by Jake Bible
“Yes, sir. Sorry sir,” Jethro answered, killing his com. “Shit.”
He sat before the console staring at One’s vid link, watching the mini-mech make its way across the wastelands.
Movement caught Jethro’s eye. “What the fuck is that…?”
***
“Alright. I understand yesterday was hard, which is why protocol has all mech pilots stay at base for at least 24 hours after a loss,” Capreze met each pilot’s eye. “But, that doesn’t mean you act like caged animals.”
“Sir…,” Masters started. Capreze held up his hand, cutting him off.
“I’ll chalk this up to letting off steam and breaking in the Rookie. You all get a freebie.” A collective sigh went up in the gym. “However, I want to see Pilots Bisby and Capreze in my office right now.” Capreze turned and left.
“You too Rookie!” he called back.
***
Jethro switched from viewpoint to view point, hoping his eyes were just playing tricks on him. They weren’t.
“Jay? You still in the gym?”
“No. Heading back your way,” Jay answered over the com. “What’s up?”
“You have your tablet?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Good. I’m shooting over an image. This is going to freak your shit out.”
Jethro waited a moment. “You seeing that?”
“Hold on,” Jay barked. “Oh sweet fuckin’ Jeezus with eggs…”
The com was silent.
“Jay? You still there?”
“Yeah.”
“Should we call Capreze?”
“No. Not until we are sure.”
“Fine. Should I pull One back?”
“Not yet.”
***
“You are confined to barracks, Pilot,” the Commander ordered. Bisby’s face reddened and he opened his mouth to speak, but Capreze instantly cut him off. “I don’t want to hear it, Biz. You know what you did. Regardless of what happened yesterday I need to know you can keep it together out here. If I have any doubts, any doubts at all, I’ll ground you and put you on KP with Steve. Are we understood?”
Emotions swam across Bisby’s face before settling on furious resignation. “Yes, sir. I understand completely.”
“Good. Send in my daughter on your way out. Dismissed.”
***
“How far out is it?” Jay asked, pouring two cups of coffee from a large thermos. “Is it close enough for a full scan?”
“It’s been close enough for the last ten minutes. I’m getting nothing,” Jay responded.
“Is there something wrong with One’s scanners?”
“No. Full diagnostic shows them working perfectly.”
“What the fuck…?” Jay mused. He handed Jethro a cup and sat down. “Let’s try something. Does One have short wave?”
“Sure. All the mini’s do.”
“Good. Start scanning the bands.”
Jethro typed quickly. Static filled the speakers then a high-pitched keening began.
Jay smiled. “That sneaky bastard…”
***
“Okay, I know you’re mad, but—”
“Sit down Rachel,” Capreze interrupted. “I’m not mad.”
Rachel sat down, puzzled, having expected a thorough chewing out.
“How are you holding up?” Capreze asked.
“Um, fine,” Rachel answered, confused.
“Stan was like family.” Capreze closed his eyes briefly. “He was our only connection to life before this base. Now, it’s just you and me, Baby Girl.”
Rachel stood and crossed behind Capreze’s desk. She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. “No, Papa Bear, that’s not true. We’ve got all those assholes out there, too.”
Capreze laughed and hugged his daughter.
***
“Mother fucker. Jam me will ya,” Jay muttered, furiously typing commands. He cocked his head and listened to the screech coming from the short wave. With a flourish he tapped the enter key one last time and pushed away from the console. “Try that bitch!”
The short wave signal immediately went back to normal static. Jethro jumped as One’s scanners started picking up and streaming data.
“It’s a deader!” Jethro crowed. “An almost dead deader. These readings show the zombie pilot has nearly starved back to death. And…”
“What?!?” Jay asked impatiently.
“The fucking thing is carrying Three!” Jethro exclaimed.
***
“How are you and Mathew doing?” Capreze asked Rachel.
“What? How? You…?” Rachel stuttered.
Capreze laughed. “Don’t act so surprised. I am the base Commander, it’s my job to notice these things.”
