1.6
The sun had barely crested high enough to shine through Cameron’s window when he was awoken in a start. He was snoozing happily, snuggled up under a mass of pillows, dreaming about a night of alcohol and poor decisions with someone who matched his loosely held morals. Suddenly, he felt the sensation of falling, opening his eyes to see he was falling, sliding quickly down a mattress that had suddenly gone vertical. The usual grogginess was non-existent as he smacked into the floor.
He groaned, clutching his head, listening to the heavy footfalls of boots on the stone floor. He already knew who it was before their gruff voice filled his ears.
“Rise and shine kid. We got some work to do.” Logan’s gruff words greeted him, grating on his nerves like a knife on glass.
“And a good morning to you too.” Cameron said, feeling his eye twitch in annoyance as he got to his feet. He looked out the window, watching as the gray sky was slowly colored in with the pinks and oranges of the rising dawn. He sighed as he pulled his gaze from the window to look at Logan. The man was already in training attire, wearing an ensemble of a tight black tank top and a pair of small black shorts, barely coming halfway down his thighs, his iron divots shining on full display. This gave Cameron pause, causing his eyebrows to raise in a questioning look.
“Any particular reason you’re dressed like that? Or did you just feel like showing off your assets?” He asked, flashing a smirk while motioning to Logan’s bare legs.
“You must really enjoy pain, Pellyn.” Logan replied, deadpanned in delivery.
Cameron shrugged, stretching his arms behind his back and cracking his neck, audible pops filling the silence. “Eh, it depends. May as well win something today. Even if it’s just a smartass competition. What are we actually doing anyways? And why are you waking me up and not Markus or one of the other servants?”
Now it was Logan’s turn to smirk, an action that caused Cameron’s face to flash with concern.
“As to the latter question. I didn’t feel like bothering Markus or someone else with going through the motions of gently rousing you. I had a surefire way of waking you up, and as you can see, it worked like a charm.”
Cameron pursed his lips, rolling his eyes, “Yeah I’m pretty sure anyone who was literally tossed out of bed wouldn’t need to concern themselves with coffee. Now what about the former? What are we doing?”
Logan didn’t answer right away. It was his turn to smirk now, flashing a grin of pearly white teeth, before turning and making his way towards the exit.
“Just a little stroll through the gardens.”
A few minutes later, Cameron was dressed in a pair of royal blue training fatigues, walking in step with Logan as the pair exited out of the back of the palace, making their way into the royal gardens, following a trail that lead to an old training field in the back of the palace grounds. A wide dirt trail bisected a field of carefully cut blue grass spanning a hundred meters in width and nearly a kilometer in length. A row of trees lined the perimeter on either side as topiary sculptures lined the inner edges. It was a place of natural beauty and peace, which explained why Cameron rarely found himself out here.
“So, what’s your deal man?” He asked, finally breaking the silence as he looked at Logan.
“What do you mean?” Logan answered after a moment, not meeting Cameron’s gaze.
“I mean, who are you? I don’t remember you at all. Yet, ever since you got here, it seems that people practically worship the ground you walk on.”
Logan shrugged, giving his best effort to rack his brain for his past accomplishments. “I don’t know honestly. I was really good at my job I guess. I made captain at a young age. Put down some insurrections for your father. Things like that. I wasn’t really searching for glory or anything. But I’m not going to complain about how it turned out.”
“So what happened? Sounds like you were living the high life. Or as close to one as a non noble can get. Why give all that up?”
Logan took a while to respond. He took in his surroundings. The sight of blue flowers in full bloom on the manicured bushes. The smell of sweet honeysuckle, mixing with the salty tang of the ocean, still cold and crisp in the now rising dawn. The soulful birdsong, alerting them that a new day was on the horizon. There were many times he’d ask himself that same question. Most of the time, he’d lie, citing the money, the respect, the prestige of being a pilot of the fleet. His eyes fell on Cameron, taking the young man in, studying his features. That was when he saw it. Under all that bravado, sarcasm, and disdain for responsibility, he could see a flicker of something, greatness perhaps, begging to be let out. For the first time in a long time, he gave an honest answer.
“My vision went past the size of one world. I wanted more. I needed more. It’s… hard to explain. I needed to know that I was worth something to every star in that sky. To know that I was the best.”
“And did you get your answer?” Cameron responded, all mirth gone from his voice as he seemed to hang on to every word.
Logan laughed derisively, shaking his head. “Not even close. I went from being a big fish in a small pond, to a minnow in the middle of the ocean. It was all I could do to keep swimming and not get eaten by the beasts below.”
