Moonlight streams in through the small window of Wardog Squadron’s quarters. There used to be a time when the two pilots of Wardog would stare up at the stars and fall deeper in love with each other. Even in the field of battle, love finds a way. When every sortie could be your last, you want nothing more than to cherish the time you have together.

Lately, that’s become impossible. Juniper Sladek, ace pilot, Wardog’s Number Two, is a broken woman. Years of piloting a mech and watching people she’s come to care for die in front of her has left her broken. They call her a “hero”, a “survivor”, but she’s neither of those. No, she’s simply a coward who has yet to meet death.

Juniper tosses and turns in bed, shooting up in a cold sweat. Her hands shake as she stares at them, trying desperately to calm down. It’s no use though, it never is. The nightmares haunt her sleep, reminding her of how she’s stained her hands with blood.

Warm hands wrap around her midsection, pulling her back down onto the mattress. “June, what’s wrong?” A sweet concerned voice says. Not just any voice though; Laila Praxian, the love of her life, the ray of sunshine in her otherwise dark world. “Was it that nightmare again?”

She stares blankly at Laila, trying desperately to lie to her. Laila has to be going through it as well, so why burden her with her own failings? But she knows she can’t. Laila knows her too well and has put up with these episodes since they started a year ago.

“....I saw the flames again,” Juniper says, burying her face into Laila’s shoulder. “I can’t do this anymore. I’ve taken too many lives, but it’s never enough. Every time I get into the cockpit, the reaper demands more and–I can’t anymore. I can’t wash away the blood, no matter how hard I try.” 

Laila holds her, gently shushing her. “Do you remember our dream? What we want to do when this is all over?” 

Tears well up in her eyes remembering the dream. “A–A cabin in the countryside, somewhere remote enough we don’t n–need to worry about the war…” She tries so fucking hard to not breakdown into more tears. 

“Tomorrow’s mission is our last then. After that, let’s get out of here. Screw the rebels, screw the imperials, let’s just live our lives somewhere remote. Besides, I think you’d look cute in a pair of overalls, learning to farm,”  Laila says with a laugh, which gets Juniper to smile through tear-soaked eyes.

“I dunno, I don’t think my lanky frame would look great in overalls. But, you’re serious, aren’t you? Can we really just leave? ” She leans in close, kissing Laila passionately, not wanting to let go.

Laila shrugs, breaking the kiss. “June, they’ve run you into the ground. Even if just temporarily, you need the break. You’ve said it yourself, your nerves are shot. Consider this an order from your commanding officer: you’re taking leave after this mission.”

They lay back together, staring up at the ceiling, Juniper’s head rests on Laila’s chest. “Tell me again about it, please?” 

“The first winter’ll be tough, we’ll probably be living off of mostly rations and whatever I can hunt. But after that, when the first thaw hits, we can grow food and raise livestock. And if you keep having nightmares, well, I’ll support you through them. Besides, you’ve still got my dog tags, I can’t just let you go with them!” Laila laughs a bit more, kissing the top of Juniper’s forehead. 

“I want rings— not now, of course. But when we’re no longer fighting. Give it a year, maybe two years after that, so I can give you what you deserve. We can throw out the dog tags and wear rings, like a married couple should have.” Juniper sighs, closing her eyes for just a moment.

“You should try to sleep, June. Big mission tomorrow and I know how you get when unfamiliar maintenance crews mess with your baby,” Laila says, pulling Juniper closer to her.

“I love you, Laila Praxian.” She says in-between yawns, falling asleep on Laila’s chest.

“Love you too, June.”

***

20,000 feet over the Aurelian Sea, the pilots of Wardog are currently aboard an old military transport, anxiously waiting to begin their mission. Launching from this transport, they’re to fly underneath the Imperial radar network and into the occupied country of Aurelia. Once clear, it becomes a matter of destroying a base which is rumored to be testing a new Imperial mech.

If successful, they should be out in under two hours.

Aurelia: Juniper’s homeland.

Eight years ago, Aurelia fell. Invaded by the Empire, who seized control in under a week.  

