Giant Robots? Say no more. I’m in. Volume 1 Epilogue

Giant Robots? Say no more. I’m in.

Volume 1 Epilogue

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Wordcount: 2500

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Interlude: Arnis

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Stories tell of a time before.

A time when the stars were not baleful things where wicked creatures spawned.

A time when the metal men worked with us rather than drag us into vats to be undone.

A time when the lands above did not teem with monsters that even to this day sought us out for flesh to feed their children.

Stories told us of a time long lost, but for those who ventured aboveground, those were not mere stories.

They were everywhere in the ruins of old cities that we travelled through now in search of what was lost.

Or, such was our aim, until things fell apart.

“Do not die on me, Rupel. I will find a path back home.” Rupel weakly nodded and laughed at my words, as Tina tended to his wound. A great gash on his side that stopped bleeding thanks only to scarce medicines we found scavenging. It could have brought us great acclaim down below, but it was not worth his death, or the loss of his family’s knowledge. “Tina, keep hidden. I will return within a day. If I do not, partake in my rations and weather the storm until the beacon resumes function.”

I was a wayfinder, like my father before me, and the work of our ancestors gave me much. I could see farther, run longer, and withstand the cold. I needed more food than most, but it was a price I was willing to pay. Our bloodline’s gifts kept the family whole and strong for generations. Ten other families were like our own, and we worked carefully to ensure our traits remained strong without falling foul.

If my brother hadn’t perished, I would be with children and raising them, but he did and now I took his place.

I left our makeshift shelter beneath a fallen spire of steel and formed rock, and ventured into the storm.

What both Rupel and Tina could not survive, I strode through with ease, ignoring frost and biting wind as I made sense of the lands that surrounded us.

Lands filled with starving, dying monsters that were not supposed to be here.

I felt my body cool and conserve heat, while I ventured through the fallen spears that the ancestors aimed at the sky. Some historical texts said that people once lived in them, but they were abandoned when we lost what lay beyond the clouds. Some ventured to live beneath the seas, others took the fight to the stars, and many more chose refuge beneath the ground.

I idly wondered if these monsters were here through the machinations of other humans when the screech of a creature reached me.

It was thrice as tall as me. It had six skittering legs, a lean thorax, two claws, and two more scythes. It rushed at me at great speed with its pointed legs moving across snow without difficulty. It lacked any sacks of fat, it was leaner than any other I had seen, and some of its natural armor was faded and worn. Still, even with its weakened state, it could easily kill me… so I aimed my crossbow and fired one of my few fire-shots at it’s open maw.

My shot was true and the bolt exploded within the creature where there was no armor, and its insides burst out of its backside.

The noise of the shot itself was lessened… but it was not enough.

From the shadows, from snow piles, and from our ancient homes, dozens began to scramble out. The first that reached their fallen comrade ate with him ravenously, but the others chased after me.

I already started running after the first died.

I dug deep within the pit of warmth in my stomach, and I felt the cold dissipate, as I touched upon ancient gifts. My heart began to thunder in my chest, my legs felt weightless to raise, and my senses sharpened. I became aware of the number of creatures on my back, eighteen in number, and how I was only marginally keeping ahead of them as my legs tore through snow.

Unfortunately, I also became aware of my empty stomach.

If I had eaten all my supplies, I would have been able to outlast and outrun this pack of monsters, but such was not the case.

In three hours, I will be overtaken and killed… but in three hours I can lead these creatures away and only those who remained will threaten my companions when the storm passes.

Two lives for the price of my own, and all that we found on the surface, was a worthy exchange for my death.

Then, just as I considered that, my senses picked something else up.

The shrill whine of an ancient thing that somehow brought agonizing, instinctual relief in my heart.

It was a sound that I somehow knew in my very bones.

A shrill whine that turned into a roar and burst of air that blew me away but my body recovered from with ease.

Then, I turned to its source.

My heart seized for a moment, thinking that I was looking at a raging machine, then I realized something.

On its shoulder, writ in ancient letters, was a simple phrase: “Front Towards Enemy.”

And, in a split second after landing, the sound of ancient weapons reborn thundered and killed the remaining monsters.

Our long-lost cousins were returned with ancient strength at their disposal.

…

We were brought aboard a great flying ship covered in weapons from above and below with a surface that carried multiple flying craft. The ship was crewed by fellow humans and some who smelled of machinery within. We were told that they were cyborgs created for those who perished, and I asked if they could do the same for those who were buried in our family crypts.

