“Good, it’s still unsullied,” the man was standing in front of a mechanical suit, peering at his reflection through the glass doors.
“Suit up N-36,” another man’s voice came out of the speaker, this one sounding much more impatient.
“Yes sir,” said N-36. He walked over to a small module attached to one of the doors.
A pre-recorded woman’s voice came out of the tiny speaker, “Please enter name and code.” N-36 pressed the numbers 3-4-2-6. “Please place hand on scanner.” Doing so, he felt a small prick from the needle on the scanner, which drew some blood; the blood in turn landed on the scanner. “Welcome N-36, your mission today will be to apprehend the intruders by any means necessary, do you accept?”
“Yes, I, N-36, accept this mission.”
“Voice signature recognized, opening doors.” A sound emanated from the machinery as the gears began to move, pulling the doors apart. “Now opening hatch,” said the women’s voice again. The front of the mechanical armor slowly opened up, revealing two joysticks, several buttons and switches, and a radar that is used to track heat signatures.
The man from before said, “Go on, get in. We don’t have very much time.” N-36 walked up to the hatch and climbed in. Adjusting himself so he felt comfortable, the man then closed the hatch, completely sealing N-36 in pitch black darkness.
“I hate this part,” sighed N-36.
After what seemed like several minutes, the rear hatch opened up allowing rays of light to pour in the once dark space. Another man got into the back, closed the hatch and said, “Hey, I’m going to be your navigator and rear gunner for the day.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m N-36.”
“Ben, Ben Kosap.” As far as N-36 could tell, Ben was an amiable man who seemed not to have any worries about him; he also had a haughtiness about him that was very unnerving. “Alright N-36, I’m going to switch to the mike and start this baby up.”
“Please don’t refer to the mech unit as a ‘baby’,” said N-36.
Ben chuckled softly until he realized that N-36 wasn’t kidding. “Sorry,” then much more softly, “Geez, you pilots are really no fun after all.” After a couple minutes, a crackling sound came out of the speaker, “Testing, testing. If you can hear me, please respond, over.”
“This is N-36; I hear you loud and clear. Start the unit up so we can go accomplish the mission, over.”
“Roger that, over,” said Ben. Soon enough, the mech unit came to life, the buttons and switches lit up, and both Ben and N-36 could see out of their individual hatches.
Another crackling from the speaker, “So, um, can we get going now? Over.” Asked Ben slightly impatient.
“No, we need to wait for clearance to deploy, over.”
“Ah, I see, over.”
After several minutes, the man in the control room said, “This is Tom from the control room, N-36 and Ben, you have clearance to deploy. Do you need to hear the mission again? Over.”
“Tom, this is N-36, we do not need to hear the mission again but can I ask what exactly we will be pursuing? Over.”
This time the static in the speaker was especially bad, as if to almost obfuscate the intended message, “The intruder seems to be some sort of-” The static managed to completely block what ever Tom was about to say. When it finally cleared up slightly, N-36 heard, “-origins, all you need is to get a visual, then stop it in its tracks, over.”
“Tom, I’m sorry but can you repeat that, we missed the main part of the message due to the static, over,” said N-36.
“Sorry N-36, we have no time, the higher ups demand that you get moving now. However, I will explain to you the weaponry of the mech unit. Please step out of the h-comb, over.” The ‘h-comb’ referred to the container where all mech units sojourned for a period of time.
“Roger that, over.” N-36 put his right foot on the foot peddle, which in turn opened the flow of fuel to the engine. Slowly putting pressure on the joysticks, the mech unit’s left leg took a step forward, then the right; this slow pace continued until N-36 finally got used to the controls of this particular unit.
A slight crackling escaped out of the speaker once again, “There are several weapons: the first, which is the back gun, is the stinger; as you both know, it’s a rapid fire gun with about 250 rounds, over.”
“Nice, this is going to be fun,” exclaimed Ben. N-36 could only roll his eyes, wondering how any navigator could be so immature and hoping these constant vexations would not continue.
“The front weapons consist of several things, on both your right and left arms, you also have rapid fire guns N-36. They are smaller and less powerful, but are more accurate and contain about 350 rounds each. As you know, all reloading is done by your navigator, over.”
“Of course, over,”
“That means your life is in my hands, huh?” Said Ben snickering. “You better be nice to me!”
“You also have five missiles loaded on your back; targeting system is included and done also by the navigator. However, N-36 it is your job to hit the ignition button, please use them sparingly, over.” Finished Tom.
“Any thing else, over?” asked N-36.
“Besides the hover boosters, that is all. Please step into the elevator, and it will take you to the floor with the intruders, over.”
“Roger that, heading over to the elevator, over,” said N-36. Pushing the joysticks forward again, he made his way to the elevator. “Mech unit is now in elevator and ready for transport, over.”
“N-36, you have clearance to begin the mission. Activating elevator, over.”
Feeling the sudden shift in direction, N-36 prepared himself for the fight that was soon to come.


