08 days until Riko Rexton's death.
"I'll fight."
Veig didn't bother to sit up when he said it. The words left his mouth flat and unconcerned. Like the decision was nothing more than something arbitrary.
The room had only two overhead lights, hung strangely low. An odd choice for a space that wasn't especially tall. The bulbs were dim at best— most of the lighting came from the scattered screens lining the walls and desks.
Whenever the door was flung open— which happened more than often— the lights would sway.
He counted each swing.
One.
Two.
Three.
He stayed reclined until they finally stopped.
He may have been the only person that noticed this phenomenon.
"It's the obvious choice, I have the most experience."
Rune charged from his chair, shifting the air as walked , causing the lights to continue to sway. By the time he reached Veig they had built up enough momentum to swing for another sixty seconds or so.
"Dont make me laugh old man, you can't fight. You're only here the comms remember."
Lumi shot up as well, increasing the swinging time to around eighty seconds.
"You haven't piloted in years."
Riko tried to stay out of it. There was no place for him in this argument. Still, it didn't take a genius to put the pieces together. He'd been thinking about it since being teamed up with an older pilot.
Neural Saturation Disorder
Despite all the research and development, neural piloting still had its side effects.
In simple terms:
The more the brain adapts to the mech, the less compatible it becomes with the human body.
A person never realises how much control their brain has over the body's natural functions— until it starts letting go.
Riko had noticed it immediately. The way Veig slept. The way his eyes went dry from forgetting to blink, hidden behind his fogged sunglasses.
Thats why mech piloting was considered a profession for the young. Not because of age; but because of use.
"Just let me use your mech," Riko said. "I made a deal."
Veig's breathing always had this rhythm , not sporadic, but a flow that was different from others. It was as if every inhale he took was from a cigarette, and every exhale was the release of smoke.
He took a deep breath and raised his hand.
"Let someone else risk their life in my mech… whilst I still draw breath. I couldn't think of anything more pathetic."
The light's stopped swaying.
Veig sprang from the couch, drawing a small box from his pocket. Red and gold. The kind with a sweet after taste. Soft on the lungs.
"There's only ten minutes left."
He followed Peugeot to the mech bay, leaving a trail of smoke that lingered for a moment after he passed.
Rune straightened immediately, a smile spreading across his face as if it could dissolve the tension. He crossed to his desk and began running his equipment.
"You heard him. We can't send the old man out with any comms."
He glanced at Riko— a moment too long— then quickly looked back at his monitor.
"I'll be co. Lumi, go status."
His eyes flicked back again.
"Pirate— just sit there and count yourself lucky. You get a day off."
Lumi rushed to her desk without a word.
Comm's weren't strictly necessary to pilot a mech, but they helped. Co-pilots handled combat support and strategy. Status tracked damage and internal systems.
This was Lumi's second time on comms.
And her first time running status.
Riko sat on the couch finding it finally free. The majority of the time it was taken up completely by Veig. It wasn't particularly comfortable, a weird fake leather that squeaked from any sort of movement.
He laid out his whole body across it— still uncomfortable. He then sat normally spine pressed against the backrest, his head cushioned. Crossed his legs, but still it wasn't comfortable.
Why is that old guy so in love with this thing?
"Four minutes until the gate opens." Rune said, speaking into his head gear.
Still nothing came up on the group screen causing Riko to yawn and then sigh. He went to approach Rune but strategically changed his mind and instead sneaked up behind Lumi, watching her monitor.
"Is that his mech?" Riko asked abruptly.
"Mm… yeah."
Surprisingly she wasn't bothered by Riko hunched over behind her.
Veigs mech was unique in its own regard. Pure silver with a few black spots. But the most fascinating part was how it was constructed, almost human like anatomy. Every muscle made from metal. It was a 70 feet athlete.
"Hold-Fast." Lumi said. "Its expertise is grappling. Which is why it's always called The Bear."
[Veig] Going neural.
"Ok checking motion control." Rune said.
Hold-Fast completed its basic manoeuvres leaving only thirty seconds left on the count down. Half a minute. It felt oddly long.
Until the gate opened.
The battleground chosen this time was a desolate desert village. Stones houses, buried beneath the golden grains. The sun in the distant sky seemed almost too real.
Hold-Fast made it's way into the arena.
That's weird the big screen is only showing the same feed as the monitors, not the neutral spectator screen.
I guess they don't want us using it for comms.
Veig quickly piloted his mech behind a tall stone building and rested on sand. He could feel each grain crushed beneath him despite it being a hologram.
[Veig] Damn these fake battlegrounds are really next level.
Riko stayed beside Lumi, noticing he could slightly hear Veig's communications.
"That name." Rune said,
Veig started to sweat. He couldn't feel the moisture from his body but it was apparent the sudden scratch in his voice. Even the fake sun somehow felt real.
[Vieg] yep, Distant-Death. Most likely long range.
Veig decided to peek around the corner but couldn't see anything other than the already war torn houses.
"I'm seeing multiple heat signatures. There's almost… there's twenty."
Suddenly a sound like thunder was heard.
A bullet the size of child struck Fast-Hold.
A sniper?