House Rank: 1, Squad Zero
M1 Rank: Unknown
Term 1, Round 1
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The scene repeated itself. Master Nader came out of her office and called, “Vannier, my office – now.” Her metallic voice made all the cadets jump.
Vannier stood and walked into her office as if walking to her own funeral.
“I still haven’t worked out if it’s a man or woman,” Barran said, sounding fascinated.
“She’s a woman,” Daedo said.
“How do you …” Barran started to ask but waved his hand. “Never mind, I don’t want to know.” Then he looked shocked. “You weren’t in there very long!”
Axel-Zero moaned. “Oh, please.”
Mace asked, “Did you scan her?”
Daedo nodded. “This bodysuit is very good.”
Axel-Zero beamed. “You really have a handle on it. How did you process the scan? Did you use your implant and review the data?”
“Yes, I have the bodysuit linked, and I reviewed the data while sitting here,” Daedo lied. What would take a human hours to do, unless they were an expert in the bodysuit (which he was not), only took Myrmidon a few moments to analyse. Myrmidon had been playing with the bodysuit’s features since they got it. It would have relatively a thousand hours of experience in just those few days.
Axel-Zero leaned close, inspecting his back before moving to his side. “You did get everything, didn’t you?” she said, touching his bodysuit in different locations.
“Well, I noticed you have a couple not available in the store,” he replied.
“There are some perks to being the owners of the company. When we get a break, I’ll get yours upgraded,” she offered.
“What are the additional mods on yours?” he asked. “I couldn’t make them out.”
She made a funny face at him. “Of course you couldn’t make them out just by looking at them. My brother and I have the next-gen sensors, memory glands for increased local data storage, an improved camouflage system, and thermal conditioning vanes to assist with an exo heat exchange. Too tiny to make a difference to a mech, but it gives the heat dissipation of an exo a twenty per cent boost.”
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“Vannier, sit.” Master Nader indicated the chair which instantly appeared from the floor before she went around to the other side of the desk and sat. She pretended to look at something on an invisible screen before looking back at Vannier. “I had you pegged as the leader of this group,” she began. “Your profile is excellent for your current age – empathy, ego, behaviour calculation, all very good.”
Master Nader paused, allowing the room to fall silent. She had no visible eyes to stare Vannier down with, but Vannier felt them in any case. “You failed abysmally at your very first test. The boy, your most talented squad member, needed you to believe in him, and you did not. I wanted to ask you … why?”
“Ah, I … he …” Vannier spluttered. “It was impossible,” she finally finished.
“Yes, I see. So what would have happened if you had lied and showed faith in him and then it turned out he had been untruthful? Hmm? Did you think of that? Did you think it through?” Nader drilled the questions into Vannier.
Vannier was almost in tears. She was not stupid, but she realised when Nader pointed it out just how stupid she had been. Even if it was impossible, she could have supported him. And even if he was lying, what would have happened? Nothing. She would have just been wrong and at worst gullible. Either way, she would have shown faith in him and built a bridge between them.
“Yes, you see. Now, today is your first day, so I’ll go easy on you and just tell you straight: If, and I mean a big if, you end up being the squad leader, you need to think things through. And many people say that without knowing what it means. So I will be clear in my explanation.
“What thinking things through means is that you think of the next step after your words are spoken, and the next, and the next. You think of each and every response, you look at the repercussions of that response, whether it’s verbal or another reaction, and you work out your next action or reassess your initial words or action.
“Leadership takes as much computational effort as a tactician in a battle, especially for one as inexperienced as yourself. After years of experience, you will find history repeating itself, and you will have already mapped your course for many situations.
“Now, if you had gotten this right, I’d have been sure you would be the squad leader, but now I’m not so sure. We will wait and see how you handle the next couple of weeks, and I’ll make a decision at the last minute.”
Master Nader turned back to an invisible screen, one which only she could see in her HUD. “Dismissed,” she said tersely.
Vannier walked out, feeling dejected. Not because of the dressing down, but because of the idiotic mistake she had made. After a brief self-assessment, she also gave herself a fail. Master Nader had made one mistake though – assuming Vannier had a burning desire to be squad leader. She just liked to be liked, and she liked to be helpful.
She walked back to the table and sat down mutely. The body language of her walk, the way she sat, and the look on her face conveyed that of one in shock.
The seven sat in silence for a full thirty seconds before Axel-Zero asked, “So?”
Vannier shook herself as if waking from a dream. “I think it may be best if what happens in Nader’s office stays in Nader’s office. Unless, of course, the casualty feels the need to share. I have a feeling this may become a regular occurrence.”
Silence befell the seven again. The five who had not been summoned began to feel both lucky and apprehensive at the same time. The fear of the unknown started to creep up on them. While Daedo did not seem drastically affected, the look on Vannier’s face spoke volumes.
