by Greg Sorber
Observing Sly’s work was boring. She had used one of her long skeletal fingers to plug into a network interface node. Sly sat unmoving for a long time. Her ocular sensors changed colors, flashing in rapid succession, a sign that she was processing data.
While Misty waited, Dennis returned. He positioned himself in the corner, folded his arms, and shook his head. He didn’t approve of her methods. She glared at him in return. Well, that was too bad. She was in charge and she had to make the hard decisions, not him. They stayed that way, exchanging dirty looks for about ten minutes until Sly’s ocular sensors quit changing colors. She withdrew her finger from interface node.
The mech rotated her head and acknowledge Dennis. “Hello Dennis. Long time no see. For you, anyway.”
Dennis shuddered, and Sly’s facial mechanics approximated a smile. Sly’s head swiveled to face Misty, and her silky voice asked, “Do you want the good news or the bad news?”
“Is there any good news?” Misty asked.
“Therapy didn’t betray you. He didn’t send any messages to the Imperium,” Sly said.
“What’s the bad news?” Dennis asked.
Sly leaned forward and put her fingers tips together, making what looked like a cage, or a web and said, “how do I put this in a way you’ll understand?”
“We don’t have time to waste. Just tell us,” Misty said.
“Your data transmissions to the ACC include every entry made on your system.”
“We already assumed that. Tell me something I don’t know,” Misty said.
“You assumed the network records and transmits every entry you submitted. You’re wrong. Your network is recording and transmitting everything. This includes every entry made, every search, every deleted entry, and every keystroke, including those made when your devices were in non-connected mode.”
“How is that possible? Therapy would have detected if we sent extra data.”
“Therapy is competent at network security, but not the best. I’ve found hidden worms buried so deep in your systems that only someone as sneaky as me would understand how to find them. These are techniques I learned while serving the Imperium.”
“If you have your hooks that deep into our system, why didn’t you find these worms before?” Dennis asked.
“I won’t deny that I have some programs in place to alert me to certain events and situations, but even I didn’t expect something so deep. To be honest, your system isn’t interesting enough. It bores me, so I don’t access it often.”
“It’s too late for today, but can you remove the worms and erase all traces of Angel, like you do for yourself?” Misty asked.
“Yes, but I cannot erase or recall data you’ve already transmitted.” Sly said.
“These inspectors have the details about everything?” Misty asked.
“That is what my brief investigation shows.”
“I don’t understand. How did they receive the information and arrive so fast?”
“It’s possible they were just in the area, but that seems unlikely. The most likely solution was that these Imperials were hunting Angel.”
“Why would they hunt him?”
“I don’t have enough information to answer that question.”
“It doesn’t matter. He declared Pax Machina. We can’t give him up,” Misty said.
“They know he’s here. It won’t matter to them,” Dennis said.
Misty’s face reddened. She pointed her finger in Dennis’s face. “I’ll fight it. I’ll send in requests to the ACC for clarification. File a protest. We’ll think of something.”
“That will take time. The inspection team will arrive within hours,” Dennis said.
Misty turned to Sly and asked, “Can you hide him?”
“Me?” Sly feigned surprise. “Where would I hide him?”
“Cut the crap, Sly. Don’t deny you have hiding places scattered all around this rock. Tell me you have a place to hide Angel, at least until we’ve seen what the inspection team intends.”
“Yes, I can hide him, for whatever good it will do. But we’ll need to discuss your network security in more detail later. I can make changes that will prevent something like this from ever happening again.”
“If we all get through this, then we’ll talk.”
Sly located Angel walking with several other mechs. Two were the recent arrivals; Artie, a former TexaNovan Artillery class mech; and Larry, from the AOIS, a Light Armored Reconnaissance class mech. The last one, Lancer, was Centaur class mech from the Arcturan Monarchies. She deactivated her camouflage far enough away from the group, giving them plenty of warning. If she needed to, she could dispatch Artie and Larry with little difficulty. She’d faced far more difficult odds than the two of them. Lancer, her research determined, was a formidable warrior. In a fair fight he would be the victor, but her skill set included taking advantage of any situation, and SPDR mechs didn’t fight fair. She wasn’t sure about Angel’s capabilities. Even with his power reduced by the siphons, Sly wasn’t sure if she could best him in single combat.
She called out to the mechs before she approached. “Misty says for you three to get to the assembly area on the Landing Pad as soon as possible.”
She pointed to Angel and motioned for him to follow. “Follow me if you want to live.”
Chapter Seven
Archivist Louis De Robinet on Testimony from Sub-Archivist Juliet Montero
Thy testimony is quite troubling, Sub-Archivist Montero. The fact thee were witness to such travesties and yet able to articulate thy experience shows thee to be of stout moral character. The Arcturan Monarchies commend thee for thy candor. ’Tis our King’s greatest sorrow we hast not prior knowledge of said events.
