Nemesis (The MechaVerse Trilogy Book 2)

by Jeremy Cunkle

  An aide assigned to her was looking over the strange new Mech armor when he noticed the crest on each of the machines. “What does that crest mean? I have never seen anything like that.”

  She looked up from the data slate containing packing lists of all the crates they brought with them and the chaos it currently represented, presently the extent of her world. “It is an arcane symbol for Omnos, because that is the name of our squadron. It means omniscient fear. The original Starkindler bore the crest of hope, because that’s what it intended to represent. Our mission is much different than when Mikkhael first came here and therefore so is our crest. When Starkindler is rebuilt, it will bear a hybrid of the two crests.”

  She did not say what crest the Nemesis bore and the technician thankfully did not ask. She again wondered at the decision to use that specific crest, like so many other strange decisions that had been made about that machine. Its crest was that of a Reaper, wraithlike and ethereal. As observed when turning the head to view the crest, or walking past the machine, the effect between the armor and crest was that the Reaper seemed to stare at the observer no matter the angle, the grin on its face with droplets of dried blood dripping from the enormous scythe in its hand was terrible to behold. It represented, all too realistically, the end of all hope.

  * * * * *

  Kiryl and Chief Engineer Thorsten were cut from the same mold. Neither had time for idle chit-chat. Their efforts were entirely focused on learning how to teach the engineer and technician crews how to maintain the new Mech armor, prep them for combat, and simultaneously to earnestly begin reconstructing Starkindler. They immediately respected one another as the professionals they were, gaining one another’s full confidence and wasting no time going about their business; the world for them centered on the engineering challenges in front of them. Alyona assisted by setting up the fabricating and maintenance equipment they needed, while Kurtis worked out the software and taught the operators how to operate the various pieces of equipment. Teams of Thorsten’s engineers, supplemented by technicians, worked around the clock performing the minutia, making splendid progress.

  Due to the sheer numbers of engineers required to meet the parameters of the tasks assigned to them, the hundreds of engineers and technicians were split up and organized into teams split equally under the instruction of both men. In recognition of Kiryl’s skills as a leader and his competency as a mechanic, Thorsten found himself increasingly relying on Kiryl to assist with the sheer of number of tasks requiring attention. The divvying up of responsibility meant each one of them could focus more strictly on their areas of expertise, the benefits of which were clear to all.

  Taking full advantage of the spare parts brought by the Earther’s, efforts to reconstruct Starkindler under Kiryl’s tutelage, one of the original creators, were redoubled. Anyone with spare time headed to the isolated hangar solely dedicated to Starkindler’s re-construction. They barely rested in their efforts, and Kiryl worked every bit as hard as anyone else, leading by example, splitting his time between that enormous task while simultaneously striving to render the new Mech armor battle ready.

  Starkindler’s progress accelerated under Kiryl’s experienced oversight. He split the engineers assigned to him into narrow areas of responsibility, giving them one task at a time. One team’s responsibilities fell under manufacturing the pieces for a new frame; another began the tedious process of building the different plates of armor that they would later attach to the frame. Other teams were responsible for electrical components and wiring, while still others had sensor arrays, hydraulics, and a million other chores. Work progressed around the clock, volunteers from the base helping to fill any labor shortages.

  They were near the end of their second day with no sleep and little rest when Thorsten broached the issue of the reactor over a short meal. “The last reactor cannot be repaired, it critically failed, and I know you realize this. Nothing is even salvageable, we tried. We never told Mikkhael that it partially melted down. He knows about the radiation leakage, it damn near killed him and should have, but that means the reactor along with the few original parts we have that the damned Russians didn’t run off with are stored offsite, unusable and may as well not exist. The little we have is all re-constructed or spares, and there is no chance of us replicating the reactor or many of the other core systems with the resources available to us.”

