A Mother's Tardiness

“God bless it, MOVE YOUR CHEEKS, I got places to be!” Amy screamed, sticking her head out her window in the limousine and gesturing a less then lady like hand gesture to the sea of taillights ahead of them. Even with the effort to leave early from the house, even with the delay from her husbands’ defiance, they still managed to get stuck in rush hour traffic. Michigan Ave. was normally this hellish on a normal workday but on a Friday night with a game too it was that and a bag of chips. Amy frustratedly slumped back down in her seat reaching for the wine and chilled glass in the limousine’s cooler before just stopping short of the bottle’s neck. She sat there frozen for a moment before leaning back in her seat. Sighing deeply.

“Miss,” Charles began, looking at Amy through the rear-view mirror. “Maybe it’d be best for you to go over your flash cards again. While we have the time I mean.” Amy scrambled forward to the window separating the passenger seating and the drivers’ quickly nabbing Charles hat before putting it on and scrambling back to her seat. “Charles, I have been over those flash cards a million times I practically know them by heart. I wouldn’t make myself a fool, no less of a fool in my son’s first match.” Amy looked at the seat next to her. Several papers and rehearsal movements for the opening ceremony were displayed in obsessive and overly complicated detail. First the game master would announce the round and the teams, specialty players, prizes, and the like. Then as the guest speaker she’d say a few words before she could retreat to her booth.

“Y’know Charles, I don’t get it.” Charles tried to make it through a yellow light before being stopped halfway out of the intersection by a bloated light, the rear half of the limousine all over the cross walk. “What’s the point of all the spectacle and elegance when the audience just wants to see the fights?” Several dozen people crossing the street walked around the trunk of the car casting light shadows over Amy through the window. Some inebriated ones cheered as they banged on the trunk. “I suspect it’s because of the point of the games Mrs. Andross. As you know they were made to honor those lost and sacrificed in the war by preserving the art of their specialty.” Amy blue a raspberry before she retorted. “No, the games exist to sell seats and toys and the memory is the veil they use to bring the nationalists into it. I didn’t learn how to pilot a mech because I wanted to, I learned because I had to.” Amy looked out the window as traffic began to move again. Somberly watching the sun setting between the buildings. “If my husband is right about anything, it’s that the games don’t honor us as they claim they do.”

As they made their way over the river Amy dug through her purse and brought out a small, framed image of her holding a very young Harrison. She was holding him on her lap as he waved around a spoon full of cake. He couldn’t have been more then a year or so. “But unlike my husband I don’t see the League for how it views us. Like trophy wives and celebrities. The League brings people the enjoyment and unity of the fight, of sportsmanship and skill. Harrison fell in love with it a long time ago and I didn’t question that he’d be here at all. I knew if he wanted to, he would be.” The Limousine turned left heading towards the lake down Jackson. The bridge to the stadium came into view as Amy and Charles made their way.

“Mrs., even to the older of us you, your husband, and your friends, we all consider you heroes. There’s a great many of us who believe the war would still be going on today if it hadn’t been for your actions.” Amy stared out the window as the city disappeared behind them. “I guess so” she muttered. The harbor surrounded them on both sides as their straight shot to the stadium was unobstructed in stark comparison to the mess they just sat through. Several monorails heading towards the stadium running along the outside of the bridge ferried audience members to their seats from the parking garage. The stadium itself was massive. Thankfully not a blight on the water viewing it from the city, it resembled a glass box floating on Lake Michigan. Nearly 10 city blocks across and deep it was a marvel of modern engineering and even more impressive up close.

Docked on either side of the stadium were two ships. Massive in size but not quite as large as the stadium. Featureless and smooth if one had no idea what they were they may assume they were a capsized vessels with the bow pointed upwards, but the machinery was all hidden inside. These were repurposed carriers from the war that without proper reason or staffing to keep them operating after war time, they were drydocked and left to scrappers for the better half of five years. When the League began and official teams arose across the world they were reclaimed as team bases to compensate for lack of devoted space, and the necessary mobility of mechs and squares. Amy had served on several of these during the war, but they were much less of a recreation then an air drop or re-deployment.

