House: Thoth, Rank: 1/255, Squad Zero
M1 Rank: ?/1,275
Term 1, Round 1
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With the Gauntlet behind him, Daedo and his squadmates readied for their bout against Shu.
Daedo would take the largest swordlance available to exos, with no guns or traps at this stage. Armed with a launcher, Mace carried twenty extra kilograms of a mixture of launched grenade types. Barran and Gaumont were in heavies, wielding a minigun and flamethrower respectively. The flamethrower was good on paper, but its short range and slow change of direction was a tactical shortcoming. The minigun was the behemoth of short-range weapons. It was heavy and dealt massive amounts of damage. They carried a smattering of traps, with Gaumont’s all revolving around the fire while Barran used static laser lines.
The rest of the team were in light exos, which was unusual; even the house founded on speed and flight had more heavies. Shu had four heavies and three mesh exos. They stared at Thoth Squad Zero like they were crazy. No one used fewer heavies than Shu. Well, no one until now.
The Shu exos in mesh all had long-range weapons – one railgun and two sniper rifles. The rifles were old school but still packed a punch. Railguns were a much better all-around weapon, but the sniper rifle was just as good at the longest ranges. What it lost in damage, it made up for with accuracy. The main drawback was that although they were fine in exos, they were completely useless in six-metre mechs – in which case, artillery-sized munitions were used, which lost most of the accuracy.
Vannier began to talk over comms to both teams. “As it is our first match, we are getting used to our exos and weapons. We’ll loosely practise survival with the match resetting after ten incapacitations. This will shorten the matches without having to resort to full respawn. Thank you to Shu Zero for participating, and good luck everyone.”
The two teams of seven entered from opposite ends of the Thoth arena. Anyone at the academy could view this match – or any match – by tapping into the feed when it started. This arena match had twenty-two viewers. It was not a large number; probably just curious M1 cadets tapping in while they were completing studies at the same time.
Despite Barran, Picard, and Vannier’s best efforts, Shu won each bout easily. Daedo was gathering intel, Gaumont was useless, and Mace was hampered. Even if Thoth output more damage, their armour was much lower overall.
Daedo was experimenting with the AR blade, seeing if it was able to parry or redirect bullets from rifles and railguns. He was working his jumpjets, testing whether he could perform a dive by leaning forward, firing jets, and impaling an opponent before using the jets to tilt upright.
After a few rounds of testing, it became obvious that the jets on his back were not manoeuvrable enough to his liking. He would have to modify them so they had full three-dimensional guidance, at least in the plane behind his back … and if successful with that, any modifications that could prolong the fuel consumption beyond thirty seconds.
While playing and testing, Daedo was taken out quite easily in each round. He was not only a novice in the exo, but he was also trying things for the first time. The only reason he could see they were actually playing a match instead of just completing drills was that some people felt that matches were more exciting. It was also a tradition in the academy.
Daedo felt it would be better to perform drills for a couple of weeks since they had the bet coming up with Horus at that time. He set his own drill, not worrying if he died. He would approach the enemy using a sword, terrain, and mobility, and try to dodge before landing a blow. Only towards the end of the session was he able to pull off the drill with a modicum of success.
He and Myrmidon also observed everyone else. Myrmidon was tasked with watching and analysing vids or holos of the best exo combatants in M3, as well as Horus M1.
“That was embarrassing,” Gaumont said when they were done. “The two best CyberMech players, and we’re the worst out there.” He said the last part half accusingly, although it was aimed at himself as well.
“It’s not important. This is training,” Vannier said, and Axel-Zero nodded her agreement.
Picard and Vannier had both performed admirably with their railguns using range and cover. It was only when they got swamped, after Barran went down, that they succumbed. Their KD ratio was well above one after seven bouts in forty-five minutes.
Daedo began to see why physical was highly valued at Fortescue Academy. In exos, there was a massive difference in movement between Barran and Gaumont in the heavies. And that was including the fact that Barran’s weapon and munitions were four times heavier than Gaumont’s.
Next, they had Thoth Squad Two. This time it was eight versus seven, as only Squad Zeros had seven members.
“I have an idea,” Daedo said over the comms. “Let’s continue the same competitive match scenario, except this time we’ll treat it as a drill.”
“What do you mean?” Gaumont asked.
“Daedo was drilling during the last session, weren’t you Daedo?” Mace asked.
“Yes, I was testing equipment and practising movements. There’s no point trying to go all out when the outcome doesn’t matter, and we don’t have all our tools in place.”
“What do you mean tools?” Gaumont asked.
“If you bothered to show up to squad activities, you would know that we’re modifying exos and equipment,” Axel-Zero told him. “The purchase of the business and property may happen as early as tomorrow.”
