Epoc woke up in darkness. Something went beep on the side of her head. She reached up carefully and realized she had electrodes stuck to her temples. Ah. Gently stripping them off, Epoc sat up and looked around. She was in a darkened room, though as soon as she sat up, a small light beeped on the table next to her. 

“You’re awake.” Antimony’s voice chirped from the little communicator. “I’d be there, but I’m afraid I’ve been pulled away on some urgent business. I’ve taken the liberty of dressing you, but you’ll find there’s a wardrobe in your room. Take a minute to get your bearings. According to your vitals as of… thirty seconds ago, you’re still waking up.”

Epoc picked up the communicator. “Should I not have taken the electrodes off?”

“Oh, that’s fine. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Don’t worry, we’re not plugging anything into you without your permission.” Antimony left the slightest pause, as if she was waiting for Epoc to laugh. “Anyway, you have another fourteen hours to change your mind. I recommend you take a tour of the facilities. Meet the other Hounds. It goes without saying you can’t leave the premises. That’ll void the contract. How are you feeling?”

“Still a little overwhelmed.” Epoc stretched. She’d signed the contract almost on a whim but… She felt something stir when she remembered the events immediately preceding the signing. “Did last night really happen?”

“It did,” Winter said. “You were very eager. You can talk to the other Hounds about it, but that’s it.”

“Part of the NDA?”

“Bingo. The Cats know about the indentured contract, but they don’t know about our… proprietary technology. They just think we put something in your heads to keep your brains from liquefying.”

Epoc frowned and touched her temple. There was the slight indent of the electrode where she’d slept on it, but no seams or anything. “Uh,” she said, “do you?”

“Bodily integrity is guaranteed,” Winter said. “We guarantee that nothing enters your body without written consent beforehand.”

“But if you own me, can’t you just make me sign a consent form?”

“No. That’s a part of the main contract. Don’t worry. You’ll have plenty of time before the second signing. The first one’s mostly for show anyway. There’s a copy on the desk if you want to have a look right now. Just for you to rifle through. There’s some things that need negotiating.”

“Oh,” Epoc said. That was a relief. “Are you going to be on the line all day?”

There was a silence on the comm that seemed to stretch out uncomfortably, until Winter’s voice came back. “Would you like me to be?”

“Oh, I didn’t mean–”

“Epoc,” Antimony said, “if you decide to stay with us, you’ll be wearing a cuff like mine. If you decline the aural implant, the cuff will function as a communication device. I will always be reachable. No matter what. But right now, if you want to explore in peace and quiet, that’s an option. Did I address any questions you had about this subject?”

“Yeah,” Epoc said. “Yes, you did. Thank you.”

“Very good,” Antimony said as Epoc stood up and held out the communicator in front of her to illuminate the room, and saw a button by the door. 

“So what d–Fuck.”

“What’s wrong, Epoc?” Antimony’s tone shifted immediately. It was razor sharp. 

“Nothing. Smashed my shin into what I think is a solid glass coffee table. Sorry.”

“Ah. Go see the doctor. I’ll let him know you’re coming. Press the blue button on your communicator and it should highlight which of the lines on the floor to follow to his office.” Epoc paused, but decided not to argue. If she was going to be company property, it only made sense that she shouldn’t be damaged. “If I can ask, Epoc, which is it?”

“Hm? Which is what?” she asked when she finally managed to get the light on. The first thing she noticed was that there was a desk lamp next to the bed that she had managed to miss completely. She swore under her breath, turning the phone away from her mouth when she did.

“Do you want me to stay on the line or give you privacy?”

“I think, if I take the job, it’ll be my last day where I’m not on call, so I think I’ll go with ‘reachable but not unreasonably so.’ Sounds reasonable?”

“Perfectly. Do go see the doctor. I insist. I sent the directions to the communicator. Anything else you need?”

“I could eat,” Epoc said, putting a hand on her stomach. The image of Antimony’s fingers tracing her skin flashed across her eyes and she shuddered briefly. 

“There’s a mess hall but I can have someone bring you something if you want to.”

“No, no. I think it’s a good idea for me to meet the rest of the team and where better to do that than at the cool kid’s table, you know?”

Winter paused again. “I don’t. I’ll trust your instincts. I’m going to hang up now.”

“Okay,” Epoc said and put the communicator down. She looked down at what she was wearing. A zipped-up hoodie over a tank top, with loose fitting, comfortable pants. Basically pajamas. Everything in the Mako Group’s signature blue colors. 

