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Rapid footfalls crunched on hard terrain, heavy breaths matched each step in tandem. Maxine quickly checked how many bullets were left in her rifle after she slid to cover behind a large red-colored boulder. The dirt under her feet matched the rock’s color but had a dark orange hue to it.
She glanced up and saw her team was nowhere to be seen, she rolled her eyes. Of course, no cover fire. She grabbed a plasma grenade, twisted it twice and chucked it over the boulder, hopefully, close to the enemy, as a diversion.
As the exploding rang off into the not so far distance, Max stood up and emptied her clip into enemy soldiers that had flooded the area. “Fine, I’ll do this alone you fucking noobs!” Max wasn’t usually the kind of person to swear up a storm, actually, she always wore a friendly smile and always had great things to say about everyone she met. Although, in this particular instance, she felt extremely irritated at the lack of support.
She vaulted over the boulder and shot her rifle from the hip as she made note of where her enemies were. She heard another ‘Ugh, fuck!’ in her coms and shook her head. She wanted to facepalm, but she was otherwise occupied. “Get better, on uninstall.”
Just as Max was about to kick one of the enemy's feet from underneath him and perform a really cool version of the Rock’s ‘people’s elbow’, the scenery around her faded out, the enemy soldiers disappeared and so did her weapons and revealed the plain walls of her humble apartment.
Maxine, your scheduled interview is in exactly 45 minutes and 26 seconds, a voice that sounded oddly like Jon Bernthal filtered through the room as the sounds of warfare dissipated.
“Come on! Why did you have to turn it off? I had the drop on these guys,” Maxine grumbled at the AI.
I repeat, your scheduled interview is in exactly 45 minutes and 26 seconds.
“Fine.” Sam rolled her eyes and commanded Spehie, whom she referred to as Jon, to turn off the console in her living room as she padded to her room and added under her breath: “smart ass.”
Could you please repeat that?
Maxine rolled her eyes, exasperated as she dressed in her military fatigues. She then tired her long hair into a tight bun onto her head, making sure no strands were falling out. She then grabbed her mug and finished the rest of her coffee before she bolted out of the door.
Given the chance, Max would have been stressed out about the interview, but seeing as she decided to leave last minute, as usual, she didn’t really have the time. Besides, this would be just like when she joined the military right? Ask a few simple questions, throw a curveball here and there to make you sweat. No biggie. She could manage her stress very well unless she was playing with a team of noobs who she had to carry to win the match.
The ride to Vekta Prime was uneventful, just like it usually was. Probably because Maxine dozed off after a few minutes and dreamed of wrecking the team she just had a match against. She was used to traveling, as any soldier was. She hadn’t visited Vekta in a long while, but she had been several times in the past. Nothing worth seeing again, she thought, it was plain and depressing.
Max awoke, slightly startled, as a loud voice indicated they had docked. She stretched her arms in front of her and rolled her shoulders a few times before she stood up and walked out of the shuttle. How are these seats so uncomfortable? She thought as she heard something in her back pop back into place as she walked out into the station.
She passed the security check and lit it up like a Christmas tree. Upon further inspection of her augmented leg, she was given the all-clear to proceed further in and made her way through the corridors and eyed the signs that hung above each intersecting section of the corridor until she found the right place. She spotted a desk and the receptionist sitting behind it, who Max smiled at as she approached it.
The receptionist was practically asleep. Not literally, but her face spoke of exhaustion and non-existence. It was surprising she was still cognitive. “Welcome to Vekta Prime Orbital…” She said drowsily. “Are you here in regards to th- uuuwwaaAAAAaaahhh.” A big yawn escaped her unintentionally. “-the Apollyon Application…?”
Maxine brings her hand up to cover her mouth as she chuckled, but she decided to make it seem like an unexpected cough. She excused herself but continued to smile at the clearly bored woman, “I wish I would have brought you a coffee,” she paused for a split second and responded to the woman’s inquiry. “Yes, that’s exact. Sergeant Sheppard here for the Lancer position interview.”
“PassCard, please…” The woman’s eyes were opening and closing very slowly.
Maxine fished her passcard from the front pocket of her fatigue’s jacket and as she handed her card to the woman, she wondered how many pots of coffee it would take to wake this one up. “There you go.” Probably a gazillion, Max silently decided.