Aurelia’s fall led her down a path of self-destruction. A path that continues to haunt her even now, as her hands shake looking at the controls to her mech. She hates herself for continuing to do this to herself, but it’s all she knows anymore.

She tells herself she’s a survivor, that the two remaining pilots of Wardog Squadron are survivors. But it’s all a lie. The six pilots of the squadron died one by one, they didn’t survive. And now all that remains are Juniper Sladek and Laila Praxian, the so-called “Heroes of the Rebellion”.

What’s so heroic about not dying?

Juniper shifts in the cockpit seat, trying in vain to get comfortable. She needs the distraction, so she doesn’t panic. Nothing about this mission sits right in her stomach.

This strike is happening simultaneously with another strike on Imperial-held Aurelia, which should provide Wardog the cover needed to get in and out. It’s hard to say how confident she is in this - after years of fighting, she’s not even confident in her own actions. 

From the open hatch of her mech, she watches the mechanics load ammunition into her mech Ixion . Her pride and joy is one of the only two flight-capable mechs in perhaps the entire rebellion. The other one, however, is parked in front of her: Argos, Laila’s mech. 

While both are built for flight, they’re radically different in design. Whereas Ixion’s thin frame and reverse-jointed legs help carry it through the air, Argos is bulkier; an Imperial Doru mech, heavily modified for flight.

Having spent the better part of the day having to rebalance the actuators, Juniper wants to curse out whoever did it. But what good would it do her, when she’s barely able to form a coherent sentence right now? 

Fuck, she needs a cigarette, or a drink; really anything to help stop her hands from shaking. It wasn’t always this way, there used to be a time when she was able to sit in the cockpit without shaking or being seconds from a panic attack. She misses those days, but they’re long gone.

She sighs, tossing her dog tags from her left hand to her right and back again. She always finds this helps her to focus before a mission. Finally, she lets them go and they hang around her neck once more. She kisses them for good luck, burying them within her jumpsuit.

She could pray for the success of this mission, but for one whose hands are so soaked in blood, what good would it do? The gods would not listen.

The headset resting on the main console buzzes to life and she scrambles to put it on, listening to the incoming message. Wardog, this is control. Begin launch procedures and patch into the AWACS. 

It’s time to awaken Ixion. 

Three switches are flipped on her left console, and then a symphony of noise overtakes the otherwise quiet cockpit. For a brief moment, the hum of two reactors booting drowns out the background engine noise, quickly quieting down to a slight hum. The stench of burnt metal and fuel permeate through the air, a nauseating scent to most but a relaxing one to her

Red lights from the main camera illuminate the makeshift hangar, scanning and searching, dying down seconds later. All systems read green and very soon, it will be time to unleash hell upon the Imperials.

Talk to me, Sladek, you good? Laila calls over the radio. She sounds concerned, but knows by now how broken Juniper is. Laila is the one who has to help Juniper pick up the pieces of her psyche after every mission, after all.

"’m good, j-just need to finish pre-flight checks"

An audible sigh can be heard on the radio. Juniper, close your eyes and count backwards from ten. Think you can do that? 

"W-Why? T–Told you, ‘m fine."

June, just trust me okay?

Juniper closes her eyes as requested, counting backwards from ten. Each number helps her to focus, to find her. Juniper Sladek - The Hero. The version of her who can do this without breaking down. And when she opens her eyes, she exhales sharply. 

You good now, June? 

"I can do this, Laila. ‘Sides, we’re taking leave after this mission, aren’t we? What kind of partner would I be to make you worry more? "

Laila laughs, but says nothing. 

Wardog, this is AWACS Eagle Eye, happy to be working with you today. I’ll be your eyes and ears for this operation.

The cockpit hatch to Ixion begins closing, blanketing Juniper in blackness for a solid five seconds until the green lights of the electronics activate. Then seconds later, the darkness completely fades, leaving her with a full view of her surroundings.

All non-essential personnel evacuate the hangar. Repeat, all non-essential personnel evacuate the hangar. A voice commands over the intercom. Maintenance staff give their final checks on the mechs, tethering themselves to the floor, as the cargo bay doors begin to open.