Still, they had pockets. She put the comm away and explored the room. There wasn’t a great deal to it. Desk, with, indeed, the promised contract. It had a built-in monitor she could use, which was nice. It looked detachable too. There was the wall closet, which had neatly folded stacks of clothes. 

Epoc decided to just stay in the clothes she was wearing and just put some socks and sneakers on. No need to go crazy. 

Leaving the room, she realized she was in a living room. There was someone sitting on the sofa. She couldn’t have been older than 24, and was currently playing something on the console across from her. As soon as she saw Epoc, she went from horizontal to vertical while barely making any of the necessary steps in between. 

“You’re awake!” she shouted. “Yo! Aaliya! She’s awake!” 

Epoc saw two doors along the same wall as the one she had just exited, and realized these were probably the Hound quarters. That meant that the excitable girl and this Aaliya were going to be her colleagues. One of the other doors opened and a woman with the most amazing breasts Epoc had ever seen stepped out. She noticed the breasts first because they were the first thing that came through the door, and because they were fully naked.

“Yeah?” Aaliya said, rubbing a towel through her hair, the other holding up a larger towel around her waist. She looked at Epoc. This woman’s scars had scars. Her muscles had muscles. She had laugh lines bisected by what looked like shrapnel. One of her eyebrows was basically missing, and that eye was a different color. She was missing at least two fingers. She was one of the most beautiful women Epoc had ever seen. 

“hhh,” Epoc said.

“Hey. I hope you don’t mind. I just got out of the shower. Nice to meet you. I’m Aaliya.” She stuck out her hand. The one that had been holding the towel at her waist, which was now just being held together by forces beyond mortal ken. 

“Gnk-” Epoc said, then she swallowed and shook the hand. “I mean no, I don’t mind. Just a little shocked.”

“You can be weird about it!” the younger woman said. She was upside down in an armchair. “I am! She’s okay with it!”

“It’s true,” Aaliya said. “I have an exhibitionist streak. Kind of a requirement for this job.” She went back to drying her hair. It went past her waist. “Anyway, you’re on your probation day, yeah? Take your time, babygirl. It’s a rough job, and it’s not for everyone. Only take it if you’re sure.”

“Oh, don’t let her scare you. She’s on round two!”

“Excuse me?” Epoc said. “Is that true?”

“Yes,” Aaliya said. “I was her age when I did my first double decade contract. I’m two years into my second.”

“But… don’t you get to own your own Frame if you complete a full contract?”

“Yeah,” Aaliya said. “But have you considered–” she held up several fingers “– two Frames?”

“She’s got a point,” the younger woman said. “But that’s not the only reason, is it?”

“Nope. This job is my life and I wouldn’t give it up for the world.”

“Sorry,” Epoc said. “What’s your name, by the way?” 

The girl slid out of the chair like she was made of liquid, crawled back upright, and scurried over, sticking out a hand of her own. “Hex,” she said. “Hexacorallia, but that’s more than a handful. Or you can call me Cora if you want or Hexacora or Coral if you’re weird or Lia if you want to be contrarian or–”

“I’m going to stick with Hex, if that’s alright with you,” Epoc said. “Nice to meet you both.” She put her hands in her pockets. “So… should I do it?”

“Yes!” Hex said. “I’ve been on contract for three years and I love it.”

“You’re not reliable,” Aaliya said. “You like being owned.”

“It’s truuuee,” Hex purred, then pawed at Aaliya, who grabbed her wrist to make her stop. 

“The point is that you should take your time. Epoc, right?” 

She nodded. It made sense they would’ve been briefed on her. 

“How’s about this: tour the facility. Get some breakfast in you. Then you come back here, and I take you for a spin in one of our battlers. See if you like the vibe. If Handler Winter approves, of course. That way you’ll have a pretty good idea of how we do things around here.”

She suddenly stood up straight and her eyes glazed over. After a second, she turned to Epoc. 

“Handler Winter says you need to see the doctor first.”

“Is she listening in?” Epoc asked, a little annoyed at what seemed to already be a breach of confidence. She wasn’t under contract yet.

“No,” Aaliya said. She paused as she was being told more. “No, though she also did just predict you’d say that. She assumed Hex and myself would have kept you from going to see the medic. And, I mean…”

“Handler Winter is never wrong!” Hex said. “Come on, go! We’ll still be here when you get back!” Aaliya nodded in agreement. 

“You should go.”

“Alright,” Epoc said, retrieving her communicator from her pocket and pressing the blue button. It immediately told her to follow the green line. What green line?

