~December 5th, 135 AH~
~Joint Base Akra, Eidolon Hangar~
The party was over, but the surprisingly good vibes didn’t end there. After eight years of proto-Reiter training—about four of which were spent lumbering about inside a model ST-500—Zelen wasn’t prepared for just how much he would enjoy the look and feel of a combat-grade Eidolon.
Model ES-V was of course the brainchild of Jaeger and genius inventor Sherwin Granger, and it’d been in production for only the last five years. It was everything the training model wasn’t, with a streamlined frame and elegant curves that evoked speed and precision. Svelte yet muscular arms and legs—absent all the fat and inefficiencies of older Eidolon models—attached to an aerodynamic central chassis that looked inviting rather than tedious.
Up top, the sensory processing unit (or the SPU for short) had been designed to approximate the head of an ancient Spartan warrior, with a pair of optic modules that peeked out from the slits of the ‘helmet’. This wasn’t for any functional reason (if anything, it was likely counterproductive), but purely an aesthetic choice meant to appeal to certain grandiose pretensions shared by men of a certain age. To Zelen’s chagrin, he himself proved susceptible to the magic of such a design, which called to some ancestral zeal that had hitherto lain dormant within his blood.
The Eidolon retained its ‘factory appearance’, which was to say none of its metallic parts had received a coat of paint. It was a time-honoured tradition for a Reiter to express himself through the decals on an Eidolon: one of the few aspects of Reiterschaft that Zelen had sincerely looked forward to. Seeing the model ES-V up close had sent his creative side into high gear, and he was already visualizing himself flying into battle inside a gleaming midnight-blue beast—a phantom in a true sense of the word.
Captain Vasseur first gave the two new graduates several minutes to stand on the catwalk in silence and gawk at their new Eidolons. Then he began a briefing that neither young man paid much attention to, not only because they were too preoccupied with their new toys, but also because it didn’t cover anything they didn’t already know.
The Tethering—that official union between Reiter and the Spiegel that would support him in battle for the entire duration of his career—was the final rite of passage in a week that had been full of them. It was a formality more than anything, however, as there was no way to ‘fail’ a Tethering. The only question was which of the Spiegels on standby would pair with which Reiter, though if Zelen were being honest, he couldn’t see why even that mattered much.
For as much as the Tetrarchy tried to avoid the taboo terminology, Spiegels, in essence, were AI. Nexus-mediated and therefore crucially immune to interference by the Syntropy, certainly, but AI all the same.
As impossible as it was to believe now, there had been a time—before the war—when large human civilizations relied on various AI systems and devices that assisted in everything from menial tasks to maintaining the very fabric of society. The advent of the Syntropy had changed all that, of course, but an imitation of such practices had been revived in the form of Spiegels: an ‘AI’ system that assisted Reiters in battle, worrying about the minutiae so their human partners could focus on destroying as many enemies as possible, for as long as possible.
For reasons not clearly explained to the proto-Reiters (and not fully understood even by the top minds of Akropolis, Zelen suspected), each instance of a Spiegel required bespoke linkage with an individual Reiter in order to perform its function. And once a Reiter was Tethered to his Spiegel, they were bound for life: no taking it back to the store to find a new one.
“The Kurators in charge of the Spiegel Program always ensure to keep a few spares on standby,” Captain Vasseur now explained toward the tail end of his spiel, “but unfortunately—or maybe fortunately for the two of you—this year we had somewhat less than our usual expected number of graduates. Which means you should have your pick of the Spiegels on offer… for whatever that’s worth.”
The Instructor’s tone suggested to Zelen that they shared similar views on how unimportant it was to actually find the ‘right’ Spiegel. This seemed to be the common sentiment even among pilots on active combat duty. A particularly friendly Reiter who occasionally stopped by the canteen likely summed it up best:
“I guess it’s nice to have someone to talk to when you’re out there all alone. But if I’m being honest, my Spiegel still gives me the creeps, even after all these years.”
Who could blame them?
After 135 years, the Syntropy War still raged on with no end in sight. 135 years since the human race was driven to near-extinction by an entity that had seized control of the AI networks of Old Earth. 135 years of fighting deadly machines that continued to replicate and evolve themselves on the back of remnant AI programming.
It would be a wonder if anyone in the Reiter Regiment could trust a thing that was, for all intents and purposes, AI. Even if that thing spoke to them from the Nexus to guide them to victory.
As such, a not insignificant amount of trepidation mixed with genuine excitement as Zelen Athelstan lowered himself into the cockpit of his new model ES-V.
The machinery inside the cockpit was shiny and smooth in all the ways the ST-500 hadn’t been. The Nexa-Suit proved a snug and surprisingly comfortable fit around Zelen—the ickiness of the Anamnium gel notwithstanding; he could never see himself getting used to that—almost as if it had been built with his exact physical attributes in mind. And perhaps it had, considering Zelen’s decidedly average build for an Akropolitan male.
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“Alright, we’ll start with you, Athelstan,” Captain Vasseur now spoke to him through the radio. “Engaging simulation mode.”
The cockpit brightened dramatically as the HUD hummed to life. The display showed the mock-up of a terrain not unlike the crater at Sector Aquarius where Zelen had his duel earlier today.
The outer edges of the screen filled with a green bar on the left and a pale blue one on the right. These represented Armour Units and Energy Reserves respectively, though the latter had been pre-set for the purpose of the simulation (and not drawn from Zelen’s own Somatic and Psychic Reserves, of which there were very little at present).
