by Jessie Wolf
“What? Oh hell. Sorry about that. I didn’t realize how close I was to the red line I’ll keep better track of that from now on. I promise.”
“No big deal. I think that you’re just excited by being in your first fire fight as a self-aware AI. Now calm down and concentrate on what we are doing, ok.”
“Yes ma’am. Ok we should be fine now. The heat is back down in the green zone. We can head back into the fight.”
I head in on the far right side of their lines. As I come around I find that the only targets left are near the center of the formation. Vicky gets a hard lock on two ninety ton APS suits. Where the hell did they come from? I decide to concentrate on just one of them. A ninety ton Centurion armed with almost the same weapons as mamas Highlander. In short one big, bad, mean, son-of-bitch. Normally I wouldn’t even think about taking on this monster, but if I don’t I know that one of my little sisters will. Hopefully mama is going after the other one a ninety ton Dragon Slayer. They are just as bad as the Centurion more than a match for the Patton’s. Thankfully mama is on top of the situation. “Dancers stay back and handle the rest of the enemy Suits. Let Wave Dancer and myself handle the two assault class suits. Over”
“Roger that Mistress. Typhoon, Tempest form up on me and we’ll hit the last three head on. Remember we need prisoners if we can get them. Over”
“Roger that, Monsoon.” They both reply.
If there is one thing I know it is this. If those three are making coordinated attacks then who ever they’re going after is dead meat. I mean six one hundred and eighty millimeter auto cannons can put more lead down range faster than most can handle. The fact that only two other enemy APS are left for them to engage just means it will be over quickly. Only one of which is unscratched. I actually feel sorry for them. I’m brought back to my present situation when the Centurion cuts loose with both of its main guns at me. Twin rail gun rounds fly past me slamming into the woods on each side of me. Holy shit if I hadn’t been moving the way I was they could’ve flattened my ass. I need to keep my mind on what I have in front of me. Vicky gives me a hard lock on the Centurion legs and fires. My PPCs slam into its legs about half way above its knee joints. The big bastard staggers back, but doesn’t go down. Oh shit this ain’t good. I’ve gotten so used to Vicky’s weapons taking out an opponent in one shot that for him to still be standing surprises me. The Centurion fires again this time one of those rail guns hit. I lose half the armor on the left side of my chest and two of the medium lasers there are damaged. Talk about a wakeup call. If I had not shifted my torso that round would have punched clean through Vicky. Damn I need to end it now. Vicky doesn’t even wait for me to target the bastard. She cuts loose with all four of our main guns. This time the result is totally different. However instead of just destroying the Centurion she cuts the bastard in half. With both the PPCs and PPLs slamming into his waist. I watch as the Centurion’s pilot ejects from his wounded and dying APS.
With him taken care of I turn my attention to the Dragon Slayer and mama’s fight. It’s a damned good thing that she was the one to take on the monster by herself. Anyone else would be dead by now. The two of them are going at each other like a pair of boxers. Now that is not a fight I want to get in the middle of, so I take the low road and hit the Dragon Slayer in the back with my PPLs. The heat is getting to the point of being stifling in the cockpit. As it is I’m running just over the red line for my heat read out. Much more of this and Vicky will shut down on me, but I can’t stop. I have to help out mama. I’m not going to lose her, not when I just found her. Lining up the crosshairs on its upper back I cut loose with all four main guns. As the heat spicks upward toward the automatic shutdown point I hit the override button. Thankfully mama hadn’t been holding back either as she hit the Dragon with her main guns as well. Between the two of us he didn’t have a chance. Talk about over kill. As my weapons bore through his back armor, mamas just punched through the front armor like it was paper. The enemy pilot must have realized he was done for as he too ejected.
“Mountain Mistress are you all right? Over”
“Just a little frazzled Wave Dancer. I think I need a new pair of panties but I’m fine otherwise. Over”
“You’re not the only one needing replacement panties Mistress. That Centurion was a monster to handle. Do you know how the rest are doing? Over”
“Negative on that Wave Dancer. Let’s find out. Over”
“I think we need to secure those two APS pilots first there Mistress. Over”
“You’re right about that Dancer. Let’s get them secured, and then find out how your sisters are doing. Over”
“Sounds good to me. Out”
We each went to find our prospective prisoners. I find mine in a tree about three hundred yards from where his APS bit the dust. Mama finds hers in a small creek bed soaking wet. The fact that we were able to actually get a pair of prisoners was a remarkable accomplishment. The fact that most of these people were fighting a life or death war was making it extremely hard to get prisoners. The longer this goes on the more these people are going to push the boundaries of civility. Hopefully the challenge I sent out this morning will do the trick. If not then, then oh well, it’s their life not mine.
