Mecha Rogue by Brett Patton Page B

single living thing in sight.
    Five thousand feet. Two thousand. All quiet.
    â€œPrepare to land,” Matt told the adepts.
    Their Demons unfolded, blasting thrusters to slow their descent. Clouds of white water ice blew up, instantly subliming to vapor in the blaze of the Demons’ fusion exhaust. Soon they stood on the surface ice, each in a little pit made by the heat of its thrusters.
    â€œTeam is down, Colonel,” Matt told Cruz. “Awaiting orders.”
    Cruz’s comms icon lit, but before the man could say anything, a hail of Fireflies arced at Matt’s Demons—followed by their source, a battalion of Hellions.
    Union Mecha. On this frozen world at the edge of nowhere.

5
    HIDDEN
    As the chrome black Hellions flickered at Matt and his team, his thoughts went into overdrive: Hellions? Union Hellions? Yes, they were unmistakably Union Mecha—Matt had trained first in Hellions, and he’d recognize them anywhere.
    But Union Mecha weren’t just left lying around on any world, especially one so far out from the Core. Especially not a full battalion. That meant this was an important base. But did that mean the Corsairs had captured a strategic Union world, and compromised all of its technology? If so—
    The Fireflies hit. Matt’s POV whited out as force feedback through his interface suit left him gasping for breath. He flailed as he flew backward through the air. His Demon crunched down hard on its back, digging shiny gouges in the planet’s surface ice.
    Matt shook his head. Fireflies didn’t have a punch like that!
    â€œHeavy matter,” Jie gasped. “They’re using heavy matter in their Firefly rounds.”
    Matt scrambled to get up as his vision cleared. The Hellions were on them now, moving blurring fast, almost as if the Hellions’ Rayder had been modified to remove their limiters. Almost. They were damn fast, but not Rayder fast. It was almost as if they simply had very, very good pilots.
    Matt barely got to his feet before three of the Hellions barreled into him, their razor talons slicing painfully at his arms. Their fusion ports glowed dull orange as they charged Fireflies for another assault.
    The rest of the Hellions attacked Matt’s team, clinging to them like lampreys. Norah screamed in frustration and tried to target them with the Zap Gun, but the big weapon was useless in close quarters. Xie beat at his attackers, trying to dislodge them, but the nimble Hellions avoided his grasping hands. Elize hit the ground and rolled, triggering her own Fireflies. The Hellions danced away from the smart rounds, which exploded harmlessly in the sky. Their brilliant light strobed the scene below, rendering the battle in jerky freeze frame.
    Smart,
Matt thought.
Get in close so we can’t use our Zap Guns or Sidewinders
. They moved too fast for Fireflies too. Which left—
    â€œFusion Handshake!” Matt yelled. “Use it!”
    â€œWhat’s that?” Xie asked.
    Ah, shit.
They didn’t even know the slang yet. What the hell was it called? “CQFA! Close-Quarters Fusion Annihilator! Now!”
    Matt’s vision went white as another round of Fireflies came down on him. This time it didn’t come back fully. Jagged pieces of his POV were covered in gray pixels, and the dreaded countdown began: REGENERATION COMPLETE IN 32 SECONDS.
    The Hellions were on him again. Their fusion ports glowed in orange puzzle pieces in his POV. They’d wipe out the rest of his visual sensors, and then they’d take him apart.
    Matt enabled his Fusion Handshake and grabbed for the Hellions. They skittered away like roaches, comfortably ahead of his grasp. He flailed again, but he simply wasn’t fast enough. Through the working parts of his visual sensors, he saw the others having the same problem.
    He was going to be taken down by old-style Hellions!
    Matt triggered his thrusters and leapt for the sky, but the Hellions only