Archivist Louis De Robinet
Arcturan Monarchies
As instructed by Therapy’s urgent message, all the mechs gathered on the Landing Pad. Lancer led a motley crew, including newcomers Artie and Larry. Lancer had a calm but commanding presence about him. The others followed him with ease. When he first arrived, Misty had wondered how well he would fit in, being from the Arcturan Monarchies, whom many fought against in the war. His easy-going personality soon won over Doc and many others. Over time, he became their de facto leader. Lancer took it upon himself to assemble the mechs into formations according to their former governments of origin. His normally civilized demeanor replaced by that of a drill sergeant. Misty distinctly heard him utter several uncivilized curses.
Each faction of mechs, those from the AOIS, the Arcturan Monarchies, TexaNova, and from the Imperium, but not affiliated with the Legion, sorted themselves into rows and columns, from tallest in the back to the shortest in the front. It didn’t take long to arrange. They even displayed banners bearing the colors and symbols of their former governments. Misty wasn’t sure where they’d found those. For most, arranging in formation was second nature, and they followed Lancer’s commands without hesitation. There were still mechs arriving and they would have to reorder the formation as new ones presented themselves.
Therapy joined Lancer in front of the assembled mechs and checked to see who was present and for who they still waited. Good. That would keep him from pestering her. If he was even speaking to her at all. She’d hurt his feelings, but he’d have to deal with it.
It would be difficult for everyone to make it in time. Misty noted that Gladius and the Legion hadn’t arrived yet, either. They couldn’t leave the Foundry unattended, especially if they were in the middle of smelting and casting ore. Since the inspection team was from the Imperium, she expected Gladius to send more than a token representative. A few other mechs were further away, either on an assignment, like Connie, or by choice like Bastion. They’d arrive late, or not at all. Misty would just have to deal with the consequences.
Ajax nodded as he emerged from the Decommissioning Module and gave Misty a quick salute and said, “DECOM and Repair Modules ready for inspection.”
Misty cringed at the salute. Yes, they were te
chnically still in the military, but she hated the formality. She guessed the uniform brought it out of him. Ajax donned a pair of coveralls, which they considered their official uniform. It even had his specialist rank and his real last name embroidered in the proper locations. The coveralls weren’t all that different from the ones he wore every day, just cleaner, and with fewer pockets. Seeing him in the formal uniform highlighted that his hair had grown beyond regulation length. Just another thing Misty paid little attention to, since they were so far away from anything, and the chances of anyone important showing up were slim. She was such a lazy officer. She hoped this inspection didn’t focus on petty things like that.
Misty had pulled her formal pair of coveralls out of the storage locker where she kept them. They looked odd with the major’s insignia sewn on them. She always thought of herself as a captain, if she thought about rank at all. Her promotion to major came upon her acceptance of the Mechhaven assignment, yet this was only the second time she’d worn it. The last time was the day she’d arrived.
While rank and formality helped with some mechs, particularly the ones from the Imperium or the Arcturan Monarchies, most of the others didn’t care. As far as Ajax or Dennis were concerned, she felt it odd to refer to rank with only two subordinates. Everyone knew who was in charge, and everyone knew their job. They didn’t need constant reminding.
Dennis pulled up in a hovercraft and leaped out of it as it was coasting to a stop. He wore the same coveralls as the others, but he added a sidearm. He gave her a quick smirk but didn’t salute.
“The Munitions Disposal Module is secure and The Black Hole is spotless. You think they’ll want to have a drink before they go?”
“Don’t be a smart ass. What’s with the gun?” Misty asked, nodding to his weapon.
Dennis shrugged and said, “according to regulations, it is part of the uniform, technically speaking. Also, there could be growlings or xenrats.” He slapped his hand against the holster. “It never hurts to be prepared.”
The pistol looked good strapped to his hip, and the way he walked—she caught herself. Dennis was a jerk, Misty reminded herself. She didn’t need to be thinking about him in that way. She didn’t need to be thinking about him at all. She needed to keep her head focused on this inspection.
“We need this inspection to go smooth, Dennis. Don’t say or do anything stupid.”
“Me?” Dennis acted hurt. “Why would I do anything stupid?” He paused for a moment. “Misty, if this is about—”
Misty cut him off, pointing a finger in his face, her own face bright red. “This is not the time or the place to deal with that,” she said. “Let’s just get through this inspection, then we can figure things out.”
Ajax coughed to get Misty’s attention. He pointed to another group of arriving mechs. “It’s Connie and the survey team. They even brought Bastion.”
After the collapse of the tunnel had shut down progress on the highway, Connie volunteered to lead a small party of mechs to the other side of the planetoid to conduct additional geological surveys. Bastion had agreed to escort the survey teams to some promising locations he’d found on his wanderings. The chance to spend more time with Connie was incentive enough for him to help.
As far as the survey went, the reports submitted so far only confirmed more deposits of ore that they already had plenty of, but nothing new or exotic. The more varieties of minerals and metals they could source locally, the less they’d have to trade for and the more they’d have to trade with.
Therapy met the incoming mechs and sorted them into position, adjusting for all the recent arrivals. When he’d accounted for everyone present and was satisfied with their placement in the formations, he marched back to Misty, Ajax, and Dennis. “All mechs present and accounted for, excluding the Legion and Angel.”
