Gabriel leaned his head back on the wall and dropped his data pad onto the bed. The video of David’s last skirmish against Novan forces continued to play on the screen, filling the room with the sharp crack of gunfire and the harsh screech of metal being ripped apart.
For the past three days Gabriel had spent hours pouring over whatever information he could find on David. Like most information on ELA Pilots there wasn’t much in the terms of actual Intel, but there were a considerable number of video files, mostly taken from live feed that was terminated once the Kniv was destroyed.
David was a skilled Pilot, at least on par with any member of Alpha Squadron of the Orbital Knights, maybe better even. He was a Pilot that had been trained and tested by real combat. Gabriel closed his eyes, listening to the battle and letting his mind construct the images.
His stomach grumbled.
He had skipped dinner and the hunger was just now beginning to get to him. The dining hall would be long closed by now. He could still go down and make himself something to eat, but cooking wasn’t something he excelled at. Briefly he considered sending a message to Rachel to have something sent to his room, but he didn’t want to bother her so late at night just for something so trivial.
The sound of his doorknob turning interrupted his thoughts. He had just enough time to mute the video before the door opened and Fairy walked in.
“You should lock your door. Anyone could walk in,” said Fairy as she took a seat as his desk.
“Like you?” Gabriel said.
“No, I could open it even if it was locked. S-class students are given priority access to all rooms to assist the faculty in disciplinary actions if necessary, or in the event of an emergency.” Fairy reached out and picked up his tablet. “Technically, this could be considered grounds for disciplinary action.”
Gabriel shook his head and smiled. “How so?”
“You were listening to this loud enough to be heard outside of your door, even though you should be sleeping.”
“I’m not allowed to go to class, no reason to go to sleep early,” Gabriel countered. He leaned forward and looked at her. Her hair was still damp from the shower. “Besides, shouldn’t you be asleep too?”
“You’re not allowed to got o class because you’re supposed to be resting,” Fairy said. “And I have been busy.”
“I heard. You’ve been logging extra hours at the arena every night.”
“How did you know?”
“Chance. He said you wouldn’t let him leave.”
“He’s being a baby. He need to prepare for the next class battle. Besides, I let him leave four hours ago.” Fairy unmuted video and began to watch.
Gabriel fell back against the wall and made a mental note to send an apology message to Chance. “When did you leave?”
“Half an hour ago.” Fairy didn’t exactly frown but the displeasure on her face was evident. “Professor Lynne has barred me from using any of the arenas for the rest of the week.”
“Were you practicing with the high explosives again?”
Fairy ignored the question. “You have not been able to come so I was forced to change my lesson plan for the week."
“Doctor’s orders,” said Gabriel with a small shrug.
Fairy’s sharp eyes flicked up from the screen. “Just rest?”
“Just rest,” Gabriel assured her.
Fairy nodded and held up his tablet. “It seems Archangel is going to battle this David Goli of the ELA.”
“That’s what the press release said,” said Gabriel, his shoulder shrugging slightly.
He didn’t really want to revisit Michael’s boisterous acceptance of the challenge. Like every public appearance Michael made it was painfully over the top with an excessive use of hand gestures, technical military jargon, and colorful allusions painting Michael as an avenging angel and the ELA, this time Goli specifically, as the devil. Sani liked to press that metaphor often and Michael was all too happy to oblige.
Gabriel wasn’t much of a fan, but then again the message wasn’t meant for him.
“I’m surprised that Nova is going to allow it,” Fairy said. “Losing Archangel would be far worse to Nova than losing Goli would be to the ELA.”
“You think Archangel is going to lose?” said Gabriel.
“In any endeavor there is always the possibility of failure.” Fairy tapped her finger against the pad, bringing up a still image and tossing it onto the bed in front of Gabriel. “I don’t know much of Goli but I do know about his Kniv.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Gabriel looked at the screen. He had been able to identify the Kniv in the Academy Database, but beyond even the most basic stats the information was sparse.
“If you looked in the academy records they would have identified it as a type 1 Rhino.” Fairy said, confirming what Gabriel knew. “But that’s wrong.”
Gabriel sat up a bit straighter. “Oh?”
Fairy nodded. “The Rhino was developed as a guard Kniv for fixed structure defense. It was uncommonly tall, standing almost sixteen meters. The third largest design for the ELA Knivs. Heavily armored and designed with CQC in mind.”
“How do you know that isn’t what David is using?”
“The original Rhino was extremely slow, lacking necessary offensive mobility capabilities simply because it did not need them. It was never meant for offensive battle deployment.” Fairy said.
“So what is this?” Gabriel asked.
“I believe it is the Type 2 Rhino, the successor that was designed as an actual combat Kniv.”
Gabriel typed that into the tablet but came up with no results. He looked up at Fairy. “Nothing about it in the archives.”
“No, I wouldn’t imagine there would be. The original Rhino was extremely expensive to develop, build, and operate. In an effort to reduce costs, it was redesigned into a lighter, faster, though still extremely defensively minded form, the Type 2. The redesign was deemed a failure compared to the Stryker and Ettin models. As such, it never went into mass production which limits any further information.”
