Pax Machina (Mechhaven Book 1)

by Greg Sorber

  “I see your point. I declared Pax Machina, and I need your help. Something happened to me, and it damaged my memory matrix. I cannot access my most recent memories.”

  Misty groaned. “Therapy will not like this. Ajax, do you have any ideas?”

  “No. He can stay here until we figure something out.”

  “You’re damn straight he’ll stay here. Hell, I’m not even sure if I can submit his asylum request with this lack of information.”

  “We’ll think of something. We always—”

  “Wait a second,” Misty interrupted. “I have an idea. If Angel can receive power via conduction, perhaps you can install a device to siphon off his power and prevent additional power from being absorbed. Do you think that would work?”

  “So, it’s Angel then?” Ajax asked.

  “Yep.”

  “That was quick.”

  “Sometimes they just come to me. Now, about my idea?”

  Ajax rubbed his chin. “It’s hard to say how it will affect his other systems. It might divert enough power to keep any primary weapons from activating. But based on these power readings, it will take multiple siphons to drain enough power. What do you think, Angel?”

  The mech looked confused. “Angel?”

  “Misty gives every mech a new name when they arrive. Official designations are too complicated for normal conversation.”

  “Why Angel?” Angel asked.

  “You’re an Archangel, right?” Misty raised an eyebrow. “Plus, I saw something last night after you crashed. An image, burned into my vision.”

  “Do I have a choice? It’s my name, right?”

  “Nope,” Ajax blurted. That conversation never ended well. “My actual name is Alejandro Javier Antonio Ximenez. Misty shortened it to Ajax.”

  “Then Angel is acceptable.”

  “Now, about Misty’s idea. Will it work?” Ajax asked.

  “While I can’t disclose specifics about my systems, your idea has merit. My power capacity will be higher than any other mech you’ve seen. I don’t know how much power you’ll need to reduce to disable my systems.”

  Misty walked to the door. “Ajax, I’ll leave the details to you. I need to catch a few hours of sleep before I meet with Therapy. With all the missing fields in Angel’s request, it won’t be a pleasant meeting.”

  “It’s okay, Misty. We’ll figure this out. Then tomorrow, after hours, I’ll take Angel to The Black Hole and show him around.”

  He didn’t mention Dennis, but it stung regardless.

  “You do that. I’ll need a report on how many power siphons you use and what type of readings you get. Remember, he can’t access any of his weapons or defensive systems.”

  “I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.”

  Misty pointed to her face. “Do I look worried?” she asked.

  “No, ma’am.”

  “Just get right on it.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Oh, you still owe me an update on that special project we’ve been working on. Where are you with that?”

  “Things are coming along. Dennis traded with Chuck for some components we needed. Now we need to install them. He can update you when we finish.”

  “I don’t want to hear from him. You tell me when it’s done.”

  “Sure thing, Misty. I’ll let you know.”

  After Misty exited the DECOM Module, Ajax turned to Angel and said, “There’s a bit of history between her and Dennis. She doesn’t even acknowledge his existence right now.”

  “To mechs, human relationships make little sense,” Angel said.

  “They make little sense to me, and I’m human. Of the three humans on Mechhaven, two haven’t been on speaking terms for the better part of a month. It gets quite awkward sometimes. I hope they come to their senses soon.”

  “What caused the problem?”

  “Hmm… it’s complicated, but in short, Dennis was stupid. He didn’t take into consideration how Misty interpreted his words and actions. That led to a major misunderstanding. He’s a great guy, all things considered, but you can judge for yourself. I’ll introduce you to him after work hours tomorrow afternoon.”

  Ajax rummaged around the workbench until he found the device he was wanted. “Okay, enough small talk. We need to figure out how to siphon enough of your power so you can’t access your weapons systems.”

  “I’ll apologize in advance; I won’t be much help, since I can’t disclose any specific data on my systems,” Angel said.

  “It’s strange that you can’t share any information, since you’ve declared Pax Machina. Maybe after Misty transmits the request, we’ll receive some additional data on your specs.”

