Chapter 54 #2
Then he’d saved me in his first opportunity to prove it, taking a blast that was meant for me in the middle of a battle where our real lives were on the line.
I’d long forgotten my old grudges.
But I was equally terrified of what could happen if I admitted that.
“I’ll be quick,” Breaker interrupted my train of thought, as we arrived at his dorm room. He stepped inside, and I waited in the hall. It was so quiet here without all of the students hustling about, like standing in a ghost town after a long dead gold rush.
Breaker emerged shortly with his schematics drive, and we started back toward the Shinka hangars.
“So is this a real call that you got, or were you also trying to get out of the medical check?” I finally had the nerve to ask.
Breaker only half smiled. “A little from column A and a little from column B.” He shook his head in melancholy.
“I’ve never had a good experience in a doctor’s office, and I was mostly teasing you to distract myself,” he admitted.
“So when I was asked for clarification for repairs, I might have over-exaggerated how complicated the mechanisms were.”
“I can respect that.” We entered the hangar using Breaker’s credentials, though technically mine could get me in here too now, and we started toward the back where Kishi was slotted.
The whole bay was a chaotic and loud cacophony of noise and activity as mechanics whizzed around, repairing machines in a dramatic range of disrepair.
My bay, among hundreds of others, was notably empty, however.
Sebastian had told me my whole machine had been destroyed.
Elio had mentioned that Sebastian had personally rescued me from my damaged cockpit and carried me back, actually.
Then Sebastian had also made vague references to wanting to talk, and I woke up on Elio’s lap with a deactivated A2, wrapped in Sebastian’s uniform jacket, and… in hindsight…
Oh, fuck.
I’d been so overwhelmed by the fact that I’d borderline had sex with Elio and was about to have my secret blown in medical, while a whole ass war was breaking out, that it didn’t even occur to me that there was a 99.
99999% chance that Sebastian now also knew my secret.
Was that why he’d suggested I go with Breaker?
Fuck me, I may as well just confess to everyone now. This was going to be one of those days that never ended. All I could say for a positive was that Sebastian had very likely not told anyone, and he’d now shown signs of protecting me from the consequences of my actions, so maybe all wasn’t lost.
Or he just wanted to talk before he blew everything up.
Best not to dwell on it right now.
After all, all three of these men had saved me in different ways, and while I didn’t need anyone to protect me, I appreciated that I had good allies. Though I hoped that, being in equal war machines, I’d eventually pay every one of them back tenfold.
I wouldn’t always be the burden I was now. It was my first time in open space in a real Shinka, while they all had years of practice on me. But damn if it didn’t hurt to feel like such a failure when I finally had the chance to prove myself.
I just had to keep training. This wasn’t my last opportunity, because I survived the first attack. The war would surely only escalate further from here, now that we had enemies knocking on the doorstep.
In the distance, Lamassu was in its bay.
An entire new arm from a stock Shinka was being installed in place of the one he’d lost, amidst active repairs to his back unit.
Of the literal hundreds of mechanics, they all worked quickly and adeptly.
Engineering had always been Mictlan’s strength.
During the battle, it was clear the Ghuls were no match for what we’d created, as we’d only improved and perfected Shinkas over the last decade and a half.
Breaker stopped when we arrived at Kishi, who was, notably, undamaged, save some burn marks and broken flourishes here and there. His animalistic machine was virtually unmarred, and I couldn’t even wrap my head around that. Even Vetala was receiving repairs to its broken weaponry.
“What do they even need to fix?” I asked, legitimately dumbfounded.
“My rifle core was ruined. My fault, honestly. I had, perhaps, hot rodded that one a little too close to the sun.” Breaker removed the schematics drive from his pocket, before he hollered up at his machine, summoning the mechanic from his position on the other side of the behemoth. “I got your blue prints.”
“That was quick,” the too familiar voice of Conrad Reinhardt answered back, and my whole expression flattened as the turquois haired mechanic lowered to the walkway.