Unfortunately, it was only possible for the recently deceased.

In the halls of the great vessel, we were stripped of our weapons and equipment, then given great luxuries. Each of us a room to call our own, meals that filled our stomachs and were exotic in flavor, and finally new clothes each fitted for us. Physicians came and drew blood, before administering to us medicines, and they also mended our wounds.

After a single night of observation, we were brought together, and both Rupel and Tina were wide-eyed and shocked at the room that we were brought to.

It was an office, much like my father’s, but grander and more opulent. A red fabric carpet was laid from the door all the way to the desk. The furnishings were made of wood and cushioned with more fabric. Wood was difficult to acquire, and what fabric could be produced was rationed carefully. Most wore scant clothes made of hair, and equipment from the times before were carefully maintained. Metal and gemstones were more common than wood and fabric, but here… everything was plentiful.

But more than anything, the young man sitting at the desk at the office caught my eye.

He had brown, short hair cut close to his scalp. His eyes were bright, and his face was covered in a myriad of faded and fresh scars. A cap adorned his bare head and his features were all sharp. The suit he wore was of military custom I only read about in books. A double-breasted deep blue military dress tunic with golden epaulets and aiguillettes. Gleaming medals were upon his chest, almost taking up the whole left quarter of his chest.

The way he stood up and the way he looked at me, immediately reminded me of the great titan of metal and firepower that had saved me.

His movements were exactly alike that great weapon.

He turned to his attendant by his side, while walking towards us.

“Do they speak English?”

“Yes, my lord, they do.”

Lord. The singular statement made my eyes widen in disbelief, while my body moved immediately to one knee, as my companions did the same.

We knelt and bowed our heads.

I had thought him an officer of great renown!

Not nobility!

We did not speak or address him, as his footfalls came towards us.

“Relax, the title is needed for me to hold control of the ship.” His tenor was not yet that of a man who has reached full adulthood. Neither did his voice carry the gravitas we expected of our betters. Still, I glanced at my companions and received a nod from each of them. If this was a test, then I could best weather any punishment, so I stood while they remained knelt with their heads low. His gaze upon me was not that of a lordling, though. I felt myself weighed and measured like a target to be destroyed. “Name?”

“I am Arnis of House Cane. Through my family, the rank of Ranger 1st Class has been passed down for ten generations, ship lord.” I bowed my head as I spoke, and he walked around me. I felt gazes of lust on my body before and even gazes of evaluation by my superiors. However, without a doubt, my previous beliefs were correct. The gaze of this young lord was that of a warrior searching another for weaknesses. I knew that he was finding many. “I hail from an underground city of survivors. Our nation, lost its name might be, evacuated many kilometers below ground to save ourselves from the threats from above.”

A hum left his lips, and his gaze matched mine.

I did not speak of how to reach our lands. There were many peoples and nations. Some were our allies and some were our enemies.

When I continued to say nothing of the city, he gave a nod.

“We’ll need a neutral location to meet with your leaders. We’re new to this region and looking at it for resource extraction. The ruins we found you in will make for a fine start.”

I almost hesitated, but I spoke.

“The lands of our ancestors are ours to reconquer. We will not cede it to another. However, in exchange for aid, negotiations can take place for trade rights.” This was established protocol. Even if we left the lands above, we remained within our borders and survived. We had claim over these lands of ours. It was not for any other to simply come and take. “Even the ruins you have mentioned were built by our ancestors. They are not resources to be extracted by others, but assets that belong to us.”

My impertinence and words on my nation’s behalf had me expecting a bullet through my brain, or perhaps the unsheathing of the sword at his waist, and my head separated from my shoulders.

Instead, the young lord sighed.

“Well, there goes that sub-objective. Cina, go ahead and escort them to the diplomatic wing and get into contact with Empress. This is her wheelhouse.” The servant bowed at his commands, and moved to do as she was bid, and then the young lord looked at the three of us once again. “Word of advice: get dressed in your armor and stand your ground. Even if you think you should kneel… don’t. She’ll respect you more if you show that you have a spine.”

We were obviously dismissed and I moved to leave, but suddenly the young man addressed me.

“You there, ranger. If you can’t share the whereabouts of your people, how about you share what you know of your enemies?” I turned around and found one of the servants before me. In her hands was a tablet with an overview of our small region. Everything surrounding it was not present. Nothing else was shared. I stared at the screen, wondering if I should, before he spoke again. “Nothing for free, huh? You know I’m going to go and kill them, right? It’ll be good for everyone.”

