128: Mecha Combat – Eleven
Pryseia didn't bother holding back for round two.
In the activity centre, the gathered mercenaries and the crew of the Pelekys watched as the MGJX mech slowly and methodically dismantled the Ferntide mech, the battle drawn out in excruciating detail. For the pilot of the other mech, that was, as those watching in the audience stands were eating it up, if their screaming and cheering was anything to go by.
Pryseia had disarmed the other mech of its mace before it could fully bring it to bear in the opening seconds of the match, catching it with her own axe and tossing it across the arena almost as an afterthought. The Ferntide mech had scrambled after it, and Pryseia had allowed it, stalking the Aeon slowly after, dodging the incoming swing with a careless grace that had the other mech stumbling, which Pryseia helped along with a kick to the small of its back. The crowd had howled in delight at that.
The Ferntide mech had scrambled to stay upright, but gravity would not be denied. The mech crashed to the ground, the pilot immediately rolling it, bringing the mace up across its body as if to block an incoming blow, but the Aeon still stood in the same spot across from it, waiting for the blue and silver mech to rise and face it.
The pilot of the Ferntide mech had it up a moment later, weapon raised, and then strafing around the Aeon to look for an opening. It was clear that the Ferntide pilot was rattled, their hesitancy telegraphed for anyone to see.
In terms of what these two mechs were capable of, they were the most evenly matched among all the entries in this particular instance of the tournament. Roughly par enough on strength, speed, and agility for any advantage to be negligible, this match had stirred up quite a bit of excitement in the betting pool, as it would all come down to who was the better pilot to determine the victor. And within the opening move of the match, that balance was immediately cemented in MGJX Corp's favour.
The pilot of the Ferntide mech was good - clearly, to have gotten to the second round - but the MGJX pilot, everyone could see, was in a league apart.
Under its pilot, the Ferntide mech still moved like a machine. Its motions were sharp, artificial, an uncanny mimicry of a living, bipedal being.
Under Pryseia's hands, the Aeon was alive.
Despite the two mechs having the same control system - one of the conditions of the tournament - the Aeon moved with a fluidity that should not have been possible for anyone not using a neural interface. Every move the Ferntide mech made, the Aeon seemed able to predict it, either intercepting or dodging each strike, all dependant on which would be more embarrassing for the attacker. The Ferntide mech was a constant blur of movement, a quicksilver flash as it sought to overwhelm the Aeon, while Pryseia conserved her own machine's movements with ruthless efficiency. She was the impassive cliff against which the Ferntide mech dashed itself to pieces, striking back only when it would cause a maximum amount of damage with minimal effort.
The crowd, even tucked away in their private boxes as they were, was deafening. Those whose pockets would be full after this round were incandescently smug, especially to those who had bet against the orange and violet machine. Those who had bet on Ferntide would have cursed the name of the pilot being toyed with down in the arena, if they'd bother to learn who that individual was. But they were just some merc, so it didn't matter to them. Given their performance, it was probably some Lesser. And given the performance of the MGJX mech, that could only be piloted by someone from one of the Enlightened races.
After all, with that level of skill? It couldn't be anyone but, as far as they were concerned.
"Ho. Ly. Shit." Rhea breathed from her seat on the couch in their suite, "I'm really glad we're watching in here again. This is brutal."
"This is embarrassing," Malakh corrected, elbows on her knees as she sat on the edge of the couch next to Rhea, "She's making a mockery of that other mech."
Nevara's mandibles had been clicking together for some time, her agitation clear in her rigid position at the far end of the couch as she said, "This isn't like her. She'd rather end a fight decisively than draw it out like this."
Her ears flattening as she turned to Nevara, Malakh asked, "Off her game because of her panic attack earlier, you think? Or could this be because of the sabotage that the Necupole are so paranoid about coming to fruition?"
"I don't know," Nevara admitted, looking wound tight enough that if she suddenly sprang straight through the ceiling of the activity centre to land at Pryseia's side in the arena beyond, none of them would be surprised, "And I fear we won't know until the pilots are returned after today's matches."
