The door behind her closes and Juniper leans against the ledge, digging through her jacket pockets for her cigarettes and lighter. With the cigarette in her mouth, she cups her hands over it, repeatedly sparking the lighter until it ignites. Then, she lets out a long and painful breath of smoke.

It was easy to quit smoking, what with everything following her capture, nicotine was the last thing on her mind. Until it wasn’t easy anymore and she needed a smoke. She’s still processing what that insane “Veterinarian” told her: “Laila Praxian is alive.” Of course she’s alive, the dead never stay dead.

Fighting back a sigh, Juniper takes a drag from her cigarette, blowing the smoke out into the recycled air of Gormo. Laila wouldn’t approve of her smoking, she’d been trying to get her to quit for years.

The door opens behind Juniper and an arm wraps around her. “Can’t sleep?” Mara says, kissing her cheek. They’re staying in a safehouse provided by a rebel element within the government here. The Empire has eyes everywhere, so this ensured they would have a place to lie low.

Juniper shrugs, flicking the smoldering cigarette over the railing. “Hard to, bad memories here.”

Mara says nothing, just leaning over the railing with her captain. They watch the artificial night cycle slowly transitioning to dawn, with a scattering of rain over the horizon. It’s quiet here, peaceful too. “Bad memories, eh?”

“Yeah, of someone I used to be.” Juniper quietly says, closing her eyes.

Nothing needs to be further said about the past. Mara understands, because she’s probably been through similar. It’s the price you pay in this world after all.

Nonetheless, Mara wraps her other arm around Juniper, holding her close and watching the artificial sunrise with her. Even if it’s not real, it’s still beautiful to watch, especially with Mara.

Today is supposed to be the day they return to Volterra at last. A rad storm is rolling through the area, so it should provide significant cover to get the train through without any followers. It’s just a matter of waiting.

“Y’ever wonder what’s up there?” Mara breaks the silence to say.

“Mm?” Juniper cocks her head. “Up where?”

Mara points high into the sky, a smile on her face. “All the way up there beyond this hellhole we call home.”

She raises her head, staring up the artificial clouds.“Just a bunch of colonies I’d imagine. Heard that’s where the tech to maintain this place came from.” Juniper stares upwards, watching the clouds. “I’ve heard of pilots fighting in space, but most people born on this dump don’t get a chance to escape.”

“I think I’d like to go to space someday. Don’t get me wrong, I’m fighting for the rebel cause, ‘cause I believe in it, but…” Mara trails off, sighing. “I dunno, it feels…hopeless? Can we really win a fight against an enemy like this?”

A little reminder of Juniper’s partner. “You sound just like her, you know?”

“Who?”

“Laila, my, uh…my partner.” Juniper shifts uncomfortably, trying to not remember seeing Laila in the hospital room. “We had one more mission, then she wanted to say fuck it all and leave.” But that’s all she can see when she closes her eyes. She untangles herself from Mara’s hold, leaning against the railing again.

Mara leans next to her, holding her hand. “Y’know, I had a girl once. Sweetest person I ever met, we were in love, was technically my superior officer, but–” She shrugs and laughs softly.

“What happened to her?” Juniper stares at Mara, watching her expression change to a more mournful look. It says all that needs to be said.

There’s a sigh and Mara stares down at the city below. “Mm…” She goes quiet, humming a tune to herself. “She died protecting my green ass. Got her medevaced, but they only managed to really save her heart. And as it so happened…I had a bad heart, Empire didn’t care when I signed up though.” She shrugs off her black jumpsuit, lifting her shirt to show a scar on her chest. “Her parting gift to me. Didn’t deserve it, she shoulda been the one to live, but, hey, that’s life, whaddya gonna do?”

They stand there, gazing down at the city in all of its early morning beauty. “...Did I–” Juniper starts, but gets interrupted with a laugh.

“Nah, only encountered you the one time, far as I know. Wasn’t you, was some other rebel, pretty sure her name was Leinth Aritimis? Met her about a year after the fact, they…they got her and did to her, what they did to you…” Mara closes her eyes, listening to the artificial breeze. “Wasn’t there long, she was part of some special taskforce. Those few times I saw you, made me think back to her and how I wish I could have helped her.”

Not a name that Juniper recognizes, but her memory is awful anyway.

“That’s why you saved me? Thought it was because I spared your life one time.” Juniper laughs a little, resting her head on Mara’s shoulder.

“Actually, it was 'cause muzzles just don’t go with that dirty blonde hair of yours. Ruins the whole ‘badass pilot mystique’ you got going on.” Mara says with a grin, stroking Juniper’s hair. “‘Sides, Minerva didn’t exactly hold a favorable view of the whole Hound thing. Figure might as well honor her memory and try to move on.”

“She’d like you though, you got that fire in you that she had.” Mara squeezes her captain’s hand, just listening to the breeze with her.

Juniper closes her eyes, thinking back to Laila, to the hospital room. “...I shouldn’t be saying this, but I think…I think I saw her.”

Mara stares blankly, caught off guard. “Who?”

“...Laila.” Juniper says quietly, as if saying this aloud were to acknowledge her fading grip on her sanity.

“Wait, what? When!? How!? Isn’t she dead!?” Mara stutters in confusion.

Juniper shrugs, “Wasn’t I supposed to be dead?” Then; she sighs. “She…she shot me down over the skies in Volterra, she was controlling those…those…dogs….” Her hands tremble at the memory of it. “Left me a message: ‘Do you remember our dream?’ It’s how I know it was her, not some…some imposter like…like Eris was.”

Whatever “Subject Iota” is, it’s clearly a designation meant for Laila. Should have been the two of them versus the world, and instead they both “died” only to become dogs of the Empire. Fuck, the irony of it all is laughable.

Mara nods, pulling Juniper close to her. “...Shit does this mean?”

Juniper shrugs. “I dunno, I think I’m losing my mind. I saw her in the hospital, or I think I did, anyway. She told me it’s time to stop playing hero for people who only see me as a traitor and…she’s right.” Delusion or not, one thing is clear to her: She needs to be stronger.

Mara lets go of Juniper, unsure what to say. “A-Are you…please gods, tell me you’re not–”

“No. I’m not going to run.” Juniper runs a hand through her hair, laughing. “Running’s all I’m good for these days, but I’ve had enough. If Laila’s out there…I gotta get her home. I like you, Mara, hell, I think you’re one of the only sane motherfuckers who tolerates me. But, if there’s even a chance I can get my partner back, I have to take it.”

Mara laughs softly, leaning against the wall. “June, you’re a big fucking idiot, you know that? I don’t give a shit, I’m sticking to your side. You wanna save her, fine, but I’m coming with.”

“You’ve a choice, you know, it’s not too late. Run, get out of here, blend in with the denizens here and forget about the war.” Juniper says it in a low voice, knowing how useless it is to dissuade Mara, but she’s tired of seeing the people she cares about get hurt.

“‘Fraid not, ‘Cap. ‘Sides, if I let you die, who’ll I watch these crappy movies with? Vera? Fuck that, that bitch has no sense of taste.” Mara laughs much harder, shaking her head. “Nah, I’m staying with you until the end, ‘cause I’m one stubborn bitch who’s hard to kill.”

The radios on their hips crackle. Sladek, Saparlo, I hate to cut the shore leave early, but we’ve got a mission. Commander wants us on deck in ten. Train yard, take the back service elevator, make sure you’re not followed. Glass out. Vera is still here, but there’s something…off about her voice. If only those dogs had killed her, the worry about everything she could do wouldn’t be an issue then.

“Whaddya say ‘cap?” Mara offers out her hand for Juniper.

Juniper grabs the offered hand, squeezing it. “Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.”

They’re not far from the yards, but it’s still quite a walk with the route they’re taking. Rebels are technically welcomed in the domed-city as long as they don’t start anything, same as the imperials. But in truth, this is slowly becoming just another Imperial colony. There are allegedly elements in the government fighting back and funding multiple rebel cells, but who even knows if that’s true.

