Simulation: Part 4
*First Person POV: Aspen*
Every single one of the 5 days that it would take for me to reach the supposed factory was boring at best, and very, very frustratingly repetitive. I had to manually pilot the mech whenever it came to traversing through uneven terrain, which was most of it.
Due to the damage the mech had taken to the head, where many important systems related to mobility were housed, BT's functionality and control over the mech were limited. I had to fight with every step to maintain balance as the automatic balancing sensors were located in the head. Personally, I believe this is a shit design.
I was still able to limp the mech along, though its movements were stiff and awkward. With every other step, the silent air was filled with the sound of slow whirs, mechanical movement, and the sound of metal, glass, and frozen earth being crushed.
Every single mile I traveled led me to more of the same war-torn ruin that this simulated world was, littered with the ghostly remains of deteriorating buildings, the warped frames of destroyed mechs, and the faint, acrid smell of burned-out wires.
The silence in the cockpit was only countered by the low whir of systems working overtime through all their damage to maintain the mech operational. Although this was a simulation, the time dilation and the fact that I actually felt everything here was making it hard for me to keep on going with a magnified sense of exhaustion settling into my bones.
I would often powered down the mech to either allow me to rest a little while or to let the mech itself rest since I knew that my reactor had ended up taking some damage and pushing it too hard wouldn't be the brightest of ideas.
I did now have myself a Tier 2 Sniper Rifle, but I would still choose the option to power down my mech whenever I would spot a patrol in the distance through my glitching HUD. I guess I have the damage to thank because my radar and a couple of other systems that would make my energy signature detectable by other mechs. That is, as long as I didn't come across another Tier 2 or higher mech with better radar.
---
On my third day in this monotonous trek, I spotted a patrol of Knight-class mechs cutting through the rubble-strewn street directly in my path. The sun was already dipping low and casting long shadows across the shattered cityscape which worked in my favor as they somehow did not spot me right away.
I lowered my mech's frame and slowly placed my sniper rifle on the ground. I then positioned my mech leaning against a wall filled with holes from a long-past firefight, hoping the shadows, my mech's battered black paint, the damage my mech had withheld, and the context of where I was would be enough for anyone to not check twice.
I could hear the patrol grow louder as they drew near me. The deep, rhythmic clanking of their feet hitting the cracked pavement in unison. I was able to catch the faint voices of foot soldiers accompanying the mechs while riding on an MRAP. It was the run-of-the-mill, gruff, casual conversation of bored soldiers who acted as if they were taking a simple stroll.
I stayed put with all systems shut down as I heard them come to a stop just by me. I felt my heart quicken as one of the mechs moved closed to mine.
"Hey, this one's still alive, mech's seen better days…" came a voice from the mech's external speakers. Then, through an open channel, I heard a voice speak to my helmet. "Hey, how are you holding up in there…merc?"
I could sense disdain and froze as I heard the voice in my helmet. I didn't know what to do but something told me that staying silent was not going to be of favor to me. So I improvised.
"F….furglsck you," I replied through the open channel in a tired and gargle voice.
"Haahahaha, hear that, boys? Even as he drowns in his own blood he refuses to ask for help," another voice said, this one much older than the previous. "Let him drown, mercs deserve no sympathy."
As I heard that last part I also listened to the sound of the mech start to step away from me. After about a minute, I could hear the steps of all of the mechs from the patrol growing fainter, and powered up my mech. Once My HUD came online, I could see the patrol in the distance take a left at an intersection and continue on their way, disappearing from my view. My heartbeat slowly calmed as their footsteps slowly faded into echoes in the distance.
---
On the morning of the fourth day, I had come to the edge of a vast field that was littered with what appeared to have been the remains of a recent skirmish, one that had kept me awake most of the night.
Downed mechs and scattered weapons lay twisted and smoking, some still flickering with electric sparks. I looked around the battlefield, hoping to find another Parallax in this graveyard. Unfortunately, most of the destroyed mechs were Knights, the easy-to-produce, cheap, and expandable Knights.
There were also 3 severely destroyed Rakshasa's and surprisingly, a destroyed Tier 2 Warlock. However, none of the destroyed mechs were of the Parallax class, so their parts would be useless and not fit my mech, except for a few things. So I decided to get out of my mech, but BT stopped me before I could do so.
"Pilot, my scanners may be indicating an unidentified heat signature approximately 500 meters to the north," BT warned.
