VI.

Sophia cupped her hands over her mouth to muffle a scream as she watched Piety’s body slump down to her knees, dead, before toppling over. She stared wide-eyed at her murderer. He just stood there staring back without a hint of sympathy in his black eyes. Bohu pulled the knife out of his shoulder and then tossed it back to its owner. He then dug in his pants pocket for his communicator before opening it up with a nasal sigh. “Oi oi, it’s done,” Bohu said casually, pressing the device to his ear. “Tzalmavet is getting closer, and I don’t like that. Not saying they almost got away or anything, just further than usual.”

Sophia crept forward, kneeling down beside Piety’s body. She grabbed her shoulder and gently shook her. “Wake up… please…” She whispered, hardly even mouthing the words.

“No, I’m saying we need to move her,” Bohu stated, seemingly arguing with whoever he was talking to. “The gallu didn’t do shit this time. It’s only a matter of attempts before he really gets lucky, and we lose the asset.”

Sophia tightened her grip and shook as if she were trying to will life back into Piety’s body. “Please, please…” Sophia urged. “I can’t go back there…”

“Yeah, and what about next week’s attempt? Or tomorrows?” Bohu exclaimed angrily. “We need a Weħǵhekw on this, not another one of your pets! Get in contact with Aph or Chemah, someone who can replace Tohu’s psionics.” Sophia looked up fearfully. She was surrounded with no chance of escape. She didn’t think she’d get far anyways with her bloodied feet. Sophia grabbed Piety’s lifeless hand and held it tight in hers. “Please, I need you…” Sophia pleaded desperately, and when she did, something deep inside her awoke. A light blossomed at her core, blooming like the sun within her. She tried to focus that light, call on it. Sophia tightened her grip and with it she could hear Piety’s bones righting. Somehow, by some unknown magic means, she was healing her. And then it happened, an explosion.

Sophia ducked over Piety’s body as debris and shrapnel filled the air. One of the hovercrafts just exploded, taking out half its crew with it. Sophia looked up, trying to spy the cause of it, but all she could see was fire and panic as the strange soldiers rushed to fill ranks. Bohu had been knocked off his feet and was crawling on his hands and knees in a daze. The mechanized soldiers rushed to one side, shooting wildly at something beyond the blaze, but in one thunderous burst they were thrown back as something opened fire on them. Whatever it was didn’t do much to pierce their armor, but even still, each bullet struck with the force of a truck.

Sophia could hear it now, the roar of engines over a heavy rhythmic thumping – footsteps as something drew near. A large metal hand reached through the fiery wreckage and wrenched it out of the way. A giant made of steel strode through the lingering flame, eyes of emerald green scanning the battlefield. “Piety, where are you?” a voice sounded over the mech’s loudspeaker. This must be the person Piety had been talking to, Sophia realized. “Over here!” Sophia screamed, pulling Piety’s limp form up into her lap. “She’s hurt!”

The mechanical titan started her way before a barrage of plasmatic blasts pushed it back. The soldiers had regained their faculties and began firing back beams of light that scorched the mech’s armor, leaving deep wells of melted steel wherever they struck. The mech stumbled back under the assault, nearly tripping over the other hovercraft as it did so. It knelt down and flipped the craft over, using it as a shield. The alabaster armor fared better than the steel against the plasma beams. With one great kick, the titan launched the hovercraft forward and into the assailing ranks.

Bohu was staggering to his feet, barking orders as the world swam around him. “Take it down,” he shouted to no avail, “take it down!” The mech fired off another burst of bullets, peppering the arena in a wide arch. Catching the brunt of it, Bohu was sent tumbling back down into the dirt with a doggish yelp. The mech knelt down beside Sophia, lowering its free hand for her to climb on. Without hesitation she crept on, pulling Piety’s body on with her. “Firing gas,” announced the voice over the speakers, “hold your breath.” Out of shoulder-mounted carriers burst a round of cylinders, each spinning through the air with tails of gray smoke.

Within seconds the whole area was veiled in a dense gray fog, bringing the visibility to near zero. Bohu pushed himself to his feet again, coughing as the smoke burned his lungs. He spun on his heels, trying in vain to spot the mech in the wall of smoke. “Fuck – fuck – fuck!” He cursed, sliding a hand down his face. There was no trace of them.

“Bohu, what’s going on?” He could hear Avon call out from his phone. In a rage Bohu smashed it underfoot instead of answering. “Okay-okay, it’s not over yet,” Bohu said, cupping his face as he tried to compose himself. He looked around him. It seemed most of his guards survived the attack, and one hovercraft. It was pocked with blast marks, but it was probably operational. “Get that damned thing flipped over! We need to be after them yesterday!” Bohu cursed under his breath. How had he not seen the mech coming? There was obviously a third after the suicidal drone. “Fuck!”