All Juniper knows is that her mech was built here and has been reborn here. She’s spent the last few days tuning it to her specifications, ensuring everything was up to snuff. Felt good to be back in the cockpit again, despite her injuries.

Doctors want her to stay out of the cockpit until her arm is at least healed, but it’s fine. It only hurts when she moves it. And besides, she’s hopped up on enough painkillers to survive.

The back service elevator is rarely used, fewer eyes here, compared to the other one or even the normal elevators. No telling if OSI has been trailing them. An ace and a defector, two prime suspects for OSI to be all over. They can’t do much here, with the “neutrality”, but they can watch and report movements. Then, the minute you’re somewhere secluded and alone, snatch you.

That won’t happen though, not to them.

The elevator door opens and Juniper leans back against it, yawning. “Wonder what they’re planning?”

Mara shrugs. “Dunno, don’t suppose it's good news and the war’s suddenly over?”

Juniper folds her arms around her waist, closing her eyes.“Nah, probably sending us to the Imperial Capital, to take a shit on the Emperor’s desk.” She’s slipping into more of the old Juniper again. Lately it’s become easier to be her again. Thing is though, she isn’t her anymore, nor is she the broken pilot with nothing to live for.

So, who is she?

“Dumbass.” Mara punches her good shoulder. “C’mon, not much further.”

Juniper stands upright again, her eyes opening. It only takes one sniff to know they’re in the train yards, well the more secluded one. It smells like fuel down here; fuel mixed with smoke and gods know what else. The main yard is typically full of Imperial trains, which is why they were brought into the rear yard, where trains in various states of repair lay. And off to the right in a corner, two locomotives stick out, carrying two large cargo containers, as well as four normal train cars behind the cargo containers. Home away from home, while they’ve been here. About a week into their stay, Helios was brought in on a separate train and the Commander arrived suddenly with it.

The CIC Car on the outside looks like any other train car, save for the appearance being a facade. The double-decker car is actually equipped with a rich sensor suite only found at Volterra otherwise. A mobile base, capable of launching and recovering mechs.

But as they approach the door to the CIC, there’s someone leaning against the side of it, smoking a cigarette. Vera Glass, the mercenary. The one who knows too much about Juniper. The one who Juniper was forced to inject with starlight on the orders of that deranged “Veterinarian”.

After she fucked that insane bitch’s boot, everything went blank. The last thing she remembers is seeing Vera in tears, bringing her back to reality. What exactly…happened?

“Sladek, hold up a sec, I need to talk to you.” Vera flicks her cigarette into the gravel and stretches. “Saparlo, go on in, Commander’s waiting for you.”

Mara gives her the side-eye, while Juniper just shoos off her Lieutenant. Once the door opens with a hiss and promptly closes again, Vera and Juniper lean back against the train car.

She wants so desperately to punch Vera out until her knuckles bleed, but instead resists the temptation to. “What do you need, Glass? If this is about–”

“No, gods no. I-I don’t know what that insane bitch did to my head. I’ve had this floating feeling ever since, but, no–that’s not why I need to talk to you.” Vera nervously exhales, hands trembling. “It’s about Nyx.”

Juniper raises an eyebrow.

“Okay, look, I’ve thought about it a lot. After that deranged cunt did what she did to us, I…” Vera rubs at her forehead with her index finger and thumb. “I realized that yeah, you killed Nyx, but it was because of that fucking hound program or whatever. They put some bullshit in your head to make you kill, and–I was wrong, okay? You didn’t defect, you’re not some murder, you’re–I dunno, I’m still reeling from what she did to my head. But you’re not–”

“Look, I’m glad you understand what happened, but how am I supposed to trust you? You…you followed me, threatened to blackmail me. How do I know this isn’t a ploy?” Juniper nervously says it, keeping herself from spiraling with a mental distraction; what she’ll do with Mara, post-mission. A nap sounds nice, maybe cuddling on one of the couches.

Vera shrugs. “You don’t, that’s the thing. There’s no reason for you to believe me, because like you said, I threatened blackmail. Hell, I threatened to kill you. I’ll be honest with you though: I painted you as the reason Nyx died, as some ruthless killer. Ever since that deranged bitch forced you to mess with my head though, I’ve seen things…different.” There’s a scared look in her eyes, one that says it all: she’s terrified of what the Veterinarian might do to her, if she ever gets her hands on her again.

“Nyx died, because she got careless. She was always a reckless pilot, but we’d been hired to bring you back and she thought it’d be easy. None of us had any idea what the Empire did to your head. Though, I guess there wasn’t an easy way to bring you back in the end. Still, I’ve been an asshole and I wanted to clear things up.” This is the last thing that could be expected from the merc, maybe she isn’t so bad?

Juniper hands tremble at the memories, but she steadies herself. “...Just tell me something.”

Vera nods, motioning for her to continue.

“...What happened after the Veterinarian used…” Juniper can’t bring herself to say it, so many bad memories, so much fear.

“The leash?” She sighs, rubbing her temples. “She offered me power, a way to control you, to have you kill for me.” Juniper wants to run, scream for help, do something, but she’s powerless right now. “I…I killed her, like I wanted to kill you. Or…I think I did, gods I don’t even know, that starlight shit she had you pump into me, makes it hard to remember. When I saw you like that, I lost my nerve, realized you were nothing more than a victim of some twisted science.” Vera groans, but her words feel genuine.

The CIC door opens with a hiss before Juniper can continue her conversation. Eris appears in the doorway, wearing a pilot suit, with a brown leather jacket overtop. It was already known that she’d be transferred to the active piloting roster again, but do they have to meet now?“June, Vera, Commander wants you both in here now.” Eris nods to Juniper, escorting her in, while Vera stands there lost for words.

Juniper stops on the steps, poking her head out. “Let’s finish this later, okay?”

Vera nods, following behind them.

The inside of the CIC car is rather spacious for what it is. Reminds her of the equipment back at Volterra, only shinier. She can only assume the second floor is full of more equipment. Normally this would be crewed by a full team, but they’ve been sent off to make other preparations, while the Commander handles the briefing.

“Captain Sladek, Glass, please, have a seat, so we can start this briefing.” Adama says to them, pacing around the room. Once they’re both seated, he clears his throat, a serious look in his eyes. “As you’re well aware, not far from the border to Gormo is an Early-warning radar station, nestled deeper into the mountains.”

A holographic display appears, much like the one from Volterra, showing the surrounding area and an image of the radar array. What it does not show is the amount of troops stationed in and around it, let alone the dangerous terrain. Fighting in the snow is difficult. Not impossible, just a headache.

You don’t know the terrain underneath the snow, one wrong move could spell death. Especially in a mountainous area, where who knows what’s lurking underneath. Ugh, and the amount of sensor reprogramming needing to be done to compensate for it too. Fucking nightmare.

“Normally a mission like this wouldn’t be considered due to the high risk involved. However, this is where we have no choice. We’re currently planning an invasion of Aurelia, however to do that, we need to knock out the Empire’s radar network. It starts here.” He stares at the group of pilots, a stressed look on his face.

She should be happy, the rebellion hasn’t given up on liberating her homeland, but deep down, Juniper is scared. Aurelia is where it all ended, where everything went wrong and they…they’re going to make her relive it all again, aren’t they?

Can’t go back, not now, not ever. Aurelia is bad, it’s just going to end the same again. The Empire can’t be beat, this is hopeless, it’s hopeless and–Mara squeezes her hand, sensing the coming panic attack. She stares at her Captain with a soft smile that helps to forget the pain.

If only for a minute.

Nothing needs to be said between the two, even if they aren’t together, Mara is a calming presence in the raging storm of anxiety. It’ll be okay, as long as they’ve got each other. It’ll all be okay.

Vera clears her throat and raises her hand. “Excuse me for interrupting, sir, but how in the fuck are you intending to pull this invasion off? Last time we had combat operations even near the fucking border, we lost almost our entire force in that area.”

