Pyr ran her hand through Elara’s hair, watching the strands part around her digits. She smelled like that fragrant mix of fuel and sweat that filled the cockpit of the mechs. Pyralis lightly kissed the back of her resting lover’s head.

Safe. They were safe at home.

“I love you, starlight,” Pyralis whispered to Elara. She had been forgiven, and was once again worthy to lay here alongside her moon. This, more than anything, was her reward for putting her life on the line. If anything, her life was the minimum of what this sight was worth.

Pyr shifted around to look at her cast. It was an uncomfortable reminder of her failure to protect Elara on their last mission.

Take it easy.

If anything, she should be pushing herself harder. She wanted to be back out on the field tearing territories and resources from the Imperium. Razing their factories, forcing them to finally give in. It wasn’t fair, how they had the resources to fight this war while continuing to let their people starve.

The Empire had the audacity to blame the famine on the rebellion, while choosing to destroy infrastructure. They couldn’t allow any materials to fall into rebel hands. Farms thought to be giving food to insurgents went up in flames in the Imperium’s wake. Wells and lakes were left poisoned, killing the wildlife so that rebels couldn’t hunt. The Empire couldn’t afford to look weak in the face of resistance. Desperate citizens were forced to join the Imperial army in order to feed themselves, wanting revenge on those that they believed to have ruined their lives.

Elara mumbled in her sleep, throwing an arm over Pyralis as she tossed. Another nightmare, probably. Pyr ran a hand down her head.

“Shush. Rest, my love.” Pyralis had gotten used to the post-battle unrest that Elara fell into, doing her best to comfort the troubled pilot. She stroked the synthetic skin on Elara’s arm, pressing into the cold metal beneath it. Pyralis remembered every detail of that bloody night, shivering as she ran through the memory in her mind.

Pyr hated what the war had done to Elara. She recalled the day she met Elara, both barely turning of age to enlist. Pyralis had been considering joining the Imperial army for the promised rations, crawling out of the crumbling building she had been holding up in.

Elara had begun performing humanitarian efforts, bright-eyed while carrying a crate of food down the dimly lit roads. She was a light in the dark, shouting out into the destroyed buildings, asking if anybody was in need of supplies. Pyr had followed her for a while, seeing if she was trustworthy, and not just a war recruiter sent out to lure the impoverished to throw their lives into battle.

As Elara recalled, she had spotted a frail-looking girl tailing her that day, and slowed her pace so that Pyr could keep up. Pyralis had eventually approached Elara as she was packing up the last of her supplies for the day, the girl still with a smile on her face. Pyr hadn’t spoken a word, simply taken some rations and bolted off, afraid of being caught by surprise.

In the following months, Elara continued returning to the same area, and while other survivors around moved on, or passed from exposure, Pyr continued claiming supplies. On her tenth visit, Pyr had spoken her first word to Elara.

“Why?”

Elara stared at the girl she thought mute, and thought to herself for a moment. “So that this world isn’t robbed of kind faces like your own,” she grinned back at Pyr.

Pure. Innocent. Corrupted by her hands, in some way. Elara would have never joined the war were it not for the frail girl she met years ago. She would have lived a carefree life with her family, and her hands would be clean of blood.

Thump. Thump.

A knock at the door. Elara began to stir, as Pyr quickly climbed out of bed. “I’ll get it, love. Get some more rest.”

Elara shifted in bed, pulling a blanket over her head. Pyralis smiled at the view, suppressing a laugh. Pyr unlocked and slid the door open, greeted by a male trainee almost a foot shorter than herself.

“A-Ah! Assistant Commander! Apologies for the disturbance, but you and Commander Callisto have been summoned for a meeting by General Frill. If you spot any other pilots on your way to the main deck, please inform them as well!” The trainee quickly pardoned himself before running off deeper into the dormitories.

Pyr sighed, wondering if she could get away with standing in for Elara at the meeting. She took a glance back to the blanket pile, and decided that Elara would chastise her for not telling her about a meeting called by Frill. Pyralis walked back to the bed, collapsing onto Elara.

“Mmg… Get off me you big dog,” Elara mumbled, throwing the blankets off of herself. “What’s up, Pyr?”

Pyr rolled off of Elara’s chest, landing a kiss on her neck. “Meeting, Frill, wanted all the pilots for some reason.” Pyr pushed herself up with her good arm, before grabbing Ellie’s and pulling.

