The Mess Hall was huge, clearly meant to house over five thousand people, and Dayton asked how many crew the ship had as he and Danin sat down with a tray of food each to eat. None of the food was really familiar to Dayton, but he figured he’d have to get used to that.

“It can run on a bare grew of twenty,” Danin admitted, “But at the moment there are two thousand on board. The ship houses up to ten thousand if it needs to, not including guests. Those are a further two thousand”.

“And this isn’t your biggest ship?” asked Dayton, impressed, “How many do those carry?”

“The Battle Carriers?” asked Danin, “About the same, those are made big in order to carry warships in their carrier bays. But the Military Ship that can carry the most people is a Warship, and they carry about twenty-five thousand. Though fifteen thousand of those are usually Mecha Pilots”.

“Will I get Mecha Training too at the Academy?” asked Dayton.

“Guaranteed,” said Danin, “Every soldier goes through Mecha Training. Most that you start with will have already had at least three years training thanks to electives, though only one of those will be actual pilot training. Some would even be used to using the Virtual System to practice, which is more helpful than one would think”.

Dayton paled.

Danin sighed, then quietly spoke, “You know, it was them who originally built Mecha”.

Dayton frowned, then realised she was talking about the Atlanteans.

“They may have been associated with water for obvious reasons-” meaning the Ki “-but that doesn’t mean they weren’t formidable elsewhere. Believe me, like anything you set your mind to, if you have the will and determination, you’ll succeed”.

It did make him feel a bit better, though the gap between him and his future peers was becoming more and more obvious. He hadn’t even tried training with that officer yet.

“Hey, I heard there are Mecha Pilots who are so good they can take on an entire Corp and win,” said Dayton.

Danin nodded, “They’re the Apex of Mecha Pilots, but the standard that they reach indicates very rare talent that is impossible for almost everyone to reach. Their Mechas have to be specifically built and coded to them with powerful AI systems to help the sync rate between man and machine that goes beyond control. The closest I’ve heard it described is that the Pilots become the Mecha, and its deadly for anyone else to use their machines. They’re not actually allowed in combat under alliance rules. So unless a full-scale war occurs, they simply serve as deterrents spread across the empire”.

“How many are there in Lusvellan?” asked Dayton.

“Ten,” said Danin, “One serving as head of the 1st Corps of each of the Four Armies, and the other six scattered to the borders of the Empire”.

Dayton huffed, “Must be some deterrent”.

Danin nodded, “Absolutely, there are generally classified Ten Grades of Mecha Pilot. About 75% don’t ever make it past the fourth grade”.

“What are the Grades?” asked Dayton.

“They’re numbered up to the ninth grade,” Danin admitted, “The Ninth Grade Pilots are better known as Demi Class, short for Demigod, and the Tenth Grade is known as the God Class rather than by a number”.

“What are the measurements for a grade?” asked Dayton, “Just combat ability?”

Danin shook her head, “It takes incredible Mental Capacity as well. The Concentration and Stamina required to integrate with even a basic Machine needs to be built over time”.

“Are you a Mecha Pilot?” asked Dayton, “After all, you said every soldier has to learn”.

Danin smiled sadly, “I only managed to get to the sixth grade. Usually, it’s harder for females of any race to reach higher grades given that their bodies are not as robust. Mecha Piloting takes its toll on not just the mental but the physical limits of the pilot as well. There is one female God-Class pilot though, in Lusvellan. She guards the 3rd Quadrant and is known to be quite formidable”.

Dayton nodded in acknowledgement.

“Are genders well spread in leadership positions?” asked Dayton, curiously.

Danin raised an eyebrow, “Not a question I get often…I suppose it is more male dominated, but that’s not become females aren’t given a chance. The positions are awarded to the most capable, after all. The Third Army probably has the most females in leadership positions, but even then, it’s probably about 40%”.

Dayton nodded again, “Thank you, for answering all my questions”.

Danin smiled, “You’ll need to learn at some point, and before you ask, the First Military Academy will be male dominated as well”.

Dayton nodded.