He stares at Vera, nodding. “This operation is a gamble, I recognize that. Which is why I’m here.” Pacing slowly around the room, Adama sighs. “There are elements within the government here that do not support the close ties to the Empire. As such, we’ve come to an understanding: They will provide troops and supplies. In exchange for this, we will help to purge the city-state of the Empire, once Aurelia’s future is secure.”

“So it’s a suicide mission then?” Vera says what they all must be thinking, leaning back in her seat.

He stays silent for a moment, choosing his next words carefully. “In some respects, yes. It will be dangerous, we will lose pilots. But if we don’t do this, our chance to take back Aurelia will be lost. As I speak, there are countless squads performing raids on Imperial facilities, to ensure our invasion will succeed.”

Vera nods, going to quiet.

Adama stops pacing, staring at the projection. “If there are no further questions, I’d like to direct your attention to the projection: A radiation storm will be battering the area in approximately two-hours time. As a result of this, you will have a window of opportunity here of approximately thirty minutes.”

“However, with the impact of this storm, we expect a loss of communications and radar for the duration of the storm, meaning you’re going in blind. With that in mind, this unfortunately means that Lieutenant Saparlo will be handling operations from here.” Mara groans quietly at the news, leaning forward and folding her arms to her stomach. “There’s too much risk associated with sending her unit into a situation like this.”

Juniper fidgets with her hands, studying the display. There isn’t much to see, aside from the image of the array. But she needs the distraction, so she doesn’t have to think about the bigger picture.

Retaking Aurelia has long since been a dream, nothing else.

Adama silently stares at Eris for a moment, before refocusing on the rest of the group. “I know you may have reservations about Lieutenant Peray joining this operation, but I can assure you that she has been cleared for combat operations. Doctors can find nothing wrong with her physically or mentally.”

It was only a few weeks ago that they fought a heavy battle in Vernio against each other. The fact they’ve been repairing Ares and have planned for Eris to rejoin the fight, it’s sickening. She’s just as broken as Juniper, if not more.

Yet, when Juniper looks over to Eris, there’s a look in her eyes that reminds her of herself. Broken, scared and a tinge of guilt too. Eris shouldn’t have to pilot again, she’s seen horrors that would make the average pilot piss themselves with fear.

Adama changes the projection to make note of force projections. It’s unfortunately bare, due to a lack of surveillance in the area, but it will be well defended she’s sure. Hopefully none of those sickening dog-mechs again. “There isn’t much else for me to say. However, I want you all to know this: This is the start of a fresh offensive. We’re retaking Aurelia, but not only Aurelia. No, this begins a long campaign to liberate the people of this once great land before its fracturing.”

“You’re dismissed. We ship out in fifteen, make your final preparations now.” The door leading to another car opens with a hiss and Adama promptly walks off.

Juniper puts her hands into the pockets of her jacket, pulling out a cigarette and lighter. She offers one to Eris and to Mara, but they both turn her down. “I’m going to make final checks to my mech.” She goes out the same door she came in, lighting up her cigarette once outside.

That sweet calming effect that nicotine has, helps to relax her as she walks along the rails. Sure, she could easily have just walked through the train to get to the hangar, but a few minutes of quiet are what she needs. Helps her to process the briefing.

The mission itself is whatever, it’s what he said that’s bothering her. Taking back Aurelia, they’re insane for that, but Juniper supposes that they must finally have the resources. Even still, if that last op in Aurelia is anything to go by, they’re going to be woefully unprepared.

There’s also the Vera issue, but that’s a problem for later. For right now, her mech needs her. Ixion was critically damaged during that battle in Volterra, and as a result of that, command authorized her to take it home to Gormo for repairs.

Within this city reside the Swordsmiths of Damocles, a group of mechbuilders whose incredible skill as artisans in mech construction and maintenance has led to their services being in high demand. Unfortunately that demand means they pick and choose who to work with. They built Ixion because a flying mech was unique; even though it was heavily based on stolen imperial schematics, it was unlike anything else they'd ever produced.

It came with a cost though. Sure, her benefactors in the Empire who plucked this dying woman off of the streets, funded it. It’s true cost however , was selling her soul to an Empire determined to create monsters out of innocent.

This shitty past continues to haunt her, gods, she can’t wait to be out of this place and back to Volterra. At least she can hit the bag, once she’s back. Until then though, there’s this mission to deal with.

She flicks the smoldering cigarette into the gravel and hops up onto the steps of the hangar, entering a password into the keypad. It’s essentially a large storage container redesigned to function as a mini-hangar. Two mechs are laid down flat onto maintenance slabs, awaiting the moment they’re awakened.

Juniper stares at her mech, admiring the rebuild done to her pride and joy. The entire lower frame has been torn out and rebuilt from scratch; the clunky reverse-joint legs switched out for a faster, sleeker set. Despite their smaller silhouette, no resilience has been sacrificed; if anything the armor plates on the legs look thicker. The pulse reactor was shredded beyond repair, so they’ve switched it out for a bleeding-edge plasma power plant - double the output for just over half the weight.

Six new wings lay folded on the back, replacing the clunky shoulder-mounted set; they’ve been rebuilt from the ground up, lengthened for more maneuverability and cooling. The mech’s armaments now lock into a backpack when not in use. Four green eyes dot the new head; to better intimidate opponents. On the chest of the once-more gunmetal gray mech, the Wardog emblem now proudly sits.

The mech laying before her isn’t Ixion; not since it’s death. Her reborn mech has been given a new name befitting of its new appearance: Ixion Stryx. No expense was spared to rebuild her machine into an agile beast like no other.

Paid for all on her dime, with money from the old days. From when Juniper Sladek was an Imperial Pilot. They paid her well enough, but that money was tainted.

Laila knew she had cash saved–From the “mercenary work” she supposedly did–, but it was supposed to help the two of them start a new life when the war was over. Instead, it’s so her partner has a way to get her back.

***

She’s been watching the scenery go by for the last hour in one of the cars. Snow as far as the eye can see and not much else in this desolate hellscape. The whiteness helps to cover up the scarred landscape, but she can’t help but wonder what it used to look like long ago.

It’s comfortable in here, the heater works surprisingly well too, given the age of this car. Juniper swears this thing is probably older than her, given that this thing looks like it was built decades ago. The paint is peeling, the seats have holes, but it feels like home.

The door nearest to where Juniper’s sat hisses as it opens, another sign of its age. “Sladek, got a second?” Vera sits down across from her, wearing a full winter coat and gloves. Definitely someone who isn’t used to the cold.

Juniper nods, still watching the scenery.

“Y’know, Nyx always had some fascination with snow, that I never understood. But looking at it now, I think I get it.” Vera sighs, staring out the window with Juniper. “Really is just a white hellscape, eh?”

“Yeah, we’re going through what used to be a town.” Juniper can see remnants of buildings all around. Most of them crumbled, with the only thing remaining being a wall or two. They suffered the same fate as most places that resisted the Empire did. “You didn’t come here just to talk about the weather, did you?”

Vera laughs softly, shaking her head. “Nah, just…been thinking, about Nyx again. I took my grief out on you, when I should have turned it to the Empire. Hell, I should have blamed myself more. I was supposed to be leading them and failed to.” She mutters something under her breath that Juniper doesn’t quite catch.

“I don’t think anyone expected to be dealing with…whatever mental state I was in.” Juniper says it quietly, reliving the pain of it all in her head. “I’m sorry. Your sister is dead because of me.”

It’s quiet once more, Juniper continues staring off. She’s killed far too many to ask for forgiveness. “Such is war”, right? Fuck that.

“Every time I looked at you, I could only see a remorseless killer in front of me. You know how much that pissed me off?” Vera’s voice has that familiar tinge of anger to it, but it’s being kept in check. “What I’m trying to say is that I’m no good with ‘grief.’”

All too common, unfortunately.

