Chapter 2

Ash could remember her own brief training quite well. In truth, it hadn't been that long ago, though all time was relative, and in the eyes of the eighty-six a few years were quite literally a lifetime. Her first week in the military had contained a few crash courses on juggernaut operation, mostly taught by other kids who could barely pilot the vehicles themselves. She'd stumbled haphazardly through her first contact with the enemy, and survived only by a matter of luck. She'd done better in her second engagement, and still better the time after that, continually improving.

She'd developed her skills almost entirely by herself, as had most of her comrades. It was clear however that Khalid had no intention of letting the same fate befall these new recruits. From dawn on the first full day of his tenure until nearly nightfall, their captain had them learning controls and practicing their movement. By late afternoon the kids could march their juggernauts in acceptable formation, after which he taught them scatter protocols. These were predetermined patterns for juggernaut marching in close formations to break into when under fire, so as to avoid unnecessary collisions. Even the veterans were made to do those drills when they returned from patrol (to no small clamor of complaints), as scatter protocols were hardly standard across all squads. Ash herself had only been in a few units that ever even used them.

While the youths drilled, every processor that Khalid hadn't pressed into helping him teach the recruits was assigned to a series of patrols. As they were given their precise orders, Ash soon realized at least part of what Khalid and Eliezer must have talked over the day before. The pair had designed the most brutal, laborious, unnecessarily difficult patrol routes that Ash had ever seen. If there was a river to ford, a cliff to climb, or a thicket to navigate anywhere in the squadron's territory, at least two of the patrols would pass through it at different points, often more than once. The paths crossed often, looping and turning with a maddening disregard for reasonable logic.

Eliezer presented the routes to the squadron with a stony expression, ignoring their protests and only quieting the loudest of them by claiming the harshest route for himself and his team. The veterans had been looking forward to the guaranteed week of freedom that came with the arrival of so many recruits. They did not take kindly to what they saw as its waste, especially in such a grueling, useless way.

That night, the squadron fell asleep quickly, driven by exhaustion and with Khalid's promise fresh in their minds that the next day would be much the same as the one before it. That captain of ours best be careful, or he'll earn himself a mutiny, Ash and force of personality could only go so far towards buying a squadron's loyalty. The Republic's military leadership would offer little support if Khalid lost the obedience of his troops. Reputation or no, their captain had better be careful.

The juggernaut's thin armor did little to protect Ash from the chill air as she led her patrol group along a wide, rocky traverse. They stayed behind the ridgeline as they moved to disguise their silhouettes, sending one or two processors at a time to peek out and hold perfectly still, standing watch as the rest of the team moved past their position.

Five days had passed into the ninth squadron's week of training, and Khalid had made a habit of contriving new ways to frustrate the processors. The recruits had quickly been incorporated into the normal patrols, but their routes were still just as difficult as before, if not more so. Furthermore, the patrols had been ordered to stay hidden from one another, despite the fact that their routes all but guaranteed they would pass within close proximity. Anyone who was spotted first by someone from another patrol would be assigned a double shift of chores, taking the spots of those who caught them. Considering their already long days, the threat of extra work proved ample motivation for even the most obstinate among the ninth squadron to remain hidden as much as possible.

Unfortunately, the juggernauts were not built for stealth. Their shapes and colors were easily recognizable, and they were not quiet machines by any stretch of the imagination. It took a great deal of effort to disguise their passage.

Ash took her turn on watch, striding ahead in her juggernaut and planting herself just behind the ridge. Sacrificing the machine's benefits for a smaller profile, she popped her canopy and swung out of her seat, clambering over to lie in the dust on the ridgeline and watch for other patrols. She didn't know their routes, but her group was at a relatively high elevation. It gave their lookouts an impressive vantage point over their surroundings, but it also meant that they were visible from nearly any point in the vicinity. Fortunately, they were nearing the end of the traverse and would soon reenter tree cover, where they would be relatively safe.

Ash scanned the land below her carefully, nervous as a loose line of spiderlike mechs passed behind her.

"You think we're ever going to hear from our handler?" asked one of the recruits over the para-RAID. Her name was Lyra, as Ash recalled.

"Doubt it," responded Titus, one of their more experienced processors. "He's a career man ya know? Real big shot. He's got better things to worry about than us, like kissing his superiors a—"

"Titus," Ash interjected, warningly, "the kids don't need to hear about that."

"They've heard worse," Titus jabbed back. Ash winced. That they had. For their part, the recruits didn't respond. She'd rather not let Titus infect them with pessimism, but he hadn't exaggerated much. Their handler only contacted them for battles, and even then, he missed them outright as often as not.