Danin finished her meal, “Well, I’ll be heading off to go and take up my duties again, just ask anyone if you get lost”.

Dayton nodded, finishing up his own meal which had been a combination of tastes that he’d describe as similar to airplane food. Some were okay, others not so much.

For the rest of the day, Dayton wondered around the decks he was allowed to view. Considering how large the ship was though, it didn’t take him long to grow tired or get lost, and a female crewman happily showed him the way back to the mess hall come dinner time. He’d noticed that the majority of the crew he passed was male, but females weren’t so rare that they were a commodity.

After dinner, tired from all the adventures of the day, he went straight to bed, setting an alarm for 0500 the next morning, when the Captain that Danin had posted as his gym trainer was due to come pick him up for a two-hour morning workout before breakfast.

Captain Kilu Mandavakalo was prompt in his arrival. He looked to be in his late twenties, but Dayton had learned that one’s appearance did not necessarily reflect their age, particularly if they were more proficient in combat training.

The Captain enquired into Dayton’s previous training, and when they arrived in the gym, worked with him through several drills and equipment to test his fitness levels before they had a brief spar.

After the two hours the Captain nodded, slightly impressed, “You’ve got a decent foundation, but you’ll be eaten alive at the First Military Academy”.

Dayton sighed.

“Don’t stress, I’ll help you as much as I can during the trip, I want you to start practicing meditation at night as well,” he said.

“Meditation?” asked Dayton.

Kilu nodded, “It’ll help build your mental abilities in preparation for your Mecha Training”.

Dayton nodded, the Kilu patted his shoulder, “Come on, we better get you fed and showered before you report for work”.

Despite it not being a part of the curriculum, Dayton had taken classes on Meditation before. His pilot training had encouraged it to counter the intense sessions for concentration and stamina, so he figure it was the same principal.

During his job, Dayton let himself settle into a rhythm that let him fall into a kind of sub-meditation. It wasn’t as effective, but it did allow Dayton to better explore his body’s improved capabilities. The tests that morning showed him that he could run faster and longer, and that he could hit harder, even his reaction speed had improved, but Kilu had determined that it wouldn’t be near enough for Academy Standards. The only thing he’d be entering on was the General’s Scholarship, and his terrible ability would reflect badly on the General.

After he finished his work shift, just six hours with a half hour break for lunch in the middle, he headed back to his room to get a better meditation going. He wanted to know his capabilities better. After all, Danin, the General and Yasra had talked about the Atlanteans like they were the apex of all races. Surely, even after only two injections, that potential would be there somewhere.

It took several hours, during which Dayton nearly gave up, but there, right in the deepest part of his cells, was something that he hadn’t expected, an energy that seemed to be alive, activating as soon as he located it and pausing as if preparing for an order.

Dayton had it move through his body, imagining it circulating like his blood did. It felt calming, even helping in his meditation before Dayton suddenly realised that any aching muscles he had received from the early-morning training or work were healing. Not necessarily quickly, but fast enough for him to notice over the span of an hour.

It gave him a bit to think on as he realised that the energy he held was dwindling, the reserves not as much as he had started with. He went to eat dinner, a little tired after experimenting. He also realised that water helped him more noticeably that it ever had before. Sure, all beings needed water to live, but Dayton actually felt the water like it was a part of himself.

With these discoveries, Dayton fell asleep with a heavy mind.

Kilu’s training was more intense than anything Dayton had done before. They sparred for at least an hour every day, Kilu training him further in the Lusvellan style, but also in a lesser known and more elegant style that Kilu thought suited him. This second style, called Ku-Dei, focused on speed, agility, and re-directing energies. It was very similar to Tai-Chi in the last regard.

It took two weeks of his after-work Meditations for Dayton to grow more accustomed to circulating the new energy in his body. He also realised that the more he pushed its use through a day, the bigger its capacity grew. Little by little he learned it’s nuances, and he either slept deeper or ate more at meals to replenish it. Water helped too, but longer showers weren’t exactly a long-term solution.

