Pax Machina (Mechhaven Book 1) Read online

  Pax Machina

  Mechhaven: Book One

  Greg Sorber

  Gregeration X Entertainment

  Copyright © 2021 by Greg Sorber

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover by Jeff Brown Graphics

  For my mother, gone much too soon.

  For my father, sisters, and family who cared for her.

  I think she would have enjoyed seeing her imaginative little boy’s dreams come to fruition. May this book be the first of many more to come.

  Contents

  Galactic Primer

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Epilogue

  Next Steps

  Newsletter

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Galactic Primer

  The world once known as Earth, commonly referred to as Old Terra, spawned the civilizations present in the galaxy thousands of years later. By the end of the twenty-fifth century, Earth had reached maximum population capacity and resource scarcity, and thus expanded to the far reaches of its own solar system. Humanity rose to the challenge by colonizing and exploiting the resources of the nine planets, hundreds of moons, and untold numbers of asteroids in the Sol system.

  As always happened when humanity grew beyond its limits, resources became scarce and war ensued. By the thirtieth century, humanity discovered conduits left by ancient star-faring races which granted near instantaneous travel across the galaxy. No longer limited by time, distance, or resources, humans stopped fighting, engaged in their sense of wonder and exploration, and traveled to the far reaches of the galaxy where they established new colonies. Some experimented with alternative forms of government, while others looked to ancient history for inspiration.

  Two thousand years later, those experiments led to four dominant human civilizations. The Imperium was based on the ancient Roman Empire. The Arcturan Monarchies were founded on ideals from the Old Terran Middle Ages and Renaissance. The Alliance of Independent Systems (AOIS) was a hodgepodge of governments working together to advance trade and technological progress. The fourth, TexaNova, was inspired by the Independent Nation of Texas on Old Terra.

  As for alien civilizations, they existed, and humanity encountered them. Yet, they remained aloof, limiting contact to minimal diplomatic exchanges, and trade with a few brave merchants willing to bridge the gap between language, culture, and species.

  For many years, the vastness of space and the abundance of resources kept military conflict limited in scale and duration. Conflicts were contained to a handful of easily accessible star systems. Humanity had always excelled at war, so as technology improved and resources once again became scarce, it returned to its warlike ways. In the year 5,557, The Mechanai War began.

  For reasons known only to themselves, the Imperium expelled TexaNovan colonists from a shared world. This sparked a series of raids and a blockade by TexaNova. The Arcturan Monarchies joined with the Imperium to break the blockade. This partnership forced the Alliance of Independent Systems to come to the aid of TexaNova, plunging all four major civilizations into the quagmire of war.

  Ever seeking superiority in war, the human governments pressed mechanai—or mechs for short—into service. These sentient, artificially intelligent, mechanical beings, many originally developed for construction, mining, and operating in environments too hostile for humans, had no choice but to serve. At the outbreak of war, the four governments raced to convert mechs to wartime use. The militarized mechs were utilized to disastrous effect. Combined armies of humans and mechs wreaked havoc across the galaxy.

  When peace prevailed once again, all sides agreed to reduce their forces, but the surviving mechs posed a public relations challenge. Those converted from civilian models resumed their earlier lives, while others chose disarmament and to have their memories wiped, essentially beginning a new life. A special provision of the peace accords granted the remaining mechs a chance to disarm and keep their memories so long as they never took up arms again. These mechs went into exile on a barren planetoid near the edge of civilization.

  They called it Mechhaven.

  Chapter One

  Excerpt from Head-Archivist Dante Singh’s opening address to the Conclave examining the causes of The Mechanai War

  It is with pure and prudent intent that I open this Conclave to address the causes of The Mechanai War. With the cessation of hostilities now five years past, and the Rybeth Accords in effect for four years, we must do our duty as Archivists to document the causes and consequences of said events. The sooner we undertake this endeavor, the better access we will have to the principal players, as some of them are reaching advanced ages. Remember your oaths as Archivists to document and analyze with impartiality, for your words will influence generations to come.

  Head-Archivist Dante Singh

  Alliance of Independent Systems (AOIS)

  Misty aimed her pistol and discharged a crackling stun bolt at the creature scurrying across the dusty gray landscape in front of her. The xenrat, as the alien life-forms were called, flipped a few times, then landed on its back, unmoving. She holstered the weapon, fetched a grabbing device from the hover truck parked nearby, and picked up the critter. Relieved she didn’t have to touch the xenrat with her hands, she deposited it, along with the others she’d caught, into a container in the bed of the vehicle. She’d deal with exterminating them later.

  “That, my friend, is how it’s done.” Misty brushed off her hands with exaggerated motions.

  A mech, LAR-1606, who Misty had renamed Larry, chased after another xenrat.

  “Easy for you to say,” the mech said as it grabbed the xenrat with its large metal hands, “you’re using a pistol.” A moment later, the creature wriggled free, beginning the chase again.

