Spring Changes, page 13
We used a lot of energy last night. This is very welcome for our body.
The eggs I’d missed, even with the food from Artemis and setting up a place where we could get easy drinks and nutrients. I swallowed and greedily shovelled more in.
“You don’t need to eat so fast, let it settle some,” Naylar said, sitting next to me.
“Sorry.” I stopped and took a drink.
He’s watching, Hiroto said. You don’t need to look. I can see everything with the cameras around here.
You hacked their system?
I’m not taking anything to chance again. My eyes are everywhere. I’m not letting go this time.
Good to know.
I smiled while Tyto chewed a chunk of sausage. “Didn’t want any?” He waved it in my face.
“No.” I fake gagged. “I didn’t. Not after the amount I ate last time.”
Instead, I spiked a nice chunk of egg and ate that.
Edward is coming over, Hiroto said.
“I didn’t think he’d have the balls to,” Naylar added.
He stood before me; I looked up into clearly agitated eyes.
“Kyle,” he said. “You never reported in, or for any other duties. We presumed you were dead.”
My grin spread, and I finished chewing before I spoke. I looked at my whole team. “No,” I replied. “Special recovery.”
He tried to keep his face stoic; I could see right through him. “Report for duty, and I await your full debrief.”
I laughed then, mostly a fake, put on chuckle. His face flushed straight away.
“Actually,” I said. “I do not need to report to you. My team doesn’t need to debrief anyone.”
He stalled. “What?”
There were lots of eyes on us. Everyone was listening in now. I glanced around the room. Perfect. “Training rule 17881A—if a team splits and cannot see reconciliation, the opposing team has one chance to complete a mega-merge and take either command or train for lead.”
He looked to his team. “You want to not only command a mega, you’re going for lead, for the section?”
I nodded. “Correct.”
“So.” His face fell. “It’s open warfare hunting new members then . . .”
Someone coughed behind me. “If you’re recruiting, Kyle, I’m in.”
I turned to look at Porter. He’d openly thrown his own team out. But those sat with him also nodded.
“Thanks, Porter,” I replied. “I’m not taking anyone’s team members, and we need the clearance from Doctor Herin first.”
His face fell, disappointed. I looked straight at Edward when I said my next very carefully chosen words. I sparked the kenosi around me. Tyto kicked me under the table. The room ignited with my control; Edward took a step back.
“What we are going to do is show you how a mega-merge is done properly. With a team that gives you everything. We’ll complete the merge as we are. Understaffed, but by no means underpowered.”
But his face never altered. Edward didn’t have a reply; he just turned and walked out.
Porter leaned nearer. “If you’re not going to take in other team members, how the hell are you going to manage a merge?”
I smiled at my team. “I’m guessing this morning might be something interesting for everyone to watch. Pass the word around.”
The guy behind him said, “It’s already spreading fast. Everyone wants to know why he’s said you were dead.”
I nodded at him. “I know.” And I turned back to my breakfast, carrying on eating.
Tyto did the same, then sucking in a long drink he said, “Herin’s waiting on us?”
I looked down at the table. “Eat up, we have to leave in five.”
The team’s chatting died down, and their plates emptied fast. I indicated for them to move and the whole room around us watched.
Out of ear range, Tyto said while we walked, “We haven’t managed the mega yet, but you want to do it today with an audience?”
“It has to be today,” I replied. “I’ve a reason for it. Today, now, will be much easier.”
Our stats are still combined, Hiroto said.
Exactly. For how long I don’t know, but I want to show him his fucking ass today. Then play catch up when it runs out.
Bit of a gamble?
I know. If I don’t do it, they’re going to try their best to all start pinching members off my team. I’m not having that either.
Good point.
Tyto still gave me a strange look.
“Trust me, today it will be fine,” I said.
“We do trust you,” he said with a grin. “Besides, there’s not one of us who can’t wait to shove it up his ass.”
“That’s another reason why.” I laughed. “We need this, and we need it today.”
Walking into Doctor Herin’s hangar, I remembered the earlier tests, the struggle. Right now, with the power I had running through my veins, I would scare him to death. I did want to be honest with him though. The rest of the team went to respective tables.
“Quick check,” Herin said with a grin. “How are you doing?”
“You can’t run the tests on me,” I said. To his raised eyebrow, I moved away from anyone else. “I’ll let you see, but I want to keep this going as long as I can.”
“Please.” He pointed to his main station.
I stepped forwards, placed my hand onto it, and within a second brought up my stat sheet for him to read. His jaw dropped, and he read the first few aloud.
“How is this even possible?”
“The system gave me the option to combine myself and Hiroto for a short time. How short, I don’t know. But there were risks and it could have killed us.”
“Why the hell did you risk that?”
I moved to the bottom of my list where I knew he’d seen my debt. I tapped the screen.
He paled before me. “What did you do?”
“I called him out last night.” I stood straight, trying not to think about how close it had been. “I killed him.”
