Attendance at Fortescue Military Academy M1 Y:2142
House Thoth, Squad Leader, Squad Zero
M1 Rank: 1/1275, Tier 3 M-Rank: Null
Term: 1, Round: 5 (End)
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The cadets stood in the auditorium where they’d been assigned houses at the beginning of the term, the bodysuit colours lined up with the house banner. The commander droned on about duty, diligence, and other crap about Fortescue.
Thoth Squad Zero was at the front of the crowd, with Squad One behind and so forth. They had won the M1 tournament, which then reflected onto their grades and subsequent rankings.
Due to Fortescue Squad Zero not competing in the M1 tournament, their rankings had taken a beating. The chiefs for piloting and gunnery always maintained that the end-of-term tournament performance would have a significant impact on their grade. The other main input was the Gauntlet.
Rank
T1 R5
Cadet
House
1
Daedo
Thoth
2
Mace
Thoth
3
Vannier
Thoth
4
Delcroix
Amun-Ra
5
Gallois
Osiris
6
Almeras
Osiris
7
Lazard
Shu
8
Fortescue
Horus
9
Picard
Thoth
10
Barran
Thoth
11
Moreau
Horus
14
Axel-Zero
Thoth
19
Gaumont
Thoth
The second-ranked Horus, Moreau, was from Squad Two. This placing gave Squad Zero more delight than Daedo’s rank one – aside from the overall satisfaction that the entire squad was in the top twenty rankings and it was their own personal achievement. Those ranks were calculated by performance across all ten subjects, from physical to physics; it was an indication of their overall strength.
Daedo’s weakest subject was still physical, and it was in that area he had worked the hardest and improved the most. His time in the obstacle course was now in the top 150 out of the almost thirteen hundred cadets in M1.
As the commander spoke with his monotone delivery, Daedo wished they had donned helmets so he could communicate with his squad. It was Friday, the last day of term and this was the last item on the agenda. It came after all the finals from M2 to U3, which were enjoyable, until the cadets from M1 had to suffer through the speech from the middle academy commander.
Year levels M3 and M2 had already left the academy. It probably had something to do with the pecking order, where the lowest year level had to wait for the longest before being dismissed for the term.
Finally, the commander finished, and the cadets relaxed before the exodus began. Literally hundreds of cadets congratulated his squad as they passed by, with a relatively small number making snide remarks about the M3 Shu match forfeits.
“I’ll be glad to be out of here. Today took forever,” Gaumont said as they made their way back to their quarters for the last time for the term.
“It was good to see the mechs in action though. I can’t wait to get in one,” Axel-Zero said.
“Are we going to get a head start on them, Daedo?” Barran asked. “There was a massive difference between the U1 mechs and the U3 models. The U3s were so much faster.”
Daedo nodded. “Other than our Munich trip, I’m going to spend the entire break at the workshop. We may even put some work into Old Dawg.”
“Awesome! I’ll come visit for sure,” Barran said.
“Who else is going to the workshop over the break?” Vannier asked.
Most of the cadets had to spend time with their families, and it was difficult enough getting time off for the Munich trip. If it was up to Vannier, she probably would have stayed at the workshop the entire break as well.
“I’ll be there too,” Mace said shyly. “My parents will fly through Munich while we’re there.”
Picard announced, “Once we get back from Munich, I’m coming to the workshop until term two.”
“I’m still working on it,” Axel-Zero said sadly.
Vannier nodded. “Same here.”
Gaumont remained quiet. He wasn’t sure if he was invited to Munich or not.
All the important equipment was being packed into hoverbins. They wouldn’t leave anything vital in their quarters. It would go with Mace and Daedo to the workshop, and the rest of the squad was being picked up by their parents.
Daedo still wore his bodysuit; he didn’t bring any other clothes. Mace stayed in hers for solidarity. Barran, Vannier, and Axel-Zero got changed into their regular everyday clothes, which were increasing levels of garish, ending with Barran’s at the top.
