Confrontation

The sky was a beautiful brown with small touches of blue. I inhaled the air and enjoyed its muskiness as it coursed through my nostrils and lungs. The fumes made me alert, and I felt alive. The chilliness of the mild breeze blowing through added to that feeling.

"It's time."

I faced Milly. Her black braids stuck out from behind the breathing apparatus she was forced to wear. She fogged the clear mask with her breath, and clear plastic tubes delivered clear air to her nose. Her skin was as brown as the sky. She held the thick, furry cape she wore around her small frame as close to her as possible, but she still shivered.

"Is Eternal Wind ready?" I asked.

Milly nodded, and her small hand gave me a thumbs-up, a gesture that took me quite a while to understand. "It's ready for launch," she said, her big smile visible through her breathing mask. "I managed to increase your speed."

"Excellent," I said. "Weapons?"

"All set."

"The improvement you've been working on?"

"It's ready, too. You're good to go, Allie."

I inhaled the air again. "Good. Let's get inside. It's not good for you to stay out here for long despite your protection."

We walked towards the large gray building we called home. In the pre-Vader days, it was an automobile plant. I read somewhere it produced a large number of this land's transportation before it shut down. Something about "downsizing." We entered, and the aluminum door creaked as it slid down behind us. The man operating the door controls waved to us. Milly waved back, then took her breathing apparatus off and placed it in a large plastic bin. The thick cape followed, and a man pushed the bin away. The internal air purifier began removing the intruding dirt from outside. The cold I had felt became a manageable warmth. I stayed behind her as she skipped ahead. Around me, people stared at me from the inactive assembly lines as they purified foodstuffs and water. As the purifiers hummed, some of their operators whispered and pointed at me with shaky fingers. Some had frail bodies. I kept walking.

An apple rolled to my feet. I stopped and picked it up. Its bright red skin shone under the lighting, and I enjoyed its smoothness against my fingertips as I rolled it in my hand. A small boy in rags walked up to me. He had unkempt hair, and he was unnaturally thin. He wore no shoes. I held out the apple, and he reached for it with his small hand. His dirtiness contrasted with the paleness of my hand. Then, a larger, slender hand snatched it out of mine, and a woman with curly hair stood in between me and the boy. Her eyes narrowed at me. She looked away and dragged the boy with her towards one of the purifying machines.

Milly shook her head. She opened her lips to speak, but I held up my hand. "It's all right. We need to focus."

She nodded, then wished me luck before she darted for the control center upstairs. I exited the building and drove a cart to the launch area. Taro and Sven were already there with their machines. The carrier ship was being loaded with its special cargo. Loading transports were hauling away used Venner batteries for recharging. Even while genuflecting, Eternal Wind towered over them. My white and blue mecha-armor against the brown sky made an interesting contrast. Its head tilted skyward.

"Hey, Allie," Taro said from his Zero mechapod with a wave. "You ready?"

"I am," I answered.

"Cool." Taro adjusted the goggles over his eyes and the clear breathing mask over his mouth. "Trent said this was going to be a big blow against the Vaders."

"Indeed," I said. "This is an important mission."

"You said it, my friend," Sven said as he walked towards me. The cold wind blew through his red hair, and his flightsuit only accented his muscular frame. "We do this right, the Vaders will be badly hurt, yes?" His grin was visible behind his breathing mask.

"Yes," I said. My gaze occasionally fell on the small growth of hair growing directly under Sven's lip. One day, I should ask him why he had that there. "Destroying this factory complex will result in a significant decline in their forces." I knew the truth, but I had to say otherwise. I didn't want to be discouraging and give certain others another reason to hate me.

"Too bad we can't take out the Vader capital," Taro remarked as he ran his hand through his hair. "That'd solve everything."

"That would be unwise," I said. "The Vader capital is heavily fortified, and with our current resources, it would be futile to strike there."

"Yeah, I guess," Taro said. He kicked a piece of scrap metal, and it tumbled towards a pile of rusted metal. "Some day..."

Sven placed his hand on Taro's shoulder. "Yes, my friend, some day."

"Attention all pilots," Milly's voice boomed from the P.A. system. Despite her young age, she sounded serious and important, two qualities she shouldn't have under normal circumstances. "You have the all-clear to launch. I repeat, you have the all-clear to launch. Please man your mecha now."

"Whoo-hoo!" Taro threw his arms up. "It's showtime!"

"Then let us go," Sven said, jabbing his finger towards his battle walker. "See you in the air, my friends."

"Likewise," I said.