Air rushes inward and lights flash. Outside those bay doors is a sea of darkness.

She straps herself into the cockpit and begins her last pre-flight checks. The arms of the giant mech move from right to left, up to down, back and forth, with the head following a similar pattern. Then, she closes her eyes, folding her arms to her midsection. Deep breath, in through the nose, out through the mouth. 

Wardog, this is control, you’re clear for sortie. Give ‘em hell. 

Showtime.

Argos slides down the rails of the transport first, sparks flying as it clears the final rails and plunges into the dark abyss. Ixion begins speeding down the rails next, and she grabs hold of the two handholds in the cockpit, closing her eyes, letting the force of launch pass.

Then, she’s plummeting to the earth and finally opens her eyes, getting started on activating the flight system.

Ten Seconds to engine ignition.

Ten…

Nine…

The wings on the back of Ixion unfold and Juniper pulls her mech into a glide.

Eight…

Seven…

Juniper hums a tune to herself, head bobbing to the invisible song, hands flipping switches, beginning the engine start-up sequence.

Six…

Five…

Ixion shakes, plummeting into the storm system below, rain pounding against the metal frame. Bolts rattle and a part of her has to hope the last maintenance cycle tightened everything accordingly.

Four…

Three…

The left engine hums to life as planned, but the right has yet to light. She can fly on two engines– Ixion is light enough for that, but the balance would be completely off with only the left engines ignited. Most pilots would stress over this, even begin praying to the gods, but she refuses to stress so soon.

Two…

Ixion has always been a temperamental machine. She likes to blame it on rebel mechanics not knowing their ass from a spanner. But in truth, Ixion is a complicated piece of machinery piloted by another complicated piece of machinery. Mechs are difficult enough to maintain, but one capable of flight? It’s asking the impossible of already thin supply lines.

One…

The left engines hum to life and Juniper moves the left throttle to feed them power. It won’t be enough to keep her airborne, but it will be enough to slow her descent, should it come to that.

Without even the slightest bit of hesitation, she restarts the fuel flow to the right engine, attempting to light it again. This time however, her HUD shows green on both engines and she throttles up the right engine accordingly.

Mechs aren’t supposed to fly — they’re too heavy, most reactors can’t handle the energy concerns of flight engines. But tell that to Juniper Sladek, the best godsdamn pilot around. Ixion isn’t some piece of scrap metal welded together; this sleek, aerodynamic machine is meant to soar.

There’s an entire explanation for how her mech flies, but it’s easier to say that she paid someone insane to build an insane machine. Everything from the reactor pumping enough fuel to stay airborne; to the internal weapon bays, has been built for the sole purpose of flight. Custom-made and costing more money than most people would know what to do with. 

When the wings of her mech catch the air and soar ever higher, Juniper is at peace with the world. Her anxieties quiet themselves, she’s calm, but most of all, she’s free.

Flying is in her blood, it’s her heritage, her family have flown for generations. And she carries on their legacy with Ixion. Though she may not always enjoy piloting a mech, being given the chance to fly higher than anyone could ever imagine keeps her going through it all.

So far, so good.  

As long as they stick to the mission plan, they should be in and out in under two hours, with burning Imperials in their wake. And then, they can begin their long journey to link back up with the transport. Afterward, they can celebrate back at base as they usually do: With copious amounts of alcohol.

She settles into the long flight, closing her eyes and letting her thoughts carry her off. They’re flying through a storm system, that occasionally shakes the mech, but she’s used to it. It’s oddly comforting in a way. 

Down there is her homeland, the one she wishes she could have saved all those years ago. But one pilot would not have made the difference, not when the government rolled over and surrendered at the first sign of pressure. The Imperials were better armed and Aurelia’s forces were no match for them, but it doesn’t lessen the sting of it all. 

After the war, she became a mercenary, taking jobs for whoever paid her. But the Rebellion gave her a purpose when she had none. They gave her so much, yet it’s all for nothing if she dies.

