Theodore briskly walked from the hangar to his home. On his way he ignored several people calling out to him. He was determined to spend every single second he could get away with on his next design project. Miss Green had made clear her demand for improvement. If he did not deliver a spectacular result next week, he might get the boot.

He couldn't give up his wish to keep tinkering with mechs. Science in general one of his greatest interests. His family counted on him to pilot a mech and he had fallen in love with the feeling of power that coursed to his veins every time he interfaced with a mech.

Then and there he decided; I will master mechs. As a pilot and a designer. My profession as a pilot will empower my design choices. I can't just become good at piloting and scrape by as a mech designer. I have not to show my respect to my professors or my own personal interests. If I keep muddling through, give priority to one over the other, I will only be mediocre as a mech designer.

And I will not accept being mediocre.

I will play catch up for now, but I'll be damned if I don't carve out my own place in this universe.

His thoughts were burning with ambition. He renewed his goals and promised not to be distracted by all the great things around him. He sorted out his priorities then and there.

By the time he reached his room, he was in his most focused state since the selection process on his day. He flickered his hands at his desk and three screens lit up floating above it. He then pressed a couple of times on his comm and downloaded the design files of his 'Black Raptor'.

The sleek form of this hunched mech with a menacing look was inspirational just by the look of it. Theodore started his design process by analysing the mech and more importantly, the decisions made by the designer. As he piloted this mech more than a few times a few things immediately struck him.

The hunched back was compensating for the big battery pack on its back. The relatively small feet were doing a careful balancing act as the centre of gravity shifted during motion. Theodore knew it the mech had been made to be quick on its feet. Acceleration and flexibility were the unique selling point of this mech. The mech spec sheet reflected the decisions of the mech designer. It was not an overly powerful mech, it did not have high top speeds or incredible mechanical strength. But it was quick on its feet and the equipped laser could pack a punch but is also greatly modifiable.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Theodore started to admire the mech as a designer, rather than a pilot and his understanding of the concept deepened with every detail he noticed that was in line with the design concept.

'A great design starts with a very fleshed-out concept. After setting the vision of the mech, every decision should favour an outcome that is in line with the concept. No mech is great just by being efficient. Being efficient is a bonus, not a concept. A mech needs to designed for a purpose.' He fervently thought.

After skimming through the design, which luckily was available for perusing for all U1 design cadets he got a greater understanding of design in general. He then felt ready to start his assignment.

'Alright, I think I'm ready to design a mech. I already set my sights on the Black Raptor. I will create a mech that suits me. The black raptor is a great design, but it's too general to fit my exact needs. It fits the bill as a mass-market mech for landbound ranged laser Pilots, but it's still lacking to me.'

He smiled 'A first-year cadet creating a custom mech for himself. I can already imagine the uproar that this is going to cause.'

He loaded the design in his design and started with a blank slate. He would go custom all the way. The studio suite asked him to name his project. Since the Black Raptor was his inspiration he decided to pay homage to it. He named it 'Indominus'.

'A reference nobody will understand in this world' Theo sighed. Well, at least he got the inside joke he sniggered.

The Indominus Rex, a genetically modified, hybrid mutant dinosaur from J-Park , would be his source of inspiration. As the Black Raptor had similarly drawn upon a vicious dinosaur.

'My mech will be just as much a masterpiece of engineering. It will be a dominant, fast striking, hard-hitting mech that is versatile and has high acceleration in one direction.'

He deviated slightly from the initial goals from the Black Raptor. The Black Raptor was versatile, but definitely not as high powered as the vision that Theodore set.

'It'll be fine. As a ranged mech pilot, I always like to have a distance to my targets. Its flexibility is great to finely dodge incoming foes, but if they've managed to close in, its all moot anyway. Laser mechs are never great at close range.'

'I'll sacrifice some of that fine movement for greater mechanical strength and acceleration. The stress on the pilot would also be reduced by a fair margin as fine movements will be more constricted.'

As he finished settling on his goals he created a list of requirements for his mech. He then started to browse the academy library for licensed parts that he could incorporate in his design.

After browsing for a while he terminated the library channel. He reconsidered his approach. Picking high powered parts that conformed to his design concept would quickly flesh out his design but also restrict him in many ways. He decided to only buy a proper energy source and engine for now. He would then start out designing the mech-skeleton and flesh out it's musculatory system. After having a bare frame ready he would be much more comfortable with selecting appropriate parts.