  Kiryl waited to reply, able to realize even in his state of near exhaustion that the man across from him was fishing for answers that had so far been denied. He debated whether or not to reveal his cards, finally giving in. “The answer is no, we won’t be turning over the ability for you to make reactors or some of the other advanced components. Don’t take this the wrong way. We anticipated Starkindler being destroyed at the rate that Mikkhael pushed his battles. The odds were so continuously stacked against him to the point that it was simply a matter of time. The fact that he accomplished as much as he did is a miracle. With that end scenario in mind, we brought with us not only large amounts of repair materials for our Mech armor, but enough to completely re-construct another machine from the ground up, with his most prevalently in mind. Of course we were hoping to make it here before that scenario occurred; but that didn’t happen, so instead we simply came prepared for the eventuality. Tomorrow the anti-grav trains will begin arriving with the rest of the materials. Before we left earth, we collected enough material that we were forced to charter two additional Mass Cargo freighters to help us move everything to Mars. We brought with us an incredible amount of equipment and materials, such as an additional reactor.”

  Chief Thorsten nodded slowly while Kiryl talked. It made sense to him, although the scope of their operation was hard for him to comprehend. The resources at the newcomer’s disposal were simply staggering, which only served as further evidence of how they were able to create such advanced Mech armor. “I have repaired the original Starkindler enough to suggest making a few modifications, all from the standpoint of someone who had to maintain it on a daily basis. Although I do have one question. I over-heard Mikkhael say that you were supposed to bring him an updated version, what happened to that?”

  Kiryl sighed; the question was one he hoped to avoid for as long as possible. “The base we commandeered and operated from back on Earth was attacked months before we had anticipated. Best laid plans and all that. We still don’t know how the UN managed to catch on to us, just that they did. During all of that, there were some strange anomalies that happened around one of the Mech’s that further upset what we were working on…”

  “You mean the one left in the airship?” Thorsten interjected.

  Kiryl nodded solemnly in affirmation. “Yes. And under no circumstances must you go near that Mech armor. The rumor going around isn’t to be taken lightly, it really will kill anyone who gets too close, and in Mikkhael’s current state of mind, it may even reject him.”

  “Understood, I’ll be sure to reinforce the warning not to enter the airship. There’s always some idiot that will have to find out the hard way, but we’ll do what we can.”

  “Thanks. Its name is Nemesis. It was built while waiting for parts specific to Starkindler 2.0, to be completed when the UN made their move. We had enough warning to charter the freighters and ship out the bulk material that we could not bring with us on the airship. It’s been here at the spaceport taking up warehouse space for some time while waiting on our arrival, but getting that accomplished took precedence over assembling the new Starkindler, so it is here, in pieces.”

  Engineer Thorsten just stared at Kiryl, waiting for more. When it was obvious there would be no more information volunteered no matter how awkward the silence became he broke first. “What kept you from just fighting off the UN? These machines that you brought with you are unreal, the advantage was in you spending as long as possible on Earth as you stated earlier, so why not buy yourselves more time?”

  This time Kiryl laughed, a deep low rumble that shook his frame. It was a good
laugh, meaning he took no offense to the question. “Vera. You have not yet had the opportunity to meet her officially, but she is amazing. That woman scared Mikkhael enough, before he left for here that he changed his mission from some grand suicidal quest into an attempt to change the fate of this planet. She scares the shit out of me and everyone else who crosses her path. Her sense of right and wrong are absolute, she will not allow any innocent person to be harmed by us. This includes taking into account our actions and the effects they will have down the road. She would not have even come here if she was not sure of victory. She was the one who said we just buy time against the UN and leave for Mars. Simply put, no one dared cross her.”

  “Sounds like a hell of a woman.” Engineer Thorsten managed around the chunk of bread he was eating.

  Kiryl was shaking his head. “I know what you’re thinking but stay away. She’s the type of woman strong men dream about, but she is entirely focused on the mission. Until it’s over, there is nothing else. And besides, she won’t admit it, but she probably has a thing for Mikkhael. That’s why she is so hard on him. You should see them in action sometime, as if they’ve been married two decades going on three, the fights they have can be epic.”