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Barran preened in his red and yellow tight-fitting faux leather. “It’s great to get out of black and white.”
Vannier had changed into a yellow jacket over a white bodysuit, while Axel-Zero wore a different style purple bodysuit.
“I like not having to worry about what to wear,” Daedo said, to which the squad laughed.
“That’s so you, Daedo,” Vannier observed cheerfully.
“Need all your brain power for the physics, ay?” Barran teased, imitating the physics chief’s voice.
Axel-Zero said solemnly, “My parents are here.” She proceeded to give everyone a hug before scooting off into the hall. One by one, the squad left in the same fashion.
Gaumont had a shimmer of tears in his eyes. “I guess this is really goodbye for me.”
Daedo shook his head. “No, we’ll still work together. If you need anything, be sure to ask.”
“Ah great.” Gaumont grinned sheepishly. “Can I get eight exos?” And then he laughed nervously.
Vannier looked at Daedo, unsure what to say.
Daedo nodded. “Sure. But you’ll have to pay us back with something fantastic.”
Gaumont was dumbfounded. He hadn’t expected that response. “Like what?”
“Why don’t you work on a weapon or an energy shield?” Daedo suggested. “The ion shield is only good for PPC blasts.”
Gaumont nodded. “We will.” He shook Daedo’s hand firmly before Vannier roped him in for a final hug.
“I guess it’s time for me to go,” Vannier said. “Don’t get into trouble, you two.”
“Like a physics brawl?” Daedo asked.
Mace declared, “We won’t,” before hugging Vannier.
Vannier gave Daedo a long hug and whispered, “You changed my life, Etana Daedo. I am so happy we met.”
“I’ll be seeing you next week right?” Daedo asked sedately after the sudden outpouring of emotion.
Vannier nodded and walked away with tears in her eyes as well. Only Daedo and Mace were left.
“I guess it’s just us, all this gear, and a rented hovervan,” Mace said, smiling.
Daedo nodded. “Let’s get moving; we have a lot of work to do.”
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“Are you sure your parents are okay that you’re staying with us?” Ikaros asked Mace for the third time.
“Yes!” she said with a small show of exasperation.
“Dad, voice them – you have their contact details,” Daedo said. “And I have no idea why it would be a problem now. We’ve spent every weekend here for the last nine weeks.”
“It’s just …” Ikaros hesitated, “there’s only two of you now, and it’s out of term. I know I would be upset if you didn’t come home, Daedo.”
“There’s no one at her home, Dad. They’re travelling on business. If anything, she has more supervision here,” Daedo argued.
Ikaros held his hands up in defeat. “Okay, okay. What’s for dinner?”
“If you don’t have anything planned, I was just going to follow Picard’s meal plan and drone in some meals,” Daedo said.
Ikaros nodded. “Sounds good, I don’t mind her food.” He classed it as Picard’s food because she’d designed the made-to-order meals that were droned in from a local bot-kitchen to their warehouse.
“Better make that four,” Cisse announced as she walked into the workshop.
She had finally taken the plunge and was sporting a new set of cybernetic legs. It appeared as if she wore thigh-high black boots, but they all knew what must be underneath.
“Whoa,” Ikaros said, surprised. He immediately approached Cisse to admire the workmanship.
“Dad. Cisse is a woman, and they are her legs,” Daedo announced, trying to point out the impropriety of his father’s behaviour.
“They look great,” Mace complimented.
“They work great too,” Cisse said. “It only took a few days for me to get used to them. My implant helped a lot.” Cisse had her own cybernetic implant with an AI assistant – a civilian gen three model, unlike the cadets’ restricted military one.
“So what do we have planned for the holiday?” Ikaros asked.
Daedo smirked. “Holiday?”
“Your term is finished, and you’re on a break. In my book, that’s a holiday,” Ikaros said.
“Oh, it’s only a break for the academy. Daedalus isn’t on holiday,” Daedo said firmly.