About the time we had secured both of our prisoners my sisters showed up. What was surprising was the three prisoners with them. “Monsoon it looks like you three got that bunny prize. Over”
“That is a big time roger Wave Dancer. There are two more out there we need to round up. Over”
“Ok Monsoon Maiden, just how many did you three force to eject? Over”
“Five in total Dancer. Over”
Hot damn that makes seven in all, two of which were assault class pilots making them most likely officers. Now with that kind of luck I just might pull this off. Looking at my sisters and mamas APS’s I see that none of us got off without some kind of damage. Nanase is missing half of the armor over the left arm, chest and upper leg. Nanami has the entire right side of her chest open to the world, Fuyuko looks like she went ten rounds with a trash compactor more than half the armor is missing over her torso and upper chest. It is mama though that really gets my attention. Her Highlander has not one unbroken armor plate anywhere on the front half of her Suit. Even the legs have broken plates. Not that I’m in much better shape. Half of my secondary weapons are off line and there is a big red out line over where the life side chest plate is telling that Vicky took one hellish hit.
By the time we have all of our prisoners rounded up and secured the rest of the convoy shows up. The first person to say anything to us is Col. Fujiyama. From the sounds of it he is hopping mad. “Storm Dancers just what do you think you were doing by running off like that? Over”
When mama doesn’t answer right away I step in. “Excuse me Mountain Wolf six, but if I remember correctly the only unit that I was able to contact was the Storm Dancers. Over”
“Just what does that have to do with their running off like that Wave Dancer? Over”
“Oh just the fact that they came to my rescue. Over”
“That still doesn’t excuse them just tearing off like they did Wave Dancer. You know there are proper procedures for this kind of thing. Over”
“Which they do not know Mountain Wolf six. I’m sure if they knew what they were they would have followed them. Over”
Before he can continue with chewing out our collective ass’ mama steps in. “Mountain Wolf six I believe it is my place to correct the behavior of my unit. Over”
“Mountain Mistress that would normally be the case…” but before he can say another word mama is all over him.
“Then I suggest Wolf six that you allow me to handle it. If Wave Dancer had fallowed orders we would not have to come running the way we did. As it is we were the ones to break up the ambush. Now I suggest that you let me handle my unit my way. Over”
Wow mama is pissed and I think part of that anger is pointed at me. “Wave Dancer fall in behind your sisters now
. You get to be tail end Charley till we get home. Storm Dancers fall in and move out. Now.” Yup she’s pissed at me. I wander just how bad it’s going to get? “Wave Dancer meet me in my chambers when we get home. Over”
Oh boy. I think I really screwed the pooch this time. “Roger Mountain Mistress.”
“Do not make me wait for you either Wave Dancer. Out”
Yup it’s bad. I wonder just how bad the ass chewing is going to be. “Um… Maiha are you in trouble?” Vicky asks me.
Chapter 12
Conversations in the dark
I can’t help it; I just start to laugh. Her question is so innocent that only a truly innocent being could ask it. Thankfully for me Dee De answers her.
“Baby sister, our dear little Maiha is in so much hot water right now it’s funny.”
“Why is that? I mean we only did what we were supposed to do right?”
Charley decides to help Dee De out on this one. “Vicky, her mama told her not to engage the enemy. So she basically did something she wasn’t supposed to. Do you understand now, baby girl?”
“So even though we did the right thing, we still did something bad?” Vicky was really trying to understand. It wasn’t her fault that human emotions confused her. Hell they confuse me at times and I’m a human.
“In a way, baby sister. You see her mama didn’t want her to get hurt by taking on all those AP Suits by herself. So when she did it, she scared her mama and the rest of her family. That’s why they all came running to help even though they had no combat training.” Answer Charley.
“That’s right, what Maiha did put her family in danger by doing what she did. So you see her mama is just a little bit more than upset by what happened. Do you understand now baby, sister? What she did was just a little bit on the dumb side.”
“Now wait just one minute here, Dee De. What I did may have been reckless, but it was not dumb. I thought that with the Night Hawk out of the picture then the rest of the convoy would come to my rescue, not my family.” I tell them all.
“I don’t understand. Did we do something good or something bad?” Vicky asked in a very confused voice.
“We did something good, Vicky. It was me that did something bad.” I tell her.
“So I’m not in trouble then?” she asks of me.
“No baby girl you’re not in trouble. I am but you’re not. Do you understand now?” I ask her.
“Ok, Maiha, I think I do. I’m not sure, but I trust you.” Vicky says.
“Good girl. Now look sharp, we should be coming up on the family estate shortly.” I tell her. Thankfully that distracts her for the next twenty minutes. That is until the estate wall comes into view. Within seconds the questions start coming. Most of which I didn’t have the answer for. Thankfully Dee De and Charley were able to answer her questions for me. They keep her occupied while I head towards the main gate. Once there I realize why the gate is as big as it is. Now this is the third time I’ve passed through this gate, but it’s the first time in an APS. The fact that it has to be as large as it is to allow the House APS’ to pass through is not lost on me. Once inside the walls I breathe a sigh of relief. I feel the tension rolling off of me. For the first time in two days I feel safe. I didn’t realize just how wound up I was. Despite the great sex last night I still had that feeling of unease.
Looking up at where mama is I realize that she is heading over to what looks like an old APS hanger. From the looks of it; it hasn’t been used in decades. As we near it I see that there are bays for up to eight Suits. When we are right outside of the first bay its door rolls up revealing a full service work bay. It is complete with everything needed to repair or service an APS of any size or weight. The next ones are just as well equipped.
