i can't go to hell - i'm all out of vacation days. i watch space rocks and yell at computers for my day job. probably too old for any of this

 

i think i might be burned out on internet social. it's hard to keep doing it. it's hard to even maintain the amount of attention i'm already giving it

 

i am the cause of most of my own problems

 

furthermore, capitalism must be destroyed

 

birdsona: ?????

 

🌎 Ontario, Canada


webbed site
egrets.ca/

Making-up-Mech-Pilots
@Making-up-Mech-Pilots

Mech Pilot who is ecstatic to be back in a construction Mech.


Powerperpetuationsimulator
@Powerperpetuationsimulator

"I thought you hated mechs. 'Weapons in the shape of people', and all that."

She wasn't wrong, precisely. Max Brecht hated his time in UMS, and hated the Federal Army just as badly - nine years spent in combat mechs shooting down helicopters and stomping protesters that he'll never get back. But it wasn't the idea of sitting in a machine that didn't sit well with him.

It was lunch time anyway, and he had time for philosophy. Directing his 8-foot powerlifter to set the support beam gently on the ground, he popped the canopy and withdrew a bright red lunchbox from under the seat. Today was ham on rye with some spinach - the solid food even now a blessing after four years of Liquid Feed.


Shelley Patterson was standing at the foot of the mech, carrying a box of noodles. She motioned him over to a nearby stack of wood to have a break. Patterson was his supervisor, but scant six months ago was part of his squad with the Federal Army. Thanks to his spotless record and her office politics, she got them both jobs with a Federal contractor rebuilding newly seized territories. It was viewed as a career stall by their colleagues, but for Shelley it was a chance to see retirement. For Brecht, it was a chance to do something, anything, besides killing people for money.

"It's not that I hate all mechs."

Patterson urged him on with her chopsticks, mouth otherwise occupied by noodles.

"It's just that I can't stand combat mechs."

"What's the difference? They're both big stompy things that can fight."

"It's a world of difference. For one, Rodney here don't cook me alive. I even got a little fan in there for hot days like these."

"Helps that there aren't laser batteries in the torso. Remember those god-awful Maimans they gave us during the ammo shortage?"

Brecht's face puckered at the memory. "God, do I ever. But the more important thing is that these models can do more than one thing. They can carry heavy loads, they can weld, they can bend metal, shave wood, apply adhesives, they can even do wiring work if your hands are steady!"

Brecht started in on his sandwich as Patterson stared at the mech. It did seem less hostile, somehow. On the front, pilots never left their mechs until it was time for debrief. Here, you could just park it somewhere out of the way - like leaving a chisel on the ground instead of a loaded rifle.

"It's like guns. Or swords."

Brecht looked up from his sandwich, emitting a grunt of curiosity.

Patterson kept staring at the mech while she talked. "Metal can be shaped into all kinds of things - keys, chisels, axes, girders, so on. But the least useful thing you can make a hunk of metal into is a good sword."

Brecht took another bite of his sandwich, and waited for her to expand.

"Literally the only thing you can do with a sword is kill folks. With a gun, it's even worse - you can only kill folks with it, and it's a pain to maintain."

Brecht swallowed and nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly right. All that money and all that work, for what? A gun. A big, heavy, expensive, person-shaped gun. That's all those combat mechs are. The waste of the things makes me sick to think about."

"But Rodney's different."

"Rodney's different! It's not a big heavy gun, it's just you, but bigger and stronger. Whatever you want to build, however you want to build it, you can do faster in a powerlifter like Rodney."

Patterson nodded sagely. "It lets you be a person, and not just a gun."

"Amen, sister. Let's get back to it."


You must log in to comment.

in reply to @Powerperpetuationsimulator's post:

{Ple-Four} Oh, geez, this really speaks to me. A big reason I'm still proud of being an MS pilot despite hating war is that, unlike a grenade launcher or something, mobile suits can do other things. You have petite MS and mobile workers for commercial and industrial applications. You have disarmed hobbyist models if you just really enjoy piloting but aren't out to kill anyone. It's... different, nya...

Pinned Tags