#Wanted to write something about a feral mech pilot integrating new mech part from a mech that was still being piloted

[hunter-creature]

Rogue Elements

The drop ship descended slowly as I slowly powered up my system. This mission was critical, Handler had reinforced how important success was here. The Redstar Corporation required the repair facility here in order to begin their stabilization of the the region from the unruly populace. But they didn't need to hire a mercenary. Low life scum looking for a quick buck instead of a respectable salary. As soon as we landed at the rendezvous point it confirmed what we all had assumed, a feral pilot.

A chimeric monstrosity of mismatched parts assemble into this thing. It shuffled around on four legs, only the front two looked properly armored. It had three arms and obviously reduced its balance and thus combat effectiveness as well. This was an unnecessary risk. The mission was critical. Handler had ordered us to work with this mercenary. The commands flow through my mind easily despite my distaste.

"This is Unit 01, is Unit 05 mission ready?"

"Heeeeyyyy, Unit 5 here. Lookin' sweet there Unit 1. Bet that babe can take a few cannon shots from behind, if you know what I mean~"

"I repeat, is Unit 05 mission ready?"

"A real stickler. You must be fresh from the wash. Yeah, I'm good to go if you wanna take the lead, missy"

She couldn't even be professional over tactical comms. Why did Handler trust this merc? I signaled the rest of my squad over corporate machine code, it was much more effective. We barely made it over the hill before our scout unit spotted patrolling enemy units. The feral pilot roared an irritating battlecry as her mech rumbled to life in the face of battle. It would be a long day.

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WARNING HEAT WARNING DAMAGE WARNING. The blinking light alerted me to what 100s of error codes was already telling me. It was not going correctly. There was too many of them. This planet was not supposed to have enemy pilots. The mercenary was useless, I had lost her in the chaos. She was probably dead. Not that it mattered. Good riddance. I limped my way to a potential evac point. In an event of mission failure it was important a pilot limited loss of company assets, which included myself.

Suddenly, my mech pitched forward. An error in the leg actuators bound up my only good leg. I could do nothing, but squirm in the dirt I had crashed to. I couldn't even point my cameras toward potential enemies for a last stand. I was sitting dead with an escape hatch that led straight into the ground. Fuck.

I tried a few maintenance restarts, but it was no use. The failure was mechanical, not electronic. Then my comms crackled to life.

"Hey girlie, you don't look so good Unit 1"

"Unit 05, I am need of immediate assistance and escort to the evac point."

"Oh? and why would I do that? The mission failed and I don't get paid for failure..."

"Unit 05, that is an order. The mission is still live until reaching-"

"The whole things fucked. Now give me a real reason why I should help you?"

"I-" What did I even have to offer a merc. My entire salary was bound up in a retirement fund. I had no valuables. I didn't have authorization to give away company assets. I had nothing. I was dead.

"I don't want to die. I don't have anything. P-please? I don't want this to be it..."

The seconds of silence were seconds the enemies were getting closer. I could feel every heartbeat pounding like their foots step. Plasteel monsters that must be sprinting towards me. Then the creaking of metal suddenly became so loud. This was almost certainly it. The merc had left me. She-

"You're right. I can't leave you to die like this. Com'ere"

You mech was shifting upright. The camera caught sight of merc's mech for a few moments before it died. A feed wire must of been knocked loose from the crash. I was left in the dark as my world became groaning metal and grinding of broken parts. A almost felt like I could relax. Slowly listening to the neural feed static get louder. Error codes wink out one by one. The Covenant detected no enemies on its radars. We were safe for- The Covenant? Why was feed static supplying me with information? What's happening- Oh no. That was such a ghost story. Feral pilots don't really- She can't. Nononononono. When the sparks of the saw started to fly into my cockpit I screamed as loud as I could. She was integrating me. She was taking apart my mech. She was going to kill and eat me.

"Shhhhhh, its okay. I have you now. It'll be okay now"

Her attempt to calm me over the screaming of plasteel as she pried open my cockpit directly into hers had me scrambling for emergency liquidation. Fumbling with that latch, I had almost gripped the handle of the pistol before her hand caught my wrist and pull it above my head.

"Just relax. I have almost got you~"

She was so thin, how was she this strong. Did her muscle not atrophy somehow? Her neural uplink cords were dangling down into my cockpit along with the drip of some unidentified liquid. She was on top of me. Her eyes where wild and she had so many auxiliary implants. The noise was starting to become lines of machine code. So many types spiraling into a single string. I squirm in my chair trying to get free. I could feel my struggling. I- I could feel her feeling me. Feeling me feeling her feeling me feeling her feeling me feeling her- AAAAAAAAA too much, it was too much. My ears were starting bleed I could see/feel them red/blood/life. She/I/we was/are happy/scared/dying. A/Not monster/angel/pilot burning/healing. I couldn't no I had to break the link. She was smiling. damaged. A stained glass beauty of scars and implants. Together. No. Together. System online. All four arms functional. Core radiation at elevated levels. Please Stop. TOGETHER. I was scream I don't remember when I started I- I don't remember- I don't remember. We were together.

Something snapped and my body went limp. Cool logical machine processing making up for all the broken thoughts. She was nuzzling into my chest, cooing gently.

"It's okay. I'll be here while you put all the pieces back together. Computer, slave her neural implant to weapon systems. Lets show our girlie some fun!"

She let out a howl like a wild animal while we sprung in movement. Targets on radar. Weapons ready. She curled up in my lap, kissing at my neck.

The pilot would find that pleasurable.

The Covenant had other things to process.