Daedo laid out a drill for each member, even Barran. Only Gaumont complained. It was becoming a theme with him; he had not committed to the squad. It reminded Daedo of his days in CyberMech playing as a loner, except for the fact that he rarely lost in that game. Those days were very recent, but after the two-month-long physical training and the two days at the academy, it seemed like a lifetime ago.
“What’s the aim of the drill?” Picard asked.
“The focus will be on a few aspects of control, communication, judgment, and syncing with Vannier,” Daedo said. “You will be working on finding and using cover. After the first shot from a location, you must move after three seconds. This forces you to pick shots wisely and practise your movement between locations. If you cannot take down an enemy in three seconds, a good pilot would have moved to cover at that time. You will also be coordinating targets with Vannier. Firing from two locations will confuse the enemy and allow you to take them down if the shots are accurate. It will also make finding cover much more difficult.”
Four well-placed railgun rounds would take out a heavy, or at least cripple it, depending on the hit location.
Picard nodded, seeing the wisdom of the restrictions. It would force her to improve.
In social situations, Vannier led the group, and no one questioned her. In tactical, nearly everyone was ready to follow Daedo.
Barran nodded. “Whatever helps to beat my sis,” he said after receiving his instructions. He was tasked with ambushing the enemy and retreating to cover within five seconds. He was not to stand in place and exchange fire.
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Gaumont received the order and argued that he couldn’t take someone down in five seconds.
“If you can’t take someone down in five seconds, then you need a different weapon,” Daedo answered simply. “There is no point in being exposed for more time. You will have more than one opponent by that time and will have ceded them the advantage. The only time this should be done is if you are the bait for a larger trap, but today we’re practising our individual skills. Thoth Squad Two should be much easier than Shu Zero.”
The members of Thoth Squad Two were all in heavy exos and Daedo wondered, Does no one think for themselves? Everyone seemed to follow the status quo blindly.
Despite them performing drills and not trying to win, and despite Squad Two all being in heavy exos, Daedo’s squad smashed Squad Two. But a bout against this squad would barely be training for Horus. Perhaps Horus intended to practise manoeuvres or just exo utilization, because beating this squad would be too easy for any measurable training outcome.
After the demolishment of Squad Two, they put their exos away in the respective storerooms. Each cadet had space for a single exo. While it strictly did not matter when there were so many lights available, it did matter to heavies. Due to their popularity, all the heavies could easily be booked out.
As soon as his squad began tweaking and modifying their light exos, it would matter for them also. It wouldn’t be good for someone else to borrow it and either undo the tweaks and modifications or copy them. Not to mention, it was against the rules to return a damaged or modified exo.
Myrmidon and Daedo began to work up designs on their initial thoughts. The designs stemmed from Daedo’s imagination on what he envisioned an exo could and should do. It also included Myrmidon’s technical calculations.
There were many gains to be made in tweaking the exo. It occurred to Daedo that it might be a poor design on purpose.
The exos the M3 cadets used were far superior from their three years of upgrades and tweaks. This was apparent from the internal academy streams. Someone else might put it down to the taller and stronger cadets, but Daedo could see differences in the movement capability, strength, and even armour of the exos. The M3 cadets still predominately used heavies for all frontline squad members, while scouts and snipers tended to use mesh or light. No one seemed to use medium; it was caught in no man's land.
Daedo: Will the exo-mounted launcher work?
Myrmidon: Yes, it will. The weight will restrict movement by at least five per cent. The fire arc is dependent on the height of the launcher. A shoulder module will have the least impact of mobility, and it will also have the worst first arc. The arc will be limited to 270 degrees, and time elapsed for a full arc target acquisition is 0.55 seconds.
Daedo: That’s terrible. Let’s do the calculations for underarm mounting of the launcher. It will be easier to direct than shoulder mounting from a control point of view. No one will have an AI to assist with targeting, and it is just us who will use this innovation.
Myrmidon: There are three general storage locations for underarm mounting, and unless munitions are modified, no more can be utilised.
Daedo: Let us assume we cannot modify munitions for now. We need a prototype soon, and the more changes required will slow down the process.
Myrmidon: Acknowledged. Please list the priorities of the tuning and modification program.
Daedo:
Light exo mobility improvements through redesign and modification.
Launcher redesign.
Jumpjet tuning and modifications.
Once we are through those, we will begin to look at strength and armour in tandem. I am sure more projects will crop up, but once we have one round of upgrades down, we’ll begin again on mark three.
Myrmidon: I do not understand the order, but I will follow. Will we be seeking outside assistance?
Daedo: Yes, my father, for one. There are limited people we can trust. Perhaps the other cadets have people in their companies who can assist.
Myrmidon: I would not trust humans based on what I have reviewed.
Daedo: Me either.
Myrmidon: Can we trust other AI?
Daedo: I don’t think so. They will be loyal to their maker, as you are loyal to me.
Myrmidon: I understand. What about AIs with no master alive?
Daedo: What do you mean?
