Mecha Rogue Read Online Free Page B

Union military.
    An otherworldly beautiful receptionist greeted the trio and called a pair of friends to show them to their rooms. Matt looked disappointedly as Michelle and Soto were escorted away down separate wood-paneled halls, and he was directed down yet another. He’d hoped to have a room closer to hers.
    At his door, Matt’s host pressed a wood-and-aluminum access card into his hand, and invited him to call her personal number there for anything. She was a slim, blond-haired woman with sky-blue eyes, attractive in a mathematically perfect way. Matt was too tired to play to her act. All he wanted to do was sleep. He thanked her absently, and she gave him an understanding smile in return.
    His room was huge, at least a hundred square meters in size. On one side, a wall of glass framed Newhome like a photo. Another wall of pale wood unfolded into a full bar, and an inset wallscreen showed neutral scenes of Eridani nature. The bed was so large that eight people could comfortably sleep in it, and the bathroom alone was larger than any quarters Matt had ever been assigned.
    â€œDefinitely a bribe,” he said to himself. But at the moment, it didn’t matter. The bed was perfect, like falling into a cloud.
    * * *
    Matt woke the next day to his Perfect Record. His father’s gift, and his curse—the ability to seamlessly recall every single moment of his life.
    In his memory, Matt was grappling with Rayder on Jotunheim, the lost planet of the HuMax. Rayder held Matt’s Mecha in an agonizing grip, dangling Matt over the edge of a chasm cut into the planet’s burning core.
“Who made the HuMax?”
Rayder asked, his violet and yellow eyes burning with superhuman passion.
“None other than your precious Union.”
    The Union hiding evidence of HuMax survival was one thing, but the Union creating HuMax? He couldn’t believe it. The Union was formed as a response to HuMax aggression. The Union had saved humanity. Everyone knew that.
    Just a trick to save himself, Matt thought. And it still didn’t work. In his moment of triumph, Rayder had let his guard down. Matt Merged with Rayder’s Mecha and toppled his adversary over the edge, ending the Corsair’s dreams of Union domination. And avenging his father’s death.
    The memory should have been a happy one, but Matt sat up in the too-soft bed, shaking with angst. All that time chasing Rayder, intent on ending his life. That had given him clarity and purpose. Rayder’s death had cast his whole future into disarray.
    It was nearly noon by the time Matt made it to Pleasure Dome Restaurant. It was raised one story above Mecha Corps’ Shangri-La, with a panoramic view from the gray-green sea to the broad, undeveloped valleys to the west of Newhome. Fluffy cirrus clouds cut broad swaths in the deep blue sky, making the whole scene look like an overly retouched image.
    Around him, couples and small groups sat at tables and talked in low, polite tones. Matt was terrified. This was the kind of place he’d only read about. Where you had to have manners. Where there were protocols and pleasantries. He had no idea how to behave. He’d never been to a place like this before.
    He picked up a leather-bound book and scanned a menu printed on real paper. He didn’t know what most of the dishes were. What the hell was a club Reuben? Or steak Tataki? The brief descriptions below the menu items were flowery and vague. Coming from Union Insta-Pak rations and “what we got is what you eat” in his refugee days, it was overwhelming.
    The pounding in his skull swelled to a new crescendo. Matt gripped his head, willing the Mesh hangover a swift exit. He didn’t belong here.
    A waitress came to take his order. Another pretty girl. This one less otherworldly, with close-cropped black hair and a single silver earring, in Eridani’s sunburst crest.
    â€œComing down off Mecha high?” she asked, giving