I tried to focus the optics as much as I could, but they were too heavily damaged for me to make out exactly what it was I was seeing that far off. However, its glow was a hint of it being reactor exhaust, another mech, but unlike the patrol from the day before, this one was alone and stationary.
I got a little closer before I decided to power BT down again, crouching in the thick cover of a fallen skyscraper as I observed the mech from a distance. It looked damaged, its armor battered, with sections of it missing, and a leg twisted at an unnatural angle. I couldn't tell if the pilot was still alive or if the reactor was just idling, but I could make out that it was a Knight.
"I guess I won't be getting anything into you for now," I muttered, not willing to risk an encounter, even with a disabled opponent.
---
On the fifth day, I felt like I was pushing my Parallax's frame to its limits. The factory I was headed toward should be just on the other side of a dense industrial block that lay ahead of me. My mech was barely holding together, with warning lights flashing intermittently on my display. I was tired, hungry, and more aware than ever of how vulnerable I was out here, trudging through unknown territory with a battered machine, a damaged optics and weapon system, and no real backup.
Just before dusk, I finally caught sight of the old factory, its structure slightly damaged and not as dirty as what was usually seen. I felt a faint sense of relief stir inside me, but it was quickly washed away as my mech tripped on the ground and I was almost sent tumbling down.
"Jesus," I muttered as I fought with the controls to maintain balance. "Come on, just a little bit longer until I fix you up."
And just like that, I managed to nurse the mech to the factory. I was standing just outside a tall and battered concrete wall that served as a barrier and a fence for the factory.
"Pilot," BT said, "we've reached the coordinates. I recommend the Pilot finds a safe spot before exiting and doing recon of the surroundings."
"Yeah, I'll do that," I replied as I once again started pushing BT to the inside of the factory. Once I reached it, I put the mech on standby with its still functioning systems idling. I put on my helmet and grabbed my DMR rifle before I released the cockpit hatch and climbed out.
The cool and stale air of the factory filled my nostrils through my helmet as I stepped out. It smelled like blood and I spotted some unprocessed metal lying around. My legs felt stiff, and I stretched once I reached the ground.
Around me, an enormous, shadowed skeleton of machinery and assembly lines lay covered in dust and debris. In the distance, shattered windows allowed just enough light to filter through, casting long, eerie shadows across the expanse.
"BT, keep on any sensors that will help you identify if anything moves without giving away your position," I whispered into the helmet. It was unlikely that anyone else would be here, but it was better to be paranoid and ready than sorry and end my simulation early.
"Understood, Pilot. I'll maintain passive scans."
With that, I raised my DMR, looking through its scope to scan my immediate surroundings, and started down one of the main aisles. As I moved, I scanned old storage lockers and crates. Most were empty, looted a while ago, or left untouched when the factory shut down. But I was able to find some canned food here and there.
It wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but it sure as hell did help. I was just hoping on a prayer at this point as I scanned everywhere for parts.
After nearly an hour of picking through dusty boxes and stacks of unused metal plates, I came across an old workbench with a collection of what looked like salvaged parts—tubes, connectors, even a brand-new stabilizer that looked like it could be of use. I gathered what I could carry, pocketing smaller tools and wiring, and brought it back to the mech. I then returned and moved further into the factory while carrying some tools with me this time.
The silence felt heavier here, with every rustle and groan of metal would echo like crazy. Just as I rounded a corner, a smile started spreading across my face as I spotted a lineup of disassembled Parallax Class arms.
They were Tier 1 arms, outdated, maybe a generation or two older than the current Parallax model I was piloting, and a little big for my mech's frame, but I could make a few changes here and there and make things work.
"BT, I may have found some viable replacements for your left arm," I murmured into my helmet.
"That is promising, Pilot," BT replied. "Should we proceed with extraction and modification right now, or would you prefer we store them until you find the remaining pieces needed for later assembly?"
"I'll just install this and the parts I left with you for the time being," I said as I disassembled the arm into 3 parts: the hand, the forearm, and the upper arm. "Anything is better than nothing."
My stats were also transferred into the simulation, but even with my augmented stats, the weight of the forearm and the upper arm almost pulled me off balance. I half dragged, half carried it to a nearby workbench, straining to maneuver it into place. As I examined the connectors, I had to admit it was going to be a serious modification, but it would be worth it.
I worked quickly to disassemble some pieces to match BT's configuration and after a few considerations, I managed to even improve it. While working, I would hear the ever so often distant creak or groan of the factory's walls settling, but each time it sounded a little too deliberate, as if someone or something was moving just out of sight. I tried to keep focused, but a prickle of unease was crawling up my spine.
