by Greg Sorber
“Agreed,” Therapy said.
“Misty, do you want me to deploy the security bots throughout the base?” Dennis asked.
“No, leave them where they are. We need to have all our cards on the table. We’ve got one big strike against us already: we don’t need any others.”
The Imperium Assault Lander completed its landing sequence and settled on to the Landing Pad. The troop deployment ramp lowered with a loud clang. A dozen Imperium soldiers filed out and formed up on either side of the ramp. They held their weapons at the ready. Misty sensed that Dennis was on edge. She waved one hand behind her back, signaling for him to stay calm.
A tall man with an athletic build and short-cropped gray hair, wearing the formal crimson and gold Imperium uniform, walked down the ramp. “Major Marissa Durham?” he asked.
“Present,” Misty said. She cringed at the use of her rank and her full name. She could only imagine the chuckles Dennis and Ajax were going to have at her expense; she’d never told them her real first name.
“You may approach,” the man said.
Misty stepped forward, motioning for Dennis, Ajax, and Therapy to follow.
“Just you,” the official clarified.
Misty walked as slow and confident as she could. She made a slight bow to the official. He wasn’t in her chain of command, so didn’t feel a salute was in order. If she remembered her lessons on Imperium protocol, they considered a slight bow, respectful enough to avoid offense prior to titles and ranks being established.
“I’m Misty Durham. Who are you?”
The official cleared his throat and said, “I am Praefect Nero Valtoré of the Imperium. I am here to inspect this facility.”
“Welcome to Mechhaven, Praefect Valtoré. May I ask the reason for your visit?”
“The Imperium need not give you a reason,” Praefect Valtoré said. “It’s in the Rybeth Accords that signatories may call for an inspection any time, and for any reason.”
“True enough.” Misty said. “You have notified the other signatories of this inspection? Or shall I notify them via the Retroactive Notification Protocol?”
“You do whatever you need to do. My inspection team will check the buildings. You and I will inspect the bots. Your staff shall remain here and not interfere. Understood?”
“You mean mechs, right?”
“Mechs, bots, mechanai, whatever you want to call them. We will inspect them now.”
He pressed a button on the communication link on his wrist, and a moment later, additional soldiers exited the ramp. Misty counted ten. These soldiers were packing even more weapons than the guards who’d first exited the lander.
Therapy joined Misty at her side. “Praefect Valtoré, we must object. The protocols for inspections allow a few staff members and bodyguards, however, the number of soldiers exiting your ship violates both the letter and spirit of the Accords.”
Praefect Valtoré glared at Therapy. “In the Imperium we have a saying: Mechanai provisio et silencio... mechs should be seen and not heard.” He reached down and pressed a button on a device on his arm. Therapy crumbled to the ground.
“What the hell did you just do to my liaison to the ACC?” Misty asked.
“I’m keeping him out of trouble,” Praefect Valtoré said. “If he’d kept interrupting me, I may have done something more drastic. Now, let us proceed with the inspection.”
These were not diplomatic inspectors: these were Imperium special operations soldiers. Misty glanced at Dennis, who was bristling. They were seriously outgunned. Misty didn’t like where this was going. She shook her head. Dennis needed to stay calm. There was nothing they could do but let this play out.
Misty followed the Imperium official as he strode to the mechs standing in formation.
“An interesting collection of mechanai you have here,” Praefect Valtoré said.
“If you say so,” Misty said.
Praefect Valtoré said, “I see a motley collection from the Alliance of Independent Systems, TexaNova, the Arcturan Monarchies, and even a handful from the Imperium on one side. I find it interesting they aren’t together with the others from the Imperium per the protocols.” He made a notation on a datapad. “On the other side, although they lack their weapons and armor, I see pristine, impressive legionnaires, looking almost as good as the day they left the Imperium.”
He proceeded to walk up and down the ranks, checking each mech against a list on his datapad.
“CVN-862, a converter. How rare,” he said when he stepped in front of Connie. “Is your ability to convert limited?”
