Free Mecha Rogue by Brett Patton

while. When he did, his voice was low. “I wouldn’t change anything,” he said.
    â€œYou must have been bullied. Cut out.”
    A nod. “And worse.”
    â€œAnd you’d still choose to be genemod?” Matt pressed.
    Another nod. “We can’t move forward, just as we are.”
    Matt clenched his fists. That’s what the HuMax had thought. Dangerous thinking that had almost destroyed all of humanity.
    â€œWhat’s your gift?” Matt asked.
    â€œLongevity,” Xie said.
    Matt sucked in his breath. The holy grail of HuMax tech, the stuff people dreamed about—and would pay any amount of money for.
    â€œHow long will you live for?” Matt asked.
    Xie shook his head. “Nobody knows. Some say the HuMax could do a hundred and fifty, two hundred years. But they were cut short, weren’t they?”
    Matt nodded. On the surface, it seemed like such a trivial thing, to live longer than normal. But if it enabled Xie to continue actively learning over decades, or even hundreds of years, that was an amazing advantage. Over the long term, Xie could set himself up very, very nicely.
    Over the long term.
    â€œWhy’d you join Mecha Corps?” Matt asked.
    Xie looked confused. “What do you mean?”
    â€œYou might get killed!”
    Xie laughed. “Of course!”
    â€œI don’t get it.”
    Xie leaned forward conspiratorially. “Major, can you imagine how exciting it is to potentially snuff out a couple hundred years of life?”
    Matt shook his head. No. No, he didn’t. He didn’t even know what it meant to look forward to a few decades. Of any kind of life.
    * * *
    Matt found Marjan and Mikey in the Demon Docks, going through drills. Beneath their hulking Demons, Jahl Khoury watched readouts on a slate.
    â€œRestless?” Jahl asked as Matt walked up. The two Demons were running through simple weapons checks.
    â€œIs it safe to run the Mecha in here?” Matt asked.
    Jahl pursed his lips. “We have permission from Colonel Cruz.”
    â€œYou didn’t answer my question.”
    â€œNor did you answer mine.”
    Matt bent over the slate and studied the colorful readouts. Marjan’s and Mikey’s Mesh Effectiveness hovered in the high eighties, solid and stable.
    â€œAt least they have good control,” Matt said.
    â€œYeah, they have a synergy that almost rivals yours. Since the Merge, that is. What did you do to them back on Earth?”
    â€œJust Merged,” Matt told Jahl.
    Both Demons suddenly turned toward Matt and Jahl, hunkering down in an aggressive stance. Matt’s heart skipped a beat. From this perspective, Demons were things of nightmares.
    â€œHe did nothing,” Marjan’s voice grated from the slate. “We do this by our own hands, not this so-called Mecha superman’s.”
    â€œHe didn’t do a damn thing except ambush us,” said Mikey.
    The Demons took a step forward, their Fusion Handshake ports glowing with deadly blue power. Matt’s guts twisted in fear. Even if Mikey and Marjan’s Mesh was stable, they couldn’t control their emotions in Mesh. They might spool up, out of control.
    â€œMay I remind you that you’re addressing your commanding officer?” Jahl barked.
    â€œAn officer earns respect. He doesn’t simply command it. Isn’t that so, Major?” Marjan asked, through the comms. His Demon reached out as if to grab Matt.
    Colonel Cruz’s voice bellowed over the comms. His PERSONAL/CONFIDENTIAL icon flared on the slate. “That’s enough, Adepts! Stand down!”
    â€œThat’s not fair, we’re just having some fun!” Mikey said.
    â€œYou’ve now earned the right to sit on the bench for our upcoming exercise,” Cruz told them. “Major Lowell, I recommend you send them in only if you need assistance.”
    â€œBut, sir!” Marjan protested.
    â€œSir, we didn’t