Hounds of Orion

Logan turned and pointed to the middle of the clearing, drawing Cameron’s eye. In the center, about twenty meters apart, two bright white X’s were illuminated onto the gently swaying grass.

Cameron’s mind raced in confusion and a spark of excitement. He turned back to Logan, eyes wide as he murmured, “What’s going on?”

Instead of answering, Logan looked to the sky, Cameron following the man’s gaze. Up above, he saw what looked to be two meteors, racing across the sky side by side. They were big, Cameron could tell even from this far away, but there was something else as well. His heart quickened as he realized they were growing larger. No, that wasn’t quite right, he decided. They were getting closer.

“Brace yourself kid. It’s about to get loud.” Logan’s words barely registered when Cameron heard a sound that could only be described as the sky being split open. Two concussive booms cracked through the open air as the blazing red hot meteors grew closer and closer. Cameron clamped his hands over his ears, gritting his teeth to keep them from chattering as he made his best effort to continue watching the display above him.

It was then, he could begin to make out the details. One powerful torso with a helmed face, it’s off white paint blackening on the edges thanks to the heat of reentry, matching the red trim. A large spiked club sat in its right hand, a shield the size of a small ship in its left. The other was more of a box than a chest, lacking a headpiece. It gripped a massive sword in its left hand, with a buckler hanging limp on its right, its drab brown paint nearly blending in thanks to the dim morning light. Powerful metal legs dangled in the free fall underneath them, giving a hint as to their true towering size. Cameron’s breath left him as he watched, both from the force of the shockwave, and pure awe. Two A.R.M.S. units were about to make planet fall.

***

The mechs hit the ground with a thunderous crash. Shockwaves rippled across the landscape, nearly taking Cameron off his feet from the sheer magnitude. Logan reached out, keeping the boy up in his vice-like grip, grinning like a madman.

“I’ve always loved this part,” He said, his voice hollow and distant as he looked upon the scene, clearly remembering a time when this was a mere prelude to a mission promising wealth and violence in equal measure, instead of the tame demonstration before them now.

It took Cameron a while before he was able to find his voice. Finally, once he was sure the earth had stopped shaking, did he speak.

“That…was…awesome” He exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air before rushing up to the helmed unit with a mace. Logan followed behind at a leisurely pace, watching the boy look on in awe.

“I know it’s cool kid, but I didn’t expect you to get so excited. You're surrounded by Squire's all the time.” He said, approaching Cameron from behind. Cameron turned and smiled at him, looking like a kid in a candy store.

“These aren’t guard units, man. Two actual A.R.M.S. units from free space are sitting right in front of me! I mean do you even know the last time planetfall was made on Ketris?”

Cameron’s excitement was certainly valid. There was no secret as to the rarity for A.R.M.S. units not local to a planet or system to touch down from orbit unless it was during military operations. Even then, Ketris and the system as a whole had been at peace for the last few decades, marking this as a rather momentous occasion. Logan couldn’t help but smile, happy to see the child-like glee on Cameron’s face.

“I mean, technically. It’s more like a unit and a half.” He said, causing a look of confusion to flash across the prince’s face.

“What do you mean?”

Logan pointed a finger across the field, towards the angular, helmetless mech. Steam wafted visibly of the exposed metal, brown paint slowly blackening as it cooled down from atmospheric reentry.

“See that box on legs over there? The one that looks like the guard units walking around the capital?”

“Yeah?” Cameron replied, the inflection of his tone indicating he wasn’t following.

“Well, those are called Squire units. Named after the assistants to ancient warriors from earth. You can always tell Squires apart from other units because they lack the headpiece. They’re not integrated for threaded pilots.” As he spoke, Logan held an arm up, running a thumb over the shining screw holes bolted into his skin.

“Squires aren’t considered true A.R.M.S. units. My crusader here could take five at one odds facing off against a group of Squires and not even break a sweat. You’d be better off trying to take me down on foot instead of in that mech.” He finished his words with a smirk, looking over at Cameron to see if he was understanding

Cameron was indeed understanding now. In fact, he was enraptured. He nodded along, hanging onto every word. Never in his life had he felt such a sensation. There was ember in his stomach that was slowly building into a raging flame. His heart hammered as he looked at Logan with what felt like a clarity he had never known. He wanted to know more. Needed to. Logan was happy to oblige.