“I saw those…those dogs in the kennels. If they did to you what they did to them, how did you survive? Even without looking at her, Juniper can tell how haunted Vera is just from her shaky voice.

“I didn’t. Truth is, I’m dead on the inside, just waiting for it to be on the outside too.” Juniper wishes she could have a smoke right now, calm the nerves. Not advisable with the conditions out there though.

There’s nervous laughter from Vera, but it’s still laughter. “Ain’t we all?” They watch the snowy landscape for a few minutes before either of them speaks again. “Every time I close my eyes, I see myself as one of those dogs and it scares me. Gods, how do you…how do you cope?”

Juniper shrugs. “I don’t. They fucked with my head, doubt I’ll ever cope.”

The door next to the booth Juniper’s sat in hisses as it opens, cold air blowing into the car for a second or two. “June, Vera, just got word, we’re launching shortly.” Eris says in her usual quiet and calm tone.

“Shit, alright.” Vera sighs in frustration. “Let’s finish this later, then, still got questions for both of you.”

Juniper nods, sliding out the booth. “Sure.”

She zips up her jacket, following Eris through the various train cars to the hangar. It’s dark in here, save for a red light on both doorways that illuminate very little. Juniper shivers from the cold, burying her hands into her jacket pockets. Two mechs rest on maintenance slabs, awaiting activation.

Ixion Stryx lies in front of Juniper, and behind it, Ares lays there in snow-white paint. Even rebuilt as it is, that menacing look from their last fight is still prominent on it

Eris smiles warmly to Juniper. “Are you ready?”

Juniper shrugs, “Not in the least. What choice is there, though? How do I even know I can trust you, for that matter?”

“You don’t. But like you said, what choice is there?” She’s nothing like how she used to be. Headstrong and easily excitable are what Juniper would describe Eris before…this.

“ I…I don’t want to go back.” Juniper says it quietly, almost afraid to speak.

Eris shakes her head, patting the shoulder of her CO. “Nor do I. I may not look it, but I’m free of Her influence.” She stretches. “Remember that mission in Pula, where they had to transport our mechs via cargo ship?”

Juniper can already feel herself getting sick remembering that. “Please, never remind me again, I was seasick for weeks because of that.”

Eris laughs. “I’m not just reminiscing about the past here, June. Remember how we had to deal with a total blackout on comms and radar? Same situation here, except we’re aware of it going in. Establish a plan, Vera and I will follow.” The hatch to Ares opens with a loud hum. “You’re in charge, don’t forget that.” She says, climbing into her mech.

So be it.

Juniper climbs onto the chest of her mech, opening the hatch to crawl inside. Once she’s sat down, the polymer cable interfaces with her neural hook subjecting her to a low level garbled technological sound in her consciousness. Faint little HUD lines appear in her vision, beginning to solidify as the seconds pass.

With an short exhale, she unzips her jacket and pulls out her still bloody dog tags tossing them between her hands. Back and forth, again and again, building a more confident someone who can handle this. An old pre-launch ritual that still thankfully works. She kisses them for good luck, letting the metallic tags rest against her heart.

If you’re out there, Laila, I’m gonna bring you home.

Three switches are flipped on her left console, four more on her overhead console and then a symphony of noise overtakes the otherwise quiet hangar car. For a brief moment, the hum of two reactors booting drowns out the sound of the train moving across the tracks, only to die down to a quiet hum. Burnt metal and fuel permeate through the air, helping Juniper to relax before the big mission.

Four green lights from the head illuminate the hangar, scanning and searching, dying down seconds later. All systems reading green, it’s almost time to hit this radar site.

Talk to me, June. You good? Mara calls over the radio, sounding more bored than anything. It’s hard to blame her, what with being sidelined. At least she’ll be able to stay warm.

“I’m good, finishing final pre-launch checks. What’s it looking like from the CIC?” Juniper says it quietly, relaxing in her seat.

An audible sigh can be heard on the radio. Boring as shit, but I’ll live. I’ll be covering you from up here, so come back in one piece, ‘Cap. That’s an order.

She rolls her eyes, stifling a laugh. “Yes ma’am. I’ll even bring Ixion Stryx back in one piece.”

Ixion Stryx? That’s the name you’re going with? S’good name. Just be careful out there, June. Once we lose signal, you’re on your own for fifteen to twenty minutes.

“Copy, copy. How long to launch?” Juniper turns her attention to the side console, making final adjustments to her mech. Engineers in Gormo did the hard work, now she just needs to make a few minor corrections. Namely, to the thruster timing, which is easy enough to adjust to how she likes.

Two minutes. They’re braking now, you’ll be first out, followed by Eris and Vera. Be careful out there, ‘Cap. Mara has a hint of concern in her voice, but tries to hide it underneath boredom. It’s cute. Juniper’ll need to kiss the concern away later.

“Eris, status report?” She says, eyes still focusing on her last-minute adjustments.

Ares is all good to go, Captain. Awaiting your order.

“Glass?”

I’ll be fine, let’s get this done, already.

The cock hatch begins to close, surrounding Juniper in the light of the various systems panels. She fights back a yawn, staring at the roof of the hangar through the monitors. It’s not as spacious as the transport plane, but outside of the cockpit, it’s rather comfortable. She can see herself having a nap with Mara in one of the cars later.

All units, be advised, we have come to a complete stop and are beginning launch procedures.

The roof of the hangar folds upwards, followed by the walls moving away to give room for the beds to rise upward. All she can see is whiteness wherever she looks. There’s a certain beauty to this winter wasteland.

Captain Sladek, this is control, you’re cleared for sortie.

Showtime.

The maintenance slabs rise up, turning clockwise to face the ground. Magnetic restraints are released, allowing Ixion Stryx to move clear of its slab and onto the snow terrain. Ares is next off its slab. It’s just as massive as it was before, with even more gun batteries lining the surface of this heavily armored beast. It looks much more like the original Ares though, rather than the fake that was fought.

Finally, Helios steps off of its berthing, painted in the same snow-white camo scheme as Ares. There are a variety of weapons on its back, the PPC it had defending Volterra, a shotgun for close-range and an axe, that was used when they fought. The scythe was still better.

“Control, we’re clear and heading for the radar array now.”

Copy, storm inbound in fifteen, you’ve got a hike ahead of ya.

“Copy.”

Copy.

Copy.

“Eris, on my right. Vera, my left.” Juniper commands, her eyes scanning the radar. They’re deep in the mountains, much deeper than where Gormo is. Makes sense to have a radar station here, more ground you can cover as a result.

Juniper sits back, humming a song idly while the three mechs begin the hike to the radar station. It would be easy to get airborne right now, let loose the throttle and use every last ounce of fuel in the thrusters to do a hit-and-run. Except it’s idiotic and would get her killed.

She needs to survive long enough to get Laila back. That’s all that matters.

Control to Wardog, you’re sixteen klicks east of the radar station.

“Sladek to team. Once we’re in position, we’re to hunker down and await the storm to hit. From there, Eris, you’ll deal with destroying the array. You’ve got heavy weapons, make use of them. Vera and I will deal with whatever they send our way, we’re better equipped for going on the defensive.” Juniper is half-focusing on what’s ahead and half-focusing on final adjustments. Better to do it in the field than in the hangar. More feeling here.

This terrain isn’t what she imagined would be the testing ground for the upgrades, takes some getting used to. It’s slippery and even with her jacket on, she can still feel how cold it is out there. Snow continues to fall around them while they hike up the mountain range.

Reminds Juniper of doing this with Laila once. Except it was some base in the middle of nowhere. Long after Eris had been captured, long after it was just the two of them. Gods, what she wouldn’t do to have her partner by her side right now.

‘Till death do them part, right?

Well, as it turns out, they were both supposed to be dead and aren’t, so what does that mean?

It means that Laila’s alive, that she’s “Subject Iota”, it means so much fucking insane bullshit. What did she even mean by “return to her side”? And “command would have her head, if they knew she was visiting a rebel”? What the fuck was she on about?