“Charles what time is it?” Amy asked suddenly worrisome at the abundance of sound and a distant voice in a loudspeaker emanating from the stadium. “It is 5:55 pm miss, the ceremony begins in less than five minutes. I’m sure the Game Maker could stall for time. You know how much he likes to hear himself talk.” Charles replied. Amy grew anxious as she opened the sunroof and stuck herself out. The lights on the bridge had just turned on in the evening glow and there wasn’t a monorail on either side behind them or in front of them. The skyline grew smaller and smaller the further they went out over the water with the stadiums true grandeur and immensity coming into view. The steel and glass were woven together like a transparent tapestry revealing a large atrium that stretched all the way around the stadium surrounding the playing field. Inside were restaurants, shops, and a hotel called the “The Isle” that guests could stay at.

“It always amazes me just how much stuff is just floating out here in the middle of the lake, it’s practically its own neighborhood.” Charles said. Pulling up to the drop off at the main entrance. Here the atrium split apart revealing several flights of escalators going up and down with exposed stairwells looping upwards in between them. Several dozen elevators placed on the left or right of the escalators sat idle as only a skeleton crew of guards made their rounds, not a fan to be seen. No doubt already seated. One of these guards made their way up to the limo and opened the door for Amy. As soon as the door opened the sounds of the stadium filled her ears as they echoed throughout the open space. The cheering crowd, the echo of the announcer, but not the heavy footfalls of machines. She still had some time. “Mrs. Andross you’ll be on soon we need to get you moving, normally we’d have stuck you in a service vehicle to use one of the pit lifts in the ditch, but we have to be a little more efficient with our time.”

Amy shut her door after making sure to grab her blazer and her purse, then waving Charles off as he went to park. A service tram soon emerged from behind some shops in the atrium stopping short right in front of the guard and Amy. The driver was an anxious kid who gripped the steering wheel as if his life depended on it. Amy knew the type, a fan trying to play it cool. Amy and the guard boarded the tram as it spun around making its way back to the atrium. The guard talked into his walkie signaling a team up ahead that they were on their way. They zipped past planters and fields of green grass and trees with buildings in between them. Several kiosks laid open with tons of merchandise and snacks spilling out over themselves to catch the eyes of even the most money cautious guests. “Alright Mrs. Andross we’re heading to the Security Drones lift. Once we’re there you will be flown to the center stage manually by the drone’s supervisory pilot. I’m not going to ask you if you’re afraid of heights because you better not be. I don’t have time for you to be.” Amy barely hearing him over the announcers booming voice nodded in agreement, avoiding a screaming match of confirmations in case she wasn’t loud enough.

Amy looked around noticing several posters of her son hanging out of bins and from awnings of the shop. She looked back at the driver, noticing him quickly nudge his head back front and center to the street. “Cute.” She thought to herself. She continued looking at the merch spotting one of personal interest that she needed and wasn’t patient enough to wait to get after the match. “Hey guard guy hold my hand.” She said, clasping his arm and standing up, leaning out of the vehicle. The guard shocked quickly compensated for the shifting weight by leaning left to even out the tram. “MRS. I strongly advise that you sit down, this is not safe.” The guard said. “David stop the tram now!”. Before the driver could hit the breaks Amy spoke up. “Hey fanboy don’t slow down like your boss said we got places to be. And as I’m sure you know I know how to walk and chew bubblegum at the same time so keep punching it and inch me closer to the kiosks a couple inches.”

David quickly nodded accelerating the tram and inching ever so closer to the shops. Amy stuck out her hand and grabbed several items in rapid succession, tossing them back into the tram at the guard and landing on the seat of the footrests. “Pull me back in when you’re ready.” She yelled at the guard who immediately did so. Amy Sat down and began shuffling through the merchandise. Posters, plushies, various knick-knacks, and then she found it. A poster of herself and Luther with Harrison in the middle with the words “The Andross Legacy Begins Anew” over the bottom of the page. “Miss I personally know the owners of those stands you’re going to have to pay for these.” Amy scoffed at him. “What do you think I wouldn’t? I’m not some criminal.” Amy rolled up the poster and tucked it under her arm as she began to clean up the other merch. A post card pack by her foot caught her eye with her sons face on it.