“Then why stay? Why not come back home and be that big fish again? Why live a life like that?” Cameron asked, his head swimming with confusion. It was unfathomable to him how someone could give up a life of such status and security, but he was more than willing to hear the man out.
Another chuckle left Logan’s lips as the pair reached the end of the foot path, coming to a stop in front of a large clearing. He turned looking Cameron in the eye, a smirk poised on his usual cold demeanor. “Because sometimes, it’s fun to watch the beasts up close.”
He turned and pointed to the middle of the clearing, drawing Cameron’s eye. In the center, about twenty meters apart, two bright white X’s were illuminated onto the gently swaying grass.
Cameron’s mind raced in confusion and a spark of excitement. He turned back to Logan, eyes wide as he murmured, “What’s going on?”
Instead of answering, Logan looked to the sky, Cameron following the man’s gaze. Up above, he saw what looked to be two meteors, racing across the sky side by side. They were big, Cameron could tell even from this far away, but there was something else as well. His heart quickened as he realized they were growing larger. No, that wasn’t quite right, he decided. They were getting closer.
“Brace yourself kid. It’s about to get loud.” Logan’s words barely registered when Cameron heard a sound that could only be described as the sky being split open. Two concussive booms cracked through the open air as the blazing red hot meteors grew closer and closer. Cameron clamped his hands over his ears, gritting his teeth to keep them from chattering as he made his best effort to continue watching the display above him.
It was then, he could begin to make out the details. One powerful torso with a helmed face, it’s off white paint blackening on the edges thanks to the heat of reentry, matching the red trim. A large spiked club sat in its right hand, a shield the size of a small ship in its left. The other was more of a box than a chest, lacking a headpiece. It gripped a massive sword in its left hand, with a buckler hanging limp on its right, its drab brown paint nearly blending in thanks to the dim morning light. Powerful metal legs dangled in the free fall underneath them, giving a hint as to their true towering size. Cameron’s breath left him as he watched, both from the force of the shockwave, and pure awe. Two A.R.M.S. units were about to make planet fall.
The mechs hit the ground with a thunderous crash. Shockwaves rippled across the landscape, nearly taking Cameron off his feet from the sheer magnitude. Logan reached out, keeping the boy up in his vice-like grip, grinning like a madman.
“I’ve always loved this part,” He said, his voice hollow and distant as he looked upon the scene, clearly remembering a time when this was a mere prelude to a mission promising wealth and violence in equal measure, instead of the tame demonstration before them now.
It took Cameron a while before he was able to find his voice. Finally, once he was sure the earth had stopped shaking, did he speak.
“That…was…awesome” He exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air before rushing up to the helmed unit with a mace. Logan followed behind at a leisurely pace, watching the boy look on in awe.
“I know it’s cool kid, but I didn’t expect you to get so excited.” He said, approaching Cameron from behind. Cameron turned and smiled at him, looking like a kid in a candy store.
“These aren’t guard units, man. Two actual A.R.M.S. units from free space are sitting right in front of me! I mean do you even know the last time planetfall was made on Ketris?”
Cameron’s excitement was certainly valid. There was no secret as to the rarity for A.R.M.S. units not local to a planet or system to touch down from orbit unless it was during military operations. Even then, Ketris and the system as a whole had been at peace for the last few decades, marking this as a rather momentous occasion. Logan couldn’t help but smile, happy to see the child-like glee on Cameron’s face.
“I mean, technically. It’s more like a unit and a half.” He said, causing a look of confusion to flash across the prince’s face.
“What do you mean?”
Logan pointed a finger across the field, towards the angular, helmetless mech. Steam wafted visibly of the exposed metal, brown paint slowly blackening as it cooled down from atmospheric reentry.
“See that box on legs over there? The one that looks like the guard units walking around the capital?”
“Yeah?” Cameron replied, the inflection of his tone indicating he wasn’t following.
“Well, those are called Squire units. Named after the assistants to ancient warriors from earth. You can always tell Squires apart from other units because they lack the headpiece. They’re not integrated for threaded pilots.” As he spoke, Logan held an arm up, running a thumb over the shining screw holes bolted into his skin.
“Squires aren’t considered true A.R.M.S. units. My crusader here could take five at one odds and not even break a sweat. You’d be better off trying to take me down on foot instead of in that mech.” He finished his words with a smirk, looking over at Cameron to see if he was understanding
Cameron was indeed understanding now. In fact, he was enraptured. He nodded along, hanging onto every word. Never in his life had he felt such a sensation. There was ember in his stomach that was slowly building into a raging flame. His heart hammered as he looked at Logan with what felt like a clarity he had never known. He wanted to know more. Needed to. Logan was happy to oblige.