"Our handler won't be missed," Ash assured her patrol mates as she scanned the horizon. "We get along fine enough without him." Titus snorted derisively at that. He knew as well as she did that the ninth was more than a few guns shy of an ace unit. Their handler's intervention (or lack thereof) wouldn't change that though.

Just as Ash prepared herself to crawl back and reenter her vehicle, a flash of light caught her eye from down below. Squinting, she could just make out the dull gleam and spindly legs of a juggernaut creeping across a field before disappearing into a copse of trees.

"I see someone!" Ash called out to her patrol. The line of war machines behind her fell silent, stopping in a heartbeat. "I don't think they spotted us. I'll call it in."

"Wait! Just one?" asked Titus.

"Yes."

"No way. If there's one, then there's a whole patrol down there. If we call out this one, then they'll start looking for us. If we wait, then we can get their whole group!" The recruits with them shouted their enthusiastic assent to the idea. They were eager to test their newfound skills as pilots. Ash wasn't so sure.

"That's a risk," she said. "If we get too close, they might spot us first."

"Fortune favors the bold," Titus argued. "I say we put it to a vote. Who wants to go on a little hunting trip?" There was no need to count the votes, as nearly everyone called out their enthusiastic assent. Ash sighed.

"Fine, just get your juggernauts into that tree cover. I'll scout ahead. Titus, you see that old creek bed down there by the hill?"

"Yeah, I see it."

"Keep the main group in there to keep your profiles low, but set a few good outriders as watch. Follow it East, that's where they're most likely to go. I'll stay on this kid's heels and let you know when it's time to spring the trap."

"Yes ma'am!" Titus joked. Ash rolled her eyes as she settled herself back into her juggernaut's familiar cockpit. She followed her patrol into the tree cover before splitting off, racing down the hillside toward where she had spotted her quarry. Most of the processors were uncomfortable with these drills, as stealth didn't usually play a large part in standard eighty-six combat doctrine. Ash however, had never been good at following standard combat doctrine. By the time she'd earned her callsign she had built a reputation for an uncanny ability to move undetected, surprising the legion with swift and deadly ambushes. Her deft fingers danced across her controls as she guided her juggernaut with an almost instinctual grace. She used the landscape, the foliage, the patterns the light took as it filtered down through the canopy, as well anything else she could to disrupt her image and hide herself from outside observers. It wasn't perfect, and juggernauts weren't built for it, but Ash made it work as well as anyone could.

As she darted and slid between piece of cover, Ash's eyes drilled into her screens. For minute after agonizing minute, she saw nothing. Titus slowly wrangled the group into position, but it would be a profitless gamble unless she could find that juggernaut and its patrol.

There! A brief flash of motion accompanied by the reflection of light on metal. Ash brought her juggernaut to a stop, fixing the location and direction of motion in her mind. She compared it to her own mental map of the area, guessing the juggernaut's path and plotting her own pursuit. She waited a few moments to put a comfortable distance between herself and her opponent, then leapt into motion once again. She followed from behind and to the side. It wasn't a perfect blind spot, but it was an angle most processors had trouble checking. Ash didn't worry about maintaining constant visual contact. She caught a glimpse of her target here, another there, just enough to keep tabs on where it was and where it was going without exposing herself too much.

She called Titus on the para-RAID and gave him some directions on where to position the main patrol, but otherwise kept a laser focus on her chase. Whoever her quarry was, they were good. She never lost the trail, but the processor covered the terrain quickly and was rarely exposed for long. It was all she could do to follow.

"How much longer is this going to be?" Titus called eventually. "Are you sure you aren't jumping at shadows Mousetrap?"

"He's in my sights," she hissed back. "Patience."

"Fine, but if this goes on too much longer then I say you just call him out and leave it at that. One isn't much of a catch, but it's better than crawling along this creek bed all day."

You consider that now? Ash thought. She could have called out the juggernaut the moment she'd spotted it. Gritting her teeth, she fell back into the covert pursuit. The chase lasted several more minutes, and Ash danced the knife edge between nipping her quarry's heels and exposing herself. Sweat had begun to bead her brow as she spotted the second juggernaut.

She quickly hid herself, pulling her vehicle to a halt. A third juggernaut soon joined the other two. These new pilots were not nearly as skilled as the first. They were adequate, but only just. Likely as not they were two of the new recruits. They faced each other for a few moments, then darted off, spreading out and disappearing. Ash resumed her pursuit with renewed caution.