This won’t be her end though, not when she has a cabin to build with Laila. The thought of Laila wearing a white sundress, surrounded by a field of flowers, is enough to make her keep going. They’ll have their own home and be able to live off the land, and life will finally be perfect. 

Soon. But not soon enough.

Ten miles to target. Wardog 2, engage ECM and begin descent.  Eagle Eye radios in, breaking the silence.

At the press of a button, a slight electronic hum can be heard from the built-in ECM booting up. Ixion and Argos dive out of the dark clouds, skimming the surface of the sea. The Imperials radar network is full of gaps, ones that would be near impossible to exploit without the ability to fly.

It helps that she knows the terrain here perfectly. This is the part of the country where she grew up. The mountainous terrain of the area works in their favor, allowing them to get in undetected, so long as they mind the rocks.

***

Barely two miles from their target and Juniper’s radar lights up with a nearby enemy, which fires a concentrated beam blast near her, that leaves a hole in the cliffside.

Shit, how were they spotted? This was supposed to be foolproof. 

Wardog Two–

Already on it, Cap, hang back and watch the fireworks. Ixion moves towards the source of the blast. The main camera zooms in on the source of the blast, revealing an Imperial Doru with cables running from its generator into large-scale rail cannon. She rolls the mech left, dodging incoming fire.

Juniper’s left thumb taps a button on her stick, machine gun fire erupting from the head of Ixion. She follows that up with a burst of missiles which slam into the Doru , exploding on contact. Both enemy mech and cannon go up in a large explosion. Prompting her to slam down the throttle, gaining altitude as fast as she can.

Wardog, status report, what the hell happened!?

This is Wardog One, they spotted us. What’s our next move? 

Minutes pass before Eagle Eye finally responds. Imperial radio channels are quiet, no reason to believe this was anything but a fluke. Command has given the authorization to continue the OP.

Copy. Wardog out. 

Juniper slumps into her seat, rubbing her temples. She wants so desperately to call off the operation now, it’s already gone to shit. But if the Imperials are really testing a new mech this far out, they need to press forward. 

How could they have been spotted by a shitty Doru ? It must have acquired a visual lock, because the ECM would have been jamming it. Let alone the fact that the radar on the Doru is antiquated. That’s usually the first thing to go, when rebel crews steal them.

Unless the Imperials have beefed up their radar network in the time since they were briefed on this mission, there should be no possible way that they could have been spotted. This is why she despises information brokers; they were probably fed bad intel. 

Even with the vast information network that the rebels possess, an operation like this would not be possible without an information broker. Their services, though highly valuable, have become less reliable as of late. Two months ago, a broker sold junk information on a convoy to a rebel group. When that group found the convoy, none of them survived.

The only reason this op was given the green-light was because the information was airtight. Laila personally verified the legitimacy of it, although she isn’t certain how   her partner did it. She can only trust that her partner is telling the truth. Trust is the only thing they have and it would be idiotic to question it.

Maybe that’s because of how she’s grown dependent on Laila, as of late. She used to be the hotshot ace with a mouth to match. Then, she started getting too comfortable in this new life. 

These days, that hotshot pilot is nothing but a facade that she forces herself to wear. She’s lucky to even sit inside the cockpit without a panic attack. Her nerves are shot and she forces herself to keep going. It would be a hit to the morale of everyone, to see an ace breaking down.

She lets out another sigh, staring at the various cockpit monitors. Everything has gone to shit. At least she can take leave when this is over.

It should be another five minutes before they hit their target. Then, it’s a matter of “blow shit up and go home”. Linking up with the transport over the Aurelian sea won’t be easy in these conditions. The rain continues to pound on the metal frame of her mech, while she distracts herself.

If they need to find an alternate route home, that may be a problem, since they’re stirring up a hornets nest. There’s not a chance that the Imperials will just let them go home after this, not without a fight anyway. A fight that she looks forward to, at that.

Wardog, this is Eagle Eye, you should be acquiring a visual on the facility soon. You’re clear to engage. 

