Mech 3: The Empress

by B. V. Larson

  The fight was chaotic. The naturally cold, dark environment was frequently altered by glaring flashes of heat, light and scalding vapors. Soon, the number of flashes fell off rapidly, as the dead mechs piled up. A moment later the humans realized they had won.

  Nina was not finished, however. She rode her mount to every mech and examined it. She thrust her blade into the guts of any machine that dared twitch, and many that did not. Aldo followed at a safe distance.

  “We’ve won, Baroness.”

  “No, we’ve won nothing.”

  Aldo cocked his head puzzledly. “In my opinion, any battle which leaves me breathing is a clear victory.”

  Nina glanced over her shoulder at him. She held her sword over a fallen mech, but withheld her killing stroke for the moment. “I’m looking for a certain mech—one that dresses like a man. He’s not here.”

  Aldo nodded and glided closer. Nina turned to her grim work, lifting her blade.

  Suddenly, the mech’s gripper shot up and grabbed her ankle, and pulled. She was ripped her from her mount. She went sprawling.

  The perrupter was missing its legs, but it was still capable of moving. It heaved itself up and lunged for her. A gripper rose and fell, and sparks exploded from the spot where it smashed into stones. Nina scrambled to escape, crawling away from the thing. She reached for her sword, but then it fell upon her.

  Nina screamed as it crushed her down with its body. It stiffened a moment later, and warm liquids bubbled out of it. The mech stopped moving.

  Aldo peeked over its shoulder, looking down into the face of the Baroness, who panted raggedly under the mech. “Are you all right?” he asked mildly.

  Nina struggled, but could not escape from the dead mech, due to its great weight. Several knights had to help free her in the end, lifting and rolling away the body.

  “It leaked its brain fluids all over me,” she said disgustedly as she got back to her feet and limped to her mount, which idled nearby. “Did you have to thrust your blade completely through its body?”

  Aldo pursed his lips in annoyance. “Perhaps I should have let it have its way with you.”

  She turned and glared at him, then finally sighed and climbed back into her saddle. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I thank you for slaying the rebel.”

  Aldo nodded and said no more about it. He sensed that apologies did not come naturally to the Baroness—nor to anyone else on Ignis Glace, for that matter.

  “Where are we headed now?” he asked later. He noticed that she now allowed him to ride alongside, rather than always shying away. It was a subtle improvement of mood, but one worth noting. He calculated that if he were perhaps afforded the opportunity to save her life a dozen times more, he might be back in her good graces.

  “We are going toward that great geyser. The tracks lead straight toward it. I believe they plan to hide from our sensors there. The clouds are constant and no electronics could pick out their heat signatures in that region.”

  “What if they are hiding there? Waiting to ambush as this group did?”

  “Then we root them out and destroy them all,” she said in a tone that indicated he’d asked a senseless question.

  Aldo followed her without comment. One day out of the three he’d agreed to go along with this hunt had passed. They’d found and destroyed an enemy patrol, but he was less confident than ever after the experience. The small victory had been costly. He had no idea how the battle would go when they faced thousands of these tenacious machines.

  #

  Word of the destruction of his rearguard came to Sixty-Two as he stood gawking at Lizett and the man who called himself Ornth. He was goaded to a decision then, as the enemy were much closer than he had thought possible. There was only one reason they would attack now—they felt they had the advantage. There had to be a vast army of them.

  Sixty-Two swiveled his head to the left and the right. The rim of the crater stretched on for miles. There was no cover, no fortress of stone to take and defend. Then he turned his chassis and stared back up the rise in the direction where enemy contact had been made. They were miles back, but on flying mounts, miles went by quickly. There were no good options, he realized. He would have to make his stand here. The enemy had caught him with back against this crater, which he now realized was trap rather than a refuge.

  “Let’s form-up!” he broadcast to every standing mech. “Battle formation, centered on my location. Face sunward, and test your weapons now.”

  All up and down the line, the mechs halted their walking and milling about. They ran on churning metal feet to do as he asked. Captains relayed orders and marshaled their companies. They broke radio silence freely now, since Sixty-Two had already done so.

  “Sixty-Two?” called Lizett behind him. “You simply must come out here. It’s so lovely and strange.”

  Sixty-Two barely glanced at them. “Stay where you are Lizett. If we lose this battle, perhaps the humans will not notice you hiding on that ledge, or whatever it is.”

  “It’s not a ledge, silly. It’s a plane. You can walk on it, even if you can’t see it.”

  “I made need your help, mechanical man,” Ornth called. “I urge you to come here and escape this pointless battle.”

  These last words finally angered Sixty-Two. Since it was going to be several minutes before his troops had positioned themselves, and they required no further guidance, he whirled around and clanked to the rim of the crater. He addressed the two who hung in space in front of him.

  “Pointless? Our survival is not pointless. It is all that matters to my people. What good are we as slaves, or as dead rebels? In the next minutes, our status will be forever decided.”

  “There is a third option.”

  “We cannot evade them. You’ve brought us to this point personally. Our backs are pressed against an abyss.”

  “You can evade pursuit, if you do it quickly enough.”