On screen, the Aeon batted away the Ferntide mech's vicious, two-handed downswing with a one-handed flourish of its axe before grabbing its head with its off hand and shoving the blue and silver machine stumbling away hard enough that it landed on its ass.
"Well, she's not holding back anymore, that's for sure," Elytra said quietly, her voice caught somewhere between awe and worry, "Hopefully this'll inspire Bulle to do the same, because I have no idea how good they actually are."
"They're in the last bout of the day, so we'll have a bit of a wait," Rhea said, watching as the Ferntide mach charged in with an underhand swing, only for the Aeon to sidestep it, forcing the speeding machine to awkwardly stumble to a stop in order to pivot back around to face its opponent, "Fuck me running. I don't know why I'm always shocked when I see how good she is when behind the controls of a mech. It's like she was born for this."
V'tala's voice was quite, distant, her gaze never once leaving the screen as she said, "She wasn't born for this. She worked for this."
Her agitation didn't fully vanish, but the worst of it quelled as Nevara replied, "She really did."
On screen, the Ferntide mech made another lunge, clearly trying to catch Pryseia off guard, but the Aeon sidestepped the attack once more. Stumbling again, the blue and silver machine had only enough time to get its footing before Pryseia, insolently casual, swept the axe through the air - through the neck of the Ferntide mech - and returned it to the mount on the Aeon's back with a single motion. The Aeon had turned and started off towards the arena entrance before the vanquished mech's head had a chance to hit the ground.
The crowd may have been loud before, but it had nothing on the volume that was coming out of them now.
Tolla and Kassi appeared on screen in a flurry of promotional graphics, the former looking too stunned to speak, while the latter was grabbing their sibling by the arm and shaking them while shouting. Rhea lowered the volume before the two hosts had a chance to recover, slumping back in her seat as she said, "In terms of points, I think Pryseia's gonna end up in first place today."
Elytra made a sound like she was choking back a sob as she admitted, "And I was worried that she'd be too shaken to fight."
"No. Even if she's in the middle of a full meltdown, she's able to shunt it all aside when she's in the seat of a mech," Nevara said as she stood, gripped by a nervous energy that had her pacing, for once, "This felt targeted. Do we know who the pilot of the Ferntide mech is?"
Tracking Nevara's movement with her eyes, V'tala supplied, "N'ang Kwak of the Shadow Riders. She seemed less concerned about the results of this tournament than she did about having a fun time while on the vacation she's treating this as."
"Maybe a cover?" Malakh supplied, one of her legs beginning to bounce, "Maybe she and her crew are here for- well, more than they say they are."
Everyone was careful to remain casual as they made noncommittal noises at that, sensing how dangerously close Malakh had come to making mention of the heist they were set to launch that night. Who knew how many security measures were keeping an eye on them as they sat here in their private suite?
Malakh groaned into her hands, throwing herself into the back of the couch as she kicked her legs out, stopping the both of them from bouncing. "Just watching that has me fried. I might need a nap, otherwise I won't make it to tonight."
Rhea laughed soundlessly next to her before saying, "It's Gelimp up next, and I think we all know how that fight's going to go, so if you wanna lay down, I can wake you up for lunch?"
"If you would extend me the same courtesy," Nevara said, already turning towards one of the private rooms, "I'll take advantage of a nap myself."
Rhea gave her a thumbs up before rising to refill snacks for her and Elytra, the pair of them careful to look like they had nothing more pressing than the party that the mercs would inevitably throw once the matches for the day were over.
Certainly not the heist that Malakh and Nevara were conserving their energy for.
As everyone predicted, Gelimp handily won xir match, a quicker affair than the massacre meted out by Pryseia, but long enough to push it almost all the way to lunch.
The crew of the Pelekys had worried that the mood would be tense, given the beating that Pryseia had handed out, but the mercenaries seemed more awed than concerned at how thoroughly one of their own had been trounced.