Ikaros made a whining noise.
“The bots do most of the work; stop complaining, Dad.”
“We have a lot to do,” Mace and Cisse said at the same time.
Ikaros looked from one to the other and shook his head.
“I need to finish building the containment field for the reactor and centrifuges on sub-level three,” Cisse said.
“No more rocks coming out, I hope,” Ikaros asked with concern.
Cisse shook her head. “All done.”
Cisse had taken every spare robot hour that Ikaros could provide her to construct the second sub-level. It involved tonnes of rubble removal, drainage, and reinforcement before they even started converting it into a lab.
“What’s going on?” Mace asked.
“We’ve been keeping it under wraps,” Cisse said, embarrassed. Daedo had mentioned that Mace could find out when the term was over.
“Cisse is building a test lab for a new reactor concept,” Daedo said.
Mace nearly said ‘Shit!’ but covered her mouth quickly.
“Exactly my thoughts,” Ikaros said, smiling.
The thought of an accident and explosion brought solemn silence to the upbeat gathering.
“We know the risks,” Cisse said reassuringly. “We’re taking every precaution.”
“And we’re going to create a new structure for R & D,” Daedo said, changing the subject. “Gaumont is leaving to Squad One. We need to assess where we are at with current projects, create the specialist fields list, and reassignment to those fields.”
“Wait. Gaumont is gone?” Ikaros asked incredulously.
“To be leader of Squad One,” Mace said.
While they ate and for the next hour, the small team of four went through Daedo’s list, adding, deleting, and refining various parts. It had to be a list of specialities that the seven cadets and the two civilians could manage. It also had to try to cover all the specialities involved with mech and mech armament development. Anything to do with an exo would have to come from those fields, and there was nothing that was needed for exo development that wasn’t needed for a mech.
Daedo pulled up the main board with the org chart. The subcategories were found in the second and third layers of the chart.
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Design and Construct Mech Main Categories:
Mech Engineering – Structural and mechanical design. The overall bringing together of the finished product; balancing power, weight, defence, operational ability, and mobility.
Power Engineering – Reactors and power storage for mechs, exos, and vehicles.
Metallurgy – Analysis and creation of materials fit for purpose in other fields.
Mechanic – Construct and maintain infrastructure and equipment.
Chemical Engineering – Research into advanced polymers, fluids, and gases. Research and develop fit-for-purpose munitions.
Propulsion Specialist – Research into propulsion for mechs, exos, missiles, and vehicles.
Electronics and Coding Specialist – Communication methods, sensors, sensor data sorting, and interface. Electronic Warfare; including dampeners, hacking, interference, and shielding from external EW attacks.
Physics and Quantum Physics – Pure research into areas such as plasma, fields and gravity.
Drones – Research into warfare and sensory drones. Combines inputs from propulsion, sensors, communications, and munitions.
Melee Weapons – Development and improvement of melee weapon loadouts.
Ranged Weapons – Development and improvement of ranged weapon loadouts.
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“Some of these areas feed off the pure science from a supporting specialist such as a drone specialist who relies heavily on propulsion and chemical engineering,” Daedo said.
“Isn’t that speciality light? For example, coding and electronics have a massive scope, where drones are quite small,” Ikaros observed.
“I altered these with the eventually responsible person in mind,” Mace said. “We only have two areas from the main section where we don’t have a specialist.”
“Let’s look at the assigned list. What do we have?” Cisse asked.
“Okay, bear in mind, this list is affected by the person’s capability and other roles needed for Daedalus,” Daedo qualified.
Mech Engineering – Daedo
Power Engineering – Cisse
Metallurgy –
Mechanic – Ikaros
Chemical Engineering – Mace
Propulsion –
Electronic/Code – Myrmidon
Quantum Physics, Physics – Daedo
Drones – Axel-Zero
Melee Weapons – Picard
Ranged Weapons – Vannier
Fascinated, Cisse said, “Your AI is going to hold down one of the largest fields?”
