Mech 3: The Empress (34 page)

“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.

“They 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.

“It’s only me,” Nina said.

She explained the situation at length, and gathered her officers. They were all incredulous, but when they dismounted and walked on the invisible plane of force, they accepted the truth.

“The mechs are here, hiding in the middle of this crater,” Nina said with certainty. She stared at the shifting wall of dense vapor intently. “They came right here. How did they know of this place?”

“More importantly,” Aldo said, “how does it work?”

“There’s nothing for it,” Nina said at last. “We’ll have ride in there and find them.”

Aldo was incredulous. “Blind? On a surface we know nothing about? If they control it, they will simply switch it off and cast us all down to our deaths.”

Nina cursed. “I can’t give up. They are right here. So close!”

“We have no choice. We have been eluded.”

“We can spread out and press in from every side. It is not so great an area. They should be as blind as we are. It will not be a pleasant struggle, but—”

“Nina, listen to reason. Your world is threatened by a greater enemy. You can’t risk this army on your own vendetta. That is the mark of an amateur.”

This last comment stung, and made her turn her full, glaring attention upon him. But soon, she sighed and nodded. “You are right, Aldo. I would not take such remarks from many men. But you journeyed across the black sea between your star and mine to help us. You are as much a madman on a vendetta as I am. I respect you for that, and understand you. Most importantly, your enemy appears more dangerous than mine.”

“Very well,” Aldo said in relief. “I’m glad you are willing to listen to reason. We must ride hard now, and take these forces back to Twilight.”

“Not me. You take them.”

Aldo looked at her in surprise.

“I’m going in,” Nina said, lifting her chin high and proud. “I will die here, or he will.”

As Aldo watched in disbelief, she turned her mount and glided into the billowing clouds of vapor.

He waved his hand dismissively after her and snorted. The woman was barking mad.

#

Nina rode into nothingness for some time. She rode slowly, nosing her mount into the shifting clouds. She soon lost track of how far she’d traveled, and only her mount’s compass kept her on a straight heading. Frequently she slowed, thinking she’d heard an intelligible voice or seen a shape in the shifting void ahead. Always, however, it turned out to be only a trick of the murmuring mists.

After several minutes however, she did hear the unmistakable sounds of servos whining. Something metal and large moved nearby. She halted, listening. She did not want to meet up with a patrol of enemy mechs. They would most likely tear her apart mindlessly. There was one among them, their leader, who was different. It was he she sought, the mech who aped a man.

There were several close encounters with enemy machines as she glided quietly deeper into the mists, toward what she assumed was a central region of the crater. On each occasion, she managed to sit quietly and avoid them. She wondered briefly how far down the sinkhole below her reached now that she was near the center of it. Did it truly yawn like a mouth? An abyss that ended in planetary magma? She did not know, and finding such ideas disturbing, she tried to push them out of her head.

At long last, she did hear voices. This time it was not just a snatch of half-heard words. It was more than that, and there were two voices having a conversation. She turned her mount in that direction and glided slowly closer. The mists began to thin, and she halted, listening.

“Like the eye of a hurricane. But why here?” asked one voice, male from the sound of it.

“It’s beautiful!” said a second voice, this one sounding younger and female.

“This is the place I’ve sought,” another voice said. This one sounded odd, almost distorted. “You need only to open this hatch.”

“I will not until you tell me why we’re here,” said the older, male voice. “And there is no use grunting and tugging. Your skinny arms aren’t up to the task.”

Nina listened, and while she did so, she built up her courage. Why had she come here, if she was only going to sulk in shadow now? She had to act. These were clearly mechs of a different stripe. The way they spoke amongst themselves—it was eerily human.

She goaded her mount forward until she came out into an open area where only threads of mist swirled. This place was different than any other region she’d found in the crater. It had a solid floor of dark metal. How it had come to be here, she had no clue.

There were many mechs in evidence, at least two score of them. Nina’s heart sank as they swung their orbs toward her. She’d thought perhaps there had only been three, and that she might possibly slay the leader and flee. All such fantasies evaporated when she saw their numbers. Still, she rode forward confidently, as if they were all her servants.

Among them, three figures stood apart. One was a mech that carried a skin sack on its back. The second was a thin human who stood tugging on a hatch in the middle of the region, which was made of solid dark metal. The third was the one that captivated her entirely once she’d spotted him. This was the one—the mech who commanded the others. He was the one who’d presided over a group when they’d slayed her beloved Leon. He still wore a wide-brimmed hat, a fluttering blue scarf and a cloak that trailed behind him.

“I request to parlay with you, the rebel leader!” Nina shouted.

The leader raised his gripper, and the others lowered their weapons. Nina knew he’d sent out a radio signal on their local subnet, ordering them not to slay her. Her stomach unknotted—but only slightly.

“Who wishes to parlay with me?” asked the leader.

“I’m Baroness Nina Droad.”

The mech moved forward several clanking steps when he heard this. His broad feet rang as they struck the dark metal platform they stood upon.

“I am called Sixty-Two,” he said gravely. “Why is it you’ve come here?”

“I’ve come to slay you, and I’ve brought an army to do it with. Surely, you must have noticed.”

The mech turned its head slightly to one side, as if thinking. It was an oddly human gesture, and Nina found it slightly disgusting to see him perform it.

“What gives you the right to slay us?” he asked.

Nina blinked in surprise, but the question seemed to be in earnest. “Because you are rebels who have resisted your rightful masters and in some cases slain them.”