"That was an impressive match," the captain of the Shadow Riders had said on catching sight of the crew of the Pelekys, raising a glass in salute, their grin beaming, "I think Gelimp's winning streak is about to be broken!"
This announcement was met with laughter and cheers, the mercenaries tucking into their lunches and chatting amongst themselves after that. Rhea caught Elytra's eye, an eyebrow raised in question, but the other woman just shook her head. Even with the psychic dampening necklace in place, she could still feel the edges of the emotions in the room. There were no dangerous spikes of aggression, no boiling frustrations of a plan having been thwarted. Unless someone was really good at suppressing what they were feeling, all she could feel was the ambiance of a bunch of people on vacation. It didn't feel like anyone was plotting anything nefarious here.
Soon enough, lunch was over and the final match of the day began, and Bulle proved that Gelimp had more than just Pryseia to worry be about.
They were better than good.
They were amazing.
No hesitation this time, Bulle moved their machine fluidly across the arena, striking and parrying with a skill that could only have come from years of experience. Gelimp wasn't going to be getting first or second in this go around of the tournament. As the head of the mech Bulle vanquished landed heavily on the ground, everyone there knew that Gelimp was walking away in third place.
As Rhea shut off the screen before Tolla and Kassi could launch into their rundown, Elytra let out a quiet laugh, sounding more at ease than she had earlier as she said, "Bulle's impressive, all right, but if that was their best, they're still not going to have a chance against Pryseia."
"It'll be enough to make her put an effort in, if nothing else." Nevara agreed, sounding far more settled than she had before.
The pilots were returned to the activity centre not long after, and all of them looked in high spirits, even those who had lost. N'ang was walking next to Pryseia, grinning ear to ear as she explained something with enough dramatic arm gestures to very nearly make her a walking hazard, Pryseia responding quietly with a small smile of her own. The mercenaries met them all with a cheer, and if anyone had any bad blood between them, they hid it masterfully.
The pilots all peeled away to get changed, the others following after Pryseia as she made her way to their suite.
"Everything alright?" Rhea asked the moment the door had slid shut behind them, and Pryseia did nothing to stop the laugh that tumbled out of her.
Turning to face them, an easy smile on her face, Pryseia admitted, "I may have vented my spleen a bit too much during my match. Rest assured, there is no ill will betwixt the others and I."
A relieved sigh sounded from the other five, which was met with a smattering of embarrassed laughter.
"I was worried that maybe some type of sabotage attempt had set you off," Malakh admitted, her ears pinned back in chagrin, "You were kinda mean in that fight."
"I was," Pryseia said, looking embarrassed herself, "But the air has been cleared between N'ang and I. She simply had the misfortune of being the first person to face me in my rattled state."
"You doing okay after all that?" Rhea ashed quietly, "This morning got you good."
"It did indeed, but a relapse does not feel forthcoming. At the moment, at the very least," Pryseia told her, her smile turning wry as she added, "Though I fear it left me more drained than I like. I don't know how much of tonight's celebrations I'm going to make it through."
Pointing a thumb at Nevara, Malakh said, "Yeah, we're probably going to crash early too, so you may as well join us. I don't know how these mercs keep their energy up like this! If it wasn't for the fact that they scan us every morning, I'd bet money on the fact that they're all on something to keep them this high key!"
"High on life?" Rhea suggested with a shrug.
"It's a different kind of high than I'm used to," Malakh shook her head, "I don't have the energy for this kind of thing."
"Well I, for one, certainly have the energy for dinner," Pryseia said, walking towards one of the en suite bathrooms, "But I must divest myself of this uniform and make use of the bathing facilities. The armour may look fancy, but it's far from the most comfortable thing I've been forced to wear in the service of others."
The energy at dinner was electric, and if the crew of the Pelekys seemed a little off, any irregularities were lost in the chaos that descended the moment the plates were removed from the table.
The dining area was cleared even quicker than before, lights and music snapping on as soon as the libations were unlocked from the walls. More people were on the dance floor tonight than taking advantage of the consoles, little clusters of people forming that made it clear they intended to take advantage of the private rooms available to them sooner than later.