  Before Sixty-Two could make another angry retort, Lizett interrupted. “I think I know what he means. I’ll show you.”

  She walked toward him then, and as Sixty-Two watched, he came to doubt his connection to his optics. She was walking on nothing. Soundless, she approached on the roiling vapor and stood at his side.

  “See?” she said proudly. “My little Ornth found this.”

  “He’s not a pet rabbit, Lizett,” Sixty-Two said. “You must not trust him with your life.”

  Lizett pouted. “You will not even try?”

  “Try what?”

  “Step with me. I’ll take your gripper and show you the way.”

  Sixty-Two glanced over his shoulder. His forces had lined up on the rocky region around the crater. They were well-placed. When the enemy came charging over the ridge, they would be exposed to his fire from a hundred laser cannons.

  Lizett took his gripper. His curiosity got the better of him and he allowed her to guide him into—nowhere. A moment later, he stood beside Lizett and Ornth. They looked positively smug.

  “How are we standing here?” he demanded. “Is there some kind of magnetic field? Some kind of trick of physics? Or is the floor simply disguised?”

  “It is the place that cannot be,” Ornth explained unhelpfully. “It is the place I have sought.”

  “How far does it extend?”

  Ornth made a sweeping gesture, indicating the entire sinkhole. “There is no limit.”

  Sixty-Two looked around, and suddenly new possibilities occurred to him. “There are no holes? No gaps?”

  “This place cannot be,” Ornth said.

  Sixty-Two made a sound of disgust with his speakers, but he quickly began testing the ‘ground’ around him. It gave slightly under a mech’s feet, but only an inch or so. After that, it was as firm as land could be. He soon found himself marching this way and that. He returned to the rim of the crater and jogged along its border, a hundred yards in every direction.

  Finally, he turned to his army, which had now formed up ranks before him and quietly awaite
d whatever might come to them. He felt pride in their stalwart nature. Mechs did not flee combat. They might fall and die, but never while screaming in terror.

  He then gave the order for his entire army to retreat out onto the streaming vapors, to stand upon nothing—to hide in plain sight. They did as he asked, walking awkwardly at first, as if each step would be their last. But soon, they adapted, and they walked further into the pouring storm of hot gasses. They could not be seen, nor heard here.

  As they waited, Sixty-Two reflected on what might seem to others to be a cowardly act. He knew his people were anything but cowards. But he also knew the enemy would not advance if they didn’t have sufficient force to destroy them all. They retreated in order to survive another day—or at least, another hour.

  Twenty-Two

  The Skaintz made planetfall a day after they’d swept aside the human fleet. The Twilighters on the ground were in a panic, calling up their personal armies and preparing to defend their own estates.

  The nife spent the last hours in deep, tactical thought. By the time the Gladius slid into high orbit over the planet, he’d hammered out the final details. Nothing he could come up with was better than the most direct approach available. In the end, the Imperium battle plan was typical of its kind. It would be swift, direct and brutal.

  The enemy had only one detectable spaceport with surprisingly little traffic. The port was in the middle of one of the two largest population centers, making it doubly valuable as a prize of conquest. If nothing else, the Empress would be extremely pleased due to the plentiful number of flavorful food-creatures.

  The nife took the plan to her for final approval. As she listened, she became wild to taste fresh meats.

  “An entire city of meat-creatures roaming around at will?” she asked. Her maw slavered at the description. “I’ve been eating dust and scraps for months. I will have a grand tasting on the very first day. I insist that you launch now. Our assault vessels have sufficient range, I know that they do.”

  “Patience, Empress! The ship will soon be in stationary orbit. When the big engines stop, we shall launch the assault ships.”

  “Do you wish to see me starve and wither away? I demand that you launch them now!”

  The nife rankled. He could see now why the original Parent had nearly been spaced. The Empress was impossible to deal with. He felt an urge to relinquish command. If she wanted to give the orders herself—so be it. The monarch’s powerful musk prevented him from such behavior, however. He dipped his stalks and closed his cusps over his orbs in defeat.

  “I had planned a barrage of suppressing fire, but I shall press the attack immediately.”

  The Empress hesitated. “Is there risk involved in this course of action?”

  “There is risk in all warfare, madam. We face a determined enemy. They fooled us with their long-range firepower on initial contact, and they may have more surprises in store.”

  “Are you suggesting my person might be violated?”

  The nife’s stalks rose, as he now sensed an opening. The Empress feared the humans. He had little regard for their military capacities, but he now realized that if he could enhance the danger they posed in his reports, his job would be made easier. The Empress would both allow him to follow his own plans, while at the same time becoming more forgiving of any failures. The more he thought about the plan growing in his mind, the happier he became. Within seconds, he was strutting around the Empress’ nest, being watched by a dozen of her pod-like eyes.

  “We face a foe that has beaten Imperial forces in the recent past. We’ve seen them in action now, and they were nearly successful in stopping us as we entered their system. They are highly dangerous, and more importantly, deceitful!”

  The Empress flapped her drooping lung-sacs. “Very well, we shall follow your original plan. Destroy their batteries at range, and send down the assault ships when they lie supine.”

