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There’s a trick to keeping your Mech upright after being kicked by another twenty-plus tons of war machine. Swing your opposite leg back - but not too far - and then do this little hop maneuver to mitigate the inertia. Whatever; she never had mastered it.
That thought took up all the time her Hunchback had needed to fall from standing to prone. A shadow spilled over her and filled the cabin like a pool. Life support chilled the cockpit, no longer competing with the sun’s heat, as the enemy Awesome’s black silhouette towered over her. In almost slow motion it twisted a bit to the right at the waist and raised a massive fist; one especially designed for bludgeoning opponents to death. Blows fell like thunder, again and again. Storms outside her window as a child. Once the tree on her side of the house had been struck.
The front of her cockpit crumpled closer by inches with every hit. Brynna screamed. Near the end, a blow landed that shoved the console forward while her stomach stayed put. Blood splashed from her mouth onto the cockpit glass that was now pressing on her lips. As another blow started to come down, Brynna cried out.
BOOM. Boom...boom.
Brynna woke. She took heaving breaths and started to slow at the familiar smell of incense burning on the table. Low lamp light washed the room in orangy yellow.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Je-sus…” she said to herself.
The visitors opened the door and a figure on crutches spoke up. “'Ey, you awake? Damn, what the hell were you doing in here?” said the familiar voice of Kimiyo Kim.
“What’s the point of knocking, huh?” Brynna snarled and wiped at beads of sweat rolling down her temples.
A soggy pillow tagged her lancemate's face and then flopped to the floor.
“Agh! Dammit. That 's ******* gross,” Kim shouted.
* * *
“Right. Commander's in a meeting. I got you entered for eleven-hundred hours. He should be free then.”
“Yes, ma’am. We'll be back then” Brynna said to the young captain, the CO’s aide.
The CO’s office was a small room off the side of a spacious lobby of whatever this wrecked building used to be. The room was darkened by camo netting covering the windows and all along the walls were fold-out card tables. A din of male voices, Davion soldiers on tac-phones on the tables, filld the air with secret level communications. Out there, troops moved under order from these coordinations, war making stratetizations, that wove an invisible web of violent intentions over the AO. Intentions she wanted no more to do with.
It was almost a soothing drone. That's a ****** up opiate, she mused.
Brynna sat at an empty table and picked up a tac-phone receiver. She typed several series of numbers. The rubbery buttons made a heavy clicks and after a moment she got an answer.
“Yea, it’s us,” Brynna said. “Eleven-hundred hours. Yep. Yes. Roger.” Her message was off to her fellow Highlanders in the field, halfway around the planet, letting them know when to call. She wanted to relay how this upcoming meeting turned out as soon as possible. And be out of all this as soon as possible.
Brynna crossed the open lobby and stopped in front of Kim, who was sitting on the floor leaning against the wall. Her crutches leaned there too, just as lazily. She was was tearing at a food pouch with her teeth and looked up.
“What’s that?” Brynna asked. Kim kept tearing at the package.
The moment Brynna’s butt hit the floor Kim said, “Food. Free stuff. They have a bunch over there.”
“Bah…” Brynna said annoyed and began standing up again with a grunt. “Why didn’t you just say that?”
The room off the lobby was filled with free paperback books, a few empty boxes labeled “Candy”, and a few half-empty boxes filled with actual food pouches. Brynna grabbed one at random and took a quick look at the books. A smutty romance called Hanson’s Rough Riders: Soldier of Fortune - book seven of some series - looked promising. The woman on the cover was clutching desperately to a ballooned up macho man with nothing on his chest but dog tags. Brynna tucked it under her arm and returned.
She dropped onto the concrete, ruffled her dirty blonde hair and sighed heavily.
“What the **** is ‘Country Captain Chicken’ anyway?”
Kim shrugged as she used a spoon to shovel the contents of the upturned pouch into her mouth. It was better than field rations. Actually, they were field rations but somehow they tasted better at back at base.
* * *
“Denied. The both of you belong to me for another six months,” said Commander Vallice.
“Thanks; is that what a contract is? Glad you cleared that up for a dumb mercenaries. Listen,” Brynna hesitated, “You can even keep my Mech; but we’re headed home.”
“The Hunchback is a family heirloom -” Brynna started.
“Oh, yea; of course, and I can have it; just like that.” Vallice said mockingly. “You're just going to throw out your inheritance. A soldier of fortune without a fortune is just a soldier and that's what I need right now. Why would I buy you out for a few million when I need asses in cockpits?”
Brynna closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
“How many mercenaries do you know know personally. And alive?”
“Well,” Vallice trailed off.
“How about missions logged? I’m sure you don’t lead MechWarriors without having some time under your belt -” Kim started. She was interrupted by a fit of wet coughing. She turned away to muffle the noise.
“Yeah; combat time,” Brynna added.
“Five combat missions,” Vallice said. An air of pride was unmistakable in his voice.
“Nineteen,” Brynna said.
“Fifteen,” Kim said, dabbing her lips with a handkerchief. It was almost a dainty movement reminiscent of when women were thought of as weak objects. Not like this day in age. The handkerchief was wet with blood. Beneath Kim's canvas jacket, visible slightly underneath her shirt, a mass of bandages wrapped her stomach, securely holding her guts in.
That could have been me, Brynna thought. A horrible thing to think about her best friend. They had to get out.
Most MechWarriors died in combat. The rest retired early from related injuries. That was a fact that was romanticized in film and was the source of their great respect. MechWarriors performed a highly specialized and brutal service but it was a mighty lucrative occupation. A handful of successful missions was enough for any MechWarrior to call it a successful career and retire comfortably. But romance of war wasn't just for the audience. Even pilots get caught up in it. They are always "just one more" drop away from ending it all.
“Is that...?” Vallice said.
“Possible? The last four missions were under your command, sir,” Brynna paused to compose herself.
Vallice was silent a moment. He rubbed at his chin and finally turned to Kim.
“And I can keep yours too?”
“No, sir. Mine is signed out to me. Company property,” she said, clearing her throat and taking a calming breath.
Vallice indulged in another moment of silence.
“I had no idea,” he finally said. “I've always wanted to command. I needed combat time for that, as you pointed out. After my five, I wanted it even more."
“So you could get away,” Brynna said.
The commander stood from his desk, “I apologize. I am proud to have served with you. I will sign these immediately.”
He stuck out his hand. Brynna stood and shook. Kim shook with Vallice as well. .
Boom...boom...boom.
Brynna and Kim flinched in unison. The door opened.
“Commander, your eleven-fifteen hour meeting is here,” said the CO's aide.
“Thank you. We’re almost finished. And, Becker.”
"Yes, sir?"
"You've been doing good work out there."
As the aide hesitated and just nodded. The door shut and the tac-phone on the commander’s desk rang with a muted tone.
“Excuse me,” Vallice said, as he picked up the receiver.
Brynna turned to Kim.
“At least he's learning. Hey, you okay?”
“Yeah; just walked a bit too much coming here. It was probably that Country Captain Chicken,” she said.
Brynna stared.
“What?” said Kim.
“Weak. I don’t know how you lived either,” Brynna joked
The commander cleared his throat to get the women’s attention.
“It’s for you,” he said.
“I know; er, thank you, sir,” said Brynna taking the receiver. “Allen, you there? He said we’re good to go. We’ll be back with you in about an hour.”
The voice on the other side simply replied, “Roger that. Welcome home, Highlander.”
On the jeep ride to the airfield, Brynna read and reread the heading on the papers she held.
Termination of Contract.
Edited by TygerLily, 19 August 2019 - 09:47 AM.
