Mech pilot Kira's Arc

Chapter 3 of 8

Kira sat in the cockpit and watched the scanner on her wrist. Her mech still pulsed the same charge the hunters chased. The false trails would die soon. Once the rodents ran out of power, the hunters would circle back and find the real signal here in bay nine. She had hours, maybe less. She had to kill the signature before they traced it. The problem lived in her capacitor. The pine node fed it a wild, loud charge no other mech gave off. She could not swap the core; there was no time. But she could drain it. She popped the panel and pulled the charge node free. The mech went dark. The wolf pressed its nose to the cold treads and whined. Kira dumped the node's current into a spare cell and buried the cell under a heap of scrap in the corner. The pulse on her wrist scanner flattened. The signature was gone. So was her power. Her mech could not move now. It could not fight. Inspection came at dawn, and a dead machine failed inspection. She had traded one death for another. Boots rang on the metal floor. A short man crossed the bay in a red coat with gold on the shoulders. Sunglasses hid his eyes though the bay lights were dim. He walked like he owned every bolt in the building. Kira knew the face from the tournament banners. Max Warhorn, the man who ran the whole show. "Bay nine," he said. He stopped at her dark mech and rapped a knuckle on its leg. "Word came from the gate. Hunters chasing a stolen machine. They think it's here." He tipped his head. "Is it?" Kira climbed down and faced him. She said nothing. Her jaw stayed tight. Max pulled off the sunglasses. He looked at the wolf, at the scarred armor, at her oil-black hands. A grin spread under his gray mustache. "A thief who built her own mech and outran three trackers to reach my gate." He laughed once. "That's a story. That fills seats." "It won't move," Kira said. "I killed the charge to hide it. I've got nothing to power it before dawn." Max waved a hand. "The facility wants their machine and their thief. I want a fighter people will scream for." He leaned close. "I can bury the reward posting. I can lose the gate tech's report. But you win me crowds, or I hand you over myself." He pressed a slip into her palm. A charge voucher, stamped with his seal. Good for the pit's own capacitor bank. "Charge it. Pass inspection. Fight." He put the sunglasses back on and walked out. "Disappoint me and I'll feed you to the hunters." Kira closed her fist around the voucher. The hunters could no longer trace her. Now the man who ran the tournament owned her instead.