“They’re this powerful?” He tapped our joined stats.
“Yes, and he’s not the only one.” I held his eyes with mine. “We’re not even touching the tip of the iceberg here.”
“You need to speak to the field marshall,” he said, his hands physically shaking.
I reached for them and steadied them. “They know,” I said. “Believe me, they know what’s out there.”
“Why do—” He closed his eyes. “It is better that most do not know the truth. I’m sorry.”
“We need to go,” I prompted him.
“Oh, yes, yes,” he said. “I got word of your challenge to Edward already.” Herin shook his head. “The base chats are loud.”
“Good, I think that’s exactly what I need. What we need.”
“You’re not going to kill him, right?”
I wanted to. My nose twitched. I really, really wanted to.
“No,” I said. “He’d just respawn. I’m doing the worst thing I can to him. I’m going to take lead from him.”
13
Doctor Herin checked the stats coming in from the rest of my team. He motioned for them to come over.
I worried for a moment he might out me. He closed the screens off. “You’ve got the all clear from me, but you are overtired. Today is going to be hard on you.” He looked specifically at me. “Especially you. If for whatever reason you can’t do what you want to, don’t lose hope.”
“Thanks,” I said to him, nodding to the blank screen. “We’ll get the shuttle back to our base and pick up the mechs. We should be on the training field in about thirty minutes.”
Silence filled the shuttle bus for the ride back to get our mechs, and I pondered torn between using the older mechs.
Tyto stood with me. “Use them now and they’ll have an idea where we’re training.”
“I don’t want to play all cards just yet, the style, everything.”
“You think you can manage yours?”
“Today, yes.”
“Then take yours out. We’ve got this,” he said and patted my back. “Together.”
Climbing up into my mech, something else filled me. Nerves, yes. Excitement, yes. Worry, of course. But sheer fear. Everything was at stake.
Once onboard, the cockpit clicked into place and I fired up. Green lights for me. “How’s everyone doing?”
I waited while the roll call and resounding shouts came over comms. It reassured me, settled my stomach.
I pulled up their stats. All twenty-nine mechs ran through green. The remote-mechs were also green.
“The field is some distance,” Naylar said. “Are we walking?”
“No,” I replied. “Outside and we’ll make the merge into our teams. Then hop right on over.”
It was good to hear the laughter from them, the whoops of excitement.
Once outside, I called it.
INITIATE MERGE
Y/N
I didn’t hesitate to click the Y. The others merged into their sets in seconds. All of them on point. On my screen we were green, and we slotted into place perfectly. I felt the kenosi from all of them around me. The connection . . . I just had no words for it. These were my team, family.
“Holy fuck!” Tyto’s voice carried to me. “How the hell?”
I let them all feel who I had become. “Thank Hiroto for it, at least for now.” I added, “It won’t last, though, not even sure how long we have to use it.”
“That’s why you wanted this now?” Dylan asked.
“Yes. Let’s go,” I said. “We have Edward to meet and greet.”
“And probably half the base.” Lacy laughed.
I grinned on the inside. “That’s what I’m hoping.”
I waited to make sure Hiroto had our location for the training ground locked.
“Titans!” I called. “Let’s do this!”
Launching our mega-merge into the air with one thought, I located the grounds and, within seconds, headed their way. The ground around us whizzed past. The base, the bunkers, and each of the other teams’ training grounds.
“This planet is so beautiful,” Lacy said.
I’d forgotten most of them hadn’t seen anything but the base and maybe even the dungeon. As their lead, I could also easily feel as they did. Exhilarated.
They’re training with simulated rounds, Hiroto said.
Wouldn’t be good to drop in either way. I put the location to land way to the left, and we dropped down with ease, the ground a little soft under our combined weight.
General Veti stood at the centre of a group of merged mechs. Can you pick up what she’s saying to them? I asked Hiroto.
Yes, I’ll patch it through.
Edward’s voice was the easiest to hear above hers. “. . . you will honour the rules and allow these changes to take place from today.”
“You are clearly delusional. You tell us half your team is dead. Now you won’t accept your original team members back, and you’re making your choices to take others now? No. There are many other factors here, and you do not get to dictate them.”
“Veti is holding her ground,” Tyto said. “Rules are rules.”
“They are, and I have to take that position from him now. Or the whole mega-merge team will fall apart. There is no trust in him. No one wants to be under him.”
The six of my team landed deftly, and with one flick, I disengaged our merge. “You good, Tyto?” I asked.
“Still all good here—remote is in tip-top condition and control.”
He moved forward, flexing its guns in a pure, awesome display of control.
Several of the outer crowd noticed you drop in.
I made the lead forwards then, with the group following. The ground shook lightly at each step. Several mechs turned to see us, but Edward was still locked in his argument with General Veti, much to my surprise. His attitude needed wiping off his face for good. No matter who he was related to. I couldn’t work out why he could be so arrogant but as more and more mechs parted, he looked our way.
