124: Mecha Combat – Seven
Elytra couldn't help but be grateful that the schedule they'd all ended up syncing to aboard the Pelekys hadn't been too wildly off from the schedule of the tournament here on Trowsorab. Their usual wake up time aboard the ship ended up being early enough to get in their own usual mix of breakfast, exercise, and ablutions before their ship was hailed by the guards set to escort them to the activity centre. Elytra wasn't sure what kind of meal would be provided for them, so she was glad that they'd at least gotten in a filling breakfast before they were treated to whatever the necupole's hospitality was.
As they walked down the personnel ramp, Malakh let out a yawn, one less preformative than it was earned. Paranoia had gripped her in the middle of the night, Rhea had told them all when Malakh had taken a beat too long to answer Nevara's question as to why she wouldn't stop yawning through breakfast, and she'd fled to the fabrication room to craft up some dampening pendants for all of them, enough to block their thoughts from the telepathic abilities of the zymeth Tyeku of the Injakwagh, but not prevent their telepathic voice from being heard ("It's not that I think they're going to go ratting us out to the necupole or anything - they're a mercenary, after all," Malakh had explained, "But I'd rather have my paranoia be groundless than have my faith taken advantage of, especially this close to our heist."). If anything, it would just make her less suspicious when she dipped out of the festivities earlier than the rest of them that night. Anything to make their heist go off as smoothly as possible.
The guards gave them all a once over with their handheld devices as they had yesterday, and thankfully nothing set them off this time, aware of Malakh and Pryseia's prostheses as they were now. Masking these more robust dampening pendants from scanners had been the thing that had kept Malakh up the longest, but her efforts had paid off, the guards escorting them to the activity centre without a fuss, ushering them inside but not following after them. Elytra couldn't help but hope that this good fortune would hold out for the remainder of their stay.
The tables in the eating area had all been arranged to seat one crew each, the stage that Tolla and Kassi had made their presentation on nowhere to be seen. Some of the mercenaries were coming in as bright and alert as Elytra and her people were, while others were dragging their feet like they'd been woken up just as they were about to nod off. That would no doubt put the designated mech pilots at a disadvantage, so Elytra could only hope that the necupole had something like caffeine on tap for them, otherwise some of these upcoming fights were going to be pretty lacklustre.
As for Pryseia, the only reason she looked like she might need caffeine was because of how completely relaxed she was. She slung herself into a chair at their designated table, twisting sideways in it so she could face Nevara next to her and continue their conversation uninterrupted, one arm draped over the back of the seat, and no more anxious than if their plans for the day would involve shopping for something frivolous and absolutely nothing else. A far cry from some of the other pilots, Elytra couldn't help but observe as her gaze swept across the room, some vibrating in their seats, others ramrod straight and motionless. Only Gelimp of the Phantom Pack and Bulle of the Injakwagh seemed as at ease as Pryseia, but Elytra couldn't tell if that was due to their skill or just bravado.
At the moment, at least. Once the tournament actually got underway, she'd be able to see what these pilots were like under fire. And the thought of that thrilled her.
It didn't take long once everyone was seated before drones emerged from a hatch in the wall, each of them looking like airborne racks loaded with cloche covered plates, which manipulator arms dished out to them quickly and efficiently before hurrying back from whence they came. Elytra hadn't expected the necupole to wait on them hand and foot, but she'd honestly been expecting them to do nothing more than pour out a trough of slop they'd all have to feed from, what with how they seemed to think they were little more than animals. But their tournament provided breakfasts were decent enough - artfully plated portions of grains, proteins, and fruits, all of them catered to the dietary needs of each individual's species. The taste wasn't half bad either. It was a far cry from the fare she'd had to eat on Iromay, at least.
The chatter in the room was quiet as everyone ate, but there was a thrum of excitement that grew as the meal wore on - even with her pendant muting things, Elytra could still feel the edges of it.