I manned the loading platform and rose towards the head of my mecha-armor. After leaping towards the entrance, I walked into the cockpit, donned my flight helmet, and sat myself in front of the control orb. Closing my eyes, I waved my hands over the control orb and opened my mind to Wind's computer brain, waiting until I saw a brief flash in my mind's eye. Once the psychic connection with Wind was complete, I checked its systems. Venner batteries: fully charged. Life support: operational. Weapons: operational. Back thrusters: operational. Communications: operational. Scope: operational. Finished, I opened my eyes.

"Launch," I ordered.

I felt Eternal Wind rise to its feet. Its back thrusters ignited, and we were off. We cruised smoothly upward until we were at the right height. The main holoscreen showed we were above the heavy brown cloud cover. Two holoscreens popped up.

"So, where are we going again?" Taro asked.

Sven slapped his forehead. "You forgot already?"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" Taro grinned widely as he rubbed the back of his head. "I know where we're going!"

I closed my eyes. "We should maintain communications silence until we reach our target." I opened them and faced my fellow pilots. "It wouldn't do if the Vaders intercepted us before we reached our destination."

"Right," Taro said. "Talk to you later." He made a little salute.

"You got it," Sven said. "Over and out, Allie."

Both screens turned off. I closed my eyes and reflected on our current mission. The Vaders had constructed a new mechadoll factory complex. That wasn't a surprise. As the war between Earthers and Vaders continued, mechadolls were taking a prominent place on the battlefield. Also, Vader factories were all over the planet. Their emissions added to the air pollution already present. What was surprising was that the new factory would be fully automated. It wouldn't be using Earther slaves. That was good. No need to worry about civilian casualties. Not like the survivors would be grateful towards me. I thought about how disadvantaged the Earthers were against the Vaders. Their antiquated weaponry was no match for the Vaders', and they took a while getting used to piloting stolen Vader mecha-armors. Still, they fought on. I liked that about Earthers. No matter how bleak their situation, they won't give up easily. Too bad most of them didn't like me.

A low beeping filled my ears, and I opened my eyes. The main holoscreen showed black cloud cover below. I knew we were there before Milly's voice broke in. "You're above the factory complex," she said. "Get ready."

"Roger that," I answered. I opened the secure communications channel and addressed everyone. "We're here. You know what to do. Taro, Sven, get ready. We're going in."

I willed Eternal Wind to descend. My sensors showed Taro's Zero and Sven's mecha-walker on my left and right. The support carrier stayed behind us.

"The usual, Allie?" Taro, audio only.

"The usual," I answered.

Then Sven spoke. "Picking up Vaders on my scope."

"Same here," Taro said. "Allie?"

I focused on the incoming targets. "They're mechadolls," I reported. "You know what to do."

"Right!" they said before signing off. Then, I heard beamfire. The Vaders had initiated combat.

My scope showed six blips heading in my direction. Six mechadolls shot out of the black clouds below me and began circling me. Their skinny frames hovered around me, and their long sharp claws hung at their sides. Jakells. Not even worthy of my attention, but I had to fight them.

I focused on my weapon system. Beam blades shot out of Eternal Wind's wrists. I charged the Jakell in front of me and swung before it could react. The mechadoll fell in halves. "Next?" I asked the remaining Jakells.

They charged me. I spun around and slashed upward, beheading my target. As the Jekell's head flew upward, I moved my other arm and blocked an incoming claw strike. I thrust forward and impaled another Jakell on Wind's other beam blade. It exploded as I withdrew the arm, and I ascended in time to avoid claw slashes from my front and back. I came down and sliced through both of them. As they exploded, I looked for the last Jakell. Then, I heard beamfire followed by an explosion behind me. I turned around and saw Jekell debris falling. Sven's mecha-walker hovered behind it with its gun arm up.

"I thank you for your help," I told him.

Sven's grinning face appeared before me. "I didn't mean to jump in like that, but I couldn't help myself."

Zero appeared next to the mecha-walker. Taro's face appeared next to Sven's. "Well, we took care of the welcoming party. Those Jakells aren't a challenge."

"I have to agree." I shook my head. "Mindless drones...disgraceful."

"As long as they're easy to beat, I'm not complaining," Taro said.

I sensed more enemies. "Evasive maneuvers!" I moved in time to avoid beamfire from below. Taro and Sven did as well.

"Second wave moving in," Milly said.

I recognized the disc-shaped blasts coming from below. "Bellos mechadolls."

"More Jakells coming in," Sven said.