Still in the elevator, N-36 over heard Ben praying to the Mother, the watcher of all, holding some piety and wishing for a safe fight and the guarantee to come back alive and uninjured. Apparently, he wasn’t as courageous as I thought. The elevator came to a grinding halt, interrupting Ben from finishing his prayer. “Opening elevator doors,” said Tom. His voice was faint, as if he was whispering. Are we so far up in the hive that we barely have reception with the control room? The ‘hive’ was the name of the station, which was created by Mother herself. “We will lose connection as soon as you step out of the elevator, comeback as soon as possible.”
“Roger, should we report to this elevator again after the completion of the mission?” asked N-36.
“Yes, when you enter the elevator, we can communicate once again,” said Tom. After a brief pause, Tom said, “Good luck N-36, we are counting on you.”


Once the elevator closed, the hall became pitch dark, most likely due to the intruders who messed with the electrical system. “Switching to night vision mode, over,” said Ben, who suddenly sounded much more serious. After a couple minutes, the hallway turned from pitch black to an eerie green.
“Powering up thrusters. We will proceed at a slow pace until the intruders are spotted, over,” said N-36. With the thrusters to full power, the unit hovered above the ground a couple inches, allowing easy movement.
Pushing the joysticks forward, the mech unit began to move forward at a speed faster than its walking, but still fairly slow.


They slowly trudged through the dark hallway, which was big enough for several units to fit into if needed.
“How does our back look over?” asked N-36 slowly scanning his surroundings.
“So far so good, nothing unusual, over,” responded Ben sounding slightly relieved.
“We are passing by a sub-hallway, see anything?”
“Nothing, the tunnel is enshrouded in darkness.” After several seconds however, something caught Ben’s eye. “Intruders spotted!”
“What?!? Do we have a visual?” asked N-36 franticly.
“They appear to be three mech units, and they are coming up very fast,” said Ben, uneasy.
“Increasing thruster speed to 75%,” announced N-36.
“I have a visual, the mech’s have a yellow and black striped W painted on their sides!”
“Wasps!!” Said N-36 shocked. “Are you sure?”
“Affirmative, all three have the same W painted on them. Why is that so bad sir?”
“Those mechs are Wasps. Most designs are equivalent to ours, sometimes even better and are generally very contentious.”
“Why do you think they are here?” asked Ben, frightened.
“There most likely after our honey,” said N-36.
“Our what?”
“Our honey or fuel source. That doesn’t matter, how close are they?”
“Almost in range for the stinger,” responded Ben.
“Alright, when they get into range, open fire.”
“Roger.” Before the Wasps came into firing range, one of them broke off to a sub-hallway. “N-36, one Wasp has gone down a sub-hallway.” Reported Ben.
“Don’t worry about it, just keep your focus on the other two,” said N-36. What are they planning?
“Targets are in range, should I commence firing?” Asked Ben, finger hovering over the trigger.
“Fire at will!” Fire at will he did, Ben unleashed a rally of bullets at the two wasps, causing them to take evasive action. “Aim for the thrusters at the feet. If we damage them, they will crash,” commanded N-36.
After several more minutes, Ben shouted, “Out of ammo, need to reload!”
“Reload and watch our front!” With that, N-36 pushed one joystick forward and pulled the opposite back, causing the mech to do a 180. Pulling both joysticks back, he continued to go in the same direction, but now the mech was going backwards. “Take this!” Shouted N-36 pulling the triggers for both the left and right guns setting free his bullets.
The Wasps were good, but not that good; after several seconds, one of the pilots made a fatal mistake. Seeing his opportunity, N-36 shot at the Wasp’s right thruster, causing it to explode. As a result, the Wasp began to swerve uncontrollably as the pilot fought for control.
“I’ve spotted the 3rd Wasp, it took the sub-hallway to cut us off, should I shoot it down?” Asked Ben already beginning to fire.
“No, do not shoot it down I have an idea,” said N-36.
“Whatever you say,” said Ben unsure of what N-36 was thinking exactly.
“Cover our back, aim for their thrusters,” said N-36, pulling the same trick as before, this time facing forward.
Ben noticed that N-36 was not doing anything to stop the oncoming Wasp, “Aren’t you going to shoot it down?” He did not answer. “N-36. N-36!” Ben knew this was the end, however his life did not flash before his eyes, he just thought of how those prayers to Mother did not help him in the slightest.