  Misty shrugged. “I’m only human, so I need every advantage I can get. Besides, I may be the Administrator of Mechhaven, but I didn’t declare Pax Machina.”

  “It’s not fair that Pax Machina forbids mechs from using weapons, while the security bots can use stunners,” Larry said.

  Larry sprinted past the xenrat he chased and slid to a stop in front of it, gray dust spraying from his sliding feet. He slapped his hands to the ground, capturing the creature, but he used more force than intended. Instead of capturing the xenrat, he squashed it. Fluorescent green guts splattered against his pixelated blue-gray camouflage paint scheme. The mech stood, shaking slimy goo from his hands and flinging it in all directions. Even worse than the disgusting slime was the putrid smell. To call it nasty was an understatement.

  Misty held her breath, then reached for a towel and tossed it up to Larry. He was twice her height, average size for a mech. He needed to work on his control, but his speed was exceptional, even for a Light Armored Reconnaissance class mech.

  Larry was new to Mechhaven. He’d arrived the week before; his sensors and subroutines were still adjusting to the decommissioning process.

  “Mechs are se
ntient. Your combat subroutines and wartime experiences make you potential threats. Security bots aren’t sentient, they follow their programming, and my orders without question,” Misty said.

  Larry wiped the xenrat slime from his hands and body, then handed the towel back down to Misty. “Which is why you have mechs chasing xenrats, instead of the security bots, because they aren’t capable of making quick decisions on the fly, right?”

  Misty accepted the slime-covered towel with the grabbing tool and placed it inside the bed of the hover truck. There was no way she was touching that disgusting thing with her hands. Perhaps she needed to requisition a flamethrower.

  “Now you’re getting it.”

  “Hey Larry,” Mechhaven’s chief mechanic, Ajax said, “have you ever viewed video footage of a bunch of security bots trying to wrangle xenrats?”

  “No, I haven’t. Should I?” Larry asked.

  “We have hours of it stored on the network. If you need a good laugh, you can’t go wrong.”

  “I’ll consider viewing that during my off cycle,” Larry said.

  Misty chuckled. She’d viewed that security bot footage, and it was funny. The xenrats were more nuisance than threat, but once they established a colony, their population grew at an exponential rate, and they competed for the meager resources available on the planetoid. Even worse was the trouble they caused when they chewed through power cables or their tunnels damaged the Main Compound’s infrastructure.

  No one was sure how xenrats ended up on Mechhaven, but they weren’t native to the planetoid. Some blamed the first team of xenogeologists, who completed the initial surveys of M3CH-VN. But there had been plenty of other ships come and go over the years that could have replenished the population. In the early days, decontamination procedures weren’t adhered to as strictly as they should have been. Since the beginning, it had been a constant battle to keep the xenrat numbers under control.

  To everyone’s dismay, xenrats themselves were useless as a resource. Their hard exoskeletons were difficult to penetrate and their flesh was inedible. To Misty’s knowledge, no one in the entire galaxy had discovered a use for them. To her and everyone else, they were nothing more than annoying vermin. Even the growlings, the only other major life-form on the planetoid, didn’t eat them. They’d kill them from time to time, but never consume.

  Misty had tasked the security bots with keeping the xenrats out of the Main Compound, but once they were in open terrain, either she or Ajax organized volunteer mechs to flush out and destroy the nests. It gave the mechs something productive to do. With recent arrivals, like Larry, Ajax could watch them in action and make sure they functioned within optimal parameters.

  A crash caught Misty’s attention. She and Larry turned towards the commotion. Another recent arrival, ART-E 507, wobbled as he picked himself up off the ground. Artie, as Misty had dubbed the awkward mech, hadn’t adjusted as well to the decommissioning process as Larry. They arrived on the same transport, but Artie was from TexaNova while Larry was from the AOIS. Artie’s red and blue paint scheme, complete with a giant white star emblazoned on his torso, made it pretty obvious where he was from.

  Misty was fond of TexaNovan mechs, as they were allies of the Alliance of Independent Systems during the war. A bonus was that they were always so polite.

  “Excuse me,” she said, “while I figure out what’s going on with Artie.” Misty pointed toward more xenrats. “Good hunting, but try not to squish anymore. I don’t have enough towels.”

  “Don’t worry about Artie, he’ll be fine,” Larry said as he waved and scanned for any nearby xenrats.

  Misty joined Ajax and the Combat Repair Mech, Doc. “What’s causing the problem?” Ajax asked the mech.

  “Why are you asking me?” Doc shook his head and shrugged. “Sure, I can patch a mech back together in the middle of a battle with quick welds and adhesive tape, but you’re the one that’s supposed to fix them for good.”

  “I know that,” Ajax said, “but you’re more experienced than I am, so I want your input.”

  Misty interrupted. “Doc is correct. What if he wasn’t available?”

