Chapter 726: Mech Training
āThatās exactly why Iām choosing herā¦ā Shane replied.
They entered the huge chamber that housed one of AEGIS-04 āBastion.ā
The mech was truly like a fortressā¦ It had thick, plated armor wrapped around a reinforced spirit-alloy skeleton. Its shoulder-mounted auto-sentry guns were currently inactive, but they still looked as if they could activate anytimeā¦
Shane observed them for a bit and confirmed that the deployable energy barrier emitters sat docked in the back, ready to activate.
The mech didnāt look too aggressive, but it definitely looked tough and capable of enduring any form of attack.
It was certainly built to hold the line.
As Shane approached the lift that would carry him to the cockpit, a few engineers noticed and stood to the side with respectful nods. One of them whispered something excitedly to another.
They seemed to be excited seeing him testing the Mech.
āBoot up diagnostics,ā Shane ordered. āLink me to the pilot core.ā
Rhona quickly interfaced her gauntlet with the access panel, entering override codes.
[ SYSTEM LINK INITIALIZINGā¦ ]
[ AEGIS-04 āBASTIONā ENGAGING PILOT PROTOCOLSā¦ ]
[ WARNING: PILOT SYNCHRONIZATION PROFILE NOT FOUND. CREATING NEW PROFILEā¦ ]
[ INSERTING CORE BINDING SEQUENCEā¦ ]
[ ā¦SUCCESS. ]
[ WELCOME, PILOT: SHANE. ]
[ CURRENT SYNC RATE: 5% ]
[ NOTE: Training protocol recommended before live combat scenarios. ]
The initial sync rate as Shane sat in the cockpit and held the controls was not surprising. He would have to complete some calibrations before being able to increase the Sync Rate to an acceptable level.
The cockpit sealed behind him with a hiss, encasing Shane in the armored shell of Bastion.
As the control chair adjusted to his posture, neural threads extended from the collar harness and clamped onto his backplate.
He closed his eyesā¦ and then opened them againāthrough Bastionās sensors.
The world shifted.
A vast HUD appeared before him, showing layers of readingsāheat zones, energy flows, and structural analytics.
āItās just like beforeā¦ā Shane muttered to himself.
The system was responsive, slower than what he remembered from his last life, but stable.
He exhaled deeply as his fingers closed around the dual control rings.
[ ENGAGE TRAINING GROUND TRANSFER? Y/N ]
āY.ā
In moments, Bastion was moved to the internal combat simulator grounds, a wide, domed arena within the Mech Divisionās complex.
The floor was lined with kinetic-cushioning alloy while the spectator zones lined the outer ring, where some off-duty personnel and engineers gathered, curious at the unscheduled Mech Training. Most of them just guessed that there was a new pilot tryout and didnāt think too much of itā¦
As Bastionās heavy frame stepped forward, another mech came stomping out from the far bay.
Thudā¦ Thudā¦ Thudā¦
AEGIS-01 āJuggernaut.ā
āHey, Commander!ā a voice crackled over the internal comms.
It was Garren, a cheerful but slightly arrogant pilot who was known for his combat skillāand for pushing his mechs a little too hard.
āYou sure you want to debut with Bastion? Sheās more for grandpas on guard duty!ā Garren laughed, clearly teasing. He actually didnāt know that it was Shane inside the cockpit.
He was just informed by Chief Rhona to hop on his Mech and ātest the newbieāā¦
Shaneās mouth twitched upward.
āI donāt need speed to bury youā¦ Letās see if Juggernaut can push a mountain.ā
At this reply, Garren frozeā¦ He suddenly had a suspicion that the man was not a newbie at all.
āIs she playing a prank on me?ā He mused as he remembered that Rhona had played with him several times already.
However, there was no need to think too muchā¦ He just needs to do his best and avoid embarrassing himself.
The crowd watching from the walls began murmuring.
A few of the off-duty engineers who had seen Shane entering the Mech Division Building recognized him from the statues, and they immediately knew that this was going to be exciting.
[ Combat Training Initiatingā¦ ]
[ Mode: Friendly Duel ā Limiters Active ā Emergency Cutoff Engaged ]
[ Countdown: 3ā¦ 2ā¦ 1ā¦ ]
The Friendly Duel Mode means that the Mech Frames would not be able to release any critical or life-threatening maneuvers. It was an arrangement made by the engineers to ensure that the pilots, especially the new ones, wouldnāt get harmed.
After the countdown was over, the battle immediately began.
BEGIN.
Juggernaut charged with startling speed for a mech its size, boosters flaring along its legs as Garren planned to overwhelm the ānewbie.āā¦
Apparently, all the newbie pilots wanted Xyrille or Arris as their teachers most of the timeā¦
Garren had no student at allā¦ Because of that, he believed that he must show his skills and perhaps, this new pilot would want to be taught by him instead.
His Juggernautās heavy fists rose, aiming for a quick stagger.
Shane stayed calm.
As he took a stance to control the force of impactā¦ He didnāt dodge at all as he wanted to see the limit of his Mechās defense.
Bastionās legs locked into the arena floor with seismic impact. Energy surged downward and spread like glowing roots into the platform.
A translucent dome of golden energy expanded from Bastionās emitters, forming a barrier shield.
Juggernautās punch struckāBOOMābut Bastion didnāt budge.
Juggernaut continued for a couple more times but Shane barely moved, only adjusting his aim slightly.
The testing was over and even Garren knew thisā¦
Soon, Shane activated the Auto-Sentry Modeā¦
Twin turrets deployed from Bastionās pauldronsā¦ Their barrels activated as they swiveled and opened fireānot lethal rounds, but compressed energy shots meant to simulate threat suppression.
Juggernaut took a few shots to the left leg, staggered, then boosted back to gain distance.
Inside the cockpit, Shane was focused, calm, hands steady. He could feel the sync stabilizing furtherā¦
[ SYNC RATE RISINGā¦ 40.3%ā¦ 58.7%ā¦ 78.8%ā¦ ]
A slight pulse echoed in his mindā¦ It was as if the machine was beginning to understand him. This sensation would normally be ignored by the Pilots, thinking that it was just overexertion or something from the plugs connected to themā¦
However, Shane knew that it was the Sync Rateās mysteryā¦ He couldnāt help but smile as he started to remember his previous Mech Piloting Skills.