…Was any of that even real? No, of course it was. She felt Laila’s touch, felt the weight of her words. It was real. It just doesn’t make any sense.

Hey, Sladek, what exactly were those…dogs in that lab? Vera’s voice is a welcome distraction from her cascading thoughts on Laila, on Iota, on everything really.

Juniper closes her eyes, trying not to remember it.

If you’re talking about what I think you are, those were failures. Broken pilots sentenced to life underneath that hood, because they failed to impress…Her. Despite her calm demeanor, it’s easy enough to tell how scared Eris is.

…Her? Y’mean t-that insane Vet?

Handler Epsilon, the one who…did that to us… Their mutual benefactor, the one who decided neither of them could die. Gods, it’s hard to imagine what hell Eris went through.

“I…I’ll brief you on it later, right now, we should focus. Speaking of which, Sladek to control, how far out are we?”

Control to Wardog, you’re ten klicks out from the array.

“Copy, ETA on storm?” Juniper says it while fighting back a headache. The less said about Her, the better.

Ten minutes, maybe less– There’s a crackle and hiss from the long-range comms going dead. Estimations were off, but that’s to be expected with something like this.

Snow continues falling around them, picking up in intensity the further along they get. Over the horizon, the blue hue of Cherenkov radiation is already rolling in with the fog. They should have been further along before the storm hit. Once they’re in the storm, they’ll lose radar and visibility will be at a minimum. She’s starting to see why Mara was left off this mission, for her own safety.

Conditions are already deteriorating further, and even with LIDAR, she’s not getting much. As the radar begins to show static, she switches it off, giving the order to halt. “Sladek to team, we’ll hunker down here.” No response. “Eris, do you read? Vera?” short-range comms shouldn’t have been hit, what’s going on?

Bringing up the thermal sensors is showing no heat signatures, when Eris and Vera should have been right beside her, what the hell happened? Juniper anxiously chews on the side of her mouth. This storm picked up faster than it was forecasted to have and they’re in whiteout conditions. Even with the thermal sensors and LIDAR, there’s just nothing ahead or behind.

Fuck it, get a better view of the situation.

A crack of the knuckles, a press of a button on the stick and the flipping of two overhead switches, sends Ixion Stryx into the skies above the blizzard. Its six wings spread out into an x-shape, radiating red-hot plasma around them every second. Heat management is usually complicated, but not in conditions like these. Steam billows from where the blizzard makes contact, kicking moisture into Ixion Stryx's exhaust vents and joints. Not enough to malfunction, yet. Nonetheless, it's put a new clock on the fight.

Every attempt to pinpoint her team's location fails. The storm's rendered the thermals useless past a few meters; radar's bouncing off the snow like chaff; and, worst of all, the IFF's a garbled mess. She could scream from frustration right now, but she breathes through it. First mission leading a team and it’s gone to shit...because of course it has.

“Sladek to team, someone answer.” Juniper tries again, but only gets static. She runs a hand through her hair, mentally plotting out her next move. Lost comms, lost radar, all in the middle of a whiteout. Things just love to fall apart, don’t they?

Ixion Stryx pulls out of its hover and circles the ground, looking for any signs of life. Just need to hope they continued forward and didn’t get hit by something. In these conditions it would be easy to plummet off a cliff or worse.

Out from the distance there’s a faint heat signature; hard to tell exactly what it is, but if it’s an enemy, she’s ready. Another button on the stick in pressed and a sub-arm on the back of Ixion Stryx deploys its new linear rifle. Once the rifle is equipped into its right arm, the sub-arm folds into the backpack again.

That signature is getting closer by the second, still too early to make out exactly what it is, but it doesn’t have the telltale signs of Ares – No back-mounted cannons–, could be Helios, could be an enemy. Impossible to tell in these ever worsening conditions, only that they haven’t fired on her yet.

Good sign?

Ixion Stryx gets a running landing in the snow, reverse thrusters firing the second it touches snow. “Sladek to team, come in” Juniper tries again, but gets a faint response out of her headset. Full of static, but there was a voice in-between it.

Adjusting the signal takes time and a lot of backend work that you normally wouldn’t worry about anywhere else. But that work is rewarded with a hail– Dk. Sladek, do you copy? Vera survived, good, so this mission hasn’t gone to shit yet.

“I hear you, go ahead.” Juniper’s already tracking the signal, trying to pinpoint where exactly Vera is and if she’s about to fire on her.

Whiteout hit hard and we’re stuck in some deep snow all of a sudden. Vera says over comms, which means that the heat signature might not be her.

Juniper turns her attention to a side console, typing away in the hopes of getting a clearer picture of her surroundings. “Give me coordinates when able, send up a flare, if possible.”

Aiming carefully, the plasma reactor emits a low hum as the linear rifle begins charging, with a 200mm shell loaded in. There’s a slight delay in firing, while it charges a shot, but it’s an easy sacrifice to make, when the trade-off is firepower. Snow is already beginning to melt around her mech, while the rifle continues to charge.

There was no saving the scythe cannon; salvage found it in pieces and it was far too unwieldy to rebuild. Instead, Ixion Stryx has been equipped with a scythe and a linear rifle. More efficient, more power, less drawback.

Copy, Eris should be sending coords now. The unknown heat signature keeps moving closer and closer, meaning it’s a hostile. She can just make out the black paint scheme of an imperial mech, if she focuses the sensors well enough.

With a squeeze of the trigger, the tungsten-composite round is ejected at full force from the barrel of her rifle, screaming downrange to penetrate through the cockpit of the enemy mech. A red-hot shell ejects from the port, steaming as it hits the cold ground. Ixion Stryx vents out heat from its exhaust ports, continuing the search to find the others.

It gets a little easier to pull the trigger every time. If they didn’t want to die, they wouldn’t have fought for the Empire. She traces a hand along her collarbone, smirking. Looks like it’s almost time to add two new stars to her ever-growing collection.

There’s a lull in the storm, that allows Juniper just enough time to input the coordinates given by Eris. They’re not too far ahead, half a klick to the east, easy enough. As long as they both have a grasp on cold-weather combat at least.

No IFF signal or radar, due to the interference from the storm, so she’s going in blind. “Sladek to team, gimme a signal, I should be right on top of you.” Sensors immediately home in a flare being fired and she moves to the origin point of it.

Ares and Helios are half buried in the snow. Both pilots seem to be fine and it should be easy enough to assist them. As she carefully positions Ixion Stryx onto the snowdrift, Juniper fires cables from the sub-arms onto Helios. It’s just a matter of giving the reverse thrusters enough power to pull.

Helios gains enough traction to fire jump jets, getting free from the snowdrift. The cables retract and are promptly fired at Ares. This isn’t an easy one, it requires full power to reverse thrust and it’s still just barely enough to where Ares can deploy its jump jets.

Thanks, June, I owe you a drink when we’re back at base.

Yeah, thanks, Sladek.

“How far are we from the array? Estimations giving us about ten minutes before the storm subsides.” Juniper says, already visually scanning the area.

We should be right on top of it, maybe a klick to the north, if even that. Problem is I’m not getting any readings for a radar array. Eris sighs, deploying another scan. It was supposed to be positioned atop the mountainside but even before the storm hit, I wasn’t getting anything.

“Vera, you getting anything?” It’s a futile question, but it has to be asked.

Same as Eris, ran a sensor sweep on arrival and found nothing.

There’s no way to get enough altitude to get past this storm, so looks like she’ll have try another approach. Juniper adjusts the comm sensors, attempting to pick up on the train’s signal. Storm hit at the worst possible time, and there still isn’t any sign of this radar array. “Sladek to control, do you copy?”

Reading you J-J—The comms crackle loudly for a moment, before the signal cuts back in–Status report?

“Conditions are worsening and we haven’t found any array, what’s our move?” Every sensor sweep comes back the same, save for a heat signature sweep which lights up with over a dozen signatures and closing fast.