I held his eyes with mine as we drew closer. His mech team were around him, but they stepped back. I went to stand before them, and we all joined the main comms channel they were all using.
I dipped my mech’s head at her. “Reporting for duty, General Veti.”
“You can’t bring in anyone else from off planet,” Edward spat.
“There is no one here that hasn’t been here for weeks and isn’t cleared by Doctor Herin,” I said.
“I see,” General Veti said. “No names have been changed, and all teams here are full.”
“You’re cheating,” he said acerbically. “Just like you did in the mech arena.”
“I am not cheating,” I said and motioned for my team. “I’m using their skills to the best of their abilities. Just because no one has done this before does not mean it is cheating or in any way breaking the rules.” I motioned to my head. “Remove your cockpits.”
The hiss reverberated around us, and those with occupants were clear. “We have twenty-nine members. All of them you know well, general. The others, you can see clearly.” I reached out with the spark of my own kenosi, and took all seven empty mechs on with ease.
I walked them before us and turned them so the crowd could see. Empty cockpits, wide open, kenosi flickering through them freely. When my team could see what I was doing, they’d followed my lead, and I let the control to their remotes drop.
When I turned my empty mech around to then walk back and stop before us, there were no other words uttered.
“You see,” I said. “I don’t need those other team members because we are skilled. We have the kenosi range to do exactly what I need, when I need it. There’s no swapping. No one who doesn’t want to be on this team is on it.” I motioned to the one mech he’d recognise above all.
“You can’t have Frenk!” Edward said. “You can’t do this at all.”
Ohara held up the hand of her mech. “You have complete control of every mech, and you can merge into the six and a mega?”
I looked at her and nodded. “I will complete any test here today as a mega-merge, anything you ask of me, us. Prove we not only don’t need a full thirty-six, but with the trained men out there and a mind to work out their skill set, rotate, and train, we can increase our numbers exponentially. All you need are the extra mechs.”
“Impossible. You can never merge with empty mechs,” Edward said.
I whirled on him. “I promise you, we can, and we will.” I couldn’t see inside his mech. I didn’t need to; he seethed. “You and anyone you wish to poach. Move anything you want to go against me today. I’ll let you.”
“Wait, I—” Ohara started.
“With the utmost respect to you, General Veti.” I looked at her and lowered my head. “Let him take the best off every team he wishes. Today not only marks a change for us as lead, it will mark a change for everyone in this unit. If I win against Edward and the top mech pilots here, Edward is out.” I then turned to him. “No more. You don’t lead. You don’t get a say in anything. If you want to stay, if you want to be a part of the war on the front, you will listen to my lead. Everything I say or ask of you. Understand?”
There was no reply.
“Are you scared?” I asked and looked out to all of the mechs around me, waiting.
The chatter whizzed past me in the main text chat. Hiroto broke some out for me to see. They did not want Edward to take any of their team from them. I couldn’t blame them. They had no idea.
“I have no reason to be afraid of you. But I will take these pilots.” He flicked a list to Ohara in seconds. He already had requested several, now he’d just added others, and those who were the best of their teams.
“Are you okay with these changes?” Ohara asked me.
I looked them over.
They are incredible pilots and leads, Hiroto said.
I answered her. “Yes, I’m okay with that.”
Edward’s chuckle came over the comms. “You won’t even make the mega, let alone be able to fight me.”
“I’m not going to fight all day, Edward.” I looked at Ohara. “General, pick three tests.”
“I can do that, Kyle. I’m going to class the mega-merge as one. I will run a simulation with both of you after on the training grounds as lead of the team. Then I will let you fight. Melee only. Like you did in the arena. But not to the death.”
Around us, several mechs moved, changing positions. People he’d requested for his mega. I noted them, read their tags. It would increase his own stats a lot.
We are still okay, Kyle. I am not worried, Hiroto said.
Good, because these are some seriously trained people.
They are, but they’re also just batteries.
Correct.
The general’s comms came through then, her worry obvious. I felt it. She gasped at our instant connection.
“Kyle, you owe me a full brief when this is over,” she said on my personal comms, then she shouted, “Move out! Teams form per replacement orders. You will work with those within and merge on my command.”
As the whole unit around us moved further out into the training field, the ground trembled. Edward and his new team just stood and looked towards me.
I smiled at him and walked closer so I could almost see inside. I reached forward and put a hand on his mech, quickly accessing his comms directly with a thought. “There’s no one out there but you and me. Don’t for one second think I won’t bring you down.”
He pushed me away. Didn’t reply. He had heard me though. I’d seen the inside and his facial expression with it.
Ohara stood still, watching, as Edward then moved off too. “You have quite the audience here, Kyle. You’re sure you can do this?”
I closed my cockpit and glanced at my team. “We’re ready. Just call it.”
I moved away then and into a position better suited us on the field.
Ohara wasn’t going to wait long but she did hold for a minute. “Unit Seven!” she called. “Merge!”
INITIATE MEGA-MERGE
Y/N