“Mmmmmm… Thank you…” She lazily passed the card over the scanner to reveal a hologram showing a massive list of thousands of people. Her eyes scanned slowly as the system found the name it was looking for. “You are to be interviewed at Room 14 - On this very floor.” She handed back the PassCard. “Good Luck on your selection…”
Maxine nodded and grabbed her card back from the woman. “I bet you say that to all the girls,” Max joked with a friendly wink as she stuffed the card back into the decently sized pocket and stared at the door. Of course, her nerves decided it was the best moment to kick in. Great, just great. Taking a breath to calm her heart rate, Sam pushed open the door and entered the room.
“Sergeant! Just in time. Congratulations on getting to this phase of the process. Take a seat.” The man that greeted her, or what she assumed to be a man, was, in fact, an Android. Though the features seemed perfectly human and seamless at a glance, the faint glow in the eyes and a few seams where the parts of the face connected to each other were the giveaways. Though regardless, it was incredible work. Such Androids were extremely rare in the Union and would have easily been passed for augmented people on the street.
“Thank you,” Max stood at attention, feet shoulder width and taught shoulders pulled slightly back as she clasped both of her hands together behind her back. “I’m happy to be here, sir,” Maxine spoke respectfully as she examined the interviewer. He looked to be in a good mood, but she knows looks can be quite deceiving. She also noticed the faint lines in his face, though she didn’t mind or have much interest in what he was. She just wanted to get through this interview as professionally as she could and hope to make a good impression on him.
Max glanced around the room and sat at the table on the chair nearest to her. She pulled the chair forward just slightly and placed her forearms on the table, leaning forward on them as she clasped both hands together loosely in front of her.
“I’m going to ask you a series of questions, starting off with a little bit about your service history, and finishing off with some psychological questions.” The Android paused for a moment to let that sink. He didn’t wish to pummel the woman with words, even though he could. “You have been a member of the 96th Hammerhead Battalion for 1 military deployment prior to sustaining your injuries in the field of combat. You have seen several theaters of action among the 96th, even made some friends who later recommended you for an opening in the 34th Bulwark Lancer Division a year later, a difficult position to obtain, mind you. Tell me a bit about your experience with the 96th.”
“That’s right, when I joined them I was fresh out of boot camp and to be honest, I loved the experience. I was nervous when I left for the first time, but I adjusted quickly and after a few months my battalion became my extended family. It’s still crazy to me how strong bonds are built when you’re out there with complete strangers. You wake up one day, and you tell yourself ‘yeah, this is my life now, better make the best of it’. And that stranger snoring next to you becomes your best friend, even more than that, they become your literal family.”
“I’m not gonna lie, looking at the same the drab and earthy terrain for 9 months did take its toll mentally, but it’s the people around you that make it all worth it. I’ve seen men break, I’ve seen women break, and it was because they never really integrated themselves as part of this family we all help build.”
Max took a slight break, she removed her jacket and folded it in half and hung it on the back of the chair. She then readjusted herself in her seat, she leaned back feeling a little more comfortable as she started talking. Her shoulders were visibly looser than when she came in the room. She smiled slightly as she continued, “I was young, wanted to prove myself but I still wasn’t exactly sure what I was doing there. What I mean is, as opposed to some of the other soldiers there, this hasn’t been my childhood dream. I just needed something to do that had a greater purpose than myself - to help others. I felt that’s what I was doing, even if I didn’t always have a crystal clear idea to how my actions and our missions’ success was helping others, I saw it in the children we saved from homes who would rather place a gun in their hands than give them a proper childhood. I truly think what I do, what every soldier does on every deployment, is extremely important, not only for the people we help but for those whose lives are made better by our actions.”
“How did you come to be conscripted into the 34th Lancers?” The interviewer asked.
“My superior officers came to, offering me something more as I’ve had been vocal to them about wanting a greater challenge and wanting to have a greater effect on the war we were fighting. The offer to join the 34th Lancers was put on the table, and I only thought about it for a day until I accepted. I was sad to leave some of my family behind, but I knew I would find more kindred spirits. And personally, I needed the challenge. I was hungry to learn more.”
The interviewer nodded, seemingly memorizing every word Max was saying. “Do you feel that joining the 34th finally gave you the purpose you were looking for?”
“I don’t know if it satisfied my purpose, overall, but it did give me a greater sense of who I wanted to become as a person and it showed me that the only way to achieve that is to build your own road. It’s a daily progress, and there will be boulders in the way, but in the end, I do feel satisfied with what I’ve achieved so far.”