Oh, no.

June, Sitrep? June? Mara’s voice is worried, but there’s no time to reassure her.

“Sladek to team! If you can hear me, brace for attack!” She’s already closing in on the first heat signature, charging a shot, it’s just a matter of getting into position. The reading immediately pings back as a Belos. They’re sending in spec-ops? Gods, the Empire must be getting desperate here.

If this situation weren’t so fucking fucked already, Juniper might just have to laugh. There isn’t time for that though, not when she’s got a Belos to take care of. External vents on Ixion Stryx open wide, belting out steam that flash-melts the snow around her. Linear rifle already charging and this next shot is going right through that Belos’ core.

At the press of the trigger, the linear rifle fires a burst of energy, propelling the round through the sky with a screech. A steaming shell ejects from the rifle’s port, melting the snow around it.

The round pierces through the target’s core with precision, exiting and lodging itself in the leg of a Doru. Not quite two kills, but easy to rectify. She presses a button on her control stick, allowing the sub-arms to swap out the linear rifle for a scythe. Its blade neatly curves upright into a crescent shape, rather than the curved edge it formerly had. Only seconds later does the scythe claim its first victim, slicing clean through the cockpit of the Doru.

It’s just as she starts to get comfortable, that the radar begins spiking. Twenty signatures out of nowhere and closing fast. Definitely imperials and definitely plotting an ambush.

Because of fucking course it’s an ambush.

“Control, you seeing this?” Juniper’s frantically trying to figure out a strategy, but every strategy ends the same, with her dead or captured. Now isn’t the time to think back to the fucking briefing.

We’re doing what we can on this end, Captain Sladek. Reports coming in from all over, that array was taken out, just not by us. Whatever you do, pull back ASAP. Sounds like it was intentionally destroyed then, great.

“Eris, Vera, status?”

Taking heavy fire, Captain, could use support when possible. Cannon fire is erupting in the background, along with the sound of thrusters firing. So they’re fucked too, great.

Two signatures closing in on Juniper, meaning that it’s time to get busy. The right sub-arm deploys, just as Ixion Stryx blasts across the battlefield and in the next instant, the arm fires a wire into the nearest enemy mech. With her increasing speed, both mechs are on a collision course, until she slashes the scythe clean through the enemy. One wire releases its hold on the enemy, the other grabbing the fallen scythe from the corpse left in its wake.

With only seconds to spare, Ixion Stryx slices through the next enemy mech clean through the cockpit. Her blood is rushing from the thrill of those two kills, it was incredible. Not exactly something she could practice, but improvising on the spot is perfect.

The scythe is once again switched for the rifle as she speeds towards Eris and Vera. They’re surrounded on all sides by imperials, looks like a mix of Doru and Belos.

“Eris, Vera, missions gone to shit. We’ve been cleared to return, we just need an opening.” She fires off a round at a Doru taking it down in seconds, but another one just takes it place. They keep coming, it’s like they have a death wish or something.

We’ve got more inbound at our six o’clock, looking like half a dozen more. Command, advise on situation!?

A wicked grin comes across Juniper’s face. She’s got the perfect strategy for this. It’s so obvious to her how they get out of this one. “Eris, remember Izmar Canyon?”

A full barrage while you try to commit suicide? June, you’re insane. There’s laughter from Eris’ comms, it’s odd hearing her laugh without that creepiness to her voice. I’ll need time to set up, give me ten–No, five minutes to prep. Clamps on the legs of Ares bite down into the snowy ground, it’s twin guns aiming, while steam vents out of every crevice.

“Vera, don’t let them get anywhere near Eris.” Juniper draws speed from her thrusters, taking to the cold skies.

The name of the game here is buying time. And that’s easy enough when every last enemy mech is firing at her. The sight of a mech going airborne is enough to draw their fire away from the large mech full of gun batteries on it. Especially when said flying mech is shooting back at them. Luckily for Juniper, her mech is far more maneuverable than a Doru could ever dream of being.

It was the downside to Argos, it could fly, but with the weight of everything added to make it fly, it was essentially a flying brick.

Helios is laying down covering fire for Ares, not letting any stragglers come close to it. Every time a Doru comes close, it’s immediately disabled. The three of them work surprisingly well as a team, all things considered.

There’s a Belos that’s keeping pace with her, matching her every movement and firing accordingly. Unfortunately for the pilot, they’re already dead. Ixion Stryx swoops down towards the Belos, its sub-arms immediately firing cables that latch onto the thicker frame with ease. The enemy machine tries to escape, but it’s too late, her linear rifle immediately fires, round piercing through the reactor of the poor fucker. Juniper takes to the skies once more, smirking wildly.

Firing! Both of you, get clear!

Ixion Stryx climbs higher and higher, avoiding the oncoming hail of artillery.

A loud eruption of gun batteries sends a powder spray of snow up into the air, blocking everything from view. Hard to get a read on exactly how many that took down with the snow covering everything. Right now, Juniper’s left to hope that’s the last of them.

Did they win?

Is it over?

Gods, let’s hope so.

She relaxes into her seat, waiting for the snow to clear. Nothing on comms from Eris or Vera, it’s far too silent right now. Clutching her dog tags tight, she kisses them for good luck.

Then, as the snow finally begins to clear, all she can see is a graveyard. There’s not a single enemy mech left standing, they’ve all been taken down from the barrage. Gods it’s become a massacre and fast.

Juniper lands and breathes a sigh of relief. “Sladek to team, status?”

Still standing, despite that insane barrage.

Green across the board here, June.

“Control, what’s our next move?” She wipes off a bead of sweat, staring at the nothingness of the snow-covered mountains. “Control?” No response. “Sladek to team, either of you able to get in touch with Control?”

No response here either. There’s more fear in Vera’s voice than there was earlier. Gods, Juniper wishes she could blame her.

June, is your radar on the fritz or is it just mine?

Not getting anything either.

It was working fine just a second ago. Juniper tries to make adjustments to it in the hopes that it’s just an error, but no matter what she does, it’s just static. “Uhh, yeah, that’s…that’s odd.”

Oh, gods no.

Out of the rad-fog appears a mech. It’s big, easily bigger than Ares, wider too. On its broad shoulders rest two large cannons that look nothing like Juniper has ever seen before. Twin exhaust ports and heat pumps attach directly onto its bulky reactor, with every free surface of its broad shoulders and monstrous back adorned with heavy weaponry. In its left hand sits a spiked weapon, that looks like it would destroy anything it touches in one shot. On it’s other though, a large, long rifle with a cable running from it and into the reactor itself.

She doesn’t know what the hell this thing is, but one thing is clear to her: They’re fucked.

The reactor signature of this snow-white monster reads only as Aspis.

Her hands tremble holding the controls, she needs a strategy and fast, but she can’t fucking think of anything. Every thought is too loud, too scattered. She’s supposed to be leading and instead all she’s doing is falling apart. Now isn’t the time for a panic attack, but tell that to Juniper who is currently in the midst of one.

Aurelia, Laila, this ambush, even that psychopathic Veterinarian and…and Her. They all refuse to leave her thoughts alone.

She was supposed to be past this, the drugs, the doctors, all of it was supposed to help. So why is it that she can’t get her head together when her team needs her to? There’s no sense in running, because where would she go? Back to the Empire, to Her? No, fuck that, never again. They…they did things to her head, things she can’t remember, but lives in fear of.

June? Eris, calm even under these dire circumstances, of course she is. I need you to listen to me. You’re scared, I am too, so is Vera, we’re all scared. But we need you, our team lead.

Eris is right, but how is she supposed to calm down?

Find her, obviously.

Juniper runs a hand through her hair, laughing to herself. It’s so damn obvious, she needs to find that hotshot pilot inside herself and be her again. She clenches her blood-stained dog tags tightly and in a moment of insanity, removes them, wrapping them around her throttle. Can’t rely on a ghost, not now.

June?

She takes a slow breath, in through the nose, out through the mouth.

