Chapter 59

Tala and Oya didn’t get to the fighting right away, instead they started by putting their two mechs through their paces. While the meeting was going on, one of Oya’s assistants had gone around the area marking a route for them to take. To do so, she took Oya’s shuttle and flew it around, dropping off three different types of beacons; green, grey and blue.

The beacons would appear on their hud, and would let them know whether they needed to be on foot, in the air, or submerged underwater for that stretch. It was all about determining how their mechs performed in atmospheric conditions.

Tala couldn’t exactly take her daughter with her, so with an unspoken command the pod affixed to the top of her mech detached and gently hovered beside her.

“Do ya mind if I leave ‘er ‘ere with ya?” she asked.

“Sure, but don’t expect me to change any diapers,” I answered.

She laughed. “No need to worry, nappies are probably a lot more advanced than the stuff yer used to. The pod takes care of everythin’ while she’s inside. You’ll need this, though. The pod will follow behind ya and long as ya have it.”

The object she held out was a cylindrical tube about five inches in length and an inch in diameter. It had a few buttons on it, but I couldn’t see what they did. As I reached out for it, she pulled it back.

“You really shouldn’t reach for something if you don’t know what it is,” she said in a serious tone, her voice losing any sort of accent as her speech changed. “You don’t know me. I could be handing you a bomb for all you know. A word of advice, always have someone else examine an object before you handle it yourself. I know you’re still young, but before long you’ll be meeting with people every day and they’ll be handing you all sorts of stuff.”

“I’ll be careful,” I promised as I pointed my thumb over my shoulder. “I’ve always got her looking out for me though. If there had been anything amiss, she’d have let me know. Aside from that, I’m able to get a glimpse of everything before it happens. It was a little disorienting at first with it always being active, but now I’m used to it.”

“Precognition won’t always be enough to save you, but it’s a very good preventative measure,” she nodded. “It’s possible that Abi won’t always be around to scan everything either, so you’ll want to have a system in place for those situations.”

I smiled. “Abi said ‘I already lost his father and his grandfather, I’m not going to be pulling any punches when it comes to protecting Jonathan. I’ve already got a number of things in mind to help with that.’”

“Glad to hear it,” she said, handing the item to me. “The remote is pretty simple. The three buttons on the side make the pod follow you, stay in place, or open and close the opening while the top one is a panic button. As soon as ya press tha’ one, the pod will do its own thing.”

I flipped the top open, noting the red button, before closing it up again. “Got it.”

“Okay, let’s get started, then,” she said.

Her faceplate came down and then her mech rocketed into the air. It was more of a hop than actual flight, as she traveled the hundred or so meters to where Oya was waiting at the starting line. The starting line was also the finish line and both of them would do three circuits of the course before the race ended. I hit the button to have Marra’s pod follow me and then I headed over.

My friends intercepted me along the way, and I filled them in on what was going on. They had noticed the activity at the edge of the clearing, but none of them had gone over to ask what it was about.

“I definitely want one,” Mason said as he looked at the two mechs as their occupants got ready for the race.

“Which one?” Ben asked. “The red one looks almost like a miniature Hulkbuster 2.0, while the white one looks like a more streamlined, feminine version of the Mark L.”

“Either, I just want one. This is going to be awesome.”

While we were talking, a few cases were removed from Oya’s ship and brought over to the starting line. The people carrying the cases bent down to open them up before grabbing the objects inside and throwing them up in the air. Each case held six of the objects, which were black, featureless spheres, apparently capable of hovering in the air. We saw one of the three Pygmaeans mess around with a tablet before all six of the spheres he threw up into the air shot off in different directions.

At the same time, a fourth case-wielding Pygmaean walked past them and closer to the starting line. Opening his case, he threw up four smaller orbs which quickly activated and moved themselves until they formed a rectangle, about ten meters long and six meters tall. Once in place, blue beams of light shot out connecting them all together before an image appeared between them. The image was actually a real-time feed of one of the spheres as it flew over the forest. With the first one set up, the Pygmaean man walked over and set up another of the apparent screens a short distance away.

“You didn’t say they were going to broadcast it,” Mason said from beside me. “I figured the only time we’d be able to see them is when they went by us.”

“I didn’t know. I told you that they get together whenever they’re in the same area, but I didn’t know they put this much work into it. I’m rooting for Oya, though. Her family’s company is already very successful when it comes to building ships, it’d be cool to see them have the same success with mechs. A friendly rivalry doesn’t hurt, either. The Dvergr are the undisputed best when it comes to mechs, I’d be interested to see someone else contest that.”

“Competition is good,” Ben agreed.

“Okay, so you hope Oya is going to win, but who do you think is going to win?” Anja asked.

“No idea. Aside from that short hop a little while ago, I’ve only seen them walking around so far. The race should be pretty cool, but I’m most interested in the little sparring match they’re going to have afterwards. I don’t see any weapons, or enough room for weapons to be hidden in Oya’s case, at least.”

“Probably some sort of dimensional storage shenanigans,” Ben replied. “It makes sense that the weapons be stored so that they can rapidly be swapped out, depending on the situation.”