“He is more than capable,” Daedo said. “Myrmidon has been coordinating squad comms and is quickly mastering data sorting and presentation. The electronics will need work, but he is perfectly suited to this role.”
“He also doesn’t have to study ten subjects or sleep much,” Mace added.
Daedo shook his head. “He does his fair share of studying.”
“What are the other roles?” Cisse asked, interested in the overall operations of Daedalus.
Ancillary
.Medical –
.Xeno Biology –
Mundane
.Communications – Vannier
.Security – Barran
.Business Manager – Barran
.Finance Manager –
.Logistics – Picard
“You want Barran to be ‘Business Manager?’” Mace asked. It was her turn to be astounded.
“He’s perfect for the role,” Daedo said.
“Barran doesn’t have any science roles,” Ikaros pointed out. “Is that okay?”
“He’ll have his hands full. In order to do what we need to – what we want to – we are going to need bitcreds. A tonne of bitcreds. ’He'll be responsible for bringing them in. And of course, someone else will be responsible for what goes out. Someone more risk-averse.”
“Much more,” Mace added with a worried look on her face.
“How are we going to fill the vacant areas?” Cisse asked.
“Master Nader said to provide this list, and she will look for someone to fill the need,” Daedo said.
Ikaros whistled. “A thirteen-year-old cadet with a penchant for metallurgy who loves rockets?”
“Exactly!” Daedo grinned.
“And is a great shot, and an acrobat who can fight with a bo staff,” Mace added.
Daedo waved his hand dismissively. “Those skills can be learned.”
Cisse scoffed.
Daedo looked at Mace. “Time for a run?”
She nodded. They donned their helmets, put on Picard’s cruel weights, and ran down to the river.
“So. I guess I’m handing over drones to Axel-Zero,” Mace said as they settled down into a steady gait.
“Yeah. Sorry,” Daedo said.
“I understand.”
“Chemical engineering is crucial and it’s something we need our best person on,” Daedo said truthfully.
“Second best,” Mace corrected.
Daedo made a guttural sound that illustrated his disagreement with the statement.
“I’m guessing that my first project is to develop the hydraulic fluid or the polymer fibre we’re using in the weave?” Mace asked.
“Both. Pick one.”
“You don’t make things easy,” Mace retorted with a snort.
“Do you want to take Myrmidon’s role?” Daedo teased.
“No!” Mace yelled over the comms.
Daedo changed the subject as they ran up a small incline. “You’re still six minutes quicker than me over the obstacle course.”
“Keep training like this, and you’ll catch up,” Mace said before adding, “While you were playing CyberMech, my tutor had me completing circuits every day.”
“What’s it like? Having a tutor?” he asked.
“Much easier than being in your squad,” she answered with a chuckle.
Daedo tried a flying kick near Mace, who merely quickened her pace to make him look like a dunce when he fell.
“I wasn’t going to hit you,” he cried as he got up from the ground.
“Don’t waste your breath, and catch up, pipsqueak,” Mace taunted.
“You are like one centimetre taller!”
They had sat around all day watching matches or standing at ceremonies, so the pair opted for a much longer run than normal. They were used to four PT sessions a day. After fifty minutes, they circled back to the workshop.
“What’s the plan for the rest of the night?” Mace asked.
“I’m going to program in six new radical exo designs for testing, then go to bed or take a look at Old Dawg,” Daedo said. “And you?”
“Write a report for Axel-Zero, I guess. I’d like to help clean up Old Dawg this week.”
“Okay, deal,” Daedo said happily. “We’ll start on our new projects and play mech mechanic with Old Dawg in our downtime.”
“In between, I’ll kick your ass with a bo staff,” Mace said with a giggle. She must have felt more at ease now that it was just the two of them; she rarely giggled at the academy.
“Sounds like term one never ended,” Daedo said sadly.
“Oh no, this is a term two beating!” Mace laughed at her declaration.