Just who is she?

“I’m good, needed a sec to get my head straight is all.” A salvo of heavy cannon fire screeches from Aspis, barely missing the three of them. “Eris, are you good to set another barrage up? Vera, use your PPC. This thing’s got heavy armor, it’ll take a lot to penetrate, keep that in mind.” With that, she takes to the skies, looking for any weak point or opening on this monster.

She’s a survivor.

The linear rifle of Ixion Stryx charges, a bright red glow coming from the barrel as it does so. It makes the cockpit shake, but it’s all within the threshold. Aspis continues advancing on their position, firing its body-mounted weapons on a five-second timer. It doesn’t even notice her in the skies, because it’s so distracted with the other two.

Just a little longer…

The moment its back is turned to her, she rips free a shot from the rifle, the tungsten round penetrates through the armor and out the other side, lodging itself in a slope. So not only did that do nothing, but that only served to piss it off instead.

Even with the artillery barrage coming from Ares and the concentrated beam blast from Helios, neither even scratch the surface of this things armor. It’s tougher than the armor on Ares was and easily twice as durable.

Sladek, you got a Plan B? ‘Cause this fucker is still moving.

“We pull back, use the snow to our advantage, means we can run a little hotter.” Juniper fires another shot at the Aspis, to cover their retreat. It of course, just shrugs off the round like it was nothing. But it does serve as a good distraction.

She circles around again to find a weak point, but Aspis shrugged off the salvo. With a deftness and speed that should be impossible for a rifle that imposing, the enemy mech hefts the weapon and fires. A blast of energy sears across the battlefield, melting snow and setting the ground itself ablaze. Caught in the path is Helios, the blast cleaving its head off as elements of its torso slough off - reduced to molten slag sputtering against the boreal landscape. Juniper’s heart sinks, then soars when Vera screams over the comms. It’s her trademark anger. Gone for the moment is her newfound fear, vanished in the face of surviving what should've been a kill shot.

This won’t end well if she doesn’t do something and fast. She fires off a round trying to distract it, but it’s no good. Not only does it not notice the damage, it continues to attack Helios. Strafing across the ground, Ixion Stryx gains speed. The left sub-arm fires the scythe into the monsters back, ripping a hole into its armor, giving her enough of an opening to fire a round into.

That gets its attention, but there’s barely any reaction to the damage. It buys Helios time to escape, leaving just two machines fighting each other.

Fine.

Juniper cracks her knuckles again and slams on the throttle, intending to get airborne again. It’s right as Ixion Stryx has taken off, that those cannons on the shoulders of the Aspis spin to life and she’s left to realize what she’s up against: anti-air defenses, this was planned all along. Let her get in close, so that it could take her down. Hundreds of rounds spin free of the twin cannons, bursting in the air around Ixion Stryx, filling the air with smoky clouds of flak.

The flak comes dangerously close to taking out an engine, only missing because the mech climbs out of their effective range. Gaining altitude isn’t enough: Surface-to-air missiles launch from the backside of the enemy mech, lighting up the cockpit with radar lock warnings. A pack of four warheads are hot behind, closing in with every second. The alarms won’t shut up and are doing more harm than good right now.

Defenses specially made to counter her, should have seen that one coming. Every one of those flak shots purposely missed, so that she’d be in range of missiles. Need a new plan and fast, but how the fuck is anyone supposed to beat this thing?

Time to do something that'll probably kill her.

Diverting all power to the engines, Ixion Stryx howls to life in an attempt to evade the missiles. Just as they should impact, the engines simmer quiet, air brakes fly open and the mech is thrown in a wild maneuver. Going inverted, the over-g and prox warnings continue to blare, while Juniper struggles to maintain conciouness from the edges of her vision going black.

The missiles overshoots as intended, giving enough leeway to for the mech to invert again. Chest vulcans come to life, spitting out hot lead at the pursuing projectiles, sending all four into a careening tailspin. Survived that one, but surviving isn’t enough, not when that thing is still firing flak within inches of the wings.

Gods, she's a fucking moron for that manuever. Her head feels so damn fucky, worse than it ever did with the starlight in her. Lost feeling in her limbs for a second there, but it worked.

It fucking worked!

Never mind how fucked her head feels after that. The feeling in her limbs is still returning, and gods, she’s a fucking idiot for that move. But it worked, it fucking worked!

Juniper pulls the stick up into a dive, firing reverse thrusters the second that the legs of her mech touch the snowy ground. The barrage of missile and Over G warnings fall silent, letting her catch her breath. None of those shots hit, but it was purposeful. Of course, it’s herding her towards the ground. Easier to pick off that way.

“Vera, Eris, status report!” Juniper says between pained breaths, trying desperately to figure out a strategy. The skies are unfriendly, it has a big unwieldy cannon that melts everything it touches, and close range isn’t an option with that fucking pile bunker on its left arm. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

I’ve got maybe one PPC shot left before I risk the reactor going critical. Still got my shotgun, but not sure what it or the axe can do here. Vera’s in rough shape, no surprise there.

Ares has enough ammo to keep going, problem is that the shells aren’t thick enough to penetrate that armor. I’ve got a missile barrage, but again, it’ll piss it off, not much else.

Juniper groans, squeezing the dog tags wrapped around her throttle. “I’ve got a potentially insane idea. Do you trust me?” They’ll need to trust her right now, or they’re all fucked.

I’m with you, June. You’re leading us, so I’ll follow your orders.

Right now Sladek, I trust you. We get out of this one alive and I’ll buy you a round when we’re back at base. Sound good? Now she’s talking, alcohol on a merc’s dime? Gods, yes.

“Keep it busy, let me do the rest.” Juniper strafes the ground dodging artillery fire left and right. The skies are a no-go, this thing has thick armor, so the only option left? An old trick up her sleeve. “Vera, break left, fire your PPC on my mark. Eris, break right, fire everything you can.”

Ares and Helios are keeping the Aspis busy with suppressing fire, but it won’t be enough, not unless she does something very risky. Hopefully it’ll hold better than Ixion did the last time she did this. If not, well, there’s the ejection handle worst comes to.

Juniper’s laughing, the stress of today is melting away into unhinged laughter, but that’s okay. Because she’s charging headfirst into a fight with a monstrous mech that’s about to taste what it’s like to meet death.

Reaching over, she flips closed the reactor safety switches from the right panel. Warnings begin blaring the instant she does, but they’re quieted down with a switch on the overhead panel. The limiter to her neural hook is next, it’s supposed to keep her from suffering neurological damage, but she needs that extra sensitivity.

It’ll hurt like hell later, but she’s gotten used to the pain at this point.

Vents begin to seal up tight, while every last bit of power is fed into the plasma reactor. Steam rises from the surface of Ixion Stryx with every droplet of snow that falls onto the mech. The last time she did this, it almost killed her, damn well killed her mech too. This time? If she’s about to die, she’ll do it on her terms.

If the skies are unfriendly, that’s okay, she’ll find a new way to bust through.

Every breath that Juniper takes is harder than the last one. It’s too fucking hot in the cockpit, it’s beginning to feel like this is where she’s going to die of heat stroke. Not exactly the “blaze of glory” she wanted to go out in.

She unzips her sweat-soaked jumpsuit, tying the arms around her waist, while her jacket hangs off her shoulders. It’s getting hotter by the second in here, this barely makes a dent in how sweaty she is.

For her final act, every last ounce of power is rerouted to the weapon systems, giving the thrusters just enough power to propel her mech into a long glide. It has to be enough, she’s out of options and is cooking alive in here.

“Come on you ugly motherfucker, let me show you what happens when you dance with death!” Juniper shouts, laughing like a godsdamned idiot all the while.

Slamming the stick down hard, Ixion Stryx spins the hot scythe in its hands, aiming straight for the cockpit of Aspis. Except that it manages to dodge the attack at the last second, using its enormous rifle as a shield. Not what she was aiming for, but the blade cuts through the cable connecting it to the reactor, causing a torrent of steam to rain out from it. The snow around it begins to melt, exposing much of the jagged terrain underneath.