  “Excellent choice, Empress,” the nife said, maneuvering behind her, into the region where she had the fewest eye-clusters. He found her form inviting. Just looking at her organs was stimulating. Her bulging hindquarters were similar to those of a Parent, but much more grand.

  “May I personally thank you for giving me the honor of commanding this assault?” he asked as he ogled her. “After its successful conclusion, your name will be forever—”

  “What are you doing back there?” interrupted the Empress.

  “Pacing, my great lady—it helps me think.”

  “That’s quite enough prattle for now. Get out. You are to launch your invasion as soon as possible.”

  The nife hastened for the exit.

  #

  When Aldo received news of the Nexus fleet’s defeat, he mounted and rode swiftly to where Nina marshaled her forces. They were one ridge away from the enemy lines, and scouts had reported seeing mech activity along the rim of a huge, steaming crater. Nina wanted to align all her forces for a single, sweeping charge. The enemy had chosen their ground very poorly.

  “Nina!” Aldo called.

  The Baroness wheeled her mount and scowled. “I prefer that you use my proper title when I’m standing before my own troops.”

  “Sorry, Baroness. But there is an emergency. The aliens have arrived. The Nexus fleet has met them in the skies overhead.”

  “Excellent! Let those pompous tax-collectors earn their keep, for once.”

  “That is not all, milady. The battle has already been waged.”

  The Baroness finally turned her full attention to him. “Well?”

  “We have suffered a grave defeat. Gladius has been significantly modified into a mothership, apparently. They launched scores of sleek fighter craft and destroyed the Nexus fleet in its entirety.”

  Baroness Droad appeared confused. “All of them?”

  “Yes. They fought well, taking many of the enemy craft with them. But in the end, they were overwhelmed.”

  Nina rode forward, moving uphill to meet Aldo. Around her, a dozen officers murmured and exclaimed. No one could believe it. Alone among the group, Aldo was unsurprised. He’d met this enemy before and seen them fight.

  Nina sidled her mount closer to Aldo and spoke so the others could not hear. “Aldo, you were right.”

  He nodded. “It gives me no pleasure, milady. I wish nothing more than the defeat of this enemy.”

  Nina stared up at the dark skies. Her face was troubled, and the stars reflected from her frosted goggles. “Will they come here, Aldo?” she asked. “Will they land in Twilight?”

  “Definitely.”

  “How much time do we have?”

  “Less than a day.”

  Baroness Droad turned her mount and faced her commanders. “We must finish this matter now, in that case. It should only take a few hours to push the mechs into the abyss they’ve put to their backs. Come now, we attack immediately!”

  Aldo hissed through his teeth. He’d made the announcement of the imminent invasion of her world as dramatically as possible, but Nina would still not see reason and turn from her path. He shook his head, knowing he had few remaining options. The men did not want to follow him. He was many things, but he wasn’t a charismatic leader of armies. He fought best alone with a blade against a single opponent. If he called to the officers to mutiny against the Baroness, he would be laughed at best—shot from behind at worst.

  So, he rode after her. Thousands of mounted troops soon roared in unison and sped up the ridge to the crest. On the far side they increased their pace to its maximum, charging down toward the huge, steaming crater.

  Less than half an hour later, Nina’s army found itself milling over the icy rocks in confusion.

  “Where did they go?” Nina demanded, beating her saddle with the pommel of her sword.

  Aldo glided to the rim and gazed downward, into the cloudy abyss. Sometimes, the rising vapors cleared enough to allow him to see snatches of the terrain. He saw nothing but distant jagged cliffs and tumbled stone.

  “Th
ey must have found a way down,” he said. “A path of some kind. But I’ll be damned if I can find it.”

  Nine panted and cursed with vexation. She rode along the rim this way and that. Finally, she found a spot that was marginally less steep than the rest of it. “This must be it,” she said. “Throw me a line, Aldo.”

  “Perhaps Old Hans would be the better man to hold it.”

  Nina shook her head. “He would try to stop me.”

  Aldo frowned. “You’ll lose your mount.”

  “I must try.”

  Aldo nodded, knowing she was going to do this no matter what. He attached a filament from her saddle to his. He prayed she would not fall too far and pull him down with her. Revving his vehicle, he pulled away from the edge and waited for the line to go taut. Nina saluted him, and he saluted her. He did not bother to try to talk her out of this. She’d come too far to give up now without at least injuring herself.

  She rode her mount outward, into the billowing steam. At first, it seemed she was revving her engines at maximum, maintaining altitude. Aldo frowned as she glided farther out and was now partially obscured by vapor. How high could these vehicles fly? He’d been under the impression they could not cruise at more than a few feet above a given surface.

  Nina disappeared entirely then. To Aldo, it appeared she had dropped out of sight. He gripped the line and grimaced, waiting for a vicious tug. He hoped the girl had the wit to let the mount fall away and hang onto the line for rescue.

  But the expected yank on the filament did not come. Instead, it paid out farther, without haste. Aldo frowned at the line, not knowing what to make of it.

  Suddenly, it slackened. Aldo urged his mount fractionally closer to the rim. “Nina?” he called.

  A figure loomed closer. He could not make it out, but urged his mount to slide backward.