Above the water, Kora asks, “Hanami, what do we do? What do we do?”
Hanami is silent, contemplating the deceptively calm ocean through her screen.
“Say something!” Kora pleads.
“Our jets will work in water just as they do in the air, but not as efficiently. We could try to break open the cockpit and get him out, but we would risk drowning him. Furthermore, at the rate he is sinking we will need to start being concerned with the pressure.”
“So, tell me something that is helpful!”
“Reading the loadout of your Mech, you have something called a Retractable Charge Cable at your right shoulder. Tell me what that does.”
“It… it lets you boost the charge of another Mech. If their shields are low or they are overheating, you can transfer power to their system.”
“And your Mech also has a superior heat management system, is that correct?”
“I don’t know. Maybe?”
“The correct answer is yes. Templar is outfitted with a Coolant Frame I. I think you could, theoretically, use your cable to power Bombardier’s systems back on. Similar to jump starting a car.”
“Why didn’t you say so!”
Templar blasts headfirst into the water, an elegantly executed dive. Kora boosts her jets as fast as they can go as she chases the sinking Mech down into the depths.
“You will need to locate Bombardier’s auxiliary power port below an armored panel on its back. If I am reading these schematics correctly, it should be located somewhere below the right shoulder.”
Kora doesn’t respond, she just pushes as hard as she can, contorting Templar into the most hydrodynamic form she can manage. Maybe all that water polo is paying off, ay? Kora gives herself a mental pep talk.
Reo stares up at the dwindling sunlight through the cockpit windows. He has sunk more than 200 meters, leaving the Sunlight Zone and entering the Twilight Zone. Reo estimates about 20 atmospheres of pressure are pressing against Bombardier so far.
This Mech was never designed for deep sea travel. The strongest submarines can survive maybe 600 meters down. This baby is strong, but I don’t know how strong. I’ll either get crushed to death or suffocate. No air flow.
Reo takes a slow breath, tries to calm himself.
Trapped in a sinking metal coffin.
Then Reo sees Templar racing towards him, a trail of bubbles twisting behind the Light Mech.
“What are you doin’, Ma Tua?” Reo says quietly.
It is getting darker and darker as Bombardier continues to plummet.
Templar finally catches up, colliding with Bombardier and attempting to grapple the other Mech. Templar succeeds, and now they are free falling together into the watery abyss.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“Come on, come on, come on,” Kora says. She tries to feel around on the back of Bombardier, looking for haptic feedback that her Mech has found the auxiliary port. Bombardier is facing the wrong way—Kora uses her jets to try and twist, spin, turn the Mech around for a better angle.
No use. They keep sinking, and she is losing the light.
All Reo can see is the glow inside Templar’s cockpit, illuminating Kora’s determined face.
“That’s brave of you, Ma Tua. You are a fighter,” Reo murmurs wistfully.
He’s sinking too fast. I’m going to be completely blind down here in a minute, Kora thinks.
Still grappling, she spins around to be below Bombardier. Kora ignites her thrusters and tries to push up, stalling his descent. A Light Mech pushing a sinking deadweight Heavy Mech with many atmospheres of pressure.
[Templar: Heat Alert – Moderate and rising]
No way I can push this guy! Kora realizes. She tries to find the auxiliary port again, Templar’s metal fingers slipping against Bombardier’s armored shell in the dark.
Reo hears the ghostly sounds of straining metal. Pressure squeezing his cockpit. The heavy frame groaning. More than 1,000 meters down—the Midnight Zone. All traces of sunlight are gone. Getting hard to even tell which way is up.
“If this is to be my last day, at least I return to the sea,” Reo recites to himself. “Leave me, Ma Tua. Fly free.”
Is this it? Please tell me this is it! Templar opens an armored hatch on Bombardier’s back. It seems like the right size and shape. Kora activates her Retractable Charge Cable, stretching the length with Templar’s free hand, gripping the other Mech with Templar’s legs as they spiral into the cold, inky depths.
Templar is starting to groan and strain against the pressure now as well.
Kora tries to connect the cable to the auxiliary port. It slips, missing the connection. She tries again, blindly scraping the end of the cable against Bombardier’s back, desperately trying to find purchase.
They really need to improve the haptics in this thing! she thinks.
Kora tries to block out thoughts of Templar being crushed like a can, icy saltwater flooding the cockpit.
Finally, the cable clicks in place! A light on her console screen lights up, confirming the connection.
“All right! Let’s charge this sucker!!!”
Kora kills her jets, routing all Core engine power into charging Bombardier.
No response. All is dark.
The oppressive noise of creaking, warping metal surrounds Kora and Reo both. With the hull damage taken in the last fight, the Mechs are weaker than ever. Bolts begin popping.
Then—a light flickers in Reo’s cockpit. One by one buttons light up on the consoles. A screen comes to life.
Not today.
Kora feels a jolt as Bombardier grabs Templar by the wrist. She sees Reo’s handsome face in the glow of his cockpit lights. He gives an appreciative nod, and she smiles through a waterfall of grateful tears. Reo engages his jets, holding on to Templar tight. Embracing, they boost upward.
---
Hanami has disabled all the remaining EMP mines with her Long-Range Cannon. Excellent target practice.
[2 rounds remaining]
She wonders if she will ever see Kora or Reo again. What she knows for sure is that they are being hunted. First, Icarus. Then the surprise attack on the island. Now, these EMP mines waiting directly in their flight path.
As a championship shogi player and a student of war, Hanami believes that the battle is won or lost in the mind. But somebody was thinking several steps ahead of them, ahead of her. She was unaccustomed to being on her back foot during a competition. It was not an agreeable feeling.
“---- got him ----- I ---- got ----- I got him! I got him!” Kora’s excited voice bursts over the Comms.
She succeeded. This is unexpected, Hanami thinks, but fortuitous.
A couple minutes later Templar and Bombardier burst out of the ocean in a massive geyser.
“SWEET AS! I did it!” Templar seems to dance with joy in the air, expressing the movement of the pilot within.
Bombardier gives a big ‘thumbs up’ gesture. Reo is laughing heartily. He gives his lucky wrench a kiss.
Reo knows his Comms are broken, but he says anyway, “Kora, I’m treatin’ you to an all-you-can-eat Polynesian pig roast the moment we’re back on dry land!”