As the target comes into view, she catches herself staring off into nothingness. Her target, it’s–it’s a military base, more specifically, the one she served at in the days before the war. An old airbase converted to store mechs, it was supposed to be far from the frontlines. What a fucking lie.

The radio crackles to life, Laila’s reassuring voice coming through. June, don’t get antsy on me now, we still got a job to do. 

"R–Right, I’m still here." She responds weakly, trying to find her nerve.

Good girl, remember the cabin. We’ve got this. 

Burning fuel tanks illuminate the pitch-black darkness, while sirens wail around them. The Imperials are left blind from the radar jamming, yet they refuse to give up, continuing to fight like cornered rats. Any other time she might laugh at how invincible she feels, but she’s far too focused on her target to notice. 

Her hands shake on the controls, left thumb hovering over the missile button. She just needs to press it, then she can go home, she can home and–and what? Get called a hero by someone who has never seen the horrors she’s seen? 

It’s her duty though, she has to do it.

Juniper closes her eyes, steadying her breathing. The shaking in her hands subsides and she fires a salvo of missiles at a row of fuel tanks, causing a massive explosion.

With its head vulcans, Ixion shreds through parked mechs and aircraft alike. Countless Imperial mechs fire at her, but she responds in kind, while easily evading the enemy fire. 

All around Wardog, the base is in ruins, with fires burning brightly. Yet, they haven’t found what they were after. The supposedly new Imperial mech they were after is nowhere to be seen. They must have been fed bad information. Godsdammit, she knew it was too good to be true–her thoughts were interrupted by a green light piercing the only part of the base that isn’t burning.

A large blast blows a hole through a hangar, barely missing her. 

Shit, shit, shit.

Juniper engages the flight system without a moment to spare, taking to the skies once more just as the hangar collapses. And through the rubble, she sees something monstrous.

It’s obviously an old Aurelian Aegis model, but clearly something was different. The heavy armor of the Aegis is still there, though it looks shredded in parts. It’s like a mockery of an Aegis , with its imperial weapons system and those claws on its hands. She feels sick to her stomach just looking at it.

How many of her comrades has this thing killed? 

Far too many. 

The shaking in her hands returns and Juniper can’t help but curse her own failings. She doesn’t waste any time though, firing a salvo of missiles at the monstrous mech before it can attack, but it easily shakes them off and fires a large beam blast at her.

She pulls her mech into an insane dive –High-G warnings light up the cockpit, which she ignores– and with one movement of the left stick, the mech’s left arm-blade slices through the titanium armor of Aegis . But it doesn’t even notice the attack. It continues firing at Ixion , until it finally runs out of ammo and collapses. 

The base is in ruins and the mechs of Wardog Squadron stand tall. Mission accomplished.

What in the hell was that mech? It only landed a handful of shots before going down. And as far as she can tell, there’s no major damage. So that’s good, but worrying. If they’re testing more mechs like these, then it’s only a matter of time until more of these things are rolled out. 

The pilot wasn’t up to snuff, that much is obvious. Poor bastard was probably just a maintenance tech, trying to defend the base.

High above the clouds, Juniper finally relaxes, her eyes no longer glued to the radar screen. They can go home and take some well deserved leave after this.

Gods, does she ever need it.

The radio crackles just as she yawns. Wardog, you’re ten miles out from the transport, maintain current heading and prepare for touchdown.

"What’s the plan once we get back to base, Laila?"  Juniper says over comms.

Oh, y’know, drink our asses off, hot steamy sex, the usual! Plus, you and me, June? We’re finally getting leave. I got the approval earlier, wanted to wait to tell you the good news.

She cracks a smile staring at her dog tags. Even if she can’t simply abandon her responsibilities and run away forever, this is a start. They can’t exactly “go anywhere”, given most of the region their base is in a hellscape. But she has a few ideas to relax in their bunk

***

Wardog, five miles out, begin final approach.

Those are the best damn words Juniper could hear today. As soon as she touches down, she can collapse into her bunk with Laila and sleep. It’s not quite the bedroom of their future home, but their quarters belong to them.

