Iron Empire

Eighteen: Oscar Kilo

More laughter rose from the crowd. I spotted Kitt stifling a yawn between chuckles.

"Excluding the empty dropship that will transport the supplies," Martin added, "each team will only take one dropship. That means each pilot will only have two replacement mechs, or three mechs total. Be cautious. As slim as the chance for an attack is, we want to make sure that we're ready for anything and everything Axion could throw at us. Clear?"

Heads were nodded and a few people even cheered, quietly. Standing just behind Martin, Taewi smiled and nodded, trying to save face.

Martin Telbus flashed us a smile, then strode off to his own dropship. The crowd separated, with Martin's pilots following close behind him.

The dropship limit came as a surprise. Though it was possible to fit four pilots in one dropship, it was highly unusual. Most pilots worked with four to six mechs each per mission, but we wouldn't be able to fit that amount into one dropship.

I supposed it didn't matter in the long run—the mission was mundane and the company was good. Besides, I hadn't gotten a chance to thank Alyx for her well-timed throw the day prior.

As I marched across the gantry, clearing the sleep from my eyes, Taewi came up behind me.

"Isn't it great we get to stay in the same dropship, soldier?" he grinned. "Now we can spend the whole flight together!"

I stopped mid-walk and turned around, staring Taewi down.

"You're scared as hell, aren't you?" I asked.

"What?" Taewi guffawed. "No! If anything, you're the one who should—"

He froze. "You can tell?"

I stepped back and laughed out loud, then began climbing the ladder towards our dropship. Taewi followed me close behind, fuming all the while.

"Shut up!" Taewi hissed, face reddening. "I've never done this before! At least when I took charge in the exclusion zone I wasn't actually a commander! Now I've got all this responsibility and—"

"Shut up, sir," I grinned. "You did fine. I think Commander Telbus thought so, too."

I glanced over to see Martin standing on his own gantry, watching our conversation with a small smile on his face. I marched up the last few rungs of the ladder and extended my arm, helping Taewi up and steering him toward the dropship.

"Why do you think he just let you take over like that in the exclusion zone? He was testing you."

I didn't know that for certain, but I had my reasons to suspect that letting Taewi take control had been his plan all along. If he could trust Taewi, then so could I.

"You've still got my back, don't you?" Taewi grinned.

"Of course, commander," I replied.

"Hey, wait up!" a voice shouted.

I glanced down to see both Kitt and Alyx scrambling up the ladder towards us.

Kitt's dark hand clasped the upper railing tightly, and Taewi took hold of it, helping his squadmate up as I had done for him.

"Planning on leaving half your team behind, oh skillful commander?" Kitt chirped.

"Not on your life!" Taewi shot back. "I need someone to boss around, don't I?"

Alyx pulled herself up onto the platform with a grunt of effort. To my dismay, I had been too far away to offer her a hand up like I had done for Taewi, and Kitt was busy laughing with his new commander.

Oh well.

"So," Alyx grinned, "I see you haven't murdered your commanding officer yet."

"No small thanks to your efforts," I shot back. "That was a nice shot, by the way."

Alyx's eyes widened for a moment before her smirk grew even wider. "I don't know what you're talking about, Mister Quinn," she announced, striding past me towards the dropship.

"Oh really?" I grinned. Her attitude was infectious. "So someone other than you managed to hit him between the eyes from across the entire platform?"

Alyx's eyes darted mischievously towards Taewi, but our commander was too busy speaking to Kedrick. He hadn't heard a word.

"I guess it's a mystery," Alyx concluded.

"Yeah," I agreed. "How very mysterious."

We joined Taewi and Kitt in marching towards the dropship, side by side.

***

I heaved the cockpit door open with a grunt of effort, leading the way into the cockpit. Lucas sat in his pilot's seat, occupied with preflight checks.

"Someone really needs to fix that door," Taewi remarked.

"Yeah, eventually," I replied. "I wouldn't bet on it happening any time soon."

The remainder of squadron seven—minus an absent Martin—piled into the cockpit behind me.

I plopped down in the co-pilot's seat, claiming my spot for the duration of the flight.

"Looking forward to this mission, Luke?" I asked, kicking my boots up on the console.

Lucas frowned and pushed my boots down.

"It's the usual," he replied. "I fly you somewhere, drop you out of the sky and then wait until you come back. Only this time I don't have to worry if you'll come back in one piece or not." He shrugged noncommittally. "So yeah, I guess I'm excited for this one if it means I don't have to duct tape some part of you again."

Kitt laughed out loud as he settled into a passenger seat near the front of the dropship.

I chuckled and threw my feet back up on the dash. Who was he kidding? Lucas was always worried, no matter what. It's what made him a good pilot and a great friend. He was always keeping me in line.

"Bay thirteen, you are clear for launch."

I jumped. I hadn't even heard the other dropships launch. Sure enough, bays eleven and twelve were empty. Our allies had already launched.

Lucas threw a switch and the dropship hovered on the spot, reactor engine starting with a hum. You didn't feel the radiation in a ship like this. Unlike the Prowler, the dropship was heavily insulated.

Lucas spun the nose of the dropship around and the hangar flashed by in a whirl until we were pointed at the open door. I could see the steel grey sky and sea through the reinforced windows, each horizon a mirror image of the other.

Lucas keyed the comm button. "Launching."

With a jump, the dropship leapt forward, and suddenly we left the Firmament behind, hurtling out over the coast of Nova Scotia and onward toward our mission.