Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska - October 12th, 2054 - Cinder

I awoke to the sound of steady beeping coming from somewhere off to my left. As I opened my eyes in search of the source, I found myself lying in an infirmary attached via multiple wires to all manner of monitoring equipment. My bed was the only one in the room despite there being ample enough space for three. The door was slightly ajar, and through it I could see several individuals in military police uniforms guarding the room. There were no windows to speak of.

My head swirled worse than a caffeine migraine mixed with being hungover. I vaguely recalled passing out after letting Vedr take a blood sample. How I’d landed in what I assumed was a military hospital of sorts was unclear. Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long for a nurse to come check on me during her rounds.

“Ah, you’re finally awake!” cheered the pixie-cut nurse as she checked my vitals. “We were wondering how long you would be out for. You’ve been through a lot so try to take things slow.”

My first instinct was to ask after Vedr. “Where is… Vedrfolnir?” I croaked.

“Your Air-Core is safe. She’s been given some hangar space and plenty of metal to snack on while our techs give her a once over,” the nurse assured me. “I’ll pass a message up the chain to let her know you’re awake. How’s the head?”

“Feels worse than that one time I tried scotch,” I groaned, putting a hand to my throbbing temple. “A literal demon bursting out of my forehead might be less painful.”

The nurse nodded, moving from the monitoring equipment to check on the IV of clear fluid hooked into my arm. “That’s to be expected. When you were brought in you were suffering from anemia, acute exhaustion, and dehydration.”

“Am I at Offutt AFB then?”

“You are, specifically in the Ehling Bergquist Clinic.” They finished their inspection by patting my shoulder. “Sit tight. Someone with more answers for you will be along soon. If their pestering gets to be too much then just press the call button here.”

I nodded back silently. The nurse left the room afterwards. I lay there for what felt like hours as the agony in my head slowly dissipated. By the time there was a firm knock at my door most of the pain had subsided.

“Come in,” I called.

A decorated individual stepped in without pause. He was the picture of a man who worked for a living as opposed to one who mostly delegated. His hands were just as rugged and worn as his face, yet his blue uniform was so pristine that it could have been assigned to him not hours ago. Even his eyes betrayed a level of youth that I wasn’t expecting.

“I’m sure you’ve been told already, but welcome to Offutt AFB. I’m Chief Master Sergeant Morgan,” he said in introduction while offering out a hand. “I’ll be overseeing your recovery as well as helping you transition away from civilian life.”

I took the hand he offered and tried to match his firm grip. “You’ve already answered my first question, not that I’m surprised. I knew fixing up Vedr was likely to end up with me in the service. I just thought it wouldn’t happen all so fast. It’s not even been two weeks since the crash.”

“Time waits for no one, or so I’ve found,” said Morgan after withdrawing his hand. “What interests me is why you didn’t report your Air-Core once you determined she was a Kuxpir design. What would you have done had she turned on you?”

Shrugging, I replied, “No idea. I just didn’t get that kind of vibe from her so I didn’t worry about it. As for why I didn’t call her in, I guess you’d call it a combination of wanting to keep a secret and my personal pride?”

“Mm… Foolish, but I can’t say I would have been tempted to do the same were our positions swapped. The good news is that the brass are more interested in training you to become a proper pilot than they are with throwing the book at you for potential treason during wartime. Had you not bonded with your Air-Core the circumstances would be very different.”

“Lucky me,” I murmured.

Morgan chuckled back, “Oh, it gets better. See, Air-Cores are already in extreme demand. Aces and top pilots across all the branches of the military have to wait years sometimes before they get a shot at their own Air-Core. So not only is your service compulsory, but you’ve also royally pissed off a whole breed of egomaniacs and other individuals with chips on their shoulders by skipping the line.”

“What about the techs and mech-heads? Are they also unhappy that I’m bonded to a prototype like Vedr?” I asked, hoping the answer would be different.

“If anything, you’re going to have to beat them off with a stick. A very large and sturdy stick. The only reason they’re not going over your Air-Core 24/7 is because she refused extensive study until she knew you had recovered. As you can guess, we didn’t want to piss off someone capable of leveling the base.”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Hearing that lessened the tight feeling in my chest. “So what happens now?”

“First, you finish your mandated two days off relaxation. Then you’re going to be thrown into the fire until you either break or come out the other side tempered,” answered Morgan as he produced my cell phone. “Normally we’d keep and destroy this, but since it’s a direct connection to your Air-Core we can’t take it from you. That can change very quickly if you start posting the wrong kinds of things on the Net, am I clear?”

“Perfectly, sir.”