But she can’t stop thinking about that Aegis . Why? It was just some shitty mech piloted by a maintenance tech. 

It’s not because of her homeland, it’s been dead for six bloody years now. No, it’s how monstrous it looked. She knows there’s no point in worrying now; if the pilot didn’t shit themselves, they’ll survive. So why is it still on her mind? 

And why are her hands shaking again? 

The panic attacks are nothing new, but she still fucking hates herself for being so weak. And there is still nothing she can do to stop them. She’s tried everything short of neural implants, but only because she doesn’t want anything in her head.

“MISSILE! BREAK! BREAK! BREAK!” The HUD screams in her ears, shaking her from her thoughts, and forcing her to reflexively punch the throttle throwing the stick into evasive maneuvers. Ixion is safe; she’s practiced this maneuver too many times to count.

Argos, however, is not so lucky.

Warning, warning, Wardog squadron, you’ve got bandits heading your way. At least a dozen by my count.

Engine one is hit, engine four isn’t looking so hot either. Gonna set her down, cover me. Laila  calls out, leading Juniper to frantically chase after her. She’s flying low, smoke billowing from her engines.

Argos slams into the ground hard. It’s impossible to tell from here how bad the damage is with the smoke coming from it. 

She circles the downed mech, firing vulcans at anyone who gets close. It won’t do much damage, but it’ll provide a good distraction for Argos to get back on its feet. Ixion gets a running landing, taking out a Doru with its momentum.

Juniper flicks a switch on both sticks, twin machine guns popping out of leg compartments. Without a second’s hesitation, she fires at everything in sight, giving Argos plenty of cover.

One by one, Imperial mechs fall around her, but more only take their place. It’s an ambush, because of course it is. Today just keeps getting better.

"Wardog One, how ya looking over there?" Juniper calls, shooting anyone who gets close to Argos.

A large beam flings itself across the battlefield, slicing through each enemy mech like it were made of paper. The shot could only have come from Argos , which is a good sign. 

Seen better days, but I’ll be fine. Just give me covering fire, June.

Without a word, Juniper throws Ixion into high gear, ripping missiles into each opposing mech before they could so much as scratch the armor of her own. Wardog aren’t just propaganda pieces, they’re both aces; by Juniper’s count, she’s downed at least thirty Imperial mechs, for which she’s tattooed five stars onto her collarbone as her tally. 

Dancing around its pursuers, one by one, Argos eliminates every last one of them with a cannon on its arm. When all is said and done, over a dozen mechs have been dispatched by two pilots.

What the fuck happened to mission accomplished!? Laila shouts over comms, forcing Juniper to throw off her headset.

Unknown at this time, words come down from up hig– Wa–Com–Co—Ssssssshhhhhhh Static overtakes the comms channel.

"Eagle Eye, come in! Do you copy!? "

"Wardog One, do you read? She tries Laila, but again, only static."

Fuck. This wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Juniper slams the console with her fist, cursing loudly. She’s been left blind and deaf, and this mission has gone sideways fast. Every last part of this screams set-up in her head, but she ignores it. There’ll be time for diagnosing what went wrong back at base. Preferably with a few shots of tequila in her.

It’s far too quiet. Something is jamming them, yet there’s not a single enemy unit still standing. A sinking feeling overtakes her; something is coming, and she knows she won’t like it. That bad feeling, however, is quickly answered as a single shot pierces the head of Argos .

A loud thud hits the ground underneath Ixion and its thrusters scream to life, speeding across the muddy battlefield to Argos. The damage is bad; the head has been blown clean off. Where did it come from? And how many enemies are out there?

Argos pushes back Ixion as another shot rings out, this time piercing Argos’ left shoulder and tearing it completely off. The arm itself hangs there lifelessly, dangling by a thread from the torso of the mech. Coolant leaks from the limp arm, with sparks flying from cables that are supposed to be connected. 

“Laila! Get the fuck out of there!” Juniper shouts, but she knows Laila can’t hear her. No one can.

