5th of Septober, 5500

  I’m… Okay… Physically, at least.

  My wounds healed strangely fast, the deep cut in my back and the shallow cut in my chest having closed up before a full twenty-four hours had passed.

  Sagittarius had suggested that it was thanks to the storyteller, wounds that would usually take days or weeks to fully close up and perhaps longer to fade and heal, almost naturally closing in a matter of hours.

  It's still unclear whether this meant the storyteller was friendly and benevolent or if this small mercy was just a general quirk of its behavior.

  But that doesn’t matter… It feels like nothing really matters after what happened… I thought… I thought we could have been more. She made me feel like we were more… But I guess that's just what she wanted me to think.

  How gullible I must be, or how starved I am for the connection of others after suddenly being separated from everyone I've ever known.

  Regardless, I don't feel like mining today… I don’t feel like doing anything at all, really… A blink later, I find myself having shifted around in bed as I come to realize that I’ve likely fallen asleep again at some point.

  ‘Ezekiel, while sleeping is good for your overall mental health, I recommend, as your personal medical director, that you occupy yourself with some form of distraction; go outside and get some fresh air.’ Sagittarius advised with a considerable amount of care in his silent voice.

  “That is… Probably a good idea… A walk would probably do me some good.” With a sighing grunt, I rolled out of my bed, swinging my feet around to get me upright before standing and pulling on my clothes.

  Having secured my weapons at my hip, I donned my duster, wrapped a scarf around my neck, and tied my hair back. This little routine of getting dressed surprisingly provided me with a strange sense of normalcy as I stepped outside.

  The stark white snow and midday sun blinded me for a very brief moment, but I quickly adjusted as I started wandering north, exploring the area around my home that I hadn’t really explored until now.

  There wasn’t much to see, but that was fine by me… Just me and the snowy expanse, the crunching of the snow making my ears twitch, the chill wind rushing through my hair, tail, and ears, all while the cold nibbles against my skin.

  I don’t even know how long I had been wandering in large circles, though I always made sure to keep my home in view, though my eyes couldn’t help but dart at the tech shack and what was still inside.

  ‘Do you wish to speak about it, Ezekiel?’ Sagittarius prodded silently, and I could almost feel his hesitation on even broaching the topic like he was walking on eggshells in his attempt to discuss recent events.

  “N-no thanks… I uh… I appreciate it, but I’m just not ready to talk about it.”

  ‘Of course, Ezekiel, take it at your own pace.’ Sagittarius offered in quiet understanding.

  Some more time passed, and the rumbling of my stomach pulled me from my thoughts as I suddenly realized I had wandered much farther than I originally intended, the sun setting on the far horizon as the skies took on a beautiful dance of orange and purple hues.

  As I looked toward my hillside shack, I suddenly noticed a considerable mound of snow standing between me and my home. It was not like it had suddenly appeared out of nowhere; it had likely always been there. I simply hadn’t noticed it until now, as it blended into once distant terrain.

  With my curiosity piqued and a very welcome distraction now present, I made my way over to the mound of snow and casually brushed some snow away, only to find more white underneath. “What? No… It couldn’t be…”

  ‘Ezekiel, is something the matter?’

  “Its… It's a mech carapace! But the size of this piece… Is… Is this a leg?” My eyes wandered to the rest of the snowy mound as I came to realize the sheer size of the mech before me. “This is beyond ultra heavy… How many gestators did it take to make this thing?”

  ‘Do you recognize the model?’ Sagittarius pressed, his silent curiosity nearly as palpable as my surprise.

  “I… I’m not sure.” I confessed as I began methodically clearing the snow away from the mech.

  Time passed, as it usually does. The sun had set while multiple torches illuminated my immediate surroundings, and after a quick meal of survival food, I finally finished wiping off the last of the snow from the carapace of the massive mech.

  “I’ve only seen drawings of this mech… An exostrider… W-what could have possibly happened in the last thousand years that could have forced our people to have deployed this?” The entire mech wasn’t even as big as it should have been; there were extensive signs of battle damage, and all the joints and mechanisms looked as if they had been partially melted and fused into each other, forming one solid mass after what could have only been a massive beam of concentrated energy.

