Mx hub, p.31
MX Hub, page 31
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have finished tallying the last of the juggernaut simulations. I must state again that you will want to see about the videos of these simulations when they become available. Before we tell you the final scores, you should know that the last simulation finished with not one, but two, uncrushable Entoma. For those who aren’t aware, the only known way to kill one of these monsters is the use of repeated particle cannon hits to their face. It was the selection of mecha by the lead pilots that truly showed the difference in final scores.”
The noise from the crowd began to pick up, and Zander looked over at Hammish’s section, watching the Dwarves argue among themselves.
“The best teams were those who favored particle cannons in the last simulation. If they took two or more mecha with those weapons, their scores rapidly improved, as did their chances of survival. Those who’ve paid attention to the scores over the previous days know that a majority of squads never finished the last simulation, as all pilots died.”
An angry exclamation from one of the other sections, clearly punctuating that at least that squad was in that group.
“The winners had mecha that all had particle cannons,” the announcer went on. “They all ran the exact same mecha: the Rapid-12. It’s called that because it carries two sets of six-pack missiles as one of its three main armaments. Maverick Mecha Manufacturing calls it their best all-around juggernaut, and it was proven in this simulation.”
“Could be tweaked to be better,” Zander muttered.
“How?” Crish asked.
“Later.”
“Second place is different this time,” the announcer continued. “Fleeting Pleasures beat out Proud Axe by the slimmest margin for that distinction. First place again went to Fractured Dreams who, this time, crushed the next closest. For the fourth time, they finished with no deaths, though they did take damage during this simulation. Their style will be seen in the coming days as they face off with the other squads, who will surely want to salve their pride by beating them.”
Hammish leapt to his feet, stalking away, his eyes boring into Zander as his squad marched past Fractured Dreams’ area. Anger and the promise of retribution were clear in the proud Dwarf’s eyes.
“The brackets are still posted, as is the schedule for when each squad will fight. Come cheer on your favorites and jeer the ones you hate. Doors open at the eighth hour tomorrow,” the announcer finished.
Pumil stood to the side, blinking dumbly at Zander and his squad. He’d thought this squad would fail to place at all when they came in missing a pilot, yet they’d won all four simulations.
Zander got to his feet, grinning at his team. “Well, looks like we’ve made some enemies.”
“More of them will hate us when we face and beat them,” Rasisar said.
“Some will fear us,” Crish added. “Once we start beating them, some of that hatred will become fear.”
“A few will respect us,” Kayo said. “Proud Axe won’t, but others will.”
“Others will,” Arlizarista agreed.
“Honestly, I don’t care,” Zander said. “As long as we all make it home safely after a mission, I’ll be happy. Do the job, get paid, go home. What others think will never impinge on what I care about. Love us, fear us, or hate us, I don’t care, as long as they don’t try to stop us from doing the job or getting home. If they do… I’ll leave them burning on the field.”
The four others grinned savagely, agreeing with him. He’d sparked something inside of each of them since he’d been found, and that spark was burning with belief.
“Back to my room,” Zander said. “Time for a celebration, but don’t overdo it. We have training tomorrow.”
Pumil watched them go, trying to grasp the power this new alien had. He was a Shifted, but also one of the new race called Terran. If the Terrans from this universe could inspire people even a tenth of what Zander was doing, Pumil thought that the Entoma would be pushed back, and maybe even defeated in his lifetime.
Chapter Forty-one
Zander stretched when he woke up, bits and pieces from the celebration party filtering back to him. Kayo had imbibed heavily, resulting in her being extra forward as the night wore on. Rasisar just laughed at her, but Crish grew a bit more reserved during the night. Arlizarista sat a little off from the others, humming softly as she made notes. Zander left her to her own devices, as she was obviously working on a song. When it finally came time to call it a night, he had Rasisar carry Kayo out— the Kitsune had passed out while snuggled up to Zander.
Getting up, he used the cleaner before dressing in his regular pilot’s uniform. He wondered how the others would be feeling when he opened the door to leave the room. Jerking back, his hand went for his gun before he let out a ragged breath.
“Sage! Sorry about that.”
The Dryad gave him an apologetic smile. “It’s partially my fault, as well, Tender. Are you not off today?”
“Training for the mecha fights,” Zander said. “Days off, hmm?”
“A couple. The captain wants to be at the center for your matches. Vorsa and I are off right now.”
“Ping never came by,” Zander told her.
Sage’s eyes sparkled briefly. “I know. She was busy doing other things. I spoke with her before leaving the ship.”
“Still interested, then?”
“Oh, yes, but she’s told me that she wants to wait until after things calm down.”
“Pity, but understandable.”