Rachel snorted. “Well, good job, sir.”
“How’s the Rookie?”
“He’ll be fine. I think he’s a natural. If he can handle a mech.”
“Well, let’s speed that up. I want you and Mathew out on patrol tomorrow. Take the Rookie with,” Capreze held up a hand, cutting off Rachel’s protest. “I need to see how he handles the waste ASAP.”
“Yes, sir.”
Capreze smiled. “Okay, send him in.”
***
Jay and Jethro watched the image on the vid screen. A lone dead mech was methodically dismantling Three.
“What’s it doing?” Jethro asked.
Jay stayed silent then shook his head. “My guess? He’s using the thing for parts.” The dead mech uncoupled a power pack and stored it in its side cargo hold, confirming Jay’s guess.
“Bump up the scans. I want more details on its vitals,” Jay said.
Jethro tapped at the keys, increasing the resolution. Instantly the dead mech stopped what it was doing and quickly turned towards One.
“Shit. Did it just catch us spying?” Jethro asked.
***
“Wasteland survival depends on one thing and one thing only: clear thinking. Panic means death. Rushing means death. Moving slowly means death. Not taking the time to assess your surroundings, resources, abilities, and limitations means death. You must think clearly to get yourself out of the wasteland.”
Commander Capreze stood, offering his hand. The Rookie, still at attention, looked at the hand confused. Capreze chuckled.
“Son, I only offer my hand once.”
The Rookie quickly met Capreze’s grasp.
“Umm, sir?”
“Yes, Rookie?”
“Is that it?”
“Yep. That’s orientation. Good luck. You’re dismissed.”
The Rookie left the Commander’s office thoroughly confused.
***
“Get One the fuck out of there!” Jay yelled, watching the image from One’s rear vid feed. The dead mech was in swift pursuit, running all out to catch the mini-mech.
“I’m trying, I’m fucking trying!” Jethro yelled back, his right hand on the main joystick control while his left was busy trying to switch all power to propulsion. “Come on little guy, come on…”
Jay reached past Jethro and tapped at the control panel. “Is there enough power to fire RPGs?”
Jethro checked his readings. “Yes, but we only have enough to fire once, so shoot them all!”
“Done!”
***
Rachel was waiting for the rookie outside Commander Capreze’s office.
“Looks like you’re official now Rookie,” Rachel beamed.
The Rookie frowned.
“What?” Rachel asked.
“I don’t know. I guess I was expecting more,” the Rookie said.
“Some rousing soul inspiring speech designed to make you want to fight for God, the UDC and City/State?”
“Something like that.”
“Trust me Rookie, when you get out in the waste, you won’t need a speech. Just keeping your ass in one piece is motivation enough,” Rachel laughed. “Alright, let’s go get shit faced!”
“What?!? You have booze?”
“Best ‘shine ever made.”
“Thank God!”
***
“Fuck!” Jethro cried. “It dodged all RPGs! Now what?”
“Self-destruct?” Jay said.
“Might as well.”
Jay keyed in the code. “60 seconds to boom time.”
They watched as the dead mech caught up, grabbing One and flipping it.
“What’s it doing?” Jethro asked. “Is it…?”
The deader held something between its massive fingers. They watched it toss the object. Ten seconds later a flash filled the screen and the dead mech braced itself against the blast. When the after affects stopped, it turned back to the camera and waggled a finger. The screen went blank.
“No fucking way,” Jethro whispered.
Part Two- Moonshine & Blood
“Operating a mech is only part of your training, Rookie,” Jay slurred, sloshing ‘shine from a steel cup as he, the Rookie, Mathew, Rachel and June sat around the fire pit about 100 yards from the hangar. “You gotta know how to repair the mech, salvage for parts and improvise when you can’t do either.”
