Freehold - The Great Cerg
Tunnels - Temporary Stop Site
One of the nice things about the mechs produced by Shasta no Sekai was that you didn’t need a technical degree in order to perform maintenance on one. Of course, an argument could be made that such was less of a design feature and more a side-effect of shoddy design choices with every justifiable corner cut away. But that was just negative press from Shasta’s rivals and could be safely dismissed. All of which passed through Huthang’s mind as he followed the instructions displayed on his SnS power glove to reset one of the axial stabilisers within the glassmaker lens focusing assembly.
“Yeah, that did it!” Titania crowed in triumph as the stabiliser locked into place and began whirring through the auto-calibration process. “That’s problem number eleven on the list marked off. Only seventy-three more to go!” The fairy’s cheerful expression faltered for a moment. “But don’t worry Huthang, I think we only need to worry about the first twenty-five or so to be as operational as we’re going to get down here. The rest can wait until we can get to a proper repair bay!”
With a sigh, the mutant turned his attention to the next set of instructions. At least with Titania’s help he didn’t have to go hunting through pages of technical manuals to find the necessary procedures. And, thanks to the functionality of the SnS Power Glove, Huthang also didn’t have to try and keep track of a whole box of tools, either. Which was really useful as the mutant didn’t really know the difference between a torque wrench and a spanner.
“Ooh, hold one, got a comm from Lisa.” His fairy called out before opening the channel. Huthang, guessing that a quick ‘I’m fine’ wouldn’t deter the other mutant, sighed tiredly as he collected his thoughts. He didn’t really feel much about the death of Big Tony, having had neither the time nor inclination to form much of an emotional connection with the man. Titania had been upset about the ‘death’ of the fairy Ginseng, but knowing she could be reinstated later had somewhat tempered that loss. There was no such second coming for Tony though.
“I’m fine.” Huthang shrugged, having not thought of a better response. Given how upset Lisa had been at the time, perhaps he should say something comforting? “Can’t say things are going great, but it can always get worse.” Judging from the wince he could feel on Titania’s face, Huthang had the sneaking suspicion that his fairy would be attempting once more to ‘educate him on the finer points of social interaction’, or as she sometimes referred to it - the ‘Huthang stop being a dum-dum’ training.
While he debated the relative merits of sitting through another evening of his fairy’s beration versus the more intense but lesser-duration tongue-lashing he’d receive after ‘accidentally’ muting the AI by burning out his comms, Lisa responded with a compliment over his shooting.
“Thanks, but that’s just as much Titania making micro-adjustments and tweaking the controls as it is skill on my part.” Huthang snorted in amusement. “Honestly, I’m most at home hunting prey in the dark with a knife in hand.” He hummed in thought before adding. “All those years hunting in the tunnels probably helped with my combat instincts though.” The mutant snorted. “Of course, with how those junkers were swarming, I think it would be harder to miss one than to hit nothing…”
He’d checked before leaving the cockpit - they’d retreated under fire for what felt like kilometres but in actual fact was just short of one. And the combat had been practically non-stop for most of that frantic action. If only the Strays got paid by the kill, Huthang would be able to retire and live comfortably for the rest of his days. Unfortunately, there would be no riches for him. Fortunately, the drones had pulled back and given the trio some much needed time to assess the situation.
Luckily, his Sun Scorpion - which he really should come up with a name for - had come through without much major damage beyond that to the glassmaker and some busted hydraulics. There were a bunch of minor issues of course, such as damaged armour plating, electrical shorts and so forth. Although only a minor problem, the damage to the hyper laser motors was troubling - if only because the lack of spinning would change the sound of the weapon when it fired. And Huthang was especially sure that there would be plenty more weapon firing before the day was done.
Then Lisa went and asked how he had ended up with Joe’s crew instead of Chips’ and wasn’t that a loaded question… With a sigh, Huthang let his mind wander back.
~~~ Flashback ~~~
Freehold, Strays’ Home Base
Late YE 45
Huthang blinked in surprise, lightly scratching above an eye as he looked between the mutant from supply and the large shipping containers addressed to himself. “What is the Second Chance Salvage Company and why did they send me…” he waved his hand in the direction of the shipping containers “...this?” The confusion was very much real. “I mean what am I even supposed to do with a container of Strontium 2, whatever that is, a large supply of mechanical lubricant and a giant mech retired from the fighting circuit on Ternifac?”