The Chief Master Sergeant left after handing me my phone. No sooner had I unlocked the screen than I was bombarded by series of notifications coming from the app Vedr had installed. Most were inquiries and requests for me to inform her of my status as soon as possible, though there were also a few reports about what work the base’s technicians had performed. All it took was a few taps for me to connect directly with Vedr.

[ I was beginning to worry, ] Vedr began the moment the connection was established. [ They kept telling me you just needed rest and time but wouldn’t use this app to let me see you for myself. ]

I smiled back at the holo-projection of Vedr on my phone’s screen. “Yeah, apparently running all over the state, barely getting any sleep, falling behind on drinking water, and then donating blood is a good way to knock yourself out for a bit. I’ve been told by Chief Master Sergeant Morgan that I’ll be here for another day and a half at least. Has he ever come to visit you?”

[ Yes, though his officer superiors did most of the talking. They kept badgering me for answers regarding my design and some form of proof that we were bonded together. The latter was particularly annoying, as I made it very clear when they picked us up from the farm that the bio-lock was complete. ]

“Sounds fun. How’d you handle all that?”

[ Similarly to your kick to the nuts that you told me about. I told them everything I told you about my systems and construction. Then I invited them to run a systems diagnostic and believe their inferior terminals instead of someone with enough stored energy to vaporize half a hangar. ]

I couldn’t help but giggle at the mental image of Vedr looming over some poor officers and threatening to ruin their day. “I bet they were absolutely thrilled about that.”

[ They were astonishingly compliant after they ran the diagnostic, as a matter of fact. If human spines were capable of it, I dare say they would have bent so far backwards that they could inspect their own asses. They’ve provided me with a steady supply of raw materials which has greatly accelerated the repair process. ]

“About that…” I hesitated, unsure how best to broach the subject of us being press ganged. I ended up trying to explain the same way Morgan had. “I was told that we’re going to be undergoing military training once I’m out of this bed. The implication was made that those calling the shots were going to look past everything that happened post-crash so long as we trained hard and performed admirably. That same subtext also highlighted how things would be very different were we not bonded.”

Vedr’s holo cracked a smile that showed her fangs. [ I am glad that our thoughts and efforts regarding bonding paid off. As for entering into the service, I likely would have suggested doing so myself had we not been found out. Being a mercenary or always on the run wouldn’t give you the training and knowledge needed to be my pilot. The only question is which branch of the military they’re going to stick us in. ]

“My guess? The Air Force since we’re at Offutt. We’d have to be shipped out to Naval Air Station Meridian in Mississippi or somewhere in Virginia to get Navy training. And somehow I doubt we’d fit in with the Army or the Marines.”

[ Perhaps they’ll offer us a choice? ]

“Perhaps. Do you have a preference?”

Vedr paused longer than usual as she considered the two major options. [ From what I’ve been able to research, humanity’s naval forces are largely focused on surprise strikes and keeping the shipping lanes intact. Most of the former comes in the form of subnautical carriers such as the Alicorn-class that can dive past enemy lines, break the ice, launch a strike, then retreat before a proper response can be mustered.

[ Alternatively, the Air Force is more concerned with preserving existing battle lines and performing recon than striking deep into enemy territory. Special units exist within both branches that could eskew these presumptions, of course. I have no strong opinions or feelings one way or the other. ]

I rubbed my chin in thought. “So it’s either live in a tin can under the sea that pops up for air every once and a while, or enter the war to maintain the status quo until we’re recognized or shot down. Fun. I’ll have to think about that.”

[ I am happy to assist and provide information if it will aid you in making your decision, ] offered Vedr. [ Though I will require your permission for further money from your accounts. ]

My eyes widened and my lips pursed in alarm. “Uh… What? What happened to the 1k I gave you last week? Don’t tell me you lost it all shorting stocks!”

[ No. That account has seen an increase of 1850% since its opening. ]

I blinked slowly as I processed that revelation. “You made more in a week than I see monthly?”

[ That is correct. ]

“Then why do you need more money from me?”

[ Technically you are the executor of the account. I am only acting as your broker. Ergo you need to be the one to authorize me spending some of it on something other than stocks. ]

“That something being… what exactly?”

[ I wanted to order you room service. Specifically, your favorite pizza. You look pale and thin. ]

I was flummoxed. Gobsmacked. Smeckledorfed. But most of all: Hungry. “If you can figure out how to get proper New York style delivered on base, then you have my permission to spend up to a hundred bucks on it.”

[ That will be enough to get a pizza for the technicians that stop by from time to time as well. Thank you. They are very nice. ]

“Why do I get the feeling I should be jealous or something?” I sighed, putting my phone down and closing my eyes.

[ Clearly fatigue is affecting you. I have no plans to change pilots. ]

“Not what I meant, but alright. Wake me up when the pizza’s on its way.”