By the time we got back to PBJ Clan, the situation was long over. The commandos killed the most of AEP units gathered. It was a total massacre. The leaders were able to escape. Unfortunately, so did 12-001 and 06-001. This was a major setback for the coalition. The government did not get out of this unscathed. They suffered many casualties as well. The smoking commando was among them. He was wounded heavily, but still walking around. The others were fine. They had won the day and the giant XX-frame was under their control. It was not in the same area as the transmission hub, but it was still a huge loss. If the coalition was going to get it back, we would have to plan a giant operation to retake the hangar and get the pilots inside the mecha for the launch sequence. Luckily, we had the spare for the Researcher faction. It paid to be prepared for a rainy day. PBJ Clan was also going to be constructing a pair of the XX-frames as well. The leaders of the coalition were all seething in rage. I wondered if we could break the whole thing off. It would really screw them over at this point.
A couple of in-game Wade and 03-004 were back at the hangar in Dysthymia Row. It did not make sense to turn around and drive all the way back again. We just called in to wish them luck. They were more than fine with the humans sitting this out. It was a massive success. They were able to get it working. However, they did not run the launch sequence as that would alert the whole continent. The Conquerors would be super pissed at us and try to commandeer them all from us. That was if they did not name us traitors and attack us first. That was not something they were above. They were called the "Conquerors" after all. I did not want any of that to happen to us. The best way to keep that from happening was to just keep it secret for now. With 03-004 and Wade back, the Foundry was now wide open. Fighter and Battler were going to be in the second XX-frame. The other one was open for the AEP units to apply themselves for the position. I had no real preference here on who would pilot it. Neither did Paul or Brett. Barbara, Tracie and Robin all came to me. I was the clan engineer here.
The 3 of them were willing to use their assets in order to get me to pick them. I looked over at Robin. "We have the funds to make as many as we need. Go get a partner and you can ride in the third XX-frame." I said. He smiled wide at me in triumph. I looked at Tracie and Barbara. "You 2 will be in the second one. Do not tell anyone else about this." I announced to them. They were also happy. Happy enough to drag me over to the apartments. I followed them and we fucked. Because of that, we had 6 clan AEP units going off in a car to make the XX-frames for PBJ Clan. Robin had chosen Sterling as his partner. They went together. A month in-game passed before they came back from the Foundry with a convoy of very large trucks. Paul, Brett, Mason and I were human, so we were barred from the clan building while they installed the giant mechs in our hangars. Standard procedure. It was like clockwork. The installation required cranes and lots of work on their part. We had all been forced to work from the Red Grind. That was fine with us at first. Mason's lab was already stationed there.
Dances and the bar certainly kept us entertained while we waited. Robin's absence was actually noticed by some of the patrons. Robin was actually doing it. I felt a bit of pride when I heard people whisper about it. It actually took the Foundry crew 3 days in-game to set everything up. I was not very happy with the progress, but there was nothing that I could do about it. They placed the last one in the hangar and then they left right away. We were finally allowed to see them. Since we were collaborating on the same design based on the blueprints, they all looked the same to the one that the coalition produced. They connected to the XX-frame and turned them on. It was a really positive sign for the project. They then all began to move and walk to the center of the complex one right after the other. There was a walkway that led to a large opening that could be controlled manually. The way it was constructed, only one could be launched at a time. Since there was no real mission, there was no real reason to launch. We did not want to be killed by the clans in the coalition either. They were all sad.