  Now, having studied the entire thing after it had been freed from its snowy blanket, I noticed a soft, pinging noise emanating from within the ruined mech mid-section. The sound was so faint that I could barely hear it over the crunch of the snow and the gentle crackles of the torches. “I… Hear something, there’s something still working inside this thing…” Though try as I might to peel away the ruined carapace, there was no way for me to actually get at whatever was making the noise.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  ‘It might be the transponder. If there is still power running through the exostrider, then that likely means the chemfuel tanks are not empty. The exostrider, per the schematics, was too big to run on the same internal power cells that allowed most other mechs to run and had to be supplemented by an alternative fuel source.’ Sagittarius helpfully informed. ‘This may be a haphazard decision; however, if you fire into the midsection of the mech, you may be able to get the chemfuel to cook off and detonate the tanks, allowing you to reach the device inside.’

  “That is… Incredibly dangerous… I also can’t think of a better idea.” I reasoned, drawing the gauss pistol and taking more than a few steps away as I opened fire.

  Each accelerated round pierced the compromised carapace with satisfying reports as I did my best to pick my shots well, listening and watching for the signs that something was about to happen. Suddenly, a shot caused a spark that spouted a burst of flame, which whistled threateningly.

  The hairs on my neck and tail stood as I suddenly turned heel and sprinted further away from the exostrider, diving headfirst into the deep snow. The ground shook as the chemfuel tanks erupted, and despite the layer of snow between me and the source, a wave of heat still washed across my back.

  A few seconds later, I pushed up from the snow and witnessed a field of fire where the exostrider once was. I was ready for this, expecting this even after intentionally causing the explosion. But… I… I couldn’t approach the wreckage to even try for the transponder… Before I knew it, I was running away, fleeing from the fire as I kicked up snow with each and every step.

  Only when I put some distance between myself and the flames did I finally start to gather my bearings. I could feel my heart pounding in my ears; my tail curled tightly around my legs as I struggled even to breathe. “S-sagittarius! R-report... G-give me a report on my health. What's wrong with me?”

  Sagittarius took a moment before responding, and I did everything I could to focus on his silent voice. ‘You are experiencing a panic attack.’

  “A w-what? Me?”

  ‘According to your medical profile, it seems there was an adverse series of side effects when resequencing and balancing your xenogenes during your last treatment. In exchange for your enhanced tolerance to extreme levels of cold and reduced metabolism, your very skin has become highly susceptible to fire. It appears that even being in close proximity to wildfire will cause your body to react physically, giving you an artificial sense of pyrophobia.’

  I forced myself to take a deep breath, aggressively shaking myself to try and refocus and sighing softly as my tail flicked behind me. “Damn… That would have been nice to know… Why didn’t Nate inform me of these side effects when I first woke up?”

  ‘I can not accurately speak for Nate’s decisions, but I can only assume that the intention may have been to debrief you before your next planetside operation… I… Apologize for not recalling such vital details before now.’ Sagittarius offered silently, a vague feeling of distress filling his words.

  “It's fine, Sagittarius, now I know. I’ll just have to be more cautious around fire going forward.” I considered before glancing over at the still-growing wildfire in the distance. “I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see if that transponder survived that explosion in the morning.”

  Sagittarius had nothing to say as we closed the distance to my shack. Rounding the snow-covered hill, I was greeted by the pair of rockhoppers. The duo looked cheerfully energetic as they laid more fish in the snow, which Shovit collected and put in the outdoor fridge.

  The rockhopper that saved me looked in remarkably good shape despite its grievous injuries. The storyteller likely helped the bird speed up its recovery, much like my own wounds, though it didn’t leave the little penguin unmarked as it sported a distinct scar through its feathered belly that didn’t appear to be showing any signs of growing back.

  “You’re looking quite spritely, little buddy; how’s your chest treating you?” I asked as I patted the penguin’s head.

  The bird just cheerfully squawked at my touch, nuzzling into my gloved palm before hopping away with their partner, doing whatever it was that penguins do with their free time while I decided to turn in for the night.

  6th of Septober, 5500

  Returning to the scorched remains of the mech, I was greeted by a small field of blackened dirt and ash as whatever vegetation lay dormant below the snow was reduced to mere fuel for the flames.

  Sifting through the wreckage, I found the transponder; thank the stars, it was still intact and somehow retained a charge despite everything that happened last night. However, it was only as I looked over the device that a thought struck me. My nerves started to grow with unease as I glanced over my shoulder as if to look at Sagittarius. “This mech looks old, easily centuries or more…. What if… What if we can’t reach anyone?”