“Out of the room,” Aaliya said, and put her hand on Epoc’s shoulder, vaporizing her insides instantly and turning her into a human-shaped juice box. The woman’s grip was like that of a predator. Relaxed, but with enough power to rip her in half the way Epoc assumed she could do to a book. She pointed. “There are colored lines on the walls. The communicator knows where you are. Follow the right line and you’ll be fine.”

“Gotcha,” Epoc whimpered and made for the door. Behind her, she heard the other two talking. 

“I should teach you a lesson for behaving like that in front of a potential new hire,” Aaliya said. 

“Oh noooooo,” Hex whined. “Not punishment for little old meeeee.”

The next thing she heard was the voice being abruptly interrupted as she was yanked into Aaliya’s room. Those two seemed pretty close. Epoc wasn’t going to make any assumptions there. 

A visit to the doctor where she turned out to be completely fine later and she explored the facility. Mako Group’s hangars were huge. 

She got a chance to take a peek at Reefdancer – Nexus Alpha’s older sister – as she stood in her own hangar. She was a little shorter, and had blue stripes across her. Thick thighs and a massive forearm. This thing punched. She was told it was Hexacora’s. 

The last one, then, was Aaliya’s. The hangars were positioned in a three-pronged star, with most of the living quarters in the middle. Aaliya’s Frame was the shortest of the three, by far, and was jet black. The shoulder-mounted guns made it look like it had three heads. Her name was Cerberos. 

Epoc also found out that Nexus Alpha was a temporary name. Her first Hound would get to name her. That was an impressive honor. 

 

The rest of the complex wasn’t nearly as interesting to her as the mechs, but she roamed the place for several hours anyway, until finally she sat down in the mess hall. Diana waved her over and stood up from the table of what were obviously fellow mechanics. 

“Hey!” she said. “You’re still here.” She slapped Epoc on the back. “Good to see.”

“Yeah,” Epoc said. “But I’ve got some time to decide if I think it’s for me.”

“That’s a good thing,” Diana said. She walked Epoc over to the trays and then down to where food was served. “But, uh, look, can I be honest with you?”

“Of course.”

“You already know what you’re going to do, kiddo,” Diana said. “Take the stew. Always do. These two assholes know their spices.” She pointed at the cooks with her plate, who gave her a grin back and ladled food onto it. “Skip the bread rolls though, they’re overdone.”

“That was one time, you whore,” one of the cooks said and laughed. “Don’t listen to her. I make them myself in the morning.

“Fine, but try them at your own peril.”

“I think I will,” Epoc said, smiling as she got her own food, still thinking on what Diana had told her. “And… I think I will. About working here, I mean. But Aaliya offered to try out a…  battler? One of those. I’m not sure I’m familiar with them.”

“Oh, fuck me,” Diana said, sitting down at a table, and Epoc joined her. Several engineers and pilots sat down around her, eager to get to know the new blood. “That bitch needs to talk to me before she decides that shit.” She poked a piece of chicken with her fork. “A battler is basically a Frame custom built for sparring. They’re not fit for duty but they pack a fucking punch. And I usually get to fix them.” She looked around. “Well,  you know, the team.”

“Wait, Aaliya is taking the battlers out?” Two of the other engineers groaned and one of them got up like she needed to make sure the stove was off. 

“Yo,” one of the other pilots said, pointing at Epoc, “are you really going to take her on?” She had a patch with an emblem of a Cat on her arm. The tag on her jumpsuit read her name as Oona. 

“I guess so,” Epoc said. “I don’t really expect to be able to put up a lot of a fight. She’s got, what, twenty-two years of experience?”

“Damn,” Oona said, running her hand over her head. “Still. Rather you than me.”

“Well, you’ll have an audience,” Diana said. 

Everyone introduced themselves to Epoc, who returned it, and people briefly shared their histories. How they got to work for Mako Group. All of them talked about the company with a kind of reverence you didn’t usually see in corporations like this. They were all motivated, and talked about the company’s successes like their own. Dinner was, all things considered, a very pleasant experience.

“So,” Oona finally said, “think you’ll be a Hound?”

“I guess,” Epoc replied, “I’ll know after I get in the battler. I haven’t been in a live cockpit in ten years, so maybe I’ve been kind of overhyping it in my head, you know?”

“Nah,” one of the other pilots said. “I’ve only had the chance to take Sierra Nova out for a spin once. I had to lie down for two days but it was the best thing in the world.”

“You all think I should do it?”

Diana put a hand on her arm. “You wouldn’t still be here if you didn’t think you should. And what we think doesn’t matter at that point.”

Epoc nodded. She wasn’t wrong. She stood up. All that was left to do was to get her shit kicked in by Aaliya.