A Mech's Life

Chapter 12: A Lonesome Path

Sleep did not come easy to Sonjo that night, tossing and turning for many hours. In a way he was excited and happy about the turn of events but it also meant leaving everyone and everything he knew behind. As the sun began it's early morning rise, Sonjo decided to take an early leave, hoping to avoid any awkwardness. He took a last view of his grandmother, sleeping peacefully in her bed before exiting.

True to her word, Meredith kept her promise and worked all night performing whatever fixes she could on the Sentinel. The arm that Sonjo repaired was touched up professionally and the repair was now not noticeable at a quick glance. She'd even grinded some of the rust off, giving it a much more modern look.

Taking his meager belongings which all fit in his backpack, Sonjo boarded the sentinel, ready to leave his tribe behind. As he closed the door, a voice called out to him.

"Heyyy! Where do you think you're going!"

Sonjo turned around at the familiar voice of Lazar. "Weren't you there last night? I have to leave the tribe."

Lazar crossed his arms, clearly upset. "Not without me you aren't!"

Sonjo sighed, he didn't need this today. "I can't take you with me, your parents would kill me."

All proud, Lazar waved a paper slip at him.

"I've got permission right here! Don't worry, I'm just going with you up till you reach Nador, in order to procure provisions ahead of the tribe. They said it's on your path and that with your speed, we'll reach it in no time."

"Oh. Well, I suppose that's alright. Hop on in."

Lazar squealed of joy, like a child in a candy store and climbed up the sentinel with some difficulty, taking Sonjo's outstretched hand for the final push.

With Lazar securely on board, Sonjo fetched his map from his backpack, making sure of the direction he was heading.

*Let's see...the capital city of the Valnir Technocracy, Haiton, is likely the best place to go, it's where I'm most likely to find some kind of employment as a Sentinel pilot. Maybe it'd be better to stick to the main roads? It's faster but we're more likely to come across people. Although it'd be rather rare to get accosted since we're piloting a Sentinel.*

Remembering what his Grandmother told him, he decided that the Valnir Technocracy might be the best choice, seeing how the Shaket Dominion was where his Grandfather had served and was declared a traitor.

Not wanting to potentially get lost in the forest or worse, get stuck, Sonjo opted for the main road. Having decided that getting there faster would also mean less chances for the Sentinel to have any kind of

breakdown.

Without wasting any more time, Sonjo engaged the Sentinel and drove it forward. It would normally be a three day trip to reach Haiton but with the Sentinel's speed he was unsure how much faster it would be.

Getting a hang of the Sentinel's controls was also still a work in progress but he could feel it correcting and taking over when he did something wrong. Usually, it would verbally correct him but the Astra was awfully quiet today perhaps it was due to Lazar's presence, Sonjo thought. It did mention that it's capabilities needed to be kept secret and it was rather smart and cunning in it's own way.

Lazar marveled at the Sentinel's interiors and panels, wanting to touch everything while Sonjo tried his best to prevent him from potentially breaking the Sentinel. After some time and distance, Lazar started asking questions. "So, what do you think you'll end up doing?"