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The mech sped across the glassed wasteland crouched upon ankle-bound wheels. It was faster than walking, but not by much. Sophia held Piety’s body tight in her arms, cupped in the mech’s free hand. She shook her gently, trying to find that light within herself once again. She couldn’t. Sophia had to hope that what she had done, however she had done it, would be enough. “Wake up, please…” She uttered in a desperate sob. She got no reply beyond the roar of the engines.

“So, who are you?” Reverence asked over the loudspeakers. “Why were those people after you?”

“I don’t know,” Sophia offered honestly. “But she called me Sophia.”

“Well, Sophia, this isn’t the first close call,” he told her sympathetically, “or the first time we escaped with a bloodied nose. Once we get to basecamp, we can get everyone sorted out.”

“You don’t seem to be very worried,” Sophia suggested. “She could die.”

“That’s the game we play,” Reverence answered coolly. “She knew the risks; the same risks we take every time we delve into dangerous ruins. Sometimes you lose. Just have to wait and see which today is.” Sophia didn’t have a response to that. He seemed cold and uncaring, but he wasn’t wrong. All she could do was wait and see. Sophia pulled Piety closer and waited, watching the sun come up.

Basecamp slowly crept up on the horizon; a pair of large tents and an armored bus between them. There were half a dozen people drudging around doing this and that until they saw the mech roll up in worse shape than it left. “Jesus Christ!” exclaimed a burly man with a twisted and scarred face. “What the hell did you run into, kid – an asteroid field?!”

“We met with some resistance,” Reverence stated casually. “Don’t know which outfit they’re from, but they might still be on our trail. Should pack up and be gone as soon as we can.”

“Is that right?” the barrel-chested man said with a huff before turning around to face the others. “Alright – pack it up ladies! We leave in ten!”

Ten minutes, Sophia wondered if they had so much time. She glanced over her shoulder, back the way they came. She didn’t know why the strange man was after her, but she knew she was putting them all in danger. Sophia looked up to the head of the mech and called out, saying, “You… you should leave me behind. They’re after me! Piety, she’s hurt because of me.”

“Nonsense,” he replied flatly. “They’re willing to kill for you, and that means you’re worth something to someone. You’re the score. We’re not leaving you behind.”

Sophia frowned and looked away. Piety had treated her like a victim, someone to save, but Reverence, he saw her differently – like a paycheck. He made her uncomfortable. She pulled Piety close and held on tight as the mech began to move again.

Their next stop was one of the tents. The mech would stop and hunker down. With a hiss of air, the chest opened upwards, and a set of stairs extended out to the ground. Sophia watched cautiously as a man appeared, stepping down with quick purposeful steps. He wore a black pilots skinsuit, plated with custom armor pieces across the chest and forearms. What was most notable about him, however, was the full facemask he wore that made him look more robot than human.

Reverence made his way to her spot in the mech’s hand and without any word, scooped Piety up into his arms. “Doc, we need a checkup!” He called out, his voice marred by static from the modulator.

“Piety again, no doubt?” a voice called out in return. “Well, bring her in here and set her on the table. What did she do this time?”

Reverence disappeared into the tent, leaving Sophia standing alone by the mech. Should she tell them, she wondered, what she did? She wasn’t sure if she believed it herself, that she healed her somehow. How had she done it? Sophia stared down at her hands. Just who was she? What was she?

A yelp drew her attention back to the tent. There was a commotion, thrashing, and then Piety burst forth from the tent clutching her chest, eyes wide and wild. Two others followed her, Reverence and a lithe man who Sophia assumed was ‘Doc’. “Nothing that a little adrenaline can’t fix,” the man proclaimed proudly, crossing a pair of arms while propping up another set upon his hips. Piety stumbled about before falling to her hands and knees, heaving like she just couldn’t catch her breath. Her wild eyes locked on Sophia as she slid a prodding hand around her own neck. Piety knew, knew she did something to save her.

“We… we gotta go – now!” Piety stammered out.

“Already on it,” Reverence replied calmly, drawing near to put a hand upon her shoulder. She pulled away, staggering to her feet once more, exclaiming, “No – NOW! Reverence, we need to go now!”

“As soon as we’re packed up, we can leave,” He offered gently, but she wasn’t having it.

“Leave the shit!” Piety hollered. “We can’t fight our way out of this – I tried! And…” She rubbed her neck. She could still feel the pain and the abrupt end of it. “We’ll come back for the equipment!”

Reverence stared in silence for a moment before striding over to the mech once more. He reached inside and grabbed the mic. “Alright, everyone in the caravans – we’re leaving now!” he called out over the loudspeaker. “Leave what you can’t carry behind! Now, move it people!” Reverence turned to face Piety again. “You should take our friend here and get in the truck. I’ll follow in the mech in case they show back up.”

“Thank you,” Piety said with a relieved sigh. She turned to Sophia and held out her hand. “Come on, lets get the hell out of here.”