The Elite Unit: Storm Busters

Rows of shiny mechs stood before Maximiler and Jacob. Unlike the other units, this one was small, numbering only twelve, the number of a typical mech squad. Their armor coating also differed from the standard military mech coating which usually bore the colors of the Nendi Research Institute and a small insignia that also showed off the fact that they were part of the Montreya Mech Military branch. The mech usually sported a dull green coating, along with their various insignias, but these ones were painted in a special gold coating with blue stripes running down the sides in an erratic fashion. This was the coating that was unique to the Storm Busters, and elite unit of high quality mech pilots. The base requirement to qualify for a position among such an elite unit was to be have a B grade piloting skill, among others.

At the base of each mech was a uniformed mech pilot, kitted in their full protective piloting suit. Their suits were tightly sealed, with the life support functions ready to kick in the moment something went wrong. Mech technicians crawled over the special mechs, doing a last minute check up on the machines.

The moment they stepped into view, all eyes moved over to Maximiler and Jacob. As usual, Maximiler's pale skin drew attention to him among the other pilots who sported dark or golden-tanned skin color.

"You must be the new addition. I'm Roman, your unit captain." A man strode forward, the piloting helmet over his head folding back as he did so. His skin color was a rich brown, his eyes a deep blue, that resonated well with his chestnut hair color. He spoke to Jacob, almost completely ignoring Maximiler as a simple assistant that was assigned to assist Jacob with simple tasks.

"Ah, you must mean Maxi. He's the mech pilot here. I'm just his personal guard." Jacob placed a hand on Maximiler's shoulder. The mech pilot's eyes shifted over as he did so. A hint of disdain was present in his blue eyes. The partially friendly stance he had used completely disappeared as he turned to Maximiler.

"Oh, so the rumors are true. Very well, then. Welcome to the squad, don't mess up on the battlefield, and don't get in the way of other experienced soldiers. Your mech is the one at the end of the row." Roman spoke, his back as straight as a rod, and his tone of voice cold and icy. "You can introduce yourself to the others in the unit, but please, be quick; we are about to be deployed."

With those words, Roman turned away, walking off to his mech. He stepped up onto the lifter platform and was lifted up to the cockpit level of the mech. With one last glace at the two of them, he entered into the cockpit, sealing himself off and booting his mech.

"Well, that was quite the welcome." Jacob rolled his eyes, his legs already carrying him forward. Maximiler followed, not even fazed by Roman's attitude. He already expected it. They didn't bother with trying to approach the other mech pilots, as those they saw already looked at Maximiler with disdain. It made him almost laugh at how simple they were acting.

By the time they reached the base of Maximiler's mech, they had passed by seven other mech pilots. A few of the mech pilots were already in their mechs, preparing for deployment.

They stepped into the changing room by the corner of the room, and Maximiler quickly changed into a piloting suit, before heading back out.

"Good luck, Maxi. Be careful out there. Come back safe, or else, aunt Freya might go mad." Jacob grinned as he waved at Maximiler who was about to enter the cockpit.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't act like you won't miss me too. See you later, Jacob." Maximiler quickly slid into the cockpit. The internal lighting system lit up the inside of the cockpit, letting him see what was before him. It was relatively plain an simple, as the man-machine connection directly granted control of a mech to the pilot, letting him go beyond simple manual control.

The man-machine connection allowed the mech pilot to directly control the mech, smoothing out all the possible bumps that might come about through manual or AI control.

Maximiler relaxed his mind as the neural interface head piece connected to the back of his head. His mind assimilated with his mech and his vision of the outside returned. Jacob stood away from the mech, watching. He hadn't seen Maximiler piloting before, so this was a new sight to him.

[Attention! All mech pilots prepare to deploy in five minutes!]

All the mech pilots quickly entered their mechs and booted them up. Maximiler waited patiently for the countdown to run out. As soon as the time ran out, airtight hatches opened up at the end of every row. Mechs marched out, their flight systems flaring to life as they stepped out into the vacuum space. Maximiler followed behind as the other members of his unit deployed out into space.

Mechs were separated into different categories, based on how they were to be used. Mechs that were limited to use on the surface of a planet were usually landbound mechs. These machines were strictly designed to be piloted under standard gravity conditions. Mechs that were designed for space combat were also designed according to certain standards, one of which was their ability to protect the pilots from exposure to vacuum in space. The standards fro spaceborn mechs were much higher than that of their landbound counterparts.

"Look alive, men. This isn't target practice, this is real war." Roman's voice passed through the transmission channel that was closed off to the Storm Breakers.

"Why are you telling us this again, Roman? This isn't our first rodeo." Someone replied.

"I'm saying it for the newbie. Don't want him getting killed in his first fight, do we?" Maximiler could hear a faint mocking undertone in Roman's voice, which he simply ignored.

"Oh, yeah. We have a newbie. Welcome to the team, we can handle introductions later. Right now, we have Mantis to kill."