I watch as the doors roll open one at a time for my family. As each one enters I see how each bay is setup. When it comes time for me to enter the next bay the door doesn’t open. However the next one over does. Moving over to the next bay and entering I see why the first one I went to didn’t open up. Standing in the work gantry is a one hundred ton assault class APS. Not just any APS either. It’s a SA-7B Katana. Now there is a true monster. They are so powerful and expensive to own and operate that only the wealthiest of Houses can afford them. The fact that House Nakatoma has one speaks to just how much money is in our accounts. However what I want to know is who its pilot is? I’ll have to ask mama when I get done having my ass chewed out for being dumb enough to take on sixteen enemy APS’ on my own. I will admit that was one of the stupidest things I have ever done.
Once I get Vicky backed into her work gantry I begin the shutdown procedure. No use in trying to delay the inevitable. I know that if I make mama wait on me it will just get worse. Besides I maybe the experienced warrior here, but she is still my mama. I know, I know here I am a ninety-seven year old Death Dealer with more experience than most, but I still have to answer to her as a sixteen year old girl. Ain’t that a bitch?! “Ok Vicky, welcome to your new home.”
“Is this truly my new home?”
“Yes it is, baby girl. From now on whenever you aren’t in the field this is where you’ll be. Now there are some people here who are going to be working on you to repair the damage from all of the fighting you have been doing. Please try to be as helpful as possible, ok.”
“You mean that someone is actually going to make real repairs. Not just what it takes to get me ready for the field?”
“You better believe it honey. If they don’t then they might as well start looking for a new job. Now if you be so kind as to disengage your control cables?” I feel them disconnect one at a time. As they do I watch the system readouts drop one by one. When the one for my helmet goes it was like the whole world became a great deal duller. Wow talk about something that can get you hooked in a hurry. Holy shit if being jacked into Vicky like that can cause this type of reaction in me then I need to make sure to keep an eye on my family. Because this could be a problem, if they get addicted to the power of their APS they might forget about the needs of life in general.
“Thank you, Vicky. Now you be a good girl for the maintenance crew while they make repairs.”
“I will. Before you go will you come by and see me tomorrow?”
“Yes, baby girl. I’ll make sure to check in on you tomorrow but remember that I still have other responsibilities that I have to take care of so it might be a while before I can get out to see you.” I tell her.
“Oh that’s ok. I know that you have more work to do than most. Dee De and Charley both told me how you’re a Head of House. That all of the people who work for House Nakatoma come to you to answer their questions or help solve their problems. I’ll see you when you get the chance to get away. I’m not worried. I understand that you’re the Commander and you have a whole lot to do.”
“Thanks for understanding, Vicky. Bye for now.” And with that I start to climb out of the cockpit.
“Bye bye, Maiha. See you tomorrow and good luck with your mama.”
“Thanks, Vicky. I’ll need it.” And with that I climbed down the front of her. I am surprised to see all three of my ladies maids waiting for me at Vicky’s’ feet. “Hello ladies. How are you all doing this afternoon?”
“Good morning, Lady Maiha. I see you have been running around again dressed in unlady like attire.” Says Gin.
“She is not the only one Gin.” Kina points over to where mama and my sisters are standing.
“How true, sisters. I believe that she has corrupted her entire family. It is as if she was an Oban and not the Head of House or a High Families Lady.” Put in Nia. The fact that she is here tells me a great deal. First I need to deal with mama and her anger right now.
“Ladies, I hope that you brought me and my family some robes to wear for our return to the house.”
Gin just smiles at me then nods her head. Waving over a young novice who was pushing a cart in front of her, it held five sets of robes. One set for each of us. “Is the young woman over there with your sist
ers really the Lady Dai Etsu?” asks Kina.
“Yes it is. I know what you mean when you look at her now. You’re thinking that can’t be the Grand Lady Nakatoma Dai Etsu, but I can assure you that it is her.” I tell them.
“But she looks so young. What happened?” Gin started to push me for answers that I didn’t want to give just then. So to buy myself some time I reach over and grab one of the robes off the cart then waved the novice over to my family. Gin takes the hint and heads over with Kina to help my family put on their own robes. Now that it was just Nia and me I decided to find out how her visit with the yakuza went.
“Quickly Nia, tell me how things went with the yakuza. Are they going to fight me or are they going to help out?” I really needed to know, because if the yakuza decided to side with the old régime then I’ll be in a bind.
“My lady, never in all of my life have I thought I would see what I have seen in the last thirty hours.” Her voice was filled with wonder and awe. “The local yakuza Oban at first did not wish to see me. However all that changed at a little after nine o’clock yesterday morning. I was all set to come home and tell the House Military Commanders that we needed to flatten the local yakuza when a representative from the Oban knocked on my hotel room door. After a few short words I was actually being escorted before all of the planet’s Oban’s. My lady, I have never been more scared in all of my life.” I could tell just by the sound of her voice and the look in her eyes that she did not expect to meet all of them at one time. Normally these men do not play well with each other.
