Jo's fingers gripped the controls of the GYN-01 "Gwen," her pulse steady, but her mind racing. This was her first solo mission and everyone was eager to see how "Gwen" would measure up. The cockpit's dim lighting cast odd shadows over the console as she worked the controls. The tall trees before them were marred by long, deep scratches. The creature had been here.

"Earl, you copy?" she asked, voice tight with concentration.

"Affirmative, Capitan Jo." Earl responded "Remember to stay quiet. Intel says this thing hunts by sound." Jo reminded him.

Jo nodded, though Earl couldn't see her. The mech's massive feet crushed the undergrowth with an eerie, muffled thud. She adjusted her stride, careful to lessen the sound.

The forest around her felt alive, but there was an unnerving stillness to it. No birds, no creatures scurrying beneath the trees. Only the occasional rustle of the leaves overhead.

Her radar was blank. No movement. She exhaled, the tension in her chest easing slightly.

Then, a squelch—sharp and sudden—echoed in her ear. She froze, eyes darting across the cockpit's readout. Nothing. Her breath caught.

"Did you hear that?" she whispered.

"Negative," Earl replied, but his tone was less sure than before.

Jo's grip tightened. The radar was still clear, but the sound lingered, impossible to ignore. She shifted her weight, slowly moving forward, the mech's steps now quieter than before.

Another squelch. This time, louder.

Her screens flickered, and a warning flashed across her HUD: "Sonic Dispersion Activated."

"What the hell?" Jo muttered under her breath.

Before she could react, the GYN-01's sonic deterrent systems sparked to life with an angry hum, sending powerful sound waves in all directions. The mech jolted as if struck by a force she couldn't see. Her cockpit screen cracked, fractures spider-webbing across the glass. The controls became erratic, the once smooth interface now glitching with static.

"Capitan Jo?!" Earl's voice rang out with urgency.

"I—" Jo's heart raced. "Something's wrong. The suit's malfunctioning."

The cockpit screen shattered, the glow of shattered pixels dimming. Her head snapped back to the radar—movement. A massive heat signature—too large, too close.

The creature.

It moved through the dense trees with terrifying grace. The malfunctioning systems sent erratic ultra-sonic pulses, each wave causing the mech's body to tremble violently. The very air around Jo seemed to vibrate.

"Earl, it's close," Jo whispered, eyes darting around as the mech's body shuddered again.

"Shut it down, Capitan Jo. You have to stop the pulse or you'll draw it straight to you."

Jo's mind raced. The GYN-01 was unwittingly broadcasting a signal, one that would bring the beast right to her.

"I can't shut it off," Jo muttered, fingers dancing across the interface. "It's coming through the systems—"

Her voice was drowned by a deafening screech that reverberated in her bones. The creature's cry was the sound of nightmare—piercing, guttural, and primal. A moment later, she felt the vibration of its massive form tearing through the underbrush, closing in on her.

A burst of static, and Earl's voice crackled through the comms. "Jo, fix it now or you'll never make it."

Jo's breath quickened. Panic set in. She couldn't fix the malfunction, couldn't shut off the pulse in time.

Her eyes locked on the creature's heat signature as it got closer. The mech was shaking, barely responding to her commands. The only way to survive was to use the malfunction to her advantage. She needed to overload the creature's senses.

"Earl, I'm going to try something," Jo said, hands already adjusting the faulty systems. The GYN-01 trembled beneath her as it sent out another pulse, louder this time. Jo turned the dial, forcing the frequency to spike into a singular, concentrated tone.

"Get ready!" she shouted.

Without warning, the GYN-01 released a high-pitched wave. The air around Jo hummed, vibrating with the intense frequency.

The creature screeched again, its roar more frantic this time. Through the distorted cockpit interface, Jo saw it stumble backward, reeling from the sensory overload. She seized the moment.

"Now, Earl!" she yelled.

A barrage of nucluo-protons erupted from nearby, the blasts cutting through the foliage with deadly precision. The creature staggered, twisting its body to avoid the onslaught, but the shockwaves from the malfunction had left it disoriented.

Jo surged forward, the GYN-01's massive fists swinging at the creature. The mech's weight hit hard, the suit's powerful hydraulic limbs driving the creature to the ground with a force that shook the earth beneath them.

For a moment, the creature writhed beneath the mech's feet, its enormous claws swiping uselessly at the air. Jo delivered another crushing blow. The creature slumped, its breath coming in labored gasps.

It was over.

Jo's breath came out in shallow, trembling exhalations. The cockpit screens blinked out one by one, the vibrations slowly dying as the suit's systems returned to normal. She slumped back, eyes wide as she processed what had just happened.

"Jo…" Earl's voice was steady, though tinged with relief. "You did it."

Jo closed her eyes for a moment, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Yeah. We did it."

The creature lay motionless beneath the mech, the forest eerily silent once more. The only sound was Jo's heavy breathing and the soft hum of the mech's systems returning to life. She exhaled, the tension finally draining from her shoulders.

"Let's get back to base," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the comms.

The mission was a success, but it had been far from smooth. Jo had been pushed to the brink.

Once they were back aboard the U.S.S. Darkhorse Jo settled "Gwen" into its support harness and opened the cockpit. "Fire up a full diagnostic. Somethings wrong with her." Jo said, her brow furrowing. A few keyboard clicks later and they found the culprit...a rewired control circuit. Jo glared at the offending part. it had been well hidden, but how and why? Someone was trying to sabotage her.