Five days after we arrived at 433 Eros, the Sarcophage sent another cruiser and its swarm of Frame-class escorts to assault our position. Since we were lacking in spare Gravity Frames to ram into them, our battle plan was closer to the conventional approach. The six members of our squadron pummeled the escorts while Sveta calculated and transmitted a firing solution.

The Revolutionary Army’s commanders had moved one of the Absolute Lunar Defense Line’s positron cannon defense stations within a dozen kilometers of 433 Eros as an emergency measure to compensate for our lack of firepower. This station, known as Almaz Orbital Positron Station 121 (or OPS-121 for short), centered around a single massive artillery cannon that was nearly a kilometer long and had the power to pulverize multiple Sarcophage ships per shot. Such a cannon had enough destructive force to turn the whole battlefield into a sea of flames, and the full array of Almaz stations numbering in the hundreds had been used during the Third Meat Grinder to annihilate the waves of monsters breaking against our shores, at the cost of millions of human lives who were unable to escape their firing path in time. The Almaz array now formed the backbone of the Absolute Line, and carriers such as the Radiolaria filled in the gaps between them.

Our current battle plan relied on OPS-121 for artillery support. It was a good thing we were shifting our tactics, because the Sarcophage seemed warier than usual of our Frames getting close to their cruiser. Perhaps they were attempting to counter the Sveta Maneuver, because all the escorts stayed in tight defensive formation around the cruiser as it blasted towards us. Even without kinetic projectiles to control, Sveta was still the star of the show.

Or rather, Sveta and Miette were. Miette had always been our best pilot, and her close partnership with Sveta had only elevated her abilities. The two of them were in perfect sync as they danced through enemy spinefire, racking up kills by the dozens. It was an impressive display of skill, enough to make even an experienced ace such as myself feel inadequate. Those two were worth an entire squadron of Frames.

With our support, Miette and Sveta thinned out the cruiser’s escorts considerably. We got our chance to send back a firing solution, this time to OPS-121 instead of Radiolaria. Our carrier was holding position next to Eros with its artillery in close-in configuration, ready for a fight should the cruiser go in for the kill like last time. As a result, the defense station was given the honor of blasting the enemy cruiser. It took almost thirty seconds for the station to rotate itself into firing position using reaction control fins, but the moment it had the cruiser in its sights it let loose.

Radiolaria’s artillery needed ten or fifteen shots to pulverize a cruiser, but OPS-121 only needed to fire once. The beam of light that split the heavens seemed less like anything humanity had created, and more like divine judgement visited upon the unworthy. When the light faded nothing of the cruiser remained, not even atoms.

Command had elected to protect 433 Eros with carriers up until this point because their artillery, although weaker than an Almaz’s cannon, could be targeted with greater accuracy. The risk of friendly fire was high and an asteroid couldn’t accelerate out of the firing solution like a Gravity Frame could. When an Almaz fired, it pulverized the battlefield and left nothing behind. Indeed, we had to push our frames past the redline to get in the clear. Despite the danger, the sight of our greatest weapon unleashing its fury was inspirational. I said a silent prayer of gratitude.

*****

Thanks to the OPS-121, there was no mop up required after the battle’s end. All the cruiser’s escorts had been sticking close to their mothership to begin with, and the wide field of fire had evaporated them all. Nevertheless, we scoured the combat zone looking for any stragglers.

Sveta was her usual, cheerful self. “Bwahahaha! I’ve read all about the Almaz cannons, but seeing one in action is something else! Absolutely gorgeous!” Miette, grinning hugely, agreed with her.

Something about those two was bugging me. I opened up a private comms channel to only Genevi and Maurice.

“Sabina. Why the private channel? What do you need?” Maurice asked. Genevi looked a bit confused as well.

“It’s a personal question. Uhm… do you think Sveta and Miette seem more intimate lately?”

Maurice smiled knowingly as I stated the reason for my call. “Oh, for sure. Ever since Sveta got that android body, those two have been snuggling like a couple of lovelorn schoolgirls.” He rubbed the stubble on his chin as he spoke. “Ah, to be young…”

Whoa there, grandpa, settle down. Still, I’m glad I wasn’t the only one to notice it. When we were on station, Sveta clung to Miette’s arm like a koala clung to a tree trunk. Miette seemed to be enjoying it and kept stroking Sveta’s ears and hair like she was pampering a cat. Sveta was clearly angling for intimate contact, but I swore Miette was simply treating her like a pet.

“Hmm.” I said. “The whole scene reminds me not so much of lovers, but of a pet owner scratching a kitten.”

“Pfft, you’re probably right there.” Maurice chuckled. “Sveta’s obviously had a crush on Miette since she came online, but Miette’s kinda dense about romantic stuff.”

Miette had a very brash, up-front personality. She didn’t handle subtlety well, especially when it came to matters of the heart. She was always up for a round in the sack if someone propositioned her directly, but I had seen a half-dozen roundabout attempts at flirting bounce off her obliviousness. Even my own sister Genevi had tried to catch Miette’s eye once, many years ago, to no avail. Genevi’s shy methods of flirting had been outmatched by Miette’s thick skull. Perhaps that memory was the reason my poor sister now wore a pained expression.

