Scarlet Steel

There is no worse fate for the Mnemosyne than becoming an individual. The entire species can be thought of as a single, distributed entity. Every body a neuron of a greater mind, storing memories for the whole. Those who break that mold and develop a sense of self, willing or not, are seen as aberrations. Memory thieves, stealing from the whole. - An Intro to Mnemosyne Physiology

Working on a deadline is miserable. I’ve worked harder before, I’ve worked longer and slept less. But I did that out of only my enthusiasm. Doing it because I have to? It’s tough to even force myself to start.

Exa and I work constantly, asking Andromeda to bring food every once in a while. When I need to sleep, I climb into Hoppy’s chassis, hook myself into the suspension harness, and try to rest. It keeps me from floating away when Exa inevitably has to turn off the gravity to grab yet another part. Most of the time I’m even tired enough to sleep through the endless power tools.

I only get a few hours of sleep a day, but that’s fine. I have to keep working. Hoppy’s not going to be done in time if I don’t.

Exa and I rarely say anything to each other, just a few words a day. I speak to everyone else even less, even when they come in to work on their mechs. Janus never tries to get me in the simulator, and Juno never complains about that.

Late one night, at least I think it’s night? My sleep schedule is fucked beyond belief. Either way, I faintly overhear Juno’s voice for the first time in days when I’m trying to sleep.

“How’s she doing?” Juno asks.

“She’s a hell of a mechie as long as she has someone breathing down her neck and stopping her from bodging quick fixes. Some of her solutions would give a conventional mechie a heart attack, but I can’t say they don’t work, at least for a bit. Although I think that’d be a benefit for field repairs. Stick her in a Smoke, swap out the weaponry for more armor and a bigger engine, and let her shine. Even if she can’t handle combat, she’s still well worth employing.”

“And how are you doing?” She asks.

Exa’s silence is deafening.

“I'll let you get back to work.”

I should get up to talk with her. I really should. My body is so heavy, I just need a few moments and I’ll get up.

When I next open my eyes and glance at the clock on the console, hours have passed since I first tried to fall asleep. Oops. Whatever.

“Andromeda, bring me morning supplies.” I stuck a microphone in here just for her, even mumbling is enough.

“Order confirmed.” She chirps back.

“Thank you.” It takes a few minutes to build up the courage to extract myself from the harness and climb out. I shuffle down the cluttered ramp, rubbing my eyes as I go. On the floor sits a tray with food, water, and a toothbrush. I sit down next to it and begin to eat.

“Not burnt out yet?” Exa asks.

“What did you get done last night?” I ask.

“Finished up the left leg. We’ve got two joints in the right to take care of, installing the last of the survival systems, and testing the whole thing.”

“And how long before we arrive?” I ask.

“Eight hours.”

“Alright.” I grab my breakfast bar and water and head over to our workbench. A tablet is waiting for me, with Hoppy’s blueprints already pulled up. I quickly down my breakfast while getting caught up. “I’ll finish up the leg if you want to make sure I’ll survive.”

“It’s my survival too. I can’t handle temps much higher than boiling either.” She tightens one last bolt and heads up the ramp.

I get to work, adding today to the blur that the last week has been. Endless gears and wires, endless bolts and rivets. The whole time I’m forced to ignore ways to make my job easier. The bolts in her knee are overspecced by a factor of five. I could leave a few out, even if she’s going to be experiencing 2 g, and be completely safe. Ignoring backup systems and directly connecting two gears wouldn’t affect its efficiency as long as nothing gets broken. But no, Hoppy has to be perfect or Juno won’t let me take her out.

I tighten one last bolt and pick up my tablet. Something’s wrong, it’s not telling me what to work on next. In confusion I check the entire blueprint and find everything blue. Nothing’s missing? Not a single part is reporting errors?

“Exa, something’s wrong with the tablet.” I call out and head to our parts storage. No, no that’s wrong too, only old parts are here?

“What’s wrong?”

“Wait, am I done?” The idea feels so impossible, I must be missing something.

“Yeah, looks like it.”

I climb onto the table, fall back, and close my eyes, resting properly for the first time in my life.

“We just need to test and get your survival suit fitted.”

“Ugh.” I can’t even properly complain.

“And we need to test Hoppy.”

“Ughhhhhhh.”