Finally, with a cheerful chime, the walls of the activity centre flickered, each of them blinking on like a monitor, all of them showing the twins Tolla and Kassi, the pair of them seated before a window overlooking the arena where the fights would soon be taking place, a chrome and glass desk before them. They were both dressed in buttery yellow suits today, flaring out at the shoulders and hips, the long portions of their hair styled into tumbling waves of curls, their makeup gold and angular across their cheekbones.
"Good morning everyone!" Tolla's smile gleamed as they grinned for the camera, "We hope you're as thrilled for the upcoming competition as we are!"
Leaning casually against the desk, Kassi beamed, "We've got a slew of returning competitors for this go around, plus an up and coming first timer! This early into the tournament, victory is far from engraved on the trophy."
"So with that in mind, let's announce our match ups for the day, and you can hurry yourselves over to the betting office to place your wagers." Tolla added with an over the top wink.
Elaborate graphics and a sporty jingle obscured the two of them from view, the logos of the dozen companies bouncing across the screen until they eventually settled into a column in pairs - Revco was up first, facing off against a company called Menuctions, while MGJX was after that, paired with Noelialiawares Energies.
"Second match of the day. Good," Pryseia said, something predatory slipping into her gaze, "Waiting around for a later showing would have been tiresome."
"You aren't worried about being at a disadvantage?" V'tala asked quietly next to her, fixing her with an intent stare, "Unless you've been watching previous tournaments on your own time, or found footage of Bulle in action elsewhere, you've got no idea how any of these people fight."
Pryseia met her eyes with a slow smile, saying, "I don't need to know how they fight. I say this not from a place of arrogance, but experience: none of the pilots here have what it takes to beat me. Not in the mechs we are to be battling in, at least. Should one of their patrons swap out their custom built mech for an Odazaen, perhaps then I would feel a flicker of worry, but our fight at the Mercatus was not the first time I'd taken an Odazaen as a prize. The Thalatte had me doing so in nothing but a SH-3N for years, so I've had experience with bringing down a superior machine in an inferior mech. There's nothing shy of powering off the Aeon that will give any of them an advantage over me."
V'tala was silent for a moment, eyes locked on her before she said, "I guess we won't have to wait that long to see how right you are."
Pryseia's eyes seemed to darken at that, her smile growing wider as she replied, "No, we most certainly will not."
Guards arrived after breakfast to escort the pilots to the arena, and so with her dressed in the orange and purple of MGJX Corp, the crew of the Pelekys bid Pryseia a goodbye and a good luck as she joined the other corporately branded pilots as they were herded out the door.
Some of the mercenaries retired to their private suites, while others got themselves settled at the consoles on the opposite side of the room. Never really one for socializing even aboard the Pelekys before noon, Nevara headed off for their own suite, Rhea bullying Malakh into joining her for a nap before things properly kicked off ("An actual nap, get your mind out of the gutter," Rhea had teased, nudging Malakh in the back ahead of her when she'd cast her an amorous look over her shoulder, "Last thing we need is for you to conk out in the middle of a match."), which left Elytra and V'tala alone among the mercenaries.
"If you want to get out of here, you're more than welcome to." Elytra offered, knowing V'tala was just as excited about socializing as Nevara was, but the other woman merely frowned, telling her, "I'm trying to increase my tolerance for this kind of thing."
She didn't look like she was thrilled at the prospect, but she did look determined.
An excited round of cheering came from a cluster around a pair of consoles, two of the mercs grinning and hunched over, shoulders shifting as their hands flew across the controls in front of them, those gathered at their backs reacting to whatever it was that was happening on screen.
"What are they doing?" V'tala asked quietly, and Elytra didn't miss the way her right hand twitched against her left bicep, as if she'd crossed her arms to quell her gut instinct to reach for her gun.
"Probably some type of video game," Elytra explained, "I had a peek at the consoles the night before - they've got quite an impressive library available, and not just Necupole stuff."
V'tala didn't move at first, just quietly watched the boisterous crowd around the seated pair. After a moment, one of them threw their hands up in frustration, rising from their seat so that someone else could take their place, the other merc looking pleased as they remained seated. Letting out a quiet laugh through her nose, V'tala turned to Elytra and said, "I'm sure it comes as a shock to learn I never had any experience with those in my old life."
