Ready?

Rushing to the launch bay, Cia's quick steps dramatically slowed when she realized that it was the most busiest place in the ship at the moment. The crew were pacing about manually carrying equipments and tools.

Surveying her surroundings, she finally found the person she was looking for.

An elderly man stood at the center of the activities with his hands crossed. He had a well trimmed gray beard while a dirty orange industrial suit hugged his stout stature. On top of his head, an outdated military cap rested, suggesting that he had once served as a combat engineer in the empire.

"Chief Engineer Jim," Cia greeted the veteran. Once she stood beside the elderly, she asked, "What's the status?"

Jim gave the director a single glance before he motioned with a hand the cleared out area, "We will launch the new mech using a makeshift railway and make sure that it was pushed with just the right amount of force into entry. It is up to commander Fanick to adjust her position for a calculated landfall while in orbit."

Cia nodded in agreement and didn't inquire any further. The old man was less with words. She swept her thoughtful gaze around before she glanced back to the place she recently left.

No one knew about the IO ship except for a few personnel that she contacted in the empire. Since they won't be contacting the PDF in Logria, they would cause an initial panic to the populace.

Today... this particular day, they would show a new mech to the whole Union, and a few other factions that were keeping tabs on it.

With the Union lusting for a 6th Gen of its own - if everything went right - her branch would be given absolute protection from other guilds.

Meanwhile, in the cargo bay, the two master grade mech specialists climbed to the cockpit of the Straggler. Thales was more interested in supervising the interface while Niel was encumbered with concern - he felt as though a cold hand was gripping his heart.

"You've fought in the void during the expedition to Durn. You've piloted military transports into entry, but you've never been in this situation before. This is a mech! There are just too many moving parts and anything could go wrong. You won't be protected in the shells of a drop pod this time." The older Fanick strictly reminded while extending his head to check on his stubborn sibling. The intricate interface astounded him, even though he was one of the people who helped in building it. However, he could not spare any second to admire it with the tight schedule. He had to instill some sense of fear into his sister so that she would be more careful out there.

"There are safety measures all over the mech, you just have to read the manual. You can even eject the whole cockpit. Its life support can sustain you for three days."

"Alright, brother." Mina responded, her eyes busy on a computer panel as she manipulated it to display the manual. She had piloted the Straggler S1-2 in Steel Arena for dozens of times now and had grown accustomed to its foreign interface. However, this one in reality was even more complex. It was like she was reduced to beginner level as a mech pilot, again.

---

Sy finished reading the new notification in his vision, telling him that he completed his new mission to craft his first mech. With 500 PS, he could now upgrade all of his tech skills to level 1. But that was reserved for another time. In the meantime, he had to cooperate with the people around him.

Abandoning the corner which he randomly picked for his alone time, he strutted toward the Straggler, noticing that Niel and Thales were coming down after a briefing with Mina. He immediately replaced the two and climbed up using a hover platform.

Just as he peered inside, Mina instantly caught his presence. Behind the visor of her helmet, her green eyes smiled as she jokingly greeted, "Sy Verdin! What do you want from me?"

Locking gazes with her, Sy stifled his own smile and retorted, "How about a kiss?"

"NO!" Mina firmly stated. For the first time, her eyes avoided his.

"I like this shy version of you too." Sy teased, causing her to giggle.

"Alright. Let's get to business." He tapped the armor plating above him, "As I told you already, the mech can take care of itself. Any internal ignitions will be automatically extinguished by its utility system. But in the potential of a worst case scenario, the Straggler will suggest - in your good judgement - to eject damaged parts that will compromise its systems."

In that instance, Sy had undone Niel's effort to frighten Mina.

"As for orbital entry, you will find it easy with the Straggler's navigation system. It will assist in your trajectory with precise calculation, and it's all up to you."

After a moment of silence, Mina curiously spouted, "Why didn't you craft the Straggler's Railgun? I was planning to fire a single shot on the surface. I am certain that my superiors back in HQ will be terrified once they see it."

"It will be damaged during entry. I need to make a few modifications before any Stragglers could carry it during a dive." Sy explained chuckling at her enthusiasm to scare people.

After a few more exchanges, Sy boarded the hover platform and went down. He stood beside the two master mech specialists, and noticed that the orange head director was there while the other one was missing.

The Pioneer had already caught up to their scheme. They made little effort to stop Mina from piloting a freshly assembled mech. They did not contact Logria of their arrival. What was it that they were planning? Well, it's actually very simple. Suspense.

This was an exposition to them. And they were giving the people a bit of thrill. Too much thrill, actually.

Soon, the bridge announced that they were entering Logria's orbital space. Mina had to manually walk the Straggler into the launch bay. She was astonished that the mech was as responsive just like in Steel Arena. Sy was a very impressive techie.

The silhouette of the Straggler walking across the area boosted the crew's morale. The collosal black mech showed no sign of trouble as it strutted about. It was definitely alien looking to them as it deviated from the conventional mechs they were accustomed to - the angle of its armors and the flight module on its back gave them an eerie sense of dread.

The crew had to horizontally place the Straggler on a makeshift platform that will push it into space. When they were done with the task, all of them directed their hopeful gazes at the black mech before they hastily left the area.

When the launch bay was sealed, Mina closed her eyes inside the cockpit as the hatch serving as her exit point slowly opened. A ray of blinding white light invaded and the voice of a crew spoke through the speakers.

[Launch in 3...]

[... 2...]

[... 1]