“We are Squad Zero,” Daedo finally said. “We have the house master camped in our quarters, which implies that we have been selected to be the subjects of an intense training program. My assessment is that this is just the beginning, and we should prepare for a plethora of moulding and training techniques to be applied to us.” He had grasped the situation quickly and for the first time was sharing with others. Others who weren’t his AI companion.
“We should eat,” he said. He stood and approached the kitchen facility, engaging the dashboard to release it from under the floor.
The dashboard was not a physical entity, it was accessed as a local popup through someone’s own connection using their preferred device. Daedo had just asked Myrmidon to raise and configure the kitchen by default. Some people used a HUD delivered through one of many types of head devices, or a portable screen, arm pad, or a helmet like Master Nader. There was even an old-school touchscreen control panel on the wall.
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Nader was extremely busy. It only took a small portion of her time to monitor everything the seven from Squad Zero said and how they reacted to each other and her interventions. Nothing surprised her up until Daedo took charge, when he assessed the situation and informed the squad, then proceeded to de-stress the entire group by preparing a meal for everyone. She was not only surprised but impressed as well.
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She had not predicted he would show leadership characteristics so early. She wondered if there were any other errors in her calculations.
She had 255 cadets – who wrongly thought of themselves as students – to forge into combat engineers, warriors, and leaders. She had to utilise the thirty-one cadets from U1 who had shown unrealised leadership potential. That took her total to 286 lumps of ore to forge into a finely pressed titanium plate.
She was monitoring the other thirty-one groups and sending instructions and taking holo-meetings with her mentor cadets. They were also House Thoth and would split from their charges for classes, U1 activities, and a small amount of free time. Otherwise, they were her proxies. Only Squad Zero did not possess a proxy. She was free to bring one in if she desired, and she had the perfect candidate on standby. She would play that card at the appropriate time.
Although she was busy, she revelled in her tasks. She was optimistic that some of her ore lumps could become the finest mech pilot-engineers. There was not much time left; the five supports she had placed in to squad zero were not guaranteed to succeed, but all the data indicated they were the best available.
“Twenty-seven,” she called through her comms, “Encourage that sentiment. You have an opportunity to create common ground in opposition to you. You may even have some fun achieving that end, but do not overdo it; they still have to listen to and respect you in the end, and that will not be achieved with fear alone.”
She watched and listened carefully to the key interactions. The rest were recorded, and while she could skim threads of ten at a time, she wanted to help twenty-seven with growth as well as their group. “Good, except you did not anticipate the third response. Remember what you have been taught. Examine all probable outcomes and that reply was predictable.”
The more adept her mentor cadets became, the less micromanagement she would need to conduct. Her estimation was that she was missing ninety per cent of critical interactions which required her intervention at this point in time. This indicator would reduce as time passed and her mentors increased their proficiency. Within the year, she wanted that key performance indicator under one per cent.
She flicked back to focus on the only squad that really mattered to her, Squad Zero.
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The first day ended with a tour of the academy. Cadets were shown the many underground arenas that made up various battlegrounds for their training. They were programmable and adaptable into infinite configurations. Some were set up as bodysuit obstacle courses, and others were six-metre mech augmented reality arenas.
One of the requirements of a bodysuit’s specifications was a helmet capable of full immersion augmented reality known as AR. This was significantly different from virtual reality. In an augmented reality training exercise, the environment would physically exist – the walls, floors, and ceilings could be opaque and unadorned, and the program would add colour and texture to the surroundings. Programmable construction foam was used on top of the arena grid to add shapes other than squares to the environment. From rock walls to rubble and a fallen building, they could all be constructed with the foam which would harden and when released turned back to liquid for removal.
This allowed varied environments to be constructed quickly from the library of thousands on hand. It even allowed cadets, chiefs, or masters to design and construct their own environment.
Another feature of an augmented reality battleground or obstacle course was that they were able to add any number of holographic citizens, animals, or threats. Destructive traps could be added, ones which affected the suited cadet in the simulation but did nothing in reality.
The same went for weapons. Cadets could carry real railguns, ion pistols, flamethrowers, and pilot mechs with particle cannons where the size and weights were all correct, but no live ammo was fired.
What would be fired – as well as the fake damage that was done as a result – was handled by the augmented reality. Augmented reality had one significant difference over virtual reality training. Its immersion allowed for physical and spatial growth far superior to virtual combat. A mech’s movements, breakdowns, and limitations were not programmed, they were real. Tuning and building of superior mechs had a real impact and variability that VR could not replicate.
The only drawback compared to live ammo was that the results of weapons fire were programmed, and therefore, the armour value and weapon tuning only possessed computed results. And no matter how sophisticated the application, reality always threw in curveballs that did not exist in the program.
Daedo: These look amazing, apart from the fact that we’ll have to physically run, jump, and climb everywhere ourselves. Next, are the mech bays. Looking forward to it?