  ‘Even if the original mechanitor who controlled the mech has passed, the transponder will still be imprinted onto the mechlink itself, and we should still be able to send a signal to whoever inherited the mechlink. If someone is out there with the mechlink, we shall reach them.’ Sagittarius helpfully informed. ‘Now then, to activate the transponder…’

  A mere few seconds later, the transponder chirped as a pulse was sent out, and within a few tense minutes of my heart racing through my ears, the once pulsing red light flashed green as a response signal showed signs of contact. “Someone got the signal! By the stars, Sagittarius, someone heard us!” I cried out with unbridled joy, the mere idea of no longer being alone making my legs give out beneath me as my eyes started to sting with the overwhelming emotions bubbling up after everything I had gone through since waking up.

  ‘Fantastic news, let us head back for the shack and start building a signal fire; it will help the pilot narrow down our position once they come for us.’ Sagittarius eagerly advised, his excitement clear in my mind even with his ever-silent voice.

  “R-right! No time to waste!” With that I did my best to dry off my eyes as I pushed myself to my feet and began hurrying back to the shack, though before I could round the hillside to my door, I spotted a shuttle breaking through the cloudline and coming down towards my general area. “Hah, looks like they were closer than we thought, they… They…” But the words got caught in my throat as I watched the shuttle fly past the shack before immediately crashing past the sparse treeline across the river. “They just crashed… Void it all, this can’t be happening!”

  If Sagittarius said anything, I couldn’t hear it; all I could see was a plume of white from where the shuttle landed in the deep, untouched snow.

  Soaked above my waist from the icy river, I trudged through the snow, which only clung to my legs with every step until I crossed through the few trees. There, the shuttle lay in the impact zone, still smoking as the snow sizzled around it from what was no doubt a rough re-entry.

  “It’s still intact… That’s probably a good sign, right?” I asked, not waiting for an answer as I kept moving forward, my ears twitching at every crunch of snow before the hiss of hydraulics stopped me in my tracks.

  The shuttle doors released before all but flopping limply open as the ramp landed in the snow. My eyes tracked movement from inside as a mech with red coloring to its carapace rolled on out. It was a militor!

  “Hey! Is everyone okay in there? You can’t imagine how relieved I am to see others despite the circumstances.” I called out cheerfully, the militor turning to face me as I slowed to a steady jog.

  Before I knew it, a flash of searing pain coursed through my body as shrapnel ripped through my shoulder, spraying the snow with my blood. “W-wait! I-I’m friendly!”

  The militor seemed unphased by my words, firing another blast from the shotgun mounted to its body and barely missing by inches as I ran back towards the trees and took cover as the militor fired after me before slowly closing the distance.

  “Listen to me! My birth ID is AQ-47-3-76. It may be an old code, but it should be accurate!” I cried out, my heart racing as I peeked out to see if it reacted to my ID. At that moment, the militor fired again, the shrapnel ripping through the tree as my head snapped back from the force, sending me sprawling into the snow.

  I know I must be injured, but I couldn’t feel a thing, my heart pounding like a drum in my ears as I blindly pushed myself up from the snow, tripping on my own two feet as I did my best to put some more distance between myself and the militor.

  My back pressed against another tree, and I quickly realized my vision had been flooded by red. I could only guess I had blood in my eyes, but I could still see, and that was enough. Drawing the magnum gauss, I dropped to one knee and stepped out of cover only to come nearly face to face with the militor already ten feet away from me.

  Without a moment to lose, I fired rapidly, unleashing three shots one after the other and ripping holes through its carapace.

  The militor wasn’t downed yet, but I couldn’t risk another shot as I ducked back behind the tree again and moved to take cover behind what appeared to be an ancient shipping container amongst some ruins that I had yet to explore.

  The militor closed the distance, noisily crunching through the snow while I backpedaled, leaning against the shipping container as I came to realize that my sense of balance was quickly failing me.

  The moment the mech rounded the corner, I just fired, pulling the trigger again and again until all I could hear was the clicking of the magnum dry-firing, the militor now a crumpled mess of scrap machinery.

  A shaky exhale courses out of my body as my legs give out again, forcing me to slide down to the ground while leaning back against the old shipping container. My vision still painted red as the pain in my shoulder decides to make me extremely aware of it. “Void take it… W-why did it attack…?”