Panting heavily, Xiao paused to wipe the sweat off her forehead. As expected, there were plenty of mechs behind schedule and she had been scrambling to complete her tasks. Unlike the previous day which was a holiday, new tasks were constantly added to the system with her list growing only longer. The upcoming tournaments weren’t making her life any easier. Even the qualifying matches could cost their mech bays a lot of time and resources to repair the mechs in time for later matches.

“I don’t think I can stay here any longer,” muttered one mechanic to another. “When was the last time we had a single mech getting through the qualifying rounds?”

“I heard Faytics is hiring right now,” replied the other mechanic. “They are looking for mechanics with experience.”

“Job security and promising record in the tournaments…”

Xiao’s grip tightened around the cart handle as she walked past the two mechanics. She hated the fact that their organization, Cythetic, had nothing to show for. Cythetic had some of the best mechanics in the business but it had failed to attract the best pilots. Most of the organization’s earnings came from contract work for mechanics while a negligible amount came from pilot earnings. Last she heard, the pilot earnings were barely enough to cover the expenses of mechs, making pilots a liability to the organization’s bottom line. As she was ready to load more crates onto her crate, a loud beep could be heard.

“All personnel gather at the great hall! We have an important announcement! All personnel gather at the great hall! We have an important announcement!”

The young woman joined the others as everyone gathered at the great hall. Once everyone was present, a man walked onto the stage. The man wore an expensive suit with a glowing smile. His stride was filled with confidence and his presence commanded silence in the great hall. The man walked over to the microphone.

“Hello! I apologize for the short notice of this announcement but it’s integral to the future of Cythetic. To those who are new here, my name is Richardo, the head of Cythetic. Recently, we made a difficult decision but it’s a decision done for the best of our organization and its employees. Starting tomorrow, Cythetic will be completely integrated into Reyzu. Our mechanics will be transferred over while all of our pilots will be dismissed. That is all!”

The great hall was silent for several minutes after Richardo exited before there was an uproar. Everyone started chatting about what they just heard. Xiao walked out of the room with her eyes focused on the ground.

Will I never become a pilot now?

Xiao joined Cythetic because she got an unconventional invitation. Normally, one had to get through the entrance exam before one could apply for any organization that accepted pilots. Then, the pilots had to work their way up in the organization until they had proven their worth of operating a mech in tournaments. Xiao’s fated encounter with Cythetic was during her first visit to the arena when she was mistaken for someone else. An old woman took her to a prototype battle armor and she showed promise in it. After the confusion was cleared up, she was offered a chance to join Cythetic and she accepted long before she had her entrance exam. Now, her career was at risk as pilots of one organization tended to not be recognized by other organizations unless the said pilots made a name for themselves in tournaments.

Guess I’ll be starting from scratch again.

With the news coming so suddenly, Xiao chose to take the rest of the day off. She would come in the following day when she was dismissed and she could collect her belongings then. Cythetic had been her hunting grounds for nearly four years but now was their time to part. Starting in a new organization meant she had to start from the bottom again. She had to accept all the undesirable tasks until she could prove herself with the challenging ones. Her pilot debut might be pushed back a couple of years but such was life.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

I should get some rest early so I can start job hunting tomorrow.

For once, Xiao took her own advice and went to bed early. She got up earlier than usual the following day and made her last trip to her workplace. When she entered, she noticed many empty lockers that once belonged to the Cythetic pilots. As she put away all of her belongings in her backpack, Xiao heard footsteps. She looked up to see mechanics she worked so long with. They exchanged their farewells after they wished her luck with her career. Everyone in the locker room was aware of the tough path pilots faced nowadays when they lacked connections. With Cythetic integrated into another organization, Xiao lost her only connection and had to start from scratch.

“Good luck with your transition to Reyzu! I’m sure you will all find a big pay raise once you get there.”

With her backpack weighing her down and nothing else to do for the day, Xiao went to the nearest employment center. She hadn’t entered one since she went to school. She went to one of the many booths and sat down. As expected, her options were very limited once she narrowed down her search to mech pilot. The three jobs that remained were mechanic positions which she had no interest in doing the rest of her life. Xiao was about to step away when a new job was posted.

<

Mech Pilot Apprentice:

Salary: Negotiable during interview

Job Type: Full-time

Location: Ofel

Full Job Description:

Zavaso is a new startup mech organization that operates in Ofel. We have a small team of committed mechanics with two light mechs at our disposal. We are seeking a mech pilot apprentice to pilot one of our light mechs for small tournaments and casual matches. While experience is preferred, we do accept a new pilot who is willing to work to make Zavaso a big name in tournaments. If interested, please come in personally for an interview.

…

>

Odd that they are willing to accept new pilots. Regardless, their address is close by so I might as well apply.

Xiao quickly jotted down the address and left at once. She was confident that, since the job was just posted, she could be the first to arrive. She soon found herself standing before an ordinary looking workshop. There was a fresh coat of paint and the bay doors were locked shut. She wasn’t even sure if the place was open until the automatic door opened for her. She walked inside to an empty reception area.

“Excuse me,” she said. “I’m here for the mech pilot apprentice position.”

She repeated herself after a lengthy silence. When there was still no one there, she assumed the job posting was just a prank and turned around to leave.

“I’m telling you! I heard someone from the reception area.”

Xiao turned around to see a young girl pulling a male teenager down the stairs into the reception area. The young girl reached about her chest in height and had brown hair tied up into a ponytail. She wore a t-shirt with the Zavaso logo on it and blue jeans. The big smile on the girl’s face felt warm and genuine.

“See,” said the girl. “I told you we have someone here!”

The girl went up to Xiao to inquire why she was there. As soon as the young woman mentioned the job posting, the girl took her arm and dragged her upstairs. Xiao, being confused about what was going on, allowed herself to be guided until they arrived at the mechbays. There were two mechbays side by side with a light mech in each of them. The shelves were neat with tools and parts and the mechanics were in the process of fine tuning a few things. Xiao found herself pulled into the room next to one of the bays.

“I’m sure you know what this is,” said the girl.

“That’s a mech training simulator,” said Xiao.

Mech training simulators, otherwise abbreviated as MTSs, were expensive and were rare in small organizations. Even Cythetic couldn’t afford any and had simple VR simulators that were cheaper alternatives. The sight of one of these simulators in a new startup organization was baffling.

“The interview is simple,” said the young girl. “I will serve as your operator who will be asking many questions while you pilot a light mech on the simulator. If you complete the mission and meet my expectations, then you pass. Does that make sense?”

“Seems simple enough. I’ll take on this challenge!”

Xiao got herself comfortable in the MTS. Unlike the VR simulator, there were a lot more controls at her disposal once she placed the VR headset of the MTS on her head. There were all the controls within a mech as the details were uncanny. Soon, she could hear the girl over the headset.

“Once you’re ready, please turn on the mech and head to the training ground.”