“The Andross Postcard Collection.” She read aloud, picking it up and opening it. The tram came to a turn and started heading towards the wall away from the shops and foliage. Amy opened the package and saw Harrison in his Chicago Sentinels plug suit. She shuffled through the cards seeing herself and her husband in their plug suits from the war. She couldn’t help but feel that these things were a bit tasteless but they paid for the house and many other things so she could hold her tongue. Plus, they had her two favorite people depicted together which was sweet in her eyes. The tram came to a large freight elevator and after a 3- point turn backed into it. The gate shut and the elevator took off climbing at an astonishing rate for a mechanically exposed mechanism.

Amy dug through the other postcards finding one of herself and each of her mechs, the same with Luther too. Harrison who only had the Pilgrim was by far the least represented making Amy believe this pack was originally made of just Luther and herself before they threw Harrison in there to charge an extra five. “Hey David, which mech of mine do you prefer?” Amy said, rooting out the four cards depicting them. David turned sheepishly in his seat rubbing the back of his neck racking his brain for an answer. “I’d have to say the Blue Pearl Mrs. Andross”. An interesting smile crept across Amy’s face as she took in his response. The Blue Pearl was her first combat mech. Her first mech, the Idol Activator, was publicly regarded as her most popular, but the Blue Pearl was her first actual mech where she went out on missions instead of supporting from the backlines. While she loved the Idol Activator she never felt as useless to the war effort as she did when she was piloting it. “Good choice kid.” She told him, autographing the Blue Pearl postcard and handing it up to him. David eagerly accepted the card thanking Amy profusely.

“And you, I know you’re the big man around these parts but don’t think I can’t tell.” The guard twiddled his thumbs in response and whispered quietly under his breath. “The Idol Activator”, he said. “Uh huh, of course it is.” Amy thought trying to keep her smile solid to hide her true feelings on the matter. She quickly found the Idol Activator card and signed it handing it over to him. “Thank you, Mrs.” he said, tucking the postcard into his pocket. As the lift reached the top of the stadium Amy heard the crowd outside erupt into a sea of cheers and cries as the launch timer rang out. David quickly stashing his postcards into the dash drove like a bat out of hell down the upper service road towards the drone launch. To their left was a massive sea of audience members sloping down towards the game board. Between the audience and the board was the pit, practically a moat around the gameboard protecting the audience in the odd chance a battle gets to heavy and falls off a square.

The gameboard itself was an amazing sight. The squares belonging to the Chicago Sentinels blended in seamlessly with the unmoving middle squares forming a complete board complete with the black and white checker pattern. Amy thought how her son was down there preparing for launch right now. She welled up with emotion for a minute feeling it rising behind her eyes, but she held it until it subsided. She never managed to tell Harrison that his father wouldn’t come in the end. She still wanted to tell him, but now would be a detriment. The revelation could possibly throw his game off, and the first game of every pro pilot’s career is guaranteed to stick in the minds of everyone who’s watching. Harrison wouldn’t be at 100% if he knew the truth behind her reasoning.

To Amy’s left was the Chicago skyline. Vastly different then how it was before the war, reconstruction efforts had saved the city from being abandoned. After countless battles and attacks by the Harshawk forces the city was a ghost town with most of the surviving population moving inland. When the time came to rebuild however, the old populace who left or fought in the war returned to take a good spit shine to the heap of rubble. It took years but it employed tens of thousands of Chicagoans who now played an integral part in the city’s reconstruction. Amy turned back to the stadium as the tram turned in to the drone dock. There a team of three technicians sat at half ring of terminals overlooking the board.

“Mrs. Andross, pleasure to meet you but we truly are crunched for time so sorry for rushing. Please follow me.” Amy quickly got out of the tram saying her goodbyes to David and the guard she never bothered to get the name of. The technician led her to the drone, a massive piece or machinery that must have had a wingspan of 40 ft. On top of the drone were several sensors and antennas mirrored down the middle of it. Two seats with an exposed guard rested in the middle of the drone, deployed specifically for the manual flight. The tail piece of the drone was quite skinny, but they supported four large turbines that would allow the drone to move any which way it was directed over the board. Underneath the drone on its belly were dozens of cameras and sensors of various lengths and sizes. The drone spurred to life as the technician climbed on top of one of the wings leaning down to assist Amy in doing the same.