Taro sighed. "Here we go again."

"Do not deviate from the mission plan," I said as the sky became filled with beamfire and enemies.

The next wave of Jakells proved to be a better challenge than the previous group. They used their claws to swat away the shots of my fellow pilots. I alternated between beam blades and shots to take some down. Milly's enhancement of Eternal Wind's speed was most helpful. Taro unleashed powerful beam shots at them. Sven wisely held off on using his beam bomb launchers and instead destroyed his targets with his gun arms and side cannons. As we fought the Jekells, the Bellos appeared. The bell-shaped mechadolls opened fire on us again. As Taro and Sven provided cover fire, I flew towards one of the Bellos. Before it could raise its cannon arms, I buried my beam blade into its blank faceplate. I flew upward to avoid two strong energy beams from another Bellos, which succeeded in obliterating its comrade. I swung for its body, but my weapon bounced off its shield. I flew away as it charged its cannon arms and ducked in time to avoid the powerful energy beams.

"Look out!"

Sven's warning came too late. A Jekell charged me, and I felt my mecha-armor shudder as the mechadoll's energy-enhanced claws slashed into its chest. I winced and swung at it, but it proved too fast. I allowed my anger to control me as I fired at it with my wrist blasters. My shots flew past it and bounced harmlessly on a Bellos's shield. Before I could regroup, the Bellos opened fire with its cannon arms, and the impact drove me towards the black clouds.

"Allie!" Taro yelled.

I fell, and the black clouds enveloped Eternal Wind during my descent. I strained to regain control of it, but it was too much. I braced myself for impact, and I landed hard onto the ground. I winced, but I regained my senses and recognized several shapes in the haze. Jakells had their claws at the ready. Bellos aimed their cannon arms and shoulder blasters at me. Guarods trained their heavy beam cannons on me.

"Allie, come in!" Milly shouted. "I repeat, come in!"

"I'm busy," I said as I willed Eternal Wind to rise to its feet. It slowly rose as I shook off my rough landing. Once it was standing, I activated both beam blades, extended them as long as I could, and spun in place at the highest speed I could manage. "All right, now we may talk," I said as mechadolls exploded around me, raining their remains onto the ground.

"Whew," I heard Milly say. "Thought you were in trouble. I picked up Eternal Wind getting hit bad."

"I'm all right," I said as I scanned the area for more enemies. "I was taken by surprise, that's all."

"You don't get taken by surprise often."

I made myself smile. "True." No sign of any other enemies. "How is everyone else?"

"Taro and Sven are handling the mechadolls."

"As expected. Those two are excellent pilots."

"The carrier is doing its part of the plan. They're getting ready right now to head for the target."

"Good." The dome-shaped buildings built by the Vaders surrounded me. Tall smokestacks pumped more darkness into the black clouds above. My comrades continued fighting above me, and judging from the various explosions, they were winning. More mechadolls flew towards the black clouds. Mechadolls...hardly a contest. I wasn't sure why the Vaders wanted to mass-produce them. It was...wrong. They made fighting too distant, too impersonal.

"How...unusual," I said as the mechadolls continued flying upward.

"You mean the fact that no one's going after you?" Milly observed. "I thought that'd be a good thing."

"I'm not liking it." The mechadolls kept flying towards the sky and ignoring me.

"Allie!"

"I'm picking it up at well," I said as I checked my sensors.

"It's a big one!"

"Indeed." Then I felt it. "It's a regular mecha-armor. A manned one." The feeling got stronger. My upper teeth clamped down on my lower ones.

"Allie?"

"Focus on the mission," I told her as I cut off communications with her. I willed my beam blades to be at their strongest as I waited. It was coming closer, and Milly was right. It was a big one. A very big one. I scanned the area. The haze around me seemed to thicken.

Then something heavy struck Eternal Wind. I felt my back hit my seat hard as I crashed to the ground. Wincing, I searched for my enemy. Before I could react, whatever it was that struck me wrapped itself around Wind's torso and lifted it off the ground. I felt a crunching pain spreading across my body as the pressure increased. The single red monoeye sensor on my main holoscreen confirmed I was facing a manned Vader mecha-armor.

And I knew who was piloting it. Vissus.

"So, we meet again, Zarina," the familiar voice boomed.

The mecha-armor's head was as large as Eternal Wind. I scaled back my visual of it and saw two horns jutting out of its sides. The color scheme was black and gray, which explained why I couldn't see it. Then, the image of the mecha-armor's head was replaced by a head covered in a metal mask.