“She also wants me to be there for the first time,” Sage continued with a lascivious smile.
“Totally down for that,” Zander murmured. Stepping out of the room, he pulled Sage to him, resting his head against her breasts. “Coming for a rest?”
“No. I was coming to spend time with you. I’d like to go with you to watch your training.”
“That’s fine. We’re meeting up for breakfast first.”
Sage released him, but took his hand. “That sounds wonderful to me, even if it’s not the meal I truly want.”
“I’m sure we’ll give you plenty later.”
“I dearly hope so, Tender.”
“Kayo almost had me last night,” Zander said as they walked toward the elevators. “She clung to me for a good portion of the night.”
“I can smell her on you. But you didn’t?”
“Everyone was there. We were celebrating our wins. By the time it ended, she was asleep.”
Sage snickered. “You’ll surely use that to tease her.”
“Oh, I definitely will.”
“What of the Dryad at the entertainment center, Jassmi?”
“Haven’t touched her, but who knows what’ll happen after training tonight? I did tell you I’d rather my beautiful plant was there if I did.”
Sage inhaled slowly. The long, deep breath had her eyes sparkling brightly. “Delicious… You treat me so well, Tender.”
“Only because you understand me,” Zander said softly as they stepped into the elevator. “You give me everything I want. I’m not foolish enough to ruin what we have.”
“While you drown me in what I want…” Sage murmured. “Thank you.”
The two lapsed into silence as they descended to the lobby.
Waiting for them were the other four pilots. Zander looked them over, finding all of them bright-eyed. Kayo looking completely normal had him wondering just how drunk she had actually been.
“Sage, on leave again?” Kayo asked with a small smirk.
“Yes. I plan to keep him busy every night, but I’ll make sure he sleeps well.”
Kayo’s smirk vanished and her brow contracted fractionally. “Good. He needs to be at the top of his game.”
“As long as someone doesn’t drool on him, he’ll be fine,” Arlizarista coughed.
Kayo’s eye twitched. She turned in a slow circle to fire back at the Elf, but Zander walked past them.
“Come on. Breakfast, then training. We have three days to get acquainted with our potential matchups,” Zander said.
The others fell in behind him and Sage without comment.
~*~*~
Zander climbed out of the capsule, feeling a bit tired. “I don’t think the first round or two will be a problem,” he said when the others came out of their capsules. “Selda put together their tactics based on records from their missions.”
“Rounds three, four, and the finals will get tricky,” Crish said. “Tomorrow, we should have Selda make the others do imperfect copies of our tactics.”
“That was my plan,” Zander agreed.
“Off to the gym?” Kayo asked, standing up to stretch as she stared at Zander.
“Of course. No reason to completely slack on conditioning.”
“I’ll join you for the gym,” Sage said from where she sat in the lounge area. “While I won’t do nearly what you will, I should get some work in, too.”
Kayo’s lips twitched, her eyes darting from Zander to Sage. “I’ll be glad to help you, Sage.”
“Thank you, Kayo. I find it amusing that we both accepted the nicknames Zander gave us.”
“Well, to be fair, he can’t pronounce mine,” Kayo said as she started to climb down.
Zander chuckled to himself. She’s switching tactics, isn’t she?
Of course. She realizes you’re playing back at her. Your comment to Yasu about her being the elder vixen only riled her up more, hence her acting drunk and plastering herself against you. She’d thought you’d shoo the others out and keep her, Selda snickered to him.
Now she’s going to work on Sage instead, huh?
Yes, but Sage understands what Kayo is doing. She’ll likely ask if you’re done toying with her yet.
What a woman… Zander smiled as he caught Sage’s eye, giving her a wink.
Agreed. Now get moving. You’re the one holding them up, Selda laughed.
Zander looked over his squad, already heading to the shower. A hint of pride made his lips curl up in a smile— they’d thrown in with him, trusted him, and he’d be damned if he wouldn’t lead them with all he had.
~*~*~
The gym was busy when they got there. Lintel, the Gargoyle receptionist for Stressed Relaxation, shot to his feet when they came in. “Fractured Dreams, welcome back. Will you be wanting the same pool room you’ve used before?”
“Yes, after we get the workout in,” Zander agreed.
“Of course, and you have a sixth pilot? After the simulations?”
“No. Sage is the purser of Fractured Dreams, but she’ll be joining us for the next couple of days.”
“Ah, no problems at all. We’re glad to have you here at Stressed Relaxation.”
Zander chuckled. “Going to use the fact we’ve been coming in to advertise?”
“I don’t know, but management has let it be known to take good care of your squad, sir.”
“If they want to talk deals, I can give them the contact information of the one they need to talk with. Pass it along. If they even think about using us without making a deal, well…” Zander just grinned as he trailed off.
