Chapter 47 #2
The General continued: “However, unlike the original conflict, your opponent’s warships have been upgraded to the appearance of mock Ghuls, with function and movement similar to that of your own Shinkas.
You’ll be facing a combination of enemy weaponry and warships, so keep your wits about you and be ready to change strategies on the fly, As this battle was won by just two very skilled men, our very own General Hideki Takeyama and Doctor James Dorian, you will pair up to take on the enemy.
Credits will be awarded based on the number of kills procured. ”
Interesting. I hadn’t expected they would incentivize training, least of all with money, but I suppose there were few better ways to motivate people, even among dedicated soldiers.
That explained where Elio and Breaker got their credits for our night out, since I didn’t think Breaker came from a wealthy background, and Elio definitely didn’t.
“Weapons will be set to 45% power for this exercise, so enemy units will require much greater effort in order to eliminate each machine. Should you find yourself and your unit in critical condition and on the losing end of the battle, initiate the distress alert, and enemy drones will be shut down to prevent excess damage to your machine. You have T-minus-three minutes to choose your partner. Move quickly, Cadets.” The transmission ended, and a time clock began on my HUD.
This was the moment when I realized I didn’t know anyone other than people who were way too advanced to want to pair with me, and I really should have made some friends that weren’t also unfeeling psychopaths.
I looked around as pilots paired up and moved to the starting area, with easy confidence and friendship tying them together.
As the only first year on the field, I was an odd man out, and there was no way anyone would want to risk pairing with an amateur when there were real credits on the line.
“Need some help finding a partner? You’ve been training here for a while, so I’m sure you’ve got some favorites among the guys.
Who are you fan girling over, Sweet Pea?
I can direct you to their position so you can ask for a dance.
” Though Conrad’s voice was, admittedly, deep and smooth and should have been very pleasant to the ear, his words were constant nails on a chalkboard.
“They all think I’m a guy,” except for the one who hasn’t spoken a word to me since he found out I wasn’t, “and I have slightly more important things to do than crush on some red haired asshole who calls me a mouse.”
“Oddly specific.”
Fuck, I didn’t mean to say that out loud.
“We’ll just say my shit list is much longer than my friend list.” I added, wanting to immediately erase my last comment. I did not have a crush on Elio, for fuck’s sake. I only thought about him so often because he was the single most constant threat in my life lately, and that wasn’t improving.
“Also oddly bitter,” Conrad noted, and I groaned. “Well, if I were to make a recommendation…”
“Please don’t.” I cut him off before he could make my day worse, then we were both cut off by a new, incoming transmission on my COMM over a private line.
“I barely recognized you when you look like everyone else.” Breaker’s voice filled my space, sending my whole Shinka into a jump startle.
He laughed through the channel, and I turned to fix my sights on Kishi, his heavily customized machine.
“That boring stock Shinka doesn’t suit you.
We’ll have to work on some upgrades later. ”
“I think I’ll need a few more rank ups before I’m allowed to start painting.”
“I doubt it’ll take long before you’re top 200.” He offered easy compliments that made me blush in my cockpit. “Need a team mate? I’ve been looking forward to finally getting to see these piloting skills I hear so much about for myself.”
Taken aback but grateful that he asked, I answered without needing to think about. “Yes. Yes, please.”
“This will be fun then.” His tone was always sunshine, and I was grateful I knew at least one person who wanted to work with me.
Elio and Sebastian were already teamed up at the starting line, predictably enough, while I suppose Breaker was sort of a free agent by comparison.
He moved between friend groups much more than anyone else, really.
He was actually surprisingly popular, compared to the gaggle of prickly loners he associated with most regularly.
I was also one of those prickly loners, so I wasn’t judging.
Though, it dawned on me then that I’d never actually encountered Breaker in any of the evaluations. I could assume he was a good pilot purely by the company he kept, the respect they showed him, and the state of his machine, but I’d not once witnessed his fighting style in a Shinka for myself.
This would also be my chance to see his real, personal Shinka in action.
Kishi, the unit itself, was an impressive build, more stunning in the abstract lighting of space than even in the hangar.