"My name is Allie now," I said.

The man in the metal mask laughed. "So you use an Earther name now. How pathetic." He shook his head. "I can't believe you betrayed us to join those Earther rebels. It's sad, really."

"What is sad is you and the others making the Earthers suffer."

"Suffer?" Vissus said. "It's not our fault the Earthers are weak. They were the ones who were ruining this planet before we came. Dumping chemicals into their air and water. Fighting amongst themselves over trivial matters."

"And you and the others add to their suffering," I said.

"Hmph. You are young and naive. No wonder the Earthers convinced you we were in the wrong." Vissus's mecha-armor loosened its grip, and I began to breathe easier. "In fact, my dear Zarina, do the Earthers appreciate what you've done for them? You know they hate us so."

"I have fought on behalf of the Earthers and succeeded in my missions," I said, keeping my face straight.

"You're avoiding the question," Vissus said as he wagged his finger at me. "You've fought on behalf of those Earthers, and what thanks do you get? Do they accept you into their ranks?" I knew he was sneering behind his mask. "Oh, I doubt it," he continued as beamfire and explosions sounded above us. "They'll never accept you. Do you know why, my dear?" He didn't wait for my answer. "Because they fear what is different from them. They will never accept you."

"That's why you didn't send any more mechadolls after me?" I asked. "Because you wanted to talk?"

Vissus chuckled. "The mechadolls are nice for softening the opposition. Besides, why should a superior race risk its population in war when automated mecha-armors can fight for them?"

"Disgusting," I said.

"I disagree," Vissus said. He spread out his arms. "Factories like these produce more mechadolls to ensure our dominance of this beautiful sphere, and after we wipe out you rebels, nothing will stop us."

"You talk too much," I said.

"And your rebel companions take bait quite well," Vissus said. "I knew they'd come here to try to stop this factory's activation, but they're too late. No matter how many mechadolls they take down, there will be more. We build a good number before you came, and all of them are operational."

Another explosion. "Sounds like they're not faring well."

"You put too much faith in your Earther friends," Vissus said. "This facility's mechadolls are programmed to learn from earlier defeats. They have evolving AIs. However..." He stroked his metal chin with his gloved hand. "I may be willing to let them live."

"Oh?"

"Return to us. Also return the prototype mecha-armor you took from us. We would welcome you with open arms, and all will be forgiven for your momentary lapse in judgment if you return with me."

I allowed myself to frown. "My what?"

"Oh, my little Zarina," Vissus said. "You should understand that what we have done to this planet was for the good of its people." He paused, and another mech exploded over us. "Only the strong can survive in a harsh environment, so we are doing the Earthers a favor by altering theirs further. Those who perish because of this are unworthy of living. The Earthers should thank us for helping weed out their weak. A pity those animals lack the intelligence to understand the good we're doing them. They're really a bunch of dimwitted savages. They don't even remember our collective name and called us 'Invaders.' They're so lazy they shortened that to 'Vaders.' Of course, we're above them, so we didn't mind. Still, we conquered their planet in one day. One day! That's how weak they are, my dear."

I narrowed my eyes at the Vader general. Oh, how I remembered those discussions. I felt my face heat up when I saw myself nodding compliantly as I listened to him talk about our superiority to the Earthers and their inherent inferiority. "You have no right to make that decision for them."

Vissus snarled. The grip around Eternal Wind tightened. I heard its torso creak loudly, and I gasped for air. "You dare defy me? After all I've done for you? You choose to stand with the Earthers rather than your own kind?" He pointed to his mask. "This is because of you!" He tapped it hard. "I must wear my disgrace for all to see because of you, you thief! You ungrateful little--!"

"You should've implemented better security," I said.

Vissus slammed his fist on his control panel. "Enough! You know the laws of our people! You don't have to live for me to remove this mask, you know?"

"So you care more about your career than me," I said. "Some things never change."

Several explosions above us. "You've made your choice," he said.

"I have," I said, "and I still say you should've implemented better security."

"What are you talking...?"

In the distance, something exploded. I allowed myself to smile. It had begun.

"What was that?" Vissus exclaimed.

Around us, the factory complex erupted into flames, launching debris into the sky. The building next to us exploded, causing Vissus's mecha-armor to tremble. Its grip on Eternal Wind loosened.

"What's going on?" Vissus yelled.