It was into the third week on the ship that Dayton began experimenting with the energy in his session with Kilu. Directing it to certain muscles to hasten his speed or make a punch harder. All the talk about energy flow in Ku-Dei had made him curious to know if he could direct energy flows in combat to improve his abilities.

As soon as he started doing it, he noticed a difference. Movements became easier, including the prediction of future movements when he redirected energy to his brain to process sensory input, but at the same time, he realised he was growing tired far faster than normal.

Kilu noticed as well, “You okay? You were fighting fine at first but you seem off now”.

“Didn’t have a great sleep last night,” said Dayton, “I’m not really used to space travel so…not seeing the sun or blue skies is getting to me I think”.

“Ah,” said Kilu, understanding immediately, “Been there. Though the sky on my world is orange and we have two suns. Try spending some time in the Garden, maybe meditate there today, it really does help. I can probably show you the Deep Dive Virtual Ports as well”.

“I’ve never used one of those before,” Dayton admitted.

Kilu smiled, “How about after dinner we have a session? I’ll show you the Virtual Mecha. I was going to wait until after your second injection, but I suppose an early start won’t hurt. Just be prepared to fall over…a lot”.

Dayton had experienced virtual reality before. He’d been in the flight simulators enough over the past couple of years, but deep dive technology was on a whole other level.

The pods were almost like enclosed beds, and when an individual lay down inside one, metaphysical sensors surrounded the brain and body, before a tiny sensory needle was attached to the spinal column at the back of the neck. This needle caused the physical body to fall asleep while the consciousness was ‘downloaded’ into the universal virtual environment.

As he had never done something like it before, Dayton’s first experience was at first met with developing a ‘skin’ for his virtual environment and registering his details. This took several minutes before he followed the instructions that Kilu had given him to report to ‘Mecha World’ in the virtual environment.

From Kilu’s instructions, it would be simple enough for Dayton to sign up at one of the Mecha Training places, and once he passed tutorials, he would be allowed to compete in the Mecha Games, though this was granted that he could pay for his own Mecha Skin – the cheapest of which was 100 Star Dollars and was technically used in farming.

Despite what Kilu had mentioned about training him, Kilu couldn’t actually enter the tutorial ground thanks to him being a competitor in the Mecha Games. Instead, Kilu had told him to spend some time in the Tutorial, then go over to the arena to watch a few of the competitions.

Of course, that was before Dayton found out that to watch any of the streamed Mecha Games Competitions, he had to pay a minimum of 3 Star dollars.

Apparently, the earning of a stream was split 3 ways between the competitors and the Virtual Streaming Provider. 40% to the provider, 55% to the winner, and a measly 5% to the loser. In all, the Virtual World would cost Dayton a lot of money in the long term. Yes, he could earn money through fights, but if he lost consistently, he’d be less likely to find an evenly matched competitor.

In the end, Dayton decided that he should focus on the Tutorial for now.

His skin was purposely rather plain, though he coded it to the same height and weight as himself. The Meta sensors also helped to replicate his muscle tone and body shape. Dayton hoped that by doing this, transferring any knowledge he gained here to Mecha in real life would not be as jarring.

The Mecha he was given upon entering the tutorial was a Lonsda M-Class 300. He was not an expert on Mecha, but from its outward appearance it seemed pretty simple and standard.

The Mecha stood on two legs, a standard issue blade on its back and a laser blaster at its hip. It was roughly seven metres tall, with a centralised cock pit.

Dayton was kind of expecting controls that mirrored his arms and legs to make it easier to control, but the cockpit held no such equipment, instead, a panel of buttons sat before him, five pedals at his feet, and two joysticks for his hands that had buttons on the grips for his fingertips to rest against.

The controls looked immensely complex, and it suddenly became clear why Kilu had told him that he’d start by falling over a lot.

The holographic tutorial screen before him ran him through basic hand movement first. Demonstrating how each of the buttons on the joystick grips corresponded to a finger on the Mecha, and pressing a button would make that finger grip, and releasing the button would make the finger release. The joysticks themselves could turn in a circle and bend and flip like normal arms could, though Dayton’s shoulders, torso and waist were all strapped into the pilot seat, not allowing his body to move. It was a stiff posture and restricted movement that he was not accustomed to, but clearly mimicked the capabilities of the Mecha.