“Oh, you brought a sidekick?” He grinned at me.
“I put a lot of work into your Shinka for you to up and obliterate the thing, you know.”
“It wouldn’t have been obliterated if you’d told me there was a bomb disguised as a Shinka in the Escape Pod.” I glared at him with accusing side-eye. Listen to your Captain, he’d said. It’ll be fine, he’d said.
“Wasn’t on my radar, so it must have been unmanned.” Conrad shrugged. “You’re still alive, so a win’s a win, little killer.”
“That’s not going to be my new nickname.” I deadpanned.
“Would you prefer I call you—”
“Fine, that can be my new nickname,” I interrupted, not wanting to know at all how he’d planned to finish that sentence, because I hoped to the stars that he wasn’t going to call me fucking ‘Baby Girl’ in front of Breaker.
“Good to see you two getting along,” Breaker chimed in, reminding the both of us that he was, in fact, still here. “I gather I don’t need to introduce you.”
“We’re acquainted,” I mumbled.
“They got me playing Spotter,” Conrad clarified, dare I say helpfully for once.
“Anyway.” He snatched the drive from Breaker.
He touched the chip to his CHRONO, auto downloading the schematics, then glanced at the screen for several seconds, muttering an ‘interesting’ under his breath.
After a few awkward moments, he returned his attention to Breaker.
“This thing will be good as new in ten.”
“Ten works.” Breaker nodded. “Need my help, or can I go back to the medical bay?”
Conrad tipped his head to the side and pondered on that. “I’d actually prefer your help. The kid can head back though. I can’t get away with two unauthorized mechanics right now, given the circumstances. Sorry, little killer.”
I rolled my eyes in an extremely exaggerated fashion just to be sure he saw it. Conrad’s smirk confirmed I’d succeeded. “Cool, well, I guess I’ll go back to the bunker then.” I tried to hide the defeat and nerves at the prospect.
“Sorry Pipsqueak. I’ll catch you later,” Breaker said, once again betraying me with a shrug. “Need me to mark the way back on a map?” The heavy implication of ‘so you don’t get caught’ was loud and clear.
“I think I can handle it.” I turned on me heel, as Breaker climbed onto a maintenance platform, and I started back toward the dorms. I sent Elio a message with an ‘on my way back. Going through the dorm route. Think you can open the emergency exit door?’ and he responded with a quick affirmative.
At least he was being helpful. It sounded like we were about to have plenty of locked-in-a-bunker time to work out our differences, so it was good we were both now being cordial.
I was half way to the bunker, when I opted to return to my room on the way.
Traversing empty halls was a nice change of pace for once, as I moved effortlessly through the dorms without interruption or awkwardness.
I entered my room to grab some comfortable clothes and fresh underwear from my closet.
I considered grabbing some clothes for Elio, too, but I found myself contemplating if we were on touching each other’s underwear terms.
That was the next level. We were only at ‘post-battle orgasms’ level.
A shiver ran up my spine—and by a shiver, I mean tingles and heat. Was it weird that I was so at ease waking up naked and snuggling on his lap? I probably would have stayed there forever if I was in any other version of reality at all.
But I wasn’t, so here we were.
I stopped at the restroom to grab my Sanitary Evac Unit, glad I’d been done with the thing before my first battle—and my first…
uh… not-battle—but I figured I should keep it on hand whenever I ended up needing it again in some indeterminate amount of weeks or months.
For one last piece of resistance, I splashed some water on my face to get myself hyped to go have my secret exposed to administration in the doctor’s office.
Hell yeah. Can’t wait. I hope I get to go straight to auction.
With one last sarcastic groan, I took a single step toward the door, when my CHRONO started blinking on my wrist. Assuming a message from Elio, I tapped open the screen, and glanced at the display.
Only, it wasn’t a message from Elio.
It was marked as a message from… Fianna Callan.