Free Mecha Rogue by Brett Patton Page A

mean nothing, sir,” Mikey chimed in.
    â€œAh, so I’m ‘sir’ now. Your attitude is unbecoming Mecha Corps. I repeat, I am recommending you sit out the upcoming mission.”
    â€œSir, please!” Marjan cried.
    â€œIt is up to Major Lowell to decide on my recommendation, or to determine if you should have any additional disciplinary actions,” Colonel Cruz added. “However, my recommendation will go on record.”
    Marjan’s Demon stood and saluted Matt. Both of the giant Mechas looked down at Matt expectantly. Matt licked his lips. Could he safely leave them behind on this mission? He didn’t have enough information, beyond the enigmatic deploy-and-wait-for-more-orders instructions. But he wasn’t going to say that in front of his adepts, or in front of Cruz.
    If Cruz recommended it, he must know what to expect, Matt thought.
Or at least I hope so.
    â€œAgreed with your recommendation, Colonel,” Matt said. “As long as I can have the assurance they will be ready to back us up if needed.”
    â€œWe will hold all Mecha at readiness on final Displacement,” Cruz said. “They will be ready.”
    Matt nodded. “Agreed.”
    The two Demons stiffened, but no sound came from Peal’s slate. Their Mesh Effectiveness readings wavered, but never fell out of the eighties, as their emotions ran wild.
    â€œAcknowledge your orders, Adepts,” Cruz told them.
    â€œAcknowledged,” Mikey said.
    Several beats later, Marjan’s rough voice added his own “Acknowledged.”
    * * *
    Matt waited in his Demon, deep in the rush of Mesh. Deeper perhaps than he’d ever been before. The imaginary talons of the thing inside the Mecha scratched at the surface of his mind as the smell of dust and the prickle of static came sharply to his senses. At this point, he almost welcomed it. He had it under control.
    Maybe it’s not a ghost in the machine at all,
Matt thought. Roth insisted it was a reflection. And maybe it was—a reflection of himself.
    Matt studied the Mission Brief projected in his viewmask, searching for meaning. Nothing had been added since they deployed from Earth. It still read:
    ORIENTATION/MISSION BRIEF
    Version 0.0.1, 22.04.2322
    GENERAL INTELLIGENCE
    System 0195-GX7A-1023 is (redacted).
    ENVIRONMENT REVIEW
    Planet 5 of System 0195-GX7A-1023 is semihabitable, with a frozen surface overlaying liquid oceans beneath.
    OFFWORLD: (redacted)
    ONWORLD: (redacted)
    CURRENT SITUATION
    Developing. Union military intelligence will advise as necessary.
    OBJECTIVES
    Deploy to specified markers and await orders.
    KEY TEAM
    COLONEL Cruz, UUS Helios Strategic Command
    MAJOR Lowell, Mecha Corps Leader (Special)
    And that was it.
    Matt scanned the readings from his team. All were stable, with Mesh Effectiveness in the seventies and eighties. Marjan and Mikey were stable, not spiky at all. Was it possible they’d gotten past Cruz’s admonishment?
    I hope they see some action,
Matt thought.
    â€œPrepare for final Displacement,” Colonel Cruz said on the public channel, his voice oddly hushed.
    Matt switched the focus on his viewmask to the UUS
Helios
’s external sensors, which showed a close-packed star field with multiple tags indicating stars within one to three light-years. One of them had to be tagged 0195-GX7A-1023, but he couldn’t see it.
    The stars changed. In front of them, a star jumped to the fore, shining with pinpoint-pure white radiance. That meant they were still far out within the planetary system. Cruz was really being cautious.
    â€œHold for spectral recon,” Cruz told them on the public channel.
    Matt’s heart echoed in the gel-filled chamber of the giant Mecha, beating the seconds away. Ten, twenty, thirty. Nothing changed in the star field. No messages came from the bridge. Matt began to think this was just a formality, that they were just being overcautious.
    â€œPrep