It was painted in a mix of reds and tans with black tiger stripes artfully placed on its ribs, arms, and calves.
It didn’t have a custom back unit that built elaborate energy wings like Elio’s Lamassu or Sebastian’s Vetala, but it had two mounted cannons on its head that wrapped around the back of its crown, giving him the appearance of a hyena’s ears when viewed head on.
A belt of glowing metallic cylinders wrapped around his waist that would expand in a variety of different energy based weapons, while two large, bulky bracers were mounted on each wrist, extending claws over his hands.
His unit looked like a wild animal, a nightmare, and a ruthless warrior all in one.
It was the perfect callback to the Kishi of legend: a demonic man-eater with two faces, one of a man, one of a beast.
I wondered how much Elio had collaborated in designing the features that made his machine more like the old world monster he’d named it for.
Though, I had to say, the predominant air of darkness didn’t really suit someone as upbeat as Breaker Delacorte.
His Shinka was vicious, while he was as intimidating as a gentle breeze.
“Considering this is my first time ever in live combat in the real thing, I don’t think I’ll get much chance to impress you,” I said, my nerves bubbling back to the surface.
“I’ve seen you spar, Pipsqueak. I’m not worried.” This man had to be the single least stressful thing in my life, I swear. “Time to focus,” he said, as we both landed on the starting platform, side by side.
“Breaker Delacorte, huh? Interesting choice.” Conrad was in my ear again.
“He chose me first, so it’s not that interesting.” I raised a brow, not wanting to give him any reason to start implying I had a crush on him, too. He’d be right, honestly, but that was the last thing I needed Conrad to know.
“No, I’d say that’s even more interesting.
I’ve seen the work he’s done to his Shinka and he’s pretty high ranking.
I’ve even helped him here and there. By my judge of character, he’s a good option.
I’m just surprised you know each other well enough for something like this.
” I suppose it wasn’t odd that the chief mechanic would know the guys who were most frequently hanging out in the hangar working on their machines.
It would be more strange if they hadn’t crossed paths.
Being a good option according to Conrad’s judge of character was immediately making me question my friendship, but considering I’d snuggled with Elio the other night, we already knew I wasn’t good at vetting my company, so that was par for the course.
“He was assigned as my mentor, so he’s obligated to help me out. And unlike you, he’s actually nice to me.” Three minutes of prep time was too long.
“I gave you a cute nickname. What’s nicer than that?” He poked, and little did he know, there have been plenty of men who didn’t like me at all who also gave me cute nicknames.
But I digress.
The disembodied voice of the command center took over all of our cockpits, counting down the final ten seconds before the start, and again, I was thankful for interruptions.
As each remaining second passed, more and more lights speckled the horizon, populating the training space with our presumed opponents.
I couldn’t even begin to count how many I was seeing.
The clock ticked down to zero, and it was surreal as the mission began, and I watched one thousand machines thrust themselves into the darkness in between the stars. The shine of propulsion jets flared around space debris as each pair split off in different directions.
“Shall we?” Breaker asked, his smile always obvious through his tone.
“We shall,” I said, relaxing into this dynamic. “Let’s do some damage.”
“And by damage, you mean let’s go fuck up our favorite Squad Leaders?” Breaker just gets me.
“It’s like you’re reading my mind.”
Turning out to be an oddly well-synchronized pair, we both took off toward the mass of lights, weapons at the ready, and targets locked. We arrived on our first cluster, but there were no Ghuls among the lot. Just various forms of lightweight black spheres that functioned as cannons.
I unsheathed my cross blades and clicked them together at their hilts to create what was quickly becoming my favorite weapon. It had the range of a staff with the destructive capabilities of a sword, and it was delightfully lethal.
Breaker, conversely, activated the claw attachments he had mounted to his wrists, extending two meter long, glowing energy spikes over each hand.
It was an entirely unique and completely custom weapon unlike anyone else’s, especially interesting in the sense that it was a no-range weapon, opposed to standard issue forearm cannons and our ten meter long swords.