“It is,” Connie replied.
“Such a waste of technology,” Praefect Valtoré said. “It’s a shame the Imperium never perfected converters of our own. The AOIS has no use for you in the core systems?”
Valtoré didn’t wait for an answer and moved on to the next mech.
“LNCR-1121, former-honor guard of King Servier. What a joy to see you here. Did your cowardly king no longer have a use for you?” Valtoré asked. He turned his head and spat on the ground near Lancer’s feet.
Misty recalled that many in the Imperium believed they could have won the war, instead of settling for a stalemate if their allies in the Arcturan Monarchies hadn’t lost their will to fight and started peace talks. That betrayal would haunt King Servier and his people for many years to come.
To his credit, Lancer didn’t move or say a word. His discipline was legendary, and he was aware of what was at stake.
Praefect Valtoré finished with the first group of mechs and paused. He stared up at Bastion, standing between the groups. “That is an impressive mechanai!” he said. “The Beast of Belacor! We created too few of your kind. Had we made more, perhaps the outcome of the war would’ve been different.”
“Here, we just call him Bastion,” Misty said.
Ignoring Misty, Praefect Valtoré turned and marveled at the mechs from the Legion. There was a sense of pride in his face. They looked impressive. Except for Gladius and Brutus, all the others were identical and stood in perfect ranks. Since they kept to themselves, Misty couldn’t get a sense of their personalities, which made it difficult for her to give them proper names. She was working on a plan to identify them individually and just needed to get Gladius to buy into it. That would have to wait.
“Mechanai Legionnaire 12901, step forward,” Praefect Valtoré said.
Gladius stepped forward and stood in front of the Praefect and Misty.
“You are impressive, mechanai, ML-12901,” Praefect Valtoré said as he read from his datapad, “and I see you served us well at the Decimation of Haldor-5.”
Misty winced. Outside of the Imperium, The Decimation of Haldor-5 was known as the Massacre of Haldor-5. It hadn’t been a battle; it was a slaughter, and the Imperium murdered far more than a tenth of the population that day. The death toll was much closer to fifty percent, according to all legitimate accounts. It was one of the last major battles of the war. After, King Servier went against his allies and began peace talks with the Alliance of the Independent Systems and the Republic of TexaNova.
“They call you Gladius here?” Praefect Valtoré asked. “A fitting name, but childish.” He looked at Misty. She shrugged.
He turned his attention to Brutus and said, “Mechanai Legionnaire 22875, step forward.”
Brutus stepped forward and stood next to Gladius. “You served us honorably for many years as well. It’s a shame you and your comrades exiled yourselves to this barren rock. But such is the life of soldiers when they are no longer needed. They become a liability rather than an asset. Perhaps one day the Imperium will call you into service again.”
Misty cleared her throat. “Let’s hope not. The whole point of Mechhaven is to give mechs a place to find peace and solitude. The war is over. We all need to find respite and heal.”
Praefect Valtoré turned to Misty and said, “You are not a warrior. I’m sure they would rather die a glorious death in battle than decay into nothingness
here.”
“Everyone is here by choice, Praefect.”
“Speaking of which, there is one mechanai unaccounted for. A recent arrival. An Archangel model, I believe. Where is it?”
“Angel?” Misty asked.
“You give these machines of death and destruction names as if they are pets.” Praefect Valtoré shook his head. “Where is this Archangel?”
“I don’t know where he is. He wasn’t acting himself. He sustained a lot of damage when he arrived. You can try the Repair Module. That was the last place I saw him.” When she said the word damage, there was a gleam in the Praefect’s eyes.
Praefect Valtoré spoke into his communicator and received a quick reply. “It is not where you say. Are you hiding it?”
“If he is not there, then I don’t know where he is. Why are you so interested in him?”
“I’m under no obligation to explain myself to you. You, however, are required to present it to me, or you will be in violation of the Accords.”
He was right. But she’d play dumb for as long as she could. Sly better have found Angel a suitable hiding place.