N-36, however, was not ready to give up just yet; he had a plan and was just waiting for the perfect opportunity to execute it. When the enemy Wasp was about three seconds to collision with him, he gunned the thruster to 100% and made the mech jump, landing on the wall. The speed he was traveling granted him several seconds of wall grinding, which was just enough to pass by the oncoming Wasp, who, conveniently crashed into the damaged Wasp that was pursuing them. “Two down, one left to go,” announced N-36 decreasing his speed to 75% again and landing back on the ground.
When Ben realized he was not dead, he slowly opened his eyes. Viewing the damage done by N-36’s little trick he plainly said, “Nice.”
“Target the remaining Wasp with the missiles, all five of them,” ordered N-36.
“Yes sir.” While waiting for the targeting sequence to lock on, the enemy Wasp began to fire at N-36, making him try to dodge the array of bullets. This in turn, only made the locking sequence take longer. “Target locked on, fire when ready.”
“Slowing speed down to 65%.” The Wasp began to slowly make its way closer to the mech. Suddenly though, the Wasp completely stopped and fled entirely in the opposite direction.
“Sir, the Wasp has stopped and is now retreating back down the hallway at full speed.”
“Why would it do that-”
After several seconds, Ben began to become worried that something had happened to the pilot, “Sir? Sir? N-36 are you ok?”
“L-look ahead.” That was all he said sounding mortified for some strange reason.
“What has you so afraid that made you stutter right-” That’s when Ben saw it. The entire hallway was blocked by a giant lens of unknown origins. Stopped completely now, Ben asked, “What do you think that is?”
“I don’t know but it can’t be good,” said N-36 actually feeling scared. “Ben?”
“Yeah.”
“Target the missiles at the lens, I think this was the intruder Tom tried to describe to us earlier.”
“Are you sure, it might get angry and attack the entire hive if we do.”
“We have to try, just do as I say.”
“Roger, missiles are now targeted at...that thing,” said Ben, not knowing what to call it.
“Firing!” N-36 pushed the button, which fired the missiles directly at the lens. Exploding on impact, all five missiles hit the target at the same place, cracking the lens. Unfortunately, the explosion was bigger than expected, and it N-36 and Ben were blown up in the process.


Outside of the hive, two scientists were peering at the screen hooked up to the camera.
“Hmmm, that’s strange,” said the one with a big burly mustache.
“What is it?” asked the other.
“Well it seems two bees attacked the small camera we placed in their hive, cracking the lens.”
“Really, isn’t that something?”
“I know, and it appears that they were fighting a wasp that had entered the hive, most likely in search for honey.”
“That is not unusual, wasps generally enter bee hive in search of honey,” explained the scientist.
“I guess you are right.” Said the scientist with the mustache. “But the really interesting thing is that there seems to be smoke in the chamber of the bee hive, as if the bee had shot tiny little missiles at the camera.” After several moments of seriousness, they both cracked up into laughter.
“But we both know how impossible that is,” said the scientist, chuckling.