“I can test her if you want.”

“No.” I force myself to roll off the table and onto my feet. There’s a lot of stuff in front of Hoppy that needs to be moved before she can walk. I brace against the table and push it out of the way.

“I’ve already tested everything but movement.” Exa says. “And we can do stress testing planetside. We really don’t have long before we drop, and you still need to get in your survival suit.”

“Fine, bring it out then.” I continue clearing the way for Hoppy, moving a mountain of old parts.

“It’s a full on suit, under clothes and all, and trust me, you really need a shower first.”

“Right.” I guess I have been neglecting myself the past few days. It’s not that I haven’t showered at all, it’s just that most days have been too busy. “I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t go all the way to your room. In the dropship there’s a power shower. I've opened the door for it, it’ll wake you up, and Andromeda is already on her way with your suit.”

“Alright.” Sure enough, inside the ship is a bathroom with its door already open.

I step inside, strip, and step into a featureless metal tube which closes behind me. A pair of footprints are painted on the ground, and a pair of handprints are painted on the wall. Whatever this is, I’m going to hate it, aren’t I? Whatever, I don’t see any controls, so I place my limbs on the prints.

The moment I do, jets of warm, soapy water slam into me from all sides. They fly over my body quickly, and my hair gets whipped around by the force. Just a few seconds later the jets pause, only to be replaced by fresh water. Another few seconds and they stop again and a great cyclone of air fills the tube, drying even my hair almost instantly.

That was awesome! Ten seconds for a shower? I need one of these in my room, and if I can’t, I’m going to shower here every day. It’s so convenient!

A small section of the tube slides open, revealing a rack with robes. I pull one on for modesty, and the shower re-opens.

“Delivery successful, your suit is waiting for you outside the door.” Andromeda chimes in. “If you require assistance, please ask. Once you have your compression suit on, please tell me and I will ensure it fits correctly.”

“Thank you.” I turn towards the door and it opens automatically. On the other side are two neatly folded piles of clothes, a helmet sitting on one, and a bag of clothes from my room? Right, underwear, I need to thank her for not going through my closet again. I grab all of them and bring them inside.

The first piece is a thick, padded bodysuit with ports built into the outside. It’s hard to shimmy into, it feels like it’s a size too small. It compresses everything, not to the point where I can’t get used to it, but it’s far from comfortable. The suit covers everything except my hands, feet, and face, and a pair of gloves and socks fixes two of those. They can go on later, and I’m not pulling the hood on yet, my hair is way too curly for that to be comfortable.

“Alright, I think it’s on.” I announce to the room, and the door opens a moment later. One of Andromeda’s featureless bodies steps into the bathroom.

“It seems to fit well.” She says.

“It’s tight, but you called it a compression suit, right? I guess it’s supposed to be that way?”

“Yes. It has a cooling and heating system built in, and high compression allows for more efficient heat transfer. I’ll make a few modifications for your comfort next time you remove it, but there’s nothing preventing you from going on this operation. Is there a problem with your gloves, boots, and hood?”

“No, I just figured I could put them on later. I’ve still got work to do on Hoppy.”

“You can work in your suit, it will be good training.”

“Fine.” I sigh. I tuck my hair as flat against my head as it’ll get, and pull up the hood to keep it there. I’m sure I look stupid, but it’s fine. The boots and gloves come on last.

“And now for the survival suit. Ensure the ports line up correctly.”

The survival suit is way closer to regular clothes. It’s still a little tight, but doesn’t make things any tighter than the compression suit does. As I slide my limbs into the suit, I feel several small clicks as the ports connect. As soon as the last one does, a pleasant coolness runs through the compression suit.

“Oh that’s nice.”

“The compression suit is rated for temperatures between 200 and -150 degrees celsius as long as the suit’s integrity is maintained. The suit can be recharged through any standard power port. The battery will last a week on a full charge at extreme temperatures, longer at more moderate ones. Please, put on your helmet so we can perform final tests.”

“How does a single suit handle that extreme of temperatures?” I pull the helmet over my head and it locks into place on its own. The entire front of the helmet is made of glass, or hopefully something more impact resistant. The same cool air that covers my body fills the helmet.

“I’ve placed the schematics in the public sector of the network. You will feel a pressure increase as I run tests.”

