Pilatus

Mechwarrior: Disposable Heroes

Reya Wyatt

Reya’s eyes squinted a bit in the fresh sunlight as the truck emerged from the tunnel works and the momentarily craggy, rough ride of the surface beneath the tires smoothed back into what felt like weathered asphalt. She couldn’t see a lot from the backseat of the cab as trees, brush and rock passed by briefly. However, she thought she caught a glimpse of a heavy AVC work truck and a few stalwart onlookers in hard hats watching them pass. Whatever plans the Colonel and Cassandra had arranged to keep the tunnels hidden had made its way down the chain. The thought made her nervous that more people were now privy to the Knights’ movements, but for the time being, their only choice was to trust. From what she observed and read about Cassandra, even before she knew who she was firsthand, she didn’t seem like the type for military subterfuge, but she was most definitely a calculating opportunist and everyone that they had encountered that worked for her seemed to have the same staunch loyalty to AVC like it represented something superior on Espia whether they worked at an office building or on a field crew. She thought about it as they continued along. There was a similar attitude among her family’s long-time staff, but she knew that was a different case. Within the customs of the Combine, there was a near hereditary flow to the advancement of Wyatt Interstellar and oftentimes a position or even a family’s entire role was essentially traditional. Conversely, Cassandra Jeong had hand picked and cultivated much of her staff. Reya sighed a bit while her mind crossed lightyears back to Tabayama.

There wasn’t a lot said on the return trip. Even though they were holding onto information that would potentially ensure the Knights’ survival, she had felt a growing sense of apprehension about what she was going to say in the debriefing. They had no doubt accomplished their mission and the note from “Stiletto” was in the small purse she’d selected from Cassandra’s fashionable stockpile, not that she needed it. Reya’s memory was nearly perfect photographic. She could easily recall the comm number the woman had scribbled along with the address of the building, what everyone had been drinking, how many people were there and any number of other trivia or details about the whole excursion. When they had gone on the raid, Lyons had been particularly overwhelmed with how much she could remember, but this time was different. Reya knew she would have to tell them and the Colonel would be expecting one of her detailed accounts more than ever. The apprehension wasn’t from their meeting with Stiletto or anything that had been said or nuanced- it was from Lena. She was afraid the Colonel would think she was crazy just as was sure Ingrid did already. She could accept him being skeptical. That was natural, but being seen as lessened in his eyes because of trauma made her seriously hesitant. His approval meant more than anything. Then she would have to tell Pops, which felt assuredly easier. He would believe her and even if he didn’t, he had such a familial air about him, she knew he would at least listen and not judge until he saw more for himself.

The truck stopped and the door opened. One of the ‘Boys helped her step down and she had to cover her forehead with one hand to keep the full brightness of the daylight at bay. The familiar smell of oil, metal, dirt and grease was everywhere, but it was under beautiful open air and sky; not a cave. She breathed it in freely. Her eyes adjusted slowly and she could see the Mobile HQ parked some distance away along with what looked like serviceable mechbays. She continued to look around among the spires of accumulated junk and parts, first looking for Sunny amid the curious onlookers, but her second glimpse of the empty mechbays fully jolted her back to reality and her heart skipped a beat at first. We had to have beat them back here... She thought. If something had gone wrong at the dam, they would have definitely heard about it. The logic quickly settled her nerves, but not fully. What she knew she had looked for first, after Sunny, was also not present: Tarak’s Phoenix Hawk. She let a breath out slowly. It had to be the same, she and Ingrid had just arrived first and the absence of Ziska’s Raven seemed to reinforce that thought as well. There was no way the NPDRE or the Crimson Fists could have throttled both of them. The uproar the two of them could have created would have been on par with the dam flooding. Still, she found her clenched fist covering over her heart and she quickly dropped it, glancing around momentarily in embarrassment. Despite everything, though she’d never admit it, she still wanted Tarak to see her when she was somewhat put together. It had been a long time since she wore anything other than her work clothes and she wanted to savor his reaction. If she’d learned nothing else from the Knights deposition on Espia it was that one had to take time to appreciate the little things.