Metal and Ash (Apex Trilogy) (35 page)

“She’s not coming out is she?” Mathew asked as they helped each other limp towards the corridor entrance. ‘”Is she?”

“I don’t think so,” Themopolous answered.

“You said someone could help her if we did this,” Mathew snapped. “Was that all bullshit just like everything else about you?”

“No,” Themopolous said as they kept moving to the way out. “There is someone that can help. We just have to get to the Amer-.”

A second flash erupted behind them and the shockwave that hit them was filled with concrete and fire.

Forty

Fed, clean and clothed, but still slightly confused, Dog and Jenny followed everyone back into the Eden control room. Ready for a full demonstration.

“This is Eden,” Talaria smiled. “This is what we have been working towards.”

The Mayor slapped Dog on the back as he walked to a chair set in the middle of the room. It was set behind row after row of vid screens and workstations. On the wall in front were close to twenty large vid screens with everything from random vid feeds to audio analysis showing wavy lines as sound was picked up from who knew where.

“How did you get all of this?” Jenny asked as she looked at some of the equipment. “This doesn’t look UDC?”

“We built it,” the Mayor said proudly. “You saw how we power Eden, did you think we didn’t have the brains to build anything else?”

“What is all of that?” Dog asked as he pointed to the large vid screens.

“The wasteland,” Talaria replied as she took a seat at one of the few empty workstations. Most were occupied with techs tapping away at their keyboards and speaking into coms. “Up close and personal.”

Dog studied a vid screen that showed a shaky image of nothing but shambling deaders. “How are you getting that?”

“We tag them and send them on their way,” the Mayor said. “We have vid cams imbedded in hundreds of deaders across the wasteland.”

“Thousands,” Agnatha corrected. “Plus data and com relays. We have the entire wasteland wired for audio and vid.”

“Relays?” Jenny asked. “So you can communicate pretty much anywhere?”

“Within reason,” the Mayor shrugged. “But, yes, pretty much anywhere.”

“I want to talk to my train,” Jenny insisted.

“Herschel?” the Mayor asked and a tech stood up and brought Jenny a com.

“Uh, thanks,” she said as she slipped it into her ear and activated it. “Hey, Marcus? Can you hear me?”

“Jenny!” Marcus replied instantly. “Jeezus! We have been scanning every channel hoping to hear from you! What happened? Why aren’t you calling from your mech?”

“It’s out of commission,” Jenny said as she made no attempt to hide her glare directed at the Mayor. “But the Roo-…uh, Dog and I are fine.”

“Dog?”

“Don’t ask,” Jenny sighed. “It’s been a total shit couple of days.”

“Want to see something even shittier?” the Mayor smiled. “Watch this.”

He flipped a switch and the vid screens showed thousands of deaders on the move; another showed a smoking wreck of the Monterey shield generator; a third showed a mass of gleaming BC mechs marching their way across the wasteland; a fourth showed a distant view of the Pacific ocean as ships began to appear on the horizon.

Jenny was stunned by what she saw.

“Jenny?” Marcus called. “Hey, you still there?”

“Yeah…yeah, I’m still here,” Jenny replied. “Sit tight. I’ll call with more instructions soon. Get everyone ready.”

“For what?”

“For Hell, is my guess.”

***

“Cyces?” Dog asked as he and Jenny were shown into a massive garage. “Like motorcycles?”

“Well, sure,” a mechanic named Kerry replied. “But where’s the fun in calling them that?”

The machine before Dog was waist high with large, fat tires front and back. The handle bars, as well as the entire front end, were encased in a protective shield that curved up high and back, giving the rider some protection from the elements. It was made of a dark black glass that was completely opaque from the front, but transparent from the seat.

“Are those…?” Dog asked.

“M85 mini-guns,” Kerry smiled. He patted the min-guns affectionately. “Guaranteed to never overheat or misfire.”

“Never?” Jenny laughed. “Not possible.”

The four other mechanics in the Eden hangar all glared.

“We don’t build shit,” Kerry stated. “What’s the fucking point in that?”

“So you just hop on and go?” Dog asked.

“Not that easy, but yes,” Kerry nodded. He pointed to the handle grips. “Acceleration. Brakes. Weapons. Com. All just a finger press away at all times.” He grabbed a helmet that rested on the seat and handed it to Dog. “Put that on.”

