Weasel Hills Golf & C.C. (hole 19)

Mech Pilot who plays trampoline with scavenged ablative plating.

"Look, hang on a second." Mehr dialed in the sequence of buttons known only to herself - the one that temporarily knocked out Ops' ability to hear speech from the cockpits - and lowered her voice to a more intimate level. "You're saying, you've been piloting this thing for five years, and you don't like flying?"

Kath took a slow breath in, and then out. "You weren't supposed to find that out about me."

"No, it's OK. I'm just surprised, you always seemed so confident every time we come barrelling out of that launch ramp..."

"It's like Boss used to tell me. Pretend hard enough that you know what you're doing, and you can even fool yourself." Where "Boss" was the affectionate nickname given to her drill instructor, a figure who - it now dawned on Kath - may not have fully known what they were doing, either. "Figured out a long time ago that if I yelled loud enough and hyped myself up, I wouldn't care so much about the G forces."

"That's what all that stuff is about, that catch phrase you shout every time we do launch procedures?"

"Yeah. Past that, I'd really prefer we stay grounded. Can't dig my heels in if we're airborne."

Mehr surveyed the sandy landscapes around them, the wrecked base and all of the shattered remains of unoccupied assault vehicles. "I've got an idea, Kath. Let's find a way to enjoy this. Gimme the controls for a minute."

Mech Pilot who has an addendum on their bounty board posting: known tomfooler.

"I've lost count how many infantrymen are trying to shoot at us, and you're dancing!"

"You already blew up the artillery, relax, they're just bouncing off us at this point."

"Damn it, Kath, unlock the weapons!"

"Wait for your cue, Mehr, I'm gonna do something."

"Why are we spinning? Wait, is that the--"

"Nutcracker Waltz. Ready on that trigger."

"I've had all targets locked for the last two minutes, will you hurry up and--"

"...and pirouette, and step, and hop, aaaaaand FIRE."

[very large explosion, prolonged screaming, followed by silence]

"...That was a curtsy. You made me fire on cue with a curtsy, Kath."

"And that's why our ground troops love us so much."

"That's why their ground troops just raised your bounty by another ten grand."

"Maybe someday we ought to collect on that."

Mech Pilot who downloads a little jingle to play when the core ejection alert goes off.

"Kath. What is wrong with you."

"Mehr, did you ever think about where the core actually ejects from, on this thing?"

"The idea is to never get it that hot to begin with, that's what the alert is for!"

"Think about what we do in our off time. I'd like to think I'm pretty good at teasing the limits."

"...."

"Y'know, I can hear you blushing, even over the remote link."

"....Contact, 3 o'clock, one kilometer."

"Pff. You're just trying to change the subject. Contact confirmed, rolling in."

Mech Pilot who is woven from handspun yarn.

"A vacation? From a war?" Mehr had long since considered her remote-copilot position as a job, and not something to shape the destiny of her country, but even the idea of taking a vacation from it seemed too far-fetched for her. "I don't know how you expect to pull it off. You're the one with the reputation, Kath, everyone expects it to be you out there. The squads, the tank platoons... the enemy."

"You're acting like I should be enjoying being recognized out there," Kath said, stretching out on the single bed. "They all know who I am. Lodestone's hard to miss... literally." She massaged one of her forearms, still bruised a bit from the Howitzer impact that had temporarily knocked her out of alignment from her controls.

Mehr could only sit in the desk chair and observe the poor thing. Continuing to fight the war was important. The Coalition would run the risk of losing ground, and the troops morale would drop considerably, if their heroic Lodestone were not there to lead the charge. It was true that her darling Kath needed a break, but how would she manage it? It wasn't like she could just ask the Ops Lead.

"I can tell you're worrying. Don't. I've got a plan." Kath kipped up in the bed and reached for her locker door.