She doesn’t even let me respond before pumping more air into my suit. My ears pop and I have to close my eyes to stop them from hurting. Just a moment later the pressure vanishes.

“Tests successful. Releasing helmet.” Sure enough, the helmet clicks, and I reach up to take it off. “Juno is requesting your presence in the living quarters for a group meeting before arrival.”

“Great.” I still need to work on Hoppy, I really hope this doesn’t take too long. “Ok, thanks for your help.”

“Of course.” She nods and steps out of the way.

It’s a short walk through the warehouse where Exa is still working.

“Exa! Juno’s called a meeting!” I yell.

“I know! I’m already there!” She calls back.

I hurry into the living room and find everyone already huddled around the large metal table in the center of the room. A holographic version of Exa has joined Elara. Janus gives a small nod as I enter, Xenia gives a large, encouraging smile, and Graff is far more interested in the details of this operation than he is in me. All the humans and whatever Janus is are in the same suit that I am.

Juno, on the other hand, steps around the table and walks straight up to me. She reaches out to adjust my collar and smooth out a few parts of my suit. She gives a silent nod and heads back to the table.

“We’re on security detail.” Juno announces. “A local mining corp is going to be moving raw materials surfaceside. We’re here to keep things above board. Over the next few weeks ships will be landing, taking their shipment, and leaving. We stay visible, we look tough, and we keep order. In case of an attack, we’ll have advance warning. Janus and Andromeda, you’ll be running checks on every landing ship.”

“Yes ma-am.” Janus says.

“Plan in case of an attack?” Graff asks.

“The area we’re stationed in is mostly flat. You and Xenia are in the Halberd offering missile support. Focus on gravity missiles and build us some cover. We have three options from there. Fight, retreat to the dropship, or retreat into the mines and regroup. If we have time to prep, outside of the immediate area is full of meteor impacts, giving us a more dynamic combat zone. I’m taking my Rhino, Janus you’re standard. Scarlet and Exa, if your Hopper’s ready you’re with me.”

“It’s ready.” Exa confirms.

“Good. I want the two of you glued to my ass the whole time. We’ll be here for a few weeks, sleeping in the dropship, so get comfortable. Inside the mines, in the living quarters, are a few shops and a bar, but don’t forget you’re on call 24/7. Let’s move out.” Juno leads the way back into the warehouse, and I head quickly to Hoppy, sprinting up the ramp.

Exa is leaning against her, right next to the cockpit.

“Ready for this, Kid?”

I give her a serious nod.

“Good. My holo’s already in the dash.” She hauls herself up into a small compartment at the back of Hoppy’s engine compartment, a storage area for her body.

I climb into the cockpit, get myself hooked in, and start her up. I do a quick systems check while the engine warms up. A single error sits front and center on the screens.

Here’s your nonsense error to ignore.

I smile and do as Exa’s error’s command, completely ignoring it. The full system check comes back green. Every last connection, every last new part, it's all reporting perfectly. The only thing abnormal are the weapons systems, two machine guns mounted on either side of Hoppy’s torso. I'm locked out of those by Exa, which is honestly a relief.

Just a minute later, the first mech begins to make its way to the ship. Juno and Elara’s Rhino, a ten ton humanoid mech. Its left arm doesn’t end in a hand, but in a Photon Lock Shield projector, capable of projecting a rectangular shield to keep other mechs safe. The center of the shield has a weapons system built in, a single 1 cal rifle. In her right hand she carries a large sword, capable of projecting plasma along the edge, a weapon that’ll cut through both armor and a Photon Lock Shield.

Janus is next, his mech is tall and thin, with two large flat wings folded against its back. His type of mech can hover above the ground using gravity generators built into the wings, although doing so takes a sizable portion of his engine’s power output.

Graff and Xenia pass by third in their Halberd, its treads quietly rumbling the entire ship. It’s surprisingly short, even Hoppy stands over it as a mech an entire size class smaller. The engine is small, and it mostly relies on its heavily slanted armor to defect bullets instead of stopping them. Those weight savings are put to use carrying more missiles.

Finally, it's my turn. The console flashes bay 3, and the arms holding Hoppy release. Exa hands the controls over to me completely, and I stand up, carefully making my way to the drop ship. I enter the bay directly behind Juno, and more mechanical arms lock me in place.

“Hopper secure.”