“Do you think they’ll be able to use abilities while inside their mechs?”

“Some, definitely,” he nodded. “I don’t know how skills that affect movement will work though. For example, if you were in a mech and used Blink would you teleport right out of your mech, or would it move along with you? Maybe some of our questions will be answered during their fight. It looks like they’re getting ready to start though.”

True enough, both of them were walking over to the starting line. There were now three large screens up, forming a triangle around the starting line. The ones on the left and right showed their individual perspectives, while the central upper one showed an overhead view of the starting line. Looking up, I could see the small drone hovering above.

The moment the two of them were ready, a horn sounded and they shot forward, almost as if out of a cannon. The drone overhead immediately started following the two of them, as they quickly moved out of sight as they entered the dense forest. They were going at quite a clip, which was even more evident as I turned my attention to the screen over to the right, which showed Oya’s perspective.

There were so many trees coming up at such high speed that I was amazed that she hadn’t run into one by now. She could run right through the saplings, but she repeatedly had to dodge out of the way of living trees and dive or jump over fallen ones. Despite that, she was moving incredibly fast. So fast that whatever system they were measuring their speed at was in the triple digits.

She seemed to have an easier time of it than Tala did, particularly because her mech was smaller and slimmer. She didn’t have to move as far to clear any obstructions. The bulk of Tala’s mech had an advantage, however. It was durable enough, and likely heavy enough, to allow Tala to run right through some of the obstacles in her path. In a few cases, she ran right through rotten fallen logs rather than move around them, just to save some time.

She had fallen behind initially, but she seemed to know the capabilities of her mech like the back of her hand. It allowed her to gradually close in on Oya as they progressed through the forest. That all changed when the trees started thinning out, tall grasses taking their place. Not having to dodge as much, Oya kicked it into high gear and rapidly accelerated. Tala did as well, but her mech wasn’t capable of moving as quickly. It was almost as if comparing a defensive tackle to a running back in football. But, you know, in mech form.

The center screen changed from an aerial view, instead showing the course that had been set up. The route would take them around the mountain that the dragons were calling home, heading out east and north before circling around to the west and then back down to the clearing. They were almost through the first land section of the course and were rapidly coming up to the blue portion. There was a huge lake that easily rivaled the Great Lakes in North America, and they could be cutting through a portion of it before continuing back on foot.

When Oya was about one hundred meters from the edge of the lake she jumped into the air, activating the two engines on the bottom of her feet briefly before something interesting happened. As she flew through the air, her mech began to change. She brought both of her legs together and they looked like they fused together as a number of stabilizing fins were formed at the bottom. The only other change was two openings appearing on her back, but she dove beneath the waves before they could be examined any further.

Looking back up to the central screen, I could see nothing but a streak traveling through the water. From above, it looked like a torpedo, though one that traveled at least three or four times faster than normal. Shocking everyone, however, was the much bigger streak that got closer and closer by the second. I wasn’t sure how each of the mechs propelled them through the water, but Tala’s was apparently much better at it.

By the time the two of them had cleared the water course, both were neck and neck. Oya leaped out of the water like a dolphin, her mech transforming back to the two legged version as the fins on her legs and ports on her back disappeared. Landing seamlessly, she continued running.

Tala’s mech didn’t seem to transform at all, and she didn’t leap out nearly as high or as far as Oya did. She just jumped out a short distance away from land, rolled briefly and then started running again. The two of them were moving just as fast as they were previously, and had another twenty kilometers or so to cover before coming across the same dense forest. They wouldn’t be traveling through it this time. Instead, they would fly over it for about one hundred kilometers before landing in the clearing the dragons created. Once they arrived, they would land and start the second lap.

When both of them got close to the edge of the forest, they leaped into the air. This time, their engines remained active rather than turning off after a few seconds. Like the first time, Oya’s mech changed. Her legs fused together and her arms fused to her torso, creating a smooth, more aerodynamic form. This time the two engines that had been on her feet formed into one larger one, while two small wings appeared, rather than the fins she used in the water.

The moment her mech was done changing, the engine on the back flared up and two sonic booms could be heard, even from where we were waiting. Both mechs quickly accelerated through the sound barrier and continued until they were traveling in quadruple digits. Oya once again had the advantage. Her mech seemed built for mobility, and it was certainly that as it created more distance between the two of them.

At the speed they were traveling at, it only took a few minutes before the roar of their engines could be heard nearby. As I turned to look in the direction they were coming from, I could see that a large crowd had formed behind me. At least two thousand were watching the spectacle, having taken a short break from the work that was being done.

Oya was barely visible before Tala was, but she also happened to be a hell of a lot closer. The white paint scheme and the small size was in her favor there, while Tala’s mech stood out like a sore thumb. As she got close, she eased on the throttle while activating airbrakes. Flaps opened up all over her mech which looked to double the amount of air resistance. It didn’t take her very long to slow down to only a few hundred kilometers per hour, and then she rotated her body and activated her engine to slow herself further.

