GOLEM

“The system check is suboptimal Carlos”

“It's fine Miranda, it's the best we're gonna get in these circumstances; Golem can take it”

“Well you're not the one piloting a 50 tonne walking coffin.”

“...ok....” Carlos paused sincerely “ do you want to scratch the mission?”

Miranda sighed, all across the board she was seeing a lot of yellow where there should have been green. But if they didn't take on missions, they wouldn't have the money anyway, to fix up their mech, Golem. And it was always a stain on a team’s record to scratch a mission, no matter how dire. “No Carlos it's fine, you did the best you could, Golem CAN take it.”

“PFT I done did the best anyone could, that's why we call it the Carlos maaaàagiic”

“You’re lucky it's just a short mission” Miranda dismissed halfheartedly. In reality the trio of them were some sort of magic. The youngest mercenary pilot currently operating, an engineer wiz, and an outdated Mech held outwardly held together by dreams and sheer determination. And yet they were solo operators, not tied down by any country or corporation.

“You ready to launch?”

Miranda took one last look around the Golem's cockpit. “Ready!”

With that, the safety restraints were released and the mech sprang out from the hanger and onto the deck of their ship - A greasy unassuming rustbucket of which they called home. It had taken them close to shore, and it was a short hop through the water to reach it.

Immediately there was action on the beaches as automated turrets, reacting to the substantial heat signature of the golem, activated and began spewing rounds into the air. Miranda reacted in an instant, leaping away from the ship to draw their fire before rushing down turrets. Low caliber ammunition petered harmlessly off of their armor as the distance was shortly closed. Like a farmer pulling a carrot, Miranda plucked the turrets out of the ground, causing a shower of sparks to rain down into the sand.

Then it was silent for a moment.

“Carlos...”

“Sorry sorry, I forgot to scan for targets.”

In the distance, over a short craggy ridge, an alarm began to blare, piercing the silence.

“Well I was hoping for the element of surprise" Miranda willed the Golem forward, bringing their main weapon to bear at the ridgeline; A massive railcannon affixed to the right arm of the mech, it required both arms to stabilize, but it was capable of putting a hole in just about anything light enough to actually move.

On cue a small mech, barely 10ft tall, a three legged body supporting its main gun, erupted out from over the ridge, ready to bring its own gun down on the Golem; but it was too late. After a soft whine, followed by a mighty boom, the small mech had turned into a moldering crater of molten metal as round the size of a small microwave passed straight through the cockpit.

Miranda pressed the advantage, charging up the ridgeline, stopping just short of the top. Neither side would dare crest the top a second time, it would be suicide.

“Carlos give me a smokescreen.”

“Heard, mam yes sir!” From within the ship, Carlos flipped a switch, and from the deck of the ship a large beacon rose and began to vibrate with a verdant intensity. Across Miranda’s console lights began to flicker and buzz and briefly she wasn’t able to even see out of the cockpit camera. The effect would be worse for the enemy, who wouldn’t be properly shielded against this kind of attack.

The Golem launched over the ridgeline, a group of 4 Mechs, bipedial, holding rifles, stood dumbfounded at the bottom. Immediately one was slagged by the railcannon as Miranda slid down the ridge into the middle of the remaining mechs. By then their systems had come back online and they realized that they couldn’t fire on this intruder without hitting each other. Miranda did not have this problem.

Immediately the Golem pounced onto the closest target, ripping the rifle from its hands and spraying it into its legs, dropping the mech to the ground.

From behind one of them pulled out a heated combat knife and charged, but was quickly parried away by the barrel of the railgun.

The final target panicked and stood their rifle raised and ready to fire.

Miranda kicked into the combat knife wielder, pushing them back into the final target. All before bearing down the railgun and skewering them both with a round.

There was a scraping sound and as Miranda looked down she saw the mech whose legs she had taken had grabbed onto her foot. Scrapping the paint and denting the armor.

“Dammit! It was almost a perfect mission” She said before stomping its head with her other foot.

---

ENEMY FORCES NEUTRILIZED

MISSION SUCCESS.