“In that case-” The interviewer leaned back a little, resting his hands on his lap. “-tell about your experience with the 34th, and how you sustained those injuries.”
Max could have seen this question coming from a mile away, which is why she was prepared to answer honestly, so she started with the easier question. “I’m pretty sure I fell in love with mechs as soon as I first sat in one. The training was fun, but it’s the learning experience that I found extremely satisfying,” Max grinned and continued, “when I received my license after 600 flight hours I felt like I was floating on a cloud.”
“I was on defensive duty for a while, it was fun, but there wasn’t much action around the base. I tinkered with my mech, read all there was to read about them really. I then joined a smaller group within the division who specialized in guerrilla warfare; small units, very tactically driven missions. Whenever I wasn’t with my unit I would still act as one of the main base’s bouncer on rotating shifts, so to speak,” Max chuckled and added: “along with many others.”
“It was during one of those missions that my injury happened. It started out like most of these days usually did, coffee tasted great, the eggs we had at breakfast were great. We had a recon mission that day, everything went as planned, it was easier than we thought. The enemy just didn’t see us coming at all and we were prepared and pumped. We completely annihilated their forces.”
Max took a breath and continued, “We did our parameter check and I moved away from the group, I told them I saw something but really I just needed to take a piss,” Maxine chuckled and shook her head as the memory invoked embarrassment still. “I left my mech, it was big enough to give me privacy, and just as I was undoing my buttons I did actually spot something. A downed soldier,” max grimaced at the memory.
“He was beat to shit. I knew he was an enemy and I approached him anyway. When I got closer I noticed he was clutching to something, tears ran down his face, along with blood.” Max stopped once more and shook her head, “my empathy kicked in, even more so when I saw he was holding up a picture of his family.”
Max vividly recalled what happened next, “I asked if he needed help but he looked at me as if he had no care in the world. He gave me this...smile I can’t describe, and when he lifted his hand I saw the remote he had clutched in it. I turned around and only got far enough to save myself from most of the blast radius, but the leg I pushed off with was completely singed, metal shards everywhere.”
Max took another break as she looked down at her hands, face scrunched up as she still wondered how someone with a family would willingly forfeit his own life. She looked up at the interviewed once more and shrugged, “fucker went kamikaze on me.”
“In war-” The interviewer began, “-people choose their fates based on many things, from loyalty to their nation, too selfish reasons of suicidal revenge, or even sheer fear. While you may not know it now, perhaps one day you will be in that man’s shoes, and whatever your reasons will be, you may decide to do the same.” The Android took a short pause, resting his hands on the table with their palms face down.
“But let’s not dwell on the depressing. Do you feel that serving on the Apollyon will help you find the answer you are looking for? Finding yourself?”
“I don’t believe any job would give that answer clearly to me, but I do know that each step forward I make, each thing I that I accomplish is a piece to that bigger puzzle.” Max smiled once more, “this position to me is another way that I can better myself and I know that working on the Apollyon would be a great learning experience.”
“How do you consider your relationship with machines, like mechs, or AI, to be?” the Android enquired.
Max scrunched up her brow slightly as she thought how to best answer this question. She hasn’t thought about it really, but she’ll answer try to answer clearly with what she feels. “It’s...sort of like a teammate and a best friend all in one really big and powerful package.” Well that sort of makes sense. “When I joined the lancer division I was implanted with a device that connected my consciousness with any Mech that I operate. I can communicate or control it remotely as if I’m talking to a VI. So in other words, it feels like a friend while also being my primary weapon.”
“That leads to my next question. If you are in a situation where you have no power or no social contact, how would you cope with either? Which would you prefer?” The interviewer asked.
“I prefer social contact of course, but I do also find quiet time to be peaceful. I often use it for meditation,” Maxine answered truthfully. “I would tend to go a little stir crazy without anyone to talk to for extended periods of time, but the VI in my head helps with that - even if its tone is highly monotonous and kind of sounds like a tin can.” At this point ‘Jon’ quipped with: Can I help you with anything, miss Sheppard?
The Android’s face froze for a second as it was memorizing more of the information given, then once again continued. “I’m sure you already know this. Mech pilots have… quite an ego.” He waved his hand slightly. “How do you deal with kind of atmosphere? How do you handle the disagreements?”