  “Perhaps, but the technologies developed during the Archangel program are still classified, so I wouldn’t count on it.”

  “When I rebooted you, it wreaked havoc on our systems, but I collected some baseline power readings. That should help me figure out what levels to set siphons to.”

  Ajax fiddled with a small round device and approached Angel. “You don’t have automated defenses that will blow me up when I attach this to you, do you?”

  “I will try to suppress all defensive measures.”

  “Yes, please.” Ajax took a deep breath. “Here goes nothing.” He affixed the device to Angel’s chest. “I’m still in once piece, so no automated defenses triggered. Can you tell me the status of your power levels?”

  “My power levels have decreased. All systems remain in the optimal range, with no noticeable degradation in my capabilities.”

  Ajax opened another drawer and pulled out more power siphons. “Let’s add another.”

  After affixing the second power siphon, he asked, “Status?”

  “Power decreased to sub-optimal levels; however, all systems are still functional.”

  “Let’s try another.” Ajax said. He added another power siphon. “Any changes?”

  This time there was a momentary delay. “My power levels have decreased and all systems have degraded. Most weapons and defensive systems are no longer functional.”

  “Most?” Ajax asked.

  “Some systems remain operational.”

  “One more should do it,” Ajax said. He affixed another power siphon. He didn’t have to ask about the status. Angel’s head slumped. He was offline. “Oops. Guess that may have overdone it a bit.”

  Ajax adjusted the final power siphon. Angel’s optical sensors lit up, showing that he was coming back online.

  “And your power status, now?”

  Even slower than before, Angel said, “all of my offensive and defensive weapons systems are now inactive. I cannot access any of those systems. This feels weird.”

  “That’s not surprising. Your systems are accustomed to receiving full power and running at optimal settings. You can only access a fraction of your power. Your systems will have to re-prioritize power distribution. It may take a little while for you to acclimatize to this unfamiliar state.”

  “I hope this place is worth it.”

  “It is, trust me. Once I wrap things up here we’ll go to The Black Hole and I’ll introduce you to Dennis and any of the mechs hanging out. Dennis can whip up a concoction that will make you feel much better.”

  Chapter Three

  Excerpt from Archivist Horatio Academica’s response to Head-Archivist Singh’s opening address to the Conclave

  It is well known that our governments are not on the best of terms, yet the Imperium agrees with Archivist De Robinet’s proposal to delay the Conclave for five more years. All of our star systems are attempting to return to normalcy, and we should focus our combined efforts on that goal. This body professes to be unbiased, yet emotions still run strong. Our judgment is clouded. Five more years will give us all a more neutral perspective.

  Archivist Horatio Academica

  The Imperium

  Mornings on Mechhaven were cold, dark, and dreary affairs. The thin atmosphere and distant star didn’t produce the opt
imal conditions for beautiful sunrises or sunsets. Days transitioned from dark to gloomy to overcast and back to dark again. If you preferred stark, barren worlds, Mechhaven was your planetoid. It wasn’t all dreadful. In terms of star-gazing, the nights were magnificent.

  Misty woke before dawn, a habit long ingrained from her military career, especially when she needed to accomplish something, such as completing her reports for Therapy. She dressed in her standard gray coveralls, the same pair she’d worn the previous night. A swift kick launched the slime-crusted coveralls from the day before into the corner. She’d have to do something about those—and the smell—later. Her incinerator idea was becoming ever more appealing.

  She checked her communicator; Therapy was still in standby mode. Good. That gave her a chance to swing by the Repair Module to check on Artie. With all the commotion surrounding Angel’s arrival, she was afraid Ajax may have forgotten about the wobbly mech. After Artie, she would visit Aquaponics. Since Mechhaven didn’t have any native natural beauty, she’d created a little of her own.

  The Repair Module sat next to the DECOM Module to facilitate equipment sharing between the two buildings. The DECOM Module was where Ajax removed weapons from the mechs and disabled other military capabilities. In the Repair Module, he fixed unexpected problems and performed routine maintenance. Powdery dust and sharp grit from the planetoid’s eroded soil added to the wear and tear of the mechs and kept Ajax busy. She might have to recruit some extra help for Ajax soon.