When she was about fifty feet above the ground, her mech changed again. The small wings disappeared entirely, and she once again had two legs. By the time she hit the ground she was already running, ending her first lap and beginning her second.

Everyone was watching Oya, but our attention was drawn behind her when a loud noise was heard, like a huge sail catching the wind. That wasn’t too far off. Tala had deployed three parachutes behind her which helped her slow down very quickly, buying her some valuable time. She still looked to be traveling at a few hundred kilometers per hour when she cut the chutes. At that point, a number of air brakes around her suit deployed and it slowed her down enough to safely land. Just like that, she was off as well. She had a sizable gap to make up, it would be interesting to see if she would be able to do it.

Both of them made much better time through the forest the second time around, however unlike the first time, Oya was the faster one. She seemed to have found a way through the forest where she didn’t have to move around obstacles that were in her way, allowing her to make good use of her speed. Tala, on the other hand, was still running around trees or large rocks that wasted a little bit of time.

By the time the two of them exited the forest, Oya was a good twenty seconds ahead, and that gap would only grow as they traveled across the plains.

I looked over to see Ben looking intently at the screen mumbling something under his breath.

“What’s up, Ben?”

“Nanites, I think,” he replied. “She’s coming up to the water now, watch when she jumps into the air. Her legs will connect together seamlessly and the openings on her back and the stabilizing fins will appear. I think the openings are actually intake ports and water is used to propel her through the water. I just don’t understand where the nanites are coming from.”

It was exactly like he said. White metal began protruding from a few key areas on her mech until the ports appeared on her back and the fins on her legs. The legs themselves connected together again, allowing her to glide through the water with ease.

“Maybe the entire mech is made out of nanites? Or the outer shell is, at least?” Sonja suggested.

“That’s definitely possible, but you would think a mech made out of nanites would be incredibly weak. They’re tiny machines that need to link and lock together to provide any protection. Even then, any damage taken would likely destroy hundreds or thousands of nanites. They would need to constantly replenish themselves and quickly repair any damage,” Ben explained

“Maybe that’s the breakthrough she was talking about earlier,” I replied. “She said she was having issues with her mechs having full range of motion without there being too much wear on parts while retaining power and speed. Nanites could probably solve that, right? In science fiction they’re always touted as incredible machines that can work together to quickly make repairs and solve other problems.”

“Maybe? I doubt that nanites are making up the internals, because that would probably make the overall mech much weaker. Nanites could make repairs pretty quickly if they had materials on hand though, which is pretty likely when you take dimensional storage into account. We haven’t seen a forcefield around her mech yet, but that doesn’t mean that one doesn’t exist. While the shield is down, any hit would destroy nanites, which need to be replenished. Dimensional storage is perfect for that because spare parts and tons of nanites could be stored until they’re needed.”

“That means that she’s probably limited on the changes she can make to her mech though, right? If there is a frame, then the nanites are just building off of it. Too much weight would stress the frame, regardless of the impact of the nanites,” Mason said.

“That’s right. She probably uses them to enhance certain aspects of her mech. We’ve already seen how much more mobile it is than Tala’s, though it does struggle in the water a little bit. I bet Oya will figure that out though. The main use is the fact that any damage sustained would be repaired very quickly. I’m not sure Tala has that luxury, which might be why her mech is so much beefier.”

Any further discussion was put on pause, as we could hear the engines of an incoming mech. Spinning around, it was no surprise that it was Oya arriving first. What was surprising, was that we only heard the sonic boom created by Tala’s mech as Oya started slowing down. That meant that Oya was a good forty-five seconds ahead.

Ben had his phone up and was recording Oya as she began landing, while I changed both of my eyes to that of an eagle. I was able to see her mech’s armor ripple as a seam appeared in the lower part of her mech, but even my improved vision wasn’t enough to see any nanites. The gentle rippling of the armor did suggest that something was going on, we’d just need to wait until later to find out.

Oya continued to get ahead, but that didn’t stop Tala from trying. Last time she had deployed parachutes to slow her down enough that her air brakes and engines could take over. This time she deployed and cut the chutes almost immediately and didn’t use the air brakes at all. Using the rapid deceleration, she tucked into a ball and rolled nearly one hundred meters to the edge of the forest. It looked to be a bumpy ride, but other than some scratched paint, her mech held up. Timing it well, she got back on her feet and began her final lap.

I heard Ben chuckle beside me. “That saved her a bit of time, I suppose, but I don’t think she’s going to catch up to Oya. Her mech is simply outclassed.”

It was, indeed. Oya was just leaving the forest as Tala entered it, which allowed Oya to get further and further ahead. Tala would be able to make up some ground as they entered the lake, but by then Oya would be in the air, and it would all be over. Speed wasn’t everything, however. The real test would be how Oya’s mech performed against a proven battle-tested design.

Oya ended up finishing over a minute before Tala did, but she waited patiently for Tala to arrive. It didn’t take long and she was soon striding across the clearing to meet her, the two having a brief exchange before Oya turned and nodded. Looking in that direction I saw the team that was in charge of the cameras was already recalling them, and were getting prepared for something else.