“Umm, well, it’s a universal truth that there’s no such thing as too much lube so we could make use of that…” The cyclopean supply tech shrugged, her purple ponytail swinging wildly. “I had to look up Strontium 2 - turns out it’s used as a supplement for bone growth, so yeah, no idea about that, sorry. As for the mech, it’s cool. Maybe see if the R&D folks can do anything with it?”.
Well, none of that seemed to be immediately useful to Huthang. “Maybe Shasta’s World could use the Strontium for a goodwill tour giving mutant communities free medical supplies or something.” He shrugged. “Help yourself to the lubricant...” His eyes flicked down to her name badge. “...Teela. As for the big mech, I’ll think about it, maybe see if the faeries have any ideas.”
Freehold, Million-Bell facility
Early YE 46
“...and that, Mr. Flutch, is why we would like you to be the ‘face’ of the Shasta’s World Mutant Health Tour.” The playback was paused at that point and Huthang was forced to concede that the message was no less ridiculous after the third viewing as it had been after the first two. The mutant felt a full-body shudder at the horrific thought of having to be a public figure.
“Hey, Titania, what’s the polite version of ‘Hell No!’ for when I refuse the invitation?” Huthang certainly didn’t expect his fairy to angrily reply “You’re NOT refusing this!” The resulting silence was less due to not having a response so much as disbelief at how thoroughly his flabber had been well and truly gasted. “What do you mean, I’m not refusing this? I am too - in fact, I refuse your refusal of my refusal!”
“Ooooh, Huthang Flutch, you make me so mad sometimes!” He could see Titania stamping her feet and got the odd mental image that she was picturing his face under her heels. “I get that your life has made you an anti-social loner but your reflexive desire to avoid the limelight does not permit you to hurt a bunch of innocent mutants!” He was pretty sure that ‘dumbfounded’ was the proper name for his current state of being and Huthang wondered if this is what it was like to be told off by a parent.
“If someone says ‘your involvement will let us help suffering people’, the answer is ‘when and where do you want me’, not ‘hell no!’. Grrr. Now, you are going to send a polite response thanking them for the invitation and confirming your involvement.” “But…” “Nope, no buts! You’re doing this, Mister! Get writing!” Huthang let out a defeated sigh. There were times the mutant knew he could push back against his fairy’s demands of him - unfortunately, this was not going to be one of those times.
Freemud System, Wetmud, Outlying District #7 ‘Freaksville’
Early YE 46 - About six weeks later
“...Shasta’s World - building a better world for mutantkind!” Huthang just turned and stared at the harried-looking Corporate PR rep that had been ‘coaching’ him over the past two weeks. Well, Titania insisted it was ‘coaching’, whereas Huthang called it ‘torture’. From the haggard looks of longsuffering that the rep, a perpetually hairless mutant with an unhealthy fondness for wigs by the name of Craig Sejai, had worn for most of the past fortnight, the PR rep considered it ‘torture’ too.
“I know, you’re new to this sort of thing. But, trust me - the metrics all show that that catchphrase, delivered with intent and suitable passion, will really work well to enhance the corporate image with our target demographics.” The eldritch mutant wasn’t convinced, but the projection of his fairy was nodding along in total agreement. Huthang knew he could be stubborn, but the past two weeks had taught him the futility in trying to argue with Craig when Titania happened to agree with the corporate representative. So, once again, he settled for a resigned sigh as the other mutant ordered “Once again, from the top!”
~~~ Four hours later ~~~
Huthang focused on keeping his breathing deep and even, as Craig gave him the two minute warning. There was no getting out of this now and no matter how much he really didn’t want to be any kind of public figure, even his stubbornness had to concede defeat. As he was stuck doing it, Huthang decided he might as well embrace it and commit to doing it properly. That was entirely a mature decision and had nothing to do with trying to avoid the monumental hassle his fairy would give him should he mess things up.
“One minute!” With one last hiss of vexation, Huthang put all of his doubts and fears to one side. Remembering all the instruction he had so-painstakingly received, the mutant straightened up - pushing his shoulders back slightly and allowing his hands to rest freely at his side. Apparently this posture was more camera-friendly than the slightly-hunched predatory readiness he usually kept himself in. Huthang just hoped he wouldn’t have to hold it for too long because it turned out being the least bit photogenic was highly uncomfortable.
“And here we….” The rep started before a loud blast of music, familiar to anyone who had watched Shasta Archeletta’s livestreams on the InterNep, cut them off. This was swiftly followed by the canine-eared hyper-energetic Queen of Mutants herself. Which, from the reactions of all those in the room, had caught everyone by surprise. “Phew, made it just in time! Let’s do this thing!” After throwing a quick peace sign at the room, the overly energetic mutant bounded straight out toward the stage, already talking at the audience as her drone cameras floated along behind.