N'ang came bounding over to them, a drink already in hand as she nodded to Pryseia and asked, "Offer still stands?"
Pryseia shook her head, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she replied, "I fear the day's events have taken their toll on me. I retire to an early night."
"Your loss," N'ang said with a shrug, taking a sip of her drink before turning to V'tala and asking, "How 'bout you?"
V'tala stared at her for a long moment, silent and unmoving. But then a muscle in her jaw ticked and she said, "Why not?"
Rhea patted her on the back as she stood, saying, "See you after curfew."
V'tala just nodded, though there was an eagerness to her as she waved to the others in parting and followed after N'ang, a cluster of usgaisjan women cheering as the pair approached.
"I promise that I'm not going to get too twisted, but there were a couple vintages of wine they had here I wanted to sample. For strictly medicinal reasons, of course." Rhea said as she stood, turning to Malakh with a fond smile before she said, "I don't want to interrupt your beauty sleep and all."
"Please, as if I would mind," Malakh replied, tugging Rhea down by the collar of her shirt so she could press a chaste kiss to her lips, "In fact, I'd be offended if you didn't wake me up when you come home to me."
"Gross." Elytra deadpanned, eyes half forced shut with how widely she was smiling at that little display. Rhea shoved her halfheartedly, gasping like she was mortally offended, though her own smile said otherwise.
With one last round of farewells, Pryseia, Nevara, and Malakh stood to return to the ship, their feet dragging from the excitement of the day. The guards gave them a once over again, and another warning to stay aboard the ship until morning, and the three agreed, half asleep where they stood. One of the guards muttered some comment about them sleeping like animals on the floor loud enough for the three Kith to hear, but quiet enough that the guard could claim that they'd simply misheard. None of them bothered to acknowledge this microaggression, simply allowing the ramp and door to the Pelekys to seal up behind them.
"Show time." Pryseia said, her mask of exhaustion falling away instantaneously, her eyes bright and alert as they darted between Malakh and Nevara. With a nod, the two separated, heading off to get changed for their night's activities.
They met up with Pryseia in the engine room not long after, the woman pacing as much as she could on the narrow walkway above the engine, an emergency ladder partially blocking her path.
"I've gone over your supplies," she said as the two approached, "The Hyttan drone is within, as well as the one you'd previously modified for stealth, as a precaution."
"Good thinking," Malakh said, the armour of the Hand a sharp contrast to the casual shirt and pants Pryseia had changed into, "With our luck, they'd have some kind of tech that can disable anything Hyttan, and Vi'd be stuck just hanging out in our comm units."
"Right? Better safe than sorry!" Viatrix said, her avatar popping up on the nearest console, "Looks like the party is really popping off in there - the guards are hanging out more around the doors than the ships to keep an eye on everyone."
"Good, we should take advantage of that," Nevara said with a nod, General Grim's harsh armour a juxtaposition against her worried expression, "The sooner we leave, the sooner we can come home."
Pryseia nodded, stepping to the side of the ladder as she said, "I look forward to your return. Goodnight, and good luck."
Malakh winked as she stepped onto the bottom rung of the ladder, telling her, "Don't need luck when you're as skilled as we are. But I'll take it anyway."
Nevara gripped Pryseia's shoulder and gave her a nod before following after Malakh.
Pryseia stood there and watched as the emergency hatch above her was shut, listening to the faint sounds of the shuttle detaching from the hull, followed by nothing.
"You weren't spotted?" She asked aloud.
"We're in the clear," came Viatrix's voice a moment later, "Shuttle's just exited the range of the facility's scanners, and no one on the ground is any the wiser. I'll keep you updated once we reach our destination."
"Don't let it interfere with what you do over there," Pryseia cautioned as she gripped the ladder, momentarily resting her head against it as she closed her eyes, "The last thing we need is for you to be distracted on my account."
"Don't worry, I won't be," Viatrix told her, "I'll keep our people safe."
"I know you will," Pryseia said, smiling faintly, "They're family, after all."