Dog slowly slid the helmet on, a feeling of claustrophobia gripping him briefly. Kerry flipped a switch on the cyce and an entire data readout came to life on the inside of the helmet’s visor.

“”You see everything, you hear everything,” Kerry said. “The visor tracks your eye movements and responds to voice commands. You work it without even knowing it.”

“Why have you people been hiding here all this time?” Jenny asked. “This tech could have been useful out in the real world.”

“Because,” the Mayor said as he joined them in the hangar. “I knew the world out there wasn’t going to last long. That’s why I built Eden and that is why we focused on our society and our tech.” The Mayor fixed Jenny with a powerful gaze. “The deaders have never been the threat. It’s the people you have to watch out for. Now those people are playing their hands.”

“So what now?” Dog asked. “We ride off into battle?” Dog laughed as he looked about at the handful of cyces in the hangar. “We don’t have the numbers.”

The Mayor pointed up as the mechanics all grinned. Dog and Jenny looked above themselves and gasped.

“One cyce for every person in Eden,” the Mayor said. “Only way to be sure.”

The main door to the cyce hangar lifted and Dog and Jenny squinted against the light. A few dozen cyces came rushing in. The one in the lead slid to a stop just feet from Dog. The rider took her helmet off and grinned.

“Hey cuz!” Immy beamed. “I hear you’re gonna be the next mayor. Fucking great!”

“Immy,” the Mayor frowned. “You don’t have to be crude.”

“Ah, he doesn’t mind, do ya, cuz?”

“Uh, no, it’s cool,” Dog said.

“Great! Grab a helmet!” Immy said looking at Kerry. “You got him a cyce?”

“Yep,” Kerry nodded patting the one they’d been observing. “All set.”

“Then hop on, cuz,” Immy smiled. “Time for a couple lessons. You’re gonna love this! Way more freedom than those big, clunky mechs!”

***

“You’re sure about this?” Marcus asked over the com.

“Dog is sure,” Jenny said as she watched Dog on a vid screen in the control room. He was busy being embarrassed by his young cousin. “I’m being a bit more cautious.”

“Where do you want us to meet?”

“Same location as where you dropped me off,” Jenny said, having to smile as Dog biffed it and his cyce went out from under him. “I’m sending you a shit ton of data. Start going over it. I need you and everyone else up to speed by the time I get there. What we are about to do will not be easy.”

“No fucking shit,” Marcus laughed. “We’ll be ready when you get here.”

“Sounds good,” Jenny said.

She watched Dog practice with the cyce and nodded in approval as he got the hang of it. In just minutes he was matching Immy turn for turn, move for move. Jenny was happy that he finally found some family that wasn’t hell bent on killing or eating him.

Forty-One

“They took it down,” a tech said, getting Norton’s attention.

“The shield?” Norton smiled. “How crafty of them. Wasn’t sure they could do it.”

“Troops are in place, sir,” another tech reported. “Should we give the order to march?”

“Yes,” Norton said. “I need to see how the CMPs perform first, but we can’t wait if they fail. If they can take the wasteland on their own that’s great. If Capreze’s people do survive the CMPs then we need to have overwhelming forces coming down on them hard.”

“Do you think a handful of mechs can take on our mech numbers, sir?” the first tech asked.

“Not willing to take the chance,” Norton replied.

***

“Are you mechheads listening to what Commander LaFrance is telling you?” Marin asked over the com. “Those mechs you’re about to engage aren’t normal.”

“The word normal needs to be banned from all communication,” Bisby said. “It just doesn’t fucking apply to anything out here!”

“Pilot Bisby?” LaFrance asked as he was patched into the com system. “Those mechs are made of BC. Biochrome. They are self-repairing and have close to ten times the ammunition you do. You engage head to head and they will rip you apart. Pulling back and regrouping is the sane choice.”

“I pilot a one armed mech,” Bisby said. “You think I give two shits about sane?” He switched to a mech to mech channel. “You worried about this, Harlow?”

“Do I seem worried?” Harlow asked as she kept pushing her mech forward, ready to fight.

Bisby smiled and switched back to an open channel. “Ain’t gonna slow down now,” he laughed. “Shit’s just about to get good.”

“Jesus Christ,” LaFrance swore and looked over at Lt. Murphy. “Are they suicidal?”

“Yes,” Lt. Murphy responded. “It’s what makes them so dangerous.”

