Southern Stretch

Pa-5 moved down the aisle, stretching her sore shoulders to accommodate her partner. He pulled her arms through a protective vest, then turned around so she could remedy identical treatment. They zipped them up to the necks and separated after a quiet, meaningful glance.

He likely knew who she was, while she couldn't have named him if someone's life depended on it. Ever since her rescue and return from Io, she had become a minor public figure within the Directory's ranks.

Nowhere near the heights of the headmen or those beneath them, but she was confident that most servicemen she crossed paths with would at least remember seeing her face somewhere.

She hooked a few more tools and modules to her belt, pausing to snatch up another three anti-grav nodes. After her experiences, she would leave nothing in her means to chance. She checked the condition of her newly issued handheld electric, grimacing.

She would've preferred to have a sonic like the one she'd owned during her service period at Io, but most of the wall defensive crews were already assigned what many considered the more effective option for handheld weaponry. At least there would be no kick if she had to fire it. She frowned. No, when she had to.

Her replacement legs clanked against the plated flooring as she followed the line of engineers and techs. The WAV pilots meant to guard this side were assembling for their first debriefing in a different location, so she hadn't seen any here.

She'd received a reassignment order for the southern stretch of the walls and found herself reporting to one of the many ceilingscrapers half-embedded against the inside of the wall. A supervising officer had led her deep inside the complex and abandoned her at the start of the equipment line.

She finished amid a cluster of engineers and techs fresh with assistive apparatuses none of them had touched before and only knew how to use with the aid of the HUDs.

Tilting her head back as the ceiling slipped away, a contrasting sight greeted her. The gaping maw above her filled half her vision, the utter pitch denoting the top of the Gaiss Hollow, somewhere above the ash-colored sea of wisps. The other met the majesty of a slab in the terrain, interrupting the natural shape of the ground before her.

She looked down, then back up, estimating the distance between the base of the walls and their peak, and found that she couldn't begin to fathom what values to use.

She declined her HUD's offer to answer, moving with the rest of her group to the furthest courtyard, where a lift was waiting for them. This one would take them up about a third of the way.

It was on the smaller end, though, so around half of their number remained on the ground, waiting for another in the vicinity to return. She positioned herself on the far edge, a safety railing to her left and the slick body of the wall to her back. It was as safe a position as she'd find.

The serviceman in front of her turned his body halfway to lean on the railing. He regarded the scale of the architecture the lift climbed in their stead, and his eyes traveled down until they locked with hers. Realizing she'd been watching him, a light cough released from his throat. "Have you served on the wall before?"

There was familiarity in his eyes too. But at least not familiar enough he knew her name. "No. I was--"

"At Fort Io before this, right?"

Some of the others turned at his interjection. She crossed her arms. "Yes, but to be fair, there isn't any serviceman among us who has served during something like this." Mm. What a glittering generalization "this" was.

"You have a point." He palmed a stretch of skin under his chin. Likely a developed habit. "Do you think we'll be able to repel the first attack?"

"We don't have a choice."

A woman taller than both of them nodded in agreement, moving forward half a step. "It isn't a matter of if. We'll have to do it, even if it means accomplishing something impossible."

"Well said!" came from one of the others.

"Alright. What about routing them before they reach the base of the walls?"

She supposed it was nerves influencing him, even if he--not to mention her and the others too, did his best to keep it off his face and out of his body language. Because not only was that a simple inquiry, but one he should've found a response to through his own thoughts.

Most of humanity's defensive assets, barring recent additions to the terrain or whatever secrets the headmen kept out of view, would impose upon the Aud once they reached the walls. And though the wall-grade electrics had an impressive range far beyond that of the Titans' downscaled armaments, those couldn't kill enough before they got close.

Something about her expression betrayed her thoughts, and he bristled but turned back toward the city now below them. The tall woman, who she could now identify as a tech from the lack of a belt around her waist, leaned in and offered a hand. "Got any advice in case they reach us?"

Why were they treating her like a HUD? Couldn't they leave her out of it? She set her shoulders in deeper, though to not appear uncordial, accepted the handshake. Faint venom interspersed her words. "Sorry, I don't have anything. I suppose if I did, I wouldn't be down three limbs."

That earned her the quiet she wanted. Granted, it did come with several judging, heated, and uncomfortable gazes, but she wasn't here to make friends. None of those she'd had escaped from Io.

She turned her body, so she didn't face any of them, and closed her eyes, listening to the gears rutting against each other as the lift climbed higher and higher. Her blood beat fast in her ears too, a swelling ruckus that drowned out everything else when it struck. Ec-5, El-5, Er-2. There were others. And Ra-3, Ni-6's brother.

Why couldn't he have survived that slaughter with her, at the very least? She could handle…she didn't know, but something told her every little stressor bearing down on her would be trivial to handle so long as she knew she could still see him every morning in the mess hall.

He would ask her how her little potted plant was, and like reading from a script, she'd tell him to remember it was back home. Back here. She didn't know what to feel, realizing that Io felt more like home in her thoughts than the Last Light.

Someone poked her elbow. She saw it was the first serviceman to start a conversation with her after cracking open an eye. She noted they weren't moving up anymore; they must've reached the apex of the lift.

Nodding thanks--she didn't want to waste breath yet if she could help it, she followed behind and the two of them trailed behind the others, who were already climbing up a set of ladders further along the incline.

She reached into her pocket, remembering to thumb on her communicator. She'd wanted a period of reduced activity, and as fond as she was of Ni-6, she knew she wouldn't have any of that if he'd hailed her. Looking through the activity list, she wasn't surprised to find she'd missed three of his attempts, though she couldn't deny a mote of guilt blossomed in her chest.

A new notification alerted her that someone sent her a message, as opposed to attempting to initiate another communication. Her breath hitched. It was the Prime Beacon.

His message was short, though caring: "I know about your choice. Promise me you won't let the Aud catch you a second time."

Hers, more so, especially since he hadn't made any request that she return: "I hope I won't."

"Promise me."

"Alright." When she slid her communicator back into her skinsuit, she found keeping the frown from her face was no longer as difficult as before. She quickened her steps to catch up to the serviceman. He waited for her at the base. "Thanks."

He did well in masking his confusion. "You're welcome?" He ushered her to go up before following.