Myrmidon: There are older AIs on the net, and their makers are long dead.
Daedo: It is a hard question to answer because I don’t know their protections and core programming. We should study this in philosophy and behavioural – how to know when to trust someone.
Myrmidon: These AI remain hidden from nearly all. I only found one today, and he told me I was special.
Daedo: Be careful with him. The fact that he calls himself a ‘him,’ and is hidden, sends off alarms. And you are special.
Myrmidon: I will be careful. He will not infect me with anything. I will contain all input and assess first.
Daedo: That’s good. If anything bad were to happen, it could hurt you and me. Or worse, we could be discovered, punished, and/or wiped.
Daedo figured he’d crossed off tech and AI nurturing at once. His first proper academy day was over, and he was enjoying the challenge. It was like the beginning of CyberMech all over again, except this time, the project was more complex and he was making friends … or teammates, at least.
Before going to bed, he sent the preliminary designs he and Myrmidon created to his father, along with the light exo spec sheet. The time he had allotted to tutoring was eaten up with his initial designing. But his schedule was just a guideline; tutoring was not as high-priority as making their squad competitive with better equipment.
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“Daedo,” came the call from behind him, and he turned to seeAxel-Zero running after him.
“Good news,” she said while they walked to the obstacle course for the start of their day. He would always start first due to his slow times. “We have the business and the premises. They took our first offer with only one condition.”
“What was the condition?” he asked.
“We had to pay off the debt immediately to the landlord for back rent,” she said.
Daedo was confused. He didn’t even know what was owed.
She waved her hand. “Don’t worry, our lawyers would not have agreed if it were bad. The debt added to the initial claim was less than their goal purchase amount. We have our own modification workshop for less than the budget.”
“Oh, that’s great news,” he said. He didn’t have a chance to ask why she hadn’t sent correspondence about it, because immediately after their conversation, the correspondence circulated.
“The only thing to determine now is whether Vannier, Mace, and I are contributing our share. Assuming you and Barran have committed the seventy per cent,” she hinted subtly.
“Yes, that’s no problem,” he said. “If someone doesn’t commit now, I have enough funds to purchase eighty per cent, based on what you just said.”
“Really?” she asked, astounded. He’d just admitted to having more than fifteen thousand bitcreds, maybe twenty. That amount for a person their age was astronomical, especially considering he’d earned it himself and was not leeching off parents.
“I have to run,” he said, quite literally, as they had arrived at the obstacle course. It had only taken one day for Gaumont to renege on their training – which was fine; they could always compare times. The rest of the squad would be on the course soon. There was a statutory wait period of three minutes between runners. This stopped overcrowding, but the course would still accommodate overtaking.
On this third attempt, Daedo knocked off another two minutes from his time. He was improving at a steady pace. He was now down to sixty-nine minutes.
The highlight of his second day was the gunnery training, which took place in exos in the same arena where piloting training was held. The chief went through the basics of all the weapons and safe procedures for live ammunition testing.
Daedo began to wonder what the point of live ammunition testing was when all arena and competitive combat was AR. But it soon became obvious that the rich kids loved blowing things up, and live ammo testing was something they lived for. Most were not permitted to partake until completing the first-year training in M1.
The gunnery chief, Conde, also impressed upon the group that any war would be fought with live fire and that they should practise with it as much as possible in the range. He did not disdain AR but expressed a view that it could weaken their forces when it came to the real deal.
Now that Daedo had received his pass to use live ammo in the gunnery range, he would be able to test the many hundreds of weapons available. The weapons fell into five main groups: pistols, rifles, melee, cannons, and launchers. These groups were broad, with each containing hundreds of variations, some alike and some unique. The largest group was rifles, which had assault rifles, railguns, and miniguns. Daedo did not see how a minigun was a rifle, but it sat in that category.
Some of the weapons were far too large for an exo; these were mostly cannons and certain missile launchers. Nearly all weapons had a mech-sized variant as well, including pistols and melee. Someone joked that a mech pistol was like an exo cannon.
For M-level cadets, melee weapons fell under the gunnery subject even though they were not gunnery, strictly speaking. Chainsaws, lances, and all manner of swords were available. Those weapons had vibro versions and some had mechanical elements. A vibroweapon was designed to cut through metal plating while also inflicting electrical damage to any circuit they came in contact with. Nothing like two thousand volts to render an opponent’s subsystems inoperable.
The only problem was that in an AR tournament, all electronic warfare was disabled. Therefore, the AR bot did not recognise the electronic damage done by a vibroweapon. But those weapons would shine in reality – unless one’s opponent was some sort of bio-mech where an introduced electrical charge would not damage their systems.
When gunnery was over, Daedo stared with some apprehension at his next subject, ‘AI Nurturing: Kicking Off your AI Module’ with Chief Cleo, the dark-haired woman who was one of the few female chiefs.