The red Jacket kneeled down in front of me, examining the shredded armor plate over my stomach. I ventured a question. “How’s the battle going?”
“The 301st has been wiped out. Our main line fell back to the coast to regroup.”
“What about your squad?”
“No use worrying about them.”
“So… how do I look?”
“It pierced the front, but the back armor plate stopped it. It’s charred bad.”
“How bad?”
“Bad.”
“Fuck me.” I looked up at the sky. “Looks like it’s starting to clear.”
“Yeah. I like the sky here.”
“Why’s that?”
“It’s clear. Can’t beat islands for clear skies.”
“Am I going to die?”
“Yeah,” she told me.
I felt tears well up in my eyes. I was grateful then that the helmet hid my face from view. It kept my shame a private thing.
The red Jacket maneuvered to gently cradle my head. “What’s your name? Not your rank or your serial number. Your name.”
“Keiji. Keiji Kiriya.”
“I’m Rita Vrataski. I’ll stay with you until you die.”
She couldn’t have said anything I’d rather hear, but I wasn’t going to let her see that. “You’ll die too if you stay.”
“I have a reason. When you die, Keiji, I’m going to take your Jacket’s battery.”
“That’s cold.”
“No need to fight it. Relax. Let go.”
I heard an electronic squelch-an incoming comm signal in Rita’s helmet. It was a man’s voice. The link between our Jackets automatically relayed the voice to me.
“Calamity Dog, this is Chief Breeder.”
“I read you.” All business.
“Alpha Server and vicinity under control. Estimate we can hold for thirteen minutes, tops. Time to pick up that pizza.”
“Calamity Dog copies. Running silent from here in.”
The red Jacket stood, severing our comm link. Behind her an explosion rumbled. I felt the ground tremble through my spine. A laser-guided bomb had fallen from the sky. It plunged deep into the earth, piercing the bedrock before it detonated. The sandy white ground bulged like an overcooked pancake; its surface cracked and sent darker soil the color of maple syrup spewing into the air. A hail of mud splattered on my armor. Rita’s battle axe glinted in the light.