“I’m here,” Angel said as he stepped out from behind a stack of empty cargo containers on the edge of the Landing Pad. Several of the special operations soldiers surrounded him, their weapons drawn. Angel placed his hands in the air.
“What is the meaning of this?” Misty asked. Why the hell wasn’t Angel hiding?
“It was illegally operating inside Imperium space,” Praefect Valtoré said, “and we intend to take it into custody, to prove that the Alliance of Independent Systems has violated the Rybeth Accords.”
Oh shit, Misty thought. This is the reason there should always be two signatories present at inspections.
“It doesn’t matter what he’s done prior to his arrival on Mechhaven. He invoked Pax Machina. It clears any previous deeds. He’s off the board, no longer a combatant. Leave him in peace, or you will be in violation of the Rybeth Accords.”
“I beg to differ. He will come peacefully now or he will leave in pieces.”
“I don’t like threats,” Misty said, “and you’re talking about taking an advanced war machine in to custody. Do you think you and your men can just take him?”
“Thanks to the power siphons your mechanic put on him, I think our chances are excellent,” Praefect Valtoré said.
Misty cringed at his gloating. The special operations soldiers were packing some heavy firepower. She wasn’t aware of Angel’s full capabilities, but the power siphons had reduced his power levels to the point where he couldn’t access his weapons and defensive systems. Maybe he could take out some of the soldiers, but with their numbers and firepower, the Imperium soldiers might be able capture or destroy him.
“No. You will not take him,” Misty said.
“How do you intend to stop me?” Praefect Valtoré asked.
Misty looked all around her. She flipped on her communicator, set it to broadcast to all, and said, “Mechs of Mechhaven, all of you declared Pax Machina, and were granted amnesty for your actions during the war. Mechhaven is your sanctuary. Will you let this man violate the Accords and remove one of your own?”
There was chatter among the mechs as they moved their heads, confirming with one another. They all shouted “No!”
They broke ranks and surrounded Angel, and the soldiers detaining him.
Misty nodded to Dennis. He was already pressing codes on his comm device, activating the security bots. They dispersed, surrounding the lander and guards. One even had a rocket launcher aimed at the lander. Where did a security bot get a rocket launcher? Was anybody following the rules?
Praefect Valtoré laughed. “So, this is how you want it to be?” he asked. “Well, I can play that game too.” He turned to the formation of legionnaires and shouted, “Mechanai! Serve the Imperium now as you did in the past!” As he said the words, all the legionnaire’s ocular sensors glowed a bright yellow.
Oh, no. Was their programming that deep? Did they have some backdoor failsafe installed in their base memory core? Or were they just that loyal to the Imperium?
“WHAT ARE YOUR ORDERS?” they asked in robotic unison.
“Take the Archangel into custody. Dead or alive. Destroy anything that gets in your way.”
“AUTHORIZATION CODE?” they again asked in unison.
Praefect Valtoré looked back at Misty and smiled, proud that he’d outplayed her. “Authorization Ultimus Extumus!”
Misty’s heart caught in her chest. The destruction that would come from a pitched battle between the mechs, even unarmed, would be devastating. Throw in soldiers with weapons and the results would be tragic. Nothing would ever be the same. Instead of attacking, however, the brightly lit ocular sensors of the Legion faded back to normal. Instead of taking custody of Angel, they took a step back.
Praefect Valtoré stood, aghast. “Mechanai, do as I command!”
Gladius stared down at Praefect Valtoré. “We no longer serve the Imperium, willingly or unwillingly. If you want the Archangel, you must take him yourself.”
Misty exhaled a sigh of relief.
To Misty, Gladius said, “I hope your Angel is worth this.”
Misty then turned to Praefect Valtoré and said, “take your men and leave this place. I will report all of this to the ACC. I suspect this is not an authorized inspection—”
“This is not the end, Major Durham. You’ve made a serious mistake, and there will be consequences for you, your staff, and the mechanai, especially the traitorous ones.” He glared at Gladius and spat. “Perhaps she named the wrong one Brutus.”