“I’ll make sure to let the manager know, sir. Let me ring for your helper.”
They stood there for less than a minute before the doors to the locker room opened. Sartum, the panther Animaz, came rushing out of the back. She slowed when she spotted them all staring at her. “Welcome back. If you’ll come with me, I’ll help get you going and make sure the pool room is set aside for you.”
Sage fell into step with Zander at the back of the group. “Helper, hmm?”
“Not that kind,” Zander snickered lightly. “She’s been making sure we don’t run into trouble. We ran into Hammish here the first time we came.”
“I see. Both she and the receptionist exuded worry upon seeing you. Their manager must be very interested in the squad. Do you want me to make a deal for you?”
“Selda will handle most of it, but if you want to work with her, I’d be grateful.”
Sage smiled happily. “Very well. She knows how to get a hold of me.”
Zander was about to reply when raised voices cut him off. Head swiveling, he spotted the reason why. Zander wondered if he’d cursed them when he’d mentioned the Dwarf’s name to Sage— Hammish and his squad were in the locker room.
“Fucking cheating bastards!” Hammish roared, barely being held back by two of his squad. “Let me go! I won’t kill him— I’ll just break him a little!”
“Sir, you need to desist!” Sartum said firmly, her tail lashing behind her. “There will be no fighting in the gym. If you continue to cause trouble, we will be forced to ask you to leave.”
“Leave?! You’d toss us out?!” Hammish transferred his anger to the employee. “You’d side with this Shifted cheat instead of a reputable squad?!”
“No, sir. I’d remove the ones causing the problems, no matter if it was them or you,” Sartum said, a hint of a growl in her voice. “What happens next is your choice.”
Hammish surged, throwing his two friends off. Seething, he snatched up his uniform, putting it on quickly. “We’ll never come back to a place that speaks down to us!”
“I have done no such thing,” Sartum said tightly. “I have only stated the rules of the gym.”
Hammish and his squad didn’t say anything else; they just got dressed and stormed away.
“Fun,” Zander said. “If management causes a stink, just let me know. I’ll back you.”
“Thank you, but I doubt it’ll be necessary,” Sartum replied crisply, still obviously annoyed.
“Well, if it is, don’t hesitate to reach out,” Zander reiterated. “How did that start, anyway?”
“He saw us,” Kayo snickered. “That was all.”
“They were getting dressed, so we almost missed them entirely,” Crish added.
“Pity we didn’t,” Arlizarista snorted.
“Follow me, please,” Sartum said, her tail slowing as her anger abated. “I’ll need to inform the manager of this after I get you settled.”
“Copy that,” Zander said.
Chapter Forty-two
Zander was finishing putting on his newer uniform, thinking about the last three days. They hadn’t seen Hammish again, for which he was grateful. He was pretty sure that their next encounter would devolve into a fight.
Kayo had been focused on helping Sage at the gym, all but ignoring Zander. He saw the play for what it was: getting Sage, who Kayo saw as Zander’s mistress, to help her. He’d laughed when she explained in detail what the Kitsune was doing and how she was playing along. He was sure Kayo would eventually cave and flatly ask him, so he would keep teasing her for now.
Arlizarista had a new song ready, taking time to get it recorded before their first-round fight. Every squad was going to be escorted in so their accomplishments or fanfare could be given for them. Zander hadn’t heard it yet, but he’d signed off on it when she asked to use it instead of the other song she’d made.
Crish had withdrawn some from being near Zander all the time, making him worry for his friend. He hoped Crish was okay, but he didn’t want to ask and make it worse for the friendly Changer.
Rasisar was the only one who seemed unchanged. That was until last night when, as everyone was leaving the gym, he’d stopped Zander. The conversation was not what Zander had expected, and he was sure Rasisar would have more quiet questions for him in the future.
Looking at the empty room, he sighed. Sage had gone back to the ship four hours ago, briefly waking him from his sleep so he could climb out of her nook and onto the bed. A soft smile came to him when he thought of the Dryad. His Dryad, he thought tenderly.
She knows, and she’s doing her best to not make it awkward for you, Zee, Selda said in his ear.
“Okay. I should thank her somehow.”
You do every time you fill her to the brim or tell her about the others. Though honestly, you allowing Jassmi to join you both the other night made her year… And mine, too, honestly. That was so amazing, Selda purred.
Zander pushed the memories down, not wanting to have difficulty walking. “Think Olmine will push?”
Oh, yes. She’ll contact Sage first, though. Sage made it clear— not that you were paying attention at that point— that Olmine will have to ask her. Jassmi promised to pass that along.
“Why?”