“I’m no stranger to disagreements, I think the most important ones were between fellow soldiers of my guerilla unit. As we are a small team we rely on everyone doing their part and if someone isn’t on board then everything can turn to shit real quick. As for how I handle them,” Max shrugged a little as she leaned forward onto her elbows again. “I can recognize when I’m wrong, and if someone else’s tactic seems more sound than mine then I have no problem agreeing to it. Most of the disagreements we had revolved around missions that seemed damn near suicidal. As soldiers, we self-sacrifice our time and our body each and every day we’re out there, but there’s a difference between being heroic and idiotic. We’re not a suicide squad, we’re out there to make a difference and correct me if I’m wrong but we can’t do that from heaven.”
“Well then.” The android audibly clasped his hands. “I believe this ends our interview. I wish you luck in the selection.”
Max was somewhat surprised at how quickly the time passed, but she was confident in the answers she has given the interviewer. “Thank you for your time, sir.” With that, Max grabbed her jacket from the back of the chair and slung it over her shoulder as she pushed past the double doors and entered the busy corridors once more. She gave the girl behind the desk a two finger salute as she passed her.
Miss Sheppard, it appears there is movement in your apartment. I’ve located the movement, it’s coming from your kitchen. It seems to be a creature of some kind...oh, pardon me. it’s your cat, Tank, eating your breakfast leftovers.
“Jon, you’re either the most idiotic VI ever created, or the most clever.” Max chuckled to herself as she got herself a cup of coffee to go before entering the shuttle and heading back home.
Perhaps if you would clean up before leaving your home, this wouldn’t happen.
“I didn’t have time, I had a very important interview to got to.” She wondered why she was trying to justify herself to a very good reproduction of Jon Bernthal’s voice.
“You say it was important, yet you were almost late because you were playing video games.”
Max cursed and a woman in the seat beside her frowned at the Sergeant for a moment. Maxine turned to her with a slight smirk, “sorry, the VI in my head is trying to tell me what to do.” She winked at the passenger before she took a giant gulp of lukewarm coffee.
The woman nodded, seemingly understanding the situation.
Now that the interview was over, Max decided she needed to see a massage therapist, her shoulders and back feel extremely tight. She didn’t mind waiting for the reply, sure she was excited at the prospect of getting a job on the biggest thing since VR games, but Max wasn’t someone who dwelled on ‘what ifs’ she was definitely a concrete answers kind of girl.
In the meantime, she had very important business to attend to: Netflix and chill with her cat.
She glanced up and saw her team was nowhere to be seen, she rolled her eyes. Of course, no cover fire. She grabbed a plasma grenade, twisted it twice and chucked it over the boulder, hopefully, close to the enemy, as a diversion.
As the exploding rang off into the not so far distance, Max stood up and emptied her clip into enemy soldiers that had flooded the area. “Fine, I’ll do this alone you fucking noobs!” Max wasn’t usually the kind of person to swear up a storm, actually, she always wore a friendly smile and always had great things to say about everyone she met. Although, in this particular instance, she felt extremely irritated at the lack of support.
She vaulted over the boulder and shot her rifle from the hip as she made note of where her enemies were. She heard another ‘Ugh, fuck!’ in her coms and shook her head. She wanted to facepalm, but she was otherwise occupied. “Get better, on uninstall.”
Just as Max was about to kick one of the enemy's feet from underneath him and perform a really cool version of the Rock’s ‘people’s elbow’, the scenery around her faded out, the enemy soldiers disappeared and so did her weapons and revealed the plain walls of her humble apartment.
Maxine, your scheduled interview is in exactly 45 minutes and 26 seconds, a voice that sounded oddly like Jon Bernthal filtered through the room as the sounds of warfare dissipated.
“Come on! Why did you have to turn it off? I had the drop on these guys,” Maxine grumbled at the AI.
I repeat, your scheduled interview is in exactly 45 minutes and 26 seconds.
“Fine.” Sam rolled her eyes and commanded Spehie, whom she referred to as Jon, to turn off the console in her living room as she padded to her room and added under her breath: “smart ass.”
Could you please repeat that?
Maxine rolled her eyes, exasperated as she dressed in her military fatigues. She then tired her long hair into a tight bun onto her head, making sure no strands were falling out. She then grabbed her mug and finished the rest of her coffee before she bolted out of the door.
Given the chance, Max would have been stressed out about the interview, but seeing as she decided to leave last minute, as usual, she didn’t really have the time. Besides, this would be just like when she joined the military right? Ask a few simple questions, throw a curveball here and there to make you sweat. No biggie. She could manage her stress very well unless she was playing with a team of noobs who she had to carry to win the match.