“Yeah, yeah, but when do I get to smash shit and kill some…some…deader ass?” the Rookie asked, sipping from his own ‘shine. “I’m fuckin’ ready now!” The Rookie leapt to his feet then quickly sat back down. “This is good shit, Jay. Good…”
***
Doctor Themopolous inserted her security chip into her tablet. With a few keystrokes she unlocked the encrypted data sent by her colleague in Foggy Bottom. She hated hiding it from Capreze, but she was told to trust no one, not even the Commander.
She had needed to go over the information yesterday, but the unfortunate death of Stanislaw and the chaotic arrival, and subsequent medical needs, of the Rookie had put her behind.
As she perused the data, her eyes widened and she instantly knew why her friend was being so paranoid.
Dear God, she thought. What does this mean?
***
“What the fuck is this shit made from?!?” the Rookie yelled. “It ain’t synth. Where’d ya gets the grains?”
“Oh, I gots my ways,” Jay answered, exaggerating a conspiratorial wink. The Rookie furrowed his brow.
“Are you hitting on me?” the Rookie hiccupped.
“What…? Fuck you. You ain’t pretty enough for me, bitch!” Jay laughed.
“I don’t know, Jay. I’ve seen you with worse,” Mathew joked.
“Fuck you Jespers! He ain’t got no titties. No titties, no Jay love.”
“On that note I’m going to pee,” Rachel laughed as she got up from the campfire and walked into the darkness.
***
In twenty years, the nightmare had never lost its impact.
Commander Capreze tossed and turned in his room, sheets tossed aside, the bed protesting his movements.
He moaned aloud, trying subconsciously to rouse himself from images and memories he kept buried during the waking hours.
Capreze fought his own mind. And as with every night, he lost that fight. Was it guilt, shame, regret? Or had his mind been trying to tell him something? Something he couldn’t grasp when awake.
He flung out his arms, trying to push the nightmare away.
With a cry he awoke to an empty room…
***
Retching sounds came from the darkness. “What is that?” June asked.
“That’s Steve puking his guts out,” Rachel answered, returning to the campfire. “He’s out there somewhere. I heard him whimpering and then out it came.”
“What, did you eat one of your own muffins?!?” Jay shouted into the night. He was answered by more sounds of throwing up. “That’s right! How’s it feel now?”
“Hey, leave him alone. Steve doesn’t get out much,” June got to her feet. “I’m gonna go check on him.”
“Careful, it’s spooky out there,” Rachel mocked.
Mathew elbowed her in the ribs. “Be nice.”
***
“Nanotech? What is the UDC thinking?” Themopolous whispered, glancing around her office suddenly aware she didn’t know how extensive the base surveillance was. She had to watch what she said aloud.
She tapped at her tablet, bringing up her side notes, adding notations as she analyzed the data. By the time she was finished she was deeply unsettled.
The UDC had been injecting citizens of Foggy Bottom under the guise of testing a new retrovirus, hoping to finally bring the plague to an end. With that cover story it was easy to find volunteers.
The truth was far more sinister.
***
“Okay, let me get this straight,” the Rookie said, leaning dangerously close to the fire, then back out again. “Whoa.”
Arms around each other, Mathew and Rachel grinned at the Rookie. “Careful tough guy,” Rachel smirked.
“I’m…doing…fine!” the Rookie drunkenly insisted. “But, wait, I have important shit to ask.”
“And you’re doing a great job there,” Mathew chimed in.
The Rookie jabbed a finger at Mathew. “You think you’re funny? Screwing the Commander’s daughter make you think you can say anything? Huh?”
“Careful,” Mathew growled.
The Rookie held up his hands. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…that was rude…”
***
“Okay, fine,” Capreze said, finally accepting the inevitable as he got up from the bed and made his way to his bathroom. He splashed some cold water on his face, trying to bring himself fully awake.
Capreze stepped from the bathroom, grabbed his tablet and sat in the overstuffed chair in the corner of his room, the one luxury he allowed himself.
“So, let’s see what the base is up to at” -he glanced at the time displayed at the top of the tablet- “0130. Sweet Jeezus…,” he muttered.
He tapped the security icon and scrolled to the vid feeds.