All of their datapads beeped at the same time with an incoming message. It was from the inspection team. They were beginning their descent to the surface. Misty took a deep breath. She glanced over her shoulder to the security bots that had marched up and halted just behind them. Even the security bots made it. The security bots weren’t sentient, so were not subject to the rules of Pax Machina. She was glad they were there. Except for Dennis, they were the only ones armed, even if it was only with the stun rifles they used for pest control.
The vibrations weren’t perceptible at first. But if she concentrated, Misty felt them. With every passing moment, they became more noticeable. Before long she could feel the vibrations in her entire body, and could hear the rhythmic pattern of mechs marching. Misty breathed a sigh of relief. It was the Legion, and they were on time. She thought she heard chanting of some sort, but she couldn’t understand the words. It was impressive though, and just a little frightening. It was no wonder the Legion instilled fear in those that faced them on the battlefield.
The hundred mechs who made up the Legion were the survivors from a force of over four-thousand. They’d served with each other during the war and wanted to preserve that unity. They’d even invoked Pax Machina together. During the negotiations to adopt the Accords, the Imperium fought so hard over so many of the provisions that it had surprised everyone that even a handful of Imperium mechs had made the journey to the remote planetoid. Between the Legion and the dozen that had served the Imperium Patrician class, such as Juno, Luna, and Tiberius, mechs from the Imperium made up more than half of the population of Mechhaven.
The members of the Legion weren’t the friendliest bunch: they kept to themselves and ran the bulk of the mining operations and the Foundry where they created the metals that were used for construction projects, or traded for other supplies. They played a key role in Mechhaven’s economy.
Mechs of the Legion stood about a head taller than most of the others. Their leader, Gladius, stood a head taller than those in the Legion. He marched to the side of their formation and called out commands in the military tradition his legionnaires followed. His second-in-command, Brutus, marched a few paces behind his leader. Brutus, too, was taller than the others in the Legion, though not as tall as Gladius.
While Gladius had been the only mech to refuse the original name Misty had chosen for him, Caesar, he’d chuckled when Misty named Brutus. He seemed to be aware of the irony, and the warning in the name, though Brutus was ignorant of it. It was the only time she recalled Gladius laughing. From the icy stare that Brutus gave the back of Gladius’s head, she’d named him appropriately.
Both wore armor painted in the red and gold colors of the Imperium. Misty wondered where they got the armor. She didn’t recall them having it when they arrived. Did they make it themselves? The craftsmanship was impressive. What else were they working on in the Foundry? After hearing about the knife incident from Ajax, she was determined to investigate that further once the inspection mess was over with.
Therapy hurried over to Gladius, spoke to the large mech who was over twice his height, then returned a few moments later. Misty wasn’t sure what Therapy had said, but Gladius looked like he wanted to stomp on him. Therapy seemed to have that effect on both mechs and people.
“The Legion is present and accounted for,” Therapy said.
“All of them?” Misty asked. “None remained at the Foundry?”
“All of them. Gladius reported they were almost done with operations for the day already, so they shut down the whole operation.”
“Gladius didn’t look thrilled, so what else did he say to you?”
“He said that he hoped your new friend, Angel, was worth all of this trouble,” Therapy said.
Brutus had no doubt reported his encounter with Angel to his leader. Even if he hadn’t, Gladius would have found out once Therapy’s message to assemble arrived. There was also a lot of chatter on the network about Angel’s heroics at the collapsed tunnel, but Misty didn’t know how much interest Gladius had in gossip. She, too, hoped Angel was worth all the trouble. The inspection would be a test of just how strong Pax Machina really was.
Denn
is was the first to notice the light streaking across the sky as the inspection team’s landing craft entered the atmosphere. When it turned in their direction, the streak disappeared, but its bright landing lights shone in their direction, beaming brighter than any of the stars in the sky.
Misty stepped forward and addressed everyone assembled. She tapped into the comm system so they could all hear her, and so she didn’t have to shout.
“Listen up, mechs. I know this isn’t fun and there are plenty of other things we’d all rather be doing. You’ve all been through inspections before. Treat it as any other and we’ll be done with it ASAP.” Not the most rousing of speeches, she knew, but she wasn’t leading them into battle. It was just a routine inspection—that had never happened before.
“That doesn’t look like a diplomatic shuttle,” Ajax said.
Misty squinted to make out the details. It looked sleeker and far more maneuverable than any of the diplomatic shuttles she’d seen.
“It’s not,” Dennis said. “That’s an Imperium Assault Lander.” He reached down and unfastened the strap securing his sidearm in the holster.
“Isn’t that against the Accords?” Ajax asked.
Misty turned to Therapy. “Well?”
Therapy paused for a moment, accessed his memory matrix and said, “That model isn’t expressly forbidden. However, it violates the spirit of the Accords. I could file a complaint, but that won’t help us at the moment.”
“Prepare the complaint, Therapy. But don’t send it.” Misty said. “I’ve got a bad feeling we’ll have a few more things to complain about before this is all over.”