The ride to Vekta Prime was uneventful, just like it usually was. Probably because Maxine dozed off after a few minutes and dreamed of wrecking the team she just had a match against. She was used to traveling, as any soldier was. She hadn’t visited Vekta in a long while, but she had been several times in the past. Nothing worth seeing again, she thought, it was plain and depressing.
Max awoke, slightly startled, as a loud voice indicated they had docked. She stretched her arms in front of her and rolled her shoulders a few times before she stood up and walked out of the shuttle. How are these seats so uncomfortable? She thought as she heard something in her back pop back into place as she walked out into the station.
She passed the security check and lit it up like a Christmas tree. Upon further inspection of her augmented leg, she was given the all-clear to proceed further in and made her way through the corridors and eyed the signs that hung above each intersecting section of the corridor until she found the right place. She spotted a desk and the receptionist sitting behind it, who Max smiled at as she approached it.
The receptionist was practically asleep. Not literally, but her face spoke of exhaustion and non-existence. It was surprising she was still cognitive. “Welcome to Vekta Prime Orbital…” She said drowsily. “Are you here in regards to th- uuuwwaaAAAAaaahhh.” A big yawn escaped her unintentionally. “-the Apollyon Application…?”
Maxine brings her hand up to cover her mouth as she chuckled, but she decided to make it seem like an unexpected cough. She excused herself but continued to smile at the clearly bored woman, “I wish I would have brought you a coffee,” she paused for a split second and responded to the woman’s inquiry. “Yes, that’s exact. Sergeant Sheppard here for the Lancer position interview.”
“PassCard, please…” The woman’s eyes were opening and closing very slowly.
Maxine fished her passcard from the front pocket of her fatigue’s jacket and as she handed her card to the woman, she wondered how many pots of coffee it would take to wake this one up. “There you go.” Probably a gazillion, Max silently decided.
“Mmmmmm… Thank you…” She lazily passed the card over the scanner to reveal a hologram showing a massive list of thousands of people. Her eyes scanned slowly as the system found the name it was looking for. “You are to be interviewed at Room 14 - On this very floor.” She handed back the PassCard. “Good Luck on your selection…”
Maxine nodded and grabbed her card back from the woman. “I bet you say that to all the girls,” Max joked with a friendly wink as she stuffed the card back into the decently sized pocket and stared at the door. Of course, her nerves decided it was the best moment to kick in. Great, just great. Taking a breath to calm her heart rate, Sam pushed open the door and entered the room.
“Sergeant! Just in time. Congratulations on getting to this phase of the process. Take a seat.” The man that greeted her, or what she assumed to be a man, was, in fact, an Android. Though the features seemed perfectly human and seamless at a glance, the faint glow in the eyes and a few seams where the parts of the face connected to each other were the giveaways. Though regardless, it was incredible work. Such Androids were extremely rare in the Union and would have easily been passed for augmented people on the street.
“Thank you,” Max stood at attention, feet shoulder width and taught shoulders pulled slightly back as she clasped both of her hands together behind her back. “I’m happy to be here, sir,” Maxine spoke respectfully as she examined the interviewer. He looked to be in a good mood, but she knows looks can be quite deceiving. She also noticed the faint lines in his face, though she didn’t mind or have much interest in what he was. She just wanted to get through this interview as professionally as she could and hope to make a good impression on him.
Max glanced around the room and sat at the table on the chair nearest to her. She pulled the chair forward just slightly and placed her forearms on the table, leaning forward on them as she clasped both hands together loosely in front of her.
“I’m going to ask you a series of questions, starting off with a little bit about your service history, and finishing off with some psychological questions.” The Android paused for a moment to let that sink. He didn’t wish to pummel the woman with words, even though he could. “You have been a member of the 96th Hammerhead Battalion for 1 military deployment prior to sustaining your injuries in the field of combat. You have seen several theaters of action among the 96th, even made some friends who later recommended you for an opening in the 34th Bulwark Lancer Division a year later, a difficult position to obtain, mind you. Tell me a bit about your experience with the 96th.”
“That’s right, when I joined them I was fresh out of boot camp and to be honest, I loved the experience. I was nervous when I left for the first time, but I adjusted quickly and after a few months my battalion became my extended family. It’s still crazy to me how strong bonds are built when you’re out there with complete strangers. You wake up one day, and you tell yourself ‘yeah, this is my life now, better make the best of it’. And that stranger snoring next to you becomes your best friend, even more than that, they become your literal family.”