Anxiety swells inside of her; she has to fight back the urge to vomit and pull herself together. Laila will be fine, the damage isn’t enough to kill her. But, what if it is? Argos is– Argos charges, pulling out a blade, dodging the next shot with ease. Its blade slices through the remnants of the Imperial mechs with ease, but it does nothing to alleviate the Juniper’s anxieties.

She charges in behind Argos, thrusters screeching at full throttle yet again. But as she does so, artillery fire rains down on them from above, halting their advance in its tracks. They’re pinned down, no radar, no comms, Argos is wounded, and they’ve both seen better days. Now would be a good time for a miracle.

That miracle never comes; another shot rings out, this one crippling the right leg of Argos. Anxiety paralyzes her, leaving her to watch Argos– Laila – take shot after shot. She needs to fight, needs to find the sniper quickly, but instead her hands fall from the controls of her mech.

Sweat pours down her face and her heart races. Useless, useless, fucking useless. She’s not some cocky mech pilot. The real Juniper Sladek is a worthless woman, afraid of her own shadow.

As she starts to resign herself to death, the static hum of the jamming ends. Suddenly, a voice transmits across the frequency, sending a shiver down her spine. 

Wardog, I am allowing you the opportunity to surrender right here and now. If you do as I say and stand down, I can guarantee your survival. However, if you choose to defy this proposition, you will not get another chance.

"Fuck you, I’d rather die then surrender to you bastards!" Juniper spits without hesitation, filling the words with as much venom as she can put into them. She can’t surrender, not to them, not ever. 

June what the shi– Laila’s radio falls silent as another shot hits Argos.

I was quite hoping you would say that. Hound, you have my permission to go off the leash.

What is she– Ixion dodges round after round of cannon fire, only to come face to face with Aegis again. There’s still damage where Juniper had sliced it, but–Oh gods no. They’ve been set up. 

As soon as the command is uttered, its heavy armor is purged, revealing a lighter frame underneath, much more animalistic than before. Just watching it sends a chill down her spine.

J–June, I need you to do me a favor. Run. I’ll hold the enemy off and catch up when I can, okay?

She doesn’t respond, lost in her spiraling thoughts, unable to comprehend what Laila is saying. She’s beyond simply “scared” at this point, she– Wardog Two! Lieutenant Sladek! Fucking answer me Laila screams into headset, startling Juniper and shaking her from her breakdown. Argos and I, we’ve seen better days. But we’ve got enough fight left to hold this bastard off, just run.

"I–"Juniper starts, but quickly loses her nerve.

This is a godsdamn order, get the fuck out of here! Argos fires a warning shot from the cannon mounted to its only functioning arm. Go!

She silently obeys the order, gunning the throttle to Ixion and pushing it harder and faster than she would under normal circumstances, the engines responding in turn with a screech. The only thing she can hear over the radio, before the jamming returns, is an inhuman growl.

What was that? 

Some sort of AI? It’s the only thing she can imagine it to be.

The damage to her own mech is minimal, because of Laila. She made herself a big damned target all in an effort to save Juniper. From what? A bloody sniper? She could have–She could not have stopped them. No, the moment Laila took a hit, Juniper froze.

She couldn’t even save the one person in the world who loved her, who saw past the cocky asshole for what she really was: Afraid. Despite having been around mechs since she was young and piloting them since she was a teenager, Juniper has always been afraid. It might be why she blames herself for her homeland falling, because she was a scared kid being put onto the battlefield.

Ixion hasn’t suffered major damage; she just needs to climb fast and escape the jamming range that way. Missile warnings light up the screen and she deploys countermeasures, hoping to lose them in the clouds. 

Her hands shake on the control sticks and the anxiety begins crawling its way back into her head. 

Get it together, Sladek. Laila will be fine. When this is over you can sit back with some tequila to help numb the pain. She shakes her head, taking in a deep breath. Her mind is calm, she will escape, because she is the best godsamned pilot the rebellion has.

Eagle Eye, come in. I need support ASAP.

No response, just static over the radio. It’s possible she’s still under jamming, but that should be impossible at this altitude. Doesn’t matter right now, she’ll figure it out later, once she’s safely aboard.