"Our target has just met up with two others, but they're on the move again and I've lost visual," Ash relayed to her patrol. Titus spat a string of curses that could curdle milk.

"We don't have time to keep waiting," he said. "Where are they? Can you get them now?" Ash judged their position and trajectory in her head.

"I don't have them anymore, at least not all three at once. They'll be passing just east of you before long though. There should be a ravine there. That's probably the way they'll come. You have about ten minutes before they're there."

"Understood," Titus said, excitement clear in his voice. Ash heard him wrangle the patrol over the para-RAID as she ducked between trees, quietly following their three unwitting squadron mates. There was something off about this. Some animal instinct in her brain was sounding off, telling her that something wasn't quite right. Ash shook off the feeling. Their plan was a good one, and Titus was certainly capable enough to spring the trap. Still, Ash made no move to rejoin her patrol. She maintained her distance, a small comfort to assuage that primal warning in the depths of her mind.

Sure enough, when the three came to the ravine Ash had described they followed it, trusting in its natural cover. It was deep, and the sides were sheer enough that you wouldn't be able to see anybody passing through unless you were positioned at the very edge, or at the exits. Her own patrol had fanned out around the other end, ready to block any angle their quarry might try to use as an escape. Ash crept around to the side of the ravine and started picking her way along it, far enough back from the edge to shield her form the eyes of those inside.

She could hear Titus spring the trap. Everyone could. The only way to make sure you were addressing the right processor when you called them out was to announce it on an open channel.

"You three at the ravine mouth! We've got eyes on you. Guess who'll be picking up extra chores tonight?" A round of cheers rang through the patrol's private para-RAID connection. Ash did not join in, and she didn't reveal herself either. She stayed hidden, slowly creeping forward to join her patrol. That animal instinct hadn't gone away. The three juggernauts that had been spotted wouldn't be able to call out her patrol now that they had been "defeated" in this war game, but that didn't mean they were safe.

"Acknowledged. Well done soldiers."

Ash froze. Was that Khalid? There was a new round of celebration over the para-RAID. Not only had the patrol secured itself a lightened load of chores, they'd caught the captain himself, the one who had assigned them to do this in the first place.

Ash caught a glimpse of another juggernaut. It was close, close enough that she cursed herself for not spotting it before. It was working its way along the ridgeline in front of her. She moved to hail it and call it out, but stopped when she spotted the hint of another juggernaut farther out. If she'd just spotted these two, surely there were more out there. If she called one or more of them out she would give away her position, bringing the whole group down on her. That same animal instinct from before made her loathe to abandon the advantage her stealth gave her like that. They were moving quickly though. They're closing on my patrol, she realized.

"More hostiles incoming, North of your position."

"What! How many?"

"At least two—" Ash was cut off by a general transmission.

"To the twelve juggernauts at the mouth of the ravine, don't think you're the only ones with eyes." Ash sighed. They'd planned a trap, but had let themselves get caught in the process. She watched quietly as the juggernauts she'd been watching sprung up and rushed down to join with the rest of the patrol. Titus cursed again, this time on the open channel.

"Patrol three," Khalid called out to them over the para-RAID, "you showed impressive initiative, but let yourselves get baited too easily. Such mistakes in the field will get you killed, along with whichever unfortunate bastard is assigned to fight beside you."

"This wouldn't happen in the field!" Titus bit back. "Legion don't use decoys. They're too stupid."

"Underestimate our adversary if you want, but know that I won't. As long as you are under my command you will display caution as I have ordered."

Ash held her breath, waiting for Titus' answer. Khalid was poking a bear here. This treatment was more likely to drive Titus away than to secure his loyalty. There was a long, pregnant silence, but Titus did not respond. Eventually, one of the young recruits did.

"Yes sir!" said Lyra, her young voice thin but firm. Ash shook her head. The children worshipped Khalid, their captain, the "legendary" Bridgeburner. The mystery of his origin gave them room to imagine mythical deeds to fill his past. They were new to this, and still held out hope for a hero that would save them from the hellscape they'd been thrown into. The recruits thought the captain could be that hero. Ash dreaded the day their hopes would be dashed. And that day would come, eventually.

That night, Ash scrubbed floors until her hands were raw. Others worked with her, all those that had been spotted while on the day's patrols. Her entire group worked, along with the three processors who'd served as bait to catch them and a few people from other groups who'd either been too careless or unlucky. Ash worked harder than any of them, though she'd managed to survive the day unseen. Tensions were high among the ninth, especially between the veterans who saw this training and discipline as beneath them. The longer into the night they worked, the longer they stewed in their anger. Ash would rather have both the conflict and the processors put to bed as soon as possible. So, she worked with them. The sooner it was done, the sooner the softness of their pillows would obscure the day's frustrations.