Just as I finished rigging the arm and got it ready for transport on a long platform truck, BT's voice came through in a low warning. "Pilot, I have detected faint movement within the vicinity, approximately two hundred meters to your north."
I froze, my eyes scanning the shadows around me. "Can you tell what it is?"
"Seismic activity suggests it could be a myriad of things. A mech, a heavy vehicle, maybe even a bomb over 100 kilometers from our current position."
I nodded, my breath slow and steady as I weighed my options. "Then I'll need to take this arm to you as quietly as possible."
I pushed the platform truck, my muscles straining as I pushed the arm that weighted about a ton and a half. After a little bit, I was able to quicken my pace back toward BT. Each step felt like an eternity as I tried to listen to my surroundings while trying to ignore the squeak that the truck's tires would produce every so often.
Finally, I made it back to the entryway where I had left BT waiting, the mech's dark silhouette a comforting sight. I stowed the replacement parts next to its leg, securing them as best as I could for later installation.
"Let's get the arm done quickly," I muttered, glancing back over my shoulder. "If something's out there, I don't want to meet it with only one arm."
The silence seemed to deepen as I worked, the only sounds were the faint whir and scrape of tools as I rigged the parts to BT's frame. But the awareness of something possibly lurking nearby gnawed at me. As I tightened the last bolt and connected the last wire, I ran over the steps in my head one more time. It wasn't a pretty job, but it was more than enough for now.
"BT, any updates on our friend?" I asked once I was finished.
"Negative, Pilot, no further movements have been detected since earlier."
"Alright," I nodded to myself. "It could have been a one-off thing or something that happened far away, and if that's the case, then let me take advantage of things and change out the stabilizer and then I'll see if I can find anything else for your legs, bring back some plates of armor, maybe find a functioning reactor somewhere in here."
I climbed up the mech's frame, made my way up to the head, and just went straight into replacing the stabilizer. This surprisingly small part that was about the size of my hands cupped together, was vital enough to determine how easy it would be to walk or even if your AI could traverse certain terrain while in control of the mech.
Once I was finished with that I checked in with BT again, but there were still no further movements. So I went back to looking through the factory in hopes of finding more Tier 1 parts that could be fitted onto the mech.
As I was searching, I found the warehouse which was inside of the main factory building itself. It was a dark room that was only illuminated by a few holes on the roof, but I noticed the room turn brighter as my helmet immediately adjusted my vision. I took the liberty to look around the warehouse, noticing that it was still well stocked with parts for Tier 1 and 2 Knights, Parallax's, and Rakshasa mechs. I slowly walked towards the section with a sign above it that read "Parallax Class."
Inside was divided into 2 sections, one of which was for the Tier 1 models of the Parallax, and the other for the Tier 2 models. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the Tier 1 section was full of mech parts, however, there wasn't a single component for its electronics, systems, HUD panels, nothing. Just parts and pieces to assemble legs, reactors, arms, and replace armor.
It was as if I was in Valhalla while wanting to be in Christian Heaven. I threw away the sense of precaution I had been holding on to as I ordered BT to come to me. "Hey BT, I found a warehouse full of parts here. Go on and meet me at my location. I'm going to give you a makeover, hell I'll make you better than you ever were."
"Affirmative, Pilot. I'm now making my way towards you."
I heard the faint footsteps of BT slowly making its way toward me from across the factory as I started to look over the parts, going over what I planned to do to BT once he reached me, creating schematics in my head, and thinking about how everything would come together. But my thought process was interrupted by BT's voice warning me of something.
"Pilot! My scanners are picking up a heat signature that appears to be making its way through the East side of the factory and is heading in your direction!"
At the sound of that, I snapped out of the trance of mech design I had and into the situation as adrenaline started pumping through me. I made my way to the East entrance of the warehouse, waiting to ambush whoever or whatever was rushing toward me.
"Pilot! I'm now detecting the activation of a Tier 1 mech on the East side of the factory! It is starting to make its way towards you as well!"
My heart quickened as I heard BT's warning, but I pushed it aside as the faint sound of footsteps rapidly approaching started echoing. I listened to the sound of the footsteps and aimed down the hallway, readying my rifle to shoot. However, my ears had betrayed me as the person came running around the corner instead of down the hallway.
