if they could work together. As if they could . . .

Like the Flight Pack. But with two Mecha. Matt’s thoughts echoed like a coin dropped down a pipe. They
were
sharing thoughts.

Matt’s reached out and took Kyle’s arm. Like a dream, his Hellion’s arm dissolved and melted into it. Suddenly, Kyle’s thoughts were bright and sharp:
No, no, no! Do it by myself! Stop it!

Like drops of mercury, their Hellions flowed together. Reflective muscle bunched and coiled. Their arms grew larger, stronger. Legs expanded. Cockpits reformed. It was so much more amazing than Mesh.