“EE! S- You!” Elara fell out of bed, clambering to her feet as she shook herself off. “Was that really necessary??” She pouted a bit, before lightly tapping Pyr on the head.

“Sorry, Commander, I just thought you’d appreciate a hand out of bed!” Pyr gave Elara a big smile before pecking her on the cheek. “Besides, you wouldn’t want to be late, would you?”

The freshly awakened Commander gave her dog a stare, before sighing and heading over to get dressed. “Sure, sure, that’s exactly what you were trying to do, pup. Get your ass over here and help me get you dressed.” She swung the closet door open, taking out a uniform for herself, and something comfortable for Pyr.

Pyr walked over, undoing her sling with her good arm and letting Elara slide a loose jacket over her. She lifted her leg up to let Elara begin putting on her pants and went to go wait by the door once Elara had dismissed her.

“Close the door, will you? Some of us aren’t as comfortable showing the whole staff our undergarments.” She shot a smile back at Pyralis, donning her uniform as the door shut. “Good girl, both for the door and the wake-up call, by the way.”

A blush crept onto Pyralis’ face as she barked in response to the praise. “Thank you, miss.”

Approaching the door once she was dressed, Elara grabbed a leash hanging by the door. “Show me your neck, it’s time for walkies!”

Ever since Elara and Pyralis had officially started dating, the two started spending more time together around the base, and Pyr had requested a collar and leash in order to feel more connected to Elara. Elara of course, happily obliged.

Pyralis happily presented her neck to her master, as she whined happily to the sound of the latch clicking into place. She loved her walkies.

Elara slid the door back open, Pyralis heading out ahead of her. They began their journey to the main deck, giving their morning greetings to passing trainees and staff. The two passed the menu posted by the exit, detailing what would be served at the dining hall for breakfast that day. As pilots, the two could decide what they would eat for each meal, as long as it was requested a few days ahead of time. Pyr was happy to eat anything, and typically let Elara pick what the two would eat each day.

Continuing down the hall, the two came across another pilot, Aleria. Her mech, the Para-Angel, was a giant among giants. The parts for it were salvaged from breaker-class Imperial machines, specialized in doing large-scale damage, while able to stay up front.

Elara and Pyralis had only piloted alongside the Para-Angel twice, both large-scale assaults. Aleria on the other hand, was a close friend, having been one of the first to learn of the two’s relationship. Occasionally Pyr would invite her over to the room for a “play” session, which Elara indulged.

“Ay, Commanders, welcome back!” Aleria gave a half-hearted salute to Elara and began petting Pyralis’ head.

“Thank you, Ally. We’re on our way to the pilot meeting if you’d like to join us. I’m sure Pyr would appreciate the attention,” Elara replied, pausing to let Pyralis bask in the affection.

Aleria giggled in response, scratching behind Pyr’s ears. “I’d love to! Any idea what the meeting’s about?” She began walking as Elara continued down the hall, Pyr following closely.

“Not sure, although given Frill’s calling the meeting, it’s probably important.” Elara absentmindedly gave a little tug on the leash, making Pyr let out a bark.

“Oh hell, a Frill meeting? That’s why you’re in uniform. Do you mind if I hide behind you with Tyr? I’m really not in the mood to get chewed out,” Aleria groaned. Elara knew the two didn’t get along—the start of each meeting usually consisted of Frill and Aleria arguing about her recent mission.

Giving a small nod, Elara continued forward. The three neared the main hangar, Aleria hiding behind the two as they walked in. General Frill sat at a table nearby, alongside some other pilots. He turned his head to the group as they entered, nodding as he gestured to some open seats.

“Fashionably late, as always, Aleria.” He eyed the small girl hiding behind the Commanders. “Good morning to you as well, Commander. Apologies for the sudden call, but some important news has come to light.” Frill looked upset, as the rest of the pilots around the table fiddled around.

The three took their seats, as Elara cleared her throat. “No need for the apologies, General. I know you wouldn’t call so suddenly for no reason,” she responded. She took note of who was sitting at the table.

Mission Manager Rhine sat at the General’s side, a grim look plastered on her face. Definitely not good news, Elara noted. Likely related to her recent mission, given how Rhine was looking at her.

Seven other pilots sat around the table, looking weary from being woken up so early. Of course, there was Tyr and Aleria, sitting to her right. Aleria looked nervous still, eyeing Frill as she kept a hand on Tyr’s lap. To her left was Anna, fiddling with a screwdriver, not really paying attention to the conversation.