I wanted to relay the information, but I could not.

“My apologies, young lord, but I cannot give such information away. It is information for my people, and theirs to do with as they wish.” I was ready to be killed for providing the answer that would safeguard my people. What if I gave information that resulted in the death of this young lord? Or, if they destroyed the enemy, and found something of strategic value? I could not take that chance. “I cannot provide it because of the oaths I swore.”

I was ready to perish, but my death did not come.

“Hm, alright. Go on ahead, then. I’ll talk to your bosses when we meet, instead.” The young lord shook his head, before looking my way from over his shoulder. “Oh, and don’t let yourself get talked into doing anything by my guests at the diplomatic quarter. Just tell them you’re my guests. Wait. Actually… this would be better.”

From his lapel, he took a medal, and threw it my way.

I caught it.

It was a heavy thing with a brilliant luster.

A star of gold surrounded by silver.  

On it was a simple phrase written in old text.

“Valor.”

“If Empress asks, tell her I found you facing down a horde of bugs with a crossbow and some explosives. She’ll love that.”

I almost begged to return it, but the servant escorted me out to join my companions.

…

The meeting with the Empress was harrowing.

She provided us with the state of the world beyond the borders of our fallen nation. The vast majority of the planet was held by enemy forces. Immense hives were generating biomass for endless hordes of monsters. Extradimensional invaders were sending chunks of our planet to their own realm. Machines were turning vast stretches of land into factories that churned out endless armies.

But humanity held the orbits and its fleets were scouring the solar system, and great cities manned by powerful machines loyal to humanity and hundreds of millions of humans were working to take the planet. Humanity was working to secure the whole planet, conquering our old lands, and at the tip of the spear were expeditions that would establish the foundation for more self-sufficient cities that would produce materials for conquest.

This was the vanguard of such an effort.

The only city was judged a source of refined materials to create the foundation for a true city. A city where we were offered positions of nobility and stewardship, as our people and theirs were allies in the ancient past. Much of it was beyond my ability to speak for, but I knew that the path forward lay above ground and not in the shelter that we were given.

Then, as I ruminated on her words, the admiral and lord of the ship appeared by my side.

“My medal?” He inquired, and I hastily returned it. Cina, the servant that smelled of both machine and flesh, fetched it and pinned it on his chest. He levelled his gaze my way. “If there are any people amongst your ranks who don’t wish to accept, I suggest that you deal with them on your own. You’ve been given the velvet glove. Don’t tempt the steel fist.”

I realized what he was implying.

“This offer of alliance is the best that we can hope for?”

“It is. If you don’t accept, if you want to forge your own nation, you oppose the Empress’s dream for a unified humanity. Therefore, you’re an enemy. I doubt you can survive being our enemy with your manufacturing ability.” He could’ve mentioned our lack of food, or maybe even our low numbers, and perhaps even our need to scavenge. Instead, he looked to my equipment, which was worn and carefully repaired countless times, and the lack of new clothing on my person. Meanwhile, he led a new, massive ship and piloted a machine that killed a horde of monsters that could’ve destroyed the whole shelter. “Don’t mistake the offer as weakness, or even the need to conserve resources. An army will scour this place and destroy all your people within a month, if your people refuse.”

“…I will do everything in my power to convince my superiors to accept. I believe that they will even without my help, but I will do all that I can, besides.” My words eliciting a nod from the young lord, and I hesitated as I looked upon him again. A singular question kept popping up in my mind. Something within me told me that I was incomplete ever since I laid my eyes on his great machine. “There is something personal I would like to ask. Is it possible for me to try piloting a one of your bipedal war machines?”

A strange light was in the young lord’s gaze as he responded to my query.

“Why? You want to know how strong they are, or because you want to?”

It was a strange question, but I answered earnestly.

“Because I want to. The machine is very… amazing. Like something out of legend. I would very much like to walk in one, or perhaps fly if possible.”

Suddenly, a smile split across the young lord’s face.

“Hm, I think you and I can be friends.”

The phrase caught me off-guard, especially as the servant suddenly sighed and covered her face with her hands, while some individuals walking by suddenly speeded away.

A pit of unease formed in my stomach.

This young lord’s attention didn’t seem like it’d be good to have.