In a split second, the man grabbed my DMR and pushed it backward, jamming my finger against its trigger and forcing me to let go as it careened to the ground. I noticed that the man also had a pilot's helmet on and was around my height, but details flew out the window as soon as I noticed him try to draw his sidearm causing me to grab his wrist and push his arm up.
*Bang, Bang, Bang*
Three shots rang out from his pistol as I started to overpower the man with ease and made him drop his pistol. He lifted his knee and rapidly kicked my side, causing me to flinch slightly as I grabbed him by his vest, picked him up, and slammed him on the ground.
He quickly recovered and wrapped his legs around my left arm as he pulled at it. With my right arm, I grabbed my pistol from its holster and went to shoot him but he let go and kicked my pistol away causing it to skid across the ground.
He then stood up and took out a knife, swinging at my neck. He would've slit my throat if my senses weren't as sharp as they were. I backstepped his swing and took out my own knife, taking a swing at him in the process.
I narrowly missed his neck and my knife skidded off his helmet as he dodged down and tried to sweep me off my feet with another kick. But that was his mistake. I reacted fast and grabbed his leg which got my right arm stabbed twice, but I ignored the pain and swung him against a pillar.
The slam was so strong that it forced his helmet to come off and skid across the floor. He tried to crawl away from me as he wheezed, his breath fighting to reach his lungs. I went to grab him and slit his throat and in a sudden burst of speed, he turned around and kicked my head with so much strength that it caused my helmet's display to momentarily blink.
As I turned back to him he was already flying on top of me with his knife in a downward motion.
"ARGH! YOU MOTHER FUCKER!" I shouted as his knife stabbed into my left shoulder. I yanked his arm up as he still held the knife and with a grunt, I threw my weight on him with a push, causing us to crash to the ground.
As this was all happening, I could hear the sound and felt the vibrations of two mechs closing in on our position. I flip his wrist so that his knife is now pointing at his neck as I push down, surprisingly, having some slight struggle against this pilot's strength. He must be enhanced like a motherfucker to force me to exert myself this much.
Just as I'm centimeters away from pushing his own blade through his chest and into his heart, I get a view of the man's face for the first time. "Simon?" I ask as I stop pushing down and just hold the knife in position.
I could see a slight look of shock on Ghost's face before he smiled and coughs. "Aspen? Fancy… meeting you here… *huff* Mind not finishing… the job?"
I let go of the knife and throw myself to the side, landing on my back as I start to catch my breath. But I'm unable to do so as 2 mechs break through the walls on either side.
"BT Stand down!"
"Sparrow Stand down!"
Ghost and I both shout at the same time to our respective mech AI's, forcing them to stop in the middle of raising their sniper rifles at each other.
"Pilot, are you alright?" BT asks me.
"I'll live," I responded while Ghost had the same conversation with his mech who had activated its exterior sound systems. While lying on the ground I pointed to Ghost and said, "BT, this right here is a friend of mine. He goes by Ghost. Guess it won't be just us two anymore."
"Pilot, my scans indicate that you have received multiple lacerations and have 3 stab wounds while he has multiple fractured ribs, a fractured wrist, and a dislocated shoulder. If this is the way you and your friends say hello to each other, then I am not interested in meeting any more of them." BT said.
This brought a pained chuckle from me and Ghost as we stayed sprawled on the floor.
"There are no more friends for now. Sparrow, you heard the man. From now on, we'll be moving together, you may refer to him as Reaper.... although... Aspen, what the fuck have you done to your mech? It looks like you've been through the shredder...." Ghost asked.
I smiled as I took off my helmet, breathing in the stale air as the taste of iron filled my mouth, the lights from Ghost's mech illuminating the once dark warehouse. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you while I fix him up." I took a moment to notice that his mech had a pristine white paint that had only been dirtied by dirt, mud, and dust. "Your's looks like it has never seen action though."
Ghost let out a pained sigh as he spoke. "Too risky to be running gun-ho where I was. Patrols were too constant and I honestly didn't have the ammo. I did manage to ambush a Knight class patrol, about 4 of them, but that was about it."
He had a fair point. I had noticed that patrols were becoming more and more frequent the further East BT and I headed. But that wasn't going to stop me from taking a jab at him. "You forget this is a simulation, you could play it risky?" I asked, which caused him to go quiet. "You forgot, didn't you?"
"Honestly, the realism of this simulation pod far exceeds that of the regular ones I had tried before... so yeah." was his reply.
"Well, it's good to finally have some backup," I said.
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