Radolaria was kind enough to connect me to her LIDAR sensors so I could get a good look at the incoming enemy.

Now, when thinking of the phrase “sensor sweep” I was expecting some kinda cool holographic popup that showed the invading ship in detail, maybe with little text tooltips describing its weapons, capabilities and so on. Instead what I got was… a blob.

Yup, a green blob. Surrounded by a faint mist of swirling dots. How mundane. It looked like one of those old oscilloscope RADAR images, only in three dimensions.

The Sarcophage used gravity manipulation for propulsion much as humanity did, so the light waves Radiolaria beamed at them came back warped and distorted. They also had jamming of some sort, further lowering the resolution.

With this scant information, all we could tell was the incoming enemies’ distance, speed, movement and estimated mass. All of which lead Radiolaria to intone the following.

“Based on the enemy’s mass and speed, there is a 94.275% chance it is a cruiser-class vessel plus escort.

Quickly consulting the combat manuals crammed into my head, I discovered standard battle plan called for two full squadrons of 28 Gravity Frames to fight on equal terms with a cruiser-class.

Our ship had four.

We are royally fucked.

*****

244 seconds later, or “4 minutes and 4 seconds later” in non-AI speech, I was once again preparing to launch with Miette sitting snug in my cockpit.

Geh, this is all moving way too fast. I’ve been a giant robot for what… sixteen hours? And already I’m being run ragged! I’m lucky I don’t need to sleep or eat anymore; if I were still human I’d be running on fumes right now!

Hehehehe… running on fumes. That would have been a good pun if I were gas powered!

Alas, my pilot was unable to share in my charming wit because her attention was currently occupied by the video conference combat briefing currently taking place between Radiolaria, herself and the other three presently active Gravity Frame pilots.

As for me, I only got to watch without contributing. Radiolaria had explained the ship at large didn’t know about my presence just yet, and it would be imprudent to reveal it to the other pilots just before a battle. We needed them to fight with clear heads; complex details about sentient robots could wait until later. This meant I could watch the combat briefing quietly but not pop up my adorable face in a chat window and say anything. It felt a smidge lonely.

“As you can see from the LIDAR image,” Radiolaria said, “we estimate one cruiser-class ship escorted by twelve to twenty frame-class craft. We do not have the resources to enact a standard battle plan, so we are instead opting for a two-element reconnaissance-in-force, with artillery spotting as the primary objective and frame-class thinning as the secondary.”

Artillery spotting was one of the many roles a Gravity Frame played in battle. Ships such as the Radiolaria mounted powerful charged particle weaponry that was enormously destructive and could be fired across vast distances, with the beams traveling many thousands of kilometers before losing their potency. However, because the Sarcophage employed some form of jamming which scrambled sensor readings, it was impossible to target this weaponry from beyond visual range, an especially severe problem considering most space battles were fought at extreme distances. Thus, Gravity Frame pilots were given the dubious honor of flying right up to the enemy ships, collecting sensor data on them, and beaming it back to their mother ship via radio waves if the channels were clear, or detachable message relay drones if they were not.

Normally, artillery spotting squadrons would include a two-unit element consisting of a dedicated AWACS Frame and a companion CIC Frame with a broadcasting suite. These would be escorted 12 other Gravity Frames who would protect them. The artillery spotting squadron would be supported by a second suppressive fire squadron, which would focus on thinning the frame-class escorts around the cruiser to give the AWACS unit time to work.

In other words, this battle plan called for 28 Gravity Frames. We had four, and none of them had with AWACS or CIC equipment.

Shit! If we’re going to be so badly under strength the whole time, why even bother having TO&E’s in the first place? I lamented.

Hang on. That was a pretty soldier-like thing I just said, huh? All those combat manuals are going to my head!

BWAHAHAHAHA! Watch out, universe! Sveta the Robot Soldier has come online!

Oh… shit. I should be paying attention to the briefing, huh? Focus, Sveta, focus! I slapped my cheeks to pump myself up.

Radiolaria was explaining the extensively modified battle plan. “You four pilots will split up into two elements. 2^nd Lieutenant Levesque and 1^st Lieutenant Spiteri, you will form the first element. Your primary mission will be obtaining the targeting information and relaying it back to the ship.”

Maurice Spiteri was the highest-ranked member of our little impromptu squadron, which made him the de facto leader. He was a roguish looking figure, well built with sloppy brown hair, hazel eyes, perpetual stubble and a casual grin. He looked like the hero of an action film, a devil-may-care rebel ready to throw fists, but he was apparently a serious enough soldier to be trusted with commanding squadrons of Gravity Frames. According to his annual evaluations, which I quickly scrolled through, he was a competent pilot with above-average leadership skills.