I switched visual to the mecha-armor and concentrated, aimed for the joint connecting the arm to its shoulder, and opened fire. Vissus released his grip on me, and I hovered over the ground, which began to explode thanks to the real threat to the factory. I looked at my visual and beheld Vissus's mecha-armor. In addition to the horned head with the standard monoeye sensor, it had two massive arms--one of which hung limply--and no legs. Despite its black-and-gray color scheme, I could still make it out amongst the explosions and fires.

Vissus's voice boomed over my audio system. "You ungrateful brat! What have you done?"

I kept Eternal Wind out of Vissus's reach and activated my beam blades. "My comrades and I were doing what we call a 'distraction,'" I said. "While you were sending mechadolls after us, a group of rebels in mechapods planted bombs at crucial points such as the factory generator, the central computer, and the production lines." I let myself smile. "I'm afraid this facility will require extensive repairs before you decide to reopen it."

"But Earthers couldn't have caused so much destruction with their current ordinance," Vissus said, the shock in his voice clear.

"Earthers are very resourceful," I said.

"Allie!" Milly on audio. "Are you all right? What happened?"

"I ran into an old friend," I answered. "Is the carrier underway with all personnel on board?"

"Yeah. Everything went off without a hitch."

"Thank goodness," I said. "Tell Taro and Sven to accompany the carrier back to base." I eyed Vissus. "I have something to take care of."

"Allie, what...?"

"Over and out." I shut off communications with Milly and focused on Vissus.

The giant mecha-armor ignited its lower thrusters and few towards me. "Traitor!" Vissus yelled as he reached for me with his remaining good arm.

I flew to the side as the hand grasped nothing but air. "Is that all that mecha-armor can do?" I taunted as I hovered before him.

Vissus growled, and I flew Eternal Wind out of the way from a beam barrage coming from his functioning hand. Cannons appeared on his shoulders and opened fire. I fired back as I flew above and below the beams. My shots pinged off the massive mecha-armor.

"You're going to have to do better than that!" Vissus declared as he continued firing on me.

"As you wish," I said under my breath as I dodged another barrage. I brought Eternal Wind's hands together and activated my beam blades to their fullest length.

Vissus's laugh echoed throughout the area. "Impressive, but I won't let you get close enough to attack me with those."

"We'll see," I said, focusing on the giant mecha-armor. Eternal Wind held still.

"So you saw the futility of fighting me, eh?" Vissus asked. "Very well."

He opened fire, and I accelerated downwards, leaving an image of Eternal Wind. The barrage exploded above me, and I listened to his maniacal laughter. I recalibrated Eternal Wind's thrusters and sped towards Vissus.

"What?" he exclaimed. "But I...!"

"After-image," I informed him. "Courtesy of the ingenuity of an 'inferior Earther.'"

I didn't give him a chance to fire. I merged my beam blades and swung the resulting weapon as hard as I could. It cleaved through the chest of Vissus's mecha-armor, and I missed slicing through the head. The explosion followed seconds later. Allowing myself to smirk, I dove in time to avoid a beam blast. The head of the mecha-armor flew out of the explosion, and as it flew over me, I targeted its main thruster. Sensing a lock, I fired.

"What?" Vissus sounded rather surprised as the head tumbled towards the flaming ruins of the factory complex.

"Another after-image," I said as the head crashed into the sea of fire below.

Eternal Wind hovered over the conflagration below. Explosions still rocked the area. The mechapods had done a good job. Above, the sky got darker. The mission was a success, but I wondered if it was beneficial to the Earthers. Another Vader factory complex was destroyed, but the sky was still black. I wouldn't mind, but the Earthers would. I could breathe the dark air. They couldn't.

"Zarina!"

Vissus. He was still alive. Typical. I searched the flames.

"You've proved you're one of us today! Return to us!"

The fire was too thick. I couldn't see where the head was.

"Come back to me!"

My sensors beeped. I knew what was coming before Milly spoke.

"Vader ship, destroyer class," she reported. "Eternal Wind isn't in any condition to fight a destroyer, Allie. You'd better jet out of there."

"Zarina!"

I saw the destroyer in the distance and recognized it. Vissus's flagship. I scanned the flames.

"Allie?"

The destroyer was getting closer. I made my next audio transmission open. "If you survive, Vissus, you'll still be wearing that mask."

Vissus's roar of rage echoed throughout the cockpit. I set a flight path towards the rebel base and took off before the destroyer or any support mecha-armors could reach my location. As I flew away from the destroyed factory complex, I couldn't help but take one final look at it on my main holoscreen. I guessed at where Vissus's ship had crashed and looked at that spot.

"Farewell, Father," I whispered as Eternal Wind took me home.