"Then let's rectify that in your new one," Elytra grinned, nodding over to a pair of linked consoles further away from the noisy crowd, "It's going to be a bit before the first match, and then who knows how long until Pryseia's."
Returning a slight smile of her own, V'tala nodded and followed Elytra over to the consoles.
The pair of them tested out a handful of different genres before the first of the matches for the day began. They started with a fighting game, something Elytra was positive was keeping the mercs entertained across the room from them, but after not only learning but mastering the controls in short order, needing only one round of losses before V'tala was obliterating Elytra with ease, they moved on to racing games. V'tala took to these just as quickly, and she raced her way to victory - digitally, at least - over land, sea, air, and space fast enough for her to grow bored of the genre. Elytra had found them a two player adventure game after that, one that was apparently quite well regarded for its story as much as it was its game play, and this ended up being the genre that captivated V'tala's full attention, so much so that she flinched, hand reaching for the gun that was very much not at her side when Rhea came up behind them and said, "Looks like the first match is about to start. Wanna watch it out here or in our room?"
Jaw clenched, a sea green blush dusting her cheeks as she glared at Rhea, V'tala took a quick glance at the room, seeing most of the other merc bands making for their own suits before replying, "We can watch it away from prying eyes."
Rhea just nodded, heading back to their suite, though Elytra couldn't help but notice that the taller woman was very much wearing the smile of a sister holding herself back from teasing. V'tala just stared straight ahead and marched to their room.
Inside, looking far more alert than she had been earlier, Malakh was finishing up at the food fabricator, bringing over a tray of snacks to the table that was sat before the massive, curving couch in the centre of the room. On the wall across from it was a theatre sized screen flanked by speakers that, even at their low volume, had the bass thrumming through the floor, the screen once again graced by Tolla and Kassi, extolling the accomplishments of the two companies whose mechs would be squaring off first.
"No mention of those who will be piloting them, of course," Nevara said from her place on the couch, the glass she was sipping from full of a worryingly red liquid.
"What are you drinking." V'tala accused more than she asked, which had Nevara's mandibles clicking together in delight as she offered the glass out to her.
"Serelean punch. It's usually served at sporting events on my homeworld. It seemed appropriate, given the circumstances." She said, wiggling the glass invitingly.
V'tala glared at it for a moment before she took the glass, and then took a sip. She drew in a sharp breath at the taste, the muscles of her jaw feathering with how tightly she clenched them, and it was with watering eyes and a terse, "It's tart," that she handed the glass back.
"My favourite." Nevara said, taking an unaffected sip with a smile.
"Here, I made that tea you like." Malakh said, reaching across Rhea so she could pass V'tala a mug of a pale amber steaming liquid, which she took gratefully, her shoulders loosening as her tea washed away the taste of the punch.
On the screen, Kassi nudged their sibling in the arm, saying, "But that will have to wait for the break, as it looks like the first two mechs are about ready to get this tournament well and truly started!
The view on screen changed to an overhead of the arena, two mechs stepping out onto the field, one the dusty rose and slate gray of Revco, and the other the pastel purple and suede brown of Menuctions. Shortly thereafter, symbols flashed across the screen, ones Elytra could only assume were the Necupole's numerical system, before a toll like a bell rang out, and the two mechs charged one another.
Elytra wasn't sure who the pilot of the Menuctions mech was - she hadn't been paying attention to anyone but Pryseia when the pilots had been escorted from the building - but they had nothing on Gelimp. The meleten pilot controlled the mech like xe'd been piloting it for years, smoothly pulling the long sword mounted to its back to counter the blow from the other mech's lance before coming in with a thrust of xir own that had the other mech stumbling. The Menuctions mech was fully on the defensive for the rest of the match after that, their efforts at breaking through Gelimp's guard coming to naught when, with a lunging strike, Gelimp cleanly beheaded the Menuctions mech with a single blow. The purple and brown machine slumped slightly before its safeties locked it in place upright, and Gelimp returned the sword to xir mech's back with a showy swing. Ensconced in private boxes as they all were, the roar of the crowd was still deafening.