“2^nd Lieutenants Sabina and Genevi Giacosa, you will form the second element. Your primary mission will be engaging any frame-class units targeting the first element. If the situation permits, use suppressive fire to thin out the cruiser’s escorts.”

Sabina and Genevi were a pair of identical twin girls, who distinguished themselves from one another by differing hairstyles and personalities. Both had violet hair; Sabina wore hers pulled back in a ponytail, which apparently suited her sporty personality, and Genevi’s was styled in a short bob, which expressed a more shy and reserved nature. Their eyes were the same shade of violet as their hair, lending them a cool beauty. As sisters who had been born and raised together, they were completely in-tune with each other’s personalities and combat styles, and according to their annual evaluations they made a deadly pair.

Sabina raised her hand. “Oy, I know complaining isn’t going to change anything, but we’re pretty badly under strength for a spotting mission. Shouldn’t we fight defensively?”

Radiolaria shook her head. “Cruiser-class ships outgun us in close-in combat. If we get into visual range, we’ll be torn to shreds by their spines. Our only advantage is the superior range of our positron artillery, but in order to take advantage of that we need a firing solution.”

“Even so, asking us to scout a cruiser with only four Frames, that’s less a mission and more a suicide run!” Sabina objected. Genevi silently nodded.

“Oy oy.” Maurice interjected, grinning. “I thought I trained you two as soldiers, not whiners. You planning on complaining instead of fighting?”

“Maurice, that’s not fair!” Sabina said, puffing out her cheeks. “This mission is insane! We should retreat!”

“Retreat is not an option.” Radiolaria said coldly. “And I don’t need to remind you what the penalty for desertion is.”

“WHOA WHOA WHOA! I never said anything about desertion! I’m just expressing my honest opinion of the situation!” Sabina replied quickly, waving her hands around.

“Retreat IS desertion. Our mission is to hold the Absolute Lunar Defense Line at all costs. Failure is not an option.”

“Right, right, I get it.” Sabina said sulkily. “Sorry if I was out of line, Laria.”

Radiolaria smiled, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “It’s quite alright, 2^nd Lieutenant. The honest opinions of soldiers are valuable, but please do remember your duty when the time comes.” Sabina grimaced in response.

Geh! This atmosphere is way too tense! A hostile work environment!!

And with that testy exchange, the briefing ended.

*****

With the video chat switched off and our Frame waiting in line behind Maurice’s to use the electromagnetic launch tube, I finally had chance to chat with Miette. It was our first moment alone since the talk with the captain. Radiolaria was likely monitoring our cockpit voice recorders, but that was neither here nor there.

“Miette, uh…” I began timidly.

“Hmm?” she responded, her attention focused on checking through my master systems display.

“I’m sorry about what happened earlier. With the captain.”

Miette looked at me and tilted her head on confusion.

“Because… you know… I’m the one who asked you to keep my existence a secret. You got into trouble because of me…”

Miette waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, that? It’s not a big deal. I get in trouble all the time. Besides,” she said, looking directly at my video chat window, “I was doing it because I wanted to, yeah? If anything, I was the one being selfish.”

“You? Huh?”

“Yeah. Cuz I wanted to protect you.”

“P-P-P-Protect?” I said, stuttering.

Miette sighed. “You’re just too damn cute and innocent. I guess I was trying to shield you a bit from the harsh realities of life, yeah? Like a motherly instinct or whatever.”

Cute? CUTE? GAH! I know this is what I was aiming for when I designed this avatar, but hearing her say it out loud just sets my heart aflutter! How long has it been since someone called me cute…?

I had always been a plain-looking girl, or rather a plain-looking middle-aged woman by the time I had died. Nobody had ever called me ugly, but nobody had ever called me cute earlier. I would be absolutely delighted by this turn of events if I weren’t in the middle of a massive alien death war.

Well, I was still delighted. Just a smidge.

“C-Cute… you called me… cute…”

Miette rubbed her head sheepishly. “Ah, well. That’s just how I feel, yeah? Don’t let it go to your head, dork.”

Maurice’s Gravity Frame completed launching ahead of us, and Miette moved me into the launch tube. I twisted the fluttery feelings in my heart into a firm resolve to protect my dear pilot at all costs.

I want to hear her call me cute again! I’m absolutely gonna live so I can hear those words one more time! I vowed.

And so the two of us launched into our second battle together while nurturing a new, precious bond.