Dynamis | Chapter 34 - Cincture

Lilibelle waited with bated breath to see if Karl would lash out. His hands were balled at his sides and his eyes narrowed to slits. Even in the low light of the hangar, she could see the muscles in his jaw tensing and flexing. She raised a hesitant hand to give him a consoling touch on his shoulder, then pulled back and lowered her arm.

“Haron and Donovan, you two should already be well acquainted,” Almezer said.

“Yes, we are. But—” Karl started.

“What is the small fry doing here?” Lilibelle asked as she stepped closer to Karl. Of the two, Kalki was the one she was wary of. “She’s a Stinger operative. What is the meaning of this?”

Almezer brushed a hand over his hair with a sigh. “I don’t know much more than you do. All that I’ve been told is that she is now a Deadeye operative. She’s been granted access to conduct the Dynamic Frames.”

“That’s such bullshit. You expect me to nod my head and pretend everything is okay? Do you take me for a fool?” She glared at Almezer and the two conductors. “What game are you playing?”

“Miss Ashvinau is working under my supervision,” Sean answered as he took a step forward and used his arm to bar Kalki from passing. Kalki’s eyes drooped in such a way that made her look tired. As if the situation didn’t warrant her attention. “Due to a mutual interest in classified information, Kalki Ashvinau has agreed to abandon Stinger in favor of Deadeye. I understand your concern, but she will not be a hindrance during the operation.”

This is so fucked.

Nothing about this situation sat right with her. No one would’ve been surprised if Sean retired, or at least took some time to recover from what had happened to Carly. No matter what his psychological screening said, she knew all too well the pain of losing a loved one.

Anyone with a lick of common sense would know better than to throw Sean back into the fire.

And with this woman, of all people? Have these two even linked together yet?

“No,” Lilibelle said. “I don’t buy it. Bring Admiral Chovek. I want to hear it directly from his lips.”

Almezer wore a difficult expression. He opened his mouth to speak.

“Miss Katsun, you are under direct orders as my subordinate,” Sean said. “If you have further concerns, you can take them up with Admiral Chovek at a later date. But for now, you are to do as I say, is that understood?”

Lilibelle locked eyes with Sean, trying to discern what was going on in there. There was an emptiness that hadn’t been present before. His speech patterns and general body language lended more to a machine than a man. Whoever he was now, it was not the same person she’d spoken with in the hospital wing.

“Trust is integral in any operation. If you want my trust, then you’ll bring Chovek here,” Lilibelle challenged. “Otherwise, I’m not going anywhere.”

Sean narrowed his gaze and at last let his arm fall to his side. “Am I to understand that you are refusing a direct order from your superior?”

Lilibelle glowered. “Oh, so that’s the game we’re going to play, huh?”

“We’re not playing any game, Miss Katsun.”

“Then bring Admiral Chovek here. The least he can do is instill a bit of confidence in the conductors who are expected to work alongside a Stinger operative.”

“Admiral Chovek is currently unable to attend,” Sean said slowly.

“How convenient.”

Sean paused. “I’ll ask again—are you disobeying a direct order?”

Lilibelle huffed an incredulous sigh. There’d be no winning this argument. Like it or not, Sean was the senior officer here, and Almezer would take his side in a heartbeat. “No. Of course not.”

“Then let’s proceed. When we come back, I’ll alleviate any other concerns you may have. But right now, time is sensitive. Every minute we spend here is another minute the Fiend nest grows.” He looked at Almezer. “Doctor—if you would?”

“Wait,” Karl said.

“What now?” Sean practically growled.

“Sean, are you sure you’re up to this? You’ve barely started walking again. After everything that’s happened, I’d have thought that getting back in the DF was the last thing on your mind.”

Lilibelle observed the two men carefully. Deep bags hung under Sean’s scrutinizing eyes. His voice carried the gruff, professional tone she often heard in the voices of higher authority. Men like the admiral and captain. Part of her wondered if she should ask about Carly. But considering the effects that could have, she abstained, for fear that it might reverse any progress he might have made.

No matter what Sean said, anyone with eyes could see that he was troubled.

“I’ve had plenty of time to put things into perspective,” said Sean. “Chovek, Ashvinau, and I had a thorough discussion regarding the current state of affairs. Right now, there can be no greater threat than the Sovereigns, and it’s important that we get new conductors in the Frames as soon as possible.” He leaned his weight to one leg, and for a moment Lilibelle saw a shred of the man she’d met on the day of Karl’s test. “That said, I assure you that I am well equipped to oversee your test.”

“I see,” Karl said with a hint of sadness in his voice. “Then I’ll trust you.”

“Very good. We’ll talk later.” Sean gestured for Almezer to continue. “Doctor?”

Almezer drew a deep breath, nodded his head, then stood between the chaperones and their juniors. “As was said previously, you will be sent to a small nest of Fiends. Your objective is to eliminate the queen by any means you deem fit. Additionally, there will be a bonus reward of credits if you can wipe out the nest in its entirety. To facilitate your communication with your superiors, one-to-one radio communication will be enabled between the two Frames. Do not hesitate to contact your seniors if you suffer any setbacks.”

“We’ll be using radio transmissions?” asked Karl.

Almezer nodded. “That is correct.”

“Excellent,” Daidari said. “This will provide us plenty of opportunities to lay traps.”

“Exactly what I was thinking.” A confident smile tugged at one corner of Lilibelle’s lips. 

“Please use the transmissions wisely,” Almezer insisted.

Sean shook his head. “Don’t worry. I’ve seen Mister Donovan in action. If his partner is anything like him, then I have no doubt they’ll be fine.”

