Anti-Spiral warships entering Sector V48. All pilots, man your mecha and enter standby.
The speaker above Akio's door buzzed with orders as the lights in his room, just as every light on the ship, began to flicker at regular intervals. It was six in the morning on the ship and the minor alarm system, designed to gather attention but not panic, was waking up every man and woman. The Anti-Spiral had been spotted by a sentinel or scout ship and it was now the duty of the soldiers to make sure the ship would not be caught by surprise.
Akio flung off his sheet, throwing it to the wall and not bothering to pick it back up. He was wearing a thin, tight, black sleeveless shirt and loose, baggy pants. He heard Amber stir but didn't speak to her. His mind only focused on the path between his room and the hangar, calculating the most efficient way to get there. It made it all the stranger when he stopped in the doorway, a rare action from him let alone during a standby order. He figured that when Amber awoke she was sure to be confused at his absence. She wasn't a child, incapable when left alone, but it didn't feel right to just leave. He had to say something, and he didn't have the time to write a note.
"Amber." He barked, firm but not angry, with the hopes to waken her. "Stay here. Don't follow the other girls to the cargo hold or the quarters; my room is closer to the center of the ship, safer." Without waiting for an answer, he stormed off. The Core Drill bouncing against his chest reminded him of his duty that he needed to return to. Akio treated every mission as if he was facing the Anti-Spiral himself. To him, a standby order might as well be Earth's final charge.
Other pilots joined his charge as he neared the hangar. They came from personal quarters, cafeterias, and game rooms, slipping around corners and fighting to be the fastest. Rumors and theories were quickly passed through the group, but Akio was deaf to the useless chatter. He distanced himself from them and focused on following the signs directing him to the hangar, though he already knew the way fine.
"Akio! I heard you earned a notch last night!" A fellow pilot named Bjørn jeered him. Every battalion of the Vigilance ate, trained, and fought together until they were closer than kin. Akio was in the 24th Aerial Battalion with Bjørn, shown by the winged patch stitched into their uniform. Bjørn was a well-meaning Norwegian man whose blunt nature often made him misunderstood or disliked.
"Is that really what's on your mind right now?" Akio gritted his teeth and refused to look anywhere but forward as he ran.
"Come on, it's just a standby order!" The group reached the door to the hangar and paused for it to open. "What was her name?" Bjørn managed to sneak in a question while they waited.
"Bjørn!" Akio scolded. Bjørn was taken aback by the sudden ferocity from Akio. His core drill shined even in the artificial light of the ship. Bjørn's eyes focused on it for a moment before he retreated his prodding questions.
"Sorry…" He mumbled. "Though if we wait too long, switch to my comm channel, okay?"
"Let's just focus on the task at hand." The doors opened at Akio's words, revealing the mecha of the 24th Battalion.
Creativity and individuality were paramount in the design of spiral war parties, a strange sight in a military. The uniforms were required to be full bodysuits, but they could be altered and colored in any way befitting the wearer. The mecha had been with the pilots since they began their training and over time had been coloured, cut, sharpened, combined, split, and altered in any way the pilot saw fit. Akio paid no heed to the other mech and focused on his Daichi. It was coloured red, with the facial features sporting a lighter pink. Other than that he had not changed any specifications from its factory form.
When Akio approached, his core drill glowed green. The eyes of his Daichi glowed green in response and the dome covering the head of the mech fell away and revealed his seat. He leapt inside and gripped the handles lightly. The dome was made for combat and once the controls were used it automatically whipped back into place, but Akio only touched the controls to fool it into blocking out the outside noise for him.
He hadn't modified his Daichi, or even named it, but that didn't mean he didn't know the way the little bot ran better than its maker. From the extra weight you had to put on the thruster block of switches to the metallic rubbing that resounded when he leaned south-southwest in his chair.
"Power flow 24% above minimum. No visible damage. Control test." As Akio whispered the checks to himself his hands worked the controls. He tested their sensitivity, checking just how far he had to move them to produce a stepping motion from the mech. "Controls are fine, moving to standby." With that out of the way, Akio flicked on the communicator to the 24th Battalion channel with a sigh.
A rush of boorish voices screeched from the speakers. The tones and word choice varied greatly but all seemed to be focused on the same thing.
"Akio's online!" One pilot signaled the rest.
"Congrats' man!"
"Good for you Akio, I could hear her moaning from my room!"
"I highly doubt that." Akio growled as he recalibrated the communications of the mech. It screeched for a moment before settling on its new channel. Akio waited for a few moments of silence before speaking. "Was it you that got them riled up?"
"Not on purpose." Akio could hear Bjørn smiling from the other end. "They're excited for you!"
"Excited to get off of all the details they think I'll give." Akio grumbled.
"Don't be so harsh, they're just guys being guys." Bjørn chuckled. "Alright ya prude, if you didn't sleep with her what did you two do all night? Did you talk her asleep?"