  “Okay. I get your point.” Ajax held up his hands in surrender. “I guess that’s why I get paid the big credits.”

  “Yeah. We’re all getting filthy rich serving on this rock,” Misty said, then laughed at the absurdity. Ajax and Doc joined in the laughter.

  “But seriously, Ajax. What’s wrong with Artie?” Misty asked.

  Ajax watched Artie stumbling around in the distance as he tried to catch a xenrat. He’d been at it for forty-five minutes and hadn’t even caught one.

  “Artie’s an Artillery mech. He’s used to bearing a heavy load with his armaments installed,” Ajax said.

  Misty nodded. “During DECOM, you removed all his weapons systems. Shouldn’t he be as agile as Larry now?”

  “I wish it were that simple. Mechs are a complicated fusion of hardware and neurotronic pathways. Their hardware helps calculate their balance and power output based on their load. Their neurotronic pathways are like muscle memory in humans.”

  Doc raised his hand. “Volley is an Artillery class mech, similar to Artie. Why didn’t he have the same problem?”

  “Volley had more time to acclimate to his lighter load. He wasn’t running around chasing xenrats a few days after DECOM.”

  “That makes sense. How will you fix him?” Misty asked.

  Rubbing his chin, Ajax said, “I’ll recalibrate Artie’s primary geospatial compensator. If that doesn’t work, then I’ll also recalibrate the secondary.”

  Misty looked at Doc. “Will it work?”

  “It sounds like a reasonable plan of action.”

  Ajax looked at Misty. “Hold on! Why are you asking him after giving me a hard time about making the call?”

  Misty patted Ajax on the shoulder. “You get to make the call. I’m not an expert mechanic, so I wanted to confirm it was the right one. You need to form your opinion first, then seek other opinions to support or challenge your own.”

  Ajax threw his arms up in frustration. “Misty, why didn’t you tell me that from the beginning?”

  Misty laughed. “Where’s the fun in that? Let’s round up the rest of these critters. I need to get my reports to Therapy before he blows a fuse. You need to get to work on Artie.”

  “Where’d all these xenrats come from?” Ajax asked. “I thought we had their population under control.”

  “I think our alien friend, Chruckariat Metatarsarian, may have forgotten to decontaminate his ship before his last visit,” Misty said. She slammed her fist into the opposite palm. “I’m going to have a nice long conversation with Chuck the next time he returns with supplies.”

  Artie stumbled again, this time landing flat on his face.

  Misty shook her head. “Ajax, take Artie to the Repair Module. I don’t want him doing any permanent damage to himself or anyone else.”

  Artie sat up in the dirt, grabbed a nearby rock, tracked a xenrat, and threw it. The rock sailed in a perfect arc and smacked into the xenrat, knocking it unconscious. Artie repeated the action three more times before he attempted to stand up and retrieve the stunned creatures.

  “He’s resourceful, if nothing else,” Doc said.

  As the afternoon dragged on, Misty realized there were more xenrats than she’d expected. She worried they’d still be chasing the pests into the night when three veteran mechs arrived to help.

  Lancer galloped in on his four legs. His polished metallic skin reflecting Mechhaven’s meager sunlight. He reminded Misty of a cross between a knight and a centaur from Old Terran mythology, but his body was centered above his four legs instead of being perched atop the front two. This gave him incredible agility in battle and could change directions almost instantaneously. Lancer once led the honor guard of High King Servier of the Arcturan Monarchies, but now he was the de facto leader of the faction of mechs Misty called the Villagers.

  Connie zoomed past in her h
overcraft form. She was a converter and could reshape her body into multiple forms. She was possibly the last of her kind. Connie came to a stop and converted into a lithe, golden humanoid figure. She nodded to Misty and executed a playful salute.

  The last to arrive was Bastion. He was a giant mech, standing three times taller than any of the others. Painted in the basic black and gray of the Imperium, he was quiet, but firm in his convictions. Like many mechs on Mechhaven, Bastion had both witnessed and participated in terrible actions during the war. His greatest wish when he arrived was to be left alone. After several attempts to integrate with the rest of the residents, he made his home in an enormous cavern near Crater Lake, far from everyone else. He always helped if called upon, but preferred solitude. That was, until he met Connie.

  Their relationship shouldn’t have worked. Connie’s former loyalties were to the AOIS. Bastion was once loyal to the Imperium. The two shared being among the last of their models in existence. Perhaps that was enough to overcome any earlier enmities. Over time, Bastion and Connie had become inseparable. Misty smiled, knowing she was the one who nudged that relationship into motion.

  “It’s getting dark,” Misty said, looking at the darkening sky. “Can you three help the new mechs wrap this up?”

  “As you wish, my lady.” Lancer bowed and trotted off in pursuit of xenrats. Misty had given up long ago trying to get Lancer to stop using my lady. Trying to get a native of the Arcturan Monarchies to stop using my lady was as useless as trying to get a TexaNovan to give up using ma’am.