  The Repair Module was dark when she entered, but sensors triggered automated lights, and the room was lit within seconds. Artie lay on an inclined repair lift. His optical sensors came to life moments after the lights activated.

  He sprang to his feet as soon as he saw Misty. The mech wobbled, almost falling. If Misty wasn’t already aware of the situation, she’d swear that he was drunk. She’d seen stranger things. Artie recovered and saluted. “ART-E 507 reporting as ordered, ma’am.”

  Misty twisted, looking over both shoulders. Then she looked up at the mech. “Who are you calling ma’am? I don’t see my mother anywhere around here. And stop with the saluting stuff, you aren’t in the military anymore.”

  “I’m from TexaNova, ma’am. Politeness is as much a part of me as combat ballistics.”

  Misty smiled. “I’ll forgive you for the politeness, but no more saluting, okay?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” ART-E 507 said.

  “I wouldn’t have guessed you were from TexaNova, with your red and blue paint scheme, and that big white star on your chest. It looks sharp.”

  “Thank you, ma’am. We’re proud of our colors.”

  “You can call me Misty. Everyone else does. I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but I give all the mechs here new names. ART-E 507 is just too much of a mouthful for me. How about we just call you Artie?”

  “Well, ma’am—I mean Misty. I’m fine with that, if it suits you?”

  “Artie, it suits me just fine. We all get to start over. A new name helps with that process.”

  “Thank you, Misty, I appreciate your thoughtfulness.”

  All this politeness was a pleasant change of pace. Artie’s attitude was better than many mechs and people she knew.

  “Misty, is there any hope for me?” Artie asked. “I’ve been very clumsy since DECOM.”

  Misty patted Artie on the arm. “I came to check up on you. A new mech arrived last night. It took most of my and Ajax’s attention. I’m sure he’ll be by this morning to work on recalibrating your primary compensator.”

  “Oh yes, I heard about the Archangel-777,” Artie said. “Very sleek, very fancy. There were some Archangels at the Battle of Frangellan-7. They made the Imperium mechs look like the chumps.”

  “How did you hear about the Archangel?” Ajax better not have posted the footage.

  “It was on the internal network. I found some security bot footage posted there. I was browsing for the videos of security bots chasing xenrats that Larry messaged me about. The Archangel footage popped up during my search. Very mysterious, if I don’t say so myself, ma’am.”

  “Thanks for letting me know.” She sighed. If the footage was on the network, Therapy would be finding out about it any time now.

  Except for the hangars, the original engineers constructed the buildings on Mechhaven from leftover SeroCorp cargo modules. The modules were left over from the initial shipments of supplies delivered to make Mechhaven operational. SeroCorp, the company contracted to set up Mechhaven, found it too costly to return the empty containers back to the core systems, so Misty’s predecessor authorized using the discarded containers for construction.

  Mechhaven received several more containers each year with supply shipments. Dennis, Ajax and the mechs used them to expand existing buildings and create new structures. Dennis and Ajax scavenged the more complex parts from the self-landing variety to use on a variety of other projects.

  There was a contingent of mechs who enjoyed painting over the SeroCorp logos. They even competed for who would get the honor of painting over the next batch. The company was despised by the mechs. SeroCorp was known for installing inhibitor chips in all of their mechs and didn’t allow them to declare Pax Machina. The business entities that made up the Corporate Protectorate and the worlds they owned were not covered by the Accords.

  One of Misty’s first projects after she arrived on Mechhaven was combining three cargo modules into one to house the Aquaponics system. She installed high wattage lights to counteract the short days and lengthy periods of low light on the planetoid. This helped to speed up the growing cycle for her plants. She also connected pipes into their water supply and brought in various sized tubs to hold the water and soil. Misty pulled some strings to bring in enough soil from her home world to jumpstart some wicking beds. Aquaponics was her small slice of paradise.