Keeping his feet away from the pedals that were supposed to control the legs, Dayton followed the tutorial for the fingers, touching each finger to the thumb and practicing clenching and unclenching his fist. He could tell immediately that they were actions he would have to spend some time growing accustomed to. Particularly when it concerned the sword strapped to his back. Getting dexterous enough to grip the sword in the mechanical hand…he wasn’t entirely confident he could do it in under two months. But it was not as if he had much of a choice in the matter.

Deciding that he would need to take this process a step at a time, Dayton practiced with the minute controls of the hands and arms for an hour. Moving from small exercises to making simple shapes with singular, then more complex shapes with his hands and arms to replicate sign language. To anyone watching, it probably looked like an individual had lost control of the Mecha, or was hitting random controls.

Either way, it took an hour and a half before Dayton even attempted to work the legs. There were 5 pedals crammed into a space quite close together, but the two outside ones possessed secondary pedals on the upper halves as well. From what the tutorial described, the Mecha had a walk cycle programmed into the legs. The central pedal was slightly wider, and was supposed to align the legs in a ‘straight stance’. On either side of the centre pedal were the ‘back leg’ pedals. As most two legged forms are aware, when you walk, one leg steps forward first, leaving the other behind. The leg that was left behind in the instance of the Mecha was the ‘back leg’. The outermost pedals, with the secondary pedals on top, were the ‘front leg’ pedals. The secondary square on top was meant to ‘bend’ the leg if one was kneeling or squatting.

In short, every step Dayton took in the Mecha meant transferring both feet from one back and one front pedal, to the other back and front pedals. The speed at which he pushed it indicated the speed of the steps, and how deep he pushed it indicated how large the stride.

After spending five minutes getting his head around all that, terrified that he’d do exactly what Kilu had predicted, Dayton grew frustrated with himself and pressed the left back pedal and the right front pedal so quickly and hard that he failed to compensate with a second step just as long and hard in time. This left the left back foot of the Mecha still behind the right one when he went to take the third step, and hence he couldn’t place enough weight on the left foot to compensate.

The Mecha hit the ground hard.

Even in the virtual world, Dayton could feel the rattling impact, and he realised immediately what Danin had meant by a Mecha Pilot’s body needing to be sturdy enough, especially in higher Combat Classes.

After a moment to think about how he’d get up, Dayton pushed the mecha hands into the ground and lifted the top half of the machine long enough to get a leg bent and a foot below the weight. The resistance to such movements was more than he expected, and Dayton came to another realisation that while to earth this was considered a marvel of engineering, it was still a machine, and if he didn’t understand it, and didn’t treat it with the respect it deserved, it would not do what he wanted it to.

It took him ten minutes to reach a standing position again. The two hours he said he’d be in the tutorial hall were nearly up. Dayton took small steps the next time, though the steps turned out to be too small. More like a shuffle than a walk.

Finally, he logged out, thoroughly mentally exhausted.

Kilu waited for him in the pod room, “How was it?”

Dayton huffed, “Are all Mechas as difficult to pilot as the tutorial one?”

Kilu chuckled, “As Mechas go, the Lonsda M-300 is actually one of the simplest ones. Military Mechas of the simplest variation are more complex than that, and if you go all the way up to something like a God-Class Mecha that is uniquely designed? There is a reason other pilots can’t step into God-Class Mechas, in short, the amount of concentration and the resistances of the machine would definitely kill them”.

Dayton frowned, “Can I have access to some information about them? Or even general information really”.

“Did no one teach you how to access the Universal Public Databases via your Link Key?”

Dayton shook his head.

Kilu sighed, “No offence, but you’re kind of clueless about technology”.

Dayton rolled his eyes as he stood, “No, I’m clueless about technology not from my planet”.

“That’s not really something to brag about considering you’re from an F-Class Planet,” Kilu admitted as he led the way out of the room.

With all he’d witnessed in just the past few weeks, Dayton couldn’t exactly argue with that.