“I’m not gonna lie, looking at the same the drab and earthy terrain for 9 months did take its toll mentally, but it’s the people around you that make it all worth it. I’ve seen men break, I’ve seen women break, and it was because they never really integrated themselves as part of this family we all help build.”
Max took a slight break, she removed her jacket and folded it in half and hung it on the back of the chair. She then readjusted herself in her seat, she leaned back feeling a little more comfortable as she started talking. Her shoulders were visibly looser than when she came in the room. She smiled slightly as she continued, “I was young, wanted to prove myself but I still wasn’t exactly sure what I was doing there. What I mean is, as opposed to some of the other soldiers there, this hasn’t been my childhood dream. I just needed something to do that had a greater purpose than myself - to help others. I felt that’s what I was doing, even if I didn’t always have a crystal clear idea to how my actions and our missions’ success was helping others, I saw it in the children we saved from homes who would rather place a gun in their hands than give them a proper childhood. I truly think what I do, what every soldier does on every deployment, is extremely important, not only for the people we help but for those whose lives are made better by our actions.”
“How did you come to be conscripted into the 34th Lancers?” The interviewer asked.
“My superior officers came to, offering me something more as I’ve had been vocal to them about wanting a greater challenge and wanting to have a greater effect on the war we were fighting. The offer to join the 34th Lancers was put on the table, and I only thought about it for a day until I accepted. I was sad to leave some of my family behind, but I knew I would find more kindred spirits. And personally, I needed the challenge. I was hungry to learn more.”
The interviewer nodded, seemingly memorizing every word Max was saying. “Do you feel that joining the 34th finally gave you the purpose you were looking for?”
“I don’t know if it satisfied my purpose, overall, but it did give me a greater sense of who I wanted to become as a person and it showed me that the only way to achieve that is to build your own road. It’s a daily progress, and there will be boulders in the way, but in the end, I do feel satisfied with what I’ve achieved so far.”
“In that case-” The interviewer leaned back a little, resting his hands on his lap. “-tell about your experience with the 34th, and how you sustained those injuries.”
Max could have seen this question coming from a mile away, which is why she was prepared to answer honestly, so she started with the easier question. “I’m pretty sure I fell in love with mechs as soon as I first sat in one. The training was fun, but it’s the learning experience that I found extremely satisfying,” Max grinned and continued, “when I received my license after 600 flight hours I felt like I was floating on a cloud.”
“I was on defensive duty for a while, it was fun, but there wasn’t much action around the base. I tinkered with my mech, read all there was to read about them really. I then joined a smaller group within the division who specialized in guerrilla warfare; small units, very tactically driven missions. Whenever I wasn’t with my unit I would still act as one of the main base’s bouncer on rotating shifts, so to speak,” Max chuckled and added: “along with many others.”
“It was during one of those missions that my injury happened. It started out like most of these days usually did, coffee tasted great, the eggs we had at breakfast were great. We had a recon mission that day, everything went as planned, it was easier than we thought. The enemy just didn’t see us coming at all and we were prepared and pumped. We completely annihilated their forces.”
Max took a breath and continued, “We did our parameter check and I moved away from the group, I told them I saw something but really I just needed to take a piss,” Maxine chuckled and shook her head as the memory invoked embarrassment still. “I left my mech, it was big enough to give me privacy, and just as I was undoing my buttons I did actually spot something. A downed soldier,” max grimaced at the memory.
“He was beat to shit. I knew he was an enemy and I approached him anyway. When I got closer I noticed he was clutching to something, tears ran down his face, along with blood.” Max stopped once more and shook her head, “my empathy kicked in, even more so when I saw he was holding up a picture of his family.”
Max vividly recalled what happened next, “I asked if he needed help but he looked at me as if he had no care in the world. He gave me this...smile I can’t describe, and when he lifted his hand I saw the remote he had clutched in it. I turned around and only got far enough to save myself from most of the blast radius, but the leg I pushed off with was completely singed, metal shards everywhere.”
Max took another break as she looked down at her hands, face scrunched up as she still wondered how someone with a family would willingly forfeit his own life. She looked up at the interviewed once more and shrugged, “fucker went kamikaze on me.”
