Vortex Stingray (The Guardian Covenant Book 2) by Kevin Ikenberry

Author:Kevin Ikenberry [Ikenberry, Kevin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Theogony Books
Published: 2022-12-06T06:00:00+00:00

* * *

“Again!” Zaniah heard Duncan yell from his position on the observation platform.

Getting her feet under the Guardian took a moment, but Zaniah stood up faster than the first six times she’d fallen after lunch. In the spacious hangar, Duncan had arranged shipping containers, unused barrels, and the like into a makeshift obstacle course. After eight runs, she’d managed to mangle half the course. Duncan had laughed and told her she’d have plenty of time to fix it later.

She’d started to question him when he’d said, “Using the Guardian’s hands is a delicate process. I think picking up the mess is very helpful for learning your machine.”

My machine.

“Heading back to the start,” Zaniah called. She stepped the Guardian’s left foot carefully over a few scattered containers. With her foot firmly on the ground, she focused on moving the opposite foot in a controlled and somewhat graceful manner. The maneuver wasn’t exactly second-nature, but she’d improved with every iteration. “I thought the lexicon was shoot, move, communicate?”

“You just want to blow stuff up.” Duncan laughed. “I get that, but my focus is move, communicate, shoot. Guardians are troublesome until you really get a feel for them.”

“Then I’ll be shooting real rounds in a year or so,” Zaniah said with a huff. She reached the starting point and turned the Guardian around to face Duncan’s position at the end of the course. She realized the sun had set outside. The normally bright light from the translucent panels in the roof was gone. She glanced at her wristcomp. The island was still locked down, and opening the bar was out of the question. She could either pilot a Guardian or go home and watch the news and be filled with fear and worry.

“Okay, I’m ready,” she called.

“Hey, Zaniah?” Duncan’s voice was softer now. She realized he wasn’t yelling outside in the hangar but was talking through speakers in Vortex Stingray’s cockpit.

“You had speakers in here the whole time and didn’t bother turning them on?”

“Yelling is more fun. It builds lung volume.” Duncan laughed, and she found herself smiling. “Hey, listen. Just relax. You’re trying to pilot it like a pilot, but you’re wearing it. Stop thinking about flying it and just wear it.”

Wear it.

She nodded and closed her eyes. Zaniah drew a long, slow breath and opened her eyes. “I’m ready.”

“Time starts on your move. Nexus? Engage the tail for balance compensation.”

“Tail?”

Duncan laughed. “She is a stingray, Zaniah. You’ll see what I mean.”

Okay, Zee, let’s do this. She visualized the course and tried to imagine it human-sized, with far less error. What came to mind were the obstacle courses of her youth, made with pillows and toys. She laughed, opened her eyes, and saw the course with new eyes.

Zaniah stepped forward, and the Guardian lurched onto the course. She picked up speed with three quick steps and jumped easily over the stack of four shipping containers. With her feet on the pedals, she flexed and pointed her toes toward the ground, and the giant mecha responded.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.