  The Chief finished mopping up his plate with what was left of the bread, the calories from the base meals were not keeping up with his work schedule. He’d had to cut a new notch in his belt just last week. “What about getting Mikkhael’s help re-building his baby? I know he took the loss of the last one hard enough, but I can see a man getting motivated by building something. It’s the best way to learn how it works after all.”

  “Being absolutely honest, we’re surprised he’s not dead. The loss of Starkindler should have killed him; you have no idea why he’s here or how badly he wants to accomplish his goal. You guys did a great job of patching him up, but whether he shows it or not he’s found a new reason to live. We can tell that he’s struggling with himself to decide which goal matters more, because they are not exactly compatible. Until he makes his decision, he will not be able to pilot or contribute to the repairs. He could likely pilot Starkindler in his current state with Aurora compensating, but Nemesis would certainly reject him, and then he would die. Whatever he found on this base to keep him alive, God bless it, because we weren’t able to be there when he needed us the most.”

  “What do you mean Nemesis would reject him?” Thorsten asked.

  “Damnit. I really need to get some sleep. This is as far as this goes, swear on it.” Kiryl said.

  With a reassuring and sufficiently solemn nod from Thorsten agreeing to the terms, Kiryl continued. “Do not, under any circumstances, go near Nemesis. It will kill anyone besides Mikkhael, and in his current mental state it would kill him too if he approached without its permission. It’s hard for those of us who made it to be near the damned thing, but we haven’t been able to get into the cockpit since the damned AI activated. After that, the AI fused itself with the frame, it’s like nothing we’ve ever seen or heard of before. We had to seal it off because the AI kept trying to take control of the network, and it is one nasty son-of-a-bitch! Nemesis was built specifically to be used by Mikkhael; again, the AI will kill anyone else who gets too curious for their own good; and no matter what, it can never be allowed access to a network.”

  The look on Kiryl’s face was all Chief Thorsten needed. Whatever that machine was, it scared the big guy, and in so doing it scared Thorsten as well. “So we have a problem then don’t we? Mikkhael can only pilot Starkindler in his current mental and physical state, but it’s destroyed and the only available Mech armor to suit his capabilities would as soon kill him for being too weak as let him fly it.”

  Kiryl lifted his hands palm up, away from his torso in an “I don’t know” motion. “It’s a problem, all I know is we have to get him airborne ASAP or else, and that likely means reconstructing Starkindler as quickly as possible.”

  The meal ended. Thorsten stood to go get some sleep before getting back to what needed to be done, his mind occupied by everything he just learned.

  * * * * *

  Vera navigated through the strange base with the help of Aurora’s shell, making her way to the Medical Bay where she met up with Dr. Hesken. The initial meeting was rocky; it was clear that Dr. Hesken did not like her and would not assist her. She accepted the equipment from Earth that Vera brought with her, but if anything that only offended the Doctor even more. In the end, the only way it was resolved was when Aurora helped without asking, turning off all of the medical wings electricity and back up generation system until the good doctor saw fit to allow Vera full access.

  “If you’re going to insist on meddling where you have no business being girl, you will do so under my supervision. I will not have you mucking up my shop.” Dr. Hesken barred the way past her, standing with her arms crossed just under her breasts, her spotless white lab coat draped about her as always. With her hair pulled up and glasses on her face, she could remind anyone of their mother, a figure no sane person crossed with that look in her eye.

  Vera did not back down though, anticipating some resistance was only reasonable on the part of the doctor. She graciously accepted her oversight, glad to make some headway, and then they headed to a lab where they would immediately set about compounding more of the sensory and metabolic enhancing drugs the Omnos squad would use in their upcoming battles.

  It was immediately clear to Dr. Hesken that Vera knew her way around a lab, even an unfamiliar one. As she continued to watch Vera work, she could bring herself to grudgingly admire her skills; however, there was no excuse for the secondary results from the drugs Mikkhael used during battles. Their effect on him was unforgiveable. She became lost in thought, attempting to find a way to sabotage the entire process and therefore protect her ward. Vera had to pause while searching for an ingredient, unable to locate it. It slowly registered to Dr. Hesken that Vera had asked, probably several times now, the location of the ingredient.