Karl rubbed the back of his neck and Lilibelle half-wanted to kick him in the shin.

Daidari raised her hand. “We have a concern.”

“What is it?” Sean asked.

“Why have we been supplied with a Frame whose only reasonable method of engagement is melee combat? Missiles are not a safe weapon to use in close quarters, which I assume the nest will be mostly such.”

Almezer looked at Sean for an answer.

“This Frame is meant to test your capabilities,” Sean said. “We selected a small nest and provided you with a Frame suited to your combat tendencies with the expectation that you will adapt and learn. The Fiends you’ll face are mostly grunt-class. You may come across solider-class Fiends as well, but our reports state that none of them are capable of ranged attacks or flight.”

“They should not be a threat,” Kalki said.

Lilibelle directed her ire toward Kalki. “Is that so?”

Kalki nodded, and her mechanical eye spun to look at Lilibelle. “Yes.”

“And how is this partnership going to work?” Karl said, gesturing to Daidari and Lilibelle. “There are three of us and only two can conduct a Dynamic Frame.”

“We’ve installed an interface similar to the one used for ridealongs,” Sean supplied. “With the flip of a switch, you’ll be able to swap your current partner. It’s still experimental, though, so use it only if you absolutely need to.”

Lilibelle didn’t like the sound of that. The constant shifting of gravity was already tough enough to deal with during ridealongs, and now they had to worry about the possibility of suddenly being ripped from the Frame’s neurolinking interface?

People aren’t as modular as Dynamic Frames, Lilibelle thought.

“Interesting,” Karl said with a hint of intrigue to his voice. “So, I can switch my partner at any time I want?”

“I helped design the switch mechanism, so maybe I should answer this,” Wrench suggested, raising her hand. Sean nodded his assent. “Yeah, you can switch whenever you want, Karl. But keep in mind that it takes a few seconds before it fully kicks in. It’s not a simple thing, like flipping a light switch. All of the fancy wiring and signals have to recalibrate and adjust for the other partner. That’s not somethin’ ya do in an instant. Do ya understand what I’m sayin’?”

Karl nodded. “Yes. I understand.”

“Good. ‘Cause it could get dangerous very, very quickly if ya ain’t careful. I don’t want you or your partners dyin’ on me and then a lone survivor comin’ back claimin’ I’m the reason for it.”

“I would never,” Karl said with a deep frown.

“They all say that,” Wrench said with a shrug, “but death changes a person, Karl. So please take it seriously. Average time it takes to recalibrate is about three seconds, but I’d give it five to be on the safe side. During that time, control is ripped away from the current conductress. So, if you do switch, make sure you got some other mechanism or system in place to prevent yourself from fallin’ to your death or worse. Got it?”

Karl nodded enthusiastically. “Of course.”

Wrench sighed.

“They’ll be okay!” Jark insisted. “These three are some of the best Deadeye has to offer!”

Wrench frowned. “They’re still newbies, Piston. Good scores or not, they don’t account for anythin’ until they’ve had an actual fight. I might not be a conductor, but even I know that nothin’ can simulate the terrors of a battlefield.” She sighed. “I just wish Karl was the one in the fighter’s seat.”

“Your concern is understandable,” Daidari said with all the elegance and pragmatism of a machine. Really, her and Kalki would make good friends from the looks of it. “Considering that control will be seized in its entirety, it would stand to reason that Karl should be the fighter. That way, he can maintain control while support rights are transferred.”

Wrench nodded slowly, the barest hint of a smile playing on her lips. “Aye, that’s right.”

Lilibelle wondered if they’d gone about their training the wrong way. As loath as she was to admit it, Daidari’s concern was warranted. With Karl’s minimal experience in the fighter seat, transferring him to that position now would be a great way to get themselves killed. If at any point they needed to switch fighters, that would leave them in a precarious situation.

“We’ll make it work,” Karl said with a confident nod. “I promise.”

Lilibelle frowned. Where was his confidence coming from?

“Okay,” Wrench said with a hint of disbelief. “I wish we could’ve improved the model, but we’re workin’ with very little and on a very short timeframe.”

“I know you did great.” Jark flashed a toothy smile. “I know you’re worried, but these kids know what they’re doing.” He shrugged. “They knew the risks when they signed up.”

Wrench shut her eyes and scratched her head. “Mhm.”

“Do we have any further concerns?” Sean asked after a few seconds of silence.

Lilibelle wracked her mind for anything else she could think of. When she couldn’t come up with anything pertaining to the mission, she directed a question at Wrench to sate her curiosity. “In the future, are we going to be conducting Dynamic Frames as a trio?”

“I don’t know,” Wrench said with a shake of her head. “From what I heard, though, Admiral Chovek and Captain Veren are interested in what might be possible if we can design technology to support three conductors.”

“Can that be done?” Karl asked. “Everything I’ve read says it’s impossible.”

Wrench nodded. “That’s been my understandin’ as well.” Then she shrugged and added, “But ever since we heard about your unique capabilities, they’re startin’ to wonder if they should try again and go back to the drawin’ board.”

Conducting a Frame with that witch? Kill me.

“Then I guess that just leaves one question,” Karl said. He took a couple steps forward then turned around to look at Lilibelle and Daidari. As heat rose to Lilibelle’s face, she tried to combat it with a negative memory of Karl. “Who’s leading and who’s taking the back seat?”

Lilibelle and Daidari turned their heads toward one another.

“I’m leading,” they said in unison.

Karl sighed. “I was afraid of that.”