Prologue

You have crashed...

Those were the first words that Kimberly Stone saw as she recovered from taking a naval class laser beam to the torso of her mech. Things were not looking too good; at least she was in a stable position and wasn’t in danger of crashing into another ship, asteroid, or other general hazards.

“Some legendary mech ace I am. Twenty years, barely a scratch. And just one itsy-bitsy mistake with a 105 turret. But any landing you can walk away from is a good one.”

She could still see the remains of the turret through the hole she made in the side of the behemoth’s husk. She found a cargo bay, and her mech was pressed against the back corner. With her coming back to consciousness, the text started to scroll.

Action Report

● 33 Kills (2004 Total)

○ Congratulations, you have the highest kill count, this action in your surviving squadron

“Tell me something new, computer. I always have the highest.” Even though she couldn’t stand her own snark sometimes, it just flowed from her. She hated the slow scroll of these messages.

● Congratulations, you have beaten the record of kills made by your squadron

“Huh?” She spoke aloud, “Wait, that’s not right.” Her hand reached for the controls to figure out what was happening but found them dead. The text continued–

● 43 Disables (10,832 Total)

○ Congratulations, you have the highest disable count, this action in your surviving squadron

○ Congratulations, you have beaten the record of disables made by your squadron

“Damn this. I’m disconnected from the mech.” She reached behind her to grab the cable planted into the base of her helmet.

● 4 Escaped Enemies

○ Congratulations, you have the lowest escape count, this action, in your surviving squadron

● 189,732 enlistment points awarded

“At least that’s something. I probably have enough points now to rejuvenate to eighteen again. If they pick me up.”

“Damn it all.” She swore as she found the frayed end of her control harness.

● You have been promoted to Commander

“The party horn and confetti are a bit over the top, aren’t they? Finally, interactive mode,” She made the gesture to activate her squadron report.

Squadron Report

● Squadron lead has been listed as MIA...

● Congratulations you have been bumped to squadron commander

It took her a while to process that. Ashley had been with her since she finished basic training. Ash and Kim were a pair that fit like a glove. Kim handled the shooting and discipline, and Ash dealt with the tactics and strategy. Oh, and paperwork, Ash took the paperwork too. Yes, Ash came up with the orders, and Kim ensured they were carried out. Kim didn’t even see the following few lines as they scrolled past.

● Squadron Count 1:17

○ 7 MIA (purged)

○ 10 KIA

It took her a few moments, but she could focus and find out what she could about her mech. Unfortunately, the status window obscured her view.

“Armor 10%; wow, that blast really fucked up the mech. Battery 20%, Actuators dead, a little more than half a gas tank. But the generator and engine are completely dead. Cool, my laser still works if it had power, and I’m out of missiles. Of course, I’m out of missiles; I wouldn’t have had to melee that turret if I had missiles left. And of course, the auto repair is down to 10%” If sarcasm could be used as an energy source, she could power her mech out of her if she had an engine. Her impatience was growing, but she had to wait for the mech report to finish before she got the information she wanted.

“Pilot 75% repairing. Well, that’s nice. The suit is 25 %, do not enter a vacuum ... Of course, I’m not going to enter a vacuum. What do you think I am? Helmet is at 58%.” She watched the screen as the cockpit glass gave an ominous creak, “What are you here for dramatic effect?” She swore loudly.

“Age 44, adjusted 19. We’ll forget the 44.” She still had her vanity, after all. And whenever she earned enough points, she always got her body rejuvenated to eighteen. “Total enlisted points, close to nine billion. Location:” The slow letter-by-letter display of the text was annoying. “Let me guess, Ancient Behemoth ... Yup, Ancient Behemoth converted by Argetiean Slavers in a vented cargo bay ... No shit, sherlock.” She gave an earth-shattering sigh and leaned back into her command chair.