“And we’re they’re only backup?” Campbell asked. “This Hybrid mech and the Railer train?”

“We’re it,” Specialist Sol replied.

“I just hope they leave some action for us,” Specialist Grendetti grinned.

“Jesus Christ,” LaFrance repeated. “You’re all insane.”

***

“The battle will begin before us,” Bad Shell stated. “We will arrive to nothing but a pile of slag instead of your flesh friends.”

“The mech pilots are well trained,” Shiner replied. “I have fought with them and they will not be defeated by the Cans. Experience and skill will win out over numbers.”

“Better not be over,” Awl Good said. “I need to slam something. Make a hole in some metal!”

“You turn on your kind quickly,” Hollow Eye countered. “We should be supporting the metal, not the humans.”

“This is the wrong metal,” Shiner said. “The Cans are made of biochrome, like my body is. It will repair quickly if left intact.”

“So we don’t leave it intact,” Thunk added. “Fuck it all.”

“Language,” Bad Shell snarled. “Do not backstep, brother.”

“I’m gonna stomp step!” Awl Good shouted. “Crush them good!”

“You have added fire to these mechs,” Hollow Eye said to Shiner. “Whether that is bad or good shall wait to be seen.”

“I will leave that judgment to each mech,” Shiner replied.

“Do these helpless mechs not have allies?” Bad Shell asked. “Why are they left alone?”

“There are few allies in the wasteland,” Shiner said. “Especially for the mech pilots. Their forces are stretched.”

“They should build more forces,” Thunk said.

The few mini-mechs following, of course, said nothing.

***

“Hmmm,” Jethro said. “That’s either a storm or a whole lot of… Fuck!”

“What is it Jethro?” Capreze asked. “And don’t shout in my ear.”

“Was that on?” Jethro asked. “Damn. Systems seem to work with less than a thought now. I’m getting good at this shit.”

“I believe you just fucked over something,” Capreze stated. “What was the fuck about?”

“Take a look at your vid,” Jethro said.

Capreze did and frowned. “And that is?”

“My guess? Thousands and thousands of deaders,” Jethro answered. “I’m thinking six figures worth.”

“Where did they come from?” Capreze exclaimed. “There can’t be that many deaders left in the wasteland. There aren’t enough fucking people!”

“Not sure, sir,” Jethro said. “Looks like they’re coming from Rancher territory.”

“Ranchers?” Capreze said. “But Wyble is dead. I’d figure they’d have fallen apart.”

“What about that Pope guy?” Jethro asked. “My database says he split from the Archbishop a while back. Could be him.”

“Could be,” Capreze said. “If it is then what’s he after?”

“Us, sir,” Jethro said. “They’re heading right for us.”

“Ah, fuck,” Capreze swore.

***

“It suits you, Pilot Masters,” Stomper said as he watched Masters train in the knew Tumbler mech.

“I’m a rollin’ and tumblin’!” Masters sang. “Right on down the line!”

The mech was built with curved arches as its frame, making it easy to tumble quick and come up fast on its powerful legs. Masters rolled about, backwards, forwards, sideways, getting a feel for the mech’s capabilities.

“No offense, Stomper my boy, but this mech is fucking amazing!” Masters crowed. “It’s like I can dance in combat!”

“Don’t get cocky, twinkle toes,” Jay said from the hangar bay door as he watched Masters closely, looking for flaws or issues with the new mech. “It’s just a prototype. Hasn’t been fully tested yet.”

Masters came up from a roll, flung himself into the air, dove and then rolled upright, his guns out and whirling, ready to shred anything in his way.

“Well I can’t wait to fucking test it!” Masters said.

“You may get to soon,” Jethro said as he fed Stomper and Masters the readings of the deaders heading to the Stronghold. “It better be as good as Jay says.”

“Here,” June said as she stepped up next to Jay and handed him a tablet. “Take a look at this.”

Jay studied the tablet readings and looked over at June. “Fuck this shit.”

“Guns and defenses are fully loaded and ready,” Jethro said before Jay could start barking orders. “June has gotten all non-combat personnel into safely secured areas in the Stronghold.”

“I’ll make sure all Railer mechanics are ready,” Jay said. “We’re gonna take some serious heat on this. Even with the power of the Stronghold I don’t know how well we’ll be able to fend those fuckers off. That’s a lot of dead coming at us.”