“In war-” The interviewer began, “-people choose their fates based on many things, from loyalty to their nation, too selfish reasons of suicidal revenge, or even sheer fear. While you may not know it now, perhaps one day you will be in that man’s shoes, and whatever your reasons will be, you may decide to do the same.” The Android took a short pause, resting his hands on the table with their palms face down.
“But let’s not dwell on the depressing. Do you feel that serving on the Apollyon will help you find the answer you are looking for? Finding yourself?”
“I don’t believe any job would give that answer clearly to me, but I do know that each step forward I make, each thing I that I accomplish is a piece to that bigger puzzle.” Max smiled once more, “this position to me is another way that I can better myself and I know that working on the Apollyon would be a great learning experience.”
“How do you consider your relationship with machines, like mechs, or AI, to be?” the Android enquired.
Max scrunched up her brow slightly as she thought how to best answer this question. She hasn’t thought about it really, but she’ll answer try to answer clearly with what she feels. “It’s...sort of like a teammate and a best friend all in one really big and powerful package.” Well that sort of makes sense. “When I joined the lancer division I was implanted with a device that connected my consciousness with any Mech that I operate. I can communicate or control it remotely as if I’m talking to a VI. So in other words, it feels like a friend while also being my primary weapon.”
“That leads to my next question. If you are in a situation where you have no power or no social contact, how would you cope with either? Which would you prefer?” The interviewer asked.
“I prefer social contact of course, but I do also find quiet time to be peaceful. I often use it for meditation,” Maxine answered truthfully. “I would tend to go a little stir crazy without anyone to talk to for extended periods of time, but the VI in my head helps with that - even if its tone is highly monotonous and kind of sounds like a tin can.” At this point ‘Jon’ quipped with: Can I help you with anything, miss Sheppard?
The Android’s face froze for a second as it was memorizing more of the information given, then once again continued. “I’m sure you already know this. Mech pilots have… quite an ego.” He waved his hand slightly. “How do you deal with kind of atmosphere? How do you handle the disagreements?”
“I’m no stranger to disagreements, I think the most important ones were between fellow soldiers of my guerilla unit. As we are a small team we rely on everyone doing their part and if someone isn’t on board then everything can turn to shit real quick. As for how I handle them,” Max shrugged a little as she leaned forward onto her elbows again. “I can recognize when I’m wrong, and if someone else’s tactic seems more sound than mine then I have no problem agreeing to it. Most of the disagreements we had revolved around missions that seemed damn near suicidal. As soldiers, we self-sacrifice our time and our body each and every day we’re out there, but there’s a difference between being heroic and idiotic. We’re not a suicide squad, we’re out there to make a difference and correct me if I’m wrong but we can’t do that from heaven.”
“Well then.” The android audibly clasped his hands. “I believe this ends our interview. I wish you luck in the selection.”
Max was somewhat surprised at how quickly the time passed, but she was confident in the answers she has given the interviewer. “Thank you for your time, sir.” With that, Max grabbed her jacket from the back of the chair and slung it over her shoulder as she pushed past the double doors and entered the busy corridors once more. She gave the girl behind the desk a two finger salute as she passed her.
Miss Sheppard, it appears there is movement in your apartment. I’ve located the movement, it’s coming from your kitchen. It seems to be a creature of some kind...oh, pardon me. it’s your cat, Tank, eating your breakfast leftovers.
“Jon, you’re either the most idiotic VI ever created, or the most clever.” Max chuckled to herself as she got herself a cup of coffee to go before entering the shuttle and heading back home.
Perhaps if you would clean up before leaving your home, this wouldn’t happen.
“I didn’t have time, I had a very important interview to got to.” She wondered why she was trying to justify herself to a very good reproduction of Jon Bernthal’s voice.
“You say it was important, yet you were almost late because you were playing video games.”
Max cursed and a woman in the seat beside her frowned at the Sergeant for a moment. Maxine turned to her with a slight smirk, “sorry, the VI in my head is trying to tell me what to do.” She winked at the passenger before she took a giant gulp of lukewarm coffee.
The woman nodded, seemingly understanding the situation.
Now that the interview was over, Max decided she needed to see a massage therapist, her shoulders and back feel extremely tight. She didn’t mind waiting for the reply, sure she was excited at the prospect of getting a job on the biggest thing since VR games, but Max wasn’t someone who dwelled on ‘what ifs’ she was definitely a concrete answers kind of girl.
In the meantime, she had very important business to attend to: Netflix and chill with her cat.
