"Damn, Kerby!" New faces were present in Sy's virtual workshop, as a blond man with spiky hair approached the orange head. He casually leaned on a Mathilda 800's foot, uttering, "You hunted Captain Norman's team like animals. You might get an earful back in HQ."
Kerby raised an eyebrow, seeing a fellow flight team leader in his squadron back in base, stalking him, and even finding his roosting place. "It's nothing personal, Ian. We're in a training session. I did what I had to do."
The orange head glanced at the four new Mathilda 800s equipped with falcon flight modules in the workshop. He eventually caught sight of the crude spears they held, no doubt copied from them.
Ian noticed this, smirking and parting with the huge metallic foot, saying, "I saw that that certain weapon is devastating when used by a speeding object. It's nothing personal, Kerby."
Kerby laughed, turning at a teammate who was still in his Mathilda's cockpit. "Show these new guys what a real spear is."
Mig immediately went into action. His Mathilda raised a metallic brown pole, and with a squeeze, the tip expanded along with its length.
Ian's jaw dropped in shock. An expression that his teammates immitated.
Kerby used this opportunity to assert his dominance. "You see Ian.. this is my turf. You want access to these weapons or learn the ways to skewer a big slug, you go through me, as the master of this workshop is a close friend of mine."
With that, the orange initiated the repairs on the interface of the assembly line.
While Ian considered the words, he saw a man go down from a Mathilda 800 with a Hawk module. His brows instantly creased seeing the brown hair walking toward him. After all, the man was the leader of the Hawk Flight Team who lured them in a feigned retreat and then brutally annihilated them.
"You are scum!"
The blond hair and his team was shocked after seeing the aviator bots, as if talking to each other, repairing Kerby's mech in an orderly fashion. The workshop was full of surprises.
--
Meanwhile, Sy was online in Steel Arena but was not present in his virtual workshop, and instead, in someone else's.
He was in Andreas Rickon's workshop called, Andreas' Forge.
Displayed before the hallway was a bunch of 3rd Gen mechs personally customized by the owner. They were eventually flocked and scrutinized by the group of young specialists. Most were praising the bright incorporation of new components.
Somewhere, Sy was staring blankly at the Fabricator III that Andreas owned. The fabricator he possessed predated the one he was looking at by two levels, causing a stir of envy in his chest.
After a moment of containing his emotional steam, the young Pioneer went to a corner, and waited for the specialist to finish their discussions.
The first to realize why they were in Steel Arena was the thoughtful Dylan. He broke off from the group and stated in a loud voice, "Sy. I would like to know why we're here."
The workshop suddenly became silent when the specialists turned their attention to the man who was seated before the computer core of the workshop.
"Before that.." Sy pointed at the computer.
Andreas quickly responded, swiping the air and allowing permission for Sy to operate his workshop.
After that, the initiator of the gathering started manipulating the computers. In just a few minutes, he withdrew and motioned the specialists for a look.
Dylan led the crowd and upon looking at the screens, they were stunned.
"S-Sy Verdin!" Andreas muttered with eyes widened as the design of a spine just like the one in the tournament but even more complex and a sophisticated flight module entered his vision. With only a tiny amount of time, the man was able to cough up an entirely different breed of design that could innovate flying mechs.
The cream of the crop was the flight module. Its incorporation of an exotic gas called 'Frigid Vapor' was a wonder. As its classification suggest, it's a rare gas found under the surface of arctic planets, but not as expensive just like other of its kind. The gas itself needed to be refined in order for combustion. However, in a short amount of time, it would always revert back to its neutral state, and it's a problematic one.
Instead of the complicated process of refining and compressing them in tanks, which would prove to be fruitless in the long run, the gas would be stored in its raw form, and then undergo refinement in the flight module itself before combustion. It was not only cost-effective, but the Frigid Vapor was known for its thrust capacity. The possibility of it propelling collosal machines such as mechs into sonic speed was high.
The flight module drew power from the reactor with its flexible overlapping wings while the fixed dual forward thrusters propelled with the exotic gas.
Sy observed the specialists from a good distance. He had pondered about his inability to fabricate a mech without using the conventional way and successfully establish them in the mech world, which was dangerous and even impossible without his license. He realized, why not use them? They had already made a name for themselves after their graduation, and with a few figures carefully watching their progress, they could easily introduce a few innovations. New generations would always come up with new things that could potentially change the path that the old had carefully paved that invoked stagnation.
After all, this project was not only meant for the virtual reality, as he wanted to poke the world of mechs and see how it would react. If the bees would sting, he could easily hide behind these fellow young men.
"I was thinking.." Sy expressed his thought, grabbing the attention of the specialists, "I wanted to build a new flying mech. One that can be labeled as a 5th Gen. Or perhaps, surpass it. You guys would help me with it."
The mech specialists glanced at each other. Theon was the first to react, "But, Sy.. we're just 1st grades. How can we hope to compete with the research stations of the mech guilds filled with master grades who are now on their way to introducing new gens."
Andreas and Dylan both had a complicated look on their faces. Not to mention the certifications, licensing, funds and publicity, Theon had already made the main point. Can they even design a flying mech capable of tackling the 4th Gens as they did not possess an ounce of confident beating the 5th Gens? However, when they looked at the component designs from the screens, they both glanced at Sy with a look of trust.
"Come on, Theon." Sy wrapped an arm around the man, acting like the leader of some enthusiastic young men about to depart for a new adventure. "We are young. We need to aspire higher in order to have a better standard."
"What do you want us to do?" Dylan asked, wanting more clarity.
"Build around those designs." Sy answered.
The specialists immediately understood the instigator's intention. He did not want to do it all and was asking for their contribution. Building a new mech from zero required new components and modules that needed extensive research and knowledge which they sorely lacked. Unlike customization which only involved tinkering and swapping patented technologies, a new mech would be a novel creation. Something that Sy had already started with the spine and flight module.
Clenching his fists, Andreas suggested, "We should make a formal agreement, and decide for a policy and name to our group."
This made the other specialists gasp when they realized how the mech guilds were rumored to have sprung from. They were even more encouraged and elated at this, especially with Sy in this new group.
"Dylan.. I think you're more suitable for the job." Sy passed the responsibility as he was built as an individual who can do whatever he wanted, and not binded to intergalactic laws and treaties. As such, he might probably make a lax agreement and rules.
"Okay." Dylan went to the computer followed by the others. Many suggestions and arguments occured on the way, but they managed to hammer the details within an hour, with a lot of reserve for new modifications in the future.
Sy could only wince at the back. He managed to convince the bunch, but somehow failed to realize how serious they could get.
"Sy!" Andreas called out, "Leave the reactor to me! I will make one that will rival your designs!"
After hearing this, Theon had an idea, "Why don't we assign tasks? We can then individually focus on one thing before we can come up with the best way to integrate them."
"Well, that is a chaotic thing, Theon. The end product would be a mesh of things that are not compatible with each other." One corrected.
"What we should do is decide on one thing. The shape and proportion of the mech was already partially decided by the spine and flight module. What we need to do is finish the framework first." Another suggested.
"I'll come and check on you guys after a day. There are other things that I need to do." Sy escaped while the specialists discussed on their first step. He might get involved and finish the mech himself.
"Sy! We have not yet decided a name!" Dylan shouted too late as the man disappeared from Steel Arena.