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wreckage of Stanislaw’s
mech was One Arm. It tossed pieces of debris aside, hunting for
sustenance.
    Bisby raised his binocs and watched in
horror as One Arm found Stanislaw’s severed right arm, cracked open
his cockpit and tossed the morsel to the ravenous zombie pilot
inside. Bisby wanted to put his binocs away, but he couldn’t tear
his eyes away.
    One Arm turned and roared at Bisby in
triumph.
     

Part Two- Grief & Anger
     
    Rachel sat up in her cockpit, instinct
telling her to watch the horizon. Automatically she started to
strap herself in and activate weapons systems.
    She watched and waited.
    Nothing.
    Knowing better than to trust only her eyes,
she dialed up the long-range sensors and pushed them to full
spectrum.
    Nothing. Wait… There, miles out, something
moved. A mech. But whether it was living or dead, she couldn’t
tell.
    Not one for drama, she didn’t sound the
claxons right away, waiting for a closer look and a little more
info.
    The thing wasn’t moving fast, so she figured
she had time.
    ***
    “Doctor?” Commander Capreze inquired,
knocking lightly on Themopolous’ office door. He waited politely
for an invitation.
    Doctor Themopolous looked up from the
medical charts she was reviewing on her tablet. “Yes? Oh,
Commander, please come in. What can I do for you? Feeling
alright?”
    Capreze chuckled. “Yes, I’m fine. I am here
to check on you, actually.” Capreze took a seat in one of the open
chairs set before Themopolous’ desk.
    Themopolous raised an eyebrow. “Me...?”
    “Yes. Pilot Jespers mentioned you were
asking about Foggy Bottom. Anything to do with the coded communiqué
you received this morning?”
    Themopolous looked away.
    ***
    “Hey, what was the name of those vids we
watched?” Jethro asked around the screwdriver clenched between his
teeth. He pulled it from his mouth, stretching his arm past wires
and pistons, trying to reach the right spot. “The
Transmogrifiers?”
    “Transformers,” Jay responded, reaching from
the other side, helping guide Jethro’s screwdriver.
    “Right. Transformers. Man, that was some
cool shit.”
    Jay stared at his assistant in disbelief.
“You work on fucking mechs! I’m pretty sure these are way more cool
than that made up shit.”
    “Yeah, but they turned into stuff like boats
and cars.”
    “Yeah, you got a point.”
    ***
    Harlow stood below Masters’ mech, manning
the initiation console, going over the start-up procedure. She
checked gauges, then looked up directly at Masters’ cockpit.
    “You’re all set Pilot, go kick some deader
ass,” Harlow yelled. Masters cupped a hand to his ear and shook his
head. Harlow clicked her com.
    “I said, you’re all set. It’s the same thing
I say every morning.”
    “I know, baby. I just like hearing your
sweet voice in my ear,” Masters cracked. Harlow shook her head,
smiling.
    “Get out of here, will ya?”
    “Eager for me to leave?”
    “No. Eager for you to return.”
    ***
    Mathew sat in the control tower, built
decades before when the UDC expected the mech bases to be bustling
hives of activity, mechs coming and going, troops being transported
in and out.
    Movement below caught his eye as Rachel
locked her cockpit. The tower was insulated from sound, but he knew
she was powering up full systems. Immediately he scanned the
horizon, trying to see what had alarmed her.
    “Hey, what’s up?” he said, calling Rachel’s
com.
    “Mech. Can’t tell if it’s a deader or not…
You watching me again?”
    “Busted. I’m off shift until after the
Rookie gets here.”
    ***
    June walked into the rec room, hoping Jay
had downloaded the new batch of vids. She grabbed some couch and
flicked on the wall-sized monitor. She scanned the menu, seeing the
same shows she had seen a million times. She clicked off the
monitor, depressed.
    She wondered where Mathew was. Probably
watching her again , she thought bitterly. Spoiled
little mech brat…
    June stood up, anger and jealousy