"Well, kind of. We just talked." Bjørn burst out laughing. "Then why'd you bother? We'd all figured you'd lost your balls before last night. If you didn't want her why'd you take her away?"
"They're leaving out the part of the story where Erik thought he could take her away no matter what she thought."
Bjørn whistled at the news. "Sounds just like him. Good thing White Knight Akio saved the day?"
"She would have kicked his balls behind his eyeballs if I hadn't stepped in." Akio allowed a small smile at the thought. "A lot less trouble if I stepped in."
"Well good for you. I was just bugging you before, but it's nice to see someone stepping in like that."
Bjørn let out a slow breath, and Akio imagined him leaning back in his artillery ship. After a few moments he spoke in a low, curious voice, "What was her name?"
"Amber." Akio didn't realize he was smiling. "She was British, though she said she was from Dublin. Had more personality than I've ever seen in a pleasure girl."
"Most are just in it for the money, fine with putting on a fake smile until they can take a ship home." Bjørn noted. "Maybe she's enjoying herself here."
"Enjoying herself?" The thought of a pleasure girl seeing it as any more than a job had never occurred to Akio.
"Think about it. They get to hook up with their choice of guys, they get great pay, plus all their meals are paid for and all. Some people just enjoy the finer pleasures of life, nothing wrong with that."
"Huh." Akio swallowed the foreign concept. To him, joy meant solving a tough problem, coming up with a great idea, or finishing a long book. He never understood those who "let loose" and found their joy from sex or alcohol.
"So, are you gonna try to be a repeat customer?" Bjørn asked with a smile. "Maybe if she has trouble sleeping she'll come back and start up a conversation with you."
"Yeah, maybe." Akio responded, only half listening. "She's… interesting. If I see her again, I'm gonna talk to her."
"Well I guess that's the closest thing you'll ever get to a crush." Bjørn snorted, but Akio wasn't listening. His eyes had gone wide and he looked down upon himself. He was still in his sleeping clothes.
"Shit." Bjørn shot to attention, Akio rarely swore. "I left my uniform in my room."
Bjørn burst out laughing, leading Akio to switch his comm's channel. His fingers were still before the button that would connect him to his room. His cheeks flushed and he pressed it.
"Amber? Amber are you there?"
A few moments, and then:
"Akio?"
"Yes, it's me. I'm in my mech in the hangar right now. I… I forgot my uniform. I need it. Can you bring it down to my hangar?"
Giggling was the only response Amber gave.
"What's so funny?"
"You really didn't think this through, did you? Imagine it. A pilot forgets his uniform. A pleasure girl walks through the hangar and gives it to him. We'd lose the battle because your friends wouldn't be able to stop laughing!"
Akio could feel the heat form his face now. "Just… Just bring it here please. I'm right by the door, try not to be noticed."
Amber continued to giggle. Rustling fabric sounded as he assumed she was gathering his uniform. The door shut and she left without a goodbye.
Akio's comm blinked green, most likely Bjørn looking to prod him more on the subject. With a sigh, Akio switched channel's again.
"You really had a walk of shame, came here in your pajamas!" Bjørn again.
"I usually have it in my mech, I just washed it last night." Akio held his head in his hands. Why was he getting so hot? His skin boiled and the air felt stuffy. With a flip of a switch, the canopy on his Daichi fell away and let the cool air hit his skin. It smelled sweet and refreshing compared to his cockpit, which had suddenly become claustrophobia-inducing.
"You're red as a tomato." Amber's voice surprised him. She was here already?! He had hoped to try to stop heaving before she came.
"Thank you." Akio said sharply, reaching to grab his uniform. Amber pulled it away with a smile.
"Not yet, I want to check out this bot." She climbed the side of the mech as if it were her own and slid inside with grace.
"Amber! This is a standby order; you can't be here!"
"Shh, you didn't want your friends seeing me right? Now which button seals the cockpit?"
He was sure he wasn't convincing her to leave easily, and he didn't want his friends seeing her in that time. With a defeated sigh, Akio flicked on the cockpit and closed away the outside world.
"Squishy, guess we've to cuddle~"
"No chance, move left!"
"Why can't I just sit on your lap?"
"Get behind the seat or I'm ejecting you!"
With a disappointed sigh, Amber settled into a position behind the seat, peering over Akio's shoulder.
"Now what does each of these buttons do?"
Before Akio could answer, a screeching voice took over his intercom.
Anti-Spiral warships within vicinity. All pilots are order to deploy and repel the enemy. I repeat, the Anti-Spirals are here. Deploy and defend this sector.
Akio turned white. It wasn't an ordinary standby order; he was going to fight today.
"Let's get 'em!" Amber seemed a bit more excited than him.
"I can't fight with you in here!"
"All eyes are on you guys now, you can't let me out. You'll be in deep shit if they see a pleasure girl leaving your cockpit!"
Akio bit his tongue. Why did she always have to make his life so much more difficult?
"Hold onto my safety straps so you don't bounce around. Don't get in my way and keep quiet!" Akio