Across from her sat Wrought, the pilot of the Anvil. The Anvil was a relatively small mech, despite its imposing name. He had chosen it due to his blacksmithing background and tended to fight, as he described, by “Striking when the metal was hot.” Which usually meant blasting through armor weakened by his thermal charges.

To his left sat his wife, Layris. She hadn’t picked a name for her machine in the two years she had been a pilot, and people generally referred to it as the “Hammer”, given the relation to her husband. Elara knew she wasn’t too fond of the name, instead calling her mech the “Heap” or her “Flower”. Both of which, Elara had told her, were terrible names.

The remaining two pilots had newly graduated from being trainees and were still in the process of designing their machines to fit their specifications. Pyralis had trained one of them personally, calling her a “little spark”. Pyr said it was because of her preference for flashy-looking weapons. The name had stuck, at least for Elara, who casually referred to her as Spark.

The other was mostly unknown to Elara. They had been a loner, from what Elara could tell. They went by Faust, with no surname on record. Despite their tendency to pilot smaller machines, their effectiveness still matched pilots in machines almost twice as large as their own. She had put in a few requests to spar with them, although every single one went ignored. Elara had never seen them train with other pilots, and wasn’t sure when they were getting in their hours.

General Frill continued, knocking Elara out of her little trance. “Something has changed, according to our intelligence. As soon as Commander Callisto’s last mission ended, the main Imperial base nearby kicked into high gear. We know they are preparing a large assault, set to launch in the next few days, and we aren’t sure why this sudden change of attitude occurred. Last we knew, they were trying to starve us out, cutting supply lines and hunkering down.” Frill looked at Elara, a frown on his face. “We are hoping that any of you could tell us if anything of note happened during any recent encounters with Imperial forces, anything out of the ordinary. Commander Callisto, you may stay silent about your last mission, as Mission Manager Rhine here has informed me of the event that took place.”

Anna shifted her full attention to the General—the mention of an incoming assault was serious. “Everything’s been a little too easy as of late, Imperial machines have been trying their best to avoid fighting on my last three missions. They’ve been planning something.” Some of the other pilots at the table nodded their heads in agreement.

Layris spoke up, “I’ve been looking into the mission logs for a week or two, Imperial machines have been avoiding direct confrontation for about a month now, only ever trying to disable our mechs, or run away.” She tapped the table with her fingers impatiently. Something was bothering her. “What’s this about Callisto’s last mission?”

The General let out a small cough, before turning his gaze towards Elara. “Elara had another incident on her last mission. We’re worried it might be related, as the machines we’ve seen them mobilizing have been oddly specific. Models years out of date, mixed with some newer ones. 2-GR, 5-WB, and 4-XF’s have been coming in on the same shipments.”

Greybird. Wingbeat. Dragonfly. Kills 12, 4, and 2. Elara knew these mechs, studied them and their lines in depth. “They’re targeting me.” The Dragonfly Model 4 was years old, they had to have pulled that out of the hands of a veteran.

“Our thoughts exactly”, the General continued. “The models they’ve been bringing in have lined up exactly with those we have on record of Commander Callisto bringing down in combat. They’re sending some kind of message to her, and bringing in enough firepower to force us to mobilize every last pilot. We’ll need every single one of you on standby to deploy for the next week. If there are any promising trainees, test them and help them get combat-ready as soon as possible.” He turned his head towards Pyralis, “We have our best medical technicians working on something to get your arm in shape to pilot. You’re to report to the medical bay immediately.”

Pyr unclipped her leash at the command, bolting out of the hangar immediately. She would protect Elara no matter the cost.

Frill looked back to the rest of the pilots. “The rest of you, get your mechs into battle-ready state, and be on high alert. The entire facility is on alert to give you anything you need to get to work. Dismissed.”

The pilots quickly stood, breaking off, as Elara stayed at the table. She walked towards the General, who had focused his attention on her. “If they’re targeting me, they’ll be targeting Pyr as well. I need you to promise me she’ll be prioritized over myself in this fight. I don’t care who you think the better pilot is, if it comes down to it, you’ll put every last resource towards getting her out safely.” She clenched her fist, trembling as she spoke. “If she goes down, I’m going down with her.”

“Understood, Commander Callisto.” Frill kept a calm tone, laying his hand on the shaking pilot’s shoulder. “You have my word that I will do my best to ensure she survives this. You are dismissed.”