We all had to hurry back home. It was not just a race against the clock. No one else aside from me and the general knew it, but it was also a race against the Conqueror faction. We only had a full day before Void Clan would launch their own XX-frame into outer space. Everyone in the clan, even the guild members were scrambling to get to the bus and the vans. We went as possible without breaking laws on the road. The pilots and the very buff members of the Foundry were just arriving when we got to the cab depot. They were just as surly around humans as the always were. They demanded that we leave the premises. I was not having any of their shit. I said "Shut the fuck up! I need to speak with the pilots! Now!" They were frightened as the came over to me. Paul, Brett and I had to brief them on the situation with the coalition. All of them were scared. "Don't worry. You are going to be piloting your XX-frames as soon as they are installed. You will be taking another AEP unit with you. They will have a large energy generator to ensure that the coalition pilots can heal up." I said to calm them.
I knew who the best candidate among our clan's roster of AEP units to go along with them was. It was actually one of the selected pilots: Caleb. He had a rocket booster that allowed him to fly. He could make the journey from one cockpit to the other, even in space. Of course that meant that someone would still need to go with them. If something happened out there, we would have 2 sitting ducks instead of one. When I explained this to him, Caleb looked devastated. "No! I was the one chosen to pilot here. I even synchronized to my XX-frame as the Positive Charge! You can't make me give it up at the last minute, Brianne!" he yelled. He even flexed his armor plating at me. I really felt bad for him. "I'm sorry. The fate of the coalition and the whole continent comes before the glory of a single member of our clan. It was not like you ever defended 02's right to pilot when he also won the piloting lottery. Everyone can be replaced if needed. That was the precedent you helped to set." I told him. He looked at me in shock that I would be throwing that in his face now. "You can choose the replacement."
He ended choosing Cameron to replace him. That made sense. They were extremely close due to my attempts to create a family structure. I said "Nice choice. You'll be the Positive Charge during the launch. Then Cameron will take your place during the rescue mission." Cameron nodded his head. He was happy that he would also be able to pilot the XX-frame. It was time for all the humans to leave so that the members of the Foundry could do all of their work. It took them 4 hours to install both of the massive XX-frames in the hangar. When we got the okay to return, we went to our hangar to watch the operation. It was almost identical to the others. Volition Clan's had a distinct red tint in the biomechanical decor. Heat Clan's was blue. Ours was green. Our clan had lots more officers than the coalition did. I looked around me. We were all in command control while the others were sitting together in the viewing theatre. Paul and Brett were the proud co-leaders. I was the clan engineer of PBJ Clan. I was also proud. Skylar was their Chief Medical Officer. Skylar was the only cyborg leader officer.