At long last, the vents open wide, spitting out a torrent of superheated air at her target. In only seconds, an explosion rocks the massive mech as its gun goes up, taking much of its reactor shielding and pumps with it. That explosion leaves a small crater underneath Aspis, as steam and coolant continue to gush from the weakened reactor.

“Vera, Eris! NOW!” She gives the order and on her command, a barrage of artillery, missiles and beam weaponry all hit Aspis’ damaged armor. There’s a large explosion, but as the smokes clears–

Aspis deploys the spike on its left arm intending to finish Juniper in one hit. Even with all of those attacks, it’s still standing. How in the fuck are they supposed to beat this thing?

It’s as she begins to accept her inevitable death that a collision warning sounds. With an incredible burst of speed, Ares stands in front of her, taking the hit head-on. Steam and smoke burst free of Ares revealing a slimmer mech, more resembling the original design. June, go, we’ll buy you time, get clear for whatever you’re planning.

There’s the Eris she remembers, pulling off a stunt like that.

“Right, right.” Juniper slaps herself to calm her unsteady nerves. “Eris, I need you to keep it occupied from the front. Vera, you’re on the rear, make sure those AA Guns and SAMs don’t light me up. I’m counting on you both.”

Throwing the throttle well past its safe operating limits, Ixion Stryx is airborne with as much speed as it can get from these new engines. It’s not advisable to do something that insane again, but then again, Juniper has a listening problem. She’s survived this long on sheer stupid luck, and she’ll survive longer on it.

Reaching over to her left side, she flips three cooling switches. After a few seconds of silence, cooling vents and control surfaces open wide with a hum. Steam and coolant spill free from the exhaust ports, glistening in the the subzero air. The reactor is cooling down rapidly, guzzling in that cold mountain air.

She wipes a bead of sweat off of her brow with a groan. Temperatures are falling fast in the cockpit, going from scorching hot to freezing cold in a matter of minutes. This is insane, there’s no way she’ll be able to pull this off. A one in a million chance of getting this exactly right.

It’s not exactly threading a needle, more like threading a needle blind, while under fire. Near impossible, even for her. Then again, she’s made of tougher stuff than that.

She spreads the wings of Ixion Stryx as far as they’ll go, grinning at the sight of them. Fully extended, they shimmer a dark red, mixing with the cold air. Reminds her of an angel and how invincible she is up here. Her prey is down there, waiting for its death, and who is she to keep them waiting?

Frost spreads along her monitors and throughout the cockpit, while the temperature readings continue to plummet. She slips her arms back into her jacket, zipping it up tight. Never thought she’d be so thankful for the fur lining on it, as she is right now.

Monitors zoom in on Ares and Helios playing their role of distraction perfectly. They’re firing everything they’ve got at that monster, barely leaving a scratch on it. Its pilot is probably another broken dog sent to “test” her. Good; Juniper will just have to show Handler why she’s called the Angel of Death.

There are a thousand different ways that this will end in her dying, but there’s only one way she lives: By doing this. She takes a steadying breath, feeling the rise and fall of her chest. It’s now or never.

If she’s going to die, then so be it.

On command, Ixion Stryx deploys its scythe, clutching the blade flat against its chest. Though stowed, the linear rifle begins its charging sequence, waiting for its moment to fire. Juniper stares down at the bloody dog tags of her beloved, squeezing them tight for good luck.

She pushes the stick forward, sending her machine headfirst into a dive. Thrusters deploy milliseconds later, flinging it through the skies at breakneck speeds. The Over-G warning blares to life, but she ignores it, focusing only on the altimeter in her vision. Without the neural hook in her neck, it’s doubtful she be able to pull this off. It’s feeding her body just enough stimulation to keep her awake, and that’s all she really needs.

All six wings sweep back, cutting through the air like never before. There’s a trail of plasma in her wake that shimmers beautifully. No time to admire it though, need to stay focused on the target.

Three.

Juniper can hear the wind rushing through her headset, one wrong move will kill her. To a lesser pilot, they’d already be dead; good thing she’s better.

Two.

Her breathing is becoming shallower, even with the stimulation from the hook, she can’t keep this up much longer. The edges of her vision are starting to go black, it’s only a matter of time before she passes out.

One.

Her mech is like a blade cutting through the air at breakneck speeds. The ground is growing larger with every second that passes, but she tries not to think about that. She’s focusing solely on her target: That piece of shit that refuses to die.

A wire launches from the right sub-arm, small thrusters keep the wire on-track right up until it slams into the gash left in the monster’s backside. Right as the wire goes taut, the left sub-arm shoots the scythe out like a missile, creating an even larger gash in its reactor housing. With one final push of the trigger, the linear rifle fires a charged shot directly through the exposed plating and through the reactor.

The wires pull taut as the mech’s reverse thrusters deploy, slowing her descent and flash boiling the snow beneath into steam. She applies the air brakes. The wings straighten out, sending her spinning. Juniper fights the stick to regain control. Pulling back as hard as possible on the stick, Ixion Styx is vertical once more and she breathes a sigh of relief.

Her machine hovers at a low altitude, while she attempts to catch her breath after that deranged maneuver. It was downright insane, one slip-up could have killed her. And gods know what that overload probably did to her systems. There’ll be time to diagnose everything after, because it worked!

It fucking worked!

Aspis stands there, unmoving, cracks spreading throughout its enormous reactor. Each crack growing larger and larger until steam and coolant burst free, sending the monster back-first onto the snow, silent, unmoving–Dead.

It’s…it’s over.

Ixion Stryx carefully lands onto the snowy ground, standing tall over the battlefield. Once its weapons are stowed, Juniper slumps into her seat and relaxes with a hysterical laugh. Her nose has been bleeding for the last fifteen, maybe twenty minutes, probably on account of the disabled limiter.

None of that really matters right now, because they’ve won. Handler can throw whatever She wants at them and she’ll just kill them all. Doesn’t matter if it’s any army of Aspis, those godsdammned dog mechs or fucking Argos. She’ll slaughter them all.

Because she’s Juniper fucking Sladek, The Angel of Death. That’s who the fuck she is.

She’s laughing hysterically as the hatch opens and blows in the cold air. Non-critical systems power down, while she attempts to light up a cigarette. Fine motor movement isn’t quite there right now, as it takes four tries to even get the lighter to spark.

If Laila were here, not only would she scold her partner for smoking, but for that asinine maneuver. Thing is though: Laila isn’t here. She’s just another dog of the Empire, pretending to be some fucking officer. Bullshit, Juniper knows the real Laila Praxian.

Captain Praxian would never have willingly sold her soul to these bastards. Unlike her lieutenant who sold hers for a cure, Laila would have gone down fighting before letting them fuck with her brain. What ever this “Subject Iota” is, it’s another fucking monster.

“Status report” Juniper says between drags of her cigarette. She’s exhausted, her entire body is screaming out in pain and she’s pretty damn sure a few stitches opened up. But it’s all okay now!

Seeing a lot of red on the board, but Aspis is downed. I think we’ve won? Eris is calm, calmer than she’s been since who knows how long.

I’ll be honest, Sladek, you’re fucking insane. Never do that again. Fuck me, that was nuts. Vera’s laughing in-between coughs, so that’s a good sign.

Juniper laughs right along with her. “You better hold up your word on buying me a drink. I’m expecting top shelf shit!”

Fuck you, Sladek! You’re getting the warmest beer they got! It’s nice to joke around with Vera, reminds her of the old days, with the old Wardog.

Juniper takes a drag from her cigarette, yawning. “Control, do you copy?”

June–Shhhhhshhshskkskk–Static, something’s still jamming their long-range comms.

Except, over the comms she can hear…clapping? Bravo, Captain Sladek, that was remarkable.

The cigarette tumbles from Juniper’s trembling hands. Her. It’s Her.