***
“So the UDC puts killing deaders and zombies before saving humans? That’s fucked up,” the Rookie said.
“It’s not that cut and dry, but yeah, pretty much,” Mathew answered, pouring more ‘shine into the Rookie’s cup.
“So what if, say, Six Flags was under attack? Where does that fit into the UDC’s priorities?”
“That’s different. I’m talking about out in the waste. It’s kill or be killed out here.”
“But what about all the survivor pockets? Don’t they count?”
“As far as the UDC is concerned, if you aren’t city/state, you aren’t people,” Rachel joined in.
“That’s fucked up, man…”
***
She needed to get a response to her colleague, but Capreze would know right away if she sent a secure message, so would the UDC for that matter.
She pushed away from her desk, exhausted and frustrated. Then it hit her. She quickly grabbed her tablet and started a requisition order for medical supplies she knew they could only get when they traded with Foggy Bottom. Hidden in the order would be her analysis and reply. She would give it to Capreze in the morning telling him stock was low and was urgent that a trip was made right away.
***
Rachel stood and stretched, dusting the dirt from her backside. “Think I’ll walk back and get the ATV. Looks like Jay could use it.” She glanced down at the Chief Mechanic passed out on the ground. She turned from the campfire and peered into the darkness. “Haven’t heard from Steve or June in a bit. Think I’ll check on them first.”
“Careful. They may be having a moment,” Mathew quipped.
“With the way she has the hots for you, I doubt it,” Rachel scoffed.
Mathew rolled his eyes. “Oh just go be responsible or something.”
Rachel blew him a kiss.
***
Capreze checked the barracks vid feed.
Masters and Harlow were actually sleeping for a change. Bisby was crashed also. Mathew, Jane, the Rookie’s bunks were empty. He expected to see Rachel’s empty since she preferred to sleep in her m
ech most nights, but where were the others?
The Commander flicked from one feed to another. The rec room: empty. Mess hall: empty. Showers, latrine: both empty. Hangar: empty also.
“Hmmm…,” Capreze muttered. “What are they up to?”
He switched to external feeds and quickly found what he was looking for. Flames flickered from the fire pit as Capreze zoomed in.
***
“If the UDC could give a shit about the people in the waste, then why don’t they order the mechs to wipe out the Cults? Just fucking wipe them off the face of the earth,” asked the Rookie.
“That, I’m not sure,” Mathew admitted. “My guess is it keeps the gene pool fresh. I mean, how many humans are left in the world, do you think? Three, maybe four million? All the city/states combined equals only about two million people at last count.”
“Nothing fresh about the gene pool with those crazy fucks,” the Rookie muttered, anger tainting his voice.
***
A scream came from the darkness. Mathew and the Rookie straightened, suddenly considerably more sober than before. Mathew tapped his com.
“Rache? You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m not sure what just happened. I heard Steve scream…”
“That was Steve? Damn, he screams like a girl.”
“Focus please!”
“Okay, sorry, focused.”
“By the time I got to him he was muttering ‘don’t take my balls’.”
“Is he hurt bad?”
“Yeah, he’s bleeding from his thigh quite a bit.”
“Shit. Okay, you apply pressure and I’ll get the ATV and the doc. Where’s June?”
“Not a fucking clue. Hurry.”
“Will do.”
***
Doctor Themopolous’s head nodded. She shook it hard, fighting the drowsiness. She didn’t want to go against her own medical advice and drink the coffee she had set on her desk, but she really needed to finish the encrypted message.
Her com buzzed, the emergency tone bringing her fully awake.
“This is Themopolous, what’s the situation?”
“Hey Doc, it’s Mathew. We’ve got a problem out by the fire pit. Steve’s cut, looks like it may have nicked his femoral artery.”
Themopolous jumped from her desk and ran from her office. “I’ll grab my kit and meet you in the hangar!”
***
Capreze debated whether to zoom in on the base staff, but decided against it. He could have easily focused the sensors and heard every word they were saying, even reading them off their lips if he wanted.