  Her anger got the best of her, she snapped, her decision made. Dr. Hesken pointed to the far wall. ”Look over there on that wall girl, do you have any idea what the effects of the drugs administered to Mikkhael have been? Do you care? I will not allow further use of the lab no matter how much you threaten me.” As she spoke, she used hand motions to transfer video feeds stored on a data slate and then project them on the wall. She arranged two rows of four to simultaneously show Mikkhael in various states of observation after returning from battle, recovering in the Medical Ward.

  Dr. Hesken watched Vera turn towards the wall, her frustration evident. The glasses she wore to monitor the vitals of her patients she now used to observe Vera’s reaction to the images. Her well-honed senses developed over the length of her career informed her that the reaction she watched was true. As much as she wanted to rule out the conclusion she arrived at, her opinion of the girl in front of her changed rapidly.

  Recognition was slow for Vera; she had been expecting instructions on where to find the ingredient, not suddenly be threatened and told to watch video feeds. All thoughts of the ingredient were now gone. She raised her hand to cover her mouth in horror, absently dropping the bottle from her other hand. It fell to the floor, shattering into hundreds of pieces, forgotten and ignored.

  The majority of videos showed Mikkhael resting in the beds of the medical ward at different times undergoing various treatments. The crystal clarity of the video defined every little detail. The sickly pallor of his skin, his weakness in limb and body, the number of days spent in bed present in the top right corner of each video. Other feeds zoomed in on the equipment, listing his vitals and treatment procedures. Dr. Hesken switched all eight video feeds to ones showing him out of bed, performing physical therapy and exercises to regain the motion and agility he would need to continue fighting. They moved in a timeline from when he first arrived on Mars to the most recent.

  “That idiot! How could I have been so stupid?!” Tears flowed freely down Vera’s face as she watched; he
r chest heaving, wracked with sobs. The pain of what she saw was physical. She turned to Dr. Hesken, pleading with her eyes for forgiveness. “I had no idea. You have to believe me. Aurora sent me reports with a list of effects during the battles.” Her mind raced, outrage focused her attention, making her wits sharp. She would cry and feel sorry for herself later in the privacy of her room. The urgency of the situation took precedence over her feelings. “She must have edited what she sent me, I can prove it if you wish. I had no idea Mikkhael was having anywhere near that level of reactions. We tested everything back on Earth, on all of us, for months before he left. We all built up our tolerances to the more harmful drugs to prevent that kind of dependency.”

  Vera spun around the room, checking the equipment for a sign of Aurora’s presence. “You bitch! Where are you? Answer me, or so God help me I will have Kurtis wipe your data cores!”

  Dr. Hesken laid her hand on the girls shoulder. It was soft enough to be sympathetic, but a strong enough grip to control her as well. Vera attempted to spin and hit her, her anger and frustration seeking the nearest point of release. Dr. Hesken slapped her across the face, a solid hit that sent her stepping back. “Get hold of yourself girl. If what you say is true we don’t have time for it. Call Kurtis; make sure the line is still open to us.”

  Vera’s eyes went wide as she considered the consequences of threatening the AI that controlled the base’s life support functions with wiping its consciousness. She fumbled with the communicator on her wrist; her hands shaking from the dramatic turn of events as adrenaline flowed through her system. “Kurt, are you there? I need you to respond right away.”

  Kurtis answered right away, distracted and annoyed at the interruption as always. “Yeah Vera? These communicators work just fine like I told you they would.”

  Relief flooded through the pair at the sound of his voice. Vera stuttered, recovering quickly. “It’s nothing, never mind, I’m sorry. We just, we need to talk later is all, something important came up. In the meantime I would appreciate it if you checked in on Dr. Hesken and I occasionally.”