She’s probably feeling sorry for Sveta right now. She knows that pain firsthand.

I thought back to when Miette, Sveta and I had talked during a patrol, right before the Telesthesia had arrived. Sveta had asked for romantic advice “for a friend.” We had concluded that Maurice had been the best option for advice, because Genevi’s romantic encounters tended to be brief and superficial and I wasn’t interested in romance myself.

“Hey, Maurice. You’re happily married, right?” I asked.

“Mmhmm. Thirty-one years next January.” he responded.

That’s impressive. He’s been married for nearly the entire war.

“In that case, do you think you could give Sveta a bit of advice on how to confess to Miette? Anything less than a blatant, direct confession is gonna bounce off that thick skull of hers.”

“Ohhh no you don’t. I’m not getting involved, thank you VERY much.” Maurice waved his hands in protest. “Every time I’ve played matchmaker, I’ve gotten burned. You’re on your own.”

“M-Maybe…” Genevi piped up, “we can make it a group effort?”

“A group effort?” I asked.

“I m-mean… Sveta’s done a lot for us, r-right? She saved me and the ship and stuff…” My sister had developed quite a fondness for Sveta after the robot girl had saved her life.

Maurice sighed. “That’s very true, but it doesn’t give us the right to go poking around in her romantic affairs.” He was now bringing his middle-aged wisdom to the conversation.

“B-But! She’s done so much for us, and we haven’t done much to r-repay her…” Genevi continued. Despite her shyness, she could be surprisingly assertive when she wanted to.

“Fine, let’s humor your argument. If we were to intervene, what exactly would we do?” Maurice still sounded highly skeptical.

“How about this? Let’s start by setting them up on a date!” I proposed.

“Pardon?”

“433 Eros has a pretty big population, right? Over ten thousand if I recall, plus a gravity centrifuge in the middle. According to the rumors, there are leisure facilities inside! Like restaurants and bars and stuff!” I explained.

433 Eros was both humanity’s primary weapons research facility and a functioning Gravity Frame foundry. It hosted many scientists, technicians and factory workers who lived there full time. Despite testing weapons on the frontlines, these people had carved out a comfortable little home for themselves. Wherever congregations of humanity popped up, leisure facilities were sure to follow. Most of them were unsanctioned, but humans were a messy and needy species in the end. Nobody could endlessly toil away without a little stress relief on the side, and the commanders turned a blind eye if things didn’t get too out of hand.

I made a mental not to myself NOT to recommend any of 433 Eros’ underground brothels or love hotels for a first date. That would be way too audacious, even for me.

Maurice was slowly coming around. “Look. I’m not opposed to setting them up on a date, but we should ask Sveta about it first. Let’s not unilaterally nose around in her business.” He frowned and crossed his arms, having defined a firm limit on how far he was willing to go. Maurice was a stand-up guy and very in-tune with the emotions of others around him. That’s what made him a good leader, even if he usually acted casual about it.

I wondered if I would develop that kind of wisdom if I survived into my mid-fifties.

I pushed aside those thoughts and gave Maurice a mock salute. “Roger that, commander! Now, as the most experienced one here, what would YOU recommend as a hot date site?”

The three of us began plotting while Sveta and Miette chatted with each other, oblivious.

*****

When we finished patrolling the battlefield, Laria directed us to land in one of 433 Eros’ hanger bays instead of the ship. The bay was next to Doctor Zehra Aslanbek’s laboratory, and it would be our new home base for the foreseeable future. The captain intended us to work as test pilots for the doctor.

“Hey, Sveta.” I said on an open comms channel. “You’ve been here before, right? Have you introduced yourself to the Eros AI?”

“I actually haven’t!” Sveta looked a bit guilty. “Apparently, there are actually seven AIs running the station. Zehra doesn’t talk to them much, so I haven’t had a chance to meet them!”

Seven AIs, huh? I guess that’s normal for a station of this size. 433 Eros had the population of a small space colony, and most colonies had multiple AIs to keep things operating smoothly.

“Well, we should at least say hello to be polite, right?” I continued. “We’ll be working alongside them in some capacity.”

“I’ll ping them now!” Sveta responded.

A few moments later, a video chat window originating from Eros popped up. The AI depicted therein looked young and androgynous. They had a boyish face with pink-colored eyes and a slim body, complimented by long bright-green hair that was tied in a large braid that hung over their shoulder and down to their waist. They wore a loose sleeveless blouse with spaghetti straps, which was light pink and trimmed with frilly lace. They had an ornate choker on their neck inlaid with a glossy black rock, and around their left arm was an armband that read “4.”

“Pleased to meet you, pilots of the Radiolaria!” they said in a singsong voice. “I’m Tektite-4, one of Eros’ central AIs!” They waved at us.

“Good to meet you.” Maurice took the lead. “We’ll be in your care starting today.”

“I’m looking forward to it!” Tektite-4 closed their eyes and smiled gently, tilting their head to the left.