Khalid also worked. Sure enough, he had been among the three juggernauts to serve as bait for Ash's patrol. A few of the veterans snickered behind the young man's back that he'd lost at his own challenge, but he either didn't notice them or didn't care. Ash was inclined to believe the latter was the truth.

The other two decoy juggernauts had been piloted by recruits, and she soon realized that they had in fact volunteered for the plan when Khalid had proposed it. They didn't show any resentment at their punishment, and actually worked with smiles on their faces, joking with each other and anyone else who seemed amicable to their approaches. Ash felt her heart warm toward the children, yet was reminded that their contentment came from their trust in Khalid. Too much trust, she was sure, although the captain's gambit had worked this time.

Despite her reservations about its source, the kids' joy was contagious, and Ash let herself smile with them. It wouldn't hurt to enjoy herself for now. The hurt came later. Two days, Ash thought. Two days until the ninth was returned to active duty. Far too soon, but there was nothing to be done. Despite the long days spent training, there was a mental rest that came from knowing with a certainty each morning that you wouldn't be called to battle that day. Soon however, the sword of Damocles would be raised above them once again.

Ash finished her task and stood, wiping the sweat from her brow with her forearm. Most of the other unfortunates were already done at this point, and the hour was growing late. Stepping outside for a breath of fresh air, Ash noticed that Khalid was still working. He held a shovel, and was deepening the base's rain drainage ditch, which had gradually filled in over time. He and a few others had made significant progress, but apparently Khalid had sent the others away to sleep. He kept going though, his shovel biting into the ground with a steady rhythm.

She grabbed a shovel from where someone else had discarded it, joining her captain. He met her eyes as she stepped into the ditch but said nothing. She set to work beside him. They worked in-step for a while. Eventually Ash broke the silence.

"Aren't you tired?" she asked. He grunted in response, driving his shovel deep into the loamy soil at their feet.

"I don't have time to be tired, lieutenant."

"But you have time to dig ditches? I'd venture to say that this is not your most important responsibility. Not when half the base hates your guts."

"While my body works, I am free to think about the things that are my most important responsibilities." Ash rolled her eyes, but continued working, letting the silence hang for a few more moments before speaking again.

"You'll lose Titus, you know," she warned.

"I won't."

"How do you know? You're pushing him too hard. He's going to snap."

"He's one of our best," Khalid growled, "no matter how insensate he may be. The time will come to let him off the leash, but first he needs to know who holds his collar."

"He's not a dog! He's a person, we all are. Not dogs, not pigs, people."

"Soldiers."

"No!" Ash let herself grow heated, sticking her shovel into the ground and glaring at Khalid, hands on her hips. "We aren't soldiers. We're prisoners at best. None of us chose this fight." Khalid's fierce eyes snapped up to meet hers. She fought the urge to flinch away from the intensity of that gaze.

"You didn't choose this fight, but it came to you nonetheless. You shouldn't need to be soldiers, but you must be if you expect to survive what is to come. If you are anything less, you will break." Khalid resumed his shoveling with renewed vigor.

"And you expect to survive?" Ash asked. "You expect them to survive? How long? How does all of this prepare them for whatever writing you see on the wall?"

"I expect to choose how I die," Khalid answered with steel in his voice, "I claim that right, as should you. I will not go quietly, nor will I die as some martyr to the plight of the eighty-six. Let my death hold no glory, for I will die only when my work is done. This unit will know the taste of victory before I leave them. They should become familiar with the sensation, because I intend to gorge them with it."

Ash caught her breath as Khalid struck savagely at the ground, burying his shovel deep. He cut a striking figure, the very image of defiance and contained rage. It terrified her, but now she caught some glimpse of what the recruits must see in this man. They attributed to him mythical status and he had claimed it as his own. Whether he deserved such treatment remained to be seen.

"What is your victory then, Bridgeburner? How do you plan to end this nightmare?" she asked. Khalid paused, leaving the shovel standing in the ground beside the one Ash had placed there. He answered quietly.

"Victory is when they can become people again, when the soldier's mantle becomes a choice, and no longer a necessity."

"If only it were that easy."

"Easy? It won't be. It is our cross to bear, but I intend to carry it. Will you carry it as well, lieutenant?" Ash stared at him for a long moment, then stretched out her hand. He grasped it and shook it firmly.

"You're insane," she said, "but so are all of us." Khalid grinned, baring his teeth in a wolfish grin.

"Only the best of us, lieutenant."