“How do you know it isn’t an original Rhino then, like the archives think?” Gabriel said. He already had a few good ideas how, but it never hurt to get Fairy’s side of the equation. She was not an S-class Pilot for nothing.
“The academy archives are mostly done by an automated system. It matches Knivs into their appropriate category by two main criteria: chassis and head. The head and basic chassis of the Type 1 were reused in development of the Type 2. Without a manual correction the archives will fail to register them as two different Knivs. I doubt anyone would take the time to do the correction.”
“Then how do you know they aren’t the same?” Gabriel said.
“Because, the original Rhino had one other very telling difference,” Fairy lifted up her hand and held up four fingers. “It had four arms.”
“Four?” Gabriel’s eyebrow cocked in surprise.
“Another reason for its failure. The designers incorrectly believed, as it would not have to be as mobile as a traditional Kniv, the Pilot would be able to compensate for the added neural strain of the extra limbs.”
“Didn’t work then?” Gabriel said.
“No,” Fairy said. “Many have attempted to add another limb to a Kniv to increase its battle capacity, but it has always resulted in a difficult syncing process with a high rate of link failure. The neural system is most effective when the body of the Kniv is within the relative proportions of the body of the Pilot.”
Gabriel nodded. It was completely possible to pilot a Kniv without the neural link, but it made the machine sluggish and unresponsive in comparison to a linked Pilot. When fully synced, the Kniv wasn’t just a vehicle that the Pilot controlled; it became an extension of the Pilot’s very body. It was what made the Kniv such a deadly machine.
“While the defensive capabilities of the Rhino are far higher than the Renegade, Archangel will still have a considerable advantage in speed and mobility.” Fairy said, “He will have to utilize that in order to win. Of course, Goli will have that in mind as well.”
“Goli’s best course of action would be to close the distance between them.” Gabriel said.
Fairy nodded. “Yes. The location of the battle is actually in his favor. While the open plain does give Archangel the opportunity to engage from a distance at the start, the downside of that is there will be nowhere to fall back after. It is likely he will be forced to engage in close quarters combat.”
“What would you do, then?”
“The Rhino’s armour is thickest on its chest, shoulders, and arms. Going for an outright kill directly from the start would be foolish.” Fairy’s hand came up and gently tugged on her bottom lip as she thought. “The legs are its weakest point. Because of its large size and weight, if the legs could be damage by a plasma blade, it’s possible that it could be immobilized. Of course, taking Goli’s skill into consideration that is easier said than done.”
“Much easier.” Gabriel started at his tablet for a moment longer before dropping it down on the bed and leaning his head against the wall.
“Are you going to watch the battle?” Fairy asked suddenly.
Gabriel blinked. “I suppose I don’t have a choice. It will be hard to miss.”
“I was going to ask if you would like to watch it with me, but father is going to hold a viewing party,” said Fairy.
Gabriel had met Fairy’s father before, Julius Fairchild, just once before. He was a retired leader of the Alpha Division of the Orbital Knights, the unquestionable elite of the Novan Military. It was a post that Fairy was well on her way to matching. He was an imposing man with a powerful presence that could only come from years of military command. Gabriel had the distinct impression that Julius was not overly fond of him, likely due to his less than impressive performance in the Academy and the idea that he could somehow distract Fairy from her studies.
As though anyone could distract Fairy.
“I would invite you but…” Fairy faltered for a moment, her cheeks growing faintly red. Gabriel found himself smiling.
“But your father is only inviting S-class Pilots, right?” Gabriel guessed.
Fairy nodded. “Along with the other retired Knights and those who are not currently deployed. It is also possible that Chance will warrant an invitation as well, depending on father’s mood.”
Gabriel’s smile gained a few teeth. A fancy party with nothing to do but talk about military operations with grizzled veterans surrounded by the most talented students desperately trying to gain their approval? Chance was going to absolutely hate that.
“That’s alright. I’ll be fine on my own,” Gabriel said. Fairy gave him a look and he held up a hand. “Don’t worry, I’ll see the battle. But I’m not going to take any notes on it.”
“I suppose that is sufficient,” said Fairy as she stood up. “I shouldn’t keep you up any longer.” She moved to the door and hesitated, her hand resting on the doorknob. Slowly she turned back around. There is one more thing.”
Gabriel looked up at her. “Yeah?”
“The Alpha Squadron will be going to Earth on a mission tomorrow,” Fairy said slowly. “I will be going with them.”
“Oh.” Though Fairy’s voice wavered ever so slightly, Gabriel could still feel the sense of pride in her words. There was a long silence between them before Gabriel forced a smile onto his face. “We’ll have to celebrate when we get back. My treat.”
Her shoulders relaxed slightly. “It’s a date, then…” Fairy trailed off, as she quickly turned away. “Goodnight, Gabriel.”
“Night Fairy,” Gabriel called as Fairy exited his room. He waited a few minutes to make sure she had actually left before pushing himself off the bed. With Fairy’s words fresh in his mind he made his way to Hanger Twelve.