"Okay, I can definitely see how they've won the tournament in previous years." Malakh said, slouched almost sideways on the couch, half leaning on Rhea while she balanced a bowl of snacks on her chest.
Leaning over her slightly to grab a handful from the bowl, Rhea's grin was all menace as she replied, "Xe's not going to have the same kind of luck against our girl."
Thankfully, they didn't need to wait long for Pryseia's match, Tolla and Kassi entertaining the audience while the arena was cleared of mechs and damage. All too soon, the dusty orange and deep violet of the Aeon was standing face to face with the pale gray and tea green Noelialiawares mech, the countdown ringing them in. Like with Gelimp and xir opponent, it very quickly became apparent that Pryseia was the better of these two pilots, to Elytra at least, her axe never not in the way of the Noelialiawares' broadsword. Pryseia had the Aeon stepping backwards across the arena, goading the Noelialiawares mech to follow her, and they took the bait without hesitation, pressing their attack like they had Pryseia on the ropes.
She certainly gave the illusion of it, retreating and retreating while the Noelialiawares mech rained down blows on her, but despite all the fury they were clearly putting into each swing, not a single strike hit. The crowd, however, was loving it, Tolla and Kassi's commentary falling victim to Pryseia's ploy.
It looked like she was genuinely struggling, to the untrained eye, but Elytra's tutelage under her on Iromay painted a very different picture. She'd seen Pryseia in action in the Aeon only days ago, and she'd wheeled the mech through Erkanschlde's obstacle course like it was nothing more strenuous than a toddler's play park. But she had none of that fluidity here, her reaction time much slower, though still more than fast enough that the Noelialiawares mech had yet to score a single hit. To Elytra's trained eye, however, she could see a slight flinch in the Aeon a moment before it committed to a movement - Pryseia was holding herself back, lulling her opponent into thinking she was the lesser pilot.
So when they came in with a wide sweep, so similar to the move Gelimp had pulled that Elytra couldn't help but wonder if this was something all mercenaries did, they were completely unprepared for Pryseia to nimbly dodge the Aeon under the blow and behead them with a swift strike instead. The pause as the grey and green mech locked in place was jarring, but it was nothing compared to the excited screaming that came from the crowd after the dust had settled.
"What an absolutely brilliant upset!" Kassi hollered as they and Tolla reappeared on their screens, the pair of them still with their eyes locked on their own monitor, "I think we've been played, dear viewers! The MGJX mech wasn't as helpless as we thought!"
"Right you are, my sibling!" Tolla was practically out of their seat, "It just goes to show you that when you expect excellence, MGJX Corp delivers!"
"BOOOOOOOOOO!" Rhea shouted, throwing one of her odd human snacks at the screen, "Don't say the fucking company slogan! That's lame!"
"What can you expect," Nevara said with a wry chuckle, "This whole tournament is essentially a commercial for these products."
Snorting derisively, Rhea replied, "Yeah, I'd like to see any necupole try to pull off what Pryseia can do."
"Why, you looking for a laugh?" V'tala asked, shooting her a sly grin, and that had Rhea cackling.
"Shit, that would be a sight," she said after she caught her breath, "Some lowly Lesser trouncing the best of their best? I would pay big bucks to see that."
"Well, we'll just have to settle with watching her wipe out their experimental mechs for now," Malakh said, patting her knee, "But who knows? With our luck, we'll do something that'll piss off the Necupole enough to send their military after us."
"Hopefully not," Elytra replied with a grin of her own, "Knowing the Necupole, their ships are probably shiny enough that we'd be blinded just looking at them, and that is not how I want to go."
That had them all laughing into the next round, but the victor of that didn't matter to them. With Pryseia's victory, they were one step closer to their operation.
Only one more day before they would launch their heist.