“You will conduct Training Scenario 1D, a simple extermination mission, but one that should keep you busy long enough to find the love of your life from the Nexus. You’ll hear… a lot of different voices, and it’ll get confusing, but just concentrate on the mission, and eventually you’ll just know which of the voices is actually helping and which are just background noise. That’s the best way I can describe it. Any questions?”
Zelen had a lot of questions, but habits ingrained from eight years of fearing corporal punishment died hard, so he defaulted to, “No, sir.”
“Good. Let me see… right, here it is. Alright, Kingfisher, stand by for Training Scenario 1D. Opening Spiegel channels now. And uh… good luck, for whatever that’s worth.”
The radar suddenly filled with a swarm of red dots, each representing the sentry drone ‘Hornet’. The mission was as simple as Captain Vasseur had claimed; it would end once all the red dots were eliminated.
Yet, unlike all the other times he’d run Scenario 1D, Zelen wasn’t alone within the Nexus.
—evening, Kingfisher. This is Spiegel Gamma-Omicron. How may I be of—
Good morning, Kingfisher. Spiegel Pi-Epsilon at your service. We—
—do you do, Kingfisher. You may call me Spiegel Chi-Rho. I see that—
Are you there, Kingfisher? This is Spiegel Delta-Upsilon. Please respond.
What felt like a thousand different whispers started up at once, with several regions of these whispers coalescing into distinct voices that spoke words Zelen could begin to understand.
Annoyingly enough, these voices spoke over each other, which worsened the mild migraine Zelen had already been nursing since the end of his earlier duel. But they didn’t do so in haste, like they were fighting to be heard. Rather, it seemed as though they simply weren’t aware of each other’s presence.
The same couldn’t be said for Zelen, however, and his headache flared anew as he tried to parse what was being said to him, and which voice he ought to focus on. In the end, he sent out a general request, one he normally would’ve inputted into the simulation on his own.
“Uh… whichever one of you is least busy, give me double [GATLINGS], RS [CLUSTER LAUNCHER], and LS [SCUTUM].”
—away, Kingfisher.
Good choice, King—
—got it, Kingfisher. Any—
Of course, Kingfisher. ER now at 60%. And watch out: enemy units converging on your position.
Zelen deployed [SCUTUM] as soon as it was made available, deflecting the first salvo of enemy attacks. He then kicked and thrust himself into the air.
Here, surrounded by a swarm of Hornets, he used a combination of lateral thrusters and a twisting motion inside the Nexa-Suit to send his brand new Eidolon into a midair spin (simulated of course!). He fired from both [GATLINGS], decimating a chunk of the swarm with a whirlwind of bullets.
More voices spoke to him from the Nexus. And had he stopped to pay attention to his own thoughts, he would’ve noticed that only one of the voices still remained intelligible.
Taking hits. AU now at 80%. [GATLINGS] on cooldown.
Zelen quickly backthrust away a group of Hornets, shielding himself with [SCUTUM] as he did. Then he fired [CLUSTER LAUNCHER] into their midst, and watched them burn.
50 enemy units remaining. [GATLINGS] re-armed.
“Thanks!” Zelen found himself exclaiming in between thrusts and spins to reposition. And if he could see himself now, he would’ve marvelled at the wide grin that had spread across his face.
30 units remain. AU at 70%. You’re in good shape, Kingfisher. [CLUSTER LAUNCHER] re-armed.
“I don’t have visuals on all of them. Where’re they hiding?”
Bearing two-three-eight, near ground level. [SCUTUM] re-armed.
Zelen angled himself toward the direction indicated and kicked hard to launch into a prolonged thrust. Even as a simulation, model ES-V moved with a fluidity that felt almost like a perfect extension of his own conscious movements.
Leading with [SCUTUM] to protect himself from chip damage, he stuck out the right-sided [GATLING] from behind the shield to pick off the nearest threats. Then he finished things off with one more charge of [CLUSTER LAUNCHER] placed into the middle of the last group of enemies.
All enemies eliminated. Well done, Kingfisher. This concludes Training Scenario 1D.
“Thanks,” Zelen said again as he checked the HUD. The AU was still hovering at around 60%, and the ER had barely dipped below half-capacity. The flashing timer had stopped at 2:24, which was his fastest ever time on this scenario, and by some distance at that.
All in all, this was far and away his most efficient run on Scenario 1D. Certainly, a large part of was down to the state-of-the-art Eidolon he now piloted, but he also couldn’t discount the Spiegel’s contributions.
“You weren’t too shabby yourself,” he added. “I know this is just a simulation, but I can see how having a Spiegel can make all the difference. I didn’t even break a sweat!”
I’m glad to hear it, Kingfisher. May your battles always be so lenient on your body and mind.
“Ha! Are you worrying about my health and well-being? I have to say, I’m not used to this… this kindness… even if it’s just part of your programming. Wait, are you programmed to say things like that?”
However Zelen had expected this day to turn out, it couldn’t have included this. He knew he was supposed to mistrust the Spiegels, perhaps even find them creepy. But he couldn’t help it. There was just something about talking to this Spiegel that came naturally to him.
Zelen’s off-the-cuff question had sent the Spiegel into her first pause in the conversation. After a beat, she answered, absent any inflection that might’ve counted as emotion.
I’m programmed to act as your mirror. To reflect and manifest everything you ask of the Nexus, so you may concentrate on what you do best.
Then, and only then did Zelen realize that the thousand whispers were long gone: crystallized into the one voice that spoke to him and him alone.
“I guess… does this mean we’re Tethered? I don’t think I ever got your name. What should I call you?”
This is your Spiegel Delta-Upsilon, and it’s my honour to fly into battle by your side. May the Nexus ever heed your call, Zelen.