  The regulation rations they received from the four signatory governments kept a person alive, but lacked variety. The blandness and sheer monotony of consuming the same meals, day after day, crushed a person’s soul. Misty remembered being raised on Quandar-4, an agricultural hub. Growing food was in her blood. Aquaponics was her pet project, in part because she enjoyed it, but since the limited native flora and fauna on Mechhaven was inedible, getting real nutritional food into their diets was essential. Starting and ending her day in the Aquaponics Module was one of the few pleasures Misty enjoyed on Mechhaven. The smells and vitality of organic life were invigorating. On a world full of dirt, rocks, ore, and mechs, biological life was in limited supply. She didn’t count the xenrats, growlings, or other insect-like pests.

  One resource that was easy to come by was water. During its formation, an icy comet had struck M3CH-VN. The collision resulted in permanent ice caps on the north and south poles, and pockets of ice scattered throughout the planetoid. Extracting water was as simple as drilling a well. The water itself was as pure as anything found on other habitable planets. The only downside was that the dust and minerals from the planetoid gave the water a bitter taste, but it only required minimal processing to make it palatable for human consumption.

  Misty assigned Ajax and Dennis to support her with Aquaponics duties, but as good as Ajax was with mechs, that skill didn’t translate to vegetation. As for Dennis, after the stunt he’d pulled, he was avoiding her at all costs. She was just fine with that. She didn’t want to see him, anyway.

  Misty sprinkled a packet of nutrient pellets into one of the water-filled pools. In a frenzy, fish bobbed to the surface to consume their meal. She checked the supply of pellets. There were plenty remaining, but they’d reached the level marked in the container, which served as a reminder that it was time to reorder. Living on the fringe of civilized space made one cautious about keeping reserve supplies stocked. As a former logistics officer, Misty knew all too well how easy it was to disrupt supply lines. She made a mental note to contact Chuck and add nutrient pellets to her next shipment.

  The alien was Misty’s primary contact outside of the
AOIS for supplies. Chuck had contacts for everything. He had a knack for coming across hard to find supplies. He wasn’t cheap, but he was reliable. On Mechhaven, they didn’t always have everything they wanted, but they had most of what they needed. Misty remembered that she needed to remind Chuck to decontaminate his ship of xenrats before landing on her planetoid again.

  The Aquaponics system fascinated Misty. Fish swam in tanks of water where their waste fertilized the plants. Plants helped filter the waste and keep the water clean for the fish. She harvested a fish or two every few weeks to add extra protein to their diets and reduce overcrowding in the tanks. Getting plants to Mechhaven was easy: seeds were light, compact and easy to transport. Live fish, not so much. That was another service Chuck provided. Now that there were enough fish, they reproduced on their own, an important step for Mechhaven’s long-term sustainability.

  After feeding the fish, Misty checked the vegetables and greens, inspecting them for growth and to make sure no pests brought disease into the system. If any were ready for harvest, she’d pick them and they would become part of the evening’s meal. She planned to share the harvest with Ajax when he finished with Artie. Otherwise, she would eat on her own. Dennis would skulk in and claim his share, but he had avoided her for the better part of a month. He was smart, keeping out of her way. She hadn’t forgotten what he’d done.

  She checked on the sweet potatoes after the greens. They weren’t ready yet. She needed to wait a few more days to harvest them before she could indulge in their tasty goodness. She deposited the greens she’d harvested into a cooler to keep them fresh until she picked them up on her way to the galley. With her chores complete, she sat on a stool she kept nearby, took a deep breath, and focused on the relaxing sounds of the running water flowing through the tanks and the fans circulating the air.

  Misty dropped off the greens in the Galley Module. She checked her communicator. It was time to meet with Therapy. She entered several last-minute details to Angel’s asylum documentation. When she was ready, she strode across the Main Compound to the Command Center. It was a quick walk, but allowed her a few moments to clear her mind. She wasn’t usually nervous when processing new mechs. But this one—Angel. There was something peculiar about him. Perhaps because he survived a crash that would have destroyed most mechs, or because she watched the damaged mech repair himself while he was unconscious. She wasn’t certain how Therapy would react, and by extension, how the Accords Compliance Committee would respond.