Myrmidon: Of course. It will be fun to drive a real mech rather than a pretend one in VR. I am looking at the most common AR software now to ensure that our trajectory and damage calculations are perfect. Do you think we will be able to access the actual application source code?
Daedo: If we’re given a chance to program an arena ourselves, it may get us close enough. See if you can find out which open source code Fortescue used to write its own AR apps. That would be most likely what is used here.
Myrmidon: The version says DV6414; that would mean it’s a DaVinci application being used.
Daedo: Ah, it’s probably standard across all academies. Either that, or DaVinci is the best.
The squad of seven were surrounded by other members of Thoth, and every now and then they ran across another house. Cadets who were friends yesterday glared at each other today.
Daedo had no friends. He was an observer in this scenario – a scenario where the affable Vannier, who was a pro at making friends, had old acquaintances staring daggers at her, especially since she was in Squad Zero of an enemy house. Squad Zero was most likely to be involved in the upcoming tier-one inter-house battles.
“Don’t they realise that you’re the same person?” Daedo asked Vannier. “That these are fictitious lines segregating you from previous allies?”
“It’s fine,” she said through clenched teeth. Vannier liked to be liked and conversely did not like it when former friends started to act like enemies. “I wouldn’t have time for them anyway. I have you and our team to worry about, as well as class.”
“You need not worry about me,” Daedo said truthfully.
She laughed easily and was about to say she didn’t mean worry about him like a mother, but as someone to spend time with. But she caught herself; she wouldn't mention the word ‘mother’ in front of Daedo.
“And that attitude is exactly why I will worry about you,” she said, after a few calculations on what was the best response. It would most likely provoke protestations about how he was independent and capable, which she would affirm. But he merely smiled and nodded, accepting her stance. Daedo was not normal. She laughed at herself. Of course he wasn’t normal; he was in Squad Zero, number one ranked in the house and in a popular game. She would need to improve her read of him.
“Daedo,” she said, starting a new topic, “I’ve been thinking about your directive, about how you can help each member in Squad Zero with something.”
He looked intrigued.
“You are obviously talented, far more than I can imagine, so I suggest you don’t rush the assistance,” she said. “Wait for the opportunity to do something really special.”
He nodded. “That’s good advice.”
“There is one more thing,” she added. “I don’t think one of us should train you physically.” She said it loud enough for all to hear. “It’s something you expressed and probably need, given the age gap and your current condition and physique. I think we should all train you. Even Gaumont.” She turned to look at Gaumont. He was similar to Daedo in many ways; the poor boy was like an inferior copy, and he didn’t know it yet. “Your first trainer will be Gaumont if we all agree, and your task will be to have superior records in the obstacle course levels one, two, and three. He won’t be a regular trainer; he will be your hare.”
Vannier calculated that this would push both of them. Gaumont would strive to stay ahead, while Daedo, with his competitive streak, would do his utmost to catch and surpass Gaumont. She perceived almost immediately that both of them were extremely competitive which was not unusual, for boys.
If the day came that Daedo surpassed his hare, it could be a bad day for Gaumont – as it would have been if she had not set the challenge with him as the trainer. Rather, it would result in him succeeding in elevating Daedo to a higher level.
It would be bittersweet for Gaumont. Vannier guessed that Daedo would surpass the other boy in every subject except for physical, and when that happened, Gaumont would truly feel like a second-string Daedo. There was no direct evidence that Daedo would surpass Gaumont in math and physics other than his ranking, which indicated that he did.
All of their rankings had been revealed earlier in the day, and as expected, the members of Squad Zero were ranked one to seven. Gaumont was rank seven, while Vannier was rank two. Ameline Mace with the pure white hair was rank three. Astoundingly, Barran was rank four. Axel-Zero was rank five while Picard, with the military upbringing, was rank six.
“Hey, sis.” Jules Axel broke into the ranks of Squad Zero. He had a bright white number one on his shoulder.
“Are you group one?” Axel-Zero asked with surprise.
He waved his hand and laughed. “No, I’m group eleven.”
She pushed him. “Yeah, I thought that was way too high given how much effort you put into studying.”
“Are they calling you Axel-Zero?” he asked.
“Yes, why?”
“It seems kinda stupid if next year you get dropped to squad two or three. Will your name change?”
“You’re right, the chances of you dropping are high. You should go by Axel-Thirty, just in case,” she joked back.
“I better get back,” he said. “My team is lost without me.”
“It’s a squad, and I’m sure they’re not lost without you,” Axel-Zero retorted.
The group arrived at the mech bays. Usually, they would catch a rail elevator or travelator, since they ran horizontally as well as vertically, but those were all locked down, forcing the cadets to walk.
The mech bay was massive and broken up into three sections. It was for House Thoth, which meant there would be four more just like it. It was no wonder the underground complex ran for kilometres in all directions as well as hundreds of metres down. The size of the structures was on a grand scale.