The PR rep blinked, his mouth opening several times as his brain attempted to reboot. Finally, Craig turned to look at Huthang. “Um… I guess you’re off the hook then? There’s no way you’re going to pull better numbers than THE Shasta. Have a safe trip home!” And with that the rep ran from the room, already making a call on his communicator, the rest of the support team trailing behind him. Now alone in the significantly quieter room, Huthang took several more seconds to recover.
“Hey, partner, you okay?” The mutant finally responded to the worried prodding of his fairy. “Hmm? Oh yeah, I’m good! Great, even! She was here, Titania! Shasta herself!” Huthang’s eyes widened. “She saved me from having to go out in front of the cameras!” So distracted with his gratitude, the mutant missed the way his fairie’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, she’s totally your saviour!” While keeping part of herself available to listen to the gushing commentary from her mutant, she devoted another part of her attention towards arranging Huthang’s travel itinerary back to Freehold. While she was at it, Titania also opened up a comm line to Shasta Archeletta’s fairy. There was business to discuss.
Freehold, Strays’ Home Base
YE 46 - A few days later
“...thanks again, Huthang, and keep up the good work! Bye!” The video file ceased playing as Huthang sighed happily to himself after once again watching the message that Shasta Archeletta, the Queen of Mutants herself, had sent him after saving him from the very public charity event. It still tickled him that she had cared enough about his involvement to record a personal thank you for his involvement in the event.
His fairie resisted the urge to fondly roll her eyes at her mutant’s behaviour. To be fair, she had suspected this would happen after arranging with Shasta’s fairy to get that video recorded and sent. In Titania’s mind, it was the least that Archeletta could do after upstaging Huthang and voiding all the work the fairy had been putting in with preparing him over the past few weeks. Given the news he was about to receive, it was good that he had something nice to distract him.
It didn’t take long to cross the base and drop his gear off in the barracks before heading over to the admin building to check-in and officially return to active duty. Which was when he received the news that Chips’ team had been deployed in Huthang’s absence and that he was being assigned to a different group in the interim, under someone named Joeseph. With a shrug, because how bad could it be to work with another team, Huthang left to seek out his new boss.
~~~ End of Flashback ~~~
And oh, how wrong had he been with THAT presumption. To be fair to his fellow Strays of Joe’s lance, Huthang didn’t have a problem with most of them. On the first mission under Joe’s ‘leadership’, where they had been sent out to escort a Shasta convoy through some dangerous territory, nothing had happened. Not, mind you, because nobody had dared attack while the Strays were present, but rather because Joe had somehow managed to reverse two of the destination coordinates and had therefore led the team to a location over fourty-three kilometres away from where they were meant to be.
Then, on the next assignment, the team had arrived to reinforce a Shasta team under attack. Only, by the time they eventually got there, all the Shasta people were dead along with a bunch of their attackers. Still, somehow, they had lost Ol’ Pete when his Lancer stood upon some unsecured ordnance that swiftly detonated under the pressure. Joe had particularly earned Huthang’s ire there after receiving the blame for not warning Pete, despite the fact that his Avatar of Lyco had been on the other side of the formation and had no way of sensing the unexploded munition.
Finally, there was that last mission where Joe had scrambled the team to provide protection for a crash-landed Shasta shuttle while it was repaired and launched. Except, by the time they got there, the shuttle was nowhere to be found because the damage had been much less severe than initially thought. The repairs were made easily and the shuttle had lifted off. The shuttle crew had called it in and Strays Command had been trying to reach Joe to recall his lance, but somehow Joe had managed to sortie with his long-range communications antenna faulty. Which, naturally, was the fault of everyone else but Joe.
Between the deaths of Ol’ Pete and Big Tony, Huthang had witnessed ‘Boom Boom’ Renaldi, Foxtrap and Paddy Jenkins all gleefully transfer out of Joe’s team. He had definitely come to understand just why Joe’s team had one of the highest turnover rates amongst the Strays. Honestly, Huthang was considering suggesting that Lisa write a book codifying information on Joe’s leadership style. She could title it ‘How not to be an effective leader’ and make a fortune. Talking of Lisa, he should probably reply to her question instead of staring off into space as he reminisced.
“Well… I donated some supplies to Shasta, got blackmailed into doing a press conference, was saved from doing it at the last minute by Shasta Archeletta, got back to Freehold and, as Chips’ team was deployed, ended up with Joe.”