The drones Navigation lights began to flash just as the stadium lights started to dim. The opening ceremony was about to begin. A small distant light made its way across the playing board zooming in a straight line and stopping in the center of the board. “Mrs. Andross, we need to launch now. Are you strapped in?” Amy strapped herself into the seat nice and tight and put on a pair of goggles one of the other techs handed her. “Ready!” she replied as the technician started the turbines and slowly eased off the platform.

The drone took off giving Amy a spot of inertia with how quick the acceleration was. The technician began listing off camera checks and radioing it back to his crew at the pad as Amy looked around beneath her. Several holes had appeared in the center of the home and away squares, their lifts had been activated. Always impressed by the spectacle despite it’s hollowness Amy looked around desperately to find Harrison trying to remember his position on the board. The drone leaned into its turn as Amy looked at the other side to determine which side was still home and which was away to narrow down her choices. Looking down her right she saw the red and orange carrier of the sentinels and quickly turned back to her left looking down at the board. The first mechs had begun to rise on either side. The named ones. The Kings, Queens, Knights, Bishops and Rooks had each appeared on either team with pawns following not close behind but slightly after because of their notably smaller stature.

The whine of the game master’s speaker rung out as he coughed a couple times before saying. “LADIES AND GENTLMAN, BOYS AND GIRLS, WELCOME TO THE OPENING MATCH OF THE 2056 MECHA CHESS SEASON”. With those words the crowd erupted again into a sea of cheering and hollering as the lights in the stadium flooded back on illuminating the mechs in all their glory. The Sentinels like their carrier were red and orange while the Boston Golems were a dismal gray and black. Practically a factory issue. If their reputation didn’t precede them their colors would have been a major detractor from their image. Amy searched again releasing a sigh of relief when she found the Pilgrim. “Practically didn’t recognize it looking not like garbage.” she said to the technician through her microphone.

“I’m sure your son would appreciate that Mrs. Andross.” The tech said, lowering the drone onto its descent. “MY NAME IS CARL GRAYDEN, AND YOU ALL KNOW WHY WE’RE HERE. TO SEE SOME ROBOTS BEAT EACHOTHER DOWN!” The game maker cried breathing a new sea of cheers into the crowd. As the drone flew lower the mechs began to stand taller. Their view from above not giving them the gratitude they’d get from being right next to one. “AND JOINING ME TODAY IN ANNOUNCING TODAYS CEREMONY IS A FAN FAVORITE, A LEGEND IN THE FIELD, AND A VETERAN OF VETERANS, PLEASE GIVE ME A HAND IN WELCOMING MRS. AMY ARABELLE ANDROSS TO THE STAGE!”

As the drone landed on the floating platform the tech got out and helped Amy onto the stage. The game makers platform itself hovered over the center point of the board. Amy waved off the tech who climbed back in the drone and began circling the board again as the Game Maker with a beaming smile welcomed Amy up to the podium, handing her a microphone before turning back to the front. “Thank you Carl. It is so great to be here tonight with all of you for the first game of the 2056 season. Tonight, the Chicago Sentinels will fight the Boston Golems, and while I am an announcer and must remain unbiased my son Harrison is fighting for the Sentinels, and I couldn’t be prouder.” The drone focused on the Pilgrim as soon as Amy said it, prompting a coaxed wave to the camera from Harrison. “Love you sweetie!” Amy said before returning to the script.

“Now, LET’S GET THIS THING STARTED!” Amy cried out taking the ceremonial flare from Carl and launching it into the air setting off the start sirens and riling up the crowd. The mechs moved and shifted as the pilots prepared for the first move and the podium hovered back towards the audience clearing the way for the battle to come. Amy dug into her purse and pulled out the picture of 1 year old Harrison. She chuckled a bit and wiped a tear from her eye. “Good luck my boy.” Amy whispered under her breath as she went off with Carl to the announcer’s booth.