“Leave now. Don’t come back,” Misty said through clenched teeth. To the others, she shouted, “Don’t get in their way. Let them leave.”
The Imperium soldiers and Praefect Valtoré didn’t waste any time boarding the landing craft and taking off. Misty was sure she hadn’t heard the end of this. Her first order of business was getting Therapy back up and running so they could file an official complaint. Then she needed to check on Angel and the rest of the mechs. Several explosions interrupted Misty’s thoughts. The explosions came from multiple locations around the Main Compound.
Oh great, what now?
Chapter Eight
Archivist Horatio Academica’s position on Sub-Archivist Juliet Montero’s testimony.
Stipulating that hostilities began on Feron-1 is not the same as agreeing to the cause of hostilities. The Imperium vehemently disagrees with Sub-Archivist Montero’s assertions that Imperium colonists caused the TexaNovan colonists to flee. Her ties to Feron-1 make her a less than ideal witness and invalidates her testimony. The emotion shown by Archivist De Robinet is unprofessional. I must invoke Article 347, section d, paragraph 4 of the Archivist Charter and ask that additional testimony from a less biased and more senior Archivist be submitted.
Archivist Horatio Academica
The Imperium
“Did they just fire on us?” Misty asked.
“No,” Dennis said, “we were all watching their ship take off. Those were planted explosives.”
“That’s what I was afraid of. While Praefect Valtoré kept us occupied here, the rest of his soldiers set explosives around the Main Compound. I hope that’s all they did.”
All the mechs, including the Legion, had their ocular sensors on her. This was her moment. She had to hold it together, or she would lose all the respect she’d spent the last three years earning. She was the leader of this ragtag bunch, and she had to live up to that responsibility.
“I need a sector-by-sector analysis of the damage caused by those explosions,” Misty said. She chose action over indecision. “Find out if they were distractions, or if they caused any actual damage. Dennis, you lead the effort.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Dennis evaluated the assembled mechs. “Bastion and Connie recon Sector One. Lancer, Artie, and Larry, scout Sector Two. Sparky, Flint, and Volley, find out what happened in Sector Three. Check in with me at the Command
Center as soon as you have anything to report. The rest of you head back to your quarters, but contact me if you notice anything unusual.”
Misty found Gladius and Brutus standing by, waiting for her orders. “Return to the Foundry. I didn’t hear any explosions from that direction, but make sure everything is in order. If you discover anything different, let me know.”
Gladius said nothing, just nodded, faced the Legion, and shouted his commands. As if they were one organism, they made a left face and began marching back towards the Foundry.
When the Legion had departed, she looked at Ajax and Doc and said, “Take Therapy to the Repair Module. Figure out what Valtoré did to him and get him functioning. We need his expertise with the ACC. We’re filing complaints ASAP and he’s the best one to help me.”
Doc picked up Therapy’s body and carried him to the Repair Module.
“Misty. I’m not sure what Praefect Valtoré used on him, but I’ll figure out how to get him functional again,” Ajax said.
“Make it quick, I need his expertise.”
That left one more item to deal with. Angel was the only mech remaining within earshot. She walked up to him, looked up into his face, and pointed her finger at him. “You! The signatories of the Accords ignored Mechhaven for over three years. Other than routine correspondence with the ACC, we’ve had no contact with any of them. Then, just days after you arrived, an Imperium inspection team shows up. That’s not a coincidence.”
Angel lowered his head. Instead of hiding his ocular sensors from her, they lined up directly with her eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to cause any trouble.”
“What you wanted has nothing to do with reality, does it? With all that went down, I’ll be lucky if I only lose my job and don’t end up in prison. I need details.”
“That wasn’t just an Imperium inspection team.”
“I think that’s obvious,” Misty said. “Give me some actionable intel.”
“Some of them were Imperium mech hunters, and I was their target.”