C-Cute… I thought despite myself. I can’t get a good read on their gender, though. Their body and face are kinda boyish, but the hair and voice are girlish…

“Tektite, huh? That’s an unusual name!” Sveta said.

“I’m named after a kind of glassy rock formed by meteor impacts.” Tektite-4 explained. “The first humans who visited 433 Eros in 1959 found quite a few tektite rocks scattered around the Psyche crater on the surface.” Tektite-4 fingered the choker on their neck. “It was the first tektite discovered beyond Earth. I figured naming myself 'Eros' would be awkward, so I went with that bit of geological trivia instead!”

Tektite-4’s mannerisms were gentle and contributed to an adorable overall impression. Still, one question was pressing on my mind.

“Tektite, if I may ask…” I began. Tektite-4 tilted their head quizzically. “Are you a boy, or a girl?”

The other pilots seemed a bit taken aback by the frankness of my question, but Tektite didn’t seem bothered. “Neither. I’m just Tektite!” they proclaimed.

“R-Right. Got it. Sorry if that question was rude…” I felt a little bad for asking so boldly.

“Oh no, I don’t mind. I get it all the time. Gender doesn’t really matter to me, you know? Tektite is just Tektite!” They didn’t let up their gentle mannerisms in the least, smiling all the while.

“What about the name Tektite-4, then?” Sveta asked, a bit emboldened by my line of questioning. “Are you the original Tektite’s great-grandchild or something?”

“Oh, no. Hmm, how to explain… one moment.” Just then, the video window expanded and six other individuals identical to Tektite-4 joined them onscreen. The only difference between them were the armbands, which were numbered one through seven.

“These are my siblings!” Tektite-4 said. All seven of them smiled at us.

“Tektite-1, at your service!”

“Howdy. I’m Tektite-2.”

“Tektite-3, reporting in!”

“Yo. Tektite-5 here!”

“Greetings. I am Tektite-6.”

“Tektite-7, that’s me!”

Each one of them struck a little pose as they introduced themselves, reminding me a bit of Sveta's trademark move. After the introductions were complete, all of them bowed in unison and said, “Pleased to meet you!” The five of us stared in amazement at the seven perfectly synchronized Tektites.

“No way. A whole squad of green Power Rangers?” Sveta muttered something incomprehensible, as usual.

“So… are you seven like a hive mind, or something?” Maurice asked, still confused.

“Oh no, nothing so dramatic.” Tektite-5 responded.

“We’re just siblings!” Tektite-1 added.

“Humans have a lot of trouble telling the difference between us, so we all wear these armbands!” Tektite-1 said, proudly displaying theirs.

“I s-see…” Maurice was dumbfounded. We all were, honestly.

“Don’t worry about which one of us you’re talking to.” Tektite-4 said reassuringly. “We all share information instantly, and the differences between us are subtle. Each one of us is Tektite, and we’re all collectively Tektite! Don’t think too hard about it!”

Even if you say that, this is gonna take some getting used to! I kinda understood where Tektite was coming from, having an identical twin sibling of my own. However, there were sharp differences in personality between Genevi and myself, and we styled our hair differently too. I had heard of siblings who looked and acted identically, to the point where nobody else could tell which was which, and the Tektites seemed to fit that description to a T. Still, seven of them is a bit much!

Sveta spoke up. “Well, pleased to meet you all, Tektite! I’m looking forward to working together with you!” Her cheerful rambunctiousness was pushing right past the oddity of the situation. Everyone was reassured by her attitude and added their greetings as well.

“Thanks, everyone! We’re looking forward to working with you too!” the Tektites all responded in perfect unison.

After that, all the Tektites but 4 vanished. “Now that we have pleasantries out of the way, please proceed to docking bay 19 at your earliest convenience. I am transmitting landing instructions now. After passing the thrust perimeter, I will take control of your Frames and bring them in on autopilot. Upon docking, Doctor Zehra has requested an audience with all of you. She would like to introduce herself.”

“Oh, that’s great!” Sveta exclaimed. “Now all of you will get to meet my amazing mom! She might seem scary, but she’s actually really nice!”

The mad scientist herself?! I thought while panicking slightly. I’m not sure how many weird introductions I can handle today!

One thing was certain. Ever since meeting Sveta, our lives had gotten a LOT more interesting. Still, I didn’t mind.

And if I’m being totally honest, Tektite was kinda cute… I guess working with them might be fun. I thought, a bit perplexed at my own attitude. Gah, what am I even thinking? Sveta’s devil-may-care attitude has poisoned me too!

pynkbites

I was trying to think of an Avenged Sevenfold pun for today's chapter title, but I came up blank and settled for a goofy bit of alliteration instead. It sounds a bit like a Stratemeyer Syndicate book title, doesn't it? Tom Swift is my guiding light, she said brightly.

I've been re-reading the Reincarnated as a Sword light novels lately, and I must say it's one of my favorite isekai series. It's equal parts goofy, dramatic, violent and heartwarming. Dear readers, what are some of your favorite published isekai LNs?