The mech struggles to maintain altitude, warning constantly popping on the screen. She dismisses them, doing her damndest to keep the mech in the air. Landing is too dangerous, especially not with a mech like that thing still on the loose. Can only hope now that Laila killed it. 

Because she doesn’t want to think about the reality of the situation.

It doesn’t take long for the transport to come into view, the cargo bay already open and awaiting the arrival of Ixion. Just as she relaxes in her seat, mentally going through the checklist for shutdown, an explosion tears through the transport, sending it plummeting to the earth below. She can only watch as it spins, finally hitting the ground and unleashing another explosion.

This is it for her. This is where Juniper Sladek dies, all because she didn’t know when to quit. No, she can’t die here, not until she gets to build that cabin with Laila.

She doesn’t get time to process what just happened as she’s rocked by enemy fire. Ixion descends as fast as it can through the clouds, using whatever power it still has, and as the ground comes into view once more a missile hits her.

The missile doesn’t explode, instead embedding itself in the mech’s frame, a wire springs free that quickly pulls her to the ground. She wrestles the controls in an attempt to break free of whatever is causing this, but it’s no good. It’s that mech again.

Well, if it’s a fight they want, Juniper’s more than happy to provide them with one. A blade hidden inside Ixion’s left arm slices the embedded missile, breaking the enemy's hold on her.

Whatever she just did, it seemed to end the jamming, as her systems light up once more. Ixion dances across the ground, dodging shell fire left and right; she just needs a plan. Then she can go back for Laila and–Shit, another salvo of missiles. 

Aegis lunges at Ixion, claws digging into the metal frame. With a swift motion, Ixion responds with a powerful slash of its own, leaving the enemy without an arm. But that doesn’t even slow it down; it leaps on top of Ixion before she can react, clawing and pounding at Ixion ’s torso, denting the metal with every attack. Inside the cockpit, alerts flood the screen, forcing Juniper to manually clear them.

She buffets it with chest vulcans, hoping to distract it long enough to stab it through the cockpit. Her attacks don’t even phase it; it instead leaps off of her, tearing off Ixion’s right arm to attack her with it.

The arm pounds and bashes into whatever it can, shaking the mech and sending Juniper crashing headfirst into an array of cockpit panels. Not good, blood pouring down her forehead. Probably sliced open something. 

Dizziness too. So a probable concussion as well. 

One-by-one her monitors go dark, save for a sub-camera. This is it for her, the metal frame is beginning to crunch under the constant attack and soon she’ll be dead. If she’s lucky, it’ll be a quick death.

Aegis collapses on top of her before it can deal the final blow. 

H–He–Hey J–Jun–S–ssshhhskkk—alive? Laila’s voice calls over the radio, but Juniper can’t focus on it. She just wants to sleep. Then, once her eyes finally close and everything around her goes black, she figures she’ll wake up in a hospital bed or a grave. She isn’t picky as to which it is anymore.

The distinctive sound of rotors wakes her from her slumber for a brief moment, before she falls back asleep. Probably rescue helicopters, having gotten a distress beacon that Laila must have sent.

An eject alert keeps humming in her ears, but there’s no point; the ejection system is fucked, it got wrecked in that fight. Even if she isn’t being rescued, plummeting to her death isn’t her idea of peaceful. Whatever’s happening, is a problem for later.

Once she’s back at base, she can have some alcohol to help numb the pain she’s in now, and will be in once she sees the damage to her baby. So many new parts will need to be custom ordered; if not for the throbbing pain in her head, she would have a headache from thinking about it. It can wait until she’s recovered and taken leave.

She’s jolted awake by the sound of someone attempting to open her cockpit hatch. They’re shouting something, but Juniper is too groggy to make it out. The manual override on the hatch blows it off and that’s when the fear hits her.

Imperials surround the hatch, pointing guns at her. If she could just–it’s no use, the second she moves, she’s thrown face first onto the ground and pinned there with a boot to her head. 

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Lieutenant Sladek.” A woman says, knocking her out with a kick to the stomach.